Shelter life is tough enough, but some dogs stand no chance of getting out alive. Some of the most down-on-their luck pups find themselves on death row at shelters, because they are regarded undesirable or have run out of time. This is where rescuers come in. And the Quad Cities has a new line of defense for desperate dogs. The newly formed Ruff Life Dog Rescue of Illowa now is at the ready to foster and find homes for dogs that otherwise would be put down. The group behind Ruff Life is one that splintered off an existing dog rescue last fall. Several board members for K9 Kindness Rescue left the organization in September amid frustration and concern over absent bookkeeping and unanswered questions over the way donations were being spent. While K9 Kindness continues to operate, people who foster needy dogs say there are more than enough of them to go around. "We get a lot of death-row dogs from Missouri, because they have a real problem down there with dogs that aren't spayed or neutered," said Katie Trujillo, president of the new group. "Shelters usually have people who network to find rescues. If a dog has any kind of issues, they will not be offered to the public, generally, and they have to find a rescue or a shelter that has space." Ruff Life vice president Diane Guy Viaene added, "Instances of heart worm tend to be high in certain areas, too. It can run up to $1,000 for heart-worm treatment, and that's why we do fundraisers: Adoption fees do not begin to cover vet bills." While talking about the new rescue, Viaene got a text message and turned to Trujillo, asking, "Can we take a pregnant pug?" Trujillo replied, "Let's investigate that one." "If it's nice, I can take it," Viaene offered. Both women have dogs in their homes that do not belong to them, waiting for their "furever" homes. The women have lost track of how many dogs they have fostered, and both have adopted rescue dogs. As a dog lover, I wondered how they do it how they give up a dog that has lived with them. Don't they get awfully attached? "I'd rather be sad to give up my foster than to be sad that dog died scared and alone in a shelter," Viaene said. "I learn something from every single dog I foster," Trujillo said. "Every breed is so different. Some can be maddening, but I can't tell you how much we've laughed." Debra Fraker, president and founder of K9 Kindness, said her rescue is getting back on its feet. She has not yet rounded out her board, but she does have someone to take care of the books. For both Quad City rescues, demand is high for two things: People willing to foster dogs in need and donations to pay for the veterinary care that often prevents dogs from being adoptable. In Iowa, there are no foster or rescue licenses, so rescues get a dealer's license through the Department of Agriculture. In the absence of fostering licenses, the rescuers are responsible for vetting volunteers. They carry out an application process, make home visits and require references for those willing to foster. "Everybody in the family has to be on board with adopting and with fostering," Viaene said. "It's so rewarding. I've done rescue work since I was a kid. If it's not for you, you don't have to do it again. For some of us, though, you just get hooked." Barb Ickes writes for the Quad City Times, another Lee Enterprises newspaper. Reach her at 563-383-2316 or bickes@qctimes.com. New Delhi, Feb 7 : Minister of State for Defence Subhash Bhamre said on Tuesday that there have been no incursions along the Sino-Indian border. "There have been no instances of incursions along our border with China. However, as there is no commonly delineated Line of Actual Control (LAC) between India and China, there are areas along the border where India and China have differing perception of LAC," he told the Rajya Sabha. "To resolve such issues, there is a well-established mechanism of Border Personnel Meetings (BPMs), flag meetings, Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination (WMCC) and diplomatic channels wherein they are guided by provisions of various agreements between India and China," he said in a written statement. The LAC is a demarcation line that separates Indian territory in Ladakh region from Chinese territory. On November 4, National Security Adviser Ajit Doval and State Councillor of China Yang Jiechi -- Special Representatives on the Boundary Question of India and China -- met in New Delhi and agreed to hold the 20th Round of Special Representatives Talks on the border dispute this year. Riyadh, Feb 7 : More than 39,000 Pakistanis have been deported from Saudi Arabia in the past four months, the media reported on Tuesday. Quoting security sources, the Saudi Gazette newspaper said the deportations were made for "violating the rules of residence and work". The report said the involvement of several Pakistanis in "some terrorist actions" orchestrated by the Islamic State as well as drug trafficking, thefts, forgery and physical assault prompted calls for thorough scrutiny of Pakistanis aspiring to work in Saudi Arabia. "Abdullah Al-Sadoun, Chairman of the Security Committee of the Shoura Council, called for thoroughly scrutinising the Pakistanis before they are recruited for work in the kingdom," the report said. Citing the statistics provided by Saudi Interior Ministry, the report said 82 Pakistani suspects were held in intelligence prisons over charges of terror and other security related issues. "As many as 15 Pakistanis, including a woman, were nabbed following the recent terrorist operations in Al-Harazat and Al-Naseem districts in Jeddah." Kathmandu, Feb 7 : The Nepali police on Tuesday presented before the media in the southern city of Birgunj five alleged ISI agents, who had been involved in various terror activities in Nepal and India. They were operating their ring from Pakistan, Malaysia, Dubai and the UAE, the police said. The main accused -- Samshul Hoda, 43, from Bara district of Nepal -- is suspected to have planted a bomb on the Indore-Patna Express train on November 21, which claimed nearly 150 lives. The Nepali police secured the extradition of Hoda from Dubai on Sunday and took him to his home district Bara for further investigation. Bara Superintendent of Police (SP) Narenda Prasad Upreti, after parading the five accused men before the media, said: "We have established that Hoda and his friends were involved in terrorist activities in India. He executed his plans with support from his cronies based in Pakistan, Malaysia and Dubai." Upreti said Hoda got involved in terror and other criminal activities after he lost an election in 2013 that incurred him a loss of Nepali Rs 20 million (1 Nepali rupee=0.63 Indian rupee, approximately). After failing to pay his debts, he first started circulating fake Indian currency notes. But he could not make enough money to pay back his debts, so he contacted the ISI, the Pakistani intelligence agency, and started hiring people to carry out various terror activities in India for it, Upreti said. According to a police statement, Hoda admitted that he had paid Rs 8 lakh in advance to Umashankar Patel from Raxual in India through a Nepali citizen, Brij Kishore Giri, to plant the bomb in a train. Giri and his accomplices were to be paid Rs 30 million more if the plan succeeded. Umashanakar later handed the money over to two Indian nationals -- Arun and Dipak -- from East Champaran district for planting the bomb. As per the plan, Arun and Dipak planted the bomb on the railway track but due to technical reasons, it did not go off. As the plan had failed, Giri demanded the money back, but Dipak and Arun refused to return the money. Then Giri called them to a jungle area in Bara district and killed them on December 25 last year, the police statement said. When the bodies of the two Indian nationals were found, the Bihar police launched a massive operation and arrested one Mujahir Ansari, who later disclosed Hoda and Giri's link with those killed in the jungle. After Ansari's sensational revelation, the Nepali police arrested Giri from Parsa district. During the interrogation, Giri revealed that the same gang was also involved in the train blast. After this, the police sent a team to Dubai to bring Hoda back to Nepal, according to the police statment. Along with Hoda and Giri, the police also paraded Ashish Singh, Ansari and Umesh Kasmar Kurmi, who all worked for Hoda and helped carry out various cross-border crimes. (Anil Giri can be contacted at girianil@gmail.com) New Delhi, Feb 7 : Expressing its inability to issue guidelines for curbing Sikh-centric jokes or their circulation, the Supreme Court on Tuesday said it is within the realm of legislature to act upon. "If it is a societal or psychological phenomenon, it is for the legislature to intervene," said the bench of Justice Dipak Misra and Justice R. Banumathi, adding that "we can't lay down moral guidelines for the citizens". Asking the Centre what is its stand on the issues affecting human dignity or human psychology, the court told the petitioners: "We don't intend to render a judgment. Your focus is somewhere else, your prayers are somewhere else." Making it clear that it can issue directions only "if human dignity is violated by the State or its instrumentalities or anyone amenable to its jurisdiction", the court said it cannot pass orders about an individual or a community. Sikh is a highly respected community but "you are bringing it down by fighting litigation to ban jokes", the bench said and referred to the resistance to the Alexander the Great by the people of the region. However, the bench asked senior counsel R.S. Suri to address the court on the issue in view of its jurisdictional constraints in passing directions for issuance of guidelines being sought by the petitioners. The court fixed March 27 as the next date of hearing. The court said this in the course of hearing the plea by Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC), Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC), advocate Harvinder Chowdhury and others, who sought direction to the Telecom Ministry to install filters to curb the circulation of jokes on Sikhs. They have also sought guidelines for sensitising people on the issue affecting the community. Addressing the court, Suri said that family units are increasingly becoming nuclear and the constant stereotyping of the community has negative repercussions. Pointing out that the "social problem" is becoming acute, Suri said: "It can be Sikh or any other community." He told the apex court that the committee headed by a former judge of the top court, Justice H.S. Bedi, has drawn certain guidelines for the consideration of the court. Advocate Harvinder Chowdhury told the court that joke is different thing, but making a joke of a community is altogerther different. "I am talking of human dignity." The DSGMC had set up a committee comprising former apex court judges Justice H.S. Bedi, Justice M.Y. Eqbal, Rajya Sabha member Pawan Kumar Verma, North Eastern Council member M.P. Bezbaruah and former Union Law Secretary Dr. Rajhbir Singh to suggest guidelines as to how to go about curbing racial comments and jokes on Sikhs. Similarly, the SGPC too set up a committee headed by its President Jathedar Avtar Singh, former Punjab and Haryana High Court Judge K.S. Grewal, former Punjab Chief Secretary Ramesh Inder Singh, Vice Chancellor of Fathegarh Sahib Guru Granth Sahib University Gurmohan Singh, well-known scholar Prabhjot Kaur, Punjab and Haryana High Court advocates Gurminder Singh and Pavit Singh Mattewal, Supreme Court lawyer Satinder Singh Gulati, SPCP secretary Avtar Singh and additional secretary Simarjit Singh. The SGPC in its petition sought direction to the Telecom Ministry to install filters to screen websites which target Sikh community with indecent, offensive and oppressive jokes violative of the relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code. Besides this, the SGPC sought direction to the website owners to pay adequate compensation to the National Legal Service Authority for having caused damages to the reputation and dignity of the Sikh community. Pointing to the difficulties being faced by the community, the SGPC in its petition contended that even before a Sikh child faces an actual competition, he/she has to get over the stereotype of his/her image. The SGPC urged the court to decide "whether such acts of circulation of funny jokes on Sikhs, amounts to violation of their fundamental right to live with dignity under Article 21 of the Constitution; their right of equality under Article 14 of the Constitution; and their right to profess and propagate their religion, as provided in Article 25 of the Constitution". Bengaluru, Feb 7 : Tata Sons' interim Chairman Ratan Tata on Tuesday flagged off Moonshot Wheels, a mobile science exhibition bus that will traverse 11 states across the country showcasing models of lander, rover and a spacecraft of TeamIndus, a space start-up bracing to launch its lunar mission this year-end. The 79-year-old Tata, however did not make any announcement or comment on the start-up's novel initiative to take STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) and space education to about 36,000 students in state-run schools. "Though Tata's office told us on Monday that he would make an announcement on the occasion, he did not due to change in programme," a spokesperson of the event told IANS later. Prior to unveiling the hi-tech bus to flag-off, Tata keenly observed the models and instruments that will conduct a slew of science experiments after landing on the lunar surface on January 26, 2018. Looking frail and walking around slowly, Tata was seen in high spirits while interacting with the young members of TeamIndus and Agastya International Foundation's officials. "The Moonshot bus will travel about 12,500 km for 12 months from Wednesday to allow high school students understand our space mission, interact with rocket scientists and members of India's first private moon mission," said TeamIndus Marketing and Outreach Programmes Leader Sheelika Ravishankar. The mobile expo will have a capsule with a message of 'Har Indian Ka Moonshot' and collect the wishes of the children visiting the bus and send them to the moon onboard its spacecraft. It will also carry live satellite tracking and experience zone. The bus will ride through towns and villages across Karnataka, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Tamil Nadu. "As we believe solutions for mankind's challenges will come from ordinary people, the best way to inspire the next generation of scientists and leaders is to create experiential learning opportunities and provide recognition for achievements," said TeamIndus Fleet Commander Rahul Narayan. TeamIndus is among five teams competing in the Google Lunar Xprize, a global contest challenging privately funded teams to land a spacecraft on the moon by December. It is also looking to inspire every Indian to dream bigger and redefine what is thought possible out of India. Thiruvananthapuram, Feb 7 : A 63-year-old onlooker died on Tuesday when chaos broke out at the Kerala Law Academy here, where students have been protesting for the past 27 days against the academy management. A huge crowd had gathered on Tuesday evening on the main road leading to the academy after a student climbed to a tree and threatened to commit suicide if his demands were not met immediately. He demanded that academy Principal Lekshmi Nair -- whom the protesting students accuse of ill-treatment, and who has been charged under the SC/ST Atrocities Act -- should be arrested, her passport impounded. He also sought that the academy students' demands should be taken up at the weekly cabinet meeting on Wednesday. Thiruvananthapuram Sub Collector Divya Iyer assured the student that his demands would be taken up with the higher-ups. As the student agreed to come down from his perch on the tree, chaos broke out and stones were pelted. In the melee, a 63-year-old onlooker, Abdul Jabbar, collapsed and died. Local legislator K. Muraleedharan, whose indefinite fast continued for the sixth day in support of the demands of the protesting students, said that Jabbar has become the first martyr of the ongoing protest. State Congress President V.M. Sudheeran demanded a probe into the death of Jabbar. All the student organisations, barring the CPI-M-backed Students' Federation of India, are taking part in the protest. The students wing of the RSS, the ABVP, has announced that its activists will march towards the state secretariat on Wednesday where the cabinet meeting is to take place, and demand that the state government intervene and settle the students' protests. The CPI, the second biggest ally in the CPI-M, is also strongly opposed to the manner in which the CPI-M has been handling the Law Academy issue. Mumbai, Feb 7 : India has sought greater participation from Belgian companies in its maritime sector, including Sagarmala, inland waterways and development of industrial clusters. According to Minister of Road, Transport Highway and Shipping Nitin Gadkari, there is a need for India and Belgium to strengthen their ties in the maritime sector. "There are immense opportunities that exist in India in the areas of coastal shipping, inland water transport, cruise, new port development, smart-port industrial city and development of green ports," Gadkari was quoted as saying in a statement. "There is a need for Belgium to further strengthen the cooperation that already exists between the two countries in the maritime sector." On Monday, the minister met Belgium's Deputy Prime Minister Alexander De Croo over Belgium's potential role in the Indian maritime sector. Mumbai, Feb 7 : Tata Steel on Tuesday reported a consolidated net profit of Rs 232 crore for the quarter ended December 31. The company had reported a net loss of Rs 2,748 crore during the same quarter of last fiscal. The company's turnover edged up 14.06 per cent to Rs 29,392 crore for the quarter under review from Rs 25,767 crore reported in the corresponding period of 2015-16. The company's consolidated gross debt stood at Rs 84,752 crore as on December 31. Net debt was Rs 76,680 crore. "Strong liquidity position with cash & cash equivalents, current investments including undrawn bank lines of Rs 15,000 crore," the statement said. On a standalone basis, Tata Steel's Q3 net profit rose by over 300 per cent to Rs 1,205 crore from Rs 298 crore. The standalone turnover increased by 39.04 per cent to Rs 14,106 crore for the quarter ended December 31 as compared to Rs 10,145 crore reported for the corresponding period of 2015-16. "Tata Steel recorded strong sales this quarter as the strength of our franchise helped us counter head-winds due to demonetisation," T.V. Narendran, Managing Director, Tata Steel India and South East Asia, said in a statement. "While the broader market was affected by lower rural sales and adverse consumer sentiments, we were able to increase overall volumes by 14 per cent sequentially and register strong growth across all our target customer segments." Tata Steel informed the BSE that its Board of Directors elected N. Chandrasekaran as the Chairman of the board. Chandrasekaran was appointed a member of the board on January 13. In another development, Peter Blauwhoff was appointed a member of the board. The company's scrip at the BSE inched up by 0.14 per cent or Rs 0.65 per share to Rs 473.25 from its previous close of Rs 472.60 per equity share. Currently, Tata Steel Group is among the top global steel companies with an annual crude steel capacity of 28 million tonnes per annum (MnTPA) and a turnover of $17.69 billion in FY16. It has operations in 26 countries and commercial presence in over 50 countries. New Delhi, Feb 7 : The Delhi Commission for Women along the Delhi Police rescued two teenage domestic workers from Vikaspuri area of west Delhi, officials said on Tuesday. "One of the rescued girls in her statement mentioned that she was sexually abused by her owner. The accused is 64-year-old and a civil engineer," a Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) official said. Both the rescued girls hail from West Bengal. "The other in her statement mentioned that she was working in Vikaspuri since October 2016. She was not paid since her joining and on the contrary was physically abused on regular basis," the official said. The DCW official added that two separate FIRs have been registered at Vikaspuri police station. Mumbai, Feb 7 : Rana Daggubati who will be seen in upcoming flick 'The Ghazi Attack', said the film was a tribute to the Indian Navy. The film is based on true events from the 1971 war, when Pakistani submarine Ghazi attempted to destroy the Indian aircraft carrier, INS Vikrant. At the promotional event on Tuesday, the actor who bought a Bajaj V Bike made from the metal of indigenous aircraft carrier INS Vikrant as a memorabilia from the film, said: "The first reason why I did this film is it is a very important story to tell." "We've always seen films that glorified army or police. It is important that India should have first naval film. This is somewhere a tribute to the Navy." The film will see him playing Naval officer Lt. Commander Arjun Varma, who was said to have remained underwater for 18 days during the war. "Besides my love for the bike, I am a deep sea diver. In this film, there are a lot of underwater stunts," he added. "For the last one year of my life, I've been researching how the incident took place and what India went through when actually the war had taken place. INS Vikrant was one of the most celebrated warships in the Indian naval fleet. I know the importance of it that time. It's lovely to be part of the entire thing," he said. Also starring Taapsee Pannu, Kay Kay Menon and Atul Kulkarni, 'The Ghazi Attack' releases on February 17. Apart from "The Ghazi Attack", Rana awaits the April 28 release of "Baahubali: The Conclusion" starring Prabhas, Tamannaah, Anushka Shetty and Sathyaraj. The 32-year-old actor, who gave a splendid performance as Bhallal Dev in the much appreciated film "Baahubali", thanked the Hindi audience for making the film a huge hit. TOLEDO -- Residents here failed to rally around a particular plan to reuse the shuttered Iowa Juvenile Home when presented with three options Monday night. Matrix Design Group -- a national company hired by Iowa Economic Development Authority Board to seek alternative uses for the the facility -- presented three options for reusing the 27 acres, 16 buildings, and 142,810 square feet of the Iowa Juvenile Home that closed in 2014. The big thing is we want to try and look at whats a good economic reuse of the facility, what could bring jobs back into the community, to replace the jobs that were lost when the facility closed, and address the overall community needs, Matrixs Rick Rust said at the outset of the meeting, noting that none of the proposals are done deals. Two of the options Matrix presented keep portions of the grounds as an educational facility and use the rest for residential living; the difference between the two would be whether to build only single-residential homes or add in some duplex-type homes as well. The third would not keep any educational facility but would instead dedicate the space to a mix between senior housing and residential living. Jeff Donohoe, of Matrix, offered estimates for costs and revenues from each of the plans. The first two would be estimated to create about 53 jobs, and the third option would create about 24 jobs, including some from senior living facility and some from a commercial shop to reuse shop space. The Iowa Juvenile Home had about 90 employees when it was shuttered in 2014 as a result of gubernatorial action and was subsequently unfunded by the Legislature, all of which was ultimately upheld by the Iowa Supreme Court. The first two options would be estimated to bring in $144,000 and $138,000 in property taxes annually, respectively, because they anticipated the school would be tax-exempt. The latter proposal would be anticipated to bring in $248,000 per year in property taxes. The reason why we have the level of detail was really to make sure that whatever we presented to you is feasible; we dont want to show you things that arent going to work at least from a physical, geography perspective, in the real world, Donohoe said. But after hearing the options, the more than 50 people at the meeting offered questions and critiques, rather than uniting behind a plan or a particular use of the facility. Residents questioned the need for housing, the type and density of housing; whether the city had the population density to support any specialty education facilities; whether senior living facilities were necessary and would accommodate the needs of elderly people, among several other questions during a two-hour meeting. Many of their questions were addressed, though it didnt necessarily lead anyone to rally around any particular option. Matrix and some residents said there was a need for housing, particularly from the jobs created by the Iowa Premium Beef plant. Donohoe talked about the coming grey tsunami as baby boomers retire and seek senior living to explain the need for senior housing, leading some to suggest support for the last option. While some residents seemed to like the idea of educational uses, they didnt see an ability to compete with existing four-year institutions and community colleges nor did they identify a particular need for technical training. Despite the lack of clear direction, Matrix employees said they would take the information from Mondays meeting and incorporate into its preferred plan, and begin to develop a marketing plan in the spring before finalizing its reuse plan. The reuse plan is expected to be finalized in May or June. Christina Crippes writes for the Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier, another Lee Enterprises newspaper. Reach her at christinia.crippes@wcfcourier.com. Kolkata, Feb 7 : Bhopal resident Udayan Das, who allegedly killed his parents and live-in partner, was sent to eight-day police custody in West Bengal on Tuesday while locals held angry protests in the court premises. Das, brought to the Bankura district court under heavy police escort in a prison van, has been slapped with charges of murder, abduction and causing disappearance of evidence etc. Clad in a white T-shirt and sporting an unkempt beard and dishevelled hair, Das looked unruffled as police almost jostled through a large number of people who rallied at the court premises. Many shouted invectives at Das, and even hurled bricks as police managed to escort him inside the courtroom and closed its doors. The prosecution pleaded for an eight-day remand, terming the case as rare. The murders were pre-planned and carried out in cold blood, and not committed on any sudden impulse, the government lawyers argued. The defence, on the other hand, moved a bail plea, saying there was no need to take Das in custody, as the police have already collected materials and evidences they were looking for. Das' lawyer on grounds of "insanity" pleaded that his client should not be handed over to the police immediately. "My client is a psychiatric patient. He needs to go through treatment first. We cannot depend on his statements as he is not mentally stable," the lawyer said. After hearing both parties, Chief Judicial Magistrate A.K. Nandy turned down the bail application and sent Das to police custody for eight days. He will again be presented before the court on February 15. The court proceedings over, Das was taken to the Bankura police station for interrogation. "We need to interrogate him to find out the real motive for murdering his live-in partner Shweta Sharma," Bankura Superintendent of Police Sukhendu Hira told IANS over phone. "During initial questioning, Das said he killed his partner in a fit of rage," he said. Das was brought to Bankura from Kolkata airport on Monday night under police escort. His arrival was delayed as IndiGo Airlines refused to ferry Das on board its Raipur-Kolkata flight as the police escort did not possess valid security documents. Das was arrested on February 2 by the West Bengal Police on charges of murdering Shweta Sharma (28) and entombing her body in a concrete block inside his house in Saketnagar in Bhopal in Madhya Pradesh. After Das was arrested on charge of murdering his live-in partner and entombing her body in his house in Bhopal, he also confessed to his parents' murder. He told the police that he murdered both his parents in 2010 and interred their bodies in their house in Raipur in Chhattisgarh in a way similar to what he did in the case of Shweta. New Delhi, Feb 7 : National passenger carrier Air India is expected to post an "improved" operating profit margin in 2016-17, the Civil Aviation Minister said on Tuesday. "In the Financial Year 2016-17 also, the company has been steadily improving its allround performance," Minister of State for Civil Aviation Jayant Sinha informed the Rajya Sabha. "It is expected that the company would again post an improved operating profit margin in the current year also," Sinha was quoted as saying in a ritten reply to a question. In the Financial Year 2015-16, the company had posted an operating profit of Rs.105 crore. The operating profit or earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) is the difference between gross profits and operating expenses before deduction of interest and taxes. According to Sinha, since the implementation of the Air India's Turnaround Plan, there has been a constant improvement in the airline's operational as well as financial performance. On April 12, 2012, the flag carrier got a new lease of life when the government approved a Rs.30,000 crore turnaround (TAP) and financial restructuring plans (FRP) spanning around 10 years period. The multi-billion-rupee bailout package came with stringent riders like maintaining high on-time performance and healthy load factors. However, the minister pointed that 'liquidity constraints' continue to impact the smooth performance of the company. "In this connection the company has been making constant efforts for substituting its high cost working capital loans with long term low cost debt," the minister explained. "Air India has been in consultation with various banks in this direction so that the interest costs can come down substantially in the coming years." Sinha elaborated that the impact of 'liquidity constraints' have been met by the equity infusion by the central government. On February 1, 2017, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley proposed to infuse an additional equity of Rs 1,800 crore in the cash-strapped national passenger carrier for 2017-18 fiscal. The government had allocated Rs 1,713 crore to the flag carrier as budgetary support for 2016-17 with a total outlay of Rs 2,065 crore. In contrast, the revised estimates for 2016-17 showed that the state-run airline's budgetary support reached Rs 2,465.21 crore with a total outlay of Rs 2,900.21 crore. Kohima, Feb 7 : Hinting at a hidden hand behind the ongoing protests in Nagaland, Chief Minister T.R. Zeliang on Tuesday said the protesters are being used politically by persons with vested interests. Zeliang said while his government had already given in to the demands of the protesters by "declaring the urban local body polls held in some areas as null and voida" the protests should not have continued in Kohima and Dimapur thereafter. "If the issue of 33 per cent reservation for women in urban local bodies and Article 371A of the Constitution are a non-issue now and my resignation seems to be the only issue, there must be something political to it. I think it is purely political in nature and I suspect some organisations are being misused by some sections with vested political interests," Zeliang said at a press conference here. The Chief Minister said there is no question of his resignation as he has the support of all 58 legislators in the house of 60 "excluding himself and the Speaker". "There is no reason why I should step down. The Supreme Court had made it very clear in the S.R. Bommai case that the majority or minority support a Chief Minister enjoys can only be determined on the assembly floor. And till date, not a single MLA has withdrawn support to my leadership," Zeliang said. "The assembly floor is the only place to decide whether a Chief Minister should continue or step down and not through protests or violence on the streets," he added. He said if the state government and all the stakeholders cannot arrive at an amicable resolution of this issue at the earliest, the best option appears to be to seek exemption of Nagaland from Part-IXA of the Constitution, which contains a mandatory provision under Article 243T for 33 per cent reservation for women in local bodies, which will put to rest the issue and avoid further misunderstanding among the people. Meanwhile, the Nagaland Tribes Action Committee, spearheading the protests, on Tuesday decided to continue with his resignation by owning moral responsibility for the death of two youths over the reservation protests last week in Dimapur. The organisation also set a fresh deadline of three days from Wednesday for the Chief Minister's resignation and that the local body elections in Nagaland cannot be held until and unless amendments are made in the Nagaland Municipal Act, 2001, by safeguarding the powers conferred under Article 371 (A) of the Constitution of India. Gurugram, Feb 7 : An exchange of fire took place at National Security Guard (NSG) campus in Manesar on Tuesday when cattle smugglers, being chased by local police, tried to enter the campus grounds in order to escape. Police said that the incident occurred around 2 a.m on Tuesday, when for-five cattle smugglers tried to enter the campus after their vehicle got stuck in a field near campus' boundary wall. "Cattle smugglers tried to enter the NSG campus from one of its gates but were challenged by guards of the elite security force. There was an exchange of fire between the guards and the smugglers, but the smugglers managed to flee," a senior police officer told IANS. Following a tip-off that a group of cattle smugglers was going to enter Gurugram from Mewat district, police put up barricades near Manesar to stop them. However, the smugglers broke the barricades and sped away. On being chased by police, the smugglers attempted to scale the campus wall but the sentry posted within noticed the intruders and fired a warning shot in the air. An exchange of fire followed but the smugglers disappeared in a mustard crop field under the cover of the darkness. Mumbai, Feb 7 : Bollywood actor Arshad Warsi, who will reprise the much-loved character of "Circuit" in the third film in the "Munnabhai" franchise, said the script for the third instalment is ready. "Rajkumar Hirani spoke to me. He gave an idea about the story and it is just superb. The story is very much relevant in today's time. The script is ready," he said during a press conference for his upcoming film "Irada" on Tuesday. Asked about the shooting schedule of the film, he said: "As soon as the biopic (Sanjay Dutt's) is done, we will start shooting it in 2018." Talking about the film, the 48-year-old actor said, "You will soon see the same innocent idiots coming up with a social issue once again. They will make you see the world we want to see. The film will be very sweet and lovely." The actor who is known for his cheerful appearance expressed, "Sense of humour is the best thing in the world. We've a lot of issues in life so I feel we should smile more often." Arshad is currently awaiting the release of "Irada". Directed by Aparnaa Singh and featuring Naseeruddin Shah and Divya Dutta, the film will hit the screens on February 17. New Delhi, Feb 8 : The Centre has constituted a committee to achieve the target of doubling the income of farmers by March 2022, Parshottam Rupala, Minister of State for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, told the Lok sabha on Tuesday. In a written reply to a question, he also informed that a survey finding could not establish any significant adverse effect of demonetisation on input availability, market arrivals of produce and area sown in the Rabi season. According to the Ministry of Agriculture, to understand the impact of demonetisation on the farming sector, the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) and the National Institute of Agricultural Economics and Policy Research (NIAP) conducted a short survey of farmers in some villages around Delhi under "Mera Gaon Mera Gaurav" (MGMG) initiative. "As per preliminary reports received from the states, the total area sown under Rabi crops as on January 27, 2017 stood at 637.34 lakh hectares as compared to 600.02 lakh hectares in the corresponding period last year, indicating no significant impact of demonetisation on Rabi sowing," said a ministry statement. "In order to achieve the target of doubling of income of farmers by March 2022, the Department of Agriculture, Cooperation and Farmers Welfare has constituted a Committee under the chairmanship of its Additional Secretary," it added. The function of the committee would be to study the current income level of farmers and agricultural labourers, to measure the historical growth rate of the current income level, to determine the needed growth rate to double the income of farmers/ agricultural labourers by the year 2021-22 and to consider and recommend various strategies to be adopted. It would recommend an institutional mechanism to review and monitor implementation to realise the goal and to examine any other related issues. Washington, Feb 8 : US Senate on Tuesday confirmed the nomination of Betsy DeVos -- President Donald Trump's choice for the post of Secretary of Education after a tie-breaking vote by Vice President Mike Pence. "The Senate being equally divided, the Vice President votes in the affirmative and the nomination is confirmed," Vice President Mike Pence said as he cast the deciding vote to make numbers 51-50 to clear DeVos for the cabinet position, becoming the first US vice president to do so. The Republican Party holds 52 seats in the 100 seat chamber, but two Republican Senators, Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska said they cannot back DeVos, who vigorously promoted charter schools and the school voucher system, Xinhua reported. Under this system federal funding would go directly the the households of students, allowing them to choose whichever school to attend. The vote is the closest yet for a cabinet nominee of US President Donald Trump, as Senators debated heatedly whether DeVos's vision is suitable for the country. "A vote for Ms. DeVos is a vote to destroy the public school system," Democratic Senator Tom Udall of New Mexico said. Other Senators questioned DeVos' competency to guide the country's education system, suggesting that her family background detached her from public realities. "For you to understand what it is like for students and families who are struggling to pay for college, have you ever taken out a student loan from the federal government?" Democrat Senator Elizabeth Warren asked DeVos during her confirmation hearing. DeVos said no and neither have her children. DeVos was nominated by Trump on November 23 for the office of Secretary of Education, she is a Michigan native who has been a long-time donor for the Republican Party. Mumbai, Feb 8 : Bollywood actor Shahid Kapoor who is playing a role in Sanjay Leela Bhansali's upcoming "Padmavati" said that he was gaining muscle to get the perfect look for his character in the film. On media reports which said the actor was gaining weight for the film, Shahid clarified, "Since I am playing a Rajput warrior in the film, keeping the time period and look in mind, Sanjay sir suggested to gain muscle to portray such personality. So yes, I am gaining muscle, but not fat for my role in 'Padmavati'." The film had faced protest during the shooting in Rajasthan by a regional political group. To a question if the director planned to bring any changes in the script of the film after the protest, Shahid said, "All I want the film should get completed and people should want it and decide on what the film is. I will be resuming for shooting soon." Shahid was present at the launch of the premium innerwear brand Eazy by Sirtext as a brand ambassador. When asked if the actor was planning to bring his daughter for her first public appearance, Shahid said,"Hopefully I will be sharing some more pictures of her, may be on my birthday!" Geneva, Feb 8 : Highlighting the risks of trying to cross the Gulf of Aden, the United Nations refugee agency on Tuesday said that eight Somali refugees were killed while boarding a smugglers' boat on southern Yemen's coast last week. A woman died when the boat's propeller gashed her in the head after she fell overboard and seven men drowned in the accident at Al-Sudaf in Lahj governorate, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said. According to UNHCR, the tragedy occurred when the people-smuggling boat suddenly started its engine and tried to flee from an approaching Yemeni coastguard vessel. Yemeni coastguard intercepted the boat, which was reportedly heading to the Sudanese coast with over 100 Somali refugees on board, UNHCR said. UNHCR launched a multi-lingual information campaign on Tuesday to raise awareness of the dangers of crossing the Gulf of Aden and Red Sea from Africa to war-wracked Yemen -- a route taken by more than 117,000 refugees and migrants last year. Some 7,100 people have been killed, 44,000 injured, and more than two million displaced in Yemen since and almost 19 million people in the impoverished country require humanitarian assistance. DES MOINES | Labor activists anger overflowed at the Iowa Capitol Tuesday as majority Republicans unveiled legislation they described as tweaking Iowas 43-year-old collective bargaining law. I am beyond angry today. Im actually mortified (and) floored by the disrespect and animosity that drove through the authors to introduce such a punitive piece of legislation, Tammy Wawro, a Cedar Rapids teacher and president of the Iowa State Education Association, said. The source of her anger was House Study Bill 84 and Senate File 213, bills AFSCME President Danny Homan called purely a political attack on unions. Sponsor and House Labor Committee Chairman Dave Deyoe, R-Nevada, called the 68-page bill a deliberative approach to look at some changes, but at the same time still allow unions to have some of the current rights they have now. In general, the bills seek to limit the subjects that non-public safety workers can bring to the bargaining table, changes arbitration rules, alters how unions are certified and eliminates the longtime practice of gathering dues through payroll deductions. Gov. Terry Branstad is backing the legislation, which he said would accomplish changes he been trying to make to the antiquated bargaining process for years. For too long unions special interests have routinely won over the taxpayers, especially on the issue of health care, he said at a Tuesday afternoon news conference with legislative leaders. His goals is to put the taxpayers interests in a position of being treated fairly, to reward the good employees and ensure we can remove an occasional bad employee. Despite the governors rhetoric, it still sounded like union-busting to Rep. Todd Taylor, D-Cedar Rapids. The answer is right here, he said pulling a copy of the Republican Party platform out of his pocket. It states, We call for legislation that would eliminate all public sector unions. Thats what their real goal is, how theyre doing it, he said. Branstad: Iowa collective bargaining law 'antiquated' DES MOINES Labor issues continued to churn at the Statehouse Monday with Senate Republican Senate Labor and Business Relations Committee Chairman Sen. Jason Schultz, R-Schleswig, called the bill a major update and modernization of public employee collective bargaining law. This bills recognize that its been 40 years since the Legislature addressed it and we have a different Iowa, we have a different United States and circumstances are different and I think this more-closely serves Iowa and todays needs. The bill will restore more control and discretion to local elected officials, Schultz said. We want the people who are handling tax dollars to be the ones who are most answerable to the people who elected them, he said. Im excited about this. I think this is something Iowa is going to be very supportive of and its something Im proud of. Besides, if Republicans wanted to bust public employee unions, Deyoe said what we would have done is rip Chapter 20 right out of the code book. Homan wasnt so sure thats not what Republicans, especially Branstad, have in mind. He predicted that Republicans will try to fast-track the bills to get them to Branstads desk before he leaves to become ambassador to China. After all, his vendetta against public employees dates back many decades, Homan said, noting Branstad voted against the Chapter 20 collective bargaining bill when he was a legislator. He representing his constituents interests then as well as now, Branstad said, and rejected the idea there is anything personal about his support for the proposals. I want to make sure that people are treated fairly and that we have a system that treats everyone fairly, he said. I am just very proud we have a Legislature that is willing to address an issue like this and that they are not going to be intimidated by Danny Homan or anyone else. House Speaker Linda Upmeyer, R-Clear Lake, and Senate Majority Leader Bill Dix, R-Shell Rock, said House and Senate rules will be followed as the bills are fast-tracked. Schultz and Deyoe said the bills will be debated by both the Senate and House next week. The legislation appears to make little change to the law as it pertains to what items public safety employees, such as firefighters and police officers, can bring to the bargaining table. However, for non-public safety workers, the Republican proposal limits them to just base wages and other matters mutually agreed upon. Currently, the law lists a range of items that are subjects of bargaining, including wages, hours, vacations, insurance, holidays, leaves of absence, shift differentials, overtime, supplemental pay and transfer procedures. Those items are maintained in the proposal for bargaining units that represent police and firefighters. The House proposal also changes the rules for arbitrators, who settle disputes between labor and management. The bill says, for non-public safety employees, arbitrators, where they can, should also consider wages and working conditions in the private sector when settling disputes. Currently, the law says that arbitrators are to choose from the last positions offered by labor and management and to consider other public-sector practices. The bill also prohibits an arbitrator from considering past collective bargaining agreements or from considering the ability of government to pay for benefits by raising taxes and fees. Critics of the current system say that arbitrators have too often favored unions, and they have long chafed at the idea that governments ability to raise taxes is considered. Regardless of how Republicans choose to describe their proposals, Homan called the bills a complete and total gutting of the public employees rights. Let me assure you, the fight does not stop here, Homan promised. It wont stop until we regain the rights for working men and women across this state to have input into their jobs. ACRES Capital LLC ACRES Capital, LLC (ACRES) announces the funding of a first mortgage loan on an existing, 12-story mixed use building situated on a .67-acre parcel in Downtown Rochester, New York. The loan proceeds were used to repay the existing acquisition/construction loan and to fund the hard and soft costs associated with the redevelopment and stabilization of the 12-story, 148,524 square foot mixed-use building. Redevelopment of the property is underway and is expected to be finished by the end of 2016. Once completed, the building will consist of 102 residential rental units and commercial office/retail space totaling 56,653 square feet. The Property will cater to young professionals seeking a location close to work, empty nesters looking for access to amenities and arts, as well as students and University of Rochester-related employees. Residents will have access to many amenities and attractions as Rochester has evolved in recent years into a 24-hour city. ABOUT ACRES CAPITAL ACRES Capital is a direct lender operating on a nationwide platform. The company seeks opportunities in the $3 million to $50 million range on stabilized to distressed properties including office, retail, hotel, condo, multifamily, senior housing, student housing, land, industrial, construction, adaptive reuse and predevelopment. For more information please visit http://www.acrescap.com Info Cubic LLC, a leading employment screening company, is ushering in the New Year with a fresh new logo and an upgraded website. When we embarked on this project we wanted to highlight what makes Info Cubic so special. Were competitive on pricing, products and turnaround time with anyone else in the background screening industry, said Jason Rennie, SVP of Sales and Marketing with Info Cubic. What truly makes us stand out is our people and how we deliver our products and services. Simon Sinek coined the phrase Employees must love your company before the customers ever will and nowhere in the industry is that more true than here at Info Cubic. The new website features: Employee profiles so you can get to know us better. Case Studies so you can see how weve helped companies similar to yours. Product and International Screening Data Sheets to keep you well informed. Resource library with helpful tips and downloads. Compliance Corner to help you stay informed and engaged with important background screening and drug testing topics. While our outward appearance might be changing, Info Cubic is the same organization that our clients have come to know and appreciate, said Justin Den, CEO of Info Cubic. Our new website celebrates what makes Info Cubic such a special organization: our clients, our employees and our partners. After all, it is the people that make Info Cubic something beyond your average screening company. We pride ourselves on providing the best care and support to every client, every candidate and every screen we fulfill. We hope youll come visit our new website to get to know us a little better and then give us a call! Wed love to chat with you about what Info Cubic can do to help you be successful in 2017. About Info Cubic Headquartered in Denver, Colorado, Info Cubic LLC is a leading provider of employment screening and drug testing for organizations of any size and structure. Info Cubic prides itself on providing first-class customer service, industry-leading turnaround times, maximum accuracy and legal compliance expertise. Info Cubic is accredited through the National Association of Professional Background Screeners (NAPBS), ISO 9001:2008 certified and was named to the 2015 and 2016 HRO Today Bakers Dozen Customer Satisfaction Ratings. Visit http://www.infocubic.com or call (877) 360-INFO (4636) for additional information. At Whataburger, we believe in investing in our employees and providing a great experience to our loyal fans For competition announcement b-roll, please visit here. As part of Whataburgers proud tradition and ongoing commitment to freshness, quality and customer service, 126 Whataburger restaurants have been named semifinalists in the companys WhataGames competition. This friendly company-wide competition supports Whataburgers vision to provide the best overall customer experience and is designed to measure knowledge of restaurant procedures and skills. The competition also recognizes high performing teams and leadership behaviors. Competing teams consist of employees from all aspects of restaurant operations, including those who maintain and test equipment for Whataburger facilities. Defeating their competitors among Whataburgers more than 800 restaurants in 10 states, semifinalists will earn one of the 23 coveted spots at the WhataGames Finals in Grapevine, Texas in April 2017, where they will compete in three days of high-intensity challenges for the Gold Medal and the esteemed title of WhataGames 2017 Champion. Whataburger will also award more than $200,000 in cash prizes to all members of the Gold, Silver and Bronze winning teams, including those who stayed back to operate and manage their stores while their peers represented them in the competition. At Whataburger, we believe in investing in our employees and providing a great experience to our loyal fans. As part of that commitment, were dedicated to training our employees, known as Family Members, and providing a fun working atmosphere that people are excited to be a part of, said Rob Rodriguez, SVP of Restaurants. Our biannual WhataGames event is more than a contest, it gives our restaurant teams the chance to get to know one another, enjoy a friendly and spirited competition and get rewarded for all their hard work. WhataGames Finals take place during the Whataburger Family Convention, which will be held in April at the Gaylord Texan Resort & Convention Center in Grapevine, Texas. The WhataGames were created in 1996 as a training exercise for operations to better serve customers. While the first event hosted less than 500 people, it has now grown to more than 2,200 Whataburger attendees. The convention is a family occasion, hosting Whataburger corporate and regional representatives, franchisees and suppliers and the WhataGames national finalists. WhataGames Restaurant Semifinalists 2017 Alabama: Unit 896 5931 Trussville Crossings Parkway, Birmingham Unit 936 16064 Highway 280, Chelsea Unit 920 1601 Main St., Fultondale Arizona: Unit 537 1460 N. Dysart Road, Avondale Unit 610 4280 W. Bell Road, Glendale Unit 761 4610 S. 48th St., Phoenix Unit 1015 2910 W. Thunderbird Road, Phoenix Unit 774 1430 W. River Road, Tuscon Arkansas: Unit 1086 1956 W. Martin Luther King Blvd., Fayetteville Unit 1100 4030 N. College Ave., Fayetteville Unit 1092 4172 Elm Springs Road, Springdale Florida: Unit 890 2300 S. Highway 29, Cantonment Unit 965 6920 Navarre Parkway, Navarre Unit 21 5480 Pensacola Blvd., Pensacola Unit 505 214 E Nine Mile Road, Pensacola Unit 854 6129 Mobile Highway, Pensacola Unit 805 10725 Emerald Coast Parkway, Sandestin Unit 165 2586 N. Monroe St., Tallahassee Lousiana: Unit 1075 2411 Louisville Ave., Monroe Mississippi: Unit 843 3611 Sangani Blvd., DIberville Oklahoma: Unit 961 921 Holiday Dr., Ardmore Unit 152 421 S Broadway, Edmond Texas: Unit 851 141 South US Highway 281 Bypass, Alice Unit 448 5869 S. Cooper St.,Arlington Unit 613 1417 E. Tyler, Athens Unit 34 1710 N. Saint Marys St., Beeville Unit 844 621 W. Bandera Road, Boerne Unit 500 2021 International Blvd., Brownsville Unit 740 6100 FM 802, Brownsville Unit 777 3580 W. Alton Glood Blvd., Brownsville Unit 1083 2103 Ruben Torres Blvd., Brownsville Unit 798 3424 E. Hebron Parkway, Carrollton Unit 1011 4471 State Highway 6 S, College Station Unit 808 1745 Rock Prairie Road, College Station Unit 1010 730 N. Denton Tap Road, Coppell Unit 2 2424 Baldwin Blvd., Corpus Christi Unit 293 1709 W. 7th Ave., Corsicana Unit 824 26040 Highway 290, Cypress Unit 116 5525 S. Buckner, Dallas Unit 107 2113 Veterans Blvd., Del Rio Unit 408 231 S. Austin Ave., Denison Unit 829 454 S. Bibb Ave., Eagle Pass Unit 428 112 E. Houston Highway, Edna Unit 136 5600 Montana Ave., El Paso Unit 372 131 S. Americas Ave., El Paso Unit 554 11075 Gateway Blvd. W, El Paso Unit 65 9500 Montana Ave., El Paso Unit 655 4640 Woodrow Bean, El Paso Unit 413 7400 Gateway Blvd. E, El Paso Unit 831 1201 W. Glade Road Suite 200, Euless Unit 1050 2155 Airport Freeway, Euless Unit 317 101 Bypass 281, Falfurrias Unit 179 955 N. Beach St., Fort Worth Unit 508 901 E. Seminary Dr, Fort Worth Unit 778 18190 Gulf Freeway, Friendswood Unit 540 1116 E. Highway 82, Gainesville Unit 1029 1301 N. Wood St., Gilmer Unit 455 1709 St. Joseph St., Gonzales Unit 751 2000 State Highway 26, Grapevine Unit 343 6400 Wesley, Greenville Unit 652 938 West Main, Gun Barrel City Unit 735 4250 FM 2181, Hickory Creek Unit 1082 3120 S. Jackson Road, Hildago Unit 566 824 S. International Blvd., Hildago Unit 1056 13910 Horizon Blvd. Bldg B, Horizon City Unit 472 5436 Highway 6 N., Houston Unit 605 13270 Northwest Freeway, Houston Unit 893 1000 Main St. Suite T34, Houston Unit 542 9517 Bissonnet St., Houston Unit 432 3530 Highway 6 S., Houston Unit 550 7001 North Loop E., Houston Unit 131 12121 Katy Freeway, Houston Unit 943 4831 Wilson Road, Humble Unit 337 1120 W. Pipeline Road, Hurst Unit 835 1520 Keller Parkway, Keller Unit 4 510 S 14th St., Kingsville Unit 800 2701 S. US Highway 77 Bypass, Kingsville Unit 947 5401 FM 1626 Suite 500, Kyle Unit 602 10112 FM 1472, Laredo Unit 669 7110 McPhearson Road, Laredo Unit 702 202 W. Del Mar Blvd., Laredo Unit 868 7010 Lancer Road, Laredo Unit 939 1479 East Harrison Lane, Longview Unit 1031 2412 9th St., Lubbock Unit 916 102 S. John Redditt, Lufkin Unit 410 1726 Military Parkway, Mesquite Unit 295 1905 N. Big Spring St., Midland Unit 177 800 Andrews Highway, Midland Unit 995 1687 W. State Highway 46, New Braunfels Unit 729 6225 Precinct Line Road, North Richland Hills Unit 110 5200 Davis Blvd., North Richland Hills Unit 24 3716 Andrews Highway, Odessa Unit 716 3325 Lamar Ave., Paris Unit 325 4831 Fairmont Parkway, Pasadena Unit 982 18609 Limestone Commercial Dr., Pflugerville Unit 282 105 N. US Highway 77, Robstown Unit 651 3402 Highway 36 S., Rosenberg Unit 892 4640 E. Palm Valley Blvd., Round Rock Unit 703 4646 Knickerbocker Road, San Angelo Unit 717 12808 W. Interstate 10, San Antonio Unit 946 530 W Loop 1604 N., San Antonio Unit 1008 18303 W. Interstate 10, San Antonio Unit 1101 25111 W. Interstate 10, San Antonio Unit 200 14543 Brook Hollow Blvd., San Antonio Unit 352 5075 Rigsby Ave., San Antonio Unit 749 18330 Blanco Road, San Antonio Unit 1070 23522 Wilderness Oak Suite 115, San Antonio Unit 839 2203 E. Evans Road, San Antonio Unit 789 40 N. Kessler Ave., Schulenburg Unit 969 3609 N. US Highway 75, Sherman Unit 404 7430 Louetta Road, Spring Unit 476 2830 W. Washington St., Stephenville Unit 631 10315 S. Highway 6, Sugar Land Unit 1047 340 Highway 6, Sugar Land Unit 569 4530 Highway 6, Sugar Land Unit 208 400 A. West Moore, Terrell Unit 1088 148 Farm To Market Road 148, Terrell Unit 980 5003 Troup Highway, Tyler Unit 753 101 W. Highway 67 Unit B, Venus Unit 391 604 N. Highway 77, Waxahachie Unit 944 2965 N. Highway 77, Waxahachie Unit 375 100 W. Nasa Road 1, Webster Unit 978 103 E. Highway 80, White Oak Unit 1064 1001 Highway 82 E, Whitesboro Unit 520 2725 Southwest Parkway, Wichita Falls About Whataburger: Whataburger has focused on its fresh, made-to-order burgers and friendly customer service since 1950 when Harmon Dobson opened the first Whataburger as a small roadside burger stand in Corpus Christi, Texas. Dobson gave his restaurant a name he hoped to hear customers say every time they took a bite of his made-to-order burgers: What a burger! Within the first week, people lined up around the block for his 25 cent, 100 percent beef burgers served on five-inch buns. Today, the company is headquartered in San Antonio, Texas, with more than 800 locations in 10 states with sales of more than $2 billion annually. Visit http://www.whataburger.com for more information. Check out the company on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram and follow them on their most recently launched channel, Snapchat, @WhataburgerLife. "I look forward to contributing to Media Temple's continued growth and creating new opportunities to bring peace of mind to our customers," said Lou Kikos. Media Temple, a Los Angeles-based company that provides premium web and cloud hosting solutions to web designers, developers, app publishers, creative agencies and enterprises, announced that Lou Kikos has joined the companys leadership team as Vice President of Marketing. Boasting over 20 years of experience in corporate branding, revenue and demand-gen programs, market segmentation and customer lifecycle management in the technology industry, Kikos oversees Media Temples marketing and communications strategy. We couldnt be more pleased to have Lou on board, said Rod Stoddard, President of Media Temple. With his proven track record of delivering successful go-to-market strategies, he will be instrumental in scaling our success to meet our customers needs, and, in particular, our enterprise customers needs, as we continue to focus on helping them fully unleash the power of the cloud while strengthening our managed services offering. Previously, Kikos held various senior leadership positions, which included spearheading marketing and product strategies at iRise, a cloud-based enterprise software solutions provider, and CCC Information Services, Inc., a software and service provider to the $30 billion automotive claims and collision repair industries. He also co-founded The Magis Group, a marketing and operations management firm, where he advised private equity, VC and mid-cap clients on marketing and business strategy. I am thrilled to join such a talented team and be a part of a company that has consistently lived up to its Customer First philosophy since 1998, commented Lou Kikos. I look forward to contributing to Media Temples continued growth and creating new opportunities to bring peace of mind to our customers. Kikos holds an MBA from Loyola University of Chicago. ABOUT MEDIA TEMPLE From its inception in 1998, Media Temple has helped web designers, developers, app publishers, creative agencies and enterprises focus on running their business while we take care of all their hosting needs. Over 125,000 people and businesses in 100 countries rely on our web and cloud hosting services to power over one million websites. Our premium service model combined with our scalable technology allows us to focus on delivering only exceptional quality solutions and best-in-class, award-winning 24/7 customer support. Our clients range from top tier web designers, popular blogs and online creative communities, to global advertising agencies and major brands. With 230 dedicated, U.S.-based employees, Media Temple has been repeatedly recognized as one of the best places to work in Los Angeles. Find us anytime at http://www.mediatemple.net, on Twitter @MediaTemple or on Facebook. BRITT | A man accused of attacking a resident of a Britt apartment complex is scheduled for trial next month. Erik Martinez Yepez, 21, has pleaded not guilty to felony first-degree burglary and willful injury. Martinez Yepez went into an apartment on Center Street East in Britt on Nov. 23 and attacked a 54-year-old man who lived there, according to court documents. Police say the victim had a large gash on his head. Martinez Yepez didn't have permission to be in the apartment, according to court documents. His trial is slated for March 1 in District Court in Garner. Martinez Yepez remained jailed on Wednesday at the Hancock County Jail in Garner. Molly Montag Insurance Clicks by Inside Ventures Inside Ventures recently tapped Steven Soendker to lead publisher efforts across its portfolio of companies - Insurance Clicks, Inside Response, and Inside Academics. Steven was the first employee in the Inside Academics division and has played several key roles in the company's growth. Steven will be leading the company's efforts to recruit, strategize and test new publishers across campaigns in insurance, education, and home security. Potential publishers should contact Steven at publishing(at)insideventures(dot)com. "Steven's role allows Inside Ventures to more effectively and efficiently onboard high-quality partners at a global level. Steven has a knack for developing creative solutions with affiliate partners. We're excited for both Steven and what it means to the company's growth," said Trevor Nohe, President of Inside Ventures. About Inside Ventures: Inside Ventures partners with large brands to scale customer acquisition efforts through online lead generation and inside sales. We specialize in building cost-effective campaigns in insurance (life, health, Medicare, auto & home, and final expense), education, and home security. Custom Computer Specialists (Custom) a leading IT services provider, announced today that Rick Cadiz, Director of Sales at Custom, has been invited by Future Ready Schools New Jersey to join their Technology Support and Services task force. Future Ready Schools New Jersey Certification Program is a partnership of the New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT), the New Jersey Department of Education (NJDOE), and the New Jersey School Boards Association. Future Ready Schools New Jersey helps NJ K12 public, private, and charter school leaders plan and implement personalized, research-based digital learning strategies so all students can achieve their full potential. A major component of their mission is to ensure that the expertise, experience, and resources from a wide variety of individuals and organizations are incorporated into the development of their certification program. They have established three task forces Education and Classroom Practice, Technology Support and Services, and Leadership to identify actions that schools in New Jersey can take to prepare their students for success in a digital age. The task forces will help identify the resources needed for schools to achieve these Future Ready actions, and develop the metrics and evidence with which they can verify that schools are successfully implementing these actions. "The Future Ready Schools NJ task forces are essential to ensuring that the experience, expertise, and voices of educators, educational leaders and all stakeholder groups from throughout New Jersey and beyond are incorporated into the certification program. This will ensure that we provide the guidance, support, and resources the schools need to foster graduates and prepare them to succeed in a world where digital technology is omnipresent, said Jeremy Reich, Future Ready Schools NJ Project Lead. Having representatives of organizations such as Custom Computer Specialists involved in the task force enables us to offer an array of resources from a variety of vendors and sources for each Future Ready action they propose, providing schools with potential means to achieve their Future Ready goals." We are very excited to be partnering with Future Ready Schools in New Jersey and Im honored to be part of their Technology Support and Services task force, says Rick Cadiz, Director of Sales at Custom. It speaks to Customs experience and expertise in providing, managing and supporting the technologies that inspire students in 3500 districts today. About Custom Computer Specialists Founded in 1979, Custom Computer Specialists helps Northeast public and private sector clients get maximum value from their IT investments. Customs unique combination of privately owned flexibility and extensive IT capability empowers it to architect client-centric solutions that deliver results. http://www.customtech.com Richard Norden, MD FACS of Norden Laser Eye Associates Patients can resume their regular activities such as driving and reading the next day after Raindrop Near Vision Inlay. Richard A. Norden, MD FACS of Norden Laser Eye Associates has always been ahead of the curve by using the latest technology in laser vision correction to treat his patients. He was the first doctor in Northern New Jersey to perform LASIK, and he trademarked Custom LASIK. Now his practice will be the first in Bergen County, New Jersey to use Raindrop Near Vision Inlay, a state-of-the-art ten minute procedure designed to significantly reduce or eliminate the need for reading glasses. Raindrop Near Vision Inlay is a safe and effective long-term laser vision refractive procedure that has shown fantastic results, Richard Norden, MD said. Two years after patients received the [Raindrop Near Vision Inlay] procedure, 98% of patients had 20/40 or better vision at a near distance. More importantly, patients can resume their regular activities such as driving and reading the next day after Raindrop Near Vision Inlay. Raindrop Near Vision Inlay is a small, transparent disc thats made up of eighty percent water and similar materials to a soft contact lens. It is placed just below the surface of the eye and is designed to help reshape the front of the eye to allow patients to see up close again. Richard A. Norden, MD is a cornea specialist and award-winning ophthalmologist. Hes won the Doctors Choice Award in 2015 and 2016, which requires a doctor to be nominated with reviews and ratings by other physicians and peers. He has been performing LASIK surgery for more than two decades. Throughout his career hes performed LASIK on over 30,000 patients. For more information about Raindrop Near Vision Inlay, you can visit this website (https://revisionoptics.showpad.com/share/BThFIlIj48nsKxUsGAan). You can learn more about Richard A. Norden, MD and Norden Laser Eye Associates at 1144 E Ridgewood Ave in Ridgewood, NJ by viewing their website (http://www.nordenlasik.com/about/). About Norden Laser Eye Associates Norden Laser Eye Associates was founded by Richard A. Norden, MD, who has over 30 years of experience in vision correction, over 20 years of experience in performing LASIK and is one of the leading LASIK surgeons in the country. Based in Ridgewood, NJ, Norden Laser Eye Associates offers LASIK, Custom LASIK, LASIK Monovision to get rid of reading glasses, and other eye procedures. He is the National 2015 and 2016 Doctors Choice Award winner in ophthalmology. About GWP Inc. GWP Inc., founded in 1991, is a full-service advertising agency in the heart of Montclair, NJ. And is known as the best kept secret amongst our clients, with a focus in Rebranding, Rebuilding and Revitalizing businesses. Among our in-house capabilities, are online and traditional media planning and buying, video production, online marketing, TV, radio and print creative and production. GWP is a boutique agency with five divisions, delivering strategically sound, creatively crafted, targeted campaigns. For more information about GWP Inc., visit their website at http://gwpinc.com/ or call 973-746-0500. Area Relief Ministries Executive Director Mike Roby shares his fundraising goals for the non profit organization. If we just speak our needs into existence, God will respond to our requests. - Mike Roby, ARM executive director Area Relief Ministries announced Mike Roby as executive director at a lunch and reception Tuesday, Jan. 24. Roby previously spent 10 years with Youth Town, a Christ-centered program that helps teens overcome drug and alcohol addiction. A graduate of Freed-Hardeman University, Roby also worked in advancement at FHU and at Agape Child and Family Services in Memphis. He and his wife, Mena, are residents of Jackson. ARMs board of directors, staff and supporters gathered in Parrish Hall of St. Lukes Episcopal Church in downtown Jackson, where they publicly shared and prayed for ARMs vision for the future following the announcement. Area Relief Ministries is celebrating 40 years of service and dedication to its mission of alleviating suffering, promoting dignity and fostering hope for West Tennessee families. Through partnerships with local churches, ARM supports homeless, hungry and unemployed citizens in improving their lives. Lashonda Springfield, owner of Anointed Treats and Gifts, discussed the role ARM has played in her life. They gave me relief. The Lord showed me favor with ARM. My daughter and I were homeless and they helped me rent a house, and they inspired me, Springfield said. Thats why whatever they ask me to do, I always volunteer. Springfield is a master hairstylist and creative artist. I want people to be inspired and encouraged because whatever trials theyre going through, Hell bring you out of every one of them. In his new role, one of Robys priorities will be to raise $75,000 needed to support ARMs HUB Club, an after school and summer mentoring and tutoring program. HUB stands for Helping Us Build. If we just speak our needs into existence, God will respond to our requests, Roby said. ARM Director of Programs Fred McKinnie said the eight-year-old program serves 30 to 40 students during its summer and fall sessions. ARM also oversees Room in the Inn, a program where area churches provide shelter and meals for homeless individuals. Area Relief Ministries is a non-profit, social service organization whose mission is to strengthen citizens in need as an expression of Jesus Christs ministry. Those interested may learn more about ARM at http://www.areareliefministries.org/. To volunteer or make a donation to support the Hub Club, call 731-423-9257. HazardHub, the nations first third-generation supplier of geospatial risk data, have announced the release of their proprietary Lightning Hub geo-spatial data set. Now, users can see the probability of lightning strikes for any address in the continental United States. In 2015, there were over 99,000 lightning-strike related property claims, resulting in more than $750 million in losses. In addition, 27 people lost their lives from lightning strikes in 2015 in 2016 that number has risen to 35. The need for an accurate, probabilistic lightning database has never been higher. Brady Foust, Chief Scientist of HazardHub explained that The LightningHub data layer is long term lightning risk for the conterminous United States. We convert years of weather data to values that represent the average number of lightning strikes per year. We convert the model into an easy to understand A-D report card. For example, the risk of lightning in Miami is extremely high (with a "D" rating) while the risk in Boston (with an "A" rating) is very low. Bob Frady, CEO of HazardHub adds the industry has been struggling to get a better handle on lightning data, which causes hundreds of millions of dollars of property damage in the United States every year. While there are some excellent sources of real-time lightning strikes, our clients told us that nothing existed that would help them determine probabilistic lightning risk at either a property or portfolio level. After significant research and development, were thrilled to release the industrys first lightning data layer LightningHub. The LightningHub data is available now directly from HazardHub (http://www.hazardhub.com), the HazardHub network of trusted resellers, via HazardHubs consumer site http://www.freehomerisk.com and via our API. CDx is delighted to have its rapid and affordable pathogen detection system now available through LabGear Australia, a leading distributor of high quality test equipment. Crystal Diagnostics (CDx) announced today that it has signed an agreement with LabGear Australia to sell and distribute in Australia the CDx Xpress System, a rapid and sensitive pathogen detection platform. This agreement adds a novel Food Safety equipment line to LabGears dominant position in food safety testing reagents and enrichment media. LabGear Managing Director Derek Brown said, Distribution of the CDx detection system clearly demonstrates the LabGear commitment to our Australian customers in bringing them the most advanced, fastest, and most accurate diagnostic system. According to CDx President and CEO Jim Bruce, LabGear is recognized in the Food Safety sector as a leading distributor of high quality test reagents and equipment. We are delighted to have our rapid and affordable system available throughout Australia. In the past two years Crystal Diagnostics has sold Xpress Systems to a number of processors, government and commercial test labs in the USA, as well as academic and research organizations. The system has numerous AOAC accreditations, including E. coli O157, Salmonella, Listeria and the Big 6 STECs. About CDx: Crystal Diagnostics was founded in 2006 and is the exclusive licensee of fundamental liquid crystal technologies developed through a research partnership between Kent State University and Northeast Ohio Medical University. For more information about the company or its Xpress Pathogen Detection System, contact CEO Jim Bruce at 720-351-4885. About LabGear Australia: LabGear Australia is an Australian-based laboratory equipment supplier and distributor of scientific products. We offer a high-quality range of laboratory equipment and consumables backed up by a fully equipped technical service department staffed by highly trained and experienced technicians. A full inventory of spare parts ensures that any piece of equipment sold by LabGear can be fully supported in the field resulting in minimal downtime and peace of mind for the busy scientist. The owners of LabGear Australia have over ninety years experience in the supply and servicing of laboratory equipment and only select products of a high quality that have the strong support of overseas and local manufacturers. We do not make promises we cannot keep and we do not look the other way when our customers have a problem. We believe the best recommendation is from happy customers and we work very hard to make that happen. We are a proud Australian-owned and -operated company acting locally and thinking globally. Given recent economic and political changes, 14th Phenol/Acetone & Derivatives Market opens with a session on the Global Economic Outlook and its impact on the phenol and acetone industry by Dr. Amonthep Chawla, SVP & Head of Research Office, CIMB. His highlights include rising risks and uncertainties about Chinas new normal, reality of Brexit, Trumponomics and its implication on Asia. The discussion then hones in on country-focused discussions encompassing an update on Indias Phenol Market Trends & Projects by K. Shankar, Vice President - Commercial & Marketing, Deepak Phenolics and Chinas Phenol/Acetone Market Outlook by Leo Liu, Sales, CEPSA Chemical. In addition Phenol/Acetone Market Trends in USA/Canada will be presented by Shuja Zaidi, President and CEO, Chem-Energy Corporation. The summits eminent speakers will also analyze the feedstock markets via presentations such as Propylene Market Trends & Forecast featuring future sources of propylene and a review of olefins economics by Kanokwan Saktrakool, Consultant, Nexant plus Changing Dynamics of Benzene Markets by Lim Fang Wei, Managing Director, Afco Petrochemical. Afco shares the East of Suez Supply/demand forecast as well as impact of regional derivatives markets on benzene & its downstream industries. Hosted by Centre for Management Technology (CMT), other notable companies presenting are: Corporate Sponsor EPC Engineering Consulting Malte Bracht on Polycarbonate Technology Update Covestro Polymers Tim Efthimiady on Regional BPA & PC Market Trends Fujian Shenyuan New Materials Co. Song Manjun on Changing Caprolactam Business Outlook in China Hexion Ashit Joshi on Phenolic Resin Market Trends Aditya Birla Chemicals Sachin R Mathur on Epoxy Resin Market Outlook And Emerging Trends Coffee Break Reception Sponsor Asahi Kasei Corporation on New DPC Process for Polycarbonate View event website for more information or call Ms. Grace at +65 6346 9147. Here follows a recent announcement by EcoGeo Minerals Corporation, an international lithium mining company, disclosing plans for an impending IPO. CEO Steven Collins made an official statement to reporters after attending a regional mining conference in Santiago, Chile. The declaration that EcoGeo Minerals is to move forward with a much anticipated IPO that will see the company's shares sold openly and unreservedly on the New York stock markets by the end of 2017. Frank McMillan, EcoGeo's COO, speaking at a mining industry conference in Phoenix, Arizona had the following to say, "The choice to list our stock publicly mirrors our aggregate trust in EcoGeo Minerals' operational execution and exhibits our capacity to effectively oversee and hold costs under control." Mr. McMillan was asked when the Initial Public Offering would take place, he said, "We are aiming for a public launch within a timeframe of the 3rd or 4th quarter of 2017 but I can assure our private equity shareholders that the absolute latest time would be the 1st quarter of 2018." Mr. McMillan also added, "We are currently finalizing an underwriting contract for the IPO with one of the Top 10 biggest Wall Street investment banks and a public announcement naming the institution will be made in the near future." It was also stated by Frank McMillan that, "Starting in February of 2017 the company would allow current private equity institutional investors to begin placing pre-IPO shares to private investors at the current evaluated and audited share price." About the Company: EcoGeo Minerals Corporation is developing the Salar de Sol Alto Lithium Project, located in the Atacama Region of Northern Chile, in a joint venture with SQM, also with ongoing projects in Jujuy Province in Argentina and in Sonara State of Northern Mexico. The company is progressing to become a major supplier of lithium products. For more information contact: investors(at)ecogeominerals(dot)com Glenn Vallecillos, MD, FACS When a human being can be creative at this level, anything is possible. Dr. Glenn Vallecillos, Beverly Hills celebrity plastic surgeon and leader of minimally invasive aesthetic procedures, is excited to announce his recent move to a new state-of-the-art facility, located at 9675 Brighton Way, Suite 380, in beautiful Beverly Hills, California. Dr. Glenn Vallecillos said, "We are extremely proud to announce the transition to our new facility located on Brighton Way. Due to our rapid growth, cutting edge technology, and our expansion of non-invasive treatments we needed a facility that is capable of serving our patients. With our mission to deliver the most innovative expertise, focusing on the natural essence of beauty, will believe our new location will support us in achieving our goals. Most recently, Dr. Vallecillos was asked to speak at the national aesthetics meeting in Paris, France, on the breaking device MINTlift. He also mentioned that his latest technologies included, but not limited to: VASER Hi-Definition Liposculpturing, Clear + Brilliant, SculpSure, and an ultra-exclusive fractional resurfacing laser! This is the year for Dr. Vallecillos, who entered practice in 2005. After gaining experience and continuing his focus using cosmetic enhancements to complement each patient's natural appearance and feature, he practices evidence-based medicine. Most people refer to his practice as GVMD, where patient receive consultations that include extensive education which helps to ensure realistic expectations and the correct procedures for their desired results. Dr. Vallecillos adds, "We have recently added a new addition to the GVMD team, Nurse Ana Gunn, RN. Ana is an extremely trained injectable nurse with over 10 years of nursing experience. She began her career in obstetrics before becoming a, Laser and Dermatology Registered Nurse. Now, Ana is serving Dr. Vallecillos patients exclusively in Beverly Hills, which will make for a fabulous addition to an already incredible team. Recognized as an expert in nonsurgical rejuvenation, Dr. Vallecillos speaks locally, nationally, and internationally about minimally invasive cosmetic treatments. His passion for these procedures also led to Dr. Vallecillos training hundreds of other top physicians in non-invasive aesthetic procedures, such as advanced injection techniques. In addition to his thriving medical practice and active public speaking schedule, Dr. Vallecillos regularly contributes to The European Journal of Plastic Surgery, InStyle's Best Beauty Buys, Sherdog, and SheKnows. He has also appeared on Fox News, Inside Edition, and CNN's Larry King Live. The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi Installs Southern Virginia University Chapter Society Executive Director Dr. Mary Todd: Strong student engagement, quality academic programs, and deep commitment to leadership and service reflect Southern Virginias embrace of excellence as a guiding principle. The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi will install its 341st chapter at Southern Virginia University today, February 7. Founded in 1897 at the University of Maine, Phi Kappa Phi is the nations oldest and most selective all-discipline collegiate honor society. Southern Virginia University, founded in 1867, is located in Buena Vista, Virginia. The installation of the Southern Virginia chapter comes after a thorough chartering process and approval from the Societys board of directors. To be eligible, an institution must be a regionally accredited four-year college or university with an established reputation of excellence and an expressed commitment to upholding the values of the Society. Phi Kappa Phi is pleased to welcome Southern Virginia University to its growing community of scholars, said Society Executive Director Dr. Mary Todd. Strong student engagement, quality academic programs, and deep commitment to leadership and service reflect Southern Virginias embrace of excellence as a guiding principle. Officers elected by the chartering group to serve the newly installed chapter include President Debra H. Sowell, President-Elect John M. Armstrong, Secretary Karen Walker and Treasurer Jon Wallin. Phi Kappa Phi was founded in 1897 under the leadership of Marcus L. Urann who had a desire to create a different kind of honor societyone that recognized excellence in all academic disciplines. Today, the Society has chapters on more than 300 campuses in the United States and the Philippines and inducts approximately 30,000 new members each year. Membership is by invitation only to the top 7.5 percent of juniors and the top 10 percent of seniors and graduate students, along with faculty, professional staff and alumni who have achieved scholarly distinction. More about Phi Kappa Phi The Societys mission is "To recognize and promote academic excellence in all fields of higher education and to engage the community of scholars in service to others." Since its founding, more than 1.25 million members have been initiated. Some of the organization's more notable members include former President Jimmy Carter, NASA astronaut Wendy Lawrence, novelist David Baldacci and YouTube co-founder Chad Hurley. The Society has awarded approximately $15 million since the inception of its awards program in 1932. Today, $1.4 million is awarded each biennium to qualifying students and members through graduate fellowships, undergraduate study abroad grants, member and chapter awards, and grants for local and national literacy initiatives. For more information about Phi Kappa Phi, visit http://www.PhiKappaPhi.org. Southern Virginia University, visit http://www.SVU.edu. LAKE MILLS | A Lake Mills man police say gave marijuana to two teenage girls and smoked with them has pleaded guilty to a drug charge. Jack Greenwood, 57, has pleaded guilty to felony possession with intent to deliver marijuana. Greenwood allegedly gave marijuana to two girls, ages 13 and 14, and smoked it with them on May 6-7 at his mobile home on North Lake Street in Lake Mills, according to court documents. He also was accused of trying to convince the 14-year-old to go into his bedroom and have sex with him, the documents said. His sentencing hearing is set for March 7 in District Court in Forest City. The charge Greenwood is pleading guilty to, possession with intent to deliver marijuana, is a reduced charge with a punishment of up to five years in prison. He was previously charged with distribution of marijuana to someone younger than 18, which is punishable by at least five years in prison. Additionally, Greenwood's plea agreement calls for prosecutors to dismiss additional counts of three counts of felony distribution of marijuana to someone younger than 18, one count of felony enticement of a minor and two counts of misdemeanor sponsoring, promoting or aiding in a gathering where unlawful substances are used. Greenwood is free on bond. LocknCharge made our Chromebook rollout a success. Teachers, technology personnel, students and parents all love how much the custom stations simplify our use of technology, said Dwight Goodwin, director of instructional technology at Denton ISD. As Denton Independent School District (ISD) prepares for future ready classrooms with technology and builds new schools, the Texas district is partnering with LocknCharge to create a new mobile device charging cabinet the Carrier 15 Charging Station. There were no solutions designed to fit the unique needs of Denton ISD, said Judy Bush technology manager. LocknCharge stepped in and constructed a new charging station to fit the vision of the curriculum and technology team to incorporate Chromebooks into classrooms. This customized solution will store, charge and deploy up to 20,000 devices in the school district. We are not a 1:1 district. When we looked to roll out new technology for our schools, we wanted to create collaborative learning environments, said Dwight Goodwin, director of instructional technology at Denton ISD. LocknCharge made our Chromebook rollout a success. Teachers, technology personnel, students and parents all love how much the custom stations simplify our use of technology. The Carrier 15 Charging Station is wall and desk mountable, and charges any 15 tablet or laptop devices simultaneously. It includes three large baskets to store and safely distribute technology. When administrators at Denton ISD approached us and shared their plans for Chromebooks in the classroom, we knew we had to find a way to work with them, said James Symons, CEO for LocknCharge. We are proud to have worked with them to create a new product to fit their needs that will enable their educators to best utilize mobile devices in their classrooms. Denton ISD currently has 40 campuses to meet the needs of students in 17 different communities. Among these campuses are: four comprehensive high schools, seven middle schools (with an eighth opening in August), 23 elementary schools, two early childhood centers, a choice high school, an advanced technology complex and other specialized schools and centers. To learn more about the Carrier 15 Charging Station, visit LocknCharge at TCEA booth #1935 or http://www.lockncharge.com/products/carrier-15-charging-station/. About LocknCharge LocknCharge is the leading global manufacturer and supplier of mobile deployment solutions with headquarters in Australia, USA and Europe. LocknCharge offers a solution to the growing problem of physically managing the deployment of mobile devices in classrooms and businesses around the world. To learn more, please visit: http://www.lockncharge.com. ### Welcomemat Services, the Atlanta-based new mover marketing and technology company, is celebrating another strong year providing loyalty marketing solutions designed to target newly relocated families in the local communities the brand serves. The brand not only proved its dedication to growth by opening 11 locations in 2016, but through a focus on existing customers, has increased consumer level revenues by more than 20 percent and number of local businesses served by 25 percent. Last year, the brand was able to provide 4.2 million gifts to movers throughout the country, connecting them with local business owners and offering a warm welcome to their new city. This success gained recognition from Entrepreneur magazine, as Welcomemat landed first in the advertising franchise category in the magazines 2017 Franchise 500 ranking of the top brands within the franchise industry. The company also ranked #36 by the Franchise Business Review, the fourth consecutive year ranking top in franchise satisfaction. While growth on an external level remains the focus into 2017, the brand is also focused on growing internally to support the 16 new locations Welcomemat aims to open this year. The brand increased the size of its internal support team by 33 percent in 2016, adding new positions to meet the growing demand of services nationwide. In order to accommodate continued expansion, the brand moved its corporate office from the Buckhead area of Atlanta to Midtown and increased office space by 75 percent. Our focus will always remain primarily on the dedicated franchisees who make our business flourish year after year, said Brian Mattingly, founder and CEO of Welcomemat Services. By moving to Midtown, we are taking the first step in growing our support structure for our franchisees who interact with our customers on a daily basis. We are also positioning the brand to offer new product lines to our clients and revenue streams for our franchisees. As part of the brands evolution, Welcomemat has concentrated on expanding its social media presence to reach future and existing customers. This increased activity boosted web and social media exposure by more than 50 percent. While traditional marketing remains at the forefront of the companys approach, social media has allowed the corporate team to support their franchisees across the country and streamline messaging on a national scale throughout all of the brand territories. In October, Welcomemat launched the brands first ever Small Business Season campaign. During the event, Welcomemat recognized local small business owners who exemplified the power of small business ownership within each of the Top 25 Neighborhoods for Small Business. The debut celebration was a great success, further building on the positive momentum of 2016. Welcomemat continues to celebrate national success, increasing presence to 24 states nationwide in 2016 and jumping 236 spots since 2015 on Entrepreneurs Franchise 500 list, landing at #366 in 2016, and finally landing at #207 in 2017. Even with the success of previous years still resonating, Welcomemat is focused on expansion opportunities into untapped markets such as Chicago, Pittsburgh, and Cleveland. As we look back at the growth weve seen since 2003, we are excited to build on the positive momentum while focusing on growing into new markets and continuing to support our franchisees in existing markets, said Mattingly. Helping small business owners make an impact in their local market is our passion and ultimately drives our success. ABOUT WELCOMEMAT SERVICES: A leader in the $133-billion local advertising industry, Welcomemat Services is a new mover marketing and technology company that provides loyalty marketing solutions designed to target families who have recently changed their address. The brand was named to Entrepreneurs 2015, 2016 and 2017 Franchise 500 and since 2003, Welcomemat Services technological innovation and marketing sophistication has enabled the brand to change the face of the direct-mail marketing industry. It offers local, regional, and national businesses & organizations unprecedented access to information about their new mover clients. For more information on Welcomemat Services, visit http://www.welcomematservices.com Warm friendly service go hand in hand with high quality amenities to make Belize's Chaa Creek one of the world's top eco-resorts being recognised as among the top one per cent of hotels and resorts worldwide is a very good feeling The staff of The Lodge at Chaa Creek is celebrating a recent announcement by TripAdvisor that it has been placed among the top one percent of hotels worldwide, the Belize eco-resorts general manager said. Bryony Fleming Bradley said she was thrilled to receive notice that TripAdvisor had named Chaa Creek a 2017 Travelers' Choice Award winner. Congratulations! Youre a winner Travelers' Choice awards are the highest honor TripAdvisor can give meaning your business is truly exceptional. Based on reviews and opinions from millions of travelers, you're in the top 1% of hotels, the January 27 2017 announcement read. Ms Bradley said she and Chaa Creeks owners, management and staff were particularly pleased as the Travellers Choice Awards are based on reviews from people who travel and rate destinations based on their personal experiences. Thats what makes TripAdvisor recognition so special, Ms Bradley explained, Weve collected many travel industry, environmental and other awards, all of which we deeply appreciate, but what makes the Travellers Choice awards stand out is that they are user-generated, meaning that our guests not only had a great experience, but felt compelled to write about it. For us, thats high praise indeed, she said. TripAdvisor bills itself as the worlds largest travel site, aggregating over 435 million reviews from some 200 million members as well as casual contributors. The Travelers Choice Awards, now in their fifteenth year, are based on millions of reviews and opinions collected in a single year from TripAdvisor travelers worldwide, according to the organisations website. Chaa Creek has consistently enjoyed positive reviews on TripAdvisor, and after winning five Certificates of Excellence in a row was placed in the organisations Hall of Fame in 2015. The popular Belizean eco-resort also has a restaurant in nearby San Ignacio Town, the Guava Limb Cafe, which has also garnered certificates of excellence since opening in 2013 and was recognized as Belizes Best Restaurant for 2015 by the Belize Tourism Board and featured in a Travel Channel piece, Where Foodies Should Go In Belize. Ms Bradley said positive word of mouth, a commitment to quality service and excellent customer relations have been behind Chaa Creeks success since owners Mick and Lucy Fleming opened the doors of their family farm in western Belize to guests in 1981, becoming one of the new nations first eco-resorts. Belize had only just achieved independence from Great Britain in 1981, and since we had very little name recognition and a miniscule marketing budget, those of us in the new tourism industry knew we had to be exceptional if we were to compete with the more well-known destinations. We also realised that if we were to have a future, we needed to be environmentally sustainable and socially responsible, and that obviously struck a chord with the new breed of responsible traveller who appreciates and supports sustainable tourism. Those things, plus Belizes stunning natural beauty, friendly English speaking populace and the amazing amount of things to do in such a small country, combined with the cheerful dedication to excellence shown by each and every one of our 160 staff members, all added up to the success were very grateful for, and thats shown in this recent Travellers Choice Award, Ms Bradley said. In addition to this recent accolade, Chaa Creek is also one of three finalists worldwide in their category for National Geographics prestigious World Legacy Awards which will be announced in Berlin February 2017. We were very excited to be selected as finalists for National Geographics World Legacy Awards; not so much for collecting another award, but for proving that you can have a very strong commitment towards protecting the environment and supporting local communities and still provide a high level of quality and service. We like to think that we can act as a model to show that being green works, and works well, Ms Bradley said. And to be honest, being recognized as among the top one per cent of hotels and resorts worldwide is a very good feeling. Everyone at Chaa Creek is walking around with big smiles today, she added. The Lodge at Chaa Creek is a multi award winning eco resort set within a 400-acre private nature reserve along the banks of the Macal River in Belize. END We value the importance of knowledge sharing and we are glad to share how Hitachi Solutions Asia Pacific, together with Microsoft, can help transform and help emerging companies to maximize the power of the digital world. Hitachi Solutions (Thailand) Ltd., the leading provider of Microsoft Dynamics 365 ERP and CRM solutions, is pleased to announce the speaking engagement of Pankaj Kumar, Senior Vice President of Hitachi Solutions Asia Pacific, at the Microsoft Solution Summit 2017- Digital Transformation in Action at the Queen Sirikit National Convention Center in Bangkok, Thailand. Mr. Kumars presentation will focus on Retail Software, Loyalty, CRM, ERP and Point of Sale Solutions with Microsoft Cloud. The Microsoft Solution Summit 2017, entitled Digital Transformation in Action will bring an estimated 1,000 senior business and IT leaders across different industries and roles. The event will showcase how Microsoft Solutions are adapting to the digital industrial revolutions where companies starts to shift from the traditional manual means of doing business, to the modern, fast-paced, digital world of internet and cloud computing. The summit will also highlight how companies can adapt and re-structure their approach in doing business. Mr. Kumar's discussion will highlight how Hitachi Solutions Retail Solutions powered by Microsoft Cloud can drive business growth and harbor long lasting customer relationships, enabling businesses to more effectively compete in an ever-changing digital economy. For instance, Microsoft Dynamics AX with its powerful merchandising and omni-channel management capabilities, flexible POS, and global reach and scalability, reduces complexity from sales to supply. He will also discuss how to value customers and make them feel appreciated with Hitachi Solutions Loyalty Management Program built within Microsoft Dynamics CRM. Lastly, Mr. Kumar will discuss how Hitachi Solutions Ecommerce for Microsoft Dynamics, with its responsive and powerful merchandising and web design, help companies in reaching out to its shoppers. "We are pleased to be part of this annual event, said Mr. Kumar. We value the importance of knowledge sharing and we are glad to share how Hitachi Solutions Asia Pacific, together with Microsoft, can help transform and help emerging companies to maximize the power of the digital world. For more information on the Microsoft Solution Summit 2017- Digital Transformation in Action, please visit this link: http://bit.ly/2klVCe6. --- About Hitachi Solutions (Thailand) Ltd. Hitachi Solutions (Thailand) Ltd. is based in Bangkok and helps its customers to successfully compete with the largest global enterprises using powerful, easy-to-use, and affordable industry solutions built on Microsoft Dynamics AX and Microsoft Dynamics CRM. For more information, email apacsales(at)hitachi-solutions(dot)com. About Hitachi Solutions Asia Pacific Pte Ltd. Hitachi Solutions Asia Pacific Pte Ltd. helps its customers with industry solutions built on Microsoft Dynamics 365 enhanced with world class Business Analytics, and Portals and Collaboration. Hitachi Solutions Asia Pacific has presence through its offices and other Hitachi affiliates in Singapore, Taiwan, Philippines, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Australia, New Zealand and Vietnam. Recognized as the Microsoft ERP Partner of year in 2015 and 2015 and Microsoft Partner of the Year in Asia Pacific in 2015, Microsoft CRM Global Partner of the Year in 2014 and the 2014 Dynamics Global Outstanding Reseller of the Year. For more information, please visit: http://apac.hitachi-solutions.com. About Hitachi Solutions, Ltd. Hitachi Solutions, Ltd., headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, is one of the core IT Companies of Hitachi Group and a recognized leader in delivering proven business and IT strategies and solutions to companies across many industries. The company provides value-driven services throughout the IT life cycle from systems planning to systems integration, operation and maintenance. Hitachi Solutions delivers products and services of superior value to customers worldwide through key subsidiaries in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, India, China, and Asia Pacific. For more information on Hitachi Solutions, please visit: http://www.hitachi-solutions.com. About Hitachi, Ltd. Hitachi, Ltd. (TSE: 6501), headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, delivers innovations that answer societys challenges with our talented team and proven experience in global markets. The companys consolidated revenues for fiscal 2015 (ended March 31, 2016) totaled 10,034 billion yen ($88.8 billion). Hitachi is focusing more than ever on the Social Innovation Business, which includes power & infrastructure systems, information & telecommunication systems, construction machinery, high functional materials & components, automotive systems, healthcare and others. For more information on Hitachi, please visit the companys website at http://www.hitachi.com. Falkonry, Inc. (http://falkonry.com/), a Silicon Valley company on the cutting edge of digital industrial transformation announced today that customer Ciner Resources CIO Scott Schemmel and SMART Plant Lead, Jolene Baker will join Falkonry Senior Vice President, Crick Waters at the upcoming ARC Advisory Group Industry Forum on February 8, 2017 (see http://falkonry.com/arc2017/) in Orlando, FL. Ciner will share how Falkonry pattern recognition technology is being used to improve production yields, improve efficiencies, and reduce waste. Falkonry democratizes AI for process engineers so that programming is not required and customers are achieving ROI in hours and days--not months, said Dr. Nikunj Mehta, CEO of Falkonry. Falkonry applications revolutionize industrial manufacturing by improving overall equipment effectiveness (OEE). Falkonry leverages AI and Big Data to create a superior Industrial IoT experience. Falkonry is privileged to have Ciner Resources as a customer, and share their experiences with the audience at the ARC Forum. Data scientists frequently claim that 70% or more of their time is spent merely on preparing data for machine learning. Falkonry pattern recognition software innately understands time series data and can automatically classify time periods based on time series patterns. Vertimill downtime affects 60% of our hourly production, said Scott Schemmel, CIO of Ciner Resources. Falkonry pattern recognition technology helped us solve a complex, costly industrial business problem fast and has shown potential to significantly reduce unplanned downtime. The Falkonry technology was impressive for how quickly we could set up and leverage it. Falkonry discovers, recognizes, and predicts the condition of operating assets and production processes, states Crick Waters, Senior Vice President of Falkonry. Falkonry's combined signal processing and machine learning is accessible by an intuitive user experience and a refined software architecture that puts advanced condition monitoring into the hands of operation ownersthe subject matter experts who know their assets and operations best. Explaining our manufacturing process to someone outside the refinery environment is difficult. It was important to us that Falkonry enabled our own subject matter experts to solve our problems we didnt have to teach anyone outside the plant our process. We just gathered our own data and used Falkonry ourselves. Best of all, the relevant patterns in our data became recognizable by Falkonry within a matter of days, said Jolene Baker, SMART Plant Lead, Ciner Resources. Our mission is to give people access to one of their most valuable assets: their operational data. The creativity to drive customer centric solutions from our partner ecosystem is truly remarkable, said Aaron Pratt, Director of Global Channels at OSIsoft. By collaborating with Falkonry, we can help people unlock value from operational data, like yield improvement and deliver additional insights from their PI System. This potential is the start towards any journey to digital transformation. Falkonry pattern recognition software is accessible through plug-ins for many popular solution platforms, such as OSIsoft PI System, Splunk, and Microsoft Azure IoT so that Falkonry users do not have to worry about cumbersome integration or solution development projects, streamlining the time to value for customers. About Ciner Resources LP Ciner Resources operates the trona ore mining and soda ash production business of Ciner Wyoming LLC ("Ciner Wyoming"), one of the largest and lowest cost producers of natural soda ash in the world, serving a global market from its facility in the Green River Basin of Wyoming. The facility has been in operation for more than 50 years. For more information about Ciner Resources, visit http://www.ciner.us.com or call +1 (770) 375-2300. About OSIsoft, LLC OSIsoft is dedicated to helping people transform their world through data. Our PI System captures operational data from sensors, manufacturing equipment and other devices and turns it into rich, real-time insights to reduce costs, optimize production or make critical business decisions. The PI System can be found at work at offshore wind farms, oil refineries, mining sites, pharmaceutical facilities and control rooms around the world. More than 1.5 billion sensor-based data streams are managed by the PI System. Founded in 1980, OSIsoft has over 1,200 employees and is headquartered in San Leandro, California. For more, please visit http://www.osisoft.com. About Falkonry, Inc. Falkonry, a Silicon Valley company on the cutting edge of digital industrial transformation serving the G2000, combines Industrial IoT, AI, and Big Data to produce data-driven ROI. Falkonry democratizes machine learning for data-driven operations through its AI to discover, recognize, and predict time series patterns. Falkonry software enables industrial engineers to create process control insights from real-time, time series data to improve yield, quality, uptime, and reliability. The companys patent-pending core AI technology continuously improves as it analyzes more input data and expert labels. The Falkonry business model comprises engaged, global, diversified distribution and leading technology partners, including OSIsoft, SAP, Vegam, MDS Technology, Microsoft, PTC, PubNub, and Oracle. Falkonry is headquartered in Santa Clara, California with offices in Seoul, Korea and Mumbai, India. For more information about Falkonry and its products, partners and services, visit http://falkonry.com/ or call +1 (408) 461-9286. Falkonry Press Contact: Media Relations pr(at)falkonry(dot)com +1 (408) 461-9286 Through its broad network of international relations and specific services including access to finance, hubs in key markets and biz support EIT Digital can help innovative companies to scale up to a European and world-wide dimension. Italia Startup, the professional association of Italian startups and EIT Digital - the leading pan-European organization promoting entrepreneurship and digitisation join forces, by signing a Memorandum of Collaboration representing an important step forward for the Italian innovation ecosystem. The former will bring into the agreement the skills and the expertise developed in several years of activity and a subscriber base of over 2,000 associates; the latter, a network of more than 130 international partners, including corporations, SMEs, startups, Universities and research centres. The goal: helping the Italian innovation ecosystem to play an increasingly important role in the international landscape, both by fostering the Italian innovative firms access to European markets and by making the Bel Paese a more attractive destination for tech companies, investors and talents coming from abroad. We are happy to announce the partnership with EIT Digital, certain as we are that this collaboration will be able to strengthen the Italian startup ecosystem, encouraging greater openness towards the European landscape, Italia Startups president, Marco Bicocchi Pichi says. This collaboration project is part of several activities that, as Italia Startup, we are bringing forward as a path to internationalisation, a key component of the associations mission. Our goal is to network with the best European actors in this sector, and facilitate the access to markets and capitals by young innovative Italian companies by collaborating with corporations, Universities and the whole national startup ecosystem. Among the joint activities to be carried forward included in the Memorandum, it is worth mentioning: Identifying best in class Italian scaleups in order to offer them a tailored support plan for internationalization based on the services outlined in EIT Digital Accelerator. Stimulating scaleup entrepreneurs to internationalize in Europe and beyond. Collaborate on the trends and opportunities linked to bridge the European and Italian startup/scaleup ecosystems. Through its broad network of international relations and specific services including access to finance, hubs in key markets and biz support EIT Digital can help innovative companies to scale up to a European and world-wide dimension, EIT Digitals director Roberto Saracco says. In our experience, most companies are looking at Germany, France and UK to expand their reach. As Italian Node we are working, through our biz support team and our national partners and stakeholders to promote the attractiveness of Italy, he adds. Positive examples of Italian startups that were able to succeed in foreign markets and of foreign companies that were able to access the Italian one, born out of individual collaborations among Italia Startup and EIT Digital, already exist. For instance, ClouDesire, a marketplace of software and B2B services whose CEO and co-founder Eddy Fioretti is also a member of the board of Italia Startup, belongs to the first bunch. As for ClouDesire, the project with EIT Digital has allowed us to establish, thanks also to the support of our business developer Andrea Conti, new contacts in foreign markets, by financing some missions and facilitating meetings with important international companies, to which we proposed our services, but also with vendors that propose interesting products for our marketplace. We have also started to explore how to access public international funds through ad hoc consortiums and we had some exploratory meetings with international VCs, Fioretti says. Konux, a German startup which uses sensors and artificial intelligence to optimize industrial processes, thanks to the EITs support has found fertile ground to expand its business in Italy. EIT Digital has been our partner ever since we won the EIT Digital Challenge in 2014. Over the years, we've had the chance to profit from EIT Digital's wide network and have generated valuable contacts to industry experts and potential customers as well as growing our brand awareness, Konuxs CEO Andreas Kunze says. The intent of Italia Startup and EIT Digital and the goal of the memorandum, is to systematize and multiply positive examples of collaboration like those mentioned above, creating favourable entrepreneurial opportunities in Italy and abroad, both for Italian companies and for international ones. The operational details of the collaboration will be identified in specific agreements between the parties. Italia Startup Italia Startup is the no profit Association that represents the Italian startup ecosystem, extended to all entities, both private and public incubators and accelerators, investors, companies and enablers which help the valorization, visibility and growth of the innovative startups and believe in the creation of a new Italian entrepreneurial environment. It aims to valorize and raise awareness about recently established entrepreneurial initiatives by bringing them in touch with the consolidated world of Italian industry, as well as with national and international investors, in order to strengthen and increase the competitiveness of the entire Italian ecosystem. EIT Digital EIT Digital is a leading European digital innovation and entrepreneurial education organisation driving Europes digital transformation. EIT Digital delivers breakthrough digital innovations to the market and breeds entrepreneurial talent for economic growth and improved quality of life in Europe. It does this by mobilising a pan-European ecosystem of over 130 top European corporations, SMEs, start-ups, universities and research institutes. As a Knowledge and Innovation Community of the European Institute of Innovation and Technology, EIT Digital is focused on entrepreneurship and is at the forefront of integrating education, research and business by bringing together students, researchers, engineers, business developers and entrepreneurs. This is done in its pan-European network of Co-Location Centres in Berlin, Budapest, Eindhoven, Helsinki, London, Madrid, Paris, Stockholm, Trento as well as a hub in Silicon Valley. CONIX is committed to helping the industry minimize the negative impact of changes in the payments landscape. As faster payment methods evolve, we feel it is crucial that our products support real-time processing. CONIX Systems, Inc. (CONIX), a leading provider of technology solutions to the financial industry, announced that it is supporting real-time transaction processing in its Detective Suite and TCMx solutions. The financial industry in the U.S. is seeking to address the growing market demand for transferring funds in real-time for purchases and other types of monetary transactions. Businesses and consumers alike are exploring alternatives for faster transfer of funds. In addition to driving new payment types, this industry push toward real-time payment processing is also driving faster processing of traditional payments, such as checks, debit, and ACH. CONIX is committed to helping the industry minimize the negative impact of changes in the payments landscape, says Mike Charles, CONIX CEO. As faster payment methods evolve, we feel it is crucial that our products support real-time processing. CONIXs server-based Detective Suite products are designed to help financial institutions decrease payment risk and meet regulatory guidelines for high-risk payment offerings. The Suite includes Fraud Detective for identifying fraudulent payments Dupe Detective for identifying duplicate payments Risk Detective for rating customer risk and eligibility for products and services Cross-Bank Inquiry for identifying fraudulent and duplicate payments across financial institutions CONIXs TCMx product is the companys next generation bank settlement solution. Its legacy product, TCM, has been used by many of the largest U.S. financial institutions for over 20 years for settlement of their payment transactions. We built on our experience with TCM to help financial institutions address the challenges of todays environment. The settlement process has become increasingly complex as the number of payment types, channels, and platforms expands, explains Charles. Banks and credit unions are also challenged with adding real-time transactions to their settlement processes. TCMx is a server-based solution that supports payments of all types across different channels and platforms, as well as batch and real-time transactions. CONIXs Fraud Detective and Dupe Detective products have provided real-time inquiry capabilities for some time now. Bank systems, such as Teller, ATM, mobile, or remote deposit, can inquire on the status of a payment at any point in time and take action accordingly, such as whether to release, hold, or limit the availability of funds. According to Steve Fortson, CONIX Director of Sales, financial institutions that are not yet positioned to accommodate real-time payment processing can benefit from real-time inquiry. By inquiring against our fraud and duplicate detection solutions in real-time, financial institutions are able to make quicker, more informed funds availability decisions on high-risk deposits, states Fortson. In addition, when financial institutions combine our fraud and duplicate detection solutions with Risk Detective, they benefit from the capability of accessing customers risk scores in real-time for handling suspect payments. This helps institutions identify fraud more accurately and reduce false positives that might adversely affect their customers. About CONIX Systems, Inc. CONIX is a leader in providing payment processing software and related services to the financial services industry. Founded in 1992, the company is headquartered in Townshend, Vermont with offices throughout the United States. For more information about CONIX and its products, contact us at (800) 332-1861 or sales(at)conix.com. Navitas Semiconductor today announced the immediate availability of production qualified iDrive Gallium Nitride (GaN) Power ICs using the companys proprietary AllGaN technology. The NV6131, NV6105 & NV6115 offer a high-efficiency 650V, 160mOhm power FET with increasing integration of digital and analog circuits, leading to ground breaking speed, energy efficiency, power density and reduced system cost. GaN can enable up to 100x higher frequencies than silicon, but driving, controlling & protecting such high-speed power devices has been an industry challenge that has limited adoption. By integrating these critical digital and analog circuits monolithically with the GaN power device, these system level problems have been eliminated. Navitas GaN Power ICs with iDrive guarantee optimized & robust performance for any application. A 10-100x increase in system operating frequency is combined with higher efficiencies to enable up to a 5x increase in power densities and 20% lower system costs. GaN Power ICs, with the monolithic integration of logic, analog & power, represent an industry breakthrough that will change the landscape of power electronics as we know it, explained Navitas CEO Gene Sheridan. By integrating all gate-drive-related circuitry, virtually all frequency-related power losses are eliminated, opening the door to significant frequency and efficiency gains. We anticipate a major upgrade cycle in mobile fast chargers, thin TVs, high-efficiency data centers, LED lighting, solar and electric vehicle markets as this new high-speed revolution in power electronics gets underway, Sheridan added. The Center for Power Electronics Systems (CPES) at Virginia Tech has been pioneering the advancement of high-frequency power systems for over three decades, explains Dr. Fred Lee, the universitys distinguished and globally recognized professor. The invention of GaN power ICs represents a major industry breakthrough and is a critical ingredient to make high-speed, high-efficiency power systems a reality. This is an exciting time for the power industry, Lee concluded. Leading power semiconductor market researcher, Dr. Hong Lin at Yole Developpement, goes on to explain, it has been well-recognized that GaN has the potential to displace a large percentage of the $15B power silicon market, but adoption has been partially limited by the system challenges in cost-effectively driving and controlling the GaN power device at high speeds. The integration of logic, analog and power in a GaN power IC solves this remaining roadblock and positions GaN to realize its full potential. The NV6131, NV6105 & NV6115 (in 5x6mm QFN) are available immediately to qualified partners. For full details, please see http://www.navitassemi.com Navitas will demonstrate the new NV61xx series in a demonstration suite at the Applied Power Electronics Conference (APEC) March 26th 30th, 2017 in Tampa, Florida, USA. Please contact +1 ThinkGaNIC (+1 844-654-2642) to book a review. About Navitas: Navitas Semiconductor Inc. is the worlds first and only GaN Power IC company, founded in El Segundo, CA, USA in 2013. Navitas has a strong and growing team of power semiconductor industry experts with a combined 200 years of experience in materials, devices, applications, systems and marketing, plus a proven record of innovation with over 200 patents among its founders. The proprietary AllGaN process design kit monolithically integrates the highest performance GaN FETs with logic and analog circuits. Navitas GaN Power ICs enable smaller, higher energy efficient and lower cost power for mobile, consumer, enterprise and new energy markets. Over 25 Navitas patents are granted or pending. Navitas Semiconductor, Navitas logo, iDrive and AllGaN are trademarks or registered trademarks of Navitas Semiconductor, Inc. All other brands, product names and marks are or may be trademarks or registered trademarks used to identify products or services of their respective owners. Wildlife Warrior Bindi Irwin will be stopping by New York Toy Fair 2017 where she will be signing autographs and taking photos with fans. Irwin is the voice of Educational Insights new GeoSafari Jr. Talking Microscope, which will hit stores in June 2017. The recent Dancing with the Stars winner will be greeting fans inside Educational Insights booth, #425, from 2-4 pm on Sunday, February 19, 2017. The toy manufacturer, which encourages children to learn through play, will also have a larger-than-life replica of the Talking Microscope to which Irwin lends her voice inside their Toy Fair booth. The Australian teen is following in her late fathers footsteps, continuing his conservation efforts worldwide, teaching children about nature and wildlife. Irwins own love of nature and wildlife education is what spurred her to collaborate with Educational Insights, a company known for its innovative, award-winning educational toys. The GeoSafari Jr. line, which is designed for children 2-6 years old, is a playful introduction to science discovery and encourages little ones to get outside and explore. Come meet Bindi and learn what Educational Insights has to offer at NYC Toy Fair 2017! About Educational Insights: Educational Insights is a leading creator of best-selling toys and games focused on kid-powered, unplugged play. With smart toys rooted in STEM based learning and fun games that promote skill-building and development, Educational Insights was nominated for Toy of the Year in 2016. Their award-winning products are sold in countries worldwide and all major retailers across the USA. Founded in 1962, the Educational Insights is a subsidiary of Learning Resources. For more information, visit EIs web site at http://www.educationalinsights.com The Home Care Association of America predicts that people aged 65 or older will grow from 56 million in 2020 to as many as 84 million by 2050. But today, caring for the ever-increasing number of older Americans is putting a significant strain on hospitals, care facilities and familiesas Americas overall population ages, the number of potential caregivers isnt growing fast enough to meet the demand. Thats where companies like Right at Home come in, a leader in the in-home care industry. Backed by 471 U.S. locations and 76 international locations, the rapidly-growing brandwhich was recently ranked No. 1 in Senior Care by Entrepreneur magazineis poised to build off of 2016s momentum and reach more clients than ever before. "Our franchisees in the United States, along with our corporate staff in Omaha and our international franchises in the United Kingdom, Canada, Ireland, The Netherlands, Australia, Japan and China, are working together to solve one of the developed worlds biggest problems: helping the elderly and individuals with disabilities age with as much grace and dignity as possible," said Eric Little, Chief Development Officer. "As we continue to expand our reach and add locations, we know that we will continue to make a positive difference in the lives of families around the world. Right at Home separates itself from the competition by emphasizing both training and support, focusing on the Right People providing clients with the Right Care. With locations in eight countries and nearly 23,000 caregivers and more than 19,000 clients, Right at Home is able to incorporate the best industry practices from its domestic and international partners into its business model. Right at Home is also on the forefront of innovation in healthcare technology and working to intercept changes in condition through partnerships with multiple prestigious industry studies. Our work with Philips and Harvard Medical School demonstrates Right at Homes commitment to improving the care experience for families who need assistance caring for an aging loved one, said Little. As we work to improve the overall delivery of care in our industry, we are proud to be involved with these partnerships, helping make care more personalized and effective for decades to come. Twenty-sixteen was also marked by steady development throughout previously untapped markets. Last year, Right at Home opened 45 locations in the U.S., including several in new markets such as Chattanooga, Tennessee; Miami, Florida; Waterloo, Illinois; Lima, Ohio; Anderson, Indiana; Terre Haute, Indiana; Bozeman, Montana; and Issaquah, Washington. Now, as the brand enters 2017, it will continue to focus on increasing the availability of care services nationwide. Right at Home plans to open a total of 30 locations this year with a focus on cities like Jacksonville, Florida; Cleveland, Ohio; Norfolk/Virginia Beach, Virginia; Buffalo, New York; and Spokane, Washington. "With nearly 500 U.S. locations, 2017 and beyond will be focused on continuing to fulfill our mission of improving the quality of life for as many people as we can," Little added. "Part of fulfilling that mission is to help our current franchisees grow their existing businesses with new customers, and for us to recruit franchisees into the remaining markets that arent currently served by a Right at Home location." ABOUT RIGHT AT HOME: Founded in 1995, Right at Home offers in-home companionship and personal care and assistance to seniors and disabled adults who want to continue to live independently. Local Right at Home offices are independently owned and operated and directly employ and supervise all caregiving staff, each of whom is thoroughly screened, trained, and bonded/insured prior to entering a clients home. Right at Homes global office is based in Omaha, Nebraska, with more than 500 franchise locations in the U.S. and seven other countries. For more information on Right at Home, visit About Right at Home at http://www.rightathome.net/about-us or read the Right at Home franchising blog at http://www.rightathomefranchise.com/blog/. To learn more about franchising opportunities, please visit http://www.rightathomefranchise.com/. MASON CITY | A Mason City snowmobile rider who hit a stop sign while fleeing police faces criminal charges, police say. Todd Dann, 24, was charged with misdemeanor reckless driving, no proof of insurance, operating without registration and failure to yield to emergency vehicle. Dann was riding along Sixth Street Southwest near Willowbrook Mall when an officer tried to stop him about 9:30 a.m. Sunday, said Mason City Police Lt. Rich Jensen. He said the officer tried to stop Dann, who was riding between the sidewalk and street, because he didn't see a registration sticker. Dann allegedly drove the sled down the street, which had little or no snow, as he attempted to flee the officer, Jensen said. He said the officer stopped chasing Dann, but came upon him and his crashed sled a few blocks away at Sixth Street Southwest and South Polk Avenue. Dann surrendered without further incident. He has since been released from the Cerro Gordo County Jail. -- Molly Montag IWLA Conservation Director Jared Mott Im excited about this opportunity to join the Izaak Walton Leagues team and be part of the Leagues work to expand volunteer stream monitoring across the country. The Izaak Walton League of America is pleased to announce that Jared Mott joined our staff as Conservation Director. Mott will lead planning and implementation of the Leagues conservation work, including developing a national legislative and public policy agenda and engaging grassroots advocates in support of this effort. Mott has dedicated his career to conserving habitat and natural resources while advocating for public access to healthy lands. He spent four years as Policy Director for the Bull Moose Sportsmens Alliance, where he executed the organizations strategies for natural resource management, public lands access and protection, and sportsmens issues. Most recently, as Senior Policy Analyst at the Northeast-Midwest Institute, he worked with members of Congress and their staff to address Mississippi River conservation issues. Were excited to have Jared join our team as Conservation Director, says IWLA Executive Director Scott Kovarovics. He has the skills and experience in policy and advocacy the position demands. Jared also has a passion for conservation and the outdoors shared by Ikes across the country. One of the Leagues priorities this year is our Clean Water Challenge. Our goal: to monitor 100,000 more stream sites by the Leagues 100th anniversary. And there is an urgent need to expand stream monitoring. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, only 20 percent of Americas streams and rivers are monitored for water quality. Run-off from parking lots, backyards, and farm fields presents a serious threat to water quality across the nation. With potential pollution sources so dispersed, its nearly impossible to accurately assess stream health good or bad unless more stream sites are monitored more frequently at the local level. Citizen-based stream monitoring is a proven solution. The Izaak Walton League has the tools and decades of experience with citizen science to do it. Visit our Clean Water Challenge web page for more details. Im excited about this opportunity to join the Izaak Walton Leagues team and be part of the Leagues work to expand volunteer stream monitoring across the country, says Mott. Clean water is critical to the outdoor recreation that I love. I look forward to continuing to protect the places that played such an important role in my life and working to ensure future generations can enjoy the same opportunities." Mott holds a law degree from the University of Mississippi and a bachelors degree from Millsaps College in Jackson, Mississippi. ### Founded in 1922, the Izaak Walton League of America protects America's outdoors through education, community-based conservation, and promoting outdoor recreation. Americas housing market is in many ways back to the levels we saw during the boom of the mid-2000s, but the reality is much more complex, Mark Boud, Chief Economist of Metrostudy. Metrostudy, a Hanley Wood company, announced today the launch of its 2017 quarterly webinar series that will cover local market opportunities and challenges as well as how builders in their markets are responding to pressure and capitalizing on opportunity at any stage of the housing cycle. The first in the series is a National Housing Forecast Webcast slated for February 15 at 2:00 p.m. ET. Participants will receive a briefing from Mark Boud, Chief Economist of Metrostudy, on the state of housing in the United States, to include economic projections. Metrostudy regional directors will also provide an in-depth look at residential construction in the southeast portion of the country, with a focus on Florida and North Carolina. Americas housing market is in many ways back to the levels we saw during the boom of the mid-2000s, but the reality is much more complex, said Boud. These webinars will be the perfect venue to explore the local market realities and how they connect to the broader housing trends in the country as a whole. In addition to Boud, featured Metrostudy speakers will include Tony Polito (Regional Director Tampa/Sarasota), Anthony Crocco (Regional Director Jacksonville, Orlando and Central FL) and Jay Colvin (Regional Director NC and SC). Discussion topics include: National Update Mark Boud will present a state of the union on the current residential construction market The New Administration How will Trumps policies affect the housing market? Trends What are the key trends, forecasts and indices impacting the housing market? Housing Cycle Where are we in the housing cycle? Local View Metrostudy market experts will drill down on opportunities and challenges in the following markets: -Tampa/Sarasota, FL -Jacksonville, Orlando and Central FL -Charlotte and Raleigh-Durham, NC A Q&A session will follow the core presentation. More information on how to register can be found here. To learn more about the series or to suggest a topic, please contact Heather Knutson at hknutson(at)metrostudy(dot)com. About Metrostudy Metrostudy is the leading provider of primary and secondary market information to the housing and residential construction industry. Metrostudys actionable business intelligence informs investment decisions that mitigate risk and grow revenue for builders, developers, lenders, suppliers, retailers and manufacturers. Its the construction industrys only integrated data intelligence solution supported by the most extensive U.S. geographic coverage. Learn more at Metrostudy.com. About Hanley Wood Hanley Wood is the premier company serving the information, media, and marketing needs of the residential, commercial design and construction industry. Utilizing the largest analytics and editorially driven Construction Industry Database, the company provides business intelligence and data-driven services. The company produces award-winning media, both digital and print, high-profile executive events, and strategic marketing solutions. To learn more, visit hanleywood.com. Faculty, staff, and students of Broward College and Tropic Ocean Airways pose together in front of the airlines Amphibious Cessna Grand Caravan We are excited to offer students the opportunity to take advantage of our partnership with Broward College, serving as a stepping stone to launching their career in aviation, said Rob Ceravolo, Tropic Ocean Airways CEO. On Thursday, January 19, Broward College celebrated the opening of its new Aviation Annex, a 13,500 square foot facility, which houses four classrooms, faculty offices, and shop space at North Perry Airport. The launch of a new partnership with Tropic Ocean Airways was announced during the event. By joining forces with the airline company, students and graduates will be provided with a vast amount of job opportunities within the aviation industry. Within the last two years, our Aviation Institute has grown into a comprehensive program which offers students support from their first class to their first day on the job, President J. David Armstrong, Jr. said. The sky is the limit for what students can achieve, and the newly opened Annex and agreement with Tropic Ocean Airways are the latest exciting developments which will further create a well-educated and highly skilled workforce. The College marked the occasion with a ribbon-cutting ceremony attended by members of Pembroke Pines City Commission and other supporters of the institution. Guests toured the new classrooms and workshops, and posed in front of the Cessna Grand Caravan flown into the event by Tropic Ocean Airways. We are excited to offer students the opportunity to take advantage of our partnership with Broward College, serving as a stepping stone to launching their career in aviation, said Rob Ceravolo, Tropic Ocean Airways CEO. By extending the benefits of our partnership with Silver Airways and Frontier Airlines, students will have a clear path towards establishing themselves as well-trained aviation professionals. During his remarks, Ceravolo introduced three graduates of the Aviation Institute who were recently hired by the company. Audrey M. Wiggins serves as the airlines operations-dispatch supervisor, Gabriel Vasquez has recently joined Tropics Maintenance Team, and Jimmy Davis is one of their seaplane captains. Tropic Ocean Airways solidified its relationship with the Aviation institute in the form of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU). The two-year, non-binding agreement opens the door for potential job openings for Broward College graduates as future pilots, mechanics or as members of operations personnel. Other opportunities will include the creation of an internship program and corporate training plans, as well as future recruiting, career center involvement and curriculum development. These initiatives are important in strengthening the connection between business and industry with education, Russell McCaffery, Dean of Transportation Programs, Aviation Operations said. We are grateful to have supporters like Tropic Ocean Airways, along with the addition of such a beautiful state-of-the-art facility. Weve had a regular waitlist of 150 students over the years for our Aviation Maintenance Management program so this expansion was much needed. According to data acquired by the Greater Fort Lauderdale Alliance, the aviation industry is a multibillion-dollar sector in Broward County. In recent decades, Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport (FLL) has grown into a major transportation complex that now provides more than 139,000 direct and indirect jobs and boasts an economic impact of more than $13.2 billion, and the Bureau of Labor Statistics data reported the median annual wage for aircraft and avionics equipment mechanics and technicians to be around $58,390. Graduates from Broward College aviation programs have filled these high-wage, in-demand positions in South Florida for the more than 50 years. Established in 1966, the Broward College Aviation Institute is the only public facility in Broward County dedicated to the training of aviation professionals. The Institute currently offers Associate in Science degrees in aviation administration with four areas of specializations, as well professional pilot technology and aviation maintenance management. It also has certificate programs in airport management, avionics vocational, airport airframe mechanics, aircraft power plant mechanical and commercial flight operations. In 2016, the Institute marked another milestone when the Florida State Board of Education approved a new Bachelor of Science in Aerospace Sciences. The Broward College Aviation Institute is located on South Campus at 7200 Pines Boulevard in Pembroke Pines, adjacent to North Perry Airport. Tours and information sessions are hosted Tuesdays at 9 a.m. and Thursdays at 3 p.m. For more information or to make an appointment, visit http://www.broward.edu/academics/programs/aviation. Photo ID (High resolution images available via https://www.dropbox.com/sh/968puk8t6rs1s6t/AABQ-1jYM2FmlxG5fZVq5DyMa?dl=0) About Tropic Ocean Airways: Tropic Ocean Airways is the Eastern United States leading seaplane travel company that offers private charter, scheduled service and cargo services throughout South Florida, the Florida Keys, Bahamas and beyond. The FAA certified air-carrier was founded by Navy TOPGUN fighter pilot Rob Ceravolo in 2009. Since inception, the safety measures have awarded Tropic, the ARGUS gold rating for safety, a perfect record of zero FAA violations and a 5-star rating on TripAdvisor. The premier company has its own in-house maintenance team and facility, along with pilots who bring over 100+ years of combined flying experience in harsh and tropical weather conditions, who work together to deliver the highest level of first-class customer service during each flight. The factory-new seaplane and wheeled caravan aircraft can perform water-based, or runway landings and departures, making Tropic the ideal choice for travel. For more information, contact Alina Gavrushenko, Director of Marketing at 800.767.0897, extension 122, or via email at ashenko(at)flytropic(dot)com visit us: http://www.flytropic.com About Broward College: Serving more than 63,000 students annually, Broward College provides residents with certificate programs, two-year university-transfer degrees, two-year career degrees and baccalaureate degrees in selected programs. The mission of the college is to provide high-quality educational programs and services that are affordable and accessible to a diverse community of learners. For more information, visit http://www.broward.edu. Lying on the operating room table with blood transfusing into her body, Tanedra DuBose looked at her fiance, said I love you and took what she thought would be her last breath. The next thing the 31-year-old mother heard were the cries of her newborn daughter as doctors feverishly worked to bring her first child into the world during an urgent C-section. She gasped for air and it felt like we both took in the same air, DuBose recalled three days later in her hospital room at Baptist Medical Center Jacksonville, with tears streaming down her face. It was the most beautiful sound. They brought her up to me and I gave her a kiss. After that, I couldnt actually believe I was alive. It was so surreal. Her fiance, who she first met in the 7th grade on the track team at Twin Lakes Academy Middle school in Jacksonville, tried distracting her during the delivery by singing and playing her favorite country and R & B dance songs on his cell phone. Doctors at Baptist Jacksonville had been monitoring DuBose since December because of a heart valve problem. With her health deteriorating, they performed the C-section on Jan. 20, even though she was only 30 weeks pregnant. DuBose said she spent the day and night before praying and coming to terms with God that she may not live to meet or hold her daughter. She told her fiance to let their daughter know she loved her very much. She knew the odds. She had recently lost four great aunts to heart issues and signed legal papers two days before to ensure her daughter was cared for if she didnt make it. My aunts were always on my mind, DuBose said. I thought about my baby, my family and my fiance. In the end, if I was not able to meet her or hold her or kiss her, I knew her dad would be strong enough to raise her. I knew she would be born into a family that cared about her. Coordinated care DuBose was diagnosed with congestive heart failure in May 2015, after feeling shortness of breath and passing out at her home in Arlington, where she lives with her fiance. Doctors found DuBose has a leaky heart valve, known as mitral regurgitation, where blood flows backward and forces the heart to work harder to pump blood through her body while causing blood to back up into her lungs. Ultimately, this problem led to high blood pressure in her lungs known as pulmonary hypertension. She was monitored and placed on medication for her heart and blood pressure, she said. Deciding to start a family, she became pregnant in June 2016. But on Nov. 12her birthdayDuBose was coughing again. She thought it might be an upper respiratory problem from the change in the weather. But as days and weeks went by, her cough became worse and she couldnt keep food down or talk. She also had excessive swelling in her legs and feet but she thought it might be because she was pregnant. On Dec. 31, when she and her fiance had planned to be in Georgia getting married, she couldnt breathe and could barely walk. At the Baptist Jacksonville emergency room, more than four liters of fluid were removed from her body. Doctors said theyd have to monitor her at the hospital until the babys birth, expected in March. At times, depression set in. I would wake up not knowing what the next day would hold and would wonder if the only way I will feel my daughter is through my stomach, DuBose said. It was a scary time. Her hospital stay took a dramatic turn on Jan. 18 when the fluid once again built up in her body and lungs and she became short of breath. Doctors told her they would have to take the baby in the next 24 to 48 hours. It was a very tenuous situation and she started to deteriorate, said Kathryn S. Villano, MD, medical director for Regional Obstetric Consultants, who specializes in maternal-fetal medicine and was involved throughout her pregnancy. She had a mortality risk of 30 to 40 percent during delivery or shortly after. She is definitely a success story. Rahil Malik, MD, obstetrician at North Florida OB/GYN, who performed the C-section, said DuBose had several medical issues such as heart failure, anemia and large uterine fibroids that could have complicated the delivery process. We had to operate rapidly to make sure blood loss was minimal, Dr. Malik said. Coordinated care was the key. Multiple specialists of more than a dozen physicians and nurses were involved throughout her pregnancy, including maternal fetal medicine, intensive care, cardiology, neonatology, anesthesia and pulmonology. One of the benefits of delivering at Baptist Jacksonville is physicians are routinely exposed to medically complex patients and can coordinate care with multiple specialists, Dr. Malik said. Had (DuBose) been at a small, suburban hospital without these specialists and services available, she may not have had such a positive outcome. A beautiful rose DuBose said its been a tough journey, but she was never alone. Her fiance, family and extended family were by her side. The team at Baptist Jacksonville in Labor and Delivery and Newborn floors and in the Intensive Care Unit gave her encouragement and hugs throughout her stay, from nursing to housekeeping. It brought tears to my eyes. Its refreshing to know your life means something to someone other than your family, DuBose said. I dont have the words to express how this hospital, this team, this group of people have treated me and my family. Cicely Brooks, perinatal services director for Baptist Health, said she was very proud of the level of care the teams were able to provide DuBose, including teams in the ICU and operating room as well as neonatal care providers, OB staff and specialists. Everyone was on the same page when it came to having a safe delivery, Brooks said. Our team was able to pull everything together and go above and beyond to make sure she was comfortable. We treated her like family because she could be a family member. Today, as she recovers, DuBose steals moments with her new baby girl and shes grateful they both are alive. In the Wolfson Childrens Hospital Newborn Intensive Care Unit, she reached through a small hole in the specialized enclosed bed and touched her three-pound daughters delicate hand. She then whispered, Savannah. Its your momma. Hey, gorgeous. Her daughter is doing well, Brooks said, and continues to develop with the help of a tiny feeding tube. I always prayed and asked God what is my purpose in life. I never knew until now, DuBose said. I found out my purpose is to share my story to give someone else hope and to let them know it will be OK if you just trust in prayer. She is also encouraging others to listen to their body. I dont care if you think it is something minor, dont ignore the signs. If something doesnt sit well with you, go get it checked, she said. As she looks to the future, which will involve a repair of her heart valve, and taking her daughter home, DuBose and her mom have nicknamed her baby Rose because of her rosy color. She came from this dark place (a body battling health issues) and she blossomed into this beautiful rose, she said. To learn more about Baptist Heart services, go to baptistjax.com/heart. Women who are at risk should also consult with their primary care physician or OB/GYN about prenatal counseling with a specialist. Baptist Health has also joined with the American Heart Association for its Little Hats, Big Hearts campaign where volunteers have knitted red hats for babies during Heart Month. Moms at each of the five Baptist hospitals in the area will receive a red hat in February for their baby before going home. About Baptist Health Baptist Health is a faith-based, mission-driven system in Northeast Florida comprised of Baptist Medical Center Jacksonville; Baptist Medical Center Beaches; Baptist Medical Center Nassau; Baptist Medical Center South; Baptist Clay Medical Campus and Wolfson Childrens Hospital the regions only childrens hospital. All Baptist Health hospitals, along with Baptist Home Health Care, have achieved Magnet status for excellence in patient care. Baptist Health is part of Coastal Community Health, a regional affiliation between Baptist Health, Flagler Hospital and Southeast Georgia Health System forming a highly integrated hospital network focused on significant initiatives designed to enhance the quality and value of care provided to our contiguous communities. Baptist Health has the areas only dedicated heart hospital; orthopedic institute; womens services; neurological institute, including comprehensive neurosurgical services, a comprehensive stroke center and three primary stroke centers; a Bariatric Center of Excellence; a full range of psychology and psychiatry services; urgent care services; and primary and specialty care physicians offices throughout Northeast Florida. Baptist MD Anderson Cancer Center is a regional destination for multidisciplinary cancer care which is clinically integrated with MD Anderson Cancer Center, the internationally renowned cancer treatment and research institution in Houston. For more details, visit baptistjax.com. Darwin Lee Joins as TransVault CTO The modernization and enhancement of technological solutions that handle the complex task of policing big data and how it's surfaced is a significant part of my career scope, and I am thrilled to be imparting my experience at TransVault." TransVault, the leading developer of email archive migration solutions, today announced its significant investment in key new hires aimed at strengthening the companys existing capabilities, products & services roadmap and continued support of their growing strategic alliance partnerships. After 10 years in a leadership position for archive migration, I knew it was time to invest in a new quorum of executives who would help me continue to lead, whilst finding new paths for innovation. The team Ive assembled are bright, passionate, and exceptionally talented, and I am excited for this new phase in our business, commented Barney Haye, chief executive officer, TransVault. Darwin Lee joins TransVault as Chief Technology Officer and will lead the companys research, development and support teams. Lees collaborative spirit and over 20 years of dedicated IT product management and software expertise were essential elements when seeking to fill this post, positioning him as a more than just a respected leader but a strategic investment in TransVaults technological advancement. The modernization and enhancement of technological solutions that handle the complex task of policing big data and how it's surfaced is a significant part of my career scope, and I am thrilled to be imparting my experience with the talented engineers that have kept TransVault innovative and leading, said, Darwin Lee, chief technology officer at TransVault. Additionally, Spencer Wilkinson joins TransVault and Lees team in a completely new role for the business as Director of Product Strategy. Wilkinson, a Microsoft Certified Professional since 2015, previously worked for a leading Microsoft Gold Partner, as well as Airbus and Airbnb where he always had his eye on technology and innovation. Wilkinson will spearhead TransVaults future product strategy and push the business in new directions. Finally, Jon Garrett joins TransVault as Director of Partner Support Services. Garrett will lead partner on-boarding, support, and will work to empower TransVaults Performance Partner community. His remit will include optimizing the partner ecosystem's ability to deliver the highest quality email archive migration experience for all customers, by ensuring they have the access to our exceptional level of service and support engineers. My mission is to ensure that our products and services continue to evolve so that we both increase our partners ability to lead in their migration practice through revenue & customer satisfaction, and find new avenues for services growth and profitability. Spencer and Jon will both be critical in realizing this goal, continued Lee. Connect with these talented executives on LinkedIn, or visit the company at one of the many upcoming industry events that they will take part in, such as: CeBIT (March 2017 in Hannover, Germany), Microsoft Inspire (July 2017 in Washington D.C, USA) and Microsoft Ignite (September 2017 in Orlando, US). About TransVault (http://www.TransVault.com) Since 2006 TransVault has led the market with its highly specialized archive migration solutions for the enterprise. When businesses encounter technological change brought on by a merger or acquisition, a planned shift to the Cloud, or the obsolescence of their archive or storage solution they turn to TransVault to preserve accessibility to their business records. Over 1,350 customers from around the world have relied on the TransVault architecture to protect the integrity of their valuable legacy data whilst ensuring chain-of-custody, faultless eDiscovery and seamless user accessibility no matter the complexity of the migration, nor the archive stack. TransVault solutions are available through an accredited international network of partners with dedicated Migration Specialists certified on TransVault solutions. TransVault continues to achieve year-over-year growth and has become the preferred archive migration solution for global customers in all verticals, especially those with a heavy dependency on data sanctity and regulatory practices. American Cruise Lines announced that it will be a national sponsor of PBS most-watched ongoing series ANTIQUES ROADSHOW beginning today, February 6th. Now entering its 21st season, 14-time Emmy Award nominated ANTIQUES ROADSHOW features antiques owners from across the country bringing in items to be appraised by the countrys leading antiques and collectibles experts. Each antique not only has value, but is intrinsically tied to our history. These are the stories that make the series special and what sparked the relationship with American Cruise Lines. We are excited to embark on this relationship with PBS and ANTIQUES ROADSHOW, says Timothy Beebe, Vice President of American Cruise Lines. The 8.5 million weekly viewers of ANTIQUES ROADSHOW and guests of American Cruise Lines have a common bond. They share a passion for American history and culture, which ultimately makes this sponsorship a perfect fit. I am thrilled that American Cruise Lines has joined us as a sponsor of ANTIQUES ROADSHOW, says Executive Producer Marsha Bemko. The support of our sponsors helps make it possible to continue our search for Americas hidden treasures. Were excited to share the adventure as we explore history throughout our country! American Cruise Lines offers over 35 itineraries ranging from 4 to 21 nights in length including the Pacific Northwest, Alaska, New England, the Southeast and the entire Mississippi River system. American Cruise Lines also offers a number of theme cruises that highlight the rich history of the United States, including Mark Twain, Civil War, and Lewis & Clark cruises. American Cruise Lines aims to provide a comprehensive cruise experience with the help of onboard experts, guided shore excursions, and vibrant ports of call. Through this relationship with ANTIQUES ROADSHOW, American Cruise Lines will continue to honor its commitment to education and enrichment. About American Cruise Lines American Cruise Lines is the leading US cruise line, with the largest fleet of US ships. It offers more than 35 itineraries, ranging from 4 to 21 nights in length including the Pacific Northwest, Alaska, New England, the Southeast and the entire Mississippi River system. The line has been continuously recognized for its new ships and for providing superb service to guests and travel agents before, during, and after a cruise. To learn more about American Cruise Lines, visit http://americancruiselines.com/home or call 800-814-6880. Find us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/americancruiselines or follow us on Twitter at https://twitter.com/American_Cruise. There is a story circulating around the watercooler about a guy from Bucksnort, Tennessee, who sent a catfisher his life savings after a steamy back-and-forth on a popular dating app. The amount lost: $4,395.45, which was the supposed cost of airfare and visa expedition for the victims true love to get from Kiev, Ukraine to the US. This story may sound familiar, but It was actually made up. The reason? Too many catfish scams go unreported. As a result, awareness does not match the threat. Not that long ago online dating was viewed as a sad place where desperate people went to connect with other sad, desperate people. That is no longer the case. Any stigma attached to online dating is a thing of the past, with the Pew Research Center reporting that more than 15% of U.S. adults have used online dating sites or dating apps. A majority of Americans now say it is a good way to meet people. That said, the shame of appearing desperate remains, and thats why catfishers often get away with their crimes. It is not uncommon for military personnel to be targeted. A recent case involved members of Hamas creating fake Facebook profiles and luring Israeli soldiers with them. The goal there was much more serious than mere robbery: They were sending video chat links that contained a Trojan Horse virus that extracted contacts, locations, apps, pictures, and any files, and gave the hackers access to the camera and microphone on the victims computer. How to Avoid Catfish Scams Many believe they won't become a victim. Think again. Thats the rule of the jungle. Those who never trust and always verify are the safest though admittedly it might put a cramp in an active dating life. Here are five tips for avoiding catfishers this Valentine's Day from my book, Swiped: How to Protect Yourself in a World Full of Scammers, Phishers and Identity Thieves. Beware of romantic interest from someone who says they cant meet. The Romeo claims he's really American, but lives abroad right now (but is using an online dating site and contacting people in your city). The damsel in distress' phone got shut off. The "military man's" webcam wont work. Scammers always have a hundred arrows in their cupids quiver of reasons why they can't meet in person, talk on the phone, or use a webcam, and theyre almost all disguising the fact that theyre using another persons picture and a made-up identity to woo you. Don't get sucked into a whirlwind romance with a would-be Romeo or Juliet. Do your homework. Make sure the potential mate is more than just a few ghostwritten love letters and a models picture. Be suspicious of someone who always has emergencies. Once a catfisher thinks she or he has hooked a live one, theyll test their mark to see how far they can push the trust theyve worked hard to build. (It doesnt hurt that this can play into their efforts to avoid actually having to meet, talk, or be seen.) But while having emergencies is a fact of life, involving strangers really isnt and immediately asking for money is a major red flag. Never turn over personal information or pictures that would leave a lot to the imagination. Maybe this new "squeeze-muffin" will suddenly ask for a credit card number to buy a plane ticket, inquire about banking information, or request access to a Social Security or passport number. Maybe theyll ask for steamy pictures, or to engage in some racy video chats. While giving out personal information is enough of an identity gamble, dont ignore the increased risk of having personal pictures or screengrabs used as points of vulnerability for blackmail by a catfisher out for more than just titillation. Dont give someone money or help him or her access money. Alarm bells should start going off the moment any potential romantic partner asks for even a smidge of financial assistance. The first request might be small perhaps something to help take care of an emergency situation but most catfishers quickly accelerate their requests for money. They might ask their new mark to deposit a check or accept a wire transfer from a friend and pass the money along, but the money never arrives or the check bounces, leaving the romance scammer's victim holding the bag. Never click strange links or download files or attachments. Even the most heartfelt-seeming e-card can mask something more dangerous than an online-only romance: Weird links to unfamiliar sites or files could contain malware or viruses that could turn any computer into a keystroke logge, which would allow the fraudster to see passwords to everything (including checking accounts). Think before you click that link. If the catfisher winds up reeling away personal information and the victim is exposed to a scammer, they should monitor their credit and accounts for signs of identity theft. They can sign up for a free credit report snapshot, updated every 14 days, on Credit.com. Remember, Valentines Day is a time to celebrate love. Its a day for sharing intimacy and good fortune with potential soulmates, not sharing personally identifiable information and finances with a 400-pound hacker sitting on a mattress in his mothers basement. ADAM LEVIN Adam K. Levin is a consumer advocate with more than 30 years of experience and is a nationally recognized expert on security, privacy, identity theft, fraud, and personal finance. A former Director of the New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs, Mr. Levin is Chairman and founder of CyberScout (formerly IDT911) and co-founder of Credit.com. Adam Levin is the author of Amazon Best Selling book, "Swiped: How to Protect Yourself in a World Full of Scammers, Phishers and Identity Thieves". Pierian Biosciences, the premier developer of life science technologies providing treatment directing data to aid physicians in selecting the most appropriate therapy for their patients with cancer, has named Mark S. Gelder, MD, as chief medical officer. We rely on Mark to ensure the delivery of quality diagnostic assays: the immune-proximity assay, CEER, recently renamed PathwayINTELTM, and our drug response profiling assay, MiCK, recently renamed ChemoINTELTM, says Robert Henry, president and chief executive officer of Pierian Biosciences. Well also be looking for Mark to help us maintain our industry presence and guide the development of collaborative agreements with partners such as academic centers, pharmaceutical companies and oncologists. In addition, Gelder provides medical, clinical and scientific oversight as well as helping to define the companys strategic direction. Dr. Gelder brings more than 25 years of oncology clinical trial and drug development experience to Pieiran. He is board certified in Internal Medicine, Obstetrics and Gynecology and Gynecologic Oncology. As an experienced researcher and clinician, he has significant regulatory experience working closely with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the European Medicines Agency (EMA) and in various leadership roles at pharmaceutical companies including Pfizer, Wyeth, Bayer, GE Healthcare, Heron Therapeutics and Inovio Pharmaceuticals. A graduate of the University of Virginia School of Medicine, Gelder received his residency training in internal medicine at University of Virginia and an additional residency in obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. While at UAB, Gelder also completed a fellowship in gynecologic oncology. He is currently a fellow of the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology. Pierians PathwayINTEL is a functional proteomic profiling assay which provides quantitative information on the expression and activation status of proteins of interest to identify the true oncogenic driver and allow selection of the most appropriate targeted and/or biologic therapy for cancer patients. ChemoINTEL, the companys functional drug response profiling assay, provides actionable information to guide selection on the effectiveness of cytotoxic agents to enhance clinical treatment decision-making. About Pierian Biosciences Based in Franklin, Tenn., Pierian Biosciences is a privately held life sciences and clinical pathology laboratory company offering treatment-directing diagnostic data to support more effective and lower cost cancer treatment. The companys technology includes the ChemoINTEL and the PathwayINTEL Assay platforms. The company has laboratories in Franklin, Tenn. and San Diego, CA. For more information visit http://pierianbio.com. "We are pleased to have reached this important milestone," said Prairie Farms CEO Ed Mullins. Prairie Farms Dairy and Swiss Valley Farms announced today that members of both cooperatives have approved the proposed merger with overwhelming support. Both companies are industry-leading farmer-owned cooperatives and rank among USDAs list of Top 100 Cooperatives. The merger agreement was originally announced late last year, and is expected to close on March 31, 2017. We had a great business relationship with Swiss Valley for many years, and are pleased to have reached this important milestone. Much has changed since our cooperative was founded in 1938, and the merger reflects our purpose, which is to generate sales and profit for our cooperative members, said Ed Mullins, Prairie Farms CEO. "Consumption of fluid milk, our core product, has been declining for years, while cheese consumption has increased nearly 150 percent since 1975. The complementary nature of Swiss Valleys product line will help counter this major shift. At the same time, Swiss Valley is looking to grow their export business, and with the merger, they will gain access to many Prairie Farms products, such as extended shelf life milk and cream, he added. The combined company will operate under the name of Prairie Farms Dairy, Inc., and both organizations will retain their brand names, Prairie Farms Dairy and Swiss Valley Farms, respectively. The company will remain under the direction of Prairie Farms CEO Ed Mullins. Chris Hoeger, former CEO of Swiss Valley, will continue with the company as President of the newly formed Prairie Farms Cheese Division. Prairie Farms Dairy, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful dairy cooperatives in the Midwest, with over 600 farm families, 5700 employees, 35 manufacturing plants, over 100 distribution facilities and annual sales of over $3 billion. Prairie Farms is a nationally recognized leader in the dairy industry and is known for setting the standard for milk flavor innovations and producing award winning milk and dairy products. With headquarters in Carlinville, Ill., Prairie Farms distribution footprint covers over 30 percent of the United States; products are available in grocery chains, mass merchandiser stores, club stores, convenience stores, dollar stores, drug stores, schools, food service outlets and warehouse distribution centers. Prairie Farms charitable giving program, Our Caps, Your Cause, supports a variety of non-profit organizations. Prairiefarms.com Swiss Valley Farms, headquartered in Davenport, Iowa, is a division of Prairie Farms Dairy Inc., with five cheese production facilities that manufacture award-winning Swiss, Baby Swiss, Blue, Gorgonzola, Cream Cheese, Neufchatel, Gouda and Sweet Whey. Swiss Valley also produces pasteurized process cheeses, cold pack club blends, enzyme-modified cheeses and cheese analogs. Swiss Valley operates two subsidiary companies - Rochester Cheese and Caves of Faribault. In a joint venture with Emmi-Roth, Swiss Valley Farms also co-operates White Hill Cheese Co., LLC in Shullsburg, WI. Swiss Valley Farms has 400 dairy producer members in Iowa, Wisconsin, Northern Illinois and Southern Minnesota. swissvalley.com TytoCare remote examination and telehealth solution Examination findings achieved with TytoCare are on par with those reached by conventional examination tools. Tyto Care, a telehealth company with breakthrough technology for conducting remote telehealth visits and examinations, announced today the results of a study with the Schneider Childrens Medical Center and the Sackler School of Medicine that affirms its solutions ability to perform physical examinations on par with conventional in-clinic examination tools. The study examined TytoCare, a handheld device and telehealth solution designed to capture and transmit ear, throat, lung, skin, heart and temperature exam data to a physician to better inform a remote diagnosis. The aim of the study was to evaluate the accuracy and quality of the physical examination findings reached by a remote physician using TytoCare versus physicians using conventional examination tools, including traditional otoscopes and stethoscopes. The participants were 137 children aged 2-18 who were seeking care from the emergency department of a tertiary care facility. The study was conducted in a combined effort by Professor Yehezkel Waisman, Director of Emergency Medicine, Schneider Children's Medical Center of Israel, and Associate Professor of the Sackler School of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, and Dr. Assaf Sharabi of the Schneider Children's Medical Center. The data will be presented at the Israel Society for Clinical Pediatrics Conference this month and at the American Telemedicine Association Conference in April. "The results are clear examination findings achieved with TytoCare are on par with those reached by conventional examination tools," stated Professor Waisman. "Beyond that, the quality of the readings as well as the overall user experience received positive ratings from physicians, a great testament to the solution's promise to provide accurate and confident diagnoses via telehealth technology." Patients ears, heart, lungs and throat were examined and assessed by one physician using conventional examination tools and again by a second remote physician using exam data captured by TytoCare. Both the TytoCare results and the conventional examination results were compared and analyzed using standard statistical tests for agreement. In addition, the quality of the data retrieved and the user experience of TytoCare were evaluated on a spectrum from 1 (poor) to 5 (excellent), with adverse events recorded. Results showed a range of good to excellent agreement for all exams conducted using TytoCare and conventional exam tools, with a p-value <.001. The overall quality of the data and user experience rated above 4, with an average of 4.4 and 4.5 out of 5, respectively. The TytoCare device was found to be safe to use as no adverse events were reported. "The proven success of TytoCare signifies a major advance in the telehealth industry," said Tyto Care Founder and CEO, Dedi Gilad. "Never before has there been a comprehensive telehealth solution that performs just as well as a face-to-face visit with the doctor armed with conventional exam tools. By providing reliable, remote examination data, TytoCare delivers the missing link in telehealth, expanding the ability of physicians to reach confident diagnoses miles away from their patients." TytoCare exams can be done in real time as part of a live video telehealth visit or in advance of a telehealth session. The company recently launched its telehealth solution in the US market and is initially rolling it out through strategic partnerships with large health systems, physician groups and telehealth companies, most recently announcing a strategic partnership with American Well, a leading telehealth technology and services company in the US. About Tyto Care Tyto Care is transforming primary care by putting health in the hands of consumers. The company seamlessly connects people to clinicians to provide the best home examination and diagnosis solutions. Tyto Care has two new telehealth products, TytoHome for consumers and TytoPro for professionals. TytoHome connects consumers to clinicians for a comprehensive medical examination and remote telehealth visit anytime and anywhere. TytoPro enables clinicians to capture and share remote examination data, conduct a specialist consultation, or get a second opinion. Tyto Care was founded by Dedi Gilad, Ofer Tzadik and industry experts in 2012. The company has received over $19 million in funding from investors including Cambia Health Solutions, Walgreens, Orbimed and Fosun Pharma. See http://www.tytocare.com. Click here to see a demo video of TytoCare - https://youtu.be/bGfwKjbZNeA Media Contact Leora Katz Leora(at)headline-media(dot)com 917-724-2650 +44 203 734 1145 MASON CITY | While many North Iowans were home watching Super Bowl pre-game hype Sunday, about 40 demonstrators gathered in downtown Mason City to protest policies of President Donald Trump. The group, organized by representatives of the Green Party, stood in front of the bus terminal across from City Hall, waving signs and chanting anti-Trump messages. The demonstration was peaceful and lasted close to two hours. The demonstrators shouted "No wall, no ban, we the people take a stand" and "This is what democracy looks like," among other things. Chris Petersen, a Clear Lake area farmer and political activist, said Trump policies can affect North Iowa. "Look at what he wants to do with the EPA and think about what happened here last summer," he said, referring to residents' environmental concerns over the proposed pork processing plant in Mason City. Across the street from the demonstration, five people gathered in support of Trump, some of them carrying signs. One of the signs had an arrow pointing to the anti-Trump crowd with the message, "I'm not with stupid!" Among the pro-Trump group was Alan Lee of Grafton, who said he had one main reason for showing up Sunday. "I support our elected president," he said. Jergens Shanghai Building The Fullerton Tool Company partnership with Jergens Shanghai brings immediate benefits to our organization and helped establish our sales and support office in the China market. On January 1, 2017 Jergens, Inc. welcomed our newest partner Fullerton Tool Company to its wholly owned foreign entity (WOFE) in Shanghai. Located in a new economic development technology park in the Jinqiao District in PuDong, Shanghai, China, the 500-square meter facility contains offices, warehousing and a technical center featuring permanent product displays. Fullerton Tool Company, for over 75 years has proven itself as a dedicated manufacturer of quality solid carbide cutting tools, pushing for innovation on every level. Fullertons Advanced Solutions Team (FAST) is the foundation of their commitment to continuously improve, innovate and provide vast product diversity. The FAST culture is compiled of experts that specialize in the development of groundbreaking, superior carbide cutting tools while delivering unique high quality services for all of their customers. Bryon Shafer is the General Manager of the ASG Division and Jergens Shanghai facility. He noted, We are extremely excited to welcome the world-class Fullerton Tool Company brand to our operations in China. Additionally, Shafer commented, While our WOFE in China was established in 2006 to grow market share of the Jergens brands into the Chinese market, the business model has recently expanded to provide local market access to other US mid-market industrial product manufacturers like Fullerton Tool Company." Jergens can deliver a broad range of solutions in the areas of HR & Payroll, Accounting & Finance, Logistics & Warehousing and Sales, Marketing and New Business Development in China. For more information Bryon Shafer can be contacted at Jergens, Inc., 15700 S. Waterloo Road, Cleveland, OH 44110-3898 or 216-706-6400 or by email bryon.shafer@jergensinc.com. Fullerton Tool Company, Inc. Joins Jergens Divisions in China Market Fullertons President Patrick Curry, is 3rd generation leader of founder, Morgan Arthur Curry. Mr. Curry indicated: The Fullerton Tool Company partnership with Jergens Shanghai brings immediate benefits to our organization and helped establish our sales and support office in the China market. Mr. Curry also noted, We are beginning to see positive results from the efforts made over the last six months to further establish our presence and ability to serve this market. Our partnership with Jergens has made it a lot easier to deal with many of the compliance issues and having such nice facilities to share has made the job much easier. Having direct sales staff on the ground in China, Fullerton Tool Company has been able to generate many new business development opportunities and is creating many new prospects. Mr. Curry says, We are very excited about the potential growth opportunity this alliance offers Fullerton Tool Company. With the growth Fullerton Tool Company is seeing, they are currently planning for additional engineering support personnel needs in China through Jergens. About Jergens, Inc. Tooling Component Division Founded in 1942 to help American manufacturers operate efficiently, Jergens, Inc. is comprised of three distinct business units: Workholding Solutions, Lifting Solutions, and Specialty Fasteners. Jergens, Inc. is committed to helping its customers achieve leaner, more profitable manufacturing, and continues to add products and engineered solutions for an integrated approach to Manufacturing Efficiency. Jergens, Inc. is an ISO 9001:2008 certified company. For more information visit: http://www.jergensinc.com or contact Jergens, Inc. at 15700 S. Waterloo Road, Cleveland, OH 44110-3898. Phone: 877-486-1454; E-mail: info(at)jergensinc(dot)com About ASG, Division of Jergens, Inc. ASG is ISO 9001:2008 certified and has been offering products and solutions for the assembly industry for over 30 years. A complete line of torque control products and precision fastening equipment is offered through ASG Assembly, Industrial, and Precision Fastening product groups and includes electric and pneumatic torque control drivers, automated fastening systems, torque testers, work station accessories, precision screw presenters, automatic tape and label dispensers, the X-PAQ System, and more. For more information visit: http://www.asg-jergens.com or contact ASG at 15700 S. Waterloo Road, Cleveland, OH 44110-3898. Phone: 888-486-6163; E-mail: asginfo(at)jergensinc(dot)com About Fullerton Tool Company Family Owned - Fullerton Tool Company has been family owned and in full operation for over 75 years as they proudly manufacture solid carbide cutting tools for a vast variety of industries. Fullerton Tool has been located in Saginaw, Michigan since the company began in 1942 and they are the only location in the world that manufactures Fullerton brand solid carbide cutting tools. The company is a front-runner in the manufacturing of solid carbide cutting tools as the employees and processes are dedicated to their customers. American Made - Fullerton is currently led by President Patrick Curry, the third generation successor for the company. Even though Fullerton Tool is family-owned, the manufacturing strengths and capabilities within the company far outweigh other tool manufacturers. The genuine passion for manufacturing is evident throughout the entire facility as each employee strives to provide high productivity rates while delivering the best in quality customer service. For more information visit: http://www.fullertontool.com or contact Fullerton Tool Company at 121 Perry St. Saginaw, MI 48602. Toll Free: 800-248-8315. Locally: 989-799-4550. Fax: 989-792-3335. American International College It is a benefit to students to know that the courses they take at the community college level can be transferred to our four-year institution. American International College (AIC) has signed articulation agreements with Holyoke Community College (HCC), Springfield Technical Community College (STCC), and Capital Community College (CCC) in Hartford, CT. Articulation agreements formally partner programs between two-year colleges and four-year institutions. This accord between American International College and Holyoke Community College, Springfield Technical Community College and Capital Community College align courses and programs that will allow qualified candidates to make a smooth, successful transfer from these community colleges to AIC. An articulation agreement can mean time and cost savings for students by not having to take duplicate courses. In addition, articulation agreements help both the sending and receiving institutions boost enrollment and retention rates. At AIC, the program is referred to as Direct Connect. Direct Connect transfer students automatically receive a $4,000 scholarship in addition to their earned merit scholarship, before any need-based aid is awarded. This means Direct Connect students can earn up to $17,000 per year in financial gift aid, not loans, before being evaluated for additional need-based aid. And, unlike some other transfer articulation agreements, the Direct Connect program at AIC allows students to study and major in their area of interest while attending their community college. We are very pleased to have entered into partnerships with HCC, STCC, and CCC, said AIC President Vince Maniaci. It is a benefit to students to know that the courses they take at the community college level can be transferred to our four-year institution. These partnerships also benefit our institution, knowing that when we accept students from these three community colleges, they have already proven they can meet the requirements of college level programs. More information about American International Colleges Direct Connect program and other undergraduate, and graduate degree programs can be found online at http://www.aic.edu. With almost 400 registered shelters and rescues, we are going national and expect to have over 1,000 registered during Q1 2017. As our numbers continue growing at this rate, well be helping countless animals across the nation. - Ryan Vayo, Founder/CEO Past News Releases RSS Pet Adoption Site,... MycomPETibility.com is the first pet adoption website designed to match adopters with the perfect pet waiting in a shelter/rescue either nearby or throughout the US. The algorithm-based pet adoption site, launched on the East Coast early 2016, is now available to adopters and shelters/rescues nationwide, all free of charge. Founded by pet lovers for pet lovers, mycomPETibility.com is bringing much needed changes to the pet adoption industry on a national level: In an industry where over half of the approx. 7 million pets that enter shelters each year are either euthanized or wont find a home, we aim to increase the total number that find homes and cut down on the 20% of animals that may end up being returned. In a world where lifestyles are hectic, focus on pets greater, and digital solutions are the norm, we offer a website that helps to simplify the daunting task of finding a pet that will be the right fit for you and your family. In a growing digitally social world, we provide an online community for pet owners of all types to research, locate resources, share information, and help to promote adoption and responsible pet ownership. CHECK OUT OUR LATEST VIDEO PROMOTION HERE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OJFRTk1yQdc The CFO Alliance announces the availability of the 2017 CFO Sentiment Study Report. The 7th annual CFO Sentiment Study is based on a confidential survey of more than 6,000 CFO Alliance members, and other financial executives of both public and private, mid-sized organizations, across the United States. The 2017 CFO Sentiment Study Report highlights include bullish optimism regarding the economy, revenue, earnings, and a business-friendly regulatory environment. In addition, this years report identifies a 2017 CFO Priority List, specific industry insights, along with comparisons to prior year responses. The report offers insights from over 500 finance organizations regarding how they will deliver growth and profitability in 2017. The report also covers top finance, risk management and operational challenges, and how organizations will address them in 2017 and beyond. Other key topics include data security and information governance, the evolving role on the CFO, and board of director effectiveness. The annual CFO Sentiment Study continues to identify and bring understanding to a broad range of issues and opportunities that impact finance executives across all types of organizations, states Nick Araco, CEO of The CFO Alliance. The 2017 Report is a must-read for finance executives benchmarking 2017 plans and activities. The results of this important study will be shared at upcoming CFO Alliance Roundtable Meetings across North America (view schedule here). An Executive Summary of the study results is available here. The 2017 CFO Sentiment Study Report is available here to CFO Alliance members. Journalists may request a copy of the Report from Greg Wood at Greg.Wood(at)thecfoalliance.org. About The CFO Alliance The CFO Alliance is a leading network of over 6,000 CFOs and other executives in middle market organizations, both private and public. The CFO Alliance is both a collaborative online community platform, and the host of frequent learning and networking events in more than 15 cities across North America. In addition, The CFO Alliance sponsors several important studies each year including this Annual CFO Sentiment Study, the Annual Mid-Market Executive Compensation Study, frequent "Pulse" surveys on timely topics, and the CFO Roundtable Series Summary. For membership or sponsorship information, visit http://www.TheCFOAlliance.org, or call 484-437-2750. Kathleen Brown exemplifies the tenacity and sacrifice that we see so often from the military spouses with whom we are privileged to work. Career Step, an online provider of career-focused education and professional training, and the National Military Family Association, a nonprofit that works to strengthen and protect military families, are pleased to announce military wife and mother Kathleen Brown as the third recipient of Career Steps full-tuition scholarship in 2016. I am excited that as my husband deploys next month, I have a goal, a purpose, and the gift of making forward steps in my career, said Kathleen Brown. Thank you for this scholarship. Before becoming a military wife, Mrs. Brown enjoyed a successful career as a registered nurse for the Army, VA and Navy. She had worked hard to put herself through the nursing program at University of Michigan-Flint, graduating with honors, and thrived in the workforce. I was given opportunities to do things most RNs never will get to do, she wrote in her scholarship application essay. Amazing things. Hard things. However, between the intense demands of mothering two boys born within 14 months of each other and supporting a husband working upwards of 80 hours a week in his residency, Mrs. Brown made the hard choice to put her career on hold and put family first. Even so, she kept her RN license active with continuing education each year, always planning an eventual return to the workforce. With both sons now in elementary school, Mrs. Brown is ready to resume her careerbut discovered her six-year hiatus makes her unemployable as a nurse in their new home state of Maryland. Instead of going through the expensive process to retrain as an RN, Mrs. Brown sought the Career Step scholarship to apply her extensive healthcare experience and knowledge to Career Steps Professional Medical Coding and Billing program. I want options, Mrs. Brown said. Flexible options, familiar options I want to add this to my marketable packet to be able to help my family no matter where we move and what hurdles get in my way. I never give up, and I would like the chance to make a change I am certain the coding and billing certification will help me find a portable career I don't fear losing. The program will provide Mrs. Brown with the ICD-10 coding skills she lacks and refresh her knowledge of DRG and CPT codes from past medical office jobs to help her thrive in a successful second career. Kathleen Brown exemplifies the tenacity and sacrifice that we see so often from the military spouses with whom we are privileged to work, said Steve Tober, President and CEO of Career Step. With her impressive medical background and work ethic, we have no doubt she will excel in our program and will go on to do great things for her family. We congratulate Kathleen and are honored to help her fulfill her goal of a flexible, portable career. Helping military families succeed is a passion for Career Step, which been recognized as a Military Friendly School for the past six years in a row. More than 15,000 military spouses and service members have improved their educations with Career Steps programs, many leveraging Career Steps MyCAA-approved school status. Career Step is an original member of the Department of Defenses Military Spouse Employment Partnership (MSEP) program, and in December 2016, Career Step was recognized by the Office of the Secretary of Defense Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve (ESGR) for supporting employee participation in the National Guard and Reserve. Career Step and the National Military Family Association award one full tuition scholarship each quarter to a spouse of a service member who is either on active duty or is a veteran of the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Coast Guard, or National Guard. Applications are currently being accepted for the first scholarship of 2017. For more information, please visit CareerStep.com/nmfa. About Career Step Career Step is an online provider of career-focused education and professional training. The company has trained over 100,000 students for new careers as well as more than 100,000 healthcare professionals through its various continuing education courses. More than 150 colleges and universities nationwide have partnered with Career Step, and the company provides training for several of the largest and most respected healthcare employers in the nation. Career Step is committed to helping students and practicing healthcare professionals alike gain the skills they need to be successful in the workplaceimproving lives, advancing careers and driving business results through education. More information can be found at http://www.careerstep.com or 1-800-246-7836. About National Military Family Association The National Military Family Association is the leading nonprofit dedicated to serving the families who stand behind the uniform. Since 1969, NMFA has worked to strengthen and protect millions of families through its advocacy and programs. They provide spouse scholarships, camps for military kids, and retreats for families reconnecting after deployment and for the families of the wounded, ill, or injured. NMFA serves the families of the currently serving, retired, wounded or fallen members of the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, Coast Guard, and Commissioned Corps of the USPHS and NOAA. To get involved or to learn more, visit http://www.MilitaryFamily.org. Buzzies are non-invasive, wearable devices that use patent-pending neuroscience technology to not only relieve stress and anxiety, but also improve focus, performance and more. It is part of our mission at The Touchpoint Solution to be able to provide assistance wherever possible for people to have access to our game-changing technology. The Touchpoint Solution CEO Vicki Mayo will present one of the companys first international crowdfunding campaign winners in Manila, Philippines this week. The Touchpoint Solution is the company behind Buzzies, a new wearable technology that can reduce stress and anxiety in as few as 30 seconds. Lauriel Lambon is a teenage boy who dreams of becoming a ship captain some day. Lauriel was diagnosed with autism when he was four years old. His mother, Aileen, nominated him for assistance in raising the $239 needed to purchase a set of Buzzies. Aileen wrote about Lauriels passion and fascination for ships and the sea, and his ultimate dream in her crowdfunding campaign. For four years in a row he always had sleepless nights thus affecting all of us in the family. He becomes an over thinker about future events and his plans. He also got frustrated when he had realized that his dream of becoming a ship captain would not come into reality. He became aware of some of his academic limitations and that added to his anxiety. But he is a very sociable person. He loves to talk to people and is excited to join events where there are a lot of people, said Aileen Lambon. Lauriels campaign recently funded and Mayo decided to make the trip to personally deliver his Buzzies. Mayo will meet with Lauriel and Aileen on Wednesday, Feb. 8 in Manila. It is part of our mission at The Touchpoint Solution to be able to provide assistance wherever possible for people to have access to our game-changing technology, said Mayo. We are able to do this through our scholarship program, which has already funded more than $30,000 in Buzzies to individuals and families in need, and now through our individual crowdfunding campaigns. Our goal is to grow the company to a point where we can giveaway one set of Buzzies for every two sets we sell. Mayo also said that The Touchpoint Solution is actively moving into the Philippines market as the company has already received significant interest from customers in the area. Launched in December of 2016, Buzzies are non-invasive, wearable devices that use patent-pending neuroscience technology, called BLAST (bilateral alternating stimulationtactile), to relieve stress and anxiety, as well as improve focus, reduce cravings, improve performance, man-age anger, reduce sensory overload and better enable sleep. BLAST works to interfere with the bodys Fight, Flight or Freeze (F3) response to stress and anxiety. The F3 system depletes the body of energy, mental strength and overall quality of life. When the F3 system is activated, all non-essential functions in the body shut down, such as logic and reason. BLAST technology can help bring the body into a calmer state. Buzzies technology is designed to work for anyone, but has been shown to be especially beneficial for gifted children or those with autism or ADHD, working professionals, First Responders, and parents who want a cost-effective solution to help diminish stress in real-time. Buzzies are worn on the right and left side of the body, but do not need to be touching skin to work. Wearers use the Buzzies App to turn on the vibrating units and choose one of the six pre-sets for sleep, focus, cravings, calm, performance or anger. Individual settings can also be easily customized. Buzzies are available for purchase at http://www.buzzies.com. A set costs $239 and includes two Buzzies devices (one for each side of the body), charger, charging cables, clips and watchband attachments. About The Touchpoint Solution Neuropsychologist Dr. Amy Serin and child advocate Vicki Mayo founded The Touchpoint Solution in late 2015 with the mission of bringing relief to the millions of people who suffer from stress and anxiety. Over the last decade, Dr. Serins work in therapy and neuroscience led to the discovery that a component of successful PTSD treatment could be used as a stand-alone product for a range of individuals whose stress and intensities hamper performance, relaxation, sleep, and their ability to cope with sensory stimuli. Dr. Serin used quantitative electroencephalogram data, existing neuroscientific research, and archival data to quantify significant brain changes after just seconds of use. Dr. Serin recognized that this method was too powerful a treatment to be confined to doctors' offices due to its effectiveness and simplicity and partnered with long-time friend and child advocate Vicki Mayo to bring the Buzzies to the world. For more information please visit http://www.thetouchpointsolution.com About Buzzies Buzzies are non-invasive, wearable devices that use patent-pending neuroscience technology to relieve stress and anxiety, improve focus, reduce cravings, improve performance, manage anger, reduce sensory overload and better enable sleep. They can be worn on both wrists or can be placed in more discrete locations, such as socks, pockets, etc. Buzzies need to be worn on both the right and left side of the body to be effective. Buzzies officially launched to the public in December 2016 and are available to purchase online at http://www.buzzies.com for $239. Reduce risk with HIPAA-Compliant Texting and Collaboration We set out to provide incomparable simplicity for dental professionals who are now violating HIPAA law when texting within Apple and Android texting environments. Awrel, a Boston-based dental solution provider, today announced an enhanced user interface and new features to improve communication and collaboration in its HIPAA-compliant texting application. A first-of-its-kind tool created for the dental industry, the Awrel solution speeds information exchange among dentists, labs, academic institutions and dental supply companies while also providing powerful tools to streamline clinical and business workflow. We set out to provide incomparable simplicity for dentists who are now violating HIPAA law when texting within Apple and Android texting environments, said Arnold Rosen, DDS, Awrel founder and CEO. Weve had phenomenal response from early adopters who report increased productivity, reduced frustration and true opportunity to improve outcomes. Were very pleased to unveil a radically new user interface and added functionality for improved communication and collaboration. According to Rosen, email is todays standard for exchanging information. Yet research shows that across all industries, email has an open rate of just 20 percent compared to a rate of 98 percent with text. We founded Awrel on the premise of bolstering productivity while ensuring privacy by equipping dental professionals with an easy-to-use, always-on, secure texting environment provided at a low monthly fee, he said. Unlike todays commonly used email systems which frustrate many dentists, Awrel provides quick message, image and document exchange, intuitive workflow, and secure cloud storage in HIPAA-compliant mobile and desktop work environments, Rosen stated. Among new additions are: Easier-to-use interface: Awrels fully revamped interface replicates the look and feel of todays most widely used and familiar texting apps, easing use and accelerating productivity Extended reach: Awrel subscribers can invite unlimited non-subscribers and patients to participate in two-way HIPAA-compliant text messaging at no added cost subscribers or invitees File structure enhancements: Users have improved capabilities to create topics and specify multiple topics, providing quick and easy access to archived messages and files Message ownership improvements: Only message owners can add new members to a message thread, ensuring information sharing is limited to intended individuals Improved file management: New desktop administrative functionality to manage sharing and storage of large files (i.e. images, radiographs, DICOM files, CT scans) Improved archiving: Awrel provides ready access to information at any time without security risks; because Awrel is not a transient texting app, files are never deleted, but instead stored securely in the cloud Rosen, a practicing prosthodontist and respected consultant and lecturer in the dental industry, explained that the Awrel app is built on a 100% HIPAA-compliant business platform. This can streamline integration with practice management systems, EHRs, and third-party systems, and can also provide near-limitless opportunity to embrace the future of digital dentistry, he said. About Awrel Awrel offers dentistrys first low-cost, easy-to-use application for 100% HIPAA-compliant texting with message, image and document exchange, individual and group messaging, collaborative workflow, and cloud-based data archiving. The solution ensures HIPAA compliance when texting -- for dentists and dental labs sharing digital information, solution providers integrating chat for dentists and patients, device reps working with dentists and dental labs, and academic environments seeking solutions for private, secure texting. Built on a transactional business platform, Awrel provides a powerful environment to cost-effectively move into the future of digital dentistry and connected health. http://www.awrel.com # # # "CURE is proud to recognize and honor oncology nurses whose contributions impact all patients. Oncology nurses play a pivotal role in improving patient care. - Michael J. Hennessy, Jr Cure Media Group, the nations leading digital and print media enterprise focused on cancer patients, cancer centers and advocacy groups, has announced the 2017 Extraordinary Healer for Oncology Nursing reception May 4, 2017 in Denver, Colorado during the Oncology Nursing Societys Annual Congress (ONS) May 4-7, 2017. In making the announcement, CURE Media Group President Michael J. Hennessy Jr. said, CURE is proud to recognize and honor oncology nurses whose contributions impact all patients. Oncology nurses play a pivotal role in improving patient care. At the Oncology Nursing reception, CURE will have three finalists, which will include oncology nurses who have demonstrated exemplary compassion and expertise towards patient care. One winner will be awarded and receive a special prize in recognition of his or her service to patients with cancer and survivors. In addition, the reception also will feature a recognized keynote speaker, food, music and celebration of the oncology nursing field. The finalists essays may be featured in a 2017 issue of CURE Magazine, CURExtra or CureToday.com. This years Extraordinary Healers Oncology Nursing reception, will take place at the Hyatt Regency Denver on the Third Floor of The Centennial Ballroom from 6-7:30p.m. Registration will begin at 5:30pm until 6:00p.m. For more information on how to register, please visit: http://www.curetoday.com/extraordinaryhealer 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 Cranbury, 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. Civicom aims to empower market researchers with the right tools to keep up with key trends and emerging methods. The marketing research world is evolving at a rapid pace. There are new, agile startups that are introducing automation to streamline processes and eliminate the need for personal involvement in hands-on research. There is a rise in demand for development of analytics tools of all types text, audio, video, social media, blogs, web search and ad clicks. There is a perceptible shift toward conducting research only through smartphones, employing both apps and web-based tools. Many traditional researchers want answers to meeting the challenges of what these evolutions will eventually mean, as they work to keep pace with what clients are looking for. At the same time, upcoming potential revisions to government programs such as health care, and shifts in the global geopolitical landscape, are economic and political factors that in addition to changes wrought by technology are significantly challenging the research paradigm as well as potentially creating new research opportunities that can be captured. Civicoms upcoming webinar will focus on these key trends and more. It is critical for every researcher to boldly face the scope of potential change that has been gaining momentum and feel prepared to respond to it. This months webinar entitled, The Top Ten Trends In Marketing Research 2017 will be presented on the following dates and times: TUESDAY, February 14 @ 2:00 pm ET WEDNESDAY, February 15 @ 3:00 pm UK THURSDAY, February 16 @ 8:00 pm ET FRIDAY, February 17, @ 9:00 am SGT Interested parties may click here to register for this webinar. 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 the Civicom ThoughtLight Mobile Insights App, a qualitative mobile tool for collecting richer in-the-moment insights, and offering geolocation plus off line accessibility for places where there is no data connection. Civicom ThoughtLight works with both iOS and Android and is a useful tool for shopper insights, audio diaries and patient journeys. 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 Services continues to be at the forefront of innovation and new strategies in marketing research, actively participating in various conferences and networks that engage in developing new techniques with the latest technologies globally. Last month, Civicom served as a panel expert alongside other influencers discussing the findings of GreenBooks latest edition of the GRIT report discussing emerging methods, technology, and trends in market research. 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. ERINYES provides actionable, advanced warning that either eliminates or greatly reduces damages for each organization. ERINYES is a breakthrough, intuitive system with aggregated threat feeds updated in real-time. ERINYES identifies product offering details and posted threads from a disparate array of global sensor data streams including ranking and profiles. "With most cybercrime, cyberespionage, and terrorist threats rooted and processed throughout the DarkNet, a tool such as ERINYES is something the cybersecurity industry and counter-terrorism unit end-user organizations have been anxiously awaiting." states T. Casey Fleming, CEO of BLACKOPS Partners Corporation. He further states: "ERINYES provides actionable, advanced warning that either eliminates or greatly reduces damages for each organization. This is a significant development because the cybersecurity industry is predominantly reaction-based." The DarkNet is vast, representing 96% of the Internet with only 4% as the Surface Net or what the average, law-abiding person sees. ERINYES focuses specifically in the DarkNet as a highly proactive tool driving situational intelligence and awareness while reducing risk early in the lifecycle throughout the entire organization and supply chain. Many times, a nefarious act can be caught during the planning or early-execution phase so that countermeasures can be rendered with maximum effectiveness. With the world's largest database of threat actors and events, including all known aliases and legends, ERINYES provides motive, intent, capabilities, and profiles of identities and backgrounds of actors or cyber enterprises by identifying key attributes such as nicknames, IP addresses, email addresses, mobile numbers, social media profiles, location, etc. Access to ERINYES grants you intuitive, dynamic, real-time information collected via sensor data. The sensor data details the scale of participation and any group hierarchy which may exist relating to specific domains or IP addresses. By giving access to not only the products offered on the black market, but also communications from private platforms that malicious threat actors use, ERINYES delivers their data and identities. BLACKOPS Cyber executives will be attending the RSA Conference in San Francisco, February 13-17, and will be available for private meetings and demonstrations. Contact Etien Alcantara, for more information or to arrange a meeting. Follow us on Twitter. About BLACKOPS Cyber: BLACKOPS Cyber, Inc. is the only commercial cybersecurity company targeting proactive and actionable intelligence in the DarkNet. The company combines intellectual property, experts and technology to the successful tracking, capture, prosecution, and subsequent conviction of threat actors on a global basis. Staffed with key industry veterans and former senior government executives, we provide cutting-edge, actionable intelligence and support to both commercial enterprises and government agencies worldwide. BLACKOPS Cyber, Inc. is a division of BLACKOPS Partners Corporation.Check out our recent article in United States Cybersecurity magazine About BLACKOPS Partners: BLACKOPS Partners Corporation - The leading cyber intelligence and strategy advisors to C-levels and boards of the Fortune 1000, government agencies, academic organizations, and research institutions. Americas top senior thought leaders strategically teamed from national intelligence, law enforcement, cyber, technology, information security, and management consulting (IBM, CIA, FBI, US Secret Service, EDS, Deloitte Consulting, McAfee). Check out our recent article in United States Cybersecurity magazine MASON CITY | A Mason City woman went bananas when sculpting a giant monkey's head out of snow in her front yard Monday afternoon. Janet Kostka, who lives at 1425 Plymouth Road, was assisted by 4-year-old Jed Graham, grandson of next door neighbors Jada and John Graham. "He loved making the nostrils with a big stick from the yard," she said in an email to the Globe Gazette Tuesday. Her sculpture should stay preserved for at least a few days. Wednesday is predicted to be blustery with a high near 16, according to the National Weather Service. Wind chill could be as low as minus 5 during the day and as low as minus 15 at night. Thursday's high will be near 19, before weather warms for the weekend. Friday is expected to be partly sunny, with a high near 42. Saturday, Sunday and Monday's highs are predicted in the high 30s to low 40s. There is a 50 percent chance of rain and snow Saturday evening. Ashley Miller Scriptel Corp Sign and Save for Google is a great addition to our offerings and gives businesses, schools and other organizations that use or plan to use Google Docs or Google Sheets a way to include electronic signature capture as part of the workflow, said... COLUMBUS, OHIO February 7, 2017 -- Scriptel Corporation (Scriptel), a long-time provider of electronic signature solutions and capacitive pen digitizing components, today announced the release of the ScripTouch Sign and Save for Google Docs and Sheets Add-ons. Beginning today, two new add-ons are available for free via the Add-ons menu in Google Docs and Google Sheets. Our Sign and Save add-ons give businesses, schools and other organizations that use Google Docs or Google Sheets electronic signature capture as part of the workflow, said Steve Sedaker, Director of Strategic Marketing at Scriptel Corporation. Google Docs and Google Sheets are widely used around the world as a cost-effective cloud-based office application suite with built in collaboration features but, until now, applying a signature still needed to happen outside the application. By using our signature pads in conjunction with Sign and Save for Google, users can eliminate the print, sign, and scan process in their operations completely to go 100% electronic making their document management processes more efficient. The ScripTouch Sign and Save for Google Docs and Sheets Add-ons enable users of Scriptels ScripTouch signature pads to capture electronic signatures directly within Google Docs and Google Sheets collaboration tools. The new add-ons will capture and place the electronic signature as in image into Google Docs or Google Sheets files. The signature position, line width, foreground color, background color, color type and size are all adjustable. Google Docs and Google Sheets are free collaboration tools created by Google that include a rich set of office application features and also enable users to share documents easily and edit them online with other users in real-time, including chat and commenting. Compatible with Microsoft Word, Google Docs allows users to easily format text and paragraphs with smart editing and styling tools. Google Docs also provides a wide variety of templates, including report formats and pre-made documents, to assist users in streamlining their work while maintaining the highest level of quality. Compatible with Microsoft Excel, Google Sheets features built in formulas, pivot tables, conditional formatting options, and many colorful chart and graph options. Google Sheets also offers a variety of templates for users that include budgets, schedules, expense reports, invoices, purchase orders, and financial statements among others. The ScripTouch Sign and Save for Google Docs and Sheets Add-ons join Scriptels extensive Sign and Save tools for simple, free signature capture. The growing list of Sign and Save tools include plugins for Adobe Acrobat Standard, Professional XI and DC; Adobe Reader XI and DC; Microsoft Excel 2007-2016; Microsoft Word 2007-2016; OpenOffice and LibreOffice Writer and Calc, and any TWAIN-compatible scanning application in Windows. Many of these plugins are available for Macs as well. Users can try out this new feature for Google Docs and Google Sheets today by searching for ScripTouch or Scriptel in the Get add-ons option under the Add-ons menu in Google Docs or Google Sheets. If you dont have a Scriptel signature pad, you can buy one from directly within the Google Add-ons by clicking on the Buy a Signature Pad button! If you have a Scriptel signature pad already, you can start signing in your Google Docs and Sheets today. ### About Scriptel: Based in Columbus, Ohio, Scriptel Corporation offers electronic signature capture pads and components based on its unique StaticCap capacitive pen digitizing technology together with software that integrates signature into cloud-based and locally-installed document workflow systems. After starting up more than 30 years ago as a specialist in digitizing and handwriting recognition technology, Scriptel has been focused on signature capture for the past 15 years with more than 3 million solutions deployed around the world. Our ScripTouch electronic signature pads and custom OEM components for the digital workflow and retail point-of-sale markets deliver high reliability with unrivalled support. Please visit us at scriptel.com. As we continue to expand the initiative to include a wider range of expertise and experiences, we will get a more accurate vision of how to shape the right standard. The call to develop an industry-wide standard has been heard, as more construction companies are flocking to echo their support to develop a data-based protocol for commercial and residential organizations. After the initial announcement made in January, the Baseline to Build On initiative has continued to pick up steam. The movement, in which Constructech is teaming up with some of constructions leading firms to establish a common data protocol, welcomes new additions to lend their voices toward this exciting endeavor. New members include several commercial contractors, residential designers, and development professionals overseeing some of the most creative solutions on the jobsite. The IoT (Internet of Things) in construction is blossoming, but interoperability hurdles are holding adoption back. With a common data standard, the Baseline to Build On Initiative will work toward interoperability and building a common data solution. Implementing a new data-based standard will further serve to be beneficial from a business standpoint, enabling all companies to create more integrated and collaborative solutions among employees, partners, technology companies, and customers. This can range from wider access to markets, providing economies of scale, and encouraging innovation. I am delighted at the amazing level of response weve received thus far, says Sam Lamonica, vice president/CIO, Rosendin Electric. Ive heard from a great number of my business colleagues commenting on the effort and in many cases signing up! These individuals will be participating in the Baseline to Build On event, being held on Thursday, February 23 in San Jose, Calif., at the Rosendin Electric corporate headquarters. This event, the first in a four-part series, serves to impact all aspects of construction, including architecture, engineering, fleets, machinery, contracting, as well as building materials and structural methods. With each event, attendees will gain a better understanding of how the IoT fits within their operations and how it will improve productivity, along with their bottom-line. All of this will culminate at Constuctechs annual Technology Day event to be held in August. When Joeris talks about differentiation in the marketplace, we often put ourselves in the clients shoes and ask, so what? In other words, why should the client care about what we are offering? The answer to that, to some degree, lies in our ability to harness innovation. The best answers to our clients problems are likely not in the same old places. Innovation needs to be deliberate, purposeful, valuedat the highest levels of an organization, says Gary Joeris, CEO, Joeris General Contractors. With that in mind, we seek opportunities to engage with companies that are of like mind and wanting to harness the energy of innovation. Joining Baseline to Build On and hosting the second meeting allows Joeris to accomplish this goal. The second Baseline to Build On session will be hosted by Joeris General Contractors in its San Antonio, Texas, headquarters, May 11. Its exciting to see more companies participating in the initiative. In addition, we are thrilled to have companies like Joeris General Contractors and Rosendin Electric willing to host these very important meetings. Its this kind of commitment that helps foster growth in the industry, all while achieving a united mission for a common standard, says Peggy Smedley, editorial director, Constructech magazine and president of Specialty Publishing Media. As we continue to expand the initiative to include a wider range of expertise and experiences, we will get a more accurate vision of how to shape the right standard. Joining the previously announced participants, new Baseline to Build On members include: William Klorman, president, CEO, Klorman Construction Andy Gajbhiye, director of construction technologies, Joeris General Contractors Ryan Windmiller, owner, Windmiller Design Build Tony Coronas, director of information technology, Roebbelen Gregory Czarnik, vice president, construction systems, Duke Realty Daniel Shirkey, sr. director of technology & operations improvement, Balfour Beatty Hitesh Dewan, operations technology manager, XL Construction Richard Evans, IT manager, SpawGlass Raynald Morris, CIO, W. M. Jordan Co. If you wish to attend the event on February 23, please email Lynne Flakus at lflakus(at)specialtypub.com for a registration form. About Constructech magazine Constructech magazine is where construction and technology converge. The publication influences construction professionals to unleash the business value of technology. constructech.com The Civilian Corps of the U.S. Army Medical Command (MEDCOM) will be exhibiting at two upcoming healthcare conferences in Las Vegas, Nevada: February 16-18 at the 22nd Annual Psychopharmacology Update hosted at Ballys (Booth #504) and March 13-16 at the Topics in Emergency Medicine Conference hosted at The Westin. During the two events, the Civilian Corps will be hosting two Focus Group Sessions (see below for further information). At these two events, the Civilian Corps career consultants will be available to share information about current and future openings within the behavioral health and medical professional fields such as Psychiatrists; Psychologists; Physicians; Physician Assistants; Nurses; & Nurse Practitioners, to include other medical specialty positions. The U.S. Army Medicine Civilian Corps provides rewarding civilian career opportunities to those who serve their country. To quote, Joseph Harrison Jr. Ph.D., Chief, Recruitment and Retention, Headquarters U.S. Army Medical Command, Civilian Human Resources Division, By filling these positions with qualified civilian care providers and clinicians, the Civilian Corps can continue their enterprise-wide impact by providing the best quality of care to our uniformed service members, retired service members, their family members, and other eligible beneficiaries. Civilians make up approximately 60% of the total Army Medicine workforce. Civilian Corps employees are not subject to military requirements, such as enlistment or deployment. Civilian Corps employees receive excellent benefits, competitive salaries, and extensive health insurance coverage options, to include flexible work schedules. The Civilian Corps has positions in more than 70 global locations. For more information, search for current job openings at our website: http://www.civilianmedicaljobs.com. Focus Group Session Information The Civilian Corps is seeking marketing and recruitment efforts feedback from behavioral health and medical professionals at each of the conferences. The Focus Group Session involves a one-hour working lunch meeting. The first Focus Group Session is scheduled for Thursday, February 16th alongside the 22nd Annual Psychopharmacology Update. A Civilian Corps career consultant will be available at the conference registration site on Wednesday, February 15. The second Focus Group Session is scheduled for Wednesday, March 15 alongside the Topics in Emergency Medicine Conference. Visit the Civilian Corps booth on Monday, March 13 or Tuesday, March 14 to register. Focus Group Session participants will receive complimentary lunch (to be provided during the session) as well as a $75 Visa gift card as a Thank You for your time. Contact: Colin Gerrity colin(at)agencymabu(dot)com | (443) 330-5497 Carmen Beauchamp Ciparick, former New York State Court of Appeals Senior Associate Judge, will receive the Ida B. Wells-Barnett Justice Award Tuesday, Feb. 7. Ciparick is co-chair of the global law firm Greenberg Traurig, LLPs National Appellate Practice and is based in the firms New York Office. The award is co-sponsored by the New York County Lawyers Association (NYCLA) and the Metropolitan Black Bar Association (MBBA). Ciparick will be honored at an awards ceremony and reception at the NYCLA on 14 Vesey Street. Named for Ida B. Wells-Barnett, one of the first African-American women to run for public office in the United States, the award is presented to a woman of color whose life reflects her spirit of courageousness by distinguishing herself in the fight for racial and gender equality. Ciparick is the first Latina to be honored with the award. Ciparick advises clients on appellate matters, litigation strategy, and mentors Greenberg Traurigs junior lawyers. She remains active in public service and serves on the Permanent Commission on Access to Justice, the New York Courts Historical Society, and the New York State Indigent Legal Services Board. She was also appointed by the Chief Judge to co-chair the New York Justice Task Force that examines the causes of wrongful convictions. Ciparick was appointed by Mayor Bill de Blasio to serve as Chair of the mayor's Advisory Committee on the Judiciary. Ciparick spent 19 years on New York States highest court and 15 years on the trial bench. She was appointed Dec. 1, 1993, by Governor Mario M. Cuomo, and was re-appointed by Governor Eliot Spitzer in November 2007. Greenberg Traurig has been at the center of some of the most important cases in recent times. Members of the Appellate Practice handle appeals in opposition to U.S. government regulatory agencies in wide-ranging matters, focusing on science, technology and health care issues and constitutional law. Greenberg Traurig has served as counsel of record or lead counsel in hundreds of cases in both federal and state courts, obtaining precedent-setting decisions in commercial and other contexts. For more information on the firms Appellate Practice, click here. About Greenberg Traurig Greenberg Traurig, LLP (GTLaw) has more than 2,000 attorneys in 38 offices in the United States, Latin America, Europe, Asia and the Middle East and is celebrating its 50th anniversary. A single entity worldwide, GTLaw has been recognized for its philanthropic giving, was named the second largest firm in the U.S. by Law360 in 2016, and among the Top 20 on the 2016 Am Law Global 100. Web: http://www.gtlaw.com Twitter: @GT_Law. We are thrilled to work with leading retail real estate companies like GGP because they recognize the intrinsic value mobile and digital bring to the evolving shopping behavior that is increasingly fueled by mobile, said Allan Haims, CEO of StepsAway. Continuing to bring retailers and shopping center owners together to drive brick-and-mortar sales via its in-mall mobile retail technology, StepsAway today announced that it is now deployed in nearly 150 regional shopping centers nationwide. As part of its growth trajectory, the company signed an expanded agreement with GGP Inc. (NYSE: GGP) that extends StepsAway to the companys entire portfolio of Wi-Fi enabled shopping centers. One of the leading real estate investment trusts (REIT) in the United States, GGP deployed the StepsAway Wi-Fi-enabled solution in 112 properties following a successful pilot of the mobile retail solution in 15 shopping centers. The StepsAway browser-based mobile solution, which does not require a download, provides shoppers smartphone access to hyperlocal in-store offers accessible via participating malls Wi-Fi networks. Through its patent-pending cloud-based technology platform, SAConnect, national retailers can create and deliver promotions across multiple mall properties and mall owners, from their corporate headquarters on a single platform. Retailers can generate time-sensitive flash sales that are valid for a short duration or offer chain-wide promotions that dont expire. Shoppers visiting any StepsAway-enabled shopping center simply sign onto their malls free Wi-Fi network and then view available promotions and offers via StepsAways SAMobile app by product category or store name. The browser-based app is compatible on any Wi-Fi enabled device. This years holiday shopping season validated that mobile and Wi-Fi are powerful marketing platforms for connecting shoppers with real time, in-mall promotions and influencing consumer engagement at the closest point of purchase, said Allan Haims, CEO of StepsAway. We are thrilled to work with leading retail real estate companies like GGP because they recognize the intrinsic value mobile and digital bring to the evolving shopping behavior that is increasingly fueled by mobile. The GGP regional shopping centers deploying StepsAway are in 40 states and major metropolitan cities including Los Angeles, Chicago, Boston, Philadelphia, Washington, DC and Denver. For a complete list, please visit http://www.stepsaway.com. About StepsAway StepsAways cloud-based platform is used by national retailers to create and deliver hyperlocal, real-time promotions to shoppers smartphones via mall guest Wi-Fi networks. The turnkey mobile retail solution is deployed in more than 150 shopping centers nationwide including premier GGP, Taubman Company and Macerich malls. StepsAway aligns with retailers digital and omnichannel strategies by connecting mobile shoppers to in-mall offers that drive brick-and-mortar sales, while also empowering mall owners to capitalize on their Wi-Fi investments and increase sales per square foot. Consumers instantly access StepsAway via a web-based mobile app when they log onto participating malls Wi-Fi networks. StepsAway is a privately held company, based in Los Angeles, California. For more information, visit http://www.stepsaway.com. # # # Seven Allied Anesthesia physicians are honored on this year's list. "...the greatest part of the Physicians of Excellence honor is that it... promotes the best quality care for our patients. Award-winning medical group Allied Anesthesia announced today that Orange County Medical Association (OCMA) chose seven of the groups anesthesiologists as 2017 Physicians of Excellence. The Physicians of Excellence program is a collaborative effort between OCMA, the Orange County Register and COAST Magazine. The list of doctors appears each January in COASTs Top Docs feature issue, which has historically been the publications highest-selling issue. Last months issue is in print and online, and the complete list of doctors is on the Orange County Registers searchable Physicians of Excellence database. The OCMA, in partnership with COAST and the Orange County Register, manage the Physicians of Excellence program, which recognizes doctors who have demonstrated leadership in medicine through research and education, and who are have consistently delivered high quality care to patients. The three entities honored more than 400 local physicians at an awards event earlier this year. The Allied Anesthesia anesthesiologists named 2107 Physicians of Excellence all practice in Southern California. They are: Dr. Jack Canton Medical director of anesthesia at St. Joseph Hospital in Orange and at Childrens Hospital of Orange County (CHOC); practicing at St. Joseph Hospital, Childrens Hospital of Orange County and Hoag Orthopedic Institute in Irvine Dr. Manoj Kulkarni practicing at Childrens Hospital of Orange County Dr. Jon Nguyen practicing at Childrens Hospital of Orange County, Hoag Orthopedic Institute, St. Joseph Hospital and the Newport Coast Surgery Center in Newport Beach Dr. Lynnus F. Peng Chief medical advisor for medical software company ePreop; practicing at Pacific Surgery Center in Costa Mesa and at St. Jude Medical Center and St. Jude Plaza Surgery Center, both in Fullerton Dr. Afshin Shabanie Medical director of pain management at St. Joseph Hospital; practicing at Childrens Hospital of Orange County, Hoag Orthopedic Institute, Irvine Endoscopy & Surgical Institute, Main Street Specialty Surgery Center in Orange and St. Joseph Hospital Dr. Francis Michael Sweeny Host and creator of medical podcast Straight Talk MD; practicing at Childrens Hospital of Orange County, Hoag Orthopedic Institute and St. Joseph Hospital Dr. Eric Wellmeyer Member of the Pharmacy & Therapeutics Committee and the Physician Health & Wellness Committee at St. Joseph Hospital, and practicing at St. Joseph Hospital and Childrens Hospital of Orange County Canton said of the honor, Weve had many of our physicians named to the list every year since Allied Anesthesia formed, and every year, this honor continues to remind us how important the physicians roles as leader, collaborator, researcher, educator and community member are. We couldnt be prouder that, again, several of our doctors are being recognized for their excellent performance in these areas of practice. But the greatest part of the Physicians of Excellence honor is that it supports a culture of excellence in the Southern California medical communityit promotes the best quality care for our patients. About Allied Anesthesia: With more than 100 highly qualified physician anesthesiologists on staff, Allied Anesthesia provides adult and pediatric anesthesia services to St. Joseph Hospital of Orange, Childrens Hospital of Orange County, St. Jude Medical Center of Fullerton, San Antonio Community Hospital of Upland, St. Marys Hospital of Apple Valley and many other healthcare facilities, all located in Southern California. In 2014, Allied Anesthesia joined with Fullerton Anesthesia Associates and Upland Anesthesia Medical Group to consolidate best practices in more than six hospitals and in more than a dozen ambulatory surgery centers. The expanded medical practice is dedicated to offering the highest comprehensive quality of care and the most cost-effective procedures in all of the facilities they serve. All Allied physician anesthesiologists are board certified in anesthesiology. The doctors also staff and manage the most efficient operating rooms in Southern California. Allied is a member of the California Society of Anesthesiologists, the American Society of Anesthesiologists and the Anesthesia Quality Institute. For more information, visit: http://www.alliedanesthesia.com. Media-Corps, the leading Canadian media solution for American agencies and marketers, is thrilled to introduce Hasan Rahim as newly appointed President of its rapidly growing business. Hasan, a recognized leader in the New York media community recently joined Media-Corps while founder Robert Laplante steps aside to focus on his role as CEO of parent company UNIVERSE (http://www.universegrp.com). Hasan joins us at a very exciting time in Media-Corps evolution, Robert, Founder of Media-Corps, explains, Hasan is well respected within the New York media buying industry, and he brings both deep experience and fresh insight to the table. Hasans thorough understanding of advanced industry concepts gives him the ability to weigh in on strategy, product development and direction. I couldnt be more excited to have him as our leader moving forward. Hasan, an industry veteran with over 25 years experience, is well known for his role in the rise of Audience Express, a cutting edge linear TV programmatic platform. He helped found and grow that company through its acquisition by Comcast in 2015. Hasan will be based out of Media-Corps New York office but will also spend time at UNIVERSEs Southern California headquarters. Media-Corps has been expertly delivering the Canadian market to U.S.-based advertisers for more than a decade, Hasan says. It is my task to add value to the already formidable team in place. We are defined by our preferred partners in Canada and by our dedication to providing the most effective, consultative and collaborative services to the media buying community in the U.S.. My goal at Media-Corps is to deliver continuous improvements by shining a bright light on our amazing team and giving them the tools they need to thrive. About Media-Corps Media-Corps gives U.S. agencies and marketers a complete solution for managing Canadian media duties. Since 2007 they have offered extensive research, strategic planning, and a direct pricing advantage to hundreds of agencies and brands. Media-Corps has offices in New York, Chicago, Phoenix and Southern California. For more information please contact media(at)media-corps(dot)com Easiest, fastest, and least painful way to find affordable photographers. Called Uber for professional photographers, by US Weekly With PhotoSesh, finding a photographer has never been faster or easierand at this years Annual Crunchies Awards, its creators got the chance to show off the new Apps impressive capabilities to attendees. They were chosen as 1 of 15 companies, out of over 800, to attend and demo the features of their App at the Awards show, held in the War Memorial Opera House in the heart of San Francisco. Booking a photographer in less than a few minutes at a crowded after-party caught the eye of Crunchies Awards guests. Whoa, that is amazing actually, one guest remarked, It would save a ton of time. And that it does. Called Uber for professional photographers, by US Weekly, PhotoSesh is a highly-rated app for iOS that connects users with professional freelance photographers nearby, using GPS positioning and calendar-syncing technology. PhotoSesh is a popular option for weddings, parties, baby showers, festivals and even real estate showings. The App does double duty by placing interested clients in the laps of talented freelancers. For hard-working owners Chris and Shari Seshadrithis recognition and invitation called for a celebration after attending TechCrunch Disrupt Media Conference in Brookyn, NY, last year . We are honored to attend what is basically the Oscars of the Tech industry, they gushed. The ability to network and demo to a naturally interested crowd at such a fun event is definitely a plus in the Startup world. Hope they booked a PhotoSesh for the event! Download the App About PhotoSesh This revolutionary service is available to consumer masses, but its development had beginnings in something much deepercommunity service. PhotoSesh was started by husband-and-wife-team, Chris and Shari Seshadri and was born out of a need for photographic coverage for their Charity and Non-Profit events. As PhotoSesh grows, owners Chris and Shari hope to expand donations of photography services to Charity and Non-Profit events all over the U.S. Their vision includes a community of freelancers and users who make time to give back within their respective communities. PhotoSesh offices are located in Hoboken, New Jersey. For more information visit http://www.photosesh.com or Download the App. West Monroe Partners, a full-service North American business and technology consultancy, today announced that Martin Glenn has joined the firm as a director in the Mergers & Acquisitions practice. Glenn has more than 20 years of experience in both consulting and private equity, including leading strategy and execution of major operations and technology changes across portfolio companies. He is based in the firms New York City office and will work with clients across the East Coast. Martin has extensive experience working with private equity firms to conduct information technology/operational diligence assignments that have positive impact on deal economics. In addition, he has worked with numerous portfolio companies to restructure distressed businesses, enhance revenue, reduce costs, and deploy new technologies. His experience spans enterprises in the United States, Canada, and Europe, as well as many industries, including insurance, banking, healthcare, hospitality, and real estate. Martin Glenn has earned an exceptional reputation as a trusted advisor to private equity firms and their portfolio companies, said Gil Mermelstein, managing director and leader of West Monroes New York City office. He brings a unique combination of technical expertise and business acumen and a consummate track record for shaping deal economics, articulating value creation roadmaps, and delivering high-impact results. His expertise and experience will be a valuable asset for our clients and our growing East Coast Mergers & Acquisitions team. Martin joins West Monroe Partners from Infosys Limited, where he was a leader in their management consulting private equity practicea practice he helped establish. He delivered due diligence, outsourcing, shared services, cost reduction, and revenue enhancement solutions across diverse set of industries. Prior to joining Infosys, Martin was a founding partner at Camber Advisors, a provider of strategic and tactical expertise to mid-market private equity firms. Camber Advisors, which he co-founded, provided operational/technology due diligence, strategy development, and implementation of business and technology solutions across a wide variety of verticals and business functions. Earlier in his career, Martin was a Senior Vice President with Fortress Investment Group, with global responsibilities for leading operations and technology diligence and transformation projects across a multi-industry portfolio during a period of dramatic growth. He executed operational and IT due diligence for approximately 100 deals ranging in size from $25 million to $6 billion and led numerous value creation roadmaps for portfolio companies. He also spent seven years with Deloitte Consulting in the Strategy and Operations group, primarily focused on the financial services industry. I have had the unique perspective of competing for work against West Monroe Partners. Ive seen the firms work product and am highly impressed with the people, process and quality of services delivered, said Martin. I look forward to the opportunity to collaborate with dynamic people and to help the firms private equity clients and their portfolio companies realize their respective performance goals. About West Monroe Partners West Monroe is a progressive business and technology consulting firm that partners with dynamic organizations to reimagine, build, and operate their businesses at peak performance. Our team of more than 800 professionals is comprised of an uncommon blend of business consultants and deep technologists. This unique combination of expertise enables us to design, develop, implement, and run strategic business and technology solutions that yield a dramatic commercial impact on our clients profitability and performance. For more information, please visit http://www.westmonroepartners.com. James Beard Award-Winning Chef and Cookbook Author Hugh Acheson This Windstar partnerships emphasis on innovation, superior service, intimate ambiance and the unique style of small ship cruising offers distinctive epicurean experiences while enjoying the cultures of France, Spain and Portugal. Windstar Cruises and the venerable James Beard Foundation are building an unprecedented travel-culinary partnership in 2017. The just-announced, exclusive partnership will result in scrumptious bites at sea for cruise guests and raise awareness of the epicurean delights to be discovered in ports around the world where the leading small ship line sails. Our partnership as the official cruise line of the James Beard Foundation solidifies our goal to support culinary excellence and innovation, and be the world's best small ship cruise line in everything that we do. We're thrilled to offer our guests exclusive access to the Foundation's diverse roster of award-winning chefs and cross-cultural culinary leaders who will help chart a course for extraordinary new menu offerings and dining experiences featured daily across our fleet wherever we sail in the world," says Windstar President John Delaney. Throughout 2017, the two organizations are expanding and elevating their relationship. As the exclusive cruise line of the James Beard Foundation, Windstar will be involved as a sponsor of the 2017 James Beard Awards in Chicago; JBFs Taste America events a two-day affair in 10 different cities around the country including fundraising dinners and complimentary culinary tastings; the JBF Celebrity Chef Tour a dinner series in more than 20 cities around the country; and Chefs & Champagne the James Beard Foundations annual summer tasting party in the Hamptons. The James Beard Foundation welcomes unique opportunities to celebrate the chefs, writers and restaurateurs who advance both American and international culinary arts, says James Beard Foundation President Susan Ungaro. This Windstar partnerships emphasis on innovation, superior service, intimate ambiance and the unique style of small ship cruising offers distinctive epicurean experiences while enjoying the cultures of France, Spain and Portugal. A hallmark of the partnership is a special themed food and wine cruise hosted by acclaimed chef, restaurateur, and author Hugh Acheson. Other major components include the James Beard Foundation Culinary Cruise Collection, a series of cruises throughout 2017 featuring James Beard award winners and nominees. Additionally, cruise guests on every single sailing enjoy culinary demonstrations by Windstar chefs of James Beard Award-winning chef recipes, and the addition of James Beard Foundation Signature Recipes aboard all Windstar sailings. Windstar is known for many things on its iconic small ships, such as personalized service, Watersports Platforms where guests can enjoy the ocean, and access to small intimate ports larger ships cant possibly enter. The line is also respected for its culinary programs sourcing local food where possible, bringing guests to local markets to shop with the chef, baking all breads on board daily, preparing meals to order, serving regional specialties that vary by destination, and simply providing better quality ingredients. Cruise guests can expect a variety of unique James Beard Foundation programming including: James Beard Foundation Signature Recipes Each night aboard all Windstar sailings starting this summer, cruise guests will enjoy a James Beard Foundation recognized chefs Signature Recipe on the menu. Possible menu items include Roasted Baby Beets with Tahini Vinaigrette from Chef Maria Hines or Seared Wild Striped Bass with Tomato Sage Fondue from Chef Michel Nischan. Culinary Demos Powered by the James Beard Foundation Windstars talented chefs will prepare James Beard Foundation recognized chef-created recipes during days at sea, as part of an interactive cooking demonstration followed by the best part: tasting. Marquee Food and Wine Themed Cruise James Beard Foundation Epicurean Explorations of France, Spain, and Portugal James Beard Foundation Epicurean Explorations of France, Spain, and Portugal will take place on the 212-passenger, all-suite yacht Star Legend, setting sail August 15, 2017. Chef Hugh Acheson, winner of multiple James Beard awards and current Top Chef judge, will delight guests with dishes whipped up from local proteins and produce purchased at market, a hallmark of Windstars culinary program. Wines poured by Sommelier Steven Grubbs (who has worked with Acheson for almost 20 years) will be stars in their own right, while perfectly complementing the varied and delicious fare from Windstars chefs and Acheson. Guests will enjoy cooking demonstrations, wine tastings, featured dishes and wine pairings at dinner, as well as ample opportunities for one-on-one interaction. An itinerary highlight for any wine or culture lover includes an overnight stay docked directly in the UNESCO World Heritage City of Bordeaux, along with scenic cruising up and down the Garonne River glimpsing the chateaus and vineyards of the Medoc region. The cruise also includes a complimentary evening on the grounds of a private chateau in Bordeaux with the chance to wander through their cellars. Ample French appetizers (like plump local oysters) and, of course, fine local wines are all accompanied by the music of a string quartet. A Series of Guest Chef Cruises - James Beard Foundation Culinary Cruise Collection On several more sailings featuring Windstars diverse portfolio of destinations including the Mediterranean, Northern Europe, Caribbean, Central America, and Tahiti guests will have a chance to interact and taste creations from James Beard award winning and nominated chefs with the James Beard Foundation Culinary Cruise Collection. Guest chefs will host an intimate cooking demonstration on board and will serve up a signature item in AmphorA, Windstars principal dining room. The intimate size of Windstar small ships allows for high touch interaction with guests and the culinary demonstrations and special menu items will charm guests on one sailing per month, beginning in May. The expanded partnership builds upon the 2016 inaugural James Beard Foundation Culinary Cruise Collection that offered a series of three food- and wine-themed cruises hosted by JBF-celebrated guest Chefs Matt and Kate Jennings of Townsman in Boston, JBF 2016 Humanitarian of the Year Awardee Chef Michel Nischan, and Chef Maria Hines of Tilth and Agrodolce in Seattle. The epicurean themed cruises were applauded by Windstars guests, media and industry experts and as a result, the partnership is flourishing in 2017, bringing the best of travel and cuisine together for foodies everywhere to partake and enjoy. For additional information on the James Beard Foundation Culinary Cruise Collection and private yacht-style cruising with Windstar, contact a travel professional or Windstar Cruises by phone at 877-958-7718, or visit http://www.windstarcruises.com. OSAGE | The Mitchell County Board of Supervisors voted Tuesday to be active participants in scoring future master matrix applications for concentrated animal feeding operations. The decision follows the board's Jan. 31 denial of two new hog confinements based on the recommendation of a nonprofit citizen environmental action group. The group, Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement, or CCI, told the board the confinements scored 100 points below requirements set by the Iowa DNR. A second public hearing on the confinements is scheduled for 9:15 a.m. Tuesday, Feb. 21. The supervisors will then reconsider construction of the two 2,500-hog confinements by Grey Owl Farms II, Inc. in southeast Mitchell County. It was the first application the county has denied. Mitchell County officials say they have relied on applicants scoring their own master matrix applications, with the board approving them as presented. A master matrix is a scoring system that can be used to evaluate the siting of permitted confinement feeding operations, according to the DNR. After watching the webinar regarding how we score master matrixes, it seems we may have been doing this wrong all the years I have been on the board, said board chairman Joel Voaklander, who has been a Mitchell County supervisor for at least a decade. Attorney: Mitchell County 'misled' by CCI in denying hog confinements OSAGE | The Mitchell County attorney said in statement Friday the board of supervisors was m Reading from a written statement, Mitchell County attorney Mark Walk said he contacted DNR Senior Environmental Specialist Cindy Garza Monday, inquiring into the county's next option. Garza, who handles animal feeding operations, offered the county two options, Walk said: Allowing the DNR to score the matrix itself. Requesting a 30-day extension, which Walk said would allow the county more time to work with Iowa Select Farms, who contracts with Grey Owl Farms II. Walk has requested the 30-day extension. The supervisors will then renegotiate the application with Grey Owl Farms II, discussing the need for clarification in a few areas, specifically, the producer's definition of "periodically." Garza was most concerned with the producers use of the word on several occasions regarding the monitoring of various areas of the confinement, according to Walk. The board also approved establishing a formal review committee, which would include a county supervisor, the producer, the producers environmental officer, and either the county attorney or county sanitarian and community members to review and discuss master matrix applications. The committee would then hold a work session, during which the public would be able to provide written comments or concerns regarding a proposed application. Supervisor Shannon Paulus also recommended the county develop a list of definitions of words contained in application, helping producers understand what the county is looking for on their application, along with county air infiltration requirements. County attorney's statement A statement sent Friday to North Iowa media outlets by Paulus from her personal Gmail account stated the county had been misled by CCI's evaluation of Grey Owl Farm's master matrix application. Prior to publication, the Mitchell County Press-News asked Paulus who authored the statement. Paulus said it was written by Walk, but the statement did not include his office's letterhead or his signature. Walk confirmed to the Press-News prior to publication that he had written the statement. American Family Care (AFC), the nations leading provider of urgent care, accessible primary care, and occupational medicine, welcomes Dr. Jerry Ann Hunter to the AFC team as Medical Director. In her new role Dr. Hunter will oversee all clinical and lab services at the AFCs medical center in Edgewater, Maryland. Prior to joining AFC, Dr. Hunter was founder and Medical Director of a private urgent care center in Elkridge, MD. Before Dr. Hunter started her own urgent care practice, she worked as an urgent care physician at a number of facilities in Maryland. She has additionally served as a primary care physician with Patuxent Medical Group. We are very happy to have Dr. Jerry Hunter joining us as our new Medical Director, says Rick Morani, Owner of AFC Urgent Care Edgewater. Dr. Hunters wealth of experience and skills, both as a clinician and Medical Director in the field of urgent care and internal medicine, will prove to be a huge asset to our center operations. We look forward to working with her to serve the needs of our community. Dr. Hunter has been practicing medicine since 1993. She received her Medical Degree in Internal Medicine from the University of Maryland and completed her Residency in Internal Medicine at the Washington Hospital Center. She additionally earned a Masters degree in Public Health from Johns Hopkins School of Hygiene and Public Health. Her earlier education includes a Masters degree in Secondary education from Catholic University of America and she obtained her Bachelors degree in Bacteriology from the University of Texas. About American Family Care (AFC): Founded by Dr. Bruce Irwin with a single location in 1982, American Family Care has pioneered the concept of non-emergency room urgent care. With its 2013 acquisition of the Doctors Express, AFC has become the nations leading provider of urgent care, accessible primary care, and occupational medicine, with more than 170 clinics and 500 in-network physicians caring for 2 million patients a year. Ranked by Inc. Magazine as one of the fastest growing companies in the U.S., AFCs stated mission is to provide the best healthcare possible, in a kind and caring environment, while respecting the rights of all patients, in an economical manner, at times and locations convenient to the patient. For more information, visit http://www.AmericanFamilyCare.com. About AFC Edgewater: Locally owned and operated, AFC Edgewater is a physician-staffed provider of urgent care, occupational medicine, and other non-emergency health care. AFC Edgewater features a high-tech, high-touch approach, including digital x-rays, on-site lab testing, state of the art diagnostics, and electronic medical records. The center is open 7-days a week, from 8am-8pm Monday-Friday and Saturday & Sunday from 8am-6pm. No appointments are necessary. For more information, visit http://www.AFCUrgentCareEdgewater.com. Effigy Mounds National Monument Quarter The United States Mint (Mint) joined the National Park Service today to launch the America the Beautiful Quarters Program coin honoring Effigy Mounds National Monument in Iowa. The coin is the first of five America the Beautiful Quarters to be issued in 2017, and the 36th in the series. The coins reverse (tails) depicts an aerial view of mounds in the Marching Bear Group. Inscriptions are EFFIGY MOUNDS, IOWA, 2017, and E PLURIBUS UNUM. The Effigy Mounds quarter design embodies the spirit of this sacred landscape, said Marc Landry, Superintendent of the United States Mint at Philadelphia. This new coin honors a special place where ancient people changed the landscape of their world in the most extraordinary way. More than 1,200 local residents and schoolchildren gathered in the Allamakee Community School District High School Gym for the ceremony, led by KWWL News anchor/reporter Jerry Gallagher. Additional ceremony participants included Jim Nepstad, Effigy Mounds National Monument superintendent; Edmore Green, Tribal Chair of Sac and Fox Nation of Missouri in Kansas and Nebraska; Fred Schuster, Regional Director for U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley; Brittney Carroll, Regional Director for U.S. Senator Joni Ernst; and Michael Olson, who represented U.S. Congressman Rod Blum. Launch highlights included a videotaped message from Iowa native Peggy Whitson, astronaut and biochemistry researcher for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and special recognition of fourth-generation Iowan Richard Masters, who designed the new quarter. Masters, an artist in the Mints Artistic Infusion Program, has designed coins and medals for the United States Mint for more than 10 years. Read more about Mr. Masters at https://www.usmint.gov/education/artisticinfusion/index60b6.html?action=designer&designer=13. Following the ceremony, attendees traded their cash for newly-minted Effigy Mounds National Monument quarter rolls. Authorized by Public Law 110-456, the United States Mint America the Beautiful Quarters Program is a 12-year initiative to honor 56 national parks and other national sites. Each year, the public will see five new national sites depicted on the reverses (tails sides) of the America the Beautiful Quarters issued in the order in which the sites were first established. Additional information about the America the Beautiful Quarters Program is available at https://www.usmint.gov/mint_programs/atb/index.html, while free lesson plans based on the program are available at http://www.usmint.gov/kids/teachers/. A digital image of the Effigy Mounds National Monument quarter is available at https://www.usmint.gov/downloads/pressroom/ATB/36-Effigy-Mounds-IA.jpg. About the United States Mint The United States Mint was created by Congress in 1792 and became part of the Department of the Treasury in 1873. It is the Nation's sole manufacturer of legal tender coinage and is responsible for producing circulating coinage for the Nation to conduct its trade and commerce. The Mint also produces numismatic products, including proof, uncirculated, and commemorative coins; Congressional Gold Medals; and silver and gold bullion coins. Its numismatic programs are self-sustaining and operate at no cost to taxpayers. The Mint is celebrating its 225th anniversary in 2017 (USMint#225). ADDITIONAL RESOURCES: View b-roll of the Effigy Mounds National Monument quarter at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_0tTzy8W9ek&list=PLoycqRjxZI6Y5A9igJnCtTuDMZhVoyM_9. View an interview with Effigy Mounds National Monument quarter sculptor Renata Gordon at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_0tTzy8W9ek&list=PLoycqRjxZI6Y5A9igJnCtTuDMZhVoyM_9. Find information about Effigy Mounds National Monument at: https://www.nps.gov/efmo/index.htm. Subscribe to United States Mint electronic product notifications, news releases, and public statements at https://catalog.usmint.gov/email-signup. Sign up for RSS Feeds from the United States Mint and follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest. Contacts: Effigy Mounds National Monument Sheila Oberreuter: Sheila_oberreuter(at)nps(dot)gov, 563-873-3491 ext. 123 Bob Palmer: 563.873.3491 ext. 121 # # # United States Mint Connecting America through Coins BioZorb device Using this device provides a framework to help reshape the breast after surgery. It also allows the radiation oncologist to more precisely target radiation therapy. A local surgeon is among the first in California to combine innovative techniques and new technology to improve the treatment of breast cancer. Dr. Anne G. W. Peled, M.D., surgeon at Sutter Healths California Pacific Medical Center (CPMC) is using an approach called oncoplastic surgery and a tiny new implant, called BioZorb, to provide better cosmetic outcomes after surgery and allow more precise targeting of radiation treatment. Dr. Peled, a breast oncologic surgeon and board-certified plastic surgeon with the CPMC breast cancer program, has helped pioneer use of the BioZorb marker. The three-dimensional device is placed during lumpectomy surgery, which removes the cancer and preserves the breast. This approach facilitates oncoplastic techniques, which involve rearrangement of the patients own breast tissue to provide both cancer control and more aesthetically pleasing results. There are several ways BioZorb really helps our breast cancer patients, Dr. Peled said. Using this device provides a framework to help reshape the breast after surgery. It also allows the radiation oncologist to more precisely target radiation therapy. Longer term, it makes it easier to track the site of tumor removal on follow-up mammograms. Susan Yeres, 62, is among Dr. Peleds patients whose treatment included use of the marker. A San Rafael resident, Yeres is an independent consultant in the juvenile and criminal justice system. She was found to have a small tumor in each breast. In consultation with Dr. Peled, she decided to have a breast reduction and lumpectomy in both breasts. Given that I had a breast reduction, the marker increased the ability to locate the original cancer site. It allowed me to have more extensive surgery and still have the original spot of the cancer easily identified, she said. I also feel good about the cosmetic outcome of the process. Having one surgeon do both the plastic surgery and oncological surgery was a winning idea for me. Yeres noted that the marker fit well with her shorter course of follow-up radiation. It was wonderful to be able to reduce the number of scans thanks to the marker, she said. It made the last portion of the treatment very easy. Yeres had a quick recovery from treatment and was able to go on vacation shortly afterward. Among the radiation oncologists noting the benefit of using the BioZorb at CPMC is Dr. John W. Lee. He said the marker allowed him in most cases to narrow the radiation field to limit exposure to healthy tissue and surrounding organs such as the heart and lung. "The benefits to the patient with the marker are, first, they get better targeting because we know exactly where the tumor was; and second, fewer side effects because we don't have to treat such a large area of the breast," Dr. Lee said. BioZorb is the first device that identifies in a fixed, three-dimensional manner where the tumor was removed. The implantable device consists of a framework made of a bioabsorbable material that holds six titanium clips. The framework slowly dissolves as cells grow into the tumor cavity over the course of a year or more. The tiny marker clips stay in place so the surgical site can be viewed for long-term monitoring such as future mammograms. Where do these new approaches fit with other trends in breast cancer treatment? Most of our patients are now wonderfully lucky to have their cancers detected early and to live a long time after their treatment, Dr. Peled said. After treatment they really want to have breasts that they are happy with and to feel like they are getting the right treatment thats tailored for them. I love being able to offer this marker as a possibility for my patients, Peled added It lets them know Im thinking about how to achieve the best outcome and gives them a great feeling about participating in something thats going to advance the way we treat breast cancer. -- 30 -- About Sutter Healths California Pacific Medical Center (CPMC) At San Franciscos California Pacific Medical Center, we believe in the power of medicine. We research the most up-to-date treatments, hire the most qualified individuals, and practice the most modern, innovative medicine available. We deliver the highest-quality expert care with kindness and compassion in acute, post-acute and outpatient services, as well as preventive and complementary medicine. As an affiliate of Sutter Health and one of Californias largest private, community-based, not-for-profit, teaching medical centers, we are able to reach deep into our community to provide education, screening and financial support in some of the citys most underserved neighborhoods. Like us on Facebook, watch us on YouTube and follow us on Twitter. For more information visit our web site at http://www.cpmc.org. While I am flattered, this honor actually belongs to the employees of Bromberg's, both past and present, many of whom have devoted their entire careers to the success of the company. Basically, I just try to stay out of their way! - Frederick W. Bromberg Frederick W. Bromberg, president of Bromberg & Company, Inc., is a finalist in The Birmingham Business Journal's 2016 CEO Awards. Finalists were selected from a record number of nominations based on the CEO's influence on his or her company, its performance, the nominee's role in its industry and his or her impact on the Birmingham community. The winners in each category were announced Dec. 1, 2016, during a special CEO Awards event at Regions Field. All the finalists were featured in the Dec. 2 edition of the Birmingham Business Journal. "While I am flattered, this honor actually belongs to the employees of Bromberg's, both past and present, many of whom have devoted their entire careers to the success of the company," said Frederick W. Bromberg, President of Bromberg & Company, Inc. "I just try to stay out of their way." Bromberg & Company is an iconic company throughout the Birmingham area and the entire jewelry store business as well. Founded 181 years ago in Mobile, Ala., by Bromberg's great-great-great grandfather, an immigrant from Prussia, the company is 35 years older than the city of Birmingham and a year older than the legendary Tiffany & Co. Bromberg sells luxury jewelry, china, crystal and sterling flatware in stores throughout Birmingham and Mountain Brook Village, Ala. They also sell jewelry through Underwood Jewelers in Jacksonville, Fla. In 2013, the American Gem Society honored the Bromberg family with its Triple Zero Award, referring to the highest grade of diamond. In a statement, the Society said, "The Bromberg family is a valuable member of not only the Society but of our industry." A year later, the Retailer of the Year judges praised Bromberg & Co. for its perseverance and prosperity for 178 years, citing longevity is its greatest strength." Retailer of the Year judges also praised Bromberg for his charitable pursuits. This included the company's steady flow of merchandise to silent and live charity fundraisers. Bromberg also provides the annual 30-foot Christmas tree in the center of Mountain Brook Village, which is lit up with over 30,000 white and colored lights. For more information on Bromberg jewelry and services, visit http://brombergs.com, call (205) 871-3276 or (205) 969-1776, or visit or write Bromberg & Co Inc. at 131 Summit Boulevard, Birmingham, AL 35243 or 2800 Cahaba Road, Mountain Brook, AL 35223. Brombergs has provided jewelry and giftware options for discerning customers in the Alabama since 1836 and in Birmingham since 1900.6. Family-owned-and-operated, Brombergs sells quality diamonds, jewelry timepieces and gifts. Staff members are experienced in providing stones, and advanced technology is used to determine the quality of cut and light performance. Bromberg's is the only member of the American Gem Society in Birmingham. Custom jewelry options and engraving are available. Camden Kelly Corporation's National Best and Brightest Award We aim to treat our employees with the same enthusiasm, knowledge, and commitment that we offer our clients and candidates and this award shows that our efforts are paying off. Camden Kelly Corporation, a leading technical recruiting and staffing company headquartered in the Dallas Fort Worth area, was recently named one of the Best and Brightest Companies to Work For by the National Association for Business Resources. This program recognizes companies that deliver exceptional human resource practices and an impressive commitment to their employees throughout the United States. Voted on by Camden Kellys own hardworking and dedicated staff, this award is incredibly meaningful to President and CEO Katy Imhoff. She said she is ecstatic to, receive this award both on a national level and specifically for our DFW office and headquarters. We aim to treat our employees with the same enthusiasm, knowledge, and commitment that we offer our clients and candidates and this award shows that our efforts are paying off. From their proprietary recruiter training program and their opportunities for career growth within their company to their superb list of benefits that include an annual training retreat, monthly massages, and free breakfast every morning its clear that Camden Kelly Corporation is committed to their employees and the National Best and Brightest Award honors that commitment. Camden Kelly Corporation connects talented IT job seekers with job opportunities in Dallas TX, Ft. Worth TX, Irvine CA, San Diego CA, and Los Angeles CA. For more information, visit us at http://www.camdenkelly.com About Camden Kelly Corporation: Camden Kelly Corporation is a highly effective IT Recruiting & Staffing Firm currently serving the DFW Metroplex and Southern California. When you work with Camden Kelly, you get results. Whether your preference is Microsoft or Open Source or anywhere in between we will work with you. With an excellent reputation in pairing qualified Information Technology professionals who specialize in .Net, PHP, Python, JavaScript, Ruby on Rails, and more with the companies who are looking to hire them, Camden Kelly is the smartest choice in IT Recruiting. Were the voice behind your resumefind out why on our website http://camdenkelly.com. Heritage Financial Consultants Expands Its Mid-Atlantic Reach With New Vienna, Va. Office We are excited to be a part of the Northern Virginia community, and to share our expertise with individuals and companies in this region. Heritage Financial Consultants, a preeminent Mid-Atlantic wealth management firm providing comprehensive financial services, today announced that Art McGonigal and Matt Sirpis have joined the firm. McGonigal and Sirpis will lead Heritage Financial Consultants new office in Vienna, Va. McGonigal joins Heritage Financial Consultants as a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER Professional and Partner. As a Prestige Planner with Sagemark Private Wealth Services, he brings over three decades of financial service experience to the firm and assists individuals, families and their companies with creating and implementing customized comprehensive financial plans. He specializes in planned giving and charitable trusts, estate planning, investment optimization, risk management, business succession planning, tax reduction strategies and benefit planning. McGonigal is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER (CFP) Professional, Chartered Financial Consultant (ChFC), Chartered Life Underwriter (CLU), Chartered Mutual Fund Counselor (CMFC) and Chartered Retirement Planning Counselor (CRPC). Sirpis joins Heritage Financial Consultants as a Financial Planner. With over fifteen years of experience, he specializes in retirement planning, estate planning, investment planning, business succession and charitable giving for individuals, families and corporate executives. The Vienna office, located at 8219 Leesburg Pike, Suite 200, will be Heritage Financial Consultants fifth office. This past year, the firm expanded its footprint along the East Coast through a new office in Annapolis, Md. We are excited to be a part of the Northern Virginia community, and to share our expertise with individuals and companies in this region. Through our recent expansions, we are better equipped to serve clients throughout the Mid-Atlantic and to meet their individual needs, said Brian Gracie, Founder and Partner at Heritage Financial Consultants. Art and Matt have achieved success in the financial planning industry and we are thrilled to welcome them to the firm. To learn more about Heritage Financial Consultants and its financial planners, please visit http://heritageconsultants.com/about-us/. About Heritage Financial Consultants Heritage Financial Consultants is a full-service, independent financial planning and wealth management firm headquartered in Hunt Valley, Md. with offices in Wilmington, Del., Preston, Md., Annapolis, Md., and Vienna, Va. Heritage Financial Consultants provides sense of security for individuals, families and businesses through comprehensive financial services including investment management, retirement and estate planning, business ownership and succession, insurance and risk management, and employee benefit services. For more information, please visit http://www.heritageconsultants.com. Registered associates of Heritage Financial Consultants, LLC are registered representatives of Lincoln Financial Advisors. Securities and advisory services offered through Lincoln Financial Advisors Corp., a broker/dealer (Member SIPC) and registered investment advisor. Insurance offered through Lincoln affiliates and other fine companies. Heritage Financial Consultants is not an affiliate of Lincoln Financial Advisors. CRN-1698328-013117 Security Mentor security awareness training lesson We look forward to showcasing our award-winning security awareness training program to attendees at RSA Conference USA 2017. Security Mentor, pioneer of innovative security awareness training that drives real behavior change, will be showcasing its industry-leading offerings at the RSA Conference USA 2017. The company will be exhibiting at the Moscone Convention Center in San Francisco, booth #419 in the South Hall, where subject-matter experts will discuss the benefits of interactive, highly engaging, security awareness training and provide demos of their full suite of services that deliver effective security training and education for business, government, education and non-profit end-users. Cyber security continues to be a leading priority for businesses due the growing number of cyber-attacks, high-profile data breaches and increasing access by employees to sensitive information and technology. To defend themselves from these possible risks, it is imperative that organizations of all sizes implement an effective security awareness training program which addresses critical security issues such as phishing and email security, safe web browsing, cloud security, the Internet of Things (IoT), mobile security and data privacy and information protection. Security Mentors security awareness training program provides the most robust cyber security training available today in a brief, easy-to-understand, interactive format that is both effective and memorable. Security incidents are splashed across international headlines every week and many of these incidents have either initiated as attacks against employees, or caused by mistakes made by employees. This establishes an immediate need for businesses to offer all employees an effective, and engaging, security awareness training program, said Marie White, CEO and President, Security Mentor. Our lessons teach employees critical security skills and show them where they are in danger from their own behavior, as well as from cyber-attacks and malicious insiders. Our leading-edge training model of 10-minute lessons has changed how global organizations conduct security education. We look forward to showcasing our award-winning program to attendees at RSA Conference USA 2017. Among recent, significant new features to the Security Mentor Training Program is the introduction of pre- and post-training assessments and end-of-lesson quizzes, which combined enable organizations to gain insights into the success of their training programs. In addition to the new assessments and quizzes, the latest training version release expands Security Mentors robust curriculum to include lessons addressing insider threat, Internet of Things, and cloud security. The inclusion of these lessons brings the number of lessons in the training curricula to 21. Throughout 2017, Security Mentor will continue to release new lessons addressing current critical security and compliance topics. Security Mentor Training is available in eleven languages supporting clients worldwide. RSA Conference USA 2017 attendees are invited to stop by the Security Mentor booth (#S419) to learn how the company enables real, immediate behavior change by combining engaging, highly interactive training that employees love to take, with content-rich lessons that convey critical security information. For more information, visit the companys website, follow the company on Twitter at @SecurityMentor and on LinkedIn. Join the conversation at the event on Twitter with the hashtags #RSA2017 and #RSAC. About Security Mentor Security Mentor is a visionary and global leader in the security awareness training and education industry. Organizations worldwide rely on the Security Mentor Training Program to transform their workforces into security savvy employees. The foundation of the Training Program is our brief, interactive, highly engaging lessons that teach critical security skills in an easy-to-understand, fun format that drives real behavior change. Security Mentors training is available as a cloud-based service from Security Mentor with optional Federated Single Sign-on (SSO), or as SCORM 1.2 compliant modules for use with an organizations own Learning Management System (LMS). Incorporated in 2008, Security Mentors innovative products and services are used by Fortune 500 enterprises, military, state and local governments, nonprofits and education institutions. Email, LinkedIn and short customer story videos are 3 top marketing tools B2B tech companies will use in 2017 to increase sales and influence, said Julie Squires, CEO of Softscribe Inc, a leading hotel tech PR firm. Softscribe Inc. Client, SVP of Sales Likes Mobile-Ready Stories. Softscribe Inc. debuted the mobile-ready email version of a customer story during a recent client meeting. The SVP of sales emailed immediately that he liked it. It was valuable feedback from a top industry sales exec. Softscribe Inc., Award-Winning Hotel Tech PR Firm Achieves Results for Clients. Softscribe Inc, a leading tech PR firm for companies selling into the global hospitality market, is known for innovation. Squires said Softscribe Inc.s industry awards for integrated campaigns and writing affirm what her company achieves for clients: Results. 3 Top B2B Marketing Tools in 2017 Three of the most popular PR and marketing tools we applied for our publicly traded and privately held client companies are email, LinkedIn, and short customer story videos, Squires said. Email Mobile-Ready Stories. 1. Have a PR firm write a story in the full form format. 2. Read it on a mobile device. How was that experience? 3. Next, format the press release to be mobile-ready, like this release. View it again on a mobile. Softscribe Inc. clients agreed it was easier to read. LinkedIn is the First Point of Contact. Make It Personal LinkedIn profiles should be personal. Softscribe Inc. recommends to have it written by professionals. Here are 3 tips to customize a profile and make it more effective. 1. Personalize the URL. Use the person's full name. 2. Publish company press releases within the LinkedIn profile. 3. In the LinkedIn profile summary include answers to 3 questions: a. What is best about the person's role? b. Which 3-5 words or phrases best describe the person's style of leadership? c. What influences and/or life lessons most profoundly impact the person's business experiences? Remember to respect LinkedIns word count limits. Videos Earn a Thumbs Up from Forrester Research and Forbes. One minute of a well-executed video has the same impact on decisions as 1.8 million words, according to Forrester Research. And a Forbes study points out that 59 percent of executives would prefer to watch a video than to read text. Why? Videos are easier to absorb and make it simpler to connect with the speaker. Videos catch the eye in social media feeds and in Google searches. Customer Story Videos Deliver Results Customer stories are among Softscribe Inc.'s most effective deliverables, based on clicks back to clients websites. Click here to view a short customer story video for long-time Softscribe Inc. client Aptech Computer Systems, Inc. Tech Companies: Interested in a Higher Brand Profile at HITEC? Call Softscribe Now. For technology companies exhibiting at HITEC 2017 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada June 26 to 29, need help preparing for a more successful show? Call or email Michael Squires, president of Softscribe Inc., at 404-256-5512 or mbs(at)softscribeinc(dot)com. Travel well to Toronto! About Softscribe Inc. Generates the Right Client Messages 100% of the Time. Softscribe Inc. is an award-winning tech PR firm that specializes in B2B public relations, branding and market consulting. We achieve significant business growth for tech companies that offer enterprise solutions to the hotel market and related industries. We generate the right messages for client audiences 100% of the time. This is essential to close sales. Achieves Significant Business Growth for Clients. Softscribe Inc.s professional team surpasses expectations with an average 19 years industry experience in branding, marketing and technology PR. We are proud of our best-in-class clients and are ready to help you, too. Please give us a shout now, or visit http://www.softscribeinc.com. Resource Articles Why Video Marketing Will Dominate In 2017. Video in the C-Suite SOVA, a leading telecom master agent, just rolled out next gen support utilities for Verizon One Talk agents, VARS, MSPs and their customers. SOVAs white glove approach to One Talk services includes a dedicated website for agents and a secure website for customers to select and purchase the One Talk phones of their choice. These utilities allow agents and customers to take full advantage of the many One Talk options. Since SOVA only works with Verizon Wireless, they are true Verizon experts that offer a level of personalized service difficult to find anywhere else. Verizon Wireless Channel Manager Steve Sipos said, SOVA makes it a point to offer cutting-edge support services to their agents and customers. The fact that SOVA is a Platinum Agent is also very impactful. All of this credibility helps SOVA work with agents and their customers as a valuable consultant and reputable provider. On SOVAs one-of-a-kind website, agents can track and monitor all One Talk pre and post sales activities step-by-step. This provides a unified, comprehensive view that significantly reduces both the time and effort agents expend to manage customer accounts. Since both the SOVA agent website and secure customer portal allow agents to be involved in the One Talk set-up and management process from start to finish, these utilities allow them to deliver excellent customer service. SOVA offers additional One Talk incentives such as free basic phones and rebates on middle and executive level phones. SOVA President Gene Esopi said, We value our own partnersagents, MSPs and VARSand we also value their customers. Our goal is to make One Talk a key tool for building business and growing revenue. A seamless, reliable unified communications system with excellent voice quality and the leading-edge support SOVA provides is a must for every successful business today. One Talk is Verizons 4G LTE-driven unified communications system developed to serve a growing and more sophisticated market for integrated landline and mobile solutions. Benefits include: The same outstanding Verizon LTE quality on desktop and wireless devices. One service powers all business phonesboth wireless and wireline. Everyone gets all the benefits of a landline on their mobile number. Every line and feature can be easily customized. One Talk desktop phones can be connected to service via Ethernet port or on-premise wifi. SOVA has a significant amount of experience and expertise with Verizon and they provide a lot of support, Sipos said. They can handle complex situations and know how to integrate wireless with wireline technologythis makes them an excellent resource for One Talk. As a valued Verizon Partner Program member since 1994, SOVA has earned Platinum level status; agents benefit from select privileges that many telecom solution providers cannot offer. SOVA has customized programs for telecom agents, VARs, MSPs, and telesales organizations and provides customer solutions in every product category including voice and data, network, Cloud, mobility, machine-to-machine, managed internet, VoIP, and global services. SOVAs award-winning agent program features no quotas, no minimums, no commitments; dedicated pre-sales and post-sales specialists; simplified quoting and ordering; and a state-of-the-art agent portal. SOVA is headquartered in Plains, Pa., with additional locations in Pittston, Pa.; Boston; Denver; and West Palm Beach, Fla. Experience the One Talk website at: http://www.sovainc.net. To learn more about SOVAs top tier agent program, fill out the request form at http://sova.com/contact-us or call Angela Welby at 570-824-6800 Ext 111. Travis brings a wealth of experience to the position, having spent more than a decade focused on finding optimal coverage for high-risk accounts, says Tom Clansen, Senior Vice President, Commercial Brokerage & Underwriting at RIC. RIC Insurance General Agency has announced that Travis Campbell has been hired as a Senior Broker to expand our E&S Division, working primarily with retail insurance agents in Orange, San Diego, and Imperial Counties. Prior to joining RIC, Campbell worked as a Broker at USG Insurance Services, Inc., specializing in oil and gas, construction, habitation, hospitality, environmental, products and manufacturing, professional, medical, and healthcare coverage. As a broker at Sloan Mason Insurance Services, he focused on helping retail agents place business in oil and gas, environmental risks, and marine specialties, including USL&H and MEL. Before that, he worked as a retail producer at Olin Hill and Associates, specializing in commercial lines. With ten years of experience as a retail agent, I understand what it takes to find competitive options for clients, says Campbell. I look forward to developing productive relationships with RIC agents and helping them place challenging E&S accounts. Travis brings a wealth of experience to the position, having spent more than a decade focused on finding optimal coverage for high-risk accounts, says Tom Clansen, Senior Vice President, Commercial Brokerage & Underwriting at RIC. We have confidence that he will be a valuable asset to our retail agents and carrier partners. CONTACT: Travis Campbell Senior E&S Broker 619 694-6796 | travisc(at)ric-ins(dot)com About RIC Insurance General Agency, Inc. RIC Insurance General Agency is a wholesale insurance brokerage and managing general agency with office locations across the western United States. Its product offerings include Commercial Admitted, Specialty / Excess and Surplus, Workers Compensation, Commercial Auto and Garage Liability, and Personal Lines. For more information, please visit ric-ins.com. MASON CITY | A woman accused of stealing narcotics from a Mason City nursing home while she was employed there as a nurse was given a deferred judgment Monday. Briana Hesse, 28, Osage, a former Mason City resident, was put on probation for three years for felony prohibited acts. A $1,000 civil penalty was suspended, but she is required to pay restitution, court costs and fees. If she successfully completes probation, the conviction will be stricken from her record. Misdemeanor charges of wanton neglect of a resident of a health care facility and tampering with records were dismissed as part of a plea bargain. Hesse stole the narcotics norco and oxycodone from the IOOF Home & Community Therapy Center in May and June 2016 by documenting she was administering them to residents, while in reality she was keeping them for herself, according to the complaint from an investigator for the state's Medicaid Fraud Control Unit. The complaint noted the residents who were supposed to receive the narcotics did not get them in a timely manner, leaving them in pain, because of the skipped doses. Hesse pleaded guilty in December. Mary Pieper Welcome Guest! You Are Here: MASON CITY | Mason City School Board members approved amended annual personnel sharing agreements with Clear Lake in a special session Monday. Clear Lake has been sharing its IT director, Jason Christenson, and food service director, Lora Jenson, on a part-time basis with Mason City for at least five years. The approved agreement includes a change in the section regarding termination of the agreement by either party. The section states either party could terminate the contract at any time. If Mason City were to terminate the contract, the district would then pay 50 percent of the remaining salary. The terminating party would have to give 30 days written notice. Interim Superintendent Mike Penca recommended approval of the agreement, saying Mason City has received quality services from both employees. Approval had been tabled at a previous meeting. Board members discussed the section in detail. Jodi Draper and other members disagreed on whether Mason City should have to pay a penalty for terminating the agreement if the employee does something to harm the district. I need a fireable offense in there, board Vice President Lorrie Lala said. I dont think were protected. Lala and several other board members wanted to clarify what would be cause for termination of the agreement. The agreement for IT Director did not pass on the first vote, which was 4-2, with one abstaining, so the board continued to discuss revisions. Board member Brent Seaton asked if the board would like to go into a closed session for further discussion. The board did not. Since a closed session regarding the sharing agreements was not on the School Board's agenda, doing so would have likely violated Iowa's open meeting law. Draper said she didn't think the agreement saved Mason City money, and said that nothing would change her vote against the agreement. Id rather have a full-time employee, Draper said. Clear Lake sets the salaries for Christenson and Jenson, who are paid $103,056.78 and $99,645.97, respectively, plus single insurance. Doug Campbell suggested removing the compensation all together, saying the compensation for the remaining salary should be discussed in Clear Lakes contract with the individuals if the agreement is terminated. Seaton proposed adding without cause to the section, saying that compensating Clear Lake for early termination was fair. Were doing them a favor, Seaton said. Its part of being a good citizen. With this language, Mason City would only have to pay 50 percent of the remaining salary if the district did not give cause for termination. Both agreements passed with Seatons revision, during the second vote, five votes in favor. Draper voted against it, and Campbell abstained. If the sharing agreement is not approved by either district, it would discontinued and Christenson and Jenson would work full-time for Clear Lake. Mason City would have to hire its own employees. District officials say sharing the two positions has resulted in savings for both Mason City and Clear Lake. Mason City estimated it would pay an extra $33,600 annually for its own IT director and another $13,620 annually for its own food service director, business manager John Berg said via email Monday. Using these figures the district has saved approximately $283,000 over the past six school years," Berg said. Clear Lake Superintendent Doug Gee believes that the agreement is beneficial for both districts. They get paid more because they are doing a job for two districts, Gee said via email Monday. Through their shared positions, Gee said Christenson and Jenson serve nearly 5,000 students. Gee estimated the agreements save Clear Lake about $56,000 each year. The revised agreement will have to be approved by Clear Lake's School Board to be final. Welcome Guest! You Are Here: Home Regional News East Online Newsletter Sign up for our newsletter to receive the latest news and information from publics.bg I didnt know who Milo Yiannopoulos was until Dec. 26, 2016, when I was on Facebook and saw that Phil Bildner, a childrens book author, had posted a link to the article in the Hollywood Reporter announcing the deal for Milos book Dangerous. Hey, Simon & Schuster, Phil wrote. This is disgusting. Are you okay with this, S&S Kids? If you are silent, you are complicit. I dont work at S&S, but I am the editorial director of FSG Books for Young Readers. I spent some time researching Milo and wondering, am I okay with this? The answer is no. If you look into Milo, you will find out that he was permanently banned from Twitter for leading the charge in a wave of racist abuse targeting African-American actress Leslie Jones. You will also learn that he played a key role in Gamergate, a movement that repeatedly attacked female game developers with death threats, rape threats, and the public leaking of womens personal information. These things are troubling, and we could almost write them offalmostas jokes falling on the deaf ears of liberals. Humor and trolling are, after all, two of Milos hallmarks, and lack of humor is one of his main critiques of PC liberals like me. We cant take a good joke about rape, or about black women looking like apes. But the worst thing about Milo, the self-dubbed supervillain of the Internet, is what he does as an editor at Breitbart, where he turns the sincere desperation of working-class Americans into fodder for his own amusement, and money in his pocket. In Milos Breitbart articles and on his Dangerous Faggot tour, he tells young white American men its not their fault that theyre out of work, or that theyre struggling. They dont need a college education. The reason they are not succeeding is because of women, people of color, immigrants, and Muslims. From now on, its not ladies first. Its not people of color first. Its not trans people first. Its white men first. Its America first. Sound familiar? Its not a coincidence that Trump went from a reality television star to president of the United States, thanks, in part, to the radicalization of the white working class. And a lot of the leg work was done by Milo and his mentor, Steve Bannon. Milo is more than a provocateur. He is a terrorist, shouting fire in a crowded theater. The fire is othernessthat which is not white, Christian, and male; the crowded theater is America. If you think Trumps presidency is the last gasp of the white male patriarchy, think again. Milos book is sure to be a bestseller, and the men who are going to read it are young, white, and angry. Dangerous indeed. By announcing the deal quietly, in the week between Christmas and New Year, I assume S&S hoped no one would notice. But quite a lot of people noticed, including authors and illustrators from the childrens book community. A total of 160 people, including S&S childrens book authors, illustrators, and agents, wrote to the president and CEO of Simon & Schuster, Carolyn Reidy, imploring her to reconsider publishing the book. She responded with a letter stating that although S&S does not support or condone, nor will we publish, hate speech, it is going forward with the book anyway. Now hate speech is a slippery thing; one persons hate speech is another persons rape joke. But when an authors brand is racism and misogyny, what can we reasonably expect from his book? Im from the childrens book world, and you may think this shouldnt concern me. A childrens imprint isnt going to sign Richard Spencers Alt-Right Bedtime Storybookat least I hope not. But as a publishing professional and a citizen of this country, I would ask my colleagues on the adult side to think long and hard about future publishing deals that give a mainstream platform to the so-called alt-right and their so-called alternative facts. When a major publisher legitimizes old-fashioned hate and lies rebranded as alternative, our authors lose, our books lose, and our country loses. According to PWs September 2016 publishing industry salary survey, our industry is 88% white. My guess is that the higher up you go on the management ladder, the whiterand more malethings get. I wonder if Milos book would be published at all if the industry was predominantly run by women of color as opposed to white men. My guess is that it wouldnt. Joy Peskin is the editorial director of FSG Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Macmillan Childrens Publishing Group. The opinions expressed here are hers and not those of Macmillan or FSG. This article is part of an ongoing series profiling participants in the PubTech Connect conference, presented on April 20, 2017 by PW and the NYU School of Professional Studies Center for Publishing. New York City is a place where history meets the future. Thats why the opening keynote at PubTech Connect brings together the driving forces behind innovation and technology at two of the citys oldest institutions--the city government itself, and the New York Times. Gotham meets the Grey Lady when New York Citys Chief Digital Officer Sree Sreenivasan and Kinsey Wilson, Editor, Innovation & Strategy and Executive Vice President, Product & Technology for the New York Times discuss how their two monolithic institutions are leading the way into the digital future. Bringing change to a giant institution with layers of bureaucracy and plenty of old habits is no easy task. Sreenivasan and Wilson have each had to assess the needs of the constituencies they serve New York's government and citizens, and the worldwide readership of one of the biggest media organizations of all time to come up with technology and business solutions that serve those needs and anticipate whats next. Sreenivasan told The Indian Express that he sees his role as mak[ing] New York the most tech-friendly, the most transparent and most digitally equitable city in the world. Its not hard to find evidence of his work all over, from increased Wifi in the subways to increased social media presences amongst government agencies and the growth of New Yorks Silicon Alley. And under Wilson, the New York Times has rolled out a host of new digital products, from its VR films to all manner of interactive stories online as well as new digital subscription plans. They each brought a wealth of experience helping other organizations go digital to their new roles; its the kind of innovative thinking that will lead publishing into the next decade and beyond. After serving as Chief Digital Officer of the Museum of Modern Art and of Columbia University, Sreenivasan was appointed to his current post on August 1, 2016. In a statement about the appointment, New York Mayor Bill de Blasio said, To move our citys digital ecosystem into the 21st century, we need to ensure our citys resources are at the fingertips of every New Yorker. " That means, according to the statement, that Sreenivasan is tasked with launch[ing] digital products that encourage civic engagement, increase government transparency, and support New York City's thriving tech ecosystem. Wilson came to the New York Times after working as executive editor at USA Today, followed by a transformative stint spearheading digital strategy at NPR. At the New York Times, Kinsey was initially slated to oversee digital in the newsroom, but was rapidly elevated to an executive role in early 2015, overseeing both the content and business aspects of digital at the New york Times. His emphasis has always been on meeting--or finding--readers wherever they are in the growing digital media landscape. In a New York Times story about his appointment Wilson noted how readers are inundated with information every hour of the day except when theyre sleeping. That needs to inform the way we present the news, adding that how people experience the New York Times, the quality of that experience, is just as important as our news report. Sreenivasan and Wilson will kick off PubTech Connect with a keynote conversation about how their two titanic New York institutions are imagining their digital future. Learn more and buy tickets here. Henry Holt's Metropolitan Books imprint will publish This Fight Is Our Fight: The Battle to Save America's Middle Class, by Senator Elizabeth Warren (D., Mass.), on April 18, Holt president and publisher Stephen Rubin, who bought world rights, announced. The book, which details, the publisher said, how Americans "can win the fight to revive and expand Americas struggling middle class," will be edited by Macmillan editor-at-large John Sterling. It is the second of the professor-turned-senior-senator's books to land at the imprint following 2014's A Fighting Chance. As with that book, Macmillan will simultaneously publish an audio edition of This Fight Is Our Fight, read by Sen. Warren. Elizabeth Warren is a fighter whose most potent weapon is her ability to communicateto let the world know about wrongs that she seeks to right, said Rubin. Her personal experience growing up in a working-class family, her deep knowledge of Americans middle class, and the urgency of her message about the countrys trajectory make this book especially timely and important. Rubin acquired world rights from Robert Barnett of Williams & Connolly. A portion of the authors proceeds from the book will be donated to the Greater Boston Food Bank, the Food Bank of Western Massachusetts, Worcester County Food Bank, and the Merrimack Valley Food Bank, the publisher said. Italian Memoir About Hedgehog Friendship Sells in France 25 Grams of Happiness: How A Tiny Hedgehog Can Turn Your Life Around by Massimo Vacchetta, a memoir published in November by Sperling & Kupfer in Italy, has sold to City Editions (France). In the memoir, Vacchetta writes about how he got through a rough patch in his life by taking care of the little hedgehog named Ninna, and later opened a rehabilitation center for hedgehogs. Sperling controls all rights. Debut Novel by French-Korean Writer Sells Abroad Paris-based Astier-Pecher Film & Lit controls rights to the debut novel A Winter in Sokcho by Elisa Shua Dusapin. The book was first published by Zoe in Switzerland, and sales have been made to Aufbau (Germany), Alianza (Spain), and Book Recipe (Korea). In the book, a young French-Korean woman meets an older cartoon artist in a small resort near the North Korean border, and she becomes increasingly attracted to him. Bestselling Basque Novel Sells in France The Hour of Waking Together by Kirmen Uribe, a Basque novel controlled by Pontas Literary and Film Agency that we reported on last March, has now sold to French publisher Le Castor Astral. The book is a bestseller in Spain and in its fourth printing. The novel explores the lives of two figures in an avant garde painting. LAKE MILLS | The partial sinking of a truck that broke through ice on Rice Lake last week highlights the need for caution on area lakes and streams, officials say. The pickup broke through the ice about 3:30 p.m. Thursday in about four feet of water north of an aerator. The entire front half was submerged. Driver Eddie Wickham, of Osage, and a passenger escaped by climbing out the truck's windows, said Iowa Conservation Officer Ben Bergman. They were not hurt. No citations were issued. Bergman believes the nearby aerator played a factor in the truck's sinking. That patch of ice had been thick enough to support vehicles in the past, but thinned out drastically when the wind changed and pushed water from the aerator towards it. "It went from about 16 (inches of ice) to four in a matter of days," Bergman said. He urged extra caution on the ice, especially around aerators and near shore. Dark ice and the so-called honeycomb ice are the most dangerous. Conditions probably aren't getting to get any better, especially given the upcoming forecast, Bergman said. The forecast calls for high temperatures in the 40s Friday and Saturday. "I don't see us building any more ice," Bergman said. "Look at the forecast. It just doesn't give us those hard, freezing-solid, ice-building temperatures." A crew from Bob's Repair and Tow in Spirit Lake hoisted Wickham's truck from the ice on Friday. Owner Bob Kirschbaum said a diver hooked the truck to the rig, allowing the crew to use flotation bags to lift the front end out of thick mud at the bottom of the lake and then raise the vehicle to the surface. It was then lifted out of the hole, slid to safety and towed to shore. Stacyville man rescued after falling through river ice STACYVILLE | A Stacyville man who fell through the ice on a river Thursday afternoon has bee The company recovered several vehicles from the Okoboji area two weeks ago during the annual University of Okoboji Winter Games. A pickup, four all-terrain vehicles and a snowmobile went through the ice during the annual festival Jan. 26-29 in Northwest Iowa. That same week, firefighters in Mitchell County rescued a man who fell through the ice on the Little Cedar River while walking his dog in Riverside Park. WASHINGTON (AP) First lady Melania Trump has said little about what she intends to do with her prominent position. But in new court documents, her lawyers say that the "multi-year term" during which she "is one of the most photographed women in the world" could mean millions of dollars for her personal brand. While the new documents don't specifically mention her term as first lady, the unusual statement about her expected income drew swift condemnation from ethics watchdogs as inappropriate profiteering from her high-profile position, which is typically centered on public service. The statement came Monday in a libel lawsuit the first lady re-filed in a state trial court in Manhattan. Mrs. Trump has been suing the corporation that publishes the Daily Mail's website over a now-retracted report that claimed she once worked as an escort. In the filing Monday, Mrs. Trump's lawyers argued that the report was not only false and libelous, but also damaged her ability to profit off her high profile and affected her business opportunities. Mrs. Trump "had the unique, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, as an extremely famous and well-known person, as well as a former professional model, brand spokesperson and successful businesswoman, to launch a broad-based commercial brand in multiple product categories, each of which could have garnered multi-million dollar business relationships for a multi-year term during which plaintiff is one of the most photographed women in the world," the lawsuit said. The products could have included apparel, accessories, jewelry, cosmetics, hair care and fragrance, among others, the suit says. The first lady is seeking compensatory and punitive damages of at least $150 million. Richard Painter, who advised former President George W. Bush on ethics, said the language in the lawsuit shows Melania Trump is engaging "in an unprecedented, clear breach of rules about using her government position for private gain. This is a very serious situation where she says she intends to make a lot of money. That ought to be repudiated by the White House or investigated by Congress." Painter is part of a group of attorneys suing the president for an alleged violation of a constitutional clause that prohibits presidents from receiving foreign gifts or payments. In response to questions from The Associated Press, Charles Harder, Mrs. Trump's attorney, said "the first lady has no intention of using her position for profit and will not do so. It is not a possibility. Any statements to the contrary are being misinterpreted." Harder did not respond to a follow-up question about what the lawsuit means by "once-in-a-lifetime opportunity." To Painter and others, there is no ambiguity. "She's not talking about the future," Painter said. "She's talking about earning money now." Scott Amey, general counsel of the Washington watchdog Project on Government Oversight, said it is "another example of the first family blurring the line between public service and private business interests." Melania Trump has not stepped away from her brand, according to business documents. As of Tuesday, she was listed in New York filings as the CEO of Melania Marks Accessories Member Corp, the holding company of Melania Marks Accessories LLC, both of which remain active. Those companies managed between $15,000 and $50,000 in royalties from her accessories lines, the Trumps' May 2016 financial disclosure filing shows. A third company, Melania LLC, was also still active, though the Trumps had listed it as having less than $1,000 in value and producing less than $200. Two other of Mrs. Trump's companies tied to skincare products were shut down last week, according to business filings in Delaware. Both were listed in the May 2016 financial disclosure as having little to no value or income. Amey said a more ethical course would be for all members of the first family to halt their business activities while Trump is president. A spokeswoman for the first lady did not respond to a request for comment. Melania Trump previously sued Mail Media Inc. in Maryland, but a judge earlier this month ruled the case was filed in the wrong court. The lawsuit is now filed in New York, where the corporation has offices. Mrs. Trump also had sued blogger Webster Tarpley for reporting the unsubstantiated rumors. Trump filed the lawsuit in Maryland after both Tarpley and the Daily Mail issued retractions. On Tuesday, Melania Trump's attorneys said they'd settled the Maryland case against Tarpley after he apologized and agreed to pay "a substantial sum as a settlement." Melania Trump's marketing has drawn scrutiny before. On Inauguration Day, the official White House biography for Melania Trump originally referenced her jewelry collection, which it noted was sold on the home-shopping channel QVC. By the next day, that bio had been edited and simplified to say that she had "launched her own jewelry collection." President Donald Trump continues to financially benefit from his global business empire, breaking from past practice. Previous presidents and their families have divested from business interests and placed their holdings in a blind trust, although there is no legal requirement to do so. Trump handed daily management of the real estate, property management and licensing to his adult sons and a longtime Trump Organization employee. In the movie La La Land, the heroine fields calls in the current style, with her cellphone pressed close to her ear. When President Barack Obama gave his farewell address, he equated innovation with a computer in every pocket. Some users sleep with their cellphones on the nightstand or even tucked under the pillow. But how close should you really get to your cellphone? The answer depends, in part, on whom you ask. Government experts say cellphones, which emit radio frequency radiation, have not conclusively been linked to any health problem. But some critics point to studies they say raise concerns, including a preliminary report by the National Toxicology Program that rats exposed to cellphone radiation experienced a small but significant increase in heart and brain tumors. Critics also point to studies indicating that cellphone exposure may negatively affect sperm quality. Given those considerations, we asked government spokespeople, an industry representative and a skeptical scientist what Americans should do if they want to reduce their exposure to cellphone radiation. Heres what we found: Follow the advice of the cellphone manufacturer. Cellphones are tested for radiation emission and approved by the government as safe for use at a small but significant distance from your body. You should be able to find that distance in the fine print of your manual or other instructions that come with your phone, and it differs from phone to phone. For instance, youre supposed to keep an iPhone 7 at least 5 mm (about 0.2 inches) away from your body, a Samsung Galaxy S6 at least 1.5 cm (about 0.6 inches) and a Google Pixel 1 cm (about 0.4 inches) away. The takeaway: Dont keep your cellphone in your pocket or your bra when its powered on. If you want to go further, consider the suggestions of government scientists. Youll see small differences in the positions stated on the websites of various government agencies, with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) telling us, reassuringly that the weight of scientific evidence has not linked cellphones with any health problems. The National Toxicology Program at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences agrees that theres no conclusive evidence linking cellphones to any health problems. But it also says that little is known about potential health effects of long-term exposure to radio frequency radiation, the kind of radiation emitted by cellphones, and that data from human studies is inconsistent. The FDA and the NTP say that if you are concerned about cellphone radiation, you can take two simple steps. You can reduce the amount of time you spend using your cellphone, and you can use speaker mode or a headset to increase the distance between your head and the phone. Want to do everything possible, short of ditching your cellphone? There are webpages for that, but make sure you choose the right one. Rather than scrolling around and scaring yourself with off-the-wall claims, consider turning to reputable scientists, such as Devra Davis, who was the founding director of the Center for Environmental Oncology at the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute, or Joel Moskowitz, director of the Center for Family and Community Health at the University of California at Berkeley. Moskowitz and Davis are among the over 220 scientists who have signed the International Electromagnetic Field Scientist Appeal calling for tougher limits on cellphones and related technologies. Moskowitz suggests a number of ways to reduce radiation exposure, including keeping your cellphone away from your body when its on; maintaining a distance from your head and reproductive organs; using speakerphone or a headset, or texting instead of calling; waiting for a good signal, as your cellphone emits more radiation when the signal is poor; avoid using it while in enclosed metal areas such as elevators, cars, buses, trains or planes and turn off your phone when you aren't using it, or switch to airplane mode. According to Callow, the group has not followed through on the threat and has not yet released any installments of Davenport's data on its multiple platforms. EAST MOLINE -- A chicken named "Giselle" visited the East Moline city council and helped persuade all but two members to vote in favor of pet hens. Alds. Nancy Mulcahey, Ward 3, and Gary Almblade, Ward 2, opposed a much discussed "housing chickens in East Moline" ordinance. But Alds. Ed DeJaynes, Ward 4; Humberto Aguilar, Ward 5, Robert Cheffer, Ward 6, and Gary Westbrook, Ward 7, favored the idea. Ald. Helen Heiland, Ward 1, was absent. Mayor John Thodos had figured that the council had spent three or four months discussing the issue at committee-of-the-whole meetings and spent more than an hour Monday to talk more about it. Council members will take a final vote on it at its 6:30 p.m. Feb. 21 meeting. The recommendation was for six hens, no roosters, and structures such as chicken coops be kept 25 feet from property lines. The decision pleased Jan Williams, of East Moline, and Giselle. Ms. Williams handed council members packets of information and discussed how they were provided by Silvis, which was the first of the Quad-Cities to allow backyard chickens. She also briefly brought Giselle out of her cage to show council and audience members what the bantam frizzle hen looked like. A handful of other people also talked about the benefits of pet hens and fresh eggs. Ald. Almblade countered by sharing information he had gathered on the internet, including dangers associated to salmonella, odors, flies and other pests, and predators. Ms. Williams explained how responsible owners addresses each concern, saying there's no way her chickens bought privately could get salmonella. Only chickens sold commercially face that risk. "You have to want to be a good animal lover and maintain your coop," she said. She urged council members to fashion their plan after what Silvis has done. "If it ain't broke, don't fix it," Ald. DeJaynes said. In other action, council members voted in favor of making the former Case IH plant, now known as The Bend, as a business district. It also paved the way for the city to charge a 1 percent hotel room tax in that district, as done by other hotels in neighboring cities and beyond, city administrator Darin Girdler said. It also cleared the way to charge a 1 percent tax on retail business done in The Bend district. Council action followed a 5:30 p.m., public hearing, during which business district consultants Maureen Barry and Tricia Marion Ruffolo, of Ehlers and Associates, of Chicago, presented a project overview. A handful of questions asked dealt with hotel room and retail taxes, and whether such projects benefit developers or taxpayers more. Declaring it a business district was a further required step taken by the city to redevelop the property. Council members unanimously approved the plan Plans unveiled in December called for a nine-story, 230-room Hyatt House/Hyatt Place Hotel, and a first phase of building 180 apartments, on 132-acres, followed by two later phases. The hotel, apartments and infrastructure development will cost $76.5 million and will generate more than 1,000 jobs, according to earlier reports. In other action, committee-of-the-whole members: --Recommended making it unlawful to inter or bury people's bodies withing city limits except for in a properly established cemetery. --Hired vendor J&M Displays Inc., to a multiyear contract for fireworks displays, with 15 percent more product for a $10,000 display. --Buying a new squad car to replace one that was damaged in a late January traffic accident. --Approved buying a second emergency response boat using federal maritime security grant money. KEWANEE -- Offenders are scheduled to start arriving Feb. 16 at the Illinois Department of Corrections's Life Skills Reentry Center east of Kewanee, according to state officials. Formerly the Illinois Youth Detention Center-Kewanee, the Kentville Road facility has been converted to the state's first prison for offenders nearing the end of their sentences, teaching them skills to help them after their release. The Kewanee facility is one of three Life Skills Re-entry Centers expected to open this year as part of Gov. Bruce Rauners plan to reduce the prison population and restructure the states criminal justice system. People deserve a second chance to get their lives back on track, Gov. Rauner said in a released statement. "The courses offered at the Life Skills Re-entry Center will provide these men with a stronger foundation and set them up for success when they leave prison. In 2001, IYC-Kewanee opened as a maximum security youth facility with 238 employees. Able to hold 354 youths, by March 2016 there were only 74 at the site. After slating IYC-Kewanee for closure, state officials announced in May that it would be re-opened as an adult facility for soon-to-be-released offenders. According to IDOC Director John Baldwin, nearly half of the people who leave Illinois prisons return within three years. "This creates a revolving door to prison which continually breaks men and women down, tears families apart and hits taxpayers pockets for much more than what the state can afford," he said. "It is clear that what weve been doing as an agency is not working, and the Life Skills Reentry Centers give us an opportunity to reverse that trend and get it right. The Kewanee prison will offer educational, job readiness and cognitive behavior therapy courses to offenders with one to four years left on their sentences. They also will learn skills such as how to manage a bank account, use new technology and schedule medical appointments. IDOC officials said the facility also will house a small number of offenders with more than four years left on their sentences who will complete the coursework and then return to medium and maximum security facilities as peer educators for other offenders. In preparation for its new role, the Kewanee facility added new security mechanisms and a commissary. Also, former IYC-Kewanee staff received mental health training and learned how to communicate with adult offenders. We have to de-institutionalize these men and help them see themselves as productive citizens, not as convicts or inmates, said Tony Williams, warden at the Kewanee Life Skills Reentry Center. They are eventually going back to our communities," he said. "They will be living with us and working with us, and I want to give them the best opportunity to stay out of our facilities. ORION -- Henry County mayors are refusing to pay the countys proposed new charge for police dispatching. Mayor James Cooper told trustees Monday that a letter to the county which he delivered to the courthouse last week includes the mayors refusal to pay. He said Annawan Mayor Tim Wise gave him the letter, and he collected signatures and turned it in to the county. Orion is being asked to pay $4,400 to start with this year, eventually working up to an estimated $17,500. He cited a number of reasons for the refusal. No one had advance warning. The calls include those outside municipal boundaries. There are charges each time an officer logs on and off. In the case of both Orion and Cambridge, the towns already have contracts with the county that include wording about paying for dispatching. Orion is paying about $200,000 per year for police coverage. He said he didnt know how the county distributed the costs or even how it arrived at the original sum for police dispatching. Towns like Bishop Hill, Osco and Lynn Center were not included. There are just a lot of things in there that need to be addressed and clarified, he said. The only fair way to do this is everyone in the county pays to do this. We do understand costs are an issue and are willing to be included in that fee, but we need to be included in how youre figuring that, he added. Trustee Steve Newman suggested the change might cause the village to re-think its mode of policing. We may bring back the idea of maybe having our own police, maybe having full-time coverage; I dont know, he said. Mayor Cooper said he felt the county is aware of the unpopularity of its concept, and it may not move forward from a Feb. 9 public safety meeting to the Feb. 16 county board for a vote, but stranger things have happened. The board also got an update on the failure of the countys storm siren. Mayor Cooper reported Supreme Radio is coming to Orion at no charge to change the radio frequency to enable the fire department to set off sirens. The mayor said he was adamant that this is a temporary fix because the village doesnt have around-the-clock personnel to monitor events. He said county emergency management director Mat Schnepple and public safety chairman Marshall Jones met with him in Orion and stood by the countys decision to wait for a federal grant to fix the emergency siren. He said he felt if anything were to happen in the interim, residents would blame him as the mayor and his son-in-law as fire chief. Trustee Bob Mitton said he got blank looks when he first confronted the county after noticing the absence of Tuesday's test sirens. Mayor Cooper repeated his dismay that it had been six months after the county first found out about the problem in July. He said he was confident the three affected villages including Annawan and Woodhull would have come up with the $5,500 to repair the siren had they known about it. It could be a year before thats fixed is what were looking at now, he said. COAL VALLEY -- Residents are demanding answers from trustees over a proposed multi-million water infrastructure project. Village officials were confronted during the Feb. 1 board meeting by Greg Mosley, who said he estimates the $4.3 million project to be closer to $6.3 million after factoring in contingency costs and interest. "I've been studying this water project, and the more I study it, the more concerns I have," he said. "We're really borrowing almost $6.3 million, not $4 million or $5 million I've heard in these meetings. The interest on this is over $54,000 a year and that's if you can bring it in on budget, and I don't believe that you can. "Even this garage you built back here went way over budget. It's pretty sad when we can't build a garage on budget. That's even using the public works (employees) to hammer nails." Village officials have applied for a 20-year loan at 1.6 percent interest, pending approval from the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency. Mayor Emil Malanka reported during the meeting the village has received official planning approval from the EPA. Mr. Mosley, a local business man who owns Harris Pizza and a mobile home parts business, told trustees he would start attending village meetings with his attorneys. He also may get a bulk mail permit and send letters to all residents titled, "Wake Up Coal Valley." "You'd better wake up because we're spending too much money and we're getting nothing done! We don't have the sanitary sewer manholes fixed from three years ago. We haven't gotten that project done! We waste money," Mr. Mosley said. "I've had enough! If you want to see how to play the ball, you're talking to the right dude. I'll show you how to play." Trustee David Timmons asked Mr. Mosley to make sure his facts are correct if he chooses to mail out such letters. In order to pay for improvements to the village's water system, officials have proposed raising rates from $7.25 per 1,000 gallons to $11.25. Upgrades include replacing the four-inch water main along U.S. 150 with a higher capacity eight-inch main at a cost of $117,000, installing a new eight-inch water main on W. 24th Ave. for $83,000, and building a new 150,000-gallon water tower with a 12-inch water main at the site of Well No. 4 at a cost of nearly $2 million. Trustees last month approved the removal of Crest View, Forest View and Timber Ridge housing additions from the project, bringing the estimated cost down from $5.3 million to $4.3 million. Mayor Maslanka has said one objective of the project is to grow the village by running water lines to outlying sub-divisions and Niabi Zoo in the hopes those areas would become customers of the village's water service and eventually annex into Coal Valley. Village administrator Annette Ernst said the average household uses 4,000 gallons of water each month. "Do you have any idea what the water rates in the city of Davenport are per 1,000 gallons? $5.74," Mr. Mosley said, noting the water rate in Rock Island is $3.68 per 1,000 gallons, and Orion charges $5.91. "Does that include all the extra charges that they have, too?" asked Mayor Maslanka. "I know people who live in Orion who have special assessments for their water. You're rattling off numbers without making a comparison that's apples to apples. I'm a little concerned with that." Reacting to news that the village owes Missman Inc. $122,000 for engineering fees, resident Brian Peterson asked trustees to account for $100,000 when trustees had only approved $20,000. "I think the citizens have a right to know where our $100,000 went," Mr. Peterson said. "Due to the sensitive nature of that, I can't really comment on it. There is some question as to the authorization of the $100,000. That hasn't been settled yet," Mayor Maslanka replied. Mr. Peterson stated no one will move to Coal Valley if water rates are raised to $11.25 to subsidize the water project. Mr. Mosley said all resident are interested in what is best for the village. "We are, but we've spent four years on this water project and we don't have any development going on," he said. "We've got nothing planned for the future, and we're running water lines to nowhere - where there is no development. "What we need here is some transparency." ROCK ISLAND -- With Mayor Dennis Pauley breaking a 3-to-3 tie vote, the Rock Island City Council reversed a January council decision and reinstated Milan-based Brandt Construction as one of three emergency contractors for the city. Ald. Virgil Mayberry, 2nd Ward, made the motion to amend the emergency contractor list and include Brandt. His motion was seconded by Ald. Stephen Tollenaer, 4th Ward, and supported by Ald. Chuck Austin, 7th Ward. Those voting against the motion were Alds. Ivory Clark, 1st Ward; P.J. Foley, 3rd Ward, and Kate Hotle, 5th Ward. Ald. Joshua Schipp, who works for a labor management organization, abstained from the vote. At the Jan. 23 council meeting, members voted 4-to-2 in favor of eliminating Brandt from the emergency contractor list. Ald. Foley made a motion at that meeting specifying only those companies with corporate offices in Rock Island could do the emergency repairs. The city's public works department had recommended Brandt, along with Langman and Sons Construction and Valley Construction, both with corporate offices in Rock Island. According to the city, the emergency contractor rotation list is used to perform emergency repairs that can't be done by city crews and must be accomplished quickly. Those repairs do not include a standard bidding procedure. Brandt has an asphalt plant in southwest Rock Island. According to the city, the emergency contractor rotational list has been used by its public works department for over 30 years. At some point, it was decided that only contractors with a presence in Rock Island could be on the list. Brandt and the city's relationship soured in 2016 after a multi-million dollar street and sewer project along 6th Avenue ran nearly a year past deadline, resulting in complaints from citizens and business owners along the project's path. Ald. Mayberry, who initially voted Brandt off the emergency list, said he wanted to revisit the issue after speaking to residents in his ward, including members of the Brandt family. Ald. Mayberry said he was disappointed with how Brandt handled the 6th Avenue relief sewer project, but said the emergency rotation list is a separate issue. "We're talking about apples over here and oranges over there," Ald. Mayberry said. "When we're talking about depriving someone in this community, taxpayers, of making a living, I've got a problem with that. "These people live all over Rock Island and other places, too, who work for Brandt." Ald. Mayberry said constituents were unhappy that Brandt was excluded from the list of emergency contractors. "The Brandt family, all of them live in the second ward," Ald. Mayberry said. "The family members, I don't know if they voted for me or not. That has nothing to do with it. "But, I represent them now. We need to keep as many businesses in Rock Island as we can. I don't agree with the 6th Avenue project at all, but that's a separate issue." Mayor Pauley said he supported the original recommendation by city staff to include Brandt in the emergency rotation, and that's why he voted in favor of putting Brandt back on the list. "They do have facilities in Rock Island," the mayor said. "Many of the Brandt family do live in Rock Island." Ald. Foley expressed his disappointment in council members voting to include Brandt in the emergency rotation. He said the city still has ongoing issues over the 6th Avenue project, which includes whether the city will assess "liquidated damages" of $2,200 per day the project went over deadline. He also noted Brandt was being sued by a subcontractor for not being paid on the 6th Avenue project. "According to the Brandt side, there were no issues," Ald. Foley said. Ald. Foley said he wanted to support those contractors with corporate headquarters in Rock Island. "I find it very interesting some council members talk about regionalism," Ald. Foley said. "If you talk about regionalism, then you should open up the contract to all contractors on the Illinois side." MILAN -- Thanks to an increase in property valuation, several taxing district organizations will receive their cut of a more than $1 million tax increment financing district check in the coming weeks. Three separate TIF districts in Milan -- which includes six different TIFs -- have seen increased valuation, according to village administrator Steve Seiver. On Monday, he told village trustees Milan will receive $118,139.91 out of a total of $1,093,847.11. "It can be used for a variety of projects," he said of the money. Others receiving money will include the Rock Island school district, Black Hawk College, Rock Island County, Metro transit and several township organizations. Rock Island schools will see the biggest portion, receiving $642,463.71. "I know a lot of people criticize TIFs, but we've made good use out of them," said Milan Mayor Duane Dawson. He added the TIFs helped bring more opportunities to the area and now are helping local schools, libraries and fire departments. Also on Monday the board: -- Tabled an ordinance regarding travel, meal and lodging expenses. They are required to pass an ordinance this month, but board members want changes in the proposed ordinance. The changes tweaks include allowing family to travel with employees in personal vehicles and the amount allotted for meals while traveling. -- Approved a 25-year franchise ordinance for electricity with MidAmerican Energy, giving the firm the right to provide and sell electricity to residents and businesses in Milan. Go To The Polls And Pull The Lever We hope everyone turns out to pull the lever next Tuesday (Nov. 8). Actually, new voters wont know what we are talking about, as the... Letters To The Editor Street Closure Dangers Neighbors, Friends, Citizens of NYC/QUEENS: Many may not know that NYC has decided to close off miles of streets to cars in... US satellite firm DISH Network has invested in an initiative to buck the low ratings plaguing the pay-TV industry with a new Tuned in to You brand promise and an accompanying Spokeslistener campaign. Customers just want to be heard in an industry that has forsaken its ability to listen, explained Erik Carlson, DISH president and COO. Tuned in to You is more than a marketing slogan. Its a company-wide rallying cry and a long-term business philosophy. DISH has a history of putting our customers first and taking bold steps to make TV better. We are at our best when we listen to and fight for what our customers want.DISH said that it is examining every customer touchpoint, across all departments, to evolve the delivery of customer service throughout its nationwide workforce.These efforts include the October launch of Base Camp, an immersive training programme for frontline employees. Corporate employees work in the field for one month to gain practical experience supporting new and existing customers. Participants field customer calls from billing inquiries to tech troubleshooting and sales inquiries from prospective customers. They also spend full business days accompanying DISHs professional technicians to observe the in-home services completed daily.The notion that management should roll back its sleeves and work with its customer base is almost unheard of in corporate America, said Carlson. But we cant possibly fulfil on our Tuned in to You promise without a working knowledge of our customers and the interactions they have with our brand.DISH expects to graduate 700 employees including senior leaders from Base Camp by year-end. All interns and full-time new hires at DISHs headquarters complete Base Camp within the first two months of their employment, while a plan is in place for all existing corporate team members to enrol in the training.Base Camp was one of the most eye-opening and educational experiences Ive had during my tenure at DISH, said Warren Schlichting, DISH executive vice president of media sales, marketing and programming. One by one, Base Camp is instilling into the members of our headquarters team a Tuned In To You mentality and a sense of urgency to improve our customer experience.An immediate change consumers will see is DISH prominently featuring feedback forms across every DISH.com webpage. The company proactively asking TV lovers to share the ideas they see as capable of improving the customer experience.Meanwhile, a multimillion dollar ad campaign The Spokeslistener challenges the traditional spokesperson convention commonly used in television advertisements. DISH, with creative agency Camp + King, launched the series of television, radio and digital advertisements that illustrate the common frustrations experienced by pay-TV customers.A spokesman talks at you, while a Spokeslistener listens to and communicates with you, said Jay Roth, DISH senior vice president and chief marketing officer. Its a demonstration of our commitment to acknowledge common customer frustrations, and then take the appropriate action to provide meaningful solutions. TV-maker Vizio will pay $2.2 million in fines ordered by the Federal Trade Commission and the New Jersey Attorney Generals office for collecting data from smart TV users without their consent. The complaint alleged that in February 2014, Vizio rolled out a smart TV that, via a Smart Interactivity feature for content recommendations, captures second-by-second information about video displayed. The company then allegedly sold that intelligence to third-party advertising companies, along with demographic information tied to the data, such as sex, age, income, marital status, household size, education level, home ownership and household value.The federal court order requires Vizio to prominently disclose and obtain consent for its data collection and sharing practices, and requires it to delete any data collected before 1 March 2016. It also must implement a comprehensive data privacy programme and biennial assessments of that programme. Thaicom has appointed Supoj Chinveeraphan as chief strategy officer, tasking him with growing the satellite operating company as an Asian brand. Prior to joining Thaicom, Supoj Chinveeraphan (pictured) held the post of director and general manager of IPSTAR Australia and New Zealand from 2009 to 2015.As Thaicom continues to expand, Dr Chinveeraphans business savvy and industry experience driving business and brand strategy will only accelerate our momentum. He will help us push new strategic initiatives and pursue new business development opportunities. I am certain Dr Chinveeraphan will be a great asset for Thaicom to stay ahead of the curve, said Paiboon Panuwattanawong, CEO at Thaicom.Supoj Chinveeraphan added: I look forward to steering Thaicoms growth agenda and helping bring strategic initiatives to fruition. The satellite industry is on the verge of change and so we have to develop our business and operations expertly to stay competitive. I could not be more excited to head Thaicoms strategic direction at this time as we aim to pursue new business development opportunities across Thaicoms markets. Prosecutor seeks long prison terms for men accused of planning terror attack in Moscow MOSCOW, February 7 (RAPSI) Prosecutor has demanded to sentence three men, who stand charged with planning a terror attack in Moscow in 2015, to prison terms varying from 5 to 15 years, the Moscow District Military Court's spokesperson Irina Zhirnova told RAPSI on Tuesday. The court was asked to sentence Mokhmad Mezhidov and Aslan Baysultanov to 15 years each and Elman Ashayev to 5 years in jail. In 2015, the Federal Security Service (FSB) arrested a group of alleged terrorists who planned to organize an explosion at Moscow public transport. Investigators believe that terrorists attempted to intimidate Russian authorities to stop military operation against the Islamic State forces in Syria. The Islamic State group, also called ISIS, is banned in Russia as a terrorist organization. FSB chief Alexander Bortnikov announced earlier that the alleged mastermind behind the planned attack has come to Russia from Syria. Russian military doctors receive prison terms for taking bribes MOSCOW, February 7 (RAPSI, Oleg Sivozhelezov) The Moscow District Military court has found three medical employees of the Vishnevsky Third Central Military Clinical Hospital guilty of taking bribes and sentenced them to various prison terms, RAPSI reported from the court on Tuesday. The hospitals deputy head Sergey Svistunov has been sentenced to 9 years in high security prison, fined 4 million rubles ($68,100) and stripped of his Colonel rank and prohibited from holding key positions in health care providing institutions for 6 years. Chief of one of the hospital departments Dmitry Mokritsky received a 5-year prison term pus 2-million-rubles fine ($34,000). He was also deprived of a right to hold key posts in medical organizations for 3 year. The third defendant, head of admitting office Avetis Melkonyan, who had pleaded guilty, was sentenced to 3.5 years in high security prison. Prosecutors earlier asked to give 12 years in high security prison plus 8-million rubles ($136,300) fine to Svistunov, 9 years 9 prison plus 2.5-million rubles ($42,600) fine to Mokritsky, and 7 years in jail plus 2.5-million rubles fine to Melkonyan. According to investigators, the accused persons took bribes from patients ranging from 30,000 ($511) to 350,000 rubles ($6,000). The court found that Svistunov had used his official position for committing the crime. During the trial Svistunov and Mokritsky has pleaded not guilty. Russian Interior Ministry proposes to change procedure of obtaining citizenship MOSCOW, February 7 (RAPSI) - The Interior Ministry has prepared a bill changing the procedure of obtaining Russian citizenship by foreigners circumventing stage of temporary residence. The bills project was published on the website for legal acts on Tuesday. According to the explanatory note, the two-stage system for obtaining a residence permit as well as quota mechanism for obtaining a temporary residence permit complicate the process of obtaining citizenship for the majority of law-abiding immigrants. The bill introduces option for foreigners to obtain residence permit based on the scoring system, bypassing the stage of a temporary residence permit. Authors of the bill argue that this change will attract foreigners wishing to reside in Russia while implementing system based on selection criteria which will correspond to the economic and demographic policies of the Russian Federation. Chance of obtaining a residence permit quickly will be available not only to Russian-speaking citizens of former Soviet republics, but also to representatives of other nations who want to live and work in Russia. Authors of the bill remind of scoring system implemented in Australia and Canada, which is based on the criteria of immigrants personal worth. They note that this system significantly increased efficiency of immigration policy. This is a press release by NN Group N.V. ('NN Group'), pursuant to the provisions of Section 4 Paragraph 3 and Section 13 Paragraphs 1 and 2 of the Decree on Public Takeover Bids (Besluit Openbare Biedingen Wft) (the 'Decree') in connection with the recommended public offer by NN Group for all the issued and outstanding ordinary shares in the capital of Delta Lloyd N.V. ('Delta Lloyd'). This announcement does not constitute an offer, or any solicitation of any offer, to buy or subscribe for any securities. Any offer is made only by means of the Offer Memorandum, which was made available on 2 February 2017, and subject to the restrictions set forth therein. Terms not defined in this press release will have the meaning given thereto in the Offer Memorandum. This announcement is not for release, publication or distribution, in whole or in part, in or into, directly or indirectly, Canada or Japan or in any other jurisdiction in which such release, publication or distribution would be unlawful. Reference is made to the joint press release by NN Group and Delta Lloyd, dated 2 February 2017 regarding the publication of the Offer Memorandum in connection with the recommended public cash offer by NN Group Bidco B.V., a directly wholly-owned subsidiary of NN Group ('the Offeror') to all holders of issued and outstanding ordinary shares in the capital of Delta Lloyd (the 'Shares') to acquire their Shares at a price of EUR 5.40 (cum dividend) in cash for each Share (the 'Offer'). NN Group announces today that, NN Group acquired 24,618,525 Shares held by Talpa Beheer B.V. through a private transaction against a consideration of EUR 5.36 per Share, representing a total value of EUR 131,955,294. The consideration was paid from the cash capital available at the holding company. Together with the 11,655,101 Shares already held by NN Group prior to 7 February 2017, NN Group holds 36,273,626 Shares, representing 7.8% of the aggregate number of issued and outstanding ordinary and preference shares in the capital of Delta Lloyd and 8.0% of the issued and outstanding ordinary share capital of Delta Lloyd. NN Group has notified the AFM in accordance with Section 5:38 of the Dutch Act on Financial Supervision (Wet op het Financieel Toezicht). Offer Memorandum, Position Statement and further information Information regarding the Offer is made available by way of the Offer Memorandum and/or the Position Statement dated 2 February 2017. Digital copies of the Offer Memorandum are available on the websites of Delta Lloyd (www.deltalloyd.com) and NN Group (www.nn-group.com). Copies of the Offer Memorandum are also available free of charge at the offices of Delta Lloyd and the Settlement Agent at the addresses mentioned below. A digital copy of the Position Statement is available on the website of Delta Lloyd (www.deltalloyd.com). Delta Lloyd Delta Lloyd N.V. Amstelplein 6 1096 BC Amsterdam The Netherlands Settlement Agent (ABN AMRO) Gustav Mahlerlaan 10 P.O. Box 283 1000 EA Amsterdam The Netherlands Other To the extent permissible under applicable law or regulation, NN Group and its affiliates or brokers (acting as agents for NN Group or its affiliates, as applicable) may from time to time after the date hereof, and other than pursuant to the intended offer, directly or indirectly purchase, or arrange to purchase, ordinary shares in the capital of Delta Lloyd, that are the subject of the Offer. To the extent information about such purchases or arrangements to purchase is made public in the Netherlands, such information will be disclosed by means of a press release to inform shareholders of such information, which will be made available on the website of NN Group. In addition, financial advisors to NN Group may also engage in ordinary course trading activities in securities of Delta Lloyd, which may include purchases or arrangements to purchase such securities. Media Relations NN Group Media Relations +31 70 513 8125 mediarelations@nn-group.com Investor Relations NN Group Investor Relations +31 88 663 5464 investor.relations@nn-group.com NN GROUP profile NN Group is an international insurance and asset management company, active in more than 18 countries, with a strong presence in a number of European countries and Japan. With around 11,500 employees the group offers retirement services, insurance, investments and banking to more than 15 million customers. NN Group includes Nationale-Nederlanden, NN and NN Investment Partners. NN Group is listed on Euronext Amsterdam (NN). Notice to US holders of Shares The Offer is made pursuant to the Offer Memorandum for the issued and outstanding ordinary shares of Delta Lloyd N.V., a public limited liability company incorporated under Dutch Law, and is subject to Dutch disclosure and procedural requirements, which are different from those of the United States. The Offer will be made in the United States in compliance with Section 14(e) of the U.S. Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the 'U.S. Exchange Act') and Regulation 14E promulgated thereunder, and the exemptions therefrom provided by Rule 14d-1(d), and otherwise in accordance with the requirements of Dutch and Belgium law. Accordingly, the Offer will be subject to certain disclosure and other procedural requirements, including with respect to withdrawal rights, the Offer timetable and settlement procedures and timing of payments that are different from those applicable under U.S. domestic tender offer procedures and laws. The receipt of cash pursuant to the Offer by a U.S. holder of Shares will generally be a taxable transaction for U.S. federal income tax purposes and may be a taxable transaction under applicable state and local, as well as foreign and other tax laws. Each holder of Shares is urged to consult his independent professional advisor immediately regarding the tax consequences of acceptance of the Offer. It may be difficult for U.S. holders of Shares to enforce their rights and claims arising out of the U.S. federal securities laws, since the Offeror and Delta Lloyd are located in a country other than the United States, and some or all of their officers and directors may be residents of a country other than the United States. U.S. holders of Shares may not be able to sue a non-U.S. company or its officers or directors in a non-U.S. court for violations of the U.S. securities laws. Further, it may be difficult to compel a non-U.S. company and its affiliates to subject themselves to a U.S. court's judgment. To the extent permissible under applicable law or regulation, including Rule 14e-5 of the U.S. Exchange Act, in accordance with normal Dutch practice, the Offeror and its Affiliates or brokers (acting as agents for the Offeror or its Affiliates, as applicable) may before or during the period in which the Offer remains open for acceptance, directly or indirectly, purchase, or arrange to purchase, Shares outside of the United States, from time to time, other than pursuant to the Offer. These purchases may occur either in the open market at prevailing prices or in private transactions at negotiated prices. In addition, the financial advisors to the Offeror may engage in ordinary course trading activities in securities of Delta Lloyd, which may include purchases or arrangements to purchase such securities. To the extent required in The Netherlands, any information about such purchases will be announced by press release in accordance with Article 13 of the Decree and posted on the website of NN Group at www.nn-group.com. Restrictions The distribution of this press release may, in some countries, be restricted by law or regulation. Accordingly, persons who come into possession of this document should inform themselves of and observe these restrictions. To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, NN Group and Delta Lloyd disclaim any responsibility or liability for the violation of any such restrictions by any person. Any failure to comply with these restrictions may constitute a violation of the securities laws of that jurisdiction. Neither NN Group, nor Delta Lloyd nor any of its advisors assumes any responsibility for any violation by any person of any of these restrictions. Any shareholder who is in any doubt as to its position should consult an appropriate professional advisor without delay. This announcement is not to be published or distributed in or to Canada or Japanor in any other jurisdiction in which such release, publication or distribution would be unlawful. The information in the press release is not intended to be complete, for further information reference is made to the Offer Memorandum. This announcement is for information purposes only and does not constitute an offer or an invitation to acquire or dispose of any securities or investment advice or an inducement to enter into investment activity. In addition, the Offer made pursuant to the Offer Memorandum is not being made in any jurisdiction in which the making or acceptance thereof would not be in compliance with the securities or other laws or regulations of such jurisdiction or would require any registration, approval or filing with any regulatory authority not expressly contemplated by the terms of the Offer Memorandum. Forward-looking statements Certain statements in this press release may be considered "forward-looking statements", such as statements relating to the impact of the Offer on the Offeror, NN Group and Delta Lloyd and the expected timing and completion of the Offer. Forward-looking statements include those preceded by, followed by or that include the words may, anticipated, expected or similar expressions. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this press release. Each of the Offeror, NN Group and Delta Lloyd, and any of their respective Affiliates, each with respect to the statements it has provided, believes the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions. Nevertheless, no assurance can be given that such statements will be fulfilled or prove to be correct, and no representations are made as to the future accuracy and completeness of such statements. The forward-looking statements are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors, many of which are beyond the Offeror's, NN Group's and Delta Lloyd's control, that could cause actual results to differ materially from historical experience or those results expressed or implied in these forward-looking statements. Potential risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, (i) the risk that required regulatory approvals may delay the Offer or result in the imposition of conditions that could have a material adverse effect on the Combined Group or cause the Offeror, NN Group and Delta Lloyd to abandon the Offer, (ii) the risk that the Offer Conditions may not be satisfied, (iii) risks relating to NN Group's ability to successfully operate Delta Lloyd without disruption to its other business activities, which may result in the Combined Group not operating as effectively and efficiently as expected, (iv) the possibility that the Offer may involve unexpected costs, unexpected liabilities or unexpected delays, (v) the risk that the businesses of the Offeror, NN Group and Delta Lloyd may suffer as a result of uncertainty surrounding the Offer, (vi) the effects of competition (in particular the response to the Transaction in the marketplace) and competitive developments or risks inherent to NN Group's or Delta Lloyd's business plans, (vii) the risk that disruptions from the Transaction will harm relationships with customers, employees and suppliers, (viii) political, economic or legal changes in the markets and environments in which NN Group and/or Delta Lloyd does business, (ix) economic conditions in the global markets in which NN Group and Delta Lloyd operate, (x) uncertainties, risk and volatility in financial markets affecting the Offeror, NN Group and/or Delta Lloyd, and (xi) other factors that can be found in NN Group's and its subsidiaries' and Delta Lloyd's press releases and public filings. Neither the Offeror, NN Group nor Delta Lloyd, nor any of their respective Affiliates and advisors, accepts any responsibility for any financial information contained in the Offer Memorandum relating to the business, results of operations or financial condition of the other or their respective groups. Each of the Offeror, NN Group and Delta Lloyd expressly disclaims any obligation or undertaking to disseminate any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statements contained herein to reflect any change in the expectations with regard thereto or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statement is based except as required by applicable laws and regulations or by any competent regulatory authority. The era of Donald Trump offers conservative reformers opportunities they have not seen since the 1980s. The most significant are in education, where the federal government has aggrandized its power, rendering states impotent. This overreach comes at the expense of two things very dear to the nationour schoolchildren and our understanding of shared power. Though the Trump administration will no doubt address the former problem, its means of doing so may very well exacerbate the latter. Too often, well-intentioned, conservative executives end up using federal power to heal the wounds caused by the very same bludgeonfederal power. If President Trump is correct in his inaugural exhortation that now is the hour of action, then statesnot federal bureaucratsneed to lead the charge on education policy. Among the many problems facing American education, the most significant may be our schools and colleges utter failure to teach civic education. Two generations of American students have been taught precious little about the American Founding or the Constitution, let alone the philosophical foundation of the American system of governmentfederalism. That notion of shared power between the federal government and states has, as a result, withered. How fitting, then, that Texaswhere the American spirit of independence, work ethic, freedom and a vibrant notion of state power is palpabletake the lead in renewing federalism. And how fitting that it do so in the policy area where revitalized state power is most needed: education. During the otherwise-bleak years of the previous administration, the Lone Star State has shined as a beacon of liberty, deregulation and restrained government authority. Harkening to Justice Louis Brandeis's early-20th-century comment that states are the laboratories of democracy, Texas-based initiatives have sprouted across the nation. It's no Texan braggadocio to observe that nationwide, efforts in tort reform, deregulation, tax reduction and criminal justice reform originated in Texas. The resulting Texas Model has become the blueprint for leaders in dozens of states. And that is precisely how our system should work. Though we are all familiar with the legitimate claims based on state sovereignty and the Tenth Amendment, our Founders viewed those as mere baseline expectations. In the realm of public policy, they saw the states as taking the initiative, being so bold and innovative that the federal government would have to serve as a check on themnot the other way around, as the case has been in recent years. As the Obama administration would be the first to say, Texas has led those efforts to check federal power. That defensive posture was necessaryand, for the Republic, crucial. But now Texas and other states must seize the field of education policy, exercising their own power with bold policy initiatives. The timing for Texas policymakers is perfect. The state's biennial legislative session has just begun, and the momentum for an education overhaul has never been stronger. At the National School Choice Week rally earlier this week, both Gov. Greg Abbott and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick gave rousing, full-throated endorsements of school choice reforms. There are obstacles, to be sure, but even the defenders of the status quo recognize that it's hard to defend the mediocrity of the status quo. Among the many school choice vehicles, the most far-reachingfor Texas and the United Statesis an Education Savings Account (ESA). Built on the successes of early choice vehicles such as tax-credit scholarships, ESAs offer wider and easier usage, removing the barriers to access that have been foisted on choice programs by opponents. Parents may use an ESA to pay for a host of education-related expenses, including private school tuition, tutoring, special needs programs and books. In sum, an ESA gives parents an unprecedented means for customizing their childs educationthe exact opposite of the conveyor-belt, cookie-cutter approach that has become modern American education. Though some reformers have advocated for federal ESAs, the inefficiency inherent in the large federal bureaucracy begs for states to take the lead. Texas, the most populous state with a bent toward conservative, free-market reforms, has a unique opportunity to show that states, as our Founders expected, can be at the forefront of policy innovation. There could not be more at stake. Our children deserve an end to zip-code discrimination, which dramatically limits their access to decent educational options. Furthermore, the civic health of our American Republicin particular, the long-standing view that states, not the feds, would leadhangs in the balance. If there ever was a time for all Americans to summon the Spirit of 1836the year of the Texas Revolutionnow would be the time. Kevin D. Roberts, Ph.D., is a longtime educator who is Executive Vice President of the Texas Public Policy Foundation in Austin. BERLIN, DETROIT, NORTHVILLE, Mich. and HOD HASHARON, Israel, Feb. 07, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- IAV, a world-leading provider of automotive engineering services, and Karamba Security, a provider of autonomous cybersecurity for connected vehicles, will demonstrate the potential risks to hacked vehiclesand how to block themat the 3rd Automotive Ethernet Congress, Feb. 7-8, 2017 in Munich. The demonstrations will take place at IAVs booth at Hilton Munich Park Hotel, Ballroom C. The joint IAV and Karamba demonstration addresses one of the events primary themes, that cybersecurity is essential to internet-connected automotive applications, especially on the way to autonomous vehicles. IAVs innovative Security Demonstrator uses a specially developed attack generator to target a specific connectivity function in a vehicle with a simulated attack. In the showcase, IAV presents a selection of common attack scenarios that simulate a cyberattack on the vehicle and demonstrate the potentially disastrous effects on a compromised vehicle. The demonstration also shows how a car connected by using wireless media (Wi-Fi, LTE, Bluetooth) can be protected from hacker attacks with Karamba Securitys Autonomous Security. Karambas software is uniquely positioned in that it enables electronic control units (ECUs) to autonomously protect themselves from hackers, with zero false positives. In practice, its Autonomous Security technology automatically hardens the cars internet-connected ECUs, blocking hackers and preventing them from compromising the car. IAVs and Karambas Autonomous Security Benefits: A software solution that prevents cyberattacks with zero false positives, eliminating the risk of safety impacts No malware updates required Automatic policy generation with zero development efforts About IAV Employing over 6,700 members of staff, IAV is one of the worlds leading providers of engineering services to the automotive industry. The company has been developing innovative concepts and technologies for future vehicles for more than 30 years. Core competencies include production-ready solutions in all fields of electronics, powertrain and vehicle development. Clients include all the world's premier automobile manufacturers and suppliers. In addition to development centers in Berlin, Gifhorn and Chemnitz/Stollberg, IAV also operates from other locations in Germany, Europe, Asia as well as North and South America. www.iav.com About Karamba Security Karamba Security provides industry-leading autonomous cybersecurity solutions for connected and autonomous vehicles. Karambas software products automatically harden the ECUs of connected and autonomous cars, preventing hackers from manipulating and compromising those ECUs and hacking into the car. Karambas Autonomous Security prevents cyberattacks with zero false positives, no connectivity requirements and negligible performance impact. More information is available at www.karambasecurity.com. Erica Ngoenha is a Program Officer at The German Marshall Fund of the United States where she works on transatlantic policy issues as they relate to the U.S. Congress. This piece is part of a special RCW series on Americas role in the world during the Trump administration. The views expressed are the author's own. If his first weeks in office are any indication, Donald Trumps presidency could mark a dramatic shift in the United States approach to womens rights globally. As one of his first acts in office, President Trump reinstated the so-called global gag rule, which prohibits U.S. foreign aid funding to groups that provide or educate patients about abortions as a family planning solution. Trumps decision was not entirely surprising. The policy has been continuously reaffirmed by Republican presidents since President Ronald Reagan first introduced it in 1984. The surprise is that Trump may have massively expanded the portion of U.S. development assistance impacted by the ban. In previous iterations, the rule was applied narrowly to family planning dollars which total an estimated $600 million. Trumps version of the rule is written more broadly, and activists fear it could impact about $9 billion in foreign aid. Given the size and scope of U.S. resources, the ban is likely to have far-ranging effects for some of the worlds most vulnerable women. Public health organizations will either have to forego U.S. government funding, or eliminate access to an important element of reproductive health services in order to retain funding. Beyond the global gag rule, there are other reasons for concern. The Trump administration has hinted at efforts to weaken many of the vehicles through which the United States has worked to advance womens rights. The administration has already circulated a draft executive order that would cut U.S. contributions to the United Nations by at least 40 percent. Through international treaties such as the U.N. Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) -- a signature international treaty that aims to ensure the rights of women globally -- the United Nations has served as an important platform for furthering gender equality. If carried out, these cuts could cripple a critical player in the womens rights movement. At times, Trump has indicated that he will reduce U.S. foreign assistance. As the worlds largest aid donor, the United States is uniquely positioned to advance womens rights through its development dollars. The government can require certain gender-related achievements as a condition of aid and make improvements on gender equality a major focus of its project evaluations. Even if the administration affirms the United States commitment to less controversial areas of womens rights, including programs to curb child marriages, eliminate female genital mutilation, and provide equal access to education, a decrease in development dollars will likely lead to U.S. retrenchment on these issues. A Mixed Legacy While prospects for U.S. leadership on global womens rights appear dim under Trump, the president already inherits a mixed legacy. On several key issues the United States lags behind not only its developed, Western counterparts but behind most other countries. The United States signed CEDAW in 1979 but has not ratified it, thus joining a small group of countries including Iran, Somalia, and Sudan who are not a party to the treaty. The United States is one of only nine countries in the world that does not guarantee paid maternity leave. And the United States also falls behind its peers in wage equality, ranking 66th according to a global analysis completed by the World Economic Forum. A Dream Deferred These choices have long diminished U.S. credibility as a global leader for womens rights. That is why for so many advocates of womens rights, the prospect of a Hillary Clinton presidency represented a real opportunity for the United States to assume the mantle of leadership on these issues in a way that no administration had attempted before. The leader who boldly declared that human rights are womens rights, and womens rights are human rights would have joined Germanys Angela Merkel and Britains Theresa May to complete the triumvirate of female politicians leading the Western world. In doing so, she would have surely expanded upon her career-long legacy of promoting gender equality across the globe. Instead, Trump, a man who had one of the most troubling personal tracks records with women of any modern presidential candidate, ascended to the presidency. Foreign Leaders Fill the Vacuum After Washington made it known that it would reinstate the global gag order, the Netherlands announced that it intends to create an international fund for abortions to fill the void the United States will leave behind. The Belgian government quickly voiced its support for the move, and another 20 nations are reportedly considering joining the Dutch. If the current trends continue, this will be a hallmark of the new global order ushered in by the Trump administration: Other countries will seek to fill the leadership vacuum left open by the United States. Unfortunately for women around the world, few other countries can muster the resources and influential platform that the United States has. Cause for Hope? Despite the troubling indications for U.S. leadership on global womens rights issues, there are reasons to be optimistic. During the presidential campaign, Trump promised to institute six weeks of paid maternity leave for new mothers, and proposed increased tax deductions for child care to ease the financial burden on working families. Ironically, a president with such a controversial record with women could bring about some significant improvements to the lives of American women and mothers. Implementation of these policies would give America a stronger moral footing upon which to stand within the international community, and it can send the signal that the United States is moving forward on these key issues, even as it loses ground on others. With his party in control of the U.S. Congress, Trump is better situated than Hillary Clinton, who would have undoubtedly faced at least a Republican House, to push these changes through the legislative branch. Another point of hope: The government bureaucracy is large and slow. Changing the policy direction of individual departments will be difficult, and bureaucrats dedicated to their work might find ways to slow or impede the process. Therefore, it is unlikely that Trump will be able to fully dismantle the numerous programs across the U.S. government aimed at promoting womens rights at home and abroad. Regardless of any domestic progress during Donald Trumps presidency, it will be difficult for the United States to play a leading role in advancing global womens rights. Given the actions the Trump administration has already taken, President Trumps own sordid history with women, and the strong opposition from women and womens groups he faces at home, the world will be looking elsewhere for leadership on gender equality. Property details: Vacant Land in Bay Minette, Baldwin County, Alabama! Item Id: Kelley01 Case Name: Kelley, Jennifer L (aka Jennifer Kelly) Case Number: 13 04326 Trustee: Description: Estate's interest in 5/6th ownership of 5 acres of vacant land in Bay Minette, Alabama. The property is located at 16520 Stace Road, Bay Minette, AL 36507 (also/formerly known as Rabun, AL). The status of water, power, sewer and utilities is unknown. The APN# is 14-06-23-0-000-004.013, and the PIN # is 341638. The legal description ... Price: $ 4,995 Seller State of Residence: Alabama Property Address: 16520 Stacy Road State/Province: Alabama City: Bay Minette Zip/Postal Code: 36507 Location: 365**, Bay Minette, Alabama You will be redirected to eBay Nearby 36507 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: Here's another opportunity for someone looking for land in Northern California, and this is one of the lots a little closer to the highway and lake, and only 90 minutes from the San Francisco Bay Area and adjacent to the Napa Valley and beautiful wine country. You will be bidding on this large residential lot that has a beautiful LAKE VIEW, approximately 8,000 square feet in size, and located less than a mile from Clear Lake, the largest natural lake entirely in the state. The property is locate... Price: $ 820 Seller State of Residence: California Property Address: 6141 Carfax Road State/Province: California City: Lucerne Type: Homesite, Lot Zoning: Residential Zip/Postal Code: 95458 Location: 928**, Orange, California You will be redirected to eBay Nearby 95458 Property details: Hilton Grand Vacations Club McAlpin-Ocean PlazaMiami Beach, Florida All images in this listing are general images of the resort and do not necessarily reflect the actual resort or units. Please perform your own due diligence OVERVIEW1430 OCEAN DR, MIAMI BEACH, FL 33139Miami's South Beach defines urban sophistication, with its al fresco cafes, art deco architecture, mosaic of culture and world-class attitude. With a premier Ocean Drive address in the heart of South Beach, Hilton Grand Vacation... Price: $ 750 Seller State of Residence: Florida Property Address: 1430 Ocean Drive State/Province: FLORIDA City: MIAMI BEACH Type: Beach/Ocean Zip/Postal Code: 33139 Location: 331**, Miami Beach, Florida You will be redirected to eBay Nearby 33139 , We're sorry, this article is not currently available English Swedish STOCKHOLM - 7 February 2017 Due to a typing error, the Swedish version of the press release regarding the convening notice to the Extraordinary General Meeting, that was made public on 6 February 2017, stated that the Extraordinary General Meeting will take place on Tuesday 8 March 2017. The correct day for the Extraordinary General Meeting is Wednesday 8 March 2017, as stated in the formal notice that will be published in the Official Swedish Gazette (Sw. Post- och Inrikes Tidningar) tomorrow 8 February 2017. For further information, please contact: Jim Van heusden, CEO, Karolinska Development AB Phone: +46 72 858 32 09 , e-mail: jim.van.heusden@karolinskadevelopment.com Christian Tange, CFO, Karolinska Development AB Phone: +46 73 712 14 30, e-mail: christian.tange@karolinskadevelopment.com TO THE EDITORS About Karolinska Development AB Karolinska Development AB is an investment company focused on identifying medical innovation and investing in the creation and growth of companies developing these assets into differentiated products that will make a difference to patients' lives and provide an attractive return on investment. Karolinska Development has access to world-class medical innovations at the Karolinska Institutet and other leading universities and research institutes in the Nordic region. The Company aims to build companies around scientists who are leaders in their fields, supported by experienced management teams and advisers, and co-funded by specialist international investors, to provide the greatest chance of success. Karolinska Development has established a portfolio of 10 companies targeting opportunities in innovative treatment for life-threatening or serious debilitating diseases. The Company is led by a team including investment professionals with strong venture capital backgrounds, experienced company builders and entrepreneurs, with access to a strong global network. For more information, please visit www.karolinskadevelopment.com Reality TV World is now available on the all-new Google News app and website. Click here to visit our Google News page, and then click FOLLOW to add us as a news source! NEW YORK, Feb. 07, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Attorney Advertising -- Bronstein, Gewirtz & Grossman, LLC remind investors that a class action lawsuit has been filed against Rio Tinto plc (Rio Tinto or the Company) (NYSE:RIO) and certain of its officers, and is on behalf of a class consisting of all persons or entities who purchased or otherwise acquired Rio Tinto American Depositary Receipts (ADRs) between March 16, 2012 and November 14, 2016, both dates inclusive (the Class Period). Such investors are advised to join this case by visiting the firms site: http://www.bgandg.com/rio. The class action lawsuit seeks to recover damages against Defendants for alleged violations of the federal securities laws under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the Exchange Act). Rio Tinto is a British-Australian multinational and one of the world's largest metals and mining corporations. The Company mines and produces aluminum products, including bauxite, alumina, and aluminum; copper, gold, silver, and molybdenum, as well as nickel; diamonds, titanium dioxide feedstocks, borates, and salt, as well as high purity iron, metal powders, zircon, and rutile; uranium; iron ore; and thermal coal, and coking or metallurgical coal. Rio Tinto held a significant stake in the Simandou iron mine at all relevant times. The Complaint alleges that throughout the Class Period, Defendants made materially false and/or misleading statements, as well as failed to disclose material adverse facts about the Rio Tintos business, operations, and prospects. Specifically, Defendants made false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (1) Rio Tinto violated anti-corruption laws in connection with its operations with respect to the Simandou project; (2) the above-mentioned violations would expose Rio Tinto to a heavy inspection and large fines; and (3) consequently, Rio Tintos public statements were materially false and misleading at all relevant times. On November 9, 2016, Rio Tinto said that on August 29, 2016, it became aware of email correspondence from 2011 relating to contractual payments totaling US$10.5 million made to a consultant providing advisory services on the Simandou project in Guinea. Rio Tinto began an investigation led by external counsel, contacted U.K. and U.S. authorities, and suspended Alan Davies, chief executive of Energy and Minerals. Debra Valentine, an executive of Rio Tintos Legal & Regulatory Affairs group also resigned. On November 14, 2016, post-market, Bloomberg News released an article: Rio CEO Says Staff Shocked by Probe That May Take Years. Following this news, and the continued investigation, Rio Tintos ADR price dropped $1.52, or 3.83%, to close at $38.13 on November 15, 2016. After market hours on November 15, 2016, Rio Tinto announced Mr. Davies and Ms. Valentines termination. Following this news, Rio Tintos ADR price dropped $0.77 per share, or 2.02%, to close at $37.36 on November 16, 2016. Then pre-market on November 18, 2016, Bloomberg News announced that Guineas Mines and Geology Minister, Abdoulaye Magassouba, had requested details of the internal inquiry from Rio Tintos Chief Executive Officer, Jean-Sebastian Jacques. That same day, Bloomberg News published an article: Rio Tinto Offered Bribe for Mine, Ex-Guinea Minister Says, writing that the head of Rio Tintos Guinea operation had offered a bribe to the countrys former mining minister for the Simandou project. Following these revelations, Rio Tintos ADR price dropped $1.01 per share, or 2.69%, to close at $36.55 on November 18, 2016. A class action lawsuit has already been filed. If you wish to review a copy of the Complaint you can visit the firms site: http://www.bgandg.com/rio or you may contact Peretz Bronstein, Esq. or his Investor Relations Analyst, Yael Hurwitz of Bronstein, Gewirtz & Grossman, LLC at 212-697-6484. If you suffered a loss in Rio Tinto you have until February 10, 2017 to request that the Court appoint you as lead plaintiff. Your ability to share in any recovery doesn't require that you serve as a lead plaintiff. Bronstein, Gewirtz & Grossman, LLC is a corporate litigation boutique. Our primary expertise is the aggressive pursuit of litigation claims on behalf of our clients. In addition to representing institutions and other investor plaintiffs in class action security litigation, the firms expertise includes general corporate and commercial litigation, as well as securities arbitration. Attorney advertising. Prior results do not guarantee similar outcomes. Videos Sorry, there are no recent results for popular videos. The results from a Red and Black/GLOBIS Center campus-wide survey touched on a variety of political issues from the economy to the environment to social justice and liberties. Presented are findings from The Red & Black and the Center for the Study of Global Issues survey on the political beliefs of the University of Georgia population. A lot goes on around campus, and sometimes it's hard to keep up with. From Black History month to the Super Bowl, The Red & Black compiled University of Georgia police responded to a report of damaged property at the Hunter Holmes Academic Building on Jan. 29. According to a police report, the exterior front glass door of the African Studies Institute on the second floor of the building was shattered. The celebration of pop music is tedious and often frustrating but sometimes wildly entertaining, and perhaps we'll hit all three notes at the 59th annual Grammy Awards on Sunday. While last year's big storylines pitted Kendrick Lamar's political hip-hop masterpiece "To Pimp a Butterfly" against Taylor Swift's "1989" for Album of the Year (Swift won), this year has even bigger names duking it out for the top spot: Beyonce's "Lemonade" and Adele's "25" are the two most notable nominees. Elsewhere, this year's most welcome story rests on Chicago's own Chance the Rapper, who racked up a historic seven nominations (a first for a streaming-only artist) and looks to take home the coveted Best New Artist award. I've long been on record as unenthusiastic about watching the Grammys, but I care about the opportunity to see Chance have a fantastic showing and represent his hometown's great music community. Advertisement Though I'm still getting over the initial shock of actually being invested in the Grammys, I managed to find the time to list the top five things I'll be looking out for when the broadcast airs at 7 p.m. on CBS. The Carpool Karaoke guy hosts, unfortunately. 1. Chance the Rapper Advertisement Like I mentioned, Chance the Rapper's seven nominations are a huge deal. To put things into perspective, last year, Taylor Swift received seven Grammy nominations. This year, Beyonce leads with nine total, while Drake, Rihanna and Kanye West rounded up eight apiece. More than that, Chance's nominations are historic for an unsigned artist who releases his streaming-only music for free. His 13-song "Coloring Book" project, which he considers a mixtape, is up for Best Rap Album after making Billboard history as the first full-length to chart on streams alone. He's also up for the Best New Artist award, which features nominees The Chainsmokers, Kelsea Ballerini, Maren Morris and Anderson .Paak. While I'd be fine with .Paak winning, I'll throw my TV out the window if "Nickelback of EDM" The Chainsmokers take home the award. On top of those nods, Chance has the opportunity to receive recognition from the Recording Academy for "No Problem," which is up for Best Rap Song and Best Rap Performance, as well as his West collaborations "Famous" (Best Rap Song) and "Ultralight Beam" (Best Rap Song and Best Rap/Sung Collaboration). 2. The rest of Chicago's big showing Chance the Rapper isn't the only Chicago artist looking to make a splash this year. West has eight nominations, but there's also BJ the Chicago Kid, who recently sang the national anthem at Barack Obama's Chicago farewell speech. He has nods for Best R&B Album ("In My Mind"), Best R&B Performance ("Turnin' Me Up") and Best Traditional R&B Performance ("Woman's World"). Chicago Americana hero Robbie Fulks has two nominations, Best Folk Album ("Upland Stories") and Best American Roots Song ("Alabama At Night"). Englewood native Jennifer Hudson, alongside the cast of "The Color Purple," is up for Best Musical Theater Album, while the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Lurrie Bell are nominated in classical music and blues categories, respectively. While many of these categories aren't broadcast on TV, all are worth keeping tabs on during the Grammys. Eat. Watch. Do. Weekly What to eat. What to watch. What you need to live your best life ... now. > 3. Album of the year Is it going to be Adele for her chart-shattering "25" or Beyonce for "Lemonade," which also doubles as one of the best films of 2016? Or will someone like Sturgill Simpson get the "Who Is Arcade Fire?" award for his pretty stellar "A Sailor's Guide to Earth" in a surprise upset? I have no idea! I just hope it's Beyonce. Advertisement 4. Where is Kanye? There will be at least four notable absences from the Grammys this year. Topping the bill is Frank Ocean, whose excellent "Blond(e)" disappointingly missed the deadline and was snubbed. He told the New York Times last fall, "That institution certainly has nostalgic importance. It just doesn't seem to be representing very well for people who come from where I come from, and hold down what I hold down." Making good on his promise to boycott the Grammys if Ocean's album was snubbed is West. Also missing the event are Album of the Year nominees Justin Bieber and Drake, but who cares about them? 5. Barely veiled references to the Trump administration Like Meryl Streep at the Golden Globes and the cast of "Stranger Things" at the SAG Awards, there's a good chance an artist is going to address the Trump administration with a fiery and potent speech. While in a normal year we'd bet on West making headlines, his absence and bizarre recent appearance at Trump Tower truly prove that this is not a normal time. @joshhterry | jterry@redeyechicago.com Is it because of the failure to deliver serious institutional reform or that, at the end of the day, we are like that only, asks T N Ninan. Image: Prime Minister Narendra Modi delivers his address via video conference, at the seventh centenary celebrations of Jagadguru Sri Madhwacharya, Udupi, in New Delhi on February 5, 2017. Photograph: PTI Photo. This year marks what would have been the close of the 12th five-year Plan (2012-17), had planning not been abolished. These five years represent a break from the steady acceleration of momentum that had been the story till 2012. Growth in the decade of the Eighth and Ninth five-year Plan periods (1992-2002) averaged 6.3 per cent. The following decade, which marked the 10th and 11th Plan periods (2002-12), saw growth spurt to 7.8 per cent -- despite the fact that four of those 10 years were after the start of the financial crisis. Against this, the 12th Plan will have averaged only about 6.8 per cent annual growth. Thats not bad going when most other economies have seen sharper deceleration. The world economy as a whole has shifted gears down, from more than four per cent growth to about three per cent. China, which averaged 10.5 per cent for two decades, and reported an unworldly 14 per cent at the peak of the cycle, is now clocking no more than 6.7 per cent. The erstwhile stars of South-east Asia are looking to do just about five per cent annually till 2020. Many large economies expect no growth at all, while some large economies that were bigger than Indias not long ago (Brazil, Russia, France, Italy) have actually shrunk in size. Almost all of this is well known, but to argue that the global situation explains our slowdown is to do a cop-out. The fact is that many of the problems that have bedeviled the economy these last five years have purely domestic origins -- the policy paralysis that marked the last two years of the Manmohan Singh government, the crony capitalism of the time, the domestic debt crisis that has hobbled, and continues to hobble both banks and large companies, and (lets face it) the Modi governments unwillingness to grasp the nettle when faced with difficult policy issues. The question is, what comes next? Will there be a fresh acceleration to eight, nine and even 10 per cent growth, as callow government ministers kept promising in the initial days of the Modi government? Or, are we going to see more years of relatively sluggish growth? Its hard to tell because the country could move in either direction. There is so much reform -- legal, administrative, policy -- waiting to happen that speeding up once again should be easy to do. But India remains essentially ungovernable, seemingly incapable of coordinated action to deliver what a much poorer Bangladesh has done on key millennium development goals. The initial policy reform was easy -- industrial licensing could be eliminated with a stroke of the pen. Process reform and programme delivery are another game altogether. Anyone in the three levels of Constitutionally mandated government can block or ignore initiatives. Supreme Court orders are increasingly disregarded. The courts on their part think nothing of issuing stay orders like a rash, then fail to hear the substantive cases for months at a stretch. Autonomous bodies created to address and redress the downsides of economic development, become sinecures and thoughtless roadblocks. Government teachers and doctors are beyond the reach of any carrot-and-stick approach aimed at improving the dismal record of public education and public health. Why, just buying stuff sensibly is beyond us; which other major navy has destroyers without helicopters, frigates without proper sonar, and submarines without torpedoes? It isnt all bad, of course, and many parts of the system are working as they should, or we would not be doing seven per cent growth. But these are real issues when you look to do eight per cent and more. The question that begs an answer is, why even a purposive prime minister, intent on showing results, is unable to untie so many Gordian knots. Is it because of the failure to deliver serious institutional reform or that, at the end of the day, we are like that only? Perhaps both. In an interview with Ranju Sarkar, the founders of Stellaris Venture Partners -- Ritesh Banglani, Alok Goyal and Rahul Chowdhri -- share discuss their unique founder network and why they are bullish on India. IMAGE: Stellaris Venture Partners backs entrepreneurs looking to use technology to solve India-specific problems and global software product businesses being created out of India. Photograph: Sivaram V/Reuters. Stellaris Venture Partners, founded by former Helion Venture hands Ritesh Banglani, Alok Goyal and Rahul Chowdhri, has raised $50 million to mark the first close of their $100-million fund. The partners share how the founder network, which has committed a quarter of the money, is also helping them source and evaluate deals. Edited excerpts. What's the idea behind the founder's network? How is it different from the ones independently investing in start-ups? ALOK: Stellaris has established a unique founder network, whose members include some of the most successful entrepreneurs, professionals and investors in India and abroad. We also have some of the best-known professionals in the country -- several senior partners of McKinsey and BCG, country heads of some of the largest global companies as well as some fund managers whose funds do not have any conflict with ours. The founder network's members are key investors in the fund. 25 per cent of our fund size is contributed by successful entrepreneurs and professionals whom we see as strategic investors. We have created a formal engagement programme to leverage their expertise during the entire investment cycle, including sourcing, diligence and portfolio management. Already a significant part of our deal flow is coming from the founder network members and we have added them as co-investors in our portfolio companies. What's the opportunity you see for an early-stage VC firm? What's the gap in the market you would like to exploit? RAHUL: Our strategy is simple -- we look to back two kinds of companies. One, entrepreneurs looking to use technology to solve India-specific problems. Two, global software product businesses being created out of India. We believe, technology creates discontinuous change and provides competitive advantages that are hard to replicate. Over the last decade, we saw our lives change because of the mass adoption of smartphones. Now with a combination of technologies such as IoT, data analytics and artificial intelligence, we stand at the cusp of multiple technology discontinuities simultaneously. Our intent is to back 18-20 high-quality teams, and even though we will start with small cheques, we will keep strong reserves to back good entrepreneurs long over their lifecycle. We will look to invest up to $3 million in a company at the time of entry, but also keep significant reserves for follow-on investment. Ideally, we will look to have 15-30 per cent stake in the companies we invest in. However, in a successful company, we may even go up to $10-15 million. How easy or difficult was raising money for you? ALOK: Raising funds is never easy, but we have been very fortunate to have some very high-quality institutional and individual investors. Fifty-plus entrepreneurs and business professionals have backed us. We are also proud to have some very well-known family offices in India as well as outside the country. IMAGE: From left, Stellaris Venture Partners -- Alok Goyal, Rahul Chowdhri and Ritesh Banglani. Photograph: Courtesy StellarisVP.com. Are you finding a dearth of investible start-ups... which have demonstrated proof of concept, path to profitability? RITESH: Not at all. We truly believe that India is the best place globally for ventures over the next couple of decades. India is a very large market, many large sectors of the economy have not yet seen any substantial impact of technology and, therefore, waiting to be disrupted. We think the next decade will be the golden period for start-ups. Our estimate is that we will see $500 billion of market cap created from technology eco-system in India How have been exits for early-stage VC firms in India? RAHUL: Like most things, their reactions have been mixed. That said, a vast majority of global LPs today recognise that the outside of the United States and China, India is the only other market that has the scale and other ingredients to create venture-style returns. Most of them are, therefore, already invested, about to be invested or actively considering it in their investment committees. As an industry, we are yet to prove ourselves in terms of exits. While there are some great examples of companies such as MMT, JD showing exits, we are only a 10-year old industry and a lot needs to be done. Are there any LPs investing for the first time in India through Stellaris? ALOK: Amongst both institutional investors and founder network members, there are many who are investing in India as an LP for the first time through Stellaris, and we are very proud of it. TAL Manufacturing Solutions expects its indigenously made affordable industrial robot, the Brabo, to boost the robotics vertical and contribute almost 40 per cent of its overall revenues in the next five years. Sohini Das reports. IMAGE: TAL Manufacturing Solutions, an arm of Tata Motors, had showcased the Brabo at the Make in India Summit last year. Photograph: Krishnendu Halder/Reuters . Tata Motors arm TAL Manufacturing Solutions Ltd had showcased its indigenously made affordable industrial robot the Brabo at the Make in India Summit last year. Betting on this new product, for which the company estimates sufficient traction among small and medium businesses, TAL expects the robotics vertical to contribute almost 40 per cent of its overall revenues in the next five years, from a marginal share at present. Amit Bhingurde, TAL's chief operations officer-robotics, told Business Standard they have already sold around 30 robots after they went to market in October 2016. Of these, only four-five were sold to original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), the rest being sold to small and medium enterprises (SMEs). TAL currently draws around 70 per cent of its revenues from the aerospace vertical where it is a supplier (tier-I and tier-II) to big names such as Boeing, Airbus and Rolls Royce. The manufacturing solutions vertical accounts for most of the remaining revenues as the robotics vertical is still in a nascent stage. But Bhingurde is confident that with a lead pipeline of more than 400 Brabos, and plans to focus on exports, the robotics vertical is likely to grow to a 40 per cent share of overall revenue within the next five years. IMAGE: The Brabo costs between 4.75 lakh and 6.5 lakh, and the cost is recovered within 15-18 months of commissioning the robot. Photograph: Courtesy TAL.co.in. The Brabo, which can be useful in materials handling, cementing applications, assembly operations etc., has been popular amongst SME customers, because of its affordability. It costs between 4.75 lakh and 6.5 lakh, and Bhingurde claims the cost is recovered within 15-18 months of commissioning the robot. The job that an operator takes seven days to complete is done by a Brabo in 2.3 days, thus significantly reducing the turnaround time. TAL's team is now working on developing additional features for the robot, including welding, soldering, riveting actions etc. "With the growing shortage of skilled manpower, ever-increasing wages, IR issues with existing labour unions and changes in regulatory framework, there is a strong case for adopting automation in the industry," TAL said on its website. Bhingurde said according to the International Federation of Robotics (IFR), the demand for industrial robots in India (the category the Brabo operates in), is around 6,000 units per annum. TAL has a manufacturing capacity of 3,000 robots in a year, which can be readily expanded up to 10,000 robots a year based on demand. Bhingurde, however, feels they are expanding the market by tapping SME customers. "Nearly, 80 per cent of robots made in India were till date going to OEMs. But, the SMEs represent a huge untapped market," he said. TAL has already exported one unit each of the Brabo to Dubai and Italy and is now working on getting additional international certifications that would enable it to tap more regulated markets such as the US in the long run. For now, India is definitely the focus market. The Lok Sabha on Tuesday passed a bill which makes holding of more than 10 old notes of Rs 500/1000 denomination punishable with a minimum fine of Rs 10,000, with the government saying the aim was to check parallel economy using the scrapped notes. Piloting the Specified Bank Notes (Cessation of Liabilities) Bill, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said it will extinguish the government's liability towards scrapped notes and also eliminate the possibility of their bring used as parallel currency. "No economy survives with ceased currency that operates in the market. There will be anarchy in the country if non-legal currency operated paralelly in the market," Jaitley said while replying to the discussion on the Bill which was approved by the House after rejecting the amendments moved by Opposition members. The bill, to replace the ordinance promulgated on December 30, also provides for a minimum fine Rs 50,000 for false declaration by persons who were abroad during the demonetisation period (November 9-December 30, 2016) and given time to deposit the scrapped notes with RBI till March 31. Jaitley said the volume of currency in India was extra ordinarily large and this has led to a shadow and parallel economy, facilitating crime and acting as a facilitator for corruption, fake currency, and terrorism. "We must move to a greater digitial economy and therefore free the economy from these vices....you cannot allow a parallel currency to operate in the market. So holding the currency beyond a specificed limit for research and numismatic purposes will be an offence. This is the rationale behind this bill," he said. He added that the volume of cash which is 12.2 per cent of the GDP is very high as compared to other countries. Responding to various questions raised by the members, Jaitley said discussions on demonetisation started with the RBI in February 2016 and later there used to be weekly meetings to oversee the preparations. The design for new notes was approved by the RBI and the government in May 2016, he said, adding utmost secrecy was maintained keeping in view the nature of the exercise. Terming demonetisation as "morally and ethically" correct decision, Jaitley asked the Opposition not to defend the black money in the name of farmers as they are exempted from taxes and they cannot have untaxed wealth. "This (demonetisation) decision needed a lot of courage and broad shoulders," he said, wondering why such a decision was not taken in the last 70 years. He also dared the Congress, which has been vigorously attacking the government's demonetisation decision, to list out any single step which its government took to curb the black money in ten years of its rule between 2004 and 2014). Instead, the NDA government, he said, undertook a series of measures, including constitution of the SIT, negotiations of tax treaties with Mauritius, Cyprus and Singapore, besides bringing in tough legislations to deal with black money within the country and outside. Rejecting the contention that the government cannot limit withdrawal of currency from bank accounts, Jaitley said RBI under the Banking regulation Act has power to do so in public interest. He further said the demonetisation has not impacted air travel, sowing of Rabi crops and the performance of the manufacturing sector. "Excise and VAT collections have gone up with the exception of West Bengal and Delhi. He, however, admitted that there will be impact on some sectors in the short run, but the country will benefit in the long run with the economy becoming cleaner and bigger. "It is true that some sectors could be impacted. For instance, the perishable and luxury goods and on account of deferred purchases. "But in long term, it will have a beneficial impact as more will come into the formal economy and banks will also increase the capacity of banks to lend more," Jaitley said, adding the money which was anonymous will now be known and the owner will be taxed and tracked. The finance minister said those declaring the black money under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana ny March 31 will have to pay tax of 60 to 65 per cent tax and if they are caught the penalty will be 80-85 per cent. "By merely depositing money in the bank it will not become white. The IT department has found 18 lakh people whose income did not match with the deposits it made with their bank accounts post demonetisation. Participating in the debate, N K Premachandran of RSP said former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was wrong in saying the demonetisation step was a "legalised plunder" because it was a "illegalised plunder". Congress MP Shashi Tharoor also attacked the government, saying demonetisation has severely affected almost all sectors of Indian economy besides dealing a blow to overall growth and rendering lakhs of people jobless. He said around 50,000 engineers had to be hired to recalibrate the ATMs for new notes. Tharoor also called "illegal" government "disallowing" citizens to withdraw their own money from banks, adding Prime Minister Narendra Modi's call seeking 50 days to implement demonetisation was another "jhumla". In his hard hitting attack on the government, Tharoor said almost all sectors of the economy, be it small and medium enterprises, real estate, agriculture, tourism and manufacturing were grounded by demonetisation. He said as estimated earlier, the RBI's liability will not come down due to demonetisation as 95-97 per cent of the notes have come back to the banking system, adding the primary objective of cleansing the blackmoney was defeated. Referring to some bank officials allegedly involved in alleged corrupt practices in exchange of old notes, he told Jaitley, "In your drive against corruption, you have created new forms of corruption." He said there was no new security features in new currency notes and that the government has failed to address the problem of counterfeit currency. Tharoor also quoted the economic survey to argue that demonetisation has hit the economy very hard and wondered why the government did not mention about the measure while listing achievements in the document. Chapter 3 of Economic Survey clearly says how demonetisation affected the economic growth and even referred to former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's observation that it will bring down the GDP by 1-2 per cent. Giving out a range of statistics about the economy, Tharoor said Modi's surgical strike on blackmoney has resulted a huge collateral damage on the economy. TMC's Saugata Roy also raised legal validity of the notification on demonetisation and even said perhaps Jaitley knew about the move only on the afternoon of November 8, hours before the PM made the announcement. "The FM is holding somebody else's baby," Roy said. Referring to interaction with RBI governor Urjit Patel at the Parliament Standing Committee on Financerecently, Roy said Patel could not answer how much money out of Rs 15.44 lakh crore demonetised currency was back in the banking system. Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi said the poor were made "sacrificial lamb" and the government did an "appendicitis" surgery for a heart problem. Saugata Roy (AITC) said that by taking away the cash from the society, the government has broken backbone of the society. Stating that the government was responsible for the death of 150 people, he said that "We don't blame Jaitley jee (finance minister) but the blame should go to the man who announced the decision." Stating the demonetisation as "cruel and reckless step", he said that move was to help the electoral process and labelled it as the worst decision since independence. "The people of India will reply against the cruel step," he said. Referring to demonetisation as a "capital punishment", A Sampath (CPI-M) said if the bill contained penal provision, it should have been discussed in the Standing Committee. "If the power of the Standing Committee has been snatched by the executive, it is a pity," he said. He also alleged that through the demonetisation the government intends to help the e-wallet companies. He termed demonetisation as a war against the people. Supriya Sule (NCP) said that she wanted to know how much money has come back to the banks post demonetisation. She also questioned whether the demonetisation has really served the purpose in terms of removing corruption. She urged the finance minister to give fair treatment to the district cooperative banks. SAN MATEO, Calif., Feb. 07, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN), which operates as Franklin Templeton Investments, today announced that the team from AlphaParity, a risk premia investment firm, will join its Franklin Templeton Solutions platform. The transaction is subject to standard closing conditions and is expected to be completed later this month. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Greg Johnson, chairman and CEO of Franklin Resources, Inc., said, We continue to make strategic investments in small, yet highly experienced asset management teams that complement Franklin Templetons global offerings. AlphaParity fits well with our overall corporate strategy to expand our solutions capabilities. AlphaParity is a macro-focused quantitative investment firm founded in 2012 by Steve Gross and Joshua Smith. The experienced team of 11 professionals based in New York and London manages approximately $500 million as of December 31, 2016, in custom portfolio solutions for pension funds, foundations, family offices and alternative asset managers. Currently, AlphaParity offers Global Premia and Negative Correlation investment strategies to institutional clients. We continue to enhance our solutions offerings to address evolving client needs in an increasingly complex investment landscape, said William Yun, CFA, executive vice president, Franklin Templeton Alternative Strategies. AlphaParitys quantitative approach to asset allocation, focusing on both fundamental and technical analysis, and ability to create its own risk premia strategies fits well with Franklin Templetons existing industry-leading risk premia research efforts. As factor investing has evolved, we believe AlphaParitys unique approach to exploiting these factors in an efficient way can lead to better outcomes for our clients, added Yun. We look forward to leveraging AlphaParitys innovative portfolio solutions and analytics to provide our global institutional and retail client base with unique diversification, absolute return and hedging solutions. Steve Gross, founder and chief investment officer of AlphaParity, said, Joining Franklin Templeton, a leading global asset management firm with a world class investment platform, advances our long-term mission to deliver next generation portfolio solutions to investors. We look forward to partnering with Franklin Templeton and its strong product development teams, well-established global distribution networks and deep institutional relationships, to maximize our capabilities and realize our vision. AlphaParity was advised by Citi and Lax Law LLP and Franklin Templeton Investments was advised by Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP. About AlphaParity AlphaParity LLC is a macro-focused quantitative investment firm with offices in New York City and London. The firm was founded in October 2012 to design and manage next generation portfolio diversification solutions for institutional investors, including pension funds, family offices, alternative asset managers and foundations. The firms Chief Investment Officer- Steve Gross, Head of Research- Joshua Smith, and President- Jeffrey Silverman were formerly colleagues at Tudor Investment Corporation. The management team's expertise in quantitative, fundamental and derivatives strategies across asset classes allows for unique insights and investment solutions across styles and disciplines. About Franklin Templeton Solutions Franklin Templeton Solutions leverages the insights and investment strategies from Franklin Templetons various investment management groups and employs both strategic and tactical asset allocation to create diversified outcome-oriented portfolios focused on risk-adjusted performance and tailored to client needs. Franklin Templeton Solutions manages retirement target and global asset allocation portfolios. An integrated global investment platform, Franklin Templeton Solutions has assembled a team of over 80 dedicated professional globally and has more than 25 years of experience managing multi-asset and multi-style portfolios, with over $39 billion in assets under management as of December 31, 2016. About Franklin Templeton Investments Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) is a global investment management organization operating as Franklin Templeton Investments. Franklin Templeton Investments provides global and domestic investment management to retail, institutional and sovereign wealth clients in over 170 countries. Through specialized teams, the company has expertise across all asset classesincluding equity, fixed income, alternative and custom solutions. The companys more than 650 investment professionals are supported by its integrated, worldwide team of risk management professionals and global trading desk network. With offices in over 30 countries, the California-based company has 70 years of investment experience and approximately $720 billion in assets under management as of December 31, 2016. For more information, please visit investors.franklinresources.com. While the standards of Visva Bharati University fall, the chief minister of West Bengal fantasises about a Biswa Bangla University a few kilometres away. Keya Sarkar ponders the sad state of affairs. IMAGE: Rabindranath Tagore, centre, with students at Visva Bharti University. Photograph: Wikimedia Commons. While there has been a gradual deterioration of standards at Visva Bharati University, the last few years has seen a rapid fall. From being a university where Rabindranath Tagore wanted the world to meet, it has become a choice for students of Birbhum district. From being known for its excellence in humanities and liberal arts, the university infrastructure and faculty now get only a second grade rating from the National Assessment and Accreditation Council, a body that evaluates all colleges and universities. From having scholars and philosophers at its helm, its vice-chancellors now get sacked for financial misdemeanours. In fact, so bad is the state of affairs that the University Grants Commission has not yet announced a replacement for the last vice-chancellor who was sacked. The sad state of affairs and the lack of direction from its officiating leaders are evident in every sphere. Except for several buildings that are being constructed in the name of development, Visva Bharati mirrors the rest of Bengal. It is in the headlines only for its scandals. Students get ragged in the hostels; expensive trees get butchered on campus, the litter on campus and around threaten every gutter. In every sphere there is a sense of deprivation. Much of the campus has been taken over by dirty shacks selling snacks, as the university provides no clean, cheap alternative to the students. Day tourists and picnickers enter the university area with impunity, set up gas stoves and cook and litter in the midst of Tagore's heritage buildings. As the university falls outside the municipality area, the thermocole plates, the plastic cups, the half-rotting food stay exactly where they were thoughtlessly chucked. In marketing terms, the university has lost the mind space it once occupied. There is clearly a space for another product to challenge its first-mover advantage -- albeit from strange quarters. Recently, Mamata Banerjee addressed a gathering of teachers of government colleges and universities. It is clearly a huge vote bank and the meeting was to announce sops for the teaching fraternity, the chief among them being to announce an increase in the retirement age! But Banerjee seldom restricts herself to the focus for any gathering. Every meeting is a platform to list all that her government has done or will do for the poor, the not-so-poor and even the wealthy. It is in this context that she mentioned how many Bengali students were going off to Chicago and Harvard to study. She said that soon universities like that would be created in Bengal and students from across the globe would flock here instead! In the midst of this flight of imagination she paused. With a half smile she said: "Visva Bharati University has been running for so long. I have taken a decision to start a Biswa Bangla University." Imagining that this decision would get a round of applause, she paused again, smiled and said: "Do you know where I have selected the land for this university? It is within one, two, three minutes from the Visva Bharati campus." In reality the proposed site is about 7 km from Tagore's legacy university -- a distance unlikely to be covered in three minutes in mofussil Bengal. As I sat watching this on TV, I thought about Tagore's vision of a world university and now Banerjee's. Since Visva Bharati is a central university and Banerjee is not in love with the powers that be there, she needs to give it competition. Even if it's only in her fantasies! 'One thing is clear from what happened last night; both sides are being manipulated by the same party with a lot of wrong inputs.' 'I see a hand in Delhi doing the puppet act on both sides.' When Shobha Warrier spoke to M G Devasahayam on Tuesday morning, the former IAS officer spoke about the "double and triple" games played by the Centre. By Tuesday evening, the political scenario in Tamil Nadu had changed with the ever faithful and compliant O Paneerselvam revolting against Sasikala Natarajan. This is what Devasahayam said on Wednesday morning. You can read Tuesday's interview below what he said today. Yesterday you said Delhi was playing a double and triple game. Do you see Delhi's hand in Paneerselvam revolting against Sasikala? One thing is clear from what happened last night; that both sides are being manipulated by the same party with a lot of wrong inputs, and I suspect Delhi's hands in this. They are creating a situation in which they can bring about President's rule. There was suspicion earlier, but this gives a clear indication that Delhi is behind all this. The raid at Sekhar Reddy's house was pre-determined. With a single stroke, they had brought in all three groups under the control of Delhi. Reddy was close to former chief secretary Ram Mohan Rao who was working closely with Sasikala. Paneerselvam's brother was a partner with Sekhar Reddy. So, with one stroke, all of them are under the grip of Delhi. Otherwise, it is quite unnatural for an unelected person with a case pending in the Supreme Court to suddenly stake a claim to become the chief minister. Obviously, they were told not to worry. They fell for the promise and staked a claim. You said that they would not be able to live without power... True. This feeling was exploited by Delhi. In the case of OPS, they had already been manipulating him and he was under their grip. Yesterday's drama was advised by someone there. So, I see a hand in Delhi doing the puppet act on both sides. The latest news we hear is that OPS has the support of some 23 MLAs and with outside support from the DMK and the Congress, he would stake a claim. This will not be possible because of the anti-defection law. You need the support of one third of the MLAs. So, I have the feeling that the forces in Delhi are manipulating a bloodless coup. They will bring in such a situation that nobody will have the majority in the state and President's rule would be imposed. OPS garnered a lot of support from the people of Tamil Nadu by his revolt against Sasikala. Yes, there is a lot of sympathy for him and the very fact that he has revolted against Sasikala has brought in a lot of support for him. But this will be temporary. That's what the manipulators want. They are creating a situation where the public may not be averse to President's rule. As they cannot enter through the front door, they are trying to enter through the back door. You described OPS as a vassal yesterday, now he has become a hero. He must have done all that, but I don't think he did it on his own volition. He was tutored to do that. The suspicion I had about the games played by Delhi is getting confirmed now. Do you expect Paneerselvam to rule Tamil Nadu under the BJP's watch? Yes, absolutely. It need not be Paneerselvam also. They have no problem doing the same with Sasikala too. My theory is they are manipulating both. You mean, whether it is OPS or Sasikala or President's rule, it is advantage BJP? Yes. In the case of President's rule, they have to hold elections after six months. Then the DMK will definitely be elected to power. I won't be surprised if the BJP plays a game with the DMK too. IMAGE: Prime Minister Narendra Modi consoles Sasikala Natarajan, December 6, 2016, as her controversial husband M Natarajan looks on. 'The BJP is playing not just a double, but a triple game!' 'They are creating a feeling that they are pro-Panneerselvam, at the same time, they are pro-Sasikala also.' When Rediff.com's Shobha Warrier interviewed former IAS officer M G Devasahayam, just after J Jayalalithaa's death, he had said, "I see the queen bee kind of syndrome. When they know that there is a queen bee, the bees will hang around her for some time and then fly away. In this case, I won't be surprised if somebody else takes the place of the queen bee. They know if they wither away, they will lose politically and administratively. The bees themselves create a new queen bee for their own survival! That is the culture of the party." With V K Sasikala's ascent, that is exactly what is happening in Tamil Nadu. Devasahayam discusses the political developments with Shobha. This interview was conducted before Tuesday night's developments when outgoing chief minister O Panneerselvam declared that he had been forced to resign. Did you expect this kind of swift action from Sasikala to capture power? I did, because these people cannot survive without power. You mean Sasikala's family? Yes. They are into all kinds of businesses. From liquor to real estate to construction to mining. They became notorious during Jayalalithaa's first tenure through land grabbing. During her second tenure she put some reins on them. They supply 50% of the state liquor. In 2002, the government-owned Tasmac started retail only to cater to them. Together, both the AIADMK and DMK supply 100% of Tasmac liquor. To carry on all these activities, they need power. Who is behind all the planning of Sasikala anointing herself as AIADMK general secretary and now to-be chief minister? This is all pre-planned. Everything appears to be a very well planned activity. All the while, this lady had been planning. Except for a couple of seats that were given by Jayalalithaa's intervention, almost all the tickets were distributed by Sasikala. So, she has a committed group of MLAs and MPs. Everybody suspects the BJP's hand in what is going on. Do you feel so? I feel the BJP is playing not just double, but a triple game! They are hunting with the hounds and running with the hares. They are creating a feeling that they are pro-Panneerselvam, at the same time, they are pro-Sasikala also. Everybody is playing games. Even the governor is playing a game. Paneerselvam was made the CM and he was made to flop badly at the jallikattu agitation so that he could be projected as a total failure as chief minister and the lady can take over. For an issue like jallikattu, so many people came out and protested in the open, but when democracy is being murdered, everybody remains silent spectators. Why? There was no democracy in Tamil Nadu. The AIADMK was never a political party; it was just a cinema crazy crowd. (Former chief minister K) Kamaraj described the AIADMK correctly as Koothadi Kumbal way back in the 1970s. They were non-entities held together by a charismatic, good looking, fair skinned man (M G Ramachandran) first, and then by a pretty looking, fair skinned, woman (Jayalalithaa). But this woman (Sasikala) is not in that league. Last time, I spoke about the queen bee syndrome, and that's exactly what we are seeing now. Paneerselvam cannot be a queen bee. It is said that the party cadres are unhappy with the events... There is no cadre in this party. Cadre is a myth. In my view, all are paid employees. One positive thing I am seeing is this is the beginning of the end of this so-called party. I am not sure now about the deviant game the Delhi fellows are playing, but it will come out in the open within a week or 10 days. One thing is clear, making Sasikala the party general secretary and the legislature leader is not binding on the governor. Article 163 gives discretionary powers to the governor. Normally he should act by the advice given by the council of ministers. But in this case, the governor can ignore stating public revulsion and wait for the Supreme Court verdict (in the disproprtionate assets case). The AIADMK won only 30% of the total votes; 70% of the population did not vote for the party (in the 2016 assembly election). Even among the 30%, there are people opposing. So you can say 80% of the Tamil Nadu electorate is opposing. The governor can use his discretionary power citing this. That's why he went to Delhi and from there to Mumbai while the preparation for the swearing-in was done here. Do you think the governor can wait till the Supreme Court verdict is out? Yes, he can. After accepting Paneerselvam's resignation, he has asked him to continue till alternate arrangements are made. There is no timeline. It is a very tricky situation. Can the Centre impose President's Rule? No. This doesn't give any cause for President's Rule. After the (S R) Bommai judgment (external link), it is not easy at all to impose President's Rule. But my reading of the Constitution is that the governor can use discretionary power. That's what P Chidambaram also said yesterday (February 6). There can be three options from the Supreme Court judgment. One is the dismissal of the appeal by (Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam General Secretary K ) Anbazhagan and the Karnataka government against the Karnataka high court judgment. The passing away of Jayalalithaa, the principal accused, can be used to dismiss the appeal and acquitting Sasikala on technical grounds as she is only a co-accused. The second option is accept the appeal and quash the high court judgment. That means Sasikala goes to jail and will be disqualified to contest elections for six years. Third is the Supreme Court remanding the case back to the Karnataka high court to rectify the verdict. If this order is passed, the order by Justice Kumaraswamy acquitting Jayalalithaa and co will be nullified. Then, Sasikala and co need not go to jail as there is a bail order that still continues. But the disqualification to contest (elections) kicks in. In the first option, the chapter is open, while in the second option, the chapter is completely closed. Sasikala must be hoping for the first option while the governor can delay the swearing-in and wait for the order. If she gets the first option, the governor has no option but swear her in as the chief minister. In 6 months' time, she has to get elected then (as an MLA). It means she can be the chief minister and continue to remain till the next elections. The AIADMK will disintegrate very soon. Like I told you, the party brought in another queen bee, but this queen bee is not like the other queen bee. She may turn out to be ineffective. Jayalalithaa, though she belonged to the Brahmin community from another state, she was not associated with any caste or community, but this queen bee is a part of a caste community, not liked by many other caste communities. Will the people of Tamil Nadu forgive the AIADMK MLAs and MPs for what they are doing now? There is no question of forgiving. This party will not be there for the next elections. This is the beginning of the end of this party. And Paneerselvam? He is a self-proclaimed vassal, and he will be remembered as a vassal and not as a chief minister. IMAGE: Prime Minister Narendra Modi embraces Tamil Nadu Chief Minister O Panneerselvam as J Jayalalithaa lies in state as Governor Ch Vidyasagar Rao, left, and V K Sasikala look on, December 6, 2016. 'I've just got the transfer orders,' Kalluri tells Rediff.com's Prasanna D Zore. Former Bastar Inspector General S R P Kalluri confirmed to Rediff.com on phone that he has been transferred by the Chhattisgarh state government to Police Headquarters, Chhattisgarh and he will resume his new posting soon after discussing it with his wife. "I got the transfer orders just five minutes ago," Kalluri told this correspondent at 5.20 pm on Tuesday. "I have been transferred to the PHQ and I don't want to talk anything about this issue," said Kalluri, who was under a cloud of controversy over alleged human righst violations by security forces in Bastar, which is under the sway of Naxalites. "The designation is yet to be decided and what portfolio will be given to me will take some time," Kalluri said about his new posting. When asked about newspaper reports quoting Chhattisgarh chief minister Raman Singh saying that Kalluri had asked for a medical leave for kidney transplant, Kalluri said, "That issue is dead now." "I have joined and I have been posted to the PHQ; one new DIG is looking after Bastar, so anything to do with Bastar you can talk to him." "I have relieved myself and so as per the convenience of my family I will join. I will speak to my wife; I have been relieved from my charge of IG, Bastar. We usually get a 10-day period (to join the new posting) and I will join after speaking with my family. It also depends on my wife," Bastar's former top cop said. "I got this new posting transfer order just five minutes back and I have relieved myself immediately," he added. Meanwhile, according to agency reports, Kalluri has been absolved of charges of rights violation. He was charged with human rights excesses, mistreatment of journalists, researchers and activists. He had even issued hard orders against activities Nandini Sundar and Archana vijay. He could not appear before the commission due to his medical complications and was even referred to a hospital in Vishakhapatnam. However, the Patel quota leader and Shiv Sena both rejected reports that he will be the party's Gujarat CM candidate, reports Rediff.com's Prasanna D Zore. IMAGE: Gujarat's Patidar leader Hardik Patel with Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray and Yuva Sena chief Aditya Thackeray at their residence in Mumbai. Gujarat Patidar quota stir leader Hardik Patel, who was in Mumbai on Tuesday, paid a courtesy call on Matoshree, residence of the Thackerays. His meeting Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray and Yuva Sena chief Aditya Thackeray at their residence triggered speculation that the 23-year-old firebrand leader will be Shiv Senas chief ministerial candidate in Gujarat, elections to which will be held in November-December 2017. However, both Patel and Shiv Sena rejected this possibility later. In a WhatsApp message, Patel clarified that he will not join politics unless he succeeds in his mission to get OBC quota for Patels in Gujarat. I have said this before and I am reiterating it here. Till the time I dont succeed in getting reservations and justice for the Patidars, I will not join any political party or indulge in politicking, Patel said. And at my age, there is no question of fighting an election (he is 23 and the minimum age required to contest assembly and Lok Sabha elections is 25). I am meeting people to canvass their support and not to do politics. I have my origins in a humble family. I have come to fight the battle of principles. I have come from a rural, farmers family. I dont want to be CM; I want to be a common man, Patel added. The closed-door meeting between the Shiv Sena president and Patel lasted for about 90 minutes, Maharashtras Industries minister Subhash Desai said. Desai, who was instrumental in getting Patel to visit Matoshree, told Rediff.com, Hardik insisted that he wants to grow his movement seeking OBC quotas for his community in Gujarat and, for that, he feels he must take other friends together. IMAGE: The meeting was held in a friendly manner and there was great bonhomie as if we were old associates, said Shiv Sena leader Subhash Desai. Desai said the Shiv Sena has not yet finalised its Gujarat assembly election strategy but was cryptic in his response when asked if Patel will be Shiv Senas chief ministerial candidate in the neighbouring state. "We will go together; that is decided," Desai responded. Desai scoffed at media reports that have quoted Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray as saying that Patel will be the Shiv Senas chief ministerial candidate in Gujarat. "This is their (the media's) figment of imagination," Desai retorted. Speaking about how the meeting was arranged between Thackeray and Patel, the Maharashtra minister said, I was aware that Mr Hardik Patel was trying to meet Mr Uddhav Thackeray for quite a few days after he reached Gujarat (Hardik Patel was in Udaipur after July 15, 2016, when the Gujarat high court granted him bail but externed him from Gujarat for six months)." "A friend of mine happens to be his friend. We (Hardik and Desai) started talking and most willingly he (Patel) decided to meet Uddhavji today and came to Mumbai," Desai said. "The meeting went off in such a friendly way and there was great bonhomie as if we were old associates," he added. Desai said the two leaders addressed the media jointly and he was not privy to their closed-door discussions. "For quite some time I was not inside the chamber, but when I was there, I heard them discussing various national and state issues," he said. Sticking to the Shiv Senas longstanding stand on caste-based reservations, Uddhav told him that since Balasahebs (the late Bal Thackeray) time the Shiv Sena has insisted that reservations should be given on an economic basis. Whosoever is economically weaker the government should protect them," he said. IMAGE: 'The tiger still roars at Matoshree,' Hardik said about the late Bal Thackeray. In another message, Patel said it was nice to meet and speak to good people and to take that message to the masses. 'To help get justice for Gujarats Patel community, I will seek support of every section of society and hence this courtesy call at Matoshree,' he said. Praising the late Bal Thackeray, who was called the 'Hindu Hriday Samrat', Patel said, 'I bow before Balasaheb Thackeray. The Tiger still roars at Matoshree.' 'Sena has snapped ties with BJP once and for all' When asked if the Shiv Sena and Bharatiya Janata Party, who had been in an alliance in the state since 1985 but are now contesting the municipal elections independently, will come together after the results to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation polls like they did after the state elections in 2015, Desai said, Not likely. Because, we have snapped our ties once and for all. Soon you will see, Desai again added cryptically in response to whether the Shiv Sena will quit the government in Maharashtra as well as at the Centre. There also we will be separate, Desai said without committing to any definite time frame. Our president will choose the right time for that split, Desai said. In fact, Desai said that he had openly declared from a public platform during the Shiv Sena rally in Mumbai on January 26 to Uddhav Thackeray and to Shiv Sainiks, that "our bags are packed and ready at our official residences. The moment the party decides, all our 12 ministers will be out of the government". The Shiv Sena will win 114 plus seats in the BMC elections and rule the corporation once again, Desai signed off. He will meet Uddhav Thackeray at his home and address Gujaratis all over the city, reports Rediff.com's Prasanna D Zore. Ahead of the civic polls, Mumbai is all set for an interesting political duel between long-time partners, the Shiv Sena and the Bharatiya Janata Party. While the BJP and Sena are levelling corruption charges against each other, Gujarat's Patidar leader Hardik Patel, who has vowed to destroy the BJP in the state, will attend a Sena rally in Goregaon, northwest Mumbai, on Tuesday. Hardik will also meet Sena President Uddhav Thackeray at his home, senior Sena leaders confirmed to this correspondent. The Sena has decided to contest the BMC and nine other civic elections in Maharashtra, which will be held on February 21, independently of its ally, the BJP. The Sena is a part of the BJP-led governments at the Centre and in the state. "Hardik will attend the Shiv Sena's rally in Goregaon on Tuesday. Later, he will pay a courtesy call on Uddhavsaheb at Matoshree (the Sena leader's home)," two senior Shiv Sena leaders said. Both Sena leaders requested that their names not be mentioned in this report. The Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti, which Hardik Patel is a part of, has launched a massive agitation in Gujarat for the inclusion of Patels in the Other Backward Class category and demanded reservations in government colleges and jobs. PAAS Convener and spokesperson Varun Patel told Rediff.com over the phone from Gujarat that Hardik will be in Mumbai to meet not only Patidars (as the Patels are also called) but all the Gujaratis in the city's predominantly Gujarati areas -- Borivali, Ghatkopar, Kandivali and Malad. "He will be meeting people of the Patidar and Gujarati community who have invited him to express their solidarity and support for his fight against the injustice done to Patidars in Gujarat," Varun Patel said. Varun Patel was categorical that the PAAS has no intention of supporting any political party anywhere in India. The PAAS, he added, is getting support from across India in its bid to get reservations for Patidars. He was tactful in his response to whether Hardik patel will share the dais with Shiv Sena leaders at the Goregaon rally or meet Uddhav Thackeray at his home. "Hardik is no doubt the leader of Patidars in Gujarat and will be attending a number of rallies organised by various Gujarati organisations in Mumbai after his release from jail and his return to Gujarat on January 17 after spending six months in Rajasthan's Udaipur," Varun Patel said. "Personally, he can attend the Shiv Sena rally as well as meet Uddhavji at his home," he added. Hardik Patel, who led a massive agitation in Gujarat, spent many months in jail after the state government filed several cases including one of sedition against him. He was released by a court last year on the condition that he would not enter Gujarat for six months. He then moved to Udaipur in neighbouring Rajasthan from where he fired a number of salvoes against BJP President Amit Shah, who he labelled as Gujarat's General Dyer, and criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi for ruling Gujarat by proxy and acting like a dictator. Since his return to Gujarat on January 17, Hardik Patel has addressed several rallies and vowed to destroy the BJP in Gujarat. His Mumbai visit and his meeting with Uddhav Thackeray is seen as the 23-year old firebrand leader's strategy to open multiple fronts against the BJP and weaken it politically across India, a political observer from Maharashtra felt. Terming Prime Minister Narendra Modis speech in the Lok Sabha as arrogant, the Congress on Tuesday said he lost a good opportunity to present his vision and what he and his party stood for. This was quite an arrogant reply. This was the last opportunity for him, because next budget and Presidents address will be before the next Lok Sabha election. He should have used this window of opportunity to present his vision, clarity and also perspective for the country. Perhaps he has lost his life's opportunity or the NDA has lost this good opportunity to present what they stand for, Congress leader Veerappa Moily told reporters outside Parliament. Another Congress leader, Shashi Tharoor said that just by giving a good speech, good days do not come as for that there is a need to do some work. By giving a accha bhashan (good speech), acche din (good days) does not come. To bring good days, there is a need for work as well. We have just heard his speech. Today on this demonetisation, we are again getting an opportunity to speak. Because the Ordinance which the government had promulgated, they have now brought a Bill. We will answer on this, Tharoor said. Congress MP Pramod Tiwari accused the Centre of meting out step-motherly treatment to states governed by non-National Democratic Alliance parties when it comes to offering assistance to them during calamities. Hence, I have asked the Centre to offer package to Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh (pockets of which have witnessed earthquake and drought respectively), he said. The Communist Party of India-Marxist attacked the PM for hijacking sanctity of debate on motion of thanks to President into election propaganda ahead of the Uttar Pradesh polls and accused the Centre of jettisoning Parliamentary norms to ensure benefits for the BJP. The Left party accused the PM of shying away from answering issues raised by Parliamentarians including that of demonetisation and instead engaging in rhetoric and sloganeering and also charged him with lowering level of debates in Parliament by making certain remark. Speaking to reporters, CPI-M general secretary Sitaram Yechury said the Left party will insist the PM to face questions when Narendra Modi replies to the motion in the Upper House on Wednesday. We have taken serious objection to the fact that the sanctity of debate on the motion of thanks to the President is being hijacked into election propaganda by the PM. Now this is something that is very serious thing, which has not happened in the Parliament earlier. I think the Parliamentary norms are being jettisoned for the sake of their political benefits, Yechury alleged. The Marxist leader, accompanied by the Left partys Lok Sabha MP Mohammed Salim, accused the government of scheduling the PMs reply in the Rajya Sabha, when many of the opposition members are likely to be in Uttar Pradesh for campaigning. The ruling party does not enjoy a majority in Rajya Sabha. Stating that the PMs reply in the Rajya Sabha may eat into important time of Zero Hour, when issues of public importance are raised, Yechury also suggested Modi to address the Upper House towards the end of discussions. And we only want to remind the BJP and the PM that the last two years on the debate of motion of thanks to the President in Rajya Sabha, there were amendments moved and carried, on both occasions the ruling party lost vote, he warned, adding the CPI-M will mobilise its full strength in Rajya Sabha on Wednesday. Salim, noted it was unfortunate that the PM did not touch upon the issues raised by opposition members in Lok Sabha. On the advancing of budget and the government's claims that it will help Ministrys plan their spending from day one of the fiscal, Yechury alleged it is the argument to cover up for some other political motive the government has. When asked by a reporter about Modi trying to suggest that previous governments refused to act on corruption as the PM lauded demonetisation in the Lower House, Yechury taunted saying whatever the government does is because the earlier governments did nothing for 70 years. Comparing the demonetisation move of erstwhile Morarji Desai government with that of the Modi dispensation, Yechury said the NDA government has banned currency in circulation (Rs 500 and Rs 1,000) putting common people in trouble. But Desai government had withdrawn Rs 1,000 notes, which he added, were used for hoarding in those times. The Rajya Sabha member also reiterated that the government has not come out with list of those hoarding money in tax havens when Modi talks about fighting black money. Yechury further charged the government with trying to bulldoze discussions on the budget, which he said, will not be allowed. One of the key suspects in the Kanpur train derailment in November has been arrested from Tribhuvan International Airport in Nepal after being deported from Dubai. A special team of Nepal Police arrested Samshul Hoda along with three others. Hoda has been detained from the Tribhuvan International Airport, said Deputy Inspector General of Police Pashupati Upadhyaya. We have heard that Hoda is wanted in a railway accident that took place in Kanpur last year killing 150 people, Upadhyaya said. Nepal Police will also work in close coordination with the Indian Police for Hodas alleged involvement in criminal activities in India, he said. The three other arrested have been identified as Brij Kishor Giri, Ashish Singh and Umesh Kumar Kurmi, all from Kalaiya district in southern Nepal. The police have brought Hoda and three other accused criminals to Nepal from Dubai in coordination with the Interpol, Upadhyaya said. Hoda is the mastermind of a twin murder in Bara district of Nepal, the police said. Hoda has links with international criminal groups and he has been involved in a number of criminal activities in Nepal and India, Upadhyaya said. A case has already been registered against him in Bara District Court, he added. The role of Pakistans Inter-Services Intelligence is being suspected in the incident after the Bihar police in January arrested three persons claiming that they were working for the Pakistani intelligence agency to target Indian railways. According to Bihar police, the three were paid Rs three lakh by a Nepali man who had connections with Hoda. China on Wednesday defended its decision to block the US proposal in the United Nations for designating Pathankot attack mastermind and JeM chief Masood Azhar as a global terrorist, saying the conditions have not yet been met for Beijing to back the move. Replying to a spate of questions on China putting a technical hold for the third time on attempts to list Azhar as a global terrorist, foreign ministry spokesman Lu Kang told a media briefing here that Beijing resorted to this move to allow the relevant parties to reach a consensus. Last year 1,267 Committee of the UN Security Council discussed the issue regarding listing Masood (Azhar) in the sanctions list. There were different views with no consensus reached, Lu said. As for the submission once again by relevant countries to list him in the sanctions list, I would say the conditions are not yet met for the Committee to reach a decision, he said. China has put the request on technical hold, to allow the relevant parties more time to consult with each other. This is also in line with rules of the relevant resolutions of the Security Council and the rules of the discussion of the Committee, he said. About the significance of US pushing for the ban against the Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed chief this time unlike the last year when India pressed for his listing as terrorist, Lu said, I would like to point out that the Committee has its own set of discussion rules. So, whoever submitted the request we believe all the members of the committee will act in line with regulations of the Security Council and its affiliations, he said. To a question whether it will have an impact on China-India relations, he said Beijing and New Delhi have exchanged views on the issue. We dont hope it will have a negative impact on our relationship, he said. On criticism that China is continuously blocking the move at the behest of Pakistan, Lu said, Chinas action in the Security Council and its affiliations are in line with the regulations and procedures. We put out technical hold after we had several rounds of consultations with India. We hope relevant parties have enough time to consult with each other to make sure that the decision made by the Committee will be based on consensus representing the broad international community, he said. China has put a hold on the US-initiated proposal, which comes barely weeks after Indias bid to get Azhar banned by the UN were scuttled by Beijing last December. This has prompted India to take up the matter with the Chinese government. On whether the issue on the ban on Azhar can be resolved this year as it dragged into the second year, Lu said, It is not the length of time. It is a matter of time whether a consensus can be reached on the basis of full consultations. Asked to identify specific reasons for blocking Azhars ban, Lu said, Consultations in the Security Council and internal discussions of its affiliations has its own set of discussion rules. All the details are closed to the outside (world) for all these years the formation of the Security Council and its affiliations have been acting in line with these discussion rules. We hope there will be enough time for full discussion to reach a decision that can be justifiable in the international community, he said. The US, supported by two other permanent members of UN Security Council -- the UK and France -- moved the proposal at the UNs Sanctions Committee 1267 in the second-half of the last month to proscribe Azhar. The proposal, which was finalised after consultations between Washington and New Delhi, said JeM is a designated terror outfit and so its leaders cannot go scot-free. It was submitted just a day before the inauguration of US President Donald Trump. China has been constantly opposing efforts to get Azhar banned by the UN, which has proscribed his outfit JeM in 2001. The Chinese opposition is also seen by many as an action taken at the behest of its all-weather ally Pakistan. After the attack on the IAF base at Pathankot in January last year, India in February wrote to the UN calling for immediate action to list Azhar under the Al Qaeda Sanctions Committee. The efforts faced stiff opposition by China, which twice put a technical hold before finally blocking the Indian proposal in December. As President Donald Trump is set to face a major legal test over his travel ban on citizens from seven Muslim-majority nations, the White House on Tuesday ruled out any possibility of withdrawing the order and exuded confidence of winning the case. IMAGE: Demonstrators march from the White House to the Capitol Building protesting Trump's travel ban. Photograph: Zach Gibson/Getty Images Clearly the law is on the Presidents side. The Constitution is on the Presidents side. He has broad discretion to do whats in the nations best interests to protect our people. And we feel very confident that we will prevail in this matter, White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer told reporters travelling with the President aboard Air Force One from Tampa in Florida to Andrews Air Force base. -- 16 US Attorney Generals challenge Trump's immigration ban The temporary travel ban which affects Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen has sparked widespread protests around the world. The appeals court has asked for both sides to file legal briefs before the court makes its final decision after a federal judge halted the programme on Friday. The US government defended the ban as a lawful exercise of Presidents authority. The court is schedule to hear the case later in the day. Meanwhile, Spicer ruled out any possibility of withdrawing the executive order. No, no, no, he said when asked if the White House is thinking about withdrawing it. This executive order was done in the best interest of protecting the American people. I think this is something that has broad support from the American people from one coast to another, and were going to continue to do what we have to. And this President is committed to making sure that the country and its people are safe, he said in response to a question. I think part of the reason he issued the order the way he did was to ensure that people didnt have an advance notice, and he protected the country and ensured that we have an idea of whos coming in and out of the country, Spicer argued. Trumps number-one priority is to do what he can to keep the American people safe, he added. IMAGE: Trump condemned the media for downplaying the terror threat his administration has cited to justify the travel ban. Photograph: Mark Wilson/Getty Images Trump, who paid a visit to US Central Command in Tampa, condemned the media for downplaying the terror threat his administration has cited to justify the travel ban. Radical Islamic terrorists are determined to strike our homeland as they did on 9/11, as they did from Boston to Orlando to San Bernardino, and all across Europe, Trump said. To defend Presidents actions, the White House released a list of 78 terrorist attacks under-reported by the media. The President, again, got a great update today on the fight against the Islamic States thats going on throughout the region and what our military is facing throughout this globe, trying to combat IS, Spicer said. -- What Angelina Jolie thinks of Trump's immigration ban But theres a lot of instances that have occurred where I dont think that theyve gotten the coverage its deserved, and I think thats what the President was clearly referring to there, he added. The Trump administration on Monday told a federal court that the US President has authority to decided who can enter the country and that the temporary suspension of visas from seven countries is in the national security interest. In a submission before the Ninth US Circuit Courts of Appeals in San Francisco, the Department of Justice pushed for quashing the stay order on the executive order of the US President that suspends for 90 day entry of people from seven countries. The Trump Administration has ordered a country wise review of its visa policies. IMAGE: Demonstrators support a ruling by a federal judge in Seattle that grants a nationwide temporary restraining order against the presidential order to ban travel. Photograph: David McNew/Getty Images Relying on his express statutory authority to suspend entry of any class of aliens to protect the national interest, the US president has directed a temporary suspension of entries through the refugee program and from countries that have a previously identified link to an increased risk of terrorist activity, it said. The federal government said the executive order temporarily suspends entry of aliens from seven countries previously identified by Congress and the Executive Branch as raising heightened terrorism-related concerns. The suspension terminates in 90 days, once concerns relating to screening practices can be addressed, as necessary to prevent infiltration [into this Nation] by foreign terrorists or criminals, it said. Similarly, the temporary suspension of the US refugee programme will be lifted after 120 days, once the Secretaries of State and Homeland Security, in consultation with the Director of National Intelligence, determine what additional procedures should be taken to ensure that those approved for refugee admission do not pose a threat to the security and welfare of the United States. The potential national-security risks and harms resulting from the compelled application of procedures that the President has determined must be re-examined, for the purpose of ensuring an adequate measure of protection for the Nation, cannot be undone, it said. The Department of Justice said the federal government has made clear that it is seeking to protect green card holders and other nationals from the seven identified countries who were previously admitted to the United States and are either temporarily abroad or are here now and wish to travel outside this country -- not aliens who are attempting to enter the country for the first time. As many as 16 US Attorney Generals have joined the bandwagon opposing President Donald Trumps controversial travel ban on citizens from seven nations, saying the discriminatory order is unconstitutional and un-American. IMAGE: Activists participate in a protest against President Donald Trump's immigration policies in front of the Department of Homeland Security New York headquarters. Photograph: Spencer Platt/Getty Images The Executive Order signed by Trump banning countries that include Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen has been halted by a federal court in Seattle. The Trump Administration has challenged this stay order before the US 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, before whom Attorney Generals from as many as 16 states have filed amici curiae brief against the Executive Order. This filing is about keeping our communities safe, protecting our economy, and upholding the rule of law. Pennsylvania was founded on the promise of liberty and were proud to help lead this effort in support of Washington States lawsuit, Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro said. No president or administration is more powerful than our laws and our Constitution. As state AGs, it is our job to hold this administration accountable and stand for the interests of our states and our residents. We are united in this effort, said Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey. New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman said the ban is unconstitutional, unlawful and fundamentally un-American. We wont stand by while it undermines our states families, economies, and institutions, he said. From filing our own federal lawsuit last week, to partnering with fellow attorneys general on this amicus brief today, we will use every tool at our disposal to fight President Trumps discriminatory order and help ensure the rule of law prevails, he added. The administrations reckless dismissal of the Constitution threatens to rip apart California families, risks their economic well-being and defies centuries of our American tradition alleged California Attorney General Xavier Becerra. This filing is about keeping our communities safe, protecting our economy, and upholding the rule of law Immigrants are the life-blood of our nation who work hard to build our country, especially in California. Our universities, medical institutions, businesses, and our tax base are all harmed by President Donald Trumps unconstitutional and un-American order, he said. The amicus brief calls to uphold the federal district courts ruling and deny the federal governments emergency motion for stay, as it would return the country to the confusion and chaos created by the executive order in its implementation last weekend. In its court papers, the attorney generals said that the Executive Order has inflicted and continues to inflict harm on state colleges and universities across the country, including in the amici states, which rely on faculty and students from across the world. First, the Executive Order has disrupted our state educational institutions ability to meet their staffing needs. The Order is already preventing and dissuading scholars from coming to our institutions -- including scholars who had already committed to filling positions, it said. The country was built by immigrants and refugees who came here in search of a better life, said Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan. Illinois is home to nearly 2 million immigrants who contribute to our state in invaluable ways. I will fight to ensure Illinois remains a safe and welcome home for immigrants and refugees, she said. The amicus brief alleges that the order undermines the states abilities to enforce their own anti-discrimination laws, ensure the benefits of existing federal laws and regulations -- such as the Immigration and National Act -- are not denied to individuals arriving in these states, and protect residents, businesses and communities. As the states have made clear in other filings, the executive order represents an egregious violation of the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment -- and this erosion of religious liberties cannot be deterred by awarding damages to the victims of such erosion, it said. The Red Cap of Liberty The Red Cap of Liberty is also known as the Phrygian Cap, Mithraic Cap, sacrificial Cap, mitre and in French as the bonnet de laLiberte or bonnet rouge. It symbolizes the sacred acts of Initiation, Sacrifice, Liberty, Revolution, Enlightenment, and Brotherhood. It has been worn by various Abrahamic priesthoods over the last few thousand years and also newly emancipated slaves since the time of Ancient Rome. The red cap not only an ancient symbol, it is one of the oldest magical talismans that is still in use to this very day by various religions, secret societies, and governments all around the world. British Freemason and Rosicrucian, Hargrave Jennings had written, The Phrygian Cap, the classic Mithraic Cap, sacrificial Cap, and mitre all derive from one common ancestor. He continues, The whole is a sign of initiation, and of baptism of a peculiar kind. The Phrygian cap, ever after this first inauguration, has stood as the sign of the Enlightened. The heroic figures in most Gnostic Gems, which we give in our illustrations, have caps of this kind. Jennings further writes, The sacrificer in the sculptured group of the Mithraic Sacrifice, among the marbles in the British Museum, has a Phrygian cap on his head, whilst in the act of striking the Bull with the poniardmeaning the office of the immolating priest. The bonnet conique is the mitre of the Doge of Wenice. Besides the bonnet rouge, the Popes mitrenay, all mitres or conical head-coveringshave their name from the terms Mithradic, or Mithraic. This common ancestor that Hargrave Jenning mentions we can trace back to antiquity to a God known as Attis, Atys, Attes (Ancient Greek: or ) who is the oldest known God or representation that can be found in history. It is Attis who is often depicted in art in a tunic, tucked up, and wearing a Phrygian cap. The name Attis signifies The Sinner, and according to Herodotus, he was known as the son of the god. The Greek word Phrygians, is composed of the words phry and gians. The Greek phry in English means free and the word gian means God is gracious, and in Italian means John. The Phrygians came from a country that in various mythologies and told by ancient historians as the land called Phrygia. A place that we know today as the Mediterranean island of Crete in the country of Greece. We can also connect the hat to Crete because historians believe that the hat was first introduced into Europe and the West by the Cretans. We can also connect the hat to Crete because historians believe that the hat was first introduced into Europe and the West by the Cretans. Crete is also known as the official birthplace of all Western Civilization, The Gnostics of Knossos, the birthplace of Christianity and home of the first Freemasons as well. The cult of Attis was native to Crete, but at an early date it spread into other parts of Asia Minor and the Greek islands. Traces of it appear at Athens as early as the fourth century B.C., and it was introduced at Rome, probably in conjunction with the cult of Cybele, in 204 B.C. After the official recognition of the cult by the Emperor Claudius, the festival of Attis was celebrated in March with great pomp. According to Greek mythology, the first Phrygian Midas had been king of the Moschi (Mushki), also known as Bryges (Brigi) in the western part of archaic Thrace. The meaning of the name Bryges is mountain and as I mentioned above, they came from a mountain called Mount Ida in Crete. They were also called the Brigi- ans ; Brigones is from brig-iones, and the Ionian Brigians. It is from this name where we get the name of the Celts who are properly called the Celtiberi (Celtebrians) is from celti-bri. A name meaning the hiding Brigians, who gave their name to the country of Britain. These people of the mountain who I mentioned above were from Crete and Mount Ida, are known biblically as the Judeans and Tribe of Judah and are the founders of many countries. The tribe in the bible who is scattered amongst nations. The Jewish-Roman Historian Josephus had claimed that modern Moscow in Russia was founded by the Mosocheni (Moschoi, Moschi, Mushki Mosoch or Meshech), or the Tabalior (Thobelites). Herodotus also mentions the Moschoi (Meshech, Muscovites or Assyrian form, Mushki or Musku). The Moschi are named with Tubal (and Rosh, in certain translations) as principalities of Gog, prince of Magog in Ezekiel 38:2 and 39:1, and is considered a Japhetite tribe. They were also known by the names of the Cappadocians which is the Latin word for the Cretans, and later as the Iberes of what was then called Roman Iberia. These people from Crete I have written about numerous times in the past. The island has been known by various names over the course of history like Arcadia, Caphtor, Candia, Minoa, Cappadocia, Phoenicia, Phrygia etc., and the people of Crete have been called Cretans, Minoans, Philistines, Jews, Hellenes, Phoenicians, and the Sea Peoples just to name a few. This was the birthplace not only modern civilization, but it was also the home of almost all the Greek Gods, many Cretan Kings, royal Jewish families, Roman Emperors, Gnostics, Christianity and some of the first Fathers and Saints of the Church. As the Roman Empire started to conquer the world at the turn of this 6th Age, the Romans devised a system where captured slaves could also obtain their freedom. For example, when the tribe of Judah was conquered in approximately 70 A.D. during the great Judean rebellion and siege of Jerusalem on the Holy Islands of Crete and Kos, the special religious roles decreed for the Kohanim Levites were preserved and they were given special roles and tax-free statuses in Rome. It is said, that in order to make some amends to the Kohanim of Kos for the loss of such a valuable treasure of their island, Augustus Caesar had given them special taxation status and would forgive a considerable part of their annual tribute to Rome. In 53 A.D., the Roman Emperor Claudius had granted the Kohen (Cohen, Kohain; Hebrew: , plural Kohanim) immunity from taxes. These are the first non-Roman people in recorded history who were given such tax-free privileges from Rome and who would be considered Phrygians, freemen or freemasons. Here is the Phrygian Cap worn by the Roman priesthood who were considered freemen during a sacrifice. As part of the Roman ceremonies when a slave would obtain his freedom, he had his head shaven and then placed upon his head, the Phrygian Cap. This cap became the iconic symbol of freedom with the phrase servos ad pileum vocare to call the slaves to the Pileus (or cap). Often, these slaves would win their freedom by taking up arms with the Roman army with the promise of future liberty as the reward symbolized by the Phrygian Cap. As part of the Roman ceremonies when a slave would obtain his freedom, he had his head shaven, and then placed upon his head, the Phrygian Cap. This cap became the iconic symbol of freedom with the phrase servos ad pileum vocare to call the slaves to the Pileus (or cap). Often, these slaves would win their freedom by taking up arms with the Roman army with the promise of future liberty as the reward symbolized by the Phrygian Cap. In Freemasonry, the red hat or caps are worn by those members of the Scottish Rite who are of the 32nd degree and also the Shriners with their red fez caps. In Jachin and Boaz, 1814, at a certain point of the ceremony the Master is described as putting on his hat. In Solomon in all his Glory, 1768, there are illustrations of brethren wearing their hats in Lodge. Perhaps the custom is descended from Hebrew ritual.Arthur Bowes. The Phrygian cap was worn by the revolutionists during the masonic French Revolution in the 18th century. After the overthrow of the French Monarchy, the French Declaration of Human Rights was said to be officially recorded as the Masonic values of the new French government, whose new motto was Liberte, Egalite et Fraternite (Freedom, Equality and Brotherhood). The official document of the Declaration of Human Rights is guarded by Masonic pillars and contains several occult symbols such as the all seeing eye of God, and the red phrygian cap, a symbol of freemen or freemasons representing the enlightened ones. The red liberty cap was also an integral part of American culture and symbology in the 19th century and is seen in many places in the United States Capitol. The red cap of liberty appears on as headgear of the Goddess Columbia, who in turn was visualized as a goddess-like female national personification of the United States and of Liberty herself. The red liberty cap and its association with the President of the United States dates back to our first Freemasonic President, George Washington who we can see immortalized in the U.S. Capitol Building Rotunda seated with a sword next to Lady Liberty. The U.S. Army has, since 1778, utilized a War Office Seal in which the motto This Well Defend is displayed directly over a Phrygian cap on an upturned sword. It also appears on the state flags of West Virginia (as part of its official seal), New Jersey, and New York, as well as the official seal of the United States Senate, the state of Iowa, the state of North Carolina (as well as the arms of its Senate) and on the reverse side of the Seal of Virginia.(Wikipedia) Here is a Phrygian red cap on the Seal of the U.S. Senate. 'E Ahamed will be sorely missed as a decent and wise man who made the best use of his political career and personal abilities for the good of the nation,' remembers Ambassador T P Sreenivasan. IMAGE: 'It was long before he became a minister that Prime Minister P V Narasimha Rao discovered his talents as a pleasant, well dressed and sophisticated Muslim to be projected at the United Nations,' remembers Ambassador T P Sreenivasan. 'He earned the nickname "Permanent Representative" at the UN as the official Permanent Representatives kept changing, while he returned every year.' A political leader who avoided controversy and confrontation throughout his life, E Ahamed, must have turned in his grave if he heard that his sudden and painless departure from this world led to an ugly argument on the time and nature of his demise. It is hard to believe that the government delayed the announcement of his death for fear that it would upset the presentation of the Budget. Such a Machiavellian design appears beyond the capacity of any government in India. Even if it tried, the kind of chaotic situation that prevails in hospitals would not have permitted the execution of the plan. The sooner the matter is allowed to rest, the easier it will be for his noble soul to rest in peace. Ahamed had a long political career in which he was a minister in Kerala and a minister of state at the Centre for ten years. He did not fulfill his dream to become a Cabinet minister, when many people junior to him overtook him. But he did not allow his frustration to be visible as he knew his limitations as a person and as the leader of the Muslim League in the national context. He soldiered on like a disciplined member of the team, hiding his frustrations behind his good cheer, simplicity and friendliness, making the best of the opportunities he got to serve the nation and to find fulfillment. He found a haven in the ministry of external affairs as his forays into the railways and HRD did not give him any reprieve from playing second fiddle. It was long before he became MoS that Prime Minister P V Narasimha Rao discovered his talents as a pleasant, well dressed and sophisticated Muslim to be projected at the United Nations. He earned the nickname 'Permanent Representative' at the UN as the official Permanent Representatives kept changing, while he returned every year. Unlike some other MPs who came to the UN General Assembly, he was very law abiding and did not seek to change India's official positions. He recognised his role and confined himself to working quietly with Islamic countries. He intervened in the debates on a variety of subjects on the lines of India's policy. On Kashmir, he articulated the Indian position that Kashmir is an integral part of India, Pakistan must stop cross border terrorism and that no Muslim in India would want a change in the status of Jammu and Kashmir as the state was a symbol of Indian secularism. He did not want to grab the headlines by using strong language against Pakistan even when provoked. He saw his role as a catalyst in normalising relations with Pakistan rather than as an adversary. Pakistan's deputy permanent representative at the time was particularly foul mouthed, but Ahamed did not pay back in the same coin. For instance, the Pakistani diplomat called India 'the sick man of Asia' in a reference to the then external affairs minister, Dinesh Singh, who was unwell when he visited the UN. Ahamed's style was to counter Pakistan's propaganda through private conversations and dignified behaviour. He won many friends among diplomats, regardless of rank and position. His experience at the UN was an asset to him during his stint as minister of state in the Manmohan Singh government, mostly in the ministry of external affairs from 2004 to 2014. The position of the MoS in the MEA is not a particularly important one in the current dispensation. Foreign policy is made in the PMO with the marginal and largely formal involvement by the EAM and implemented by the foreign secretary and the rest of the bureaucracy. The MoS is a mere cog in the wheel without a continuing and indispensable role. To be powerful in the MEA, a person has to be responsible for the major powers or administration dealing with postings and transfers of IFS officers. Without such responsibilities, the ministers of state do not count in the hierarchy. Except in rare cases. like K Natwar Singh, who pushed his way around because of his proximity to the prime minister, ministers of state perform marginal and ceremonial functions. They are tolerated at best and ignored at worst and most of them are frustrated that they are not part of the big game. They come to the limelight only when they stand in for the EAM or the PM occasionally. Many of them, who are political lightweights tolerate the reality and enjoy the perks of travel and semblance of importance. Patience rather than push get them rewards such as Cabinet positions in other ministries. Some revolt and move away and others get into trouble by speaking out of turn or engaging in turf battles. Ahamed was frustrated at times, but he decided to do an honest job, wherever he was sent. The natural niche that he acquired was in the Arab world and he built a vast circle of friends there and enjoyed the assignment rather than complain about his role in the government. Being a Keralite was an obvious advantage in the Arab countries because of the large Kerala populations there, though he had to contend with another Keralite, Vayalar Ravi as the minister of overseas Indian affairs. Ahamed's party made occasional demands for him to be elevated to a higher position and more substantive work and that explains his moves to the railways and HRD. But he preferred to return to the MEA as he felt comfortable and useful. What he could not get by the hierarchy, he gained by his personal charm and friendliness. The IFS liked him and treated him with respect. Ahamed was a regular visitor to New York during my stint there and became a friend of the whole family because of his charming ways. He spent long hours with us in New York and outside and we worked closely at the UN itself. He took my advice on several matters and his wisdom and political experience were a boon in my own work. There was no occasion for us to differ on any official or personal matters. Even after I left New York, we were in touch and participated together in Diaspora gatherings. I even took the liberty of occasional banter like when I observed at a gathering that India had 'E-Ahamed' before the advent of E-mails and E-Everything. He had a hearty laugh and quoted it on other occasions. The last gesture he made to me was the invitation he extended to me to speak at Rashtrapati Bhavan, when his collection of speeches was launched by the Rashtrapati. He publicly acknowledged that many of the speeches were originally drafted by me. E Ahamed will be sorely missed as a decent and wise man, who made the best use of his political career and personal abilities for the good of the nation. As a leader of the Muslim League, he spoke for the Muslims and other minorities, but within the framework of a secular and democratic India. T P Sreenivasan, (IFS 1967) former Ambassador of India and Governor for India of the IAEA, is Chairman, Academic Council and Director, NSS Academy of Civil Services, Director General, Kerala International Centre. MORE FASCINATING features in the RELATED LINKS below. In my last article, I detailed the Hopi Prophecy of the Red Hat and Red Cloak People that deals with what has been called the third great shaking of the world that will be symbolized by a group of people or a tribe of whom the Hopi call the red hat and red cloak people. They are said to either bring us wisdom which we accept or they can destroy us. The Hopi say, When the iron bird flies, the red-robed people of the east who have lost their land will appear, and the two brothers from across the great ocean will be reunited. The leader of these people is known to the Hopi as the long-awaited true Pahana (or Bahana), The Purifier aka True White Brother will come to Hopi land. His ancestor was of light complexion so he is also known as the Great White Brother. Hopi consider him the Earth keeper and the Supreme God Servant (Bodhisattva, like Jesus in Christianity). The Hopi say that these people would be led by the Blue Star Kachina who will remove his mask in the village plaza during a sacred kachina dance. After that, all Hopi ceremonies would cease entirely. In the Hopi religion, the Kachina are spirit messengers between the world of the gods and the world of humans. They are like angels in the Christian religion or daemons to the Ancient Greeks. Symbolically, a hat signifies authority and the color of the hat often represents the rank of the person in a particular organization. If we are to look for the most ancient traditions where we can still find the use of red hats and cloaks in modern times, we can look no further than the Catholic Church and the various Christian religions and secret societies such as the Freemasons which spawned from her bosom. I had written on the history of the red cap in detail in my article, The Red Cap of Liberty. What is interesting is that the Hopi prophecy has similar characteristics that we might be able to connect with Christian prophecy, Freemasonry, Republicans and even the President of the United States, Donald Trump with his famous red hat that he wore during his whole campaign with the writing, Make America Great Again. Please note that the Red Cap of Liberty was the main symbol of Roman Revolutionaries in the time of the forming of the empire. It became the symbol of the Brutus who was one of the conspirators in the assassination of Julius Caesar. The people who wore it were called pileati, i.e. wearers of the pilous. In revolutionary emeutes at Rome the pileus was sometimes hoisted on a spear. After the murder of Ceasar, Brutus and his rebels adopted the red cap as a token of their republican sentiments. Could Donald Trump be The Purifier aka True White Brother? Please keep in mind that one of Trumps pledges during the campaign was that he promised to clean up Washington and, as he put it drain the swamp. Is he here to clean up Washington as the Hopi prophecized Purifier? An interesting note is that Trump says his favorite book is the Bible and called it the best book ever. In 2011, he stated in an interview that he is a Protestant and a Presbyterian. He was born into a Presbyterian family and grew up attending a Presbyterian church. Trump is also a conservative. He has been a vocal defender of the Christian faith, the ecumenical movement and has even claimed that American Christians could become united through the faith. At the Faith and Freedom Coalition, he vowed, We will respect and defend Christian Americans. Christian Americans. At Liberty University, he declared: Trump said, We are going to protect Christianity. Christianity, its under siege. Im a Protestant. Im very proud of it. Presbyterian to be exact, but Im proud of itvery, very proud. Other religions, frankly, theyre banding together. And if you look at this country, its got to be 70 percent, 75 percent. Some people say even more. The power we havesomehow, we have to unify. We have to band together. The country has to do that around Christianity. The Red Hat Conservative Revolutionaries Let me also add that the current Vice-President and Trumps right-hand man, Mike Pence is not only a Christain, he is also a conservative evangelical. Pence even declared himself at one time to be an evangelical Catholic. He once said, I made a commitment to Christ. Im a born-again, evangelical Catholic. My Christian faith is at the very heart of who I am, he explained during the vice presidential debate. Im a Christian, a conservative and a Republican, in that order, Pence stated in his speech to the Republican National Convention. He pledged to with Trump for the sake of the rule of law, for the sake of the sanctity of life, for the sake of our Second Amendment, and for the sake of all our other God-given liberties You also have Trumps pick to lead the Education Department, billionaire philanthropist, Betsy DeVos, a national leader of the school choice movement, has pursued that work in large part by spending millions to promote the use of taxpayer dollars on private and religious schools. She has publically vowed to advance Gods Kingdom. Then we have President Trumps chief strategist, former Breitbart executive Steve Bannon who was still heading Breitbart News, he went to the Vatican to cover the canonization of John Paul II and befriended archconservative American cardinal, Raymond Burke. The media has openly called Bannon a revolutionary and some have said is hell bent on bringing on the Apocalypse. Describing the religion of Islam in a 2010 radio interview as a religion of submission. A recent Business Insider article had said about Bannon: He believes that, for the new world order to rise, there must be a massive reckoning. That we will soon reach our climax conflict. In the White House, he has shown that he is willing to advise Trump to enact policies that will disrupt our current order to bring about what he perceives as a necessary new one. He encourages breaking down political and economic alliances and turning away from traditional American principles to cause chaos. An article in the Huffington Post titled, Steve Bannon Believes The Apocalypse Is Coming And War Is Inevitable, had said: In a 2015 radio appearance, Bannon described how he ran Breitbart, the far-right news site he chaired at the time. Its war, he said. Its war. Every day, we put up: Americas at war, Americas at war. Were at war. To confront this threat, Bannon argued, the Judeo-Christian West must fight back, lest it lose as it did when Constantinople fell to the Ottomans in 1453. He called Islam a religion of submission in 2016 a refutation of President George W. Bushs post-9/11 description of Islam as a religion of peace. In 2007, Bannon wrote a draft movie treatment for a documentary depicting a fifth column of Muslim community groups, the media, Jewish organizations and government agencies working to overthrow the government and impose Islamic law. Theres clearly a fifth column here in the United States, Bannon warned in July 2016. Theres rot at the center of the Judeo-Christian West, he said in November 2015. Secularism has sapped the strength of the Judeo-Christian West to defend its ideals, he argued at the Vatican conference. The aristocratic Washington class and the media, he has claimed, are in league with the entire religion of Islam and an expansionist China to undermine Judeo-Christian America. The Red Cap of Liberty The reference above by Vice President Pence to our God-given liberties makes me think of the Phrygian cap (in French, bonnet Phrygian) which is also known in French as the Liberty cap (bonnet de la Liberte) or as a red cap (bonnet rouge) and the Hopi red hat prophecy. The Phrygian cap was worn by revolutionists during the masonic French Revolution in the 18th century and it is also woven into the fabric of U.S. symbology. An interesting note on the red cap connection with the French Revolution is the fact that Trump has been called by the media a Revolutionary and his cabinet picks Revolutionaries. After the overthrow of the French Monarchy, the French Declaration of Human Rights was said to be officially recorded as the Masonic values of the new French government, whose new motto was Liberte, Egalite et Fraternite (Freedom, Equality and Brotherhood). The official document of the Declaration of Human Rights is guarded by Masonic pillars and contains several occult symbols such as the All Seeing Eye of God, and the red phrygian cap, a symbol of freemen or freemasons representing the enlightened ones. The red liberty cap was also an integral part of American culture and symbology in the 19th century and is seen in many places in the United States Capitol. The red cap of liberty appears on as headgear of the Goddess Columbia, and its association with the President of the United States dates back to our first Freemasonic President, George Washington who we can see immortalized in the U.S. Capitol Building Rotunda seated with a sword next to Lady Liberty with her red cap. Both the police and military have been highly supportive of Donald Trump and his policies. Could these powerful Brotherhoods on U.S. soil also be part of the red hat people? As the Hopi say, When the iron bird flies, the red-robed people of the east who have lost their land will appear, and the two brothers from across the great ocean will be reunited. Is the iron bird Trumps Air Force One? The True White Brothers Religious Brotherhood Now let us explore the Hopi prophecy in relation to Roman Catholicism a religion that was brought to the Americas by Spanish conquistadors from the Latin Catholic Kingdoms who also had a lot of interactions, wars and even alliances with the Hopi. In our modern era, it is no secret that Catholic Missionaries (Jesuits and Franciscans) have played a central role in American history where they were charged with spreading Catholicism and shedding blood for their cause if needed be. It is also a fact that they were in contact with various Native American tribes that occupied the Southwest such as the Hopi for hundreds of years. As I had mentioned earlier, the hat represents authority and this is why we see in Roman Catholicism, the Pope and Cardinals wearing hats or zucchettos. In the modern discipline of the Roman church, white is the normal color worn by the Pope, but his cloak, his shoes and hat are often red. A red hat has also signified the office of Cardinal for their willingness to shed blood for the Church since the 16th century. Here is a picture of Catholic Cardinal, Timothy Dolan, who we see seated between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton at the Al Smith Charity Dinner. A fundraiser for New York Catholic charities. Time named Dolan one of the 100 Most Influential People in the World for 2012. He is also known as a conservative. He is the tenth and current Archbishop of New York. As I stated above, on the state seal of New York you will find the red liberty cap. The zucchetto is a small skullcap worn by clerics of various Catholic Churches, the Syriac Orthodox Church, and by the higher clergy in Anglicanism. The color of the zucchetto specifically denotes the wearers rank and is in keeping with the five colors: the popes zucchetto is white, those worn by cardinals are scarlet, and those of bishops, territorial abbots and territorial prelates are amaranth.(wikipedia) A Greek writer describing the legate sent to Constantinople in 1213, says He had all the prerogatives of the Pope, for he wore red shoes and a dress of the same color; the cloth and bridle of his horse were of the same dye. (ap. Rainald. n. C). Matthew of Westminster also says that the Cardinal Legate Ottoboni went to England (A. D. 12G5) habited in red. The red hat, a sign of their willingness to shed their blood for the church, was first given to the cardinals by Innocent IV in 1246 during his contests with the emperor Frederic 2nd; the red berretta (or square cap) with the zucchetto (or skull-cap) by Paul II in the latter part of the 15th century. To the Cardinals, (says Card. Papiensis) he granted the use of a silk mitre of damask, and red caps (capitia) which previously only the bishops awaiting the coming of the long-promised Messiah are not unlike the deluded expectants of the fall of the papacy. Thou art Peter and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it S. Matt. XVI, 18.(1) The End of the World (as we know it today) The Kachina of the Hopis may be the same as the Man of Sin in the religious traditions of both the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches who is said to come at a time that is called the End of the World. It will be when the Grand Monarch or a new Orthodox Emperor, who is also called the Katechon will announce the rebirth of the Holy Roman Empire. Like the Hopi Kachina who comes at the End of the World, we have the Christian prophecy of the Katechon who will come at the End of the World. Words that are very similar in their structure and spelling. We have a Hopi red hat connection to the red hats found in U.S. symbology with the red hat of liberty being associated with the founding of this country, the first President of the United States, and the red hats and cloaks of the Catholics. A very powerful people with a powerful religion who wore red hats. A country whose official motto is In God We Trust and symbology deep in the red hat tradition from the Catholics, to the Freemasons and to Presidents. I detailed these connections in my other article in this series titled, The Red Cap of Liberty. There is a prophetic link to the red hat of President Donald Trumps Make America Great Again and the Christain conservative values of his administration. Trump has openly called on all Christians to unite. Pence is Christianity first, conservative values second, and politics last. Its almost as if this should read, Make America Conservative Christian again. The Hopi Kachina and Christian Katechon are words that are not only similar in their structure and spelling, they are also words that are both connected to End Time prophecies. As I had mentioned, the Christian Katechon is sometimes referred to as the Man of Sin, and we can find similarities with President Trump who was recently quoted when asked about forgiveness for his actions, he had said: I am not sure I have. I just go on and try to do a better job from there. I dont think so, he said. I think if I do something wrong, I think, I just try and make it right. I dont bring God into that picture. I dont. When I drink my little wine which is about the only wine I drink and have my little cracker, I guess that is a form of asking for forgiveness, and I do that as often as possible because I feel cleansed, he said. I think in terms of lets go on and lets make it right.' Pope Francis is also a conservative leading the Roman Catholics and red hat Cardinals under the ecumenical movement to accept all faiths and unite under one God. Francis has met with various Church leaders such as the Greek for the first time in almost a thousand years and also the Russian Orthodox Church leaders in recent years. In fact, when Cardinal Timothy Dolan prayed at President-elect Donald Trumps inauguration, his prayer was from the Wisdom of Solomon, a book included in the Catholic and Orthodox churches Old Testament, but not included in Protestant churches Old Testament. The Apocalypse: Russian Brotherhood & Christian Unity Last but not least, we have the mutual respect between President Trump and Russian President Putin whose first name Vladimir is the taken from Saint Vladimir (Vladimir the Great) who was the Grand Duke of Kieff and All Russia, grandson of St. Olga, and the first Russian ruler to embrace Christianity. Russia is a Christian country with over 85% of its residents professing to be Christians. Russia and Putin have vowed to protect Christians around the world from persecution and their actions to date, prove this fact. In Russia, the State and Church work hand and hand with one another. A form of ancient government that was how almost all kingdoms had operated together for millennia. We can also connect the Red Cap of Liberty (Phrygian Cap) to the kingdom of Russia. The Monomakhs Cap also called the Golden Cap (Shapka Zolotaya) or a Phrygian cap is a chief relic of the Russian Grand Princes and Tsars. All Russian grenadiers had worn mitre caps until 1805. According to Greek mythology, the first Phrygian Midas had been king of the Moschi (Mushki). The Jewish-Roman Historian Josephus had claimed that modern Moscow in Russia was founded by the Mosocheni (Moschoi, Moschi, Mushki Mosoch or Meshech), or the Tabalior (Thobelites). Herodotus also mentions the Moschoi (Meshech, Muscovites or Assyrian form, Mushki or Musku). The Moschi are named with Tubal (and Rosh, in certain translations) as principalities of Gog, prince of Magog in Ezekiel 38:2 and 39:1, and is considered a Japhetite tribe. They were also known by the names of the Cappadocians which is the Latin word for the Cretans, and later as the Iberes of what was then called Roman Iberia. A land formerly known as the Soviet Union, and today called Russia. The Rurikids were the ruling dynasty of Kievan Rus, who after the year 1199, would also officially become the rulers of the Grand Duchy of Moscow and the founders of the Tsardom of Russia, which today they govern all the lands of modern-day Russia and then some. Ivan III by 1503, had tripled the territory of Moscow as Ruler of all Russia, and with his marriage to the niece of the last Byzantine emperor, he established Moscow as the successor state of the Roman Empire. They had ruled all the lands of modern-day Russia (and later Grand Duchy of Moscow and Tsardom of Russia) until the 17th century. They are one of Europes oldest royal houses who trace their legendary genealogy to the first Roman emperor Augustus Caesar. A recent article had declared that Donald Trump was believed to be direct descendant of Rurik the Viking who established Russian state. The Daily Mail reported: Russian genealogists claim that Mr. Trump is a direct descendant of Rurik the Viking who established the Russian state. Whilst others believe it is his mothers heritage that may provide the Viking link. According to the nationalists newspaper Estonian World Review Russian genealogist Aleksey Nilogov says Mr Trump has ties to European royalty but he claims Barack Obama is also a descendant of Rurik. More descendants include Henry III of England, the first three King Edwards, and Joan Beaufort, Queen of Scots. Mr Nilogov believes Mr. Trump descends over the course of 35, 36 or 38 generations from the ninth century ruler, Rurik, via three distinct female lines. The Last Trump-et Sounds Some Rabbis in Israel believe that Trump could be the promised Messiah or at least his forerunner. Christain author, Tom Horn had made the claim during the Jim Baker show. According to Horn, 300 years ago a rabbi he identified as Horowitz set the date for the messiahs arrival on the Jewish calendar in the year 5777 which translates to a period between 20162017. Now they are looking at Donald Trump. One of the rabbis illustrated how his name, the numerology of his name, actually means messiah, Horn said. For the messiah to arrive, you cant think of him like we think of messiah. We think of messiah after the model of Jesus. Hes the son of God, divine birth, all of that. Thats not how the Jews look at the messiah. Theyre looking for a king. They are looking for a political leader. And so a matter of fact, messiah to them means the anointed one, and it goes back to the ancient days when they would anoint a king and recognize him as this is the man that God sent, Horn said. The messiah for the Jews, said Horn, will come in the form of a strong political figure. Let me please add that Russia regards itself as the Third Rome and Masters of Jerusalem. As I mentioned above, some religious scholars interpret End Time Christian prophecy with the Christian Katechon as the rebirth of the Holy Roman Empire. I do not know about you, but this looks like prophecy and the rebirth of the Holy Roman Empire rite before our very eyes with the sounding of the last Trump-et. As it is said about Trump in Thessalonians 4:16: By the word of the Lord, we declare to you that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a loud command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will be the first to rise. And Corinthians 15:52 states: Behold, I show you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. Days of ISIL are numbered, says UN envoy as nation prepares for unified Iraq Publisher UN News Service Publication Date 2 February 2017 Cite as UN News Service, Days of ISIL are numbered, says UN envoy as nation prepares for unified Iraq, 2 February 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5899ccb540d.html [accessed 5 November 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. 2 February 2017 - The military campaign to oust Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL/Da'esh) terrorists from Iraq is nearly won, but the humanitarian crisis is expected to continue for months, if not years, the United Nations top official for the country said today. "Three months after the Mosul military operation started, combat operations in the eastern part of Mosul have come to an end," the Secretary-General's Special Representative for Iraq, Jan Kubis, told the UN Security Council during a briefing. He said that the Iraqi forces, with significant support from its international partners, especially the United States, will remain engaged in complex urban operations, in particular inside the old city in western Mosul. "Yet, in the rather short foreseeable future, the liberation operations in Iraq are coming to an end - the days of the so-called ISIL in Iraq are counted," added Mr. Kubis, who is also the head of the UN Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI). According to an advance summary of the 2017 Humanitarian Response Plan submitted by relief aid partners in December, at least $985 million is required this year to reach the 5.8 million most vulnerable Iraqis. Of this, $331 million is being sought specifically for the Mosul response. Already a lot is being done. Over 1.4 million displaced Iraqis have returned to their homes, including one million in the past 12 months. Jan Kubis, Special Representative for Iraq and Head of the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI), addresses the Security Council meeting on the situation concerning Iraq. UN Photo/Eskinder Debebe In the post-Da'esh period, Iraq will need continuous, substantial and sustainable support and assistance from the international community, including its regional partners, he stressed, warning that any abrupt scaling-down of engagement or support would mean repeating mistakes of the past - mistakes that have had grave consequences for stability and security, well beyond the borders of Iraq, even globally. The protection of civilians, the avoidance of steps that could incite sectarian tensions, and the prevention of looting and revenge attacks in Mosul and other liberated areas of the country "constitute first steps in the process of national and community-based reconciliation, in building a new and truly unified Iraq," he said. Since 2003, Iraq has lost more than half of its ethnic and religious minority population. Special attention should therefore be paid to arrangements that address the specific security and other concerns of minorities to enable returns to their homes. The National Alliance Initiative, submitted to UNAMI by the largest parliamentarian bloc, on the way forward in post-Da'esh Iraq is a good starting point in the Iraqi-owned and led, but UN-facilitated, process of national settlement and reconciliation, he said. UNAMI is currently working with various groups, including the Sunni and Turkmen components, Kurdistan region of Iraq, civil society, minority communities, tribal leaders, and youth and women groups with the aim of soliciting their views and vision on how to build a post-ISIL united Iraq, based on the principles of equality and citizenship. He emphasized that "for national reconciliation to succeed, it must be supported by grassroots initiatives." Marching towards peace, FARC-EP begins turning in arms UN Mission in Colombia Publisher UN News Service Publication Date 2 February 2017 Cite as UN News Service, Marching towards peace, FARC-EP begins turning in arms UN Mission in Colombia, 2 February 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5899cd0f40d.html [accessed 5 November 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. 2 February 2017 - More than 200 men and women of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia-People's Army (FARC-EP) marched today to demobilization camps, two months after a peace deal that ended the Western Hemisphere's longest running conflict, United Nations monitors coordinating the process reported. The UN Mission in Colombia said the Transitional Point of Normalization of Pondores, department of La Guajira, in northern Colombia, according to figures from tripartite Monitoring and Verification Mechanism, composed of the Government, the FARC-EP and coordinated by the UN Mission. Members of the FARC-EP - some of them pregnant or breastfeeding - walked about nine kilometres from four pre-grouping points near to the Pondores transitional point, where the FARC-EP camp will be located and where the separation of forces will take place, a task which the UN Mission will verify. "As a UN Mission, this moment is crucial because it means we will continue to verify the ceasefire and cessation of hostilities through our participation in the Tripartite Mechanism, and we will be able to begin the operational part of the verification of the laying down of arms," explained the Deputy Head of Observers of the Mission, Jose Mauricio Villacorta. According to the Mission, the women and men marching today join more than 6,300 FARC-EP members who began mobilizing on Saturday, 28 January, to zones and points using 36 travel routes in 14 departments of the country, according to preliminary figures from the Colombian Government's High Commissioner for Peace, on one of the country's largest logistics operations. FARC-EP members were received today at the Pondores site by High Commissioner for Peace Sergio Jaramillo, FARC-EP leader Ivan Marquez, Colombian authorities and Mr. Mauricio Villacorta, in a symbolic act to highlight the parties' commitment and the imminent start of the laying down of arms, which the UN Mission will verify, to enable the transition to civilian life. "This shows that we are bringing the agreement to reality," said Mr. Jaramillo, who added: "This is a moment of joy." Ivan Marquez, who headed the FARC-EP negotiating team in Havana, Cuba, where four years of negotiations on the eventual peace accord took place, stated: "Something good is happening in Colombia: it's peace [] This peace is irrepressible, unstoppable; let us go forward." "To date, we have focused on the planning and preparation phase so that the Mission can carry out the tasks of registering and storing weapons," said Mr. Mauricio Villacorta. Once FARC-EP members are in the camps the first step for the laying down of arms is the registration of arms and weapons. Unstable armaments - such as gunpowder, grenades and anti-personnel mines - will be destroyed in site. After 180 days, the UN Mission in Colombia is set to remove all the weapons from the camp. In early October 2016, Colombian voters narrowly rejected the historic peace accord between the Government and the FARC-EP. That deal led to a cessation of hostilities and agreements on key issues such as political participation, land rights, illicit drugs and victims' rights and transitional justice. The two sides signed a new agreement in late November. Iraq: UN fears new wave of displacement as fighting escalates in Mosul and Hawiga Publisher UN News Service Publication Date 3 February 2017 Cite as UN News Service, Iraq: UN fears new wave of displacement as fighting escalates in Mosul and Hawiga, 3 February 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5899cd8940c.html [accessed 5 November 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. 3 February 2017 - The United Nations refugee agency and its partners are coordinating plans to respond to a potential mass displacement of Iraqis from western Mosul, the latest battleground the Iraqi forces are seeking to retake from Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL/Da'esh) terrorists. "As many as 250,000 Iraqis could be displaced from their homes with the anticipated escalation of conflict in densely-populated western Mosul," Matthew Saltmarsh, a spokesperson for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), told reporters in Geneva. The military operations to oust ISIL began on 17 October last year in eastern Mosul, which, according to UN agencies on the ground, is now under the Government control. Mr. Saltmarsh said UNHCR has seven camps completed and two under construction. UNHCR is currently able to provide some 11,000 families, or 66,000 people, with shelter as part of the Mosul response, a figure which should expand to 20,000 families, or 120,000 individuals, in the near-term, once land is allocated. The refugee agency continues to seek additional land for new camps, reception and transit areas, to assist people closer to Mosul. By the end of March, it is anticipated that the Government of Iraq, working with UNHCR and its partners, could potentially host 41,155 families, or 246,930 people, in camps and emergency sites. Some 161,178 people have been displaced from Mosul and surrounding areas since the military offensive began in October, but nearly 30,000 of them have returned to their places of origin. Returnees are keen to resume their lives and told UNHCR that the re-opening of schools and government offices was a factor in their decision to return. In some areas, security and the lack of food and water remain a concern. Some returnees continue to rely on emergency relief items, including kerosene, which they received while in camps. UNHCR is also assisting increasing numbers fleeing Hawiga, 130 km south-east of Mosul, due deteriorating living conditions and the expected intensification of military operations. Inter-agency planning estimates predict that up to 114,000 individuals could be displaced from Hawiga. So far, 82,128 people have fled since August 2016. Until recently, people had been leaving Hawiga in smaller numbers but hundreds are now fleeing eastwards daily towards Salah al-Din and Kirkuk. UNHCR's 2016 Mosul emergency response appeal for $196 million was 57 percent funded. For 2017, it is seeking $578 million for its work with Iraqi internally displaced persons and Iraqi refugees in the region. UNHCR has distributed emergency items, including quilts and blankets, to more than 178,000 people, and provided nearly 53,000 people affected by the Mosul conflict with protection assistance. Rights expert urges UN Member States to halt Israel's illegal settlements in West Bank Publisher UN News Service Publication Date 3 February 2017 Cite as UN News Service, Rights expert urges UN Member States to halt Israel's illegal settlements in West Bank, 3 February 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5899cdea40c.html [accessed 5 November 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. 3 February 2017 - A United Nations human rights expert has called on the Security Council and the General Assembly to explore effective diplomatic and political measures to ensure Israeli compliance with Security Council resolution 2334 (2016), which affirms that all Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territory constitute a flagrant violation of international law. "The settlement announcements by the Israeli Government, only a month after the clear direction of the international community, are a defiant and troubling repudiation of resolution 2334," said Special Rapporteur Michael Lynk, who is mandated by the UN Human Rights Council to monitor and report on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967. "If Israel understands that the international community will take no meaningful steps to enforce the Council's resolution, it will continue to intensify its settlement project undeterred," the Rapporteur warned in a news release issued by the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR). "And if the international community intends to preserve what remains of a viable two-state solution, it must not assume that resolutions, critical statements and international conferences alone will change state behaviour in these circumstances," he stressed. The human rights expert's appeal comes as, according to the press release, the Israeli Government approves the construction of over 6,000 new settlement homes in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem, and as the Israeli Knesset moves closer to adopting the 'Settlement Regularization Bill,' which will legalize the homes of more than 4,000 settlers in dozens of illegal outposts built on private Palestinian lands throughout the West Bank. "Continued settlement activity poses a grave threat to Palestinians' right to self-determination," the Rapporteur noted. "The policies and practices of the Israeli authorities that suggest an advance towards de facto annexation of parts of the West Bank are increasingly alarming," the expert said. "Annexation of occupied land likewise is a grave breach of international law," the Rapporteur stated. Special Rapporteurs and independent experts are appointed by the Geneva-based UN Human Rights Council to examine and report back on a specific human rights theme or a country situation. The positions are honorary and the experts are not UN staff, nor are they paid for their work. Fresh violence in Central African Republic western town displaces thousands, UN office says Publisher UN News Service Publication Date 3 February 2017 Cite as UN News Service, Fresh violence in Central African Republic western town displaces thousands, UN office says, 3 February 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5899ce3a311.html [accessed 5 November 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. 3 February 2017 - Condemning attacks on civilians and non-governmental organizations in a town in Central African Republic (CAR)'s Ouham-Pende province, a senior United Nations humanitarian official has called for protecting civilians as well as for unhindered relief access to the affected areas. According to the office of the Humanitarian Coordinator in CAR, outbreak of violence between two armed groups in the town of Bocaranga reportedly killed and injured civilians as well as displacing some 9,000 people are sheltering in forests about 15-20 kilometres away from the town. In the clashes, international non-governmental organization compounds were attacked and pillaged and at-least one office was burnt down. Moreover, shops and markets were "systematically pillaged," as was one church. "I urge all parties to the conflict to respect international humanitarian law and to ensure the protection of civilians," said Michel Yao, the Acting Humanitarian Coordinator in the country. "Attack against aid workers is a crime against humanity," he added. Prior to the latest flare-up of violence there were already 15,000 persons from Koui (located about 35 kilometres east of Bocaranga) who were displaced the town due to the violence that occurred there last September. These displacements come on the back of already more than 400,000 persons displaced due to conflict. The humanitarian needs in CAR are increasing while financial resources remain scarce. In January, together with the Government, the humanitarian community in CAR launched a $400 million response plan for the 2017-2019 period to meet the basic needs of 2.2 million people. Clashes between the mainly Muslim Seleka rebel coalition and anti-Balaka militia, which are mostly Christian, plunged the country of 4.5 million people into civil conflict in 2013. Despite significant progress and successful elections, CAR has remained in the grip of instability and sporadic unrest. Civilians face 'dire' situation amid ongoing hostilities in eastern Ukraine, UN warns Publisher UN News Service Publication Date 3 February 2017 Cite as UN News Service, Civilians face 'dire' situation amid ongoing hostilities in eastern Ukraine, UN warns, 3 February 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5899ce7b40e.html [accessed 5 November 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. 3 February 2017 - An immediate pause in fighting is needed in Ukraine to prevent more people dying and repair essential services, the United Nations human rights office said today following another night of shelling in the east of the country. United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres also expressed deep concern about the ongoing tensions and intensification of the fighting in eastern Ukraine, according the UN chief's spokesperson, who said he appealed to all parties to fully observe the ceasefire and allow for immediate humanitarian access. In the last week, aerial attacks have killed seven people and injured at least 40 more in heavily populated areas, according to the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR). "Reports suggest that two hospitals, a polyclinic, a dental clinic, three schools, and a kindergarten were damaged by shelling in Makiivka and Donetsk city, which are controlled by armed groups," OHCHR spokesperson Liz Throssell told reporters at the regular bi-weekly news briefing in Geneva. She said OHCHR staff in Donetsk heard explosions over five days, from 29 January through the night of 2 February, and on 2 February, "saw a clearly marked ambulance in Donetsk that had been damaged by shrapnel." Latest data shows that at least 9,800 civilians and members of armed forces have been killed since the conflict began in mid-April 2014 according to the UN Human Rights Office. It also warns that sub-zero temperatures have also left civilians even more vulnerable amid the destruction of power lines and disruption to water, electricity and heating networks. Ms. Throssell explained that critical civilian infrastructure has been damaged, including near Avdiivka, where power lines have been destroyed, disrupting water, electricity and heating supplies. Gas and electricity supplies were also reported to have been affected in Makiivka and other areas under the control of armed groups, including Irmino and parts of Donetsk. "Both Government forces and armed groups must take all feasible measures to protect the civilian population in the areas under their control, she said, adding: "We remind them that the protection of civilians must be considered the utmost priority and those committing violations of human rights law and international humanitarian law must be held accountable." UN Middle East envoy 'concerned' over scheduled vote on Israel's settlement regularisation bill Publisher UN News Service Publication Date 6 February 2017 Cite as UN News Service, UN Middle East envoy 'concerned' over scheduled vote on Israel's settlement regularisation bill, 6 February 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5899cecc40c.html [accessed 5 November 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. 6 February 2017 - The top United Nations Middle East envoy today expressed concern about the scheduled vote by the Knesset, Israel's legislative body, on a bill that would legalize Israeli settlements on privately-owned Palestinian land in the occupied West Bank. I am concerned by the scheduled vote on the so-called 'Regularisation Bill' as it would enable the continued use of privately-owned Palestinian land for Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, said the UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, Nickolay Mladenov, in a statement. If adopted into law, it will have far reaching legal consequences for Israel and greatly diminish the prospects for Arab-Israeli peace, Mr. Mladenov added, noting that the bill has been deemed unconstitutional by the Attorney General of Israel and is in contravention of international law. I urge Israeli legislators to reconsider this move, he stated, stressing that all core issues should be resolved between the parties through direct negotiations on the basis of relevant Security Council resolutions and mutual agreements. Burundi: Measures being used to 'criminalize' work of human rights defenders, warn UN experts Publisher UN News Service Publication Date 6 February 2017 Cite as UN News Service, Burundi: Measures being used to 'criminalize' work of human rights defenders, warn UN experts, 6 February 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5899cf7940e.html [accessed 5 November 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. 6 February 2017 - Speaking out against a ban and provisional suspension of a number of civil society organizations in Burundi, United Nations rights experts warned today of growing repression of human rights defenders and groups amid the already difficult environment in which they. Also worrying, according to a news release issued by the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) were two bills adopted by the National Assembly of Burundi last December that require local non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to obtain authorization from the Minister of the Interior for any activity and that the work of foreign NGOs must comply with priorities set by the Government. "These moves are just the latest in a series of attacks on the rights to freedom of expression and association in Burundi," said the rights experts. "Disturbingly, these measures take particular aim at human rights defenders and independent civil society, and are being used to unduly obstruct and criminalize their work on broad and often fallacious grounds." Authorities in Burundi banned five civil society organizations in October 2016. In December 2016, they also barred two other groups, one of which was working for good governance and the fight against corruption. Additionally, four other organizations have also been provisionally suspended. Relatives of a student killed in the Jabe neighbourhood of Bujumbura, mourn at home in the Burundian capital. Photo: Phil Moore/IRIN Also in the release, the experts reiterated the "unanimous" strong stance of various bodies, including the UN Human Rights Council - the inter-governmental body responsible for promoting and protecting human rights around the world - on allegations of serious human rights violations in Burundi, the experts called on the Governmental to "an end to the climate of impunity currently prevailing in the country" and to cooperate with the Commission of Inquiry on Burundi and with OHCHR in a positive and collaborative manner, as an essential step towards ending the major crisis facing the country. "It is crucial that the State promotes and protects the rights to freedom of expression and association enshrined in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Burundi is a State party," they said. "All individuals, including human rights defenders, have the right to express themselves and associate freely, without fear of threats, intimidation, violence, arbitrary detention or enforced or disappearance," the experts added. The human rights experts voicing their concern included: Independent experts and Special Rapporteurs are appointed by the Geneva based Human Rights Council to examine and report back on a specific human rights theme or a country situation. The positions are honorary and the experts are not UN staff, nor are they paid for their work. Syria: UN provides emergency water around Aleppo, as 1.8 million cut off from water supply Publisher UN News Service Publication Date 6 February 2017 Cite as UN News Service, Syria: UN provides emergency water around Aleppo, as 1.8 million cut off from water supply, 6 February 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5899cfb140c.html [accessed 5 November 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. 6 February 2017 - The United Nations today voiced grave concern about nearly two million Syrians in the area of Aleppo who have been without water for almost a month, as UN agencies are helping to provide emergency access to some of the people in need. The UN spokesperson today told journalists in New York that an estimated 1.8 million people in Aleppo city and rural eastern Aleppo have been cut off from their main source of water, which is under Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL/Da'esh) control. "The UN continues to respond to the water crisis by supplying fuel to operate 100 deep wells, and is supporting emergency water trucking, reaching nearly one million people in need of water assistance," the spokesperson said. The UN is also working closely with its partners, including the International Committee of the Red Cross and the Syrian Arab Red Crescent, to deliver food, nutrition, health and other emergency items to rural Homs. The inter-agency convoy delivered items to 84,000 people in hard-to-reach Talbiseh yesterday, for the first time since 19 September. "This convoy is the first cross-line land delivery in February and only the second in 2017," the spokesperson said. He added that the UN continues to call for "unconditional, unimpeded and sustained access to all 4.72 million people in hard-to-reach locations across the country," including more than 600,000 in besieged locations. Also today, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) confirmed that Stephen O'Brien, the Emergency Relief Coordinator, completed a two-day visit to Jordan. The country is the third-largest host of Syrian refugees in the region. During his visit, Mr. O'Brien met with senior Jordanian officials, including Prime Minister Hani Mulki and General Mahmoud Frihat, the head of the Jordanian Armed Forces. He also visited the Azraq refugee camp, which is operated by the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). Ukraine Flare-Up Lays Bare Fears in Europe's East Publisher International Crisis Group (ICG) Publication Date 3 February 2017 Cite as International Crisis Group (ICG), Ukraine Flare-Up Lays Bare Fears in Europe's East, 3 February 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5899d2994.html [accessed 5 November 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. Renewed fighting in eastern Ukraine in the first weeks of U.S. President Donald Trump's administration has laid bare fears in Europe's East about Russia's declared intent to restore its former dominance in the region and about whether or not the U.S. will continue to provide a counterweight to Moscow's assertiveness. Fighting that broke out on 29 January in eastern Ukraine, around the Kyiv government-controlled industrial town of Avdiivka and separatist-controlled railway hub of Yasynuvata, has continued for six days. Violence has also swept from this traditional hotspot across the whole Donetsk region: the Special Monitoring Mission of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) has registered more than 7,000 ceasefire violations in the area on 1 February alone. Some things seem clear for now: most of the fighting is being carried out at a distance, using artillery and rockets. But neither side has crossed the front line and tried to seize territory, which could fatefully undermine the Minsk peace process. As they have done in the past, both sides seem to be testing their adversaries' resolve. Kyiv probably hopes that the fighting will once again convince their U.S. and European backers that any reduction of support would be disastrous. Moscow is probably trying to remind Kyiv that it is not going to give up the separatist entities. As usual, however, politicians are scoring points at the price of civilian deaths and further destruction of vital infrastructure in the war zone. The current fighting has destroyed power lines and water systems, producing a new humanitarian emergency. People in and around Avdiivka, long among the most directly affected by the conflict, are without electricity. Around 1 million people in the region have suffered from disrupted water supplies or lack of heating in temperatures that are well below freezing. More water infrastructure damage could lead to an environmental disaster if chlorine supplies were to leak. The two sides trade accusations on who is to blame for the new violence in the nearly three-year-old conflict, which has killed almost 10,000 people and pits Ukrainian government forces against Russian-backed separatists in a band of territory across eastern Ukraine. Rebels, and their backers in Moscow, may simply be testing how far they can go and how much Western support the Ukrainians have. Kyiv's positions are bound to get more entrenched if U.S. support weakens. If the U.S. were to lift sanctions on Moscow relating to its actions since 2014 in Crimea and eastern Ukraine, some in Kyiv have informally told Crisis Group that Ukraine's only choice may be to escalate. An official close to the Minsk talks said, and many commentators agree, that the escalation is directly linked to shifts in the geostrategic environment since the election of President Trump in November. The local, regional and geostrategic levels at which conflicts in Europe's east play out are all directly linked, as must be any resolution. Ukraine, which seeks to integrate into Euro-Atlantic political and economic institutions, was concerned about lessening support from Washington even before the new U.S. administration took office. The European Union's reach is weakening as its own challenges grow, and Russia is seen as undermining Western unity on sanctions by multiple means, including both open and covert support to populist and nationalist parties ahead of key 2017 elections in France, Germany and the Netherlands. In late 2016, a former senior Kyiv official told Crisis Group that Ukraine feels abandoned, especially on security matters. Kyiv, for its part, could have done more to increase Ukraine's resilience, including by addressing corruption that is chipping away support for President Petro Poroshenko's government. The dangers for Kyiv increase if it loses resolute Western support, and especially if the U.S. wavers or drops its backing for continued sanctions on Moscow. President Trump has hinted that a deal is possible if Moscow cooperates on the anti-terrorism front. Trump refused to rule out the dropping of the sanctions in a press conference with United Kingdom Prime Minister Theresa May on 27 January. The next day, the first call between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin covered opportunities for closer cooperation, and reportedly touched on the war in Ukraine with no public reference to sanctions. U.S. Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley's 2 February remarks to the Security Council stressed that the U.S. would not lift the sanctions until Crimea is returned to Ukraine. Her words need to be backed up by President Trump's unambiguous statements and actions. Otherwise, the U.S. role will remain open to speculation, and continued uncertainty will further increase tensions. Any more general escalation of fighting would have unpredictable political repercussions throughout Europe. Ukrainian families have borne the brunt of displacement of 3.8 million people within the country, but their capacity is overstretched. Those displaced internally today could well become the next wave of refugees pushed into Central and Western Europe. From the Western Balkans to Central Asia, the wider geostrategic shifts are creating insecurity and entrenching positions. Georgia is a good example. Its conflicts have been protracted: the breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia have defied Tbilisi's control for over twenty years, but Moscow's direct role reached a new level with recognition of their independence in 2008 after the Russian-Georgian war. Hopes rose that there could be some progress towards reconciliation in the Georgian-Abkhaz and Georgian-Ossetian disputes after the Georgian Dream party overwhelmingly won last autumn's parliamentary election. The ruling party's constitutional majority has provided space to advance its long-discussed plan to reach out to the Abkhaz and Ossetians and start addressing divisive issues. Meanwhile, Tbilisi is trying to cope internationally with what it sees as Russian occupation, which Moscow has shown no interest in discontinuing. Any steps to address local conflict legacies are welcome. Any future settlement must address longstanding grievances in mutually acceptable ways and build bridges between divided societies. But this is only possible if Georgia is securely fixed and supported within a predictable international framework that will help address its own grievances vis-a-vis Russia. If the Ukrainian and Georgian governments feel that they cannot genuinely trust the West to protect them against Russia, they are likely to become increasingly nervous and unpredictable. They may also be less willing to invest in reconciliation with those living in breakaway areas, whom they too often see as willing Kremlin proxies. There is an immediate need for all international actors to prevent the present escalation in eastern Ukraine from getting out of hand and to address the growing humanitarian needs of the affected population. The primary responsibility for this lies with Russia. At the same time, however, the U.S. should join the European Union in giving their partners in the East strong reassurances of firm backing. The West must make clear that it will not compromise on their territorial integrity nor will it hypocritically say the right things while in fact looking away, which is perhaps more plausible and scarier. With the U.S. course being far from certain, the EU's confident and undivided support is more important than ever. If Western backing is solid, Ukraine and Georgia each with their different conflicts and in different ways may have the geopolitical space to start addressing existing local divides. This is not a given and would not alone deliver a full-fledged settlement for that, Moscow would have to change its calculations and course. But without Western backing, Ukraine and Georgia will find themselves getting ever more deeply enmeshed in insoluble conflicts, with dire consequences for affected populations and increasing risks for security on the continent. Mugabe's Brittle By-election Victory Bodes Ill for Zimbabwe's 2018 Elections Publisher International Crisis Group (ICG) Publication Date 7 February 2017 Cite as International Crisis Group (ICG), Mugabe's Brittle By-election Victory Bodes Ill for Zimbabwe's 2018 Elections, 7 February 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5899da814.html [accessed 5 November 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. The landslide victory of President Robert Mugabe's ruling party in a 21 January by-election in Zimbabwe's Bikita West constituency is a troubling bellwether for the future of the country. It signals that presidential and parliamentary elections in mid-2018 are unlikely to be credible, free or fair, and also that without fundamental change through a legitimate election, Harare will maintain the self-destructive policies that have done so much damage. In Bikita West, the Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF) candidate, Beauty Chabaya, promoted from its provincial women's league, won with 77.9 per cent of the vote. The opposition complained of assaults, intimidation and threats of retribution by senior ZANU-PF figures against disloyal voters the identification of whom was easier as voting results are broken down by polling station. Local party structures and traditional authorities also helped to monitor voters and in the run-up to the poll reportedly manipulated the distribution of food aid and farming inputs. The Bikita West vote was the latest in a series of by-elections being watched for how Zimbabwe and the ZANU-PF will fare, not just in next year's elections, but also during the transition from more than three decades of rule by the ailing President Robert Mugabe, 92. Zimbabwe's Relentless Decline Credible elections in 2018 will be crucial for arresting Zimbabwe's precipitous decline. Considered a middle-income country in the 1990's, the economy nearly halved in the 2000s and has not recovered since. A large number of skilled workers in the government and private sector have left the country. According to the World Bank, 72 per cent of the population is poor and 20 per cent live in extreme poverty. Zimbabweans, despite exposure to much poor governance, put great store in a legitimate electoral process leading to reform. But this will require more than simply depoliticising the institutional machinery responsible for elections. More years of unchanged policies would further entrench a corrupt government and predatory state incapable of decisive change, leading to further social stagnation, economic slowdown and risks for the future stability and development of the region. The opposition has struggled to make an impact following the 2013 elections defeat of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change-Tsvangirai (MDC-T) and subsequent turmoil within that party that resulted in the vacation of many parliamentary seats. The main opposition's subsequent boycott has allowed ZANU-PF to win all but one of more than 20 post-2013 by-election contests and grow its two-thirds majority in parliament. The ruling party's shock loss in the Norton constituency in the October 2016 by-election was seen by some as a sign of its vulnerability. The MDC-T and Joice Mujuru's Zimbabwe People's First (ZimPF) coordinated with disaffected war veterans to elect the independent candidate, Themba Mliswa (a former ZANU-PF parliamentarian and Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa's cousin). Some argue Mliswa's victory demonstrated that a unified opposition could win, even without meaningful electoral reforms. But others contend that the loss was a result of a contest between ZANU-PF factions, and that the nominally independent Mliswa was a stalking horse for Vice President Mnangagwa against the official ZANU-PF candidate, Ronald Chindedza, who was loyal to a rival faction of the party. ZANU-PF's Show of Force There were no signs of ruling party vulnerability in Bikita West: President Mugabe sent a clear directive that the constituency be won at all costs; ZANU-PF presented a united front; and MDC-T and war veterans did not close ranks behind the main opposition candidate, ZimPF's Kudakwashe Gopo. Opposition parties continue to talk, but, riven by infighting, have neither fully joined forces, nor been able to take advantage of ZANU-PF's internal discord either. ZANU-PF's most significant challenge remains the choice of Mugabe's successor. Mugabe was re-endorsed at the party's National Conference in December as its presidential candidate for the 2018 elections, when he will be 94. With his physical capacities visibly waning, his failure to put in place a clear succession plan appears to be designed both to temper the ambitions of Mnangagwa, who is regarded by many as an obvious heir, and also to soothe the frustrations of those opposed to the vice president. The intra-party discord and jockeying is likely to frustrate political and economic reform and thus Western re-engagement. The sweeping victory for the ruling party in Bikita West raises deeper questions about the scale of popular support for the opposition. The National Electoral Reform Agenda (NERA), an umbrella opposition campaigning platform, retains an official position of boycotting elections until the process is reformed, but has failed to present a united political front. The MDC-T has boycotted all by-elections because promised reforms remain largely unaddressed, but others have joined in to varying extents. It is unclear why ZimPF, a member of NERA, put up a candidate in the Bikita West election at all. There were internal ZimPF tensions over whether or not to participate, and the provincial party leaders who pushed against it have now resigned. In the end, the failure of ZimPF's candidate in Bikita West has now damaged ZimPF leader Mujuru's prospects of leading an opposition coalition in the 2018 elections. Addressing Zimbabwe's Electoral Weakness ZANU-PF vehemently denies allegations by the opposition and civil society of wrongdoing in Bikita West. But that is not enough to make the opposition trust institutions like the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC), the police and the courts, which should be able to combat these violations. Severely underfunded after producing reports critical of the government, the Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission (ZHRC) cannot launch a serious inquiry into the elections. The region could help. The Southern Africa Development Community and African Union have developed a framework for electoral conditions, and should launch an assessment of Zimbabwe's democratic progress and shortfalls. They should carefully consider the concerns raised by NERA and others, and propose realistic reform implementation timelines ahead of the polls. Powers from further afield will be less willing to engage the more compromised the legitimacy of the regime becomes. Even then they will have to tread carefully, balancing support for improving institutional capacities and addressing problems, without inadvertently adding to distortions of what is already a skewed electoral environment. The March by-election in Mwenezi East promises to test conditions once again, as a senior ZimPF leader and former ZANU-PF firebrand, Kudakwashe Bhasikiti, runs in his former constituency. The Bikita West by-election highlights how much still needs to be done both by the ruling ZANU-PF and the opposition. Cambodia: Drop Farcical Investigation of Human Rights Defenders Publisher Amnesty International Publication Date 7 February 2017 Reference ASA 23/5630/2017 Cite as Amnesty International, Cambodia: Drop Farcical Investigation of Human Rights Defenders , 7 February 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5899e310d.html [accessed 5 November 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. Leading Rights Groups Protest Pattern of Intimidation Cambodian authorities should immediately drop the politically motivated criminal investigation of human rights defenders Am Sam-at and Chan Puthisak, Amnesty International, Civil Rights Defenders, Human Rights Watch, and the International Commission of Jurists said today. Cambodian officials have accused Sam-at, a respected human rights monitor at the Cambodian League for the Promotion and Defense of Human Rights (LICADHO) for nearly 20 years, and Puthisak, a land rights activist from Boeung Kak Lake and former prisoner of conscience, of instigating violence at a 10 October 2016 demonstration. Para-police forces, who are regularly used to suppress demonstrations, violently dispersed what had been a peaceful protest in Phnom Penh. When Puthisak attempted to prevent para-police from confiscating a drum that was being used by a demonstrator, four or five para-police attacked him, repeatedly beating him on the head with their fists, according to a video of the incident. When Sam-at tried to stop the assault, the para-police attacked him, also beating him on the head. Both men sustained injuries that needed medical attention. "The investigation of Sam-at and Puthisak by the Cambodian authorities is a typically absurd and undisguised case of judicial harassment," said Champa Patel, Southeast Asia and Pacific Director at Amnesty International. "As usual, unnecessary and excessive use of force by the para-police goes unpunished, and those who work to promote and protect human rights find themselves subject to criminal proceedings." On 4 November, two members of the para-police filed a complaint with the Phnom Penh Court of First Instance, alleging that they were injured during the dispersal of the demonstration. The authorities are investigating Sam-at and Puthisak for instigating intentional violence, under Articles 27 and 217 of Cambodia's Criminal Code, which carry penalties of up to three years in prison. Both men are due for questioning on 8 February by Phnom Penh Court of First Instance Deputy Prosecutor Ngin Pich. There has been no indication that complaints filed against para-police by Sam-at and Puthisak after the incident on 10 October 2016 are being investigated. The 10 October demonstration involved approximately 150 participants peacefully calling for respect for housing and land rights in Freedom Park, an area designated for demonstrations. The protestors were marching on a street adjacent to the park when the incident took place. Videos of the incident establish that the demonstration was peaceful and that Sam-at was wearing a blue human rights monitor vest when the para-police attacked him. The case investigation of the two falls within a wider pattern of judicial intimidation in Cambodia. There are currently as many as 26 human rights and political activists in prison on charges which have all the hallmarks of being politically motivated. This includes 14 political activists who were jailed following a demonstration in July 2014, when para-police violently clashed with participants. No efforts have been reported of the authorities' efforts to bring to justice the para-police responsible for the unlawful use of force. "The case against Sam-at and Puthisak is part of an extensive effort by the Cambodian authorities to discredit the legitimate work of human rights organisations and to make clear the threat of prison for everyone working to promote and protect rights in the country," said, Phil Robertson, Asia Deputy Director at Human Rights Watch. "This campaign of intimidation against rights advocates has to stop now." Para-police, often referred to as "district security guards," are auxiliary security forces that are regularly used to violently suppress demonstrations in Cambodia. No single legal document sets out the rules governing their functions and powers. Rather, their legal basis and the rules governing their activities are set out in a confusing combination of government statements and policies, and by instructions from the Ministry of Interior. They work in tandem with police, under the authority of district governors. "The Cambodian government should be commending people like Sam-at and Puthisak for their work to promote and protect human rights rather than trying to intimidate them," said Kingsley Abbott, Senior International Legal Advisor at the International Commission of Jurists. "The case should be immediately and formally closed and a genuine investigation initiated into wrongful use of force by the para-police." Copyright notice: Copyright Amnesty International Nepal: Key Moment for Justice Publisher Human Rights Watch Publication Date 3 February 2017 Cite as Human Rights Watch, Nepal: Key Moment for Justice, 3 February 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5899e5694.html [accessed 5 November 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. The mandates of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) and the Commission on Investigation of Disappeared Persons (COID) should be extended indefinitely to ensure that justice, accountability, and reparations are achieved for the thousands of victims of Nepal's brutal civil war, Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International said today. The United Nations and donors, who played a major role in post-conflict peacemaking and rights protections, should publicly call on the government of Nepal to amend the law which created the commissions in line with international norms and extend their mandates. "In spite of delays caused by political parties, the two commissions have succeeded in accumulating a body of evidence of wartime atrocities that can lead to justice, accountability, and reparations for survivors," said Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch. "The victims and their families who showed great courage to appear before the commissions did so expecting the commissions to complete their work. It is time for Nepal's political parties to prove their commitment to justice and truth." The two commissions, whose mandates are set to expire on February 10, 2017, were set up as a result of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement of 2006 between the government of Nepal and the rebel Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist (CPN-M) to address accountability for human rights violations that took place during Nepal's 10-year civil war. Nepal's 1996-2006 civil war caused an estimated 13,000 deaths and thousands of disappearances. Credible allegations to both sides of the conflict reveal a pattern of torture, killings, enforced disappearances, and sexual violence. In spite of numerous calls for answers and accountability, the government has stalled on delivering justice to victims. The commissions finally began receiving submissions in early 2016. By September 2016, together they had received nearly 60,000 complaints. Due to limitations on their mandate and persistent political and resource constraints, the commissions have been unable to complete their work. The COID recently indicated that it will need a further three years to achieve its objectives. Although the Ministry of Peace and Reconstruction has said that the mandates of the commissions mechanisms will be extended, there has been little concrete action to date. It is also unclear whether the Investigation of Disappeared Persons, Truth and Reconciliation Commission Act, 2014 (TRC Act), which formally established the commissions, will be amended before the mandates are renewed in line with two separate Supreme Court rulings in 2014 and 2015, which found that the act did not conform to Nepal's international legal obligations since it allowed for amnesties for crimes prohibited under international law. In May 2016, the four main political parties agreed to a nine-point deal containing provisions shielding perpetrators of wartime abuses. Provision 7 directs the authorities to withdraw all wartime cases before the courts and to provide amnesty to alleged perpetrators. Several TRC commissioners have expressed concerns that extending their mandate without the necessary legal amendments would render any future work meaningless and would not lead to justice for victims. To date, the government has not implemented the court's directives despite repeated calls from the commissions, victims' groups, and the international community to amend the act in line with the Supreme Court directives, including the removal of any amnesty provisions. In addition, calls to adopt legislation to criminalize torture and disappearances and to lift any time limitations on prosecutions for rape have not been heeded. "The government of Nepal cannot continue to ignore the rights of victims to justice, truth, and reparation," said Biraj Patnaik, South Asia director at Amnesty International. "Failure to amend the act as ordered by the Supreme Court and grant the commissions a reasonable extension of their mandates will squander the hope that wartime victims have placed in this process." Nepal's transitional justice efforts have been plagued by a lack of political will on all sides of the political spectrum, including the army and former armed members of the CPN-M. Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International renewed their calls on the international community, including donors and the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, to publicly call on the government to amend the TRC Act and provide adequate support and resources to the commissions so they can make meaningful progress to secure justice for victims and their families. "The UN was deeply involved in Nepal's peace process and transitional justice issues for many years, before withdrawing due to governmental pressures against their presence and voice," Adams said. "The international community needs to stand up for the rights of wartime victims now otherwise more than a decade of international efforts for Nepal to fulfill its obligations to deliver truth, reparation, and justice to victims will have been wasted." Copyright notice: Copyright, Human Rights Watch Azerbaijan/EU: Brussels Should Press Rights Issue Publisher Human Rights Watch Publication Date 6 February 2017 Cite as Human Rights Watch, Azerbaijan/EU: Brussels Should Press Rights Issue, 6 February 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5899e5c44.html [accessed 5 November 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. European Union officials should press President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan to free unjustly imprisoned political activists, journalists, and other government critics, Human Rights Watch said today. EU officials should also urge Aliyev to end the crackdown on independent groups and allow them to operate without undue government interference. President Aliyev will be in Brussels on February 6, 2017, to inaugurate talks on a new partnership agreement between Azerbaijan and the EU to enhance political and economic ties between them. He is set to meet European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, President of the European Council Donald Tusk, and other top EU officials. "Time and time again, the EU has praised courageous human rights defenders, pledging to 'throw the EU's full weight behind them,'" said Lotte Leicht, EU director at Human Rights Watch. "As the EU and Azerbaijan forge a new era of cooperation, now is the time to make good on those EU promises and not sweep Aliyev's crackdown on dissent, and basic human rights under the red carpet." In a joint letter signed by 76 human rights groups worldwide and sent to top EU officials, the groups said the EU should use the meetings with President Aliyev to secure concrete commitments for urgently needed rights reforms in Azerbaijan. In recent years, the Azerbaijan government has made concerted efforts to restrict independent activism, critical journalism, and opposition political activity by imprisoning and harassing many activists, prominent human rights defenders, and journalists. Draconian laws and regulations impede the operation of independent groups and their ability to secure funding. Following pressure by Azerbaijan's international bilateral and multilateral partners, including the EU, in 2016, the Azerbaijani authorities released 17 human rights defenders, journalists, and political activists. They had been convicted on politically motivated charges, including narcotics and weapons possession, tax evasion, hooliganism, incitement, and even treason, and sentenced to long prison terms. But in 2016 and 2017, the authorities have made dozens of new arrests of other activists and bloggers on spurious criminal, often drug-related, charges to prevent them from carrying out their legitimate work. In late 2016, in one case, an Azerbaijani court sentenced Bayram Mammadov and Giyas Ibrahimov to 10 years in prison on false drug charges in retaliation for painting political graffiti on a statue of former President Heydar Aliyev. In January, Elgiz Gahraman was sentenced to five-and-a-half years on bogus drug-related criminal charges. All three are members of NIDA, a pro-democracy youth group advocating for peaceful change of government. More than a dozen activists convicted in politically motivated trials between 2013 and 2015 remain in prison. Among them is Ilgar Mammadov, leader of the pro-democracy opposition movement Republican Alternative (REAL). The Council of Europe's Committee of Ministers has repeatedly called for his release, in line with a 2014 European Court of Human Rights decision finding that Mammadov's imprisonment was in retaliation for his criticism of the government. None of the convictions of those released in 2016 were quashed and some face travel restrictions, including the award-winning investigative journalist Khadija Ismayilova, and the human rights lawyer Intigam Aliyev. Others have fled the country fearing further politically motivated prosecutions. Some of those released, as well as many nongovernmental groups, had to downsize significantly or halt their work, in the face of almost insurmountable bureaucratic hurdles to access independent funding. In response to the crackdown on civil society, the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI), a prominent international multi-stakeholder group that encourages better governance of resource-rich countries, downgraded Azerbaijan's status in 2015 and declined to restore it in 2016. EITI gave Azerbaijan until its March 2017 board meeting to amend several laws governing the work of nongovernmental groups or face suspension. In response, Azerbaijan's Cabinet of Ministers issued new regulations for nongovernmental groups in January. The new regulations simplify some procedures for registration of foreign grants, but leave intact the authority to arbitrarily deny the groups' registration. The superficial changes offer limited prospects for fundamentally improving the operating environment for independent groups, Human Rights Watch said. The new framework for EU and Azerbaijan relations will replace the 1999 Partnership and Cooperation Agreement, which guided their bilateral relations in political dialogue, trade, investment, and economic, legislative, and cultural cooperation. The EU's engagement with Azerbaijan should be guided by Article 21 of the Lisbon Treaty, adhering to the principles of "democracy, the rule of law, the universality and indivisibility of human rights and fundamental freedoms," as well as by the commitments enshrined in the EU Guidelines on Human Rights Defenders and the EU's Strategic Framework for Human Rights and Democracy. "Any negotiations with Azerbaijan should include clearly articulated EU expectations for concrete human rights improvements by Azerbaijan's government, including the immediate and unconditional release of rights activists, political opposition members, and journalists," Leicht said. "Deepening engagement without securing concrete rights improvements would signal to the people wrongfully imprisoned in Azerbaijan and to those bravely continuing their work in the face of government hostility that the EU has abandoned them." Copyright notice: Copyright, Human Rights Watch Saudi Arabia: Intensified Repression of Writers, Activists Publisher Human Rights Watch Publication Date 6 February 2017 Cite as Human Rights Watch, Saudi Arabia: Intensified Repression of Writers, Activists, 6 February 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5899e65e4.html [accessed 5 November 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. Saudi Arabia has stepped up arrests, prosecutions, and convictions of peaceful dissident writers and human rights advocates in 2017, Human Rights Watch said today. In January, a Saudi court sentenced two prominent activists to long jail terms, accusing them of being in contact with international media and human rights organizations. The authorities jailed two others, one of whom remains in detention while under investigation. Saudi courts have convicted at least 20 prominent activists and dissidents since 2011. Many faced sentences as long as 10 or 15 years on broad, catch-all charges such as "breaking allegiance with the ruler" or "participating in protests" that do not constitute recognizable crimes. "Saudi Arabia is trying to silence and lock away anyone who doesn't toe the official line or dares to express an independent view on politics, religion, or human rights," said Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East director at Human Rights Watch. "When will the Saudi authorities understand that talking to the media or an international organization should not be a crime." The charges included "slandering the ruler and breaking allegiance with him," and "sending a group of electronic messages to a number of media outlets and satellite TV channels and human rights organizations," with all charges based solely on the peaceful expression of his views. Saudi authorities arrested him on April 17, 2011, at the school where he taught, in the Eastern Province city of Khobar, and detained him for 15 months. They formally charged him in December 2015. He is in al-Ha'ir prison, south of Riyadh. Local human rights activists told Human Rights Watch that al-Majed has not been permitted to call his family or receive visits since his detention on January 18, 2017. On January 10, the SCC re-sentenced Abdulaziz al-Shubaily, 31, a human rights activist, to eight years in prison, an eight-year travel ban, and an eight-year ban on using social media after his release. The charges against him included "incitement against public order," "insulting the judiciary," "describing the ruling Saudi state unjustly and wrongly as a police state," and "participating in an unlicensed association." In March 2015, prosecutors added the additional charge of "being in touch with outside agencies and sending them reports including many fallacies against the kingdom, which were behind two reports issued by Amnesty International." Al-Shubaily is a founding member of the Saudi Civil and Political Rights Association (ACPRA), one of Saudi Arabia's first civic organizations, which called for broad political reform and more pluralistic interpretations of Islamic law. Al-Shubaily remains free on bail while he appeals the ruling. Saudi authorities have been holding another activist, Essam Koshak, 45, without charge since January 8. Koshak has used social media sites such as Twitter to push for human rights, including highlighting Saudi Arabia's a repression of peaceful activists and dissidents and advocating for their release. Local activists told Human Rights Watch that the Criminal Investigation Department summoned him for questioning in Mecca on January 8, without giving a reason, and detained him when he arrived. He is in Mecca General Prison. The detentions fit a pattern of ongoing repression against peaceful advocates and dissidents, including harassment, intimidation, smear campaigns, travel bans, detention, and prosecution. Since 2014, Saudi authorities have tried nearly all peaceful dissidents in the SCC. Authorities have arrested and prosecuted nearly all activists associated with the Saudi Civil and Political Rights Association (ACPRA), which a Saudi court formally dissolved and banned in March 2013. The members faced similar vague charges. Saudi activists and dissidents currently serving long prison terms based solely on their peaceful activism include Waleed Abu al-Khair, Mohammed al-Qahtani, Abdullah al-Hamid, Fadhil al-Manasif, Sulaiman al-Rashoodi, Abdulkareem al-Khodr, Fowzan al-Harbi, Saleh al-Ashwan, Abdulrahman al-Hamid, Zuhair Kutbi, and Alaa Brinji. Saudi authorities arrested another activist, Issa al-Nukheifi, in December 2016, and he may face trial. Others, including al-Shubaily and Issa al-Hamid, are free while appealing long sentences handed down by the SCC in 2016. Mohammed al-Oteibi and Abdullah Attawi are currently on trial for forming a human rights organization in 2013. The Arab Charter on Human Rights, which Saudi Arabia has ratified, guarantees the right to freedom of opinion and expression in Article 32. The United Nations General Assembly's Declaration on the Rights of Human Rights Defenders states that everyone has the right, individually and in association with others, to "impart or disseminate to others views, information and knowledge on all human rights and fundamental freedoms." "Saudi Arabia repeatedly demonstrates its complete intolerance toward citizens who speak out for human rights and reform," Whitson said. Copyright notice: Copyright, Human Rights Watch Russia: Government vs. Rights Groups Publisher Human Rights Watch Publication Date 6 February 2017 Cite as Human Rights Watch, Russia: Government vs. Rights Groups, 6 February 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5899e7104.html [accessed 5 November 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. For the past four years, the Kremlin has sought to stigmatize criticism or alternative views of government policy as disloyal, foreign-sponsored, or even traitorous. It is part of a sweeping crackdown to silence critical voices that has included new legal restrictions on the internet, on freedom of expression, on the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people, and on other fundamental freedoms. Association of NGOs in Defense of Voters' Rights "Golos" (Moscow) June 5, 2014 Regional Public Association in Defense of Democratic Rights and Freedoms "Golos" (Moscow) June 5, 2014 Center for Social Policy and Gender Studies (Saratov) June 5, 2014 (the organization was shut down May 22, 2015) Women of Don (Rostov region) June 5, 2014 ("foreign agent" status was suspended February 29, 2016) Kostroma Center for Support of Public Initiatives (Kostroma) June 5, 2014 ("foreign agent" status was suspended June 19, 2015) Interregional Human Rights Association "Agora" (Kazan) July 21, 2014 (the organization was shut down December 29, 2016) Regional public organization "Ecozaschita! Womens' Council" (Kaliningrad) July 21, 2014 Public Verdict Foundation (Moscow) July 21, 2014 Human Rights Center "Memorial" (Moscow) July 21, 2014 Lawyers for Constitutional Rights and Freedoms / JURIX (Moscow) July 21, 2014 (the organization was shut down May 26, 2015) Soldiers' Mothers (Saint Petersburg) August 28, 2014 ("foreign agent" status was suspended October 23, 2015) Freedom of Information Foundation / Institute for Information Freedom Development August 28, 2014 PIR Center September 3, 2014 ("foreign agent" status was suspended February 24, 2016) Association "Partnership for Development" (Saratov) October 2, 2014 (the organization was shut down November 6, 2015) "News Agency MEMO.RU" (Moscow) November 20, 2014 Regional Press Institute (St. Petersburg) November 20, 2014 Moscow School of Civic Education December 9, 2014 Rakurs, Arkhangelsk regional non-governmental LGBT organization December 15, 2014 All-Russian movement "For Human Rights" December 22, 2014 ("foreign agent" status was suspended December 30, 2015) Human Rights Center (Kaliningrad) December 25, 2014 Krasnodar Regional Social Organization of University Alumni December 25, 2014 ("foreign agent" status was suspended April 22, 2016) Regional social organization "Public Commission for Academic Sakharov's Heritage Preservation" December 25, 2014 Resource Human Rights Center (St. Petersburg) December 30, 2014 (the organization was shut down November 3, 2015) Regional Public Organization "Man and the Law" (Republic of Mari El) December 30, 2014 Center for Social Development "Vozrozhdeniye" (Pskov) December 30, 2014 (the organization was shut down January 31, 2017) Public Human Rights Organization "Civil Control" (St. Petersburg) December 30, 2014 The League of Women Voters (St. Petersburg) December 30, 2014 (the organization was shut down May 22, 2015) Free Press Support Foundation December 30, 2014 Interregional Non-Governmental Organization "The Committee Against Torture" January 16, 2015 (the organization was shut down September 13, 2016) Educational Center "Memorial" (Sverdlov region) January 16, 2015 Autonomous non-profit human rights organization "Youth Center for Consulting and Training" January 20, 2015 ("foreign agent" status was suspended July 22, 2015) "Information Bureau of the Nordic Council of Ministers in St. Petersburg" January 20, 2015 Jewish regional branch of the Russian public organization "Municipal Academy" January 26, 2015 (the organization was shut down May 22, 2015) The noncommercial partnership "Press Development Institute - Siberia" January 30, 2015 Center for social, psychological and legal help to victims of discrimination and homophobia "Maximum" (Murmansk) February 4, 2015 (the organization was shut down October 28, 2015) Interregional public fund for civil society development "Golos-Povolzhye" (Samara) February 6, 2015 Interregional charity organization "Siberian Environmental Center" (Novosibirsk) February 12, 2015 Center for Civic Analysis and Independent Research / GRANI (Perm) February 13, 2015 ("foreign agent" status was suspended June 19, 2015) Municipal public organization "Samara Center for Gender Studies" (Samara) February 16, 2015 Regional Fund "Center for Defense of Mass Media Rights" (Voronezh) February 26, 2015 Regional Charitable Social Foundation "For nature" (Chelyabinsk) March 6, 2015 Regional Ecological Social Movement "For nature" (Chelyabinsk) March 6, 2015 Humanist Youth Movement (Murmansk) March 13, 2015 (the organization was shut down August 25, 2015) Regional Social Organization for Contribution to Harmonization of Interethnic Relations "Azerbaijan" March 13, 2015 ("foreign agent" status was suspended July 22, 2016) Regional Social Environmental Organization "Bellona-Murmansk" March 19, 2015 (the organization was shut down October 16, 2015) "Educational Center for Environment and Security" (Samara) March 20, 2015 ("foreign agent" status was suspended October 8, 2015) Foundation "Migration XXI Century" March 27, 2015 ("foreign agent" status was suspended November 25, 2016) Eco-logika (Rostov) April 3, 2015 ("foreign agent" status was suspended March 30, 2016) Transparency International Russia - April 7, 2015 Social Environmental Organization "Planeta Nadezhd" April 15, 2015 Foundation for Consumers' Rights Defense (Novosibirsk) April 17, 2015 (the organization was shut down May 12, 2016) Civic Assistance Committee April 20, 2015 Foundation 19/29 - Foundation for Support of Investigative Journalism April 24, 2015 Commemorative Centre of History of Political Repressions "Perm - 36" April 29, 2015 (the organization was shut down August 18, 2016) Women's League (Kaliningrad ) April 29, 2015 (the organization was shut down December 16, 2015) Legal Expert Partnership "Soyuz " May 7, 2015 (the organization was shut down 25 August 2015) Center for Development of Non-Commerical Organizations May 13, 2015 Club of Accountants and Auditors of Non-Commercial Organizations May 13, 2015 ("foreign agent" status was suspended March 30, 2016) Informational Bureau of the Council of Ministers of Northern Countries (Kaliningrad) May 13, 2015 Sutyajnik (Yekaterinburg) May 15, 2015 Human Rights Academy (Yekaterinburg) May 15, 2015 Ecological Center "Dront" (Nizhny Novgorod) May 22, 2015 The non-profit organization "Liberal Mission" Scientific Foundation of Theoretical and Applied Research May 25, 2015 ("foreign agent" status was suspended September 11, 2015) The non-profit Dynasty Foundation May 25, 2015 Union of Employers (Tula region) May 28, 2015 ("foreign agent" status was suspended December 13, 2016) Youth organization "Nuori Karjala/Young Karelia" June 19, 2015 (the organization was shut down March 25, 2016) Siberian Center for Support of Social Initiatives June 19, 2015 ("foreign agent" status was suspended September 21, 2016) Interregional Social Foundation for Peace in the South and in the Northern Caucasus June 19, 2015 Informational Center "Free Inform" June 22, 2015 (the organization was shut down June 21, 2016) Center for Independent Sociological Studies (St. Petersburg) June 22, 2015 Regional Organization for Population and Development June 23, 2015 Geblerov Ecological Societ (Barnaul) June 23, 2015 Association "Legal Basis" (Yekaterinburg) July 3, 2015 Interregional Non-governmental Organization "Northern Environmental Coalition" (Petrozavodsk) July 8, 2015 (the organization was shut down December 1, 2015) Komi Human Rights Commission "Memorial" (Syktyvkar) July 21, 2015 Altai Regional Public Fund for 21st Century Altai (Barnaul) July 22, 2015 (the organization was shut down March 28, 2016) Interregional Public Foundation for Civil Society Development "GOLOS-Ural" (Chelyabinsk region) July 22, 2015 SREDA Foundation July 28, 2015 Non-governmental environmental organization "Green World" (Nizhny Novgorod) July 29, 2015 ("foreign agent" status was suspended October 28, 2016) Civic Action Foundation (Perm) August 5, 2015 Alliance of Funds of Local Communities of the Perm territory August 11, 2015 ("foreign agent" status was suspended October 26, 2016) Kabardino-Balkaria Human Rights Center regional branch of the "For Human Rights" All-Russian movement (Nalchik) August 18, 2015 (the organization was shut down November 6, 2015) The Human Rights Center of the Chechen Republic (Grozny) August 21, 2015 Interregional Social Ecological Foundation "ISAR-Siberia" (Novosibirsk) August 26, 2015 Perm Regional Human Rights Center (Perm) September 3, 2015 Siberia's lifeline (Novosibirsk) September 3, 2015 Golos Foundation in Support of Democracy September 4, 2015 (the organization was shut down June 21, 2016) Jewish Cultural Center "Hesed-Teshuva" (Ryazan) September 11, 2015 ("foreign agent" status was suspended December 13, 2016) Sakhalin Environment Watch (Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk) September 18, 2015 Yasavey Manzara Information and Research Center (Naryan-Mar) September 23, 2015 (the organization was shut down June 15, 2016) Consumer Rights and Environment Protection Association "Princip" (Moscow region) October 5, 2015 Far East Center for the Development of Civil Initiatives and Social Partnership (Vladivostok) October 13, 2015 Russian Research Center for Human Rights October 20, 2015 Women of the Don (Rostov region) October 27, 2015 Friends of the Siberian Forests (Krasnoyarsk) October 28, 2015 (the organization was shut down December 6, 2016) Photography Club "Sobytiye" (Omsk) October 28, 2015 (the organization was shut down December 16, 2015) Research and Information Center "Memorial" (St. Petersburg) November 6, 2015 Baikal Environmental Wave (Irkutsk) November 10, 2015 (the organization was shut down August 1, 2016) Glasnost Defense Foundation November 19, 2015 Human Rights Institute November 20, 2015 Center for Support of Indigenous Peoples of the North November 27, 2015 Green World (Leningrad region) December 2, 2015 Mashr (Republic of Ingushetia) December 8, 2015 Woman's World (Kaliningrad) December 11, 2015 Panorama Information and Research Center (Moscow) December 18, 2015 Dauria Ecological Center (Chita) December 30, 2015 (the organization was shut down September 1, 2016) Yekaterinburg Memorial Society (Yekaterinburg) December 30, 2015 Bureau of Public Investigations (Nizhny Novgorod) January 14, 2016 Committee for the Prevention of Torture (Orenburg) January 14, 2016 Institute of Forecasting and Resolving of Political Conflicts (Nizhny Novgorod) January 22, 2016 Ryazan Historical, Educational and Human Rights Center "Memorial" (Ryazan) February 1, 2016 Society of Assistance to Social Protection of Citizens "Peterburgskaya EGIDA" (Saint Petersburg) February 2, 2016 (the organization was shut down April 26, 2016) Center for Health and Social Support "SIBALT" (Omsk) February 15, 2016 Chelyabinsk Regional Organ of Public Independent Action "Ural Human Rights Group" (Chelyabinsk) February 15, 2016 Women of Eurasia (Chelyabinsk) February 15, 2016 Ural Democratic Foundation (Chelyabinsk) February 15, 2016 Legal and Social Support Charitable Foundation "Sphere" (Saint Petersburg) March 1, 2016 Centre for Civic Education and Human Rights (Perm) March 3, 2016 The International Development Fund for Indigenous Peoples of the North, Siberia and the Far East of the Russian Federation "Batani" (Moscow) March 11, 2016 Center for Social and Labor Rights (Moscow) March 21, 2016 Arkhar (Gorno-Altaysk) April 5, 2016 (the organization was shut down October 6, 2016) Publishing House "Valentin Manuylov" April 15, 2016 Tengri School of Soul ecology (Altay) - May 17, 2016 Hanse Buero / Information Bureau of Schleswig-Holstein in Kaliningrad (Kaliningrad) - May 24, 2016 (the organization was shut down December 30, 2016) Krasnoyarsk Regional Public Organization Agency of public initiatives (Krasnoyarsk) - May 27, 2016 ("foreign agent" status was suspended September 21, 2016) Saratov Regional Public Organization "Socium" (Engels) - May 30, 2016 Perm regional non-governmental organization "Perm Civil Chamber" (Perm) - June 9, 2016 ("foreign agent" status was suspended September 21, 2016) Regional non-governmental organization Integration center "Migration and Law" (Moscow) - June 16, 2016 Non-Profit Partnership "ESVERO" (Moscow) - June 22, 2016 Andrey Rylkov Foundation for Health and Social Justice (Moscow) - June 29, 2016 Altai regional sport and patriotic youth public organization "Arctica" (Biysk) - July 6, 2016 Autonomous non-governmental organization "Free Word" (Pskov) - July 13, 2016 The Institute of Economic Analysis (Moscow) - July 22, 2016 Penza regional youth civic organization for prevention of negative phenomena among youth "Panacea" (Kuznetsk) - August 15, 2016 (the organization was shut down December 8, 2016) Samara regional, civic organization "American alumni club" (Samara) - August 26, 2016 Autonomous non-for-profit organization "Publishing house 'Park Gagarina'" (Samara) - August 31, 2016 Levada Analytical Center (Moscow) - September 5, 2016 Environmental Watch on North Caucasus (Maikop) - September 13, 2016 Autonomous non-for-profit human rights organization "Draftee's school" (Chelyabinsk) - September 21, 2016 Foundation for support of civil freedoms "Legal mission" (Chelyabinsk) - September 21, 2016 International Historical, Educational, Human Rights And Charitable Society Memorial (Moscow) - October 4, 2016 Sverdlovsk regional non-profit foundation "Health Era" (Ekaterinburg) - October 11, 2016 Chapaevsk non-profit organization "Chapaevsk city medical personnel association" (Chapaevsk) - October 21, 2016 Regional charity foundation "Samarskaya gubernia" (Samara) - November 2, 2016 Non-profit partnership "Internet Community" (Samara) - December 13, 2016 Autonomous non-profit organization for social support "Project April" (Tolyatti) - December 19, 2016 ANNA Centre for the prevention of violence (Moscow) - December 26, 2016 Southern Human Rights Centre (Sochi) - December 26, 2016 Sverdlovsk branch of the International Historical, Educational, Human Rights And Charitable Society Memorial (Ekaterinburg) - December 29, 2016 SOVA Center for Information and Analysis (Moscow) - December 30, 2016 Sverdlovsk civic organization for assistance to legal migration "Nelegalov.Net [No Illegals]" (Ekaterinburg) - January 10, 2017 Environmental human rights center Bellona (Saint Petersburg) - January 16, 2017 Youth civic organization "Pro-movement" (Altay region) - January 25, 2017 Kaliningrad regional civic organization "Society for German culture and Russian Germans Eintracht - Soglasie" (Kaliningrad) - January 31, 2017 And the four NGOs which registered voluntarily: Non-commercial Partnership "Supporting Competition in the CIS Countries" June 27, 2013 "The Union of Young Political Scientists", KarachayCherkess Republican Youth Social Organization December 15, 2014 Regional Social Movement "Novgorod Women's Parliament" (Veliky Novgorod) March 6, 2015 Center of Independent Researchers of the Altai Republic June 10, 2015 Leader of at least 1 NGO faces criminal charges personally: Burma: Security Forces Raped Rohingya Women, Girls Publisher Human Rights Watch Publication Date 6 February 2017 Cite as Human Rights Watch, Burma: Security Forces Raped Rohingya Women, Girls, 6 February 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5899e7a64.html [accessed 5 November 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. Burmese government forces committed rape and other sexual violence against ethnic Rohingya women and girls as young as 13 during security operations in northern Rakhine State in late 2016, Human Rights Watch said today. The Burmese government should urgently endorse an independent, international investigation into alleged abuses in northern Rakhine State, including into possible systematic rape against Rohingya women and girls. Burmese army and Border Guard Police personnel took part in rape, gang rape, invasive body searches, and sexual assaults in at least nine villages in Maungdaw district between October 9 and mid-December. Survivors and witnesses, who identified army and border police units by their uniforms, kerchiefs, armbands, and patches, described security forces carrying out attacks in groups, some holding women down or threatening them at gunpoint while others raped them. Many survivors reported being insulted and threatened on an ethnic or religious basis during the assaults. "These horrific attacks on Rohingya women and girls by security forces add a new and brutal chapter to the Burmese military's long and sickening history of sexual violence against women," said Priyanka Motaparthy, senior emergencies researcher. "Military and police commanders should be held responsible for these crimes if they did not do everything in their power to stop them or punish those involved." Between December 2016 and January 2017, Human Rights Watch researchers in Bangladesh interviewed 18 women, of whom 11 had survived sexual assault, as well as 10 men. Seventeen men and women, including some women who survived assaults, witnessed sexual violence, including against their wives, sisters, or daughters. Altogether Human Rights Watch documented 28 incidents of rape and other sexual assault. Some incidents involved several victims. A report released by the United Nations Office of the High Commission for Human Rights (OHCHR) on February 3 found that more than half of the 101 women UN investigators interviewed said they were raped or suffered other forms of sexual violence. The report, based on a total of 204 interviews, concluded that attacks including rape and other sexual violence "seem[ed] to have been widespread as well as systematic, indicating the very likely commission of crimes against humanity." After attacks by Rohingya militants on border police posts on October 9, 2016, the Burmese military undertook a series of "clearance operations" in northern Rakhine State. Security forces summarily executed men, women, and children; looted property; and burned down at least 1,500 homes and other buildings. More than 69,000 Rohingya fled to Bangladesh, while another 23,000 have become internally displaced in Maungdaw district. Several women described how soldiers surrounded their villages or homes, then gathered the villagers in an outdoor area, separating men from women, and detained them for up to several hours. Soldiers often shot villagers, and raped and gang raped women and girls. "Ayesha," a Rohingya woman in her 20s, told Human Rights Watch: "They gathered all the women and started beating us with bamboo sticks and kicking us with their boots. After beating us, the military took [me and] 15 women about my age and separated us. [The soldiers] raped me one by one, tearing my clothes." During raids on homes, security forces frequently beat or killed family members and raped the women. "Noor," in her 40s, said that 20 soldiers stormed her home and grabbed her and her husband: "They took me in the yard of the home. Another two put a rifle to my head, tore off my clothes, and raped me. They slaughtered [my husband] in front of me with a machete. Then three more men raped me. After some time, I had severe bleeding. I had severe pain in my lower abdomen and pain in my whole body." The sexual violence did not appear to be random or opportunistic, but part of a coordinated and systematic attack against Rohingya, in part because of their ethnicity and religion. Many women told Human Rights Watch that soldiers threatened or insulted them with language focused on their status as Rohingya Muslims, calling them "you Bengali bitch" or "you Muslim bitch" while beating or raping them. "We will kill you because you are Muslim," one woman said soldiers threatened. Other women said that security forces asked if they were "harboring terrorists," then proceeded to beat and rape them when they said no. A woman in her 20s who said soldiers attempted to rape her in her home, added that they told her, "You are just raising your kids to kill us, so we will kill your kids." Burmese authorities have taken no evident steps to seriously investigate allegations of sexual violence or other abuses reported by nongovernmental organizations, including Human Rights Watch. A national-level investigation commission on the situation in Maungdaw district headed by the first vice president and comprised of current and former government officials released an interim report on January 3, 2017. The commission claims to have addressed rape allegations and "interviewed local villagers and women using various methods [but found] insufficient evidence to take legal action up to this date." Also contrary to the findings of human rights groups, the commission rejected reports of serious abuses and religious persecution, and said there were no cases of malnutrition. On December 26, 2016, the Information Committee of State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi issued a press release addressing "the rumours that some women were raped during the area clearance operations of security forces following the violent attacks in Maungtaw Township." Accompanied by an image stating "Fake Rape," the release claimed that the investigation commission had interviewed two women who gave conflicting testimony as to whether they had been raped, and that village leaders later refuted their accounts. However, video footage of the commission's visit shows an interviewer asking one of the women about violence against other women she witnessed, not her personal experience. Nothing in her video testimony suggests she lied in her interview. The interview appears confrontational, and out of keeping with accepted guidelines on how to conduct interviews with victims of sexual violence. The problematic circumstances under which authorities conducted these interviews, as well as the risks to the women, including when authorities exposed their names and identities to the media, raise serious doubts about the credibility of the Information Committee's press release. "The government should stop contesting these rape allegations and instead provide survivors with access to necessary support, health care, and other services," Motaparthy said. Rohingya victims of sexual assault face limited access to emergency health care including to prevent unwanted pregnancy from rape and infection with HIV, and to treat other sexually transmitted infections. Though the Burmese government has permitted some aid to go through to northern Rakhine State, it continues to obstruct international assistance from reaching the civilian population. It is unknown how many rape survivors remain in the area and whether they have received appropriate health care. None of the women Human Rights Watch interviewed had access to medical facilities until they reached Bangladesh. Many reported that in Bangladesh, they lacked information about services available, or could not arrange child care or pay transportation costs to clinics. "The government's failure to investigate rape and other crimes against the Rohingya should make it clear to Burma's friends and donors that an independent, international inquiry is desperately needed to get to the bottom of these appalling abuses," Motaparthy said. Rape and Sexual Assault Against Rohingya Women and Girls in Northern Rakhine State The following incidents took place between October 9 and mid-December 2016. Pseudonyms are used to protect those interviewed, as well as to protect their relatives who remain in Burma from possible government reprisals. Cases of Rape and Gang Rape Human Rights Watch interviewed nine Rohingya women who said that Burmese security force members had raped or gang raped them during attacks on their villages in Rakhine State. Several women described how security forces forcibly entered their homes, looted their belongings, and subjected women to invasive body searches before raping one or more women or girls in the family. Fatima, a Rohingya woman in her 20s, described an assault by soldiers against her and her young children in Kyet Yoe Pyin village in mid-November. She said: Four soldiers attacked and suddenly entered the house. One grabbed the children, two of them grabbed each of my arms. They were armed with rifles, pistols, small and long knives, and some were wearing ammunition belts. My eldest [5-year-old] daughter screamed and said, "Please leave us." So they killed her with a machete. They slaughtered her in front of me. When they killed her, I became very upset. [The soldiers] said many things to me that I could not understand and put a gun to my head. They kicked me in my hip and back, and beat me on the head with a wooden stick. [Then] one of the soldiers tore off my clothes. Two soldiers raped me, one by one. They were about 30 to 35 years old. They touched too many places in a very painful way they touched my chest, they touched my vaginal area. They did it quickly, they only opened their zippers they didn't take their pants off. When another soldier tried to rape me, I resisted. Then they burned my leg with plastic, they put it out on my leg. Noor, in her 40s, said that about 20 soldiers stormed her home in the border town of Shein Kar Li in early December, and grabbed her and her husband: Two of them held my arms tightly. I couldn't move. They took me in the yard of the home. Another two put a rifle to my head, tore off my clothes, and raped me. While they held me, my husband was also held. They slaughtered him in front of me with a machete. Then three more men raped me. I began bleeding severely. After some time, I didn't know what was happening, I fell unconscious. I regained consciousness the next morning. I took my gold jewelry, went to the nearby ghat [stairs leading to the river], and gave it to the boatman [so that I could cross to Bangladesh]. I walked there very slowly, as I was in pain. I had severe pain in my lower abdomen and pain in my whole body. Witnesses also described security forces gathering women together in public areas in paddy fields or school courtyards and detaining them before selecting some women to rape. Ayesha, a woman in her 20s from Pyaung Pyit village, said: They gathered all the women and started beating us with bamboo sticks and kicking us with their boots. In total they beat about 100 to 150 women, young boys, and girls. After beating us, the military took me and 15 women about my age and separated us [from the group]. They took us to a nearby school, kept us in the burning sun, standing in the field in front. They made us turn to face the sun. Then three soldiers took me to a nearby pond. When they prepared to rape me, they opened their pants. All I could notice was their underwear. When one finished raping me, I resisted with my leg, and one of them punched me in the eye. One of them kicked my knee and I got hurt. They also bit my face and scratched me with their nails. I started bleeding. When I started severely bleeding from my genital area and leg, they left me. I became senseless. When I came to, I found my clothes torn around me. I found my skirt and wrapped my body in that. Ayesha said that her abdomen and vaginal area had become red and swollen, and that she remained in pain for at least a week after the attack. One woman in her 30s from Kyet Yoe Pyin village said that four soldiers raped her, then one raped her again by inserting the barrel of his rifle into her vagina. Rape of Girls Five people told Human Rights Watch they saw security forces raping or sexually assaulting girls as young as 13, or saw girls taken away, heard their screams, and learned soon afterward that they had been raped. Some of these victims were their family members. Sayeda, a woman in her 40s from Kyet Yoe Pyin village, said that in mid-November soldiers gang raped her 16-year-old daughter in front of her, then burned her house: After evening prayer time, the military came and surrounded our house, then entered. Three soldiers grabbed me and my [seven] daughters, and took us to the paddy field. They beat us with their rifles. On the spot in front of me, four military raped [my eldest daughter]. Then one soldier took her to another place. When the soldiers attacked her, I grabbed my other daughters and ran. We ran into the bushes. Other people later told me she died. I didn't see her body. Amina, a woman in her 20s from Hpar Wut Chaung village, said that soldiers raped and killed her 13-year-old sister during a raid on their home in early December, as well as killing five other siblings. She said: When they entered [our house], our brothers were sleeping on the veranda, and we [five sisters] were in the bed. They shot and killed my [brothers] and held the girls so they couldn't move. They instantly shot my younger sister in the head. While [another sister was] running away, they shot [her too]. They took my other [13-year-old] sister to another room and raped her there. We heard [her screaming]. She screamed, "Someone save me! He's trying to take my clothes off!" What I saw from outside is that 10 more people entered that room with my sister. Amina and her father managed to escape and fled to a neighboring village. There, her next-door neighbor who also fled told her that she had found Amina's sister dead, without any clothes on. Sexual Assault Several women told Human Rights Watch that security forces subjected them to invasive body searches during village raids, either in their homes or while villagers were gathered in open fields. Soldiers put their hands underneath women's clothes and painfully pressed their breasts and genital areas searches that constitute sexual assault. They beat or slapped some women, and threatened them with machetes and guns. They also snatched gold jewelry women wore, and took money they kept in their blouses. Some women said they were searched twice. Taslima, a woman in her mid-20s from Dar Gyi Zar village, said that in early November, after she fled to the nearby village of Yae Twin Kyun, soldiers came to the house where she was staying and dragged her and other women from the village out into the yard: When [the military] entered the house, one soldier searched my body for gold and jewelry, and asked for money. When I didn't give it to them, soldiers grabbed me and searched my body. They searched under my clothes they pressed my chest very badly. They found where I hid my money in my chest. They also touched my hips and sensitive area [genital area]. She said they then dragged her outside: "There were about 10 to 12 women standing in the yard, around the same age as me. They touched us all, very bad touches. They used [their rifles] and machetes to threaten us." Sara, from Sin Thae Pyin village, said that in late November about 15 soldiers entered her home where she was with her mother-in-law and her 15-year-old niece. She said that they first searched the cupboards but, finding no valuables, they then searched the women's bodies: When they searched our bodies, a soldier was searching my chest, he put his hands inside my clothes. So I started to cry. When I started to cry, they hit us. They slapped me and my mother-in-law, and my sister-in-law's elder daughter. They took my clothes off and attempted to rape me, but I screamed very loudly, so they left. Several women said that soldiers subjected them to intrusive body searches or other non-consensual touching. Several men and women described witnessing these searches. Access to Care and Services Survivors of sexual assault need access to emergency and long-term medical services, legal assistance, and social support to address injuries caused by the assault; to prevent pregnancy, HIV, and other sexually transmitted infections; and to collect evidence to support prosecution of perpetrators. International organizations including the International Organization for Migration and Medecins Sans Frontieres maintain or fund clinics in the Cox's Bazar district of Bangladesh, where the women interviewed by Human Rights Watch have fled. These facilities can provide essential and life-saving care, other medical treatment, and psychological counseling to sexual assault survivors. Survivors may also be referred to Bangladeshi government hospitals for more serious or long-term care. However, while several women interviewed said they had received care at these facilities in Bangladesh, including psychological support, only one had visited medical facilities within 24 hours of being assaulted. The boatman who transported her from Burma to Bangladesh referred her to a clinic after noting the severity of her injuries, and she went there directly after crossing the border. The remaining women sought care several days after they were assaulted, after they had moved within Burma seeking safety, or after they had found a place to stay and basic necessities in Bangladesh. This placed them beyond the window during which providers can effectively administer emergency contraception (120 hours) and post-exposure prophylaxis for HIV (72 hours), as recommended by the World Health Organization. One woman said villagers in Burma provided her with contraceptive medication, while others took only paracetamol, a mild painkiller, after they were assaulted. A lack of knowledge about services and how to access them has stopped women from getting care, even in Bangladesh. Many other women said they did not seek medical care, including at government or humanitarian-supported facilities in Bangladesh where they could receive treatment for free, because they believed incorrectly that they would have to pay for services, or because they did not know they could access them. Some women also cited financial difficulties paying for transport to facilities, or said that they had no one to watch their children while they visited. None of the women Human Rights Watch interviewed had returned to medical facilities for follow-up visits, though some said they still experienced pain or they had not completed a course of medication and needed prescription refills. Fatima said, "Now I have urine problems. When I was at [the clinic] they gave me medicine but I didn't properly recover my [normal urine flow]. After that I didn't go back because I was worried about paying for medicine." Mumtaz said, "I still feel pain in my shoulder and chest [where they beat me] also in my lower abdomen and back. Now my medicine is finished but I have no money to consult with the doctor, and [I can't] leave my child home alone." Those interviewed also said they did not return for follow-up psychological counseling, even when they continued to experience nightmares about violent incidents or other signs of trauma. Many of the women interviewed said they did not know what counseling was. One woman who received an initial counseling session said she would not return because she felt too overwhelmed by the hardships she faced, and did not feel up to returning. "I won't visit again. I feel weak, too tired to go," she said. Most of the women interviewed said they had come to Bangladesh only with their children, or with other female family members, and struggled to provide for themselves and their children. Their husbands or other male family members had either been killed by the Burmese military or had been separated from them during the violence. Many women no longer knew their husbands' whereabouts or if they were still alive. Several interviewees who fled with only their children struggled to meet their basic food and shelter needs. They said they survived through limited charity distributions, by begging, or by sending a young child to the local bazaar to beg. Concerned governments and international agencies should continue to support medical and psychosocial care for survivors of sexual violence in Burma, including those who have fled to Bangladesh. More efforts are also needed to encourage and educate those who may need services about how they can access them. Copyright notice: Copyright, Human Rights Watch Thailand: Reopen Case of 'Disappeared' Activist Publisher Human Rights Watch Publication Date 6 February 2017 Cite as Human Rights Watch, Thailand: Reopen Case of 'Disappeared' Activist, 6 February 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5899e89d4.html [accessed 5 November 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. Thai authorities should immediately reopen the investigation into the enforced disappearance of a prominent ethnic Karen activist who went missing nearly three years ago, Human Rights Watch said today. On January 16, 2017, the Department of Special Investigation (DSI) of the Ministry of Justice ended its investigation for Porlajee Rakchongcharoen, known as Billy, who was last seen in government custody at Kaeng Krachan National Park in Phetchaburi province in April 2014. The government remains obligated under international law to provide information on Billy's fate or whereabouts. "The Thai authorities' investigation into Billy's enforced disappearance has been hampered by cover-up, shoddy investigations, and loopholes in Thai law," said Brad Adams, Asia director. "Even though nearly three years have gone by, Thailand's international legal obligations prohibit the government from walking away from this case. The government needs to say what happened and prosecute those responsible." On April 17, 2014, the then-head of Kaeng Krachan National Park, Chaiwat Limlikitaksorn, and his staff arrested and detained Billy for alleged illegal possession of a wild bee honeycomb and six bottles of honey. Park officers later told investigators from Police Region 7 that they released Billy after questioning him briefly and had no information regarding his whereabouts. In September 2014, Police Region 7 investigation officers filed malfeasance charges under article 157 of the Penal Code against Chaiwat and four other park officers for unlawfully detaining Billy. They found no record of Billy's release from custody. Various investigations remain inconclusive and have yet to produce any explanations of what happened to Billy. The Department of Special Investigation collected testimonies from more than 200 witnesses and seized seven Kaeng Krachan Park Office vehicles for examination. Although traces of human blood were found in a vehicle belonging to the park, it was not possible to verify if the blood belonged to Billy because the vehicle was cleaned before forensic experts could examine it. The Office of Public Sector Anti-Corruption Commission (PACC) also took up the case. Under the 2004 Special Investigation Act, the Department of Special Investigation is empowered to assume jurisdiction over serious criminal cases, including complex cases that require special inquiry; crimes committed by organized criminal groups; and cases where the suspects are influential persons or government officials. The investigation has been further hindered because Thai law does not recognize enforced disappearances as a crime. A government commits an enforced disappearance when state officials take a person into custody and then deny holding the person, or conceal or fail to disclose the person's whereabouts. Enforced disappearances are a "continuing offense"meaning the crime continues to be committed until the whereabouts or fate of the victim becomes known. The continuing nature of the crime takes a particularly heavy toll, with family members not knowing whether their loved one is alive or dead. The government of Prime Minister Gen. Prayut Chan-ocha should ratify theInternational Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance, which Thailand signed in 2012, and amend the Penal Code to make enforced disappearance a criminal offense. On May 24, 2016, the government announced that it would pass a law to criminalize torture and enforced disappearances and ratify the Convention on Enforced Disappearance. These pledges remain unfulfilled. "Thai authorities should step-up their efforts to uncover the truth of Billy's case for the sake of his family, to seek justice for this defender of the Karen, and to bring an end to disappearances in Thailand," Adams said. Background Information At the time of his disappearance, Billy was traveling from his village in the mountains of Kaeng Krachan district to meet with ethnic Karen villagers and activists in preparation for an upcoming court hearing in the lawsuit filed by the villagers against the National Park, Wildlife and Plant Conservation Department, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, and Chaiwat. The villagers alleged in the lawsuit that in July 2011, the authorities were responsible for the destruction and burning of houses and property of more than 20 ethnic Karen families in the Bangkloy Bon village. Billy was also preparing to submit a petition about this case to Thailand's king. He had been carrying case files and related documents with him. Despite a long list of allegations against Chaiwat for serious abuses and misconduct while he was in charge of Kaeng Krachan National Park, the government of Prime Minister Gen. Prayut Chan-ocha promoted Chaiwat to lead Thailand's influential "Tiger Corps" forest and wildlife protection unit in May 2016. Copyright notice: Copyright, Human Rights Watch Amsterdam, Netherlands -- (ReleaseWire) -- 02/07/2017 --As part of its ongoing commitment to inclusion, Sennheiser is advancing the availability of assisted listening solutions for universities, with its innovative MobileConnect solution. By offering the ability to live stream audio via WiFi to a user's own device, the system is ideally suited to academic institutions wishing to quickly and cost effectively enable access to education to hearing impaired students. At MobileConnect's heart is the ConnectStation, a streaming server providing near latency-free multi-channel audio streaming over WiFi in auditoriums, classrooms, theaters, gymnasiums and wherever the campus WiFi is available. As MobileConnect operates over the existing WiFi infrastructure, it is fast and cost-effective to install and integrates seamlessly with existing network infrastructure and audio equipment. The service is supremely convenient to users too: Without the need for bulky equipment, hearing impaired individuals can use their choice of smart device and headphones to listen to audio via the intuitive MobileConnect app, which is available free of charge for iOS and Android. "MobileConnect is a disruptive solution that elegantly rethinks accessibility," explains Xenios Maroudas, Portfolio Manager of Business Communication at Sennheiser. "MobileConnect utilizes existing network technologies and a "bring your own device" approach. The system thus reduces the total cost of ownership for organizations such as universities by removing barriers to being able to offer a genuinely practical to the needs of hearing impaired students." In addition to academia, MobileConnect can also be used to complement digital signage, offer assistive listening, audio description or even simultaneous translation. Its virtually unlimited fields of application include theaters, houses of worship or conference centers. Meeting individual hearing needs with the Personal Hearing Assistant Sennheiser's MobileConnect app makes the service highly intuitive to use and can also be tailored to a user's particular hearing needs via the Personal Hearing Assistant. This innovative piece of software makes it possible not only to adjust volume but also to adapt speech intelligibility and sound quality, including the amplification and dynamic range of high and low-frequency audio content. Users can adjust sound to their particular requirements by simply sliding their finger across an on screen control until it is just right. The features were developed in close collaboration with hearing experts at the Fraunhofer Institute for Digital Media Technology as part of Sennheiser's ongoing efforts to develop dedicated solutions for inclusion. For further information MobileConnect, please visit: https://en-us.sennheiser.com/mobile-connect About Sennheiser Audio specialist Sennheiser is one of the world's leading manufacturers of headphones, microphones and wireless transmission systems. Based in Wedemark near Hanover, Germany, Sennheiser operates its own production facilities in Germany, Ireland and the USA and is active in more than 50 countries. With 19 sales subsidiaries and long-established trading partners, the company supplies innovative products and cutting-edge audio solutions that are optimally tailored to its customers' needs. Sennheiser is a family owned company that was founded in 1945 and which today has 2,750 employees around the world that share a passion for audio technology. Since 2013, Sennheiser has been managed by Daniel Sennheiser and Dr. Andreas Sennheiser, the third generation of the family to run the company. In 2015, the Sennheiser Group had sales totaling 682 million. http://www.sennheiser.com Tulsa, OK -- (ReleaseWire) -- 02/06/2017 --Signature Bail Bonds which has become one of the most recommended bail bond companies in Oklahoma serving Broken Arrow, Sapulpa, Stillwater, Muskogee, and Claremore, is now pleased to announce they have launched a Signature Bail Bonds in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The Tulsa Bail Bonds company offers those that need assistance in Oklahoma a 24/7, and 365 days a year service. Signature Bail Bonds has become an important service in Oklahoma and without their facilities to offer bail bonds, hundreds of people each year would be behind bars in a country jail until they face trial. A spokesman for Signature Bail Bonds said: "With our Signature Bail Bonds of Tulsa service we can help people to gain their freedom until they face trial. Unfortunately, each year more than 420,000 people are locked up in city and county jails without having their day in court. We are here to change that by offering our professional bail bond service." Bail bonds allow a person who has been arrested and facing trial to be allowed home until their trial starts. The bond is provided by a third party Signature Bail Bonds in Tulsa to give the court a guarantee that they will return when required. The Tulsa Bail Bondsman helps hundreds of people each year to return home to be with their family until their trial starts. The company provides an online application form for bail bonds which is easy to understand and complete. Information required includes the bond amount required, the name of the court or jail, as well as the name of the applicant. About Signature Bail Bonds The Tulsa Bail Bonds professionals can offer at-jail service in Oklahoma. Since being launched, Signature Bail Bonds has become one of the most recommended bail bond companies in Oklahoma. They have gained a reputation for being a friendly company and making bail bonds more reasonable. To learn more about Signature Bail Bonds and their Tulsa, Oklahoma bail bond service, please visit http://signaturebail.com/ Signature Bail Bonds of Tulsa understands the concerns that arise when an applicant or a loved one are facing criminal charges, and they want to help. Contact Information: Signature Bail Bonds of Tulsa 201 W 5th St Ste 140Tulsa, Oklahoma74103 Phone: 918-744-6688 Fax: 918-289-0350 Palm Bay, FL -- (ReleaseWire) -- 02/06/2017 --One of the most exciting nights is going to hit Melbourne on February 17th with a Scholarship fundraising event to support children diagnosed with Autism. Monte Carlo, the capital of the Casino world, is coming to Melbourne for the Mad Hatter's Ball where people attending can have all the fun of the casino to support children attending Puzzle Box Academy. The event taking place at Hilton Rialto has been described as one of the most fun filled nights in the Melbourne calendar. The charity ball will have live music and dancing, open bar, dreamy premium cocktails, VIP party favors, and a charity casino with raffle and silent auction. A spokesperson for the Mad Hatter's Ball said: "This is going to be an amazing event where everyone attending will be talking about it for months to come. As well as people having the time of their lives, the Mad Hatter's Ball will be a great opportunity to give something back and support children with Autism." Not only is this event a chance for men and women to dress up and have a fun filled night, but it is also a chance to spread the message that children with Autism need support. More than 1.5 million people are diagnosed on the autism spectrum disorder and it has become the fastest-growing developmental disability. According to official reports, 1 in 68 children are diagnosed with Autism, and this charity night is a chance for people to spread the word that they are not alone. For those looking to make the night even more special, rooms have been made available at the hotel with a special $118 rate. However, rooms are limited at these prices and those wishing to stay at the hotel need to book early. A number of companies have come forward to support the event by becoming sponsors, to help make the event more successful and backing a worthy cause. There are still opportunities available for those wishing to help children improve their lives. Each ticket holder will receive $150 in casino chips with each ticket priced at $150. All proceeds go to the Scholarship fund. About Puzzle Box Academy The mission of Puzzle Box Academy is to provide comprehensive, individualized, science-based education not otherwise available in the community. Media Contact Details: 2180 NE Julian Ave. Palm Bay, FL 32905 321-345-0861 A look back on all of our reporting of the Delphi murders since 2017 National Election Commission member Rong Chhun (C) leads workers along a street to mark Labor Day in Phnom Penh when he was head of the Cambodia's Independent Teachers' Association, May 1, 2009. If Prime Minister Hun Sen wins approval for an election law change that would effectively put an end to Cambodias major opposition party, its first victim will likely be a member of the countrys election monitor. Its pointless for me to remain a referee in a game where there is an absence of a contender, National Election Commission (NEC) member Rong Chhun told RFAs Khmer Service today. Rong Chhun, the former president of the Cambodian Independent Teachers Association, told RFA that passage of the culprit law would lead to his resignation from the nine-member NEC that is charged with overseeing the nations elections. The ruling Cambodian Peoples Party and the opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party agreed to revamp the NEC as part of a 2014 deal that saw opposition lawmakers end their 10-month boycott of the National Assembly following the disputed national elections the year before. While the CPP was declared the victor in 2013, the elections were widely seen as corrupt and they sparked widespread protests and allegations of government control of the NEC. The NEC was revamped to ensure its neutrality, with each of the two major parties allowed to nominate four people for positions on the commission. The ninth member is supposed to be politically neutral. Rong Chhun was one of the CNRPs four nominees. While he was known as an outspoken advocate for workers rights as a union leader, he has taken his role on the NEC seriously and has seldom spoken with reporters. Rong Chhun decided to break his silence after Hun Sen proposed an amendment to Cambodias law on political parties that would ban anyone who is convicted by Cambodian courts from becoming the president of that party. The culprit law would also dissolve any party whose president is convicted of a crime. Cambodias local elections are set for June 2017 and national elections are scheduled for 2018. In the disputed 2013 elections, the CPP lost 22 seats in its worst showing since 1998. We shall get rid of the whole slate Hun Sen has said that the law needs to be changed to rid Cambodian politics of any individual with culprit status. On Feb. 2, he compared it to a defunct law in neighboring Thailand. Like in Thailand, when a political party was dissolved the whole political apparatus of that party was also disbanded, Hun Sen said. Its leaders were banned from politics for five years. He added: We shall ban not just a few people, but we shall get rid of the whole slate so that they are deterred. Sam Kuntheamy, head of the Neutral and Impartial Committee for Free and Fair Elections (NICFEC ) described Rong Chhuns threat as a bad sign for the NEC. When he warns of his resignation it means he is not pleased with the push for the amendment of the law, he said. The NEC will face some issues itself if he resigns. Hun Sen is likely to prevail in the legislature as the ruling party has enough votes to amend the Law on Political Parties because it requires only a bare majority to succeed. This means Hun Sen has to get the votes of 63 lawmakers, and the ruling party holds 68 seats. The proposal appeared to be aimed directly at Sam Rainsy, who is president of the CNRP and is Hun Sens most significant rival. Cambodian courts are notorious for their lack of independence and are often used by the ruling party to punish dissidents and opposition party officials, and Sam Rainsy is no exception as he has been convicted in several court cases brought by members of the ruling Cambodian Peoples Party (CPP) led by Hun Sen. Sam Rainsy has been living in France since 2015 to avoid arrest for a defamation case brought by former Foreign Minister Hor Namhong in 2008. In October, Hun Sen ordered police, immigration, and aviation authorities to "use all ways and means" to prevent the opposition leader from returning to the country, as Sam Rainsy has pledged to do before the countrys elections. Unpopular with the people While Hun Sen may have the votes in the National Assembly, the proposal was unpopular on the streets of the capital of Phnom Penh. Its inappropriate for Hun Sen to threaten the opposition party like that. Instead of locking horns, political leaders should think about the national interests, said one male villager. Another man said Hun Sen was going too far. I dont support his move. He is trying to consolidate his power, he said. I dont think people will agree with Hun Sens move to get rid of the opposition. A female villager from Phnom Penh agreed. All spoke to RFA on condition of anonymity. In any democratic country there must be an opposition party, said the female. A country develops when there is functional opposition party as a check and balance. She added: The country will plunge into a state of authoritarianism if he gets rid of the opposition. Im totally against such a move. Reported by Moniroth Morm and Thai Tha for RFAs Khmer Service. Translated by Nareth Muong. Written in English by Brooks Boliek. Carrie Lam, Beijing's favored candidate in forthcoming elections for Hong Kong's next leader, pauses as she speaks at a campaign rally in Hong Kong, Feb. 3, 2017. China has sent one of its most senior officials to drum up flagging support for its favored candidate in forthcoming elections for Hong Kong's next leader, according to local media reports. Zhang Dejiang, chairman of the standing committee of China's rubber-stamp parliament, the National People's Congress (NPC) told businesspeople and politicians in neighboring Shenzhen last weekend that former second-in-command Carrie Lam is "Beijing's choice" for the next chief executive. According to local media reports, the decision to endorse Lam was made "unanimously" by the entire Politburo of the ruling Chinese Communist Party. Official nominations for the race, which will be decided by a 1,200-strong committee of Beijing's supporters in the former British colony, begin next week. Citing Lam's lengthy administrative experience and her "patriotism," Zhang said she was the sole candidate preferred by Beijing. Dozens of protesters marched through Hong Kong's streets against Lam's candidacy on Sunday, styling her just another version of incumbent Leung Chun-ying, or "Leung Chun-ying 2.0" after she took a tough line with protest leaders during the 2014 pro-democracy movement in the city. Former pan-democratic lawmaker Fung Chi-wood told the rally that the limited nature of the forthcoming election is "a joke." "I want universal suffrage, a desire close to the hearts of all Hong Kong people," Fung said. "We will do everything we can to make this happen." "This closed-circuit election is ... just one joke after another," he said. "It is ridiculous and totally unreasonable." Democratic upgrade A democratic upgrade had been planned for Hong Kong in 2017, but China's parliament stepped in on Aug. 31, 2014, to insist that candidates under a one-person, one-vote system would still have to be vetted by Beijing, sparking the 79-day Occupy Central movement. Lam was instrumental in supporting Beijing's proposed changes at the time, although they were later voted down in the city's Legislative Council. Zhang's trip south came as Lam's main rival, former financial secretary John Tsang, was 2.6 points ahead in an opinion poll by the Chinese University of Hong Kong. However, Tsang's lead has narrowing greatly since last month, when Lam trailed his 32.6 percent rating at just 23.9 percent. The Chinese General Chamber of Commerce, which controls 18 of the election committee's 1,200 votes, has already said all its representatives will vote for Lam, reported the English-language newspaper The Standard, which is owned by the pro-Beijing Sing Tao News Corp. Its chairman Jonathan Choi told the paper: "Both former secretaries are good, but after discussions we decided that Lam would be a better choice, since we had [a wider] working relationship with her, such as in social welfare." Beijing's apparent endorsement of a single candidate comes after its refusal to publicly declare a favorite led to an embarrassingly close victory for incumbent Leung in 2012. Leung was dogged throughout the Occupy Central movement with puns and insults referring to the 689 votes that gave him the job. A pro-Beijing source told RFA that Beijing is "extremely nervous" about the outcome of this election and wants to "minimize variables." The source said Zhang's main audience during his Shenzhen trip was the relatively high proportion of businesspeople with seats on the election committee, rather than politicians, particularly those who remain undecided. John Tsang, the main rival of Carrie Lam in the upcoming elections for Hong Kong's chief executive, unveils his election platform in Hong Kong, Jan. 6, 2017. Credit: EyePress News Invisible hand becomes visible Last month, pro-Beijing lawmaker Michael Tien told a local radio station that has received phone calls campaigning for a chief executive candidate and asking him to change candidates. "It seems that the invisible hand has become increasingly visible, with some people focused on rallying support for a particular pro-establishment candidate, to the extent that they seem to want to bar all other candidates from contesting," Tien told government broadcaster RTHK. However, election committee members and other pro-Beijing figures have declined to confirm reports of Zhang's trip, which ran on Tuesday's front page of The Standard. In an article headlined "Lam the Anointed One of Beijing," the paper reported that Zhang was accompanied on his trip by Sun Chunlan, head of the party's United Front Work Department, which is responsible for extending the party's influence beyond the Chinese political elite. The January opinion poll commissioned by the Hong Kong Economic Journal newspaper showed that 63.5 percent of respondents believed Lam would get the chief executive job in March, with just 17.4 percent thinking Tsang would. Among interviewees in the 18-29 age group, Tsang beat Lam by 75.1 percent to 16 percent, while more than half of aged 60 or above supported Lam, the paper said. Retired judge Woo Kwok-hing saw his rating fall to 8.1 percent from 11.4 percent, while pro-Beijing politicians Jasper Tsang and Regina Ip garnered just 7.2 percent and 6.4 percent of approval ratings respectively, it said. Reported by Lam Kwok-lap for RFA's Cantonese Service, and by Chen Pan for the Mandarin Service. Translated and edited by Luisetta Mudie. A news report indicating that "disappeared" popular Chinese news anchor Rui Chenggang was sentenced to six years' imprisonment for taking bribes has been deleted soon after being posted, prompting renewed speculation about his fate. Rui, a massively influential state journalist who had more than 10 million social media followers, was handed a six-year jail term by a court in Jiaohe city in the northeastern province of Jilin after being found guilty of bribery, the Zhimian news service said via its social media account. Rui is scheduled for release from prison on Dec. 11, 2020, the report said, citing court documents. However, the tweet, which follows a similar unconfirmed report last November, was quickly deleted by censors. In July 2014, China's powerful propaganda department issued a directive banning news organizations from "hyping up" coverage of Rui's detention after he was detained ahead of his show's airing, leaving his co-host sitting next to an empty chair. Rui's detention came in spite of his huge popularity and strongly patriotic views, and keyword searches of his name on Chinese social media sites still result in an apology citing "relevant laws and regulations." Tweets and comments on the Zhimian report were soon deleted along with the report, suggesting the government is still not ready to break its official silence on Rui's whereabouts. Links to other cases Veteran journalist Zhu Xinxin said Rui's case is likely linked to other corruption cases still being probed by the Communist Party's disciplinary arm, and the government is keen to minimize public discussion of the case. "Bringing up Rui Chenggang will turn people's attention to many other corruption scandals within the Chinese Communist Party," Zhu said. "Also, as a popular media personality, Rui represents the official media and a specific interest group," he said. "They don't want to see public discussion and concern, which would be quite natural given that he is such a high-profile presenter." Before the fall of jailed former Chongqing party chief Bo Xilai, Rui, 39, had frequently boasted of his close friendship with Bo's son Bo Guagua, making him a ripe target for President Xi Jinping's anti-corruption campaign, observers have told RFA. He is also believed to have close ties to the wife of Ling Jihua, a former ally of former president Hu Jintao currently serving a life sentence for corruption. Rui joined state broadcaster CCTV in 2003, before being seconded to the financial news channel's international team in 2008. 'Not surprised' He came to global attention during his interviews of world leaders including former U.S. President Barack Obama and British prime minister Tony Blair. Beijing journalist Xu Xiang said the report of Rui's six-year jail term seemed plausible. "I'm not surprised or shocked to hear that Rui Chenggang got a six-year jail sentence," Xu told RFA. "Rui Chenggang went far beyond the remit of what journalists are expected to do." "We don't care whether he had an affair with Ling Jihua's wife or not; neither do we care what connections he had among high-ranking officials," he said. "But he had long ago left behind any notion of journalistic ethics; he had become a political figure." President Xi has launched a nationwide anti-graft crackdown, targeting high-ranking "tigers" and low-ranking "flies," since coming to power in November 2012. But the party regards any popular discussion of the anti-corruption campaign as highly sensitive and potentially threatening, and has sentenced a number of activists to jail for calling on officials to reveal their wealth. Officials with friends in the right places are unlikely to be touched by the crackdown, and reports suggest many are liquidating their assets and making moves overseas, according to political observers. Reported by Yang Fan for RFA's Mandarin Service, and by the Cantonese Service. Translated and edited by Luisetta Mudie. Myanmar border guards fatally shot a Bangladeshi fisherman and wounded another Monday as they fired at a boat in a river that separates the two countries, an eyewitness and police in Bangladesh told BenarNews, an RFA-affiliated online news service. The shooting marked the second reported brush between Bangladeshi fishermen and Myanmar authorities since late December in waters that lie close to the Myanmar-Bangladesh border. The Naaf River that runs along the border has been tense lately. Tens of thousands of Rohingya refugees have poured into southeastern Bangladesh by boat in recent months as they fled killings, rapes, the torching of homes and other abuses allegedly committed against their communities as part of a military crackdown in Myanmars Rakhine state. We were inside Bangladesh waters. At around 8:30 a.m. they came into our waters by a speed boat and started firing at us, one of the surviving fishermen, Nur Hakim, told BenarNews by phone on Monday night, referring to Myanmar Border Guard Police (BGP). Two other fisherman in the boat were injured by the gunfire, including Nurul Amin who later died at a hospital in Coxs Bazar, a district on the Bangladeshi side of the river, Hakim said. I lay in the boat to save my life, the fisherman said, adding that he sailed with his two wounded comrades to shore after four BGP officers departed in their boat. We want justice; should we be killed in this way for fishing in our waters? he said. Myanmar or Bangladesh waters? A local police official confirmed that Nurul Amin, a 26-year-old fisherman from Teknaf, a sub-district of Coxs Bazar, was shot and killed in the incident, and that another fisherman, Mortuza Hossain, 24, was being treated at a local hospital. Afrozul Haque Tutul, an additional superintendent of police in the district, said his department had contacted the Myanmar border guard, through the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB), to inquire about the shooting. They were catching fish in the Naaf River. We are not sure whether they entered Myanmar waters, Tutul told BenarNews. The BGB commander in Teknaf told reporters the border guard had complained to its Myanmar counterpart about Mondays shooting, according to local news reports. Lt. Col. Imran Ullah Sarker said BGP officials had told him the three Bangladeshi fishermen had strayed into the Myanmar side of the river. Killing innocent people in this way is against the border agreement between Bangladesh and Myanmar, reports quoted Sarker as saying. He added that bilateral procedures had been implemented to handle such situations involving innocent intruders. We have the right to fish in our waters Tensions along the frontier have risen since Myanmars military launched a crackdown after nine Burmese border guards were killed by suspected Rohingya militants in an attack in Rakhines Maungdaw township in early October 2016. In May 2016, the Bangladesh border guard fired mortar shells across the border after a BGB outpost allegedly came under fire. Bangladeshi officials said they complained to Myanmar over that incident, and Dhaka also protested about an incident involving Bangladeshi fishermen and Burmese authorities in late December. Bangladeshs foreign ministry lodged a diplomatic protest over the later incident, during which a Burmese trawler allegedly fired upon a Bangladeshi fishing boat in waters near St. Martins a Bangladeshi island that lies off the coast near the Myanmar border. The crew from the trawler then allegedly took the fishing boat and its crew to a Burmese navy ship that was patrolling nearby. No one was injured in the incident, but the crew of the navy ship held the fishermen for four hours and seized their belongings, according to the foreign ministry. It is no longer safe for Bangladeshis to fish in the Naaf River because police on the Myanmar side of the border often fire their weapons, said one local fisherman. We have the right to fish in our waters. But fishing in the [Naaf] river has become very risky due to the frequent firing by the Nasaka without any provocation, Teknaf fisherman Abdul Kuddus, 55, told BenarNews, using an old name for Myanmars border police. The government must take measures to stop it; we want a peaceful atmosphere, Kuddus said. Reported by Kamran Reza Chowdhury from Dhaka, Bangladesh, for BenarNews, an RFA-affiliated online news service. Mra Yazar Lin, a member of the Arakan Liberation Party's central executive committee, speaks at a conference in an undated photo. A Rakhine political party wants the Myanmar government to postpone the next round of national peace talks after a joint committee on Monday suspended advance regional-level discussions in Chin and Rakhine states. The Arakan Liberation Party (ALP) objected to the decision by the Union Peace Dialogue Joint Committee (UPDJC) to put on hold regional-level discussions about policies regarding national-level talks planned by the ALP and the Chin National Front (CNF) based in western Myanmars Chin state before the next meeting of the 21st-Century Panglong Conference on Feb. 28. The [Panglong] Conference should be postponed if necessary because we need to have the regional level forums in Rakhine and Chin States held and views taken before the (national-level) conference opens, said Mra Yazar Lin, a member of the ALPs central executive committee. Both the ALP and CNF are among the eight ethnic militias that signed the governments nationwide cease-fire agreement (NCA) in October 2015. Mra Yazar Lin pointed out that NCA guidelines stipulate that regional forums must precede the Panglong Conference, whose meetings are being held every six months under the civilian government led by de facto national leader Aung San Suu Kyi. Regional-level discussions are set to be held under the guidance of a steering committee comprising three representatives from the UPDJCs government-parliament-military group, three representatives from its ethnic armed groups, and three representatives from political parties. We are ready for the steering committee, Mra Yazar Lin told RFAs Myanmar Service. These forums are to be held in areas where the eight armed ethnic groups who signed the NCA are operating. Aung San Suu Kyi had said [earlier] that regional-level forums must be completed in every state before the conference, she said. Only this forum can present the desires of our entire Rakhine people, so we must hold it. The UPDJC gave no reason for suspending regional-level talks in Rakhine and Chin states. Other ethnic minority parties that have signed the NCA have been permitted to hold discussions in their respective regions in advance of the next Panglong Conference. The government has made peace and national reconciliation among various ethnic militias and the national army its main goal, though hostilities continue in some areas of the country. A crowd watches a military parade by the Shan State Army-South on Shan National Day in Loi Tai Leng in Myanmar's northeastern Shan state, Feb. 7, 2015. Credit: AFP Shan state commemoration Also on Tuesday, the Restoration Council of Shan State/Shan State Army (RCSS-SSA) said in a statement that it will strive to find ways to live peacefully in Myanmar and to solve the political problems facing Shan state. The RSCC/SAA, which is an NCA signatory, hosted a ceremony the same day to commemorate the 70th Shan National Day at its headquarters in Loi Tai Leng on the Myanmar-Thailand border. The day commemorates a meeting of ethnic Shan leaders who formed a united Shan state with the agreement of former ruling hereditary princes and the public on Feb. 7, 1947. The meeting came five days before the signing of the original Panglong Agreement, whereby Shan, Kachin, and Chin ethnic minority leaders signed a pact with independence hero General Aung San, father of Aung San Suu Kyi, to grant the groups ethnic autonomy in an independent Burma. The country had been a British colony. Thousands attended the ceremony at Loi Tai Leng, including foreign diplomats, leaders from Shan political parties, and representatives from the CNF, Karen National Union (KNU), the All Burma Students Democratic Front (ABSDF), and the Karenni National Progressive Party (KNPP), the online journal The Irrawaddy reported. Myanmar President Htin Gyaw in his message of well wishes said some areas of the country have not been able to enjoy the benefits of independence yet because of armed conflicts. He also said the government is working hard to achieve national reconciliation and make the peace process a success. While past commemorations have served as a show of political might of the RCSS/SSA, this years ceremony was more of a cultural celebration, according to The Irrawaddy. No military parade in Kayin state Meanwhile, Colonel Aung Lwin, minister of security and border affairs in southeastern Myanmars Kayin state, has banned weapons and military parades at the 70th Mon State Day that will be held by the New Mon State Party (NMSP) on Feb. 12. Nai Sairot, the NMSP liaison office chief in the border town of Paya Thonsu, said he had received a letter of notification on Jan. 25. It was signed by the ministers office, he told RFA. We have been holding these parades for the past seven decades and military parades for 21 years. This is the first time a ban has been issued. A request to lift the ban for the annual parade failed to elicit a response from the authorities, he said. Now the celebrations committee will stick to the original plan to include a military parade at the ceremony in Japun Yedwin village near the border with Thailand, Nai Sairot said. The NMSP signed a cease-fire pact with the government in 1995, but the accord was invalidated when the party refused to transform itself into a border guard unit under government control. Reported by Wai Mar Tun and Aung Moe Myint for RFAs Myanmar Service. Translated by Khin Maung Nyane. Written in English by Roseanne Gerin. While most Vietnamese get ready for the Tet celebrations as shown in this image in downtown Hanoi, the government arrested several activists just before the country's most important holiday, Jan. 20, 2016. More than two dozen Vietnamese civil society organizations and nearly 850 individuals signed a petition on Tuesday demanding that authorities immediately release activist Tran Thi Nga, who was arrested just before the Tet holiday last month. According to the petition, Tran Thi Nga was harassed, attacked, and monitored before her arrest. Signed by 31 civil society organizations and 847 individuals, the petition claims that Nga was innocent when she carried out her peaceful activities advocating for human rights and democracy, blogger Nguyen Tuong Thuy, one of the petitioners, told RFAs Vietnamese service. Tran Thi Ngas activities are all compatible with Vietnamese law and prove that she is a responsible citizen, not a guilty one, the petition says. Nga, also called Thuy Nga, was arrested at her home on Jan. 21 and charged with propagandizing against the administration under Article 88 of the countrys penal code. Article 88 violations are considered national security offenses and carry a jail sentence of between three and 20 years. It also allows the incommunicado detention of Tran Thi Nga during the whole period of the investigation. The article is one of the broadly worded, elastic provisions of the Vietnamese penal code that is often used to silence government critics. The petition also warns Hanoi that to expect more protests if Nga isnt released. We warn that the arrest of Tran Thi Nga will cause a wave of strong protests inside and outside Vietnam, worsening the human right situation in Vietnam, the petition says. The activists added: The arrest of Nga will not intimidate people with conscience and bravery. Moreover, this will make the democratic and human rights movement stronger. An illegal and immoral act The Tet marks the lunar New Year in Vietnam and is the countrys most important celebration. Like many in Vietnam, Nga had family coming for the holiday that began on Jan. 26. Her arrest just before the holiday was described by the petition's signers as an affront to common decency, especially as Nga has small children. The arrest of Tran Thi Nga just right before the traditional Tet holiday while she still has to take care of her two little children is an illegal and immoral act, the petition says. According to the Dublin, Ireland-based CSO Front Line Defenders, Tran Thi Nga is a member of Vietnamese Women For Human Rights, a group that includes overseas Vietnamese wishing to lend support, training, and encouragement to those who stand up to defend human rights in Vietnam. She is well known for defending the rights of Vietnamese migrant workers and the victims of government land grabs, and has been targeted a number of times because of her human rights work. In 2015 she was beaten by policemen for celebrating the release of another human rights defender from jail, according to Front Line Defenders. Vietnam has at least 112 bloggers and activists who are serving prison sentences for exercising their rights to basic freedoms such as freedom of expression, assembly, association, and religion, according to New York-based Human Rights Watch. Reported and translated by RFAs Vietnamese Service. Written in English by Brooks Boliek. For a third straight night, anticorruption protesters demonstrated in the Romanian capital, Bucharest. Tens of thousands of people gathered outside the cabinet building on February 2. They demanded that the Social Democrat-led government abolish a decree that would grant amnesty to dozens of officials accused of corruption. (RFE/RL's Moldovan Service) At least 20 people, including women and children, have been killed in a suicide attack outside Afghanistan's Supreme Court building in Kabul, the Health Ministry says. Ministry spokesman Wahidullah Majroh said at least 41 people were also wounded in the February 7 attack. Police later put the number at 48. A suicide bomber on foot detonated his explosives as employees were boarding a bus to go home in the parking lot of the court compound, Interior Ministry spokesman Najibullah Danish said. Police blocked off the road around the Supreme Court compound as panicked relatives of court employees gathered at the site, and ambulances and fire trucks arrived on the scene. No group has yet claimed responsibility for the attack, but the Taliban have targeted the court previously. They killed 15 civilians with a suicide car bomb at the entrance to the compound in 2013. Last month, twin Taliban attacks killed at least 30 people and wounded 80 outside a parliament annex in Kabul. Also on February 7, officials said a roadside bombing killed a district administrative chief in the western province of Farah. Police said Abdul Khaliq Noorzai, the top official in the Khak-e Safed district, died in the bombing near his home in the city of Farah, the provincial capital. The Taliban claimed responsibility for that attack. The recent upsurge in violence underscores growing insecurity in Afghanistan. More than two years since the end of NATO's combat mission, and despite billions of dollars having been spent building up Afghanistan's army and police, local security forces are struggling against a resilient Taliban insurgency as well as Al-Qaeda and Islamic State militants. On February 6, the United Nations said civilian casualties in the Afghan conflict last year were the highest recorded by the world body, with nearly 11,500 noncombatants -- one-third of them children -- killed or wounded. Earlier this month an official U.S. watchdog said the death rate among Afghan troops and police soared last year as the government's overall control of the country declined significantly. With reporting by AFP, Reuters, and dpa A court in Russia's southwestern region of Astrakhan bordering Kazakhstan has fined someone for the first time for not reporting terrorism-linked crimes to the authorities as required under a new law. The Astrakhan regional prosecutor's office said on February 6 that a local resident, Ulugbek Gafurov, was found guilty of not reporting that a Kyrgyz citizen was a member of the Islamic State (IS) extremist group in Syria and Iraq. Gafurov was fined 70,000 rubles ($1,185). The Kyrgyz citizen was identified as Ravshan Akbarov, who was recently sentenced to eight years in jail for joining IS in 2015. Russian President Vladimir Putin signed legislation last July criminalizing not reporting a crime and containing other measures against terrorism. The bill was named after an author of the document, lawmaker Irina Yarovaya. Based on reporting by RIA Novosti and Interfax Fox News television presenter Bill O'Reilly has refused to say he was sorry after the Kremlin demanded an apology for describing Russian President Vladimir Putin as "a killer." "Apparently the Putin administration in Moscow [is] demanding that I, your humble correspondent, apologize for saying old Vlad is a killer," O'Reilly said on his U.S. television show broadcast late on February 6. "So I'm working on that apology but it may take a little time.... Might want to check in with me around 2023," he said. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov had earlier called O'Reilly's comments "insulting and impermissible," and insisted that Putin was due an apology from "such a respectable television network." Peskov was responding to O'Reilly's quip that "Putin's a killer" during an interview on February 5 with U.S. President Donald Trump. Trump responded: "There are a lot of killers. We've got a lot of killers. What do you think? Our country's so innocent?" Kremlin opponents say Putin was behind killings of critics such as journalist Anna Politkovskaya, who was shot dead in 2006, and politician Boris Nemtsov, who was gunned down in February 2015, as well as 1999 apartment building bombings that killed hundreds of people in Russia. Based on reporting by Fox News, Variety, and dpa Over the past five years, Iranian officials and state media have touted the "indigenous" ingenuity in the Islamic republic's mass-produced Mohajer-6 combat drone, which Russia has deployed in its war against Ukraine. But a new investigation by Schemes, the investigative unit of RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service, has found that electronic components underpinning Tehran's production of the Mohajer-6 are far from homegrown. The Mohajer-6 drones contain components produced by companies from the United States and the European Union, both of which have sanctions restricting the export to Iran of such technology that can be used for both civilian and military purposes dual-use technology. The presence of these components in the Mohajer-6 does not mean their producers are in violation of U.S. or EU sanctions, and RFE/RL does not have evidence that this is the case. The investigation also found Mohajer-6 components produced in China, including a real-time mini-camera made by a Hong Kong firm that said it was "very sorry" that its products were being used in war. At least one major foreign-produced component of the Mohajer-6 has previously been identified by reporters in a Mohajer-6 recovered from the battlefield by the Ukrainian military: an engine made by the Austrian manufacturer BRP-Rotax GmbH & Co KG, a subsidiary of the Canadian company Bombardier Recreational Products. But Ukrainian intelligence assesses that the Iranian combat drone contains components from nearly three dozen different technology companies based in North America, the EU, Japan, and Taiwan, the Schemes investigation has found. A majority of these companies are based in the United States. A Schemes reporter who personally inspected the foreign-made drone parts identified components produced by at least 15 of these manufacturers. These include parts made by the U.S. technology firm Texas Instruments, which said in a statement that it does not sell into Russia or Iran and complies with applicable laws and regulations. To identify these components, Schemes reporters examined parts of the Mohajer-6 drone that the Ukrainian military shot down over the Black Sea near the Mykolayiv region coastal town of Ochakiv. They also reviewed Ukrainian intelligence records on the sources of these components. The drone also contains a microchip bearing the logo of a California technology company and a thermal-imaging camera that Ukrainian intelligence says may have been produced by a firm based in Oregon or China. Both Western officials and experts on illicit technology transfers say Iran has built a broad, global procurement network using front companies and other proxies in third countries to obtain dual-use technology from the United States and the EU. "Exporters will look at the request coming from the [United Arab Emirates] or another third country, and they'll think that they're selling to an end user based there, when really the end user is in Iran," Daniel Salisbury, a senior research fellow with the Department of War Studies at King's College London, told RFE/RL. In September, the U.S. Treasury Department imposed sanctions specifically targeting Iranian companies that Washington links to the production and transfer of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to Russia for deployment in its war on Ukraine. Fighting rages with no sign of an end more than eight months after Russian President Vladimir Putin launched an unprovoked invasion on February 24. "Non-Iranian, non-Russian entities should also exercise great caution to avoid supporting either the development of Iranian UAVs or their transfer, or sale of any military equipment to Russia for use against Ukraine," U.S. Undersecretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Brian Nelson said in a statement announcing the sanctions. Chinese Cameras, California Chips Development of the Mohajer-6, the latest model in a series of drones Tehran has used since the 1980s Iran-Iraq War, began in 2017, while mass production began the following year. During a ceremony commemorating the Islamic Revolution, then-Iranian Defense Minister Amir Hatami said that the new tactical drone could perform surveillance, reconnaissance, as well as help destroy targets. Hatami extolled what he described as the drones domestic design, a portrayal echoed in later reports by Iranian media. "The homegrown drone was made through cooperation among the army, Defense Ministry, and Quds Aviation Industries," the English-language Tehran Times quoted an Iranian military official as saying in July 2019. The dismantling of the Mohajer-6 drone recovered by the Ukrainian military shows that the UAV is packed with foreign components. One of these parts is a bright-orange real-time mini-camera produced by the Hong Kong-based company RunCam Technology. Documents seen by Schemes show that Ukrainian intelligence has also identified RunCam as the producer of the camera, which likely assists in remote guidance of the drone. Founded in 2013, RunCam is involved in the development and production of so-called "first-person-view" real-time cameras. "Our users are our friends," the company's website states. The site says that RunCam has two authorized Iranian dealers. Reached by Schemes for comment about the use of its camera in the Iranian drone deployed by Russia in its war on Ukraine, RunCam said in an e-mailed response: "We are very sorry to know that RunCam's products were used in warfare. RunCam is specialized in producing products for model aircraft hobby. We never contact any customer related to military." The provenance of the Mohajer-6 drone-s thermal-imaging camera is more difficult to determine. A Ukrainian intelligence assessment reviewed by Schemes indicates it could be the Ventus Hot model produced by Sierra-Olympic Technologies, based in the U.S. state of Oregon, but that it also resembles a cheaper analog available for sale by the Chinese company Qingdao Thundsea Marine Technology. Qingdao Thundsea Marine Technology said in an e-mailed statement that the company did not "have any business with Iran," because "it will affect our business." The company said it specializes in marine services and is not involved in manufacturing. It also said that it did not have a single successful order for its online advertisement of the thermal-imaging camera resembling the one recovered from the Iranian drone. Sierra-Olympic Technologies did not respond to a request for comment on the possible use of its thermal-imaging cameras in Iranian combat drones in time for publication. Microchips recovered from the drone also featured the logos of the California-based company Linear Technology Corporation and its parent company, the Massachusetts-based semiconductor company Analog Devices, Inc. (ADI). ADI did not respond to an e-mailed request for comment on the possible use of its technology in the Iranian combat drone. Schemes reporters also observed among the components of the Iranian drone a voltage step-down converter produced by Texas Instruments. The company said in an e-mailed statement that it "does not sell into Russia, Belarus, or Iran." "TI complies with applicable laws and regulations in the countries where we operate, and does not support or condone the use of our products in applications they weren't designed for," Texas Instruments said. Schemes reporters also saw several components produced by the California-based technology manufacturer Xilinx, whose parent company is the multinational semiconductor company Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), also based in California. According to Ukrainian intelligence, one of these Xilinx components was integrated into a video data-link module located in the wing of the Mohajer-6 that helped carry out attack missions. "This module transmits information from the board to the missile head. That is, guidance for the missile. With the help of this module, it was possible to guide the missile to the target," a Ukrainian military intelligence representative told Schemes. AMD did not respond to a request for comment in time for publication. 'No Authorization' Previous media reports about the components of the Mohajer-6 drone, including by CNN, have shown evidence that its engine was produced by the Austrian manufacturer BRP-Rotax GmbH & Co KG, whose parent company is the Quebec-based Bombardier Recreational Products (BRP). The Canadian company responded to the reports on October 21, saying in a statement that it "has not authorized and has not given any authorization to its distributors to supply military UAV manufacturers in Iran or Russia." "As soon as we were made aware of this situation, we started an investigation to determine the source of the engines," BRP said. . But Schemes reporters found that the authorized Rotax distributor listed on the Austrian manufacturer's website advertised itself as a Rotax aircraft engines distributor for Iran as recently as December 2020. The distributor, the Italian company Luciano Sorlini S.p.a., has posted multiple magazine advertisements on its websites in which it describes itself as a Rotax distributor for numerous countries. Prior to January 2021, Iran was listed among these countries. The Rotax website also lists a Tehran-based company -- MahtaWing -- as an official service center for its engines. The company, known in Persian as Mahtabal, conducts repairs of Rotax engines, including the Rotax 912 iS, the engine that was found in the Mohajer-6 combat drone recovered in Ukraine. BRP said in an e-mailed statement on November 4 that while Luciano Sorlini S.p.a. is the appointed distributor of Rotax aircraft engines in Iran, "since 2019, no Rotax engines have been sold in Iran, and we will not sell any engines to Iran moving forward." The Canadian company said it had "internal controls" that "significantly" restrict the sale of its products for military purposes. "For example, the sale of any BRP product to operators with any military activity in Iran, Turkey, and Russia is strictly prohibited," BRP said. "We conduct our business in compliance with all EU, Canadian, and U.S. applicable regulations." BRP described the Iranian company MahtaWing as a "local service center" that "offers maintenance services for previously sold aircraft engines." Shahriar Siami of RFE/RL's Radio Farda contributed to this report. Russian and Ukrainian forces exchanged heavy artillery fire in multiple locations, officials in both countries said, as Russian-appointed officials continued evacuating people from the west bank of the Dnieper River amid a mounting Ukrainian counteroffensive. 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. Ukraine's national grid operator, meanwhile, said on November 5 that it would increase rolling blackouts in Kyiv and seven other regions as the countrys national grid remained severely damaged by weeks of Russian air strikes. Electricity consumption is rising across Ukraine as the weather turns colder, and energy providers have raced to do repairs, ordering planned power cuts to avoid overloads. Ukraines General Staff said that its troops thwarted Russian attacks a day earlier in the eastern Luhansk and Donetsk regions. The military also claimed that Ukrainian air defenses shot down multiple Russian and Iranian drones and two Kalibr cruise missiles. The claim could not be immediately verified. The head of the Vynnytsya region, Serhiy Borzov, said the central region was hit overnight by Russian kamikaze drones. Russian troops have been actively using Iranian drones in recent weeks to attack critical civilian and infrastructure objectives. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said the fiercest fighting over the last week had taken place around Bakhmut and Soledar in Donetsk and that Ukrainian forces are holding their positions there and elsewhere. He also spoke of "good gains" in the south, praising infantry and artillery brigades for destroying enemy equipment, Russian manpower. The claims of battlefield success could not be independently verified. Ukrainian forces have been mounting a slow, incremental counteroffensive in the southern Kherson region for weeks now, moving closer to directly threatening the Dnieper River port of Kherson, which was captured early after Russias February invasion. In response, Russian authorities have been evacuating civilians and military troops to the opposite bank of the Dnieper. Kirill Stremousov, deputy head of the Russia-installed administration in the Kherson region, announced a 24-hour curfew on November 4, saying it was necessary to defend it from an expected Ukrainian attack. The Russian military said "more than 5,000 civilians" were being evacuated daily to the east bank of the river. And Russian President Vladimir Putin on November 4 called for civilians to be moved out from Kherson. Those who live in Kherson must now be removed from the zone of the most dangerous hostilities, Putin said in remarks broadcast on state television. The civilian population should not suffer from shelling, from the offensive, counteroffensive, and other measures related to military operations. Russias Defense Ministry said on November 5 that troops had repelled Ukrainian attacks in in the Donetsk, Luhansk, and Kherson regions. In the Kherson region, which the Kremlin last month declared had been annexed, authorities reported the heaviest artillery fire in days. Ukrainian officials have likened the departures of Kherson residents to Soviet-style deportations, though its unclear to what extent the departures are forced or voluntary. Russian officials said people were being moved to safety from the path of the Ukrainian advance. Ukraines counteroffensives in Kherson and the northern Kharkiv region have been powered in large part by powerful Western weaponry. On November 4, the U.S. Defense Department announced another $400 million shipment of weapons and other equipment, including refurbished tanks, surface-to-air missiles, new coastal defense boats, and other items. The announcement came around the same time that the U.S. national-security adviser, Jake Sullivan, made an unannounced visit to Kyiv to meet with top Ukrainian officials. At a news conference later, Sullivan sought again to calm Ukrainian jitters about whether U.S. weapons would continue after the upcoming midterm U.S. congressional elections. Polls show that Republicans are poised to take control of one, or possibly both, chambers of Congress, and a small but vocal number of Republicans have voiced misgivings about the amount and duration of U.S. aid for Ukraine. There will be no wavering, Sullivan said at a news conference. Im confident U.S. support for Ukraine will be unwavering and unflinching. Asked about the prospect of peace talks with Russia, Sullivan repeated what U.S. officials have said in the past: "Nothing is discussed about Ukraine without Ukraine." "For me, the main question about these negotiations is what a just peace looks like and how it can be achieved, Sullivan said. If you look at Russian accusations, Russian actions, in particular regarding the annexation of [Ukrainian] territories, it does not really encourage negotiations. With reporting by RFE/RLs Ukrainian Service, Reuters, dpa, and AP Moldova's President Igor Dodon is due to hold talks with EU and NATO leaders in Brussels on February 7. He is expected to meet with European Council President Donald Tusk, European Commission President Jean Claude Juncker, and EU foreign-policy chief Federica Mogherini. He also scheduled a meeting with NATO Deputy Secretary-General Rose Gottemoeller. Dodon has said he hopes to cancel his country's 2014 Association Agreement with the EU. He has also said he opposes an agreement signed in December with NATO to open a NATO liaison office in Chisinau, and that he will work to "restore friendly relations and a strategic partnership with Russia." Dodon said last month that Moldova had not benefited "in the slightest" from the Association Agreement and its European-integration policies, and that a majority of Moldovans now supported integration into the Russia-led Eurasian Economic Union (EEU). However, Moldovan exports to the 28-member bloc grew by 21 percent between 2013 and 2015, according to the European Commission. Dodon said he would work to secure observer status for Moldova in the EEU, which currently includes five former Soviet republics, a topic that he discussed during a recent meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Dodon won the presidency after running a strongly pro-Russian campaign, and took office in December. Previously, he was the leader of the Socialist Party, which controls the single largest faction in Moldova's parliament. The Moldovan presidency is largely a symbolic position, and the government is controlled by a coalition of pro-European integration parties. With reporting by RFE/RL's Moldovan Service, AP, AFP, and Interfax How do you solve a problem like Navalny? The gang in the Kremlin, it appears, has absolutely no idea. They seem afraid to imprison him; they've been unable to co-opt him; and no matter how much they harass him, they just can't seem to neutralize him. Aleksei Navalny presents a thorny dilemma for Vladimir Putin's regime. He's a pro-democracy activist with a nationalist streak and a talent for rabble rousing. Unlike the rest of Russia's opposition, he appeals to both urban intellectuals and the disenfranchised working class. His single-minded focus on exposing official corruption, and his skill at presenting his investigations in slick and entertaining online videos, hits the Kremlin in one of its weakest spots. He has a network of loyal supporters and a proven ability to put them on the streets. Navalny is the the Putin regime's worst nightmare in an opposition leader. He's the Kremlin's Freddy Krueger -- with a Twitter feed and a YouTube channel. He's a social-media savvy Russian muzhik with a law degree. Make no mistake: Navalny isn't a serious threat to the Kremlin monolith at this point. But his potential ability to harness Russia's disenfranchised and dispossessed and to ride the populist wave that led to the Brexit vote in the United Kingdom and the election of Donald Trump in the United States appears to be making the regime nervous. Nothing better illustrates the Kremlin's jitters and utter indecisiveness about how to handle Navalny than a never-ending embezzlement case that dates all the way back to 2009 when he was an unpaid adviser to the Kirov Oblast government. It's a case that will wind up, at least for now, in a courtroom in Kirov when the verdict is announced on February 8. Navalny is accused of organizing the theft of 10,000 metric tons of timber worth 16 million rubles ($520,000) from the state-owned KirovLes company. Since the investigation was first launched in December 2011, it has been closed for lack of evidence and then reopened numerous times. It has taken so many dizzying twists and turns that even somebody unfavorably disposed toward Navalny would have reasonable suspicions about the allegations' veracity. When the so-called KirovLes case finally went to trial in the spring and summer of 2013, Navalny was convicted and given a five-year sentence. The judge ordered that he immediately be imprisoned. That night, rioting erupted on the streets of Moscow. And the very next day, the court reversed itself and released Navalny pending appeal. When Navalny returned to Moscow he was greeted by an adoring crowd and gave a rousing speech at the city's Yaroslavl Railway Station -- drawing comparisons to Andrei Sakharov's return from exile to the very same station in December 1986. At the time, the conventional wisdom was that, after much debate, the authorities ultimately decided they wanted Navalny released so he could run in the Moscow mayoral elections in September 2013 to give them an air of legitimacy. And in those elections, Navalny ran an innovative campaign, finished a surprisingly strong second place to incumbent Sergei Sobyanin, and nearly forced a runoff. In the appeal of the KirovLes case a month later, Navalny's conviction was upheld but his sentence was suspended, which kept him out of prison but barred him from again running for office. But the case took on another dizzying twist in November of last year when the Russian Supreme Court unexpectedly overturned the decision and ordered a retrial. A month later, Navalny announced that he would run for president in 2018. Which brings us to now. When the verdict is announced, it certainly won't be the last chapter in the Navalny story. But it will provide a window into the Kremlin's current thinking about how to handle him as well as into the Putin regime's political strategy going forward. Prosecutors are asking for the 2013 suspended sentence be upheld, which again would keep Navalny out of prison and out of politics. In other words, it would mean the status quo, which raises the question of why the Kremlin decided to allow a retrial in the first place. But if Navalny is acquitted, it would probably suggest that Putin is pretty confident that he could face Navalny in an election and prevail without any unacceptable damage. And if he is convicted and imprisoned, it suggests the Kremlin has decided to solve its Navalny problem once and for all. And it also suggests that it is more afraid of the populist challenge Navalny would pose in an election than it is of the unrest imprisoning him would cause. We'll know the answer soon enough. The views expressed in this blog post do not necessarily reflect the views of RFE/RL MOSCOW -- Russian civil-rights activist Mark Galperin has been detained in Moscow. Galperin wrote on Facebook on February 7 that police broke down his apartment door and rushed in before forcibly taking him to a police station. Galperin's lawyer, Ksenia Kostromina, said that her client will be interrogated soon, adding that she did not know the reasons of his detention or the charges he might face. On January 14, Galperin was detained while taking part in a rally to support political prisoners and charged with violating the law on public gatherings and resisting police. He was released two days later. In 2016, Galperin narrowly avoided prosecution for violating a controversial 2014 law criminalizing participation in more than one unsanctioned protest within 180 consecutive days. The only person who was sentenced for violation of that law, Ildar Dadin, has been serving a 2 1/2-year prison term since December 2015. With reporting by TASS The European Court of Human Rights has ordered Russia to pay a group of Russian activists 183,000 euros ($197,300) in compensation for limiting their right to hold public gatherings. The ruling was posted on the court's website on February 7. According to the court decision, Russia must pay between 7,500 euros ($8,000) and 10,000 euros ($10,700) to each of 23 Russian activists, who include human rights defender Lev Ponomaryov and the leader of the Left Front opposition movement, Sergei Udaltsov. The activists had filed the lawsuits against Russia saying that between 2009 and 2012 local authorities in different ways impeded at least 28 of their public gatherings and marches. The court found that the activists' right to hold public gatherings were violated and that they were not provided with means to defend themselves in a legal way. It also ruled that the rights of three of the activists to have fair court hearings were violated. An independent group of Russian filmmakers is protesting what it says are efforts by a State Duma deputy from Russia-annexed Crimea to "censor" a controversial film centered on a love affair between the future Tsar Nicholas II and a young ballerina. Kino Soyuz (Union of Filmmakers) on February 7 published an open letter protesting Duma Deputy Natalya Poklonskaya's calls for investigations of the unreleased film, Matilda, by director Aleksei Uchitel. The protest letter, signed by more than 40 Russian directors, also charges that nationalists belonging to a group called "Orthodox State -- Holy Russia" have been threatening "arson attacks and violent acts against theaters that would dare to show the film." Poklonskaya was the Kremlin-appointed prosecutor-general in Crimea from the time Russia annexed the Ukrainian territory in March 2014 until she was elected to Russia's State Duma in September. She now wants Moscow prosecutors to declare that Uchitel's film violates provisions in Russia's Criminal Code against insulting "the religious feelings of believers." She says the film portrays Tsar Nicholas II -- a canonized Russian Orthodox saint -- as a sinner. 'Drunkards And Fornicators' Poklonskaya also charges that Uchitel wrongly portrays Russia as a country full of "drunkards, gallows, and fornicators." Although Matilda is not scheduled to have its first screening until October 2017, it became mired in controversy after a promotional trailer was released in 2016. The film tells the story of a three-year affair between Crown Prince Nicholas and a teenage ballet dancer named Matilda Kshesinskaya that ended in 1894. After the affair, Nicholas married the German princess who became Empress Aleksandra. Nicholas II was executed together with his entire family after the 1917 Bolshevik coup. They were canonized as Russian Orthodox saints in 2000. A Russian Orthodox Christian and monarchist organization called Tsar's Cross denounced the film project as pornographic and unpatriotic -- leading Poklonskaya in November to demand a criminal investigation. But the Prosecutor-General's Office in Moscow announced in January that it was unable to uncover any evidence suggesting the film might offend religious beliefs. That ruling led more than 20,000 Russian Orthodox activists to petition Russia's Culture Ministry and demand that the film be banned. Bolstered by that petition, Poklonskaya announced on January 30 that she had officially requested that the investigation be reopened. 'Influential Forces' The Russian Orthodox Church and Culture Ministry have not taken any public position on the controversy surrounding the film. On February 7, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said President Vladimir Putin's administration "does not want to take sides" in the dispute. Peskov said debate about whether the film is offensive should take place after it has been publicly screened. The protest letter by Kino Soyuz says independent Russian filmmakers "know very well what censorship is" because of "decades" during the Soviet era that "ruined the destinies and fates of artists and impeded the development of the arts." The letter concludes that Russian culture should "not be pressured by new forms of censorship, no matter what influential forces initiate it." With additional reporting by Interfax, TASS, and RIA Mrs. May has sought to win over Mr. Trump, whom she will visit this week, just as her European counterparts are exploring more fundamental questions about American reliability. The British debate on Trump is over very trivial stuff, like who Trump spoke to before May, and the German debate is over the future of the liberal order in the West, said Mark Leonard, the director of the London-based European Council on Foreign Relations. Frank-Walter Steinmeier, the German foreign minister, wrote in a column this week for the German newspaper Bild that, with Mr. Trumps election, the old world of the 20th century is gone and that Germany could confront drastic changes. Francois Hollande, the French president, said last month that Mr. Trumps election opens a period of uncertainty. British leaders, Mr. Leonard said, have not accepted the view, growing in other European governments, that our prosperity and security are based on an international architecture thats now being threatened. Theres an assumption thats all going to remain, he continued. Since Britains decline from a global power in the years just after World War II, the countrys foreign policy has rested on two pillars. First is the American-British partnership, which allows Britain to project its power and safeguard its interests globally. Second is European unity, which is essential for Britains economic prosperity and, by removing the centuries-old diversions of European conflict, frees up Britain to act on the world stage. But both of those pillars could now be crumbling under the strain of European populism, Russian resurgence and particularly Mr. Trumps threats to step away from Europe. A Difficult Choice Britains challenge is not just that each of those elements is coming under strain. Mr. Trumps avowed opposition to the European Union has put them in direct conflict. For instance, Mr. Trump offered to reward Britains exit from the European Union with a speedy trade deal. But this risks encouraging more exits from the bloc and possibly its disintegration. The resulting turmoil on the Continent, which includes several top British trading partners, could risk harming Britains economy far more than an American trade deal would help. Mr. Trumps proposed alignment with Russia poses a similar quandary. Germany and other leading European powers oppose such a realignment, which they fear would open the way for Russia to dominate Eastern Europe, breaking the Continents unity on security matters. Mrs. May remains hawkish on Russia. But it is unclear whether she would oppose Mr. Trump on the matter, particularly as she more fully ties her fate to the alliance. If America eases up on Russia, Britain will be under heavy pressure to pick the United States, not to side with Merkel, said Robin Niblett, the director of Chatham House, a London-based think tank, referring to Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany. Mrs. May is increasingly focused on maintaining the alliance with the United States, the worlds largest economy and military power. Whereas leaders such as Ms. Merkel have responded sharply to criticism from Mr. Trump, Mrs. May has been more forgiving. For example, she overlooked Mr. Trumps decision to meet with Nigel Farage, a former leader of the fringe U.K. Independence Party, before speaking with her. There Isnt a Plan B Even if Mrs. May succeeds in upholding the alliance, it is unclear that her government is preparing for the range of more seismic changes that Mr. Trumps election and other events could bring. Jeremy Shapiro, an American and the research director for the European Council on Foreign Relations, said he had struggled to convince British officials that the old order is eroding all around them. Mr. Shapiro paraphrased the dominant British view of Mr. Trump as, We didnt want him, but pressures of the presidency, checks and balances, our expert tutelage will socialize him, and itll be O.K. British hopes, he added, often rest on Senator John McCains persuading of Mr. Trump to drop his controversial plans and revert to traditional positions such as upholding European unity. Mr. Shapiro said he had been unable to convince British officials that Mr. McCain, whom Mr. Trump has publicly mocked, was an unlikely savior. Lawrence Freedman, emeritus professor of war studies at Kings College London, said there was a simple reason that British leaders never seemed to discuss their backup plan should they fail to moderate Mr. Trump. There isnt a Plan B, he said. Preparing for life without American support, British leaders worry, could send the message that the United States can safely withdraw, risking exactly the outcome Britain wishes to avoid. This has always been the problem, Mr. Freedman said, because it leaves Britain unprepared for a situation that could be deeply destabilizing much as it failed to prepare for Brexit. Britains Solipsistic Moment Brexit has focused attention inward, on day-to-day political dramas and on the countless challenges of negotiating Britains exit from the European Union. Were going through a very solipsistic moment, Mr. Leonard said. This has led the British to behave as if the only independent variable is Britain leaving the E.U. and the manner in which its done. This is shaping British foreign policy in other ways. Theres always going to be a question of whether were better off using our political capital to advance the international security order or to try to get a good trade deal, Mr. Leonard said. Britains party politics also distract. Mrs. May is only barely holding together the governing Conservative Party, leaving her overwhelmingly focused on managing divisions that are mostly about Brexit and migration. Both she and her foreign secretary, Boris Johnson, have spent their careers focused on domestic issues. The opposition Labour Party is riven by its own divisions. Its leader, Jeremy Corbyn, tends to be skeptical toward Britains global role. As a result, there are no major voices in British politics who have an interest, either ideological or political, in addressing the countrys foreign policy challenges. Narrowing Horizons Britons view of their country as a pillar of a European and world order, rooted in their experience of standing up to fascism and militarism in World War II, is also shifting. Until quite recently, we saw ourselves as part-guarantors of the European order, but we dont sort of see ourselves in that way anymore, said Mr. Freedman, the Kings College professor. This has accelerated with the enmity toward immigration, which has focused politics inward and portrayed the outside world as something to guard against rather than to protect and uphold. That has ramifications beyond Britain. Even after Brexit, the country remains important for upholding the postwar order in Europe, where it is the largest economy after Germany and the biggest military spender after Russia. If its horizons continue to narrow, that will contribute to the Continents continuing fracturing on economics and opposition to Russian power. Mr. Niblett, the Chatham House chief, said he was worried Britain would become the weak link on European sanctions on Russia for its annexation of Crimea. The U.K., which traditionally sees itself as upholding the spine of Europe toward Russia, is pulling itself out of that role, Mr. Niblett said. Other European states are already preparing for the possibility that the Continent can no longer rely on Britain, Mr. Leonard said, on issues from Russia to the Iran nuclear deal to global free trade. They dont know if Britains going to be there or not, he said. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov says he views U.S. President Donald Trump's opinion about the conflict in Ukraine as "a qualitative change" compared to that of Barack Obama. Lavrov told the state-owned news agency TASS on February 7 that Trump's position on the situation in Ukraine is to monitor how the two sides are behaving in the conflict. "The Obama administration...tried to demand everything from us and absolve [Ukrainian President Petro] Poroshenko," Lavrov said. In a recent interview to Fox News, Trump said the United States has insufficient information about the developments in eastern Ukraine. Russia has repeatedly denied involvement in the conflict, despite evidence to the contrary of financial and military assistance to the separatists in eastern Ukraine. Fighting in eastern Ukraine has killed at least 9,750 people since breaking out in 2014, just weeks after Russia illegally annexed Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula. Based on reporting by TASS 2017, it seems, will be no less chaotic than its predecessor -- an aphorism made plain by a mere glance at the state of international politics extending from Paris to Washington. But nowhere is this trend clearer than in that most tumultuous of countries, Syria. The end of 2016 saw the fall of the city of Aleppo, the primary stronghold of the rebels battling Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Now, it appears, the rebels are beginning to turn on one another. On January 26, the Syrian Islamist rebel group Ahrar al-Sham incorporated six other rebel groups into its ranks in northwestern Syria in order to battle Jabhat Fateh al-Sham (JFS), a former Al-Qaeda franchise once known as the Al-Nusra Front. The announcement came just days after JFS attacked Free Syrian Army (FSA) groups west of Aleppo, accusing them of conspiring against it at Russian-backed peace talks in Astana, Kazakhstan, that began in the closing days of January. In reality, JFS's attack is rooted in weakness. Over the summer, as the siege of Aleppo progressed, JFS played an increasingly important role in the defense of the city, using suicide bombers to blow open Assad's front line positions. This forced Russia and Iran to commit more resources to the battle, which eventually turned the tide. Since the Assad coalition's seizure of eastern Aleppo in December, JFS and the rebels in general have found themselves boxed in. Their options are running out. Idlib remains their only major stronghold in northwestern Syria. The more moderate, mainstream factions among the rebels have had a problem since the second summer of the Syrian civil war: Jihadist groups have consistently proved themselves to be the most effective fighting force against Assad. Syrians were initially reluctant to deal with, let alone welcome, forces like JFS, but without sufficient support, groups like the FSA -- made up primarily of former Syrian army officers -- were forced to accommodate the more committed radical groups. Rapid Developments The loss of Aleppo has given JFS a chance to consolidate power. As Hassan Hassan, co-author of the New York Times bestseller, ISIS: Inside The Army Of Terror, and resident fellow at the Tahrir Institute for Middle East Policy, observes: "JFS has sought to bring the rebel forces under one umbrella to run the north, especially focusing on Islamist and jihadist groups like Ahrar al-Sham and Harakat Nourreddin al-Zinki. With the failure of the merger attempts and the loss of eastern Aleppo, JFS wanted to consolidate its dominance in the north by force. So the ongoing campaign by JFS against some rebel forces is designed to clean up these areas to rule what remains of the north. JFS recognizes it is the most powerful and organized group in that region, and that its rivals are incapable of effectively organizing against it." As Hassan further observes, JFS's end game is to ensure that Idlib and surrounding areas do not have the forces capable of eventually turning against it. JFS would usually seek consensus, build alliances, and infiltrate small and big groups to ensure it remains ahead of the curve. But the rapid developments over the past few months have added urgency to its open campaign. These developments include the participation of major groups operating in the north in the Russia-sponsored peace talks that are under way in Astana. As the pro-Assad coalition is building up military and political momentum in northern Syria, JFS cannot afford to continue to play its old game of playing nice with fellow anti-Assad forces. Indeed, things are becoming ever more chaotic in Syria's north. In the city of Azaz, an FSA group, the Levant Front, clashed with the Islamist group Ahrar al-Sham, which reportedly captured its headquarters and some checkpoints, forcing it to withdraw fighters from a battle it was fighting against the extremist group Islamic State (IS) in the neighboring city of Al-Bab. To make matters worse, the fighting prompted Turkey to close the border crossing at Oncupinar, across from the Syrian city of Bab al-Salam -- a critical corridor for Turkish support to certain rebel factions in northern Syria. Rise Of The Jihadists Jihadist groups now stand ascendant among the coalition battling Assad. JFS in particular has spent years ensuring its indispensability to the antiregime effort. Those opposing the JFS are unlikely to succeed in any open war against it. The FSA and associated groups fought against IS in 2014, when they were much stronger -- a campaign that cost them dearly. Those groups simply cannot afford to fight against JFS as well. As it stands, little can stop JFS from near total control of northwestern Syria. All of this is of course a gift to Assad. Not only are the rebels fighting among themselves, and in the process weakening the coalition against him, but the regime can double down on a longstanding propagandist tactic of arguing that it is on the front lines of the battle against Jihadism. "Us or them?" runs the argument: an argument that, though largely fallacious, is being strengthened by the day. Indeed, Turkey -- once seen as the great ally of the FSA and a direct threat to the Assad government -- is now fighting virtually side by side with Syrian soldiers in the campaign against IS in Al-Bab. The regime may be witnessing either a rebel implosion or a jihadist takeover of the opposition, both of which it will welcome with glee. It will help Turkey defeat IS while Al-Qaeda linked groups prosper. This is a calculated move by the Assad regime, which has shown little interest in confronting jihadists of any stripe. As Hassan concludes: "It is important to remember Idlib is small, it is only 1.5 percent of Syrian geography. Northwestern Syria is the only area where Al-Qaeda is dominant, so it is a major battle that the international community should keep its eyes on and try to shape." The views expressed in this blog post do not necessarily reflect the views of RFE/RL DUSHANBE -- Former Dushanbe Mayor Mahmadsaid Ubaidulloev says he has given up his seat in the city's local parliament. Ubaidulloev made the announcement on February 7, less than two weeks after Tajikistan's Anticorruption Agency said it had launched a preliminary investigation into possible embezzlement of state funds by staff members of the mayor's office during his tenure. On January 12, President Emomali Rahmon's eldest son, Rustam Emomali, replaced Ubaidulloev as mayor of Dushanbe. Ubaidulloev, 64, held the post for 19 years. He remains chairman of the parliament's upper chamber, the Majlisi Milli. Rahmon has ruled the poor, predominantly Muslim former Soviet republic since 1992. Rights groups and opponents say he tolerates little dissent and suppresses his critics. A U.S. appeals court will hear testimony on February 7 over whether to restore President Donald Trump's temporary ban on all refugees as well as travelers from seven predominantly Muslim countries. The U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco asked lawyers for the Justice Department and the states of Washington and Minnesota to present their arguments at 3 p.m. local time on whether to keep blocking the travel ban. A Seattle court suspended Trump's immigration order on February 3, opening a window for people from Iran, Iraq, Syria, Yemen, Libya, Somalia, and Sudan -- the countries named in the ban -- to enter the United States. Trump was confident on February 7 that the ban would be reinstated by the courts. "We're going to take it through the system," he said. "It's very important, it's very important for the country regardless of me or whoever succeeds at a later date. We have to have security in our country." Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly said on February 7 in Washington that the United States is not considering adding other countries to the executive order. He told lawmakers in a congressional committee that the travel ban is not a Muslim ban and "is a pause right now as we sort these issues out." Several Democratic Party members on the House of Representatives committee used the term "Muslim ban" in asking Kelly questions. The retired general also admitted that he would have liked Trump officials to have delayed the announcement of the travel ban until he had a chance to alert congressional members about it. Kelly added that the ban -- set to last for between three and four months -- would enhance safety "for all our citizens." The lawsuit against the executive order has triggered an outpouring of opposition to the Trump order from more than a dozen U.S. states, former top diplomats, law enforcement officials, and global technology companies. In a brief filed late on February 6, the Justice Department argued for limiting the court order blocking Trump's travel ban, saying it is too broad and should be narrowed to permit entry only for people who were already granted entry to the country and were temporarily abroad, or those who want to leave and return to the United States. Trump insists his order is needed to protect the nation against terrorism, while opponents say it is unconstitutional in barring entry on the basis of religion. Furious Response Moreover, lawyers for Washington and Minnesota told the appeals court that reinstating Trump's temporary travel ban would "unleash chaos again" in the nation's airports, businesses, and families. The Seattle judge's order received a furious response from Trump, who warned on February 5 that the courts could be placing Americans in "peril." Speaking at U.S. Central Command headquarters in Tampa, Florida, on February 6, Trump defended the order. "Radical Islamic terrorists are determined to strike our homeland as they did on 9/11," he said. "We need strong programs for people who love our country," Trump said, adding that "people who want to destroy us and destroy our country" should not be allowed in. The White House, meanwhile, is confident that it will prevail, spokesman Sean Spicer told reporters on February 6. "Clearly the law is on the president's side," he said aboard Air Force One. "He has broad discretion to do what's in the nation's best interest to protect our people, and we feel very confident that we will prevail in this matter." The filing by lawyers for Washington state included a declaration by former top U.S. officials -- including former U.S. Secretaries of State John Kerry and Madeleine Albright -- expressing their concerns about Trumps order, which they called "ill-conceived, poorly implemented, and ill-explained." They added that the order harms national security, saying "we risk placing our military efforts at risk by sending an insulting message" to Iraqis working with U.S. forces battling the extremist Islamic State (IS) group there. "The order will likely feed the recruitment narrative of [IS] and other extremists that portray the United States as at war with Islam," they also said. Lawyers for prominent U.S. technology companies such as Apple, Google, and Microsoft also lodged arguments with the appeals court in San Francisco, arguing that Trumps order "inflicts significant harm on American business." Late on February 4, the court turned down a Department of Justice request to reinstate the ban and instead asked the sides to file more arguments. The court is expected to act quickly, and a decision either way may ultimately result in the case reaching the U.S. Supreme Court. With reporting by AFP, Reuters, AP, and The New York Times German Chancellor Angela Merkel has urged Russian President Vladimir Putin to use his influence on separatists in eastern Ukraine to stop the violence there, a German government spokesman says. At least 35 people were killed in a week of escalated fighting between Ukrainian government forces and Russia-backed separatists in the countrys east. In a telephone call on February 7, both leaders voiced hope the fighting would soon come to an end, spokesman Steffen Seibert said in a statement. "To this end, the German chancellor appealed to the Russian president to use his influence on the separatists," Seibert added. "The German chancellor and the Russian president agreed that new efforts must be made to secure a cease-fire and asked foreign ministers and their advisers to remain in close contact," he also said. Meanwhile, the Kremlin said Putin and Merkel called for an immediate restoration of the cease-fire in eastern Ukraine during the phone call. "Serious concerns were expressed in connection with the escalation of the armed conflict resulting in human losses," a statement said. According to UN figures, more than 9,800 people have been killed in the conflict since April 2014. Based on reporting by Reuters and AP Estimados amigos, Les doy cordialmente la bienvenida a este Blog informativo con articulos, analisis y comentarios de publicaciones especializadas y especialmente seleccionadas, principalmente sobre temas economicos, financieros y politicos de actualidad, que esperamos y deseamos, sean de su maximo interes, utilidad y conveniencia. Pensamos que solo comprendiendo cabalmente el presente, es que podemos proyectarnos acertadamente hacia el futuro. Las convicciones son mas peligrosos enemigos de la verdad que las mentiras. There are decades when nothing happens and there are weeks when decades happen. You only find out who is swimming naked when the tide goes out. No soy alguien que sabe, sino alguien que busca. Only Gold is money. Everything else is debt. Las grandes almas tienen voluntades; las debiles tan solo deseos. Quien no lo ha dado todo no ha dado nada. History repeats itself, first as tragedy, second as farce. If you know the other and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. We are travelers on a cosmic journey, stardust, swirling and dancing in the eddies and whirlpools of infinity. Life is eternal. We have stopped for a moment to encounter each other, to meet, to love, to share.This is a precious moment. It is a little parenthesis in eternity. Register for more free articles. Sign up for our newsletter to keep reading. Nine years ago today in Kirkwood, Mo., a disgruntled Charles Lee Cookie Thornton shot and killed a police officer outside City Hall and took the officers gun. Entering the council chambers, he fatally shot another police officer, the citys public works director and two council members, and wounded the mayor (who died seven months later) and a newspaper reporter before being slain by police. A gun has no place near the passions and festering resentments that can erupt when citizens are unhappy with their government. But Virginia lawmakers are unbothered by this potentially volatile mix where state localities are concerned. The Richmond City Council appears poised to reopen the media gallery in the Council Chamber, as it should. The gallery, which sits directly behind the seats of four council members, was closed in the aftermath of an altercation between an activist in the gallery and a council staff member. It should not have been closed in the first place. But reopening it is no panacea for potential threats to council members. The council closed off the media gallery after an April 2014 incident in which activist Chris Dorsey was forcibly removed from the council chambers after Steve Skinner, the councils public information manager, questioned why he was in the gallery. Dorsey, a strident council critic and former candidate for sheriff, was filming the meeting with a hand-held video camera. His presence in the gallery might have attracted little attention except for the knowledge that he tended to attend public meetings wearing a handgun. Councilwoman Reva Trammell, who questioned at the time why Dorsey had been approached by council staff instead of police, said council members sitting with their backs turned to the media gallery were sitting ducks. Prior to that confrontation, there was no reason for council members to feel endangered by the gallery and the news professionals who populated it. That single event should not inform the relationship between the council and the media going forward. On Monday, the matter was slated for the agenda of the councils Organizational Development Standing Committee. I think its important to have the press where they can have access to outlets and be able to hear whats going on and be close up, said Councilwoman Kimberly Gray, a member of the Governmental Operations Standing Committee, which has recommended that the gallery be reopened. The media serve as a mechanism for members of the public who cant attend meetings to learn whats going on, and its really important not to hinder their work, she said. Gray, a former member of the Richmond School Board, said media members were allowed to sit in the gallery on occasions when the board met in the council chambers instead of the boards meeting room. Theres never been an instance where I didnt feel safe, she said, adding that board meetings had lighter security than council meetings. Closing off one section of the council chambers sidestepped the potential pitfalls created by permitting firearms in local government meetings in the first place. Politics is a passionate sport. One doesnt have to search long to find incidents in which an action by a public body was a catalyst for a fevered mind to act out violently. Now is not the time for the City Council to send a signal, however unintentional, that the media is an enemy that its members dare not turn their back on. The relationship between elected officials and the Fourth Estate has a naturally adversarial component that is healthy in a democracy. The mere suggestion that either party in Richmond would act out with deadly force against the other is unfathomable. The council is taking the wise step of defining who the news media is as a means of limiting access to the gallery. It has drafted recommendations to require news media to be vetted and to meet certain behaviors of decorum. As it is, the Virginia Press Association issues press credentials to journalists who are bona fide employees of Virginia newspapers in cooperation with the Virginia State Police. Definitions of what constitutes the news media are more fluid in the internet era, but the council should be able to weed out the responsible journalists and watchdogs from the poseurs. I must say, however, that Im less worried about who is allowed in the media gallery than what is allowed in the council chambers. Its an unwise and unsound public policy to allow civilians to carry firearms into a government meeting. The council members worried about being sitting ducks at the mercy of media members behind them should feel no comfort at the sight of an apoplectic citizen approaching the mic wearing a sidearm. Of course, on this point, Im preaching to a choir thats handcuffed by the Virginia General Assembly. Simply put, localities are forbidden to adopt laws of any kind to restrict firearms or even ammunition for firearms, said Richmond City Attorney Allen Jackson. He was referring to Section 15.2-915 of the Code of Virginia, which prohibits localities from adopting or enforcing any ordinance, resolution or motion governing the purchase, possession, transfer, ownership, carrying, storage or transporting of firearms and ammunition. The code section even goes so far as to invalidate any local ordinance adopted prior to its effective date. State Sen. John S. Edwards, a Roanoke Democrat, sought to amend that section during the 2017 General Assembly session to allow localities to adopt ordinances prohibiting firearms and ammunition at any regular or special meeting of such local governing body, provided notice of such prohibition is publicly posted and the meeting room is owned or operated by the locality. The bill failed to advance along party lines. The state legislature likes to dictate to localities what they can or cannot do with firearms. But during my visits to the state Capitol or General Assembly Building, I walk through a metal detector and Im routinely inspected with a hand wand before being allowed into the building. And the Virginia Senate bans firearms in its public gallery looking over the chambers floor. City Council members enjoy no such protection in a state where fealty to gun rights and the gun lobby is apparently more important than the safety of all at local government meetings. Until common sense prevails, these folks are potential sitting ducks. Authorities in Lunenburg County are searching for a 64-year-old Green Bay woman who has depression and anxiety. Alice Ruth Howard, who drives a 2011 Toyota Camry with handicap plate 59992HP, was last seen about 10 a.m. Monday at Priors Country Store in the Nutbush area of Lunenburg, the countys Sheriffs Office said. Howard is 5 feet 7 inches tall, weighs about 170 pounds and has brown hair and eyes. She was last seen wearing gray pants, a sweatshirt with 00 on the back and white shoes. Anyone who sees Howard is asked to call the Lunenburg Sheriffs Office at (434) 696-4452. Anthony Bourdain was profiled in an excellent The New Yorker piece this week which, among other things, rubbed salt in a gaping Obama-shaped wound by detailing some of the former President's sit-down with the insatiable world traveler in Vietnam last year. The piece, which is worth a read in its entirety, digs into everything from Bourdain's largely stationary childhood in New Jersey to his wild druggie days to his current status as a global taste-tester. Here are a few highlights: Bourdain is a better "ambassador for the culinary profession" than he is a creative chef: Alan Richman, the restaurant critic at GQ, who is a champion of white-tablecloth haute cuisine, told me that Les Halles was not a particularly good restaurant when he was cooking there, and it got worse when he stopped. This seemed a little unfair: I frequented Les Halles before it closed, in 2016, and until the end it was rowdy and reliable, with a good frisee salad and a sturdy cassoulet. But it was never a standout restaurant. Bourdain used to genuflect like a fanboy before innovative chefs such as Eric Ripert, of Le Bernardin. On page 5 of Kitchen Confidential, he joked that Ripert, whom he had never met, wont be calling me for ideas on todays fish special. After the book came out, Bourdain was in the kitchen at Les Halles one day, when he got a phone call. It was Ripert, inviting him to lunch. Today, they are best friends, and Ripert often plays the straight man to Bourdain on Parts Unknown. A recent episode in Chengdu, China, consisted largely of shots of a flushed and sweaty Ripert being subjected to one lethally spicy dish after another while Bourdain discoursed on the mouth-numbing properties of Sichuan pepper and took jocular satisfaction in his friends discomfort. Ripert said of Bourdain, I have cooked side by side with him. He has the speed. He has the precision. He has the skill. He has the flavor. The food tastes good. He hesitated. Creativity-wise . . . I dont know. Over the years, Bourdain has regularly been approached about opening his own restaurant, and these offers might have yielded him a fortune. But he has always declined, mindful, perhaps, that his renown as a bard of the kitchen might be difficult to equal in the kitchen itself. Bourdain elaborated that the market should bring to mind Blade Runnerhigh-end retail as grungy, polyglot dystopia. When Bourdain was growing up, his father used to rent a 16-mm. projector and show movies by Stanley Kubrick and Mel Brooks. Ive never met anyone who has this catalogue of films in his head, one of his longtime cameramen, Zach Zamboni, told me. A Rome episode of No Reservations made black-and-white allusion to Fellini. The Buenos Aires episode on Parts Unknown was a nod to Happy Together, by Wong Kar-wai. Most viewers are unlikely to catch such references, but for Bourdain that is not the point. When other cinematographers like it, that feels good, he said. Its just like cookingwhen the other cooks say, Nice plate. Its kind of not about the customers. The producer Lydia Tenaglia, who, along with her husband, Chris Collins, recruited Bourdain to television for A Cooks Tour, and now runs Zero Point Zero, told me that part of the reason Bourdains experience is so often refracted through films is that, until middle age, he had seen so little of the world. Books and films, that was what he knewwhat he had read in Graham Greene, what he had seen in Apocalypse Now. At the time, Bourdain was in a new relationship. Eric Ripert had recently set him up with a young Italian woman named Ottavia Busia, who was a hostess at one of Riperts restaurants. She and Bourdain both worked incessantly, but Ripert figured that they might find time to enjoy a one-night stand. On their second date, Busia and Bourdain got matching tattoos of a chefs knife. Eight months later, Bourdain returned, shaken, from Beirut, and they talked about having children. Lets spin the wheel, Busia told him, adding, dubiously, Your sperm is old, anyway. Their daughter, Ariane, was born in April, 2007, and they were married eleven days later. Bourdain bought his first bag of heroin on Rivington Street in 1980, and plunged into addiction with his usual gusto. When I started getting symptoms of withdrawal, I was proud of myself, he told me. Addiction, like the kitchen, was a marginal subculture with its own rules and aesthetics. For Bourdain, an admirer of William S. Burroughs, heroin held a special allure. In 1980, he says, he copped every day. But eventually he grew disenchanted with the addicts life, because he hated being at the mercy of others. Getting ripped off, running from the cops, he recalled. Im a vain person. I didnt like what I saw in the mirror. Bourdain ended up on methadone, but he resented the indignities of the regimen: being unable to leave town without permission, waiting in line to pee in a cup. He quit cold turkey, around 1987, but spent several more years addicted to cocaine. I just bottomed out on crack, he recalled. Occasionally, between fixes, he would find himself digging paint chips out of the carpet in his apartment and smoking them, on the off chance that they were pebbles of crack. Things grew so bad that Bourdain recalls once sitting on a blanket on Broadway at Christmastime, with his beloved record collection laid out for sale. Given Bourdains braggadocio, there were times when I wondered if the bad years were quite as grim as he makes them sound. There are romantics, and then there are the hard-core addicts, Karen Rinaldi said. I think Tony was more of a romantic. Nancy Putkoski told me in an e-mail that Tony is pretty dramatic. She wrote, It does look pretty bleak in the rearview mirror. But, when youre living it, its just your life. You struggle through. Once, Bourdain was riding in a taxi with three friends, having just scored heroin on the Lower East Side. He announced that he had recently read an article about the statistical likelihood of getting off drugs. Only one in four has a chance at making it, he said. An awkward silence ensued. Years later, in Kitchen Confidential, Bourdain pointed out that he made it and his friends had not. I was the guy. Bourdain is comfortable being seen as a purveyor of escapism; he is less comfortable with the responsibility that attends the shows more serious material. In an episode set in Laos, he ate freshwater fish and bamboo shoots with a man who had lost an arm and a leg when a U.S. explosive, left over from the war, detonated. In Hanoi, one of Obamas staffers told him that, until the episode aired, some people in the White House had been unaware of the extent of the unexploded-ordnance problem in Laos. Very casually, he said, So I guess you do some good after all, Bourdain recalled. Im a little embarrassed. I feel like Bono. I dont want to be that guy. The show is always about me. I would be bullshitting you if I said I was on some mission. Im not. Nevertheless, Bourdain knows that most viewers who caught his Congo episode had read little about the conflicts there. I was reminded of how Jon Stewart, whenever someone observed that many young people got their news from The Daily Show, protested, unpersuasively, that he was just a comedian cracking jokes. Bourdains publisher, Dan Halpern, said, Whether he likes it or not, hes become a statesman. But in Normandy he found that he couldnt write. His body was itchy and swollen from the rash, and he had a throbbing pain in his head. Because he looked hideous, he left the villa only after dark, like a vampire. Finally, Bourdain sought out a French doctor, who gave him a battery of painkillers and anti-inflammatories. After impulsively swallowing a weeks supply, Bourdain realized that he had not eaten in thirty-six hours. He drove to a cafe in a nearby town, Arachon, and ordered spaghetti and a bottle of Chianti. He was halfway through the wine when he realized that he was sweating through his clothes. Then he blacked out. When he woke up, Bourdain was lying with his feet in the cafe and his head in the street. A waiter was rifling through his pockets, in search of a drivers license, as if to identify a corpse. Bourdains father had died suddenly, at fifty-seven, from a stroke, and Bourdain often thinks about dying; more than once, he told me that, if he got a bad chest X-ray, he would happily renew his acquaintance with heroin. Taking meds and booze on an empty stomach was just a foolish mistake, but it left him shaken. He stood up, reassured the startled onlookers, drove back to the villa, and immediately wrote a long e-mail to Nancy Putkoski. When I asked him what he wrote, Bourdain paused and said, The sort of thing you write if you, you know, thought you were going to die. Im fucking sorry. Im sure Ive acted like I wasnt. Weve had very little contactyou know, civil, but very, very little. Im sorry. I know that doesnt help. It wont fix it, theres no making amends. But its not like I dont remember. Its not like I dont know what Ive done. You can read the whole thing online. GREER, Eli Thomas, of Mechanicsville, passed away February 4, 2017. We know he is at peace in heaven. He is survived by his loving parents, Michael and Heather; his brother, Luke; sister, Ainsley; and a large, loving extended family. Eli was dearly loved and will be deeply missed by his family and many friends. He had such a unique personality and sense of humor that was appreciated by so many. Eli had a big heart and was taken much too soon. The family will receive friends Wednesday, February 8, 2017, 5 to 6:30 p.m., at Three Chopt Church of Christ, 9500 Three Chopt Rd., followed by a Celebration of Life at 6:37 p.m. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to CKGfoundation.org for SpeakUp programs. MCMUNN, Michael O'Neill (Mike) DDS, January 16, 1947 - February 2, 2017. Selflessly devoted to his faith and family. Dentist. Mentor. Veteran. Professor. Volunteer. Doc. Mike. Despite the enormity of his professional accolades and personal virtues, "Servant of God" was the title Dr. McMunn considered most treasured. His family, friends, dental patients, and the greater Richmond community all knew him to be that and so much more. A practitioner of General Dentistry since 1978 and Founding President of the Virginia Academy of Dental Sleep Medicine, Dr. McMunn served in every way possible: Bronze Star recipient in the U.S. Army, Associate Clinical Professor at VCU's School of Dentistry and Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, former Grand Knight of the Knights of Columbus Council 11533, and former President of the MCV Alumni Association. He was instrumental in the development of the Mission of Mercy project that provides dental care to the medically under-served communities in Western Virginia. He loved dentistry and working with his incredible team to serve patients that spanned generations in his 39-year practice. A lifelong learner, Dr. McMunn graduated from Edinboro University in 1968 before attending the Medical College of Virginia and completing a General Practice Residency at the Michael Reese Medical Center. He enjoyed staying current with advancements in the fields of dentistry and sleep medicine, which led to his earning the credentials of Master, Academy of General Dentistry (MAGD); Diplomate, American Board of Dental Sleep Medicine; and Fellow, American College of Dentistry. He also belonged to the International College of Dentistry, Pierre Fauchard Society, and International College of Oral Implantology. The son of the late David James McMunn and Genevieve Hauck McMunn, Dr. McMunn was born on January 16, 1947, in Pittsburgh, Pa. He is survived by his high school sweetheart, Kristine Kiefer McMunn, to whom he was married for 47 years. The proud father of Molly Kristine Korte (Brian) and Michael O'Neill McMunn Jr. (Heather), he was grandfather to seven grandchildren, ages 2 to 6, who have almost as much energy as he did. He is also survived by brothers, David (Susan), Charles Anthony "Tony" (Pat) and John; sisters, Annabelle Bierbaum (Dr. Ben), Genevieve Mason (Gil) and Mary Heather McMunn; and numerous nieces and nephews. The family will receive friends 1 to 3 p.m. and 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Thursday, February 9, at Bliley's-Central, 3801 Augusta Ave., where a Christian Wake will be held at 7:30 p.m. A Funeral Mass will be offered on Friday, February 10, at 11 a.m., St. Benedict Catholic Church, 300 N. Sheppard St., Richmond, Va. 23221. In lieu of flowers, please donate to St. Benedict Catholic Church, the VCU-MCV Dental School Class of 1977 Scholarship Fund, or the David J. and Genevieve McMunn Endowment Fund at Virginia Commonwealth University's School of Dentistry. Richmonds official thermometer hit 74 degrees Tuesday afternoon, beating the previous record high of 70 from Feb. 7, 2008. Its the warmest weather since November, and the area will get an encore performance today. Record highs were also set Tuesday afternoon in Washington, D.C.; Baltimore; Lynchburg; Danville; and Roanoke. This morning will be unusually mild for February with lows dropping only into the upper 50s or lower 60s around the Richmond region. Expect another afternoon with lower to mid-70s, just about as warm as Tuesday afternoon was. 75 is the record high to beat from Feb. 8, 1925. The warmth will abruptly come to an end on Thursday as temperatures drop from the 50s to the 30s during the day. A low that will bring rain to Virginia tonight will develop into a noreaster as it heads out to sea on Thursday. The system will bring snow from West Virginia to Maine, and possibly even parts of Northern Virginia. Farther south, the Richmond metro area is unlikely to have a threat for accumulating snow, but there is a moderate chance to see some snowflakes for a brief time. A few snowflakes may mix with the rain showers as they taper off on Thursday morning, but the air temperature and ground temperature will be well above freezing. Theres a slightly better chance for the Northern Neck to see that changeover. Thursday looks to be a mostly dry day for the Richmond area as a strong northwest breeze brings colder and drier air. Some snow flurries could drift through the region on Thursday afternoon and evening, but they will be light, brief and hit-or-miss. Friday will feel like winter again with lower to mid-20s in the morning and a high only near 40. We rely on your support to make local news available to all Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2022. Donate today A Place for All Conservatives to Speak Their Mind. Virginias House of Delegates narrowly approved legislation Monday that would cut down on the number of days students can be suspended from school. The House without any discussion approved HB 1534 by a vote of 51-46 and HB 1536 by a vote of 49-47. The bills look to change how districts in the state deal with student discipline by addressing issues in the controlled environment rather than sending kids out of the classroom for long periods. But critics have said that the legislation makes it more difficult for school officials and administrators to control behavior, effectively tying their hands. Your schools today are not your grandfathers schools, said Del. Lee Ware, R-Powhatan. The problems they face arent the problems your grandmother and grandfather faced or that we faced. These are some serious problems of discipline. Ware spoke Friday during a House discussion specifically on HB 1534 but said the sentiment applied to both bills. HB 1534 calls for reducing the maximum length of a long-term suspension from 364 calendar days to 90 school days. The bill originally called for suspensions not to extend beyond 45 days. A Senate version of the measure, SB 995, calls for a maximum suspension of 60 school days. HB 1536 would prohibit students in preschool through third grade from being expelled or suspended for more than five days except for drug offenses, firearm offenses or certain criminal acts. The bill originally called for keeping preschool through fifth grade students from being suspended or expelled. A Senate version, SB 997, would give schools leeway to go up to 10 days if the incident involves a weapon, inappropriate sexual behavior or serious bodily injury. Del. Dickie Bell, R-Staunton, who sponsored the House legislation, argued Friday that if approved the legislation would not keep students with behavior issues in the classrooms. Rather, the aim is to get schools and districts to help students with problems and prevent them from getting in further trouble. Proponents of suspensions and expulsion reform say sending students home and keeping them from the structured environment of school makes things worse. Students fall further behind and are more likely to drop out of school or land in the juvenile justice system. Bell said of suspensions: If thats the only tool in your toolbox, youre not going to fix much. LOVINGSTON More than a year after lawsuits were filed, a judge on Monday ruled Atlantic Coast Pipeline LLC will be allowed to survey land belonging to 29 Nelson County landowners without their permission. After hours of arguments Monday afternoon, Nelson County Circuit Court Judge Michael Garrett ruled Virginia law allows ACP to enter the defendants properties for surveying purposes. Were pleased with the courts ruling. The judge today reached the same conclusion that every other state and federal court thats looked at this issue has reached, and that is that we have the right to perform these surveys and that they are necessary to choose the best route with the least possible impact on landowners and the environment, said Aaron Ruby, a spokesman for Dominion, which is heading the $5 billion, 600-mile project that would cut through West Virginia, Virginia and North Carolina. We appreciate the tremendous thought and consideration the judge gave to these cases. He was very thorough and gave all sides the opportunity to present their case. Garretts ruling was based on his interpretation of the word and in the section of the Virginia code that reads in part: Any firm, corporation, company, or partnership, organized for the bona fide purpose of operating as a natural gas company may make such surveys for its proposed line or location of its works as are necessary (i) to satisfy any regulatory requirements and (ii) for the selection of the most advantageous location or route, the improvement or straightening of its line or works, changes of location or construction, or providing additional facilities Lawyers for the 29 landowners argued and should be strictly interpreted as conjunctive, meaning ACP would be required to comply with both the satisfy any regulatory requirements and the selection of the most advantageous location or route portions of the code. Garrett, however, said he believes the code says natural gas companies can survey without landowners permission as long as they do so for at least one of the two purposes. We thought thats what it would come down to, said Chuck Lollar, a defense attorney representing several Nelson landowners, and we were hoping he would read and to mean a-n-d, just like you learned in elementary school. ACP lawyers argued Monday the surveys were important in finding the best route with the least impact on the environment and landowners. Mike Derdeyn, an attorney representing several of the defendants, argued if Garrett ruled both portions of the code had to be satisfied, ACP would have had to do more to prove surveys are needed to satisfy requirements of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission review process. Garrett also denied a motion by Lollar and defense attorney Ben Perdue that sought to keep Atlantic Coast Pipeline surveyors from entering their clients properties until the Virginia Supreme Court hands down its rulings in other ACP surveying appeals, which have not been scheduled yet. Surveys of the 29 properties should take place in February, Ruby said. The 29 landowners already were sent notices with dates on which surveyors intend to enter the properties, so they know were going to be there, Ruby said. In another pipeline case heard separately Monday, Garrett ruled again in favor of the Atlantic Coast Pipeline, which will allow the company to survey land belonging to Wintergreen Country Store off Virginia 151 in Nellysford. Several more Atlantic Coast Pipeline surveying lawsuits involving Nelson landowners have yet to be heard. Pipeline opponents rallied Monday outside the courthouse. About 50 people displayed handmade, anti-pipeline signs ahead of the hearing as a show of support for the landowners involved in the surveying lawsuits. Wisteria Johnson, another of the 29 defendants, said after the hearing the ruling dealt a blow to her familys history. Were way back in the mountain. My ancestors chose to stay back in the mountain so they could stay out of all this, and the pipeline is now coming through our property, Johnson said. My family for generations has been struggling to hold onto a little piece of mountain. These people with their suits and their ties are coming in, and theyre invading it. The ACP currently is being reviewed by FERC, which has said it will make a final decision on whether to authorize the pipeline by late September. After being unable last month to decide whether to keep Charlottesvilles statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee in the citys central square or move it to McIntire Park, the City Council on Monday voted to relocate the statue. The motion passed on a 3-2 vote, with Mayor Mike Signer and Councilor Kathy Galvin voting against relocating the statue. In his remarks before the vote, Councilor Bob Fenwick, who deadlocked the council after casting an abstention vote last month to move the statue and, in a separate motion, voting against re-contextualizing the statue in place, the first-term councilor and Army veteran welcomed whatever legal challenges may come as a result of the vote. If you think death threats will stop me, you must not know my background. Ive been through much worse, Fenwick said. Im aware a lawsuits been threatened. Id welcome one. The motion that passed Monday requires city management staff to provide within the next 60 days recommendations for how the statue can be moved. The councils decision follows months of public discussion on the matter, after Councilor Wes Bellamy last March called the statue of Lee to be removed, citing members of the community who feel it is culturally offensive and a symbol of white supremacy. Last fall, a community commission convened by the council decided to recommend the statues of Lee and Confederate Gen. Thomas Stonewall Jackson be re-contextualized either in McIntire Park or in their current locations. After six months of public forums and commission meetings, a majority of the members on the Blue Ribbon Commission on Race, Memorials and Public Spaces expressed a preference for moving the Lee statue, but keeping the Jackson monument in place. Much like the last City Council meeting, tensions spiked at various moments Monday evening at one point, John Heyden, an outspoken critic of the proposal to move the statue, was removed from the meeting after an outburst. Although the majority of speakers during the meetings preliminary public comment period voiced displeasure with the proposal to move the statue, the crowd response was loud, mixed with cheers and jeers. Visually, blue signs that said remove the statue contrasted signs that had an image of the statue, which said save history. During the public comment period, Jalane Schmidt, a University of Virginia professor, compared the protest against President Donald Trumps refugee and travel executive orders to the statue debate, saying theres an empathy gap. These African-American refugees of previous generations were driven from our town. They found no sanctuary city here in Charlottesville. And in the 1920s, leading white citizens contempt for black humanity was enshrined in Charlottesvilles public spaces, she said. These monuments prompted and still perpetuate a romantic false narrative of the Lost Cause, which erases the memory of the enslaved majority. Most of the speakers who followed, however, spoke in favor of keeping the statues. Kenneth Jackson, who is African-American, argued that the controversy surrounding the statues is a new phenomenon that is being perpetuated unnecessarily. I can tell yall, we didnt have these issues. We grew up together. I used to walk through every neighborhood, he said. Dont play black folks for a fool. This disgusts me and youre supposed to be our leaders? Our parents didnt hate the statue. Prior to voting to relocate the statue, the council agreed to consider a separate motion to rename Lee Park. The council had not voted on that proposal as of press time. The annual Investing in African Mining Indaba, which is considered one of the continents largest gathering of mining companies, investors and government representatives, commenced Monday in Cape Town, South Africa. The 2017 Mining Indaba theme was Leveraging the next wave of growth: How can you invest in African mining to make long-term profits? Organisers of the event said that discussions would be around examining the signs of a rebound in the mining sector, especially in commodities like gold and battery metals. Governments, investors and mining companies will be focused on developing strategies to invest in African Mining beyond the current mining cycle, the organisers said. The current market offers opportunities for organisations to take a hard look at how they do business and what they can do to improve efficiencies of operations, to evaluate how best to make investments into the mining sector while mitigating associated risks, and to identify the partnerships that will be critical to the future development and acceptance of mining in the years to come. More than 6,000 professionals from mining companies, investment firms, governments, and providers of mining and professional services were attending the four-day event. Mathew Nyaungwa, Editor in Chief of the African Bureau, from Cape Town, South Africa, Rough&Polished Botswana Diamonds said it has entered into an option and earn in agreement with Vutomi Mining and Razorbill Properties, a private diamond exploration and development firm in South Africa. Vutomi had a portfolio of more than 20 high interest kimberlites, many of which were diamondiferous spanning the Limpopo, North-West and Free State Provinces of South Africa. These kimberlites were housed in 10 prospecting rights encompassing over 50,000 hectares. The flagship project, Frischgewaagt, was in the Limpopo Province 300km north of Johannesburg and was immediately adjacent to the Marsfontein Mine which was previously operated by De Beers. The sampling programme, which was undertaken in 2016, yielded a raw diamond value of $180/ct from 247 carats and kimberlite intersections. Botswana Diamonds had agreed to pay Vutomi a total of 942,000 in cash, of which 581,000 would be used to fund exploration activities. In addition, the company would issue 100 million ordinary shares of 0.25p each to Vutomi shareholders, after which the company would own 72 percent of Vutomi. Botswana Diamonds chairperson John Teeling said the opportunity to collaborate with Vutomi was too good an opportunity to pass up. With luck and good work we could, within one year, take this late-stage exploration project to a level where we will have a good idea of commerciality, he said. We are currently drilling the prime prospect and will have better indications of size and grade within the next quarter. We know already from the exploration work that we have kimberlites and that they contain diamonds. Now we need to see whether there are enough diamonds of the right quality to deliver a viable mine. The indications are good. Meanwhile, Teeling said the next phase of fieldwork in the Alrosa/BOD joint venture in Orapa and Gope would begin in March 2017. We are actively in discussions with the shareholders in the Maibwe joint venture. The earlier very good results need verification and we have offered to drill, he said. Mathew Nyaungwa, Editor in Chief of the African Bureau, from Cape Town, South Africa, Rough&Polished Karelian Diamond Resources plc (Karelian) announced that it has received results from sampling undertaken by the Geological Survey of Finland on behalf of the company. A diamond was discovered in one of seven samples from the Kuhmo region of Eastern Finland. The diamond is a clear, pale green dodecahedron and measures 0.7 x 0.75 x 0.7 mm. This is significant because the diamond discovery allied with high concentrations of Kimberlitic Indicator Minerals discovered in the area strongly suggest that a diamondiferous kimberlite is present. The samples will go for further analysis. Professor Richard Conroy, Chairman, Karelian Diamond Resources plc commented: This is very exciting news to find such a diamond in till which is a very rare event and makes me very excited about the potential of the area and the discovery of the source of this diamond. Alex Shishlo, Editor of the Rough&Polished European Bureau in Brussels At a Finance Seminar held yesterday on the sidelines of the 2017 Presidents Meeting in Mumbai, which began on Sunday, discussions were held on topics related to financing challenges facing the global diamond trade and possible solutions, including alternative forms of credit, according to a press note from WFDB.Addressing the seminar, WFDB President Ernie Blom said the meeting aimed to lay out the reasons that the diamond trade finds it increasingly difficult to secure credit and possible solutions that had not been discussed by diamantaires in the past. Blom spoke about the withdrawal of some banks from the diamond industry in recent years and the difficulty that diamond companies face in securing credit due to some financial institutions believing that it is a high-risk sector. It was against this background that the diamond financing seminar and roundtable discussion had been organised, he commented. "We simply cannot afford any longer for the current situation to continue. Our members want action and we are committed as their representatives to work to provide answers to their demands. Our industry depends on it. This seminar will investigate the reasons for the lack of financing available. It will search for the answers as to why current solutions have not been fully successful. "We would like to find out which additional financing institutions are available to us. And, related to that, alternative financing techniques and how these could bring extra liquidity to the diamond trade which is so badly needed. This means bringing new financing organisations into the dialogue which have not been involved with diamond financing in the past. Beyond this, we would like to establish a regular and ongoing dialogue with banks and other credit providers to develop financial solutions for the diamond industry."Blom added that a programme to take the issue forward following the meeting was needed, including finance seminars in Antwerp, Tel Aviv and New York, online information and courses to reach out to all members of individual diamond bourses and the development of financing and risk management tools to help the diamantaires to improve their own risk profile and access to financing. Blom said that the diamond industry was working to ensure that it was in full compliance with regulatory requirements, and that he was optimistic that diamantaires would realise the importance of doing so and move ahead to bring this about.Bharat Diamond Bourse President Anoop Mehta said that the diamond industry is one of the safest in the world. "The small and medium-size firms, which have been hit by demonetisation, may not be up to date with the measures needed, but we are holding seminars for them to provide the information needed by the banks to ensure they will be in line with requirements."GJEPC Chairman Praveenshankar Pandya said the diamond industry has to commit to new levels of transparency and to be more forthcoming. "The banks have been supportive, but they must show us the next level needed because the industry has grown in India and we would like to create a committee with the banks to enable a dialogue with them to allow them to have full confidence in the industry. We also believe there should be a uniform rate of interest for diamond firms because now there is a range of 6-7%, and there needs to be a level playing field."Among the other speakers were former Diamond Trading Company CEO Varda Shine and ABN Amro's Head of Diamond & Jewellery Clients, Erik Jens, who spoke about the nature of the financing challenges facing the diamond trade. After a weak holiday season, Tiffany is shaking up its management team in an attempt to turn the difficult corner in sales. The appointment of Michael Kowalski, who is Tiffanys Chairman of the Board and ex-CEO, to replace Frederic Cumenal on an interim basis at the companys helm was the latest and unexpected move after Reed Krakoff stepped in to supersede Francesca Amfitheatrof as Tiffanys chief designer three weeks ago. To offset the slump in sales in Europe and Americas, which brought its stock down, Tiffany focused its efforts on reducing costs, offering new products and expanding marketing. As if it was not enough, the jeweler decided to re-shape its management team. According to Michael Kowalski, the board believes that accelerating execution of the companys current core business strategies is necessary to compete more effectively in today's global luxury market and improve performance. Theodor Lisovoy, Rough&Polished, Moscow HKS, Inc. The Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) has awarded Archer Western a contract to build its new $28.5 million TEX Rail station. DFWs Terminal B Station will be adjacent to the airports Terminal B and serve as the final stop along TEX Rails projected 27-mile commuter rail system, which is currently under construction by the Archer Western-Herzog joint venture. The project is intended to connect downtown Fort Worth and the DFW Airport, officials say. DFW expects that the new line will serve 8,000 daily riders, improving commuting times to and from Fort Worth. The new line is planned to include a walkway connecting to the Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) station next to Terminal A. Archer Western has previously completed more than 55 miles of passenger rail in the Dallas Fort Worth area throughout nearly two decades. The contractor is part of The Walsh Group, a 119-year-old family-owned company that facilitates design, build, finance, operation and activation services. The Walsh Group is presently listed as the fifth largest mass transit and rail construction provider in the U.S. Modine Manufacturing Company (MOD) announced the company is adjusting full-year 2017 forecast to account for lower volumes in the Americas and Building HVAC segments, along with the temporary impact of higher metals and exchange rates. Modine Manufacturing lowered the range for adjusted earnings per share, due to the incremental interest expense from the acquisition debt. For fiscal 2017, the company now expects: year-over-year sales up 9 to 11 percent, including a reduction of 1 to 3 percent in the base and approximately $160 million of revenue contributed by the CIS business; and adjusted earnings per share of $0.74 to $0.80, reflecting incremental interest expense from the acquisition debt. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expect the company to report profit per share of $0.84. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items. The company noted that it is holding its range for 2017 adjusted operating earnings. Adjusted operating income is expected to be in a range of $65 million to $71 million, with $61 million to $66 million contributed by the base business and $4 to $5 million contributed by the CIS business. "We continue to expect the newly-acquired CIS business to be accretive to Modine's operating income, for fiscal 2017 and beyond," said Modine CEO, Thomas Burke. Third-quarter earnings per share were $0.04, a decrease of $0.13 compared with the prior year. Adjusted earnings per share were $0.21 as compared with adjusted earnings per share of $0.22 in the third quarter of the prior year, with the slight decrease driven largely by the increased interest expense from the acquisition debt. Net sales for the third quarter were $349.8 million, including $34.7 million of sales from new CIS segment, up 6.4 percent from the prior year. On a constant currency basis, sales of the non-CIS business decreased $9.5 million or 3 percent. For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com Business News About 100 companies, including tech giants like Apple, Microsoft, Google, Facebook, and Intel, have filed a legal brief against President Donald Trump's travel ban, arguing that it "inflicts significant harm on American , innovation, and growth." The amicus curiae brief was filed late Sunday in the US Court of Appeals in San Francisco. The amicus curiae brief allows someone who is not party to the case to pitch in with arguments. Trump had banned immigration to the US from seven Muslim-majority countries. However, a federal judge in Seattle temporarily suspended Trump's order, allowing refugees and visa holders from those seven countries to enter the U.S. John Kerry and Madeleine Albright, both of them former Secretaries of State, have also backed the challenge saying that Trump's order undermines national security. Airbnb, Netflix, Snap and Uber Technologies are other companies that participated in the filing. "Immigrants make many of the Nation's greatest discoveries, and create some of the country's most innovative and iconic companies," the brief states according to a Bloomberg report. "America has long recognized the importance of protecting ourselves against those who would do us harm. But it has done so while maintaining our fundamental commitment to welcoming immigrantsthrough increased background checks and other controls on people seeking to enter our country." For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com Business News Cabinet office is set to release preliminary Japan leading economic indicators index for December at 12:00 am ET Tuesday. The leading index is expected to show a score of 105.5, up from 102.8 in November. Ahead of the data, the yen showed mixed trading against its major rivals. While the yen rose against the euro and the Swiss franc, it fell against the U.S. dollar. Against the pound, the yen held steady. As of 11:55 pm ET in the Asian deals, the yen was trading at 119.82 against the euro, 139.43 against the pound, 112.53 the Swiss franc and 111.88 against the U.S. dollar. For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com Forex News Vizio, Inc. agreed to pay $2.2 million to settle charges that it installed software on its smart TVs to collect viewing data without consumer consent. The lawsuit was filed by the Federal Trade Commission or FTC and the state of New Jersey. The total payment includes a payment of $1.5 million to the FTC and $1 million to the New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs, with $300,000 of that amount suspended. The maker of internet-connected "smart" televisions was accused of tracking 11 million consumer TVs, starting in February 2014, for TV-watching habits without consumers' knowledge or consent. In a statement on Monday, the FTC said the stipulated federal court order requires Vizio to get viewer consent before tracking TV habits. It also requires the company to delete data collected before March 1, 2016. According to the agencies' complaint, Vizio and an affiliate have manufactured Vizio smart TVs that capture second-by-second information about video displayed on the smart TV. These included video from consumer cable, broadband, set-top box, DVD, over-the-air broadcasts, and streaming devices. The agencies also alleged that Vizio facilitated appending specific demographic information to the viewing data, such as sex, age, income, marital status, household size, education level, home ownership, and household value. The company then sold this information to third parties, who used it for various purposes, including targeting advertising to consumers across devices. The complaint alleges that Vizio's data tracking without informing the viewers was unfair and deceptive, in violation of the FTC Act and New Jersey consumer protection laws. Kevin Moriarty, an attorney in the FTC's division of privacy and identity protection, said, "This settlement stops Vizio's unauthorized tracking, and makes clear that smart TV makers should get people's consent before collecting and sharing television viewing information." For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com Business News Industrial production from Germany is due on Tuesday, headlining a light day for the European economic news. At 1.45 am ET, the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs publishes Swiss consumer confidence data. The confidence index is seen improving to -11 in January from -13 in the prior quarter. At 2.00 am ET, Destatis is scheduled to issue Germany's industrial output figures for December. Production is expected to grow 0.3 percent on month, following a 0.4 percent rise in November. At 2.45 am ET, France's current account and foreign trade reports for December are due. The trade deficit totaled EUR 4.37 billion in November. At 3.00 am ET, the Czech Statistical Office is scheduled to issue industrial production and foreign trade data. Economists forecast industrial output to grow 5.7 percent annually, after rising 7 percent in November. In the meantime, industrial production data is due from Hungary. At 3.30 am ET, U.K. Halifax house price data is due. House prices are expected to remain flat in January compared to a 1.7 percent rise in December. 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. The White House has ruled out any possibility of withdrawing the travel ban imposed on Middle East immigrants, and expressed confidence of winning an appeal against a District court order blocking President's executive order. An Executive Order signed by Trump on 27 January halts the entire US refugee program for 120 days, bars entry of refugees from seven mostly Muslim countries - Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somali, Sudan, Syria and Yemen - for 90 days, and suspends entry of Syrians until further notice. A district court judge in Washington state on Friday passed an order halting the executive order. In an appeal against the lower court order, the Justice Department requested the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco to reinstate the ban. The Court is set to hear the case Tuesday, and has asked for both sides to file legal briefs before it. Speaking to reporters traveling with the President aboard Air Force One from Tampa in Florida to Andrews Air Force base Monday, White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer was asked if the Trump administration is thinking about withdrawing the executive order or rewriting it. "No, no, no. This law -- this executive order was done in the best interest of protecting the American people. And I think this is something that has broad support from the American people from one coast to another, and we're going to continue to do what we have to. And this President is committed to making sure that the country and its people are safe," Spicer replied. He claimed that the law is on the President's side. "He has broad discretion to do what's in the nation's best interests to protect our people. And we feel very confident that we will prevail in this matter." For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com Political News US President Donald Trump has vowed that America and its allies will defeat radical Islamic terrorism, and will not allow it to take root in the country. The Commander in chief delivered a strong message to what he called "the forces of death and destruction" while addressing Coalition Representatives and Senior U.S. Commanders at MacDill Air Force Base Tampa, Florida, Monday. Despite a court order suspending a travel ban imposed on Middle East immigrants, Trump defended his Executive Order signed on 27 January by saying his government is up against an enemy that celebrates death and totally worships destruction. "ISIS is on a campaign of genocide, committing atrocities across the world. Radical Islamic terrorists are determined to strike our homeland as they did on 9/11; as they did from Boston to Orlando, to San Bernardino. And all across Europe, you've seen what happened in Paris and Nice. All over Europe it's happening. It's gotten to a point where it's not even being reported and, in many cases, the very, very dishonest press doesn't want to report it." It was Trump's first visit as President to Central Command, which is responsible for an area covering the Middle East and Central Asia. Later, in an apparent reference to legal hurdles in implementing his executive order banning immigrants from seven mostly Muslim countries in the Middle East, Trump tweeted: "Courts must act fast!" For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com Political News In the face of President Donald Trump's threat to withhold funding from so-called "sanctuary cities"cities including New York that limit communication between police, prisons, and federal immigration officialsAssembly Democrats on Monday passed legislation that would create similar protections for non-citizens across the state. The legislation passed by a relatively narrow margin of 77-58, with some upstate and suburban Democrats siding with the Republicans to vote 'no,' according to Politico. Sponsored by Queens Assemblyman Francisco Moya (D), the New York State Liberty Act would prohibit state and local police from conducting a stop or making an arrest based solely on perceived immigration status. It would also prevent government agencies from inquiring about immigration status when an individual seeks aid or reports a crimeall policies that are already established in NYC. It would also, like NYC law, prohibit law enforcement from detaining non-citizens in precincts, jails or prisons at the request of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, under some circumstances. Exceptions would include people previously convicted of a violent or Class A felony, or those on a federal terrorism watch list. Anyone facing deportation would be guaranteed legal representation. Another Moya bill passed as part of the package, the "One Day To Protect New Yorkers Act," has been endorsed by the New York City Bar and immigration advocacy groups including the Immigrant Defense Project. The legislation would reduce the maximum sentence for an A misdemeanor from one year to 364 days, protecting non-citizens from federal legislation that allows deportation of individuals convicted of crimes with sentences of one year or longer. "The Assembly Majority believes that the continued success of our state depends on ensuring that immigrants have access to the resources they need to make meaningful contributions to their communities," said Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie ahead of the legislation's signing on Monday. "Without the fear of inappropriate deportation and other serious consequences." Also on Monday, the Assembly passed the Dream Act, which would allow undocumented high school students in New York to apply for financial aidlegislation that has passed five times in the Assembly, only to be killed in the Senate. Cuomo recently endorsed the Dream Act, after dropping it last year citing a lack of Senate support. Both bills will likely face an uphill battle in the Senate, which is currently controlled by a conservative (and, admittedly, confusing) coalition between Republicans and the eight-member Independent Democratic Conference [IDC]. Spokeswoman Candice Giove said that the IDC would vote yes on both, but Republicans lashed out at the Liberty Act on Monday, and the New York State Conservative Party issued a memo urging a 'no' vote on both bills. "We pass laws for a reasonwe pass laws to protect the public," Republican Assemblyman Dean Murray of Long Island told Politico. "Now we're asking our local law enforcement to just completely ignore some of those laws. That's a problem." Republican Assemblyman Al Graf predicted that the bill would not pass the Senate, adding that he feared President Trump would make good on his threat to withhold funding. "We've seen the actions of the new president and I don't think he's bluffing when it comes to taking away federal money from the states," he told NBC. Mayor de Blasio praised the Assembly in a statement Monday, saying that the body "voted today to protect the American Dream." In recent weeks, immigration lawyers and advocates have challenged the mayor for continuing to uphold "broken windows" policing, which has been documented to draw an outsize number of low-income people of color into the criminal justice system. According to President Trump's executive orders, non-citizens could be targeted for deportation for an arrest, even if the charge is ultimately dismissed. Neither the established NYC immigrant protections, nor those proposed at the state level, would prohibit ICE from conducting business in New York. ICE is still "a law enforcement agency with investigative ability," Camille Mackler, director of legal Initiatives for the New York Immigrant Coalition, told Gothamist earlier this month. The Governor's Office did not immediately comment on the legislation. Nor did Senate Majority Leader John Flanagan. In an apparent effort to back up President Donald Trump's claim that the media is not giving terrorism sufficient attention, the White House released a list of terrorist attacks the administration believes did not receive enough coverage. The White House on Monday released a list of 78 terrorist attacks that occurred between September of 2014 and December of 2016. The release of the list came after Trump suggested in remarks at MacDill Air Force Base in Florida that the media was intentionally avoiding reporting on terrorist attacks. "ISIS is on a campaign of genocide, committing atrocities across the world," Trump said. "You've seen what happened in Paris and Nice. All over Europe it's happening." "It's gotten to a point where it's not even being reported and, in many cases, the very, very dishonest press doesn't want to report it," he added. "They have their reasons and you understand that." However, members of the media were quick to point out that the list released by the White House included attacks the received extensive coverage, such as the mass shootings in San Bernardino and Orlando. The bombing at the airport in Brussels and the attack in which a truck plowed through a Bastille Day crowd in Nice also made the list despite receiving weeks of media attention. The list also included more obscure incidents in which police officers or security guards were wounded but nobody was killed. White House spokeswoman Lindsay Walters said, "The real point here is that these terrorists attacks are so pervasive at this point that they do not spark the wall-to-wall coverage they once did." "If you look back just a few years ago, any one of these attacks would have been ubiquitous in every news outlet, and now they're happening so often that networks are not devoting to each of them the same level of coverage they once did," she added. White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer acknowledged the media reported on the terrorist attacks but suggested they were "underreported." Spicer argued that a protest against Trump will get blown out of the water, while an attack or a foiled attack doesn't necessarily get the same coverage. For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com Business News Iran's Supreme Leader lashed out at President Donald Trump in a rare public speech on Tuesday, with Ayatollah Ali Khamenei arguing that the new president has exposed the "real face of the United States." Speaking to Iranian Air Force officers, Khamenei accused Trump of confirming Iran's claims of political, economic, moral, and social corruption within the U.S. The speech by Khamenei was seen as a response to Trump's immigration ban as well as the new U.S. sanctions imposed on Iran in retaliation for a recent ballistic missile test. Khamenei said Iranians will show what kind of stance the nation takes when threatened with a demonstration on Friday, when Iran celebrates the anniversary of the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Last week, Trump accused Iran of "playing with fire" and noted the Islamic Republic has been formally put "on notice." Trump also indicated he would not be as kind to Iran as his predecessor, although Khamenei was also critical of former President Barack Obama in his remarks. Khamenei blamed Obama for the creation of the terrorist group ISIS, ongoing wars in Iraq and Syria and imposing sanctions intended to paralyze Iran. "Of course, he did not achieve what he desired," Khamenei said. "No enemy can ever paralyze the Iranian nation." For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com Political News I am offering the solution to a problem most Republicans don't know they have -- that they can be outmaneuvered and thrown on the defensive endlessly, on nearly any issue, because they accept as true Democrat lies about the Republican Party. To correct that misperception and to help the Republican Party get 'back to basics' is why I'm a man on a mission. A few years ago, after one of my speeches, a man told me "Do you know what your problem is? You're too far ahead of your time!" My efforts to show Republicans how they would benefit from celebrating the heritage of our Grand Old Party have been arduous, but if this were easy someone else would have already done it. Among my speech topics are Reconciling the Tea Party and the GOP; Barack Obama, the Worst President Ever; Socialism, the new Slavery; Appreciating the Heritage of our Grand Old Party; Returning to the Founding Principles of the United States; The Womens Rights Achievements of our Grand Old Party; Abraham Lincoln, Republican; Frederick Douglass, Republican; Martin Luther King and the Republican Civil Rights Legacy. Still Standing: Four the Moments legacy honoured at Nova Scotia Music Week When a quartet of Halifax women began singing together a cappella in the name of social justice in 1982, there was little in the way of a music industry at play in Atlantic Canada. And even if there had been, its likely that Four the Moment would ... 1. Fill in your name or an alias. Do not leave blank or use the name 'guest' or 'anonymous'. 2. No Nivul Peh. Profanity will be deleted. By SA Commercial Prop News Bagatelle Mall in Mauritius opened to the public at the end of last month, that is exactly one year after Prime minister Navinchandra Ramgoolam officially inaugurated the development site. Image gallery Bagatelle Mall in Mauritius opened to the public at the end of last month, that is exactly one year after Prime minister Navinchandra Ramgoolam officially inaugurated the development site. Mauritiuss first regional shopping centre developed by leading South African property investment and development company Atterbury, in collaboration with ENL Group, an established and reputable Mauritian group, opened at the end of last month, bringing a superb mix of world-class international, South African and local Mauritian retail to the island. Bagatelle - Mall of Mauritius, is Atterburys first major offshore development, and received strong support from retailers wishing to access this unique market. The mall is situated at the heart of the island between the capital Port Louis and emerging Cyber City growth zone. Mauritius was recently rated among the Top 25 global offshore platforms, with a local population of some 1.4 million and a growing number of tourist arrivals already around one-million each year. Featuring an extensive mix of some 140 stores, it will also include six 3D cinema theatres, a food court, two hypermarkets, Intermart and Pick n Pay. The parking can accommodate 2500 vehicles. The Bagatelle Mall of Mauritius will be officially inaugurated by the Prime Minister of Mauritius, Navin Ramgoolam on the 19th October 2011. By SA Commercial Prop News Westfield Group chairman Frank Lowy said the company's international and local businesses had both grown in scale and quality to the stage where they could now stand on their own. Australian shopping centre giant Westfield Group on Tuesday unveiled a dramatic split of its international and local operations that will see it reshape its $65.8 billion global property empire. Under the restructure, its Australian and New Zealand businesses -- with interests in 47 malls -- will be merged with those of Westfield Retail Trust, which was spun off from the main company in 2010. The resulting $26 billion entity, named Scentre, will be listed on the Australian stock market, with a development pipeline for projects worth some $3 billion. Westfield Group will be renamed Westfield Corporation with total assets of $17.6 billion, comprising interests in 44 shopping centres in the United States, the United Kingdom and Europe. The market reacted positively for Westfield Group, which gained 4.05 percent to close at Australian dollars 10.78, although Westfield Retail Trust ended 0.33 per cent lower at 2.99 dollars. Westfield Group chairman Frank Lowy said the company's international and local businesses had both grown in scale and quality to the stage where they could now stand on their own. "They can each operate more efficiently, and generate greater growth and value for investors, by being independent," he said. "The proposal represents the latest in a series of capital restructures that have maintained the success of Westfield since it was first listed in 1960." "Our current structure has served us well, but we believe that this new structure will create more value for investors going forward." Lowy will be chairman of both entities, with Scentre expected to list in mid-2014. Westfield is one of the world's largest shopping centre operators, and Lowy said a purely international focus for the new Westfield Corp would allow it to be more easily compared with international peers. Invast chief market analyst Peter Esho said the decision to split the companies would help drive Westfield's global expansion. "I think its a clever deal -- what it allows Westfield to do is free itself up of capital and pursue international growth," he said Bill Self, Kurtis Townsend won't be on sidelines for KU's first four games A man accused of removing a sacred statue of St. Mary from inside the E.F.K.S church at Siufaga damaging it appeared in the District Court yesterday. Tavita Sau from Siufaga, Falelatai, did not enter a plea when he appeared before Judge Talasa Lumepa Atoa Saaga. According to the Police Summary of facts, Sau is charged with burglary and willful damage. Due to the seriousness of the charges, Judge Saaga referred the matter to the Supreme Court. Tavita your case is being adjourned to the 13th of February, said Judge Saaga. This matter will be called for mention in the Supreme Court because according to the police reports, its a serious offence." So you are to be in custody to await when the matter is called again for mention next week Monday. Sau appeared unemotional when he fronted the Judge. The man is accused of removing the statue of Mary, which has been at the centre of a controversy between Reverend Opapo Soanai of the Siufaga Church and the Elders Committee of the E.F.K.S Church. The statue of Mary and that of Jesus Christ - led to the decision by the churchs mother body to strip Reverend Soanai of his pastoral position. At the time when the statue was removed, Rev. Opapo speculated that the removal of the statue was not a one-man job given its size and weight. A source told the Samoa Observer Sau was drunk when he decided to remove the statue. Members of the church were looking for the statue and they found it at Tavitas home. She was broken. The statues arms were missing. Last month, Rev Soanai, the father of a woman who claims to be carrying the marks of Jesus Christs suffering, said he been stripped off his pastoral by the Elders Committee. Rev. Soanai protested his innocence saying he has done nothing wrong. There is no clause of the Church Constitution that I have violated. Ive been mistreated for something Im not sure what it is. Told that perhaps the leadership of the church is unhappy about the emphasis on the statues of Mary and Jesus placed in their church since his daughter started to receive the messages, Rev. Soanai said that could possibly be the case. I havent done anything wrong. I havent committed adultery, I havent used any of the churchs money and I havent been caught drunk." In the Church Constitution, there is nothing in there against statues of Mary and Jesus. If you look at all the churches, there are images of Jesus and Mary everywhere. Those are statues too. Rev. Soanai added that he did not acquire the statues himself. See, I didnt get those statues myself. They were brought over as a present and our church membership are fearful to reject it because they are of Jesus and Mary. If it was of anything else, then they mightve considered rejecting it. There is a history to the statues. When the statues were brought over, Toa received a message which said if anyone rejects them, they will suffer forever So what we are saying is that if they want to remove it, they can come and do it themselves but we cant because we received the translated message in Hebrew." Our congregation will not stop anyone who wants to remove them but we are fearful because we are aware of what the translation of the message from the Hebrew language said. A leading business in Apia has shown a heart of compassion for one of many street vendors on the streets of Apia. Identified as Siliafo, the young boy who used to frequently hawk different goods on the streets of Apia at night was offered employment by Apollo Cinemas in a bid to help him and his family. Apollo Cinemas Manager, Arnold Dulguime, confirmed that Siliafo came and asked for a job and although he did not qualify, they wanted to help him. I was in the Philippines, I had a part time too, said Mr. Dulguime. I was studying and then worked you know at McDonuts and Jelly Beans, the food chains in the Philippines and because of back then. I really wanted to help people like students to make money by working part time here." Thats why we just hired him (Siliafo) for part time because hes a nice guy and it was school holidays. Siliafo, he said, was a nice young boy who genuinely wanted to help his family. Thats why he was working on the streets. The Manager noted that he was different from the other street vendors who are so rude. Siliafo now returns to school. Mr. Dulguime said they had to let him go so he can focus on his education, reminding him that he could always come back to work during the school holidays. At Apollo Cinemas, Mr. Dulguime said that one of the things the Owner does for the street vendors is help them. They buy their own tickets but sometimes they are given vouchers or ticket money from Auree Westerlund (owner), he said. Our goal is try and help them. We will continue with this especially for the street children. We really want to help them make a difference. The tallest man living in the world, Sultan Kosen, is in Samoa. But with his presence brings all sorts of different challenges. Standing at 8ft 2.8inches, think of transporting him about and finding a bed for him. Yesterday posed a different challenge. It was about outfitting him. According to Tupai Bruno Loyal, of the Magic Circus of Samoa, who is hosting him here, it was an interesting task. We just brought the tailor to measure him for some shirts and pants, said Tupai. He had to use a step ladder! I thought it was hilarious Mr. Kosen is from Ankara, Turkey. He is to appear in the Magic Circus when it opens tomorrow at Tuanaimato. Earlier this week, Tupai spoke about the logistics of getting Mr. Kosen to Samoa. It takes a lot of special arrangements for him to travel because things are not made for someone of his size, he said. We consulted with the airline because he cannot go inside the bathroom of the airline because its too small. So he has to stand outside and the male attendants have to hold up a curtain for him. Its a little complicated." It sounds funny but at the same time its very difficult for him and all the flights have been business class only and the planes must be big. Mr. Kosens growth and massive height is caused by a condition known as "pituitary gigantism", which is the result of an over-production of growth hormone. Growth hormone is released from the pituitary gland in the brain; if the gland is damaged by, say, a tumour, it can release too much (or too little) hormone. The effects of over-production includes large hands, a thickening of the bones, and painful joints. Mr. Kosen didn't start his incredible growth spurt until he was 10 years old. But he finally appears to have stopped growing. Revolutionary gamma-knife surgery on the tumour affecting his pituitary gland, provided by the University of Virginia, USA, in August 2010, has finally halted his production of growth hormone. His mother is very short and his father is about five foot six and yet their big baby is 8ft, 4inches so hes still a mommas boy. He has three brothers and one sister and he is the middle child. Tupai said he is sure that Mr. Kosen will be the centre of attention at his Magic Circus. Sultan will be as the super attraction where people can see with their own eyes the Guinness Book of Record holder and of course when you think of the planet Earth, we are talking about billions of people and of all those people, he is the tallest person in the world, Tupai said. So what he does is, he just comes out and says hello he gives people the opportunity to have a picture with him because hes very special." He will be with be us for one month in the circus in Upolu and then we will be going to American Samoa for another month and then we fly to New Caledonia. According to the Guinness World Record Book, Mr. Kosen is a part time farmer. The learning experience for students of St. Marys College has received a tremendous boost thanks to former students who have never forgotten how the school helped them to become who they are today. Yesterday, the Saint Marys Old Girls Association (S.M.O.G.A) donated vital equipment worth of up to $80,000 tala to the school. The donation included 200 armless chairs, 15 folded tables, hall rail and ceramic tiles. All of this was able to be purchased through fundraising that S.M.O.G.A had done throughout the years , especially, during St. Marys 60th Jubilee last year. The official handover was conducted at the St. Marys College hall at Vaimoso in the presence of over 200 students. The donation was one way that S.M.O.G.A recognizes the educational institution that nurtured their academic lives. The vision for S.M.O.G.A this year is to develop the students knowledge and skills in the hopes that they will all make it to U.P.Y. Thus, the donation of vital classroom accessories such as chairs to sit on in the classroom is pertinent to a students success. President of S.M.O.G.A , Arieta Teo Viliamu, acknowledged the project would not have been possible without the support of S.M.O.G.A members not only in Samoa but worldwide. She was flanked by executive committee: Vice President, Mariaalelosalio Petelo, Secretary Titilua Aiono, Vice Secretary Lusila Lo Tam, Treasurer Anzac Vee, and Vice Treasurer Telesia Faasavalu Lefua. The project was spearheaded but the Project Committee: Makerita Sooalo and Sr Pafuti Crichton. Should all utility consumers subsidize the wealthier few who like to drive electric cars? Its hardly a fair question. Yet thats what the California Public Utilities Commission will eventually have to decide, now that utilities have proposed a $1 billion plan to build and effectively own the states retail charging network of tomorrow. Advertisement And it wont be much of a decision, because last year the state legislature in Senate Bill 350 directed utilities to make just this proposal, as well as commanded the commission to approve it subject to the usual safeguards against unreasonable costs. Like most direct government interventions in the economy, politicians have deemed this one necessary because the private sector wont touch the business of operating roadside charging stations. Indeed, the state mandate glosses over a whole bunch of pesky questions, with answers that seem very expensive for ordinary consumers. For starters, theres no evidence that significant numbers of people want electric cars enough to actually purchase one. U.S. drivers bought a record 17.55 million new cars and trucks in 2016, but just 157,000 of them were of the plug-in electric variety, or less than 1 percent. Even this dismal demand owed to a lavish dole, from buyer tax credits to federal zero-emissions mandates that force carmakers that dont make electric vehicles to pay millions to those who do, like Tesla. Still, Tesla generally loses money, despite commanding price tags that start at $75,000 apiece (and go beyond $140,000) for its cars. True believers keep assuring us that change will come any day now. GMs Chevy Bolt is on dealer lots starting at just under $37,000 ($30,000 after federal tax credits), while Tesla promises a $35,000 base price for its 2018 Model 3. We can guess that both cars will lose money, for the same reason consumers dont want them: Battery technology is too expensive. Make no mistake, electric cars are great. Your humble columnist covets one badly. Compared to combustion engines, their silent motors are faster, more energy efficient and more reliable, with fewer moving parts to break or leak on my driveway. The battery shortcoming simultaneously drives up cost and limits range. The Bolt is a breakthrough with its 238-mile rated range between charges. Competing models offer about half that distance. Still, even the Nissan Leafs 107 miles is more than enough for the typical commute. Range anxiety is no big deal when you plug in every night at home. So why arent people buying? That gets us back to cost. Prices on batteries may be falling, but not fast enough in the hyper-competitive auto industry. Most drivers wont pay $30,000 after credits for a Bolt when a gasoline-burning Ford Focus starts at $17,000. Thats a big leap even for green vanity consumers. Not to mention that most consumers shun eco-boxes in favor of pickups, SUVs and larger sedans. It is equally impolitic to mention that fossil fuels provide most of the electricity that flows from charger to car. Of course, California lawmakers want us to overlook such unenlightened realities. Instead, they bet with our money that a chief obstacle to ubiquitous adoption of electric cars is lack of convenient chargers. History teaches us precisely why Henry Fords Model T transformed the worlds transportation system. Hint: It wasnt because John D. Rockefeller suddenly began building gas stations, or Californias government starting paving roads, although both things happened. No, the driving force was affordability amid relentless competition. From 1909 to 1925, the cost of a Model T fell from $825 to $260 (under $3,600 in todays dollars) and Ford was selling 2 million a year. Speaking of market forces, last week GM and Honda announced a joint venture to make fuel cells for hydrogen-powered cars. Hydrogen offers the potential to solve the battery and pollution problem in a single technological swoop. A container that holds compressed hydrogen is far cheaper than a lithium battery. True, extracting hydrogen from tap water requires huge amounts of electricity. But that power can just as easily come from wind and solar as from plants burning coal or natural gas. Doing so would neatly solve a second problem created mostly in California, a serious glut of renewable energy. Starting in 2006, lawmakers ordered utility consumers to subsidize rapid increases in wind and solar energy production. Today the state has as much as 50 percent more power available than needed on a sunny, windy winter afternoon. And then, when the sun goes down or weather causes production to drop, fossil-fuel plants fire up because batteries are too expensive. In theory, the utility industry could make hydrogen when the sun shines and convert it back to electricity all night, with water vapor as the only emission, thus solving its intermittency problem. The hitch should be familiar by now: Like batteries, hydrogen fuel cells are too expensive to use at such scale. So, with government greasing the skids and vast fortunes somewhere over the horizon, giant industries are working to lower costs. Such races are best left to private markets. Yet California lawmakers have already picked a winner, so everybody must pay higher prices for electricity to recover a $1 billion car-charger investment that may very well be stranded by hydrogen Hondas. In its regulatory filing, San Diego Gas & Electric officials seek permission to spend $244.1 million building 90,000 or so residential and commercial charging stations around its service territory, which includes southern Orange County. Since charging a car on the fast setting still takes 30 minutes to power the next 100 miles, the idea assumes that Californians of the future will want to hang out instead of pump and run. SDG&E would fund about half this $244 million with shareholders equity earning about 10 percent a year. So consumers would pay for construction and maintenance, plus utility profit and debt service. And the retail chargers have an expected life of just 16 years, at which point we pay to do it again. The key point is that cost recovery would be spread among all utility customers, and not confined to car owners at the charging station. If the corner gas station fails, the owner pays. If drivers dont warm to roadside charging, electricity consumers still pay. Weve seen this movie before. For nearly 100 years the electricity business was relatively simple, reliable and boring. Then, in 1996, California deregulated the generating and retail sectors of its power industry, while leaving distribution to incumbent utilities. Rolling blackouts ensued, so in 2001 lawmakers hastily re-regulated the retail side. Then, starting in 2006, the state ordered up a renewable energy boom, which enriched developers and lifted rates further and did relatively little to cut emissions because renewables require a fleet of fossil-fueled backups. Federal data suggests that such bold experimentation has cost state consumers more than $170 billion over the last two decades in higher electricity bills, compared to other big states like Texas that pursued similar policies more thoughtfully. In that context, this $1 billion car charging scheme seems modest. A typical residential customer may see bills rise by 71 cents a month in 2020, SDG&E estimates. But dont be surprised if the next great idea from Sacramento requires everybody to pay for a vast new hydrogen infrastructure. Lawmakers arent shy about high-risk venture funding with other peoples money. Previous McSwain columns on energy policy: Nuke plan diverts billions from climate change (July 6, 2016) High gasoline prices may not buy less pollution (Feb. 21, 2016) Markets sanguine on Sempras historic gas leak (Jan. 31, 2016) Governor owns this utility scandal (Dec. 12, 2015) California energy dreaming costs consumers billions (Sept. 19, 2015) Obama ignores Californias green power experience (Aug. 3, 2015) SDG&Es rate idea is fair, but solar would suffer (Nov. 19, 2014) Low interest rates havent dented utility profits (June 13, 2013) Business dan.mcswain@sduniontribune.com (619) 293-1280 Twitter: @McSwainUT A 25-year-old Escondido man was found hiding in a closet, naked and covered in blood moments after his mother was found bludgeoned to death with a claw hammer in the apartment they shared, a prosecutor said Monday. The man, David Noel McGee Jr., was in a Vista courtroom Monday, where he pleaded not guilty to murder to the slaying of Rebecca Apodaca. He faces up to 26 years to life if convicted. This was a brutal and violent crime, Deputy District Attorney Keith Watanabe said after McGees arraignment. His mother died a terrible death. Advertisement Judge James Mangione granted Watanabes request to set bail at $2 million. Related: Son accused of using claw hammer to kill mother According to Watanabe, Apodaca worked at home doing medical billing until about 5 p.m. last Wednesday. When Apodaca failed to show up for dinner with her daughter, the daughter went to her apartment on North Hickory Street near Lansing Drive at about 6:40 p.m to check on her. She found her mother lying in bed, in a pool of blood, and her brother hiding in a closet, also covered in blood. McGee had self-inflicted cuts to his arms, as well as cuts or ligature marks on his neck. Watanabe told the judge that Apodaca suffered blows from the hammer all around her head and particularly to her face, and that she did not die immediately. As the prosecutor gave the judge details of her wounds, Apodacas daughter started to cry and buried her face in her hands. He said Escondido police found a toaster in the bathroom, plugged in and sitting in a bathtub full of water. They also found three knives in the bathroom. Watanabe said that McGee confessed to the killing. The prosecutor did not discuss a potential motive, and said McGee has no history of a diagnosis of mental illness. Although charges were filed on Friday, McGee was not brought to court at that time because he was on suicide watch. He remains jailed in lieu of $2 million. After the hearing, McGees brother-in-law who is married to Apodacas daughter asked for privacy for his family, and asked that the media not cover the murder case. Our families are having an extremely difficult time dealing with this, and we just want to make it clear that we dont want any media coverage of this whatsoever, said Thomas Apodaca-Smith, who added his wifes last name to his own when they married. We understand the defendant may seem like a risk to the community, but he (McGee) is not going to post bail, and is of no risk to the community. teri.figueroa@sduniontribune.com Twitter: @TeriFigueroaUT Roughly 150 people gathered outside Rep. Darrel Issas Vista office on Tuesday, chanting and waving signs as part of a weekly nationwide protest targeting the policies of President Donald Trump. Despite rain at the start of the rally one of a few throughout the region tied to Resist Trump Tuesdays the turnout rivaled the number of people who showed up at a similar event outside Issas office last week. Protesters targeted Democrats and Republicans throughout the county, gathering outside the downtown San Diego offices of Democratic U.S. Sens. Kamala Harris and Dianne Feinstein, as well as the district offices of Republican Rep. Duncan Hunter. Advertisement In Vista, many of the protesters said they are taking cues from the Indivisible Guide, a kind of blueprint for political activism that borrows from the Tea Party playbook and walks people through the process of reaching out to their congressional representatives. I have never in the past gone to any rally until the Womens March, said protester Belle Hazlehurst. I just feel called to stand up for justice. Over the weekend, White House spokesman Sean Spicer told Fox News that protests against Trump were not organic, but rather that people were being paid to protest. One of the event organizers, Ellen Montanari, said that she and the other protesters are not getting paid, and many are actually losing money because they take time off from work to gather. PREVIOUS Protestors gathered to support the Affordable Care Act. Also to denounce Trumps Muslim ban and Steve Bannons influence on Tuesday. teri.figueroa@sduniontribune.com Twitter: @TeriFigueroaUT UPDATES: This story was updated with additional details. It was originally published at 12:35 p.m. The City Council in Imperial Beach recently voted to create a task force to consider the thorny issue of pay raises. According to a staff report, the idea was sparked by a story in The San Diego Union Tribune last month, which reported that several councils throughout the county recently voted on pay increases for themselves. Advertisement At the Feb. 1 council meeting, City Manager Andy Hall recommended the independent panel be comprised of three to five former elected officials. Councilman Ed Spriggs cast the lone dissenting vote. He said he didnt see a compelling reason to spend a lot of time and effort studying it. Nobody running for City Council in this town is gonna make a living off of their City Council salary, he said. Imperial Beach council members last considered their compensation 30 years ago in 1987. They set their pay at the state minimum of $300 a month with the caveat that it cant be raised by more than 5 percent a year. Theyve never raised it. Council members who take advantage of health benefits get almost $13,000 a year. Hall said following the formula of a 5 percent annual increase would amount to council salaries at $740 a month today. As mayor, Serge Dedina makes $800 a month. Despite the ability to do so, Spriggs was hesitant about adjusting it. Theres no real rationale for where you would set the limit, except for some percentage increase. Spriggs said the reason for council compensation in general is to cover the costs of serving, not to profit from the position. I think we should consider it a badge of honor to have the best community and the least compensated City Council, I think thats a positive. Councilman Robert Patton disagreed. I really think we should look into it, he said. And no, I didnt join this council to make money. Mayor Serge Dedina supported the idea. Regardless of what they decide, I think its good policy and it alleviates the burden from this council, he said. The vote was 4-1 in favor. City Manager Hall said city staff would return with a list of committee members at the next council meeting. You can thank or blame Gone Girl, but the unreliable narrator has become something of a fixture in recent psychological thrillers. Now comes London-based author Sarah Pinborough with Behind Her Eyes, which turns a modern-day love triangle into a creepy hall of mirrors. A cunning puzzle-box of a novel, writer Joe Hill calls the book, a masterfully engineered thriller that brings to mind Hitchcock at his most uncanny. After dropping jaws in England, it comes now to the U.S. with Pinborough kicking off her American tour this week in San Diego. Shes published more than 20 fantasy, YA, and horror novels, in addition to thrillers, including The Language of Dying, which won an award for best novella from the British Fantasy Society in 2010. Sarah Pinborough reading, signing: 7:30 p.m. Tuesday. Mysterious Galaxy, 5943 Balboa Ave., suite 100, Clairemont. Free. (858) 268-4747 or mystgalaxy.com Advertisement john.wilkens@sduniontribune.com; (619) 293-2236 The nearly decade-long quest to award slain Marine hero Rafael Peralta the nations highest battlefield honor might finally end with legendary leatherneck James Mattis. Mattis, who once led troops in Iraq and commanded the Camp Pendleton-based 1st Marine Expeditionary Force, was sworn in as President Donald Trumps defense secretary last month. Advertisement On Monday, Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Alpine, sent him a letter urging the Pentagon to upgrade Peraltas Navy Cross for combat valor to the Medal of Honor. Its the latest effort in a case that has included forensics experts, rejections by at least three previous defense secretaries and conflicting accounts from Marines who served with Peralta. Jim Mattis can now make the right decision on this after others have failed to do that, said Hunter, a former Marine artillery officer who fought in Iraq. Peralta was a San Diegan who died in the second Battle of Fallujah in Iraq. President George W. Bush praised him in a nationally televised speech, and he has been lionized in books and a documentary. The Navy has named a warship after him; the destroyer is scheduled to reach its home port of San Diego for the first time this summer. While assigned to A Company, 1st Battalion, 3rd Marines, Peralta in Fallujah led a team clearing insurgents room by room. Storming into their seventh house on Nov. 15, 2004, Peralta immediately drew enemy automatic weapons fire. He fell, wounded, to the floor. Fleeing insurgents tossed a grenade that skittered to a rest near his head. Without hesitation, Peralta snatched the explosive to his body and absorbed the brunt of the blast to spare the lives of his team, according to his citation for the Navy Cross, Americas second-highest award for battlefield bravery. Although the Marine Corps recommended Peralta for a posthumous Medal of Honor, Defense Secretary Bob Gates downgraded the commendation in 2008. He expressed concerns raised by a review panel that the Marine might have been too injured to consciously shield the grenade with his body. Hunter believes Mattis, a former commander of the 1st Marine Division in Iraq, had signed off on the initial Medal of Honor nomination for Peralta before it percolated up to the Pentagon. The San Diego Union-Tribune on Monday couldnt confirm the role Mattis played in Peraltas award; Pentagon officials didnt return messages seeking comment. Although Hunter twice tried to prod the Pentagon to reopen Peraltas medal case, defense secretaries Leon Panetta and Chuck Hagel declined to overturn Gates decision. On Friday, the Navy took possession of the guided-missile destroyer Rafael Peralta, which prompted Hunter to urge reopening the Medal of Honor case. Born in Mexico City in 1979, Peralta graduated from San Diegos Samuel F. B. Morse High School and later attended San Diego Community College. He received his green card after enlisting in the Marine Corps in 2000. He died an American citizen and is buried at Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery in Point Loma. Although most Medals of Honor are awarded less than five years after a service members battlefield heroics, President Barack Obamas administration sought to make amends for past oversights. In 2014, for example, Obama pinned the medal on Bennie G. Adkins, a former Special Forces Green Beret who served in the Vietnam War. He followed that up with Medals of Honor for Union Lt. Alonzo Cushing, a hero of the Battle of Gettysburg, and a pair of World War I doughboys, Sgt. William Shemin and Sgt. Henry Johnson. Hunter hopes it wont take a century for Peralta. We want them to fix the institutional problem with awards, he said. Its this award and quite a few others. We told them that theyve got to fix the system because there are guys who are getting the wrong awards. Officers are getting higher awards compared to the enlisted. 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 In the wake of Defense Secretary James Mattis declaring the United States commitment to defending Japanese islands coveted by China, the Marine Corps and Tokyos army kicked off joint amphibious warfare exercises in California on Monday. Conducted annually since 2006, this years Iron Fist training brings together more than 1,000 Japanese and American service members. The war games are scheduled to play out for a month from San Clemente Island to Point Loma and across Camp Pendleton. Its slated to involve Navy warships, Marine assault craft and Japanese light infantrymen storming the beach of a fictional Pacific atoll seized by enemy forces. Advertisement In his first official visit as defense secretary, Mattis visited South Korea and Japan last week. He pledged to defend South Korea from North Korean nuclear attacks and Japan from Chinese incursions into the East China Sea. In June, Beijing caused a diplomatic row with Tokyo when a Chinese frigate sailed within the territorial limits of Japans uninhabited Senkaku Islands near Taiwan. China claims the islands. Russian military vessels also moved through the area, triggering protests from Japans leaders. As close allies, the United States and Japan have been bound by a mutual defense treaty since 1952. Japan is in the midst of buying dozens of Assault Amphibious Vehicles and V-22 tilt-rotor Ospreys, the same craft used by Marines, as part of a five-year defense build-up. Iron Fist 2017 began with a Monday morning ceremony at Camp Pendleton featuring Col. Ryuji Toyota, commander of the Western Army Infantry Regiment of the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force and his American counterpart in the exercises, Marine Corps Col. Chandler S. Chud Nelms, commander of the 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit. One thing Ill emphasize is that we learn combined combat arms as an amphibious field, said Toyota, speaking through a translator. Japan is expected to stand up an Amphibious Rapid Deployment Brigade later this year. For the past 14 years, Toyotas regiment has been assigned the task of defending Japans remote atolls southwest of the main islands. Although Iron Fist will draw in a wide range of American units, including the amphibious transport ship Anchorage and Navy underwater demolition experts at Point Loma, the grunts of 1st Battalion, 1st Marines on Camp Pendleton will compose the bulk of the invasion force. Each year weve continued to learn from each other, to increase our inter-operability and to work on our military-to-military relationship, said Nelms, whose Marine Expeditionary Unit returned in September from seven months in the Western Pacific. 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 Veterans advocates on Monday unveiled a new web portal with hopes of using the technology to help San Diego Countys vets navigate the often-confusing world of social services. The website, sandiegounited.org, is intended to be an open door to a network of groups that provide services such as housing, job training and mental health counseling. Advertisement Rather than saying, Here are the numbers to these six organizations, best of luck, this is putting the onus for on us as the service providers, said Gabe Kendall of 211 San Diego, one of the nonprofit organizations shepherding the project. Heres how it is supposed to work: A veteran goes to sandiegounited.org and enters personal information, including what services are being sought, onto a one-page form. Once the veteran hits the submit button, the technology is supposed to push the information out to the 19 participating groups to act upon. Those include Veterans Village of San Diego, Physician Advocates for Veterans, Reboot career workshops and Interfaith Community Services. The San Diego regions veterans support groups have never been connected in this digital way. Also, how they perform as a whole has never measured, said Bill York, executive vice president of 211 San Diego. Down the road, the University of San Diegos Caster Family Center for Nonprofit and Philanthropic Research plans to analyze the data from the local project. There are so many great programs, and we are all working our own individual case management platforms, York said. So Sergeant Smith, whether he really got to the provider, whether he successfully received the services and six months later, has he moved to a more thriving (place.) Those are all things that are going unmeasured now, he added. The digital backbone of this effort comes from a four-year-old New York software company called Unite Us. The firm was founded by post-9/11 veterans who said they were tired of seeing people fall through the cracks of the health and human services spectrum. Co-founder Taylor Justice, a former Army officer, said he saw the exhausting and fragmented resource market for himself after he left the military in 2007. That includes the local region. All of the community providers in San Diego were on their own systems and silos and unable to communicate with each other outside of phone calls and emails, Justice said Monday. Now, they are on a common system where they can connect the dots and send to each other simultaneously. The United Us platform is operating in 15 locations nationwide under various names. In North Carolina, it is NCServes. In Chicago, it is the Joining Forces Initiative. None of that would be possible without a secure network. The strong federal medical privacy law, commonly known by the acronym HIPAA, means that agencies have to safeguard a patients information. To use sandiegounited.org, a veteran has to agree to allow the information provided to be shared among the agencies in the network. The San Diego project is being funded for 18 months with $90,000 from the San Diego Association of Governments Veterans Transportation and Community Living Initiative and the Patriots Connection at the Rancho Santa Fe Foundation. San Diego County is home to an estimated 250,000 veterans of all generations, including roughly 30,000 who served during the era of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. San Diego United organizers are looking for more social service agencies to join. The target is 60 providers in the network, and 19 have signed up. The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs is playing a role. If a veteran has not yet applied for VA health care or benefits, the San Diego United network can assist with the referral. The Defense Department is not yet a player, York said. 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 jen.steele@sduniontribune.com Facebook: U-T Military Twitter: @jensteeley Amid much uncertainty over the future of U.S.-Mexican relations, the mayors of San Diego and Tijuana stood side-by-side on Monday, affirming their commitment to collaborating for the benefit of their shared region. Its a relationship that works, it is one that were proud of, one were committed to, San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer said at a news conference held jointly with Tijuanas new mayor, Juan Manuel Gastelum, following a meeting at Faulconers City Hall office. We are going to continue to tell our story, and we are going to continue to say how this relationship has served this region. Their meeting came amid growing friction between the United States and Mexico following statements by President Donald Trump that he intends to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement, step up deportations, and build a continuous border wall passing the cost onto Mexico. Advertisement In the current uncertain climate, leadership at the city and the regional level has never been more important, said Nikia Clarke, executive director of the World Trade Center San Diego, one of several business leaders who joined the two mayors at their meeting. We know that our border economy has been a driver of tremendous growth. With Trump, a resurgence of Mexican nationalism at the border The mayors, whose cities are joined by the busiest border crossing in the Western Hemisphere, stuck to their theme of collaboration and the benefits that it brings to both sides. Both Gastelum and Faulconer, who is a Republican, avoided responding to questions about Trumps statements on Mexico. We must keep our relationships strong in light of some of the things that have been said outside our cities, Gastelum said. We want to keep the momentum going. Faulconer called the San Diego-Tijuana mega-region the largest hub of medical device manufacturing in the world, and said international trade and investment have created more than 110,000 jobs in San Diego.We are going to continue to tell our story, and we are going to continue to say how this relationship has served this region. Since Trumps electoral victory, a number of border mayors have spoken out about the importance of bilateral relationships. Days after the November election, the mayors of El Paso, Texas, and Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, vowed to strengthen the ties between their cities. Farther east, the mayors of Brownsville and Matamoros are now preparing to send a joint letter to invite Trump and Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto to visit their cities. The mayors of the twin cities of Ambos Nogales Nogales, Mexico and Nogales Arizona last month held a joint news conference expressing concern about President Trumps plan to step up deportations, worried about the effects on their region. For communities that live the U.S.-Mexico relationship every single day to stand up and say, Were in this together, is a powerful statement right now, said Christopher Wilson, deputy director of the Mexico Institute at the Woodrow Wilson Center for International Scholars in Washington, D.C. Such actions go against the narrative that weve been hearing that the United States and Mexico are first and foremost competitors rather than partners, Wilson said. The cities of San Diego and Tijuana have a history of collaboration that goes back decades, and has ranged from fighting fires and floods to detaining criminals to lobbying for funds for projects such as sewage treatment plants and border crossing infrastructure. Mayors from both cities have joined delegations organized by the San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce that traveled to Mexico City and Washington, D.C., to meet with federal officials. Our mission has never been more important than it is today, said Jerry Sanders, president of the San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce. The truth is that economically, we are very integrated, Humberto Jaramillo, president of the Tijuana Business Coordinating Council. It is in no way convenient for us to allow a situation such as the one currently taking place at the federal level to impact the region. Mondays meeting at City Hall came two months after Gastelum, a member of Mexicos National Action Party (PAN), launched his three-year term on Dec. 1. Faulconer and Gastelum agreed that their administrations will extend a memorandum of understanding signed between Faulconer and the previous Tijuana mayor, Jorge Astiazaran. The agreement sets up a framework for collaboration among staff from both cities. The mayors also committed to continue joint promotions of the region. We talked primarily about strengthening that relationship, its one thats served both of our cities very well, Faulconer said. These are relationships that weve been having for decades, its not about two cities but about one mega-region. sandra.dibble@sduniontribune.com @sandradibble Californias House Republicans have asked the Trump administration to block a pending federal grant that will ultimately support the states high speed rail project until an audit of the projects finances is completed. The letter, signed by all 14 members of the states GOP delegation, including House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, was sent to Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao. It cites cost increases, reductions in the projects scope and its failure to attract private financing. Dated Jan. 24, the letter asks Chao to stop approval of a $650-million grant that the Transportation Department could make to the Bay Areas Caltrain commuter rail agency as early as next week as part of an effort to install an electrical system. The bullet train would eventually use the same line from San Jose to San Francisco. Advertisement This latest effort to at least temporarily derail the multibillion-dollar project comes at a particularly tense political moment. President Trump on Sunday told a Fox News host that California in many ways is out of control and has vowed to cut funds to the state over immigration issues. But he has also said he will massively increase the nations infrastructure spending. Providing additional funding at this time to the (high speed rail) authority would be an irresponsible use of taxpayers dollars. GOP letter to Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao A 3,700-foot viaduct that is being built to extend over State Route 99 in Fresno County for Californias high-speed rail line. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) Trumps and Chaos view on the bullet train, the nations largest infrastructure project, is largely unknown. The unified position against further federal funding by the states own Republican representatives will be an early test of the new administrations direction. California Democrats quickly countered the Republicans letter with one of their own, asking that the grant be approved, and charging that the Republicans letter misstated the fact that the grant was being sought by the rail authority, rather than the Caltrain joint powers board. A spokesman for House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco) issued a statement Monday, saying the Republicans letter was rife with inaccuracies and innuendo and arguing that blocking the train would cost California thousands of jobs and make commuting between San Francisco and Silicon Valley, dirtier, slower and more crowded. Rep. Jim Costa (D-Fresno), an early and staunch supporter, called the idea that the project is a waste of tax money false, adding: The positive impacts of High Speed Rail construction can be seen in my district and throughout the Central Valley. The rail authority said in a statement that rail modernization, including the bullet train, will improve mobility in the state. The electrification of the Caltrain Corridor is an important component of that and of the advancement of high-speed rail in California. If the administration cuts off related money for the bullet train and attempts to enforce stricter controls on existing multibillion-dollar grants, it could cause significant stress on a project that is already facing increasing costs and schedule delays. Ultimately, California may have no other choice than to increase its commitment of state tax money to Gov. Jerry Browns signature project, even as the state faces a projected budget deficit. The letter notes that the original cost of the bullet train was estimated about $33 billion for a system that would run from San Diego to Sacramento. Since then the cost has risen to $64 billion, while the scope of the project has been sharply curtailed. It also cites a risk analysis by the Federal Railroad Administration projected a potential $3.5-billion increase in cost for the first segment of the project from Merced to Shafter. The analysis was made public last month by The Times. The positive impacts of High Speed Rail construction can be seen in my district and throughout the Central Valley. Rep. Jim Costa (D-Fresno) The GOP congressional letter, which was obtained by The Times, says providing additional funding at this time to the authority would be an irresponsible use of taxpayers dollars. In light of the new revelations from the confidential FRA report, we request no further monies be granted to the [California High-Speed Rail] Authority or the state of California for high speed rail until a full and complete audit of the project and its finances can be conducted and those finding be presented to the public. Rep. Jeff Denham (R-Turlock), chairman of the House rail subcommittee, has said repeatedly that serious problems in the project were not made public by the Obama Administration and has vowed to stop any future federal funding for a project that he had branded as a fiasco. The Republican letter did not specify who would conduct the requested audit, but House staffers said it could be the Transportation Department inspector general or the Government Accountability Office. Such wide-ranging audits often take many months and once completed could be subject to congressional review or hearings that would take additional time. The grant in question is a key part of the $2-billion electrification project, which would convert Caltrains system from diesel locomotives to electric-powered cars. It was put into motion in the Obama Administrations closing days. It requires a 30-day notice to key members of Congress before it can be approved. That window closes Feb. 17. If the grant is not funded some time this month, it would have potentially devastating effects on the Caltrains electrification project, said Seamus Murphy, the rail systems chief communications officer. The rail system, operated by a joint powers agency on the Peninsula, already has signed contracts that pledge to give a formal notice to begin work by March 1. If the agency fails to provide that notice, it could incur penalties so severe that we might not be able to do the project, Murphy said. If the project is not completed, the bullet train agency might have no choice but to electrify the line itself in future years at a cost of about $2 billion. Murphy called that a doomsday scenario that would deny commuters improved service and greater capacity for years. The argument between Democrats and Republicans pivots on the arcane issue of whether the grant is solely for Caltrain electrification. It is not a grant associated with high speed rail in any way, Murphy said. But Republican staffers say the California High-Speed Rail Authority is putting up about $713 million for the electrification, money that is supposed to come from bonds specifically earmarked for high speed rail. So in their view the electrification grant does support high speed rail and therefore should be held up until completion of an audit on the bullet train project. Pelosis office said it is unfortunate that the Republicans, by sending their letter, chose to take Caltrain electrification hostage. ralph.vartabedian@latimes.com Follow me on Twitter @rvartabedian ALSO California storms could trigger floods, mudslides and bring 120-mph winds, forecasters warn Zika virus is here to stay. Heres how California is preparing for that new reality Decades after deadly arson fire at Westlake apartment complex, LAPD announces arrests and possible motive UPDATES: 11:43 a.m.: This article was updated with a statement from the California High-Speed Rail Authority. 6:10 p.m.: This article was updated with additional information including reaction from Democrats. This article was originally published at 1:55 p.m. The inmate said he was summoned to a spot under a stairway where no jail guards or cameras would be able to see. There, he said, three other Los Angeles County inmates ambushed him, leaving him with a busted jaw and broken nose, a concussion, double vision and blood oozing from his face. The inmate, Saul Steve Lira, said the guard on duty deliberately ignored what was going on. Advertisement Now, prosecutors have charged the guard with assault, accusing him of walking away at the request of another inmate so Lira could be beaten and later refusing to assist Lira with medical help. The case against Custody Assistant Jonathan Grijalva is the latest in a string of criminal prosecutions that have roiled the Los Angeles County Sheriffs Department since a jail scandal involving beatings of inmates erupted more than five years ago. But the charge marks the first time since then that a guard has been accused of looking the other way to allow inmates to attack someone else. Jail experts said the Sheriffs Department has made significant progress in reducing serious force in the jails but that Grijalvas case raises ongoing concerns about whether inmates feel safe enough to come forward with complaints about brutality or other jailer misconduct. Soon after the Feb. 15, 2014, incident, Lira reported that his injuries were caused by a fall in the shower, not by an assault. Despite the seriousness of his injuries, no one at the jail appears to have questioned his initial account. The department didnt launch an investigation for another two months after Lira obtained a lawyer and detailed in a legal complaint against the county that he had been assaulted, a department spokeswoman said. He later said in a lawsuit that he lied because he feared retaliation by the inmates. Peter Eliasberg, legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California, which is a court-ordered monitor of the jails, said figuring out the cause of inmate injuries is a key part of developing accountability. Jail staff, he said, must look for signs that inmates are holding back out of fear for their safety and the department needs to do more to change the culture so that inmates feel comfortable speaking up about violence. There are ways to get reluctant witnesses to speak, but you have to make sure they dont feel theyre going to be tagged as a snitch, he said. It concerns me that there wasnt a thorough investigation until the inmate filed a civil rights claim. Sheriffs officials said they took Liras allegations seriously as soon as they learned of them and have taken aggressive steps to prevent similar episodes in the future. Maintaining public trust and confidence in the management of our jail system is highly important to me, Sheriff Jim McDonnell said in a statement. The department has added cameras throughout its jails, including the North County Correctional Facility, where Lira was held. Since June, 100 cameras have been installed in the Castaic jail and officials plan to add 600 more, said sheriffs spokeswoman Nicole Nishida. Chief David Fender, who helps run the departments Custody Services Division, said sergeants are now required to interview inmates to figure out how they received their injuries in case they were from a beating. It is a different world today than it was in 2011 when a lot of this jail violence was coming to a head, Fender said. People are held accountable at a much higher level than they were before. Grijalva, a 28-year-old custody assistant who has worked for the department since he was 19, was charged in November. Hes been on unpaid leave since October 2014. Prosecutors also filed an assault charge against Raul McDonald, an inmate accused of standing guard so that Lira could be beaten without interference. Both have pleaded not guilty. This just shows you that the people that are there to protect him were not doing what they were supposed to. Theyre part of the problem. Ida De La Cruz, sister of the inmate Grijalvas attorney, Vicki Podberesky, declined to comment. But Brian Moriguchi, president of the Professional Peace Officers Assn., which represents Grijalva, said he believes sheriffs brass and prosecutors relied too heavily on the word of an inmate shot caller suspected of playing a key role in the attack on Lira. They take the word of hardened criminals over law enforcement officials, he said. Theyre trying to show the public that they dont tolerate abuse by police officers, but theyve taken that to an extreme. Lira, 34, was booked into the Castaic jail in January 2014 on a parole violation. Hed previously been convicted of crimes including burglary, assault with a firearm and vehicle theft. In a federal lawsuit Lira filed against the Sheriffs Department, he alleged that he ran afoul of his dormitorys shot caller an inmate who wields significant power through threats and intimidation who was unhappy with Liras work cleaning the area. The shot caller spoke to Grijalva, who was supervising the dorm, the suit said. Soon after, Grijalva allegedly walked away. The shot caller called Lira over to an area under the stairway where he was attacked, according to the complaint, which did not identify his assailants. Later, when Lira, whose face was bleeding, approached Grijalva asking for medical help, Grijalva told him to wait and did nothing to assist him before ending his shift several hours later, the lawsuit said. When another guard asked Lira how he had been injured, Lira said hed fallen in the shower. He lied out of fear of retaliation, he said. Lira also alleged he was denied proper medical attention for a week after the beating and was given only painkillers, even though he ended up needing to have his jaw wired shut. Steve was almost killed, said Liras older sister, Ida De La Cruz, who calls her brother by his middle name. This just shows you that the people that are there to protect him were not doing what they were supposed to. Theyre part of the problem. Lira was released about a month later and filed the legal claim, followed by his lawsuit. De La Cruz said her brother was living in a halfway house but relapsed and was re-arrested. Records show he is in state prison on a charge of firearm possession by a felon. His sister said his lawyers lost interest in the suit after Liras latest arrest. A county attorney said his lawsuit was settled for $8,000. Liras lead attorney, Brett Rosenthal, declined to comment. Miriam Krinsky, a former federal prosecutor who led the countys Citizens Commission on Jail Violence, said she was heartened that the Sheriffs Department and district attorneys office took Liras allegations seriously enough to pursue criminal charges. She noted that her commissions 2012 final report identified a persistent pattern of abuse by jail guards and a lack of discipline in response to complaints. Still, an allegation that a guard would look the other way during a beating by inmates is disturbing, she said. In some ways you can excuse incidents where in the heat of the moment, someone throws a punch when they shouldnt have, Krinsky said. But looking the other way or lying about incidents, those are the kinds of things that reflect even deeper character flaws and lack of integrity that are harder to train people out of. Alex Busansky, a former member of the commission who now runs a research center devoted to criminal justice reform, said the county needs to ensure that inmates feel safe in making complaints. That, he said, wont be easy. Changing the culture of a jail is challenging, he said. Creating a safe place for inmates is difficult. It takes time. To read the article in Spanish, click here maya.lau@latimes.com Twitter: @mayalau ALSO High desert water treatment authority mismanaged millions in federal funds, audit says S.F. deputy charged with giving gun to felon whom she had relationship with in jail, prosecutors say Californians are paying billions for power they dont need Just eight months after being sworn in to serve on the San Diego bench in 2013, Superior Court Judge Gary Kreep had become the subject of mounting complaints over comments he made to lawyers in his downtown courtroom. As a result, top court officials crafted a Plan of Action in August aimed at improving his judicial demeanor and curbing some of his behavior, according to testimony Monday at a state judicial discipline hearing into allegations of misconduct by Kreep. Advertisement Superior Court Judge Timothy Walsh testified that the plan included ordering Kreep to read a judicial ethics book cover to cover, and observe other veteran judges as they worked and make a list of their best practices to adopt to his courtroom. Kreep also was told to watching instructional videos on preventing sexual harassment and to submit to Walsh and other top supervisors a written plan outlining how he planned to avoid future problems. Walshs testimony came on the first day of a hearing by the California Commission of Judicial Performance, the agency charged with disciplining judges. The commission has charged Kreep with misconduct related to errors during his 2012 campaign, courtroom comments about the appearance of women and others, and how he handled some cases. The hearing is before a three-judge panel appointed by the Supreme Court. The panel will submit a report to the full commission on its findings, with Kreep facing a range of punishment from censure to removal from the bench. Kreep has denied violating judicial ethics. His lawyers said the courts power structure was out to get him from the moment he took the bench. As a lawyer, Kreep and his U.S. Justice Foundation took on a number of conservative legal causes, including the discredited birther fight that erroneously questioned if former President Barack Obama was a U.S. citizen. On Monday, Kreep sat quietly between his two lawyers listening as former San Diego deputy city attorneys and a judge testified about comments he made in his courtroom in 2013. Previously: Judge on trial: Gary Kreep disciplinary hearing begins Monday Judge Kreep faces discipline from state judicial commission Judge Kreep says judicial watchdog agency targeted him, wants him to quit Fine may not be last problem for Kreep Terri Winbush testified that Kreep regularly referred to her as Star Parker when she entered his courtroom. Parker is an African-American author and conservative activist. Winbush is also African-American. Winbush said Kreep told her his friends tried to get him a date with Parker but it did not work out, and once told her she should be flattered by the comparison. She was not. The only resemblance I saw was she was a black woman. It made me incredibly uncomfortable, Winbush said. Lawyer Paige Hazard said she also regularly appeared in Kreeps court. Now a lawyer with the state Attorney Generals Office, she testified the atmosphere was toxic in the courtroom. She said Kreep had a habit of tossing Animal Cracker cookies down from his bench to the desks below where prosecutors and defendants sat. The commission has alleged Kreep referred to female defense lawyers by nicknames such as Bunhead and commented on their physical appearance. He also referred to a 6 foot 7 inch male deputy public defender as Shorty. But that lawyer, Nate Crowley, testified he was not offended and that Kreep kept his courtroom lighthearted. The complaints led to an August 2013 meeting with Kreep, Judge Walsh, then-Presiding Judge Robert Trentacosta and then-Assistant Presiding Judge David Danielsen. Walsh said Kreep was told to be more judicial by Danielsen, and Walsh told him to to use his filter and be cognizant that what he said could be considered inappropriate by some people. He also told him to keep his radar up about who was in his courtroom. Walsh said Kreep acknowledged making some of the remarks but also said he was being targeted by the San Diego City Attorneys Office because of how he was sentencing some misdemeanor cases. I know Judge Kreep felt the City Attorney s Office was not happy with him, Walsh said. The meeting concluded with Kreep instructed not to use nicknames and to make other improvements. The Plan of Action memo came out a few weeks later. It included a condition that observers would be sent to Kreeps courtroom sometimes without telling him to check his progress. Walsh, in an email to Trentacosta and Danielsen, said Kreep was not grasping the point of the plan and seemed not to appreciate the overarching goal to change his judicial demeanor and how he ran his courtroom. The judicial discipline hearing in the downtown San Diego courtroom of the state 4th District Court of Appeal will continue Tuesday. Twitter: @gregmoran greg.moran@sduniontribune.com A woman who shot her son-in-law to death, saying it was because he abused her daughter and grandchildren, was found guilty of first-degree murder by a North County jury on Monday. Cynthia Cdebaca, who will be 66 next week, faces 50 years to life in prison. Cdebaca, who suffered a stoke in 2001, was smiling and nodding her head during the hearing, even after the verdict was read. Her daughter Laura Salinas, who was married to the victim but testified for her mother, began to cry. Advertisement Salinas did not comment after the hearing. Her mothers attorney, Deputy Public Defender William Stone, said the case was sad for all involved, and that it had no winners. We were prepared for anything, said Stone, who had asked the jury to find his Cdebaca guilty of voluntary manslaughter instead of murder. He also said Salinas misses her husband and she misses her mother. Jurors, who had deliberated for about two days, declined to comment after the verdict was read in Vista Superior Court. Cdebaca has admitted shooting 53-year-old Geoward Estaquio about 8 a.m. on Feb. 11, 2014 her 63rd birthday after he made snide comments to her on the back patio of the familys upscale home in a gated Fallbrook community. She grabbed her gun and ambushed him as he carried laundry, emptying the weapon and twice going to her car for more bullets.She then grabbed bacon and eggs at a diner, ditched the gun, and gambled for a bit at a Temecula casino. Detectives found her that afternoon at a Fallbrook coffee shop. During closing arguments Wednesday, defense attorney Stone said his client snapped after seeing her daughter and grandchildren then 12 and 15 repeatedly abused. Deputy District Attorney Keith Watanabe told the jury that, while the victim was abusive, he did not deserve to die. Cdebaca, he said, made herself judge, jury, and executioner. We believe this is a fair and just verdict, Watanabe said. Cdebaca walks and speaks slowly the result of her stroke 16 years ago. After the stroke, she had lived on and off with her daughters family, but decided to stay for good when she spotted her daughters hidden bruises on Thanksgiving Day 2013. According to testimony, dysfunction in the family had intensified in recent years. Cdebaca told detectives she shot Estaquio to protect her family. Based on 911 calls from neighbors, the shooting episode lasted about 10 minutes. It started on the back patio of the familys large home in the gated Peppertree Park community in Fallbrook. Cdebaca told police that Estaquio made a snide comment about her clothing, and that the two had words before she headed up to her granny flat and grabbed her .38-caliber revolver from her purse. She returned and opened fire. At one point, likely during one of the two times the slow-moving Cdebaca went to her car to get more bullets, a wounded Estaquio crawled from the patio into the kitchen, locking the door behind him. Cdebaca fired through the door glass, gaining entry to the kitchen, where she continued to shoot her son-in-law. Of the 15 shots she fired, three went into the door. The other 12 struck Estaquio one was a graze wound, but many of them hit his torso. Evidence indicates some of the shots came as he was crawling away. Watanabe said Cdebaca had long wanted to kill him, had even gone to a shooting range less than three weeks earlier. Mrs. Cdebaca gave herself her 63rd birthday present, Watanabe told the jury Wednesday. She got what she wanted. teri.figueroa@sduniontribune.com Twitter: @TeriFigueroaUT San Diego high school students have until the end of the week to apply to attend San Diego Community College District classes for free. The districts San Diego Promise program is open to students graduating from the San Diego Unified School District and pays enrollment fees and books not covered by financial aid. Advertisement The program also will accept 75 students from San Diego Continuing Education in the San Diego Community College District and 10 students from the Monarch School for the homeless. The community college district has funding for 600 incoming freshmen this year, and only 425 have applied so far. Students have until Friday to apply to the program at www.sandiegounified.org/promise. San Diego Promise was launched as a pilot program in fall 2016 and paid for about 200 student to attend classes. The community college district hopes to quadruple the number of students in the program with an additional 600 this year. The districts ultimate goal is to provide free community college for 2,600 students, a plan that will cost about $3 million a year. The district hopes to establish an endowment of $40 million or $45 million to fund the program, and it received $300,000 in donations last year. Participants are required to meet with counselors, develop an education plan, enroll in 12 units or more for both fall and spring semesters, contribute eight hours of community service, and maintain a minimum GPA of 2.0. Students will be eligible to attend City, Mesa, and Miramar colleges in the fall. The San Diego Promise was created in response to former President Barack Obamas proposed Americas College Promise, which would provide two years of free college education. No federal funds were available for the program, but chancellors from all state community college districts worked together in creating the California College Promise. A recent analysis found that nine of 10 students in this years San Diego Promise program are from underrepresented communities, and approximately half come from families with a household income of less than $40,000 annually. gary.warth@sduniontribune.com Twitter: @GaryWarthUT 760-529-4939 In addition to reading, writing and math, students in Carlsbad Unified School District will have the chance to cultivate creativity, persistence and metacognition. Those are some of the habits of mind that students will work on with their families through a workshop offered by Cal State San Marcos in cooperation with the Carlsbad district. Advertisement Habits of mind are skills essential to work, education and social relationships. A set of 16 habits were originally developed by Arthur L. Costa, a professor emeritus of education at Cal State University, Sacramento, but other institutions have devised variations on them to help students succeed academically. They describe the mental habits of successful people, about peoples ability to be flexible when things dont go their way, to be curious about things around them, and open-minded, said Erika Daniels, faculty director of the Alliance to Accelerate Excellence in Education. The alliance, a coalition of local school districts and the university, is offering the eight week course to Carlsbad students on Tuesday evenings. It piloted the program with San Marcos Unified School District last year, and aims to offer it to other North County school districts next year. Participants in the program start each session with a family meal, and then break into separate groups for parents and guardians, elementary, middle and high school students. Each week theyll cover a different habit in classes geared toward the various age groups. The habits, as defined in the workshop, include curiosity, flexibility, engagement, openness, creativity, metacognition, responsibility and persistence. The session on curiosity, for instance, explores how students are inquiring about their options, and exploring paths they may take in education and life. Metacognition is the process of thinking about thinking. Its being aware of why youre making the decisions youre making, knowing what your strengths are so you can build on them, knowing what your challenges or weaknesses are, so you can get help with them, Daniels said. So you have strategies for turning a struggle around into success. The session on flexibility, she said, covers the message that mistakes are part of the learning process, and focuses on learning to handle what life throws at you gracefully and adjust and move on. So far, 133 participants have enrolled in the workshop, which began this week, and continues for eight weeks. The sessions are designed to build on each other, but each week can work as a standalone lesson, she said. deborah.brennan@sduniontribune.com Twitter: @deborahsbrennan The embattled regional transportation agency SANDAG is facing evidence suggesting that it suppressed key revenue information ahead of a public vote on a controversial tax increase. For months last year, officials with the San Diego Association of Governments touted that a half-cent sales tax on the November ballot would bring in $18 billion over 40 years. Advertisement At the same time, the agencys top brass was having an internal debate about how best to calculate such predictions raising the possibility the levy would likely bring in far less than advertised for promised highway and transit projects. After voters rejected the proposed tax, known as Measure A, SANDAG has since acknowledged that the $18 billion projection was aggressive. The recognition highlights uncertainty about whether the agency wouldve been able to complete specific projects called for in its tax-and-spend blueprint, from a new trolley line to overhauled freeway connectors to synchronized traffic signals. Officials now estimate the agency needs to lock down an additional $17.5 billion in state and federal funding to complete its previous obligations under a 2004 sales-tax extension called TransNet, which is slated to sunset in 2048. The projected funding gap is the result of the new revenue revisions, plus increases in the anticipated cost of of remaining projects. Revelations about the revenue-forecasting debate were reported Monday by the Voice of San Diego, which obtained emails in which one of SANDAGs chief economists responded sharply to estimates used by agency staff to calculate growth in taxable retail sales. omg and wtf, wrote the economist, Ray Major. SANDAG executive director Gary Gallegos is downplaying the situation, characterizing the disagreement as just one part of a two-year effort to overhaul the agencys model for forecasting revenues. We had economists saying the input coming out of this model seems like it might be a little high, but we also had the economist thats done all the work saying, We think this is a good number, he told The San Diego Union-Tribune in an interview Monday. Its an estimate, not a real number, so I didnt have any reason to go to the board and say lets change anything, he added. Measure A failed to get the needed two-thirds majority vote in November after it had faced opposition from mass-transit advocates, as well as those who want highway expansion ahead of getting more buses and trolleys. Then in December following a series of news reports by Voice of San Diego SANDAG officials announced they were revising their revenue-projection model to be more conservative. County Supervisor Ron Roberts, who also serves as SANDAGs board chair, said he didnt find out about the issue until it was publicly disclosed at an agency board meeting that month. Im disappointed that they didnt say, Hey, Mr. Chairman, what do you think about this? What should we do? he said Monday. But I dont think anyone deliberately set about to (influence) the election. Critics of the agency on both the political right and the left pounced on the latest controversy, saying SANDAG shouldnt be trusted because of its lack of transparency. What little credibility SANDAG had left has been destroyed with these revelations, said Tony Krvaric, chairman of the Republican Party of San Diego County. Their books should be independently audited, after which this quasi-governmental organization should be scrapped. It will be a cold day in hell before the Republican Party of San Diego County supports a (future) SANDAG tax increase, he added. Nicole Capretz, executive director of the nonprofit Climate Action Campaign, called for an overhaul of the agency. She had spearheaded efforts by environmental and labor groups to kill Measure A. Unfortunately, this level of deception and dishonesty by a government agency undermines the ability of all local agencies to raise revenue, which hurts our ability to provide basic city services like public transportation to San Diego families, she said. We cannot support any future SANDAG measure unless and until there are leadership changes at the top, as well as significant reform in how SANDAG operates and how it is structured. As the agency mulls how to secure greater revenue after the defeat of Measure A including whether to put more tax proposals on the ballot it continues to wage a legal battle that has reached the states highest court. Environmentalists sued SANDAG several years ago, alleging that its long-range master plan lacks enough specifics and enforcement measures for dealing with greenhouse-gas emissions that are contributing to climate change. They prevailed in the lower courts, and the agency appealed those rulings to the California Supreme Court. The high court has agreed to hear the case. RELATED 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. Twitter: @jemersmith Phone: (619) 293-2234 Email: joshua.smith@sduniontribune.com Three students who attend universities in California, including one from Grossmont College in El Cajon, sued the Trump administration on Thursday over the recent ban on travelers from seven majority-Muslim countries. The lawsuit, filed by the American Civil Liberties Union in Northern California, says that the 90-day ban created by an executive order from President Donald Trump just over a week ago violates First Amendment religious protections and provisions of the Immigration and Nationality Act. Advertisement Also see: Trumps orders on border and immigration: whats happening now The federal government has made it clear that it intends to favor Christian immigrants over Muslims in making decisions about who to detain, interrogate, deport, or entirely refuse entry, said Julia Mass, an attorney with the ACLU of Northern California, in a news release. We are a diverse society. American Muslims, immigrants and U.S.-born alike are part of the fabric of this nation. The ban, the ACLU says in a description of the case, is a pretext for the underlying aim to discriminate against Muslims and establish priority for the Christian religion. The First Amendment does not allow the government to circumvent its protections for religious freedom so easily, the complaint says. A federal judge in Seattle issued a temporary restraining order that blocked implementation of the ban nationwide on Friday in another lawsuit challenging the ban. The student from Grossmont College, Wasim Ghaleb, is originally from Yemen, according to the complaint. He was studying business administration on a student visa. He traveled to Saudi Arabia on Jan. 15 to see his family, the complaint says, with plans to return two weeks later in time for spring semester. He is now stuck outside the country because of the Executive Order, said the complaint. Ghaleb, through his lawyers, declined to be interviewed. They said he was able to come to America Sunday night after Trumps moratorium was lifted by the courts. The two other students in the lawsuit attend Stanford University and University of California Berkeley. The Stanford student is in her first year of college and is from Yemen. The Berkeley student is Iranian and working on his PhD. On the campaign trail, Trump called for a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States until our countrys representatives can figure out what the hell is going on. His now-stayed 90-day moratorium on entry applied to travelers from Iraq, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen. Trump has said the order was about protecting America from terrorism, not banning Muslims from entering the U.S. Immigration Videos On Now New developments in family separation case 9:53 On Now A San Diego woman volunteered as a medic in Texas helping migrant families 2:35 On Now Immigration policy protests in Carlsbad nearly cancelled after permit issue 1:38 On Now When children are separated from their parents at the border, here is where they go next On Now Prospects of a deal for 'Dreamers' may hinge on separating Trump from hard-liners on his staff On Now What is DACA? On Now Border wall prototype contractors selected On Now Video: Ukrainian boxer wins asylum in U.S. On Now 30 apprehended after Border Patrol agents discover tunnel On Now Video: Kurdish diaspora prepare to vote on independence kate.morrissey@sduniontribune.com, @bgirledukate Concerned that the increasing popularity of drones could threaten public safety, San Diego officials plan to join a small group of cities across the nation trying to crack down on irresponsible users. A proposed ordinance that would give city police the authority to cite reckless users, including those flying the unmanned aerial vehicles near airports and emergency operations, will be presented Wednesday to the City Councils Public Safety Committee. Advertisement The legislation, which has been in the works for more than a year, was prompted by multiple incidents when users flew drones near city airports, including San Diego International, or in the flight path of a city airport. The proposed legislation mirrors drone regulations created by the Federal Aviation Administration, in contrast to some other cities that have gone beyond the FAA rules in trying to protect privacy rights. Poway, which was among the first cities in the nation to adopt drone legislation, last fall banned the use of drones when they could interfere with helicopters and aircraft responding to a wildfire or other emergency, a more specific version of an FAA rule prohibiting drones from interfering with emergency responses. San Diegos legislation would simply adopt the FAAs regulations into the citys municipal code, allowing local law enforcement to issue citations when users violate those regulations, said Lt. Colonel John Valencia, director of the citys Office of Homeland Security. The federal regulations in place are administrative, which means local law enforcement does not have the authority to enforce them, said Valencia, noting that police can only take down information about a violation and then call the FAA to request an investigation. Currently, law enforcement can ask a reckless user to stop, but has no authority to issue a citation. The FAA regulations the city plans to adopt prohibit operating drones in a careless or reckless manner, in violation of FAA flight restrictions or in a manner that interferes with law enforcement, firefighter, or any other emergency rescue operations. The third prohibition would prevent drone owners from trying to shoot video of wildfires, which has prompted officials several times in recent years to ground aircraft dumping water on wildfires from above. FAA officials have urged cities not to go beyond the federal rules to avoid a patchwork quilt of regulations that vary by city and confuse commercial drone operators and people who use the devices as a hobby. Cities that go beyond the FAA also face questions about the legality of their rules, because federal law preempts local laws in many areas. The Academy of Model Aeronautics, an advocacy group for drone operators, praised San Diego for not overreaching, but also called the citys proposed legislation unnecessary. I wouldnt consider this language something that would keep me up at night, said Chad Budreau, the academys director of public relations and government affairs. I dont really see this changing anything. Budreau said city police already have the authority to cite drone users when they threaten public safety, just as they can cite someone for jaywalking or other illegal actions. But, he said, the new legislation would provide clarity that city police can and should act when they see a drone violating FAA regulations. Anyone convicted could face a fine of $1,000 or six months in jail if the city treats the violation as a misdemeanor. If its treated as an infraction, the fine would be $250 and would increase to $500 for a second violation within the same year. Budreau said the city would be better off exploring the most effective ways to enforce FAA regulations, rather than passing its own. He said laying city and state ordinances on top of federal law just creates confusion among users. The academy tries to help clarify regulations for users with the website knowbeforeyoufly.org. The city legislation was created by a working group of city departments, the San Diego Law Enforcement Coordination Center, the Harbor Police and an FAA representative. The group analyzed drone laws in Poway, Los Angeles, Berkeley, Miami, Chicago and Pittsburgh, plus possible state of California laws under discussion in Sacramento. The group was created after multiple local incidents involving airports, Col. Valencia said, including two separate incidents involving Lindbergh Field on Aug. 23, 2015. First, two crew members on a Delta Airlines flight from Phoenix to San Diego saw a drone off the left side of the plane but did not make any evasive maneuvers because they were already turning away from the drone. Next, a public school employee flew a drone at high altitude at Point Loma High School attempting to take photos of the schools roof without realizing the schools sensitive flight path location. Two weeks later, there were reports of a drone flying between Gates 23 and 33 of San Diego International. FAA tracking of drone incidents shows there have also been several at Gillespie Field, Montgomery-Gibbs Field and Brown Field. RELATED The Sheriffs Department is using drones to document crime scenes, search for missing people, aid SWAT teams during their operations and for other reasons in dangerous scenarios. david.garrick@sduniontribune.com (619) 269-8906 Twitter:@UTDavidGarrick A car thief rammed a San Diego police patrol car, drove briefly on a sidewalk and hit a parked car in Ocean Beach Tuesday. No one was injured in the collisions on Castelar Street near Etiwanda Street, police said. Advertisement The damaged stolen car was found in Mission Beach later and a man walking along Ingraham Street was questioned, then arrested. Shortly before 8:30 a.m., an officer at Mariners Way in Mission Beach ran a computer check on a 2010 Honda Civic and found that it had been reported stolen, police said. The officer tried to pull over the driver, who didnt stop. The Civic driver sped south on West Mission Bay Drive at 60 mph, then headed south on Sunset Cliffs Boulevard in Ocean Beach, police said. Officers followed the Civic up and down several small streets and as it cut through a gas station and down an alley to Voltaire Street. It wasnt clear at what point the Civic swerved onto a sidewalk briefly, but police supervisors then ordered officers to stop the pursuit about 8:45 a.m. The Civic driver hit a parked Mercedes-Benz on Castelar, made a U-turn and rammed a patrol car. Police said they believe the collision was a deliberate assault, not an accident. The impacts knocked the front bumper off the Civic. Officers lost sight of the Civic until it turned up at Mission Bay Park on Crown Point Drive about 10:20 a.m. A witness pointed officers toward a man who had gotten out of the car and was walking away, police said. The man was detained, identified by the witness and arrested, police said. A 25-year-old man who fell to his death from the balcony of his fourth-floor apartment in the Rolando community over the weekend was identified Monday as Untyuan Smith. He was found with a serious head injury in the courtyard of the complex on 63rd Street near Stanley Avenue about 2:50 a.m. Saturday, San Diego police Lt. Mike Holden said. The young man died at a hospital. Advertisement Officers felt the death was suspicious, and homicide detectives were called to investigate. They determined two other men were in the apartment at the time of the fall Smiths 23-year-old roommate Ahmed Parr and 24-year-old Brady Cronin, who had been visiting. Both men were arrested on warrants unrelated to Smiths death. Parr was booked into jail on a probation violation, while Cronin was booked on several misdemeanor warrants including theft and drug charges. Smith was not wanted on any warrants, Holden said. None of the men attended San Diego State University. According to Smiths Facebook page, he had recently moved into the apartment and was studying communications at San Diego Mesa College. The Medical Examiners Office has not determined whether Smiths death should be ruled a homicide. Holden said detectives are continuing to investigate what took place in the apartment before the death. Twitter: @LAWinkley (619) 293-1546 lyndsay.winkley@sduniontribune.com A car sped off after crashing into a power pole, causing an outage that prompted classes to be canceled at a Lakeside high school Tuesday morning, officials said. Witnesses called 911 after spotting the downed pole on Ashwood Street in front of El Capitan High School about 7:30 a.m., according to the California Highway Patrol. Advertisement The crash caused a power outage at the campus, so district officials chose to cancel classes for the day, said spokeswoman Catherine Martin. Students who take the bus were driven to Grossmont High School to be picked up by their parents. Other students could be picked up at the Rodeo Grounds parking lot off Mapleview Street, Martin said. Officers closed the road at Willow Road and Mapleview while San Diego Gas & Electric crews made repairs. The utility estimated power would be restored about 3 p.m. Twitter: @LAWinkley (619) 293-1546 lyndsay.winkley@sduniontribune.com A man armed with a handgun robbed a Subway restaurant in Kearny Mesa Monday night, San Diego police said. The gunman walked into the eatery on Clairemont Mesa Drive east of Interstate 805 about 6:50 p.m. He took out the black handgun and demanded money from an employee, police said. The worker handed over an undisclosed amount of cash, and the robber left. Advertisement The thief was said to be in his 20s, 5 feet 6 inches tall and 200 pounds, wearing a hoodie and a bandana over his face. Breaking News Email: david.hernandez@sduniontribune.com Phone: (619) 293-1876 Twitter: @D4VIDHernandez One in five pets adopted from county animal shelters in the last months of 2016 were taken home on a Sunday, according to new data released by San Diego County officials. The records, released in response to a request from The San Diego Union-Tribune, show the pilot program opening shelters on Sundays led to 410 adoptions an increase of nearly 23 percent over the same period a year ago. Advertisement Sunday proved second only to Saturday as the most popular day of the week to adopt animals. The data show 521 adoptions on Saturdays between Oct. 23 and the end of the year. Over the last 10 Sundays of 2016, more than 8,500 people visited the Department of Animal Services shelters in Bonita, San Diego and Carlsbad, accounting for 20 percent of all visits to the facilities. Also, 120 animals picked up as loose strays were claimed by their owners on Sundays. Families also relinquished 466 dogs, cats and other animals, and 290 were taken in until they could be transferred to private facilities that are not open on Sundays, the county said. The added weekend opening cost less than officials estimated. DAS spent 39 percent ($116,550) of the allocated $296,199 as of Dec. 22, 2016, county spokesman Michael Workman said. The lower than expected expenditure rate is due to the challenges of finding qualified temporary staff. Workman said the interim workers need to be certified animal service representatives, which slowed the hiring process. The costs are expected to rise as shelters stay open on more Sundays, he said. Longtime volunteers said they were not surprised by the publics response to Sunday openings. If DAS spent significantly less money than expected and they factor in the increased revenue from higher adoption rates, staying open on Sundays is a no-brainer, said Leslie Davies, who helped push the county to improve shelter operations. The numbers speak for themselves. The county announced the temporary program last year, after the Union-Tribune published several reports detailing complaints by longtime volunteers that officials were killing dogs and cats unnecessarily and limiting adoptions. The inconvenience of limited weekend hours was one of their complaints. In response, the county brought in a senior executive to serve as the top deputy to department Director Dawn Danielson and hired a management consultant to review practices and make recommendations for improvement. Opening the shelters on Sundays was among the consultants suggestions. Last month, the department said it would extend the 90-day pilot project for an additional three months so officials could collect more information about weekend adoptions. Workman said the holidays may have skewed the results. Shelters will now be open on Sundays at least until mid-April. A decision about permanent Sunday openings will be made later this year. Current and former volunteers said they have been trying to spread the word about the new hours. The volunteers themselves have done much to promote the new hours, telling friends and publicizing it via social media, said Bonnie Kutch, a former county volunteer who now donates her time to the San Diego Humane Society, which operates in the same San Diego complex as the county shelter. At the central location, volunteers even stand out in front of the facility to inform people visiting the adjoining San Diego Humane Society that the county shelter is also open, and encourage them to visit that side of the campus, she said. Kutch said the San Diego County shelters were the only ones out of 14 municipal systems that had been closed on Sundays. Several of those, including New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Chicago, are open 7 days a week. In all, the county adopted out 2,044 animals between late October and Dec. 31, up from 1,667 over the same dates in 2015. County data show almost half of the Sunday adoptions 202 were made from the San Diego shelter. The Bonita facility outpaced Carlsbad, 143 to 65. Saturday adoptions remained constant between late October and December in 2015 and 2016, with 521 adoptions at the three shelters combined. The only weekday with a significant decline in adoptions was Tuesday, which dipped from 406 over that period in 2015 to 278 last year. At the Department of Animal Services, the public is invited to walk about the the open public areas to visit with the dogs that are available for adoption. (Nelvin C. Cepeda / San Diego Union-Tribune) jeff.mcdonald@sduniontribune.com (619) 293-1708 @sdutMcDonald Last week, Guatemala experienced its own mini-Arab Spring. In accordance with its constitution, the countrys Congress voted to strip its countrys president of the immunity granted to him by his office. The president, Otto Perez Molina, a former military leader, resigned his office, was charged with crimes of corruption, appeared in court and went into preventive detention. This was after his vice-president resigned a few months earlier in connection with a customs fraud scam that diverted millions of dollars away from the countrys treasury to private hands, including, it is alleged, Perez Molina. Then on Sept. 6, a comedian (albeit with a business administration degree) won the first round of elections for the new president. This is a major paradigm shift. Less than two decades ago, this perpetually violent and chronically underdeveloped Central American country ended its 36-year civil war in which an estimated 200,000 people were killed or disappeared. There were charges of genocide made by indigenous groups against Guatemalan military leaders. Even a few months ago, Guatemalas political elite and its security services did not take kindly to dissent. Speaking out against the government or even the opposition guerrilla movement could mean death for you and/or your family. Advertisement While 1996 peace accords have held, Guatemala remains a country where people have no voice and no hope. People stay poor even with the advent of the United States-Central American Free Trade Agreement and the promise of jobs that would come with lower or no tariffs or customs duties on products manufactured here. Economic power did not shift and the same wealthy families stayed wealthy, buying and selling politicians and government officials, providing impunity. The civil war also gave way to illicit drug and extortion activities as the country became a battlefield in the war on drugs that has engulfed the region. Maras and other Central American street gangs, military and police all take their piece of the flow of illicit drugs toward the United States. Murder is the norm and few crimes ever get prosecuted. There was little hope that things would change. It is little wonder that last year alone, some of the 70,000 Central American migrants, many of them unaccompanied minors, gave up and came north. That is, until a few months ago. The International Commission Against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG), an independent body established with the support of the United Nations and working with the countrys Public Prosecutors Office and National Civil Police investigation, started to gain traction in its fight against illegal influence peddling and clandestine security structures. The CICIG, used more than 60,000 wiretaps, suggesting that the ex-president may have been involved, along with others, in a corruption scandal known as La Linea, where businesspeople offered bribes to officials in lieu of paying customs duties, effectively siphoning millions of dollars in customs revenues while basic public services suffered. A court case will play out determining whether the ex-president is guilty or not. This is an important step as Guatemala begins to build the rule of law. There may still be a chance for democracy in the region. Just months ago, it was unimaginable that protesters could occupy the countrys central square without a security force crackdown and widespread human rights abuses. But for months demonstrators gathered peacefully in an effort to make their voices heard, demonstrated by the more than 100,000 citizens who gathered at the states capital to demand redress and the presidents resignation. And then, last week, it suddenly happened. The president was out of office and in prison within a day. Following the rule of law, the Guatemalan people have demonstrated that, with a little help from the international community, a once-struggling democracy can take the steps necessary to end a cycle of impunity, corruption and public insecurity. The U.S. strategy to help Guatemala in Guatemala will help prevent sudden migration flows. Lets hope that this is not a blip and that Central Americas mini-Arab Spring does not go the way of the Middle East Arab Spring violent, repressive, corrupt and unstable. With storm after storm filling reservoirs and swelling the Sierra Nevada snowpack to 171 percent of its historic average, Californians might be surprised that officials with the State Water Resources Control Board want to extend emergency statewide drought rules for 270 days instead of letting them expire Feb. 28. They argue that the snowpack can be rapidly depleted and say there are still dry conditions and unfilled reservoirs in parts of the state. Advertisement The agencys oversight board will vote on the drought extension Wednesday. If members want to keep their credibility, they should vote no and instead choose only to extend the regulations for the handful of areas starting with Santa Barbara and Ventura counties where they still make sense. The toughest mandates were dropped last year for areas in San Diego County and big cities across the state where water districts could establish they had three years of water supply in hand. Those that did no longer had to meet Gov. Jerry Browns complex 2015 mandate meant to yield an overall 25 percent reduction in water use in urban areas. Especially given this fact, the argument made by the California Water Association make sense: Both local and state water agencies lose the trust of the public when they cry drought in contradiction to whats actually happening. This doesnt mean Californians should stop being careful about their water consumption. It just means Brown and his administration should acknowledge the obvious. With the Sierra snowpack at its fullest in 22 years, the drought is all but over. Twitter: @sdutIdeas Facebook: UTOpinion Travel ban decision really protects no one Gary Gilberts letter (We must protect nation from potential enemies, Feb. 5) reflects no understanding of the process President Barack Obama created that requires more than a year of tough screening. It also reflects his lack of understanding that Donald Trumps ban targeted seven countries from which we have had no terrorists while not banning five countries from which many terrorists have come and in which he has big businesses. Advertisement Letters and commentary policy The U-T welcomes and encourages community dialogue on important public matters. Please visit this page for more details on our letters and commentaries policy. E-mail letters@sduniontribune.com Mail: Andrew Kleske, Reader Outreach Editor San Diego Union-Tribune P.O. Box 120191 San Diego, CA 92112-0191. You can also leave a comment below Which protection do we prefer? R. Larry Schmitt Mission Hills Liberals can sponsor refugees if they want In regard to Anne Kruegers column (Refugees want the same things all Americans want, Feb 3), nowhere is it mentioned that these refugees, who have been here for years, have gone on to become U.S. citizens allegiance to the U.S., our flag, etc. Minimal government assistance? Are you kidding me? No such thing. They get it all: Section 8 housing, food stamps and, of course, help to put the kids in college. If all these liberals want to sponsor a family and by that I mean actually supporting them until they can do so themselves, I am all for them to come to the U.S. Charlotte Marshall Santee Expect Trump to be blamed for everything Regarding Dont forget day jobs, state Democrats (Feb. 5): The residents and politicians of California should be thrilled with the Trump presidency. They now have a scapegoat to blame for its pension disaster, infrastructure, underfunding of education, runaway crime and anything else their Democratic policies have caused to ruin this once-great state. Let the blame game begin. Bruce Kent San Diego Wall builder better make sure check clears This word of caution: Whoever contracts with the Trump administration to build that wall along the Mexican border had better get the money up front. Ron Bonn Tierrasanta Debate over abortion cartoons continues The response to the editorial cartoons run on Jan. 28 (Readers at odds over cartoons on abortion, Feb. 1), one reflecting each end of a spectrum, has been fascinating. One well-written letter suggested that we have to outsource child bearing because women are choosing to terminate their pregnancies resulting in a U.S. demographic collapse. Wow. As a woman, I didnt know that it was my job to produce other Americans. I thought it was to be a productive American. If there indeed is a demographic collapse, perhaps it is because women are choosing to seek fathers for our children who are not sexist, anti-immigrant misogynists. Perhaps any demographic shift that might be occurring will move us closer to an equitable and tolerant America. Robin Weaver San Diego Plenty of people show disrespect for flag In her letter Wearing the flag shows disrespect for nation (Feb. 1), writer Ann Sisco condemns the Muslim woman wearing the flag as a hijab as Ms. Sisco declares it to be proof that Muslim women do not understand nor respect the honor of this country. If a Christian woman were to wear a flag as a head covering to attend Catholic mass would Sisco be so outraged? Is it disrespectful to wear T-shirts emblazoned with the flag or jeans with flag designs on the seat? And how is it respectful for American athletes to celebrate victories in the Olympic Games by wrapping their sweaty bodies in our nations flag as if it were a bath towel? Bill Eiffert Carmel Valley Super Bowl Bingo was a big family favorite Thanks to Steve Breen. His Super Bowl Bingo (Feb. 4) was the hit of the day. We initially sent copies of the cards to family in Oklahoma and Texas, then got requests from Nevada and Nebraska. From there the link was shared by those people to friends and family in other states. It was used by people in eight states, just from our group. I feel certain many other San Diego-area families did the same thing. Never have so many been wishing for that elusive Belichick smile, Houston we have a problem reference or a Bon Jovi sighting. We had great time playing and people from young kids to us older ones got in on the fun. We hope you do something similar next year. LoriAnne Kaserman Oceanside Want to see more letters that appear only online? Follow @UTLetters on Twitter and UTOpinion on Facebook. In a Fox News interview that aired Sunday, host Bill OReilly questioned President Trump for saying he respected Russian dictator Vladimir Putin. Hes a killer though, OReilly said. Putins a killer. Advertisement Trumps immediate response: You got a lot of killers. What, you think our countrys so innocent? This is beyond the pale. Yes, the United States is far from saintly in its defense of U.S. interests. But two prominent GOP senators were right to reject any equivalency between U.S. actions abroad, such as in the Iraq war, cited by Trump in his interview, and what happens inside Putins Russia, where no one is surprised when a regime critic dies violently. Putin is an enemy of political dissent, Nebraskas Ben Sasse said. Hes a thug, Kentuckys Mitch McConnell, the majority leader, said. Never in history has a president slandered his country like this, The Wall Street Journals Bret Stephens said. These violent deaths are particularly likely to involve Russians investigating what really occurred in September 1999 a month after Putin was named acting prime minister when Russia had its own version of 9/11. Nearly 300 people were killed and more than 1,000 injured when apartment buildings in three cities were bombed, sparking national anxiety and fear. Moscow blamed the attack on Chechen terrorists and invaded Chechnya to the cheers of most Russians, boosting Putins successful presidential bid. Former Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko won international attention for his allegations that Russian security agents were responsible for the bombings. He died in 2006 after being poisoned in London, and two former Russian security agents are the only suspects. Three others who had been investigating these allegations were murdered between 2003 and 2006. In all, at least 34 journalists have been killed in Russia since 2000. Politifact reported that many of the suspects are military officials, government officials or political groups, but that no evidence links Putin to these mostly unsolved killings. Yes, Trump wants Russia to help fight terrorists worldwide. But its not just wrong for him to equate Russias government to Americas. Its appalling. Twitter: @sdutIdeas Facebook: UTOpinion A ban on all marijuana businesses in the unincorporated county, to be considered by county Planning Commissioners on Friday, will lead to three medical marijuana dispensaries in Ramona, the communitys planning group was told at its Feb. 2 meeting. Consultant Chris Brown, who has been working with many dispensary owners, also told Ramona planners that an initiative to overturn the ban will likely follow. People want to come to San Diego and do this business, said Brown. What is going to happen or could very well happen is that if there is a ban that actually does come into place then you would see something very shortly, probably an initiative. Brown explained that someone would put up the money and get the signatures to put such an initiative on a ballot that could possibly designate commercial zoning be allowed for dispensaries rather than only industrial zoning as the countys current ordinance states. Ramona has one licensed operating medical marijuana dispensary, ShowGrow, at 736 Montecito Way. The owners of two other dispensaries, 1210 Olive St. and 618 Pine St., have the vested right to open because they had made substantial investments and had approved building permits before county supervisors adopted a temporary moratorium last March. That moratorium expires March 16. To ease community concerns, the three dispensary owners worked with the planning group last year to come up with a compromise. As part of that compromise, the owner of 618 Pine St. volunteered to not open a dispensary at the site, saying he would instead focus on one he wanted to open in Lakeside. He does not, however, have the vested right to open in Lakeside, so as one planner said, if a ban goes into place his only option to recoup his investment is to open in Ramona. When supervisors, by a 3-2 vote, directed county staff on Jan. 25 to develop an ordinance banning all marijuana businesses medical and non-medical they said to include a 5-year amortization clause to give the medical marijuana businesses that much time to recoup their investment before shutting down. If five years is not long enough, a six-month extension could be granted. You went from having three to two, now youre going to have three, Brown said about the number of dispensaries in Ramona. In five years they will be amortized out, he said, but nobody is going to wait five years. Brown said theyll probably go with an initiative. I think what I heard just now was a number of threats, resident Joe Minervini said. Planning group member Casey Lynch, who lives 1,300 feet away from the Olive Street dispensary, said voters in the city of La Mesa repealed a ban on medical marijuana businesses in last Novembers election through Measure U. Do we have two for a long time (with no ban) or three for 5-1/2 months? planner Jim Cooper asked. Cooper said his research with experts at University of California San Diego showed that vaping cannabis is helpful for some medical issues, but added that for youth it can cause irreparable brain damage. He suggested the planning group convey its support of Option 8" the Planning Commissions original recommendation to supervisors to amend the medical marijuana ordinance. That option included many points from the Ramona planners and dispensary owners such as limiting the number of dispensaries in one community to two and in one supervisorial district to four, and raising the purchasing age from 18 to 21. It also included a minor use permit requirement. Planner Donna Myers said educators have spent years involving students in Red Ribbon Week, a drug prevention program. Were offering conflicting messages to our students, Myers said. Planner Paul Stykel made a motion to recommend the Planning Commission support Option 8 and not a ban. Cooper seconded the motion. With just 10 of the 15 members in attendance, the vote failed 7-3, as a majority 8 votes were needed to pass. Voting against were Myers, Richard Tomlinson, and Dan Summers. Absent were David Ross, Elio Noyas, Frank Lucio, Rick Terrazas, and Chris Holloway. No one therefore will be speaking on behalf of the planning group at the Planning Commission hearing. Cooper said he will be attending as a private citizen. The hearing begins at 9 a.m. in the San Diego County Operations Center, Conference Center Hearing Room, 5520 Overland Ave. in San Diego. Consideration of banning marijuana businesses is the first item on the agenda. COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) Four men went on trial in Denmark Thursday accused of assisting a gunman who killed two people in attacks against a free-speech seminar and a synagogue in Copenhagen. A three-judge panel removed a name ban as the trial began amid tight security with heavily armed police officers. The defendants Bhostan Khan Hossein, Liban Ahmed Saleban Elmi, Ibrahim Khalil Abbas and Mahmoud Rabea pleaded innocent. All four have been charged with abetting terrorism for allegedly helping Omar El-Hussein carry out an attack against Copenhagens main synagogue in the early hours of Feb. 15, 2015, in which he killed Dan Uzan, a Jewish guard, and wounded two police officers. Advertisement Hossein and Elmi are also accused of disposing of the M-95 assault rifle El-Hussein used a day earlier to kill Danish filmmaker Finn Noergaard and wound three police officers. El-Hussein was shot dead during a shootout with a SWAT team following the synagogue attack. Hossein, Elmi and Abbas lived in the same housing complex as El-Hussein, a 22-year-old Dane of Palestinian origin, in Copenhagens Noerrebro district. Rabeas lawyer, Jesper Storm Thygesen, said his client didnt know El-Hussein. During the first day of the trial, expected to last until late September, prosecutors detailed El-Husseins twin attacks and showed the six-man jury the M-95 rifle that El-Hussein used to kill Noergaard with a single shot and then spray the entrance to the free-speech venue with 27 bullets. The event was attended by Lars Vilks, a Swedish artist who has received numerous death threats for caricaturing the Prophet Muhammad. Prosecutors say the defendants encouraged him to commit the second attack and gave him munitions, a hooded sweater and a bag. A key question is did they know Omar (El-Hussein) planned to kill again and did they knowingly help him? Storm Thygesen said. I dont think so. The prosecution said that logs from an Internet cafe showed that El-Hussein made searches on the Internet for the Danish Parliament, outspoken Islam critics, including a former Danish lawmaker, and the Copenhagen synagogue after the first attack. It has never been established whether El-Hussein had been radicalized, although in September 2014 he had been flagged by prison authorities to Denmarks intelligence agency as being at risk of radicalization. LA PAZ, Bolivia (AP) The former lover of President Evo Morales who was working as a high-ranking executive at a Chinese firm has been arrested as part of a probe into alleged influence trafficking involving hundreds of millions of dollars in government contracts. Gabriela Zapata was expected to be charged Saturday with illegal enrichment, laundering of unjust gains and influence trafficking, according to her lawyer. She was taken into custody on Friday at the request of Bolivias anti-corruption agency, who argued she was a flight risk. The bombshell revelation this month of Morales past relationship with Zapata upended the final stretch of a referendum campaign aimed at allowing the president to seek re-election when his current term ends in 2020. Morales narrowly lost the vote, delivering a major blow to his decade-old leftist government. Advertisement Morales during the campaign acknowledged the relationship and said the two even had a child together in 2007, but that the infant later died. In another twist, Zapatas aunt said Saturday that the child was still alive and named Ernesto Fidel. My niece will soon provide more information, she wants to talk, Pilar Guzman told ATB television on Saturday. Zapata, 29, declined to speak when she was arrested on Friday. In 2013, Zapata became general manager for Bolivia of China CAMC Engineering Co. Ltd., whose seven contracts with the state, all but one no-bid, are worth more than $500 million. Opposition politicians accuse Morales of influence-trafficking through the Chinese firm, a claim he denies. Along with Zapata, two officials in the presidential office are being charged. Zapatas lawyer, Walter Zuleta, has called his clients arrest arbitrary and said he will demonstrate her innocence. Federal prosecutors have announced they will not be seeking the death penalty against Brian Brimager, the former North County Marine charged in the slaying of his girlfriend on a Panamanian island. The news doesnt come as much of a surprise, as federal death penalty cases are extremely rare. The decision to pursue capital punishment is made at the very top, by the U.S. attorney general. Advertisement After an extensive review process, the federal death penalty was also declined earlier this year in a case against two alleged San Diego gang chiefs, Randy Graves and Terry Hollins, charged with racketeering and accused of everything from murder to sex trafficking. Before that, prosecutors considered death in two other local cases, in 2006 and 2007, but the attorney general decided against it after much investigation. The Brimager case is now headed for a trial in San Diego federal court that will likely take three to four weeks, starting March 28. Brimager is charged with foreign murder of a U.S. national in the death of Yvonne Baldelli. The couple had moved to Isla Carenero off Panama in 2011 to make a new start. According to the charges, Brimager became abusive and had plans to rejoin the mother of his child in San Diego County. He is accused of killing Baldelli, dismembering her body and disposing of it. Her remains were found two years later in a green military-style duffel bag in a swamp. Brimager is accused of posing as Baldelli in emails to her family indicating she had run off with another man to Costa Rica. In the meantime, Brimager had moved back to the North County and married his former girlfriend within weeks. BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) Serbia protested strongly Monday against the unveiling of a statue in Croatia honoring an extreme nationalist who was convicted of assassinating a Yugoslav ambassador to Sweden in 1971. The monument for Miro Baresic was unveiled in a seaside Croatian village on Sunday with two Croatian government ministers and numerous prominent public figures attending. European Union-member Croatia has seen a surge of far-right sentiments, including admiration for the World War II Ustasha Nazi puppet regime that was responsible for the death of tens of thousands of Jews, Serbs and Gypsies in concentration camps. Advertisement Baresic, a declared pro-Ustasha who strived and fought for Croatias independence from Yugoslavia, shot Ambassador Vladimir Rolovic inside the Yugoslav embassy in Stockholm. He was convicted and sentenced to life in prison by a Swedish court. But another group of Croatian far-right radicals hijacked a Scandinavian Airlines passenger plane in 1972, forcing the release of Baresic and five others who took part in the attack. Baresic found refuge in Paraguay, but was eventually captured again and extradited to Sweden in 1980, where his life sentence was converted to 18 years. He returned to Croatia in 1991 where he was killed in fighting against Serb-led forces fighting against Croatias independence. In Serbia, Baresic is considered a terrorist, while Croatian nationalists revere him as a hero who devoted his whole life to Croatias statehood. Miro Baresic is a great Croatian patriot whose devotion and sacrifice we have to respect, Croatian Veterans Minister Tomo Medved said during the life-size statues unveiling in the village of Drage in central Dalmatia. The Serbian foreign ministry demanded Monday that the statue be removed. The Ministry considers the erection of a monument to a convicted terrorist (sentenced) for the gruesome murder of the Yugoslav ambassador in Sweden Vladimir Rolovic, as an improper and uncivilized act unprecedented in modern Europe, the Serbian protest stated. Serbias Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic said Monday he has written to EU officials urging reaction and warned that Croatias anti-Serb policies could endanger peace and stability in the Balkans which was engulfed in bloody civil wars in the 1990s. We expect a reaction from the EU, Vucic said. How is it possible that the terrorist Baresic, who was convicted by a democratic Swedish court, has turned into a hero? Croatian officials said they will no longer accept diplomatic protests from Serbia, which has issued many recently. Croatia has threatened to block Serbias accession talks with the EU if Belgrade continues to deliver lessons on democracy. ___ AP Writer Jovana Gec contributed. MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) A former journalist who joined the Islamic extremist group al-Shabab was executed Monday by firing squad in Somalias capital for the killings of five Somali journalists. Hassan Hanafi Haji, who was extradited from Kenya last year on the request of the Somali government, was executed at a police academy in Mogadishu. Firing squad is the only execution method in Somalia. He was led out of a police van in chains before a crowd of journalists, many of whom remembered Haji with a degree of fear when he was media liaison to al-Shabab and was known to threaten journalists. Advertisement Haji was bound to a pole and closed his eyes in apparent fear as the firing squad marched in. He was then blindfolded. Once the order was given, shots rang out randomly and Hajis bloody body dropped to the ground. Justice served -- it was his turn to taste the pain of death, said a Somali journalist who asked not to be named for fear of reprisal. Medical workers then checked the body and prepared it for burial. Haji often urged journalists to report according to al-Shababs media rules, which included avoiding stories related to the groups military setbacks, and under his pressure many media outlets practiced self-censorship for security reasons. Haji later led al-Shababs media unit, inviting journalists to press conferences and giving them tours of battlefields. Haji was one of the few suspects prosecuted by the Somali government despite years of criticism by rights groups who urged authorities to do more to end the killings of journalists. Somalia is one of the most dangerous countries for media workers. At least 18 Somali journalists were killed last year, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists. Its not entirely clear who has been killing journalists. Al-Shabab rebels, warlords, criminals, and even government agents all could have reasons. Living amidst violence rapidly constricting hope for a safer, sustainable, more equitable, and happier community and nation, what is to be done?There's more to be done than I can envision or perhaps even imagine. People who suffer -- whether for being different, for trying to control their bodies, for randomly encountering some gun fetishist, from climate disruption, or simply for lacking cash -- need to be cared for. In some places and moments, some people have to raise a ruckus in the streets.But also, what experience with actual, existing U.S. political power has taught me: in the mid-term elections in the fall of 2022, there are some contests that are vital. Here is a useful list of articles to help you figure out which elections are most important.Or hit me up about volunteer and paid opportunities to join campaigns in Nevada, Arizona and Pennsylvania: jan.uhreno@gmail A representative of the state's hotel industry said Tuesday a bill that would require Airbnb-style rentals to register with the Department of Revenue would help ensure everyone pays rental taxes equally. Senate Bill 150 is carried by Sen. Dee Brown, R-Hungry Horse. It would have the Department of Revenue provide a listing of facilities that collect the state bed tax. It also redefines facilities that must collect the tax to include vacation homes, homes, apartments or a room rented by or on behalf of the owner for less than 30 days. "It's a way for outside visitors to check if their facility is registered with the state and in compliance," Brown said. The state collects a 4 percent lodging facility use tax that pays for tourism promotion efforts and a 3 percent sales tax that goes into the general fund. The amount collected over the last several years has increased as the state has drawn record numbers of tourists to Glacier and Yellowstone national parks. Cities around the state have struggled as Airbnb and VRBO rentals have become more common. Just last month Bozeman held a forum to talk about the challenges the city faces. Those who offer rentals say it's a vital part of their income, while some neighbors don't appreciate properties being used for short-term stays. Stuart Doggett, executive director of the Montana Lodging and Hospitality Association, supported the bill, saying the money collected for tourism promotion benefits everyone who rents to tourists. "Accommodation tax pays for tourism promotion. We're shorting the tourism promotion efforts my members have established." David Herbst, with Americans for Prosperity Montana, said instead of making everyone pay the tax, the Legislature should consider if the money collected is well-spent. Last year a $7 million contract to promote tourism in the state was awarded to a Wisconsin company who had an employee related to the tourism department's marketing office bureau chief. Herbst said money that could go to Montanans shouldn't end up at an out-of-state company. Gene Walborn, deputy director of the Department of Revenue, said money from the tax spent on tourism promotion helped attract 12 million nonresident visitors to the state last year who spent nearly $4 billion. "That's a tremendous number," he said. "We think it's hugely effective. If we don't have the 4 percent tax to market our state we're not going to see those increases." The Senate Taxation Committee took no action on the bill Tuesday. 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Principe, Democratic Republic of Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of Senegal, Republic of Serbia and Montenegro Seychelles, Republic of Sierra Leone, Republic of Singapore, Republic of Slovakia (Slovak Republic) Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia, Somali Republic South Africa, Republic of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands Spain, Spanish State Sri Lanka, Democratic Socialist Republic of St. Helena St. Kitts and Nevis St. Lucia St. Pierre and Miquelon St. Vincent and the Grenadines Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Suriname, Republic of Svalbard & Jan Mayen Islands Swaziland, Kingdom of Sweden, Kingdom of Switzerland, Swiss Confederation Syrian Arab Republic Taiwan, Province of China Tajikistan Tanzania, United Republic of Thailand, Kingdom of Timor-Leste, Democratic Republic of Togo, Togolese Republic Tokelau (Tokelau Islands) Tonga, Kingdom of Trinidad and Tobago, Republic of Tunisia, Republic of Turkey, Republic of Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu Uganda, Republic of Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom of Great Britain & N. Ireland Uruguay, Eastern Republic of Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of Viet Nam, Socialist Republic of Wallis and Futuna Islands Western Sahara Yemen Zambia, Republic of Zimbabwe Its no secret that job growth within the health-care industry is booming as the American population ages. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, employment of registered nurses is projected to grow 19 percent - an increase of 526,800 jobs - from 2012 to 2022, faster than the average for most other occupations. The number of jobs for Licensed Practical Nurses (LPNs) is expected to grow by a whopping 25 percent in that same time frame, an increase of 738,400 jobs. A national emphasis on preventative care, growing rates of chronic conditions such as diabetes and obesity, and baby boomers who are living longer, more active lives have all led to an increased demand for health-care professionals. In Missoula County, that trend has far-reaching implications, as the local economy is dependent on the health-care industry and hundreds of college students are receiving the training necessary to enter the field. According to a recent study by the Bureau of Business and Economic Research at the University of Montana, 17 percent of the countys economic base depends on the medical sector. The health-care industry generates more than $545 million in labor earnings every year, making it by far the largest source of income in Missoula County's economy, according to a report by economist Larry Swanson, director of the OConnor Center for the Rocky Mountain West. Since 2001, the health-care industry has grown much more explosively than any other sector in Missoula, increasing personal income by $232 million. The single occupation in Missoula with the highest projected growth until 2020 with an additional 2,000 jobs expected at least is registered nursing. Those jobs pay a median of $56,790 per year in Montana, but require a high level of education and training. *** Last year, 30 percent of the students in both the nursing and the respiratory therapy programs at Missoula College had jobs lined up before they graduated in December. And the rest wont have a hard time finding jobs either, according to Nick Arthur, Health Professions department chair at the college, which is administered by the University of Montana. Missoula College also offers training in medical assisting, pharmacy technology, radiologic technology and surgical technology, each of which are usually two-year programs. The department keeps track of each alum's job placement post-graduation. We also keep track of graduate satisfaction and send out employer satisfaction surveys, Arthur explained. We are required to do it because we are a nationally accredited program, but we would do it anyway because we want the data. The data shows a significant demand for the type of graduates who the health professions department produces. According to the 2008-09 Occupational Outlook Handbook, the number of jobs in respiratory therapy is projected to grow by 23 percent from 2006-2016. Graduates are making a very good living too, Arthur said. A new graduate can expect to make between $45,000 and $50,000 in nursing or respiratory therapy. And thats not overly optimistic. Thats very realistic. And for our grads, there are multiple avenues of employment, not just hospitals. There are sleep care clinics and other lesser known types of jobs available, that sort of thing. The salary a new graduate will make in the health-care industry is also largely dependent on what type of shifts they are willing to work. There are shift differentials for nights and weekends, Arthur said. With respiratory therapy and nursing, in a hospital setting, they may be working three 12-hour shifts a week at night. *** Arthur said that although the job market for graduates in the health professions program is still very strong, hospitals and clinics in desirable locations like St. Patrick Hospital and Community Medical Center in Missoula still get to pick and choose who they hire. Not every graduate is going to be able to stay in Missoula, he explained. Thats a tough thing. A lot of folks are place-bound. Thats significant, but people need to realize that they may not always get to stay where they want to. Arthur said that out of the approximately 28 people who graduated in the respiratory therapy program in 2014, all the grads who wanted to find a job in the region were able to do so, and the numbers for nursing program graduates were similar. We had some end up with jobs as far east as Billings and as far west as Spokane, he said. There are some that just didnt get a job because they didnt care, because they are not attached with kids and a family. Nursing is the largest program within the Missoula College health professions program. Throughout the year, there are about 45 students training to be Registered Nurses or Licensed Practical Nurses. The differences between an RN and an LPN are a little complicated for the layman, but LPNs tend to work in long-term care and RNs have an expanded set of duties. They are the two sort of levels of basic nursing, Arthur said. Each one requires a year to complete, but you have to do one to do the other. Very few students stop at the end of one year. If you graduate as an RN, you work as an RN, you cant work as an LPN. LPNs have a much more limited scope of practice and would only be hired in certain levels. We also have a one-year medical assistant program. The programs for health professions other than nursing dont get as much attention but are equally important to the industry, and those graduates will also have good employment prospects, Arthur said. Everybody knows what a nurse does, but unless youve had surgery you dont know what a surg tech does, he explained. Unless you have a cardiac or pulmonary crisis, you probably dont know what a respiratory therapist does. The ones that want to do direct patient care can go into something like respiratory therapy, or to some extent surgical technology. If people are interested in radiologic technology, they are an essential part of a medical team, they provide diagnostics. *** The economic crisis of recent years provided a boost to enrollment numbers at Missoula College, according to Arthur. Its a safe statement that two-year education follows, to some extent, the economy, he said. We had a huge wave of interest when Smurfit-Stone closed. There was a tremendous number of people displaced. At the moment we are in a steady state, but (enrollment) waxes and wanes. They are still competitive programs, but theyre not so competitive that its just a staggering obstacle for students to place. The nursing program gets the most applicants, and it is also the most challenging for people to get accepted because there are so many people wanting to get in. Its safe to say that in an economy where the demand for health-care professionals is outpacing the supply, schools that provide the necessary training are well-positioned for the future. Missoula College is set to expand to a new $31 million building on East Broadway sometime in the next few years. In the meantime, Arthur and the faculty in the health professions department will be busy, and more and more students will be clamoring to enter the industry. Weve got a good gig going, Arthur concluded. Hundreds crowd Community Center for Sgt. Fogata Benefit Fund Dinner By Peggy Kelly Hundreds of people flocked to the Community Center Friday to thank Santa Paula Police Sgt. Jimmy Fogata for decades of service at a fundraiser to help defray costs incurred by his recent illness. Fogata, a 30-plus-year veteran of the SPPD, suffered a heart attack January 16 and was released from the hospital January 22. Just three days later, January 25, he was hospitalized again for tests and observance. The event was put together in an astonishing eight days and was so successful that the tri-tip and chicken barbecue prepared by Santa Paula Firefighters planned for about 400 was soon gone. Volunteers bought out the nearby supermarkets supply of hot dogs, hamburger patties and buns to finish feeding the supporters, who paid a minimum donation of $20 for dinner. SPPD Reserve Lt. Brad Tallent of the dinner committee noted that the California Highway Patrol had stopped by earlier and picked up 25 dinners to go and then donated an extra $100 to the benefit fund for Fogata. Everyone has been amazing, said Tallent, who although well aware of the traditional support of first responders for their ilk, nevertheless seemed surprised, as well as delighted, by the turnout. The food was moving so fast we could barely keep up, with the to go orders said SPPD Cadet Martha Brown, who also helped plan the event. The front, where guests could sit and eat while enjoying the music by the Cruise Knights band, wasnt as busy, but it was steady all night. So many people helped including our Explorers, who bussed tables and took on any job required of them. With a crush of out of town law enforcement and fire personnel attending the dinner, This must be the safest building in Ventura County, said Samantha Frady, who was handing out Sharpie pens to those who wanted to sign a roll of butcher block paper with get well greetings for Fogata. I got around 300 signatures and wishes for Jimmy, as well as dozen of stories told about how Fogata, a native of Santa Paula, had assisted them over the years. One lady almost broke down telling me what Jimmy did for her when she lost her husband, said Frady. Hes also had a wonderfully kind heart, people love him. Police Chief Steve McLean was circulating through the crowd welcoming people and listening to their own memories about Fogata. It really gives me a warm feeling that so many people are here supporting Jimmy, that so many are offering very kind words about him, the department and our personnel, said McLean. Santa Paula really supports each other, theres no doubt about that! Fogatas daughter Bailey Fogata, grandchild and his own three young children were in the crowd, the kids basking in the attention and the warm caring words about their father and grandfather. At one point, SPPD Reserve Sgt. Mark Cagnacci, who also served on the dinner committee, read a text from Fogata who was able to watch the event live on social media from his hospital bed. I was shocked, said Tallent Monday. The outpouring of support was basically over the top. It was beyond our highest expectations and our Explorers did a fantastic job, handling the unexpected crowd. Their efforts, really gives you hope for the next generation. Tallent said he expected Fogata to be released from the hospital Monday, January 30. Donations are still being accepted to cover Fogatas medical and living expenses. Donation checks made out to the Jimmy Fogata Benefit Fund can be dropped off at the SPPD Station or mailed to 214 S. 10th St., Santa Paula, CA 93060. Checks can also be taken directly to the Bank of the Sierra (901 E. Main St.), where the account is held. Those with questions can contact McLean at 805-525-4474 ext. 123. Were so thrilled, but not surprised at how the community turned out for Jimmy, said McLean. And we know this community will continue to show Jimmy how appreciated he is as a police officer, community member, and friend. By Peggy Kelly Santa Paula News A routine traffic stop early Sunday led to the arrest of an Oxnard woman for suspicion of pimping and being in possession of a unique, loaded handgun, among other charges. A Los Angeles woman also told police she had been sexually assaulted leading to a search for the suspect. According to Santa Paula Police Sgt. Cody Madison, the incident started at approximately 3:52 a.m. when officers conducted a traffic stop on a vehicle in the 700 block of East Main Street. Prior to making the traffic stop, said Madison, The officer noticed an adult female running across Ebell Park, located at the corner of 7th and East Main streets. Although the running female did not appear to be associated with the vehicle, the officer found it unusual and requested an additional SPPD Patrol Unit to check the area for that subject. Madison said the officer then contacted the driver who was identified as Jamisha Jones, 20, of Oxnard. During the initial contact there was a smell of marijuana coming from the vehicle, and, due the illegality of the possession of marijuana by those under 21 years old, a search of the vehicle was conducted. During the search the officer found a loaded, pink and black .22-caliber handgun and Jones was taken into custody. Other SPPD Officers who were dispatched to locate the adult female running from the park found her nearby. Through investigation it was determined the two subjects were associated with each other and were part of a prostitution ring, and noted Madison, While interviewing the adult female, 20, of Los Angeles, she disclosed that she had just been the victim of a sexual assault. She described the suspect as a male Hispanic, 20-30 years old, with a full beard, wearing a red shirt, dark colored pants and an unknown tattoo on his right hip. The area was searched for the suspect with negative results. Madison said the female victim was transported to the Santa Paula Police Department where she was provided counseling and medical services. Jones was also transported to the Santa Paula Police Department for processing and later transferred to Ventura County Main Jail. By Peggy Kelly Santa Paula News The Planning Commission will start meeting earlier according to a vote taken at the January 24 meeting that overturned a staff recommendation. At a previous meeting Commissioner Mike Sommer had requested starting the monthly meetings at 6 p.m. rather than 6:30 p.m. be agenized. At the January 24 meeting, Planning Director Janna Minsk requested the commission to wait to consider a time change until the panel is filled; there are openings for two commissioners to replace the late Fred Wacker and the recently resigned John Demers. Minsk said staff was anticipating advertising for candidates for the two openings would occur later that week, as It is urgent to get the two vacancies filled. No disrespect to staff, said Sommer, but I move to make the revision, a formal resolution to change, the commission meeting time from 6:30 p.m. to 6 p.m. Commission Chair Ike Ikerd and Vice Chair Fred Robinson also voted in favor of the time change. Advertisements have been launched to replace the two commissioners to replace Wacker, who passed last year, and Demers, who abruptly resigned his seat in early January to relocate East in a career move. The City Council had taken a stab at replacing Wacker last year when four of the panel interviewed three applicants, Edd Bond, Maxine McKaig and Jack Pitluk. Pune, Maharashtra -- (SBWIRE) -- 02/06/2017 -- Market Overview: Carrageenan (also known as carrageenin) comes under the family of linear sulphated polysaccharides which are extracted from red edible seaweeds and are broadly used in the food industry. The basic properties of Carrageenan are thickening, gelling and stabilizing and suspending agents in milk and water system. Carrageenans are widely used in the food industry applications such as dairy products and meet product as they are having a strong binding of food proteins. Carrageenan mostly found in the Atlantic Ocean near the shore of UK and North America. Carrageenans are classified into three types namely; Iota, Kappa and Lambda. Request a Sample Copy @ https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/sample_request/704 Key Players of Carrageenan Market: -Marcel Trading Corporation -ACCEL Carrageenan Corporation (ACC) -Rico Carrageenan -Xieli, Gather Great Ocean -Global Ocean -LONGRUN -Greenfresh -Brilliant -Cargill -CP Kelco -Karagen Indonesia Market Segmentation: As per the MRFR, the global carrageenan market is segmented into product types and applications. The carrageenans are classified into three types: -Iota Carrageenan -Kappa Carrageenan -Lambda Carrageenan The application segmented is classified into: -Food Industry -Pharmaceutical Industry -Other Domestic Uses Market Growth Influencer: Global Carrageenan Market has seen a potential growth in the past few years. As on 2011, carrageenan had the estimated global sale of US$ 640 million where Philippines was the biggest producer of industrial carrageenan and China is the major exporter to the US and European market. Commonly used sources in carrageenan are E. spinosum (Eucheuma denticulatum) and E. cottonii (Kappaphycus alvarezii, K.striatum), together they provide about three quarters of the global population. Increasing demand for food product, dairy products and meet products have driven the carrageenan market across the globe. As large population prefers non vegetarian food however, there is a huge demand is generated from meet product segments. Apart from this the key challenges may occur in the carrageenan market are increasing concern over inflammatory and gastrointestinal disorders among the consumers which has considerably hindered the carrageenan market. Moreover, the availability of substitutes such as agar, a jelly like substance (obtained from algae) has made the carrageenan market down. Browse Full Report: https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/reports/carrageenan-market Regional Analysis: Europe and Asia-Pacific are considered as the key market for global carrageenan market. Increasing demand for processing food and meet products in APAC region has witnessed the huge demand for carrageenan and in Europe the dairy products are given so much of preferences which have anticipated the demand for this particular product. The Asian countries such as China, India, Japan, Indonesia, Russia and several others have projected to drive the market because of the wealthy and emerging economy. And China is considered to the largest market in APAC region because of the strong industrialization. These factors has resulted the Carrageenan Market to have a commendable growth in future. North America is considered to the largest market for carrageenan. Middle East & Africa is one of the most preferred meet and processed food consumption region. About 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. Contact: Akash Anand Market Research Future Office No. 528, Amanora Chambers Magarpatta Road, Hadapsar, Pune - 411028 Maharashtra, India 646-845-9312 Email: akash.anand@marketresearchfuture.com Valley Cottage, NY -- (SBWIRE) -- 02/07/2017 -- Overview Automation is the latest advancement set to revolutionise the global retail market. The retail automation market is expected to witness steady growth, owing to such avant-garde collaboration between global retail and consumer goods sector, and the global electronics and IT industry. Considering the fact that retail industry drives the growth of several business and trade ventures around the world, the influence of automation will bring more efficiency to billions of retail transactions. Visual merchandising, planogram, and big data in retail are the key trends fuelling the demand of automated services in retail markets. Effective automated products and programs that speed up the sales mechanism, create efficiency in product supplies, and develop easily-accessible business platforms that can produce a lucrative environment for the growth of the retail automation market globally. The global market for retail automation is gaining traction in Asia Pacific, Western Europe, and Middle East & Africa (MEA). The two most lucrative regions for the growth of the global retail automation market are North America and Europe. Request Free Report Sample@ http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-na-200 Retail Automation in North America Of these two regions, North America is the current market leader, holding the greater pie of retail automation market share. The North American retail automation market is likely to register high growth rate during 2014-2020 period. North America remains a lucrative market for retail automation globally, with the US and Canada witnessing steady demand. North American consumers have adopted the prominent trend of relying on retail automated products and services for business transactions, which has made an affirming impetus on the retail automation market. Economic progress and rising purchasing power of consumers are some of the trends, specific to North America, that make the outlook of retail automation market considerably positive. The European Retail Automation Market Europe, on the other hand, is closing in on North America in order to become the leading key region in the global retail automation market. Several retail chains and multiple product lines established in Europe are helping the setting up of retail automation in European nations. The European regional market is primarily segmented into UK, Germany, Spain, France and others. Britain's exodus from EU is likely to impact the implementation of automation in UK's retail market. But, the economic stability in other European countries is expected to create a supportive dais for building up the retail automation market. Factors Benefiting the Growth of Retail Automation Market North America and Europe, collectively, will continue their prominence in the global market, with respect to the market size, revenue share, and overall demand. The factors that will incite this growth are, Growth of Local Retail & Customer Reception Local retail markets are growing in several parts of North America & Europe. Combined with a positive consumer response, automated retail will continue flourishing in niche retail markets. Overflowing Investments on Automation Products & Services Retail giants dominating the existing retail market are investing in automated programs and devices for creating efficient output. The cost advantage is increasing the demand for automated retail services. Proliferation of Shopping Centres and Supermarkets Consumers in the US and European countries prefer buying from hypermarket and malls, which is great platform for automated retail kiosks. Challenges in the Global Retail Automation Market The retail automation market in North America and Europe is growing steadily, but there are a handful of factors that may restrain or slow down its growth. In the US and Canada, a key challenge for retail automation is its greatest disadvantage -- the loss of job. Labours and working professionals at retail outlets are a major contributor of the region's economy. Rising unemployment levels could plunge the local economy, having a rippling effect on the national economies of North America. In Europe, the instability of economies across its constituent nations is restraining the growth of its retail automation market. Improving financial conditions in Turkey, Russia and Poland could influence the expansion of automated retail products; however, theundulating economies of Spain, Italy as well as Britain, can impede the adoption of automation in European retail sector. Besides, maintaining the continuous supervision of retail kiosks, high dependency on electricity and the implications arriving from variable internet regulations are some other restraints recoiling the progress of retail automation in Europe and North America. Segmentation The segmentation of the retail automation market is done on the basis of geography, the operator type and the product type. Geographic Segmentation North America (sub-segmented into United States, Canada & others) Europe (sub-segmented into Spain, France, UK & others) Operator Type Segmentation Unattended Terminals Human-Operated Terminals Product Segmentation Currency Counter Barcode Reader Bill Printer Cash Counter Cash Register Card Reader Self-Checkout System Weight Scale Kiosks/Vending Machine Others Request For TOC@ http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/toc/rep-na-200 Key Competitors Electronic companies such as Seiko Epson, Fujitsu, First Data Corp., Siemens, Toshiba and Wincor Nixdorf are some of the top players in the global retail automation market. Most of these ICT companies are headquartered in Europe, making the region a credible platform for new manufacturers and startups in retail automation. Meanwhile, North American retail giants such as Walmart and Kroger are developing their own devices and services to reap benefits from the amalgamation of retail and automation. Deerfield Beach, FL -- (SBWIRE) -- 02/06/2017 -- The Global Chenille Yarn Market 2016 provides vital information and statistically analyzed data globally. The research report provides an in-depth systematic study of the Chenille Yarn market, covering key areas such as future prospects of the market, growth drivers, market restraints,Size, Share, Trends, Demand, Supply, Application, Segmentation, Opportunity, Market Development, production, capacity utilization, supply, Analysis and Forecast by 2022 . Check Free Sample Research Report @ http://www.mrsresearchgroup.com/report/96368#request-sample The pervasive trends and new opportunities are also covered in this report. Every market segment of the Chenille Yarn industry is analyzed in a quantitative as well as qualitative way in order to provide the customers with a relative estimation of the global market. Essential information such as definition, the industry value chain and its analysis, and the trends are also explored in the MRS Research Group Global Chenille Yarn Market 2016 report by QY Research. The report examines the global market based on numerous segments on the basis of products, applications, types, and end-users. The region-wise analysis of the global market is also included in the report. All these data help to forecast the overall situation in the global market in the forecast period. The products in the global industry are also considered for the research report based on the manufacturing chain, pricing, and the overall profit contributed by them. Detailed analysis is further carried on the different markets, in a region-wise manner so as to examine the production dimensions and effectiveness of the market globally. Furthermore, vital factors such as demand and supply along with the growth statistics in the global market are also highlighted for each region of the market in the Global Chenille Yarn Market 2016 report. Read Complete Research Report @ http://www.mrsresearchgroup.com/market-analysis/global-chenille-yarn-market-2016-production-sales-supply.html Global Market 2016 Split by application, this report focuses on sales, consumption, market share and growth rate of Global Market in each application, can be divided into Application 1 Application 2 Application 3 Global Chenille Yarn Market 2016 Segment by Countries, this report splits Global into several key Countries, with sales, revenue, market share of top 5 players in these Countries, from 2012 to 2017 (forecast), like United States, Canada, Mexico, Germany, France, UK, Italy, Russia, China, Japan, India, Korea, Southeast Asia, Australia, Brazil, Middle East and Africa Different analytical tools for the analysis of Chenille Yarn market so as to gain a precise data and estimation of the global market players and their scope into the market are utilized in the research process. These tools comprise SWOT analysis, investment return analyses, and feasibility analysis of the key market players in the global industry. Highlights of the report: A complete backdrop analysis, which includes an assessment of the parent market Emerging niche segments and regional markets Important changes in market dynamics Market segmentation up to the second or third level Market shares and strategies of key players Historical, current, and projected size of the market from the standpoint of both value and volume Reporting and evaluation of recent industry developments Enquiry Before Buying Research Report @ http://www.mrsresearchgroup.com/report/96368#inquiry-for-buying As the wildfire smoke clears from the crystal ball, its time for hunters to start predicting where the big game will hide in western Montana. About 225,000 acres burned this summer between the Idaho border and the Rocky Mountain Front, which closed trails and campgrounds in many popular scouting areas. Most of that country has reopened, although mop-up work continues in many places and fire-weakened trees will remain a hazard to backcountry travelers for years to come. Montana's archery season for deer will close Oct. 18. The general deer season opens Oct. 24 and ends Nov. 29. On the positive side, the dryness blamed for many fire starts can be traced back to several mild winters. And that has had noticeable impact on deer and elk populations. Were finding a lot of deer on public land as well as private, in places where we were used to seeing them in the '90s and where they decreased in the 2000s, said Mike Thompson, Fish, Wildlife and Parks Region 2 wildlife manager in Missoula. Id expect people to have more luck with whitetails than they have before. Our outlook is much improved compared to four or five years ago, added Region 1 wildlife manager Neil Anderson in Kalispell. Whitetails are probably our No. 1 animal in northwest Montana now." *** Elk populations across western Montana also show stable or increasing growth trends this year. The toughest part of the 2015 elk hunt will probably be getting through the gate. Access can be difficult, especially if you wait until the last second, said Region 4 spokesman Bruce Auchley in Great Falls. If you dont make arrangements, you may be disappointed. Auchley said hes trying to squash a rumor that the forest fires of 2015 have pushed bears out of their mountain homes and into people country. Bear incidents are up in Region 3, but the reason is much simpler: low food supplies. This year, the berry crop has been spotty at best, Auchley said. Some areas are average, but many spots in central Montana have few or no chokecherries, currants or buffalo berries. Thats the case across western Montana, where bears in hyperphagia are prowling for food 20 hours a day. Hunters setting up spike camps or even towing trailers to frontcountry campgrounds should take extra precautions to keep their food supplies bear-resistant. Leaving food or attractants unattended can result in hefty fines, not to mention ruined gear and possibly a dead bear. For more information on Montana's five-week general deer hunting season, visit FWP's website at fwp.mt.gov, click "Hunting" then click "Plan Your Hunt." *** Below are Montana FWP hunting forecasts for western Montana: Region 1 Mule deer remain hard to find, as a dropping population continues its trend, but whitetail deer have been on the increase across northwest Montana. Region 1 biologists reported a bump in the number of whitetail bucks ages 3 and older throughout the region. They also found strong fawn recruitment for the fifth straight year. Doe-hunting opportunities remain very limited in most hunting districts. One place with antlerless deer opportunities is Hunting District 170, but it is limited to use of archery equipment, shotgun, traditional handgun, muzzleloader or crossbow. Both elk calf recruitment and survival have benefited from two consecutive mild winters in northwest Montana. Thats contributed to stable or increasing population numbers both in the hard-to-reach backcountry hunting districts like 150 and 151 and in the Lower Clark Fork River region. Region 1 wildlife manager Neil Anderson said the Thompson Falls area shows a slight increase in observed elk numbers after a heavy harvest of bulls a few years ago. The Eureka area population is also improving. Both areas present big challenges to hunters because of the difficult mountain terrain. Its dry up here, Anderson said. That can affect animal distributions. When its warm, they tend to look for water sources. But weve still got enough water that were not seeing huge congregations anywhere. Region 2 The story is similar in Region 2 around Missoula as it is up in northwest Montana: low mule deer numbers, but improving whitetails. Both mule deer and antlerless opportunities require special permits that had to be applied for last spring. But the whitetail buck population has improved throughout the region. Weve had a really good year for (whitetail) fawn production, and we had a good one last year as well, Region 2 wildlife manager Mike Thompson said. Mule deer are still down. We do see them on some private lands and subdivisions, but out on the landscape where mule deer should be living, their numbers remain low. Judging by the complaints FWP has received from private landowners about damage to their hay crops and fences, Thompson said many parts of Region 2 are showing strong elk numbers. But those are places hunters have a difficult time accessing, Thompson said. West of town along the Clark Fork River, elk populations remain down. But in general elsewhere, weve seen improvements in calf recruitment. Weve also increased the harvest of wolves, mountain lions and black bears. So youd expect some moderating effect there. Dry conditions could also result in animals either concentrating in lush valley bottoms (usually privately owned) or moving very high in the mountains where they can find more moisture under the timber canopy. Region 3 The farther you get from an open road, the better the hunting is in southwest Montanas Region 3. The relatively roadless Gravelly Elk Management Unit hunting districts (322, 323, 324, 325, 326, 327 and 330) are showing better elk numbers than the more accessible districts in the Tobacco Root EMU (320 and 333), according to Region 3 wildlife manager Howard Burt. Both areas have also seen a roughly 30 percent increase in hunter popularity in 2014 compared to the 2009-2013 average. Elk populations are relatively stable around Helena, while numbers are above average in the Whitetail, Highland and Bull mountains. That has allowed Region 3 to offer a nine-day antlerless season in those areas. Dillon-area elk populations are also increasing after two mild winters. The only part of Region 3 showing below-objective elk numbers is the Upper Gallatin Canyon and parts of the Madison River Valley. Population trends are mixed in the Shields River area of Hunting District 393, although most of that territory is in private ownership. For deer, back-to-back good growing seasons have helped mule deer populations, especially in the North Gallatin, East Madison and Bridger hunting districts. Mulies are also increasing in the Helena and Dillon areas, and in Park County. However, special advance permits are required for several districts, including 300 (Lima Peaks), 302 (Tendoy) and 380. Whitetail numbers have stayed generally stable in the Townsend and Park County areas, while showing jumps of 79 percent and 173 percent in the Jefferson and Ruby valleys, respectively, compared to 2014. Region 3 biologists attributed that to a combination of mild winters and reduced antlerless opportunities. Region 4 There are three ways to hunt in this region: public land, private land in block management and private land by asking, Region 4 spokesman Bruce Auchley explained. Access can be difficult. But numbers of deer and elk are both strong. Mule deer numbers are rebounding slightly, although they remain below long-term averages. Whitetail deer have also recovered after some recent outbreaks of epizootic hemorrhagic disease (EHD). This year showed strong fawn recruitment, Auchley said. For elk, hunters with access to private land in the island mountain ranges or the Missouri Breaks area east of Great Falls could see good success. Nothing much has changed from last year, Auchley said. Were dry, but you guys by Missoula are really dry. Brooklyn, NY -- (SBWIRE) -- 02/06/2017 -- This report on global Liquid Crystal Display market is a research study that answers pertinent questions about the emerging trends and growth opportunities in this industry. It also identifies each of the prominent barriers to growth, apart from identifying the regional trends and trends within various application segments of the global market for Liquid Crystal Display. Collecting historical and recent data from authentic resources, and based on all the factors and trends, the report presents a figurative estimation of the future of the market, along with compound annual growth rate (CAGR). This report studies Liquid Crystal Display in Global market, especially in North America, Europe, China, Japan, Korea and Taiwan, focuses on top manufacturers in global market, with capacity, production, price, revenue and market share for each manufacturer, covering Samsung LG Philips AOC DELL HKC ViewSonic BenQ Acer HP Get a Free Sample PDF of this Report Copy @ http://www.qyresearchreports.com/sample/sample.php?rep_id=944951&type=E Market Segment by Regions, this report splits Global into several key Regions, with production, consumption, revenue, market share and growth rate of Liquid Crystal Display in these regions, from 2011 to 2021 (forecast), like North America Europe China Japan Korea Taiwan The study segments the Liquid Crystal Display market by geography into: North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and Rest of the World. It provides forecasts of revenue of the market as a whole as well as each application segment. The competitive landscape is mapped based on product and technology. This study also offers an overview of pricing trends and ancillary factors that will influence pricing in the global Liquid Crystal Display market. The market study, estimation, and market sizing have been done utilizing a combination of top-down and bottom-up approaches. Of special value are the key recommendations and predictions by our analysts, intended to steer your strategic business decisions. The company profiles section of this research service is a compilation of the growth strategies, product portfolio, financial status, and recent developments of key market participants. The report provides detailed industry analysis of the global Liquid Crystal Display market with the help of proven research methodologies such as Porter's five forces. The forces analyzed are bargaining power of the buyers, bargaining power of suppliers, threat of new entrants, threat of substitutes, and the degree of competition. Explore Complete Report in through detail @ http://www.qyresearchreports.com/report/global-liquid-crystal-display-market-research-report-2017.htm Table of Contents Global Liquid Crystal Display Market Research Report 2017 1 Liquid Crystal Display Market Overview 1.1 Product Overview and Scope of Liquid Crystal Display 1.2 Liquid Crystal Display Segment by Type 1.2.1 Global Production Market Share of Liquid Crystal Display by Type in 2015 1.3 Liquid Crystal Display Segment by Application 1.3.1 Liquid Crystal Display Consumption Market Share by Application in 2015 1.3.2 Diagnostic Imaging 1.3.3 Treatment Medical Devices 1.3.4 Home Automation 1.4 Liquid Crystal Display Market by Region 1.4.1 North America Status and Prospect (2012-2022) 1.4.2 Europe Status and Prospect (2012-2022) 1.4.3 China Status and Prospect (2012-2022) 1.4.4 Japan Status and Prospect (2012-2022) 1.4.5 Korea Status and Prospect (2012-2022) 1.4.6 Taiwan Status and Prospect (2012-2022) 1.5 Global Market Size (Value) of Liquid Crystal Display (2012-2022) QYResearch offers Latest Technical Press & News @ http://www.qyresearchreports.com/press-releases.htm Albany, NY -- (SBWIRE) -- 02/07/2017 -- The global market for industrial controls system has been covered under the scope of this report. An industrial control network is a system of interconnected equipment used to monitor and control physical equipment in industrial environments. Industrial controls improve product quality, plant efficiency, as well as facilitate uniform production in industries. These are the main reasons for increasing investments in the industrial controls system market. Increasing need of software in industrial automation, rise in infrastructure investments in emerging markets and increasing need for process automation among diverse industry verticals are the major factors responsible for the growth of the global industrial controls system market globally. Moreover, growing application of software in industrial control devices is set to increase scalability of SCADA, DCS and PLC systems in industrial environments. The global industrial controls system market is segmented by region in North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific (APAC) and Rest of the World (RoW). North America led the global Industrial Controls System Market in 2014 and is also expected to maintain its dominance in 2021 as well in this market. The growth in North America is primarily attributed due to an increase in demand for safer and reliable process automation in different sectors, such as power plants, oil & gas and water & wastewater among others. Asia Pacific held the second largest share of the global industrial controls system market in 2014 followed by Europe and RoW respectively. The growth of the industrial controls system market in Europe can be attributed to the increase in demand for modernization of oil & gas, water & wastewater, and power infrastructures among others. Power and oil & gas industries were major contributors in RoW, in 2014. PDF Sample For Technological breakthroughs is @ http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=S&rep_id=4886 The industrial controls system market is segmented on the basis of types into supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA), distributed control system (DCS) and programmable logic controller (PLC). Distributed control system (DCS) is holding the maximum market revenue share in 2014 and is expected to remain so during the forecast period from 2015 to 2021. The increasing industrial infrastructure investment and expansion of power and oil & gas project activities globally is spurring the demand for this segment. In addition, increasing need of software in industrial automation, rise in infrastructure investments in emerging markets and growth in demand for process automation among different industry verticals are the major factors that are driving the industrial controls system market globally. By components, the global SCADA market has been segmented into a programmable logic controller (PLC), human machine interface (HMI), remote terminal unit (RTU), SCADA communication system, and others. The industrial controls system market is further segmented by application into power, water & wastewater, oil & gas, manufacturing, chemicals, automotive, food & beverages, pharmaceuticals and others (including aerospace, defense, mining and material, etc.). The global industrial controls system market is dominated by power sector segment. High gap in demand and supply of industrial control devices in developing countries such as India and China among others is expected to drive the demand of PLC, DCS and SCADA products in power sector. Chemicals segment was the second largest application sector in the industrial controls system market globally. Rising demand for bulk production of chemical materials is boosting the application of industrial control systems in the chemical industry. Read Full Press Release @ http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/pressrelease/industrial-controls-market.htm Some of the leading players in the global Industrial Controls System Market covered in the report are Siemens AG (Germany), ABB Ltd (Switzerland), Omron Corp (Japan), Emerson Electric Co (U.S.), Rockwell Automation, Inc. (U.S.), Honeywell International, Inc (U.S.), Alstom SA (France), Omron Corp (Japan), General Electric Co (U.S.), Yokogawa Electric Corporation (Japan) and Schneider Electric SE (France) among others. Maitland, FL -- (SBWIRE) -- 02/07/2017 -- There are hundreds of babies and small children in Bangkok who are suffering dearly. The Pakkred orphanage in the city houses more than 300 of them, but they are not without their supporters. Humanitarian aid has come in the form of Welsh traveller James Frazer-Mann. He brought numerous supplies to the children at the orphanage and is seeking to bring attention in other parts of the world to their struggles. Many people in the western world don't fully understand the kind of living conditions and struggles experienced by those in underdeveloped countries. Barry, Wales own James Frazer-Mann is one of few who does, though, and he recently brought medical supplies and other essential resources to the children at the Pakkred Babies Orphanage. He took the trip partially as an educational experience, wanting to learn more about those children who are called the "Forgotten Babies of Thailand". He was devastated to find that there were more than 300 children there, ranging in age from new-born to four years old. Each one of them was desperate for love and support. James came back to Wales to create fund-raising efforts for the orphanage and to get the word out about their plight. Frazer-Mann said that many of the babies are left at Pakkred right after birth, and the poverty in the surrounding villages is primarily to blame. No matter how little someone can help, he continues, it is important for them to do what they can, and it will not go unappreciated. He is desperate to bring attention to these children's struggles and to make sure people know what is happening to them. The Orphanage's own Facebook page proudly showcases the many successful adoptions that have taken place at their orphanage from people all over the world. Many of those Pakkred babies have been nurtured and cared for and have grown into successful adults who live happy lives. Anyone who adopts children from this orphanage would be saving a child's life. The Thai Ministry of Social Development and Human Security runs the Pakkred orphanage out of Bangkok Thailand. There are seven buildings on the compound that serve as housing for the children. The orphanage is set up to receive donations such as food, clothing and toys for the children. They can also accommodate visits to the facility for those who are interested. James Frazer-Mann promised that more information about his efforts to raise funds and awareness for the orphanage would be coming soon. Anyone interested in learning more can read the reviews about the orphanage and be inspired to do something. Reviews of Pakkred Babies Home are quite inspirational. One such review, from Deborah Major, who wrote on the orphanage's Facebook page, said that she adopted a 2-year-old daughter from Pakkred nearly 24 years ago. Now she is all grown up and is a young woman who makes her adopted mother very proud. Deborah also said she has an older daughter that she adopted 28 years ago from elsewhere in Bangkok. Her story is just one of many that can be found on the orphanage's Facebook page. To follow James Frazer-Mann and his efforts, you can visit http://www.jamesfrazermann.co.uk CONTACT INFO: -Wales PR, Cardiff House, Cardiff Road, CF63 2AW -+44 29 2000-3065 -Suzanne Jones http://www.jamesfrazermann.co.uk Albany, NY -- (SBWIRE) -- 02/07/2017 -- Home healthcare represents use of medical devices and community based services to support patients suffering from chronic diseases. Currently, the home healthcare market is moving towards a precision-based model of personal care. Home-based medical devices and services play an important role in providing personal care to patients in managing variety of disease conditions such as diabetes, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and blood pressure. Increasing patient population with chronic diseases such as diabetes, blood pressure, cardiovascular conditions and respiratory diseases globally (including Latin America) would drive the demand for home-based medical devices and services. These diseases require continuous monitoring, and thus involve high cost due to repeated visits to healthcare centers that inflate medical expenses. Thus, home healthcare devices and services are being rapidly adopted by consumers to measure parameters on a regular basis and to cut down medical costs. The Latin America home healthcare market is estimated to be USD 9,796.8 million in 2013 and is expected to reach USD 17,550.0 million by 2020, growing at a CAGR of 8.7% from 2014 to 2020. Browse Full Research Report on Latin America Home Healthcare Market - http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/latin-america-home-healthcare-market.html Latin America home healthcare market is mainly segmented into device types and services. Latin America home healthcare device segment is considered to be the largest segment and is estimated to grow at the highest CAGR during the forecast period from 2014 to 2020. This growth was mainly attributed to high acceptance of medical devices coupled with technological advancements (introduction of automated and portable devices) to fuel the growth of the home healthcare devices market in Latin America. The market of ventilators and CPAP devices segment is estimated to grow at the highest CAGR of 11.4% from 2014 to 2020. The mobility assist devices segment is further categorized into wheelchairs, cranes and crutches and other home mobility assist devices. Latin America home healthcare market, by services is segmented as rehabilitation services, intuition therapy services, telehealth and telemedicine services, respiratory therapy services and unskilled home healthcare services. The Latin American market of unskilled home healthcare services accounted for the largest market share i.e. more than 45% of total Latin American home healthcare services market in 2013. The telehealth and telemedicine services segment is estimated to grow at the highest growth rate from 2014 to 2020. Latin America home healthcare market, by geography is segmented as Brazil, Mexico, Colombia, Argentina and others. Brazil contributed for the largest share, i.e. around 35%, in 2013 of the Latin America home healthcare market. Increasing healthcare awareness and rising healthcare expenditure on chronic diseases in Brazil drive the market of home healthcare in Brazil. Mexico contributed the second largest share i.e. over 25% of the total market in 2013 and is expected to witness fastest growth during the study period. High prevalence of diabetes and cardiovascular diseases and increasing healthcare investment by the Government of Mexico will support the growth of home healthcare in Mexico. The growth of home healthcare market in Argentina and Colombia is mainly attributed to the introduction of new technologies coupled with new product launch by key companies. Some of the prominent players in the Latin America home healthcare market are Omron Healthcare, Inc., Phillips Healthcare, Medtronic, Inc., F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd, Praxair Technologies, Inc., Teleflex Corporation, Bayer Healthcare, ResMed, Inc., GE Healthcare, Cardinal Health, Gentiva Health Services, Inc., Invacare Corporation, Johnson & Johnson, Abbott Laboratories and others. Request A Sample Of This Report: http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=S&rep_id=3020 Seattle, WA -- (SBWIRE) -- 02/07/2017 -- The report "Metal Replacement Market by End-Use Industry (Automotive, Aerospace & Defense, Construction, Healthcare, Others), Type (Engineering Plastics, Composites), and Region - Global Forecast to 2021", The metal replacement market is projected to reach USD 159.82 Billion by 2021, at a CAGR of 9.2% from 2016 to 2021. Browse 108 market data tables and 50 figures spread through 161 pages and in-depth TOC on "Metal Replacement Market - Global Forecast to 2021" http://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/metal-replacement-market-87266199.html Early buyers will receive 10% customization on this report. This growth is mainly attributed to the increasing demand for metal replacing materials from the automotive, aerospace & defense, and construction industries worldwide. Automotive end-use industry segment to lead the metal replacement market by 2021 Automotive was the largest end-use industry segment of the global metal replacement market in 2015. The large share is attributed to the extensive use of metal replacing materials in the automotive industry, such as in the manufacturing of connectors, under-the-hood components, body parts, and reflectors & lighting sockets, among others. Metal replacing materials are used in light automobiles as well as heavy transportation vehicles. The automotive industry is growing globally. According to the OICA correspondents survey, 90.78 billion vehicles were produced in 2015. Request for the Sample PDF of Report @ http://www.marketsandmarkets.com/pdfdownload.asp?id=87266199 Engineering plastics type segment to lead the metal replacement market by 2021 By type, the engineering plastics segment accounted for the largest share of the metal replacement market in 2016. This large share is mainly attributed to better corrosion resistance, thermal resistance, and cost effectiveness of engineering plastics. Some of the most famous engineering plastics include polycarbonates (PC), acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), polyamides (PA), thermoplastic polyesters (PET & PBT), polyacetals, fluoropolymers, and others. Others include engineering plastics such as polyphenylene sulfide (PPS), polyphenylene ether (PPE), polysulphone (PSU), and poly methyl methacrylate (PMMA). Acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) is expected to lead the engineering plastics segment of the metal replacement market by 2021, owing to better corrosion resistance, better thermal resistance, and easy availability. Asia-Pacific to lead the global metal replacement market during the forecast period Asia-Pacific accounted for the largest share of the global metal replacement market in 2015, followed by Europe and North America. China is one of the major consumers of metal replacing materials in the Asia-Pacific region. Increasing investments by leading automobile manufacturers in the Asia-Pacific region, and the rising demand for metal replacing materials from the construction sector are factors propelling the growth of the Asia-Pacific metal replacement market. Make an Inquiry @ http://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Enquiry_Before_Buying.asp?id=87266199 Major market players covered in this report include Solvay SA (Belgium), SGL-Group (Germany), Owens Corning Corporation (U.S.), Celanese Corporation (U.S.), BASF SE (Germany), Toray Industries, Inc. (U.S.), and Jushi Group (China). About MarketsandMarkets MarketsandMarkets is the largest market research firm worldwide in terms of annually published premium market research reports. Serving 1700 global fortune enterprises with more than 1200 premium studies in a year, M&M is catering to a multitude of clients across 8 different industrial verticals. We specialize in consulting assignments and business research across high growth markets, cutting edge technologies and newer applications. Our 850 fulltime analyst and SMEs at MarketsandMarkets are tracking global high growth markets following the "Growth Engagement Model GEM". The GEM aims at proactive collaboration with the clients to identify new opportunities, identify most important customers, write "Attack, avoid and defend" strategies, identify sources of incremental revenues for both the company and its competitors. M&M's flagship competitive intelligence and market research platform, "RT" connects over 200,000 markets and entire value chains for deeper understanding of the unmet insights along with market sizing and forecasts of niche markets. The new included chapters on Methodology and Benchmarking presented with high quality analytical infographics in our reports gives complete visibility of how the numbers have been arrived and defend the accuracy of the numbers. We at MarketsandMarkets are inspired to help our clients grow by providing apt business insight with our huge market intelligence repository. Contact: Mr. Rohan Markets and Markets 701 Pike Street Suite 2175, Seattle, WA 98101, United States Tel: +1-888-600-6441 Email: sales@marketsandmarkets.com Visit MarketsandMarkets Blog @ http://www.marketsandmarketsblog.com/market-reports/chemical Connect with us on LinkedIn @ http://www.linkedin.com/company/marketsandmarkets New York, NY -- (SBWIRE) -- 02/07/2017 -- Adiponitrile or hexanedinitrile is a colorless organic liquid compound. It finds its major application as a precursor for polymer nylon 6-6 which is known for its high mechanical strength and hence finds an array of applications including conveyor belts, carpet fibers, and electro-insulating elements amongst others. Adiponitrile also finds its application, though to a much smaller extent as an intermediate for synthesis of corrosion inhibitors and rubber accelerators. The major market for adiponitrile is governed by its application in Nylon6-6 whose demand continues to sore across North America and Europe primarily due to automotive applications. Also the market for adiponitrile finds upward trend in Asia pacific countries like China, Malaysia and other south-east Asian countries chiefly due to availability of cheaper production facilities. A sample of this report is available upon request @ http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/samples/4242 Adiponitrile is largely prepared by most common industrial route which was revealed by Dupont involving nickel-catalyzed hydrocyanation of butadiene. This process involves series of sub-products to finally produce adiponitrile as the outcome. Adiponitrile is then hydrogenated to produce hexamethylenediamine which is a vital component of Nylon6-6. Nylon 6-6 is prime substitute for Nylon 6 which finds applications requiring fittings in automotive applications, strings for musical instruments, ropes and tire cords. However Nylon 6-6 has better properties in high temperature applications and hence makes in suitable over nylon 6 in various applications. The major applications which necessitate high temperature and strength include that of carpet manufacturing, hosiery and knitted garments (textile sector), tire ropes, gear wheels, plug parts, hydraulic brake lines and radiator housings for automotive industry. As Nylon 6-6 is light in weight and waterproof in nature it makes it appropriate for swim-wear. Adiponitrile is also used in production of adipic acid which is used in polyurethane applications like auto seating, footwear, thermal insulation amongst others. However adipic acid can be cheaply manufactured by other ways making adiponitrile a weaker option for this segment. Almost all the adiponitrile goes into production of Nylon 6-6 fiber and hence requirement of Nylon 6-6 drives the market. As Nylon 6-6 finds wide array of applications in manufacturing and automotive sector, growth of these sectors would fuel the need of adiponitrile. The requirement in this sector is largely dominated by the U.S., followed by developing countries like China and Malaysia. The requirement of Nylon 6-6 resin grows wider across Europe and the U.S. as a major engineering resin; this would enhance market for adiponitrile. The tyre-cord requirement would continue to grow as the automotive segment seems to grow at steady pace across Asia-pacific countries and developed countries. This makes the market for adiponitrile even more lucrative. Application for carpets, rugs and clothing fibers which belong to textile sector are likely to continue the growth owing to strengthening in textile industry. This will certainly act as a major driver in the requirement for adiponitrile in near future. However this market faces a stiff price competition due to cut-throat price rivalry and hence the major players in this segment are shifting their production sites to Asia-pacific countries. This has propelled to a large extent demand in China which would even advance further with tyre-cord requirement. Request to view Table of content @ http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/toc/4242 Some of the key participants in the adiponitrile market include Dupont, Solvay, Rhodia group, Invista,BASF, Lyondellbasell Industries, LG Chem, Ineos, China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation, Braskem, Evonik Industries, The dow chemical company, JSR Corporation, Royal Dutch Shell and Saudi Basic Industries Corporation amongst others. About Persistence Market Research Persistence Market Research (PMR) is a third-platform research firm. Our research model is a unique collaboration of data analytics and market research methodology to help businesses achieve optimal performance. To support companies in overcoming complex business challenges, we follow a multi-disciplinary approach. At PMR, we unite various data streams from multi-dimensional sources. By deploying real-time data collection, big data, and customer experience analytics, we deliver business intelligence for organizations of all sizes. Deerfield Beach, FL -- (SBWIRE) -- 02/06/2017 -- Zion Research has published a new report titled "Cement Market for Residential, Commercial, Infrastructure and Other Applications: Saudi Arabia Industry Perspective, Comprehensive Analysis and Forecast, 2014 2020" According to the report, Saudi arabia region demand for cement was valued at USD 3.90 billion in 2014 and is expected to reach USD 5.27 billion in 2020, growing at a CAGR of slightly above 5.1% between 2014 and 2020. In terms of volume, the cement market in the Saudi Arabia stood at 61,000 kilo tons in 2014. Request Sample Report: http://bit.ly/2d09OHz Cement is a one of the key binding material used in construction industry. Cements acts as a binding agent for mortar, concrete, non-specialty grouts and stucco, etc. Cement is manufactured from raw materials such as limestone, sand and clay. These kinds of raw materials are widely available in Saudi Arabia. Additionally, cheap and widely available petroleum fuel has been resulted into cost effective manufacturing of cement in the region. Various physical and chemical properties of cement such as high durability, high dependability, cost-effectiveness and versatility are favorable for construction applications. Key factors driving the demand for cement market in Saudi Arabia is increasing the construction activity in different segments such as commercial, residential, industrial and infrastructure. Rapidly growing population has been resulted into growing demand for residential & commercial buildings as well as infrastructure. Residential application market for cement in Saudi Arabia is expected to witness strong growth during the forecast period. Infrastructure is one of the largest segment, which accounted for around 50% share of the total market in 2014. Infrastructure refers to the construction that includes roads, bridges, canals and dams. The increasing number of airports and road construction projects are anticipated to boost the cement market in Saudi Arabia. Commercial application is the second largest application segment of the market in 2014, which include construction of walls, floors, exterior walkways and pavements of commercial buildings. Browse the full "Cement Market for Residential, Commercial, Infrastructure and Other Applications: Saudi Arabia Industry Perspective, Comprehensive Analysis and Forecast 2014 2020" report at http://www.marketresearchstore.com/report/cement-market-for-residential-commercial-infrastructure-and-other-35998 The cement market was dominated by Central region of Saudi Arabia, which accounted for slightly above 32% share of the Saudi Arabia market in 2014. Saudi Arabia was followed by the Western, Eastern, Southern and northern regions respectively. Cement market in central region is also expected to witness rapid growth as compared to other regions. Over the past few years, there has been an increase in construction activities in the Saudi Arabia, especially in the eastern and central provinces. Various cities in the Kingdom have initiated infrastructure projects, thereby fuelling demand for cement. Strong economic growth in the Saudi Arabia is expected to fuel growth of the cement market in various cities of the Saudi Arabia. The manufacturing companies of cement have a significant impact on the value chain through a higher degree of vertical integration. These companies manufacture raw materials as well as the final product. Some of the key players operating in the Saudi Arabia cement market include Saudi Cement Company, Riyadh Cement Company, Yamama Cement Company, and Najran Cement Company. Do Inquiry before buying: http://bit.ly/2cyvrf6 This report segments the global market as follows: Saudi Arabia Cement Market: Application Segment Analysis Residential Commercial Infrastructure Others (including cement bricks and farm construction) Saudi Arabia Cement Market: Regional Segment Analysis Central Eastern Northern Southern Western About Us Zion Research 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. Zion Research experienced team of Analysts, Researchers, and Consultants uses 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 Zion Research syndicated research report covers a different sector such as pharmaceuticals, chemical, energy, food and 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, our syndicated reports strive to serve the overall research requirement of clients. Contact US: Joel John 3422 SW 15 Street,Suit #8138 Deerfield Beach,Florida 33442 United States Toll Free: +1-855-465-4651 (USA-CANADA) Tel: +1-386-310-3803 Email: sales@marketresearchstore.com Website: http://www.marketresearchstore.com Albany, NY -- (SBWIRE) -- 02/06/2017 -- Thanks to the increasing usage of tebufenozide to control the spread of caterpillars, the global market for tebufenozide is likely to witness significant rise in its valuation over the forthcoming years. The widening application array of this agrochemical as fat soluble insecticide, stretching from fruits to vegetable crops, is expected to add significantly to this market in the long run. Tebufenozide is extensively utilized in a number of fruit crops, such as almond, apple, peach, grapes, pear, avocado, lime and lemon. Of these, almond crops account for the most prominent demand for this agrochemical. The efficiency of tebufenozide in helping farmers keeping crops disease-free and healthy and improving to their productivity, is adding to the popularity of tebufenozide substantially, which eventually is leading to a considerable growth of this market. Request a Brochure of the Report @ https://www.tmrresearch.com/sample/sample?flag=B&rep_id=61 The less toxic nature of tebufenozide has garnered a global approval for its usage in fruit crops. Led by growing yield of fruits, such as walnuts and almonds, the demand for tebufenozide is likely to escalate substantially in the years to come. Global Tebufenozide Market: Trends and Opportunities The substantial growth of the insecticides industry is having a noticeable impact on the growing demand for tebufenozide across the world. The growing demand for organic food, thanks to the rising concerns of consumers pertaining to food safety and environmental protection, is projected to propel the usage of tebufenozide in insecticides. In addition to this, the increasing demand of this agrochemical in emerging nations is projected to create new and lucrative opportunities for tebufenozide producers over the forthcoming years. The increasing concerns over food safety are likely to act as the main factor behind this growth. The demand for tebufenozide will also be influenced by the rising demand for various methods of seed treatments, boosted by the increasing need for crop protection over the next few years. Request for TOC of the Report @ https://www.tmrresearch.com/sample/sample?flag=T&rep_id=61 Global Tebufenozide Market: Regional Analysis With a large market for genetically-modified crops, North America has been presenting a higher demand for tebufenozide than other regional markets. The efficiency of tebufenozide in treating seeds is likely to maintain this demand pace in this region over the forthcoming years, ensuring the dominance of North America. On the other hand, Asia Pacific is likely to surface as the most promising regional market for tebufenozide in the years to come, thanks to the augmenting need for food in Asian countries, such as India and China, propelled by the presence of a large population base. The increasing awareness regarding the negative environmental benefits offered by tebufenozide in comparison with other pesticides is also expected to boost its demand in Asia Pacific over the next few years. Brazil and Argentina are likely to drive the market for tebufenozide in the Rest of the World. Read Complete Report @ https://www.tmrresearch.com/tebufenozide-market Global Tebufenozide Market: Companies Mentioned in the Report Gowan Co. LLC, SinoHarvest, and Rohm and Haas are some of the leading producers of tebufenozide across the world. About TMR Research TMR Research is a premier provider of customized market research and consulting services to business entities keen on succeeding in todayas supercharged economic climate. Armed with an experienced, dedicated, and dynamic team of analysts, we are redefining the way our clientsa conduct business by providing them with authoritative and trusted research studies in tune with the latest methodologies and market trends. Our savvy custom-built reports span a gamut of industries such as pharmaceuticals, chemicals and metals, food and beverages, and technology and media, among others. With actionable insights uncovered through in-depth research of the market, we try to bring about game-changing success for our clients. Albany, NY -- (SBWIRE) -- 02/07/2017 -- Tissue Banking devices are used to store tissues in controlled environment for quality, safety and effective use in different disease treatment. The report on global Tissue Banking market, analyzes the current and future prospects of the market. The report consists of an executive summary that provides information about the products, its segments and sub-segments, along with a market snapshot and comparative analysis by geography, in terms of revenue %, for 2015. Transparency Market Research estimates that the market will expand at a promising 11.3% CAGR from 2016 through 2024 and rise to a valuation of US$2.1 bn by 2024. Global Tissue Banking Market: Scope of the Report A detailed overview of market dynamics, including the drivers, restraints, and opportunities of the Tissue Banking market, along with porter's analysis, and value chain analysis, of the global market, has been provided in this report. Market revenue and volume analysis for all the above mentioned segments, and their sub segments has been provided for the forecast period of 2016-2024, considering 2015 as the base year, and 2014 as the historical year, along with compound annual growth rate (CAGR %), for the forecast period of 2016-2024. Market share estimations were based on in-depth analysis and study of products, and their features, prices etc. Pricing analysis, for every region has been provided considering the Average Selling Prices (ASP), of products, in these regions. Download PDF brochure for this Report: http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=B&rep_id=14681 This report provides in-depth analysis of the Tissue Banking market. The stakeholders for this report include companies involved in the manufacturing of Tissue Banking devices. For providing a snapshot of this market to the stakeholders, executive summary section is included in this report, which summarizes the market size, trends and competition in different regions. Market share analysis among the market players is analyzed to signify percentage share of the major players operating in the Tissue Banking market. Furthermore, the report incorporates market attractiveness analysis by geography that depicts the most attractive and significant region in the global market in 2015. The research methodology is a combination of primary and secondary research. Primary research includes information collected via e-mails, and telephonic interviews of Key Opinion Leaders (KOL), and forms the bulk of our research. Secondary research includes information collected from various sources, by study of company websites, annual reports, stock analysis presentations, press releases, and various national and international databases. Global Tissue Banking Market: Segmentation Based on Equipment type, the global Tissue Banking market has been segmented into Freezers, Storage system, Thawing Equipment, Labelling and Coding Equipment, Alarming and Coding equipment. Freezers are the highly growing market growing at a CAGR of % which is followed by storage system. Based on applications, the Tissue Banking are segmented into Clinical and Therapeutic, Research & Development, Drug Discovery. Tissue banking are highly used in clinical and therapeutics and growing at a CAGR of % and followed by research and development. Based on end users, the market is segmented as Hospitals, Tissue Banks, Research and Academics Institutes and Diagnostic Laboratories. Umbilical cord blood transfusion is highly growing therapeutic treatment segment in tissue banking globally. Global Tissue Banking Market: Geographical and Competitive Dynamics Based on geography, the market is segmented into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, and Middle East & Africa. The regions are further segmented into major countries which include, U.S., Canada, Germany, U.K., France, Italy, Spain, rest of Europe, China, Japan, India, Australia, Rest of Asia Pacific, Brazil, Mexico, Rest of Latin America, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Rest of Middle East & Africa. The report also comprises list major players in the market, their SWOT analysis, market share of these players in the Tissue Banking market, key business strategies, product portfolios, and recent developments. Key market players profiled in this report include, Thermo Fisher Scientific, Brooks Automation, Taylor-Wharton, Panasonic Biomedical, Backman Coulter Inc., Custom Biogenic Systems, Inc., Sigma-Aldrich Corporation, and BioLife Solutions, Inc., others. Majority of companies acquiring strategy of merger and acquisition for overall market growth. The technological advancement are another trend adopted by several companies for growth of business segment. Browse Full Research Report on Tissue Banking Market: http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/tissue-banking-market.html About Transparency Market Research 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. We have an experienced team of Analysts, Researchers, and Consultants, who us e 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, 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 wider scope and stratified research methodology, our syndicated reports thrive to provide clients to serve their overall research requirement. 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 Browse market research blog: https://tmrresearch.blogspot.com/ An international team of researchers has successfully synthesized a thermodynamically stable compound of sodium and the noble gas helium, Na 2 He, which has a fluorite-type structure and is stable at high pressures. Their results were published this week in the journal Nature Chemistry. Helium is the second, after hydrogen, most abundant element in the Universe and it is present in significant quantities in normal stars and in gas giant planets such as Jupiter and Saturn, the researchers said. Helium and neon are the most inert elements in the periodic table. This is easy to understand as the ionization potential of the He atom is the highest of all the elements and its electron affinity is zero. The first of the noble gases, helium features an extremely stable, closed-shell electronic configuration, leaving no openings for connections, added Utah State University Professor Alex Boldyrev, co-author of the study. Prof. Boldyrev and his colleagues performed a large-scale computational search for possible stable compounds of helium with a variety of elements (H, O, F, Na, K, Mg, Li, Rb, Cs and so on). They found that only sodium readily forms a stable compound with helium at pressures accessible to static experiments. We found a new compound, Na 2 He, which has lower enthalpy than the mixture of elemental Na and He, or any other mixture, at pressures above 160 GPa (gigapascal), the authors said. The reaction is predicted to be exothermic at pressures above 160 GPa, with reaction enthalpy as large as minus 0.51 eV at 500 GPa. Phonon calculations clearly indicate dynamical stability of Na 2 He above 100 GPa. This means that, once formed, this phase can be quenched down to 100 GPa, but at and below 50 GPa it is dynamically unstable and therefore unquenchable to ambient conditions. The team then experimentally confirmed that sodium readily bonds with helium under high pressure to form the curious Na 2 He compound. The findings were so unexpected that we struggled for more than two years to convince science reviewers and editors to publish our results, Prof. Boldyrev said. Initially, the Na 2 He compound was found to consist of Na 8 cubes, of which half were occupied by helium atoms and half were empty. Yet, when we performed chemical bonding analysis of these structures, we found each empty cube actually contained an eight-center, two-electron bond, Prof. Boldyrev said. This bond is whats responsible for the stability of this enchanting compound. The researchers also predict the existence of Na 2 HeO with a similar structure at pressures above 15 GPa. _____ Xiao Dong et al. A stable compound of helium and sodium at high pressure. Nature Chemistry, published online February 6, 2017; doi: 10.1038/nchem.2716 The House Judiciary Committee heard an hour of powerful testimony from people in favor of abolishing the death penalty, who shared a comprehensive list of reasons for their support. Those who testified included a man wrongly sentenced to death, the mother of a murder victim and attorneys who were haunted by years of adherence to the death penalty system. Conservative legislators and religious leaders asked the committee to consider the ethics of a system where a death results in more death. Several people said eliminating the death penalty is a cost-saving measure. Bills to abolish the death penalty have never made it off the House floor. Last session, a bill to replace the death penalty with life in prison without parole came close, but died in the house with a 50 to 50 vote, largely along party lines with Republicans against it. However, some conservatives are realizing the death penalty doesnt align with their core values. Adam Hertz, R-Missoula, introduced House Bill 366 this session, which would substitute life without parole for the death penalty. Hertz said he introduced the bill in part to be a good steward of tax dollars, and said an inmate on death row costs 10 times more than an inmate sentenced to life without parole. The bill does not yet have a fiscal note to determine the cost savings for abolishing the death penalty. Several committee members questioned whether it would be significant, as there are only two Montanans on death row. While concerned about fiscal responsibility, Hertz said the bill would also fulfill his belief that life begins at conception and ends with natural death, and would provide inmates with a chance for redemption. I believe the death penalty system overlooks why we condemn murder in the first place, Hertz said. As a Christian, I believe in redemption. Rep. Adam Rosendale, R-Billings, Rep. Mike Hopkins, R-Missoula, and Marc Hyden represented the Conservatives Concerned About the Death Penalty organization. Hyden said conservatives are realizing the death penalty violates core principles of valuing life, promoting fiscal responsibility and a limited government. Ray Krone, who spent a decade in prison for a crime he didnt commit, told the committee his story. He was accused of a murder involving a bite wound and found guilty after the prosecutor hired an expensive expert who testified the bite on the victim matched Krones teeth. His parents mortgaged their house and cashed in retirement funds to afford an appeal. He was again found guilty, but was sentenced to life in prison after the judge doubted his guilt. In 2012, DNA testing finally proved his innocence. Krone is the 100th death row inmate to be exonerated in the United States. I was number 100, he said. Ten years, three months, eight days of the hell my family went through. Susan DeBree, a pastor at United Methodist in Livingston, is the mother of a murder victim. Gretchen, her daughter, was shot in the back of the head. Her death was found to be suspicious, but no charges were filed. While the family has spent a lifetime with questions regarding the murder of Gretchen, DeBree said the death penalty wouldnt have brought closure either. The death penalty reinforces the practice of killing another human being to end the conflict, she said. Redemption is a gift from God. Our faith teaches us its possible for all. Franklin Bookhart, a representative with the Montana Association of Christians, said the idea of killing a person for having killed a person is contradictory and calls the whole practice into question. I would add human justice of course is always approximate. Sometimes we execute people who are innocent, he said. Sarah Beck, a pastor from Billings, said the death penalty process forces the families of victims to relive the crime with each appeal and denies the ability to grieve or heal. Beck presented the committee with a letter signed by 50 family members of murder victims, who also oppose being complicit in taking a life. Betsy Griffing, an attorney, said she supports the end of the death penalty for ethical reasons, the exorbitant cost and its arbitrary application. She said death penalty cases are inherently complex and often take 20 years to get through motions, challenges of searches and confessions and constitutionally required appeals. The lengthy process is supposed to ensure that the innocent are not executed. In her years of experience, Griffing said she thought minorities and low-income people were disproportionately sentenced to death. Griffing spoke of a fellow attorney haunted by the hypocrisy of a system that takes a life because it values life. After she supervised the legal team in Montanas first execution in 50 years, she could no longer support the death penalty. I too vowed I would do everything I could to see that the death penalty was abolished, she said. SK Rossi, director of advocacy and public policy for ACLU Montana, said there isnt any evidence suggesting the death penalty deters people from committing capital offenses. No one testified in opposition to the bill. [MEXICO CITY] Building the wall that Donald Trump has ordered on January 25th, as one of his first actions as US president, will put on risk more than 50 animal species that share the ecosystem along the border between the United States and Mexico, scientists from various countries have warned. Since 2006, 1,100 kilometers of barriers covering more than 30 per cent of the border between the countries have been built. The newest executive order commands the immediate construction of a physical wall, stating that wall means a physical barrier, continuous and impassable. People in desperate situations appeal to ingenious solutions to hoax the barriers, but animals couldnt do the same. Jamie McCallum, Transfrontier International It will be a big problem for wildlife, says Jesse Lasky, researcher at Pennsylvania State University in the United States and author of a 2011 study warning that more than 50 species were endangered because of the existing separation. The study also warned that this number would increase if the barriers expanded they are currently irregular, in various sizes and shapes. Lasky explained to SciDev.Net that separating the ecosystems of these arid areas along the border puts animals at risk because it obstructs their access to water and mating behaviour; it also reduces their hunting ground, obstruct the recolonization of certain areas and reduces the genetic diversity of separated species. The cougar, the Mexican wolf, the black bear and the porcupine are some of the endangered species along the border. There is evidence that the wall has not prevented the movement of undocumented people cross the border. A British study published in 2014 concluded that the wall restricts the movement of animals, but not people. We saw that the number of people crossing dwarfed the number of animals, said Jamie McCallum, founder of the consultancy company Transfrontier International and author of the study, in an interview with SciDev.Net. It seemed that the wall was causing damage to everything it shouldnt, and was not disturbing what it supposed it should; it was like having the worst of both worlds! McCallum recalled that people in desperate situations appeal to ingenious solutions to evade the barriers, but animals couldnt do the same.Rurik List, ecologist of the Autonomous Metropolitan University in Mexico, who has studied the border since 1993, confirmed to SciDev.Net that an impenetrable wall will have severe additional consequences by restricting the movement of animals trying to adapt to climate change. Lasky expressed the same concern, citing changes in the hydrological patterns of the area.We have seen how bisons break the barbed wire when crossing the border, allowing smaller animals to pass. Now [with a built wall], this wont be possible anymore, concludes List. This piece was produced by SciDev.Net's Latin America and Carribean edition Taking after the constant success of the 2017 Ford F-150 as America's main pickup, the American automaker is prepared to conquer new markets as it ships the Raptors to China. This will be the first event when that the Ford Raptor will wander into another new region, such as China and it will certainly be interesting to perceive how things go from here. As indicated by The Verge, one reason why the 2017 Ford F-150 Raptor is being sent to China is because the Asian nation has appreciated American products, such as the Raptor. Given this fact, it creates the impression that the American automaker is hoping to benefit from the chance of having the capacity to carry its products to China. In like manner, the 2017 Ford F-150 Raptors are the first pickup trucks from the automaker that will be sold in China. As per MotorTrend. Because of this move by Ford, the American automaker may simply get into the great side of the new President of the United States of America. President Trump has recently been grilling American automakers including Ford for building its products in Mexico and transporting in back to the U.S. Obviously, the mere thought of the U.S. bringing in its own items to its nation does not sit well with the U.S. President. The planning of Ford's choice to export its products to China rather is absolutely perfect given the delicate circumstance the new administration and American automakers are siding. The 2017 Ford F-150 Raptor will certainly be one of the isolated vehicles when it touches base in China as the nation is known to have congestion and contamination or pollution issues that settle on small autos best decisions when purchasing vehicles. 2017 Ford F-150 Raptor now on its way to customers in China https://t.co/ABpUh1og2m pic.twitter.com/yZaEMAU2Oe Car Fanatics (@CarFanatics) February 3, 2017 Yet, it was also said that the Chinese market won't have the capacity to get the 2017 Ford Raptor inexpensive as its sticker price is at $48,860 not including delivery charges. Regardless, if the 2017 Ford F-150 Raptor can attract the Chinese market, the future would definitely look brighter for the American automaker. Every country's view on marijuana use has evolved throughout the years be it for recreational or clinical research for medical use. Recreational marijuana has already been approved in other countries but not at the federal level while some scientists are still on research for proving the medicinal use of the herb. According to Web MD, marijuana is primarily used for the relief of pain. A "marijuana card" is actually provided in states that allow the use of medical marijuana. A person that possesses a marijuana card allows the purchase of marijuana in authorized dispensaries. Specifically, physicians may prescribe marijuana in different diseases such as; muscle spasms from sclerosis, nausea caused by chemotherapy, poor appetite and weight loss from a chronic illness, seizure disorders, and even crohn's disease. Business Insider also revealed further medicinal use on the herb in conditions of glaucoma, lung cancer, Dravet's Syndrome, anxiety, Alzheimer's disease, hepatitis C, inflammatory bowel disease, arthritis, metabolic problems, and lupus. Medical marijuana can be taken as a smoke, vapor, solid oral food (candy or cookies), and drank orally as a liquid extract. Medical marijuana works by altering pain and inflammatory mediators in the pathway process during injury or disease. Live Science has revealed that the following states already allowed the recreational use of marijuana; California, Massachusetts, Nevada, Alaska, Colorado, Oregon, Washington and District of Columbia. Furthermore, places such as Arkansas, Florida, Montana, and North Dakota have already legalized marijuana for its medical use. Altogether, medical marijuana is already legal in 28 states however additional 16 states allowed the limited use of medical marijuana. Marijuana's recreational use provides a feeling of joy and relaxation, increased appetite, increased sight, hearing, and taste perceptions, loss of body coordination, and being dizzy. Marijuana has already been legalized in some states but the potential side effects along with its use should also be taken with the precautionary measure. Meanwhile, development in the treatment of AMR is on its way; click here for more information. There's a new antibiotic in town! This antibiotic is said to be capable of killing off antibiotic-resistant bacteria like MRSA in just a span of minutes according to a new study. In an article in the New Zealand Herald, a team of scientists from the University College London (UCL) was able to discover two powerful antibiotics that could disrupt and kill the likes of superbugs. These antibiotics are the vancomycin and oritavancin. Dr. Joseph Ndieyira, the team leader of UCL, shared in an interview that in order to kill bacterial cells, antibiotics should bind them first. Naturally, antibiotics can easily latch on the surface of these bacterial cells but for the case of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, there comes the challenge. Ndieyira further explained that their team from UCL was fortunate enough to discover the two antibiotics which can forcefully make their way in even if the bacteria is resistant. The Sun stated that the antibiotic vancomycin has the ability to disrupt the functional processes of a bacteria as strong as the MRSA. On the other hand, oritavancin is a modified version of vancomycin which is said to be 11,000 times stronger. Ndieyira shared that because of its strength, oritavancin can actually kill bacteria in just a span of 15 minutes while it will take around six to 24 hours for vancomycin to do the same job. Several scientists have previously stated that due to the worsening climate change, diseases tend to get stronger and become drug-resistant. Dr. Susan Hopkins of the Royal Free Hospital in East London once shared that due to this threat, thankfully there's been progress in studies of finding new potential antibiotics which can target drug-resistant bacteria. UCL's discovery with vancomycin and oritavancin provides new doors to the research of drugs that could combat resistant bacteria. More and more studies are promising and are soon available. Scientists now have help in figuring out the evolution of mollusks as a tiny, hat-like shell adorning a 478-million-year-old species is discovered recently. Mollusks, which Live Science noted to be a diverse group of invertebrates both land and water dwellers, have always been a mystery. It remained unclear for years whether they evolved from shell-less ancestors or if this particular part is innate in them. Today, it seems that scientists can now confidently say that their ancestors had one shell, thanks to the newfound species. These newly discovered specimens -- seven of them in all -- were actually found in the late 2000s by Mohamed "Ou Said" Ben Moula, a self-taught collector who uncovered possibly thousands of specimens with fossilized soft tissues in Fezouata Biota in Morocco. Ben Moula, who has been working hand in hand with paleontologists at Yale, shipped the fossils to Connecticut so that they can be further studied. Out of all his samples, two of the specimens were seen to be complete, which allowed researchers to examine their anatomy in detail. The study's co-lead researcher, Luke Parry, who is a doctoral student in the Department of Earth Sciences at the University of Bristol in England, shared, "I describe them as an armored, spiny slug with one single shell at the head end." The newly discovered animal is believed to reach up to 12 cm long. It is named the Calvapilosa kroegeri, which is a reference to the hairy shell that covered its head together and is a nod to Bjorn Kroger. The Guardian also reported that the discovery of this ancient mollusk sheds light on other previously discovered fossils, revealing that a number of older creatures may be mollusks, thanks in part to the study that showed similarities in structure to the Kroegeri. Martin Smith, a paleontologist at the University of Durham who was not involved in the study, described the find to be exciting. He stressed on the importance of the fossil by saying that the find could help work out what modern mollusks could have in common with their ancestors. A 25-year-old mother refused to breastfeed her baby, after giving birth to an alien-looking infant. Mirror reported that first-time mom Priyanka Kumari does not want to nurse her deformed baby after delivering her at a state-run hospital in India. The bulged-eyed baby came out having a huge growth on her head and is covered with a hardened shell of skin. The poor baby was described as cursed by her parents with other comments comparing her to an alien. Some even believe that she is an incarnation of a Hindu god and have already offered their prayers to her. Curious people have flocked to the family's home in Banshghat within the Chakiya district. The public wanted to see the child in real life as her shocking arrival flooded the news. Kumari was not pleased to see her child. She said she is still in trauma for not having a normal baby. "I keep cursing myself for this. When I saw her for the first time, I was shocked," the mother said. "I thought to myself - how could I deliver something like this? Now, I am worried about her future." "I am totally confused. I don't know what to do. I am just following the instructions of the doctors at hospital," her husband Balindra Mahto added. "God could have given her a healthy baby. But now whatever has happened, it's for good. I am praying for her healthy future." Although the mother is healthy, Dr. Rajan Sinha doubts the condition of the child. She is suffering from a rare condition called Harlequin ichthyosis, which is caused by malnutrition. "In such cases the probability of survival is only one in 10 million cases," Dr. Sinha said. According to Genetics Home Reference, the hardened thick skin will affect the infant's eyelids, nose, mouth and ears. This makes it hard for the baby to breathe, which could eventually lead to respiratory failure. While northwest Montana tries to dig out following historic snowfalls, accumulations in the Helena area have stayed more tempered. The Rocky Mountain Front saw 2 to 5 feet of snow over the weekend, with winter weather continuing to pound the Glacier National Park area. Significant snowfalls were recorded as far south as Rogers Pass, where 18 inches fell through Monday, said Meteorologist Paul Nutter with the National Weather Service in Great Falls. Snowstorms continued to come through the Helena Valley through Monday, but while snowfall made for slick roads and low visibility at times, accumulations remained far below those on the Front. For Helena over the weekend, warm air persisted about 500 to 1,000 feet above the valley floor, which meant at the same time 10 degrees was reported in the Helena Valley, MacDonald Pass hit 38 degrees. The Helena Valley is expected to stay cold through Wednesday with lows in the single digits and highs in the teens to low 20s. Warmer air is expected for the weekend. Nutter cautioned that with 8 to 12 inches of snow in the valley, melting snow brings a potential for ponding, such as standing water collecting in parking lots where drains are clogged with snow. WASHINGTON -- Tight labor markets shrink income inequality by causing employers to bid up the price of scarce labor, so policymakers fretting about income inequality could give an epidemic disease a try. This might be a bit extreme but if increased equality is the goal, Stanford's Walter Scheidel should be heard. His scholarship encompasses many things (classics, history, human biology) and if current events are insufficiently depressing for you, try his just-published book "The Great Leveler: Violence and the History of Inequality from the Stone Age to the Twenty-First Century." Judge this book by its cover, which features Albrecht Durer's woodcut "The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse." The tendency in stable, peaceful and prosperous societies is for elites to become entrenched and adept at using entrenchment to augment their advantages. The most potent "solutions" to this problem are unpleasant. They are disruptions such as wars, revolutions and plagues that have egalitarian consequences by fracturing society's crust, opening fissures through which those who had been held down can rise. Scheidel says that mass-mobilization wars give the masses leverage and require confiscating much wealth from the comfortable. Revolutions can target categories of people considered impediments to the lower orders, e.g., "landlords," "the bourgeoisie." And the Black Death century was particularly helpful. By killing between 25 percent and 45 percent of Europeans in the middle of the 14th century, Scheidel explains, the bubonic plague radically changed the ratio of the value of land to that of labor, to the advantage of the latter. The well-off were not amused. In England, the Chronicle of the Priory of Rochester noted that "the humble turned up their noses at employment, and could scarcely be persuaded to serve the eminent for triple wages." The king decreed wage controls but the canon of Leicester dourly noted that "the workers were so above themselves and so bloody-minded that they took no notice of the king's command." Today's milksop egalitarians probably will flinch from such a robust attack on inequality, assisted by the rats that carried the fleas whose intestines carried the bacterial strain. But, then, what really is the problem of inequality? The Cato Institute's Michael Tanner, noting the "highly redistributive" nature of America's economy and government, refutes four myths about economic inequality. The first, that inequality has never been worse, ignores taxes, transfer payments and changes in household composition. In 2013, America's top 1 percent of earners paid 25.4 percent of all federal taxes, which fund more than 100 anti-poverty programs, dozens of which provide direct cash or in-kind grants to individuals. Combined spending by federal, state and local programs approaches $1 trillion. In 2012, families in the bottom income quintile (less than $17,104 in earned income) received net government benefits of $27,171. According to the Congressional Budget Office, accounting for taxes and transfer payments reduces inequality almost 26 percent. The second myth, that the rich inherit rather than earn their money, is true of less than three in 10 American billionaires, a third of whom are either first-generation Americans or were born elsewhere. And the percentage of the Forbes 400 list of richest Americans who grew up wealthy has fallen from 60 percent in 1982 to 32 percent today. Of America's "one-percenters," fewer are in banking or finance (14 percent) than are doctors or other medical professionals (16 percent). The third myth, that the rich stay rich and the poor stay poor, is refuted by this historic trend: 56 percent of those in the top income quintile will drop from it within 20 years. Barely one-half of the top 1 percent of earners are in that category for 10 consecutive years. And, says Tanner, "One out of every five children born to parents in the bottom income quintile will reach one of the top two quintiles in adulthood." The fourth myth is that more inequality means more poverty. For example, in the mid-1990s, inequality was unusually high but basic measures of poverty showed significant decreases. The fact of inequality is a hardy perennial; inequality is a problem when, and to the extent that, a critical mass of people decide that it is. When developed nations live in what Scheidel calls "a world without horsemen" -- without revolutions, mass-mobilization wars, epidemic diseases -- reducing inequality is the province of governments, which know, or by now should know, how little leverage their policies have on income distributions driven by vast economic forces. George F. Will is a columnist for the Washington Post. Until last Friday, when Royal Caribbean International opened sales for additional Empress of the Seas sailings through early November, no US-based operators were known to have received OKs from Cuba for visits beyond May. Subsequently multiple sources told Seatrade Cruise News further approvals are expected soon. Approvals from Cuba are one thing. Whether the new Trump administration will continue to allow the voyages, which operate under special rules put in place following an executive order by President Obama, remains to be seen. But the fact that Cuban authorities appear to be resuming approvals now could suggest they don't anticipate an imminent US policy change in that area. Meanwhile, cruise line spokespersons said there's nothing to announce about Cuba sailings beyond Mayyet. 'Nothing to report,' said Roger Frizzell, chief communications officer, Carnival Corp. & plc. 'We have a request into Cuba for approval of our other cruise brands to sail there, and we remain optimistic that we will be approved soon.' At Carnival Corp., only Fathom has sailed to Cubasince last Maybut that brand is going away by summer. In December Carnival Corp. president and ceo Arnold Donald reiterated that approvals for 'hopefully more than one brand' would get the green light for the June period and beyond. 'Nothing to announce at this time,' a Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings spokeswoman said. To date, NCLH sailings to the island include one in early March aboard Oceania Cruises' Marina, two in April aboard Regent Seven Seas Cruises' Seven Seas Mariner and five on Norwegian Cruise Line's Norwegian Sky in May. Pearl Seas Cruises' Pearl Mist has been operating 10-night Cuba cruises from Port Everglades since mid-January. They're approved into early April, when the ship is scheduled for other seasonal deployment. Pearl Seas hopes to resume its Cuba program for the winter 2017/18 season, starting this November. 'We are working closely with the Cuban government and are hopeful approval will come soon, but we havent gotten the official OK yet,' a Pearl Seas spokeswoman said. Following the Governors State of the State address and the response by the Speaker of the House, the media reported on the stark differences the two made regarding Montanas fiscal condition. However, the more important point that needs to be made is an explanation of the underlying factors contributing to these views and our differing paths forward. There are two primary measures for fiscal soundness. The first is structural balance, meaning that projected revenues must be higher than projected expenditures. Something every household and small business is familiar with. The second is Ending Fund Balance, which should reflect the amount of money needed to meet the obligations of the state. It was clear to us by mid-2016 that the Ending Fund Balance would be gone by the time the Legislature came to town January 2017. Republicans warned the Governor via a letter dated September 4, 2016 that our state budget was heading into dangerous territory, and that he had time to take action to correct the budget and reduce spending. The warnings were ignored and the Republican-led Legislature is working to weather the current crisis and focused on a plan to get back in balance and ensure fiscal soundness in the long-term. There are major problems with the Governors proposed budget: 1) it imposes new taxes on sick people, on people who are trying to quit smoking and on small businesses and entrepreneurs; 2) it proposes taking money from funds intended to cleanup and prevent forest fire damage, provide emergency services via 9-1-1, and provide maintenance to critical infrastructure; 3) it adds new programs that will require ongoing funding into a future which is fiscally uncertain, and; 4) it leaves us with the same ineffective ending fund process for handling future budget crises. Alternatively, the Republican plan for working through the current budget crisis reduces current spending by $33 million and future spending projected in 2018/2019 by $120 million, and does not approve costly new programs our state cant afford. This plan provides a budget that will be structurally sound, will provide an operating reserve sufficient to meet the states obligations, and does not threaten budget stability into an uncertain economic future. This process is familiar to every family and small business across the state. When a budget is out of balance, drastic changes need to be made. The Governor believes Montana has a short-term economic problem that can be endured with quick fixes and creative transfers. But simply put, he is kicking the can down the road. Current policies will leave the state in a static or worse economic position. In a recently released economic report, Governor Bullocks view of Montanas economic outlook was again called into question. Montanans are earning wages among the lowest in the nation, which drives more Montanans into the arms of welfare programs that further drain our budget resources. Republican legislators believe that Montanas economic outlook, based on current policies, demands a budget strategy that achieves structural balance and provides an adequate operational reserve to meet the states obligations by restricting growth of existing programs, inhibiting new programs, and providing a process for budget stabilization to be used in times of economic uncertainty. Rep. Nancy Ballance, R-Hamilton, is the chair of the House Appropriations Committee. Lars Malmbratt, general manager of Stena Bulk Singapore, told Seatrade Maritime News that 2017 will be a difficult year, but the aim for the company is to enlarge its fleet during the market downturn. We have a positive view of the market further ahead from 2018 onwards, and we believe there will be a need for more tonnage in our fleet but an exact number on how many ships are needed is difficult to say, Malmbratt said. It is up to the market to decide but we have no fresh orders for newbuildings right now as we believe there is no need to put additional tonnage in the waters, he said, referring to the interest only in secondhand purchases. Moreover, newbuilding prices today are a little too high and not reflective of the rates in the spot market, Malmbratt added. Stena Bulk currently operates a fleet of 107 vessels on its own and in various joint ventures and pools, including 51 MR product tankers, 20 suezmaxes, 15 intermediate tankers (10,000 17,000 dwt), 10 p-maxes (65,500 dwt) and six shuttle tankers. The companys current newbuilding programme is its order for 13 IMOII MR tankers from China, with nine delivered and the remaining four deliveries stretching until early 2018. Malmbratt pointed out that the new IMOII tankers have added to the versatility of the companys MR fleet, and allowed it to take advantage of the flow of the light chemical methanol cargoes coming out of the US Gulf and going into Asia. In every cycle of the market there are opportunities and we try to act quickly on market movements. The goal ultimately is to be comfortable with your bottomline, and how many ships you operate is just a function to reflect the state of the market, Malmbratt commented. Thousands of animals have suddenly died in western Mongolia due to a virus that is afflicting sheep, Cashmere goats and the endangered saiga, which is an Asian antelope. Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) veterinarians have raced to the area in hopes of containing the epidemic, which is threatening not only these and other animals, but also the welfare of people living in the region. The cause is believed to be a virus known as "Peste des Petits Ruminants," or PPR. People are not thought to be at risk for the viral disease that most commonly sickens goats and sheep. It can cause fever, digestive problems, pneumonia and sometimes death. The virus was first reported in 1942 at Africa's Ivory Coast, but has since spread to other countries around the globe. "PPR is a serious disease of domestic small ruminants," WCS Mongolia country director Enkhtuvshin Shiilegdamba told Seeker. Ruminants are hoofed mammals that chew cud. "Mongolia's food security - sheep - and a significant component of its economy - Cashmere goats - are dependent on livestock." While resulting food shortages would likely only impact locals, the luxurious cashmere wool is transported all around the world, so the epidemic could affect its supply. RELATED: Excellent Idea of the Day: Critter-Kind Cashmere Shiilegdamba and her colleagues believe that the virus was transmitted from China through goats and sheep. There is a vaccine, so it is being given to as many animals as possible now. It is difficult to vaccinate wildlife, however, which are dying by the thousands. An estimated 2,500 saiga have recently perished, taking out a quarter of the local population of this already endangered antelope, according to WCS. An MIT spinoff company in India is proposing a novel solution to air pollution problems in Asia - turning vehicle exhaust into ink. It involves attaching a device, called a Kaalink, to the business end of a standard automobile exhaust pipe. The Kaalink filters and captures unburned carbon emitted by incomplete engine combustion. The technical details of the process are secret, but officials at Gravinky Labs, a spinoff company from MIT Media Lab, said the process is largely mechanical and relatively straightforward. "Our device is designed as a clever fusion of electronic sensors, mechanical actuators and a collection system," company co-founder Anirudh Sharma told Seeker in an email exchange from India. "It is retrofitted to the exhaust pipe of vehicles and mounts through a triangulated screw/clamp-set." According to tests at Graviky Labs, the Kaalink device can capture up to 93 percent of the emitted pollution from standard internal combustion engines. It takes about 45 minutes of exhaust filtering to produce an ounce of ink. But how does the captured carbon get turned into ink? Well, that's under wraps too, but Sharma said the captured carbon comes out the other end of the process as a high-quality printing ink that can be sold in both the consumer and industrial markets. The company has a new crowdfunding campaign to refine its development. Right now, Kaalink devices have to be individually and manually installed by drivers. When the collection apparatus is full, the device can be traded in at Graviky Labs facility in India. Sharma said each unit typically collects carbon for about two weeks of city driving before it needs to be swapped out. After months of record high temperatures and prolonged drought, cool air and rain have returned to central Chile, marking the likely end of a historic wildfire season that killed at least 11 people, destroyed more than 1,600 homes and charred more than 1.4 million acres. Drone footage released by the BBC and satellite images from NASA's Earth Observatory show burnt homes among white, ash-covered soil and a nearly 15-mile-long burn patch through a bright green forest. Some 7,370 people across six states were impacted by the blazes, according to the Chilean National Forest Corporation. CONAF reported Monday that firefighters had extinguished or brought under control 50 of the country's 56 ongoing fires. President Michelle Bachelet has called for the country to begin reconstruction of devastated areas. But as the country begins to survey the damage and erect temporary housing, forestry experts and climate scientists warn that the country must also prepare for a warmer and drier future that could render Chile vulnerable to more frequent, more intense extreme fire events. CONAF reported that nearly 1.5 million acres have been consumed by wildfires since July - an area nearly 13 times the historical average for a single fire season. Record shattering temperatures are helping to fuel the blazes. Temperatures for the month of January were 6.1 degrees Fahrenheit above the previous record and the mercury hit 113F in Cauquenes late in the month. RELATED: Warm Winter Fuels Deadly Southeast Tornadoes In the O'Higgins region, which lost nearly 150,000 acres of native and planted forest in recent weeks, local CONAF forest engineer Felipe Sandoval said the scale and damage done by the recent fires was unprecedented, though he has seen signals that the climate is changing for many years. "The impact of climate change here is absolute," Sandoval said. "In the 1980s and 1990s, the region received an average of 600 milliliters of water annually - for the last eight years, we have received just around half, at 300ml." Juan Boisier, a climate scientist at the University of Chile, said the lack of rain is part of the "Southeast Pacific drying," a phenomenon that stands out as a clear example of extreme precipitation decline. In a study published last year, Boisier and several colleagues found that approximately half of the precipitation decline observed in Chile is due to natural climate variability, while the remaining portion is brought about by anthropogenic climate change. MISSOULA -- A bill to cap punitive damages awarded in civil suits at three times the compensatory damages could be amended after a Libby senator questioned whether it would give the wealthiest corporate offenders only a slap on the wrist for egregious behavior. House Bill 165 received its second hearing on Friday after the proposal carried by Rep. Greg Hertz, R-Polson, passed the House in a 58-42 vote. The bill is hailed by supporters as a sensible, pro-business reform to tort law. Similar caps have been created in 17 other states, although six use multipliers that are higher or lower. It would make a more predictable legal environment here in Montana, Hertz said. This adds a little more predictability to the business climate here in the state. Opponents have argued it would kill effective punishment of some corporations, doctors or other defendants found guilty of deliberate malice or fraud, as well as weaken the primary deterrence for such acts. Montana Trial Lawyers Association Executive Director Al Smith told the Senate Judiciary Committee the bill would neuter the power of a jury to decide for themselves what level of financial punishment defendants found guilty should face. He argued any ratio cap, as proposed by Hertz, is unconstitutional because it is arbitrary and hampers juries from weighing the actual facts in a given case. To illustrate his point, Smith pointed to a 2014 jury decision to award $17 million to Kelly Logging, which had been the largest timber company in Montana and Idaho before, as District Judge Ed McLean put it, the reprehensible actions of First Interstate Bank contributed to the companys closure in 2013. In the Kelly case, they were so outraged with what they saw, the jury did $17 million in punitive damages, Smith said. The underlying compensatory damages in that case were $286,000. Under this bill, punitive damages wouldve been $900,000. That testimony struck a personal chord with Sen. Chas Vincent, a Libby Republican who is related through marriage to the Kelly family that operated the company and employed dozens since the 1950s. Vincents family also works in the timber industry and he wrote the legislation that created the loan program Kelly Logging turned to for help but the jury decided was abused by First Interstate Bank. While compensatory damages are intended to make plaintiffs whole for the damage done to them, punitive damages are intended to penalize bad actors and deter future fraud. Montana first added caps to punitive damages in 2003. Current law caps those damages at $10 million or 3 percent of the defendants net worth, whichever is lower. Hertzs bill would add a third cap to the list of three-times the compensatory damages. In every other state, law reads whichever is greater rather than whichever is lower, allowing the highest rather than the lowest possible damages under the various caps. Having that statute is good for small businesses, ma and pop businesses. If they were found to have acted wrongly, it would not completely cripple them, Vincent said. But in the case of Kelly Logging that law doesnt work. There was an unbelievable amount of malice and fraud. In the Kelly case, McLean ruled that the existing punitive damage caps are unconstitutional and allowed the $17 million figure to stand. The 2015 decision triggered an automatic appeal that ended in settlement before the case could be heard by the Montana Supreme Court. Three percent of First Interstate Bank's net worth of $838 million is $25.14 million. Between 1990 and 2000, 85 civil suits included punitive damage awards and were reported in Montana Law Week, a publication that compiles decisions in the state, according to an analysis by the Montana Trial Lawyers Association. In just 14 of those cases, punitive damages were greater than three-times compensatory damages. A higher court ultimately upheld the punitive awards in 5 cases and reduced or reversed them in three cases. The highest awards were given in cases where companies were found to have acted in bad faith on insurance, discriminated against or wrongfully discharged employees, or committed fraud, accounting for about $31 million of the total $37 million in punitive damages. Other cases involved violence, personal injury or privacy violations. Hertz and most supporters of the bill -- including the Montana Chamber of Commerce, Montana National Federation of Independent Business, Montana Defense Trial Lawyers Association, Billings Clinic and the Montana Bankers and Traders Association -- told Vincent after Fridays hearing that they are willing to work with him on finding a compromise to protect businesses while still holding bad actors accountable. Vincent is hopeful an agreement can be reached. He suggested amending the language to whichever is greater among the caps, removing the arbitrary $10 million cap or creating some exceptions that would allow juries to exceed the caps under certain circumstances. He said the committee is not in a rush to move HB165 to the full Senate since it already cleared the House and therefore is not in danger of failing at the upcoming March transmittal deadline. I think the bill either will be amended or die in its current form, Vincent said. Hundreds of mysterious Stonehenge-like earthworks have been discovered in the Amazon rainforest, according to researchers who have investigated more than 8,000 square miles in Brazil's northwestern state of Acre. The large geometric, ditched enclosures had long remained hidden by trees. But modern deforestation, in combination with Google Earth technology, have now revealed the presence of the more than 450 geoglyphs. The carved ditches measure up to 36 feet wide, 13 feet deep and are 300 to 1,000 feet in diameter. The features "rival the most impressive examples of pre-Columbian monumental architecture anywhere in the Americas," Jennifer Watling, a post-doctoral researcher at the Museum of Archaeology and Ethnography at the University of Sao Paolo, and colleagues wrote in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Excavations of the geoglyphs, which show a highly formalized architecture made of geometrical circles and squares, suggest they were used occasionally as public gathering sites to carry out ritual or ceremonial activities some 2,000 years ago. RELATED: Ancient Mayan Superhighways Found in the Guatemala Jungle The outer ditch and inner wall enclosure of the geoglyphs identify them as henge sites similar to Stonehenge, which is around 2,500 years older. "We are still a long way from answering what the enclosures meant to the geoglyph builders themselves," Watling told Seeker. "We are quite sure that they were not sites of permanent villages, nor defensive structures, due to both the forms of the earthworks and the small quantity of cultural remains that we discover when excavating them." Indeed, the almost complete lack of cultural material within the geoglyph area, suggests the enclosures were kept ritually "clean." The discovery of the huge earthworks has significant implications, not only for their puzzling meaning, but also because it overturns the notion of Amazonian rainforests as a pristine wilderness. "We immediately wanted to know whether the region was already forested when the geoglyphs were built, and to what extent people impacted the landscape to build these earthworks, " Watling said. Watling, who was working toward her Ph.D. at the University of Exeter at the time the research was carried out, and her colleagues dug soil samples from holes five feet deep within and outside two geoglyph sites. Curiosity's younger sibling is moving one step closer to knowing where to land on Mars. This week, three days of workshops will be held in Monrovia, Calif., to narrow down the landing sites from eight candidate locations. You can watch the action on this livestream between Wednesday and Friday. Mars 2020 is the next step to NASA's search for ancient habitable environments on Mars. The rover can also deposit sample "caches" for a possible sample return mission sometime to pick up the materials and bring them back to Earth. "The Mars 2020 mission would explore a site likely to have been habitable, seek signs of past life, fill a returnable cache with the most compelling samples, take the first steps towards in situ resource utilization on Mars, and demonstrate technology needed for the future human and robotic exploration of Mars," the workshop's website reads. "Undoubtedly the most consequential remaining decision for the Mars 2020 mission is the choice of landing site," it adds. "In this workshop we seek the critical insight of community members to identify and evaluate the virtues, uncertainties, strengths, and weaknesses of candidate landing sites as input to the process by which three or four sites will be prioritized for further consideration." RELATED: NASA Watchdog Warns Mars 2020 Rover Could Miss Its Launch Date Attendees are urged to "take the long view" when making their decisions, as the science of the site will be valuable not only for Mars 2020, but potentially for a sample mission. As such, the committee has come up with several criteria to figure out what kind of site is most suitable. Although Mars is now cold and dry, there are decades of evidence suggesting that the Red Planet's surface was once covered with rivers, streams, ponds, lakes and perhaps seas and oceans. Dark, narrow lines seen on Mars even hint that water could run down some of its slopes every spring. There is life virtually wherever there is water on Earth, so these findings raise the possibility that Mars was once a home to life, and might host it still. "The watery environments that once occupied the floor of Gale Crater look like they were pretty hospitable to life - not too hot, not too cold, not too acid, not too alkaline, and the water probably was not too salty," said study lead author Thomas Bristow, a planetary scientist at NASA's Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, California. [Photos: Ancient Mars Lake Could Have Supported Life]Ancient Mars must have been much warmer than the planet is today for such environments to persist, many scientists think. As such, prior work sought to look for signs that Mars once possessed ample amounts of greenhouses gases such as carbon dioxide in its atmosphere, which trap heat from the sun. However, analyses of data taken from orbit above Mars suggested little in the way of the carbonate minerals on the Martian surface that one would expect to find if its atmosphere were once richer in carbon dioxide. To help solve this mystery, scientists examined data collected from the Red Planet's surface by NASA's Curiosity rover as it traversed the lower slopes of the mountain Aeolis Mons (known informally as Mount Sharp), which rises about 3.4 miles (5.5 kilometers) high from the center of Gale Crater. RELATED: Here's What Mars' Amazing Polar Ice Cap Swirls Look Like From Above The researchers analyzed Martian mudstones, siltstones, sandstones and other sedimentary rocks deposited by lakes and rivers on the floor of Gale Crater about 3.5 billion years ago. They did not detect carbonates, suggesting that atmospheric levels of carbon dioxide back then were tens to hundreds of times lower than those required by climate models to warm early Mars enough to keep liquid water on its surface. These findings do not suggest that ancient Mars wasn't wet, study team members said. "The sedimentary evidence at Gale Crater is indisputable in showing the prolonged presence of liquid water on the surface of early Mars," Bristow told Space.com. One possible explanation for this discovery is that Mars once did have carbonates on its surface that were later destroyed. However, "the nature of the minerals in the samples we focused on don't support that conclusion," Bristow said. "They don't show any sign of suffering an acidic attack that could have dissolved any carbonates there in the past." Another possibility is that early Mars was warmed by other greenhouse gases, such as sulfur dioxide, methane or nitrous oxide. "The downside of all these other greenhouse gases is that they tend to be quite reactive, so when you put them in the atmosphere, they don't hang out an especially long time," Bristow said. "So the warming periods driven by those kinds of greenhouse gases are relatively short-lived, which is not consistent with observations from Gale Crater where we have evidence for lakes and rivers that persisted for hundreds of thousands or even millions of years." RELATED: Interstellar Clouds Eroded Martian Atmosphere Other scenarios that might explain the water of early Mars include ice caps that could have kept liquid water insulated under them, or a change in the Martian orbit that made the Red Planet warmer. "Our findings mean that scientists have to think a bit more deeply about what kind of mechanisms could lead to stabilization of surface water," Bristow said. Future research will analyze more data that Curiosity is collecting as it makes its way up Aeolis Mons. "It looks like the rover should be sampling the rock record of ancient Mars during a climatic transition as it dried out and cooled down," Bristow said. "We are hoping to get more clues as to how the early Martian climate system operated." The scientists detailed their findings online today (Feb. 6) in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Original article on Space.com. Editor's Recommendations WATCH VIDEO: Why Can't We Livestream From Mars? "A typical predator encounter might start with the predator trying to grasp the lizard in its jaws or claws, triggering the scale sloughing, which ideally lets the gecko escape denuded but alive," lead author Mark Scherz told Seeker. Birds, snakes and even other bigger geckos that try to eat Geckolepis often fail. The new gecko, named Geckolepis megalepis and described in the journal PeerJ, has skin that is made up of unusually large scales. Consisting of keratin and bony calcium-rich components, the scales are at the heart of the gecko's defense system. One of the greatest escape artists in the animal kingdom has just been discovered: a gecko that, due to its tear-away skin, leaves would-be predators with a mouthful of gross, chewy scales as it makes a speedy getaway. "It then probably seeks a humid, safe place to hide while the scales regenerate, which happens in a few weeks," added Scherz, who is a doctoral student at Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich and The Bavarian State Collection of Zoology. RELATED: Future Robots Could Have Wall-Climbing Gecko Feet Three-dimensional X-rays of the geckos, which are a type of lizard, enabled Scherz and his team to analyze Geckolepis' anatomy in detail, including its scales. Other geckos are able to lose their skin when predators grab them, but the newly discovered gecko can do this at the slightest touch. In fact, when Scherz went to capture a few individuals for the study in Marojejy National Park of northeast Madagascar, it took him several, challenging tries. The gecko would obviously rather not be bothered, especially as it is very costly for the lizard to regrow its scaly skin. But, as Sherz said, at least doing so "is much less costly than being eaten." When the gecko heals up, it does so scar-free. "The fact that the regeneration is, at least superficially, scar-less, gives us hope that some process in scale regeneration might have potential for implementation in scar-less healing in humans," Scherz said. RELATED: Glowing Geckos Light the Way to Improved Biodiversity He added that despite our increasing mastery at understanding stem cell functions, we still have not figured out how to promote the type of complete healing that Geckolepis achieves repeatedly throughout its life. Scientists are focusing on Geckolepis in hopes of unlocking its secrets that could be applied to regenerating new skin growth in humans. "The presence of bone in the scales might provide some hope for [human] bone regeneration" too, Scherz said, "but innovations on that front are much more likely to come from some salamanders, which can regenerate whole limbs, bones and all." Top photo: The new fish-scale gecko, Geckolepis megalepis, has the largest body scales of all geckos. This nocturnal lizard was discovered in the 'tsingy' karst formations in northern Madagascar. Credit: F. Glaw WATCH: 8 Animals That Can Regrow Their Body Parts Bam on death penalty: Sobra na ang patayan, huwag nang dagdagan pa! Sobra na ang patayan, huwag nang dagdagan pa! Sen. Bam Aquino made this pronouncement as he objected to the restoration of the death penalty amid the unabated and unsolved extrajudicial killings in the country. During the hearing of the Committee on Justice, Sen. Bam requested concerned government agencies to submit statistics and pertinent data to determine if the justice system and proposed death penalty is biased against the poor. "Mga Pilipino ba na naghihirap at desperado sa buhay ang nabibilanggo? Let's look at the numbers and determine whether our justice system is anti-poor," said Sen. Bam. Sen. Bam urged the committee to invite a representative from the Supreme Court to clarify unconfirmed reports that 71 percent of death penalty cases reviewed by the High Court were determined to be wrong. The senator also wants economic managers and officials from the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) to speak about the impact of death penalty on jobs and trade agreements entered into by the government in the past. "This move will also affect some of the treaties, conventions, and agreements we've already signed up to," he added. Instead of restoring the death penalty, Sen. Bam stressed the need to strengthen the country's justice system. "In the same way the PNP is now conducting an internal cleansing as they undertake the war on drugs, our justice system must also undergo reforms to ensure that no innocent Filipino is convicted and that there is true justice for the poor," said Sen. Bam. Press Release February 7, 2017 Cayetano thanks US Secretary of State Tillerson for expressing support for Du30 gov't Senator Alan Peter Cayetano on Monday thanked the new United States Secretary of State for his statement that the US will preserve its long-standing friendship with the Philippines, and that more facts would be needed on the ground before anyone could comment on the Philippine government's war on drugs. During the US Senate's confirmation hearing, newly confirmed Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said that the Philippines needs to "stay an ally," and that he needs to "act on fact" and "multiple sources" when it comes to the country's anti-drug war. Cayetano in a Facebook post thanked Tillerson for his assurance. He meanwhile expressed his dismay that while Filipinos support the war on drugs and view it as protecting law-abiding citizens from drug-related violence, certain groups from within the country continue to spread lies and paint a picture of massive human rights violations. "It is unfortunate that like steel that is destroyed by rust, it is groups from inside who are affected by the anti-illegal drugs, anti-crime, and anti-corruption campaign who are leading the disinformation campaign," he stressed. "Unfortunately, some have judged, believed or condemned without understanding the real situation nor verified facts on the ground. Leading to much misunderstanding and affecting our image abroad," he added. The senator lamented how the public had been misled by the efforts of some detractors to discredit President Rodrigo Duterte and his centerpiece platform of government. "There are many spreading lies about the situation in the Philippines, but there are many more who would see for themselves first before they judge," he said. Finally, Cayetano reiterated his call for US congressional leaders and other international advocates and "partners" to visit the Philippines, go to the different communities, and see for themselves how the war on drugs is slowly making Filipinos feel much safer. "We prayed with U.S Congressional leaders in the National Prayer Breakfast. Now I pray that these legislators (our brothers and sisters), as well as other international leaders, would visit the Philippines... hear from the people themselves how they are finally beginning to feel safe, that they can now rely on the law and on their government," Cayetano said. Press Release February 7, 2017 Cayetano: 'war on drugs' not war against the poor Senator Alan Peter Cayetano said the Duterte administration's war on drugs is not a war against the poor, but a war to defend the poor from the drug menace that plagues their communities. In a speech before the Filipino community in New York City on Monday (Philippine time), Cayetano decried the wrongful branding of the anti-drug campaign as a "war against the poor." On the contrary, the senator said Duterte's policy against drugs and criminality actually aims to alleviate poverty by saving poor Filipino families from the drug menace that ruins so many lives. Cayetano stressed that the increase in police operations in the urban poor areas seeks to deter drug pushers operating in such areas. "The war on drugs is a program to get people out of poverty. Because no family with a drug addict as a brother, son, or father can get out of poverty. If we have three million addicts, that means we have three million families with a problem," he said. "The poor have become common victims of the drug pushers. When they become hooked on drugs, they engage in other crimes to sustain their vices. If the government will not intensify its drug operations, the poor will continue to be exploited by the drug pushers. The poor cannot defend themselves, they need us most," he added. Cayetano then called on international organizations to help the Duterte government succeed in its campaign against illegal drugs, instead of wasting their energy criticizing its strong policies. In front of the enthusiastic Filipino crowd in New York, he suggested that international funders should consider equipping the police with the necessary bullet-proof vests and body cameras to make the drug buy-bust operations more transparent and to avoid cases of human rights of violations. "Instead of criticizing us and trying to stop international funding, why don't you give us bullet-proof vests for our police? And why don't you give us cameras like they use in the SEAL teams, so you could see the drug bust and you could see why they fire at these people?" Cayetano also invited human rights groups to visit the country to "see for themselves" how the anti-drug campaign is gradually making Filipinos much safer in their own communities. "It's not to criticize but to show you that in a multicultural world and with different socioeconomic backgrounds and different drugs, you can't judge us simply from your point of view. Come over and see what's happening," he said. Press Release February 7, 2017 CHIZ RESOLUTION CALLS ON SENATE TO PROBE AI REPORT Sen. Chiz Escudero has filed a resolution pushing the Senate to investigate the allegations of Amnesty International that killings related to the government's war against illegal drugs were extrajudicial executions carried out by gunmen hired by police officers to kill and plant evidence. Escudero, former chair of the Senate Committee on Justice and Human Rights, filed Senate Resolution No. 282 directing the appropriate Senate committee to probe into the report by AI, saying it must not be simply set aside as it raises serious allegations that can undermine the Philippines' reputation as a democratic country that fundamentally recognizes and upholds human rights. "I found AI to be radical at times if you look into our history. The filing of resolution is really not meant to give AI a platform. It is to allow AI to prove their allegations because by that report, they besmirched the reputation of the country." He also added that the legislative inquiry would be an avenue to verify the accuracy of the report and give the people and institutions involved an opportunity to respond to the findings. "It is not only a matter of necessity but public accountability as well that AI substantiate and present its evidence before the Senate for public scrutiny to confirm the report's veracity and to hold, or otherwise clear, the Philippine government of any responsibility," Escudero said. "Sure or not, they already besmirched the name of our country by saying that these violations are committed by the state itself," the senator said. According to the report released by the international human rights watchdog, "the police paid killers on their payroll, and unknown armed individuals have slain more than a thousand people a month under the guise of a national campaign to eradicate drugs," adding that the administration's war on drugs is actually a "war against the poor." AI also alleged the use of a mere "watch list," which contents are based on hearsay, community rumor or rivalry, with little verification. In their report, AI also detailed the story of a police officer with the rank of Senior Police Officer 1, who served in the PNP for a decade and is currently part of the anti-illegal drugs unit in Metro Manila. According to the source, the police paid per "encounter"--the term used to mask the extrajudicial killings as legitimate operations conducted by the authorities. The police officer claimed that the amount paid by the police ranges from P8,000 to P15,000 per person, per encounter. "The logic it presents is that this money is coming from the government, that is a serious allegation that would immediately connect the state to what is happening outside the EJKs (extrajudicial killings) and that would mean it is already state sponsored. That is a very serious allegation and AI cannot simply make that allegation and say 'sorry all of our sources are confidential, we cannot reveal it.'" Since the Duterte administration came into power, the Philippine National Police has conducted almost 41,000 drug-related operations from July 2016 to January 2017. According to AI, more than 7,000 people have been killed in the drug war, with the police directly killing at least 2,500 alleged drug offenders. Furthermore, Escudero cautioned the administration against giving too much power to the police force and treating erring officers with kid gloves. "The worst fear of many people already happened. It went into the head of the policemen. Not all, but some," he said. "We want to see the PNP leadership pursue with the same vigor as drug suspects the scalawags, misfits and erring policemen." Press Release February 7, 2017 DEATH PENALTY AGAINST DRUG TRAFFICKERS WILL NOT END THE DRUG PROBLEM A senator opposed to the reimposition of the death penalty said that capital punishment will not solve the country's drug problem. Akbayan Senator Risa Hontiveros said that countries which imposed the death penalty even on high-level drug traffickers did not curb illegal drug trafficking. The Senator cited the example of Iran where the authorities have admitted the death penalty doesn't work, even after executing thousands of drug traffickers. "According to the report by the Amnesty International, thousands of people have been executed for drug offenses since 1959 in Iran. In 2015, Iran had 829 executions, 571 for drug-related offenses. However, the Iranian government itself admitted that the death penalty has failed to reduce drug trafficking in the country," Hontiveros said. Hontiveros also cited the experiences of Hong Kong and Singapore which have identical murder rates, despite the former abolishing the death pen in 1993 and the latter mandatorily imposing the death pen for murder & other crimes. Hontiveros said that the death penalty is a dangerous shortcut. She also said that it is irreversible and irreparable. The Senator asserted that what is needed are reforms in the country's justice system and a rules-based and modern drug law enforcement strategy targeting big-time drug syndicates. She said that the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) must take the lead, with the Philippine National Police (PNP) taking a coordinative role in the conduct of anti-drug operations. "The government must bring the campaign versus the drug lords and not to the poor. Side by side with a public health approach to the drug problem, our drug law enforcement strategy must shift focus to organized drug syndicates. We must focus on crimes associated with big drug operations, such as money laundering and extortion. We must also strengthen border control in international airports and seaports, and heighten operations against cross-country narco trafficking," Hontiveros explained. On Monday, Hontiveros filed Senate Bill No. 1313 otherwise known as "the Barangay Health and Rehabilitation Strategy Act of 2017" to replace the government's corrupt and abusive anti-drug campaign with an "alternative health and law enforcement strategy" to address the country's drug problem. Press Release February 7, 2017 Legarda Renews Call to Limit Global Warming to 1.5C, Urges LGUs to Adopt Goal Senator Loren Legarda today renewed her call for the country and all nations to aim for the 1.5C global warming limit, stressing that it is a matter of survival. Legarda, Chair of the Senate Committee on Climate Change and UN Global Champion for Resilience, made the statement as she convened a consultative meeting on the establishment of local climate change action plans (LCCAP). "When the world came together to produce the Paris Agreement in December 2015, all nations agreed to limit warming to well below 2 degrees Celsius. In that pact, now already in force, we committed to pursue efforts to ensure temperatures would even be half a degree lower at just 1.5 degrees. Half a degree Celsius-it doesn't sound like much, but it's a number that could transform the face of the world as we know it," she said. "I urge our local government units (LGUs) to adopt this goal as they craft their LCCAP. Let us not just do these local climate action plans for compliance, let us do this because the survival of our people and the sustainability of our communities matter," Legarda said. The Senator explained that the Philippines led the call for the 1.5C limit on behalf of more than 40 developing countries of the Climate Vulnerable Forum (CVF). "The 1.5C limit is part of our call for climate justice. 1.5 upholds human rights and ecosystems integrity; it is that threshold of chance and hope. If we breach it, we lose so much lives and render so much suffering to those who will live," she stressed. The 2016 Low Carbon Monitor, a report commissioned by the CVF, estimates that keeping to a 1.5C limit could raise growth economic output by as much as 1% by the 2040s, since so many of the devastating impacts associated with higher levels of warming would be avoided. Legarda said that the 1.5C limit can only be achieved with an unchanging collective resolve for immediate and drastic action at global and local levels as called for by the Paris Agreement. She added that since local action is crucial in the attainment of the 1.5 goal, strategies to achieve it must be incorporated in the LCCAP. "In crafting the LCCAP, all sectors of society must be involved and the 1.5 goal must be incorporated. We should give the LGUs the technical support in crafting their plans, they must understand the importance of these plans and how these will be beneficial to development and sustainability," said Legarda. The Senator asked the convergence of the Climate Change Commission (CCC), the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG), the Local Government Academy (LGA), the Development Academy of the Philippines (DAP), the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), the Department of Science and Technology (DOST), the various LGU leagues, and the state universities and colleges (SUCs) as well as private learning institutions, in completing the LCCAP of all LGUs within the year. "Time is of the essence in climate action. We need to craft local climate action plans that embrace the 1.5C goal. This is crucial because our country is among the most at risk of climate impacts, especially sea level rise. As long as there is a chance to stop global warming at a level that lets humanity survive and thrive, we should seize it," Legarda concluded. MISSOULA -- A bill to ban insurance companies from using zero-dollar claims as a reason to cancel policies or raise rates received strong support from the Montana Senate, where it appeared Monday after having been tabled in committee for several weeks. Currently, companies can cancel insurance policies, bar renewal or raise rates because a customer simply asks questions about a potential claim -- even if the company never made any payment related to the incident. Whats particularly ironic about this is most policies require you to report any potential claims, whether anything comes of it or not, Sen. Mary McNally, D-Billings said. I dont think its fair. I dont think its right. She noted she first learned of the problem when hundreds of policies were canceled in the Billings area after repeated hailstorms. Although some of those cancellations were likely based on risk calculated using claims that the company actually paid out, some were instead the result of risk assessments based on damage that the customer paid for themselves and cost the insurance company nothing. The measure was first supported by former State Auditor and Insurance Commissioner Monica Lindeen, a Democrat, but also has been backed this year by Republican Matt Rosendale, who took office in January. A 2015 version of the bill failed, in large part, because it also would have limited the age of claims companies could consider when making underwriting decisions. That is not part of this years bill. The bill would apply to a broad range of insurance policies, from homeowners and auto to commercial property and professional liability. In testimony before the Senate Business, Labor and Economic Affairs Committee the first week of January, several lobbyists for the insurance industry opposed the measure, arguing the information about all incidents, even ones that do not lead to a claim or payout, are valuable in calculating their rates and risks. It ultimately passed out of committee on a 9-1 vote, with Great Falls Republican Sen. Steve Fitzpatrick in opposition. On Monday, the full Senate gave preliminary approval to the measure in a 42-8 vote. Fitzpatrick was joined by seven other Republicans to cast No votes: Keith Regier of Kalispell, Tom Richmond of Billings, Daniel Salomon of Ronan, Nels Swandal of Wilsall, Chas Vincent of Libby, Roger Webb of Billings and Jeffrey Welborn of Dillon. WITH ANTI-ILLEGAL DRUGS OPS SUSPENDED, STRATEGIC VIEW NEEDED VS CRIME, PRESIDENT SHOULD CONVENE JELAC: PANGILINAN MANILA - As the police's anti-illegal drugs operations are suspended and the possible return of the death penalty is being discussed in Congress, the government should use this time to discuss a strategic approach to fighting crime and convene the Judiciary Executive Legislative Advisory and Consultative Council (JELAC), Senator Francis "Kiko" Pangilinan said Tuesday. "Panahon nang mag-sama-samang magtrabaho ang tatlong sangay ng pamahalaan para magkaroon ng komprehensibong solusyon sa problema ng krimen sa ating bayan. Sinusuportahan natin ang panawagan ng LEDAC (Legislative Executive Development Advisory Council) na pulungin na ang JELAC para pag-usapan kung paano solusyunan ang problema ng krimen at iligal na droga (It's time for the three branches of government work together toward a comprehensive solution to the country's crime problem. We support LEDAC's call to convene JELAC to focus on minimizing criminality and the drug problem in the country)," Pangilinan suggested. Last year, Pangilinan filed Senate Resolution 79 urging "His Excellency President Rodrigo Duterte...to convene JELAC...as a strategic response to strengthening the administration of justice and speeding up the disposition of cases as a means to address criminality and disregard for the rule of law." In that Senate resolution dated 3 August 2016, the Liberal Party president made the proposal in response to then growing number of extrajudicial killings. This time, Pangilinan is calling for the convening of JELAC to discuss the general problem of crime in the context of judicial system, including the proposal to re-impose the death penalty. "Ang pagkakaroon ng isang makabagong sistema ng katarungan ang epektibong solusyon sa krimen, hindi ang parusang kamatayan. Ayon sa mga pag-aaral, kasiguruhan ng parusa, hindi parusang kamatayan, ang nagsusugpo ng krimen (Modernizing our judicial system is an effective solution to crime, not the death penalty. According to studies, certainty of punishment, not the death penalty, minimizes crimes)," he said. A survey conducted by the Free Legal Assistance Group (FLAG) in May 2004 shows that more than 80% of death penalty inmates work in mostly temporary jobs, more than 52% earn lower than P7,000 a month, and almost 45% reached only elementary school. Koko welcomes Du30 order not retrain rogue cops Senate President Aquilino "Koko" Pimentel III on Tuesday praised the decision of President Rodrigo Duterte to reject a plan by the Philippine National Police (PNP) to retrain police officers involved in misconducts. President Duterte on Sunday said that erring cops should remain "suspended all over," saying that putting them under retraining process will not make them better cops but rather "better scalawags." "This only shows President Duterte's political will to cleanse the ranks of the PNP of hoodlum cops", said Pimentel. The PNP earlier revealed that some 387 policemen have been recalled and reassigned inside Camp Crame to undergo disciplinary retraining. Pimentel said that there is no place for rogue cops anywhere in the country and they should be sacked immediately once proven guilty of committing illicit activities. Pimentel is the highest official to criticize the old PNP practice of reassigning erring policemen to Mindanao. He said that the Mindanao region also deserves honest and disciplined law enforcers like the rest of the country. Pimentel said that bad cops should go directly to jail if proven guilty rather than being redeployed in other areas, particularly in Mindanao. Pimentel, the author of the NBI Modernization Law, also called on the National Bureau of Investigation to task on Saturday for "squandering a precious opportunity" to become an "effective, modern, and competent investigative body" as envisioned in the law he sponsored modernizing the agency. Pimentel's comments on the country's law enforcement agencies came in the heels of the kidnap-slay of Korean businessman Jee Ick-joo last October, a crime which allegedly involved officials in both the PNP and NBI. Press Release February 7, 2017 Villar: Penalty vs scalawags must be severe; not mere pushups Sen. Cynthia Villar today expressed support for severe penalties against police scalawags, saying pushups are punishments too light against men and women who committed the serious offense of betrayal of public trust. "I can understand the frustration of our people hearing about police authorities masterminding kidnapping operations, extortion and summary executions. These are the people who vowed to serve and protect. If the police cannot be trusted, where will our people go?," Villar said. Villar said there is merit in the creation of a task force that will investigate and operate against erring cops, pending a formal document stating in detail the scope and composition of the task force. Philippine National Police (PNP) Chief Ronald Dela Rosa created the Counter-Intelligence Task Force led by Sr. Superintendent Jose Chiquito Malayo to go after police officers involved in illegal activities. It is composed of 100 police personnel from the PNP Special Action Force and the PNP Criminal Investigation and Detection Group. "We should send a strong signal that these activities will never be condoned and that we will not let a handful destroy the whole of the police organization," Villar said. The Nacionalista Party senator also welcomed the pronouncement of President Rodrigo Duterte stating that policemen who use the anti-narcotics drive as a cover for illegal activities will be transferred to conflict areas in Mindanao. "This is letting the public know that the administration can also be harsh on police scalawags, not only on perpetrators of illegal drugs. And certainly, being harsh is not only letting them do pushups," she said. To the proposal for scalawag cops from the National Capital Region Police to clear the Pasig River of water lilies, Villar said she will be willing to accept the water lilies as materials for the weaving enterprises of Las Pinas residents. PNP mounted an internal cleansing drive after several police officers got involved in the kidnapping and killing of Korean businessman Jee Ick-joo. San Francisco is a sanctuary city. Local officials are all puffed up about that these days as they thump their chests against President Trump. Just dont read the fine print on those ringing declarations. Yes, were a sanctuary city unless youre a tenant who suddenly finds yourself the target of real estate and legal forces beyond your control. Take the case of Iris Canada, a 100-year-old African American woman who is about to be evicted from the Fillmore district apartment she has occupied since World War II. One hundred years old you read that right. And yet our sanctuary-loving city cant find a way to protect a centenarian who is the only black person left in her building. A building in the heart of a neighborhood once known as the Harlem of the West. In a city that prides itself on diversity, but where blacks have faded from 13 percent of the population to less than 6 percent. On Tuesday, according to Dennis Zaragoza, Canadas attorney, its all but certain that Superior Court Judge A. James Robertson II will order the eviction of the retired nurse, unless she is able to post the $180,000 bond required for an appeal. If that money doesnt come from heaven, said Zaragoza, Im not sure where it would come from. If sheriffs deputies show up at her Page Street apartment with an eviction notice, added Zaragoza, it might be the end of his client, who has suffered a stroke, a serious infection and other stress-related ailments in the course of a legal battle that has stretched for over two years and has generated street protests and wide media attention. All of this is killing me, Canada told a reporter for the Guardian in October. I love my house. This is my place. This is my furniture. Everything here is mine. Of course, since this is a story about San Francisco real estate, nothing is logical and clear. In 2005, the owners of Canadas apartment Peter Owens; his wife, Carolyn; and his brother Stephen agreed to grant her life estate rights to the unit for the rest of her days. But they claim she violated this agreement when she became too old to care for herself and moved in with family members in Oakland. Along with other apartment owners in the building, the Owens family is trying to convert the units from an unwieldy tenants-in-common ownership structure to condominium status, but they cant do it without Canadas signature. Canada and her attorney have refused to sign the condo conversion document, insisting it would remove her legal claim to her apartment. Untrue, said Peter Owens. If Canada had signed, we were willing to give Iris complete immunity from any negative consequences. Once upon a time, Canada trusted the Owens family, who bought the building after the dot-com crash for the remarkable bargain price of $1.3 million, fixed up and sold five units, and allowed the elderly resident to stay in the sixth unit because of her advanced age. She was born in 1916 she grew up when your word was your bond, said Iris Merriouns, Canadas grandniece and aggressive advocate. She trusted them when they told her she could stay in her apartment for the rest of her life. Merriouns insists that Canada has continued to live in the apartment, except for a hospital stay and a road trip she took with a family member who had been diagnosed with terminal cancer. She has the right to come and go as she pleases, but she has never moved from her house. Nonsense, said Peter Owens. He inspected the apartment in May 2014 and found it empty, filled with garbage and infested with cockroaches and rats. Basically it was a storage closet for an elderly woman who now lives in Oakland, he said. Look, if Iris signed the condo conversion papers, she could stay until the day she died or live on the moon for all I care. The real problem, according to Owens, is that Merriouns has designs on the property. And, sorry, Im not going to give my property to her. Reporters who have visited Canada over the past several months observe that she still seems to reside in the Page Street apartment. She was called on by two therapists and a nurse during the Guardian reporters visit. Meanwhile, Merriouns has doggedly made the rounds of city agencies, imploring them to intervene in the tangled case and finally secure peace of mind for her great aunt. At her age, she should be relaxing and telling her grandchildren and great-grandchildren stories about life in the 1920s, 30s and 40s when Canada was a pioneer in African American womens social and political circles, said Merriouns. Instead, shes being dragged in and out of court. Merriouns has met with Board of Supervisors President London Breed, in whose district Canada lives, as well as with an attorney in District Attorney George Gascons office and members of San Franciscos Adult Protective Services and the citys Human Rights Commission. But theyve done nothing, she said. Drought Map Track water shortages and restrictions across Bay Area Updated to include drought zones while tracking water shortage status of your area, plus reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Areas largest water districts. And so the Iris Canada eviction case heads toward a catastrophic conclusion this week, an outcome everyone dreads but nobody can prevent. Peter Owens said his life has been held hostage by the case. Until the housing dispute blew up in the press last year, when he felt compelled to resign, he worked as the director of the Community Economic and Development Office in Burlington, Vt. a department started by Sen. Bernie Sanders when he was mayor of the city. Last year, I was in charge of protecting the most vulnerable citizens in Bernies hometown. That all fell apart when we were painted as these heartless creatures. Owens describes himself as a progressive Democrat. But if he and his wife ever do move back to San Francisco, where she grew up and they raised their two kids to take possession of the bitterly contested Page Street apartment they thought of as their retirement nest egg they might be stepping over the dead body of Iris Canada. Its the last thing they want, the last thing that will help their cause. In San Franciscos housing wars, nobody escapes unscathed. The bad karma and carnage in this sanctuary city is thick enough to cut with a knife. San Francisco Chronicle columnist David Talbot appears Sundays, Tuesdays and Thursdays. Email: dtalbot@sfchronicle.com Nearly 80 flights in and out of San Francisco International Airport were canceled Tuesday morning due to heavy rain and gusts of up to 50 mph, officials said. Travelers are being advised to expect up delays of up to an hour on flights leaving and arriving, said airport duty manager Maria Buyco. BILLINGS - A road rage incident ended in Billings Heights Tuesday with the driver of a commercial truck running over another man twice after a confrontation. A passenger in the victim's pickup then held the commercial driver at gunpoint until police arrived. A man in a 2002 Ford F-150 had apparently cut off a 28-year-old Billings man driving a Chevrolet cargo truck on Wicks Lane at around 11:30 a.m. The commercial driver then chased the Ford west up Wicks Lane, said Sgt. Shane Winden, of Billings Police Department. The panel truck followed the Ford onto Nottingham Circle, said Winden. The driver and an occupant of the Ford exited their vehicle and approached the cargo truck. The driver of the panel truck drove at them and struck one of the men, later identified as an 18-year-old Billings man. The panel truck truck driver then drove over the victim a second time. The second occupant of the Ford was armed with a pistol and held the commercial driver until police arrived. Winden said the man appeared to be a legal possessor of the firearm and the circumstances would allow for his actions. The injured man was taken to Billings Clinic with injuries to his leg and abdomen. In Billings Police Department press release the man's injuries were described as minor and he was discharged from the hospital. The Billings Police Department Detectives Division was called to further the investigation. The cargo truck driver has been detained, according to the release. Opponents of a plan to build dedicated lanes on Geary Boulevard to cut travel time for Muni bus riders have filed suit to slow down, and ultimately stop, the bus rapid-transit project. San Franciscans for Sensible Transit, a group made up mainly of Richmond District residents and merchants, filed the lawsuit Friday in San Francisco Superior Court. It contends that the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, in its role as the countys Transportation Authority, failed to follow proper processes in approving environmental studies last month in an effort to rush the start of the project. Representatives of the authority, as well as the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency, declined to comment on the suit. The neighborhood group has complained that the project will diminish the quality of life for Richmond District residents by removing trees, reducing parking and replacing the median with bus lanes. Businesses will also suffer during years of construction, critics argue. This action is brought to stop a grave error in judgment from taking form as a bus thruway which destroys the quality of life and economic health of the Richmond District, the group said in the suits introduction. The idea of the project is to emulate subway service on Geary with a bus rapid-transit system, which reserves lanes reserved for buses, adds more buses to the route and reduces the number of stops. After studies by the citys transportation agencies, the Transportation Authority board approved a design that puts 1.7 miles of dedicated bus lanes in the median through the heart of the Richmond District. Those lanes would connect with others along the sides through downtown and on a stretch in the Outer Richmond. More hearings, and votes, must still come before the Municipal Transportation Agency can start building the $300 million system, tentatively scheduled to begin carrying passengers by 2021. In its lawsuit, San Franciscans for Sensible Transit says the Transportation Authority failed to follow the environmental review process by: Never seriously considering an alternative that would avoid dedicated lanes. Opponents prefer a project that relies on running more buses and giving them priority at traffic signals. 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. Hurriedly approving the project before new members of the Board of Supervisors, who have voiced concerns about the project, could take office three days later. Having the wrong agency conduct and approve the environmental studies. The Municipal Transportation Agency, not the county Transportation Authority, should have done that work, the suit says. It asks that the court halt the project until those errors can be corrected. Bob Starzel, a Richmond District resident and retired transportation attorney, said his group did not want to file suit. Were amateurs at this game, not political advocates, he said. Were reluctant about suing. It costs a lot of money, takes a lot of time. But we want to stop this. Michael Cabanatuan is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: mcabanatuan@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @ctuan A powerful rainstorm caught many Bay Area residents off guard Tuesday as neighborhoods flooded, trees toppled over and the earth spilled down a hillside and destroyed the Marin County home John Futschers father built nearly 60 years ago. Futscher watched in horror Tuesday as the home on the 200 block of Mountain View Avenue in San Rafael was destroyed as the hillside it was on slowly gave way. For a long time, I was just watching it move, said the 51-year-old, who was emotional as he processed the devastation. You cant believe it. Its like youre watching a weird movie. The two-story house that was built by his father in 1959 was torn in two. Its roof, walls and chimney were left in a heap of trees and water-soaked dirt. Futscher said he ran out of the home where he lives with his wife and children around 8 a.m. when he felt it shaking. Finally, the earth broke free, ripping the house in half. Firefighters later entered the devastated home to rescue his cat. No one was injured. The disaster for Futscher and his family came as the North Bay was hit especially hard, when numerous creeks and rivers surged across roads and into homes, forcing several schools to cancel class. More showers were expected Tuesday night and Wednesday, with highs in the low 60s and southerly winds to 16 miles an hour. On Thursday, the Bay Area can expect more rain from a strong cold front, although rainfall totals will be less than on Tuesday. During the Tuesday system, 1.16 inches of rain fell in San Francisco, 1.44 inches fell in Oakland and 0.35 of an inch fell in San Jose. The North Bay was the wettest, with 3.33 inches falling in San Rafael, 2.57 inches in Santa Rosa and 2.39 inches in Napa. The Tuesday storm was a small atmospheric river event from the tropics, moving west to east, said National Weather Service meteorologist Anna Schneider. On Tuesday, the atmospheric river did what atmospheric rivers do, all over the Bay Area.. I just got up and said, Uh oh, said 56-year-old Kentfield resident David Maranon, who was startled awake at 7:15 a.m. by flood sirens. He was in a mad dash as he braced for the rising waters, but his hastily piled sandbags proved no match for the nearby Corte Madera Creek that overran its banks and flooded his home. The sandbags didnt prevent the water from rising, he said. Inside the house it was 8 inches of water. The National Weather Service issued flash flood warnings all over the region after the unexpectedly powerful rain let loose around midnight and continued its deluge well past sun up. The rain amounts were significant, said Steve Anderson, a meteorologist at the Weather Services Monterey office. It didnt just brush through. It was like a big hose of moisture slowly streaming from north to south. In Kentfield, more than half a foot of rain fell in the 24 hours before 11 a.m. Tuesday. Over that same period, more than 5 inches fell near Yountville in Napa County, 3 inches fell in Lafayette and 2 inches fell in parts of Oakland. In San Anselmo, residents have been on guard all winter after numerous floods. Ive never gone through so many sandbags ever, said 65-year-old resident Karen Shelton. She was pacing around Bolinas Avenue, looking for her trash can that washed away when San Anselmo Creek swelled and spilled into her neighborhood. In nearby Fairfax, where nearly 4 inches of rain fell Tuesday morning, a soupy mix of mud and water spilled onto Olema Road, threatening a nearby apartment complex. The Highway 1 exit from Highway 101 in Mill Valley turned into its usual small lake. The offramp and the bicycle trail alongside were closed. Much of Sonoma County was also underwater. Sonoma Creek spilled onto Highway 12, stranding several unlucky drivers who were forced to abandon their vehicles in the newly-formed urban lake. In St. Helena, the Napa River peaked over its major flood stage of 19 feet, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administrations river gauge. With the saturated grounds, everything that fell ran into the creeks, Anderson said. Most of the reservoirs in the area are full and releasing water. There was nothing to catch the rain. Officials at several school districts in Marin and Sonoma counties told students to stay home for the day because of all the flooding. Morning commuters had their radio programs interrupted with flood warnings after the emergency broadcast system was activated. Highway 17 over the Santa Cruz Mountains was closed because of a mudslide. A mudslide also closed spectacular Highway 1 from south of Big Sur to north of Hearst Castle. The ramps connecting highways 101 and 37 were closed in Marin County, due to flooding. But even after the heaviest rain let up, rivers and creeks continued to rise around the Bay Area as water made its way downstream toward the ocean. In East Palo Alto, it was a race against time as workers used a large backhoe to fish fallen trees and other massive debris out of the ever-rising San Francisquito Creek on West Bayshore Road. City officials were concerned the floating trees would back up the creek, causing it to flood the Woodland Creek Condominiums, where residents were under a voluntary evacuation order. The water began to subside around 1:30 p.m., and city officials began to relax. This is the third time weve had to clear this out under high-water conditions, but it has never been this high, said Sean Charpentier, assistant city manager in East Palo Alto. Complicating matters on Tuesday were intense winds that sent trees and at least one semitruck toppling over. Traffic was backed up on the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge after the empty box truck flopped over when it was smacked by a gust of wind at the height of the Tuesday morning commute. On the Golden Gate Bridge, gusts of more than 60 mph forced officials to close the sidewalk on the span to pedestrians. On the Marin County side of the bridge, a tree fell onto northbound Highway 101, closing lanes during periods of hardest rain. In San Francisco, a large tree fell onto a car and took out a light pole on Lombard and Montgomery streets in the shadow of Telegraph Hill. A similarly humongous tree toppled over in the Oakland hills, closing Shepherd Canyon Road near Snake Road. One unlucky driver didnt see the tree in the predawn darkness and slammed into it. The Oakland street was one of scores of roads and highways closed due to landslides, including Crow Canyon Road in Castro Valley and Niles Canyon Road between Fremont and Sunol. We have flooding, mudslides, trees and power lines down all over, said Officer Andrew Barclay, a California Highway Patrol spokesman, rattling off the ingredients that made driving on Bay Area roads horrible on Tuesday. The rain began to taper off in the afternoon, turning to scattered showers before a break in the wet weather was set for Wednesday. Those affected by the storm were cautioned to clean up quickly before another heavy bout of rain hits on Thursday. San Francisco Chronicle staff writer Steve Rubenstein contributed to this report. Sarah Ravani, Peter Fimrite and Evan Sernoffsky are San Francisco Chronicle staff writers. Email: sravani@sfchronicle.com, pfimrite@sfchronicle.com, esernoffsky@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @SarRavani, @PFimrite, @EvanSernoffsky UC Berkeley is looking into allegations that a staff member was involved in an altercation during protests last week over a scheduled appearance by right-wing provocateur Milo Yiannopoulos, campus officials said Monday. The accusations against the staffer, who works in the University Development and Alumni Relations Department, emerged on ultraconservative fringe websites and on social media following Wednesdays destructive protests. While details of what if anything happened could not be confirmed, the worker quickly became the target of an online campaign, with some people calling for his arrest and others harassing and threatening him and his family. We are aware of the allegations that focus on a current UC Berkeley staff member, and the campus police force is working in close concert with the FBI in an ongoing investigation in this matter, said UC Berkeley spokesman Dan Mogulof. Scott Strazzante / The Chronicle The Chronicle is not naming the worker because he has not been arrested and has not been named as a suspect in a crime. He declined to comment Monday, saying he was consulting an attorney. The way the episode has played out online sheds light on a virtual world in which disorganized bands of social media users become energized and converge on a person or cause. Yiannopoulos, a Breitbart News editor who revels in provoking outrage with often racist and misogynistic rhetoric, has inspired such activity in the past. In July, he was booted off Twitter after igniting a storm of racist attacks from Internet trolls against African American comedian Leslie Jones. The alleged incident at Berkeley happened as hundreds of demonstrators assembled on the campus Wednesday night to protest Yiannopoulos. What started as a largely peaceful gathering outside the student union building on Sproul Plaza turned destructive when scores of black-clad anarchists joined the event. Some smashed windows and set fires, forcing UC Berkeley to cancel the speech. It was in the aftermath of this chaos that online sleuths opposed to the protests accused the UC Berkeley staffer of being in a violent altercation with an unidentified supporter of President Trump. The staffer was quoted by name in at least one media account of the campus protest, but it is not clear whether thats how he came to the attention of his online accusers. The evidence of the alleged altercation later circulated on social media amounts to a screenshot of a Twitter account that purportedly belongs to the staffer and is now protected from public view. The Chronicle could not verify if the account belongs to the UC Berkeley worker. One tweet shows a man lying on his back and reads, so, this guy. He was in a group of 4-5 MAGA chuds who were standing against the barricades berating protesters as we marched past. 1/. The tweet using the acronym for Trumps slogan, Make America Great Again appears to be the first in a series, but a screenshot circulating online only shows a partial fifth tweet followed by two more. Any context and details of what was described in the other tweets remains in question. Some good samaritans come and pull me off of him and, as always happens in thee (sic) cases, *i* take a couple of weak shots to the face. 6/, another tweet reads. The tweets inspired a wave of anger and threats on social media from people upset over what happened in Berkeley, with many making unsubstantiated assumptions about the staffers role in the protest. On Twitter, users urged the staffers arrest and doxxed him by gathering and publishing private information about him, including where he lives and where he can be found in the future. Some spoke of a bounty. Wednesdays destruction grabbed headlines around the world, prompting debate over the handling of the event by the university and outrage over the actions of the anarchists. The destruction led a range of conservatives including Yiannopoulos and President Trump to denounce UC Berkeley and its students. A day after the protests, Trump used Twitter to threaten to pull federal funding from the university, even though the university had allowed Yiannopoulos to speak before the violence occurred. Yiannopoulos has vowed to return to Berkeley to speak in the next few months. Evan Sernoffsky is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: esernoffsky@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @EvanSernoffsky VICTOR Jim Schmitt certainly had the look of a duck hunter. Black dabs of face paint made his white handlebar mustache gleam under the well-worn hat with its fur ear flaps folded upward. His camouflage waders didnt hide much of him as he wandered across Victor Crossing Road with his Chesapeake early on a recent morning. Schmitt and his grandson had been hunting on the other side of the road, where they winged a mallard. Both had seen it dive into a marsh on the far side of the pavement. Determined to retrieve the dead bird, they put their shotguns down before putting the dog to work from the side of the road. Once Schmitts grandson marked the spot with a toss of a rock that plunked loudly into the ice-covered waters, the Chesapeake swam across the marsh without a whimper. It didnt take long and the dog had a mallard in its mouth. A few minutes later, it was met with an appreciative pat as it handed the bird over to Schmitt. Its a scene thats being repeated over and over again this year across Montana as record numbers of ducks and geese begin their annual migration south. *** Every year since the 1950s, biologists have fanned out across the Prairie Pothole region that includes portions of North and South Dakota, Montana and into Canada to count waterfowl in the spring. Theres never been a year quite like this one. This spring, biologists estimated the duck population to slightly top 49 million birds. That was an 8 percent increase over the record numbers of ducks seen just the year before. That population represents a 43 percent increase over the long-term average of ducks that have been counted the past seven decades. Intermountain West Joint Venture science coordinator Josh Vest said waterfowl numbers always seesaw up and down over the years. Their numbers hit historic lows in the 1980s following an extended drought and some large-scale changes in land management after farmers put more ground into growing grains. Since the 1990s, the birds numbers have been on an upward trend after the federal Conservation Reserve Program paid farmers to set aside environmentally sensitive land from agricultural production. CRP has played a big, big role in whats happening now with waterfowl, Vest said. Its been a major factor in setting aside nesting habitat for breeding waterfowl. That may not last. Changes in farm policy and increasing prices for grain and corn are making many farmers reconsider their options. Vest said many are taking their land out of the CRP program. Conservation cant compete, Vest said. As we lose that land base thats driving this current increase in the waterfowl population, we could see those numbers start to drop. They will respond rapidly. This spring brought exceptionally good precipitation to the region, providing plenty of water to keep seasonal potholes wet. That provided good nesting habitat late into the year that helped drive the population of ducks and geese upward. *** Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks Central Flyway coordinator Jim Hansen said this is a good year to be a duck hunter in Montana. The major migration south started with the recent big freeze. That probably pretty well cleaned out the Prairie Potholes in Canada, Hansen said. Right now, all of the shallow water areas in-state are pretty much frozen over, which pushes the birds that are left into spring-fed creeks and rivers. While many of the birds continued on their way south following the big freeze, Hansen said there are still a lot of ducks and geese left in the state. Its a good time to get out and give it a try, he said. President Trumps legally dubious and poorly executed temporary ban on refugees and travelers from seven predominantly Muslim nations has been put on hold by a federal judge in Seattle. The U.S. Court of Appeals in San Francisco will be the next branch of the legal system to address the executive order. In the meantime, the chorus of voices speaking out against it has grown to a roar. More than 100 major companies filed a legal brief in opposition to the executive order on Sunday night. The list of companies is dominated by tech and includes many Silicon Valley icons: Apple, Facebook, Twitter, Dropbox, Netflix, Pinterest and Google. The order, the brief says, is inflicting substantial harm on U.S. companies. It also violates the immigration laws and the Constitution. America has long recognized the importance of protecting ourselves against those who would do us harm. ... But it has done so while maintaining our fundamental commitment to welcoming immigrants. Notably absent from the list of companies that filed the brief are several that met with Trump before his inauguration: Amazon, Oracle and IBM. Still, the filing is remarkable for many reasons. Such coordinated action is rare in the technology industry. Its even rarer to see such a strong political statement from an industry thats historically been shy to get involved in controversial policy matters. Trumps executive order represents a major threat to the technology industry, in the sense that it relies heavily on foreign-born labor. But the recent statements of former diplomats and national security officials offer additional reasons why the appeals court should outlaw this dangerous executive order. Former Secretaries of State John Kerry and Madeleine Albright, along with eight other top former officials in Democratic and Republican administrations, filed a joint declaration to the Court of Appeals on Monday morning. They wrote: The order could do long-term damage to our national security and foreign policy interests, endangering U.S. troops in the field and disrupting counterterrorism and national security partnerships. They also expressed alarm that the order is of unprecedented scope. The final answer to the orders fate may lie with the Supreme Court, which many observers expect to eventually take up an appeal. In the meantime, travelers who were stranded in limbo have rushed to return to the United States, and President Trump has been fuming on Twitter about the so-called judge in Washington state who originally placed a national stop on the order. That so-called judge was performing an important duty on behalf of this nations system of checks and balances. Trump would do well to learn the reasons for the constitutional limits embedded by the framers to restrain each branch of government. As the flood of legal briefs in this case proves, many Americans want an immigration system based not on prejudice and executive overreach, but on facts, safety and common sense. Ever since the notorious campus speech codes of the 1980s reared their ugly heads, universities have struggled between the competing interests of academic freedom, the rights of students to explore controversial viewpoints, and an increasingly coddled and intolerant cadre of social justice-driven students who want to silence the voices of their heterodox peers. The American campus today is ironically one of the least tolerant places in a country where free speech is rightly regarded as a secular tenet of our democracy. Author and public speaker Milo Yiannopoulos is no stranger to controversy in fact, he clearly courts it, making inflammatory, provocative, sometimes vulgar, and always attention-getting pronouncements. Hes been banned for life from Twitter. His British accent, mannerisms and dress, as well as his paradigm-busting aphorisms, are a big hit with college Republican groups across the country, and he recently estimated he had spoken on over 50 college campuses in the past year. The Berkeley College Republicans invited him to speak on campus last week, with tickets for 500 people sold through EventBrite under the billing The Dangerous Faggot Tour. Several Berkeley professors and students tried to get the university to cancel Milos appearance, citing the content of his speech. To its credit, the administration denied these requests, though it also imposed an onerous $7,000 security fee on the College Republicans, reduced from $10,000 after weeks of negotiation. The students raised the funds, paid the fee, and sold all 500 tickets. The protest-turned-riot that erupted Wednesday before Milos speech was overrun by black-clad, masked, violent, armed protesters who broke storefront windows, beat victims defenseless, threw fireworks and barricades at police, and even pepper-sprayed a female student. Berkeley Mayor Jesse Arreguin tweeted as the protests were forming that Milos speech is not welcome at Berkeley: Using speech to silence marginalized communities and promote bigotry is unacceptable. Hate speech isnt welcome in our community. He later walked back some parts of his irresponsible statements, though by that time the damage to person, property, and Berkeleys reputation had been done. Despite internationally televised scenes of mob violence lasting for hours, the police made only a single arrest, clearly either outmanned or instructed to stand down. After charging the College Republicans a prohibitive fee, the school offered to refund the money, having utterly failed to hold up its side of the bargain. In the wake of this embarrassing debacle, President Trump tweeted that maybe Berkeleys federal funding (the entire UC system obtains over $9 billion annually) should be cut because Berkeley did not allow free speech. There is ample precedent for such action. Congress passed measures in the 1980s cutting off funds to schools that did not allow military recruiters on campus. The law passed Supreme Court muster in 2005. The Obama Department of Justices Office of Civil Rights weaponized Title IX, using a provision in the law to threaten campuses with federal defunding if their sexual harassment policies did not meet with the administrations approval. The First Amendment is a fundamental norm, and if the law supports any reason for shutting off the federal tap, it would be a most deserving basis. Berkeley can learn from this event and also provide leadership and reclaim its position as a beacon of free speech nationally. UC should stand behind the invitation and re-invite Milo to speak, this time providing ample security and planning to ensure a safe and well-attended event at university expense. Though Berkeley went to great lengths to justify the $10,000, then $7,000 fee, it does smack of a hecklers veto, and should either be applied transparently to similarly situated events on an equal basis, or eliminated altogether. Other UC campuses should take heed and be prepared to ensure that speakers on campus are afforded appropriate platforms to share their views on a content-neutral basis. The First Amendment demands no less. Harmeet K. Dhillon is the Republican national committeewoman from California and a trial lawyer in San Francisco. So far, President Trump has acted much like he did in business, starting his initiatives with forceful opening shots. Thats a classic negotiating tactic, and his latest use of it appears to have come in his threat to cut federal funding to California should it declare itself a sanctuary state. If we have to, well defund. We give tremendous amounts of money to California, Trump told Fox News commentator Bill OReilly in an interview that aired on Sunday. California in many ways is out of control, as you know. ... If theyre going to have sanctuary cities, we may have to do that. Certainly that would be a weapon, he said. Obviously, the voters agree or otherwise they wouldnt have voted for me. Threatening to cut funding to the nations most populous state and the one with the biggest economy was Trumps opening gambit, even though a president cannot unilaterally cut federal funding to a state. And a majority of voters didnt vote for Trump, he won in the Electoral College. But facts havent stopped Trump from making other, similarly worded opening bids during his first weeks in office in an effort to set the terms of debate. Everything with him is a first offer to put his opponent on their back foot, said Jeremy Carl, a research fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University who has advised former Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., and Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas. No question it is a high-risk, high-reward strategy. It will work well in some places, Carl said. In other areas, (Secretary of State) Rex Tillerson is going to earn his paycheck. Over the past several days, Trump has tweeted about cutting federal funding to UC Berkeley, put Iran on notice, promised to totally destroy a 63-year-old tax law, and encouraged Senate Republicans to go nuclear to get Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch confirmed. But analysts say what worked for Trump in business, doesnt always translate to politics. That sort of Art of the Deal bravado could dangerously escalate tensions in international relations, where leaders often speak in diplomatically worded politesse to avoid conflict. Its extremely dangerous, especially when it comes to Iran and China, said Bruce Jentleson, a former senior foreign policy adviser to Al Gore who served in President Barack Obamas State Department. You keep doing this, and climbing the ladder of escalation, and then youre in wars or conflicts you shouldnt be in. I worry a lot about that. Its not that deal-making is inherently bad or unusual. Deal-making works. The Louisiana Purchase was a deal. Weve seen deal-making throughout American history, said Steven Davidoff Solomon, the author of Gods at War: Shotgun Takeovers, Government by Deal and the Private Equity Implosion and a law professor at UC Berkeley. But Trumps Oval Office moves are unusual, because whats being done is governance by deal. And with Trumps blunt, rhetoric-shattering norms and because he has been on the job less than a month we dont know if it works yet, Davidoff Solomon said. Trump hasnt shied from criticism of this style, telling the audience at the National Prayer Breakfast last week, When you hear about the tough phone calls Im having, dont worry about it. ... Were taken advantage of by every nation in the world, virtually. Its not going to happen anymore. Heres a look at some of Trumps recent statements and what might happen. On UC Berkeley: If UC Berkeley does not allow free speech and practices violence on innocent people with a different point of view NO FEDERAL FUNDS? Trump tweeted last week after black bloc anarchists caused property damage to protest a scheduled appearance of right-wing commentator Milo Yiannopoulos. Why he said it: It supports Trumps campaign vow to restore law and order. Plus he wont lose supporters by threatening a liberal university in a state he lost badly. The impact on the next step: Just like Trumps threat to cut funding to California, he cant do it without the help of Congress. So unless he can persuade the GOP-led Congress to start slicing into the schools research budget, the impact may not amount to much more than saber rattling. On the Senate using the nuclear option to confirm his Supreme Court nominee: If we end up with that gridlock, I would say, If you can, Mitch (McConnell, Senate majority leader), go nuclear, Trump said. Because that would be an absolute shame if a man of this quality was put up to that neglect. Why he said it : It gives McConnell and other Republicans political cover to pass Trumps Supreme Court nominee by a simple majority not the traditional 60-vote threshold should the Gorsuch nomination veer into trouble. As Senate rules say, the GOP needs eight Democrats to vote with the 52-Republican majority to confirm a nominee. The impact on the next step: The 60-vote hurdle is meant to ensure some bipartisan cooperation on something as important as a lifetime seat on the court. If it is repealed, the impact will be a major win for Republicans, enabling them to seat multiple Trump court nominees, solidifying a conservative majority for generations. However, Democrats would have the same advantage should they recapture the Senate under a Democratic president. On Iran: In response to an Iranian test of a ballistic missile last week, the president tweeted: Iran has been formally PUT ON NOTICE for firing a ballistic missile. Should have been thankful for the terrible deal the U.S. made with them! Why he said this: Trump has long called for ending the nuclear deal with Iran. the missile test gives him an opening to take the next step. Two days after this tweet, the U.S. issued sanctions against 25 Iranian companies and individuals none would affect the current deal. The impact on the next step: Trump may not like the deal, but it was cut in concert with the permanent members of the U.N. Security Council and Germany. If the U.S. were to take military action without that coalition, the impact could be huge. The challenge in alluding to military action is either you have to deliver or look weak. Remember when Obama failed to back up his threat to Syria to not cross that red line? But the words put on notice dont have a distinct meaning, so the president gives himself room to maneuver. Joe Garofoli is The San Francisco Chronicles senior political writer. Email: jgarofoli@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @joegarofoli This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate 1951 Coffee Company opened with an objective: assist refugees resettling in the Bay Area. Then it found a calling. The nonprofit Berkeley cafe trains and hires a staff of refugees, asylum seekers and special immigration visa holders. The shop, which opened in late January, is also designed as an education space, teaching the uninitiated about the complicated process of refugee resettlement. Then, less than a week after the first cold brew slid across 1951s counters, President Trump approved an executive order temporarily barring refugees and immigrants from entering the country. The sweeping legislation, currently destined for the U.S. Court of Appeals, dramatically modified U.S. immigration policy and focused on seven Muslim-majority countries. 1951 Coffee Company is named for the year when the United Nations defined guidelines protecting refugees, and it employs baristas from Nepal, Uganda, Syria, Eritrea, Afghanistan, Iran and Bhutan. Trumps executive order hit home for the coffee shop and its 10 employees, four of whom have families in the isolated countries. There was no way we could have planned the timing of our opening like this, said Rachel Taber, who owns the cafe with co-founder Doug Hewitt. The pair came up with the concept about two years ago while working at the International Rescue Committee, an Oakland nonprofit. Michael Macor/The Chronicle The hourly wage for the cafes employees is around $13 per hour slightly more than the $12.53 Berkeley minimum wage plus benefits and tips. But at the core of the shops functionality is a two-week barista training program. As of January, the program had 26 graduates and all were able to work at the Berkeley cafe. Taber and Hewitt said they hope to re-create the 1951 model across the country in other cities with robust coffee cultures. Over the past week, 1951s employees have tried to make sense of the order during their free time lunch breaks, lulls in the morning rush. There are a lot of unknowns, and the unknowns can cause stress, Taber said. Some of the people that moved from those countries that are having refugee problems, theyve cried. They feel bad, said newly trained barista Nazira Babori. Babori, 27, started this job only a few weeks after fleeing Afghanistan for safety reasons. She has an MBA and speaks French, Persian and improving English. Shes a practicing Muslim, in the U.S. under a special immigration visa for her work with the United Nations in Kabul. According to the California Department of Social Services, 187 refugees resettled in Alameda County from October 2015 to September 2016. In that same window, about 342 special immigration visa holders arrived in Alameda County, who, like Babori, assisted or were employed by the U.S. government in Afghanistan or Iraq. Babori said the unpredictability in American politics right now is worrisome, and the travel bans religious undertones are especially disconcerting. We faced bad problems before thats why we left the country, because of religion and politics issues. Here, this is affecting our lives and our minds again, she said. Hewitt said that for most of the employees, the executive order and its fallout were their first brushes not only with American politics but also with the countrys new administration. Theyre looking at us to tell them whats going on, and to be honest, were not sure, Hewitt said. How far will this go? Is this only temporary? They have lots of questions. Taber and Hewitts mission is to help Babori and her co-workers adjust to an unsettling political and cultural landscape. With so much social turmoil, the job has become a welcome distraction for the employees, Hewitt said. On a recent Friday morning, the cafe was busy, with a steady stream of customers angling for seats at the tables and couches. Among the customers was Oaklands Kimberley Hutter, 25, who ordered a chai latte, made by Babori. Food Guide Top 25 Restaurants Where to eat in the Bay Area. Find spots near you, create a dining wishlist, and more. Hutter knew about the cafe because she works with organizations centered on refugee and immigration issues. She pointed out that even though the cafe is well-positioned to promote discussion and awareness, the product is also worth a visit, especially since the drinks are produced by people who are still adjusting to life in a new country. You dont have to only care about the issues to come, Hutter said. You have to care about the coffee first, and a lot of people do, so you just come and have good coffee and you can learn something. After pausing for a second, she added: And this chai latte is amazing. Taber and Hewitt planned for 1951 to be, in part, a place where the public could learn about refugee resettlement. The travel ban and its subsequent fallout gave the shop a larger purpose: to serve as a safe space for its employees. Weve only really been together for a few weeks, but it feels like a family, Babori said. We can support each other here when we need it most. Justin Phillips is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: jphillips@sfchronicle.com A federal appeals court will hear arguments Tuesday at 6 p.m. Eastern on whether to restore President Donald Trump's controversial immigration order, which a lower court judge has temporarily put on hold. The scheduling of the hearing came as Justice Department lawyers on Monday made what is likely their final pitch to a federal appeals court to immediately restore President Trump's controversial immigration order, while tech companies, law professors and former high-ranking national security officials joined a mushrooming legal campaign to keep the measure suspended. "The Executive Order is a lawful exercise of the President's authority over the entry of aliens into the United States and the admission of refugees," Justice Department lawyers wrote. The future of Trump's temporary travel ban now lies with a panel of judges at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit. A lower federal judge in Seattle had ordered a halt to the ban on Friday, and the appeals court over the weekend declined to upend that ruling before hearing more arguments. With the court case ongoing, those once stopped from coming to the United States have rushed to come into the country. The Department of Homeland Security said it was suspending all enforcement of Trump's directive after the federal judge in Seattle ordered it frozen, and many travelers have since been able to reunite with family here. The broad legal issue is whether Trump exceeded his authority and violated the First Amendment and federal immigration law, and whether his barring refugees and those from seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the United States imposes irreparable harm on those it affects. Either Justice Department lawyers representing the Trump administration, or the states of Washington and Minnesota - which had successfully sued to put the ban on hold - could ask the Supreme Court to intervene if they disagree with the appeals court decision. The Supreme Court, though, remains one justice short, and many see it as ideologically split 4-4. A tie would keep in place whatever the appeals court decides. The rhetoric from both sides has been fierce. The states of Washington and Minnesota argued in a filing Monday that reinstating the ban would "unleash chaos again" by "separating families, stranding our university students and faculty, and barring travel." Trump said Monday, during remarks at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, that, "We need strong programs so that people that love us and want to love our country and will end up loving our country are allowed in, not people who want to destroy us and destroy our country." Federal immigration law undeniably gives the president broad authority to bar people from coming into the United States, saying that if he finds "the entry of any aliens" would be "detrimental" to the country's interests, he can impose restrictions. Legal analysts have said those challenging the ban will face an uphill climb to overturn it. Yet the opposition has been successful so far, and it is growing. On Monday, ten former high-ranking diplomatic and national security officials; nearly 100 Silicon Valley tech companies; more than 280 law professors; a coalition of 16 state or district attorneys general, including those from Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia; and a host of civil liberties and other organizations formally lent their support to the legal bid to block Trump's order. While it is not unusual for outside parties to weigh in on legal cases of such public interest, the breadth and depth of those lining up behind Washington and Minnesota is notable. Former secretaries of state John Kerry and Madeleine Albright, along with former CIA director Leon Panetta, former CIA and National Security Agency Director Michael Hayden and other former top national security officials, attached their names to an affidavit declaring there was "no national security purpose" for a complete barring of people from the seven affected countries. "Since September 11, 2001, not a single terrorist attack in the United States has been perpetrated by aliens from the countries named in the Order," the group declared. "Very few attacks on U.S. soil since September 11, 2001 have been traced to foreign nationals at all." Apple, Facebook, Google, Microsoft, Netflix, Twitter, Uber and others asserted in a brief that Trump's order "hinders the ability of American companies to attract great talent; increases costs imposed on business; makes it more difficult for American firms to compete in the international marketplace; and gives global enterprises a new, significant incentive to build operations - and hire new employees - outside the United States." And 16 attorneys general said, while their specific businesses and residents were different, "all stand to face the concrete, immediate, and irreparable harms caused by the Executive Order." Trump and his supporters have continued to press the case that the short-term stoppage on refugees and immigrants from Iraq, Iran, Syria, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen is necessary for national security reasons. Trump went so far as to suggest on Twitter that if an attack were to happen, the judiciary would be to blame. "Just cannot believe a judge would put our country in such peril," Trump wrote. "If something happens blame him and court system. People pouring in. Bad!" The president also dismissed as "fake news" polls showing opposition to the executive order and asserted that the public wants and needs border security and strong vetting. Federal courts in New York, California and elsewhere already have blocked aspects of the ban from being implemented, although one federal judge in Massachusetts declared that he did not think that challengers had demonstrated that they had a high likelihood of success. The case before the 9th Circuit, though, is much broader than the others, because it stems from a federal judge's outright halting of the ban. Opponents of a plan to build dedicated lanes on Geary Boulevard to cut travel time for Muni bus riders have filed suit to slow down, and ultimately stop, the bus rapid-transit project. San Franciscans for Sensible Transit, a group made up mainly of Richmond District residents and merchants, filed the lawsuit Friday in San Francisco Superior Court. It contends that the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, in its role as the countys Transportation Authority, failed to follow proper processes in approving environmental studies last month in an effort to rush the start of the project. Representatives of the authority, as well as the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency, declined to comment on the suit. The neighborhood group has complained that the project will diminish the quality of life for Richmond District residents by removing trees, reducing parking and replacing the median with bus lanes. Businesses will also suffer during years of construction, critics argue. This action is brought to stop a grave error in judgment from taking form as a bus thruway which destroys the quality of life and economic health of the Richmond District, the group said in the suits introduction. The idea of the project is to emulate subway service on Geary with a bus rapid-transit system, which reserves lanes reserved for buses, adds more buses to the route and reduces the number of stops. After studies by the citys transportation agencies, the Transportation Authority board approved a design that puts 1.7 miles of dedicated bus lanes in the median through the heart of the Richmond District. Those lanes would connect with others along the sides through downtown and on a stretch in the Outer Richmond. More hearings, and votes, must still come before the Municipal Transportation Agency can start building the $300 million system, tentatively scheduled to begin carrying passengers by 2021. In its lawsuit, San Franciscans for Sensible Transit says the Transportation Authority failed to follow the environmental review process by: Never seriously considering an alternative that would avoid dedicated lanes. Opponents prefer a project that relies on running more buses and giving them priority at traffic signals. Hurriedly approving the project before new members of the Board of Supervisors, who have voiced concerns about the project, could take office three days later. Having the wrong agency conduct and approve the environmental studies. The Municipal Transportation Agency, not the county Transportation Authority, should have done that work, the suit says. It asks that the court halt the project until those errors can be corrected. Bob Starzel, a Richmond District resident and retired transportation attorney, said his group did not want to file suit. Were amateurs at this game, not political advocates, he said. Were reluctant about suing. It costs a lot of money, takes a lot of time. But we want to stop this. Michael Cabanatuan is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: mcabanatuan@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @ctuan A red-light-camera company whose former CEO pleaded guilty to a federal bribery charge will pay $20 million to settle a lawsuit with Chicago, Mayor Rahm Emanuel announced Monday. The deal ends a lawsuit the city filed against Redflex Traffic Systems Inc. and its Australian parent company Redflex Holdings Ltd., accusing Redflex of fraud and making false statements when it contracted in 2003 to run Chicagos red-light-camera enforcement program. The system, much-vilified by drivers, automatically ticketed motorists. Chicago canceled Redflexs contract in 2013 following Chicago Tribune reports about the scheme. Former CEO Karen Finley and former Chicago transportation official John Bills were convicted in a $100 million kickback scheme. Finley was given a 2-year prison term and Bills received a 10-year sentence. Bills, second-in-command at Chicagos Department of Transportation, was accused of accepting envelopes stuffed with cash, plus gifts including condominiums in two states and a Mercedes to help Redflex obtain contracts. Retail Dollar General adding workers Dollar General Corp. says it plans to create 10,000 jobs this year tied to the opening of 1,000 stores and two distribution centers. The discount retailer says the new jobs will increase its workforce by about 9 percent. The company says that as of last August it had 119,000 employees and operated 14 distribution centers and 13,000 stores in 43 states. Transportation NASA engineer heads to Uber Longtime NASA engineer Mark Moore, who in 2010 published a white paper outlining the feasibility of electric aircraft that could take off and land like helicopters, but were smaller and quieter, is leaving to join Uber. Moore is taking on a new role as director of engineering for aviation at the San Francisco ride-hailing company, working on a flying car initiative known as Uber Elevate. I cant think of another company in a stronger position to be the leader for this new ecosystem, he said. Uber isnt constructing a flying car yet. In its own white paper published last October, the company laid out a radical vision for airborne commutes and identified technical challenges it said it wanted to help the nascent industry solve, like noise pollution, vehicle efficiency and limited battery life. Moore consulted on the paper and was impressed by the companys vision and potential impact. Cybercrime Probation in Android case A Carnegie Mellon University student who developed and sold malicious software through an online cybercriminal marketplace that allowed others to remotely control Google Android smartphones has been sentenced to three years probation. U.S. District Judge Arthur Schwab also ordered Morgan Culbertson, 22, to perform 300 hours of community service. Culbertson was spared incarceration after his attorney and prosecutors acknowledged his lack of a criminal record and efforts to use his skills constructively since he was charged in July 2015. Chronicle News Services This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate The morning Sierra LaMar vanished nearly five years ago, her mother, Marlene, stopped by her room before leaving the familys Morgan Hill home for work. She couldnt possibly know it, but she was saying goodbye to her daughter for the last time. It was around 6 a.m. on March 16, 2012, and 15-year-old Sierra gave her mom a hug, as she always did. I went to her bedroom and I told her I loved her, Marlene LaMar recalled Tuesday, her voice breaking on the witness stand just feet from the man charged with kidnapping and killing her daughter. We would always do that in the mornings. It was the last day Sierra would be seen. Her body is still missing, but what has been found since her disappearance her bag, the $5 her mother gave her for lunch, the clothing she might have worn that day has become evidence, presented to Marlene LaMar in clear plastic wrapping inside a San Jose courtroom. She wiped away tears as she testified in Santa Clara County Superior Court the second week of the capital murder trial for a Morgan Hill man suspected of killing her daughter. Antolin Garcia-Torres, 25, could face the death penalty if convicted in Sierras abduction and murder. He is also being tried on allegations he attempted to kidnap and carjack three women in 2009, one of them outside a Morgan Hill Safeway, where Garcia-Torres had worked. Santa Clara County Deputy District Attorney David Boyd laid out the timeline of Sierras disappearance as he questioned the teens mother. Sierra, her mother, and her mothers then live-in boyfriend, Rick Gardiner, had moved from Fremont to Morgan Hill about five months before Sierra went missing. On normal mornings, Gardiner, who worked in San Francisco, would leave home before 6 a.m. Marlene LaMar, who worked in Fremont, would leave the house about 6 a.m. and Sierra would head off to Ann Sobrato High School in Morgan Hill about 7 a.m. When they first moved to the area, Marlene LaMar said in court, she would call Sierra every morning to make sure she caught the school bus, but it had been several months since the move, and she had assumed Sierra had gotten on the bus that day. She sent her daughter a text at 6:57 a.m. reminding Sierra to clean the tub. She sent another text later asking Sierra if she was meeting with her friend, Allie, that day. She sent one more text reminding Sierra to take the school bus home, the mother told prosecutors. She never got responses. By the time Marlene LaMar got off work at 3:45 p.m., she began calling her daughter. She called incessantly as she drove back to Morgan Hill: 4:11 p.m., 4:15 p.m., 4:35 p.m., 4:40 p.m., 4:41 p.m., again at 4:41 p.m., 4:44 p.m., and several more times, according to phone records presented in court. She arrived home to an empty house, then drove to Sierras school to search for her there. I was in a state of panic, LaMar said in court. I didnt have a good feeling. Something felt wrong. ... I knew something was really bad, that something happened to her. She called Steve LaMar, Sierras father who lived in Fremont. She called friends, friends parents, anyone who might have heard from Sierra. She then called 911. My daughters missing. She didnt show up at school ... were worried shes abducted, Marlene LaMar told a 911 operator in the recording played in court. She pleaded with the operator to issue an Amber Alert. LaMar had made the 911 call between 5:30 and 6 p.m., about 12 hours after she last saw her daughter. Since they last embraced. Since they last told each other, I love you. Have you seen Sierra since 6 a.m., March 16, 2012? Boyd asked her in court. No. Have you heard from her? No, she said again, this time choking on the word, holding back tears. Do you need a moment? Im OK, she said. Jenna Lyons is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: jlyons@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @JennaJourno BILLINGS Trial began Monday for convicted killer Frank Joe Belmarez, who is accused of assaulting his girlfriend this past summer. Belmarez, 49, is on trial this week in Yellowstone County for felony charges of aggravated assault and partner or family member assault as well as misdemeanor charges of obstructing a peace officer and resisting arrest. Belmarez has pleaded not guilty to the charges against him. Belmarez' alledged victim testified Monday before Yellowstone County District Court Judge Rod Souza. The woman said that on July 22 Belmarez assaulted her in her apartment on the 1300 block of Industrial Avenue. She could not remember why Belmarez attacked her, but she remembered him choking her. "Because I couldn't breathe, I thought I could die," the woman said. The woman did not want to testify out of fear of Belmarez, she said. A subpoena had to be issued for her appearance at trial. She and Belmarez are no longer in a relationship. Belmarez was convicted in 1990 of killing his wife, Victoria Espinoza. Belmarez stabbed Espinoza to death outside of a Billings bar. He pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 35 years in prison. He was paroled in 2011, after 21 years in prison. In 2015, Belmarez was convicted of partner or family member assault in Missoula. Belmarez threatened a different girlfriend and her son with a knife. He was sentenced to five years probation. Billings Police Officer Matthew Edwards was called to testify Monday. He was one of the officers who arrested Belmarez in July. Belmarez did not open the door for police officers, despite multiple commands, Edwards said. Officers broke down the door after hearing a woman screaming and crying for them to help her, Edwards said. Inside, Edwards found a woman with blood covering her face. She was taken to the hospital where she was treated for a broken nose and a concussion, according to court documents. A ruling by Souza prior to trial prevents the state from introducing evidence of Belmarez's convictions unless either he or his attorney allude to previous crimes. Trial will begin again this morning. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate This article originally appeared in Hoodline. The first-ever major U.S. city memorial to "comfort women"women who were forced into sex slavery by the Japanese Army in World War IIis set to be installed in the extension to St. Mary's Square in Chinatown. Yesterday, the memorial received its final approval from the San Francisco Arts Commission, and will now move to the installation phase. According to the Examiner, the memorial, which was approved by the Board of Supervisors in 2015, is being spearheaded by retired San Francisco Superior Court judges Julie Tang and Lillian Sing, who co-chair the Comfort Women Justice Coalition. The coalition will fund the creation and installation of the statue, which was created by sculptor Steven Whyte. The Arts Commission approved the statue despite receiving more than 200 emails in opposition to the statue's installation, which a spokesperson told the Examiner were "mostly from Japan." Survivors and their families have argued that the memorial is necessary because Japan has never fully repented for its behavior during the war. However, some Japanese and Japanese-American people have disputed the claim that hundreds of thousands of women were enslaved (as the statue's proposed text reads), or argued that its message is divisive. Others in the Japanese-American community, including former Congressman Mike Honda and Karen Korematsu of the Fred T. Korematsu Institute, have expressed support for the memorial. The Arts Commission said it reached out to a number of communities, including the Japanese-American community, in creating the text for the memorial. It will read as follows: This monument bears witness to the suffering of hundreds of thousands of women and girls euphemistically called 'Comfort Women,' who were sexually enslaved by the Japanese Imperial Armed Forces in thirteen Asian-Pacific countries from 1931 to 1945. Most of these women died during their wartime captivity. This dark history was largely hidden for decades until the 1990s, when the survivors courageously broke their silence. They helped move the world to declare that sexual violence as a strategy of war is a crime against humanity for which governments must be held accountable. This memorial is dedicated to the memory of these women and to eradicating sexual violence and sex trafficking throughout the world. Gift to the city from the Comfort Women Justice Coalition" The memorial, which depicts a trio of women with linked hands as a fourth woman looks on, is set to be installed in September. NEW YORK Irwin Corey, the wild-haired comedian and actor known for his improvisational riffs and nonsensical style who billed himself as The Worlds Foremost Authority, died Monday at his home in Manhattan, according to his son, Richard. He was 102. Mr. Coreys dizzying mix of mock-intellectual circumlocutions, earnest political tirades and slapstick one-liners made Mr. Corey the king of comedic confusion and earned him the nickname professor. Did you hear about the guy who went to the druggist and wanted to get some cyanide? one of his jokes went. The guy takes a picture of his wife out of his wallet, and the druggist says, Im sorry, I didnt know you had a prescription! Mr. Corey became a staple on television talk shows and in comedy clubs, and his film career included working with Jackie Gleason and Woody Allen. He often wore sneakers, a skinny black tie and black tails, and his hair was disheveled. It was never clear exactly what he was an authority on. Often he would begin his act with long-winded gobbledygook filled with sentences that followed their own logic before pausing and then saying, What was the question again? His son, Richard, on Tuesday called his father original and one-of-a-kind, iconic. Even in his grief, he channeled his father by telling obituary writers that his father died peacefully at his home, surrounded by his son. Mr. Corey was among a generation of comics who emerged in the 1950s and 60s who used their humor to question the status quo, a group that included Dick Gregory, who mocked racial attitudes, and Jerry Stiller and his wife, Anne Meara, who satirized assumptions about marriage. Mr. Corey punctured academic pretense, and his jokes also took on a political and social bite. Born in the Brooklyn borough of New York, Mr. Corey lived in an orphanage until age 13. He said he got his start when he auditioned for a play in the 1930s with the soliloquy from Hamlet. The casting director laughed so hard, he eventually told him, You should be a comedian. He took his advice. He got his first regular gig at the Village Vanguard, where he earned his nickname after an opening act that began with five minutes of nervous pantomime. The first word out of his mouth was, However. After that, he had a whirlwind career that spanned several stints on Broadway (from New Faces of 1943 to Thieves in 1974); in film (from How to Commit Marriage in 1969 to Curse of the Jade Scorpion in 2001); and on late-night television and in comedy clubs. He was last on Broadway in Sly Fox in 2004 opposite Eric Stoltz, Richard Dreyfuss and Elizabeth Berkley. Mr. Corey joked that he tried to join the Communist Party back when doing so could mean an appearance before the House Un-American Activities Committee. But it was the Communist Party not the government that blacklisted him. I wanted to join the party, but they wouldnt let me, he told the Associated Press in 2004. They said I was an anarchist. Was he? I think so, he replied. During the Democratic National Convention of 1956, he rode a float down Michigan Boulevard carrying a sign that read, Professor Corey will run for any party, and he will bring his own bottle. When Thomas Pynchon won the National Book Award for Gravitys Rainbow, Corey accepted for the press-shy author in a bizarre, rambling speech that thanked Richard Python. His style is a deep philosophical statement: No one in fact is any more important than another, his son told the New York Times in 2008. He is constantly digressing from his own tangent, so hes digressing from a digression. Mr. Corey stayed busy deep into the 90s, making appearances at comedy clubs and Friars Club roasts. He denounced the war in Iraq and attended rallies supporting legalization of marijuana. He also could be spotted pushing a walker in Midtown Manhattan traffic, panhandling or selling free newspapers to motorists, with all the money raised going to charity. Mr. Coreys wife of 70 years, Fran, died in May 2011 at age 95. A few months shy of his 90th birthday, Mr. Corey told the AP that he had no intention of hanging up his trademark rumpled suits and string tie anytime soon. He called life, at any age, the one miracle that happened in this galaxy. Walking on water is a trick, he said. But life is a miracle. Mark Kennedy is an Associated Press writer. 1 Midwest meteor: A meteor over Lake Michigan lit up the sky early Monday across several states in the Midwest. Dash-cam video from police cruisers in Wisconsin and Illinois captured the fireball streaking through the sky about 1:30 a.m. The American Meteor Society lists sightings in Indiana, Michigan and other states as well. Meteorologist Jeff Last of the National Weather Services office in Green Bay, Wis., said the meteor was accompanied by a sonic boom that shook houses in the region. Last said its not clear if the meteor landed in the water or if it broke up in the sky. 2 Sunken ship: The final round of U.S. Coast Guard investigative hearings looking into the sinking of the cargo ship El Faro began Monday with testimony about recordings captured by the ships black box. The Coast Guards Marine Board of Investigation started two weeks of testimony in Jacksonville, Fla. The 790-foot El Faro sank on Oct. 1, 2015, after losing propulsion and getting caught in a hurricane while traveling from Jacksonville to Puerto Rico. All 33 aboard died. In December, the National Transportation Safety Board released transcripts of audio from the vessels voyage data recorder. The recorder captured the crews final moments before the ship sank, including comments that expressed concern over the captains decision to continue sailing toward a strengthening Hurricane Joaquin. As the Trump administration faced off against a group of states and their allies including high-ranking former national security officials and much of the tech industry a federal appeals court in San Francisco called a hearing Tuesday on whether to reinstate the presidents ban on travel to the United States from seven Muslim-majority countries. With the Supreme Court ideologically divided at 4-4 since the death of Justice Antonin Scalia nearly a year ago, the decision by the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals is likely to determine whether President Trumps Jan. 27 executive order will remain suspended for now. The Trump administration appealed to the San Francisco court after U.S. District Judge James Robart of Seattle issued a nationwide restraining order Friday blocking enforcement of the presidents decree in response to a lawsuit by the states of Washington and Minnesota. Robart said the states had shown that the travel ban was causing financial hardship to their residents and to institutions such as state universities, and were likely to prove that Trumps order discriminated against Muslims. While Trump responded with tweets about the so-called judge and his ridiculous ruling, Justice Department lawyers argued that Robart had harmed the nation with judicial second-guessing of the presidents national security determination. Legal analysts said the departments arguments appeared to fall far short of a critical benchmark for reversing a short-term restraining order evidence that the party challenging the judges ruling will suffer serious harm that cant be undone in the future. There isnt even an attempt to argue ... that we will have terrorists flowing into the country if the executive order remains suspended for the next few weeks, Shirin Sinnar, an associate law professor at Stanford who teaches courses in civil procedure and laws related to terrorism, said Monday. Jayashri Srikantiah, a professor of immigration law at Stanford, said the judges decision, which returned admission of immigrants and refugees into the U.S. to the screening procedures in effect before Jan. 27, had restored relative calm to the nations borders and airports after days of chaos and anguish that followed Trumps order. Rory Little, a law professor at UC Hastings in San Francisco and a former Supreme Court law clerk, commented, The only thing the Trump administration has said, astoundingly, is that judicial review itself is harm. The presidents order placed a 90-day ban on entry to the U.S. from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen. It also banned, for 120 days, all U.S. admission of refugees, who are fleeing violence and persecution in their home countries, and indefinitely suspended admission of refugees from war-torn Syria. Robarts restraining order against the ban, if left in place by the appeals court, would expire in several weeks. The judge, in the meantime, will consider a longer-lasting injunction, which would touch off a new round of appeals that might take many months to reach the Supreme Court. That could be long enough for Trumps nominee, Neil Gorsuch, a conservative federal appeals court judge, to be confirmed and take his seat on the court. The states lawsuit has drawn support from diverse groups. One was a collection of former foreign policy and security officials that included Democratic Secretaries of State Madeleine Albright and John Kerry; Janet Napolitano, former Homeland Security secretary under President Obama and now president of the University of California; Leon Panetta, who headed the CIA and the Defense Department under Obama; and Michael Hayden, National Security Agency and CIA director under President George W. Bush. Trumps order, they said in a court declaration, undermines the national security by endangering U.S. troops and intelligence sources in the targeted countries, and by feeding the recruitment narrative of (the Islamic State) and other extremists that portray the United States as at war with Islam. In another court filing, 96 companies said Trumps order, by excluding immigrants who had previously been granted visas to enter the country, hinders the ability of American companies to attract great talent and could also lead to retaliatory actions by other countries. Among the companies were Amazon, Facebook, Google and Microsoft. Attorneys general from California and 15 other states added their support Monday, arguing that the travel ban would disrupt staffing and operations at state universities and hospitals and cut into tax revenues. The administrations reckless dismissal of the Constitution threatens to rip apart California families, risks their economic well-being and defies centuries of our American tradition, California Attorney General Xavier Becerra said in a statement. The central issue in the states lawsuit is their contention that Trumps order, though worded neutrally, is aimed at excluding Muslims, in violation of constitutional provisions requiring equal protection of the laws and banning a government establishment of religion. Robart said states were likely to prove their claim, based on the nations Trump singled out and statements made by the president and others including remarks by former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, a Trump adviser, that Trump had asked him for a legal procedure to enact a Muslim ban. Justice Department lawyers countered Monday that Trumps order had been neutral with respect to religion. They argued that the seven countries had been previously identified by Congress, in legislation involving travel visas, as being associated with a heightened risk of terrorism, and that courts should accept the presidents rationale rather than looking for hidden motives. While his lawyers argue before federal judges, Trump has kept up his Twitter attack. After his initial Saturday morning blast at this so-called judge, the president tweeted later in the day that Robart opens up our country to potential terrorists, and followed Sunday by declaring, If something happens blame him and court system. People pouring in. Bad! Thats unlikely to play well with the judges and justices reviewing the case, said Little, the Hastings law professor. The president, who would need five votes on the Supreme Court to reinstate his executive order immediately, is unlikely to get more than four votes, Little said, and if Trump sends out one more tweet insulting the judiciary, hes going to lose (Justice Anthony) Kennedy. Bob Egelko is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: begelko@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @egelko Tuesdays hearing The one-hour hearing is scheduled to start at 3 p.m. at the courts headquarters at 95 Seventh St. in San Francisco. It will be conducted by telephone and will not be open to the public, but will be streamed live in the courts website, www.ca9.uscourts.gov MISSOULA The U.S. Forest Service can hire firefighters this year after winning an exemption from President Trumps civilian governmental employee hiring freeze. On Friday, the U.S. Department of Agricultures acting deputy secretary Michael Young announced exemptions to ensure a safe food supply, fire-safe communities, safe and secure public lands and rapid emergency response to natural and human-caused disasters, according to a USDA press release. USDA and its sub-agencies will implement these exemptions only as needed and consistent with the intent of the presidents direction," it read. An attached file of exempted positions mentioned Forest Service-wildland firefighting related positions including fire management officer, fire planner/fire management specialist, assistant fire management officer/firefighter and cache manager. It further noted that the exemption may include other job series that are directly related to carrying out these activities as determined by the secretary. Trumps Jan. 22 order stated no vacant positions may be filled and no new positions may be created, except in limited circumstances. The head of any executive department or agency may exempt from the hiring freeze any positions that it deems necessary to meet national security or public safety responsibilities, the order continued. In addition, the Director of the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) may grant exemptions from this freeze where those exemptions are otherwise necessary. The announcement came days before a national hiring fair was due to open for wildland firefighting jobs. The Forest Service typically hires about 11,000 seasonal workers annually, of whom more than 6,200 are firefighters. Officials at the Forest Service Region 1 headquarters in Missoula were not available for comment on Monday. But Ron Hooper, Neptune Aviation chief executive officer and former Forest Service deputy for procurement and property, said the job flow was expected to un-kink soon. After any presidential election, you typically have a hiring freeze, Hooper said on Monday. And theres always been an opportunity to exempt for national security or public safety. While Trumps executive order also restricted using private contracting to fill federal duties, Hooper said that would not apply to contracts already awarded. For example, Neptune provides large air tankers for wildland firefighting, and those multi-year contracts will not be affected in 2017. They are forecasting for less fire early on, although there are already fires burning in Oklahoma and Arkansas, Hooper said. We expect to see average activity in mid to late summer and early fall when things start to dry out again. "Dilbert" comic creator Scott Adams announced on Friday that he would be "ending [his] support of UC Berkeley" following a protest that turned violent Wednesday. UC Berkeley students and other people appeared on campus to protest a talk given by Milo Yiannopoulos, an editor for the right-wing website Breitbart. Adams wrote he has "been a big supporter lately" by donating money and other help, but "that ends today." Adams added that he was disheartened to see the protests get destructive regardless of who exactly was causing the damage and feels that he better sides with Yiannopoulos and his supporters on the issue. WASHINGTON (AP) Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker's crackdown on collective bargaining could serve as a model for President Donald Trump's plans to overhaul the federal workforce. But any such move by the new president would risk a fight with already wary labor leaders. Walker, the chief promoter, says he spoke last week with Vice President Mike Pence about "how they may take bits and pieces of what we did" with the union law and public workforce overhaul and "apply it at the national level." "They look at not only what we did with (the collective bargaining law) but even some of the civil service reforms, the two combined, so they can hire and fire based on merit and pay based on performance," Walker told The Associated Press in an interview last week. A spokesman for Pence declined to comment. Those remarks raised fresh hackles among leaders of public and private unions, many of whom endorsed Democrat Hillary Clinton and have seethed over Trump's choice of a fast-food executive to be his secretary of labor, as well as his executive order freezing most federal salaries. To them, Wisconsin is a warning. "President Trump and Vice President Pence should stay far away from Gov. Scott Walker," said J. David Cox Sr., president of the American Federation of Federal Employees. Walker's record on labor, he added, "is a bad investment, particularly if you'd like to be known as a 'jobs president.' " Under Walker, the state's 2011 law barred collective bargaining over working conditions and big pay increases for most public workers. It also required them to pay more for health care and pension benefits. The measure led to massive protests and an unsuccessful attempt to recall Walker in 2012. His legacy includes a 2015 law that made Wisconsin one of at least 27 states with so-called right-to-work laws that generally prohibit businesses and unions from requiring all workers, not just union members, to pay union dues. Republicans in Congress introduced a national version of right-to-work legislation last week that would, for the first time, allow millions of workers to opt out of union membership. In many ways, the national political environment favors right-to-work and a crackdown on collective bargaining. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Jan. 26 that the number of working Americans who are union members declined from 2015 to 2016 by 240,000 people. About 1 in 10 U.S. workers belonged to unions in 2016, roughly half of the percentage in 1983 the first year comparable data was available, the agency said. Exit polls from the 2016 election showed people living in union households supported Clinton over Trump by a 9 percentage point margin, down from margins of around 20 points for Democrats in most recent presidential votes. And the nation's ranks of right-to-work states are poised to increase, with Republican-controlled state governments in New Hampshire and Missouri advancing legislation. Although right-to-work legislation has historically failed in New Hampshire, supporters see new hope with a GOP governor and legislature. Kentucky also has a new GOP majority, and in January became the last Southern state to pass a right-to-work law. "We don't care if they are union jobs or nonunion jobs," said state Rep. Jonathan Shell, the No. 2 Republican in the Kentucky House. "I don't think people who are trying to put food on the table are going to care (about) that either. I think what they are worried about is making sure that they do have a job." AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka shrugged off the idea of Trump making a Walker-style assault on the federal civil service because, he said, even the Republican-controlled Congress won't allow it. "Most people understand that if he does that in a Republican administration, it can also happen in a Democratic administration," Trumka said in an interview. "And that wouldn't be so good, would it?" A flight attendant noticed something didn't look right about two passengers on an Alaska Airlines flight from Seattle to San Francisco, so she says she stepped in and ended up saving a teenage girl from human trafficking. Shelia Fedrick told 10 News the first thing she noticed was the teenage girl wouldn't answer her questions or make eye contact. Instead, the man she was flying with did all the talking. The second red flag was the travelers' appearances. "He was well dressed, that's what kind of got me because why is he well dressed and she is looking disheveled and out of sorts," Fedrick told 10 News in an interview. The flight attendant's instincts told her something bad was happening on that airplane. Fedrick says she was able to tell the teenage girl to go to the bathroom, where she had left the girl a note. The teenager responded on the back of the note: "I need help." Fedrick worked with the pilot to alert the police, who arrested the man when the flight landed in San Francisco, according to NBC News. RELATED VIDEO: Uber driver busts child trafficking ring Fedrick is speaking about her experience to spread the word about a new training program. The group Airline Ambassadors is hoping to train more flight attendants to be as vigilant as Shelia Fedrick was on that 2011 flight. The nonprofit is training flight crew to spot signs of human trafficking, like passengers who appear scared or drugged, have visible bruises, or aren't allowed to speak for themselves, NBC News reports. Fedrick believes without proper training, these warning signs may often go unnoticed by airline staff. "I've been a flight attendant for ten years and its like I am going all the way back to when I was in training and I was like I could have seen these young girls and young boys and didn't even know," she told 10 News. According to a report by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the department arrested nearly 2,000 people for human trafficking in 2016. In those cases, they say 400 victims were saved. DECATUR After a woman told Christian L. Kirk she no longer wanted to associate with him, he allegedly responded by hitting her with a stick and punching her in the head while they were in public. The victim, in her 20s, told police she and Kirk were walking on Water Street, near Grand Avenue, early the morning of Jan. 31, when they got into an argument over the change in their relationship. During the argument, Christian hit her with an approximately 2-foot long wooden stick while they were in the roadway, said a probable cause affidavit by Decatur patrol officer Joe Oberheim. The victim said she was hit two or three times in her left arm with the stick. She then ran into a nearby gas station, with Kirk, a 20-year-old Decatur man, running in behind her. Kirk continued to argue with her while they were inside the business. Christian then punched her with a closed fist in the left side of her head, the victim told police, according to the affidavit. A witness told police essentially the same story. He said he observed Kirk yelling at the woman in the gas station and then saw him hitting the woman in the head. Kirk was arrested about 6:15 a.m. that day and booked into the Macon County Jail, where he is being held without bond. He was arraigned Monday on one felony count of aggravated battery and two misdemeanor counts of domestic battery. He was ordered by a judge to have no contact with the victim or go to her residence. Kirk is due in court for his preliminary hearing on Feb. 22. DECATUR Heavy fog blanketed the city today, kicking off a week of unpredictable weather that will include both snow and high temperatures in the 50s. The weather service has issued a dense fog advisory until 1 a.m. Tuesday for a swath of Central Illinois that included Macon, Moultrie, DeWitt, Piatt and McLean counties. Showers and a possible thunderstorm are expected tonight, including the potential for hail. I wish I had a term to explain it, said James Auten, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service at Lincoln. It's almost like we're in the transition period from winter to spring now. We're getting really warm, there's some warm air, and then what's this? Cold? And then we're going to go back to being warm again at the end of the week into the weekend. Decatur drivers apparently took appropriate precautions for the fog, according to local law enforcement agencies. Lt. Shannon Seal of the Decatur Police Department said there were at least five traffic accidents today, but that was fewer than usual and it was not clear whether fog had played a role in any. The Macon County Sheriff's Office reported no crashes by 5:30 p.m. Auten said the fog in Decatur, which dropped visibility to a quarter-mile at times and was varied in density throughout Central Illinois, occurred because of warm air moving over cold ground. The forecast Tuesday in Decatur calls for a chance of showers before noon and cloudy weather that gradually becomes sunny, with a high near 60 degrees. Winds could gust as high as 25 miles per hour. Tuesday night, the temperature is expected to drop, with a low of 29 degrees. On Wednesday, the forecast calls for a 40 percent chance of snow before noon. The high temperature is 33 degrees. There's good news ahead in the forecast, Auten said. The eight- to 14-day outlook for the weather service shows above-average temperatures and below-average precipitation. Through the middle of February, temperatures are going to be on the mild side, Auten said. DECATUR Heavy fog blanketed the city Monday, kicking off a week of unpredictable weather that will include both snow and high temperatures in the 50s. I wish I had a term to explain it, said James Auten, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Lincoln. It's almost like we're in the transition period from winter to spring now. We're getting really warm, there's some warm air, and then what's this? Cold? And then we're going to go back to being warm again at the end of the week into the weekend. Auten said the fog in Decatur, which dropped visibility to a quarter-mile at times and was varied in density throughout Central Illinois, occurred because of warm air moving over cold ground. The forecast today in Decatur calls for a chance of showers and thunderstorms before 9 a.m., then a chance of showers before noon. Cloudy skies are expected to gradually become sunny, with a high near 60 degrees. Winds could gust as high as 25 miles per hour. Tonight, the temperature is expected to drop, with a low of 29 degrees. On Wednesday, the forecast in Decatur calls for a 40 percent chance of snow before noon. The high temperature is 33 degrees. The pattern we're in is very conducive for us to get these big swings in temperatures, Auten said. Indeed, this weekend's forecast calls for highs in the 50s. It seemed Monday evening that Decatur drivers took appropriate precautions for the fog. Lt. Shannon Seal of the Decatur Police Department said there had been at least five traffic accidents Monday, but that was fewer than usual and it was not clear whether fog had played a role in any. The Macon County Sheriff's Office reported no crashes by 5:30 p.m. Monday. The weather service on Monday evening issued a dense fog advisory until 1 a.m. today for a swath of Central Illinois that included Macon, Moultrie, DeWitt, Piatt and McLean counties. A storm system was expected to move into the area Monday night, including the potential for hail. There's good news ahead, Auten said. The eight- to 14-day outlook for the weather service shows above-average temperatures and below-average precipitation. Through the middle of February, temperatures are going to be on the mild side, Auten said. UC Berkeley is looking into allegations that a staff member was involved in an altercation during protests last week over a scheduled appearance by right-wing provocateur Milo Yiannopoulos, campus officials said Monday. The accusations against the staffer, who works in the University Development and Alumni Relations Department, emerged on ultraconservative fringe websites and on social media following Wednesdays destructive protests. While details of what if anything happened could not be confirmed, the worker quickly became the target of an online campaign, with some people calling for his arrest and others harassing and threatening him and his family. We are aware of the allegations that focus on a current UC Berkeley staff member, and the campus police force is working in close concert with the FBI in an ongoing investigation in this matter, said UC Berkeley spokesman Dan Mogulof. The Chronicle is not naming the worker because he has not been arrested and has not been named as a suspect in a crime. He declined to comment Monday, saying he was consulting an attorney. The way the episode has played out online sheds light on a virtual world in which disorganized bands of social media users become energized and converge on a person or cause. Yiannopoulos, a Breitbart News editor who revels in provoking outrage with often racist and misogynistic rhetoric, has inspired such activity in the past. In July, he was booted off Twitter after igniting a storm of racist attacks from Internet trolls against African American comedian Leslie Jones. The alleged incident at Berkeley happened as hundreds of demonstrators assembled on the campus Wednesday night to protest Yiannopoulos. What started as a largely peaceful gathering outside the student union building on Sproul Plaza turned destructive when scores of black-clad anarchists joined the event. Some smashed windows and set fires, forcing UC Berkeley to cancel the speech. It was in the aftermath of this chaos that online sleuths opposed to the protests accused the UC Berkeley staffer of being in a violent altercation with an unidentified supporter of President Trump. The staffer was quoted by name in at least one media account of the campus protest, but it is not clear whether thats how he came to the attention of his online accusers. The evidence of the alleged altercation later circulated on social media amounts to a screenshot of a Twitter account that purportedly belongs to the staffer and is now protected from public view. The Chronicle could not verify if the account belongs to the UC Berkeley worker. One tweet shows a man lying on his back and reads, so, this guy. He was in a group of 4-5 MAGA chuds who were standing against the barricades berating protesters as we marched past. 1/. The tweet using the acronym for Trumps slogan, Make America Great Again appears to be the first in a series, but a screenshot circulating online only shows a partial fifth tweet followed by two more. Any context and details of what was described in the other tweets remains in question. Some good samaritans come and pull me off of him and, as always happens in thee (sic) cases, *i* take a couple of weak shots to the face. 6/, another tweet reads. The tweets inspired a wave of anger and threats on social media from people upset over what happened in Berkeley, with many making unsubstantiated assumptions about the staffers role in the protest. On Twitter, users urged the staffers arrest and doxxed him by gathering and publishing private information about him, including where he lives and where he can be found in the future. Some spoke of a bounty. Wednesdays destruction grabbed headlines around the world, prompting debate over the handling of the event by the university and outrage over the actions of the anarchists. The destruction led a range of conservatives including Yiannopoulos and President Trump to denounce UC Berkeley and its students. A day after the protests, Trump used Twitter to threaten to pull federal funding from the university, even though the university had allowed Yiannopoulos to speak before the violence occurred. Yiannopoulos has vowed to return to Berkeley to speak in the next few months. Evan Sernoffsky is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: esernoffsky@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @EvanSernoffsky DECATUR A plan to reorganize city staff drew discussion Monday about how it can help move Decatur forward. The city council approved the restructuring that is expected to streamline the top of the city's organizational structure, with only Councilman Bill Faber asking for more time to gather information about the topic. The changes include adding a director for the department of economic and community development. City Manager Tim Gleason said the person hired for that position will have the responsibility for leading efforts most directly related to improving the desirability of the city, including overseeing neighborhood services, which is currently supervised by the city's legal department. Desirability is of the utmost importance, Gleason said. I take it very seriously. Mayoral candidate John Phillips, who has been critical of Gleason's job performance, said the changes appear to represent the kind of work a city manager is supposed to be doing. Time will tell whether it will be effective, Phillips said. I hope we will all be cheering six months or a year from now. Phillips said having the job of improving economic development efforts takes more than one person. It seems like a stretch to have an individual take on, Phillips said. In response to Phillips' comments, Councilwoman Lisa Gregory said economic development does take more than one person. It takes every single one of us, she said. We need to be talking about why Decatur is home and we love it here. It's not the effort of one person. We have 73,000 people in this city, and we should all be our own economic development people. Faber said the new director could provide a spark to illuminate the road forward for economic development. In addition, Faber raised a concern about having the city clerk report directly to the city manager rather than an assistant city manager. He said it could provide a check and balance at the top of the structure. The clerk had previously reported to the manager, and the change was included in the plan approved by the council. Gleason said the changes are about improving the efficiency of the city's organization. The plan aims to empower employees and get them excited about taking on different duties, he said. Gleason said by eliminating both current assistant city manager positions and creating a deputy city manager position as of June 1, it provides the opportunity to have a clear second in command within the organization and have that person do more in every aspect of it. The changes are expected to save the city more than $300,000 per year as positions are eliminated through attrition, Gleason said. He said no layoffs are expected as a result of the changes. Mayor Julie Moore Wolfe said being able to save money with no layoffs necessary is part of the reasons why the proposal was favorable. Randy Hellman, a staff representative for the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, or AFSCME, the union that represents city employees, has been trying to gather information about the plan since being notified Friday of its details. Like with any change, Hellman said employees are feeling fear about the unknown. However, he said the union is supportive of the changes, provided they have an opportunity to be included in further discussions about its impact. Moving the city's Water Management Department into the Public Works Department is among the issues Hellman wants to discuss with city leaders. That will have a direct impact on the working conditions of our employees, Hellman said. Hellman said the union has approached city leadership about ideas for cost savings measures in the past. Faber said not having enough time to gather input from all those potentially affected by the changes is part of why he voted against it. The city staff and council gave our community a little over 72 hours' notice of a comprehensive reorganization of local government, Faber said. With nearly no citizen input, the measure passed. Here is an example of a weak democracy. Not good. The changes will go into effect immediately or as detailed in the proposal. Dear Dr. Roach: In late spring of 2016, I had a sinus infection and was prescribed both an antibiotic and prednisone. I was told that the steroid would increase the effectiveness of the antibiotic. After reading the patient insert for prednisone, I elected to take only the antibiotic, with excellent results. Since that time, three of my friends also were prescribed antibiotics by three different doctors for various conditions; all were also prescribed prednisone to take with it. Two of them did take the prednisone, resulting in really unpleasant side effects. This week I went to another doctor, was diagnosed with acute nasopharyngitis and was told to take an antibiotic and prednisone. When I said I didn't want to take the prednisone, the doctor informed me that he NEVER prescribes antibiotics without prednisone. I was prescribed clindamycin and methylprednisolone. I again elected not to take the steroid. Can you tell me if this dual prescribing is a widespread medical trend or just a local one? Is there really a good reason for prescribing antibiotics and prednisone together, and am I being foolish not to follow doctor's orders? -- E.D. A: There have been two recent systematic reviews on the use of oral steroids, such as prednisone or methylprednisolone, in combination with antibiotics in treatment of acute sinusitis. These studies have shown a speedier recovery in those taking the combination of steroids and antibiotics than in those who take antibiotics alone, and I suspect that is why your doctors, and those of your friends, have been prescribing them. However, there is a downside to steroids, as you note. It's not just the unpleasant immediate side effects, such as jitteriness and difficulty sleeping; steroids can have serious side effects in the short term (confusion and even psychosis are well known). In the long term, the list of possible side effects is very long, so the benefit must always be weighed against the possible harm. This is particularly the case in people at high risk for side effects, such as diabetics (in whom sugar levels routinely go up when taking steroids) or those with high blood pressure (which often is exacerbated by steroid use). Personally, I prefer to use nasal steroids in combination with antibiotics. They have many of the benefits of oral steroids with few of the side effects. Nasal steroids don't work as quickly as oral steroids, however. In any case, I can't condone you not following your doctor's recommendations. I certainly do recommend that you have a discussion about the benefits versus the harms, and I'd also recommend that you ask about nasal steroids. CHICAGO (AP) Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White is asking lawmakers to help bring in money by allowing advertising on vehicle registration reminders that are mailed out to millions of homes each year. The Chicago Tribune reports that the idea is to avoid a repeat of October 2015, when White's office temporarily stopped mailing the annual renewal notice due to of a lack of funding in the midst of the budget impasse. The number of people fined for failing to register their vehicles in time skyrocketed during the 10 months the mailers didn't go out. Lawmakers eventually approved some money to resume the mailings, but that measure expired Jan. 1. Dave Druker, a spokesman for White, says the notices will continue for now, but that eventually money will be needed to keep them going. Both U.S. senators from Illinois, Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth, voted against Betsy DeVos' nomination as Secretary of Education on Tuesday. The Senate confirmed DeVos by the narrowest of margins, with Vice President Mike Pence breaking a 50-50 tie in a historic vote. Two Republicans joined Democrats in the unsuccessful effort to derail the nomination of the wealthy Republican donor. The Senate historian said Pence's vote was the first by a vice president to break a tie on a Cabinet nomination. After the vote, the Democratic senators from Illinois released the following statements: Durbin: More than 50 years ago, Lyndon Johnson signed the Elementary and Secondary Education Act into law, guaranteeing every child a free and equal, quality public education. By confirming Betsy DeVos, Senate Republicans have entrusted our childrens success to an individual whose experience with public education is limited to using her considerable wealth to undermine it. I share the concerns of parents and educators that Betsy DeVos is unfit to serve as Secretary of Education. Our children deserve an Education Secretary who will choose students over corporate and for-profit interests; who understands and cares about the needs of low-income students, students with disabilities, and students of color; and who is willing to do what is necessary to avoid conflicts of interest. Clearly, Ms. DeVos is not that person. Our efforts may have fallen short today, but we must continue making our voices heard. I am proud to stand with the tens of thousands of Illinoisans who voiced their opposition to this nomination, and I will do everything in my power as a United States Senator to ensure that we continue to deliver on our promise of public education for all. Duckworth: I do not believe the President nominated the best candidate to serve as Secretary of Education; I do not even believe he nominated a qualified candidate. I was hoping Ms. DeVos would ease my concerns about her qualifications at her confirmation hearing and prove that she was up to the job. Instead, Ms. DeVos failed to study, showed up unprepared and appeared unfamiliar with a foundational civil rights law that guarantees every student, including those with disabilities, the right to a quality, equitable education. I would not be here today were it not for strong public schools and civil rights protections, so there was simply no way I could support her nomination. It is a shame that someone who has never been a teacher or administrator, and who holds no degree in education policy, will now helm the agency tasked with educating our children and training our workforce. Unfortunately, our children and our nation will suffer the consequences of this decision for decades to come. CHICAGO Illinois legislators are proposing to boost immigrant protections statewide in response to President Donald Trump's executive orders on immigration, a move advocates say would essentially give the state "sanctuary" status. One proposal says schools, medical facilities and places of worship don't have to give access to federal immigration authorities or local law enforcement working on their behalf. Another proposal would limit cooperation and communication between local police and immigration authorities. "If there was ever a moment for things to move, it is now when we're seeing immigrant communities under unprecedented attacks," said Mony Ruiz-Velasco, a leader of a suburban Chicago immigrant organizing group called PASO. The legislation's chances of passage are uncertain. Backers of Trump's moves say he is just fulfilling promises he made during the campaign, and warn that "sanctuary" cities and states risk losing their federal funding. Ruiz-Velasco and others said the goal is to extend so-called sanctuary protections already on the books in Chicago and Cook County, where police aren't allowed to ask about citizenship status and don't cooperate with federal immigration authorities. Reaction has been divided to a series of immigration-related executive orders signed in Trump's first days as president, including one designed to allow local law enforcement to investigate, apprehend or detain immigrants living in the country without legal permission. Some states, such as Texas, have moved to reinforce Trump's orders, while lawmakers in California are advancing a statewide sanctuary proposal. Illinois already has some of the nation's most immigrant-friendly laws. Advocates are pushing sanctuary ordinances in suburbs such as Oak Park. The state's largest immigrant advocacy group, the Illinois Coalition of Immigrant and Refugee Rights, is pushing city officials to make Chicago's rules stronger. Democratic lawmakers say the two statewide proposals are just the beginning of what they want to do. But the extent of any opposition isn't known. While Democrats control the Illinois House and Senate, it's not clear where Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner stands. He said that there are "serious concerns" about another Trump executive order suspending the nation's refugee program, and urged resolution "through the courts." When asked about sanctuary cities and states, he said it's "not a state issue" and he supports "comprehensive immigration reform." Other Republicans are opposed. Rep. John Cabello, a Republican from Machesney Park, noted that any entities adopting sanctuary status risk losing federal funding. Trump has threatened to strip federal money from sanctuary states. "We're kind of playing a dangerous game," Cabello said of Illinois' plans, adding that Trump is simply following through on campaign promises. "He is doing absolutely everything he said he was going to do." Democratic Rep. Emanuel Chris Welch of Hillside, who sponsored the schools bill, said his bill would offer peace of mind for immigrants in schools, churches or hospitals. His plan would bar federal immigration agents from those sites, with few exceptions, such as obtaining a court-issued warrant. It'd also prohibit employees from asking about immigration status and require training on immigration issues. "The day after the November election, I received calls that teaching and learning did not go on at my local school," he said. "Students were crying and worried about whether immigration officials were going to come into a school and teachers were predominantly counselors that day." Of Illinois' nearly 13 million residents, close to 1.8 million are foreign-born, according to Census data. The Pew Research Center estimates roughly 450,000 are living in Illinois illegally. Democratic Rep. Lisa Hernandez of Cicero is drafting a separate bill that would limit interaction between local authorities and immigration agencies. It would discourage information sharing and allow local police to decline requests from immigration officials to keep defendants in custody while they await deportation. She said it would provide safeguards against Trump's orders. "Either we submit to his request that we are going to go his way or we push back," Hernandez said. Out of the 902 children up for adoption in Armenia from 2010-2016, 642 were adopted. 310 children were adopted by foreign nationals and 332 by citizens of Armenia. Out of the 642 children adopted, 332 were girls and 310 boys. Only 6% of children adopted by Armenian citizens had medical issues. Only three children with various disabilities were adopted from 2010-2016. In comparison, of the 332 children adopted by foreign nationals during the same period, 60% had medical issues and 36% were classified as having disabilities. Armenias Ministry of Justice oversees adoption requests filed by foreign nationals. The ministry told Hetq that not one of these adoptions has been annulled. Adoptions by Year 2010 139 2011 123 2012 83 2013 77 2014 62 2015 99 2016 59 2016: Adoptions by Foreign Nationals Italy 18 USA 16 France 5 Switzerland 1 Lena Hayrapetyan, head of the Child Welfare Division of the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs, affirms that citizens of Armenia prefer to adopt healthy children who more or less resemble themselves. If the child, has an opportunity to be more or less rehabilitated, they arent handed over to an orphanage, and since the number of those children has decreased, today, there are mostly children with serious problems, those that cannot be physically rehabilitated, in the orphanages, Hayrapetyan says. The ministry reports that over the past six years, such children have been cared for in the New Kharberd Orphanage that houses children under 18 with mental and physical problems. Second, in terms of numbers, is the Childrens Home in Gyumri. This January 20, the two ministries, labor and justice, drafted a series of amendments and changes to the law regarding adoptions by citizens of Armenia. The bill, already presented to the government, allows for periodic inspections by professionals to gauge the level of care being provided by families and to grant them assistance, once the adoption period is over, to prevent possible complications. Attempting to explain why foreign nationals adopt more kids with medical issues, Hayrapetyan first points out that the number of healthy children in Armenia up for adoption is small and decreasing yearly. She adds that the governments of foreign nationals adopting children with health issues provide large cash assistance. Then too, Hayrapetyan notes that the health-sector infrastructure in many overseas countries is much more advanced. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Former White House photographer Pete Souza spent eight years documenting Barack Obama's presidency, and it seems he's not done portraying Obama in a favorable light. Souza, who has a new, non-White House-branded Instagram account, has been using it to subtly mock the Trump administration since Inauguration Day. Almost every major controversy involving Donald Trump is referenced in some way in Souza's photos. When the Washington Post reported Trump's tense phone call with Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, Souza posted a cheery photo of Obama laughing with Turnbull. As Trump feuded with Mexico over the payment for his border wall, Souza offered up an image of Obama drinking with Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto. And, most recently, Souza posted an image of Obama in a well-lit meeting with the caption, "Those damn lights ;)" a reference to a New York Times story that indicated Trump staffers were holding meetings in the dark due to their inability to figure out how to use the light switches. Souza, who formerly worked at the Chicago Tribune, met Obama when Obama was a junior senator. Souza was asked to join the administration as the official White House photographer after Obama's election. Souza also served as the official photographer for President Ronald Reagan. He was succeeded by Shealah Craighead, the former White House photographer during the George W. Bush administration. To see some of Souza's teasing Instagrams, check out the gallery above. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate BEIRUT The prison north of Damascus was known to detainees as the slaughterhouse and in it, as many of 13,000 people were hanged in only four years after a series of sham trials, according to a new report issued by Amnesty International. The report, issued on Tuesday, said that 20-50 people were hanged each week at the Saydnaya prison in what the organization called a calculated campaign of extrajudicial execution. The report covers the period from 2011 to 2015, but Lynn Maalouf, deputy director for research at Amnestys regional office in Beirut, said there is no reason to believe the practice has stopped since then, with thousands more probably killed. These executions take place after a sham trial that lasts over a minute or two minutes, but they are authorized by the highest levels of authority, including the Grand Mufti, a top religious authority in Syria, and the defense minister, she said. The killings were authorized by senior Syrian officials, including deputies of President Bashar Assad, and carried out by military police. Amnesty has also recorded at least 35 different methods of torture in Syria since the late 1980s, practices that only increased since 2011, Maalouf said. Other rights groups have found evidence of massive torture leading to death in Syrian detention facilities. In a report last year, Amnesty found that more than 17,000 people have died of torture and ill-treatment in custody across Syria since 2011, an average rate of more than 300 deaths a month. Those figures are comparable to battlefield deaths in Aleppo, one of the fiercest war zones in Syria, where 21,000 were killed across the province since 2011. The horrors depicted in this report reveal a hidden, monstrous campaign, authorized at the highest levels of the Syrian government, aimed at crushing any form of dissent within the Syrian population, Maalouf said. Syrian government officials rarely comment on allegations of torture and mass killings. In the past, they have denied reports of massacres documented by international human rights groups, describing them as propaganda. The chilling accounts in Tuesdays report came from interviews with 31 former detainees and over 50 other officials and experts, including former guards and judges. According to the findings, detainees were told they would be transferred to civilian detention centers but were taken instead to another building in the facility and hanged. They walked in the train, so they had their heads down and were trying to catch the shirt of the person in front of them. The first time I saw them, I was horrified. They were being taken to the slaughterhouse, Hamid, a former detainee, told Amnesty. Another former detainee, Omar Alshogre, said the guards would come to his cell, sometimes three times a week, and call out detainees by name. Alshogre said a torture session would begin before midnight in nearby chambers that he could hear. Now 21, he lives in Sweden. Sarah El Deeb is an Associated Press writer. 1 Sapphire Jubilee: Queen Elizabeth II has become the first British monarch to reach the milestone of 65 years on the throne. The queens Sapphire Jubilee was marked Monday with a 41-gun salute by World War I-era field guns in Londons Green Park, and another 62-round gun salute at the Tower of London. Buckingham Palace said the 90-year-old spent the day at her Sandringham estate. She does not celebrate the anniversary of the date she became queen, known as Ascension Day, as it is also the anniversary of her fathers death. Elizabeth became monarch on the death of her father, King George VI, from lung cancer at age 56 on Feb. 6, 1952. 2 Priest abuse: Seven percent of priests in Australias Catholic Church were accused of sexually abusing children over the past several decades. The statistic was released during the opening address Monday of a hearing of Australias Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse. The panel has been investigating since 2013 how the Catholic Church and other institutions responded to the sexual abuse of children. Francis Sullivan, CEO of the Truth Justice and Healing Council, which is coordinating the Catholic Churchs response to the inquiry, said the data reflected a massive failure by the church to protect children. The Navy SEAL raid in Yemen last week had a secret objective the head of al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, who survived and is now taunting President Donald Trump in an audio message. Military and intelligence officials told NBC News the goal of the massive operation was to capture or kill Qassim al-Rimi, considered the third most dangerous terrorist in the world and a master recruiter. But while one SEAL, 14 al Qaeda fighters and some civilians, including an 8-year-old girl, were killed during a firefight, al-Rimi is still alive and in Yemen, multiple military officials said. Defence Secretary, General James "Mad Dog" Mattis, and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Joseph Dunford, reportedly convinced Mr Trump to go ahead with the raid by suggesting Mr Obama would never have been so bold as to actually go through with it. They suggested that the death of al Rimi would be a "game changer" in the fight against al-Qaeda, according to a senior White House official. [Content Note: Terrorism; death.]With Donald Trump's onslaught of authoritarianism domestically, his first military operation, the bungled raid in Yemen , during which a reported 30 civilians and one Navy SEAL were killed, has gotten comparatively little attention.But there are two very important stories about that raid today, which I want to highlight.1. Cynthia McFadden, William M. Arkin, and Tracy Connor at NBC News: Yemen Raid Had Secret Target: Al Qaeda Leader Qassim Al-Rimi . The ostensible reason for the raid, we've been hearing from the administration, was intelligence gathering. But it turns out that was not the case.He is alive and mocking Donald Trump in an audio recording: "The fool of the White House got slapped at the beginning of his road in your lands." That is troubling for a number of reasons, not least of which is that Trump will be piqued by such provocative taunting, which is precisely the point. That will make him even more reckless and dangerous.How easily manipulated into bad decision-making Trump is cannot be in question, given the very manner in which he was talked into launching the raid in the first place. Which brings us to...2. Caroline Mortimer at The Independent: Donald Trump's Staff Get Him to Agree to Policies by Saying 'Obama Wouldn't Have Done It' . And, yes, that includes the Yemen raid.It was not. And despite the fact that the White House declared the raid "a successful operation by all standards," NBC News notes that the White House and Pentagon had no comment on the latest revelation of their intended target and failure to kill him.At this point, it should be abundantly clear even to the most diehard Trump supporters that he has no idea what he is doing. And he is seeking input from people with their own conflicting agendas, who are eminently willing to manipulate him to get what they want, irrespective of whether it's good for the country.We are in real trouble.If Trump were the patriot he claims to be, he would admit he is profoundly out of his depth and resign his position immediately. In a final, last ditch effort to derail the confirmation of President Donald Trump's nominee for education secretary Betsy DeVos, Democrats are currently holding the Senate floor for 24 hours and collectively speaking out in opposition to her. The all-night session comes after immense disapproval to DeVos' nomination from citizens across the country due to her lack of education experience, disdain for public schools, and previous investments in public and charter schools. Senate Democrats hope their arguments will convince just one more Republican to cross party lines and oppose the Michigan billionaire's confirmation alongside Republican Sens. Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, who announced they would vote against her last week. "I ask my colleagues on the other side of the aisle to follow the courageous example of the senators from Maine and Alaska," Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said, according to NBC. "We have an obligation as Senators not as Republicans, not as Democrats, but as Senators to evaluate these nominees and their fitness for office, because these nominees are going to wield immense power over the lives of Americans for possibly the next four years." As The Washington Post goes on to point out, because all 48 Senate Democrats have pledged to oppose DeVos, all they need is one more Republican to vote against her for her not to be confirmed. If they are unable to convince any of their colleagues to change their mind, however, Vice President Mike Pence will be called upon to cast the tie-breaking vote which he's already confirmed will be in DeVos' favor. All night, Senate Democrats have been holding the floor in protest of Betsy DeVos' nomination for Secretary of Education. If you want to check in on the proceedings, here is C-SPAN's live feed AtGina Mei reports If you'd like to see some video clips from the all-nighter, there are a number at the link.I am grateful to the Democrats for taking this stand, even if it is ultimately futile. But it's not futile yet! If you can, keep making calls to Republican Senators and ask them to vote no on DeVos, because she is manifestly unqualified for the position and will ruin the Department of Education and destroy public education across the country.(Which, of course, was the entire point of her nomination.)It will be a bitter irony if Mike Pence, who once stripped Indiana's Superintendent of Public Instruction of power because she was trying to save the state from the very "reforms" that DeVos wants to enact, gets the deciding vote.I hope one more Republican will stand up on behalf of the nation's children. I fear that no one will.But, in the meantime, I'm not giving up. I will expect more and keep making calls.And DeVos has been confirmed, with Pence's unprecedented, tie-breaking vote. Fuck. Members of the Friends of Hrant movement demonstrated outside an Istanbul court today for the eleventh trial session delving into the 2007 murder of Hrant Dink. They demanded justice in the case that has dragged on for the past ten years. Bulent Ayden, speaking on behalf of the movement said, Ten years have passed since his murder. Weve been waiting for justice for those ten years. In July 2014, the Turkish Supreme Court ruled that the investigation into the killing had been flawed, thus paving the way for trials of police officials and other public authorities. In the pursuit of this case hearings were held, and in January 2017 Ali Fuat Ylmazer, the former head of Turkeys police intelligence branch, gave testimony that the killing was "deliberately not prevented" and security authorities in Istanbul and Trabzon were responsible. Yilmazer and the other suspects are accusing others. However, he says nothing as to why the intelligence branch failed to protect Hrant, said Ayden. The court session will last for four days. The court will listen to the testimony of others after Yilmazer. Agos Kathmandu Holdings said first-half profit was slightly higher from a year earlier, partly bolstered by solid same store sales growth. The Christchurch-based outdoor equipment chain said net profit was $9.9 million on year in the six months to Jan. 31, versus $9.4 million a year ago. Total sales were about $196.3 million compared to $196 million for the comparative prior period. The same stores sales growth, which is calculated for the 26 weeks to Jan. 27, was up 3.4 percent on a constant currency basis. "Despite gross margin pressure in the first half from foreign currency, we were able to grow our earnings through healthy same store sales growth in our largest market, rigorous cost control and working capital efficiency," said Kathmandus chief executive Xavier Simonet. In November the company said it was on track to meet the prior year's first half result despite pressure on sales growth. The shares were trading up 2.1 percent at $1.94 after Tuesday's announcement. Australia continues to generate most of the company's sales with total sales of A$121 million, up 6 percent in Australian dollars and 1.8 percent in New Zealand dollars. Australian same store sales growth was up 5 percent in local currency and 0.8 percent in New Zealand dollars. Kathmandu's annual profit rebounded in 2016 from a slump a year earlier after a build-up of inventory forced it into aggressive discounting at lower margins to rid itself of excess stock. Under the management of Simonet, who was appointed to the role in January 2015, the company has been taking a more cautious approach to sales and keeping expenses under control. Kathmandu will release the full result for the first half on March 21. BusinessDesk.co.nz Comments from our readers No comments yet Add your comment: Your name: Your email: Not displayed to the public Comment: Comments to Sharechat go through an approval process. Comments which are defamatory, abusive or in some way deemed inappropriate will not be approved. It is allowable to use some form of non-de-plume for your name, however we recommend real email addresses are used. Comments from free email addresses such as Gmail, Yahoo, Hotmail, etc may not be approved. Anti-spam verification: Type the text you see in the image into the field below. You are asked to do this in order to verify that this enquiry is not being performed by an automated process. Related News: SKC - ADDITIONAL US PRIVATE PLACEMENT FUNDING SECURED Spark New Zealand Limited's Annual Meeting Results 2022 Fonterra Australia settles class action proceedings PFI - Q3 Dividend, Development and Divestment Update November 4th Morning Report FPH to announce half year results on 29 November 2022 ATM - FDA approval to supply infant milk formula to United States Steel & Tube - Adopts ESG World Platform BGP - 3rd Quarter Sales to 30 October 2022 GEO - Quarterly Operating Update Contact Energy, which last year said it would focus on reducing debt, is considering a $100 million offer of bonds it plans to list on the NZX debt market. Wellington-based Contact plans to sell $75 million of unsecured, unsubordinated five-year bonds to institutional and retail investors, with oversubscriptions of up to $25 million, it said in a statement. Details for the offer will be released next week. New Zealand's five-year swap rate fell 9 basis points to 2.96 percent, while Contact shares were recently unchanged at $4.78. Forsyth Barr and Westpac Banking Corp have been appointed joint lead managers and Deutsche Craigs as co-manager. Last October, Contact chairman Ralph Norris told shareholders the electricity generator and retailer would focus on repaying debt over the next 12-to-18 months, having returned about $847 million to shareholders in the two prior years. The power company has two tranches of listed debt on the NZX, with $150 million of bonds paying a coupon 4.4 percent maturing in November 2021 and $222 million of notes paying annual interest of 5.8 percent maturing in May 2019. The 2021 notes recently traded at a yield of 4.37 percent and the 2019 bonds were recently at 3.58 percent. BusinessDesk.co.nz Comments from our readers No comments yet Add your comment: Your name: Your email: Not displayed to the public Comment: Comments to Sharechat go through an approval process. Comments which are defamatory, abusive or in some way deemed inappropriate will not be approved. It is allowable to use some form of non-de-plume for your name, however we recommend real email addresses are used. Comments from free email addresses such as Gmail, Yahoo, Hotmail, etc may not be approved. Anti-spam verification: Type the text you see in the image into the field below. You are asked to do this in order to verify that this enquiry is not being performed by an automated process. Related News: SKC - ADDITIONAL US PRIVATE PLACEMENT FUNDING SECURED Spark New Zealand Limited's Annual Meeting Results 2022 Fonterra Australia settles class action proceedings PFI - Q3 Dividend, Development and Divestment Update November 4th Morning Report FPH to announce half year results on 29 November 2022 ATM - FDA approval to supply infant milk formula to United States Steel & Tube - Adopts ESG World Platform BGP - 3rd Quarter Sales to 30 October 2022 GEO - Quarterly Operating Update Ani Hovhannisyan We were asleep. I was woken by the sound of a female police officer by my bed, telling us that we had two hours to collect our stuff. We were returning to Armenia, recounts Lousineh (weve changed her name). In 2014, Lousineh, her husband and two children were deported from Sweden. They had been living there for six years but were refused residency status. A year before, Swedens Migration Agency (SMA) had announced its intention to deport 22,000 illegal migrants, sending them back home. The news, announced by the Swedish Border Police Chief Patrik Engstrom, was reported by Aftonbladet, a large Swedish newspaper. Lousineh and her family were living in an apartment provided by the SMA. Swedish police were thus able to track them down easily. Four police officers escorted them to Yerevan aboard a special flight. They treated us well during the entire flight. When we reached Zvartnots [airport], the Swedish police handed our documents to the Armenian border guard who glanced at us in such a way that I immediately realized we were back in Armenia. So, these are the deportees? asked the border guard, who started talking to us with a gruff tone. I became stressed. Our home, our belongings, the kids schoolwe left everything and found ourselves at the entry to Armenia where they reluctantly accepted us. Yearly, on average, 315 citizens of Armenia are forced to make the same trip back to Armenia. According to eurostat, a European Union database, some 90% of Armenia citizens seeking asylum in European Union countries are turned down. 50% of those accepted are admitted as refugees and 30% receive humanitarian status (the sick, unaccompanied minors). The status of the remaining 20% isnt specified. Compared with neighboring countries, Armenia leads in the number seeking asylum. Consequently, it also leads in the number being accepted and refused. Nevertheless, fewer Azerbaijani citizens seeking asylum in the EU are refused when compared to Armenia and Georgia. Out of 100 asylum seekers from Azerbaijan, 21 were accepted. For Armenia, the number was 11 and 8 for Georgia. In large part, this is due to the level of democratic governance in each country as measured by the Democracy Index, in which Georgia ranks 87th, Armenia-120th, and Azerbaijan-148th. Most Armenia citizens refused asylum in EU countries remain there illegally. Only 22% of them voluntarily return or are deported back to Armenia. In 2014 and 2015, 1,305 individuals returned to Armenia 52% voluntarily and 48% forcibly. On average, 4,623 citizens of Armenia file asylum requests with the EU per year. Thats seven times the number (652) who voluntarily return to Armenia. The government of Armenia offers nothing in the way of reintegration services for those deported or those voluntarily returning. The EU The government of Liechtenstein and "Caritas Austria" have allocated 1,230,944 Euros to the Armenian Caritas NGO to carry out the Migration and Development Program (MDP), tasked with resettling such individuals in Armenia. From 2010 February 2016, the MDP allocated each adult an AMD amount corresponding to 700 Euros and each minor 350 Euros. Each family received no more than 2,000 Euros in AMD. Tatevik Tovmasyan, a public affairs assistant at the MDP, told Hetq that the above amounts arent directly given to beneficiaries in cash, but rather are spent to purchase domestic animals, household appliances, to pay rent, and on other items. Not all those returning to Armenia are covered under the MDP. It only services those who had spent a minimum of six months in the EU, Switzerland, Norway and Lichtenstein, and who applied for assistance within six months of returning and meet eligibility requirements (families with minor children, the infirmed and the elderly, one parent families, etc.) According to the Armenian Caritas NGO, 519 individuals have received reintegration assistance in the past six years. After returning to Armenia, Lousineh and her family again left the country. The 1,500 Euros allocated by Armenian Caritas in assistance wasnt enough to keep them in Armenia. Given conditions in Armenia, we werent able to raise our children as we wished. We tried to raise animals and start a business, but couldnt. We decided to leave once again, Lousineh says. Also read - Armenia: Three Times More Citizens Apply for Asylum Status in Europe On average, 4,200 citizens of Armenia yearly receive residency papers for the first time. Women outstrip men when it comes to receiving residency permits. While women receiving residency status for marriage or education purpose outstrip men, more males get residency for work-related (remunerative) purposes. The bulk of Armenians applying for family or marriage purposes are accepted by France, Spain, Belgium, Sweden and Greece. Spain and Poland lead when it comes to work-related applications. 2010 - 2015: Citizens of Armenia Receiving Residency Status in EU (Purpose of Application) Photos: Narek Aleksanyan This article was produced during #ddjcamp, a data journalism training organized by European Youth Press - Network of Young Media Makers. NEW DELHI: India attracted USD 32.49 billion foreign direct investment (FDI) in April-November of 2016-17, Parliament was informed today. The key sectors that received a major chunk of FDI included metallurgy, computer software and hardware, telecom, information and broadcasting and automobile, Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said in a written reply to the Lok Sabha. "The government reviews FDI policy on an ongoing basis and significant changes are made in the FDI policy regime, from time to time, to ensure India remains increasingly attractive and investor-friendly investment destination," she said. "Further, no proposal is under consideration of the government to review extant policy to bring public sectors under its ambit in the country." Replying to a separate question on exports of rice to China, she said 14 mills have been approved by China for export of basmati rice. "As regards export of non-basmati rice, the protocol signed between Plant Quarantine agencies of the two countries is to be reviewed by the Chinese side," she said. According to Sitharaman, market access for export of non-basmati rice to China can be confirmed only after the review of the protocol and signing of the same between China and India. India accounts for 0.11 per cent share of China's imports and is the 31st largest importing partner. Replying to another question, she said that with regard to grapes exports, India has requested the US to expedite the evaluation of pest risk analysis submitted by it. "The pest risk analysis is under finalisation with South Africa, Vietnam and Japan," Sitharaman added. Read Also: Micromax Sets Up $75 Mn Fund To Invest In Consumer Internet Companies 'Jet Airways' Q3 Standalone Net Profit Down 70 Pct NEW DELHI: India is looking at acquiring coking coal assets abroad as the country lacks the requisite technology for the commercial exploitation of reserves, Coal and Power Minister Piyush Goyal told Parliament on Monday. State miner "Coal India Ltd (CIL) is scouting for acquiring coking coal assets abroad, as India is faced with constraints of techno-commercially viable domestic coking coal reserves," the minister told the Rajya Sabha in a written reply. "The recent spurt in global coal prices, particularly for coking coal, is expected to create an encouraging scenario for such an acquisition process," he said. Coking coal, as distinct from the thermal variety, is used for iron and steel production. In this connection, the Coal India board has approved execution of a memorandum of understanding between CIL and the South African government-run African Exploration Mining and Finance Corp. for identification, acquisition, exploration, development and operation of coal assets in South Africa. CIL Chairman S. Bhattacharya has earlier said that the company is targeting acquisition of coking coal assets in Australia and Indonesia. Goyal also told the Rajya Sabha that Coal India has surrendered two mining licenses in Mozambique, and currently does not own any foreign coal assets. Read Also: Indian Online Food Delivery Industry Grew 150 Pct In 2016: Report Tata Power Solar Ships 1GW Solar Modules 'India Highest Growing Market For Konica Minolta' NEW DELHI: The Advanced Hawk, the upgraded version of the Hawk trainer jets in service with the Indian Air Force, will make its debut in this year's Aero India, a statement said on Monday. A joint collaboration of BAE Systems and the Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL), the Advanced Hawk's new features are expected to reduce training demands on more expensive frontline aircraft, creating additional capacity for operational tasks, and make training more cost-effective and structured. "This fulfils the commitment made jointly by BAE Systems and HAL at the 2015 Aero India through signature of an MoU to explore future possibilities for the Hawk aircraft for India and export markets," said a statement from the BAE Systems. BAE's Managing Director, Defence Information, Training & Services Stephen Timms said: "The Advanced Hawk is a testimonial of our commitment to sharing technology, capability and knowledge to build advanced systems in India, for India, and from India. "Together with HAL, we are looking forward to show this industry-funded demonstrator to the Indian and other Air Forces and seeking their feedback on the combination of features that will better prepare student combat pilots for the demands of frontline aircraft." "Clad in Indo-UK colours, the Advanced Hawk will be on display at HAL's stand, together with a simulator showcasing the aircraft's new capabilities. BAE Systems will also exhibit at the show with a number of displays spanning the breadth of its capabilities, technologies and platforms," the statement said. The Hawk, a single-engine, jet-powered advanced trainer aircraft used for final stage of the fighter pilot training, had recently completed 100,000 flying hours with the IAF. The high commonality with the operational version of Hawk will enable the Advanced Hawk production with maximum reuse of facilities, equipment and skills, said the statement. BAE Systems Country Director, India, Alistair Castle said: "Make in India is the cornerstone of our strategy and Aero India is an excellent platform for us to engage all our customers and wider industry to explore new ideas for partnerships, whilst strengthening existing ones, such as our association with HAL and Mahindra." The eleventh edition of Aero India, one of Asia's premier air shows, will be held in Bengaluru Feburary 14-18. Read Also: Verification Method Of Mobile Users Soon: Centre To SC Oust Modi To Save India's Diversity: Antony STATEN ISLAND, N.Y -- Ann Varner knows exactly what Cristy Matteo -- the owner of world famous Wilbur the pig -- is going through. When 21-year-old Varner, from Kansas City, Missouri, was told she had to get rid of her pig, Marlee, back in 2014, she knew that she would do whatever was necessary to keep her pet. "I had everybody in the world -- minus my mom -- telling me I was crazy," Varner recalled. "But I knew if I set my mind to anything, I could get it done. I knew there was no other option. I had to win. Marlee couldn't go anywhere; she's my baby," Varner said. Wilbur the pig was being forced to leave his home by Jan. 31 due to a court decision made by the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, until Mayor Bill de Blasio intervened. However, Matteo said that she is not yet aware how long her "reprieve" will last and she has already been contacted by the Health Department about progress on finding Wilbur a new home. He will not be allowed to permanently stay in Matteo's home, according to the Health Department, as there is no FDA-approved rabies vaccine for pigs. Matteo is continuing her fight and working with Sen. Tony Avella to get legislation passed that would allow pigs to be kept as pets. Varner reached out to Matteo when she heard her story and Matteo said she is grateful for her support. "Ann is extremely educated with changing the laws," Matteo said Monday. "I am so happy she is helping me." Varner said she couldn't imagine life without her pig, Marlee, and she took every measure possible to get the law changed in Kansas City, where she had moved in 2012. Marlee was out walking her Vietnamese potbellied pig when she was stopped by animal control officers. Kansas City law, like New York City law, did not allow pigs to be kept as pets. Like Matteo, Varner did research and gathered the support of her local community, from neighbors to medical experts to City Councilman John Sharp, chairman of the council's public safety committee. She asked anyone who knew Marlee and his easygoing disposition to write letters in support. She also had veterinarians submit letters based on their expertise. "I had many vets write letters...they also confirmed that while there's no FDA-approved vaccine, they had never seen a pig with rabies," Varner said. Varner then submitted a report to the City Council, which voted on an updated ordinance that allows Kansas City residents to keep pigs acquired, since 1995. The ordinance also stated that residents can have up to four cats, dogs or pigs, or some combination thereof. Like dogs, pigs would not be allowed to run at large and must be kept in a fenced area or on a leash. After Varner's 10-month fight, the ordinance passed and went into effect in July 2015. Varner made a video, which is now on Matteo's SAVE WILBUR Facebook page, in which she speaks directly to Mayor de Blasio. She's hoping he will watch it and continue to advocate for Matteo. An open letter to Mayor De Blasio regarding New York's favorite swine Wilbur. Posted by Save Wilbur on Thursday, February 2, 2017 "The reason I'd like to reach the mayor is I'd like to offer solutions to him . . . it's to let him know there's more to every story and the more we research and educate ourselves, the more solutions that can be found," Varner said. "We can build a bridge between the city and Cristy and come up with solutions." One such solution Varner suggests is getting a conditional permit to allow Wilbur to stay in his home. Then, she said, Matteo can continue to advocate for other Staten Islanders who own pigs but are afraid to speak out. "The No. 1 priority right now is to keep Wilbur safe and keep him with his family," Varner said. Varner also thinks it's important to educate the public about pet pigs. "That's the key -- education," she said. "People don't know about pet pigs . . . this is foreign to them." The Staten Island community, meanwhile, continues to show support for Wilbur. Liedy's Shore Inn, located at 748 Richmond Terrace, will host a fundraiser for Matteo -- to help pay for her legal fees -- on Feb. 19 from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. Update: Police have located the father and child and the Amber Alert has been canceled. Click here for an update. STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- The New York State Police have issued an Amber Alert relating to the disappearance of a 2-year-old child who was in Willowbrook Tuesday morning. The girl, Kim Woo, was taken by her father, Johnny Woo, 45, at around 8:30 a.m. from a home on Ismay Street, and was last seen on Forest Hill Road, police said. Authorities believe the child is in "imminent danger," the State Police said. Woo was last seen driving a black 2014 Kia Sorrento with a New York registration of GHH8886, police said. The child's mother, 35, an off-duty officer, was punched in the torso during the dispute, police said. The mom, who works in Brooklyn, was taken to Richmond University Medical Center, West Brighton, with a stomach injury, said a law enforcement source. The couple is estranged and in the process of a divorce, the source said. It is unclear who has custody of the child. The girl is about 30 pounds, has brown hair and eyes and was last seen wearing pink pajamas, police said. The father is described as Asian, with black hair and brown eyes and about 5-foot-4, police said. Anyone with information on their whereabouts is asked to call 911 or the state's Amber Alert hotline, 866-NYS-AMBER (866-697-2623). The large police response Tuesday morning startled some residents. "When I was home at 9 o'clock this morning, I was by my window and I was wondering, there were so many cops -- almost like a dozen cops," said one neighbor. "I was very nervous to go out." The neighbor was not aware that the couple had separated. "I really don't know what happened to them personally inside their house," the neighbor said. -- Kathleen Thieme contributed to this report. AX213_546A_9.JPG Education Secretary-designate Betsy DeVos testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington at her confirmation hearing before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee. DeVos bid to become education secretary could be in trouble. (Associated Press) STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- The Senate is scheduled to vote Tuesday on whether to confirm Betsy DeVos as U.S Secretary of Education. Senators, however, are split on whether to confirm DeVos, the billionaire philanthropist, Michigan political figure and school-choice advocate, who is President Donald Trump's cabinet choice for education secretary. There's a good chance her confirmation may require a tie-breaking vote to be cast by Vice President Mike Pence. Senate Democrats, including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-New York), have criticized DeVos on a variety of fronts. Schumer said he would vote against her confirmation. Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders also said he'd vote against her. Teacher unions and advocacy groups have come out against DeVos, citing her overall inexperience in education. They also believe she has a lack of commitment to public education. DeVos' performance in her confirmation hearing -- including her suggestion that a school in Wyoming might want to have guns on premises to protect from grizzly bears -- and the fact she was not familiar with federal laws that protect students with disabilities, placed her in the crosshairs of Senate Democrats. Overnight Monday into Tuesday, Senate Democrats took steps to slow the process by speaking out on the floor of the Senate, outlining -- often in painstaking details -- their logic for why DeVos should not be approved. She would be the first of Trump's Cabinet picks to face serious jeopardy. DeVos needs 51 Senate votes to be confirmed. Two Republicans, Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Senator Susan Collins of Maine, have said they would not vote for her confirmation. As of Tuesday morning, only one vote was needed to either confirm or deny her appointment. (If you could vote, would you cast your vote to confirm Betsy DeVos as Secretary of Education? Why or why not? Use the Comment section below to tell us what you think.) Blue band shows a swath of snow coming for Thursday. (AccuWeather) STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- After record warmth on Wednesday, weather forecasters are now saying Staten Island could get as much as 3 to 6 inches of snow from a storm system that's expected to move quickly through the region late Wednesday night into Thursday afternoon. Based on the projected timing of the storm, it could impact the Thursday morning commute. The National Weather Service has called for a hazardous alert for the region, from Wednesday evening through Thursday afternoon. "There is the potential for a winter storm late Wednesday night into Thursday. A plowable snow is expected. Significant snow accumulation of up to 6 inches is likely in some areas," the Weather Service reported. Forecasters said the timing of the storm is a key factor in determining how much snow will fall, because New York will be enveloped in near-record temperatures, approaching 60 degrees Wednesday, as the storm system approaches from the west. If the storm arrives early Wednesday evening, when the warm air is still expected to be in place, the precipitation would start as rain or a wintry mix, cutting down on snowfall totals. If the storm arrives later Wednesday night or after midnight, when a surge of cold air will be flowing down from Canada, more snow will likely fall as temperatures drop below freezing. STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- It's not common for an actor to be recruited by a New York filmmaker to be a star of a movie. But it helps if you are internationally known. Wilbur the pig, whose story has been reported both here and abroad, has won the attention of a New York City film student Shuonan (Liam) Liu. "I think the most important thing in making a movie is whether or not you have a good story to tell," said Liu, a 25-year-old who came to New York from China almost two years ago. The life of Wilbur, who was being forced to leave his home with Great Kills owner Cristy Matteo by the city Department of Health and Mental Hygiene until Mayor Bill de Blasio stepped in, had all the makings of a good story, according to Liu. "It was about family, politics...It had everything," Liu said. He also said he found it interesting that there are so many pig owners on Staten Island, and throughout the city, who have pigs as pets but don't speak out due to fear of getting a knock at their door from the Health Department. "I've learned there are many, many pig owners in the city and they're all hidden," he said. Matteo, who was surprised to be contacted by Liu, said she was glad he was interested "in learning about how domesticated pigs live." Liu, who lives in Brooklyn, came to New York to study filmmaking at the School of Visual Art. He was looking for an idea for his final project at school that would count toward graduation. That's when he read about Wilbur in the media and thought he would be a great subject. His adviser agreed and gave him the green light to start the project. "There's a beautiful story there," said Liu, who was impressed by the community's support for Wilbur and Matteo's love for her pet. While Liu's landlord doesn't allow him to have a pet, the filmmaker admits he's an animal lover and is hoping, like Matteo, that legislation put forward by Sen. Tony Avela in 2013 that would amend the administrative code of the city of New York by allowing the possession of pygmy pigs as house pets, will be passed. "Pigs should be able to be kept as pets. Unfortunately, the city doesn't feel the same way as me," Liu said. The filmmaker has had several sessions with Wilbur and has also attended events involving the beloved pig, including a press conference at Matteo's home last month. What he hasn't got on tape is an interview with the mayor, which he is trying to set up. He also would like to include in his film a sit-down between de Blasio and Avella. "That would be a good conversation," Liu said, adding that his film should be finished by the fall. The filmmaker said he plans to continue to visit with Wilbur throughout the summer, and he hopes when he visits him, Wilbur will still be at home on Staten Island. "I'm really hoping Wilbur can stay," Liu said. He's not the only one. The Staten Island community continues to show support for Wilbur. Liedy's Shore Inn, located at 748 Richmond Terrace, has organized a fundraiser for Matteo -- to help her continue her legal battle -- on Feb. 19 from 6 to 10 p.m. STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Police continue to search for a suspect who shot a man in the face in Mariners Harbor. The 24-year-old victim told police he was shot by an unknown person, an NYPD spokeswoman said. So far, the victim has not provided a description of the shooter to police, according to a source with knowledge of the investigation. The shots were fired on Holland Avenue near Richmond Terrace at about 1:40 p.m. Monday, according to police and emergency radio communications. Police radio communications indicated that the shooter was male. The victim was treated for his injuries at Richmond University Medical Center in West Brighton. Police radio communications indicated he was transported to the hospital by a car. nws IDNYC Assembly members Nicole Malliotakis and Ron Castorina Jr. speak against the IDNYC program. (Staten Island Advance) Assemblywoman Nicole Malliotakis for the Staten Island Advance STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- As the daughter of Cuban and Greek immigrants, I am truly empathetic toward those who wish to pursue the American dream in our great city of New York with the hope of starting a better life for themselves and their families. My parents took advantage of that opportunity decades ago and I am the beneficiary of our nation's generous immigration policy. This is why I have advocated for reform in Washington to streamline the process for those seeking citizenship so they can step out of the shadows and become participating members of our society. This can be achieved while properly securing our borders to stop a continued influx of illegal immigration, enacting a strict visa entry/exit tracking system and enforcing E-Verify to ensure legal eligibility of employees. Instead of advocating for common sense reforms, many officials at the city and state level prefer instead to disregard the law altogether, further keeping unauthorized immigrants in the shadows. What is particularly frightening about New York City's sanctuary policy is that even when an undocumented individual commits a criminal act triggering a federal detainer request, city officials will go to great lengths to harbor that criminal from federal immigration authorities. Now, with President Donald Trump's recent executive order, that unlawful activity by the city may come at a high price for our citizen taxpayers. In 2014, the NYC Council adopted and Mayor de Blasio signed two resolutions to both remove Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) from Rikers Island and significantly impede cooperation between the NYC Department of Corrections (DOC), the New York Police Department (NYPD) and ICE by prohibiting DOC and NYPD from honoring immigration detainers unless accompanied by a federal warrant and the person: 1. Has been convicted of a violent or serious crime. 2. Is identified as a possible match on the terrorist screening database (N.Y.C. Admin. Code SSSS 9-131, 14-154). This leaves a disturbing list of numerous crimes -- I've identified 453 of them -- that an illegal immigrant can commit in our city and not face deportation. Among the hundreds of criminal acts are grand larceny, sexual abuse, forcible touching, welfare fraud, identity theft, criminal sale of a controlled substance, patronizing a minor for prostitution, and killing a police animal. It is mind-boggling that the mayor and Council speaker of the City of New York would endanger the citizens they were elected to protect by refusing to comply with federal law and prohibit our law enforcement officers from complying with federal detainer requests for illegal immigrants who commit such crimes. Even more offensive is Mayor de Blasio's defense of his misguided policy. He has repeatedly turned a blind eye to such criminals because he believes they may be the "breadwinners" of their families. Since when is bread-winning a criminal defense for committing grand larceny, burglary or drug dealing? The mayor then appeared on CNN and expressed his belief that drunken driving alone is a minor offense, drawing sharp criticism from Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) who quickly highlighted that drunken driving kills or injures 300,000 people every year. This runs contrary to the de Blasio administration's signature pedestrian safety policy. Does Vision Zero not apply to illegal immigrants? Considering the fact that the Immigration agents under President Barack Obama issued detainer requests in limited circumstances, including when an individual poses a threat to public safety or has been previously convicted of a crime, the following numbers are quite shocking. From Oct. 1, 2014, to Sept. 31, 2016, the City of New York only honored 32 of 584 requests from the federal government. The Trump Administration is right to go after those cities that promote lawlessness and harbor criminal aliens from the federal government. Federal law makes it an offense for "any person" to attempt to "conceal, harbor or shield from detection" such individuals. Additionally the law prohibits local and state governments and agencies from enacting laws or policies that limit communication with the Department of Homeland Security. To not cooperate with President Trump's Executive Order is not only illegal but may cost New York's already overtaxed citizens billions in federal funding. If the mayor and City Council want to help the plight of those residing in the United States without authorization, they should join me in advocating that the federal government fix our broken and bureaucratic immigration system and create a pathway to citizenship for hardworking, honest immigrants who want to become Americans. They should not, however, be creating policies that tie the hands of law enforcement and prohibit cooperation with federal authorities, jeopardizing both federal funding and the safety of the citizens they were elected to serve and protect. It is time to bring law and order back to the City of New York and it starts with elected leadership that follows the law. With the US and other governments in flux, can businesses work across borders to advance sustainability, human rights, and environmental stewardship? Laura Gitman, a vice president at Business for Social Responsibility, will share her insights in a free, public lecture, Corporate Sustainability in a post-Trump World, this Thursday, Feb. 9, at 7 p.m. in Davis Auditorium. Laura Gitman Laura Gitman Business for Social Responsibility helps companies around the world to implement sustainable operations. From BSRs New York City office, Gitman has consulted with a range of businesses and has published reports on environmental, social, and governance integration. She facilitated the Electronic Industry Citizenship Coalition and has also managed a community development project in Ecuador and worked with the biotechnology sector in Chile. She is an adjunct professor in Bard Colleges M.B.A. program in sustainability. 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. 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Edit Close System error error: Can't call method "get_id" on an undefined value at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html line 25. context: ... 21: 22: 23: % foreach my $c (@categories) { 24: <%perl> 25: my $category_id = $c->get_id(); 26: my @stories = Bric::Biz::Asset::Business::Story->list ( { element_type_id=>1148, category_id=>$category_id , Order=> 'cover_date', publish_status => 't' , OrderDirection=> 'DESC' , Limit=>10 } ); 27: 28: 29: ... code stack: /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html:25 /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm:948 /var/cache/mason/obj/2011159162/main/smetimes/dhandler.html.obj:17 /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/autohandler_template.html:149 Can't call method "get_id" on an undefined value at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html line 25. 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Mohammed Hussain must demonstrate to the court that if he had been allowed to stand, the election result could well have been different - and for a low-profile independent that is a very high bar. Mohammad Hussain, who is is challenging the outcome of the ACT election in the Supreme Court, and wife Bazlun Bilkis, whose signature was rejected by the ACT Electoral Commission. Mr Hussain is asking the Supreme Court to declare the result in the Gungahlin electorate of Yerrabi void, which would force a new election in the electorate. He says he wanted to stand as an independent but his nomination form was wrongly rejected by the ACT Electoral Commission. The Electoral Commission said he did not have the minimum number of 20 signatures from people on the ACT electoral roll. But Mr Hussain said the signature of his wife was wrongly rejected. The commission said she was not on the roll, but in fact she had confirmation she was on the federal roll by September 21, the day nominations closed, he said. "I do not hate you, nor do I wish harm on you. I have forgiven you. You just now need to forgive yourself." The court heard Sutton had already spent more than 12 years in a NSW prison for 67 sex crimes committed against children. Prosecutors said those offences included 23 involving sexual intercourse, 46 indecent assaults, seven acts of indecency and one gross act of indecency. Sutton had been arrested and extradited from the United States in 1995 to face charges arising from those offences. At that time, he admitted abuse against many victims, including numerous boys in the ACT. He thought the territory offences would have been dealt with at that time. But Sutton did not face justice for the two charges of indecent assault until the territory in 2013 removed a limitation that required some child victims to report crimes within 12 months of their occurrence. He was one of four men police charged with fresh offences in 2016 as part of a police investigation into historical child sexual abuse in territory schools. Sutton said in court he understood he had been a in a position of power over his young victims, and that he used the children for his own sexual gratification. "I accept that unreservedly and I live with that every day," he said. Sutton acknowledged his offending caused victims' great trauma, betrayed their trust and had a ripple effect on them, their families and children, the school and the church. He denied he was still attracted to young boys. "I don't have any fantasies or tendencies. I don't eye, or view, or groom." His lawyer, Greg Walsh, said Sutton had admitted his wrongdoing and successfully rehabilitated. Mr Walsh urged the judge to "sentence this man as he is today, not as the man he then was". "As one of the most notorious paedophiles in NSW, prison would be difficult." Mr Hickey said no sentence other than a term of imprisonment would be appropriate. "This man was a teacher. Parents took their children to school and expected they would be taught, not preyed upon. "He clearly is not of good character, he's entitled to no leniency because of that." Justice Burns was satisfied Sutton understood what motivated his offending and it was unlikely he would reoffend in a similar manner. The judge said Sutton had served an "onerous" prison term that had largely been spent "in strict isolation". He took into account the significant delay in the offences coming to court, stressing that was not the fault of the prosecution or victims. Justice Burns said he had no doubt Sutton would have pleaded guilty to the offences in 1995, had that been possible at the time. A statement detailing the allegations against Sutton, tendered in court at his committal in August, said on one occasion, Sutton placed a chair in front of his classroom door before he approached one of the boys and touched his genitals. Sutton then said: "You'd better not tell anyone what happened ... This is our secret." He touched the same boy inappropriately on two more occasions in the classroom in the days that followed. The third time the boy allegedly said to him: "No, this is it's just not right," before pulling away and telling Sutton, "No". Past abuse by Sutton at schools associated with the Catholic Marist Brothers organisation, including Marist College Canberra, was closely examined during the ACT hearings of the child sex abuse royal commission. The royal commission found the organisation moved Sutton to different schools when it received complaints he had inappropriately touched children. The commission found Marist Brothers' actions enabled Sutton to continue to access children throughout the 1980s and early 1990s. In a statement released on Tuesday, the Marist Brothers Australia apologised for the pain and suffering endured by Sutton's victims. "It is a matter of profound sorrow and regret that children were abused by someone responsible for their care and safety. "They had the right to expect every protection and safety and they were tragically let down. Brother Peter Carroll said he was moved by the forgiveness expressed in court by one of the victims. "I hope that the process of justice provides some path towards healing for all affected." Loading Marist College Canberra apologised for abuse suffered by college students during the late 1970s, 1980s and early 1990s at a healing ceremony in November last year. It isn't easy being green. Especially if you happen to be called Macquarie Group and everyone characterises your business as nothing more than a money-making machine for investment bankers. Or, in the words of Rupert Murdoch's UK newspaper The Sunday Times: "The vampire kangaroo". At Tuesday's annual operational briefing, the head of Macquarie Capital, Tim Bishop, tried to talk up the company's enthusiasm for all things green even popping up on a YouTube video. "What's going on in green energy globally is quite an exciting story through Europe and now increasingly in Asia," the investment banking boss told former ABC veteran Monica Attard. Fund managers have swooped on two Melbourne properties paying more than $20 million each in separate deals for an Abbotsford office and office-warehouse in Clayton. Melbourne-based syndicator Terraplex has snapped up a refurbished Yarra River front office at 675 Victoria Street in Abbotsford for about $20 million. 675 Victoria Street, Abbotsford. Just over half the building is leased to Construction and Edgewise Insurance Brokers at a combined net annual rental of $698,740. On a fully let basis the building would return about $1.6 million. It shows one senior executive, presumably Mr Fahour, received a $4.4 million salary with bonus and $1.2 million in superannuation. Five other executives received salaries ranging from $1.3 million to $1.8 million. One unnamed executive received a $380,000 retirement benefit. "Fundamentally, the committee considers there are no compelling reasons for this particular information about the remuneration of senior executives at Australia Post to be hidden from public scrutiny," the committee wrote to the government-owned enterprise. On Tuesday the committee chair, Senator James Paterson of Victoria, released the information after deciding it was overwhelmingly in the public interest. Ahmed Fahour took home $5.6 million in 2015-16, a Senate committee has found. Credit:Justin McManus Australia Post was asked to provide details about executive salaries during estimates in late 2016. Australia Post replied in January it would supply the information, but only in secret. It argued the information was personal and sensitive and should not be released because individuals "may become targets for unwarranted media attention", which could lead to brand damage. The committee responded that public interest overrides those concerns and that "potential issues of personal safety and security do not appear to be compelling reasons to withhold publication". The committee informed Australia Post on Tuesday afternoon it would be publishing the information. Australia Post requested one week's notice before publishing the information, but this was denied. "For your future reference, the committee emphasises that it will not agree to information being provided on a confidential basis outside of the estimates process unless a compelling case has been made that public disclosure would harm the public interest," Senator Paterson wrote in his letter. An Australia Post spokeswoman said remuneration is set by its board and that Mr Fahour's total remuneration package "takes into account the size and complexity of the organisation, which has an annual turnover of more than $6 billion". A pay battle that has forced the indefinite shutdown of a Parmalat dairy processing plant is "a long way" from over, the company says. Parmalat is locked in a bitter feud with dozens of blue-collar workers at its yoghurt and dessert factory in northern Victoria, after it launched a push to slash new employees' wages there by as much as $8 an hour. Parmalat said it had "made the tough decision" to close its Echuca plant indefinitely. Credit:Michele Mossop The conflict has deepened in recent weeks, with Parmalat taking the drastic step of locking out its 60 production and maintenance employees from the plant, in response to union plans for protected industrial action. Exiled employees have been camping outside the gates since the lockout began on January 18. Bill Shorten is planning legislation to overrule a penalty rates cut from the workplace umpire. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen "This sense of alienation isn't a local curiosity it's a global phenomenon. Strong enough to take Britain out of Europe and put Donald Trump in the White House. "And in these unusual times, politics-as-usual doesn't cut it any more. Illustration: Dionne Gain "Yes, we are an adversarial democracy, built on the clash of ideas I honour that. My job, as Leader of the Opposition, is to oppose what I believe is wrong. My job ... is to put positive ideas forward. "But this year I am going to remind myself as often as possible: people first, politics last. I can't guarantee I'll always get that right but I'm certainly going to try. "Because Australians are sick to their core of the petty schoolyard bickering, he-said she-said, the tit-for-tat. "They're not opposed to genuine debate about the future but they are over the smallness of so much of the national political conversation ... "Mind you, that counts for nothing if [scandals over politicians' expense claims make] people think we are acting in our own interests, instead of theirs." Wow. But this column is no free ad for Team Shorten. I wanted to record it because it was so true, but also to help the man stick to his New Year's resolution. Actually, it shouldn't surprise that Shorten "gets" all that. Our politicians aren't "out of touch" because that's why their parties (and sometimes, we taxpayers) spend thousands every year conducting focus groups with ordinary voters. I bet that some of the phrases Shorten used were lifted straight from Labor's market research. Someone in the group blurts out some pithy opinion, everyone else says "Yeah, that's right!" and the researcher writes it down for future use. As the "political class" knows, the punters love having their own opinions fed back to them. I'd also bet that both parties' rival researchers tell them much the same things about what voters like and dislike. But if the pollies know how much we hate the way they carry on, why do they keep doing it? Because some of the things they do still work, even though we hate them. Because they want to win the next election at all cost, and so are willing to do things that bring them immediate advantage, even though they add to the long-term fouling of the collective political nest. Because many of the unconvincing things they say are intended to shore up the faith of the party faithful, not persuade the rest of us. Because both sides are afraid that if they're the first to stop behaving badly, the other side will wipe the floor with them. Economists call this a "collective action problem", which can only be fixed by some outside authority imposing a solution on both sides. Back to Shorten's resolution. It would certainly be a big change to Labor's behaviour since its success at last year's election left Malcolm Turnbull with such a tiny majority. Labor has followed a sneaky strategy of giving the appearance of co-operation and positivity while quietly seizing opportunities to frustrate the government's program, making it look impotent and unstable. To keep same-sex marriage alive as an issue for the next election, it has blocked Turnbull's plebiscite, using the excuse that the gay community wanted to avoid the risk of an abusive debate. Firstly a plea from Stephanie Edwards of Wollstonecraft. "Peter Riley of Penrith, call Donald Trump anything you like except The Don. There will only ever be one of those the late, great Sir Donald Bradman." Also from Carolyn Wright of Raby. "Please! The Don means Don Bradman, this one is The Donald. My 98-year-old dad will have a heart attack if he hears of this misnomer." Now a small clarification. "Our current monarch did not become head of the Commonwealth. She became head of the British Empire. The Commonwealth came later. We of a certain age remember getting a half-day holiday from school for Empire Day, or more 'correctly', cracker night." Thanks Bob Coote of Wentworth Falls and several others. Edith Crowne of Turramurra writes: "Using captions to receive the Channel 9 news this morning, I read that Queen Elizabeth II will be slightly saddened on the occasion of her Sapphire Jubilee because it was also the occasion of the death of her father, King George XI. From whence came those extra five Georges?" "Too late Sue Jay of Drummoyne." (C8, first fake news.) "Yesterday Treasurer Scott Morrison used the term 'fake news' on Sydney radio to deflect a legitimate question (it was about some Liberal politicians wanting to discuss same-sex marriage)." Eric Sekula of Colah and similar from Robert Silvestrini of Fairfield West. Marine Le Pen, leader of France's extreme nationalist National Front, kicked off her election campaign with a fiery speech that, among other things, praised US President Donald Trump, that beacon for European nationalist populists, for "keeping promises and acting quickly and powerfully in the interest" of the American people. But if she wins the French presidential election - a possibility since traditional political forces are in disarray - her actions will be unlikely to please Trump. It's often tempting to lump all the nationalist populists together because of their most visible unifying features - nativism and hostility toward immigrants, particularly Muslim ones. They act in concert, rejoice in each other's company and hope to imitate Trump's success. But a nativist international is an oxymoron. These politicians want to seal their countries, and that's a threat to the US, not just the European Union. Le Pen's speech last Sunday in Lyon, the industrial city in southeastern France, built on her freshly published "commitments" to voters - 144 of them. The plan touches upon the main themes familiar from the Trump campaign. It's actually tougher on immigration and on Muslims than anything Trump proposed. It calls for an annual limit of 10,000 persons on net immigration, an end to the "right of the soil," under which citizenship is granted to children born in France, the automatic expulsion of everyone linked to "Islamic fundamentalists" and a ban on foreign funding for religious organisations. It also talks of "re-industrialisation" and protectionism, assured by France's exit from the euro and the European Union (Le Pen proposes to call a Frexit referendum within six months of taking power), and it promises lower taxes to businesses. As a doctor, I lie to my patients every day. I'll say "this won't hurt a bit" before giving injections when, in fact, it does hurt (a bit). I'll promise kids that if they stop crying and let me examine their ears, their mother will buy them a pony. These small lies are well intentioned, sometimes comical and instantly forgiven. But there are some lies I won't tell. I won't, for instance, substitute the vaccine in a syringe with water, and tell parents their baby will now be protected against measles. That would be a vile and unconscionable betrayal of the truth. Can we at least agree on that? Apparently not. Homeopathy: no scientific effect. There is an epidemic of false cures being sold to sick Australians. But it's not an underground black-market trade. It's a certified, rubber-stamped official practice. It is enshrined in government policies, codified in professional code of conducts, funded with our taxes and sold by pharmacists. An intricate web of lies protects the pernicious practice of homeopathy in Australia. Homeopathy is one of the most widespread disciplines of alternative medicines, with an estimated one million Australian consumers. It's very popular. It also doesn't work. At all. No better than a sugar pill, anyway. Turns out, vials of homeopathic remedies are chemically indistinguishable from water. So who knew of this widespread criminality against children? Not Australia's highest-ranking Catholic Cardinal George Pell, apparently. When the royal commission was announced in 2012, he accused the press of exaggerating the extent of wrongdoing within the church and said the commission was an opportunity to "separate fact from fiction". In the past 35 years there were 1880 alleged perpetrators from more than 1000 Catholic entities. Thanks to research undertaken by the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, we know that about 7 per cent of priests sexually abused children. That is staggering enough, but in some religious orders, the proportion of these child rapists and paedophiles was much higher: from the St John of God, 40.4 per cent. From the Christian Brothers, 22 per cent. The Salesians of Don Bosco, 21.9 per cent, Marist Brothers, 20.4 per cent, De La Salle Brothers, 13.4 per cent. Who knew? The Catholic Church knew, that's who. Now we know too, that sexual atrocities against children of a horrendous nature and on a horrendous scale have been committed within the Catholic Church in Australia over many decades. Not the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference, apparently, which said that "talk of a systemic problem of sexual abuse in the Catholic Church is ill-founded and inconsistent with the facts". It could be argued that back then, no one had the full picture. The church after all, has many parts, and they don't all talk to each other. George Pell is in Rome running the Holy See's finances. The Victorian Director of Public Prosecutions is considering a brief of evidence against him concerning multiple child sexual abuse allegations that he strongly rejects. In his evidence from Rome before the commission last March he was asked about sexual offences by a number of Christian Brothers in the diocese of Ballarat, where he was episcopal vicar for education between 1974 and 1983, which meant being an "essential link between bishops, priests, parents, teachers and students". Cardinal Pell agreed that some students, one or more teachers, the principals of two Catholic colleges, some parents and the then Bishop Mulkearns all knew of the offences. If you assume, as is reasonable, that a similar degree of knowledge was replicated in even a fraction of the 1000 Catholic institutions across the country where abuse has been alleged, you start to get a handle on the extent of the cover-up. And what of Cardinal Pell's 2012 indignation that the church was not the "principal culprit", and his objection to its "being described as the only cab off the rank"? Typically, we split politicians according to the colour of their politics: red or blue, from left to right. Today, however, a far more serious divide has re-emerged. It pits authoritarian demagogues against tired, old-style politicians, and the ideologues are winning. That's because they claim to have answers for a changing and challenging world. They don't, of course, but at least they're addressing the issues and that's what voters people want to hear. They know great shifts are convulsing the fixed order and they want to know that their leaders feel their pain. That's why populist rabble-rousers, people like Donald Trump and, way before him, Silvio Berlusconi, are winning election after election, all around the world. They're easily defeating conventional politicians, the sort of people who haven't realised the world's altered fundamentally. This great shift is being driven by technology and inequality. It's powered by new media, and increasingly fuelled by fears of the future; whether this means confronting different cultures or a warmer planet and changing environment. Donald Trump is utterly convinced his political success derives from within. Credit:AP It's this that makes Trump so dangerous. Not because he's a radical outlier, but because he's exactly the reverse. Look at our own political scene. The political class's successive failures have led us to install a new prime minister almost each year and we're about to go through it all again. But it doesn't need to be this way. The very qualities people like Trump harness in their rise to power are the individual personality traits that signal "danger, danger" so strongly. He is utterly convinced his political success derives from within, because he's been right every time. Trump threw away the rule book when he took on the Republican establishment to seize the presidential nomination and nothing's changed since that moment. He rewrote the art of political campaigning by using new media to appeal to the masses over the heads of the gatekeepers in the old media. He reduced all their (my) pontification and wheezing to nothing more than a breath of air. In the meantime, he was whipping up a hurricane, shouting his pretend answers to the wind until they echoed in the heads of frustrated, angry voters. We know the world has been turned upside down when capitalist America is tearing up trade deals and communist China is promoting open borders. At the same time President Donald Trump is scuppering the Trans Pacific Partnership deal and advancing his plans for a Mexico wall and new tariffs, his counterpart in China, Xi Jinping, is adamant that "China will not shut the door to the outside world but will open it even wider." Such is the unpredictability of global trade under President Trump. And the task of making sense of this topsy-turvy new world order for Australia falls to our Trade Minister, Steven Ciobo. We've seen stellar work from this portfolio under Andrew Robb in recent years, with new trade deals clinched with China, Japan and Korea, so direct comparisons may be unfair, but the minister appears to have been caught flat-footed by Trump's withdrawal from the TPP. He's conceded that no modelling has been done on what a revised deal, without the US, would look like and he's only now talking about moving to plan B. A house collapsed, major roads slowed to a crawl, lightning strikes closed the airport and even the Salvation Army needed emergency help as a series of intense thunderstorms drenched many parts of Sydney. The Tuesday morning storm cells formed with little warning, dumping almost as much rain on the city in an hour as collected in all of January, overwhelming drains and roadways. Another bout of rain and possible storms may hit Sydney on Wednesday, although the worst of the weather may be over by morning peak hour, Weatherzone said. Tuesday's tempests had structural engineers racing to a unit complex in Ewart Street, Marrickville, after part of a 50-metre long pond at the back of the property collapsed, threatening to take the block with it. Rihab Taha, left, a caseworker for Jewish Social Services who came as an immigrant from Sudan, shops at Istanbul Market in Madison with Becca Schwartz, resettlement coordinator for JSS, and Rula, a newly arrived refugee from Syria. China's foreign minister has used a visit to Australia to downplay as "campaign rhetoric" Donald Trump's hardline stances against his country on issues such as the South China Sea, trade and Taiwan. Wang Yi, after a meeting with Foreign Minister Julie Bishop in Canberra, said that, during a phone conversation in November, then president-elect Trump said he "agreed 100 per cent" with Chinese leader Xi Jinping that the two countries' future relationship was positive. "For any sober-minded politician, they clearly recognise that there cannot be conflict between China and the United States because both will lose and both sides cannot afford that," Mr Wang said following the Australia-China foreign and strategic dialogue. "What we assess is the official policy statements made by the new administration after inauguration, not campaign rhetoric, not some remarks made years ago." Renegade senator Cory Bernardi has promised his new Australian Conservatives party will restore faith in politics, railing against the "out-of-touch political class" as he quit the Liberal Party, leaving his former colleagues fuming. His resignation has drawn withering attacks from Liberal MPs, with Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull suggesting the senator should do the honourable thing and resign from the Senate, senior South Australian colleague Simon Birmingham accusing him of a "dog act" and Liberal Senate leader George Brandis declaring he had broken faith with Liberal voters who had elected him. But the senator, who has delivered another hit to Mr Turnbull's ailing government and who was verbally carpet-bombed by furious ex-colleagues on Tuesday, has no intention of quitting. "The body politic is failing the people of Australia. It is clear that we need to find a better way. The level of public disenchantment with the major parties, the lack of confidence in our political process and the concern about the direction of our nation is very, very strong," he told the Senate, announcing his resignation. Defecting senator Cory Bernardi has told Malcolm Turnbull that his 2015 leadership coup against Tony Abbott is a key factor behind his decision to quit the Liberal Party and start his own conservative movement. The soon-to-be former Liberal senator formally informed the Prime Minister of his intentions in a phone call on Tuesday morning, after details of the move were first revealed by Fairfax Media on Monday. Senator Bernardi has now formally resigned from the party, ahead of an expected address to the Senate after midday. According to sources, Mr Turnbull asked Senator Bernardi the reasons for his departure just seven months after being re-elected for a six-year term to represent the Liberal Party in South Australia. Senator Bernardi replied he would explain his reasons to the public on Tuesday. Ominously, Senator Bernardi warned Mr Turnbull that moves were afoot to displace him because of his own poor performance in the polls a reason the Prime Minister used to justify his 2015 move against Mr Abbott. Julian McGauran. Credit:JOE CASTRO Peter Slipper The Queenslander quit the Liberals to take up the Speaker's chair in 2011, giving Julia Gillard a much-needed fillip in the finely-balanced minority Parliament. But it didn't last. Six months later, he was forced to stand aside over travel rorts and a few months after that he resigned amid sexual harassment allegations. He stood as an independent at the 2013 election but lost. Peter Slipper. Credit:Andrew Meares Mal Colston The Queensland did a similar deal to Slipper: he quit Labor to sit as an independent after John Howard's government promised to hand him the coveted position of Deputy President of the Senate. And much like Slipper, he was undone by travel rorts. He was charged with defrauding the Commonwealth in 1997 but never actually stood trial because he was suffering from terminal cancer. Mal Colston. Credit:Mike Bowers Shayne Murphy The Tasmanian was another Labor senator who quit to sit as an independent, citing his opposition to the ALP's policy on logging. His decision gave him a high-profile balance-of-power position on the crossbench - and he often voted with his former Coalition foes. But like most defectors, he just couldn't hold on to his seat, losing his spot at the 2004 election. Shayne Murphy. Credit:Paul Harris PRH Meg Lees Another Democrat leader to depart. She was the leader of the party who controversially helped John Howard introduce a GST. She subsequently lost the party's leadership and quit to sit as an independent. Much like Cory Bernardi, she had grands plans to start a new movement, forming the Australian Progressive Alliance in 2003. It was a fizzer and Lees lost her spot in Parliament a year later. 990528...News...GTidypic...RPeake story...After coming to a compromise agreement on the GST,Australian Democrats leader, Senator Meg Lees holds a media conference immediately after the PM and Treasurer held theirs. Credit:Graham Tidy Tony Windsor and Rob Oakeshott The duo both defected twice, in a sense. Both belonged to the Nationals before becoming independents at a state level. But it was their mutual decision to support Gillard's Labor in 2010 that was their undoing: their conservative electors saw it as a betrayal of their values and of their independence. Both men resigned rather than face their wrath - both attempted comebacks but failed. Labor and the Greens are set to force a Senate inquiry into Centrelink's controversial automated debt recovery system, an issue that had dogged the federal government for more than two months. The Senate will vote on a motion to establish a wide-ranging probe on Wednesday as the government continues to defend data-matching of records held by government agencies to recover millions in overpayments to welfare recipients. Labor's Doug Cameron and the Greens' Rachel Siewert gave notice of the motion on Tuesday, with Pauline Hanson's One Nation Party and the Nick Xenophon group expected to support establishment of the inquiry. The move comes as the Community and Public Sector Union plans six days of targeted industrial action over stalled enterprise-bargaining efforts and the debt-recovery controversy from next week. Rough as it is, Malcolm Turnbull can take some comfort in the sheer regularity of negative events engulfing his government because it at least ensures nothing remains front-page news for long. Whether it is incompetence, bad luck, or bad judgment, controversies glow white-hot but fade when the next disaster hovers into view. Consider the pattern. Adrift on a sea of electoral ennui since January's robo-debt/pension cuts and the MPs' expenses scandal, Turnbull moved to wrest control of national politics last Wednesday with his National Press Club speech. Yet somehow, he had chosen the very day the political donations for last year's election would become public - minus, it turned out, his own $1.75 million gift. Under intense pressure, Turnbull spilled the quantum on Wednesday night, proving the original decision to conceal it until 2018 had been naive. Hillary Clinton has declared that "the future is female" and applauded last month's women's marches in the first video statement she's made since Donald Trump's inauguration. The former Secretary of State spoke of the need for "strong women to step up and speak out" and applauded those who did so over the inauguration weekend. "Just look at the amazing energy we saw last month as women organised a march that galvanised millions of people all over our country and across the world," Clinton said in the video, which was created for the 2017 MAKERS conference. The MAKERS is a storytelling platform that promotes and celebrates women. This year, its conference has the theme "be bold," and includes speakers such as Patricia Arquette, Sophia Bush, Gloria Steinem and Sheryl Sandberg among other excellent women. Topics covered will include "changing perspectives" and "a bold you." Every awards season, fashion seems to fall head over ears in love with a star. Last year, it was Alicia Vikander with her balletic grace; this year, it is Ruth Negga with her from-another-era appeal. Far from mermaid gowns and plunging necklines - a common red carpet playbook for ingenues - Negga's style has been unconventional and inspiring. Certainly the Irish-Ethiopian actress, who is nominated for the BAFTA Rising Star Award and for an Oscar as best actress for her role in Loving, has won over her stylist, Karla Welch, who has worked with her since the Cannes Film Festival in May, with her intrepid taste. Ruth Negga, star of 'Loving', poses at the premiere of the film in Beverly Hills. Credit:CHRIS PIZZELLO "It's so interesting when you meet a true collaborator," Welch said, noting that unlike many actresses who do their best on the red carpet in a pretty gown, Negga possesses authentic style. "She grew up loving clothes and flipping through magazines. We have very little disagreement over things. It's not 100 tries to get something. She inherently knows what she feels good in." And despite that struggle, despite all the uncertainty, losing her was just as terrible as losing my parents. We expect to outlive our parents. We expect that sometime in our 30s and 40s our parents will die and we will be ready. I didn't have that time to plan my grief dad died when I was 19, mum seven years later, so it was then just my older sister, my baby brother and me. Far too soon for the three of us to be left alone to rewrite the relationships we'd inscribed as kids, negotiated again as teenagers. We were really just recovering from the deaths of our parents and we were abandoned, together. I looked for advice on how to deal with my sister's death but apart from the anodyne "time heals all wounds", there was very little explanation to be found as to why with her death, I was suddenly undone. By the time she died, I had my own family, but still the grief came for me every day. Older sisters boss you around. A lot. Even if they have no idea what your life might be like, they are always there with the advice. How to be a journalist. How to conduct a wedding ceremony. How to give birth. How to bring up children. There was never a time when we were friends, exactly. The connection was never one of equals and the relationship was far too intense to ever be playful. The closest we ever came was when she brushed my hair at night when we both still lived at home. Was it the age gap? I don't think so. I'm nearly the same distance of years apart from my brother with whom I've always been close; and for whom my tenderness and care is unrelenting. (Let me just say here that I fear he doesn't feel the same way. Baby brothers can be so annoying.) Sometimes, in my mind, I can step away from being an adult for a few moments and I blame the struggle on my parents. I rarely blame them for anything now because mostly, the responsibility is mine. But there is a flash here, a tiny glimmer to help me understand why the relationship was difficult What I will tell you next underpins so much of my life, maybe everything about me. My parents arrived here in Australia straight from a refugee camp in Austria, where they'd both ended up after the war. They set straight to work. Dad worked in ports and on building sites and Mum was a pieceworker for whichever rag trader would use her. It's a long way to the middle class from there but they were determined. Dispossession, murder, war, may have disrupted their lives but it sure as hell wasn't going to disrupt the lives of their children. But to make that journey back to what they thought might be safety, took a 12-hour, maybe 14-hour day. Every day. Every week. For decades. And so, much of the parenting was left to my sister. They did that out of love for us, out of a belief that they could make a better life for all of us if they worked and worked. And I have no regrets about that because they had a plan and a purpose. But they are both gone, and so is she. There were so many things that came between us, some real and some imagined; and some with so much grief attached, it's a wonder we ever spoke again. In her early 40s, when it became apparent that she was struggling to have children, we had a discussion about how I could help. It went on for months and for one reason or another, we decided not to proceed with either egg donation or surrogacy. I cannot tell you how quickly the frost descended but suddenly it was winter between us. When I called her, the conversations were short and awkward. When she called me, I would be filled with panic. I couldn't tell exactly why I felt panicky when she called, but one day, there was a good reason. She rang to tell me she'd been diagnosed with one illness and then another. Between her diagnosis and her death there were years, and we became close again, but not so close that she could tell me how frightened she was. I couldn't tell her either. After she died, I sat on a little, low couch with no cushions. I'm the older sister now and I'm terrible at it. I have no memories of those early days. No recipes, no names for scents, no vignettes of past troubles. If my sister were alive, she would say that I was always bossier than her, less forgiving, more demanding; exactly what older sisters are meant to be. And I would disagree. Twitter @jennaprice The Vatican has failed to support survivors of sexual abuse in the church for decades, with prominent Catholics demanding action at a royal commission. A whistleblower priest who was one of the first to report allegations of sexual abuse to the Vatican in the 1980s told the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse he was punished for speaking out. Father Thomas Doyle, an American canon lawyer, told the second day of the inquiry into Catholic Church authorities, secrecy, cover-ups and betrayal of victims were hallmarks of the institution's response to abuse. "One of the massive holes in the Roman Catholic Church's approach to this issue today is a failure to completely comprehend the spiritual damage that is done to victims, to their families . . . and the community itself," he said. The mother of a woman who was stabbed to death in a Queensland backpackers' hostel last year has publicly condemned Donald Trump for including her on a White House list of terror attacks. Mr Trump was using her daughter's killing for "insane persecution" of innocent people, Rosie Ayliffe said in a social media post. British tourists Mia Ayliffe-Chung, 20, and Tom Jackson were killed at a hostel near Townsville last August. A French national has been charged with the two murders. The deaths were included on a list of 78 "terror attacks" released by the White House on Monday, after Mr Trump told an audience at an air force base in Florida that the "very, very dishonest press" were not reporting terror attacks. Opponents of forced council amalgamations are continuing to push for a wholesale reversal of the policy despite signs the Berejiklian government is considering giving some ground on the issue. However, a meeting of the Liberal party room on Tuesday heard strong support from some MPs for the government not to back down or abandon the contentious policy, with discussion focused on the difficulty and financial cost of unravelling already merged councils. During the three-hour meeting Gladys Berejiklian emphasised she was a consultative premier who was listening, including on the issue of council amalgamations. The "overwhelming view" from MPs who spoke on the issue was to "stay the course" on the government's agenda, according to multiple sources present at the meeting. Commuters from southern parts of Sydney will face greater crowding on trains and slower journey times to work during peak hours because some services will need to stop at inner-city stations left off the map for a new $20 billion metro line. The state government has yet to reveal how it will service St Peters and Erskineville stations once the metro line opens. The stations are on three existing railway lines but only trains on the Bankstown Line stop to pick up and drop off passengers. As part of the government's metro rail project, the existing line between Bankstown and Sydenham will be converted to carry single-deck, driverless trains. The problem for residents of the inner-western suburbs is that the metro trains will not stop at St Peters or Erskineville. High-profile would-be LNP candidate Nick Behrens has lost his battle for preselection in a Labor-held inner Brisbane seat. The former Chamber of Commerce and Industry Queensland director immediately sparked speculation of a political challenge when he resigned in November. Former Chamber of Commerce and Industry Queensland director of advocacy Nick Behrens lost the ballot. Credit:Harrison Saragossi But on Tuesday night, Mr Behrens lost a ballot for preselection, going down to university lecturer and businessman Jamie Forster. Palaszczuk government minister Grace Grace holds the traditionally Labor seat after unseating the LNP's Robert Cavallucci at the 2015 poll. More than $340,000 in penalties have been dealt to the operators of a number of Japanese-style food outlets in Queensland for underpaying staff in what has been labelled "extremely serious" exploitation. Five visa-holders from Taiwan and Malaysia were found by the Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO) to have been underpaid a total of $148,710 during their time at Teppanyaki Lovers and Nigi Nigi in Brisbane CBD and Ku-O in Sunnybank between November 2011 and October 2014. Staff at six Japanese-style food outlets across Queensland were found to have been underpaid by their employees since the start of the year. The underpaid amounts ranged from $13,000-$45,000 each. Federal Circuit Court Judge Salvatore Vasta penalised Brisbane couple Lee Wee Song and Siew Lay Yeoh a total of $72,900 and their companies, Tsuyoetsu Pty Ltd and Taikuken Pty Ltd a total of $128,200 after it was found the five staff had been paid flat rates as low as $10 an hour. A man has been charged after another man was allegedly attacked with a hammer and knife in Cairns on Monday evening. A group of friends were near the intersection of Sheridan and Smith Streets about 8.15pm when a 20-year-old man was hit in the chest with a hammer and stabbed in the chest with a knife, police say. A man was attacked with a knife and hammer in Cairns, police say. The injured local ran and collapsed in a nearby street where he was found by a member of the public. He was taken to Cairns Hospital with serious injuries. A jealous man who stomped on his ex-girlfriend's head has been jailed for six years by a judge who ruled he needed deterring from offending against former partners. The man punched and stomped on the woman after forcing his way into her home on June 3 last year, the day after he sent a series of "revolting" text messages accusing her of seeing another man, and threw a log through her bedroom window. Credit:Scott Barbour That assault came just over a year after he repeatedly sent text messages to another woman, claiming he had poured brake fluid over her car and baited her horse and dog yards. He also threatened to tell her husband about a one-night stand they had. In April last year a magistrate put the man on a 12-month community corrections order for stalking the first woman, an order he breached when on June 2 he confronted the second woman about her relationship with another man. Melbourne's beaches are likely to be off-limits and unsafe for swimming until at least Wednesday, when temperatures are set to soar into the mid 30s. Port Phillip Bay's 36 beaches have been unsuitable for swimming since Monday, after Sunday night's giant downpour washed faecal matter and other pathogens into the bay. Despite an EPA warning of poor water quality, people were still swimming at St Kilda beach on Wednesday. Credit:Justin McManus The situation was unchanged by Tuesday, after the Environmental Protection Authority downgraded the water quality rating to poor on Monday morning when a month's worth of rain fell on certain parts of the state. EPA group manager of applied sciences Dr Anthony Boxshall warned that beachgoers were at risk of both infection and gastroenteritis and said the situation was unlikely to improve until Wednesday afternoon. That's it for Melbourne Express. We will leave you with a great photograph of photographers trying to capture Melbhenge last night in La Trobe Street by Age picture editor Leigh Henningham. Check in with Express tomorrow when we will know the next Moomba monarch. Former Prime Minister Tony Abbott is the headline act at a Victorian Liberals fundraising dinner, which has been described as a "rallying point" for socially conservative party members in the state. Mr Abbott will be the guest of honour at a $65 dollar-a-head Deakin 200 Club and Victorian Business Branch fundraiser next month. Former prime minister Tony Abbott will be a guest at a Liberal party fundraiser in Victoria. Credit:Getty Images A special pre-dinner drinks event for 22 people with Mr Abbott, costing $500 a ticket is nearly sold out. There has been concern in the Victorian branch about a push to recruit socially conservative people to the party. A 41-year-old woman is in an induced coma in Royal Melbourne Hospital after a driver being pursued by police crashed into her car on Monday night. Victoria Police Assistant Commissioner Doug Fryer defended the decision to pursue the driver on Preston's Bell Street in Melbourne's north-east after the 31-year-old man was seen driving erratically and narrowly missed hitting a police car. The victim, who has a punctured lung and fractured ribs, was driving through a green light on Victoria Street at 11.20pm with one teenage passenger when her car was T-boned by the fleeing white ute. The driver of the ute, which had fraudulent number plates, is known to police and had already been disqualified from driving. The WA Liberals have been accused of playing catch-up politics by matching the opposition's pledge to hand methamphetamine traffickers life jail terms. But Police Minister Liza Harvey says her party's $190 million strategy to combat the drug is superior because it is multi-pronged, whereas life sentences on their own don't do much. Both parties try to attract voters with a hard stance on methamphetamine dealers. Ms Harvey dismissed Labor's plan to lift the maximum sentence for anyone caught with more than 28 grams from 25 years to life on Friday as headline-grabbing and pointless because the judiciary don't tend to award maximum penalties. But she surprised on Sunday when she unveiled the detailed Liberal policy, which includes a four-tier mandatory sentencing regime for dealers, telling reporters her party would also imprison serious traffickers for life. A joint operation aimed at deterring criminality at major WA ports has resulted in dozens of ID checks and vessels being boarded for compliance inspections. Sixty-six maritime security identification cards and personal IDs were recorded and 31 international crew members were also checked before they took shore leave as part of the operation. Four vessels were also boarded for compliance checks. Federal and state officials carried out the operation at the ports of Dampier and Port Hedland between January 30 and February 3. Berlin: The European Union could freeze member country Poland's voting rights unless it changes course and agrees to stick to the rule of law, European Commission Vice President Jyrki Katainen said on Monday. Jaroslaw Kaczynski, head of Poland's ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party, maintained his eurosceptic tone, however, telling a German newspaper he agreed with US President Donald Trump's view that the EU was primarily serving the interests of Germany. Katainen told Reuters that he hoped German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who will meet with Polish leaders including Kaczynski in Warsaw on Tuesday, would help convince them to "follow the basic values on which the whole EU and Europe has been built". "We cannot make compromises on the rule of law. You either follow the rule of law or you don't. If you don't, then Europe cannot stay quiet," Katainen, a former prime minister of Finland, said in an interview. Jerusalem: The Israeli Parliament passed a contentious law late on Monday that allows the state to seize land privately owned by Palestinians in the West Bank and grant the properties to Jewish settlements for their exclusive use. The measure is designed to protect homes in Jewish settlements, built on private Palestinian property "in good faith or at the state's instruction" from possible court-ordered evacuation and demolition. It comes in the wake of a court-ordered forced eviction last week of 40 families living in the Amona settlement. Lawyers with the Israeli human rights group Yesh Din ("There is Law") successfully argued that the land was owned by Palestinians in the nearby village of Silwad. The Amona settlers said God had promised the land to the Jews and denied the Arab claims. The Israeli Supreme Court ordered the settlement demolished. It took 3000 police to clear the isolated hilltop of radical youth, who threw excrement, bleach and rocks at the officers. London: The jury deciding Rolf Harris's guilt on seven charges of groping young women and girls has been told they may return majority verdicts. Judge Alistair McCreath gave the direction on Tuesday morning at the beginning of the jury's fourth day of deliberations at Southwark Crown Court in London. Harris has pleaded not guilty to groping girls aged 12, 13, 14 and 16, and three adult women including one who was blind. He was given a small ray of hope on Tuesday, when the jury found him not guilty on one alternative charge of assaulting the 12 year-old, outside a radio station in Portsmouth. First lady Melania Trump has re-filed a libel lawsuit against the Daily Mail after the website published, then retracted, rumours she once worked as a high-end escort. Mrs Trump had previously filed the lawsuit against Mail Media, the owner of the Daily Mail, in Maryland, but a judge earlier this month ruled the case shouldn't be filed in Maryland and dismissed it. A lawyer for the first lady argued in a lawsuit filed on Monday that an article falsely alleging she once worked for an escort service hurt her chance to establish "multimillion-dollar business relationships" during the years in which she would be "one of the most photographed women in the world." The suit, filed on Monday in New York State Supreme Court in Manhattan against Mail Media said the article published by the Daily Mail and its online division last August caused Mrs Trump's brand to lose "significant value" as well as "major business opportunities that were otherwise available to her." The suit noted that the article had damaged Mrs Trump's "unique, once in a lifetime opportunity" to "launch a broad-based commercial brand." Two Sydney sisters have told of hearing a couple being attacked on a Kuta beach but said they were scared of reporting it at the time because they were fearful of being detained in Bali. However Kim Watson and Coleen Bowen said they felt it was their duty to return to Bali to testify in Byron Bay woman Sara Connor's murder trial after hearing she had been accused of being involved in the death of a Bali policeman. "We were shocked because it did seem the opposite way - like they were in a lot of trouble and fighting for their lives," Ms Watson said outside the Denpasar District Court. "We only heard, we didn't see anything but it seemed like they were fighting for their lives." For full functionality of this site it is necessary to enable JavaScript. Here are the instructions how to enable JavaScript in your web browser PHILIPSBURG:--- A series of five preparatory workshops is being organized by the Student Support Services Division (SSSD) of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Youth & Sport Affairs for all students who are seeking study financing to further their studies in the Netherlands. The workshops were first developed by SSSD in 2013, at the request of then Minister of Education Ms. Silveria Jacobs, and is in its fifth consecutive year. These interactive and themed workshops, which are slated to start on February 7, 2017 and run until June, are designed to address many of the issues that our students face while pursuing their studies in the Netherlands and to equip them to be successful. The workshops will be held on February 7, March 7, April 11, May 23 and June 7 from 5:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. at the University of St. Martin. The sessions will cover topics such as assessing and adjusting expectations, familiarization with the new environment and what to expect, increasing motivation, Dutch language skills, dealing with feelings of sadness or missing home, weather etc. Issues that can impact Educational success will be the focus of these interactive sessions, SSSD officials stated. The workshops are spread out so that the students have more time to think about and relate to the information that is being presented, SSSD officials said. They added that attendance at the workshops is mandatory for study financing applicants and Division Study Financing officials will be in attendance to provide additional support where needed. All students who applied for study financing via the Division Study Financing to further their studies in the Netherlands are urged to make an effort to attend all of the sessions. Division Study Financing will be in contact with all students regarding the dates of the workshops. Should you have any questions about the workshops, please contact the Student Support Services Division at Tel: 543-1235. Claim: A girl's unusual medical condition led to the discovery that the boy she'd been intimate with had been having sex with (or eating) corpses. Rating: About this rating False Advertisment: In June 2010, the Malta Independent reported on a gruesome tale which had recently been sweeping that island: This story has been doing the rounds all over the island over the past week or so, and many people believed it but, when pressed, all they could say was that they knew someone who knew someone who knew the girl, etc. Media reports about sexual intercourse with corpses in the Mater Dei mortuary were denied and condemned by Mater Dei Hospital management. Favourite News had reported that a former worker at the Mater Dei mortuary had had sexual intercourse with corpses and, as a result, a woman who had had a sexual relationship with him had suffered from a sexually transmitted disease. The story, which is also doing the rounds on some social networking sites on the internet, said that the woman had been hospitalised in a serious condition. Mater Dei Hospital management said in a statement that the story was unfounded. "Mater Dei Hospital Management denies all these facts and condemns the circulation of such unfounded morbid news which is causing great pressure on the staff who work in the Hospital Mortuary," it said. This salacious mortuary rumor was just another iteration of a years-old urban legend, one which we originally wrote about back in 2001 and has been expressed in many forms: [Collected via e-mail, 2001] A girl has just started having sex with her ex-partner again. After a few days she starts feeling itchy in her privates. Se goes to the doctor's thinking she must of caught a sd off her ex. The doctor examines her and tells her he will have to phone the police. She is in shock and asks why. The doctor replies that she has maggots inside her vagina and the only way that can happen is if she or her partner is having sex with dead people too which she replies her ex works in the morgue. [Collected via e-mail, 2002] A friend of mine essentially told me the following story. He says he knows a girl whose sister is a real slut. She's at a party and meets a guy, and winds up giving the guy a blowjob. They part ways. Two days later, she's developed a rash around her mouth. She goes to the doctor and he takes some samples and tells her to find the guy. She goes back to the house where the party took place, and the guy who lives there tells her her boy's at work, and gives her the address. When she gets there she sees he works at a funeral parlor, but there's a big funeral going on, so she decides she'll contct him later. That night she gets a call from her doctor. He tells her that the rash is caused by a kind of louse that is most commonly found in the bodies of the recently deceased. When she goes to confront the necrophiliac the next day, she is told that he has died of an untreatable parasitic infection. [Collected via e-mail, 2003] A young girl from central London went to visit her doctor regarding a genital rash. The doctors were unsure of the cause so took routine swabs and blood samples for testing. She was recalled the following week and asked to repeat the tests. She was concerned that the doctors had become increasingly coy about the whole mater and that she was asked not to talk to anyone else about it. She was later stunned when the police arrived on her doorstep asking questions regarding her sex life. It turns out that a bacteria has been found that only occurs on dead bodies. It was later discovered that her boyfriend, who worked at the local underatakers had been "overly-friendly" with his "customers" and passed the infection onto her. Her boyfriend was subsequently jailed. Every society has its taboos, and engaging in sexual acts with the dead is one of our big ones. It seems only fitting that disgusting acts should carry their own penalty, something that repays the perpetrator for his perfidy. The notion of such contacts leaving the deviant's genitals crawling with maggots satisfies our urge to see justice in kind. Yet this legend is an expression of misdirected retribution because it is the necrophiliac's next living partner who ends up with the infestation. Sexual juvenilia is rife with tales of icky punishments visited upon those who engage in kinky practices, but this particular legend stands out because the one suffers the consequence is the innocent party. Unlike the girl in the "Mayo Clinic" legend, whose creative use of tuna during oral sex results in a vaginal infestation of maggots, the young lady in this story pays a horrifying price for her partner's misdeeds, not her own. Her boyfriend's disgusting secret comes to light in an awful fashion: The gal is left not only with horrifying knowledge of someone she previously trusted, but with the tangible (and wriggling) mementos of his act. Could such a scenario play out in real life? No. Despite what some versions of this legend would have you believe, there is no special "corpse worm" whose presence on the living would immediately announce close contact with the dead. That flourish is part of the legend because through it the disillusioned girlfriend comes to find out what her boyfriend has been up to. Without this contrived plot device, she would not otherwise discover his indulgence in necrophilia. The "worms" we associate with death aren't worms at all; they're ordinary maggots, which themselves are the larvae of flies. (Earthworms are entirely innocent of the rap that's been hung on them; they have little interest in dead bodies even though what could have been their dinner is delivered to them through our practice of burying the dead.) Flies are attracted to the smell of decomposition, and after feasting herself, Mama Fly will happily lay her eggs on any fine food sources she encounters to give her young ones the best possible start in the world. Those eggs hatch out as maggots and immediately set to doing what all young ones do, which is eat. Hence, corpses wriggling with "worms." Though we associate worms with corpses (thanks, in part, to macabre schoolchild chants featuring lines such as "The worms crawl in, the worms crawl out ..."), deceased humans do not magically erupt with such critters; they have to come into contact with a pregnant fly. There are few opportunities for this in a morgue or the embalming room of a funeral home. If the boyfriend had been having sex with the inhabitants of a morgue, he wouldn't have come into contact with maggots. The story also flunks the logic test both with his failure to notice his penis crawling with "worms" and with his (living) girlfriend's failure to notice anything amiss with his equipment. Versions of this legend that circulated in April 2009 were set in typical Spring Break locales (e.g., Jamaica, Florida) and changed the nature of the dark secret from necrophilia to cannibalism: Unsuspecting girls come down with puzzling medical conditions (e.g., fungi, lesions, sores) developed from having intimate contact with young men who don't merely have sex with corpses, but who actually eat them the legend thereby intimating that these girls risked not just their health but their very lives through their injudicious flirting: So this girl goes to Panama City, Florida for vacation. She meets a guy and the kiss. He then asks her if she wants to go on a date but she says no because she is going home soon. A couple weeks later she goes to the doctor because she has sores on her mouth and thinks it it a STD. The doctor says that it is not a STD. It is a bacterial infection caused from eating decaying flesh. The girl gives the doctor the guy's contact information. The doctor call the Florida Police and the police check the guy and he is eating two girls that he killed. i have a story to tell you that i hope you will pass along, it happened to a girl that goes to Parkland...close to home!!! So, 7 friends went to Jamaica and went to this same local club every night they were there. 1 of the girls kept making out with one of the locals every single night and every night he would ask her to come home with him. She refused every night and her last night there he gave her his name, number, and address and left the option open to her to come meet him at his house. Well, she never went... thankfully! She got back to the states and a few days later, she found red welts around her mouth, her chest, and neck and she didn't know what the heck it was. She went to the doc and he was surprised because he said he has NEVER seen "it", but only read about "it". He asked if she'd maybe kissed the locals and any other contact... she said yes. He asked if she had his contact info because the authorities need to be contacted IMMEDIATELY! She asked why? He said, because the local you were making contact with is a CANIBAL! WOW!! Turns out, the authorities raided his house and found 4 dead bodies of Jamaican club-goers. Isn't that creepy?! I had to tell you ladies so that you can pass it along, Amanda's close friend was on the trip to Jamaica with the young lady. CRAZY people are still real!!! An intern's friend's friend said that she was in Panama City over spring break and made out with this guy at a local bar. They texted, he invited her back to his place repeatedly and she said no. When she got back to Michigan she developed a sore on her lip and went to the doctor who then called the FBI. The sore was a fungus that only occurs because of cannibalism. She then went to Florida with the FBI and they trapped the "cannibal" and found 3 dead bodies in his apartment. here is a story going around locally (Cedar Falls, Iowa) about a teenage girl that went to Miami on Spring Break. She had a romantic encounter with a local man. Upon returning home she sought medical care for a rash or mark on the side of her face by her mouth. She was met by police when she received her test results stating there was an enzyme found from her face site that is only left by cannibals. She gave the man's info. to the police. The man was investigated in Miami and and 2 dead bodies were found at this man's home. If we divorce ourselves from the ickier aspects of this legend (which isn't easy with a story built around maggots, vaginal infestations, necrophilia, and cannibalism), we can see this as a cautionary tale about the dangers of incautious intimacy with those we don't know well, perhaps more broadly expressive of our misgivings about what even our long-term partners might be keeping hidden from us. Variations: SEB Closes Equity Financing Totaling $5,005,308 MISSISSAUGA, ONTARIO (Marketwired) 02/06/17 Smart Employee Benefits Inc. (SEB or the Company) (TSX VENTURE: SEB) announces that is has closed a third and final tranche of its equity offering (the Offering). Aggregate gross proceeds were $5,005,308 of which insiders contributed $2,010,308, the majority from companies owned or controlled by the CEO of SEB. Aggregate proceeds of $1,800,863 were raised on this third tranche closing. 9,004,315 units (each a Unit) were issued at a price of $0.20 per Unit. Each Unit consists of one common share of the Company and one transferable common share purchase warrant of the Company (a Warrant). Each Warrant is exercisable into one common share of the Company at a price of $0.30 per share and has a term of 18 months from the date of issuance. Approximately $705,863 of the subscriptions on this third tranche was from Company insiders. Finders for the aggregated Offering were paid cash compensation of $118,500, which is equal to 7% of the gross proceeds they assisted with under the Offering, as well as 595,000 finder warrants (each a Finder Warrant), which is equal to 7% of the number of Units sold they assisted with pursuant to the Offering. Each Finder Warrant entitles the finder to acquire one Unit at an exercise price of $0.20 per Unit and has a term of 18 months from the date of issuance. All securities issued in connection with this third tranche of the Offering will be subject to a four-month hold period expiring June 4, 2017. Proceeds from this third tranche of the Offering will be used for repayment of debt and working capital purposes. About SEB Smart Employee Benefits Inc.s global infrastructure is comprised of two operating divisions: Technology and Benefits. The Technology Division currently serves corporate and government clients across Canada and internationally. The Benefits Division focuses on offering SAAS and BPO processing solutions in the Health Benefits Sector to corporate and government clientele. The Benefits Division operates as a client of the Technology Division. The Technology Division is a critical competitive advantage in supporting the implementation of SEBs benefits processing solutions into client environments. Benefits Processing is a high-growth specialty practice area. The core expertise of both divisions is providing software, solutions and services which automate business processes. SEB utilizes proprietary software solutions combined with solutions of third parties through joint ventures and technology partnerships. Acquisitions, white label joint ventures, channel partnerships, and RFP wins will continue to be dominant influences in driving growth in both divisions. For further information about SEB, please visit . The statements made in this release that are not historical facts contain forward-looking information that involves risks and uncertainties. All statements, including statements regarding the Companys areas of focus, other than statements of historical facts, which address the Companys expectations, should be considered as forward-looking statements and therefore subject to various risks and uncertainties. The words may, will, could, should, would, suspect, outlook, believe, plan, anticipate, estimate, expect, intend, forecast, objective, hope and continue (or the negative thereof), and words and expressions of similar import, are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements are based on knowledge of the environment in which the Company currently operates, but because of the factors listed herein, as well as other factors beyond the Companys control, actual results may differ materially from the expectations expressed in the forward-looking statements. Investors are cautioned not to put undue reliance on forward-looking statements. The Company undertakes no obligation, and does not intend, to update, revise or otherwise publicly release any revisions to these forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof, or to reflect the occurrence of any unanticipated events, other than as required by applicable law. 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: MEDIA AND INVESTOR CONTACT: John McKimm President/CEO/CIO Office (888) 939-8885 x 354 Cell (416) 460-2817 UpGuard Back on Home Soil, Opens Local Office and Expands Operations in APAC MOUNTAIN VIEW, CA (Marketwired) 02/06/17 UpGuard () today announced the opening of an APAC office located in Sydney, in addition to key new local hires in sales and engineering to support the growth in the region. UpGuard, the worlds first cyber resilience platform, got its start at , an Australian accelerator program in 2012. After attracting the attention of investors, including Square Peg Capital and Valar Ventures, co-CEOs Mike Baukes and Alan Sharp-Paul shifted operations to Silicon Valley, where the business has continued to grow more than 300% year over year and now counts Rackspace, Ulta, Citrix, Amadeus, PGI and ADP among its customers. The APAC market has also continued to grow steadily since 2012, and after a strong year in the retail, technology and financial spaces, as well as in the company by Australias largest general insurer IAG, they made the decision to reinvest significantly in the region. Weve always remained connected to the Australian market, where it all began for us, Baukes said. But with more and more companies back home recognizing that robust cyber risk management is critical to their survival and success, we want to ensure we are set up to manage the demand. Were excited to expand our local presence and continue taking advantage of homegrown talent. Among new hires in the region are Gerry Sillars, formerly SVP of Alcatel-Lucent who will take up the role of VP, APAC, and Dan Bradbury, formerly a GM at the Commonwealth Bank, who will take on the role of VP, Product, APAC. While Sillars will be focused on expanding business operations in the region, Bradbury will be working on the development of cyber insurance-related products as well as building a local development center in Australia. Ive admired the work UpGuard has done over the past few years to improve the cyber resilience of some of the worlds leading companies, Sillars said. Im excited to join the team and lead their efforts back in the country where they got their start, and where the need for these types of solutions is growing rapidly. With cyber risk moving up the priority list in boardrooms everywhere, UpGuard, along with its partners, is well-positioned to have a major impact on the way businesses do business, and Im excited to be a part of that, Bradbury said. Having worked in the finance industry for many years, Im looking forward to taking that knowledge to the emerging cyber insurance space here in Australia, which is a big focus for UpGuard. Businesses depend on trust, but breaches and outages erode that trust. UpGuard is the worlds first cyber resilience platform, designed to proactively assess and manage the business risks posed by technology. UpGuard gathers complete information across every digital surface, stores it in a single, searchable repository, and provides continuous validation and insightful visualizations so companies can make informed decisions. UpGuard is headquartered in Mountain View, CA with offices in Portland, OR. To see how UpGuard works, or to get your CSTAR rating, visit Rachel Shepheard upguard[at]launchsquad[dot]com 415-625-8555 Skycure Experts to Present Vulnerabilities in Mobile Containers at RSA 2017 PALO ALTO, CA (Marketwired) 02/06/17 , the leader in mobile threat defense, today announced that the co-founders of Skycure will present the companys latest mobile threat discovery at the RSA Conference USA 2017 next week in San Francisco. The presentation, titled Mobile ContainersThe Good, the Bad and the Ugly will discuss mobile containers and their inherent limitations, from app level to OS level containers. As part of the presentation and in coordination with Google, the presenters will discuss issues recently uncovered within the work features in Android (formerly Android for Work) and provide a demonstration of techniques used by attackers to bypass the secure separation built into such a solution. , co-founder and CEO of Skycure, and Yair Amit, co-founder and CTO of Skycure, are world-class security experts that have been among the top speakers on mobile exploits at RSA for the past several years. They are the experts that revealed the Android vulnerability at last years RSA USA conference which affected more than one billion users, and disclosed the vulnerability in their 2015 RSA USA presentation. Sharabani and Amit have also identified some of the most-discussed mobile device vulnerabilities of the past few years, such as , , , , and . Adi Sharabani led the security of IBM software products after the acquisition of Watchfire, a pioneer in the field of application security. Yair Amit has been active in the security industry for more than a decade and leads Skycures research and vision and oversees its R&D center. Adi and Yair are top-rated speakers at known worldwide security conferences, such as RSA and OWASP. WHAT: Mobile ContainersThe Good, the Bad and the Ugly For more information on the session, please visit: WHEN: Friday, February 17, 11:30 a.m. 12:15 p.m. PT WHERE: Moscone Center South, Room 307 San Francisco, CA 94103 For details and to learn more about how Skycure Mobile Threat Defense protects organizations and prevents cyber attacks without compromising the mobile user experience or privacy, visit . is the leader in. Skycures platform offers unparalleled depth of threat intelligence to predict, detect and protect against the broadest range of existing and unknown threats. Skycures predictive technology uses a layered approach that leverages massive crowd-sourced threat intelligence, in addition to both device- and server-based analysis, to proactively protect mobile devices from malware, network threats, and app/OS vulnerability exploits. Skycure Research Labs have identified some of the most-discussed mobile device vulnerabilities of the past few years, including Accessibility Clickjacking, No iOS Zone, Malicious Profiles, Invisible Malicious Profiles, WifiGate and LinkedOut. The company is backed by Foundation Capital, Shasta Ventures, Pitango Venture Capital, New York Life, Mike Weider, Peter McKay, Lane Bess, and other strategic investors. Contact: Chris Fucanan AquaLab PR for Skycure (916) 684-9781 Calian Reports on the Election of Directors Voting Results OTTAWA, ONTARIO (Marketwired) 02/06/17 The following matter was voted upon at the Annual and Special Meeting of Shareholders of CALIAN GROUP LTD. (TSX: CGY) (Calian or the Corporation) held on February 3, 2017 in Ottawa, Ontario. This and other matters voted upon are described in greater detail in the Notice of Annual and Special Meeting of Shareholders dated December 22, 2016 and Management Proxy Circular dated December 2, 2016. Detailed results of the vote for the election of directors are set out below. About Calian Calian employs over 2,700 people with offices and projects that span Canada, U.S. and international markets. The companys capabilities are diverse with services delivered through two divisions. The Business and Technology Services (BTS) Division is headquartered in Ottawa and includes the provision of business and technology services to industry, public and government in the health, training, engineering and IT services domains. Calians Systems Engineering Division (SED) located in Saskatoon plans, designs and implements complex communication systems for many of the worlds space agencies and leading satellite manufacturers and operators. SED also provides contract manufacturing services for both private sector and military customers in North America. Contacts: Kevin Ford President and Chief Executive Officer 613-599-8600 Jacqueline Gauthier Chief Financial Officer 613-599-8600 CORRECTION IOTAS PORTLAND, OR (Marketwired) 02/06/17 In the news release, IOTAS Names Tim Enwall, Former Head of Nest Labs and CEO of Revolv, to Board of Directors, issued earlier today by IOTAS, we are advised by the company that in the headline and first sentence of the first paragraph it should read former head of Strategy for Nest Labs rather than former head of Nest Labs as originally issued. Complete corrected text follows. PORTLAND, OR Feb 6, 2017 , an innovator in premier smart apartment technology, today announced that Tim Enwall, former head of Strategy for Nest Labs and former CEO of Revolv, has joined the companys board of directors. Additionally, Haley Taylor, a co-founder and former head of Engineering and Product at Revolv, will serve as a consultant to IOTAS. I am honored to have Tim join our board. His extensive industry experience, as well as his knowledge of building and growing an Internet of Things (IoT) company, will be valuable to IOTAS as we address the need of property owners and developers to offer smart, connected home solutions in the rental market, said Sce Pike, founder and CEO of IOTAS. Tim has already added value to our team, introducing us to Haley, who brings strong technical expertise in the smart home market. Tims and Haleys expertise, combined with that of current board member Dennis Wilde, who is known for his innovations in the real estate development market, gives our team the edge to strategically expand the footprint of our Smart Apartment Platform deployments. With its Smart Apartment Platform, IOTAS enables property owners and developers to quickly and easily deliver a complete connected home experience for technology-savvy renters. Unlike many point solutions on the market today, the IOTAS platform supports a wide variety of smart, connected devices smart switches, outlets, thermostats, presence control devices and sensors that are installed during new construction or retrofits, as well as add-on products like Nest, Google Home and Amazon Alexa. IOTAS delivers benefits to both property owners and renters. Property managers can use the IOTAS platform to control vacant units and common areas through a centralized dashboard, as well as deliver premium smart home services that improve their bottom line. And, residents can manage their homes from anywhere in the world using the IOTAS Home app, which supports various aspects of day-to-day life, from lighting and temperature control to voice integration, door locks and more. The IOTAS Smart Apartment Platform was recently recognized as a for its unique ability to roll out a scalable IoT solution for todays highly competitive rental market. The path to mass adoption of the smart home is through fully packaged solutions, like the IOTAS platform, which is quickly gaining traction in the multifamily dwelling market because of its focus on the needs of both the building owner and occupant, said Enwall. Im excited to join the IOTAS board for two reasons: The great potential of the IOTAS platform for transforming the smart rental home market, potentially reaching one-third of U.S. consumers who are not homeowners; and the passion, energy and entrepreneurial spirit that Sce displays in her leadership of the company as it taps into that potential. IOTAS, which stands for IoT as a Service, is a Portland, Ore.-based developer of a smart home platform for the rental market. The company enables property developers to easily and quickly install smart outlets, switches, thermostats, door locks, sensors and more by streamlining the set-up and deployment process. With this premium offering, building owners and operators can attract new tenants and premium rents, while lowering utility and management costs. IOTAS, which was founded in 2014, is venture funded by Creative Ventures, Portland Seed Fund, National Science Foundation and Oregon Best. For more information, visit . Theresa Maloney Cogenta Communications for IOTAS +1 415-225-5261 Aurora Solar Technologies Receives Order from NEXXERGY for Cell Optimization System in China NORTH VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA (Marketwired) 02/07/17 Aurora Solar Technologies Inc. (Aurora)(Company)(TSX VENTURE: ACU)(OTCBB: AACTF)(FSE: A82) is pleased to announce that it has received an order from NEXXERGY International Ltd., Hong Kong, an affiliate of the EXXERGY Group, for a portable Decima 3T with Veritas software for solar cell production characterization after diffusion and process optimization. The order will be deployed by a confidential customer in mainland China to characterize photovoltaic cells after diffusion and to optimize cell efficiency through downstream process optimization. It has been a strong team effort between Aurora and the EXXERGY Group to support the first company in China deploying this new optimization approach. Our joint effort, the ease-of-use of the system, the revolutionary Veritas software, the repeatability of the measurement results, and the increasing number of Aurora installations outside of China helped us close an order we are very proud of, said EXXERGY CEO Thomas C. Sauer. We are very pleased to work with the EXXERGY Group and this large customer in China to create significant exposure for our Decima 3T with Veritas software, said Michael Heaven, CEO of Aurora. This order creates a new channel for us in China to deliver value-added services to the major players in the photovoltaic industry, he continued. About the EXXERGY Group: The EXXERGY Group is a network of leading expert consultants for the renewable energy industry and for the glass industry headquartered in Grafelfing and in Frankfurt, Germany. EXXERGY supports manufacturers in the photovoltaic space in technical and production optimization for enhanced productivity, in defining effective strategies, in organizational development and in change management. NEXXERGY International is a trading company based in Hong Kong that is part of the EXXERGY group assisting clients in strategic purchasing of modules, inverters, energy storage systems and transformers. For more information, please see and . About Aurora: Aurora Solar Technologies Inc. produces a family of measurement and control solutions which allow solar cell producers to improve manufacturing yield, lower costs, decrease waste and attain higher margins. Headquartered in North Vancouver, Canada, and founded by experienced leaders in process measurement, semiconductor manufacturing and industrial automation, the Companys shares are listed on the TSX Venture Exchange and trade under the symbol ACU. The Company was formerly ACT Aurora Control Technologies. For more information, Auroras website is located at . 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. Some statements in this news release contain forwardlooking information. These statements address future events and conditions and, as such, involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the statements. The Company does not assume the obligation to update any forwardlooking statement. Contacts: For further information about the EXXERGY Group contact: Thomas C. Sauer President & CEO EXXERGY GmbH +49-69-9510319-0 For further information about Aurora Solar Technologies cont Michael Heaven, P.Eng., MBA President & Chief Executive Officer Aurora Solar Technologies Inc. +1 (778) 241-5000 Investor Relations contact: Nina Lafleur +1 (604) 679-9964 Fluxwerx Fold Wins iF DESIGN AWARD 2017 VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA (Marketwired) 02/07/17 Editors Note: There is a photo associated with this press release Fluxwerx, a Lumenpulse Group brand and a world leader of high performance, LED luminaires for commercial and institutional spaces, is the winner of this years world-renowned iF DESIGN AWARD. The winning product Fold, an innovative suspended LED luminaire that delivers low brightness, flexible general lighting through a hollow luminous aperture was awarded the prize by a 58-member jury, made up of independent design and engineering experts from around the world. The competition was intense for this highly sought-after international designation that recognizes product design excellence, with over 5,500 products entries submitted from 59 countries, all challenging to receive the prestigious seal of quality. Were very honored and proud to have been awarded the 2017 iF Design Award, said Tim Berman, President of Fluxwerx. It is our goal to continuously innovate and push limits to deliver luminaires that merge the very best in LED performance, industrial design and sustainability. Fold does exactly that it is a perfect combination of modern form, advanced technology, creative engineering and an obsessive attention to detail. This prestigious award is a validation of our efforts, elevating Fluxwerx to yet another level of international recognition and competitiveness. The Fold linear LED pendant luminaire, with its unique void aperture, delivers unparalleled longitudinal transparency right through the fixture. The luminaire features proprietary anidolic extraction optics with low brightness and high-performance continuous lenses that mix and disperse light, eliminating any visible images of the LED point source, resulting in a complete absence of glare. Combining minimalist aesthetic and organic form, Folds finely detailed architecture makes it a perfect fit for contemporary-styled commercial applications. The luminaire is available with several versions of sculptural aluminum endcap options and numerous exterior finishes including clear anodized aluminum and standard or custom RAL powdercoat paint choices. Providing dimmable direct and indirect lighting, Fold can be installed as a stand-alone luminaire or connected to create continuous runs without limitations. The iF design competition is clearly attracting some of the best companies and designers around the world. The arduous task of the judges is to identify the best products so that we can celebrate and revere them, and give consumers and retailers a sense of confidence, notes Paul Flowers, Chief Design Officer, LIXIL Water Technology Group, UK. When a product receives an iF award, it really stands for a clear intention, quality of execution, quality materials, and a unique quality of design thinking. Since 1953, the iF DESIGN AWARD has been awarded annually by Germanys oldest independent design organization, Hannover-based iF International Forum Design GmbH. An entity recognized as an arbiter of quality for exceptional design, it is comprised of a panel of independent experts that assesses each entry strictly and fairly, live and on site, according to a specific set of criteria including degree of innovation, formal quality, functionality and ecological compatibility. The iF label is renowned worldwide for outstanding design services, and the iF DESIGN AWARD is one of the most important design prizes in the world. Additional information about Fold can be found at: Editors Notes: About Fluxwerx: Fluxwerx is a manufacturer of innovative, high-performance, LED luminaires for the general lighting of commercial and institutional spaces, such as office, education and healthcare. Founded in 2011, Fluxwerx has quickly established itself at the forefront of LED lighting technology, with a distinctive product offering and breakthrough proprietary anidolic optics technology that offers substantial energy savings, lighting quality, and remarkable lifetime. The company was acquired by the Lumenpulse Group in 2016. About the iF DESIGN AWARD Since over 60 years, the iF DESIGN AWARD has been recognized as an arbiter of quality for exceptional design.The iF label is renowned worldwide for outstanding design services, and the iF DESIGN AWARD is one of the most important design prizes in the world. Submissions are awarded in the following disciplines: Product,Packaging, Communication and Service Design, Architecture and Interior Architecture as well as Professional Concepts. All awarded entries are featured on the iF WORLD DESIGN GUIDE, in the iF design app and are displayed at the iF design exhibition Hamburg. About Lumenpulse Group Founded in 2006, the Lumenpulse Group designs, develops, manufactures and sells a wide range of high performance and sustainable specification-grade LED lighting solutions for commercial, institutional and urban environments. The Lumenpulse Group is a leading pure-play specification-grade LED lighting solutions provider and has earned many awards and recognitions, including several Product Innovation Awards (PIA), three Next Generation Luminaires Design Awards, two Red Dot Product Design Awards and a Lightfair Innovation Award. The Lumenpulse Group now has 653 employees worldwide, with corporate headquarters in Montreal, Canada, and offices in Vancouver, Quebec City, Boston, Paris, Florence, London and Manchester. Lumenpulse Inc., which is the parent company within the Lumenpulse Group, is listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol LMP. For more information, visit . To view the photo associated with this press release, please visit the following link: Contacts: For further information about Fluxwerx: Kristina Kinakin Marketing Communications 1.604.549.9379 x 126 For further information about the Lumenpulse Group: Andreanne Sirois-Carey Public Relations Manager 1.514.937.3003 x 294 Republican Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald says he doesnt see a lot of excitement for Gov. Scott Walkers proposed tuition cut for University of Wisconsin System students. Coupled with skepticism of the idea from Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, Fitzgeralds comments indicate the tuition cut one piece of the governors 2017-19 state budget proposal will likely face resistance in the Legislature. Walker will unveil his plans to increase funding for Wisconsins public universities during visits to UWs La Crosse, Eau Claire and Green Bay campuses on Tuesday, his office said. Walker has said he will propose cutting tuition for all in-state undergraduate students in the budget he releases Wednesday. He hasnt said how large a cut he will propose, but said it would be replaced by increased state funding. Vos said last month that he would rather see money go toward aid that would help more poor students, rather than everyone. Fitzgerald, R-Juneau, says he remains concerned about the rising cost of student fees. Fitzgerald says he didnt have a lot of people say cutting tuition across the board was a great idea. Along with funding to make up for the tuition cut, Walker has said he will increase state support for the UW System in his budget proposal, with the new money tied to certain performance measures that he has not yet detailed. The System asked lawmakers for $42.5 million in new state funding over the two-year budget. Also Monday, Fitzgerald said is unwilling to get behind Walkers proposal to increase spending on K-12 schools by $649 million. And he told reporters he knows that some other Republican senators wont support it. Fitzgerald says he wants to see how the spending increase for K-12 schools stacks up against other needs in the budget, including transportation and tax cuts. Fitzgerald says he wants his full caucus to discuss the idea before he commits. He says, Im cautious and dont want to commit to anything until I have a full discussion. Walkers proposal has generated praise from public school advocates who had been asking for a $200 per-student funding increase that the governor is recommending. State Journal reporter Nico Savidge contributed to this report. A Madison man who crashed his vehicle in the town of Primrose Monday night was arrested for his alleged seventh drunken driving offense. The crash happened at about 9:30 p.m. on Highway JG near Lee Valley Road, the Dane County Sheriff's Office said. Anthony Holden, 45, was taken into custody on the tentative drunken driving charge and also faces an operating after revocation charge. A passenger in Holden's vehicle also was intoxicated; both were not injured. The Sheriff's Office said a seventh drunken driving offense in Wisconsin, which is a felony, has a mandatory three year to 12 1/2 year prison sentence and a maximum $25,000 fine, if convicted. City Theatre has announced a new community partnership initiative called City Connects. The program builds on the organizations long-standing commitment to encouraging discussion and engagement beyond the work seen on stage and celebrates City Theatres core standing as an institution dedicated to inclusion and building a positive and enlightened world through theater. To advance this goal, City Theatre identified local and national nonprofit partners who have specialized expertise in addressing the topics and issues inherent in City productions For over 40 years, City Theatre has been presenting theater that affirms the power of live performance to bring people together for a shared experience and cultivate a deeper understanding of our similarities and differences. As artists, we strive to reflect the world we live in and imagine a better future, stated Artistic Director Tracy Brigden. I am proud of the goals of City Connectsto use theater as a force for positive change, deeper understanding, and active engagementand to work closely with these dynamic and critical nonprofits. City Connects will highlight four distinct valuesEquality, Unity, Love, and Opportunitywhich strongly resonate in the remaining shows of the 2016/17 season. With each production, City Theatre has partnered with a different local group to encourage an in-depth exploration of how these values intersect on stage and in the world today. These partnerships will take form through historic and contemporary context and scholarship, panels, curated presentations, and other ways for audiences to delve deeper into the issues at hand, as well as learn more about these vital partners. In the coming months, City Theatre will work closely with the local chapter of the NAACP, the Thomas Merton Center, Proud Haven, YWCA Greater Pittsburgh Center for Race and Gender Equity, and the Jewish Family and Childrens Services of Pittsburgh, amongst others, to advance these goals. Partnering organizations will coordinate with City staff to provide a real-world perspective on the plays, while encouraging their own constituents to experience the powerful impact of theatrical storytelling. City Theatre will provide custom-made support for each organization which includes complimentary tickets, lobby and program visibility, and post-show discussion events to generate dialogue amongst a large cross-section of local residents, and provide actionable engagement opportunities for patrons. Further, much of the programming will be affiliated with Citys Pay-What-You-Want ticket outreach effort, which allows audiences to literally pay any amount to see a show. With this logical tie-in, City Connects seeks to ensure no barrier prevents the community from being enriched and entertained by City Theatre programming, and experience the positive impact of its partners. Current City Connects partnerships include: The Royale: EQUALITY. Inspired by the trailblazing boxer Jack Johnson, The Royale tackles themes of racial equity and justice in the face of discrimination and fear. In partnership with the Pittsburgh Branch of the NAACP, City Connects: EQUALITY took place on Saturday, Feb. 4, following the 1 p.m. matinee. The Guard: UNITY. Examining the effects of love and grief, The Guard honors the power of art to heal, unify, and evoke compassion throughout history. In partnership with The Thomas Merton Center, City Connects: UNITY will take place on Saturday, April 1, following the 1 p.m. matinee. Wild With Happy: LOVE. Investigating the complex identity of being gay in the Black church community, Wild with Happy celebrates the need for love and diversity in our world. In partnership with Proud Haven, City Connects: LOVE will take place on Saturday, April 22, following the 1 p.m. performance. Ironbound: OPPORTUNITY. Depicting the life of a Polish immigrant woman, Ironbound is a contemporary exploration of the American Dream and existence on the economic margins of society. In partnership with Jewish Family and Childrens Services of Pittsburgh, City Connects: OPPORTUNITY will take place on Sunday, May 21 before and after the 2 p.m. show. Season Long Partner: YWCA Greater Pittsburghs Center for Race & Gender Equity promotes awareness of equality issues, educates individuals, and advocates for change in communities throughout Southwestern Pennsylvania. The center supports and promotes the YWs national advocacy agenda and identifies legislative action (federal, state and local) that advances YWCAs focus areas of Eliminating Racism and Empowering Women. The YWCA partnership will be season long and feature a post-performance discussion on Saturday, February 11th following the 1 p.m. performance with YWCA CEO Magdeline (Maggie) Jensen. Prince of Peace Parish will host the Annual Slovak Mass and Easter Customs Breakfast on Saturday, April 8 at St. Adalbert Church, South 15th Street, in South Side. The day begins at 10:45 a.m. with recitation of the rosary, followed by Mass at 11:00 a.m. with prayers and hymns sung in Slovak. After Mass, everyone is invited to the Prince of Peace Parish Center, 81 South 13th Street, for a complementary Slovak Easter breakfast and the opportunity to experience a bit of Slovakia at Eastertime Sample traditional foods enjoyed in a typical Slovak village on Easter morning: paska (sweet bread), sunka (ham), kolbasy (sausage) sirek (cheese), hrin (beets and horseradish) and kolace (nut and poppyseed rolls); Browse authentic Slovak treasures -- books, crystal, linens, dolls, pottery and costumesand learn a bit of the history, daily life and customs of our Slovak ancestors; Watch various craft persons demonstrate their art, including dying colorful Easter eggs (pysanky), spinning thread, weaving palms or stuffing kolbasy; Shop the Slovak Bale Sale for homemade nut and poppy seed rolls, paska and cookies. There will be a drawing for a basket filled with Slovak delights and a Slovak Auction is also planned. Selected imported gifts of Slovakia will also be available for sale Everyone is always welcome at the Prince of Peace Slovak Easter Customs Breakfast. Admission is free, but donations are very much appreciated. To make a donation or request further information, call Connie Zatek at 412-657-6364. When photography was invented in France in the 1820s, some artists predicted even feared that it would in time take the place of painting. That didnt happen, but photographers around the world consistently have recorded images that reveal... Weather update: Notre Dame places tailgate restrictions as result of NWS wind advisory As the result of a wind advisory issued by the NWS for the South Bend area Saturday, Notre Dame has placed restrictions on tailgate activities. The city of Madison, Dane County and the state of Wisconsin will pay more than $750,000 to a man who was imprisoned for 25 years for the 1980 rape and murder of a UW-Madison student before his conviction was vacated by the state Supreme Court. Under one of two agreements that settle a civil rights lawsuit brought by Ralph Armstrong, who was convicted of the June 1980 strangulation murder of 19-year-old Charise Kamps, the city of Madison will pay $600,000, and the state of Wisconsin will pay $150,000. The amount to be paid to Armstrong by Dane County, specified in a separate agreement, was not known because the agreement was not made public. The agreement pertaining to alleged misconduct by a city of Madison police detective and a state Crime Lab DNA analyst was released on Monday after a stipulation to dismiss Armstrongs lawsuit was entered in U.S. District Court on Friday. Armstrong, now 64, is imprisoned in New Mexico on unrelated sexual assault convictions that predate the Kamps case, according to the New Mexico Corrections Departments website. His conviction in the Kamps case was overturned by the Wisconsin Supreme Court in 2005 after DNA tests excluded him as a suspect in Kamps death. But prosecutors continued to seek a conviction against Armstrong until 2009, when a reserve judge dismissed the charges against him after ruling that investigators had mishandled evidence as they prepared to retry him. Agreements were reached with retired Madison police Detective Marion Morgan, retired Assistant District Attorney John Norsetter and retired State Crime Lab DNA analyst Karen Daily. Longstanding suit Armstrong first filed his civil rights lawsuit in 2012 without the help of an attorney. In May 2013, he hired the Chicago civil rights law firm of Loevy & Loevy to represent him. The same firm is representing the family of Tony Robinson in its lawsuit against Madison police stemming from the fatal shooting of Robinson by a Madison police officer in 2015. Armstrong lawyer Mark Loevy-Reyes declined to comment on the settlement, citing a confidentiality clause in one of the agreements. The agreement pertaining to Morgan and Daily, released by the state Department of Justice, states that the agreement is not an admission of wrongdoing. DOJ spokesman Johnny Koremenos said that the agreement involving Norsetter, which DOJ does not have, pertains to his work on the Armstrong case while he was a Dane County employee. Before 1990, prosecutors in Wisconsin were not state employees and were employed by counties. The agreement pertaining to Norsetter was not immediately made available. David McFarlane, who represents Norsetter, said confidentiality was one of the terms of the settlement. Dane County Risk Manager Dan Lowndes said he did not have a copy of the agreement. In July, U.S. District Judge Barbara Crabb denied motions to rule in favor of Norsetter, Morgan and Daily in the civil rights case, finding that there were issues best addressed by a jury. A trial, now canceled, had been scheduled for March. Evidence at issue Armstrongs lawyers argued that in 2006, Morgan had improperly taken a bathrobe belt, which originally came from Kamps apartment, to the Crime Lab to be analyzed for DNA by Daily, failing to notify Armstrongs criminal defense lawyers. The test used up all of the DNA from an important stain on the belt. That test concluded that Armstrong could not be eliminated as a contributor to the stain. A judge threw out the case on the grounds of prosecutorial misconduct. Because the bathrobe stain had been used up, Reserve Judge Robert Kinney said, Armstrongs lawyers were unable to have their own DNA test performed. He also said that prosecutors had failed to disclose that years earlier, they had received and failed to disclose evidence that Armstrongs brother, Stephen Armstrong, had confessed to Kamps murder. There was no way to test Stephen Armstrongs DNA, because he had died in 2005 and was cremated. Armstrongs lawyers in the civil rights case also claimed that Norsetter violated Armstrongs due process rights by causing the destruction of evidence taken from Kamps apartment in 1980. The evidence, consisting of two mirrors, a silver straw and a razor blade, could have been analyzed for the killers fingerprints, they claimed. Other claims against Norsetter were dismissed earlier in the civil case on the grounds that Norsetter had absolute immunity for actions he took as a prosecutor. But Crabb ruled in July that the evidence claim could not be dismissed because it pertained to Norsetters actions as an investigator rather than a prosecutor. Seniors in the Janesville area are being targeted as easy prey by scammers phoning them with various tall tales, to get the elderly to provide access to funds. Janesville police said two residents called in to report they were contacted by strangers within the past week, the scammers using different stories to get money, but the scams didn't work. In one case, the scammer used the "going to jail" tactic, by telling the intended victim a court date was missed and a warrant was issued, so to avoid jail time money should be wired. In the second case, the scammer told the intended victim a relative was in a serious crash and needed money, going so far as to put a second scammer on line, acting like the relative's attorney. "A common tactic of phone scam suspects is to have the victim buy a prepaid money card and provide the suspects with the numbers off the cards, which are then used by the suspects to steal the money," said Lt. Terry Sheridan. Police said be suspicious of anyone calling and asking for a large sum of money. "Citizens who believe they are being targeted by similar phone scams can contact police to verify the validity of the calls," Sheridan said. 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 Something went wrong, please try again later. Invalid email Something went wrong, please try again later. Want the latest news from Swansea sent straight to your inbox? A school has paid tribute to one of its pupils whose sudden death is being investigated by police. Nyah James, 14, was a pupil at Bishop Gore School in Swansea which described her as a popular student who would have gone on to achieve excellent results next year. In a statement, a school spokeswoman said: Everyone at Bishop Gore School has been deeply saddened to hear of the passing of Nyah James, who was popular with both her fellow pupils and school staff. Nyah was achieving well and we were looking forward to her receiving excellent results at the end of year 11. Understandably since hearing of her passing pupils and staff at the school are very upset and trained staff are on hand to support them. Our thoughts are very much with her family and friends at this very sad time. Nyah was a pupil in year 10 and other parents were informed of her death at a school concert on Monday night. South Wales Police said they are investigating her death after she was found at an address in the Blaenymaes area of Swansea. A fundraising page set up in memory of Nyah has already reached 1,300. Nicola Jones, who donated to the page, wrote: This girl was a beautiful girl inside and out and has left my heart in bits. She was a credit to her family and a good friend to Georgia - a friendship that she will never forget rip Nyah beautiful angel. Kelly Morgan, who also donated, added: I have a 14 year old and to read this is absolutely gut wrenching. My thoughts go out to the family. R.I.P. Councillor June Burtonshaw, ward member for Blaenymaes, said her sympathy went out to Nyahs family. It is very, very sad and I cant imagine what the family are going through, she said. The video will auto-play soon 8 Cancel Police are investigating the sudden death of a 14-year-old girl. She was a year 10 pupil at Bishop Gore School in Swansea, and parents were informed at a school concert last night. Heartbroken family and friends have paid tribute to the girl - named locally as Nyah James - on social media, and a fundraising page has already been set up in her memory. A police spokesman said: "South Wales Police are investigating the sudden death of a 14-year-old female at an address in the Blaenymaes area of Swansea." Writing on Facebook, one friend said: "All my love goes out to her family and friends! Really sad news, I can't believe it." And another added: "Can't begin to imagine what (the) family are going through, Heaven has gained a beautiful angel." Another friend on social media wrote about Nyah: "Such a beautiful young lady taken way too soon." China's first heavy-lift Long March 5 rocket launches into space from the country's Wenchang launch center on Hainan Island at 8:43 p.m. Beijing Time on Nov. 3, 2016. WASHINGTON The U.S. must be prepared for any Chinese aggression in space, said Gen. John Hyten, leader of U.S. Strategic Command. China tested the ability to destroy a satellite in low-Earth orbit in 2007, and "they continue to test that capability todayat multiple orbital regimes," Hyten said during a Jan. 24 speech at Stanford University, one of his first appearances at a university since taking over STRATCOM in November. "In the not-too-distant future, they will be able to use that capability to threaten every spacecraft we have in space," Hyten said, according to a press release from the Defense Department. "We have to prevent that, and the best way to prevent war is to be prepared for war. So the United States is going to do that, and we're going to make sure that everybody knows we're prepared for war." [The Most Dangerous Space Weapons Ever] Defending and protecting the space environment is one of his two jobs as leader of STRATCOM. Hyten said, the other being defending the American people against any threats. The general is no stranger to space, serving as the leader of Air Force Space Command from 2014 to 2016, the vice commander of AFSC from 2012 to 2014, and holding various other space-related posts throughout his 36 year military career. Deterring aggression in space is now more important than ever, given the number of critical systems like GPS, missile warning, and communications that the U.S. relies on, Hyten said. "If somebody wants to threaten that and if they do something to geosynchronous orbit because of where that orbit is, the debris that's created will be there forever," he said. "That means I have to figure out with the 184,000 people who work under Strategic Command how we defend the nation against that kind of threat and how I deter that conflict from ever happening." Hyten touted the Air Force's Geosynchronous Space Situational Awareness Program (GSSAP), a constellation of four satellites that survey GEO and are able to detect and track any threat that might be launched from the ground to the orbit. He described it as "basically a neighborhood watch program for everything that goes on in that high-value orbit." Safety in space and deterrence to stop a war will also require the Air Force to work closely with industry partners, the general said. "A lot of folks in the military think it doesn't pertain to us," Hyten said. "But it pertains to us in two waysIt creates an economic environment that the U.S. military will have to defend at some point, and it creates an opportunity for us to take advantage of a commercial sector," that can provide launch, remote sensing, and other services. This story was provided by SpaceNews, dedicated to covering all aspects of the space industry. A new book brings together tales of the most bizarre and incredible space missions ever conceived. The book's author (and regular Space.com contributor), Rod Pyle, talked with Space.com via email about these amazing space missions and what they can tell us about the future of spaceflight. The book, "Amazing Stories of the Space Age: True Tales of Nazis in Orbit, Soldiers on the Moon, Orphaned Martian Robots, and Other Fascinating Accounts from the Annals of Spaceflight," is now available in paperback (opens in new tab) and as an e-book. You can read an excerpt of the book here. "Amazing Stories of the Space Age: True Tales of Nazis in Orbit, Soldiers on the Moon, Orphaned Martian Robots, and Other Fascinating Accounts from the Annals of Spaceflight," by Rod Pyle. (Image credit: Nicole Sommer-Lecht/Prometheus Books) Space.com: This book is a collection of stories about strange and amazing spaceflight missions and ideas for missions. To give our readers an idea of the kinds of things covered in the book, can you briefly describe one of your favorite "amazing stories," or one of the missions you find really fascinating? Rod Pyle: I love them all, of course, but one that touches my heart is about the final days of the Viking 1 Mars lander. Two Viking spacecraft, each comprised of an orbiter and a lander, headed off to the Red Planet in 1975, arriving in 1976. After studying the surface from orbit, the flight controllers committed Viking 1 to a landing on July 20, 1976. They could only infer what the surface might be like from relatively low-resolution imaging, but they met with luck twice: first with this landing, and then with Viking 2 about six weeks. The folks at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) still marvel at the accomplishment. After a long and successful campaign of great science, one by one, the Vikings went dark, and by late 1982, only Viking 1 was still transmitting, sending daily weather reports to Earth. At six years into the mission, however, the lander was experiencing some battery issues similar to what had ended the Viking 2 landers mission. The programmer assigned to the mission wrote some new software to optimize the battery charging cycles and uplinked it to the lander, where it was dutifully recorded onto the computers tape-drive memory. Unfortunately, it overwrote an instruction set responsible for keeping the radio dish oriented toward the Earth, and the lander fell silent. JPL tried to regain contact for months, to no avail. The team was devastated. And because the lander had a nuclear power supply, we have no idea how long it waited for a final message that would never arrive Space.com: Some of these missions seem as though they would have left a very short paper trail, and some of them have just barely become declassified. How did you go about finding all of these? Pyle: This is true in many cases. While it's simple to buy a copy of something like [rocket pioneer] Wernher von Brauns "The Mars Project," getting more in-depth data on many of these programs was far more complicated. To add to the adventure, some have only been fully declassified in the past few years. For example, much of the material on the U.S. Air Force's Manned Orbiting Laboratory was posted in the National Reconnaissance Office's online archives in 2015. Other programs have been extensively studied in academic papers that are available. Still others exist only as documents from the era, or even as hearsay that must be vetted by sources familiar with the program and the time frame the Soviet-era stories were the toughest. But this is in part what made it such a compelling book project." Space.com: You've been a spaceflight historian for quite a while, so I imagine you've been collecting these stories for some time. When and why did you decide to put them all in a book? Pyle: I've been writing books about spaceflight since 2003. Prior to that, I was working in documentary television, and would steer projects towards space-related subjects whenever possible. This book originated as a pitch to a cable network for a show called "Secrets of Space" in the early 2000s. We got close a few times but were never able to begin production. The pitch languished for some time, and I decided about five years ago to recast it as a book, which would allow for a much deeper dive into the subject matter a huge plus. My agent made a deal with the good folks at Prometheus Books, and off we went. Space.com: Of all the stories in your book that stood out to me, I think perhaps the most incredible was the idea in the late 1950s that the U.S. would have a military base on the moon and would actually be fighting moon wars against Russian moon armies within a decade. You even mention in the book that this may sound incredible, but that's just a testament to how intense the Cold War was. Were most people really convinced that spaceflight would advance at such a rapid clip? When do you think people started to realize that wouldn't be the case? Pyle: Project Horizon was a 1959 U.S. Army study for a militarized moon base. It was pretty much [dead on arrival] when it was submitted, since things were moving in another direction by then NASA was a new civil space agency, and von Braun, who had worked on the Project Horizon study, had transferred there from the Army. When reading the Project Horizon proposal, I had to chuckle at some of the assumptions made the Redstone Arsenal [what is now ;NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Alabama] was just developing the Saturn I rocket and the flight rates and amount of cargo needed to build the Horizon base would have been staggering on the order of 150+ boosters, including spares. All this would need to be transported to Christmas Island [also known as Kiritimati, part of the Republic of Kiribati] in the central Pacific, where the equatorially based launch site would be, and everything would have to go perfectly to be anywhere near their scheduled time of completion, about 1965 to 1966. The budgeted cost was about $6 billion in 1959 dollars. Later, as NASA began to look hard at their manned lunar mission options, especially direct ascent versus Earth orbit rendezvous, it began to sink in just how difficult this could all be. Of course, Project Horizon was a filing-cabinet item by then; it was, to my knowledge, not taken seriously after being submitted in 1959, and von Braun, as mentioned, had moved on. Today, when you look at all 363 feet [111 meters] of a Saturn V moon rocket, and realize that only the last 13 feet [4 m] of it returned home from the moon, plans like Horizon feel like studies in technological hubris. But it would have been magnificent, had it worked, and one must admire the determination of the planners. Space.com: On that same point, your book is a great illustration that some of the biggest leaps of spaceflight tech have come along because they had military motivations. Would you say it's true that the greatest spaceflight accomplishments of the 20th century were motivated by war and world dominance? Do you think that can change or is changing in the 21st century? Pyle: Most of the unflown mission designs in the book were of military or quasi-military origins, with the one major exception being Project Orion, the atomic rocket. The late 1940s and early 1950s were a time of great paranoia and increasing fear. The United States had exited World War II as the sole power possessing nuclear weapons a comfortable position to be in at the time. Within a handful of years, thanks to clever physicists and good espionage, the Soviet Union had developed and tested both atomic and hydrogen bombs. At the time say, through the mid-1950s the only way to deliver such weapons was with lumbering, slow bomber aircraft. But what if some clever folks built rockets big enough to fling them across the globe at ballistic speeds, or placed them in an orbiting station that could drop them on U.S. targets at will? This was a huge concern. So the plans for the Horizon lunar base, the Air Force's Lunex base, von Braun's inflatable "wheel" space station, the Dyna-Soar rocket plane and many others were based, at least in part, on this paranoia and the desire to seize the "high ground," however each branch of the military perceived that. And, of course, although Apollo was a civilian program, we know that it was born of geopolitics and the Kennedy administration's desire to find a pursuit in space in which we could assure a win over the Soviet Union something that would demonstrate the superiority of our technology, our political system and our people. A crewed lunar landing was the answer. This program, called Project Apollo, was almost curtailed many times, and it continues to astound me that it all worked, and within the decade. I see great promise for a different outcome in the 21st century, a blending of international collaboration, commercial/government partnerships and private competition (mostly in the U.S. for the next decade) in space exploration and development. Space.com: There are also some stories in your book about projections in the 1960s that humans would visit other planets by the 1980s. The fact that those estimates were wildly off target makes me feel nervous about NASA's current plans to get humans to Mars by the 2030s. Does learning about the history of humanity trying to get past the moon make you feel hopeful for future solar system exploration, or does it mostly inspire caution? Pyle: What an interesting question! It was all so much simpler when von Braun penned "The Mars Project" in 1953 We thought that Mars might have a sufficiently dense atmosphere to support a gliding landing of his huge space-shuttle-like landing craft, that we could cross the gulf between Earth and Mars with a 10-ship armada of taxpayer-funded behemoths, and it would all proceed much like a submarine journey under the North Pole (which occurred in 1958). But we soon learned that Mars was much more hostile than we had suspected, that Venus was a hell planet and that the moon, while far closer than either, was still a tremendous challenge. And as we continue to study the deep-space environment and microgravity, we find that we, the frail beings who evolved to live perfectly on the surface of our planet and nowhere else, are at great peril when journeying in space for extended periods. So, during the space race we learned much about spaceflight and the associated engineering and scientific issues involved, but this was the low-hanging fruit. From here on out, the exploration of the solar system gets much harder. And a few hardy U.S.-based billionaires aside, our greatest enemy seems to be a lack of cohesive direction and the dogged determination to forge ahead, in my opinion. As [retired NASA Flight Director] Gene Kranz said to me at the end of an interview a few years back, as he fixed me with that steely eyed missile-man stare, "What America will dare, America can do." I think he's right, and for more than just America. Today, I might rephrase it as, "We know what we can do. What will we dare?" Space.com: In Chapter 4, you talk about General Atomics, which was a commercial company that wanted to build a brand-new kind of rocket to get humans into space. Would you call this company a predecessor to companies like SpaceX? (While private companies have been involved in spaceflight since its inception, I'm asking if there's a similarity, because most of those companies contribute to existing human spaceflight missions rather than trying to initiate their own.) Pyle: The idea of nuclear-pulse propulsion originated from Los Alamos [National Laboratory] in 1947 as a paper outlining an unmanned spacecraft. It was then restarted at General Atomics in 1958 on a slim budget, funded internally. It soon became clear that this was going to require more resources, and federal dollars became involved. It did begin in a fashion not entirely dissimilar from efforts such as SpaceX and Blue Origin, but without sexy billionaires at the helm it was a corporate decision. Later that same year, the Advanced Research Projects Agency, or ARPA, (DARPA's predecessor) committed to spending a million dollars per year on the project, and soon, the Air Force took over funding, seeing military potential in the program. The studies continued with more engineers and physicists involved, and the plan was to launch a giant crewed spacecraft ranging from 10,000 to a million tons, from Nevada, using nuclear explosions. [Theoretical physicist and mathematician] Freeman Dyson calculated that only a few lives would be lost per launch from fallout, far less than a week of automotive accident deaths in the U.S. The idea was tested with small-scale models called "putt-putts" and appeared to work, but ultimately, the scale of the project and the politics of raw nuclear pollution resulting from the launches doomed it. NASA did later look hard at launching a far smaller version of Orion on a Saturn V, which would initiate atomic explosions only after it had left the atmosphere. But by then, the Apollo program was front and center, and Project Orion was discontinued. I'll add that Dyson's motto was "Mars by 1965, Saturn by 1970" a spectacular notion. It could have changed the course of human space exploration! Space.com: Your book takes a look back at 20th century spaceflight and highlights some of the really grand, inspiring visions that people had for missions and technologies. Those people weren't cranks, either; even if Project Orion or some of von Braun's grander visions never got off the ground, the community still did amazing things. So do you think people are still dreaming at the same scale that they were in the first few decades of spaceflight? Is there room to dream up things like Project Orion and military bases on the moon? Pyle: Is there ever! And we are, thankfully, somewhat less focused on the military aspect, though defense projects are still quietly well-funded. When I heard Elon Musk's talk at Guadalajara last September, when he announced SpaceX's plans to go to Mars, I was thrilled. I had expected something along those general lines, but the sheer scale of it, and the raw will and determination behind it, gives me great hope. He may never pull it off at the scale he outlined (though I, for one, would never bet against him), but the mere fact that he is willing to put this grand, almost utopian vision out there, and use his own money to seed it, is wonderful. Ditto Jeff Bezos and his colonization plans for space, along with smaller companies like Bigelow, Sierra Nevada and all the rest. And, of course, other countries' programs the European Space Agency's Moon Village, Chinas ambitious plans for human flights to the moon and Mars, and other national space efforts are inspiring. It will be a wonderful time in space exploration and development the forward-looking visions of the 20th century may come true, in some form, at last. Follow Calla Cofield @callacofield. Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook and Google+. Original article on Space.com. Daniel McVey released this image of the winter sky over the Gore Range in Summit County, Colorado on March 6, 2013. He noted the winter Milky Way and Winter Circle (Capella, Aldebaran, Rigel, Sirius, Procyon, and Castor), Aldebaran (Taurus), Jupiter and the Pleiades. I first began to learn the constellations as a young boy, right after I moved from the Upper East Side of Manhattan to one of the so-called "outer boroughs," the Bronx. Fifty years ago, there was a very distinct difference between the night sky as seen from Manhattan and the view from the four other boroughs, the Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens and Staten Island. Manhattan (as it is now) was brilliantly lit up, especially in Midtown and around Times Square. In addition, the city's skyscrapers and tall apartment buildings made it very difficult to pick out more than a dozen or so stars at any one time. But once you were free and clear of Manhattan, the concentration of bright lights tended to gradually diminish, and residential neighborhoods replaced the skyscrapers and tall apartment buildings. So, while I couldn't see much from E. 119th St. and First Avenue in East Harlem, the universe literally opened up to me when I moved to the Throggs Neck section of the Bronx. There, the night sky was much darker, and I could actually see more than just a handful of stars. [Solar and Lunar Eclipses, Planets & More: The Feb. 2017 Sky (Video)] And just a stone's throw away to the north, the darkness of the night sky back then resembled what you would see today in distant rural settings. At my uncle Ron's house in Mahopac, New York, a mere 50 miles (80 kilometers) north of Midtown Manhattan, it was not unusual for me to see stars that are near the theoretical limit of visibility for most people who have good eyesight: the very faint magnitude +6.5. And on exceptionally clear nights, the Milky Way was so bright it actually cast a faint shadow, believe it or not. On very rare occasions, I could even glimpse some of the brighter sections of the Milky Way from my own backyard in the Bronx, the very last time being in 1976 as I reported here eight years ago. Less than a year later, on July 13, 1977, I could see the Milky Way from my house from almost horizon to horizon. But that night doesn't count, because a power blackout had plunged New York City into darkness. Unfortunately, cities have certainly gotten much brighter over the past half century as the spread of bright lights has dramatically increased. But even if you live in an urban area, that shouldn't deter you from learning the night sky. Winter is probably the best season to stargaze, because this season's evening sky hosts the brightest array of stars and constellations. But before we do any exploring, let's step through some good guides that one can use to learn the stars and constellations.Recommended reading When I was a youngster, I relied chiefly on two books to help me recognize star patterns. One was "The Stars: A New Way to See Them" (Houghton Mifflin Company, 1952) by H.A. Rey. That's the very same H.A. Rey who created the mischievous monkey popularly known as Curious George. But Rey was also an assiduous amateur astronomer, and his constellation outlines are in many cases remarkably successful at tracing out what their names suggest. Another favorite of mine was titled simply "Stars," written by Robert H. Baker and Herbert S. Zim. It's one of a series of Golden Guide books from St. Martin's Press (1951). The book features constellation charts, planet location tables, and explanations for celestial objects and phenomena like eclipses, meteors and comets. And it's portable; at just 4 by 6 inches (10 by 15 centimeters), the paperback is easy to bring along on travels. As one reviewer wrote on Amazon.com (opens in new tab), "Don't let the size fool you. I grew up with Golden Books. They are better than most anything I've read college-level information, yet written for a child to understand." Start with Orion I started seriously perusing the starry sky during the winter season after I had received my first telescope as a Christmas present. Because the air is crisp and cold in the winter, it tends also to be clean and transparent, which makes the winter sky appear more glorious than at any other time of the year. At 8 p.m. local time in early February, stargazers can find Orion the main winter "signpost" hanging well up in the south; the famous Big Dipper is standing on its handle in the northeast, with Regulus in the constellation of Leo just rising above the east-northeast horizon. The full moon slowly appears to approach Regulus during the overnight hours of Feb. 10-11. Low over the southeast horizon, a dazzling blue-white star seems to scintillate. That's Sirius, the Dog Star, the brightest star in the sky, located in the Big Dog, Canis Major. Just follow the three-star belt of Orion down to the left (east) and you'll hit Sirius (as if you really needed the belt stars to locate it; Sirius, after all, stands out in the winter sky like the Cullinan diamond). If you follow the line of the belt upward and to the right (west), you'll eventually reach a bright orange star often called "the eye of the Bull." This is the star Aldebaran in Taurus, which is located amidst a V-shaped cluster of stars that make up the Bull's face and are known as the Hyades. Incidentally, the gibbous moon was situated just to the left of Aldebaran on Super Bowl Sunday night. Even more striking is the star cluster known as the Pleiades or Seven Sisters. To locate these stars, all you have to do is continue the line from Orion's belt through Aldebaran, then curve it slightly downward until you arrive at what at first glance appears to be a tiny, silvery cloud of light. Closer inspection shows this to be a tight cluster of about a half dozen stars, although some folks with very sharp eyes can see a dozen or more stars. Binoculars of course reveal many more than that. [Starry Night: The Seven Sisters Shine Brilliantly in New Photo] Almost directly overhead, stargazers find a very bright yellowish-white star known as Capella, in the constellation of Auriga, the Charioteer. Well to Orion's upper left are the stars Pollux and Castor, the heads of the Twin Brothers, known as Gemini. And between the Twin stars and Sirius, yet another bright twinkler, Procyon, appears in the Little Dog, Canis Minor. Planets, too and a final tip I haven't even yet mentioned the two bright planets that command stargazers' attention over in the west: dazzling, silver-white Venus the beacon of the current evening sky and to its upper left, the much dimmer, yellow-orange Mars. There is obviously so much to see and explore in the current winter sky! One final suggestion is to keep a diary or a logbook of your sky observations. I did this during my early skywatching days, since I found that writing things down is a good way to keep a permanent record of what you have seen. You will be sure to find plenty "up there" to interest you! Joe Rao serves as an instructor and guest lecturer at New York's Hayden Planetarium. He writes about astronomy for Natural History magazine, the Farmers' Almanac and other publications, and he is also an on-camera meteorologist for Fios1 News in Rye Brook, New York. Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook and Google+. Original article on Space.com. A town of Burke bar was robbed at gunpoint Monday night, with the suspects taking cash before fleeing. Nobody was injured in the robbery reported at about 11:45 p.m. at the Eagle Crest Bar, 3710 Highway T, the Dane County Sheriff's Office said. An employee was closing the bar for the night when two black men came in, one armed with a handgun. An undisclosed amount of money was taken. Anyone with information about the robbery is asked to call the Sheriff's Office tip line, 284-6900. A giant black hole ripped apart a star and then gorged on its remains for about a decade, according to astronomers. This is more than ten times longer than any observed episode of a star's death by black hole. A supermassive black hole has been gobbling up a star for more than a decade about 10 times longer than any previously known such meal, a new study finds. The extreme duration of this meal suggests that the star is incredibly large, or that it's being consumed more completely than any other known star that has fallen prey to a black hole, study team members said. The astronomers in the study used three space telescopes NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory and Swift satellite, and the European Space Agency's XMM-Newton craft to examine an X-ray source known as XJ1500+154, which lies 1.8 billion light-years from Earth. [Images: Black Holes of the Universe] XMM-Newton first spotted this source in July 2005 and has continued to monitor it since that time, as have Chandra and Swift. Chandra's observations showed that XJ1500+154 sits at the center of a small galaxy, strongly suggesting that it's associated with a supermassive black hole. (These behemoths, which can contain billions of times more mass than the sun, lurk at the centers of most, if not all, galaxies.) The X-rays are being generated by a "tidal disruption event" (TDE) a star or other object that's being torn apart by a black hole's powerful gravity, the researchers said. Some of the doomed body's material falls inward during a TDE, heating up so much that it generates an X-ray flare. The XJ1500+154 X-ray flare is like nothing astronomers have ever seen, study team members said. "We have witnessed a star's spectacular and prolonged demise," lead author Dacheng Lin, of the University of New Hampshire, said in a statement. "Dozens of tidal disruption events have been detected since the 1990s, but none that remained bright for nearly as long as this one." The three telescopes' observations also suggest that the black hole has been growing rapidly while gobbling up the star. This conclusion could shed light on an astronomical mystery how supermassive black holes managed to grow so big so fast long ago. (Some of these monsters already contained 1 billion solar masses just 1 billion years after the Big Bang that created the universe.) "This event shows that black holes really can grow at extraordinarily high rates," co-author Stefanie Komossa, of QianNan Normal University for Nationalities in Duyun City, China, said in the same statement. "This may help [us] understand how precocious black holes came to be." The record-setting meal won't last forever, of course. The team's modeling work suggests that the XJ1500+154 X-ray flare will dim considerably over the next few years, and the food supply will decline significantly over the next decade. The new study was published online Monday (Feb. 6) in the journal Nature Astronomy (opens in new tab). Follow Mike Wall on Twitter @michaeldwall and Google+. Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook or Google+. Originally published on Space.com. Houston-based company NanoRacks is developing a commercial airlock for the International Space Station that NASA says should launch in 2019. Update: The launch of NanoRacks' airlock to the International Space Station has been delayed to Oct. 30, 2020, when it will launch with SpaceX's Dragon CRS-21 cargo resupply mission. The International Space Station (ISS) will soon feature its first commercially funded airlock, which NASA officials said will allow more small satellites to be deployed from the orbiting lab. NASA has agreed to let the Houston-based company NanoRacks develop the airlock, which is expected to launch in 2019. "We want to utilize the space station to expose the commercial sector to new and novel uses of space, ultimately creating a new economy in low-Earth orbit for scientific research, technology development and human and cargo transportation," Sam Scimemi, director of NASA's ISS division, said in a statement. "We hope this new airlock will allow a diverse community to experiment and develop opportunities in space for the commercial sector." NanoRacks which has already deployed numerous tiny cubesats from the station's Japanese Kibo module signed an independent partnership with aerospace giant Boeing on Monday (Feb. 6) to develop the new airlock. Artist's illustration of the commercial airlock that will be installed on the International Space Station in 2019, if all goes according to plan. (Image credit: NanoRacks) Payloads deployed into space via the new airlock will be coordinated and vetted through the Center for the Advancement of Science in Space (CASIS), which manages the U.S. national laboratory on the space station.NASA officials said the new airlock will be installed on a port on ISS' Tranquility module. Another Tranquility port currently hosts the Bigelow Expandable Activity Module (BEAM), a prototype designed to test how inflatable habitats perform in space. Besides its current work with NanoRacks, CASIS and Bigelow Aerospace (which built BEAM), NASA issued a request for information last fall asking private enterprises how they can use resources on the space station, such as docking ports. "As private sector partners play a greater role in this new economy, NASA is able to focus on its deep-space exploration goals, including sending humans beyond the moon and eventually, to Mars," agency officials said in the same statement. Follow Elizabeth Howell @howellspace, or Space.com @Spacedotcom. We're also on Facebookand Google+. Original article on Space.com. The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2016 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. Privacy Statement Dane County will pay Ralph Armstrong, whose 1981 murder conviction was overturned in 2005, $1 million to settle his claim that a prosecutor acted improperly during events leading to his conviction. In the settlement agreement, released to the Wisconsin State Journal on Tuesday morning, now-retired Assistant District Attorney John Norsetter does not admit wrongdoing, but Dane County offers the $1 million payment to end the portion of Armstrongs civil rights lawsuit that pertains to Norsetter. The $1 million payment is on top of $750,000 that Armstrong will receive from the city of Madison and the state of Wisconsin for a separate settlement, released on Monday. Armstrong, now 64, filed the lawsuit in 2012, and about a year later recruited a Chicago civil rights law firm, Loevy & Loevy, to represent him in U.S. District Court. Armstrong filed the lawsuit seven years after the Wisconsin Supreme Court overturned his convictions on first-degree murder and rape charges for the June 1980 death of UW-Madison student Charise Kamps, who was 19 years old. The court found that DNA evidence did not support Armstrongs conviction. After the convictions were overturned in 2005, prosecutors sought to retry Armstrong on the murder and rape charges. But in 2009, a judge threw out the case citing prosecutorial misconduct, after learning that DNA on a key piece of evidence, the belt to a bathrobe from Kamps apartment, had been used up on a test performed at the behest of the prosecution team, without the approval of Armstrongs defense team. The test found that it was possible that Armstrongs DNA was in a DNA mix found on the belt, but because there was no DNA left, the judge ruled, Armstrongs lawyers were unfairly denied a chance to order their own tests to confirm or refute the finding. The parties in the civil rights lawsuit filed a stipulation to dismiss the case on Friday because settlements had been reached. The city of Madison agreed to pay $600,000 to Armstrong on behalf of retired Madison police Detective Marion Morgan, who had taken the belt to the state Crime Lab for testing, while the state Department of Justice agreed to pay $150,000 on behalf of retired Crime Lab DNA analyst Karen Daily, who performed the DNA test. The agreement pertaining to Morgan and Daily was released to the State Journal on Monday. Norsetters conduct was not specified in the agreement released Tuesday, but it occurred while prosecutors were county employees, before they became state employees in 1990. According to a July ruling, when U.S. District Judge Barbara Crabb denied motions by Norsetter, Morgan and Daily to rule in the case in their favor, Crabb allowed a claim to proceed against Norsetter that he allowed evidence taken from Kamps apartment to be destroyed. Armstrongs lawyers claimed that that evidence could have been checked for the killers fingerprints. The agreement pertaining to Norsetter does not allow any parties or lawyers to comment on the agreement, not only to the media but on social media as well. Contacted on Friday, Armstrong attorney Mark Loevy-Reyes declined to comment, citing the confidentiality clause. David McFarlane, who represented Norsetter, also declined to comment. Armstrong is currently in prison in New Mexico, according to the New Mexico Corrections Departments website, serving a sentence related to sexual assault convictions that pre-date Kamps murder. Corrections Department spokeswoman Ashley Espinoza said Armstrong violated a condition of his parole that he have absolutely no internet access except as required by employment. He also committed reporting and employment violations, she said. He is currently awaiting a parole hearing. Dane County Sheriff Dave Mahoney discussed the need for immigration reform with President Donald Trump during a meeting Tuesday at the White House that included nine other sheriffs from around the country. Mahoney told Trump that Dane County is home to many immigrant families, some of which have been here for multiple generations and are integral parts of many communities. As a result, we, as a nation, need to come up with a comprehensive immigration reform and I would also like to see this administration move forward and expedite the process for citizenship, Mahoney said. Mahoney is a member of the National Sheriffs Association executive committee that was invited to the White House by Trump to discuss issues important to them. He said committee members thought that the key legislative issues for the association, which is having its national conference this week in Washington, D.C., would be central to the meeting that also included Vice President Mike Pence. But Trump started by saying he wanted to hear from each of them about key issues in their communities. Mahoney called his discussion with Trump very cordial even after they began discussing immigration, the most controversial issue during the first weeks of Trumps presidency. Citing national security concerns, Trump has tried to temporary halt the U.S. refugee program. After Mahoney expressed his views on immigration, Trump told him that he understood his position and agreed that there are many long-standing immigrant families who deserve and need a process. But then he pivoted to his position on the seven countries that are currently under a temporary ban, Mahoney said. He certainly heard me because he responded to it. He didnt blow me off. He heard my message and knew where I was coming from. Speaking fourth among the sheriffs, Mahoney first talked about the impact that the drug addiction epidemic is having in the county and how the federal government can help by doing more to halt the flow of heroin into the area. I said we need to increase staffing of our Drug Enforcement Administration, as an example, to stem the tide, Mahoney said. We know that the heroin in Dane County comes up from the southern border, through Chicago on its way up to Minneapolis. Mahoney also told Trump that 40 percent of inmates at the Dane County Jail suffer from chronic mental illness and the county doesnt have the facilities to properly take care of them. Trump said he understood that there had been a lack of funding for community- based programs over the years, Mahoney said. Later, three other sheriffs pointed out that sheriffs now run the largest mental health institutions in the country and they are called jails. (Trump) acknowledged that but there was no lengthy discussion about what he is going to do about it or anything of that nature. Mahoney said. Mahoney had been to the White House several times prior to Tuesdays meeting. He met with presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush there as a labor representative and with President Barack Obama on a few occasions as the National Sheriffs Associations representative to the presidents task force on 21st century policing. None of those meetings had the amount of back-and-forth dialogue that we saw this morning, Mahoney said. I thought this was pretty outstanding, that sheriffs from around the country got over an hour to talk with the president of the United States. That did not surprise Mahoney. If I believed everything I read (about Trump), I would have been surprised, he said. We were invited, we were asked for input and we provided it. The sheriffs thanked Trump for inviting them to the White House and listening to their concerns, according to Mahoney. But we also made it abundantly clear that were not going to just talk and then go away, he said. Were going to expect some action and were going to continue to put the pressure on for that action. A UW-Madison student trying to form a pro-white group has abandoned his efforts after intense backlash from other students and university officials. American Freedom Party National Chairman William Johnson confirmed Monday that Daniel Dropik is no longer forming a Madison chapter after an Associated Press reporter noticed the groups website had been made private. The American Freedom Party has deep ties to white supremacism, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center, which tracks hate groups. Johnson says Dropik, 33, also plans to take a break from his coursework under an arrangement he hopes to make with the university. UW spokeswoman Meredith McGlone said Dropik, a computer science student, is currently still enrolled. Dropik did not respond to email and phone messages seeking comment. He previously said Johnson would speak on his behalf. Dropik earlier told the AP he started the group after feeling the university had gone overboard in supporting nonwhite students and promoting cultural diversity. Hundreds of students protested last week after it came out late last month that Dropik spent five years in federal prison for setting fire to two predominantly black churches in Wisconsin and Michigan a decade ago. After the news that Dropik was forming the group came out, Chancellor Rebecca Blank said that university officials were monitoring Dropik and were not aware of any safety threats, but student leaders said Blanks response was the latest in a string of weak responses to racist incidents on campus. Protest organizer Kat Kerwin said her group, the Student Coalition for Progress, is cautiously optimistic about Dropiks decision to abandon his plans. While we view this as a triumph of deliberate democracy and community action over hate and selfishness, we recognize how much work remains to be done, she said. Dropiks past set off a debate over whether the university should take criminal history into account during admissions. Blank asked System President Ray Cross to revisit the systems policy against it. But the Student Coalition for Progress and student government representatives sharply criticized requiring applicants to disclose criminal records, saying it would unfairly affect students of color. Wisconsin League of Women Voters Executive Director Andrea Kaminski also cautioned against it last week, saying ex-offenders should have a full restoration of their rights. Johnson said he knew Dropiks crimes against black churches could reflect poorly on the American Freedom Partys agenda but concluded Dropik had served sufficient time in prison and showed remorse. I agree with the League of Women Voters, he said, adding that he encouraged Dropik to continue forming his group but that Dropik feared for his safety. Johnson has said that Donald Trumps presidency has made fertile ground for his groups recruiting efforts. When people hear youre a nationalist, they used to say, Oh, youre like Mussolini? Now they say, Oh, youre like Donald Trump, he said then. Dropik had said about a dozen students and community members expressed interest in joining his group. Johnson said he asked Dropik to send their names so he could connect them to the national party but hasnt received any names yet. Republican state Sen. Stephen Nass of Whitewater has frequently accused the university system of stifling unpopular viewpoints on campus. His spokesman Mike Mikalsen said while Nass disagrees with many of Dropiks views, the university community unfairly targeted Dropik. Individuals who have alternative viewpoints have a right to express themselves in a university, Mikalsen said. That did not happen here. "Stunning ," wrote the Washington Post. The political magazine Mother Jones described it as "one helluva statement ." Demonstrators also used the cover image on posters at protests on the streets of cities across America. "The spectacular cover image is making the rounds here in the U.S. and people are all loving it," novelist Irene Dische wrote to us from New York. We've also been deluged with passionate letters from readers here in Germany, with responses typically going in two directions -- either it's "brilliant" or "that's sick, you should see a psychologist." Some complained the image was far too brutal. The authority-loving bild.de, the news website of Germany's largest tabloid newspaper, took to Twitter to cleverly criticize DER SPIEGEL. It didn't waste any words on alienation, the caricature or freedom of expression. It instead claimed that SPIEGEL had depicted Trump as an Islamic State terrorist, as if it were some kind of photomontage. This skewed interpretation paved the way for a rabid wave of outrage. But more serious colleagues at media like the Suddeutsche Zeitung and Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung also wrote that DER SPIEGEL went too far. Where, after all, can we go from here? In Kress, a leading media industry trade publication in Germany, journalist Franz Sommerfeld wrote, "If Trump is an emergency, then it's the media's job to ring the alarm in the soundest and most informative way possible, just as the new SPIEGEL cover story has done. That, of course, also includes caricatures and other forms of journalistic confrontation." What, after all, should we be waiting for? For Trump to show that he means business? He's already doing that. For him to start his first war? For the U.S. to fade away, for its people to put up with Trump and to allow a process to start that will ultimately become irreversible? Donald Trump did not decapitate a person on the cover of DER SPIEGEL, he decapitated a symbol. The Statue of Liberty has served as America's symbol of freedom and democracy since 1886 -- one that welcomes refugees, migrants, "the homeless, tempest-tossed," according to the inscription that it bears. Donald Trump despises and threatens liberal democracy, he despises and threatens the world order and he is the most powerful man on the planet. The emergency is already upon us. You can also read this story in German . Algiers, February 06 2017 (SPS) - Sahrawi Foreign Minister Mohamed Salem Ould Salek said Monday in Algiers Morocco adherence to the AU Constitutive Act represented a "legal recognition" of the Sahrawi state and its sovereignty over its territory. "The adoption by Morocco of the AU Constitutive Act is a legal and clear recognition of the Sahrawi State and its sovereignty over its territory," Ould Salek told a news conference host at the headquarters of the Sahrawi embassy in Algiers. He was replying to the remarks of Moroccan Deputy Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita that "Morocco will never recognize the Sahrawi Republic." The "Moroccan king was sitting alongside the Sahrawi president and the African Heads of State; everyone in his countrys official seat. This is a step forward imposed by the Sahrawi people, he added. "Faced with fait accompli, Morocco will no longer deal with the Sahrawi Democratic and Arab Republic (SADR) only but with all the African states, the AU and its bodies," Ould Salek said. "Morocco has suffered a serious failure in its attempts to legitimize its occupation of the Sahrawi territories and its denial of the existence of the SADR after having tried by all means and for more than three decades to undermine the place of the Sahrawi State (...), "said the Saharawi official. "The accession of Morocco was made in compliance with the AU conditions and in accordance with the principles of its constitution, adopted by Morocco without reservations, hence the need for Morocco to end its occupation of the Sahrawi territories, "he said. During the 28th AU Summit held on 30-31 January, the AU had decided to admit Morocco as the 55th Member State of the Union, of which SADR is a founding member. Morocco had left the Organization of African Unity (OAU-current AU) to protest against the admission of SADR as a full member. Western Sahara is the last colony in Africa, occupied since 1975 by Morocco, supported by France. SPS 125/090/700 Casablanca, February 07, 2017 (SPS) - The Spanish Coordination of Associations Supporting Western Sahara (CEAS) has expressed its utter indignation the expulsion of Claude Mangin of French nationality by the Moroccan authorities from the Casablanca airport. In a statement released Monday, CEAS-Sahara denounced "the international law's failure to comply once more with the Moroccan government, by preventing Claude Mangin from visiting her husband, the political prisoner Naama Asfari, a Saharawi activist who advocates Self-determination of their land and human rights." For the Spanish organization this expulsion shows the true face of the Moroccan egime that does not comply with the international law. Ceas-SAHARA points out those Sahrawi political prisoners suffer from subhuman conditions in their confinement, without having contact with their families and their lawyers. This Monday, after having been detained all night in deplorable conditions, Claude Mangin of French nationality has been expelled from Morocco. Many human rights NGOs have condemned this vile act and have expressed their support and solidarity with Claude Mangin.SPS 125/090/TRA After years of delays, the federal government approved Wisconsins plan to give polluters less-costly options for meeting phosphorus standards aimed at reducing unnatural weed and algae growth that has impaired hundreds of lakes and streams, state lawmakers said Tuesday. The state sought an option for expensive improvements that would remove phosphorous from waste water before it was dumped in lakes or streams. Manufacturers and sewage treatment plants would be exempted from the standards for 10 years if they paid fees that would be spent on cutting phosphorous pollution that rain carries off farm fields. Some conservation groups have opposed the state plan, saying it lacked teeth to ensure that the fees would result in any significant improvement in water quality. But Chicago-based EPA spokeswoman Anne Rowan said that if the variance performs as expected it would result in much greater reductions in phosphorus pollution than would have occurred if each exempted factory and wastewater treatment plant instead installed feasible treatment technology. Rowan said she couldnt provide details on how reductions would be enforced. Some state officials and environmentalists also said it was too early to comment. The state has been pushing the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for years to approve the rules, which originated with Republicans in the Wisconsin Legislature. The timing of the EPA decision sparked speculation about whether it was related to the new administration of President Donald Trump, who has talked about dismantling the EPA and greatly reducing regulation of businesses. However, two state lawmakers said the EPA decision will result in lower costs for businesses and utilities and stronger protections for water quality. Sen. Robert Cowles, R-Green Bay, and Rep. Amy Loudenbeck, R-Clinton, emailed an announcement to news organizations. This newly approved reform measure will offer a vastly more cost-effective and resource protective means of reducing the phosphorus in our waters while lowering costs to water utility ratepayers and potentially saving thousands of Wisconsin manufacturing and food production jobs, the lawmakers said. Im incredibly pleased that we were able to move this much-needed legislation, Cowles said in a statement. However, I am still disappointed by the amount of time it took the EPA to review and approve our creative approach to reduce phosphorus. Among the first In 2010, the state was among the first in the nation to adopt specific, measurable standards for how much phosphorous could be released into state waters. The rules approved by the state Natural Resources Board were the result of lengthy talks between state regulators, businesses, local governments and environmental advocates, said Bill Davis, who directs the states chapter of the Sierra Club. But after Republican Gov. Scott Walker took office in 2011 along with GOP majorities in the Legislature, changes were sought by business interests. The original rule package recognized that in some cases, businesses and municipalities would face especially high price tags to reduce phosphorous to the levels scientists said were needed. So the rules allowed those polluters an option called adaptive management. Instead of installing new anti-pollution equipment in their plants, they would be able to provide funding for projects that would reduce phosphorous runoff from farms at a lower cost, Davis said. They would be held accountable by provisions written into their pollution permits, which are legally binding documents. If phosphorous runoff from farms wasnt reduced, the permit holders would be penalized. Madison and Green Bay were enthusiastic about the idea, and they worked with the DNR to implement legally binding adaptive management programs, Davis said. But Walker and the Legislature sought to make the adaptive management option much more widely available, and without the binding permit provisions designed to give sewage plants and manufacturers strong incentives to ensure that phosphorous runoff reductions were accomplished, Davis said. But Loudenbeck said polluters wont receive a free pass or a proverbial get-out-of-jail-free card. Cowles said the states plan would keep the numeric standards for phosphorous on the books even if many polluters are exempted from them for 10 years. Its too early to know how widely the option will be made available, but it will create significant revenue for preventing runoff, and the state can review its effectiveness after 10 years, Cowles said. Fees would equal $50 per pound of phosphorous. Jimmy Parra, an attorney for the public interest law firm Midwest Environmental Advocates, said the EPA decision isnt based on the states claims about economic costs, but on an entirely new argument that was never aired at any public hearing that water quality will be improved, Parra said. The public should have had (an) opportunity to weigh in on this new information to ensure that the decision is based on facts and science, not politics, Parra said. State Department of Natural Resources spokesman Jim Dick said the department was reviewing a letter on the topic from the EPA. Revenue for preventing runoff Progressively tighter standards under the federal Clean Water Act have reduced phosphorous pollution from industry and sewage plants. Now the majority of nutrient pollution originates on farms. Runoff is relatively inexpensive to control, but state and federal laws dont set the same clear-cut limits for agriculture as they do for industry. Farmers are offered financial incentives for voluntary efforts such as erosion prevention, which can be accomplished by planting cover crops near stream banks or by rotating crops. Cowles said he doubted the new Trump administration was responsible for the EPA approving the rules, because they have been in the works a long time. But the Sierra Clubs Davis said its possible the timing is the result of career EPA staff members taking a long view, and deciding it was important to preserve the phosphorus standards even if they are circumvented for a number of years. The alternative continuing to negotiate would have run the risk that the state would succeed in getting the standards thrown out completely after more Trump appointees are in place, Davis said. Trumps nominee for EPA administrator, Scott Pruitt, is awaiting a confirmation vote in the U.S. Senate. To the editor, I am deeply troubled, insulted, and offended, by The Interfaith Council of SW Connecticuts Letter To The Editor (Wednesday, Feb. 1, United against closing Americas doors). Despite their irrational hysterics there is no religion test and no government discrimination against individuals based on their religion. But perhaps there should be, or is The Interfaith Council content with Radical Muslims entering the country? After all, their religion is Islam. But what The Interfaith Council fails to realize is that their version of Islam is not the peaceful version of Islam that The Interfaith Council is referring too. Instead it is a version of Islam that commits atrocities against men, women, and children in the name of Islam. Will you be opening your doors to them? We are not talking about peaceful and hardworking immigrants and refugees who wish to live the so-called American Dream and become part of the melting pot. We are talking about the radical Muslims who wish to invade America and transform America into a Caliphate with Sharia law as the dominant law. That the State of Connecticut has been designated a sanctuary state by the Center for Immigration Studies is disgraceful. What happened to following the laws of the country? Every citizen of Connecticut should be ashamed, and angry, that our state refuses to follow the laws of the land. What good are laws if we only selectively follow them? How nice of The Interfaith Council to only focus on the benefits that immigrants and refugees contribute to society. But what about the negatives, the loss of freedoms, culture, and even loss of life by allowing invaders, who have no desire to become part of America, into America? How many more times must American citizens blood be spilled by a Radical Muslim uttering Allah Akbar before we do something? Growing immigration in Sweden has coincided with an alarming uptick in rape and violence, and some areas of the country have become downright dangerous to visit. Is this what The Interfaith Council wishes to happen to America? Other areas of Europe now have neighborhoods and gangs of Radical Muslims who threaten and harm citizens. Is this also what The Interfaith Council wishes to happen to America? Freedom of Speech and of religion have been bedrocks since the founding or our great nation. But we dont ensure Americas survival by allowing invaders into our country. If America falls, the entire world will suffer. President Donald Trump has called for a temporary ban, not a permanent ban implied by The Interfaith Council, on accepting immigrants and refugees from seven nations; Nations that were identified by the Obama Administration as being dangerous. Not only does he have the Constitutional right to do this, but it is the right thing to do. Lets hope that every member of The Interfaith Council removes the locks from their doors and allows immigrants and refugees into their homes. Should some of them happen to be hateful and violent people, who wish to do them harm, well isnt that exactly when they are advocating for? I would hope that the survival of America, a nation comprised of more languages, religions, races, etc. than any other nation in the world with as many, or even more, freedoms than any other country in the world, would be a top priority of The Interfaith Council. Sadly, it is not. Mark Plotzky is a Stamford resident. The people who want to build a wall between the United States and Mexico can't figure out how to turn on the lights at the White House, according to the New York Times. "Aides confer in the dark because they cannot figure out how to operate the light switches in the cabinet room," the Times reported Sunday. "Visitors conclude their meetings and then wander around, testing doorknobs until finding one that leads to an exit." While some might consider "wandering around in the dark" an apt metaphor for the new administration, the inability of President Donald J. Trump's team to operate light switches strains belief. What, they can't ask the White House staff how they work?! This morning the president denied the report in a tweet and said the "failing" Times is now "making up stories & sources." Among some of the other nuggets, so far not disputed by Trump, in the New York Times report: Chief adviser Steve Bannon spends 16 hours a day devising new strategies in the darkened, mostly empty West Wing. Trump was not fully briefed on details of the executive order he signed giving Bannon a seat on the National Security Council. The backlash left him angry and frustrated, but not enough to change his decision. Bannon has mended relations with House Speaker Paul Ryan, despite having once targeted Ryan on his website, Breitbart, as "the enemy." Pablo Martinez Monsivais Former Trump adviser New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie had planned an orderly transition similar to previous Republican presidents, but the plan was literally thrown in a garbage pail by a senior Trump aide. Instead, a strategy of releasing executive orders almost daily was adopted. The only family photo that Trump placed in the Oval Office is a picture of his father, real estate developer Frederick Christ Trump. PRAIRIE DU CHIEN She tugged 13 envelopes from a cabinet above the stove, each one labeled with a different debt: the house payment, the student loans, the vacuum cleaner she bought on credit. Lydia Holt and her husband tuck money into these envelopes with each paycheck to whittle away at what they owe. They both earn about $10 an hour. She did the math; at this rate, theyll be paying these same bills for 87 years. In 2012, Holt voted for Barack Obama because he promised her change, but she feels that change hasnt reached her here. So last year she chose a presidential candidate unlike any shed ever seen, the billionaire businessman who promised to help people like her win again. Many of her neighbors did, too so many that for the first time in more than 30 years, Crawford County, a sturdy brick in the once-mighty Big Blue Wall, abandoned the Democratic Party and that wall crumbled. Some 50 counties stretching 300 miles down the Mississippi River through Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa and Illinois transformed in one election season into Trump Country. They voted for Trump for an array of reasons, and the list of grievances they hope he now corrects is long and exacting: stagnant wages, the cost of health care, a hard-to-define feeling that things are not getting better, at least not for people like them. Facing financial facts Here in Prairie du Chien, residents often recite two facts about their hometown, the first one proudly: It is the second-oldest community in the state. The next is that its also one of the poorest. There are no rusted-out factories to embody this discontent. The main street of Prairie du Chien butts up to the Mississippi River and bustles with tourists come summer. Pickup trucks crowd parking lots at the 3M plant and Cabelas distribution center where hundreds work. Just a few vacant storefronts hint at the seething resentment that life still seems harder here than it should. In this place that astonished America when it helped hand Trump the White House, many of those who chose him greeted the frenetic opening acts of his presidency with a shrug. Immigration is not their top concern, and so they watched with some trepidation as Trump signed orders to build a wall on the Mexican border and bar immigrants from seven Muslim countries, sowing chaos around the world. They are still watching and waiting, their hopes pinned on his promised economic renaissance. One dairy farmer is typical. He thinks Trump is a jerk somebody needs to get some Gorilla Glue and glue his lips shut, he said but has watched his profits plummet and was willing to take the risk. Perception of decay Jim Bowman, director of the 16,000-resident countys Economic Development Corporation, says some of the economic anxiety here is based not on measurable decay, but rather a perception that life is decaying. There are plenty of jobs, but its hard to find one that pays more than $12 an hour, or workers lack enough training to make more money. Ambitious young people move away. Rural schools are dwindling, and with them a sense of pride and purpose. The countys $44,000-a-year median household income is $9,000 less than the states, but the cost of living is lower, too. Just 15 percent of adults have college degrees, half the national average, and yet the ratio of people living in poverty is below the country as a whole. If you ask anybody here, well all tell you the same thing: Were tired of living like this, said Mark Berns, leaning through the service window in the small-engine repair shop that he can barely keep open anymore. He drives a 14-year-old truck with 207,000 miles on it because he doesnt make enough profit to buy a new one. Berns watched Trumps first days in office half-hopeful, half-frightened. He bemoaned what he described as Trumps quantity-over-quality, sign, sign, sign approach to governing. I just hope we get the jobs back and the economy on its feet, so everybody can get a decent job and make a decent living, and have that chance at the American dream thats gone away over the past eight or 10 years. Im still optimistic, he said, sighing. I hope Im not wrong. The Apprentice effect Marlene Kramer is also optimistic Trump will make good on his promises. Her priority is health care. Kramer, who voted twice for Obama, used to watch Trump on Celebrity Apprentice. I said to myself, Ugh, I cant stand him. When he announced his candidacy, she thought it was a joke. Then my husband said to me, Just think, everything he touches seems to turn to money. And she changed her mind. Shes 54, and shes worked since she was 14 feeding cows and standing all day on factory floors. Now she works at a sewing shop, where shes happy, and gets to sit. But theres no health insurance. Kramer said shes glad the Affordable Care Act has helped millions get insurance. But it hasnt helped her. She and her husband were stunned to find premiums over $1,000 a month. They opted to pay the penalty of $2,000 until Trump, she hopes, keeps his promise to replace the law with something better. Across town, Robbo Coleman leaned over the bar he tends and described a similar political about-face. He held up an ink pen, wrapped in plastic stamped Made in China. I dont see why we cant make pens in Prairie du Chien or in Louisville, Kentucky, or in Alabama or wherever, Coleman said. Got to give him time Coleman doesnt love Trumps moves to build a wall or ban certain immigrants all Americans descended from immigrants, he said, including his own relatives, who emigrated from Germany too many generations ago to count. But hes frustrated that other politicians stopped listening to working people like him. Weve got to give him some time, he said. Hes not Houdini. Farmer Bernard Tinker Moravits is also willing to wait and see. Change is what he looked to Obama for and now expects from Trump. The price of milk and agricultural goods has plummeted, and its getting harder to keep things running at his farm in Bloomington, in Grant County. He wants the president to reduce red tape and renegotiate trade deals to benefit American farmers. Moravits, who employs Hispanic workers who have been with him 15 years, isnt impressed with Trumps move to build his stupid wall. But unlike many transfixed by Trumps presidency, Moravits doesnt stay up-to-the-minute on the news. The play-by-play dont mean bull----, he said. Its like watching the Super Bowl. What counts is how it ends. Moravits took over this farm at 18, when his father died of an aneurysm while milking cows. He said he plans to die here, too. Hell retire when they close the casket lid. But if nothing changes soon he might have to borrow against his equity. Moravits isnt sure Trump is going to Make America Great Again for farmers. But he feels he had to take the gamble. He might have us in a war in two weeks, he said. Well come back here in six months, drink a 30-pack of Busch Light and talk, because no one knows now whats gonna happen. B ankers and advisers working on the London Stock Exchanges 21 billion tie-up with Deutsche Borse will bag an extra 71 million due to a hold-up in the long-running saga. The two exchanges will pay up to 305 million excluding VAT in fees to an army of bankers, lawyers, accountants and spin doctors working on the deal, up from 234 million expected last June. LSE will foot a bill of between 153 million and 175 million and Deutsche will cough up between 123 million and 129 million. The EU Competition Commission has been blamed for the rise. It is investigating whether the tie-up will concentrate too much power in the hands of the merged entity. The sale of French clearing company Clearnet to Euronext has been proposed as a remedy to the EU concerns. The commission will decide whether the sale is enough by April 3. The Lead Banks London Stock Exchange Robey Warshaw Barclays Goldman Sachs JPMorgan Deutsche Borse Perella Weinberg Lazard Legal fees have seen the biggest increase, with total costs rising nearly 60% as LSE and DB lawyers navigate the intricacies of EU competition law. Bank fees are up 12% in comparison. The two sides have given 12 major investment banks a role on the deal, with Societe Generale, UBS and RBC Capital working for LSE alongside lead banks. Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Deutsche Bank and HSBC have been recruited by DB alongside the lead advisers. The merger between Europes exchange powerhouses has been dogged by controversy. Last week German regulators opened an insider trading probe into DB chief Carsten Kengeter over his share purchases. Deutsches board today said it had full confidence in him. B ack in December, when this column highlighted President Trumps desire to roll back financial regulation, it asked what this would mean for London in a post-Brexit world. How will the City maintain its competitive status as a place to locate and do business if New York can offer similar skills and infrastructure, but without the restrictions? Alternatively, how will the City maintain a level of regulation that could be deemed to be equivalent to that existing in the European Union and which will be needed if it is to be allowed easy access to those markets while at the same time competing on a level playing field with New York? And what is to stop European customers deciding to deal direct with New York rather than London if the Americans can offer better and cheaper deals in deregulated form? Trump moved deregulation to centre stage on Friday with the announcement that his adviser and former Goldman Sachs partner Gary Cohn had been put on the case, which makes the above questions all the more pressing. A few months ago, before Trump had even spoken, Chancellor Philip Hammond warned European capitals not to try to poach Londons business because if its firms were minded to relocate, they were far more likely to choose New York ahead of Paris or Frankfurt. It will be ironic if this is the one economic forecast he manages to get right. Insurance companies in London are in the midst of a campaign to persuade or cajole the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) into lightening up the way it enforces the requirements of the regulatory framework known as Solvency II. Enforcement here is needlessly costly and restrictive, the London firms allege, making it bad for them and for the UK economy. The PRA remains unmoved at least in public. Bankers might be sensibly reluctant about mounting such a chorus of their own as long as there continues to be a steady stream of cases through the London courts in which their past misdeeds are laid bare. But they may not have to because, even if the existing regulation remains unaltered, a further initiative under way has the potential to make London a much more attractive place to do business. The major ethical problem with the City as it evolved after Big Bang in 1986 was admirably summed up by one of its older hands, Scott Dobie, in a letter to the Financial Times some years ago. When he started his career, he said, he was given clear guidance as to who should benefit in any transaction. The client came first, the firm second and he, the employee, last. The problem with the modern City is that the order has been reversed, he added. These days, the clients interests come last. Typical of this would be the way an investment bank would offer an allocation of an attractive new bond issue to hedge funds rather than long-term investors despite knowing they would sell it on at a profit within hours to those same long-term managers. The hedge funds were handed this bung only because they were also big customers of the banks trading desk. The bank kept them sweet at the expense of securing the best price for the client company issuing the bond. But now something is being done. One consequence of the Libor, forex and other City scandals was the Fair and Effective Markets Review. This was carried out in clean-up mode by the Treasury, the Bank of England and the Financial Conduct Authority to highlight what needed to be done to restore confidence in the wholesale fixed-income, commodity and currency markets. When it reported in June 2015, it highlighted dozens of dubious practices like the one outlined briefly above and made it plain that it expected the City to clean up its act. Either it would create a voluntary standards board with the authority to eliminate these abuses, or the regulator would step in and do it. The result was FICC Markets Standards Board (FMSB), which came into being last year under the direction of Elizabeth Corley, then head of Allianz Global investors. It is now chaired by Mark Yallop, one-time UK chief executive of UBS and chief operating officer of Icap. Three things made this initiative promising. First, it is a rare thing in the City; a body that has attracted support from all the different interest groups in the market the banks, asset managers, clients and exchanges. This is notable, given that many of them spend much of their lives at odds with each other. Second, it is big. Its 40 or so members account for almost 90% of FICC revenues. Third, it has got the top people engaged and does not allow lesser deputies. This means its board understands what is going on and has the power to make its standards stick. It is, of course, still early days but it is not hanging around. It has compiled a list of about 70 topics it thinks need to be addressed and has already begun to issue standards, with one appropriately enough on conduct and process in the new-issue market currently out for comment. It is easy to be cynical about bankers promises to reform themselves but this time it does appear to be different. First, there is genuine commitment from the top. Second, it is not just bankers at the table; it is everybody. So it may be that voluntary standards that have achieved huge success in other areas of commerce, but have been unheard of in finance, may be the tool which will make people actually want to do business here, even if the regulation becomes lighter elsewhere. B P moved back into the black on Tuesday, insisting it has finally put the Gulf of Mexico trauma behind it and signalling it is ready to start increasing a dividend payment that is vital to UK pension funds. The oil giant made a profit of $115 million (92 million) for 2016, compared to losses of $6.5 billion a year earlier. It paid out another $4.1 billion for the Gulf fiasco that cost 11 lives and was one of the worst environmental disasters in history. That takes the total Gulf payouts to $62.6 billion. BP has held its divi at 10 cents a share each quarter for the last two years, even while the oil price was at historic lows. Chief financial officer Brian Gilvary said: The dividend is more secure than it has been for two years. We have taken out $7 billion of costs. Last year was a tough one to come through, but we are on the front foot in terms of activity. BP expects the Gulf payments to be mostly done this year, which means it should have fresh cash flow it can push to investors from 2018. The company will pay out $4.6 billion in divis for 2016, 40% of which goes to UK investors. Since the divi is paid in dollars, shareholders benefit from the fall in the pound. Gilvary said five years of heavy lifting were mostly over. BP launched six major start-ups in the last year, including in the Gulf, and is poised for more. The shares slipped 12p to 464p as the fourth-quarter figures missed analysts forecasts and traders fretted about Opec upping production levels to cut the oil price. Brent crude was at $55.17 earlier. Laith Khalaf, senior analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: The Gulf of Mexico oil spill continues to cast a long shadow on BPs financial performance, though the company now expects this to diminish significantly over the next few years. He added that pricing is still a challenge for the oil majors and while things are looking better than they did a year ago, were still a long way short of those halcyon days when oil traded at over $100 a barrel. B ritish Gas is preparing to hit millions of households with a hike in energy prices that could add almost 100 a year to annual bills, the Standard can reveal. Bankers and advisers working on the London Stock Exchanges 21 billion tie-up with Deutsche Borse will bag an extra 71 million due to a hold-up in the long-running saga. BP moved back into the black on Tuesday, insisting it has finally put the Gulf of Mexico trauma behind it. Global sales may be down at Charbonnel et Walker, but Brits are still stocking up on posh champagne truffles, the Queens favourite chocolatier said earlier. The Royal Warrant holders UK turnover rose nearly 15% to 9 million in the year to April 30. Total sales fell 5% to 10.2 million. Pandora may be famed for its charm bracelets, but a new focus on earrings has helped boost group sales by 21%, the Danish jewellery retailer said on Tuesday. Bellway has splashed out 380 million on land as the housebuilder bets on growth amid robust demand for homes, it said on Tuesday. A surge in online shopping over Christmas and an uncertain economic environment was blamed for a fall in revenues at FirstGroup earlier. Luxury handbag maker Radley is set to expand into the US this year. Clothing chain New Look on Tuesday reported tumbling quarterly sales and profits, blaming extremely challenging conditions on UK High Streets. The City took a punt on Plus500 on Tuesday as the spreadbetter posted record results. Parcels firm DX delivered a blow to City earlier with a profit alert. Comment Jim Armitage thinks it is time to give BP boss Bob Dudley a break. Simon English discusses evidence that suggests you can pencil the next banking crisis in for around 2020. Anthony Hilton says a City shake-up could see off European rivals. W hen does the next banking crisis start? When the only banker who properly understood the last one retires. That used to be the rule, allowing for a new apocalypse every 20 years (top bankers often retire early, remember, owing to having too much money). Perhaps they can come around faster if Donald Trump happens to be President. On Friday, Trump signed an executive order to review the 2010 Dodd-Frank regulations, which aimed to separate ordinary savings from casino-like trading. A disaster, he said. Were going to do a big number on Dodd-Frank. By Monday, the Wall Street Journal was reporting with enthusiasm that looser rules would allow the top six US banks to hand $100 billion to investors. Who but fools and communists could possibly be opposed to such a bonanza? Why would banks need to hold high levels of capital? This market is up and it only goes one way. Trump, who won partly because he attacked election rivals as Goldman Sachs lapdogs, has now done the inevitable U-turn and hired half of Goldman Sachs as advisers. Gary Cohn, head of Trumps National Economic Council, was number two at Goldman and doesnt sound like he worries much for the little guy. He was known internally as the attack dog, who could bust kneecaps, once telling students the point of business was to wake up every morning and figure out how to win. And you thought we were all in it together. For Cohn, winning means freeing the big banks again, unleashing the casino. Small lenders who arent too-big-to-fail and dont benefit from the implied and real government subsidy that props up big banks will think this unfair. The US government might take notice of them before its too late, though that would be a first. Janet Yellen, a fan of the stricter rules on banks, seems already to be on the wrong side of Trump. Her term at the Federal Reserve is up next January; expect a Wall Street footman to replace her. Over here, the ground is shifting in Trumpian ways. Messrs Osborne and Cameron are already raking in fortunes for advising the financial sector. UK watchdogs tend not to get appointed to top jobs, or indeed get defenestrated, if they are seen as too anti-bank. This week, the Bank of Englands new deputy governor for banking and financial markets will be appointed. None of the candidates appear to have a history of remotely going after banks; indeed, they understand them in sympathetic rather than critical ways. Every now and again, bankers need reminding what the societal purpose is of their existence. It is to support the rest of us; be a servant of the real economy. If bankers and traders get unjustly rich along the way, well live with it, so long as they keep up their side of the bargain and dont blow up at our expense. This view is fairly often heard even in the City of London, where small or medium-sized firms have far more to fear from Goldman Sachs than they have in common with it. Recently, there have been whacking fines handed out to, among others, Barclays and Deutsche Bank. On the surface, the banks appear chastened. In reality, they know the regulatory climate is again going their way. Anyone who really matters has been persuaded that fines for fraud are just the cost of doing business rather than a genuine attempt to bring about a change in behaviour. So the evidence suggests you can pencil the next banking crisis in for around 2020 we can call it the Trump Slump. In other economic news, a head of steam has been built against Theresa Mays industrial strategy, under attack from the Citys most senior figures, records the FT. Sir Nigel Rudd wants the Government to get out of the way. Others repeat the tired old line that the state cant pick winners. Of course, it has already picked those winners. And decided they should be the biggest banks again. For a little while, until they crash all around us. The exact identity of the losers in this trade hasnt quite been decided yet. But one way or another, it will be us again. Brace. T he Speaker of the House of Commons is expected, like the Queen, to preserve strict political neutrality. Yet John Bercow, one of three officials who decide whether a state visitor is invited to deliver an address in Westminster Hall, has declared that President Trump should not be invited to make an address to Parliament. To be invited to deliver an address in Westminster Hall is, in the Speakers words, not an automatic right, it is an earned honour, from which, he believes, Trumps racism and sexism disqualify him. Apart from the Queen, only Presidents Albert Lebrun and Charles de Gaulle of France, Nelson Mandela, Barack Obama and Aung San Suu Kyi have addressed Parliament. Others, including some who were by no means pure-hearted democrats, such as former Soviet dictator Nikita Khrushchev and former Soviet premier Alexei Kosygin, have given addresses in the Royal Gallery. The Speaker, however, is a servant of the House of Commons. He is not empowered to express his own views in public but only the views of the Commons. But the Commons has not yet come to a view. The Speakers intervention, therefore, is constitutionally improper. It is also politically unhelpful. For it is by no means clear whether an invitation to address Parliament is one that the US President actually seeks. In that case, the Speaker will have initiated an unnecessary diplomatic spat by pronouncing on an issue that may not arise and in any case did not need to be addressed in public. For if the President is not to be invited to address Parliament, the decision should be made privately and discreetly conveyed. Intervention: John Bercow has said Donald Trump will not address MPs in Westminster Hall / PA Theresa May has been treading on eggshells. She believes, probably rightly, that there is more to be gained from private remonstrance than from publicly snubbing the notoriously thin-skinned President. She is engaged in a delicate diplomatic balancing act, avoiding confrontation while making it clear that she does not share many of the Presidents views and in particular his policy on immigration. She may well have been more forthright in private discussion than she felt able to be in public; and during her recent visit to the US, Trump publicly endorsed Nato and disavowed torture. The Prime Minister will likely not be grateful to the Speaker who, in parading his virtue, may have undermined her diplomacy. The proposed state visit is, of course, controversial. More than 1.7 million have signed a petition opposing it. It is shortly to be debated by MPs. An early day motion opposing an address in the Palace of Westminster has been signed by 163 MPs, mostly from the Labour Party and the SNP. MPs can of course initiate a motion opposing both the state visit and the address to Parliament. But it would be unlikely to pass. The Government, after all, has a working majority of 16 in the Commons and May would no doubt issue a three-line whip requiring Conservative MPs to reject such a motion. Until the Commons comes to a definitive view on the state visit and the possibility of an address to Parliament, the Speaker should stay silent even if he believes his view is backed by many. It is not his job to counterpose his own opinion against that of the elected government. In any case megaphone diplomacy rarely succeeds. Vernon Bogdanor is professor of government at Kings College, London W hat is happening to the Labour Party? Last Thursday, two unrelated events prompted me to mull over this question. The first was at Sheffield Hallam University. I was on a platform with other politicians taking questions from a student audience. A local Labour MP was having the normal go at me about tuition fees. Fair enough though I noticed he omitted to mention Labours own role in introducing tuition fees, and then trebling them on its own watch. No, the moment Labours malaise really struck me was when this MP started speaking about the vote last week in the Commons on Article 50. He displayed none of the intelligence or humility of Keir Starmer, the shadow secretary for exiting the EU, who disarmingly confessed to the gathered MPs how difficult the issue is for Labour. Instead, in Sheffield this MP started to deliver a sanctimonious lecture to the Ukip and Conservative panellists, berating them for placing immigration above the economy in the Brexit talks. I couldnt contain myself. Irascibly, I interrupted his pro-European sermon to remind him that hed just got off a train from London having voted with Douglas Carswell, Michael Gove, John Redwood and other zealous Brexiteers. How could he claim he was representing the interests of the youngsters in the audience having given his support to Theresa Mays uncompromisingly hard Brexit, yanking the UK out of the single market altogether? I dont believe that it would have been a betrayal of democracy if MPs had voted against the Government last week. All that would have happened, once the splenetic outrage of the Brexit-supporting press had passed, is that the Government would have been forced to come back to MPs with a more moderate, workable approach to Brexit which would then have received their support. MPs would not have blocked Brexit but they would have blocked hard Brexit. So it is pretty rich for Labour MPs to deliver pious homilies to other parties about the dangers of hard Brexit. A few hours later I was talking to a jubilant Liberal Democrat candidate who had just secured an astonishing local council by-election victory in one of Labours oldest strongholds: Brinsworth and Catcliffe ward in Rotherham, near Orgreave. Brexit: David Davis forgets EU departure dates The battle of Orgreave, between strikers and the police at the height of the miners strike in 1984, still reverberates with controversy today and occupies a special place in the history of working-class struggles which sustain the Labour movement. The symbolism of Orgreave now being represented by a Lib-Dem Councillor is difficult to exaggerate. Its just not supposed to happen. But it did. And Labour MPs filed through the lobbies to support a hard Conservative Brexit too. So what on Earth is going on? When I asked the jubilant Lib-Dem councillor what his explanation was for his victory, his answer was simple: People round here just feel totally taken for granted by Labour. For decades the Labour Party has represented vast swathes of northern England. I am the only non-Labour MP in South Yorkshire a dot of yellow in a sea of red. For much of that time the woes of the north were repeatedly blamed on Westminster, and especially on the industrial ravages wrought by Margaret Thatchers Government in the Eighties. The Coalition Government and the Lib-Dems in particular became a convenient whipping boy for Labour. After the 2010 election austerity became the catch-all explanation for the worlds woes according to Labour overlooking the inconvenient truth that the Coalitions fiscal contraction ended up being less severe than that planned by Alistair Darling and Gordon Brown. Just last week the Resolution Foundation think-tank confirmed that inequality remained largely stable during the Coalition years not least due to the Lib-Dem veto of 12 billion of Conservative welfare cuts while inequality will now shoot up because those Conservative plans are going ahead. But Labour never let the facts get in the way of a good betrayal narrative. Instead of using their time in opposition after 2010 to work out why theyd lost power, why the public didnt trust them with the economy, why they had consigned the North to an over-reliance on the public sector, and why theyd failed to regulate the banks before the 2008 crash, the Labour Party chose instead to blame the problems of the world on someone else. No wonder Jeremy Corbyn and Momentum filled the intellectual void when Ed Miliband stood down. MP shouts suicide as the Brexit bill is passed in parliament And now, just as many traditional working-class voters in the North feel abandoned by Labour, the party has chosen to abandon its pro-European members too by voting for a hard Brexit. It has created a perfect storm for Labour: in trying to offend nobody it has ended up disappointing everybody. I know a thing or two about rapid political reversals: during my time as leader the Lib-Dems secured their largest tally of votes ever in 2010, followed by a total drubbing in 2015. Labours woes echo the way the Liberal Party lost touch with its voters in the early part of the last century. So I look at them mindful that it can happen to any party. But the fact is the country urgently needs a proper Opposition to challenge a complacent Conservative Government which is driving the country towards a hard Brexit no one voted for. A proper Opposition would make mincemeat of the tin-eared misjudgments of a Prime Minister who chooses obeisance to Donald Trump over friendship with Angela Merkel. Tonight, Labour MPs have the chance to regain a little self-respect by pushing through amendments compelling the Government to defer to parliament before any final Brexit deal is done, or when and if the negotiations collapse. If their amendments fail, they should oppose the Article 50 Bill altogether. Labour needs to stand up and be counted before it is too late. For all of our sakes. A comprehensive David Hockney exhibition at Tate Britain has already become the gallerys fastest selling show, and it hasnt even opened to the public yet. That makes for a lot of visitors to impress but when he was asked what he wanted people to feel when they left, Hockney simply replied joy. One of Britains most popular contemporary artists, Hockney has been creating art that celebrates life and looks closely at the beauty of the world for six decades. The breadth and scale of the new show is vast but, to start off with, here are five Hockney works guaranteed to bring the viewer joy. Woldgate Woods 6 & 9 (2006) Woldgate Woods, 6 & 9 November 2006 (David Hockney, photo by Richard Schmidt) In an interview, Hockney spoke of a magical snowy day when he went to Woldgate Woods whilst everyone else was inside. We were the only people there. His work, which sold in New York for 9.4 million in 2016, conveys that beauty. Peter Getting Out of Nicks Pool (1966) Peter Getting Out of Nick's Pool (National Museums Liverpool, Walker Art Gallery. Presented by Sir John Moores 1968) Hockneys painting of his former lover is a sophisticated study of the male form, with the glimmering lines of the pool emphasising the eroticism of the scene. The painting radiates adoration. Domestic Scene, Los Angeles (1963) Domestic Scene, Los Angeles (David Hockney) Hockney was open about his sexuality before homosexuality was decriminalised, in 1967. This depiction of gay domesticity unashamedly shows a happy relationship between two men. Model With Unfinished Self-Portrait (1977) Model With Unfinished Self-Portait(Private collection c/o Eykyn Maclean) Hockneys lover sleeps on whilst the artist works on a painting. It simultaneously captures the peace found in Hockneys work, as well as his dedication to his art. Going Up Garrowby Hill (2000) Going Up Garrowby Hill (Private collection, Topanga, California) / Photo by Jeff McLane This is one of Hockneys most reproduced prints. The combination of sprawling Yorkshire scenery and bright colours make it one of the number one candidates for Hockney fans to have on their walls at home. David Hockney is at Tate Britain, SW1 from Thursday until May 29; tate.org.uk Visit standard.co.uk/arts for the latest news and reviews from Londons arts scene Follow Going Out on Facebook and on Twitter @ESgoingout After a successful pilot program, Madison may soon permanently more than double the number of on-leash dog parks. A proposal by Mayor Paul Soglin and Ald. Samba Baldeh, 17th District, would increase the number of parks where leashed dogs are allowed in posted areas from 12 to 26. The city ran the pilot program last year. The resolution intends for leashed dogs to be allowed on paved paths or within six feet of them, subject to existing requirements that dogs are under the handlers control, licensed and have a permit to use dog exercise areas. The Park Commission approved the resolution on Wednesday. A final decision by the City Council is expected on Feb. 28. The parks where leashed dogs would be allowed under the proposed resolution include: Acewood, Baxter, Blackhawk, Door Creek, Garner, Greentree, High Point, James Madison, Norman Clayton, North Star, Peace, Richmond Hill, Walnut Grove and Wingra. Leashed dogs are already allowed in the following parks: Brittingham (from Bassett to Bedford streets), Demetral, Elver (from March 15 to Nov. 15), Glen Oak Hills, Hoyt (along Owen Parkway), Law, Marlborough, Quarry, Spring Harbor (eastern portion), Sycamore, Warner and the Yahara River Parkway, including Burr Jones Field. The city also has eight existing off-leash dog parks: Brittingham, Demetral, McCormick, Odana School, Quann, Sycamore, Walnut and Warner. Editor's note: This story has been updated to clarify that there are restrictions on some of the on-leash parks at which dogs are allowed. T he changing face of women in popular culture as they subvert traditional notions of femininity is part of a new exhibition in the capital. Athletes, strongwomen, cowgirls, female electricians and middle-aged surfers are some of the subjects of the Creative In Focus exhibition opening at the Getty Images Gallery this month. The news agency said it had recorded a 173 per cent increase in UK searches for gritty women in the past year, reflecting a growing interest in gender identity and representation, while the exhibition also focuses on unfiltered images and virtual reality. Andrew Saunders, senior vice-president for creative content, said: This is an exciting time, as we are at the tipping point in a number of areas. Scepticism around virtual reality, for example, has been replaced by excitement for what it allows us to achieve visually. Visit standard.co.uk/arts for the latest news and reviews from Londons arts scene Follow Going Out on Facebook and on Twitter @ESgoingout A fter teasing fans with billboards across the capital hinting at a return, Stormzy has announced a new tour, Gang Signs & Prayer, which includes two London dates. The grime rapper, arguably best known for track Shut Up, will play the O2 Brixton Academy on Tuesday May 2 and Wednesday May 3. Pre-sale tickets are now on sale and proving popular, with Stormzy tweeting on his recently revived account: You lot crashed the website gimme a sec accompanied by a laughing-crying face emoji. Tickets are on sale now and can be bought here. The short tour will kick off in Belfast on March 31, and is named for the rappers much anticipated debut album, which will be released on February 24. Once again, it seems Stormzy got his face in the Evening Standard. Follow David Ellis on Twitter @dvh_ellis Follow Going Out on Facebook and on Twitter @ESGoingOut C hef Giorgio Locatelli says young people should be taught about the pleasures of eating and not just the nutritional benefits of food. The Italian, whose restaurant Locanda Locatelli, in Marylebone, was awarded a Michelin star in 2003, said he believed schools that can provide children with food education should do so. But he added: We have to be careful about just teaching them the nutritional value of food. Sure it is important to know what protein is and to separate food groups but food is so much more than nutrition. It is a pleasure. It is about discovery. We have to be very careful not to demonise food or food groups. Thats not really very healthy. Food is about conviviality. It is about family. Its not just fuel. The chef was speaking as part of his involvement in the Royal Academy of Culinary Artss long-running Adopt A School programme, in which leading chefs visit schools to educate pupils in food and front-of-house. Albert Roux, Raymond Blanc, Ben Tish and Phil Howard are also involved. Locatelli, 53, visited pupils at Camdens Rhyl Primary yesterday, teaching them how to make bread and pizza. Life skill: Giorgio Locatelli teaching children to make bread at Rhyl Primary, Camden He said: I was so scared that I would lose control of the children. But I wanted to have fun with them. It is so important to make food engaging and fun at this young age and teach them the life skill of cooking. It can shape them for life. Follow us on Twitter: @eslifeandstyle A knifeman is facing jail today after he was found guilty of stabbing a young student to death during a mass brawl at an east London park. Bradley Quaresma, 20, was slashed across the neck and stabbed in the chest with a kitchen knife by 21-year-old Marino Albino Te during a row in West Ham Lane Recreation Ground in Stratford, which was packed with families. Police and paramedics fought to save Mr Quaresma, a Portugese national, but he was pronounced dead at the scene on July 22 last year. The fight had broken out among a large group of men gathered at the park as passers-by who were out enjoying the sun looked on in horror. Te, of no fixed address, was found guilty of manslaughter at the Old Bailey today following a trial. Victim: Bradley Quarsema, 20, who was killed in a park in Stratford He was cleared of murder and had claimed throughout the trial that he was acting in self-defence. CCTV footage played in court showed Te fleeing the park onto Tennyson Road after he had stabbed Mr Quaresma who had been living in London as a student for two years. Scotland Yard said the large bloodied kitchen knife used to stab Mr Quaresma was recovered near to the park in Whalebone Lane. Guilty: Mario Albino Te / Metropolitan Police Te boarded a train to Paris from St Pancras station the morning after the killing but officers working with the French authorities detained him in the capital city and brought him back to the UK. Te, who was carrying cash and a bag filled with clothes and his ID, was arrested on suspicion of murder that afternoon. He gave no comment during interviews and was charged on Sunday, July 24. Te was spotted at St Pancras station / Metropolitan Police At the time of his death, Mr Quaresma's family described his as a "smart guy with a big heart". Paying tribute to him, relatives said: "Bradley was a very friendly person. He was always keen to help others and the happiest person we have ever met. A smart guy with a big heart. DCI Gary Holmes, the senior investigating officer from the Met's Homicide and Major Crime Command, said: "Bradley was a young man in the prime of his life who was tragically killed at the hands of Te. "The jury found Te guilty of Bradley's unlawful killing, and rejected the claim that he was acting in self-defence and that Bradley was the aggressor. "I would like to thank Bradley's family for the bravery and courage they have shown since his death and throughout our investigation." C CTV captured the moment a teenage knifeman fled from a crime scene in Russell Square after a stabbing rampage which left an American tourist dead and five others injured. Footage has been released showing the moments just after knifeman Zakaria Bulhans terrifying attack last August. The 19-year-old is shown casually walking away from the crime scene with one hand in the air before reappearing and walking the other way. Seconds later he can be seen fleeing from police and looking over his shoulder as officers give chase. Chilling: CCTV footage recorded in the aftermath of the stabbing spree. / Met Police Bulhan was in the grip of a psychotic episode when he killed retired teacher Darlene Horton, who was visiting the UK from the US. The Norwegian-born teen also knifed Martin Hoenisch, Lillie Sellentin, David Imber, Bernard Hepplewhite and Yovel Lewronski before being Tasered by police. Psychotic episode: Zakaria Bulhan, 19 On Monday, Bulhan pleaded guilty to manslaughter by diminished responsibility and five charges of wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm. The Old Bailey heard his mental health had been deteriorating prior to the stabbings. Bulhan began behaving erratically before attacking passers-by at the popular tourist area with a large kitchen knife. Victim: 64-year-old Darlene Horton / Met Police He denied allegations of murder and attempted murder and the prosecution accepted the lesser charges following an assessment by psychiatrists. Mum-of-two Mrs Horton, from Florida, was stabbed in the lung and heart and died at the scene. She had been spending the summer in London while her husband, a professor, had been teaching classes. Bulhan was sentenced on Tuesday afternoon when Mr Justice Spencer ordered that the teenager be detained indefinitely at a mental hospital for treatment to his mental health. A south London policeman has undergone urgent medical tests after he was spat at by a woman who claimed she was contagious. Kingston Police said the officer was rushed to a hospital virology unit after he was attacked by a woman in Surbiton at around 10pm on Monday. Police were called to an address and found a woman behaving extremely aggressive towards London Ambulance Service paramedics. When the officer intervened and attempted to calm her down he was spat at by the woman which landed in his eye and mouth. She then told officers she was contagious but refused to say with what, police said. The policeman was taken to hospital to determine if he has potentially contracted a virus and is set to receive the results this week. The woman was taken to hospital to receive treatment by other officers. Borough Commander Tony Enoch said: I would like to praise the bravery and resilience of my officers that dealt with this incident last night. We are doing all we can to support the injured officer and I will personally ensure that he gets the best possible care. I will not tolerate my officers being assaulted, especially in this sort of method. I will ensure that we push for the strongest possible sentence. A street was placed on lockdown after a member of the public dropped a hand grenade off at a police station during the Mets gun amnesty. Queens Road in Wimbledon was cordoned off at around 1.40pm as specialist units were drafted in to deal with the unexpected drop-off. The street was taped off for around an hour while the item was checked over. The police station was evacuated as the checks were carried out. A spokesman for the Met said: The item was handed in as part of this week's firearms surrender. It is believed the item that was handed in dates back a number of years. At 2.30pm the station was reopened and the item was taken away to be disposed safely. It comes as the Met Police urged Londoners to hand in any guns in their possession this week. The campaign allows people to surrender their weapons at a number of police stations, including Wimbledon, without having to give their details. Launching the week-long amnesty on Monday, Detective Chief Superintendent Jim Stokley, of the Mets Trident and Area Crime Command, said: "Our aim is to remove all illegal firearms from the streets of London and we work relentlessly to disrupt and arrest anyone suspected of being involved in gun crime. If you hold on to an illegal gun, you are putting yourself and your loved ones in danger and you are likely to be arrested and face at least five years in jail. A yob has been jailed for a racist rampage against a US Army veteran in which he called him a little f****** immigrant and told him to get back to Africa. Robert Molloy, 20, 19-year-old Aaron Cauchi and another youth, aged 16, were drinking and looking for trouble when they subjected Juan Jasso, a former serviceman from Texas, to a barrage of abuse on a tram in Manchester. Mr Jassos, who has been living in the UK for 18 years, challenged the youths who were swearing and shouting on the tram packed with mothers with babies in buggies, schoolchildren and commuters. The three then turned on Mr Jasso, Manchester Magistrates' Court heard. Molloy, the instigator, told Mr Jasso: "Don't chat s*** when you're not even from England, you little f****** immigrant. Get off the f****** tram now. Get back to Africa." He then poured beer over Mr Jasso from the bottle he was holding before all three got off the tram. Cauchi, a father of one, Molloy, both jobless, and the youth went on to spit in the face of a cyclist and attack another man, all victims on their way to work on the morning of June 28 last year, days after the EU referendum vote. A lawyer representing Cauchi at the hearing on Tuesday cited the divisive rhetoric of Brexit politicians. All three each pleaded guilty to three offences at Manchester Magistrates' Court on Monday shortly before their trial was due to begin. Molloy was jailed for six months on Tuesday but sentencing of Cauchi was adjourned and an ambulance called after he complained of stomach pains and lay down on the floor outside the courtroom before he was due to face punishment. James McDermott, mitigating for Cauchi, who is of Maltese extraction, said: "This incident occurred five days after the EU referendum, clearly several months leading up to the referendum those in positions of great responsibility employed divisive rhetoric that clearly has had an impact, there's been a huge increase in the number of similar incidents. "That's not offered as an excuse, but I would suggest the time and background is something your worships can bear in mind." The EU vote resulted in a 41 per cent increase in hate crime, according to Home Office statistics. Jailing Molloy, chair of the bench Michael Evans told him: "Hopefully on your release from prison a lesson will be learned and you will be able to make a positive contribution and treat people with respect." When video of the tram attack went viral, all three were identified and later arrested. Cauchi, of Spa Crescent, Little Hulton, Salford, pleaded guilty to using threatening words or behaviour and assault. Molloy, of no fixed address, pleaded guilty to a racially aggravated assault, common assault and using threatening words and behaviour. He was jailed for six months, ordered to pay 400 costs and pay 50 to each victim. He was also given a Criminal Behaviour Order banning him from using the tram in Greater Manchester for two years. Lorna Wincote, mitigating for Molloy, who had previous convictions for burglary and assault, said he had a diagnosed "conduct disorder", came from a broken home and was homeless. The 16-year-old was dealt with on Monday and received a six-month referral order and was ordered to pay 100 costs and 60 compensation. It is not known when Cauchi will be sentenced. Additional reporting by Press Association. T he developers behind the 9 billion regeneration of Battersea Power Station have revealed that a Danish pizzeria, an oyster bar and a boutique gin distillery are the latest businesses to take space in the first part of the riverside site to open. The initial phase of the scheme, called Circus West, is due to see its first residents move in within weeks. The restaurants, bars and shops in Circus West Village will open by summer with the Malaysian-owned developers sticking to a no chains policy. The latest five are offshoots of Copenhagen pizzeria Mother; Spitalfields, Soho and South Kensington seafood restaurant Wright Brothers; Bermondsey gin distillery Dodds Gin; Earlsfield diner Bens Canteen; and Duckroad, a sister restaurant to Sohos Ducksoup and Rawduck in London Fields. What will Battersea Power Station look like after redevelopment Rob Tincknell, chief executive of the Battersea Power Station Development Company, said: We are striving to deliver the best mix of independent, authentic and fun British and international operators an extension of the existing local community, a place for people to visit, be entertained, try something new, work and live. L ondon is home to constituencies with some of the lowest literacy rates in the country, it has been revealed. Five of the capital's parlimentary constituencies Barking, Hackney South and Shoreditch, Camberwell and Peckham, Bethnal Green and Bow and Poplar and Limehouse are among those with the lowest literacy levels in England, according to a new study from The National Literacy Trust and Experian. Data was analysed about the social factors most closely associated with low literacy and a literacy vulnerability score was calculated for all electoral ward and parliamentary constituencies. Barking scored 55 for its literacy vulnerability score and only Middlesbrough ranked below it. Hackney South and Shoreditch had the third worst literacy level in the country with a score of 78, while the other three constituencies were placed in the bottom 20. Map showing literacy levels across England / Experian and The National Literacy Trust The study found that 86 per cent of constituencies in England contain at least one ward with serious literacy issues, leaving just 75 constituencies out of 533 with no serious literacy issues at all. The analysis also revealed that low literacy levels arent restricted to regions with low income, employment and social deprivation. Richard Jenkings, Lead Analytics Consultant at Experian, said: What shocked me the most in the analysis was just how far reaching the problem of low literacy is in England its on all of our doorsteps, regardless of location. Most regions have at least one area with severe literacy problems. We hope that by making sense of all this data, we have helped lay the foundations for others to transform lives and local communities for the better. Madisons hope for a world-class BioAg Gateway on the Southeast Side to boost the states agricultural economy seems over. After years of effort, the city is selling its first chunk of property to a business intending to locate in the long-dormant BioAg Gateway, a 28.6-acre industrial park once seen as a home for agricultural entrepreneurs and research. But the business doesnt match the original vision for the city-owned gateway property. Instead, the city is considering a sale of 2.8 acres to Vogel Bros. Building Co., a fifth-generation construction services company, for a $3 million, one-story, 12,000-square-foot corporate headquarters with potential for expansion. Vogel has offices at 2701 Packers Ave. and in Lakeland, Florida. Under a proposed agreement, Vogel would pay $339,385 for the acreage, with the company able to forgo payment of $31,385 if it completes the project by the end of the year and avoid another $100,000 if it creates or keeps 23 jobs at the site. Our primary goal was to stay in the city and the East Side, company president Peter Vogel said, noting that zoning allows corporate offices and related uses that fit nicely with his companys plans. Our hope is maybe we can spur some more development. The BioAg Gateway concept is now basically dead, with the city now hoping to lure a more broad array of users to the property, city economic development director Matt Mikolajewski said, noting the citys land is amid a larger area of commercial development already home to many businesses. The city had considered a high-tech, agricultural industrial park for the Southeast Side since 2007, when it bought the 28.6 acres for $3.5 million. At the start of the decade, the city teamed with nonprofit Madison Development Corp. and got a $4.5 million grant to support the $7 million to $9 million Midwest BioLink and Commercialization Center at 5420 World Dairy Drive, which was to offer laboratory and office space, greenhouses and shared conference areas and be the cornerstone of the BioAg Gateway. The gateway was to also include the BioAg business park, the Wisconsin Ag Discovery Center and the Wisconsin Ag showcase. Despite aggressive marketing, none of it has been built. By 2013, MDC had dropped out and the city informed the federal government it couldnt identify enough tenants or cover a construction cost shortfall for BioLink, and ultimately refused the $4.5 million federal grant. The city, which was willing to provide land worth $500,000 and $2 million in tax increment financing support, sought a voluntary termination of the grant to avoid missing a deadline and involuntary termination by the federal Economic Development Administration, which could have damaged the citys ability to attract future grants. Soon after, city officials acknowledged the private sector wasnt interested in developing the BioAg Gateway as envisioned. The decision came once we realized the BioLink project wasnt going to go forward, Mikolajewski said. Ald. Denise DeMarb, 16th District, had pushed for improved roads and infrastructure for the property to make it more attractive in the market and is comfortable with the new direction. Im happy about it, she said. My hope for the site is to have viable businesses and good-paying jobs for people. Period. I t has been host to some legendary guests including the Prince of Wales, Aristotle Onassis and shamed US President Richard Nixon. But now the worlds best known nightclub, Annabels in Mayfair, has infuriated a few of its loyal clientele by hitting them with a steep bill. One hundred members with memberships up for renewal have just been sent the invitation to join the new Annabels, after owner Richard Caring invested 55 million into new luxury premises a few doors down from the original basement club. This is a whole townhouse on Berkeley Square. One hot-headed recipient of the letter, who doesnt want to be named, told The Londoner: Even my richest friends say he can f**k off the place is going to be crammed full of Eurotrash who are the only ones stupid enough to pay it.Under Carings proposals, it will be 2,700 for annual membership and an additional 1,250 for your spouse. To join rival members club No 5 Hertford Street, situated just around the corner and owned by Robin Birley, the son of the original Annabels owner Mark Birley, costs two-thirds of the price of Annabels at around 1,800 annual membership and 500 for an added spouse. The only reason aristocracy have retained their membership is because when some of them joined 20 years ago the deal was that the yearly membership stayed the same, said one Mayfair insider. The drinks arent even subsidised.It is true that meritocracy has bitten into the spending power of the aristocracy but The Londoner thinks Caring wont be short of the new elite for his much anticipated venture. His representatives were too dignified to issue a response this morning. -- The Trump presidency hasnt got off to a flier so no wonder social media seeks solace in the past. A new Twitter account is dedicated to Donaeld The Unready, a fictional medieval king with Trump-like qualities. Ive got great swords, the profile reads. Everyone says so. Make Mercia Great Again. He hopes to build a wall to repel the Welsh, and hates King Canute. What a loser. Cant even hold back the sea. Its just water. Were going to be so tough on the sea. Sad. Sex, drugs and rock n roll in the Raj TO DAUNTS in Marylebone last night, where writer Katie Hickman was the perfect hostess at the launch of her new novel The House at Bishopsgate. The book is the third in a trilogy that has taken up 10 years of her life but she is already planning the next step: two works of non-fiction. One is about women of the Raj, from 1616, and the other is women of the Wild West, Hickman said. They were in the early days of sex, drugs rock n roll: they drank and they gambled and they had not very respectable liaisons. Sounds like The Londoners kind of gals. Fashionable folk are talking techno Real intellectuals discussed artificial intelligence, fashion and technology last night in an outing for the British Fashion Councils Fashion Trust at Sothebys. Jose Neves, CEO of luxury group Farfetch, mused on the intersection between glamour and gadgets with will.i.am, who has recently launched a range of designer earbuds. Given the amount of time the Black Eyed Pea spends over here, The Londoner wonders if hes on some kind of exchange programme with James Corden and Piers Morgan (were happy with the deal). Guests included interior designer Kelly Hoppen, cocktail dress maven Amanda Wakeley, and Donna Air, who was going for gold in an elegant fringed ensemble. -- Pity Boris. The Foreign Secretary had barely tucked into his starter at the Black and White Ball last night when he had to make his excuses. He, Theresa May, Liz Truss and a host of other ministers had to leave the biggest Tory fundraiser of the year, held at Battersea Evolution, in order to return to Westminster in time for the Article 50 vote. Guess the days of party politics are over. Harris puts herself in Hiddlestons shoes Last month Naomie Harris appeared to cringe as Tom Hiddleston, pictured, gave a questionable acceptance speech at the Golden Globes. But now she explains that she was expressing empathy, not disdain. I really sympathise with Tom, Harris tells New York Magazine, because I think its so easy, under the pressure of those moments to find yourself going down the path of telling a story and as youre telling it, think, This is not what I want to say, its not how I mean it to go, but youre kind of trapped on that train and you cant stop.Harris may experience a similar ordeal if she wins an Oscar for her performance in Moonlight. Its not going to happen, she says. Its Viola [Davis]s year, you know? Stranger things have happened... Tough crowd for Bercow FRESH from theatrics in the Commons over Donald Trump, John Bercow stepped out last night. He was among the audience at the Garrick Theatre, current home of acclaimed political play This House. But just as he was getting comfy in the red plush seats, a fellow theatregoer turned to confront him. Other members of the audience Jack Straw was also about held their breath. Were they complaining about Bercows speech, in which he made it clear that Trump was not welcome to address Westminster Hall? No: the stranger was angry at Bercows secondary announcement, his decision to strip Commons clerks of their ceremonial wigs. Bercow replied that they had to modernise. But are the two matters related? Surely a ban on wigs would at least require an in-depth analysis of Trumps follicles. -- Pick of the day: yesterday actress Meghan Markle was pictured choosing some flowers at Kensingtons Flower Corner, where we buy our blooms. See you there on Valentines Day/ Eve, Meghan. B ritain is set for bigger tax rises and deeper spending cuts as the era of austerity stretches into the 2020s, a leading economic watchdog warned today. Hopes that the big squeeze would ease up after the next election were dashed by the highly respected Institute for Fiscal Studies. Instead, it warned that the Chancellor may even fail to eradicate the deficit by the time of the 2025 general election. Another parliament of austerity is the sad prospect, said the London-based think tanks director Paul Johnson. Around 34 billion of extra deficit-reduction will be needed after the election, said the IFS, launching its annual Green Budget report with ICAEW, Oxford Economics and the Nuffield Foundation. It warned the tax burden was set to rise to the biggest share of national income since 1987 and stated the deficit is now set to be larger, and to persist for longer. The report cautioned that voters were being lulled into a false hope that the worst was over because current cuts and tax rises were relatively mild. But there will be a particularly sharp bout of spending cuts in 2019. MPs may speculate that the temporary easing was perfectly timed for ex-Chancellor George Osborne to succeed David Cameron as Prime Minister but for the referendum defeat. The report said the fiscal outlook could get worse if the economy is derailed by Brexit, cutting growth and adding to borrowing costs. In addition, the Government was under huge political pressure to spend more on elderly people, boost the NHS and freeze fuel duties again, all of which would increase the bills. It warned: Should risks materialise unfavourably over the next decade, it is perfectly conceivable that even by 202425, a full 14 years after the process of fiscal consolidation began, the deficit would not be eliminated. The report revealed that despite the Governments efforts to cut the cost of disability and sickness benfits, savings were much smaller than hoped. Incapacity benefits cost 15 billion in 201516, 45 per cent over target. Mr Johnson added: If the economy does less well than hoped then we may see yet another set of fiscal rules consigned to the dustbin. Economist Andrew Goodwin, of Oxford Economics, estimated that Brexit would reduce UK GDP by around three per cent by 2030, compared with remaining in the EU. A n MP battling cancer has left his hospital bed and is en route to Westminster so he can vote in favour of triggering Article 50. Nick Boles dramatic decision piles the pressure on MPs from across the Commons to make sure they turn up to tonights Parliamentary showdown on Brexit. The former skills minister wrote on his Facebook page: Today, on my own initiative, I am coming out of hospital to support the government on the Article 50 bill. I have spent the last week receiving my third round of chemotherapy for the cancer that was discovered last October. I feel pretty grim and will have to go back to hospital after I have voted. But I want to come to Parliament to represent my constituents on this important bill and do my bit to ensure that it is passed without amendment. Tonight Labour amendment sets out that MPs should have the final say on the terms of Brexit and it is expected to attract the most Tory rebels of all their suggested changes to the Bill. Mr Boles, MP for Grantham & Stamford, announced in October that doctors had found a cancerous tumour in his brain. Nine years ago he was diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma. Under fire: Diane Abbott / Getty Images Labour MP Ronnie Campbell is another MP with cancer attending this weeks raft of Brexit votes. Their decisions pile pressure on shadow home secretary Diane Abbott, who has been criticised for missing last weeks key vote by going home with a migraine. A fifth of Labour MPs voted against the legislation last Wednesday, defying leader Jeremy Corbyns three-line whip. Two members of the shadow cabinet resigned over the issue. Ms Abbott was challenged at a meeting of the Parliamentary Labour Party on Monday night, with some suggesting she had "dodged" the vote on Article 50. A source said: There were hard questions about what the hell was happening and with discipline in the party, and if someone was shadow home secretary, could they play fast and loose with the rules. People were asking what the chief whip Nick Brown will do to make the system fair if some people in senior positions were allowed to dodge a very important vote, and that opportunity wasnt allowed to other people. Ms Abbott, whose Hackney North and Stoke Newington constituency voted strongly to Remain in last years EU referendum, left the Commons two hours before she was due to vote in favour of triggering Article 50, which starts Britains departure from the EU. There were claims she could have used the traditional system of nodding through where the whip registers an ill members vote as long as they are on the Parliamentary estate. Ms Abbott said she had a migraine and cleared her diary for several days, but was back in the Commons on Monday sitting on the frontbench. She voted with the party on a series of amendments to the Brexit bill. Ms Abbott met Jeremy Corbyn on her return to Parliament yesterday and a source said the pair had a friendly conversation. Today Labours shadow cabinet met for the first time since the resignation of Dawn Butler and Rachael Maskell. A source said: The chief whip said quite honestly that he couldnt condone the behaviour of people who had broken the whip. Everyone should be treated equally and there should be no feeling that a group could break a whip and get away with it. C hina's ambassador to Britain today warned businesses in his country to take precautions as the Brexit process is due to start. However, Liu Xiaoming also talked up the bright prospects for economic co-operation between both countries. Beijing has steered clear of getting involved in the UKs Brexit debate unlike ex-US president Barack Obama, who firmly warned against an Out vote. In an interview with the official state newspaper China Daily, Mr Liu said Beijing respected Britains choice and hopes for an early deal between the UK and the European Union. I believe, when there is a problem, there is always a solution, he said. Britain has sought to attract Chinese investment, including in the financial sector, giving Chinese companies a London-based entry into the EU market. Chinese companies in these sectors should take precautions, the ambassador added. Theresa May is due by the end of March to begin the two-year process of the UK quitting the EU. Economic links between the two countries have grown in recent years in what was hailed as the start of a golden age. Although Britain upset China last year by briefly putting on hold the Hinkley Point nuclear project, Mr Liu said: There is huge potential to be tapped and bright prospects for co-operation. D avid Camerons mother jokingly paid tribute to Jeremy Corbyn when she scooped an award having been invoked in a jibe at the Labour leader to smarten up his appearance. Mary Cameron, 82, was crowned Mother Knows Best of the Year at the Oldie awards after for her 10,000-strong petition opposing her local Tory council shutting a childrens centre in Oxfordshire. Joined by the former Prime Minister, Mrs Cameron was referenced by her son when he called on Mr Corybn to "put on a proper suit during a heated clash at Prime Ministers Questions. Accepting the award, she said: I suppose I should share this with the leader of the opposition. Ever since that Prime Ministers Question Time he has smartened himself up and looks reasonably respectable. I only wish my own family were as obedient. Tongue-in-cheek: Mrs Cameron said Mr Corbyn had smartened up since her son lambasted him over his appearance at Prime Minister's Questions / PA wire Mr Cameron described his mother as a wonderful woman at the ceremony, held on Tuesday at London's Simpson's-in-the-Strand. He told The Daily Telegraph: I'm incredibly proud of my mother. She was an absolute role model for me. She really imbued in me this idea of public service. "She was a magistrate for about 30 years and played a big part in the local community. "She's just a wonderful woman. It's really lovely to bring her to something like this. I've been to a few events like this in my life but never one with my mother. So it's lovely." Mrs Cameron campaigned to save the childrens centre where she used to volunteer after it was forced to close after a spending review under the former Prime Minister. Among the other winners was politician and actress Glenda Jackson, who was awarded Bernie Oldie of the Year. The two-time Academy Award winner served as Labour MP for Hampstead and Kilburn for 23 years before stepping down in 2015. Actress Vanessa Redgrave and Labour peer Lord Dubs both bagged Campaigner of the Year awards for their work supporting unaccompanied child refugees arriving in Britain. American senator Bernie Sanders was given the Should-Have-Been of the Year award after he rose to global prominence as the challenger to Hillary Clinton for the Democratic presidential nomination Tributes to the late Alexander Chancellor, who edited The Oldie magazine from 2014 until his death last month, were paid at the ceremony. D isgraced former Tower Hamlets mayor Lutfur Rahman is attempting to overturn his five-year ban from elected office, it emerged today. Mr Rahman is seeking judicial review at the High Court amid reports that he is planning a political comeback in the East End borough. He was barred from office after a civil election court found him guilty of corrupt and illegal practices during the 2014 mayoral race. According to documents now lodged with the courts service, his lawyers believe he could now fight the ruling as the Metropolitan Police admitted there was insufficient evidence for a criminal prosecution. Ex-Communities Secretary Sir Eric Pickles, who ordered forensic accountants in to investigate Mr Rahmans rule, suggested police could have done more. He told LBC News: The police have rather dragged their feet and havent really understood the seriousness of what is going on. L abour MPs have demanded to know if Diane Abbott would face any consequences for missing a key Brexit vote. The shadow home secretary was criticised at a meeting of the Parliamentary Labour Party in Westminster, with some suggesting she had dodged the vote to trigger Article 50 by going home with a migraine. A fifth of Labour MPs voted against the legislation last Wednesday, defying leader Jeremy Corbyns three-line whip. Two members of the shadow cabinet resigned over the issue. A source said: There were hard questions about what the hell was happening and with discipline in the party, and if someone was shadow home secretary, could they play fast and loose with the rules. People were asking what the chief whip Nick Brown will do to make the system fair if some people in senior positions were allowed to dodge a very important vote, and that opportunity wasnt allowed to other people. Ms Abbott, whose Hackney North and Stoke Newington constituency voted strongly to Remain in last years EU referendum, left the Commons two hours before she was due to vote in favour of triggering Article 50, which starts Britains departure from the EU. Loading.... There were claims she could have used the traditional system of nodding through where the whip registers an ill members vote as long as they are on the Parliamentary estate. Ms Abbott said she had a migraine and cleared her diary for several days, but was back in the Commons on Monday sitting on the frontbench. She voted with the party on a series of amendments to the Brexit bill. MP shouts suicide as the Brexit bill is passed in parliament Ms Abbott met Jeremy Corbyn on her return to Parliament yesterday and a source said the pair had a friendly conversation. Today Labours shadow cabinet met for the first time since the resignation of Dawn Butler and Rachael Maskell. A source said: The chief whip said quite honestly that he couldnt condone the behaviour of people who had broken the whip. Everyone should be treated equally and there should be no feeling that a group could break a whip and get away with it. M inisters are considering putting in place one of the toughest ivory bans in the world. The announcement from environment minister Therese Coffey indicates she may be considering a clampdown on the sale of ivory carved before 1947, which would have a major impact on the antiques market. She told MPs in a debate in Westminster Hall last night she knew there would be a strong legal challenge by going further than existing proposals to ban the trade of products made after 1947, but would welcome all views in the forthcoming consultation. She said: Ivory is found in works from the art deco period and in musical instruments, often forming a small proportion of the item. The kind of assessment that we would have to consider would include how prohibiting the sale of a 17th-century ivory carving of the flagellation of Christ prevented the poaching of elephants today. However she said: Our initial proposals will be among the toughest in the world. The International Union for Conservation of Nature has estimated that only 415,000 African elephants remain. The savannah elephant population declined by 30 percent between 2007 and 2014, largely due to poaching. Britain is home to one of the largest domestic ivory markets in the world, which Tory MP Luke Hall, who led the debate, said contributes directly to illegal trade by providing the opportunity for illegal ivory to be laundered. The Duke of Cambridge is among those who back a full ban on ivory products. Dr Coffey spoke in the debate after 107,000 people signed a petition calling on the Government to shut down the domestic ivory market. C ommons Speaker John Bercow faced a growing backlash from his own party after criticising the idea of inviting racist and sexist Donald Trump to address Parliament. Senior Conservatives hit out at Mr Bercow, calling his remarks outrageous and an abuse of the traditionally impartial Commons role. In an unprecedented move, Mr Bercow said on Monday he was strongly opposed to the idea of a Parliamentary address by Donald Trump following the Presidents controversial travel ban. He said in a statement that opposition to racism and sexism were hugely important considerations for the Commons. While applause broke out in the House among opposition MPs, the extraordinary remarks have reportedly caused anger among senior Tories. As speaker, Mr Bercow must remain politically impartial. / PA Crispin Blunt, chairman of the foreign affairs committee, told the Times: He has no idea whether he will be speaking for a majority of the House of Commons, and this is why Speakers do not express their opinion. That's the entire point, otherwise they can't remain neutral and above the political fray." Tory MP Nadhim Zahawi, who claimed he would have been blocked from entering the US under President Trumps border crackdown, said Mr Bercow leaves himself open to the accusation of hypocrisy. Speaker John Bercow: 'I would not wish to issue an invitation to President Trump' One anonymous MP, an ex-Conservative cabinet member, said Mr Bercow must be close to standing down, the BBC reported. Former Ukip leader Nigel Farage also hit out at Mr Bercow, who said expressing political opinions devalues the office of Speaker in the House of Commons. Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron, Tooting MP Dr Rosena Allin-Khan and Labours shadow education secretary Angela Rayner all backed Mr Bercow. MP Nadhim Zahawi, who is a Trump critic, said Mr Bercow was 'open to the accusation of hypocrisy' / PA US Congressman Joe Wilson responded by saying it was disappointing as if ever in recent years there's been a more pro-British President of the United States, it's Donald Trump". Mr Bercow is one of three people who would have to approve an invitation for the US President to address MPs at Westminster. Parliament's rulebook states he must remain politically impartial. He is also facing accusations of hypocrisy after previous guests invited to speak at Westminster included the Chinese President. The Speaker of the House of Lords, Lord Fowler, is set to make his own statement on Tuesday on the furore. S peaker John Bercow was urged to think about his position by a Tory MP today after his veto on Donald Trump addressing Parliament caused a furore. An unprecedented row saw the Speaker of the House of Lords, former Cabinet minister Lord Fowler, let it be known he was irritated by his House of Commons counterparts surprise actions. A Cabinet minister dismissed Mr Bercow as someone who likes to speak his mind but said the Speaker did not speak for the Government. The Commons divided along party lines, with many Tory MPs attacking the Speaker, while Labour MPs and Jeremy Corbyn continued to applaud him. Meanwhile, Ukip, which hopes to beat Labour in a crucial by-election in Stoke, said the Trump ban was gesture politics and showed Parliament out of touch with the wider electorate. Trump row: Speaker John Bercow / PA The extraordinary furore erupted a week after the Evening Standard revealed cross-party moves by nearly 200 MPs to stop the American president being ranked with Nelson Mandela, Aung San Suu Kyi and Pope Benedict by being invited to make an address to both Houses of Parliament in Westminster Hall. Mr Bercow took both sides by surprise yesterday by mounting an extraordinary attack from the Speakers chair at Mr Trumps racism and sexism, and declared he was opposed to any invitation. Conservative MP Nadhim Zahawi said: I think the Speaker was unwise to speak out. He prides himself on his neutrality, to speak for the whole of Parliament, and I think to become the story is a bad place to be. He said the Speaker opens himself up to the accusation of hypocrisy because he had welcomed controversial figures in the past, such as President Xi Jinping of China. Mr Zahawi added: I think he ought to think about his position. Allies of the MP said later he had not meant the Speaker should consider resigning. Donald Trump was branded 'racist' by Mr Bercow / REUTERS Communities Secretary Sajid Javid said: Anyone that knows John Bercow knows he likes to speak his mind. The Cabinet member said Mr Trump should be welcome in this country as the leader of Britains closest ally. Foreign Affairs Committee chairman Crispin Blunt said Mr Bercow had risked his neutrality. Lord Fowler was expected to make a statement to the Lords this afternoon. No 10 declined to fully back the Speaker. Asked if the PM had full confidence him, her spokesman said: "The Speaker is an issue for Parliament." Sources said he was consulting senior peers but was likely to make clear his anger that Mr Bercow spoke out of turn. He was very disappointed that Mr Bercow did not consult, said the source. Former Cabinet minister John Whittingdale said the Speakers actions were damaging to the national interest. But Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said the Speakers stance was right. T ens of thousands of homes are to be built in Londons suburbs under a blueprint to tackle the housing crisis blighting the capital, the Standard reveals today. Housing minister Gavin Barwell also offered Mayor Sadiq Khan new powers to solve Londons homes shortage scandal in return for a guarantee to dramatically boost the numbers being built. Experts say that up to 60,000 new homes a year will be needed in London around double the current rate to meet projections. There is nowhere in the country where the gap between what we are building and what we need to build is greater than in our city, said Mr Barwell, the MP for Croydon Central. We have to accept the higher level of house building in the city in order to ensure our young people are going to have a chance of getting on the housing ladder or finding a secure place to rent. The Governments long-awaited housing white paper, published today, highlighted how housing density in London, relative to its population, was far below levels in Madrid, Barcelona, Paris, and lower than in Berlin and Milan. The document said: London is a relatively low-density city, especially in its suburbs. When people picture high-density housing, they tend to think of unattractive tower blocks, but some of the most desirable places to live in the capital are in areas of higher density mansion blocks, mews houses and terraced streets. The Government is set to amend planning rules to encourage high-density schemes in urban areas with good transport links, such as near railway stations. Mr Barwell also wants to strike a deal with the Mayor and boroughs to stop young people being priced out of the housing market. He was seeking to speak to Mr Khan today to set up a high-level meeting with his deputy mayor for housing James Murray to start work on a bespoke package for London. Mr Barwell said: Im prepared to look at devolving further powers to the Greater London Authority and to the boroughs in return for a clear plan to significantly raise the number of homes that are getting built. Whitehall sources said that the special deal aimed to unlock new homes on a large scale and could include devolving powers, aligning funding and looking at how an area could best use its assets. A 3 billion home-building fund will aim to help small firms expand in the housing market. The white paper also includes proposals to order each local authority to produce a realistic plan on how to meet housing demand, to boost the number of homes for rent, to tackle abuses of leasehold, to reduce the number of properties left empty and for a new ISA to help first-time buyers save for a deposit. It states that only in exceptional circumstances can local authorities alter green belt boundaries. But Colin Stanbridge, chief executive of London Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said failing to review the capitals green belt would hit hopes of solving the chronic lack of affordable housing. Natalie Elphicke, chief executive of The Housing & Finance Institute, warned the Government not to let London off the hook by imposing the biggest housing targets on the wider South East. Labours shadow housing minister John Healey said the measures announced in advance of the white paper were feeble beyond belief. D rones that can perch on the top of buildings to monitor pollution levels are being built by London scientists. The unmanned aerial vehicles are equipped with tiny air quality sensors and can stabilise themselves in the wind and rain. They are among the inventions of the Aerial Robotics Laboratory at Imperial College London, which last week hosted the first meeting of the universitys Drone Society. It will hold seminars, courses, and competitions for students and the public, including access to its flight arena in South Kensington. Another design is a thruster-powered UAV modelled on a gannet sea bird which is capable of flying and diving into water. Pollution data could be collected above the Square Mile before it checks water quality in the Thames. Lab director Mirko Kovac said: We need more experimental spaces where novel designs can be tested easily. T heresa May said EU citizens living in the UK make a vital contribution to our society and economy as she backed their right to remain in the country after Brexit. During a debate on the Brexit Bill, the Prime Minister said that without the contribution of more than three million European nationals Britain would be "poorer" and public services "weaker". London alone is home to about 1.1 million EU nationals, according to a House of Commons briefing paper. Speaking in the Commons on Monday, she said that guaranteeing the rights of EU workers to stay in Britain after Brexit would be a "priority" during negotiations. She said she wants to ensure their right to stay in the UK as part of a deal that also guarantees the rights of about 1.2million Britons living elsewhere in the EU. Parliament backs Government's Article 50 bill The Brexit Bill will give the Prime Minister the authority to begin the formal process of leaving the EU by triggering Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty. MPs are debating the bill, with key votes set to take place on Wednesday. Some MPs and peers are demanding changes including protection for EU citizens and a vote on the final Brexit deal when it is agreed. Pleadge: PM Theresa May / PA Former Labour deputy leader Harriet Harman is hoping to win Conservative support for an amendment that guarantees the rights of the 3.3million EU nationals living in Britain before the EU referendum in June last year. And Mrs May, amidst the suggestion that as many as a dozen pro-Remain Tories could rebel, stressed she is serious about wanting EU migrants to stay in the UK after Brexit. She told MPs: I have every expectation from the good will I have seen that it will be possible to get an early agreement on this matter to give people the reassurance that they need. "I have said before, EU citizens living in the UK make a vital contribution to our economy and our society and without them we would be poorer and our public services weaker. "So we will make securing the reciprocal agreement that will guarantee their status a priority as soon as the negotiations begin, and I want to see this agreed as soon as possible because that is in everyone's interests." Number 10 expects to win Wednesday's crunch vote to trigger formal exit of the EU. Q ueen Elizabeth II travelled back to London after her annual winter break came to an end. The Queen was beaming as she boarded a train at Kings Lynn station on Tuesday after celebrating her Sapphire Jubilee. She became the first British monarch to reach 65 years on the throne, spending the day at her private Sandringham estate in Norfolk on Monday. Dressed in a lime green coat and headscarf, the monarch was seen smiling broadly as she walked along the platform before stepping onto the train. Smiling Queen Elizabeth on her way back from Sandringham. / PA It was 65 years to the day since the Queen acceded to the throne following the death of her father, George VI, on February 6 1952. The Queen boards the train on her way back. / PA Royal gun salutes were fired across the capital to mark the anniversary and the Royal Mail issued a commemorative 5 stamp. The Queen in King's Lynn on Tuesday. / PA At King's Lynn station, the Queen appeared to have fully recovered from the heavy cold that forced her to miss church over Christmas. Queen Elizabeth II Sapphire Jubilee: 30 looks in blue 1 /40 Queen Elizabeth II Sapphire Jubilee: 30 looks in blue October 9, 1989 Visiting British Queen Elizabeth II (R) chats with Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew when he pays a courtesy call on her at the Presidential Palace Toru Yamanaka/AFP/Getty Images June, 1993 A portrait of Her Majesty the Queen, Elizabeth II in an open carriage during Royal Ascot Chris Cole/Allsport/Getty Images 19 February, 1994 An Anguillan resident points her camera at Queen Elizabeth II as she greets residents and tourist lined up at a downtown street Roberto Schmidt/AFP/Getty Images March 5, 1997 Queen Elizabeth with President Mugabe of Zimbabwe and his wife, pose for photographers after being the Queen's guest at Buckingham Palace Johnny Eggitt/AFP/Getty Images November 20, 1997 Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip in jovial mood after thanking the Dean of Westminster for a special service at Westminster Abbey to celebrate their 50th Wedding Anniversary, leave the Westminster Abbey Gerry Penny/AFP/Getty Images May 13, 1998 Queen Elizabeth II and the Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien (2L) inspect the honor guard at Buckingham Palace Dylan Martinez/AFP/Getty Images November 7, 1999 Queen Elizabeth II and Ghanaian President Jerry Rawlings walk together upon the Queen's arrival for a state visit to the former British colony Issouf Sanogo/AFP/Getty Images February 23, 2000 Queen Elizabeth talks with Princess Anne (right) and Dame Helen Reeves (left), Chief Executive of Victim Support, during a meeting with members of the voluntary sector in the London Marriott Hotel, County Hall Adrain Dennis/AFP/Getty Images July 14, 2000 Queen Elizabeth II arrives for the Service of the Order of St Michael and St George at St Paul's Cathedral in London Micahel Stephens/AFP/Getty Images October 8, 2001 Queen Elizabeth II holds a hi-tech baton, designed to relay the Queen's opening message to the Golden Jubilee Commonwealth Games in Manchester next year, which was presented to her at Buckingham Palace, London Fiona Hanson/AFP/Getty Images April 30, 2002 Queen Elizabeth II is escorted by Speaker of the House Michael Martin (right) through Central Lobby at The Houses of Parliament after making an historic address at the start of her Golden Jubilee celebrations in London Adrian Dennis /AFP/Getty Images June 4, 2002 Queen Elizabeth II waving to the crowd as she rides in the Gold State coach from Buckingham Palace to St Paul's Cathedral for a service of Thanksgiving to celebrate to her Golden Jubilee PA July 6, 2004 Domenica Lawson (L), god daughter of the late Princess Diana presents a posy to Queen Elizabeth ll and the Duke of Edinburgh (R) after the unveiling ceremony for the Princess Diana memorial fountain in London's Hyde Park Arthur Edwards/AFP/Getty Images December 5, 2006 Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh leaving The Ritz in Londo PA October 21, 2008 Queen Elizabeth II inspects an honour guard during a welcoming ceremony at Brdo castle, some 50 kilometers north of the Slovenian capital Ljubljana Hrvoje Polan/AFP/Getty Images October 11, 2010 Queen Elizabeth II looks at a newly commissioned portrait of herself in The Queen's Room as she is given a tour of the Cunard's new cruise-liner Queen Elizabeth II in Southampton Docks in Southampton Arthur Edwards/WPA Pool/Getty Images April 27, 2011 Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh arrive to open the Sainsbury Laboratory for Plant Sciences in the University of Cambridge Botanic Garden in Cambridge Andrew Winning/WPA Pool/Getty Images July 28, 2012 Queen Elizabeth II visits the Aquatics Centre on day one of the London 2012 Olympic Games at the Olympic Park in London Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images November 14, 2012 Queen Elizabeth II meets the crowd after her visit to the Royal Commonwealth Society on in London Ian Gavan/WPA Pool/Getty Images December 25, 2012 Queen Elizabeth II leaves St Mary Magdalene Church after attending the traditional Christmas Day church service in Sandringham, near King's Lynn Chris Jackson/Getty Images June 2, 2012 Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh arrive at The Derby in Epsom Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images December 18, 2012 Queen Elizabeth II leaves Number 10 Downing Street after attending the Government's weekly Cabinet meetingon in London Chris Jackson/Getty Images April 29, 2014 Queen Elizabeth II during a visit to the Chapel to view the restoration and meet local people involved with the project at the Royal Dockyard Chapel during an official visit in Pembroke Dock Bethany Clarke/Getty Images June 16, 2015 Queen Elizabeth arrives in the royal carriage for day 2 of Royal Ascot at Ascot Racecourse in Ascot Chris Jackson/Getty Images April 5, 2015 Queen Elizabeth II leaves the Easter Sunday service at St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle in Windsor, Neil Hall/WPA Pool/Getty Images March 26, 2015 Queen Elizabeth II smiles at schoolchildren as she leaves the National Memorial to the Few after opening a new wing in Folkestone Chris Jackson/WPA Pool/Getty Images April 30, 2015 Queen Elizabeth II reacts after presenting New Colours to the 1st Battalion Welsh Guards at Windsor Castle in London Cathal McNaughton/WPA Pool /Getty Images March 8, 2016 Queen Elizabeth II smiles as she meets people being helped by the Prince's Trust at the Prince's Trust Centre in Kennington in London Chris Jackson/Getty Images December 24, 2016 Queen Elizabeth II sits at a desk in the Regency Room after recording her Christmas Day broadcast to the Commonwealth at Buckingham Palace in London Yui Mok/WPA Pool/Getty Images March 14, 2016 Queen Elizabeth II smiles as she arrives at the annual Commonwealth Day service on Commonwealth Day in Westminster Abbey, London Geoff Pugh/WPA Pool/Getty Images But during the period, the Queen was still working on her famous red box of official papers. Gun salutes ring out to mark Queen's Sapphire Jubilee The red boxes, sent to her by her private secretaries, contain policy papers, cabinet documents, telegrams, letters and other state papers from government ministers and representatives in Commonwealth and foreign countries. L ondon schoolgirls should be taught in the classroom about the brutality of female genital mutilation, a peer said today. Baroness Lynne Featherstone has written to Theresa May and Justine Greening, the Education Secretary, asking them to allow teachers or volunteers to educate girls. The former Liberal Democrat Home Office minister said: Girls in London are some of the most at risk of harm and it is appalling that thousands from all corners of the city continue to suffer from this barbaric practice. "We must ensure that the younger generation knows that FGM is unacceptable and that there is help available. Her letter was sent as latest figures from the Health and Social Care Information Centre revealed that of the 5,700 newly recorded cases in the UK between 2015 and 2016, 2,940 were in London. Women and girls born in Somalia accounted for 810 new cases, while girls aged five to nine years old were the most common age group. In her letter to Mrs May, Baroness Featherstone said: I remember only too well, Theresa, you berating Michael Gove, then Secretary of State for Education, for not allowing girls to be taught about FGM at school. "Without any information we abandon girls to their fate. We agreed it should be taught in schools whether by teachers or community volunteers." A t least 20 people have been killed in a suicide bombing at Afghanistans Supreme Court in Kabul, officials said. A further 45 people were injured in the blast on Tuesday, with the death toll expected to rise. The attacker detonated their suicide vest in the car park as employees and other people were coming out of the main court building, according to reports. Najib Danish, deputy spokesman for the Interior Ministry, said that an investigation was underway. Target: the Supreme Court has been attacked in the past / AP No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack but the Taliban has been responsible for attacks on the court in the past. In a similar incident in 2013, a suicide bomber killed 13 people after detonating his vest in the same car park. It comes hours after a top government official was killed in a roadside bombing in Afghanistans western Farah province. Abdul Khaliq, the top official in the Khak-e-Safed district, was on his way home from the mosque when he was killed. Responsibility for that attack was claimed by the Taliban. A lonely Australian widower whose plea for a fishing mate went viral has enjoyed a trip of a lifetime after a man paid for him to fly out nearly 1,000 miles away to share his hobby. Grandfather Ray Johnstone, 75, from Adelaide, posted an appeal for a new fishing partner on Gumtree last month after the death of his friend. The pensioner said he wanted to find someone in a similar position to share his love of fishing and promised to split costs of petrol and bait. More than 115,000 people spotted the post with many putting themselves forward to be Mr Johnstones fishing mate. Viral plea: Mati Batsinilas answered Mr Johnstone's Gumtree ad to find a new fishing mate / Mati Batsinilas/Facebook But 22-year-old carpenter Mati Batsinilas went even further by paying for Mr Johnstone to board a flight from South Australia to Brisbane, 995 miles away, to fish off the Queensland coast. The Courier Mail reported an 80cm (31in) mulloway fish was among Mr Johnstones haul on Tuesday, the first day of a special two-day trip with Mr Batsinilas. The pair plan to camp overnight on North Stradbroke island. Mr Johnstone told the newspaper: "It was a really good day. The highlight was being taken out fishing in the morning. Mr Batsinilas added: Tomorrow will be a little fishing but it will be land based and then hell be heading home. This has been more of an adventure than a trip for Ray. P layboy Bunnies will soon be back in business in New York City. Three decades after the original Playboy Club closed in Manhattan, an apparent victim of changing American tastes and views on women, a new one will debut later this year in a hotel a few streets from Times Square. The club in West 42nd Street will be one of the most chic and sophisticated venues in the world, promises Playboy Enterprises spokesman John Vlautin. Other Playboy clubs are already operating in London, the Vietnamese capital Hanoi and several places in India, and another is due to open in Shanghai in the spring. New Yorks club will be in the Cachet Boutique New York Hotel, replacing the gay-themed Out Hotel, which closed last year. Travel guidebook publisher Pauline Frommer questioned the timing of the revival. We live in this era when thousands of women are gathering in marches to protest. Im not sure the zeitgeist is right for Playboy now. R iot police made 24 arrests on a troubled French housing estate today as it erupted in violence following a sexual assault on a black youth worker. The so-called 3000 in Aulnay-sous-Bois, in the north east suburbs of Paris, is where the 22-year-old male was allegedly attacked by four officers last Thursday. Rioting has taken place every night since, with police warning that it could now spread to other tinderbox estates around the French capital. The violence has been appalling, said a local officer, who confirmed that 24 residents of the 3000 were taken into custody overnight. Cars and dustbins were set on fire, and there were attacks on police patrols, said the officer, who said two helicopters with searchlights were used to pick out rampaging gangs. S yrian President Bashar al-Assads regime has secretly executed up to 13,000 prisoners, a report claims. Amnesty International said the mass hangings and systematic torture took place between the start of the country's rebel uprising in 2011 and 2015 at a jail near Damascus. It claimed the killings were authorised by senior officials, including deputies of President Bashar Assad. The human rights group warned the killings were probably still taking place at the prison, nicknamed the slaughterhouse by detainees. The Amnesty report said an average of 20 to 50 people were hanged each week at the Sednaya military prison north of Damascus. Sednaya Prison: The facility is nicknamed "the slaughterhouse" / Amnesty International Between 5,000 and 13,000 people were executed at Sednaya in the four years after Syria's popular uprising descended into civil war, it said. Lynn Maalouf, deputy director for research at Amnesty's office in Beirut, added: "The horrors depicted in this report reveal a hidden, monstrous campaign, authorised at the highest levels of the Syrian government, aimed at crushing any form of dissent within the Syrian population." The report said: "The victims are overwhelmingly civilians who are thought to oppose the government," the report said. "Many other detainees at Sednaya Military Prison have been killed after being repeatedly tortured and systematically deprived of food, water, medicine and medical care." The prisoners, who included former military personnel suspected of disloyalty and people involved in unrest, underwent sham trials before military courts and were sometimes forced to make confessions under torture, Amnesty said. The executions were carried out secretly and those killed were buried at mass graves outside the capital, with families not informed of their fate. Syrian government officials have previously dismissed claims about torture and extrajudicial killings as propaganda. The report was based on interviews with 84 witnesses including former guards and officials, detainees, judges and lawyers, as well as experts on detention in Syria. Amnesty is now urging Syrias backers, including Russia and Iran to condemn the executions and extermination policies of the Syrian state and do what is in their power to bring them to an end. Contact: Anthony Horvath, Athanatos Christian Ministries , 202-697-4623, director@athanatosministries.org GREENWOOD, Wis., Feb. 7, 2017 / Standard Newswire / -- Richard Weikart, Senior Fellow at the Discovery Institute, will present at Athanatos Christian Ministry's apologetics academy to be held this summer, July 24 - August 4, 2017.Visit www.academyofapologetics.com for more information about ACM's 2017 Summer Apologetics Academy.The two week-long academy will provide an exhaustive defense of Christianity, from multiple angles and perspectives. However, participants will also benefit from the unique experiences of its presenters, such as Dr. Richard Weikart, the author of books such as "From Darwin to Hitler: Evolutionary Ethics, Eugenics, and Racism in Germany," "The Death of Humanity: and the Case for Life," and most recently, "Hitler's Religion: The Twisted Beliefs that Drove the Third Reich."The academy is an opportunity for people interact with scholars who are not normally in the upper Midwest. Richard Weikart hails from California. Another presenter, Dr. Wayne Rossiter, on the other hand, lives on the East coast. Rossiter is an atheist turned Christian who is a biology professor and critic of Darwinism. Rossiter's book, co-written with Brian Rossiter, "Mind Over Matter: The Necessity of Metaphysics in a Material World."The local region is represented by Dr. Dylan Thompson, a Chemistry professor at Concordia University Wisconsin and Dr. Anthony Horvath, the founder and director of Athanatos Christian Ministries , based out of Greenwood, Wisconsin, and the site of the summer academy.Horvath says, "Our academy will provided more than 50 hours of lectures and presentations over a period of about 10 days. The rock bottom goal is to show that Christianity is 'true beyond a reasonable doubt.' Jesus did exist. He was God, just as He said He was. He died, and rose from the dead. He will return again. It is reasonable to put one's faith in Him. These are not 'religious' assertions. These are statements of fact, grounded in reality, and testified to in history. If you want 'religious' assertions, attend an academy put on by atheists."The final days of the academy are concurrent with ACM's Arts and Apologetics Festival , where the academy's presenters will be presenting again. Those who enroll in the academy are able to attend the festival, along with their families, for no additional charge.Discounts and scholarships for the academy are available.Anthony Horvath is available for interviews at director@athanatosministries.org Our Constitution gives U.S. senators the power of advice and consent on nominees to the Supreme Court. This is a great power, and the responsibility attached is no less so. The decisions of a Supreme Court justice affect the rights and freedoms of millions. Assessing a nominees fitness is no easy task. Nor should it be. There are certain qualities I seek in a judge, but first, let me identify the nonstarters: A judge cannot be a lawmaker. In America, Congress, the representatives of the people, author our laws. A judge cannot be a social advocate. That is not the function of an impartial judge, nor can it ever be. Lastly, a judge cannot be a trailblazer, quick to be creative with the foundational concepts and structures of our republic. Our Constitution and our nations laws must be respected. So what do I look for in a nominee to our nations highest court? First, the person must be a follower of the Constitution. A judge must follow the laws, as written. He or she must neutrally apply the laws of Congress and uphold the Constitution as envisioned by our founders. Under no circumstances should he or she impose a personal preference. Second, the nominee must possess the sharpest intellect and the highest academic qualifications. There must be no aspect of the law beyond a nominees mental reach. Third, the nominee must be a known quantity. There must be a reliable record for senators to carefully assess. In the Senate, this investigation is carried out through the hearing process. By it, my colleagues and I will determine if President Trumps nominee, Judge Neil Gorsuch of Colorado, is fit to serve on the Supreme Court. His education, experience, and record certainly make a compelling case. Judge Gorsuch attended Columbia as an undergraduate before earning a law degree from Harvard and a doctorate from Oxford University. He clerked for two Supreme Court justices, worked ten years at a firm in Washington, D.C., and has served in a senior post in the Justice Department. Judge Gorsuch currently serves as a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit. He has held this position for ten years. As a result, we have ten years of his legal opinions available to review. They suggest an incredibly strong commitment to the rule of law. It is critical to note: Judge Gorsuch required Senate approval before he could take a seat on the circuit court. That approval was granted unanimously in 2006. Some very notable Democrats supported him, including Barack Obama and Joe Biden, both members of the Senate at the time. I am looking forward to a vigorous confirmation process in the weeks and months ahead. I hope my colleagues in the Senate demonstrate the statesmanship of which they are capable and consent to give the American people that process. Thank you for your participation in our democratic process. I look forward to visiting with you again next week. In rural America, health care cannot be ignored. It is vital for those of us living in western Nebraska to have quality local health care options. We are an agricultural community. Though we would like to think we dont experience accidents on our farms or in our small towns, that is not the case. There may be a tractor roll over, someone gets caught between the fence and an angry cow, or any other potential danger and you are in need of medical help. We also face the regular urban accidents, a slip in the shower, a car accident, etc. Then there are the strokes, heart attacks or cancers that are as mean and nasty to rural Americans as they are to urban Americans. Without fast quality care, a stroke can leave its victim in a terrible state. However, the right help given in a timely fashion can save the brain and mean a full recovery. Out here in western Nebraska, our home, we are blessed with a number of quality health care providers. At the top of the list is Regional West Medical Center, a Level II Trauma Center, one of only three in Nebraska and it is right here in Scottsbluff. They have attracted some of the best nurses, doctors and staff providing care to all of us in rural Nebraska. This great crew recently was honored by Healthgrades as the five-star recipient for the treatment of stroke, the treatment of sepsis, the treatment of pulmonary embolism, the treatment of respiratory failure and for esophageal/stomach surgeries. These are impressive honors. Air Link is ready, as is Valley Ambulance Service, to quickly get people to RWMC or one of our other great facilities close by. There is Box Butte General Hospital in Alliance, Sidney Regional Medical Center in Sidney, Morrill County Hospital in Bridgeport, Community Hospital in Torrington, Kimball Health Services in Kimball and Community Action Partnership of Western Nebraskas Health Center all providing great health care for all of us in western Nebraska. Sometimes we feel distanced from the big city amenities, but even out here in western Nebraska, we never have to take backseat to quality health care. To all you in the health care field, we say, thank you. The month of February opened with one of my favorite traditions the first Nebraska Breakfast of 2017. Nearly every Wednesday morning when both the House and Senate are in session, Nebraskans visiting the nations capital are invited to join their full congressional delegation for an informal discussion. Started by Senator Hugh Butler in 1943, the Nebraska Breakfast is the longest-running event of its kind on Capitol Hill. It allows delegation members to visit with the many Nebraskans in town advocating for important causes or taking in our countrys history. If you are planning a trip to Washington, D.C. this year, I encourage you to visit my website at AdrianSmith.house.gov/NebraskaBreakfast to see the 2017 schedule. The busy start to the new Congress has provided many opportunities to welcome Nebraskans to Washington. On Jan. 19, I hosted an open house in my office for constituents arriving to pick up tickets to the inauguration of President Donald Trump. While distributing more than 200 tickets, it was great fun to meet Nebraskans from Mitchell to Dakota City and share in their excitement about the historical events taking place. One week later, I visited with Nebraskans who traveled to D.C. to participate in the March for Life. The blustery January day did not deter them from peacefully marching on behalf of those who cannot speak for themselves. I was honored to meet with them and discuss some of my recent efforts to defend the sanctity of life, such as voting to prevent taxpayer dollars from being used to fund abortions and cosponsoring the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act to prohibit abortions past twenty weeks of pregnancy. In recent days, I have also enjoyed meeting with many Nebraska agriculture groups, from the Farm Bureau to wheat growers to sorghum producers, during their trips to D.C. It is important to come together and discuss the challenges facing producers, as well as the best ways to ensure they can continue to help feed the world. Punxsutawney Phil may have seen his shadow on Feb. 2, but we know spring is on its way and my office will soon be welcoming student groups to the nations capital. I always enjoy the opportunity to visit with young Nebraskans, talk about our countrys history, and hear their insights on the issues we are working on in Congress. If you are a Third District teacher or student coming to D.C. with a school or youth group, please let my office know so we can schedule a time to meet during your trip. Hearing directly from Nebraskans is invaluable to serving as your representative in Congress. In addition to these in-person meetings, my offices have already received nearly 4,000 calls and pieces of mail this year. I encourage you to continue reaching out to me by phone, email, mail, or in person with your thoughts, concerns, and questions. You can also visit my website at AdrianSmith.house.gov to schedule a meeting or let me know about an event in your community. We have an eventful year ahead, and I want to hear your ideas firsthand. Thank you for keeping in touch with me. With one hand holding a bottle of champagne and the other an oversized certificate declaring him the winner of $1 million from Publishers Clearing House, Bruce Saunders stood on the front porch of his western Davie County Monday and rattled off a list of things he plans spend his spend money on medical bills, fixing his lawnmower and helping family members. By MARK EVANS STE. GENEVIEVE HERALD Scott Schmieder, county road and bridge foreman, reported to the county commission last Thursday that temperatures are getting too cold at night for much more asphalt work to be done. He said potholes had all been patched. His crews were working on Bodine Road and made call-ins to locate 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 (119) About one third of Romanian Internet users (31 pct) provided, in 2016, online personal data, half the registered average at the level of the European Union (UE), which stands at 71 pct, reveal the results of a study, released publicly on Tuesday. According to Perceptum research, last year, only 15 pct of Romanians who surfed online refused to provide personal data to be used for advertising purposes, as compared to an 80 pct European average. The same percentage of Romanian Internet users limited access to their personal profile or their own content placed on social networks, as compared to a 40 pct average of the EU. Only four in ten Romanians (38%) are aware of the existence of these files and what they offer the owners' sites: valuable feedback on user preferences in terms of shopping, information sources, vacations and more. According to the cited source, at 2016 level, nearly 24 pct of the Romanian Internet users have read the privacy policies of sites (37 pct the EU average), and 70 pct of those who surfed online have done so from mobile phones or smartphones and 26 pct from tablets. The data used in the specialized research were issued by the European Statistics Office (Eurostat) during December 2016 - February 2017. agerpres. Commerce Bank just redid its downtown St. Louis branch in the same building law firm Brown & Crouppen says it might leave because its workers are worried about crime. The bank said Monday in a news release the $600,000 remodeling project shows Commerce's support of downtown. For Commerce, this renovation is about customer choice and a recommitment to the neighborhood," Fran Fanara, senior vice president, retail group manager, said in a statement. The Commerce branch is off the lobby of the Met Square building, where Brown & Crouppen has its headquarters. Andy Crouppen, a managing partner at the law firm, said last week the firm is considering a move out of downtown because of a recent shooting and other violent crimes. He said he was tired of hearing concerns about safety from some of the firms nearly 200 employees. Brown & Crouppen is looking elsewhere, especially Clayton, where it can remain close to a courthouse, Crouppen said. The firms concerns, first reported by KMOX (1120 AM), followed the shooting death of rapper Lamarcus Turner, who appeared to have been targeted by gunmen who began shooting as he left the downtown Hooters restaurant. Violent crime in the region's commercial center is down. But recently there have been high-profile incidents, including the shooting of a fan leaving a Cardinals game in 2015 and a carjacking and homicide last year on Washington Avenue. Commerce used an unusual prop cash in the ribbon cutting of its remodeled Met Square branch. The ribbon was made of $500 in $20 bills. Afterward, the bank donated the money to Gateway 180, a nonprofit organization that provides emergency shelter and housing for adults and families. If the folks at Macys know their company history, they should beware of Canadians, real estate tycoons and large amounts of debt. Still, Wall Street is buzzing about a possible combination between the venerable department store chain and Toronto-based Hudsons Bay Co., which got its start in the 17th-century fur trade but has been run since 2008 by mall developer Richard Baker. Macys already carries $7.5 billion in debt, and a takeover by the smaller Hudsons Bay would add billions more. It would hardly be a bet on a thriving business; a recent report by Morningstar says Macys faces five years of declining revenue. Nor has Hudsons Bay, owner of Saks Fifth Avenue and Lord & Taylor, figured out a magic formula for retail success. Analysts think it will post a $215 million loss for the fiscal year that ended in January. A merger would combine two struggling companies and saddle them with more debt. Howard Davidowitz, chairman of New York consulting and investment banking firm Davidowitz & Associates, thinks thats a recipe for disaster. Adding tremendous amounts of debt in a high-stress environment is not the answer, he said. Thats how it works with leveraged buyouts. You run out of time. You dont have the money to reinvest in the company to meet the challenges. Macys history offers a cautionary tale. In 1988, Canadian property magnate Robert Campeau bought the old Federated Department Stores with $6.5 billion of borrowed money. Federated landed in bankruptcy less than two years later along with Allied Stores, another Campeau-owned chain. Fortune magazine called his debt binge the biggest, looniest deal ever. Federated bought Macys, which fell into bankruptcy after its own disastrous leveraged buyout, in 1994 and emerged as the dominant department-store chain. It solidified that position in 2005 by buying its chief rival, St. Louis May Department Stores. In the age of Amazon, however, big stores arent the money-makers they once were. By one estimate, the U.S. has 1 billion more square feet of retail space than it needs. Macys has been gradually embracing that reality, most recently with a January announcement that it will close 68 stores. Macys challenge is to manage its decline, shrinking as quickly as possible while maintaining a healthy cash flow. Bakers plan appears to be different: He wants to unlock the value of the stores real estate. He did just that with Saks Fifth Avenue, buying the chain in 2013 for $2.9 billion and then getting its Manhattan flagship store appraised, for mortgage purposes, at $3.7 billion. The slick deal piqued investors interest, but eventually their attention returned to the retailers dismal results. Hudsons Bay shares are now 39 percent lower than they were before the Saks purchase. Sears Holdings, another retailer that has been turned into a real estate play, has also been a major disappointment to shoppers and investors alike. But hope springs eternal on Wall Street, so bankers may well lend Hudsons Bay the money it needs to buy Macys. Or a private-equity firm might enter the bidding, using the same formula of borrowing against the stores assets. Shareholders, who are growing impatient with the current management, probably would sell for a modest premium. Such a deal could be the end of Macys as we know it. It would be catastrophic for the operations of Macys, Davidowitz says. These guys will suck all the money out, and then theres no company. After years of wrangling, a controversial rule requiring thousands of public U.S. companies to share how much more their chief executives earn than their typical rank-and-file employees became effective this year. The so-called "pay ratio" disclosure threatens to put a spotlight on an potentially embarrassing disparity that many companies have long fought to obscure. The Securities and Exchange Commission finalized the rule in 2015 after receiving thousands of public comments. On Monday, the agency's acting chairman said it was time to reconsider. "It is my understanding that some [companies] have begun to encounter unanticipated compliance difficulties that may hinder them in meeting the reporting deadline," Michael Piwowar, who voted against the initial rule, said in a statement. "I have also directed the staff to reconsider the implementation of the rule based on any comments submitted and to determine as promptly as possible whether additional guidance or relief may be appropriate." The move by Piwowar is just the latest sign that many of the rules put in place by financial regulators under the Obama administration may now be in danger. Last Friday, Trump signed an executive order asking for a review of the laws and regulations that govern the U.S. financial system in an opening bid to upend 2010's financial overhaul law, known as Dodd-Frank. That effort is expected to ignite a protracted battle on whether efforts to rein in Wall Street after the financial crisis when too far or not far enough. Forcing companies to disclose the pay-ratio between CEOs and employees was one of the most controversial aspects of Dodd Frank and a victory for Democrats and labor groups. But business groups have argued the rule is cumbersome and unnecessary. Piwowar, a Republican, was appointed to the agency's commission by President Obama in 2013 and President Trump appointed him acting chair last month. He replaced Mary Jo White, who stepped down upon Trump's inauguration. But Piwowar's time at the top is not expected to last long. Trump has nominated Wall Street lawyer Jay Clayton to head the SEC. The Senate has not scheduled Clayton's confirmation hearing. Updated at 6:43 a.m. Wednesday BISMARCK, N.D. The developer of the stalled Dakota Access oil pipeline could get clearance from the Army as early as Wednesday to finish the $3.8 billion project, though the American Indian tribe that has led the battle against the project for months has vowed to continue the fight. The Army said Tuesday that it will allow the four-state pipeline to cross under a Missouri River reservoir in North Dakota, the last big chunk of construction. The Standing Rock Sioux promised to fight the development in court. The Army intends to cancel further environmental study and allow the Lake Oahe crossing, according to court documents the Justice Department filed that include letters to members of Congress from Deputy Assistant Army Secretary Paul Cramer. The 1,200-mile pipeline would carry North Dakota oil through the Dakotas and Iowa to a shipping point in Patoka, Ill. Dallas-based developer Energy Transfer Partners had hoped to have the pipeline operating by the end of 2016, but construction has been stalled while the Army Corps of Engineers and the company battled in court over the crossing. The Standing Rock Sioux, whose reservation is just downstream from the crossing, fears a leak would pollute its drinking water. The tribe has led protests that drew hundreds and, at times, thousands of people who dubbed themselves "water protectors" to an encampment near the crossing. ETP said the pipeline will be safe. Details of the tribe's legal challenge to the Army's decision were still being worked out, attorney Jan Hasselman said Tuesday. But tribal Chairman Dave Archambault said the tribe is "undaunted" by the Army's decision. Even if the pipeline is finished and begins operating, he said, the tribe will push to get it shut down. The tribe also is organizing a march in Washington, D.C., on March 10. An assessment conducted last year determined the crossing would not have a significant impact on the environment. However, then-Assistant Army Secretary for Civil Works Jo-Ellen Darcy on Dec. 4 declined to issue permission for the crossing, saying a broader environmental study was warranted. ETP called Darcy's decision politically motivated and accused then-President Barack Obama's administration of delaying the matter until he left office. The Corps launched a study of the crossing on Jan. 18, two days before Obama left office, which could have taken up to two years to complete. President Donald Trump signed an executive action Jan. 24 telling the Corps to quickly reconsider Darcy's decision. The court documents filed Tuesday include a proposed Federal Register notice terminating the study. "I have determined that there is no cause for completing any additional environmental analysis," Acting Assistant Army Secretary Douglas Lamont said in a memo. The Standing Rock Sioux argues that under the Fort Laramie Treaties of 1851 and 1888, the federal government is obliged to consider a tribe's welfare when making decisions that affect the tribe. "The Obama administration correctly found that the tribe's treaty rights needed to be respected, and that the easement should not be granted without further review and consideration of alternative crossing locations," Hasselman said. "Trump's reversal of that decision continues a historic pattern of broken promises to Indian Tribes and violation of treaty rights. They will be held accountable in court." North Dakota's congressional delegation and its governor welcomed the Army's announcement. But environmental groups, including the Sierra Club, Greenpeace, Amnesty International USA, the Center for Biological Diversity and the Indigenous Environmental Network, issued statements saying the Trump administration is putting corporate profits ahead of the rights of Native Americans and the environment. ETP is poised to begin drilling under Lake Oahe as soon as it has approval. Workers have drilled entry and exit holes for the crossing, and oil has been put in the pipeline leading up to the lake in anticipation of finishing the project. ETP spokeswoman Vicki Granado didn't immediately respond to a request for comment on the Army's decision, but CEO Kelcy Warren told The Associated Press in November that the company should be able to finish the project in a little over three months once it has the go-ahead. Those at the protest encampment have at times clashed with police, leading to nearly 700 arrests. The camp's population thinned to fewer than 300 as harsh winter weather arrived and as Standing Rock officials pleaded for the camp to disband before the spring flooding season. The Corps has notified the remaining protesters that the government-owned land will be closed Feb. 22. But Phyllis Young, a protest leader and member of the Standing Rock Sioux, believes the Army's decision may draw some people back. Opposition to oil pipelines "is our life struggle, and we're going to continue fighting, however we have to do it," she said without elaborating. The area where the company will drill is about half a mile north of the protest camp, and road access is north of a highway bridge outside the camp that's been blocked by the state since October. A frozen river and snowy hills are between the drill area and the camp. The construction area is surrounded by a wall and barricades such as razor wire. It was October 2015, and for one night, Latasha Johnson had run out of options. Six months after being evicted from her Breckenridge Hills apartment, she was on the streets. No apartment. No car. No money for a hotel. She found a place for her daughter, Gabrielle, to stay for the night. Gabrielle was 9 at the time. Then she curled up for the night in a side entrance to the Peabody Opera House, out of the way, so nobody would bother her. It was not a good feeling at all, Johnson says. We were drinking coffee last week at the Dennys on Hampton Avenue, where shes worked since about a month after that fateful night on the street. Since that time, Johnson, 34, has run the gamut on homeless services in St. Louis. She spent a few nights at the New Life Evangelistic Center run by the Rev. Larry Rice. It was horrible, she says. Eventually she found her way to Gateway 180, and now shes in transitional housing. Soon, she hopes to be in her own apartment again. Thats where she was in March 2015 when her troubles began in earnest. Johnson was living in the Hickory Trace Apartments. She had moved in the previous fall, but had noted problems with the livability of her unit from the beginning. The shower was missing tiles, and the issue never got fixed by the landlord, Kohner Properties Inc. Eventually, mold started appearing. Then, one night, the ceiling in the bathroom caved in. I heard this big boom at 3 oclock in the morning, Johnson remembers. Half the ceiling was in the bathtub. According to court records, Johnson asked the landlord to fix the problem. She had complained several times about mold. Instead, a black plastic tarp was hung over the hole in the ceiling. The mold was causing health problems for Johnsons daughter, who has cystic fibrosis. Eventually, Johnson got a hotel to stay in for a few nights. She told the landlord she wouldnt pay her rent until the problem was fixed. Kohner sued and started eviction proceedings. Johnson, with the help of Legal Services of Eastern Missouri, countersued, claiming a breach of contract under a section of law that gives renters a right to implied warranty of habitability. In St. Louis County Circuit Court, Johnson lost. Circuit Judge Judy Draper awarded Kohner a judgment of more than $2,100. She agreed with Kohners legal argument that for Johnson to be able to make a legal claim that she has a right to withhold rent, she actually would have to pay that rent to the court to hold it in escrow while the dispute is being litigated. For a poor person, this creates a Sophies Choice: Pay rent to the court and stay in the uninhabitable apartment, or do what Johnson did and go to a hotel, and get evicted. Its unfair, says Lee Camp, Johnsons attorney, because the requirement would, in effect, bar access to the courts for poor people. Camp appealed the circuit court ruling and in September, a unanimous Eastern District Appeals Court agreed with him. To automatically require every tenant to escrow her entire withheld rent payment dilutes the very remedy the implied warranty establishes, wrote the court. Such an inflexible requirement potentially creates a new dilemma for impoverished tenants to (1) use their rent money to seek new housing or to remediate the condition or its deleterious effect and be prevented from countersuing or defending against the landlord, or (2) continue to pay or escrow their rent and live in unsafe and unsanitary conditions in order to pursue the claim in court. The appeals court immediately sent the case to the Missouri Supreme Court, and on Wednesday, Camp will argue Johnsons case. The resulting decision will affect thousands of low-income renters across the state, Camp says, either evening the playing field with landlords or making it easier to begin the process that ends with people like Johnson on the street. If you have a contract, that contract is binding, Johnson says. Both parties have to uphold it. Whats the difference between me not holding up my end of the bargain and them not holding up theirs? If I dont hold up my end of the bargain, I get put out. Johnson is living in the city of St. Louis now. She takes a bus to her job. Shes trying to save enough money to get out of transitional housing and into her own apartment again. Her daughter is tired of moving, Johnson says. She has high hopes for her moment before the Missouri Supreme Court, and she hopes that with its ruling, the court answers an important question. Who is the justice really for? Johnson asks. Is it just for people with money or is it for everyone? RICHMOND HEIGHTS The more than eight-year dispute over whether to keep an injured firefighter on the payroll of the Community Fire Protection District in north St. Louis County appears to be headed to court, again. Attorney Lynette Petruska held a news conference at her office Monday to express her outrage at the fire districts refusal to pay her client, Cindy Schuenke, about $540,000. Schuenke, 52, was injured during a fire call on March 29, 2006. She was on her hands and knees on the floor of a home on fire in Vinita Terrace, searching for Geneva Rooks, 76. The floor collapsed, sending Schuenke to the basement, where she was trapped under debris. She was badly burned, and shocked by a loose electrical wire. Eventually, she broke free and escaped. Rooks died in the fire. Since then, Schuenke has undergone more than 100 surgeries and multiple legal proceedings with her former employer. The union contract in place in 2006 guaranteed that any firefighter injured in the line of duty should be paid his or her normal wages minus what workers compensation contributed until they could return to work, to ensure an injured firefighter would not lose out on wages during recovery. But the contract did not specify how long that recovery should be, and the district fired Schuenke when it became clear that her injuries were career-ending. Public outcry led the district to hire her again, Petruska said. She was fired again after the district enacted a new union contract without the pay provision for those injured in the line of duty. Then, in August 2015, a Franklin County judge demanded she be reinstated as a firefighter with the district. The district appealed. The Court of Appeals in Missouris Eastern District then affirmed that court order and ordered the district to determine how much she earned or would have earned with the appropriate offsets, according to the ruling. The district then hired a hearing officer to determine the amount. Petruska alleged that the first hearing officer had a conflict of interest with the districts attorney, Neil Bruntrager. That hearing officer then recused himself due to a health issue and the district hired retired Judge John F. Garvey to calculate an amount. On Nov. 2, Garvey determined the district owed Schuenke about $540,000. On Thursday, the fire districts board voted unanimously to award Schuenke nothing, issuing a 20-page opinion as to why Garveys conclusion was inaccurate. Apparently Judge Garvey didnt get the memo that he should have protected the Good Ol Boys Club, Petruska said. In its opinion, the board argued that Garvey did not deduct a $200,000 workers compensation settlement that is still pending or about $93,000 in private disability insurance that Schuenke could have filed for. It said that Garvey miscalculated Schuenkes annual salary. Those calculation errors, the board argues, led them to believe they do not owe her any back pay. Meanwhile, Schuenke got an initial $26,000 lump sum payment from Social Security, and she has been collecting disability from that agency at $2,200 a month in addition to about $3,300 in monthly workers compensation pay which is all tax-free money, Bruntrager said. When taxes are considered, Bruntrager insists Schuenke would end up making less money if she stayed on the districts payroll. Bruntrager said that Schuenke would have to pay back all of the money she has received from Social Security should she be added back to the districts payroll. Our goal has always been to put her in a better place than she would be after tax, Bruntrager said. Petruska noted that the districts numbers are irrelevant after two courts have disagreed. Meanwhile, a tearful Schuenke said Thursday she still hopes to return to work one day. Theyre making advances every day in my treatment, she said. ST. LOUIS A man from St. Louis seen tossing aside an Uzi firearm as police searched a house in connection with a Florissant murder investigation now faces a federal firearm charge. Devon L. Guice, 26, was arrested at a home in the 3400 block of Pestalozzi Street last week after police found him with a round of .223-caliber ammunition in his pocket, which matches the caliber used in the Florissant case, charging documents claim. Killed in the Florissant shooting was Antwoine Robinson, 20. He was found dead inside a home in the 1300 block of Stonebury Court on Feb. 1. Police had been led to the house in St. Louis after four or five men were seen running from the scene of the Florissant shooting, a Florissant police officer wrote in an affidavit supporting the charge against Guice. The license plate of the car that the fleeing men used was traced to the home on Pestalozzi, the Florissant officer wrote, and officers later searched the house. They spotted Guice tossing the 9 mm Uzi before running into the basement, where they found him hiding under an air mattress, police said. In his pocket was the .223-caliber ammo, the affidavit says. Police also found what they believed to be heroin. Guice faces a charge of being a felon in possession of a firearm and/or ammunition. In court Tuesday, Assistant U.S. Attorney John Bird asked U.S. Magistrate Judge John Bodenhausen to hold Guice in jail until trial. Bird cited prior convictions for assault, unlawful use of a weapon and armed criminal action, as well as arrests without conviction for murder and other charges, and prior gang membership. Lucille Liggett, a federal public defender, responded that Guices last conviction was almost seven years old and that he has close ties to the St. Louis community, including his fiancee, who was present in court. Bodenhausen said that he would take the issue under advisement but that he was leaning toward keeping Guice in jail. Authorities asked anyone with information in Robinsons death to contact the Florissant Police Department at 314-831-7000. EDITOR'S NOTE: An earlier version of this story misspelled Stonebury Court. JEFFERSON CITY Gov. Eric Greitens challenged Missouris colleges and universities last week in cutting $90 million from higher education in his budget plan. Instead of raising tuition, Greitens suggested following the example of Purdue University by culling administrative bureaucracy and costly contracts to rein in spending outside the classroom. The governor had a point: Purdue has kept tuition flat for the past five years, and school president Mitch Daniels a former governor himself has made a point of cutting unnecessary spending. A more cautious approach to new building construction has helped hold project costs down, said Robert Wynkoop, managing director of Purdues office of the treasurer. A new health plan saves the school $6.5 million a year. Yanking out rarely used landlines in dormitories saved another $800,000. But Daniels has also cited another trend helping his school: a stark increase in out-of-state and international students who pay more than native Hoosiers. As Greitens noted, its not a new strategy. Many colleges, including Missouri schools, have pursued transplants to supplement their budgets and enrollments. Purdues model could be extremely difficult to reproduce without making changes to several long-standing policies friendly to out-of-state students and potentially prioritizing nonresidents over Missourians. Since 2008, Purdue has added 3,057 nonresident undergraduates to its student body, a 22 percent jump driven mostly by international enrollment, according to university data. In the same period, resident population has shrunk by 4,775 students, a 30 percent decline. That led to last fall, when nearly 47 percent of undergraduates on campus were from out of state compared to about a third in 2008. The exchange rate on that shift is high: Nonresident students pay $18,000 to $20,000 more a year in tuition than their resident counterparts. Purdues international students are especially lucrative because theyre not eligible for public financial aid. Their results are not unique. The University of Missouri-Columbia has also seen the number of out-of-state students who pay an annual $15,000 premium over the in-state tuition rate double in the last decade. It has especially targeted Illinois high school graduates, claiming nearly a fifth of its freshmen from the state in recent years. But 70 percent of MU undergraduates are still residents paying the lower rate, due in part to generous state policy that makes it easy to for transplants to obtain a discount. Many state schools, including Purdue and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, require students to live in their state for a year or more before they offer to cut rates. But in Missouri, students can get the deal by spending the summer after their first year here, getting a drivers license, registering to vote and making $2,000 at a summer job. Parent can no longer claim those students on their taxes, but many save tens of thousands in tuition. Its an especially popular option at Missouri University of Science & Technology, which, like Purdue, prides itself on its engineering programs, enrollment officials said. More than a third of students who come from outside Missouri eventually get residency and pay less. They dont make it difficult to do, and it makes plenty of sense for a lot of students and their parents trying to save money, said Tim Albers, S&Ts interim vice provost for enrollment management. Something off Missouri schools might also want to exclude themselves from the Midwestern Higher Education Compact in which they agree to charge out-of-state students no more than 150 percent of their in-state rates to get the most out of potential transplants. Purdue, Illinois, the University of Michigan and the University of Wisconsin-Madison have all opted out. And even if Missouri schools could attract more out-of-state students, it wouldnt necessarily benefit Missourians. Stephen Burd, an education policy researcher at the New America Foundation, reviewed enrollment records from 424 public institutions and found many flagship state universities are aggressively reaching outside their borders. He found those colleges were competing among each other for wealthy out-of-state students by offering them more and more merit-based aid, cutting into need-based aid for their local, low-income applicants. Stung by sharp state budget cuts at the same time they are seeking greater prestige, these universities are increasingly pitted against one another, fiercely competing for students that they most desire: the best and brightest, and those wealthy enough to pay full freight, Burd wrote. MU is already one of those universities to a degree, offering one-fifth of incoming freshmen without financial need some sort of scholarship package in 2013. Its also playing defense. In 2014, Missouri raised the cap on its Mark Twain scholarship for out-of-state students to $10,000 a year to counter offers from the likes of Kentucky, Alabama and South Carolina. Steven Chaffin, executive director of the lobbying group Associated Students of the University of Missouri, understands the financial gains that can accompany aggressive out-of-state recruitment, but worries it could eventually go against the universitys mission. There would be something off about Missouri taxpayers funding a university that focuses more on out-of-state students than in-state students, Chaffin said. We dont want to have a system where were playing favorites because someone is paying more. Paul Wagner, executive director of the Council on Public Higher Education an association of Missouris 13 public colleges agreed. Were first and foremost a public institution, Wagner said. Were not going to jeopardize that by having majority-out-of-state schools that arent serving Missourians well. And neither Wagner nor Chaffin think Greitens suggestions of cutting administration and recruiting higher spenders could solve higher educations budget woes on their own. Pressure is building Missouri has led the nation in keeping the cost of college down since Gov. Matt Blunt signed a law capping in-state tuition at four-year universities a decade ago. But Wagner doesnt see it surviving the proposed 10 percent cut to higher education. Weve been in this budget-cutting efficiency mode for a while, Wagner said. But were at a point where there arent a lot of tools we havent used. With a budget cut of this magnitude, I dont think were going to be able to hold tuition flat this year. The University of Missouri Review Commission, formed by the Legislature last year to audit the UM Systems operations, came to a similar conclusion in December. Its also where St. Louis Community College Chancellor Jeff Pittman came down. He said he plans to review his systems programs to find out which are best preparing students for local jobs, but said tuition increases, changes to health insurance benefits and buyouts for professors were already under consideration. An influx of wealthy international students isnt in the cards for his schools. We have a small group of out-of-state students, but thats not normally a big part of being a community college, Pittman said. Were here to serve the local community, and weve got to keep things affordable for them. ST. LOUIS Former Missouri Secretary of State Jason Kander has thrown his support behind Treasurer Tishaura Jones to be the city's next mayor. In a 45-second video posted to his Twitter account, Kander talks about her work ethic and their friendship. Kander adds that Jones stands out among the field of seven Democrats, three Republicans, a Libertarian and a Green Party candidate. While there are a lot of good people running, and it's really important that we have somebody that continues the progress that Mayor Slay has made, I think that person is Tishaura Jones, Kander says. She also is somebody who's taken the office of treasurer from an office that a lot of people thought maybe shouldn't be around anymore, and turned it into something that has really become essential and found new ways to provide value to the people of St. Louis," Kander says. Under Jones, the treasurer's office launched the Office of Financial Empowerment, which seeks to help people better manage their money, and the College Kids Children's Savings Account program, which uses revenue from parking meters to help needy kids save for college. Kander's endorsement closely follows the support Jones recently received from former St. Louis Circuit Attorney Jennifer Joyce. In a posting on NextDoor, Joyce said either Jones or 21st Ward Alderman Antonio French would be a breath of fresh air in City Hall. Ive worked with both and I can tell you they are both very smart and dedicated to making an impact on crime which is a huge issue for me, Joyce wrote. Joyce went on to describe why she doesn't support some of the other candidates in the race. Joyce described 28th Ward Alderman Lyda Krewson as the establishment candidate: I believe we need new thinking to move forward in St. Louis. That is my problem with Lyda. I've also had great experiences with Lewis Reed and Jeffrey Boyd, Joyce wrote. But they may lack the level of creativity I've seen in Tishaura and Antonio. Just my two cents. Joyce later took the posting down. JEFFERSON CITY Although Missouris new attorney general says hes on firm legal ground when it comes to where he lives, Republican lawmakers are moving to strip a requirement that he reside in the capital city. A bill filed Monday by Sen. Wayne Wallingford, R-Cape Girardeau, eliminates a piece of state statute that says the attorney general shall reside at the seat of government, which, under Missouris Constitution, is Jefferson City. An identical measure has been filed in the House by Rep. Nick Marshall, R-Parkville. Republican Josh Hawley, a political newcomer who was elected as the states top legal officer in November, resides south of Columbia in Boone County, about 24 miles from the state Capitol. As first reported by the Post-Dispatch in January, Hawley spokesman Ryan Cross said the former University of Missouri law professor believes the residency clause only requires that he work in the capital city, not actually live within its borders. Having conducted a thorough legal analysis, the statute in question refers to where the primary Office of the Attorney General resides, not where the Attorney Generals home is located, Cross said at the time. Wallingford said no other statewide official is required to live in Jefferson City. "It's a question of fairness," Wallingford said. "Back in the horse and buggy days, the requirement made sense because they wanted to have someone be at the seat of government," Wallingford said. "He's only a 20 minute commute away." Hawleys living arrangement drew catcalls from Democrats, who said the new attorney general is ignoring parts of state law that he finds inconvenient. Assistant House Minority Leader Gina Mitten of Richmond Heights said Hawley must either move or give up his seat. If he wants to be attorney general then he must comply with state law by moving his residence to Jefferson City, Mitten said last month. But if he wants to live in Columbia, then he needs to resign his office. Unilaterally declaring that state law doesnt mean what it says just wont cut it. The legislation is Senate Bill 396 and House Bill 797. WASHINGTON Rep. Ann Wagner has some ideas about how President Donald Trump could escalate his early moves to undo Barack Obama's legacy of financial regulations. Trump already has put the brakes on a Department of Labor rule that would have required investment brokers to act in their customers' best interest. Wagner, R-Ballwin, said Tuesday she's working on a bill that would build on that. The Labor Department rule, set to take effect in April, would have replaced the current, looser requirement that financial advisors offer guidance that's "roughly suitable" to their clients a standard that invites conflicts of interest, supporters say, as firms steer investors towards financial products that earn them higher commissions. Republicans like Wagner, who stood at Trump's side Friday as he signed an executive order delaying the rule, counter the rule would limit investors' choices and make financial advice more expensive for low- and middle-income investors. Wagner's bill would shift such regulations from the Labor Department to the Securities and Exchange Commission, the main agency tasked with overseeing financial transactions and where the rules should've come from in the first place, she said. Her legislation also could outline the guidelines that would replace the fiduciary standard. She declined to preview the bill's details, but did say she's in favor of a best-interest policy as long as it comes from the SEC. She said she will file the bill after the Senate confirms Trump's pick to lead the SEC. Democrats say the concerns over jurisdiction are a smokescreen to let financial firms continue steering investors towards products that line their own pockets. "Without implementing this program, then that best-interest standard will not be available," Rep. Gwen Moore, D-Wisc. said Tuesday, adding that Trump's voters elected him to stand up to Wall Street's influence, not indulge it. Since 2011, the financial industry has donated more than $560,000 to Wagner's campaigns, according to the watchdog site OpenSecrets.org. Wagner, who chairs a financial services oversight subcommittee, also wants Trump to fire Richard Cordray, the Obama-appointed director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau whose term lasts until 2018. Under Cordray, a Democrat who served as Ohio's attorney general, the bureau has returned roughly $12 billion to 29 million people, according to a spokesman. The agency has also drawn scrutiny after employees said they faced gender, age and racial discrimination in the workplace. An attorney at the bureau said she faced retaliation after reporting such discrimination. Wagner said those controversies justify Cordray's termination. Although she hasn't brought it up with the Trump administration herself, she said her committee will "continue to put the pressure on." What has happened to our powers of discernment and our ability to see these people for what they are, which is that they care nothing for us? I have learned the hard way not to put my personal life on the Internet. But suffice it to say that, God willing, things should be pretty much back to norm... 3 weeks ago The developers of Stratfords new 30million Bell Court site have admitted that the project is running behind schedule. UK and European Investments say the delays will not significantly affect the opening date, but the date by which the completed units will be handed to the new tenants has been put back. It is believed that the developers had originally earmarked Stratfords Shakespeare celebrations in April as its opening weekend. John Stacey, Asset Management Director at UK & European Investments, said: Being a complex town centre project, we have had to carefully navigate around a small number of complicated construction issues during the redevelopment of Bell Court. As such, the estimated practical completion date when the units will be handed over to new tenants for fit out has moved back by a few weeks. The opening date however shouldnt be significantly affected; with Bell Court due to open in late spring/early summer 2017. Bell Court is a long-term project for us and we want to make sure that the development achieves its full potential to become a high quality retail and leisure destination, home to desirable tenants and offering a fantastic public space at the heart of Stratford town centre. We have already announced that Everyman, Byron, Miller and Carter and All Bar One will be opening at Bell Court and we are looking forward to announcing more exciting new tenants in the coming weeks. We have every confidence that Bell Court will be hugely popular with both residents and visitors when it opens and are very excited to see the final pieces of the scheme come together in the next few months. News that more tenants are set to be announced for Bell Court in the near future will be welcomed by Stratfords business community, who have long supported the idea of revamping this underused area of the town centre. Also this week the developers the nearby Bards Walk confirmed that they are still in the process of finding tenants for the site and work to re-develop the units will only begin when those tenants have been secured. The interior walkway of Bards Walk is now almost completely empty apart from the unit occupied by Castle Galleries. The developers revealed it is likely to be months rather than weeks before these tenants are confirmed. Joe Baconnet, Director of Stratforward BID said: I think, after spending a lot of time talking to UK and European, that their desire is to get it right, they need to do what they need to do to make sure this development has a positive impact on Stratford. If this means there are delays of a few weeks or a month, then I think it is understandable. Its going to be a step change from what we had before, you just have to walk through there now and you see the quality of what they are creating. I think Bell Court is attracting the attention of a lot businesses that are interested in moving to Stratford and perhaps Bards Walk has suffered a bit because of that. I think its understandable in the current climate that they have not begun work, given that the tenants are not all in place yet. I think its a bit of a shame for businesses on that side but I suspect when Bell Court opens this will change. Xumo Integrates Live Network Cheddar Into Smart TVs Cheddar will be the first channel on Xumo to broadcast live daily shows Irvine( ) Xumo, the premier live and video-on-demand (VOD) over-the-top (OTT) service for the digital age, announced today the launch of Cheddar, the popular live and on demand network, on its service. The first network on Xumo to have live daily shows, Cheddar will air its programs from the New York Stock Exchange and Sprint Flatiron Building Store each weekday along with one hour of interviews. We're focused on broadcasting live business news. XUMO offers a unique opportunity for us, due to their native integrations with brands such as LG Electronics, Vizio, Panasonic and now Hisense, said Jon Steinberg, CEO of Cheddar. Xumo is one of the first to provide a TV guide that displays OTT content not only in a linear format, but also alongside over-the-antenna, local, broadcast channels as theyve done in powering Channel Plus for webOS 3.0-enabled LG smart TVs. Our content is built for the lean-back experience Xumo offers so this partnership aligns perfectly to deliver premium streams easily and simply to our growing fan base. Xumo offers over 70 premium, digital channels and is available for free on more than 60 percent of smart TVs shipped domestically, totaling more than 20 million devices to date. Xumo can be accessed on Funai Electric Co., Ltd. who manufactures and sells Magnavox, Philips and Sanyo in North America, Channel Plus, exclusively powered by Xumo for LG Electronics, Samsung and Vizio. A virtual input for streaming TV, exclusively powered by Xumo for Hisense, was announced at CES 2017. Xumo caters to the generation that places a value on where, how and when they consume their news. Partnering with Cheddar means our audience can now rely on Xumo for quality LIVE and on-demand business, technology and media programming from some of todays most trusted hosts, said Stefan Van Engen, SVP content programming and acquisitions of Xumo. Cheddar gives our audience their news fix about the topics they actually care about and follow on a daily basis. Cheddars live programming on Xumo consists of: Opening Bell (9-10am ET): Start your day off with the latest business and media stories of the day, live from the New York Stock Exchange. Between Bells (12-1pm ET): Live from the Flatiron Building, were bringing you the most up-to-date tech and biz news. Cheddar has been visited by a wide range of high profile guests, including Ford CEO Mark Fields, will.i.am, CBS Chairman and CEO Les Moonves, incoming Starbucks CEO Kevin Johnson, Twitter CFO Anthony Noto, presidential candidate Gary Johnson, Akon, Zillow CEO Spencer Rascoff, Twitch co-founder Justin Kan, Twilio CEO Jeff Lawson, and Shake Shack CEO Randy Garutti. It also had execs from a wide range of startups, including Atlassian, DraftKings, Juicero, HelloFresh, Lyft, and Evernote. About Xumo An advanced technology company based in sunny California, Xumo seamlessly delivers over-the-top (OTT) video-on-demand (VOD) and LIVE content direct to consumers through smart TVs, mobile and set-top box applications. Xumo brings consumers premium digital and broadcast content via applications that are fully equipped with content recommendations, curated programs and dynamic ad insertion capabilities. Leveraging technological advancements through which living room devices have become both connected and aware, Xumo offers multiple ways to reach and engage with consumers within the home. Learn more about Xumo at www.xumo.com and follow @XumoTV on Twitter. About Cheddar Cheddar is a live video news network focused on covering the most innovative products, technologies, and services transforming our lives. The network covers this news through the lens of the companies and executives driving these changes. Cheddar broadcasts from Post 10 on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange and the Sprint Flatiron Building Store. It is available on Sling TV, Amazon, Vimeo and Twitter. The company was founded by Jon Steinberg, President and Chief Operating Officer of BuzzFeed from 2010 to 2014. Its investors include Lightspeed Venture Partners, Comcast Ventures, Ribbit Capital, and Homebrew. By Scott DiSavino NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil fell on Monday as ample U.S. supplies and excess speculative length outweighed OPEC output curbs and rising tensions between the United States and Iran. Brent futures fell $1.09, or 1.9 percent, to settle at $55.72 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude lost 82 cents, or 1.5 percent, to close at $53.01. That was the lowest close for both contracts since Jan. 31. The Brent premium over WTI narrowed to $2.09 a barrel at the close, its smallest since Jan. 19. "We feel that the bulk of the price decline related to the larger-than-expected increase in net WTI speculative length as well as another hefty increase in the (U.S.) oil rig count," Jim Ritterbusch, president of Chicago-based energy advisory firm Ritterbusch & Associates, said in a note. Ritterbusch and others also said the crude decline was associated with weakness in gasoline futures. U.S. gasoline futures fell 2.8 percent on Monday. Hedge funds and other speculators boosted their bullish bets in U.S. crude futures and options in the week to Jan. 31 to the highest level on record, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) said on Friday. "There are a lot of longs in the market, and if we dont see prices rise those longs will get discouraged and exit the market as fast as they entered over the past few weeks," said Tariq Zahir, trader at Tyche Capital Advisors in New York. Oil prices, while supported by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries' (OPEC) supply cuts since the start of the year and a new spike in tension between Iran and the United States, are struggling for new direction. The Trump administration's new sanctions against Iran, though not affecting oil output, raised concern about the potential for further developments that could hinder export growth in OPEC's third-largest producer. Tension between Tehran and Washington has risen since an Iranian missile test that prompted the United States to impose sanctions on individuals and entities linked to the Revolutionary Guards. The U.S. Energy Information Administration said last week that U.S. crude inventories have built sharply for four straight weeks, while data on Friday showed that the number of U.S. oil drilling rigs rose to the highest level since October 2015. [EIA/S] "We're likely going to see U.S. rigs keep increasing and as the months go on U.S. production will ramp up and mitigate a lot of the OPEC cuts," Zahir at Tyche Capital said. (Additional reporting by Alex Lawler in London and Henning Gloystein in Singapore; Editing by Marguerita Choy and Meredith Mazzilli) (BUSINESS WIRE)-- Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (ADS) (NYSE: WMS), a leading global manufacturer of water management products and solutions for commercial, residential, infrastructure and agricultural applications, today announced that it has acquired the assets of Plastic Tubing Industries (PTI), a manufacturer of HDPE pipe and related accessories, for $9.5 million. The transaction is expected to be accretive to ADS net income and adjusted EBITDA in the first full year. We are very excited to announce the acquisition of the PTI assets, which further increases our customer base and capacity in the growing Southeast region of the United States, said Joe Chlapaty, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. PTI is a highly complementary business, carries a strong brand and has exceptional customer loyalty dating back more than 40 years. We welcome the PTI team to the ADS family. With the acquisition, ADS will increase its manufacturing footprint in Georgia and Texas, while adding production capacity to the existing ADS manufacturing facilities in Florida, to better serve growing demand in the region. PTI had sales of approximately $11 million for the year ending December 31, 2016. Flagstar Bancorp, Inc. (NYSE: FBC) announced today the signing of a definitive agreement under which it will acquire the Residential Mortgage Delegated Correspondent Lending platform of Stearns Lending, LLC, (Stearns) along with certain related assets. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions and is expected to close within the next 30 days. Stearns' business consists of approximately 250 correspondent relationships accounting for over $7 billion of agency and governmental residential mortgage loan production annually. Stearns' employees and subcontractors associated with the delegated business will transition to Flagstar. "The acquisition of Stearns' correspondent platform gives us a tremendous opportunity to expand our market share in the delegated space," remarked Alessandro P. DiNello, Flagstar's president and chief executive officer. "Throughout our analysis of the business, we have been impressed with the Stearns' team's approach to the correspondent channel, their focus on customer service and their commitment to sound risk management. We believe this team will be a strong cultural fit with the Flagstar team. "We are excited to add the high-quality team from Stearns. We believe that there is a continued opportunity to grow our market share and expand our relationship with these correspondents. Being a bank, we can offer these new customers additional products and services, deepening our relationships with them," observed DiNello. Stearns' chief executive officer, Brian Hale, commented, "When we decided to exit this business for strategic reasons, we had two key objectives: first, we wanted to ensure that our network of correspondent lenders consisting of community banks, credit unions and builder-owned mortgage companies was with a lender that would continue to serve them well. Equally important, we wanted to make sure that our employees were with a reputable, well-run organization. Flagstar certainly met both our criteria." Upon closing, the acquisition will make Flagstar the 4th largest correspondent mortgage loan originator in the United States, based on year-to-date volumes through September 30, 2016 as reported by Inside Mortgage Finance. Wells Fargo Securities served as financial advisor to Stearns and Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP served as its legal counsel. BuckleySandler LLP served as legal counsel to Flagstar. Genesee & Wyoming Inc. (G&W) (NYSE: GWR) announced today that it has agreed to acquire the shares of Atlantic Western Transportation, Inc., parent company of Heart of Georgia Railroad, Inc. (HOG). Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed. The acquisition is subject to customary closing conditions, including the receipt of U.S. Surface Transportation Board approval, and is expected to be completed in the second quarter of 2017. HOG was founded in 1999 and operates across the state of Georgia on 219 miles of track leased from the Georgia Department of Transportation. It connects with G&Ws Georgia Southwestern Railroad at Americus, Ga., and with G&Ws Georgia Central Railway at Vidalia, Ga. HOG serves an inland intermodal terminal at Cordele, Ga., providing five-day/week, direct rail service via the Georgia Central Railway to the Port of Savannah for auto, agricultural products and other merchandise customers. HOG has Class I railroad connections with CSX at Cordele and with Norfolk Southern at Americus and Helena, Ga. HOG transports approximately 10,000 annual carloads of agricultural products, feed, fertilizer, and lumber and forest products, of which approximately 2,000 carloads are interchanged with G&Ws Georgia Central Railway. Following the acquisition, HOG will be managed as one of G&Ws Coastal Region railroads, led by Senior Vice President Andy Chunko. The Heart of Georgia is an excellent bolt-on acquisition that we expect will enhance economic development by providing an efficient lane across southern Georgia, Mr. Chunko said. Its proximity to other G&W railroads unlocks operational efficiencies, while enhancing the railroads abilities to serve customers and generate new commercial opportunities across the region. We look forward to the 15 HOG employees joining those at our connecting railroads and working with our Class I partners to expand HOGs recent success in driving more traffic onto rail in Georgia and Florida, Mr. Chunko continued. We also look forward to broadening our already strong relationship with the Georgia Department of Transportation and Georgia Ports Authority, in a state where we have established a significant long-term presence, operating 11 railroads over more than 600 track miles. By Nate Raymond NEW YORK (Reuters) - Two men were sentenced to lengthy U.S. prison terms on Monday for conspiring to launder $250 million earned by manipulating shares of over 40 companies, including little-known Cynk Technology Corp , whose value soared past $6 billion. Gregg Mulholland, a dual U.S.-Canadian citizen who prosecutors said orchestrated a series of pump-and-dump stock fraud schemes, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Leo Glasser in Brooklyn to 12 years in prison. Glasser imposed a six-year prison sentence on Robert Bandfield, a U.S. citizen living in Belize who prosecutors said oversaw an offshore operation that facilitated numerous fraud schemes through the creation of thousands of shell companies. In court, Mulholland, who has been in custody since being arrested in June 2015 during a layover in Phoenix on a flight from Canada to Mexico, urged the judge to be lenient so that he could see his daughters and wife in Canada again. "I'm sorry comes nowhere close to saying how truly sorry I have," said Mulholland, who like Bandfield pleaded guilty in May to conspiring to commit money laundering. But Glasser said Mulholland, 47, should have known the consequences of his actions, having engaged in the fraud soon after resolving an earlier U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission lawsuit accusing him of similar conduct. "Not only was this a crime, this offense, one that persisted over a number of years, but you were a recidivist, user were a securities fraudster before you got involved here," Glassers said. U.S. regulators in July 2014 suspended trading in Cynk, a social media company with no revenue or assets, after its share price soared in less than a month to $21.95 from 6 cents for no apparent reason. Prosecutors said Cynk was among about 40 companies whose shares were manipulated by individuals overseen by Mulholland, a dual U.S.-Canadian citizen, resulting in $250 million in proceeds that were laundered through offshore law firms. Prosecutors said Mulholland and his group of stock manipulators conducted the scheme through shell structures and offshore brokerage firms established by Bandfield, a former dentist who founded Belize-based IPC Corporate Services. Prosecutors said through IPC, Bandfield, 72, marketed a host of offshore services to more than 100 clients including Mulholland, who used the more than 5,000 sham companies he incorporated to facilitate securities and tax frauds. The brokerage firms he established included Panana-based Legacy Global Markets SA, which Mulholland bought and secretly owned in 2012, prosecutors said. The case is U.S. v. Bandfield et al, U.S. District Court, Eastern District of New York, No. 14-00476. (Reporting by Nate Raymond in New York) TAICHUNG, Taiwan, Feb. 6, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- CMKI (the "Company") through its wholly owned Taiwanese subsidiary, GuanHauSoft Gaming, announced today the recent signing of a profit sharing agreement with Shan Dong Hui Tian Xia Culture Media Co., Ltd., ("Shan Dong") a large travel and tour company with principal operations in China. GuanHuaSoft will adapt several of its most popular games and integrate them with Shan Dong's existing iOS and Android applications as well as creating a Virtual Augmented Reality 3D animated component for Shan Dong's travel and tour mobile app. CMKI anticipates a revenue stream from this transaction beginning in the second quarter of 2017. CMKI has decided to focus a portion of its creative efforts and investment capital in a new direction with the formation of a wholly owned subsidiary dedicated to the creation of 3D animation banners geared to the small and mid-sized business market. To that end, CMKI has secured the domain name, www.3dbanner.info. The Company's market research indicates that these banner ads, featuring both clients and employees as actual animation characters in the advertisement, would receive a positive reception among potential clients, especially in the US and Asian markets. With 40 programmers and 12 art designers, these ads can be created quickly and at low cost to CMKI and offered to clients without any upfront charges. This can be accomplished by utilizing LEC billing arrangements whereby the client pays for this service through its local telephone bill and CMKI is paid directly by the carrier. While there are several companies presently offering 3D banner ads, none combine the unique features of this model together with the no cost option to the clients. CMKI has already begun discussions with several sources, including the Local Area Yellow Pages in San Francisco, to gain access to their entire client base. CMKI looks forward to a strong reception for 3D banner launch and expect positive cash flow from "New Generation Yellow Pages" to begin by mid-year. CMKI has been negotiating with a private investor for several months now to secure a loan of up to $US 5 million to expand our operations and to acquire other compatible gaming companies that the Company has identified. CMKI is hopeful that an initial closing and receipt of the first payment $US 2.4 million will take place on or about February 10th, immediately following the Chinese New Year. It has taken CMKI a bit longer than expected to gear up the operations after the acquisition of GuanHauSoft by CMG Gaming. CMKI is updating its website, business plan and financial models and has completed posting current information on OTCMarkets. CMKI have arranged for an audit for 2016 and will file it on a timely basis. Now with the launch of 3D animation activities, combined with the development of new games and applications every 90 days and the several potential new clients with whom CMKI is presently negotiating, the Company is poised to produce strong results for its shareholders in this new year and beyond. This press release includes forward-looking statements made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 that involve risks and uncertainties. Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts. Such forward-looking statements, based upon the current beliefs and expectations of Company management, are subject to risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results to differ from such forward-looking statements. To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/cmk-gaming-international-ltd-traded-on-otc-pink-sheets-symbol-cmki-300403746.html SOURCE GUANHUASOFT GAMING CO.,LTD Bangor, Maine (PRWEB) February 07, 2017 Husson University announced today that it would be featuring a multimedia art and science gallery installation by Krisanne Baker at the Robert E. White Gallery in Peabody Hall on its Bangor, Maine campus. The opening reception for the exhibition will take place on Thursday, February 9, 2017 from 4 5:30 p.m. and will begin with an artist talk by Baker. Prior to the opening, Baker will be spending time in classes where she will share her insights with Husson students as a visiting artist. The gallery installation will be on display until March 31, 2017. "The concept of entropy, or the spiraling process of things falling apart, and the way our culture continues to layer refuse conversely inspires my work toward sustainability in our environment and culture," said Baker. "By engaging the viewer in an internal dialogue on the results of unsustainable cultural practices, my work explores a theme of regeneration; or how we might reverse entropic situations into those that emphasize renewal or sustainable growth. I like to call this new term 'regenerentropic.' The meaning of my multi-media work is not embodied solely by the objects, but by the idea that we need to improve and care for our ecologies. In addition, I want to begin a dialogue and inspire action between the work and the viewing public." Baker grew up on Cape Cod sailing the waters of New England with her father. Her love for the ocean and our connection to it as the basis of life is evident in the digital video 'Upstream to Downstream (In Our Bloodstreams).' She received training as a painter at the Rhode Island School of Design in 1982. This was where she first encountered video production. Baker's graduate work at the Vermont College of Fine Arts combined her love for the natural environment with her art. Today, she is an ecological art activist. Her multi-media sculptures, drawings, and digital media works are specifically concerned with the sustainability of water quality, availability, and the rights of all creatures on this water planet. Baker has lived and worked on the coast of Maine for over 20 years. "We are honored to have an artist of Krisanne Baker's caliber exhibiting at the Robert E. White Gallery," said Kathi J. Smith, an assistant professor at Husson University's College of Science and Humanities and gallery coordinator. "Her work reminds us of both the power and beauty contained in the natural world, along with our responsibilities as custodians of this planet to protect and ensure the ongoing sustainability of the environment. We aim to introduce students to the places where science and art meet, and to develop conversation across curriculums." Additional work by Baker can be seen at krisannebaker.com. Artists with connections to Maine who work in every possible medium including watercolors, still lifes, oil paintings, pastels, sculptures, acrylics, photographs and printmaking, are featured at the Robert E. White Gallery. With a new show approximately every 10 weeks, the gallery provides students with a glimpse at how regional artists express themselves, giving them added insight into the place where they've chosen to go to school. The newly developed visiting artist program invites artists into the classroom to engage students in opportunities for experiential learning. The gallery was established in 1992 and named for, and endowed by, Husson alumnus and former Board of Trustee Chair Robert E. White '65. The Robert E. White Gallery is free and open to the public, Monday through Friday, from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., or by appointment. It is located in Peabody Hall on the campus of Husson University at 1 College Circle, Bangor, ME. For additional information contact: 207-941-7004 or email RobertEWhiteGallery(AT)husson(DOT)edu. For more than 100 years, Husson University has prepared future leaders to handle the challenges of tomorrow through innovative undergraduate and graduate degrees. With a commitment to delivering affordable classroom, online and experiential learning opportunities, Husson University has come to represent superior value in higher education. Our Bangor campus and off-campus satellite education centers in Southern Maine, Wells, and Northern Maine provide advanced knowledge in business; health and education; pharmacy studies; science and humanities; as well as communication. In addition, Husson University has a robust adult learning program. For more information about educational opportunities that can lead to personal and professional success, visit Husson.edu. Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/HussonUniversity/KrisanneBakerExhibit/prweb14048658.htm PALO ALTO, CA and LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM -- (Marketwired) -- 02/07/17 -- Jumio, the creator of Netverify Trusted Identity as a Service (TIaaS), continues to advance identity verification with the industry's first web and mobile document verification solution, Netverify Document Verification. Netverify Document Verification solves the current expensive and error-prone manual processes businesses use to extract and compare names and addresses from secondary documents such as utility bills and bank statements to comply with Know Your Customer (KYC) and Anti-Money Laundering (AML) requirements. Netverify Document Verification provides users an easy and near-flawless way to scan critical documents to provide an additional layer of identity verification. Netverify Document Verification can be used for scanning documents such as utility bills to provide proof of address or bank statements that provide pertinent information such as account balance and account number to help with KYC and AML requirements. With Netverify Document Verification users can scan folded, wrinkled, or even crumpled documents and the data is extracted with near-flawless results. With this latest addition to the Jumio Netverify Trusted Identity as a Service, customers can now leverage Jumio's best-in-class identity verification solution that combines biometric facial recognition, facial image matching, ID verification, and document verification all designed to ensure the physical identity matches the real world identity. "Jumio's mission is to solve the challenge of identity verification in the digital world," said Steve Stuut, CEO, Jumio. "With our Netverify Trusted Identity as a Service we allow companies to implement the level of identity verification they need for their business and meet regulatory requirements while establishing a safe, secure, and satisfying user experience." For companies to be successful in developing and implementing an identity verification process, they need a solution that truly establishes the person in possession of the ID is in fact who they say they are. To accomplish this requires a combination of technology, automation, and identity experts that can provide the highest level of accuracy and fraud detection without falsely rejecting potential customers that are so critical for expanding businesses. With Netverify Trusted Identity as a Service, customers have a complete identity verification solution that can be tailored to fit their specific business requirements. Availability Please visit Jumio at the following upcoming events: Finovate London, February 7-8, 2017. Watch an onstage demo of Jumio at 9:00am on February 7 and schedule a meeting here. ICE Totally Gaming, February 7-9 in London. Visit us at stand N7-322 and schedule a meeting here. RSA Conference, February 13-17 in San Francisco. Visit us at booth 4713 and schedule a meeting here. About Jumio Jumio, the creator of Netverify Trusted Identity as a Service, enables businesses to reduce fraud and increase customer conversions while providing a seamless customer experience. With Netverify Trusted Identity as a Service customers have a complete identity verification solution that can be tailored to fit their specific business requirements. Netverify Trusted Identity as a Service combines biometric facial recognition, facial image matching, ID verification, and document verification to ensure the physical identity matches the real-world identity. Jumio has verified more than 30 million identities issued by over 200 countries from real time web and mobile transactions. Jumio's solutions are used by leading companies in the financial services, sharing economy, higher education, retail, travel, and online gaming sectors. Based in Palo Alto, Jumio operates globally with offices in the US and Europe, and has been the recipient of numerous awards for innovation. For more information, please visit www.jumio.com. Source: Jumio Corp. The Italian flag waves in front of The "Altare della Patria" also known as "Vittoriano" downtown Rome, Italy, March 23, 2016. REUTES/ Stefano Rellandini By Valentina Za MILAN (Reuters) - The head of Italy's bank-bailout fund said on Tuesday the country lacked a clear strategy for shifting 356 billion euros ($381 billion) in problem loans. In an extraordinary outburst from a man picked by Rome to help tackle the problem, Alessandro Penati, whose boutique asset management firm was chosen to raise private funds for struggling banks, said he felt "bitter and disillusioned". His comments exposed tensions within the banking sector over Italy's rescue efforts. "There is no clear vision of the problem and no strategy," Penati said at a financial conference in Milan, suggesting that he was virtually working alone on rescues that had revealed "horror stories" within some banks. "There is simply a reaction to a problem and this has been the main difficulty for me over these past few months -- I had nobody to relate to." The Atlante fund, created 10 months ago following pressure from the government, gathered 4.25 billion euros from around 70 mostly private investors, including Italy's healthier lenders, to buy up bad loans and invest in weaker banks. But the fund's investors are already making big writedowns on the value of their stakes in Atlante, which promised them annual returns of 6 percent. The fund faces ever greater demands for capital and no investors willing to stump up more money. In December, Penati's plan to buy into Italy's biggest-ever sale of bad debts -- 28 billion euros worth of loans written by struggling bank Monte dei Paschi di Siena -- fell apart when the bank failed to find any other major investors. Penati, a former economist who set up Milan-based Quaestio Capital Management, said the sale had collapsed because it had been tied to a capital raising that had been "badly devised and even more badly executed". Monte dei Paschi (MPS) is now to be rescued by the state. "It would no longer make sense for Atlante to play a role now. The point is that state intervention is considered a way to solve all problems, but it isn't ... MPS's bad loan problem remains and how they are going to solve it -- I don't know." The decades-old problem, made worse by recent recession, has proven tough to resolve because Italian banks are reluctant to write down the value of their loans to market value, given this would force them to raise more capital. Investors in Atlante, including Italy's biggest retail bank, Intesa Sanpaolo (NYSE: ISP), have made it clear they will not invest any more money in the fund. "The board of Intesa has (already) approved a 1 billion euro commitment ... This is our contribution," Intesa Chairman Gian Maria Gros-Pietro said when asked about Penati's remarks. Penati complained the fund had been created in an emergency and given "40,000 tasks but no resources", adding that to be effective it would have needed an extra 4 billion euros. He said his experience at the helm of Atlante had been a source of "deep bitterness and disappointment at a personal level". "I thought a market for Italian non-performing loans could be created but based on the experience of the past six months I'm now skeptical," he said. Without a secondary market, the task of cleaning up Italy's bank balance sheets could prove near to impossible. Penati said his job had taken him inside some dark corners of Italian banking. "I had never looked at banks from the inside ... I was stunned they are run in this way," he said. He said Atlante's investors had shown "zero long-sightedness" for declining to invest more in the fund, which has used 80 percent of its money to rescue two banks in northeast Italy -- Veneto Banca and Banca Popolare di Vicenza. Both these lenders now need more capital. Intesa has devalued its stake in Atlante by 33 percent and a source has said rival UniCredit could write it down by as much as 70 percent. "They invested in failed banks ... you need to wait three years before assessing how much a bank like that is worth," Penati said. (This version of the story was refiled to clarify first paragraph) (Additional reporting by Andrea Mandala; Editing by Mark Bendeich, Silvia Aloisi and Alexander Smith) FILE PHOTO - U.S. Representative Mac Thornberry (R-TX), chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, addresses a news conference following a House Republican caucus meeting at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, October 21, 2015. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst By Patricia Zengerle WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States should invest more in missile defense given missile testing by North Korea and Iran, the chairman of the House of Representatives Armed Services Committee said on Monday. The comments by Republican Representative Mac Thornberry followed new U.S. sanctions against Iran after Tehran's recent ballistic missile tests. Washington is also concerned North Korea may be preparing to test a new ballistic missile. Thornberry's position was a sign of support in Congress for military spending to counter North Korea after President Donald Trump during the 2016 election campaign raised doubts about future U.S. funding to defend allies like South Korea and Japan. "If you look at what's happening around the world, I would mention Iran and North Korea, the importance of missile defense is increasing," Thornberry said at a roundtable discussion with reporters. He said there was a need both to provide more systems and to improve missile defense technology. "Actors around the world are building missiles that are harder to stop," he added. Jim Mattis, Trump's defense secretary, told South Korea last week that Washington and Seoul would stand "shoulder-to-shoulder" to face the threat from North Korea. Both South Korea and the United States have recommitted to plans to deploy an $800 million advanced missile defense system in South Korea later this year. More broadly, Thornberry also said he expected an end to strict limits on defense spending now that Republicans control both Congress and the White House. The 2011 Budget Control Act imposed across-the-board cuts on government spending, and under former President Barack Obama, a Democrat, congressional Democrats were able to ward off Republican pushes to increase the defense budget without also raising spending on non-defense items such as education and medical research. "I think we have a tremendous opportunity to do the right thing," Thornberry said. "There's more of the federal budget being looked at, in play, if you will, than has been the case for many years." The Trump administration is expected within weeks to send Congress a request for a supplemental bill to increase defense spending this year. (Reporting by Patricia Zengerle; Editing by Andrew Hay) Pakistan embassy in the United States hosted a farewell luncheon in honour of the Ambassador Jalil Abbas Jilani on Tuesday. Addressing the media after the luncheon, Pakistan outgoing Ambassador Jalil Abbas said that Pakistan was looking forward to work closely with the new US Administration. He said that Pakistan and US bilateral relations had improved significantly over the last few years. Now there was a greater understanding in the US about the role played by Pakistan in a global fight against terrorism and the challenges faced by Pakistan in this regard. Jalil Abbas also drew attention of the participants towards six working groups between Pakistan and the US which are working for advancing interests of both the countries in different fields. Jalil Abbas hoped that the newly-appointed Pakistan ambassador to the US, Aizaz Chaudhry, will play a significant role in further improving the relations between the two countries. Chairman Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf, Imran Khan has said that Panama papers dont tell lie, but the truth, while the neglecting education is the biggest oppression with Pakistan. Chairman PTI, on his arrival to Karachi, was warmly welcomed by PTI workers. Addressing the gathering at expo continued in Karachi Expo Center, PTI Chief said that Panama Papers doesnt tell lie, but the truth, adding that neglecting education sector is the biggest oppression with Pakistan. He said that our holy prophet Muhammed PBUH also brought an aim in the world. The one who fears of losing can never win. We should continue to struggle at any circumstance. Later Chairman PTI arrived in Jamia Farooqia in Shah Faisal and offered condolences over demise of renowned religious scholar Saleem-ullah. 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. Celebrating UN Vesak Day: Spare a thought for our four-legged beings View(s): This May, from 11th to 13th, the United Nations Day of Vesak will be celebrated in Sri Lanka. This follows a request made to the UN Vesak Committee on behalf of President Maithripala Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, by Buddha Sasana Minister Wijeyadasa Rajapakse, to host this Day in Sri Lanka in 2017. According to a government communique the event is meant to spread the message of Buddhist philosophy around the world and to strengthen cooperation and exchanges among Buddhist countries and organisations. Tracing the origin of this Day, declared in 1999, Dr. Rohan Perera, Sri Lankas Permanent Representative to the United Nations, New York, in his Opening Statement delivered at the UN Vesak Day celebrations last year stated thus: Sixteen years ago, Sri Lanka took the initiative to recognize the Day of Vesak internationally by spearheading the adoption of Resolution 54/115 under the guidance of the late Hon. Lakshman Kadirgamar, then Foreign Minister of Sri Lanka, with the active participation of not only other Buddhist States but all Member States of the United Nations.Today, in this august General Assembly hall, we commemorate this thrice blessed day for Buddhists all over the world. This Day was first celebrated in 2000, at New Yorks UN Headquarters. Since then, so far, Thailand and Vietnam have hosted the celebration. According to the Buddha Sasana Ministry, the celebration will be inaugurated with President Maithripala Sirisena, Indian President Narendra Modi and over 2000 other national and international Buddhist and political leaders. It is understood that Sri Lanka will celebrate the event under the theme Buddhas Teachings, Social Justice and Sustainable World Peace. Buddha taught Universal Compassion to all living beings human and animal alike where it is wrong to kill or harm any living being. Thus, animals too are entitled to social justice. Empirical research reveals that humans who are cruel to animals are more prone to violence, thereby affecting the creation of peaceful societies. Buddhism and animals are inter-connected; and animal rights are gaining global recognition as an international policy issue. Thus, in celebrating this Day, can we not spare a thought for the animals of the world with whom we share this earth ? In Buddhism, animals are living beings, with no distinction drawn between moral rules applicable to animals and humans. Some Jataka stories portray the Bodisaththva in animal form, with qualities of kindness and generosity. Queen Mahamaya dreamt that Prince Siddhartha entered her womb in the form of a white elephant. Kantaka, the Princes loyal horse, died grief-stricken when Siddhartha left the palace. During the sixth week of the sath sathiya after attaining enlightenment, a king cobra sheltered the Buddha from rain, under a mucalinda tree. Globally, the UN has declared a World Wildlife Day; the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) has set international animal protection standards; European Union Treaties include Protocols on Animal Welfare; campaigns are underway for a Universal Declaration on Animal Welfare and for enshrining animal rights in a UN Convention; many nations celebrate World Animal Day; and, animals are by statutes and judicial determinations fast gaining the status of non-human persons with rights, some nations affording them constitutional protection. Based on global interests, past celebration themes include Buddhist Response to Global Crisis, The Buddhas Enlightenment for the Well-being of Humanity and Buddhist Contribution towards Achieving the United Nations Millennium Development Goals with the Day celebrated with spiritual programmes and pageantry Buddhist chanting, Dharma talks, spiritual tours, workshops, exhibitions, performances depicting Buddhas life through song and dance, parades, candle lighting, to name some. The President, it is reported, has instructed that the festival be held in a grand manner. A high level committee is making arrangements, with the President himself reviewing the progress of the initiatives taken. Buddhism promotes austere practice. Yet, the celebration will be spectacular, with our island nation lit up with a million bulbs and bedecked with a myriad of colourful decorations. However, if the objective of declaring this Day is to be realized, it is imperative to pursue also meaningful activities having a lasting impact. While the global theme will be given precedence to spread the message of Buddhist philosophy, cannot Sri Lanka also focus on some matters of current local relevance, for the festival to be truly meaningful locally and also inspire others? There are many animal welfare issues pending before our authorities but pending for far too long. An Animal Welfare Bill, submitted to the then President in 2006, finally approved by Cabinet only in 2016, still awaits enactment. Animal sacrifice, determined unlawful by our Court of Appeal in 2013 (the Supreme Court upholding the decision) is yet to be banned by law, despite a key Minister pledging to do so. A ban on exporting our baby elephants as symbols of goodwill between nations, to live in zoos, deprived of their natural habitat, after cruel separation from their herds or establishing sanctuaries to shelter cattle who have served man for centuries, but are often sold to the butcher when the owner is unable to maintain them, and there is so much more that can be done to alleviate animal suffering; and, most importantly, to afford animals the justiciable constitutional protection recommended by the Lal Wijenayake Committee, and not its diluted version of a non-justiciable Directive Principle, full of restrictions and left for subjective interpretation, as proposed by a Constitutional Assembly appointed sub committee, when today several nations afford animals meaningful constitutional protection. These will have a lasting impact, while the glitter, pomp, pageantry and verbiage will soon fade away. An evaluation of past celebrations will show outputs but what about the outcomes? Does Sri Lanka care and dare to be different? That is left to be seen. P.S. In the not too distant past, in preparation for international events, like CHOGM 2013, Sri Lankas canine population on the street, cared for by the community, were cruelly removed from their habitat to beautify the city and undertakings to return them, were violated by public officers, who abandoned them, elsewhere where they could not survive. We are confident that in celebrating this festival, mindful of the universal compassion in Buddhism, this will not happen; and more so since Local Government Minister Faiszer Mustapha has recently assured animal welfare organizations that street dogs will be removed, where necessary, only in consultation with them, to assure the animals welfare. Donald Trumps plot against America View(s): By Bernard-Henri Levy NEW YORK On the day of Donald Trumps inauguration, I met Philip Roth. This was a surreal experience, given that, in his 2004 novel, The Plot Against America, Roth precisely described the sinister and chilling nightmare in which the United States now finds itself. We met, along with our mutual friend Adam Gopnik, in Roths book-lined Manhattan apartment, where he has moved after announcing his retirement from writing. Roth had spent the morning watching television, and, like many Americans, he had seen the stupefying images of the fussing, overgrown baby who, with diminutive fists raised, insulted the US establishment, the American people, and the world. As his readers know, the author of The Plot Against America has a special fondness for literary heroines. So we dwelled on the case of Melania Trump, the new First Lady, who maintained a strangely absent air throughout the ceremony. Was she projecting lucidity? Were we observing the look of someone who has intimate knowledge of the catastrophes that are yet to come? Or was she just the most beautiful girl at the party the one an avid adolescent had asked to dance, and then held on tightly? The world is now collectively writing a new novel. Roth skillfully distilled the tragic and the comic elements of this process, and we spoke of the forces that might be able to stand up to the dark tide of vulgarity and violence under Trump. The first is the sovereign people, who poured into the streets of every large city in the country with the knowledge that, in terms of total votes, it is they, not Trump, who won the election. Second, there are some Republicans who understand that Trump, the former Democrat-turned-populist, and the grand old party that he used as a stepping-stone to power are in a fight to the death. A third force is the CIA, whose headquarters Trump visited the day after his inauguration. He positioned himself in front of the Memorial Wall on which are engraved the names of 117 agents who have been killed in the line of duty and issued a grotesque and puerile self-congratulation for the number of supporters who had come to Washington to celebrate his ascension, making no mention of the fallen. Meanwhile, the American intelligence community will not soon forget that Trump doubted their probity in the matter of Russian hacking to influence the election in his favour. I asked Roth if he thought that it was strange that the greatest democracy in the world must fall back on such an unlikely set of checks and balances. What is strange, he answered, with a burst of laughter and his head thrown back, is this new state of suspended insurrection, for which the improbably elected president bears responsibility. One might think that, owing to this insurgency from within, Trump could serve an even shorter term than that of the protagonist in The Plot Against America. Of course, Roths novel and todays situation are not precisely comparable. Roths story unfolds in 1940, and depicts the heroic aviator and Nazi sympathizer Charles Lindbergh triumphing over incumbent President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. And Lindbergh was a virulent anti-Semite. Trump, nevertheless, employs rhetoric that is reminiscent of Mussolini. And he has professed his solidarity with the worst populists and outright fascist leaders on the other side of the Atlantic, from Nigel Farage and Viktor Orban, to Marine Le Pen and Vladimir Putin. Then there is that slogan, America First. It is astounding that those words have not turned stomachs across the American political spectrum. After all, as anyone with a modicum of historical and political awareness should know, America First was American Nazi sympathisers slogan in 1940, during Lindberghs time. It was the response thrown back at those who wanted the US to resist Hitlers Germany. It was used to denounce the Jewish warmongers who were accused of placing their interests over the national interest. And it is this slogan, which Trump repeated on the Capitol steps, that leads the likes of former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke to unmask himself and crow,We did it! Trump knows all of this, and when it is pointed out to him, he replies that he is looking toward the future, not back at the past. But there are only two teams in this game: nihilists with no memory, and those who know that languages have a history and, therefore, an id. The first team thinks that a speaker can invoke a white-supremacist slogan repeatedly in a single speech without having malign intentions; the second team knows that the genealogy of words cannot be denied without the past taking its revenge. Trump, a would-be ally to the most unsavoury and hated demagogues of our time, is being rejected worldwide. But consider this particularly odd and sinister twist: Americas most unpopular president recently visited Jerusalem, and developed an affinity for the very same people that his fictional predecessor considered to be subhuman. May the recipients of Trumps sudden solicitude be as wary of this new friend as they are of their enemies. May they never forget that Israels fate is too serious a matter to be used as a pretext for an impulsive, uncultured adventurer to demonstrate his authority or supposed deal-making talents. And may they be spared the dilemma, depicted in Roths novel, of having to choose between two equally dreadful fates: that of the victim, Winchell, or the willing hostage, Bengelsdorf. America has not read enough of Philip Roth. His world or Trumps: that is the question. (The writer is one of the founders of the Nouveaux Philosophes (New Philosophers) movement. His books include Left in Dark Times: A Stand Against the New Barbarism, American Vertigo: Traveling America in the Footsteps of Tocqueville, and The Genius of Judaism.) Courtesy : Project Syndicate, 2017. Exclusive to the Sunday Times.www.project-syndicate.org The world is more connected than its ever been. But while this interconnectivity creates plenty of opportunities, it also presents a number challenges. Today marks Safer Internet Day 2017 an international campaign aimed at promoting safe, responsible and positive use of technology, especially amongst children and young people. Coordinated in New Zealand by NetSafe, this years theme for Safer Internet Day is Be the change: Unite for a better internet. Netsafe CEO Martin Cocker says this theme provides the perfect opportunity for individuals, schools, industry and organisations to come together to raise awareness and start conversations about online safety. Technology is constantly shaping the way we live. Its changing the way we communicate, the way we learn and even how we organise our lives. We no longer go online we just are online. This is especially true for young people who have been surrounded by technology since the moment they were born. Image: NetSafe Research shows 80 per cent of New Zealanders own a smartphone or tablet, and 88 per cent of us use social media every month making it more important than ever before for people to understand about online safety. This year Netsafe has teamed up with industry partners including Google, YouTube, Twitter and Trade Me to create a handy guide full of tips and advice for being online thats useful to anyone regardless of their age. Martin says the Staying Safe Online Guide covers everything from social media to online shopping to searching and devices. Its great so many people are uniting to help young people develop the skills they need to have a safe online experience. By working together and creating useful resources we can really make a difference to how people relate to each other online and help create a better internet. Image: NetSafe Communications Minister Simon Bridges says Connect Smart research reveals one in five Kiwis have experienced cybercrime. This includes damage from a virus or malware, hacking of a social media or bank account, receiving a phishing email, people having their system locked down by ransomware or being the victim of an online scam or fraud, explains Simon. There are basic steps that can make a big difference in improving our online security and research shows that New Zealanders are now more inclined to stop and think before clicking on links and attachments in emails. Connect Smart research shows 94 per cent of people are now doing so. Safer Internet Day is a reminder to all to continue to be aware of potential cyber risks. For more information and useful advice for protecting yourself online visit the NetSafe website at: www.netsafe.org.nz or the Givernments Connect Smart website at: www.connectsmart.govt.nz SIMPLE STEPS TO PROTECT YOURSELF ONLINE: Keep your software up to date Use strong and different passwords for all your accounts, and change them regularly Use secure Wi-Fi connections Check your privacy settings on social media Be cautious about the personal information you post online Be suspicious of unusual emails, especially from people you dont know. Nominations for candidates seeking election as a Bay of Plenty Regional Councillor for the Mauao Maori constituency will close at 12pm on Monday, February 13. Electoral Officer Robyn Garrett says the sad passing of Councillor Awanui Black last year created an extraordinary vacancy, and a by-election is required to re-fill it. To be eligible, fully completed nomination forms, accompanied by the nomination fee, must be delivered to me at one of Bay of Plenty Regional Councils Tauranga (87 First Ave) or Whakatane (5 Quay St) offices, no later than the closing date. If more than one nomination is received, voting packs will be sent by mail to voters on the Mauao Maori electoral roll during March. The by-election will be held from March 20 to April 11. Nomination criteria, forms and further information are available at www.boprc.govt.nz/byelection or by contacting the Electoral Officer, via phone 0800 884 881 ext 8376 or email elections@boprc.govt.nz. Only voters registered on the Maori electoral roll in the Mauao Maori constituency will be eligible to vote in the April 2017 by-election. The Mauao Maori constituency extends from the top of the Kaimai Mamaku ranges to Waihi Beach and Otamarakau, including Katikati, Tauranga, Matakana, Te Puke, Maketu, Pongakawa and the surrounding areas. WASHINGTON - Illinois Congressman Luis Gutierrez (IL-04) took once again to the U.S. House floor this week to complain about the Trump Administration's effort to protect citizens from foreign nationals. Specifically, the president spotlighted persons that may have intentions to participate in a movement out to destroy Western Civilization. After congratulating companies that are resisting the Trump's pause in allowing immigrants from seven countries, Gutierrez condemned the new policy that has been put on hold by federal courts. The President has damaged the American brand, Gutierrez said. WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump's nominee for Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos was confirmed Tuesday in an historic tie vote that was broken by Vice President Mike Pence's support. Teachers unions pushed hard to block DeVos, concerned that her past supporting non-government schools could weaken their control of schools and taxpayers pocketbooks. Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner voiced his support for DeVos, as did former Florida Governor Jeb Bush, who released a statement after the Senate vote. Bush now leads the Foundation for Excellence in Education. Every state surrounding Illinois allows workers to decide for themselves whether they want to support or belong to a labor union but Illinois does not give workers this freedom. Workers in Illinois deserve the same rights as their peers in surrounding states. Its time to stop forcing Illinois workers to pay money to or join a union just so they can keep their jobs, said Michael Lucci, vice president of policy at Illinois Policy Institute. CHICAGO Monday morning, Missouri became the 28th state in the nation to enact a Right-to-Work law, which means the state legislator and governor agreed that no one should be forced to join or pay money to a union as a condition of employment. Indiana enacted a Right-to-Work law in 2012, and Michigans law became effective in 2013. Wisconsin enacted statewide Right to Work in 2015, and Kentucky did the same earlier this year. Right-to-Work laws do not prohibit unions from existing in a workplace or limit any employees ability to join a union, Illinois Policy Institute said in a statement. "Rather, Right-to-Work laws allow workers to choose for themselves whether they would like to join or pay money to a union that may exist in their workplace. In states with Right-to-Work laws, employees cannot be fired for refusing to join or pay money to a union." Since mid-2012, Indiana has added 33,100 manufacturing jobs; over that same time period, Illinois lost 20,500 manufacturing jobs. Since mid-2012, Michigan has added 59,700 manufacturing jobs, Wisconsin has added 16,400 manufacturing jobs, Kentucky has added 16,800 manufacturing jobs, and Missouri has added 6,700 manufacturing jobs. In supporting Missouris adoption of a Right-to-Work law, the Missouri Chamber of Commerce pointed out that jobs in Right-to-Work states grew by 8.6 percent over the last decade, according to an article in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Meanwhile, in forced-unionization states, jobs growth has been only 5 percent during the same time period. According to the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics, since 1990 Right-to-Work states have seen jobs growth at double the rate of forced-unionization states. MSNBC took its fear mongering smears of the Donald Trump administration to a dark new low Monday afternoon when reporter Katy Tur suggested the presidents war with the media would start racking up actual casualties. During an interview with Nebraska Senator Deb Fischer, a Republican, Tur suggested Trump would take a page from Russian President Vladimir Putins playbook and start targeting journalists for death. (Article by Nicholas Fondacaro from Newsbusters.org) As we know, theres, since 2000, been a couple dozen suspicious deaths of journalists in Russia who came out against the government there, Tur reminded the Senator before unscrupulously suggesting Trumps distaste for the media would escalate, Donald Trump has made no secret about going after journalists and his distaste for any news that doesnt agree with him here. Do you find that this is a dangerous path he is heading down? Fischer defended the President, saying that its his job to foster relationships with leaders from countries around the globe. And I believe that President Trump will recognize, or does recognize right now, who Putin is, she added in his defense. But Tur wasnt having any of it, pressuring the Senator by asking, What makes you say that he does recognize who Putin is when he hasnt said so publicly? The Senator tried to argue that the new president wasnt going to sour the relationship right out of the gate, but was cut off by her interviewer. There is a difference between attacking and flattering, Tur spat. The Senator tried to put Turs worries about Trumps handling of Putin to rest, stating that Trump will have very firm, very harsh, if need be, conversations with Putin And that the United States would not allow Putin to re-establish some kind of empire for himself Tur scoffed at the idea that our allies would be reassured by the Trump White House. We will see if they are convinced by that, she said dismissively. NBC has demonstrated a blatant willingness to ignore Trumps toughness on Russia and mischaracterize his understanding of the Russian tyrant. Tur claimed Trump was going above and beyond bending over backwards for the Russian president. But these are the same people who blacked-out how the administration stood up to Russia during UN Security Council meeting last week. And to suggest that Trump would follow Putin down a dangerous path and start assassinating journalist is vile. Its reporting like this that helps to create the circumstances for the violent rhetoric were seeing from the left, such as Madonna talking about blowing up the White House and Sarah Silverman calling for a military coup. Transcript below: MSNBC Live February 6, 2017 2:31:25 PM Eastern KATY TUR: Senator, the junior senator in your state, Senator Ben Sasse, came out pretty strongly over the weekend condemning Donald Trumps assertion that we are just as bad as Russia. When he said that, you know, we America does bad and terrible things, too, when Bill OReilly asked him if Vladimir Putin was a killer. Why what is your sense of why this president is going above and beyond bending over backwards, if you will to stay away from criticizing the Russian president? And its almost give him an excuse. As we know, theres, since 2000, been a couple dozen suspicious deaths of journalists in Russia who came out against the government there. Donald Trump has made no secret about going after journalists and his distaste for any news that doesnt agree with him here. Do you find that this is a dangerous path he is heading down? DEB FISCHER: I know that Putin is a thug and he runs a gas station, and the prices are low right now. And so he is going to continue to be belligerent; he is going to continue to be aggressive. Ive led a codels to Eastern Europe; I led a codel to Estonia, the Czech Republic, and Romania. And we have a very full understanding of who Vladimir Putin is. And he is not a friend of the United States. Its up to President Trump to establish relationships with foreign leaders, but also to recognize them for who they are. And I believe that President Trump will recognize, or does recognize right now, who Putin is. And he will develop that relationship and he will know how to confront him. TUR: Very quickly, what makes you say that he does recognize who Putin is when he hasnt said so publicly? FISCHER: Well, I think when youre at the beginning of an administration, you really dont want to go out and start attacking people that youre going to have to work with. You know when I came to the United States TUR [over Fischer]: There is a difference between attacking and flattering. FISCHER: Well, when I came to the United States Senate, I told Nebraskans I was going to work across the aisle. You know, Im going to work with Republicans, Im going to work with Democrats. We have differing opinions on many things but we have to work together. And Im not going to attack them in public. Were going to try to get together. I think its important that we show that we can work together. We can be respectful. We can be civil. And the American people need to see that. So, I am hopeful that President Trump will have very firm, very harsh, if need be, conversations with Putin to let him know that here in the United States we understand who he is, we understand what we view as his agenda in trying to re-establish some kind of empire for himself, and that we will not allow that to happen. Our allies need to hear that. And I think here in the Senate, many of us have been very, very forthright in making sure that our allies understand that we are there for them against Putin. TUR: We will see if they are convinced by that. Read more at: Newsbusters.org A 25-page catalogue of courses, programs, seminars, and other events scheduled for the day presents a rather bold and raw effort at hard-left propaganda with decidedly anti-American, anti-free-market, anti-family, anti-parent, and bigoted biases on display. Click here and here to learn about some of the workshops and speakers. New Trier High School is often ranked among the best in the country. It serves the prosperous suburbs north of Chicago -- Wilmette, Kenilworth, Winnetka, Glencoe, most of Northfield, and parts of Glenview -- an overwhelmingly white area. The township was traditionally conservative and Republican but now leans liberal and Democratic. Its main campus for sophomores through seniors is located in Winnetka , Illinois , US, and a freshman campus in Northfield , Illinois, with freshman classes and district administration. A group of parents of New Trier (Illinois) High School students is concerned about what their teens will be taught during the forthcoming "All School Seminar Day" planned for February 28, 2017, titled: Understanding Today's Struggle for Racial Civil Rights. Below are several of the scheduled workshops and speakers Whose Civil Rights?: Transpeople of Color Navigating the U.S.: Civil rights are social and political freedoms that everyone in our society is supposed to have access to; however, because of socialization, bias, and discrimination, many trans people (particularly trans people of color) do not have access to these freedoms. In this session, we will explore the current cultural climate that enforces a gender binary and, therefore, forecloses civil rights for many transpeople. We will examine how trans people are challenging and changing these systems. 21st Century Voter Suppression: A group discussion about the methods and regulations used in the US to deny or limit the voting rights of various minority groups..The main emphasis of the workshop will be how to recognize, identify, and combat modern voter suppression tactics. Attendees should come out with a few concrete plans or ideas to help address the problem moving forward. A Peoples History of Chicago: In the tradition of Howard Zinn, A Peoples History of Chicago is a poetic, progressive history that celebrates this great American city from the perspective of those on the margins whose stories are not often told. As Laurie Higgins, an acclaimed writer at Illinois Family Institute, David Smith, Executive Director, further explains: "For those who are unfamiliar with Howard Zinn, he was a far Left historical revisionist who wrote The Peoples History of the United States, which is used in many high school social studies classes. Eminent economist Thomas Sowell said this about Zinns pseudo-history book: It speaks volumes about our schools and colleges that far-left radical Howard Zinn's pretentiously titled book, "A People's History of the United States," is widely used across the country. It is one indictment, complaint, and distortion after another. Anyone who relies on this twisted version of American history wold have no idea why millions of people from around the world are trying, sometimes desperately, to move to this country. The one virtue of Zinn's book is that it helps you identify unmistakably which teachers are using their classrooms as propaganda centers." Western Bias in Science: Newton, Darwin, CurieCan you think of a non-European or non-American scientist in history? Come examine the western bias in science education, its sources and its implications, in this interactive workshop. Developing Empathy & Acceptance by Reading Picture Books to Children: Come to the Northfield Library and read picture books to a group of children (ages 3-5). The picture books will focus on themes of embracing diversityand social justice. Students will lead activities related to the books with the young children. As questioned by Laurie Higgins, "One wonders what picture books students will be reading to toddlers and who chose them? What forms of diversity will be depicted in these picture books?" Andrew Aydin was described accordingly by Laurie Higgins as the keynote speaker at the Northfield campus. "Aydin is a policy advisor to liberal Congressman John Lewis. Aydin has contributed to the ethically impoverished Southern Poverty Law Center and the dystopian feminist comic book Bitch Planet." Monica Trinidad will share "her organizing work with We Charge Genocide. . . She will then lead a hands-on workshop that will guide participants through a discussion of the Black Lives Matter movement today. This quote about Trinidad is from Laurie Higgins: "Trinidad is "a queer, latinx artist and organizer born and raised on the southeast side of Chicago. OiYan A. Poon: Dr. Poon challenges students to critically analyze systems of higher education, student affairs practices, and to understand their power to transform oppressive structures as social justice change agents. . . Dr. Poon had received "a 2013 National Distinguished Educator award from the Pacific Education Groups Courageous Conversations Summit. As Laurie Higgins remarked: "An award from the Pacific Education Group is confirmation that Poon is a Leftist." The Pacific Educational Group is a consulting firm committed to forging racial equity. The PEG believes systemic racism is the most devastating factor contributing to the diminished capacity of all people, and especially people of color and indigenous people, to achieve at the highest levels. Attributed to Laurie Higgins: The partial list of workshops offered at New Trier's mandatory event "reveals a Leftist dream for what the Left considers education." Instead of attending a conference based on White Privilege, "New Trier parents can just send their kids to school for the day long smorgasbord of ideologically non-diverse seminars to learn all about Understanding Todays Struggle for Racial Civil Rights. Parents at New Trier express anger and outrage It is not surprising that those on the Left are angry by the fact that parents of students attending New Trier have the audacity to object to the forthcoming February 28 "All School Seminar Day" of leftist indoctrination. This has resulted in the objecting parents and students being subjected to merciless bullying in social media and even face-to-face in school. Any dissent from the official line is labeled as "racist" and "privileged"; the parents' calls for reasonable balance in discussions of such volatile issues are met with oppressive sloganeering along the lines of, "Calls for fairness and balance are themselves evidence of racism and privilege". The bullies wish to tolerate no dissent. The parents' website is found here. The parents' website is replete with background information on the agitprop program and some of the schemers behind it. It contains calm and lucid information which is accurately and neutrally presented. Visitors to the site can click through to the websites of sponsoring organizations and read their propaganda and statements of their aims and worldviews in their own (vicious and bigoted) words. One can also sign an on-line petition in support of the parents and in opposition to unfair and unbalanced programs of this kind. Here is the latest written statement issued by parents on Monday, February 5, 2017 on its website under the heading, Parents of New Trier High who Say 'White Guilt' Isn't Enough are Being Attacked." While you are at the parents' website, have a look at the "In Their Own Words" tab where you will find some examples of the bullying and some illustrations of the vicious race-hatred and political propaganda of which the "experts" invited into the school for the indoctrination sessions are capable. Visit also the "What You Can Do" tab. Of important is that you speak out on social media and elsewhere in defense of the concerned parents and students at New Trier High Schools. Respectful and thoughtful participation is likewise encouraged and would be very welcome and timely on the Facebook page devoted to discussion of the New Trier All School Seminar Day (and its one-sided program of "anti-racist" and "anti-white-privilege" indoctrination). Concerned parents organize opposition Betsy Hart is one of the key leaders of the Concerned Parents of New Trier. Betsy Canfield Hart, the well-known nationally-syndicated pro-family columnist, has children in the school. Many in education claim they desire diversity, but their actions speak otherwise, Hart explained. Regarding New Trier's seminar, parents are not trying to shut down the February 28th seminar. They just want a seminar that will be more challenging for kids. As such, parents are calling for balance and diversity to bring other ideas into the one-sided program being presented at New Trier. Parents have asked to include some topics and hire speakers of their choice, but so far requests have been denied. The nearby city of Chicago is literally blowing up with many people who are suffering. Exploring how to keep kids out of gangs or a seminar program that would help involve students in inner cities ministries would be far more beneficial than asking parents and children to reflect on white privilege. Reports about New Trier's racist seminar have spread beyond local media attention. The Chicago Tribune on Monday, February 6, 2017, reprinted in the front section of its main paper a report carried over the weekend by its suburban local paper, the Winnetka Talk on the growing controversy regarding the forthcoming day-long mandatory leftist indoctrination program that will be held at New Trier Township High School, once thought to be among the best public schools in the nation but now, alas, descending into the cesspool of inflammatory racist, antisemitic, and other miasms of the ascendant academic left. Here is the on-line Chicago Tribune link to the report first published in its suburban local paper the Winnetka Talk over the weekend, as published in Section 1, Page 3, Column 1 of the Tribune on 2/6/2017: New Trier High School parents debate planned civil rights seminar. For additional excellent insight about the upcoming New Trier's High School's planned "All School Seminar Day", please check out this Monday, February 6, 2017 report by Mark Glennon's, founder of Wirepoints: Authoritarians at the Gate: How One High School is Ripping Its Community Apart . Mr. Glennon begins his article with this message: Not since the Vietnam War have I seen as much strife and personal hostility within an otherwise friendly community. Thank the administration of New Trier High School in north suburban Chicago. This story is about the madness on college campuses now being crammed down into a public high school. More importantly, its about an angry brawl now growing rapidly. For the very latest, read the following article published February 6, 2017 at the Illinois Family Institute by Laurie Higgins: Controversy Grows Over Imbalanced Seminar on Race. Will your school be next? If you are in and around Chicago, you might wish to attend the school board meeting scheduled for Monday, February 20, 2017, at 7:00 p.m. at: Multipurpose Room (C234), Building C, Second Floor, at New Trier High School Northfield Campus, 7 Happ Road, Northfield. Even if you don't get on the agenda to speak, your presence in support of parents and students who do speak will be important and comforting against the hostility with which they are sure to be greeted. What is happening at New Trier High School is not just an isolated incident. Know what is happening in your own local high school. Progressive education is now the rule of thumb in Illinois and in other states and is being supported and abetted by the Illinois Education Association. (NOTE: Apologies to Laurie Higgins for mistakenly failing to attribute appropriately in the original version of this column.) Nvidia has been investing heavily in workstation and data center-class GPUs lately. While the market for gaming-grade graphics cards continues to grow, so does high performance computing which is switching over to GPU-based technology. Nvidia's latest release, the GP100, brings Pascal architecture, HBM2, and 64-bit double precision computations to the workstation. The card features the same internal GPU as the Tesla P100 compute card, but also brings along a PCIe connector and video outputs. Nvidia's GPU line is split into three main families: Tesla, Quadro, and GeForce. Tesla cards are compute only meaning they don't have any video outputs and are specifically designed for data center and scientific research style applications. GeForce cards are mainstream gaming oriented cards with drivers designed for video games. The Quadro line is somewhere in the middle. They have high performance computing (HPC) hardware, but come with drivers optimized for CAD, 3D modeling, and simulations. The Quadro GP100 is a big design change from previous generations of GeForce and other Quadro cards. The CUDA cores are redistributed to give an effective compute performance of 5 teraflops in 64-bit double precision applications. The memory has also received an upgrade bringing the GP100 to 16GB of ECC HBM2. It has a 4096-bit wide bus and a massive bandwidth of 720GB/s. Just like its Tesla P100 cousin, the GP100 also features the new NVlink connector in place of SLI. It offers much higher bandwidth than SLI or PCIe for card-to-card communications. In addition to the GP100, Nvidia has refreshed the rest of its Quadro lineup. The Quadro P4000, P2000, P1000, P600, and P400 are all likely competitors to AMD's upcoming Radeon Pro GPUs based on Vega. But don't expect any of these to be even remotely cheap. The GP100 is expected to launch in March with pricing around $6000 per card. We've learned lots of information already about LG's upcoming G6 ahead of its official launch. The company is said to be planning an April 7th release for their newest flagship device in the United States. The device will be released to South Korean markets on March 9th; a month ahead of US consumers. This follows the scheduled unveiling on February 26th at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. If latest leaks are to be believed, compared to the Galaxy S8's 5.8 and 6.2-inch variants, the LG G6 will feature a smaller 5.7-inch screen that will take the entire front of the phone with minimal rounded bezels. The G6 should be waterproof and sport an unibody design. It's also rumored to be priced competitively against the Galaxy S8, which might translate in a slightly lower price point, so the decision will be up to consumers as to how much they are looking to spend on a new high-end handset. It's no accident that the G6 launch is scheduled ahead of Samsung's anticipated Galaxy S8 release. The LG G6 is expected to feature an older Snapdragon 821 SoC as opposed to the S8's newer (and more scarce) Snapdragon 835. Samsung reportedly hoarded Qualcomm's entire supply of 835s which would explain why LG couldn't secure it for their flagship phone. The launch of the G6 comes after a steady decline in the success of LG's G series phones. The LG G5 didn't do as well as LG would have hoped, with consumers shying away from the modular design. The G6 is an effort to bring back the line to the mainstream. President Donald Trump spoke at the National Prayer Breakfast on Feb. 2 and went off-script to remind the room full of lawmakers, religious leaders, and foreign dignitaries that he left the reality show The Apprentice in 2015 to show how serious he was about running for the presidency. But that's not all. Trump also went on to take a jab at former California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger over the low ratings of The Apprentice since the bodybuilder took over the show, and even asked all those present at the event to pray for the ratings to go up. "They hired a big movie star to take my place and we know how that turned out ... The ratings went right down the tubes [...] I want to just pray for Arnold ... for those ratings," Trump said. Sean Spicer, Trump's press secretary, was quick to say that the president's remarks about Schwarzenegger and the ratings of The Celebrity Apprentice were mere lighthearted jabs. But it's really hard to think of it that way. The chief executive seems to be too fixated on criticizing the actor and former governor since the celeb took over the reality show. The National Prayer Breakfast might also not be the appropriate venue to talk about the reality show. Of course, Schwarzenegger is a fighter if his action movies are any indication so he responded to Trump's criticism with a jab of his own that is probably powerful enough for a knockout. Schwarzenegger posted his response over Twitter, since the social media site seems to be one of Trump's favorite means of "communication." The actor-turned-politician tweeted a short video where he addressed "Donald" and shared his good idea. Take a look at the tweet below. "Why don't we switch jobs? You take over TV, 'cause you're such an expert in ratings. And I take over your job, so that people can finally sleep comfortably again," Schwarzenegger said. We daresay his response was also a lighthearted jab at the president's remark, only that his jab could literally be more powerful because of his size. Then again, if President Trump's spontaneous remark was mere banter, perhaps Spicer could explain why he followed it up with another "lighthearted jab" on Twitter saying Schwarzenegger did a bad job when he was the governor of California and was even worse on The Apprentice. Yes, Arnold Schwarzenegger did a really bad job as Governor of California and even worse on the Apprentice...but at least he tried hard! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 3, 2017 Schwarzenegger did not even have to say anything in response to Trump's second criticism. He did retweet what Trump posted with a link to an article about all the tax records he released when he was in office. Perhaps the president could learn a lesson or two from the actor's essay in December 2016. "[How] can I ever claim to be self-made? To accept that mantle discounts every person and every piece of advice that got me here. And it gives the wrong impression that you can do it alone [...] The worst thing you can ever do is think that you know enough," Schwarzenegger wrote. 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. A 41-gun royal salute in central London park, an issuance of 5-pound coin, and a private celebration in her country estate at Sandringham 110 miles north of London marked the Sapphire Jubilee of the world's longest-reigning monarch on Monday. Elizabeth II, who acceded to the throne on Feb. 6, 1952 has become the longest-serving British monarch. She is the queen of the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth countries. The queen, who turned 90 last year, can add to her long list of titles the recognition as the world's longest-reigning living monarch after Thailand's King Bhumibol Adulyadej died last year. To celebrate her 65 years on the throne, surpassing even that of her great-great grandmother Queen Victoria who reigned for 63 years, is a feat for a princess who never expected to become queen. Destiny Called Her To A Lifetime Of Service Elizabeth's life is one called to be in service of her country and peoples. But the queen never dreamed of it. She was 10 years old when the course of her life was changed forever. Elizabeth's uncle, King Edward VIII, abdicated the throne to follow the dictate of his heart and marry U.S. commoner Wallis Warfield Simpson in 1936. The period was known as the abdication crisis. Prince Albert, Elizabeth's father, became King George VI. A stutterer and shy, he inspired and led his people through the years of World War II. The king's health, however, deteriorated and he died in his sleep in 1952, while Princess Elizabeth together with her husband of five years, Prince Philip, were on an official travel to Kenya to represent the king. On their short stop at Treetops Hotel, Elizabeth received news of her father's death. She became queen at the age of 25 and was crowned on June 2, 1953. Bringing The Monarchy Closer To The People The early years of Elizabeth II's rule saw her as a decisive monarch despite being surrounded by advisers, chiefs of whom were her husband and also Prime Minister Winston Churchill. The new queen tread the paths where previous monarchs did not dare. The televised coronation in 1953 was against the advice of those who surrounded her, fearing that by opening the monarchy to the public, it would make royalty commonplace. It was a decision made out of her conviction that monarchy, amid modernity, must be made relevant and closer to the people. The following years into her reign signaled the coming of age of the British monarchy it was close to the people without losing the enigma of the throne. Elizabeth II kept her private life out of the public eye. Most-Photographed And Most-Traveled World Leader Her reign has several milestones. She is the most-photographed and most-traveled world leader, and she has met most of the world's top leaders, from Dwight Eisenhower to Barack Obama. The queen's advanced age does not deter her from performing her royal duties with dignity. The inscription, the same words the young heir to the throne uttered 70 years ago, on the 5-pound coin issued to commemorate the Sapphire Jubilee summed it all: "My whole life, whether it be long or short, shall be devoted to your service." 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Google, Facebook, Microsoft, Apple, along with other leading technology companies and businesses, are taking a united legal stance against President Donald Trump's immigration ban. On Sunday, 96 firms have filed an amicus brief in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco, highlighting how the executive order affects their operations. Today, other companies such as HP, Tesla, Slack, and SpaceX signed the amicus, bringing the total number of signatories to 127. Trump Immigration Order: Who Is Affected And How America Reacted The Executive Order in question entitled "Protecting the Nation from Foreign Terrorist Entry into the United States" was issued Jan. 27. The order temporarily barred entry of people from seven Muslim-majority nations into the United States and suspended the refugee program of the country. The 90-day ban targeted people from Syria, Iraq, Iran, Somalia, Libya, Sudan, and Yemen. The order also indicates that the bar could be lengthened and the list of countries could be expanded. The immediate effect of the immigration ban was confusion at airports and ports as people who are usually granted entry were denied. Those who were in the country and wanted to travel can do so but were unsure if they can go back home. Trump's travel ban encompasses temporary workers, students, business travelers, visitors, fiances of U.S. citizens, immigrants, and refugees. Obviously, this cannot be covered by fingers and toes, as hundreds of thousands are affected. So how did Americans react? Thousands of Americans went to the streets to peacefully show their disdain on the immigration ban. Google workers walked out to protest, and business leaders such as Apple's Tim Cook issued statements to assert the importance of immigrants. On Friday, Judge James Robart of a Federal District Court in Seattle issued an order blocking the executive order. The temporary block lifted the 90-day restriction on entry of refugees and citizens of predominantly Muslim countries. There are also rulings in New York, Boston, and Virginia that questioned Trump's order. The government must appeal or argue these orders. While the executive branch is entrusted to decide on who enters the country or not, there is also a law that forbids issuance of visa based on one's race, nationality, sex, or place of birth. Ultimately, the debate will be at the Supreme Court. The highest court of the land should clear the gray areas and decide how much power should be granted to the executive branch when it comes to national security and immigration. Silicon Valley vs. Trump The legal brief [PDF] filed over the weekend is a concerted effort of tech companies and other businesses in the United States opposing Trump's immigration order. "The Order represents a significant departure from the principles of fairness and predictability that have governed the immigration system of the United States for more than fifty years -and the Order inflicts significant harm on American business, innovation, and growth as a result," a portion of the amicus brief reads. "The Order makes it more difficult and expensive for U.S. companies to recruit, hire, and retain some of the world's best employees. It disrupts ongoing business operations. And it threatens companies' ability to attract talent, business, and investment to the United States," it states. The 53-page document argues the unlawfulness of the executive order and highlights the contribution of immigrants to the economy and society as a whole. "The tremendous impact of immigrants on America-and on American business - is not happenstance. People who choose to leave everything that is familiar and journey to an unknown land to make a new life necessarily are endowed with drive, creativity, determination -and just plain guts. The energy they bring to America is a key reason why the American economy has been the greatest engine of prosperity and innovation in history," the filing reads. Below is the initial list of the signatories of the legal brief, and yes, you might end up wondering where the other major tech players are: AdRoll Aeris Communications Airbnb AltSchool Ancestry.com Appboy Apple AppNexus Asana Atlassian Autodesk Automattic Box Brightcove Brit + Co CareZone Castlight Health Checkr Chobani Citrix Systems Cloudera Cloudflare Copia Institute DocuSign DoorDash Dropbox Dynatrace eBay Engine Advocacy Etsy Facebook Fastly Flipboard Foursquare Fuze General Assembly GitHub Glassdoor Google GoPro Harmonic Hipmunk Indiegogo Intel JAND d/b/a Warby Parker Kargo Kickstarter KIND Knotel Levi Strauss & Co. LinkedIn Lithium Technologies Lyft Mapbox Maplebear Inc. d/b/a Instacart Marin Software Medallia Medium Meetup Microsoft Motivate International Mozilla Netflix Netgear NewsCred Patreon PayPal Holdings Pinterest Quora Reddit Rocket Fuel SaaStr Salesforce Scopely Shutterstock Snap Spokeo Spotify USA Square Squarespace Strava Stripe SurveyMonkey TaskRabbit Tech:NYC Thumbtack Turn Twilio Twitter Turn Uber Via Transportation Wikimedia Foundation Workday Y Combinator Management LLC Yelp Inc. Zynga Inc. Below is the list of additional companies that joined the amicus today: Adobe Systems Incorporated Affirm, Inc. Ampush LLC Brocade Communications Systems, Inc. Bungie, Inc. Casper Sleep Inc. Cavium, Inc. Chegg, Inc. ClassPass Inc. Coursera EquityZen Inc. Evernote Gusto Handy Technologies, Inc. HP Inc. IAC/InterActiveCorp Linden Lab Managed By Q Inc. MobileIron New Relic, Inc. Pandora Media, Inc. Planet Labs Inc. RPX Corporation Shift Technologies, Inc. Slack Technologies, Inc. SpaceX Tesla, Inc. TripAdvisor, Inc. Udacity, Inc. Zenefits 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. The Federal Trade Commission has declared that Vizio has indeed used at least 11 million of its Smart TVs to spy on its users and has now agreed to pay $2.2 million as settlement. The breakdown of that amount is divided between the FTC and the New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs, each taking $1.5 million and $1 million, respectively. The latter, however, includes a $300,000 suspended amount. On Vizio Spying The issue stemmed after Vizio was found to have installed a software on its smart TVs that spied on its users' viewing habits without their consent. The technology is claimed to be capable of capturing second-by-second information being viewed on the Vizio smart TV screen. What is worse was that the company has sold the collected data to advertisers and who knows who else. Vizio established this practice through its privacy policy, which was not advertised to consumers. The data collection has been turned on by default through the "Smart Interactivity" feature, which we also have seen used by companies such as LG and Samsung. Vizio customers practically had no choice because no one knew about it. Aside from the viewing habits, Vizio further attached key classifications to data collected such as gender, age, education, home value, IP address, and household size, among other demographic information. These data are prized by advertisers in the business of targeted advertising. Litigation Vizio was dragged to court by the FTC and New Jersey with the allegation that the practice is deceptive and violated several consumer protection statutes including the FTC Act. With the settlement, the district court in New Jersey has ruled that Vizio will now have to "prominently disclose and obtain affirmative express consent" from the consumers before it could collect and share any data in the future. In addition, it is also obliged to delete all collected information before March 2016. "So, before a company pulls up a chair next to you and starts taking careful notes on everything you watch (and then shares it with its partners), it should ask if that's O.K. with you," Kevin Moriarty, attorney at FTC's division of privacy and identity protection, said. "Vizio wasn't doing that, and the FTC stepped in." Vizio has maintained that all its collected data was never attached to any specific name or contact information. The company, through its legal counsel Jerry Huang, stated that it is pleased with the resolution of the case, noting how the affair will contribute to the foundation of best practices standards in terms of data collection in the industry. Future Prospect The development involving Vizio's corporate practice has highlighted the direction that the government and its regulatory agencies are taking, which more of a hands-off approach. Vizio's culpability has been determined using the previous administration's close regulatory mechanism. Now, companies are freer to do whatever they please in the interest of deregulation. 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Qatar Airways has hailed itself the official operator of the longest commercial flight in the world with the successful launch of its Doha to Auckland service. Flight QR920 of the countrys national carrier left Doha at 5:10 a.m. on Sunday morning and was due to land at Auckland Airport in New Zealand at 7:30 a.m. However, it touched down 15 minutes early after almost 16 hours and 10 time zones later. Four pilots steered the routes inaugural flight on Boeing 777, which can host 42 passengers in business class and 217 in economy. It was supposed to be launched back in December but faced delays, Doha News reported. Setting Flight Record QA chief executive Akbar Al Baker, who joined the flight, assured the market that theyre in it for the long haul. We never close a route when we launch, he said in an NZ Herald report. We are not an airline that is only here for good times. The return flight of the 9,031-mile voyage on the same aircraft is expected to take 17 hours, 30 minutes longer than all of the NZ-filmed movies Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit trilogies, the airlines noted. It could, however, take over 18 hours due to headwinds. The historic journey, costing about US$1,300 round-trip, beat out other contenders for worlds longest flight, including Emirates Dubai to Auckland route. Air India has a longer flight by distance, a Delhi to San Francisco route, but the journey takes only 14 hours and 30 minutes. OAG, periodically compiling a worlds-longest-flights list, measures the flights by distance between point A and point B." Based on this measure, QAs flight emerges as the longest to date, since as the crow flies is OAGs preferred standard to measure. Singapore Airlines may attempt to take this spot next year when it resumes its non-stop flights bound for New York, which could take 19 hours. It used to fly non-stop from Singapore to Newark and LA via the Airbus A340, but discontinued the flights in 2013 partly because of the aircrafts high fuel consumption. Potential Game Changer Ultra long-haul flights could be far more common than present, but they face challenges in quality and deliverability for airlines. Major carriers, though, are likely to adopt this strategy soon. Because this is, I suppose, the way of the future as long as fuel prices dont go up too high, said Ashok Poduval, who heads Massey University Aviation School in NZ, also predicting the influx of European guests into the country since its a direct connection from Europe to Doha. For Qatar Airways, the new service heralds the expansion of the airline both regionally and globally, said Al Baker in a statement. In other airline news, United Airlines revealed last month that it will speed up the retirement of its Boeing 747 jumbo jets, moving the last flight from end of 2018 to the last quarter of this year. Once symbolizing state-of-the-art air travel, the 747 has suffered industry shifts to twin-engine wide-body planes (like the Boeing 777) and spare parts and special maintenance issues. 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Pokemon GO players living in the Milwaukee, Wisconsin area might soon see their journey to becoming Pokemon Masters become more difficult due to an ordinance that has been approved by the Milwaukee County Board. As an effect of the ordinance, developers such as Niantic Labs will be required to first secure permits before using parks within the county as locations for augmented reality games. Milwaukee County Requires Permit For Pokemon GO In Parks The ordinance will require Niantic Labs to seek permission before continuing the usage of parks in Milwaukee County as locations for monster-catching areas, PokeStops, and gyms in the popular smartphone game. The requirement of a permit is in response to the damage that was done by players to Lake Park upon the release of Pokemon GO last year. The massive onset of people on Lake Park, as they walked around the public space trying to catch Pokemon, pass through PokeStops and take over gyms, caused damages worth thousands of dollars. There were instances of massive amounts of trash left behind in the park by players, along with trampled turf. There were also complaints of unauthorized vendors, congested traffic, and late-night activities at Lake Park. The Milwaukee County Parks Department tried to hold Niantic Labs responsible for the damage that was dealt to Lake Park by the influx of Pokemon GO players, but it failed to do so. As such, the bill for repairing and cleaning up Lake Park was passed on to the county's taxpayers. The ordinance, however, will not prevent the public from accessing park areas. Only game developers will be affected, with the permit requirement put in place so that the usage of Milwaukee County's parks in games will be regulated. Will The Ordinance Remain In Effect? While the reasoning behind the ordinance is solid, as the county is trying to protect public spaces from being damaged and having to pass on the repair expenses to taxpayers, the Milwaukee County Board might be violating the First Amendment right to free expression of Niantic Labs with the requirement of a permit. Josh King, the chief legal officer of Avvo, previously said that Niantic Labs, or any other developer, is allowed to associate any real-life property with a so-called virtual signal, as it is within the First Amendment rights. The ordinance passed by the county essentially prevents Niantic Labs from using Milwaukee's parks in Pokemon GO, which is akin to the board passing an ordinance that prevents the placement of images of the locations in books and the inclusion of the parks in maps. Niantic Labs or another developer might have to file a lawsuit to be able to overturn the ordinance, but so far, no action of such a sort has happened. Pokemon GO Staying Strong Pokemon GO is no longer as popular as when it first launched in July of last year, but it is staying strong. The app recently broke the record to become the fastest game to bring in $1 billion in revenue, claiming the milestone in just six months. The feat is made even more impressive by the fact that Pokemon GO is not yet available in China. Players, meanwhile, continue to receive updates for the augmented reality game. 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. In Chennai, the capital of Tamil Nadu state in India, doctors have successfully removed a live cockroach from a womans skull. Selvi, a 42-year-old domestic worker who lives in Injambakkam, suffered a weird, itchy sensation around her nose and eyes at night. She then asked a son-in-law to take her to the clinic, and she eventually ended up in a government hospital that took out the live cockroach in what is bizarre surgery, the New Indian Express reported. Unwanted Guest In Womans Head While asleep, the woman felt an insect crawl inside her nostril. She brushed it aside, but the crawling sensation persisted and she then paid a visit to a nearby clinic. She was advised to bring her case to Stanley Medical College Hospital. I could not explain the feeling but I was sure it was some insect, recalled Selvi, who also pointed to a burning sensation in the eyes whenever the unknown creepy crawly moved. After conducting nasal endoscopy, the specialists saw a rather shocking find: a cockroach sitting on her skull, in between her eyes. In a 45-minute surgery, the cockroach got pulled out of Selvis nose through the use of a suction device and forceps. According to the hospitals ENT department head Dr. M.N. Shankar, it was the first case of its kind that he had encountered in his 30 years of practice. Had the cockroach died, the patients brain would have been harmed given its position between the eyes and close to the critical organ. Selvi would have developed an infection spreading to her brain, Shankar warned. Cockroaches are known to be tough biters. UK researchers in 2015, for instance, discovered how they are able to exert a force that is 50 times stronger than their own body weight just to chew on the toughest objects. Heres what they do: these insects manipulate the twitch muscle fiber located in their mandibles in order to make hard, repetitive bites on high-strength materials including woods. Since they are crucial members of different ecosystems, how much force they exert through their mandibles is deemed important in probing their behavioral and ecological processes. Difficult Surgeries Bizarre medical surgeries, however, involve not just these undesirable creatures. Just recently, on Jan. 31, a California doctor took out a 130-pound tumor from a Mississippi man who had been told by other doctors that he was just fat. Fifty-seven-year-old Roger Logan wanted the removal of the non-cancerous growth, which turned out to have sprouted from his lower abdomen over a decade earlier and rendered him immobile for most of the time. In Bangladesh, famed tree man Abul Bajandar suffered a tough life carrying 11 pounds of bark-like lesions on his body. His rare genetic disorder called Epidermodysplasia verruciformis which makes the patient prone to developing HPV and skin tumors, is so rare that there are only three documented cases worldwide. Bajandar has undergone 16 surgical procedures and now has functional hands one year after initial intervention. Earlier this month, a young Bangladeshi girl is reported to be the first female in the world to be identified with tree man syndrome, with bark-like warts growing on her nose, ear, and chin since late 2016. 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. A top science body in Russia has dubbed homeopathy a "pseudoscience," arguing that this alternative medicine treatment has no scientific basis. In a new memorandum, the Commission to Combat Pseudoscience and Falsification of Scientific Research, which is part of the Russian Academy of Sciences, said the methods of homeopathy contradict biological, chemical, and physical laws. "Homeopathic diagnosis and treatment should be qualified as pseudoscientific," the memorandum said. Furthermore, the Russian commission urges people not to confuse homeopathy with phototherapy, a use of plants for therapeutic purposes. It involves the use of plants with medicinal properties to treat relevant diseases. Is Homeopathy Effective? Homeopathy is a system of alternative medicine developed by Samuel Hahnemann in 1796. It is based on a belief that a substance that causes symptoms of an illness in healthy people would cure the same symptoms among sick people. For instance, a fly agaric mushroom causes hallucinations when eaten. According to homeopathy, the same mushroom should be used in small doses to treat hallucinations. However, there is not enough scientific data to prove that the mushroom has any medicinal qualities. An Australian report published in 2016 concluded that homeopathy is ineffective in 0 out of 68 illnesses, calling the practice a "therapeutic dead-end." "Though that body [of evidence] was mixed in size and quality, no clear signal of effectiveness emerged from the higher quality studies," said Paul Glasziou, a professor of medicine who led the study. In 2009, the World Health Organization (WHO) said that it does support the use of homeopathy against diseases such as tuberculosis, HIV, infant diarrhea, influenza, and malaria. In 2015, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced plans to regulate homeopathic products. These products are currently regulated by the FDA. In September 2016, the FDA warned against the use of homeopathic gels and tablets as they may pose a risk to children and infants. Prince Charles And Homeopathy In 2016, His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales shared in a conference that he had used homeopathy on his farm animals. The Prince said he chose homeopathy to treat his farm animals to reduce the use of antibiotics and prevent the emergence of antibiotic resistance, which has become a global threat. Meanwhile, the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NIH) suggests that homeopathy should not be used as a substitute for proven conventional care or a replacement to postpone seeking a health care provider about a medical issue. A homeopathic product should also be consulted with a health care provider first before being taken. 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Elon Musk, as well as his companies Tesla and Space X, joins the growing list of tech executives and companies that filed an immigration amicus brief opposing President Donald Trump's executive order, which temporarily banned refugees from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen from coming to the U.S. This comes after the CEO received a lot of flak for becoming part of the president's Economic Advisory Council. The legal brief strongly condemned Trump's travel ban and was filed in the U.S. Court of Appeals. Aside from Tesla, other tech companies such as Facebook, Microsoft, Netflix, and Apple also made their sentiments felt in the brief, which said that the ban makes it "more difficult and expensive for U.S. companies to recruit, hire, and retain some of the world's best employees." Elon Musk Widely Criticized For Joining Trump Council Elon Musk's decision to stay within Trump's Economic Advisory Council was met with a lot of derision, although this was not in the same level that was met by his Uber counterpart, who was forced to step down from the business advisory council after a #DeleteUber campaign trended on Twitter. Musk was also criticized for his approval of Rex Tillerson as Secretary of State. A handful of Tesla preorder cancellations made the news recently, but not to the extent of backlash that Uber has received. Still, Musk's continued participation with the Trump administration is highly risky, considering the fact that he himself is an immigrant, and that most of his well-heeled, educated, and environmentally-conscious customers are against the administration. Earlier in the month, Musk tweeted before attending a council meeting that his participation was to "simply provide advice and attending does not mean that I agree with actions by the Administration." Musk's 'Moderate' Stance On Trump Administration Elon Musk has always maintained a 'moderate' view on President Trump. Many times in the past, he has been forced to defend this position by saying that hearing from more moderate voices will help improve the government's policy decisions. "Activists should be pushing for more moderates to advise President, not fewer," tweeted Musk. "How could having only extremists advise him possibly be good?" When a follower asked what to say to people who have disavowed Musk, the CEO tweeted this in response: "People should push to have as many moderates advising the President as possible. Blind hate is never the right answer." Tesla And SpaceX Dependent On Government It is also worth noting that both of Musk's companies have benefited from the government. SpaceX has relied on lucrative federal government contracts, while Tesla customers all enjoy a $7,500 income tax credit. Activists should be pushing for more moderates to advise President, not fewer. How could having only extremists advise him possibly be good? Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 5, 2017 @CycleTrades @rtoro20 People should push to have as many moderates advising the President as possible. Blind hate is never the right answer. Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 5, 2017 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. BlackBerry exited the smartphone industry, but it keeps making strategic partnerships and licensing deals with various companies to expand the availability of BlackBerry-branded smartphones. The Canadian company already has license agreements in place with TCL Communication and BB Merah Putih, allowing them to design, manufacture and sell BlackBerry-branded handsets in various regions. New BlackBerry Optiemus Licensing Agreement Moving forward with its plans to expand the availability of BlackBerry-branded smartphones, BlackBerry has now signed another major licensing deal aiming to reach 1.5 billion potential smartphone users across India and other markets. The latest deal brings BlackBerry in business with Optiemus Infracom, which will release BlackBerry-branded smartphones in India. For reference, Optiemus Infracom is the same company that BlackBerry relied on to distribute its DTEK50 and DTEK60 Android smartphones across India. "We found ourselves so impressed with Optiemus's professionalism and expertise that we quickly sought to deepen our partnership," BlackBerry touts in a new press release announcing the latest deal. With this new strategic partnership in place, BlackBerry says that Optiemus will have the rights to "design, manufacture, sell, promote and support" BlackBerry-branded smartphones in India and other neighboring countries such as Nepal, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. "Together, that encompasses nearly 1.5 billion people, most of whom have never owned a smartphone before," BlackBerry further adds. The company pledges to push regular updates to keep those devices up to date in terms of security. BlackBerry Strategic Partnerships Simply put, BlackBerry has exited the smartphone market only in the sense that it's not making smartphones by itself anymore. Instead, it relies on other companies to manufacture and distribute BlackBerry-branded hardware. It's a similar model to that of recently-reborn Nokia, with is now bringing Nokia-branded smartphones to market via Finnish company HMD Global. The new agreement with Optiemus Infracom marks BlackBerry's third licensing deal in the last few months, aiming to ensure that BlackBerry-branded smartphones will expand their availability in every important market across the world. BlackBerry Comeback Efforts BlackBerry (formerly known as Research in Motion, or RIM) was once at the top of the smartphone market, known worldwide for its enterprise-grade smartphones with a heavy focus on security. The Canadian company started losing significant ground to rivals, however, and it slipped far behind other smartphone makers such as Apple, Samsung and others. The company has been trying to keep its head above the water for several years now and make a powerful comeback, but it has yet to succeed. Its latest efforts finally saw it shift to Android as a last attempt to relive its glory days, and the strategic partnerships with other companies are part of the same bid to make the BlackBerry brand strong again. In regard to the latest deal with Optiemus, BlackBerry notes that it's not only supporting the Indian government's "Make in India" initiative by creating local job opportunities and manufacturing, but it also marks a major milestone toward its goal to put "the smart in the phone." In other news, BlackBerry partner TCL is expected to announce the BlackBerry Mercury soon, introducing the device as the latest Android-powered BlackBerry smartphone. The much-rumored BlackBerry Mercury could make its official debut on Feb. 25, but it may not go on sale until late March. 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Arce stressed that "this table has a vital importance to continue giving certainties and solutions, above the whims, subway agreements and political calculations". | Read More Updates from across south Louisiana where tornadoes caused injuries and widespread damage. 3:10 p.m.: The two people in Killian who were injured when a tornado swept through, Donald and Kim Stokes, are in stable condition at a hospital, family members said Tuesday afternoon. Donald Stokes has a broken arm and internal injuries and doctors think Kim Stokes broke her hip, said Kim Stokes' ex-husband Lonnie Stogner, Sr., who had just visited the couple. The Stokes are both in their late 50s. "They're lucky," Stogner said. "God was definitely on their side." Donald Stokes told Stogner that he saw the tornado coming, and got his wife and two dogs into the bathroom for safety. When the tornado hit, their washer and dryer fell onto the couple huddled in the bathroom, which Stogner said he thinks helped protect the couple. "They were in the bathroom and next thing they knew they were in the street," said Michelle Stogner, Kim Stokes' stepdaughter. Kim Stokes told Michelle Stogner that she thinks her husband saved her life. He had stayed home from work that day because he wasn't feeling well, and without him, she might not have noticed the tornado coming, Michelle Stogner said. Faust Davidson, 84, lives up the road, and rented the house to the Stokes. He was also home with his wife when the tornado came through, but their house was mostly spared, and they weren't injured. However, he lost four barns, two sheds and much of their trees are uprooted or mangled. "I've lost so much," Davidson said, looking out at his land. "I've never seen wind like that before." And this was Davidson's second tornado, he said. Another one blew through in the same path about three years ago. "(This one) was just a more powerful storm and closer to the ground," Davidson said. Some of his home's roofing was blown off, which brought in water damage, but he was more concerned about the Stokes' residence, now destroyed, that he built in 1953 with wood from his land and his bare hands. "I was so proud of that little house," Davidson said. 3:19 p.m.: Donaldsonville Mayor Leroy Sullivan said Tuesday afternoon that about 60 percent of the city is without power after a tornado ripped through the town at about 11 a.m. He said he expected most of the power would be restored by 10 p.m. However, the hardest-hit area on St. Patrick Street may not get power back for another day or two, he said. 2:35 p.m.: The Ascension Parish School Board has moved its meeting, scheduled for Tuesday at 6:30 p.m., to the district's instructional technology training center at Central Middle School, 14101 Roddy Road. The School Board's office in Donaldsonville is closed after a tornado struck Tuesday morning and damaged the roof of the building on Webster Street, officials said. 1:40 p.m. One house was completely blown to pieces and at least three others are significantly damaged after a tornado blew across Davidson Road in Killian Tuesday morning. The two people who were inside the home that was destroyed were injured and transported to a local hospital, but are expected to survive, said Killian Police Chief Dennis Hill. Hill showed up to the dead-end street early Tuesday after hearing of high winds, and saw two funnels touch down and fly across the open field behind the house, sweep up the house, and cross the street, he said. "I don't even remember breathing when it came through," Hill said, recounting how fast the tornado swept through. The two injured residents were at least 60, Hill said, and they were thrown from their house. "It's a miracle they survived at all," Hill said. "It took everything, I think the only thing left (of the house) is the steps." The home had a foundation of cement and was not a mobile home. Hill said other neighbors have been transported to a local hospital for stress and trauma, but there have been no other injuries. Hill said about 25 square miles are out of power from the tornado. Crews are working to restore power and clear debris. 1:25 p.m. After receiving an update from state officials who have been monitoring a string of reported tornadoes across south Louisiana, Gov. John Bel Edwards will travel to New Orleans later Tuesday to survey the damage, Richard Carbo, Edwards communications director, said via Twitter. The governor received the update on the weather at about 1 p.m. by officials at the Governor's Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness. 12:55 p.m. CF Industries Holdings confirmed Tuesday that its Donaldsonville Nitrogen Complex in Donaldsonville had a tornado touch down at about 11:15 a.m. The company reported that everyone who was on site at the time the tornado touched down has been accounted for and there are no reported injuries to CF employees. The company added that all plants are operating. 12:30 p.m. Authorities are reporting possible tornado touch downs in several places in Livingston Parish, Sheriff Office spokeswoman Lori Steele said. Deputies are checking out the situation on Davidson Road and Lower Road Road and there have been reports of many trees and power lines knocked down on Carthage Bluff in the Killian area and Nan Wesley Road in the Watson area. Not seeing the video below? Click here. --- --- 12:05 p.m. Two tornadoes apparently damaged five homes in Killian, completely destroying two of them, and injured two people, the Livingston Parish homeland security chief said. Mark Harrell, director of parish homeland security, added that witnesses saw the two tornadoes rotating around each other as they cut through southeastern Livingston Parish town. The tornadoes hit Davidson and South Rome roads. Meanwhile, to the southwest, in Ascension Parish, the tornado that hit Donaldsonville shortly after 11 a.m. also caused damage to the CF industries complex on the Mississippi River there. Not seeing the video below? Click here. --- Ascension Parish Chief Deputy Bobby Webre said the damage to the plant appears to be light and does not appear to pose a public safety risk related to the facility's chemicals. He said a couple of injuries have been reported at the plant as well, though none are life threatening. School officials added that all students and staff in Donaldsonville are safe but the School Board Office in the city is reported to have roof damage. Crews are on the way to assess school buildings, school officials said in a statement. But the school system has ended its parishwide shelter in place order and Dutchtown High School has dismissed students. St. Amant High School has begun bus pickups for the start of school in Geismar, school officials added. 11:50 Donaldsonville Mayor Leroy Sullivan said Tuesday a tornado that hit his city late this morning has caused damage to some homes and trees on St. Patrick Street. He was still surveying the damage late Tuesday morning but it appeared to be limited to a three-block area. Downed trees have caused power outages in the area, however, he said. He added that one woman got a bump on the head during the tornado and was taken to an area hospital for evaluation, though she reported that she was fine. 11:35 a.m. The National Weather Service has confirmed three tornadoes have touched down Tuesday morning, one in Killian, one in Donaldsonville and one in east New Orleans. There have been other reports of tornadoes, but the National Weather Service's meteorologists have not confirmed they touched down. Tangipahoa Parish President Robby Miller said they are checking on three reports of tornados, one that seemed to touch down in the Manchac area based on damage. He said trees and powerlines were down in that area. Meanwhile, Livingston Parish President Layton Ricks was headed down to Killian late Tuesday morning to survey the damage, he said. He said the tornado hit the Davidson Road area of the town and Acadian Ambulance has been dispatched for possible injuries, though he could not confirm if any had in fact occurred. He added public works employees were headed to the area to clear any fallen trees and branches. Severe weather forces Jefferson Parish officials to disembark plane, but Louis Armstrong airport remains open Passengers were forced to disembark at Louis Armstrong International Airport after reports o Update: 11:25 a.m. All Ascension Parish public schools are resuming a shelter in place order until further notice, school officials said Tuesday. Meanwhile, Dutchtown High School will delay its mid-day dismissal until it is safe to leave campus, school officials added in a statement, and will send a follow-up message when it is safe to release students. St. Amant High School will delay the start of school and the principal will issue a message when there is a safe time to start school. School officials asked parents not to place students on the road and added the buses will not roll until the all-clear is given. 11:20 a.m. Livingston Parish homeland security officials have reported a tornado touched down in Killian, the National Weather Service said. Frank Revitte, forecaster with the weather service, said the parish officials said the tornado touched on South Rome Road in Killian. He added that Ascension Parish emergency officials supplied him with a picture of a funnel cloud taken in the Prairieville area but it was not clear if the cloud touched the ground or exactly where it was located. Revitte added the parish has reported no damages. Meanwhile, the weather service has extended a tornado warning for east central Iberville, northern St. James, Ascension and south central Livingston parishes until 11:30 a.m. Hazards include damaging hail and a tornado. 11:05 a.m. BAKER The East Baton Rouge Sheriff's Office responded to a possible tornado touch down in Baker at 6500 Rolling Acres Drive around 10 a.m., a spokeswoman said. No injuries have been reported, but there were overturned small storage buildings, damaged fences and poles down in the area, said Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Casey Rayborn Hicks. A tornado watch is still in effect for East Baton Rouge Parish and most of its surrounding parishes until 2 p.m. 10:34 a.m. GONZALES A shelter-in-place order for all Ascension Parish public schools was lifted about 10:22 a.m. Tuesday, a school spokeswoman said. A powerful storm front is pushing across southeast Louisiana and has sparked a string of tornado warnings as the bad weather moves east. Though one tornado warning has expired in Ascension, another was ordered by the National Weather Service for southeast Iberville and west Ascension parishes and remains in effect until 11 a.m. 9:40 a.m. GONZALES All Ascension Parish public schools are sheltering in place due to a tornado warning issued Tuesday morning for the parish, a school spokeswoman said. Jackie Tisdell, the spokeswoman, said at about 9:30 a.m. that the order will remain in place until further notice and the tornado threat passes. The parish Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness issued an advisory about 9:30 a.m. on the warning from the National Weather Service, which predicted large hail and potential for tornadoes. The homeland security advisory said the main risk areas are Geismar and Prairieville and warned residents to take shelter. The tornado warning is in effect until 10 a.m. ALL ASCENSION PUBLIC SCHOOLS ARE RESUMING A SHELTER IN PLACE At this time Dutchtown High School will delay its dismissal until it is safe to leave campus. The school will send a follow-up message when it is safe to release students. St. Amant High School will delay the start of school. Principal Edwards will issue a message when we have a safe time to start school. Please do not place students on the road. Buses will not roll until the all clear is given. Continue to check our website, www.apsb.org, for the latest information. 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. PLAINS, Ga. Headlights piercing the black night, cars arrived one by one, at 1:45 a.m., 2 a.m., 2:11, every few minutes until past dawn, jus The flood that rocked Louisiana last summer was likely stronger than a so-called 500-year event in some places, new research suggests. However, scientists have argued against such simplistic language, which they call "misleading," and a paper published Monday paints a much more nuanced picture. Following the August storm, the United States Geological Survey began taking high water marks and checking river gauges to measure the extent of the flooding. This week, USGS scientists published a 36-page report sharing their findings. Can't see video below? Click here. Rivers constantly rise and fall but generally stick to a narrow, predictable range of depths. Occasionally they'll see high water, and scientists will use the data to estimate how badly a body of water can flood, and the likelihood of a flood happening. Those floods are often known as 100-, 500-, or 1,000-year events, but the USGS describes floods based on the chance they'll happen in a given year. So, what the Federal Emergency Management Agency describes as a 500-year storm is known as a 0.2 percent annual event by the USGS because it has a 1 in 500 chance of happening each year. FEMA defines high-risk areas as those in 100-year floodplains. Property owners in those areas have to meet elevation and, often, flood insurance requirements. However, the government doesn't have 500, or even 100 years of data to base its estimates on, so it makes informed guesses, and their estimates are extremely broad. For example, the hypothetical "500-year" flood of the Amite River near Denham Springs happens when the water flows around 180,000 cubic feet per second. But in reality, the actual value could be as low as 126,000 feet per second or as high as 307,000, according to Monday's report. Its authors said the true value isn't known because scientists don't have millions of years of data, and even if they did, climates and river conditions constantly change. In August, the Amite at Denham Springs actually flowed around 205,000 cubic feet per second, the USGS found, placing it within the range of a 500-year event and slightly above the estimated value. Portions of the Tangipahoa, Tickfaw, Natalbany and Comite rivers also flowed at or above predicted 500-year levels during the worst of the storm. The Tchefuncta, part of the Tickfaw near Liverpool and the Amite near Darlington flowed closer to 100-year levels. The USGS did not analyze every body of water, such as the creeks of East Baton Rouge, Bayou Manchac or the Amite south of Denham Springs. In those areas, scientists either didn't have complete data or attributed the flooding to backwater, which happens when downstream areas don't drain, causing backups further upstream, explained hydrologist Kara Watson. Unlike other agencies USGS scientists don't declare 1,000-year events, or those that have a 0.1 percent chance of happening in a given year, because it is so difficult to extrapolate existing data to account for such a rare event. Surface water specialist Brian Breaker said some professionals are uncomfortable even calling a storm the equivalent of a 500-year event. Politicians have seized on terms like 1,000-year event to defend decisions to loosen floodplain regulations following the storm because of its perceived rarity. Other observers have said that continued development, as well as local and global changes to the climate, are making destructive storms more common, arguing that cities need to plan for bigger floods. Now, the USGS scientists will hand over their data to agencies like FEMA, which must determine whether and how to use their findings to guide policy decisions. FEMA has previously indicated that it will not change its flood maps in response to the August flood. The agency did not return calls Monday seeking comment on the USGS's findings. Several years ago, after retirement, my wife and I volunteered with the Peace Corps and served in the former Soviet Union, in what is now the The National Weather Service has determined the tornado that ripped through New Orleans East was at least an EF2. The ACT could join neighbouring states in raising funds to build a high-speed rail link connecting Sydney to Melbourne under 'value capture' models proposed in a federal government report tabled on Tuesday. In funding the high-speed rail system, which would pass through Canberra under proposals put forward to the standing committee that studied the development, state and territory governments could play a role in collecting funds by taxing or levying increases in values along the rail route. State and territory governments could help fund the rail link by taxing or levying increases in values along the route. The report said agreements between federal and state/territory governments should choose "value capture" methods, and determine the funds each state and territory involved could raise. "Value capture" has grown in favour among proponents of high speed rail connecting east cost cities as governments look for funding sources that ease the public's cost burden for a project previously estimated at $114 billion. Hello Canberra! Have you enjoyed the rain so far this week? We could be in for some more today. Today's weather forecast: A very reasonable maximum of 26 degrees, with a 30 per cent chance of up to 0.4mm of rain. Fire danger is low to moderate. That's set to change tomorrow with some scorching weather returning. If you want to know what's making news this morning, read on. Centre plans halted The ACT government has put a planned new convention centre for Canberra on the backburner, saying there was a lack of interest from the federal government. There were plans to build an $8 million centre to stand at the head of Commonwealth Avenue linked to the city and to the lake. The business and tourism centre has long called for it. But the government removed it from the budget in this week's mid-year update. A Belconnen man faced court on Tuesday accused of setting fire to his partner's house while he assumed she was asleep inside. The 61-year-old appeared in the ACT Magistrates Court charged with arson and an act endangering life. A man has been charged over an alleged arson at Belconnen. He applied for bail, but Special Magistrate Ken Cush sent him off in the care of corrections officers for a mental health assessment. A police statement of facts tendered to the court alleged that after the man had set the house on fire, he returned to his apartment balcony about 30 metres away to watch it burn. Within 12 hours of having his prostate removed, Jim Alexander showered himself and walked down multiple flights of stairs to the cafe at Canberra's private hospital. Two days later, he was back in the comfort of his own Kambah home. Dr Hodo Haxhimolla (no hat) has performed surgery using the da Vinci Xi Surgical System. His first patient was Jim Alexander of Kambah who had a radical prostatectomy with the help of the da Vinci Xi robot, the first of its kind in the ACT. Credit:karleen minney His surgeon credited the fast recovery to the National Capital Private Hospital's new $3.5 million da Vinci Xi Surgical System, which allows for more precise operations than key hole or open methods. Mr Alexander was the first ACT patient to use the only da Vinci Xi robot in Canberra. A relieved father has thanked the boy who found his lost son after a bus driver left him to walk five kilometres home through unfamiliar territory. Alvin Zhao, nine, was found wandering the streets of Macquarie after his school bus to Higgins crashed on Monday afternoon. Jordan King (left) helped Alvin Zhao (right) track down his parents after he became lost five kilometres from home. Credit:Elesa Kurtz Father Joseph Zhao said it was only the second time his son had caught the bus back from Brindabella Christian College and with no mobile phone he had little idea of how to get home. "The bus driver apparently asked all the students to walk home by themselves," he said. A man becomes fixated on a young female university student. He immediately becomes possessive, sulking when she so much as talks to other men, and attempts to isolate her from her friends. He shows up unannounced at her place of work. He traces her mobile phone to find her on a night out drinking with friends. He knows where she lives. He is controlling and emotionally manipulative. He proceeds to have sex with her, despite her refusal and continued protestation. (There's a word for that.) The young woman reports feeling "abused". On the face of it, this scenario does not appear to be incredibly romantic, although it is one that unfortunately resonates with too many women. But it's the premise of the widely popular Fifty Shades of Grey book and film trilogy, the story of Anastacia Steele and Christian Grey. The second instalment in the series, Fifty Shades Darker, is out this week, just in time for Valentines Day because nothing says romance like intimate partner violence and stalking. The Turnbull government has moved closer to victory on its signature childcare package by watering down proposed cuts to family payments and extending the taxpayer-funded paid parental leave scheme. The government will on Wednesday introduce a bill into Parliament containing both its childcare and family tax benefit changes. Key crossbencher Nick Xenophon said the government was moving in the "right direction" and One Nation leader Pauline Hanson indicated her support. The government is pushing ahead with plans to abolish family tax benefit supplements worth up to $726 a year per child, but will soften the blow by increasing fortnightly payments for those on Family Tax Benefit Part A by up to a $20 a fortnight per child. The Turnbull government has been forced to back down from plans to compel Queensland landholders to sell their properties to make way for expansions to Defence force training bases, following community backlash in its most marginal electorate. The announcement, which Defence Minister Marise Payne insists will not alter the timetable for the multi-billion-dollar deal, will see Singapore invest in the Australian-owned Shoalwater Bay training facility in return for access. It comes just days after Barnaby Joyce intervened in what was becoming a growing political headache for the Coalition. The government planned to compulsorily acquire properties to make way for needed expansions at its facility, but was yet to release numbers, or a draft masterplan, creating confusion and fear over how many landholders would be made to sell against their will. In a stylish waterfront office, not 500 metres from the Sydney Harbour Bridge, a high-powered group clink champagne flutes and imported Italian stubbies in the name of pre-Christmas cheer. There among the crowd, poised as always, is Human Rights Commissioner Gillian Triggs. Former NSW premier Nick Greiner chats amiably by the hors d'oeuvres. A number of former senior bureaucrats, including ex-secretary of the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet, Peter Shergold, greet each other warmly. Their mingling host, Luca Belgiorno-Nettis, is a man worth hundreds of millions of dollars. By any definition, this is a gathering of elites. And yet their common purpose is one that might surprise: the overhaul of our failing democratic system in favour of something new. The popular narrative would have it that elites are bunkered down right now, trying to figure out how to stop Donald Trump, Pauline Hanson and their populist ilk from changing a system rigged in the elites' favour. But this glosses over the fact that Australians of all backgrounds are dissatisfied in record numbers with their nation's politics. Rich or poor, young or old, one thing that unites Australians seems to be our mutual disillusionment with politicians. Australians living in the US have called on the Turnbull government to demand tolerance and evidence-based policy-making from Donald Trump's White House, amid concerns from employers that foreign workers could be targeted in a sweeping review of visa rules. Speculation exists among immigration experts that Mr Trump will direct the Homeland Security, Labor and State Departments to review employment-based categories, potentially hitting thousands of Australians with work and study visas. Australians could be affected by any changes to the E3 specialty occupation visa, established by the George W. Bush administration specifically for Australians and available to 10,500 people each year. One US recruiter has told clients a draft executive order being considered by Mr Trump would direct a wholesale review of a range of popular visas to assess whether foreign workers are disadvantaging American citizens, with possible restrictions to student visas also being considered. Countless interviews, a lengthy press conference, a resignation speech in the Senate and Cory Bernardi still can't convince some people why he quit the Liberal Party. The newly minted independent clashed with Today host Karl Stefanovic on Wednesday, challenged over what took him so long to "man up" and announce his plans to form a new Australian Conservatives party. Stefanovic's questions echoed those of many in Canberra and Australia this week, as Senator Bernardi was unable to explain personality or policy differences that led him to leave the Liberal Party after 30 years, including 10 years in the Senate. "I've come to the realisation that party politics, major party politics, is failing the Australian people and you just have to look at the evidence all around us," he said. A fisherman in August in the Sundarbans, where cholera first emerged. Credit:New York Times Just as important, after 35 years of work, researchers in Bangladesh and elsewhere have developed an effective cholera vaccine. It has been accepted by the WHO and stockpiled for epidemics like the one that struck Haiti in 2010. Soon, there may be enough to begin routine vaccination in countries where the disease has a permanent foothold. Merely creating that stockpile - even of a few million doses - profoundly improved the way the world fought cholera, Dr Margaret Chan, secretary-general of the WHO, said last year. Ready access to the vaccine has made countries less tempted to cover up outbreaks to protect tourism, she said. The ICDDR,B wards contain long rows of "cholera cots". Each has a plastic sheet with a hole in the middle. A bucket beneath the hole catches diarrhoea and another is placed next to the cot for vomit. Credit:Ismail Ferdous/New York Times That has sped up emergency responses and attracted more vaccine makers, lowering costs. "More cholera vaccines have been deployed over the last two years than in the previous 15 years combined," Chan said. A revolution in recovery "This isnt an elegant vaccine - its just a bunch of killed cells, technology thats been around since Louis Pasteur," said Dr Clemens, centre. Credit:Ismail Ferdous/New York Times The treatment advances relied heavily on research and testing done at the International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, known as the ICDDR,B, in Dhaka. Although Dhaka may not be the first place one might look to find a public health revolution, the centre is famous among experts in gut diseases. A mother enters ICDDR,B with her child. The facility treats 220,000 patients a year. Credit:Ismail Ferdous/New York Times While its upper levels are quiet and scholarly, the centre's ground floor is the world's largest diarrhoea hospital. Its vast wards treat 220,000 patients a year, almost all of whom recover within 36 hours. Doctors there save hundreds of lives a day. The ICDDR,B was originally the Cholera Research Laboratory, founded in 1960 by the United States as part of that era's "soft diplomacy". Research hospitals were built in friendly countries both to save lives locally and to act as sentinels for diseases that might threaten America. The Korail slum in Dhaka. In some slums, water pipes suck in sewage from gutters. Cholera is a constant threat to hundreds of millions of people lacking safe drinking water in China, India, Nigeria and many other countries. Credit:Ismail Ferdous/New York Times The wards, which in the rainy season extend into circus-size tents in the parking lot, contain long rows of "cholera cots". On each iron or wood frame is a plastic sheet with a hole in the middle. A bucket beneath the hole catches diarrhoea, while another beside the cot fills with vomit. An IV pole completes the setup. Defying expectations, the ward smells only of the antiseptic that the floors are constantly mopped with. Patients with severe watery diarrhoea arrive around the clock, many of them carried in - limp, dehydrated and barely conscious - by friends or family. A nurse sees each one immediately, and those close to death get an IV line inserted within 30 seconds. It contains a blend of glucose, electrolytes and water. Cholera spurs the intestines to violently flush themselves, but it does not actually damage the gut cells. If the fluid is replaced and the bacteria flushed out or killed by antibiotics, the patient is usually fine. Within hours, patients start to revive. As soon as they can swallow, they get an antibiotic and start drinking a rehydration solution. Most walk out within a day. The techniques perfected here are so effective that the ICDDR,B has sent training teams to 17 cholera outbreaks in the past decade. Usually, the only patients who stay long in the hospital are infants so malnourished that another bout of diarrhoea would kill them. They live for up to a month in a separate ward with their mothers, who are taught how to cook nutritious porridges from the cheapest lentils, squash, onions, greens and oil. Only about 20 per cent of the patients at the centre have cholera. The rest usually have rotavirus, salmonella or E. coli. The same therapy saves them all, but the cholera cases are more urgent because these patients plummet so precipitously toward death. "I thought I was dying," Mohammed Mubarak, a gaunt 26-year-old printing press worker from Dhaka, said one afternoon from his cot. His roommates had carried him in at 7 that morning, unconscious and with no detectable pulse. Now, after six liters of intravenous solution, he was still weak but able to sit up and drink the rehydration solution and eat bits of bread and banana. "His stool is changing from rice-water to green, so he is recovering," said Momtaz Begum, the ward nurse who monitors the buckets and makes sure patients take in as much liquid as they lose. Mubarak had first fallen ill at about 2am, a few hours after he drank tap water with his dinner. "Usually I drink safe water, filtered water," he said. "But I drank the city water last night. I think that is what did this." Cholera, born in the swamps, arrived long ago in Dhaka. The city is home to more that 15 million, and a third of the population lives in slums. In some places, water pipes made of rubbery plastic are pierced by illegal connections that suck in sewage from the gutters they traverse and carry pathogens down the line to new victims. Vibrio cholerae travels from person to person via fecal matter. In 1854, epidemiologist John Snow famously traced cases to a single well dug near a cesspit in which a mother had washed the diaper of a baby who died of cholera and he convinced officials to remove the well's pump handle. Because cholera is a constant threat to hundreds of millions of people lacking safe drinking water in China, India, Nigeria and many other countries, scientists have long sought a more powerful weapon: a cheap, effective vaccine. Now they have one. Preventing a plague Injected cholera vaccines were first invented in the 1800s and were long required for entry into some countries. But many scientists suspected they did not work, and in the 1970s studies overseen by the ICDDR,B confirmed that. In the 1980s, a Swedish scientist, Dr Jan Holmgren, invented an oral vaccine that worked 85 per cent of the time. But it was expensive to make and had to be drunk with a large glass of buffer solution to protect it from stomach acid. Transporting tanks of buffer was impractical. Making matters worse, it was fizzy, and poor Bangladeshi children who had never tasted soft drinks would spit it out as soon as it tickled their noses. In 1986, a Vietnamese scientist, Dr Dang Duc Trach, asked for the formula, believing he could make a bufferless version. Holmgren and Dr John D. Clemens, an American vaccine expert who at the time was a research scientist for the ICDDR,B, obliged. "This isn't an elegant vaccine - it's just a bunch of killed cells, technology that's been around since Louis Pasteur," said Clemens, who is now the ICDDR,B's executive director. He and Holmgren lost touch with Dang, largely because of Vietnam's isolation in those days. But seven years later, Dang notified them that he had made a new version of the vaccine. He had tested it on 70,000 residents of Hue, in central Vietnam, and had found it to be 60 per cent effective. Although his was not as effective as Holmgren's, it cost only 25 cents a dose. If enough people in an area can be made immune through vaccination, outbreaks often stop spontaneously. In 1997, Vietnam became the first - and thus far, only - country to provide cholera vaccine to its citizens routinely, not just in emergencies. Cases dropped sharply, according to a 2014 study, and in 2003 cholera vanished from Hue, where the campaign focused most heavily. But Dang had not conducted a classic clinical trial, and Vietnam's vaccine factory did not meet WHO standards, so no UN agency was allowed to buy his vaccine. Because no pharmaceutical company had an incentive to pay for trials or factories, his invention languished in "the valley of death" - the expensive gap between a product that works in a lab and a factory-made version safe for millions. In 1999, Clemens approached what is now the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, which was just getting organised. "They were literally operating out of a basement then," he said. "I got a letter from Bill Gates Sr It was very relaxed, sort of, 'Here's $40 million. Would you mind sending me a report once in a while?' "But without that," Clemens continued, "this wouldn't have seen the light of day." With that money, Clemens reformulated Dang's vaccine, conducted a successful clinical trial in Calcutta and found an Indian company, Shantha Biotechnics, that could make it to WHO standards. Rolled out in 2009 under the name Shanchol, it came in a vial about the size of a chess rook, needed no buffer and cost less than $2 a dose. Even so, there was little interest, even from the WHO. The vaccine lacked the publicity campaign that pharmaceutical companies throw behind commercial products, and "cholera ward care" was saving many lives - when it could be organised. The new vaccine was not used in a cholera outbreak in Zimbabwe in 2009, or initially in Haiti's explosive outbreak in 2010. The "valley of death" lengthened: Without customers, Shantha could not afford to build a bigger factory. The impasse was broken only when Dr Paul Farmer, a founder of Partners in Health, which has worked in central Haiti since 1987, began publicly berating the WHO for not moving faster. The WHO approved Shanchol in 2011, and since then, the vaccine has slowly gained acceptance. In 2013, an emergency stockpile was started, and the GAVI Alliance committed $US115 million to raise it to six million doses. The vaccine is now used in Haiti, and has been deployed in outbreaks in Iraq, South Sudan and elsewhere. A second version, Euvichol, from South Korea, was approved in 2015. And later this year, Bangladesh - where it all began - hopes to begin wiping out its persistent cholera. A local company has begun making a domestic version of the vaccine, called Vaxchol. Dr Firdausi Qadri, a leading ICDDR,B researcher, estimated last year that success there would require almost 200 million doses. The world finally has a vaccine that, with routine administration, could end one of history's great scourges. But what will happen is still hazy. With 1.4 billion people at risk, the potential cost of vaccination in cholera-endemic countries is enormous. And the disease tends to move, surging and vanishing among the many causes of diarrhoea. Even Bill Gates, who paid for much of the research, has asked: "We actually have a cholera vaccine, but where should it be used?" Looking back on his long struggle to prove the vaccine's value, and then to win acceptance, Clemens offered an explanation that blended wistfulness and cynicism. "We're probably not bad scientists," he said, "but we were lousy advocates. "If this disease had been in American kids, there would have been trials as fast as the Sabin polio vaccine." Children aged between two to five will now have immediate and free access to a life-changing cystic fibrosis drug with a former price tag of $300,000 a year per child. But it was a bittersweet announcement for the 1000 other cystic fibrosis sufferers in need of another drug, Orkambi, yet to be listed on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme. Surrounded by a sea of protesters in red, Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt said listing Kalydeco would "give children with the disease a chance to have a full life, not just in terms of time, but in terms of their day to day existence." Prior to Tuesday's announcement, only children six years of age and older with the G551D or other class III gating mutations had subsidised access to Kalydeco. A woman has been awarded $750,000 from the estate of her former husband despite their divorce more than two decades ago and her threat that she "would make what was left" of his "wretched life not worth living". Magdalena Lodin also told Dr Mohammad Masoud Lodin, with whom she lived for 18 months before their separation in 1990, that he would "feel the wrath of Allah". Magdalena Lodin has been awarded $750,000 from the estate of her former husband despite carrying out her aim of "making his life a misery" for more than two decades. Credit:AFR She later apologised for those words but NSW Supreme Court judge Paul Brereton said "it could hardly expunge the years of her relentless persecution of the deceased". However, Justice Brereton said Ms Lodin was entitled to $750,000 from the estate of her ex-husband, who died without leaving a will. He is standing trial for allegedly doing a favour for a "mate" but former NSW Labor minister Ian Macdonald denies he was friends with a former union boss who benefited from one of his decisions, his lawyer has told a Sydney court. Claps of thunder rang out in the Supreme Court in Darlinghurst as Mr Macdonald's barrister, Matthew Johnston, SC, delivered his opening address to the jury on day two of the former mining minister's criminal trial. Mr Johnston said his client was "not friends" with John Maitland, a former head of the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union who chaired a company to which Mr Macdonald granted a lucrative coal exploration licence in 2008. But the Crown's first witness, NSW Labor Opposition Leader Luke Foley, said he had "observed over a very long period, probably [from] the early 1990s" that the two men "enjoyed a close and friendly relationship". Former police officers Roger Rogerson and Glen McNamara were part of a plot to defraud accused murderer Ron Medich of $25 million, a jury has heard. Details of the alleged extortion attempt emerged in the NSW Supreme Court during cross-examination of a witness crucial to the Crown's case against Mr Medich. Property developer Ron Medich was allegedly the "big boss" who ordered the contract killing. Credit:James Alcock A wealthy property developer, Mr Medich has pleaded not guilty to ordering the the 2009 contract murder of Michael McGurk, a former business partner who had tied him up in lawsuits. The man who arranged the shooting, Lucky Gattellari, 66, has received a significant cut to his prison sentence for co-operating with police. A senior organised crime figure with links to Queensland's Fitzgerald Inquiry has been denied an appeal to reduce his 10-year jail sentence for drug trafficking. Robert Wing Fong Chan, 75, pleaded guilty to 15 charges in the Brisbane Supreme Court in March last year over the supply of nine kilograms of Chinese cold and flu medication to make methylamphetamine. The Court of Appeal on Tuesday refused his arguments that the sentence was manifestly excessive given his guilty pleas, his age and ailing health. AAP Two Brazilian men have been denied an appeal against their sentences for trying to smuggle $5 million of cocaine into Queensland by stuffing the drugs into their pants. Edmo Cunha, 28, and Gean Carlos Rosso Bernardo, 25, were arrested in February last year at the Brisbane International Airport after Customs officers noticed an "abnormal bulge" in Cunha's groin region. Edmo Cunha and Gean Carlos Rosso Bernardo were arrested with $5 million worth of cocaine at Brisbane international airport. Credit:Michelle Smith Both men were found to be concealing three packages of cocaine each, totalling about five kilograms, with a street value of over $5 million. Both men pleaded guilty in the Supreme Court in Brisbane last year to importing the drugs, saying they were motivated by financial gain to help with family health issues. Brisbane City Council has enlisted the help of two English springer spaniels to sniff out the city's vulnerable koalas. The specially trained spaniels, Taz and Nutmeg, are provided by OWAD Environment at a five-month cost of $121,615, and will hunt down koalas in Brisbane's bushland to the council had an accurate picture of how many of the native marsupials were within the city limits. Olivia Woosnam with Taz, the koala detection dog. Credit:Olivia Woosnam Lord Mayor Graham Quirk, who has previously envisaged a koala-led tourism industry for Brisbane, said it was a way in which the council could protect some of Australia's most beloved native fauna. While there is no way to know how often Sobieski's tweets are read as they flit through busy feeds nor is it clear how they are influencing political debates researchers have found that automation allows users to exert an oversize influence on conversations on Twitter and beyond. One research team found that "highly automated accounts" supporting President Trump a category that includes both bots and cyborgs out-tweeted those supporting Democrat Hillary Clinton by a margin of 5-to-1 in the final days before the vote. This Twitter advantage had spillover effects, helping pro-Trump and anti-Clinton stories to trend online, making them more likely to find their way into Facebook feeds or Google's list of popular news stories, said Samuel Woolley, research director for the Computational Propaganda project at Oxford University and co-author of the study on the effectiveness of pro-Trump bots. "The goal here is not to hack computational systems but to hack free speech and to hack public opinion," Woolley said. For the first new tweet on this day, Sobieski wants to opine on the spiking murder rate in Chicago and the alleged failings of the city's Democratic Mayor Rahm Emanuel (or "Rahmbo" to Sobieski). He navigates to a conservative online magazine for which he occasionally writes, American Thinker, and copies a link to one of his articles about crime. To reach beyond his own 78,900 followers, Sobieski adds a few more adornments, typing #MAGA to surface the tweet to the president's supporters online, and @realDonaldTrump in hopes of getting the attention of Trump or those who track messages to him. The last six characters are #PJNET, for the Patriot Journalist Network, a coalition of conservative tweeters who amplify their messages through coordination, automation and other online tactics. Last, Sobieski adds what he calls "the coup de grace," plucking an image from his ever-growing digital library of illustrations. For this tweet he chooses a photograph of bloodied Iraqi men carrying what appear to be clubs, along with the caption, "BAGHDAD IS SAFER THAN CHICAGO." In the time it takes to compose this tweet, his schedulers have sent out several others. Some planes, meanwhile, have taken off from Chicago Midway Airport a few blocks away, sending muted roars through the house he shares with his wife, a Lebanese immigrant and fellow Catholic to whom Sobieski has been married for 39 years. He will stay in front of the computer for another two, maybe three hours before quitting for the day, but his Twitter accounts never stop working. "Life isn't fair," Sobieski said with a smile. "Twitter in a way is like a meritocracy. You rise to the level of your ability ... People who succeed are just the people who work hard." Twitter, which declined multiple requests for comment, is more easily manipulated than some other social media platforms, researchers say, because it allows anonymous users and tolerates some degree of automation of its accounts. Bots can be bought or sold online, and some are so sophisticated with profile pictures, plausible names and a capacity for chatter fuelled by artificial intelligence that they are difficult to detect, even for experts. The company has policies to limit automation and the use of multiple accounts, and it has published guidelines and "best practices." Twitter sometimes shuts down violators when they are discovered, but it acknowledged in a 2014 securities filing that "up to approximately 8.5 per cent of all active users" may have used third-party apps for automation. Independent researchers say the percentage could be twice as high, putting the numbers of automated accounts in the tens of millions. Some of the most prolific political tweeters complain that the company doesn't have clear enough rules of the road. Lewis Shupe, a conservative Las Vegas-based retiree who runs @USFreedomArmy, a 61,000-follower account, said that he had received warnings from Twitter for posting too often. He now limits his scheduler to 150 tweets per hour, a number he thinks allows him to fly under the company's radar. "If Twitter would publish rules, we would follow them," Shupe said. Political activists have used automated Twitter accounts, including bots, in at least 17 nations, including Iran, Mexico, Russia and the United Kingdom. In the run-up to the June Brexit vote, "highly-automated accounts" favouring departure from the European Union were more prolific, by a ratio of 3 to 1, than automated accounts on the other side of the debate, according to research by Oxford Internet Institute professor Philip Howard and a colleague. "It makes public conversation a synthetic conversation," said Howard. "It makes it very difficult to know what consensus looks like." In the United States, automation tools generally have been deployed more aggressively by conservatives, researchers say. Pro-Clinton hashtags, in some cases, got "colonised" by pro-Trump tweets during the election season, according to the paper by Howard and Woolley. And for the third presidential debate, Trump's supporters and in some cases, likely bots began tweeting the "#TrumpWon" hashtag a half-hour before the event began. "Liberals are pretty far behind," Woolley said. The impact on political debate is heavy but not widely understood. In the US presidential election, 19 per cent of all tweets related to the campaign during one five-week stretch probably came from bots, according to University of Southern California researchers Alessandro Bessi and Emilio Ferrara. Those who use automation to magnify their voices express little sympathy for those who don't. "Anybody can be a Twitter rock star if you learn how to do it," said Florida-based conservative activist Mark Prasek, whose Twitter account describes him as a "Christian Technologist." The Patriot Journalist Network he founded in 2012 allows members to send off dozens of pre-written tweets on a range of a conservative issues with just a few clicks of a mouse. "It's a level playing field," he said. "We're using tools. Is it fair that I can get downtown faster using a car than if you are using a bike?" Before Sobieski discovered Twitter, he was a prolific writer of letters to the editor, penning thousands to Chicago-area newspapers while also crafting occasional on-air replies to liberal editorial positions of local television stations. That probably would have been the peak of Sobieski's influence as a right-wing gadfly in an increasingly left-wing city had he not become a regular freelancer in 2004 for the editorial page of Investor's Business Daily, a Los Angeles-based publication with a national reach. He started tweeting out web links to his editorials in 2009, christening his account @gerfingerpoken. (During Sobieski's decades writing letters to the editor, one of his day jobs was working as a programmer for a company that, in its computer room, featured a satiric German sign that translated as, roughly, "Warning: Don't touch the machine with the blinking lights!" Sobieski named his account for one of the words in that sign, "gefingerpoken," accidentally misspelling it with an extra "r," as "gerfingerpoken.") A Crown casino employee has been charged with trafficking a drug of dependence after she and her boyfriend were allegedly found with six kilograms of ice in their car. Beatrice Chang later told police she suspected boyfriend Michael Ung was involved in something "dodgy" during trips between Melbourne and Sydney, Melbourne Magistrates Court heard on Tuesday. Ms Chang and Mr Ung were returning to Melbourne from Sydney on January 24 when police pulled over their car near Clonbinane, on the Hume Freeway, and found two packages of ice worth an estimated $1.5 million hidden in the back seats, the court heard. Detective Senior Constable Erin O'Meara said Ms Chang later told police she suspected Mr Ung was involved in drug trafficking and that she had questioned him, but he had told her not to worry. A Royal Women's Hospital Australian-first study investigated the long-term health and development of premature babies born between 32 and 36 weeks. However, new research has found "much higher" rates of developmental and behavioural delays in moderate-to-late premature babies, raising "significant" implications for Australian healthcare and education providers. Sarah Logie with her son Elliot Borcher, 8 months, who was born premature at 32 weeks. Credit:Joe Armao Although born premature at 32 weeks, up until now there was not much concern his early birth would lead to serious problems. Working in partnership with the Murdoch Childrens Research Institute, clinicians assessed 402 babies, half of whom were born moderate-to-late premature. They took brain MRI scans at 40 weeks, followed up by assessments of the children's health, cognitive and behavioural development at two-years-old. Researchers found babies born moderately-to-late preterm were three times more likely to have delays in their language development and motor skills and twice as likely to have delays in cognitive development, such as ability to perform tasks and follow directions. They were also more likely to have difficulty coping in different social settings. Elliot's mother, Sarah Logie, who was forced to have an emergency caesarean due to a form of pre-eclampsia, welcomed the research. "If we identify any issues, we get onto it early and we help improve his quality of life and development in terms of reaching his milestones and knowing what to do," she said. Melbourne lord mayor Robert Doyle was sworn at and heckled during an emotion-charged meeting where councillors endorsed a proposal to ban public camping in the city. On Tuesday evening, councillors voted 5-4 to seek to broaden the definition of camping, a move legal experts warn could lead to rough sleepers being forced to the outskirts of Melbourne or fined for sleeping with nothing more than "a cardboard box and blanket". At one stage heckling prompted deputy lord mayor Arron Wood to warn that the meeting could be closed, as people yelled out "how insulting" and "this is bullshit". The decision came despite homelessness groups and the Law Institute of Victoria condemning the plan, saying the police and council officers already had powers to tackle issues such as aggressive behaviour and public drunkenness. Victoria's Liberals will seek to compel the Andrews government to include South Yarra station in their plans for the Melbourne Metro rail tunnel, this time through a vote in the upper house. If passed, the vote would give the inner-city council of Stonnington shared control of planning the $10.9 billion project and ensure the tunnel is built in a way that does not rule out constructing a new underground station at South Yarra. The design for Melbourne Metro will take its twin rail tunnels about 100 metres from the existing South Yarra station but will not include an interchange between the two, even though South Yarra is Melbourne's busiest station outside the CBD. Economic analysis found the case for including South Yarra in the project is weak, given it would add close to $1 billion to the project cost. A man who allegedly hit and seriously injured another motorist while fleeing police during a pursuit in Melbourne's north has been charged. The 31-year-old man was allegedly driving a ute with fake number plates when he T-boned a car outside the Bell Street homemaker centre in Preston about 11.20pm on Monday. He has been charged with conduct endangering life, driving whilst disqualified, evading police and displaying false plates. The Preston man was due to face Heidelberg Magistrates Court on Tuesday afternoon. A legalised drug injecting room in Richmond is unlikely to get the backing of the Andrews government, despite strong support for it within cabinet. Coroner Jacqui Hawkins is expected to soon publish her findings into the death of a 34-year-old mother in north Richmond. The coroner is expected to recommend a supervised drug-consumption room. Ahead of the report's release, a group of community and medical groups have backed Sex Party upper house MP Fiona Patten's push for a drug room in Richmond, where 34 people died last year of overdoses. A toxic batch of drugs being sold as MDMA in Melbourne's nightclubs which resulted in three deaths was tainted with the powerful hallucinogen NBOMe, tests have revealed. Victoria Police has defended its decision not to warn the public about what was in the deadly drug despite circulating an internal memo detailing its knowledge of the dangerous cocktail of powerful substances. Three deaths and at least 20 hospitalisations resulted from overdoses by users who consumed what they thought was ecstasy in the Chapel Street entertainment precinct last month. Instead, they may have consumed the potent psychedelic drug 25C-NBOMe, which has been linked to a number of deaths, including Australian tourist Rye Hunt whose body was found after he went missing in Brazil last year. Wayne Gatt has spent half his 42 years as a Victoria Police officer, is a trained police negotiator, and has studied at Harvard University. Now, he is the new head of the Police Association, having been announced on Tuesday as the replacement for outgoing secretary Ron Iddles. Former homicide detective Ron Iddles is quitting as police union boss. Credit:Penny Stephens Sergeant Gatt joined the force in 1995, and worked in general duties in Melbourne and regional areas, spending time with the dog squad and mounted branch, before being appointed the union's stakeholder relations advisor in 2015. He will become the 19th secretary in the union's 100-year history, the association said. A Perth father has died from injuries suffered during an alleged brawl outside an Ellenbrook pub shortly after the airing of the Danny Green and Anthony Mundine fight. Diego Hulton died on Tuesday, four days after being seriously injured outside the Brook Bar and Bistro on Friday around 10.30pm. Diego Hulton has died in hospital from injuries suffered during a fight outside an Ellenbrook pub. Credit:Facebook Paramedics found the 37-year-old unconscious at the scene before he was rushed to Royal Perth Hospital. A 32-year-old Balga man was charged on Sunday with grievous bodily harm in relation to Mr Hulton's injuries and assault occasioning bodily harm in relation to a second man injured. The SAT must now independently determine whether the 56-year-old incumbent committed any serious breaches after lengthy mediation between Ms Scaffidi and the department failed. Since her travel scandals became public in 2015, WA Premier Colin Barnett has repeatedly supported Ms Scaffidi in continuing to preside over the City of Perth, while Labor leader Mark McGowan has vowed on several occasions to sack her if he is elected premier in next month's state election. The Lord Mayor, who has been on the council since 2000, denies any wrongdoing and has repeatedly refused to stand down, maintaining her failure to properly declare gifts and travel was due to the City of Perth's flawed guidelines and policies. After the department made its inquiry public in May, a WAtoday poll of almost 4000 readers showed 94 per cent thought Ms Scaffidi should resign. The SAT hearing is scheduled to last four days but it could last only two, with the Department of Local Government pushing for disciplinary action against Ms Scaffidi in the form of a suspension, due mostly to: - the lengthy duration of Mayor Scaffidi's tenure as an elected member of the City Council - Mayor Scaffidi's statutory obligations did not change during this period - the seriousness of the findings made against Mayor Scaffidi - the high number of findings made against Mayor Scaffidi - the need to encourage or maintain public confidence in local governments and the local government process - the need to encourage or maintain public confidence in the provision of good governance of the persons in any local government district - the need for general deterrence - the circumstances in which the alleged breaches were committed - the need to ensure consistency in the application of the law May 21, 2015 Australian Federal Police refer Perth mayor Lisa Scaffidi to the Corruption and Crime Commission after US investigators found BHP Billiton gave her flights and tickets to the 2008 Beijing Olympics worth up to $US36,000 as part of a wider probe into the firm's entertainment of foreign officials, for which it was later fined $32 million. May 22 Scaffidi tries to take control of Kings Park, UWA, Crown Casino, the new Perth Stadium and Oxford Street in Leederville among other lucrative landmarks by incorporating them into redrawn City of Perth boundary maps. The grab for greater cash and control later fails when Colin Barnett abandons amalgamation plans. October 6 CCC declares she failed in her duties by accepting a raft of undeclared gifts and trips October 6 Claims she "would've disclosed my underwear" if she knew she had to in relation to the CCC findings, despite being on council for almost 10 years October 7 Scaffidi pledges to release crucial documents in her defence but claims CCC Act prevents it. CCC then urges her to release them she doesn't October 11 Deputy Mayor Rob Butler found to have also taken undeclared trip, later dumped by voters October 12 City of Perth ratepayers told they can't change postal votes in wake of Scaffidi misconduct October 14 Dumped from Local Government Standards Panel, which hears misconduct complaints against councillors October 16 Documents reveal she and council spend $1m hosting parties and guests at Council House October 18 Narrowly avoids defeat in council elections. November 20 Forced to accept greater transparency measures to help City of Perth Act pass in Parliament November 30 Threatens to quit after Local Government Department launches its own review into her conduct January 20, 2016 Councillors sack City of Perth CEO Gary Stevenson, who pushed for greater transparency from council Late January Imposes unofficial media ban on City of Perth council and staff in wake of CEO sacking January 27 Subiaco Mayor says Scaffidi and council are too unstable to take on Subiaco residents March 1 Admits there are even more undisclosed overseas trips she has taken that are being probed March 3 Tells those worried about safety of Jacob's Ladder to "get a grip" and they deserve a "working over" for raising concerns about its future. It was closed indefinitely for urgent repairs soon after. March 15 Attacks respected Nine News journalist Liam Bartlett on social media about his "botox" and "bad breath" March 16 WA Premier says Scaffidi's reputation is damaged and calls for department to finalise investigation May 11 Local Government report into Ms Scaffidi recommends she faces disciplinary action over 45 alleged breaches of the Local Government Act between 2008-2015, with the matter later referred to the State Administrative Tribunal over allegations of "serious breaches" in disclosing travel-related gifts and contributions May 12 Deputy Lord Mayor James Limnios calls on Scaffidi to stand aside from her job, saying it had become untenable June 2016 The Corruption and Crime Commission reveals it is investigating the City of Perth's abrupt, controversial sacking of CEO Gary Stevenson as well as non-disclosure of gifts and travel from other City of Perth councillors. Loading January 2017 A lengthy mediation process between the Department of Local Government and Ms Scaffidi fails, after the department pushed for the Lord Mayor to be suspended. "He went up to me and he said 'Darling, this is the pool area and due to liquor licensing reasons your son can't be here, are you going to stay here for long'?," the mum said. "I said that was fine but I told him not to address me as darling...as a professional, he would not speak to someone like that." The mother said the staff member pointed to an indoor dining area where they were told they could sit. "I took my son and I went to the indoor area," she said. "I sat there and it was fine. My husband came over and the food came to where we were sitting." The mother said she believed they were moved not due to liquor licensing laws, but because it was the venue's policy that children are only allowed in the dining area. Venue manager Gina Brand said the family was moved due to liquor licensing laws. The mother said she went back to the staff member to ask him about this. "I told him it was nothing to do with liquor licensing and that my son had every right to be here," she said. "He [the staff member] obviously didn't like that. "My husband made eye contact with him on several occasions...he was well aware of where we were now sitting. "A couple of minutes later a bouncer came up to us and said 'I've been asked to tell you that you have to leave because your son is here and you can't be in this area.' "I was flabbergasted. I was sitting in the very area we were told we could move to. "We were all shocked." The mother claims the staff member then told her that the area they were sitting in was also part of the pool area. "Suddenly where I was sitting was also considered the pool area yet it was clearly the dining area," she said. The family was told they could sit in another area closer to the foyer but chose not to and left. "I am just so disappointed," the mother said. "It's discrimination against him [my son]. "It's clear that they've got an image they want to portray. "If my husband was there on his own, I don't think he would have got that treatment." The mother said she was not so much upset from being moved away from the pool area, but was more upset at how she was spoken to. "They showed me where to move and I complied and when I did, then they told me again to move. It was quite apparent that they simply didn't want us in the venue," she said. There is a sign outside the front of Matisse Beach Club which states children are prohibited from being in the pool area. "Children are ONLY permitted inside the dining area," the sign says. "Must be constantly supervised. "Guests and those accompanying them who do not comply and respect these rules will be politely asked to leave." Venue manager Gina Brand said the premises operated under the Liquor Act and Health (Aquatic Facilities) Regulations and thus was approved to operate as a tavern and a "class three aquatic facility." "Both approvals required that children are only permitted in the dining area of the venue," Ms Brand said. "The lady refused to sit in the dining area that is permitted and both areas where she sat are not considered the dining area under our approvals and certificates to operate. Loading "The woman would not cooperate with the government regulations that are in place and was also uncooperative in general and at times abusive when interacting with our management team. WA Labor has categorically stated it will not cut any preference deals with One Nation ahead of the March election. There had been rumours doing the rounds of the corridors of Parliament both Labor and Liberals had meetings with One Nation about doing preference deals. Given a recent Newspoll in The Australian had One Nation's primary vote at 13 per cent, PHON (Pauline Hanson's One Nation) is going to play a critical role in deciding the outcome of the election. Last week, Labor leader Mark McGowan didn't rule out striking a deal with One Nation, but denied he has sat down with any of their powerbrokers. Experts at the coronial inquest into the attack have been divided on whether Monis' actions was an act of terrorism or the result of Monis's mental illness and violent past. Credit:Channel Seven French national Smail Ayad, who has been charged with two counts of murder, was allegedly heard yelling "Allahu Akbar" during the attack but police found no evidence to link the Frenchman to extremism or radicalisation. Police allege the 29-year-old had developed a romantic interest in Ms Ayliffe-Chung but it had not been reciprocated. Numan Haider, left, was shot dead after stabbing two police officers in September 2014. Credit:Facebook The other three incidents are: the September 2014 stabbing of two counter terrorism police by Numan Haider, 18, outside Melbourne's Endeavour Hills police station the shooting death of NSW police accountant Curtis Cheng as he left NSW Police Headquarters at Parramatta in October 2015 the south-westrn Sydney stabbing of Minto man Wayne Greenhalgh, 58 in September 2016. Ihsas Khan, 22, has been charged with attempted murder and committing a terrorist act. Police have alleged that those three attacks have links to, or been inspired by, Islamic State. Police take aim at Farhad Jabar after he killed Curtis Cheng outside Parramatta police headquarters. Credit:Seven News Also on the list is the 2016 Orlando nightclub shooting, the Bastille Day attacks in Nice in 2016 and the co-ordinated terror attacks in Paris in November 2015. The White House said "most" on the list did not get sufficient media attention, although it did not explain how it defined the term. Some of the incidents on the list received widespread attention and deep reporting. Five of the 78 incidents occurred in Australia, including Man Haron-Monis' 2014 attack on Sydney's Lindt Cafe - in which two people died. Credit:Channel Seven The list includes incidents like the truck massacre in Nice, France, that killed dozens and received widespread attention, as well as less high-profile incidents in which nobody was killed. The list appeared to be hastily assembled, including several misspellings. CCTV footage shows the police "Charlie" team storming the cafe. Mr Trump, who has made relentless criticism of the media a hallmark of his presidency, did not explain why he thinks news outlets minimise attention on such attacks. Later, White House spokesman Sean Spicer tried to tone down the President's remarks, saying it was a question of balance: "Like a protest gets blown out of the water, and yet an attack or a foiled attack doesn't necessarily get the same coverage." Curtis Cheng, pictured with his son Alpha, was shot dead as he left the Parramatta police headquarters on October 2, 2015. Mr Trump had said the "very dishonest" press chose not to report European terrorism attacks. The President has made defeating Islamic State a core goal of his presidency. He did not specify which attacks were going unreported, which news media organisations were ignoring them, or offer details to support his claims. "All over Europe, it's happening. It's gotten to a point where it's not even being reported," he told troops at MacDill Air Force Base in Florida. "And, in many cases, the very, very dishonest press doesn't want to report it. They have their reasons, and you understand that," he added, without saying what those reasons were. It was Trump's latest salvo against the news media, a favourite target for derision who he says broadly underestimated his chances during the presidential campaign. He has kept up the attacks since his January 20 inauguration. Al Tompkins, at The Poynter Institute, a Florida-based journalism school, dismissed Mr Trump's criticism. "To suggest that journalists have some reason not to report ISIS attacks is just outlandish," Mr Tompkins said. WHITE HOUSE LIST OF 78 UNDER-REPORTED TERRORISM ATTACKS MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA Date: September, 2014 Target: Two police officers wounded in knife attack Attacker: Abdul Numan Haider Deaths: 0 TIZI OUZOU, ALGERIA Date: September, 2014 Target: One French citizen beheaded Attacker: Jund al-Khilafah in Algeria Deaths: 1 QUEBEC, CANADA Date: October, 2014 Target: One soldier killed and one wounded in vehicle attack Attacker: Martin Couture-Rouleau Deaths: 1 OTTAWA, CANADA Date: October, 2014 Target: One soldier killed at war memorial; two wounded in shootings at Parliament building Attacker: Michael Zehaf-Bibeau Deaths: 1 NEW YORK CITY, NY, USA Date: October, 2014 Target: Two police officers wounded in knife attack Attacker: US person Deaths: 0 RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIA Date: November, 2014 Target: One Danish citizen wounded in shooting ATTACKERS: Three Saudi Arabia-based ISIL members Deaths: 0 ABU DHABI, UAE Date: December 2014 Target: One American killed in knife attack Attacker: Dalal al-Hashimi Deaths: 1 SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA Date: December, 2014 Target: Two Australians killed in hostage taking and shooting Attacker: Man Haron Monis Deaths: 2 TOURS, FRANCE Date: December, 2014 Target: Three police officers wounded in knife attack Attacker: Bertrand Nzohabonayo Deaths: 0 PARIS, FRANCE Date: January, 2015 Target: One police officer and four hostages killed in shooting at a kosher supermarket Attacker: Amedy Coulibaly Deaths: 5 TRIPOLI, LIBYA Date: January, 2015 Target: Ten killed, including one US citizen, and five wounded in bombing and shooting at a hotel frequented by westerners Attackers: As many as five ISIL-Libya members Deaths: 10 RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIA Date: January, 2015 Target: Two US citizens wounded in shooting Attacker: Saudi Arabia-based ISIL supporter Deaths: 0 NICE, FRANCE Date: February, 2015 Target: Two French soldiers wounded in knife attack outside a Jewish community center Attacker: Moussa Coulibaly Deaths: 0 COPENHAGEN, DENMARK Date: February, 2015 Target: One civilian killed in shooting at a free-speech rally and one security guard killed outside the city's main synagogue Attacker: Omar Abdel Hamid el-Hussein Deaths: 1 TUNIS, TUNISIA Date: March, 2015 Target: 21 tourists killed, including 16 westerners, and 55 wounded in shooting at the Bardo Museum Attackers: Two ISIL-aligned extremists Deaths: 21 KARACHI, PAKISTAN Date: April, 2015 Target: One US citizen wounded in knife attack Attackers: Pakistan-based ISIL supporters Deaths: 0 PARIS, FRANCE Date: April, 2015 Target: Catholic churches targeted; one civilian killed in shooting, possibly during an attempted carjacking Attacker: Sid Ahmed Ghlam Deaths: 1 ZVORNIK, BOSNIA Date: April, 2015 Target: One police officer killed and two wounded in shooting Attacker: Nerdin Ibric Deaths: 1 GARLAND, TX, USA Date: May, 2015 Target: One security guard wounded in shooting at the Prophet Muhammad cartoon event Attackers: Two US persons Deaths: 0 BOSTON, MA, USA Date: June, 2015 Target: No casualties; one police officer attacked with knife Attacker: US person Deaths: 0 EL GORA (AL JURAH), EGYPT Date: June, 2015 Target: No casualties; camp used by Multinational Force and Observers (MFO) troops attacked in shooting and bombing attack Attackers: Unknown number of ISIL-Sinai members Deaths: 0 LUXOR, EGYPT Date: June, 2015 Target: One police officer killed by suicide bomb near the Temple of Karnak Attacker: Unidentified Deaths: 1 SOUSSE, TUNISIA Date: June, 2015 Target: 38 killed and 39 wounded in shooting at a beach frequented by westerners Attackers: Seifeddine Rezgui and another unidentified attacker Deaths: 38 LYON, FRANCE Date: June, 2015 Target: One civilian killed in beheading and explosion at a chemical plant Attacker: Yasin Salhi Deaths: 1 CAIRO, EGYPT Date: July, 2015 Target: One killed and nine wounded in VBIED attack at Italian Consulate Attacker: Unidentified ISIL operatives Deaths: 1 CAIRO, EGYPT Date: July, 2015 Target: One Croatian national kidnapped; beheaded on August 12 at an unknown location Attacker: Unidentified ISIL-Sinai operative Deaths: 1 PARIS, FRANCE Date: August, 2015 Target: Two civilians and one US soldier wounded with firearms and knife on a passenger train Attacker: Ayoub el-Khazzani Deaths: 0 EL GORA, EGYPT Date: September, 2015 Target: Four US and two MFO troops wounded in IED attack Attacker: Unidentified Deaths: 0 DHAKA, BANGLADESH Date: September, 2015 Target: One Italian civilian killed in shooting Attacker: Unidentified Deaths: 1 COPENHAGEN, DENMARK Date: September, 2015 Target: One police officer wounded in knife attack Attacker: Palestinian national Deaths: 0 EL GORA, EGYPT Date: October, 2015 Target: No casualties; airfield used by MFO attacked with rockets Attacker: Unidentified ISIL-Sinai operatives Deaths: 0 PARRAMATTA, AUSTRALIA Date: October, 2015 Target: One police officer killed in shooting Attacker: Farhad Jabar Deaths: 1 RANGPUR, BANGLADESH Date: October, 2015 Target: One Japanese civilian killed in shooting Attacker: Unidentified Deaths: 1 HASANAH, EGYPT Date: October, 2015 Target: 224 killed in downing of a Russian airliner Attacker: Unidentified ISIL-Sinai operatives Deaths: 224 MERCED, CA, US Date: November, 2015 Target: Four wounded in knife attack on a college campus Attacker: US person Deaths: 0 PARIS, FRANCE Date: November, 2015 Target: At least 129 killed and approximately 400 wounded in series of shootings and IED attacks Attackers: Brahim Abdelslam, Saleh Abdeslam, Ismail Mostefai, Bilal Hadfi, Samy Amimour, Chakib Ahrouh, Foued Mohamed Aggad, and Abdelhamid Abaaoud Deaths: At least 129 killed DINAJPUR, BANGLADESH Date: November, 2015 Target: One Italian citizen wounded in shooting Attacker: Unidentified Deaths: 0 RAJLOVAC, BOSNIA Date: December, 2015 Target: Two Bosnian soldiers killed in shooting Attacker: Enes Omeragic Deaths: 2 SAN BERNADINO, CA, US Date: December, 2015 Target: 14 killed and 21 wounded in coordinated firearms attack Attackers: Two US persons Deaths: 14 LONDON, ENGLAND, UK Date: December, 2015 Target: Three wounded in knife attack at an underground rail station Attacker: Muhyadin Mire Deaths: 0 DERBENT, RUSSIA Date: December, 2015 Target: One killed and 11 wounded in shooting at UN World Heritage site Attacker: Unidentified ISIL-Caucasus operative Deaths: 1 CAIRO, EGYPT Date: January, 2016 Target: Two wounded in drive-by shooting outside a hotel frequented by tourists Attackers: Unidentified ISIL operatives Deaths: 0 PARIS, FRANCE Date: January, 2016 Target: No casualties; attacker killed after attempted knife attack on Paris police station Attacker: Tarek Belgacem Deaths: 0 PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA Date: January, 2016 Target: One police officer wounded in shooting Attacker: US person Deaths: 0 HURGHADA, EGYPT Date: January, 2016 Target: One German and one Danish national wounded in knife attack at a tourist resort Attacker: Unidentified Deaths: 0 MARSEILLES, FRANCE Date: January, 2016 Target: One Jewish teacher wounded in machete attack Attacker: 15 year-old Ethnic Kurd from Turkey Deaths: 0 ISTANBUL, TURKEY Date: January, 2016 Target: 12 German tourists killed and 15 wounded in suicide bombing Attacker: Nabil Fadli Deaths: 12 JAKARTA, INDONESIA Date: January, 2016 Target: Four civilians killed and more than 20 wounded in coordinated bombing and firearms attacks near a police station and a Starbucks Attackers: Dian Joni Kurnaiadi, Muhammad Ali, Arif Sunakim, and Ahmad Muhazan bin Saron Deaths: 4 COLUMBUS, OH, US Date: February, 2016 Target: Four civilians wounded in machete attack at a restaurant Attacker: US person Deaths: 0 HANOVER, GERMANY Date: February, 2016 Target: One police officer wounded in knife attack Attacker: Safia Schmitter Deaths: 0 ISTANBUL, TURKEY Date: March, 2016 Target: Four killed and 36 wounded in suicide bombing in the tourist district Attacker: Mehmet Ozturk Deaths: 4 BRUSSELS, BELGIUM Date: March, 2016 Target: At least 31 killed and 270 wounded in coordinated bombings at Zaventem Airport and on a subway train Attackers: Khalid el-Bakraoui, Ibrahim el-Bakraoui, Najim Laachraoui, Mohammed Abrini, and Osama Krayem Deaths: 31 ESSEN, GERMANY Date: April, 2016 Target: Three wounded in bombing at Sikh temple Attackers: Three identified minors Deaths: 0 ORLANDO, FL, US Date: June, 2016 Target: 49 killed and 53 wounded in shooting at a nightclub Attacker: US person Deaths: 49 MAGNANVILLE, FRANCE Date: June, 2016 Target: One police officer and one civilian killed in knife attack Attacker: Larossi Abballa Deaths: 2 KABUL, AFGHANISTAN Date: June, 2016 Target: 14 killed in suicide attack on a bus carrying Canadian Embassy guards Attacker: ISIL-Khorasan operative Deaths: 14 ISTANBUL, TURKEY Date: June, 2016 Target: 45 killed and approximately 240 wounded at Ataturk International Airport Attackers: Rakhim Bulgarov, Vadim Osmanov, and an unidentified ISIL operative Deaths: 45 DHAKA, BANGLADESH Date: July, 2016 Target: 22 killed, including one American and 50 wounded after hours-long siege using machetes and firearms at holy Artisan Bakery Attackers: Nibras Islam, Rohan Imtiaz, Meer Saameh Mubasheer, Khairul Islam Paye, and Shafiqul Islam Uzzal Deaths: 22 NICE, FRANCE Date: July, 2016 Target: 84 civilians killed and 308 wounded by an individual who drove a truck into a crowd Attacker: Mohamed Bouhlel Deaths: 84 WURZBURG, GERMANY Date: July, 2016 Target: Four civilians wounded in axe attack on a train Attacker: Riaz Khan Ahmadzai Deaths: 0 ANSBACH, GERMANY Date: July, 2016 Target: At least 15 wounded in suicide bombing at a music festival Attacker: Mohammad Daleel Deaths: 0 NORMANDY, FRANCE Date: July, 2016 Target: One priest killed in knife attack Attackers: Adel Kermiche and Abdel Malik Nabil Petitjean Deaths: 1 CHALEROI, BELGIUM Date: August, 2016 Target: Two police officers wounded in machete attack Attacker: Khaled Babouri Deaths: 0 QUEENSLAND, AUSTRALIA Date: August, 2016 Target: Two killed and one wounded in knife attack at a hostel frequented by Westerners Attacker: Smail Ayad Deaths: 2 COPENHAGEN, DENMARK Date: September, 2016 Target: Two police officers and a civilian wounded in shooting Attacker: Mesa Hodzic Deaths: 0 PARIS, FRANCE Date: September, 2016 Target: One police officer wounded in raid after VBIED failed to detonate at Notre Dame Cathedral Attackers: Sarah Hervouet, Ines Madani, and Amel Sakaou Deaths: 0 SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA Date: September, 2016 Target: One civilian wounded in knife attack Attacker: Ihsas Khan Deaths: 0 CLOUD, MN, US Date: September, 2016 Target: 10 wounded in knife attack in a mall Attacker: Dahir Ahmed Adan Deaths: 0 NEW YORK, NY; SEASIDE PARK AND ELIZABETH, NJ, US Date: September, 2016 Target: 31 wounded in bombing in New York City; several explosive devices found in New York and New Jersey; one exploded without casualty at race in New Jersey; one police officer wounded in shootout Attacker: Ahmad Khan Rahami Deaths: 0 BRUSSELS, BELGIUM Date: October, 2016 Target: Two police officers wounded in stabbing Attacker: Belgian national Deaths: 0 KUWAIT CITY, KUWAIT Target: No casualties; vehicle carrying three US soldiers hit by a truck Attacker: Ibrahim Sulayman Deaths: 0 MALMO, SWEDEN Date: October, 2016 Target: No casualties; mosque and community center attacked with Molotov cocktail Attacker: Syrian national Deaths: 0 HAMBURG, GERMANY Date: October, 2016 Target: One killed in knife attack Attacker: Unknown Deaths: 1 MANILA, PHILIPPINES Date: November, 2016 Target: No casualties; failed IED attempt near US Embassy ATTACKERS: Philippine nationals aligned with the Maute group Deaths: 0 COLUMBUS, OH, US Date: November, 2016 Target: 14 wounded by individuals who drove a vehicle into a group of pedestrians and attacked them with a knife Attacker: US person Deaths: 0 N'DJAMENA, CHAD Date: November, 2016 Target: No casualties; attacker arrested after opening fire at entrance of US Embassy Attacker: Chadian national Deaths: 0 Washington: It took a historic tiebreaking vote cast by Vice President Pence on Tuesday to get President Donald Trump's education secretary nominee, Betsy DeVos, confirmed by the Senate. A few months ago, very few people would have predicted DeVos would be confirmed on a 51-50 vote, the narrowest confirmation vote of a Cabinet nominee ever. Two Republicans, Senator. Lisa Murkowski , Alaska, and Susan Collins, Maine, joined the entire Democratic caucus to oppose her. But in retrospect, what happened to DeVos makes sense. Her inexperience in public schools, her alienation of some moderate Republicans, a powerful populist movement against her and Senate Democrats' will to oppose Trump at every turn came together to create the perfect storm. There are several dynamics going on here, so let's break down DeVos' troubled confirmation into four factors. 'Granddad' was just a sprightly juvenile lungfish when he undertook a three-week trip aboard a ship from Australia to the United States in 1933. The Australian freshwater fish had been brought across the salty seas from Taronga Zoo in Sydney with another lungfish to wow crowds during the Chicago World's Fair in 1933-1934. He was seen by more than 104 million people during his time in Chicago, according to Shedd Aquarium, who sadly told the world of his death on Tuesday. The long-lived fish, aged in his mid-90s, was euthanised after his body began shutting down. British Manufacturer Behind Mono Supercar Officially Launches BAC USA British manufacturer Briggs Automotive Company (BAC) is continuing to take the world by storm and has officially launched BAC USA The brand behind the worlds only single-seater, road-legal supercar the Mono is now rolling out a direct Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) strategy for its operations in the United States BAC has enjoyed success in North America with the Mono, having exported the highly acclaimed luxury supercar with the help of distribution partners before the adoption of OEM BAC USA operates out of Sonoma, California, and will be headed up by BAC USA President Mark Rayner LONDON - February 7, 2017: Briggs Automotive Company (BAC) has officially launched BAC USA Inc., as the British maker of the One-of-a-Kind Mono supercar expands its operations in North America. Having previously worked with distribution partners, BAC will now roll out a direct Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) strategy to bring factory assembly, sales and maintenance services to United States shores. Designed to provide the most authentic driving experience, BACs bespoke and luxurious Mono is the only road-legal, single seater supercar in the world, and its taken the U.S. by storm since its launch in 2011. Now with the facility to directly sell and service cars, BAC aims to enhance its already sterling reputation and bring the Mono to a more diverse audience and improve the BAC experience for existing customers. BAC USA is based in Sonoma, California, with Mark Rayner overseeing the business. Mark has been involved in the North American automotive industry prior to BAC. He is taking his broad experience and is currently building a robust Stateside operation. The brands dealership programme is now in full swing in the U.S., boosting its profile in major cities and states across the country. BAC USAs launch will bring about even more success across the country and ensure buyers have total peace of mind. The company is also providing technical support, dealer acquisition and technician training and aims to have between 8-10 dedicated dealers across the USA within the next 12 months. Mark Rayner, BAC's Chief Operations Officer and BAC USA President, said: "This is an incredibly exciting time for BAC with the launch of BAC USA. Its the optimum time in the evolution of the North American market for BAC to enter the region as the OEM, and Im very proud to be leading the operation. By offering factory presence in the U.S., buyers can benefit from added peace of mind and we can attract new customers to experience the Mono." Company co-founder and Director of Product Development Neill Briggs added: Our venture in the United States of America is born out of extensive industry research. Its the biggest and most informed supercar territory in the world, which is why its at the very top of our global sales strategy. BAC USA is another string to BACs bow and were looking forward to sharing the Mono dream across the Atlantic even more. Bespoke supercar manufacturer BAC (Briggs Automotive Company) is based in Liverpool and was co-founded by brothers Ian and Neill Briggs. It produces the fast and highly acclaimed Mono supercar, a single-seater formula-style car that provides a visceral and exhilarating driving experience. Since its launch in 2011 it has been going from strength to strength and is now sold in several markets around the world. It launched with great success and fanfare in Hong Kong at the end of 2015, with eight cars sold in a single night. BAC dealers can also be found in North America, Japan and London. The 2016 model year version of the Mono comes with a four-cylinder 305bhp 2.5-litre Mountune engine, which takes the 580kg car from 0-60mph in just 2.8sec. BAC recently launched a carbon hybrid wheel and announced the use of super material graphene, which is up to 20 per cent lighter than carbon fibre and as much as 200 times stronger than steel. Despite its global appeal, BAC Mono remains proudly British, with parts sourced from its home country wherever possible. if the people of Biafra want Republic of Biafra, it will be a reality during my administration. ----Donald Trump Donald Trump I wi... LL Beachwear Help fund TBW for as little as $3 Search This Blog Blog Archive Blog Archive November (1) October (17) September (9) August (6) July (8) June (5) May (2) April (7) March (10) February (5) January (7) December (12) November (12) October (16) September (20) August (29) July (18) June (12) May (4) April (14) March (21) February (27) January (56) December (27) November (43) October (43) September (48) August (39) July (37) June (27) May (12) April (41) March (49) February (89) January (106) December (72) November (67) October (21) September (28) August (29) July (45) June (56) May (27) April (28) March (32) February (36) January (45) December (37) November (53) October (45) September (40) August (63) July (54) June (46) May (51) April (54) March (64) February (62) January (94) December (71) November (75) October (87) September (84) August (72) July (82) June (71) May (69) April (103) March (126) February (108) January (80) December (72) November (57) October (3) September (54) August (74) July (107) June (66) President Donald Trump might be scared to say anything negative about Russian President Vladimir Putin, but Fox News host Bill OReilly isnt backing down. In response to a demand from a Kremlin spokesperson that he apologize for calling Putin a killer during his pre-Super Bowl interview with Trump, OReilly told viewers Monday night, I am working on that apology, but it may take a little time. Might want to check in with me around 2023. To those wanting proof of Putins brutality, he pointed to a new book by Washington Times reporter Bill Gertz titled iWar: War and Peace in the Information Age. As OReilly noted in his shows opening segment, the portion of his interview with the president that got the most attention before the Super Bowl was the commentary around Putin. Trump insisted that he respects the Russian leader and did not dispute OReillys description of him as a killer. Instead, he replied, There are a lot of killers. weve got a lot of killers. What do you think, our countrys so innocent? Later in his program Monday, two separate guests asked OReilly to share his reaction to the moral equivalency that Trump drew between Russia and the United States. When Charles Krauthammer brought up that moment, the host joked, I am a little nervous here. Am I on the hit list? Did you get confirmation that an assassin will be following me home tonight? I just want to be prepared. But OReilly went on to defend Trumps characterization, saying, Heres how I processed the presidents answer, not that it was a moral equivalency between the United States and Russia about actions, but that we dont have a right to form a judgment. OReilly compared it to the philosophy that Franklin Roosevelt used when he dealt with Stalin, adding, What Trump wants to do is enlist Putins help to defeat ISIS and to weaken Iran. So he says, we dont have a right to make these personal judgements that you and I just made about Putin, which are accurate, OK. Because, in the past, the United States has done bad things too. Thats how I processed it. Speaking to historian Jon Meacham, OReilly reiterated, My take was that [Trump] is going to go and try and make detente with Russia and overlook Putin being Putin, which is a killer. I dont think theres anybody who knows history that knows that isnt true. Kellyanne Conway may have made up the Bowling Green Massacre out of whole cloth, but Stephen Colbert is pretty sure it happened. On Monday night, the Late Show host began by examining President Donald Trumps assertion that the very dishonest media doesnt want to report major terror attacks. They have their reasons, and you understand that, he said. The president is accusing the media of refusing to cover major terror attacks, Colbert said. Why? Reasons. It makes perfect sense. You know the old news adage, If it bleeds, dont talk about it. But, Colbert said, President Trump was right about one terrorist attack: the now infamous Bowling Green Massacre. Since Conway first came under fire for using the alleged attack as justification for Trumps travel ban in a conversation with MSNBCs Chris Matthews last Thursday, Colbert said he didnt intend to even bring it up. The crazy train had gone way down the track since then and I figured this tired hobo just missed his chance to jump in the boxcar, he joked. Describing Kellyanne Conway as Trumps White House spokeswoman and person who has not slept since the Carter administration, Colbert echoed her outrage that the attack didnt get covered, on the flimsy excuse that there was no Bowling Green massacre. But I think we all remember where we werent were when we didnt hear that nothing had happened, he continued. He called on the biased media to present both sides of the story: the things that did happen and the things that didnt happen. Then let the victims of the Bowling Green massacre decide if they were killed, Colbert added. So far, not one of them has come forward. But just because it didnt happen, he continued, doesnt mean it wasnt an inside job. Going full Bowling Green truther, Colbert said, Think about it: If America isnt going to be attacked, whos most likely not to do it? Us. Demanding the media not release the reports they did not do on the attacks that did not occur, he said, I will not rest until they dont. Once or twice a week, the guards at the Saydnaya military prison in Damascus Province, 35km northeast of Bashar al-Assads presidential palace, hold what they call the party. This event, which is evidently the highlight of the day, involves bussing between 20 and 50 blindfolded, starved, and tortured prisoners to the in-house gallows to be hanged after a sham trial typically lasting between one and three minutes. In most cases, this marks the grisly end of the road for those put through the human meat grinder of Saydnaya, and their corpses are promptly tossed onto trucks (dubbed meat fridges by the prison authorities) to be taken for burial in mass graves on state-owned land on the capitals outskirts. The exceptions are those inmates whose bodies have been so thoroughly wasted by beatings, malnutrition, and illness that their weight isnt sufficient to kill them. After spending fifteen minutes suspended on the noose, still alive, these people are yanked downward so as to break their necks by men employed by the state for this purpose. The above are only some of the findings of a new 48-page Amnesty International report, released Tuesday, based on a full years investigation during which the human rights organization interviewed four former Saydnaya employees, 31 former Saydnaya detainees, and scores of former Syrian judges, doctors, lawyers, and others with direct knowledge of what went on (and still does). Based on the evidence collected, Amnesty estimates between 5,000 and 13,000 were exterminated in this fashion between September 2011 and December 2015 and there is no reason to believe that executions have stopped since. (These are separate from the thousands of other killings in regime custody previously documented by the military defector codenamed Caesar). While accounts of these deaths are grim enough, the descriptions of life inside Saydnaya are hardly more pleasant, and indeed interviewees told Amnesty death was seen as a deliverance (It was a gift to be killed [] we were wishing to die, as one put it). A typical first day in the prison was marked by a severe beating known as the welcome party, which could in itself be lethal. All you see is blood: your own blood, the blood of others, recalled one survivor. Thereafter one continued to be subjected to an unrelenting program of torture for as long as one was inside, ranging from beatings to electrocutions to sexual assaults. The Iraqi dissident Kanan Makiya marveled in his 1993 work Cruelty and Silence that the Saddam Hussein regime employed men expressly for the purpose of raping women (violation of womens honor was the official job description). The Assad regime arguably goes one further by paying guards at Saydnaya to force prisoners to rape one another. When they werent being savagely beaten, inmates were suffering from the no-less-destructive effects of food and water deprivation. The thirst was indescribable [] we would lick the condensation from the wall [] by the ninth day, people started drinking their own urine, one told Amnesty. The combination of this with the violence inevitably led to medical afflictions, from tuberculosis to scabies to gangrene. Needless to say, no medical care was offered; in fact, When the doctors came, they would torture the detainees instead of helping them. And there can be no doubt, say Amnesty, that this was and is happening with Assads full knowledge. For one thing, each victim is issued a formal death sentence by the Military Field Court, signed by the Grand Mufti (the same man recently given the honor of addressing the Irish parliament), as well as either the Minister of Defense or the Army Chief of Staff. Amnesty in fact wrote to the Syrian regime on 10 January, 2017, requesting clarifications regarding its findings, and unsurprisingly received no response. Accordingly, Amnesty concludes Damascus is implicated in multiple violations of international law, including crimes against humanity, and calls on UN Security Council members and those states supporting Assad in particular Russia, with its permanent seat on the Security Council, and Iran to do what is in their power to bring [the crimes] to an end. An Iranian with a remarkable immigration story involving a mullah disguise and fake documents and hair-raising border crossings is now the medical director of a controversial chain of brain performance centers bankrolled by Betsy DeVos, President Trumps pick for education secretary. Majid Fotuhi, an MD and Ph.D., presides over the treatment side of Neurocore, which claims to achieve marked improvement in 90 percent or more of cases involving attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), depression, and anxiety. Some critics say the treatment is only a placebo that rouses unrealistic hopes and diverts resources from more promising approaches. The Neurocore website explains that patients wear a cap with 19 brain sensors while they watch a video. The video switches off if the sensors indicate that the patients focus has lapsed. The video resumes when focus is restored. Other variables such as heart rate and breathing patterns are factored in. The result is what a company ad calls a mind makeover. All it takes is science, the ad says. As reported back in 2000 by the Times Higher Education, Fotuhi started life in Tehran and spent two years in his late teens hiding in a bathroom in a factory there to avoid being drafted into the Iran-Iraq War. He made his bed with towels in a bathtub. The long war was still raging when Fotuhi reportedly sought to slip over the border with Turkey only to be arrested and jailed. His father is said to have secured his release. The Times Higher Education article says that in a second bid to emigrate, Fotuhi disguised himself as a mullah, complete with beard. He reached Pakistan and is said to have used a forged visa to continue on to Montreal. He sought and received recognition as a refugee. He is reported to have had a passionate interest in biology even before the long days in the factory bathtub. He earned an undergraduate degree at Concordia University in 1987 and he has cause in retrospect to be thankful that there was no ban on immigration by Iranians when he applied to study in America. In 1992, he received a doctorate in brain science from Johns Hopkins University. He went on to Harvard Medical School and then embarked on a life in his adopted country as a physician, researcher, and educator. He was the author of numerous scientific articles and three books, The Memory Cure; How to Protect Your Brain Against Memory Loss and Alzheimers Disease and The New York Times Crosswords to Keep Your Brain Young: The 6-Step Age-Defying Program and Boost Your Brain; The New Art + Science Behind Enhanced Brain Performance. He warned of the dangers of a sedentary lifestyle and stress. Walk six miles a day, he said on a TV appearance. Try to smile as much as you can. Fotuhi also became an entrepreneur, founding the NeurExpand Brain Center in 2011, which offered testing and brain fitness, short term memory tune-ups in particular. The center closed in 2015 after Medicare announced that it would no longer cover treatments there. Fotuhi said at the time that Medicaid was even grumbling about seeking reimbursement for past payments. As detailed by his resume, the same month NeurExpand closed, Fotuhi became founder and medical director of NeuroGrow Brain Fitness Center, which he described as a neurology practice dedicated to giving cutting edge treatments. More than 80 percent of my patients who have mild cognitive impairment, post-concussive syndrome, dizziness, vertigo, migraine, or attention deficit disorder see remarkable improvements within weeks of starting my multi-disciplinary treatment protocols, his website reported. In April of 2016, Fotuhi became chief medical officer of Neurocore, whose principal financial backers are Betsy DeVos and her husband, Dick DeVos. The New York Times has reported that Neurocore was founded by a psychologist who also has a masters degree in theology. It was originally called Hope 139, a reference to Psalm 139, You have searched me, Lord, and you know me The religious reference had been dropped and Neurocore had opened seven centers in DeVoss Michigan and one in Florida, with another scheduled to open there later this year. Neurocores claim of successful treatments would make it even more effective than NeurExpand. A recent article in The New York Times cited a number of medical experts who say the treatment is only a placebo that rouses unrealistic hopes and diverts resources from more promising approaches. The Times found that a review of Neurocores claims and interviews with medical experts suggest its conclusions are unproven and its methods questionable. Neither a company spokesman nor Fotuhi responded to multiple requests for comment about his background and about Neurocore. A receptionist said that Fotuhi was with a patient now, but I will be sure to tell him when The Daily Beast called one afternoon. Fotuhi never returned the call. Betsy DeVos has said that she will resign from the Neurocore board if her nomination is confirmedas it may be on Tuesday, perhaps with a tie-breaking vote by Vice President Mike Pencethough she intends to maintain her investment, estimated to be worth as much as $25 million. She has said nothing about the immigration ban, even though Neurocores medical director hails from one of the proscribed seven countries. Meanwhile, the newest Neurocore brain fitness center is slated to open a 20-minute drive from the new Winter White House, Trumps Mar-a-Lago club. Trump is forever watching television anyway and who knows, maybe the skeptics are wrong and the Neurocore method can treat a condition that an intelligence official, who asked not be named for all the obvious reasons, suggests Trump evidences at least some symptoms of suffering during briefings. Of course, the intelligence briefer is only offering a laymans diagnosis when he says simply, ADHD! And, Trump would not likely pull a cap full of sensors over his elaborate coif. He also would not likely focus in the first place unless the video was about him. If it was about him, he would not likely lose his focus. On top of that, the treatments are overseen by an Iranian immigrant who reportedly got out by dressing as mullah and using a fake visa. BAD! Anyway, our president already has a perfect brain. Just ask him. Democrats have just been mugged by reality: Despite the protests, the urgent phone calls, and the delays, they were unable to stop the confirmation of the Education Secretary Betsy DeVos. While they wounded her politically, forcing a narrow vote in the Senate, DeVos' ascension to the cabinet illustrates the limits of activism from the left in the early era of Donald Trumps presidency. It was a tight vote Tuesday: both Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Susan Collins of Maine bucked the Republican party line to join with Democrats, leading to a 50-50 vote in the Senate. Vice President Mike Pence was required to break the tie and confirm DeVos. "There never has had to be a vice president to break a tie for a cabinet secretary before. So activism convinced Republicans so look, we're having an impact," Sen. Tim Kaine told The Daily Beast. "We won't win every battle right now, but the activism of people has got to continue. It shows the best aspects of our system." Kaine, who was Hillary Clintons running mate, told reporters that his office has received more calls on the DeVos nomination than any other time during his tenure in the Senate, including during the 2013 federal government shutdown. But while Democrats were able to gum up the worksSenate Republicans have complained that the current slate of cabinet confirmations have been the slowest since George Washington they were unable to block the nominee they were most anxious to prevent from entering office. "She is the most incompetent cabinet-level nominee I have ever seen," said Democratic Sen. Al Franken. DeVos is something of an easy target for the left: a billionaire Republican donor with little experience in government or public education. She was voted down by senators representing a wide portion of the ideological spectrum: everyone from moderate Republican Sen. Susan Collins to progressive champion Sen. Elizabeth Warren. "It is a shame that someone who has never been a teacher or administrator, and who holds no degree in education policy, will now helm the agency tasked with educating our children and training our workforce," said Sen. Tammy Duckworth, a Democrat who recently replaced a Republican senator from Illinois. "Unfortunately, our children and our nation will suffer the consequences of this decision for decades to come. The newly-confirmed Education Secretary drew criticism for her shaky confirmation hearing, during which she appeared unfamiliar with the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, which guarantees children with disabilities protections in their schooling. She also made a much-lampooned comment about why guns should be permitted in schools. "Mrs. DeVos cited that grizzly bears in Wyoming is one legitimate reason why guns should be allowed in schools. Yet, the vast majority of our nations schools face zero threat of an attack from grizzly bears that would justify the risk of allowing guns on their premises," Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein said after the vote Tuesday afternoon. Still, the former vice presidential candidate tried to see the brighter side of thingsthat Democratic activism has sent a shot across the bow of the Trump administration, and will continue to send a message of opposition where appropriate. "People who have authoritarian tendencies, and sadly our president and some of his advisers, they don't like itthey don't like criticism or peaceful protest, Kaine said. But what we're showing is that, whether it's in Congress, or in peaceful protests, or in the courts, whether it's onlinewe're not going to just go away quietly, when someone is hurting our values, and hurting our people, and hurting our country." Monday night, Trevor Noah played a game of Whos the Real President? No. 1 on the list was Steve Bannon: Donald Trumps chief strategist, who is also the radical former editor of Breitbart and the subject of the best-selling autobiography, If Eczema Were Human: The Steve Bannon Story. We learned this morning that nothing angers President Trump more than the notion that Bannon has more power than he does in the White House. Just moments after a Morning Joe panel discussed Bannons new Time magazine cover and suggested that Trump may not be calling the shots in his own administration, the president tweeted, I call my own shots, largely based on an accumulation of data, and everyone knows it. Some FAKE NEWS media, in order to marginalize, lies! As Noah explained on Mondays Daily Show, it was Bannon who reportedly told immigration to ban visa and green-card holders as well, which, aside from being legally dubious, is a dick move. And, according to another report from The New York Times, Bannon put himself on the National Security Council without even briefing the president on the unprecedented move. How is this real life? This is insane, Noah said. The president didnt know what was in the executive order. Even the dishonest media recognizes that Bannon is the real power behind the throne, he added, pointing to the Time cover as evidence. What kind of shadowy manipulator goes on the cover of a magazine to announce that hes a shadowy manipulator? Noah asked. Its kind of like the Wizard of Oz posing on a cover with the headline, Its just some dude! Turning back to the presidents morning tweet, Noah noted, Trumps defensiveness is telling. It shows that even he realizes he needs to prove hes in control, and maybe some day he will be. But for now, lets congratulate Steve Bannon. As of this moment, you are the real president, he told Bannon. The American people didnt elect you. But then again, they kind of didnt elect Trump either. DALLAS President Donald Trump on Tuesday offered to destroy the career of a Texas state senator after a sheriff complained about the lawmaker at a White House meeting. Trump was speaking with representatives from the National Sheriffs Association. Sheriff Harold Eavenson mentioned an unnamed state senator, who he said has introduced legislation that restricts law enforcement powers to seize money, drugs, and personal property. The practice is known as civil-asset forfeiture. Weve got a state senator in Texas who was talking about introducing legislation to require a conviction before we can receive that forfeiture money, Eavenson said. And I told him that the cartel would build a monument to him in Mexico if he could get that legislation passed. Can you believe that? Trump said, shaking his head. Want to give his name? Well destroy his career. Eavenson declined to name the senator but was likely was referring to Juan Chuy Hinojosa, who is a coauthor on a bill this session requiring convictions for asset forfeiture. The measures sponsor is Republican Konni Burton, a woman. (After the Trump meeting, Eavenson reiterated the senator he was referring to is male.) Hinojosa, a Democrat, introduced a measure last November that would restrict law enforcement from accessing assets until the owner has been convicted of a crime. (In 2015, a similar bill from Hinojosa died in committee.) On Monday, Hinojosa was formally added as an author to Senate Bill 380, which was introduced by Burton. It was referred to the Senate Affairs Committee last week, according to the Senate Journal. Hinojosa told reporters at the Capitol: "I dont know the sheriff. I never met the sheriff." But Eavensons comments almost surely referenced Hinojosa. Only state Senator Bob Hall, who represents Rockwall County, has spoken publicly recently about reforming civil asset forfeiture, but he doesnt have any pending legislation on it. Speculation also centered on state Senator Don Huffines, who has introduced two bills that would require annual audits of asset forfeiture, but they do not require convictions. The Dallas Morning News reported on Tuesday afternoon that Huffines didnt believe Eavenson was referring to him. Hinojosa did not respond to a request for comment Tuesday. Hours after the meeting, Eavenson wrote on his Facebook page, "My objective was to make a point of the lack of logic to such a position. It was also to make the point public to possibly benefit law enforcement." He added, "My personal opinion is that such a bill if were to pass would benefit the cartels and damage law enforcement." Capt. Greg Welch, spokesman for the sheriff's office, told The Daily Beast that the sheriff didn't plan on identifying the senator mentioned at the White House. "He's not going to call out any senator in Texas, and he's not going to mention the senator by name," Welch said. The White House said late Tuesday afternoon that Trump was only "joking" during the National Sheriff's Association meeting. In many cases, law enforcement agencies are able to receive funds, like money seized from a suspected drug dealer, immediately following an arrest but before a conviction. Burton told The Texas Observer that she believes the practice, as it stands now, flies in the face of the U.S. Constitution. She also said that shed already gotten pushback from several law enforcement officials. Right now, law enforcement can seize property under civil law, and it denies people their basic rights, Burton, a staunch conservative, told The Observer last week. Theres a basic problem with this process that I want to correct. The seizure of money and personal property before a person is convicted of a crime is part of the reason that civil asset forfeiture has become such a contentious issue. In the Lone Star State, $41.5 million per year on average is fed into county law enforcement budgets through civil forfeitures. Critics of the practice say that the program nets too much money and property from non-criminals, who then must engage in months and sometimes years-long battles to get their property back. "We are using civil forfeiture to fill gaps in our public safety funding," said Matt Simpson, Senior Policy Strategist for the ACLU of Texas. "But it's not a reliable funding source." Simpson noted that civil asset forfeiture is uniquely bipartisan in Texas because it's a "key liberty issue." "The power of the state to take your property with no process or protection sets off some major red flags for Republicans that lean libertarian," he said. "The government shouldn't be able to take your property without some kind of robust protections." Hinojosa has been a member of the state legislature since 1981, when he was first voted into the House of Representatives, and became a state senator in 2003. Before he was elected to public office, Hinojosa worked for the Legal Aid Society of Nueces County and later as an Assistant Attorney General for the state of Texas. Hinojosa also served in Vietnam as a Marine. Texas Monthly named Hinojosa to their Best Legislators list in 2013, noting that hes helped pass several historic pieces of legislation, in addition to playing an important role in passing bread-and-butter measures like budget resolutions. He has long made a virtue of compromise, the Monthly wrote, and although his own party has occasionally been frustrated that he doesnt fight harder, the result is that the other party trusts him. U.S. Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Gil Kerlikowske left his job at the Department of Homeland Security at 12:01 p.m. on Jan. 20, just as Donald Trump was taking the oath of office. No one from the Trump team contacted him during the transition. Asked what advice he might have given if asked, he told The Daily Beast he would not weigh in on policy, but would offer operational pointers as someone who had led the agency and its thousands of agents. I would have said that anything as complex as banning people from entering requires very specific and detailed protocols to carry out at the operational level, Kerlikowske says. You have to provide this information to 24,000 CBPOs (Border and Customs officers) at over 300 ports of entry. Any emergency enactment, unless of course there is an emergency or significant threat, of a directive this complex requires careful planning and organization. Obviously that was not done. Border agents caught by surprise grappled with President Trumps ill-conceived executive order banning much travel from seven Muslim-majority countries. Lawyers raced to airports to represent stranded travelers while Trump tweeted all is going well with very few problems If the ban were announced with a one week notice, the bad would rush into our country during that week. A lot of bad dudes out there! Kerlikowske sat down with The Daily Beast for an interview the day Trump signed an executive order authorizing the wall, and he responded later by email and phone to the additional punitive measures taken by the White House against immigrants and refugees, and to the rift with Mexico. I dont know about the trade imbalance, but on immigration and migration issues, Mexico has been a very good partner, he says. The Mexican government, he notes, has stopped the practice of thousands of people hanging on the side of trains to reach the border, and theyre strengthening border enforcement with Central America, sending people back. He bristles at Trumps assertion that the border with Mexico is soft and weak. Drugs are pouring in, labeling those assertions alternative facts. He knows about the flow of drugs. He was Obamas drug czar, heading the office of National Drug Control Policy from 2009 until Obama named him Border commissioner in 2014. Contrary to what Trump says, marijuana seizures are way down now that its legal in five states, and high quality marijuana is made in America. Cocaine use is down by almost half since 2007, and people arent snapping on a backpack of heroin and crossing the border, he says. We just dont see that. Trump wants to build a wall that Kerlikowske says is not needed. Illegal immigration from Mexico is at a 40-year low, and more Mexicans return to their country than enter the United States. I often called it a border management issue, not border security, he says. A police chief in Seattle before he joined the Obama administration, Kerlikowske is a soft-spoken, just-the-facts kind of guy, who had his eyes opened on his first visit to McAllen, Texas, just days after the Senate confirmed him as Border commissioner in March 2014. Close to 68,000 unaccompanied children would come across the border that year, the overwhelming majority to escape gang violence in Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador. There was no place to put them. It was like having a front row seat at a humanitarian disaster, Kerlikowske says as he describes the scene. Children were sleeping on the floor or outdoors with nothing but thin Kevlar space blankets. Border agents were microwaving burritos and bringing in clothes from their own kids. The facilities are better now with a large warehouse to accommodate about 34,000 people, and contracts for food service and medical care. But theyre already above capacity with more than 40,000 people, he says. Theyre overcrowded and burned through the budget numbers very quickly. About 2,000 people a day come across the border, numbers that would seem to support Trumps call for a greater physical barrier to keep people out. But when you dig into the numbers, a wall is not the answer, says Kerlikowske. Trump is responding to an outdated stereotype of young, single Mexican men coming to America illegally to work, and sending money back to their families. During the campaign, Trump floated the idea of intercepting these remittances to pay for the wall. In the last fiscal year, only 87,000 of the 415,000 who crossed into the United States illegally were Mexicans. The bulk of immigration across the southwest border today comes from Central America. Unlike Mexicans caught at the border who are subject to expedited removal to a contiguous country and can be turned back, immigrants from Honduras and Guatemala and El Salvador come up to border guards in green uniforms, turn themselves in and ask for protection. They can then make a lawful claim of credible fear, which grants them a court hearing. That doesnt mean theyre given a free pass, says Kerlikowske, but theres no swiftness and no certainty to the hearing and thats unfortunate. Theres a backlog of 3 to 5 years in immigration cases, and thats the Department of Justice. It has to be fixed, he says. Its not a campaign promise to say Im going to hire more immigration judges, but thats whats needed. Trump fired the acting head of ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) the same night he fired acting Attorney General Sally Yates. People cant be detained waiting for a hearing that is years in the future, so many become part of the 11 million or more people in the country illegally. Trump won the presidency promising to disrupt the status quo with immigration at the core of his agenda. Border Patrol Chief Mark Morgan, hired just seven months ago by Kerlikowske to oversee and reform policing procedures at the border, was let go the same day that Trump signed an executive order authorizing a wall at the cost of $12 to $15 billion. The National Border Control Council, the union that represents border agents, endorsed Trump early in his campaign, and its leadership supports the wall though Kerlikowske points out that the rank and file did not vote on it. Union leaders were with Trump when he signed the executive order. They had voiced their displeasure with Morgan, a former FBI agent and the first outsider to lead the agency since it was founded in 1924. Theyre taking a lot of bragging rights for his departure, says Kerlikowske. There is fencing along one third (600 miles) of the almost 2,000-mile border. Some areas are so rugged they are considered impassable. Predator drones repurposed from Afghanistan fly along the border. During the Bush administration, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff pushed for a virtual fence. A billion dollars later, his successor, Obama Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, pulled the plug on the project after 53 miles of sensors, cameras, radar and towers in Arizona failed to make a significant impact on illegal immigration, and political support in Congress waned. With any luck, history will repeat itself. Donald Trump keeps talking about the threat from the U.S.-Mexico border. But he may be looking in the wrong direction. FBI reports reviewed by The Daily Beast reveal that far more suspected terrorists try to enter the country from the northern border with Canada than from the south. Seven FBI Terrorist Screening Center monthly domestic encounter reports dating from April 2014 to August 2016 detail the number, type, and location of encounters with known or suspected terrorists across the United States. The encounters are based on information in various watchlist databases. In all seven reports, the numbers of encounters at land border crossings were higher in northern states than southern. We are looking the wrong direction, said a senior DHS official familiar with the data. Not to say that Mexico isnt a problem, but the real bad guys arent coming from thereat least not yet. On Monday, press secretary Sean Spicer told reporters he would not disclose evidence behind the presidents claims that jihadis are pouring into the country. Im not going to get into specific information that the president has, he said. The FBI reports obtained by The Daily Beast provide data on known or suspected terrorists attempting to enter the country, or who are already in the United States. These reports show hundreds of watchlisted passengers encountered on domestic flightsmeaning they are already in the countryand a smaller percentage crossing the border over land. Those encounters are reported back to the FBIs Terrorist Screening Center and used to compile the monthly domestic encounter overview reports, which are classified Law Enforcement Sensitive. Newly installed Department of Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly traveled to Texas last week to survey the border in the Rio Grande Valley with local law enforcement. He is scheduled to testify Tuesday morning at a House Homeland Security Committee hearing on threats to the southern border. But the FBI data shows concerns about terrorists crossing into the U.S. from Canada may be a more immediate concern, or is at least worthy of considerable attention, according to border and congressional officials. We often hear about security concerns on the southern border, but bad actors intent on entering our country will always seek the path of least resistance, so we must have the necessary tools and resources to secure both the northern and southern borders, Sen. Gary Peters (D-MI) said in a statement to The Daily Beast. In August 2016, for example, more than twice as many watchlisted individuals were encountered at land border crossings in northern U.S. border states than in all states on the Mexican border combined. The reports do not say whether the land border crossings were attempts or successful entries into the United States. (Being watchlisted does not necessarily prevent you from entering the country.) The people documented in these encounters can include people holding valid visas, applying for asylum, or caught between ports of entry by U.S. law enforcement. From Aug. 1 to Aug. 31, 2016, the Terrorist Screening Center recorded 538 encounters with known or suspected terrorists in the U.S. or at its borders. That includes incidents on domestic and incoming international flights, at land and maritime border crossings, during law-enforcement investigations, at Customs and Border Protection inland checkpoints, and in the process of administrative work including vetting for visa and refugee applicants. Of those, only 68 happened at land borders. Michigan alone had 26 such encounters; New York had 17. Arizona and Texas had none at alleven Vermont and Washington state had moreand California had 19. FBI Terrorist Screening Center monthly reports from 2014 and 2015 tell a similar tale. New York, Michigan, and Washington have the most encounters with suspected terrorists at land border crossings. North Dakota and Vermont encounter one or two per month on average. The numbers at the southern border were comparatively small. In April 2014, for example, there were 12 border encounters in California and Texas combined and 17 in Washington, New York, Michigan, and Vermont. In the same month the following year, southern states reported two encounters; northern states: 18. In some months, some southern states had higher encounter numbers overall, but fewer at land border crossings. In April 2014, for example, there 141 encounters overall in California, but just five at the land borders. (New York, by contrast, had 154 overall and seven at the land border.) So often theres just talk about the southern border, but we cant ignore the northern border, Sen. Heidi Heitkamp, a North Dakota Democrat, said in a statement to The Daily Beast. When I brought then-Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security Mayorkas to Pembina, North Dakota, we heard about issues ranging from recruiting and retaining quality border patrol workers to inefficient or out-of-date technologies. (The Department of Homeland Security referred requests for comment to Customs and Border Protection headquarters, which did not respond to The Daily Beast.) Canada Embassy spokesperson Christine Constantin told The Daily Beast in a statement "it is relevant to note that no terrorists have ever been successful in attacking the United States coming through America's northern border." Constantin also highlighted "robust security measures" on the border including integrated U.S.-Canada law enforcement teams. A new threat assessment report by the Texas Department of Public Safety, released just days before Trump signed his refugee and immigration executive order, describes terrorists potential use of existing Latin American human-smuggling routes that have long transported Syrians, Iraqis, and other immigrants from countries where terrorist groups operate to our land border with Mexico, where they often seek asylum too, sometimes fraudulently. It does not say this network is currently being utilized in this fashion. (In fact, this report and others say that the more pressing issue may be terrorist sympathizers crossing the U.S. border into Mexicoa dozen of whom have been arrested over the last four yearsto evade the U.S. no-fly list as they make their way to joining ISIS overseas.) This DPS report is being widely circulated among White House and congressional policy makers close to the administration, congressional, White House, and border security officials said. And it is being relied heavily upon for immigration-related policy decisions. DHS Secretary Kelly met privately with the Texas DPS last week to discuss aspects of the report. But Aaron HeitkeU.S. Border Patrol Grand Forks sector chief patrol agent, who oversees all Customs and Border Protection activities in North Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Kansas, Missouri, Iowa, South Dakota, and Nebraskathinks all the attention to the southern border may be a bit myopic. After all, the northern border is the longest land border in the world, stretching 5,525 miles and 120 border crossings. The U.S. shares 1,933 miles with Mexico, according to information on CBPs website. In an interview with The Daily Beast, Heitke said the numbers of watchlist encounters have been consistently higher in northern states, though he said hes seen more steady numbers than the sharp uptick suggested by the nationwide FBI reporting. Its been reasonably steady, he said. He and other border sources noted that the northern U.S. hosts more large immigrant populations that often come under scrutiny by federal authorities. For example, Minneapolis has a large Somali community; it can sometimes be more convenient for a passenger traveling from Somalia to Michigan to travel to Canada first, and then cross into the United States. He also stressed that the northern border doesnt get as much overall traffic as the southern one, and border patrol efforts in the northern are aided by portions of near impossible to traverse terrain and a fantastic relationship with Canada. In contrast, a senior border official based in Texas said the increasingly hostile relationship with Mexico will only make securing that border more difficult. The official would not speak on the record, citing concerns over incurring the wrath of President Trump and the new administration from whom CBP is requesting vast increases in resources. The official was unaware of data contained in the FBI terrorist encounter reports. When asked if surprised that the number of encounters was higher on the northern border, the official said yes, a bit, before adding that this did not mean the danger of terrorists entering the U.S. from the south was any less. This official and Heitke both suggested that the attention from the president and in the press on the Mexican border could inspire an increase in future attempts to enter the country undetected through Canada. While all eyes are on Mexico the bad actors will take another look at Canada, said the DHS official. Unless youre incredibly stupid youre not going to try to sneak into the country where everyone is looking. Youd put on a coat and head to Canada. Editor's Note: This story was updated with a response from the Government of Canada. On Sunday, real house-daughter turned supermodel Gigi Hadid ruffled feathers with an incendiary Instagram story. The since-deleted video, which features the face of Reebok deliberately squinting next to a Buddha-shaped cookie, transcended the quotidian cries of she didnt eat that and drew allegations of Asian mockery and racism. Some social media critics argued that, as a religious symbol, the Buddha deserves respect in any and all incarnationseven if the Siddhartha in question is artificially sweetened. But the majority of criticism was aimed at Hadids problematic squint. While Gigi is stuck in the social media doghouse, this relatively minor scandal is chock full of silver linings. First of all, its a huge boon for Instagrams story feature. Move over, Snapchatdrunk celebrities doing dumb things are no longer exclusively your purview. Secondly, it allowed social media white knight Zayn Malik to rush to his girlfriends defense. When a Twitter user asked Malik, whose father is a Pakistani immigrant, @zaynmalik being of Asian descent, how do you feel about your girlfriend making fun of Asian people? The pop star gamely responded, trust me.. she likes asians ;). Whoever said chivalry is dead clearly isnt spending enough time on former One Direction members Twitter timelines. If anyone who has ever been enthralled by Zayn Maliks cheekbones was magically cleansed of all racial prejudice, we would live in a far more tolerant world. But while being hot for Malik is certainly relatable, it doesnt exactly excuse Gigi Hadid, whose rapid celebrity ascension has been accompanied by a bad case of the backlash bends. Hadid first came under fire in 2015 for ripping a page from the Kylie Jenner black hair for white girls playbook (patent still pending). In a cover shoot for Vogue Italia, the Palestinian-American model confusingly rocked an afro in every single shot. Between Hadids darker-than-usual tan and the wig-heavy wardrobe, it was clear where the magazine was drawing its inspiration from. What was less clear was why Vogue Italia didnt just hire a black model to embody their afro mood board. Unfortunately, that wasnt the last time that Gigi modeled cultural appropriation. During 2016 New York Fashion Week, Marc Jacobs employed a host of it girls to showcase his 80s-inspired styles, topping off their looks with pastel dreadlocks he custom-ordered from Etsy. Gigi, her sister Bella Hadid, and Kendall Jenner were among the big names who flaunted the appropriative hairstyle. White girls wearing dreadlocks is one of this worlds most pervasive sartorial crimes. And while downward dogging next to one of these cultural criminals in a yoga class might be a rite of passage, watching them stomp down a big-name runway shouldnt have to be. The cooption is even more controversial when one considers the fact that employers canand haverefused to hire people on account of their dreadlocks. The idea that black women can be legally discriminated against for their hairstyles, while models are praised for coopting those same looks on a runway, naturally rubs people the wrong way. Jacobs made the predictable backlash a whole lot worse for his team of 20-something glamazons when he clapped back with a super defensive, uninformed Instagram comment. Heres a good social media rule of thumb: if you ever find yourself remarking that its funny how you dont criticize women of color for straightening their hair, take a step back, delete your comment, and throw your iPhone in the East River. Also, read a book. Despite her tireless workout regimen, Hadid is easily winded whenever she attempts to navigate political and/or racial terrain. Last November, the social media star somehow made the American Music Awards scandalous. As part of her co-hosting duties, Hadid enthusiastically attempted to impersonate the future First Lady. Hadids not-half-bad Melania featured an over-the-top Eastern European accent and lips puckered into a duck-face. Unfortunately, her first ever foray into the world of comedy didnt land Hadid an HBO special. Instead, she was accused of enacting an offensive and racist caricature, and had to release a public apology insisting that the bit was done with no bad intent. Having grown up dodging the personality hurricanes that are the real housewives of Beverly Hills, Hadid clearly learned the hard way never to pick a side. Unfortunately, this has led to some pretty epic social media flip-flops. The 21-year-old publicly endorsed Hillary Clintons presidential run, and subsequently posted excerpts from the Secretary of States concession speech on her social media. So far, so cogent. Unfortunately, Hadid proceeded to Jekyll and Hyde her own politics, first urging the country give our new president-elect a chance, and then tweeting out a petition asking the electoral college to go rogue and instate Clinton instead. These two contradictory declarations came just one day apart. This isnt the first time Hadid has quickly stepped back from a statement. The model, whose father is Palestinian real estate developer Mohamed Hadid, once tweeted under the hashtag #FreeGaza, writing, Not for religious or political reasons, but for integrity, dignity, and humanity. Despite declaring herself Half Palestinian & proud of it, Hadid has subsequently tried to avoid overtly political statements. As two famous young people from diverse backgrounds, Zayn Malik and Gigi Hadid would be perfect poster children for a variety of political causes. Fortunately for their careersand unfortunately for any fans who like their cheekbones with a side of social conscienceHadid and Malik appear to subscribe to the Taylor Swift school of sanitized politics. While Hadid has been vocal about her support for anti-Trump demonstrations, shes restrained herself to girl power, peace on earth rhetoric. Meanwhile Malik, despite being the victim of racist and Islamophobic social media attacks, wont be leading a rally anytime soon. As someone who read every last word in Maliks 2016 photo album/memoir, I can attest that the pop star is far more vocal about his workout regimen than he is about his mixed-race background or religious upbringing. In a 2015 Fader interview, Malik emphasized that, I would never be trying to influence anything or try to stamp myself as a religious statement or portrayal of anything. When pushed about why he isnt politically outspoken, the pop star reiterated that, I just dont want to be influential in that sense. So while Gigi and Zayn certainly have a platform to promote social justice, we probably shouldnt rely on these pretty millennials to fix our problems for us. We can, however, politely ask Hadid to refrain from snapping while under the influence. Secretary of Homeland Security John Kelly told Congress on Tuesday that extreme vetting of immigrants may not be temporary and may get more extreme. Kelly said new vetting standards under consideration include asking people to hand over their social media passwordsand deny them entry if they refuse. Howre you living, whos sending you money, what websites you visitanything we can do to get a handle on who these people are, Kelly told the House Homeland Security Committee. Kelly also spoke about a recent meeting with the CEO of IBM, saying he plans for DHS to use analysis of big data and social media at the border, in vetting of refugee and visa applicants, and in other national security missions. As for the seven majority Muslim countries temporarily banned under President Trumps executive order, Kelly said the ban may continue beyond the initial 80-day review process. He suggested that some of the countries may be able to meet increased vetting standards, but those that may notmost likely those in failed states with no U.S. embassy like Yemenmay find the current ban re-upped for the indefinite future. The secretary repeatedly denied the order is a Muslim ban, saying the countries chosen are those where the U.S. does not trust the capabilities of local police and government to identify and provide records on its citizens. Kelly also responded to questions about Trumps criticism of the so-called judge who suspended the order. The retired Marine general said judges arent responsible for protecting the nation from attacks. Judges, in their world they have very academic discussions, but in their courtroom they are protected by people like me, Kelly said. And like a good soldier, Kelly repeatedly fell on his sword to take the blame for the hasty, chaotic rollout of the executive order. Lesson learned, thats on me. I shouldve slowed it down by a day, he said. I knew full well it was going to be released on Friday. I shouldve taken time to notify Congress. Aside from the executive order, Kelly said he will open a new office under Immigration and Customs Enforcement raised up to the secretary level that will provide family members of victims of crimes committed by undocumented immigrants with updates on their case. The secretary also said he would increase the number of immigration courts, which he said would act as a deterrent by showing people they will be waiting around for three or four years before being deported. Immigration courts are notoriously backlogged and unable to handle the demands at the border. Kelly also expressed an interest in closely working with Mexico in the war on drugs, which may prove difficult in light of Trumps hostile communications with President Enrique Pena Nieto. I think a huge partner here is Mexico, he said. If we can help them get after the poppy production, as an example, if we can help them get after the production labs, if we can help them get after the heroin, methamphetamine, as its moving in relatively large amounts before it gets to the border, stressing the U.S. has already lost once drugs cross the border. The only way is to go after demand, Kelly said. We dont have a drug reduction program in the United States. Its embarrassingwere not even trying, he railed. Kelly said hed like to increase the use of surveillance balloons called aerostats along the border. Rep. Filemon Vela (D-TX) asked Kelly about the focus on Mexico. The threat of terrorists exists at airports, seaports at the southern and northern border. What Im wondering [is], if were obsessing over the southern border, are we missing the boat? he asked. The largest opening and uncontrolled part of the border is the southwest border. We do a real good job at the airports. The northern borderthe good news is Canada is an unbelievable partner, Kelly responded. Not much that flows in from Canada. That assertion contradicts FBI reports obtained by The Daily Beast detailing the number of known or suspected terrorists encountered at land border crossings. The reports show higher numbers at the Canadian than Mexican border. Kelly and Texas local law enforcement who testified later in the day on Tuesday stressed the need to update technological resources on the border that could be utilized most effectively to combat border security threats including drug, human, and sex trafficking operations. Tuesdays final witness, Judge Eddie Trevino of Cameron County, Texas, said he was testifying to implore Congress to pursue other security measures than the proposed border wall. Contrary to what has been proposed, the border wall concept is ineffective and creates a false sense of security that will do nothing to alleviate the problem with the criminal element, drug cartels, gangs and other organizations looking to harm the country and our people, he said in written testimony submitted before the hearing. Instead, Trevino said the border could be secured with a virtual wall of cameras and sensors. It was Catlin Caritherss day off when he was called into work to help quell a prison riot. That day, May 20, 2012, ended up being the last day of his life. The 24-year-old was killed by inmates at the Adams County Mississippi Correctional Center, where they were rioting over what they claimed were inhumane conditions, including having just one doctor for more than 2,000 inmates. The inmates at Adams Countyall Mexican nationalshad put Carithers on a black list, private prison giant CoreCivic acknowledged in a lawsuit filed by the family. The lawsuit was eventually dismissed because Carithers chose to go into work that day, according to a judges order, amounting to wilful conduct on the part of Carithers. When Carithers and other guards tried to break up the riot, the inmates surrounded Carithers and beat him to death. Adams County is one of more than 60 prisons run by Corrections Corporation of America, the largest private prison company, or as it renamed itself in October: CoreCivic. The renaming had nothing to do with a Justice Department announcement that it would end the use of private prisons, but was simply a culmination of a multi-year strategy to transform our business from largely corrections and detention services to a wider range of government solutions, the company then said in a release. At the CoreCivic facility where Carithers died, a recent audit by the Justice Departments Office of the Inspector General found the company had understaffed the prison. The audit also found: For more than a year after the riot, Adams County had less staff than it did the day of the riot. If the Bureau of Prisons had known CoreCivic wasnt staffing Adams County at proper levels, it could have saved taxpayers almost $2 million in fees paid to the company, according to the audit. For more than 400 days between December 2012 and September 2015, just one physician was on hand to tend to the facilitys 2,300 inmates. Fore more than 700 days during that same period of time, there was only one dentist for the entire inmate population. Just four of the facilitys 367 staff members speak Spanish despite the fact that everyone locked up in Adams County are Mexican nationals. In a statement to The Daily Beast, CoreCivic said the inspector generals method for measuring staff levels has never been used before and is not based on the contract, the Bureau of Prisons staffing standards for its own facilities, or general correctional staffing best practices. Addressing other issues raised in the report, CoreCivic said: Although we continue to work to meet certain requirements, significant progress has been made regarding the recruitment and retention of facility staff and facilitation of communication at the facility, including actively recruiting more Spanish speaking staff. The safety and security of our facilities, staff, and those entrusted to our care is our top priority at Adams and every facility we operate. CoreCivics stock fell on the news that the Justice Department was moving away from privately-run prisons, but has since rebounded thanks to the election of Donald Trump. CoreCivic and other private prison companies are hopeful that Trumps promises to lock up and deport more immigrants than ever before will be kept . Trumps travel ban and other executive orders seems to indicate just that. Last month, White House press secretary Sean Spicer indicated that Americas immigration detention capabilities would only expand. Were going to create more detention space along our southern border, to make it easier and cheaper to detain [immigrants] and return them to their country of origin, he said at a Jan. 25 briefing. That could mean more facilities run by CoreCivic. If past is prologue, that also means more deadly incidents at facilities that immigrant advocates say are unsafe, understaffed, and ill-equipped for the number of inmates they already have. CoreCivic and its main competitor, GEO Group, benefit from millions of dollars in government contracts to run immigration detention centers across the country. Those facilities include six that were the subject of a detailed report compiled in December by the Southern Poverty Law Center . Unsafe drinking water, lack of adequate medical care, a reliance on solitary confinement as a means to punish inmates, and the use of rubber bullets to break up fights are just some of the allegations made. The deaths and allegedly inhumane conditions at CoreCivic facilities and other privately run prisons have been well-documented thanks to scrutiny by advocacy groups, government reports, and the media. But for the Carithers family, none of that attention has answered the questions regarding their sons death. John Wick was a better breed of action film, an extravagant orgy of vengeance and brutality that dressed up its grungy mayhem in upper-crust accoutrements. Hell-bent on murdering the Russian scumbags responsible for stealing his turbo-charged 69 Ford Mustang and killing his beloved puppy (which had been given to him as a parting gift from his dying wife!), Keanu Reevess assassin came out of retirement to wreak havoc with a level of panache rarelyif everseen in an American genre effort. Serving up a cornucopia of crushed limbs and gun-blasted craniums with breathtaking grace and inventiveness, it was an aesthetes action-cinema wet dream. Thing is, John Wick was also a self-contained effort, one that had a clear beginning, middle, and end, with no nods towardnor ostensible need fora follow-up. And yet profitably inevitably breeds progeny, so now Reevess well-dressed firearm fanatic is back in John Wick: Chapter 2, a sequel that has the unenviable task of both topping its predecessors slaughterhouse heights, as well as justifying its very existence. In a certain sense, it falls shy of that second aim, if only because this time around, Wicks motivation for unholstering his weapons isnt nearly as heartstring-tugging as the unwarranted slaying of his dog. In every other respect, however, director Chad Stahelski (working without his co-directing partner, David Leitch) provides more ritzy carnage than one could have hoped for. In the process, he cements his franchise as the rightful heir to the neo-noir thronewith, it must be said, a strong dash of superhero fantasy thrown in for good measure. John Wick 2 picks up almost directly after 2015s original, with Wick determined to recover his prized ride from the brother (Peter Stormare) of that films villain (Michael Nyqvist). Stormares quietly horrified reactions to hearing Wick raid his garage and dispatch his men are almost as amusing as the heros rampagecompleted inside and outside vehiclesis beautifully concussive. From there, Wick tries to retire again. Alas, hes soon compelledby a grenade-launcher attack on his hometo honor a blood-oath he made to Italian criminal Santino (Riccardo Scamarcio). This elegant villain apparently facilitated Wicks initial escape from his life of crime, which peaked with marriage to his late wife (Bridget Moynahan, once more relegated to brief flashbacks), and now hes come to collect on Wicks debt. Specifically, Santino wants Wick to kill his sister so he can take her seat on a council of shadowy super-bad guys. Reluctantly agreeing to this task, Wick checks in first at the American assassin hotel The Continental (run by Ian McShanes Winston), and then at its Rome branch (overseen by screen legend Franco Nero)leaving his new pit bull companion, meanwhile, in the care of The Continentals concierge Charon (Lance Reddick). As with its predecessor, John Wick 2s set-up is absurd and yet meticulously laid out, detailing an intricately arranged underground system of regulations that govern Wicks deadly trade, including the crimson fingerprint-signed marker that represents Wicks pledge to Santino. That also extends to The Bowery King (Reeves Matrix mate Laurence Fishburne, hamming it up with relish), who sees and hears everything in New York via his network of fake-bum spies and SIM card-transporting carrier pigeons. Throughout, theres an order to this chaotic eye-for-an-eye world, as well as a code of honor that stipulates that rules be followed (Without them, we live with the animals, opines Winston) lest one risk courting doom. Such tidy world-building is married to ruthlessly efficient gun-fu action in which Reevess protagonist wields his handguns, shotguns and rifles with the same sort of pitiless punchiness that he does his various blades (which get extended use in a superb subway showdown with Commons rival baddie). Whether hes being ambushed in underground catacombs by Santinos mute right-hand woman, Ares (Ruby Rose), or taking out hostiles on New Yorks crowded streets, Wick deposits ammunition in foes heads with a ruthless efficiency and composure that never wavers, even when injured and outnumbered. A long-time stuntman and fight choreographer (his first job, in fact, was doubling Reeves in The Matrix), director Stahelski orchestrates his set pieces with symphonic dynamism. The action is so creativeand Reevess rapid-fire moves are so exactingthat its the rare film to make re-loading a weapon seem thrilling. Even its colorful subtitles have style. John Wick 2 relocates traditionally down-and-dirty murder business to the realm of the 1%, imagining the underworld as a secret landscape of crystal glassware, ancient sculptures, lush lounges, magnificent bathrooms, swanky cars, and three-piece designer suits. Moreover, it treats murder as an art form-cum-delicacy. A gun salesmen (Peter Serafinowicz) is referred to as a sommelier who provides weapon suggestions based on Wicks preference for something robust, precise or big, bold. Wicks outfits are given bulletproof lining by tailors who cater to his every specification. And, highlighted by a hilarious tussle with a Manhattan violinist who apparently moonlights as a murderer, his showdowns take place amongand againstthe elite, be it at rock shows, formal galas, or ultimately an NYC modern-art museum, where hes forced to navigate a hall of mirrors exhibit known as Reflections of the Soul (which further underlines his soulful-warrior nature). He is, in short, an all-class Zen badass, and Stahelskis film is shrewd enough to routinely wink at the characters (and storys) over-the-top cartoonishness. Wick is a more ultra-violent, comic book-y variation on Alain Delons disciplined hood from Jean-Pierre Melvilles 1967 classic Le Samourai, or Chow Yun-fats hitman from John Woos 1989 gem The Killerall of them dapper criminals whose lives are defined by their quasi-spiritual adherence to ritual. Wick is repeatedly referred to as the Devil, as well as his notorious nickname, Baba Yaga (aka The Boogeyman). However, his praying-hands back tattoo, along with Stahelskis religious imagery, eventually cast him as a fallen angel who does wrong only in order to achieve good. And courtesy of a bloody wound in his side that he eventually suffers, he also comes across as a pseudo-Christ figure showering mankind with his lethal love. Reeves again embodies Wick as a no-nonsense professional who lets his trigger finger do the talking, and whos only his true, unalterable self when peppering adversaries with round after round. Now 52 years old, Reevess placid demeanor and stoic face provide the ideal cover for Wicks underlying anger, which detonates with a furiousness that the stars prior big-screen men of action (in Speed and The Matrix trilogy) never possessed. Its a performance of both poised cool and unbridled rage, as explosive and exhilarating as the scenarios in which his Wick invariably finds himself. John Wick 2 continues to prove that Stahelskis series is a superior big-screen killing machine. Bring on Chapter 3. A womans mission to find and prosecute the men who raped her while she was drunk and unconscious in a downtown San Diego apartment ended this week, after a third man was sentenced to eight years in prison for his role in her attackthe maximum term possible under California law. Fridays sentencing of Jason Berlin, 28, wraps up a years-long investigation, undertaken in large part by the victim herselfa woman whom The Daily Beast has called Claire in previous exclusive reporting on the proceedingsand concludes a first-of-its-kind case that indicted not only Berlin and two co-defendants, 27-year-olds Jonas Dick and Alex Smith, but an entire underground community of so-called pickup artists, whose techniques San Diego Superior Court Judge Jeffrey Fraser likened to a sophisticated criminal enterprise. There were many times that I wanted to give up, Claire told the Daily Beast in an interview after Berlins sentencing. Though Claire has testified at trial and spoken directly to her attackers during three different sentencing hearings, until now, she has never spoken to reporters about the incident. I thought about just burying this deep down, trying to forget about it and move on the best I could with life, she said. But knowing that there were other victims associated with these three men and the thought of countless future ones from not only them but other pick-up instructors and students, I felt I had to do my part to break the cycle. Claire was raped in October 2013, after a night of heavy drinking in San Diegos trendy Gaslamp Quarter. Alex and Jonas were working as paid instructors for a company called Efficient Pickupa private company that promised to teach rejection proof techniques for sleeping with women, delivered via online courses and in-person bootcampswhen they approached Claire and her friend outside one of the the bars at closing time. Within minutes they were escorting the women to their apartment where their student Jason Berlin was waiting. Jonas occupied Claires friend, at one point hiding her phone so she wouldnt be distracted (or able to call for help, the prosecution argued) while Claire got sick and passed out in Alexs room. Alex raped Claire, then called in Jason to do the same. When Claires friend came in to check on her, she found her naked and face-down in her own vomit. The men laughed as Claire came to and put her ripped dress back on. Before throwing the women outlike a bag of laundry, according to JasonAlex bragged, We just tag-teamed your friend. Despite calling the police from outside the apartment door, filing an immediate report, and submitting to an hours-long, invasive rape kit test, a month after Claires rape the police had made no arrests. They hadnt even questioned any of the suspects. With her case stalled, Claire began sleuthing on her own and soon located all three men online, in the shady corners of the anti-feminist Internet known as the manosphere, where pickup artists congregate. Claire found their profiles on Efficient Pickups now-defunct website as well as their postings on the forum of Real Social Dynamicsa multi-million dollar industry leader in the pickup world. She then stumbled on Alex and Jasons field reports, or personal blogs where the men, using alter-egos, blogged about their exploits. It was there Claire read two detailed accounts of her attack. Its indescribable to explain what its like to read about your own rape in journal format, Claire said in a statement at Berlins sentencing. Claire printed out the field reports, and for good measure, created an infographic for police showing in detail the relationships between her rapists, the companies they worked for, and the private blogs in which they documented their crime, and handed it all over to investigators. Police then brought Claires file to Deputy District Attorney Lisa Fox. Most report of rapes of an intoxicated or unconscious person are very difficult to prosecute, Fox told The Daily Beast. But the amount of evidence Claire provided, Fox said, was incredibly rare. A search warrant was finally issued, blood samples were taken to match against Claires rape kit, and in short order all three men were arrested. Jonas and Jason both pleaded guilty to Claires rape in 2015. Alex held that Claire had consented and went to trial in 2016, where a mostly-male jury found him guilty on two counts of rape. Both Jonas and Alex were sentenced to the maximum of eight years in prison. At Alexs sentencing in December, Judge Fraser told him, This is not a hard decision at all. In fact, if I could give you more time I would. Berlin signed on as a cooperating witness and testified at Alexs trial last year. On the stand, Jason took little blame for Claires rape, but served a purpose nonetheless, explaining to jurors the unique language and philosophies of the pickup communityinformation that Fox said was helpful in securing Alex Smiths conviction. Berlin told jurors how he paid for an apartment close to the bars for late night drunk pulls. (They called the apartment the train station.) He defined numerous words like shit tests, and resistanceterms that pickup artists use to describe a womans rejectionand detailed practices like plowing through and rinse and repeat to explain how the best pickup artists dont take no for an answer. The partnership with prosecutors was one Jason Berlin hoped would, but was not guaranteed to, result in a more lenient sentence than the ones received by his former teachers, Jonas and Alex. It did not. [Jason] pled because he wanted to get the best sentence possible, to save himself, an unmoved Judge Fraser said on Friday, before handing him the maximum. Jasons attorney Vikas Bajaj had requested probation, arguing his client had Aspergers syndrome, which makes social cues difficult to process. Mr. Berlin is about as naive as they come, Bajaj said. Fraser rejected Bajajs excuses, as well as the prosecutors recommendation of six years for Jasons testimony in Smiths trial, saying Jason had shown no remorse, and lied on the stand about Claire giving consent. I thought [Jason] was going to admit a crime, Fraser said, before remanding him to state custody to begin his sentence. Jason had been free on bond awaiting the resolution of Alexs trial. They both raped her and both laughed about it and blogged about it afterwards. This is for a woman he does not know. There was a high, high degree of callousness. He made the victim into a sex object. If he had told the truth, we would be looking at a very different sentence. In a statement read before his sentencing, Jason said he was embarrassed and ashamed for his actions, but also painted himself as a socially awkward victim of Alex and Jonas, and ultimately the pickup mindset in general. This incident occurred at a time when I was questioning my life and was very confused, Jason began. I was a workaholic and seeing success, but still felt empty. I did not have many friendships or romantic relationships as my entire life revolved around my work. Multiple people advised me to have more balance in my life and I was encouraged to work on developing my social skills. I became impatient and embarrassed when I was unsuccessful in developing friendships and relationships with women. I then made the biggest mistake of my life and began paying thousands of dollars for what I naively believed was a mentorship. I did not intend to do any harm or to take advantage of anyone. This was completely out of character for me and I assure you this will never happen again I made a big mistake and caused the victim a type of harm that no one should have to suffer and for that Im very sorry. But Jason minimized his involvement in both his testimony and his prepared statement, and still has yet to show real remorse, Deputy District Attorney Lisa Fox told The Daily Beast. To call it a mistake is such an understatement, Fox said. The people who engage in [these pickup techniques] need to know that it's not a game. And as you can see by the judges sentence, it will be taken seriously. This is rape. The bottom line is if a person cant consent because theyre intoxicated or unconsciousand thats what some of these pickup communities are teachingits rape. When you have a whole plan to go to a bar at closing time, pick up drunk women, sleep with them, and brag about it online? It really is evil to its core. Claire agreed that Judge Frasers sentencing sends a strong message, a fact that eases her mind a bit. Still, Claire said theres a part of her that feels unsettled. Since I found out about this pick-up artist community, this event has spurred a lot of discussion in and outside the seduction community. It was alarming to hear how peoplemen, women, mothers, daughters, people of all ageswere quick to blame the victim. That I shouldn't have done this or that, she said. The list of warnings to women, that they need to more careful by carrying pepper spray or learning self-defenseit both angers and saddens me. It again places the responsibility on women to "Don't get raped" when really, as a society we should be teaching, Dont rape.. But now that Berlin has been sentenced, Claire said shes looking forward to re-focusing her energy back to herself, to be free to make the transition from victim to survivor. Through with writing victim impact statements and diving down pickup community rabbit holes, Claire is looking forward to getting back to her work in the tech field and practicing self-care. But she also knows her rape and the long court battle has emotionally and physically changed herand expects to be fighting for other victims in the future. All the spare energy I've had since that terrible night has been spent on fighting for this case to be considered and battling to seek justice for not only myself, but for the other victims, both known and unknown, and for any future ones, Claire told The Daily Beast. But I will continue the fightto bring awareness of this pick-up artist industry, support causes and organizations to keep other men that follow the same methods as Alex Smith, Jonas Dick, and Jason Berlin off the streets, and to continue to console and empower other victims to have their voices heard and seek justice. PARIS If Vladimir Putins keyboard commandos are hoping to hack up French presidential elections the way they did Americas, they are, well, a little off their game. And their more-than-willing tool, Julian Assange, the Australian anarchist who brought us WikiLeaks, appears to be getting a little antsy. Its been a week or so since Assange announced he had pirated cables and emails about the three most prominent candidates, but nobody in France paid muchor anyattention. The cables were old, had been well sifted in the past, and there were other much bigger, fresher, and sexier scandals emerging from more conventional sources. So Russias state-subsidized news sites tried to give Assange a boost. Sputnik, straining to write something entertaining about such a non-story, cobbled together a piece on Feb. 2 from various Twitter feeds mocking those who suggested the latest WikiLeaks announcement was part of a Russian democracy-disrupting conspiracy like the alleged one that made U.S. President Donald Trumps election resemble a bad serialized version of The Manchurian Candidate.WikiLeaks vs. French Presidential Hopefuls: Who is the real Kremlin Agent? read the headline. The conclusion, of course, none of the above. But in the days since, its begun to look more and more as if Assange, at least, wants rather desperately to sway the elections, which are now three months away, and hes doing his best to focus his leaks on the candidates most likely to face far-right-wing populist nationalist Marine Le Pen in the final showdown for the French presidency. Assanges most recent foray was an interview with Izvestia claiming he had very interesting material about independent candidate Emmanuel Macron, which he found in wait for it, Hillary Clinton emails. Again, the Russian press was all over that vague threat, with the French-language RT and Sputnik feeds playing it big. But the actual French press? Not so much, or not at all. The whole thing was more a squib than a supernova, but its still worth examining. Why would Assange and his Russian friends be so keen on helping Le Pen, even when they dont have much to show? Because, like Trumpor, more accurately, like his adviser Steve BannonLe Pen wants to bring the old political system crashing down and replace it with little more than nostalgia, her cronies, the police, and Putin. In 2014, she not only got loans from a bank controlled by the Russian state when French institutions refused to lend to her, but she and members of her party went out of their way to countenance Putins forced annexation of Ukraines Crimean Peninsula. In fact, Le Pen hardly knows when to stop gushing about Russia, even insisting it was the United States that started the Cold War, and forever portraying poor Putin as the victim of all kinds of Western aggressions. (To be fair, we know about the Russian loan because somebody not connected with WikiLeaks hacked the accounts of Le Pens associates back in 2014. Dirty tricks in cyberspace come from all directions.) If the populist wave represented by Brexit and Trump continues, then Le Pen and other candidates in this years European electionsnotably in the Netherlands and Germanycould wind up benefitting from Putin/Assange support while working with the Trump administration to disrupt or destroy the European Union as we know it, and fatally weaken NATO. All that would tickle Putin pink, and its not an implausible scenario. In an orgy of moral equivalence, weve heard the man Trumps sending to Brussels as ambassador to the European Union making a glib comparison to the Soviet Union and its demise. And, of course, we heard Trump himself in his pre-Super Bowl interview with Bill OReilly of Fox News defending Putins record as, in OReillys words, a killer. There are a lot of killers. Weve got a lot of killers. What do you think, our countrys so innocent? was Trumps now-infamous quote, suggesting that a man whose military carries out scorched-earth campaigns against civilians in his own country and in Syria, and whose opponents keep winding up poisoned or shot, has a lot in common with previous U.S. administrations. Nicolas Henin, author of La France Russe, predicted this sort of argument from Kremlin cronies. Its 1984typical Putin newspeak, to borrow a word from 1984 . As Henin told The Daily Beast bluntly, He will do shit and try to make people believe the shit we do is because you do shit, too. After the United States, France is key to the Kremlins hopes to break the unity and discredit the ideals of the West. Le Pen wants to weaken the EU dramatically, or pull out of it altogether. And Le Pen is the key to France. Conventional wisdom and opinion polls (for whatever theyre worth) have predicted consistently that Le Pen will take first place in the first round of voting on April 23, and the rest of the fieldfour candidates at leastwill be fighting over the crumbs. Whoever takes second place, even by a fraction of a percentage point, will then enter the run-off on May 7. When Assange first started trying to play up his old cables, he talked about 3,630 that mentioned conservative candidate Francois Fillon, but that was hardly surprising since Fillon was prime minister for five years and heads of government tend to get mentioned a lot. Until recently, Fillon was considered the front-runner with the highest likelihood of making it into the sudden-death second round. And as it happens, Fillons public posture strongly supports close relations between Paris and Moscow. But nothing like as strongly as Le Pens. Assange also noted that he had some emails from former Hillary Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta, among others, talking about the Le Pen familys political dynasty with its anti-immigrant stance and in the case of Marines father, Jean-Marie Le Pen, thinly veiled anti-Semitic rhetoric. But in the current French political context, that will do her no harm. And Sputnik couldnt resist quoting one of the emails that she probably finds flattering: The Le Pen are very close relatives of Trump, although they are much better educated. By the time Assange gave his interview to Izvestia this week, the political landscape had changed. A series of reports in the venerable satirical and investigative weekly Le Canard Enchaine revealed that Fillon had put his wife, Penelope, and two of his sons on the public payroll as parliamentary assistants, allowing them to earn about $1 million over the years without doing any clearly defined jobs. Note that this is not illegal in France, but the staunchly Catholic Fillon had campaigned as a paragon of integrity while promising to do away with the jobs of 500,000 public employees, so his candidacy is now in very deep trouble. In a lengthy press conference Monday, Fillon apologized for his actions, saying that times have changed and what once was acceptable no longer is. But he vowed to stay in the race unless hes actually indicted by the court thats looking into whats now known, inevitably, as Penelopegate. Le Pen has some similar troubles. The European Parliament, where she is a member, has demanded she give back some $400,000 it paid to two of her associates who allegedly were not working for the parliament, but for her political party. She has simply refused, and, as with Trump, seems virtually immune to corruption charges, at least for the moment. Meanwhile, wildly unpopular Socialist President Francois Hollande is not running for reelection, but his party is in sad shape and despite some momentum for its newly named candidate, the far-left and bright green candidate Benoit Hamon, it seems to have no prayer. Meanwhile on the far far left, the Socialists faint first-round dreams are being eroded by independent Jean-Luc Melenchon. Which now leaves the field open for 39-year-old independent center-of-center candidate Emmanuel Macron, the wunderkind investment banker at Rothschild and former economy minister under Hollande who is gaining support from both disillusioned center-left Socialists and uncomfortable former Fillon backers. Macron has now edged ahead in the polls, which show him grabbing second place in the first round, and potentially crushing Le Pen in the second. Already she is defining her campaign as one of patriots versus globalists and says she believes Macronwhom she calls a convinced globalist, and who is also a Europeanist, and generally friendly to the United States but not Trumpis her most likely opponent. In this election year, anything is possible, and eventually Macrons youth and enthusiasm (some call it exaltation) on the public stage may not be to the taste of most French voters. Fillon, hanging tough, could make a comeback. But its a fair guess that Le Pen will remain the Putin favorite, and Moscow and its useful tools like Assange will do whatever they can to get her elected. The Queen has long lived by the motto that she needs to be seen to be believed, and today she let it be known that she is fit and well after a worrying illness by striding in front of photographers onto a train taking her back to London from the county of Norfolk, where her country retreat, Sandringham, is located, in a vibrant green coat. The official pitch was that the Queen was simply bringing to an end her extended Christmas holiday (her stay in the country was lengthened to allow her to completely recover from what the palace repeatedly described as a heavy cold) but there was a certain circle-squaring symbolismof which Her Majesty is unlikely to have been unawarein her choice of a railway station attended by snappers to make the unilateral declaration that she is back. After all, the national panic about her health was set off when, a few days before Christmas, the Queen failed to show at the last minute for her train journey to Sandringham at a London railway station packed with press photographers. The rail journey to Sandringham is an established royal tradition, with the resulting photographs a time-honored cornerstone of Fleet Streets Christmas coverage. The cancellation was badly handled, with a three-hour information vacuum causing many to fear the worse. The Queen subsequently flew to Sandringham by helicopter the following day, but that did little to persuade many reporters on the royal beatincluding this onethat 2016 did not have one more big scalp to claim. Fears for the Queens health were compounded when the heavy cold saw her forced to cancel her Christmas Day church attendance, for the first time in memory. On December 30, Buckingham Palace was forced to deny rumorsspawned onlinethat she had died. The Queen next failed to appear at church on New Years Day due to her illness. Today, the dark whispers of the past few weeks concerning the Queens health were consigned to history as she clambered unaided aboard the train and settled back in her seat to read the newspaper as the locomotive chugged its way to the capital, where the Queen will now be based for the next few months as she resumes a full schedule of engagements and activities. The journey to London came the day after one of the most sensitive days in the Queens royal calendar, February 6, the anniversary of the Queens fathers death 65 years ago. Sometimes referred to as Accession Day, the Queen likes to spend the day privately. While the event is often noted in somewhat celebratory termsthe accolades were more prominent than usual this year, as the day marked the Queens Pearl (65th) anniversary on the thronefor her it remains simply the day her father died, and there is nothing for her to rejoice in. George VI died very young he was just 56 when he perished from lung cancer but it is clear from todays events that the Queen must be considered increasingly likely to live for many years hence. Her mother, let us not forget, was 101 at her death. Prince Charles, now 68, has been the heir apparent for longer than any royal heir in history. On the basis of todays bravura performance by his mother, he may be waiting a while yet to take the reins of power. Ten miles south of Disputanta, Virginia, on Route 460 theres a nut-shaped sign advertising Molasses, Hams, Peanuts in front of the unassuming Adams Peanuts and Country Store. When I head down to North Carolinas Outer Banks I always take a roundabout route to pass by Adams. Why? Right at the front door there are crates brimming with salted and smoked cuts of pork. While my son lingers over the display case full of pocket knives and grabs us a couple of cold Dr. Peppers, I gather hog jowls. Country cured and smoked until they are as dark as mahogany, these luscious, fatty triangles are tremendously good. When I lived outside of the South, a visit to Adams was anxiety inducing. I would suddenly find myself worrying about when I might have time to make another trip to the store. Would it be a full year? Would I be able to dash off to peanut country over the Christmas holidays and sneak in the purchase of a few pounds of bacon? Food anxiety leads to over purchasing the way that hunger leads to overeating, and Id find myself stacking five or six jowls on the old counter next to my little bag of peanut squares. A few times, I couldnt resist the urge to hoard even though my pantry at home was still stocked with my previous purchases. Ironically, my anxiety of having a scarcity led to an abundance of hog jowls, which then led to me using them in new and inventive ways. They still seasoned my beans and greens, they still showed up in soups and stews, but one day, holding a can of San Marzano tomatoes, I wondered: Why not hog jowl allAmatriciana? One of the simplest red sauces, allAmatriciana is usually made with the salted, cured jowls called Guancialethey are similar, but they arent smoked. The original dish has a subtlety that these smoked jowls certainly stomp all over, but theres something to be said for the big, brash flavor and the recipe has been in solid rotation in my house ever since. Soon enough, these jowls freed me from a range of supposed kitchen norms and I began to rethink a lot of my recipes. It was a logical jump to create a stock for ramen from hunks of country ham. At first, I thought the crossover appeal was limited to pork but then I saw a lot of traditional Southern ingredients in my local Virginia farmers market in a vastly differently light. To make sure, I wasnt going crazy, I called celebrity chef Vivian Howard, of North Carolinas famed Chef & The Farmer. If you live where you live, or where I live, you probably dont have access to the ingredients that would make a good dashi broth without involving Amazon, she reminded me. Youre trying to cook something out of your pantry, and this is what you have. Her cookbook, Deep Run Roots, is big and beautiful. Its basically been open on my kitchen counter ever since I got it. It is a meditation on the rural Southern community where she is from, but it doesnt get bogged down in artificial notions of authenticity. The traditions she celebrates are certainly regional, but they are from her family and friends, and purposely shy away from the strictures of the old church and junior league cookbooks, and instead highlight the idiosyncrasies of individual habits and tastes. (Maybe her time cooking in New York restaurants helped her develop this interesting perspective.) The book makes me think and it makes me hungry. In her opinion adding foods from different traditions makes it familiar, and can tell the story of the place. And Howard stretches the roles of traditionally southern ingredients with a confident freedom that yields excellent results. Shes even made dolmades out of collard greens. Right now we have a lot of cabbage in the kitchen, and were using it to top the Japanese pancakes okonomiyaki, she mentions off handedly. Adding everything on it is from North Carolina. We then started talking about her turnip greens with parmesan pot liquor and ricotta cornmeal dumplings. She told me that the dumplings were like a gnudi, the cornmeal roots the dish and adds texture. How does it taste? Her recipe tester says the dish looks like matzo ball soup had a Christmas party. My advice? Add some pork jowl to the dish. Hog Jowl all Amatriciana Ingredients: 4 oz Smoked pork jowl or high-quality bacon1 Onion, chopped1 pinch Red pepper flakes28-ounce can San Marzano tomatoes1 pound Bucatini1 pinch Black pepper.5 cup Pecorino cheese Directions: Slice the jowl into strips, and drop those lardons into a heavy saucepan over moderate heat. After the strips are crisp and the fat is rendered, remove the jowls and set them aside. Add a chopped onion and some flakes of red pepper. While the onions sweat, drain and chop a 28-ounce can of tomatoes and then slide them into the pan. Add the bucatini (or whatever pasta you like) to the mixture and stir. Then add the jowls back into the pan and crack some black pepper over it, and stir in the pecorino cheese. The whole dish takes 30 minutes. A friend of mine once exclaimed, in much more vibrant language than Ill write here, that it was as if barbecue and spaghetti got together and made a baby. Watch out for the salt level and be sure to taste the sauce before you add any more salt. Combating terrorism and extremism is an urgent national and global imperative. We should know. In our capacities as the director and advisory board member for the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at California State University, San Bernardino, which is dedicated to the study of bigotry and terrorism, we dedicate significant portions of our professional and intellectual energies to tracking the problem and working toward various solutions. In that capacity we feel duty bound to point out the serious practical, logical, and legal flaws in President Trumps recent executive order, titled Protecting the Nation from Foreign Terrorist Entry into the United States. The essence of the order, and the source of most of its deepest flaws, is found in its sweeping and all-encompassing nature. It virtually shuts the door on refugees, halting the refugee program for the next four months, and capping the total number of all refugees accepted into the United States this year at 50,000. It indefinitely bans any and all Syrian refugees from entry. It also bans almost all entry by citizens of seven Muslim-majority countries: Iran, Iraq, Sudan, Somalia, Yemen, Libya, and Syria, for at least 90 days. No exception is made for children or the elderly, the sick or the suffering, family members of Americans, or virtually any other extenuating or humanitarian circumstances. This draconian travel ban even originally applied to U.S. permanent resident green card holders, who would have been cut off from their homes, families, and jobs here at home. A political outcry, and the evident illegality of that provision of the order, brought a quick reversal. But it still applies to a vast range of individuals who obviously pose no threat, have already been subject to the rigorous, and indeed extreme vetting that refugees, and particularly people trying to come to the United States from the designated countries, are already subjected to. The Pentagon is trying to secure exceptions for translators and others who served, often in combat, with the U.S. military in war zones, pointing out that this is the most extreme vetting imaginable. The order, because it is so sweeping and all-inclusive, makes no sense as a counterterrorism policy, because it treats countless millions of people as a pool of potential terrorists and assumes that U.S. government institutions cant make rational and accurate judgments that certain visitors simply arent dangerous. Many Americans may assume that banning entry to all citizens of those seven countries will make us safer. There simply is no valid reason to think that. As a candidate, Trump argued for a complete ban of the entry of all Muslims, originally including American citizens. He did that in the immediate aftermath of, and directly citing, the horrifying terrorist attack in our centers hometown, San Bernardino. The problem is, the culprits were a U.S.-born American citizen and his Pakistani-born wife (who was a permanent resident). In neither case would either of them have been affected in any way by any part of Trumps new order. Moreover, since before Sept. 11, 2001, no deadly terrorist actions in the United States committed by terrorists have been committed by any citizens of the designated countries. So not only does the order exclude countless blameless individuals who have every reason, and in many cases a moral right, to come to our country; it wouldnt have excluded or thwarted a single person who has committed a deadly terrorist act in the past 15 years, including all 19 perpetrators of the 9/11 attacks. For those of us in, or deeply connected to, San Bernardino, and especially who additionally specialize in trying to combat extremism and terrorism, it is particularly galling and painful to see our own tragedy being cynically exploited to justify a policy that doesnt address any aspect of that atrocity, or any other terrorist attack committed in our country in living memory. As Ryan Reyes, who lost his partner in the attack, protested, I find it disgraceful that (Trump is) doing it because of (his) agenda. Dont hide behind someone elses tragedy. The San Bernardino killers did have a huge stockpile of weapons and ammunition. Arguably, stricter gun control legislation coupled with common sense visa waiver reforms might have addressed two aspects of their terrible crime. But the presidents new order simply doesnt do that. As Trenna Meins, who lost her husband, Damien, in the horror, told us: I understand what were trying to do, but taking drastic steps without planning is not effective to accomplish the goal of securing America. We strongly agree that it is appropriate to carefully and thoroughly screen all, and even prohibit some, would-be visitors, immigrants and refugees from countries that are hotbeds of extremism, designated state sponsors of terrorism or ravaged by war. But that already is in place, as ability of the existing procedures to prevent violent extremists from entering our country and killing people amply demonstrates given the relative paucity of such incidents. Of course, every single act of violence is unacceptable, and all reasonable measures to strengthen border security and immigration procedures are to be welcomed, particularly as conditions change. But most of the provisions in this order are unreasonably sweeping, and are likely to be far more counterproductive than helpful in the fight against terrorism. To take just one example, we have just labeled all 38 million people of Iraq a pool of undifferentiated potential terrorists unwelcome in our country because we lack the ability to tell if any of them might not be dangerous lunatics. But these are the exact same people we are relying upon as our primary ground forces and principal allies in President Trumps own foreign policy highest priority of defeating the so-called Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS). The order bars entry of not merely suffering Syrian men, women, and children, but also the very Iraqis we are asking to fight and die in what amounts to our most important war. People who have known and worked with our military for years, who are the biggest enemies and the greatest victims of ISIS and other terrorist groups, are all thrown into the same category as their enemies and victimizers by this reckless proclamation. We know this first hand as one of our young criminal justice students, an Iraqi refugee himself, recounted this week how the brutality he experienced in Iraq shaped his view of his new home: I would die for this country because this country gave me the education and fundamental freedoms that most Iraq refugees would risk their life for. How do we imagine others will now react, and how will these new policies shape their view of us? And why should we care? To ask those questions is to answer them. Radical Islamist terrorist groups, on the other hand, will be delighted, finding in the order written confirmation of their narrative about Islamophobic American policies and a hatred of all Muslims by Americans and the West. Those claims just got much harder to refute. So, if this doesnt make any sense from a counterterrorism perspective, what informs it? Unfortunately, President Trumps own rhetorical history suggests a strong bias against Muslims. So does that of his national security adviser, Michael Flynn. His chief adviser, Stephen Bannon, has a long history of wide-ranging bigotry and white ethno-nationalist demagoguery, and, while all presidents have a right to the advisers of their choice, it is deeply alarming that Trump has placed Bannon at the center of policy-making in the National Security Council. Bannon is also a leading promoter of Islamophobic hate-speech, something former CIA director David Petraeus warned will compound the already grave terrorist danger to our citizens. The order itself is not exactly a Muslim ban, because it applies only to refugees and the citizens of seven countries. But it is clearly discriminatory and anti-Muslim in both its intentions and impact. Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, a key Trump adviser, recently explained to an interviewer that Trump asked his campaign to find a way to make his proposed Muslim ban legal despite constitutional prohibitions against religious discrimination. This is, in effect, what they came up with. The greatest fear is that if these policies become entrenched and extended they will be a first step. More countries can be added, smaller numbers accepted, and the walls of fear and the moats of hatred surrounding Trumps dystopian new Fortress America will slowly begin to turn us into everything our worst enemies have, until now completely falsely, accused us of being. It is a moral and political tragedy, a legal and constitutional sleight of hand, and a counterterrorism disaster. Brian Levin is the director of the Center for the Study of Hate & Extremism and professor of criminal justice at California State University, San Bernardino. Hussein Ibish is an advisory board member of the center. PolitiFact has just seen an unexpectedly large surge of fundraisingand it largely has President Donald J. Trump to thank for it. On the week of Trumps inauguration, the popular, Pulitzer Prize-winning news fact-checking website operated by the Tampa Bay Times, launched a new membership and crowdfunding program dubbed the Truth Squad. The aim was to raise $100,000 in 2017. The team behind the fundraising push was hoping to hit, if they were lucky, 20 percent of that target by the end of a month of crowdfunding. It took them 16 days to surpass $100,000, The Daily Beast has learned, and employees are widely viewing this as an unintended consequence of Trumps rise to power. We wanted to launch this program, we had never done stuff like this before, Emily Wilkinson, the sites business development director who helped devise the crowdfunding strategy, said. She noted that PolitiFact had done one-off Kickstarter pushes before, in 2014 and 2015. The latter was to pay for an immigration reporter during the 2016 presidential race. We decided [that] could be a more reliable long-term source of financial stability if we did something in-house, so we launched the Truth Squad, she continued. Wilkinson said she was surprised by how quickly they managed to reach their year-long goal, and that they received roughly 1,000 individual donations in those initial 16 days. According to Wilkinson, the average one-time payment was $55, and the average month-to-month contribution was $15. The largest single donation they received was $600, she says. The contributions are still rolling in, Wilkinson adds. Other outlets and organizations have seen recent spikes in subscribers and donations as a direct result of the fear that Trumps policies bring. The ACLU announced that it had racked up $24.1 million in the same weekend that the civil-liberties group and its allies successfully challenged in court parts of Trumps immigration and refugee ban. (The ACLU typically raises about $4 million in online donations in a whole year.) National publications that have drawn Trumps ire (including The New York Times, which Trump dissed as supposedly failing) have seen record increases in subscriptions. Planned Parenthood saw a significant spike in donations, as did environmental nonprofits. These were viewed across the board as mostly small-money donors and average citizens rushing to open their wallets to activists and journalists who could hopefully act as an effective check on the excesses of a Trump administration. PolitiFact, which partners with The Daily Beast through PunditFact, has of course been busy fact-checking Trump and the other 2016 candidates. Now, the sites reporters and editors (like virtually everyone else in news media) have their work cut out for them as they confront the new administration that has an intentionally slippery grasp on the truth, and utter disdain for any fact-checker or journalist who is anything but subservient. When asked if she thought PolitiFacts recent fundraising uptick was a result of anti-Trump sentiment among donors, Wilkinson gently deflected. Our reputation relies on us being unbiased as humans can possibly be, she said. We didnt want it [to be interpreted] as an attack against Trump. She added that the fundraising push wasnt about only keeping President Trump accountable, but also Congress, the opposition, and so forth. However, reporters working for PolitiFact know exactly whats behind the fundraising surge. Of course its because of Trump, a journalist who works for PolitiFact who asked not to be named told The Daily Beast, right before messaging a champagne emoji, and then a money-bag emoji. People know the work we do, and there is no one in need of fact-checking more than Donald Trump, another reporter said. We wont be going out of business any time soon with Trump as president, is one thing that is clear. Donald Trumps file over at PolitiFact is predictably rife with lies, with his scorecard showing 19 percent of statements as mostly false, 33 percent as straight-up false, and 17 percent in the severe Pants on Fire classification. Trump was also awarded the websites 2015 Lie of the Year award for his various campaign misstatements. But as we now know, all the fact-checking in the world, at PolitiFact and elsewhere, didnt help sink Trump. After the long, brutal campaign of lies and controversy and outrages, Trump is still leader of the free world. Still, its not as if all the aggressive reporting had no effect on Trump. After all, he enters his first term as a historically unpopular president. And now that Trumps habit of mangling the truth has made it rain for PolitiFact, the team has even more resources to gear up for the remainder of the Age of Trumpan era of American politics that is shaping up to look willfully post-truth. Sometimes a blatant disregard of facts is something PolitiFact can combat, Wilkinson said. And our readers respond well to that. Theres plenty to dislike about the White House Correspondents Association Dinner, a century-old institution that has lately come under fierce fire now that Donald Trump is president of the United States. Vanity Fair and The New Yorkerwhich have bought tables and hosted hot-ticket parties pegged to correspondents dinners pastlast week announced their non-participation in this years April 29 event; other organizations will likely follow suit. Yet despite aesthetic and even principled objections to this annual rite of spring, the dinner continues to serve a valid journalistic interest. Journalism can frequently be a messy enterprise. And if theres a certain ambiguity of purpose to the much-derided dinner, Reuters White House correspondent Jeff Mason said he feels in no danger of being corrupted by it. Its about an opportunity to lift up good journalism, celebrate up-and-coming journalism, and celebrate the First Amendmentthats what well be doing this year, said Mason, current president of the White House Correspondents Association which hosts the dinner, noting that it will raise around $120,000 in scholarships for deserving reporters-in-training. And we do encourage our member organizations to bring as many journalists as they can, because thats what the dinner is about. Its also about giving journalists a chance to visit with the sources they cover. Its hardly a shock that New Yorker editor David Remnick, who didnt respond to request for comment, would pull out; he has called Trumps election nothing less than a tragedy for the American republic, a tragedy for the Constitution, and a triumph for the forces of nativism, authoritarianism, misogyny, and racism. Vanity Fairs Graydon Carter, who attributed his dinner embargo not only to an aversion to Trump but also his wish to go fishing, emailed: I polled the senior staff and the decision was unanimous. Washington Post media columnist Margaret Sullivan, citing Trumps disparagement of the news media as Enemy No. 1, has called for the dinner to be canceled altogether. In her Sunday column, she likened journalists who show up for this particular president to the abused wife who sends the cops packing, puts a little extra makeup over her bruises and hopes things will get better soon. Mason, for one, bristled at Sullivans column, although he politely declined to slam her arguments directly. It would not be appropriate for me to say what I think about Margaret Sullivans column before I share it with her, he said. She didnt even reach out to me. I didnt really think that is in line with the standards of journalism that she normally wishes people to uphold. So I was very surprised not to have heard from her ahead of time. John Harris, publisher and editor in chief of Politico, argued that the dinner is actually beside the point. My view is that the dinner has taken on exaggerated importance in the eyes of many and the questions about this years event may be just the latest manifestation of that exaggerated importance, Harris said in an email to The Daily Beast. The job of the news media is to illuminate public officials and hold them accountable on behalf of our audience, Harris added. We dont need any presidents blessingnot this one, or the past one, or the next oneto do that. Thats how we defend our values and live up to our responsibilities. Attending the dinner has nothing to do with that, nor does skipping it. The National Journals George Condon, whos writing a definitive history of the White House Correspondents Association, pointed out: If we canceled the dinner every time you had a president who was unhappy with the press, or was hostile to the press, we would have canceled many of the dinners in the last 100 years. Every president is unhappy with the press, although President Trump is much more vocal and more personal in his attacks. But that doesnt affect whether you have the dinner, because it doesnt mean were honoring or validating everything a president says. Natural Resources Defense Council spokesman Ed Chena former Los Angeles Times White House reporter and, like Condon, a onetime president of the Correspondents Associationsaid: I am really torn about it. I personally am absolutely going to boycott the dinner because of Trumps views on two of the issues I care the most aboutwhich are a free and independent press and environmental protection. He could not be worse on either one of those. But, that said, if Im a reporter, Chen continued, Id be pretty tempted to go, because at the end of the day, it is about schmoozing and solidifying and making contacts in ways that can be useful in your job. If youre sitting next to a Cabinet secretary or a senior West Wing official, you have that much more time to establish a rapport with that person, and that can only help, rather than hurt. None of the above is intended to minimize the nasty bits. For the journalists, elected and appointed officials, lobbyists, advertisers, and celebrities who don monkey suits and cocktail dresses to walk the red carpet and sit like canned sardines among nearly 3,000 attendees in the Washington Hiltons basement ballroomnever mind the pre- and after-partiesits an interminable evening of bad food and excessive alcohol that inevitably prompts self-hate in the morning. For those watching on C-SPAN, the optics are terrible: nominal tribunes of the First Amendment joining government employees, Hollywood actors, and the odd Kardashian in a tribal desecration that mixes self-abasement with the self-celebration. As Dean Baquet, executive editor of The New York Times, said in a text message, It is an unseemly spectacle in my view. In the early years of the Obama administration when Baquet was the Timess Washington bureau chief, he decreed a boycott of the event that remains in effect. Over time, of course, the event has been increasingly overwhelmed by the presence of entertainers and Hollywood D-listers. Somewhere along the line, it began to freewheel out of control, former NBC Nightly News anchor Tom Brokaw said in an interview with Politico. And for me the breaking point was Lindsay Lohan [who attended the 2012 dinner]. She became a big star at the White House Correspondents Dinner. Give me a break. Thats the Washington press corps? I mean, there was more dignity at my daughters junior prom than there is in what Im seeing on C-SPAN here. Brokaw, who attended these dinners for around four decades, has stopped going, and urges others to do the same. And yet, however satisfying and heartwarming such gestures might be to those who make them, they could ultimately be self-defeating. Its a dinner, Condon said. Its a chance for one night a year to sit there and maybe get to know officials or sources better. Wisconsin officially ended its exclusion of transgender-inclusive health benefits for state employees on Jan. 1, 2017. Alina Boyden, a transgender graduate student at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, put in her request for sex reassignment surgery the next business day. But less than a month later, the state effectively said never mind. In a press release dated Feb. 1, the Wisconsin Department of Employee Trust Funds (ETF) announced that the state had reinstated the previous exclusion in its employee health plan on any procedures, services, and supplies related to surgery and sex hormones associated with gender reassignment, effective immediately. Boydens surgical requeststill unfulfilledis now pointless. I could argue medical necessity but they still wouldnt cover it because theyll say its an exclusion of the plan, she told The Daily Beast. Sometimes you cant win. The return of the exclusion was first reported by the Wisconsin State Journal, which has been tracking the states stance on transgender health care for several months. Last July, the 11-member Group Insurance Boardhoused within the ETFvoted unanimously to remove the exclusion on benefits and services related to gender reassignment or sexual transformation, according to meeting minutes (PDF). ETF lawyers had recommended that the exclusion be removed in order to bring Wisconsin into compliance with an Affordable Care Act provision known as Section 1557later clarified by a May 2016 Obama administration rulethat prohibits discrimination in health care on the basis of transgender status. Most major medical associationsincluding the American Medical Association and the American Academy of Family Physiciansalso support transgender health care. But Wisconsin governor Scott Walker moved quickly to have the exclusion reinstated. In August, Wisconsin joined Texas, Nebraska, Kentucky, and Kansas in a multi-state lawsuit against the Obama administration over the May 2016 rule. That same month, Wisconsin Deputy Attorney General Andy Cook also sent the Group Insurance Board a five-page memo urging them to reconsider their decision to lift the exclusion. (That memo was sent at Governor Walkers request, as the Wisconsin State Journal later reported.) The former tactic ended up workingat least, for the time being. On Dec. 31 of last year, a federal judge in Texas issued a temporary injunction against the Affordable Care Act regulation. But the afternoon before that preliminary injunction was issued, the Group Insurance Board held what the Wisconsin State Journal called an unusual special meeting. At that meetingwhich was closed to the public for over three hours, as the meeting minutes show (PDF)the Group Insurance Board laid the groundwork for the reinstatement of the transgender health care exclusion, specifying conditions for its return, including a future court ruling on the subject. The injunction conveniently satisfied that condition the next day. From what I could tell, they tried to do everything under the radar so to speak, which seemed incredibly fishy, Violet Byrns, a local LGBT activist who attends the Madison Area Transgender Association group, told The Daily Beast. Byrns, who was present for the mere 13 minutes of the Dec. 30 meeting that were open before it was closed to the public, called the preemptive move a slap in the face to the trans community. When asked why the Group Insurance Board would convene prior to the Texas judges final decision, ETF communications director Mark Lamkins told The Daily Beast that the meeting was held in anticipation of the courts injunction before January 1 when benefits were effective for the new plan year. The sudden reinstatement of the transgender health care exclusion has already scuttled at least one state employees health care plans besides Boydens. CV Vitolo-Haddad, a transgender communication doctoral student at the University of Wisconsin-Madison who prefers to go by the gender-neutral pronoun they, told The Daily Beast that they were on their third week of waiting for surgical pre-authorization when the exclusion went back into effect this month. They had started preparing for this surgery all the way back in September. There was very little warning or respect for those of us who had begun the process, Vitolo-Haddad, who also directs the schools debate team, told The Daily Beast. Vitolo-Haddad was also in attendance at the fateful Dec. 30 meeting. I watched a board of individuals, none of them transgenderas far as I knowrip my health care out from under me, they recalled. How can I feel anything other than worthless? There are still no estimates for the number of people who have been impacted by the reinstatement of the exclusion. According to Lamkins, the ETF is still compiling data on the utilization of the states transgender benefits in January. (Boyden was one of two clients represented by the ACLU of Wisconsinthe other being transgender University of Wisconsin-Madison researcher Shannon Andrewswho had filed complaints with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission over the exclusion.) But however many transgender state employees and dependents there are in Wisconsin, they wouldnt have cost the state very much money. As the Wisconsin State Journal reported, a state consultant estimated the annual cost of covering transgender people under the plan to range from $100,000 to $250,000 annuallyless than two-tenths of 1 percent of the health program budget at most. As The Daily Beast has previously reported, transgender health care benefits tend to have very low program costs, according to data collected in both the public and private sector. Wisconsins reinstatement of the exclusion comes on the heels of a similar decision made by the University of Arkansas system. Because the Texas injunction temporarily prevents the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services from enforcing the Section 1557 regulations, the University of Arkansas system announced last month that it would be suspending transgender-inclusive health benefits in March. That decision also threw transition plans up in the air, as The Daily Beast reported last week. For transgender state employees in Wisconsin, there is no telling whenor ifthe benefits will return, short of federal action or a future court decision. On behalf of the ETF, Lamkins told The Daily Beast, At this time, the Group Insurance Board does not have a condition in place to reverse or reconsider the exclusion. But while the ACLU of Wisconsin evaluates its next course of action, Boyden has vowed to keep fighting however she can. I made a promise that I wasnt gonna stop until no other state employee in Wisconsin had to put up with [this], she told The Daily Beast. So Im going to keep going until I fulfill that promise. Special Report: Bottling lines Bottling whisky may seem an entirely practical process, being automated and computerised. But just as with each stage of the production process, there are various options in terms of methods and technology. Moreover, running a bottling line is a significant feat in terms of co-ordination, to ensure that everything required is in the right place at the right time, so that orders can be filled. The Edrington Group's Mike Rose says: We like to bottle to order, so we gather all the orders together, put them all into a bottling programme, then place our orders for supplies in parallel. That way we can plan a co-ordinated programme to run our bottling lines as efficiently and cost effectively as possible. We need to look at line availability, people availability to run the line, and material availability. We monitor all orders to ensure that they are in line or reasonably close to our forecast." Once the whisky is ready for bottling it is conducted to the bottling vat, from where it can be piped to the bottling line. But quality control is rigorously applied throughout the process. Rose continues: Each cask is individually checked by the sample room. Casks that do not meet the required standard are not used. There are a substantial number of quality checks at every stage, and once we have final approval from the sampling room the product in the bottling vat is then passed through an inert food grade filter as a safety measure to ensure that our product meets the most demanding standards." When more than one whisky is being bottled at a time there is an obvious, and significant, concern. Rose says: It would be highly damaging if we mixed any whiskies during the bottling process, so we have invested in a leading edge computer system that oversees every stage. We have a very complex series of stainless steel vats, pipes and valves, over which the computer watches. This prevents anyone from accidentally mixing any whiskies. The vatting and pipework system is highly flexible so that whisky from the same vat can be fed into various bottling lines which are producing different variants, such as 1 litre, 70cl, and 5cl miniatures. To ensure that bottles are ready to be filled, theres a choice of methods that can be used to deal with any dust, or possible fragments of cardboard from the boxes in which the bottles arrive. Moreover, on a cold day bottles coming into a warm environment could experience some condensation. The options include product rinsing or air blowing. Product rinsing means rinsing bottles with the same product which is being bottled. Alternatively, air blowing can be used. Pete Nelson of Glenmorangie, says: Depending on the product being bottled, we either use air blowing, with cleaned air at high pressure going into an inverted bottle, or rinsing with a high pressure jet of the whisky thats being bottled. Both systems work equally well." Filling the bottles with exactly the right amount, and at the precise alcoholic strength stipulated on the label, is of course a paramount concern. Mike Rose says: Bottles are filled to a specified fill point set up each day on each line, and we check actual volume by weight every hour. A nozzle passes into the bottle at the pre-set height, and the bottles will fill until they touch the nozzle. As bottles begin to come out of the machine a miniature nozzle sucks excess liquid out by creating a vacuum in the bottle, ensuring its filled to exactly the right height." Another option depends on the machine rather than the bottle to provide the right amount. Ewen Macintosh of Gordon & MacPhail, says: The machine has a set of chambers each filled with 70 cl of liquid which is discharged into the bottle. So, the machine calculates the volume, not the bottle." Meanwhile, hand bottling is the answer for some types of packaging. David Harris of Broxborn Bottlers, says: To fill a 70cl crystal decanter with the right volume, a 70cl bottle is filled on a machine and the contents tipped into the decanter by hand, and the decanter is sealed with the stopper as quickly as possible. The label has to be absolutely right, and decanters tend to have a panel for the application of the label. Its amazing how accurate people are, they have that attention to detail and co-ordination, its a skill thats being lost as everyone is moving to automation." There are two options when applying labels, which can either be self-adhesive or dry, in which case an adhesive is added. Mike Rose says: We design bottles to protect the labels, as theyre fragile during application. A water based adhesive gets to work very rapidly but takes time to form a permanent bond. The adhesive permeates the paper to form a chemical and mechanical bond with glass, then evaporates through the paper." Each type of label has its own particular parameters. Douglas Smith of Burn Stewart Distillers, says: Self-adhesive labels have lower set up costs but are more expensive to run than dry labels to which adhesive is added. Self-adhesive labels tend to be more expensive than dry labels, but new technology means they are now closer in cost." Meanwhile, cask strength bottlings may have to wait a while before the labels are applied. Ewen Mackintosh says: For some cask strength bottlings the labels are only printed once the whisky is bottled, as its the strength in the bottle that needs to be stipulated, not the strength in the vat, as this can vary during the bottling process. A large vat for example with a relatively small amount of whisky could lead to sufficient evaporation, if left for a prolonged period." Another factor is that bottles are individually coded, providing all the details that would be required, just in case. Ian Bissett of William Grant & Sons, says: We have an obligation to code every single bottle, in the unlikely event of a product recall. The date, batch and rotation number are recorded on the bottle and we can trace the history of every product." Changes to packaging can also lead to other significant developments. In fact, new packaging may also require a new bottling line. Pete Nelson says: It was just as significant in terms of the bottling line when we changed the packaging for Glenmorangie. We felt the existing technology could not deliver the absolute perfection required, and installed a new bottling line for Glenmorangie. The design, construction and installation of this line took a total of nine months, which is considered a quick turn around for such an advanced bottling line." Nelson continues: We used to use a tin capsule on top of the cork which was spun onto the bottle, now we use a shrink capsule. Heat shrinks the capsule in every direction, so you cant remove it without destroying it. This is a much more secure closure, which is important in markets where counterfeit is an issue. Another huge change is moving from a tube to a carton, which is also constructed on the bottling line. It begins flat and the machine opens this up, places the bottle within the carton, then constructs the carton around it without the use of any glue. Italy and Germany are a typical source of the latest bottling lines, with ever more sophisticated technology offering improved efficiency and speed. David Harris says: At the high speed end its getting faster. In 1990 a bot-tling line handling 200 bottles per minute was considered the ultimate, now bottling lines can handle up to 600 bot-tles per minute. These lines cost many millions of pounds, though new technology also requires much lower energy levels." Needless to say, more sophisticated technology also affects the labour force, while changing regulations have influenced working conditions. Harris explains: Advances in bottling lines have had a significant impact on the number of employees required to staff the line. The maximum permitted noise level has also recently been lowered from 95 decibels to 85 decibels, which is a huge difference if you walked into a room and heard it. We use a modern in ear system, an ear protector moulded to the individual ears of each employee. As a good employer you look after your staff, and every year employees un-dergo ear tests." 7 February 2017 - Ian Wisniewski Wish the 'grown up' in the White House would act like it Last week a writer was pleased to proclaim that we now have a "grown up" in the White House. President Barack Obama in 2016 said this at his last National Prayer Breakfast: "And on this occasion, I always enjoy reflecting on a piece of scripture that has been meaningful to me or otherwise sustained me throughout the year. And lately, I've been thinking and praying on a verse from Second Timothy: 'For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and love and of a sound mind.'" Our "grown up" president recently imparted this to us at the 2017 National Prayer Breakfast: " Thank you as well to Senate Chaplain Barry Black, for his moving words. And I don't know chaplain whether or not that's an appointed position? I don't even know if you're Democrat or if you're Republican, but I'm appointing you for another year, the hell with it ... . "We had tremendous success on The Apprentice -- and they hired a big time movie star, Arnold Schwarzenegger, to take my place. And we know how that turned out. The ratings went down the tubes. It's been a total disaster ... and I want to just pray for Arnold if we can, for those ratings, OK?" I wish the "grown up" would stick to his tweeting. The Senate selects its own chaplain. The president has plenty to do, including causing demonstrations, belittling judges, complaining about the media, and insulting foreign leaders who are our friends while defending Putin. Oops, a "grown up" also should not do those things, in my opinion. S. BART CHILDS College Station Watch for the Wizard of Oz in Trump's administration While reading the papers regarding Donald Trump's executive action to ban travel from seven countries, I suddenly realized that I've seen this movie before and I hope that I know how it ends. The movie was The Wizard of Oz. As most people my age are aware, that movie portrayed a flamboyant ruler of the Emerald City who used great amounts of noise and lights to convince the population that he was all powerful. No real problems were solved or even addressed by these extravaganzas, but the citizens of the Emerald City were convinced it was real. The analogy is clear: No real problem is addressed or solved by the Great and Powerful Donald's action, but after a suitable period of time -- say 90 days -- he can proclaim that with the Wicked Witch of the West, aka Stephen Bannon, he has solved the problem and travel now can be resumed. He will have fulfilled a campaign promise and impressed some of his followers. No harm will have been done except to the people who were detained and the relations with the governments of the middle east. The movie and book follow the exploits of Dorothy and Toto who are swept up by a tornado and end up in the World of Oz. The analogy to the Republican Party is pretty clear. After many harrowing exploits, Dorothy kills the Wicked Witch of the West and unmasks Oz as a humbug. Oz then says "How can I help being a humbug when all these people make me do things that everyone knows can't be done?" Hint, you can kill the witch by throwing water on him and expose the humbug by opening the curtain. GARY DEWBRE College Station Community should demand answers on Wallis' departure How can we clean up Washington if we can't even get our local school board to explain why a forced-out superintendent was given $83,000, a golden parachute and a glowing letter of recommendation? Numerous violations of the Texas Ethics Code should be grounds for termination, unless some board members are afraid they could be implicated. Case and point, only after they got caught red-handed withholding information did the board claim its eagerness to release information and subsequently sent a letter to the court on Wallis' injunction. The Wallis agreement could be construed as "official misconduct," putting the board and district in a position of violating Texas Penal Code 36.03 by coercing public servants who may have important knowledge of serious ethical violations by this superintendent or others and forcing district employees to keep their mouths shut. That's un-American. This community should demand answers or petition a recall. ROY FLORES Bryan Texas Central Partners officials said they are instead going to try to have an open dialogue with landowners about letting the company onto their land. Were stepping back and going back to conversations and taking some of the heat out of our process, said Texas Central President Tim Keith. [More: Poll suggests Texans want bullet train] Texas Central Partners is developing a 240-mile bullet train line intended to transport passengers between Houston and Dallas in 90 minutes with a stop in Grimes County. The company has partnered with Japanese train operator JR Central to bring its bullet train technology to Texas. The project has drawn support from officials in Houston and Dallas but opposition from communities and landowners that are expected to be near the train's route. In court filings, the company argued that state law allows it to enter private property to survey land that may be used for a potential route because it is a railroad. A group called Texans Against High-Speed Rail have said the company shouldn't be considered a railroad because it doesn't currently operate any rail lines. In one Harris County lawsuit, attorneys for a landowner echoed that argument. A trial on the merits of those legal arguments was set for July, according to the Harris County District Clerks office. [Read: Grimes County judge doubts Trump supports Texas bullet train] Keith said Tuesday that the company was confident it would have secured a ruling in its favor. Texas Central and landowners had already settled 21 other similar legal filings. The company said the decision to withdraw the remaining suits was largely based on the fact that it's already reached access and land-purchase options with more than 3,000 landowners. Texas Central said Tuesday it has secured land-purchase options on about 30 percent of the parcels needed. The company said it has also executed land-purchase options on about 50 percent of the land needed in both Grimes and Waller counties, northwest of Houston. The project is especially controversial in Grimes County. A land-purchase option essentially means that the company and a property owner have reached an agreement on how much the firm will pay for any land that may be needed for the route. The company pays an up-front fee that the owner can keep regardless of whether the firm eventually needs their land once the route is finalized. Disclosure: Texas Central Railway has been a financial supporter of The Texas Tribune. A complete list of Tribune donors and sponsors can be viewed here. President Trump's shocking travel ban and the legal battle that followed have justifiably dominated headlines. But a second executive order was also slipped out last week - and one with major implications for the UK economy. While many of us were on the streets protesting his offensive ban on refugees, the new president signed an executive order authorising a rule dubbed 'One In, Two Out'. What sounds like a nursery school game is actually the starting gun to a miserable race to the bottom for the USA and UK. It puts legal protections we all depend on - to be able to eat food safely, or go to work without fear of unfair dismissal - on the line. One In, Two Out means that if the US government wants to implement new laws it has to get rid of twice as many other laws, based on their cost to business. Economically it's entirely illogical because it ignores the benefits of laws to society, environment and, yes, even business. If you think that's madness you'll be horrified to learn that Trump copied it from us. In fact, Trump looks positively moderate when compared to our own government: in the UK we have One In, Three Out. No health, safety, labour, environment protections are safe What this means is that the UK and now the USA have installed an automatic regulation shredder that will gradually tear through the law book until we're left with the bare minimum. Trump's order exempted regulations relating to national security, but nothing else will be safe: not our rights at work, not the safeguarding of our environment, not the safety standards of our toys, clothes and food. The consequences will affect us all. The coalition government began the process of the UK's assault on our legal protections in 2010 and it's just one element of much more systemic deregulation. What's more, it's being increasingly scaled up: since 2010, the rule in the UK has increased from One In, One Out, to its current standing of One In, Three Out. Each year the civil service publishes a league table of which government departments have done the best based on these deregulatory rules, as a sort of perverse incentive to keep up the good work of scrapping environmental and social protections. The rhetoric in the UK will have you believe that this is all just a question of getting rid of 'red tape' - an abstract concept of frustrating bureaucracy that practically everyone instinctively detests. But rules that require business to keep rivers clean and protect workers from accidents are not 'red tape'. These individual regulations and protections are highly popular with the public. Here at the New Economics Foundation we looked into this system of deregulation (which has been given the Orwellian name 'Better Regulation') and found that it has led to the delay, weakening or repeal of numerous substantive legal protections. On the top page of Google (again) we see that the Guardian, Telegraph and 'Science' blame the movement of the clock hands on the election of Mr Trump. ABC seems to think it is global warming. But global warming, even in worst case scenarios (and I have myself followed this and made my own calculations) wont wipe out life on Earth, except indirectly by creating resource wars which might go nuclear. And a virus pandemic would always have some survivors. Total nuclear exchange would not: so that is what we are dealing with. It is a very real possibility. But not because of Donald Trump. What I see in the election of Trump, and in Brexit also, is a spontaneous creation of civil society, in countries which have seen their lives ruined by globalisation and what has been called 'the new world order'. Outrageous, flamboyant, petulant? For sure. But world destroyer? What I see in Mr Trump is an independent flamboyant showman, along the lines of an earlier US President Andrew Jackson, a man who also despised and tried to destroy the US establishment. I have a lot of time for people like this, being a version myself; I watched the media system doing their uttermost to paint Trump as a madman. Trump clearly thinks outside the system of smoke and mirrors that passes for western media news, the constructions on the web and TV and newspapers which are increasingly spun and slanted with nonsense and demonstrable lies about the state of the world. So if I was running the Doomsday clock, the election of Trump would make me put the clock back rather than closer to annihilation. He doesn't trust the US security services. Does anyone? He disassociates his Presidency from the collection of dodgy characters previously running the US global domination operation, including all the presidents in living memory. The votes for Trump and not for Hilary were the eventual revolution against the fat-cat control of America and its continuous war against the people on the planet, fought as if the world were a battleground that it had to dominate. The war machine built up in the post World War II period until the demise of Hilary Clinton is well known to readers of spy novels and if not, can be seen by anyone who looks at the history. It was fuelled by paranoia about Communism (even a child would say that this is a just idea and indeed is at the base of Christianity) and the immense amounts of power and wealth associated with developing and manufacturing weapons. Russian aggression? Where is the real threat coming from? When the Soviet Union broke up and could no longer justify the huge US military budget, other enemies had to be found. Bombs had to be dropped on someone, in order to order new ones. Hence the continuous and endless wars about 'democracy' and 'freedom'. Let's look some scenarios. How big an exchange would represent apocalypse? A baseline is that there were a huge number of nuclear weapons tested in the atmosphere in the period 1952-1963. The peak in radioactive fallout was from 1959 and 1963. This did not wipe out humanity, although there was a mini nuclear winter in the 60s. The European Committee on Radiation Risk [2] estimated some 60 million extra cancers together with a few million dead babies (about 0.2% of births) as consequence. But we are all (just about) still around. Nuclear exchanges between India and Pakistan, or Israel and Iran will not do. The number of warheads involved would result in some mega-Hiroshimas, the global fallout contamination would jump, but not an end of the world. The combined yield of the approximately 100+100 warheads (say 200kT each) just about equal the yield of the 1962 Tsar Bomba 40Mt test on its own. And Iran has no nuclear weapons: but even if it had, an Israel-Iran exchange would be even more feeble than India Pakistan. North Korea? The same. As for China, it has no real enemies, and the Chinese have always been traders rather than invaders. China is doing alright and doesn't need to attack anyone. So what is the real Doomsday threat? It is the US and British obsession with Russia, the tail of the cold war guard dog of the spy novels, which seems to have taken on a life of its own, long after the dog itself became obsolete and unnecessary. It is the sabre-rattling encroachment of NATO on the borders of Russia. It is the deployment of sophisticated (and enormously expensive) antimissile systems in countries like Rumania and Poland. It is the crazy NATO and US generals who want to (and have) put troops and battle-tanks and helicopters in the Baltic States (where I live), on the basis that the expansionist Russians are intent on marching over the borders of Latvia and taking back their lost empire. Which they easily could, by the way, since the Russian military far out-guns the pathetic armies of NATO running about on the Baltic and Polish borders. A worms' eye view from the Baltic I live near Riga. Since I moved there in 2010 I have seen the NATO infestation of the country. Big new tanks with the Latvian Flag rumble though the villages, and helicopters thud overhead disturbing the badgers and deer in the forest. Russia has no need to invade Latvia; it can get what it wants or needs. In fact it is the other way round. Latvia needs Russia. But the media whip up a frenzy of fear, that there will be a Russian invasion, like the one in Ukraine. There is even a book about this insanity, written by a general, retired Deputy NATO commander Sir Richard Shirreff. Like most things in politics, this is about money. The people who make the money control the Media which demonises Trump because he won't follow the master plan to globalise the planet, drive down unit costs by moving production to the lowest wages and control it's diminishing resources (oil) whilst making huge amounts of money for the military and the arms manufacturers, Raytheon, Boeing, McDonnell Douglas et al. involved in the endless global battlefield. I was invited to the Perdana Foundation's Criminalize War conference in Kuala Lumpur, and spoke with Tun Mahatir Mohammed, whose brilliant idea it was [3]. Since then Ditta Rietuma and I have made presentations from conferences in Latvia and Sweden about the dangers of nuclear war, what is driving it, and specifically about this most dangerous confrontation between the USA and NATO and Russia. Now, let's hope Trump makes good his most important election promise ... The election of Trump, who (sensibly) sees no reason why the USA should continue to pay for NATO, is a good thing. His promise to de-escalate tensions between the US and Russia was popular and surely the best of all reasons to vote for him! Finally: one thing. The real Doomsday clock passed midnight long ago. The mad race to extinction fuelled by the market-forces laissez faire western system created a monster: a system which is not really controlled by anyone, but drives itself with only one imperative-to become richer and more powerful, so as to become richer and more powerful. The monster has no soul; it was not constructed to look after life on the planet. Following nuclear fallout, and nuclear energy accidents, Depleted Uranium, and now fracking, background radioactivity continuously increases. The fertility rate is falling. IVF is advancing. Cancer is an epidemic in real terms. This is the way the world ends. Not with a bang but a whimper. Chris Busby is an expert on the health effects of ionizing radiation. He qualified in Chemical Physics at the Universities of London and Kent, and worked on the molecular physical chemistry of living cells for the Wellcome Foundation. Professor Busby is the Scientific Secretary of the European Committee on Radiation Risk based in Brussels and has edited many of its publications since its founding in 1998. He has held a number of honorary University positions, including Visiting Professor in the Faculty of Health of the University of Ulster. Busby currently lives in Riga, Latvia. See also: chrisbusbyexposed.org, greenaudit.org and llrc.org. This article is the unedited version of one originally published on RT. A very big feud is brewing between the Outdoor Industry and the state of Utah, if not much of the rest of the country. And rightfully so. Thanks to the states notoriously anti-public lands conservation attitude, Outdoor Retailer announced yesterday they were actively looking for a new home in 2018 and now Patagonia says they are pulling out of the show altogether while it remains in Utah. On Friday, Utah Governor Gary Herbert signed a resolution urging the Trump administration to rescind the Bears Ears National Monument this is the 1.3 billion acre national monument that Obama created right before leaving office. Bears Ears connects a huge protected corridor that links several monuments that ultimately bring you to the Grand Canyon. The land is also considered sacred to Native American tribes. In an article last week, NPR also identified Rep. Rob Bishop, R-Utah, who chairs the powerful House Committee on Natural Resources, as one of Bears Ears biggest critics. Bishop wants the Trump administration to act by executive order, and either shrink Bears Ears or nullify it altogether as the national monument designation generally means new development like oil and gas drilling, expansion of cattle grazing is off limits. Only the existing leases that are grandfathered in can be developed. Today, Rose Marcario, President and CEO of Patagonia released this statement, Utah has made it clear that their elected officials do not support public lands conservation nor do they value the economic benefits $12 billion in consumer spending and 122,000 jobs that the outdoor recreation industry brings to their state. Because of the hostile environment they have created and their blatant disregard for Bears Ears National Monument and other public lands, the backbone of our business, Patagonia will no longer attend the Outdoor Retailer show in Utah and we are confident other outdoor manufacturers and retailers will join us in moving our investment to a state that values our industry and promotes public lands conservation. Last month, Patagonias founder, Yvon Chouinard penned an op-ed, The Outdoor Industry Loves Utah; Does Utah Love the Outdoor Industry? in which he stated, If Gov. Herbert doesnt need us, we can find a more welcoming home. Gov. Herbert should direct his Attorney General to halt their plans to sue and support the historic Bears Ears National Monument. He should stop his efforts to transfer public lands to the state, which would spell disaster for Utahs economy. He should show the outdoor industry he wants our business and that he supports thousands of his constituents of all political persuasions who work in jobs supported by recreation on public lands. We love Utah, but Patagonias choice to return for future shows will depend on the Governors actions. Im sure other states will happily compete for the show by promoting public lands conservation. I am super proud of our industry for taking a stand against the desecration of our public lands. With everything from drilling in national parks to dismantling them all together is on the table with this new administration, it appears we are going to have a long fight on our hands. But fight we will. 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 ... Republican candidates make final campaign pitch in Burlington Reynolds, Grassley, Miller-Meeks, and other Iowa Republicans made their final pitch to supporters during a campaign stop in Burlington on Friday. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate 3 1 of 3 Stamford Symphony / Contributed photo Show More Show Less 2 of 3 Stamford Symphony / Contributed photo Show More Show Less 3 of 3 A trip to the magical city of Vienna might be closer than you think, courtesy of the Stamford Symphony. The Vienna: City of Dreams concert will be offered Saturday evening, Feb. 11, and Sunday afternoon, Feb. 12. On the program are: Hummel Variations on Ach! du lieber Augustin, Beethoven Violin Concerto in D Major with soloist Karen Gomyo and the Schubert Symphony No. 9 in C Major (The Great). This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate NORWALK When Imam Azzeim Mahmoud received an offer to work in the United States, he also received one to work in Saudi Arabia. I picked here. Because it is the land of the free, Mahmoud said. Mahmoud, the imam at Norwalks Al-Madany Islamic Center, was addressing a room of nearly 400 people attending an interfaith vigil to show support for Norwalks Muslim community Monday night at the First Congregational Church of Norwalk. The vigil was organized in response to President Donald Trumps controversial Muslim ban, which banned entry to the U.S. from seven majority-Muslim countries Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen for 90 days following the signing of the order on Jan. 27. This is America, where we are all immigrants, and we all came from different countries, Mahmoud said. When we hear that some of our children are called terrorists in the school, and their parents are called terrorists in the world ... this is really, really bad news and really sad news. Mahmoud said he was overwhelmed by the number of people who came to show support Monday, pausing several times during his speech to collect himself as his voice started to shake. This gives us hope really because a lot of Muslims are panicking right now, Mahmoud said. We have nothing to hide. We will stand for our rights as American Muslims in this country. The vigil included remarks from Mayor Harry Rilling, state Sen. Bob Duff and religious leaders from St. Jerome Catholic Church, Bethel AME Church and the First Congregational Church. Many in attendance sported signs showing support. Phrases like Love Trumps Hate floated above the crowd during rounds of applause. One woman wrote in Arabic, Safe Place and below it I stand with my Muslim Brothers and Sisters. Azra Asaduddin, a board member of the Al-Madany Islamaic Center and the Interfaith Council of Southwestern Connecticut, addressed the controversial ban head-on. Yes, we want security, she said. But we dont want false security. Thats all the executive order does. It gives some people false security while kicking a bunch of people who are already at rock bottom, who are already ultra-vetted and who just want a home that is safe. She thanked those in attendance for their kindness and said other oppressed groups in history have not received the same kindness. Were also on the receiving end on of an immense amount of love that wasnt extended to past communities who were victims of discrimination, Asaduddin said. Japanese Americans, Chinese Americans, immigrants who sought a home here, they did not have this. As Americans we learned from those mistakes, and we as Muslims are benefiting from the lessons learned, so Id like to thank everyone on behalf of the Muslim community for all of your love and support. The Rev. Frank Newsome of the First Congregational Church of Norwalk called on the community to stand up for their neighbors. We have to stand with our Muslim friends, our black friends, our Jewish friends, our LGBTQ friends, our native American friends, yes, and our christian friends, he said. Peace, salaam, shalom, hallelujah. The vigil concluded with a community pledge led by Newsome. Together, nearly 400 people of all faiths and backgrounds, pledged to stand together and treat others as we, ourselves, wish to be treated. We stand in solidarity with any neighbor who is singled out in hatred. We will act to support and love our neighbors. We pledge to speak out against any hatred or mistreatment that our sisters and brothers suffer. All our neighbors must be protected against acts of violence, regardless of their faith, age, gender, race, orientation and ethnicity. kkrasselt@scni.com; 203-354-1021; @kaitlynkrasselt NORWALK A Norwalk man was charged with driving under the influence and leaving the scene of a November 2016 accident in which two people were seriously injured. Luther Atkinson, 45, of Jefferson Street, was charged with operating a motor vehicle while under the influence, evading responsibility, theft of plate, possession of less than one-half ounce of marijuana, misuse of plate, operating a motor vehicle with suspended license, operating unregistered motor vehicle, failure to keep right, failure to insure vehicle and two counts of second-degree assault with a motor vehicle. On Nov. 6, 2016 at 6:38 p.m., police were dispatched to a head-on motor vehicle accident in the area of Connecticut and Van Buren avenues. A witness told police that a Saab sedan traveled across the double yellow lines in the road and struck a vehicle containing three occupants. Two of the people in the vehicle that was struck suffered serious injuries and were transported to Norwalk Hospital, police said. Both vehicles sustained extensive damage, police said. The caller reported to police that the operator of the Saab walked away following the crash. The caller stated that they observed the man take off his shirt, and when they asked if he was alright, he ignored the question and kept walking. Police located the man, who they identified as Atkinson, apparently hiding near the Memorial Wall on West Avenue. Atkinson complained of injuries and was transported to Norwalk Hospital. A warrant for Atkinsons medical records was returned and police say that his blood alcohol content level registered .08. Police said a witness identified Atkinson as the driver of the vehicle. A warrant for his arrest was returned and on Monday evening he was taken into custody in Bridgeport on the Norwalk warrant. Atkinson was transported to Norwalk Police Headquarters and charged. His bond was set at $25,000 and he was given a court date of Feb. 15. llake@hearstmediact.com NORWALK The Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection confirmed Monday that it has received a complaint concerning the replacement of the underwater boat launch ramps at Veterans Memorial Park. We had a complaint about dredged material being stockpiled on shore in work area, said DEEP spokesman Dennis Schain. We alerted Army Corps of Engineers and we are scheduling a site visit. Michael A. Mocciae, Norwalks director of recreation and parks, said Roberge Associates, the citys consultant for the project, has responded to the complaint filed with the DEEP. We sent a letter back up to them saying we complied with the permit application, so were waiting to hear back from them, Mocciae said. Last August, the Norwalk Common Council approved a $2.1 million contract with L. Holzner Construction of Bridgeport to replace the deteriorated underwater launch ramps, install a headwall and raise the parking lot at the David S. Dunavan Boating Center, other known as the Norwalk Visitors Docks, at Veterans Park. Last fall, the DEEP issued a Temporary Authorization and Certificate of Approval allowing the work to proceed subject to conditions. Among other things, no construction material, excavated material or debris shall be deposited, placed or stored in any wetland or watercourse on or off-site. The boating center closed Oct. 30 to accommodate the work, which now is proceeding behind a veiled fence. On Monday afternoon, partially covered asphalt and other construction debris stood piled in the parking lot area of the site as a massive crane lifted a piling from the water near the launch ramps. It was setting the new steel piles, which are foundation for the ramps its there to drive the steel piles, said Joel Yencho, general manager with Holzner Construction. It was also pulling out some piles. Yencho said work is progressing as planned with an anticipated completion date at the end of April. Things are on track for that, Yencho said. While the city and Holzner are shooting for May 1 to complete the project and reopen the Visitors Docks to boaters, much important work lies ahead to meet that schedule. We have to wait for the asphalt plants to open so they can pave the (parking) lots, Mocciae said. Were putting all new sewer and water lines in. We just want everything to be wrapped up so the boaters can use it May 1. Mocciae said sewer and water lines running to the pump house, as well as electrical utility lines, must be addressed to make sure were not digging everything up again at a later date. The old wooden boat launch ramps were in place for more than 60 years and had no life left in them. Boaters often got their trailers stuck while using the ramps. The new ramps will be made of concrete with a steel underbelly, according to Mocciae. The project represents the first phase of improvements to the visitors docks at Veterans Park. The second phase, which will begin this fall if funding is made available, will replace the docks and install steel piles to support them. Robert O. Barron, Norwalks director of finance, recently recommended allocating $1.9 million in the citys forthcoming 2017-18 capital budget to pay for that work. Mocciae expressed hope that the Common Council will support the funding request when it approves the capital budget in April. Im looking forward to finishing that first phase and starting up the second one in October, Mocciae said. WILTON On Monday morning, residents from four different towns awoke to find the same prejudiced message awaiting them in their driveways, police said. All along the Newtown Turnpike area spanning Wilton, Weston, Westport and Norwalk, homeowners found white supremacist fliers littering their driveways and mailboxes. Weston police were the first to discover the fliers around midnight on Sunday, said Sgt. Pat Daubert. Officers surveyed the area and collected approximately 60 fliers from Weston, Wilton and Westport. We just didnt want residents to be alarmed or frightened, Daubert said. In Norwalk, several hundred printed fliers, enclosed in plastic sleeves and weighted down with gravel, were tossed into driveways throughout the Cranbury neighborhood. We must secure the existence of our race and a future for white children. MAKE AMERICA WHITE AGAIN, reads the fliers. Fliers listed a website run by a man named Mike Enoch, who the Southern Poverty Law Center characterizes as an alt-right extremist a recent term used to describe the white nationalist movement. In Wilton and Westport, the scene was the same, though to a much lesser extent. Wilton police Lt. Rob Cipolla said that upon being alerted by Weston, the department launched a subsequent search of their own, which revealed a handful of fliers in town. Though the incidences are still being investigated, local leaders have already started to denounce the actions. I condemn this action in the strongest possible terms: it is divisive and hateful, Mayor Harry Rilling wrote in an open letter to Norwalk residents. It is not what Norwalk represents. Our city is diverse in its racial, ethnic and social makeup, and that is both a strength and part of our rich cultural heritage as Americans. Wilton First Selectman Lynne Vanderslice echoed Rilling, saying that the flyers in no way reflect the ideals of the town. The flyers and their message have no place in Wilton or in our country. Nor are they welcome. Residents demonstrate this everyday through their actions, their friendships and their families, Vanderslice said. Local police departments are collaborating with one another, as well as with the FBI, whom Cipolla said takes a special interest in cases like this, to solve the case. Because the fliers were distributed in roughly the same area around Newtown Turnpike, Cipolla said that they dont believe any residences were specifically targeted. As offensive as the material might be perceived, if no residences were specifically targeted for the flyers, Daubert said that the polices options are limited even if they track down the suspect. At most, Daubert pointed out, the suspect might be facing littering violations. When you read the words, its not threatening, so there is no violation of law per se. Somebodys just expressing their views on the topic, Daubert said. That said, this is nothing that our community supports by any stretch of the imagination, he added. ptomlinson@hearstmediact.com; (203) 354-1046; Tomlinson_PE This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate STAMFORD Mary Salems son spent a good portion of his life on the water. It was his passion, she said of Lucas Salems time spent fishing with his grandfather off Rhode Island. He was loving and adoring. He loved people and was non-judgmental. He was always smiling, the brightest light in the room. The 20-year old Trinity Catholic High School graduate was identified by police on Monday as the passenger in the fatal Hope Street accident early Saturday that also killed his friend, Thomas Molgano, who died instantly after slamming into a tree with his pickup truck. My heart is broken, said Eugene Molgano, Thomas father and an employee of Stamford Public Schools. We are grieving the loss of my youngest son and the loss of his best friend, Lucas. My heart is broken for their family and for my own. Sgt. Andrew Gallagher said Molgano, 20, a Stamford High School graduate, was traveling northbound on Hope Street near Hartford Avenue shortly after 1 a.m. Saturday when he lost control of his 2002 Dodge Ram. As the road curved near Barnstable Lane, the truck veered into the southbound lane before skidding into a tree, Gallagher said. More News 2 killed, 1 injured in crash on Hope Street in Stamford Molgano was killed by the impact of the crash, while Salem the front-seat passenger was rushed to Stamford Hospital and pronounced dead about five hours later, police said. A 20-year-old back-seat passenger was treated at Stamford Hospital and released that morning. Police are not releasing his name. Gallagher estimated that the truck was traveling at more than 50 mph in the 30 mph zone. Meaningful questions Lucas, who caught a 200-pound tiger shark off Point Judith in 2010, worked on boats at Marine Max in Norwalk after spending 18 months studying at Norwalk Community College, his mother said. Other family members described Lucas as warm and approachable. Every single person he met, he treated them as though he had known them forever, said Angelica, 23, Salems sister. Salems girlfriend, Mia Vitti, 19, said he could talk to anyone and begin a conversation. He always made me feel so special and loved, she said. Kelly Caravella said her inquisitive cousin Lucas asked meaningful questions. He really wanted to know about people and really cared for people and those in his life, he really let you know that, said Caravella, 28. This is the fourth fatal accident on Hope Street in the past 16 years, crash statistics show. On Oct. 18, 2014, Angela Lopez-Acosta was killed when a driver fell asleep as she and her husband were putting gas into their lunch truck after the vehicle ran out of gas near the corner of Hyde and Hope streets, a little less than a mile north of Saturdays accident. On July 18, 2011, a 38-year-old motorcyclist was killed when his bike slammed into an SUV traveling in the opposite direction near Viaduct Road, about a half mile south of Saturdays accident. Police said Fernando Quintero-Montano was killed because he was speeding and illegally passing cars while heading northbound on Hope Street. On May 24, 2010, a 26-year-old man was killed when he lost control of his car and smashed into a light pole near Viaduct Road. Police said Kushtrim Elezaj was speeding at the time of the accident. No other fatal accidents were reported in the area going back to 2000, crash statistics show. Gallagher, who is investigating Saturdays accident with Officer Jeffrey Booth, said the road is in good shape and there are fewer problems there than on other roads. Many accidents on the street occur at night with speed and alcohol being factors, he said. There are no defects in the roadway there, he said. Calling hours for Lucas Salem will be held at the Leo P. Gallagher & Son Funeral Home on Summer Street on Thursday from 4 to 8 p.m. On Friday, a Mass of Christian Burial will be held for him at 11 a.m. at St. Leos Parish, 24 Roxbury Road. The investigation is ongoing and anyone with information regarding the crash can call investigators at 203-977-4454. jnickerson@stamfordadvocate.com; The fact that some Americans once considered Catholicism a menace is now used as an argument against critics of Muslim immigration. But what if all the things that were once falsely charged against Catholicism are actually true of Islam? In order to protect Americans, the United States must ensure that those admitted to this country do not bear hostile attitudes toward it and its founding principles. Executive order: Protecting the Nation from Foreign Terrorist Entry into the United States It can be expected that Catholic bishops will respond with dismay to President Trumps order banning immigration from seven Muslim nations. When Trump first proposed banning Muslims from entering the U.S., Archbishop Joseph Kurtz, the president of the USCCB issued a statement repudiating the hatred and suspicion that leads to policies of discrimination. At about the same time, Archbishop William Lori of Baltimore said Catholics could not possibly countenance restricting entry to the U.S. solely on the basis of religious affiliation. It can also be expected that bishops will employ an argument they have long used against opponents of Muslim immigrationnamely, that Catholic immigrants were once treated with similar suspicion. Catholics and non-Catholics alike now laugh at the anti-Catholic prejudice of the Know-Nothings (aka The American Party) and other groups who were opposed to immigration from Catholic countries in Europe. The anti-Catholics based their objection on the belief that Catholics owed allegiance to a foreign power (the Vatican), and thus, Catholics could never be truly loyal to America and its Constitution. More than that, there were dark rumors about a papist plot to take over America, and about an undersea tunnel that connected the Vatican to New York. This viewthat Catholics could never assimilate to Americas democratic culturepersisted in some quarters up until the election of John F. Kennedy. The fact that some Americans once mistakenly considered Catholicism a menace is now used as an argument against critics of Muslim immigration. Just as the Know-Nothings of days gone by were wrong about Catholicism, so also will todays Know-Nothings be proven wrong about Islam. Or, so it is claimed. The open-borders advocates within the Church assure us that Islam will turn out to be as American as apple pie: give Islam a chance, and you will discover that the local Iman is just Bing Crosbys Father OMalley with a bearda mellow fellow whose biggest concern is to pay off the mortgage on the mosque. But what if all the things that were once falsely charged against Catholicism are actually true of Islam? The nineteenth century anti-Catholics mistakenly thought that Catholicism was a theocracy, but Islam really is a theocracy. The anti-Catholics wrongly questioned the loyalty of American Catholics, but numerous polls show that a majority of Muslims consider their primary allegiance to be to the ummah (the worldwide community of Muslim believers), and not to whatever nation they happen to reside in. A Pew Research survey of Muslim-Americans under thirty revealed that sixty percent of them felt more loyalty to Islam than to America. The Know-Nothings worried needlessly that Catholics would be subject to foreign influence, but when you consider that eighty-five percent of full-time, paid imams in the U.S. are foreign born, then foreign influence on American Muslims does seem a legitimate concern. What about the anti-Catholic fear that Catholics would be bound by Canon Law not Constitutional Law? There was, of course, little need for worry. The scope of Cannon Law is largely restricted to internal Church affairs, and most Catholics have only the vaguest acquaintance with its requirements. On the other hand, sharia law governs almost every aspect of daily life for Muslims. Moreover, many tenets of sharia law directly contradict the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. Sharia law permits cruel and unusual punishments; the open-ended sharia blasphemy laws makes free speech highly problematic; and the apostasy and dhimmitude laws more or less cancel out religious freedom. How seriously is sharia regarded in Muslim lands? In many Muslim nations sharia law (or Islamic law) is the law of the land. For example, it is written into the constitutions of Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Iraq. The Cairo Declaration on Human Rights in Islam which is the Islamic response to the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights was ratified by all fifty-seven member nations of the Organization of the Islamic Conference. Article twenty-four of the Declaration states All the rights and freedoms stipulated in this Declaration are subject to the Islamic Sharia. Article twenty-five states The Islamic Sharia is the only source of reference for the explanation or clarification of any of the articles of this Declaration. All of which sounds a bit like the fine print in a warranty which tells you that your product is completely covered for ten years except for labor and all the working parts. But how about Muslims in America? You may think that American Muslims pay no attention to the thousand-year-old requirements of sharia law, but polls show otherwise. A nationwide survey conducted by The Polling Company for the Center for Security Policy reveals that fifty-one percent of Muslims agreed that Muslims in America should have the choice of being governed according to sharia. In addition, fifty-one percent of those polled believed that they should have the choice of American or sharia courts. Only thirty-nine percent agreed that Muslims in the U.S. should be subject to American courts. Take over the country? Thats what some of the anti-Catholic nativists thought that the Catholics were planning to do. There is no evidence, however, that any Catholic groups, whether lay or clerical, ever entertained notions about subjugating America. On the other hand, numerous Islamist leaders have, in no uncertain terms, expressed a desire to conquer America. And the crazy talk is not confined to terrorist chiefs hiding out in the deserts of Libya or Iraq. Death to America is now the unofficial motto of one large and well-armed Islamic nation (Iran). Moreover, subjugating nations to Islam is not simply something that Muslims like to talk about. Its what they have done throughout history. The spread of Islam is the raison detre of Islam. How should it be spread? Not necessarily with bullets and bombs. Prominent Islamic spiritual leaders such as Yusuf al-Qaradawi have expressed confidence that Islam can conquer Europe through immigration and through higher birth rates. 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheik Mohammed has expressed similar sentiments about the defeat of the U.S. Although not at all adverse to the use of violence, KSM revealed that al-Qaedas plan to crush America was more subtle than that. According to James Mitchell, the CIA contractor who interrogated him, KSM told him: The practical way to defeat America was through immigration and by outbreeding non-Muslims. He said jihadi-minded brothers would immigrate into the United States, taking advantage of the welfare system to support themselves while they spread their jihadi message. They will wrap themselves in Americas rights and laws for protection, ratchet up acceptance of Sharia law, and then, only when they were strong enough, rise up and violently impose Sharia from within. It is that possibility, and not a D-Day type invasion that worries serious critics of Islamic immigration, and it is that possibility that the new executive order is meant to forestall. More to the point, the ban on Muslim immigration is not based in bigotry, but on a realistic assessment of Islam. If, as Khalid Sheik Mohammed and other Islamists have said, the plan is to conquer the West through immigration, then putting restrictions on Muslim immigration is the logical thing to do. Last February, San Diego Bishop Robert McElroy gave a speech which rehashed all the old cliches about anti-Islamic prejudice. He reminded his audience about the anti-Catholic bigotry of the past; he cautioned them about a new nativism; he advised them that they should view with repugnance the repeated falsehoods that Islam is inherently violent or that Muslims seek to replace the Constitution with sharia law; and he told them that Catholics must speak out against distortions of Muslim theology because these distortions are just as devastating in the present day as the distortions of Catholic teaching which were disseminated in American society in the nineteenth century. Except that the distortions of Islam that McElroy talks about are not distortions at all. They are established facts. And the fears that many in the U.S have about Muslim immigration are well-founded fears. Rational discrimination against Muslim immigration in the twenty-first century is not the same as irrational discrimination against Catholic immigration in the nineteenth century. Unless, of course, you are naive enough to believe that all religions are basically of the same peace-loving sort. The term Know-Nothings originally referred to its members habit of responding to every question about its activities with the reply I know nothing. The moniker also captured the ignorance of its nativist members. Their opposition to Catholic immigrants was largely based on misinformation. Today, however, the situation is reversed. Its not the opponents of immigration that are ill-informed, but its proponents. Todays equivalent of the Know-Nothings are not those who have fears about Muslim immigration. In general, their fears are based on facts about Islamic beliefs and Islamic historyfacts which are easily accessible to anyone who bothers to look. The Know-Nothings of today are those who think Muslim immigration can only be a good thingthose who are so ignorant of Islam that they proudly proclaim their solidarity with it. The Know-Nothings of today are all those willfully blind groups and individuals who refuse to look at the facts about Islam, and prefer instead to cling to the fantasy Islam of their own imaginations. Todays Know-Nothings are smug in their assurance that they hold the moral high ground. Hence they absolve themselves from examining the evidence on which moral judgments should be based. They are sure that the conventional wisdom of yesterday is adequate to understand todays radically different situation. Books on the topic of this essay may be found in The Imaginative Conservative Bookstore. Republished with gracious permission from Crisis Magazine (January 2017). Thank you to the voters of District 35 for electing me to the Legislature. I am both humbled and honored to serve you. After my election and before the session started, I hired my office staff. My administrative assistant, Katie Chatters, and my legislative aide, Craig Breunig, have several years of experience serving in our state Capitol. Their knowledge and insight are proving to be invaluable to this freshman senator. I also received some great advice from two former senators, Annette Dubas and Mike Gloor. One piece of advice was listen and learn. The other was when speaking, less is more. I greatly appreciate their advice and their service to Nebraska. I find my first year in the Legislature to be historic for Nebraska as we celebrate 150 years of statehood. But this year, history is also being made within the Legislature with the push to create partisanship. I have been discouraged by these actions as I have always believed that our Unicameral is unique by being a nonpartisan body. As I went door to door during my campaign, people would ask me which political party I belonged to. I would reply that the race is nonpartisan, tell them my party affiliation, then say that it should be more about the person and less about the party. This is something that I feel strongly about. We have seen it happen way too much, especially in Washington, D.C., where party lines are drawn and nothing gets done. It would be great to see elected officials working together to solve problems in America and the state of Nebraska instead of letting party politics control their vote. I understand we all have our issues we are passionate about and that sometimes divides us, but I also believe that we can come together to reach solutions to the problems we face. I have met and talked with many senators and I have confidence that eventually we will start working together, just as the Legislature has done in previous years. I have been appointed to serve on three committees: Natural Resources, Urban Affairs and General Affairs. We have had hearings on several bills and have already sent most on to general file. I am excited for the opportunity to serve on Natural Resources as I have worked in public power for 28 years and understand how it plays an important role in our state and to its customers. With Grand Island being an urban district, Urban Affairs will also be a committee that I will be able to provide knowledge of the issues we face in our district. On General Affairs, we will be dealing with issues covering a broad range of topics. I know that my life experiences will provide me with the knowledge and insight it takes to be a productive member on these committees. With the help of my staff, I have introduced five bills and have signed on as a co-sponsor to several others. As a freshman senator, I decided to introduce bills that pertain to areas that I have knowledge and interest in. Although my bills are important to me, the budget deficit and problems within corrections will be two of the biggest issues we face this year and in my opinion take precedence over everything else. With the deficit problem, I know there will be some programs that must make cuts, but I want to make sure the cuts arent so deep that those needing the services are harmed, including the disabled and children. Our children are our future and I want to ensure we have quality programs in place for them, whether that be for education or child welfare. As state senators, it is our responsibility to work together and have debate from all sides to put together a budget that works for all Nebraskans. We may address tax reform, but I cannot guarantee that we will be able to make any changes this year because of the budget shortfall. I have already received calls and emails about issues you are passionate about and I will do my best to address your concerns. I do not take my vote lightly and I understand, as I hope you do, that there are people on both sides of every issue. The announced trade policies of President Donald Trump have the potential to hurt Nebraska agriculture and the prosperity of our state. American agriculture is highly productive and produces far more agricultural products than can be consumed domestically. We need and depend on foreign markets. Approximately 60 percent of soybeans produced in Nebraska go to overseas markets and China purchases 60 percent of our soybean exports. American agriculture enjoys what economists call a strong comparative advantage. Simply put, we can grow agricultural products more efficiently and in greater abundance than any other country due to our large agricultural producing area, excellent climate, advanced technology, application of scientific knowledge and the infrastructure to bring crops to market. We feed America and have another third of our productivity to help feed the world. We thrive on free markets but are also dependent on them to make our agriculture profitable. President Trump has already taken the United States out of the proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership Trade Pact a trade agreement The Grand Island Independent has previously supported. Nebraska farm groups expressed their disappointment in that decision and calculated the loss in potential sales over the next decade to be in the billions. Trump has said that he wants to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Pact, which dates back to 1994. American agriculture has benefited immensely from that agreement. From the perspective of Nebraska agriculture, NAFTA continues to benefit all three countries. We question the wisdom of trying to change the agreement, particularly at this time. In 2015 Canada and Mexico were Nebraskas top two trade partners. Mexico made up 19.2 percent of Nebraskas foreign trade at a value of $1.26 billion. U.S. exports of corn to Mexico and Canada totaled more than 14 million metric tons in 2015-16, a record high. U.S. pork exports to Mexico and Canada totaled $1.2 billion and $731 million, respectively. Our trade agreements with these two countries are working well for agriculture. President Trump has stated that he wants to abolish all multinational trade agreements and establish bilateral agreements that will better protect American workers. We question whether that is possible or desirable. Trade agreements are based on a win-win relationship. Each party in a trade agreement should be better off because of the agreement. Given the acrimony that currently seems to exist between the United States as represented by President Trump and some of our trading partners such as China and Mexico, we question whether better trade relations can be negotiated. President Trump continues to insist that Mexico pay for building the wall and Mexico insists they will not. The current atmosphere for trade negotiations is very negative. Maintaining the current NAFTA will hopefully help us not have a trade war with Mexico that would be harmful to both countries. Sens. Ben Sasse and Deb Fischer, as well as Rep. Adrian Smith, need to aggressively protect Nebraska agriculture and oppose changes to treaties that benefit agriculture in Nebraska. This is not a time for partisan politics. Farming interests in countries such as Brazil and Argentina would love to gain market share in China or Mexico. Neighbors and friends, church parishioners and volunteers, sisters and brothers, workers and taxpayers are all ways you can describe individuals with developmental disabilities. People with disabilities are an important part of our community. At the Arc of Nebraska, we work with individuals with disabilities and their families and friends, to advocate for services like job training and independent living assistance to help people achieve their goals. Disabilities may present challenges, but they certainly do not prevent anyone from using their gifts or pursuing their dreams. Home and community-based service providers in Nebraska ensure the safety and well-being of individuals with disabilities, as well as provide support ranging from teaching people to navigate public transportation to helping individuals apply for jobs. These services promote independence for individuals with disabilities, helping them to become productive, stable members of our community. That is why we at The Arc applaud the Legislature Appropriations Committees recent decision to provide most of the funding to the service providers that support people with disabilities every day. Despite difficult budget circumstances, the committee made the good decision to make up for lost funding for developmental disability services due to a discrepancy between federal rules and state practices. This funding prevents dire outcomes for individuals with disabilities, because if the organizations that provide services cannot afford to do so, people with disabilities face the loss of homes, jobs, and friendships that they have worked hard to establish. The committee did the right thing when they ensured that service providers would not have to close doors, lay off staff, or cut services due to lost federal funds. Nevertheless, there is still much work to do. First, the full Legislature and the governor must support these important funds because the lives, livelihoods, and well-being of people with disabilities are at stake. If this funding is not fully approved, the state runs the risk of these vulnerable people being placed in institutions and nursing homes, at a substantial increase of costs than the use of community-based providers. Second, the Legislature must continue their commitment to people with developmental disabilities by fully funding services appropriately and by finding additional dollars to serve the 3,500 people who are still on waiting lists for services, some of whom have been waiting for eight years. Finally, all Nebraskans need to tell their elected officials, as well as school boards, city councils, county boards and Congress that we believe in people with developmental disabilities and we want them to have the support they need. HS Football: North Penn upsets Pennsbury in instant playoff classic With the game on the line, North Penn coach Dick Beck opted to go for the win with a two-point conversion attempt against Pennsbury. The Wildey Theatre had a full house this morning as city staff and local business owners attended the annual Economic Forecast Breakfast. The event was organized by Economic/Community Development Director Walt Williams and featured several key speakers, including Dr. Tim Sullivan, of SIUE, Cathy Hamilton with the BARBERMurphy Group as the moderator, Mike Hurley from Balke Brown Transwestern, and others. The focus of the breakfast discussed the predicted economic outlook for the new year. Edwardsville Mayor Hal Patton started off the discussion and said this past year was one for the record for the city of Edwardsville. It was a record year for total investment. We also had a record year for job creation and we had a record year for investment in our downtown. The city of Edwardsville is turning up, a city of both tradition and progress, from our infrastructure improvements to demolition of vacant, underutilized structures to construction of new state-of-the-art buildings. Business is being redefined in Edwardsville, Patton said. The city has seen new additions in the year 2016, including the newly-constructed headquarters of First to the Finish, the SIUE Fire Station, Prairie Farms, Madison County Mutual Auto Insurance Company in Park Plaza, and various others. Patton said the city has also made significant progress with projects, both finished and those still in the works. Weve also completed a lot of infrastructure projects ourselves. As you know, the new fire station out at SIUE, $3.5 million investment makes our campus safer, makes our community safer by getting down to the warehouse district where we have over five thousand workers on a daily basis. We also completed Leon Corlew Spray n Play Parkwe had over 500 visitors a day for the first two and a half weeks, so were proud of that, he said. The result of this synergy is an existing business is growing in Edwardsville. Thirty percent of our 893 registered businesses have hired new employees for 2016. Our residents consider Edwardsville to be an excellent investment choice. In 2016, 67 permits were issued for downtown Edwardsville improvements. These permits had a value just under $4 million, he added. With new local businesses that have joined the Edwardsville area, including Where They Roam, the Water Sweet Soap Company, Taqueria Z, and others, Patton said with more business comes more investors. When current businesses and committee members continue to invest in our community, it sends a message to other investors that they need to be here as well. These numbers prove that Edwardsville is open for business. Our goal under my administration has always been and will always be to encourage bustling economic activity while maintaining and building on the character of our neighborhoods and the quality of our family life. Edwardsville is absolutely a place where you can live, learn, work and play under a great example of government that works, he said. Dr. Sullivan then took to the stage to give his proposed national and local economic outlook for the new year. Taking into consideration the national economic downfalls, Sullivan said there are a few uncertainties. Since the year 2000, we havent been anywhere near (a) three-and-a-half percent (increase). In fact, what weve averaged, annual rate, would be 1.8 percent. The slow down started quickly after 2000 but it really accelerated in the second part of that decade, Sullivan said. This is not just the recession. Weve had eleven recessions since World War IIbut this is the typical pattern. The economy slows, it shrinks, it starts to grow again and then it shoots up and gets us back on that three-and-a-half percent growth track within a few years. So of course this what everybody expected to be happening back in 2003, 2004, 2005. With the Illinois annual economic growth being less than 1 percent, 0.8 percent, Sullivan said his prediction is as follows: 2.3 percent increase for the U.S., 1.3 percent for Illinois, 1 percent for St. Louis/MSA and 1.5 for Madison County. In the context of the last fifteen years, these are somewhat optimistic numbers. We havent had these growth rates for the last fifteen years so this is optimistic, he said. Theyre pessimistic by World War II standards, but theyre optimistic for 2000 and beyond standards. Sullivan said he is still keeping an eye on the economic changes that are sure to occur over the course of this year. If there are drastic changes, Sullivan said his predictions are subject to change accordingly. We dont know whether NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement) is going to be broken open and renegotiated, we still dont have a budget in Springfield, then Id probably want to slice off a tenth or two of a percentage point on the forecast. If you told me by the beginning of summer that well have a budget in Springfield and some of the national things have been resolved. One way or another, regardless of how they get resolved, Id probably want to bump up an extra tenth or two of a percentage point onto my forecast. Again its just the drag of the uncertainty, he said. Other key speakers discussed a market analysis for Class A office spaces in Edwardsville, city projects currently in the works and upcoming opportunities for local business owners as well. For more information about local businesses or economic development, contact Walt Williams via email at wwilliams@cityofedwardsville.com or call 618-692-7533. Edwardsvilles Public Works Committee recommended the approval of construction engineering services with Oates Associates, Inc. for the Quince Street reconstruction contract in the estimated amount of $73,100 at Tuesdays Public Services Committee meeting. The contract requires construction observation and documentation. If approved, Oates Associates will be on-site and follow IDOT policies and procedures for documentation and verify contractor staking and testing during construction. City Engineer Ryan Zwijack said Oates Associates will be responsible for conducting necessary inspections. They do all of the inspections, all of the paperwork that goes along with these types of projects. Theres a lot more paperwork because it is a federal-funded project, Zwijack said. Bids for the project went out on Friday. The construction engineering services will make sure the quality and accuracy of the project is up to par. Other improvements in this project include removing and replacing existing oil and chip and pavement, installing a new storm sewer, sidewalk replacement, driveways, signage, pavement markings and other work. The funds used for this project will come out of MFT (motor fuel tax) funds. Zwijack said Transportation Alternatives Program funds and Surface Transportation Program funds will not be contributed to the project. For this, we pay all. Construction engineering is not an eligible expense under TAP or STP funds, he said. Alderman Barb Stamer made the motion for approval. Alderman Jeanette Mallon seconded. With none opposed, the motion carried and will be addressed at tonight's City Council meeting. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Kornelius Purba (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Tue, February 7, 2017 National Police chief Gen. Tito Karnavian has shown that President Joko Jokowi Widodos decision to name him head of the police corps in July 2016 was the right move. Tito succeeded in neutralizing political upheavals and antigovernment rallies, mostly through silent operations. The 53-year-old police chief is now the Presidents most effective aide not only on security but also economic and political matters. He may have replaced Coordinating Maritime Affairs Minister Gen. (ret) Luhut Pandjaitan as the Presidents security czar and therefore has a great opportunity to go far beyond his current post. Many probably do not realize that Tito has practically become the countrys second-most powerful man after Jokowi, and firebrand Muslim cleric Rizieq Shihab deserves the biggest credit for Titos political fortune. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Jamal M. Gawi (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Tue, February 7, 2017 Population growth and urbanization are projected to add 2.5 billion people to the worlds urban population by 2050, with nearly 90 percent of the increase coming in Asia and Africa. In Southeast Asia, urbanization is one of the major trends currently shaping Southeast Asian societies. With a population of more than 630 million in 2015, more than 40 percent of whom have already urbanized at a rate of 5.6 percent per year in Laos, 4.6 percent in Cambodia, 3.9 percent in Myanmar and 3.3 percent in Indonesia, ASEAN is home to some of the largest and some of the fastest growing cities of the world. A few of those cities are already some of the most populated metropolises in the world. Without acknowledgment, the constant increase of ASEANs urban population will continuously put pressures on its sustainability. Combined with the impacts of climate change, these pressures may lead to unsustainable futures for ASEAN cities. On the other hand, weak planning and human resources, lack of financial resources and low levels of good governance coupled with a lack of readiness to efficiently manage urban natural resources, to use low-carbon technology and to improve disaster risk management and climate resilience, will lead to the same unsustainable future as above. The issue is timely now that the eighth EAS Seminar on Sustainable Cities will be held in Chiang Rai, Thailand on Feb. 8 and 9. The study on climate change vulnerability in ASEAN in 2009 found that the whole of the Philippines, the Mekong River delta in Vietnam, almost all the regions of Cambodia, North and East Laos, the Bangkok region and parts of Sumatra and Java in Indonesia are among regions vulnerable the most to climate change impacts. Land subsidence is a wellknown phenomenon affecting Jakarta and some other ASEAN cities, causing damage to housing, buildings and infrastructure, expansion of flooding areas, malfunction of drainage systems and river canals and increased inland sea water intrusion. Weak human resources, coupled with weak planning, have led to uncontrollable development of the cities causing many social, economic and environmental problems. Many cities in ASEAN have evolved without any planning at all, leading to very costly social and economic implications and unpopular movements to rearrange their development. Jakarta is one of the cities in ASEAN that has experienced the high cost of community evictions. Only very recently have Jakarta and some other ASEAN cities begun investing in the development of decent public transportation to better serve the urban and periurban citizens, mostly with the support from big donor countries and/or financial institutions. After a long wait, Metro Manila has just completed its Sustainable Development Plan in 2014, popularly known as a dream plan that will try to eliminate traffic congestion, prevent households from living in hazardous conditions, remove barriers to mobility and eliminate air pollution. Similar moves have also been initiated in other cities such as Kuala Lumpur and Bandar Seri Begawan. The lack of financial resources is one of the major issues hampering sustainable development for big and small cities in ASEAN. Metro Manilas dream plan will not come cheap and will need around US$52 billion until 2030. The first phase of Jakartas MRT is costing around $75 million per kilometer. Therefore, financial diplomacy will be a key initiative in mobilizing support to sustainably develop ASEAN cities. ASEAN has committed itself to ensure that urban areas are environmentally sustainable while meeting the economic and social needs of the people as outlined in the ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community Blueprint. Supported by donors and under the purview of the ASEAN Working Group on Environmentally Sustainable Cities (AWGESC), ASEAN for example has produced the ASEAN Initiative on Environmentally Sustainable Cities (ESC) that covers 25 smaller and rapidly growing cities across ASEAN. A few activities of this initiative have already been underway, such as the ESC Award, the ASEAN Certificate of Recognition for cities that meet clean air, clean land and clean water indicators assigned by the Working Group. However, there is very little explanation about the direction where these initiatives will lead ASEAN cities in the future. Unlike Singapore, which is sustainably well developed and managed, many ASEAN cities are still struggling with social, economic, ethical and environmental issues. Due to the lack of funding and capacity, ASEANs cities will not be able to develop and implement holistic solutions. Rather, they keep strangling on low, unsustainable levels instead. Any holistic approach to achieve livable urban development requires that economic, social and environmental perspectives supported by enabling factors are translated into participatory, well designed activities. This approach will need to be mainstreamed into national and decentralized local-level development plans. This is also in line with the New Urban Agenda and Goal 11 of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). As the Environmentally Sustainable Cities (ESC) has been adopted by ASEAN as the spirit for future urban development, it has to be clear that achieving ESC will be biased toward environmental perspectives only in the beginning. In the long term, it can only be justified if economic and social aspects are also linked to trigger greater sustainability. The ESC approach will focus on activities that support programming on, first, low-carbon technologies in which mitigation measures will be directed to achieve carbon neutrality supporting a green economy and green infrastructure. It should also utilize appropriate technologies. Second, efficient use of urban natural resources including protecting urban ecosystems and biodiversity, an increase of green spaces and gender-friendly green facilities. It should also invest in waste-to-energy programs as one of the pillars of the urban metabolism concept. Third, climate resilience in which adaptation programs are supported, especially focusing on efforts to make the cities able to absorb and recover from any shock or stress without compromising its essential functions, structures and identity. Fourth, disaster risk management initiatives in which, through capacity building, the city and its citizens will be enabled to anticipate potential disasters in the future. Cities are engines of economic growth. Due to unique social, environmental and physical challenges, ASEAN cities should be able to find their own way in dealing with these issues. Collective lessons will need to be drawn from various city development projects implemented by ASEAN member states with support from international donors. These will hopefully lead ASEANs cities to their sustainable and livable future. *** The writer is an international consultant on natural resource governance, climate change and biodiversity conservation. He holds a PhD in environmental studies from the University of Indonesia. --------------- 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 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 News Desk (Associated Press) Berlin Tue, February 7, 2017 The Dutch started it with a humorous video highlighting their "orange" history and lax tax rules. Now other European countries are getting in on the act. Broadcasters across the continent are publishing satirical videos directed at President Donald Trump, asking for their country to be second if he keeps insisting on "America first." Switzerland's public broadcaster SRF touted its "big fat mountains" and plentiful gold reserves in its pitch to Trump, who used to host "The Apprentice" reality show. A video by Portugal's RTP television noted the country's "huge, enormous beaches. You don't even have to take your spray tan." Several videos took more serious satirical digs, with an entry from German public broadcaster ZDF claiming that Adolf Hitler "made Germany great again." (Read also: With McCarthy playing Spicer, 'SNL' cranks up Trump satire) German satirist Jan Boehmermann, who last year made headlines for reading a lewd poem about Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on air prompting an international incident invited other broadcasters to join the effort. By Friday, seven videos had been posted on a website called 'Every Second Counts ,' including contributions from Denmark, Belgium and Lithuania. A Twitter account for the site promised that tiny Luxembourg a country slightly smaller than Rhode Island would be the next to proclaim its greatness to the world. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin A. Kurniawan Ulung (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Tue, February 7, 2017 14:28 2097 9b519824cb3263083aedb70a0beb3251 4 Art & Culture exhibition,dance,history,traditional-arts Free Renowned choreographer Eko Supriyanto made Indonesia proud when he danced for pop queen Madonna, but Indonesian dancers had already grabbed the worlds attention a long while before that. Curator Helly Minarti revealed that many thought legendary artist Bagong Kussudiardjo was the first Indonesian to dance overseas in his performance in the United States back in 1955. However in 1889, four Javanese women from Central Javas village of Wonogiri danced in the Dutch East Indies pavilion during the Paris Colonial Exhibition in Paris. At that time, the Western audience mistakenly took them as princesses of the Mangkunegaran kingdom. They were actually ordinary people brought over by the colonial ruler for the exhibition, Helly said on Saturday during the opening of her exhibition, titled Menatap Sang Liyan (Looking at the Other) at Salihara, a cultural center in South Jakarta. For the European colonizers, the Paris Colonial Exhibition was a platform to showcase developments in their colonies, which was the reason for Indonesias ruler at the time, the Dutch, to bring the four Javanese women to represent the Dutch East Indies. Piece of history: Visitors look at a mural depicting an illustration believed to have been drawn by Emilie Bayard for an article by Frantz Jourdain in Edmond de Goncourt's Journal No. 27 on Aug. 17, 1889. The illustration was about four Javanese dancers who performed in Paris. (JP/Kurniawan Ulung) Read also: Eko Supriyanto's 'Cry Jailolo' dazzles in Paris festival For Helly, the ongoing exhibition, which runs until Feb. 28, is expected to encourage more discussions about the history of Indonesian dance performances both at home and abroad. In the exhibition, the photograph of the four Javanese dancers, who she said were allegedly the first Indonesian dancers to perform overseas, is on display. She said there is a possibility she is wrong because a gamelan set was found in Europe before 1889. In Paris, the four women Sarkiem, Tamina, Sukia and Wakiem stayed for six months during which they performed all over, becoming the talk of the town, dancing barefoot with their bronze skin exposed. They also inspired a writer to write their story in a novel. There was also an illustration of them that appeared in Edmond de Goncourt Journal No. 27 on Aug. 17, 1889. The exhibitions title, Menatap Sang Liyan, was selected to represent how Western people looked at the four Javanese dancers, whom they called the other (liyan). They were seen differently because they showed a lot of skin through the dance costumes they wore, something that was considered unusual at the time. For me, as a Jakarta citizen, Balinese people are sang liyan because we have a different culture, Helly said. Cultural ambassadors: Four Javanese dancers who performed in Paris in 1889 are pictured together.(Neurdein/Roger Viollet) Read also: Rekindling Malang's Ang Hien Hoo 'wayang orang' The exhibition also displays the complexity of orientalism in the art of dance by showing various archives from many instituPh.D. tions, ranging from the National Library of Indonesia, French National Library, The Eye Museum in Amsterdam to the New York Performing Arts Library. Orientalism is the way the West looked at the East in the context of Western colonialism, she said, adding that orientalism was the title of a book by Palestinian thinker Edward W. Said, who said Western people often patronized Eastern culture. At the Paris Colonial Exhibition in 1931, a Balinese dance troupe from Pliatan village of Ubud performed, which inspired French poet Antonin Artaud to write Theater and Its Double. By 1938, Kecak dance was performed for tourists, and it became Balis most iconic tourist attraction. The exhibition also introduces the Oriental Tour of Denishwan, the company of Americans Ruth St. Denis and Ted Shawn, both deemed as pioneers of American modern dance. Three monitors were also installed at the exhibitions hall, screening movies about the history of dances like Kecak Ramayana, performed at the Uluwatu temple; and Sanghyang Dedari, a Balinese ritual dance only performed within the inner side of Balinese Hindu temples to ward off the evil spirit. Dance moves: A movie on ballet dancers of the early 20th century is screened at the exhibition, which is being held at the Salihara cultural center in South Jakarta until Feb. 28.(JP/Kurniawan Ulung) Read also: Kebo Ketan: Happening art with an impact The exhibition also screens three old movies about two male ballet dancers of the early 20th century Vaslav Nijinsky of group Ballet Russes, who danced as Khrisna in Le Dieu Bleu; and Jean Borlin of ensemble Ballet Suedois, who danced as Siamese Prince in Danse Celeste. Helly, who is the head of the program division at the Jakarta Arts Council (DKJ), said the exhibition was a small part of her thesis, entitled Modern and Contemporary Dance in Asia: Bodies, Routes and Discourse, which she completed in Roehampton University in London in 2014. She had previously curated the 2nd Asia-Europe Dance Forum in 2004, Indonesian Dance Festival in 2014 and Art Summit Indonesia: Reposisi in 2016. She hopes the ongoing exhibition, which took her one year to research and prepare, would motivate Indonesian dancers and choreographers to be more passionate about learning the history of Indonesian dances instead of merely creating new dance moves. I want them to be hungrier to learn about our culture through dance, she said. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Tessa Randello (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Tue, February 7, 2017 12:46 2097 9b519824cb3263083aedb70a0beaa071 4 Environment ocean-environment,shark-fin,shark-finning,shark-overfishing Free Hanum, not her real name, had the table set for the family feast to celebrate Chinese New Year. Shark fin soup is a delicacy for Chinese New Year and other special occasions, explained the 80-year-old after her return from a Chinese New Years Eve prayer. The soup will give you long life, because it is very healthy for you and Chinese people love things that are good for them. The traditional soup has been at the center of a global controversy for several reasons, including the practice of finning sharks that involves dragging them onto a boat to cut their fins off and throwing the rest back to the ocean. Without fins, the sharks just die. There are more than 400 shark species, but their populations around the world are in rapid decline, as it takes many years for them to mature and produce, making them vulnerable to over-exploitation. While Indonesias shark production has decreased by 28 percent between 2000 and 2014, the country still contributes 16.8 percent to the world catch of sharks, according to government data presented at a recent open discussion about taking shark fin off the menu, organized by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) in Jakarta. Shark finning.(WWF Indonesia/Wahyu Teguh) (Read also: New year sparks shark fin frenzy) Based on a WWF-Indonesia survey, shark fin consumption at Jakarta restaurants has shown a 20.32 percent decline to 12,622 kg a year from 15,840 kg in 2014, said WWF Indonesias Sunda-Banda seascapes and fisheries leader Imam Musthofa. Chefs, hotel owners, businesspeople and government officials attended the discussion, which focused on the hospitality and food industry. At the discussion, WWF encouraged guests to join some 18,000 hotels belonging to international chains that have already banned the use of shark. International hotel chains have to understand the serious threat the consumption of shark fins poses to the marine ecosystem. There is still much work to be done. Now we invite all parties in the food service sector that have not taken similar action to join this global movement, said Andy Cornish, the leader of leader WWF Internationals shark and ray initiative. Pamela Ranting, who is a part of the shark conservation group Scuba Indonesia, said 70 percent of shark fishing in Indonesia occurred by catch. This means they get caught up in tuna nets, so the government needs to stop the 30 percent from shark finning, then look at shark fishing, she said in the discussion. Bloody reality: Fisherman holds dorsal fin cut from scalloped hammerhead shark caught on longline.(WWF/Jeff Rotman) (Read also: Six epic scuba dives for every adventurer) Culture and culinary expert from the Association of Indonesian Chinese Peranakan, Aji Chen Bromokusumo, said the meaning of shark fin in the soup represented three elements land, air and water so other fish could be used to serve the same purpose. Shark fin is not a necessity at all as a token of gratitude, he said. As the soups price has increased drastically, the tradition of eating shark fin soup has slowly vanished from many Indonesian middle-class dining tables. The soup is very expensive now, and there used to be a lot more shark fin soup, but it is very difficult to find anyone selling shark fin soup now, Hanum says. I know that sharks are endangered, and that is probably why we cannot find the soup so easily anymore. A shark fin vendor in Glodok, West Jakarta, said he did not know where the shark was caught. I receive the fin already treated, said the vendor, who declined to be named. WWFs #SOSharks campaign aims to increase peoples awareness of the shark finning practice. The campaign is seen as crucial to effect change. The value of sustainability has been started globally, and we also have to join in, making this a national movement that involves all business players, business leader and champion of the #SOSharks campaign, Shinta Widjaja Kamdani, said. *** The writer is an intern at The Jakarta Post. Another survey has suggested a decline in support for the Jakarta gubernatorial candidate pair of Agus Harimurti Yudhoyono and Sylviana Murni, though their campaign team remains optimistic that Agus field guerilla style will help win votes on election day on Feb. 15. Agus-Sylvianas popularity dropped from 25 percent before the second official debate on Jan. 27 to 21.8 percent after the event, according to a Populi Center poll released on Monday. We will still emphasize field guerilla campaigning. Greeting residents one by one through eye contact and handshakes is an important method to gain support, the AgusSylviana campaign teams spokesperson Roy Suryo told reporters in response to the poll results. Agus, a former Army major and the eldest son of former president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, has coined the field guerilla term for his campaign style, emphasizing what he calls the power of handshakes and eye contact during many of his visits to residential areas across Jakarta. Agus believes that talking too much about programs does not necessarily lure voters. The survey, which had a 4 percent error margin, found that the drop was partly caused by Agus and Sylvianas unconvincing performances during the second debate, which focused on bureaucratic reform, public services and spatial planning. Conducted from Jan. 28 to Feb. 2, the poll found that only 13.5 percent of the total 800 respondents were convinced by AgusSylvianas programs in relation to the main topics of the debate. When asked if they were convinced about the pairs comprehension of the issues, the figure dropped further to 12.3 percent. The other contenders in the race, meanwhile, saw signs of improvement in popularity following the debate, according to Populi. Some 40 percent of respondents said the incumbent Basuki Ahok Tjahaja Purnama-Djarot Saiful Hidayat pair would win the election slated for Feb. 15, compared to 36.7 percent before the second debate. After taking an official leave of absence for three months, during which he had to juggle between campaigning for reelection and defending himself in a blasphemy trial, incumbent Jakarta Governor Basuki Ahok Tjahaja Purnama is expected to return to City Hall this weekend. Acting governor Sumarsono, who took over for Ahok from Oct. 28 last year, said the Home Ministry, which oversaw the work of the countrys 34 governors, would allow Ahok to return to his job at City Hall. My term will expire soon and so far there wont be another replacement, said Sumarsono, who also served as the Home Ministrys regional autonomy director general. Sumarsono hinted that Ahoks deputy, Djarot Saiful Hidayat, would also return to his position. [They will go back] as a team in complete formation, he said. Many have speculated that Ahok, who is currently standing trial for blasphemy, would be suspended from his position as governor after completing his leave of absence and that Djarot would be appointed acting governor. Another official from the Home Ministry confirmed that Ahok would immediately return to City Hall pending a decision from Home Minister Tjahjo Kumolo who will discuss Ahoks fate with the ministrys legal division. As the [home] minister has said, Ahoks position as governor will be decided by the prison term demanded by prosecutors [in his blasphemy trial], Home Ministry spokesman Dodi Riatmaji said. Acting Jakarta governor Soni Sumarsono (right) accompanies Home Affairs Ministry Tjahjo Kumolo (left) to attend a work meeting at the House of Representatives Commission II, which oversees regional affairs, in Jakarta on Dec. 6, 2016. (Antara/Akbar Nugroho Gumay) Dodi said the ministry could only make a decision regarding Ahoks future after prosecutors had decided which articles in the Criminal Code (KUHP) would be used to determine a prison term for Ahok. Refugees from Afghanistan hold up placards during a protest outside the office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Jakarta on Monday. They called on the UNHCR to accelerate their resettlement, saying they could no longer bear to live in Indonesia without jobs and prospects.(JP/Wendra Ajistyatama)(UNHCR) in Jakarta on Monday. They called on the UNHCR to accelerate their resettlement, saying they could no longer bear to live in Indonesia without jobs and prospects.(JP/Wendra Ajistyatama) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Margareth S. Aritonang (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Tue, February 7, 2017 The National Police said on Tuesday that a woman among 75 people currently housed in the Bambu Apus social shelter was the wife of Bahrumsyah, correcting earlier information stating it was the wife of Bahrun Naim. Both Bahrumsyah and Bahrun Naim are Indonesian militants supporting the terrorist group Islamic State (IS) in Syria. Bahrumsyahs third wife, identified as Nia Kurniawati, was among 17 Indonesians deported from Turkey last month for allegedly attempting to enter Syria, National Police spokesman Brig. Gen. Rikwanto said. She had joined another 74 people in a de-radicalization program in the Bambu Apus shelter in East Jakarta. She was sent to the [Bambu Apus] shelter to join the rehabilitation program run by the Social Affairs Ministry, Rikwanto said. Bahrumsyah is one of several Indonesian militants believed to have departed for Syria in 2014 to join the notorious terrorist group in its fight against the Syrian government. Police suspect him of being a financier of a terrorists attack in Central Jakarta in January last year that left eight people dead, including the four alleged perpetrators. In a visit to the shelter on Monday, the director of the National Counterterrorism Agencys (BNPT) de-radicalization program, Irfan Idris, named the wife of Bahrun Naims among the deportees. Bahrun is a tech-savvy militant who allegedly operates from Syria to recruit new militants online and inspires IS supporters to carry out attacks at home. The 75 people, including 34 children, are undergoing a de-radicalization program before they are allowed to go back to their hometowns. (rin) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Haeril Halim (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Tue, February 7, 2017 The wife of the notorious Indonesian militant believed to be fighting in Syria, Bahrun Naim, is among 75 people currently in custody as part of a deradicalization program at the government-owned Bambu Apus shelter in East Jakarta. Bahruns wife, whose name remains undisclosed, was among those deported by Turkish authorities in several stages starting in December, National Counterterrorism Agency (BNPT) deradicalization director Irfan Idris said on Monday. The National Police have accused Bahrun, a tech savvy militant who has joined the fight with the Islamic State (IS) terrorist group in Syria, of being the mastermind of a terrorist attack that struck the capital in January last year and killed eight people, including four perpetrators. His wife, along with 74 other Indonesians deported from Turkey, has been housed at the Bambu Apus shelter managed by the Social Affairs Ministry. The Indonesians were deported for their alleged attempts to enter wartorn Syria. The BNPT is still working on collecting details, Irfan said. Bahrun was sentenced to twoand-a-half years in prison by the Surakarta District Court in 2010 for possession of illegal firearms. Following his release in June 2012, police suspected Bahrun of traveling to Syria in 2015 after becoming a disciple of master recruiter and terrorist convict Aman Abdurrahman while serving in prison. Bahrun was also linked to the disappearance of Muhammadiyah Surakarta University student Siti Lestari, who reportedly dropped out and was declared missing in March in 2015. She was believed to have traveled to Syria to become Bahruns third wife, but the authorities have not provided information on whether she had joined Bahrun in Syria. It remains unclear whether Siti was the woman put in custody in Bambu Apus. National Counterterrorism Agency (BNPT) chief Comr. Gen. Suhardi Alius (right) speaks at a hearing with House of Representatives Commission III overseeing security affairs on Thursday in this file photo.(Antara/Puspa Perwitasari) BNPT chief Comr. Gen. Suhardi Alius said the 75 deportees had not reached Syria because they had been arrested by Turkish border security before entering the war-torn country. Some of them had felt stayed in Turkey for more than a year, looking for ways to enter Syria. Some stayed between two to three weeks [in Turkey before being arrested], but some also stayed there for one year, Suhardi said, after visiting the shelter on Monday. The 75 people were sent to Bambu Apus after being questioned by the National Polices antiterror squad Densus 88 upon their arrival from Turkey. As Densus 88 investigators confirmed they had not violated the Terrorism Law, they were sent to Bambu Apus for the deradicalization program, Suhardi said, adding that they would only be charged if they were found to have joined IS in Syria. They will return to their respective hometowns once the program has finished after at least one month. Of the 75 people, 24 were women, 17 were men and 34 were children of various ages with the youngest being three weeks old. Most of them came from East Java. They wanted to perform hijrah [migration]. We hope that people will accept them after they have returned to society, Suhardi said, adding if they felt excluded by society, they might be encouraged to resume radical thinking. (Read also: 17 Indonesians questioned about IS upon return from Turkey) Meanwhile, Social Affairs Minister Khofifah Indar Parawansa, who also visited the shelter on Monday, said most of the deportees were well-educated and had held white-collar professions. They had also expressed their willingness to return home after completing the program, she added. Some of the children wanted to become doctors, boxers and pilots. Some of their fathers are experts in IT, physics and finance, Khofifah said. The deportees in Bambu Apus included former mid-ranking Finance Ministry official Triyono Utomo, whose journey with his wife and three children was aborted, and they were deported to Bali last month. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Tue, February 7, 2017 Shareholders of publicly listed Bank Dinar have approved the sale of 77 percent of the banks shares to South Korean consumer finance firm APRO Financial Co. Ltd for Rp 691 billion (US$52.35 million). Bank Dinar president director Hendra Lie said at a meeting in Jakarta on Monday that the 77 percent would mostly come from the banks three major shareholders - Nio Yantony, Andre Mirza Hartawan and Syaiful Amir. Nio, Andre Hartawan and Syaiful will respectively sell 29.16 percent, 21.15 percent and 10.58 percent. The remaining 16.49 percent will come from the public, he added. Hendra explained that once the acquisition was completed, APRO Financial Co. Ltd would merge Bank Dinar with Bank Andara, 40 percent of which the Korean firm acquired last year. The merged bank would enter the BUKU II category, with core capital between Rp 1 trillion and Rp 5 trillion. The new majority shareholder plans to open at least six branches a year as part of the banks expansion plan. Hendra stated that there would be some rebranding after the merging of the two banks, adding that APRO had agreed to keep the employees. Bank Dinar was established in 1990 as Bank Liman, but renamed itself in 2012 before going public in 2014. (dra/bbn) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Bambang Muryanto (The Jakarta Post) Yogyakarta Tue, February 7 2017 In a progressive turn to uphold pluralism and tolerance, Suharsono, the regent of Bantul, Yogyakarta, said on Monday that Yulius Suharta, the Catholic district head of a predominantly Muslim area, would remain in his post. Im keeping him as Pajangan district head, Suharsono told The Jakarta Post. Suharsono said he came to the decision after receiving input from Pajangan residents over the past month. 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 Prima Wirayani (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Tue, February 7, 2017 The country's largest private lender, Bank Central Asia (BCA) in cooperation with the Financial Markets Associations (ACI) Indonesian branch (ACI FMA Indonesia), will provide an e-learning course on treasury products. The materials provided are on investment products in foreign exchange markets, the money market, fixed income and derivatives as well as on regulations and codes of conduct. "The treasury function is like the heart of a bank, an organ that regulates the blood flow to the whole body," BCA president director Jahja Setiaatmadja said during the signing ceremony in Jakarta on Tuesday. Not only bank officials but also corporations were required to understand treasury functions, he went on. (Read also: Private lender BCA establishes capital venture, eyeing fintech) "It will be better if our counterparties also have good treasury teams, so that business miscommunication can be avoided," he said. BCA grants its treasury learning materials to ACI FMA Indonesia, so after some modifications, they can be accessed by a wider public. ACI FMA Indonesia is a profession association that aims to develop its members' education and skills, especially on the financial market, through e-learning. "The skills, especially treasury skills, are different at each bank, including a lenders ability to provide education [for its officials]. That's why we created a program that is accessible to the public," the associations chairman, Branko Windoe, said. The e-learning course is available for free or almost free for the associations members and at a yet-to-be-determined fee for non-members. (bbn) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Antara (The Jakarta Post) Bekasi Tue, February 7, 2017 Political researcher at Islam 45 University Bekasi Harun Al Rasyid has said that all candidates in the upcoming Bekasi regency election had similar visions and programs in terms of development, bureaucracy, environment, agriculture and industry. Their programs are also lacking detail, Harun went on. "In this debate, the public should be able to explore a particular issue, for instance infrastructure, Harun said as quoted by Antara. Harun criticized the performances of all the candidates, saying that they attended the candidates debate as a formality only and did not answer questions in detail. During the debate, he said, all candidates only offered general statements that were not really based on the issues happening in the regency. "I think there should a similar agenda to introduce candidate pairs to the public," Harun went on. The five candidate pairs running in this years Bekasi election, which will be held on on Feb. 15., are Meilina Kartika Kadir-Abdul Kholik, Sa'dudin-Ahmad Dhani, Obon Tabroni-Bambang Sumaryono, Iin Farihin-Mahmud Al Hafiz and Neneng Hasanah Yasin-Eka Suria Atmaja. (trw) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Tue, February 7, 2017 The Tangerang Library and Archives Agency plans to place books aboard public transportation vehicles operating across the city to promote a reading habit among residents. To begin with, we will be putting books aboard TransCity buses and TransJabodetabek buses, said an official with the agency, Ahmad Karya Wiguna, as quoted by wartakota.tribunnews.com on Monday. Ahmad said the agency hoped the mobile library would help passengers keep themselves entertained during their trip. He added that the agency would work together with the Tangerang Transportation Agency to put up bookshelves the buses. The agency is currently working on a bookshelf design and expects to realize the plan this year. (lly/dmr) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin News Desk (Associated Press) Phnom Pehn Tue, February 7, 2017 A Japanese man and two Cambodians were charged Tuesday with allegedly tricking Cambodian women into working in the sex trade in Japan. They could face seven to 15 years in prison if convicted of "unlawful recruitment for exploitation," said Ly Sophana, a spokesman for Phnom Penh Municipal Court. A statement posted Monday on the Cambodian National Police website said Susumu Fukui, the 52-year-old owner of a Japanese restaurant in Phnom Penh, was arrested last week on suspicion of luring at least 10 women from provincial areas to work in Japan, ostensibly as well-paid waitresses, but then forcing them into the sex trade. Also arrested were his 28-year-old Cambodian wife and a 34-year-old male employee of the restaurant. (Read also: Indonesian Navy uncovers human trafficking on the sea) The website said the arrests followed the rescue of seven of the women by Japanese police after they secretly contacted the Cambodian Embassy in Tokyo. The women returned to Cambodia late last month. Police said the Japanese man and his wife told the women they recruited that they would earn $3,000 to $5,000 a month in Japan. On arrival, however, they were sent to Gunma prefecture, northwest of Tokyo, where they were forced to work in the sex trade. Japanese newspapers reported that after the women were freed, the authorities there made three arrests, of two Japanese men and a Thai woman, for forcing them into prostitution. (dan) TheJakartaPost Please Update your browser Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below. Just click on the icons to get to the download page. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Margareth S. Aritonang (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Tue, February 7 2017 Amid a blizzard of fake news on the internet that has increasingly caused discord in society, the Press Council has taken a bold step to verify media institutions, a move that while seems well-intended, may threaten the countrys press freedom. The council said it had begun a certification process for media companies to ensure they produced quality journalism and were trustworthy. Those verified will be assigned barcodes for print and online that will distinguish them from other outlets that have not received the certification. 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 Imagine yourself ordering a bowl of instant noodles from a small food stall in a remote village. When its time to pay, the stall owner presents you with their low-end smartphone, on which you would place your finger to confirm payment. In a blink of an eye, a sum of money has just been transferred from your account to the owners to pay for the noodles. This is what financial technology (fintech) is all about. A feature of fintech that must not be ignored is that it is not just a simple matter of technological marvels; it is also about financial inclusivity. What was illustrated above has become a reality in India. As of December 2016, the Indian government, through the ambitious Aadhaar project, managed to register 1.09 billion people, or 85 percent of the countrys population, into its system. Aadhaar utilizes a single identity number that contains the biometric and demographic data of its users stored in a centralized and online database. Aadhaar and its database are connected to various stakeholders, including government and private institutions, to allow various transactions to be carried out easily, quickly and securely with a fingerprint scan. What is it like in Indonesia in comparison? According to DailySocial and the Indonesian FinTech Association, there were around 140 fintech companies in the country as of last year. This figure had increased by 78 percent compared to a year earlier. (Read also: Fintech Talk: Loan provision for the unbanked. Is it possible?) However, their existence often creates financial fragmentation instead of financial inclusion. For example, a line of EDC machines at a payment counter potentially creates confusion for both cashiers and their customers. Additionally, banks and companies are now saturating the market with electronic wallet (e-wallet) products, leaving consumers with too many similar choices. In an effort to promote quick and secure transactions, the Indonesian government issued Law No. 11/2008 on electronic information and transactions (ITE) and Government Regulation No. 82/2012 on management of electronic systems and transactions, which regulate the introduction of identity verification using digital signature methods. The implementation of digital signatures is expected to take place in the second quarter of 2017. The program implementation, however, could take longer than expected with the lack of readiness in the institutions that will validate the digital signatures, referred to as certificate authority (CA). Currently, the only possible entities who can take the role of a CA are banks, as they have implemented the Know Your Customer (KYC) principle and possess the supporting infrastructure to take on the role. Unfortunately, cooperation between the Communications and Information Ministry and the Financial Services Authority (FSA) regarding the introduction of digital signatures was only officiated in September 2016. The long path to regulation implementation indicates a lack of synergy among government institutions. The government has actually shown a positive attitude toward fintech development. In December 2016, the FSA issued a regulation on online peer-to-peer (P2P) lending, only one month after Bank Indonesia launched the operation of a special office for fintech. Such efforts, however, need to move beyond formal regulatory levels. As an example, the World Bank reported that small and medium enterprises (SMEs) contributed the most to the countrys gross domestic product (GDP) and created more than 100 million jobs. However, only 20 percent of the SMEs had access to banking services. Many financial institutions have spent a huge amount on debt restructuring due to non-performing SMEs. Meanwhile, data on non-performing debtors in the Debtor Information System (SID) is currently not accessible to most non-bank financial institutions. The high level of difficulty in identifying non-performing debtors has caused overly stringent measures for financing selection, causing several fintech companies to merely attain an average 3 percent approval from total loan applications. Therefore, fintech has yet reached its potential to stimulate financial inclusiveness in Indonesia. Synergy among regulators is compulsory to improve the role of fintech in promoting financial inclusion. The development of the Financial Information Service System (SLIK) by the FSA to replace the SID might become promising momentum. However, the prerequisite of having to fill in the entire information for every customer in SLIK will be a great challenge, especially for fintech startups that cater to a wide array of users. Thus, the regulatory environment needs to ensure inclusiveness for non-bank fintech service providers too. As a possible solution, fintech companies may be offered a relaxed regime to integrate into SLIK, with a grace period to complete user data after becoming a member of SLIK. Additionally, SLIK integration accessibility should also be offered to private credit information bureaus and the Credit Information Management Institution (LPIP) to gain more comprehensive credit data. This would allow for better synergy between the FSA and Bank Indonesia (BI), considering LPIP is regulated by BI. The role of LPIP needs to be supported as it will contribute to the World Banks credit access indicator, helping Indonesias rating internationally. Hence, financial inclusion and fintech contribution to it will rely greatly on the role of the government, not only in the regulatory sector but also through synergy to create a supportive ecosystem to promote financial inclusion. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Indra Budiari (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Tue, February 7, 2017 Two fishermen who witnessed the controversial speech of Jakarta Governor Basuki "Ahok" Tjahaja Purnama in Jakarta's Thousand Islands regency in September are scheduled to share their accounts of the incident at Tuesdays hearing in the blasphemy trial. The prosecutors expect Jaenudin and Sahbudin to support their claim before the judges that Ahok had committed blasphemy in his speech, which included a reference to a verse from the Quran. North Jakarta District Court spokesman Hasoloan Sianturi told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday that besides the two, the prosecution side was also scheduled to summon as expert witnesses criminal forensic expert M. Nuh and Hamdan Rasyid, a fatwa commission member of the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI). (Read also: Eyewitness refuses to conclude Ahok committed blasphemy) "Previously, the prosecution team planned to summon only Hamdan Rasyid for the expert witness list, but I just got confirmation that Nuh will be present as well," Hasoloan said. Those accusing Ahok of blasphemy have cited an MUI edict from Oct. 11, which made headlines for suggesting that Ahoks speech had insulted the Quran. (dmr) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Farida Susanty (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Tue, February 7, 2017 The government has announced that it was considering asking state construction firm Adhi Karya, contractor of the light rail transit (LRT) project in Greater Jakarta, to also invest in the project due to the cash-strapped budget. Coordinating Maritime Affairs Minister Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan said the government was looking for a flexible way to fund the LRT. So Adhi Karya may not just be the one driving it forward [as the contractor], but also as an investor, he said on Tuesday. Luhut reiterated that the project should be finished by 2019, even though the government so far has not come up with a solution for paying Adhi Karya back. (Read also: Jokowi hopes LRT construction will be completed on schedule) According to a recently revised 2016 Presidential Regulation on the LRT, the government has appointed Adhi Karya to build the project and will fund the LRT from the Transportation Ministrys budget. The regulation stipulates that all process until the contract signing must be completed within 120 days or four months from the regulation being passed in July 2016. However, neither party has signed the contract as the legal basis of the budget disbursement until now, leaving Adhi to rely on its internal cash. (bbn) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Marguerite Afra Sapiie (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Tue, February 7, 2017 The government has said it has no intention of intervening in the religious sphere with its plan to draft standards for preachers who deliver sermons during Friday prayers. Religious Affairs Minister Lukman Hakim Saifuddin has tried to calm down public concerns about the plan, which have arisen alongside simmering sectarian tensions in the country. Critics of the plan say the state will police religious sermons but Lukman has been quick to say that the government will let ulema and Islamic organizations determine the standards. "The government will not intervene, let alone regulate the content of sermons like in the past. This is a whole different era [from the New Order] and it's impossible for us to do such things because we know that it's not in our domain," Lukman said on Tuesday. Lukman said the determination of standards for the preachers would be mulled over with ulema from numerous organizations including the Indonesian Ulema Council, Nahdlatul Ulama and Muhammadiyah. The ministry will only facilitate the process of standardization. "What we need is guidance that can serve as a reference point for the preachers to know what they can and cannot say during sermons and also for the management of mosques to decide who can deliver sermons on a certain date and who cannot," Lukman said. The plan has come about amid reports that some practicing Muslims are becoming increasingly concerned about hate speech and provocative sectarian sentiments coming up during Friday sermons. The plan, however, has received a mixed response from Islamic organizations and Muslim scholars. (evi) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Rizal Harahap (The Jakarta Post) Pekanbaru Tue, February 7, 2017 The Law and Human Rights Ministry said Tuesday it had decided to deport 14 Chinese workers back to China for immigration violations. Ferdinand Siagian, the head of the ministrys regional office in Riau, said the deported workers worked at Tenayan Raya power plant in Pekanbaru, Riau, for two months using tourist visas. They were flown to Jakarta escorted by immigration officers. We want to send them back to their country of origin tonight, Ferdinand said. (Read also: Indonesian immigration office continues to hunt illegal foreign workers) The ministry uncovered the presence of illegal foreign workers after the Manpower Ministry conducted spot checks in the middle of January, Ferdinand said. (dan) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Tue, February 7, 2017 Shinhan Indo Finance Ltd (SIF), a subsidiary of South Korean credit issuer Shinhan Card, has launched its first credit card on the Indonesian market. The "ShinhanIndo Card Hi-Cash comes in four different types to reach consumers from all segments, especially the millennials. In developing its credit card business, SIF is cooperates with Indo-Pack, merchants under Indomobil Group, and K-Pack, merchants from South Korean companies, the companys vice president Tan Kim Piauw told a press conference after the launching event on Monday. (Read also: Korea's Shinhan buys Indonesian banks) SIF was established in December 2015 as a multi-finance joint venture between the Korean credit issuer and two Indonesian firms, Indomobil Group and Asuransi Central Asia (ACA). The joint venture obtained permits to issue credit cards from the Financial Services Authority (OJK) and Bank Indonesia in December last year. In its initial stage of operation, Indomobils 20,000 employees and those of ACA were SIFs main market target, Tan said, adding that this year the number of credit card holders was expected to reach 80,000. We hope to book Rp 500 billion in transactions in 2017, he said. Speaking at the press conference, Shinhan Card CEO Wi Sung Ho said that with its growing middle class, Indonesia was a market with quite a bit of potential for the credit card business. He said that the number of credit card holders totaled only 17 million despite the countrys large population, far below the South Korean market with 22 million cardholders. (ecn/lnd) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin News desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Tue, February 7, 2017 The Jakarta General Elections Commissions (KPU Jakarta) has warned the public not to take every post on social media accounts at face value following the spread of pictures of so-called fake electronic identity cards (e-KTPs). The fake e-KTPs bear the pictures of one person, but they have different ID numbers and names. "We call on the public not to easily believe everything circulating on social media networks. Please do check and re-check, KPU Jakarta head Sumarno said in a press conference at the KPU Jakarta office in Salemba, Central Jakarta, on Tuesday as quoted by Kompas.com. "This [hoax] has something to do with security during the election. The posting about the e-KTP is a hoax. Its not true, he went on. Sumarno hoped the public could help maintain peace and security so the upcoming regional election on Feb. 15 runs smoothly. (Read also: Police to stamp "Hoax" on unreliable news online) As well as the posts on the fake e-KTP, there has also been a rumor saying that KPU Jakarta has prepared strategies to ensure victory for Jakarta gubernatorial candidate pair Basuki Tjahaja Purnama-Djarot Saiful Hidayat. KPU Jakarta said that it had reported the social media account that spread the fake news to the Jakarta Police for further investigation. (trw) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Agnes Anya (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Tue, February 7, 2017 PT Transportasi Jakarta (Transjakarta) is set to allow mosque caretakers, locally known as marbot, to ride Transjakarta buses for free. "As a token of recognition to marbot in the capital, the Jakarta administration will let them enjoy free rides on Transjakarta buses," said Transjakarta president director Budi Kaliwono in a statement on Monday. "We hope we can realize the plan as soon as possible," Budi said, adding that the program was instigated by Jakarta Governor Basuki "Ahok" Tjahaja Purnama before he took leave to compete in the gubernatorial election. Previously, the company offered free rides to people with disabilities, the elderly, veterans, residents of Thousand Islands regency and holders of Social Protection cards. (dmr) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Fedina S. Sundaryani (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Tue, February 7, 2017 08:43 2097 9b519824cb3263083aedb70a0be992c9 4 Business Pakistan,#import,imports,fruit,Trade Free Indonesian fresh fruit importers say Pakistan will face tough rivalry from China Pakistan hopes to see an increase in exports of its famous Kinnow oranges to Indonesia, as it has started to infiltrate the market through giant retailers. A press statement from the Pakistani Embassy made available to The Jakarta Post states that consignments of the Pakistani Kinnow have started arriving in Jakarta, and are currently being sold in many major grocery chains, including Carrefour, Ranch Market, Hypermart and Giant. The Kinnow is a larger orange, touted to be extremely easy to peel and is cited as having a unique flavor as a result of the soil and climate in which they are grown. The Pakistani Kinnow made its entry into the Indonesian market at New Year and the Chinese New Year, to make them more joyous occasions. Last year, Pakistans exports of Kinnow oranges to Indonesia amounted to US$23 million and this figure is expected to grow significantly in 2017, the press statement read. Indonesia has a preferential trade agreement (PTA) with Pakistan, which began in 2013, and Pakistans Kinnow oranges are allowed access through the countrys main port in Tanjung Priok, North Jakarta. In exchange, Pakistan exempts Indonesia, the worlds largest crude palm oil (CPO) producer, from paying 10 percent import duty on that commodity. Following the PTA, imports of Kinnow oranges from Pakistan reached $19.3 million in 2014, from $3 million in 2013. However, Indonesian Fresh Fruit and Vegetables Exporters and Importers Association chairman, Kafi Kurnia, said that it was unlikely Pakistan could significantly boosts its exports of Kinnow oranges because of fierce competition from similar oranges from China. Kafi noted that since existing regulations limited the size of imports of certain fruits, importers tended to be choosier. The Kinnow imports arrived during a very good time, at around Chinese New Year. However, they have a lot of fierce competition, mostly from Chinese exporters. If my importing quota was limited, especially during this time, I would definitely prioritize oranges from China, he told the Post on Monday. Even so, the Kinnow orange will remain a major competitor for locally produced oranges, as there was a lack of research and development that could help raise the quality of local fruit and vegetables. Indonesia is also home to many other tropical fruits such as mangosteen, rambutan, snake fruit, jackfruit, soursop, breadfruit, guava and starfruit, but they are not exported in great quantities or even consumed heavily at home. The government aims to boost tropical fruit production by expanding land for fruit plantations while also improving infrastructure and transportation systems to reduce high distribution costs, as part of efforts to become the biggest tropical fruit producer in Southeast Asia by 2025 and in the world by 2045. Meanwhile, National Agriculture Council chairman Benny Kusbini concurred that a lack of uniform quality among locally produced fruit was an obstacle when it came to competing with imported fruit sold in Indonesia. He also noted that poor infrastructure remained a problem as some fruits were cheaper to import than to transport from regions in Indonesia. The Kinnow, for example, can be very cheap to import from Pakistan to Indonesia. Sometimes 10 kilograms of Kinnows can be imported for only $5 to $6. Compared to oranges from Medan, for example, it is difficult to compete with those prices, he told the Post. Indonesia imported $666.37 million worth of fruit and $558.08 million worth of vegetables in 2015, according to data from Trade Map. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Callistasia Anggun Wijaya (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Tue, February 7 2017 With nine days left until Election Day, two Banten gubernatorial candidates, incumbent Banten governor Rano Karno and his rival, Wahidin Halim, are locked in a tight race, in which aversion to political dynasties, which has long existed in the province, could influence the elections results. Despite having a better favorability rating, it will not be easy for Wahidin, former Tangerang mayor who is running with Andika Hazrumy, the eldest son of graft convict and former Banten governor Ratu Atut Chosiyah, to claim victory, as people show distaste for political dynasties in the province, researchers have said. Association for Elections and Democracy (Perludem) researcher Titi Anggraeni said there has been an escalation of public opposition against political dynasties in Banten, given the slow progress in development works in the province. 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 Arya Dipa (The Jakarta Post) Bandung Tue, February 7, 2017 The leader of the Islam Defenders Front (FPI), Rizieq Shihab skipped his first questioning session in his capacity as a suspect in a defamation case at the West Java Police headquarters in Bandung, West Java, on Tuesday, citing fatigue. The questioning was related to allegations that he defamed founding father Sukarno and the state ideology Pancasila. Sukarnos daughter, Sukmawati Soekarnoputri, reported Rizieq to the police for his speech taped in a video, in which Rizieq said in Sukarnos version of the Pancasila, the principle Faith in God, was put at the bottom. Rizieq used the word ass and was named a suspect. West Java Police spokesperson Yusri Yunus said Tuesday afternoon that Rizieqs lawyers had yet to give any information about Rizieqs whereabouts. We havent received any news from them, he said.a He said his office would issue a second summons if the suspect failed to show up by Tuesday evening. West Java FPI lawyer Kiagus Muhammad Choiri said his client was fatigued and not fit for questioning. Fatigued although not hospitalized, said Choiri. He said he was waiting for information from the doctor regarding Rizieqs health condition before informing the police about his clients failure to show up Tuesday. (evi) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Tue, February 7, 2017 The South Jakarta Manpower and Transmigration Agency is set to provide car-driving training and drivers licenses to 300 unemployed citizens this year in a bid to help them obtain jobs. The training is free of charge. We hope that they can immediately take on jobs after the training, agency head Chrisnawati Sulistyaningrum was quoted by wartakota.tribunnews.com as saying on Monday. She added that the program was instigated by public aspirations. There were more than 1,000 applicants. However, the Bappeda [Jakarta Development Planning Board] only approved 300 from 600 shortlisted candidates, she said, adding that the popularity of ride-hailing applications had greatly contributed to the number of applicants. The applicants, whose ages range between 20 and 45, were only required to submit copies of their ID cards, she said, adding that their formal education background was not taken into account. South Jakarta is home to some 2 million citizens, from which around 120,000 people are without permanent jobs, Chrisnawati said. (fac) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Stefani Ribka (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Tue, February 7, 2017 Switzerland has allocated 75 million Swiss Franc (US$75.56 million) for various development projects in the 2017-2020 period to enhance bilateral relations with Indonesia. The funds would be allocated to macroeconomics assistance, private sector development, infrastructure and trade, the head of economic development cooperation at the Embassy of Switzerland in Indonesia, Martin Stottele, said Monday after meeting Industry Minister Airlangga Hartarto. Swiss Ambassador to Indonesia Yvonne Baumann said Switzerland was particularly keen on developing human resources in Indonesias manufacturing sector. "In the past we've funded some schools and polytechnics here to improve the quality of vocational training. Now we want to do it again in the manufacturing sector, but on a larger scale," she said, declining to disclose details. (Read also: Minister sees Germany, Switzerland as models for vocational schools) One of the ongoing projects is a program to develop tourism called "Wisata," through which Switzerland helps local people develop tourism in Flores in East Nusa Tenggara (NTT), Wakatobi in Southeast Sulawesi and Toraja in South Sulawesi. At present, Switzerland as a member of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) is negotiating with Indonesia on a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA). (lnd) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Agnes Anya (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Tue, February 7 2017 Despite a drop in income following a deadly boat inferno last month, travel planners and boat owners in Kali Adem Port, North Jakarta, remain optimistic that their businesses will eventually bounce back. The port is a gateway for budget travelers looking to go to Thousand Islands. to Read Full Story SUBSCRIBE NOW Starting from IDR 55,500/month Unlimited access to our web and app content e-Post daily digital newspaper No advertisements, no interruptions Privileged access to our events and programs Subscription to our newsletters We accept Register to read 3 premium articles for free Already subscribed? login Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Tue, February 7, 2017 Thousands of members of Islamic organizations plan to join a rally in the capital on Feb. 11, ahead of the cooling off period before the regional elections, police officials confirmed on Tuesday. The police have received a letter from the hard-line group Muslim Peoples Forum (FUI) informing them that around 10,000 people would be hitting Jakartas streets on Saturday, National Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Martinus Sitompul said on Tuesday. The protest will begin in the morning, with protesters marching from the Hotel Indonesia traffic circle to the National Monument (Monas) in Central Jakarta. Several hard-line Muslim groups, such as the Islam Defenders Front and FUI under the National Movement to Safeguard the Indonesian Ulema Council's Fatwa (GNPF-MUI) had previously announced that they would conduct rallies on Feb. 11, 12 and 15. The protestors also plan to hold a joint prayer before the rally. The General Elections Commission (KPU) has declared Feb. 12 to 14 the cooling-off period before voting day on Feb. 15. Meanwhile, National Police spokesman Insp. Gen. Boy Rafli Amar said the police had urged protestors not to raise political issues as the planned rallies would be held close to the regional elections. We will not prohibit any religious activities, but in terms of any political agenda, please follow the regulations issued by the KPU. Dont conduct the rally if it violates election regulations, he told journalists at the National Police headquarters. (dis/rin) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Ma Jie and Kevin Buckland (Bloomberg) Tokyo Tue, February 7, 2017 Toyota Motor Corp. recently ceded its title as the worlds best-selling automaker to arch-rival Volkswagen AG. Yet the Japanese companys biggest adversary this year may be U.S. President Donald Trump. Japans largest automaker expects profit to fall to 1.7 trillion yen ($15.1 billion) for the fiscal year ending next month, about a quarter less than the previous annual period. The forecast given Monday -- still less than analysts consensus -- reflects challenges including a stronger yen and flagging U.S. demand for passenger cars like the Camry sedan. Trumps opposition to imported vehicles risks making company President Akio Toyodas job even more difficult. Toyota has invested about $22 billion in the U.S. and would likely need more than $1 billion and several years to add to the six plants its already built in politically conservative U.S. states. The company still imports a significant proportion of high-value components like engines and transmissions, said Takaki Nakanishi, the top-ranked auto analyst for six consecutive years through 2009 in rankings by Nikkei Veritas. Japans auto industry has not sufficiently localized operations in the U.S., its largest sales destination market, Nakanishi, a Tokyo-based analyst for Jefferies Group LLC, wrote in a Jan. 30 report. Just before taking office, Trump called out Toyota in a tweet for plans to build a factory in Mexico to produce a next-generation Corolla, Toyotas flagship compact, and threatened it with a big border tax. Toyota shows no sign of backing down from its investment plans in Mexico. Read more: Toyotas red wall tested as Trump demands more U.S. plants High Stakes The stakes for Toyota are significant, as North America accounts for about 38 percent of its revenue. Both the company and Japan have taken some political heat from the new Trump administration, which has a lot riding on plans to revive U.S. manufacturing. Toyoda, who dined with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe ahead of the Japanese leaders visit to the U.S. this week, has said Toyota will invest $10 billion in the U.S. over the next five years. About 75 percent of the parts used to build the best-selling Camry sold in the U.S. are made locally, Abe told Trump during a recent call. On Monday, Toyota missed estimates with a 39 percent decline in operating profit for the quarter ended Dec. 31. The company raised its profit forecast for this fiscal year from 1.55 trillion yen previously. Analysts project the automaker will earn about 1.74 trillion yen. U.S. Sales Toyota expects U.S. sales to remain difficult for passenger cars as buyer preference shifts to trucks and SUVs, and competition has intensified with automakers stepping up incentives, Managing Officer Tetsuya Otake said Monday. The automakers shares fell 2.4 percent to 6,340 yen as of 9:30 a.m. in Tokyo. The benchmark Topix index slid 0.6 percent. Read more: Trumps Big Border Tax Threat -- QuickTake Q&A Toyota makes about 49 percent of the vehicles it sells in the U.S. from plants within the country, according to the company. The company exports more vehicles to the nation than either Nissan Motor Co. or Honda Motor Co., as it manufactures most Lexus luxury cars in Japan and ships RAV4 sport utility vehicles from Canada and Tacoma pickups from Mexico. For Toyota, adding more production to the U.S. could be both politically fraught back in Japan and expensive. Koji Endo, an automotive analyst at SBI Securities in Tokyo, estimates that building more Lexus models in the U.S. would require a new plant that would cost as much as 150 billion yen ($1.3 billion). If Toyota wants to shift production even more to the U.S., it would probably have to close plants in Japan and fire people, and some suppliers might disappear, Endo said. Aside from trade politics, Toyota faces a U.S. car market showing signs of flagging demand and growing reliance on sales incentives, which hurts profits. Toyotas U.S. sales fell about 11 percent in January. (Read also: Toyota Indonesia to see exports down by 5 percent this year) SUV Production Toyota is investing more in SUV and truck production to meet growing demand in an era of low gas prices. The company is adding 400 jobs and investing $600 million at its facility in Princeton, Indiana, where the Highlander mid-sized SUV is produced. Last month, the company unveiled the fifth generation of its Lexus LS, which competes with the Mercedes S-Class and BMW 7 Series. Also available from Toyota later this year will be the all-new 2018 Camry sedan. Toyota does seem to have a lot of new products for 2017, Endo said. Yet that advantage could be offset somewhat if Japanese automakers face tariffs on the cars they bring into the U.S. from home or Mexico. Tariffs may be a tough sell in Congress. But if theyre approved, prices would rise and there would be less demand for big-ticket items like passenger vehicles, said Maryann Keller, an independent auto analyst in Stamford, Connecticut.(dan) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin (The Jakarta Post) Wed, February 8 2017 United States Defense Secretary James Mattis visit to his countrys closest military allies in Asia, Japan and South Korea, calmed, at least for a while, anxiety and fear in the two countries that they may have to defend themselves from North Koreas nuclear threats and Chinas military might. The two countries would in fact be unable to face China and its ally North Korea militarily. While China has a complicated relationship with its former colonial master Japan, including their overlapping territorial sovereignty claims, Seoul would clearly be defenseless if Pyongyang resorted to arms against its arch enemy. In his joint press conference with Mattis in Tokyo on Friday, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told the retired general he was encouraged to see someone like you who has substantial experience, both in the military and in security, defense and diplomacy, taking this office. 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 Ina Parlina (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Wed, February 8 2017 Since its establishment in 2003, the Constitutional Court has rarely been considered progressive, with many of its rulings on divisive issues such as blasphemy, child marriage and pornography seen as favoring the nations conservative groups. Of the nine court justices, only two are considered progressive: I Dewa Palguna, who was appointed by President Joko Jokowi Widodo in late 2014; and Maria Farida Indrati, appointed twice by former president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, in 2008 and in 2013. Palguna, a Hindu, has voiced progressive views on religious freedom and interfaith marriage. 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 Asial Jalil and Jarrod Mitchell (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Wed, February 8 2017 Indonesia should increase its higher education learning competitiveness index by improving synergy with other ASEAN countries. We have to be innovative and open to change if we want to move forward. Indonesia should increase its competitiveness by working with other ASEAN countries considering that we are a regional body, said Suyatno, chairman of Indonesian Rectors Forum. He mentioned that one of the ways to increase competitiveness is by encouraging higher education researchers to publish more for international journals. to Read Full Story SUBSCRIBE NOW Starting from IDR 55,500/month Unlimited access to our web and app content e-Post daily digital newspaper No advertisements, no interruptions Privileged access to our events and programs Subscription to our newsletters We accept Register to read 3 premium articles for free Already subscribed? login Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin (The Jakarta Post) Pekanbaru Wed, February 8 2017 The Riau office of the Law and Human Rights Ministry decided to deport 14 Chinese workers from a total of 109 Chinese workers apprehended at the Tenayan Raya power plant project in Pekanbaru after a thorough two-week investigation. Ferdinan Siagian, the head of the office, said the deported foreigners were not equipped with the proper legal documents needed to work in Indonesia. Before we detained them, they had been working at the Tenayan Raya power plant for two months on tourist visas, he said on Tuesday. to Read Full Story SUBSCRIBE NOW Starting from IDR 55,500/month Unlimited access to our web and app content e-Post daily digital newspaper No advertisements, no interruptions Privileged access to our events and programs Subscription to our newsletters We accept Register to read 3 premium articles for free Already subscribed? login Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Wed, February 8, 2017 The city administration has opened tenders for thousands of new low-cost apartments, but residents say they hardly know anything about the planned apartments. Arifin, the head of the Jakarta Public Housing and Settlement Agency, said 6,000 new apartments would be developed this year across five locations in West, East and North Jakarta. These apartments are part of the 11,000 new apartments scheduled to be built by the end of 2017. Some plots that are part of the Pesing police housing complex in West Jakarta have been cleared since 2015. (Read also: Jakarta to build 6,000 new low-cost apartments this year) However, some residents in the Pesing complex say they have not been briefed by officials about the construction plan for the new apartments. Endang, 45, who lives and sells groceries near the plot cleared for the apartments, said I got the information from the internet. She said she had only heard that the new apartments in the Pesing complex would be allocated for police officers. Sunarto, 45, the head of the nearby neighborhood unit, said he had yet to receive news about the apartments from the West Jakarta Police, which he said was responsible for the management of the land. Endang said several city officials and police officers had visited the complex recently to conduct measurements. Maybe [the measurements] are for more towers since they measured the whole complex. But I dont really know, Endang said. Arifin said one apartment tower would be built in Pesing. (kkk/dmr) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Tama Salim (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Wed, February 8 2017 Indonesia and South Africa are strengthening their economic cooperation, Indonesias top diplomat has revealed, as a delegation of state officials and businesses seeks to bolster the countrys presence on the African continent. Foreign Minister Retno LP Marsudi was in Cape Town on Monday for bilateral talks with her South African counterpart. She encouraged state-owned firms in her entourage to seize the available trade and investment opportunities in South Africa. 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 Liza Yosephine (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Wed, February 8 2017 Indonesia has invited South Korea to help it obtain a technical assistance agreement on jet fighter development from the United States amid ongoing joint cooperation on the KFX/IFX prototype production. Deputy Foreign Minister AM Fachir said on Monday the two Asian countries had come to an agreement after he conveyed the invitation to his South Korean counterpart, Lim Sung-nam, during the first High Working Level Strategic Dialogue in Jakarta. The aircraft project was highlighted during the talks, which discussed strengthening strategic cooperation between the two countries. 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 Dylan Amirio (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Wed, February 8 2017 Local human resources management platform Sleekr introduced Tuesday mobile apps to assist 59 million small and medium enterprises (SME) nationwide through online activities. The apps provide accounting and human resource assistance to help businesses extract and manage data at a more efficient pace. The Sleekr HR app, set for release in mobile app stores at the end of February, will among other things help companies manage employee attendance, leave, claims, reimbursement, tax calculations and social security. 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 Gun Gun Heryanto (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Wed, February 8 2017 Of the 93 regencies and cities that will hold elections on Feb. 15, nine will see only one candidate pair running, although this does not necessarily mean they will go unchallenged. In the regencies of Buton, Southeast Sulawesi, West Tulang Bawang in Lampung, Pati, Central Java, Landak in West Kalimantan, Tambraw, West Papua, and the cities of Tebing Tinggi in North Sumatra, Sorong, West Papua, Jayapura in Papua and Central Maluku in Maluku, the sole candidates will compete with the blank box on election day. According to regulations, the General Elections Commission (KPU) will declare them the winners if they manage to secure more than 50 percent of the valid votes. If the sole candidates fail, the KPU will rerun the elections with the next simultaneous regional elections in 2018. The phenomenon of sole candidate pairs also occurred in the 2015 simultaneous local elections last December in Blitar, East Java, Tasikmalaya in West Java and North Timor Tengah in East Nusa Tenggara. The Constitutional Court (MK) allowed sole candidates to contest the election for the posts of governor, regent and mayor to respect the constitutional rights of voters. to Read Full Story SUBSCRIBE NOW Starting from IDR 55,500/month Unlimited access to our web and app content e-Post daily digital newspaper No advertisements, no interruptions Privileged access to our events and programs Subscription to our newsletters We accept Register to read 3 premium articles for free Already subscribed? login Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Garfield Reynolds (Bloomberg) Sydney Tue, February 7, 2017 Asian equities declined after the yen led a rally in haven assets with political uncertainty infecting markets across the globe. Japans Topix index dropped for the first time in three days, after the yen touched the highest level since November. That comes after the S&P 500 Index retreated from near-record levels, with shares most tied to economic growth struggling after sagging wage gains and uneven retail results. The euro slumped with French, Italian and Spanish bonds amid political uncertainty in France. Gold surged to the highest price since November on Monday, while 10-year Treasury yields touched a two-week low. The Trump-fueled rally in equities is faltering as investors assess how the U.S. administration will balance protectionist trade rhetoric with promised tax cuts and spending increases. At the same time, traders are assigning greater risk premiums to European countries where anti-establishment movements are gaining traction ahead of elections. Emerging-market assets advanced as slowing wage growth in the U.S. gives the Federal Reserve room to wait before hiking rates. Following the election, the positive shift in sentiment among investors, business, and consumers suggested that the probability of tax cuts and easier regulation was seen to be higher than the probability of meaningful restrictions to trade and immigration, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. economists led by Alec Phillips wrote in note published late last week. One month into the year, the balance of risks is somewhat less positive in our view. Whats coming up in the markets: The Reserve Bank of Australia is forecast to hold its cash-rate target at a record-low 1.5 percent Tuesday in its first meeting this year. Central banks in India, New Zealand, Philippines and Thailand also have meetings on monetary policy this week. With a light calendar of U.S. economic data slated for the week, investors will keep an eye on political developments as the Trump administration takes swipes at the judicial branch for suspending its immigration order. Germany delivers factory data on Tuesday thats expected to show output slowed in December from the prior month. In the U.K., industrial activity also may have moderated, with a report from there due Friday. (Read also: Asia stocks poised to rise after U.S. jobs growth: Markets wrap) Here are the main market moves: The Topix index fell 0.6 percent as of 9:23 a.m. in Tokyo, after a two-day gain. Toyota Motor Corp. dropped 2.5 percent after reporting a 39 percent decline in third-quarter operating profit. Australias S&P/ASX 200 Index declined 0.2 percent. South Koreas Kospi Index retreated 0.1 percent. New Zealands main benchmark was down 0.2 percent. Futures on the S&P 500 were little changed after the benchmark gauge slid 0.2 percent on Monday. The yen was little changed at 111.77 per dollar, after jumping 0.8 percent in the previous session. The euro dropped 0.2 percent to $1.0734 after sliding 0.3 percent on Monday. The Aussie fell for a second day, losing 0.2 percent to pare this years gain to 6 percent. Oil climbed 0.4 percent to $53.22 a barrel, after falling 1.4 percent on Monday after Baker Hughes Inc. said U.S. drillers boosted rig count to the most since October 2015. Australian 10-year bonds rose, driving yields down seven basis points to 2.70 percent, while similar-dated New Zealand debt saw yields drop seven basis points to 3.32 percent. Treasuries gained on Monday by the most in more than two weeks to send 10-year yields falling by six basis points to 2.41 percent. The yield difference between French and German 10-year bonds jumped to 72 basis points on Monday. Gold slipped 0.2 percent after advancing for three straight days to the highest level since November. Nickel climbed on Monday after the Philippines reiterated plans to shutter mines, while copper rose on the prospect of a strike in Chile. (dan) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin News Desk (The Daily Star/ANN) Dhaka Tue, February 7, 2017 Bangladesh government on Monday sought financial support from the United Nations and other international partners for relocating tens of thousands of Rohingya Muslims, who had fled ethnic cleansing in Myanmar, to Thengar Char in Hatiya in the Bay of Bengal. In response, the diplomatic community in Dhaka suggested that the Rohingyas in Cox's Bazar should not be moved against their will and that the place chosen for relocation was uninhabitable and prone to floods. The exchange took place when Foreign Minister AH Mahmood Ali briefed diplomats on the relocation plan at the State Guesthouse, Padma Monday afternoon. Describing how people of the Myanmar's minority community are now living in the coastal areas of Bangladesh, the minister said the authorities were facing formidable challenges of providing them with humanitarian assistances. Besides, the accommodation arrangements have adverse impacts on the overall socio-economic, political, demographic, environmental, humanitarian and security situations in Cox's Bazar and adjacent districts. That is in turn a setback for eco-tourism, said AH Mahmood. Blaming what he deemed as the vulnerable nature of this population, he said networks have emerged in those areas who are involved in human trafficking and smuggling of narcotics. Ambassadors/high commissioners/heads of various diplomatic missions and officials from UNRC (United Nations Resource Centre), IOM (International Organisation for Migration) and UNHCR (United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees) attended the briefing. After the briefing, an envoy on condition of anonymity told The Daily Star that the government seems to be going ahead with its controversial plan to relocate Rohingya refugees to the remote island despite warnings. The government asked for financial assistance from the international community to develop the island and move the Rohingya population from Cox's Bazar to Hatiya, he said. The foreign minister, however, said Bangladesh considers this as a temporary arrangement and requested the international community to take meaningful measures for their repatriation to their homeland Myanmar. He spelled out the relocation plan and rejected foreign diplomats' argument that the char land is uninhabitable. Already, a small number of people have begun living in the island, AH Mahmood said. The government plans to build necessary infrastructures including shelters, schools, hospitals/health centres, mosques, roads etc. The relocation will take place only after the development works are completed, the minister said. He also expressed the hope that he would take diplomats on a visit to the island once the infrastructures are in place. Asked whether the government received any instant assurance of funds for relocation, another foreign diplomat replied in the negative. However, according to a foreign ministry press release, representatives of the diplomatic community in general expressed their readiness to help implement the plan once it is finalised. They expressed the hope that the new arrangements will improve the living condition of Rohingyas, but at the same time acknowledged the ultimate solution lies in their repatriation to Myanmar, the ministry said in the release, claiming to have received an assurance from foreign diplomats of their full support in this regard. Earlier, the government said several countries offered assistance while others asked the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) to help Bangladesh take care of the Muslim refugees during the OIC foreign ministers' meet in Malaysia on Jan. 19. HT Imam, adviser to the prime minister; State Minister for Foreign Affairs Md Shahriar Alam, the cabinet secretary, principal secretary to the PM, foreign secretary and other high officials of the government attended the briefing. According to a UN report, around 66,000 people have fled from the Muslim-majority northern part of Rakhine State to Bangladesh since Myanmar's military launched a security operation in response to attacks on police border posts on October 9 last year. The UN humanitarian office has recently put the figure at 69,000. Gang rapes, killings, including those of babies and young children, disappearances and other serious human rights violations by Myanmar's security forces in a sealed-off area north of Maungdaw in northern Rakhine State have been detailed in the new UN report based on interviews with victims across the border in Bangladesh. However, Myanmar's own probe into the unrest denied that the security forces had carried out a genocidal campaign against Rohingyas. The Myanmar's government led by Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi said the allegations were invented, in efforts to resist the mounting international pressure to protect the minority community. Rohingyas are currently living in different camps -- Nayapara, Leda and Kutupalang in Teknaf and Ukhia -- apart from other parts of the country. At Monday's briefing, the government said two camps in Cox's Bazar can actually accommodate 30,000 people but more than three lakhs are living there in inhuman condition, which have a negative impact on environment and local society and pose a serious security threat. This is why the government has in principle decided to relocate the Rohingyas. According to officials, the number of documented, undocumented and newly arrived Rohingyas may be more than 400,000. This article appeared on The Daily Star newspaper website, which is a member of Asia News Network and a media partner of The Jakarta Post Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Beth J. Harpaz (Associated Press) New York, United States Tue, February 7, 2017 The Queen Mary 2 ship is offering a fashion-themed trans-Atlantic crossing with a celebrity guest who's practically fashion royalty herself: 95-year-old Iris Apfel. The inimitable Apfel is known for her irreverent style mixing haute couture with oversized costume jewelry and her trademark large round glasses. She's been the subject of museum exhibits and a documentary film, "Iris," that will be screened during the trip. The trans-Atlantic trip departs Southampton, England, on Aug. 31 and arrives in New York on Sept. 7 in time for New York Fashion Week. (Read also: Playboy Club and its Bunnies are making a comeback in NYC) In this Sept. 16, 2015, file photo, Iris Apfel attends New York Fashion in New York. Apfel will be a celebrity guest on a fashion-themed trans-Atlantic crossing aboard the Queen Mary 2 ocean liner, departing England Aug. 31, arriving New York Sept. 7.(Invision/AP/Andy Kropa) Apfel will host a Q-and-A onboard but don't expect any style tips. "Everybody should find her own way," she said in a phone interview from her winter home in Palm Beach, Florida. "I'm a great one for individuality. I don't like trends. If you get to learn who you are and what you look like and what you can handle, you'll know what to do." The trip will also include runway shows and other guests from the world of fashion including designer Julien Macdonald, industry consultant Gail Sackloff and fashion historian Colin McDowell, along with actual models. Apfel's favorite contemporary designers include Ralph Rucci, Isabel Toledo and Naeem Khan, but she's not looking to add to her closets. "I have so much, I don't go looking," she said. "I'm in the process of deaccessioning and helping them build a fabulous fashion collection at the Peabody Essex Museum." Apfel began donating pieces to the museum in Salem, Massachusetts, after it hosted an exhibit about her several years ago. (Read also: Donald Trump, Piko-Taro among Sapporo snow festival's attractions) What's her secret for a long and happy life? "I have no secrets, I have no advice, except to love life and not give into yourself," she said. "At a certain age, you have to push a bit to be honest. Unless you have pneumonia or a broken hip and you can't push yourself, you really have to. Once you do you'll find there's a lot out there and you won't think of yourself. Get out there and help somebody. There are so many people that need a hand. Life is there and it's wonderful and it doesn't last too long, so you might as well enjoy." Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Tue, February 7, 2017 18:46 2097 9b519824cb3263083aedb70a0bec5fec 4 News Chinese,Chinese-descent,Chinese-descents,Pekan-Budaya-Tionghoa-Yogyakarta,Yogyakarta,Peranakan,#Yogyakarta Free The 12th edition of Pekan Budaya Tionghoa Yogyakarta (Yogyakartas Chinese Cultural Week) kicked off on Sunday. Slated to run until Feb. 11, the festival is taking place in Ketandan hamlet, also known as Yogyakartas Chinatown. Similar to previous years, the event is showcasing the way Chinese culture has blended with other cultures from across the archipelago. In addition to featuring up to 134 culinary booths, it also presents traditional ethnic-Chinese house, a ladies dragon carnival and fireworks shows. (Read also: Peranakan culture: Major influence on batik, fashion) The dragon in the carnival has reportedly received an award from the Indonesian Museum of Records (MURI). [It is] the longest dragon in Asia, said the festivals director Tri Kirana Muslidatun as quoted by kompas.com. The festivals second director Jimmy Sutanto said the event deserved to become a national cultural festival. It aims to make Yogyakarta the city of tolerance, he added. (jes/kes) Assemblywoman Yuh-Line Niou invited reporters to her temporary district office near City Hall last week, where a Lower East Side rabbi offered a blessing and a few general words of encouragement. Niou was elected to office in the 65th Assembly District in November. Its obviously a big transition for her and for Lower Manhattan residents who had been represented by Sheldon Silver since the 1970s. Shes looking for a permanent office that will make it easier for constituents to visit. The municipal building at 250 Broadway, where Niou is now working, is a high-security fortress. Rabbi Schmuel Spiegel of the First Roumanian American Congregation told the assemblywoman during the afternoon meet-and-greet, Im really proud to have you in the Assembly. Its a diverse neighborhood and I really feel you are the person who will represent everyone, said the rabbi. People really feel that. Niou took a few minutes to answer questions from reporters. She mentioned her first piece of legislation, the Rivington Act, which is being proposed along with State Sen. Daniel Squadron. Its meant to create a transparent public process anytime a nursing home is under threat of closing. The legislation has attracted multiple co-sponsors. Niou said Community Board 3 had been very helpful in crafting the wording of the bill. As for Governor Cuomos budget, Niou noted that she and fellow Democrats in Albany have a lot of issues with funding levels for social services. Niou has already been speaking out for more school funding. At her recent inauguration, said Niou, Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie acknowledged that the district is undergoing a major transition. Under Speaker Sheldon Silver, money flowed into downtown neighborhoods. Now the district, represented by a freshman lawmaker, enjoys little clout. But Niou said Heastie is very conscious of it, and has agreed to support the 65th AD in any way he can. One early priority, she said, is a budget request for the Lower East Sides settlement houses (shes teaming up with Assemblyman Brian Kavanagh to make the request). Niou is planning to host mobile district office events in neighborhoods across Lower Manhattan, beginning with the Lower East Side. A date and location have not yet been made public. In the meantime, you can call her office at 212-312-1420. The White House has released a list of 78 attacks which it described as executed or inspired by Islamic State to support a claim by President Donald Trump that the media is under-reporting terrorist atrocities. stabbed to death But Rosie Ayliffe, the mother of Mia Ayliffe-Chung who wasin a hostel in Australia, has criticised the inclusion of the 20-year-olds killing by Smail Ayad as a terror attack. Tom Jackson Fellow Britonwas fatally injured as he tried to save Mia. Rosie Ayliffe (left) attending a memorial service for her daughter Mia (Joe Giddens/PA) Rosie wrote an open letter to the president to make clear her frustration: The possibility of Mia and Toms deaths being consequent to an Islamic terror attack was discounted in the early stages of the police investigation through international collaboration on the parts of Queensland police department and the French anti-terrorist force. I have spoken to friends of Mias and other backpackers who worked for long days in the fields with Ayad, and none of them ever saw him put down a prayer mat. Salat or prayer is the second of five pillars of Islam, and calls for five daily rituals of ablution, prayer and prostration. An Islamic fundamentalist by definition must respect the five pillars of Islam. It would be very hard to imagine someone managing to perform this ritual five times a day in the close confines of Home Hill Hostel without witnesses. One of the reasons I took to blogging in the Independent newspaper was to discount this myth of a connection between my daughters death and Islamic fundamentalism. Any fool can shout Allahu Akbar as they commit a crime. I have lived and worked in the Islamic world for a number of years, and wrote the Rough Guide to Turkey. Some of the research was carried out with Mia as a baby. Mia travelled In Turkey and Morocco too, albeit too briefly. We encountered nothing but respect and hospitality from people who are committed to courtesy and honouring their fellow human beings. This vilification of whole nation states and their people based on religion is a terrifying reminder of the horror that can ensue when we allow ourselves to be led by ignorant people into darkness and hatred. My daughters death will not be used to further this insane persecution of innocent people. The circumstances of Mia and Toms deaths prove that those with the strength of character to travel the world and learn about other cultures should be cherished as brave, resilient characters who have so much to offer if they are nurtured and given opportunities rather than defeated by adverse circumstances. Treating immigrants as disposable commodities and disregarding their safety causes deaths throughout our so-called civilised world, and my daughter was not just a victim of a lone wolf attacker with a possible predisposition for schizophrenia but of this disregard. US President Donald Trump (Stefan Rousseau/PA) Not a day goes by right now without some sort of chaos surrounding Donald Trump. And it seems its affecting the mental health of Britons just under half (49%) have felt some level of anxiety in relation to the US election and Trumps rise to the presidency, according to a survey conducted on 1,700 people. (David Mirzoeff/PA) Heres what else the charity Mental Health Foundation discovered: 29% of people surveyed said they have experienced a fair or great deal of anxiety following Trump becoming president. A third (33%) of women said they were feeling a fair or great deal of anxiety about politics from over the pond compared to 24% of men. (Gareth Fuller/PA) Younger people seemed to be more affected 38% of those aged 18 to 24 saying they had experienced a fair or great deal of anxiety compared to around a quarter of people from older age groups. Meanwhile, two in five Brits (43%) have also felt anxiety in relation to Brexit. (Philip Toscano/PA) There has been a five-fold increase in the number of people visiting its online anxiety support page since the EU referendum compared to before the Brexit vote. Google search trend data has also shown a rise in the number of people searching for anxiety or anxiety help. (Yui Mok/PA) So, what can we do to try to help ourselves? Mark Rowland, director of the Mental Health Foundation, said: There are a number of things we can do in response including taking a break from the news and/or social media if it is making us feel anxious. However, there is also an important lesson for government that more people are seeking help online and we need to ensure that appropriate resources are available. Britain is far behind other countries around the world who offer a range of quality assured options for mental health support online, and were calling on the UK to catch up with increased demand. Last Wednesday Kings' students Roger Hallam and alumni David Rhys Alan were arrested whilst spraying chalk on the walls of university buildings to draw attention to the institutions investment in oil and gas companies. Following a 14-hour detention by the police both men have been excluded by the university, with an emergency suspension being implemented for Hallam, who is a PhD candidate studying effective radical political campaigning. Hallam reports that on Thursday morning students entering the Tutu Building were asked to show their IDs, to ensure that he was not inside. The two are members of Kings College Climate Emergency, a direct action group working to put pressure on the university to divest from fossil fuels. Alan, who graduated in January with a degree in international politics, explains that the group had brought cleaning products with them to remove the graffiti afterwards, but were prevented by university security. They are now being faced with tens of thousands of pounds of criminal damage, which they say would not have happened had they simply been allowed to clean. It was meant to be a temporary video op but it seems the writing is on the wall. Seemingly the universitys drastic response to the protest has had far-reaching consequences, with Alan now facing being stopped under Section 7 of the Terrorism Act when he attempts to fly to India tomorrow. We've received messages of support from and are working with Greenpeace, the green party, people and planet and others. Hallam, who reveals that all Kings staff have been forbidden from communicating with him, has already launched an appeal against his ban. He tells us that he attempted to attend a meeting in the Students Union today, and was dragged out of the building by security staff. I was just having a meeting. I was not causing any trouble. As a matter of principle I should be able to meet with other students in this space. While they know there are obviously no guarantees that the university will move to divest as a result of their actions, both activists remain hopeful and determined. Personally I am happy to be arrested again and even go to prison. Whatever it takes! A Kings College London spokesperson said: Work to repair the damage on surfaces including Portland stone - a porous limestone - will cost tens of thousands of pounds. It is a Grade 1 listed building and we have had to consult specialists about how best to remove the graffiti without causing further damage to the 200-year old stone work. A petition has been launched calling for Hallams suspension to be overturned. To find out more about the campaign, visit the Kings College Climate Emergency Facebook page. Lead image by poppet with a camera. The opinion of this so-called judge, which essentially takes law-enforcement away from our country, is ridiculous and will be overturned! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 4, 2017 With the world now getting more isolationist it's time for Asean to start making it easier for tourists tocome.need an electronic Asean visa Tony Fernandes (@tonyfernandes) January 31, 2017 As reported in, Euromonitor believe that President Trump is bad for America's tourism business. Although his controversial travel ban was blocked on Friday for the second time by a federal judge, Trump took to Twitter to express his belief in the ban.Stats released by the State and Justice Departments suggest between 60,000 and 100,000 visas have been revoked to date by the immigration ban. This was before Friday's announcement that the ban was, at least temporarily, swayed by the Seattle judge. Since then, the US State Department said on Saturday that they would allow travellers from the banned nations with valid pre-existing visas into America.Given all the confusion and apparent in-fighting between various branches of the US government, it's no wonder tourism looks to be affected. Nadejda Popova, Travel Project Manager at Euromonitor, said that the "ambiguity of the these very latest developments introduced by President Trump is casting a shadow over the future travel demand to and from the US". He went on to say that the reputation of the USA abroad could also be affected. Given President Trump's hostile approach to Mexico, and his determination that a wall will be built between the two nations, Euromonitor suggest that tourism from Mexico is likely to fall. According to statistics released by the company in 2015, Mexico provides the second highest number of tourists to the USA, after Candada. Mexico is responsible for 18 million visits a year. Tourists from the predominantly Muslim Middle East are also likely to be deterred from travel. So, where will they head? South-East Asian countries are lining up to promote their tourism industries, according to. Yuthasak Supasorn, Govenor of Tourism Authority of Thailand, said "The Middle East is a big market for us, especially in the medical tourism sector. They may choose to visit Thailand more and this may also boost our sector." Neighbour Malaysia are also keen for a boost in numbers, with the CEO of AirAsia (a budget airline akin to Ryan Air) suggesting that the country can do more to encourage easy access for tourists.With all this confusion, it's no wonder holiday-makers may be deciding that the USA is best left alone until things are clearer. Scotland is a land of contradictions: from the bright sunshine hitting a Highland hillside in the spring, to the dark and gruesome history of Edinburgh's Royal Mile. It's the perfect destination this Valentine's Day for an alternative romantic getaway - but be prepared for coffin trails and haunted hotels, and just make sure you have an arm to cling to in the dark... Romance most foul A Valentine's Special - Sin in the City, Mercat Tours, Edinburgh Join an expert guide and learn about the salacious side of Edinburugh's forgotten history. This unique tour celebrates the great St. Valentine's Day love but don't expect love hearts and flowers on the most romantic day of the year. You will hear of the treacherous deads and unspeakable perversions and will learn about the popularity of the shellfish in shady illicit drinking dens and the acts of betrayal that occurred within them. Friday, 11th February 2017, 6.30pm, 18+. Price: 15 (13 conc) For more information and to book go to: www.mercattours.com Starry, starry night Stargazing weekend, Knockinam Lodge, Dumfries & Galloway At the home to the UK's first Dark Sky Park, Dumries and Galloway, you will be welcomed to a stargazing spectacular at Knockinaam Loadge. Learn about the positioning of Mars, representing the Roman God of War, and Venus, representing the Roman God of love, both parents of Cupid - the God of Desire. This luxury hotel and restaurant sits exclusively by its own beach and offers guests a two nights' stay inclusive of a five course dinner and a full Scottish breakfast. Friday, 10 Saturday, 11 February 2017 For more information visit: www.knockinaamlodge.com Spooky stay Tulloch Castle Hotel, Dingwall, Highlands Tulloch Castle dates way back to the 12th Century and it has had a long and colourful history. Now, the Castle welcomes travellers into its luxurious period surroundings. But beware, the castle is rumoured to have a resident ghost known as the 'Green Lady'. To check availability on and around Valentine's Day, go to: www.bespokehotels.com/ tullochcastlehotel Coffin trails Scotland-wide It might not be everyone's idea of a romantic day out, but coffin trails are a thing. And Scotland has its fair share. Glasgow's Necropolis graveyard once played host to a group of vampire hunters and St. Valentine is allegedly buried in Gorbels, near Glasgow. Some of the graves at Greyfriar's Kirkyard were inspiration for author JK Rowling when writing the Harry Potter Books, including the gravestone of poet William McGonagall, who is said to have inspied the name of Professor McGonagall. Film favourites Glasgow Film Festival Film lovers can snuggle up to some cinematic delights, including 1980s classic Dirty Dancing, to be shown at the historic Oran Mor, a former parish church which dates back to the 19th century. Various venues, 15 26 February 2017 For more information visit: http://glasgowfilm.org Legends and lore Legends and Lore at Castle Loch, Mostly Ghostly Investigations, Dumfries and Galloway Instead of being snuggled up by the fire with something warm on 14th February, what about a chill to the spine? Experience an unforgettable evening featuring ghosts, legends, curses and vampires. You will discover the origins of an infamous vampire legend at the picturesque Castle Lock, hear of a fearsome curse laid upon a family, and be told a spooky collection of local ghost stories. 14th February 2017. Price: from 8; age 12+ For more information on what to do during Scotland's Year of History, Heritage and Archaeology 2017 go to www.visitscotland.com/hha2017 Ewan McGregor famously said, Choose Life at the beginning of 1996's Trainspotting. If a first viewing of T2 Trainspotting is anything to go by, film fans should choose Scotland for their next film location experience. Trainspotting Danny Boyle's follow-up to the quintessential 90s filmcatches up with Renton, Spud, Sick Boy and Begbie 20 years after the first film, for a nostalgic look at their original shenanigans. Although the first was filmed largely in Glasgow (doubling for Edinburgh in many scenes), Edinburgh features prominently in many key scenes in the new film. Visitors to Scotland can walk in the footsteps of their movie antiheroes, through many of the films capital locations. WARNING: Minor spoilers ahead! Arthur's Seat and Holyrood Park, Edinburgh Renton (Ewan McGregor) and Spud (Ewen Bremner) go running up Arthur's Seat in the early summer sunshine; Edinburgh's cityscape can be seen in all its sun kissed glory. Old Town locations like Victoria Street and the Grassmarket Renton is chased through Edinburgh's Old Town, running past locations including the Grassmarket, Victoria Street and Fleshmarket Close. Edinburgh Airport and Princes Street Renton arrives into Edinburgh Airport and is met by a bunch of tartan clad girls welcoming him home. Princes Street is only a tram journey away and he is in the city centre. The Douglas Hotel, Clydebank, Glasgow Doubles for the Port Sunshine pub and scenes of lots of action. The exterior of Glasgow University also doubles for an unnamed Edinburgh school. Wolf and Water pub and Cafe Tartine, Leith Renton and Simon/ Sick Boy (Jonny Lee Miller) meet at the Wolf and Water pub based on Commercial Street on the Shore, a trendy part of Leith. Simon is also pictured in front of nearby French bistro Cafe Tartine. Corrour train station, Rannoch Moor, Highlands The gang makes a stop to one of the most remote stations in Britain to pay their respects to Tommy, the character who died in the first film. This station is on the West Highland Line between Glasgow and Mallaig in the Highlands. The Forth Road and Forth Rail Bridges, Scottish Parliament and St Stephen's Church, Edinburgh Renton and Simon make a memorable journey across the Forth Road Bridge. They also pay a visit to the Scottish Parliament to talk money. In addition, Spud's support group holds a meeting at St Stephen's Church in the city near the beginning of the film. Phuket shakedowns, extortion, corruption not on list of urgent issues handed to army PHUKET: Despite the ongoing headlines, illegal hotels and the corruption allegations into Phuket officials extorting money from migrant workers and targeting other foreign workers in cash shakedowns were not identified as key areas that Phuket officials needed assistance from the Royal Thai Army in resolving. tourismmilitarycorruptioncrime By The Phuket News Tuesday 7 February 2017, 02:31PM Maj Gen Pornsak Poonsawat, Deputy Commander of the Royal Thai Army Region 4 headquarters in Nakhon Sri Thammarat, at the meeting yesterday (Feb 6). Photo: PR Dept Phuket Vice Governor Snith Sriwihok at the meeting yesterday, which was not attended by Phuket Governor Chockchai Dejamornthan. Photo: PR Dept The commander of the Royal Thai Armys main base in Southern Thailand was handed a list of top issues that need urgent attention at a meeting at Phuket Provincial Hall yesterday afternoon yesterday (Feb 6). Lt Gen Piyawat Nakwanit, Commander of the Army Region 4 headquarters in Nakhon Sri Thammarat, and his Deputy Commander Maj Gen Pornsak Poonsawat, were handed the list, as defined by Phuket Governor Chockchai Dejamornthan. Also present at the meeting were Phuket Provincial Police Chief Maj Gen Teerapol Thipjaroen and Phuket Vice Governors Snith Sriwihok and Siwaporn Chuasawad. We have come to support the government of Phuket in dealing with and improve on issues that affect the people of Phuket and tourists, Maj Gen Pornsak said. V/Gov Snith explained that Governor Chockchai had identified key areas that need attention. Among the problems that needed urgent attention were the beaches, parking areas for rental vehicles, encroachment on public land, illegal hotels, foreign workers, illegal guides, public transport, security inside Phuket International Airport and security across the island, namely through the police checkpoints. However, at the meeting, the long list of problems plaguing Phuket was cut down and re-organised into three main categories that were to be given top priority. First were the beaches, with sun loungers, umbrellas, hawkers, beach vendors, rental vehicle parking areas, illegal buildings and other encroachment onto public land identified as the top concerns. The second most urgent area needing corrective action was public transport, which included parking areas, drivers licences, fares, and of great importance, the issue of drivers uniforms. The airport and security checkpoints across the island was noted as the third area needing attention. No recommendations for action were made at the meeting. Apparently that is to be addressed at another meeting to be held on a date yet to be confirmed. Phuket to Penang visa run van hits sign, goes off-road as driver asleep at wheel PHUKET: A visa run van from Phuket with hit a roadside sign and was brought to a halt on the verge of a highway in Phatthalung, Southern Thailand, in the early hours of this morning (Feb 7) after the driver drifted off to sleep behind the wheel. Russiantourismimmigration By Tanyaluk Sakoot Tuesday 7 February 2017, 09:55AM The visa run van from Phuket to Penang struck a hospital sign and was brought to a halt beside the road after the driver fell asleep at the wheel. Photo: Katrin Vesna / Facebook The minivan, operated by Phen Phet Visa Run in Chalong, in the south of Phuket, was carrying foreigners on a visa run to Penang, Malaysia, when the accident happened. Capt Manop Suwanmanee of Srinakarin Police Station in Phatthalung Province confirmed the accident occurred at about 3:40am. The driver, Theerapong Thanrot, said he drifted off to sleep while driving. The van hit a sign for Srinakarin Hospital before he brought the van to a stop on the grass beside the road, Capt Manop told The Phuket News. There were no injuries in the accident and Mr Theerapong was fined B500 for reckless driving, Capt Manop said. With the van stuck beside the road, Mr Theerapong called another van to pick up his passengers so they could continue their journey, he added. Benjamaporn Phansa, Manager at Phen Phet Visa Run in Chalong, Phuket, confirmed to The Phuket News that her office was aware of the accident. Thankfully, everything is okay right now and the passengers have continued their visa run to Penang, she said. In October 2013, a Filipino woman died and 10 other foreigners were injured when a Phen Phet Visa Run minivan slid off a wet road and crashed into a tree in Trang. That van was also carrying foreigners on a visa run to Penang. (See story here.) Shots fired as Phuket former French Foreign Legion servicemen pulls gun on Russian tourist PHUKET: A 62-year-old French expat in Patong has been charged for pulling a gun out and firing it in the middle of a fight with a Russian tourist today (Feb 7) after the Russian had left an expired passport as collateral for a rented motorbike. Russiantourismtransportviolencepatongpolice By Eakkapop Thongtub Tuesday 7 February 2017, 09:07PM The 9mm handgun pulled and fired by French national Gerard Pecherstorfer was loaded with 15 rounds. Police also recovered the two spent casings of the shots fired. Photo: Eakkapop Thongtub The 9mm handgun pulled and fired by French national Gerard Pecherstorfer was loaded with 15 rounds. Police also recovered the two spent casings of the shots fired. Photo: Eakkapop Thongtub Phuket expat Gerard Pecherstorfer, formerly of the French Foreign Legion, is taken into custody by Patong Police. Photo: Eakkapop Thongtub Phuket expat Gerard Pecherstorfer, formerly of the French Foreign Legion, is taken into custody by Patong Police. Photo: Eakkapop Thongtub Frenchman Gerard Pecherstorfer, who has lived in Phuket for 14 years, was taken into custody by Patong Traffic Police on 50 Pi Rd (Hasip Pi Rd) around noon after police were informed of shots fired in the neighbourhood. Mr Pecherstorfer, who according to his Facebook profile was a member of French Foreign Legion from 1986 to 2002, had pulled out a 9mm handgun amid a fight with Russian tourist Sergey Antonov, Patong Police Chief Col Chaiwat Uikum told The Phuket News. The incident tracks back to Jan 19, when Mr Antonov, from Moscow, and a friend rented a motorbike from Mr Pecherstorfers wife, Col Chaiwat said. They rented a Honda PCX for one day and left Mr Antonovs passport as collateral, he explained. The men did not return the motorbike until Jan 26, but then paid the rental fee and asked to continue to rent the bike, Col Chaiwat explained. When the men returned today (Feb 7) to continue renting the bike, Mr Pecherstorfers wife said they couldnt as by now she had realised that that passport given as collateral had expired, he said. The wife said they had to give her a valid passport, and Mr Antonov, who celebrated his 40th birthday yesterday (Feb 6), said he would go back to his hotel to fetch his current one. The wife asked Mr Antonovs friend to wait while Mr Antonov fetched his passport, but after Mr Antonov left on the rented motorbike, his friend ran away, Col Chaiwat said. The wife ran after him, but couldnt catch him. Just then, Mr Pecherstorfer returned from a trip to the bank, and so he and his wife took a motorbike to look for him. They soon found Mr Antonov on the motorbike on 50 Pi Rd, where Mr Pecherstorfer pulled him over and they started arguing, he added. The war of words escalated and Mr Pecherstorfer claimed that the Russian struck him in the face, prompting Mr Pecherstorfer to take 9mm handgun out from under his motorbike seat and fire one shot into the ground, Col Chaiwat said. Mr Antonov then charged at Mr Pecherstorfer and snatched the gun away from him. The gun fired during the struggle, but no one was hit, he said. Mr Antonov wrestled his French adversary to the ground and waited for the police, who took both men to Patong Police Station. Mr Antonov was charged with assault but Mr Pecherstorfer faces a slew of gun charges. Mr Pecherstorfer said he took a lot of money to the bank, so he took the gun with him. Police have confirmed that the gun is registered to his wife, Col Chaiwat explained. Regardless, Mr Pecherstorfer was charged with possession of another persons firearm, carrying a firearm in a public place, and firing a gun in a public place, Col Chaiwat confirmed. Six Phuket jet-ski operators found operating without insurance, fined PHUKET: It was discovered yesterday that six jet-ski operators working from Kata Beach on the islands west coast were found to be renting out their watercraft without the required insurance. accidentscrimedeathmilitarymarinepolicetransporttourism By Yutthawat Lekmak Tuesday 7 February 2017, 11:59AM Officers check jet-ski rental operators at Patong Beach yesterday (Feb 6). Photo: Supplied The operators were fined, however, it was not disclosed how much. The discovery was made yesterday (Feb 6) when officials from the Royal Thai Navy Third Area Command, Marine Police and Kata Police carried out checks on jet-ski operators at Kata Beach following the death of an Australian tourist who died when the jet-ski she had rented collided with that of her boyfriends on Sunday (Feb 5). Thomas Keating, 22, and his girlfriend, Emily Jayne Collie, 20, were riding jet-skis near Kata Beach at 4:45pm on Sunday when they collided in the water at high speed leaving Ms Collie with severe injuries to her neck and shoulders. (See story here.) Mr Keating said strong sunlight reflected off the sea and made it impossible to see the jet-ski of Ms Collie, leading to the crash. (See story here.) Police yesterday confirmed that Mr Keating is to face charges of reckless driving causing death following the incident. (See story here.) Wg Cdr Ratchapoom Nantawisut of the of Royal Thai Navy Third Area Command told The Phuket News today (Feb 7) that following Sundays accident he, together with Marine Police, Royal Thai Navy officers, Phuket lifeguards and Kata Police went to the area to check the legality of the jet-ski operators. The most important thing that we checked for at Kata Beach yesterday was the insurance coverage the jet-ski operators had for renting out their watercraft. During our check we found that six operators had no insurance cover, Wg Cdr Ratchapoom said. All six operators have been fined, he added. When asked by by a The Phuket News reporter how much each had been fined, Wg Cdr Ratchapoom declined to comment. Following Sundays incident it is essential that we increase security for tourists, Wg Cdr Ratchapoom concluded. Checks on jet-ski operators were also carried out at around midday yesterday at Patong Beach, it is not yet known whether any operators were renting their jet-ski's without the required insurance. Turkish Airlines to launch Phuket-Istanbul direct flights PHUKET: Turkish Airlines will start direct flights between Phuket and Istanbul in July. According to the airlines website, the new service will operate with four weekly flights from Istanbul starting July 17. Return flights will depart Phuket from July 18. tourismtransportimmigrationeconomics By TTR Weekly Tuesday 7 February 2017, 11:17AM Turkish Airlines will launch direct flights from Phuket to Istanbul in July. Photo: Turkish Airlines The airline will use an Airbus A330-300 aircraft, configured with three cabin classes. Turkish Airlines has been struggling with losses since the coup and terror attacks last year that have not only cut tourism to the country, but also discouraged passengers who previously used Istanbul as a gateway to connect with other destinations in Europe. The Phuket flights have considerable risks for the airline financially as Phukets low season runs from May through to October, when heavy monsoon rain hits the west coast resorts of the island. Usually airlines would launch a Phuket service in November to get off to a strong start with the hope it could build up enough interest to see it through the low season months usually on the back of cheap holiday offers. Turkey has been hit by a spate of attacks blamed on Islamic extremists and Kurdish militants, while tourists were further spooked by the attempted overthrow of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in the July 15 failed coup and the subsequent crackdown last year. Turkish Airlines hub at the countrys main Istanbul Ataturk Airport was the scene of recent terror attacks. Up until 2015, Turkish Airlines was a rising star in aviation, turning a profit on the geographical location of Istanbul promoted as the preferred gateway to Europe from Asia. The airline has for the past six years been the winner of the Best Airline in Europe award bestowed by global passenger survey organisation Skytrax. Today, it faces heavy losses with no end in sight. The airline has launched round-trip promotional fares, inclusive of all taxes, fees and surcharges, from Phuket to Istanbul from B23,400. Round-trip fares to other destinations throughout Europe are priced around B27,000. The deal is similar to what Middle East airlines offer with a stop in Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Doha and links to most major cities in Europe, but bookings must be made by February 15 for travel between July 17 and September 30 this year. Wanted drug dealer arrested by Phuket Tourist Police PHUKET: Tourist Police in Phuket yesterday arrested a 36-year-old Thai man wanted on an arrest warrant issued on January 23 for drug possession. The warrant was issued following the arrest of another man on December 28 who told police he was carrying drugs for the wanted man. crimedrugspolice By Eakkapop Thongtub Tuesday 7 February 2017, 04:46PM Jeerasak Ball Sitthichock, 36, was arrested on an arrest warrant issued on Jan 23. Photo: Tourist Police Lt Col Naruewat Phutthawiro of the Phuket Tourist Police arrested Mr Jeerasak Ball Sitthichock, 36, from Phuket after discovering he was hiding-out in a property on Soi Patak 14 in Karon. We arrested a man named Mr Arnon Sitthitan, 26, on Dec 28, 2016, when he and found in possession of methamphetamine (ya bah) and crystal meth (ya ice). Arnon told us that he was carrying the drugs for Jeerasak. We managed to obtain an arrest warrant for Jeerasak from Phuket Provincial Court on Jan 23 and we have been looking for since then, Lt Col Naruewat said. Yesterday we learned that he was in hiding at a property on Soi Patak 14 in Karon which is where he was arrested, he added. Jeerasak will now have to face his charge of possession of Category 1 drugs with intent to sell. Tourist Police arrested four people for drug possession on Dec 28 after learning that the drugs had been delivered to a local transportation company. Police said that the total value of the drugs was close to one million baht. At 2pm on Dec 28, Arnon turned up to collect a parcel. Inside police discovered 994 ya bah pills and 87.5g of ya ice. (See story here.) How many people have already voted absentee in South Dakota ahead of Election Day? elections By Andrea Baumgartel baumgart1@grinnell.edu From Friday at 5 p.m. until 8 a.m. this morning, a team of five students from Grinnell College Student Action (GCSA) Holly Barton 17, Ross Floyd 19, Sean Haggerty 19, Eli Shepherd 18 and Lucid Thomas 19 camped out at Nollen House to demand the College financially divest from the fossil fuel industry. President Raynard Kington is the primary intended recipient of the pressure resulting from GCSA protest, as well as student dissent voiced continuously since the 1990s all in response to the Colleges investment in the fossil fuel industry. The campaign calls on Kington to support the Colleges full divestment from fossil fuels and urges the Board of Trustees to withdraw over $100 million of the College endowment from the industry. On Friday, the campers, Sandy Barnard 17 and Nyx Hauth 19 organized a 150+ person (students and security marshals) march to Nollen House, in which they effectively shut down the building until 5 p.m. Then, the peaceful protesters exited the building, leaving the remaining five students seated in front of Kingtons office and fully committed to risking uncertain consequences such as expulsion or even arrest. (Divest or arrest! was one of the loudest chants during the hour-long demonstration.) Kington arrived around 6 p.m. and, according to Barton, the first thing he said was So its come to this. It was very tense emotions were high on both sides, Floyd said. People shutting down his office isnt something that happens very much. But later, things started to turn around. Once Kington realized the full commitment of the GCSA protesters, he returned to Nollen House. He came back at 10 p.m., and thats when the negotiating started about what we could do moving forward, Floyd explained. Kington returned a second time on Saturday at noon to continue the negotiations. We had pretty productive conversations both of the other times were excited about the progress thats being made with this, but were continuing to fight for full divestment and so thats why were committed to stay until 8 a.m. tomorrow, Haggerty said. Even when approaching day three, the groups clear fervor for climate justice remained strong. The choice that President Kington has to make about the [divest] campaign is clear, Floyd said. By either agreeing or refusing to support full divestment, [Kington] is either standing with the continuation of DAPL, the continuation of Keystone XL and a president that calls climate change a Chinese hoax or hes standing with Iowa students and community members, Shepherd said, explaining the intrinsic human rights issue of the divest campaign. A corporate takeover of our government cannot be more clear than a corporation hiring a sheriff to take people off their land. Thats the choice President Kington has to make. This story will continue to be updated throughout the week. By Keli Vitaioli vitaioli@grinnell.edu Saturday morning, Feb. 4, the sanctuary of First Presbyterian Church of Grinnell was filled with approximately 200 Grinnell community and college members attending a Legislative Coffee with Iowa legislators, state Sen. Tim Kapucian and state Rep. Dave Maxwell. This event was the first of three opportunities sponsored by the League of Women Voters (LWV) in which Grinnellians can pose questions directly to the legislators representing Poweshiek County. President Trumps election has ignited political passions across party lines, which, as LWV co-President Terese Grant expected, caused increased community attendance at the event. I think Im just pleased that people are taking an interest in politics today, Grant said. You hear about grassroots movements and I think were seeing that in Grinnell. All across Iowa there is a renewed interest in whats happening in government and people are saying, We want a voice too. Main issues addressed by attendees included the Iowa state budget, which is being proposed by the senate currently, with a possible defunding to arts programs and an only one percent increase in the education budget, the privatization of Medicaid and the slashing of Iowas 2.9 million dollar funding of Planned Parenthood, a bill which Sen. Kapucian helped propose. Gracee Wallach 20 attended the coffee after reading about it in the Doing Organizing at Grinnell (DOG) magazine and at the community organizing meeting at Saints Rest on Thursday, Feb. 2. Before attending, Wallach took time to research Sen. Kapucian and Rep. Maxwells positions on issues that might be addressed, so as to develop questions that could hopefully lead to effective dialogue. While Wallach did not get an opportunity to ask her questions, those posed by other community members did provider her with insight. A woman stood up, and she was a teacher and a farmer, and she was asking questions about how the education budget is not getting as much money as it needs to because some of that money is funding tax cuts on big corporations on Monsanto. So, those interactions, those big corporations and them getting money affects her farming, and also how that affects her job and ability to do good work as a teacher, Wallach said. Bringing peoples personal experiences in was super interesting. There were many issues not covered in the hour legislative, such as Rep. Maxwells voting for a bill allowing people under the age of 14 to own rifles and pistols, and reproductive health beyond Planned Parenthood, which Wallach believes need to be discussed further. She also believed in terms of getting through to the representatives, the coffee setup was a bit difficult because attendees are only allowed to have questions, which eliminates any chance for discussion. There was one person who stood up and just thanked them, and there are people who are standing up and theyre angry because this, that and the other thing are being taken away from them and they want someone to do something about it, Wallach said. It is this weirdness of wanting these people to represent you but also feeling like you need to argue with them to represent you, which just created that odd tension that was there. The LWV aims to continue the legacy of its founders, who began the league to educate women newly granted suffrage on their political options and capabilities. Since then, the league has expanded their mission to include the education of all voters. With Iowas senate, congress and Governors Mansion controlled by the Republican Party, Grant believes the conversations between the legislators and constituents is an essential form of communication between constituents and legislators. Wallach believes some voters came with misguided questions or ideas regarding the state representatives accountability to Trump, since they have limited interaction and leeway, but most questions addressed the way these legislators are affecting the people of Iowa right now, such as with the education budget or Planned Parenthood. The coffees foster a degree of familiarity that Wallach believes can be important in communicating with legislators, a point Grant makes as well. I think [the coffees] are good for both sides, Grant said. Our reps need to know what are the issues the people care about, and the public needs to know where our legislators stand on these issues. We dont look at them as the enemy, but as people, who we may differ from, but we respect each other. We dont always agree, but we work together. While non-partisan and endorsing no candidates, the LWV does often face assumptions of being left-leaning due to the issues they prioritize, such as voter rights and justice reform. As individuals, we have perhaps joined one party or another, but I know in the Grinnell LWV, we have republicans and we have democrats, Grant said. We maintain our non-partisan status and we believe in that. The league will be hosting a lobby day on Feb. 22, wherein participants can experience a day in the life of a lobbyist. There will be two more legislative coffees with Sen. Kapucian and Rep. Maxwell on March 4 and April 1. For more information, visit http://www.lwvgrinnell.org/ or the LWV facebook page under the name Grinnell League of Women Voters. The Bombay High Court had ordered that Akshay Kumar-starrer Jolly LLB 2 can be screened only after four controversial shots are removed from the movie and the actor says he respects the decision made by the court. Advocate Ajay Kumar Waghmare had filed a petition before the bench and demanded the removal of the word 'LLB' from the film and cut certain shots which portrayed lawyers in a bad light. Waghmare contended that the content shown in the trailer of the film or available on social media seems to be an attempt to "mock" the existing judicial system of India. "I respect High Court's decision. They must have made the decision keeping everything in mind. It's the High Court, you have to abide by their rules and I always believe in abiding by the rules and we have made the changes. There is no argument about it. "There will be four cuts in one scene and that whole thing has been done. The movie is releasing on February 10," Akshay told. The 49-year-old star said it is disheartening that people end up filing cases on movies just a few days before the scheduled release. "These days anyone keeps filing cases on every second film, but still the court never stalls the release of any film. Because the court also understands that sometimes people file these cases deliberately. "I think it was a good decision. They wanted some three- four cuts. And we did it which is fine," he added. After watching the movie, Justices S S Shinde and K K Sonawane of a Bombay High Court bench passed the order yesterday, after going through a report presented by a committee headed by Justice Prakash Kanade and two others. Directed by Subhash Kapoor, Jolly LLB 2 is a sequel to the 2012 comedy. Akshay plays a lawyer in the film. The movie also stars Huma Qureshi and Annu Kapoor. Actress Kangana Ranaut, who will be seen as 'fearless Julia', a leading actress who travels, performs and entertains soldiers of the British Indian Army in Vishal Bhardwaj's period drama Rangoon, says the film is a perfect Women's Day watch as it's about a strong woman. "In Rangoon, Julia is a strong female character and the story revolves around her. Therefore, I believe that this film is quite important for Women's Day and perfect to enjoy on that occasion," Kangana said on Monday night while interacting with media at Mumbai airport as she was leaving for Delhi. The movie has elements from the British era as it is based in the 1940s when India was fighting for independence. The 29-year-old actress, who loves getting into the skin of her character, arrived at the airport in a vintage car, as 'Jaanbaaz Julia' is seen travelling an exquisite vintage car in the film. "I felt very nice riding the vintage car. It's a new experience for me," Kangana said. The actress will felicitate and interact with jawans at an army camp in Jammu on Tuesday. About the promotion in the army camp, the actress said: "Going by the plot of the film, we are going to Jammu and Kashmir to promote the film. We will be promoting the film in between the army camp." Co-starring Saif Ali Khan and Shahid Kapoor, the film is due for release on February 24, ahead of International Women's Day which falls on March 8. In implementing demonetisation what did not go as planned was that "a lot of bank officials really played it in the way that they should not have played it" and it was on a scale not anticipated, according to Arvind Panagariya, Vice Chairman of Niti Aayog. He defended the demonetisation of the Rs.1,000 and Rs.500 notes calling them a part of an overall strategy to fight black money and to introduce developments like digitisation of currency. "Remember this was not a step taken in isolation," he said. "It sent a very strong signal, 'Look the government's strategy is to combat the black money'." He was answering students' questions after a lecture on India's economic policy and performance organised by the Deepak and Neera Raj Centre on Indian economic policies at Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs. "It is a gigantic operation," he said. "Those who have been critical of the RBI have not understood what a gigantic task it was to remonetise the economy. "The money that was completely out of the system, a substantial part of the cash that was in circulation was not in circulation, was not in the formal economy," he said. "A lot of these the RBI (Reserve Bank of India) knew was not coming through the banking system at all. So they all needed to come back. "Demonetisation sends a very, very strong signal that the day when the central government was complacent was over, that if you are going to misbehave we are going to see to it that you pay for it," he added. The demonestisation is being followed up by a number of other things like restrictions on contributing funds for elections, and "the digitsation of the transactions, big time," Panagariya said. "So all in all it was a necessary step in the process." He also praised the RBI for the "admirable role" it paid in keeping the rupee stable in November through two international developments Brexit and the election of Donald Trump as the US President that made an adverse impact on most developing country economies. Recognising India's status as a 'Major Defence Partner', the US has made necessary changes in its export control laws that would benefit India by facilitating smoother transfer of technologies and arms to it. The new rule that makes necessary changes in the export control laws "creates a presumption of approval" for Indian companies seeking to import Commerce Department-controlled military items, except Weapons of Mass Destruction-related goods. This means that only under the rarest circumstances will India be denied licenses, a source familiar with the changes said. "I'm pleased to see India's status as a 'Major Defence Partner' a designation that we have strongly supported be translated into tangible regulatory reform," said Mukesh Aghi, president of US India Business Council (USIBC). The new rule also amends the law so that companies will not need a license at all after becoming a Validated End User (VEU). "Indian and US companies operating in India can seek VEU status for both civil and military manufacturing, and by doing so not need to obtain individual licenses. This makes it far more convenient to build a global supply chain and react quickly to changing market conditions," explained Benjamin Schwartz, USIBC's Director for Defence and Aerospace. Over 810 licenses representing some $5 billion in trade in the last half decade have been granted for goods covered under this new rule. Most of these licenses being focused on aerospace systems and ground vehicles. Additionally, under the new regulation, Indian companies will not be required by US law to seek approval for the re-export of platforms that contain less than 25 per cent US content. "This is a very favourable policy for Indian companies. The rule will make business substantially easier for Indian companies in the defence sector, especially those partnering with American companies. This gives Indian companies and US companies operating in India the ability to be reactive in real time to meet their supply chain needs," Schwartz said. BJP has changed its stand on considering party legislature only for the Chief Minister post, if the party is voted to power in Uttarakhand. Now, BJP will also be considering its Member of Parliament from Uttarakhand for the coveted post. After facing regular attack from Congress for not projecting any Chief Minister candidate for the Uttarakhand poll, BJP president Amit Shah countered the query at his public rally in Ghansali (Tehri) on Tuesday. Amit Shah said, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Harsh Rawat is confused and constantly ask, who is BJPs CM face? In Congress only Rawat is left, we have a big poll of leaders. We have MLAs here and Member of Parliament from Uttarakhand in Delhi. We all will gather and selected one person. You dont need to worry Rawat ji. Congress has project Harish Rawat as Chief Minister, while BJP was maintaining silence on it. BJP national leader used to aver that the Chief Minister will be among the elected MLA. But, by including Uttarakhands Member of Parliaments the saffron party has given an indication to B.C Khanduri, Bhagat Singh Koshyari, Ajay Tamta and Ramesh Pokhriyal that their Acchey Din might return. Giving an argument on why people need to vote for BJP in Uttarakhand, BJP chief Amit Shah said, Even if Prime Minister Narendra Modi wants to develop Uttarakhand, he would not get co-operation of the Chief Minister. Because Madam (Sonia Gandhi) will not permit the CM to do so. Thats why you require double engine-one in Delhi and other in Uttarakhand- for ensuring development here. Congress yet again raised the issue. This time senior Congress leader and national spokesperson Manish Tiwari attacked BJP by asking, "Will BJP make Narendra Modi or Amit Shah their Chief Minister in Uttarakhand. The biggest weakness of BJP is that they dont have faith in their local leaders. Harish Rawat was on target of Amit Shah and he narrated the tv sting operation to highlight the ongoing corruption during the Harish Rawat rule at Ghansali. Celebrating diversity and in an effort to widen the horizon of the world of education, Springdales School, Dhaula Kuan, held The Hall of Friendship and Peace programme, here. A delegation of 34 students and four teachers from the Experimental School of the Capital Normal University in China attended the event. It enlarges students world view. There is no better teacher than travel. And when you travel with your teachers, you are safe, all you have to do is observe the richness of ones culture, Jyoti Bose, principal of Springdales School, Dhaula Kuan, told thestatesman.com, on the sidelines of the event. Explaining the Special Exchange Programmes conducted by the school, Bose added: Our motto is to celebrate diversity. Not just China, we have exchanged our ethos with 22 countries of the world till date. Our children have been to all over the world and their students have come here. Chinese delegations visit was reciprocated to Indias trip to Beijing in October last year. With a 21-member delegation, Springdales School signed the Heart To Heart Agreement with The Government of China in October 2016. The agreement aims to develop a mutual understanding between the students of two nations and provides them ample of opportunities to know about each others culture, way of living and education system. Children are the link to world peace and they dont hold any barriers in the heart, Bose added when asked about the basic inspiration behind signing the agreement. During the vivid assembly, students from both the nations exhibited cultural performances to exchange ethnicity and national values. Springdales choir took the audience on a musical ride with the rendition of the song The Rhythm of Life, followed by an article presentation on Indo-China Friendship. The article portrayed Chinas friendship with Indias in ancient times and explained how the two nations continue to be the two major forces and centre of the world economic growth. The Indian students further enthralled the audience with a Bengali dance performance and a Hindi classical Aayi Rut Suhani Aayi. The visitors also showcased their culture through mesmerising musical and dance performances. Earlier in the day, the Chinese delegation attended workshops on Madhubani art, which they appreciated later for its rich concept. Hinting at a hidden hand behind the ongoing protests in Nagaland, Chief Minister TR Zeliang on Tuesday said the protesters are being used politically by persons with vested interests. Zeliang said while his government had already given in to the demands of the protesters by "declaring the urban local body polls held in some areas as null and voida" the protests should not have continued in Kohima and Dimapur thereafter. "If the issue of 33 per cent reservation for women in urban local bodies and Article 371A of the Constitution are a non-issue now and my resignation seems to be the only issue, there must be something political to it. I think it is purely political in nature and I suspect some organisations are being misused by some sections with vested political interests," Zeliang said at a press conference here. The Chief Minister said there is no question of his resignation as he has the support of all 58 legislators in the house of 60 "excluding himself and the Speaker". "There is no reason why I should step down. The Supreme Court had made it very clear in the S.R. Bommai case that the majority or minority support a Chief Minister enjoys can only be determined on the assembly floor. And till date, not a single MLA has withdrawn support to my leadership," Zeliang said. "The assembly floor is the only place to decide whether a Chief Minister should continue or step down and not through protests or violence on the streets," he added. He said if the state government and all the stakeholders cannot arrive at an amicable resolution of this issue at the earliest, the best option appears to be to seek exemption of Nagaland from Part-IXA of the Constitution, which contains a mandatory provision under Article 243T for 33 per cent reservation for women in local bodies, which will put to rest the issue and avoid further misunderstanding among the people. Meanwhile, the Nagaland Tribes Action Committee, spearheading the protests, on Tuesday decided to continue with his resignation by owning moral responsibility for the death of two youths over the reservation protests last week in Dimapur. The organisation also set a fresh deadline of three days from Wednesday for the Chief Minister's resignation and that the local body elections in Nagaland cannot be held until and unless amendments are made in the Nagaland Municipal Act, 2001, by safeguarding the powers conferred under Article 371 (A) of the Constitution of India. Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal on Tuesday urged people to follow 15th century Assamese saint-scholar Srimanta Sankaradeva's ideology of serving all living beings without discrimination for auguring a spirit of "truly inclusive society". Speaking at the 86th annual session of Sankardeva Sangha here, Sonowal said "The purpose of life is to serve the society. Our government is committed to follow the spirit of Srimanta Sankardeva in letter and spirit to make Assam an inclusive and prosperous state where even the poorest of the poor can lead a life of dignity." Stating that Srimanta Sankaradeva personified a life based on high moral values and hence became a spiritual guru of the world, Sonowal advocated for organising socio-cultural congregation of the Sankardeva Sangha at all places where Srimanta Sankardeva made his footprints and take his spiritual brilliance to the global arena. Quoting musical maestro Dr Bhupen Hazarika's master piece, he said "The world guru is in the courtyard itself and we do not need to look outside to attain high spiritual ground." Stating that the proposed Sankardeva University would spread the teachings and works of the Gurujona to all parts of the nation, the Chief Minister said his government was committed to complete the construction of the permanent campus of the University at an early date. Responding to Srimanta Sankaradeva Sangha's request for earmarking a plot of land allotted to the University, he assured to take steps and vowed to make the University a world class venue for spiritual teachings. Commenting on the commitment for a pollution free state, Sonowal said the government was committed to work for a serene environment based on Sankaradeva's ideals. Lauding Srimanta Sankaradeva Sangha's gesture of presenting sapling to every delegate present at the session, Sonowal said this would have a very far-reaching impact on the young generation. Sonowal also urged upon the people to keep a close vigil on his government's actions and point out any deficiency to help the government to put checks and balances on its activities. The Election Commission today ordered repolling in 48 polling stations falling in Majitha, Muktsar and Sangrur assembly segments in Punjab following malfunctioning in the Voter-Verified Audit Paper Trail (VVPAT) EVMs on February 4. The repolling will take place on February 9. Besides, the repolling will also take place at polling stations in Moga and Sardulgarh segments where EVMs displayed the votes polled during mock polls. "The repolling will take place at 48 polling stations because of the malfunctioning in VVPAT on polling day. The repolling will take place on February 9," Punjab Chief Electoral Officer V K Singh said here today. He said polling stations where the repolling shall take place are in Majitha, Muktsar and Sangrur assembly segments where VVPAT developed snag. Singh further said that repolling would also be held at polling stations in Moga and Sardulgarh assembly segments. The repolling has been ordered at 32 polling stations of Majitha (12), Muktsar (9), Sangrur (6), Moga (1) and Sardulgarh (4)and 16 polling stations of Amritsar Lok Sabha bye-election, official said. EC had used VVPAT for the first time in Punjab at 6,668 polling stations in 33 assembly segments and two segments in Amritsar Lok Sabha seats. During the trial 538 VVPATs were replaced while during polling 187 VVPATs were replaced. Polling was affected at 25 polling stations in Majitha and ten each in Sangrur and Muktsar. The Election Commission had even sought a report from the state election authorities about the malfunctioning of VVPATs which caused delayed in voting. After VVPATs developed snag, AAP national convener and Delhi Chief Minister had attacked the Election Commission and tweeted, "Never has any election seen malfunctioning EVMs on such a largescale. Was it mischief done deliberately by or in collusion with EC." AAP leader Sanjay Singh had even raised the matter with Punjab CEO, demanding extension in time where polling was affected because of VVPAT problem. VVPAT generates a receipt and allow people to verify if the vote went in favour of the candidate against whose name the button was pressed on the EVM. India has cautioned against questioning the "convergence" of views that took the negotiation process for Security Council reforms forward instead of building up on that progress. India's Permanent Representative Syed Akbaruddin told a meeting of the Inter Governmental Negotiations (IGN) on Council reforms on Monday that the paper produced in the last session of the General Assembly stressed that the points of convergence should be built and there could be no progress without a negotiating document. He said that when the chair of the last IGN session, Sylvie Lucas, presented the paper, "no one questioned how many spoke and how many did not". "Why go down that path now?" he asked alluding to attempts by some members to scuttle the convergence document. "The process at this stage has all the conditions to build on the work of previous sessions and to move forward based on the work already done by your predecessors," he told the co-chairs of the current IGN session, Mohamed Khaled Khiari of Tunisia, and Ambassador Ion Jinga of Romania. The task of reforming the Council and enlarging it to make it more representative had been blocked for almost two decades by the opposition of some members led by Italy and including Pakistan to having a negotiating text. Without such a document, negotiations are not possible. In the 2014-15 session of the Assembly, due to the initiative of its President Sam Kutesa, a negotiating text based on a survey of members was adopted paving the way for serious discussions and giving the process a boost. In the last session, that momentum was lost, but there was slight progress with the document on convergence. It only said that an "enlarged Council should consist of a total of members in the mid-20s, within an overall range of 21-27 seats, with the exact number to emerge from the discussions of Member States on the key issues of 'categories of membership' and 'regional representation'." Akbaruddin criticised the status of the reform process as "neither natural nor normal". It was "not normal and not natural that, we, as responsible representatives of states continue to cocoon ourselves from the enormity of the changes underway and articulate views endlessly with no framework for setting our house in order," he said. The Council was suffering form "legitimacy deficit" that is miring it in inefficacy and irrelevance, he said. "At a time of growing dismay with the existing international order, our persistent inability to move the reform process forward is viewed as the inability of the multilateral system to fix what is broken," Akbaruddin said. "We are at a cross road from where reform is the only way to maintain relevance," he said, appealing to the co-chairs of the IGN to "breathe new life into the process". With the US moving the UN to put Pathankot attack mastermind and chief of the Pakistan-based terror outfit Jaish-e-Mohamed, Masood Azhar, on the list of international terrorists, India has again taken up the matter with China, a senior official said on Tuesday. "We have been informed of this development (US moving the UN) and the matter has been taken up with the Chinese government," External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Vikas Swarup said. Last year China blocked India's bid to have Masood Azhar declared an international terrorist by the UN Security Council's 1267 Sanctions Committee. China repeatedly put a "technical hold" on India's resolution for a ban on Azhar in 2016. India says Azhar is the mastermind of the January 2016 terror attack on the Pathankot air base in Punjab. The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Tuesday confirmed that Dubai-based Shamsul Huda, who acted as the alleged mastermind for the ISI-backed plot to cause train accidents in the country, was arrested by the police in Nepal. "Shamshul Huda has been arrested by the Nepal Police after being deported from Dubai," a senior National Investigation Agency (NIA) official said. The official also described Huda's arrest as a big breakthrough in the three cases that was handed over to the agency. The three cases comprised a failed attempt to detonate an IED (improvised explosive device) on the Ghorasahan track in East Champaran district of Bihar; the suspected sabotage behind the Indore-Patna Express train accident in Kanpur on November 20, 2016, that killed 149 people; and the derailement of Hirakhand Express in Koneru in Andhra Pradesh on January 21 which resulted in the deaths of 41 persons. The NIA official further said that the agency is in touch with the Nepalese authority to seek access for his questioning. Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday condoled the death of Subhas Chandra Bose's close associate and INA veteran 'Colonel' Nizamuddin, who died at the age of 116. "Tributes to Subhas Babu's close associate, Colonel Nizamuddin. I recall my meeting with him. His demise is saddening," Modi said in a tweet. "We will always remember the idealism, courage and patriotism of Colonel Nizamuddin, which added strength to our freedom struggle," the Prime Minister said. Nizamuddin, an Indian National Army (INA) veteran was also known as Colonel, he died on Monday in his native village of Dhakwa in Uttar Pradesh's Azamgarh district after a prolonged illness. Born in 1901, Nizamuddin served as a driver-cum-guard of Bose after the INA was formed. He accompanied Bose during his meeting with Hitler to seek help to secure freedom for India. He also accompanied Bose during his trips to Japan, Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore. The talks between the government and the United Naga Council (UNC) to end the Manipur economic blockade has failed. "Disappointed with today's parleys but efforts to break logjam to continue," the Union government said on Tuesday. Meanwhile, the Presidential Council of the UNC was convened to consider the outcome of the tripartite meeting of the Union government, Manipur government, and the UNC held on February 3 here. The core issue discussed in the tripartite talk was the issue of declaration of seven new districts by the Manipur government on December 8, 2016 without consulting the stake holders. The UNC feels that the declaration of the new districts was in "utter disrespect" of the 4 MoUs signed with Naga organisations and assurance given by the Union Home Ministry. "The GoM only pleaded its helplessness on taking up the core issue in the talk as the election code of conduct, which has come into effect from January 4, 2017 prohibits any political decision for roll back or otherwise either by the GoM or the GoI," a UNC said in a statement. The next tripartite talk for taking up the core issue was then scheduled for March 25, 2017. The GoM and GoI moved for creating a conducive atmosphere for the next tripartite meeting and it was agreed that none of the parties would go to the press on sensitive matters discussed in the talk. However, reports quoted Chief Minister Ibobi Singh as having said that "the core issue has not been put on the agenda and that the UNC protest would be called off". Opposing it, the Presidential Council stated in its resolutions, "The Nagas and their land are inseparable is reaffirmed. The land gives us our identity, tradition and culture. In the land lies our future as a people. That, the Nagas have rejected the declaration of seven new districts on December 12, 2016 and strongly demonstrated the rejection with the mass rally held in Naga district headquarters on December 15, 2016." "There is constitutional safeguard and protection for the tribal people in Manipur under the Constitution of India Article 371C (2): The Governor shall annually, or whenever so required by the President, make a report to the President regarding administration of the Hill areas in the State of Manipur and the executive power of the Union shall extend to the giving of direction to the State as to the administration of the said areas, it said. "In the given circumstance, the Presidential Council after thorough deliberation concluded that the code of conduct cannot limit the Union of India nor the Governor of the State of Manipur from intervening and fulfilling their constitutional obligation to safeguard and protect land of the tribal as enshrined in the constitution. The Presidential Council therefore reiterates the rejection of the creation of 7 new districts and resolved to continue to fight against the insidious design of grabbing our land on the pretext of administrative convenience till the same is withdrawn. It was further resolved that Nagas would also reject and fight against any other moves that would affect our land and identity," it added. For decades India had looked inwards, concerned only with defending itself from aggression, unwilling to venture beyond South Asia. It did participate in military operations in Maldives and Sri Lanka, but these were within the region. The last government, headed by an economist Prime Minister, had economic development as its main agenda. India increased economic cooperation with countries across the globe, however foreign policy remained defensive and India was unable to break the shackles of non-alignment of the Nehruvian era. The UPA even hesitated in signing the Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement with the US, fearing it would be labelled as being part of the US camp. Time and tide waits for no nation. Our defensive policy only emboldened Pakistan. We cried ourselves hoarse to the world every time there was a terror strike, however received only words of support which had no impact on Pakistan. China continued to create a string of pearls encircling India, as we watched. Meanwhile across the globe, the nature and variety of threats increased. Terrorism became a common thread binding most nations. First the al Qaeda and subsequently ISIS became household names, whose reach spread beyond borders and regions. India has for decades been affected by terrorism and hence had to change its way of doing business. The world over, national security and intelligence-sharing began gaining importance. No nation felt secure by itself, hence security cooperation began to increase. Terrorist and external threats continue to dominate security challenges in Asia, Europe and Africa. In South East Asia, it is rising Chinese hegemony including its claims over the South China Sea, as also an expanding ISIS footprint. In South Asia, it is export of terrorism from Pakistan. West Asia faces its worst civil war and population migration affecting vast swathes of Iraq, Syria, Libya and Yemen. Europe is battling increased immigration and lone wolf attacks. African nations face internal squabbles for power, alongside a growing menace of Boko Haram and other similar groups, who have no hesitation about rampant killings. The present Indian government has commenced including security alongside its economic agenda to enhance level of ties with nations. In every visit which the prime minister has embarked on, mainly where India seeks to develop closer relations, two agreements are invariably inked. While an economic agreement, including greater investment and increased trade is natural, the other assuming equal importance is security and military cooperation. These agreements have been concluded with a diverse group of nations, including Saudi Arabia, UAE, Iran, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam, Kenya, Mozambique, South Africa etc, in addition to our traditional allies including the US, Russia, Japan etc. Economic agreements indicate Indias growing financial clout and ability to participate in regional development. Security agreements indicate cooperation and joint efforts against common threats. They also project India as a recognised military power. It implies increased visits by naval vessels, enhanced vacancies for training in India, as also in some cases joint exercises. Sharing of intelligence on common threats is also a part. While agreements are signed, it is the follow up which assumes importance. Indias credibility would only exist if serious steps are taken to ensure that defence cooperation agreements are implemented in letter and spirit. The issue in India is lack of coordination between the ministries of finance, external affairs and defence, as also keeping the military away from all branches of the government. Even the aspect of training of foreign students in India involves two ministries, external affairs and defence. Payments are to be made by the external affairs ministry from their budget, which is normally way behind schedule. In many cases, the stipends to participating students are made by the host institute, from its own funds; reimbursement if ever comes years later. Vacancies for courses in our military establishments are allocated by embassies at the last moment, even to countries where English is not a common language. This results in non-English speaking students being sent. Planning of visits by military personnel is even more cumbersome, with a civilian-controlled defence ministry holding back the final sanction, at times till the day of departure, sometimes more out of spite than reason. Thus detailed coordination with the host nation remains incomplete. Cancellation of visits at the last moment are regular, which have hurt Indias image. In cases of joint exercises, when complete expenditure of the foreign team is to be borne by India, government sanction is delayed and has at times resulted in cancellation, an embarrassment to the nation. Such laxity impacts the nations international standing. The entire process, even in the future, would continue to be a failure and lead to further embarrassment unless there is a separate department formed, involving all stakeholders (military, external affairs and finance), working together under one responsible minister. The present concept of water-tight compartments, file pushing, increased bureaucratic bungling and ignoring the military, would only increase embarrassments. Since we are looked upon as a growing global power, we need to be realistic and well prepared. One aspect which the government ignores is the importance of growing military soft power. In most nations, mainly in South East Asia and Africa, the military is a dominant force. This is on account of it having played a major role in ensuring stability of the country. With nations of West Asia, which we desire to wean away from Pakistan, military soft power helps build better trust and understanding, which in the long term would pay dividend. Hence closer military-to-military contacts would build better bonds than pure political or bureaucratic interactions. Further, interacting with a professional Indian military in joint exercises, as also training in Indian military institutions, always projects a positive image of the nation. unless the government ensures follow up of agreements and trusts the military enough to incorporate it into various ministries for seamless coordination, military soft power, ideal for enhancing ties, would remain neglected. (The writer is a retired Major-General of the Indian Army. A treatment made with antibodies from horses may provide an effective and economical option to fight Ebola infection, says a study. "This is a cost-effective treatment that can be used in low-income countries in Africa where equine production facilities are already in operation for producing snake-bite antivenin," said one of the lead researchers Alexander Khromykh, Professor at University of Queensland in Australia. "It's the first time that equine antibodies have been shown to work effectively against Ebola infection," Khromykh pointed out. The post-exposure treatment made with antibodies from horses was administered over five days to monkeys infected 24 hours previously with a lethal dose of Ebola virus. The treatment suppressed viral loads significantly and protected the animals from mortality, showed the findings published in the journal Scientific Reports. The largest recorded outbreak of Ebola virus occurred primarily in West Africa from 2014 to 2016, infecting 30,000 people and killing more than 11,000, with exported cases in Europe and North America. The outbreak resulted in the establishment of the United Nations Mission for Ebola Emergency Response and an acceleration of research on development of vaccines and therapies. This led to the development of monoclonal antibodies that were used in Britain to treat infected health workers returning from Africa. "The down side is that monoclonal antibodies require considerable investment for scale-up and manufacture, and are expensive," Khromykh said. "Equine antibodies are a considerably cheaper alternative, with manufacturing capacity already in place in Africa. Antibodies from vaccinated horses provide a low-cost alternative, and are already in use for rabies, botulism and diphtheria," Khromykh said. The research resulted from a strong collaboration between Australian, French and Russian scientists and a Queensland-based company Plasvacc Pty Ltd. Twenty-two-year-old Irfan Masih, a resident of Peshawar, is at the citys historical St Michael Cathedral Church to make arrangements for one of the happiest days of his life his wedding day. The young man wants to rent the churchs lawn for the ceremony. The news is met with congratulations from the church administrator, but he also lays out one condition for the gleeful groom-to-be. He is told that no music can be played at the ceremony. This is out of respect for the cathedrals neighbours a mosque and madressah known as the Jamia Imdadul Uloom or Darwaish Masjid. Irfan tries to reason with the administrator. This is my first and last marriage, he says in a lighter tone. He is met with a stern response: If you agree [only] then will the church permit you to entertain guests in the lawn, otherwise we are sorry. Working together The churchs red bricks glisten in the winter sunlight. The structure stands tall next to the whitewashed madressah that was built 38 years ago. In the often-volatile city of Peshawar, it is a sight to see these two houses of God existing alongside one another. Mufti Asad of the madressah says that they have friendly relations with their neighbours. The two places of worship exchange gifts on each others religious festivals. Last Eidul Azha, representatives from the church came to the madressah bearing gifts. We also offered them meat and ate barbeque together, Mufti Asad says. These stories of peaceful coexistence are heartening to hear. Members of Jamia Imdadul Uloom take pride in the madressahs more progressive outlook. Maulana Hassan Jan was a teacher here, who was allegedly the first religious scholar to declare suicide bombings haram. It is believed that these moderate views ruffled some feathers and Maulana Jan paid the ultimate price for this. In 2007, during the Islamic month of Ramazan, he was assassinated. Many of Maulana Jans students are now teachers at the madressah. They claim to be continuing to follow his philosophy of peace and respect for other religions. In the neighbouring church, Father Younas Riaz is similarly spreading messages of peace. He wears a white robe as he preaches these values to a congregation of devout Christians. You shall love your neighbour as yourself, he says quoting the Bible. Propagating peace Peshawar has often been an unsafe place for Christians. A September 2013 suicide attack on the citys All Saints Church killed at least 80 and left 100 wounded. In such a scenario the apparent camaraderie shared by the two places of worship is encouraging. Attaullah Khan, a researcher, says, In this country there is always a threat to minorities they are treated as second-grade citizens since birth Father Younas Riaz of the cathedral says that some so-called education experts are systemically facilitating this intolerance in society. [They] are working to sabotage the unity of this diverse society, he adds, criticising the textbooks which often perpetuate hate. Khan agrees, further stating that the media and the textbooks are both culpable for propagating that Muslims are patriots and true lovers of the country, while the others are often painted as dubious characters. The intellectuals associated with the boards of education deliberately do not give space to non-Muslim heroes and their contributions, he believes. For their part, however, representatives of the Jamia Imdadul Uloom take pride in their teaching of tolerance and unity. Mufti Asad shares that 1,000 students are enrolled in the seminary, and due to the institutions teaching methodology none of its students have been found guilty in any anti-state or unlawful activities. Mufti Asad further tells Dawn that they maintain a comprehensive computerised record of all the madressahs current and ex-students. In this crucial time, the scholars and intellectuals need to work to shape the youths mind, Khan concludes. Representatives of both the places of worship also stress that the mosque and church exist side by side because of the compassion being taught here. Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday ordered a surprise inspection of the Aerospace Forces in order to gauge its readiness for combat, Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said. The goal was to evaluate the readiness of the forces to carry out instructions and combat tasks, according to Shoigu. A surprise inspection of the Aerospace Forces would take place "on order of the supreme commander of the Armed Forces", Shoigu said during a high-level meeting, Efe news reported. During the inspection, which included putting troops on alert, special attention should be given to "deploying anti-aircraft defence for wartime", the minister said. All units subjected to inspection should perform tactical exercises, he added. Security measures should be strictly observed during the inspection, he said, and damage to state property and negative impacts on the environment avoided. Montreal, CA (H4T1V6) Today Cloudy skies with periods of light rain late. Low around 65F. Winds S at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 80%.. Tonight Cloudy skies with periods of light rain late. Low around 65F. Winds S at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 80%. 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. Organisation: Trocaire Duty Station: Kampala, Uganda Reports to: Programme Manager Annual Salary: UGX 53,246,310 About Trocaire: Trocaire is an Irish development organisation with over 40 years experience that works through local partners to implement programmes in the organisations priority areas of Building Sustainable Livelihoods, Governance & Human Rights and Gender. Trocaires programmes in Uganda are managed by a small country team based in the office in Kampala with regular travel to Northern Uganda. Trocaire works through a partnership approach and is a member of worldwide networks such as Caritas and CIDSE. This is an exciting time in the history of the organisation as we embark on our new strategic plan for 2016-2020. In Uganda, Trocaire is working to deliver the new strategic plan focusing on resource rights and gender based violence. Responsibilities: Key Duties andResponsibilities: Programme Technical Support (30%): Support the development, reporting and revision of the country programme results framework in line with organisational and donor priorities. Take lead in the development and contracting or delivery of programme baselines and evaluations including clear Terms of Reference, appropriate resource allocations and provide quality assurance in line with best practice. Lead and support Trocaire staff in the development of programme monitoring and evaluation systems during the programme design phase, including adherence to donor requirements. Develop and oversee the implementation of programme results frameworks including planning, development of data collection tools, and guidance on sampling and assurances on data quality. Support programme staff in developing specific tools to track quantitative and qualitative data on programme impact. Develop and oversee the development of thematic programme M&E guidebooks for partners. Carry out the analysis of primary and secondary programme data, both quantitative and qualitative, for organisational and donor requirements. Train and support programme team in data management, analysis and using results to inform programme strategy/implementation Mentor, train and support team in improving our gendered monitoring systems Lead on a Uganda focused Programme Participant targeting and counting system that complies with global and donor requirements Train and support staff on M&E concepts and methodologies and generate training materials and resources for this. Train and support the programme team and the RBDM in the development of donor proposals and reports Partner Technical Support (30%) Provide technical support to partners on monitoring and evaluation systems. Work in close conjunction with the programme officers support partners in the development of project monitoring and evaluation systems including adherence to Trocaire and donor requirements. Work in liaison with the programme officers support oversee the implementation of project results frameworks including planning, development of data collection tools, and guidance on sampling and assurances on data quality. Train and support partner staff in developing specific tools to track quantitative and qualitative data on project impact. Train and support partner staff to understand the thematic programme M&E systems with a special focus on the Trocaire mandatory indicators. Critical assess the MEAL needs of the partners as part of an overall capacity building strategy with the partners. Train and support partner staff on M&E concepts and methodologies and generate training materials and resources for this. Work in close conjunction with the programme officers review and critically assess partner proposals and processes to ensure high quality M&E systems. Accountability (20%) Safeguarding Programme Participants (from Exploitation and Abuse) andAccountability (20%) Support the Country Management Team in the delivery of Trocaires safeguarding policies at a country office and partner level through training, mentoring of staff and periodic compliance reviews. Provide guidance to Trocaire staff and partners on effective downward accountability to programme participants through information sharing, complaint handling mechanisms and independent verification of programme quality. Learning and Communications (10%) To keep up to date with trends in monitoring, evaluation and accountability Document learning from staff and partners in a manner that is accessible that can be easily communicated to internal and external audiences. Actively support the programme team to use monitoring/evaluation data to prompt and promote learning in our work. Proactively seek out interesting stories on highlighting the work done by staff and partners especially on accountability Prepare leaflets, briefings, brochures and case studies on accountability and other issues. Copy-edit key work from partners and programme staff within the office. Other (10%) Promote organisational learning on monitoring and evaluation through active participation in country office and programme meetings and workshops and maintain close coordination with Trocaires Strategy and Impact Unit in Ireland. Represent Trocaire at external meetings, events and networks to share learning and promote our programming. Undertake any other responsibilities assigned by the country management team. Experience: Qualifications, Skills andExperience: The applicant should hold a graduate degree in development studies or other relevant fields. Possession of a Post-graduate degree in monitoring and evaluation or other relevant field an asset At least five years experience in an international or local organisation in Uganda or abroad. At least three years working in Monitoring and Evaluation in Uganda or abroad. Significant experience in capacity building on monitoring and evaluation in Uganda or abroad. Previous exposure and experience in monitoring and evaluation systems for Gender Based Violence programme is desired Prior experience in monitoring and evaluation systems for resource rights or agro-ecology or economic growth programming Experience of Results Based Management Approach Experience of working in a partnership arrangement with civil society organisations and the use of participatory approaches to development. Experience on safeguarding Programme Participants Experience on downward accountability Excellent research, analytical and critical evaluation skills. Gender analysis/mainstreaming skills. Experience in delivering Information Communication Technology for Development. Excellent understanding of monitoring and evaluation tools and methodologies. Proven results-based management skills. Excellent interpersonal, communication and facilitation skills, particularly in promoting organisational learning. Excellent communications skills Excellent facilitation skills Highly organised, with excellent planning, prioritisation and problem-solving skills. Computer literacy skills in Microsoft Word, Excel and Outlook Demonstrate a commitment to gender equality and an ability to influence and engage others to support gender issues. Capable of working efficiently under tight deadlines. Spoken and written fluency in English. Show commitment to Trocaires Vision, Mission and Values and an understanding of a partnership approach to development. Sympathetic understanding of the Catholic Churchs role in relief and development. Ability to work with women and men from diverse backgrounds Demonstrated and active commitment to gender equality and Womens Empowerment. Ability to work to deadlines with accuracy and attention to detail. Ability to learn on-the-job, and an interest in learning about the context, issues and strategies of Trocaires programming in Uganda Willingness to travel frequently in country and occasionally internationally. Ability to work irregular hours on an occasional basis. Self-motivated with proven ability to take initiative. Strong team player who is able to establish solid working relationships with colleagues in country as well as in Head Office. Clear understanding of monitoring, evaluation, learning and accountability concepts and processes General understanding of development issues and contexts, preferably in the areas of Sustainable Livelihoods, Resource Rights, Human Rights, Gender Equality and Womens Empowerment. Familiarity with the rights-based approach and its application in development programming. How to Apply: this application form, Download Here, and send it to Please indicate position title as subject of E-mail. Send an application letter and updated CV as one pdf as part of the application. All suitably qualified and interested candidates are encouraged to fillthis application form,, and send it to recruitmentuganda@trocaire.org Please indicate position title as subject of E-mail. Send an application letterand updated CV as one pdf as part of the application. th February 2017 by 9:00 am Deadline: 13February 2017 by 9:00 am The headquarters of Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam at Royapettah in Chennai has been witnessing hectic parleys over the last few days with party veterans rushing off to make last-minute arrangements for the coronation of Sasikala Natarajan. The meticulously scripted drama started unfolding on February 5 when a meeting of party MLAs unanimously selected 'Chinnamma' as the legislative party leader, paving way for her elevation as the chief minister. Sasikala, a close aide of late former chief minister Jayalalithaa for over three decades, is finally at the helm of both the party and the government. However, the road ahead for the 59-year-old, who hails from Mannargudi in Thiruvarur, seems to be rocky as she will have to overcome a number of hurdles during her days at Fort St George. Legal wrangles Sasikala has been, over the years, entangled in a number of court cases along with Jayalalithaa, with the disproportionate assets case being her immediate challenge. The Supreme Court is most likely to deliver its verdict on a petition filed by the Karnataka government challenging the Bangalore High Court order acquitting both of them. Earlier, a trial court had convicted Jayalalithaa, Sasikala, and her two relatives V.N. Sudhakaran and Elavarasiin the case and sentenced them to four years in prison. If the top court upholds the trial court verdict, it will leave Sasikala in dire straits as she will be unseated from the chief ministers post with immediate effect. Meanwhile, in another development which could spark further trouble for Sasikala, the Madras High Court, last week, refused to discharge her from three cases filed by the Enforcement Directorate in 1995 and 1996 on charges of violating the Foreign Exchange Regulation Act. The case relates to payments made to foreign firms for hiring transponders and uplink facilities for JJ TV, the predecessor of Jaya TV. Peoples mandate Sasikala, who has never contested an election in her life, will have to seek the people's mandate within six months after assuming the post of chief minister. Speculations are rife that she may opt for Jayalalithaas RK Nagar seat, which has been lying vacant after the death of the former chief minister. However, the constituency has recently witnessed protests against Sasikala's elevation to the top post in the party. With the tide turning hostile, it remains to be seen whether she will stick to the constituency or opt for another safe seat. Dissent within Ever since Sasikala took over as the party chief, several low-level office-bearers and cadres have broken the ranks, with protests being held in different parts of the state. They feel Sasikala is an unworthy successor of Jayalalithaa. Her posters and flex boards have been found vandalised in several towns. Several senior leaders are also said to be in two minds over supporting Sasikala. The dissent came out in the open last week with senior party leader and former minister K.P. Munusamy accusing Sasikalas brother V. Divakaran of attempting to wield influence in the party. On Tuesday, P.H. Pandian, one of the founding leaders of the AIADMK, launched a scathing attack on Sasikala saying she was unfit for the chief minister's post. P. Kannan, a party MP from Puducherry, tendered his resignation hours after Sasikala was elected legislative party leader, saying the political developments were going from bad to worse. He also raised suspicion over whether O. Panneerselvam was forced to resign as the chief minister. The open threat put up by expelled party MP Sasikala Pushpa and Jayalalithaas niece Deepa Jayakumar may not be water off the ducks back for Sasikala. Pushpa has already moved the Election Commission against Sasikalas elevation while Deepa is rumoured to have decided to float a new party, which is likely to inflict considerable damage to the AIADMK. Battle of perception This will, perhaps, be the biggest challenge Sasikala will have to face as a major section of the public remains sceptic over her leadership and administrative skills. She has never contested an election nor has she ever actively campaigned for the party during her 33-year-long association with Jayalalithaa. Sasikala delivered her first public speech in December after taking charge of the party. The voices of protest from the public have been mounting dribs and drabs, with the hashtag #RIPTN trending on social media. The opposition DMK and the Congress have strongly questioned Sasikala's credentials and her political experience. The sacking of several top officials days ahead of Sasikala's swearing-in has also added to the public scepticism. Administrative hurdles Sasikala takes over as the chief minister at a time when the state is going through a rough patch especially due to the economic slump post demonetisation. The administrative crisis, which erupted during Jayalalithaa's two-and-a-half-month stay in Apollo Hospital, is yet to be overcome. The state is facing severe drought while Cauvery issue and other water-sharing pacts with the neighbouring states still remain on the boil. Sasikala's political acumen and administrative sleight of hand will be tested in all these issues. If she is slow off the mark to prove her mettle, she will not be able to stop the rot. With China opposing US' proposal in the UN for designating Pathankot attack mastermind and Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) chief Masood Azhar as a global terrorist, India on Tuesday said it has taken up the matter with Beijing. "We have been informed of this development and the matter has been taken up with the Chinese government," External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Vikas Swarup said. He was asked about India's reaction to US pushing for a ban on Azhar in the UN and China yet again blocking it. However, he did not elaborate when and where the issue was taken up with China. According to senior government sources, the US, supported by the UK and France, moved a proposal at the UN's Sanctions Committee 1267 in the second-half of last month to proscribe Azhar. The proposal, which was finalised after "consultations" between Washington and New Delhi, said JeM is a designated terror outfit and so its leaders cannot go scot-free, sources said. "However, China opposed the US move by putting a hold on the proposal," a source said, adding the Chinese action came just before the expiry of the 10-day deadline for any proposal to be adopted or blocked or to be put on hold. The American proposal came barely weeks after India's efforts to get Azhar banned by the UN were blocked by China in December last. The "hold" remains for six months and can be further extended by three months. During this period, it can be anytime converted into a "block", thereby, ending the life of the proposal. The IDF spokesman unit confirms that the Israel Air Force launched a strike against three Hamas targets in northern Gaza following a rocket attack into the Ashkelon Coast Regional Council area on Monday morning 10 Shevat. The air force launched the retaliatory raid a few hours following the rocket attack. The spokesman also confirms that shortly following the rocket attack, IDF tank fire responded, targeting a Hamas objective in northern Gaza. Bchasdei Hashem, there was no loss of life, injuries or property damage in the rocket attack. (YWN Israel Desk, Jerusalem) SoadaStream, which has been the target of anti-Israel boycotts, has announced it is adding its unique made in Israel label to its product which is sold around the world, in 45 countries. SodaStream is not just affixing a special made in Israel label to its products, it is also affixing an Israeli flag next which it will say This product is made by Arabs and Jews working side by side in peace and harmony. CEO Daniel Birnbaum admits it will compel the product to fight for its place in the EU, but nevertheless, he is proud of the national flag and his company. He told the media he is proud and as such, he is adding the national flag to 50 million products sold internationally. He explains that for SodaStream, Israel and the national flag are a source of pride and he is running with this, not motivated by fear that his new campaign may result in a drop of sales. (YWN Israel Desk, Jerusalem) A gag order was lifted on Monday 10 Shevat on the arrest of Hamas terrorists from the village of Bani Naim in the S. Hebron Hills area. The arrests were the result of a joint Shin Bet and IDF effort. According to the information, a Hamas infrastructure planning attacks in the Hebron area and inside Green Line Israel was uncovered. Members of the cell were in touch with Gaza-based terrorists via Facebook. In the Hebron area, they planned bombing and shooting attacks as well as a kidnapping. The cell also planned targeting a northern IDF base in the Kfar Kara area, the Binyamina Central Bus Station, the Beit Knesset HaGadol in Zichron Yaakov and a Nachal Iron (Wadi Ara) bus stopped frequented by IDF soldiers. Bchasdei Hashem they were apprehended before they could carry out any of the diabolical attacks. The list of targets was assembled by cell members who worked inside Green Line Israel illegally. The cell tried manufacturing and purchasing weapons. The terrorists in custody range in age from 23 to 25. They were indicted in a Haifa court. (YWN Israel Desk, Jerusalem) Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch is meeting Monday with two Senate Democrats who could be key to his confirmation. Republicans, meanwhile, are escalating their campaign for his confirmation with a series of new ads. Gorsuch is scheduled to meet with California Sen. Dianne Feinstein, the top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, and Montana Sen. Jon Tester, a Democrat running for re-election in a conservative state. Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer has said Trumps nominee must be able to win support from 60 of the Senates 100 members. Republicans have a 52-48 majority, so Republicans will need the support of at least eight Democrats. To win those votes, the Senate GOPs campaign arm, the National Republican Senatorial Committee, is running three ads to pressure certain Democrats to vote for him. (AP) The arrest this weekend of 20-year-old Chanel Lewis, who is accused of murdering Queens jogger Karina Vetrano six months ago, can be chalked up, in large part, to one lieutenants intuition, according to police sources. Lewis was arrested this weekend just days after the six-month anniversary of 30-year-old Vetranos death. Vetrano was fatally strangled on Aug. 2, 2016, while jogging alone in Howard Beach in Queens, on a path where she and her father often ran together. According to police sources, NYPD Lt. John Russo first saw Lewis on the Brooklyn/Queens border in May, three months before Vetranos murder. Russo thought he seemed suspicious and called it in, but Lewis left before the patrol could respond, police sources said. The next day, a 911 caller mentioned Lewis by name and said he looked like he was breaking into a Howard Beach property with a crowbar, police sources said. After Vetranos death in August, police combed through leads, but no one was arrested. As the summer ended, Vetranos devastated mother told ABC News she was broken but said she was confident her daughters killer would be caught eventually. The case went cold until last week when, on a lark, Russo decided that police should consider Lewis for the murder, according to police sources. Lewis was tracked through the 911 call that mentioned him by name as well as through three prior summonses dating back to 2013; one was for urinating in public and two others involved breaking the rules in the park where Vetranos body was found. Once we saw that he was in and around the Gateway Park area thats when we went to speak to him, NYPD Chief of Detectives Robert Boyce said at a news conference today. Police first spoke to Lewis on Feb. 2 and Lewis voluntarily gave a DNA sample one of 600 samples taken in the case, police said. We brought that immediately to the office of the chief medical examiner, where within two days we had a hit of the DNA we recovered from the crime scene, Boyce told reporters Sunday. Lewis was taken into custody Saturday evening, and Boyce said today that Lewis gave detailed, incriminating statements to arresting officers though he declined to elaborate. Police sources said that Lewis confessed to the crime and that there was no motive other than Lewis was unhinged and apparently upset there were so many people in the apartment where he lived with his parents. Lewis has no criminal history and does not work, Boyce said. Boyce said police do not believe Lewis knew Vetrano at all. From what his statements were, it was a chance encounter, Boyce said Sunday. Boyce said that Vetrano herself helped police identify the suspect. She had the DNA under her nails. She had touch DNA on her back and there was more DNA on the cell phone. So three incidences that we were able to bring this profile up and thats how we were able to link it, Boyce said. After police received over 250 leads from the public regarding Vetranos murder, Lewis was charged this weekend with second-degree murder, police said. He made his first appearance in court Sunday and did not enter a plea. The case is being presented to a grand jury to consider sexual assault charges. The Legal Aid Society, which is representing Lewis, said in a statement today, We have a full defense team working on this case, including our DNA unit dedicated to scrutinizing the evidence collected by local authorities. We are spending this critical time getting to know our client and his family, and reviewing all the facts associated with this case. We caution everyone including the media not to rush to immediate judgment. As our judicial system affords, Mr. Lewis is entitled to fairness and due process. Lt. Russo said today that it was good old-fashioned police work that led to the suspect. Vetranos father, Phil Vetrano, told ABC station WABC-TV in New York on Sunday that the police did an excellent job. Karina Vetranos mother, Cathy Vetrano, added, They worked endlessly and tirelessly, and that was because of their passion, combined with our passion for our daughter. We would never tire, we would never stop, Phil Vetrano told WABC-TV. Phil Vetrano told WABC-TV he will absolutely be at Lewis trial. Every minute of the day, he said. (AP) The New York State Senate today passed a bill to stop the implementation of New York Citys bag tax. The moratorium (S4158), an agreement between the Senate and Assembly and sponsored by Senate Cities Committee Chairman Simcha Felder (D, Brooklyn), is the latest step in the Senates bipartisan efforts to stop the Citys regressive tax on carry-out merchandise bags and enable consumers to keep more of their hard-earned money. Today, we took concrete action to stop Mayor de Blasio and the New York City Councils punitive Bag Tax, said Senator Felder. I want to thank my colleagues who worked so hard to protect our constituents from this tax, especially Assemblyman Michael Cusick who led the fight in the Assembly. We believe that New Yorkers are the greatest people in the world hard-working people who want to do the right thing given that opportunity. We will continue to be diligent and not allow New Yorkers to be over-fined, over-ticketed, and over-taxed. This is the second time state legislative pressure and a public outcry helped successfully defeat the bag taxs implementation. When New York City first enacted legislation last year to create the five-cent tax, it was originally slated to go into effect in October. However, a state Senate hearing held by Senator Felder and other legislators, followed by approval of a bill in the Senate prohibiting such taxes, and a resulting public outcry led the City to delay implementation until February 15, 2017. With the passage of todays moratorium, the Citys law implementing the bag tax is defeated, removing an unnecessary burden on low- and middle-income New York City residents. The bag tax could only be reauthorized by a new City Council with members who begin their terms on or after Jan. 1, 2018. Senator Marty Golden (R-C-I, Brooklyn) stated, The New York State Senate acted quickly to put a stop to a tax on plastic bags that would be financially damaging to every hard-working New Yorker living in the City. During these financially challenging times, we need to find ways for New Yorkers to keep every penny to meet the growing cost of living here in the city. I hope that the New York City Council will find other ways to help the environment without imposing burdensome taxes. Senator Tony Avella (D, Queens) said, This bag tax was hastily developed without thought of the impact on low- and middle-class families who are already strapped for cash in New York City. I believe that we must find alternatives to the growing impact of plastic bags on our environment, however this plan was not the way. This moratorium will give the necessary amount of time to develop an economically sound, environmentally friendly way to reduce the use of plastic bags. Senator Diane Savino (D, Staten Island/Brooklyn) said, Since the passage of the bag tax by the City Council I have heard from my constituents that they are opposed to it. Many are senior citizens who just cant afford anymore nickel and diming by the city. Last year the City Council delayed implementation to find solutions to the problems we discussed on the Senate floor, but they didnt do anything. With the passage of todays bill we can ensure that the City Council fully understands the impact on our communities. The bill will be sent to the Assembly, which is expected to act on the measure this week. (YWN Desk NYC) By Rabbi Yair Hoffman for the Five Towns Jewish Times Many people today will recite the parsha of the Mahn. It is a segulah to become wealthier if we recite this section (Shmos 16:4 until the Omer is one tenth of an Aifah) on Tuesday of Parshas BShalach. It must be said twice in the Hebrew and once in the Targum. Aside from reciting the parsha of mahn we should do hishtadlus making an effort to become financially successful. All parnassah comes from Hashem. But there is a caveat. Hashem told Adam HaRishon bzeas apecha tochal lechem we must make an effort as well. And aside from insuring that we have the means to make a parnassah there are many things we can do to increase our financial stability. Shopping around, avoiding waste, saving through auto-deductions, are just a few things that can be done. There are many more. But lets get back to the segulah. Where does this Segulah come from? Is there truly anything to it? Is it of recent origin or does it date back for many centuries? What is fascinating is that what is of recent origin is the Tuesday of Parshas bShalach aspect of it. The earlier sources recommended reciting it daily, and not just one day out of the year. Rabbeinu Bachya (Shmos 16:16) writes, it is a tradition in the hand of the sages that whoever recites the parsha of the Mahn each day is assured that he will not lose out in this world of his mezonos. ORIGINS The Tashbatz (Siman 184) actually cites the daily reading of it and its effect in the name of the Yerushalmi, and add the words, And I am the guarantor. The Tur (in OC Siman 1:5) also cites this tradition in the name of the Yerushalmi in Brachos. The Mishna Brurah (1:13) also cites this source. The problem is that it is not to be found in our version or any manuscript of the Yerushalmi. To add to the mystery, the Sefer HaManhig in hilchos Shabbos (44) cites the source as a Yerushalmi in Yuma. Yet it is not in our Yerushalmi Yuma either. The traditional answer that is often given when Rishonim refer to Yerushalmis that have disappeared is that the term is used loosely by the Rishon and that Yerushalmi often included Midrashim that were edited in Eretz Yisroel. This wont work here, because the Tur specifically refers to the Yerushalmi in Brachos. It must be then that the version of the Yerushalmi that the Tur had is lost. WHY THE MAHN? Why single out the miracle of the Mahn, more so than the other miracles we experienced? Rav Sadya Gaon in the introduction to his Emunos vDeyos explains that the Mahn was a miracle that was of a daily occurrence. The other miracles were more transient. Although not mentioned by Rav Sadya, even after the forty year sojourn in the desert, the Mahn played an important role. The container of the Mahn (Tzintzenes HaMahn)was placed alongside the Aron in both the Mishkan and the Beis HaMikdash until the days of Yoshiahu the King, one hundred years before the destruction of the First Beis HaMikdash. It served as a reminder then too. NOT FOUND IN SIDDURIM The Aruch haShulchan points out that in his time, the Parshas HaMan was not found in the siddurim, if it ever was. He explains its absence in the siddur as stemming from the fact that the Parsha mentions a number of times the embarrassing detail that Klal Yisroel nagged and complained, and it would be improper to permanently place that in our Siddurim. Nowadays, many of the siddurim have printed it, notwithstanding the Aruch haShulchans ethos on the issue. HOW IT WORKS How does it work? Many of the meforshim explain that it serves to entrench within our minds that our prnassah, our sustenance comes only from Hashem. It seems that the daily recital of the parsha of Mahn helps us eradicate within our minds and thoughts. The Mishna Brurah writes that it is not enough to merely say it. Its message must be fully imbibed within us. Others write that the principle behind how it works lies in the fact that reciting it will build up our Bitachon in Hashem (Minchas Asher, for example). While some would explain that these are both two sides of the same coin, it seems to this author that they are in fact two separable concepts. There seems to be a third method, taking a less mystical approach. The reading of the Parsha serves to calm a persons anxieties about struggling for Parnasah, and thus helps him focus better through the understanding that all is from Hashem. This seems to be the understanding of the Tzemach Tzeddek (Parshas HaMan, Shin 5644 referenced in index page 100). The Shaivet Mussar (Chapter 40) cites in the name of the Mekuballim that it should be recited, as mentioned earlier, shnayim mikra vechad Targum twice in the Hebrew and once in the Aramaic of Unkelus. The Noheg Tzon Yoseph (Siman 34), however, quotes the Shnayim Mikrah detail as having been first written by Rabbeinu Tam in his Sefer HaYashar. The Shlas father in his Yesh Nochlin also writes this. From the Shlas father, however, this is merely the ideal method to do so. From the Noheg Tzon Yoseph it seems that it will not be effective at all if not done shnayim Mikrah Echad Targum. THE VARIANT BLESSING What is also interesting is, thus far, our sources indicate that a person will simply not lose out or suffer a loss of Mezonos. In the Midrash Talpios (section on Havdallah) , however, it writes that the entire Parshas HaMahn is mesugal for success and wealth. The nature of the blessing is ratcheted up a bit. WHEN SHOULD IT BE SAID? Both the Beer Heitev and the Mishna Brurah indicate that it should be recited in the morning before the Korbanos are recited before Shacharis. The Otzros Chaim, however, cites the Rekanti in the name of the Zohar that it should be said after Shacharis, athough he does not actually source it. The most likely reference, however, is to the Zohar in Parshas Pinchas (226) dparnasa lo chazi lmishal elah basar tzlusah that requesting for ones parnassah is only viable after praying. Since the rulings of the standard halachic Poskim generally outweigh the rulings of the mekuballim, it would seem that it would be preferable to follow the Mishna Brurah, but, as always, each person should consult his own Rav or Posaik, of course. OTHER MINHAGIM The Mishmeres Shalom (14:2), a Sefer written in Yiddish, states that Rav Pinchas Mikoritz cited the minhag and also added that one should further say the thirteen ikkarim of the Rambam each morning too. THE TUESDAY OF BESHALACH MINHAG So when exactly did the newer custom of reciting it on one particular Tuesday in the year arise? And who was it that promulgated the new twist on the Minhag? Some trace it to Rav Menachem Mendel of Riminov (1745-1815), one of the five main disciples of the Rebbe Elimelech of Lisensk. Others trace it to Rav Shalom of Stropkov (1855-1940) (See Yisroel VHazmanim, Rav Dovid Rossov p. 291). It is clear, however, that Rav Shalom was quoting the Riminover and did not make it up himself. The original Sfer of the Riminover is not easily accessible as only the first volume is readily extant. IF ONES MINHAG IS NOT TO SAY IT Most people, of course, do not have the minhag to say it on this day, and some remain firm in this Minhag. Rav Ovadiah also writes that this is not their minhag. There is a fascinating Rabbeinu Yonah in his Shaarei Teshuva (3:17) where he writes that it is a Torah Mitzvah to remember the falling of the Mahn. That being the case, it doesnt hurt to recite it if it will help us focus on this Mitzvah. A CAVEAT FOR EVERYONE Rav Shmuel Hominer in his Chumash Eved HaMelech (Shmos page 42) brings out a fascinating and yet obvious point. When reciting the Parshas HaMahn one should take care NOT TO RECITE IT AS A SEGULAH. Why? So that he will not be serving Hashem al menas lekabel pras on condition of receiving reward. Lets not forget the yesodos of Yiddishkeit,the fundamentals of our serving Hashem as found in Pirkei Avos. The author can be reached at [email protected] In his letter dated 9 Shevat, Jerusalem Chief Rabbi Aryeh Stern Shlita sent a letter to Rishon LTzion Rabbi Yitzchak Yosef Shlita and Chief Rabbi Dovid Lau Shlita in which he expresses concerns over continuous water company chilul Shabbos. Rabbi Stern makes reference to the so-called water companys fifth line, the digging that continues seven days weekly in the capital with the exception of Yom Kippur. Rabbi Stern explains that is why he feels that in all national projects, a person who addresses the halachic aspect must be appointed and today, this is not the case. Rabbi Stern explains he is aware that Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu objects to his view, suggesting to the Chief Rabbis that action be taken despite the Prime Ministers objections. Rabbi Stern calls on the Chief Rabbinate of Israel to address the matter, pointing out the Rabbanut is the natural address to probe the water companys actions and determine what is and is not permitted on Shabbos. (YWN Israel Desk, Jerusalem) [COMMUNICATED CONTENT] By: L. Halevi A few weeks back, the staff at the Rofeh Cholim Cancer Society (RCCS) was surprised to receive a manila envelope stuffed with handwritten letters from the third grade class of Yeshiva Mevakshei Hashem, an elementary school in Brooklyn, NY. The boys wrote to RCCS that their school was about to launch a write-a-thon, a project where students choose an organization they wish to raise funds for, and that their class chose RCCS as their tzeddakah. In the weeks that followed, the class went to work writing letters to their family and friends in an effort to solicit funds for the organization. They also created an exhibit showing scenes of bikur cholim to show their parents at PTA, all part of the effort to inspire them to donate. About one week ago, RCCS received the following message from the schools Menahel, Rabbi Gartenhaus: I just wanted to update you on the amazing success our write-a-thon program had and the excitement it generated. When we began, we assumed the class would raise a few hundred dollars for your organization; after all, these are young students, not seasoned fundraisers! We were shocked with the amazing feedback, and are proud to let you know that our third grade class has raised close to $4,000! Shortly thereafter, the class of 29 students paid a visit to the main RCCS office and presented the staff with an oversized check in the amount that was raised thus far. The staff in the office was visibly touched and appreciative of the gesture, which gave them all Chizuk to keep on going in their valiant efforts to provide for Cholei Yisroel. To recognize their contribution and to further encourage the children to get involved in helping one another, Rabbi Aaron Steier, New Jersey Regional Director for RCCS, spoke to the children and thanked them for their remarkable Mitzvah. He then presented each boy with a Tehilim personalized with their name on it as a commemoration of this wonderful accomplishment. Rabbi Steier told the boys how happy our Tatteh in Himmel is when He sees His Kinderlach doing their part to help fellow Yidden in need. The office staff also presented the class with a Lucite box filled with shredded insurance bills of an 8 year old cancer patient, which was now able to be paid with the money they raised from the write-a-thon. The boys were then given a tour of the office where they saw first-hand the buzzing activity that takes place at RCCS to fulfill the near-impossible mission of caring for thousands of Cholei Yisroel around the globe. Mi KAmcha Yisroel!! Should your school be interested in doing a write-a-thon or similar project, please contact the RCCS office at 718-722-2002 ext. 601 The passing of the Regulation Law in Knesset on Monday 10 Shevat has already been met with sharp international disapproval. The bill legalizes some 4,000 homes in yishuvim and outposts throughout Yehuda and Shomron. Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu tried delaying the vote but it was held due to the insistence of coalition partner Bayit Yehudi. France, Britain and Jordan have already spoken out strongly, expressing objections to the passage of the bill into law. Along with Turkey, they are calling on Jerusalem to take back the vote, to rescind the law stating its passage marks the end of any hope for the two-state solution. French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault called on Israel to its honor international commitments. A spokesman for British Prime Minister Theresa May announced that the Prime Minister plans to express her objections in her meeting with Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, who is on an official state visit to that country. Joining the above-mentioned opponents to the law, leaders of the Union for Reform Judaism expressed their opposition to the passing of the bill into law. Their leader, Rabbi Rick Jacobs called the move a lose/lose policy that significantly undermines Israels democracy. The American Jewish Committees statement spoke of being deeply disappointed. J Street preferred terms including outrageous and irresponsible. National Director of the Anti-Defamation League Jonathan Greenblatt warned this passing of the bill will harm Israels image in the international community. On the other side of the political spectrum, the Zionist Organization of America called the move honorable and rationale. (YWN Israel Desk, Jerusalem) As YWN reported earlier, protests were held around Eretz Yisroel on Tuesday evening after a Yeshiva Bochur was arrested at an anti-IDF protest on Sunday evening. The Bochur was not released, but instead was handed over to Military Police who learned he is wanted for failing to report for service and is now being held without bail in a military jail. Some of the protests turned violent and around 50 Bochrim were arrested. The attached photo immediately dominated the headlines as well as social media in Israel. Police released the following statement: Police arrested a minor who assaulted an officer causing facial injuries. He was transferred to headquarters for questioning. Israel Police will have a zero tolerance towards protesters breaking the law, and will arrest those breaking laws and will bring them to justice. (YWN World Headquarters NYC) Families whose businesses were wrecked by criminal bankers at HBOS could be in line for compensation after an independent review was announced yesterday. Lynden Scourfield was jailed along with five others last week for stripping the assets from successful firms while he ran the lender's turnaround unit in Reading. The proceeds were spent on a 2million superyacht called Powder Monkey, sex parties with prostitutes, luxury holidays and designer watches. HBOS scandal: Lynden Scourfield was jailed along with five others last week for stripping the assets from successful firms while he ran the lender's turnaround unit in Reading It cost the bank 245million and at least 50 small businesses were ruined as a result landing their owners with a bill estimated at 1billion by some sources. There has been growing pressure for Lloyds, which bought HBOS during the financial crisis, to compensate the entrepreneurs whose lives were ruined by the gang. Yesterday the bank announced it was working with regulators on an independent review of the crimes, which were committed between 2003 and 2007. Lloyds pledged to contact the business owners known to have been affected, while others who believe they took a hit can get in touch through customer services. Bosses said that cases would be considered in a fresh light now that criminal proceedings had concluded. COST OF THE CON An independent reviewer, such as a retired judge or law firm, will be appointed to examine each case. 'The group deeply regrets that the criminal actions have caused such distress for a number of HBOS business customers,' the bank said. 'Lloyds will contact all those customers it has identified as potentially affected by the criminal activities and provide redress if appropriate.' Victims and campaigners gave the plans a cautious welcome but warned that the lender must ensure its review was sufficiently detailed and truly independent. Nikki Turner owned a music publishing business with her husband Paul that was destroyed by the gang. The 61-year-old, who set up pressure group SME Alliance to help others facing the same plight, said: 'We're cautiously optimistic. It's brilliant news now let's see how it goes forward. We're hoping this is a genuine offer and not just a whitewash.' SNP MP George Kerevan, who runs the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Fair Business Banking and is a member of the Treasury Select Committee, wrote to Lloyds earlier this week calling for a compensation scheme. He said: 'It is my intention to press Lloyds to create a full, fair and adequate compensation scheme for those defrauded in the HBOS Reading affair, especially as I believe Lloyds itself was partly to blame for the long delay in bringing this fraud to court. 'Lloyds cannot expect to be judge and jury in deciding the levels due to customers who have had to wait a whole decade for justice.' MBABANE A mini drama was witnessed at Sheffield Road yesterday when police officers intercepted alleged con men who had robbed a woman a total of E228 000. The victim is a retired female head teacher who had just received her gratuity payout which she got at the beginning of January. The alleged con men first posed as police officers. The woman, who was a head teacher in one of the schools in the Lubombo region, started receiving calls, promising her another job now that she had a retired, a week after the money was deposited into her bank account. She first received a call which informed her that she had been recognised by the countrys authorities for her good work while she was a head teacher and they had seen it fit that she be offered another job. The caller then asked that they meet in Ezulwini where they were to discuss her move of being posted to a school, yet to be built, as head teacher. She was informed that the school was to be built for orphans and she had been promised to be given shares in the school. *Make Dlamini eventually met with the caller and after she had talked to him, he handed her a certain container which he explained to her to being muti. The muti was in a cooler-box which had ice cubes inside. She was further informed that when she reached home, she should put it in cold water. Police While Make Dlamini was talking to the man, they were approached by two other men who claimed to be police officers. The bogus police officers introduced themselves as Nhlabatsi and Gwebu from Lobamba Police Station and they started questioning Make Dlaminis companion. Their attention was later drawn to the container that was given to Make Dlamini. The bogus officers requested Make Dlamini to open the cooler box, which she did. (Comment) It is becoming apparent that to qualify as unemployed in this country, you must have pointed breasts, be willing to be humiliated at job interviews as well as resign yourself to being trafficked out of the country to work in sweat shops for slave wages. Reports of 28 people believed to be Swazis found trafficked to South Africa are very disturbing to say the least. That they were found with no identification cards or travel documents raises many questions, the answers to which could explain the whereabouts of the hundreds of missing persons in this country. Our government ought to be ashamed of the unemployment situation that is driving us to extreme levels of desperation. So should the Indvuna of Luvinjelweni, who called for the inspection of womens breasts to ensure they dont have children. This was in reference to the ongoing recruitment exercise for aspiring soldiers. These developments bring to the fore, once again, how the lack of jobs in this country is driving our people, educated or not, towards slavery. It is time this country got really serious about the job creation initiatives that exist only on paper. It is no secret that we have lost numerous big investors, simply because they refused to line the pockets of the facilitating individuals. Weve also lost thousands of jobs to poor decision-making. Now we have new directives for our Cabinet as the world braces itself for the fourth industrial revolution where more and more machines are taking over most of the jobs we have today. What is our grand plan to ensure we do not end up as a market for cheap labour by the year 2022 and beyond? If we cant manage the current revolution, where lies the confidence that we are fit for the next? Cabinet has been directed to maximise job creation opportunities in agriculture which is the most viable for this country given the imbalance of trade on food commodities with neighbouring South Africa. The ICT sector, through the Science and Innovation parks, has also been listed as a possible saviour for our economy, particularly on job creation. Somebody needs to make sure we deliver on these projects otherwise we may not be able to afford the increased grants that His Majesty has so rightly pronounced for the forgotten elderly. To let things be would explain why days have gone by with nobody in authority raising a finger at the breast-inspection indvuna. This suggests that humiliating behaviour is condoned in this country even though it infringes on the rights and dignity of the poor and vulnerable people. Disgraceful! Sign up for our amNY Sports email newsletter to get insights and game coverage for your favorite teams By Gina Martinez FLUSHING A Flushing after-school tutor has been charged with sexually abusing an underage female student between 2004 and 2006, Queens District Attorney Richard Brown said. Sumate Jiemjitpolchai, 62, a tutor at Surpass Prep Center on 40-59 College Point Blvd., was arrested and charged with second-degree course of sexual conduct against a child, the DA said. According to the criminal charges, Jiemjitpolchai sexually abused a female student in his residence on multiple occasion from September 2004 to November 2006 by touching her in a sexual manner and on one occasion forcing her to touch him. Jiemjitpolchai was ordered to post $70,000 bond/$35,000 cash bail and was set to return to court this Friday. He faces up to seven years in prison if convicted, Brown said. The victims parents entrusted their daughter to the care of the defendant, both as a tutor and as a child care provider, the DA said. The defendant is accused of betraying that trust by abusing the victim for his own sexual gratification from the time she was 10 years old in 2004 and starting the fifth grade to 2006. Children should not be robbed of their childhood by the actions of sexual predators. Such alleged conduct cannot go unpunished. The victim, who enlisted in the United States Army, revealed that she was allegedly sexually assaulted as a child to a superior officer, Brown said. Brown asked that anyone who believes they have been victimized by Jiemjitpolchai should call the Special Victims Bureau at 718-286-6505. Sign up for our amNY Sports email newsletter to get insights and game coverage for your favorite teams The 2016 presidential race demonstrated the activities of a candidate whose entire career in the free enterprise system was conducted mainly from New York City and surrounding areas. When we look back at recent political history in New York, we see that another rich businessman ran for political office. That was Nelson Rockefeller. He ran for New York Governor in 1958 on the Republican ticket and won against incumbent Gov. Averell Harriman. Rockefeller came into the political picture in 1958, much in the same way Trump did in 2016. Rockefeller ran his campaign with charisma and excellent speaking ability as did Trump. Rockefeller was well known to the press. His family before him was famous for its wealth as far back as 70 years before he ran for governor. At that time Rockefeller was considered to be advocating a liberal philosophy on both economic and social issues. He had buildings and areas of land named after him and his family as did Trump. Rockefeller first gained mutual respect of the electorate when he campaigned for governor. From 1958 on, he was elected governor three times. He ran for the presidency in 1964 against Arizona Sen. Barry Goldwater in the Republican primary. He lost the California primary to Goldwater, and Goldwater lost the presidential election to President Lyndon Johnson in 1964. Rockefeller went on to become vice president for a brief period during the Ford administration. That was the end of his political career. Trump began his political career as a populist conservative. He had hopes of success and the support of middle-class working people. Both candidates had similar patterns of political development. They both appealed to a wide range of voters, but Trump seemed to have strong arguments based on the issues of his time. In the case of Trump, he had stronger issues to bring before the people than did Nelson Rockefeller and more contact with voters. The 2016 period was and is a period of revolt, especially among blue collar workers. The time that Rockefeller ran was in spanned the late 1950s through the 1960s. American people were not in the same state of rebellion. Although Rockefeller was a good candidate, I believe that Trump was a better candidate and had the stronger message to relate to dealing with current day problems. Different times in history give us various answers. Rockefeller fought and lost when he ran for president. Trump took advantage of the circumstances and was successful in his endeavor to become president of the United States. Sign up for our amNY Sports email newsletter to get insights and game coverage for your favorite teams By Patrick Donachie A parking lot in the heart of downtown Jamaica currently in use by the NYPD will be converted into a new mixed-use apartment complex, with more than 350 units of affordable housing. The New York City Economic Development Corporation said the new development at the corner of 168th Street and Archer Avenue was the first major initiative of the Jamaica NOW Action Plan, a $153 million initiative spearheaded by Queens Borough President Melinda Katz, Mayor Bill de Blasio and the NYCEDC that was announced in 2015. Omni New York LLC, a development corporation, submitted a proposal for development to NYCEDC after the corporation issued a request for proposals in February 2015. The NYCEDC said the project would create as many as 300 permanent jobs and 250 construction jobs. The selected proposal builds on southeast Queens strengths as a commercial and transit hub by delivering over 350 units of 100 percent affordable housing, hundreds of good-paying jobs, and community, recreational and retail space to downtown Jamaica, NYCEDC President Maria Torres-Springer said. The redevelopment of the 168th Street NYPD garage into a thriving mixed-use facility furthers Mayor de Blasios Housing New York initiative to create more affordable housing options for New Yorkers. Some community residents, including Jean-Andre Sassine, were concerned about the potential sizable development slated for the lot. Sassine helped lead a protest at the site in August decrying the lack of affordable options for long-term Jamaica residents. My concern is all about the community, he said in an interview this week. We want to make sure there is affordable housing that the people can benefit from. He said Jamaica residents should take precedence for the jobs to be created in the developments construction and said he was concerned that the affordable housing in the complex would not be truly affordable for Jamaica residents. The city qualifies affordability by utilizing the federal governments Area Median Income, which takes the average of incomes from throughout the metropolitan area, from poor to affluent neighborhoods, to make a citywide standard of affordability. The median income in Jamaica is $35,000, its not $80,000 or $100,000, Sassine said. Affordable for $80,000 is not feasible for Jamaica. The NYCEDC said Omni would participate in HireNYC, which connects New Yorkers with workforce development services and job opportunities, as well as a 30 percent commitment to utilizing Minority and/or Women Business Enterprise firms and a commitment to 40 percent minority and women workforce participation. Katz lauded the announcement as a sign that downtown Jamaica was due for continued growth. The selection of a developer to convert the 168th Street NYPD parking garage into a 100 percent affordable housing project is great news and shows that the Jamaica NOW Action Plan is well on its way to revitalizing downtown Jamaica, she said. Sign up for our amNY Sports email newsletter to get insights and game coverage for your favorite teams By Caroline Spivak Community News Group Talk about bodega heroes! Yemeni deli workers protesting President Trumps Muslim ban went on strike Thursday and flooded Borough Hall Plaza, carrying flags from Iraq, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Yemen and plenty of Old Glory. They were showing their dedication to the American dream, said one business owner. We are here to stay. We are the fabric of our communities, our city, and our country. People depend on us and our businesses, and we deserve to be here, our families deserve to come here, and we deserve respect., said Ahmed Abboud, who closed his Bay Ridge bodega earlier in the day and came down with his brothers and staff. President Trumps order suspends all refugee admissions for 120 days and blocks citizens of the seven countries from entering the United States for 90 days, except legal permanent residents. Demonstrators packed in hours before the 5 p.m. kick-off, chanting No ban, no wall, NYC for all and We stand together. The rally began with an Islamic prayer followed by remarks from a slew of local politicians and community activists urging solidarity. We are all Muslim today, Borough President Eric Adams said. You have the right to your American dream. And to be part of what America stands for. And this sends a loud and clear message. Many at the rally said they have been in the United States for decades. But some were newer arrivals who came a few years ago fleeing political instability only to jump out of one frying pan and into another. The section of Bay Ridge jokingly called Bay Root for its sizable Middle Eastern community was a ghost town Thursday afternoon. More than a dozen Fifth Avenues businesses went dark for the rally, many of which had signs plastered in their storefront that read, Refugees and Immigrants are welcome here. No Muslim ban. No border wall. Our communities stand tall. Taking a hit at the cash register was worth it to make a statement, one store owner said. I dont even care that this is costing me, said Hussein Bahar who co-owns a bodega with his brother in Sunset Park. This is too important not to. How can I stay at home and not come out and defend myself? The people need to know we are upset. Strong defense, pair of goals from Shaye Bailey hands Freedom WPIAL Class 1A championship A shutdown defense and a pair of second-half goals from junior Shaye Bailey led the Freedom Bulldogs to a convincing 3-0 win over Springdale Friday. Two Erie County men, who had been snowmobiling in Piercefield Saturday, were found dead in a lake Monday. Their deaths coincided with a free snowmobiling weekend, which Governor Andrew M. Cuomo announced this January as a marketing campaign designed to increase visitors and generate interest in New York State's winter tourism. From Friday to Sunday, out-of-state and Canadian snowmobilers could ride New York's trails without paying the usual $100 registration fee which is $45 for members of local snowmobile clubs. The victims, Stephen Sattler, 67, and his 64-year-old brother Edward Sattler, both from Blasdell, had traveled to their family camp in Piercefield for a weekend snowmobiling vacation, State Police said. Family members, who had last heard from the men Saturday, reported them missing at 6:30 p.m. Sunday, State Police said. A search party was formed. On Monday, troopers, aided by state Department of Environmental Conservation officers and Forest Rangers, continued to search for the brothers. At about 10:30 a.m., a State Police helicopter spotted the men and their snowmobiles in Raquette Pond, just west of the village of Tupper Lake. Airboats and divers responded to the area, where they found the men dead in the water, State Police said. Franklin County Coroner Shawn Stuart removed their bodies and took them to Adirondack Medical Center in Saranac Lake, where autopsies were performed by Dr. C Francis Varga. Varga determines the cause of death for both men was asphyxiation due to fresh water drowning. Stuart ruled the deaths as accidental. An State Police initial investigation revealed the brothers were driving across the frozen lake when they hit thin ice and open water, troopers said. The investigation is continuing and anyone with information is asked to contact the State Police at Ray Brook, (518) 897-2000. K-Plate Korean BBQ, which started life as a food cart on the RPI campus that was run by two RPI students before becoming one of the original tenants in Troy Kitchen food court, is moving to its own storefront. Co-owner John Goh tells me K-Plate will be moving a couple of blocks away, to 75 Fourth St., previously site of a daycare next to the Uncle Sam's Good Natural Products store. K-Plate will be open at Troy Kitchen through the end of this month, when its lease expires, then be dark for at least a month during the build-out of the new space. An opening by mid- to late April is projected, Goh tells me. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Bethlehem The Town Board will consider a resolution Wednesday night to protect undocumented residents, in response to President Donald Trump's travel ban and calls from town residents to become a sanctuary community. "The town wants to ensure that victims of crime and witnesses to criminal activity are not deterred from reporting to public safety officials," the proposed resolution states. "Bethlehem Police and other departments of town government already follow practices generally consistent with those advocated and described as sanctuary community practices." If passed, the resolution dictates town police not "engage in activities solely for the purpose of enforcing federal immigration laws; ask crime victims or witnesses their immigration status unless necessary to a criminal investigation or for the protection of public safety; or stop, interrogate, or arrest an individual based solely on actual or suspected immigration or citizenship status, absent a judicial warrant." Town staff and volunteers would be barred from asking about a person's immigration status unless assisting them with applications for an outside service contingent on citizenship, such as Medicaid or the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. Rey Koslowski, a University at Albany associate professor of political science, said the provision means undocumented immigrants can call 911 or seek town services with less fear of deportation. "If you own a house, you want to make sure your neighbor reports a fire if it starts," he said. The proposal, slated for public discussion 6 p.m. Wednesday, would not change current policies, Bethlehem Town Supervisor John Clarkson wrote in a letter Monday to Town Board members. But it would make a bold statement. He and all four Town Board members are Democrats. "Although the recent executive order threatens aid withdrawal for sanctuary communities, it only does so specifically for jurisdictions that do not carry out specific elements of federal law, and the draft resolution does not run afoul of that provision," Clarkson said. In his own letter to the board, police Chief Louis Corsi said his department "does not enforce Federal Immigration Law; compile information or maintain databases on illegal aliens; (or) stop, question, interrogate, investigate, or arrest individuals based solely on suspected immigration or citizen status absent a Judicial Warrant." Town police share information with law enforcement agencies, including U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Corsi said. A key feature of other sanctuary communities has been the refusal to send information to or honor detention requests from ICE, provisions not included in Bethlehem's proposed resolution. Documents prepared ahead of Wednesday's meeting indicate the town will not stop sending information to ICE, and Corsi said the county sheriff, not local police, decides whether to honor an ICE detainer. emasters@timesunion.com 518-454-5467 @emilysmasters Albany Thanks to a "protect the First Amendment" theme in the wake of statements by a member of the Trump administration, WAMC/Northeast Public Radio completed a record-breaking $1 million fundraising drive Monday in just over 12 hours. "It's frankly all Trump, without a doubt," said Alan Chartock, the station's president and CEO. The on-air portion of the drive ended around 6:30 p.m. with money still pouring in, he said. "We could not believe it. It was an incredible outpouring of support," he said, adding that one of his favorite comments from a supporter was someone who said, "I couldn't afford to not be a part of this." Along with playing the traditional fundraiser finale - Kate Smith singing "God Bless America" musician Natalie Merchant, a WAMC supporter, was featured performing the tune "Kind and Generous." "(The fund drive) comes as Donald J. Trump takes his place as the 45th president of the United States," Chartock wrote in his column on WAMC.org. "Some of the people closest philosophically to Trump have made their displeasure with public radio more than plain. In fact, the former president of Breitbart News is sitting feet away from the Oval Office with the title of chief strategist to the new President, Breitbart has been brazen in such an opinion. "When Breitbart opined that the Corporation for Public Broadcasting should be privatized it had real import." After counting the station's Locked Box funds, the fund drive on Monday raised over $400,000 to put it over the $1 million. The station decided to raise additional money to compensate for the possible loss of federal funding, Chartock said. "Right now a very small part of the WAMC budget comes from the federal government. About $400,000 of WAMC's annual budget, which is approaching $8 million, comes from the public via the CPB," he explained The drive helps support WAMC's programming, operations and National Public Radio membership. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Sirin Hamsho, the General Electric engineer from Niskayuna who was stranded in Qatar following President Donald Trump's Jan. 27 travel ban, has been a quiet force in inspiring not only women who work in technology but also for giving Arab immigrants a voice. Hamsho had just done an interview at Al Jazeera's studios in Doha, Qatar, with Nawras Abu Saleh, a Palestinian screenwriter and director, when the travel ban went into effect. Hamsho is a native of Syria, one of the seven Muslim-majority countries covered by Trump's travel ban, which was put on hold last Friday by a federal judge. Lawyers for GE and U.S. Rep. Paul Tonko assisted Hamsho in trying to get out of Qatar last week after the ban effectively kept her and her two young children stranded there. Hamsho, who was on a trip to the Middle East with her two young children, said on her Facebook page that she hopes to come home to her husband in the coming days, although her exact travel plans are uncertain. "In the coming days I should be able to go back home," she wrote on Feb. 5, her last Facebook post. Attempts to reach Sirin for comment have been unsuccessful, although friends have said she was told by her lawyers to reveal little to the public about her travels plans. At the time Trump's ban took place there was confusion over who it covered. Hamsho also is a French citizen, but for a while, airlines and immigration officials were telling dual citizens like Hamsho that they could not enter the United States. In some cases, however, such dual citizens were allowed in as long as they presented the passport of a country not covered by the ban. Hamsho, who designs wind turbines for GE in Schenectady, did an interview for Al Jazeera in Qatar on Jan. 26, the day before Trump's executive order was signed. She was interviewed by Abu Saleh, a well-known screenwriter and filmmaker whose 2013 movie "Oversized Coat" won critical acclaim for its view into life in the West Bank. The talk, which was broadcast on one of Al Jazeera's streaming video channels, centered on "Arab women in the diaspora and the challenges of integration" into the western world. Hamsho herself is a filmmaker, having made a short movie called "Hajar," which is about migration. She got the inspiration for the film from watching Syrian refugees trying to assimilate into American culture and life. "Hajar" has gotten nearly 400,000 hits on You Tube. Hamsho has worked to help Syrian war refugees in the Capital Region as well. A parade Sunday in New York City's Chinatown celebrated the Chinese Lunar New Year. Also known as the Spring Festival, 2017 marks the year of the rooster. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Beirut Syria's ragtag rebel groups and insurgents trying to oust President Bashar Assad have turned their guns on each other in some of the worst infighting yet, with al-Qaida-linked fighters battling other factions in a split between supporters and opponents of the Russian-led push for a new peace process for the war-torn country. The clashes mainly in opposition-held areas in northern Syria have led to the formation of two new coalitions but have also raised the specter of more fractures among rebel factions, already struggling to recover from their December loss of the eastern half of the city of Aleppo to Assad's forces. At the root of the infighting is a call that came at the end of the peace talks last month in the Kazakh capital of Astana. Russia, Turkey and Iran sponsors of the gathering urged Syria's rebels to dissociate themselves from al-Qaida's affiliate in Syria, now known as the Fatah al-Sham Front. The Astana meeting was designed to pave the way for political talks to be held in Geneva in late February but it also marked a new push in efforts to resolve Syria's conflict, with Russia and Iran, Assad's main supporters, and Turkey, the rebels' chief backer, pledging to put their influence behind the truce. The United States, busy with the presidential transition, played no significant role in Astana. The Fatah al-Sham Front, previously called the Nusra Front, has been excluded from all negotiations and cease-fires, along with the Islamic State group both considered by the international community to be terrorist organizations. For the rebels, however, the exclusion of al-Qaida's affiliate is a sore point as many groups have close links with it on the ground, perceiving it to be the most powerful force against Assad's army and allied militiamen. Fatah al-Sham signaled its determination to fight back even as the rebels were still sitting at the table in Astana. Syria's armed opposition has struggled for years to unify behind a leadership, political or military. Efforts were always short-lived and often self-destructed. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Troy Relocating a big, old salt pile along the Hudson River is getting a new push from Riverside Neighborhood residents concerned about its environmental impact. It's been nine years, since then-Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno of Brunswick secured $500,000 in state funding to move the mound of road salt downriver into the South Troy industrial area. But officials have been unable to achieve that goal. The money went back to the state. "The only way I see getting rid of the salt pile and cleaning the area up is an environmental reaction," said Keith Kansu of Washington Place, who lives about two blocks north and two blocks east of the site. "I want to see where you can open up your window and breathe fresh air. All I have is salt dust." Kansu claims his home, which he moved into three years ago, has a gray residue from the salt. He said he's seen it on plants too, and has spoken with other worried neighbors and to the state Department of Environmental Conservation and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency about the problem. The Riverside Neighborhood group will meet at 6 p.m. Wednesday to talk about the salt piles. Councilwoman Lynn Kopka said she expects many residents will attend the meeting at the Troy Public Library. "We've been working on getting rid of that thing," Kopka said. "We're concerned about it and would like to have it out of there." But without the financial resources that Bruno had lined up, Kopka said, resolving the complex issue will not be easy. "We have to work with the property owner and the tenant to find a solution," Kopka said. Jay Ryan, general manager of CD Perry, which owns the site through subsidiaries and leases it to American Rock Salt Corp., said the property and salt pile are closely monitored on the site that is built and operated according to state environmental regulations. About 70 to 80 people work there on any given day, he said, and if salt was blowing, he wouldn't have equipment around it 24 hours a day. Sign up for The Knick Get the latest news and features with our afternoon newsletter. "The pile for the most part is covered except for the side they're digging," Ryan said. "It's licensed and monitored and regulated by DEC." Kopka said the salt situation should be addressed as the city works on constructing the South Troy Industrial Park Road to move truck traffic off First Street and encourage development in the riverfront industrial areas. Kopka said she has advised Mayor Patrick Madden's administration about residents' concerns regarding the salt pile. A spokesman for the mayor said the city is in discussions with South Troy property owners about the future of the waterfront and the South Troy Industrial Park Road project. "When completed," spokesman John Salka said, "this project will significantly enhance and improve the qualify of life and economic health across South Troy's neighborhoods with the removal of commercial truck traffic from residential streets and continued business growth through improved access." kcrowe@timesunion.com 518-454-5084 @KennethCrowe Schenectady In keeping with the 'round-the-clock schedule of the new Rivers Casino & Resort , its customers will be able to nosh on cannoli at 3 a.m., noodles at noon and a 20-ounce, $52 ribeye for dinner. The facility, which opens Wednesday, has an upscale steakhouse as its signature restaurant and four smaller outlets grouped in a food court called Marketplace that will offer Italian classics and desserts, burger-shack fare and pan-Asian staples. Collectively, they are projected to feed more than a million people a year, in addition to a banquet facility that can host up to 600 for dinner, 900 for cocktails. All of this is overseen by the Schenectady-based Mallozzi Group, which grew from a bakery founded in 1965 to a company with multiple restaurants, banquet halls and a hotel. Run by the offspring of the founder, the Mallozzi Group won the contract to manage all food service at the $330 million Rivers Casino & Resort, which was built in about a year between Erie Boulevard and the Mohawk River. "The exciting thing is that all of this is brand new, and it's all happening so fast," says Bobby Mallozzi, who runs the family company with his two siblings. The casino is managed and was built by Chicago-based Rush Street Gaming, along with local partner the Galesi Group of Rotterdam, which is developing the Mohawk Harbor complex surrounding the casino that includes hotels, apartments, condos, retail space and a marina. Combined, the projects represent an investment of nearly half a billion dollars. Approximately 200 employees were hired by the casino for food-service positions, and the Mallozzi Group added about 20 to its own payroll to handle management and additional cooking at its existing properties to supply food needed by casino outlets. Two of the dining options at Rivers extend existing Mallozzi brands: Johnny's To-Go, open 11 to 15 hours a day, will offer popular entrees from the original Johnny's, a mile away on State Street, plus salads, subs and fresh-made pizza; and a satellite of Mallozzi's flagship, Villa Italia bakery, will be open 24 hours, seven days a week. It will sell the pasticerria's beloved confections and a variety of Lavazza-brand coffee drinks, produced from an elaborate machine that Mallozzi says is the only one of its kind on the East Coast. Fun side note: The cannoli at the casino are twice as big and, at $3.50, twice as expensive as the cannoli served at Villa Italia. "That's what casino customers want," says Mallozzi. The remaining Marketplace outlets are based on restaurant concepts developed at other Rush Street properties: Mian, featuring greatest-hits-of-Asia like Vietnamese pho, pad Thai and General Tso's chicken; and Flipt, a retro-themed spot for breakfast, burgers, dogs and milkshakes. Sign up for The Knick Get the latest news and features with our afternoon newsletter. The dining showpiece is Dukes Chophouse, named after Tony "The Duke" DeLorenzo, the first employee of the Galesi Group and assistant to the Galesi chairman for 40 years. Although elegant in design, with an ambiance of dark wood and fancy table settings, Mallozzi says Dukes is intended to be more approachable and less a special-event destination than established area steakhouses, including Angelo's 677 Prime in Albany and Morton's the Steakhouse in Saratoga Springs. Dukes' steaks, for instance, only one of which is prime grade, average $39, or $14 less than at 677 Prime, while the nonbeef entrees at both restaurants cost roughly the same on average, about $33. During a stroll earlier this week through the restaurants, Mallozzi is visibly excited, his eyes agleam as he takes in the 50,000-square-foot gaming floor, its 1,150 slot machines flashing but silent until next week, its 80 gaming and poker tables awaiting the 2.3 million people estimated to visit in the first year. He says, "It's an amazing operation and an even more amazing thing to happen in Schenectady." sbarnes@timesunion.com 518-454-5489 @Tablehopping http://facebook.com/SteveBarnesFoodCritic Stop Viewing Contact Centers as Cost Sinkholes Is the telephone dead in 2017? While it may be true that people are using actual telephony to communicate less, particularly younger people, it turns out we still use the telephone quite a bit. When it comes to customer support, we definitely have more choices: we can email, of course, or try to solve our problem or answer our question ourselves with self-service channels. According to a recent survey by NewVoiceMedia (News - Alert), 59 percent of customers reported that they still prefer to contact a business by phone. Seventy-five percent believe its the most effective way of getting a response from a company. Its safe to say that the telephone isnt dead when it comes to customer support, and its still the most important element of an omnichannel customer support program. The misperception that the telephone isnt needed anymore is a dangerous one for companies hoping to skip the expense of a full-fledged contact center. (Sure, its tempting, because it costs money to staff, purchase equipment and technology and run.) But its not a viable option, and youre unlikely to convince many customers that youre doing them a favor when youre not there to pick up their calls. Perceptions that call centers are on the way out may result in a company hesitating before investing in the technology resources that allow them to be successful, wrote Monet Software (News - Alert) CEO Chuck Ciarlo in a recent blog post. Contact centers today shouldnt be viewed as a necessary evil: all expense, no financial benefit. The traditional contact center should instead be morphing into the foundation on which the customer experience can be built. A properly run facility with good call center management can pay for itself. The data [contact centers] generate through that software, and other solutions such as speech analytics, can be used in a variety of ways to generate revenue for the company, wrote Ciarlo. Call centers boost customer loyalty. They provide direct customer feedback on which products and promotions succeed and which do not. They generate positive social media posts after a good experience that boosts brand reputation. As companies seek to build an omnichannel customer experience, many are skipping over the important step of anchoring that customer experience in a place through which marketing, sales, social influence and proactive customer support can all happen. Marketing doesnt exist to answer customer questions, and sales is (or should be) concerned with following leads and making new sales. The contact center is the perfect place to host the customer experience, and contact center management should be championing this effort. Draconian efforts to cut the budget of the contact center can damage customer relationships and cost the company more in the long run. Ciarlo notes that cost-per-call, once the metric to watch, should no longer be the most important yardstick. The focus instead should be on customer satisfaction, and that sometimes takes a little more time and creativity to achieve, he wrote. Besides, lowering cost-per-call the wrong way can result in lowering customers as well. Edited by Alicia Young [February 07, 2017] Citizens Bank Partners with Opportunity Network to Offer Clients Access to Innovative Growth-Focused Business-to-Business Networking Platform Citizens Bank announced today that Citizens Commercial Banking is partnering with Opportunity Network to offer Citizens' clients access to an innovative business-to-business networking platform designed to promote growth by connecting business owners to a network of 13,500 CEOs and $35 billion of deal flow. Citizens is the first U.S. bank to offer its clients access to the Opportunity Network platform, through which users can seek trustworthy partners to help them expand into new markets, sell privately held enterprises, execute cross-border mergers and acquisitions, and maximize global asset utilization. Opportunity Network uses a proprietary algorithm designed to create efficiencies in global deal making by matching users' strategic preferences with current deals on the platform. Citizens has a client-first approach, and the bank's partnership with Opportunity Network is a clear demonstration of providing technology to help clients expand their businesses. As companies look for growth both domestically and internationally, Citizens is a leader in helping them facilitate growth by offering exclusive access to the network. "It made a lot of sense for us to partner with Citizens Bank because the Citizens team is committed to leveraging innovative digital technologies - both organically and through partnerships such as ours - to create better experiences for their clients and to provide smart solutions in the areas that matter most to them," said Garrett Smith (News - Alert), Opportunity Network founding partner and president, North America. "Opportunity Network has an attractive value proposition for midsize businesses, and this collaboration gives us yet another way to help meet the needs of our customers at every stage of their life cycle," said Steve Woods, head of corporate banking for Citizens Bank. "Partnering with Opportunity Network helps us address an important issue: the fact that many midsize businesses and private investors could benefit from expanded tools and networks of contacts to grow." Citizens is positiond as a strategic and financial partner, offering deep expertise, great ideas and seamless deal execution. The Citizens Commercial Banking approach puts clients first, and offers solutions that help clients make the best decisions throughout the life cycle of their business. More information about the Opportunity Network is available here. For more information about Citizens, visit the Citizens Commercial Banking website. About Citizens Financial Group, Inc. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. is one of the nation's oldest and largest financial institutions, with $149.5 billion in assets as of December 31, 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. About Opportunity Network Opportunity Network is the business matchmaking platform where members can find trustworthy counterparties for any deal above $1 million and that allows banks to grow their market share. Members, key decision-makers selected by financial institutions from all over the world, post opportunities anonymously that vary from M&As, commercial partnerships, investments, to joint ventures. Opportunity Network now serves thousands of companies across 128 countries and has hosted over $35 billion in opportunity deal flow. Hundreds of connections have been made on Opportunity Network's platform, playing a key role in sustaining global economic development. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170207005278/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] By Press Trust of India: Chennai, Feb 7 (PTI) The AIADMK today said it was the constitutional obligation of the Governor to swear-in Sasikala as Chief Minister and there is no ground for stopping it even as it rejected former Speaker P H Pandians allegations of foul play in Jayalalithaas death. Addressing a press conference hours after Pandian questioned Sasikalas election as party chief and Legislature Party Leader paving the way for her becoming Chief Minister, the party hit back, dubbing him a "betrayer who joined the ranks of detractors and causing confusion." advertisement "General Secretary in-charge can be appointed," senior AIADMK leader Panruti Ramachandran asserted, stating that Sasikalas elevation was in compliance with party rules and that it was valid. "The constitutional obligation of the Governor is to swear in Sasikala. There is no ground for stopping it. Nobody can stop it," Ramachandran, who was a minister in the first MGR cabinet, said. Asked about a PIL opposing swearing in of Sasikala as chief minister, he said the court can dismiss the petition, saying it cannot interfere in the governors duty. "We decided on Sunday (to elect her as legislature party leader). The petition came to Supreme Court on Monday". The press conference at the party headuqarters was called to dispel rumours and wrong stories circulating about Jayalalithaas death especially in the wake of media interaction of Pandian and his son, who was also a minister in Jayalalithaas cabinet. Pandian and his son Manoj had earlier alleged that Sasikalas elevation was against party norms. Sengottaiyan, who was appointed organisation Secretary on Friday, said despite Pandians five family members being given party positions years ago which could not be seen in any other party, he has joined "detractors and was causing confusion." He said AIADMK is a "fort" which cannot be shaken by such people. To a question on Sasikala soon becoming Chief Minister and if there was any delay from the side of theCentre in swearing her in, Ramachandran said "he (Governor Rao) will tell when he will come. "He has accepted the resignation of Panneerselvam, it is a question of convenience of Governor," he said, adding, he did not see the Centre delaying it. As soon as Governor Ch Vidyasagar Rao arrives here, Sasikalas election as AIADMK Leader of Legislature Party will be submitted to him, he said. "After giving him (Governor) the letter, if there was any delay, only then questions about delay arise...let us see," Ramachandran said. Blaming Pandian for notmaking efforts to unify the party in 1990 after it had split following the death of MG Ramachandran, Sengottaiyan said he did not do anything for the party then. advertisement "What right has he got to talk now,?" he asked and alleged that he was also responsible for filing some cases against Jayalalithaa including the one against providing high-level security. PTI VGN BN TVS VSC DV --- ENDS --- [February 07, 2017] Meggitt Training Systems to Demonstrate Shooting Range Equipment at IWA Outdoor Classics 2017 Underscoring the importance of European customers, Meggitt Training Systems will feature the latest military shooting range equipment and live-fire products March 3-6 at IWA Outdoor Classics 2017 in Nuremberg, Germany. Meggitt Training Systems is ideally positioned to address Europe's unique training requirements with subsidiaries located in Ashford, Kent (UK), and Waardenburg (NL). "Early engagement ensures our customers receive the most effective range design, equipment and installation, delivering invaluable training capabilities now and into the future," said Mark Mears, Managing Director of Meggitt Training Systems, Limited. A leader in shooting range design, equipment and installation for law enforcement, defense and commercial ranges, Meggitt Training Systems has 90 years of live-fire experience, fielding more than 13,000 range systems worldwide, including over 75,000 live-fire target systems on 122 military bases. Meggitt's display of products at IWA will include: The XWT GEN3 wireless target carrier is available in both indoor and outdoor versions, and is weather-resistant for extreme environments. It moves along a rail system, powered by an internal direct-drive, dual-motor system, with anti-static wheels for quieter, smoother operation. A rechargeable battery automatically charges via a self-docking station. is available in both indoor and outdoor versions, and is weather-resistant for extreme environments. It moves along a rail system, powered by an internal direct-drive, dual-motor system, with anti-static wheels for quieter, smoother operation. A rechargeable battery automatically charges via a self-docking station. Multi-Function Stationary Infantry Target (News - Alert) offers a fixed target head configuration that can respond to hits, automatic triggers activated by sldier movements, or a pre-programmed scenario, ensuring that the trainees do not anticipate target actions. This provides a realistic environment for urban operations and specialized training. The system is operated through radio frequency, hardwire or Ethernet controls that enable great flexibility in range design and usage. offers a fixed target head configuration that can respond to hits, automatic triggers activated by sldier movements, or a pre-programmed scenario, ensuring that the trainees do not anticipate target actions. This provides a realistic environment for urban operations and specialized training. The system is operated through radio frequency, hardwire or Ethernet controls that enable great flexibility in range design and usage. The GranTrap granulated rubber bullet trap utilizes soft media to stop incoming rounds and capture them predominately intact. This minimizes airborne lead dust, averts back-splatter and ricochet, and minimizes impact noise. The result is a cleaner and safer environment for shooting ranges, and maximizes bullet recovery and recycling processes. Visit https://meggitttrainingsystems.com/About-Meggitt/Trade-show-schedule/IWA-2017 to set an appointment or stop by stand #3-229 in Hall 3 at Messe Nuremberg. About Meggitt Training Systems Meggitt Training Systems, makers of FATS and Caswell technologies, a division of Meggitt PLC, is the leading supplier of integrated live fire and virtual weapons training systems. Over 13,000 Meggitt live fire ranges and 5,100 virtual systems are fielded internationally, providing judgmental, situational awareness and marksmanship training to the armed forces, law enforcement and security organizations. Meggitt Training Systems employs more than 400 people at its headquarters in Atlanta and at facilities in Orlando, Canada, the United Kingdom, Netherlands, UAE, Australia and Singapore. It can deploy service personnel anywhere in the world for instructor training, system installation and maintenance. About Meggitt PLC Headquartered in the United Kingdom, Meggitt PLC is an international group operating in North America, Europe and Asia. Known for its specialized extreme environment engineering, Meggitt is a world leader in aerospace, defense and energy. Meggitt employs nearly 11,000 people at over 40 manufacturing facilities and regional offices worldwide. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170207005001/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [February 07, 2017] Oregon Advanced Imaging Selects McKesson for Revenue Cycle Management Medford, Oregon-based Oregon Advanced Imaging has chosen McKesson Business Performance Services (McKesson) for help in improving charge capture, accelerating accounts receivable and reducing bad debt. McKesson will provide the group with a full range of revenue cycle management services, including: Healthcare regulatory compliance and medical coding Physician enrollment and credentialing Claims and denial management Clinical documentation assistance Business intelligence reporting Managed care contract review "Through the hospital practice, we have had an excellent, long-standing relationship with the operations personnel at McKesson's Radiology Center of Excellence in Fresno," Loessberg said. "As a result, we felt extremely comfortable shifting the imaging center's revenue cycle management to them. We look forward to continuing to work with our friends at McKesson as we grow our business." In addition to McKesson's assistance in the areas of coding, compliance and collections, Loessberg said he expects the company's business intelligence reporting will also prove highly beneficial for the organization. The ability to measure and compare a wide variety of detailed financial and operational metrics should boost efficiencies and performance, he said. Pat Leonard, president of McKesson Business Performance Services, said practices like Oregon Advanced Imaging can benefit greatly from dedicated, outsourced revenue cycle management. "The ever-increasing complexity of healthcare's payment and compliance landscape means practices have far less margin for error when it comes to managing their organizations," he said. "By partnering with McKesson, radiology groups can benefit from the experience we've gained through serving physician groups nationwide, and most importantly, they'll be able to turn their full attention to the provision of quality care. We look forward to working with Oregon Advance Imaging as they continue to evolve in today's challenging healthcare environment." About Oregon Advanced Imaging Medford-based Oregon Advanced Imaging offers a full range of diagnostic imaging services for patients, physicians and healthcare providers throughout southern Oregon. The 22-physician practice operates three locations and conducts about 20,000 procedures annually. For more information, visit: www.oaimaging.com. About McKesson Corporation McKesson Corporation, currently ranked 5th on the FORTUNE 500, is a healthcare services and information technology company dedicated to making the business of healthcare run better. We partner with payers, hospitals, physician offices, pharmacies, pharmaceutical companies and others across the spectrum of care to build healthier organizations that deliver better care to patients in every setting. McKesson helps its customers improve their financial, operational, and clinical performance with solutions that include pharmaceutical and medical-surgical supply management, healthcare information technology, and business and clinical services. For more information, visit www.mckesson.com. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170207005428/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [February 07, 2017] PharmScript Bolsters Executive Team with Addition of Long-Term Care Industry Leaders PharmScript, a leading pharmacy provider to long-term care and post-acute care facilities, announced today the appointments of six executives to its leadership team, including healthcare industry veterans John Walker, Daniel Maloney and Manny Raposo. The appointments highlight PharmScript's continued commitment to delivering a seamless pharmacy experience, and together, these leaders will position PharmScript for its next stage of growth and success. The new executives joined in 2016, assuming the following roles: John Walker, chief operating officer Daniel Maloney, vice president of purchasing Manny Raposo, vice president of sales Greg Thomas, chief information officer Danielle Korins, chief human resources officer Neil Bansal, vice president of business development "PharmScript's top priorities are anticipating the needs of our clients and providing a high-quality pharmacy experience. These leaders will better enable us to fulfill that mission as we grow and as the industry demands become increasingly complex," said Michael Segal, chief executive officer of PharmScript. "These team members are recognized for their domain expertise, and we're proud to welcome them aboard. We expect they ill build on our organization's strong legacy and reputation." John Walker, RPh, brings nearly four decades of long-term care pharmacy experience. As COO, Walker is responsible for ensuring PharmScript maintains consistently high levels of medication accuracy, timeliness and accessibility across the company's eight pharmacies to aid clients in delivering quality care to their residents. Prior to joining PharmScript, John held similar roles for other large multi-state pharmacy providers. Daniel Maloney, RPh, assumes the role of vice president of purchasing and has nearly four decades of long-term care pharmacy experience. At PharmScript, Dan will be responsible for pharmaceutical negotiations and will manage the primary wholesaler and group purchasing organization relationships. Dan is also responsible for the establishment and maintenance of the generic pharmaceutical formulary and sourcing strategies. He will work closely with the PharmScript operations team to help clients provide cost-effective and clinically appropriate care to residents. Manny Raposo, joining as vice president of sales, brings vast experience in the long-term care industry. Previously, Raposo was the vice president of national accounts for Medline, where he worked with the largest post-acute providers in the country. Leveraging his experience, Raposo will be responsible for leading the business development team in establishing new client relationships and ensuring PharmScript meets each facility's needs. Founded in 2009, PharmScript provides high-quality service to help healthcare facilities administer medications safely and manage their patients for optimal clinical outcomes, while containing costs. PharmScript serves more than 300 facilities and tens of thousands of residents in Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Washington, D.C. About PharmScript As a leading pharmacy provider to long-term care and post-acute care facilities, PharmScript partners with healthcare organizations across 10 states and delivers medications to thousands of residents and patients. Founded in 2009 with the goal of providing a seamless pharmacy experience, PharmScript is committed to helping providers deliver patient-centered care with high quality service, accuracy, timeliness, and cost containment. For more information, please visit www.pharmscript.com. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170207005410/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [February 07, 2017] The Salt Lake Tribune Names Corporation Service Company a Winner of the Greater Utah 2016 Top Workplaces Award Corporation Service Company (CSC), a leading nationwide provider of electronic and paper real estate document recording services, has been awarded a 2016 Top Workplaces honor by the Salt Lake Tribune (Salt Lake City, Utah). "We are honored to announce that our Logan, Utah, office is the recipient of the prestigious Top Workplaces award for 2016," said Mark Rosser, vice president for CSC (News - Alert). "Our committed team of experts in the city of Logan is known for setting the standard for customer service in the eRecording industry, and this award is a direct result of that commitment." Headquartered in Wilmington, Delaware since 1899, CSC provides business, legal, and financial services to corporations, law firms, and lending institutions worldwide. CSC, a pioneer in the industry, was the first company to offer eRecording, and currently employs 35 people at its offices in Logan, Utah. "CSC combines the stability and wisdom of a 117-year-old company with the passion and drive of a start-up," said Mike Hale, technology manager at CSC's Logan, Utah, office. "We recognize that our employees are our greatest asset and the key to our continued success." Top Workplace awards are based on survey results of a survey administered y WorkplaceDynamics, LLC, a leading research firm that specializes in organizational health and workplace improvement. Several aspects of workplace culture were measured, including leadership and job satisfaction, as well as benefits and pay. "To be a top workplace, organizations must meet our strict standards for organizational health. And who better to ask about work life than the people who live the culture every day-the employees," says Doug Claffey, CEO of WorkplaceDynamics. "Our research has proven that what's most important to employees is a strong belief in where the organization is headed, how it's going to get there, and the feeling that everyone is in it together." Document submitters interested in learning more about the benefits of electronic recording should visit www.erecording.com for more information. About CSC Corporation Service Company (CSC), a privately held business and legal services organization, provides matter management, corporate compliance, and trustee services for companies and law firms worldwide; digital brand services for top global brands; and due diligence and transactional services for the world's largest financial institutions. Founded in 1899, CSC has more than 2,500 employees throughout North America, Europe, and the Asia-Pacific region. To learn more about CSC, visit www.cscglobal.com. About WorkplaceDynamics, LLC Headquartered in Exton, Pennsylvania, WorkplaceDynamics specializes in employee feedback surveys and workplace improvement. In 2016 alone, more than two million employees in over 6,000 organizations participated in the Top Workplaces campaign-a program conducted in partnership with more than 40 prestigious media partners across the United States. WorkplaceDynamics also provides consulting services to improve employee engagement and organizational health. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170207005925/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [February 06, 2017] Statement by VICE Founder & CEO Shane Smith in Support of VICE News Journalist Ben Makuch's Appeal in Press Freedom Fight Statement comes as VICE Media Canada appeared in Ontario Superior Court today to appeal an Ontario Superior Court decision to uphold an RCMP production order. The order asks Makuch to give up his notes from a conversation with a source. LOS ANGELES, Feb. 6, 2017 /CNW/ - "As VICE News continues to grow around the world, we are confronted by many challenges: the rise of fake news from the fringes of the political spectrum, aggressive hacking by governments and political groups, regime and political oppression that threatens our reporters and, in extreme cases, police intimidation, jail and legal ressure put on us by judiciary vehicles. In the past year alone, we have faced problems in the Philippines, Iran, Afghanistan, Venezuela, Iraq and Turkey. It is with a sad heart today that I see these trends not only continuing in war zones and political hotspots, but also in my native country of Canada. The existence of a free press is essential to a true democracy and consequently - as we see the rise of political extremism around the word - one of the first targets of those who seek to bypass our democratic institutions. Protection of sources is a fundamental part of having a free and vibrant news community. Today I go on the record to say we will support and defend Ben Makuch with all of our resources and call upon our journalistic brothers and sisters to do the same. Stand up! An attack on one journalist is an attack on all journalists. A free press is more important today than ever before and VICE News will fight to make sure that we are part of one until you shut us down." SOURCE VICE Canada [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [February 06, 2017] OutSystems Reports Record Growth in 2016, Reaching $100M in Sales and 50% Year-Over-Year Software Revenue Increase BANGKOK and HO CHI MINH CITY, Vietnam, Feb. 7, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- OutSystems today announced that it has begun 2017 with record growth. With companies increasingly looking for faster, more efficient ways to build enterprise applications, demand for the OutSystems low-code development platform has soared, leading to considerable expansion across the business. "Digital transformation is one of the biggest opportunities and challenges facing today's businesses," said Paulo Rosado, CEO of OutSystems. "It's putting companies under tremendous pressure to build business applications faster and with fewer resources than ever before. OutSystems continues to be extremely well positioned to take advantage of that trend by offering a low-code platform for rapidly delivering enterprise mobile and web applications." OutSystems growth can be seen in several key areas: Business Growth Driven by new sales and customer renewals, OutSystems exceeded $100 million in sales and saw 50 percent year-over-year software revenue growth in 2016. The company added 178 new enterprise customers in 2016 and now serves customers in 43 countries, expanding its reach by over 30 percent. Partner and Developer Ecosystem The OutSystems ecosystem of partners and developers saw massive growth in 2016. The company formalized a global alliance with Deloitte S.A. and tripled the number of solution partners in Europe and Asia adding companies like Hewlett Packard, Incentro, NinTec, TESI, Dreamcloud, Perkasa, Rainmaker, Integated Global Solutions and Headfitted Solutions. Over 40,000 new developers joined the OutSystems Developer Community in 2016, contributing low-code apps, widgets, and components to greatly accelerate productivity. Employees Growing to over 500 employees globally, OutSystems added 200 employees in 2016 including executive hires in sales, marketing, and partner management. "2016 was a great year for OutSystems," said Rosado. "Our rapid growth is a reflection of the growing demand for mobile apps, the increasing level of industry recognition that we have received, and our product innovation." Industry Recognition In addition to the impressive business growth, OutSystems achieved widespread industry recognition: About OutSystems Thousands of customers worldwide trust OutSystems, the number one low-code platform for rapid application development. Engineers with an obsessive attention to detail crafted every aspect of the OutSystems platform to help organizations build enterprise-grade apps and transform their business faster. OutSystems is the only solution that combines the power of low-code development with advanced mobile capabilities, enabling visual development of entire applications that easily integrate with existing systems. Visit us at www.outsystems.com, or follow us on Twitter @OutSystems or LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/company/outsystems. Logo - http://photos.prnasia.com/prnh/20160902/8521605564LOGO [February 07, 2017] University Office Integrates Scopus Data Into its Research Management Systems AMSTERDAM, February 7, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- University Office, an international leader in research management and administration applications and solutions, and Elsevier, a world-leading provider of scientific, technical and medical information products and services, today announced their agreement to provide the University Office CRIS system IRMA (Integrated Research Management Application) with access to data from Elsevier's Scopus, the largest abstract and citation database of peer-reviewed literature. "University Office is proud to announce that the highly flexible web services framework of its Integrated Research Management Application (IRMA) is now linked to Scopus, enabling users to automatically harvest data to populate IRMA," said Peter Mackie, Director of University Office. "Working with the team at Elsevier has helped us deliver our mutual clients access to information available through the advanced interoperability of the Scopus products. Using the Scopus API to harvest research outputs and citation information will allow University Office and Elsevier clients to direct their resources to additional value-add services for researchers." The agreement allows University Office customers with a subscription to Scopus to import bibliographic records from Scopus, via an automated process, into their IRMA CRIS system. IRMA is a web-based integrated research management system, which allows the comprehensive management of an organization's research. The automated import will increase the quality and speed of internal data aggregation and analysis, such as Information real-time information on author publications, citations and author's h-indexes. Professor Chris Hutchison, Director for Research and Innovation at Murdoch University and one of University Office's customers, commented: "The new agreement with Elsevier underpins the University's e-research strategy of continuously seeking innovative solutions to support research outcomes, ensuring that Murdoch University's published body of knowledge is as complete as possible. The key savings will be around the automated matching from the overnight procesing leading to a reduced management overhead for our Research and Innovation team members. Murdoch University is planning to have our Scopus data integration ready in early 2017." "We are pleased to see that leading universities in Australia, as well as longstanding Scopus customers, will now be able to also access Scopus information from within their CRIS system," said Cameron Ross, Vice President of Product Management, Abstract & Indexing Databases at Elsevier. "This way, their users will be able to combine the power of Scopus data with other relevant research information available at their institute." About University Office University Office, headquartered in Melbourne with offices in Perth and Sydney, is an international leader in research management and administration applications and solutions. They work extensively with the university and research community to deliver solutions tailored for all research-driven institutions. Through our collaborations, University Office discovers best practice research management and administration, and deploys that knowledge within their Integrated Research Management Application (IRMA).Not only is IRMA fully linked across its own modules, through its configurable and flexible web services framework it offers seamless integration with enterprise systems for human resources, finance, and student management, among others. www.universityoffice.com About Scopus Scopus is the largest abstract and citation database of peer-reviewed literature and features tools to track, analyze and visualize scholarly research. Its comprehensive database contains 66+ million items indexed from +22,500 titles from more than 5,000 publishers worldwide, ensuring broad interdisciplinary coverage in the fields of science, technology, medicine, social sciences and arts and humanities. Scopus was designed and developed with input from researchers and librarians and features direct links to subscribed full-text articles, other library resources and interoperability with applications such as reference management software. Scopus is part of Elsevier's Research Intelligence portfolio which includes the SciVal tools, the Pure system, rich data assets and custom Analytical Services. www.scopus.com About Elsevier Elsevier is a world-leading provider of information solutions that enhance the performance of science, health, and technology professionals, empowering them to make better decisions, deliver better care, and sometimes make groundbreaking discoveries that advance the boundaries of knowledge and human progress. Elsevier provides web-based, digital solutions - among them ScienceDirect, Scopus, Research Intelligence and ClinicalKey - and publishes over 2,500 journals, including The Lancet and Cell, and more than 35,000 book titles, including a number of iconic reference works. Elsevier is part of RELX Group, a world-leading provider of information and analytics for professional and business customers across industries. www.elsevier.com Media contacts Todd Melville Program Manager, University Office +61-439-696-655 [email protected] Elisa Nelissen Press Officer, Elsevier +31-622-73-50-02 [email protected] SOURCE Elsevier [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [February 07, 2017] Banco Original Wins Award for Innovative Digital Solution Developed by GFT LONDON, February 7, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- GFT ' s App lets Banco Original onboard new customers via a 100% digital process The most efficient and effective way to engage with new customers The new App and process earns a key industry award for innovation GFT, the global provider of advisory, business consulting, IT and software services to the financial sector, has announced an award win, alongside their client Banco Original in Brazil for "the most innovative business model of the financial industry", according to the Executivos Financeiros, eFinance Awards 2016. (Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20150616/223614LOGO ) The service, developed by GFT, offers the world's first 100% digital process for account opening, providing a strong competitive advantage for Banco Original, with their Seja Original application. Launched in 2016, the App enables users to open a new current account, with the possibility of adding all additional products using the digital channel, resulting in the top eFinance Award in the category 'Innovation in the business model.' The App is available in both the Apple and Google stores. The Seja Original application is used by people who are interested in opening a new current account. Users are able to send personal data, images and documents directly to the bank, with the convenience and flexibility of doing all of this online, using a mobile device. Behind the intuitive front-end, there is an efficent system integration solution, the automation of business processes, outsourced services orchestration and advanced analytics that receive and process the multi-structured information coming from the application. The analytics engine enriches the information and evaluates the individual risk, taking into account the policies of the bank. If an exception arises from the analytical processing of information from potential new customers, the negotiations are carried out through automated processes, within 'back office decision cells' which perform the data analysis. All analytical enrichment of the data is made available to back office professionals, so that the decision making process is of the highest possible quality. This analytical intelligence within the App allows refinement, from the perspectives of both marketing and risk, regarding the demographic segments being targeted by the bank for the development of its customer base. The operational efficiencies achieved with the integration and automated processing of such data means Banco Original now sets the global benchmark for best practice client onboarding. Christian Ball, Head of Retail Banking for GFT's Atlantic Region commented: "The innovative and efficient App provides a fantastic competitive advantage for Banco Original in the market. Its disruptive innovation is already being recognised by domestic and international competitors alike, and has been widely adopted by new prospects seeking a seamless account opening experience". Wanderley Baccala Junior, CIO at Banco Original commented: "Without the multidisciplinary approach and collaboration of GFT professionals, it would not have been possible to achieve the results we have today. The flexibility and commitment of all the GFT team involved, who applied their multidisciplinary expertise in banking, architecture, systems development, testing and management led to the successful delivery", adds Baccala. The industry expectation is that the Seja Original App will be a key driver helping the bank to achieve their business goals, even with the economic crisis that is sweeping the country. This is a pioneering and successful project in Brazil, and its performance will certainly influence the strategic positioning of all existing financial institutions in the market. About GFT GFT Technologies SE (GFT) is a global technology partner for the digital transformation in the financial industry. Leading international banks and insurance companies trust GFT's IT and consulting expertise when it comes to tackling complex challenges in their industry. This includes, in particular, solutions for the implementation of regulatory requirements and the digitalisation of business processes. By means of the global innovation platform CODE_n, GFT brings together start-ups, technology pioneers and established companies in order to identify disruptive trends in the financial sector at an early stage and take them into account in new business models. GFT plans to achieve overall turnover of around EUR 420 million in the 2016 financial year. Formed in 1987, the company now has over 4,800 employees and operates in twelve countries. GFT shares are listed in the TecDAX on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange (ISIN: DE0005800601). http://www.gft.com [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [February 07, 2017] Paragonix Technologies, Inc., and MBA Medical Announce Distribution Agreement of Paragonix SherpaPak Organ Transport Systems Paragonix Technologies, Inc., announced today that it has entered into an exclusive distribution agreement with MBA Medical to market Paragonix Technologies' SherpaPak Cardiac and Kidney Transport Systems, innovative static hypothermic preservation and transport devices for donor organs, in leading transplant centers in the Southern United States. William Edelman (News - Alert), Chairman & CEO of Paragonix Technologies, commented, "We are excited for MBA Medical to join our expanding SherpaPak distributor network, which now covers the Pacific Region, the Midwest, and the Southern United States. Following exciting feedback on SherpaPak Cardiac and Kidney Transport Systems from the transplant community, we are delighted for MBA Medical to join our distributor network to supply SherpaPak to the transplant community in Texas, Mississippi, Missouri and Alabama." Mr. Edelman continued, "SherpaPak provides best-in-class donor organ management solutions for safe and reliable preservation and transport of donor hearts and kidneys. The Paragonix SherpaPak devices for kidney and heart preservation are an important step in improving donor organ transportation. We believe that improving the utilization of donated organs is critical to patients in end-stage organ failure who are desperate for this precious commodity." Previous Announcements Paragonix previously announced January 4 2017, an Exclusive Supply Agreement with Sanbor Medical for the Manufacture and Assembly of SherpaPak Organ Transport Systems Paragonix previously announced December 22, 2016 an Exclusive Distribution agreement with Bio Instrumets for Paragonix SherpaPak Cardiac and Kidney Transport Systems in the Midwestern United States Paragonix previously announced November 9, 2016 an Exclusive Distribution Agreement with Pacific West Medical Sales for Paragonix SherpaPak Cardiac and Kidney Transport Systems in California Paragonix previously announced June 29, 2016 a Product Supply Agreement with Waters Medical Systems LLC, Announce for Waters IGL and Celsior Cold Storage Solutions for Use With the SherpaPak Kidney Transport System and SherpaPak Cardiac Transport System Paragonix and Essential Pharmaceuticals LLC previously announced June 28, 2016, a Product Supply Agreement for Custodiol HTK (News - Alert) Organ Preservation Solution for Use With the SherpaPak Cardiac Transport System and SherpaPak Kidney Transport System Paragonix previously announced June 6, 2016, Presentation of the SherpaPak Cardiac Transport System during the 2016 American Transplant Congress June 11 - 15, 2016 in Boston, MA Paragonix previously announced on July 23, 2015, Publication of "Innovative Cold Storage Of Donor Organs Using The Paragonix SherpaPak Devices"1 Paragonix previously announced on February 9, 2015, Innovative Tracking Technology For Real-Time, National Location Tracking of Donor Organs About MBA Medical MBA Medical has been supplying specialty medical products to hospital facilities in Texas, Louisana, Alabama and Mississippi for over 15 years. About the Paragonix SherpaPak Cardiac and Kidney Transport System Paragonix SherpaPak Cardiac and Kidney Transport Systems are single-use, fully disposable organ transport devices. SherpaPak maintains organ storage temperature between 4-8C during the organ preservation interval and precisely monitors preservation temperature. SherpaPak consists of a shipper with an integrated datalogger, cooling pouches, and two nesting sterile canisters with a temperature probe measuring organ preservation solution temperature. About Paragonix Technologies, Inc. Based in Massachusetts and founded in 2010, Paragonix Technologies Inc., is a privately held medical device company innovating the Paragonix SherpaPak and SherpaPerfusion Cardiac Transport System, a novel, single-use organ preservation device to improve donor organ quality. Paragonix has established a pipeline of donor organ transport devices that address the current donor organ shortage by maximizing donor organ utilization, improving donor organ quality and extending donor organ transport throughout the entire United States. Paragonix has developed Sherpa devices both for static hypothermic storage as well as oxygenated hypothermic perfusion. 1 Michel et al. Heart, Lung and Vessels; 2015;7(3):246-55 View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170207005453/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [February 07, 2017] Leidos Employees To Be Honored at 31st Annual Black Engineer of the Year Awards Conference RESTON, Va., Feb. 7, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Leidos (NYSE: LDOS), a global science and technology company, announced that eight employees will be recognized at the 31st Annual Black Engineer of the Year Awards (BEYA) science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) Conference in Washington D.C. on Feb. 9-11. The BEYA STEM conference is an annual opportunity for professional training and networking with some of the top engineering employers in the country, as well as a career fair for students seeking STEM professions. Roger Krone, Leidos Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, will attend and present six Leidos employees with the Modern-Day Technology Leader awards. This recognition identifies young men and women, who are developing cutting-edge technology or doing vital research in science for the government or private industry. Leidos employees who will receive this honor include Justin Cox, Kevin Mutisya, Raymond Okeke, Derrick Pledger, Eryca Roberts, and Dr. Beverly Thompson. In addition, two Leidos employees, Danielle Grant and Ed Benjamin, will accept the Dr. John Brooks Slaughter Legacy Award. This new award is named after the first Black Engineer of the Year winner, and recognizes those who have achieved excellence, prestige, visibility, and distinction. "Congratulations to our Leidos BEYA award winners for their inspirational contributions to our company and society," said Krone, "These award recipients are true examples of what makes Leidos a success their drive, innovation, diligence, and mentorship are key attributes that we should all seek to emulate." About Leidos Leidos is a global science and technology solutions leader working to solve the world's toughest challenges in the defense, intelligence, homeland security, civil, and health markets. The company's 33,000 employees support vital missions for government and commercial customers. Headquartered in Reston, Virginia, Leidos reported pro forma annual revenues of approximately $10 billion for the fiscal year ended Jan. 1, 2016 after giving effect to the recently completed combination of Leidos with Lockheed Martin's Information Systems & Global Solutions business (IS&GS). For more information, visit www.Leidos.com. Statements in this announcement, other than historical data and information, constitute forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. A number of factors could cause our actual results, performance, achievements, or industry results to be very different from the results, performance, or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Some of these factors include, but are not limited to, the risk factors set forth in the company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the period ended January 30, 2015, and other such filings that Leidos makes with the SEC from time to time. Due to such uncertainties and risks, readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date hereof. Contact: Melissa Koskovich Jennifer Moffett (571) 526-6850 (571) 526-6852 [email protected] [email protected] To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/leidos-employees-to-be-honored-at-31st-annual-black-engineer-of-the-year-awards-conference-300403101.html SOURCE Leidos [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] On Pandian's allegation that Jayalalithaa was possibly poisoned, the party said only doctors can speak about it. "This allegation is completely false," AIADMK's PS Ramachandran told reporters in Chennai. By India Today Web Desk: Accusing former Tamil Nadu Assembly Speaker PH Pandian of creating confusion, the AIADMK today rejected the allegations and conspiracy theories propounded by the veteran leader over J Jayalalithaa's death last year. On Pandian's allegation that Jayalalithaa was possibly poisoned, the party said only doctors can speak about it. "This allegation is completely false," AIADMK's PS Ramachandran told reporters in Chennai. advertisement Ramachandran said the press conference addressed by Pandian earlier today was intended to create confusion. "He could have approached our party forums," he said. The AIADMK said five persons from Pandian's family were enjoying party positions. "But even after that, he is all out to create confusion," KA Sengottaiyan, another leader who addressed the press conference, said. Asked when VK Sasikala Natarajan will take her oath as the next Tamil Nadu Chief Minister, the AIADMK leader said, "We have presented our status to the Governor. It is for him to indicate time at his convenience. We can't force him." "Just because Governor has not intimated, that doesn't mean there is a delay," he said amid confusion over Sasikala's elevation. JAYALALITHAA WAS POISINED: PANDIAN Earlier today, Pandian and his son and former MP Manoj Pandian sought a probe into the circumstances leading to the hospitalisation of the late J Jayalalithaa. Both the Pandians are with the ruling AIADMK party. Manoj Pandian also claimed that Jayalalithaa had once told him that she may be poisoned to death. The father-son duo questioned the legality of the AIADMK General Council's election of Sasikala as General Secretary when the party's rules said a person can be elected to the post only by party members. Speaking to reporters, the senior Pandian said there should be probe to find out what led to the hospitalization of then Chief Minister Jayalalithaa, who died on December 5. Citing news reports that Jayalalithaa had fallen on to the ground at her residence on the day of her hospitalization, Pandian said this must be probed. He also said that Jayalalithaa once said that all her assets should go to the people after her death and he (Pandian) should see to that. According to Manoj Pandian, there is no provision in the party's rules for an interim General Secretary and all the actions taken by her are void in law. ALSO READ: Jayalalithaa was pushed, death unnatural, probe Sasikala: Former AIADMK leader's explosive charge Chidambaram to India Today: Saddened at Sasikala's elevation, dark days ahead for Tamil Nadu --- ENDS --- [February 07, 2017] MedCrypt and QuiO Partner on Device Security for Safe Transfer of Patient Prescriptions and Injection Data SAN DIEGO and NEW YORK, Feb. 7, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- MedCrypt, an early-stage medical device software security company, and QuiO, an early-stage connected therapeutics company, have announced an integration partnership for the Smartinjector device platform, a set of cloud-connected injection devices. The initial agreement will provide software security for QuiO's first two products the Si One, used for specialty drugs, and Si Pen, for diabetes patients. The technology's drug delivery sensors and ability to automatically send real-time dosing data will now be able to sync with MedCrypt's software, monitoring device usage for suspicious behavior. Additionally, the integration allows for devices to properly sign and encrypt data communicated through QuiO's cloud platform, known as ConnectedRx. "It's critical that our bi-directional communication channel remains secure at all times, from both a privacy and safety standpoint," said QuiO Co-Founder and CEO Alexander Dahmani. "We're proud to be working with MedCrypt, because their technology has been successfully used to secure some of the highest-risk medical devices in the market and we want every available defense in today's evolving cybersecurity landscape." This partnership arrives concurrently with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) recently revamped guidelines for how medical device manufacturers develop and vet new products. Recent security breaces at prominent health systems, and the increased sophistication of "ransomware", have roiled the industry and altered the way patients are protected. Many of the recommendations made by the FDA can be challenging for small-to-mid-sized device companies to comply with. "We are looking forward to making data security a priority in the product development process for QuiO and similarly-staged companies," said MedCrypt Co-Founder and CEO Mike Kijewski. "Smartinjector devices have the ability to reduce medical costs for patients and give them a portable therapy device they can take with them anywhere. As the bi-directional flow of data intensifies, we want to ensure accuracy and safety at every step." QuiO's breakthrough technology was recently recognized by Accenture at the Startup Health Festival in San Francisco, California. The Smartinjector beat out more than 500 applicants from around the world in the "HealthTech Innovation Challenge", as the product was billed as a better option for patients administering injectable therapies. As QuiO begins to meet an expected rise in product demand, MedCrypt's software will be able to leverage a machine-learning-based behavior analysis system, capable of adapting to unforeseen threats in cybersecurity. In September 2016, MedCrypt raised an $850,000 seed round, led by Safeguard Scientifics and a group of angel investors. About MedCrypt MedCrypt is a team of medical device and cryptography experts building "security as a service" for connected medical devices. The company has raised an initial fundraising round from a group of angel investors with deep connections in the Medical Device and Internet of Things spaces. For more information, visit www.medcrypt.co. About QuiO QuiO is a digital healthcare company developing smart injection devices and connected software for monitoring, engaging and supporting patients taking injectable therapies. The company's proprietary Smartinjector device platform includes reusable, disposable and wearable injection devices. Each Smartinjector device has long-range wireless connectivity for seamless communication with the ConnectedRx cloud, enabling automated patient support and remote tracking of medication adherence and health outcomes. To learn more, please visit www.quio.com. To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/medcrypt-and-quio-partner-on-device-security-for-safe-transfer-of-patient-prescriptions-and-injection-data-300403165.html SOURCE MedCrypt [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [February 07, 2017] TransparentBusiness Offers Companies an Effective Solution to the Uncertainty Surrounding H-1B Visa Reform NEW YORK, Feb. 7, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- A total of 97 companies -- including Apple, Facebook, Google, Intel, Microsoft, Netflix and Twitter -- filed a court motion Sunday night declaring that Trump's executive order on immigration "violates the immigration laws and the Constitution." The ban represents "a sudden shift in the rules governing entry into the United States, and is inflicting substantial harm on U.S. companies," says the court document. Independently from the previously signed Executive Order, a draft Order that could dramatically overhaul the H-1B visa process for skilled foreign national workers has sparked additional concerns and uncertainty on the part of American tech companies who rely on H-1B visas to staff critical jobs. Already, some U.S. companies report that they have postponed crucial hires until there is more clarity on how the Trump Administration will proceed. Amid this uncertainty, TransparentBusiness offers effective alternatives to importing tech talent. "While I strongly believe that curtailing business immigration is a policy detrimental to the U.S. economy, many U.S. companies import tech talent out of habit, without considering the alternatives recently made possible by Internet technologies," says Alex Konanykhin, CEO of TransparentBusiness. Designated by Citigroup as the "Top People Management Solution," TransparentBusiness.com platform greatly increases productivity of remote work, allows for easy monitoring and coordination of geographically distributed workforce and provides real-time information on the cost and status of all tasks and projects. "We make it easy for U.S. companies to access the global talent pool without having to physically bring workers into the United States," Konanykhin. "The managers can see all remotework progressing in real time and provide immediate feedback. This level of coordination is far superior to traditional 'on-campus' approach of assembling workers in one location." The rapid growth of TransparentBusiness has been fueled, in part, by limitations imposed by the existing H-1B program, which annually holds a lottery that grants only 65,000 H-1B workers entry into the U.S.; a quota that turns away roughly two-thirds of those who apply. With TransparentBusiness, which is simple to use and provides CIA-grade security, foreign employees and contractors can skip the H-1B lottery entirely, working remotely from their home countries, whereas U.S. companies need not delay hiring essential employees or risk losing them to tightening entry regulations. By eliminating travel and relocation expenses, and the need to support the living costs of an employee based in the United States, companies that rely on TransparentBusiness can have access to the world's finest talents at a fraction of the cost of physically relocating those employees and contractors to the United States. "A programmer who would be paid $160,000 a year or more in New York or San Francisco, can be hired in Belarus or Ukraine for roughly $40,000 a year, so wide is the spread in talent cost throughout the world," Konanykhin says. Allowing key employees to work remotely also reduces the office space cost and related overheads. And by making every work minute accountable, TransparentBusiness increases productivity of remote work by 15-40%, without intruding on privacy of the worker. TransparentBusiness is a founding participant of the Partnership of Refugees, which was presented by President Obama to the Leaders' Summit on Refugees in the wake of the UN General Assembly in September of 2016. Other contributors to the Initiative include Accenture, TENT Foundation, Airbnb, Citigroup, Facebook, Goldman Sachs, Google, HP, IBM, IKEA, Johnson&Johnson, LinkedIn, MasterCard, Microsoft, Pearson, SAP, Twitter, Uber, UPS and Western Union. TransparentBusiness is an Integrated Partner of ADP and a Technology Partner of Facebook. The cost of using TransparentBusiness is only $30 a month per active worker. TransparentBusiness is entirely free for teams of five or fewer workers. A free demo of TransparentBusiness, pre-populated with sample data, is available at: Demo.TransparentBusiness.com and a video overview at https://vimeo.com/163773083 For additional information, contact: Maricruz Tabbia at (415) 483-7975 or email at [email protected] To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/transparentbusiness-offers-companies-an-effective-solution-to-the-uncertainty-surrounding-h-1b-visa-reform-300403164.html SOURCE TransparentBusiness, Inc. [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [February 07, 2017] Openbay Launches Subscription-Service Suite for Auto Repair Shops Today, Openbay, the online marketplace for auto repair, announces a suite of subscription services for automotive-service centers to address challenges of acquiring and retaining customers. While today's consumers are increasingly buying products and services online, the auto-care industry hasn't kept pace with those users' needs. Openbay's new suite of services positions auto-repair businesses to engage the always-on customers anytime, and from any device, enabling them to become and remain competitive. "Owner-operators want to spend time on their core competency: servicing vehicles and focusing on customer satisfaction," said Rob Infantino, founder & CEO of Openbay. "The automotive aftermarket industry spoke and we listened and delivered. Openbay's new service suite helps conserve employee time spent pricing service inquiries, and helps with customer acquisition and retention." Openbay's Suite of Services Includes: 1. Automated Quote Service (AQS): Openbay Automated Quote Service generates detailed service quotes for consumers on behalf of the shop. AQS-enabled shops connect Openbay with its internal margins and labor rates to generate accurate service quotes, often immediately, and save precious employee time generating quotes via phone. AQS-generated quotes include type of parts (OE or aftermarket), labor rates and estimated completion time, taxes, and any shop fee associated with the service. Most quotes are generated in real-time, and non-standard service quotes are sent on behalf of shops within minutes or hours, seven days a week, by Openbay's in-house team of certified service advisors. Once a quote is generated, consumers may send questions to shops, or seek clarification via Openbay messaging. Customers review the business' ratings and reviews, location, and service and parts-warranty information before scheduling an appointment with a shop via the Openbay marketplace. 2. Service Advisor: Openbay Service Advisor is a web plugin for automotive service centers' websites that operates independent of the Openbay marketplace. Using Service Advisor, customers are able to request service directly with one shop via that shop's website, and immediately receive a custom quote. Similar to AQS, service quotes are basedon parts margins and labor rates, as pre-populated by the shop at signup. Once a customer is ready to book, he or she may schedule an appointment directly with the shop. "We've piloted Openbay Service Advisor for a couple of months and have seen current and new customers alike using the service. Within the first month of use, it's demonstrated an impressive ROI for our business to have now subscribed as a customer," said Barry Steinberg, president and CEO of Direct Tire and Auto Service. "The automotive aftermarket is in desperate need of modernizing, and Openbay continues to listen to the needs of the service-provider community and deliver innovative offerings." In addition to this new service-provider subscription suite, Openbay continues to invest in its nationwide auto-repair marketplace, using the platform to drive business growth and consumer convenience. Service centers using OpenbayASP, the mobile app built for automotive-service professionals, can track all service activity in real time, respond to customer questions via text, photo and video, and accept bookings and payment with one tap. Openbay provides subscription services to a number of Provider categories: Franchise new and used car dealerships, national automotive service chains, independent non-chains and mobile mechanics. Those interested in subscription and pricing information about Openbay's suite of services may visit https://www.openbay.com/products or apply to become a member of the marketplace here: https://www.openbay.com/service_station/new About Openbay Openbay is an online marketplace transforming the auto-repair experience for consumers, and the way that service providers acquire and service customers. In 2015, Openbay announced OpenbayConnect, allowing connected cars to communicate with Openbay for repair and maintenance service. Openbay is headquartered in Cambridge, MA, is privately held, and its investors include Stage 1 Ventures, a16z Boston Seed, GV (formerly Google (News - Alert) Ventures), a16z Seed, and several individual investors. Connecting with Openbay: http://www.openbay.com Download OpenbayASP, the dedicated app for Automotive Service Providers: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/openbayasp-openbay-for-automotive/id1021671009?mt=8 Social: Blog: http://www.openbay.com/blog Facebook (News - Alert): http://www.facebook.com/openbay Twitter (News - Alert) http://www.twitter.com/openbay Openbay, OpenbayConnect, OpenbayASP, and Openbay logos are either trademarks or registered trademarks of Openbay, Inc. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170207005846/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [February 07, 2017] Wipro Study finds 85% Increase in Test Automation A study conducted by Wipro (News - Alert) Limited (NYSE: WIT, BSE: 507685, NSE: WIPRO), a leading global information technology, consulting and business process services company has found an 85% jump in Test Automation across industries to keep pace with the evolving technology landscape. The study, titled 'State of Quality 2016' was conducted over a period of nine months by Wipro's Testing Services practice using analytical tools, with the objective of identifying distinct patterns and key trends in software testing. The study also found that nearly 73% of all performance testing comprises of the testing of web applications. The study is based on insights from Wipro's Testing and Quality Assurance (QA) engagements, advisory and consulting engagements, and social media feedback. It incorporates insights based on data collected from the Banking, Financial Services and Insurance (BFSI), Retail & Consumer Goods, Healthcare & Life Sciences, Hi-tech & Manufacturing, Media & Telecom and Utilities industries in USA, Canada, Europe and Asia. The study focuses on the five cornerstones of testing and Quality Assurance (QA) engagements: Automation Performance Engineering Test Environment and Data Management End Customer Experience (Mobile Applications) Quality Engineering Arun Melkote, Global Head -Testing Services, Wipro Limited said, "Wipro is recognized as a leader in Quality Engineering and Assurance. The 'State of Quality 2016' report offers a reality check on the quality of software, globally. It is an attempt to identify the gap between 'thinking' and 'doing' in the industry, and identifying key industry challenges and their solutions." Hiral Chandrana, Senior Vice President and Global Head, Business Application Services, Wipro Limited said, "Applications are at the heart of a digital enterprise, and with technologies such as cloud, analytics and mobility driving business needs, software testing has evolved into a quality engineering and assurance discipline, assuring a resilient and seamless IT experience in an organization. Testing Services at Wipro, is leading this transformation, with innovative new-age platforms such as AssureNXT and IntelliAssure. IntelliAssure is an AI Platform for Quality Engineering and Testing that is powered by Wipro HOLMES Artificial Intelligence Platform. The 'State of Quality 2016' is the first in a series of reports that will be published annually." Key findings from the 'State of Quality 2016' study include the following: Automation leads the way: The study found an 85% increase in Test Automation over a two-year period across all industry domains. This growth is fueled by easily accessible Open Source (News - Alert) tools in the market today. The study found an 85% increase in Test Automation over a two-year period across all industry domains. This growth is fueled by easily accessible Open Source (News - Alert) tools in the market today. Web applications dominate performance testing: With increasing digitization of businesses, Web Applications dominate amongst the platforms that require performance testing - nearly 73% of all performance testing comprises of the testing of web applications. With increasing digitization of businesses, Web Applications dominate amongst the platforms that require performance testing - nearly 73% of all performance testing comprises of the testing of web applications. Waning interest in performance engineering: Performance engineering (PE) ensures performance-driven development throughout the Software development life-cycle and not just during the Testing phase (Performance Testing). A significant observation in this sphere is that only 30% of client organizations demonstrate a keen interest in Performance Egineering and have the talent to realize the benefits of Automation Process Management tools. This low absorption is due to expensive set of tools, lack of skilled talent, and late introduction of Performance Testing in the systems development life cycle. Performance engineering (PE) ensures performance-driven development throughout the Software development life-cycle and not just during the Testing phase (Performance Testing). A significant observation in this sphere is that only 30% of client organizations demonstrate a keen interest in Performance Egineering and have the talent to realize the benefits of Automation Process Management tools. This low absorption is due to expensive set of tools, lack of skilled talent, and late introduction of Performance Testing in the systems development life cycle. No real life hacks for Test Environment and Test Data Management: Virtualization, mobile and cloud have impacted Test Environment Management (TEM) and Test Data Management (TDM) in a major way in the last decade. Most organisations find it challenging to adapt to these in addition to constantly evolving business requirements. As a result, the number of defects in testing engagements have gone up to nearly 13% due to software test environment issues; fixing these takes up 28% of the testing team's effort. Interestingly, 90% of organizations have concerns regarding generating test data, an essential element for successful execution of revised or new applications. Also, 25 to 30% of test scenarios remain untested in the absence of a comprehensive data masking solution. End Customer Experience indicates the need for increased investments in quality engineering and testing: An analysis of Social Media feedback on 30 mobile applications across North America and Europe, from the retail and banking domains, highlighted that 59% end users are dissatisfied with their applications for reasons of stability, interoperability, and usability. Banking app users in Europe had concerns regarding the security of the application. These indicate the increasing need for quality engineering and testing. An analysis of Social Media feedback on 30 mobile applications across North America and Europe, from the retail and banking domains, highlighted that 59% end users are dissatisfied with their applications for reasons of stability, interoperability, and usability. Banking app users in Europe had concerns regarding the security of the application. These indicate the increasing need for quality engineering and testing. Increasing focus on Quality Engineering: Software testing is increasingly moving from defect detection to defect prevention. Consequently, 66% of organizations currently use Software Developers in Test (SDET) in conjunction with traditional testers on all projects, ensuring quality development and prevent defects right from inception. This signifies a shift towards quality engineering - the management, development, operation and maintenance of IT systems and enterprise architectures with high quality standards. The report titled 'State of Quality 2016' can be downloaded here. Wipro was positioned as a leader for the third consecutive year in Gartner's (News - Alert) Magic Quadrant for Application Testing Services, Worldwide 2016, and 28 November 2016, authored by Susanne Matson, Patrick J. Sullivan and Gilbert van der Heiden. About Wipro Limited Wipro Limited (NYSE: WIT, BSE: 507685, NSE: WIPRO) is a leading information technology, consulting and business process services company that delivers solutions to enable its clients do business better. Wipro delivers winning business outcomes through its deep industry experience and a 360-degree view of "Business through Technology." By combining digital strategy, customer centric design, advanced analytics and product engineering approach, Wipro helps its clients create successful and adaptive businesses. A company recognized globally for its comprehensive portfolio of services, strong commitment to sustainability and good corporate citizenship, Wipro has a dedicated workforce of over 170,000, serving clients across 6 continents. For more information, please visit www.wipro.com. *Gartner Disclaimer 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. Forward-looking and Cautionary Statements Certain statements in this release concerning our future growth prospects are forward-looking statements, which involve a number of risks, and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in such forward-looking statements. The risks and uncertainties relating to these statements include, but are not limited to, risks and uncertainties regarding fluctuations in our earnings, revenue and profits, our ability to generate and manage growth, intense competition in IT services, our ability to maintain our cost advantage, wage increases in India, our ability to attract and retain highly skilled professionals, time and cost overruns on fixed-price, fixed-time frame contracts, client concentration, restrictions on immigration, our ability to manage our international operations, reduced demand for technology in our key focus areas, disruptions in telecommunication networks, our ability to successfully complete and integrate potential acquisitions, liability for damages on our service contracts, the success of the companies in which we make strategic investments, withdrawal of fiscal governmental incentives, political instability, war, legal restrictions on raising capital or acquiring companies outside India, unauthorized use of our intellectual property, and general economic conditions affecting our business and industry. Additional risks that could affect our future operating results are more fully described in our filings with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission. These filings are available at www.sec.gov. We may, from time to time, make additional written and oral forward-looking statements, including statements contained in the company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission and our reports to shareholders. We do not undertake to update any forward-looking statement that may be made from time to time by us or on our behalf. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170207005850/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [February 07, 2017] Mellivora Capital Partners Acquires Sugar Grove Naval Base from the US Government to Create a Comprehensive Rehabilitation Healthcare Campus Focused on Veterans Mellivora Capital Partners ("MCP"), with lead investors Robert Pike and W Cobb Hazelrig, completed the purchase of Sugar Grove Naval Base in West Virginia from a Government Services Agency public auction. The acquisition of the former naval base was completed in 60 days with consultation and support from local residents, government officials and private treatment providers. This Smart News Release features multimedia. View the full release here: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170207005960/en/ Aerial view of Sugar Grove Naval Base in Pendleton County, West Virginia (Photo: Business Wire) While MCP continues to develop the Sugar Grove business model, it envisions a healthcare campus for active-duty military, veterans and their families that will provide our nation's heroes with more advanced options for their health and welness needs. MCP's goal is to improve medical care through an integrated model that treats both the physical and psychological issues facing active-duty military and veterans, while simultaneously addressing their long-term needs such as a stable home life, job training and other educational opportunities. Mellivora Managing Partner, Thomas Drechsler, stated, "By taking a holistic, top-down approach to helping our Nation's veterans we can improve both clinical efficacy and how outcomes are measured. Service members are trained for the challenges of war, but not always properly prepared for returning to home life and the rigors that go with it." Pendleton County Commissioner, Gene McConnell, stated, "Sugar Grove now has the opportunity to once again bring success to West Virginia through job creation while providing a service owed to those who willingly served America." Junior Smith, a long-term Sugar Grove employee, will be continuing as its new General Manager and stated, "Sugar Grove has always been a special place and I'm looking forward to its new function and once again being an active contributor to the community." About Sugar Grove Closed by the Navy in September 2015, Sugar Grove is located in Pendleton County, West Virginia and covers 122-acres and includes over 100 well-maintained buildings and facilities. Since closing, there were multiple efforts to re-purpose the facility to bring jobs back and create new ones. The support of local residents and officials was critical in MCP committing to the purchase of Sugar Grove, and MCP's partners would like to thank those involved for welcoming them into their community. About Mellivora Mellivora Capital Partners is a private equity firm focused on the Southeastern United States, which has consistently been one of the fastest growing regions in the country and the largest contributor to GDP in the nation. Businesses in the Southeast are frequently driven by lineage and long-term relationships, attributes that many private equity funds do not focus on. MCP's partners have been investing in the Southeast for 15 years providing value-added capital through their relationships and experiences to support successful business owners. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170207005960/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [February 07, 2017] Nerdio Progresses in the VMware vCloud Air Network CHICAGO, Feb. 7, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Adar, Inc., creator of industry-leading ITaaS platform Nerdio, today announced it has been upgraded in the VMware vCloud Air Network as an Enterprise-level Service Provider. The VMware vCloud Air Network provides organizations with VMware-based enterprise-class security and infrastructure compatibility, with the freedom to readily move workloads among private, public and hybrid clouds. Using proven VMware technology customers already use in their existing data centers, VMware vCloud Air Network Service Providers can accelerate their business growth by offering customers trusted and secure public and hybrid cloud services. Nerdio's VDI-powered platform delivers a comprehensive IT environment complete with unlimited virtual servers, virtual desktops, the complete Microsoft suite, security, disaster recovery and more. It also dramatically streamlines IT provisioning and management with the Nerdio Admin Portal (NAP) so that previously risk-prone or overly complicated tasks can be completed in just three clicks and in less than one minute. "Our partnerhip with VMware has been invaluable in expanding Nerdio's mission to take the headache out of IT management," said Vadim Vladimirskiy, founder and CEO of Nerdio. "We're thrilled by our new status as an Enterprise-level Service Provider, and look forward to cultivating our presence in the VMware ecosystem." "We welcome Nerdio's progression in the VMware vCloud Air Network program to Enterprise Service Provider," said Jim Aluotto, director, Service Providers, Americas, VMware. "Since 2008, VMware has been working with the service provider community to provide customers with a simple and flexible path to the cloud, and we are pleased to have Nerdio as a part of this global network." The VMware vCloud Air Network supports customers with increased service flexibility, greater options for global cloud services and the choice of local VMware vCloud Air Network Service Provider partners in more than 100 countries globally. For more information on the VMware vCloud Air Network, please visit: http://www.vmware.com/cloud-computing/public-cloud/vcloud-air-network-services/overview About Nerdio Nerdio is the complete virtual IT solution tailor-made for small-to-medium sized organizations and the MSPs supporting them. Virtual hardware, software, security, and 24/7 tech-nerd support - everything needed to run an organization, and all for a low per-user per-month price. The expertise and reliability of a comprehensive IT infrastructure at your virtual fingertips. VMware, vCloud Air and vCloud are registered trademarks or trademarks of VMware, Inc. in the United States and other jurisdictions. All other marks and names mentioned herein may be trademarks of their respective companies. To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/nerdio-progresses-in-the-vmware-vcloud-air-network-300400120.html SOURCE Nerdio [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [February 07, 2017] Ivanti Launches License Optimizer to Manage and Enhance Complex Server- and Data Center-Based Enterprise Software SALT LAKE CITY, Feb. 7, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Ivanti today unveiled Ivanti License Optimizer, a software asset management (SAM) tool that provides enhanced visibility and management capabilities to optimize complex licensing structures across all vendors, platforms and licensing models. License Optimizer comes as an add-on to Ivanti's robust IT Asset Management Suite, which delivers the discovery, workflow and lifecycle management technology customers need for an effective ITAM solution. Ivanti License Optimizer helps asset managers understand even the most complicated server-based enterprise software, including those offered by Oracle, Microsoft, VMware and IBM. These data center applications can be challenging to track due to the transitory nature of physical and virtual machines, the complexity of vendors' licensing agreements, and the frequency of changes to licensing terms and conditions. "The complexity of the data center just got easier," said Ian Aitchison, ITAM Product Director at Ivanti. "Ivanti License Optimizer takes asset management to the next level by transforming the way we understand the data center and other server side applications. With this solution, we're enhancing our current ITAM offering and providing advanced functionality to enable our customers to better manage their software and generate effective license positions." Ivanti License Optimizer caters to asset managers by gathering the necessary insights to minimize cost, mitigate risk of audits, and support transformation initiatives across IT environments. Users can also gain visibility into underlying hardware to support the software needs. License Optimizer is helping customers improve asset management in the following ways: Manage Software More Efficiently License Optimizer delivers technology and expertise to aid IT departments to optimize these investments by reducing costs proactively. Additionally, customers gain access to detailed cost and benefit analysis to support effective decision making. Improve Understanding of Complex Software Asset Management With the help of License Optimizer, IT departments can gain a better understanding of complicated vendor license challenges for cloud-, desktop-, server- and data center-based products. Realize Effective License Position License Optimizer converts complex license data into accurate, effective license position against the current license terms of each selected vendor. Advance License Optimization Get product-specific recommendations for managing IT investments to curb overspend and reduce financial risk. Mitigate Risk Associated with Vendor Audits - There's a growing risk of audit by vendors with severe penalties for unlicensed software. License Optimizer extends the control of ITSM into the diverse software environment, providing total visibility into desktop, server and cloud systems to ensure compliance. Build for the Future With License Optimizer, users can create scenarios for initiatives like cloud migration and see the effects before investing their time and resources. License Optimizer also enables customers to map software costs to service usage and include detailed factors such as asset depreciation into models. For more information, visit www.ivanti.com. About Ivanti Ivanti is IT evolved. By integrating and automating critical IT tasks, Ivanti is modernizing IT and helping IT organizations successfully navigate digital workplace transformation. Ivanti is headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah, and has offices all over the world. For more information, visit www.ivanti.com. Press Contacts Leslie Bonsteel Ivanti +1 801-208-1773 [email protected] Amberly Asay Method Communications +1 801-461-9776 [email protected] Copyright 2017, Ivanti. All rights reserved. To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/ivanti-launches-license-optimizer-to-manage-and-enhance-complex-server--and-data-center-based-enterprise-software-300403092.html SOURCE Ivanti [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [February 07, 2017] Honda Establishes Marine Science Foundation to Support Coastal Preservation TORRANCE, Calif., Feb. 7, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Inspired by the Japanese concept of sato-umi the convergence of land and sea where human and marine life can harmoniously coexist Honda today announced the establishment of the Honda Marine Science Foundation, a new initiative to address marine ecosystem restoration and the impact of humans and climate change on oceans and intertidal areas. Committed to marine conservation, the foundation will support science-based programs that improve and preserve coastal areas for future generations. Its first initiative is the Southern California Native Oyster Restoration Project. In 2015, Honda began researching the oceanic and aquatic impacts of a rapidly changing climate, ocean acidification and rising sea levels. Honda also set out to address human impacts on marine environments, including water pollution and overfishing. "As a company dedicated to sustainability, we are proud to launch the Honda Marine Science Foundation and focus on coastal environmental awareness," said Steven Center, Honda Marine Science Foundation chairman. "After learning about the challenges and opportunities presented to us by a range of oceanic and atmospheric experts, Honda determined the foundation would foster meaningful cross-sector collaboration to help restore our marine ecosystems." The Southern California Native Oyster Restoration Project is being conducted in partnership with the Uniersity of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB) Bren School of Environmental Science & Management. The goals of the project include pioneering research to educate the public about the benefits of restoring native oysters for shoreline stabilization. "Collaborating with the Honda Marine Science Foundation will expand our research efforts and help educate people about the positive impact native oyster restoration will have on the Southern California coast," said Hunter Lenihan, professor at UCSB Bren School of Environmental Science & Management and Honda Marine Science Foundation board member. The Honda Marine Science Foundation board is comprised of Honda representatives and experts from the marine sciences field, including Santa Monica-based Heal the Bay, UCSB Bren School of Environmental Science & Management, and the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach, California. The board will help identify projects that support the foundation's mission and provide guidance for these projects. The Honda Marine Science Foundation joins a number of environmental initiatives from Honda. These include the Honda Environmental Leadership Program that encourages Honda automobile dealers to measurably reduce their energy consumption and environmental impact, and the Honda Smart Home US that showcases Honda's vision for zero-carbon living. Honda is working to advance technologies that address society's environmental and energy concerns through a diverse lineup of products, green factory initiatives and sustainability activities. To learn more about the Honda Marine Science Foundation, visit marinescience.honda.com. Honda Commitment to the Environment Based on its vision of "Blue Skies for our Children," Honda is working to advance technologies that address society's environmental and energy concerns. Honda is targeting a 50 percent reduction in its total company CO 2 emissions on a global basis by 2050, compared to 2000 levels. The company has committed to electrify two-thirds of all vehicles it produces by 2030. To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/honda-establishes-marine-science-foundation-to-support-coastal-preservation-300403217.html SOURCE Honda Marine Science Foundation [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [February 07, 2017] How Would You Change the Internet? Trend Micro Video Contest Seeks Answers from Students Trend Micro (News - Alert) Incorporated (TYO: 4704; TSE: 4704), a global leader in cybersecurity solutions, today announced its 2017 "What's Your Story?" contest during Safer Internet Day 2017. This year's theme, 'If you could change one thing about the internet, what would you change?' aims to engage and empower youth in an important conversation through the power of video and social media. The 'What's Your Story?' campaign, championed by Trend Micro's Internet Safety for Kids & Families program, invites schools and students in the U.S. and Canada to share their thoughts on what they would change about the internet and how they would do it? While the contest theme changes yearly since its inception in 2010, this year's theme is designed to understand how young people currently view the world and the internet's impact on it, and to elicit responses about their aspirations or hopes about the future of life online. Each year the contest launches on Safer Internet Day, a day celebrated in over 100 countries worldwide to raise awareness of emerging online issues and encourages all to be part of discussions about them and participate in some way to address them. "We want to empower our kids and learn from them," said Lynette Owens, global director, Internet Safety for Kids & Families Program, Trend Micro. "Our kids have been raised in a time when being online is a natural part of their lives. They know and understand a lot, and we have an obligation to listen and learn from their experiences. This past year has presented many hallenges for society online which sparked our interest in asking a question like this. We are excited to see what the youngest members of our society have to say about it." Trend Micro is offering two $10,000 grand prizes - one for a student film-maker and another for a K-12 educational institution. Additional cash prizes will be offered for runner-up winners. Video submissions will be judged on how well they answer the question, as well as how much the contestants have promoted their entries to as wide an audience as possible. Since 2010, individuals - teens and adults - and schools across the globe have participated in the online video contest which has asked contestants to address a wide range of topics, including: Being a Good Online Citizen, Using a Mobile Phone (News - Alert) Wisely, Maintaining Your Online Privacy and more. 'What's Your Story?' was created to give young people a voice in guiding the conversation about what safe, responsible and savvy Internet use is or should be. The contest has a stand-out quality that makes it unique - to become a finalist, participants must not only effectively address the topic of each contest, but must also become advocates of their own stories by sharing it with as many people as possible through social media and other means. Finalists' entries will be reviewed by a panel of experts in the fields of Internet safety, media literacy, and technology, including: ConnectSafely, Facebook (News - Alert)/Instagram, Twitter, MediaSmarts, and the iCanHelpLine. The full list of judges can be viewed here. Winners will be announced on or around May 9, 2017. To learn more about the contest details, submit a video, or see past winners, visit http://whatsyourstory.trendmicro.com. Follow Trend Micro's Internet Safety for Kids & Family's Twitter (News - Alert) handle (@TrendISKF) and Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/TrendMicro) for contest updates, and stay on top of the discussion using the hashtag #WYS2017. Trend Micro's Commitment to the Internet Safety of Kids and Families To support its vision of making the world safe for exchanging digital information, Trend Micro aspires to make a difference by using its expertise to make the world at large a better place. Trend Micro has made a commitment to make the Internet a great place for young people around the world through its world-wide employee volunteer program, grants and donations to eligible organizations, and partnerships with those who share its vision and mission. For Trend Micro's free Internet safety tips, tools and advice, visit the Internet Safety for Kids and Families page. About Trend Micro Trend Micro Incorporated, a global leader in cybersecurity solutions, helps to make the world safe for exchanging digital information. Our innovative solutions for consumers, businesses, and governments provide layered security for data centers, cloud environments, networks, and endpoints. All our products work together to seamlessly share threat intelligence and provide a connected threat defense with centralized visibility and control, enabling better, faster protection. With over 5,000 employees in over 50 countries and the world's most advanced global threat intelligence, Trend Micro enables organizations to secure their journey to the cloud. For more information, visit www.trendmicro.com. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170207005322/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [February 07, 2017] DIMONT to Provide Networking Events at MBA Servicing Conference DIMONT, the largest provider of specialty insurance and loan administration services to the residential and commercial mortgage industries, today announced that it is co-sponsoring the Mortgage Collective event, Center Stage, as well as hosting a meeting space at the Mortgage Bankers Association's National Mortgage Servicing Conference and Expo Feb. 14 -17 at the Gaylord Texan in Dallas. The Center Stage networking event will be held at the Historic Palace Theater Feb. 15 at 6 pm and will include cocktails and hors d'oeuvres amid a vibe that combines 20's vaudeville with modern-day mashups and mixes of the Electro Swing movement. This event is open to all MBA Servicing Conference attendees, as well as local servicers, originators, investors and government agencies. To register for the event, please go to http://vrm-marketing.com/centerstage/. The Mortgage Collective is an organization of forward-thinking solution providers and industry partners committed to improving the mortgage industry. DIMONT will also host a meeting space during conference hours on Feb. 15 and 16. Conference attendees are encouraged to drop by the DIMONT suite in the Gaylord Texan to mingle and discuss Collateral Loss Mitigation: DIMONT's proprietary, end-to-end suite of services that includes flood insurance valuations, investor claims management and hazard claims adjusting. To schedule an exclusive meeting or receive additional details, please contact Stacie Rankey, vice president of client development and communications, at [email protected]. "By participating in and hosting networking events like these for mortgage executives, we are furthering the positive growth of not only DIMONT, but the mortgage industry as a whole," said Rankey. About DIMONT Founded in 1996, Dallas-based DIMONT is the largest provider of specialty insurance and loan administration services to the residential and commercial mortgage industries in the United States. Additional information is available at www.dimont.com. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170207006074/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] By Press Trust of India: New Delhi, Feb 7 (PTI) The AIIMS Resident Doctors Associaton (RDA) today went on a partial strike after the administration did not revoke the suspension of five resident docters over a nurses death due to alleged negligence. The RDA has also threatened that if suspension orders are not taken back in the next 24 hours, it will shut down all emergency and critical care services. advertisement In a letter to the Director, the RDA said that during their meeting with the administration and nursing union representatives yesterday a consensual decision was taken that the suspension orders against the five doctors concerned will be revoked with immediate effect. "But sadly, the administration has backed out of its commitment, under undue influence of the Nursing Union. It is unfortunate to see the administration buckling under pressure like this, and continuing to maintain wrongful stand. "In the current scenario, we are left with no alternative but to withhold all outdoor and indoor patient care services with immediate effect. We also notify that if no rightful action is taken in the next 24 hours, we will be forced to shut down emergency and critical care services as well from 8 AM, February 8," the RDA said in the letter. The RDA further said that though patient care continues to remain the guiding spirit of residents, they cannot function under a constant threat of such possible "knee-jerk" reactions. Yesterday, the AIIMS administration restored its order of suspending five resident doctors within minutes of deciding to revoke it, with the nurses union changing their stand. Also, an eight-member committee under the chairmanship of Dr S C Sharma, head of the ENT department, has been constituted to probe into the death of the pregnant nurse due to alleged negligence. The nurses union had demanded action against the doctors and had threatened to go on strike following which five doctors were suspended on Sunday. According to sources, based on an interim report, an agreement was reached yesterday among the administration, Nurses Union and RDA that the suspension will be withdrawn and the five doctors will go on leave till the new committee submits its report. "However, the consensus was eluded as the doctors started celebrating the decisions and the Nurses Union took objection to it and changed their stance. Following this, the administration decided to continue with the suspension order," a source said. Rajbir Kaur, a nurse with AIIMS, died during delivery through caesarean section. Kaur suffered a cardiac arrest during the surgery. advertisement During treatment, she lost her baby and was put on life support. She died on Saturday night. PTI PLB BSA --- ENDS --- [February 07, 2017] CensorNet to Speak at America's Growth Capital 13th Annual Information Security Conference in San Francisco CensorNet, the complete cloud security company, has been invited to present at the first day of America's Growth Capital (AGC) 13th Annual West Coast Information Security & Broader Technology Growth Conference at 3.15pm PT on Monday 13th February 2017. During the presentation entitled "Going beyond CASB to manage tomorrow's threat landscape", CensorNet CEO, Ed Macnair, will discuss how the increasing adoption of cloud applications is driving the market need for a context and user behavior-driven security approach that will deliver a CASB offering which combines control capabilities across all attack vectors while providing robust security to protect against cyber threats. CensorNet helps organizations to effectively manage and control the use of cloud applications in their business. Its unified and multi-layered approach to securing the cloud via its purpose built, multi-functional cloud security platform delivers integrated web security, email security, CASB and adaptive multi-factor authentication. This provides organizations with security-focused visibility and control over user access, data and assets to allow access while controlling outcomes, and allows organizations to address the security, audit, compliance and productivity issues associated with the use ofcloud applications and devices. "CIOs and CISOs are facing a fast evolving threat landscape and need to protect against a wide variety of threats, without losing IT visibility and control of cloud applications. Ensuring that corporate data in cloud apps and systems is secure is paramount," says Ed Macnair, CEO of CensorNet. "Enterprises will ultimately need to protect cloud- as well as on-premise based applications to address the challenges of tomorrow's threat landscape and obtain a truly holistic view of their security posture." The AGC Conference comprises keynotes, panel sessions and private and public company presentations. It is hosted by America's Growth Capital (AGC), a full-service, partner-owned boutique investment bank with offices in Silicon Valley, Boston and Israel. AGC provides private capital, mergers and acquisitions and capital market advisory services. The conference attracts more than 1,600 attendees annually, including entrepreneurs, investors and buyers. Ed Macnair acquired CensorNet in October 2014 with three other industry-leading experts to accelerate the development of a cloud security solution combining cloud application control, web and email security. The company acquired SMS PASSCODE, a multi-factor authentication vendor, in February 2016 to boost its comprehensive cloud security platform CensorNet Unified Security Service (USS). Prior to CensorNet, Macnair founded SaaSID, a UK application security provider in 2011 which was subsequently acquired by Intermedia (News - Alert) Inc. in September 2013. Before SaaSID, Macnair was CEO of Marshal, a UK web and email security company, which merged with US-based 8e6 Technologies to form M86 Security (now SingTel). If you would like to meet Ed Macnair at the RSA (News - Alert) conference, please come to the Moscone Center, West Hall Level 1, Suite WES14 or contact: Ed Macnair at [email protected]. About Us CensorNet, the complete cloud security company, helps organizations to effectively manage and control the use of cloud applications in their business. The company provides a unified and multi-layered approach to securing the cloud via its purpose built, multi-functional cloud security platform that delivers integrated web security, email security, CASB and adaptive multi-factor authentication. This provides organizations with security-focused visibility and control over user access, data and assets to allow access while controlling outcomes and allows organizations to address the security, audit, compliance and productivity issues associated with the use of cloud applications and devices. CensorNet enables organizations to control Shadow IT, safely implement BYOD initiatives and protect from cyber threats. With more than 4000 customers and over 1.3 million users worldwide, the company is headquartered in Basingstoke, UK and has further offices in Austin and San Francisco, US; Copenhagen, Denmark and Munich, Germany. For more information, visit www.censornet.com View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170207006090/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [February 07, 2017] UK Air Traffic Control Provider NATS Selects Rohde & Schwarz for Second Voice System MUNICH, February 7, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- NATS has selected the R&S VCS-4G IP-based voice communications system from Rohde & Schwarz as its second voice system for its air traffic control (ATC) communications in UK airspace. Within the framework of the Single European Sky (SES) initiative, NATS will modernize its entire air traffic management (ATM) infrastructure over the next few years. Tim Bullock, Director Supply Chain Management at NATS, explains: "NATS controls more than 2.4 million flights every year. Our systems must be both flexible and able to handle heavy workloads in order to ensure efficient operations for airlines and passengers alike. We have found in Rohde & Schwarz an innovative and reliable partner. We welcome them to the colaborative team of suppliers joining us on our ATM transformation journey towards SESAR deployment." Rohde & Schwarz will begin the implementation of the second voice system in 2017. It will provide enhanced resilience for voice based radio communications in UK airspace. The air traffic control centers in Swanwick and Prestwick as well as the NATS corporate and technical centre in Whiteley will all be equipped in a phased deployment that will be completed by 2020. The order includes the delivery, implementation and through-life support of more than 450 R&S VCS-4G controller working positions (CWP). Up to 1700 radios and various ground-ground lines will be connected to the system. As airspace becomes more crowded, there is an increased demand for flexible, load-based reallocation of resources while ensuring efficient and sustainable air traffic control in line with the highest safety standards. Rohde & Schwarz meets this challenge with the fully VoIP-based R&S VCS-4G featuring a distributed, redundant architecture. More information: http://www.press.rohde-schwarz.com . Contact: Simone Kneifl, Phone: +49-89-4129-0, E-mail: [email protected] [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [February 07, 2017] Unparalleled visibility into Zero-Day data with Exodus Intelligence and Kenna Security AUSTIN, Texas, Feb. 07, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Exodus Intelligence and Kenna Security today announced a partnership that will allow customers premium access to Zero-Day vulnerabilities. Addressing Zero-Day risk requires you to change your perception of the threat, and address network vulnerabilities before they become public. In todays ever-changing threat landscape, security analysts are in a daily struggle to understand their risk profileconstantly working to understand their attack surface, assess the total risk that it presents and prioritize their efforts to mitigate those risks. However, if all of their intel and vulnerability data were in a single place, analysts could determine their riskand quickly remediate the vulnerabilities. Starting today, Zero-Day metadata from Exodus Intelligence is now directly accessible through the Kenna Security platform. With tis data, enterprise cyber security teams will have immediate knowledge of new Zero-Day vulnerabilities, allowing them to more quickly investigate their susceptibility to these critical threats, put into place temporary countermeasures, and track the activities of adversaries trying to exploit Zero-Day vulnerabilities. Within the Kenna platform, identified applications that are susceptible to Exodus Zero-Day vulnerabilities will be displayed in the customers primary dashboardallowing security teams to understand whether their infrastructure supports apps with unpatched Zero-Day vulnerabilities. If a customer has an application with a Zero-Day vulnerability, they will be able to purchase highly detailed reports, network traffic analysis, and mitigation guidance directly from Exodus Intelligence. Logan Brown, CEO of Exodus Intelligence, said: We are excited to be working with Kenna in this capacity. Their product will truly help refine the signal from the noise of all available threat feeds and allow the customer to focus on fixing/mitigating their networks most critical threats. The integration between Exodus Intelligence and Kenna Security delivers an unprecedented level of security to customers. About Exodus Intelligence Exodus Intelligence provides clients with actionable information, capabilities, and context for proven exploitable vulnerabilities. Our world class team of vulnerability researchers has discovered hundreds of Zero-Day vulnerabilities, providing our clients with this knowledge before the black hat hackers discover them. Our research also extends into the world of known vulnerability research, where we select critical patched vulnerabilities and complete research to prove whether these vulnerabilities are truly exploitable in the wild. For more information, visit exodusintel.com. About Kenna Kenna is a Vulnerability and Risk Intelligence platform that accurately measures risk and prioritizes remediation efforts before an attacker can exploit an organization's weaknesses. Kenna accomplishes this by automating the correlation of customer vulnerability data, threat data, and 0-day data, analyzing security vulnerabilities against active Internet breaches. For more information, visit kennasecurity.com. Contact: [email protected] [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [February 07, 2017] Nexperia Emerges as Dynamic New Force in Discretes, Logic and MOSFETs Nexperia, the former Standard Products division of NXP, today announced the formal completion of its launch as a separate entity. Headquartered in Nijmegen, Netherlands and backed by a consortium of financial investors consisting of Beijing Jianguang Asset Management Co. Ltd and Wise Road Capital Ltd, Nexperia is a stand-alone, world-class leader in Discretes, Logic and MOSFETs, retaining all the expertise, manufacturing resources and key personnel of the former NXP division, while bringing a new focus and powerful commitment to these product areas. Nexperia, which will produce around 85 billion devices a year and in 2016 had revenues exceeding US$1.1B, addresses three key trends: power efficiency; protection and filtering; and miniaturization. The Automotive sector is very strong for Nexperia and most of its products are AECQ101 qualified. Other important markets include portable devices, industrial, communications infrastructure, consumer and computing. A significant portion of the company's revenue is delivered through distribution channels. Nexperia CEO Frans Scheper, formerly EVP and GM of NXP's Standard Products Business Unit, comments: "Our history ensures that Nexperia is already regarded s a strong industry leader in Discretes, Logic and MOSFETs, which consistently delivers highly reliable and innovative products to our global customers. Under the new ownership and with a renewed sense of vigour we will invest in product development and best-in-class manufacturing practices and facilities to ensure that Nexperia becomes the byword for efficiency and quality. Together with our engaged and motivated employees this will enable us on a daily basis to exceed the needs and expectations of our customers." Nexperia has two front-end manufacturing facilities, in Manchester, UK and Hamburg, Germany, and three back-end packaging plants in Guangdong, China, Seremban, Malaysia and Cabuyao, Philippines. It currently employs about 11,000 personnel worldwide including an established and successful leadership team. Scheper continues: "Because Nexperia will continue to source its front end and back end production from its current manufacturing sites, there will be no disruption in our supply chain or other processes, so customers and partners can be fully assured that they will continue to receive excellent products and exceptional service." The company has an extensive IP portfolio and is certified to ISO9001, ISO/TS16949, ISO14001 and OHSAS18001. About Nexperia Nexperia is a dedicated global leader in Discretes, Logic and MOSFETs devices. We became independent at the beginning of 2017. Focused on efficiency, Nexperia produces consistently reliable semiconductor components at high volume: 85 billion annually. Our extensive portfolio meets the stringent standards set by the Automotive industry. Industry-leading, miniature packages, produced in our own manufacturing facilities, combine power and thermal efficiency with best-in-class quality levels. Built on over half a century of expertise, Nexperia has 11,000 employees across Asia, Europe and the U.S. supporting customers globally. Nexperia: Efficiency wins. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170207006161/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [February 07, 2017] Glancy Prongay & Murray Announces the Filing of a Securities Class Action on Behalf of BT Group plc Investors and Encourages Investors to Contact the Firm Glancy Prongay & Murray LLP ("GPM") announces that a class action lawsuit has been filed on behalf of investors who purchased BT Group (News - Alert) plc ("BT Group" or the "Company") (NYSE: BT) securities between May 23, 2013, and January 23, 2017, inclusive (the "Class Period"). BT Group investors have until March 27, 2017 to file a lead plaintiff motion. Investors suffering losses on their BT Group investments are encouraged to contact Lesley Portnoy of GPM to discuss their legal rights in this class action at 310-201-9150 or by email to [email protected]. On January 24, 2017, BT Group disclosed that an internal accounting investigation identified a significant overstatement of earnings in BT Group's Italian business, that would require adjustments of approximately 530 million. The Company further isclosed that, "The improper behaviour in our Italian business is an extremely serious matter, and we have taken immediate steps to strengthen the financial processes and controls in that business. We suspended a number of BT Italy's senior management team who have now left the business. We have also appointed a new Chief Executive of BT Italy who will take charge on 1 February 2017. He will review the Italian management team and will work with BT Group Ethics and Compliance to improve the governance, compliance and financial safeguards in our Italian business." On this news BT Group shares fell over 20%, or nearly $5.05 per share, to close on January 24, 2017 at $19.38. The complaint filed in this class action alleges that Defendants made materially false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (1) BT's Italian division had engaged in improper accounting practices; (2) BT thus significantly overstated its earnings; (3) the above mentioned would likely cause BT to cut its revenue, earnings, and free cash flow forecasts; and (4) consequently, BT's public statements were materially false and misleading. If you purchased shares of BT Group during the Class Period you may move the Court no later than March 27, 2017 to ask the Court to appoint you as lead plaintiff if you meet certain legal requirements. To be a member of the Class you need not take any action at this time; you may retain counsel of your choice or take no action and remain an absent member of the Class. If you wish to learn more about this action, or if you have any questions concerning this announcement or your rights or interests with respect to these matters, please contact Lesley Portnoy, Esquire, of GPM, 1925 Century Park East, Suite 2100, Los Angeles, California 90067 at 310-201-9150, Toll-Free at 888-773-9224, by email to [email protected], or visit our website at http://glancylaw.com. If you inquire by email please include your mailing address, telephone number and number of shares purchased. This press release may be considered Attorney Advertising in some jurisdictions under the applicable law and ethical rules. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170207006173/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [February 07, 2017] Endgame Leapfrogs EDR Incumbents; Dramatically Expanding Preventions and Detections to Stop Zero Days, Malwareless Attacks, and Ransomware ARLINGTON, Va., Feb. 7, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Endgame today announced a new release of its industry-leading endpoint detection and response (EDR) platform that provides continuous prevention and detection of zero days, malwareless attacks, and ransomware in time to stop information theft. This release targets EDR incumbents that lack the technology and imaginative approach necessary to transform security operations. Endgame's platform is so simple that a novice analyst who'd never used an EDR product was able to stop a nation state-level attacker after using Endgame for only 30 minutes. As organizations are under increasing pressure to hire and retain top security talent, Endgame's real-time visibility and preemptive guidance empowers less-experienced analysts with the ability to instantly immobilize and evict advanced attackers before information is stolen or systems are disrupted. Tier 3 analysts get 'whitebox' analytics and a robust API for fine grained analysis, customized reporting and orchestration. "Endgame's platform elevates our tier 1 analysts to operate at a tier 3 level, allowing us to spend less time and resources on incident response and compromise assessment," said Dan Basile, Information Security Manager at Texas A&M. "With Endgame, we can prevent, detect, and proactively hunt advanced attacks at the earliest possible moment, before damage and loss of critical assets." With Endgame, a security team's total time to identify, investigate, and respond to threats shifts from days with incumbent tools to minutes without disrupting normal business operations. Endgame's platform release delivers the following novel technologies: Continuous Prevention and Detection of Zero Days, Malwareless Attacks, and Ransomware Complete prevention of zero day exploits MalwareScore engine that stops 99+% of malware Fileless (in-memory) attack protection detecting all known adversary stealth techniques Protection against malware-less attacks, including Powershell and malicious macros Ransomware prevention using behavior-based protections at all phases of the attack lifecycle Continuous monitoring of endpoint activity with historical event capture and analysis of origin and extent of an attack Unlimited Scalability with a Single, Dissolvable Agent Single, dissolvable agent managed from a single console at enterprise scale Multi-server management for the world's largest organizations, supporting unlimited endpoints New Linux agent to expand endpoint coverage. Preemptive Guidance and Streamlined Workflow Artemis , a machine - learning powered chatbot providing SOC teams a conversational interface to speed discovery of unique attacks, replacing inadequate legacy strategies that rely on complex queries and known IOCs a machine learning powered chatbot providing SOC teams a conversational interface to speed discovery of unique attacks, replacing inadequate legacy strategies that rely on complex queries and known IOCs Whitebox analytics that enable and streamline detection of resident adversaries across global enterprises in minutes Guided workflows for triage and response before damage and loss "It's no secret that CISOs are strained by both a security talent shortage and a skills mis-match," said Nate Fick, CEO at Endgame. "To further complicate the problem, incumbent EDR products make data analysis a slow, resource-intensive process that is too often a post-compromise forensic exercise. Endgame's platform empowers less-seasoned analysts to hunt for, and respond quickly to, advanced attacks -- transforming incident responders into incident preventers." To learn more about today's release, see a demo of our platform or visit us at RSA 2017, booth #1739. About Endgame Endgame is a leading endpoint security platform that transforms security operations teams and incident responders from crime scene investigators into hunters that prevent damage and loss, and dramatically reduces the time and cost associated with incident response and compromise assessment. Endgame's platform uses machine learning and data science to prevent and detect unique attacks at the earliest and every stage of the attack lifecycle. Endgame's integrated response stops attacks without disrupting normal business operations. For more information, visit www.HUNTER.comand follow us on Twitter @EndgameInc. Media Contact: Margot Koehler [email protected] (202) 649-0517 To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/endgame-leapfrogs-edr-incumbents-dramatically-expanding-preventions-and-detections-to-stop-zero-days-malwareless-attacks-and-ransomware-300403502.html SOURCE Endgame [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [February 07, 2017] CNC Technologies Selected by Florida Department of Law Enforcement to Equip King Air 350 with Streaming Video/Data Mission Suite LOS ANGELES, Feb. 7, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- CNC Technologies, an aviation technology and wireless communications company serving the law enforcement, military and government markets, announced today its selection by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) to deploy an aerial video and data streaming video mission suite on the FDLE's King Air 350 multi-engine aircraft. The FDLE King Air 350 allows this agency to provide statewide aerial support to federal, state, and local agencies during natural disasters, counter-terrorism efforts, and criminal investigations. "We will be equipping the FDLE's King Air 350 with everything it needs to have reliable HD video and meta-data communications while airborne," said Ron Magocsi, one of CNC Technologies' founders, a managing partner and CTO. "This will provide first responders from all levels of government with access to the unparalleled 'eyes above' situational awareness that only a camera-equipped aircraft like the King Air 350 can provide during man made and natural emergencies." Established in 1967, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement was created by combining the resources of the Florida Sheriffs Bureau, the State Narcotics Bureau, and the law enforcement activities of the Anti-Bookie Squad of the Attorney General's Office. The FDLE's mission is "to promote public safety and strengthen domestic security by providing services in partnership with local, state, and federal criminal justice agencies to prevent, investigate, and solve crimes while protecting Florida's/span> citizens and visitors." The agency's approximately 1,700 members achieve this goal through the FDLE's agency headquarters in Tallahassee, plus seven regional operations centers located in Pensacola, Tallahassee, Jacksonville, Orlando, Tampa Bay, Fort Myers and Miami. The FDLE's annual budget is over $300 million. CNC Technologies is an aviation technology and wireless communications company whose advanced products are used by government, law enforcement, and military markets. Specializing in the design, manufacture, and installation/servicing of custom aerial surveillance, data transmission and counter-terrorism wireless solutions, CNC's dedicated engineers have decades of experience deploying local, national and global communications network solutions for the world's most demanding operators. "Whether it be for the FDLE or any other client, CNC approaches each new assignment from a bespoke perspective, deploying tailored communications solutions that deliver uncompromising performance and reliability," said Alex Giuffrida, another one of CNC Technologies' founders and managing partners. "Because value is always a concern for our budget-minded clients, CNC is happy to develop individual solutions that use entirely new technology, or integrate the new with a customer's existing equipment to maximize their investments." "We are particularly honored to provide mission-critical equipment for the FDLE," he concluded. "Their police work keeps Floridians safe and, by protecting the millions who visit this state annually, safeguards Florida's vital tourism economy as well." About CNC Technologies CNC Technologies is an aviation technology and wireless communications company serving the law enforcement, government and military markets. Providing custom aerial surveillance, data transmission and counterterrorism solutions, the CNC team brings decades of experience deploying local, national and global communications networks for the world's most demanding operators. CNC works with clients around the globe, delivering bespoke solutions tailored to match each organization's specific mission requirements and backed by unparalleled 24/7 service and support. The company is online at www.cnctechnologies.com Alex Giuffrida CNC Technologies [email protected] 805-275-3738 To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/cnc-technologies-selected-by-florida-department-of-law-enforcement-to-equip-king-air-350-with-streaming-videodata-mission-suite-300403688.html SOURCE CNC Technologies [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Allegion to Host Investor, Analyst Meeting in New York City Allegion plc (NYSE:ALLE), a leading global provider of security products and solutions, will hold an Investor and Analyst Meeting in New York City on Tuesday, March 7, 2017, from 11 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. ET. David D. Petratis, chairman, president and CEO, and Patrick Shannon, senior vice president and chief financial officer, will lead the meeting, discussing the company's strategy and vision for the future. Beginning at noon, a real-time, listen-only webcast of the meeting will be broadcast live over the Internet. To listen, individuals can access the meeting throuh Allegion's website at investor.allegion.com. For those unable to listen to the live event, a replay will also be available on Allegion's website by Wednesday, March 8. About Allegion Allegion (NYSE: ALLE) is a global pioneer in safety and security, with leading brands like CISA, Interflex, LCN, Schlage, SimonsVoss and Von Duprin. Focusing on security around the door and adjacent areas, Allegion produces a range of solutions for homes, businesses, schools and other institutions. Allegion is a $2 billion company, with products sold in almost 130 countries. For more, visit www.allegion.com. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170207006479/en/ Veeva CEO and Co-Founder, Peter Gassner, to Speak at SaaStr Annual 2017 Veeva Systems (NYSE:VEEV), a leading provider of industry cloud solutions for life sciences, today announced that SaaStr Annual 2017 will host Peter Gassner, CEO and co-founder, in a fireside chat titled, "Veeva: The Biggest Vertical SaaS (News - Alert) Success Story of All Time," on Wednesday, February 8, 2017 at 9:50 a.m. PT in San Francisco. To mark Veeva's 10-year anniversary since its founding, Peter will share his experience being at the forefront of several major enterprise software transitions, lessons learned in building a SaaS company with a successful track record of cloud innovation, and how Veeva made the transition to being a multi-product company. The SaaStr Annual brings together thousands of SaaS founders and executives for high-quality networking and an opportunity to learn from the world's greatest cloud innovators and leaders. Additional Information For more about Peter Gassner: veeva.com/Gassner Connect with Veeva on LinkedIn (News - Alert): linkedin.com/company/veeva-systems Follow @veevasystems on Twitter (News - Alert): twitter.com/veevasystems Like Veeva on Facebook (News - Alert): facebook.com/veevasystems About Veeva Systems Veeva Systems Inc. is a leader in cloud-based software for the global life sciences industry. Committed to innovation, product excellence, and customer success, Veeva has more than 475 customers, ranging from the world's largest pharmaceutical companies to emerging biotechs. Veeva is headquartered in the San Francisco Bay Area, with offices in Europe, Asia, and Latin America. For more information, visit veeva.com. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170207006517/en/ [February 07, 2017] Cox Enterprises Brings New Waste Management Technology to the United States NAHUNTA, Ga., Feb. 7, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Cox Enterprises announced that its Golden Isles Conservation Center, located in Nahunta, Ga., is bringing a new technology to the U.S. and making a positive impact on the environment. The Center utilizes an Italian pyrolysis technology that is being used for the first time in the U.S. The eco-friendly process utilizes organic materials such as wood chips to generate heat, which breaks down tires into their original components and produces synthesis oil, carbon black, synthesis gas and steel. "The Golden Isles Conservation Center shows that technology plays an important role in solving global environmental issues," said Cox Enterprises Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Alex Taylor. "This facility is another example of how committed we are to sustainability. This technology has been proven in Europe, and I'm excited that we're bringing it to the United States and benefitting a local community's economy." By repurposing the materials, the Center has the capacity to daily remove the equivalent of five tons of tires from landfills and waterways. The synthesis oil can be used as a substitute for many fuel-based products. The recovered carbon black can beused in products such as rubber hoses, inks, tires and plastics. Steel is the most recycled material on the planet and can be reused to make many new products. The synthesis gas generates heat for the closed-loop process. Initially focused on tires, the Center will serve as an R&D facility and explore repurposing additional waste stream products. The Center is part of the company's national Cox Conserves sustainability program, which is celebrating its 10th anniversary. The program focuses on reducing waste and energy consumption, as well as conserving water. In addition to providing an environmental solution, the facility is making a positive impact on the local economy. Construction on the facility began in 2016 and has infused $5 million into Georgia's economy, with one-third of the amount going directly to Brantley County-based companies. The facility is bringing five full-time jobs to Nahunta, which has a population of approximately 1,000. A special Community Open House will be held in April for local residents to tour the facility. About Golden Isles Conservation Center: The Golden Isles Conservation Center is located in Nahunta, Ga. and is part of Seven Islands Environmental Solutions, a subsidiary of Cox Enterprises. The Center utilizes an eco-friendly process to remove materials from the waste stream and repurpose them for extended usage. The Center has the capability of removing the equivalent of five tons of tires daily from landfills and waterways. About Cox Enterprises: Cox Enterprises is a leading communications, media and automotive services company. With revenues exceeding $20 billion and approximately 60,000 employees, the company's major operating subsidiaries include Cox Communications (cable television distribution, high-speed Internet access, telephone, home security and automation, commercial telecommunications and advertising solutions); Cox Automotive (automotive-related auctions, financial services, media and software solutions); and Cox Media Group (television and radio stations, digital media, newspapers and advertising sales rep firms). The company's major national brands include Autotrader, Kelley Blue Book and Manheim. Through Cox Automotive, the company's international operations stretch across Asia, Australia, Europe and Latin America. To learn more about Cox's commitment to people, sustainability and our communities, please visit CoxCSRReport.com. To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/cox-enterprises-brings-new-waste-management-technology-to-the-united-states-300403783.html SOURCE Cox Enterprises [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] By Press Trust of India: New Delhi, Feb 7 (PTI) Succumbing to the pressure by the Resident Doctors Association (RDA), AIIMS administration today revoked the suspension of five doctors over a nurses death due to alleged negligence, which resulted in the association calling off the strike. However, the order triggered an immediate reaction from the Nurses Union at AIIMS which has planned to hold protest against the decision. advertisement Immediately after the revocation orders were issued, RDA called off their partial strike which had paralysed the services at the wards and the OPDs at the premier government health institute. While issuing the orders, AIIMS referred to the preliminary report by the committee headed by medical superintendent D K Sharma, which ruled out any "intentional gross medical negligence" on part of the team of doctors. "The Director AIIMS has received the preliminary fact finding enquiry report in which the enquiry committee has reached the considered opinion based on available medical records that there is no substantial evidence of any intentional gross medical negligence by the treating team of doctors of Obstetrics, Gynaecology and anaesthesiology. "Accordingly, the suspension of the five resident doctors is immediately revoked," the order stated. AIIMS administration further issued orders for the constitution of a broad based committee under the chairmanship of Dr S C Sharma, HOD, ENT which will look into all aspects of the case and submit its report by February 15. Till the report of broad-based committee is received, responsibilities fixed the five senior residents would be off duty, the order stated. Earlier during the day, RDA had gone on partial strike and also threatened to shut all services including the emergency and critical care services if the suspensions was not revoked within 24 hours. RDA said that during their meeting with the administration and nursing union representatives yesterday a consensual decision was taken that the suspension orders will be revoked with immediate effect, but the administration had to back out after the Nurses Union changed its stance. Coming out in support of the RDA, the Indian Medical Association (IMA) had also demanded immediate revocation of suspension of the resident doctors, while stressing the need for cohesion between doctors and nurses. Rajbir Kaur, a nurse with AIIMS, had died during delivery through caesarean section. Kaur suffered a cardiac arrest during the surgery. During treatment, she lost her baby and was put on life support and died on Saturday night. PTI PLB KIS --- ENDS --- advertisement A look back on all of our reporting of the Delphi murders since 2017 crime By Press Trust of India: From K J M Varma Beijing, Feb 7 (PTI) Apple has finally halted the dream run of Xiaomi in China, the largest smartphone market in the world, edging the Chinese phone giant from the fourth slot by shipping nearly 45 million iPhones to the Communist nation, a report by market research firm IDC said. advertisement OPPO, Huawei, and Vivo lead other smartphone brands in China in 2016, latest International Data Corporation (IDC) Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker report said. "Xiaomi was Chinas hottest phone brand in 2014 and 2015, but it couldnt maintain the momentum in 2016," tech news portal CNET quoted IDC data as saying. Shipping 41.5 million smartphones, Xiaomi once known as the Apple of China was the No. 5 brand in China last year. Apple, which took the fourth slot shipped 44.9 million iPhones to China (vs.58.4 million in 2015), the worlds largest phone market, it said. "The big winner was Oppo, which shipped 78.4 million phones ? more than double the 35.4 million it shipped in 2015. Huawei came in at second, shipping 76 million phones, while Vivo managed to almost double its shipments, going from 35 million in 2015 to 69 million last year," it said. "2016 was the first time ever that Apple saw a YoY decline in the Chinese market. Even though the new black coloured iPhones caught the attention of consumers, overall, the new launches did not create as much of a frenzy compared to the past," the IDC report said. "Despite the decline, IDC does not believe Chinese vendors have actually eaten away Apples market share. Most Apple users are expected to be holding out for the new iPhone that will be launched this year, and that will help the brand to see a growth in 2017." "Apples 10-year anniversary iPhone will also likely attract some of the high-end Android users in China to convert to an iPhone," it said. Chinese market grew by 9 per cent last year. "Most brands are now using a combination of channels to increase their shipments. Xiaomi, previously focused on online channels, has opened more Mi Home stores to drive offline growth. Apple has also been aggressive in increasing its offline retail presence," it said. The top three Chinese brands grabbed a total of 48 per cent of the Chinese market last year. Jin Di, a research manager with IDC China, said another reason behind the success of Chinese brands was their willingness to share profits with distribution partners. advertisement Apple dropped from third in 2015 to fourth in 2016, as shipments to China plunged 23.2 per cent to 44.9 million units. Xiaomi was top in 2015, but fell to the bottom of the top-five vendors, with a 36 per cent plunge in sales in China. Total smartphone shipment volume in China rose 8.7 per cent to 467.3 million handsets last year. The IDC forecast that the volume in 2017 will continue to grow as consumers replace old phones, but that the growth will be slower than 2016. Worldwide, the top five smartphone vendors in terms of shipments last year were Samsung, Apple, Huawei, OPPO and Vivo. PTI KJV AMS AKJ AMS --- ENDS --- By Press Trust of India: Dhaka, Feb 7 (PTI) A 10-year-old girl in Bangladesh, diagnosed with rare "tree man" disease has successfully undergone the first surgery at an hospital here to remove the bark-like warts growing out of her face. Shahana Khatun, possibly the countrys first woman with "tree-man syndrome" underwent surgery at Dhaka Medical College Hospitals burns unit. advertisement She may not need the second operation, Samanta Lal, national coordinator of the burn services in Bangladesh was quoted as saying by the The Daily Star. Earlier, doctors had said that a second surgery might be needed on her. Headed by burn and plastic surgery unit chief Abul Kalam Azad, a six-member medical board are treating Shahana completely free of cost. Daughter of a poor farmer in Netrokona, Shahana got prickly rashes on her face when she was only a year old. When she turned six, those began to grow and spread raising the alarm. Two years later, rashes began to grow over her ears and right leg knee. Her father took her to a homeopathic doctor whose prescribed medicines she had for a month, but nothing changed. Learning that, treatment at Dhaka Medical College Hospital would be free of cost, the poor father came to Dhaka along with the girl. Shahanas father Shahjahan Mia said that her daughter was under observation at the hospital. He hoped that Shahana would get better soon. Previously, Abul Bajandar, 26, also known as "tree man" has undergone at least 18 operations at the same hospital where Shahana is receiving treatment. Tree-man disease is a rare skin disorder, which covers limbs with warts, making them look like tree branches. A Romanian man was first diagnosed with the disease in March 2007. Another case was reported in Indonesia in November the same year in a 35-year-old fisherman. The last reported case also occurred in Indonesia in 2009. PTI AJR AKJ AJR --- ENDS --- The blood collected at the camp will be sent to Patna Medical College and Hospital to be used for ailing patients and poor people. By Rohit Kumar Singh: Can political rivals unite for a good cause? Bihar ministers and legislators from various political parties did just that on Tuesday by attending a blood donation camp organized on the occasion of the Bihar Assembly's 97th Foundation Day. However, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Prasad Yadav's sons - and ministers - Tej Pratap Yadav and Tejaswi Yadav didn't attend the event. His wife, MLC Rabri Devi, too, stayed away. advertisement Cutting across party lines, legislators from the Janata Dal (United), the RJD and the BJP attended the camp. Each legislator donated one unit of blood. The blood collected at the camp will be sent to Patna Medical College and Hospital to be used for ailing patients and poor people. Former Minister and JD(U) MLA from Phulwari Sharif, Shyam Rajak, and RJD MLA from Maner, Bhai Birendra, were among the the first few legislators to make blood donations. "I think its very important for everyone to donate blood as it helps to save lives of people. Everyone should donate blood if he is healthy," said Rajak. Bhai Birendra said "Last year also I donated blood at the camp. I am always ready to give my blood if it helps to save lives of others." ' A MATTER OF PRIDE' Bihar Assembly Speaker Vijay Chowdhary said that this kind of camp was unheard of in state legislatures across the country. "It's a matter of pride that nowhere in the country this kind of blood donation camp has been organized, whether it's Parliament or any state legislature. Many legislators are giving blood," he said. However, legislators older than 64 weren't allowed to donate blood. READ ALSO 6 blood donation myths busted --- ENDS --- Google likes to celebrate special events. Christmas was the inspiration for a dedicated Santa tracker, Martin Luther King Jr. Day was marked with a doodle, and this year's Safer Internet Day was commemorated with a quick glimpse at how Google tries to protect its users while they browse the web. Safer Internet Day debuted in 2005 "to raise awareness of emerging online issues" and each year it "chooses a topic reflecting current concerns." This year's theme is "Be the change: Unite for a better internet," and it asks "stakeholders to join together to make the internet a safer and better place for all, and especially children and young people." Google qualifies, of course, because it runs some of the most popular online services in the world. The company explained how it tries to thwart phishing attempts or malicious websites in a way that even children might be able to understand. It didn't bog down the conversation with technical mumbo jumbo--which is likely to confuse many of the people who rely on these protections--and instead used simple language to convey the same ideas. Just look at how it explained the way it tries to figure out if a sign-in attempt is legitimate or malicious: The secret sauce is the systems that detect these subtler signalscluesbillions and billions of times every day to help paint the picture of a safe log-in. Think of these like Sherlock Holmes magnifying glass...if it were powered by a few data centers. The clues scammers may not even know theyre leaving behind help us inspect each new log-in attempt and compare it with the picture of a safe log-in that our systems have painted based on billions and billions of other log-ins. If something looks fishy, well require more verifications designed to thwart bad guys, send notifications to your phone, or email you so you can quickly act on anything that looks unfamiliar. Easy! The company used similarly basic language to explain how Safe Browsing (and similar tech used in Android apps) works: Detecting the obvious badnesssites well-known for phishing scams, ransomware that locks your device until you pay a fraudsteris relatively easy. But the stealthier badness is only detectable by measuring billions of signals across sites and apps. If this sounds similar to the way we approach spam protections on Gmail or suspicious logins into Google, thats because it is! The ability to understand badness on a large scale enables us to find the clues bad guys dont even know they were leaving behind. Some might balk at comparing these services to Sherlock Holmes' magnifying glass or describing malware, phishing traps, and other harmful aspects of websites as "badness." They'll want more in-depth explanations of how Google wants to make the web safer or how it detects malicious apps. Further, many need to know about questionable decisions like introducing always-on DRM, problematic APIs, or hosted S/MIME encryption for services like Gmail. Yet many people have no idea how any of this stuff works. That's part of why Americans don't try to defend themselves even though they know they've been affected by data breaches and don't trust companies or government agencies to keep their information safe. Google's effort to explain these concepts in a simple way--and to raise awareness of efforts like Safer Internet Day--could help make cybersecurity seem a lot more approachable. Apple, Spotify, Kickstarter, Snap, Twitter and Google have banded together with 97 other tech companies to challenge Donald Trumps immigration ban. The executive order since dubbed the Muslim ban affects all travellers who have nationality or dual nationality of Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen. The order bans their travel for 90 days and suspends all refugees from entering for 120 days. Thankfully, the wrath of Silicon Valley has gotten behind a lawsuit against the order by Washington state Attorney General Bob Ferguson. Image: Trump, who thinks Silicon Valley is his favourite derogatory term The tech giants have tapped Washington lawyer Andrew Pincus (of Mayer Brown LLP) to write an amicus brief, which is really just a fancy term for additional information provided by a friend of the court, aka, someone the court will allow to advise on the matter. The amicus brief, which was was filed in the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco on Sunday, reads: The Order makes it more difficult and expensive for U.S. companies to recruit, hire, and retain some of the worlds best employees. It disrupts ongoing business operations. And it threatens companies ability to attract talent, business, and investment to the United States. Elsewhere the brief hits the court with this truth-bomb: Immigrants are leading entrepreneurs. Some of these businesses are large. Immigrants or their children founded more than 200 of the companies on the Fortune 500 list [] Collectively, these companies generate annual revenue of $4.2 trillion, and employ millions of Americans. Granted, Trumps order was temporarily blocked by a federal judge last week, and Australia and New Zealand has sought an exemption by asking for preferential treatment for citizens with dual nationality, but Australias music industry could be affected. Millie Millgate, Executive Producer at Australias export music market development initiative SOUNDS AUSTRALIA, had some crucial advice for all delegates, participants and attendees headed to SXSW next month: Its all so unknown and deeply concerning, especially to think this is only the beginning! she told Tone Deaf last month. We have already been notified by both industry professionals and artists, that are being pulled up in advance of travel and needing to go in for vetting interviews. Anybody travelling for SXSW or for any reason for that matter needs to be ultra-aware as it seems like they are really making it up as they go along. Whats also troubling is that even with official court rulings the individual Processing Officers have always played by their own rules, so any artists travelling at this time just need to be smart, aware and keep their wits about them. Id also suggest allowing for significantly longer wait times in and out of airports and if you have the luxury of arriving in to destinations earlier, then take that day just in case. Wed also encourage anybody being denied or questioned to let us know so that we can feed it through to US Lawyers at the frontline of discussions. See below for the full 97 tech companies who signed the brief (courtesy Forbes): A number of Amy Winehouses personal accoutrements will be on display in Melbourne, as part of an exhibition dedicated to her short life. Amy Winehouse: A Family Portrait (1983-2011) has been showing in various Jewish Museums around the world, since its launch in London in 2013. It includes her personal record collection, a number of her outfits, and her guitar. Each item comes with a handwritten note from her brother, Alex, who helped curate the exhibition. The exhibition will come to the Jewish Museum of Australia, in Melbourne, from October 22. Winehouse died in 2011 of accidental alcohol poisoning, although her brother later contended this, saying he believed her death was a result of her bulimia. She was 27. Kansas City Insider: Not a "town-hall" but a cheerleading session for higher taxes I left early the so-called Town Hall meeting for the $800,000,000 GO bond. After be treated to a 15-minute dissertation of the project by Mayor Sly and the need for the project, apart from an angry citizen not waiting in line to fill out a 3x5 response card, this was nothing more than a cheerleading session.IN other words, they answered only questions they wanted us to hear. They answered some inaccurately, and they ignored some other questions. They took NO questions from the audience EXCEPT from the one angry citizen not willing to stay silent.The long and short of it, the mayor was the cheerleader and Randy, the finance manager of the city, had to correct and contradict the mayor when he made several gross errors. One example was the question,"Can the city issue all the bonds at once?"The mayor said "NO".This is absolutely not accurate. Randy had to correct the mayor and let everyone know that "Yes" the city, or a new mayor, could issue ALL bonds all at once if a new administration decided they wanted to sell 800-million all at once.Another number our "angry man" mentioned was the City's printed propaganda. You've mentioned it a number of times. It says the "Average increase" for a $140,000 home and a $15,000 car is $8.00. Mind you, that's not the TAX, that's the annual increase OVER each years tax. They failed to mentioned the tax Tony's KC mentions all the time.I was interested in the "Angry-Man's" numbers and asked him. The City is, AGAIN, WRONG. The average increase for the next 20 years was, not surprisingly the $8 they are trying to sell us. In actuality, it'll be an increase 20% higher- (not the tax) $9.67 EVERY YEAR.The medium tax over the first 20 years will be roughly $118. The City never mentioned that number. Go figure.No real answers were put forth except exactly the propaganda this mayor wanted us to hear.I won't waste my time with a meeting like this again.############Double News Links:You decide . . . Weve all been there. Sat at work on a spectacularly boring day, gazing out the window and dreaming about moving somewhere less resolutely meh. But its one thing dreaming about moving to London, or Paris, or Tokyo, and quite another turning up there, looking at the square feet of space your meager savings will buy and realizing that you havent thought this through at all. The good news is that it doesnt have to be this way. While there are plenty of countries it will likely bankrupt you to move to, there are plenty more where even the most middle-of-the-road foreign income will see you living like a king. Here are 10 countries, gleaned from the annual Cost of Living Indexes published by Numbeo and Expatistan, where its cheapest to live in 2017: 10. Mexico Americas southern neighbor is mainly famous in the north for sombreros, Tex-Mex, and drug violence. But as we revealed in a recent article, theres so, so much more to the ancient home of the Aztecs than that. Aside from the long history and vibrant culture of Mexico City, theres some 60-odd indigenous groups speaking a mix of languages, crumbling Aztec ruins, unique traditions from each Mexican state, and coastline galore. Oh, and did we mention its very, very cheap? Numbeo estimates the cost of living in Mexico to be nearly 60% lower than living in the US. Outside the capital, you can rent a 3 bedroom apartment near the center of a city for an average of $480 a month. You can get a meal for two in a decent restaurant for twenty bucks. A transport ticket costs under 40 cents. Someone, get us to Tijuana. Of course, this is all assuming youre moving abroad with a US salary or pension. In terms of local purchasing power, Mexico sits somewhere in the middle of the list, meaning a local on the average wage can buy maybe half the stuff a local on the average wage in the US can. 9. Tunisia It would probably be stretching the limits of acceptable writing to describe Tunisia as the jewel in North Africas crown, but were gonna do it anyway. The tiny desert nation is home to 10 million, all crammed into a handful of ancient cities that are staggeringly beautiful. This is the place where all the Tatooine scenes were filmed for the first Star Wars, which should give you some idea of how visually-arresting the country is. Then theres the crazy affordability. The cost of renting a 1 bed apartment in a bustling city center? $160 per month. On the other hand, Tunisia suffers a downside Mexico doesnt: it borders Libya. Since the collapse of the Gaddafi regime in 2011, Libya has been a haven for ISIS, al-Qaeda, and about a bazillion other crazy rebel groups, all itching to kill Western tourists. In 2015, an armed gunman trained in Libya attacked a five star hotel in Sousse, killing 38, including 30 Brits; making it the deadliest day for UK citizens since the 7/7 London bombings a decade earlier. As a result, the UK Foreign Office now advises against all but essential travel to Tunisia. The US government likewise advises extreme caution when visiting. 8. Moldova Hands up: who can point to Moldova on a map? Eastern Europes least-visited country is a tiny sliver of land sandwiched between Romania and Ukraine, and locked in a perpetual war with its pro-Russian population. We dont mean that metaphorically. Moldovas eastern flank has been occupied since the early 1990s by an insurgent army who set up their own, autonomous republic known as Transnistria. Although the conflict is frozen (no one has been killed in ages), it is still a potential flash point in Europes poorest nation. On the other hand, if you dont mind Soviet architecture, cold winters, and the possibility of Putin annexing your living room, Moldova has a lot going for it. Aside from being crazy cheap the cost of living is 62% lower than in the US its one of the biggest wine producing nations on Earth, with over 200 km of tunnels filled with wine buried beneath one monastery. Plus, Chisinau is getting a reputation as one of Europes party capitals. Double plus, you get to say youve lived in Moldova. How many of your friends can say that? None. 7. Nepal Its the country where Everest lives. Thats all you really need to know about Nepal, a fascinating mountain nation that has been wowing travelers ever since they first set eyes on it. Sagarmatha, as the locals call it, is just the biggest of the world class peaks dotting this frozen, high-altitude land, each sheerer and scarier than the last. If that wasnt enough, theres also ancient Buddhist temples, mysterious mountain villages, and wild elephants you can ethically ride and oh our God yes, thats actually a real thing. Shut up and take our money! Speaking of the $$$, Nepals actually kind of an odd one. Numbeo ranks it as a hair more expensive than Mexico, but Expatistan ranks Kathmandu as cheaper than any city in Moldova. So were adding it here just to be on the safe side. However, before you leap on that plane, we should warn you that things arent all peachy. In 2015, Kathmandu suffered a horrifying earthquake that killed 10,000 and nearly leveled the city. The damage costs were equivalent to 50% of Nepals GDP, and reconstruction is still barely underway. Although locals would doubtless appreciate you adding your tourist dollars to the local economy, its perhaps still a bit soon to think about moving permanently. 6. Syria Yeah. Syria. Were not exaggerating when we say Syria was once one of the most beautiful places on Earth. If you dont believe us, check out these pictures. It was a land of mountains and winding rivers and valleys and ancient castles and cities that have been standing since the dawn of time. As the Syrian Tourist Board is currently at pains to point out, a stretch of coast about 120 miles long that has miraculously avoided the fighting remains wonderful. And its about 63% cheaper than living in the US, too. Of course, even the relatively safe coastline isnt somewhere you should be heading anytime soon. Since 2011, Syria has been caught up in the deadliest civil war of the century, with an estimated 250,000 being killed and around 4 million being left homeless. ISIS, al-Qaeda and other groups are fighting Kurdish paramilitaries, Assads regime forces, and about 100 other rebel factions as Russian jets scream overhead, dropping bombs. It aint a safe place. But even a war as awful as this cant last forever. Perhaps in another decade or so outsiders will be able to go back in and witness the beauty of the Middle Easts most tragic country. 5. Azerbaijan You didnt expect a wealthy petro-state to be on this list, did you? Situated on the shores of the Caspian Sea, Azerbaijan is an oil rich collision of east and west, a place where gigantic glass towers dominate the money-soaked capital, and emerging dictator Ilham Aliyev has made a hobby out of jailing democracy activists. About the size of South Carolina (or Scotland), the Land of Fire is both a hyper-expensive Dubai of the Caucasus Region, and a place where you can rent an apartment for less than $150 per month. So, whats with this great contrast? Well, you know how New York and California seem to suck in all the money and energy, and London is like Britains NYC plus Britains Silicon Valley? Baku is like London plus every single other city that isnt in terminal decline. The rest of the country is basically a rural world of farming sheep and kicking back and eking out an existence on the average wage of $260 a month, an amount that makes $150 for an apartment suddenly look like daylight robbery. Still, at least you get to live in a country that has a place called fire mountain that really is a mountain thats literally on fire. 4. Georgia If you want all the excitement of living in the Caucasus region, but for some inexplicable reason dont dig the idea of residing within driving distance of a flaming fire mountain, you could always opt for Georgia. The Christian flipside to Azerbaijans Muslim culture, the two neighbors are historic allies, largely due to a mutual dislike of nearby Armenia. The big difference comes with their neighbors to the north. While Azerbaijan and Russia have a cold yet cordial relationship, Georgia got invaded by Putin in 2008. Since then, the tiny South Ossetia region has been under de-facto Russian control, in a situation kinda like that of Moldova and Transnistria. Only Georgia has the additional headache of another area like that. The unrecognized Republic of Abkhazia declared independence years ago, with Moscow guaranteeing its territorial integrity; meaning Tbilisi actually has control of far less of its 69,000 square kilometer territory than most similarly-sized nations. On the plus side, Georgia is perfect if you like untouched wilderness, craggy peaks, and little mountain villages lost to time. And if you like your beer to cost 70 cents, which is really the important thing. 3. Pakistan If you want a (potentially short) life of non-stop excitement, you could do worse than moving to Pakistan. Indias long-term rival, Pakistan is home to Karachi, the worlds most violent megacity, an unrecognized republic controlled by insurgents known as Balochistan, deadly terror groups, armed kidnappers, and the occasional mega-earthquake. Its also a nuclear state that frequently tries to start wars with another nuclear state (India). In fact, Pakistan is so fundamentally wild that its government recently issued a decree that all foreigners must stay within a single city unless they hire a security detail and inform the government of their travel plans, in case they wind up with a severe case of death. With advice like that, hearing that an apartment can go for as little as $77 per month likely comes as cold comfort. Still, if you go happen to go out there, at least youll be in one of the prettiest, most historic countries on Earth. Aside from the mountains, there are forts built by the Mughals, old colonial relics from the British days, and some of the grandest Islamic monuments ever built. 2. Ukraine According to Numbeo, Ukraine is home to the cheapest McDonalds combo meal in the whole of Europe. You can get a Big Mac, fries and a drink for under $2.50. Were not gonna say this is a good reason for you to pack your bags and head to Ukraine, but its certainly a reason another being that life in general in Ukraine is 65% cheaper than life in America. Not that this is much use to the locals. The average salary across the whole nation is under $200 a month. As a result, Ukraine only just misses the bottom 10 countries for local purchasing power, ranking under Zimbabwe, Moldova and El Salvador, and only just higher than Nigeria and Nepal. An average Ukrainian salary will buy you 26% of what an average American salary will buy you. Then theres the not-quite-frozen conflict in the countrys east, which has killed about 10,000 in nearly three years (once again, as with so many on this list, Russia is involved). On the other hand, if you can stomach the screaming inequality, unbelievably cold winters and territorial crisis, then Ukraine is almost breathtakingly beautiful. Theres its snatch of haunting mountains in the West, its two great, ancient cities of Lviv and Kiev, and, finally, its ridiculously good-looking citizens. If you need us, well be booking our flights to Kiev. 1. India This is it, possibly the cheapest country on planet Earth. India has mid-range restaurants where two people can eat world-beating food for under $10. It has taxis that will wait for you for an hour and charge less than a dollar. It has apartments for slightly over $100 per month. In the southern city of Thiruvananthapuram, utilities can cost only twenty bucks a month. With an income of under $1,000 a month, you can live like a freakin king. Its also, yknow, famously one of the most picturesque nations on Earth. Theres the Taj Mahal, the ancient city of Varanasi, the Himalayas, Raj-era hill towns, creaking old railway lines, the lush, tropical south, and the venerated, epic, eternal Ganges. Youve got Bollywood, curry, tigers, ancient history, epic gorges, friendly people and a floating temple that is literally made of gold. Plus, Octopussy was set here. Man, we mustve seen that movie twice. Of course, it aint all fun and highly-choregraphed dance numbers. Theres shocking inequality, extreme poverty, deadly diseases, sporadic ethnic violence, and the eternal possibility of nuclear war with Pakistan. But is it worth it? You check these pictures and decide for yourself. (The correct answer is yes.) Other Articles you Might Like Security experts have warned that Indian Railway is an easy target for miscreants as it is largely unguarded and it is easy to trespass on its network. By Rakesh Ranjan: Passengers onboard Varanasi-Sealdah Express had a narrow escape from tragedy on Monday when a crude bomb exploded on the railway track near Buxar in Bihar but miraculously did not cause any damage. The explosion, which left a yellow mark of nearly 2 feet in diameter on the spot, gives credence to the fears that sabotage and terror could be the cause behind recent train tragedies in the country. Security experts have warned that Indian Railway is an easy target for miscreants as it is largely unguarded and it is easy to trespass on its network.ISI killed two Indians over failed train derailment plan, recorded audio of murdersHERE IS ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW "From January 2016 to December 2016, there were at least 45 cases of alleged sabotage with the railway tracks," Mohammad Jamshed, member, traffic in the Railway Board, told Mail Today. "There were 18 cases of extremist activities while in 13 cases IEDs (improvised explosive devices) were recovered along the railway tracks. There were seven cases of explosion on tracks and three of tampering." Of theses, at least 40 incidents were reported to be of "extreme" nature, including Maoist activities in states like Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, West Bengal and Maharashtra and others. The figures also imply that there was one case of sabotage almost every week in the country. Jamshed, who is supervisory head of the rail operation in India, said in addition to human lives lost, these incidents also caused loss of over seven million tonne of freight orders worth Rs700crore. The National Investigation Agency (NIA) is investigating role of Pakistan spy agency ISI in the Indore-Patna express accident in Kanpur that killed 200 people. According to the railway ministry, the explosion took place around 12.15 pm between Buxar and Nadwan station. The train was heading towards Patna from Varanasi. Officials claimed the marks on the track indicated use of some chemical-based explosive. Railway minister Suresh Prabhu has ordered an inquiry into the Monday incident. A statement from the railway ministry said, "A sound of blast was heard by train driver, guard and the track maintenance staff who were working about 300 meters from the spot. Immediately, train movement was stopped. The spot was checked by the RPF and track maintenance staffs but found no damage to railway track." Railway officials said there was no harm caused to the train and after thorough inspection, rail traffic was restored. The incident comes at a time when the NIA is probing the role of Pakistan spy agency ISI behind recent train derailments, including the Indore-Patna express accident in Kanpur that killed 200 people. Bihar Police arrested three persons who admitted to having planed IEDs at railway tracks at the behest of foreign handlers. The three accused are currently being interrogated. Following two major accidents in November and December last year near Kanpur, Prabhu had invited experts from Japan and South Korea to review the Indian railway tracks. Finally, Italian railway was assigned the task to audit the passenger safety on Indian Railway. The Korean team has submitted a 32-page detailed technical report to the railway ministry which, sources said, pointed towards the poor condition of tracks being essentially behind the derailments. Sources said the condition of the railway tracks was not fit for movement of trains at high speed. Indian Railways spends over Rs55,000 crore annually on safety. The Narendra Modi government has announced a rail safety fund of rupees one lakh crore over the next five years. India's extensive rail network runs 12,000 trains a day and the full-length track could circle the globe over one and a half times. More than 23 million passengers travel on it every day on journeys that extend from one end of the country to another. advertisement --- ENDS --- Gulf Industry Fair 2017 was officially opened today by His Royal Highness Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa, Prime Minister of Bahrain, at the Bahrain International Exhibition and Convention Centre (BIECC). Industrial heavyweights from the region are geared up to welcome visitors, leading a strong line-up of 90 local international exhibitors showcasing their products and services at the Fair. Following the inauguration, HRH the Premier toured the exhibition and appreciated the quality of the expo. Jubran Abdulrahman, managing director of show organisers Hilal Conferences & Exhibitions (HCE), said: We would like to express our sincere gratitude to His Royal Highness Shaikh Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa, the Prime Minister of Bahrain, for providing his endless support to Gulf Industry Fair and its aims. Companies at the exhibition represent the Aluminium, Energy & Environment, Industrial Metals, Industrial Processes & Manufacturing, Ports & Maritime, Industrial Facilities & Logistics, Training for industry and Fire & Safety Sectors. We are proud of the quality of this years line-up. GIF 2017 events highlights Bahrains development and all aspects of infrastructure in the industrial sector. From Made in Bahrain manufacturers who promote the countrys capabilities to international investors are a major contributors to the regions economic development, added Abdulrahman. As the Northern Gulfs undisputed trade and logistics hub and a strategically located manufacturing base for companies looking to access major regional markets like Saudi Arabias Eastern Province Bahrain has for the past 10 years proven to be the ideal venue for the fair, attracting company owners, procurement officers, traders and businessmen from the kingdom and further afield. Gulf Industry Fair is dedicated to promoting the economic opportunities arising from the march to diversify the economies of the GCC, and the 2017 event showcases the wide variety of products manufactured in the GCC, said Abdulrahman. The Gulf Industry Fair 2017 builds on the legacy left by previous editions of the show, Abdulrahman said. Despite a regional slowdown caused by low oil prices, ongoing investment in the GCCs industrial infrastructure remains strong. Notably, Saudi Arabias 2030 Vision blueprint is likely to be a key driver of the Gulfs industrial ambitions in the coming years as the regions biggest economy accelerates diversification efforts, he said. Gulf Industry Fair is dedicated to promoting the economic opportunities arising from the march to diversify the economies of the GCC, and the 2017 event showcases the wide variety of products manufactured in the GCC. The Fair will host two forums: "The India Business Partnership Summit" on February 7 and the "GIF Dialogue: Future of Industry in the GCC" on February 8. There will also be seminars on Solar Energy and Gulf Projects on February 9. As in previous years, GIF 2017 is supported by some of Bahrains industrial icons. Aluminium Bahrain (Alba) is the shows Aluminium sponsor. Currently in the midst of an expansion, Alba plays a crucial role in creating a vibrant community of downstream aluminium industries including the likes of fellow exhibitors Balexco, Midal Cables and Ameeri Industries. National oil company Bahrain Petroleum Company (Bapco) with the National Oil and Gas Authority (Noga), will front the Energy & Environment segment of the show, where it will outline to visitors its current and future investment programmes. Majaal, a developer and operator of industrial facilities primarily for small and medium enterprises (SMEs), will again be the principal sponsor of the Logistics & Industrial Facilities sector, where it will not only showcase the successes of its business model but also demonstrate Bahrains credentials as an investment destination. Naffco, a leading supplier and producer for fire protection products, is a first-time sponsor of the Fire & Safety segment. Supporting organisations include AHK Saudi Arabia, Indias PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the German Saudi Arabian Liaison for Economic Affairs, the Saudi British Economic Offset Programme and the Bahrain Industrial Association (BIA). We are grateful for the unwavering support of the Prime Minister, HRH Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa, in helping us establish Gulf Industry Fair as the go to exhibition for companies operating in the Northern Gulfs expanding industrial markets. We look forward to providing the ultimate networking, knowledge sharing and deal making platform for all companies involved in the industrial sectors, Abdulrahman added. GIF 2017, which runs from February 7 to 9, is open from 9 am to 7 pm daily. For more the latest information visit www.gulfindustryfair.com - TradeArabia News Service Bahri, a global leader in logistics and transportation, today announced that Amjad, a 300,000 DWT Very Large Crude Carrier (VLCC) built by Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) in South Korea, has become the latest addition to its growing fleet of 84 vessels of various types. Bahri took delivery of the VLCC, its 37th, built to the latest environmental and fuel-efficient technical specifications, in a ceremony held at HHIs Mokpo shipyard in South Jeolla Province, South Korea, a statement said. Bahri CEO Ibrahim Al-Omar; Hyundai Heavy Industries president and CEO M K Yoon; and president and COO Sam H Ka; Saudi Arabias Ambassador to South Korea Riyad Almubaraky; Bahri Oil president Naser Al-Abdulkareem; and other senior officials from both organisations attended the special two-day celebrations. Al-Omar said: The addition of Amjad to our fleet is a milestone achievement as it not only cements our position as a global leader in oil transportation but also marks the beginning of our journey to becoming the worlds largest owner and operator of VLCCs. This increase in fleet will provide us with added operational flexibility, facilitate business expansion and help us capitalise on the continued demand for crude oil. With a bigger and newer fleet of VLCCs, we can continue to provide our customers with world-class transportation solutions and value-added customer service, added Al-Omar. Bahri and HHI have shared a close relationship for over a decade, with 25 vessels ordered and delivered to date and nine more VLCCs currently on order. This relationship was further accentuated with the Joint Development Agreement (JDA) signed with Saudi Aramco and Lamprell Energy to build a $5-billion maritime shipyard within the King Salman Global Maritime Industries Complex in Saudi Arabia which will provide engineering, manufacturing and repair services for offshore rigs, commercial vessels and offshore service vessels and is expected to be fully operational by the end of 2022. Yoon said: As the worlds largest shipbuilding company, we are proud of our long-term association with Bahri, a maritime industry leader in its own domain. As flagship companies in our own backyards, HHI and Bahri are also playing a key role in further strengthening ties between our two nations. With nearly a third of Bahris current fleet built by HHI and nine more VLCCs being built, and a multi-billion-dollar maritime shipyard being planned in Saudi Arabia in the coming years, our relationship with Bahri is set for the long haul. Almubarky highlighted the close historic and distinctive diplomatic relationship that brings both the nations together, adding that 2017 is expected to bring more cooperation and rise in trade and investments between both countries. Bahri Oil, one of Bahris six business units, will be responsible for the commercial operation of Amjad. Bahri Oil has several long-term contracts with first-class charterers, with volumes exceeding its owned fleet capacity, the statement added. - TradeArabia News Service Bahrain Petroleum Company (Bapco), a key player in Bahrains 2030 Vision, is championing the energy sector of the kingdom at the Gulf Industry Fair through its status as a Strategic Sponsor of the show. The GIF, which opened today (February 7) at the Bahrain International Exhibition and Convention Centre, will run till February 9. Bapco will continue to emphasise on the energy and environmental protection sectors at the event, said Nawaf Al Ghanem, corporate communications manager of Bapco. Bapcos sponsorship and partnership with GIF is basically part of its strategy of supporting all forums and exhibitions that would add to the national growth of Bahrain and lend support to its economy, he said. Exhibitions like these boost the industrial sector of Bahrain. It is all about marketing - marketing Bahrain as an industrial hub and a service hub to those international companies that would like to come and operate in Bahrain either through representative offices or start new companies here. So it is about promoting the whole industry of Bahrain and the commercial sector that Bapco is engaged in, he said. The Gulf Industry Fair plays a key role in encouraging and promoting the increasingly diverse face of industrial development in the GCC, he said. We are not just a major provider of energy to the Kingdom of Bahrain, but also an essential catalyst for the growth of industry, Al Ghanem added. Bapco is present at Stand A2. - TradeArabia News Service Ameeri Industries, a leading player in the manufacturing, electrical contracting and trading sector, is showcasing its portfolio of innovative 'Made in Bahrain' industrial brands at the Gulf Industry Fair 2017. Ameeri Industries has two manufacturing plants, including the largest electrical manufacturing plant located in BIIP operating under the Ametech brand, which is a channel panel builder partner of ABB and exclusive partner of Himel. It is also the exclusive manufacturer of the Amgard brand in Bahrain. The brand is well known for its tough road crash barriers and streetlighting poles, alongside a variety of other products. Adel Ameeri, the chairman of Ameeri Industries, said: "Gulf Industry Fair has been a great platform for business to reconnect and showcase advanced industrial products. Ameeri is using this platform to showcase some new exciting products that were recently launched and tested under the Ametech and Amgard brands." Ameeri, he stated, is launching a new solar energy solution under the Ametech brand. The companys vision is to be a homegrown contributor to Bahrains national investment in renewable energy, he added. Jubran Abdulrahman, the managing director of HCE, said: "Gulf Industry Fair visitors will be interested to view Ameeri Industries' new solar system solution. "The diversification of Bahrains economy requires the development of a strong manufacturing base. Companies such as Ameeri are leading by example," added Abdulrahman. The GIF, which opened today (February 7) at the Bahrain International Exhibition and Convention Centre, will run till February 9. Ameeri Industries can be visited at Stand E2. Microsoft Bahrain has been honoured with the ICT Corporate Social Responsibility Project of the Year Award, at the MEET ICT 2017 Annual Recognition Awards in the kingdom. The company was recognised for its work with Bahrain Technology Companies Society (BTECH) in creating awareness among Bahrains non-profits on how they can achieve more through digital transformation. Kamal bin Ahmed Mohamed, Minister of Transportation and Telecommunications, presented the award to Microsoft at the Gulf Convention Centre, Gulf Hotel, in recognition of the companys Technology for Good programme, an initiative that seeks to strengthen communities through digital transformation. Sherif Tawfik, general manager, Microsoft Bahrain and Oman, said: Microsoft is exceedingly proud of its work with NGOs in helping them overcome operational challenges. The Azure cloud allows non-profits in Bahrain to broaden their reach, engage their stakeholders more meaningfully, monitor and analyse their impact, and stay secure. Our products are now available to non-profits across the kingdom, by donation or at a significant discount. This is the fourth time that ICT Bahrain recognises Microsoft Bahrain for the CSR initiatives they launched and executed in the Kingdom of Bahrain in the different vital sectors such as education, youth development, SME and entrepreneurs enablement, NGO empowerment, and others. The Recognition Awards are held each year at the MEET ICT Bahrain Conference and Exhibition, which has been running since 2009 as a knowledge-exchange platform for technology companies and their customers. Microsoft is the official Cloud Partner at MEET ICT 2017. Non-profits play a key role in the evolution of our society, said Ahmed Al Hujairy, Group CEO, WorkSmart, organiser of MEET ICT Bahrain. MEET ICT is a platform for many types of organisation, including non-profits, and we feel it is an apt venue for recognising the contributions of companies like Microsoft to the support of non-profits in their struggle to improve our communities. The partnership between Microsoft and BTECH will consist of a series of Technology for Good events in Bahrain, in which the company will demonstrate to non-profits the power of technology to build capacity and to more effectively serve communities. Microsoft will focus on the capability of cloud computing to address the challenges faced by the kingdoms non-profits. The potential operational benefits of digital transformation in the non-profit sector cannot be overstated, Tawfik said. At the Technology for Good events, we hope to assuage a lot of doubt and anxiety surrounding cloud migration, and inspire organisations to take the plunge and discover how the cloud can benefit them. Microsoft and BTECH stand ready to assist non-profits in their digital transformation journeys. TradeArabia News Service Global law firm Dentons has expanded its presence in Saudi Arabia with the launch of its second office in the kingdom. The new office in Jeddah will complement the firm's long-standing full-service office in Riyadh in association with The Law Firm of Wael A Alissa. "As one of the largest law firms in the Middle East, with a presence stretching back over 50 years, our new office in Jeddah underscores Dentons' continued commitment to the region," said global chairman Joe Andrew. "Our clients will benefit from better access to legal services in the Western province, close to many multinational corporations and home to Saudi Arabia's leading merchant families." Located on the Red Sea and near the holy cities of Makkah and Madinah, Jeddah is considered one of the most important commercial centres in the Middle East and the firm's new office will focus on building a strong network of clients across the financial services, insurance, aviation, manufacturing and retail sectors, it said. "Our goal is to connect clients to talented lawyers wherever those clients operate," said global chief executive officer Elliott Portnoy. "As the largest importer of oil from Saudi Arabia, China in particular is looking to undertake outbound transactions to the Middle East and our new Jeddah office will help facilitate those client needs." The Jeddah office will provide a mix of Arabic and Western language legal capability in an important market that has been overlooked by some global law firms. It will be led locally by Partner Anas Akel. Jeremy Cohen, Dentons' CEO for the UK, Middle East and Africa, said: "Saudi Arabia is the largest market in the Middle East, accounting for 25 percent of the region's GDP, a quarter of the world's oil reserves and the lowest energy prices for investment projects. The combination of the kingdoms political, economic and social stability, modern infrastructure, inexpensive energy supplies and a geographic location uniquely poised between East and West and close to Africa, ensures that Saudi Arabia is of growing interest to foreign investors. We are delighted to be opening our second office in the kingdom." Paul Jarvis, managing partner for the Middle East, added: "We are committed to having a strong presence in the kingdom with Saudi Arabia Managing Partner Amgad Husein's long and successful track record in Riyadh, combined with Anas Akel's talented Jeddah-focused practice. Launching this office in Jeddah enhances our ability to serve clients throughout the kingdom as they grow their businesses." - TradeArabia News Service Air Namibia (SW) and Turkish Airlines (TK) have signed a codeshare agreement that covers routes between Turkey and Namibia, and is set to expand the travel opportunities for the passengers of two airlines. The agreement, which will be effective from March 1, was signed yesterday at Turkish Airlines Headquarters in Istanbul. Namibia deputy minister of works and transport Sankwasa James Sankwasa and Turkish Airlines deputy chairman and CEO, Bilal Eksi signed the deal in the presence of senior officials from both sides. Under the terms of the agreement, Air Namibia and Turkish Airlines will place codes on unilateral flights of SW on Windhoek Johannesburg v.v. / Windhoek Frankfurt v.v., and unilateral flights of TK on Istanbul Johannesburg v.v. / Istanbul Frankfurt v.v. Also, when SW introduces the Windhoek Istanbul flights in future, this codeshare agreement will be expanded by placing the code to include beyond Istanbul flights. Sankwasa expressed his satisfaction with the commercial partnership and also added that the deal will be a crucial experience for Air Namibia. Air Namibia is a small airline and in order to improve its competitiveness in this high competitive industry, it is important to have a strategic partner, such as Turkish Airlines who placed on the top to become a partner with. We believe that this will be just one of the many areas of cooperation between Turkish Airlines and Air Namibia. Sankwasa further stated. We are pleased to sign this codeshare agreement with Air Namibia and aim to improve our partnership to maximise the travel opportunities offered to our passengers through our flight networks. Air Namibia continues to expand successfully, and we believe that this partnership between Turkish Airlines and Air Namibia will bring benefit to both carriers, not only from a commercial perspective, but also in cultural interactions between Turkey and Namibia while promoting business travel between two countries. said Eksi. - TradeArabia News Service Bahrain International Circuit (BIC) has announced its participation as an events partner in the third edition of Bahrain Shopping Festival Shop Bahrain, the largest event in the kingdom. As part of the collaboration, a booth was set up for BIC at the Festival City, where visitors were able to buy tickets to the 2017 Formula 1 Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix which comes as part of their Early Bird discounts. BIC booth visitors at the Festival City received 15 per cent discount on their ticket purchase, in addition to four points in Shop Bahrain loyalty system for every BD1 ($2.6) spent throughout the duration of the Festival which entitled them to enter the weekly raffle draws. BIC offered its visitors a number of fun activities including a coloring section for kids. The Festival City visitors also got the chance to experience virtual F1 racing through a simulator that is provided at the booth and win valuable prize from BIC in the daily challenges. Commenting on the participation, commercial director at BIC, Sherif Al Mahdy, said: It gives us a great pleasure to be named as the event partner in the third edition of Bahrain Shopping Festival Shop Bahrain as we encouraged visitors to participate in the activities that were held at the BIC booth located in the Festival City and purchase discounted F1 tickets as part of the Early Bird campaign. We value the partnership as BIC is one of the most prominent international sport activities in the Middle East and the world. This partnership also strengthened the Festivals position as the largest nationwide event that attracted visitors from Bahrain and abroad and we look forward to similar partnerships in the upcoming editions, added the director of Shop Bahrain, Yousef Al Khan. Shoppers and visitors can learn more about "Shop Bahrain" through the website: www.shopbahrain.com or through the account @shopbahrain on the social networking channels Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube. The Festival organizers have also launched a dedicated whatsapp channel on 38999111. - TradeArabia News Service The petition, filed by one Vijay Rokde in 2011, seeks a ban on the organisation which has allegedly carried out terror attacks in Pune and Panvel. By Vidya : The Bombay High Court has asked the Maharashtra government and the Central government to put across their stand on the petition seeking a ban on right-wing group Sanatan Sanstha. The petition, filed by one Vijay Rokde in 2011, seeks a ban on the organisation which has allegedly carried out terror attacks in Pune and Panvel. A bench of Justice VM Kanade posted the matter for further hearing on March 7. The public pleader representing the Union government said "the state government's input was not sufficient so the government could not come to a conclusion on whether to ban the organisation". advertisement ALSO READ: What is Sanatan Sanstha? Why is it related to the murder of Govind Pansare? HERE ARE THE DEVELOPMENTS: The advocate representing the state government could not respond to the Union government's argument as he did not have the documents concerning the case. At this, Justice Kanade asked both the governments to put their stand in the case on record for next hearing. The petitioner had earlier informed the court that the Maharashtra government, based on a report by the Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS), had sent a proposal to the Union government in 2012 recommending a ban on the group. Sanjeev Punalekar, representing Sanatan Sanstha, argued that the petition was frivolous. "The petition alleges that Sanatan Sanstha indulges in hypnotising people and then it suddenly states that it is a terror organisation," Punalekar said. The Maharashtra government in 2011 had written to the Ministry of Home Affairs on three bomb blast cases registered against Sanstha activists. Rationalists Govind Pansare and Narendra Dabholkar were allegedly murdered by members of Sanatan Sanstha and its sister organisations. The state government had then requested the Centre to consider the recommendation and ban Sanatan Sanstha under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. ALSO READ: Ban Owaisi's MIM first: Sanatan Sanstha's defence endorsed by Maharashtra govt Key witness in Dabholkar case is history-sheeter, says Sanatan Sanstha ALSO WATCH --- ENDS --- Some posts on this site contain affiliate links, meaning if you book or buy something through one of these links, we may earn a small commission (at no extra cost to you). While much of a trip to Disney World is targeted at making childrens dreams come true, theres plenty for adults to do at all the Disney parks. But Epcot has offerings that are totally different than some other Disney attractionsnamely, alcohol. And lots of it. On our most recent trip to Epcot, we decided it was time to drink around the world. Guide to Eating and Drinking at Epcot Drinking in all 11 of the countries in Epcots World Showcase (i.e, the basis for drinking around the world) takes some planning. And some self-awareness. After all, this is a family-friendly location, and you may still need to drive back to your hotel. Thats why this post is actually about both eating and drinking around the world. The food at Epcot is not only good, but noshing along the way helps keep you fulland sober. In addition to eating as you drink around Epcot, make sure you take your time. If you begin when the World Showcase opens in the morning, you will have ample time to snack, drink, and enjoy all the Epcot attractions before the evening fireworks. Sharing drinks can also be a great strategy to trying more while saving money. And saving your liver. Mexico Mexican food isby farour favorite type of food. I mean, Im a Texan, so its probably genetic. Thank goodness, then, that Mexico is the first stop in the World Showcase. Skip the plastic cup margarita stands and head inside the temple to La Cava del Tequila. Their tequila list and selection of specialty margaritas is top-notch. We went straight for the blood orange, but the avocado option seemed to be a popular choice, too, judging by our fellow patrons. Norway Norway (aka the land of Frozen) is the tours next stop. If you need a little pick-me-up, opt for Viking Coffee at the bakery or one of the many rolls, cream puffs, or other treats. If youre up for another adult beverage, Danish Carlsberg beer is refreshing on a hot day. Shots of the Scandanavian spirit Aquavit are also on offer, but theres way too much fire-and-herb taste in that for our liking. China Its impossible to miss the beautiful China pavilion as you continue your way around Epcots lagoon. Not only do they often have performers right out front, but the bright colors and distinctive architecture will surely draw you in. At least they did for us. By the time we reached China, it was definitely time for a snack. We skipped the meals at Nine Dragons restaurant (although they looked tasty) and headed to the back of the pavilion for some Chinese take-out. Yay for spring rolls! One huge upside to stopping for food in China was that it wasnt nearly as crowded as some of the other countries, at least on our visit. To continue the drink around the world tour, check out the specialty cocktails and teas at the Joy of Tea kiosk. The Peach Snap! (with schnapps) was a favorite. Germany The Germany pavilion is one of the more popular stops on a tour around Epcot. Its sort of synonymous with beer and wine. There is no shortage of options from the alcohol carts and kiosks serving beverages and sausages to the quick-service restaurant Sommerfest. You can even do a wine-and-cheese tasting featuring some of Germanys best offerings. Try the Riesling or pretty much any of the available beers. The staff is happy to make recommendations. If you havent eaten already, Germany is an ideal place to stop. The bratwurst and pretzels are excellent options here and remind us of our favorites in Bavaria, but we tried out the currywurst and were not at all disappointed. Theres also a shop featuring everything you can imagine covered in Werthers caramel. Ive loved the Germany pavilion since my first visit to Epcot (over the age of 21, anyway) when I found they carry the same gluhwein (mulled wine) thats sold in the Christmas markets of Nuremberg. This is a perfect stop for an alcoholic souvenir or any other German memorabilia youre looking for. A note: Germany is also the first stop on the Wine Walk. For $32, you get 6 2-oz. wine pours from a selected menutwo each in Germany, Italy, and France. It could be a good value if youre hoping to taste-test around Europe. Italy Of course Italy is known for its wine. In fact, the Tutto Gusto wine cellar here has more than 200 bottles of Italian wines available. You can try some of the selections in flights, if youre feeling particularly indecisive or adventurous. We chose a sweeter offeringa bellini with raspberry puree and limoncello, topped with prosecco. Although it was a touch expensive for the portion size at $12, it was delicious. Food options in Italy are plentiful but not quick, as everything is a sit-down meal unless you want gelato. Pizza is a good choice at Via Napoli, and Tutto Gusto has a fabulous selection of antipasti. In our experience, its hard to go wrong at either place. The food quality here (and throughout Epcot) is much higher than most people might expect. America California wines and craft beers abound in the American Adventure pavilion as choices for drinking around Epcot. Of course there are offerings in the restaurants, but the easiest place to grab something quick is the Block & Hans kiosk to the far side of the pavilion. Block & Hans has a variety of craft beers and my personal favoritecider. We can endorse the McKenzies Black Cherry Hard Cider and the Breckenridge Vanilla Porter as strong options. Serve alongside a funnel cake, if you so desire. For those looking for something a little heartier, we heard that the pulled pork sandwich and the lobster roll were good, but we didnt have the room to try them. Japan In Japan, the best bets are the traditional beveragesplum wine or sake, an alcohol made from rice. Some of the more adventurous options like frozen Kirin may sound intriguing, but this is a place to stick by the proven winners (i.e., not a beer slushie). The Kabuki Cafe (actually a kiosk) has a few good choices for snacks. Try the edamame or the sake mist, an alcoholic take on shaved ice. Morocco The Morocco pavilion is the only pavilion in the World Showcase for which the countrys government contributed to its design. That helps explain the colorful mosaics, the realistic-looking minaret, fountains, and other features highlighting the beautiful aspects of this North African country. Still, the idea of cocktails in Morocco (a country where alcohol is hard-to-come-by) is a little strange to me and a reminder that although Disney has some great offerings, some things are far from authentic. Putting my doubts aside, the signature sangriaavailable in white, red, or sparklingis the best choice, although theres a full array of cocktails and beers to choose from. If you havent eaten in awhile, stopping here for a bite to eat may be a better option than imbibing. The falafel is fabulous, and the lamb sliders, hummus, and baklava are also filling choices. France If youve been saving yourself for a splurge in France, you will not be disappointed. Of course there are wines galore at the Monsieur Paul restaurant and Les Chefs de France brasserie as well as kiosks and carts. But you can try wine anytime. We bypassed the selection of vin and headed straight for the Champagne Kiosk for the boozy creamsicle known as the Grand Marnier Orange Slush. The name pretty much describes whats in it but doesnt fully convey the orangey-vanillay goodness of this cold treat. A must try. If youre hungry, scout out the crepes, a croque monsieur, or a chocolate macaron ice cream sandwich. United Kingdon In the UK, the Rose & Crown pub is the place to go for a drink. They have beers on tap and scotch flights, including a selection of single malts. Some of their most popular offerings are the pub blends like the Snake Bite (Cider and Harp), the Bumblebee (Boddingtons and Guinness), and the Black and Tan (Bass and Guinness). There wasnt room to eat at the popular Rose & Crown, so we went nearby to the Yorkshire County Fish Shop, which focuses almost exclusively on fish and chips. Piping hot and with a light, crispy batter, its no exaggeration to say that these fish and chips were better than some weve had a sit-down restaurants in London and Ireland. Give them a try! Canada The highlight of the Canada pavilion is Le Cellier Steakhouse. One of Disney Worlds best restaurants, reservations here are often made up to a year in advance. Needless to say, that one wasnt in our plans for this trip to Florida. An alternativeat least when it comes to the beeris the kiosk outside. You can find Labatt Blue, Moosehead, and La Fin Du Monde. There are also a couple of cocktails available, along with straight Crown Royal Maple Whisky, which is really very good. Our recommendation? If youve made it all the way around the world, you may be a little tipsy by this point, so find a seat and just get ready for the fireworks. We were the guests of Epcot. All opinions of the boozy and filling are our own. Canada pavilion photo by Sam Howzit under CC 2.0. Norway is a country progressive in many areas from environment, technology and its economy. Its cost of living is quite high but it is revolutionizing travel for tourists through its plans to improve its environment through "sustainable travel" plans and the Scandinavian region offering free vacations for kids. According to Tree Hugger, Norway's efforts for "sustainable travel" involve having tourists "slow down" their vacations. From 2013, foreigners from all over the world journey to Norway to admire its fjords and beautiful snow villages, which had made many Norwegians wary of their environment. In fact, Tree Hugger writes that "Norway does not want to accept growth" because "it comes at too high a price to nature," signifying the affinity of the country regarding its environment. According to 29/2 Aurland Chief Tone Ronning, Norway's responsibility to its country is to sustain the environment -- its driving force behind tourism. She said the only way to sustain the environment through tourism is through "natural" tourism. Her farm hotel, the 29/2 Aurland, is dedicated to exposing the natural look of Norway during summer or winter featuring cabins and traditional Norwegian dishes. Aside from its surprising turn against cruise tourism and "bulk" number of tourists, it's is one of the countries that would offer children free passage into the country. Children below 11 years old are free of charge in all flights. According to Conde Nast Traveler, children below two years old are already free to ride on their parents' lap. The travel tips website said the travel is not entirely free as parents would still pay dues including taxes and fees. Also, it would only be Scandinavian Airlines offering the deal for travelers headed to Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Finland, which would mean if other airlines could offer better rates for adults riding with children, it could also be a pay-off. Riding into a consistent top destination for almost a century, though, is a truly nice experience. See Now: The U.S. had the highest number of Most Wanted properties, dominating the Hotels.com Loved By Guests Awards 2018 Paris suffers another attack after a man carrying a machete entered the Louvre's premises and started swinging it in front of people. French authorities immediately responded to the incident, having put down the man immediately. The authorities are not discounting the attack as terrorist related. According to CNN Money, the European vacation destination has been in a consistent state of emergency since November 2015's attack in Paris that killed hundreds of civilians. As a result, airfare and lodging to the country had systematically decreased to make the city attractive for tourists despite the increasing number of incidents. According to BBC, the Louvre Museum attacker, 29-year-old Egyptian Abdullah Hamamy, had "lunged at [French] soldiers with the knives." He was wounded by counter-terrorist forces before he was detained. The attacker's father, Reda al-Hamamy, accused the French authorities of using "brute force with a poor young man" that he does not consider radicalized in any way by Islam. However, French authorities are investigating probable terrorist backgrounds as Abdullah Hamamy was said to have cried "Allahu Akbar" during the attack -- a signature for most terrorist-related suicide attacks. Foreign visits into Paris and France itself had declined in the last year. CNN Money cites data from the UN World Tourism Organization indicating that French tourism had declined about 5% in the first three quarters of 2016. The Louvre itself cites it had seen a decrease of 21% in the number of tourists travelling in the last two years following the first massive terrorist attack in 2015. Crime in Paris also became an international highlight after superstar Kim Kardashian found herself robbed of all her jewelry worth millions of dollars in a Parisian hotel. French authorities have yet to arrest the correct criminal despite its arrests of career criminals known in France. Armed men who left her bound and gagged in her bathtub robbed Kim Kardashian at gunpoint in the hotel. See Now: The U.S. had the highest number of Most Wanted properties, dominating the Hotels.com Loved By Guests Awards 2018 Europe's small towns are as beautiful as its large urban cities. In fact, these towns also have lots of historic sites and rich culture where travelers can spend their next holiday vacations. Here's a glimpse of Europe's most gorgeous towns. Kilkenny, Ireland. Kilkenny is known for its medieval-like appearance and the name translates to the Church of St. Canice according to lonely planet. It's also called as "the marble city" because of its structures that are made of dark grey limestone. One of its historical site is the Kilkenny Castle. Berat, Albania. Berat has one Unesco World Heritage Site in its area called Mangalem. It's an old town that is near the river Osum and was one of the major towns of the Byzantine Empire. The town still has the remains of the ancient structures like the Mosques and the Helveti teqe. Civita di Bagnoregio, Italy. Civita di Bagnoregio is another gorgeous town in Europe that attracts about 600,000 visitors every year because of its stunning hill-tops and amazing architecture. However, it's becoming a dying town because there are only about 10 residents left in the area. Not to mention the corroding land that poses a risk to residents and visitors. Conwy, Wales. One of Europe's most gorgeous medieval towns, Conwy has the most amazing day and night life. At daytime, one can visit the ancient castles and walls in the area. At night, travelers can spend some nice country-side night-life at the town's local bars and pubs. Hindeloopen, Netherlands. Hindeloopen is a town that will take you back to an old maritime village setup with old traditions and a unique language. It's very accessible by boat and it was considered as one of the "most Beautiful Villages in Europe" by JATA in 2015 according to The Telegraph. These old yet gorgeous European towns are perfect for a nice holiday getaway. These are destinations that will give travelers the best relaxing experience. See Now: The U.S. had the highest number of Most Wanted properties, dominating the Hotels.com Loved By Guests Awards 2018 Canada has enacted an assisted dying bill on July 2016, but its limitations to mature minors, mentally ill, and people with degenerative disorders only have citizens travel to Switzerland to end their lives. About 131 Canadians have signed up with Dignitas, a Swiss company that promotes the right to determine one's end of life. CEO of Canadian advocacy group Dying with Dignity Canada Shanaaz Gokool told CBC News Canada that there is a significant number of people who should be covered under the euthanasia law, but aren't, thus, they ended up traveling to Dignitas in Switzerland to die. The Supreme Court of Canada decision in the Carter case is too restrictive, and that's forcing people to go abroad to die, she said. "We would hope that with the Supreme Court decision on Carter that people wouldn't have to resort to these measures, and it's very unfortunate that people have to be separated from their friends, families, communities at their most vulnerable time in their lives, when they are having an assisted death," Gokool said. According to the same report, a certain Monique Hamel called Dignitas for help because she did not qualify under the new Canadian law despite having a chronic neurological disorder for 20 years. "I will die with strangers who are more courageous and humane than our doctors and our decision makers," she said. Hamel was reportedly "forced her to die far from home and loved ones" after spending over $20,000 in medical and travel costs. Dignitas stats showed that a total of 7,764 from around the globe had joined their membership program, with 201 of these individuals decided to be euthanized in Switzerland. Many Canadians have written emails and letters and rung phone numbers of the parliament asking to amend the law and allow them to have an assisted death. Spokesman for a justice minister, David Taylor said that there would be reviews on the clamors with the report due in December 2018. See Now: The U.S. had the highest number of Most Wanted properties, dominating the Hotels.com Loved By Guests Awards 2018 Artists are making a stand against Donald Trump's immigration ban with New York's Museum of Modern Art replacing paintings by Picasso and Matisse to honor painters hailing from the seven Muslim-majority countries listed by the law. The uneasiness of the law before implemented on Jan. 27, had left the curators to hang the paintings the night before. Iraqi-born British architect Zaha Hadid, Sudanese painter Ibrahim el-Salahi and Iranian video artist Tala Madani were among the artists showcased at MoMa reported by the Independent UK. Galleries on the fifth floor used to be a space for contemporary Western works but now hang up Iranian artists' works such as sculptors by Parviz Tanavoli and photography of Shirana Shahbazi. MoMA's chief curator of drawings and prints Christophe Cherix told Quartz, which over the next few months they plan to showcase more paintings, sculpture, photographs, drawings, and films by artists from Syria, Iran, Iraq, Yemen, Somalia, Sudan and Libya. "A number of artists in our collection suddenly couldn't travel the way they used to and share their work and ideas. We wanted to reaffirm that belief that art [museums] should a place where people from all over the world can gather," Cherix said. Meanwhile, other famous paintings will be rearranged in different floors with 200 works of Picabia on MoMA's sixth floor. Famous paintings like Van Gogh's 'Starry night' and Matisse's 'Red Studio' will remain in place. "The last thing we want is to disappoint people," he told Quartz. "The idea was to find an inclusive gesture." In each artwork of the painters based in the affected countries, a text from the wall reads: "This work is by an artist from a nation whose citizens are being denied entry into the United States, according to a presidential executive order issued on Jan. 27, 2017. This is one of several such artworks from the Museum's collection installed throughout the fifth-floor galleries to affirm the ideals of welcome and freedom as vital to this Museum as they are to the United States." See Now: The U.S. had the highest number of Most Wanted properties, dominating the Hotels.com Loved By Guests Awards 2018 Qatar Airways recently launched the world's longest commercial flight, from Doha, Qatar to Auckland, New Zealand. The flight took 17 hours and 30 minutes and covered a distance of 14,535 kilometers. The maiden flight arrived on Waitangi Day in New Zealand. The new daily flight to Auckland was serviced by a Boeing 777 which has a two-class configuration, with 217 seats in Economy Class and 42 seats in Business Class, reports Breaking Travel News. There were four pilots and 15 cabin crew, who served 1,100 hot drinks, 2,000 cold drinks and 1,036 meals. Passengers can experience one of the most comfortable fully-flat beds in the sky with 78 inches of seat pitch. Passengers would also have time to watch all three films in the Lord of the Rings trilogy (9 hours 18 minutes of viewing), which was shot in New Zealand. Doha-Auckland-Doha daily services will offer 116 tons of belly-hold capacity every week to support the growing imports of raw, consumer and industrial materials into New Zealand. The arrival of the flight was in Auckland was welcomed by New Zealand's Minister of trade and state owned enterprise Todd McClay and Auckland Airport chief executive Adrian Littlewood. The launching event is considered a important in the relationship of New Zealand-Qatar: it means the opening up greater people to people and business to business connections between the two countries. A new market for exporters specifically in beverage and fresh food will be made available for New Zealand exporters to fully realise the potential of the direct service's freight capacity. Qatar Airways group chief executive, Akbar Al Baker said: "The launch of our new service to Auckland is an important milestone for Qatar Airways as we expand both in the region and globally across our network providing more options and better connections to exciting business and leisure destinations in Europe and the Middle East." See Now: The U.S. had the highest number of Most Wanted properties, dominating the Hotels.com Loved By Guests Awards 2018 Dragons are very common mythical creatures in almost every part of the world, but no other civilizations paid closer attention to them than East Asia and Western Christendom. While these serpentine creatures are worshiped in Oriental countries, dragons in Christendom are feared to a point of revulsion. In fact, a popular Christian myth that perpetuated the fear of dragons is found in the narratives of the early pre-Catholic era. The 3rd Century AD Roman martyr named St. George was believed to have slain a dragon who feeds on sheep and virgin women during his adventures in Libya. This legend also justified the some of the many chronicles of Christian conversion in Africa. The legend of St. George slaying a dragon has cemented the serpentine creature's evil reputation. In fact, it only strengthened the stigma inspired by the preceding Judeo-Christian creation myth describing how a serpent caused mankind to fall from God's grace. Several dragon statues in Europe pay tribute to the fear of dragons in Christendom. London, United Kingdom. This statue sits atop the Temple Bar Monument which serves as the main ceremonial entrance to the City of London. This effigy was inspired by a children's book titled "Stoneheart" by Charlie Fletcher. Versailles, France. The Dragon Fountain at the Palace of Versailles was built in 1667. The mouth of the dragon shoots water vertically up to 90 feet in the air. Berlin, Germany. The dragon statue in Berlin captures the scene depicted in a painting created by the Renaissance master Raphael - the same genius who painted the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in Vatican City. Krakow, Poland. What is so interesting about the Dragon statue in Krakow is that it is the only draconic monument in the world that literally breathes fire. Ljubljana, Slovenia. The Dragon Bridge in the capital city of Slovenia commemorates the victory of ancient Greek hero Jason and his fellow Argonauts in their battle against a dragon. See Now: The U.S. had the highest number of Most Wanted properties, dominating the Hotels.com Loved By Guests Awards 2018 By Press Trust of India: Mumbai, Feb 7 (PTI) Stating that public rallies and morchas cannot be banned as they are an inherent part of democracy, the Bombay High Court today ordered the Maharashtra government to bring a policy to regulate them so that they do not cause any hindrance to common people. A division bench of Justices V M Kanade and P R Bora was hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by the Nariman Point-Churchgate Citizens Association and others claiming they were affected due to the morchas held at Azad Maidan in south Mumbai. advertisement Presently, all morchas and dharnas are terminated at Azad Maidan in south Mumbai. This is pursuant to an order passed by the High Court on December 8, 1997, directing all morchas to terminate at Azad Maidan near Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (CST). The bench was today informed by the government that a committee has been set up to look into the issue, which would later prepare draft guidelines. The petitioners lawyer, S C Naidu, today told the court that the rallies start at different places across the state and city, which then results in heavy traffic jams everywhere. "Morchas and rallies are part of a democracy. We cannot ban them, but they can be regulated. The state government will have to do a comprehensive study of the issue and come up with a policy to regulate them," Justice Kanade said. He even suggested that "the rallies can be held only on Saturdays and Sundays, so that it does not create traffic problems". The court noted that apart from these morchas every second road in the city is dug by some or the other authority which causes more traffic jams. "But nowadays people have become very tolerant towards such problems," Justice Kanade said. The court has posted the petition for further hearing after four weeks. The state-appointed committee comprises Additional Chief Secretary (Home), Police Commissioner and the Commissioner of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation. PTI SP NP RT --- ENDS --- Under the official partnership between Coco Collection and the Olive Ridley Project, the first Turtle Rescue Centre is open at Coco Palm Dhuni Kolhu with a resident Veterinary Surgeon heading the centre. (TRAVPR.COM) MALDIVES - February 7th, 2017 - In January 2015, Coco Collection announced the official and exclusive partnership with the Olive Ridley Project to setup turtle centres and jointly reduce the effect of ghost nets on marine life. On 02nd February 2017, Coco Collection celebrated the opening of the first Turtle Rescue Centre at Coco Palm Dhuni Kolhu. Working together with keen like-minded individuals to protect the fragile natural environment of Maldives has always been a core pillar of the brand philosophy behind Coco Collection. In 2013, the properties of Coco Collection were introduced to the Olive Ridley Project by the former resident marine biologist, Chiara Fumagalli. The Olive Ridley Project was set up to work towards protecting sea turtles and their habitats. Apart from actively removing ghost nets that pose a serious threat to sea turtles, they compile data identifying types of nets and fishing methods being used to figure out why so many nets are drifting in the Indian Ocean. Since 2013, Coco Collection has been working together with the project to rescue sea turtles that have been entangled and hold events at the resorts to educate guests and associates about the detrimental effects of these nets. The moment is finally here! Coco Collection has been on board with us from day one, and we are delighted to open the first Olive Ridley Project Marine Turtle Rescue Centre at Coco Palm. We are very grateful to the family for their vision as a responsible brand and for their dedication to conservation initiatives. From the beginning, guests and partners of Coco Collection have been supporting the project with generous donations during their stay. This eventually led to the construction of the centre, and our heartfelt gratitude goes out to them for their unwavering generosity. As much as we are involved in the removal of ghost gear from the ocean, turtles and marine life in general are still in danger of being entangled in nets and ingesting marine debris. Thankfully, we now have a dedicated place for them to be treated and recover from their injuries. comments Martin Stelfox, Founder and CEO of the Olive Ridley Project. Mohamed Didi, Coco Collections Chief Engineer, has created a completely automated system regulating water flow at the centre, and allow for preprogrammed procedures to run the entire system. To date, the centre has received three turtle patients, with a few more waiting to be transported to the centre soon under the care of Dr. Claire Petros, the Veterinary Surgeon heading the operations of the centre. In terms of engaging with the local community for awareness programs, Dr. Petros will be working with school children at the neighbouring islands involving field visits to teach courses on turtle husbandry, ecology and medicine. Together with the marine conversation programs, Coco Collection is constantly working with the community to raise awareness on knowledge concerning good environmental practices, useful in everyday life. Similar initiatives will take place in Coco Bodu Hithi at a later stage of this collaboration. ### Its well known that safari is a Swahili word for to travel. And because of that etymology, the term is most closely associated with wildlife-spotting journeys in Africa. But its possible to head north, to the countries closest to the Arctic Circle, for a snow safari - snowfari anyone? (TRAVPR.COM) UNITED KINGDOM - February 7th, 2017 - Explore the winter wildernesses of Scandinavia, Lapland, Iceland and Alaska by husky sled, snowmobile, cross-country skis, kick-sleds, snowshoes or boat to see what wildlife wonders are on offer. Artisan Travel offers a range of stunning trips across these vast regions, combining exciting wilderness adventures with cosy lodges, local experts - on two legs and four and opportunities to witness heavenly spectacles (the Northern Lights) and earthly wildssnow-blanketed landscapes, wild moose and birdlife. Theres still time to travel this spring - or to get ahead for next season - with this selection of snowfaris. Springtime is ideal for a snowfari as the temperature in the Arctic circle is milder than during the deep winter months. Snow blankets the ground, landscapes are enhanced by endless ice blue skies, plus the daylight hours are much longer, so theres more time for activities. A husky safari with a world class musher, in Norway Spend four nights in the remote wilderness of Norwegian Lapland with Scandinavia's 11-times winner of the Finnmarkslopet (the longest dog-sled race in Europe). In Svens capable hands, this trip travels across frozen lakes and marshland, over snow-laden hills and through valleys, staying in wilderness cabins and at the Engholm Husky Farm. The Karasjok - Three Day Husky Safari is a real adventure with the gentle swish of the sled and the padding of eager paws as the only sounds to accompany your journey. Four nights from 2,145* pp (two sharing), flights included. Departures until mid-April 2017 and then from December 2017. A snowmobile safari in Finnish Lapland For those looking for more action, then perhaps the Harriniva - Powder Pro Snowmobile trip will tick the box. The snowmobile is ubiquitous up here and a three-day safari speeding through snow-covered forests and across frozen lakes, will provide a real sense of the full scale of the Arctic wilds. To really maximise the the thrilling fun of this machine though, is a chance to get out into the deep snow in the treeless fell region what this adventurous trip is all about. Four nights from 1,195* pp (two sharing) flights excluded. Departures until end of March 2017 and then from early January 2018. A Northern Lights short-break safari in Finland Of course, a huge draw to these northern climes is the Aurora Borealis the Northern Lights. This short trip includes two nights out in the dark wilderness - one on snowshoes and one by snowmobile - where the chances of spotting this ethereal spectacle are best. This packed itinerary in Menesjarvi also includes dinner cooked over an open fire in a Lappish kota, the chance to don skis and head off cross-country to explore and the option to take a husky safari. Three nights from 1,225* pp (two sharing), flights included. Departures until the end of March 2017 and then from early December 2017. A tailor-made pick-and-mix safari in Swedish Lapland For those who would like to create their own adventure, this new Sorbyn Lodge tour will be perfect. There are many activities on offer, including various safaris by snowmobile trips lasting from just three hours or up to 150km plus Northern Lights safaris, a moose safari or husky-sled trips. Theres also the chance to try ice fishing, snowshoeing, to visit a Sami family or become a musher for a day. All of this happens in a lakeside setting, far off the tourist trail, giving a real sense and understanding of Lappish wilderness. From three nights, from 655* pp (two sharing), flights excluded. Extra nights from 158 pp and activities from 92 pp each. Departures until 30th April 2017 and then from late November. Dog-sled racing and safari in Alaska Covering over 1,000 miles of harsh yet beautiful terrain across Alaska, the Iditarod is one of the worlds greatest dog-sled endurance races. Meet the mushers - including Iditarod champion Dallas Seavey - attend an Iditarod Mushers Banquet, join one of the teams for a safari before they set off to start the race and enjoy the exhilarating race start itself. The Spirit of Alaska: Iditarod also features a husky safari, snowshoeing, a small-ship cruise into Prince William Sound, scenic rail travel between Anchorage & Fairbanks, an Aurora watch at Chena Hot Springs, glacier hike and a visit to an ice museum. 11 nights from 2,495* pp (two sharing), flights excluded. Departures on 1st March 2017 and then in February 2018 (date to be confirmed) A whale watching experience in Iceland OK so safari might be stretching it slightly, but this Winter Break in Reykjavik and Keflavik includes wildlife and Aurora spotting, so is absolutely worthy of mention. Theres a whale watching trip to Faxafloi Bay - where frequent sightings of humpback and minke whales occur and a Northern Lights Tour, which heads out into the darkness in a 4x4 super jeep, on a hunt to spot the breath-taking colours and shapes dancing in the dark Arctic sky. Added to this is a dip in the Blue Lagoon and plenty of time to explore Reykjaviks many attractions. Four nights from 995* pp (two sharing), flights excluded. Departures until 31st March 2017 and then from 30th September. * For individual trip inclusions, please see the direct page link to Artisan Travels website (www.artisantravel.co.uk) for each holiday listed. For more information, or to speak to an expert, please visit www.artisantravel.co.uk, or call 01670 785 085. ENDS. Note to editors: Independent specialist holiday company, Artisan Travel, provides life-enriching holidays, crafted by experts, which marry expertise and local knowledge to deliver unforgettable bucket-list experiences for adults. It is a sister company to family travel specialist Activities Abroad, and Northern Lights specialist, The Aurora Zone. Press: For more information, quotes or to discuss a commissioned press trip, please contact Julia Farish or Paul Bondsfield at Travel PR on 020 8891 4440 or j.farish@travelpr.co.uk or p.bondsfield@travelpr.co.uk. ### By Press Trust of India: "Between 2009 and 2014 Sri Lankas total government debt "Between 2009 and 2014 Sri Lankas total government debt tripled and external debt doubled, as the country engaged in a number of costly undertakings," it said. Significantly the article in the daily said investments will play an important part in the Free Trade Agreement(FTA) being worked out between China and Sri Lanka as Chinese manufacturers plans to sell goods made in Sri Lanka in India. advertisement The FTA was expected to be finalised when Sri Lankan Prime Minister, Ranil Wickramasinghe visits Beijing to take part in the Silk Road summit being held by China in May this year. A "tripartite arrangement on trade and investment is likely to be discussed among India, Sri Lanka and Singapore," the articlesaid. "Sri Lanka may even be able to serve as a gateway to help Chinese investors explore the Indian market as the island nation is keen to make itself an offshore centre for South Asia," it said. Indian officials say this meant that China wants to set up manufacturing in Sri Lanka to sell the goods in India, which New Delhi is unlikely to encourage. While India may be open for goods made in Sri Lanka with local and Indian investments, goods made with third country investments may come under different category, they said. Besides giving 80 percent stakes to a state run Chinese firm in Hambantota port for 99 years, debt ridden Sri Lankan government also plans to hand over 15,000 acres to a Chinese industrial park for manufacturing. Both moves spared violent public protests in Hambantota with locals refusing to part with their lands. While the Chinese media highlights its growing investments in Sri Lanka which totalled to over USD eight billion in the last few years, Colombo says the some of the projects are not unviable. In his interaction with media here Feb 4, Kodituwakku said that the Hambantota port hasn?t been a viable project so far. "Very small numbers (of ships). Even the incoming they have received is not even enough to maintain the port maintenance, forget the salaries about the people who are working," he said. The Hambantota airport which was built with millions of dollars Chinese investments during the previous pro-China President Mahinda Rajapaksa has been converted into warehouse as it has no demand. The article in Global Times said despite Chinas assurances that its investments in Sri Lanka are commercial, "India may still worry about the tentacles China stretches into the Indian Ocean". advertisement "Despite a repeated pledge that Chinese investment in the Sri Lankan Hambantota port is normal business, India has remained alert. Further, Sri Lanka offered reassurances over the weekend that Chinese military activity would not be allowed at the port. Such words can be seen as diplomatic rhetoric to comfort India as Beijing and Colombo already have an understanding that the project is purely commercial," it said. PTI KJV UZM AKJ UZM --- ENDS --- When you visit the site, Dotdash Meredith and its partners may store or retrieve information on your browser, mostly in the form of cookies. Cookies collect information about your preferences and your devices and are used to make the site work as you expect it to, to understand how you interact with the site, and to show advertisements that are targeted to your interests. You can find out more about our use, change your default settings, and withdraw your consent at any time with effect for the future by visiting Cookies Settings, which can also be found in the footer of the site. For about a decade I have been quoting architect Donald Chongs line thatsmall fridges make good cities; people who have them are out in their community every day, buy what is seasonal and fresh, buy as much as they need, responding to the marketplace, the baker, vegetable store and neighbourhood vendor. In Europe, most people have small fridges, mostly 24 inches wide. In America, they are often twice that. Meanwhile, writing on the Kitchn website, Dana McMahan describes how she lived with a small fridge in Paris and loved the experience. How magical to store some rose, a bit of charcuterie, a little fruit, some macarons, those delicious French yogurts, some water (even the water tastes better there!), and to have just a little bit of space still available. Opening that tiny fridge made me happy. Dana McMahan via Kitchn So she went out and bought one for her home in the US. Then I went grocery shopping. In America. And it was all downhill from there. Fast forward a year and a half: Instead of opening the fridge with a dreamy smile of anticipation, I do so with a grimace and often a curse word or three, as I plunge my grasping fingers into a morass of Rubbermaid containers, giant gallons of milk, equally giant wine boxes (until I figured out you could remove the plastic bag from the box to save room, albeit making it look like there are bags of bodily fluid in the fridge), and leaning towers of condiments more likely than not to topple when I try to extract the soy sauce for the grocery-store sushi I bought. I bought this grocery store sushi, by the way, because I don't cook anymore ... because I can't fit anything in my blasted refrigerator. This is the fundamental problem- the stuff we put in our fridges. Visiting TreeHugger Bonnies apartment and fridge in London last week, I noticed that the milk bottle was half a litre, that the packages were all smaller, and that there in fact wasnt all that much in it. She lives in a third floor walkup so you dont want to be dragging big jugs of economy size stuff up the stairs. They have a nice 2013 vintage car but dont use it in town for shopping, so it only has 9,000 miles on it in four years. They just happen to live in a city where they can walk to stores and shop daily. Their flat has a Walkscore of 95. Dana doesnt have that option. I dont know where she lives, but she complains: I imagined we'd go to the store daily, French-style. But then the last remaining grocer in my neighborhood closed, meaning it's now an event to go to the store, one in which we must stock up so we don't have to go again for quite some time.... So to expect a Paris-style fridge to serve my real-world needs was, well, just not very realistic. And I realized after reading this that for ten years now, I have got it exactly backwards when I say Small fridges make good cities; You have to get the city and the neighbourhood right first, living in one that is walkable, where you can find the butcher and the baker and the grocery store. Lloyd Alter/ Double Miele fridge at Interior Design Show/CC BY 2.0 Instead in much of North America we get the vicious circle where people drive big SUVs to the big box food store to fill up their big fridge because they dont have the option. But as Dan Nosowitz wrote in a now deleted Gawker article: Bigger fridges encourage unhealthy eating habits. Brian Wansink, a professor of nutritional science and consumer behavior at Cornell and the former executive director of the USDA's Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion, did a study of warehouse club shoppers that showed that families that have more food in the house eat more food. If your freezer is large enough to house the family SUV and is full of ice cream because you bought it in bulk on a deal, you're going to eat more of that ice cream than if you'd just bought a single carton for your sensibly-sized freezer. So all told, we get an obesity crisis, a food waste crisis and a carbon crisis; what a story our fridges can tell. And in the end, I find that small fridges dont make good cities; its more accurate to say that good cities make small fridges. That's what we should be aiming for. Its the image that launched a thousand architecture student projects, including some of my own, the famous illustration of units being inserted into the bottle rack of Le Corbusiers l'Unite d'habitation in Marseilles: Le Corbusier And now it is the precedent for uhu, or Urban Housing Unit, designed by Addison Godine of Live light with the City of Bostons Housing Innovation Lab and Boston Society of Architects; the prototype recently toured Boston. It is a 385 square foot prefabricated unit that looks pretty comfortable. And now, Godine and Live Light are taking it to the next level, literally, by developing it into a multi-level sixplex. Live Light Unusually for a unit that small, it is laid out with a separate bedroom area at the entry, separated from the living/dining area by a generous wheelchair-accessible bathroom. It is certainly big enough that it could accommodate a single person in comfort, whether a senior or starter. Or as Godine told Next City, The Uhu is intended to develop a model of housing for the workforce, says Addison Godine of Live Light. Developers are good at building luxury and subsidized affordable housing, but we have been neglecting the missing middle. If Boston is going to be an inclusive city, we need to innovate ways to build housing that working people can afford without subsidies. Live Light Now that the traveling show is over, Godine is looking at building multiple unit structures where the units plug into racking. We are building one of the first "plug-and-play" exo-structures for uhus to slot into, in an effort to realize the dream of "plug-in" architecture long envisioned by great architectural thinkers like Le Corbusier. This steel exo-structure is a grid of slots large and strong enough to accommodate uhus, and may be pre-outfitted with access stairs, elevators, porches, utility runs, living walls, and solar panels. Live Light Most prefab boxes are strong enough that they can be stacked directly on top of each other, which eliminates a lot of structure and the need to weatherproof the top and bottom of every unit. But the ability to pull units out of a rack opens allows for some interesting options, including sending them back to the shop for renovations and upgrades, or even renting the rack space to people who own their own box, and take it with them when they move to another city or even a different part of town. Godine also tells TreeHugger that the three-story version was done for a competition that limited the height to three stories, but by using the racking idea, there are no limits to height: Stacking modular presents the issue of tolerance as the structure gets taller, as well as extra structure in the lower units, as you point out. Racking does not present these problems. Indeed, the units might be able to be even weaker than code currently allows Of course there is much more to building affordable housing than the design of a prefab box; there are zoning restrictions, land and servicing costs. But Godine sees a different financial model: The most disruptive idea we have going is that urban housing can be more of a direct-to-consumer business. Our vision is that we or another entity buys the land and develops the exo-structure, but then leaves it at that. What results is a platform for a competitive marketplace of uhus to develop on: essentially standardized land parcels. The consumer is then empowered to choose their desired uhu, just as consumers today are empowered to choose their desired automobile. By doing this, we greatly reduce the financial investment required of the developer, and put most of the investment burden in the hands of the consumer. This is essentially a trailer park model, where the developer owns the land and leases it to the owner of the home. So Godine is proposing what has been one of our long held dreams: The vertical trailer park. Live Light Godine is the first to admit that this is not entirely a new idea, but believes that things have changed. We're not the first try this, but we believe we are at a unique moment when technology, the millennial generation, and our relationship with "stuff" are all converging to make possible the efficient production of quality living spaces, and finally achieve the economies of scale that most of the things we buy, like cars, gadgets, and clothes, have enjoyed for years. As one who tried this kind of thing earlier and failed, I do hope he is right, that we are at a unique moment where things have changed. Will cities allow these? Will neighbors not flip out? Will banks finance? We will stay tuned. By Press Trust of India: Mumbai, Feb 7 (PTI) Congress and NCP have retained Nashik Graduates and Aurangabad Teachers constituencies, respectively, in the biennial Maharashtra Legislative Council elections. Minister of State for Home Ranjit Patil of BJP has retained his Amravati graduates seat by defeating his nearest Congress rival Sanjay Khodke. Patil polled 78,051 votes, while Khodke got 34,154 votes, State Electoral Office said today. advertisement Biennial elections to five Graduates and Teachers constituencies in the state were held on February 3 and the counting was taken up yesterday. In Nashik, Congress nominee Sudhir Tambe won the seat by securing a total of 83,311 votes, while opponent Prashant Patil of the BJP polled 40,486 votes. There were 17 candidates in the fray. In Aurangabad teachers constituency, Vikram Kale of NCP polled 25,288 votes, while Independent candidate Satish Patki supported by BJP won 13,735 votes. Balaram Patil (Independent) supported by the NCP polled secured 11,837 votes as against 6,887 of Shiv Senas Dyaneshwar Mhatre in Konkan teachers constituency, officials said. PTI MR ARS RYS --- ENDS --- Uttarakhand and the northern Himalayan region have witnessed several high and medium intensity tremors in the recent past. Experts have warned of a catastrophic earthquake in north India in near future. By India Today Web Desk: A 5.8 magnitude earthquake rattled Uttarakhand on Monday (February 6) evening sending tremors all across north India, including Delhi and its adjoining areas, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana and Punjab. Luckily, no damage to life or property was reported from Uttarakhand or other parts of north India rattled by the quake epicentered 31km below the earth surface in Pipalkoti near Rudraprayag. advertisement Uttarakhand and the northern Himalayan region have witnessed several high and medium intensity tremors in the recent past. Nepal was devastated by a magnitude 7.9 quake on April 25, 2015. However, experts have warned of a catastrophic earthquake in north India in near future. Several reports based on study of movement of tectonic plates have pointed out that a catastrophic earthquake could hit Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir and other parts of north India in years to come. Scientists of Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology (WIHG) said that the big one could come sooner than expected. Dr Sushil Kumar, senior scientist at WIHG, explained the Indian Plate is moving towards the Eurasian Plate at the speed of 45 mm/year causing immense pressure under the earth surface in the region, a report in Jagran said. The Himalayan region has had four major earthquakes in the past 150 years. According to geologists, the regions between Kangra and Nepal-Bihar did not experience any earthquake for a long time till the April 25, 2015 earthquake. The region was the "maximum probable zone" for an earthquake. The Himalayas had experienced three great quakes during the past century - Nepal-Bihar (1934), upper Assam (in 1950) and Kangra, Himachal Pradesh (1905). HOW THE HIMALAYAN RANGE WAS CREATED The earth's landmasses ride like gigantic rafts on "plates", or sections of the earth's outermost layer, the crust. These plates frequently slip and slide, causing earthquakes. We don't feel the small ones. The big ones, literally, shake us up. The Himalayas and north India are on particularly shaky ground. Sometime in the geological past, before humans, India broke off from an ancient supercontinent called Gondwana, a name still used for what is now Chhattisgarh. The Indian plate skewed north, displaced an ancient sea, travelled more than 2,000 km - the fastest a plate has ever moved - and slammed into the Eurasian plate, creating the Himalayas. About 60 per cent of India is vulnerable to earthquakes caused by the great, northward grind of the Indian subcontinental landmass. advertisement according to geologists, the 1950 Assam earthquake may have geologically set the stage for a really big one in the Himalayas. Now that 65 years have passed, it may be time for a big one. (With inputs from IANS) WATCH: 5.8 magnitude earthquake jolts Uttarakhand ALSO READ: 5.8 magnitude earthquake jolts Uttarakhand, NDRF teams put on high alert PM Modi knows why Uttarakhand earthquake happened. And it has a Rahul Gandhi connection --- ENDS --- New Delhi, February 7 Having returned to academia after a controversy-ridden stint at the RBI, former Governor Raghuram Rajan feels great to be back riding his bike in Chicago and hopes to do it as long as he can. Taking my bike out and riding the bike path along Lake Shore Drive, thats one of the great experiences in my life. And I hope to do it as long as I can. Its great to be back, Rajan said in an interview with the media team of the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. Lake Shore Drive is an expressway running along the shoreline of Lake Michigan through Chicago, Illinois. This (Booth School of Business) has been my home for 25 years. Its a great city. I have great colleagues. And its a wonderful school. Its different every time you come back. If it wasnt different, I wouldnt be doing its job, Rajan said. Rajan was Governor of the RBI from 2013 to September 2016. His tenure was marked by both bouquets and brickbats but saw severe criticism from some political quarters towards the end, including personal attacks. He was accused of refusing to lower rates to boost growth, though Rajan often cited data to the contrary. Previously, he served as the chief economist and director of research at the International Monetary Fund (from 2003 to 2006). He is currently Katherine Dusak Miller Distinguished Service Professor of Finance at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, which he joined in 1991. Asked what he is looking forward to most after returning to academic life, the former RBI Governor noted that one of the difficulties of a job in the real world is that one does not really get time to shut oneself off in a room and think. Now in academia,...if you are careful, you can spend four days in a room, sit looking at a piece of paper and struggling with a thought that refuses to come out. At the end of those four days, sometimes, you say, Oh my God, how did I miss this? and it dawns on you. And thats as close to bliss as you can get, Rajan said. PTI Bengaluru, February 7 In a major jolt to liquor baron Vijay Mallya, the Karnataka High Court today ordered the winding up of United Breweries (Holdings) Ltd (UBHL), the parent company of UB Group, for recovering dues payable by the UBHL-promoted defunct Kingfisher Airlines Limited. This court has come to a conclusion that the respondent company UBHL deserves to be wound up for failure to discharge their duties to pay up their creditors, Justice Vineet Kothari said in his order allowing petitions by banks and aircaft lessors. Justice Kothari of the Dharwad Bench of the High Court pronounced the order through video conferencing. The creditors including BNP Paribas, the lead petitioner, State Bank of India and aircraft lessors and engine makers such as Rolls Royce and IAE had moved the court to get back their dues of Rs 146 crore. The judge said the assets of the respondent company cannot be left under the control of UBHL and could be handed over to official liquidator to achieve the winding up process as per the law. The assets whatever are left now cannot be left under the control, possession and management of the respondent company, and if necessary could be handed over to official liquidator to proceed further until winding up of the respondent company is achieved in accordance with the law, he said. The lenders to Kingfisher Airlines filed the case against UBHL seeking dues from the now defunct airline. UBHL had given corporate guarantees for loans to run Kingfisher, which has virtually caused the collapse of Mallyas liquor empire. Mallya owns a 52.34% in United Breweries Holdings Limited. Justice Kothari also disposed of all Interlocutory Applications filed by UBHL. PTI By Press Trust of India: fail Imphal/New Delhi, Feb 7 (PTI) Tripartite talks to end the over three-month-long economic blockade of a crucial highway in Manipur failed to make any headway today with the Naga group spearheading it refusing to relent from its position of allowing seven districts to be carved out. Official sources said the Centre is disappointed with the outcome of todays meeting that took place in Imphal where representative from the Union Home Ministry, state government and United Naga Council (UNC) participated. advertisement All the three had earlier met in the national capital on February 3 and the Centre had expressed hope that the blockade would end soon. The sources said that earlier the "Manipur government was not cooperating and now the UNC is taking a different stand". However, they said efforts will be on to end the blockade of poll-bound state at the earliest. Polling for the 60-member Manipur Assembly is scheduled to be held in two phases next month -- March 4 and 8. After the latest development, the next round of talks are scheduled to be held on March 25. The National Highway number 2 (NH 2) is blocked since November 1 by the UNC cadres leading to normal life being severely affected there. The Council is protesting against creation of seven new districts in the state. In a statement, the Council said it has been concluded after thorough deliberation that the code of conduct cannot limit the Union of India nor the Governor of the state of Manipur from intervening and fulfilling their Constitutional obligation to safeguard and protect land of the tribal as enshrined in the Constitution. "The Presidential Council therefore reiterates the rejection of the creation of 7 new districts and resolved to continue to fight against the insidious design of grabbing our land on the pretext of administrative convenience till the same is withdrawn," the statement said. (MORE) PTI AKV RKL SKL ZMN --- ENDS --- Chandigarh, February 7 A team of the Chandigarh Police has gone to Nainital to nab the three accused who had murdered a 58-year-old native of Nepal. One of the accused has already been arrested by the police. A headless charred body of Dhan Bahadur was found under mysterious circumstances in the forest area of Makhan Majra close to the Chandigarh-Ambala highway on January 25. The police had arrested one of the accused Kiran Singh on February 5 who confessed to strangled the victim to death along with his accomplices. Police sources said Kiran has revealed that the remaining three accused work in Nainital , Uttarakhand. Although we dont have much information but a team has been sent to nab the accused, the sources said. The police said who killed the victim is yet to be known. TNS Rajinder Nagarkoti Tribune News Service Chandigarh, February 7 After being booked by the UT police on a complaint of the Director, Social Welfare Department, Nishu Singhal, for meeting a victim of sexual abuse without permission, city Mayor Asha Jaswal has decided to take up the cudgels against Singhal and pursue complaints against Snehalaya, a shelter home for the destitute and abandoned children in Maloya. Talking to mediapersons, the Mayor said she was compiling data of past complaints against Snehalaya and would submit it to the UT Adviser. I will seek reopening of all cases, Jaswal told mediapersons. City BJP president Sanjay Tandon told Chandigarh Tribune that the BJP was with the Mayor and other councillors. He said he had already told the party office-bearers and Jaswal to compile data of cases and complaints against Snehalaya. There were reports of wrongdoings at Snehalaya and the BJP would not let the guilty go scot-free, he said. The UT officials managing Snehalaya are behaving like touch me not. The BJP will definitely raise the issue if anything wrong is found on the part of the shelter home, Tandon said. Meanwhile, despite repeated attempts, Nishu Singhal, Director, Social Welfare Department, UT, was not available for her comments. The BJP has already raised the issue with Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh. Mayor Asha Jaswal and BJP councillors Ravi Kant Sharma and Rajesh Kalia had also sent a letter to the UT Administrator, the UT Adviser and IGP. Jaswal, Rajesh Kalia, BJP councillor from Ward 7, and Ravi Kant Sharma, BJP councillor from Ward 3, were booked along with others on a complaint of Singhal. The complaint mentioned that the Mayors visit to meet the victim was in violation of the Juvenile Justice Act, 2015, as visitors could meet children only in the presence of the Child Welfare Officer. According to the complaint, the visitors also allegedly videographed the employees present at the shelter home. They were even made to stand in a queue. BJP councillors to meet Badnore today The Mayor, along with BJP councillors, will meet UT Administrator VP Singh Badnore on Wednesday. A BJP councillor said they would submit all details to Badnore. Mayor meets BJP-SAD councillors Mayor Asha Jaswal held a meeting with BJP-SAD councillors at the MC office on Tuesday evening. At the meeting, she informed them about the case. A discussion also took place regarding the Rose Festival and formation of MC committees. Quash FIR against Jaswal: Bar The District Bar Association has written to the UT Administrator to quash the FIR registered against advocate and Mayor Asha Jaswal for visiting Snehalaya. The association has also sought a magisterial inquiry against Snehalaya. The association said Snehalaya had got the case lodged against Jaswal for diverting attention from illegal activities taking place on the premises. It said the FIR was registered against her without any investigation, which had maligned the Mayors image. The Punjab and Haryana Bar Association has also condemned the registration of an FIR against the Mayor. The Bar has demanded that the FIR be quashed. Compiling data: Mayor I am compiling data of past complaints against Snehalaya and will submit it to the UT Adviser. I will seek reopening of all cases. Asha Jaswal, Mayor Gurbir Singh A house divided against itself cannot stand. Abraham Lincoln THE partition of Punjab between India and Pakistan in 1947 is perhaps the most important event in the history of modern India, second only to its Independence. We are reaping its consequences in terms of geopolitics, erosion of civil liberties, communalism of politics and poverty. The end of World War II marked the start of the cold war between the Soviet Union and the West. A Russian presence in the Indian Ocean was seen as a threat to the Middle East and its oil under western control. Therefore, the declared British policy was to transfer power to a strong united India to prevent a Russian entry therein. The failure of the Congress and the Muslim League to reach a settlement made Partition inevitable. The demand for Pakistan did not originate from the Muslim-majority provinces of Punjab, Bengal, Sind and the Frontier but from the United Provinces (UP). In UP, the Muslim minority feared an existential threat from Hindu organisations such as the RSS, the Hindu Mahasabha and the right wing of the Congress. Punjab was ruled by the Unionist Party, a coalition of Muslims, Sikhs and Hindus led by Sir Sikandar Hyat Tiwana, who dismissed the concept of Pakistan as "Jinnahstan". His successor Khizr Hyat broke with Jinnah on this issue. In 1946, Jinnah and his Muslim League managed to communalise Punjab politics by painting a doomsday scenario where the Punjabi Muslims would be at the mercy of the Hindu majority in India once the British left. The same argument was used by the Hindu and Sikh leaders in reverse. Hence the Partition. The Governor of Punjab, Sir Evan Jenkins, repeatedly warned that the partition of Punjab as proposed would result in widespread massacre and damage to property. His warning went unheeded. A million Hindus, Sikhs and Muslims were brutally murdered and another 15 million forced to migrate from the land of their forefathers. Millions lost their properties and thousands of women were raped, abducted and forcibly converted to another faith. The damage of Partition is permanent. It altered the geopolitics of this region. China is strategically located as a Pacific Ocean power. It borders Russia, Central Asia, South Asia and South-eastern Asia. In contrast, India's strategic location has been greatly reduced. Undivided India would have bordered the Islamic world and been an influential interlocutor on the world stage. This advantage shifted to Pakistan and China. Pakistan's strategic alliance with China to balance India has allowed the Chinese armed forces to establish a strong military presence in the subcontinent for the first time in history. The Kashmir conflict which is directly related to the partition of Punjab has made the subcontinent amongst the most dangerous, bloodiest and costly places on earth. Pakistan inserted Pathan tribal insurgents and their copycats into India as an extension of its military strategy. The Pathans have since evolved into the Mujahideen, the Taliban, regional ISIS and Kashmir jihadis. Two armies who fought as one in the world wars face each other with hostility. Both are nuclear powers with the capacity for mutual destruction. The apprehension of a nuclear device falling into "Islamic jihadi" hands is real. The violence and chaos caused by the holocaust in Punjabinfluenced the Constituent Assembly into creating a strong executive armed with draconian powers and weak legislatures. Gurnam Singh, a retired High Court judge and Chief Minister, felt that India did not evolve into a traditional liberal democracy. It was a hybrid system, half-democratic and half-colonial where power was transferred from nominated British officials to an elected Indian executive without accountability. He cautioned Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru that the system was open to abuse of power, corruption and intimidation of opponents by implicating them in false cases or branding them as antinational. Little wonder that in a system with weak checks and balances, Prime Ministers can take major decisions like "notebandi" by an executive fiat, without reference to the public, legislature or even the Cabinet. In Pakistan, Jinnah promised a nation where all citizens were equal and there was "no discrimination, no distinction between one community and another". Partition ended such sentiments. Inevitably, a state founded on sectarian violence and fear of a large Hindu neighbour turned to the military and the clergy for its identity and survival. This system has little space for non-Muslims, liberal democracy and social reform. India and Pakistan are a house divided against itself. They are an anomaly: Both are sovereign states and also an integral part of each other by their origins, history and culture. Both states can pay heed to the three Franco-German Wars (1870-1945), which cost a hundred million lives. Today, the one-time enemies are close allies and economic partners to their mutual benefit. For the same reason, India and Pakistan need to be friends not enemies. Punjab was the cradle of Hinduism, Sikhism and the evolution of Islam in India. It had seen many invasions and religious conflicts. However, Muslim, Hindu and Sikh elites were integrated by a common language, culture and shared economic interests. The forced migration of Hindus and Sikhs radically changed the religious, social and intellectual structure of West Punjab. However, 70 years of separation and conflict cannot totally erase millenniums of shared bonds. The way forward is for the people of both Punjabs to rediscover their roots and common interests by free interaction as a first step towards reconciliation between the two nations. Secondly, the RSS Chief has a choice between an "Akhand Bharat": a confederation of India and Pakistan he advocates, or politics of division to win elections. As long as the Muslims feel insecure there can be no peace in the subcontinent. Thirdly, the Muslim clergy must rise above dogma and meet the concerns of their own and other communities. So far it has refused to come to terms with the damage it has caused. No doubt any radical departure from the status quo will meet with strong resistance and even violence on both sides. However, our politicians and opinion makers must appreciate that great issues are settled by statesmanship, courage and common sense in the face of seemingly insurmountable hurdles. The writer, an educationist, is the President of the Guru Nanak Education Trust, Ludhiana. Hasan Suroor FOR the best part of the past 70 years, the Europe-US transatlantic alliance has been paraded as a guarantor of world peace and stability; and the best deal for free trade and liberal democracy. Despite occasional hiccups it has survived, but coming months could test it to destruction if Donald Trumps bite turns out to be as bad as his bark. A few weeks ago, I wrote here about concerns that Vladimir Putin was trying to undermine EU institutions and create divisions among its allies. That was before Trump got going with his America First agenda and started wagging his fingers at Europeans. Now, it seems, Putin was a laugh; the real menace is The Donald. He has a visceral dislike of the EU, has called Brexit a blessing to the world, and urged others to follow the British example. European leaders are rattled by his abrasive pronouncements and hardline policies which they find both morally repugnant and contrary to the fundamentals of the Wests political and economic philosophy. European Council president Donald Tusk says Trump poses a serious threat to Europe. The expectation that once in power Trump would be forced by the demands of office to tone down his incendiary campaign rhetoric and conduct international relations with a greater sense of responsibility has been belied by the decisions he has taken in the first two weeks of his presidency. The recklessness that characterised his election campaign continues to mark his style in office. In European capitals, struggling to make sense of the new American President, theres a mix of anger, frustration, and a sense of foreboding. A fear of Trumps unpredictable behaviour the fear of what he will do to us?, as a brilliant essay in The Atlantic put it. The areas of particular concern include his protectionist economic agenda; threat to wind up obsolete Nato that Europe regards as the cornerstone of the transatlantic alliance; and a deep-seated hostility to EU which he has accused of gaining unfair trade advantages from a grossly undervalued euro. Europes worst fears about his policies have been confirmed by his travel ban on seven Muslim countries (since suspended by a court) and freeze on Syrian refugees provoking a strong reaction from across the continent. German Chancellor Angela Merkel had a sharp exchange with him over the phone reminding him of Americas obligations under the Geneva Convention to help those fleeing war. She is convinced even the necessary, decisive battle against terrorism does not justify putting people of a specific background or faith under general suspicion, her spokesman said. Trumps bullying behaviour, especially his threats over economic issues, has prompted an unusually sharp response even from the soft-spoken French President Francois Hollande. Trump was trying to destabilise Europe and its economy, he said. The talk were hearing from the US encourages populism and extremism. Businesses, meanwhile, are deeply concerned over Trumps plans to raise trade barriers. His threat to impose 35 per cent tariff on car imports brought a caustic response from Germans who told him that America should learn to start making better cars if he didnt want to import foreign cars. Siemens chief executive was struck by the absurdity of an immigrant-nation turning its face against the world. Even in Britain where the government has shamelessly broken ranks with its European allies to cosy up to Trump in pursuit of an elusive special relationship with America, public mood is incandescent. More than 1.5 million people have signed a petition calling for the cancellation of his state visit to Britain in the summer which will earn him a stay at Buckingham Palace and a ceremonial ride along the Mall with the Queen. Theres fury over Theresa Mays appeasement of Trump prompting comparisons with another Conservative PM Neville Chamberlains policy of appeasement towards Hitler in 1938. She has been dubbed Theresa the Appeaser for her fawning behaviour during her visit to Washington when she became the first foreign leader to have an audience with Trump after he assumed office. She has been widely condemned not only in Britain, but also by her European allies for her initial silence over Trumps travel ban until she was forced to issue a mealy-mouthed statement. At a press conference in Ankara she was heckled by journalists frustrated by her refusal to answer their questions on the issue. She declined three times to comment; when pressed a fourth time, she said America was responsible for its own policy on refugees. Ours is to let in a number of refugees, particularly the most vulnerable. The lengths to which she has gone in recent days to please/appease Trump has shocked many in her own party and those who otherwise admire her cautious and diplomatic style. Mays decision to invite Trump on a full state visit has provoked nationwide protests, and dragged the Queen into a controversy whos said to have been put in a very difficult position. Experts say its rare for a US President to be given a state visit in their very first year. There are fears that the visit could end up in a shambles. An extraordinary diplomatic row has already erupted after the Trump team told their British hosts that the President doesnt wish to meet Prince Charles and be lectured on issues they dont agree on, especially environment. Its believed to be an unprecedented departure from protocol and threatens to disrupt the visit, The Sunday Times warned. In a telling cartoon, the Queen, informed of Trumps visit, is shown throwing up her hand and saying: One suddenly feels tempted to build a wall. Meanwhile, for all its appeasement, the May government might discover that it hasnt got anything from him while alienating its European allies who already see Britain as a black sheep. Its not the first time that London has dumped the rest of Europe for a mythical special relationship with Washington. Remember Tony Blair over Iraq? At a summit last week, EU leaders rejected Mays gratuitous offer to be a bridge between Europe and America. Thank you, but we dont need an unreliable broker; we can look after ourselves, she was told. Summing up the mood, Hollande said the best way to protect Europe was to have a European conception of our future. If not, there would be in my opinion no Europe. His dire warning shows how much Europe has been shaken by Trumps bully-boy tactics, but it also reveals a deeper crisis of confidence within Europe that it is so rattled by a political upstart in the White House. The writer is a London-based commentator Tribune News Service New Delhi, February 7 Several items belonging to social activist Kailash Satyarthi were stolen as the Nobel laureates house in Greater Kailashs Aravali Apartments was broken into, said DCP Romil Banniya South East Delhi. In the theft, the Nobel citation was allegedly stolen from the house. The child rights' activist, who won the peace prize in 2014, had shared it with Malala Yousafzai from Pakistan. A case has been registered at Kalkaji police station and a forensics team was called in to lift fingerprints and footprints. In a statement, Satyarthi, who along with his wife is currently in Panama on the invitation of its President, implored the people involved in the early morning act to understand the significance of the award and not get carried away by its monetary value. Satyarthi had presented his Nobel Peace Prize medal to President Pranab Mukherjee in January, 2015. The original medal has been preserved and is now on display at the Rashtrapati Bhavan Museum, his office said. Police said the theft came to light when Rakesh Sengar of Satyarthi's NGO Bachpan Bachao Andolan went to take his car from the activist's Kalkaji residence Aravalli apartment around 9 am. "I had gone there around 9 am. I saw the dhobi (washerman) knocking the door which was surprisingly open. When I entered the flat, I found things scattered all over (in Satyarthi's bedroom). The locker was also broken. "The replica of the nobel, which is as good as the original, and the citation are missing along with a host of other mementos from around the world and some jewellery. A similar theft had occurred in BBA's Kalkaji office in 2010," Sengar said. Police said it appears that the burglars had come with an intention only to rob jewellery as the other expensive items were left untouched. They must have mistook the replica as a jewellery item, a senior officer said. "The Nobel Prize citation and the replica were kept in jewellery boxes and we suspect that the burglars took them away thinking it to be jewels. It's a specific modus operandi," said the officer. Satyarthi's son, Bhuvan Ribhu, a senior Supreme Court lawyer and the national secretary of Bachpan Bachao Andolan, said, "Sengar informed me about the incident. It appeared that they were looking for something specific. They also took some ancestral jewellery. For someone who continues to stay in a DDA flat, the news was shattering. Satyarthi is returning (to the country) on the 10th," he said. After police were informed about the alleged theft of the Nobel Prize replica, teams from Forensic Science Laboratory, dog squads and district crime unit inspected the spot and collected fingerprints. Police said all the lockers of the master bedroom have been broken and it is suspected that the burglary took place in the wee hours today. The child rights activist won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2014. He shared the prize with Pakistan's Malala Yousafzai. Rabindranath Tagore's Nobel Prize medal had been stolen in 2004 from Visva Bharati University's museum in Santiniketan in West Bengal, which is yet to be recovered. (With PTI inputs) Vishal Joshi Tribune News Service Kurukshetra, February 7 Notwithstanding managements calling for closure of BEd colleges for a week, Chaudhary Ranbir Singh University (CRSU) in Jind has said it will soon write to the authorities to reduce by two-third the number of annual admissions to 20,000. The university said inspections were being conducted on the directions of the Punjab and Haryana High Court for auditing all college campuses. The Association of NCTE-Approved Colleges Trust has lamented the university authorities for conducting inspections by university teams and surprise visits by the Vice Chancellor (VC) to private education colleges. SC Arya, president of the colleges association, charged the CRSU administration with harassment in the name of inspection. He said if the state government did not intervene, BEd colleges would be closed indefinitely in protest. He said the CRSU was in its infancy and incapable of handling colleges. Arya said the association welcomed any step against erring colleges, but the CRSU should stop harassing them in the name of discipline. The CRSU must take prior appointment from the college authorities for inspection. The university management has created an atmosphere of terror among colleges by surprise visits by the VC. The association condemns this move, he said. Refuting the charge, Maj Gen (retd) Ranjit Singh, VC, CRSU, today said the inspecting teams were visiting the campuses after due intimation to the college authorities. There are 491 BEd colleges in Haryana with an annual intake of 60,000. A total of 40,000 seats have been filled, of which 17,600 are outside Haryana. Most students enrolled outside the state are not attending classes and a section of colleges are part of the racket, he said. The VC said a petition was pending in the High Court regarding the issue of erring students. He said the CSRU had to furnish a detailed report to the court on the number of students, teachers and facilities at various BEd colleges in the state. Being the head of the affiliating university, the VC is entitled to visit any college to check academics and infrastructure. A BEd college has 600 students on paper while I find only one on the campus, he said. The college authorities do not give a satisfactory reply. Colleges which are not maintaining record have been given time to improve, failing which action in accordance with rules will be taken, he added. Bhanu P Lohumi Tribune News Service Shimla, February 7 The work on the 37.3 km-long Kullu-Manali double-laning project to be completed at a cost of Rs 213 crore will commence on February 9. Gawar Company Limited has been awarded the contract for the project which will be completed within two years. The codal formalities for commencing the work have been completed. Out of 86 hectares of land to be acquired for the highway, 35 hectares was already available while acquisition of 31 hectares of forest land and 20 hectares of private land is in process, said general manager National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), Himachal, Col (Retd) Ram Swaroop Puri. The NHAI had already deposited Rs 164 crore with the state for accelerating the land acquisition process for 16 hectares of private land. A sum of Rs 68 crore had been paid as compensation to the land owners while four hectares of private land is yet to be acquired. Clearance under the Forest Conservation Act (FCA) is pending with respect to 10 hectares of forest land. An expenditure of Rs 213 crore would be incurred on construction of the road, which does not include the cost of land acquisition, tree felling and plantation, relocation of the existing electricity poles and water and sewerage pipes. The two-lane project would have paved shoulders (which implies the length of the road would be 10 metres) and one major bridge (80 meters) at Dobi village, vehicle under pass besides five minor bridges, two of which would be newly constructed while three others would be extension of the existing bridges. The scope of work will broadly include rehabilitation, upgradation and augmentation of the existing carriageway to two-lane with paved shoulders along 37.3 km length with construction of new pavement, rehabilitation of the existing pavement, construction/rehabilitation of major and minor bridges, culverts, drains, etc. and maintenance of the project during the defect liability period. Dipender Manta Tribune News Service Mandi, February 7 Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh indicated today that he will contest election from his constituency (Rural Shimla) in the Assembly elections slated to take place at the year-end. Virbhadra Singh had, only recently, announced that this time his son Vikramaditya Singh will contest the elections from Rural Shimla. The Chief Minister was at Balh area of district Mandi today to attend the marriage ceremony of the son of Excise and Taxation Minister Prakash Chaudhari. He was accompanied by his family, Health Minister Kaul Singh Thakur, Irrigation and Public Health Minister Vidya Stokes, Rural Development Minister Anil Sharma and others at the function. In reply to a query the Chief Minister said, At present I am representing Rural Shimla constituency and I will locate a suitable seat for Vikramaditya to contest the elections. The Chief Minister had sprang a surprise by offering his Assembly seat to his son Vikramaditya, saying he would himself like to contest from a seat which the Congress had never won. However, later he seemed backtracking from his comment by saying that it was all said in jolly mood. The Chief Minister was under continuous fire from the opposition BJP. The party was accusing Virbhadra Singh of retracting from his own statements. The Chief Minister recently announced the second capital status for Dharamsala. The BJP alleged that thereafter he gave several contradictory statements over the issue. Kuldeep Chauhan Tribune News Service Shimla, February 7 Officials of the World Bank will evaluate the viability of Rs 1,000 crore Kol Dam lift drinking water project before giving in principal consent to fund the same. Technical teams of the World Bank and Municipal Corporation (SMC) recently held series of meetings to discuss the feasibility of the project. The project aims at supplying additional 60 MLD water to ensure 24x7 water supply in Shimla and its adjoining areas. Earlier, the SMC had decided to launch the 24x7 water supply and sewerage rejuvenation plan in three wards of the city on a pilot basis under the Kol Dam water supply sewerage and water rejuvenation plan. After the success of the pilot project, the IPH would include all areas of the Shimla Development Plan, including Shoghi, Ghanati, Durgapur and Fagu. Dharmender Gill, superintending engineer, SMC, said the city would get additional 60 MLD water daily from Kol Dam increasing the water supply to 105 MLD. At present, Shimla has installed capacity of about 42-45 MLD of daily water supply from Giri, Guma, Churat, Been-Koti Bharandi and other sources. But, the SMC supplies water on alternative days as it gets about 32 MLD daily, said the SMC officials. The IPH engineers said the Chanshal Project was put in cold storage as it involved construction of over 100-km long pipeline. Just reading little signs can help save lives, that's what this flight attendant did. By India Today Web Desk: Though many might dismiss the role of a flight attendant or an air hostess, this story will throw much-needed light on some of the heavy responsibilities these women carry on their shoulders every day. A flight attendant named Sheila Frederick rescued a victim of human trafficking recently. Yes, human trafficking. An attendant for Alaska Airlines, which was running from Seattle to San Francisco on the day, Sheila noticed a 14 or 15-year-old girl looking "dishevelled" sitting next to a fairly well-dressed man, according to 10 News. advertisement "Something in the back of my mind said something was not right. He was well-dressed. That's what got me because I thought why is he well-dressed and she is looking all dishevelled and out of sorts?" Sheila told the news channel. When Sheila tried to talk to them, the man reportedly became defensive and the girl refrained from saying even a word. In a hushed tone then, Sheila told the little girl to go to the toilet, where Sheila had left a note for the teenager, which she later responded to with the message, "I need help". The flight attendant informed the pilots, who were then able to communicate the message to the police in San Francisco, and the man was arrested as soon as the flight landed. This incident of rescue comes amid increased efforts since 2009 to train American flight staff to recognise signs of human trafficking and call them out. Common signs include someone who appears to be being controlled, is battered or won't answer questions or make eye contact. Emphasising the importance of such training, Sheila added, "I've been a flight attendant for 10 years and it's like I am going all the way back to when I was in training and I was like, I could have seen these young girls and young boys and didn't even know." US Immigration and Customs Enforcement are reported to have arrested 2,000 human traffickers and identified 400 victims last year, reports The Independent. --- ENDS --- Arun Joshi Tribune News Service Of late the Mirwaiz Umar Farooq faction of the Hurriyat Conference has been quite vocal in asking for a dialogue to resolve the Kashmir issue on a permanent basis. This music to the ears is half of a drumbeat as other factions of the Hurriyat, the most important among them being the one led by veteran leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani, have a different take on the dialogue process. After last years turmoil in Kashmir that devastated the Valley, its image all across the world cannot be repeated all the time. Devastation begets devastation and how many generations can be subjected to this disaster. Separatists need to ask themselves this question. Geelani is the bold symbol of the resistance ingrained in the minds and hearts of the secessionist section of Kashmiri Muslims. His health is fragile, but he can still the change the course with the help of his younger colleagues. Perhaps, Geelani has not been studied and understood in a proper perspective. His image has been distorted. Sometimes, his own words and rigid stand on Kashmir has helped his critics within the separatist camp and outside to pick holes in his claims that Kashmir would get rid of India. But as an elderly leader who has seen many summers and winters in more than 60- year-old political career marked by ups and downs, he has a responsibility towards his people. Can he afford to shoulder the burden of one more generation getting consumed by something intangible? He will be held responsible by Kashmiris for whatever happens to them, for they shut their businesses, schools, and lost lives and suffered injuries on his call. Geelani has been insisting that a dialogue can be initiated only when India accepts that Kashmir is a dispute. But the leader should understand that when dialogue is sought, its basic essence is that some issue needs to be resolved. Another thing that the veteran leader should realise is that he is a Kashmiri first. Some quarters view him as a Pakistani. There are several wrongs committed by the government. To date, it is not clear why is he under house arrest and under what charges? And, if the charges are so severe then why should he not be put on trial? The government cannot keep an ailing leader in the confines of four walls of his house and then knock and expect him to walk and sit across the table. It is not only his responsibility to create the walk-the talk atmosphere but also that of the government of the day. Former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee had offered his condolences to Geelani when his daughter died. That was a humanitarian gesture. Many in the National Conference had then grumbled that why should the Prime Minister be offering condolences to a separatist leader who was challenging the Indian sovereignty in Kashmir, but the answer lay in the fact that humanitarian gestures are much above politics. Likewise, Modi had wished Nawaz Sharif good health despite the tense relations between the two countries. Geelani, Mirwaiz, Yasin Malik and Shabir Shah must look around and see where Kashmir is struggling to stand today. They have the pen to script the next chapter it can be blood red or apple red. Kashmirs generations want to blossom like apples and roses and not see blood running on the landscape. It is time the separatists chose their path. When Geelani was chairman of the United Hurriyat Conference, he had declared that Kashmiris have not given power of attorney to Pakistan to speak on their behalf with India, we will speak ourselves as Kashmiris. It is time, as a Kashmiri, he should speak up for Kashmiris. Geelani can pull Kashmir out of the dark room, provided he wishes to in realistic terms as a Kashmiri first. Islamabad, February 7 Pakistan today decided to build at least 50 bunkers for civilians along the working boundary with India in the Punjab province to provide protection to villagers during cross-border firing. During a Cabinet meeting, three federal ministers, including defence minister Khawaja Asif, urged the Nawaz Sharif government to take measures to avoid civilian casualties along the border. The Cabinet decided to build 50 bunkers along the working boundary to provide refuge to villagers living in the area during cross-border firing from India, information minister Maryam Aurangzeb said. The government also announced to enhance compensation for those killed and injured in the cross-border firing incidents. The information minister said the families of those killed will be given Rs5,00,000 as compensation and those injured will get Rs1,50,000. PTI Jasmine Singh Who can forget the scene from Arshad Warsi and Saurabh Shukla-starrer Jolly LLB, where the judge, Saurabh, turns the act of eating lunch in his chamber into a riveting act of humour? Those who havent stepped into a live court will find it hard to believe if we said courtroom proceedings can be real drama, leaving just about anyone in splits! Upcoming film Jolly LLB 2, where Akshay Kumar is asked to not cry like Nirupa Roy, only hints at the fact that people of the legal world lawyers, judges, advocates are all capable of satire and humour. And mind you extempore! Young lawyers from Tricity present incidents from their real life that brought a smile on the faces inside the courtroom. Wrong turn Young and articulate Anurag Singh Tagra, advocate co-opted member-vigilance committee of Bar Council of Punjab and Haryana, is a huge fan of Bollywood movie Jolly LLB and even bigger fan of actor Saurabh Shukla, who, according to this advocate, has presented the real picture of court proceedings in many ways. However, Anurag has his own court anecdote that leaves him in splits still. Most senior lawyers come in during the final argument and take over from the junior lawyers, who have prepared the questionnaire or done the basic work. So, here came a senior lawyer from the respondents side. Since the senior advocate wasnt briefed properly, he started arguing on my behalf, and this went on for a good 25 minutes. His junior then came to his rescue and saved the blushes. Oh Lord! Practising lawyer Reema Spatu from Amritsar says she can write a book on courtroom humour, but there is one incident that she says left the entire courtroom in splits. A senior advocate once got so carried away in his arguments that instead of My Lord, he went on saying, Mere Lord ji, Mere Lord ji please listen. Even the judge was in splits, Reema recalls, as she zeroes-in on Legally Blonde as her favourite courtroom drama movie. Hear it Kavita Arora, advocate in Punjab and Haryana High court, shares an anecdote about a young lawyer. Once he asked the judge, My Lord, stay. The judge said that he had to at least admit his case in the court for him to give it a stay. He then said, So, My Lord, admit. The entire court was left laughing. Kavita recalls another funny incident where a young lawyer was asked by the judge when did he file the case and he replied, My Lord, I did that tomorrow. Costly pants If you are rolling in laughter, you might want to read about something downright crazy. In 2007, when Custom Cleaners, a neighbourhood dry cleaner, returned what Judge Roy Pearson claimed to be the wrong pair of pants, Pearson, an administrative law judge, decided to take action and sue for $67 million. He claimed that the pants he dropped off for alteration had been lost and the dry cleaner did not meet the claim of the satisfaction guaranteed sign that hung in the dry cleaners window. The $67 million, which later was lowered to $53 million, Pearson says, was equal to claims for common law fraud violations. Pearson eventually lost the pant case after he failed to prove the trousers he picked up were not his. Lighter note In the heat of arguments, where heavy legal terms can sprain any normal persons vertebra, courtroom is one place where humour can actually seep in unnoticed, something like this... Lawyer: Now, Mrs Johnson, how was your first marriage terminated? Witness: By death. Lawyer: And by whose death was it terminated? jasmine@tribunemail.com New Delhi: Enforcement Directorate (ED) chief Karnal Singh, who was due to retire in August, was on Tuesday given a fixed two-year tenure following a Supreme Court directive to set right the anomaly and to make it compliant with the CVC Act. Singh, a 1984-batch IPS officer of Union Territories cadre, was in October appointed as ED Director till his superannuation. The Appointments Committee of Cabinet has approved a two-year fixed tenure for him and it will be effective from October 27, 2016. PTI SC raps govt over Besh border fencing New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday expressed its strongest displeasure over the manner in which fencing along the India-Bangladesh border is progressing and told the Union Home Ministry to furnish all details to the court. Describing the affidavit filed by the Home Ministry as an exercise in vagueness with no specific details, an SC Bench directed the ministry to file by February 14 the details of the plans to set up physical barriers on the 61.49-km stretch. IANS Satyarthis Nobel citation, replica stolen New Delhi: Thieves broke into the house of rights activist Kailash Satyarthi and took away his Nobel Peace Prize citation and replica of the medal. Satyarthis house located in DDA Flats Colony, Kalkaji, was burgled late on Monday. Satyarthi and his wife are abroad in connection with the 16th World Summit of Nobel Peace Laureates in Colombia. The original medal is displayed at the Rashtrapati Bhavan after Satyarthi in 2015 dedicated his Peace Prize to the nation. TNS SC allows woman to abort 24-week-old foetus New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday allowed a 22-year-old woman from Navi Mumbai to abort her 24-week-old under-developed foetus after a board of doctors recommended it. A Bench headed relied on the finding of the medical board it had constituted last week to examine the petitioner. The panel of experts concluded the foetus suffered from disorders and continuation of pregnancy would put the mothers life in danger. Solicitor General Ranjit Kumar said he had got the report examined by a Health Ministry doctor, who agreed that the woman needed immediate medical intervention. TNS Nitish unhappy with attendance in House New Delhi: Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Tuesday expressed his concern over the shortfalls of attendance of legislators during post-lunch Session. The legislators actively mark their presence during zero hour and question hour, although they leave the House during post-lunch session. They must participate in debate as it paves the way for solution of any question. TNS WB Advocate-General, deputy resign Kolkata: West Bengals Advocate General Jayanta Mitra and Additional Advocate General (AAG) Lakhsmi Gupta on Tuesday resigned from their posts. They have forwarded their resignations to Governor Keshari Nath Tripathi. I sent my resignation to the Governor this afternoon... I was having difference of opinion with the state government on certain issues, said Mitra. TNS Lucknow, February 7 With the SP-Congress alliance going strong after initial hiccups, the BSP and BJP have been forced to rework their strategies in the western belt of Uttar Pradesh where Muslim voters are a major force to reckon with. Western UP has 140 Assembly constituencies spread over 26 districts which will go to the polls in the first two phases on February 11 and 15. The BSP, which was expecting a cakewalk in the wake of the feud in the Yadav family, to provide a strong alternative to the BJP, got a blow with the coming together of two young faces of Indian politics--Akhilesh and Rahul--who do not have any previous record of hobnobbing with the saffron party. To win over Muslims, the BSP has fielded as many as 50 Muslim candidates in the first two phases as it felt that Muslim vote along with its own core Dalit vote bank would see its candidates through. However, with the coming together of the SP and Congress, the community got an option to choose between the two dispensations sending the BSP knocking the doors of Muslim leadership and drum up the Muzaffarnagar riots with renewed vigour. The fact that Muslims are important in the scheme of things for the SP, too, can be seen in the party fielding Muslims on 42 of the 140 western UP seats. Interestingly, on 28 seats in the first two phases, both the BSP and SP have fielded Muslim candidates. If the Mayawati-led party is focusing on providing a riot-free and crime-free state on coming to power, the SP alliance is reopening the pages of the BSPs history, especially its alliance with the saffron party. Can the community ever pardon Mayawati for falsely implicating 43 youths on terror charges during her regime which is yet to be proved, posed a Samajwadi Party leader. The BSP is also out to tar Akhilesh Yadav as anti-Muslim with the new entrant in the party Afzal Ansari, brother of mafia-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari, recalling a statement by Mulayam Singh Yadav in this regard that Akhilesh was working against the interest of Muslims. Ansari has resolved to campaign all over the state against the anti-Muslim Akhilesh. Perhaps it was the importance of Muslim votes that the SP showed least interest in allying with Chaudhary Ajit Singh-led RLD which is primarily a party with a Jat vote bank. It was Jat versus Muslims during the Muzaffarnagar riots and Akhilesh Yadav was not interested in aligning with the perceived oppressors of the community, said SP insiders. The BJP, on its part, hopes for polarisation of Hindus in reaction to the possible consolidation of Muslims behind the SP-Congress alliance. With the pro-Hindutva leaders of the ilk of Hukum Singh, Sangeet Som, Suresh Rana, Sanjiv Balyan, Yogi Adityanath and Ramchandra Katheria leading the campaign and the issue of Hindu migration in the western region finding mention in the BJP Sankalp patra (manifesto), the BJP is expecting a consolidation of Hindu votes like in the 2012 elections when it won Kairana, Saharanpur Nagar, Thana Bhawan, Bijnor and Noorpur in the face of division of votes between two Muslim candidates. The BJP is clear that it will not get support among Muslims and knows that Hindus will finally come behind them...though Muzaffarnagar has long been done but migration is a recent issue and a reality highlighted by his party, a BJP leader said. The partys concern is to check any division in Hindu votes on seats where no mainstream party has fielded Muslims or there is strong Hindu candidate against a BJP nominee. There are as many as 110 seats where both the BJP and the SP-Congress alliance have fielded a Hindu candidate. The BSP is also banking on the Mayawati rule providing a communally safe atmosphere during which the three-judge bench of the Allahabad High Court pronounced its decision on the contentious Ram Janambhoomi-Babri Masjid title suit in 2009 when the entire country was put on high alert. It is also highlighting the condition of the community which relied on the Congress for 50 years and on the SP for more than two decades. In the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, the BSP was relegated to the third slot in Saharanpurwhere Congress leader Imran Masood had emerged second because of overwhelming Muslim supportas well as Kairana, Sambhal, Moradabad and Bijnor, where the SP consolidated its support among Muslims. PTI New Delhi, February 7 A significant bid by the US in the UN for designating Pathankot attack mastermind Masood Azhar as a global terrorist has been stymied by China, which has again opposed the ban against the Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) chief, sources said on Tuesday. The American proposal came barely weeks after India's efforts to get Azhar banned by the UN were blocked by China in December last. (Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd) According to senior government sources, the US, supported by the UK and France, moved a proposal at the UN's Sanctions Committee 1267 in the second-half of last month to proscribe Azhar. The proposal, which was finalised after "consultations" between Washington and New Delhi, said JeM is a designated terror outfit and so its leaders cannot go scot-free, sources said. "However, China opposed the US move by putting a hold on the proposal," a source said, adding the Chinese action came just before the expiry of the 10-day deadline for a proposal to be adopted or blocked or to be put on hold. India said they had already voiced its concerns to the Chinese government. "We have been informed of this development and the matter has been taken up with the Chinese government," External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Vikas Swarup said, but provided no details. The "hold" remains for six months and can be further extended by three months. During this period, it can be anytime converted into a "block", thereby, ending the life of the proposal. UN Sanction Committee's listing would have forced imposition of asset freeze and travel ban on Azhar by countries including Pakistan. China has been constantly opposing efforts to get Azhar banned by the UN, which has proscribed his outfit JeM in 2001. The Chinese opposition is also seen by many here as an action taken at the behest of its "all-weather ally" Pakistan. After the attack on the IAF base at Pathankot in January last year, India in February wrote to the UN calling for immediate action to list Azhar under the Al-Qaeda Sanctions Committee. The efforts faced stiff opposition by China, which twice put a "technical hold" before finally blocking the Indian proposal in December. Reacting sharply to Chinese action, India had said that: "We note with concern China's decision to block the proposal to list Masood Azhar", asserting that its proposal, submitted to the 15-member 1267 Sanctions Committee of the UN Security Council, had received the strong backing of all other members of the Committee. External Affairs Spokesperson Vikas Swarup had also said: "As a consequence of this decision, the UN Security Council has again been prevented from acting against the leader of a listed terrorist organisation. We had expected China would have been more understanding of the danger posed to all by terrorism and would join India and others in fighting the common challenge of terrorism". PTI Mukesh Ranjan Tribune News Service New Delhi, February 7 Amid cheering by the treasury benches and the Opposition taunting him with Jio chant, Prime Minister Narendra Modi today came down heavily on dynastic politics in an apparent attempt to hit out at the recently stitched Congress-Samajwadi Party alliance for the UP poll. Replying to the debate on the Motion of Thanks in the Lok Sabha to the Presidents Address, Modi vowed to take more tough decisions against corruption and black money in the coming days. He also intended to send out a loud and clear message that demonetisation was a well thought out move to ensure rights of the poor, which had been usurped by the rich and the corrupt till now. Noting that cash is the first ladder of corrupt wealth, Modi listed out the steps taken by his government to curb black money, including setting up of an SIT, tightening the law on benami property, Real Estate Bill, making PAN mandatory for cash transactions of Rs 2 lakh and above and revision of tax treaties with nations like Mauritius, Singapore and the US. Modi replied to the issues raised by the Opposition, including surgical strikes and allocations for MNREGA, agriculture sector and for the SC. The House later adopted the motion. Insisting the timing for note ban was perfect, Modi said as doctors want patients should be healthy before surgery, the countrys economic health was also good when he took the call to scrap high-denomination currency. Then he went on to claim that he never takes decisions in haste, as contended by some sections. Dont assume that Modi does anything in haste. For that, you will need to study Modi, he said. Khargeji said black money is there in jewellery, property, etc. I agree with you. But this House wants to know when did this realisation dawn on you? Because nobody can deny that corruption starts with cash, and the result is jewellery or realty. Mumbai, February 7 Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray announced on Tuesday that Patidar leader Hardik Patel would be the partys face in Gujarat Assembly elections later this year. Thackeray's statements came after Patel called on him at his residence Mathoshree here. "Our friendship with Hardik Patel will be lasting. Until the other person breaks relations with us, we do not leave their side. If needed, we will fight Gujarat Assembly polls as well and Hardik will be our face," Thackeray said while addressing a joint press conference with Patel. (Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd) Thackeray also announced that its ties with the BJP were now on notice period, indicating that the alliance in the state could be at an end. "Like the Code of Conduct is for a certain period, the government too is on a notice period and when the period ends will be known by all soon," Thackeray said. "From the last several months, Hardik wanted to pay his respects to the memory of Sena founder Balasaheb (Thackeray) and thus he came to Matoshree. Sena and Hardik are together in their fight for justice. Patel said he found the late Sena patriarch inspiring. "I have always been inspired by Balasaheb's thoughts. His thoughts are inspiration for the youth. Be it Gujarati or Marathi all are my friends. Meeting anyone cannot be a political issue. One should be in contact with 'good' people," Patel said. Patel's visit is significant as it comes at a time when the Sena is trying to woo Gujaratis in Mumbai in its fight against the Bharatiya Janata Party in the upcoming civic body elections. Patel, the convener of Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti (PAAS), had challenged the state government when he had lead the Partidars campaign for reservations. After protests became violent in August 2015, Patel and some of his companions were charged with sedition. Seven people, among them a policeman, were killed in violence that last four days, forcing the Central Government to call in the army. PTI Tribune News Service Mumbai, February 7 Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray today said Patidar leader Hardik Patel would be his partys face in the Gujarat Assembly poll even as he asserted the alliance with the BJP in Maharashtra was on notice period. Addressing a press conference along with Hardik Patel, the face of last years Patidar agitation in Gujarat, Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray indicated to reporters that his party may pull out of the coalition at any time. .... just like the code of conduct that comes into force before an election, there is a code of conduct during the notice period though we dont know when it will end, Thackeray said. Hitting out at the BJP for betraying the nearly 30-year-old Hindutva alliance it had with the Shiv Sena, Thackeray said his party would go it alone in future. We are not obliged to anyone for power. We broke the alliance for the BMC poll because of their conduct, Thackeray said. He said, Our friendship with Hardik Patel will be lasting. Until the other person breaks relations with us, we do not leave their side. If needed, we will fight the Gujarat Assembly poll as well and Hardik will be our face. Thackerays statements came after Patel called on him at his residence Mathoshree here. He indicated that the Shiv Sena would aggressively woo Gujarati voters in Mumbai, who are the BJPs backbone in the city. Thackeray said the decision to contest the forthcoming civic poll sans the BJP was taken as there were no heartfelt feelings to contest in alliance. Patel said no final decision has been taken regarding his campaign for the Shiv Sena in the forthcoming elections to the Mumbai municipal corporation. However the young leader said he would be available to support the Shiv Sena whenever required. (With PTI inputs) New Delhi, February 7 The Mumbai International airport is widely considered to be the second-most efficient airport in the world with as many landings and take-offs as Heathrow in the UK, government said in Rajya Sabha on Tuesday. "Our airports are second to none in terms of their efficiency in operations. I would like to inform the member that the second-most efficient airport in the world is widely considered to be Mumbai airport which has as many landings and take-offs which the UK airport has. Our airports are performing very efficiently," Minister of State for Civil Aviation Jayant Sinha said during Question Hour. He also informed the House that the entire land acquisition for expansion of Tuticorin airport in Tamil Nadu is likely to be completed by September after which narrow body jets would be able to land there. Replying to supplementaries on the expansion of Tuticorin airport, the Minister said the request for expansion of the airport was for first made in 2004 which is being diligently pursued by the Ministry. "We had made a request to the state government many years ago to provide us additional land so that we can expand the runway and land jets there. That request has been pending. We had asked for 586 acres to the state government. "We have recently been informed by the state government that by September 2017 the entire land acquisition for Tuticorin would be done and then we would be able to land narrow body jets," he said. Sinha said the standard procedure by which land is taken over was under the Airports Authority Act and then the necessary investments are made. The Minister also informed the members that "we have expansion plans for all our airports in the country." PTI Patel-led 'Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti' (PAAS) has been fighting for reservation for the powerful Patel community under the Other Backward Classes (OBC) quota in government jobs and educational institutions in Gujarat for more than a year. By Saurabh Vaktania: Firebrand Patidar quota stir leader Hardik Patel will be the face of Shiv Sena in the Gujarat Assembly election, party chief Uddhav Thackeray said today. Patel-led 'Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti' (PAAS) has been fighting for reservation for the powerful Patel community under the Other Backward Classes (OBC) quota in government jobs and educational institutions for more than a year. advertisement Last month, the 23-year-old leader returned to Gujarat after six months in exile with a renewed vigour following his externment from the state on Gujarat High Court orders following sedition charges on him in July last year. Also read | Mumbai civic polls: Hardik Patel to campaign for Shiv Sena in Mumbai The Shiv Sena recently announced its decision to end its 27-year-old alliance with the BJP and contest forthcoming elections on its own. Gujarat, a BJP-run state for nearly two decades now, is expected to vote later this year. --- ENDS --- Simran Sodhi Tribune News Service New Delhi, February 7 The Opposition in the Rajya Sabha today targeted Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar for his remarks on surgical strikes where he had credited the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) ideology, instead of the soldiers. The issue was raised during the zero hour by Congress member Shantaram Naik who said the Defence Minister, in a statement, had credited the RSS ideology for the surgical strikes instead of the brave soldiers, while in another statement the minister said India had never carried out surgical strikes before. Naik also urged the minister not to make policy statements outside Parliament. The Congress leader suggested that the minister should not ridicule the country by making statements which could be construed to be in a bad taste. He also referred to the statement made by the minister on nuclear doctrine at a recent book launch. Naik said Parrikar had then articulated a personal view which is contrary to Indias no first use of nuclear weapons. This doctrine has come for adverse comments from many strategists. If the Defence Minister is making an aggressive posture, how the government had failed to ensure reciprocal visit (to Pakistan) after it permitted a Pakistani delegation to visit sensitive areas in Pathankot, he asked. Naiks views received support from other members, including JD-U leader Sharad Yadav and Anand Sharma of the Congress. As Opposition members sought the ministers reply, Deputy Chairman PJ Kurien said he could not ask the minister to respond. AIADMK chief VK Sasikala late on Tuesday removed incumbent Chief Minister O Panneerselvam from the post of AIADMK treasurer hours after he revolted against her, claiming he was forced to resign from CMs post Soon after breaking ranks with Sasikala, Panneerselvam went into a huddle with supporters, even as the AIADMK chief held a brainstorming session with party leaders, including 134 MLAs, after issuing a whip (Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd) Emerging from the meeting, Sasikala told mediapersons all party legislators were united like a family. She claimed rival DMK was behind the revolt and that Panneerselvam would be expelled from the party Panneerselvam earlier visited Jayalalithaas burial site in Chennai and sat in meditation for 40 minutes. The Jaya loyalist claimed he was being insulted by senior ministers and leaders who sought to undermine him Kathmandu, February 7 One of the key suspects in the Kanpur train derailment in November has been arrested from Tribhuvan International Airport here after being deported from Dubai. A special team of the Nepal Police arrested Samshul Hoda along with three others. (Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd) Hoda has been detained from the Tribhuvan International Airport yesterday, said Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) Pashupati Upadhyaya. We have heard that Hoda is wanted in a railway accident that took place in Kanpur last year killing 150 people, Upadhyaya said. The Nepal Police will also work in close coordination with the Indian Police for Hodas alleged involvement in criminal activities in India, he said. The three others arrested are identified as Brij Kishor Giri, Ashish Singh and Umesh Kumar Kurmi, all from Kalaiya district in southern Nepal. The police have brought Hoda and three other accused criminals to Nepal from Dubai in coordination with the Interpol, Upadhyaya told PTI. Hoda is the mastermind of a twin murder in Bara district of Nepal, the police said. Hoda has links with international criminal groups and he has been involved in a number of criminal activities in Nepal and India, Upadhyaya said. A case has already been registered against him in Bara District Court, he added. The role of ISI is being suspected in the incident after Bihar police in January arrested three persons claiming that they were working for the Pakistani intelligence agency to target Indian railways. According to Bihar police, the three were paid Rs three lakh by a Nepali man who had connections with Hoda. PTI Amaninder Pal Tribune News Service Chandigarh, February 7 The Election Commission today ordered re-polling at 48 polling stations in Punjab on Thursday. Apart from 16 polling stations in the Amritsar parliamentary constituency, re-polling will be held at 12 polling stations in the Majitha Assembly segment, nine each for Muktsar and Sangrur seats and one each in Moga and Sardulgarh Assembly segments. (Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd) The EC did not cite any reason for its decision. Sources, however, said barring two, all other booths going to the re-polls faced massive interruptions during polling due to snags in the newly-introduced voter verified paper audit trail (VVPAT) EVMs installed in 33 Assembly segments. Re-polling has been ordered without there being any such demand by any major political party. In fact, the Aam Aadmi Party whose leader Sanjay Singh visited Chief Electoral Officer VK Singhs office on February 4 demanding one-hour relaxation in polling for 33 seats had submitted to the EC that the party didnt want re-polling at these seats. A senior electoral officer said, At some polling stations, votes could not be cast for the first two hours. At some other places, voters remained stuck in queues for long due to repeated interruptions in VVPAT machines. The EC has taken this decision to avoid legal implications due to this reason after the announcement of results. Re-polling would also be held at polling stations 145 and 86 of Moga and Sardulgarh, respectively, as conventional EVMs had developed snags there. Interestingly, the candidates will get only around six hours to do canvassing for the re-poll. Satya Prakash Tribune News Service New Delhi, February 7 In an unprecedented move, the Supreme Court will tomorrow take up the issue of suo motu cognisance in connection with a letter written by sitting Calcutta High Court Judge CS Karnan to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, levelling allegations of corruption against sitting and retired judges. A seven-judge Bench, headed by Chief Justice of India JS Khehar, will decide whether to issue a notice to Justice Karnan asking him to personally appear before it for creating obstruction in the administration of justice. (Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd) Justice Karnan, who has been courting controversies for quite some time, sent a letter to the PM on January 23 stating that high corruption in the judiciary is still being perpetrated in an arbitrary fashion and without fear. The letter mentioned the name of a High Court Chief Justice who was due for elevation to the top court. He claimed his allegations could be proved through a probe by some competent agency. He had even written a letter to the CJI, blaming his actions (of transferring Justice Karnan) on loss of mental balance. The development comes close on the heels of the top courts decision to initiate contempt proceedings against former SC Judge Justice Markandey Katju for openly questioning its decision to acquit an accused in a rape-cum-murder case. Justice Katju was let off after he tendered an unconditional apology. Justice Karnan, who claimed to have been victimised for being a Dalit, was transferred from the Madras High Court to the Calcutta High Court on February 12 last year after he openly accused Madras HC Chief Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul of harassing him. He himself stayed his transfer, but later accepted it. Justice Karnan had demanded a response from the CJI, asking him not to interfere with his jurisdiction and questioned the CJIs authority to transfer him. He refused to hand over many files, forcing the Madras High Court Registry to approach the apex court. Finally, he questioned the collegiums decision to transfer him to the Calcutta HC. He is to appear in the top court on February 13 to argue his transfer case personally. New Delhi, February 7 The Supreme Court today expressed its strongest displeasure over the manner in which fencing along the India-Bangladesh border is progressing and told the Union Home Ministry to furnish all details to the court. Describing the affidavit filed by the Home Ministry as an exercise in vagueness with no specific details, the Bench of Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Justice Rohinton Fali Nariman directed the ministry to furnish all details relating to the fencing of the remaining 61.49-km stretch. We are extremely unhappy with this kind of response, observed Justice Gogoi and directed the Union Home Ministry to file by February 14 the details of the plans to set up physical barriers on the 61.49-km stretch. The Centre in its affidavit has said of the remaining stretch, work on 13.38-km stretch has been undertaken and is likely to be completed by July 2018. It excludes a 300-m stretch of the elephant corridor. As the court was told that the work on 13.38-km would require 18 months, the Bench wondered why so much time is needed for constructing physical barriers. We want to know why you want 18 months. You are playing with the court, the Bench said as it was told that some time would be required for taking permission from Bangladesh. Why you need Bangladesh's permission? You really don't need it, Justice Gogoi said. IANS Baripada (Odisha), February 7 Noting a 6 per cent rise in the tiger population in the country, experts on Tuesday suggested a need for greater flexibility to increase habitat for the feline for their protection. Speaking at the national workshop on monitoring systems for tigers intensive patrolling and ecological status, Y V Jhalla, a principal scientist of the Wildlife Institute of India (WII), said the 6 per cent increase in the population of big cats was due to several measures taken to protect them. (Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd) The recent count of the big cat has revealed that around 2,200 Royal Bengal Tigers and 7,910 leopards are present in 13 tiger reserves in the country, he said, adding it was determined through camera trap method now in use. Experts from all the 13 tiger reserves of the country stressed on greater flexibility to increase tiger habitat and other favourable measures that could boost the population of the big cat. The workshop, organised by National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA), was mainly held for interaction on preservation of Royal Bengal Tigers considering the challenges faced by different tiger reserve authorities. Principal Chief Conservator of Forests, Odisha, Siddhanta Das said the preservation of the big cat family was necessary for the existence of mankind as without the presence of the tigers in the forest, air, moisture, perennial water sources would vanish, causing ecological disaster. "If the family of the big cat were not protected Similipal sanctuary would also turn into a desert," he pointed out citing that the conflict between man and animal had caused a lot of difficulties to the balance of ecology in Similipal. India, he said, topped the list in the world for maximum funding for the preservation of tigers. In order to make the sanctuary area free from human interference, the Similipal tiger reserve authority had chalked out programmes to relocate the villages from the core and buffer area. Those areas would be converted to meadows for wildlife fodder, he said. Apart from Similipal reserve, villages located inside the protected forests in Odisha would be relocated without using any force against the villagers as per a policy decision by the Odisha Government, the PCCF said. A total of 169 villages and 11,188 families had been relocated across the nation from forest areas to pave away for smoother movement of wildlife, Jhalla said. Shifting of human interference from core areas of the sanctuary, growth of prey population and limited conservation area of 800-1000 sq km are necessary to foster and preserve the tigers, he said. Unless the tiger conservation in Similipal sanctuary was properly taken up, the animal would perish like at Sariska tiger reserve, he added. PTI Kathmandu, February 7 Nepalese national Samshul Hoda, 48, an alleged ISI agent and the prime suspect in the November Kanpur train tragedy, has been arrested here after being deported from Dubai, the police said today. Hoda was arrested by a special team of Nepal Police along with three others. We have heard that Hoda is wanted in a rail accident that killed 150 people, DIG Pashupati Upadhyaya said. (Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd) The three others have been identified as Brij Giri, Ashish Singh and Umesh Kurmi, from Kalaiya in southern Nepal. They were arrested for the December 25 murder of Indian nationals Arun Ram and Dipak Ram in Bara district. Hoda is the mastermind, the police said. Hoda has links with international criminal groups, the DIG said. The role of ISI is being suspected in the Kanpur train tragedy. PTI New Delhi, February 7 The United States, under President Donald Trump, is pushing Pakistan into a corner over its terror links an indication of the path that the new administration is likely to take as far as terror is concerned. The US moved a resolution in the United Nations to designate Pathankot attacks mastermind and Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) chief Masood Azhar as a global terrorist. The move was, however, thwarted by China that put a hold on the proposal. (Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd) Supported by the UK and France, the US moved a proposal at UN's Sanctions Committee 1267 in the second-half of last month to ban Azhar. However, China played the spoiler again. The matter has been taken up with the Chinese government, New Delhi reacted. India has accused the Jaish chief of being the mastermind behind the Pathankot attacks of January 2016. TNS Jupinderjit Singh & Rajmeet Singh Tribune News Service Chandigarh, February 6 As employees at the Civil Secretariat, mini secretariat and the Punjab Police headquarters returned to work today post Punjab elections, all talk centred around the likely outcome. Many were seen cosying up to officers considered close to a party expected to be the winner. Each employee had a firm opinion on the seats likely to be bagged by the main parties and if the incumbent Chief Secretary and DGP would continue or there would be a major shuffle. An audio clip of a senior officer claiming he was sure to be appointed the next DGP created quite a stir. Officers, who had hitherto been reluctant to speak their mind, eagerly participated in the gup-shup. (Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd) Officers were seen collecting information from their staff on the voting trend, with one of them expressing fear that sycophants may be rewarded if a particular party forms government. The more enterprising among them dialed colleagues in Delhi for a feedback on the working mechanism of the party holding the reins of power there. Officers, who had shunned mediapersons earlier, were unusually warm as they tried to decipher the peoples mood from field reports. Some employees said they had placed bets on high-profile candidates. Still others were seen keeping a tab on the satta bazaar. There was some cheer too with the Punjab Police issuing appointment letters to a number of persons on compassionate grounds after getting the EC's approval. The appointment letters to the next of kin of policemen who had died during duty were on hold till the voting day. Also, promotions, including one of an IG-rank officer, were cleared. Most ministers did not attend office. There was a dip in the number of visitors too. As most employees remained huddled in their rooms, the usual hustle and bustle was missing. A senior officer said only routine matters were being handled. Policy-related issues were being referred to a committee set up the EC. "It's a blissful period till March 11", he added, smiling. In a written reply to the Rajya Sabha, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said there is no official estimation of quantum of black money stashed abroad by Indians, but the government is making all efforts to bring back the money. By Press Trust of India: Over Rs 16,200 crore in black money has been detected by the government after investigations on global leaks about Indians stashing funds abroad, Parliament was informed today. "As a result of systematic investigations, undisclosed income of about Rs 8,200 crore (including protective assessment of income of Rs 1,497 crore) has been brought to tax in last about 2 years on account of deposits made in unreported foreign bank accounts in HSBC. advertisement "Further, about Rs 8,000 crore of credits in the undisclosed foreign accounts of Indians, whose names were disclosed by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), have been detected," Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha. NO ESTIMATION OF AMOUNT STASHED ABROAD There is no official estimation of quantum of black money stashed abroad by Indians, he said. "The government is, however, committed to taking all possible measures to bring back black money stashed by Indians in foreign countries," he said. The Black Money (Undisclosed Foreign Income and Assets) and Imposition of Tax Act, 2015 (The BM Act) was enacted to specifically and effectively tackle the issue of black money stashed away abroad, the minister said. THE BM ACT The BM Act provides for more stringent provisions of penalties and prosecutions in respect of black money stashed away abroad, he said. "Further, under this law, for the first time the offence of wilful attempt to evade tax, etc. in relation to undisclosed foreign income/assets has been made a Scheduled Offence for the purposes of the Prevention of Money-laundering Act, 2002 (PMLA)," he added. Jaitley also listed a number of measures that have been put in place by the government to curb the menace of black money. Also Watch: Union Budget 2017: Has it done enough to address the challenge of black money? Also Read: Budget Session: How PM Modi sought to demolish 7 charges of Opposition --- ENDS --- Ravi Dhaliwal Tribune News Service Pathankot, February 7 Border Security Force (BSF) jawans gunned down a Pakistani infiltrator early this morning. The incident occurred around 8am, just 50 metres from the fencing on the international border in the Bamial sector. After the firing, BSF and Pakistan Rangers held a flag meeting near the border. Senior BSF officials were not available for comment. Pathankot SSP Nilambari Jagadale Vijay said the BSF had handed over the unidentified infiltrators body to the police. We are trying to verify his antecedents. The post-mortem will be done subsequently. Security has been tightened in the Bamial sector. We cant afford to take chances, particularly after the Dinanagar and Pathankot terror attacks, the SSP added. Security has also been beefed up in the border districts of Gurdaspur and Pathankot. The firing took place near the spot from where a group of militants had reportedly entered Indian territory on December 31, 2015, before attacking the Pathankot air force station. Police sources claim that the three terrorists who entered the country and attacked the Dinanagar police station on July 27, 2015, had also infiltrated from this spot. However, BSF and Intelligence Bureau (IB) officials have been denying these claims. Ravi Dhaliwa Tribune News Service Bamial (Pathankot), February 7 The Border Security Force (BSF) killed a suspected Pakistani infiltrator near the international border in Pathankots Baimal sector on Tuesday. The incident occurred some 50 metres from the wire fencing along the border between India and Pakistan at 8 am. The suspect was fatally shot when he did not heed to the security force's orders of retreating. The border guards later held a flag meeting with Pakistani Rangers near the border. Although sources in the police claim militants involved in the attack on Dinanagar police station on July 7, 2015, and the one on the military installation in Pathankot in January last year had both entered the country from the same spot as Fridays breach, the BSF has repeatedly dismissed the claims. Senior BSF officers were unavailable for comment, but Pathankot Senior Superintendent of Police Nilambari Jagadale Vijay confirmed Tuesdays incident and said that the infiltrators body had been handed over to the police. We are trying to investigate his background. Autopsy will be conducted once that is done. Security has been tightened in the Bamial sector after the incident. Im personally monitoring the situation. We cant afford to take risks, particularly after the Dinanagar and Pathankot attacks, she said, adding it was too soon to say if the infiltrator had been a militant. Well get a clearer picture only after the body is identified. Autopsy could however prove a tricky affair: with doctors increasingly reluctant to taken on militants bodies, police found it difficult to convince them to examine bodies of those involved in Dinanagar and Pathankot attacks and relented only when senior officers intervened. Meanwhile, security in the border districts of Gurdaspur and Pathankot, already high because of assembly elections that were held on February 4, has heightened further. Saurabh Malik Tribune News Service Chandigarh, February 7 In a first, the Punjab and Haryana High Court has called for evaluating emotional maturity, calmness and other related factors in the case of candidates seeking recruitment to the police force. Justice Daya Chaudhary stated that across the world, a job applicants criminal history was looked into by potential employers to assess his/her trustworthiness, but it wasnt done in India. Justice Chaudhary said denying employment to a person would be unjustified if he was charged with an offence unrelated to the nature of duties to be performed while in public employment, and subsequently acquitted. The ruling came on a petition filed by Nirmal Singh, who sought that he should be allowed to join as constable in the Punjab Armed Police from his selection date. The court was told that an FIR was registered against him at the instance of a relative due to a property dispute. The authorities concerned were intimated regarding his discharge by the Tarn Taran Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate, but the approval for his appointment was withdrawn without giving him a hearing or issuing a show-cause notice. He was told that the six-month period from his recruitment date had passed. So, the approval stood withdrawn. Justice Chaudhary said society would become anarchic without an efficient police force. The state has to ensure that each individual recruited to the police force, at whatever level, must possess various attributes such as physical strength and fitness/free from medical diseases, emotional maturity and the ability to remain calm in emotionally charged situations, the ability to exercise initiative in their work, good moral character and integrity, the ability to carry a great deal of responsibility in handling difficult situations alone/dependability and good judgment. Terming the attributes as the minimum requirement, the judge said it was the states duty to carefully screen the candidates with reference to these qualities. Setting aside the impugned order, Justice Chaudhary said the trivial offence had not been proved and could not be a ground to deny public employment to a person already discharged. Satya Prakash Tribune News Service New Delhi, February 7 The Supreme Court on Tuesday made it clear that it didnt intend to pass any directions to stop jokes on Sikh community. The apex court expressed its inability to issue directions to regulate jokes about the Sikh community, observing courts cannot lay down moral guidelines for citizens and doubting their enforceability if they were to do so. A Bench comprising Justices Dipak Misra and R Banumathi said courts cannot pass any regulations asking people to behave in a particular manner in public and even if they do, who will enforce them on the streets? (Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd) The top court was hearing a PIL seeking a direction from the court in the form of a set of guidelines to stop jokes on Sikh community. The Bench, which indicated its opinion on the issue, said it would pass a formal order on a batch of petitions alleging commercial dissemination of insulting jokes about Sikhs through public modes of communication, like internet and SMS, on March 27. It did not agree with the submission that like the Vishakha judgement, in which the apex court had given a slew of directions on women safety at work places, directions can be passed in the instant matter also till the government comes out with a legislation. In the Vishakha and the eve teasing judgements, the state was the party. Here, how can the court issue the writ of mandamus (directions) against individuals, it said. The Bench said, Certain things are collective and certain things are individual...Some people laugh when they hear jokes, some are reserved. How can we issue guidelines as to how people should conduct themselves? The Bench said the entire country respects the natives of the border areas including Punjab for their bravery and the history has been witness to it. Sikh is highly respected community but you are bringing it down by fighting litigation to ban jokes, it said, adding that at best the issue fell within the domain of Parliament. It said an aggrieved individual has the legal remedy and there was no scope for issuing guidelines for common public to follow. The Bench, earlier headed by the then CJI T S Thakur, had said it was willing to issue directions to curb dissemination of insulting jokes about Sikhs. It had said that the key concern was the enforcement of such directives. With PTI inputs Jupinderjit Singh Tribune News Service Chandigarh, February 7 The Election Commission on Tuesday drew flak from leaders over the issue of repolling in 48 polling stations falling in Majitha, Muktsar and Sangrur Assembly segments following malfunctioning in the Voter-Verified Audit Paper Trail (VVPAT) and EVMs on February 4. The repolling will take place on February 9. (Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd) Akali candidate Bikram Singh Majithia from Majitha constituency said he was surprised that the EC had ordered repolling as most of the booths listed had recorded upto 90 per cent votes. "I don't understand the logic behind the repolling. On poll day, we sought extension of time for voting due to a snag in the VVPAT machines. It was denied. Now after three days, the repolling has been ordered. It is a one-way communication. The EC needs to explain. None of the candidates in Majitha had sought repolling," he said. Majithia said they had said no for repolling after the EC had sought a report from the state election authorities on the malfunctioning of VVPATs, which caused delay in voting. SAD rebel Sukhdarshan Singh Mrar, who contested as an Independent from Muktsar, said: There is no need for repolling. When no candidate has raised any objection then why the EC has ordered repolling." On repoll in Majitha, AAP candiadate Himmat Singh Shergill said he would start doing door to door campaign in the areas that will go to polls again. He said: I don't want to comment on EC orders. It is done now. I don't want to waste even one minute of my door to door campaigning. I was winning the seat. The repoll will increase the victory margin." Meanwhile, the Sangrur DC has called a meeting of officers to prepare for repolling. AAP national convener and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had on Saturday attacked the Election Commission and tweeted, "Never has any election seen malfunctioning EVMs on such a largescale. Was it mischief done deliberately by or in collusion with EC." AAP leader Sanjay Singh had raised the matter with the Punjab CEO, demanding extension in time where polling was affected because of the VVPAT problem. Neena Sharma Tribune News Service Dehradun, February 7 The BJP has earned the dubious distinction of fielding the highest number of candidates against whom criminal cases are pending. The BJP is followed by the Congress, which is a close second and at the third place is the BSP. Besides, having the highest number of candidates with criminal cases pending against them, the BJPs three candidates fall in the list of richest among all the candidates. According to the assessment made by an NGO, the Uttarakhand Election Watch and Association for Democratic Reforms, 19 candidates of the BJP of 70 fielded by the party have criminal cases pending against them. While 17 out of the 70 candidates from the Congress have declared that they have pending criminal cases against them. Seven candidates out of 69 from the BSP and 32 out of the 261 Independent candidates have criminal cases against them, disclosed by the candidatesin their affidavits. Out of the 637 candidates from 34 political parties and 261 Independents, who are contesting the February 15 poll, 14 per cent (91) have said they have criminal cases pending against them. Out of these 8 per cent (54) candidates have serious nature of criminal cases against them. Five candidates have declared cases related to attempt to murder and five candidates have declared cases of crime against women, These candidates with criminal cases are the highest in Dharampur, Raipur, Haridwar rural, BHEL Ranipur, Rudrapur, Narender Nagar, Jaspur, Gadarpur and Rishikesh Assembly segments. Along with boasting of the highest number of candidates against whom criminal cases are pending, the BJP has also fielded three candidates who have the highest assets to boot. While the top three candidates with the highest assets are BJP candidate from Chaubattakhal, Saptpal Maharaj, with total declared assets of Rs 80 crore (both movable and immovable) followed by Mohan Prasad Kala an Independent candidate from Pauri constituency with assets of Rs 75 crore (both movable and immovable assets) and Shalinder Mohan, a BJP candidate from Jaspur with assets of Rs 35 crore (both movable and immovable). There are three low asset candidates namely Sunil Kumar, a BSP candidate from Mangalore with Rs 500, Rajender Singh, an Independent candidate from Lohaghat with Rs 500 and Aruna also an Independent candidate with Rs 1,000. Further the BJP candidate Harbhajan Singh Cheema from Udham Singh Nagar and Surinder Singh Jeena, a BJP candidate from Salt are burdened with liabilities. The Uttarakhand Election Watch and Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) have analysed the self-sworn affidavits of all 637 candidates from 34 political parties, including six national parties, four state parties, 24 unrecognised parties and 261 Independent candidates. These candidates are contesting the February 15 polls. Tribune News Service Mussoorie, February 7 BJP national president Amit Shah, while addressing a public gathering at Ghansali in support of BJP candidate Shakti Lal Shah, today said Uttarakhand under Chief Minister Harish Rawat was witnessing mafia raj and open larceny of natural resources with impunity. He said the Union government had given funds to the state but the government had been indulging in corruption instead of heralding development projects. If people wanted to get rid of the corrupt Congress, they should vote for BJP. Shah said the BJP was on a mission to end corruption in the country and people were joining it happily. The Union government had granted Rs 12,000 crore for the construction of 900 km of all weather Char Dham roads in the state. It was targeting to provide domestic gas connections to five crore poor people in five years, he added. He said the Central government was running 92 welfare schemes. The government with the support of armed forces had given a befitting reply to Pakistan. The Congress had been ridden with corruption and there was no corruption charge against the Narendra Modi government. He appealed to people to vote for BJP candidates. Haridwar MP Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank, Tehri Garhwal MP Mala Rajya Lakshmi Shah, BJP national secretary Teerath Singh Rawat, district BJP president Sanjay Negi and Ghansali candidate Shakti Lal Shah also addressed the gathering. Sandeep Rawat Tribune News Service Haridwar, February 7 Devprayag, from where the Ganga originates at the confluence of the Alaknanda and the Bhagirathi, is known for neck and neck contests in the Assembly elections since the erstwhile Uttar Pradesh era. The constituency is once again set to witness a fierce contest as the candidates of the BJP and the Congress are facing rebellion over the allocation of ticket. The BJP has fielded Vinod Kandari while the Congress has given ticket to sitting MLA Mantri Prasad Naithani, who is a member of the Progressive Democratic Front (PDF), a group of Independents and other parties that is supporting the government. The PDFhelped the Congress form the government and survive the last years political crisis. Naithani, who joined the Congress recently, had contested as an Independent candidate in 2012. Naithanis candidature has infuriated Congress leader Shoorveer Singh Sajwan, who is in the fray as an Independent candidate this time. Notably, when the Congress had fielded Sajwan in 2012, Naithani had revolted and contested successfully as an Independent candidate. Shoorveer Singh Sajwan had won from the Devprayag seat for the first time in 1985. Meanwhile, things are not easy for the BJP too as its former leader Diwakar Bhatt is in the fray as an Independent candidate. Bhatt had joined the BJP for ticket, but he was unhappy after the party fielded Vinod Kandari. The BJP expelled him last week from the partys primary membership for six years. Bhatt was Devprayag MLA in 2007. He bagged 20,980 votes to give Congress Mantri Prasad Naithani (9,385) a crushing defeat by 11,595 votes. However, Bhatt lost to Naithani in the 2012 Assembly elections by a slender margin of around 1,200 votes. In the Assembly elections of 2002, Naithani contested on the Congress ticket and bagged 9,912 votes to defeat BJPs Raghuveer Singh Pawar (7,660). Naithani supported the Congress and was made Education Minister. He focused on development works in Devprayag. He says he has got the Kumbh Mela periphery stretched up to the holy town of Sangam (Devprayag) during Ardh Kumbh last year. Ardh Kumbh, which attracted and will draw not only Kumbh devotees but also tourists to the ancient town. The Kumbh budget will cover Devprayag as well. The renovation of Ganga Ghats, laying of sewerage and sanitation services facilities last year were carried out from the Ardh Kumbh budget. Naithani, at an an election meeting in Devprayag town, claimed that 90 per cent of the announcements he had made during his electioneering in the 2012 elections had been fulfilled. A degree college in Badiyagadh has been sanctioned. The Paurikhal NCC academy, a water pipeline project that is providing potable water to several villages, sub-office of the Rehabilitation Directorate in Devprayag and recarpeting of roads in various parts of the segment have also been sanctioned, he says. Naithani, who has been associated with the annual Shri Vishwanath Dev Doli pilgrimage, says he wants to renovate ancient temples and other shrines in the state. However, Diwakar Bhatt has another story to tell. He says a majority of development projects that Mantri Prasad Naithani has inaugurated were actually initiated during his tenure as the legislator of the constituency. Bhatt, while campaigning at Simswarat Talla and Simswara Malla, said, Naithani has been fooling people for the past five years. Leaders like Naithani and Shoorveer Singh Sajwan have made no mentionable contribution to the separate statehood movement in 80s and 90s. I was active those days and led the movement in Garhwal as well as Kumaon. It was 1980 when Diwakar contested the Assembly elections from Devprayag for the first time but lost to CPI candidate Vidya Sagar Nautiyal by 2,000 odd votes. BJPs young candidate Vinod Kandari, who has been associated with the partys youth wing, is also confident of his victory. He says there will be no impact on his campaign of his uncle Matbar Singh Kandari joining the Congress once again in three years. Political analyst Ramesh Negi says Devprayag is facing a four-cornered contest and all four candidates have influence in the constituency. The victory margin in the 2012 Assembly elections was slender, and this time it is expected to be ultra slim, he says. An aggrieved Sajwan is expected to eat into the traditional Congress vote bank. Diwakar Bhatts supporters are also trying to get sympathy votes claiming it to be his last elections. The Devprayag segment, which has 82,100 voters, has been represented twice by former BJP leader Matbar Singh Kandari (now in the Congress fold). Independent Satya Singh was the first legislator from the segment. Inder Mohan Baduni, also known as the Gandhi of Uttarakhand, who pioneered the Uttarakhand separate statehood movement, also represented this seat in 1977. Vijaya Laxmi is the only woman legislator to have represented the constituency in 1962. Sajwan may dent Congress vote bank Shoorveer Singh Sajwan rebelled against the Congress after the party fielded Mantri Prasad Naithani. The party had fielded Sajwan in the 2012 elections but Naithani emerged victorious as an Independent candidate. Sajwan, who won in 1985 from the Devprayag seat for the first time, expected to eat into the traditional Congress vote bank. No impact of Matbar Kandaris exit BJP candidate Vinod Kandari, who has been associated with the partys youth wing, is confident of his victory. He says there will be no impact on his campaign of his uncle Matbar Singh Kandari joining the Congress once again in three years. Washington, February 7 As many as 16 US Attorney Generals have joined the bandwagon opposing President Donald Trumps controversial travel ban on citizens from seven Muslim-majority nations, saying the discriminatory order is unconstitutional and un-American. The Executive Order signed by Trump banning countries that include Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen has been halted by a federal court in Seattle. (Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd) The Trump Administration has challenged this stay order before the US 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, before whom Attorney Generals from as many as 16 states have filed amici curiae brief against the Executive Order. This filing is about keeping our communities safe, protecting our economy, and upholding the rule of law. Pennsylvania was founded on the promise of liberty and were proud to help lead this effort in support of Washington States lawsuit, Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro said. No president or administration is more powerful than our laws and our Constitution. As state AGs, it is our job to hold this administration accountable and stand for the interests of our states and our residents. We are united in this effort, said Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey. New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman said the ban is unconstitutional, unlawful and fundamentally un-American. We wont stand by while it undermines our states families, economies, and institutions, he said. From filing our own federal lawsuit last week, to partnering with fellow Attorneys General on this amicus brief today, we will use every tool at our disposal to fight President Trumps discriminatory order and help ensure the rule of law prevails, he added. The Administrations reckless dismissal of the Constitution threatens to rip apart California families, risks their economic well-being and defies centuries of our American tradition, alleged California Attorney General Xavier Becerra. Immigrants are the life-blood of our nation who work hard to build our country, especially in California. Our universities, medical institutions, businesses, and our tax base are all harmed by President Donald Trumps unconstitutional and un-American order, he said. The amicus brief calls to uphold the federal district courts ruling and deny the federal governments emergency motion for stay, as it would return the country to the confusion and chaos created by the executive order in its implementation last weekend. PTI The girl, from Mondiyari Village of Jangaon district, was bought to Hyderabad by her poor parents as she was suffering from pneumonia. By Ashish Pandey: A 6-year-old tribal girl, Sai Pravallika, who was given fungus-infected saline at Gandhi Hospital died on Tuesday after battling life for 62 days. The girl, from Mondiyari Village of Jangaon district, was bought to Hyderabad by her poor parents as she was suffering from pneumonia. Sai Pravallika was admitted to state-run Gandhi Medical College and Hospital with high fever on December 7 and was undergoing treatment, but her condition further deteriorated after December 14 when she was given saline with "fungus contamination ." advertisement Also read: SGPGI Lucknow asked to pay Rs 15 lakh for medical negligence Speaking to India Today, Sai Pravallika's father Bikshapati alleged negligence by the government-run hospital and its administration. He also alleged that hospital administration forced him to take out the dead body of his daughter immediately from the hospital after she was declared dead at 3.45am. Internal committee report awaited Post the incident, following protest and media criticism the Telangana health ministry ordered an inquiry into the incident, but it's more than a month, the inquiry has not yet been completed and no report has been submitted so far. Meanwhile, the state-run hospital administration says that the girl was suffering from a peculiar neurological disorder and that could be the reason of her health condition. Clarifying over the infected-saline, hospital superintendent Dr J Venkateshwar Reddy said, "After the incident, the hospital authorities seized all the bottles of that particular batch and sent them for medical examination and none of the bottles found with any kind of contamination. We do not know how that particular bottle was contaminated." Meanwhile, the grieved family has taken the body to their native town for cremation. Watch the video here: --- ENDS --- San Francisco, February 7 State and federal lawyers will argue before a panel of federal appellate court judges in the pitched fight over President Donald Trumps travel and refugee ban that could reach the Supreme Court. The legal dispute involves two divergent views of the role of the executive branch and the court system. The federal government maintains the president alone has the power to decide who can enter or stay in the United States, while states suing Trump say his executive order is unconstitutional. Seattle US District Judge James Robart, who on Friday temporarily blocked Trumps order, has said a judges job is to ensure that an action taken by the government comports with our countrys laws. The Justice Department filed a new defense of Trumps ban on travelers from seven predominantly Muslim nations as a federal appeals court weighs whether to restore the administrations executive order. The lawyers said he travel ban was a lawful exercise of the presidents authority to protect national security and said Robarts order that put the policy on hold should be overruled. The filing with the San Francisco-based 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals was the latest salvo in a high-stakes legal fight surrounding Trumps order. Washington state, Minnesota and other states say the appellate court should allow a temporary restraining order blocking the travel ban to stand as their lawsuit moves through the legal system. The judges hearing the arguments, two Democrat-appointed judges and one Republican appointee, are from a randomly assigned panel. The appeals court over the weekend refused to immediately reinstate the ban, and lawyers for Washington and Minnesota argued anew on Monday that any resumption would unleash chaos again, separating families and stranding university students. The Justice Department responded that the president has clear authority to suspend the entry of any class of aliens to the US in the name of national security. It said the travel ban was intended to permit an orderly review and revision of screening procedures to ensure that adequate standards are in place to protect against terrorist attacks. AP Pence breaks Senate tie to confirm education pick The US Senate confirmed billionaire heiress Betsy DeVos as the next secretary of education on Tuesday, after Vice President Mike Pence was forced to break a tie on the deeply controversial nomination. The chamber deadlocked at 50-50, with two Republican senators breaking ranks to oppose DeVos, a champion of using taxpayer monies to help fund privately run schools. The Senate being equally divided, the vice president votes in the affirmative, and the nomination is confirmed, Pence said. The tie-breaking vote, which Senate officials said was unprecedented to confirm a Cabinet nominee, followed an all-night debate on DeVos. 78 terror attacks under-reported by media: WH AMMAN, February 7 Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said US President Donald Trump prioritising the fight against jihadists led by Islamic State was promising although it was too early to expect any practical steps, state news agency SANA reported on Tuesday. The Kremlin, Assad's most powerful ally, said Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed setting up "genuine coordination" in the fight against Islamic State and "other terrorist groups" in Syria during a phone call last month. Assad was quoted by SANA as telling a group of Belgian reporters that Trump's position was promising. "I believe this is promising but we have to wait and it's too early to expect anything practical," he said. Assad was also quoted as saying that US-Russian cooperation in stepping up the fight against the militants would have positive repercussions. Trump has previously indicated he might cut US support for Syrian rebels that have been fighting Assad, and that he could cooperate with Russia in the fight against Islamic State in Syria. Trump has made defeating Islamic State a core goal of his presidency and signed an executive order asking the Pentagon, the joint chiefs of staff and other agencies to submit a preliminary plan on how to proceed within 30 days. Reuters Washington, February 7 The US government has defended President Donald Trump's travel ban as a "lawful exercise" of his authority, and claimed that a federal court made a mistake in barring enforcement of the measure. A hearing has been set in the case for Tuesday at 3 pm (2300 GMT). With the ban suspended since Friday, the legal battle has moved to San Francisco, where Justice Department lawyers yesterday defended the executive order and said the nationwide injunction against it was "vastly overbroad." (Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd) Meanwhile, two new polls show that a majority of Americans now oppose the ban, which sparked chaos at US airports -- findings that Trump angrily dismissed as media lies. "Any negative polls are fake news, just like the CNN, ABC, NBC polls in the election," he said on Twitter. "Sorry, people want border security and extreme vetting." Trump, who paid a visit to US Central Command in Tampa, Florida, earlier in the day once again roundly condemned the media -- accusing them of downplaying the terror threat his administration has cited to justify its travel ban. "Radical Islamic terrorists are determined to strike our homeland as they did on 9/11, as they did from Boston to Orlando to San Bernardino, and all across Europe," the president told military personnel. "And in many cases the very, very dishonest press doesn't want to report it," he claimed. "They have their reasons, and you understand that." Asked to explain Trump's comments, White House spokesman Sean Spicer promised to "provide a list" of attacks that had been "underreported." "Protests will get blown out of the water, and yet an attack or a foiled attack doesn't necessarily get the same coverage," he said. A federal court that temporarily rolled back Trump's directive "erred in entering an injunction barring enforcement of the order," the government told the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in asking that the ban be reinstated. "But even if some relief were appropriate, the court's sweeping nationwide injunction is vastly overbroad," it said. The president's executive order summarily denied entry to all refugees for 120 days, and travelers from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen for 90 days -- a move critics charge will damage US interests. Refugees from Syria were blocked indefinitely. AFP Washington, February 7 Facing criticism for cosying up to Russia, US President Donald Trump on Tuesday said he does not know his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, nor has any deals in Russia. "I don't know Putin, have no deals in Russia, and the haters are going crazy - yet Obama can make a deal with Iran, #1 in terror, no problem," Trump said in a tweet to his 24.1 million followers. In recent days, Trump has been slammed by the opposition parties for saying that he wants to work with Russia and Putin in the fight against ISIS. Senator Ben Cardin, ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, alleged that Trump has made clear he does not believe in America's exceptionalism when he equated the United States to Vladimir Putin and his murderous regime. "Such a ridiculous statement sends a signal that this White House does not in fact prioritise the United States but increasingly champions a Russia First Policy. "It is offensive to the American people, veterans, and brave servicemen and women who put their lives on the line everyday to protect our principles, liberties, and way of life," he said. "Political opponents and independent journalists in Russia have been attacked, jailed, and killed under Putin's regime. Anna Politkovskaya, a world renowned journalist was killed in her apartment building," he said. The former Deputy Prime Minister and opposition leader Boris Nemtsov was gunned down steps from the Kremlin. And this morning, another Russian opposition leader, Vladimir Kara-Murza, lies in a coma, likely the latest victim of the poisoning attacks that have become a periodic calling card of Putin's thugs, he added. "Equating our country with an authoritarian, murderous regime is outrageous and reprehensible, even for Trump. All elected officials in the United States have a responsibility to speak up against the President's dangerous rhetoric," Cardin said. Earlier, top US intelligence agencies has told Trump that Russia has interfered in the presidential election by hacking Democratic party computer networks, in the process helping political outsider Trump defeat his strong opponent and former Sectary of State Hillary Clinton. Trump has rejected assertions that Russian interference influenced the election in his favour. PTI Sanaa, February 6 Yemen's Houthi rebels say they have "successfully" fired a ballistic missile at Riyadh for the first time, and are vowing more attacks on the Saudi capital. Saudi Arabia has been leading an international coalition against the Houthis and allied Yemeni military units since March 2015. Saudi officials could not immediately be reached for comment on the missile claim. In a statement posted on the Houthi-run SABA news agency on Monday, the rebels said the missile "targeted" the al-Mazahmiya army base in western Riyadh, around 1,000 km from the rebel-held Yemeni capital, Sanaa. In October, Saudi Arabia said it intercepted and destroyed a Houthi-fired missile some 65 kilometres from Mecca, home to the cube-shaped Kaaba toward which the world's Muslims pray five times a day. AP Independent contractors operating at ports, like the Port of Long Beach, are challenging their status. Photo: Jim Park In The End of Employees, the Wall Street Journal recently said, Never before have American companies tried so hard to employ so few people. It points out, for instance, that the men and women who unload shipping containers at Wal-Mart Stores Inc. warehouses are provided by trucking company Schneider National Inc.s logistics operation, which in turn subcontracts with temporary-staffing agencies. In fact, the Journal reports, the contractor model is so prevalent that Google parent Alphabet Inc., ranked by Fortune magazine as the best place to work for seven of the past 10 years, has roughly equal numbers of outsourced workers and full-time employees, according to people familiar with the matter. For many companies, the idea of focusing on your core business and outsourcing other tasks is a path to better efficiency and profitability. However, while American companies may want to use more independent contractors, governments and workers who feel they are being improperly misclassified are pushing back. And thats not likely to change too drastically under the new Trump administration. The Obama Administration, through the Labor Department and the IRS, worked to crack down on workers who were believed to have been misclassified as independent contractors when they really were treated as employees. Meanwhile, in the courts, private class action lawsuits have targeted companies such as Uber and FedEx. Just last month, a court found that Swift contract drivers should have been employees. Richard J. Reibstein, Pepper Hamilton LLP, writing for Law360, points out that during the Obama administration, the U.S. Congress did not pass a single bill to address the issue of independent contractor classification. However, since the DOL announced its Misclassification Initiative in September 2011, 35 state labor departments have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the DOL. Of those 35 states, 18 currently have Republican governors. Thus, it is fair to say that at the state level, IC misclassification is viewed as a nonpartisan priority," Reibstein writes. In addition, he notes, many state legislatures have passed bipartisan legislation designed to curtail IC misclassification. So while its likely the Department of Labor will pull back somewhat on their enforcement efforts in this area at the federal level, he says, there is no reason to expect that state labor departments will be any less aggressive in their efforts to crack down on IC misclassification. "If anything, many state labor departments, especially those in states with Democratic party governors, are likely to double down on their enforcement efforts if they feel that the DOL is backing away from the joint enforcement initiatives begun under the Obama administration. In another legal piece, attorneys at Holland & White point to California as one example of the assertion of states' rights over the delivery of interstate trucking services. In California, the states Labor Commissioner has seen a surge of complaints from truck drivers challenging their classification as independent contractors. The upshot of these claims is for the truckers to avoid paying expenses and insurance for their trucks, to impose meal and rest break obligations on the truckers, and to overturn long-standing compensation practices, note the attorneys. In a press release last may, the Labor Commissioner noted that since 2011, port truck drivers have filed 799 of these misclassification claims and more than $35 million had been awarded at that point to misclassified port truck drivers in 302 cases. On Dec. 16, the California Trucking Association filed a lawsuit asking for the court to freeze the holding of these administrative hearings, known as "Berman Hearings, noting that the states actions interfere with the contractual relations established between the motor carrier and truck drivers under federal law. In a press release, CTA CEO Shawn Yadon stated, "We believe the Labor Commissioner and Division of Labor Standards Enforcement (DLSE), for more than four years, have been intentionally ignoring their statutory obligations to be neutral and fair and are, instead, abusing their authority in order to drive a particular agenda to undermine the many small business trucking companies that operate under the legal independent contractor relationship with other, larger companies by forcing predetermined results from labor hearings." So if you use independent contractor drivers, be aware this is still going to be an issue, at the state level and in the courts, even if the pressure eases at the federal level. By Press Trust of India: From Lalit K Jha Washington, Feb 7 (PTI) India, a major buyer of oil from Iran, has implemented UN-mandated sanctions against it, a bipartisan Congressional report has said amid the Trump Administrations efforts to muster international support against Tehran after conducting a missile test. The independent Congressional Research Service (CRS) said in its latest report said that India began reducing economic relations with Iran in 2010 when Indias central bank ceased using a Tehran-based regional body, the Asian Clearing Union, to handle transactions with Iran. advertisement "India implemented UN-mandated sanctions against Iran and generally cooperated with multilateral efforts to use sanctions to achieve a nuclear agreement with Iran," the report which was presented to lawmakers yesterday. CRS is the independent research wing of the US Congress which prepares periodic report on issues of interest for lawmakers for them to make informed decisions. Its report are not considered as official report of the US Congress. In its 42-page report CRS notes that during 2010-2016, Indias private sector described Iran as a "controversial market" ? a term used by many international firms to describe markets that entail reputational and financial risks. In January 2012, Iran agreed to accept Indias currency rupee to settle 45 per cent of its oil sales to India, which Iran mostly used to buy Indian wheat, pharmaceuticals, rice, sugar, soybeans, auto parts and other products. "India reduced its imports of Iranian oil substantially after 2011 - by the time of the JPA, Iran was only supplying about six per cent of Indias oil imports, down from over 16 per cent in 2008. India incurred significant costs to retrofit refineries that were handling Iranian crude. However, since the JCPOA, oil imports apparently have increased to close to 2011 levels," the report said. Indian firms ended or slowed work on investments in Iranian oil and gas fields?work that is likely to resume now that sanctions have been lifted, CRS said, adding that India and Iran are considering using Turkeys Halkbank to transfer to Iran USD 6.5 billion for oil purchased by India during 2012-2016. In 2015, India and Iran agreed that India would help develop Irans Chahbahar port that would enable it to trade with Afghanistan unimpeded by Pakistan. "With sanctions on Iran now lifted, that project no longer entails risk to Indian firms involved. In May 2016, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Iran and signed an agreement to invest USD 500 million to develop the port and related infrastructure," CRS said. The report came as US President Donald Trump criticised Iran over its actions. The White House put Iran "on notice" over the move and vowed to take action, setting the stage for confrontation between the two nations. PTI LKJ MRJ NSA --- ENDS --- advertisement Dear friends around the world, I thought I would share some thoughts about the association with China people make with people of my faith. My interest in China is not borne out of political motivations or objectives. Long before the Sino-Tibetan conflict, and even before China arose as a global super-power, from a very young age I had already liked and admired China for her tremendous contributions to the world in the sciences, arts, culture, philosophies, religion, astronomy and for her rich cultural history. My admiration of Chinese culture is no different to some other peoples fondness for the Greek or Aztec culture which is to say, it is a matter of intellectual interest and it has never been a political move. Actually, my family hails from regions that are now parts of China and to this day, I still have relatives there, particularly in Xinjiang and also Tibet. And my connection with the Chinese people has also grown because it is the Malaysian people of Chinese descent who have been assisting me all this time, in building a Dharma centre to spread the Buddhas teachings. These are historical facts and truths that cannot simply be brushed aside simply because in 1996 the Tibetan leadership made an issue out any relationships with China. So, today it is common for Dorje Shugden people to be accused of being Chinese agents or political sympathisers of China against His Holiness the Dalai Lama. The truth is, there is no historical fact to support this wrong accusation and in fact, it defies simple common sense. The Shugden practice began in the 17th century, long before any kind of geopolitical conflicts and since that time, there has not been any connection between this Protector practice and Chinese politics. In fact, there was no so-called connection until the Tibetan leadership started talking about it almost 400 years after the practice began! In some quarters in the West, this false accusation has found some support among those who are ambivalent about Chinas rise that threatens the status quo, and among those who favour these Western powers. For this reason, and also peoples general lack of awareness for Chinese culture, the accusation against Dorje Shugden has been able to prevail. But if you consider the situation objectively, free from any kind of bias for one side or another, it is just not logical to say that all Shugden people are bad, and all Chinese people are bad. To make such a sweeping statement is irresponsible and illogical, because it manipulates the emotions of the Tibetan people who feel very strongly about their political troubles. But these sweeping statements are not supported at all by evidence or facts. Logically speaking, there are good and undesirable people in China. There are also good and undesirable people in the West, and in the Tibetan government and even within the ranks of Dorje Shugden practitioners. I am not unreasonable and unrealistic to ignore this. But, and I repeat myself, to accuse all Shugden practitioners of having a connection to China simply because of their faith is a mass generalisation that has no basis, evidence, proof or facts. I do have connections with China. I will continue to have connections with China. These connections are my relatives in China (Tibet/Xinjiang), my friends, monasteries associated with my Buddhist lineage and also my heritage that comes from China. My heritage is my father who comes from Tibet and is ethnically Tibetan, and my mother who comes from Xinjiang and is ethnically Mongol. I will continue to contact my relatives and friends, and visit them also and there is nothing political about that. I am connected to China also because of my race and my admiration of their immensely rich culture since four decades. There is nothing wrong with being connected to China. I am doing nothing wrong with these connections. No one has the right to criticise my connections to China as its my personal affair. I have no connections politically to China or the government of this powerful country and if I did, there is nothing wrong and its no ones business. I do not engage in politics. At the same time, I am a Dorje Shugden practitioner now and will always be till the end of my life for strictly spiritual reasons. People may degrade me for it, but that does not deter me one bit because in life whatever you do, there will be criticism in one way or another. Its part and parcel of life. I believe all human beings have the right to choose the religion of their choice. No political or spiritual leader may criticise and override this basic human right. All civilised countries allow their citizens to practise the path of their choice. No spiritual or political leader of these civilised countries would condemn and enforce or gently advise against any spiritual path. It is undemocratic and archaic, and would not reflect well on the leader. No leader of these countries would goad their citizens to admonish, segregate or condemn any religion or their followers because it is against human rights. No spiritual leader should ever advise against anyones spiritual practice for any reasons as this is the freedom enshrined for every citizen. Whether my religious choice of practice, gods, God and path will bring me to heaven or hell is not anyones business. Some people say spiritual leaders can advise or direct us from wrong to correct paths. But where do we draw the line? It is my choice. So if a spiritual leaders speech in advising against a practice as in this case Dorje Shugden, brings segregation, attacks, disharmony and hatred, he or she should not advise and desist. I hope to have greater connections to China for spiritual reasons and for reasons of my relatives and friends. I will connect with any country, be friends with anyone and practise what religion I like and I will share my religion with those interested and that is my choice. I respect China greatly as I do my homeland Tibet and Xinjiang. I wish the people there happiness, prosperity and peace. So to say that Dorje Shugden practitioners have a Chinese connection that is politically motivated, and therefore they are bad, and to repeat this over and over again without any facts is actually racism because it is implying that to be Chinese or connected to the Chinese, is somehow bad. Hence we see in the Dorje Shugden debacle how a good religion has been smeared with politics by the intent of the Tibetan leadership. And this mix has never been good or beneficial. Tsem Rinpoche Or view the video on the server at: https://video.tsemtulku.com/videos/PoliticsRacism.mp4 Transcript When I was younger, growing up in New Jersey, I experienced heavy racism in school from the Caucasian kids that were there, and it was almost a daily affair for some time. It wasnt throughout my school years but it was around the 7th and early 8th grade, more the 7th grade. They would have a lot of racist names like chink and theyd make fun of your eyes and your name, and they would do it almost every day and sometimes it would become violent. To the people there who are quite ignorant, everybody who is Asian is just Chinese. Its like saying that everybody who is Caucasian is just English. Due to their ignorance, they would just call everybody and anybody who is Asian a chink, and it was very demoralising and demeaning. So after a while, I kind of connected with Asians, I connected with other Asians and Asian people because well, theyre not going to say things like that to you, are they? So as we grew older, Ive always wanted to live in the East, and since a very young age, you know, coincidentally Ive always been interested in Chinese culture, Chinese royalty, Chinese archaeology and architecture, and generally the country. I used to think that China was a very old and ancient, sophisticated culture. When I was growing up, China was quite poverty-stricken or not doing very well, but these days China has risen to the top, and so in a way when China rises to the top, to some people in the West who are ignorant, they think that everybodys Chinese, and it kind of raises the status quo of Asians in those ignorant peoples eyes, not that that matters at all, because all people are equal no matter what. So, I personally dont have any connection to China, or anything in China. I would love to have a connection to China because I admire the culture, just like some people admire Greek culture, some people admire Aztec culture, Egyptian culture. I admire Chinese culture and I dont think there is anything wrong. For most of my adult life, Ive had the fortune to live in Malaysia where part of the population is Chinese. They dont have anything to do with China because they are Malaysian Chinese, and theyve been very kind in assisting me in helping to build, to learn Dharma, to propagate the Dharma, and do all kinds of activities: fundraise, study, meditate and do practices, so I am quite indebted to the Chinese people of Malaysia who dont have anything to do with China, but in general Im very enamoured with Chinese culture and I relate to it. Well, my relatives, my fathers side relatives live in Tibet, which is now a part of China. Whether people like it or not, thats just how it is now. Im not saying I agree or dont agree, but thats just a fact. My mothers side of the family are in Xinjiang, which is a part of China too. So all of my relatives, mother and fathers sides are all in China, and I would love to connect with them and visit China to visit my blood relatives there. Now, when I received the Dorje Shugden initiation and practice 30 years ago, there was no talk about China, there was no talk about being connected with China, or that being connected with China was bad, or was politically sensitive or negative; Chinas just China, I am who I am. But since 1996, the Tibetan leadership has made a consistent effort to categorise people who practise Dorje Shugden as people related to China, or working for China or receiving Chinas funds, which I find very silly and illogical because there are tens of thousands of Dorje Shugden practitioners now, and before the 1996 ban created by the Tibetan leadership. And also for the last 400 years, people have been practising Dorje Shugden since the time of the His Holiness the 5th Dalai Lama and well, they had nothing to do with China, theyre just practising it for their own spiritual reasons as given to them by their Guru. Thats what I am doing, I practise Dorje Shugden because it was given to me by my Guru, and it has nothing to do with China. So when the Tibetan leadership likes to label people that everyone and anyone who practises Dorje Shugden, EVERYONE and ANYONE who practises Dorje Shugden is a paid agent of China is ridiculous. Its like saying all Tibetans follow the Middle Way, and theyre not into independence or Rangzen, which is not true. There are factions of Tibetans who are pro-Rangzen and Tibetan independence from China, and there are factions of Tibetans who are Middle Way, and just because you are Tibetan, it doesnt mean you follow the Middle Way. Similarly, just because you practise Dorje Shugden, it doesnt mean you have connections with China. And if you do have connections with China, it doesnt mean you are paid by China or you are part of the Chinese system of whatever people perceive them to be doing to Tibet. Therefore, Tibetans who practise Dorje Shugden are immediately categorised as agents of the Chinese, which is ridiculous because theres so many of us, and there have been tens of thousands of us, and its been for 400 years and we couldnt have been agents. The reason we were categorised as agents of the Chinese is that it appeals to the West who have ambivalent feelings about Chinas rise to power, wealth and prosperity. Not all, but some people in the West are ambivalent because some of the Western countries along with Japan have been #1, #2, #3. And now, when Chinas kind of taking over, some people can be ambivalent or perhaps little uncomfortable with it, and some people are comfortable. So by Tibetan leadership saying that Dorje Shugden practitioners are practising Dorje Shugden and they are siding with China, it kind of wins over the Western ambivalence towards China and it kind of matches their scheme of things to suppress Dorje Shugden practitioners and have them treated unfairly. So therefore throughout history, politics has always been mixed with religion, and religion has been mixed with politics, and thats not very good. When religion is mixed with politics, religion becomes impure and politics become something that can be used to harm. Throughout history, theres always some sort of labelling that leaders are divine, infallible, and that they are ordained by God, or incarnations of a god or whatever, and then people go along with that. So what happens is this is, my point is that Dorje Shugden practitionersmaybe there are some, one or two or three who are pro-China, maybe there are Dorje Shugden practitioners who are not pro-China. For me, I like China, Ive liked China, Ive respected and admired China since I was a child and thats been going on 40 years. I admire them as a race, and I admire them as an ancient, sophisticated, intelligent and very powerful race of people who have contributed greatly to world development, just like many other races on this planet. My admiration of China has nothing to do with politics because Ive never ever been involved in politics and I never will be. So therefore my practice of Dorje Shugden has nothing to do with China, it never had anything to do with China, and it will never have anything to do with China. China and Dorje Shugden are different. China is a country that I admire just like some people admire Greece, Brazil, the Aztecs, some people admire the USA, whatever it is and my spiritual practice is Dorje Shugden and these are completely two different things. And the reason why the Tibetan leadership likes to do that is perhaps for the last 50 plus years they have not done very well in securing the independence of Tibet and negotiating with China for the Middle Way and autonomy, they have not succeeded. Its very, very typical of the Tibetan leadership for hundreds of years to blame it on the gods, to blame it on the lamas, to blame it on the protectors, and to generally find a scapegoat. So Dorje Shugden is an easy scapegoat to say and they used to say this that we wont get independence for Tibet because Dorje Shugden is disrupting it. Nuns and monks disrobe because of Dorje Shugdens evil blessings. Lamas wont live long because of Dorje Shugdens wrath. Since the Dorje Shugden ban in 1996 till now, Dorje Shugden hasnt punished, hurt, damaged or killed any lamas, any monks or any geshes. There are quite a few monks, lamas and geshes who have criticised Dorje Shugden and have campaigned against him, but you dont see them harmed or hurt in any way, which proves to you over time that Dorje Shugden harms nobody, as Kyabje Trijang Rinpoche has already said, that he is Manjushri. Therefore, he is basically a scapegoat, and there are many other people and situations in Tibetan society that the West will not know about that are made into scapegoats. But we Tibetans on the inside, who speak Tibetan, will hear about these scapegoats, will hear about these intrigues, problems and difficulties. So the point of my talking and saying all these is not to defame the Tibetan government because there are people in the Tibetan government who are good there are and there are people who are not and who use their positions for personal gain and money. There are good people in China who really want prosperity and wealth for the country to grow and to do better, just like any citizen of their country. There are people in the West who are very good, and there are people in the West who are ambivalent or perhaps even uncomfortable with the rise of China in the world global power table. There are Dorje Shugden practitioners who are very good, and there are Dorje Shugden practitioners who are perhaps not doing their best. There are non-Dorje Shugden practitioners who are not very good, and there are non-Dorje Shugden practitioners who are very good, so we dont generalise people because of their race, their colour, or their religion or their background, thats very, very wrong. So I practise Dorje Shugden because my Guru gave him to me, and I will never contradict the advice of my Guru. It doesnt matter to me what other lamas and other high-ranking teachers or famous teachers say. For me, my teacher is my teacher and I will only follow his advice and my mind will never stir from my personal teachers advice because he gave me the advice from his heart, for his love for me, and for him observing what I need in this life to practice. So if other people want to label me a Chinese spy, a Chinese agent, a Chinese employee and put me down, well the simple thing is this prove it! Prove that I am with paperwork, with documents, with bank statements. If you cannot prove it and you simply say it over and over and over, it may make me look bad and many other Dorje Shugden practitioners look bad at the beginning, but over time, the accusers themselves will look silly, illogical, hateful and maybe just following some sort of propaganda that, over time, they will abandon because it makes them look ridiculous. I practice Dorje Shugden because my Guru, Kyabje Zong Rinpoche gave it to me, and no one on this planet in the ten directions, in the three planes of existence can ever deter my willpower to follow my Gurus instructions. No one may override that in my mind. No one. I will never abandon my Guru, I will never think negative thoughts about my Guru, I will never abandon any practice my Guru has given me. I will never defy my Guru, or show disrespect to my Guru, or show wrong body actions, or show wrong attitude to my Guru. I will never do that. My enlightenment and my attainment of higher realisations depend on the blessings of my Guru. Number two, I admire and I always look up to China, and I am happy with their rise and prosperity of their country. Any country that does better, I rejoice. My admiration of Chinese culture, language, history, background, court etiquette, their royalty, their dance, their music, their cuisines, their inventions, their incredible amount of resilience and entrepreneurship is an example to the world, and has nothing to do with any political views. I am grateful to the Chinese people in Malaysia, to Malaysia and all of Malaysia for having to host me and my success, whatever that is in peoples views and my life. I just wanted to kind of say this because I had a thought that growing up, I had to experience heavy racism and being called a chink, and now as an adult, because of my religion, I am called racist remarks that I support China and Im against the Tibetan Dalai Lama and all that, and thats not true. I am not against the Dalai Lama, I love the Dalai Lama; I respect him. So, remarks like these dont move me or move any Dorje Shugden practitioner or anyone, but they serve to contribute to prejudice, hatred, anger and segregation of people. Whatever religion and colour we are, underneath we are all the same. We should promote harmony, we should promote love, we should promote care; we should promote equality among all people regardless of religion, regardless. This is very important. 1996 17400 40 Or view the video on the server at: https://video.tsemtulku.com/videos/PoliticsRacism.mp4 For more interesting information: Copyright Disclaimer: Under Section 13 of the Malaysian Copyright Act 1987, allowance is made for fair dealing for purposes such as non-profit research, private study, criticism, review or the reporting of current events. The Operator and author(s) of TsemRinpoche.com, a not-for-profit blog, do not claim ownership on the intellectual property rights of the contents, images and/or videos reproduced in this article. Any subsisting intellectual property rights shall belong to the legal owner of the contents, images and/or videos. (By Tsem Rinpoche) Buddhism is a religion that stresses compassion towards everyone and this is clearly evident with the growth of the world-wide trend of Buddhist pastors, ministers and chaplains. Practitioners are becoming more and more aware that they can help others by training in pastoral care and fulfilling the roles of a pastor in order to benefit society. They are becoming a beacon of hope in the ravenous storm of suffering that is life, providing much needed support and care. From counselling, visiting people in hospital or prison, performing pujas or prayers for those who are ill or facing difficulties, pastors realise that they need to help others overcome their suffering and so aid them in any way they can. Motivated by Buddhist teachings, they try to alleviate the suffering of others in its many forms, both physical and emotional. In doing so they teach others the Buddhist path to help themselves, and bring hope to many all over the world. Everyone needs assistance, encouragement and direction to navigate the ups and downs of life, and Buddhist pastors are there to accompany practitioners out of their suffering. Kechara has its own pastors who serve practitioners and the community in a number of ways, but this is not something that only exists within Kechara. There are many pastors all over the world and there are even many places where people can train to become pastors, ministers and chaplains. I wanted to share with you just some of these training places and give some examples of pastors and chaplains, so you can rejoice and know more about the work of many people all over the world, who make a real difference in the lives of others. Tsem Rinpoche Pastoral Care & Chaplaincy Services and Training Programmes 1. New York Zen Center For Contemplative Care This center is in the heart of New York City and was the first Buddhist organisation to be fully accredited by the Association of Clinical Pastoral Education as a Clinical Chaplaincy Training Center in America. Based on the Zen tradition, this center offers courses that integrate contemplative Buddhist practices with professional training. This includes a graduate level Contemplative Care Certificate, a Masters Degree (in conjunction with New York Theological Seminary) and Buddhist Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) education. The New York Zen Center For Contemplative Care also offers services such as formal ceremonies, including marriages, commitment ceremonies, renewal of vows, funerals, internment of ashes, memorial services, baby blessings, baby naming ceremonies and house blessings. Source: https://zencare.org/contemplative-care-training-program 2. Upaya Zen Center Based in New Mexico, USA, this Zen center focuses on merging Buddhist practice with social services, as an extension of the bodhisattva vows of the Mahayana tradition. Combining the two wings of compassion and wisdom, they provide services in prison work, womens rights, the environment, peacework and death and dying. They offer a two year Upaya Buddhist Chaplaincy Training programme, covering topics such as Engaged Buddhism, Transforming Suffering, and Ethics, Relations & Communication. The course is equivalent to 48 graduate credit units from the Association of Professional Chaplains (APC), and participants can apply for board certification on completion of the course. Source: https://www.upaya.org/social-action/chaplaincy 3. Won Institute of Graduate Studies Based on the principles of Won Buddhism, founded in Korea, with centres all over the world, this particular institute offers a Certificate in Buddhist Pastoral Care programme. The institute is associated with a sister university, Won Kwang University in South Korea, and both focus on the cultivation of morality through education in healing and the liberal arts. The Certificate programme prepares participants to engage in providing pastoral care in such environments as prisons, hospitals and hospices. Source: http://www.woninstitute.edu/academics/certificate-in-buddhist-pastoral-care 4. Institute of Buddhist Studies This institute located in Berkeley, California, USA was established in 1949 and provides both graduate-level degrees and certificate programmes in many areas of Buddhist practice. Students from the institute go on to become ordained ministers or take monastic vows, become chaplains throughout many areas and organisations in society, or pursue doctoral studies at universities throughout the United States. Their Buddhist Chaplaincy course is a 72-unit programme that meets the chaplaincy certification standard as set out by the Association of Professional Chaplains (APC). Those who combine the Certificate in Buddhist Chaplaincy with the Graduate Theology Unions MA in Buddhist Studies meet the Association of Professional Chaplains requirement for an accredited theological degree. Graduates go on to serve in schools, hospitals, prisons, hospices, healthcare facilities, universities, the private sector, rehabilitation facilities, and the US Armed Forces. Source: http://www.shin-ibs.edu/academics/areas-of-specialization/buddhist-chaplaincy 5. Buddhist Ministry Initiative at Harvard Divinity School The first of its kind within a school of divinity at a University, this initiative aims to train professionals in the field of Buddhism. A wide variety of topics are taught during the programme, including history, thought, and practice of Buddhism, especially in the Buddhist arts of ministry. The initiative is taught by faculty members and visiting lecturers from various Buddhist communities, on subjects such as the application of Buddhist principles to social action, social activism, leadership, counseling and pastoral care, spiritual formation, preaching and worship. Those who graduate from the initiative with their master of divinity education, typically go on to work in range of career paths, from religious community leadership to chaplaincies at hospitals, hospices or universities. Some even go on to nonprofit management, academic scholarship, community development and social activism. Students also have the opportunity to study wider areas of interest within the Harvard Divinity School or other Schools at Harvard for their course requirements, including development leadership, conflict resolution, education, and psychology and counseling. Source: http://hds.harvard.edu/academics/buddhist-ministry-initiative 6. University of the West The University of the West offers a Mastery of Divinity in Buddhist Chaplaincy, covering nine core areas of focus: ritual/liturgy, comparative religions, religious education, pastoral care and counseling, spiritual formation, religious history, institutional organisation and administration, sacred literature, and theology/philosophy. Meeting the requirements for the Association of Professional Chaplains (APC), the course prepares students with the knowledge and skills to work in the field of professional chaplaincy as Buddhist practitioners. Source: http://www.uwest.edu/site/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=125&Itemid=165 7. Jamyang Buddhist Centre Leeds As part of their outreach work, Jamyang Buddhist Centre Leeds provides support to the Leeds Teaching Hospitals (National Health Service Trust) Chaplaincy Service in the United Kingdom. This initiative provides appropriate attention to patients requiring religious, pastoral and spiritual care. They also assist staff who have concerns arising from their work and advise staff in matters relating to Buddhist patients. Their work can include counseling, education, worship and even crisis ministry. Source: http://jamyangleeds.co.uk/outreach/buddhist-chaplaincy/ 8. Buddhist Chaplaincy Service Online Founded at the Edith Cowan University in Perth, the Buddhist Chaplaincy Service provides meditation and talks on a voluntary basis and is available to all members of the Edith Cowan University community. The service provides support, encouragement, advice, spiritual counseling and assistance to those who need it, while fostering diversity and promoting understanding between a variety of different faiths. Source: http://www.buddhistchaplaincy.com/ 9. Sati Center for Buddhist Studies The Sati Center for Buddhist Studies offers a Buddhist Chaplaincy Training Programme designed to educate Buddhist practitioners to serve as chaplains and spiritual care givers. This one year training program provides the opportunity to study practices and principles of Buddhism as relating to spiritual care giving and provides an overview of the various psychological, social, and ethical issues related to such work. It includes training for working in hospitals, hospices, jails and other environments. The training also concentrates on attending to the sick or dying, performing of wedding ceremonies, memorials and other ceremonies to help people during the important periods in a persons life. Source: http://www.sati.org/buddhist-chaplaincy-training-program/ 10. Asiana University The Asiana University in Chiang Mai, Thailand, offers both Diploma and Certificate progammes for Buddhist Chaplians, as well a graduate level Diploma of Clinical Pastoral Counseling and Certificate courses on hospice care. It is partnered with universities in Japan, Korea, India and Singapore. Its pastoral counseling training programmes includes theory, professional issues, crisis intervention, relationship and family, as well as weaving in teachings from the Buddhist path and sutra study. On the other hand, its chaplaincy training includes communication skills, fundamentals, practical psychology, spiritual care and counseling, the use of sacred texts in such work, and spiritual formation and transformation. Source: http://asianauniversity.com/framework/ 11. Buddhist Chaplains Association The Buddhist Chaplains Association is a network of Buddhist committed to spiritual care giving, to help people become better skilled and trained Buddhist chaplains. The association aims to provide practitioners with a support network, as they have taken Buddhas teachings to heart and decided to help others. It provides a platform where those already in the field, can share their experience and give advice to others. This endeavour fosters a spirit of community between practitioners and opens communication to further manifest the generous, virtuous wisdom as taught by the Buddha. Among their many goals, they aim to provide access to education and training resources for Buddhist spiritual care, provide information to those practicing such as contact details for hospitals, prisons, hospices, etc., serve as liaisons between practitioners and both the Association of Professional Chaplains (APC) and the Association of Certified Pastoral Educators (ACPE), and encourage and support those interested in entering the field. Source: http://buddhistchaplainsassociation.org/ 12. Emanuel College Emanuel College of Victoria University in the University of Toronto offers a Master of Pastoral Studies (MPS) in Spiritual Care Buddhist Studies. This unique course is intended to provide practitioners with the necessary abilities to engage in pastoral care, pastoral counseling, education and chaplaincy, and careers in the non-profit sector. The course allows participants to specialise in three different streams: spiritual care, social service, or worship and preaching. The spiritual care stream provides training for giving care within religious communities and public institutions, and if a student completes the necessary units in Supervised Pastoral Education (SPE), they are in compliance with requirements of the Canadian Association for Spiritual Care (CASC). Those in the social service stream usually do so for personal enrichment or undertake the training as they are leaders in religious or secular social service agencies wishing to improve their skills. Those who follow the worship and preaching stream, usually engage in the training for personal enrichment or to improve their skills in providing lay leadership in religious communities. All courses focus on four main areas including religious faith and heritage, culture and context, spiritual/vocational formation, and practices of area of specialization. Those in the spiritual care stream can also complete the requirements for a Certificate in Spiritual Care and Psychology. As such they can provide spiritual care and offer psychotherapy as a spiritual care practitioner (chaplain) within public institutions such as hospitals and prisons. Alternatively, they can act as a psycho-spiritual therapist (pastoral counselor) in counseling centres and other contexts. This certificate also meets a portion of the educational requirements towards becoming a Registered Psychotherapist (Qualifying) within the College of Registered Psychotherapists of Ontario (CRPO) for those who are interested to follow this path. Source: http://www.emmanuel.utoronto.ca/Prospective/Programs/mps.htm 13. International Association of Clinical Pastoral Counselors Founded in 2010, this association is a worldwide initiative between Buddhist-based pastoral educators and counselors. Bringing together various institutions and organisations, this association reflects on common issues surrounding pastoral care, and collaborates with international and national bodies that are active in interfaith pastoral care giving. The association places an emphasis on advancements in pastoral care based on meditation and mindfulness, especially when helping others deal with stress, trauma and change management. It aims to use the method of pastoral care to promote the Buddhist principles of compassion, mindfulness and wisdom. The association strives to cultivate interfaith dialogue and relationships that further the study and practice of science and mindfulness based pastoral counseling; connecting its international members to offer them quality services, networking and collective action; and facilitating conferences with research institutes and other higher science based institutions and associations to illuminate their concerns and interests in public debate and to outside pastoral partners. Source: http://iacpc.com/ 14. Kechara Buddhist Organisation Based in Malaysia the Kechara Buddhist Organisation has many ordained Buddhist pastors. Combining the responsibilities of the ordained with the appearance of a lay person, Kechara pastors are the connection between the sangha and the everyday practitioner. As lay people holding vows, they make the Dharma accessible to more people, giving them guidance and sharing knowledge, helping them overcome the difficult times in their lives and assisting them to progress on their own spiritual journeys. Kecharas pastors have a varied way of helping others, through counseling and teaching, to performing blessings, prayers and ceremonies. Not only to do they aid others in person but they also have a strong practice of sharing the teachings and providing support through books, online videos, and blogs. Since Malaysia is a multicultural country, Kechara pastors teach and counsel in different languages to aid Buddhist practitioners in their native languages. Source: http://www.kechara.com/kechara-house/pastors/ Notable Buddhist Pastors, Chaplains & Priests 1. Thomas Dyer Buddhist Military Chaplain Thomas Dyer had originally enlisted in the US Marines, but felt threatened by the training he was given to kill. Leaving the Marines, he attended the Mid-American Baptist Seminary and eventually became a Baptist preacher. However, he did not find happiness and subsequently converted to Buddhism. Joining the Army National Guard, he was commissioned as a Buddhist Chaplain in 2008. Source: http://christianfighterpilot.com/2009/09/04/baptist-pastor-to-buddhist-military-chaplain/ 2. Venerable Tenzin Yeshe Buddhist Chaplain Venerable Tenzin Yeshe was ordained by Jhado Rinpoche and is a volunteer Buddhist Chaplain with the Buddhist Prison Pathways Project (BP3). She provides Buddhist services to inmates at New Folsoms highest level facility to offer meditation and Dharma talks. Teaming up with the Quakers she has even trained to facilitate Non-Violent Communication workshops inside the Vacaville California Medical Facility prison. Apart from her work within the American prison system, Venerable Tenzin also performs house blessings, business blessings, blessings for children, long life blessings and even funeral services. Source: http://www.khandroling.com/chaplaincy/ 3. Lama Migmar Tseten Buddhist Chaplain As a Buddhist Chaplain at Harvard University, USA, Lama Migmar Tseten is dedicated to the interaction between persons and various Buddhist lineages in a non-sectarian manner to foster a strong Buddhist community. Lama Migmar Tseten conducts regular meetings at Cambridge Buddhist Association. Source: http://chaplains.harvard.edu/filter_by/buddhist-chaplaincy 4. Reverend Heng Sure Buddhist Pastor Reverend Heng Sure is a Buddhist pastor residing at Berkeley Buddhist Monastery, where he is serving as the monasterys director. The monastery is a branch of Dharma Realm Buddhist Association. He is famed for completing a pilgrimage by prostrating from South Pasadena to Ukiah, California (800 miles) seeking world peace. He currently aids others by performing services and teaching a wide variety of subjects, from sutra studies to veganism. Source: http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/FINDING-MY-RELIGION-Buddhist-pastor-Heng-Sure-3175631.php 5. Jennifer Block Buddhist Chaplain Jennifer Block has served as a chaplain and Education Director for the Zen Hospice Project in San Francisco. For the past three years, she has been self-employed. She has taught workshops and offered spiritual care to those who have suffered loss in their lives, and provided community outreach. She is also one of the founders and facilitators of the Buddhist Chaplaincy Training programme at the Sati Center for Buddhist studies. She also serves as an Adjunct Professor at the Institute of Buddhist Studies in Berkeley, CA, and holds a theology degree from Naropa University. Source: http://buddhistchaplains.org/cmsms/index.php?page=snapshots 6. Reverend Renshin Bunce Buddhist Priest Reverend Renshin Bunce ordained as a priest at the Zen Center in San Francisco in 2003. She began her training as a Buddhist chaplain at the Sati Center in Redwood City and then later at California Pacific Medical Center. She received the equivalent of a Master of Divinity from the Association of Professional Chaplains for her seven years residence at Tassajara and City Center, and currently works as a hospice chaplain. Source: http://buddhistchaplains.org/cmsms/index.php?page=snapshots 7. Robert Chodo Campbell Buddhist Priest Robert Chodo Campbell serves on the Core Faculty of the New York Zen Centers Buddhist Chaplaincys Training Programmes, and is also the centers Co-Founder and Co-Executive Director. He brings to his teaching his experience of Zen practice and psychoanalytic study, focusing on areas such as anxiety, depression, drug and alcohol abuse, and contemplative approaches to spiritual care. He also serves as an Adjunct Professor at the Institute of Buddhist Studies and is a Co-Director of Contemplative Care Services for the Department of Integrative Medicine at Beth Israel Medical Center. Source: http://buddhistchaplains.org/cmsms/index.php?page=snapshots 8. Koshin Paley Ellison Buddhist Priest Koshin Paley Ellison is a Co-Founder and Co-Executive Director of the New York Zen Center for Contemplative Care. He also serves as the Director of Training for the Centers Buddhist Contemplative Care programmes. He is currently a Supervisory candidate for the Association of Clinical Pastoral Education. He is a licensed social worker and an Adjunct Professor at the Institute of Buddhist Studies, as well as the Co-Director of Contemplative Care Services for the Department of Integrative Medicine at Beth Israel Center, where he also serves on the Medical Ethics Committee. He is known to give talks, workshops and leads retreats on various contemplative based methods towards spiritual care, meditation and leadership in many settings, such as corporations to national healthcare conferences. Source: http://buddhistchaplains.org/cmsms/index.php?page=snapshots 9. Trudi Jinpu Hirsch-Abramson Buddhist Priest Ordained in 1991, she began her clinical pastoral education in 1997, and became the first Buddhist Association of Clinical Pastoral Education (ACPE) Supervisor in 2000. She currently serves as an ACPE Chaplain Supervisor and Zen priest in the lineage of Taizan Maezumi. She is an Adjunct Professor at the Institute of Buddhist Studies and also serves as one of the core teaching team at the New York Zen Center for Contemplative Care, where she is the primary ACPE Supervisor for the centers Clinical Pastoral Education Training Programmes. Source: http://buddhistchaplains.org/cmsms/index.php?page=snapshots 10. Osho Genjo Marinello Buddhist Abbot Osho Genjo Marinello is a volunteer Buddhist pastor for the Washington State Department of Corrections, and is a psychotherapist in private practice. He is also an Adjunct Faculty member at Antioch University Seattle in Buddhist Studies, a member of the Religious Coalition for Equality and a Spiritual Director associated with Anamchara, a multifaith endeavour. He also strives to provide community service that is inspired by the philosophy and teachings of Buddhism. Source: https://choboji.org/history/ 11. Kok Yek Yee & David Lai Buddhist Pastors Pastor Kok Yek Yee is the Head Pastor of Kechara Buddhist Association Malaysia. An award winning journalist, she became a writer for Kechara Media and Publications when she wanted a more spiritual life, and later ordained as a Buddhist Pastor. Currently she is also the head of Kecharas Puja House, providing support to many through prayers and blessings. She teaches and counsels in Chinese and performs rituals, blessings and ceremonies for all of lifes major events, including births, marriages and deaths. Pastor David Lai began his spiritual journey in Kechara at the Kechara Paradise outlets, after which he joined Kechara Media and Publications as a writer. As an avid writer, he has published books on Buddhist practice that have brought solace to many and as an online blogger he shares his experience and knowledge with people all over the world. Known for his lively and humorous talks, he teaches in English. For more interesting information: Copyright Disclaimer: Under Section 13 of the Malaysian Copyright Act 1987, allowance is made for fair dealing for purposes such as non-profit research, private study, criticism, review or the reporting of current events. The Operator and author(s) of TsemRinpoche.com, a not-for-profit blog, do not claim ownership on the intellectual property rights of the contents, images and/or videos reproduced in this article. Any subsisting intellectual property rights shall belong to the legal owner of the contents, images and/or videos. By Press Trust of India: From K J M Varma Beijing, Feb 7 (PTI) Riled by Sri Lankan envoys assertion that Colombo will not permit Chinas military presence in its ports, Chinese official media today quoted a scholar who accused India of "interfering" in the island nations internal affairs. Sri Lankan envoy to China Karunasena Kodituwakku last week said that Colombo will not permit any military activity by China in any of its ports, including Hambantota in which Chinese firm will have 80 per cent stake. advertisement "Sri Lankas promise is unnecessary because the port is meant for civilian use, and shows that India is interfering in Sri Lankas affairs," Chu said. "China has no intention to offend India, and the program is good for Sri Lankas economic development. But if India has a problem with the program and oppresses its neighbour, it only shows that it is interfering in other countries domestic affairs," Chu Yin, an associate professor at the University of International Relations, told state-run Global Times daily. Lin Minwang, a professor at the Institute of International Studies of Fudan University said "Sri Lanka initially wanted India to help develop Hambantota port, but it finally turned to China for help since India faces financial difficulties and concerns over future competition with its own ports in the Indian Ocean." Separately an article in the same daily said "China wont back down from building economic, commercial ties with Sri Lanka" maintaining that Beijing will not be left behind India in "boosting its presence". "It would not necessarily be a bad thing if healthy competition between China and India in the Sri Lankan market could be further stirred up," the article said. "While China and Sri Lanka ramp up efforts to finalise a free trade agreement (FTA) this year, India is pushing for the signing of the Economic Technology Cooperation Agreement with Sri Lanka to broaden the scope of its existing FTA. It seems that neither China or India wants to be left behind in boosting its presence in the island nation," it said. Last September an article by Forbes magazine has said foreign loans and investments in Sri Lanka including that of from China are driving the country to bankrupt. The official estimate of what Sri Lanka currently owes its financiers is USD 64.9 billion of which UDD eight billion owned by China. Sri Lankas debt-to-GDP currently stands around 75 per cent and 95.4 per cent of all government revenue is currently going towards debt repayment. "Sri Lanka may be in a debt trap that it cant get out of. This year (2016) alone USD 4.5 billion is due to foreign lenders and next year (2017) USD four billion is owed ? bills which the country has not yet figured out a way to pay," it said. advertisement "Much of Sri Lankas pile of debt accrued in the process of initiating an entire buffet of large-scale and extremely expensive infrastructure projects under the direction of former president Mahinda Rajapaksa," it said. MORE PTI KJV UZM AKJ UZM --- ENDS --- Federal agents investigating racist messages sent shortly after the 2016 presidential election interviewed three men who graduated from Tulsa-area high schools in recent years, obtaining search warrants for the home and phone of one of them, federal court records show. The FBI inquiries were in connection with messages sent to several University of Pennsylvania freshmen in November an incident that sparked outrage at the Philadelphia school, made national headlines and was listed among several examples of race-based harassment that followed the election. The University of Pennsylvania is Trumps alma mater. The incident threw a spotlight on Oklahoma because the University of Oklahoma, where one of the Tulsa-area graduates was attending, suspended that student while an investigation took place. News coverage also referred to the 2015 scandal over a video of OU fraternity members singing a racist chant. None of those named in an FBI affidavit about the messages has been charged with a crime. In that search-warrant affidavit, filed in U.S. District Court in Tulsa, the FBI said it was investigating the matter under federal law that prohibits sending interstate messages threatening another person. The affidavit details findings of the investigation. Oklahoma Watch is not identifying the students named in the document because of the absence of charges. The messages in question were sent through the GroupMe app, on which users can create groups, share text messages, photos and videos, and create events. On Nov. 10, a University of Pennsylvania freshman, who is African-American, began receiving messages from a group called Trump is Love, of which she was not a member. One user, using the handle Daddy Trump, sent a message to the student with a profane acronym and a racial slur for black people, the affidavit says. The next morning, the student began receiving messages from another group she was not a member of, called Mud Men, that featured an automated greeting using the same racial slur and referring to Sigma Alpha Epsilon, the fraternity whose OU chapter was booted from campus after the racist-chant video surfaced. The student told investigators that she received the message repeatedly. She then got an event invitation scheduled for that day, titled Daily Lynching, with the question, Going? and buttons allowing the recipient to select yes or no. The message thread also contained an old picture of several black people who had been lynched, the affidavit states. Focus on Oklahoma Many other black University of Pennsylvania freshmen also were added to the group without their knowledge and began receiving messages and the invitation, investigators said. One of those students scrolled through the racist messages to find who started them and came across a University of Tulsa student, according to investigators. The University of Tulsa student told the FBI that he had been added by a friend to the Mud Men group on Nov. 10, and he added 70 to 150 of his own GroupMe contacts, including students from the University of Pennsylvania (where he planned to attend), to the group before any racially charged pictures or posts were made. That student voluntarily allowed FBI agents to search his phone in December, records show. The FBI also interviewed the OU student, who had been a part of one of the groups. The student, who is originally from the Tulsa area, told an agent that he and two other friends, including the TU student, were added to the group by a third friend who was a student at Tulsa Community College. OU suspended the student there because of the messages, the document states, and a university spokesman has said the individual is no longer enrolled. The FBI obtained search warrants for the south Tulsa residence and phone of the TCC student. Agents interviewed the student, who at the time was on interim suspension from the school, according to the document. The student told them he had started one of the message groups, called Trumps Disciples, on Nov. 10 and posted the Daily Lynching appointment and the photograph of a mass lynching, the affidavit states. The student also said he invited the OU student, the TU student and another person to join. When the discussion began to spread rapidly, he became fearful and deleted the app from his phone, agents said. During and after the interview with agents, the student expressed remorse for his actions and advised he had no intention to harm anyone, the affidavit states. A TCC spokeswoman said the student was put on interim academic suspension on Nov. 15 as the college investigated the matter. However, before the investigation was completed, the student voluntarily withdrew and did not re-enroll. A TU spokeswoman said the university did not suspend the student, and that an investigation by the institution found no wrongdoing on the students part. He is still enrolled there, the spokeswoman said. OKLAHOMA CITY A Senate panel on Tuesday passed a number of bills that would make massive changes to the judiciary. After securing approval from the Senate Judiciary Committee, the measures move to the full Senate for consideration. These are important reforms that would shift the balance of power in the judicial appointment process in Oklahoma away from trial lawyers and back to the people, said Senate President Pro Tem Mike Schulz, R-Altus. The governor and members of the Oklahoma Senate are directly elected by the people and on behalf of the people should have more say in which judges are appointed to the bench. The measures contain common-sense options to implement much-needed judicial reform, Schulz said. A number of measures passed by the Legislature, such as laws putting restrictions on abortion, have been tossed out by the courts for a variety of reasons. Senate Joint Resolution 42 by Sen. Anthony Sykes, R-Moore, would require partisan elections for justices on the Oklahoma Supreme Court and judges on the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals. The measure would require a vote of the people. Senate Bill 700 by Sykes would change the makeup of the Judicial Nominating Commission, which recommends candidates to the governor to fill vacant judicial posts. The bill would make the panel have six members, three appointed by the Senate President Pro Tem and three appointed by the House Speaker. Members would have to be licensed to practice law in the state. The panel currently has 15 members. Six are lawyers elected by members of the Oklahoma Bar Association. Nine are non-lawyers. Of those, six are appointed by the governor. The Senate President Pro Tem and House Speaker get to appoint one member each. The commission also selects a member. The panel also passed Senate Joint Resolution 14 by Sen. Nathan Dahm, R-Broken Arrow, which would increase the margin from a simple majority to 60 percent for the judicial retention ballot. The measure would have to be approved by voters. Dahm was asked how he arrived at the 60 percent requirement. Dahm said the state currently requires 60 percent to approve school bond issues. He pointed out that most judges are retained with more than 60 percent, so it would not result in sweeping changes. Sen. David Holt, R-Oklahoma City, asked Dahm if he was considering extending the 60 percent retention requirement to incumbent lawmakers. Dahm said Holt could bring such a bill forward if he wanted to pursue it. Sen. Kay Floyd, D-Oklahoma City, said it was not clear to her why Dahm was requiring a 60 percent vote for retention. She questioned why lawmakers would put a 60 percent requirement on judicial retention and not on legislative elections as well. Dahm said research has shown that the Oklahoma judiciary does not represent the vast majority of the views of the states population. Floyd said a judge is required to listen to the facts and decide a case based on the law. Because a judge makes a decision a person doesnt like, it doesnt mean it is incorrect, she said. They were following the law. The panel also passed Senate Joint Resolution 44 by Sykes. It would increase the number of candidate names the Judicial Nominating Commission is required to send to the governor from three to five. The governor could request five more names under the measure. The measure also requires Senate confirmation of the judicial candidate, something which is currently not required. It would have to be approved by a vote of the people. Senate Joint Resolution 43, also by Sykes, would let the governor nominate candidates to fill judicial vacancies with the confirmation of the Senate. The Judicial Nominating Commission would rate the candidates as either qualified or not qualified. The measure would require a vote of the people. Twitter: @bhoberock Dear Amy: I have a new colleague who recently moved from another division at our company into mine. She is now working as the program coordinator for our team of eight colleagues. She is very accommodating to everyone, has a great attitude and is very adept at her job. I like working with her! She has told me that some of our colleagues have given her the cold shoulder and have been very unfriendly/difficult to work with. Recently, she found out that she was not invited to a birthday party that other team members attended. Another invitation came up for a wedding shower/luncheon of a teammate, and she wasnt included. I have been on the receiving end of this kind of behavior from colleagues at previous workplaces who intentionally exclude you, are unkind, etc. This is very discouraging behavior for someone who is new to a group and trying to get along/fit in with everyone. When I first began in this position, I felt the same way. I dont know what other advice to give her, except to rise above the petty drama and continue to be a kind colleague with a great work ethic. Whats your advice? Colleague on the Sidelines Dear Colleague: Your advice, to rise above the petty drama, is great. As a life-motto, this advice deserves its own T-shirt. Here is additional perspective: If your colleague is new, other team members may simply not know her well enough to include her in off-site personal occasions, such as birthdays and wedding showers, where there is some pressure to attend and bring a gift. Sometimes people respond to social uncertainty by basically being too clunky, shy, or intimidated to demonstrate basic decent manners. This is amplified in a group. This is not an excuse for exclusion, but a possible explanation for the sometimes complicated dynamic. If your group has coalesced into a unit, your new colleagues presence is throwing off the balance; things should rebalance in time. You are already helping by being friendly and kind. You might be able to alter the dynamic by deliberately including your colleague and suggesting that your co-workers should, too, but it is also important to remember that it is not necessary to be personal friends with people in order to work well with them. Dear Amy: My wife and I are planning a visit to our hometown. While there, she wants us to hang out with some of her old college friends. One of these is an ex she dated six years ago. They dated for a couple of weeks and it was intimate. She says that because they share mutual friends from college she feels obligated to stay friends, even though she barely talks to him or about him. I have met this guy. He was invited to our wedding, and yet it still feels awkward. Amy, is it OK for us to hang out with someone she was romantically involved with? Can I ask her not to do this, due to the stress it is causing me? When I have tried to share my feelings with her multiple times, she (in a cold way) says, You need to get over it. Amy, what do you think of this? Upset Dear Upset: You say your wife was involved with this guy for two weeks, several years ago. This does not make him an ex, but someone she tried on for size before she found you. If this guy is part of your wifes overall friend group from college, then yes, you should be open to spending some time with him as part of the group. And, for goodness sake, be cool about it. She has demonstrated that she has no particular interest in him outside the group. If you spend time in his presence and hes a jerk, then this just further justifies your wifes choice to marry you. If you spend time with him and youre a jerk, then you are creating drama and problems that should not otherwise exist. Dear Amy: Feeling Guilty was using a lake house that she co-owns with her brother when her niece tried to guilt her into letting her come to stay with her three kids. Im glad you explained to her that delivering a simple No, is ultimately a good thing. No More Guilt Dear No More: A neutral No leaves little room for doubt, miscommunication, or manipulation. Contact Amy Dickinson via email: askamy@amydickinson.com. Readers may send postal mail to Amy Dickinson, c/o Tribune Content Agency, LLC., 16650 Westgrove Dr., Suite 175, Addison, TX 75001. Follow her on Twitter @askingamy or like her on Facebook. Season 2 of The Missing will premiere in Australia on BBC First in early March. Tcheky Karyo returns as Julien Baptiste alongside a new cast in a new case, told over two timelines. This time the tale isnt about a victim going missing, but what happens when someone returns. The 8 part series also stars Abigail Hardingham, David Morrissey, Keeley Hawes, Jake Davies, Laura Fraser and Roger Allam. Set mostly on a British military base in Eckhausen, Germany, but reaching as far as the ISIL battlefields in Northern Iraq, The Missing begins when a young British woman stumbles through the streets and collapses in the town square. Its Christmas 2014. We soon learn her name is Alice Webster (Abigail Hardingham) and she has been missing for 11 years. Staff Sergeant Sam Webster (David Morrissey), his wife Gemma (Keeley Hawes) and their youngest son Matthew (Jake Davies) have coped as well as they can after their daughter disappeared, but that tight family unit is fractured by Alices return. Sam is a strong, straightforward military man, whos always had a set of rules to follow. His daughters return upsets that equilibrium. Gemmas dreamt of her daughters return for over a decade, but is torn when Alices return isnt the joyous reunion shed hoped for. Can she ever hope to understand what Alice has been through? Matthew was the last one to see his big sister alive 11 years ago, and once again hes made to feel culpable in a shocking turn of events. These events lead the good-natured, introverted Matthew down a path of self-destruction. Sundays at 8.30pm from March 5 on BBC First. It was a special issue of the magazine which had details about political families including the family of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. By Brijesh Pandey: BJP MPs who had gathered at the Parliament library for the weekly parliamentary party meet were in for a surprise today when Delhi MP and Delhi BJP chief Manoj Tiwari started distributing an issue of India Today magazine. It was a special issue which had details about political families including the family of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. "Idea behind the distribution of copies of India Today magazine is that it beautifully illustrates the difference between talking about the virtue and actually walking the talk," said Manoj Tiwari. advertisement Also read: The other Modis: Meet Prime Minister's extended family living in quiet obscurity There is a story on Akhilesh Yadav and his family in which it has been stated that 22 members of his family are in active politics and enjoying the fruits of politics. Tiwari said that if you compare it with the family of PM Modi and the life he leads, it provides a complete contrast of the political philosophy between the two families. Manoj Tiwari went on to say that the story on PM Modi's family is an eye opener. All his family members are either in a state of penury or somewhere between lower middle class and middle class. Watch the video --- ENDS --- UNHCR shelters in the early morning light and mist and forest at Nduta refugee camp Tanzania UNHCR/Sebastian Rich As hundreds of Burundian refugees continue to flow into neighbouring countries every week, UNHCR is calling on host governments to urgently provide more land to ensure shelter and avert a drastic deterioration in conditions. The number of people fleeing Burundi, where peace talks have stalled, has been rising in the first weeks of the year, adding to the pressure for land in host countries, particularly Tanzania, Rwanda, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The majority are women, children and individuals with specific needs. In early February, the number of Burundian refugees arriving since April 2015 stood at 386,493. Our 2017 projections indicate numbers will cross half-a-million. Currently Tanzania hosts 222,271, Rwanda has 84,866 and DR Congo 32,650. Without allocation of new land to extend capacity in existing camps or build new ones, these countries will struggle to provide sufficient shelter and life-saving services in the camp sites. Camp facilities also need to be upgraded, including construction of more homes, schools, health centres and better drainage systems to lessen the risk of disease. The challenges and gaps due to the crowded conditions in existing camps include access to basic social services, provision of child protection, tackling sexual and gender-based violence, insufficient classrooms, averting absenteeism, helping people with special needs. The land shortages and rising number of arrivals exacerbate these problems. We have been working with the host governments to address the land issue and are impressed by their commitment, as well as their generosity, but more action is needed to avert a dangerous slide in standards and conditions, including relying on shrinking space to accommodate growing numbers. At the same time, donor nations should help with stepped up assistance and funding. Last year, UNHCR received a vital US$96.1 million in contributions for the Burundi situation, or 53% of the amount requested. Tanzania The pressure is most acute in Tanzania, which has taken in more refugees than any other country. Arrivals remained high in January, with an average of almost 600 daily. All three camps hosting refugees face severe pressure and we and partners are urging the government to urgently allocate land for new camps. The capacity of Nduta, the only camp taking in new arrivals, recently passed the current 100,000 capacity and faces the greatest pressure. Humanitarian organizations are struggling to provide minimal basic services and fear outbreaks of health emergencies if the crowding gets worse and facilities fail to keep pace. Democratic Republic of the Congo The DR Congo faces land shortage at Lusenda camp, where the population last year almost doubled to 25,000 at the end of 2016. In January, some 1,040 Burundians were registered. More and more people, meanwhile, are waiting in transit centres to be moved to the camp. Most of the Burundian refugees in eastern DR Congo live in Lusenda, some 70 kilometres from Burundi. It was extended several times in 2016 but is almost full. Shelters lie close together and UNHCR worries about fire risks if more are added. The lack of land has made it impossible to provide agricultural plots to refugees, which would help them become self-sufficient. Rwanda Rwandas Mahama camp has surpassed its capacity of 50,000 refugees and is now sheltering over 53,000 refugees. More and more of the 38,000 Burundian urban refugees are asking to be transferred to the camp as they can no longer manage in cities. With the number of arrivals at more than 160 a week in January (doubling from last year), many live under plastic sheeting in overcrowded communal hangars, waiting for a move to a family shelter. In addition to poor hygiene in these hangars, the living conditions present serious protection risks due to lack of privacy. Other serious challenges in Mahama include land degradation, lack of lighting and poor drainage which present health and safety problems. After heavy rains, ravines form and this is leading to deteriorating sanitation conditions presenting health risks, as well as possible physical harm to children and damage to shelters. We plan to build better designed accommodation, but additional land is urgently needed. Uganda Uganda, which hosts some 44,000 Burundian refugees in total, runs a progressive settlement approach to refugee management and protection. Upon arrival, refugees are provided with plots of land on which to build new homes and grow crops, and live among the Ugandan host communities. The government has earmarked land specifically for hosting refugees, but significant investments are needed in local infrastructure to ensure that refugees are able to access key basic services. For more information on this topic, please contact: From Far and Wide is a series of stories profiling the Canadians who have welcomed Syrian refugees with compassion and support. Across the country, strangers, friends, families and communities are creating powerful bonds of friendship that transcend language and culture, at a time when they are needed most. From a tight-knit group in the Yukon who took in a family of 11, to the Syrian seamstress who became a part of the community fabric, join us as UNHCR meets just some of them. Expressing shock at the scale of the devastation in Aleppo, Filippo Grandi, the head of the UN Refugee Agency, UNHCR today called for accelerated and immediate humanitarian assistance for millions of people trying to rebuild war-shattered lives in Syria. There are people here some of them are returning to these ruins who need help, immediate help. They are cold, they are hungry, they need to work to earn some money. They need the elementary things in life, he declared in a statement after touring the ancient city of Aleppo on the third day of a landmark visit to Syria. Grandi, who on Monday visited Homs, added: We need resources, irrespective of all the politics around this war. This is absolutely necessary and urgent for millions of people in Syria. We saw it in Damascus, we saw it in Homs, we see it in Aleppo All the Syrian people need help. We cannot abandon them because the crisis is not over. "Everything has been ruined. The UN High Commissioner for Refugees said that despite following the conflict closely nothing had prepared him for immensity of the destruction he witnessed in Aleppo. The level of destruction is much bigger than I thought I didnt imagine it would be this widespread. You drive for miles and miles you see destroyed civilian houses, destroyed schools, destroyed hospitals. Everything has been ruined, he said. Filippo Grandi meets children at the Jibreen shelter in Aleppo, Syria. Jibreen is now home to over 5,000 people displaced during fighting in the city. UNHCR/Firas Al-Khateeb Calling for massive investment for reconstruction, Grandi said peace and stability had first to take hold and rapidly -- saying people could not wait any longer. These ruins speak for themselves. When you see childrens clothes hanging out of windows, kitchens cut in half by shells and rockets, the real lives of people interrupted by war as it was happening, I think this will weigh very heavily on the conscience of the world for generations, he added. A resident of east Aleppo talks to UN refugee head Filippo Grandi. She fled her home when the battle for the eastern neighbourhoods erupted. Today she has returned, and is receiving UNHCR relief assistance. UNHCR/Bassam Diab Grandi made an impassioned plea to the world to renew solidarity with those suffering from the effects of conflict in Syria and other places such as Iraq, Somalia and Yemen. The world has to go back to solidarity, has to think again of these people not with fear, not with suspicion, but with open arms, with an open mind, with an open heart. They need help, they need protection while the war goes on. One day, they will come back here, and they will reconstruct these cities. But now, in their hour of need, we cannot forget their plight we need to help them, his statement concluded. Iraqi families flee east Mosul through the recently liberated Mosul University complex. UNHCR/Ivor Prickett GENEVA As many as 250,000 people could be driven from their homes in Mosul in the coming months, as fighting escalates in densely populated western areas of Iraqs second largest city. Over 160,000 people have been displaced from Mosul and surrounding areas since October 17, with some 83 percent finding safety in camps and emergency sites run by UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, and its partners. We are currently able to provide some 11,000 families with shelter, UNHCR spokesperson Matthew Saltmarsh told a press briefing today. The Agency continues to seek additional land for new camps, reception and transit areas, to assist people closer to Mosul. Despite insecurity and the danger of fresh fighting, nearly 30,000 people from Mosul and surrounding areas have returned to their homes since October 2016. Now, some of them are leaving again. Returnees are keen to resume their lives. Returnees are keen to resume their lives, Saltmarsh added, saying that people had decided to return after learning that schools and government offices in their local areas had re-opened. In recent days, UNHCR staff have reported that several families have come back to Hasansham and Khazer camps. Those families said they had decided to return because of lack of services and bad conditions. In some places, security and the lack of food and water is so acute that some people rely on emergency relief items, including kerosene, which they receive while staying in the camps. Displaced families battle harsh winter weather in Al Alam camp Elsewhere in Iraq, UNHCR reports increasing numbers fleeing Hawiga due to deteriorating living conditions. The area, 130 km south east of Mosul, is also expected to see increased military operations. Up to 114,000 individuals could be displaced from Hawiga, according to inter-agency planning estimates. So far, 82,128 people have fled since August 2016. Those leaving Hawiga face grave dangers including ambushes, Saltmarsh said emphasizing that people face particular risks when moving across the Hamreen Mountains. Most travel at night to evade checkpoints and armed groups, which adds to dangers, he added. Those leaving Hawiga face grave dangers including ambushes. People staying in camps such as Al-Alam Camp continue to battle harsh winter conditions including high winds and low temperatures Its very cold, said Zahra, a mother of four living in Al Alam camp. My children are all sick because of the cold weather. UNHCR has distributed emergency items, including quilts and blankets, to more than 178,000 people, and provided nearly 53,000 people affected by the Mosul conflict with protection assistance. The Agencys 2016 Mosul emergency response appeal for US$196 million was 57 percent funded. For 2017, UNHCR has appealed for US$578 million to provide protection to internally displaced Iraqis and Iraqi refugees in the region. * Warda AlJawahiry and Caroline Gluck contributed reporting from Al Alam Camp. The bodies of Somalis, Ethiopians and Sudanese washed up on the beaches of Belhaf, Yemen, in this 2006 file photo. UNHCR/SHS SANAA, Yemen Mention to someone the words Yemen and refugees and they will certainly have in mind people fleeing the war-torn state. Yemen is a country that has been ravaged by fighting since 2015, and the situation there has only worsened as third parties have contributed to that civil war. So it is perhaps surprising that while thousands of people are indeed fleeing Yemen to the Horn of Africa (some 87,000 last year), more people still are going the other direction, with more than 117,000 reckoned to have travelled across the Gulf of Aden and Red Sea into this place of insecurity last year alone. Since 2013, nearly 290,000 refugees and migrants have landed on the Yemeni coast. Nearly 80 per cent of these were Ethiopians, and most of the rest Somalis. Most journey to Yemen in the hope of using it as a transit point, while others look to stay in Yemen, often unaware of the dangers. We must not allow unscrupulous smugglers and traffickers to lure people into risks and dangers where they hope to find protection. The most recent figures represent a steady increase in irregular movements from Africa to Yemen up from 65,000 in 2013, 91,600 in 2014 and 92,500 in 2015 respectively. And this notwithstanding a worsening environment in Yemen, where a full-scale war has been ongoing since 2015. UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, launched a campaign today to raise awareness of the dangers faced by those crossing to and through Yemen. These range from death at sea to assault, extortion and abuse by criminal networks, as well as the hazards stemming from the war in Yemen itself, which has made fully four-fifths of the population dependent on humanitarian aid. UNHCR kicked off the campaign with the help of prominent musicians from the region led by singing star and former refugee Maryam Mursal who created a song and video titled "Dangerous Crossings" with key messages to make people think very carefully before deciding to cross to Yemen. Yemen: "Dangerous Crossings" trailer We want to empower refugees to take informed decisions about their future, says Volker Turk, UNHCR's Assistant High Commissioner for Protection. Those who decide to flee need to know which dangers lie ahead. We must not allow unscrupulous smugglers and traffickers to lure people into risks and dangers where they hope to find protection. UNHCR has received reports of physical and sexual abuse, deprivation of food and water, abduction, extortion, torture and forced labour by smugglers and criminal networks. There has also been an increase in arrests, detention and forced returns. Women who account for roughly a third of the refugees and migrants from Somalia and 13 per cent of those from Ethiopia are particularly at risk, as they may be targets of sexual violence and at risk of being trafficked. Figures from partner agencies monitoring the Yemeni shoreline suggest that around a quarter of those travelling to Yemen are children. Smugglers frequently cast passengers out to sea short of the coast. A total of 446 people were reckoned to have been killed or gone missing over the previous three years out of the thousands of refugees and migrants making the journey. It is only reasonable to suppose these figures understate the actual number of deaths, since it is difficult for UNHCR and its partners to operate in what is a war zone. "They injured me so badly and I couldnt even get any medical treatment I am sick, hungry and miserable here. There is nothing here for me and life is very dangerous, says an Ethiopian woman who made the trip. I was beaten up badly last month by other people who were looking for money and they accused me of stealing. They injured me so badly and I couldnt even get any medical treatment. I just had to wait for the wounds to heal by themselves and they still havent healed. I am sick, hungry and miserable here. The core of the problem is that it is very difficult to provide assistance to those who need it in a place that is as dangerous as Yemen. For while the central mandate of UNHCR is to protect refugees, safety is a misnomer within a country at war. The operational capacity of the agency is severely limited by the lack of security, both for its personnel and partners and for those whom it would want to help. Almost 19 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance. The difficulty of establishing safety nets for refugees and migrants within an environment that is so insecure is part of the reason that UNHCR has for a long time warned of the dangers of people voyaging to Yemen. Reports suggest that while the journey may cost somewhere between US$300 and US$500, the reality is that people on the move stand to lose much more from extortion, with stories abounding of refugees and migrants being kidnapped and ransoms demanded of their families. It is clear that a great number of those who undertake the journey to Yemen are not aware of the dangers they face. Smuggling networks downplay the perils and threats that people moving irregularly face and those who survive the ordeal frequently fail to feed back home the full picture of what they went through. UNHCR is committed to encouraging greater awareness of these risks. By Virendrasingh Ghunawat: The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI), Mumbai, conducted searches on few locations and recovered several antiques and artefacts kept illegally at godowns owned by an NRI. As per DRI officials, based on a specific information, the residence and godowns of Vijay Nanda, an American businessman of Indian origin was searched at Girgaum Chowpatty on Monday. "The search operation resulted in the recovery of various stone sculptures, including terracotta figurines from 1st Century A.D., bronze figurines of Mahishasura Mardhini and Ganesha, all dating from the 17th and 18th Century," the official said. There were 6 large stone sculptures kept in the godown in Byculla. These include statues of 'Varada Ganesha', 'Padmapani', 'Awalokateshwara', 'Standing Vishnu' and figurines of 'Naga and Nagini'. "These statues appear to be stolen from various temples in eastern and southern India and belong to the 10th-11th Century A.D. advertisement There has been an attempt made to legitimise the same through registrations of Archaeological Survey of India and creation of fake documents of procurement," the official said. Several other antiques recovered from Nanda's house have been taken for verification. It appeared that Vijay Nanda had arrived in India a few days earlier to make arrangements to smuggle the statues outside the country. Nanda's business associate, Udit Jain has already been arrested by DRI in Chennai in relation with smuggling of antiques and ancient paintings as a part of the Deendayalan syndicate. MODUS OPERANDI Sculptures are stolen from temples of south and eastern India. These sculptures are then legitimised by way of forging ASI certificates or obtaining certificates by producing false documentation. These are then smuggled out of India concealed inside furniture/handicrafts/readymade garment consignments. Nanda further arranged for auctions and subsequent sale in the United States and Hong Kong. According to DRI, Gupta era gold coins, post Mauryan terracotta figurines, Rajputana swords and daggers, Chola bronzes and Tibetan Buddhist statues were among the antiques that have been smuggled by this syndicate in the past. Nanda is a prime player in the international art smuggling syndicate with extensive connections in the US, Europe, and Hong Kong. HIGH DEMAND FOR INDIAN ANTIQUES Indian antiques and artefacts command great value in international markets and are highly sought after by art galleries and private collectors. The notorious art smuggler Subhash Kapoor, based in the United States (US) had earlier been arrested and extradited to India. The 2000 odd antiquities which were returned from the US during the June 2016 visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi had been previously smuggled by the Subhash Kapoor syndicate. ALSO READ: The big I-T raid in Bengaluru: Inside story Jaipur bank CEO goes missing after IT raid, Rs 1.56 crore seized --- ENDS --- Japanese tech giant Sony has finally released the latest update for the Xperia X Concept. The latest update also brings some enhancements and improvements to the table. New Xperia X Concept Update Brings New Ambient Display And Several Bug Fixes According to Softpedia, the newly released Concept build will also bring a few couple bug fixes that have not been addressed in the previous Sony updates. It also brings new improvement and enhancement, which will also users to make some necessary adjustments to the way the phone's display works. The newly released Concept build, which currently still in the experimental stage, is only available to Xperia X users who enrolled in the beta program and have been selected for the said program. At 39 MB only, this is a small update and seems to be aimed at addressing only many of the bugs that were not addressed recently. So the crowd must not expect any major changes from this newly released update. In addition to the Ambient display, the update also addressed several important bug fixes for Camera viewfinder and Bluetooth Audio. It also addressed two key technical issues: one for missing call LED and the other one for the tinted display color. Sony Is Aiming To Become The First Handset Manufacturer To Release Android 7.1.1 Nougat As mentioned by Sony earlier on Xperia Blog, the Japanese company is ambitiously aiming to be the first handset manufacturer to release Android 7.1.1 Nougat OS update, which brings a number of new features including a restart option in the power menu, app shortcuts, new emojis, GIF support in some apps and an image keyboard for supported apps. The Japanese company recently halted the rollout of the Android 7.0 Nougat to all Sony Xperia devices after receiving reports of some issues about audio playback and SD card data read performance. Artificial Intelligence or AI was seen to change the field of education in the near future. Bots may be used to do tasks that usually require large workforce. Artificial intelligence can check millions of standardized tests and make learning materials in just a short time. IT can assist human instructors in online courses. Education experts supporting AI sees the following changes in the field of education, according to Venture Beat. AI will be responsible for grading students' papers. Computers had been used in checking multiple types of tests. Educators taught that answers to open-ended types of tests should be checked only by humans. Today, AI can be taught how to grade students' responses to open ended questions. It can be more accurate than humans in evaluating students' answers. AI will answer students' questions. AI will play a vital role in online education. Students asking questions online can get accurate answers from an Artificial Intelligence. AI can act as a teacher assistant and answer students' queries. This will result to less number of teachers needed by schools offering online learning. An analysis made regarding the market for Artificial Intelligence predicted that it will rise globally. Its potential to cut costs and improve learning will make educators and governments to embrace it, according to Technavio. The cost of education will decrease with the use of Artificial Intelligence. Teaching students about things that machines can do is a waste of time. Instead, they should be taught creativity, leadership, planning, teamwork, caring and other skills that machines would never be able to do, according to Ed Week Market Brief. Some people fear that they will lose their jobs to machines. This is wrong. Using AI will help them focus on things that humans should do for the general welfare of mankind such as preserving their environment, improving education and health. In short, it will reduce costs of education. This will be a welcome change as education costs increase with the growing school population. Graduating students need to do internship work as part of their graduation requirements. Finding the right internship job can be a challenge though. Students who wish to get the best hands-on-experience should know the top and strategies and websites that hire interns. Here are the best strategies and websites for students looking for practical experience according to Forbes. Visiting the school job placement office Schools have their job placement offices. Visiting the office will give the staff an idea as to the job that one wants. Knowing the people who work there will most like benefit a student. If a job comes up, he might be the first to know about it through the staff. Attending Career Fairs Companies send a recruitment team to campuses every year to hire the best students. The activity will help students meet future employers. They can build connections that could come handy to them in the future. Aside from using the right strategies, students must know which job sites get the most result. Here are the top five websites that students looking for internship must check according to The Huffington Post. Idealist.org This website offers internship jobs in non-profit organization. Students who want to get updates can sign up. Jobs are usually listed according to their location and even as to the language used. Experience.com When it comes to connections to different companies, this website is at the top. Because of its connections, it is the first to know about vacant internship positions in different companies. Internship.com Just its name indicates that it can be the best website for students looking for an on-the-job experience. Jobs are listed by major, by location or by company. Students will find it easy to find practicum experience relevant to their field. Students who use the right strategy and know trusted websites would usually have an easy time in finding the job that they really want. By Press Trust of India: Kathmandu, Feb 7 (PTI) An Indian national involved in cross-border drug smuggling was arrested in Nepal today with five kilogrammes of hashish. Sheikh Saddam, who apparently was heading to Kolkata, was arrested by a team of Armed Police Force (APF) from Birgunj of Parsa district bordering India. Sheikh told the security agency that he was a drug mule and was ferrying the consignment from Nepal to India for Rs 10,000, The Himalayan Times reported. advertisement According to Sheikh, a contact in Kathmandu had promised him to pay the amount after delivering the consignment. The APF handed over the suspect to the Nepal Police for further investigation and action. PTI NSA --- ENDS --- Angelina Jolie recently gave her fans a glimpse of "First They Killed My Father". The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Goodwill Ambassador said that the project tells the story of a war through the eyes of a child, although it is the story of a country as well. Here's more details about Netflix and Jolie's "First They Killed My Father". "First They Killed My Father": the movie's heart is Loung Ung's memoir According to Us Weekly, Jolie shared that the movie is based on Cambodian human rights activist Loung Ung's 2000 memoir. It tells the story of the destruction wreaked on Cambodia in the 70s after the Khmer Rouge communist party massacred more than two million people, which included Ung's parents and two sisters. "First They Killed My Father": portraying genocide and war To create a precise picture of the genocide and war, Jolie used Cambodian actors who speak their native language, Khmer. She was able to gather hundreds of survivors and their children to re-create their stories. Jolie said that for "First They Killed My Father", they were able to find people who had either suffered personally or experienced new suffering, which made them express thier own feelings and desires and although guided by production, the indivifuals were allowed to do it their way. "First They Killed My Father": Angelina Jolie and Cambodia Jolie is no stranger to Cambodia, as she has filmed there in 2001 for "Tomb Raider". Consequently, she came back as a volunteer for the UNHCR and is now a special envoy for the program. In 2002, she adopted her first child, Maddox (now 15) from Battambang. Speaking of Maddox, he is involved in "First They Killed My Father". According to Jolie, Maddox went through the script and assisted with notes. He was also present in the production meetings (via Hello! Magazine). "First They Killed My Father" will premiere in Siem Reap, Cambodia on February 18 and will be released internationally on Netflix later this year. Saint Joseph's College is facing financial strains and because of these challenges, the school may close. However, Marian University is ready to welcome the college's students with open arms. Saint Joseph's College has an enrollment of 1,200 students and Marian University welcoming the students to its campus is a welcome relief. After Saint Joseph's announcement that it will temporarily suspend operations at the end of this semester, Marian promises to assist the pupils using a seamless transfer process. Marian guarantees that Saint Joseph's students will pay the same out of pocket fees they are currently paying, as reported by JC Online. In additional assurance, Marian is also honoring transfer credits with a minimum grade of C-Minus. According to Marian University President Daniel Elsener, they consider Saint Joseph to be a sister school and they want to help their students and staff in any way they can. Admissions representatives are going to be on campus this Thursday to help the students with the transfer and admissions process. Students are advised that Marian is going to help tackle financial concerns, accreditation questions and academic limits. The university is also going to waive its application fee and will look into the admissions requirements and transfer credits as well. Student-athletes should not worry, according to Elsener. Student-athletes who are competing intercollegiately are welcome to compete for open spots on the Marian roster, as reported by CBS. She also adds that even if there are no available spots, they want to provide financial aid packages that suit their needs. Aside from Marian University, Purdue is also opening its doors to Saint Joseph's College students. They are also going to be on campus to provide assistance and meet with students individually. However, Purdue's University President Mitch Daniels explains that they will do their best to meet their financial needs but they cannot guarantee housing for 2017. Learn more about Purdue University in the video below: The University of Minnesota Law School recently received a gift amounting to $25 million in assistance in order to support its Center for New Americans. In the wake of the recent Trump travel ban, Robina Foundation gifts The University of Minnesota Law School with funds to permanently support the center for its legal services and other financial needs. In recent events, the University of Minnesota Law School stands against Trump's travel ban as it has affected 125 of its students because they come from the seven affected countries. The university promises to continue its work. Especially with the Robina Foundation backing the University of Minnesota Law School, the institution continues its four year legacy to improve federal immigration laws and policies to protect human rights by providing access to legal representation, as reported by Fox. The amount of $23.5 million will be the permanent fund issued to the center while the rest will establish a professorship in clinical law and assist scholarships for law students. In total, the Robina Foundation has already committed almost $60 million. The Center for New Americans will also then be renamed after the late James H. Binger (Robina's founder and a 1941 law school graduate), as reported by Twin Cities. University President Eric Kaler says that the gift from Robina demonstrates the power of philanthropy. With that, they are able to drive their students towards success and tackle problems that the nation is facing. In related news, a Federal judge temporarily halts the Trump travel ban in the country, as reported by CNN. The Federal judge who approved the order is James Robart. Last week,news spurred about the confusion regarding the travel ban, says Senator Franken. Watch the video below on how it affected the Minnesota refugees: While the center's focus is to provide legal assistance and services for about 400,000 immigrants, refugees and asylum seekers residing in Minnesota, many see this as a welcome note to the recent issues pertaining the recent immigration and travel bans. Lenovo Yoga series has been a few of most-favorite 2-in-1 devices and the latest addition in the family has a lot of interesting features to offer. Touch-panel keyboard There is nothing more futuristic than its Halo keyboard. Lenovo Yoga A12 does not have physical keyboard, it uses virtual keyboard that can offer a smartphone or tablet experience. Lenovo said that the touch-panel keyboard will also be available in the future's Chromebooks. One drawback of the keyboard is that it does not support stylus as in the Yoga Book series. You won't be able to write on the touchpad. Versatile Lenovo Yoga A12 packs a versatile design with 360-degree hinge that can turn the laptop into a tablet. It has a huge 12.2-inch display and runs on Android Marshmallow, upgradable to Nougat. The modified Android is said to have a custom multi-tasking UI. To support all of the activities, Lenovo equips its Yoga A12 with 15 hours of battery life. Chromebook features Specs-wise, Lenovo Yoga A12 gets 2 GB of RAM in tow with 32 GB internal storage, as reported by Android Police. Portable As a budget laptop, the A12 comes with portability feature. It weighs less than a kilogram and it has an ultra thin dimension. Affordable The A12 hybrid device is powered by Intel Atom X5. Lenovo purposefully launched the 2-in-1 laptop to cater budget users. Lenovo sells its Yoga A12 series for $299, starting Feb. 8. Yoga A12 is changing the laptop game especially for artists and designers but Lenovo still needs to up the innards a bit, in order to compete with high-end devices like the 2-in-1 Surface Pro. The outdated processor and no writing on the touchpad are two big disadvantages but as far as the price is concerned, it still has no direct rival yet. The modular Moto Z of Motorala is the most favorite phone to use during hackathon events. And for this reason, new moto mods for 2017 have been discovered by the hackers including the one that will make a drunk person to arrive safe at home. See full details here for the new Moto Mods and others as well! Health-Related Moto Mods Have Discovered Last December's hackathon has produced the following Moto Mods: gamepad, beauty device and audio conventer. But for this year's event which was held in New York, San Francisco, newly discovered Moto Mods for Moto Z are mostly health-related. Simple Syrup and Baby Care are among the newly discovered health-related Moto Mods has the following functionalities: to read blood glucose for diabetic patients and offers alerts for sleeping babies including temperatures. However, according to Engadget, the most notable discovery is the one from the team of high-school kids who come up with a Moto Mod which they called ModCoholic. Accordingly, ModCoholic is breathalyzer mod which allows a drunk person to grab a taxi for home when is he drunk beyond the legal limit. According to Engagdet, the team who discovered the said Moto Mods has received an Honorable Mention for their submission together with the hackers for the first two mentioned health-related mods. What Will Happened to the Newly Discovered Mods? As per tradition, the winning teams from the hackathon venues New York, India and Buenos Aires will be sent to the headquarters of Motorola located in Chicago to present their ideas to industry leaders. If the idea appeals good, Lenovo Capital is likely to invest and fund the promising concepts and will be feature in the Motorola phones in the near future, according to Digital Trends. To boost Moto Mod development, Motorola is reportedly engaging to this kind of activity and last year, they launched the Transform the Smartphone Challenge. And the next hackathon even is said to take place in Shenzhen, China in mid-March. The number of Chinese teenagers moving to America to study high school continues to rise. This comes as they prepare themselves to enroll at universities and colleges in the United States. The New York Times described these Chinese kids as "the parachute generation." The publication reported that the number of Chinese students coming to the U.S. has continued to rise even as the country's relations with China have slipped. It is estimated that about 370,000 students from mainland China are enrolled in American high schools and colleges. This figure is six times more than the data from over a decade ago. It was noted that this is a "strange historical moment" when the elites of a rising nation would send their precious children, the products of China's one-child policy, to study at a geopolitical rival country. Even President Xi Jinping, who led the crackdown on Western influences in Chinese schools, sent his daughter to Harvard. A survey conducted last year by a Shanghai-based research firm found that 83 percent of China's millionaires plan to send their children to study abroad. The average age has currently dropped to 16 from 18 in 2014. In 2014, the number of Chinese students rose to a whopping 40,000. Now, they account for about half of all international high school students in the nation. Nini Suet, founder of Shang Learning, a boutique consultancy with headquarters in Beijing, noted that parents have begun to realize that they need to start earlier if they want their children to attend a top U.S. university. Suet's company charges $25,000 to $40,000 to help Chinese kids with the preparation and application to American boarding schools. According to NPR, Chinese parents want their kids to earn a degree in the U.S. since it "carries a lot of weight." Moreover, the students themselves enjoy studying in America because it allows them to be more independent and creative. The workload is also more manageable than in China where the national college-entrance exam takes nine hours to complete and a lot more hours to prepare for. A NASA-funded program, Automated Radiation Measurements for Aerospace Safety (ARMAS), has found that there are spots in the sky where radiation levels are double than the usual. This would provide an entirely new understanding in the precautions needed for air travel. New Scientist reported that research flights by ARMAS revealed that there are clouds that contain double the radiation levels than usual. The NASA-funded program was developed to find new ways of measuring and monitoring high-altitude radiation. It has long been known that there are danger zones in the air such as volcanic ash clouds. Airliners are already equipped in identifying and avoiding these locations in the atmosphere. It has also been known that air travel exposes travellers and crew to cosmic rays. This new data, however, reveals a significant risk that air travel brings. Researchers conducted over 260 flights where they investigated the radiation levels. Generally, the radiation levels were normal in terms of air travel. In about six instances, though, these levels surged, leading the researchers to suggest that the aircraft may have flown through a radiation cloud. ARMAS principal investigator W. Kent Tobiska, of Los Angeles firm Space Environment Technologies, confirmed that they were able to witness the doubling of radiation exposure through the cloud. Moreover, he noted that the two main sources of radiation, cosmic rays and solar wind, do not account for the surges. This led them to the third component: geomagnetic storms. According to Science Alert, the magnetic field of the Earth traps particles from cosmic rays and solar winds in radiation belts. One example is the Van Allen radiation belt. These are similar to magnetic bottles that lock the particles. When events like solar wind bursts happen, though, charged particles in these bottles can leak and settle in the Earth's stratosphere. The electrons are pushed into the upper atmosphere and crash with nitrogen and oxygen atoms and molecules. As a result, they create a spray of second- and third-level radiation, most likely in the form of gamma rays. The University of Pennsylvania has officially launched the "Task Force on a Safe and Responsible Campus Community." The group was organized after a sexist email was sent to freshmen by an off-campus organization. In its official website, UPenn announced that President Amy Gutmann and Provost Vincent Price have formally charged the Task Force on a Safe and Responsible Campus Community last Feb. 2. The initiative is intended to develop a collective understanding of how to promote a respectful and healthy campus environment. The Task Force is a response to public concerns about sexist discrimination by students and groups. This is the type of behavior that damages the campus community and promotes a culture of sexism. The group will be having campus conversations and meet together to discuss as well as create recommendations for the President and Provost. Their work will end in April this year. Students and members of the community are also encouraged to submit their recommendations and comment through the Task Force website. The group is led by Dr. Valarie Swain-Cade McCoullum, Vice Provost for University Life, Maureen Rush, Vice President for Public Safety, Superintendent of Penn Police, and Dr. Beth Winkelstein, Vice Provost for Education. According to The Daily Pennsylvanian, the project was announced last November after a sexually exploitative email was sent to freshmen by OZ, an off-campus organization. The group will also be holding unaffiliated and unsupervised groups accountable for violations of the University policy. McCoullum will lead a group that focuses on how to fight sexual harassment, alcohol abuse as well as other violations of the school's Code of Conduct. Winkelstein and Rush will each lead a group that will study student awareness of the Code of Conduct and how the violations are addressed, respectively. A creepy email with the subject line "Wild Wednesday," was distributed to an undisclosed list of recipients on Aug. 31. The invitation included a poem that encourages female students to "please wear something tight." It was then posted on fliers that were taped to the school's iconic "LOVE" statue. One group also placed it on bulletin boards to warn freshman girls. A former student of Carnegie Mellon University who was found guilty of cybercrime has been sentenced to three years' probation. Morgan Culbertson, 22, developed and sold malware that allowed other people to remotely control Google Android smartphones. The Associated Press reported that U.S. District Judge Arthur Schwab has also ordered Culbertson to perform 300 hours of community service. Initially, he had faced up to 16 months in prison under federal sentencing guidelines. However, he was saved from imprisonment after his defense attorney and prosecutors acknowledged his lack of a criminal record. The court also recognized his efforts to use his extraordinary computer skills for good after he was charged last Jul. 2015. Since then, Culbertson has helped create language translation software for a search engine firm. He also developed mobile malware security software for another company. The former Carnegie Mellon University student was described by assistant U.S. attorney Jimmy Kitchen as a "youthful" whiz kid who was "looking for a challenge." Nonetheless, Kitchen did not disregard the harm caused by the Dendroid app that Culbertson developed. He is one of 12 people charged by the authorities in a global takedown of the Darkode.com cybercriminal marketplace. 70 people were claimed to have used the cybercriminal marketplace where malicious software was sold and bought. Culbertson has expressed his remorse for what he did. He is currently on leave from Carnegie Mellon University where he completed his sophomore year in electrical computer engineering. According to Toledo Blade, the 22-year-old pleaded guilty over the summer in the conspiracy to damage protected computers. He was said to have worked with someone from the Netherlands to design a product named "Dendroid." The malware infected victims' smartphones. It allowed the user to intercept text messages, steal files, take photos and browse histories as well as record phone calls without the phone owner's knowledge. Culbertson is reportedly taking classes at Community College of Allegheny County. He is also working as an intern in Hyiilon in Plum, a company that designs technology for the trucking industry. By Press Trust of India: Chinese media From K J M Varma Beijing, Feb 7 (PTI) Indian Armys "Cold Start" doctrine to seize control of Pakistani territory might be intimidating but will not lead to a "landslide" victory against nuclear-armed Pakistan, state-run Chinese media has said. "Both India and Pakistan are nuclear-armed countries. Even if the Cold Start strategy sounds intimidating and there is indeed a gap between the two powers military might, it does not mean that New Delhi can easily win a landslide victory against Islamabad," an article in the state-run Global Times said today. advertisement "The truth is, Pakistan has considerable strength to safeguard its sovereignty and its nuclear weapons should not be ignored," it said. The daily said that given the uncertainties of US future policy toward South Asia, the India-Pakistan peace process, which is already frozen, is now in a "critically fragile state". "Against this backdrop, any remark that might threaten the delicate peace between the two nations from the Indian military authority will undoubtedly trigger a strong reaction in Pakistan," it said. "Since the 1998 nuclear tests in India and Pakistan, it is quite common to hear such war of words like the latest one. In the meantime, tensions between the two can also be eased once in a while," it said. The daily said that despite the fact that New Delhi is "hostile" against Islamabad, initiating a war against Pakistan is not a welcoming idea among Indian people. "That being said, such verbal warfare can hardly escalate into armed confrontation," it said. It also said that US President Donald Trump may follow a "balanced policy" between India and Pakistan unlike his predecessor Barack Obama who adopted a "comprehensive pro-India policy". "Trumps South Asia policy may be different from that of Obama, who adopted a comprehensive pro-India policy in his final years in office," the daily said. "Trump called Pakistani Prime Minister first after winning the election, which may be a crucial signal - he would take a more balanced strategy between New Delhi and Islamabad. If so, it is possible to see a slight recovery in the India-Pakistan relations," it said. About the India-Pakistan peace process, it said Prime Minister Narendra Modi once sought to restart the peace talks with Pakistan and warm up New Delhis relationship with Islamabad by inviting his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif to attend his inauguration ceremony, which was an "unprecedented" act. "The bilateral relations were relaxed at that time. Yet, due to a number of other factors, such as India accusing Islamabad of terror attacks in Kashmir and New Delhis bid to add Pakistan-based organisation Jamaat-ud-Dawa and Masood Azhar, chief of Pakistan-based group Jaish-e-Mohammed, to the UN Security Councils terror list, India-Pakistan ties worsened," it said. advertisement "The odds of a thaw in India-Pakistan relations are very small under such a circumstance. But once their war of words escalates to the point of armed combat, both sides will surely adopt measures to reduce the tension," it said. PTI KJV PMS AKJ PMS --- ENDS --- By Press Trust of India: New Delhi, Feb 6 (PTI) Taking a dig at Congress after Election Comission asked it to complete its organisational elections by June, Union Minister Venkaiah Naidu today said all was not well in the main opposition party where internal democracy was not effective. "Its duty of every political party, that too for a political party which claims 125 years of history...Parties should conduct internal elections in a free and fair manner and report to the Election Commission. They should have taken the lead in doing this. advertisement "Very fact that the Election Commission has to remind the Congress party shows that all is not well and democracy is not effective in internal functioning of the Congress party," Naidu told reporters here. Since September, 2015, Congress has on two occasions urged the poll panel to allow it to defer its internal elections. EC had recently said it would grant no further extension and the internal polls should be over "latest by June 30, 2017". Congress has also been asked to submit the list of its new office bearers by July 15 to the poll panel. With the Commission refusing to grant more time to Congress to hold the organisational polls, the demand for anointing Rahul Gandhi as party president could gain momentum after the assembly elections in five states are over in March. Under the ECs rules, all registered political parties have to hold organisational elections annually. Congress has, however, cited its constitution to say that its internal polls are held every 5 years. PTI JTR KR SK --- ENDS --- By Press Trust of India: Hyderabad, Feb 7 (PTI) Global drug major Johnson and Johnson is working with the Indian Government in the area of treatment for tuberculosis, said Paul Stoffels, Worldwide Chairman Pharmaceuticals and Chief Scientific Officer of Johnson and Johnson here today. ?It is a molecule we are working with the Government of India. It is Bedaquiline (drug). It is the first new molecule in last forty years (for TB). It is a very impactable drug for multi-drug therapy...we are working with the government to bring it to the people," Stoffels told reporters on the sidelines of BioAsia-2017 being held here. advertisement Last year, Telangana Government had said that it has entered into an MoU with Johnson & Johnson to work together for making the state tuberculosis free. Replying to a query, he said J and J is working on a vaccine for HIV and the result is expected in the next three years. "HIV vaccine. The study is starting this year and the outcome of that will be known in 2020," he said. He also felt that Indian pharma and biotech companies are capable enough to produce new molecules on their own. Earlier in a keynote address on his companys innovation landscape, Stoffels said there were 140 molecules in different stages of development. He also said the company has incubators for startups in USA and Canada and has place to expand globally. PTI GDK DK DK --- ENDS --- Popular UW Adventurer Mark Jenkins to Discuss Tibet and China Relationship Statewide This is among the photographs that will be shown during UW writer-in-residence Mark Jenkins latest statewide presentation Tea, Trade, and Tyranny: Tibet and China Over Time. (Mark Jenkins Photo) University of Wyoming writer-in-residence Mark Jenkins, of Laramie, uses his experiences as a National Geographic contributor as a way to bring his global adventures to the Cowboy State. His latest offering -- scheduled in February and March in six Wyoming communities -- focuses on the long relationship between Tibet and China. The adventurer will present Tea, Trade, & Tyranny: Tibet & China Over Time as part of the UW Center for Global Studies World to Wyoming Tour. Each of his programs is free and open to the public. Tibet and China have had a complex relationship for more than 1,500 years. Wars have been fought, treaties signed, and then ignored in the next conquest. But, there was always trade, Jenkins says. In his presentation, Jenkins takes the audience on a journey down the forgotten Tea Horse Road. For almost 1,000 years, a stone-paved road connected Yaan, the tea-growing capital of Sichuan province, with Lhasa, the 12,000-foot-high capital of Tibet. Tea was essential to daily life in Tibet, and Chinas feudal kingdoms needed war horses. For centuries, China and Tibet were on equal footing, but the ascendency of China in the second half of the 20th century has devastated Tibet and the countrys culture. Jenkins will discuss the two countries history in the following Wyoming communities: -- Wednesday, Feb. 15, UW College of Arts and Sciences auditorium, 7 p.m. -- Tuesday, Feb. 28, Gillette College, Presentation Hall, 7 p.m. -- Wednesday, March 1, Sheridan College, Whitney Concert Hall, 7 p.m. -- Thursday, March 2, Northwest College, in Powell, Yellowstone Building, 6:30 p.m. Also featured will be What in the World? UW student international fieldwork presentations, Fagerberg Building, Room 70, from 2:25-3:40 p.m. -- Saturday, March 4, Cody Theatre, 2:30 p.m. Also featured will be What in the World? UW student international fieldwork presentations, Cody Theatre, 1 p.m. -- Sunday, March 5, National Wildlife Museum, in Jackson, 5:30 p.m. Also featured will be What in the World? UW student international fieldwork presentations, National Wildlife Museum, 4 p.m. With National Geographic images used for his presentations, Jenkins reveals the modern lives of the Tibetans and the Chinese, and the geopolitics that have always connected them. A critically acclaimed author and internationally recognized journalist, Jenkins covers geopolitics and adventure for National Geographic. He has won numerous writing awards, including the Overseas Press Club Ross Award for The Healing Fields in 2013 and a National Magazine Award with colleague Brint Stirton for Who Murdered the Mountain Gorillas in 2009. Both projects provided the basis for statewide presentations at Wyomings community colleges as part of the World to Wyoming outreach series. Jenkins is the author of four books, and his work has appeared in dozens of national and international magazines. He has a B.A. degree in philosophy and an M.S. in geography, both from UW. Students presenting and their projects are: -- Emily Beagle, mechanical engineering doctoral candidate, from Sheridan, European Bioenergy Systems and Beetle Kill Management. She used her Center for Global Studies-School of Energy Resources Nielson Graduate Fellowship to examine the present state of bioenergy systems in the European Union. Beagle researched how similar systems can be implemented to manage the beetle kill epidemic and simultaneously be used in energy applications. -- Jeremy Goldsmith, international studies/environment and natural resources masters degree candidate, from Louisville, Ky., Evaluating Why and How Gambians Migrate. He used the Center for Global Studies Centennial Award to travel to Gambia to visit with migrants to understand the factors impacting their decisions to migrate illegally to Europe. -- Denise Muro, international studies masters degree candidate, from Denver, Colo., Portrayals of Displaced Syrian and Iraqi Women in Germany. She used the Center for Global Studies Research Excellence Award to investigate Syrian and Iraqi women refugee experiences in Berlin, Germany. For more information about Jenkins presentations, call Jean Garrison, UW Center for Global Studies director, at (307) 766-6119 or email garrison@uwyo.edu. Keeping in view the threat to block the roads by cutting trees, the government on Tuesday warned the JCB machine owners not to allow their machines to uproot trees for blocking roads. By Manjeet Sehgal: The fresh protest threat given by the agitating Jat leaders seems to have earned a positive response from Haryana government which on Tuesday formed a five member committee to consider the demands. The committee headed by Chief Secretary DS Dhesi will invite Jat organisations or individuals to submit their view point and suggestions. "The committee would try its best to resolve their issues under the ambit of the Constitution and different decisions and directions given by the Punjab and Haryana High Court in this regard. The State Government is in favour of resolving the problems of the people under the provisions of the Constitution," a state government Spokesperson said. advertisement The four members of the Committee include Additional Chief Secretary, Home Ram Niwas, Principal Secretary, Industries Devender Singh, Secretary, General Administration, Vijayendra Kumar and Additional Director General of Police, Law and Order Mohammad. GOVERNMENT WARNS MACHINE OWNERS TO DESIST FROM BLOCKING ROADS Keeping in view the threat to block the roads by cutting trees, the government on Tuesday warned the JCB machine owners not to allow their machines to uproot trees for blocking roads. "The Sub Divisional Officer (Civil) Tohana, has directed the Executive Officer, Municipal Council to hold a meeting with all JCB machine operators and warn them that in case their JCBs are used to uproot trees or dig roads, they would invite stern action against themselves and their vehicles would be impounded," the spokesperson said. He said that the SDM, who was presiding over a meeting with officers in Tohana today, also directed them to ensure proper coordination and remain alert to deal with any eventuality. While reviewing the activities of Transport Department, he directed the officers not to allow night halt of buses in villages till the agitation continues. "The Forest Department officers have also been directed to keep their staff alert and in case of felling of trees, make necessary arrangements for electric saws and tractor trolleys. The Health Department officials have also been asked to arrange necessary healthcare facilities," the spokesperson said. HARYANA MINISTERS APPEAL TO JAT LEADERS The BJP came to the rescue of the state government on Tuesday and appealed the Jat leaders to rise above the petty politics and not to indulge in activities which may destroy the peace of the state. "Though the matter is pending in High Court, yet the BJP government is strongly advocating for it in favour of the Jat community. Now the opposition parties should also rise above petty politics and should not indulge in activities which may cause harm to the peace in the state as the agitation is not in the interest of the state. BJP government has given the benefit of reservation to Jats in Haryana after giving it in other states such as Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Delhi so as to uplift the Jat community," Haryana cabinet ministers OP Dhankhar, Krishan Lal Panwar and Manish Kumar Grover said in a joint statement. VIOLENCE EXPECTED AFTER FEBRUARY 11 advertisement CM Manohar Lal Khattar had recently met various Khap panchayats on January 29 and had assured the community that all genuine demands will be fulfilled. Despite the assurances, a section of Jat community went on indefinite protest in 19 districts including Rohtak, which remains the epicentre of the protests. The Jats have threatened to block all roads leading to New Delhi. There are reports that anti-social elements from neighbouring Uttar Pradesh may indulge in violence in Haryana. However, the state government has already deployed police and para military forces in the troubled 19 districts. A Jat faction has demanded release of the jailed protesters besides job to the next kith and kins who were killed during the action against protesters. February 11 has been fixed as the deadline to meet the demands failing which they will step-up protests. Out of the total 79 protesters who were arrested for rioting, 11 were granted bail, and 32 rioters are facing heinous crimes. --- ENDS --- By Press Trust of India: New Delhi, Feb 7 (PTI) Jubilant Life Sciences Ltd today reported a 2.63 per cent decline in consolidated net profit at Rs 119.78 crore for the third quarter ended December 31, 2016. The company had posted a consolidated net profit of Rs 123.01 crore in the same period last fiscal, Jubilant Life Sciences said in a BSE filing. advertisement Net sales during the quarter under review stood at Rs 1,472.23 crore as against Rs 1,358.18 crore in the year-ago period, up 8.39 per cent, it added. Pharmaceuticals segment revenue was at Rs 785 crore, up 15 per cent from the same period last fiscal, while the life science ingredients vertical clocked Rs 663 crore, down 3 per cent, the company said. Drug Discovery solutions business had a revenue of Rs 44 crore, up 28 per cent from the same quarter last fiscal. Jubilant Life Sciences said its international revenues were at Rs 1,062 crore in the third quarter. Commenting on the performance, Shyam S Bhartia, Chairman and Hari S Bhartia, Co-Chairman & Managing Director, Jubilant Life Sciences said the continued strong results were led by revenue growth in specialty pharmaceuticals business where revenues grew 26 per cent. "Recent initiatives, including the signing of long term contracts in our radiopharma business and price increases announced in our Vitamin portfolio improve the visibility of earnings going forward," they added. The proceeds from recent successful issuance of domestic non-convertible debentures will be mainly used for refinancing of existing high cost debt, they said, adding "We expect to continue our robust financial and operational performance going ahead". On the outlook, the company said: "The revenue and profitability is expected to be robust, led by better revenue quality in our specialty pharmaceuticals (sterile products) business." Going forward, the growth will be driven by growth in radiopharmaceuticals and allergy therapy products and ramp up of operations in CMO of sterile injectables; new product launches and capacity expansions in generics segment. Besides, the life science ingredients will also be a growth driver following additional capacity due to retrofitting and new product introductions. On-boarding of new customers in the drug discovery solutions vertical will also contribute, it added. Shares of Jubilant Life Sciences were trading at Rs 708 apiece in the afternoon trade, down 5.33 per cent from the previous close on the BSE. PTI RKL ABI --- ENDS --- advertisement Around 10,000 buddhists attend Laughter Yoga event at the An Lac Spring Festival. On stage, Vietnam Laughter Yoga chairman Le Anh Son shared funny folk tales to encourage people to laugh and guided them on how to breathe and burst into cheerful laughter. Laughter yoga helps people destress, said Venerable Thich ao Thinh, chairman of Khai Nguyen Pagoda, which is located in Son ong Commune in Son Tay Town. When people laugh, they feel happier. It suits the spirit of Buddhism to help bring happiness and more meaning to peoples lives. We decided to join with Vietnam Laughter Yoga to organise the event on the first day of the spring festival. Laughter yoga is part of the three-day festival organised jointly by Happy Entrepreneur Community, the Ha Noi Martial Arts Association and Viet Nam Laughter Yoga. The An Lac Spring Festival, which began on February 5, features traditional martial arts, Buddhist music and dragon dances. Around 1,000 vegetarian hot-pots will also be cooked at the pagoda and offered to visitors at the event, who will be briefed on the benefits of eating vegetarian food, such as leading a healthy lifestyle and protecting nature and ones environment. The festival will have around 60 small businesses selling vegetarian and handmade products. Laughter yoga has become a popular phenomenon, and Viet Nam Laughter Yoga has centres in 38 provinces and cities across the country. This is the first time that a laughter yoga session has been held on such a large scale. Both laughter yoga and vegetarian hot-pots will receive certificates from the Viet Nam Book of Record on Tuesday, at the festivals closing ceremony. Khai Nguyen Pagoda, located at a scenic spot in Son ong Commune, has been offering classes to students to let them experience how it feels to live the life of nuns several days a month for the past two years. HCM City Party Secretary Dinh La Thang has urged local authorities to consider implementing a social housing policy that has helped attract more investors in Binh Duong Province.-Photo diendanxaydung Thang said that HCM City wanted to provide more housing to lower-income workers, but that implementation had been difficult as investors were often reluctant to pour money into such projects. Thang asked Binh Duong Provinces authorities during a recent meeting in the province to help HCM City officials develop a better social housing policy. He said that administrative procedures on such buildings, which usually contain apartments of 25-35 square metres, could be as streamlined as those used for commercial housing. Tran Thanh Liem, vice chairman of Binh Duongs Peoples Committee, said that 25 out of 43 social housing projects in the province had been completed and put into use, with a total area of 491,000 sq .m and an average price of VND4 million (US$177.8) per sq metre. The Investment and Industrial Development Corporation (Becamex IDC) is the main investor of social housing projects in the province, which has 2 million people, 52 per cent of whom are migrants from other provinces and cities. Liem said the province, before providing land to property companies to build social housing, ensured that all people affected by new housing projects received compensation payments. Around 200 enterprises in the provinces industrial parks have built a total of 270,000 sq .m of housing space for their workers. Liem said the province had issued regulations, as part of its industrial development plan, that require land be set aside for housing for workers. The province has also streamlined administrative procedures for investors in social housing. Nguyen Van Hung, CEO of Becamex IDC, said that regulations for social housing eligibility should be adjusted and that anyone who has job but who has never owned a house should be allowed to buy social housing. Vice chairman of HCM City Peoples Committee, Le Van Khoa, said the regulated maximum profit for investors in social housing of only 10 per cent was too low to attract investors. Hung said that Becamex IDC was not yet earning profit from its social housing projects in the province, but expected to see profits over the long term. He said that companies willing to wait for profits over the long term should work with the government to offer accommodation for workers. Most social housing projects in Binh Duong Province are near urban areas and industrial parks, which attract a large number of workers. This, in turn, helps attract investors who want to open companies and factories in urban areas and industrial parks built by Becamex IDC, the representative said. National strategy The need for low-income housing in the country is emphasised in the governments National Housing Development Strategy. Last year, an additional 0.5 million sq metres of social housing in urban areas were built, raising the total area to 3.3 million sq metres. Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc recently instructed several agencies and all local authorities to improve housing availability. He has asked provincial and city Peoples Committees to provide land and simplify administrative procedures to encourage property companies and enterprises with a large number of workers to build social housing, especially for workers at industrial parks. He said that localities must ensure the quality of social housing, as well as traffic, health care, educational and cultural conditions, near the housing projects. Phuc has also asked the Ministry of Construction to conduct research on new materials to help reduce prices of social housing. Regulations require that localities in the country allocate 20 per cent of funds received from investors in new urban zones and commercial buildings (of less than 10 hectares) for social housing projects, Phuc said. photo Duc Thanh Habecos 2016 profit before tax was only VND997 billion ($44 million) from a revenue of VND10.3 trillion ($461 million). By contrast, Sabeco has confirmed the new pre-tax profit record of VND5.707 trillion ($252 million) from a revenue of VND30.642 trillion ($1.352 trillion). In recent years, Habeco has seen limited profit growth, despite the continuous growth of the Vietnamese beer market. Habeco is losing its share of the beer market to strong competitors. Not only Sabeco, other famous international brands have appeared in Vietnam, luring away customers from Habeco. Besides, Habeco focuses on the low-middle income segment, which leads to a low profit margin, while other brands, such as Sabeco, Heineken, and Carlsberg, focus on the middle-high income portions. The improving living standards resulted in higher demand for quality products, putting Habeco at a disadvantage. In 2016, Habeco gained a huge, unexpected advantage from former US President Barack Obama who visited Vietnam and tasted Habecos beer. Instantly, Habeco became a hot keyword on all means of communication, but Habeco does not seem to have capitalised on this opportunity. Headquartered at 183 Hoang Hoa Tham Street in Hanoi, Habeco has a chartered capital of VND2.3 trillion ($102.8 million). It produces and sells beer as well as alcoholic and soft drinks. Aside from foreign brands, Habecos chartered capital, total assets, and shareholders' equity is only second to Sabeco. In 2015, Habeco's return-on-equity targets were considered reasonable at 9.86 per cent, lower than Sabeco. The Ministry of Industry and Trade currently holds a 81.79 per cent stake in Habeco, while Carlsberg holds 17.34 per cent, and Carlsberg Trading Co., Ltd. 0.15 per cent. Carlsbergs investment was hoped to bring support in human resources, technology, equipment, market expansion, and business administration. However, Habecos recent results show that the deal might not have lived up to expectations. At a press conference on August 31, 2016, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Do Thang Hai said the government was planning to sell the entirety of its stake in Habeco in 2016. However, the 81.79 per cent holding worth VND 9,000 trillion ($399 million) has yet to find a buyer. Sources told VIR that many foreign and domestic investors are interested in Habecos shares, including Heineken, Japanese beverage company Suntory or Chaleo Yoovidhya company, the producer of energy drink Red Bull in Thailand, as well as a number of big Vietnamese real estate companies. In addition, major Danish beer producer Carlsberg, which already holds 17 per cent of Habecos chartered capital, also hopes to increase its holding in Habeco, even to 80 per cent. It should be noted that while Habeco's BHN ticker on HoSE has been trading at between VND120,000 and 130,000 ($5.4-5.8), Carlsberg's representatives said Habeco should be priced at only VND48,000 ($2.13). The CAPF are besieged by VRS and resignation by subordinate officers and junior ranks, a big worry for forces and Ministry of Home Affairs. By Kamaljit Kaur Sandhu: Constable Tej Bahadur who uploaded the Facebook video which went viral alleging ill treatment and poor quality of food became face of "problems" faced by soldiers in Central Armed Police Forces, also known as the paramilitary forces. Bahadur had uploaded several videos after seeking voluntary retirement. Though his VRS has been put on hold by BSF pending inquiry. The CAPF are besieged by VRS and resignation by subordinate officers and junior ranks, a big worry for forces and Ministry of Home Affairs. advertisement In the last three years, nearly 20,000 CAPF personnel have resigned from six forces: CRPF, BSF, ITBP, SSB, CISF and Assam Rifles. In the beginning of the year, there have already been 37 resignations in soldier ranks, 25 in subordinate officers and 4 resignations in gazetted officers' ranks. The trend is more towards voluntary retirement than resignation. But topping VRS is CRPF leading with nearly 6000 VRS in three years, while nearly 1200 have resigned, followed by BSF, with nearly 5700 VRS and 1200 resignations. In 2016 alone, while 7415 soldiers took VRS or resigned, it was 1400 for subordinate officers and 151 for gazetted officers. Also read: VRS plea of jawan who complained about food rejected: BSF In forces, the maximum number has been from junior ranks with total number of men leaving the force. MHA said that in 2009 studies were conducted by BPR&D into factors of stress and remedial measures and another study through IIM- Ahmedabad in 2012 only for BSF and CRPF. No specific study has been ascertained for the reasons for voluntary retirement and resignation by personnel, but the report list out reasons from domestic reasons including children/family issues, health/ illness of self or family, social and family obligations. MHA also says that some personnel also seek VRS to enjoy a static life as well as penionsary benefits after 20 years of service. But, it seems the neither the Central government nor Forces have been able to keep a pulse on the problem of the soldiers. Though government lists out elaborate number of measures taken to improve living conditions of its forces. Some of the measures include adequate relief and rest, family accommodation, yoga, promotion and scholarship. With foot soldiers walking away from the forces, there seems to be a worry that Government has not been able to placate the soldiers. Since 2004, soldiers do not get pension or other benefits, unlike military which has won the war of One Rank One Pension (OROP) besides enjoying slew of perks including higher salary compared to soldiers of CAPF. --- ENDS --- advertisement illustration photo Vu The Binh, vice chair of the Association, said he hopes that as many as 600 businesses from Southeast Asia, Japan, the Republic of Korea and Taiwan among others would participate. Hes guessing that maybe 60,000 visitors would attend the event, adding that travel companies plan to offer some 45,000 budget air tickets along with a bevy of economical tour packages in conjunction with it. The project was proposed by Hoa Phat Dung Quat Steel, a subsidiary of leaving Vietnamese steel producer Hoa Phat Group (HoSE: HPG), on the basis of taking over the Quang Ngai Guang Lian steel project that had been approved 10 years ago but has been lying idle. The project is part of the development master plan of steel from now to 2025, approved by the Minister of Industry and Trade on January 31, 2013. The project has an investment value of VND60 trillion ($2.65 billion), with a capacity of four million tonnes a year. The main products will be construction steel and rolled steel to serve manufacturing. It is going to use technology earlier used by Hoa Phat in its Hai Duong plant, which the company affirmed to be environmentally-friendly. The project is divided into two phases to be completed in four years. The first phase has a capacity of 2 million tonnes a year. Hoa Phat expects to earn $2 billion in revenue a year from the project after it fully comes into operation and contribute VND4 trillion ($177 million) to the state budget. The project is going to employ a total 8,000 workers. In 2016, Hoa Phat earned a revenue of VND34 trillion ($1.5 billion) and a net profit of VND6.6 trillion ($292 million), increases of 34 and 89 per cent on-year, respectively. These figures are the highest since Hoa Phats establishment. During the year, the company produced a total of 1.8 million tonnes of construction steel, making up 21 per cent of the country total. Hoa Phat is involved in a number of other fields, such as production of office equipment and agriculture, but steel is the main area of operation, contributing 80 per cent of the companys revenue and profit. Passengers travelling on a flight from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, arrive at the international arrivals area of Dulles International airport in Washington, DC. Many travellers were prohibited from entering the US a week ago due to tightened immigration policies. (Win McNamee/Getty Images/AFP) With the ban suspended since Friday, the legal battle has moved to San Francisco where a US court of appeals ordered the administration to submit a brief on Monday defending Trump's Jan 27 decision. The president's executive order summarily denied entry to all refugees, and travellers from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen - a move critics charge will damage US interests. Despite initial public support, two new polls show that a majority of Americans now oppose the ban - findings that Trump angrily dismissed as media lies. "Any negative polls are fake news, just like the CNN, ABC, NBC polls in the election," he said on Twitter. "Sorry, people want border security and extreme vetting." Trump, who spent the weekend at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, is said to be increasingly frustrated with his staff's failure to contain the fallout from the ban's botched rollout, which sparked chaos at US airports and drew international condemnation, the New York Times reported. The order slapped a blanket ban on entry for nationals of the seven mainly-Muslim countries for 90 days and barred all refugees for 120 days. Refugees from Syria were blocked indefinitely. But Friday in Seattle, a federal district judge ordered the temporary nationwide suspension of the president's order, allowing the thousands of travellers who were suddenly barred from US soil to start trickling back in. MOUNTING OPPOSITION In an additional blow, a slew of Silicon Valley giants led by Apple, Facebook, Google, Microsoft and Twitter filed a legal brief late Sunday in support of the lawsuit. The 97 companies speaking out against Trump's travel ban said it harms recruiting and retention of talent, threatens business operations, and hampers their ability to attract investment to the United States. The ban "inflicts significant harm on American business, innovation, and growth," said the brief, whose backers also include Airbnb, Dropbox, eBay, Intel, Kickstarter, LinkedIn, Lyft, Mozilla, Netflix, PayPal, Uber and Yelp. A group of prominent Democrats including former secretaries of state John Kerry and Madeleine Albright joined their voices to the criticism on Monday, in a legal filing to the San Francisco appeals court. "We view the order as one that ultimately undermines the national security of the United States, rather than making us safer," they said. "Reinstating the executive order would wreak havoc on innocent lives and deeply held American values." Specifically, the Democrats said Trump's travel ban could endanger US troops in the field, disrupt counter-terrorism cooperation and feed Islamic State group propaganda. 'FRUSTRATING' Top Republicans also have also shown renewed signs of discomfort with the new president, with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell chiding Trump on Sunday for attacking the judge who suspended the ban. "I think it is best to avoid criticising judges individually," he said on CNN. Trump had blasted Judge James Robart in a series of angry tweets. "Just cannot believe a judge would put our country in such peril. If something happens blame him and court system. People pouring in. Bad!" The appeals court in San Francisco on Sunday refused to overrule Robart, and ordered the administration to present a brief by 2300 GMT on Monday. Vice President Mike Pence called the setback "frustrating." "We will move very quickly," he told Fox News on Sunday. "We are going to win the arguments because we will take the steps necessary to protect the country, which the president of the United States has the authority to do." The attorney generals for the states of Washington and Minnesota, which won the temporary stay of Trump's ban, have asked the appeals court to refuse to reinstate it. Before now, they argued, no US president has imposed "a categorical bar on admission on a generalised (and unsupported) claim that some might engage in misconduct," they argued. "The order flouts Congress's clear command prohibiting nationality-based discrimination," they said. ARRIVALS With the ban suspended, travellers from the targeted countries holding valid visas have begun arriving on American soil. In New York, 33-year-old Sudanese doctor Kamal Fadlalla rejoiced - after a week blocked in his home country, he was back in the Big Apple with friends and colleagues. "It feels great," Fadlalla told AFP on Sunday at John F. Kennedy International Airport. "It was a tough week actually." Iranian graduate student Sara Yarjani, who was initially deported under Trump's order, arrived in Los Angeles. "I am so grateful to all the lawyers and others that helped me," she said tearfully. The State Department has said visa holders from the seven countries are allowed to travel to the US as long as their documents have not been "physically cancelled." Speaker of the House of Commons John Bercow says he is opposed to US President Donald Trump addressing the Houses of Parliament during his state visit to the UK. (PRU/AFP) John Bercow said such a speech was "not an automatic right, it is an earned honour" - and one he would object to following Trump's ban on refugees and travellers from seven mainly Muslim countries. "Before the imposition of the migrant ban I would myself have been strongly opposed to an address by President Trump in Westminster Hall," said Bercow, one of three officials who would have to approve the move. "After the imposition of the migrant ban by President Trump I am even more strongly opposed." Prime Minister Theresa May has come under intense pressure for the invitation for Trump to make a state visit, which she extended while at the White House just hours before he announced his travel ban. More than 1.8 million people have signed a public petition calling on ministers to cancel the visit, which MPs are due to debate later this month. Bercow said that decision was above his pay grade. "However, as far as this place is concerned, I feel very strongly that our opposition to racism and to sexism and our support for equality before the law and an independent judiciary are hugely important considerations in the House of Commons," he said. The date and details of the state visit are still being worked out and a spokeswoman for the speaker's office said the government had not made any request for Trump to address parliament. But a speech to both Houses of Commons and Lords has been a feature of many previous state visits, including one by Barack Obama in 2011. Some 163 MPs have signed a parliamentary motion opposing an address by Trump, citing the travel ban and his comments on torture and women. Bercow's statement sparked cheers and clapping from the opposition benches. Earlier, May told MPs that at a summit last week, she had urged her fellow European leaders to "engage patiently and constructively" with the new US administration. Trump's criticism of the NATO military alliance and his prediction that the EU could fall apart following Britain's vote to leave has caused alarm in European capitals. Kangana Ranaut, who is in Jammu to promote her upcoming film Rangoon, paid a visit to BSF jawans. By India Today Web Desk: Kangana Ranaut's upcoming film Rangoon is set against the backdrop of World War II in which she essays the role of Miss Julia who performs with her troupe for the army. During the extensive research done on the lives of soldiers for the film, the Queen actor was touched by their act of selflessness and bravery. advertisement ALSO READ: Shahid opens up on cold war with Kangana during Rangoon ALSO READ: 5 things you can expect from Rangoon And the 29-year-old actor recently paid a visit to BSF jawans in Jammu and interacted with them. She also paid a tribute to the martyrs who lost their lives in the line of duty. Kangana said that it was an absolute honour to meet the jawans. Interacting with the BSF Jawaans was an absolute honor for #KanganaRanaut and the entire team! #RangoonPromotions pic.twitter.com/lHNIxT2YRc Rangoon (@RangoonTheFilm) February 7, 2017 Kangana will be seen with Shahid Kapoor and Saif Ali Khan in Vishal Bhardwaj's directorial venture. Shahid plays the role of an army officer and Shahid will essay the role of a director. The film is set to hit the screens on February 24. ALSO WATCH: Kangana on being called witch, whore and psychopath --- ENDS --- The Omnipotent Owl Why Are We Drawn to This Ancient Symbol of Wisdom? Like a great sage, an owl sits stock-still, seeing everything, but saying nothing. When she takes action, it is swift and precise. These bold characteristics have earned the owl both respect and fear among humans; yet any great big eyes set into a fluffy body is sure to have broad The URL has been copied to your clipboard The code has been copied to your clipboard. Whats behind the pledge between China and Australia working closer together? Cambodia charges three in sex trafficking probe. Plus, China plans to vet all online information. VOAs Steve Miller has your Asia news, in a minute. At the forthcoming regional consultation forum on Laos Pak Beng hydropower dam in Luang Prabang, Cambodian environmental groups will urge relevant stakeholders, including the Cambodian government, to reject the 912-megawatt project, alarmed by the potential impacts on fisheries and sediment flow in the Mekong. The two-day, February 22-23 forum organized by the Mekong River Commission (MRC), the only inter-governmental organization involved in managing the Mekong waterways, will be open for relevant stakeholders to share information and exchange views on the dam, according to an MRC announcement. Pak Beng, a $1.88-billion dam about 1,540 kilometers (960 miles) from the Cambodia-Laos border, would be the third dam on the lower Mekong mainstream. Laos controversial dams, the Xayaburi and Don Sahong near the border with Cambodia, have become a major concern for people living along the rivers. In an interview with VOA Khmer, Tek Vannara, NGO Forum executive director, said that environmental groups would reject the dam, raising the expected serious impacts on Cambodia. They [Cambodian NGOs] dont support the dam development. We dont absolutely support the Pak Beng dam development, Vannara said. Not only the Pak Beng dam, Laos will continue constructing more dams. They wont stop. Therefore, the Mekong will not be a river for well-being and prosperity anymore. It will become the river of dams and controversies, he said. The NGO Forum plans to meet Cambodian government representatives who will join the forum a week prior to the meeting to discuss the concerns. Vannara suggested alternatives for Laos to look at aside from constructing dams on Mekong River. If we look at Laos, it is mountainous, mostly. There are a lot of places to develop hydropower dams, why is it necessary in constructing dams on the mainstream of the Mekong River which causes controversies, he said. Laos, the only landlocked country in Southeast Asia, plans to develop more dams to profit from electricity exports. The U.S.-based International Rivers group in January raised concerns over the dam. The Pak Beng Dam would have significant trans-boundary impacts on communities in Thailand and throughout the Mekong River Basin, compounding impacts from existing projects, the release said. It is expected that 25 villages in Laos and two villages in Thailand will be directly affected by construction of the Pak Beng Dam, with an estimated 6,700 people re-settled, according to International Rivers. Sam Sovann, the executive director of Cambodias Northeastern Rural Development Organization, based in Kratie province next to the Laos border, said that the dam will affect Cambodian people living along the lower Mekong and Tonle Sap, in addition to the effects from the Dan Sahong and Xayaburi. He called for the relevant partners to discuss the environmental impacts in detail. [There should be] more thorough talks [over the dam] in accordance with the 1995 Mekong agreement and analysis of the impacts on the environment, society, economics and human rights, Sovann said. In the last few years, we see a lot of dam development in the Mekong Sub-Region, even Cambodia also has continuous dam studies, he said. Efforts to reach the Laos Embassy in Phnom Penh for comment were not successful. Te Navuth, secretary general of the Cambodia National Mekong Committee, said that the Cambodia team will carry out an evaluation of the Pak Beng dam until May 2017 before forming a conclusion. We dont have a clear stance yet since it is in the step of seeing the documents and evaluating, Navuth said. Under the 1995 Mekong agreement, a government seeking to build a dam on the Mekong must seek prior consultation and agreement with other members. Navuth explained that under the agreement, all relevant countries have to follow a compromise process via evaluation, during which each country cannot accept or reject the plans. Sao Sopheap, a spokesman for Cambodias Ministry of Environment, said that Cambodia needs to see an environmental impact assessment from Laos. We understand Laos need, but we also ask them to consider the environmental impacts on other Mekong countries, not only Cambodia, but also Vietnam, he said. Cambodias government recently agreed in principle to allow the Royal Group, chaired by tycoon Kith Meng, one of the countrys wealthiest businessmen, to study the feasibility of constructing three dams, including the massive 2,600-MW Sambor dam in Kratie province. The government will balance the positive and negative impacts and weigh the effects against the need of electricity, Navuth said. Nao Thuok, director of the Ministry of Agricultures Fisheries Department, said one of the dams, in Stung Treng province, could lead to a 20 percent drop in fish stocks. The important thing is to look for ways to mitigate it, Thuok said. Sushil Mandi, an MPhil student at the university went missing on February 2 four days after he was publicly "shamed" on social media for "sexually harassing" a female student belonging to another students union. By Indrajit Kundu: A student leader from Kolkata's Jadavpur university has mysteriously gone missing from his hostel room on the campus bringing back memories of the Najeeb Ahmed case at Delhi's Jawaharlal Nehru university recently. Sushil Mandi, an MPhil student at the university went missing on February 2, four days after he was publicly "shamed" on social media for "sexually harassing" a female student belonging to another students union. advertisement The adivasi student pursuing a career in linguistics reportedly left his room at the university hostel on the morning of February 2 leaving behind his belongings and even his mobile phone. Mandi's mysterious disappearance has pitted two left wing students organisations - Radical and United Students' Democratic Front (USDF) against each other on the Jadavpur university campus. Ironically, the two groups have been jointly conducting a feminist movement on the campus last month in the run up to the university union elections. It was during one such a joint campaign that a female student from USDF had alleged that she had been sexually harassed by Mandi, a member of Radical. Trouble began when USDF, rather than filing a police complaint or approaching the university authorities named Mandi in a social media post on Facebook accusing him of molesting one of their female member. Mandi's colleagues at Radical - the ultra left wing students group- allege that he was depressed due to the social media trial against him. They say, Madi was publicly humiliated because he is an adivasi student. "As a woman even I was sympathetic about the allegation and wanted to resolve the matter, but now I believe Sushil was victim of a class bias. Its unfortunate how he was humiliated. He was haunted by the thought that he had been termed a molester. Sushil was hurt that his image had been destroyed and he was being targeted by the elite," said Jubi Saha, another member of Radical. The family of the missing student has lodged an FIR against five USDF members blaming them for his disappearance. "I urge these students who humiliated him to come visit our house and see how we live. How can they humiliate him without any proof?" asked Sushil's elder brother Haradhan Mandi. "My brother has been studying here for twelve years and no one ever complained against him like this. If my brother doesn't come back, I will not spare those who pushed him to this," he added. On her part, the student who has claimed to have been molested by Sushil once again took to social media to express herself. advertisement "To have an FIR against you after being molested, being called a liar, being gaslighted and dismissed by the Joint Action Committee for Social Justice and being hit is a singularly alienating experience, and I'm just here waiting for the cops to come and harass me next," she wrote on Facebook. ALSO READ:JNU student Najeeb Ahmed still missing ALSO READ:Najeeb Ahmed: JNU enquiry finds ABVP member guilty of assault --- ENDS --- Cambodian Americans say they are disappointed by an executive order of President Donald Trump against immigrants and refugees who wish to enter the United States, saying it is not proper and lawful. Shortly after Donald Trump became president, he issued many executive orders, including the restriction on immigration to the United States. Schanley Kuch, a Cambodian resident of Maryland, said the presidential order was immoral and damaging to U.S. interests. I understand that it strongly affected American values because the American history was from the immigrants and refugees. Those refugees who have legally entered the United States are not the people creating terrorism in the US, he said. Kuch stated that the ban will also affect the economy, trade and lead to a brain drain on the economy. Yap Kim Tung, a Cambodian in Virginia, said the decision was taken too hastily. I see that any country has the right to ban immigrants from being admitted into their country. But I notice that that President Donald Trump issuing of the order is too rushed, so it is not a proper plan, he said. He wants to do this to let people see that he cares about the American people rather than others, and make people happy, that is his goal. The United States cannot, and should not, admit those who do not support the Constitution, or those who would place violent ideologies over American law, the executive order reads. Muy Chamroeun, a Cambodian living in Washington, DC, supports President Trumps order. Now he uses the phrase drain the swamp. Thats what he is doing, so it works for him right now and in my opinion that is the best way to act, because looking in France they were run by communists for years and went nowhere. They and Obama were the same until they had the shootings in Paris, Belgium and Germany, and now they are waking up, he said. Trump's executive order bars citizens of seven Muslim-majority countries -- Iraq, Syria, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen -- from entering the US for 90 days, bans all refugees for 120 days and indefinitely halts refugees from Syria. Youk Chhang, the director of the Documentation Center of Cambodia (DC-Cam), is too busy to use Facebook. But owning to the rising popularity of the social network in Cambodia he has now launched Facebook pages for the organization. Two Facebook pages, one for the Sleuk Rith Institute and a Khmer Rouge history website, were created early this year. I see more positive uses on Facebook unlike before, said Youk Chhang, who has spent more than 30 years collecting documents about the Khmer Rouge. Before we did not have a Facebook page since I thought our work was related to researching, reading and analyzing original and historical documents, he said. Three or four years later, he thinks that Facebook users have become more considerate. Previously, the emergence of this technology resulted in more negative than positive points, and Cambodia was seriously affected by this technology, he said. Founded in February 2004, Facebook now boasts 1.8 billion users, drawing some 4 million Cambodian users, especially young people. Youk said that his centers Facebook page would become a site for public comments over the designs of $50 million Sleuk Rith Institute a new institution and genocide memorial. The Khmer Rouge history page has been made to fit with all types of social media which Youk said will be easy for Cambodian youth to use their smartphones to search for documents. Cambodias major news outlets use social media, especially Facebook, to share news to the readers. Cambodian journalists follow politicians pages and government institutions to get updated information. Several Cambodian politicians have also set up their own pages to share information about their opinions, speeches and activities. Prime Ministry Hun Sens page has more than 6.8 million likes, while his political opponent, Sam Rainsy, currently has more than 3.6 million likes. Keo Kounila, a media consultant and owner of Digital Marketing Company sees a lot of improved uses of Facebook in terms of its ethical use, respect for privacy and a greater understanding of its dangers. Therefore, private companies, NGOs and government institutions should continue using Facebook pages and other social media to get comments from users, criticism from citizens to make improved relations, she said. The internet has surpassed television as the most important source of news in Cambodia, according to a study by the Asia Foundation released in late 2016. The study said Facebook was the most important website through which Cambodians access information. Noan Sereiboth, 27, an active Facebook user, said that Facebook helps connect politicians and their supporters. It provides a big space for politicians to deliver their messages to their supporters, said Sereiboth, who has used Facebook for more than 5 years. As a responsible user, he is also cautious about fake news and recommends not using Facebook to attack each other. One more thing, people curse each other and use bad words and defame each other. It has a big impact on morality and reputation in society, he said. Youk is more concerned about the impact of Facebook on teenagers, warning parents to be careful with children using Facebook at a young age. It is the duty of parents to advise children on using Facebook, he said. Cambodias government has given the green light to resolve a land dispute between villagers and Suy Sophan, the owner of the Phan Imex Construction Company. According to a letter issued by the Council of Ministers on February 2, 554 families filed complaints against Sophan over disputed land in Chbar Ampov district in Phnom Penh and Ponhea Leu district in Kandal province. A spokesman of the Ministry of Land Management, Seng Loth, said on Friday that the ministry would start to work on the problem by inviting conflicting parties to bring their related documents to be reviewed. Both parties need to participate in this process because they need to protect what they have. They need to have the legal titles. We will together check the actual land and legal documents to see what is right and wrong. The Phan Imex Development Company has been accused of taking over a public road, villagers land and natural lakes. Villagers also accuse the company of conspiring with government officials to issue forged land titles. The evicted villagers have protested and marched on government buildings to find a solution. Sophan, a powerful businesswoman who is close to the ruling Cambodian Peoples Party, could not be reached for comment. Opposition lawmaker Eng Chhay Eang, chairman of the National Assemblys human rights commission, said he supported the action by the ministry. We all know land conflicts happen again and again and mostly between rich and powerful figures and villagers. As the ministry has taken action, I congratulate it. Sia Phearum, director of the Housing Rights Task Force, said resolving the land dispute is a test for the ruling party as the commune election is approaching. The commune elections in June 2017 are getting closer. I the land conflicts still cannot be solved, the ... ruling party will be affected, the citizens will no longer trust the government, he said. William Heidt, ambassador of the United States to Cambodia, has called on politicians in Cambodia to use dialogue to solve political disputes, while the country is preparing for commune elections in June and national elections in 2018. Heidts remarks came amid heightened political tensions ahead of the election. Heidt told reporters during a press conference held at the U.S. Embassy on Friday that in the first year of his diplomatic mission in Cambodia he observed Cambodia lacking political dialogue between political parties. In this first year I've been here is the lack of genuine political reconciliation in Cambodia. What does that mean political reconciliation? First and foremost, it means all political forces. They need to accept the rights of the other to exist. And you've seen America right now, some very contentious and difficult political process is unfolding, but everyone accepts the rights of everyone to exist. And I think thats the thing in Cambodia, he said. He said that he was disappointed that Cambodian politicians did not favor dialogue to cope with challenging issues. I've really been disappointed by the lack of genuine political reconciliation in Cambodia. The way you get reconciliation is through dialogue, by talking to each other like normal people, like regular people, sitting down across the table and talking. Efforts to free opposition members from jail have stalled, while the partys acting leader, Kem Sokha, has been removed from his official role as leader of the minority in parliament amid a raft of rumors of gambling and sex scandals in the party. Prime Minister Hun Sen has also moved to rewrite the law on political parties, which would see politicians convicted of crimes barred from leading parties, thus excluding Sam Rainsy, the Cambodia National Rescue Party president, and potentially leading to the party being dissolved. Hun Sen has also said he may seize the CNRPs assets as payment for a damages claim against Rainsy for alleged defamation. Sok Eysan, ruling Cambodian Peoples Party spokesman, said the party would not open a dialogue if it included discussions about releasing convicted criminals, adding that the oppositions boycott of parliament did not help foster dialogue. That place [parliament] would create chances for discussing and exchanging ideas in the name of a parliamentary mechanism. How can we negotiate if they do not show up? he asked. Eng Chhay Eang, a senior CNRP lawmaker, said he agreed with Heidts comments. We saw already that, in Cambodia, our politicians seem to not think about national and peoples issues. Thats why there is unending chaos, he said. Kem Sok, a political analyst, said on Sunday that the CPP was aiming to oppress the opposition. If they are preparing for an election, they will prepare themselves and organize a strategy to win the hearts of the people. They will organize a strategy to end problems for the people. But what they are doing now, its not about an election, but the continuation of power, he said. At least a half-million people rallied in Romania in the past week to protest legislation that would decriminalize some corruption offenses. Street protests in the capital, Bucharest, continue, even though the government scrapped a move that would protect politicians from prosecution for corruption. VOA's Zlatica Hoke reports that some protesters demand the resignation of the government of Prime Minister Sorin Grindeanu. A hospital in Tanzania is using 3-D printers to make artificial limbs, shortening a process that used to take weeks to just a few hours. Researchers want to see if this technology can be scaled up to meet the needs of the estimated 3.5 million people living with a disability in Tanzania. For VOA, Willy Lowry has the story from Dar es Salaam. A U.S. federal appeals court will be considering arguments to reinstate President Donald Trump's executive order that temporarily bans immigration from seven Muslim-majority countries. Last week, a federal judge blocked implementation of the order, and the Trump administration is asking a three-judge appeals panel to overturn the ruling. While the courts consider the issue, questions still linger about the choice of countries named in the order. VOA's Masood Farivar explains. On the presidential campaign trail, Donald Trump demurred when asked to outline his war plan to defeat the so-called Islamic State terror group, arguing he wasnt going to tip his hand to Americas foes by revealing his intentions. Last Friday, though, President Trump turned to his generals for a detailed military strategy, and he signed an executive order instructing members of his Cabinet and the Joint Chiefs of Staff to come up with a plan within 30 days - one that can be implemented immediately. Does that mean Trump never had a plan? Maybe not in tactical detail when it came to a military campaign, but he did outline some broad policy strokes in a speech in August, including combating the ideology of radical Islam more effectively, introducing extreme-vetting immigration procedures, moving America away from nation-building and regime change in the Middle East, and engaging in a radical realignment by forging an alliance with Russia to defeat IS and its jihadist rival al-Qaida. When it came to a war plan, candidate Trump offered just three tactics: intensifying the bombing of the Islamic State, seizing control of oilfields in Iraq, and recruiting NATO to invade strongholds in the Middle East to knock the hell out of ISIS. Flynn's influence Much of what Trump says about the war on IS has been influenced by a book written by Mike Flynn, a former intelligence general whos now President Trumps National Security Adviser. The question is how much of Flynns overall thinking will inform the military strategy that Trump eventually approves. Will there be a grand strategy or just tactical changes from how Barack Obama waged the campaign against IS? In The Field of Fight, which was published last July and co-authored with conservative historian Michael Ledeen, Flynn offered what he described as a winning strategy to defeat IS and al-Qaida, one relying more on military muscle than the technology-driven and drone-strike policy favored by Trumps predecessor, Barack Obama. In The Field of Fight, Flynn says the full weight of American power should be brought to bear on the jihadists, much as the United States did in the Second World War to defeat its foes. Flynn also argued for cutting ties with any foreign powers deemed to be assisting the jihadists indirectly or otherwise, including traditional Gulf allies. If the countries sheltering jihadists wont eradicate them, then American forces should march in and do so, he argued. An internal administration tussle over strategy is already underway, according to Pentagon officials, who asked not to be identified for this article. They say Flynns NSC team is pushing for a much grander strategy than that favored by the Pentagon, led by another retired general, James Mattis. Grand strategy The campaign Flynn envisions would be similar to the effort during World War II or the Cold War and he argued in his book that it should be overseen by a single leader answerable to the president. On that idea theres already push-back, say officials at the Defense Department, who want to move much of the tactical authority for waging the war against IS from the NSC back to the Pentagon. Pentagon planners say much has changed tactically since Flynn wrote The Field of Fight. The Pentagon claims U.S.-led airstrikes have killed up to 75 percent of IS fighters, including 180 top commanders. The terror groups ability to replenish itself with foreign recruits has been choked. The so-called caliphate has been shrunk thanks to ground action by allies, including Syrian and Iraqi Kurdish militias and reconstituted Iraqi state forces. Fighting IS and al-Qaida in the future will require less military muscle and more intelligence-led approaches sustainable over the long haul, say analysts, including former Army Chief of Staff Gen. Raymond Odierno. Last year, Odierno criticized Trump talk of intensified bombing, arguing there are limits to military power, which he suggested can provide only short-term outcomes, but not sustainable ones. Officials say tactically focused options to accelerate the campaign against IS have been presented by the Joint Chiefs to Defense Secretary Mattis. They say the options include ways to prevent IS fighters from moving between Syria and Iraq and how to oust the terror group from Raqqa. Information network Last month at a NATO meeting in Brussels, Marine Corps Gen. Joseph Dunford, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said a key aim is to improve intelligence sharing against terror groups and foreign fighters. "The big thing we want to do is establish an information [and] intelligence network as wide as we can," he said. Military officials also want an easing of restrictions imposed by the Obama administration on drone and bombing strikes, and the Pentagon wants to increase the number of special forces used in raids and capture missions. The latter recommendation likely will chime with Flynns thinking. He complained publicly last year that under Obama, one of the problems was that the military's hands were tied. As director of intelligence between 2004 to 2007 for the Joint Special Operations Command, the U.S. militarys elite hunter-killer force, Flynn was highly involved in an intelligence-driven strategy in Iraq for capturing and killing suspected terrorists known as find, fix, finish. Brazil's president on Monday ordered 200 troops to the southeastern state of Espirito Santo, where a police strike in recent days sparked a wave of violence including what is already believed to be dozens of murders. The law enforcement stoppage in a state struggling with a budget shortfall is the latest example of how depleted public finances, amid Brazil's worst recession on record, are crippling even basic health services, education and security in some states. The crime surge in Espirito Santo, a small coastal state just north of Rio de Janeiro, began over the weekend, after police on Friday stopped work because of the pay dispute. Since then, local media and citizens with cellphone videos have broadcast scenes of chaos as thieves and other criminals appear to run rampant, particularly in state capital Vitoria and its suburbs, home to about 2 million people. Local media reported that as many as 50 people have died during the period, an unusually high death toll for the state in such a short period. But a state security spokesman said the government has not been able to make an official tally. Schools in the area closed, as did public health clinics and other local offices. State officials, who argue they have no resources to raise wages, have already replaced the police commander and say they will not renew negotiations with officers until they return to work. "There is no way we can accept this attitude, leaving the population deprived of an essential service like public security," Cesar Colnago, the state's governor, told reporters after announcing the federal aid. President Michel Temer, who also authorized the use of federal troops to quell uprisings in prisons last month that led to around 140 deaths in various states, dispatched the country's defense minister to Espirito Santo on Monday. The state security spokesman said federal troops were expected to arrive by Tuesday. Several other Brazilian states are grappling with a financial crisis. In Rio de Janeiro, the state government has been struggling to pay expenses including salaries of police, teachers and doctors and basic supplies for schools and hospitals. Since his January inauguration, U.S. President Donald Trump has spoken with more than a dozen world leaders. A list released recently by the White House listed 16 and included many of Washingtons traditional allies, even Russia. For some, one country was curiously absent: China. And that has some China watchers wondering not only why, but when Trump will speak with his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping. Since stepping into office, Trumps focus has largely been on domestic issues and national security. And analysts say his pledge to put America first has meant he needs to focus on bringing jobs back to the United States, not a country he has accused of stealing those opportunities. The U.S. presidents campaign pledge to bring jobs back to America is not only at odds with Chinas interests, but his administrations statements on what Beijing regards as "core interest" issues such as disputes in the South China Sea or a decision to speak with Taiwans president, Tsai Ing-wen, have made China uneasy. From Mr. Trumps perspective, he has to sort out his various policies; sometimes there are contradictions and so on, before he could have a coherent conversation with [China's] President Xi, says Oh Ei Sun, a senior fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore. Still on radar The delay does not mean that China is not on Trumps radar, says Wong Ming-hsien, a professor at the Graduate Institute of International Affairs and Strategic Studies at Tamkang University in Taiwan. Wong says that when dealing with China, it is not just one issue. When it comes to U.S.-China relations, there is a whole host of problems, including the Chinese currency, the trade deficit, cyber security and other issues. When dealing with one issue related to China, there are always many other complex issues that come up, Wong says. By contrast, Wong says many of the issues Trump has taken on are ones the United States can take the lead in addressing, such as Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis' recent trip to South Korea and Japan or Trump's recent phone conversations with leaders like Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto. China is the other superpower and I think even with Mr. Trump, he will take some precautions in carrying out such a conversation, Oh Ei Sun says. I think that President Trump and President Xi will meet up in the very near future, be it at a bilateral summit or on the sidelines of an international conference. Wong, however, says it makes sense for Trump to try not to concentrate on China policy issues now because President Xi's key focus this year too is on issues at home. Later this year, China will hold a leadership reorganization, scheduled for every five years, during which Xi is expected to try to further solidify his power. Hidden message Wong says for the thornier issues, Trump may wait as long as six months before he tries to tackle any bigger issues with China. Some analysts see the delay as a hidden message or tactic by Trump. They also say it highlights how the new administration may completely revamp the channels and mechanisms the two countries use to interact. Shi Yinhong, a political scientist at Beijings Renmin University, says that much like he has done with other leaders, Trump appears to be trying to show his toughness. This absence of a phone call from Trump to Xi Jinping seems to indicate a deliberate approach on the part of President Trump to show that he is going to be more firm, Shi says. Given Trumps negative remarks on the campaign trail and criticism of China in economic, financial and security fields, a call could help clear the air. "A phone call cannot solve any major concrete issues, but what is required is an exchange of some good words or goodwill between the two presidents, which unfortunately has still not happened," Shi said. The website was down for more than an hour on February 3 when candidates tried to fill up their candidature form. By Vidya : The Maharashtra State Election Commission (SEC) today accepted that their server had crashed while candidates from various parties and independents made a last minute rush to file forms for the upcoming local body elections in Maharashtra. Mumbai, Nashik, Aurangabad and Pune are among the cities that will be going to polls by this month end and the last day of filing nominations ended last week. The website was down for more than an hour and half on February 3 when candidates tried to fill up their candidature form but were unable to do so. advertisement THE NOMINATION PROCESS The procedure for filing nominations involve registration and then filling up of 10 pages of the 'AB' form. The person who files the nomination then has to upload an affidavit declaring the assets and property and other personal details. A print out of this entire form is then taken by candidates and sent to the regional SEC office. Many candidates had complained that they were either unable to fill up forms or even if they managed to fill it up then the uploading of affidavits failed. PETITIONS AGAINST ELECTION COMMISSION A number of petitions were filed by these candidates in the Bombay High Court which came up for hearing before the division bench of Justice Naresh Patil and Justice MS Karnik on Tuesday. Prasanna Nair, an independent candidate from Pune who was planning to contest the municipal election, told the court that she had filled all 10 pages of AB form but website crashed when she tried to upload the affidavits. She appealed the court to be allowed to contest the election. Another candidate said that when the country is on 'Digital India' path then the procedure of taking a print out and handing it to the SEC should be removed. COURT SLAMS SEC While hearing more than half a dozen petitions, Justice Patil asked the counsel representing Election Commission as to why preparations were not made in advance and website was technically not upgraded to handle such traffic. Advocate SB Shete argued that the problem did not occur due to lack of technical readiness but it was only due to too many candidates filing their nominations at the last minute. ALSO READ: Mumbai civic polls: Hardik Patel to campaign for Shiv Sena in Mumbai Mumbai civic polls: Raj Thackeray launches verbal - and musical - attack on BJP, Shiv Sena Congress trumps BJP in Maharashtra civic polls, bags 8 municipal councils --- ENDS --- The U.N. refugee agency warns conditions in camps for Burundian refugees in countries of asylum are deteriorating and more land is urgently needed to accommodate the growing number of new refugee arrivals. Tanzania, Rwanda, and the Democratic Republic of Congo are hosting more than 386,000 Burundian refugees. The U.N. refugee agency expects that number to exceed 1.5 million this year as refugees continue to flee political instability and abuse in Burundi. Peace talks between the government and opposition are stalled. Though Burundi has largely fallen off the media radar, UNHCR spokesman Leo Dobbs told VOA the crisis gripping the country remains acute. There are still reports of forced disappearances, targeted assassinations and extra-judicial killings of civilians and law enforcement agents. And, also sporadic attacks by unidentified armed people. So, the situation is still quite grave and hundreds of people are still leaving ... There is still a flow, hundreds of people a week, he said. As more Burundians flee into neighboring countries, the UNHCR said the pressure for land there is rising. It said the situation is most serious in Tanzania, which is hosting more than 222,000 people. Dobbs said the UNHCR and its partners are working feverishly with the countries of asylum to find more land to ensure shelter. With the problems of space, if it is not resolved and we do not get more land, then there is a danger that conditions will deteriorate and aid delivery will be affected, he said. Besides the urgent need for more land, the UNHCR says existing camp facilities must be upgraded, including construction of more homes, schools, health centers and better drainage systems to lessen the risk of disease. Democratic U.S. senators on Monday sharpened a potential line of attack against Neil Gorsuch's nomination to the Supreme Court by questioning whether he would be sufficiently independent as a justice in light of President Donald Trump's vigorous use of unilateral presidential power including his travel ban. Their comments came after Trump criticized James Robart, the U.S. district court judge who put on hold the Republican president's Jan. 27 order temporarily barring entry into the United States of people from seven Muslim-majority nations and halting the U.S. refugee program. Trump called Robart a "so-called judge" who made a "ridiculous" decision. Democrats have expressed worry that Gorsuch, nominated by Trump last week, could act as a rubber stamp for the Republican president's policies on a nine-seat Supreme Court poised to revert to a conservative majority. "It's a serious concern with a president who attacks the judiciary and seems to not respect the rule of law and the Constitution that you have a really independent justice," Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer of New York, set to meet with Gorsuch on Tuesday, told Reuters. Gorsuch, continuing a series of private meetings with senators ahead of his Judiciary Committee confirmation hearings, met on Monday with Senator Dianne Feinstein of California, the panel's top Democrat, at her Senate office. Afterward, she said Gorsuch is "clearly very smart, caring, and he's well thought of in Colorado," where he serves as a federal appeals court judge. But Feinstein said she will make up her mind after the hearing about whether or not to support his confirmation. "What we would like to see is an independent judge, and the hearing will determine that," Feinstein told Reuters. Gorsuch must be confirmed by the Senate to the lifetime post on the high court. "It's incumbent upon Judge Gorsuch to make it clear to the American people that he does not believe in 'so-called judges,' that he thinks it's imperative that the judiciary has to be respected as an independent one-third of our government," said Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, who unsuccessfully sought the Democratic presidential nomination last year. "I would look forward to hearing him speak out on that issue," Sanders added. Conservative lawyers and Republican senators who are favorable toward Gorsuch cite his record of supporting limited federal powers and his skepticism about courts deferring too much to executive branch interpretations of the law when issuing regulations as signs he would be willing to stand up to Trump. "I have zero concerns about his independence being compromised," said Senator John Cornyn of Texas, a Republican who sits on the Judiciary Committee. Mississippi Senator Roger Wicker, another Republican, said Gorsuch "has a trail of decisions and publications a mile long that suggest how talented he is, that are instructive as to how he would rule on any number of issues." With four liberals and four conservatives now on the court, Gorsuch's confirmation would restore the conservative majority that had existed for decades until the death last year of Justice Antonin Scalia. Gorsuch's supporters point in particular to a recent case in which Gorsuch criticized a landmark high court ruling known as Chevron v. Natural Resources Defense Council. That 1984 ruling directed judges nationwide to defer to federal agencies' interpretation of laws that may be ambiguous. Gorsuch in a concurring opinion called that doctrine the "elephant in the room" that concentrates federal power "in a way that seems more than a little difficult to square with the Constitution." If Gorsuch is confirmed to serve on a court that would have five conservatives and four liberals, Democrats have expressed concern about setbacks for their positions on divisive issues such as abortion, gun control, environmental regulation and transgender rights. Giant Internet firms Facebook and Google joined forces with news organizations on Monday to launch new fact-checking tools designed to root out "fake news" stories in France ahead of the country's presidential election. Social networks and news aggregators came under fire during the U.S. presidential vote when it became clear they had inadvertently fanned false news reports. Facebook, said it would work with eight French news organizations, including news agency Agence France-Presse (AFP), news channel BFM TV, and newspapers L'Express and Le Monde to minimize the risk that false news appeared on its platform. Facebook, the world's biggest social network, has 24 million users in France, more than a third of the country's population. It will rely on users to flag fake news on its network so that the articles can then by fact-checked by its partner organizations. Any news report deemed to be fake by two of its partners would then be tagged with an icon to show that the content is contested, Facebook said. Facebook is also supporting a separate initiative launched by Google dubbed "CrossCheck" which calls on users to submit links to contested content to a dedicated website so that it can be investigated. Seventeen French newsrooms have joined the project, including AFP and the French public national television broadcaster. Facebook is also taking steps against fake news in Germany, where government officials have expressed concerns that false stories and hate speech online could influence a federal election in September in which chancellor Angela Merkel will seek a fourth term in office. In the United States, Facebook has said users would in future find it easier to flag fake articles as a hoax, and added that it will work with organizations such as fact-checking website Snopes, ABC News and the Associated Press to check the authenticity of stories. President Donald Trump made an unsupported assertion Monday that terrorist acts in Europe are going unreported. A look at the matter: Trump: All over Europe it's happening. It's gotten to a point where it's not even being reported. And in many cases the very, very dishonest press doesn't want to report it. They have their reasons, and you understand that. The Facts: Trump and his team have cited one example of a deadly terrorist attack anywhere going unreported: the one that didn't happen in Bowling Green, Kentucky. Adviser Kellyanne Conway spoke about a Bowling Green massacre that didn't take place, correcting herself when she was called out on the error. As for Trump's claim about Europe, it's probably true that you haven't heard of every attack on the continent that can be tied to terrorism. Scores if not hundreds happen every year. Many don't rise to the level of an international audience because they cause no casualties, or little or no property damage, or are carried out by unknown assailants for unclear reasons. One exhaustive list is the Global Terrorism Database, maintained by the University of Maryland. It lists 321 episodes of suspected or known terrorism in Western Europe alone in 2015. Many are anti-Muslim attacks against mosques, not the brand of terrorism Trump has expressed concern about. Many are attacks undertaken for right-wing or left-wing causes that have nothing to do with Islamic extremism or xenophobic attacks on mosques. Among examples from 2015 that were largely under the radar of Americans: Oct. 24 Assailants set fire to the residence of a Socialist Justice Party member in Gothenburg, Sweden, one of series of attacks against the party that day. Sept. 13 Assailants set fire to the Whitton Methodist Church hall in Richmond, England, with no reported casualties and no one immediately claiming responsibility. Jan. 17 Gunmen opened fire on patrons at a bar in Londonderry, Northern Ireland, causing no casualties. Dissident Republicans were thought to have been behind the attack. The database defines a terrorist act as one aimed at attaining political, religious, social or economic goals through coercion or intimidation of the public, outside acts of war. The devastating attacks by Islamic extremists that year are also on the list, among them the murderous assault on the Paris offices of the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, and the even bloodier attack at Paris' Bataclan concert hall, the worst in a series of killings in one day. Those attacks and other deadly ones in Europe received saturation coverage for days. But even the smaller, non-lethal acts of terrorism received coverage: The database itself is built from media reports. The explanation Trump made his claim before a broad audience on live television, while speaking at Central Command headquarters in Florida. On Air Force One, before a smaller audience, Trump spokesman Sean Spicer said Trump did not really mean that terrorist attacks received no coverage. Trump's actual complaint, he said, was that such acts don't get enough attention. He felt that members of media don't always cover some of those events to the extent that other events might get covered, Spicer said. Like a protest gets blown out of the water, and yet an attack or a foiled attack doesn't necessarily get the same coverage. The White House later released a list of 78 worldwide attacks it described as "executed or inspired by'' IS. Most on the list did not get sufficient media attention, the White House said, without specifying which ones it considered underreported. Attacks on the list that had high death tolls were given blanket coverage, such as the Brussels bombings in March, the San Bernadino, California, shootings in December 2015, and the Paris attacks in November 2015. Some with a smaller death toll, such as two attacks in Canada that killed one soldier each, also were covered at the time and well known. The White House did not point to any examples supporting Trump's contention that terrorist attacks were "not even being reported.'' Less than half of the 78 incidents the White House listed occurred in Europe. A Florida man was sentenced to 30 years in prison Monday for setting fire to a mosque that the Orlando nightclub shooter attended. Joseph Schreiber pleaded no contest at a hearing in Fort Pierce, Florida. In addition to jail time, Schreiber was sentenced to pay $10,000 in restitution. A no-contest plea is similar to a guilty plea in that the defendant gives up his right to a trial. Prosecutors say Schreiber, who is Jewish, confessed to authorities that he set the fire at the Islamic Center of Fort Pierce last September 11, on the 15th anniversary of the 2001 terrorist attacks. In a written statement read to the court, Schreiber said the fire was not caused by hatred, but rather by his anxiety. He said he feared there could be more terrorist attacks carried out by Muslims. Schreiber posted on Facebook last July that "All Islam is radical." Leaders at the Fort Pierce mosque say the damage from the fire was so great that they will change locations. No one was injured in the blaze. The Orlando nightclub shooter, Omar Mateen, occasionally attended the mosque. Mateen's father was a regular member. Mateen was killed by police after opening fire at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando last June, killing 49 people. He declared his alliance to the Islamic State group before the shooting. Human rights groups, a number of U.S. lawmakers and several retired generals and former ambassadors say they are concerned about President Donald Trump's defense of Russian President Vladimir Putin. In an interview aired Sunday on Fox before the Super Bowl, Trump restated his respect for Putin. When host Bill O'Reilly challenged Trump, calling the Russian president a killer, Trump replied: We've got a lot of killers. What do you think? Our country's so innocent? The Kremlin demanded Fox apologize for what it called "unacceptable and offensive" remarks. O'Reilly dismissed the complaint on his show Monday night, saying Russia can "check in with me around 2023." On Tuesday, Trump, on Twitter, maintained that he doesn't know Putin or have any deals in Russia. Trump declined to say anything negative about Putin during his election campaign, repeatedly responding to questions about the Russian president by saying that it would be an asset, and not a liability, if he could have a good relationship with Putin, as well as with other world leaders. 'It's a bizarre statement' The co-director of the U.S. program at Human Rights Watch, Maria McFarland, told VOA Monday she is worried by Trump's comments on Russia. It's a bizarre statement on many fronts. said McFarland. But the bottom line is that Trump is and has been consistently downplaying the terrible human rights record of the Russian government. We're seeing in recent years a real crackdown on freedom of expression and on critics and on civil society groups in Russia. And at the same time, we've seen a Russia that has been engaged in war crimes in Syria." McFarland added: "These are terrible atrocities. The U.S. should be speaking out against them, and President Trump should not be joking about them or minimizing them. At the same time, it's troubling that Trump has at times professed admiration for Putin, and himself is engaging in browbeating of the media and has been making some very aggressive statements even about the courts in the U.S., which raised questions about his own commitment to democratic processes and accountability." Pence defends Trump Appearing on a different Sunday talk show, CBS News' "Face the Nation," Vice President Mike Pence rejected the idea that Trump was likening the U.S. to Russia. I simply don't accept the idea that there was a moral equivalency in the president's comments. Asked on a third Sunday show, CNN's "State of the Union," about Trump's comments, Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said he did not want to critique President Trump's every utterance. But he noted that Putin is a former KGB (Russian intelligence service) agent, and he called him a thug. McConnell said: We don't operate in any way the way the Russians do. Other Republican and Democratic lawmakers sharply criticized Trump for failing to repudiate Putin and instead suggesting the United States has "killers," too. 'Outrageous statement' Republican Senator Susan Collins told VOA: There just is no moral equivalency. And to suggest that there is, is a disservice to the history of our country and how we operate. Democratic Senator Bob Casey had this to say to VOA. It was an outrageous statement by the president. I was very critical and I will continue to be critical." He added: I hope the president rethinks it. Democratic Senator Dianne Feinstein agreed, telling VOA: The United States of America is a very different country than Russia. We are not a country of autocrats. We are not a country of a despot. We are a free-ranging democracy very different from Russia. McCaffrey doesn't approve Retired general Barry McCaffrey reacted to Trump's comments on MSNBC. One could argue that is the most anti-American statement ever made by a president of the United States. To confuse American values with Putin, who is running a criminal oligarchy, he said. A number of U.S. experts on Russia noted that under Putin's rule, a number of opposition leaders and critical journalists have been assassinated, including opposition leader Boris Nemtsov. Russian opposition leader Vladimir Kara-Murza has been hospitalized since last week, and he tested positive for poisoning on Monday. He survived another poisoning attack two years ago. McFaul worried Michael McFaul was the U.S. ambassador to Russia from 2012 to 2014. He wrote in the Washington Post that he does not know why Trump continues to defend Putin, saying one interpretation is that he simply wants to cultivate better relations with Moscow. McFaul said a more worrisome interpretation would be if Trump actually admired Putin's policies and ideas on dealing with dissent and the press. During the election campaign, Trump expressed admiration for Putin, saying at least he is a strong leader, not like then-President Barack Obama. McFaul said U.S. democratic institutions are much more robust than similar institutions in Russia, but he called on Americans not to be indifferent, and to stand up to any small steps toward autocracy. Senate Correspondent Mike Bowman contributed to this report Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has strongly defended his radical ban on high currency notes as the right step, at the right time, that will deliver a cleaner economy. Critics lambasted the currency ban, questioning why Modi took the action at a time when the country had outpaced China to become the worlds fastest growing economy. According to various estimates, the ban will pull down growth by one percent, displacing India from the top position. Speaking for the first time in parliament since the ban was imposed on high denomination notes in November, Modi said that having the economy in good shape meant that was the right time to take the tough step. Comparing it with surgery, he told lawmakers, If you are ill and need an operation, the doctor asks you to control parameters such as diabetes until the body is healthy. This was the right time for demonetization because the economy was doing well. Economists remain divided as to whether there will be any long-term benefits from the decision, which created huge currency shortages, led to hardship for hundreds of thousands of poor people who scrambled to exchange old notes, and slowed down the informal sector that employs nearly 90 percent of the workforce. Modi, however called it a pro-poor move that will deliver a clean India. Warning that the government will press ahead with more measures to curb corruption, he said, It does not matter how big you are, you will have to give back what belongs to the poor. I will not turn back from this path. The currency ban was meant to flush out illicit cash on which taxes have not been paid a widespread problem in India where tax compliance is extremely low. Several economists, however, say the worlds most sweeping currency change move in decades has done little to dent corrupt practices that create what is known in India as black money. While the old stocks of black money may have been targeted, they point out that demonetization cannot stop the generation of illicit cash. Economist N. Bhanumurthy, with New Delhis National Institute of Public Finance and Policy, is among those who believe that the cash ban was a step in the right direction. It is not going to completely remove the black money generation in future, but at least it would have some kind of impact. He says significant public policy measures to curb the flow of illegal cash are in the works. While economists will continue to debate the benefits of the measure for a long time, for the Indian prime minister the key test lies in how much ordinary people back his decision. That will be reflected in how Indians cast votes in four states where elections are currently being held. A good showing for Modis Bharatiya Janata Party will mean that his move has paid political dividends, while a poor showing will be interpreted as a rebuff by people who suffered due to the cash crunch. Modi said he was aware of the risks he had taken. I am not concerned about the elections, he said. "I am concerned about my country." Israel's parliament has passed a new law on settlements which is sure to be challenged in court and bring global wrath against Israel. The Knesset voted 60-52 Monday night to retroactively legalize 4,000 Jewish settlements on private Palestinian land in the West Bank land Palestinians want for a future state. Israeli lawmakers on the right and left emotionally debated the controversial measure. The opposition called it de facto annexation of the West Bank and said it will land Israel before the International Criminal Court in the Hague. 'More instability and chaos' One lawmaker said the measure is an acute danger to the State of Israel and says it goes against Israeli law. Israel's attorney general has called it unconstitutional. Nationalist lawmakers say the Jewish people have a connection to the land and a right to it. They say legalizing the settlements is in Israel's interest and denies it is a path toward annexation. The Palestinians are, naturally, furious. This is an escalation that would only lead to more instability and chaos, a spokesman for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said, calling the law unacceptable. A spokesman for the Palestine Liberation Organization condemned it as legalized theft, even if the bill contains provisions to compensate the Palestinians or give them other land in exchange. Netanyahu away Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was flying back from London when the vote took place. He had expressed opposition to the law and said he wanted to coordinate it with U.S. President Donald Trump before signing it. Israel believes the Trump administration would be friendlier than the Obama White House, which believed Jewish settlements hurt the chances for peace. The White House put out a statement last week saying Trump has not yet taken an official position on settlement activity and while we don't believe the existence of settlements is an impediment to peace, the construction of new settlements or the expansion of existing settlements beyond their current borders may not be helpful in achieving that goal. The law passed Monday would impose Israeli law in a portion of the West Bank that is not officially part of Israel, but is under Israeli military and civilian rule. This would legalize 4,000 Jewish settlements on private Palestinian property something Israeli courts have always ruled is illegal. Settlement demolished Israeli police demolished the Jewish settlement of Amona last week, forcing about 200 Jewish families to find somewhere else to live. Palestinians say Jewish settlements on West Bank land they want as part of a future state is the major roadblock to peace. Israel says Palestinian refusal to recognize the Jewish state is what is holding up peace talks. Israel was furious when the United States, under former President Barack Obama, abstained instead of vetoing a U.N. Security Council resolution in December, calling the settlements illegal and demanding Israel stop building them. Special forces troops poured out of their camp firing weapons in the air and seized control of a town in southeast Ivory Coast on Tuesday in another show of discontent within the military. The revolt in Adiake, about 95 km (60 miles) east of the commercial capital Abidjan, comes on the heels of a series of mutinies across the country last month that dealt a blow to Ivory Coast's post-war success story. "Gunfire began earlier in the special forces' camp and then the town began panicking as armed soldiers left the barracks," said a high school teacher, who asked not to be named out of fear of reprisal. Military sources said Tuesday's mutineers were demanding the payment of bonuses. The streets cleared as town residents fled indoors and soldiers took up positions around Adiake. Mutinying soldiers, some wearing balaclavas, manned a roadblock leading into the town, turning away cars and firing their rifles in the air. "We're not here to play games. We want our money, and we'll have it," one soldier yelled at a team of Reuters journalists attempting to enter the Adiake. A Defense Ministry official told Reuters that General Lassina Doumbia, commander of the special forces, traveled to Adiake to meet the soldiers in an attempt to end the uprising. Under the stewardship of President Alassane Ouattara, Ivory Coast has emerged from a decade-long political crisis as one of the world's fastest growing economies and a favorite for investors eyeing frontier market opportunities. Unrest within the military ranks since last month, however, has led some companies to rethink their investment strategies in the country, the world's top cocoa producer. The government agreed to a payment demand by a group of mainly former rebel fighters last month who claimed they were owed money for fighting against ex-president Laurent Gbagbo. Ivorian authorities have not released details but mutiny leaders said the deal included a promise to pay 12 million CFA francs ($19,476.73) to some 8,400 troops. The payout angered other segments of the military, leading to a wave of copycat mutinies and exposing the deep divisions that still plague the army six years after the 2011 civil war capped a decade of unrest. While those revolts have eased in recent weeks, one regional security official said that Tuesday's mutiny by the special forces - among the best trained and equipped troops in the army - was worrying. "This is particularly disturbing," he told Reuters. "This is really stepping it up, because these guys are essentially a presidential unit." ($1 = 616.1200 CFA francs) Jovenel Moise was sworn in as the president of Haiti Tuesday morning, following an extended and complicated two-year election cycle. Moise took the oath of office in a Parliament chamber surrounded by Haitian lawmakers and foreign dignitaries. Moise , whom former Haitian President Michel Martelly hand-picked as his Bald Heads Party (PHTK) candidate, won with nearly 56 percent of the votes cast in the November 20 election. The Haitian businessman, 48, faces lingering accusations of money laundering. Late last month, Moise spent four hours answering an investigative judge's questions in a closed Port-au-Prince courtroom, in a process similar to that of a U.S. grand jury. He has denied the allegation, claiming it is politically motivated. His political opponents, including at least two other candidates for the presidency, had pressed for a decision by Tuesday. Late Monday evening, the government's prosecuting attorney, Danton Leger, released a statement announcing he would return the case to Judge Bredy Fabien to investigate further. More people have yet to be interviewed, including Moise's wife, Martine Joseph. The investigation could take months to complete. "For a lack of adequate tools in the justice system, it is impossible to make a definitive decision" by the inaugural date on whether to charge Moise, Leger's statement said. The United States, France and Venezuela were among the countries that sent delegations to attend the inauguration. Thomas Shannon, undersecretary of state for political affairs, led the U.S. delegation, which included Peter Mulrean, the U.S. ambassador to Haiti, the White House said Monday. Carol Guensburg and VOA's Creole Service contributed to this report In Photos: Jovenel Moise's Inauguration By Press Trust of India: Washington, Feb 7 (PTI) A giant black hole ripped apart a star and then binged on its remains for about a decade, setting a record for the longest such episode, say scientists who made the discovery using data from NASAs Chandra X-ray Observatory and other space telescopes. A trio of orbiting X-ray telescopes, including Swift satellite as well as ESAs XMM-Newton, found evidence for a "tidal disruption event" (TDE), wherein the tidal forces due to the intense gravity from a black hole can destroy an object - such as a star - that wanders too close. advertisement During a TDE, some of the stellar debris is flung outward at high speeds, while the rest falls toward the black hole. As it travels inwards to be ingested by the black hole, the material heats up to millions of degrees and generates a distinct X-ray flare. "We have witnessed a stars spectacular and prolonged demise," said Dacheng Lin from the University of New Hampshire in the UK. "Dozens of tidal disruption events have been detected since the 1990s, but none that remained bright for nearly as long as this one," said Lin, who led the study. The extraordinary long bright phase of this event spanning over ten years means that among observed TDEs this was either the most massive star ever to be completely torn apart during one of these events, or the first where a smaller star was completely torn apart. The X-ray source containing this force-fed black hole, known by its abbreviated name of XJ1500+0154, is located in a small galaxy about 1.8 billion light years from Earth. The source was detected in an XMM-Newton observation on July 23rd in 2005, and reached peak brightness in a Chandra observation on June 5 in 2008. These observations show that the source became at least 100 times brighter in X-rays. Since then, Chandra, Swift, and XMM-Newton have observed it multiple times. The sharp X-ray vision of Chandra data shows that XJ1500+0154 is located at the center of its host galaxy, the expected location for a supermassive black hole. "For most of the time weve been looking at this object, it has been growing rapidly," said James Guillochon of the Harvard-Smithsonian Centre for Astrophysics in the US. "This tells us something unusual ? like a star twice as heavy as our Sun ? is being fed into the black hole," said Guillochon. The conclusion that supermassive black holes can grow so rapidly may help explain how supermassive black holes were able to reach masses about a billion times higher than the Sun when the universe was only about a billion years old. advertisement "This event shows that black holes really can grow at extraordinarily high rates. This may help understand how precocious black holes came to be," said Stefanie Komossa of QianNan Normal University for Nationalities in China. The findigs were published in the journal Nature Astronomy. PTI MHN SAR MHN --- ENDS --- American pop star Madonna has been granted permission to adopt twin girls from Malawi, a spokesman for Malawi's judiciary said Tuesday. Judicial spokesman Mlenga Mvula confirmed to multiple news agencies that the High Court in the southern African nation gave its approval for her to adopt the girls, who will be the third and fourth children she has adopted from the country. Earlier this year, Madonna had denied reports that she was trying to adopt the children. Madonna established the non-profit organization "Raising Malawi" over 10 years ago providing health and education programs, particularly to girls. U.S. First Lady Melania Trump has re-filed a defamation lawsuit against the company that publishes the Daily Mail's website, saying an article posted there in August 2016 harmed her ability to earn millions of dollars during a time when she would be "one of the most photographed women in the world." The article discussed false allegations made in a book and a Slovenian magazine that a modeling agency Trump worked for operated as an escort agency. Trump's lawyers said in the lawsuit filed in New York that the article falsely portrayed her as a prostitute, and that the Daily Mail published the piece either knowing the allegations were false or "with reckless disregard for the truth." The lawsuit seeks $150 million in damages for harm done to her business interests and for emotional distress. "The plaintiff had the unique, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, as an extremely famous and well-known person, as well as a former professional model and brand spokesperson, and successful businesswoman, to launch a broad-based commercial brand in multiple product categories, each of which could have garnered multi-million dollar business relationships for a multi-year term during which Plaintiff is one of the most photographed women in the world," the lawsuit says. At the time the article was published, Trump's husband, Donald, had already been named the Republican Party's nominee for president at a convention where Melania Trump gave a prime-time speech. The Daily Mail posted a statement in September saying its article stated "there was no support" for the allegations in the book and magazine, and that the purpose of the article was not to suggest they were true. It stated regret for "any such misinterpretation." "The point of the article was that these allegations could impact the U.S. presidential election even if they are untrue," the statement said. Trump earlier filed the lawsuit in the state of Maryland, but a judge there dismissed it after ruling that court was not the correct jurisdiction. A Martian volcano may have erupted continuously for more than 2 billion years, a new study suggests. Writing in the journal Science Advances, researchers from Purdue University say they base their theory on a small meteorite found in Algeria in 2012. According to the researchers, the meteorite is 2.4 billion years old and likely was jolted off the Martian surface when an object hit the planet, likely near a volcano or lava plain. Fragments of the planets surface created by the impact finally made their way to Earth. Fragments from Mars have an easier time escaping the planet because of its low gravity and thinner atmosphere. Today, Mars is still known for volcanos, including the largest in the solar system, Olympus Mons, which is the size of the U.S. state of Arizona and is over 27 kilometers high. Researchers cant say if the meteorite came from Olympus Mons. Volcanos on Mars can grow so big because of a lack of plate tectonics on the Red Planet. The planets crust is not constantly recycled as it is here. Researchers say there have been 100 meteorites found on Earth that likely came from Mars. Most of them have been found in Antarctica and North Africa. By analyzing the meteorites, researchers can figure out its age, magma source, the time the object was in space and how long it has been on Earth. This specific meteorite, called NWA 7635, is one of 11 that Purdue University Physics and Astronomy Professor Marc Caffee has determined was exposed to cosmic rays for 1.1 million years. "What we interpret from that is that all 11 were knocked off Mars at the same time," said the research team member. "But this one was different than the others." The other 10 in the sample were all about 500 million years old meaning they were formed from cooling magma half-a-billion years ago on the surface of Mars. This meteorite, named NWA 2635, found in northwest Africa, is 2.4 billion years old. "What this means is that for 2 billion years there's been sort of a steady plume of magma in one location on the surface of Mars," Caffee said. "We don't have anything like that on Earth, where something is that stable for 2 billion years at a specific location." Five mortar rounds exploded near Mogadishu airport in the capital of Somalia Tuesday evening, ahead of a parliament meeting on Wednesday to elect the country's next president. There were no immediate reports of casualties from the mortar attack. Some residents blamed militant group al-Shabab, which has vowed to disrupt the election. One of the mortars landed year Jazeera Hotel, less than one kilometer north of Mogadishu's international airport, the venue of Wednesday's presidential election. An explosion from a grenade attack was also reported near Dabka junction in Hodan district. So far, no casualties have been reported in that attack. Military base attacked Outside Mogadishu, suspected militants launched mortar attacks and fired weapons at a military base run by African Union troops Tuesday evening, according to an official near the base in Arbaow, 13 kilometers south of Mogadishu. The incumbent president, Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, is seeking re-election against more than 20 other candidates, including his predecessor, Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, and two former prime ministers. The group of voters will meet at Mogadishu's international airport under heavy security provided by AMISOM, the African Union mission in Somalia. Most of the 329 members of parliament who will be participating in the election live in hotels in Mogadishu. They, along with 22 presidential candidates, will arrive at the airport early Wednesday for screening before the voting begins. No comment from government Somalian officials have not commented on Tuesday's reports of attacks. Observers say some candidates are trying to buy the presidency through cash and gifts to lawmakers. AMISOM has protected Somalia's fragile government for a decade against al-Qaida-linked al-Shabab. VOA's Harun Maruf contributed to this report. The head of the organization behind the Oscar awards has called for diversity and freedom of expression, saying the United States should not put barriers in the way of artists from around the world. Cheryl Boone Isaacs, president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, told the 165 Oscar-nominated actors and filmmakers there was a "struggle globally today over artistic freedom that feels more urgent than at any time since the 1950s," an apparent reference to the anti-communist blacklists of some in the movie industry at the time. Speaking Monday at a luncheon in Beverly Hills for the 2017 nominees, Isaacs noted that there were "some empty chairs in this room, which has made Academy artists activists." Iranian director Asghar Farhadi and actress Taraneh Alidoosti, who stars in his foreign-language-nominated film "The Salesman," said last week they would boycott the February 26 Academy Awards to protest President Donald Trump's travel restrictions on Iranians and six other Muslim-majority countries. Other Oscar nominees who expect to find difficulty traveling to Los Angeles for the ceremony include those behind documentary "The White Helmets," which is about civilian Syrian rescue workers. Isaacs did not directly mention the travel restrictions, but she said, "America should always be not a barrier but a beacon. ... We stand up to those who would try to limit our freedom of expression." "When we speak out against those who try to put up barriers, we reinforce this important truth: that all artists around the world are connected by a powerful bond, one that speaks to our creativity and common humanity," she said to loud applause. Recent speeches Isaacs' address followed fiery speeches at recent awards shows and rallies by such celebrities as Meryl Streep, Madonna and Ellen DeGeneres condemning the travel ban, supporting civil and women's rights, and criticizing Trump's behavior. Isaacs, who is African-American, also cited the Academy's efforts to improve diversity in its ranks. After two straight years in which all 20 acting nominees were white, this year there are seven actors of color among the Oscar nominees. "Wow! What a difference a year makes," she said. Some 683 new members many of them women or people of color have joined the Academy in the past 12 months in a bid to make the body that chooses the Oscar winners more representative. "When we reach out to be inclusive, we set a shining example," said Isaacs. South Sudan President Salva Kiir says the national dialogue he proposed in December will get underway in early March. Speaking at a public rally in Yei Town Tuesday, the president said holding a national dialogue is the only way to end the ongoing conflict. Kiir traveled to Yei Town on Monday to try to calm the fears of residents in the aftermath of several deadly attacks between government forces and unidentified armed groups since July. At Tuesday's public rally, the president said holding a national dialogue is the only way to resolve all grievances of the South Sudanese people and to restore their faith in government. The dialogue I declared recently is one of the means that might bring our people back home. When our parliamentarians return [from] their recess, that is the time we will be sitting down together so that we talk about how to restore peace," Kiir said. Open forum proposed The president insists the proposed national dialogue would be an open forum at which all issues affecting South Sudan would be addressed and resolved. Kiir appealed to armed groups fighting his government to lay down their arms and turn their focus toward developing South Sudan. He had a stern warning for those who fail to heed his call. If they don't listen to the voices which call for peace, I will declare war against them. I don't think there is anyone of you who will blame me again, Kiir said. The president also said he intends to exhaust all means of getting peace back to South Sudan. United Nations report 'deeply disturbing' On October 10, the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) said it was extremely concerned by the continuing deteriorating security situation in the town of Yei, where some 100,000 people had been trapped. UNMISS called on all warring factions to immediately end all hostilities. UNMISS said it received "deeply disturbing reports of horrific violence perpetrated against innocent and vulnerable civilians, including women and infants," in a statement issued by the Mission's principle public information officer. Kiir urged all Yei residents to support a national dialogue, including unidentified militia groups who have been fighting his government in the troubled town, located in the newly created Yei River State. Canon Clement Janda, one of the founding members of the higher chamber of South Sudan's parliament, the Council of States, a former presidential advisor, and an Anglican minister, said the proposed national dialogue will have little effect because only one side of the conflict is involved in the exercise. If it is initiated by one person, then it becomes a monologue, Janda said, adding, Monologue is one person talking to himself. Judging from what he reads in the newspapers and in social media "is a group of people selected by the president," Janda said. Kiir offers condolences Kiir also offered his condolences to the many families in Yei who have lost loved ones during the fighting. I want to extend my sincere condolences to all to you who might have lost some family members, and people who lost their properties. I want to apologize to all of you and I am sorry for what had happened, said Kiir. Up until last year, Yei had been largely spared from the attacks and violence that have plagued the country since December 2013. The president is expected to return to the capital Juba on Friday. Eye Radio provided the quotations of President Kiir to VOA from Yei town. The Palestinian Authority is calling for the international community to punish Israel for a new law that legalizes thousands of Jewish homes built on Palestinian-owned land in the West Bank. The law passed Monday in the 120-member Knesset, Israels parliament, by a vote of 60-52. Under the legislation, about 100 settlement outposts that were built without government approval are now legal under Israeli law. The vote sparked outrage in the Palestinian Authority (PA) that rules parts of the West Bank, with officials accusing Israel of legalizing land theft in violation of international law. Such a law signals the final annexation of the West Bank, said Palestinian legislator Hanan Ashrawi. It also gives clear license to the settlers to embark on a land grab in the occupied West Bank with impunity. PA officials say the next step is to take Israel to the International Criminal Court in The Hague on charges of war crimes. Until then, they are demanding action from the world powers. It is imperative that the international community, including the United States and the European Union, assumes its moral, human and legal responsibilities and puts an end to Israels lawlessness and its system of apartheid and ethnic cleansing, Ashrawi said. Accountability should include punitive measures and sanctions before it is too late. Israel is also facing legal challenges at home from left-wing NGOs. We plan to petition [Israels Supreme Court] in the hope of canceling this law, said attorney Suhad Bishara of the Israeli Arab legal rights group Adalah. Legal experts say the High Court is likely to overturn the law since it violates property rights in occupied territories that are not part of the State of Israel. Despite the legal challenges, the settlers and their supporters are declaring victory for Jewish claims to all of the biblical Land of Israel. This law is about the connection between the Jewish people and its land, said Cabinet Minister Ofir Akunis of the ruling Likud party. This entire land is ours. Knesset member Moti Yogev of the hawkish Jewish Home party told Israel Radio that it is a historic day for Israeli democracy. He warned that if the Supreme Court overturns the law, it would be equivalent to a dictatorship overruling the democratically-elected parliament. Comparing the Supreme Court to a dictatorship underscores how the charged issue of settlements is polarizing Israeli society. While supporters see the settlements as a national and even God-given right, opponents fear that Israel is losing its democratic and Jewish character by ruling over another people, while also facing growing international condemnation and isolation. Indeed, the law was harshly criticized by, among others, Jordan, Turkey, the European Union, and United Nations. Nickolay Mladenov, the U.N. coordinator for the Middle East peace process, said the legislation imperils the internationally-backed idea of establishing a Palestinian state alongside Israel as part of a negotiated peace deal. It will have a drastic legal consequence for Israel and for the nature of its democracy. It crosses a very, very thick red line. The law is part of a major Israeli settlement expansion project since U.S. President Donald Trump took office last month, including plans to build more than 6,000 new homes in the West Bank and disputed East Jerusalem. Israel curbed construction under former President Barack Obama who saw the settlements as an obstacle to peace, but Israel believes Trump is more sympathetic. While Trumps appointee of U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman is known to be strongly pro-settlement, the president appears to be urging Israel not to go too far too fast. In response to the Knesset vote, the White House referred to a statement it issued last week, While we dont believe the existence of settlements is an impediment to peace, the construction of new settlements or the expansion of existing settlements beyond their current borders may not be helpful in achieving that goal. The settlement issue is likely to top the agenda when President Trump holds his first meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House on February 15. Peruvian prosecutors opened a formal investigation Monday into suspicions that former President Alejandro Toledo took bribes from a Brazilian construction firm at the heart of a major corruption scandal shaking politicians across Latin America. The move came after police searched Toledo's home in Lima on Saturday. Authorities in Peru and throughout Latin America have been moving fast to charge officials accused of taking some $800 million in bribes that construction firm Odebrecht acknowledged paying in a plea agreement signed in December with the U.S. Justice Department. The bribes, used to win business in 12 countries, include some $29 million in Peru for projects built during the administrations of Toledo (2001-2006), Alan Garcia (2006-2011) and Ollanta Humala (2011-2016). So far three officials from Garcia's government have been arrested. In the case of Toledo, authorities are looking into whether he pocketed some $20 million in exchange for awarding Odebrecht a major highway project stretching from Peru's border with Brazil. The payments were believed to be made through Toledo's friend, Peruvian-Israeli businessman Josef Maiman, who prosecutors said Monday they are also investigating along with the Odebrecht's former boss in the country, whose testimony triggered the probe. Prosecutors are expected to appear before a judge in the next 48 hours during which they could request Toledo be arrested. The former president is believed to be in Paris but has denied any wrongdoing. Although he said he has plans to travel to Stanford University in California, where he is a visiting scholar, he said he would return to Peru as long as he could be assured of a fair trial. "Say when, how and where and in what bank they've given me $20 million,'' an angry Toledo said in an interview with a local radio station over the weekend. Toledo failed to win much support in a bid last year to regain the presidency, finishing in eighth place, but the idea that the pro-democracy activist who led street protest which forced strongman Alberto Fujimori's resignation might now be joining his arch-nemesis behind bars has come as a shock to many Peruvians. "It's a betrayal to the Peruvian people,'' President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski, who served as Toledo's economy minister and prime minister, said in an interview over the weekend. "It's very sad.'' When VOA first met with Kirkwood, Illinois farmer Wendell Shauman on the presidential campaign trail, one of the big issues for him was getting the Trans Pacific Partnership, or TPP, approved. The more free trade agreements we got the better off well be, he told VOA at the time, as he was preparing to transport a shipment of corn to a waiting barge on the nearby Mississippi River. That was back in 2015 before Donald Trump won the White House in the 2016 presidential election. Now, thanks to an executive order issued by President Trump soon after taking office, Shauman faces the reality that U.S. involvement in the TPP is essentially over. Any time you back out of a trade deal, it's not a precedent I like to see set, Shauman tells VOA. I think a lot of them felt that was a campaign tactic instead of a promise, explains Illinois Farm Bureau Senior Director of Commodities Tamara Nelsen. She says withdrawing from the TPP agreement means no immediate price boost for farm products like corn and soybeans. We would have gained tremendous access to Japans beef and pork markets through this agreement, she adds. I think we were looking at between 10 to 35 cents a bushel on corn the impact of TPP once it was implemented. So I think they will see no new markets for their products and thats going to be disappointing. While that means a direct hit on Wendell Shaumans pocketbook, he says he is not disappointed. As former chairman of the U.S. Grains Council, Shauman - who has a Ph.D in plant studies - traveled extensively throughout the world to promote U.S. agricultural products. Although he struggled to find the words to explain why, Shauman says he voted for Trump in the election. While trade agreements and jobs were two big issues on the minds of farmers and manufacturing workers during the 2016 presidential campaign, Shauman says he supported Trump based on other issues that, at least for Shauman, transcended trade. Were conservative people, he explained. We think government is too big. Weve got too many regulations. We could only see more of them coming from Hillary. We could see a liberal Supreme Court which is already giving us trouble. Not far from Shaumans farm is the now closed Maytag appliance factory in Galesburg, Illinois. George Carney worked there for more than two decades until he lost his job when the work moved to Mexico. He blames it on the North American Free Trade Agreement, also known as NAFTA. He has struggled to find steady work since, and was strongly opposed to the TPP. Just the bad experience of NAFTA left a bad taste in my mouth, so I was just against it because it was a trade agreement, he told VOA. But Trumps TPP opposition was not enough to win Carneys vote. He said President Trump comes across like a babbling buffoon. But Carney is pleased with his performance, so far. I think hes doing his job right. I like what he is doing. Which is why Carney, who has never voted for a Republican for president before, is looking ahead to the next election in 2020. I could see myself voting for Trump next time. Although Wendell Shauman is on the opposite side of the TPP issue, he, too, says he could vote for Trump again, depending on how he handles any potential changes to the NAFTA agreement, and how he continues to conduct himself while president. Sometimes its embarrassing, Shauman admits. I literally said, why dont you just grow up. But hes the president and were going to live with him for four years, and well see where this ride goes. The United Nations confirms Syrian peace talks will resume February 20 in Geneva, amid reports of further obstruction by the Syrian government to allow the distribution of humanitarian aid. The United Nations says it will send out invitations to the warring parties to attend the Syrian peace talks on February 8. The negotiations originally were set to begin that day, but were postponed until February 20 to allow a cease-fire to take hold, a basic demand by the opposition. Special Envoy for Syria spokeswoman Yara Sharif says a joint group has been established to ensure an effective cease-fire takes place. The Special Envoy welcomed [Mondays] follow-up meeting of the Joint Group and expressed the hope that their efforts will strengthen the cease-fire on the ground and thus contribute to the U.N.-led intra-Syrian negotiations in Geneva and a political settlement in line with Security Council resolution 2254, Sharif said. Syrias six-year long civil war has killed hundreds of thousands of people and wounded many more. The countrys infrastructure has been largely destroyed. Millions of people within the country are in desperate need of food and other aid. Sharif says U.N. efforts to get humanitarian access to people in need continues to be frustrated by the Syrian government. She says January marked the worst month since March 2016. Out of 21 requests for convoys to access a total of 914,000 people, only one convoy was delivered for 40,000 people, Sharif said. "... The Special Envoy calls for unconditional, unimpeded and sustained access to all 4.72 million people in hard-to-reach locations across the country, including the more than 600,000 in besieged locations. Sharif says residents of the formerly besieged neighborhoods of east Aleppo now are accessible. But she says humanitarians are unable to deliver aid to some areas because unexploded ordinance and other remnants of war make it too dangerous for them to enter. By Press Trust of India: Hyderabad, Feb 7 (PTI) A six-year-old girl, who was admitted to the state-run Gandhi Hospital here for a neuro-degenerative disorder died in the early hours today, nearly two months after her parents alleged she was administered with "contaminated" saline. Sai Pravalika, hailing from Jangaon district in Telangana was admitted to the hospital on December 7 last year and on December 15 her parents alleged that a worm was found in a saline bottle administered to the child and accused of negligence in treatment. advertisement However, doctors at the hospital today refuted the allegations and clarified her death is not related to it (allegations of saline contamination) and she died of prolonged illness. "She was suffering with neurological disorder and she is a bed-ridden patient. It is a chronic illness which has no cure. Previously also she was treated and had been discharged," Gandhi Hospital Superintendent J V Reddy told PTI. The Superintendent further said last week her lungs started getting infected resulting in pneumonia and respiratory failure. "Infection distress occurred...she was put on ventilator and she also suffered renal problem and had been put on dialysis and while undergoing treatment she died at 3.30 am today," he said. On allegations of saline contamination by the parents and relatives, Reddy said "the matter is still under investigation by the Drug Control Authorities and her death cannot be linked to it." Reddy said no post-mortem was conducted on the girls body on the request of her parents. Reacting on the incident, Telangana Health Minister Dr C Laxma Reddy said, "It is a natural death...due to the disease (prolonged illness) she died. Saline issue is a old one. We will extend financial help if they (parents) seek". PTI VVK DK DK SSB --- ENDS --- Since the Bangladesh government announced it has begun a process to relocate the countrys Rohingya refugees to a remote island in Bay of Bengal, a new tension has gripped refugee Mohammad Eliyas. Eliyas, who fled violence in Myanmar and took refuge in Bangladesh, says that he is scared at the thought of being forced to relocate to the island of Thengar Char, which surfaced only 10 years ago and is flooded during high tide. To save our lives we crossed over to Bangladesh and we believed we would get better protection in this Muslim majority country. But now we are being told that we have to move to a remote island, said Eliyas, 50, a day worker who lives with his wife and two children in a shanty-colony in Coxs Bazar district. Rights groups have voiced strong concerns about the governments controversial plan to send the refugees to the island, saying it could trigger a total human rights catastrophe and a humanitarian disaster. Long history The Rohingya religious minority has frequently fled to neighboring Bangladesh and other countries since the 1970s to escape economic hardship and what they say is persecution by Myanmars military. Myanmar has consistently denied the allegations of persecution and abuse of the Rohingya. Currently, there are up to half a million Rohingyas in Bangladesh, with over 90 percent living as illegal or unregistered refugees across southeastern coastal areas. Bangladesh first proposed to relocate the Rohingya refugees to Thengar Char in 2015. But the idea faded from the news until late last month, when the government announced it had already set up a committee to push ahead with the plan. But one land department official in Noakhali district, where Thengar Char is located, has told VOA that during the high tide the whole 30,000-hectare island goes under several meters of water, the land there is extremely unstable and uninhabitable. Another local forest department official, who also did not want to be named for fear of reprisals from authorities, said mangrove trees have been planted on about 2,000 hectares of the island, but it would take at least 20 years for a small part of the island to be suitable for farming. Blame and consultation A government order said the refugees, registered and unregistered, would be relocated to the island to prevent them from intermingling with the Bangladeshi citizens. Bangladesh says the Rohingya refugees are responsible for a deteriorating law and order situation in south eastern Bangladesh where they are located, blaming them for the depletion of forest resources and triggering "other social and economic problems, in addition to spreading infectious diseases. But Chowdhury Rafiqul Abrar, who directs the Dhaka-based Refugee and Migratory Movements Research Unit (RMMRU), said linking the entire refugee community to those problems is not justified. We have not seen any compelling evidence in support of the charges against the Rohingya community. We must bear in mind that undocumented Rohingya community members live without any protection and have to fend for themselves, said Abrar, who also teaches international relations at University of Dhaka. Phil Robertson, Deputy Asia Director for Human Rights Watch, said the Bangladesh government should to understand that the protection of the refugees requires real consultation with them about their needs. These Rohingya refugees need protection, not a punitive transfer to an island where they will have no way to make a livelihood and must struggle to survive. Thengar Char is also vulnerable to devastation by typhoons, which often hit Bangladesh, Robertson told VOA. Suitable for living However, Bangladeshs State Minister of Foreign Affairs, Shahriar Alam said last week that the army has been tasked to make the island suitable for living. They will do whatever is needed to make the island livable. Then the refugees from Coxs Bazar and other areas will be moved to Thengar Char. And the process for this relocation has already begun, Alam said. He added that the cost of relocating the refugees will be basically borne by the Bangladesh government. [For this relocation process], we may seek some international support from some friendly countries The refugees will live in the island on temporary basis and we hope, the Myanmar government will take them back soon, the minister added. However, Human Rights Watch's Phil Robertson said that he does not believe that the island would be livable for the refugees that soon. UN agencies and government donors should not believe Dhakas claims that they can make such a place hospitable for these refugees, and they should tell Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in no uncertain terms that they will strongly and consistently oppose this move, he said. If the plan does go forward, some Rohingya seem likely to take to the seas again in search of better conditions. If we go back to Myanmar, the military and the (local Rakhine Buddhists) will torture and kill us. We will be better taking a boat, and in the name of Allah, taking big risks, we will sail out for Malaysia, said Mohammad Eliyas. Russia will host a regional conference on Afghanistan later this month to discuss efforts aimed at settling the protracted Afghan conflict and containing spillover effects of Islamic State terrorists trying to get a foothold in the war-ravaged nation. Moscow organized a tripartite meeting on the subject late December where it only invited Pakistan and China. The dialogue prompted strong reaction and protest from the Afghan government for being left out of it. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Tuesday Afghanistan now has been formally invited to another round due in mid-February where senior officials from China, Iran, India and Pakistan also will be in attendance. Lavrov made the statement in Moscow after talks with visiting Afghan counterpart, Salahuddin Rabbani, saying most of the countries already have confirmed their participation. IS emerged in Afghanistan about two years ago, and has been conducting extremist attacks in the country and in parts of Pakistan under its regional name of Islamic State of Khorasan Province (ISKP). But the terrorist group has not been able so far to extend its activities beyond few districts in eastern Afghan province of Nangarhar, which borders Pakistan. The violent IS campaign has worried Pakistan, which shares a nearly 2,600-kilometer border with Afghanistan. Russia defends its active Afghan diplomacy, saying continued fighting between Afghan forces and the Taliban would allow IS to extend its activities to northern Afghan regions in its bid to infiltrate bordering Central Asian republics, and ultimately undermine Moscows national security interests. Russia is much more concerned about the growth of IS in Afghanistan because they regard IS as a threat. So, they don't want this force [IS] to knock at the Central Asian and Caucasian doors, said Pakistani prime ministers foreign policy advisor Sartaj Aziz while speaking to VOA. He added that Moscow apparently is trying to form a regional platform to prevent Afghan instability from spilling over into neighboring countries. So, they need a regional approach and a cooperative approach to make sure that this turmoil does not go in their sphere of influence so that is their main motivation and that is our priority also to make sure that terrorism does not spread from this area to other parts, said Aziz. Pakistani authorities maintain that IS militants operating in Afghan border regions have been behind recent deadly attacks in their country. Advisor Aziz emphasized the need for seeking an urgent negotiated settlement of the Afghan conflict by encouraging peace talks between the Taliban and the Kabul government. He insisted that continuation of hostilities will only fuel instability in Afghanistan. Speaking Tuesday in Moscow, Foreign Minister Lavrov also underscored Russias support for involving the Taliban in peace talks to end the Afghan war. "We have confirmed our common stance that Taliban should be involved in a constructive dialogue in keeping with the criteria contained in the U.N. Security Council resolutions," Russian media quoted Lavrov as saying. The Taliban has shown no willingness to engage in peace talks with the Afghan government, and instead has expanded its insurgent activities across the country, capturing more territory and inflicting more casualties on Afghan security forces, as well as civilians. The United Nations also has documented a sharp increase in IS attacks against civilians, particularly against the Shia Muslim religious minority in Afghanistan last year. It noted in its annual report, issued Monday, the number of civilian casualties perpetrated by ISKP increased nearly 10 times in 2016 when 899 civilian casualties occurred, including 209 deaths. The figures stood at 82, including 39 deaths in 2015. Russian officials maintain IS militants fleeing counter-terrorism operations in Syria and Iraq are seeking refuge in Afghanistan, and they are using the conflict-hit country to expand their extremist activities to neighboring countries. China and Iran also have expressed similar concerns. VOA has an update on that giant crack in an Antarctic ice shelf scientists say is now sprinting towards its almost certain break from the continent. The crack is in part of the Larsen C Ice Shelf, which floats off the coast of northwestern Antarctica. Growing, growing, gone! Martin O'Leary is a research officer at Swansea University and a member of Project MIDAS, an Antarctic research project based in Britain. We spoke to him in early January when MIDAS announced that a crack in the Larsen C Ice Shelf had expanded by an estimated 18 kilometers in December. We spoke to him again today and he said the rate of expansion has sped up since then. He told VOA "the rift grew again in mid-January (some time between the 13th and 19th), by around 10 kilometers." O'Leary says his team has "been monitoring this crack since around 2010, when it started to become significantly larger than the surrounding cracks. It's been of particular interest since around 2014, when it became clear that the berg was going to be a large one." By "large one," O'Leary means a chunk of ice that represents between 9 and 12 percent of the entire country-sized shelf - "around 5,000 square kilometers (about half the size of Lebanon)." Today, the only thing holding the iceberg onto the Antarctic mainland is a strip of ice about 20 kilometers long. What is an ice shelf? Larsen C is called an ice shelf because, while it is still attached to the land, it is already floating out at sea. The Larsen Ice Shelf is actually a series of three interconnected formations that grew out from the Antarctic Mainland over tens of thousands of years. Larsen A, the most northern of the three segments, and the smallest, broke free from the mainland in 1995. The larger Larsen B Ice Shelf, an estimated 3,200 square kilometers of ice with an average thickness of 220 meters, disintegrated into the sea in 2002. And now Larsen C, larger still, with an ice thickness averaging 350 meters, looks to lose the next big chunk of the ice shelf. Adrian Luckman, another member of the MIDAS team, told the International Business Times, "If it doesn't go in the next few months, I'll be amazed. ... It's so close to calving that I think it's inevitable." What happens if it goes? If that huge chunk does separate from Larsen C, what does it mean for ocean levels around the world? Luckily, not much. The shelf is already displacing a lot of water because it's floating on the ocean now. Scientists are classifying the calving as a geographic event, as opposed to a climate event. It is something that will change the Antarctic landscape and is not necessarily a result of climate change. O'Leary backs that up, saying this event "...is a natural process which occurs once every few decades (the last major event on Larsen C was in the mid-80s)." Of greater concern is what this suggests for the future of Larsen C. "The removal of a large chunk of ice," O'Leary says, "may make the ice shelf more vulnerable to the effects of climate change in the future." In other words, the loss of ice may make Larsen C a bit more unstable, and more prone to further calving events like this one, and eventually to the collapse of the whole shelf. There's not enough information to predict if or when that might happen, but if it does, it's possible that the ice which the Larsen shelf holds on the land could start sliding into the sea. Predictions suggest that could raise world sea levels by as much as 10 centimeters. Democrats remained in control of the U.S. Senate floor Tuesday as they staged a 24-hour protest against President Donald Trumps education secretary nominee, Betsy DeVos, in what has become a battle of competing visions for publicly-funded education in America. Two Republicans have joined a united Democratic caucus in opposition to DeVos, a wealthy businesswoman who has never served as a teacher but is a leading proponent of forcing public schools to compete with private ones for resources by allowing families to use public funding vouchers to send their children to the school of their choice. A split 50-50 Senate vote on DeVos is expected Tuesday. If that happens, Vice President Mike Pence would cast the tie-breaking vote to confirm DeVos a development that would be unprecedented for a presidential Cabinet nomination. "Democrats will hold the floor for the next 24 hours, until the final vote, to do everything we can to persuade just one more Republican to join us," announced Democrat Patty Murray of Washington state at the start of the extended talk-a-thon on the Senate floor. Republican support The Democrats' quest is complicated, as dozens of Republican senators are on record supporting DeVos, and none are likely to change their minds based on pressure however long-winded from the opposing political party. For instance, Senator Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania, a moderate Republican courted by Democrats to vote against DeVos, issued a statement last week praising the nominee for working to ensure "that poor children trapped in failing schools have the same opportunities that wealthy and middle-class kids already have." But where Republicans see a pioneering champion for competition and free-market incentives in education, Democrats see the leader of a plot to siphon off already-scarce public funds and hollow out America's public education system, which currently serves roughly nine of every 10 students in the country. "The response to a troubled [public] school should not be to walk away from it in favor of sketchy voucher schemes," said Democratic Senator Chris Van Hollen of Maryland. "Instead, we must work together to provide the necessary resources and interventions to help those schools and those students achieve success." Voters weigh in Capitol switchboards have been swamped by phone calls from voters across the country attempting to reach their senators and voice either opposition or support for DeVos. Van Hollen said his office has received 14,000 calls from Maryland, a relatively small state, on the education nominee. The majority have been against DeVos, according to the senator. The 24-hour floor action is the latest attempt by Democrats to slow or derail Trumps Cabinet picks. Republicans can confirm them all, with or without Democratic support, so long as they remain united behind the nominees. Last week, Republicans Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska announced their opposition to DeVos the first crack in what has been unified Republican backing for the president's Cabinet choices. Silicon Valley is struggling with how to interact with the Trump administration. The past few weeks have seen industry-wide letters and court filings over the Trump administration's executive order travel ban. But meanwhile, there's a larger debate on social media and among industry insiders over how to influence federal policy with a new administration. Should it try to fight from the inside with lobbyists and its industry representatives? Fight from the outside? Create technology to undermine specific policies? Or, all of the above? These questions are roiling an industry that largely supported President Donald Trump's opponent, Hillary Clinton during the presidential campaign. They come at a time when political engagement is a relatively new corporate activity for many tech companies. For its part, the Trump administration reached out to the tech industry prior to the president taking office. In December, leaders from Apple, Facebook, Alphabet, Microsoft and Amazon, among others, gathered at Trump Plaza in New York to meet with the president-elect. Before the start of the meeting, Trump complimented those gathered, "There's no one like you in the world." Three weeks after Trump was sworn in, how tech leaders are handling the new administration is under close scrutiny. Tech employees have planned job walkouts and brought up their frustrations in internal forums and at company-wide meetings. Musk's approach Tesla CEO Elon Musk appears to be attempting a multi-pronged approach. Tesla and Musk's SpaceX joined more than 100 firms in filing an amicus (friend of the court) brief in support of the state of Washington's case against the Trump administration over the travel ban. Yet Musk also defended his decision to remain on a Trump business advisory committee after Uber CEO Travis Kalanick, under pressure from customers and employees, quit. "Activists should be pushing for more moderates to advise President, not fewer," Musk said in a tweet. "How could having only extremists advise him possibly be good?" In a reference to Musk's plan to help humans reach Mars, Maciej Ceglowski, an entrepreneur, who has organized tech worker events against the travel ban, tweeted, "For what shall it profit a man if he gains Mars, and lose Earth?" Meanwhile, Facebook signed on to the amicus brief but has resisted calls to boot Peter Thiel, a Trump advisor, from its board. Thiel has defended the Trump administration's travel ban, issuing a statement last week that Thiel "doesn't support a religious test, and the administration has not imposed one." Last week, employees at the social networking giant held their own private protest about the travel ban, reported The New York Times. You know this administration is going to have broad ability to take action on things we care about - jobs, our ability to hire, our ability to grow, everything," said Sheryl Sandberg, Facebook's chief operating officer, said last week at an event focused on women in business. "So a dialogue there is important." More Involvement in Politics Over the past five years, Silicon Valley has upped its spending on electoral politics and policy issues. Since 2012, the Internet industry, with firms such as Alphabet, Google's parent firm, and Amazon, has nearly doubled its lobbying spending to $58 million, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. But it isn't in the top 20 of industry sectors. The pharmaceutical and health product sector alone spent $244 million in 2016. But many young firms only know life under President Barack Obama who had a mostly warm, but at times contentious, relationship with tech leaders. "The difficulty is each issue needs to be looked at as an independent piece, in a vacuum separated from other issues," said Michael Beckerman, CEO of the Internet Association, a trade association representing global Internet firms. "When there's an opportunity, we will work with President Trump. We need to be praising the administration when it does the right thing. When we disagree, we should be vocal and engage too. Remember, this is how we engaged with President Obama. We were vocal both when we agreed and disagreed." But for younger firms, the stakes are too big when it comes to the travel ban to take a moderated approach, said Evan Engstrom, chief executive of Engine, a tech startup advocacy group, and one of the firms that signed the amicus brief. "On this issue, the administration has staked a clear position they aren't backing away from. That is antithetical to the tech community," he said. "To be conciliatory and not engage is not going to go anywhere." Presidential candidates in Somalia rounded off campaigning with an unprecedented televised debate on Monday, dominated by issues of corruption, security and U.S. President Donald Trump's travel ban. Somalia, which holds a presidential vote on Wednesday, is one of seven majority Muslim nations whose citizens were barred from travel to America under Trump's executive order. Many Somalis were sent back home or stranded at airports, until a U.S. judge put the ruling on hold. "I will tackle the issue of refugees deported from the United States and other countries, and will settle internally displaced people," Bashir Rage, one of several former warlords seeking election, said in the debate broadcast on TV and radio. Wednesday's presidential vote is part of the rebuilding effort in Somalia, which was shattered by more than two decades of conflict and where clan loyalties still tend to trump policy in politics. "Somali clans have fought for many years so I will reconcile them so we have a government that will bring people together," said candidate Mohamud Ahmed Nur Tarsan, a former Mogadishu mayor, promising to fight corruption and Islamist militants. Candidates bidding for office in a race repeatedly delayed since August promised to improve security and the economy. Most of the 23 hopefuls did not turn up for the debate, split between two sessions due to number of candidates. Voters complained that the debate was more of a question and answer session, that ignored people's daily concerns. Candidates were asked questions such as "why do you deserve to become president?" by a prominent journalist. "I wish the questions were from citizens," Ahmed Nur, from Baidoa, northwest of the capital, told Reuters. President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud had been due to take part in the afternoon debate, but had still not turned up as it began. He is seeking a second term after more than four years in office during which time he has faced criticism from the public and Western donors about corruption. Major Osman Mohamed, a military officer who like other soldiers complains about delayed wages, said: "The best questions, which I am sure our lazy president can't answer, is how to solve corruption and insecurity problems." An insurgency by al-Shabab Islamist militants scuppered plans for each adult to have a vote, so Somalia's 300 members of parliament will instead vote on the next president. About a third of lawmakers, who were themselves picked by about 14,000 clan elders and regional figures, are loyal to the president's Peace and Development Party, giving Mohamud an edge in the race but not enough to guarantee him victory. The son of a fabled slain Uzbek militant commander has been luring Uzbek men in northern Afghanistan to join the so-called Islamic State group, officials in the northern province of Sar-e-Pul told VOA. Abdul Rahman Yuldash, a reclusive wanted man, is reportedly leading efforts to help establish an IS footprint in Afghanistan's northern provinces which border his native Uzbekistan. Officials are not sure where he is based or how he operates. Authorities, however, say they "have received reports about the presence of Tahir Yuldash's son in some villages," Zahir Wahdat, governor of the restive northern Sar-e-Pul province, told VOA. Tahir Yuldash was a co-founder and leader of the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU), a socio-religious group that turned Islamic fundamentalist. IMU, established in the mid-1990s in Uzbekistan and including fighters from several central Asian nations, operated from bases inside Tajikistan and Taliban-controlled Afghanistan, analysts say. Once a strong ally of the Taliban, IMU later became closely associated with al-Qaida and its leader, Osama bin Laden. Following the Taliban ouster in 2001, Tahir Yuldash and his followers settled in tribal areas in Pakistan, near the Afghan border; however, disputes followed with local tribes that accused Yuldash of imposing his extreme ways on locals, including women, and recruiting them for military training. Tahir Yuldash's men engaged in clashes with local militant groups and were accused of killing many tribal elders, which led to their eventual move to Afghanistan's Zabul province in 2007. Tahir Yuldash reportedly died in a U.S. drone strike in August 2009. Little is known about the younger Yuldash, but he reportedly lived in Pakistan's southern port city of Karachi after his father died. "He used to live in Karachi and may still be based there," Wahid Muzhda, a Taliban analyst in Kabul, told VOA. IMU splits Yuldash has twice been seen in Sar-e-Pul's Sayyad district recruiting for IS, local security officials told VOA's Afghanistan service. Many militants who previously were associated with the Taliban are now signing up for IS in the area, officials say. According to analyst Muzhda, Uzbek fighters in northern areas of Afghanistan are fleeing the Taliban and switching sides to join IS, a claim he says was denied by the Taliban. "The IMU has split up into three smaller groups," Muzhda said, adding that one of the groups is pledged to IS. The IMU was closely linked with the Taliban and fought against the Afghan government; however, analysts say differences surfaced after the Taliban announced its disassociation with international terrorist groups, including al-Qaida, and abandoned plans to support the spread of terrorist activities into central Asia. Osman Ghazi, Tahir Yuldash's successor and his son-in-law, accused the Taliban of being apostates and pledged allegiance to IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, according to Muzhda. Following the split, the two groups engaged in fierce fighting in 2015 in Zabul, which left at least 110 dead, and dozens wounded. To show its allegiance to Islamic State, the IMU fighters kidnapped around a dozen ethnic Shi'ite Afghans and killed them. Ghazi was arrested and hanged by the Taliban last year. Yuldash was recently injured in an explosion after visiting his family in Zabul, Muzhda said. The IMU's presence is known in some parts of the northern provinces where locals have spotted Uzbek fighters and their families. "About two years ago, 10 or 15 families that belonged to the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan came and settled in Darzaab," a local resident in neighboring Jouzjan province told VOA's Uzbek service, on condition of anonymity for safety reasons. "We believe the IMU is training fighters," he said. "I know some local Uzbeks from Sar-e-Pul, Faryab, and Badghis have also joined them." Militant activity grows Afghanistan's northern provinces have recently seen an increase in militants' activities. More than 4,000 fighters with different militant groups are active in Sar-e-Pul, according to Zabihullah Amani, a spokesperson for the provincial government. According to the governor of Sar-e-Pul, Afghan forces are engaged in heavy battles with militants in five districts. The Kohistanat district, he said, has been under the militants' control for the past year-and-a-half and is where foreign fighters train local militants. "Parts of the Sar-e-Pul province have become bases and safe havens for the anti-government militants," he said, adding that many fighters from several central Asian countries such as Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and Kazakhstan are present in the area, including Tahir Yuldash's son. "IS does not have a large base yet, but some local commanders [militants], who used to be with the Taliban, are now sympathizing with IS and want to join the group. No doubt, they [IS] are trying to establish a large base in the province," the governor told Afghan Tolo TV. They don't know they are to be hanged, not until the noose is placed around their necks. As they are moved in groups of up to 50 people, they are told they are being transferred to another prison. Some in the execution room may still harbor hopes they are to be released and freed from weeks of vicious beatings, sexual violence, starvation and humiliation. According to Amnesty International, week in, week out, a grotesque execution routine has been under way in the jail 30 kilometers from the capital Damascus, and has been since the earliest days of the uprising against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. The rights organization published a report Tuesday containing harrowing details on extrajudicial killings at Syria's Saydnaya prison. 'Human Slaughterhouse' Amnesty calculates that from September 2011 to December 2015, between 5,000 and 13,000 people were executed at Saydnaya. The number may well be higher, warn the researchers of the report, Human Slaughterhouse: Mass Hangings and Extermination at Saydnaya Prison. The rights organization says it has no reason to believe the executions have ceased. The 48-page report, which took a year to complete and is based on first-hand interviews with 84 witnesses, including former Saydnaya guards and officials, detainees, judges and lawyers, as well as national and international experts on detention in Syria, is the second study Amnesty has published about the prison. In August 2016, Amnesty, in collaboration with Goldsmiths, University of London, pieced together an interactive digital model of the prison, part of a wider study on the extrajudicial killings by the Syrian government. Saydnaya is the end of life, the end of humanity," a guard told Amnesty's researchers. No response from Syria The rights organization asked the Syrian government to respond to allegations contained in the report, but received no response. VOA also emailed the Syrian Foreign Ministry, but to no avail. The report reveals a routine of mass extrajudicial executions by hanging. Detainees included doctors, lawyers, activists, engineers and humanitarian workers, says Amnesty. Besides the hangings, Amnesty says, Large numbers of detainees have also been killed as a result of the authorities' extermination policies, which include repeated torture and the systematic deprivation of food, water, medicine and medical care. Judge interviewed One of the judges interviewed by Amnesty recalled the actual killing process inside the execution room in the prison's white building, one of Saydnaya's two main blocks. "They kept them there [hanging] for 10 to 15 minutes. Some didn't die because they are light. For the young ones, their weight wouldn't kill them. The officers' assistants would pull them down and break their necks, he said. Before detainees are hanged, they are condemned to death at the Military Field Court. The trials last between one and three minutes. On the day the prison authorities carry out the hangings, which they refer to as the party, they collect the victims from their cells in the prison's red building. The detainees are told that they will be transferred to a civilian prison. Instead, they are brought to a cell in the basement of the red building, where they are severely beaten over the course of two or three hours, Amnesty claims. In the middle of the night, they are blindfolded and transferred in delivery trucks or minibuses to the white building. This takes place once or twice a week, and on each occasion between 20 and 50 people are hanged to death, Amnesty alleges. Silence is enforced The rights organization said prison inmates are regularly tortured, through severe beatings and sexual violence. They are denied adequate food, water, medicine, medical care and sanitation, which has led to the rampant spread of infection and disease. Silence is enforced, even during torture sessions. Many detainees develop serious mental illnesses such as psychosis, the researchers say. Omar, a high-school student when he was arrested, shared an experience with Amnesty, "The guard would ask everyone to take off all their clothes and go to the bathroom one by one... they would select one of the boys ...They would ask him to stand with his face to the door and close his eyes. They would then ask a bigger prisoner to rape him...No one will admit this happened to them, but it happened so often...Sometimes psychological pain is worse than physical pain, and the people who were forced to do this were never the same again." 'A monstrous campaign' The horrors depicted in this report reveal a hidden, monstrous campaign, authorized at the highest levels of the Syrian government, aimed at crushing any form of dissent within the Syrian population, said Lynn Maalouf, deputy director for research at Amnesty International's regional office in Beirut. She added, The upcoming Syria peace talks in Geneva cannot ignore these findings. Ending these atrocities in Syrian government prisons must be put on the agenda. The U.N. must immediately carry out an independent investigation into the crimes being committed at Saydnaya and demand access for independent monitors to all places of detention. Norman Rockwell's most celebrated series of paintings is embarking on a multi-year tour across the U.S. and to Europe. The exhibit titled "Enduring Ideals: Rockwell, Roosevelt and the Four Freedoms" opens June 2018 at the New York Historical Society and ends with a five-month run starting June 2020 at the Memorial de Caen museum in France. The exhibit features Rockwell's works "Freedom of Speech,'' "Freedom from Fear,'' "Freedom from Want,'' and "Freedom to Worship,'' inspired by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt's 1941 State of the Union address. It will also appear in Dearborn, Michigan; Washington, D.C.; Stockbridge, Massachusetts; Houston, Texas; and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Norman Rockwell Museum says the works rallied the public behind the war effort and the exhibit "demonstrates the power of illustration to communicate ideas and inspire change.'' A week-long surge in violence in and around the government-held town of Avdiyivka in eastern Ukraine appeared to be winding down on Monday, as schools reopened and power and water supplies resumed following the worst clashes in months. Last week aid agencies warned of a looming humanitarian crisis after heavy shelling between Ukrainian troops and pro-Russia separatists cut off power and water supplies to tens of thousands on both sides of the front line. A decrease in fighting around Avdiyivka on Sunday allowed emergency repairs to downed power lines and its around 20,000 residents were able to turn their lights on for the first time in a week. On Monday, the State Emergency Service said water supplies had also been restored to the town, but not to all its surrounding villages. "We've got some breathing space," said Musa Magomedov, the head of the Avdiyivka Coking Plant, which also provides heat for the town and had to severely limit supplies due to the lack of power. In a post on Facebook, he said there was not yet enough electricity to run the plant at full capacity, which could be a problem if winter temperatures fall far below freezing again. The head of the Ukraine-controlled Donetsk regional administration, Pavlo Zhebrivsky, said all schools had reopened in Avdiyivka and over 500 children had turned up to study. "Things appear to be going back to normal. Thankfully the shelling stopped. We hope for peace," teacher Natalia Dudnik told Reuters at the town's school No. 7. Last week the flare-up in hostilities and desperate situation for civilians brought global attention back to the conflict, which has seen periodic surges in violence despite a peace agreement signed in February 2015. The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, which monitors the implementation of the ceasefire, welcomed the repair work to Avdiyivka's power lines as well as those to a water filtration plant in separatist-held territory, which had also been damaged in the most recent fighting. "Water is running again. Much more to be done. Guns need to remain silent now," the OSCE's special monitoring mission said in a post on Twitter. While shelling has eased around Avdiyivka, the Ukrainian military on Monday reported attacks by separatists on other parts of the front line in the past 24 hours. Russia-backed separatists also accused Ukrainian forces of firing heavy weapons in violation of the peace agreement, separatist website DAN reported. Over 40 people were killed in government- and separatist-held territory in last week's escalation, adding to the close to 10,000 killed since the conflict erupted in April 2014. PM Modi mocked Rahul Gandhi for his "main bolunga to bhukamp aa jayega" remark, which the Congress leader made during the Winter Session of Parliament. By India Today Web Desk: Speaking in the Lok Sabha while replying to Motion of thanks to President's address, Prime Minister Narendra Modi today took a dig at Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi and the Opposition. PM Modi mocked Rahul Gandhi for his "main bolunga to bhukamp aa jayega" remark, which the Congress leader made during the Winter Session of Parliament while leading the Opposition's war against PM Modi's November 8 demonetisation move. advertisement "Kal bhukamp aa hi gaya. Main soch raha tha dhamki to kaafi din pehle di gayi thi. The reason for last night's earthquake was that dharti maa was upset," PM Modi said triggering a laughter from his MPs in the House. "Yesterday, there was an earthquake in Uttarakhand. The government is extending all help to the state. We will cooperate fully with the state. Relief teams have already reached there," he added. The PM was referring to Rahul Gandhi's statement on December 9, 2016 remark. "The government is running from debate. If they allow me to speak then you will see what an earthquake will come," the Congress vice president had said. "When can you have an operation? When the body is healthy. The economy was doing well and our decision was taken at the right time. Every single thing on demonetisation has been recorded. Everything is available to tax officials at their fingertips. Like Swachh Bharat, the decision on demonetisation is a movement to clean India (from corruption and black money)," Modi said countering Opposition's charge on note ban. The PM also took out Leader of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge's 'not even a dog from your house died for the nation' remark. "There are many people like me, who could not die for the nation during freedom struggle but we are living for India and serving India. When even Congress was not born, Indian fought for their independence. We do not belong to dog culture. But lotus was even then and even today," PM Modi said attacking Kharge for his statement. CONGRESS RESPONDS TO PM'S SWIPE AT RAHUL The Congress responded to Modi's swipe at Rahul Gandhi tweeting that the PM Minister is "using a natural calamity, like earthquake, to make a political point shows the depths to which he will descend to." PM Modi using a natural calamity, like earthquake, to make a political point shows the depths to which he will descend to. INC India (@INCIndia) February 7, 2017 ALSO READ: Gandhis died for the nation... Not even a dog from your house: Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge's outburst in Parliament Modi's quake vs Rahul's quake: Decide the winner WATCH NOW --- ENDS --- The Ukrainian central bank is stepping up efforts to edge Russian state-owned commercial banks out of the local market, though that process should be gradual to avoid disruptions, one of its deputy chiefs said Tuesday. Five Russian state-owned banks operate in Ukraine, including three in the top 20, and they hold a combined market share of 8.6 percent. The central bank has sought to cut that following a breakdown in bilateral relations in 2014 because of Moscow's annexation of Crimea and support for pro-Russian separatists. "We want them to leave our market painlessly," deputy chief Kateryna Rozhkova told journalists. "There are two options: Either find a new owner or gradually reduce your presence." Two of the Russian banks, VEB and VTB, are already in talks to sell their Ukrainian subsidiaries, and Rozhkova said the central bank expected progress by the end of the first quarter. The three others are Sberbank and subsidiaries of Kremlin-owned BM Bank and VS Bank. In 2014, the central bank introduced restrictions on the five banks, banning them from increasing their assets and deposits. This resulted in their market share falling by half. A recent deadly escalation in Ukraine's nearly three-year-old separatist conflict prompted a few dozen protesters to gather outside a branch of Sberbank in Kyiv, demanding that it stop operating in the country. But Rozhkova said it was not in Ukraine's interests for the banks to close abruptly. Together, they hold 22 billion hryvnias ($815 million) in Ukrainian consumer deposits and 16 billion hryvnias in business deposits. The central bank is formulating a scheme to transfer loans owed to these banks by Ukrainian companies elsewhere, she said. She said central bank experts had found no evidence that the banks financed separatists in eastern Ukraine, as claimed by some Ukrainian politicians. The United Nations says the so-called Islamic State terror group has not been able to withstand sustained military pressure in several conflict zones at once and is on the defensive. In its biannual report on the state of IS and al-Qaida, the U.N. says recruitment of foreign terrorist fighters to IS in Iraq and Syria has slowed considerably and fighters are increasingly leaving the battlefield. Islamic State's finances are also on the decline, forcing it to operate on a crisis budget, and the territory it holds has shrunk significantly. ISIL is adapting in several ways to military pressure, U.N. political chief Jeffrey Feltman told the Security Council in a briefing Tuesday, using one of the acronyms by which the terrorists are known. He said the group is resorting to increasingly covert communication and recruitment methods, including by using the dark web, encryption and messengers." He said while income and territory are on the decline, ISIL still appears to have sufficient funds to continue fighting, and the U.N. report warns the threat to the aviation sector remains high, citing recent attacks on airports in Belgium and Turkey. Returning fighters a concern The report also warns of threats to countries where their nationals who have fought with IS return home, saying that they will present a significant threat if they eventually return, given that most are staunchly committed to ISIL ideology. The current U.N. report focuses on the group's presence in Europe, North Africa and West Africa. In Libya, a military offensive succeeded in dislodging IS from its stronghold in the city of Sirte, one of its most important bases outside of Syria and Iraq. Feltman, however, cautioned that the group's threat to Libya and its neighbors continues, noting that IS still has between several hundred and 3,000 fighters in Libya and they have moved to other parts of the country. No 'large-scale attacks' in Western Europe The United Nations says IS has also increased its presence in West Africa and the Maghreb, and its affiliate Boko Haram, which has several thousand fighters, remains a serious threat. In 2014, IS said it would carry out attacks in Europe and the United States in retribution for airstrikes against the group. Some of these attacks were directed and facilitated by ISIL personnel, while others were enabled by ISIL providing guidance or assistance or were inspired through its propaganda, Feltman said. Since the last U.N. report on IS four months ago, it notes that terrorists have not carried out any complex, large-scale attacks in western Europe. It speculates that this may be due to several factors, including the pressure on its resources in multiple conflict zones, increased difficulty for their fighters to travel from battlefields to Europe, and large-scale police and security measures in multiple countries that have disrupted plots and terror cells across Europe. The report cautions member states currently assess the threat of large-scale attacks remains, and says one state has warned that not all of the IS operatives believed to have been sent to Europe to carry out the Paris (November 2015) and Brussels (March 2016) attacks have been identified and arrested. Vulnerabilities The U.N. says that while countries have improved their information sharing and cooperation in addressing terrorism and curbing the travel and transit of fighters, and cracked down on terrorist financing, more needs to be done. Gaps must be addressed in global screening efforts to stem the travel of foreign fighters. Designing and implementing border management strategies is also a challenge for many countries, the U.N. report says. One measure, requiring airlines to provide advance passenger information, has only been implemented in 56 countries, including just a handful in Europe. The United Nations is working with 78 countries identified as the most affected by foreign terrorist fighters to help them get this system up and running. The U.N. report also notes that some countries have expanded the passenger information to include cruise ships and other ocean traffic, but there is no regulation that requires this and leaves open a significant vulnerability. Travel ban suspended U.S. President Donald Trump recently ordered a 90-day ban on citizens from Libya, Sudan, Somalia, Yemen, Syria, Iran and Iraq entering the United States while stricter border security measures are studied; but, the ban is suspended while it is being challenged in court. As we consider what more we can do to check and roll back ISIL, the U.N.'s Feltman said, we must also step up efforts to prevent and resolve violent conflicts that both drive and are made worse by terrorism. He said ultimately, it would be the spread and consolidation of peace, security, development and human rights that would most effectively stamp out terrorism at its roots. A U.S. appeals court in San Francisco says it will rule "as soon as possible" on whether a federal judge had the legal grounds to suspend President Donald Trump's ban last month on immigration from seven Muslim majority countries. A lawyer for the U.S. Justice Department and an attorney representing the states of Washington and Minnesota, which are suing to stop the ban, presented their arguments by telephone before a three-judge appellate panel Tuesday. U.S. attorney August Flentje said Trump's executive order was well within his power granted by Congress and the Constitution, letting him set "adequate standards" in screening would-be travelers to the U.S. who need visas. He pointed out that Congress and the former Obama administration determined that the seven countries named in the order - Somalia, Sudan, Iran, Iraq, Libya, Syria and Yemen - were of concern to authorities because they pose a risk of terrorism or give terrorists a safe haven. Flentje said a number of Somalis arrested in the U.S. have ties to al-Shabab terrorists. The U.S. attorney acknowledged that the case has moved too fast to give the government enough time to provide all the evidence to support Trump's order. But he said the Washington state federal district judge's order last week putting it on hold was "over-broad" and overrode presidential authority. Washington state Solicitor General Noah Purcell told the appeals court the Trump administration wants to reinstate the travel ban without a full judicial review, throwing the country "back into chaos." When questioned what harm the travel ban has done to Washington state residents, Purcell said it separated families, stranded students overseas, and left people in doubt about whether they should travel because of the uncertainty of whether they could come back. When challenged about whether the travel ban discriminated against Muslims because the vast majority are unaffected, Purcell argued that not every Muslim has to be hurt for it to be unconstitutional. He told the judges the president's order was designed in part to harm Muslims, noting that Trump called for a total ban on Muslim immigration during his campaign. Other States File Briefs Attorneys general in 15 other states have filed briefs in support of Washington and Minnesota. The American Civil Liberties Union, nearly 100 corporations, and a group of Democrats that includes former Secretaries of State John Kerry and Madeleine Albright, also filed briefs. All sides expect the issue to wind up before the Supreme Court. U.S. District Court Judge James Robart's decision Friday suspending Trump's executive order has the president fuming. "I actually can't believe that we're having to fight to protect the security, in a court system, to protect the security of our nation," Trump said Tuesday. He earlier tweeted that Robart is a "so-called judge" and that the American people should blame him and the court system if "something happens." Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly defended the ban. He took responsibility for its unwieldy rollout and mass confusion over who was covered by the ban and who should be allowed to enter the U.S. He told the House Homeland Security Committee there was a lack of communication with Congress and that the travel ban should have been delayed "just a bit." But he defended it against Democratic critics who call it a ban on Muslims, saying the terror risk, not religion, was the key factor in the president's order. "It's not being done because they're Muslim countries," Kelly testified. "It's being done because we don't trust their vetting or their information." Kelly characterized the ban as a needed pause in immigration from countries where conditions on the ground prevented the U.S. from adequately vetting applicants. The new Homeland Security secretary told members of Congress that while he respects the decisions of the judicial branch, he approaches the issue of border security from a different perspective. "In their courtrooms they're protected by people like me. So they can have those discussions and if something bad happens from letting people in, they don't come to the judge and ask about his ruling, they come to people like me." If the case eventually goes to the Supreme Court, the nation's highest judicial body, one analyst told VOA there are rulings from the past that could support Trump's policy. New York-based attorney Dan McLaughlin, told VOA Persians New Horizon show "The Supreme Court has held for a long time that Congress has nearly unlimited authority in deciding who can enter the country an authority that includes excluding people from particular countries, as it did with Chinese immigration in the 1880s. McLaughlin said, Because the president is relying on an authority delegated to him by Congress, he has a broad authority to act on immigration within the law, whether you think his policy is wise or not." But he added that Trumps prominent advocacy of a U.S. ban on all immigration by Muslims could come back to weaken his case before the Supreme Court. "Theres no question that the president has a legacy of comments that are going to make it more difficult for him to defend [his executive order on immigration in court and the public," McLaughlin said. VOA's Katherine Gypson , Mohammad Manzarpour, Parisa Farhadi contributed to this report. Some material in this report from AP. Any move to tear up the North American Free Trade Agreement would devastate the economies of members Canada, Mexico and the United States, the head of an influential U.S. business group said Monday. U.S. President Donald Trump, who says NAFTA has been a disaster for American workers, wants to renegotiate the deal and says he is prepared to walk away if he does not get the changes he wants. Thomas Donohue, president and chief executive officer of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, said Canada and Mexico were America's two top export markets. "Withdrawing from NAFTA would be devastating for the workers, businesses and economies of our countries," he told a business audience in the Canadian capital Ottawa. "Beneath all the debates, arguments, and attention-grabbing headlines, I think our leaders across the board understand this," said Donohue, who was due to meet Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau later in the day. Canada and Mexico both send the bulk of their exports to the United States and would suffer badly if NAFTA were ripped up. Since Trump won the election, senior Canadian officials have stressed to their U.S. counterparts how closely linked the two economies are. Trudeau also is fond of noting that 9 million U.S. jobs rely on exports to Canada, a point that Donohue repeated. "First, let's do no harm. Let's preserve, protect, and advance the robust trade that supports both of our economies and millions of our workers," he said. Donohue, who did not criticize Trump, said it was crucial for the United States to keep NAFTA as a single agreement rather than negotiating bilateral deals with Canada and Mexico. "To address areas open for modernization or improvement, we would insist on doing it in a way that doesn't disrupt the $1.3 trillion worth of trade that depends on NAFTA," he said. Perrin Beatty, who heads the Canadian chamber of commerce, noted that Trump had promised to boost employment. "You don't create jobs by dismantling a relationship that works well," he told reporters after the speech. The United States granted El Salvador $98 million on Monday, as part of a plan to combat lawlessness and corruption and diminish the flow of migrants heading north. The funds, which were approved by the U.S. Congress in 2015, will be used to prioritize security and development strategies in 50 impoverished areas of the Central American country, which is plagued by drug gangs. The money will also be earmarked to strengthen government institutions such as the attorney general's office, which leads the country's fight against corruption, Salvadoran Foreign Minister Hugo Martinez told a news conference. "These additional funds support the country in addressing the root causes of irregular migration, such as insecurity, lack of economic and educational opportunities, and family disintegration," said U.S. ambassador Jean Manes. In 2016, El Salvador reported 5,278 homicides, or 81.7 homicides per 100,000 inhabitants, one of the highest murder rates in the world. The "Plan of the Alliance for Prosperity in the Northern Triangle" aims to boost economic growth in El Salvador, Honduras, and Guatemala and was drawn up after a wave of Central American migrants flocked to the southern U.S. border in 2014. Former and current employees of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency expressed opposition to President Donald Trump's pick to run the agency on Monday - in an open letter and a small street protest - reflecting divisions over the new administration's plans to slash regulation. Over 400 former EPA staff members sent a letter to the U.S. Senate asking it to reject the nomination of Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt as the agency's new leader, saying "he has shown no interest in enforcing environmental laws." In Chicago, around 30 employees of the EPA's regional office there joined a protest organized by the Sierra Club environmental group and the American Federation of Government Employees to protest Pruitt's nomination. Doug Eriksen, a spokesman for Trump's transition team at the EPA, downplayed the Chicago protest, saying "employees have a right to take action on their private time." Trump has vowed to cut regulation to revive the oil, gas and coal industries, and has said he can do so without compromising air and water quality. He nominated Pruitt, who has sued the EPA more than a dozen times as Oklahoma's top prosecutor to block its regulations, to run the agency, sparking alarm among Democrats and environmentalists. Last Thursday, the Senate environment committee approved Pruitt despite a boycott of his nomination by the panel's Democratic members. He is expected to be confirmed by the full Senate, in Republican control after last November's election, but a date for the vote has not been set. The former EPA employees who sent the letter to the Senate wrote that they believed Pruitt has a history of siding with industry and has been reluctant to accept "the strong scientific consensus on climate change." Employees at the Chicago rally raised concerns that Pruitt may cut employees and resources needed for the agency to enforce environmental regulations. "The EPA needs to be able to enforce the rules when companies are breaking the law," said Sherry Estes, an EPA lawyer who participated in the protest. A U.S. federal appeals court is due to hear oral arguments Tuesday in the legal battle over President Donald Trump's executive order suspending the country's refugee admissions program and banning entry to people from seven Muslim majority nations. A brief filed by the Justice Department defends the ban as a "lawful exercise of the president's authority over the entry of aliens into the United States and the admission of refugees." It calls a federal judge's order suspending the ban an error and "vastly overbroad." The states of Washington and Minnesota are the plaintiffs in the case. Court filings supporting them have come from attorneys general from 15 other states, the American Civil Liberties Union and a group of nearly 100 companies, while a number of companies have submitted briefs in support of the ban. Two former secretaries of state, John Kerry and Madeleine Albright, say the executive order was "ill-conceived, poorly implemented and ill-explained." "We view the order as one that ultimately undermines the national security of the United States rather than making us safer," they wrote, in contrast to Trump's arguments that the ban would enhance national security. The case is likely to end up before the U.S. Supreme Court. Watch video report from VOA's Masood Farivar: In Trumps favor One analyst, New York-based attorney Dan McLaughlin, told VOA Persian's New Horizon show that the top U.S. court has a history of rulings that could be favorable to Trump's case, if it gets that far. "The Supreme Court has held for a long time that Congress has nearly unlimited authority in deciding who can enter the country an authority that includes excluding people from particular countries, as it did with Chinese immigrations in the 1880s," said McLaughlin, also a columnist for the conservative news site National Review. "Because the president is relying on an authority delegated to him by Congress, he has a broad authority to act on immigration within the law, whether you think his policy is wise or not." But McLaughlin also said Trump's past advocacy of a U.S. ban on Muslim immigration when he was running for the presidency could come back to hurt him with the Supreme Court. "There's no question that the president has a legacy of comments that are going to make it more difficult for him to defend [his executive order on immigration] in court and the public," he said. Welcome to America Last Friday, U.S. District Court Judge James Robart of Washington state temporarily blocked Trump's executive order, putting a hold on travel to the U.S. by refugees and others from the seven Muslim majority countries: Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen. After the judge's decision, the Customs and Border Protection Service started to allow travelers with valid visas to come to the U.S. One such visa holder from Iran, Behrouz Naderlouei, told VOA Persian's NewsHour program that he arrived at Los Angeles airport in California on Sunday after having been unable to make the trip from Abu Dhabi last week when the travel ban was in force. Speaking via Skype from California, he said the L.A. airport immigration officers were "very respectful," as they asked him and other Iranians who were on his flight to provide fingerprints and travel documents. "After receiving my passport, an officer smiled at me, and said Welcome to America'," Naderlouei told NewsHour. "The judge opens our country to potential terrorists and others that do not have our best interests at heart," Trump tweeted Sunday. "Bad people are very happy!" The president said he has ordered the Department of Homeland Security to check people entering the United States "very carefully," adding that the courts have made the job "very difficult." Vice President Mike Pence defended Trump's criticism of Robart, saying the president expresses himself in a "unique" way and the American people find it refreshing. But Senate Republican Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said on CNN he thought it was "best not to single out judges for criticism." A media watchdog group is suing to force President Donald Trump's pick to head the Environmental Protection Agency to release records detailing his communications with energy companies ahead of a Senate vote to confirm his nomination. The Center for Media and Democracy, represented by the American Civil Liberties Union, planned to file a lawsuit Tuesday in an Oklahoma court against that state's attorney general, Scott Pruitt, who is Trump's nominee to become the top U.S. environmental regulator. The group wants to force Pruitt to respond to more than four dozen open-records requests that have been filed as far back as January 2015 regarding emails between his office and energy companies. The media watchdog filed seven of those requests seeking access to more than 3,000 emails. The lawsuit accuses Pruitt of violating the state's Open Records Act by failing to release those emails to the public. "We are doing this because these emails should be released so that people can properly vet his record before the Senate votes to confirm him," said Nick Surgey, the center's director of research. Pruitt, 48, sued the agency he intends to run 14 times on behalf of Oklahoma to try to weaken or end key regulations, earning him strong support from energy companies and Republican lawmakers who accused the Obama administration's EPA of regulatory overreach. Panel's approval On Thursday, the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee approved Pruitt despite a boycott of his nomination by the panel's Democratic members. The full Senate, which is under Republican control, is expected to confirm him but has not set a date for the vote. The watchdog group's lawsuit calls on the court to stop Pruitt from denying access to requested public records and to prevent his office from destroying any documents relevant to the requests. Surgey said Pruitt was seemingly "unapologetic" during the confirmation hearings about his "strong relationships with Oklahoma's oil and gas companies" and that the public should be aware his ties to the types of companies he would need to regulate as EPA administrator. Pruitt's office was not immediately available for comment. Democratic Senator Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island, a member of the Senate panel that held Pruitt's hearing, accused the nominee of stonewalling the request for information about his relationships with industry. "I hope this lawsuit forces Attorney General Pruitt to stop the cover-up and disclose these emails immediately so the American people know what conflicts of interest this nominee has," Whitehouse said in a statement to Reuters. Welcome, welcome welcome! reads the digital arrivals display above Terminal 4 at New York's John F. Kennedy airport. In more than a dozen languages, the word is translated on a bright blue wall for all to see and read as soon as they exit customs and enter the United States for the first time. While the signage itself remains unchanged from less than two weeks ago, when President Donald Trump's ban on foreign nationals from seven Muslim-majority countries led to mass protests and confusion nationwide, JFK's international terminal has an entirely different demeanor Monday morning. After Trump's executive order was put to a halt by a federal judge on Friday, the week's first arriving international passengers slowly make their way through a quiet hallway. Among them are some (whose visas had not been revoked) from the seven affected nations Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen. Protesters are gone This time, there are no protests staged outside the terminal, no visible grouping of pro bono lawyers scuttling to assist in T4's Central Diner. The pale sky is visible through the terminal's dual-story glass panels, and birds can be heard chirping between intercom announcements. After a routine hour-and-a-half process through U.S. Customs and Border Protection, vetted families traveling from Dubai continue their journey toward the city. In a span of two minutes, a reunited family from India and a young couple from Jordan unaffected by the ban but instead by sheer distance embrace and burst into tears at the hallway's end. Sayeda, from Pakistan, is relieved to finally make it back to her second home not because she thought the initial ban might somehow be reinstated and expand beyond the initial list, but because the name listed on her ticket does not fully match that of her green card. Still, she says she understands Trump's intentions. Whatever he is doing, he's doing for his country, for the people who voted for him, she said. Not about my religion' Safwan Edris, a Syrian based in Dubai, has never been to New York. But his wife, Hajar, a stewardess from Morocco has, and it is her turn to play tour guide. We booked the flight two weeks ago on the 17th [of January], recalls Edris. "We saw the news. I couldn't come here, so we cancelled it. We kept waiting. But both Edris and Hajar, traveling with their baby daughter in a stroller, hardly consider themselves victims. The ban affects the refugees in Jordan, Edris says. They apply, wait two, three, four months, just waiting interview after interview after interview. They give them a date, then you can't go. They sold their houses, their cars, adds Hajar. These are the people being affected. Edris, whose father remains in Aleppo, admits he will probably never return to Syria, calling the crisis there an act of God. But New Yorkers, he believes, will be welcoming during their stay. I know the culture; I know the people, Edris says. It's not about my religion. It's politics. Liberty and justice Lindley Hanlon, a City University of New York film professor impersonating the Statue of Liberty, appears shortly before noon, and is immediately questioned by police. An officer tells Hanlon she can only welcome visitors, not protest in the arrivals hall. He concludes that a sign she unveils, with the words liberty and justice for all, falls into the latter category. This is the pledge of allegiance to the flag, Hanlon responds, not impressing the officer. But she complies, hiding her sign. Im trying to welcome people to our shores, as I've always done for 131 years, she says, referring to Lady Liberty's arrival in New York harbor in June of 1885. Perhaps even behind closed doors [foreigners] are being interrogated more fiercely, she remarks. "My feeling is, this was not a way to welcome people to America." Like thousands of New Yorkers over the past two weeks, Hanlon made the long commute to JFK to show continued support for the world's most vulnerable refugees. You plan on being here all day? I ask her. No, I'm going to beat the rush hour, Hanlon says. Burning passions over Donald Trump's presidency are taking a personal toll on both sides of the political divide. For Gayle McCormick, it is particularly wrenching: She has separated from her husband of 22 years. The retired California prison guard, a self-described "Democrat leaning toward socialist," was stunned when her husband casually mentioned during a lunch with friends last year that he planned to vote for Trump a revelation she described as a "deal breaker." "It totally undid me that he could vote for Trump," said McCormick, 73, who had not thought of leaving the conservative Republican before but felt "betrayed" by his support for Trump. "I felt like I had been fooling myself," she said. "It opened up areas between us I had not faced before. I realized how far I had gone in my life to accept things I would have never accepted when I was younger." Three months after the most divisive election in modern U.S. politics fractured families and upended relationships, a number of Americans say the emotional wounds are as raw as ever and show few signs of healing. The rancor has not dissipated as it has in the aftermath of other recent contentious U.S. elections. A Reuters/Ipsos opinion poll shows it has worsened, suggesting a widening of the gulf between Republicans and Democrats and a hardening of ideological positions that sociologists and political scientists say increases distrust in government and will make political compromise more difficult. The Reuters/Ipsos poll of 6,426 people, taken from Dec. 27 to Jan. 18, shows the number of respondents who argued with family and friends over politics jumped 6 percentage points from a pre-election poll at the height of the campaign in October, up to 39 percent from 33 percent. Sixteen percent said they have stopped talking to a family member or friend because of the election up marginally from 15 percent. That edged higher, to 22 percent, among those who voted for Democrat Hillary Clinton. Overall, 13 percent of respondents said they had ended a relationship with a family member or close friend over the election, compared to 12 percent in October. "It's been pretty rough for me," said Rob Brunello, 25, of Mayfield Heights, Ohio, a truck driver who faced a backlash from friends and family for backing Trump. "People couldn't believe Trump could beat Hillary. They are having a hard time adjusting to it," he said. The White House did not respond to a request for comment on the poll results. Amid the rancor, friendships bloom At the same time, many people reported their relationships have not suffered because of the election. The poll found about 40 percent had not argued with a family member or friend over the race. The election also enabled a significant number to forge new bonds 21 percent said they became friends with someone they did not know because of the election, though the poll question did not ask respondents to specify if the friendship was with someone from a different party. Sandi Corbin, a retiree in East Galesburg, Illinois, said she has visited some of the new friends she made because of their shared support for Clinton. "We talk all the time now," she said. "I would say that's a plus from the election." The election's fervor has spilled into the streets since Trump's inauguration on Jan. 20. Hundreds of thousands of people marched in protest on the day after Trump took office, and there have been demonstrations against a travel ban on visitors from seven Muslim-majority countries. Arguing over Trump has become a bitter reality for many Americans. "Once people found out I had voted for Trump, the stuff started flying," said William Lomey, 64, a retired cop in Philadelphia who no longer speaks with a friend he grew up with after they clashed on Facebook over the election. "I questioned him on a few things, he didn't like it, he blew up and left me a nasty message and we haven't talked since." He said his friend is gay and worries about Trump's sometimes demeaning campaign rhetoric about minority groups including Muslims, Hispanics, immigrants and the disabled. "I think people are getting too wound up," Lomey said. Sue Koren, 57, a Clinton supporter in Dayton, Ohio, said she can barely speak to her two Trump-backing sons and has unfriended "maybe about 50" people on Facebook who support the president. "Life is not what it was before the election," she said. "It's my anger, my frustration, my disbelief. They think our current president is a hero and I think he's a nut." George Ingmire, 48, a radio documentary producer in New Orleans, said he broke off a close relationship with an uncle who had helped him through his father's suicide because of his uncle's fervent support for Trump. "We had some back and forth and it just got really deep, really ugly," Ingmire said. "I don't see this ever being fixed." Facebook fights Many personal conflicts erupt on social media. In the Reuters/Ipsos poll, 17 percent said they had blocked a family member or close friend on social media because of the election, up 3 percentage points from October. LeShanda Loatman, 35, a black Republican real estate agent from Delaware, has severed ties on social media with former co-workers and old friends over their support for Trump and their criticism of the Black Lives Matter movement against violence and racism against blacks. "I haven't come across anybody who was openly belligerent about the election or Black Lives Matter movement when I was out in public. It's just on Facebook," said Loatman, who voted for Green Party candidate Jill Stein. Eventually, McCormick's husband changed his mind about Trump and wrote in former House of Representatives Speaker Newt Gingrich in November, but by that time she had decided to strike out on her own. While the couple plans to vacation together and will not get divorced "we're too old for that" she recently settled in her own place in Bellingham, Washington. "It really came down to the fact I needed to not be in a position where I had to argue my point of view 24/7. I didn't want to spend the rest of my life doing that," said McCormick, who ultimately cast a write-in vote for Democratic U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont. In St. Charles, Missouri, retired tour company operator Dennis Conner, who is a Trump supporter, says he has avoided confrontations with his brother, sister-in-law and brother-in-law, who were Clinton backers. His advice: "We don't have to talk about politics." The Gujarati vote is a major deciding factor is deciding factor for the 40-odd seat BMC, which the Sena fears BJP will be able to pocket. By Sahil Joshi: Hardik Patel, the firebrand leader of the Patel reservation movement in Gujarat, will campaign for the Shiv Sena for Mumbai's upcoming civic polls. Sena plans to get Patel to campaign party candidates in Mumbai's Gujarati dominated areas. Patel is scheduled to meet Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray at the latter's residence at noon today. After the meeting, he will address a rally in Mumbai's western suburbs. advertisement The Sena is taking on the BJP in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation elections for the first time after breaking off their 25-year alliance for local body polls. The party, which remains in alliance with the BJP at the centre and in the Maharashtra government, is worried about BJP's strong support among Mumbai's Gujaratis and wants to use Patel to counter the Amit Shah-led party. The Gujarati vote is a major deciding factor is deciding factor for the 40-odd seat BMC, which the Sena fears BJP will be able to pocket as the community strongly stood by BJP during the 2014 assembly elections in Mumbai. Hardik Patel has just returned to Gujarat after spending six months in Rajasthan. He was exiled from the state as a bail condition after being arrested under sedition charges. The charges were filed after a long, sometimes violent pro-Patel reservation agitation in Gujarat. Following his return to Gujarat, Patel has vowed to finish the BJP's dominance during Gujarat's upcoming Assembly election, set to be held later this year. --- ENDS --- Today the Voice of America airs the first installment of a four-part broadcast series, Boko Haram: Terror Unmasked, that provides an unprecedented look inside one of the worlds deadliest extremists groups. The series draws on 18 hours of raw video recorded by Boko Haram and obtained by VOA. The graphic videos capture rare, behind-the-scenes events in which Boko Haram militants commit multiple atrocities against Nigerian civilians as they held power across a vast swath of the country. A child is flogged in public. Purported drug users are executed with shots to the heart and head all in front of chanting crowds policed by gun-toting Boko Haram militia. VOA journalists spent months reviewing and translating the Boko Haram videos and traveled to northeast Nigeria to visit some of the locations. They also spoke with Nigerian military and government officials to assess claims that a new offensive has Boko Haram on the run. The series airs this week on VOAs Africa 54 and Straight Talk Africa TV programs, and on VOAs Hausa, Bambara, Somali and Swahili language service outlets. A multimedia version can be seen on the web at voanews.com. I believe we have an obligation to bring this story to the world, despite the often graphic nature of the video, said VOA Director Amanda Bennett. This VOA-produced series provides an exclusive look at the brutal impact this terror group has had on the region from an inside perspective. This entire series can be viewed here in English. Some international Fulbright fellows in the U.S. say they are worried about their ability to return to their studies if they travel home during a temporary travel ban the U.S. has issued. The only thing that helped me persevere through the notoriously harsh winter in Syracuse was the thought that I will be back home in February to see my family, said Ayman Idris, a Fulbright scholar at Syracuse University in New York who is from Sudan. Idris said he had hoped to attend his younger brothers graduation from medical school in Sudan on February 10. But he canceled his trip after the Trump administration on January 27 issued a temporary ban on travelers from seven Muslim-majority countries. Immigrants from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen as well as all refugees were temporarily barred by the order from entering the United States. American courts are now reviewing the action the Trump administration says is important for U.S. security in order to determine whether it is legal. It is unclear when courts will render a final verdict. Academic and study visas The order also affects students who are in the U.S. on temporary academic and study visas. They normally would be allowed to travel to their home country and re-enter the United States without restriction. Idris, who studies technology policy and management at Syracuse, said he had planned to join his family and watch my kid brother accomplish his lifelong dream of becoming a doctor. ... Now, thanks to President Trump, I only get to live that moment vicariously through the pictures taken by a shaky cellphone camera. The Fulbright program awards fellowships to nearly 4,000 international students each year. More than 370,000 Fulbrighters from more than 160 countries have participated since 1946 in the program sponsored by the U.S. Department of State. Samaneh Seifollahi, a Fulbright fellow from Iran who studies at the University of California-Davis, said the temporary ban has disrupted her Fulbright program. She said she was making contacts in her field of study natural resources, environmental policy and climate change -- and hoped to be granted a postdoctoral position at the University of California-Irvine with the best researchers in my major. Seifollahi said other students at University of California-Davis, where there are more than 35 Iranians, fear that new immigration policy might interrupt their studies and research in the U.S. Families of Fulbrights also have been affected. Some who planned to visit the U.S. have canceled their trips because they, too, say they are fearful of their ability to travel. Anxiety beyond the 7 countries And some Fulbright scholars from countries not included in the temporary travel ban have also expressed anxiety. Although Pakistan is not among the countries currently facing the immigration curbs, the recent statement by a White House official about possible inclusion of other countries has raised concerns among Pakistanis students, some of whom have to go back between the semesters to meet their families, said Waseem Abbasi, a Fulbright fellow at the University of Maryland. Abbasi referred to a statement by White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus, who said in a television interview, You can point to other countries that have similar problems like Pakistan and others, perhaps we need to take it further. International students from India also say they are concerned. A law firm specializing in immigration from India Madan and Saigal, a New York-based law firm has distributed a notice advising immigrants and students not to leave the United States to avoid being denied re-entry. Their advice applies to everyone, the statement said, not just to people from the seven countries on the list, their statement said. Community doctors at risk Simultaneously, the American Medical Association (AMA) wrote to Secretary of Homeland Security John Kelly to discuss its concerns about the temporary ban affecting international medical graduates (IMGs). IMGs are physicians who received their medical school education outside of the U.S. Many are foreigners who have been granted visas to train, practice or attend medical conferences in the U.S. The associations CEO, Dr. James Madara, wrote that 1-in-4 physicians in the United States are IMGs. Many communities, including rural and low-income areas, often have problems attracting physicians to meet their health care needs. To address these gaps in care, IMGs often fill these openings, Madara said. These physicians are licensed by the same stringent requirements applied to U.S. medical school graduates. There are reports indicating that this executive order is affecting both current and future physicians as well as medical students and residents who are providing much needed care to some of our most vulnerable patients, he added. The AMA has asked the Trump administration for guidance on the future of the visa program. High Court judge Justice Clement Phiri on Tuesday postponed the hearing on a bail application filed by Pastor Evan Mawarire to Wednesday to allow the state to respond to the clergymans freedom bid. According to the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR), the High Court was initially set to hear Pastor Mawarires bail application on Tuesday after his lawyer Harrison Nkomo of ZLHR filed the application on Monday. But Justice Phiri on Tuesday deferred hearing of the bail application to Wednesday to allow the state, represented by Edmore Nyazamba and Tapiwa Kasema of the National Prosecuting Authority, to file their response. In his application, Pastor Mawarire asked the High Court to allow him to pay $100 bail, to surrender his passport and to report to Zimbabwe Republic Police officers once a week on Fridays until the matter is finalized. Pastor Mawarire argued that there is no risk that he will abscond or commit other offences if granted bail. The clergyman had to petition the High Court for admission to bail after Harare magistrate, Elisha Singano, on Friday remanded him in custody after he dismissed an application filed by his lawyer challenging his placement on remand. Nkomo had asked Singano to release the clergyman after challenging the state's request to place him on remand. In his application, Nkomo argued that the arrest and detention of the clergyman was illegal, unlawful and violated his constitutional rights. He also argued that the charges pressed against Pastor Mawarire did not amount to an offence. But Singano dismissed Pastor Mawarires application and remanded him in custody to February 17, 2017. The magistrate advised Pastor Mawarires lawyer to approach the High Court for the determination of bail. Pastor Mawarire is facing charges of subverting a constitutional government as defined in Section 22 (2) (a) of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act Chapter 9:23. He faces up to 20 years in jail if found guilty. Last Thursday, the ZRP officers added more woes to Pastor Mawarire after they charged him with insulting the national flag in contravention of Section 6 of the Flag of Zimbabwe Act Chapter 10:10 and inciting public violence as defined in Section 36 of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act Chapter 9:23. Nearly 100 companies, two states, and two former U.S. secretaries of state have filed arguments against President Donald Trump's temporary ban on immigration from seven Muslim countries with the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco. A group of prominent Democrats, including former Secretaries of State John Kerry and Madeleine Albright, called for the court to continue blocking the ban Monday, arguing that it was "ill-conceived, poorly implemented, and ill-explained." "We view the order as one that ultimately undermines the national security of the United States rather than making us safer," they argued, in contrast to Trump's arguments the ban would enhance national security. In addition, 97 tech companies, including Silicon Valley giants Apple, Facebook, Google, Microsoft and Twitter, filed a legal brief late Sunday with the ninth circuit, supporting the lawsuit against the travel ban. Late last week, U.S. District Court Judge James Robart of Washington state temporarily blocked Trump's executive order temporarily halting travel to the U.S. by refugees and others from seven Muslim majority countries: Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen. On Sunday, the appeals court rejected the Trump administration's demand to reinstate the travel ban. Among others who have filed briefs in support of the lawsuit filed by Minnesota and Washington are the state of Hawaii, a group of lawyers, the Korematsu Center for law studies at the University of Washington, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), HIAS, and Americans United for Separation of Church and State. Any other interested parties have until late Monday to file briefs with the appeals court, which has jurisdiction over the western United States. The three-judge 9th circuit panel is expected to rule fairly quickly after the Monday deadline, after which the case will likely move on to the Supreme Court, according to legal analysts. Trump blames judge "The judge opens our country to potential terrorists and others that do not have our best interests at heart," Trump tweeted Sunday, referring to Robart. "Bad people are very happy!" In a follow-up tweet, the president said he has ordered the Department of Homeland Security to check people entering the United States "very carefully," adding that the courts have made the job "very difficult." Vice President Mike Pence defended Trumps criticism of Robart, saying the president expresses himself in a unique way and the American people find it refreshing. The judges action in this case about making a decision about American foreign policy and national security, its just very frustrating to the president, Pence told NBC's Meet the Press Sunday. But Senate Republican Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said on CNN he thought it was best not to single out judges for criticism." We all want to keep terrorists out of the United States, but we cant shut down travel. We certainly dont want our Muslim allies who fought with us in countries overseas not to be able to travel to the United States. We need to be careful about this," McConnell said. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, a Democrat from California, told NBC Sunday she would be willing to work on legislation to allow for a temporary suspension as long as we are honoring the Constitution. We always have to subject our vetting to scrutiny to see if its working, but doesn't mean we institute an unconstitutional, immoral ban on Muslims coming into the country, she said. After the judge's decision, the Customs and Border Protection Service started to allow travelers with valid visas to come to the U.S. But a Somali refugee said about 140 refugees whose resettlement in the United States was blocked by Trump's executive order were sent back to their refugee camp and it was unclear if or when they could travel. The group had been expected to settle in the United States this week, but was sent back to the Dadaab camp in eastern Kenya on Saturday from the International Organization for Migration transit center in Nairobi where they had been staying. Leading United Nations and humanitarian organizations have called for an end to female genital mutilation, a traditional practice that causes physical harm and extreme emotional trauma to tens of millions of girls and women around the world. Nearly 200 million girls and women are living with the traumatic consequences of female genital mutilation. The United Nations reports an additional three million girls, most under the age of 15, are mutilated every year. U.N. agencies report half of all women and girls have been cut in three countries Egypt, Ethiopia, and Indonesia. They add that the highest prevalence of FGM among girls ages 14 and under is found in Gambia, Mauritania and Indonesia. Adebisi Adebayo, program adviser to the U.N. Inter-African Committee on Traditional Practices, told VOA that female genital mutilation, which has no formal basis in religion, persists because of social and cultural pressure. "In some communities, it is a requirement for girls to pass into womanhood," Adebayo said. "It is a requirement for them to be eligible for marriage. In some communities, like in Kenya and I think also in Edu, which is in the southwestern part of Nigeria, a girl that is not cut is not marriageable. And that is when you find an adult lady willingly submitting herself to be cut." Adebayo said in some communities in Liberia and Sierra Leone, women who have not undergone this procedure will not be socially recognized. "If a woman is not cut, she has no say in society. She cannot belong to the highest women's group in the country," she said. "Women that are not cut will be made fun of and stigmatized. ... Families are so ashamed that they will do everything to enforce that." Female genital mutilation involves the partial or total removal of the external female genitalia for non-medical reasons. The procedure can cause severe bleeding, as well as problems urinating, infections, and even death. It also can create complications in childbirth and increases the risk of newborn deaths. FGM has usually been carried out by female circumcisers. In many places, however, health care providers perform FGM. Cristina Catherine Pallitto, a scientist and expert in FGM at WHO, said doctors often carry out this procedure in the mistaken belief that they are reducing harm. "They believe it is dangerous," she said. "They have heard the messages that there are health consequences and if it is done in unsterile conditions it does bring greater risk. However, we do argue that any kind of cutting and the medicalization of that in any sense is against their medical ethics and that the harms, definitely, outweigh the benefits." Making progress The U.N. Population Fund and U.N. Children's Fund have been supporting 17 countries in a Joint Program on Female Genital Mutilation since 2008. Alfonso Barraques, Director of the UNFPA Geneva Liaison Office, noted the program is achieving results and that last year, 2,906 communities across 15 countries and 10,080 families in Egypt have publicly declared that they were abandoning FGM. "We have seen in the program a rapid decline in the practice of FGM in places like Burkina Faso, Kenya, Liberia and Egypt, and in some regions of Ethiopia and Senegal as well," he said. Despite that, he noted that the problems "of political instability, fragility and insecurity" in some of these countries have affected the normal implementation of this program. As part of the Sustainable Development Goals, the United Nations has called for an end to FGM by 2030. For this to occur, U.N. officials have agreed that faster action is needed to build on the progress that has been made. They said this meant governments must enact and enforce laws and policies that "protect the rights of girls and women and prevent FGM," that those at risk have greater access to support services, and that families and communities take action and refuse to permit their girls to undergo the practice. Barraques noted that FGM is not just a woman's issue. Men also have an important role to play, he said. "It is important to get men and boys engaged in addressing the practice, in speaking up and in making their communities understand that FGM was harmful," he said. A U.S. federal appeals court is due to hear oral arguments Tuesday in the legal battle over President Donald Trump's executive order suspending the country's refugee admissions program and banning entry to people from seven Muslim majority nations. Speaking to the National Sherriff's Association at the White House Tuesday, the president did not predict the outcome of the hearing, but he acknowledged that it could be sent to the Supreme Court. "Hopefully it does not have to. It's common sense. You know some things are law and I'm all in favor of that. And some things are common sense. This is common sense," said the president. A brief filed by the Justice Department defends the ban as a "lawful exercise of the president's authority over the entry of aliens into the United States and the admission of refugees." It calls a federal judge's order suspending the ban an error and "vastly overbroad." WATCH: Trump defends travel ban Tuesday The states of Washington and Minnesota are the plaintiffs in the case. Court filings supporting them have come from attorneys general from 15 other states, the American Civil Liberties Union and a group of nearly 100 companies, while a number of companies have submitted briefs in support of the ban. Two former secretaries of state, John Kerry and Madeleine Albright, say the executive order was "ill-conceived, poorly implemented and ill-explained." "We view the order as one that ultimately undermines the national security of the United States rather than making us safer," they wrote, in contrast to Trump's arguments that the ban would enhance national security. Watch video report from VOA's Masood Farivar: In Trumps favor One analyst, New York-based attorney Dan McLaughlin, told VOA Persian's New Horizon show that the top U.S. court has a history of rulings that could be favorable to Trump's case, if it gets that far. "The Supreme Court has held for a long time that Congress has nearly unlimited authority in deciding who can enter the country an authority that includes excluding people from particular countries, as it did with Chinese immigrations in the 1880s," said McLaughlin, also a columnist for the conservative news site National Review. "Because the president is relying on an authority delegated to him by Congress, he has a broad authority to act on immigration within the law, whether you think his policy is wise or not." But McLaughlin also said Trump's past advocacy of a U.S. ban on Muslim immigration when he was running for the presidency could come back to hurt him with the Supreme Court. "There's no question that the president has a legacy of comments that are going to make it more difficult for him to defend [his executive order on immigration] in court and the public," he said. Welcome to America Last Friday, U.S. District Court Judge James Robart of Washington state temporarily blocked Trump's executive order, putting a hold on travel to the U.S. by refugees and others from the seven Muslim majority countries: Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen. After the judge's decision, the Customs and Border Protection Service started to allow travelers with valid visas to come to the U.S. One such visa holder from Iran, Behrouz Naderlouei, told VOA Persian's NewsHour program that he arrived at Los Angeles airport in California on Sunday after having been unable to make the trip from Abu Dhabi last week when the travel ban was in force. Speaking via Skype from California, he said the L.A. airport immigration officers were "very respectful," as they asked him and other Iranians who were on his flight to provide fingerprints and travel documents. "After receiving my passport, an officer smiled at me, and said Welcome to America'," Naderlouei told NewsHour. "The judge opens our country to potential terrorists and others that do not have our best interests at heart," Trump tweeted Sunday. "Bad people are very happy!" The president said he has ordered the Department of Homeland Security to check people entering the United States "very carefully," adding that the courts have made the job "very difficult." Vice President Mike Pence defended Trump's criticism of Robart, saying the president expresses himself in a "unique" way and the American people find it refreshing. But Senate Republican Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said on CNN he thought it was "best not to single out judges for criticism." Finally the telephone has rung and Gentiloni, after a long and nervous wait, managed to hear the voice of the new US President, Donald Trump. The thrust of the telephone call informs Palazzo Chigi [is] the historical friendship and collaboration between Italy and the US, in the context of Natos fundamental importance. However, the Italian communique omits one point that White House had made public: in the telephone call to Gentiloni, Trump has not only confirmed USs commitment within Nato, but has emphasized the importance of all Nato allies sharing the monetary burden of defense expenditure. By this he means that at the very least, all Nato allies contribute at least 2% of the GDP. In the case of Italy, this boils down to increasing expenditure from at least 55 million euro per day (which is the figure provided by Nato not the actual figure which is far higher) to 100 million euro per day. Gentiloni and Trump have pencilled in May for the G7, which will be presided by Italy. The meeting will take place at Taormina, a little more than 50 km from the US/Nato base at Sigonella and 100 km from Muos in Niscemi. These [represent] the strongholds of what, in the telephone call, is defined as collaboration between Europe and the United States for peace and stability. The American Atomic Scientists have confirmed what this may result in: the hand of the Clock of the Apocalypse, the symbolic timekeeper that in their bulletin indicates how many minutes we are away from the midnight of a nuclear way, has been moved forward: from 3 [minutes] to midnight in 2015 to 2.5 minutes to midnight in 2017. This represents higher level of alarm than the mid eighties, when tensions between the USA and the USSR were at their highest. In actual fact, this follows on from the strategy pursued by the Obama Administration which, with the putsch at Maidan Square, alighted a chain reaction that triggered a confrontation with Russia which spilled over to cover nuclear issues. This transformed Europe into the first line of attack for a new cold war, which some proclaim is even more dangerous than the last. What will Trump do? In his telephone call to the Ukrainian President Poroshenko communicates the White House he has said that we will work with Ukraine, Russia and other interested parties to help them and to re-establish peace along the borders. However he fails to clarify if Crimea does or does not fall within the borders of Ukraine. Crimea, which has now broken off, forming part of Russia once again. The US ambassador to the UN, Haley, has declared that US sanctions on Russia are still in force and has condemned aggressive Russian actions in East Ukraine. Yet this is the very place that Kievs troops, including the neo nazi battalions, armed and trained by the US and Nato, have resumed an offensive. At the same time, President Poroshenko has announced his intention to call a referendum for Ukraines membership in Nato. Even if Ukraine is already a de facto Nato member, Ukraines official entry into the Alliance would have an explosive effect on Russia. Meanwhile Great Britain makes its move: while their air-naval forces step up cooperation with the US, it sends into the Black Sea, right up to Russias borders, for the first time since the Cold War, one of its most advanced naval units, the Diamond destroyer (costing more than 1 billion sterling), heading a Nato task force and supported by 650 British soldiers participating in, what can be no better qualified as a drill in Ukraine. At the same time, Great Britain sends to Poland and Estonia 1,000 men - part of an assault unit; and to Romania, the Typhoon bomber fighters possessing double conventional capacity and nuclear capacity. Thus while Gentiloni talks with Trump about collaborating with the United States and Europe for peace and stability, the hand of the Clock is drawing closer to a nuclear midnight. By Press Trust of India: Kohima, Feb 7 (PTI) Nagaland Chief Minister T R Zeliang today said that border fencing by Myanmar government at Pangsha in Tuensang district of the state has been stopped with the intervention of the central government. The External Affairs Ministry had taken up the issue with the Myanmar government that has agreed and already stopped the border fencing in the area, Zeliang told a press conference here. advertisement He said though official communication has not yet been received, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval rang him up yesterday and informed him about this development. Detailed discussion on border fencing between the two countries would be held later, the chief minister said. Naga organisations like the Naga Students Federation, recently appealed to the Prime Minister to stop the works on the border fencing between India and Myanmar, saying that the people there are peace loving and have been rendering much effort to maintain peace and tranquillity along the area. The Nagas have a sizable population in Myanmar. Zeliang also revealed that a Naga summit of all the Naga people bordering Myanmar will be held soon. PTI NBS NN KUN --- ENDS --- Two weeks after his investiture, the Altantist Press continues with its work of disinformation and agitation against the new President of the United States of America. Trump and his new collaborators are multiplying declarations and gestures which are apparently contradictory, so that it is difficult to understand what is going on in Washington. The anti-Trump campaign The bad faith of the Atlantist Press can be verified for each of these four main themes. 1. Concerning the beginning of the dismantling of Obamacare (20 January), we are obliged to report that, contrary to what is being announced in the Atlantist Press, the underprivileged classes who should have benefited from this system have avoided it en masse. This form of social security turned out to be too expensive and too directive to attract them. Only the private companies who manage this system have been truly satisfied by it. 2. Concerning the prolongation of the Wall at the Mexican border (23 to 25 January), there is nothing xenophobic about it - the Secure Fence Act was signed by President George W. Bush, who began its construction. The work was continued by President Barack Obama with the support of the Mexican government of the time. Beyond the fashionable rhetoric about walls and bridges, reinforced border systems only work when the authorities of both sides agree to make them operational. They always fail when one of the parties opposes them. The interest of the United States is to control the entry of migrants, while the interest of Mexico is to prevent the import of weapons. None of that has changed. However, with the application of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), transnational companies have delocalised, from the United States to Mexico, not only non-qualified jobs (in conformity with the Marxist rule of the tendency of the rate of profit to fall (TRPF), but also qualified jobs which are performed by under-paid workers (social dumping). The appearance of these jobs has provoked a strong rural exodus, destructuring Mexican society, on the model of what happened in 19th century Europe. The transnational companies then lowered wages, plunging part of the Mexican population into poverty which now only dreams of being correctly paid in the United States itself. Since Donald Trump has announced that he intends to remove the US signature from the NAFTA agreement, things should return to normal in the years to come, and satisfy both Mexico and the United States [1]. 3. Concerning the abortion issue (23 January), President Trump has forbidden the payment of federal subsidies to specialised associations which receive funds from abroad. By doing so, he has warned those specific associations that they must choose between their social objective to help women in distress or being paid by George Soros to demonstrate against him as was the case on 21 January. This decree therefore has nothing to do with abortion, but with the prevention of a colour revolution. 4. Concerning the anti-immigration decrees (25 to 27 January), Donald Trump announced that he was going to apply the law - inherited from the Obama era in other words, to expel the 11 million illegal foreigners. He has suspended federal aid to those cities which announced that they would refuse to apply the law where will we get our cleaning ladies if we have to declare them? He specified that among these illegal immigrants, he would begin by expelling the 800,000 criminals who have been the object of criminal proceedings, in the United States, Mexico or elswhere. Besides this, in order to prevent the arrival of terrorists, he has suspended all the authorisations for immigration to the United States, and has placed a three-month ban on people from countries where it is impossible to verify their identity and their situation. He did not draw up the list of such countries himself, but referred to a previous text from President Obama. For example, here in Syria, there is no longer a US embassy or Consulate. From the point of view of the administrative police, it is therefore logical to put Syrians on this list. But this can only concern a minimal number of people. In 2015, only 145 Syrians managed to obtain the US green card. Aware of the numerous special cases which might arise, the Presidential decree allows all liberty to the State Department and Homeland Security to issue dispensations. The fact that the application of these decrees was sabotaged by civil servants opposed to President Trump, who applied them with brutality, does not make the President either a racist or an Islamophobe. The campaign led by the Atlantist Press against Donald Trump is therefore unfounded. To pretend that he has opened a war against Muslims, and to evoke publicly his possible destitution, even his assassination, is no longer simply bad faith its war propaganda. Donald Trumps objective Donald Trump was the first personality in the world to contest the official version of the attacks of 9/11, on television that very day. After having noted that the engineers who built the Twin Towers were now working for him, he declared on New Yorks Channel 9 that it was impossible that Boeings could have burst through the steel structures of the towers. He continued by stating that it was also impossible that Boeings could have caused the towers to collapse. He concluded by affirming that there had to be other factors of which we were as yet unaware. From that day on, Donald Trump has never ceased to resist the people who had committed those crimes. During his inaugural speech, he emphasised that this was not a passage of power between two administrations, but a restitution of power to United States citizens, who had been deprives of it [for sixteen years] [2]. During his electoral campaign, once again during the transitional period, and again since he took office, he has repeated that the imperial system of these last years has never benefited US citizens, but only a small clique of which Mrs. Clinton is the emblematic figure. He declared that the United States would no longer attempt to be the first, but the best. His slogans are - Make America great again and America first This 180 political turn has shaken a system which has been implemented over the last 16 years, and has its roots in the Cold War, which, in 1947, only the United States wanted. This system has gangrened numerous international institutions, such as NATO (Jens Stoltenberg and General Curtis Scaparrotti), the European Union (Federica Mogherini), and the United Nations (Jeffrey Feltman) [3]. If Donald Trump is to reach his objective, it will take years. Towards a peaceful dismantling of the United States Empire In two weeks, many things have begun, often in the greatest discretion. The booming declarations of President Trump and his team deliberately spread confusion and enabled him to ensure that the nominations of his collaborators were confirmed by a partially hostile Congress. We must understand that its a fight to the death between two systems that has just begun in Washington. Lets leave the Atlantist Press to comment on the often contradictory and incoherent statements by this one or that, and look at the facts on their own. Before anything else, Donald Trump made sure that he had control over the security apparatus. His first three nominations (National Security Advisor Michael Flynn, Secretary of Defense James Mattis and Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly) are three Generals who have contested the continuity of government since 2003 [4]. Next, he reformed the National Security Council to exclude the inter-army Chief of Staff and the director of the CIA [5] Even though the latter decree will probably be revised, it still has not been. Let us note in passing that we announced the intention of Donald Trump and General Flynn to eliminate the post of Director of National Intelligence [6]. However, this post has been maintained and Dan Coats has been nominated for it. It transpires that talk of its supression was a tactic to demonstrate that the presence of the Director of National Intelligence in the Council was enough to justify the exclusion of the Director of the CIA. The substitution of the word best for first leads to the engagement of partnerships with Russia and China, rather than a tentative to crush them. In order to hobble this policy, the friends of Mrs. Clinton and Mrs. Nuland have relaunched the war against the Donbass. The important losses they have experienced since the beginning of the conflict have led the Ukrainian army to withdraw and put paramilitary Nazi militia in the front line. The combats have inflicted heavy civilian casualities on the inhabitants of the new popular Republic. Simultaneously, in the Near East, they have managed to deliver tanks to the Syrian Kurds, as planned by the Obama administration. In order to resolve the Ukrainian conflict, Donald Trump is looking for a way to help to eject President Petro Porochenko. He therefore received at the White House the head of the opposition, Ioulia Tymochenko, even before he accepted a phone call from President Porochenko. In Syria and Iraq, Donald Trump has already begun operations in common with Russia, even thought his spokesperson denies it.The Russian Minister for Defence, who had imprudently revealed it, has ceased to say anything on the subject. Concerning Beijing, President Trump has put an end to US participation in the Trans-Pacific Treaty (TPP) - a treaty which had been conceived in order to inhibit China. During the period of transition, he received the second richest man in China, Jack Ma (the businessman who confirmed - No-one has stolen your jobs, you spend too much on war). We know that their discussions touched on the possible adhesion of Washington to the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB). If this were to be the case, the United States would agree to cooperate with China rather than hindering it. They would participate in the construction of two Silk Roads, which would make the wars in Donbass and Syria pointless. In matters of finance, President Trump has begun the dismantling of the Dodd-Frank law which attempted to resolve the crisis of 2008 by averting the brutal collapse of the major banks (too big to fail). Although this law has some positive aspects (its 2,300 pages long), it establishes a guardianship of the Treasury over the banks, which obviously hinders their development. Donald Trump is also apparently preparing to restore the distinction between deposit banks and investment banks (Glass-Steagall Act). Finally, the clean-up of international institutions has also begun. The new ambassador to the UNO, Nikki Haley, has requested an audit of the 16 peace-keeping missions. She has made it known that she intends to put an end to those which seem to be inefficient. From the point of view of the United Nations Charter, all such missions will be audited without exception. Indeed, the founders of the Organisation had not foreseen this type of military deployment (today, more than 100,000 men and women). The UNO was created to avert or resolve conflicts between states (never intra-state conflict). When two parties conclude a cease-fire, the Organisation may deploy observers in order to verify the respect of the agreement. But on the contrary, these peace-keeping operations are aimed at enforcing the respect of a solution imposed by the Security Council and refused by one of the two parties involved in the conflict - in reality, it is the continuation of colonialism. In practice, the presence of these forces only makes the conflict last longer, while their absence changes nothing. So the troops of the United Nations Interim Force (UNIFIL) deployed at the Israelo-Lebanese border, but only on Lebanese territory, do not prevent either Israeli military operations or military operations by the Lebanese Resistance, as we have already seen many times. They serve only to spy on the Lebanese on behalf of the Israelis, thus prolonging the conflict. In the same way, the troops of the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force, or UNDOF, deployed at the demarcation line in the Golan have been chased away by Al-Qaida, without that changing anything at all in the Israelo-Syrian conflict. Putting an end to this system means returning to the spirit and the letter of the Charter, renouncing colonial privileges, and pacifying the world. Behind the media controversy, the street demonstrations, and the confrontation between politicians, President Trump is holding his course. Thank you very much. (Applause.) Thank you, everybody. Thank you very much. Thank you very much. Thats so nice. A lot of spirit. Great spirit for this country. Thank you, all. We have tremendous spirit and I want to thank you. We had a wonderful election, didnt we? (Applause.) And I saw those numbers and you like me, and I like you. Thats the way it worked. (Laughter.) Im honored to be here today among so many of our really and truly great heroes. I want to begin by thanking General Votel and General Thomas for their distinguished leadership and service on behalf of our country. Very, very outstanding people. Id also like to thank General Dunford, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Thats big stuff, when you have the Chairman. Where is Joe, stand up for a second. This is one of the great people. (Applause.) Thank you. Also, Commander Vogel and everyone serving at MacDill Air Force Base. Quite a place. And were going to be loading it up with beautiful new planes and beautiful new equipment. Youve been lacking a little equipment. Were going to load it up. Youre going to get a lot of equipment. Believe me. (Applause.) So importantly, also, let me thank all of the coalition partners and their representatives assembled here today. We proudly very proudly stand with you, and we will be fighting for your security. Theyre fighting for our security and freedom. Let me recognize our great governor and a very good friend of mine, and somebody who endorsed me that makes him a better friend of mine. (Laughter.) You know, if they dont endorse, believe me, if youre ever in this position, its never quite the same, okay? (Laughter.) You can talk, but it never means the same. But this man is a great, great governor and has done a fantastic job Rick Scott, governor, stand up please. (Applause.) Thank you, Rick. Finally, on behalf of the entire nation, let me express our gratitude to all members and I mean all members of our military serving in the United States Central Command and the United States Special Operations Command. We salute the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, and Coast Guard, along with our civilian defense personnel, who are so important to the success of what were doing. Let me also recognize the military families and spouses who bravely shoulder the burdens of war. I want every military family in this country to know that our administration is at your service. We stand with you 100 percent. We will protect those who protect us, and we will never ever let you down. As your President, I have no higher duty than to protect the American people highest duty we have. I said it the other night. Great, great Supreme Court nominee you all saw that but I said to myself, perhaps the only thing more important to me definitely is the defense of our nation. The Supreme Court is so important, but we have to defend our nation. And we will do that, believe me. (Applause.) We will do that. And each and every one of you is central to that mission. The men and women serving at CENTCOM and SOCOM have poured out their hearts and souls for this country. They really experience things that very few people get to experience. Youve shed your blood across the continents and the oceans. Youve engaged the enemy on distant battlefields, toiled in the burning heat and bitter cold, and sacrificed everything so that we can remain safe and strong and free. Our administration will always honor our sacred bond to those who serve, and we will never ever forget you. Believe me, we will never ever forget you. We will ensure that the men and women of our military have the tools, equipment, resources, training, and supplies you need to get the job done. Youve seen me say weve been depleted. Our navy is at a point almost as low as World War I. Thats a long time ago. Thats a long time ago. Its not going to happen anymore, folks. Its not going to happen anymore not with me. But we will ensure no taxpayer dollars are wasted. I have already saved more than $700 million when I got involved in the negotiation on the F-35. You know about that. And I want to thank Lockheed Martin and I want to thank Boeing, and I want to thank all of the companies that have really opened up. And when I say opened up, Rick Scott understands this very well opened up and cut their prices. Okay? Because thats what they did. And weve got that program, its going to be back in really great shape from really being very troubled. And we are going to be taking care of our great veterans. We will make a historic financial investment in the Armed Forces of the United States and show the entire world that America stands with those who stand in defense of freedom. We have your back every hour, every day, now and always. That also means getting our allies to pay their fair share. Its been very unfair to us. We strongly support NATO. We only ask that all of the NATO members make their full and proper financial contributions to the NATO Alliance, which many of them have not been doing. Many of them have not been even close, and they have to do that. Central Command and Central [Special] Operations Command are at the very center of our fight against radical Islamic terrorism. America stands in awe of your courage. Those serving at CENTCOM have bravely fought across the theater of war in the Middle East, and bravely battled a vicious enemy that has no respect for human life. Today, we express our gratitude to everyone serving overseas, including all of our military personnel in Afghanistan. SOCOM has dispatched its legendary warriors to the most secret, sensitive and daring missions in defense of the United States of America. No enemy stands a chance against our Special Forces not even a chance. They dont have a chance, and thats the way were going to keep it. And youre going to be better off because youre going to have the finest equipment known to man. Going to be better off. For proof that our nation has been blessed by God, look no further than the men and women of the United States military. They are the greatest fighters and the greatest force of justice on the face of the Earth and that the world has ever known. The challenges facing our nation nevertheless are very large very, very large. Were up against an enemy that celebrates death and totally worships destruction youve seen that. ISIS is on a campaign of genocide, committing atrocities across the world. Radical Islamic terrorists are determined to strike our homeland as they did on 9/11; as they did from Boston to Orlando, to San Bernardino. And all across Europe, youve seen what happened in Paris and Nice. All over Europe its happening. Its gotten to a point where its not even being reported and, in many cases, the very, very dishonest press doesnt want to report it. They have their reasons and you understand that. So today, we deliver a message in one very unified voice: To these forces of death and destruction, America and its allies will defeat you. We will defeat them. We will defeat radical Islamic terrorism, and we will not allow it to take root in our country. Were not going to allow it. Youve been seeing whats been going on over the last few days. We need strong programs so that people that love us and want to love our country and will end up loving our country are allowed in not people that want to destroy us and destroy our country. (Applause.) Freedom, security and justice will prevail. In his first State of the Union message, President George Washington wrote that, "To be prepared for war is one of the most effectual means of preserving peace." Almost 200 years later, as the General was also speaking about Ronald Reagan, he said that wisdom comes in three very, very strong words: "Peace through strength." Ive said it many times during the campaign, speaking in front of tens of thousands of people at one sitting, and Id always mention America first a phrase that you probably never heard, "Make America Great Again." (Applause.) Anybody ever heard that? (Applause.) And peace through strength. The men and women of the United States military provide the strength to bring peace to our troubled, troubled times. We stand behind you. We support your mission. We love our country. We are loyal to our people. We respect our flag. We celebrate our traditions. We honor our heroes. You are our heroes. And we are prepared to fight. And we pray for peace. Thank you. God bless you, and God bless America. Thank you very much. Thank you. (Applause.) La Linea Mayor to Visit Chief Minister Tomorrow The Mayor of La Linea, Juan Franco, is calling on the Chief Minister, Fabian Picardo tomorrow morning. The meeting is being held to discuss the latest developments on Brexit and to explore ways of co-operation between Gibraltar and La Linea once the UK and Gibraltar leave the European Union. Both sides have indicated in the past that they consider frontier flexibility to be essential to maintain the number of jobs held by Campo Area workers on the Rock. The main trade unions on both sides of the frontier have indicated their support. Govt - Mr Feethams Legislation Allowed Isaac Marraches Parole Government has said it "notes with utter incredulity the GSDs latest attempt to distort facts in their attempt to score political points with regards to the Marrache case." "As the Leader of the Opposition and former Minister for Justice knows, or, certainly should know, this question of parole is a legal issue and it is entirely inappropriate for the GSD to politicize this legal case by way of press releases. It is clear that the GSD is just trying to whip up public sentiment against the Government using any potential excuse". "For its part, the Government considers the independence of Gibraltars excellent judicial system from politics is an absolutely guarantee of the rule of law and of utmost importance and it is to be expected and welcomed that a Supreme Court Judge should consider, and freely decide on, Ministers powers under statutes. As Mr Feetham well knows, parole matters in Gibraltar are regulated by the Prisons Act. In fact, it was Mr Feetham, in his former role as Minister for Justice, who introduced the Prisons Act and brought it into effect. It is therefore Mr Feetham's law that provides that a prisoner is eligible for parole after serving one third of a sentence. It is directly as a result of Mrs Feethams law that Isaac Marrache was eligible for parole after serving two years and four months out of his seven year sentence. It is accordingly the height of political hypocrisy for the architect of the law in question to lament a result that is a direct and natural consequence of his own actions and decisions whilst Justice Minister. It is no secret that the Minister for Justice, the Hon. Neil F Costa MP, has proposed in two separate interviews the need to urgently consider reform of Gibraltars sentencing laws and whether a prisoner should be required to serve a longer portion of a sentence before becoming eligible for parole. This is serious work, requiring mature and earnest consideration, by all relevant stakeholders, not least, the Executive, the Legislature, the Judiciary, the Bar Council, law-enforcement bodies and, naturally, the public. As the community is aware, it was under the laws enacted by Mr. Feetham, that the Parole Board advised that Mr Marrache be granted parole. Minister Costa was in disagreement with this decision and referred the matter back to the Parole Board. When the Parole Board confirmed its advice to release Mr. Marrache, the Minister for Justice referred the matter to the Supreme Court. When further evidence emerged that dealt with the Ministers concerns, Minister Costa was advised by Governments Queens Counsel and senior Crown Counsel, to withdraw his reference as the legal test in Mr. Feethams law had been met. Counsel advised the Justice Minister that the overriding constitutional right to liberty overrode all other considerations. There is no question of any lobbying of the Minister or of the Minister allowing himself to be lobbied by anyone. Minister Costa and the Supreme Court have a difference of views on whether the Justice Minister can withdraw his reference to the Supreme Court once this process is initiated. This procedural matter is being addressed through an appeal in Gibraltars Courts, which is the only proper venue for legal differences to be settled. If, as his comments seem to indicate, Mr Feetham fails to understand the concepts referred to, then the only person who should resign is him, as he would appear not to understand the effects of a law that he brought to Parliament himself! It will not have escaped the GSDs notice that the Supreme Court has confirmed the Ministers decision to give effect to the Parole Boards advice to release Mr Marrache on parole. Further, the Supreme Court has allowed parole on exactly the same conditions contained in Mr. Marraches license signed by the Minister, which were accepted by the Supreme Court as 'perfectly satisfactory'. " Minister for Justice, the Hon Neil F Costa MP, said: It is preposterous for Mr Feetham to insinuate that correct legal procedures have not been followed in this case. The procedures I followed were those contained in his law and if there is ambiguity arising from that law, it can only be because the law was poorly drafted by him. There is no other possible explanation. The outstanding issue is a technical, procedural one relating to a difference of opinion between the Government and its legal team and the Courts. I am not currently at liberty to make any further comments, as this technical point is being appealled, but I look forward to a timely conclusion and I will make a full statement at the end of the proceedings. Further, Mr. Feetham knows that I make every effort to provide the fullest possible answers in Parliament and he has even thanked me for this in the past. The fact of the matter is that Isaac Marrache has been released on parole because of a law that Mr. Feetham himself enacted and implemented. His hypocrisy in this case is astounding and unbecoming of a practising lawyer and Queens Counsel. I have made no secret of my views that Mr Feethams legislation should be reviewed to consider whether prisoners should serve more of their sentences before being eligible for parole and I am meeting with the Chief Justice on this issue to consider how best to proceed in this important and serious endeavour. Mr Feetham had his chance and failed. He should now allow others to correct his mistakes. Following President Trumps assertion on Monday that the media might be covering up terrorist attacks, Stephen Colbert hopped onboard the terrorist conspiracy train. The Late Show host delved into the medias refusal to cover the Bowling Green Massacre that never happened, but was made up by Trump adviser Kellyanne Conway to explain the executive order banning citizens from seven majority-Muslim nations from traveling to the United States. We all remember where we werent were when we didnt hear that nothing had happened, Colbert said about the nonexistent tragedy. The comedian, a self-professed Bowling Green massacre truther, pledged, My sacred promise to you: We will have more on this story when it doesnt develop. Chief Minister TR Zeliang speaking exclusively to India Today clarified that his government will continue to take steps to contain the situation. "We have taken a lot of steps because there are different organisations that have placed their demands that the women reservation act should not be implemented so we have given a lot of clarifications and have had series of meetings before we notified this election. But when the election was notified, there were lot of protests from lot of places and organisations in the state," explained Zeliang. Highlighting the timeline, Zeliang said, "In 2004, all municipal elections were held except Mokokchung. Rio became CM in 2003 and elections were held in 2004. In 2006, Rio ministry had enacted as directed by the court that Article 243T, Part IX A should be incorporated in the Nagaland Municipal Act. Accordingly he had taken it to assembly and it was incorporated in 2006. But that amended act was kept in the cold storage from 2006 to 2009. Election was already over in 2004 and during 2009 again, elections came and Naga Hoho protested against all the other groups." This is for the first time that the political leadership has got mired into controversies with reservation of women in the state. Chief Minister stressed, "Initially when this act was passed in the Parliament, there was no hesitation and when this act was amended in 2006 incorporating women reservation, there was no agitation or protest even while passing the bill in assembly. When election was to be held in 2010, the Naga Hoho started complaining and they went around the entire state to inform about the act." Zeliang questioned former chief minister Neiphiu Rio's discreet response on the issue. "Neiphiu Rio should have clarified his position to the people of Nagaland. Why this act was incorporated in 2006 which he has not done so far. He represents the people in Parliament in Lok Sabha. What is his opinion or what should be the stand of the state government. The act was passed during his regime and he should have raised this issue in the Parliament. But so far I have not seen or heard him raising the issue and people are against it." Interestingly, the amendments can be made by the state itself. Zeliang stated, "During the consultation meet in the Capital Convention on November 16, 2016, I had asked the Tribal Hoho for any amendments desired in the act, for any purpose will be welcomed and will be done to the effect if given in writing and will be discussed upon also. Land and Building Tax should be omitted was one of proposals and I had agreed to it. On the other hand, Angami representatives wanted to remove Scheduled Caste from the act because Nagaland does not have them in state. We considered that also in Assembly." Perturbed over the present situation, Zeliang and his ministry is now contemplating to write to the Prime Minister's Office to exempt Nagaland from the act. A judicial commission has been formed and inquiry is being made on who is funding the mass gatherings of people in various strategic locations in the state. Kiersten Miles donated a part of her liver to save a sick baby's life she met just three weeks ago, proving that guardian angels do exist. By India Today Web Desk: 16-month-old Talia from New Jersey was suffering from a terminal disease when she met Kiersten Miles, her babysitter who was hired to take care of her. A student at the University of Pennsylvania, 22-year-old Miles had met Talia and her family just three weeks before she decided to donate a part of her liver to the toddler. advertisement Talia's medical condition was so severe and fatal that doctors had declared that if she does not get an organ transplant, she might not be able to even live up to two. Miles wanted to help the toddler she had just met and decided to search for living organ donation procedures online. Miles was well informed that her blood group matched Talia's blood group as well, so she decided to be her guardian angel. She donated a part of her liver at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania in January. Miles was well informed about the consequences of the procedure. "I can never donate again," she said, even if she is a perfect match. "It's such a small sacrifice when you compare it to saving a life," Miles said. "Some of her doctors said she possibly wouldn't have made it past two years old. All I had to do was be in the hospital for a week and a 5-inch scar." "I didn't know that she was this selfless. I've come to find out that this is who she is," said, Farra Rosko, Talia's mother. In a world where people kill each other in the name of religion, money and borders, a selfless human like Kiersten Miles is surely an angel on earth and is truly an inspiration for all. Take a look: --- ENDS --- The University Center at McLennan Community College, in partnership with Tarleton State University, will host an information session about Tarletons educational administration/leadership graduate programs from 6 to 8 p.m. Wednesday in Room 205 of MCCs Michaelis Academic Center. The 6 to 7 p.m. session will provide information about an educational leadership degree program, while the 7 to 8 p.m. session will provide information about a master of educational administration with principal certification and superintendent certification program. For more information, call Russ Higham at 299-8838 or email higham@tarleton.edu. Library story times The Waco-McLennan County Library will present a Dental Health story-time program, for ages 3 to 6, at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday at the East Waco Library, 901 Elm Ave. Additional story-time programs will have a Happy Valentines theme as follows: 10:30 a.m. Wednesday at the West Waco Library, 5301 Bosque Blvd. 10:30 a.m. Thursday at the Central Library, 1717 Austin Ave. 10:30 a.m. Friday at the South Waco Library, 2737 S. 18th St. For more information, call 750-5942 or visit www.wacolibrary.org. A Matter of Balance Heart of Texas Area Agency on Aging will present a free A Matter of Balance class from 10 a.m. to noon Wednesday at Sparks Memorial United Methodist Church, 900 Maxfield St. in Bellmead. The award-winning program is geared to help senior adults manage falls and increase activity levels. The class will meet weekly for eight weeks. Advance registration is required. To register, call Jaylie Beckenhauer at 292-1855 or Evelyn Ross at 214-762-2558. Kiwanis Seniors Waco Kiwanis Seniors will meet at 9:30 a.m. Wednesday at Golden Corral, 618 N. Valley Mills Drive. Brandon Frenzel, associate pastor at First United Methodist Church of Waco, and Jim Baker, chairman of Men for Mission at FUMC, will talk about Haiti. Visitors and those interested in membership are welcome to attend. For more information, call Dick Rood at 399-0072. BAC Quilt Guild The Bosque Art Center Quilt Guild will meet at 7 p.m. Tuesday at the Bosque Arts Center, 215 S. College Hill Drive in Clifton. Nancy Pugh will present Does It Matter, discussing the quilting techniques that quilters stress over. Visitors are welcome to attend. For more information, visit www.bosqueartscenter.org. Submit items for Briefly in printed or typed form to Briefly, P.O. Box 2588, Waco 76702-2588; fax to 757-0302; or email to goingson@wacotrib.com. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott will head out of Austin on Thursday evening to speak in Waco. Abbott is the featured speaker at the McLennan County Republican Partys Lincoln-Reagan Dinner fundraiser at Knox Hall at the Texas Ranger Hall of Fame and Museum, 100 Texas Ranger Trail. More than 200 tickets already have been purchased for what organizers expect to be a sold-out event. Those interested in purchasing a $50 ticket for the dinner and program at 7 p.m. Thursday can contact the party headquarters at 772-6955. Jon R. Ker, McLennan County GOP chairman, said he hopes Abbott addresses how Texas fits in going forward with President Donald Trumps administration. Ker, a retired Army colonel and attorney, said topics could range from improvements to the economy to border security and education. Were going to have a full house, thats for sure, said Ker, who was elected to his post in March 2016. Abbott last week declared four emergency issues for lawmakers: banning so-called sanctuary cities places where local officials do not fully cooperate with federal immigration authorities overhauling the states child welfare system, implementing ethics reform and approving a resolution to support a convention of states to amend the U.S. Constitution. Abbott also recently released his budget for the 2018-19 biennium. Abbott highlights several parts of the budget on his website, including adding $500 million for reforming Child Protective Services; maintaining $800 million in funding for border security; $5 billion in additional road construction; and funding pre-kindergarten programs, the Governors University Research Initiative and disaster-relief programs, among others. Money raised through Abbotts visit will help keep the McLennan County Republic Party headquarters open and allow members to continue to host free events throughout the year, said Sarilee Ferguson, political consultant and party fundraiser organizer. Additional funds also help party members support local candidates each year, she said. We know hes very busy right now, especially with the Legislature in session, she said. Were very excited. Meanwhile, a group less thrilled about Abbotts policies and directions plans to stand outside the Texas Ranger Hall of Fame and Museum in hopes of being heard. Ignored by the system So often we feel completely ignored by the system, said Cheryl Foster, with the Centex Action Network. They only come and talk to people with money and they only come and talk to people who apparently vote for them, and they have to represent us all. The responses we get back from phone calls and texts and letters is just I dont feel like Im represented. The organization is a social justice group that recently formed, she said. The group is asking people to come signs in hand from 5 to 7 p.m. to be heard, she said. Foster said the list is long, referencing what policies or issues of Abbotts that the group opposes. I think sanctuary cities, and the bathroom bill, though thats more Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, but (Abbott) certainly hasnt bothered to stop it, Foster said. Lately, his actions with sanctuary cities, I know thats gotten people pretty riled up. ----- If you go When: Dinner and program at 7 p.m. Thursday at the Knox Hall at the Texas Ranger Hall of Fame and Museum, 100 Texas Ranger Trail in Waco. What: Fundraising dinner for the McLennan County Republican Party with featured speaker Gov. Greg Abbott. Cost: $50 per person. For more information, call 722-6955. Trump: Both sides I cant understand why anyone would address President Donald Trump as Liar in Chief, as one writer referred to him in a letter to the editor. It amazes me how many times President Obama lied and not just lied. He lied so many times and we all saw him telling the lie in front of the country. When he or any liberal was asked about it, they would say he misspoke. He not only lied but he continually lied about the same lie. His two terms were full of scandals and a lack of transparency. Then, of course, the Democratic presidential candidate running to succeed him, Hillary Clinton, offered voters a career and political life brimming with lies and coverups. No, Im not saying that President Trump isnt incapable of lying but Im sure he wont be like the liberals. Talk about the pot calling the kettle black! I hope the liberals dont let their children get away with lies like they did Hillary and Obama. Im hoping they make them tell the truth and not say, Oh, thats OK you just misspoke! Jerry Willett, Lorena n n n To Betty Orton and other blind Trump supporters: Donald Trump brings the criticism on himself. When a president puts forth a stupid immigration ban that doesnt even cover Saudi Arabia, the country that sent nearly all of the hijackers who wreaked death and destruction on our shores on 9/11, he deserves criticism and outrage. The evidence is strong that Russia played a role in rigging the election in Trumps favor. As a result of this and other issues, I can and will say that Trump is not my president. As Trump and Republicans destroy our country again by rolling back Dodd-Frank, the informed and educated must take a stand. For Trump supporters there is a meme that perfectly fits. Why doesnt Trump just lie about building a wall? His followers will believe him anyway! John Vickrey, Norman, Oklahoma n n n Thanks for the contrast between examples of courtesy and vitriol, maybe even between truth and fiction [letters from Betty Orton and Barbara Collier]. Im not sure these types of letters make the divide in the country worse, but examples of letters like Betty Ortons do help to inject a bit of sanity into the opinions. Hopefully somebody will show the Trib editorial board how to report news. Thanks, Betty. Rosemary Owen, Hewitt EDITORS NOTE: The letters above reference our running of opinions from both sides of the political equation in Saturdays letters to the editor. Pro-life argument Instead of bringing abortion back to Waco, we need to provide more services to help mothers in need. Telling a woman that she can either be successful or have a child is a failure on our part as a society. Abortion is brutal to both mother and child. Emily Archer, pro-life feminist, Richardson LINCOLN Robert K. Clements, who has a background in finance and deep roots in Cass County, was appointed Monday as the newest member of the Nebraska Legislature. Gov. Pete Ricketts announced the 66-year-old banker and actuary from Elmwood as his pick to replace former State Sen. Bill Kintner of Papillion. Clements will represent the 2nd Legislative District that covers all of Cass County and parts of Sarpy and Otoe Counties. Clements was not among the 35 people who applied for the seat. Ricketts said his staff made informal phone calls to find the best person and moved quickly so the district was represented while the Nebraska Legislature is in session. Clements came onto his radar last week, the governor said. The two did not know each other previously. Ricketts said his applicant pool wasnt limited to the people who applied, calling Clements the ideal choice given the states fiscal situation. With his experience, Im 100 percent comfortable with him being in that role, he said. Clements took the oath of office from Chief Justice Mike Heavican during a ceremony at the State Capitol on Monday. He was joined by his wife, Peggy, and other family members, including his parents, and a handful of state senators. Clements said he looks forward to learning a lot and thanked the governor for the opportunity to serve. I know the state is facing difficult budget decisions, but I believe my background and experience will be of service during this process, he said. He was unavailable for questions after the ceremony. Its unclear why Clements didnt apply for the job, though Ricketts suggested it may have taken someone else pointing out why hed be good for it. Nebraskans are humble people, Ricketts said. Asked about policy issues on which they might disagree, the governor said he and Clements talked more about the big picture, and that he expects there will be times they disagree. Clements was described by family and friends as a solid conservative and Christian who has a knack for numbers. He hasnt served in elective office but is a former Cass County GOP chairman. His son Andy is the county partys vice chair. Clements grew up in the home of author Bess Streeter Aldrich in Elmwood. He and Peggy Clements have been married for 44 years and were high school sweethearts, both graduating from Elmwood High School. Clements graduated in 1973 from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln as a math major, with minors in economics and actuarial science. After graduation, he worked as an actuary at Business Mens Assurance Co. in Kansas City, Missouri. In 1978 he returned to Elmwood to work at the American Exchange Bank, following his father and grandfather, who ran the bank. Clements is the executive vice president of the bank. His twin brother, Rick, is the president of American Exchange Bank. Clements son Andy is a bank officer. Hes very good at numbers, Peggy Clements said. Clements attends Victory Church in north Omaha, said his son Tom. He serves as president of the Bess Streeter Aldrich Foundation, is a member of the Sons of the American Legion and is an alumnus of the Cornhusker Marching Band. He plays the trumpet. Rob and Peggy Clements have five grown children and 10 grandchildren, with another on the way. Clements great-great-grandfather John Clements homesteaded in Elmwood in 1868 and was one of the founders of the community when it was incorporated in 1886. We in Cass County are real happy it is a Cass Countian, said Craig Buescher, chairman of the Cass County Republican Party. The majority of the district is made up of Cass County. Lou Allgayer, a former county party chair and Cass County Board member, said he supports the governors selection and believes Clements will listen to the people of the district. Clements is Allgayers banker and is just a good person, Allgayer said. Clements succeeds Kintner, who resigned last month following controversies involving his use of a state laptop to engage in cybersex with a woman he met online and his retweet of a Twitter post that appeared to make light of sexual assault. Clements will finish out Kintners term. He will be eligible to run for the legislative seat in 2018 and again in 2022. Kintner on his Facebook page hailed Clements as an outstanding conservative and a strong Christian. He knows the district and his business background will serve the district well, he said. I have known him for four years, and I have tremendous respect for him. He will be an outstanding senator. The Prime Minister said he will continue to fight for the poor even as the Opposition "sought mileage from the note ban". By India Today Web Desk: Prime Minister Narendra Modi slammed the Congress for not letting Parliament function during the Winter session and trying to corner the government over demonetisation. Defending his November 8 decision to demonetise high-value currency, the Prime Minister said "note ban is a movement to clean India of corruption". The Prime Minister said he will continue to fight for the poor even as the Opposition "sought mileage from the note ban". advertisement NARENDRA MODI'S ATTACK ON CONGRESS Congress did not heed to the note ban advise to its governments. They didn't implement note ban for political reasons. They looted, we have recovered. Opposition sought only TV publicity from the note ban. We were ready for a debate on note ban. They didn't want it as I would have gained from it. Supreme Court said on March 26, 2014 that since 1947 nobody thought of bringing back money from foreign countries. The Congress government changed the provisions in the MGNREGA more than 135 times. I fight for the poor and would not stop doing that. Freedom is not a gift from one family. They (Congress) have never spoken of Bhagat Singh, Chandra Shekhar Azad. When the Congress was not born, Indians fought for Independence. We do not belong to the dog culture. Lotus had bloomed then and it blooms even today. For Congress, dynasty is above democracy. They threatened democracy. Opposition leaders were jailed under Congress regime. We are the true followers of Gandhi's ideology. Looting Mother India triggers earthquakes; when you see sewa in scams, quakes occur. Rahul's quake comment triggered the earthquake yesterday. Recall the statements made by politicians twenty-four hours before the surgical strikes were carried out by the Army. We do not see everything through the prism of elections. The interests of the nation are supreme for us. ALSO READ: PM Modi knows why Uttarakhand earthquake happened. And it has a Rahul connection Gandhis died for the nation... Not even a dog from your house: Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge's outburst in Parliament ALSO WATCH --- ENDS --- Of all his comments, perhaps the one that most starkly illuminates Donald Trump's world view came on Sunday when he was asked how he could respect Russian president Vladimir Putin: "He's a killer," said Fox News' Bill O'Reilly. The US president rejoined: "There are a lot of killers. We have a lot of killers. What do you think? Our country is so innocent?" This remark helps us explain Trump views which are otherwise pretty inexplicable. Though it's factually accurate, it's a remarkable thing for a US president to say because "it betrays a stunning ignorance of American political culture", says Michael Wesley, a former diplomat and a professor of international affairs at ANU. How? "To suggest moral equivalence of what the US does and what Russia does, even if true, is really amazing. Can you imagine Ronald Reagan saying that, or George W. Bush? It's inconceivable. Even a professor, like Obama, may have thought it but would never have said it. Most Americans like to think of the US as a moral actor in world affairs," Wesley explains. "We do not see everything through the prism of elections, the interests of the nation are supreme for us," PM Modi said in Lok Sabha countering Congress' charge over demonetisation. By Kumar Shakti Shekhar: The Opposition has been attacking Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the ruling BJP in Parliament and outside it over issues like demonetisation, surgical strikes, black money and even RSS' role in freedom movement. The Opposition, particularly Congress, has been raising these issues in their campaign during the ongoing Assembly elections in five states. PM Modi chose to reply to them and more on Tuesday. In his reply to the Motion of Thanks on President Pranab Mukherjee's address, PM Modi sought to reject the charges of Opposition on these issues. advertisement Speaking in the Lok Sabha, PM Narendra Modi chose each subject to try and turn the table on the Opposition. 1. Demonetisation Prime Minister Narendra Modi reiterated that demonetisation was the need of the hour. While the Opposition had said there was no need for the demonetisation move as the country's economy was sound, PM Modi said this was the reason why it was initiated. "Any doctor performs surgery when a person's health condition is stable. Hence, demonetisation was launched at a time when the country's economic condition was stable," he said. Talking on the innumerable changes brought about in the demonetisation rules, he said even the Congress-led UPA government had brought about changes 1035 times in its flagship programme MNREGA. Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the changes were brought about to preempt those who were trying to bypass the demonetisation initiative and exploit the shortcomings. "We do not see everything through the prism of elections, the interests of the nation are supreme for us," PM Modi said in Lok Sabha. 2. Budget On the Opposition's objection to the advancement of Budget presentation from the customary February 28 to February 1, he said the practice was not suited for the country's condition. He said by the time the Budget is passed in May, monsoons arrive and the allocations are not spent for the next three months. Modi said from December to March every year, expenditure is shown to be spent in a haphazard manner. Hence, February 1 was more suitable for the presentation of Budget. He said for several years after Independence, Budget was presented at 5 pm because it suited the Britishers. The time was advanced to 11 am by the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government. 3. Railway Budget Talking on the merger of Railway Budget with the main Budget, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said even this practice was started by the Britishers because Railways was the main mode of transportation in those days. However, nowadays several modes were existing at present. 4. RSS' role in freedom movement Prime Minister Narendra Modi, for the first time perhaps, replied to the Congress' allegation that BJP's parent organization RSS did not play any role in the freedom movement. He said there were many people like me, who could not die for the nation during the freedom struggle but all are living for India and serving India. advertisement Taking a dig at Congress' Nehru-Gandhis, he said they think only one family fought for the country's independence. "They do not make one realise that even freedom fighters like Bhagat Singh and Chandra Shekhar Azad existed," he said. 5. Surgical strikes Seeking to reply to those who questioned the surgical strikes carried out by the Indian Army against terror launch pads in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir on September 29, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the Opposition questioned it initially. But now none was questioning it like they do about demonetisation. Modi said people had to change their tome and tenor because of the mood of the nation. He asked people not to question the capability of the armed forces. 6. Swachh Bharat Abhiyan Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed surprise at the alleged politicization of NDA government's flagship Swachh Bharat Abhiyan. He said cleanliness concerned everyone and there should not be any politics over it. "Why can't we work together on ushering a Swachh Bharat?" he said. advertisement 7. Black Money Replying to the Opposition's charge that the Narendra Modi government had failed to being black money stashed in foreign banks back to the country, the PM counted some of the alleged corruption cases leveled against the previous Manmohan Singh government. Recounting 2G spectrum, coal block allocation and other corruption cases, PM Modi said earlier the BJP, which was in the Opposition, would talk about the amount of money which was lost by way of such scams. "However, now the Opposition was asking the government to disclose the amount which has come to the economic mainstream," he said, referring to the amount deposited in the banks after demonetisation drive. WATCH: PM Modi's full speech in Lok Sabha ALSO READ: PM Modi knows why Uttarakhand earthquake happened. And it has a Rahul Gandhi connection When can you have an operation? When the body is healthy: Modi's defence on demonetisation --- ENDS --- Liberal senator Cory Bernardi has confirmed he will quit the party. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen "It is a betrayal when someone leaves... People will be angry and they will be disappointed," he told ABC radio. "I think people will be angry about any defection, angry about the betrayal of the Liberal Party values." Mr Dutton said he was confident no other Liberals would leave to join the new conservative party. "People, if they want to defeat Bill Shorten at the next election, will be united as a Liberal Party to make sure we can stare down that threat. "People are much more effective inside the tent than outside... in the end the crossbench don't run the country." The defection has further derailed the government's start to the new parliamentary year and will lead to speculation about Mr Turnbull's leadership. Deputy Prime Minister and Nationals leader Barnaby Joyce slammed the move. "I've seen this movie before, that one ends in tears," he said. "I thought that Cory was made of sterner stuff." "Bravery presides in staying in the party and trying to change the party, not running away because you can't handle the heat of the kitchen." Trade Minister Steve Ciobo said his former colleague had been unhelpful. "Many Liberals feel this way, if you look back over Cory's career, with one or two exceptions he's never laid a glove on the Labor Party. "Every time he's been in the headlines, it's been about criticism of his own party," he said. Revenue and Financial Services Minister Kelly O'Dwyer said voters would feel betrayed by a defection so close to the election. "I think anybody who is elected as a Liberal owes a responsibility not only to the people who have pre-selected them but also to the people who voted for them, who placed their trust in them to be a member of a particular political party." "I think the Australian people have got no tolerance for parliamentarians who are engaged in ego trips or vanity projects. They want to know that parliamentarians who have been sent to Canberra are focused on their interests and focused on the broader national interest." Treasurer Scott Morrison said he was thinking of South Australian Liberal Party members as Senator Bernardi quits. "They're the ones he made the promise to, to be a Liberal," Mr Morrison said. Education Minister Simon Birmingham told the Financial Review Senator Bernardi has betrayed Liberal voters and should resign his seat. "There is effectively a contract that all of us undertake when we offer ourselves at election. We go to that election on the ballot paper, with not just our names, but also our party affiliation attached to that and that is an enormous guide," he said. "I don't kid myself into thinking that there are hundreds of thousands of South Australians who know and like Simon Birmingham and choose to vote just for me." The soon-to-be-former Liberal attracted 2043 first preference votes at the July 2016 double dissolution election, 0.025 per cent of the required quota. West Australian Liberal Andrew Hastie said Senator Bernardi was a good friend, and the defection would only add to Senate gridlock. "I wish that he had attended the Liberal Party room meeting this morning, looked us all in the eye and explained his reasons," Mr Hastie wrote on Facebook. "He was elected as a Liberal Party senator and owes his colleagues an explanation. Party members and voters will be rightly disappointed." Nationals MP David Gillespie said he was not surprised by the move. "Cory has always been a man of his own opinion. He's been very forthright in previous governments and this current one," he said. "As opposed to the other side ... where you get expelled if you don't follow the party line." WA Liberal Ken Wyatt said he'd like to see Senator Bernardi remain, "but if he's made that decision then I'm not going to begrudge him," he said. Right-wing backbencher Craig Kelly said his colleague should think again. Warren Entsch is in the other corner when it comes to the gold pass. He says it's "annoying" and "disappointing" that the gold pass is being axed and makes the case that people went into politics with a particular salary package on offer and it is unfair to change it. If the pass is to be scrapped Mr Entsch says it should be scrapped for everyone including former prime ministers. (Not sure the tactic of a politician complaining about the loss of a perk has ever worked for anyone but, you know, horses for courses.) It's only February and we've already gotten a contender for oddest couple of the year with the news Pamela Anderson may be romantically linked to Julian Assange. Page Six reports the former Baywatch star has been a regular caller to the Ecuadorian Embassy in London where the Australian Wikileaks founder has been holed up for close to five years. Julian Assange: still inside. Credit:AP The Canadian-born actor turned environmentalist activist has visited Assange more than four times in the past three months during her visits to London. Back in October she hand delivered him a vegan lunch. "I brought him a nice vegan lunch and some vegan snacks," she told The Telegraph. "He said I tortured him with bringing him vegan food. The group behind the Women's March have announced their next political action: a general strike dubbed "a day without a woman". The group revealed the upcoming event in a Twitter post on Monday. Demonstrators hold signs while marching towards Trump Tower during the Women's March in New York, U.S., on Saturday, January 21, 2017. Credit:Bloomberg The date of the strike is to be confirmed, and the group did not hint at what form it would take. Although details of the strike are not yet available, the concept of a woman's strike is not new. Parents are being prevented from accessing the government's childcare rebate and other family payments because Centrelink staff are blocking phone lines and fudging caller wait times when reporting back to their bosses. Centrelink has been flooded with calls in recent weeks in response to the government's controversial robo debt recovery scheme, which is designed to claw back billions of dollars in overpaid welfare payments but has faced criticism for high error rates. Centrelink's robo debt recovery scheme has been controversial because of high error rates. Credit:Erin Jonasson As the new school year kicks in, parents have also taken to social media to complain that Centrelink's families assistance phone line is constantly engaged and it's making it difficult for them to process claims for the government's childcare rebate. Lisa Newman deputy national president of the Community and Public Sector Union (CPSU) says Centrelink's phone lines are being systematically blocked by staff when they are overwhelmed with caller inquiry. KB discovered an automated alert by Veda had been sent to his credit card providers, the National Australia Bank, American Express and Citibank. "KB" owns two businesses and left Australia for a two-week holiday in Italy. On arrival at Rome International Airport a payment on KB's credit card was declined. Credit agency Veda has come under fire after "typographical errors" meant it mistakenly recorded a $7000 debt on a business owner's file freezing his accounts. Timothy Pilgrim, Australian Privacy Commissioner, found Veda had breached KB's privacy. Credit:Jeremy Piper KB's businesses were also affected as he had provided details of his Citibank Visa credit card for payment to his suppliers. He received calls from suppliers advising him they had tried to charge the credit card but payment did not go through. They advised that until they were paid, goods would not be supplied. It turns out KB has a similar name and resides in the same apartment building as a person the court had recorded a $7000 debt against. Veda's automatic matching systems drew a connection between the judgment and KB and recorded information about the judgment on KB's credit file. Veda's systems then provided an automated alert to KB's registered creditors and it wasn't until KB returned to Australia and called Veda to order a copy of his credit report that he was able to identify the incorrectly listed report. KB advised Veda of the mistake and requested the urgent removal of the listing but Veda said KB had to approach the court for correction and indicated it would not take action until it heard from the court. A brief of evidence made against Cardinal George Pell regarding sexual assault allegations has been returned to prosecutors for review. Victoria Police confirmed on Monday that a brief of evidence against Cardinal Pell had been returned to the Office of Public Prosecutions for consideration. The development in the case against the Cardinal comes after three detectives from the Sano Taskforce flew to Rome to interview him in October. On Monday, police spokeswoman Leonie Johnson said: "Investigators have delivered the brief to the Department of Public Prosecutions for consideration." Lisa Scaffidi with husband Joe, at an earlier SAT hearing. Credit:Heather McNeill She also claimed to not remember reading multiple emails from her personal assistant and other City of Perth employees that detailed how some of the international trips were being paid for by a third party, often the event organiser. "I get 300 emails a day and I probably just quickly looked at it," she said when questioned about a 2014 trip to Singapore to attend the World Cities Summit. Perth Lord Mayor Lisa Scaffidi and former Local Government Minister Tony Simpson. "I never made a decision to go on any trip without discussion with the CEO... to ensure it was deemed as acceptable and appropriate." Ms Thatcher suggested perhaps Ms Scaffidi should have requested help in completing her returns, with the Lord Mayor responding, "absolutely". "I feel very sad," she said. "Knowing what I know now makes me feel ill and I am very remorseful about it," she said. Ms Scaffidi revealed that during her time as Lord Mayor, she had never claimed any travel on the $13,000 budget allocated to her annually. She instead, assumed her travel was being taken out of the City's international travel fund, or sister cities fund. The admission prompted a member of the three-person tribunal to question why she did not follow policy and use the budget assigned to her to travel, to which she replied it was how the City operated at the time. The tribunal member questioned, if that were the case, and employees at the City of Perth were not following policy, why did Ms Scaffidi's lawyer not question former City of Perth chief executive about it during his cross-examination. Former City of Perth chief executive Frank Edwards had earlier told the tribunal every new councillor was provided induction manuals that outlined reporting and disclosure requirements under the Local Government Act when they were elected. Mr Edwards, CEO of the embattled council from 2002-2012, said every new councillor was given guidelines, which contained a significant volume of information. "It contained other matters such as annual returns," Mr Edwards said "From time to time, memos may have been sent reminding councillors about things." He said he spoke to Ms Scaffidi daily when he was chief executive and never had any reason to question her travel. Ms Scaffidi has admitted five of the 45 breaches the Local Government alleges she made between January 2008 and October 2015 regarding the acceptance and disclosure of travel and gifts - including those paid for by BHP Billiton and Hawaiian Investments and failing to submit an annual return on time. Her five admissions include two of the most serious matters she has faced since becoming Lord Mayor in 2000; an undeclared $US36,000 business class trip to the 2008 Beijing Olympics with her husband Joe paid for by BHP Billiton, which had a $22,000 hiring fee waived by the City of Perth council three months after the invitation was sent to the Lord Mayor; and an undeclared gift of accommodation at an exclusive Broome resort, paid for by property developer Hawaiian Investments. Ms Scaffidi later voted to approve a $180,000 grant to a consortium that included Hawaiian Investments for a CBD feasibility study. The allegations against Ms Scaffidi arose from a Department of Local Government inquiry released last May after similar damning findings in May 2015 by the Corruption and Crime Commission, which found the Lord Mayor had engaged in serious misconduct by accepting undeclared travel and gifts, including from companies and conglomerates with financial considerations before the council. Ms Scaffidi took 65 international and 47 interstate trips from January 2008 and October 2015, but the department alleges 45 breaches of the Act during the 112 trips and recommended disciplinary action. Its six-month inquiry found the 45 alleged breaches occurred on 33 of the 112 trips in relation to Ms Scaffidi's travel and acceptance of gifts, in the context of her obligations as Lord Mayor. The SAT must now independently determine whether the 56-year-old incumbent committed any serious breaches after lengthy mediation between Ms Scaffidi and the department failed. Her lawyer, Steven Penglis said the hearing was "not a case of intentional non-disclosure" and that the argument would focus on the legalities of the Local Government Act. Since Ms Scaffidi's travel scandals became public in 2015, WA Premier Colin Barnett has repeatedly supported Ms Scaffidi in continuing to preside over the City of Perth, while Labor leader Mark McGowan has vowed on several occasions to sack her if he is elected premier in next month's state election. The Lord Mayor, who has been on the council since 2000, denies any wrongdoing and has repeatedly refused to stand down, maintaining her failure to properly declare gifts and travel was due to the City of Perth's flawed guidelines and policies. After the department made its inquiry public in May, a WAtoday poll of almost 4000 readers showed 94 per cent thought Ms Scaffidi should resign. The SAT hearing is scheduled to last four days but it could last only two, with the Department of Local Government pushing for disciplinary action against Ms Scaffidi in the form of a suspension. Loading The hearing continues with final submissions expected to be made on Wednesday morning. By Press Trust of India: Ahmedabad, Feb 7 (PTI) A special court will record on Thursday the statements of former Gujarat Minister Maya Kodnani and ten other accused in the Naroda Gam case of 2002 Gujarat riots in which eleven members of a minority community were killed. Kodnani, who is serving 28 years in jail in the Naroda Patiya massacre case and is currently out on bail, was scheduled to record the statements along with others before the special SIT judge P B Desai today. advertisement However, due to the unavailability of the judge, the statements will now be recorded by the court on Thursday. So far, the court has recorded statements of 48 out of total 83 accused in the Naroda Gam riots case. Naroda Gam massacre is one of the nine 2002 post-Godhra riots cases investigated by the Special Investigation Team (SIT). Eleven people belonging to the minority community were killed in Naroda Gam during a bandh call given to protest the Godhra train burning incident. In September last year, the apex court had given the special court six months time to conclude the trial in this case. Kodnani was sentenced to 28 years jail in the Naroda Patiya case, in which 97 people, mostly belonging to minority community, were killed by a mob. Kodnani was Minister of State for Women and Child Development for some period when Narendra Modi was the Chief Minister of Gujarat. PTI KA PD NP RT SSB --- ENDS --- WCO Secretary General Kunio Mikuriya visited Mombasa, Kenya to attend the launch of the WCO-East and Southern Africa (ESA) Customs Capacity Building Project II on 7 February 2017. Following the successful completion of the Project's first phase (Project I) which focused on enhancing Customs capacity (2012-2016), the second phase of the project (Project II) will aim "to progress the trade facilitation agenda within the framework of the WCO Mercator Programme 2016-2019", with a 3 million euro budget funded by the Finnish Government. The Project is intended to benefit the 24 Member countries of the WCO ESA Region. In his opening speech, Secretary General Mikuriya stressed the key role played by Customs in economic competitiveness, revenue collection and protection of society from illicit trade, and appreciated the positive outcomes of the WCO-ESA Project I in improving the efficiency of Customs, particularly with respect to enhanced border management. WCO Secretary General thanked the Finnish Government for its continued support in the region by funding this second phase of the Project through the Mercator Programme that was launched in 2014 to support governments in implementing, in a consistent manner using WCO tools and instruments, trade facilitation measures including the ones prescribed under the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA). Dr Mikuriya further stated that, as the WTO Agreement on Trade Facilitation is about to enter into force, the launch of this project is timely in the light of the political support to the Customs community for its modernisation efforts in collaboration with other border agencies and the business community. Representing the Finnish Government, H.E. Ambassador Tarja Fernandez, and Customs Director General Antti Hartikainen spoke about their intentions to support the ESA region while, from the ESA region, Commissioner Tom Moyane of the South African Revenue Service (SARS) in his capacity as WCO Vice-Chair, and Commissioner of Customs and Border Protection Julius Musyoki of the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) talked about their willingness to maximise the benefits that they receive from the Project. All the participants of the Steering Committee, coming from Angola, Kenya, South Africa, Uganda, the WCO Secretariat and the ESA Regional Office Capacity Building (ROCB), appreciated the warm hospitality of the KRA and the ROCB Director Larry Liza. The event benefited from wide media coverage. The incident started when villagers chased the smugglers, who were trying to smuggle cattle from the area. By Kamaljit Kaur Sandhu: Cattle smugglers, who were being chased by villagers, tried to enter into Manesar campus, which resulted in shots being fired in the air by the smugglers and an NSG jawan on duty. The incident started when villagers chased the smugglers, who were trying to smuggle cattle from the area. HOW THE EVENT UNFOLDED: Villagers chased after four cattle smugglers, who fled and tried to enter the Manesar campus. According to the villagers, the smugglers tried to scale the wall of the campus and perhaps succeeded. A jawan of the National Security Guard told Gurgaon Police that he heard gun shots and fired one round in the air. The NSG carried a thorough check of its premises but found no evidence of an intrusion on the campus. It later filed an FIR with the Gurgaon Police regarding the intrusion. The Gurgaon Police has registered a case of intrusion and under the arms act. advertisement National Security Guard is India's best counter terror force in the country with its headquarter located in Manesar. --- ENDS --- The WCO has been working under a Customs Capacity Building project in Vietnam, funded by Norway, focusing on capacity building in the management of Customs Brokers and Stakeholder Engagement. In January, at the request of the General Department of Vietnam Customs (GDVC), a mission was conducted by WCO experts to support GDVC to further validate the Stakeholder Engagement and Client Services strategies and implementation plans under a new risk-based Compliance Management programme. During the January mission, some of the results were seen of Vietnams ongoing efforts, supported by the WCO, to improve engagement with stakeholders in the private sector. The GDVC signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Japan Business Association (JBA) in Vietnam. The WCO Experts were encouraged to hear from Mr. Taiji YANAI, Chairman of the JBA, who stated that business members of the JBA felt that the GDVC was listening and taking into account private sector feedback on customs matters and policies. Other highlights of the mission included the publication of a new Consultation Guidelines booklet detailing GDVCs commitment to a new, client-centered service approach. This mission took place in Hanoi, 16-20 January 2017. The WCO-Norad (Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation) Customs Capacity Building Project 2012-17 aims at delivering technical assistance to seven countries: Timor-Leste, Liberia, Mozambique, Nicaragua, Rwanda, Tanzania and Vietnam. For more information, please contact the Project Manager, Ms. Andrea Hampton (Andrea.Hampton@wcoomd.org) By Press Trust of India: New Delhi, Feb 7 (PTI) A replica of the Nobel Peace Prize and its citation awarded to child rights activist Kailash Satyarthi were among the valuables stolen from his southeast Delhi residence in his absence today. In a statement, Satyarthi, who along with his wife is currently in Panama on the invitation of its President, implored the people involved in the early morning act to understand the significance of the award and not get carried away by its monetary value. advertisement Satyarthi had presented his Nobel Peace Prize medal to President Pranab Mukherjee in January, 2015. The original medal has been preserved and is now on display at the Rashtrapati Bhavan Museum, his office said. Police said the theft came to light when Rakesh Sengar of Satyarthis NGO Bachpan Bachao Andolan went to take his car from the activists Kalkaji residence Aravalli apartment around 9 AM. "I had gone there around 9 AM. I saw the dhobi (washerman) knocking the door which was surprisingly open. When I entered the flat, I found things scattered all over (in Satyarthis bedroom). The locker was also broken. "The replica of the nobel, which is as good as the original, and the citation are missing along with a host of other mementos from around the world and some jewellery. A similar theft had occurred in BBAs Kalkaji office in 2010," Sengar said. Police said it appears that the burglars had come with an intention only to rob jewellery as the other expensive items were left untouched. They must have mistook the replica as a jewellery item, a senior officer said. "The Nobel Prize citation and the replica were kept in jewellery boxes and we suspect that the burglars took them away thinking it to be jewels. Its a specific modus operandi," said the officer. Satyarthis son, Bhuvan Ribhu, a senior Supreme Court lawyer and the national secretary of Bachpan Bachao Andolan, said, "Sengar informed me about the incident. It appeared that they were looking for something specific. They also took some ancestral jewellery. For someone who continues to stay in a DDA flat, the news was shattering. Satyarthi is returning (to the country) on the 10th," he said. After police were informed about the alleged theft of the Nobel Prize replica, teams from Forensic Science Laboratory, dog squads and district crime unit inspected the spot and collected fingerprints. Police said all the lockers of the master bedroom have been broken and it is suspected that the burglary took place in the wee hours today. The child rights activist won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2014. He shared the prize with Pakistans Malala Yousafzai. advertisement Rabindranath Tagores Nobel Prize medal had been stolen in 2004 from Visva Bharati Universitys museum in Santiniketan in West Bengal, which is yet to be recovered. (MORE) PTI SLB SBR SMN --- ENDS --- By Press Trust of India: New Delhi, Feb 7 (PTI) Nobel Laureate Kailash Satyarthis house in southeast Delhis Kalkaji was burgled and the replica of the Nobel Prize awarded to him was allegedly stolen among other valuable items, police said today. Police said the matter came to light when Satyarthis PA went to take his car from the activists Kalkaji residence around 9 AM. advertisement Police was informed about the alleged theft of the Nobel Prize replica and teams are collecting fingerprints and analysing the spot to get details of the items stolen. Police said all the lockers have been broken and it is suspected that the burglary took place in the wee hours today. Satyarathi is currently in the US. "The Nobel Prize replica has been stolen among other things. His daughters wedding jewellery is also missing. They havent yet shared the full list of the items that are missing and currently the inspection is being done," said a senior police officer. Cops suspect that the information that there was no one atthe house might have been leaked by someone from the society like a milkman or a newspaper delivery boy, etc. Police is questioning local criminals of the area to gain leads to the burglary. They are also looking at the CCTV footage to gain clues to the accused. The child rights activist won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2014. He shared the prize with Pakistans Malala Yousafzai. PTI SLB DV --- ENDS --- Documents show that RBI, Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), Delhi's Economic Offences Wing (EOW) and even the district administration of Gautam Budh Nagar, were approached by the complainants but they failed to act on time, allowing the "dubious" business to grow. Police said the celebrities should be cautious about the product they endorse and events attended by them as they are followed by millions. By Shashank Shekhar: Several central government agencies and financial institutions, including the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), received complaints against Anubhav Mittal, the alleged mastermind of Rs3,700-crore online ponzi scam, in 2016 itself but failed to act against it. Documents in possession with Mail Today show the RBI, Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), Delhi's Economic Offences Wing (EOW) and even the district administration of Gautam Budh Nagar, were approached by the complainants but they failed to act on time, allowing the "dubious" business to grow. advertisement Facebook Like scam: Noida cops probe bankers' role in Rs 3700 crore ponzi scam Enforcement Directorate registers case in Noida's Rs 3,700 crores 'like' scam HERE IS ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW Even the officials of Uttar Pradesh Police STF, which arrested Mittal last week, admitted that they took legal and financial advices before deciding to approach the company which has about 6.5 lakh investors. Interestingly, now the officials have sought legal opinion before they can call several celebrities and beneficiaries to join investigation. The list includes Bollywood actresses Sunny Leone and Ameesha Patel, who attended the launch of Mittal's new business venture, IntMaart at Crown Plaza Hotel in Greater Noida on November 29, 2016. "These celebrities attended the inaugural programme of Mittal's new venture and their names were used to promote a fake scheme to dupe investors so they are party to crime under Money Circulation Schemes Act. If needed, a notice will be sent to them for questioning," said a senior STF officer investigating the case. The officer said the inaugural programme was clubbed with Mittal's birthday celebration but the invite did not mention about any personal event. "The company spent over a crore of rupees for the launchcum-birthday celebration as they paid Rs25 lakh to the hotel and a hefty amount was paid to the celebrities apart from their travel and lodging to attend the launch," said the officer, who did not wish to be named. Leone, according to a media report, has declined comment when asked if her visit to Mittal's birthday bash was a personal one or a professional. Police said the celebrities should be cautious about the product they endorse and events attended by them as they are followed and admired by millions, and at times, they can be misused to cheat people as done in this case. All the payments were made from the company's account which had the money of the investors. Police claimed that the company got a majority of money from June 2015, which exponentially grew during the last quarters. Anubhav Mittal is accused of running multi-level marketing and ponzi schemes under the banners of Ms Ablaze Info Solutions Private Ltd, Ms Social Trade India Pvt Ltd, Ms 3W Digital Pvt Ltd and Ms Intmaart India Pvt Ltd. The RBI had initiated some groundwork against the company in October 2016, but could not find anyone at registered address of two offices owned by Mittal in Delhi. A senior official confirmed that an online complaint was made to them on October 3 which was closed on November 8, 2016. "Visit to Ablaze Info at Chandni Chowk revealed that the company was not present at the registered address. Registrars of Companies (ROC) Delhi have been informed on October 28, 2016. "Visit to Rbiz.com private limited gathered that no board containing the name of the company was found at the registered address of the company at Vasudhara Enclave in Delhi. The flat was found locked," an RBI official wrote as a remark to the complaint filed with them. "It was around the same time when the company realised that the agencies have started coming after them and they shifted their base to Noida Sector 63," said the STF officer. Police also found that a team of service tax department from Delhi visited their office and fined them but it is yet to find that how did the agency fail to check the services offered by the company as there was no service being offered by them. Police have also found several presentations where Mittal's companies had used names of several government institutions, like Delhi government, MCD, Uttar Pradesh transport department, apart from other leading private companies and educational institutions as its partners. On verification, they have denied to be linked with any of his company. --- ENDS --- By Press Trust of India: From Sajjad Hussain Islamabad, Feb 6 (PTI) Pakistan today said it has briefed envoys of Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) countries on the alleged human rights violations in Jammu and Kashmir. The Foreign Office said Additional Secretary (UN & EC) Tasnim Aslam briefed the ambassadors here in the backdrop of Kashmir Solidarity Day observed in Pakistan yesterday. advertisement It said in a statement that the ambassadors were briefed on the significance of Kashmir Solidarity Day, which is "observed to convey Pakistans unflinching diplomatic, moral and political support to the people of Jammu & Kashmir." "The longstanding dispute was the direct outcome of violation of the principles of partition of subcontinent," the statement quoted Aslam as saying. She urged the OIC to play a more active role for the resolution of the Kashmir issue in accordance with the UN Security Council resolutions. The OIC is an inter-governmental organisation which has membership of 57 Muslim-majority states spread over four continents. PTI SH ZH --- ENDS --- Your Ultimate Investing Toolkit Sign up for MarketBeat All Access to gain access to MarketBeat's full suite of research tools: Portfolio Monitoring Top Stock Lists Premium Reports Stock Screeners Live News Feed Premium Support Free for your first month. In January last year, terrorists from across the border infiltrated the sector, and went on to launch an audacious attack on the strategic IAF base. By India Today Web Desk: A Pakistani intruder was gunned down on Tuesday by the the Border Security Force (BSF) in Pathankot, Punjab. The intruder was shot dead in Bamiyal sector along the Indo-Pak International Border (IB). That's where terrorists infiltrated last year to attack an Indian Air Force (IAF) base. Officials said the BSF observation post detected an intruder's suspicious movements at around 8:15 AM, about 50 metres from the IB fence. advertisement They said the troops challenged the intruder, but seeing no response, they fired. He was killed on the spot. The exact location where the incident took place is the Simbal border post of the BSF in Bamiyal sector. Officials said border troops have yet to retrieve the body from near the fence, as the area is witnessing heavy fog. In January last year, terrorists from across the border infiltrated the sector, and went on to launch an audacious attack on the strategic IAF base. With inputs from PTI --- ENDS --- Weber Historical Society to Discuss Education in Early Utah February 7, 2017 OGDEN, Utah Early members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints who settled in Utah fostered a culture that emphasized the importance of learning. As part of the Weber Historical Society Lecture series, Mormon history scholar Audrey Godfrey will discuss how circumstances, geography and religious differences raised challenges for early Utah schools. The free, public lecture will be held Feb. 13 at 7 p.m. in Weber State Universitys Hurst Center Dumke Legacy Hall. Weber Stake Academy 1901 graduating class Weber State alumna Audrey Godfrey has published a variety of work about Mormon history, including her thesis, A Social History of Camp Floyd, Utah Territory, 1858-1861 and By Study and Faith: One Hundred Years of LDS Church Education. Godfrey will discuss how instruction from Mormon settlers religious leaders included counsel to seek out of the best books and encouragement to study. Schools of various kinds taught both children and adults in those early years, but in preparing to evacuate Nauvoo, Illinois, and outlying settlements, limited space in wagons prevented carrying many school supplies. Mormon pioneers arrival in Utahs Great Basin allowed settlers to establish schools again, but challenges abounded and education suffered accordingly. Early Utah society was based on self-sufficiency, so its leaders emphasized agricultural production, iron and coal mining, and home industry, said history professor Gene Sessions. As a result, education was generally very basic, and one could argue, insufficient, especially in more remote settlements. There were, nevertheless, many early Utahns who worked to provide good schooling for children in the territory. Many heroic teachers worked in far-flung places to establish what were called district schools at the elementary level. In the 1870s, Protestant schools arrived in the territory, especially in outlying communities, where well-meaning teachers first met opposition but then acceptance from the Mormon populace. Protestant teachers hoped to help women and children escape polygamy, Sessions said. While the Protestant schools managed to attract a good enrollment of Mormon children, they were unsuccessful in proselytizing Mormon students or their parents. The influx of Protestant schools challenged Mormon leaders to improve the common schools. Church leaders eventually created many stake academies across Utah, including the Weber Stake Academy in 1889, which later became Weber State University. The Weber Historical Society Lecture Series is sponsored together with the WSU Alumni Association, the College of Social & Behavioral Sciences, the Jerry & Vickie Moyes College of Education, WSUs Department of History and WSUs Stewart Library. All Weber Historical Society lectures are free and open to all. Visit weber.edu/wsutoday for more news about Weber State University. For photos, visit the following links: wsuucomm.smugmug.com/Press-Release-Photos/2017-photos/February-2017/i-V9C2P6g/A wsuucomm.smugmug.com/Press-Release-Photos/2017-photos/February-2017/i-4XgL73M/A By Press Trust of India: From Lalit K Jha Washington, Feb 7 (PTI) Pakistans military continues to support terrorist groups that attack India to keep it "off balance" and draws international mediation into dispute over Kashmir, according to a report by a group of eminent South Asian experts from 10 major American think tanks. As per the report titled A New US Approach to Pakistan: Enforcing Aid Conditions without Cutting Ties which will be released here on Friday, Pakistans military has often disrupted nascent peace efforts pursued by Indian and Pakistani civilian rulers, most notably in 1999 during the Kargil war. advertisement "Pakistani military leaders continue to support terrorist groups that attack India in an effort to keep it off balance and to draw international mediation into the dispute with India over Kashmir," said the report. "Pakistans use of terrorist groups as part of its security and foreign policy is a function of its obsession with India, which it perceives as an existential threat. From an outside perspective, Pakistans paranoia regarding India is unfounded," it said. The report said while India may be unwilling to renegotiate Kashmirs territorial status, numerous Indian leaders have tried to reach a modus vivendi with Pakistan. Pakistan never changed its policy of supporting certain militant groups that fight Afghan and coalition forces, making it impossible for the US to achieve its objective of keeping Afghanistan from reverting to a safe haven for international terrorism, it said. "Pakistans seemingly unconstrained expansion of its nuclear arsenal, particularly the development of tactical nuclear weapons and extended?range missile systems, also remains a cause for concern, especially with regard to India," said the report co-authored by Lisa Curtis from The Heritage Foundation and Husain Haqqani, the former Pakistan Ambassador to the US, who is now with The Hudson Institute. Among other members of the report are Col (retd) John Gill, Professor from National Defense University; Anish Goel, from New America; Bruce Riedel from Brookings Institution; David S Sedney, Center for Strategic and International Studies; and Marvin Weinbaum from, Middle East Institute. The US clearly recognises that Pakistans support for the Afghan Taliban, the Haqqani network and other terrorist groups is not the sole reason for Afghanistans security challenges. However, the other problems become insurmountable when the principal insurgent groups enjoy safe havens in Pakistan, the report said. Pakistans tolerance for terror groups also undermines the country itself, corroding its stability and civilian governance and damaging its investment climate, as well as inflicting death and injury on thousands of its own innocent citizens, it said. (MORE) PTI LKJ MRJ --- ENDS --- 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 Feb. 06, 2017 | 05:49 PM | PADUCAH, KY Another person involved in a kickback conspiracy to defraud Fulton County citizens has pled guilty.According to the U.S. Attorney's office for Western Kentucky, 60-year-old Ronald D. Armstrong of Dresden, Tennessee, pled guilty Monday to four charges of wire fraud and honest services wire fraud before Senior Judge Thomas B. Russell in Paducah.According to a news release, Armstrong is the owner of Armstrong Construction, whose company had been doing business with Fulton County Fiscal Court and Jailer Ricky Parnell for about twenty years. His company was awarded a $210,000 contract to be general contractor on the Fulton County Detention Center expansion project in 2015.The U.S. Attorney's office says Parnell convinced the Fulton County Fiscal Court to award the contract, and had arranged a deal with Armstrong so he would receive $100,000 from fees as a kickback for having helped Armstrong get the contract. When the scheme was discovered, Armstrong had already paid $80,000 to Parnell.The wire fraud charges were filed because the county's payments were drawn from a bank in Louisville, and triggered interstate wire transfers.Armstrong was indicted and arraigned by a grand jury on November 15, 2016, along with co-defendants Ricky D. Parnell of Hickman, Michael Homra of Fulton, Jimmy Boyd of South Fulton, and Daniel C. Larcom of Union City. Homra pled guilty on Jan. 20.If convicted at trial, Armstrong could have received a maximum sentence of 80 years in prison, a $1,000,000 fine, and three-years of supervised release. Loading... The head teacher's office is always a scary place for anyone, but no day is more stressful than results day at St Barnabas' Primary School. This is something that playwright Alex MacKeith would know all to well; his experiences working at a London primary school have shaped his debut play. Head teacher Jo is feeling the pressure if the school's results are good enough, she will be able to apply for the Pupil Premium Award, just what the school needs as the catchment area grows and the prospect of another 100 pupils looms. Along with her assistant Lara, she knows every child in the school by name, and each of their specific needs. They're in it for the kids. Agency tutor Tom is not. Just graduated from Oxford, he's there to make a bit of cash on the side before he heads off to law school. Instead of sticking to the curriculum, he deconstructs the grammar to Pink Floyd's "Another Brick in the Wall" ("We don't need no education"). The kids love it, but it doesn't help them in their exams. It's what you get when you have people teaching as a "stopgap". MacKeith tutored after leaving university, like Tom, and he's obviously angry, to the point where it's a little too in your face. Epic rants about the state of the system feel contrived rather than spontaneous. What School Play does do well, however, is highlight the many things that will always make education tough; pupils that need special care, difficult parents, long working days coupled with crumbling personal lives. In Jo, we see the breakdown of a prim and proper professional into a shrieking mess. We all know it's not easy being a teacher, juggling 70-hour weeks with a personal life, but Ann Ogbomo lets us know just how hard dealing with 200 kids every day really is. Oliver Dench plays ignorant Tom with a delightful hint of W1A's Will Humphries. He thinks he's doing the right thing but his attitude tips Jo over the edge. School Play shows us that education today is about playing the system, meeting national targets to get government grants, rather than trying to produce world-class thinkers. It's a bit Waterloo Road-meets-The Thick of It. Under flickering fluorescent lights and atrocious beige carpets, it occasionally feels a little too long, like you've been kept inside during break-time. But Fola Evans-Akingbola makes a decent stage debut. As does MacKeith who delivers a promising first play. School Play runs at Southwark Playhouse until 25 February. Southampton are on the cusp of shoring up the signing of Martin Caceres, after the former Barcelona and Juventus defender came through a medical today. According to the Guardian, Caceres a free agent since leaving Juve last summer will reportedly sign for the Saints in the next few days pending the approval of a work permit. Slightly short on centre-backs all of a sudden, Claude Puel is keen to bring in the 29-year-old free agent as immediate cover for the injured Virgil van Dijk and for Jose Fonte, who left to join West Ham a week or so ago. Crystal Palace were also said to be harbouring an interest, but passed on a deal after Caceres failed to suitably impress during his trial period. It may be move rooted in desperation more than anything else (Caceres is notoriously injury-prone himself), but Saints could definitely do worse than bringing in a 68-times capped international defender on the cheap. By Press Trust of India: Islamabad, Feb 6 (PTI) Pakistans parliament today passed a unanimous resolution extending solidarity with the Kashmiris and rejecting as "ridiculous" the Indian stand that Kashmir is an integral part of India. The resolution moved by Minister for Kashmir Affair Barjees Tahir in the National Assembly "extended political, moral and diplomatic support to the Kashmiris in the just struggle for their right to self-determination in lines with the UN resolutions," Radio Pakistan reported. advertisement "The resolution rejected the ridiculous Indian claim that Kashmir is an integral part of India as it itself took the issue to the UN as a dispute between the two sovereign states," it said. It condemned the alleged human rights violations in Kashmir and deplored continuous silence of the international community on the issue. The resolution came a day after Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif described Kashmir issue as the "unfinished agenda of partition" and the oldest disputes in the UN Security Council. "Jammu & Kashmir is the core dispute between Pakistan and India. The dream of peace and prosperity of the people of this region will remain elusive without resolving this dispute in accordance with the UNSC resolutions," Sharif said yesterday on the occasion of Kashmir Solidarity Day. The resolution called upon the UN Security Council to take concrete steps for implementation of its resolutions for granting right to self-determination to the Kashmiris. It called upon the international community to take notice of the gravity of the situation and urge India to respect human rights and right to self-determination. The resolution called upon the UN Military Observer Group in Pakistan and India to fulfill its mandated task. PTI ZH AKJ ZH --- ENDS --- Green: countries with national ban of GMOs, Yellow: countries with national moratorium, Orange: countries with no ban. Source Belize Ecuador Peru Venezuela Bhutan Kyrgyzstan Saudi Arabia Turkey Algeria Madagascar As Monsanto fights to gain control of world-wide agriculture, they're finding opposition in many countries, as GMO crops are no banned in ten more countries than they're allowed to be grown in! In 38 countries, GM crops are banned on the government level, with the backing of the country's scientists, doctors, and environmental agencies.Azerbaijan, Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Moldova, the Netherlands, Northern Ireland, Norway, Poland, Russia, Scotland, Serbia, Slovenia, Switzerland, Ukraine, and Wales.Links to detailed reports on each country are available on Sustainable Pulse The USA is the biggest grower with 73.1 million hectares of maize, soybean, cotton, canola, sugarbeet, alfalfa, papaya, squash.The second biggest is Brazil with 42.2 million hectares of soybean, maize, and cotton. They are followed by Argentina with 24.3 million hectares of the same crops, Canada with 11.6 million hectares or canola, maize, soybean, sugarbeet, and India with 11.6 million hectares of cotton.One hectare is a metric unit of square measure and is about 2.47 acres.Other countries growing GM crops include Australia, Bangladesh, Bolivia, Burkina Faso, Chile, China (where numbers are relatively small and a showdown is brewing over the issue), Columbia, Costa Rica (which has made recent efforts to become GM free), Cuba (which has mostly resisted U.S. pressure to forge deals for using more GM seeds, however) Czech Republic, Honduras, Mexico, Myanmar, Pakistan, Paraguay, Philippines, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, South Africa, Spain, Sudan, and Uruguay.Of course, it's well worth noting that there are now more countries banning the cultivation of GMOs than actually growing them.And just to add insult to injury, they were also banned in Scotland, the home country of Monsanto's founder Hugh Grant. It doesn't sound a whole lot like this technology is feeding the world now, does it? In a message posted on his official Twitter account, he said that none would be allowed to play with the lives of people and concerned District Police Officer would be held responsible in case a violation is reported. By Press Trust of India: Pakistan's Punjab province Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif today imposed a "complete ban" on Basant, a seasonal festival celebrated by Punjabis of all faiths to mark the commencement of the spring season. In a message posted on his official Twitter account, he said that none would be allowed to play with the lives of people and concerned District Police Officer would be held responsible in case a violation is reported. advertisement "Complete BAN on Basant. No one can be allowed to play with the lives of people concerned DPO will be responsible for any violation of ban," Sharif tweeted. Earlier, Punjab Law Minister Rana Sanaullah had said that the provincial government could not permit a "throat-cutting kite flying festival". There is a long established tradition of flying kites and holding fairs on the occasion. The festival was banned in Punjab in 2007 owing to deaths caused by sharply polished threads used to fly kites. However, many analysts say the festival was banned due to pressure from hardline religious and extremist groups like the Hafiz Saeed-led Jamaat-ud Dawah, which claimed the festival had "Hindu origins" and was "un-Islamic". --- ENDS --- With Jayalalithaa's photo in his shirt pocket, a teary-eyed Panneerselvam was watched by a large number of his supporters and AIADMK activists. Before leaving the memorial, Panneerselvam also did a parikrama of Jayalalithaa's memorial. By Rohini Swamy: In another dramatic turn in Tamil Nadu's politics, the incumbent Tamil Nadu Chief Minister O Panneerselvam tonight made an unscheduled visit at AIADMK chief J Jayalalithaa's memorial and sat there meditating for almost 40 minutes. With Jayalalithaa's photo in his shirt pocket, a teary-eyed Panneerselvam was watched by a large number of his supporters and AIADMK activists. Before leaving the memorial, Panneerselvam also did a parikrama of Jayalalithaa's memorial. advertisement SASIKALA'S TEAM IS PRESSURISING ME: PANEERSELVAM Addressing the media after his meditation, Paneerselvam said, "Jayalalithaa's soul called out to me, so i came hereto search my conscious. Also, I want to tell some truth to the people of this country and party cadre." He said, "I have performed my duty without any shortcomings and carried forward path shown by Ammaa. Sasikala's team is pressurising me." "I am the conscience keeper of Amma. But I resolved to myself that I will continue to work in Amma's name and that's when Cyclone Vardah also happened. I worked not for myself but for amma's spirit. I did everything possible to ensure Vardah wasn't an issue and that irritated Sasikala." Panneerselvam said, "Minister Udhayakumar told me Sasikala must become chief minister. I asked if it was ok considering that the legislative party chose me. He said if you don't agree, I will show you. Another minister came to me and assured me that Udhayakumar's words were wrong, but he went and said the same thing in Madurai.. MLA Sengottaiyan also said the same thing. Some legislators spoke to me and I told them that I'm sitting here as the chief minister then why are they humiliating me like this." He said, "If people are with me I will take back my resignation." The AIADMK leader, who became the Chief Minister after Jayalalithaa died on December 5, quit on Sunday to make way for VK Sasikala to take charge of the government. While Sasikala claimed that it was Panneerselvam who wanted her to become the party chief and the Chief Minister, he has not spoken on the subject publicly. GOVERNOR OBLIGATED TO SWEAR-IN DULY-ELECTED PERSON: AIADMK The AIADMK today said the Governor is constitutionally obligated to swear-in duly-elected person as Chief Minister and that it was not worried over the legal challenges against impending swearing-in of Sasikala to the top elected post. "It is a constitutional obligation on the part of a Governor to swear-in a duly-elected person as the Chief Minister," AIADMK spokesperson Panruti S. Ramachandran said. Asked about the delay in the government formation, Ramachandran said the party is awaiting Governor Ch. Vidyasagar Rao's return to Chennai. ALSO READ: Jayalalithaa was pushed, death unnatural, probe Sasikala: Former AIADMK leader's explosive charge Sasikala's swearing-in as Tamil Nadu CM mired in uncertainty, DMK leader Stalin seeks PM's intervention Online petition against Sasikala as Tamil Nadu CM gets more than 1.5 lakh signatures advertisement Chidambaram to India Today: Saddened at Sasikala's elevation, dark days ahead for Tamil Nadu WATCH --- ENDS --- PM Modi is speaking in the Lok Sabha in the discussion on the Motion of Thanks on the President's joint address to Parliament. By India Today Web Desk: Speaking in the Lok Sabha while replying to Motion of thanks to President's address, Prime Minister Narendra Modi today slammed Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi and the Opposition for protesting against the government's demonetisation drive. PM Modi mocked Rahul Gandhi for his "main bolunga to bhukamp aa jayega" remark, which the Congress leader made during the Winter Session of Parliament. advertisement HIGHLIGHTS of Modi's speech: Apne seene par haath rakh kar puchhiye, surgical strike se 24 ghante pehle Raj Netaon ne kaise kaise byaan diye. This comment prompts Congress MPs in the House to create an uproar. This comment prompts Congress MPs in the House to create an uproar. We know what the real problem of opposition is. Nobody is questioning why I maintained secret on it. Now politics also start on it. Under Mudra Yojna, 2 crore people have got benefit. people have become self-employed, skill development is a key area, on which we are working. Why was it that there were crop insurance schemes earlier but farmers were not keen to avail the benefits? Need to think seriously on holding Lok Sabha and assembly polls at one go.It is time to think about having Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha elections together; I know everybody will face some problems. We started the initiative to plug leakages in LPG gas supply. We plugged leakages in MNREGA, seized fake ration card in the country. As many as Rs 49,000 crore saved on poor scholarship, middlemen looted such amount. Now, middlemen no longer enjoy the benefits they did. We have stopped the corruption and loot. Mujhe maloom tha itni baareeki se har gali, mohalle se bhrashtachaar hataunga to mujh par kya toofan tootega. Ye sarkaar bhrashtachaar ke khilaf ladai ladne wali sarkar hai, 17 mantralayon ki 84 yojnayein humne direct benefit transfer se jodaa . . On demonetisation rule change, he said changes were made in rules repeatedly post-demonetisation as govt wanted to find ways to ease problems of people. We have allocated 52,000 crore for SCs and STs, but Leader of Opposiition delibartely hid the 2013-14 allocation. Today. 1.50 lakh crore has been given to 32 crore people through direct benefit transfer scheme. I plugged the loopholes in even smaller loots going on in the country. Then I spoke in Goa about the risk I was taking and the attack I was going to face. Ye sarkaar bhrashtachaar ke khilaf ladai ladne wali sarkar hai, 17 mantralayon ki 84 yojnayein humne direct benefit transfer se jodaa . . We saved 1300 crore on railway transportation. we distributed 21 crore LED bulbs, saved 11,000 crore on consumers bills. Railway connectivity has been given a boost, 3,000 km broad guage railway track has been constructed today. Aap Modi ka virodh karein, karna chahiye aapka kaam hai; lekin achi chizon ko aagey badhana chahiye. Pradan matri sadak yojna; Roads over 111 kilometres have been constructed in village, earlier it was 69 km, we used space technology for road construction, used drone for railway project. 22 lakh houses have been constructed today, compared to 10 lakh during Congress regime. National optical fiber network: 2012-14: Only in 59 villages connected, but no last-mile connectivity provision was made. We made last-mile connectivity, we decentralised the procurement issue now, we have connected 76,000 optical fibres with last-mile connectivity. In 2007, it was your leaders giving speech in villages that we brought computer revolution and mobile phones. Now today if I am saying that use digital economy and use Mobile for banking, you are questioning, that where are mobile and digital. Supreme Court quoted on 26 March 2014 that since 1947, no body thought of bringing back money from the foreign country. Congress govt. has changed the provision in MNREGA more than 1035 times in the bills. Jab hum kahe Rs 2 lakh se upar ka jewellery khareedne par PAN dikhana padega, bahut logon ne mujhe letters bheje isko raddh karwane ke liye. When can you have an operation? When body is healthy;Economy was doing well & thus our decision was taken at right time, he said on demonetisation. For demonetisation, good economy was needed & hence, this was a proper time. Like Swachh Bharat, demonetisation is a movement to clean India of corruption and black money. I appeal to everyone to join the mainstream and contribute in the development of the country on demonetisation. Like Swachh Bharat, the decision on demonetisation is a movement to clean India (from corruption and black money). After Notebandi, IT got the data, who is invested and deposited what and when. Notebandi was a calculative move. Decision was taken After Deepawali when trade was on high note. We do not see everything through the prism of elections;The interests of the nation are supreme for us. Humey chunaav ki chinta nahi hai desh ki chinta hai. Desh mein ek aisa varg panpaa jo gareebo ke haq ko loot-ta raha, isiliye desh unchaaiyon par nahi pahunch paya. Pehle hota tha - kitna gaya? Ab hota hai - Modiji kitna layein? this is how discourse has changed after we have assumed office. On the issue of demonetisation debate, he said pehle din se sarkar keh rahi hai ki charcha ke liye taiyaar hain, aapne socha charcha hui to Modi fayda utha le jayega. It does not matter how big you are, you will have to give back what belongs to the poor. My fight is for the poor. Everybody knows that corruption starts from cash and then it is Benami property, gold, jewellery -- everything is involved. Now Congress still tells us that in 1988, you had passed Benami property bill, but it has not been implemented till now. From the first day we are ready for discussion, but Opposition was more eager to give a TV bite rather than discussion. 90 years ago, Railway was the only way of transportation, now the situation has changed and we have several mode of transportation. We are changing Railway. When we came to power, we analysed that there were 1500 announcements which were buried in papers only. When Rail budget was first presented, the transport sector was different. Now things are different and a more comprehensive look is needed. India is an agricultural country. Generally, we used to start disbursement of buget in May and monsoon start in June, so for three months we were not able to use the budget allocation, he said on early Budget. I was surprised that there were some who made cleanliness also a political issue. Why can't we work together on ushering a Swachh Bharat. We need to understand the Jan shakti and this would help the country and help the development of deprived section of the society. There are many people like me, who could not die for the nation during freedom struggle but we are living for India and serving India. When even Congress was not born, Indian fought for their independence. We do not belong to dog culture. But lotus was even then and even today, he said in attacking Kharge for his remark. We remember how democracy was under threat from 1975 to 1977, when opposition leaders were jailed, newspaper freedom curtailed. There is something very special about 'Jan Shakti'. How can someone see 'SEVA' or any positive virtue in the word 'SCAM'. Bhukamp aa hi gaya, koi to kaaran hoga, dharti maa rooth gayi hongi. Kal bhukamp aaya, kendra sarkar Rajya Sarkar ke sampark me hai . . Aakhir bhukamp aaya kyun,jab koi SCAM mein bhi seva,namrata ka bhaav dekhta hai to dharti maa bhi dukhi ho jaati hai aur bhukamp aata hai. Delhi: TMC MPs protesting in front of Mahatma Gandhi statue inside Parliament House complex for electoral reform& state-funding of elections pic.twitter.com/mJDPh9SS3e ANI (@ANI_news) February 7, 2017 Delhi: Kerala MPs stage a protest in front of Gandhi statue inside Parliament House complex, demanding sufficient food allocation to Kerala. pic.twitter.com/hGWauvSgYM ANI (@ANI_news) February 7, 2017 ALSO READ: Gandhis died for the nation... Not even a dog from your house: Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge's outburst in Parliament Budget Session: Full text of President Pranab Mukherjee's address in Parliament ALSO WATCH --- ENDS --- By Press Trust of India: New Delhi, Feb 7 (PTI) PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry and Bahrain Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI) today announced signing of an MoU to establish and develop commercial links between the business communities of the two nations. The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) stipulates that the two chambers would promote trade and investment relations between India and Bahrain, and assist each other in trade and market research, conferences, symposia and other methods of trade promotional activities in their respective countries. advertisement In addition, it also aims to create and maintain a continuing exchange of information about economic developments and other matters affecting the business interests of their members as also promote visits of officials of both chambers. PTI RSN BAL --- ENDS --- Local police said the diversion had been due to reports of a "disruptive passenger and is not believed to be a hijack situation or terror matter". The plane landed at a remote passenger bay at Stansted airport. By Press Trust of India: A Pakistan International Airlines flight en route to London from Lahore was on Tuesday diverted away from landing at one of UK's busiest and largest Heathrow airport because of a "disruptive passenger" on board. Two Royal Air Force (RAF) jets were scrambled to escort PK757 to Stansted Airport, north-east of London. The plane landed at a remote passenger bay at Stansted, where police were on alert ready to meet the aircraft. advertisement HERE IS ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW Local police said the diversion had been due to reports of a "disruptive passenger and is not believed to be a hijack situation or terror matter". An Essex Police spokesperson said, "An aircraft was diverted to Stansted Airport at around 3 pm this afternoon [local time] while over UK airspace en route to Heathrow Airport due to reports of a disruptive passenger on board." "The plane is currently at the airport and officers are making enquiries. There is no disruption to the ongoing operation of Stansted Airport." Stansted said the aircraft was likely to continue its journey to Heathrow soon, pending police inquiries into the person on the plane. Initial reports of a "suspicious item" on-board seem to have been rejected. Pakistan's Civil Aviation Authority tweeted: "#PIA flight bound for Heathrow from Lahore has been diverted to #Stansted due to reasons aboard the aircraft." The RAF confirmed that Quick Reaction Alert (QRA) Typhoon aircraft had been scrambled from RAF Coningsby, in Lincolnshire. "The aircraft was intercepted and safely escorted to Stansted Airport", an RAF spokesperson said. --- ENDS --- "Since the economy was in strong condition, the timing of demonetisation was the best," Modi said in Lok Sabha during his reply to the Motion of Thanks on President Pranab Mukherjee's address. By India Today Web Desk: Defending his decision to ban Rs 500 and Rs 1000 currency notes, Prime Minister Narendra Modi today said the best time to launch demonetisation is when the economy is in good shape. "Since the economy was in strong condition, the timing of demonetisation was the best," Modi said in Lok Sabha during his reply to the Motion of Thanks on President Pranab Mukherjee's address. advertisement "When can you have an operation? When the body is healthy. The economy was doing well and thus our decision was taken at the right time," he said. "Like Swachh Bharat, the decision on demonetisation is a movement to clean India (from corruption and black money)," Modi said today. "I am taking such decisions which are hurting big people and because of that I am going to face problems. I am ready for that." he said. Modi's defence of demonetisation, however, runs counter to many top economists, who had protested the decision when the Indian economy was doing well. Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, also a renowned economist, had called demonetisation a "monumental mismanagement" and "organised loot and legalised plunder". Development economist Jean Dreze had used a racing analogy. "Demonetisation in a booming economy is like shooting at the tyres of a racing car," he had said. On November 8 last year, Modi, in a televised address, announced the banning of high currency notes - a decision he said was aimed at checking black money and terror funding. The decision triggered massive protest from the Opposition and chaos outside banks and ATMs across the country following the massive cash crunch. There are also allegations of over a 100 deaths due to demonetisation.Some think India became free due to one family: Modi In his speech, Modi also attacked the Congress over the role of "one family" in the freedom struggle and said they had neglected the contribution of others. "There are many people like me who couldn't die for the nation during the freedom struggle but we are living for India and serving India," Modi said during the debate on Motion of Thanks to the President's address. "Somewhere on the way, 'Jan Shakti' (people power) was forgotten and we don't accept this," he said. "I never heard them speak about the role of Chandrasekhar Azad, Bhagat Singh and many other freedom fighters who laid down their lives for the country," Modi said. "They think the country got independence only due to one family," Modi said in an apparent attack on the Nehru dynasty. He said India had to be taken to newer heights. "Faith in Jan Shakti will give results." advertisement Also read: PM Narendra Modi LIVE in Parliament: They don't want demonetisation debate because I gain from it PM Modi knows why Uttarakhand earthquake happened. And it has a Rahul Gandhi connection Gandhis died for the nation... Not even a dog from your house: Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge's outburst in Parliament Modi's quake vs Rahul's quake: Decide the winner WATCH NOW --- ENDS --- A special team of Nepal police arrested ISI agent Samshul Hoda along with three others at the Tribhuvan International Airport on Monday. By Press Trust of India: A key suspect in the Kanpur train derailment in November last year, in which over 140 people were killed, has been arrested from Kathmandu after being deported from Dubai. A special team of Nepal police arrested ISI agent Samshul Hoda along with three others at the Tribhuvan International Airport on Monday. Nepal police and Indian agency arrested ISI agent Shamshul Hoda, who has links with one of the train blast accused: NIA Sources ANI (@ANI_news) February 7, 2017 advertisement KNOW ALL ABOUT ISI AGENT HODA Hoda was detained from the Tribhuvan International Airport, said Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) Pashupati Upadhyaya. "We have heard that Hoda is wanted in a railway accident that took place in Kanpur last year killing 150 people," Upadhyaya added. "Nepal police will also closely coordinate with the Indian police for Hoda's alleged involvement in criminal activities in India," he said. The three others arrested have been identified as Brij Kishor Giri, Ashish Singh and Umesh Kumar Kurmi, all from southern Nepal's Kalaiya district. The police have brought Hoda and three other accused criminals to Nepal from Dubai in coordination with the Interpol, Upadhyaya told PTI. Hoda is the mastermind of a twin murder in Bara district of Nepal, the police said. He is believed to be having links with international criminal groups and has been involved in a number of criminal activities in Nepal and India, Upadhyaya said. A case has already been registered against him in Bara district court, he added. The role of the ISI is being suspected in the incident after Bihar police in January arrested three people claiming that they were working for the Pakistani intelligence agency to target Indian railways. According to Bihar police, the three were paid Rs three lakh by a Nepali man who had connections with Hoda. Nepal police's FIR copy on Shamshul Hoda. Photo: Mrityunjay Singh. Also read | Pakistan's link unearthed in Kanpur train accident that killed more than 140 passengers, 3 arrested WATCH VIDEO (WITH INPUTS FROM PTI) --- ENDS --- A Chatfield man apparently accidentally shot himself in the foot with a rifle while coyote hunting Monday in Fillmore County, according to the Fillmore County Sheriffs Office. Shortly after 5 p.m. Monday, the office received a report of a man injured by a gunshot in the area of the Fillmore County Airport. The caller said the wound did not appear to be life-threatening, and that they were transporting the victim to the Preston ambulance station. Once the victim arrived at the station, the Preston Ambulance Service transported them to St. Marys Hospital in Rochester, where he is being treated for a non-life threatening gunshot wound to the foot, the office said. The 29-year-old man and the vehicles driver had been out coyote hunting when the man apparently shot himself in the foot with a high-powered rifle while inside the vehicle, the Office said. The incident is under investigation by the Fillmore County Sheriffs Office and the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. Because no charges have been filed, those involved have not been named. The Winona City Council decided Monday to pursue a flexible option for the Masonic Temples rigging system, moving forward with a project that has been studied for several years. City staff recommended a combined mechanical and manual rigging system, which would include 28 linesets, 16 of those general purpose, which would include potentially using the historic drops. The council unanimously approved the plan, with the caveat that they try to negotiate up to 10 historic drops being included, despite warnings that approaching that number could put the discussions with Hurry Back Productions to create an arts venue for a wide variety of performance in jeopardy. The consultants report from January had priced the option at $504,900 for the setup, which includes the rigging, electrical, demolition and construction, but doesnt include other aspects namely, the potential rehabilitation of any of the drops, asbestos abatement, or potential code-required upgrades to the building. Chad Ubl, the citys community services director, said that adding the manual and motorized linesets would cost another $40,000 and provides the most flexible use of space. They dont have an estimate for the restoration costs yet. Ubl said they would be able to look at the details again throughout the process, when they are putting out for bids and when they accept them. Council will see these really detailed design elements again, Ubl said. Ubl also noted that the council already approved putting $500,000 or more for the roof and structural supports, plus the $1.8 million in bonding for upgrades to make the building more usable. Ubl said the decision also supports the public-private partnership between the city and Hurry Back Productions. The price tag on the rigging project could change if they decide to negotiate fully for the restoration of 10 drops, which would likely change the setup of the rigging. Mayor Mark Peterson said that the city should try to balance the drops, which he said were important, with the potential business agreement. I think one of our first priorities here should be making sure were working with Hurry Back, Peterson said. I think we have a tremendous opportunity here not only to save the building, but do improvements. Food truck ordinance approved The city also unanimously approved a food truck ordinance with an amendment to warn against feeding ducks and geese with food from Lake Park vendors, with other changes discussed. Council member Pam Eyden said that a number of the particulars in the ordinance, like requiring Third Street vendors to have a brick-and-mortar presence while the Lake Park trucks wouldnt need it, didnt make sense. I just have a feeling its not organized quite as well as we might do, Eyden said. Council member Gerry Krage said that they should consider adding a limit to the number of trucks, for similar reasons as they added a requirement for a brick-and-mortar presence after concerns by restaurants about competition. Krages motion to limit the number of trucks to three at any given time was not added to the ordinance. Were talking a true finite area, Krage said. Its really for the existing businesses that are on Third Street. Others argued that three would have been an inappropriate limit, and that a lot of area businesses close before the food trucks begin serving. Council member Al Thurley said that he would not support limiting the choice of vendors or consumers. Id really like to see the free market work in this case, Thurley said. I really couldnt see myself voting for something that limits someones options if they meet all the requirements. The ordinance included an annual license would cost $200, and a temporary, seven-day license $50. The citys ordinance will still allow trucks at Lake Park by the band shell and softball fields, at city events where organizers are allowed to have vendors, on private property, and downtown on Third Street from Kansas Street to Johnson Street. Food trucks on private commercial areas or institutional property could be only open during business hours of the entity, and downtown food trucks would still have to operate a brick-and-mortar restaurant elsewhere in the city. Dog park update The council also got an update on the dog park project, which is continuing to move forward after a unanimous decision by the council to follow the plan put forward by Parks and Recreation. Maynard Johnson, Parks and Recreation director, said they will be aiming to raise the $40,000 they are shy of the cost in a fundraising effort. Its time for us to get going and have this, Johnson said. We hope to make enough money so that come spring or early summer well be able to have a dog park. The city decided last summer that the citys first dog park would be located in Prairie Island park area near the Kiwanis shelter, where there is already something of an unofficial dog park, with off-leash dogs allowed. The Parks and Recreation Department estimated the cost of fencing and installation, benches, a parking area, portable toilets, signage and rules, and garbage cans at $50,000, of which the city has set aside $10,000. There would not be a fee, Johnson said, but they would require dogs to be registered and up to date on their shots. Public education in Wisconsin should provide high-quality learning for all children, no matter who they are or where they live, Eau Claire school board president Chris Hambuch-Boyle recently told me. Hambuch-Boyle and education leaders across the state read with interest details of the governors plan for our next state budget. Gov. Walker gave money to a number of new initiatives, which drew the praise of some education leaders. The plan picks and chooses among various proposals advanced over the last few years. Some new programs are funded and some existing programs get more money. The plan is a compromise. However as with any political compromise we should know what is not included and what is not being done. We fund schools primarily through a school aid formula. Its purpose is to equalize resources in school districts across Wisconsin so regardless of where a child lives in the state, the opportunities for learning will be relatively equal. The equalized aid formula is broken. A number of plans were proposed to fix the formula including ideas I supported. But the governors new plan does nothing to fix the formula. Rather, most of the new money in the governors plan gives the same dollars to property-rich districts as to property-poor districts. This is a new direction for our state. Since 1973, governors have supported sending money for schools through the equalized aid formula. The policy of both parties was to see that every Wisconsin child had the same benefit of equal opportunity for a sound education. Hambuch-Boyle expressed concerns that the governors plan makes the inequity worse. Under the guise of heres some more money, he extends the inequity. Consequently, children in property-rich schools have a better opportunity than children living in a property-poor district. School districts across state would be better served if the additional dollars recommended by the governor were distributed through an improved equalized aid formula. Children would be better served if school leaders knew they could count on a steady partnership from the state. Hambuch-Boyle and many others across the state are working very hard to re-imagine public education for 21st Century students. Leaders in western Wisconsin encouraged legislators to learn about innovations. During a recent visit to an Eau Claire Middle School, I saw evidence of a new world in our public schools. What do we want from our education system for our children? We want a place for our children to learn, to develop cognitive and social skills. We need our children to develop character and become responsible citizens. But we also want our children to find their passion and purpose. Tony Wagner and Ted Dintersmith write in their book, Most Likely to Succeed, that students need to tackle the challenge of how to leverage your passion and talents to make the world better. Most Likely to Succeed is both a book and a documentary. Local education leaders recently invited legislators to view the film and talk about changes in our classrooms. The film explores innovation in education and the possibilities for the 21st century school. After viewing the film and visiting the ARCTIC Zone classroom at Eau Claires Northstar Middle School, I am beginning to see the future of education. The world no longer cares how much you know, because Google knows everything. What the world cares about what matters for learning, work and citizenship is what you can do with what you know, write Wagner and Dintersmith. Students need to learn in groups by practicing problem solving and navigating group dynamics. Critical thinking, communication, and collaborative problem solving are skills actively taught and evaluated as part of the school day in pioneering programs. New ways of teaching and learning means many old ways must change. Resources are needed. Funding stability is critical. Wisconsin schools can innovate. We can provide high quality opportunities for our children that live in Beloit, Black River Falls, Brookfield or Bruce. To get there, school leaders must be confident they dont have to worry about deep cuts in the next budget and we must fix the current school funding formula. This commitment is necessary to provide an equal opportunity education to every child. I was dismayed to read that on Jan. 23 our U.S. senator Amy Klobuchar voted to put Mike Pompeo in charge of the CIA. Pompeo has a history of supporting torture and has called torturers "patriots." He has supported mass surveillance of U.S. citizens and has advocated the execution of Edward Snowden. Mike Pompeo's appointment was opposed by Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International. But Klobuchar, along with 13 other Democratic senators including party leaders Dianne Feinstein, Chuck Schumer, Mark Warner, and Tim Kaine, put her stamp of approval on his elevation to head the CIA. Did Sen. Klobuchar feel her vote for Pompeo was a good career move (she is a possible presidential candidate in 2020) or did she feel she was representing Minnesota values as she claims to do on her website? Unfortunately, Obama insured that torture would raise its obscene head again by insisting that we "look forward, not backward" and refrain from "being too self-righteous" in wanting torturers brought to justice. Now we find that Gina Haspel, an actual torture supervisor from the Bush administration, has been appointed deputy director of the CIA. Pompeo says of Haspel, "She inspires those around her." Way to go, Democrats. This Friday, Minnesota DFL party chair Ken Martin will host a listening session in Winona to find out if we "feel our concerns have been heard by the Minnesota DFL." We can give him feedback on Feb. 10 from 6:30-9:30 p.m. in the Tau Conference Center Rotunda at 511 Hilbert St. in Winona. From my perspective the "descent into fascism" did not start with Trump. Both major parties are implicated. In life, Corey Compton funded special science programs for Baraboo elementary schools for 10 years. In death, hell provide educational enrichment forever. A 1950 Baraboo High School graduate who found success in facility management, Curt Corey Compton died in June 2016. A decade earlier, he created a fund with the Greater Sauk County Community Foundation that paid for the Center of Science and Industry to visit Baraboos public elementaries each year. Compton made the Community Foundation the beneficiary of his estate, including an $800,000 trust to be put toward science education. That sum will form an endowment, the annual earnings from which will fund special science programs at local elementaries. Those earnings should total tens of thousands of dollars each year. You can do a lot with that, said Robin Whyte, associate director of the Community Foundation. District Administrator Lori Mueller said the gift is much-needed and greatly appreciated. These funds will ensure that our elementary students have access to sufficient supplies and hands-on experiences to deepen their understanding with science concepts and skills, she said. This marks the last in a string of gifts from Compton to his hometown schools. His fund annually gave $3,000 to $5,000 for science programs at Al Behrman Elementary, among other grants. Compton was motivated to create his charitable fund by another philanthropic resident with an affection for local schools. Al Behrman, a volunteer at South School it was later renamed in his honor established a fund for special programming there. Compton joined him in helping pay for such programs. That's how Compton learned about the Community Foundation, which administers a variety of funds for charitable causes across the county and beyond. We will manage and watch over that gift forever, Whyte said. Compton attended East Elementary when it was still called the Second Ward School. He spent most of his adult life in southern Ohio, retiring from AK Steel as manager of administrative services and founding Facility Management Consulting. In a 2009 interview, he told the News Republic he wanted to sow some seeds of a love of science in young learners, hoping some would choose careers in science and mathematics. We dont have enough of those people in this country, he said. If we can get 10 to swing toward this as they grow through school, it would be a double home run. Compton traveled to Baraboo annually to visit the schools and see the Center of Science and Industry program at work. Monetarily I did well in life and I can afford to do this, he said. This is the most meaningful thing Ive ever done in my life. Mueller said the district already has plans for the annual grants to come from the endowment Compton created. The funds will be used to add equipment and manipulatives to the elementary science curriculum, extend student activities outside of the classroom for science exploration, she said, and support professional development for teachers to deliver inquiry-based instruction. The Cooper Street culvert replacement project is moving back the substantial completion date and with a high river flow the project will cost more than expected. Weve been struggling with water issues related to the river levels, Mike Laue from MSA Professional Services told Beaver Dam Operations Committee, Monday night. The delay will cost more than $112,000 and the substantial end date is moving from Feb. 1 to March 17. The final end date still sits at June 1. Laue said the substantial completion ensures that the culvert is functioning properly while the final completion date includes road restoration. The total cost of the project is now $613,000. Laue said wet weather and water from Fox Lakes flowing into Beaver Dam Lake has forced the Cooper Street contractor to fight high water. He said the contractor has been pumping water in order to control the water levels. Laue said the aim is to restart work next week and wrap up near the end of the month. Alderperson Cris Olson asked if there was any way to prevent this by taking precautions knowing that Fox Lake would open its dam. Rob Minnema, utilities director said the contractor bid on this project with the understanding that the water flow would be controlled. He told the committee that November and December has created a weird winter for Beaver Dam Lake. Olson said he was surprised that the project starting during the winter months and furthermore leading to the closure of Cooper Street has led to frustration in his ward. Maryann Schacht, city attorney said that this is an unforeseen incident and that it is important to complete the project. However, Tom Kennedy said that it would be reasonable to pay 75 percent of the costs up front and hold back 25 percent until the project is completed as a contingency plan. The culvert replacement project started in October. Last summer, Beaver Dam Common Council accepted a $425,000 Community Development Block Grant. The Wisconsin Department of Administration Division of House awarded the grant to Beaver Dam for disaster relief and long-term recovery. The committee approved the change order with the contingency plan. Police are seeking information about a 15-year-old boy who has been missing since he left a group home in Beaver Dam on Jan. 3. Austin Lee Michael Garcia, is a white male with brown hair and brown eyes. A flyer distributed by police says he is 5 feet, 3 inches and weighs 116 pounds. He was last seen wearing a black/gray hooded sweatshirt, jeans. a black coat with white stripes on the sleeves and had numerous marker and pen marks on his right arm. By Press Trust of India: Jammu, Feb 7 (PTI) Protected persons and officers in Jammu and Kashmir shall lose their security cover if the policemen guarding them are made to do menial chores and deprived of basic amenities. "It shall be ensured that no police person deployed on guard and PSO duty etc is put to menial work by the concerned protectee and officer," J&K Director General of Police (DGP), S P Vaid said in a order. advertisement "In case of deviation, the concerned police person shall face departmental action and facility of guard and PSO to protectee shall be withdrawn," DGP said. Complaints have been made by different quarters that policemen on security duty for protection of political persons and officers are often used for household chores, including cooking. The DGP has also directed the Senior Superintendent of Police (SSPs) and Commandants to take up the matter of basic amenities for policemen on security duty with with authorities and protected persons. If the protected persons fail to make such amenities available to them, withdrawal of guards shall be considered. It has been reported that basic amenities like washrooms, toilets and proper accommodations are not made available by the borrowing agencies, departments, officers and protected persons to police guards, the order noted. Police personnel deployed with statuary authorities and protected persons are put to menial and irrelevant assignments which is highly dubious and tells badly upon the proficiency of police persons concerned in particular and on the organisational fabric in general, it said. PTI AB DK BSA --- ENDS --- Beaver Dam Police Department busted two underage drinking parties in Beaver Dam with one party estimated to have more than 30 children in attendance. I dont think these kids realize how serious it was, said John Kreuziger, Beaver Dam police chief, over the phone. Police were tipped off that a party was occurring in the 1400 block of Hiawatha Drive after receiving an anonymous call. The caller said that she/he overheard children talking about the party at the Snowball dance at Beaver Dam High School, 500 Gould St. Kreuziger said that the caller was afraid that something bad might happen to the children. Kreuziger said once police arrived, the main floor lights were off, but officers could hear voices. A girl answered the door after police knocked, but when she didnt return police walked down to the basement. Kreuziger said police found hard liquor and cans of beer. A large pile of vomit was found near the couch and on some jackets. The owner of the house was in Chicago for the weekend. In total 10 underage drinking citations were issued. Police later learned that an additional party was occurring in the 200 block of Alison Lane. After arriving at the Alison Lane residence at 2:53 a.m., police were able to see beer cans in the basement through a narrowly opened window. According to Kreuziger, no one at the residence would answer the door. Police called the homeowners who were in Florida at the time. The owners gave police access to the house. Once inside, Kreuziger said police could smell marijuana, found glass pipes and a sign that read if you dont smoke weed, dont come back here. Kreuziger estimated that more than 30 children were at this party. Three children were issued underage drinking citations. No one was cited with possession of marijuana or possession of drug paraphernalia. Kreuziger said police are still investigating who owned a backpack containing drugs. The homeowners for each residence will not be issued citations for aiding or hosting the underage drinking parties, according to Kreuziger. He thanked the parents for their cooperation. Unrelated to the two parties, according to the Beaver Dam Police Department briefing, Saturday at 11:38 p.m., a 16-year-old girl was found intoxicated in the 1700 block of North Spring Street after a 17-year-old girl in the vehicle called police. She was warned for speeding. The passenger, an 18-year-old man, was cited with possession of an open intoxicant. A third underage drinking incident occurred at Quality Inn, 815 Park Ave., which resulted in one person being cited with underage drinking. Kreuziger said this report is unrelated to the house parties in the city. Dodge County Sheriffs Office responded to a underage drinking complaint in the town of Beaver Dam on North Crystal Lake Road. According to the Sheriffs briefing, Feb. 5 at 2:10 a.m. deputies met with a 19-year-old man and a 20-year-old man who both admitted to drinking. On Facebook, Dodge County Sheriffs Office posted that it assisted Beaver Dam Police Department with three underage drinking complaints in and around the city of Beaver Dam. The sheriffs office posted photos to Facebook from the investigations. When a retail store sells a tobacco or nicotine product to a minor, it is a violation of state law. The question is how is this law enforced in a place like Columbia County? The answer has to do with the Wisconsin Wins program a tobacco control program funded by the Wisconsin Department of Health Services. Wisconsin Wins provides the Tobacco Free Columbia-Dane County Coalition with the authority to conduct unannounced tobacco and nicotine compliance checks at retailers selling these products. During compliance checks, an underage person, under the supervision of Coalition staff, attempts to purchase tobacco and/or nicotine products from the retailer. These checks even include businesses that are supposed to only serve adults (e.g. liquor stores, bars, tobacco shops). In 2016, a Wisconsin Wins team, consisting of coalition staff and area youth, conducted 72 tobacco and nicotine compliance checks at retailers in Columbia County. Of these 72 compliance checks, eight resulted in an illegal sale or an 11 percent sales rate. Good news is, is this is the lowest sales rate Columbia County has experienced since 2013. Bad news is, one in nine tobacco and nicotine retailers are still selling to youth in Columbia County, said Nina Gregerson, assistant coordinator for the Tobacco Free Columbia-Dane County Coalition. Of the eight sales that occurred in 2016, five sales were made without the sales clerk asking for the youth inspectors ID. Gregerson explained that it is state and federal law to always check the ID of anyone purchasing tobacco or nicotine products if they look under the age of 27. The state of Wisconsin also requires that clerks who sell tobacco or nicotine products complete a state-approved tobacco training prior to selling these products, Gregerson said. The two state-approved trainings are the Learn2Serve beverage training and the free online Smoke Check training. Smoke Check is a free online tobacco training tool accessible for all retailers needing to meet the tobacco training requirement. We highly encourage all owners and managers make sure that clerks who sell tobacco complete this training, Gregerson said. Approximately 2,900 kids under the age of 18 in Wisconsin become new daily smokers every year. It has also been estimated that tobacco costs the state of Wisconsin over $4 billion in healthcare and loss in productivity costs each year. Its our collective responsibility to keep tobacco and nicotine products out of the hands of our youth and prevent a new generation from becoming addicted to nicotine, Gregerson said. For more information about the Wisconsin Wins program, visit www.wiwins.org or contact Nina Gregerson at 608-243-0434 or ngregerson@publichealthmdc.com. A copy of the 2016 Columbia County Tobacco & Nicotine Compliance Report can be found at http://www.publichealthmdc.com/publications/documents/ColumbiaCoTobaccoReport2016.pdf. This Saturday, Feb. 11, the city of Columbus will host a Skijor America competition during the Winter Day at the Park, an annual event sponsored by the Wisconsin Horse Council Equine Foundation, at Firemans Park. All activities will be held in front of the pavilion located on Park Avenue. Skijoring is a sport involving 1,200-pound horses pulling skiers as fast as they can go can along a course while they maneuver between gates and grab rings through their arms. Teams will be competing for a $500 purse. Each team will be comprised of one horse and rider and one skier. Each team will get two rounds to prove to the judges they are the most accurate at the top speed. Entries will open the morning of the competition and cost $80 per team. Most Skijor America competitions are held out West. Columbus is the first contest to be held in the Midwest. Duffy Council from Colorado will be competing at the Columbus event and helping others learn about the sport of skijoring. The skijoring competition will begin at 1 p.m. Other activities being held during Winter Day at the Park will include a sleigh-driving competition starting at 11 a.m., bobsled rides starting at noon and a Breyer model horse show inside the pavilion from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Also inside the pavilion, warm food will be sold at the Sleigh Belle Cafe, and a number of vendors will have items for sale. The public is welcome to come out and watch the activities taking place throughout the day. There is no admission charge for spectators. Horse trailers should park in the high school parking lot on Highway 89/Farnham Street. Zion Lutheran School will host a 4K and Kindergarten Open House on Tuesday, Feb. 21 from 6 to 7:30 p.m. This is for families with children turning 4 or 5 by Sept. 1, 2017. Pastor Wilke and Principal Alex Vandenberg will present on different aspects of Zion Lutheran School. Rachel Grambsch and Niki Schwartz will speak about Zions K4 and kindergarten programs. Free childcare will be provided for future students and their siblings during these parent meetings. Parents who cannot make this time, and/or would like to schedule an individual meeting are asked to contact the school office at 920-623-5180. Zion Lutheran Schools mission is to partner with parents to empower and prepare students through a Christ-centered education. The school has been serving the community of Columbus and outlying areas for over 150 years. For more information, come to the open house on the 21st or visit zioncolumbus.org. An annual winter tradition has finally returned to Mauston. With the strange weather the area has experienced this season; local residents probably wondered if the old car would ever be placed on the frozen Lemonweir River. On Saturday, conditions were finally right for the Outdoors Forever Conservation Club to begin its annual Car Dunk Contest, placing a Ford Mustang on the river in downtown Mauston. Last year, Outdoors Forever put a Lincoln Continental on the frozen river during the last week of January and the car didnt fully sink until March 1 as the weather warmed up. In 2015, the car lasted exactly two months, from Jan. 15 to March 15. This years contest is the fourth annual for the conservation club and member Stanley Clements believes its the latest start to the contest. We put it out there on Saturday morning at 11:15 and we set the clock, Clements said. The warm spell we had this year certainly didnt help us. Tickets, which can be purchased at several area businesses, are $2 each or $3 for five. Contestants mark down the date and time they think the car will sink and submit their entries. The conservation club uses funds from the contest to host programs throughout the year. People can get tickets at most of the bars in town and most of the auto parts stores, Clements said. The Car Dunk Contest was an annual Mauston Kiwanis event for decades, but was ended due to regulations from the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. However, due to high demand, the contest returned in 2014 and has been a hit since its revival. Organizers said the car is stripped of its engine, fuel tank and transmission to make it safe for the environment. The car has to be full submerged for it to be considered dunked. Last year we had the big old Sinkin Lincoln and this year we have Mustang Sally, Clements said. The Lincoln was big and people expected a car with that size would go down sooner. We didnt want people to predict a pattern of when it would go down. (The Mustang) is a different car with a little different weight distribution on the ice. Mustang Sally was donated by Manthey Salvage and will be removed by Zeman Machine and Repair, both local businesses. When the car is retrieved, its anyones guess as to what will be attached to the submerged vehicle. This one year we took it out and a bicycle came out with it, Clements said. Last year a salamander was living in the backseat, but we havent caught any fish yet. Outdoors Forever strives to provide recreational opportunities for area youth. The club hosted its annual ice fisheree earlier this year and is planning an outdoors day for kids in April. In-state undergraduate students at University of Wisconsin System schools would see a 5 percent tuition cut under Gov. Scott Walker's proposed 2017-19 budget, set to be unveiled in full on Wednesday. The governor released his plans for UW System funding on Tuesday, with campus visits planned in La Crosse, Eau Claire and Green Bay. The cut would be paid for with a $35 million bump in general purpose revenue, Walker said. That would come on top of a $100 million increase to the UW budget, $42.5 million of which would be tied to performance metrics based on affordability, workforce success of graduates, administrative efficiency, service and other criteria. "The UW System plays a key role in developing our future workforce," Walker said in a statement. "Our investment today ensures student success by making college even more affordable, providing greater opportunities for students to earn their degree, and helping to bridge the gap between higher education and our workforce. We want our students to fuel the growth of our economy." Walker first floated the tuition cut in his State of the State address last month. Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald, R-Juneau, told reporters on Monday he doesn't see "excitement" for the proposal, and a spokeswoman for Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, said Vos supports keeping tuition where it is and would like to focus on providing adequate financial aid. Spokespeople for legislative Democratic leaders did not immediately provide comments on the governor's proposal The cut would follow a four-year tuition freeze, but also a $250 million cut to the system's funding delivered in the governor's 2015-17 budget. Before the freeze, implemented in Walker's second budget, tuition had gone up 5.5 percent annually since the 2007-08 academic year. Walker's budget proposal would also allow students to opt out of paying allocable segregated fees that go toward campus activities and services offered by student government and campus leadership, which would let students "make the decisions on what they do and do not want to fund." Those fees support the General Student Services Fund, WSUM student radio, the Rape Crisis Center, the Tenant Resource Center, bus passes, grants to student organizations and administrative costs for student government. UW schools would be required to offer an option for students to earn a bachelor's degree in three years, which could save students between $18,000 and $25,000, according to the Legislative Fiscal Bureau. Walker has said his number one priority going forward is strengthening Wisconsin's workforce. His budget would require students to have an internship or other work experience before graduating from a UW System school. The governor's budget places an emphasis on the UW Flex Option program, which allows working adults to earn a college degree in part by demonstrating proficiency they've gained on their own. The budget would also offer $700,000 in financial aid for students taking Flex Option courses, and would require the UW System to create five new Flex Option degrees in high-demand fields by 2020. Also under the proposal, starting in the 2018-19 school year, no fewer than 60 core general education credits must be transferable between the state's technical college system and the UW System. The UW Board of Regents would be required, under Walker's plan, to set a policy for faculty and academic staff teaching workloads. Instructors would be required to report the number of hours they spend teaching to UW administrators, and would be rewarded for teaching more than the standard academic load. Those reports would be made public. Also under the proposal, the Wisconsin Rural Physician Residency Assistance program would see a $200,000 funding increase, and the UW-Madison Alzheimers Disease Research Center would receive $100,000. A bright budget outlook could mean millions of more dollars sent from the state to county governments to provide child welfare services and to fix their roads, Gov. Scott Walker told county officials on Tuesday. Walker, a day before he plans to unveil his full 2017-19 spending plan, told members of the Wisconsin Counties Association that one major ask he plans to fulfill for counties is to propose state funding to eliminate waiting lists for children with disabilities needing long-term care from counties. The budget will provide $39 million over two years to eliminate the waiting lists for 2,200 children with disabilities. As of 2013, the 10 counties with the largest waiting lists were delaying care for nearly 1,400 children, according to the Wisconsin Board for People With Developmental Disabilities. Mark OConnell, executive director of the Wisconsin Counties Association, on Tuesday called Walkers proposals gifts to county officials. Walker also said he will propose to increase rates at which foster care and kinship care providers are paid to care for children by 2.5 percent annually, along with additional funding. The total state aid to help counties provide child welfare services will increase by about $6.5 million over the biennium in his budget proposal, too, Walker said. The total allocation will be about $145 million. Nursing home provider rates also will increase by 2 percent annually under Walkers budget proposal, he said, with a funding increase of $18.3 million in the first fiscal year of the budget and about $33 million in the second year. Walker also said he will propose about $373.3 million in the state budget to give to counties for highway maintenance. About $1.3 million will be provided to counties through grants to expand the states drug court program, which provides offenders with treatment as an alternative to jail time. About $9 million will be provided in the state budget proposal to expand the states program that offers criminal offenders with substance abuse problems alternatives to jail or prison sentences. Walker is also proposing to add $649 million for K-12 schools. The idea has received a mixed reaction from even Republican lawmakers, though school officials have praised it. Walker said Tuesday that detractors are cynics. A Pardeeville man is being held on a $400 cash bond after being charged with a fourth drunken driving offense within five years. Justin Fobes, 23, was arrested Saturday, charged with felony drunken driving, misdemeanor operating a vehicle with a revoked license and failure to install an ignition interlock device as ordered by a court. The defendant has a history of failing to appear for court in Columbia County, which was his operating while intoxicated as a second offense conviction, said District Attorney Jane Kohlwey during Fobes bond hearing Monday in Columbia County Circuit Court. During proceedings, regarding his second offense in June 2014, Kohlwey said that Fobes had failed to appear for his hearing, resulting in a warrant being issued for his arrest. Fobes turned himself in to authorities four days later, then was released on a $100 cash bond. Just January of this year the defendant did very much the same thing, said Kohlwey pointing to a failure to appear on Jan. 12, then turning himself in the next day. Apparently court is for when Mr. Fobes is able to get here, not when it is scheduled, said Kohlwey. We have that, plus the nature of the offense fourth within five years, for someone who is only 23 years old and a person who has resisting, obstructing and bail jumping convictions just this year. Deputies with the Columbia County Sheriffs Office responded to a call just past 1 a.m. Saturday about suspicious behavior and a possible accident involving two vehicles at a boat landing on Lake Wisconsin in Dekorra. One of the drivers, Fobes, reportedly told a deputy that he had turned the corner into the boat landing, lost traction and began spinning out. When asked if he had been drinking, the officer reported that Fobes said that he had gone to a bar with co-workers in Dane County and had a couple of beers while playing pool. After a field sobriety test, Fobes was taken into custody, registering 0.145 on a preliminary breath test. He did turn himself in immediately upon recognizing that he had this court (date), said defense attorney Tristan Eagon. He does live locally and will be missing work in approximately 20 minutes if he is not released. This is a case that the court would have considered a $500 cash bond without all the rest of the story, only the allegations contained in this case. I might not have agreed with that, but I seriously would have considered it, said Judge Andrew Voigt. His conduct does present the risk to the general public and the court certainly has to be concerned about his willingness to follow bond conditions under these circumstances, Voigt said of Fobes, ordering him to be held on $400 cash bond. Fobes is scheduled to next appear in court for a April 3 return hearing. If convicted on all charges, he faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 60 days in jail and maximum of six years in prison. By Siraj Qureshi: With the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections just days away, almost all political leaders are trying to tap into the biggest group of voters in the agrarian state - farmers. They're talking about farmer welfare in their public addresses, and taking up issues like farmer loans and availability of fertilizers. And Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi, too, made attempts to appeal to this demographic at a public meeting on Tuesday. advertisement Rahul said at a meeting in Mant in Mathura district (Agra division) that he had tried to make Prime Minister Narendra Modi aware of farmers' problems when he met him last month, but the PM did nothing for them. He accused Modi of making false promises to them to get votes. Congress UP President Raj Babbar and Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan, too, launched scathing attacks on the PM HERE IS EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW: Rahul said several sugarcane farmers had committed suicide in Uttar Pradesh, and that the youth were still waiting for Modi to fulfill his promise of providing employment to all. Claiming that the PM was a liar, Rahul said that while Modi had promised to deposit 15 lakh in every poor man's bank account, he still hadn't deposited even Rs 15. Rahul said he had traveled across Uttar Pradesh for the past 30 days, and had seen farmers' problems with his own eyes. He promised that when the Samajwadi Party (SP)-Congress coalition forms the government in the state, it will work for the upliftment of these farmers. Rahul said Modi had promised to open a medical college in UP, but hadn't even opened a coaching institute. The Modi government is making the youth go from door to door in search of jobs, he said. But now the youth of UP have understood that Modi will do nothing for them, so they will elect Akhilesh Yadav as UP Chief Minister once again, he added. Addressing about a dozen political rallies in Agra, UP Congress President Raj Babbar said that Modi had caused the deaths of dozens of people in UP due to demonetisation, and that his promise to recover black money from the corrupt was still only a promise. He demanded to know from Modi how much black money was recovered after demonetisation. Babbar said demonetisation destroyed the poor and middle-class. Businesses have gone bankrupt, and now Modi is asking for votes claiming that he ended corruption through demonetisation, which is a joke he is playing on the people of the country, the Congress' UP unit chief said. In fact, Babbar said, demonetisation has only been beneficial to 50 select families who're close to the PM. The rest have all been totally wiped out, and in these assembly elections, voters will teach Modi a lesson in humility by making the BJP candidates lose their deposits, he added. Addressing a meeting in Jalesar, senior SP leader Azam Khan said Modi claims to be an ascetic and a simpleton and yet, he has worn clothes worth Rs 80 crore during his time as PM. He said Modi wanted to hog the media headlines, so he even sent his mother to stand in the bank queue. Azam said if his own mother had had to stand in line like this, he would have died of shame. He said Modi couldn't even be true to his wife, and asked how could he be true to the people of India. The drop in Modi's popularity will become clear on March 11 when the people will sound their verdict on him, Azam added. ALSO READ What Rahul Gandhi tweeted in response to PM Modi's taunt --- ENDS --- Portage Future Business Leaders of America will send 46 students to state competition after 84 of 98 members placed in the top eight at a regional event Saturday. Portage High School was one of 22 schools to participate in the event held at DeForest High School, where more than 700 students competed. Portage FBLA as a team finished second overall. Portage High Schools overall percentage of top-eight finishers was pretty amazing, said adviser Jan Imhoff, who added FBLA as an organization is celebrating its 75th anniversary with the theme, Legacy of Leadership. I truly see this happening in our own chapter, Imhoff said of legacy, where the young kids see the leaders ahead of them, and they what want to achieve what theyve accomplished. We have some really awesome senior leaders. Portage FBLA has 35 seniors this year, 29 of which competed Saturday and 14 who will move on to state competition, to be held April 3-4 in Appleton. Portage FBLA involves about 120 students overall. One of the senior leaders is Haley Schuster, who on Saturday finished in first place in Computer Applications. Schuster was one of 18 Portage High School students to finish in first place either individually or as part of a team. Schuster last year qualified for nationals in Computer Applications but was unable to go because of a scheduling conflict with the schools German Exchange Program. Schuster also qualified for nationals as a sophomore in Word Processing, so she knows what it takes to get there, Imhoff said. In Computer Applications competition, Schuster for two hours had to create business documents using Microsoft software like Word, Excel, Access and Powerpoint. She killed it at regionals. She did amazing, Imhoff said. She has a good shot of moving on to nationals. Shes definitely one of our little stars. Another standout group was a trio of juniors, Nicole Weiss, Kiersten Hahn and Hanne Anderson, who placed first in Business Ethics. The juniors topic this year is regarding employers use of social media in the hiring process, determining, for example, whether its ethical for an employer to look at a prospects Facebook and Twitter prior to hiring. The group concluded employers should not use social media in the hiring process, emphasizing the importance of using actual materials and trusting the interview process. The three juniors had competed as a team in other events as freshmen and sophomores, though Imhoff noticed the group working even harder than in previous years. Theyre at the point where they wanted this, she said. They put a lot of time and effort into doing research, practicing for their seven-minute speech; they had it memorized, rehearsed and it was ready to go. Theyve seen what it takes to get to state, and now theyre willing to put in that extra effort to get themselves there. Nationals this year will be in Anaheim, California, in June. The appealing locale is most definitely a motivator for students to push for nationals, Imhoff said. FBLA nationals were last held in Anaheim in 2013. They want to go to Anaheim, to Disneyland, she said. I love taking kids to Anaheim for this conference because theres so much to do. Youre close to Los Angeles and Hollywood, so we do a lot of tourist stuff, too. For some of them its an opportunity to do something theyd never have done otherwise: the Pacific Ocean, the Santa Monica Pier, the Hollywood sign, the Walk of Fame. California has been a huge motivator for some of these kids. MADISON A Rio meat processor is voluntarily recalling beef jerky the Department of Agriculture Trade and Consumer Protection said was not properly inspected, the agency announced Monday. The statewide recall is the first for Johnson Sausage Shoppe & Catering, said owner Crista Johnson, who personally vouched for the products safety. Anyone that brings back any unopened (jerky), I will open it and eat it in front of them, she told a reporter Monday. The affected products have the Wisconsin legend with the number 293 on the label or on the package. The business sells meat products wholesale and on premises at its Highway 16 retail store. Meat products sold wholesale are subject to state inspection, but not meat for sale retail, said Cindy Klug, director of Wisconsins Bureau of Meat and Poultry Businesses. An undetermined amount of Johnsons beef jerky intended for retail sale was discovered off premises last month, which caused the state to investigate. It came to our attention on Jan. 5 but there are no records as to when it began, Klug said. Asked why it took a month to announce the recall, Klug said there needs to be a legal basis for a recall which takes time to compile. Since Jan. 5, the agency has been working with Johnson to determine where the jerky may have been distributed and how much was involved. Internally, we recover as much as we can without a (recall) notice, she said. Klug declined to say how much product has been recovered or if the business had been subject to prior inspection violations, telling a reporter to submit a request under the Open Records statutes, which was done Monday. Saying it was too early, Klug would not say if the business would be subject to any disciplinary action due to the recall. The recall only effects beef jerky made at Johnsons business prior to Jan. 5, according to DATCP. Evidence shows that the following brands of beef jerky were not inspected by state officials as required by law: North Oak, Peppercorn Jerky North Oak, Hickory Smoked Jerky Johnsons Sausage Shoppe Inc., Beef Jerky Johnsons Sausage Shoppe Inc., Our Famous Beef Jerky Johnsons Sausage Shoppe Inc., Nitrite Free! Beef Jerky Twisted Oak Farms, Nitrite Free! Beef Jerky Johnson said she did not know how much jerky was distributed before the mixup was discovered. She said that the situation occurred when jerky sold at her store was resold, which unbeknownst to her, makes her a wholesaler for those type of transactions. Jerky sold at Johnsons store now has a notice to customers to inform store personnel if they intend to resell it. Johnson said meat products at her business are always inspected. We have inspectors here every day. We slaughter once a week, but (the inspector) has his own office here, he goes into the kitchen anywhere he wants to, said Johnson. No illness linked to consuming the jerky has been reported to Johnson or DATCP. Anyone in possession of the jerky can dispose of it or return it to Johnson. Anyone who feels they have a food-borne illnesses is advised to contact a physician, said Raechelle Belli, a DATCP spokeswoman. Johnson said the voluntary recall was her idea. Were trying to be proactive here, she said. This is a goofy fluke thing and Id do it differently if I had to do it over again, she said. Klug praised Johnsons concern for the situation and cooperation with the states investigation. In response to discovery of the jerky sales, state inspectors will be more closely monitoring operations to ensure everything is properly inspected, at Johnsons business, Klug said. Johnson said she has operated the plant for 20 years and is her second such facility. She says she has been in the meat processing business since turning 19 years old. New license requirements for Wisconsin teachers have led the Sauk Prairie School District to seek an update for its educator compensation plan. The proposed plan, first introduced at the Jan. 23 Sauk Prairie School Board meeting, provides for possible pay advances based on licenses, years of experience, degree achievement and additional degrees attained, as long as the district has the funds each year to provide the funding. It would replace the current plan, which has been used for more than 20 years and doesnt account for current licensing requirements for teachers. If approved by the board, the pay changes would be retroactive to the start of the 2016-17 school year. According to the proposed plan, teachers with a bachelors degree and an initial teaching license would earn $38,000 to start. Those holding a masters degree and an initial license would earn $40,000. Depending on the education level of the teacher and the license, a teacher could earn more than $50,000. However, the district also takes into consideration any salary that doesnt fit into a level of description at the time of implementation. Superintendent Cliff Thompson said the proposed pay plan promotes leadership and collaboration and encourages professional development of its teaching staff. The administration, the school board and the Sauk Prairie Education Association worked together over three years to develop the plan. This new educator pay plan, although not fully funded the way it should be due to the financial status of the district, is needed to provide consistency in the new hire placement process, said school board member Carol Baier. It also lays out the compensation path with a much better structure. Sauk Prairie School Board President Richard Judge said the financial constraints faced by the district that prevent the full implementation of the plan are a result of Gov. Scott Walkers cuts to state aid over the past several years. He said the district doesnt get as much state aid as it used to, and the state significantly reduced the amount of revenue it can raise through local taxes. There are levy limits in place that prevent big fluctuations in property taxes, Judge said. We are still recovering from that so its hard; there isnt a magical way to say that to teachers whose salaries have been frozen. We just dont have a mechanism for raising that money we need all at once. Judge said the language in the proposed plan also reflects a focus on professional development for teachers to elevate their licenses over time. Its about becoming a better educator by educating yourself. Judge said the old system wasnt working anymore. It wasnt a reflection of our current reality, he said. Sauk Prairie Education Association President Anita Thayer said the passage of Act 10 prevents the teachers union from bargaining, but it doesnt prevent it from working with the district to find the right plan. We feel fortunate that the district sees value in that collaboration and the positive working relationship between the staff and the school board, she said. Thayer said the proposed plan is a step forward for change. This plan recognizes all years of a teachers service and the new types of licensure, she said. Judge said the district and teachers worked to strike a balance between recruitment and retention and the proposal aligns more closely with the way the profession is now being monitored and licensed. It strives for relevance to what a teacher is actually doing in their professional life, he said. The shortfall, Judge said, is that its not yet a complete plan. It doesnt get people to a place wed like them to be at by the end of their career, Judge said. We view this as a starting point because we dont currently have the funding to make the plan what we want it. Despite not walking away with the team title, the Wisconsin Dells wrestling team had plenty to cheer about on Friday night. The Chiefs racked up six top-3 finishes, including two first place, en route to a third place team finish in the South Central Conference meet at Wisconsin Dells High School. Wisconsin Dells scored 157 points, finishing just three behind second place Mauston (160), while Wautoma/Wild Rose (206) finished first. Like theyve done all year, juniors Gabe Kingsley and Travis Hudack led the way, earning the Chiefs two first place finishes. Kingsley took home gold at 120 pounds while Hudack reigning supreme at 195. Kingsley earned a bye into the semifinals where he pinned Maustons Nate Thayer in 31 seconds. He then earned a 2-0 decision over Nekoosa co-ops Brant Hall to win the weight class. Hudack, who is ranked Number 4 in the Wisconsin Wrestling Division 2 rankings, also earned a bye into the semis and rolled past Wautoma/Wild Roses Damean Netzler, picking up a pin fall victory in 1:28. Hudack then rolled past Westfields Parker Wasson, earning a 16-7 major decision. Behind the first place duo, the Chiefs had three second place finishers in freshmen Gavin Kingsley and Billy Detloff and junior Chester Isaacson, while junior Sebastian Kontaxis took third. After getting a quarterfinal bye, Gavin Kingsley pinned Wautoma/Wild Roses James Barbarich in 0:51 to earn a spot in the 138 final. Unfortunately, he was pinned by Maustons Jarrett Dolata, ranked No. 4 at 138, in 1:34. Detloff suffered the same fate at 145. He came back to pin Wautoma/Wild Roses Paul Hernandez in 3:35 in the semifinal before being pinned by No. 2 ranked Teagen Miller of Mauston in 1:36. At 220, Isaacson pinned Maustons Carl Wier in 1:59 in the semifinal before getting pinned by Wautoma/Wild Roses Jesse Schauer in the final in 1:47. Kontaxis had a tough start to his tournament at 170, losing a hard-fought 4-2 decision to Adams-Friendships Cameron Caldwell in the semifinal. However, he redeemed himself, pinning Maustons Dakota Barrix in 3:49 to earn bronze. Along with the Chiefs six medal winners, freshman Marty Koenig (113), junior Shamus Meyers (126), sophomore Hunter Stenson (152) and sophomore Kevin Couglin (285) each took fourth place, and freshman Scottie Whitten took fifth place at 132. The Chiefs will now turn their attention to the postseason, beginning with Saturdays Division 2 West Salem/Bangor regional meet. The top two finishers in each weight class will advance to next Saturdays Div. 2 Richland Center sectional, and the top three finishers from that meet will punch their ticket to the WIAA Start Tournament at the Kohl Center in Madison, Feb. 23-25. Hudack, who qualified for last years state tournament at 182, looks primed for another deep run this season and should have company if the Kingsley brothers and others can stay hot. SOUTH CENTRAL CONFERENCE MEET At Wisconsin Dells Team scores: Wautoma/Wild Rose 206, Mauston 160, Wisconsin Dells 157, Adams-Friendship 139, Nekoosa co-op 121.5, Westfield 71. Championship matches 106: Thurber, Nek, pinned Hughes, WWR, 1:11. 113: Nelson, Wfd, pinned Lezama, WWR, 3:52. 120: Gabe Kingsley, WD, def. Hall, Nek, 2-0. 126: Elsen, Nek, mdec. Taivalmaa, WWR, 9-1. 132: Sarver, Nek, def. Deist, WWR, 9-7. 138: Dolata, Mau, pinned Gavin Kingsley, WD, 1:34. 145: Miller, Mau, pinned Detloff, WD, 1:36. 152: Elsen, Nek, def. Ortega, WWR, 7-2. 160: Leibsle, Wfd, def. Nawrot, AF, 6-4, sudden victory. 170: Henschel, WWR, pinned Caldwell, AF, 0:58. 182: Lenze, Mau, def. Deja, AF, 5-2. 195: Hudack, WD, mdec. Wasson, Wfd, 16-7. 220: Schauer, WWR, pinned Isaacson, WD, 1:47. 285: Hackney, WWR, def. Bays, AF, 5-2. At Wisconsin Dells. By Press Trust of India: Bengaluru, Feb 7 (PTI) Tata Group patriarch Ratan Tata today launched TeamIndus Foundations Moonshot Wheels - a bus which will traverse the country with an aim to inspire the next generation about Indias first private moon mission. TeamIndus Foundation is the CSR arm of TeamIndus, the only Indian team competing for the Google Lunar XPRIZE of USD 25 million that requires privately funded teams to land their spacecraft on the surface of the moon, travel 500 metres and broadcast high definition video,images and data back to Earth. Moonshot Wheels is a bus which will traverse nine states, 12,500 kms in 12 months, across India impacting 36,000+ students in government schools, the foundation officials said. They said the bus will carry 16 science experiments, live satellite tracking, moon rover, spacecraft-scaled model and an experience zone. This programme is curated and administered by TeamIndus Foundation with on ground implementation by Agastya International Foundation, which has been dedicated to bring STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) alive for children. Tata, Nandan Nilekani (Infosys), Sachin Bansal and Binny Bansal (Flipkart) and Venu Srinivasan (TVS Group), K Kasturirangan (former ISRO chief) among others are supporting TeamIndus as its advisers. Tata, who unveiled the bus, did not make any comments on the initiative to the media. However, Kasturirangan lauded the efforts, calling it "great work" and a fantastic initiative". "They are up to a big experiment, a very ambitious experiment-carrying out a lunar mission." "What is interesting about these youngsters is besides being adventurous and excited about that mission, they are using the opportunity to spread the message among the still younger generation so that there is no disconnect," he told reporters here. Asked about the landing mission coming ahead of ISROs second moon mission (Chandrayaan-2) he said " Im a neutral man, Im an Indian and proud of any good things that happen in the country. Dont make distinction between ISRO or non-ISRO efforts, to me ultimately what succeeds is good for the country and we are all proud of it." Giving details on Moonshot Wheels initiative, Priyanka Narayan, chief functionary of the foundation, said each child will get an opportunity to experience and understand the making of a Space Mission and its underlying technologies. advertisement They will interact with rocket scientists as well as the rest of the team behind Indias first private Moon Mission, she said. (MORE) PTI KSU RA APR KUN --- ENDS --- The petitioner Tamil Asaran PSR said "Sasikala, with many money laundering cases (against her), should not be allowed to lead an Indian state". The petition 'Dissolve Tamil Nadu government and stop Sasikala from becoming Tamil Nadu CM' has so far garnered 1,64,334 supporters. The petition will be delivered to President Pranab Mukherjee, Tamil Nadu Governor Vidyasagar Rao and the Chief Election Commissioner's office. People have cited various reasons for not supporting Sasikala for the chief minister's post. Some said O Panneerselvam was doing a good job as the chief minister, and there was no need to change him. "OPS and his team have been doing an excellent job. Why change? Morally not correct," said Major (retd) Suresh Kumar Nair. Others cited Sasikala's chequered history, with corruption cases pending against her, as their reason for signing the petition. "It will be a black day in the history of Tamil Nadu if the chief minister is again sent to jail on charges of corruption," said Saraswathi Venkatesan. Some said she was not an elected representative and therefore should be the chief minister of the state. "Totally unfit and unacceptable as well as not a member of the Tamil Nadu legislative assembly; Sasikala cannot be the chief minister of Tamil Nadu," said Kalpattu Vaitheeswaran. On the political front, Sasikala is facing stiff opposition from Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK). DMK leader MK Stalin has sought Centre's intervention to stop Sasikala from becoming the chief minister of Tamil Nadu. Stalin will meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday. Congress leader and former finance minister P Chidambaram said the people of Tamil Nadu and the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) are moving in opposite directions. "It is the right of the AIADMK MLAs to elect their leader. It is the right of the people to ask if the leader deserves to be the Tamil Nadu chief minister," Chidambaram tweeted. EnerSys provides various stored energy solutions for industrial applications worldwide. It operates in three segments: Energy Systems, Motive Power, and Specialty. The company offers uninterruptible power systems applications for computer and computer-controlled systems, as well as telecommunications systems; switchgear and electrical control systems used in industrial facilities and electric utilities, large-scale energy storage, and energy pipelines; integrated power solutions and services to broadband, telecom, renewable, and industrial customers; and thermally managed cabinets and enclosures for electronic equipment and batteries. It also provides motive power products that are used to provide power for electric industrial forklifts used in manufacturing, warehousing, and other material handling applications. In addition, the company offers mining equipment, diesel locomotive starting, and other rail equipment. Further, it provides specialty batteries for starting, lighting, and ignition applications in transportation; and energy solutions for satellites, military aircraft, submarines, ships, and other tactical vehicles, as well as medical and security systems. Additionally, the company offers battery chargers, power equipment, battery accessories, and outdoor cabinet enclosures, as well as related after-market and customer-support services for industrial batteries. The company sells its products through a network of distributors, independent representatives, and internal sales forces. The company was formerly known as Yuasa, Inc. and changed its name to EnerSys in January 2001. EnerSys was incorporated in 2000 and is headquartered in Reading, Pennsylvania. 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Read More Party spokesperson and MP T.K.S. Elangovan, however, has said that there is no official confirmation about Stalin's visit. By Indo-Asian News Service: DMK working president MK Stalin is likely to visit New Delhi to meet President Pranab Mukherjee, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Rajnath Singh to inform them about the political situation in Tamil Nadu. This as Sasikala Natarajan's taking over as chief minister in shrouded in uncertainty with DMK opposing her elevation and seeking Centre's intervention and Governor C Vidyasagar Rao, who is in Mumbai at present, not likely to get back to Chennai tomorrow. advertisement However, party spokesperson and MP T.K.S. Elangovan said there was no official confirmation about Stalin's visit. POLITICAL UNCERTAINTY IN TAMIL NADU "I am in Delhi and so are the other party MPs. We haven't got any information about Stalin's Delhi visit. He may come tonight (Tuesday)," Elangovan said from Delhi on Tuesday. If reports are to be believed, Stalin will appeal to President Mukherjee not to allow AIADMK General Secretary V.K. Sasikala to be sworn in as the chief minister till the Supreme court delivers its judgment in the corruption case in which she is one of the accused. Tamil Nadu's ruling AIADMK legislators elected Sasikala as the leader of the legislature party. Following that, Chief Minister O.Panneerselvam submitted his resignation and Governor Ch.Vidyasagar Rao asked him to continue in office until an alternate arrangement was made. The swearing-in date is yet to be finalised. --- ENDS --- With DMK opposing her elevation as chief minister and Governor C Vidyasagar Rao not likely to come back to Chennai either today or tomorrow, there is no confirmation for now on when Sasikala will take charge of office. By India Today Web Desk: Ahead of change of guard in Tamil Nadu, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), in a bid to prevent Sasikala Natarajan from becoming the next chief minister, has sought the Centre's intervention. DMK leader MK Stalin will meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday. AIADMK members are preferring February 9 as an 'auspicious' date for the swearing-in, according to sources. advertisement Uncertainty continues to prevail over Sasikala's swearing-in as Governor C Vidyasagar Rao, who is in Mumbai, is not likely to come back to Chennai either today or tomorrow. DMK spokesperson has confirmed that the DMK leader has an appointment with PM on Wednesday. Stalin will reach Delhi and also meet Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh to seek Centre's counsel. DMK, which has been expressing displeasure over Sasikala's elevation, reportedly want to put forward its view and opinion on the latest development in AIADMK leadership. Sources have said that DMK is also mulling to approach President Pranab Mukherjee to discuss their stand. Incidentally, the swearing-in ceremony of Sasikala is likely to get delayed as sources said that the Tamil Nadu Governor is in Mumbai and is unlikely to return today. NGO SEEKS STAY ON SASIKALA'S SWEARING-IN Adding to the clamour around the decision to make Sasikala the legislative leader of the party, an NGO that fights corruption, filed a petition in Supreme Court demanding a stay on the swearing-in of Sasikala. The petition has been filed in the name of one Senthil Kumar, aged around 40 years old, on behalf of an NGO that fights against corruption and against consumption of liquor and drugs. The filing cites an ongoing court case against Sasikala to say that she should not be allowed to take the office of the Tamil Nadu chief minister. 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Sources say that Governor Vidyasagar Rao's first concern is the stability of the new govt as a verdict in the disproportionate assets case against former CM J Jayalalitha and VK Sasikala is pending in the Supreme Court. By Ashish Pandey: Sasikala, swearing-in ceremony, continues to be embroiled in controversies. The suspense over the swearing-in ceremony continues as Tamil Nadu Governor Ch Vidyasagar Rao's travel plans to Chennai is not yet confirmed. Meanwhile, officials close to the governor confirmed that he has sought legal opinion on the elevation of Sasikala as Tamil Nadu Chief Minister. Sources say that Governor Vidyasagar Rao's first concern is the stability of the new government as a verdict in the disproportionate assets case against former chief minister J Jayalalitha and VK Sasikala is pending in the Supreme Court. advertisement HERE'S WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW The verdict which is most likely to come out in a week is crucial as if convicted; Sasikala will lose the Chief Minister's chair and also will be disqualified for electoral politics. Sasikala is the second accused in the Jayalalithaa's disproportionate assets case and was found guilty of abetment and criminal conspiracy by a special court in Bengaluru in 2014. However, Karnataka High Court had acquitted all the accused in 2015. The case further went to the Supreme Court, which reserved its verdict last year and now Supreme Court bench comprising Justice PC Ghose and Justice Amitava Roy has said that the verdict will come in a week's time. Sources said that the governor is also taking the example of 2001 event, when the then AIADMK party chief J. Jayalalitha had become chief minister and further Supreme Court had quashed her appointment as Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, in delaying the swearing-in of VK Sasikala Governor also wanted to learn that how long a swearing-in could be deferred as constitutional provision say that after Sasilkala's selection as legislative party leader by AIADMK MLAs, she has all legal and constitutional right to swear-in as Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu. Also read: Jayalalithaa was pushed, death unnatural, probe Sasikala: Former AIADMK leader's explosive charge DMK's Stalin may visit Delhi amid confusion over Sasikala taking over as Tamil Nadu chief minister WATCH NOW: --- ENDS --- Lived experiences at the heart of new conversation series Daily Work of Justice Kevin Yates shares his story during the Feb. 2 installment of the Daily Work of Justice series at W&M. Photo by Erin Zagursky Daily Work of Justice Sadie Meadows '17 (right) engages in discussion during the Daily Work of Justice series. Photo by Erin Zagursky Daily Work of Justice Students, faculty, staff and community members filled Blow 201 for the first part of the discussion series. Photo by Erin Zagursky Daily Work of Justice The next two installments of the series are planned for Feb. 9 and 16. Photo by Erin Zagursky Photo - of - Hide Caption When he was 19, Kevin Yates was locked up for first-degree murder. The case was dropped due to lack of evidence, and when Yates was released, he felt invincible. Did I do it? No, he said. But in my mind I had beat a system that I had watched imprison so many people like me, and it gave me a false sense of superiority or invulnerability. So back in the street, I became even more vicious, even more cunning, even more insidious, more destructive to the very community that I lived in. Known as Monsta, Yates went on to deal drugs, battle addiction and homelessness and serve four years in prison on two counts of robbery. Today, the Richmond, Virginia, native owns two businesses, including a community action organization. He is also a father, a friend and a sponsor for others who, like him, are in recovery from addiction, he said. On Feb. 2 in Blow Hall, Yates was among about a dozen people who have experienced the criminal justice system to share their stories with small groups of William & Mary and local community members as part of the Daily Work of Justice conversation series. Sponsored by the Office of Community Engagement, the Lemon Project, the Daily Work of Justice committee and campus ministries, the series aims to explore issues by having people share their lived experiences, as a way of providing space for others to engage with empathy, understanding and action, according to the website. We didnt want to bring in a lot of big speakers to talk to us about the issues, said Warrenetta Mann, director of the W&M Counseling Center. We wanted to begin to engage with the issue. For that reason, we were very intentional to create a format of intimate conversation with the focus being peoples lived experience. Thursday night, students, faculty, staff and community members gathered around tables with a guest speaker and facilitator at each. After Mann opened the evening by sharing some statistics about the criminal justice system in the United States, each small group listened to the speakers share their stories and then had the chance to ask questions and discuss their own experiences. Yates told those gathered at his table that when he was incarcerated for the robberies, he began going to the law library where he started learning about the history and current state of the justice system and studied documents including the U.S. Constitution, the 13th Amendment and the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights. I wanted to learn. I wanted to learn the truth, not what is being propagated for social nicety, he said. I wanted to learn who I really am, where I really am and why [the justice system] is run this way. When he was released, he had difficulty finding work because of his status as a felon and ultimately went back to crime to make ends meet. You talk about living under stress, anxiety, depression, even to the point of suicide the only thing I knew that would alleviate or sedate was drugs, he said. His addiction brought him to skid row, where all that mattered to him was getting high. At a homeless shelter, he was introduced to a 12-step program that taught me a new way to live and deal with life on its own terms, he said. Sadie Meadows 17 was among those at Yates table. Heroin is prevalent in her hometown, and she knows someone who was incarcerated for stealing so that he could pay for the drug and is incarcerated again now. She saw this person struggle to find work, like Yates did, after initially being released. Something Ive observed, there is a community and it feeds on itself, and no matter how many times other people try to step in and say I want to help or I want to be able to give you what you need, the fact of the matter is that is unless the whole community does it or everyone within the smaller community steps out, theres no way to break down that system, said the psychology and gender, sexuality and womens studies major. Yates opened her eyes and expanded her perspective, Meadows said, because she was hearing from someone who had personally experienced the system instead of just hearing from those affected by the actions of someone who had experienced the system. At another table, Kim Green '14, William & Mary Office of Community Engagement fellow for education programs, shared her own story of being charged with possession of marijuana while a student at the university in 2013. She participated in Virginias First Offender Program, which included six months of probation that restricted her from leaving Virginia something that felt akin to incarceration but gave her time for reflection, she said. Im happy that the Daily Work of Justice happened, Green said. I think a lot of people benefitted from hearing from people who have been incarcerated or have family members who were incarcerated, and I think our stories are rare and unique. So as a member of the planning committee, I was really shocked and overwhelmed in a good way that the room was so full. That means a lot to me. The Feb. 2 event was the first of three conversations that are taking place as part of the inaugural installment of the series. On Feb. 9, the guest speakers will be people who work within the criminal justice system, such as police officers, judges and attorneys. The Feb. 16 event will feature people who work alongside those in the criminal justice system advocates, chaplains and representatives with nonprofit support programs. More information about those events and how to register may be found online. At the end of the evening, Melody Porter, director of the Office of Community Engagement, offered resources for people who wanted to learn more about the issues that were discussed and encouraged the attendees to continue to listen. Listen in your lives ahead, she said. Listen to share your own experience and to see what that means about the action you want to take in the world. Renaissance Woman Zuber wins Jefferson Award Jefferson Award winner Sharon Zuber is the 55th recipient of the Jefferson Award, which dates back to 1963 and Dudley Woodbridge of the Law School. Photo by Stephen Salpukas Photo - of - Hide Caption In a 30-year career at William & Mary that Sharon Zuber said has been filled with joy, one thing has continually afforded her the most gratification and fulfillment. Mentoring students. Our movement into communication using a variety of modes has brought together my love of working with students in the Writing Resources Center and teaching video and documentary, Zuber said. [But] teaching and being able to mentor the students still gives me the most satisfaction. That was a sentiment echoed repeatedly by the colleagues and admirers who successfully nominated her for the Thomas Jefferson Award, presented annually at Charter Day to a member of the William & Mary family for significant service through his or her personal activities, influence and leadership. This years Charter Day ceremony will take place at 4 p.m. Feb. 10 in Kaplan Arena. Renaissance Woman As senior lecturer of English and Director of the Writing Resources Center, its hard to keep track of all of the areas where Zubers influence has been greatest. However, Suzanne Raitt, Chancellor Professor of English and chair of the Department of English, has a good handle on it. Since her arrival at W&M in 1986, Professor Zuber has been, in her quiet and unassuming way, pivotal to the teaching of writing at the College, to the pursuit of collaborative and interdisciplinary inquiry, to internationalization and to international students and to the teaching of film and video production, Raitt wrote. Being in the spotlight on Charter Day, Zuber said, will not be a comfortable place for her. The Jefferson Award has, she added, made her humble, reflective and thankful for the honor. I feel better behind the camera when Im teaching video production, and I like being in a support position, mentoring and facilitating, she said. A student once told nominator and Associate Professor of English Monica Potkay that Professor Zuber spends her energy seeking to help students discover and develop their own insights rather than attracting attention to her own brilliance. Zubers most memorable project In 2005, Professor of Biology Daniel Cristol said, a chance meeting with Zuber preceded an experience he never imagined possible, all involving the element mercury. Over the next three years this spawned two student-faculty trips to China, the addition of a half-dozen courses to the curriculum, approximately 10 undergraduate research projects, a book on studying mercury (edited by Sharon and Mike Newman from Virginia Institute of Marine Science), an interdisciplinary conference on campus with 300 participants from across the globe, a major exhibit in the Muscarelle Museum of Art and, most importantly, lasting connections between collaborating faculty from English, art, biology, VIMS, sociology and theatre, Cristol recalled. All of this was organized by Sharon, with me running along on her coattails trying to catch up. That project is, Zuber said, her fondest memory of life at W&M. Not only did W&M students travel to China, Chinese students came to America. One of them even wound up studying at VIMS and now teaches at the University of Georgia. When we had the expo, we had a sociologist, a historian, a VIMS biologist, film studies person and art faculty all getting excited, sharing their ideas and making it clear how loosening up the boundaries that divided disciplines could really get people thinking in new and exciting ways, Zuber said. It represents how what we do here touches lives. Zubers influence extends beyond just students. She is a well-respected teacher of other faculty members. Since 2012, she has worked regularly with librarian Paul Showalter on multiple projects, Carrie Cooper, dean of university libraries, wrote. They co-present a May seminar for faculty on strategies for integrating communications and digital literacy into the COLL 100/150 courses. During the May seminars, Potkay added, Zuber trained, supported and, most importantly, inspired scores of instructors teaching Freshman Seminars and COLL 150s. Sharons expertise has therefore benefited not just the instructors shes taught, but through them thousands of students. Teaching and creating curriculum According to her resume, Zuber has taught 17 courses at William & Mary, several of which she created. One of her most rewarding was Film 306, a video production course never before offered that helped film study students receive some hands-on experience. That was really exciting because I developed it with two students who were here at the time, she said. One of them, Mike Risen 01, is a teacher, and the other, Megan Gilbride 00, is the producer of the documentary Tower that will be shown at the Global Film Fest [on Feb. 24 at 5:30 at the Kimball Theater] .... Teaching video production brought together my interest in writing and my interest in film because any kind of production is story-telling. Its helping students discover what stories are meaningful to them and how to think visually. Zuber once taught a course titled Constructing the News. In it, her students looked at the development of news and journalism historically and sociologically but also connected to what was happening at present. In 2011, on the anniversary of The Flat Hats 100th anniversary, Zubers students, in conjunction with Swem Library Special Collections, looked at certain themes pursued by the paper through the years. The final project included a wiki about the publication and, collaborating with Burger Archives Specialist Jennie Davy 08, a public exhibit of their work that was displayed in the library all that summer. Students said, I brought my parents in to see what we did, Zuber recalled. They were so proud of their accomplishment. She paused and smiled. If we did that course this semester, Id have to include things like fake news, she mused. So much has changed in such a short period of time. Through it all, Zuber has displayed a remarkable ability to represent the best William & Mary has to offer. She models our communitys ethos of care for our students, wrote Stephen Sechrist, director of the Office of International Students, Scholars and Programs. Her concern for the welfare of the individual student is evident in her passionate advocacy on behalf of some of the most vulnerable students. Unbeknownst to many colleagues, she has often worked behind the scenes with our office, the dean of students and other offices to help alleviate concerning situations. As Raitt put it: She has had a profound impact on the lives of hundreds of members of the William & Mary community and on our campus culture. By Press Trust of India: Jeddah, Feb 7 (PTI) Saudi security forces and pilgrims aborted an attempt by a Saudi national to set himself on fire next to the Kaaba inside Meccas Grand Mosque, the Islams holiest site, police said today. The man wearing Umrah garb, identified as a Saudi national in his 40s, was dousing himself in gasoline when he was caught, police spokesman Major Sameh al-Salmi said. advertisement "He was held before he went on with his dramatic self-immolation act and his behaviour indicates that he is mentally ill. All the necessary measures will be taken," Saudi news site Sabq quoted the spokesman as saying. A 23-second video, posted on social media, shows dozens of pilgrims who were surrounding the assailant while he was pouring gasoline on himself beside the Kaaba last evening. Police and pilgrims overpowered the man and escorted him away before he could light the petrol. Citing security forces at the Grand Mosque, the Gulf News said the man was "trying to kill himself and not attempting to set the sacred cubic structure ablaze as reported." Earlier media reports claimed that the man was spilling gasoline on the kiswah, the black and gold silk curtain that covers the Kaaba - the cubical structure at the center of the sacred mosque. One eyewitness told Sabq that the man had been uttering "takfiri" slogans, referring to extremist Islamist groups like Islamic State and al-Qaeda. Kaaba is central for all Muslims who are required to look its direction when they perform their prayers five times a day, and during the Haj or Umrah (minor haj), pilgrims walk counterclockwise around it seven times. Muslims believe the Kaaba was originally built by Prophet Abraham and his son Ismael who also placed the sacred black stone in one of its corners. In November 1979, the Grand Mosque was seized by over 400 fundamentalists who seized pilgrims as hostages. Special forces fought fierce gun battles with the militants to retake the mosque compound. PTI ZH AKJ ZH --- ENDS --- By Press Trust of India: Jeddah, Feb 7 (PTI) A "mentally ill" Saudi national tried to set himself on fire beside the Kaaba inside Meccas Grand Mosque, the Islams holiest site, but his attempt was foiled by alert pilgrims and security forces, police said today. The man wearing Umrah garb, identified as a Saudi national in his 40s, was dousing himself in gasoline when he was caught, police spokesman Major Sameh al-Salmi said. advertisement "He was held before he went on with his dramatic self-immolation act and his behaviour indicates that he is mentally ill. All the necessary measures will be taken," Saudi news site Sabq quoted the spokesman as saying. A 23-second video, posted on social media, shows dozens of pilgrims who were surrounding the assailant while he was pouring gasoline on himself beside the Kaaba last evening. Police and pilgrims overpowered the man and escorted him away before he could light the petrol. Citing security forces at the Grand Mosque, the Gulf News said the man was "trying to kill himself and not attempting to set the sacred cubic structure ablaze as reported." Earlier media reports claimed that the man was spilling gasoline on the kiswah, the black and gold silk curtain that covers the Kaaba - the cubical structure at the center of the sacred mosque. One eyewitness told Sabq that the man had been uttering "takfiri" slogans, referring to extremist Islamist groups like Islamic State and al-Qaeda. Kaaba is central for all Muslims who are required to look its direction when they perform their prayers five times a day, and during the Haj or Umrah (minor haj), pilgrims walk counterclockwise around it seven times. Muslims believe the Kaaba was originally built by Prophet Abraham and his son Ismael who also placed the sacred black stone in one of its corners. In November 1979, the Grand Mosque was seized by over 400 fundamentalists who seized pilgrims as hostages. Special forces fought fierce gun battles with the militants to retake the mosque compound. PTI ZH AKJ ZH --- ENDS --- China News on Women Sorry, the page you requested was not found. If you're having trouble locating a destination on Womenofchina.cn, try visiting the Womenofchina Home page Shahid Kapoor shared a picture of him enjoying the sunset with his li'l one, Misha. By India Today Web Desk: Shahid Kapoor and Mira Rajput's daughter Misha may be only five months old, but she is already a celebrity. Shahid has been a protective daddy and ensured that the paparazzi has not managed to capture Misha's face. PICS: Shahid-Mira and baby Misha get clicked at Mumbai airport PICS: Shahid, Mira, Misha head for a Christmas holiday, but where? advertisement Every time, Shahid and Mira travel with their little girl, photographers go into a tizzy. In fact, Shahid had even slammed the shutterbugs for getting too close for comfort. He had tweeted, "Unfortunate how some journos don't realise how bad 20 cameras flashing 2 feet away are for an infants eyes. No common sense in their dna (sic)." Now, daddy Shahid himself shared a picture with his "angel." Shahid posted a reflection of him and his daughter enjoying the sunset and captioned it, "Sunsets with my angel." A few weeks earlier, Shahid had shared a sneak-peek of Misha's tiny socks-clad feet. On the work front, Shahid will be seen in Vishal Bhardwaj's period drama Rangoon alongside Saif Ali Khan and Kangana Ranaut, which is set to release on scheduled to release on February 24. Post that, Shahid will play Rana Rawal Ratan Singh in Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Padmavati. ALSO WATCH: Shahid and Mira Rajput get hitched --- ENDS --- The US Congress The Congress of the US is the legislative branch of the federal government, and it is a bicameral legislature, implying that it is made up of two houses, the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Capitol in Washington DC is the place where the Congress meets regularly. The Senators and the representatives are elected directly by popular vote, and the gubernatorial appointment may fill any vacancy in the Senate. The member of the Congress is affiliated either to the Democratic Party or the Republican Party, but in some cases, there could be some members of other parties or an independent candidate. The Congress has 535 members who vote out of which 435 are representatives while 100 are senators. The US Sentate The Senate is more powerful than the House of Representatives and has distinct powers that are not shared with the House. The Senate can debate and review bills and treaties, propose legislation, and provide some oversight of the president's administration. The primary function of the Senate is to represent the interest of the state in the political process as opposed to the House of Representatives which represents the interest of the people. In the Congress, there are 100 senators at any given time and each state has two senators. The senator serves for a term of six years and can be elected over and over indefinitely. Ted Kennedy was the senator from Massachusetts from 1962 until his death in 2009. The Senate can review and provide advice on presidential nominations and appointments ratify treaties through the majority vote. The Senate needs only 2/3 majority vote and the president to approve. In a situation where the electoral votes for the vice president tied the senate would elect the vice president. The Senate can create new laws by introducing the legislation to the house usually at the subcommittee level, where they have more power to debate, modify, and even block the proposed legislation. However, the introduction of a bill that relates to the revenue or a legislation touching on the use of federal money is the prerogative of the House of Representatives. There are 20 committees that deal with specialized areas of legislation, statutes, and laws. There are also four joint committees of bicameral membership or comprised of members of the Senate and the House of representatives. These committees deal with specialized areas like Taxation (Joint Committee on Taxation), Economy (Joint Economic Committee) The House Of Representatives The house of representatives also known as the House has the responsibility of representing the citizens as opposed to the senate which represents the interest of the state. The members of the House were chosen by the legislatures of the state until 1913, when the 17th amendment was introduced and from then, they were elected directly by the popular vote. The House has the power to initiate impeachment process, and the senate will bring to the proceedings into the trial setting. They can elect the president when there is a tie in the electoral votes. The House of Representatives can introduce legislation that touches on federal revenues and Taxes. Duties Of The Congress Both the Senate and the House of Representatives make up the Congress, though each has different duties and responsibilities there is always an overlap in responsibility through the Joint committees. The most important duty of the Congress is legislation. Once the bills have been passed they have to be signed by the president within ten days; otherwise, they become law automatically. The congress also has the duty of maintaining national defense and therefore has the exclusive power to declare war, to maintain the armed forces, to raise and make rules for the military.Section 8 of the Constitution of the US has granted the Congress with the power to regulate commerce and the ruling like the McCulloch v Maryland has further widened the scope of the congressional authority to legislate commerce beyond the initial limits. The Constitution further gives the Congress the power to borrow money and appropriate funds. By Press Trust of India: From Aditi Khanna London, Feb 7 (PTI) The Speaker of the House of Commons has created a stir by strongly opposing a plan to allow US President Donald Trump to address the UK Parliament during his planned state visit to the country later this year. John Bercow, who is known as an outspoken Speaker, said it was not an "automatic right" but an "earned honour" for world leaders to address both Houses of British Parliament from Westminster Hall. advertisement "After the imposition of the migrant ban by President Trump I am even more strongly opposed to an address by President Trump in Westminster Hall. I would not wish to issue an invitation to President Trump," said Bercow, who is one of three traditional "key holders" to the Westminster Hall. "I feel very strongly that our opposition to racism and sexism and our support for equality before the law and an independent judiciary are hugely important considerations in the House of Commons," he said in the Commons yesterday. The unusually strong statement from a Speaker, who is expected to remain politically neutral, triggered much opposition from ruling Conservative party members. "Anyone who knows the Speaker will know that he speaks his mind. But he doesn?t speak for the government," said UK communities minister Sajid Javid. "The government is very clear: President Trump is the leader of our most important ally, hes elected fairly and squarely, and its manifestly in our national interests that we reach out to him and we work with him, and he visits us in the UK," he added, reflecting the official government stance. British Prime Minister Theresa May had extended an invitation to Trump for a state visit on behalf of Queen Elizabeth II during her US visit last month. A petition opposing such an honour for him in the wake of his executive order against nationals of seven Muslim majority countries attracted over 1.5 million signatures and is set to be debated in the Commons on February 20. Addressing both houses of Parliament is often, but not always, part of the many rituals involved in a state visit. Barack Obama was the last US President who was invited for such an honour in 2012. While Bercow does not have the power to block an invite to address Parliament, his intervention has been widely seen as unprecedented.PTI AK SUA AKJ SUA --- ENDS --- Email Sign Up For Our Free Weekly Newsletter Sign Up Free | The WPJ Weekly Newsletter Relevant real estate news. Actionable market intelligence. Right to your inbox every week. Go Thank you for your interest! You will now be receiving our Weekly Real Estate Newsletter. Real Estate Listings Showcase According to the newly releasedfrom CBRE, the rapid rise of e-commerce has driven the most disruptive movement to the industrial & logistics industry, transforming the way we think about industrial real estate and restructuring the supply landscape forever.The growing population of cities, mixed with new age consumer behaviours--driven by the millennial generation--has put supply chains under increasing pressure to deliver products and perishables into cities under narrow time frames. In order to meet this demand, urban areas around the world are evolving towards a more dynamic level of transportation as city logistics and the last mile come into play.Over the past years, consumer expectations have drastically changed, and supply chains are being forced to adapt accordingly. According to research from CBRE, UK millennials do more than a third of their non-food shopping online, and half are expected to do over 50% of their non-food shopping online by 2019. The UK is one of the leading countries on online consumption, which can be attributed to its high-speed Internet connectivity and smartphone adoption. CBRE's Last Mile / City Logistics report predicts that as internet speed and tech development progresses further afield, we will witness mirrored behaviour from consumers across the globe.The demand for instant delivery services (one-hour, one-day delivery) is increasing across global cities and has generated significant needs for optimizing the supply chain.To meet this demand, innovative strategies have taken shape within the last-mile schema, which include multi-story warehouses in dense hubs in APAC and EMEA, locker/pick-up locations, and infill service centres in the Americas and EMEA.In Europe, the restructuring of supply chains has led to a growing need for efficiency, resulting in a smaller warehouse network with larger but fewer facilities. Due to population growth and urbanization, land suited and zoned for industrial use is becoming increasingly scarce. For example, the amount of industrial land use in Greater London has declined from 8.3 thousand hectares in 2001 to 7 thousand hectares in 2015. Vertical logistics facilities are already well known in East-Asian markets, where densely populated cities and lack of available land make them a viable solution. As e-commerce grows and continues to impact the market, the use of vertically structured warehouses will become a virtually inevitable factor for the growth of city logistics in dense European hubs and heavily populated US cities.Machiel Wolters, Head of Industrial & Logistics Research of CBRE EMEA commented, "the consumer landscape as a whole has expanded rapidly with the help of e-commerce, and this will undoubtedly continue at an accelerated pace across the globe. The millennial generation is a driving factor of this change and as they continue to populate urban areas, industrial operators will need to adapt with the evolving landscape in order to survive in this competitive business. Securing strategic sites in and around cities is key, and besides spurring vertical building solutions, this will bring opportunities for light industrial property and even retail stores to act as last mile facilities." Rosa Esperanza Reyes with her son at the wedding By: Mason White WorldWideWeirdNews.com (Scroll down for video) A wedding was ruined after the grooms pregnant mistress arrived to church. The pregnant teen mother of Nicaragua, managed to disrupt the wedding, but she was unable to stop the bride and groom from exchanging vows and getting married. Rosa Esperanza Reyes, 17, showed up at the church to keep her 40-year-old lover, Jose Sabino Davila, from marrying his 18-year-old bride Rita Elena Lopez. Reyes was holding her one-year-old son in her arms and she claimed that the groom is the father of her son and her unborn child. Reyes, who is six months pregnant, said that she slept with the groom the night before his wedding. Police were called to help with the chaos and with the large crowd gathered to watch the incident unfold. During the commotion, police managed to distract Reyes long enough so that the bride and groom can flee their wedding in a taxi. Davila may be facing charges for having sex with the teenager who is under the countrys legal age of consent. Christopher Thompson and Aaron Hughes (right) By: Tanya Clark WorldWideWeirdNews.com A soldier from the United Kingdom, was jailed after he paid another man to allow him to watch as he raped a boy. Christopher Thompson, 26, of Cardiff, Wales, paid the pedophile, Aaron Hughes, A50 ($61) to allow him to watch a video, showing Hughes raping a child who was handed to him by a babysitter. The court heard that after Hughes sent him video files showing the rape of the 3-year-old boy, Thompson replied aWow.a Thompson also exchanged 7,000 messages and images with children for his sexual pleasure. He sent some of the messages to children using an online social network called Tagged. An employee of the company that is based in San Francisco, California, detected the indecent exchanges and alerted police in the United States. Detectives then informed police in the United Kingdom, and Thompson was arrested. Thompson was described in court as an educated man of previous good character and had served his country with an aexemplarya army record However, his evil actions outweighed the good. Thompson was found guilty of 12 counts of sexual activity with a child, sexual activity in the presence of a child, inciting a child to engage in sexual activity, causing a child to watch a sexual activity, attempting to arrange a child sex offence and making and distributing indecent photographs of children. He was sentenced to 27 years and eight months in prison. He will also serve five years probation and he will have to register as a sex offender for life. Aaron Hughes of Cardiff, was also arrested and he was sentenced to life in prison. 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 Jamie and James Baker By: William Martin WorldWideWeirdNews.com (Scroll down for video) A woman who wanted to kill her professional bodybuilder husband, poisoned his steroids with antifreeze, according to police in Delaware. Smyrna police said that they have arrested 47-year-old Jamie L. Baker, after being accused of poisoning to death her husband, 42-year-old James D. Baker II. Jamie has been charged with one count of first-degree murder. In court, Kamie pleaded guilty to one count of second-degree murder. She faces up to life in prison. According to the criminal complaint, James worked as a professional bodybuilder and took steroids to sculpt his figure. One morning, James was found dead on the bedroom floor of his home by his wife Jamie. An autopsy revealed that James had a large amount of ethylene glycol in his body. Jamie then admitted to injecting antifreeze into her husbandas steroids in order to kill him. The ethylene glycol of the antifreeze built up in Jamesa kidneys until it killed him. Recent reports by US news networks rekindled a story claiming the Statue of Liberty was inspired by an Arab peasant. And some Americans did not take kindly to them. Researchers say the Statue of Liberty was 'inspired' by an Arab peasant. (Representative image via Pinterest) By Vishakha Saxena: At the fag end of 2015, it was first reported that the iconic symbol of the United States - the Statue of Liberty - was actually inspired by an Arab woman. The reports came from trusted, well-read outlets at a time when the country had just started debating the arrival of refugees from Syria and other war-torn countries. The story provoked some outrage, which largely went unnoticed. But it was hardly termed 'propaganda' or #fakenews. advertisement 2017 paints a different picture, however. In light of US President Donald Trump's recent attempts (read: executive order) to ban refugees and ostracise the Muslim community (among others), several American news outlets rekindled and reported the story. But this time, it evoked an overwhelming number of reactions, including sweeping hatred, Islamophobia and brazen rejection of the claims. SOCIAL MEDIA ON FIRE A large number of readers chose to write-off the story as 'fake' and 'Muslim propaganda' and resorted to Islamophobia. Sample these tweets: (Twitter screenshots) Many others celebrated and welcomed the report and called it "ironic" in light of the current environment in the country. It's okay that the Statue of Liberty represents an immigrant...just not an Arab immigrant? #NationOfImmigrants https://t.co/yvd5JBqu9j OMARGOD! (@OmarsDayOff) February 7, 2017 SO, WHAT WAS THIS 'INSPIRATION'? According to the original reports, the statue was inspired by a project representing an Arab woman guarding the Suez Canal. The statue's designer - French sculptor Frederic-Auguste Bartholdi - originally designed "a huge statue of a robed woman holding a torch" for the Egyptian government when it was looking to build a lighthouse for the Suez Canal in 1869. Hey @POTUS, could you please give us back the Statue of Liberty, she's french, she's an immigrant, and she's dishonored by your politics. Rose de Berne (@RoseDeBerne) January 29, 2017 Bartholdi himself was quite inspired by the Egyptians and even traveled to the country between 1855-1856. There, he was influenced by the ancient architecture, and developed a "passion for large-scale public monuments and colossal structures," according to the Smithsonian Magazine -- a journal by the US-funded Smithsonian Institution -- carried the story too, quoting researcher Barry Moreno, who authored multiple books about the statue. "The statue was to stand 86 feet high (at the canal), and its pedestal was to rise to a height of 48 feet," wrote Moreno. The magazine quoted excerpts from another researcher Edward Berenson's book Statue of Liberty: A Translatlantic Story. According to Berenson, the statue morphed from "a gigantic female fellah, or Arab peasant" into "a colossal goddess". Cover of the book 'Statue of Liberty: A Translatlantic Story' authored by Berenson (left) and cover of the Statue of Liberty authored by Moreno (right). (Images via Amazon) Cover of the book 'Statue of Liberty: A Translatlantic Story' authored by Berenson (left) and cover of the Statue of Liberty authored by Moreno (right). (Images via Amazon) advertisement Bartholdi called the sculpture "Egypt Carrying the Light to Asia," but his plan was eventually rejected when the ruler of Egypt went bankrupt. That wasn't the end of the sculptor's dreams, however, as he got his second chance when French historian Edouard de Laboulaye came up with the idea of the French presenting a monument to the United States representing "Liberty Enlightening the World." Bartholdi revived his original design and began re-purposing it as the 'Statue of Liberty' in 1870. Frederic-Auguste Bartholdi (left) and his originaal Egyptian statue of an Arab Peasant (right). (Images via Wikimedia and Twitter) A CONTRARY VIEW While there appears to be a certain connection between Bartholdi's female fellah and the Statue of Liberty, calling Lady Liberty "Muslim" would be a "serious oversimplification" Berenson told Fox News in 2015, while addressing certain news outlets which went with headlines like "Islamic Lady Liberty?" "There's a relationship between the Egyptian statue that Bartholdi first conceived in the late 1860s, but that statue changed as it migrated to the United States. The original version of the statue made sense for Egyptian society. It wouldn't have made sense for America," he said. advertisement "The Egyptian project had nothing to do with the Statue of Liberty. They're both female figures but they're not the same figure," he said. Some others researchers believe that Bartholdi's mother, Charlotte Beysser Bartholdi, herself was the inspiration for the statue. Bartholdi's mother Charlotte Beysser Bartholdi. (Image via Pinterest) Meanwhile, some scholars of African-American studies also believe that Lady Liberty was modeled off of a black woman. Dr Leonard Jeffries Jr, a professor of African-American Studies at City College told the New York Times in 2000 that earlier models of the statue "were more Negroid" and that "the idea of the black Statue of Liberty has been kept out (of history)." A SYMBOL OF HOPE While, the US can debate the origins of its symbolic monument, one fact that remains indisputable is that the promise of welcoming one and all is embedded in its very foundation. This poem by Emma Lazarus rests at the base of the Statue of Liberty and is a reminder of who we really are: pic.twitter.com/FJjmrl37Id Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) January 30, 2017 Never forget these words are bolted to the Statue of Liberty herself. America is built on the welcoming of immigrants. #MuslimBan pic.twitter.com/FNWsSdU1Yu Scott Santens (@scottsantens) January 29, 2017 Let's remember what the Statue Of Liberty represents. pic.twitter.com/PjT415zwxR SPHINX (@DanteArcana) January 31, 2017 --- ENDS --- advertisement New Dawn As Glyndwr University Plan Major Redevelopment Of Campus This article is old - Published: Tuesday, Feb 7th, 2017 Wrexham Glyndwr University has announced redevelopment plans, including a a showcase building as part of a new gateway entrance likely on Mold Road. The proposed redevelopment features as part of the Universitys Vice-Chancellor, Professor Maria Hinfelaars vision for the north east Wales and the institution as the University continues to grow under a five-year strategy up to 2020. Professor Hinfelaars said, We are viewing the development of our new campus masterplan primarily through the lens of our students it is their physical learning environment we must improve, she said. We need more space for students to engage in social, informal and collaborative activity, as distinct from the classroom environment which also needs upgrading. On the main campus, we want to invest in a new student hub, a showcase building as part of a new gateway entrance and refurbished student accommodation, and we are currently putting financial plans in place. We are told the universitys other campuses in Wrexham, Northop and St Asaph will not be forgotten and will be an integral part of the new Estates and Learning Environment Strategy we have previously written about an estates review that has taken place, with it possible land sales will part fund the multi million pound redevelopment. Professor Hinfelaar says staff and students have plenty to look forward to over the coming years, and says with new partnerships being forged across the region, the time is right for people to join forces with the institution. Our triple helix concept is timely, because I can definitely see converging agendas when meeting with regional organisations such as the North Wales Economic Ambition Board, North Wales Business Council and the Mersey-Dee Alliance, she said. There is talk of a cross-border skills and innovation summit with WGU as one of the lead partners, with a focus on how universities and colleges on both sides of the border can underpin the growth bid for North Wales and more joint-up thinking that will link this bid to the Northern Powerhouse. Up to now, much of the debate has been about what infrastructure improvements in road and rail are needed; it is time now to introduce an education and research dimension to this debate. After all, if we really want to create an excellent ecosystem for the region we need brainpower as well as physical connectivity. Along with the redevelopment of the Wrexham campus, an increase in student satisfaction at the University is also among the key targets for Professor Hinfelaar. One of the universitys biggest achievements last year was a 5% increase in the National Student Survey making Wrexham Glyndwr University (WGU) one of the top 10 risers in the UK and Professor Hinfelaar hopes to see even more positive results this time around. First and foremost we need to build student numbers because the University is not yet the size it could potentially be, said Professor Hinfelaar. We are running some excellent courses which deliver good results for graduates measured by metrics such as employability, recognition by professional and regulatory bodies and student satisfaction. At the moment, though, we are still seeing a large percentage of school leavers from north east Wales leaving our region instead of studying with us. We need to work harder to keep more of them here, but the other side of the coin, more positively, is that at least we have something to work on to attract our natural slice of the student market. We should, and do, promote what we have to offer to students from outside the region, including international students. This is not just important for us at WGU, but also for Wrexham and the surrounding area a successful university will help it to thrive. We expect proposals to be made public around the middle of this year. By Press Trust of India: Mumbai, Feb 7 (PTI) The Bombay High Court today asked the Maharashtra government to take immediate steps to check encroachments on wetlands and destruction of mangroves in the name of development, stressing that such activities should be "ruthlessly" stopped for the sake of future generations. A division bench of Justices V M Kanade and P R Bora directed the government to submit before it old and new Google maps of wetland areas, so that the extent of damage caused to mangroves and the encroachments on them could be compared. advertisement "The ideal thing to do would be to take an old Google map and compare it with a new one. I have no doubt that there are encroachments on wetlands. Nobody can deny that. The only thing that remains is what the authorities are doing to prevent, restore and restrain such destruction in future," the court said while hearing a public interest litigation. "Now, we cannot do anything in those places where buildings have already been constructed on wetlands. But in future...in places like Mira Bhayander and Panvel we have to see to it that mangroves are saved. We should ruthlessly stop further destruction," Justice Kanade said. The court suggested that for those places where mangroves are destroyed for construction of public utility projects, authorities can ensure that the mangroves are replanted elsewhere. "In the interest of common public and the future generation, the government will have to ensure that wetlands are safeguarded," the court said while posting the petition for further hearing in March. "On the next date, submit a copy of an old and present Google map. We would like to compare the extent of damage to wetlands and encroachments on them. We would then see what steps can be taken to stop this in future," the court said. PTI SP NP RT SSB --- ENDS --- On Wednesday, January 25, the General Student Committee (Asta) of the University of Bremen in Germany, which represents the student body at the university, announced that Jorg Baberowski had taken legal action against the universitys students. The right-wing professor of Eastern European history at Berlins Humboldt University is attempting in this way to muzzle critics of his reactionary positions. The district court (Landgericht) of Cologne has issued an injunction against the student body of the University of Bremen, the website of the student government states. Accordingly, for the time being, we may not make certain critical statements regarding the complainant Jorg Baberowski. The Asta has filed an appeal against this decision; the case is still under review in the lower courts. In October 2016, the Asta published a leaflet in which they quoted and politically evaluated statements made by Baberowski regarding refugee policy and the fight against terrorism. Baberowski is now trying to prohibit both in court. Claiming he had been falsely cited and slandered, he wants to prevent the students from quoting him further and expressing their opinions about these quotes. The Asta produced the leaflet on the occasion of a meeting, with Baberowski as the speaker, organized by the conservative Konrad Adenauer Foundation (KAS) in cooperation with the Association of Christian Democratic Students (RCDS) at the University of Bremen. The students called for a peaceful protest. In response, the university administration declared that it expected the organizers to be open to a critical debate and that the Asta would be able to confront the speaker with its substantial criticism. Baberowski was apparently not willing to accept these terms. The event was moved to the premises of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation and two dozen police officers were deployed to shield it from critical students. Baberowski hired the Berlin law firm Schertz Bergmann to force the students to remove their leaflet and a subsequent press statement from their website. At the same time, various blogs and websites from the right and extreme right took up the issue and accused the Bremen students of intellectual terrorism (Gesinnungsterror) and intellectual tutelage (geistige Bevormundung). We consequently received dozens of letters from right-wing extremists who insulted and in some cases threatened us, said Irina from the Asta. Finally, the letter from the law firm arrived. Baberowski has taken the suit against the Bremen student body as the starting point for proceeding as well against other critics. Christoph Vandreier, the chairman of the IYSSE in Germany and a prominent critic of Baberowski, has already received a cease-and-desist letter because he cited the Asta at the University of Bremen in an article. Even though the leaflet was distributed at the University of Bremen and Baberowski lives and works in Berlin, Baberowski filed for the injunction against the Asta before the district court of Cologne, which, according to the news magazine Der Spiegel, has come to be considered by journalists as the harshest in the country. It is highly doubtful that a different court would have issued the injunction since the grounds on which Baberowski is basing his motion to the court, which the WSWS possesses, can only be described as outrageous. Baberowski de facto wants to prohibit the students from quoting him and expressing their opinion regarding these quotes. For example, Baberowski demands that the following quote from a debate at the German Historical Museum (DHM) entitled Germany as an interventionist power be reproduced only in its entirety: And if one is not willing to take hostages, burn villages, hang people and spread fear and terror, as the terrorists do, if one is not prepared to do such things, then one can never win such a conflict and it is better to keep out altogether. So on the one hand: Yes, of course, Germany should assume such a role and it is important that Germany accept responsibility, especially in such conflicts that affect it. But one should consider (a) what type of war is one prepared for, and (b) whether one can win. And if you cannot win then you should stay out of it. That is my opinion on the matter. The students in Bremen are to be prohibited, inter alia, from expressing the opinion that these are theses of horrifying brutality. Already on the talk show Maybrit Illner last May, Baberowski indirectly accused Green Party Chairman Cem Ozdemir of slander after the latter had confronted him with his own statement. In setting forth the legal basis for applying for an injunction, his lawyer now asserts that in the quote in question, Baberowski had recommended to not get drawn into a military confrontation with such inhuman terrorists, precisely because one cannot and should not repay like with like. That this interpretation is false emerges from the quoted sentence itself. Baberowski did not say that one should stay out of such interventions because they could be won only with the methods of a war of annihilation. Rather, he said that one should stay out of them if one is not prepared to use such inhumane methods. This is patently different from the interpretation presented by Baberowskis lawyer. It emerges from the aforementioned quote that Baberowski does advocate wars against terrorists, namely in those cases when they can be won. He left no doubt about this at the German Historical Museum. Among other things, he said: In the case of an institution such as ISIS, the military can quickly deal with it with decapitation strikes. Thats no problem. The Americans can solve this. One can liquidate the leaders of this band with hit squads. That is all no problem. It is doable. If, on the other hand, state structures have been completely destroyed by a long civil war, then one must be aware that this will cost a great deal of money and you have to send soldiers and weapons into a power vacuum, continued Baberowski. Most importantly, you need the political will and political strategy, and, above all, you have to say that in order for this to work, we will go in. And it has to be worth it. That costs money. We have to send troops in. Countries like Iraq, Syria and Libya are no longer able to solve this problem themselves. Baberowski has since made similar statements. Thus, on November 25, 2015, in the Esslinger Zeitung, he demanded that the same methods terrorists use be used against them, declaring, An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. Regarding the terrorist attacks in France, he said: I felt it was a disastrous error that Ms. Merkel said to the French: We are crying with you. Whoever responds in this way will be despised by the terrorists as a weakling. Then, in January last year, in an interview with the magazine Cicero, he was explicitly asked what he thought of the sentence: Terror cannot be fought with war. Baberowski replied, The sentence is wrong. If terrorists like the present jihadists from the Islamic State have declared war, then the war is in the world. I cannot eliminate it by denying its existence. You confront terror only with violent means. Such statements by Baberowski are just as unambiguous as the quote from his appearance at the German Historical Museum. The attempt to ban students from quoting and criticizing him therefore constitutes a fundamental attack on freedom of expression. While beating the drum for war, Baberowski wants to silence his critics by proceeding against them in court. A notorious right-wing ideologue Although Baberowski likes to present himself as an honorable professor, in reality, he is a right-wing ideologue. Few academics make as many and as frequent public statements on political issues. He regularly appears on talk shows, gives interviews, and writes articles in which he advances positions that are commonplace in right-wing and ultra-right circles. He is now a regular columnist in the Basler Zeitung, which is influenced by the Swiss right-winger Christoph Blocher. In numerous articles he has attacked the refugee policy of the German chancellor and accused her of breaking the law. He has claimed that refugees are for the most part a burden, not an asset ( Basler Zeitung, 07/01/2016) and said: The integration of several million people in only a very short time disrupts the historical tradition (Uberlieferungszusammenhang) in which we stand and which provides stability and consistency for a society. ( Basler Zeitung, 14/9/2015) Like other representatives of the extreme right, Baberowski gets worked up about the dictatorship of political correctness and attacks moral guardians. In the Basler Zeitung of November 25, 2016, under the headline Against the culture of political correctness, he defended the election victory of Donald Trump with the following words: I wanted my vote to count, this is how an American citizen justified his decision to vote Trump. Is this not something we all want? Then we must grant it to everyone. In his academic work, Baberowski has long advocated right-wing positions. Already in his student days he sided with the Nazi apologist Ernst Nolte in the Historikerstreit (historians dispute), in which Nolte described the Holocaust as an understandable reaction to the violence of Stalinism. In February 2014, the leading German journal Der Spiegel presented Baberowski as the chief witness for the rehabilitation of Nolte and quoted him as follows: Hitler was no psychopath, and he was not vicious. He didnt want people to talk about the extermination of the Jews at his table. ( Der Spiegel, 7/2/2014) In his own writings, Baberowski goes well beyond the Nolte of the Historikerstreit. One can find formulations denying that the Nazis carried out a planned war of extermination in the East and presenting the murder of millions of people as a reaction to the resistance of the Red Army. Hitlers soldiers did not wage a war of Weltanschauung [ideology]. They were trapped in a war that had its own inescapable dynamic, he declared in his book Scorched Earth, thus denying both the fact that these mass murders had been planned and their anti-Semitic dimension. Five years earlier, he had written: Stalin and his generals imposed a war of a new type on the Wehrmacht from which the civilian population was no longer protected. While calling Germany the land of moral guardians and subjects, which banishes dissidents into the dark Germany ( Basler Zeitung, 07/01/2016), Baberowski aggressively proceeds against critics of his own right-wing positions. Already back in early 2014, he locked out critical professors and students from an event with Robert Service, the discredited biographer of Leon Trotsky. When student members of the IYSSE distributed leaflets to students at Humboldt University addressing his right-wing positions, he went to see the university authorities to have the IYSSE banned from using rooms at the university. When the IYSSE nevertheless held large meetings, he went to the press demanding that the IYSSE be thrown out of the university. Now he is going so far as to sue against unwelcome criticism. Right-wing ideologues are well known to use such methods. When criticized, they pose as victims of slander and a dictatorship of opinion, only to pursue their critics all the more ruthlessly in order to silence them. In the Historikerstreit of the 1980s, Noltes main line of defense was to imply that his critics were slandering him. The accusations ranged from sloppy research and forged quotes (Michael Sturmer) to distorting citations (Klaus Hildebrand). Nolte himself insisted that he had not been quoted correctly. When Deborah Lipstadt cited the Holocaust denier David Irving in her book Denying the Holocaust and pointed to his defense of Hitler, the latter first tried to stop the sale of the book and then sued for libel. He lost the case. Now, Baberowski is using very similar methods to intimidate critical students. Defend the student body of Bremen The fact that Baberowski dares to act in such an aggressive manner and sue the student body of the University of Bremen is bound up with fundamental changes in society. The Trump presidency has shifted the axis of the political establishment to the right. In Germany too, xenophobia, nationalism and militarism are again becoming part of official politics. Defending the Bremen student body is therefore of the utmost importance. What is at stake is nothing less than defense of the right to expose and criticize reactionary, nationalist and militarist positions. If a proven right-wing ideologue like Baberowski should succeed with his attempts at censorship, it would signify the criminalization of any resistance to the shift to the right. We therefore call on school pupils, students, Astas, teachers and especially workers to support the Bremen student body. Send letters of solidarity to the Asta Bremen University and send a copy to iysse@gleichheit.de ! John Berger, one of the most prominent left-wing figures in the field of English-language art criticism for over 60 years, died January 2 at the age of 90. Berger authored dozens of books of art criticism and commentary, including, notably, The Success and Failure of Picasso (1965), Art and Revolution (1969), Ways of Seeing (1972), which was based on a four-part BBC documentary that brought him to the attention of a broad public, About Looking (1980) and The Shape of a Pocket (2001). He also devoted works to Albrecht Durer, Titian, Honore Daumier and portraiture, among other subjects. In essays, Berger discussed scores of artists and artistic problems. His final collection of pieces, Landscapes, was published in 2016. His criticism was among the most influential of his generation and that influence extended beyond the immediate field to the wider art-appreciating public. Berger was also a social essayist, novelist and screenwriter, publishing, among other works of poetry and fiction, A Painter of Our Time (1958), G. (1972), which won the Man Booker Prize (he contributed half the prize money to the Black Panther Party), and the Into Their Labours trilogy (1979-1990). He wrote several screenplays with and for Swiss director Alain Tanner, including Jonah Who Will be 25 in the Y ear 2000 (1976). Berger was an engaging and often intriguing writer and commentator. He was unquestionably gifted with considerable powers of observation and developed, through social and intellectual experience, the ability to look beneath the surface of things. He was frequently a debunker of conventional wisdom and, whats more, a genuine opponent of conformism. An encounter with Bergers more pointed and focused pieces is a rewarding and pleasurable experience. He can write persuasively and elegantly about painters and painting. In Hals and Bankruptcy (1966), for example, Berger writes movingly about Frans Hals, the great 17th century Dutch painter, who experienced financial hardship in his later years: The turning point occurred in 1645. For several years before that, Hals had received fewer and fewer commissions. The spontaneity of his portraits which had so pleased his contemporaries became unfashionable with the next generation, who already wanted portraits which were more morally reassuringwho demanded in fact the prototypes of that official bourgeois hypocritical portraiture which has gone on ever since. In 1645 Hals painted a portrait of a man in black looking over the back of a chair. Probably the sitter was a friend. His expression is another one that Hals was the first to record. It is the look of a man who does not believe in the life he witnesses, yet can see no alternative. He has considered, quite impersonally, the possibility that life may be absurd. He is by no means desperate. He is interested. But his intelligence isolates him from the current purpose of men and the supposed purpose of God. A few years later Hals painted a self-portrait displaying a different character but the same expression. In a 1978 essay on the French painter Gustave Courbet, Berger theorizes about the function of darkness in Courbets canvases: The insistence with which he paintedin the Burial [at Ornans], in The stonebreakers, in The peasants of Flagey whatever emerged into the light, insisting on every apparent part as equally valuable, leads me to think that the ground of darkness signified entrenched ignorance. When he said that art is the most complete expression of an existing thing, he was opposing art to any hierarchical system or to any culture whose function is to diminish or deny the expression of a large part of what exists. He was the only great painter to challenge the chosen ignorance of the cultured. One has confidence in these and many other similar observations. Since Bergers death a month ago, numerous left media obituaries have recounted the events of his life, explained that he was a political radical and egalitarian in his views, noted both his influences and those he influenced, and pointed out how humane and informed his views were. He was a non-party or contradictory socialist, an iconoclast, who eschewed fame and fortune, choosing to live for decades in a remote rural part of France. These facts are accurate enough, as far as they go, but the obituaries generally avoid the more complex questions, especially in regard to someone habitually, if mistakenly, referred to as a Marxist critic. Berger was born in London 1926, the son of Miriam and Stanley Berger. His father, a Hungarian emigre, had served as an officer in the First World War, an experience that greatly affected him, and later worked as a public official. His father was eventually awarded the Order of the British Empire for his work on management theory. Berger was apparently attracted to left-wing politics as a teenager while attending private schools, which he despised. He left one of them at 16 and enrolled at the Central School of Art in London. After two years in the British army, 1944 to 1946, he attended the Chelsea School of Art. He drew close to the Communist Party in the postwar years, although he never joined. Berger told a Guardian interviewer in 1999, Im sure people assumed I was [a CP member], particularly when I wrote for the communist press after the war, but I didn't join because I couldnt swallow the official party line about art. This was the thing I thought I actually knew something about and although I was all for a social art, I couldnt accept the rigidity and obvious falseness of their position. After graduation from art school he taught drawing and continued to pursue a career as a painter until 1952, when he was asked to give a series of talks on art for the BBC. In 1954 he began writing art criticism for the New Statesman, where he established a reputation as an honest and no-holds-barred critic. The magazine, on occasion, felt obliged to apologize for him. He was also harassed and attacked at this time by anticommunists for his views. Some of these essays were collected in the book, Permanent Red (1960). In one, The Ideal Critic and the Fighting Critic, written in 1959, he asked, Why should an artists way of looking at the world have any meaning to us? This was a question that would concern him for the rest of his career and which he answered in various ways, all of them ultimately unsatisfactory from a Marxist point of view. In the 1959 essay, Berger observed that the specific meaning of a work of art changes as years or centuries pass, and depends on who is looking at it when. But this lay the groundwork for a historical relativism that he was to embrace and become identified with. Art and Revolution (1969) graphically revealed some of the unresolved problems in his political outlook. The book is an honest and partisan appraisal of the Soviet sculptor Ernst Neizvestny, who died in August 2016, but proves unable to assess the artist in his place and time, or make serious sense of the history and current state of the USSR. Art and Revolution, frankly, seriously underestimates the trauma of Soviet history and denies the counter-revolutionary character of the Stalinist regime. Berger writes, in an ambiguous phrase, that the example and the existence of the U.S.S.R. has been a crucial factor in the anti-imperialist struggle, before adding that the establishment of the policy of Socialism in One Country in the mid-1920s meant that the world revolutionary role of the Soviet Union was compromised. The work is dedicated to Isaac Deutscher, and Berger subscribes to the latters view, which is cited, that Stalinism represented something barbarous, but historically progressive. Art and Revolution is permeated by conceptions current in British intellectual circles at the time. A potpourri of ideas is on hand that has little in common with Marxism. Alfred North Whitehead, Che Guevara, Frantz Fanon and a Guatemalan guerrilla leader are quoted, unhelpfully. The weaknesses are not merely Bergers. One fact is indicative of the difficult conditions that confronted the Marxist trend, Trotskyism, in this period. Berger, who published articles in the New Left Review and the Black Dwarf, a leftist journal, expressed personal sympathy for Trotskys positions. Moreover, he was acquainted with and dedicated Art and Revolution to Deutscher, Trotskys biographer. Yet neither in the work on the Soviet sculptor nor his subsequent Ways of Seeing, nor anywhere else, does Berger discuss Trotskys views on art and literature, to which Deutscher devoted a significant chapter in The Prophet Unarmed, the second volume of his biography. Berger either considered Trotskys views irrelevant, or they cut too close to the bone and, moreover, threatened a good many political and intellectual relationships. The Stalinist parties, both in the Soviet Union and around the globe, still had millions of members. China under Mao claimed to be guided by Marxism-Leninism. Guevara and the Cuban regime, along with dozens of national liberation movements, presented themselves as adherents of varying national forms of socialism. Berger tilted in that direction and never fully broke from the petty bourgeois circles oriented to Soviet or Chinese Stalinism, or Third World movements. The year 1972 saw the debut of his four-part documentary, Ways of Seeing, on BBC television, which brought him to the attention of a broader audience. One of Bergers argumentsin part a response to Sir Kenneth Clarks BBC series Civilization, which posited eternal ideals such as truth and beauty as the basis of great artwas that the wealth accumulated by the capitalist class had played the decisive role in the 500-year history of oil painting; the latter depicted the wealth of its bourgeois and noble patrons and itself acquired the status of wealth. Ways of Seeing, and, in greater detail, the book of that name written later, focused on the historical and social circumstances that gave rise to oil painting. This was and remains a valuable and interesting aspect of the documentary and the book. But Berger went further and reduced the meaning of these paintings almost exclusively and solely to the circumstances of the time in which they were painted. Ways of Seeing argues that once a work of art was removed from those circumstances, it derived an entirely new meaning, particularly as objects of wealth held by affluent individuals or museums. This, Ways of Seeing said, mystifies a given work of art. This process of mystification is greatly accelerated by the invention of photography. The mass reproduction of images completely overturns the original content of a painting (a church, perhaps), and makes the original valuable simply because it is an original. The meaning of the original work no longer lies uniquely in what it says but in what it uniquely is. It is defined as an object whose value depends on its rarity, Berger says. He argues further on that the function of a painting, is nostalgic. It is the final empty claim of the continuing values of an oligarchic, undemocratic culture in the age of pictorial reproduction, the meaning of paintings is no longer transmitted. Still later in the book he adds, the art of any period tends to serve the ideological interests of the ruling class. For Berger, at least in Ways of Seeing, the matter more or less ends there. He never even asks why anyone would pin a postcard or a print of a Vermeer or Rubens on his or her wall in the first place, i.e., what value the image being reproduced might have as a representation of life. Why should we look at the art of the past if it merely transmits the values of an oligarchic, undemocratic culture? This view is generally and ignorantly presented as Marxism. One of the numerous superficial obituaries, this one appearing in the publication of the Socialist Party, formerly the Militant tendency, in Britain, notes that Berger was a self-avowed Marxist. His Marxism apparently was exemplified by the positions he put forward in Ways of Seeing: He argued that Western art tradition since the Renaissance has been intertwined with the interests of the ruling classes and of capitalism. Capitalist social relations meant oil painting served as a status symbol of power and wealth. The depiction of women in art, in particular, was as objects to be possessed. For Berger in Ways of Seeing, a given work of art is not a means of knowing the world, objectively, truthfully, in the form of images, but merely an expression of the prevalent ideology at the time the painter lived and worked. As a critic and essayist, Berger sometimes contradicted or went beyond this outlook, but as a theorist and an art historian, he did not. In the famous 1924 discussion, Class and Art, Trotsky specifically criticized the type of populist-radical argument Berger put forward. The Bolshevik leader rejected the notion that Dantes Divine Comedy, for example, was valuable just because it enables us to understand the psychology of a certain class at a certain time. To put the matter that way means simply to strike out the Divine Comedyfrom the realm of art. He argued that, as a work of art, the Divine Comedy must speak in some way to my feelings and moods. If we approach Dantes epic today as a living art work, Trotsky pointed out, this happens not because Dante was a Florentine petty bourgeois of the 13th century but, to a considerable extent, in spite of that circumstance. Aleksandr Voronsky, the noted Soviet critic, argued in his essay On Artistic Truth in 1928: A work of art is artistically truthful when the subjective feelings of and thoughts which are filtered through the aesthetically formulated general world conception have the character of an objective portrayal. These considerations, which correspond to the classical Marxist tradition in aesthetics represented by Trotsky, Voronsky and Georgi Plekhanov in particular, never enter into Bergers Ways of Seeing. Although Berger rejected Stalinism in art, he exhibited a certain kinship with the advocates of proletarian culture during the period of the New Left. He later eclectically searched around for various maverick figures, Walter Benjamin of the Frankfurt School, the art critic Max Raphael, the Austrian leftist and former Stalinist Ernst Fischer, Victor Serge, etc. The Frankfurt School, along with existentialism and phenomenology, and an assortment of various forms of postwar European pessimism, which urged a turn away from the struggle for socialist leadership in the working class, exercised a far greater influence on Bergers thinking than did Karl Marx. One does not look to Berger, in other words, for answers to the great problems of artistic and social life in the 20th century. His insights are of another, lesser order of magnitude. At times, he makes it clear that he senses that his views on art are inadequate. At other moments, he opens a window on the relationship of art to the larger world. In The Moment of Cubism (1967), for example, he provided a concise summary of the social conditions that had given rise of cubism 60 years earlier and looked at the relationship of this school of art to social life. Whatever else one may say about his judgments on cubism, he attempted to link the style as a new way of understanding the emerging world of mass production, skyscrapers and mass transit. His fiction tended to focus on intimate situations set against the backdrop of historical events or social processes: the peasant migrating to work in a factory, an exiled left-wing Hungarian artist at the time of the 1956 uprising, a Don Juan on the eve of the first World War. Unsurprisingly, the images he uses in these works are precise and evocative, though the social and historical issues are seen somewhat subjectively and do not take on an objective life of their own. The novels are intelligent, if not inspired. Bergers attitude toward contemporary events tracked those of a generation of more or less disappointed European leftists. In August 1991 Soviet Stalinist leader Mikhail Gorbachev was his hero, and Berger tells us that, the free market carries with it the right to dream. As time passed, he remained at odds with a world that he saw as filled with tremendous suffering: in 2005 he affirmed that he was still a Marxist, but he offered only moral and not historical or scientific grounds for this label. He also told an interviewer that he was, in a general way, a believer. Berger matured and worked during a period of the relative isolation of revolutionary Marxism under the impact of the decades-long protracted degeneration of the Soviet Union and the dominance of various bureaucracies over the working class. Like many artists and thinkers of his time he was sensitive and sympathetic to the strivings of the oppressed, but overwhelmed by the delay of social revolution caused by Stalinism and Social Democracy, which dominated cultural life in postwar Europe. It was a historical interlude, but one that still held powerful sway at the time Berger formed many of his ideas. On the whole, the period had a damaging effect on his understanding of art. After months of speculation, right-wing and pro-Trump Senator Cory Bernardi formally split from the governing Liberal Party today and announced his intention to form a new party, the Australian Conservatives. At this stage, no member of the parliaments lower house, from either the Liberal Party or its coalition partner, the National Party, has joined him. The Coalition and Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, therefore, still cling to power with a fragile one-seat majority. Bernardi, 47, has represented the socially conservative Christian right of the Liberal Party since he first entered parliament in 2007. The main issues with which he has associated himself are climate change skepticism, draconian immigration policies, anti-Muslim xenophobia, anti-abortion campaigns, opposition to same sex marriage and calls for the repudiation of anti-discrimination legislation. He was a supporter of former prime minister Tony Abbott, who won the 2013 election against the Labor Party, and an opponent of Turnbull, who became prime minister through an inner-party coup against Abbott in September 2015. A senator from the state of South Australia, Bernardi was seconded to Australias United Nations delegation last year, spending three months in the US during the final stages of the presidential election campaign. He paid considerable attention to Donald Trumps campaign, particularly the latters populist appeals to immense political alienation and discontent among some of the most desperate and impoverished sections of the American population and his channeling of such sentiments behind America First nationalism, anti-immigrant xenophobia and right-wing economic populism. Bernardi returned home vowing to develop a Trump-style movement in Australia. On November 23, he wrote: [P]olitics in Australia needs to change. My time in the USA has made me realise I have to be a part of that change, perhaps even in some way a catalyst for it. Bernardi is acutely conscious of the instability that surrounds the Turnbull government. He has split just days after the now notorious phone call between Turnbull and Trump, when they clashed over Turnbulls insistence that the new US administration honour a sordid refugee deal that had been earlier made with the Obama administration. In recent days, Turnbull has denied US reports that he agreed to certain quid pro quos with Trump to ensure the deal remained. The alleged reciprocal agreements ranged from sending more troops to Iraq to sending Australian warships into Chinese-claimed waters in the South China Sea. Points of difference had already flared after Trump repudiated the Trans-Pacific Partnership following his January 20 inauguration. Turnbull briefly suggested that the trade pact could continue without US involvement and raised, in meetings with Japanese prime minister Abe, the prospect of including China in a revised TPPan action that would certainly have been viewed with hostility in Washington. There is no question that the rifts between Turnbull and Trump have heightened tensions within Turnbulls government. In June 2010, under conditions of a rift between then prime minister Kevin Rudd and the Obama administration, pro-US factions within the Labor Party orchestrated an inner party coup to oust Rudd and install Julia Gillard. According to Fairfax media, Bernardi reportedly told Turnbull this morning that a leadership challenge was being plotted against him and that I want no part of it. Given the extent of the factional divisions both within and between the Liberal and National parties, the outcome of any leadership spill would be highly unpredictable and could result in a split of some sorts and the fall of the Coalition government. Bernardis statements today serve to underscore his major concern: to prepare for the collapse of the Coalition and Labor Party-dominated two party system that has prevailed in Australia since World War II. In his resignation statement to the Senate, he declared: [T]he body politic is failing the people of Australia and its clear we need to find a better way. The level of public disenchantment with the major parties, lack of confidence in our political process and concern about the direction of our nation is very strong. This is a direct product of the political class being out of touch with the hopes and aspirations of the Australian people. So-called third parties are now attracting an unprecedented 30 percent of the national vote. While Labors former working class base has abandoned the party in droves, right-wing populist formations such as Pauline Hansons One Nation, Nick Xenophons party and Jacqui Lambies party have cut deeply into the traditional voter base of both Liberal and National. Bernardi has pointed to the fact that more than one million conservative voters have shifted from the Coalition to other right-wing formations. Comments he made last year, however, revealed that he is even more concerned over the prospect of mass anger and alienation taking the form of a left-wing, anti-capitalist movement within the working class and among young people. In an interview with the Sydney Morning Herald last December, Bernardi noted that if the Democrats had stood Bernie Sanders, rather than Hillary Clinton, Sanders would have beaten Trump in the election because his anti-capitalist rhetoric appealed to broad layers of the population. The South Australian senator recalled being shown research that found 50 percent of young Americans believe socialism or communism is a preferable system to capitalism. In the period ahead, the danger of war with China will soar as a result of the Trump administrations agenda, while the deepening economic crisis will intensify pressures on the government to slash taxes and cut public spending. Bernardis objective is to divert the rapidly deepening social disaffection into anti-immigrant demagogy and nationalism, combined with calls for corporate tax cuts, the winding back of social welfare and the slashing of government regulations on business. According to Bernardi, 60,000 people have indicated interest on his Australian Conservatives web site. He has also developed relations with significant corporate figures, and is closely associated with Western Australian multi-billionaire Gina Rinehart, who has amassed a staggering fortune on the back of iron ore exports to China. Rinehart has heaped praise on Donald Trump, and called for Australian governments to replicate his pledges of massive corporate tax cuts and of winding back corporate regulation. According to several reports, Bernardi and Rinehart together met with members of Trumps transition team in December. Discussions are expected to take place, at some level, during the next several weeks between Bernardi and his backers, and Pauline Hansons One Nation. A three-judge panel of the Fourth US Circuit Court of Appeals reaffirmed the conviction of former Massey Energy CEO Don Blankenship last month. Blankenship is currently serving a one-year prison term in California for conspiring to violate federal mine health and safety laws. Blankenships defense team appealed his conviction on four grounds, all of which were rejected by the court in an opinion authored by Judge James Wynn. After careful review, we conclude the district court committed no reversible error, wrote Judge Wynn. Accordingly, we affirm. Blankenship headed Massey when the Upper Big Branch (UBB) mine in West Virginia exploded on April 5, 2010 and took the lives of 29 coal miners. It was the worst coalmine disaster in nearly four decades. During Blankenships decade-long tenure as CEO of Massey, some 52 coalminers were killed at the companys operations. Although four separate investigations exposed the recklessness of Masseys UBB operations, Blankenship was not charged with the disaster or the 29 deaths. Rather, he was indicted by a grand jury in November 2014 on four counts of conspiracy to willfully violate federal mine safety laws and regulations, conspiracy to defraud mine safety regulators, making false statements to the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and engaging in securities fraud. The two conspiracy charges were later combined and a three-count Superseding Indictment issued in March 2015, to which Blankenship pled not guilty. Following a six-week trial, Blankenship was convicted in December 2015 on the conspiracy charges, but acquitted on the charges that he lied to the SEC and investors. In April 2016, Blankenship was sentenced to one year in prison and a $250,000 fine, the maximum permitted for what was a misdemeanor charge under law. He has been imprisoned since last May. He is scheduled to be released on May 10, 2017. Blankenships defense team argued that US District Judge Irene Berger erred by not dismissing the case outright because the charge of conspiracy to routinely violate federal mandatory mine safety and health standards did not cite the specific mine safety regulations he was conspiring to violate. However, the appeals court found that the general description of the offense in the indictment was sufficient because it was based on the actual language of the law and was accompanied by thirty pages of specific factual evidence. During the trial, the prosecution presented data from the US Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) showing that between January 2008 and April 2010, UBB was cited for federal health and safety violations 836 times, 311 of which were classified as significant and substantial (S&S), where there existed a reasonable likelihood of serious injury. Over the same period, UBB was issued 59 unwarrantable failure orders, where sections of the mine were shut down due to aggravated conduct constituting more than ordinary negligence. This evidence was bolstered with testimony from about a dozen former UBB miners and employees confirming the appalling working conditions in the mine. The court also rejected Blankenships appeal that he should have been allowed the opportunity to re-cross examine one of his coconspirators, Chris Blanchard, president of Performance Coal, the operator of UBB for Massey. The opinion explained that Blanchards statement during redirect that Blankenship had told him it was cheaper to break the safety laws and pay the fines than to comply, in fact raised no new matter but merely elaborated on previous testimony and other evidence presented by the prosecution, including memoranda instructing supervisors to run coal and not worry about ventilation or other issues. The most significant portion of the appeal hinged on the term willfully and Judge Bergers instruction to the jury that Blankenships criminal willfulness could be satisfied if the jury found he showed a reckless disregard for the mine health and safety regulations violated. In justifying the broader interpretation of willfulness, Judge Wynn cited several precedents and wrote, Put differently, a long history of repeated failures, warnings, and explanations of the significance of the failures, combined with knowledge of the legal obligations, readily amounts to willfulness. It was on this issue that three coal associations in Illinois, Ohio and West Virginia filed an amicus brief. The associations stated they cannot sit idly by and allow the expansion of criminal law to the point that mere involvement of company management in certain affairs can serve as a basis, in whole or in part, for criminal prosecution. After complaining that Coal and petroleum producers are unequivocally the most heavily regulated industries in the nation, the associations point to additional requirements imposed by the generally toothless Dodd-Frank Act, which require the reporting of mine-by-mine totals of violations and orders issued by MSHA, even for subsidiaries and operators, in their Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) filings. Expressed here is the fear that the Dodd-Frank rules and the Blankenship conviction will compel mining executives to have detailed information of their safety records and that they will be criminally liable for failing to act upon that knowledge. This would undermine one of the chief means through which corporate management has traditionally insulated itself from criminal liability associated with reckless operations. The issuance of citations, the coal associations continue, is an unavoidable fact of mining coal and is based upon the opinion of any given inspector. Thus, they argue, The number of citations received by any given mine can be a misleading indicator of overall regulatory and safety compliance because Even the most compliant operators are issued citations given the strict liability imposed under the [Mine Safety] Act. Therefore, they claim, the very fact that citations are issued does not mean there were violations, and the very fact that there are violations do not necessarily evince bad conduct. Operating a coal mine is a difficult venture that presents tough decisions for its managers, who are required to navigate a regulatory minefield in order to operate a successful company, the brief asserts. Those decisions, especially with respect to production, safety, and regulatory compliance, may at times be imperfect, prone to second-guessing, and, despite best intentions, even incorrect. However, those decisions should not lead to criminal liability unless it is proven beyond a reasonable doubt that the individual possessed the evil purpose necessary to establish that the conduct was illegal, not just general knowledge of the effects of broad regulatory involvement [emphasis added]. This was contradicted by the legislative record, wrote Judge Wynn, which showed that Congresss intent in enacting the Mine Safety Act in 1977 was that it believed the penalties available under the Coal Act [Federal Coal Mine Health and Safety Act of 1969] had proven insufficient to deter safety violations. Congress imposed enhanced penalties in the Mine Safety Act, the judge declared, to deter mine operators from choosing to prioritize production over safety compliance on grounds that it was cheaper to pay the penalties than to strive for a violation-free mine. Over the past several decades, the energy giants have increasingly been given a free hand by Democrats and Republicans alike to undermine past safety regulations. The elimination of occupational safety and health and environmental standards is at the center of the pro-growth economic policies of Donald Trump. While posturing as a champion of coal miners, Trump has selected as his commerce secretary Wilbur Ross, the billionaire who owned the Sago Mine where 12 West Virginia miners were killed in 2006 due to widespread safety violations. As the World Socialist Web Site insisted from the start, far from being rogue entities in an otherwise healthy industry, Massey and its CEO Don Blankenship are not aberrations. They are true representativesperhaps more open than othersof the business model of American capitalism. By Press Trust of India: Pune, Feb 7 (PTI) Four activists of Bhumata Ranragini Brigade including its president Trupti Desai today allegedly assaulted Bhaben Saikia, arrested for the murder of a woman software professional at Infosys building, when he was being taken out of Shivajinagar court here. Police said the incident took place when Saikia (26), accused of killing 23-year-old Rasila Raju OP, was being taken out of court building this afternoon after the court remanded him in judicial custody till February 21. advertisement "Desai and three other activists suddenly came and tried to assault him, however, the policemen took him away swiftly," said an officer with Shivajinagar police station. "We have detained Desai and other three women. They will be released upon an admonition," the officer said. Speaking to PTI on phone while she was detained, Desai, a womens rights activist, said, "The Infosys incident has raised concerns about security of female employees. To punish elements like Saikia, we today assaulted him." Desai had last year successfully campaigned for permission for women to enter the inner sanctum of Shani Shingnapur temple in Maharashtra. Meanwhile, Saikias lawyer Tousif Shaikh said the court refused to extend his police custody despite the prosecutions request. Saikia, who worked at Infosys as a security guard, allegedly murdered Rasila on the ninth floor of the companys building at Hinjawadi here on January 29 because she had earlier scolded him for staring at her. PTI SPK KRK ZMN --- ENDS --- A three-judge panel of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, based in San Francisco, will hear oral arguments Tuesday on the travel ban on visitors from seven Muslim-majority countries imposed by the Trump administration January 27 by executive order. The hearing was announced Monday evening, shortly after the administration filed legal briefs with the appeals court seeking to overturn the decision by Judge James Robart, a federal district judge in Seattle, who issued a temporary restraining order blocking enforcement of the Muslim ban. The three judges include William Canby Jr., appointed by Jimmy Carter; Richard Clifton, appointed by George W. Bush; and Michelle T. Friedland, appointed by Barack Obama. The hour-long hearing, with 30 minutes for each side, will take place at 6 pm Tuesday, Eastern Time, or 3 pm Pacific Time, with a recording of the hearing released to the public after the conclusion of the arguments. The states of Washington and Minnesota brought the suit charging that the executive order issued by Trump is unconstitutional because of its brazenly religious character. They also argued that it damages the interests of citizens of those states as well as institutions such as universities and corporations whose students and employees are affected by the ban. Fifteen more states, with a combined population of more than 100 million people, filed an amicus brief Monday supporting the position of Washington and Minnesota. The brief was drafted by attorneys for California, New York, Pennsylvania and Massachusetts. Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia and the District of Columbia joined in supporting the brief. The state of Hawaii filed a separate motion in support of Washington and Minnesota Nearly all these states are governed by Democrats. The 15-state brief detailed the impact of the ban on the educational and health care systems in many of the states. California Attorney General Xavier Becerra said that medical school programs would risk being without a sufficient number of medical residents to meet staffing needs, and that more than 2,000 students set to enroll in the states college and university system would be affected. The main argument presented by the Trump administration was the claim that the states have no legal standing to challenge the executive order, and that the presidents power to control immigration is conferred both by the Constitution and federal law and is absolute and unreviewable by any court. Judicial second-guessing of the presidents national security determination in itself imposes substantial harm on the federal government and the nation at large, Justice Department lawyers wrote in legal papers defending the executive order. At the court hearing last Friday, Washington state Solicitor-General Noah Purcell responded by saying, Theyre basically saying that you cant review anything about what the president does or says, as long as he says its for national security reasons. And that just cant be the law. Aside from the obviously authoritarian character of the administrations claim, this is the diametric opposite of the position taken by Republican state attorneys general in 2015 when they arguedsuccessfullybefore the Fifth Circuit Court (based in New Orleans) that they had standing to challenge President Obamas executive order exempting several million long-settled undocumented immigrants from deportation. The Trump brief also urged the Ninth Circuit to reject out of hand any arguments based on religious discrimination, since the text of the executive order does not explicitly call for a ban on Muslims. Trumps numerous statements declaring that he wished to impose a Muslim ban, and his seeking advice on how to word such a ban so that it would pass legal muster, could not be considered by the court, the brief argued, because this would involve investigating the motives of the executive branch, and would thus breach the separation of powers. The contrast between this argument and Trumps own conduct, tweeting imprecations against Judge James Robart and all but branding him a terrorist sympathizer, is stark. The brief filed by Washington and Minnesota replied that courts have both the right and the duty to examine defendants true motives, and cited precedents linked to previous Supreme Court decisions in relation to discrimination against gays and other disfavored minorities. The states brief pointed out that the claims of urgent national security dangers were undermined by the sheer breadth of the order: For several months it bans all travelers from the listed countries and all refugees, whether they be infants, schoolchildren or grandparents. And though it cites the attacks of September 11, 2001 as a rationale, it imposes no restrictions on people from the countries whose nationals carried out those attacks. It is at once too narrow and too broad and cannot withstand any level of scrutiny. The issues of imperialist foreign policy underlying the legal recriminations were spelled out in an affidavit filed Monday by ten former top figures in the national security establishment, mostly from Democratic administrations. The document was signed by two former secretaries of state, John Kerry and Madeleine Albright, former defense secretary and CIA director Leon Panetta, former national security adviser Susan Rice, her former deputy Lisa Monaco, former homeland security secretary Janet Napolitano, and four former CIA directors or deputy directors: Michael Hayden, Michael Morrell, John McLaughlin and Avril Haines. Noting that four of these officials were current on active intelligence regarding all credible terrorist threat streams directed against the US as late as January 20, 2017, the statement declared: We all are nevertheless unaware of any specific threat that would justify the travel ban established by the Executive Order issued on January 27, 2017. Trumps executive order will disrupt key counterterrorism, foreign policy and national security partnerships that are critical to our obtaining intelligence necessary to combat terrorist groups like the Islamic State, the statement declared. It went on to warn that individuals in the seven targeted countries who cooperated with US intelligence and military operations would now be endangered. Newly installed Pentagon chief James Mattis reportedly ordered emergency measures for the protection of Iraqis who collaborated with the US military occupation by acting as translators or providing intelligence. The entry of these Iraqis into the United States under a special visa program was halted by the Trump order. A separate amicus brief was filed by 97 giant corporations, including a whos who of Silicon Valley: Facebook, Microsoft, Intel, Uber, eBay, Apple, Google, Twitter, Airbnb and Snap. The corporations argued that the order inflicts significant harm on American business, innovation, and growth, and by disrupting the movement of employees and potential customers is inflicting substantial harm on US companies. Legal commentators expect the Ninth Circuit, which is the most liberal of the circuit courts in the US, to endorse Robarts decision in some fashion, followed by an appeal by the Trump administration to the Supreme Court. In the event of a 4-4 split, which was the result of the previous immigration enforcement lawsuit by Republican-controlled states in 2015, the circuit courts decision would stand. Whatever the long-term result of the legal conflict, however, the temporary restraining order remains in effect this week, with as many as 100,000 people holding visas for entry into the United States from the seven countries targeted by the White House. Meanwhile, more evidence has emerged of the racist and bigoted character of both the executive order itself and its enforcement by Immigration and Customs Enforcement. A report in Newsweek quoted Los Angeles immigration lawyer Stacy Tolchin, who describes how ICE agents separated Muslims from non-Muslims during detention proceedings at the airports in the period before the court order halting the travel ban was issued. They are segregating Muslims from the non-Muslims when theyre being detained, holding them in separate rooms, Tolchin told Newsweek. I think it shows what the real intent of the travel ban is. The magazine reported that several other lawyers corroborated Tolchins account, saying those who identified themselves as Christian or Jewish did not seem subject to the same treatment at the border. As the US Senate prepares to vote on the nomination of right-wing billionaire Betsy DeVos for secretary of education, her war against public education is coming to fruition in Detroit, the poorest big city in America. Michigans State Reform Office (SRO) has released a list of 38 schools slated to be closed as early as June 30 for non-performance. It is the first use of a 2009 state law, heavily promoted by DeVos and her pro-privatization lobbying group, Great Lakes Education Project (GLEP), to shut down public schools. Another 35 schools are targeted on a second list for state intervention and possible closure in the following school year, 2017-2018. If implemented, the two years of closures would mean a loss of 53 schools in Detroit, nearly half of the newly formed Detroit Public Schools Community District (DPSCD). Under Michigans law, these priority schools can be closed, taken over by a state-appointed CEO with full powers to terminate contracts and fire personnel or be converted into charter schools. DeVos has long shaped the anti-public education policies in Michigan and has donated heavily to Republican state legislators. However, these measures would never have been implemented without the support of the Obama administration, local Democratic Party officials and, most significantly, the National Education Association and American Federation of Teachers, which have repeatedly suppressed the struggle of teachers, parents and students to defend public education. Schools set to close by the end of the school year include 16 in the DPSCD, eight in Detroits Education Achievement Authority and 14 others throughout the state, including schools in Muskegon Heights, Benton Harbor, Kalamazoo, Pontiac, Saginaw and River Rouge. There is only one charter school on the list. The mass closures will take place at the discretion of the State Reform Office, which was moved out of the Michigan Education Department and placed under the direct supervision of Republican Governor Rick Snyder in 2015. The additional 35 schools designated as failing schools, and on the closure list for 2017-2018, include 29 more in Detroit and others in Flint, Grand Rapids and Warren. All the districts have one thing in common: high poverty rates. The fate of the schools depends on their performances on the Michigan Student Test of Educational Progress, administered this spring. The schools targeted for closures have been ranked in the bottom 5 percent on standardized tests for three years, putting them in the federally designated category priority school established by Obama. The policy mandate of intervening in low performing schools was further enshrined in Obamas Every Student Succeeds Act enacted in 2015, following years of defunding public education and directing millions of federal dollars to charter enterprises. Included on the initial list are 10 Detroit high schools, including Denby, Ford, Mumford and Pershing High Schools, as well as the academies formerly part of Cody and Osborn High Schools. Parents received a communication from the state suggesting alternative schools, largely in the suburbs, and which are a lengthy or impossible commute. For instance, the East China School District in St. Clair County was cited. For students living near downtown Detroit, this would be a 50-mile trek and only available by car. How am I going to get there? Michele Phillips, asked the Detroit News. Her three children attend Fisher Upper Magnet School. She said she could not afford to pay for public transportation to send her children to a Detroit school a few miles away, much less to the suburbs. Districts that can demonstrate to the SRO that students will face an unreasonable hardship may, by law, be granted a temporary reprieve on closings. Natasha Baker, the head of the SRO and a Snyder appointee, has repeatedly warned that the state will move aggressively on closures. She dismissed the idea of hardship from the mass closings, telling Crains Detroit Business, transportation issues can be resolved. Baker further opined, I think its more disruptive to a community when they graduate thousands of students who cant read. Baker was a charter school supervisor in New Orleans before collecting $110,000 in Michigan tax dollars for a Detroit charter (a ghost charter) planning grant. The school never opened; she was subsequently given jurisdiction by Snyder over all state priority schools. The DeVos-run Great Lakes Education Project saluted the plans for shutdowns in the name of public school accountability. A statement on the GLEP web site emphasized that DeVos wants to rewrite the education playbook for America. On Monday, the Wall Street credit rating firm Moodys said entire districts could face severe financial hardships because of the loss of students from the school closures. In Michigan, education funding follows the student through a state-managed foundation grant. In the antiseptic language of financial investors, Moodys notes, The school closing process adds unpredictability to an already volatile sector and is credit negative for the affected districts because it makes budgeting for operations challenging and threatens revenues. In other words, entire school districts may find themselves at risk for complete privatization due to student enrollment loss, following districts like Highland Park and Muskegon Heights. The Detroit Federation of Teachers (DFT) and various local Democrats, including Mayor Mike Duggan, are feigning shock and claiming to be fighting the closures. DFT President Ivy Bailey appeared at a rally, together with DPS interim administrator Alicia Meriweather, last Friday at Osborn College Preparatory Academy, one of the schools slated for closure. Duggan kicked off his bid for reelection vowing to derail the states closure plans. He made a highly publicized phone call to Governor Snyder denouncing the closures as immoral, reckless and illegal, pleading with the anti-public education governor to step in. These are the very forces that worked to shut down the wildcat teacher sickouts last year and prevent a mobilization of the working class to defend public education. Workers and young people nationally were inspired by the courageous stand made by teachers, in defiance of the courts, Michigan state law and the Obama administration. The Democrats, Republicans and the teachers unions all joined forces to squash the protests and line up support behind the Snyder-sponsored $617 million rescue package for Detroit schools, which, as the WSWS warned, only rescued the bondholders and Wall Street, guaranteeing their debt payments and leaving the new district drastically underfunded. In the run-up to their final vote on the Detroit restructuring plan, state legislatorswho had received $1.45 million in contributions from DeVos-affiliated lobbying groups in the previous weeks, not only decided to close the Detroit public school district and replace it with a new charter-friendly district, but also to strip all oversight of charter schools. New Zealand prime minister Bill English has repeatedly refused to condemn US President Trumps ban on people from seven majority-Muslim countriesSyria, Yemen, Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia and Sudanentering the United States. Hundreds of thousands of people have protested against the ban in the US and throughout the world, including thousands in New Zealand. English told Radio NZ that in his first telephone conversation with Trump on Monday he told the president we dont agree with the policy, its not something wed put in place. He described Trump as warm, civil and very thoughtfulin an apparent contrast with Trumps browbeating of Australian prime minister Malcolm Turnbull. While saying he disagrees with Trumps anti-immigrant measures, English has pointedly refused to call the policy racist. Asked by a TVNZ newsreader on January 31 if he would denounce Trumps actions as horrifying [and] anti-Islamic, English replied flatly: In the end [the US] make decisions about their policy. English told the media on February 3 that his priority was to maintain a good relationship with the US. Theyre a very powerful economy, important to security and stability across the Asia-Pacific. Foreign minister Murray McCully similarly stated on January 30 that there was widespread confusion and considerable concern about Trumps ban, but we respect the right of the US administration to determine US immigration policy. Trumps aggressive America First stance has shaken New Zealands political establishment. In December, John Key resigned as prime minister and was replaced by English. Key had strongly supported the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement, which involved 12 countries, including the US, Japan, New Zealand and Australia. The Obama administration promoted the TPP as an economic bloc that would enable the US to write the rules of trade and investment in Asia at the expense of China. Trump has withdrawn from the TPP and will instead implement America First trade war measures against China and other countries. This has caused considerable alarm in New Zealands ruling elite, which depends on exports to China, its second-largest trading partner after Australia. The National Party governments attempts to strengthen military and intelligence ties with the US, while maintaining close economic relations with China, are no longer sustainable. Trump is accelerating the drive to war against China and is demanding unequivocal support from US allies. The opposition Labour and Green parties, have criticised Englishs meek response to Trumps anti-immigrant bans. Labour leader Andrew Little wrote a column for Fairfax Media calling the ban abhorrent and a massive leap backwards for humanity. He called on English to honour our tradition of standing up to bullies by publicly condemning Trumps Muslim ban New Zealand must stand up and be counted amongst the mature and civilised nations who know the only way forward is tolerance. Green Party immigration spokesperson Denise Roche stated: France and Germany have condemned Trumps Muslim ban, and Canada has said it is open to those who need refuge. Sadly, New Zealand is missing from this conversation and looks weak by not standing up. The two parties have sent representatives to recent anti-Trump rallies and have called for New Zealand to increase its annual refugee intake, but only by a meagre 750 people. Such appeals for tolerance and humanitarianism are profoundly hypocritical. Labour and the Greens fully support New Zealands alliance with Washington, including the US navy visit following Trumps election victory. Little has declared that Labour can work with Trump if it wins the New Zealand election in September. Both parties have repeatedly stressed that they are willing to work in a coalition government alongside the right-wing nationalist New Zealand First, whose leader Winston Peters has defended Trumps anti-Muslim ban, repeating the lie that it is a security measure. Speaking to Radio Waatea on February 1, Peters denounced criticism of Trump, saying: There was an election in America. He won. [The media] should get over it. NZ First has repeatedly sought to incite racism and xenophobia by demonising Muslim immigrants as potential terrorists. Labour and the Greens, while calling for a tiny increase in the refugee intake, have joined New Zealand First and the trade union bureaucracy in demanding cuts to immigration. Labour, NZ First and the Maori nationalist Mana Party have scapegoated Chinese people, in particular, for soaring house prices and for placing pressure on public services. The criticism of Trump by Labour and the Greens is mainly an attempt to deflect and contain growing outrage over Trumps policies, including his attacks on immigrants, and fears over the growing danger of war. Both parties are also concerned that Trumps unilateral approach to foreign policy threatens the interests of New Zealand capitalism, which has benefited from a close strategic alliance with the US since the end of World War II. Following Trumps inauguration, Little told the New Zealand Herald: He talked about America First and not entering into fights that arent Americas fights. But the US plays an absolutely crucial role in world peace and world order and if he is going to fundamentally change that, then who knows what is going to happen and which tyrants in other parts of the world are going to consider that they have a licence to do even worse. On November 10, Labours foreign affairs spokesman David Shearer told Radio NZ he was worried that the more that the US turns inward, the more that their rival powers, Russia and China in particular, look at this as an opportunity for themselves. These comments make clear that the Labour Party is not concerned about the growing danger of war between nuclear-armed powers, but that Trumps administration could sideline traditional allies. Far from standing up to US bullying, the 19992008 Labour government fully restored the military alliance between the two countries. It sent NZ troops to join the criminal invasion of Afghanistan and the occupation of Iraq. The party fully supported Obamas renewed interventions in Iraq and Syria, the 2014 anti-Russia coup in Ukraine as well as the build-up to war against Russia and China. The Labour Party and NZ First have demanded that the National Party government spend more on upgrading the military, especially the navy, to integrate it into US war plans. Some two weeks after the inauguration of Donald Trump, the demands of German politicians, business leaders and the media for Berlin to oppose the US and assert their own interests against the countrys main ally in the post-World War II period are becoming more aggressive. The current high point is the latest edition of Der Spiegel. The cover depicts Donald Trump with a bloody butchers knife, in the pose of an IS fighter, holding the severed head of the Statue of Liberty in the air. The caption reads, America First. The editorial in the same issue, entitled Nero Trump, compares the American president with the emperor and destroyer of Rome and calls him a brute and choleric, a pathological liar, racist and tyrant. The message of Der Spiegel is clear: Trump represents war, destruction, xenophobia and dictatorship. Germany, together with Asian and African partners and with our partners in Europe, with the EU, must prepare the resistance and stand up in opposition to the 45th president of the United States and his government. The plans of Der Spiegel recall the old megalomania of German imperialism. To date, German leadership was viewed as one that is by all means in opposition to the interests of other European countries. Now, the economically and politically dominant democracy in Europe must fill in many of the gaps created by Americas withdrawal from the old world order and build an alliance against Donald Trump This is not a threat that will somehow resolve itself, the editorial warns, and notes, the German economy has become the target of American trade policy and German democracy is ideologically antithetical to Trumps vision. It is high time that we stand up for what is important: democracy, freedom, the West and its alliances. The author of the article and current editor of Der Spiegel, Klaus Brinkbaumer, is clearly aware that his polemic speaks in favour of confrontation between Germany and the United States, something which led to two world wars in the twentieth century and claimed millions of lives. This does not mean escalation or that we must abandon our contacts with America and all the working groups between our governments, Brinkbaumer says reassuringly. Only to add: What is does mean, though, is that Europe must grow stronger and start planning its political and economic defences against Americas dangerous president. Also in the current edition of Der Spiegel, the designated Social Democratic Party chancellor candidate Martin Schulz demands Chancellor Angela Merkel take a harder line against Washington. The chancellor must not keep silent about actions that we cannot accept. If Trump is running through our set of values with a wrecking ball, one must clearly say: That is not our policy. Schulz describes the new US president as highly dangerous to democracy. He is playing with the security of the Western world and is starting a culture war. On Friday, during his two-day US trip, the new German foreign minister, Sigmar Gabriel, read a historical translation of the American Declaration of Independence in the Library of Congress, and stressed the importance of remembering the universality of the US Constitution in these days. In an interview with broadcaster ARD shortly after his return, he advised Europeans, despite encouraging talks with the new US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Vice President Mike Pence, to not sit like a rabbit in front of a snake and stare at the US, but to show self-confidence. Internal conflicts must not tear Europe apart. Because if we stay together, we are a figure who can act. Europe must learn to act as a continent, then it will also play a role in world politics and should have no worries about others, Gabriel counseled. Gabriel and other representatives of the ruling class are attempting to exploit the widespread anger and opposition to the most right-wing president in the history of the United States for the interests of German imperialism. Their attempts to justify their great power offensive with phrases about democracy and human rights are cynical and mendacious. The German bourgeoisie has no bourgeois-democratic traditions and, with its war of annihilation against the Soviet Union and the Holocaust, has committed the most terrible crimes in human history. Ever since German reunification in 1990, it has literally drawn blood time and again. Alongside the US, it has played a leading role in the imperialist wars in Yugoslavia, Afghanistan and the Middle East, and supports the NATO offensive against Russia. It has imposed brutal austerity measures throughout Europe, plunging millions into poverty and despair, especially in the south of the continent. Berlin has brutally sealed off Fortress Europefrom refugees, which leads almost every day to new deaths in the Mediterranean, now the largest mass grave on earth. It is not concerns for the democratic rights of American or European workers that lie behind the hypocritical human rights criticism of Trumpwhich is propagated mainly by the SPD, the Greens, and the Left Party, but also by sections of the Christian Democratsbut the strivings of the German elites to again act independently of the US in world politics and assert their own geostrategic and economic interests. On the one hand, the German elites see in Trumps America First policy an opportunity to advance the return of German militarism first announced in 2014 at the Munich Security Conference. For example, in its weekend edition, business daily Handelsblatt demanded the final end of disarmament. With its White Paper on the Future of the Armed Forces, the defence minister was already paving the way for more troops. If Trump is being serious, the Europeans and especially the largest EU country Germany...[must] step inand where possible deploy more soldiers to support the East Europeans on the border with Russia. And also, defence spending must rise faster than planned. On the other hand, those in business fear the consequences of Trumps nationalist course. Following accusations of currency manipulation by Trumps chief trade adviser Peter Navarro, the Suddeutsche Zeitung wrote under the headline, German industry fears the Trump-shock: The United States, previously the dream trading partner of the Germans, has overnight become a potential enemy in a trade war. There is a lot at stake. In 2015, the US imported $114 billion of German goodsmore than any other country. And in another comment, entitled No one has so much to lose as Germany, the leading German daily writes, The German economy is successful, but highly vulnerable. The political risks have never been so great for decades. Should the world become protectionist, it would be a disaster for Germany. The looming catastrophe, like Trumps rise and the German reaction to it, lies in the insoluble contradictions of capitalism, which is incapable of overcoming the contradiction between the international character of production and the division of the world into nation states. As on the eve of the First and Second World War, the competition of the imperialist powers for raw materials, markets, spheres of influence and cheap labour is unleashing violent conflicts that lead to trade war and war. Large-scale raids ordered by the interior ministry in the central German state of Hesse early last Wednesday morning represent a major act of intimidation against Muslims throughout the country. At 4 a.m., 1,100 police officers entered several apartments, businesses and two mosques. Locations affected included Frankfurt, Offenbach, Darmstadt, Limburg, Wiesbaden and the Gro-Gerau, Marburg-Biedenkopf and Main Taunus areas. Overall, 56 locations were searched, 33 of which were in Frankfurt. As the operator of the Bilal mosque in Frankfurt-Griesheim reported to the media, twelve police vehicles surrounded the building and militarily-armed police kicked down all the doors even though an imam was standing there with a key. They demolished the fence surrounding the plot of land, broke glass windows and overturned everything in the library. Hesse Interior Minister Peter Beuth (Christian Democrats, CDU) said on Wednesday morning at a press conference that the raids were a clear message to the radical Islamists in Hesse: we are firmly focused on this scene. The action was part of investigations against 16 suspects aged between 16 and 46. These people were under the suspicion of support for a foreign terrorist organisation and the preparation of a serious act of violence endangering the state, the web page of the State Criminal Office (LKA) in Hesse stated. One person, a 36-year-old Tunisian, was arrested and did not put up any resistance. He was already known to the police, having spent 83 days in custody last year. He lived in Hesse between 2003 and 2013 and travelled to Germany a second time in the summer of 2015. According to police information, from August 2015 he was active as a smuggler and promoter of IS. He was arrested on August 15, 2016. An application for extradition from the Tunisian authorities is also under way against him because he is a joint suspect in the attacks on the Bardo museum in Tunis in March 2015 and the border town of Ben Guerdane in March 2016. He was first taken into custody in 2008 due to a charge of grievous bodily harm. He then spent another 40 days in extradition detention. The Tunisian authorities allegedly did not supply the required paperwork in time. He was released from custody based on this justification on November 4, 2016. This entire episode strongly recalls the circumstances surrounding the attack in Berlin, where suspect Anis Amri directed a lorry into a Christmas market. Amri, as it later emerged, had previously been in custody and under constant state surveillance. After his attack, which killed 12 people, the media and authorities exploited public horror to create a favourable atmosphere for the strengthening of the domestic state apparatus and mass deportations. The operation in Hesse raises several questions. According to the press statement from the LKA in Hesse, the federal state prosecutor handed the investigation of the 36-year-old to the Frankfurt state prosecutor on October 25, 2016. The man was accused of actively supporting the terrorist organisation Islamic State. In Tunisia, proceedings were also ongoing into the two attacks he was accused of participating in, in which 30 people died. However, the same man was freed ten days later, on November 4, 2016. At this time, preparations for the raids were already far advanced. The operations were, as LKA spokesman Max Weiss noted, prepared over an extended period. A group of 150 officers prepared the raids for four months. The group included the general state prosecutor and the Frankfurt state prosecutor, the LKA and the police. The question is posed: did the authorities set the Tunisian free to use him as a decoy? According to the general state prosecutor, he has been under round-the-clock surveillance by LKA officers. The accusations against the other suspects also raise questions. They stand in stark contrast to the scale of the raids and can only be described as flimsy: over 100 memory cards and data storage devices were confiscated, along with stabbing weapons and 28,000. But mobile phones, computers, money and even knives are objects that could be found in practically every house. Neither firearms nor explosive chemicals were detected. Senior state prosecutor Alexander Badle said at the press conference that the organisation had no clear plan for a targeted attack and therefore no concrete terrorist danger exists. Those accused were taken unawares while sleeping and checked for identification. The press statement declared that the usual standard measures against these people had been used and had been comprehensively and operationally enforced. Only one, a 16-year-old German-Afghan, was abroad. The state prosecutor is investigating into him because he had allegedly expressed the desire to travel to Syria to join Islamist groups. But last September, he left for Afghanistan. In the end, what remained were 14 people accused of a serious act of violence against the state in general, but with no evidence of a plan of action or target, let alone weapons or explosives. And secondly, a suspect in chief who was deliberately and knowingly set free on November 4, at the beginning of the preparations for the raids, placed under 24-hour surveillance, and re-arrested on February 1. The raids are part of a nationwide campaign to implement police state measures. At the same time, they are aimed at dividing the population and whipping up anti-Muslim sentiment. In Berlin, North Rhein-Westphalia and other states have seen similar raids recently. On January 31, the eve of the Hesse raids, police searched several apartments, mosques and arrested three men. On the same day, the federal government adopted a measure allowing the use of ankle tags for extremist threats, which is itself a highly questionable legal definition. In an obvious breach of the presumption of innocence, the ankle tags, which could previously only be ordered by a judge, can now be used by officers from the state criminal offices, if certain facts justify the assumption that an individual could carry out an attack or his behaviour indicates this. Hesses CDU-Green government is playing a leading role in such police-state policies. Hesses Minister President Volker Bouffier (CDU), likes to boast that his police force the best trained, best armed and best paid police force in Germany. As Interior Minister under Roland Koch, Bouffier introduced video surveillance early on, as well as stop-and-search, automatic reading devices for vehicle number plates and the location of mobile phones. Bouffier also supports the policy of sealing the borders to refugees and recently suggested taking those rescued in the Mediterranean to Egypt and Tunisia, and to construct special detention centers. The Greens are also responsible for the state build-up. They are the junior partner in the coalition and are led by Tarek al-Wazeer. Al-Wazeer is economics and transport minister, as well as the deputy to Bouffier. The Hesse Greens support the militarist actions of the police. Recently, its members in the Hesse government agreed a joint statement with Green parties from ten states which explicitly calls for deportations to Afghanistan to no longer be blocked. Israeli Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu flew to London yesterday to meet with his British counterpart, Theresa May. He was officially there to demand support for renewed sanctions against Iran, after Tehrans test firing last week of a ballistic missile. Netanyahus visit comes after the US administration of Donald Trump last week placed Iran on notice, warning Tehran that it was playing with fire and imposing sanctions on a number of Iranian individuals. Trump is seeking to blow up the agreement reached under the auspices of his predecessor, Barack Obama, with Tehran in 2015 on its nuclear program. Under the deal with the P5+1 (the five UN Security Council permanent membersthe US, UK, Russia, France, and Chinaplus Germany), Iran pledges to redesign, convert, and reduce its nuclear facilities. Britain still formally adheres to the deal it played a role in securing. After it was signed, in the face of bitter opposition from Israel and Saudi Arabia, the UK rushed to negotiate trade deals with Tehran, and reopened its embassy in the city and it is reluctant to freeze relations and reapply sanctions now. But May, in her efforts to compensate for the possible loss of access to European markets following Brexit, has staked her own future and that of British imperialism on consolidating an alliance with the US that includes a trade deal and political support in the coming negotiations with Brussels. Indeed, she met with Netanyahu on the eve of the third reading of the bill paving the way for triggering Article 50 in March and beginning the two-year process for quitting the EU. Like the strong-arm man for some mafia boss, Netanyahu is seeking to squeeze out every advantage of Trumps hostility to Iran and support for Israel, and Mays utter dependency on the US. Speaking ahead of the talks, he said, Iran seeks to annihilate Israel, it seeks to conquer the Middle East, it threatens Europe, it threatens the West, it threatens the world. Thats why I welcome President Trumps assistance of new sanctions against Iran. I think other nations should follow suit, certainly responsible nations. Netanyahu is specifically seeking to enlist Britains support in efforts to bypass the UN, which is charged with determining whether the test was in breach of the agreement. Such a decision would require a Security Council resolution, which the Russians could be expected to veto, to formally punish Iran or even to issue a statement paving the way for reimposing sanctions. Mays spokesperson, in contrast, said that the talks would focus on bilateral relations with Israel, including the potential for more trade post-Brexit. There was no press conference following the meeting, and Netanyahu then went for discussions with Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson. On Iran, Downing Street issued a cautious statement saying, We share concerns about that test. It was discussed at the UN and we made clear our position. With regard to the specific agreement relating to the nuclear weapons ... its important that it is very carefully and rigorously policed, but we should also be clear that it has neutralised the possibility of the Iranians acquiring nuclear weapons for more than a decade. Netanyahu will, behind closed doors, also have sought UK reassurances that there will be no practical measures that cut across Israels stepped-up programme of settlement construction in the occupied territories of east Jerusalem and the West Bank. Officially, Mays spokesperson declared, Of course, I would expect the peace process to come up and in that context to reiterate our longstanding position to make clear that we view the continued increase of settlement activity as undermining trust, but also a very clear position that we have taken of needing to pursue a twin track approach, recognising the right of Israel to live safe from terrorism. However, Netanyahu wants to make sure that it is Israels rights that are indeed paramount in this weasel-worded formulation. He is fully aware in doing so that Britains foreign policy on this question is determined primarily by the White House. Last December, Obama instructed the US ambassador to the UN to break with normal US practice and abstain on a toothless UN Security Council resolutionactually drafted by Britaincriticising Israels settlement expansion as illegal and prejudicial to any peace deal with the Palestinians, allowing the resolution to pass. Netanyahu went ballistic, called in the British ambassador to Israel for a dressing down on Christmas Day and ordered his cabinet ministers to boycott Britain. With a Trump presidency approaching, Britain rapidly switched horses and criticised Secretary of State John Kerrys follow-up speech reiterating all the nostrums about US support for the two-state solution and opposing Israeli intransigence, even though, as Obama pointed out, this was long-held British policy. May refused to support the Paris conference of more than 70 countries, organised by the French government, but held five days after Trumps inauguration. She only sent an observer. The conference criticised Israel over its settlement building and re-endorsed a two-state solution to the Israel-Palestine conflict. Britain also intervened to stop the EUs Foreign Affairs Council adopting the Paris communique, after Trump told the Sunday Times that he expects Britain to oppose any future UN Security Council resolution criticizing Israel. Emboldened by Trumps pledge to be the most pro-Israel president in history, Netanyahu defied the UN resolution and gave the go-ahead for the construction of 3,500 new homes in settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. The White House issued a statement that, while mildly criticising the decision, tacitly accepted their legality. It stated, While we dont believe the existence of settlements is an impediment to peace, the construction of new settlements or the expansion of existing settlements beyond their current borders may not be helpful in achieving that goal. It continued, The Trump administration has not taken an official position on settlement activity and looks forward to continuing discussions, including with Prime Minister Netanyahu when he visits with President Trump later this month. Netanyahu knew, therefore, that any criticism made of settlement expansion during his visit to London would only be for show. May is in no position in oppose anything or anyone that has Trumps backing. As Netanyahu said, We are in a period of diplomatic opportunities and challenges, adding, The opportunities stem from the fact that there is a new administration in Washington, and a new government in Britain. It should be noted that Downing Street had already announced that Israels blatant interference in Britains political processes was not a problem and was not on the agenda. Shai Masot, an Israeli embassy staffer, was caught on video plotting to take down Deputy Foreign Secretary Alan Duncan and other senior Conservative politicians verbally opposed to Israels occupation of Palestinian land, and to undermine Jeremy Corbyns leadership of the Labour Party. As far as the British government was concerned, it considered the matter closed after receiving a token apology from the embassy, rejecting calls from opposition parties for an investigation into the affair. Later this week, Netanyahu goes to Australia, another US ally that was given a very public dressing down last week when Trump leaked the content of a phone call in which he berated Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull over a refugee swap deal brokered with the Obama administration, and then slammed the phone down on him after 25 minutes. After these visits, Netanyahu will meet Trump in Washington on February 15 to report back to his new political paymaster. On Saturday, around 400 demonstrators gathered at Leeds Art Gallery before marching through the centre of the city to protest the ban by President Trump on the citizens of seven majority Muslim countries from entering the US. The demonstration and rally were organised by various pseudo-left organisations, with speakers framing their comments largely on the basis of identity politics, in opposition to a class-based perspective. Barbara Slaughter, a long-time leader of the Socialist Equality Party, attempted to speak on several occasions before being finally added to the speakers list by the organisers. An attempt was made to cut short Slaughters comments, but due to the interjection of some in the crowd she finished her remarks to cheering and applause. Barbara Slaughter speaks at a rally in Leeds Slaughter said: I am speaking on behalf of the Socialist Equality Party and the World Socialist Web Site. I have been fighting for the cause of socialism all my adult life. The protests in the US prove that millions of American workers and youth reject the anti-Muslim chauvinism and militarism of Donald Trump and his supporters. Trumps cabinet is a collection of multibillionaires and millionairesa government of the rich, by the rich and for the rich. Trumps slogan Make America great again means the abolition of all social and democratic rights won by the American working class over generations of struggle. His aim is to attack all working peopleblack, white, immigrant and native-born. And by America first he aims to impose the global interests of the US as ruthlessly as possible. This is the man whom Theresa May praised as a defender of democratic values when she visited Washington a few days agoa man who promotes torture and who threatens the whole world with trade war and the danger of a third world war. The response of the European ruling class is to strengthen its military and police in preparation for the coming conflict with Washington and with its own working class. But why has America come to this? Trump cynically exploited the desperation of millions of Americans in the devastated industrial towns and rural areas after eight years of President Obama, a man who claimed to be the candidate of hope and change, who won the Nobel peace prize and carried on all of George Bushs wars and started a few of his own. During those eight years, there was the greatest ever transfer of wealth from the poor to the rich. Obama deported more immigrants and prosecuted more whistle-blowers than all other presidents. His policies paved the way for Trump, the most right-wing administration in US history. Trumps right-wing and militarist policies do not merely express the individual brutality of the president, but is the programme of that oligarchy. The fight of the American working class and youth is our fight. The rich have always sought to divide the working class on ethnic, linguistic and religious grounds. And it is only through the unity of every race and nationality that the working class has ever made any gains. In every country, working people are being made to pay for the crisis. In every country, cuts in education, health care, and social services are being forced through. In Britain, this was begun by the Blair Labour government, which introduced student fees, cut social services and took Britain to war in Iraq on the basis of a lie. The Labour party has not changed. Jeremy Corbyn was voted into leadership because he pledged to oppose austerity and war. But he has since betrayed the people who voted for him. He has instructed Labour councils to impose austerity cuts demanded by the government, he has come out in favour of a two-tier system of immigration control, he allowed a free vote on the bombing of Syria and did nothing when 66 Labour MPs voted in favour. Since then, the RAF [Royal Air Force] has carried out over a thousand air strikes over Iraq and Syria. Anybody that says just by putting pressure on the trades unions and the Labour Party can make a change, is wrong. Look at what happened in Egypt, where in fact a military government has been installed. And look at demonstrations that took place against the Iraq war in 2003. Millions were on the street all over the world but the war still went on. To build genuine opposition to war, racism and xenophobia and attacks on immigrants, the working class must break from the Labour Party and all the groups that sow illusions in it. We have to build a powerful international socialist movement that will put an end to war, inequality and attacks on democratic rights. 2017 is the centenary year of the Russian Revolution. We have to learn the lessons of history; why that revolution took place and how it was betrayed. Come to the meeting of the Socialist Equality Party on March 4 at Woodhouse Community Centre at 1 p.m. Thank you very much. Despite the increasing population of homeless families and children in New York City, Mayor Bill de Blasio, a Democrat, has cut promised additional funding of services for homeless students in the public schools from his preliminary fiscal year 2018 city budget proposal. Last year the mayor had budgeted $30 million to provide literacy teachers to mentor students in homeless shelters in order to improve attendance, punctuality and matriculation. De Blasios proposal for next years budget cuts $10 million from those funds. This would eliminate the jobs of 30 new social workers, as well as some attendance teachers, hired to support schools with particularly large homeless populations. The city currently has almost twice as many school security officers as counselors. Although de Blasio stated that he hopes to restore the funds in some form, New York and school districts nationwide expect to face federal budget cuts under President Donald Trump and his nominee for secretary of education, Betsy DeVos. Trump proposed during his campaign to divert $20 billion in existing federal education money toward vouchers that families could use to help pay for private and religious schools, perhaps to be taken from $15 billion in federal Title I funds dedicated to schools serving the poorest children. For New York City this could threaten $1 billion in Title I funds. While city spending on homelessness rose to an estimated $1.7 billion in the current fiscal year, above initial projections, reflecting the overall increase in the homeless population, the amount budgeted for the Department of Homeless Services for the coming fiscal year would be reduced by $257 million, according to the New York Times . In November 2016, there were 62,840 homeless people sleeping each night in the New York City municipal shelter system, including 15,899 families with 24,251 children. Families comprise about three-quarters of the homeless shelter population. The homeless student population of the New York City public schoolsincluding those in shelters, temporary housing, and doubled-up in the apartments of othersmore than doubled from 50,926 in the 2007-2008 school year, before the financial crisis, to 105,445 in 2015-2016. That represents one-tenth of the slightly over 1 million total student population, as reported by the nonprofit Advocates for Children of New York. Of the over 100,000 homeless students, 87,000 live in shelters or temporary housing. The remainder reside temporarily, and precariously, doubled up in the apartments of relatives or friends, either with or separated from their immediate family. Homelessness increases difficulties for teachers and students in the citys crowded classrooms. Homeless students are characteristically erratic in their attendance and homework, and they suffer from more emotional and physical health problems. Vacations or holidays from schools, which generally bring rest and enjoyment to those better off, actually create more challenges for homeless children needing alternatives to the food, care and attention that schools provide. The Institute for Children, Poverty and Homelessness has reported that over two-thirds of New York City students who were homeless during the 2014-2015 school year were also homeless in a previous school year. Forty percent of homeless children transferred schools during the school year and over half missed 20 or more days of school. Only one-third of homeless students with special education needs received their mandated Individual Education Plan by the end of kindergarten. Last year, the de Blasio administration was forced to change regulations requiring that children accompany their parents to the multiple, time-consuming sessions needed to apply for admission to a shelter. This rule had caused students to miss school. In addition, children of families that were transferred to new shelters were forced to either change schools or travel long distances across the city from shelters, which are often in isolated areas with poor transportation. De Blasio has promised busing for those students, but funding is insecure. Lack of an adequate education budget in New York State and City has resulted, in part, from the state legislature and Governor Andrew Cuomo, also a Democrat, underfunding a court-ordered plan for increased state education aid called the Foundation Aid Formula, following the 2008 banking collapse. While Cuomo claims that the billion dollars he is adding to this years education budget makes it the largest in history, the State Education Department estimates that $4.3 billion would be needed to provide the total due under the formula, of which New York City is owed $1.9 billion, twice as much as in Cuomos entire budget. The United Federation of Teachers, the citys teachers union, with 200,000 members, recently described its efforts on behalf of homeless students. These included clothing drives, and getting the online supply company Yoobi to donate an equal amount of supplies for homeless children as were bought from the company by teachers. Such token gestureswhich only add to the burden of the citys teachersseek to cover for the unions complicity in attacks on the public education system spearheaded by the Obama administration, as well as state and local Democrats. The WSWS attended a public meeting on city services for homeless students held in P.S. 5 (Public School 5) in the Bedford-Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn. Parent members of the Community Education Council seemed surprised to learn that the city provides only one official to supervise services for homeless students for all of Brooklyn, a borough of 2.6 million people, including the three school districts having the greatest concentration of homeless students. Omega Bullock, the only homeless parent at the meeting, spoke to the WSWS. It is so true what was saidif you are homeless, the kids miss school. My son, Martel, is in his fifth school since we came to New York. He got left back because of that. He is smart, a good student. But he has been homeless for very much of his life. She added that a daughter, Aisatu, suffers from psychological difficulties as a result of homelessness. Changing shelters and schools can wreck a childs mind. She was unbalanced and missing days in school, she said. Omega now lives in a six-story Halsey Street shelter for homeless families near P.S. 5, where her three children attend school. For five years I have been in and out of the city shelter system and have been trying that long to get a voucher for permanent housing. I came to this meeting looking to see if there is somebody I can talk to, to find permanent housing. I did not. I am on the top, the sixth floor, at the shelter, she said. Part of the ceiling came down and it took them three or four months before it was fixed. They want to relocate me to the South: Do you have family in the South? We will pay for your fare and for food traveling. But what am I gonna do there? I dont have a job there or a place to stay there. She said, I came to New York from Baltimore after I left my childrens father. But everybody in my family here is doing their own thing and I cannot live with them. I want permanent housing so I could work and do what regular people do, but the cost of living in New York City is so high. Sri Lankan riot police last Wednesday attacked a protest march of about 1,000 Colombo port workers opposed to the governments plan to privatise the East Terminal of Colombo harbour. The police erected steel barricades to prevent protestors marching towards the Presidential Secretariat. The opposition Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) and its trade unions, which organized the march, had planned to hand over a petition requesting President Maithripala Sirisena to intervene and halt the privatisation of the port terminal. After police blocked the march, the Presidential Secretariat promised to send someone to collect the petition. As there was no sign of an official arriving after 40 minutes, some workers tried to break through the barricades. Immediately police used water cannon and tear gas against the protesters. A number received minor injuries and hundreds fled the scene. This is the second time that police have violently attacked demonstrators in Colombo. On February 2, police used tear gas and water cannon against medical students protesting against the establishment of private medical colleges. Scores were arrested. Many port workers told the WSWS reporting team that there is widespread opposition to the planned privatisation. However, the JVP and its unions organised the demonstration to deflect this opposition into the dead-end of pressuring the government and to exploit the anger to boost the flagging base of the JVP. After the demonstration was dispersed by police, JVP leader and parliamentarian Sunil Handunneththi told workers: We came to request the president [Sirisena] to halt the privatisation. By not allowing us it has been proved that Sirisena also supports the selling of national assets like [prime minister Ranil] Wickremesinghe and [minister] Malik [Samarawickrama]. Privatisation of Colombo Harbour began long ago. The Queen Elizabeth Quay was privatised in 1999 under the government of President Chandrika Kumaratunga and is now run by the South Asia Gateway Terminal (SAGT) company. Under President Mahinda Rajapakse, the Colombo International Container Terminal (CICT) was privatized in 2013 with 80 percent of the shares sold to a Chinese company. Now the Ports Authority controls only a small portion of the harbour. The workforce has been reduced sharply as part of the restructuring of the harbour during the past two decades. Contract workers have been hired from private labour-hire companies at low wages. They do not have the rights of permanent workers but do the same work. Every time that opposition has emerged to the privatisation of the harbour or job cuts, none of the unions, including those controlled by the JVP, have gone beyond issuing token statements or holding protests appealing to the government to reverse its decision. The February 1 attack on Colombo port workers was not an isolated incident. It has demonstrated yet again the futility of the JVPs claim that the government can be pressured by workers. The Sirisena-Wickremesinghe government is determined to sell state-owned companies to Sri Lankan and foreign investors. Regarding the East Terminal, the ports and shipping minister told parliament on January 26 that a cabinet paper has been submitted to lease 85 percent of the government stake. This measure is part of the broader economic reform program that the government has promised the International Monetary Fund to implement in return for a $US1.5 billion stand-by loan. The cash-strapped government is desperate to create the conditions for foreign investment. Last month the government deployed naval soldiers to suppress a protest by Hambantota Magampura Port workers. The workers were demanding job protection after the government announced plans to sell 85 percent of shares to the China Merchants Port Holding Company. Similarly, the government is continuously unleashing the police crackdown on students who campaign against education privatisation. The JVP criticised the attack on Magampura Port workers but did not call its harbour unions to support those workers. During the Colombo Harbour protest, the JVP did not call on the 8,000 other port workers to support the struggle. The JVP fears that a unified campaign would draw in other sections of workers facing similar attacks by the government on their rights and quickly escalate out of its control. JVP leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake issued a statement on January 24 explaining that the party was planning a series of protests against the governments destructive measures, including privatisation. He added: Of course there are other means of stopping these acts. The people should bring in a government that would not sell peoples assets. JVP leaders have earlier declared that the party was preparing to take power in the 2020 general election. The JVP is calculating that the two main Sri Lankan capitalist partiesWickremesinghes United National Party (UNP) and Sirisenas Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP)have been thoroughly discredited. Despite its phony socialistic demagogy, the JVP is a bourgeois party, thoroughly integrated into the Colombo establishment. If a JVP-led government came to power and kept state-owned enterprises in government hands, it would inevitably oversee the slashing of jobs, conditions and wages in the name of making them internationally competitive. In 2004, the JVP joined the bourgeois SLFP-led government of President Chandrika Kumaratunga. At that general election, it declared that it supported private-public partnerships and advantageous foreign investment. Its leaders joined Kumaratungas cabinet and supported all the pro-market measures implemented by the government. While now pretending to have clean hands, the JVP is politically responsible for bringing the Sirisena-Wickremasinghe government to power and thus its attacks on workers. It was in the forefront in the campaign to install Sirisena as president in 2015, saying that defeat of the Rajapakse dictatorship was a priority. Dissanayake entered the National Executive Council set up by Sirisena to consolidate the pro-US government. The attacks on workers and the poor are the response of the corporate elite to the breakdown of the capitalist system and deepening global economic crisis. Workers can only defend their rights by fighting for a workers and peasants government to implement socialist policies based on the social needs of the majority not the profits of a tiny few. Such a struggle to abolish capitalism is necessarily international in character. The WSWS reporting team spoke to Colombo port workers who were keen to discuss how to oppose privatization. A naval engineering division employee said: We are tired of protests and tired of waiting for bureaucrats and politicians to read our petitions. How can we just hand over a petition? Another worker added: We voted for these people [the government] in 2015, future generations will curse us for that. He explained that privatisation is also affecting public education, health care and other essential social services. A logistics division employee said that workers from there joined the march regardless of different union affiliations or service grades. From engineers to unskilled labourers, all of us are here to protest, he said, adding that the government was signing agreements to privatise and keeping workers in the dark. Another port worker pointed out that many workers have been employed by manpower or labour-hire companies. They have to do the same work as the [permanent] SLPA workers but have no rights. The government uses this situation to destroy our welfare programs. If this privatization plan goes ahead, well lose our jobs too in the very near future. Jude from the engineering division explained that if the Eastern Terminal is sold the Ports Authority will only have control of the shallow areas of the harbor which cannot accommodate large vessels. This is a death warrant for the Authority and private companies will rake in all the profits from the Colombo Port, he said. Latin America One-day strike by Mexican high school staff over unpaid wages, evaluation policy Teachers, administrative and support staff at General High School 36, Chula Vista, in Baja California Sur, Mexico refused to work on February 2. A union steward stated that the stoppage was a reaction to numerous problems regarding unpaid wages for hours worked. According to biology professor and union steward Pedro Mendoza Hernandez, one reason for the irregularities is that some employees are paid by the hour and others by the workday. The affected workers appealed to their department chief and their unions secretary in October, but the problems persist. Likewise, the Public Education Secretariat has not responded to their petitions. An added issue for the teachers is the evaluation tests that were enacted as part of the labor reform law. In accordance with the General Law of Professional Service, two Chula Vista teachers were classified respectively as outstanding and sufficient through their evaluations, but they have not received any promotion benefits. The teachers do not oppose the evaluations, which have been the object of scores of nationwide protests. However, they say they are discouraged from taking the tests if they dont result in promised promotions and pay raises. Union officials planned to meet with the administration February 7. Mexican sugar factory retirees protest for payment of pensions, workers demand overdue benefits Dozens of retired workers for the Calipan sugar factory in Calipan, Puebla, Mexico protested in front of the plant on February 2. Some of the protesters said that they are tired of waiting, in some cases up to seven years, to receive their pensions, and getting nothing but promises from the company. They have asked for intervention on the part of the authorities. It turns out that the retirees are not the only ones with a grievance against the firm. The workers union says that the company has not contributed to savings, insurance and the end-of-year bonus fund for several months. A meeting at the Conciliation and Arbitration Board has been scheduled for February 8. The union has notified the recently elected governor, Jose Antonio Gali Fayad of the right-wing National Action Party as well. The union said it would strike February 10 if the issues are not resolved. Mexican university workers set to strike over unpaid bonuses Professors and administrative staff at the Bachelor Degree College of Zacatecas, Mexico are set to strike February 16 if they do not receive overdue payments of bonuses and benefits by then. Their union, Supdacobaez, stated February 3 that the college has not paid the second half of the end-of-year bonus, amounting to over 14 million pesos (US$684,500), covering the last 15 days of December, for 1,350 workers. In addition, a productivity stimulus bonus for administrative workers has not been deposited for the last three fortnights, according to union sources, adding another 2.5 million pesos (US$122,700) to outstanding money owed. Since workers cannot withdraw the funds, the union is threatening to file a lawsuit for illegal retention of salaries. Supdacobaez says that it has notified the state governor, who promised to liquidate the debt, but has not so far. Classes will continue normally until the strike deadline. Puerto Rican public-sector unions call for general strike against labor laws A number of Puerto Rican public-sector unions are calling for a general strike and mass protests on February 9 against new labor laws passed to offload the islands fiscal crisis onto the backs of workers. The unions, including the Puerto Rico Aqueduct and Sewer Authoritys Authentic Independent Union, the Irrigation & Electrical Workers Union, the General Workers Union and the Teachers Association, issued the call through social media. The Labor Transformation and Flexibility Act, recently signed into law by Governor Ricardo Rosello, will impact negatively on workers wages, overtime, vacations, job security and health care in both the public and private sectors. Another proposed law, House Bill 454, is opposed by the public-sector unions because it would, under the aegis of employee mobility, attack longtime standards regarding job security, probation, sick leave and layoffs. Chilean telecom workers strike over working conditions Workers for Chilean branches of telecommunications giant Movistar began an indefinite strike over working conditions February 4, shutting offices in three cities. The workers union and the company have negotiated for over a month without reaching an agreement over working conditions and salaries. Union president Nora Salgado said that the employer would have used a lockout to close offices for 30 days without paying workers. Argentine labor ministry orders airline workers to call off planned strike over failed negotiations Argentinas Cockpit Workers Association (APTA) called off a previously-announced walkout on February 1, the Labor Ministry stepped in to prevent the walkout by ordering obligatory conciliation, a form of binding arbitration in which ministry representatives will mediate. APTA suspended the strike and its members will continue to work while the parties negotiate. The union had announced on January 31 that its members, who work for the Chile-based LATAM airline, would strike for 24 hours on February 1. APTA complained that LATAM was disregarding rules established between the two and was stonewalling in negotiations. Among the complaints were LATAMs backtracking on a wage raise agreement, the number of workers on each plane and lack of clarification on the specific duties for some employees. The United States Union suppresses wildcat strike over firing of California worker Technicians who install TV satellite dishes for DirecTV ended their picketing at the companys McClellan, California office and returned to work February 3 after the union and parent company AT&T agreed to discuss the firing of a worker. Anthony Estrada, a two-year employee, accidentally left a $300 meter at a work site and was fired on February 1. Two days later, some 130 of his fellow workers walked off the job and declared they would not return to work until Estrada was rehired. According to corporate management, they met with the Communications Workers of America and cleared the firing of Estrada before taking action. When workers initially walked off the job, they demanded Estradas rehiring before they returned to work, but the CWA agreed to merely discuss the issue with the company. Its definitely a win, said CWA Local 9421 vice-president Mike Felmann. Estrada said of the deal, It didnt go 100 percent the way we wanted to, but its still not over yet. The CWA is currently in negotiations with AT&T over a new contract covering 2,000 DirecTV technicians. On February 1, the day Estrada was fired, AT&T reached an agreement with the CWA over 500 DirecTV technical service center employees. Cinema tech workers carry through one-day strike over company refusal to negotiate working conditions Dozens of workers at Deluxe Technicolor Digital Cinema carried out a one-day strike February 2 at the companys Burbank, California, offices over unfair labor practice charges. In September of 2016, workers voted by a 43-20 margin to join the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE), and in January, workers submitted a petition to Deluxe for fair and just pay. But the company has instead been making unilateral adjustments to working conditions that led to last weeks strike. The action was called a warning shot and workers issued a statement, declaring, With one collective voice, in a sincere effort to avoid disruptive labor disputes, we want to send a message to management: Deluxe doesnt work without us. Currently, no negotiations have been scheduled between the union and management. Canada Quebec paramedics launch unlimited strike The 1,000 Urgences-Sante paramedics who serve Montreal and Laval launched a general unlimited strike Sunday, February 5. They join some 2,000 ambulance drivers and paramedics in other parts of Quebec who initiated strike action in recent days. Under Quebecs reactionary labor laws, paramedics are forced to provide essential services at all times, meaning the strikes impact will largely be token. Its biggest impact will be on billing for ambulance services, since the strikers are not legally obliged to perform their normal administrative tasks. The main points of dispute are wages, workload, and pensions. The paramedics, who have been working without contracts since March 2015, complain of chronic understaffing and severe job-related stress. One of their main demands is the elimination of shifts that require workers to be on-call from home 24/7. A major factor driving the conflict is the tens of millions of dollars in cuts the Quebec Liberal government plans to make to the provinces funding of ambulance services. Under the governments new funding plan, Urgences-Sante is projected to lose $25 million per yearmore than a quarter of its budget. The two unions that bargain on behalf of Quebecs paramedics, the Confederation of National Trade Unions and the Quebec Federation of Labour, long delayed acting on the overwhelming strike mandates they received last fall. "Clearly the law is on the President's side. The Constitution is on the President's side. He has broad discretion to do what's in the nations best interests to protect our people. And we feel very confident that we will prevail in this matter," White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer told reporters travelling with the President aboard Air Force One from Tampa, Florida to Andrews Air Force base. The temporary travel ban, which affects Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen, has sparked protests around the world.The appeals court has asked for both sides to file legal briefs before the court makes its final decision, after a federal judge halted the programme on Friday. The US government defended the ban as a "lawful exercise" of the President's authority. The court is scheduled to hear the case later in the day. Meanwhile, Spicer ruled out any possibility of withdrawing the executive order. "No, no, no," he said, when asked if the White House is considering withdrawing it. "This executive order was done in the best interest of protecting the American people. I think this is something that has broad support from the American people from one coast to another, and were going to continue to do what we have to. And this President is committed to making sure that the country and its people are safe," Spicer said. Spicer said Trump's number-one priority is to do what he can to keep the American people safe. The White House Press Secretary added that he thinks "part of the reason he (Trump) issued the order the way he did was to ensure that people didn't have an advance notice, and he protected the country and ensured that we have an idea of who's coming in and out of the country." Trump, who paid a visit to US Central Command in Tampa, condemned the media for downplaying the terror threat his administration has cited to justify the travel ban. He said "radical Islamic terrorists are determined to strike our homeland as they did on 9/11, as they did from Boston to Orlando to San Bernardino, and all across Europe." VIERA, Fla. (AP) - An assistant public defender who wore a Black Lives Matter tie to court says he was fired because he made online comments accusing his office of being overtly political. Florida Today reports that 27-year-old Alton Edmond lost his job last week at the Brevard County public defender's office. Edmond says workers in Public Defender Blaise Trettis' office talked openly about supporting President Trump before the election, and Trettis attended a Trump rally. Trettis says he attended the Trump rally, but it was after-hours. Trettis says Edmond was terminated for several reasons, including recording colleagues talking about politics and leaving a loaded gun in his office. Edmond says he has a concealed carry permit, and he posted online a recording of himself but took it down after he realized it had voices of his colleagues too. ___ Information from: Florida Today (Melbourne, Fla.), http://www.floridatoday.com (Copyright 2017 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.) ATLANTA (AP) - Georgia lawmakers are again trying to let licensed gun owners carry handguns on public college campuses. A full copy of the bill wasn't immediately available on Tuesday. According to a cover sheet, 15 members of the House co-sponsored the bill by Rep. Mandi Ballinger, R-Canton. Ballinger co-sponsored a bill last year allowing handguns on Georgia's college campuses. Lawmakers easily passed last year's bill but Republican Gov. Nathan Deal vetoed it. Deal said in his veto messages that colleges are "sanctuaries of learning" where guns haven't been allowed. According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, Georgia is among 17 states banning concealed weapons on campuses. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (http://on-ajc.com/2jZCztq) reports that Ballinger's proposal this year exempts child care facilities. Deal included those spaces among his concerns with last year's bill. (Copyright 2017 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.) "ISIS is on a campaign of genocide, committing atrocities across the world," he said, referring to Islamic State by its acronym ISIS, that has gained a foothold in Iraq and Syria. By Press Trust of India: US President Donald Trump today delivered a strong message to radical Islamic jihadists that America and its allies will defeat the "forces of death" who "worship destruction", and in defence of his immigration ban said he will not allow them to get a foothold in the country. "We're up against an enemy that celebrates death and totally worships destruction. You've seen that," Trump said during his first visit to Central Command which is responsible for an area that includes the Middle East and Central Asia. advertisement "ISIS is on a campaign of genocide, committing atrocities across the world," he said, referring to Islamic State by its acronym ISIS, that has gained a foothold in Iraq and Syria. The Central Command plays an important role in the US-led mission against the Islamic State terrorist group. Trump, now in his third week as the US President, visited the command centre on his way back to the White House after a three-day break in Florida. Trump, the commander in chief of the US, made the comments after a lunch with troops from the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines. Also read: Poll suggests 40% people support Donald Trump's impeachment "Radical Islamic terrorists are determined to strike our homeland, as they did on 9/11, as they did from Boston to Orlando to San Bernardino and all across Europe. You've seen what happened in Paris and Nice. All over Europe its happening. Its gotten to a point where its not even being reported," he said. Continuing his tirade against the US media, Trump alleged that "the very, very dishonest press" doesn't want to report the incidents of terrorism. "They have their reasons and you understand that," he told his commanders. "So today we deliver a message in one very unified voice to these forces of death and destruction. America and its allies will defeat you. We will defeat them. We will defeat radical Islamic terrorism. And we will not allow it to take root in our country. Not going to allow it," Trump said. In an apparent reference to a US federal court halting his executive orders preventing people from seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the US, Trump said the country needs strong programmes so that "people that love us and want to love our country and will end up loving our country are allowed in". "Not people that want to destroy us and destroy our country," he said amidst cheers and applause. Freedom, security and justice will prevail, he asserted. "In his first State of the Union message, President George Washington wrote that to be prepared for war is one of the most effectual means of preserving peace. "Almost 200 years later, as the general was also speaking about Ronald Reagan, he said that wisdom comes in three very, very strong words. Peace through strength," he said. advertisement "I've said it many times during the campaign, speak it in front of tens of thousands of people at one sitting. And I'd always mention America first, a phrase that you probably never heard, make America great again. Anybody ever heard that? And peace through strength," he said. Trump said men and women of the US military provide the strength to bring peace to "our troubled, troubled times". "We stand behind you. We support your mission," he said. Also read: Donald Trump threatens to defund California to fight illegal immigration --- ENDS --- TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) - The Florida Supreme Court has denied an appeal from one of the people convicted in the death of former Florida A&M University drum major Robert Champion. Davante Martin's attorneys argued that his case should be reheard because the state's statute on hazing is unconstitutional. That also claim the trial court should have dismissed his charge of manslaughter and that they let evidence into the trial that they shouldn't. A panel of judges denied that motion. In January of 2015, Martin was sentenced to six years in prison. MOULTRIE, Ga. (WTXL) - The Georgia Bureau of Investigation has released the identities of the man and deputy involved in a Colquitt County shooting over the weekend. They said that the man who was the subject of a domestic dispute complaint has been identified as Peter Torres. GBI said that the Colquitt County Sheriff's Office was called to Torres' home at 135 Blackberry Lane on Saturday. When deputies arrived, Torres was in the backyard. Prior to their arrival, deputies said that he had assaulted others in the home and destroyed property inside. Investigators said that Deputy Joshua Luke tried to speak with Torres, but said that he began charging at Luke, refusing to stop when told to do so. Eventually, the Luke ended up shooting Torres in the chest. They said that Torres was transported to a hospital in Macon for his injuries while the deputy was uninjured. Luke started with the Colquitt County Sheriff's Office in October 2016, after transferring from another law enforcement agency. This investigation is active and ongoing. Once the investigation into the use of force is completed, it will be turned over to the Colquitt County District Attorneys Office for their review. Any charges against Torres will be handled by the Colquitt County Sheriffs Office. Anyone with information about the shooting is asked to call the Thomasville GBI Regional Office at 229-225-4090. TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) - Two Florida House democrats joined advocates from Planned Parenthood, the National Organization for Women, and other liberal-leaning groups today to detail their concerns with President Donald Trump's Supreme Court nominee, Judge Neil Gorsuch. During a news conference at the capitol in Tallahassee, State Representative Carlos Guillermo Smith said Gorsuch's current record as a judge is concerning, especially on issue like abortion and LGBT rights. Smith also says the vacancy caused by the death of Justice Antonin Scalia nearly one year ago should have been filled long ago. "We are opposed to this nominee, not only because of the fact that the person who is being nominated stands against our core values of freedom and equality, but also because it shouldn't have been Trump's nominee to begin with," said State Rep. Carlos Guillermo Smith, D- Orlando. Judge Merrick Garland was nominated by President Barack Obama to replace Scalia, but the Republican-led Senate never held confirmation hearings on Garland, who has since gone back to being a judge in Washington, D.C. TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) - Florida Students for Concealed Carry at FSU is hosting an informational session on the campus carry law Monday evening. Their mission is to educate students and staff about the conceal carry laws in Florida and campus-carry laws in other states and how they've worked out there. The organization's president says there will be a discussion about the common misconceptions about campus carry and will try to dispel those myths. He also acknowledges that the view is one sided but is still important to give all the facts. "People have the right to self defense, the right to bear arms, Florida has the ability to restrict that if they can provide a really compelling case and we just don't simply think that they provide a compelling case," said Steven Landgraf, the organization's president. "We don't think that the campus carry ban makes anyone safer here and we think that we should have the right to carry on campus If the campus carry ban is overturned the group wants to work with President Thrasher and other administrators to help make the campus safer. WASHINGTON (AP) - A White House spokesman says President Donald Trump will host Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe at Mar-a-Lago this weekend. Trump has been calling his resort the "Winter White House," and Press Secretary Sean Spicer says that Abe's trip there is a testament to the close relationship between the U.S. and Japan. Abe will first visit the White House before traveling to Palm Beach, Florida, with Trump, Spicer says. Trump was at Mar-a-Lago this past weekend, where he visited with his wife, first lady Melania Trump, and attended a fundraiser for the Red Cross, among other events. ___ (Copyright 2017 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.) The American proposal came barely weeks after India's efforts to get Azhar banned by the UN were blocked by China in December last. By Press Trust of India: A significant bid by the US in the UN for designating Pathankot attack mastermind Masood Azhar as a global terrorist has been stymied by China which has again opposed the ban against the Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) chief. The American proposal came barely weeks after India's efforts to get Azhar banned by the UN were blocked by China in December last. advertisement According to senior government sources, the US, supported by the UK and France, moved a proposal at the UN's Sanctions Committee 1267 in the second-half of last month to proscribe Azhar. The proposal, which was finalised after "consultations" between Washington and New Delhi, said JeM is a designated terror outfit and so its leaders cannot go scot-free, sources said. "However, China opposed the US move by putting a hold on the proposal," a source said, adding the Chinese action came just before the expiry of the 10-day deadline for any proposal to be adopted or blocked or to be put on hold. The "hold" remains for six months and can be further extended by three months. During this period, it can be anytime converted into a "block", thereby, ending the life of the proposal. UN Sanction Committee's listing would have forced imposition of asset freeze and travel ban on Azhar by countries including Pakistan. WATCH: NIA nails JEM chief Masood Azhar's role in Pathankot airbase terror attack ALSO READ: After blocking India's move to ban Masood Azhar, China now wants action against global terrorists EXCLUSIVE: India will pursue resolution against Masood Azhar to its logical outcome, says Syed Akbaruddin --- ENDS --- By Press Trust of India: From Sajjad Hussain Islamabad, Feb 7 (PTI) The US should scare Pakistan by keeping the option open for declaring it as a state sponsor of terrorism, top US think-tanks have recommended to the Trump administration, saying inducements alone cannot change Islamabads current policies towards terrorism. The think tanks in a report said that designating Pakistan as a state sponsor of terrorism is unwise in the first year of a new administration, but should be kept as an option for the longer term. advertisement The report advises the Trump administration to "state up front that it intends to review the intelligence on Pakistani involvement in supporting terror much more critically than its predecessors", Dawn newspaper said. They recommended the Trump use the policy of scaring Pakistan. The report argues that US engagement with Pakistan must be based on a realistic appraisal of the country?s policies, aspirations and worldview. "The US must stop chasing the mirage of securing change in Pakistans strategic direction by giving it additional aid or military equipment. It must be acknowledged that Pakistan is unlikely to change its current policies through inducements alone," the report said. The working group, which compiled the report, wants the United States to recognise that its efforts over several decades to strengthen Pakistan militarily have only "encouraged those elements in Pakistan that hope someday to wrest Kashmir from India through force". The report asked the Trump administration to "avoid viewing and portraying Pakistan as an ally and deal with it as a non-ally, which has engaged in supporting the Afghan Taliban." The experts who compiled the report also want the Trump administration to work with China and Gulf Arab states to persuade Pakistan to stop tolerating terrorist groups and individuals. Scholars and experts from Asian Studies Centre, The Heritage Foundation; Georgetown University; National Defence University, New America; Hudson Institute; Brookings Institution; Centre for Strategic and International Studies and the Middle East Institute jointly compiled this report that includes recommendations for the Trump administration. PTI SH NSA AKJ NSA --- ENDS --- You are the owner of this article. Dee Perez holds a sign promoting a sale at Albertson's while standing on the corner of 40th Avenue and Nob Hill Boulevard in Yakima, Wash. on Sunday, Jan. 22, 2017. (JAKE PARRISH/Yakima Herald-Republic) The court rejected the petition filed by Payichira Nawas on the grounds that the allegations against chief secretary hoarding files would not come under the purview of Prevention of Corruption Act. By Jeemon Jacob: Vigilance special court in Thiruvananthapuram rejected the plea demanding vigilance probe against Chief Secretary S M Vijayanand for stonewalling action demanded by Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau against senior IAS-IPS officers who are under vigilance probe. The court rejected the petition filed by Payichira Nawas on the grounds that the allegations against chief secretary hoarding files would not come under the purview of Prevention of Corruption Act. advertisement Petitioner Payichira Nawas also alleged that chief secretary supported the decision of the IAS officers to take mass leave on January 9 in protest after vigilance filed FIR against additional chief secretary for industries department in the appointment controversy. VACB had written to chief secretary to suspend additional chief secretary for labour Tom Jose from the service after the FIR registered against him in disproportionate asset case. But, chief secretary sought law secretary's opinion on the files. Petitioner Nawas filed complaints against Tom Jose in disproportionate asset case and vigilance conducted raids at his residence earlier. Earlier, police arrested Nawas, a native of Thiruvananthapuram, in a rape case after 39-year-old woman lodged complaint. Senior IAS officials alleged that the petitioner against "Chief Secretary SM Vijayanand was motivated" and vigilance was acting with vengeance after finance inspection wing submitted report against VACB director Dr. Jacob Thomas in a corruption case when he was director ports. The face-off between VACB director and senior bureaucrats is continuing in the state after the vigilance started hunting against four additional chief secretaries who are next in line for the chief secretary's post. 1981-batch IAS officer S M Vijayanand will retire on March 31 next year. He had served as Union secretary for Panchayath Raj. "It's part of our service and I was never worried about the outcome of petition," Vijayanand told India Today. --- ENDS --- If you are sending a Letter To the Editor, please be sure to follow these rules: Letters have a firm 200-word limit and will be edited for grammar, clarity and accuracy. The person who signs the letter must be the author. Anonymous letters will not be considered. Letters must address the editor, not a third party. We will not print form letters, libelous letters, business promotions or personal disputes, poetry, open letters, letters espousing religious views without reference to a current issue, or letters considered in poor taste. Letters reflect the opinion of the writer. The Yakima Herald-Republic cannot verify the accuracy of all statements made in letters. Writers are limited to one published letter per calendar month. The state government had re-appointed Mitra for the second time as Advocate-General after he had resigned on an earlier occasion in June last year. By Indrajit Kundu: West Bengal Advocate-General Jayanta Mitra today resigned from his post over differences with the Mamata Banerjee government in the state. Sources say there has been pending differences between Mitra and the government leading to the situation. "I can't be the A-G all through my life so I thought this was the best time," Mitra said tendering his resignaiton to Governor Kesari nath Tripathi. advertisement "When two people work together there will be differences but I felt the matter should end now. I felt let's not drag things further. As far the difference of opinion goes, let it remain as it is. I just left so that the government can carry on as it is," the veteran barrister added. The state government had re-appointed Mitra for the second time as Advocate-General after he had resigned on an earlier occasion in June last year. He was first given the responsibility in 2014 when the Mamata Banerjee administration was finding it difficult to convince many senior legal luminaries to take up the post. Mitra's predecessor Bimal Chatterjee too had quit during his tenure as AG citing "health reasons". However, those in the legal circle claim that Chatterjee had complained of "feeling suffocated" working with the present dispensation. Ever since she came to power, the Mamata Banerjee administration in West Bengal has been facing a tough time in the legal arena with the Calcutta High Court pulling the government up on multiple occasions. Cases like the Singur land bill, the Park street and Kamduni rape cases and steps like providing monthly stipends to Imams have all been subject to legal scrutiny of the courts in the state. --- ENDS --- The Trump administration clarified in recent days to the Prime Minister's bureau that it intended to support the 'two-state solution' as the base for negotiations in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter The clarifications were part of the preparations currently underway for the first meeting between Benjamin Netanyahu and Donald Trump since the latter assumed the American presidency. That meeting is to take place next week in the US capital. Trump (Photo: Reuters) In response to the Israeli government's authorizing the construction of an additional 5,000 homes in the disputed territories, the White House released a statement last week saying, "While we don't believe the existence of settlements is an impediment to peace, the construction of new settlements or the expansion of existing settlements beyond their current borders may not be helpful in achieving that goal." Ma'ale Adumim (Photo: AFP) The delay of Trump's nominee to be his country's ambassador to Israel David Friedman, a supporter of Israeli settlementsis an indication of the internal disagreements in the Republican Party regarding settlements. However, the GOP's platform , adopted before the US election, removed the two-state solution and avoided any mention of a Palestinian state. The tax evasion investigation against Bar Refaeli and her mother, Tzipi Refaeli, has reached its final stages and Tax Authority investigators believe they have enough evidence warranting criminal tax evasion charges. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter The investigation into Bar Refaeli began in 2015 and since then, her mother and her have since been questioned six times and have categorically denied all allegations. Bar Refaeli in court (Photo: Avi Moalem) As opposed to the police who recommend whether or not to indict, the Tax Authority forwards the reports and evidence to the State Attorney without making a recommendation. If the State Attorney decides to indict the two, they may exercise their right to a hearing, which the State Attorney will participate in. Refaeli's attorney, Udi Barzily, told Yedioth Ahronoth that his client has committed no crime. "There is nothing in this case that warrants an indictment. This is all a civil matter and therefore, there will be no indictment. There won't be anything because there was nothing." YOO towers, where Refaeli lived in apartment under the name of her brother (Photo: AFP) The investigation is focusing on the years 2005, 2007-2009 and 2009-2012. According to Refaeli's lawyer, she was not a resident of the country because she was in Israel less than 183 days a year during that period and as such, was exempt from paying taxes for work abroad. Refaeli is also suspected of receiving benefits and discounts due to her celebrity status in the form of luxury residential apartments and vehicles. The value of the benefits exceed NIS 1 million, which are supposed to be reported as taxable income. Tzipi Refaeli is also suspected of providing false tax reports to authorities, especially in regards to living arrangements for her daughter. Refaeli lived at the YOO Towers in a rented apartment, but the contract was signed by her brother in order to make it appear she has no ties to Israel. Later, Refaeli moved to the nearby W Towers where she lived for three years. The contract for that apartment was signed by her mother in the same manner, even though it was the model who lived in the apartment. Seizing on an Iranian missile test , Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and new US President Donald Trump are nearing common ground on a tougher US policy towards Tehran ahead of their first face-to-face talks at the White House. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter But people familiar with the Trump administration's thinking say that its evolving strategy is likely to be aimed not at "dismantling" Iran's July 2015 nuclear deal with six world powers, but rather tightening its enforcement and pressuring the Islamic Republic into renegotiating key provisions. Photo: Reuters/Mahmood Hosseini Options, they say, would include wider scrutiny of Iran's compliance by the UN nuclear watchdog (IAEA), including access to Iranian military sites, and removing "sunset" terms that allow some curbs on Iranian nuclear activity to start expiring in 10 years and lift other limits after 15 years. In a shift of position for Netanyahu, all signs in Israel point to him being on board with the emerging US plan. Two years ago, he infuriated the Obama White House by addressing the US Congress to rally hawkish opposition to a budding Iran pact he condemned as a "historic mistake" that should be torn up. As Trump and Netanyahu prepare for their Feb. 15 meeting, focus has shifted to Iran's ballistic missile test last week. Iranian missiles (Photo: AP) The White House said the missile launch was not a direct breach of the nuclear deal but "violates the spirit of that." Trump responded by slapping fresh sanctions on individuals and entities, some of them linked to Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards (IRGC). A UN Security Council resolution underpinning the nuclear pact urges Iran to refrain from testing missiles designed to be able to carry nuclear warheads, but imposes no obligation. Trump; Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (Photo: EPA, AFP) However, Trump tweeted, "Iran is playing with fire" and "they don't appreciate how 'kind' President Obama was to them. Not me!" Trump's national security adviser, Michael Flynn, said Washington was putting Tehran on notice over its "destabilizing activity". Netanyahu "appreciated" the comments. Tehran bristled, warning that "roaring missiles" would fall on its enemies if its security is threatened. It also said its military would never initiate a war. Meeting of minds over missile test Beyond the rhetoric, the missile test gave the new Republican president and the conservative Israeli leader an early opportunity to show they are on the same page in seeking to restrain Iranian military ambitions. Netanyahu wrote on Facebook last week: "At my upcoming meeting with President Trump in Washington, I intend to raise the renewal of sanctions against Iran in this context and in other contexts. Iranian aggression must not go unanswered." In London for talks with British Prime Minister Theresa May on Monday, Netanyahu said "responsible" nations should follow Trump's imposition of new sanctions as Iran remained a deadly menace to Israel and "threatens the world". PMs Netanyahu and May (Photo: AP) Netanyahu also said Washington should lead the way, with Israel and Britain, in "setting clear boundaries" for Tehran. But he stopped short of any call to cancel the nuclear accord. Israeli officials privately acknowledged that he would not advocate ripping up a deal that has been emphatically reaffirmed by the other big power signatoriesBritain, France, Germany, Russia and Chinasince Trump's election victory. According to reports, an Israeli intelligence assessment recently presented to Netanyahu said revoking the pact would be an error, causing a chasm between Washington and other signatories like Russia and China. Photo: AP Amos Yadlin, former head of Israeli military intelligence, said there were many areas outside the deal where pressure could be applied on Iran to change what he called its negative behavior of "subversiveness, supporting terrorism". But beyond new sanctions and sharpened rhetoric, analysts say, it is unclear how far Trump could go. Arguments for restraint would include the risk of military escalation in the Gulf, out of which 40 percent of the world's seaborne crude oil is shipped, and strong European support for the nuclear deal. Though the new US strategy is in the early stages of development, the Trump administration, the sources say, is considering a range of measures, including seeking "zero tolerance" for any Iranian violations. Sarona is Tel Avivs preeminent retail food market, comprising upscale vendors, fast-food kiosks and fine dining establishments all in one compound. The main floor alone of the bustling market is home to almost a bewildering number of places offering everything from quick snacks to full meals. Below, in alphabetical order, are five very different places that can be counted on to satisfy just about whatever craving an appetite can throw at you. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter Of course, one advantage of the variegated market is that two or more people can conveniently order totally different cuisines, and then still sit down to eat together. Subsequently, they may then take a break to browse the market again, and choose a separate dessert from an almost endless array of options. Abu Shukri This Sarona newcomer is a familiar name to Jerusalemites, many of whom will tell you it has the best hummus in town. When Israelis began to hesitate to go to the Old City, Abu Shukri opened a branch in Abu Ghosh; but this is the chains first foray into Tel Aviv. Naturally, any visit to Abu Shukri ought to begin with its signature dishhummus. And there are no fewer than 12 varieties altogether, most of them vegetarian but also one with meat. For the first-timer, the eponymous version, which comes with whole chickpeas, is a good place to start. Also worthy of note is the falafel: available with hummus or separately, these Arab-style nuggets are slightly flat and green inside, fried to the perfect degree of crunch. There are mezze galore15-30 different saladsand 3-4 soups daily, including two types of kubbe soup. There is also shakshuka as a main course, served with fries and salad. Although they are served all day, Abu Shukris grilled meats are called business, as are the various mahshi, vegetables stuffed with meat. The skewered meats may be ordered on a plate with two sides, or in a pita. There are two classically Middle Eastern desserts, malabi and baklawa. All this food may be washed down with soft drinks or bottled domestic beer. Captain Curry Captain Curry: Roshfelds Indian is one of three Sarona eateries that proudly trurmpet the names of the celebrity chefs that helm them. Jonathan Roshfeld, better known for his gourmet Herbert Samuel restaurants, as well as for his role as a judge on the television show Master Chef, has opened a small Indian restaurant in Sarona to indulge one of his more exotic culinary passions. The one-page food menu comprises three sections: four small plates, five main courses, and three dishes labeled from a palace kitchen. There is also a rotating soup of the day, and large, crisp papadamlike a cross between a pita and a cracker. The portions at Captain Curry are quite large; and since the main courses are served with jasmine rice, they are filling as well. Moreover, there are dishes that one would expect to find more in a fine dining restaurant than at a casual dining standsuch as the outstanding blackened tandoori trout in tomato and coconut curry. Other noteworthy dishes are the chicken kofta in satay sauce with candied hibiscus; beef raja with organic egg yolk; Bombay shrimp in coconut milk; and chicken tikka with dal. The house pickles are also a nice condiment. Finally, the beverages are intriguing as well: ice cold chai, mango lassi and a private label beer brewed especially for Captain Curry. Fishop Many fish and seafood restaurants take pride in proclaiming how fresh their catches are, but not many offer live lobsters fresh from the aquarium, or can take their raw materials right off the ice from an adjacent fishmonger. Yet that is the enviable situation that sets Fishop apart from so many of its competitors. The restaurant has a fairly extensive alcohol selection for an informal establishment, with a limited wine list and imported draft beer, in addition to the usual soft drinks. Fishop offers both cold and hot dishes, from the regular menu and daily specials. The former category encompasses a range of raw fish, including ceviche, carpaccio, and bruschetta topped with seared red tuna, or thick-cut gravlax with creme fraiche and salad. There are even oysters, when one is in the mood to splurge. There are also interesting ethnic dishes: a zesty Thai tom yam soup generously studded with mussels, shrimp and calamari the day we visited, and several variations of chraime. Hiro Hiro Freestyle Ramen Bar by Aharoni is another celebrity chef eatery, this one the first restaurant operated by television personality Yisrael Aharoni in more than a decade. This is the first ramen bar in Israel, Aharoni says. There are Japanese restaurants that serve ramen, but this is the only place dedicated primarily to serving these meals in a bowl. When Aharoni is in the country, there is a good chance youll find him personally working the automated noodle cooker in the assembly line operation that he designed. Ramen is clearly the star of the show here: bowls of highly seasoned soup, noodles and vegetables, plus meat, chicken or tofu. A nice treat in each bowl is a uniquely marinated hard-boiled egg. The hearty noodle soup may not leave much room for a second course, but there are some other menu items that are certainly worth trying. The gyozafried dumplingsare tasty morsels with a crispy lattice that is distinctive to Hiro. There is a range of inexpensive salads, and tiny sandwiches made with steamed buns. Significantly, there are vegan options in all categoriesramen, buns, gyoza and saladsall of which are served on environmentally friendly disposable plates. Hiros beverages are all Asian-inspired, from the refreshing herbal tea spiked with ginger to a real innovation: pre-mixed sake-based cocktails served in flask-like bottles that can be taken home if not completely quaffed on the spot. Meat Bar Sometimes nothing quite hits the spot like a hamburgerand thats where Meat Bar comes in. This outpost of the popular chain serves only hamburgersbut they are beauties. The Meat Bar burgers are 200 grams of prime beef ground on the premises from choice cuts that you can see hanging in the booth. Served with lettuce, tomato and onion on a homemade bun, these burgers are as juicy and flavorful as can be. There is one upgrade to the burger: the cheeseburger adds a thin layer of melted Gouda to the premium patty, and the proportion of cheese to meat strikes the perfect balance. Either burger is served on wax paper in a cardboard tray together with tasty rippled French fries. Becks beer on tap is an ideal beverage complement. The European Union announced on Tuesday that a state summit between EU and Israeli representatives was being postponed following the increase in settlement construction in the West Bank and the passing of the Regulation Bill. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter The summit had been scheduled to take place on February 28 in Brussels and would have been the first meeting of the entity that manages relations between Israel and the EU. Israeli Minister Tzachi Hanegbi had been intended to represent Israel across from Federica Mogherini, High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy. The hope had been that the meeting would turn a new leaf in relations between the two powers following several years of unease. Tapuah (Archive photo: TPS) However, the Europeans decided to postpone the summit until further notice, apparently in response to the Regulation Bill, which retroactively legalizes Israeli settlements on Palestinian land. The Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs warned recently that the legislation would bring about serious international repercussions. The EU's decision also followed the recent government approval of 5,500 homes being constructed in the West Bank. Israeli ambassadors abroad are expecting to be called in for formal reprimands following the bill's passing. Less than a week after the evacuation of the Amona outpost, the High Court of Justice ordered the demolition of 17 buildings in the illegal outpost of West Tapuah, which is also built on private Palestinian land, by June 2018. The HCJ's decision was issued in response to a petition from residents of the adjacent Palestinian village of Yasuf. However, following the state's announced intention to attempt to "regularize" the outpost, the court refrained from requiring that it be evacuated in its entirety. The legal NGO Yesh Din, which represents the legal landowners, commented that they were saddened that only 17 buildings were to be removed, adding, "The decision proves that the policy of the government, foremost of which being the Regulation Bill that passed yesterday, is a thieving policy that withholds even basic rights from the Palestinians." West Tapuah was established in January 2000. In January 2004, the IDF demolished the synagogue dedicated to the late Jewish terrorist Rabbi Meir Kahane and his family with approval from the HCJ. Our favorite sport recently is to try and guessbased on the past few weekswhat the relationship between the United States and Israel is going to look like. To be more accurate, what will the relationship between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US President Donald Trump look like. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter During the election campaign, and even more so since Trumps election, Netanyahu has been preparing us for the fact that everything is about to change. A Zionist, pro-Israel and pro-settlement president will enter the Oval Office, and all our dreams will come true. One doesnt have to be a child psychologist in the public service to understand that Netanyahu, who always argued that his murky relationship with the previous president was not his fault but Barack Obamas, will do anything to ensure that the new president looks like his best friend, partner and supporter. It was also clear that the tools Netanyahu would use to strengthen this feeling, and to tighten his friendship with Trump as much as possible, would be the tools he is well familiar with from homein other words, flattery and obsequiousness. Netanyahu and Trump. The closer and more loyal the flatterer, the faster he is betrayed and thrown to the dogs (Photo: Kobi Gideon, GPO) But it seems that with Trump, like with Netanyahu, flattery and groveling generate the opposite outcome. And the closer and more loyal the flatterer, the faster he is betrayed and thrown to the dogs. When the Israeli Right rejoiced after the elections and increased the pressure to expand settlement construction, move the US embassy to Jerusalem, confiscate land, and legalize outposts, Netanyahu told everyone to calm down and asked them not to present Trump with difficult facts. In other words, let him carry out what he promised in his own time. Even when the new administrations spokespeople announced that the embassy would not be moved at this time, Netanyahu did not protest and did not demand that Trump keep his promise. And how did Trump repay him for this gesture? His spokespeople leaked that the request to avoid moving the embassy actually came from the Israeli government. When Trump issued a statement in honor of International Holocaust Day, everyone was shocked that it had failed to mention the fact that the Jewish people suffered the most during the Holocaust. Moreover, the Jewish people were not even mentioned in the statement. Official Israel, and Netanyahu of course, did not respond. They chose to keep quiet. One can only imagine how official Israel would have responded had Obama omitted the memory of the Jewish people. US Jews were furious, and all their representativesJewish organizations, Holocaust commemoration organizations, the anti-Defamation Leaguewere angry at the president and at his spokesperson, who allegedly forgot to stress that the Holocaust was the Holocaust of the Jewish people. But it immediately turned out that it wasnt absentmindedness; it was done intentionally. At first, the spokeswoman announced, as Holocaust deniers do, that the statement included all those who suffered during the Holocaust. The chief of staff clarified that he did not regret the words, and that everyone had suffered in the Holocaust, not only the Jews. The White House press secretary went as far as arguing, in an upgraded version of some of my best friends are Jews, that the statements text was examined by a Jew, an offspring of Holocaust survivors, and that he had approved the wording. In general, the press secretary added, the Jews should stop being so nitpicky and pathetic about this issue. And official Israel is silent. And Netanyahu is silent. The flattery reached new heights with Netanyahus miserable tweet, in which he first of all praised himself, but also flattered Trump on the future construction of a wall on the Mexico border. Trump rushed to retweet Netanyahus comment and, as we have learned, the fire that he ignited will not be put out so fast. The government in Mexico, as well as Jewish organizations, the press and the spokespeople, rushed to define Netanyahus comment as intentional flattery, contempt towards the Mexican nation and abominable ignorance. All of Netanyahus tricks and attempts to lash out at the Left and at the media, the artificial self-righteousness and the ridiculous denials, did not help. The Mexican government demanded, and received, a clear and specific apology, with the president of the State of Israel being called to clean up after Netanyahu At the same time, a storm began washing though the world. By signing an executive order banning the entry of citizens of seven countries defined as infected by terrorism, the Trump administration enraged nearly the entire world, apart from Israel. Despite all the attempts to soften the language, present alternative facts and change the wordingit was clear that this was an anti-Muslim ban. The uninhibited Rudolph Giuliani even admitted on television that the president had asked his team to define the rejection of Muslims in a way that would sound constitutional, and thats what they did. Almost all governments in the world issued a condemnation. Hundreds of thousands of Americans, if not millions, flooded the airports and streets in protest. The American acting attorney general issued an order to all legal elements to oppose the executive order (and was immediately fired). Four senior State Department officials resigned, and close to 1,000 State Department employees signed a petition clarifying their objection. And the Israeli government, led by Netanyahu, is silent. The American embassy rushed to clarify that Israeli Jews have nothing to worry about, even if they were born in Baghdad or Tripoli, and that satisfied us. The Israeli Arabs can take care of themselves. It is very tempting to define Netanyahus silence in light of the violence, racism and even anti-Semitism of the new administration as an attempt to satisfy Trump with flattery and support to achieve practical goals in the future. A more thorough examination reveals a concerning suspicion that there is more to it than a dirty tactic. According to a report by Channel 10, the State Comptroller found that "45 percent of the trips Netanyahu took while serving as minister of finance were doubly financed," meaning that the trip was financed by the Treasury and by a foreign entity, either an individual or an organization. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter Benjamin Netanyahu served as the Minister of the Treasury from 2003-2005. According to the same report by the comptroller, "100 percent of the trips Netanyahu took while on the job had extra financing, meaning, there were surpluses of money from a variety of sources which funded other parts of the trips." Netanyahu and his wife Sara board a flight back to Israel from France (Photo: Avi Ohayon) The report by Raviv Drucker also noted that Netanyahu's personal security detachment was financed by the Shin Bet as well as by the foreign officials who invited Netanyahu. State Comptroller Yosef Shapira requested that Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit open a criminal investigation into the matter, but Mandelblit informed the comptroller several weeks ago that the case had been closed. Drucker said, "A senior official in law enforcement told us that just because Mandelblit closed the case does not at all mean that the things outlined in the report were acceptable. Far from it, there were a lot of problems to say the least." State Comptroller Yosef Shapira (Photo: Gil Yohanan) The report mentioned that Netanyahu was not questioned on these matters and the previous Attorney General, Yehuda Weinstein, also did not open an investigation into the matter. The Ministry of Justice issued a response on the Channel 10 report, saying, "In regards to the claims of double financing on overseas flights, in light of new information received on this matter, those involved in the organization of the prime minister's flights have been investigated along with many documents from the relevant period. Even the current findings and new evidence that was collected do not warrant any further investigation." The Prime Minister's Office also responded, saying, "There was no double financing and that is why the case was closed. This is a desperate attempt by Drucker to renew the case." A stream of statements condemning Israel's adoption of the Regulation Law, which will retroactively legalize thousands of West Bank settlement homes built on private Palestinian land, continued to flow throughout Tueasday, with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres's bureau expressing its own anger in the evening. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter "The Secretary-General deeply regrets the adoption of the so called "Regularization bill" on 6 February by the Knesset. This bill is in contravention of international law and will have far reaching legal consequences for Israel. It reportedly provides immunity to settlements and outposts in the occupied West Bank that were built on privately-owned Palestinian land," the statement read. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres "The Secretary-General insists on the need to avoid any actions that would derail the two-state solution. All core issues should be resolved between the parties through direct negotiations on the basis of relevant Security Council resolutions and mutual agreements. The United Nations stands ready to support this process." Eariler, a Palestinian Cabinet minister on Tuesday called on the international community to punish Israel for a contentious new law, just hours after the Knesset adopted the law. The explosive law, approved by lawmakers late on Monday, is the latest in a series of pro-settler steps taken by Israel's government since the election of US President Donald Trump. It is expected to trigger international outrage and a flurry of lawsuits against the measure. By late afternoon Tuesday, French President Francois Hollande called on the Israeli government to repeal the law, warning that it marked the beginning of annexation. Mahmoud Abbas and Francois Hollande (Photo: AFP) Similarly, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas delivered a statement urging the international community to oppose the law. The ramp-up of settlements "would open the way to the annexation of occupied territories", Hollande said at news conference after meeting Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. "I think that Israel and its government could revise this text," Hollande added. "That bill is contrary to international law," Abbas said in the joint statement with Hollande in Paris. "This is an aggression against our people that we will be opposing in international organizations". "What we want is peace... but what Israel does is to work toward one state based on apartheid," Abbas said. Knesset members arguing during the reading for the Regulation Bill (Photo: Ohad Zwigenberg) "Nobody can legalize the theft of the Palestinian lands. Building settlements is a crime, building settlements is against all international laws," said Palestinian Tourism and Antiquities Minister Rula Maayaa. "I think it is time now for the international community to act concretely to stop the Israelis from these crimes." According to the law, Palestinian landowners would be compensated either with money or alternative land, even if they did not agree to give up their property. Critics say the legislation enshrines into law the theft of Palestinian land, and it is expected to be challenged in Israel's Supreme Court. The vote passed 60-52 in the 120-member Knesset. The raucous debate saw opposition lawmakers shouting from their seats at governing coalition lawmakers speaking in favor of the vote. Some spectators in visitors' seats raised a black cloth in apparent protest. PM Netanyahu (Photo: AFP) Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had voiced misgivings about the law in the lead-up to the vote, reportedly expressing concern that it could trigger international censure and saying he wanted to coordinate with the Trump administration before moving ahead on a vote. He told reporters on a trip to London that he had updated Washington and was ready to move ahead with the law. Netanyahu was on his way back from the trip and was not present for the vote. The White House's immediate response was to refer to its statement last week that said the construction of new settlements "may not be helpful" in achieving an Israeli-Palestinian peace. The State Department later said "the Trump administration will withhold comment on the legislation until the relevant court ruling." New building in Ariel (Photo: AFP) David Harris, CEO of AJC, the global Jewish advocacy organization, said that "Israel's High Court can and should reverse this misguided legislation" ahead of Netanyahu's meeting with Trump in February. Critics have also warned the bill could drag Israel into a legal battle at the International Criminal Court at The Hague, Netherlands, which is already pursuing a preliminary examination into settlements. Among the law's problematic elements is that the West Bank is not sovereign Israeli territory and that Palestinians who live there are not citizens and do not have the right to vote for the government that imposed the law on them. Nabil Abu Rdeneh, a spokesman for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, called the law "unacceptable" and urged the international community to act immediately. "This is an escalation that would only lead to more instability and chaos," he said. Netanyahu faced intense pressure from within his nationalist coalition, especially from the pro-settler Bayit Yehudi party, to press ahead with the vote following the court-ordered evacuation last week of the illegal Amona outpost found to have been built on private Palestinian land. Naftali Bennett speaking before the Knesset (Photo: Gil Yohanan) Naftali Bennett, head of Bayit Yehudi, told Army Radio on Tuesday that the goal of the bill was create the same conditions in the settlements as in Israel proper. "At the end of the day, behind all the talk there is a simple question: What do we want for the future of Israel?" he said. World leaders and organizations lash out at Israel British Minister for the Middle East Tobias Ellwood said: "It is of great concern that the bill paves the way for significant growth in settlements deep in the West Bank, threatening the viability of the two-state solution. As a longstanding friend of Israel, I condemn the passing of the Land Regularisation Bill by the Knesset, which damages Israels standing with its international partners. "We reiterate our support for a two-state solution leading to a secure Israel that is safe from terrorism, and a contiguous, viable and sovereign Palestinian state." French Minister of Foreign Affairs, Jean-Marc Ayrault, said the passage of the new law was likely to further aggravate tensions in the region and called on Israel to "respect its international obligations and repeal the law." The UN also weighed in on the Regulation Bill with the UN Mideast envoy saying the law "crossed a very thick red line." Nickolay Mladenov, the UN's coordinator for the Middle East peace process, said the legislation "opens the floodgates to the potential annexation of the West Bank. If Israel moves to solidify its control over the area, it would imperil the internationally backed idea of establishing a Palestinian state alongside Israel as part of a negotiated peace deal," he said. The passage of the bill also cast a cloud over the visit of Turkish Tourism Minister, Nabi Avci, who said he hoped the High Court would strike the bill down. "I think, I hope, that on this issue, the high court will make the right decision, a decision in accordance with international law, a decision in accordance with United Nations decisions," he said. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei dismissed Donald Trump's warning to Iran to stop its missile tests, saying the new US president had shown the "real face" of American corruption. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter In his first speech since Trump's inauguration, Iran's supreme leader called on Iranians to respond to Trump's "threats"which he said had failed to frighten Iranianson Friday's anniversary of the 1979 revolution. "We are thankful to Mr. Newcomer (Trump), of course, since he has shown the real face of the US and proved what Iran has said for 38 years about the political, economic, social and moral corruption of the US government," Khamenei told a meeting of military commanders in Tehran, according to his website. Ayatollah Khamenei (Photo: Reuters) Last week, after Iran tested a ballistic missile, Trump tweeted that the country was "playing with fire," saying they "don't appreciate how 'kind' President (Barack) Obama was to them. Not me!" Khamenei, who makes the final decisions on all major policies in Iran, appeared to respond to the tweet in his remarks on Tuesday carried by State TV. "Why should we be thankful to the previous US administration?" he said. "Because it imposed anti-Iranian sanctions? Because of the extremist Islamic State group? Setting the region on fire in Iraq and Syria?" Trump has repeatedly criticized the 2015 nuclear agreement between Iran, the US and five other world powers, in which Tehran agreed to curb its uranium enrichment in exchange for the lifting of international sanctions, but he has not said what he plans to do about it. Iranian commanders in their meeting with Ayatollah Khamenei (Photo: Reuters) His administration said Iran was "on notice" over the missile test, and imposed new sanctions on more than two dozen Iranian companies and individuals. The White House said the test was not a direct breach of the nuclear deal but "violates the spirit of that." A UN Security Council resolution underpinning the pact urges Iran to refrain from testing missiles designed to be able to carry nuclear warheads, but imposes no obligation. "No enemy can paralyze the Iranian nation," Khamenei said. "(Trump) says 'you should be afraid of me'. No! The Iranian people will respond to his words on February 10 and will show their stance against such threats." By Press Trust of India: New Delhi, Feb 6 (PTI) An 18-year-old youth was stabbed to death allegedly by four persons over harassing sister of victims friend and old enmity at Chunabhatti slum in west Delhis Kirti Nagar area after which today a mob pelted stones on police resulting in injuries to two officers including SHO. Manoj, who worked as a helper in a showroom, was stabbed in neck last night and he died in a hospital, police said, adding victims family alleged that he was stabbed to death for protesting against accused who used to harass his friends sister. advertisement A large of 500 people comprising of family members and friends of the victim today assembled in front of Kirti Nagar Police Station and pelted stones on police personnel accusing them of "inaction" in preventing the incident. SHO of the police station and a sub-inspector were injured in the stone pelting. A case of murder has been registered in the matter and two main accused Sonu (22) and Raman (20) have been arrested. Several teams are conducting raids to arrest the remaining accused, said DCP(west) Vijay Kumar. "Victim and accused family are neighbours and they had a fight A week back over passing objectionable remarks against females of each others families but no police complaint was made by anyone," he said. There have been cases of hurt and attempt to murder amongst families of both sides in the past. A case of kidnapping was registered by the police on December 10, 2016. Manojs brother was questioned by police in connection with this on some information provided by Sonu. "As far as the complaint of inaction by police is considered, it is being enquired," said the officer. During the demonstration, some persons damaged bike of a beat staff of local police and also dismantled a temporary structure belonging to Delhi Transco Ltd. PTI VIT DIP --- ENDS --- A Palestinian from the Gush Etzion region was caught Monda morning digging in the Byzantine site of Umm Al-Amad in the Judean desert. Volunteers from the Shomrim al Hanetzach organization detained the thief and called security forces. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter With a metal detector in one hand and a shovel in the other, the antiquities robber was captured while digging in the site, located near the Gush Etzion Jewish community of Tekoa. The place is considered one of the most important Byzantine sites in Israel and was frequently excavated and looted by robbers. The site is in the Judean desert and includes large aquatic reservoirs. The suspected Palestinian (Photo: Shomrim al Hanetzach) The Palestinian is a resident of the nearby Tuqu' village. He was captured by Amichai Noam, head of the Judean Land Institute in the Kibbutz Kfar Etzion Field School, and Elroi Kapach, the lands supervisor for the Gush Etzion Regional Council. Both men volunteer in Shomrim al Hanetzach, a recently established organization intending to fight the growing phenomenon of antiquities' destructionin in the region of Judea & Samaria. After detaining the suspect, the two called the Supervisory Unit at the Civil Administration, who arrived on the scene accompanied by police. Tools of excavation (Photo: Shomrim al Hanetzach) "This is a living testimony of the chaos taking place in Judea & Samaria. Anyone who is out to make some easy money, buys a metal detector, and does whatever he fancies," said Noam. "This area was densely populated in the Byzantine period, but it has yet to be properly explored. If the looting continues, undisturbed, we will never be able to know what went on here." A site from the Byzantine period (Photo: Shomrim al Hanetzach) (Photo: Shomrim al Hanetzach) "This time, we caught the robber red-handed, but there are hundreds more like him, and dozens of cells digging and looting. We ask the Israeli government to change its enforcement policy and start dealing with antiquities' robberies, which have become a national epidemic. In this case, a Byzantine monastery was robbed, so we hope at least the Christian world would get involved." The suspect's vehicle (Photo: Shomrim al Hanetzach) The organization has recently also launched a 'WhatsApp snitch group' to increase awareness and encourage hikers and citizens to report such robberies or any destruction of archeological sites all over the country. A day after rocket fire prompted IDF air and tank strikes , Minister of Education Naftali Bennett said that "the next round of war is close." Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter Bennett was speaking at the Sdot Negev Regional Council when he made the comments, adding, "It is a question of time, not a question of if. Instead of building life, they invest in means of death." IAF retaliatory airstrikes in Gaza (Photo: AFP) Bennett referred to the tensions in the south in a ceremony marking the 12th anniversary of the death of Ayala Haya Abukassis, who was killed by a Qassam rocket while protecting her brother Tamir in Sderot. According to Bennett, "In Gaza, they are continuing to threaten us and hurt us. Against an enemy that sends children to defend terrorists, we send soldiers to defend children. The dangers these days are growing in Gaza and Lebanon, and the next round of fighting is a question of 'when,' not 'if.'" According to Bennett, "This time we need to ensure a clear victory and not a tie; we won't be the only country in the world where a child can't walk in the street from fear a missile will fall on him. Our enemy invests all his time and energy in trying to kill us, to hurt us. Instead of building life, they invest in means of death. Only by absolute determination will we stop this." Tamir Idan, Head of the Sdot Negev Regional Council, asked Bennett to "continue the legacy of Ayala, which is a victory for all of us. An entire country can't be busy reinforcing itself all the time. This morning, after another rocket fell in the area, the press was debating if the responses of yesterday were disproportionate. Have they learned nothing? Have they not learned that a single rocket can kill innocent citizens?" Settlement watchdogs, advocates and even residents themselves were split about the significance of a government agreement Tuesday, to remove 17 homes from the illegal West Tapuah outpost by June 2018. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter The High Court of Justice also ruled that the rest of the West Bank outpost does not have to be demolished because it is on state land. The agreement stems from a 2015 petition by the legal NGO Yesh Din on behalf of residents of Yasuf, an Arab village adjacent to the outpost, who claim that the homes were built on village lands. In addition, the homes were built without building permits. Buildings in West Tapuah (Photo: Ilana Messika/TPS) Israel Radio reported that the court ordered the demolition of the unapproved buildings, but spokesmen for both Yesh Din and Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked refuted that point. "This ruling is a great mark of success for the settlement movement because the court didn't order the community to be demolished," a spokeswoman for Shaked told Tazpit Press Service (TPS). "The court ruled that 17 caravans, homes to seven families that are currently situated on land that has not been designated as state land will have to move in a year-and-a-half. "But the rest of the community has been legalized. The 17 caravans that are currently not located on state lands will move several meters, and the rest of the community has been legalized. Building there will continue, and the community will continue to flourish from here forward." Yesh Din agreed, albeit from the opposite side of the political spectrum. "Of course, we feel it is a positive move to remove the buildings that are built on private land," said Gilad Grossman, spokesman and Director of Media Department for Yesh Din. "We brought this case for two reasons: One, because the caravans were placed on private land, and two, because the residents of West Tapuah have a long history of violence against neighboring Palestinian villages. "But we expect the state to remove all Israeli building on Palestinian land, and not just to move a few buildings and declare the rest of the settlement 'state land,' Grossman said. Notably, residents of the area were far from satisfied both with the ruling and with yesterday's passing of the Regulation Bill . They say the new law is little more than a frustrating attempt to avoid making clear policy decisions about the future of Israeli settlement in the area. "The Netanyahu-Bennet government is a disgrace," said one resident of Tapuah, the "parent settlement" of West Tapuah. "They've sat on their hands on the issue of Israeli sovereignty in Judea and Samaria for too long. Yesterday, Amona, today West Tapuah. Jewish families in the heartland of Israel should not have their homes demolished by the State of Israel. "It is time for the Israeli public to rethink our blind support for these two parties who have proven to be a huge disappointment. We must make Israel great again," Ha'Ivri said. In a rare move, the court backed up the agreement with a ruling requiring the state to adhere to the terms of the agreement because of previous instances where the state has refused to implement an agreement on settlement-related issues. Despite military evaluations which conclude that Hamas presently has no interest in provoking Israel into another conflict with the Gaza Strip, a number of incidents have taken place in recent weeks which have prompted forceful responses from the IDF. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter One such incident took place two weeks ago in which a member of Hamas began firing on IDF soldiers from an observer outpost inside the strip and was stopped thanks to a female soldier who spotted the attack near a military lookout post near Gaza in the Kissufim in the Negev Shooting recorded on camera X Private Gali Badhani, was on her first guard shift since completing the lookout observer course when she spotted a Hamas terrorist loading his gun and taking aim against Israeli forces near Gaza in the Kissufim in the Negev. At around 8pn I started my first shift...After an hour, forces circling the field told me that they were overseeing work (in the area) and asked that I scour the area for them, she said. I started scouring the area and I saw an armed man pointing his gun eastward where the work was going on. I got on the walkie-talkie and warned them. At the same moment, the gunshots started, the Petah Tikva resident recalled. We alerted the war room and then I went on to direct the tank that hit the outpost. Hamas terrorist captured on camera firing at IDF forces Her unit, she said, acts as the eyes for the Gaza region. We scour the area and the moment we see a person moving around, we immediately prick up. I never thought I would find myself in a situation like this already by the first shift but that is my jobto be alert and sharp all the time, she continued. Since the conclusion of Operation Protective Edge, Hamas has erected a number of military observer outposts along its border as part of its desire to impose its governance on the strip. Gali Badhani spotted the Hamas member shooting at IDF forces (Photo: IDF Spokesperson's Unit) One IDF official noted that there are two reasons for Hamass construction of the outposts. On the one hand it wants to impose its sovereignty and control across the border, while on the other hand it wants to create a security line and observer posts to see what is happening on the Israeli side, he said. The latest such altercation to have occurred between Israel and Gaza took place on Monday after a rocket was fired toward the Hof Ashkelon area in the morning and Hamas forces opened fire on an IDF force working near the Gaza border fence in the southern Gaza Strip in the evening. The IDF responded by targeting a number of Hamas outposts both from the skies and land. After an appeal filed by Israeli blogger Alexander Lapshin was denied by the Belarus High Court on Tuesday, he was extradited to Azerbaijan, where he will face charges of jeopardizing national security Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter The appeal's rejection followed the court's previous decision two weeks prior to extradite Lapshin. He is expected to be transferred to Azerbaijan within the next few days. Lapshin, a 40-year-old Haifa resident with Israeli, Russian and Ukrainian citizenships, recently visited the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region in Azerbaijan, called the Azerbaijani government "a dictatorship" and openly supported its independence. Soon after, Azerbaijan issued a warrant for his arrest on suspicion of espionage. Lapshin Lapshin was arrested two months ago upon reaching Belarus, with the intent of extraditing him to Azerbaijan. Israeli officials worry that if Lapshin is transferred to Azerbaijan, he will be tried for espionage and will face a heavy prison sentence. Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko mentioned the affair earlier this week, saying that "We must transfer him to Azerbaijan. There is no reason not to." Lukashenko stressed that the matter will be solved in accordance to the law and international agreements, and suggested that Israel and Azerbaijan decide Lapshin's fate together. The charges leveled against Lapshin could add up to a substantial prison sentence for insulting the Azerbaijani president Ilham Aliyev and jeopardizing national security. For these alleged crimes, Lapshin faces up to 20 years behind bars; for entering the Nagorno-Karabakh region illegally, he faces up to seven years in prison. He sent a letter of apology to President Aliyev through the Israeli Consul to Belarus Yulia Rahinski Spivakov, who attested to his broken mental state. Spivakov added that Lapshin's mother had also sent a letter to Aliyev, asking for her son's pardon. Lavrov (Photo: AP) Israel reportedly worked behind the scenes to prevent his extradition, cooperating with Russia, who also objected to the extradition, with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stating that Russia is against extraditing Lapshin or indicting reporters and citizens to a third country due to criminal charges. It was, however, to no avail. Chaos erupted on Israels streets on Tuesday night when 67 Haredi protesters were arrested while they were demonstrating against the arrest of a Yeshiva student for military desertion. Three policemen sustained light injuries in what escalated into riots. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter In the Ultra-orthodox city of Bnei Brakone of the locations where the protests were heldthe demonstrators attempted to block a central junction, leading the the immediate arrest of 15 people and signalling just the beginning of what was to come within the next few hours. Haredim protest throughout Israel (Photo: TPS) (: TPS) X Haredim stage protest in Shilat Junction (Photo: TPS) In Jerusalem, another seven Haredim were arrested shortly thereafter while in Beit Shemesh, five more were handcuffed for disruption of public order offences and attempting to block roads. Another protests was also staged at Shilat Junction on Route 443 as the total number of arrests steadily rose throughout the evening. Sign reads 'Don't Draft' (Photo: TPS) Despite the demonstrations, the police announced that the they had managed to keep the routes open in Bnei Brak, thwarting their attempted closures by the Haredim. However, Rabbi Akiva Street reportedly remained blocked to traffic from both sides. Photo: Tzvika Lerar We will respond with a zero-tolerance policy to attempts to block routes and disrupt routines. While the protest itself was not approved, the Israel Police has allowed for the freedom of expression, a statement read. In Jerusalem, hundreds of protesters flooded into the streets and managed to block the main Bar Illan Junction while others attempted to block another road in the capital before being dispersed by police. Photo: Aviv Malcha Beit Shemesh saw similar incidents and attempts which were also frustrated by police dispersal methods. By 9pm, 150 Haredim succeeded in causing traffic disruptions at Shilat Junction, managing for a short period of time to block the way to Tel Aviv. Photo: Eli Mendelbaum Photo: Police Spokesperson's Unit The radical Jerusalem faction of the Lithuanian Orthodox sect responsible for launching the strike already announced earlier its intention to keep the demonstration at full force until the release of the student. The groups leader, Rabbi Shmuel Auerbach, was said to be the ringleader of the protest. By midnight, 49 had been arrested, but the number of offenders soon rose to 67 as the nature of public disturbances descended into rock-throwing and setting garbage cans alight. More than a 20 protestors are reported to have been arrested in protests by members of the ultra-Orthodox community on Tuesday. Hundreds of ultra-Orthodox protestors attempted to block central traffic routes in the cities of Bnei Brak and Jerusalem, in protest of the arrest of a yeshiva student, under charges of defection. The protests' organizers belong to the Lithuanian Haredi sector, which has waged war against drafting yeshiva students to the IDF, under the direction of their leader,Rabbi Shmuel Auerbach. High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs Federica Mogherini issued a statement on Tuesday in criticism of the Regulation Bill adopted by the Knesset , which will retroactively legalize thousands of West Bank settlement homes built on private Palestinian land. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter "The European Union condemns the recent adoption of the 'Regularization Law' by the Israeli Knesset on 6 February. This law crosses a new and dangerous threshold by legalizing under Israeli law the seizure of Palestinian property rights and effectively authorizing the confiscation of privately owned Palestinian land in occupied territory. The law may provide for 'legalizing' numerous settlements and outposts previously considered as illegal even under Israeli law, which would be contrary to previous commitments by Israeli governments and illegal under international law. Mogherini (L) and Netanyahu (Photo: Amit Shabi) "In passing this new law, the Israeli parliament has legislated on the legal status of land within occupied territory, which is an issue that remains beyond its jurisdiction," said Mogherini. "Should it be implemented, the law would further entrench a one-state reality of unequal rights, perpetual occupation and conflict," the statement continued. Mogherini (Photo: AFP) The EU, also in line with recently adopted UN Security Council resolution 2334, the statement went on, "considers Israeli settlements in occupied Palestinian territory to be illegal under international law and condemns the recent settlement announcements. As identified in the recommendations of the report by the Middle East Quartet, such settlements constitute an obstacle to peace and threaten the viability of a two-state solution. Mogherini's statement then said that "the EU urges the Israeli leadership to refrain from implementing the law and to avoid measures that further raise tensions and endanger the prospects for a peaceful solution to the conflict, so as to reaffirm unequivocally through actions and policy its continued commitment to a two-state solution in order to rebuild mutual trust and create conditions for direct and meaningful negotiations." With her somewhat belated statement, Mogherini thus joins numerous represetnatives of other international bodies and nations to come out against the approved bill, such as UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, whose bureau expressed his objection to the bill earlier Tuesday evening. "The Secretary-General deeply regrets the adoption of the so called "Regularization bill" on 6 February by the Knesset. This bill is in contravention of international law and will have far reaching legal consequences for Israel," said the statement ascribed to Guterres. Eariler, a Palestinian Cabinet minister on Tuesday called on the international community to punish Israel for a contentious new law, just hours after the Knesset adopted the law. French President Francois Hollande called on the Israeli government to repeal the law, warning that it marked the beginning of annexation. German federal prosecutors say they've obtained an arrest warrant for a man suspected of involvement in a far-right extremist group that wanted to attack police, asylum seekers and Jews. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter The prosecutors said in a statement Tuesday the 66-year-old German man, identified only as Karl Burghard B., is suspected of alleged crimes that include weapons violations and helping to form a terrorist organization. Neo-Nazis march in the German town of Wunsiedel, the burial place of WWII Nazi leader Rudolph Hess Officers who raided his apartment last month found weapons and ammunition. The suspect is already in detention for a different matter. Prosecutors say seven people in total are under investigation on suspicion of founding a network on social media last year to organize attacks on Jews, police officers and asylum-seekers. Authorities said there was no indication that concrete plans for attacks had already been made. The warrant marks another step in tracking down potenially dangerous German entities among its civilian population. It follows a crackdown on far-right German extremists carried out by the police in January. Afghanistan, America's longest military fight, is getting little attention so far from the Trump administration despite the protracted struggle to rein in the Taliban and battle a stubborn Islamic State affiliate there. The conflict, now in its 16th year, got only a peripheral mention during President Donald Trump's visit Monday to US Central Command, which oversees the conflicts in the Middle East. And there's little discussion of a revamped policy to beef up the Afghan security forces as they work to make their country secure. America, Trump said in Tampa, expresses its gratitude to "everyone serving overseas, including our military personnel in Afghanistan." That was it for a conflict that includes about 8,400 US troops conducting counterterrorism operations against insurgents, and training and advising Afghanistan's military. YORK Governor Pete Ricketts has been touring the state, talking about his property tax proposal that would bring about a major change in the way agricultural land is valued. On Tuesday morning, he brought that conversation to York. The plan would switch the state from a system that relies on land sale prices to value property to one that focuses on how much income it could potentially produce. Its designed to more closely align land values with commodity prices, which have fallen in recent years. Governor Ricketts says that as agricultural markets continue to change and as cattle and crop prices decline, it is important our valuation assessment process reflects the true market. A main focus of his administration, the governor has said, is tax relief, including property taxes. If this new formula would be adopted, it would mirror what already exists in South Dakota, North Dakota, Kansas, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio and Wisconsin, Ricketts pointed out. The downturn in farm income has created a ripple through our economy and it certainly shows in our state revenues, the governor said. He reiterated his commitment to property tax relief. We have a lot of challenges, but we do not have to raise taxes. And we need to provide property tax relief for owners of farm land, as this is what the majority of people have been talking to me about the most, for years now. The state does not collect property taxes, he reminded those in attendance, as local government taxing entities collect those particular taxes. We, at the state level, want to change the valuation process to reflect income potential, which would tie more closely to what could be produced (on a parcel of land). This would be a more fair system and more standard with what is across other Midwest states. This will help our agricultural producers be more competitive with those in other states. And this could help avoid big run-ups in valuation. This would be a major structural change and because of that, we want it to be implemented in January of 2019. The governor said the 2019 activation date would allow for the education of all the assessors in the state, as well as for producers and other entities that would participate in the process. If this would have been in place in 2017, the ag land values in York County would have been flat, Ricketts said. But York County Assessor Ann Charlton, who was in the audience, told Ricketts that ag land valuations in York County have been flat for the past four years (following many years of high increases). Ricketts said figures provided to his office indicated a 2.5 percent increase in valuation here, which Charlton disputed. The governor further explained the basics of how the new valuation process would work: 10-year crop yields would be considered, based on land classifications. Then the average commodity prices would come into play, as would expense ratios against that farm. Also part of the equation would be a look at the last three years of market sales (as is done now). Then the department of revenue would look at the data and give a range of income to assessors that they would use to determine valuations. Ricketts says the process would moderate valuation increases, and if there were losses in ag revenue the valuations would start to come down. He also said he felt the new process would be fair and equitable. One farmer in the group said he felt the valuations of ag land should come down as fast as they went up, but the governor reminded the crowd that this will be a gradual change. And he added, If other states are using this formula, there must be a reason they are using it. We are focusing on how to run government better, Governor Ricketts said, with the plan being to continue to grow Nebraska. Editors note: More from the governors visit will be published in the Thursday edition of the York News-Times, including an accompanying article in which the York County Assessor gives her opinion about the governors proposal to change the valuation formula. LINCOLN Nebraska Farm Bureau says a legislative proposal to change the way agricultural land is valued in Nebraska could be helpful, but the measure wont deliver the property tax reform being sought by rural and urban Nebraskans whove seen their property taxes skyrocket over the last decade. LB 338 introduced by Sen. Lydia Brasch on behalf of Governor Ricketts is a step in the right direction to fixing a long-term issue weve had with the state using a market approach to valuing agricultural land for tax purposes, but the impact of the bill on property taxes will be minimal and it doesnt provide tax reform that benefits all property taxpayers in Nebraska; a principle we believe must be considered as we work to correct an imbalance in our tax system, said Steve Nelson, Nebraska Farm Bureau president. LB 338 would change the way agricultural land is valued for tax purposes by moving away from the current market based approach to an approach where land is more closely tied to its ability to generate income. Farm Bureau supports the concept as a way to bring agricultural land values closer to true production capability while minimizing outside influences that can drive market values beyond production capability. Nebraska Farm Bureau Senior Economist Jay Rempe conducted an analysis of LB 338 to evaluate the potential impacts of the bill. The bill does achieve part of the goal of trying to link agricultural land values closer to income conditions and it would bring Nebraska in line with other states in terms of how they value agricultural land. It might also provide some stability year to year in changes in agricultural land values, so theres some good there in terms of trying to better value ag land, but in terms of trying to achieve overall property tax reductions, I dont see much coming out of it in that regard, said Rempe. The Governors office estimates that had the income approach included in LB 338 been in place in 2017, taxable values for agricultural land would have been $2.2 billion lower statewide. According to Rempe, a $2.2 billion reduction in statewide agricultural land values using 2016 data equates to roughly a two percent reduction in agriculture land values. A two percent reduction in land values for most farmers and ranchers isnt likely to translate into much property tax savings when you consider agricultural land values statewide increased more than six percent alone from 2015 to 2016 and more than 263 percent over the last ten years. When we talk about LB 338 and property tax reductions, were looking at a statewide reduction of $20 million out of $3.8 billion in property taxes levied statewide. The bill could be helpful in how we value agriculture land, but its not a big property tax savings bill, said Rempe. Rempe noted that if LB 338 passed, farmers and ranchers would see their valuations change in 2019, but wouldnt see any potential property tax savings until 2020. According to Nelson, property taxes account for roughly 48 percent of the total combined collections of property, state sales, and state income taxes in Nebraska. Were looking for revenue neutral solutions that balance the tax burden and reduce the overreliance on property taxes to fund government services, including education, said Nelson. Several bills have been introduced this legislative session that chart a path forward in providing meaningful property tax reform for all Nebraska property taxpayers and move us toward our goal of $600 million in property tax reductions statewide, said Nelson. Bills identified by Nebraska Farm Bureau as key measures to achieve property tax reform to this point include: LB 545, Sen. Watermeier Directs an additional $200 million per year over the next three years, to the states Property Tax Credit Fund to bring the annual appropriation to the fund to $824 million. LB 569, Sen. Friesen The bill creates a Community College Task Force related to evaluating duplication and funding sources for the Nebraska Community College System, and sunsets community college property tax levying authority on January 1, 2019. LB 44, Sen. Watermeier This bill would tax sales by online retailers without a physical presence in Nebraska. The measure could generate as much as $100 million in new revenue that could be used to reduce property taxes. LB 312, Sen. Briese Expands the sales tax base by eliminating certain sales tax exemptions, including those on many services. The bill could generate around $225-250 million that would be directed to reduce property taxes. LB 313, Sen. Briese Raises the state sales tax rate 1 percent, to 6.5 percent. The bill could generate an estimated $275 million to be used to reduce property taxes. LB 570, Sen. Friesen Provides a property tax exemption for all tangible personal property, including vehicles, trailers, business and agricultural inventory, and tangible personal property which is not depreciable. LB 576, Sen. Brewer Provides a landowners property tax bills in 2017 and 2018 shall not exceed their property tax bill in 2016. Places a ceiling on property taxes but allows them to go down if valuations decline. LB 601, Sen. Erdman Directs revenue generated from the internet sales tax to the Property Tax Credit Fund. The Nebraska Farm Bureau is a grassroots, state-wide organization dedicated to supporting farm and ranch families and working for the benefit of all Nebraskans through a wide variety of educational, service and advocacy efforts. More than 61,000 families across Nebraska are Farm Bureau members, working together to achieve rural and urban prosperity as agriculture is a key fuel to Nebraskas economy. For more information about Nebraska Farm Bureau and agriculture, visit www.nefb.org. - See more at: https://www.morningagclips.com/nefb-on-ag-land-valuation-bill/#sthash.8n3sZtS5.dpuf While the last year has seen its fair share of surprises, our organization continues to be committed to advancing the principles of a free society, i.e. free speech and free markets, by working with anybody to do right and with nobody to do wrong as Frederick Douglass said. One aspect of a free society is removing barriers to opportunity in education. We support local control of schools, improving educational outcomes and expanding opportunity for all students. Even the best schools on paper arent always the best fit for every child and failing schools are a fit for no one. This is why we are excited about Betsy DeVos as Secretary of Education. Ms. DeVos has been a champion of more choice for students and parents, supports local control and her policies are badly needed at the Department of Education. While this confirmation has been contentious nationally, we believe Betsy DeVos shares Nebraskas commitment to a quality education for every child. We want to thank Sens. Fischer and Sasse for their support of Betsy DeVos. Matt Litt, Director, Americans for Prosperity - Nebraska The 315th Airlift Wing received news late last week that one of its members, Senior Master Sgt. George Counts Jr., died in a car crash along with his wife and father. On the evening of Feb. 3 in Barnwell County, South Carolina, Counts vehicle was struck head on by another vehicle killing him, his wife Cynthia Counts, and father George Michael Counts, Sr. George Counts, Jr. was chief loadmaster with the 317th Airlift Squadron. George (known by Mike among his family and around Aiken) has been an integral part of our squadron for over 16 years and the 315th Airlift Wing for nearly 31 years, said 317th Airlift Squadron Commander Lt. Col. Stan Davis. This is certainly a very sad and devastating event for his only daughter, Katelyn, and for all of us. Our thoughts and prayers are with Katelyn, her husband Corey, and all of George's extended family and friends. Many throughout his squadron and wing echo the shock of this loss, and share similar compliments about his spotless work ethic. If there ever was one, George was one person who exhibited the traits of the Air Force Core Values, said Chief Master Sgt. Bryan DuBois, 317th AS loadmaster superintendent. He was always the quiet one at our meetings and would assume a position in the back. So after noticing this, I would introduce him when he came in the meetings: Ladies and gentlemen, George Counts! And George would turn red from embarrassment. Counts flew as a loadmaster on Special Operation Command, Drug Enforcement Agency and Presidential support missions. He also took time to volunteer through the United Way Project Serve, and visits to veterans at the local Veterans hospitals. Col. Gregory Gilmour, 315 AW commander, said he was truly saddened by this tragic news. Obituary and Funeral Service information follows: George Michael Mike Counts, Jr., 56, loving husband of the late Cynthia Marsh Counts, and beloved son of the late George Michael Counts, Sr., passed away Friday, Feb. 3, 2017. The family will receive friends beginning at noon until 2 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 8, 2017 at Cedar Creek Church, Banks Mill Campus, and the funeral service will begin at 2 p.m. with the Reverend Lee Phillips and Reverend Phillip Lee officiating. Interment will follow in Southlawn Cemetery. A lifelong resident of Aiken, Mike was a supervisor for Savannah River Remediation at the Savannah River Site. He was Chief Load Master of 317th Airlift Squadron of the U.S. Air Force Reserve, Charleston, S.C. A lover of aviation, he was a longtime hot air balloon pilot and enthusiast. He is survived by his daughter, Katelyn Counts (husband Corey) Callahan, Greenville, S.C., a sister, Elizabeth Counts (husband Victor) Darrow, Suwanee, Ga.; nephew Jared Alston Darrow; his mother, Lois Ellen Cromer Counts, Aiken, S.C.; and dear friends Margaret and Ray Kearse. Memorials may be directed to the Aiken SPCA, 199 Willow Run Rd., Aiken, S.C. 29801, or the Wounded Warrior Project, P.O. Box 758517, Topeka, Kan. 66675. Mikes online guest book may be signed at www.shellhouseriversfuneralhome.com Arrangements are being handled by Shellhouse-Rivers Funeral Home in Aiken, S.C. Visitation and Funeral Services will be held Wednesday, Feb. 08, 2017 in Aiken, S.C. Details are as follows: Visitation: Noon 2 p.m. Cedar Creek Church, Banks Mill Campus 3001 Banks Mill Rd Aiken, S.C. 29803 Funeral Service: 2 p.m. Cedar Creek Church, Banks Mill Campus 3001 Banks Mill Rd Aiken, S.C. 29803 KABUL, Afghanistan -- As the train, advise and assist missions continue in Afghanistan, the Afghan Air Force is taking the lead from Coalition in supporting ground troops through air power. Maintenance air advisors from Train, Advise, Assist Command-Air (TAAC-Air), 440th Air Expeditionary Advisory Squadron, are working side-by-side with their AAF counterparts to develop a professional, capable and sustainable air force. At the beginning of 2014, the AAF received C-130H models in which currently four crews are trained and in full mission capable status. Providing a platform like the C-130H to the AAF increases their capacity for airlift, casualty evacuation, and troop transport, said Maj. Elbert Waters, 440th AEAS commander. This capacity allows Afghanistan to combat their war on their own terms. This strategic advantage could never be realized without the hard work of these air advisors. For the past six months, maintenance air advisors have worked with their AAF counterparts becoming trained and qualified as level three maintainers. On Jan. 11, 2017, a group of 44 AAF C-130H maintainers were the first in-country trained to graduate and receive their level three certification. The recent graduates were trained by Total Force Airmen from Youngstown Air Reserve Station, Ohio and Dobbins Air Reserve Base, Ga., that specialize in various maintenance Air Force Specialty Codes from; engine and propulsion, hydraulics, fuel, electrical and environmental, avionics, and crew chief specialist. The AAF is trained in accordance with their Career Field Education and Training Program and progress from zero level to three level, then from three to two, and then two to one, explained Senior Master Sgt. Kevin Pratt, 440th AEAS C-130 maintenance team lead. It varies on the amount of training time, but usually a one year progression in each step due to the language barrier and the use of interpreters. Both enlisted and officer Afghan maintainers who score higher than a 55 on an English examination have the opportunity to attend the Defense Language Institute in the United States. They then move forward to their respective career field specialty technical training in various parts of the U.S. This helps AAF maintenance crews get a better understanding of technical and mechanical terms that do not translate well with the use of interpreters, explained Pratt. Currently, maintenance on the AAF C-130H is accomplished by contractors, while TAAC-Air advisors teach both in a classroom and hands-on setting. The maintenance that keeps the C-130s in the air is heavily dependent on (Contractor Logistic Support) at this time, and this will transition to being heavily AAF only in the next five to ten years, said Waters. The maintenance training occurring right now is building the force of qualified technicians that will take the lead as CLS decreases. Advisors continue to work toward an end state of AAF maintenance becoming self-sufficient. Plans are currently in the works for a train-the-trainer program, which will have qualified AAF maintainers teaching classes. Building a maintainer is a long process. The increased capabilities will not be seen or realized for several more years, said Waters. The AAF has had a jump in capabilities due to the lift missions that are being executed daily. Before any training takes place, advisors are taught to build a trusting relationship with their AAF counterparts. The group of Total Force Airmen worked to build a connection that breaks the communication barrier. Although only few of the AAF maintainers speak English, crews can often be seen laughing and telling jokes with advisors during down time. However, when training takes place focus is then returned to learning their craft. These students are very motivated and have a strong desire to contribute to their country, said Tech. Sgt. Toron Bordain, 440th AEAS C-130 maintenance advisor. It was a great experience working with the AAF, and we were able to build strong and lasting bonds. The time for the Youngstown ARS and Dobbins ARB advisors is coming to an end, but new teams from the Air National Guard are now in place to ensure training continues. Training of aircraft maintainers is just one facet that helps the AAF continue to grow and lead operations in their country. In the short time the AAF has had the C-130H in inventory, the airframe has proven to be a major asset to the Afghans mission success. As of 2016, the AAF C-130H crews flew more than 1,065 sorties and transported more than 29,900 passengers and 880 metric tons of cargo, according to TAAC-Air operation advisors. We are making a difference every day, and the gains that have been made are historic, said Waters. The members of the AAF are people that take great risks for their countrythey eagerly want to learn to make their force stronger. Medicii italieni au extirpat o tumora 70 de kilograme. Romania, una de 72 kg in 2004 Chirurgii italieni de la Spitalul Molinette din Torino au reusit sa indeparteze o tumora de 70 de kilograme de la nivelul abdomenului in cazul unei tinere, transmite AFP. Ei au transmis ca este o realizare farar precedent in literatura [citeste mai departe] arc-net, a Northern Ireland-based supply chain security and analytics company, has received 2 million ($2.5 million) in funding from Dr. Richard Steeves, the founder of Synergy Health, and former UK Entrepreneur of the Year. arc-net CEO Kieran Kelly said that the cloud-based platform promise to bring complete traceability and authenticity to the food supply chain. The technology uses blockchain and DNA technology to enable food producers and retailers to assure customers of the provenance and authenticity of their products. He added that it already has a client list of some of the worlds largest food producers. The funding will be used to accelerate the growth of the business into markets that would have been previously been inaccessible to us, Kelly told AgFunderNews. Kelly has long had an interest in both the food and tech sector: his family owns their own meat business in Northern Ireland and he used to work as director of a global defense company that specialized in information security and cryptography (the practice of encoding private data algorithmically). The real catalyst for the formation of arc-net, however, was the horsemeat scandal in the UK in 2013. During this year, food sold in UK supermarkets labeled as containing beef was found to contain horse meat that was undeclared or improperly declared. At a similar time, some beef burgers in supermarkets also contained pig DNA. The scandal resulted in the Elliott Review into the Integrity and Assurance of Food Supply Networks, which provided a framework for preventing food crime like this. This scandal and the findings of the report highlighted the strategic and joined up thinking that was needed and sorely lacking throughout the entire food supply chain, he said. arc-net was formed to address this gap in the market and deliver true full-scale traceability and authenticity. Kelly views arc-net as a unique company in Ireland with both the technology its using and the way it is being utilized. However, with 2016 being the year of food and drink in Northern Ireland, there has been a focus on how companies can ensure the quality of their food, he said. Companies are beginning to see the value in food traceability and this has led to a vibrant local startup scene. arc-nets solution gives companies and brand owners the ability to have independent validation of their food quality. Our service also increases the information flow across the entire supply chain, which helps ensure authenticity, quality, traceability and compliance, based on blockchain technology, Kelly said. We see significant demand for what we have to offer and this investment will put us in a very strong position to capitalize on that. A blockchain is a database that maintains a continuously-growing list of ordered records called blocks. Each block contains a timestamp and a link to a previous block, and by design, blockchains are inherently resistant to data modifications retroactively. Recent research has predicted that the food traceability market will be worth $14 billion by 2019 and there are a growing number of startups working towards introducing their own traceability solution for the food industry using blockchain tech such as FoodLogiQ and Provenance. And the large retailers are starting to look at using the technology internally, including US giant Wal-Mart, according to Bloomberg. What we have found in our market research is that current traceability solutions are still utilizing standard serialization models (e.g. GS1 standard barcodes), Kelly said. One of the things that makes our solution unique is our Unique Universal Identifier (UUID). Our identification code contains a cryptographic marker for every single product or item. This code uses digital DNA to enable items to be tracked across the entire supply chain. The platform becomes a host for data through the products lifecycle, allowing organizations to deliver enhanced product and consumer analytics. While he noted that blockchain technology is not a panacea for all technological ills and, like any tool, it is only as good as its application, it does represent an innovative method of ensuring trust. A blockchain can be a revolutionary tool for the food sector, as well as any other sector that relies on a complex supply chain, Kelly said. Through blockchain technology, organizations can identify all participants in the chain, and form a sequence of events into an immutable chain of custody. A blockchain is invaluable for brand protectionit provides transparency, security, and authenticity, helping to bring trust to an untrusted world. arc-net has offices in Edinburgh in addition to its Belfast base. The company currently employs 20 people and has plans to increase its team to 50 in areas such as development, data analytics, and sales & marketing. Are you using blockchain technology in the food chain? Email Media@AgFunderNews.com YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 7, ARMENPRESS. The Defense Ministry of Nagorno Karabakh told Armenpress the Azerbaijani forces violated the ceasefire regime 25 times from various caliber small arms in the Nagorno Karabakh-Azerbaijan line of contact. The Ministry issued a statement which says: On February 6 and overnight February 7 the Azerbaijani side violated the ceasefire regime 25 times by firing more than 280 shots from various caliber small arms, as well as sniper rifles at the Armenian positions across the Nagorno Karabakh-Azerbaijan line of contact. The Azerbaijani forces fired more intensive shots (30 shots in total) from Istiglal and SVD sniper rifles at the southern, eastern and north-eastern directions of the line of contact. The NKR Defense Army forces are fully controlling the situation in the frontline and continue conducting the reliable protection of the military posts. YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 7, ARMENPRESS. The Antalya General Prosecution issued arrest warrants for three citizens, who are accused of insulting President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan in social media, Diken reports. The arrested citizens are charged with insulting the head of state, opposing the law on counter-terrorism and incitement of hate or hostility. YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 7, ARMENPRESS. Georgias relations with Russia are at strategic patience regime, President Giorgi Margvelashvili said, reports RIA Novosti. Relations with Russia are at the same mode as there were, in other words, they are at strategic tolerance regime which has its tricky sides. I mean the strategic cooperation agreements signed with Abkhazia and the Tskhinvali region, and they are very problematic. We are talking about this in all international platforms, the Georgian President told Iberia TV. In August, 2008 Georgia broke off diplomatic relations with Russia in response to Moscows recognition of the independence of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. However, the Georgias new Government representatives, who came to power in 2012, considered the normalization of relations with Russia as one of the foreign policy priorities. YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 7, ARMENPRESS. Amnesty International published a report on February 7, which says mass torture and executions are happening in Syrias Sayednaya governmental prison. Attorneys have met with dozens of guards, judges, lawyers and released inmates. According to them, from 2011 to 2015 more than 13 thousand people have been put to extrajudicial execution in the prison. The inmates have been put to death by groups, sometimes as large as 50 people at once. Executions took place at nighttimes and in secrecy. The families of the executed inmates havent been told anything. The executions were largely based on testimonies received through torture. Syrian President Bashar Assad has denied the accusations. YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 7, ARMENPRESS. Its already two years since H.E. Richard Mills is the Ambassador of the United States to Armenia. On the occasion of the 2nd year anniversary of his tenure, the Ambassador released a statement, noting that during these years he has met numerous hospitable and welcoming people all over the country. ARMENRESS presents the complete statement: Talk about throwback Monday! Can it really be exactly two years today since I was sworn in as the eighth U.S. Ambassador to Armenia? That day in 2015 marked the renewal of my fascination and deep affection for all things Armenian, as well as day from which I was given the special opportunity as Ambassador to highlight all the ties that bind our two countries together from our economic trade to military cooperation and from the maestro Mr. Malkhas to the Pulitzer-winning poet Mr. Balakian and even those entrepreneurial Kardashians! Leigh and I have enjoyed meeting so many welcoming and engaging Armenians all across this beautiful nation. We are honored along with our Armenian-born adopted cat Gozo to have welcomed so many Armenian friends and colleagues to our Residence here in Yerevan. Our favorite moments since arriving have been when we can hear directly from Armenians, whether after dinner at our residence sharing cognac or sitting around a conference table with a cup of Armenian coffee, about what they want for the future of their country and how they think the United States can assist in building a more prosperous and democratic Armenia. Every Armenian school child I think knows by heart the quotation from the U.S. painter Rockwell Kent about how there is no place on earth more filled with wonders than Armenia. Leigh and I certainly agree with Mr. Kent and the most wondrous part of Armenia is no doubt the inspiring people who live in this country and are the reason Armenia has thrived in the face of a cruel history and a challenging present. And the second most wondrous part of life here is working with a very dedicated team, Armenian and American, at the U.S. Embassy, who focus every day on how to strengthen the friendship between Armenia and the United States. Leigh and I look forward to the rest of our time here. If there are places you think we should visit, sites we should see and zip lines we need to zip across -- or dishes we should try, please let me know! YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 7, ARMENPRESS. The regular session has kicked off in the Parliament of Armenia, reports Armenpress. 93 MPs were registered. Issues discussed during the previous session will be put up to voting. YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 7, ARMENPRESS. Armenias Government will provide the necessary financial recources to continue the treatment of soldier Ruzvelt A. Torosyan abroad, reports Armenpress. Torosyan received gunshot wound while preventing the Azerbaijani sabotage operation in the southern direction of the Nagorno Karabakh-Azerbaijan line of contact overnight May 27-28, 2014. The draft decision on providing 1 million 318 thousand AMD to continue his treatment in Russia is included in the Governments February 9 session agenda. The money must be transferred by the Defense Ministry. Ruzvelt A. Torosyan was awarded with the Defense Ministrys Garegin Njdeh Medal for the quick orientation in the emergency situation created in the military unit, as well as for the courage shown while preventing the Azerbaijani sabotage action. YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 7, ARMENPRESS. On February 7, in accordance with the agreement reached with the leadership of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic, the OSCE Mission conducted a planned monitoring of the Line of Contact between the armed forces of Nagorno Karabakh and Azerbaijan, in the direction of the NKR Hadrut region, to the north of Horadiz, press service of the NKR Foreign Ministry told Armenpress. From the positions of the NKR Defense Army, the monitoring was conducted by Field Assistants to the Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office Khristo Khristov (Bulgaria) and Irji Aberle (Czech Republic), as well as Personal Assistant to the CiO Personal Representative Simon Tiller (Great Britain). From the opposite side of the Line of Contact, the monitoring was conducted by Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office Ambassador Andrzej Kasprzyk, Field Assistant to the Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office Ghenadie Petrica (Moldova), and staff member of the Office of the Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office Peter Svedberg (Sweden). The monitoring passed in accordance with the agreed schedule. No violation of the ceasefire regime was registered. However, the Azerbaijani side did not lead the OSCE mission to its frontlines. From the Karabakh side, the monitoring mission was accompanied by representatives of the NKR Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Defense. * PermaKat Eleonora Rosati received the 2022 Adepi Award * PermaKat Eleonora Rosati listed as one of the World Intellectual Property Review's "Influential Women in IP" of 2020. * PermaKat Eleonora Rosati listed as one of the Managing Intellectual Property magazine's "Fifty Most Influential People" of 2018. * IPKat founder and Blogmeister Emeritus Jeremy Phillips listed as one of the Managing Intellectual Property magazine's "Fifty Most Influential People" of 2005, 2011, 2013, and 2014. * Recommended by the European Patent Office as reading material for candidates for the European Qualifying Examinations, 2013. * Listed as "Top Legal Blog" in The Times Online, March 2011. 2010 ABA Journal 100. * One of the only two non-US blogs listed in the Blawg100. * Court Reporter Top Copyright Blog award winner, November 2010. * Number 1 in the 2010 Top Copyright Blog list compiled by the Copyright Litigation Blog, July 2010. * Selected by the United States Library of Congress for inclusion in its historic collections of Internet materials related to Legal Blawgs as of 2010. * Top Patent Blog poll 2009: 3rd out of 50 in the "Favourite Patent Blog" poll and 2nd out of 50 in the "Most-read" poll. Blog of the Year, 20 August 2008. * ComputerWeekly IT Law and Governance, 20 August 2008. YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 7, ARMENPRESS. Turkish scholar Umit Kurt, currently a Post-Doctoral Fellow at the Center for Middle Eastern Studies, Harvard University, will give a lecture entitled The Curious Case of Ali Cenani Bey: The Story of a Genocide Perpetrator During and After the 1915 Armenian Genocide at the National Association for Armenian Studies and Research (NAASR) Center, Massis Post reported. The lecture will be held on February 23 in the city of Belmont, Massachusetts. The lecture will focus on Aintab and will reveal the activities of the perpetrators and their involvement in the destruction of Armenians at the local/provincial level. Umit Kurt will explain who these perpetrators were and what their roles and motivations were. The lecture will focus especially on one major perpetrator, Ali Cenani Bey, his background, involvement in the 1915 Armenian deportation and genocide as well as his life story in the post-genocide period in modern Turkey. YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 7, ARMENPRESS. Jean-Claude Juncker, head of the European Commission highlighted on February 6 the difficulty the EU has in dealing with Azerbaijan with a joke at its president's expense, Reuters reports. "Thank you, have a nice day," Juncker told reporters at the end of a news conference. "I will now see the president of Azerbaijan, so the nice part of the day is over. President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev was in Brussels to discuss new pipelines that would carry Azeri gas to Europe. Azerbaijani officials did not comment on Junckers remarks. But Aliyevs spokeswoman said the two discussed energy and economic cooperation, and that Juncker highlighted the need for respecting human rights and fundamental freedoms. YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 7, ARMENPRESS. Newly appointed Ambassador of the Kingdom of Thailand to Armenia (residence in Moscow) Kriangsak Kittichaisaree on February 7 presented his credentials to President Serzh Sargsyan, press service of the Presidents Office told Armenpress. President Sargsyan congratulated the Ambassador and wished him success on carrying out his diplomatic mission in Armenia. The President said the Armenian-Thai historical friendly ties continue developing with the same spirit since Armenias independence, stating that it is still necessary to give new impetus to the mutual partnership, highlighting the existing great potential and the created preconditions for cooperation in various domains. The Ambassador of Thailand said he has already held a number of meetings and discussions in Armenia aimed at strengthening the bilateral trade-economic ties, as well as taking active steps to develop cooperation in a number of mutually beneficial and prospective sectors such as jewelry, tourism, agriculture, pharmacy and etc. Both sides expressed satisfaction over the mutual cooperation between the two friendly countries within the frames of international organizations. Ambassador Kittichaisaree said Thailand is interested in developing the cooperation with the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) and expects Armenias support on this matter. YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 7, ARMENPRESS. Russian and US diplomats continue contacts on Syria in Geneva, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said, TASS reported. Working-level contacts continued in Geneva. Every week the meetings of groups on ceasefire and humanitarian issues are being held in Geneva. The contacts between the Russian and US diplomats on these mechanisms still continue, Lavrov said. The FM expressed confidence the intensity of talks between the Russian and US diplomats on Syria will not decrease under the new US administration. Once the structures of the administration are formed and staffed that are going to work on Syria, I am convinced that the intensity of talks between diplomats will not be decreased. And our contacts will be resumed at the political level, I am convinced on this, since Trump administration declared the IS as a major threat, and joint fight must be carried out against it, Lavrov said. YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 7, ARMENPRESS. Neither Armenia nor its banking system are facing the threat of default, Nerses Yeritsyan, vice president of the Central Bank said during parliamentary debates on the bill on mortgage crediting in response to ANC lawmaker Hrant Bagratyans statement. I understand this is a pre-election period and populist announcement can increase. In this context the word default is used very often. I reassure you, neither our banking system nor our country is facing such a threat, Yeritsyan said. He added his statement can be proved on a professional level, which is being announced not only by the Central Bank but also by international structures. He clarified that international statistical organizations have made positive assessments and presented good forecasts. YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 7, ARMENPRESS. Chairman of the Republican Peoples Party (CHP) of Turkey Kemal Klcdaroglu negatively talked about the constitutional changes expected in Turkey during the party meeting, Hurriyet reported. By giving so much power to one person we will lead Turkey to adventure, he said. He mainly expressed concern about the expected change in the new constitution according to which the countrys President will appoint 12 out of 15 members of the Constitutional Court which will totally eliminate the independence of the judiciary. Kemal Klcdaroglu said the contact between the MPs and citizens will be broken in case of presidential system in the country. This will be a great disaster for Turkeys already endangered democracy. The new constitution cannot solve issues faced by Turkey such as terrorism, unemployment, the necessity of appreciation of Turkish lira and the tense relations with neighbors, and Turkey will become a country like North Korea where one person speaks, the remaining 80 million people listen, Kemal Klcdaroglu said. The proposal on constitutional changes, adopted by Turkeys Parliament, has been submitted to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan for approval on February 3. Under the constitutional changes, the country will be transformed to a presidential system. The number of MPs will become 600 from 550. MPs can be elected at the age of 18, rather than 25. The elections of the parliament and the president will be held every 5 years on the same day. The countrys president can be a party member. In case of committing a crime, investigation will be allowed to launch against the president by the proposal of the absolute majority of the MPs. The president can appoint and dismiss the Vice-Presidents and Ministers. The establishment of Ministries will be decided by the Presidents decrees. A decision can be made to hold new elections by the 3/5 votes of the MPs. In this case again the elections of the parliament and the president must be held the same day. The next election of Turkeys parliament and president is expected to be held on November 3, 2019. The number of members of the Constitutional Court will be decreased to 15 from 17. YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 7, ARMENPRESS. Following Azerbaijans refusal to allow OSCE representatives to be present on the front line during the monitoring mission on February 7, it again took provocative measures on the contact line. As Armenpress was informed from the press service of NKR Defense Ministry, the Azerbaijani side shelled the Defense Armys eastern military positions from 85 mm-caliber D-44 artillery guns deployed nearby civilian settlements on February 7 at about 17:00 to 18:50. In addition to artillery guns, the Azerbaijani armed forces also uses different caliber mortars both in eastern and northern (Talish) directions. By now a total of 46 projectiles have been fired. The Defense Army has suffered no losses. The NKR Defense Ministry announced that the military-political leadership of official Baku bears the entire responsibility for the provocative measures and their consequences. In case of continuation of similar provocations the NKR Defense Army will have the right to take disproportionate measures to secure the state borders of Artsakh. YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 7, ARMENPRESS. The Foreign Ministry of NKR has commented on the decision of the Supreme Court of Belarus which has rejected the appeal of Alexander Lapshin who had visited Artsakh earlier. In answer to the question of ARMENPRESS How would you comment on the decision of the Supreme Court of Belarus rejecting the appeal on the case of Alexander Lapshin? NKR MFA noted, The verdict of the Supreme Court of Belarus, which has upheld the decision to hand over well-known blogger Alexander Lapshin to Azerbaijan for criminal prosecution is not only an expression of outright support for the policy of intimidating foreign citizens pursued by the Azerbaijani authorities, but also a flagrant violation of the fundamental rights to the freedom of movement and freedom of speech. Intending to hand over Alexander Lapshin to Azerbaijan at the request of Baku, based on the trumped-up and politically biased case, the Belarusian authorities demonstrate that they put political benefit above democratic norms and principles of legitimacy and justice. The Supreme Court of Belarus has denied the appeal of Alexander Lapshin regarding the Belarus Prosecutor Generals decision on extraditing him to Azerbaijan, Sputnik reported earlier today. The Supreme Courts session on the appeal lasted less than half an hour. Lapshins attorney, Natalya Shekina, said her client was not present in the Court. She said Lapshins wife has requested the citizenship and migration department of the Minsk Internal Affairs Department for additional protection. In addition, she has filed a complaint to the Human Rights Committee of the UN, which has already initiated discussions. In case the verdict is found to be lawful, the decision will come into effect immediately after publishing it. Alexander Lapshin, a Russian and Israeli citizen, faces criminal prosecution in Azerbaijan for illegal border crossing and public calls against the country. He faces up to five years imprisonment. Belarus police arrested Alexander Lapshin on December 15, 2016 in Minsk. Lapshin, a Russian and Israeli citizen, resides in Moscow and writes for the famous Russian Travel Blog. He is wanted by Azerbaijan for visiting Nagorno Karabakh in 2011, 2012 and 2016, and criticizing Azerbaijans policy in his blog. Baku demands the extradition of Lapshin from Belarus. Earlier it was reported that the Deputy Prosecutor General of Belarus has made a decision to uphold the request of Azerbaijans General Prosecutor on extraditing Citizen of Russia and Israel Alexander Lapshin, who is wanted for violating Articles 281.2 and 318.2 of Azerbaijans Criminal Code. The Russian foreign ministry said it is inadmissible to extradite Russian citizens to third countries. YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 7, ARMENPRESS. The situation on Karabakh-Azerbaijan contact line is relatively calm, press secretary of Artsakh (NKR) President David Babayan told Armenpress. The situation is relatively calm. Yes, the Azerbaijani side actively violated the ceasefire regime today, but it is not something extraordinary. It would be extraordinary if Azerbaijan had not done so, Babayan said, commenting on the provocative measures taken by Azerbaijan today. To the question what can cause the Azerbaijani side to violate the ceasefire regime more frequently in the recent period, David Babayan noted it can be conditioned by different factors. It is the nature of Azerbaijan, xenophobic, fascist policy. But there are also other factors. Azerbaijan always congratulates the January holidays in its own way. Besides, the anniversary of the massacres of Armenians in Baku approaches, 2017 is the 25th anniversary of the liberation of Shushi, while Azerbaijan tried to hide its past and the recent failed sabotage act by similar acts, Babayan stated, adding that Azerbaijan takes provocative measures not only on the borders, but also on the diplomatic arena, particularly in regard to blogger Lapshin and Artsakh-made products. The Azerbaijani side shelled the Defense Armys eastern military positions from 85 mm-caliber D-44 artillery guns deployed nearby civilian settlements on February 7 at about 17:00 to 18:50. In addition to artillery guns, the Azerbaijani armed forces also uses different caliber mortars both in eastern and northern (Talish) directions. By now a total of 46 projectiles have been fired. The Defense Army has suffered no losses. The NKR Defense Ministry announced that the military-political leadership of official Baku bears the entire responsibility for the provocative measures and their consequences. In case of continuation of similar provocations the NKR Defense Army will have the right to take disproportionate measures to secure the state borders of Artsakh. MIAMI Lexy Bandera has a new scene available online. Released Sunday for XXXPawn.com, Texas Cowgirl Rides With A Dick In Her Ass depicts Lexy is a girl with a dilemma. She needs some quick cash, but the only thing she has to sell is her saddle. The shop owner has no need for such an item, so she decides to get creative. She offers herself to the pawn shop owner, which he gladly accepts. Bandera said, Working with Sean Lawless was a lot of fun. It was my first time with him, but I couldnt wait to get his fat juicy cock in my ass right away! I also really loved playing a cute and sexy cowgirl. It definitely helped fulfill one of my roleplaying fantasies. I cant wait for you guys to see more of me and my holes getting filled! Lexy Bandera is represented by Society 15 and will be available in LA February 20 through March 1 for solo, B/G, G/G, B/B/G, deep throat, anal, creampie, and more. Directors and producers who would like to book Lexy can contact Society 15 via its website. Follow Lexy Bandera on Twitter and Instagram. According to a lawsuit, Corey King, a police captain in Washington County, Georgia, conspired with his friends magistrate Ralph O. Todd and Sheriff's Investigator Trey Burgamy to arrest King's ex-wife, Anne King, and her friend, Susan Hines, for a Facebook exchange in which they commiserated over Captain King's refusal to pick up medicine for his sick children. Both women were jailed (Ms King was handcuffed!) and then released by a real judge (as opposed to a dipshit, small-town magistrate) who blasted all three for the two women's arrest ("I don't even know why we're here") and the state's attorney dropped the charge. Captain King has threatened to re-arrest his ex-wife, saying, "don't make the mistake of going to Facebook with your little shit you found to fuss about" and suggesting she could face "willful contempt" if she does so. Ann King is suing Captain King, Investigator Burgamy, and Washington County, but can't sue Magistrate Todd because he has judicial immunity. Anne King's story is not, by any stretch of the imagination, a rare one. Particularly with the rise of social media, law enforcement officers across the country have been abusing the legal system to retaliate against insults: from the police supporting Jim Ardis' petty and petulant revenge in Peoria, the Renton PD investigated satirical videos, and the Parma PD prosecuted a man through trial for a satirical account. Anne King has First Amendment rights, in theory. Their nature and extent are well defined by the courts. It's straightforward to respect them. But what does it mean to say she has those rights? In Washington County, Georgia population approximately 21,000 with a hostile ex-husband a Captain of the Sheriff's Department, and with Ralph Todd as a magistrate, does she really have them in any meaningful way? What is a right, when the state defies it? Rights And Reality: Georgia Cop Jails Ex-Wife For Facebook Gripe [Ken White/Popehat] When Donald Trump killed the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a "trade deal" that had been negotiated by representatives of multinational corporations and government bureaucrats in utmost secrecy in order to give corporations the power to decide which labor, environmental and safety laws they'd obey, I started to hear from "progressives" who had suddenly discovered the deal, and decided that if Trump was against it, they should be for it. There was a comedian on the Fake the Nation podcast who described it as a way to fight Chinese influence in the Pacific (this is a talking point from the banker-friendly wing of the Democratic Party), and tweets like this ("Congratulations, the TPP is dead. You helped defeat the secret plan to make the world a better place. #RIPTPP") from people whose feeds are filled with anti-Trump messaging and causes. TPP wasn't a "secret plan to make the world a better place." It wasn't even a trade deal. Virtually every good manufactured in virtually every one of the 12 TPP members could be imported into virtually any of the other members with no tariffs at all something CNN conveniently failed to mention. What was TPP then? A sweetheart deal for giant corporations: it would have banned states from keeping their citizens' data out of the NSA's reach (a gift to the James Clapper set), allowed Hollywood to put people in jail for watching movies the wrong way (a gift to the SOPA set), allowed telcoms giants to sue to dismantle net neutrality protections (a gift to the Comcast set), jacked up the price of pharmaceuticals for the poorest people in the world (a gift to the Shkreli set), banned governments from requiring open source code for public procurements (a gift to the Microsoft set), limited fair use (a gift to the Righthaven set), required all states to establish criminal sanctions for breaking DRM (a gift to the printer ink business-model set), and expanded copyright terms across the board (a gift to the Disney set). TPP set out investor-state dispute settlement terms that would let corporations sue governments to dismantle their financial, public safety, labor, and environmental laws. For example, banks would get to write their own financial regulations, and tuna companies could ban "dolphin safe" labels from their competitors' cans. This is not a "secret plan to make the world a better place." It's also not a way to beat back Chinese hegemony in the Pacific Rim. It was a way to let corporations take over democratically elected governments and write their own laws. The fact that Donald Trump hates the TPP (for his own stupid reasons, e.g., "A bunch of people I don't like, such as establishment Republicans and Democrats, want TPP, so I can look good to my base by killing it") does not make TPP good for America, bad for China, or anything but unmitigated awful. TPP's advocates were neoliberals, people who believe that markets solve all our problems and that corporations should operate without regulation or democratic accountability. Trump doesn't like neoliberalism, he likes nationalist capitalism, the Russian model where only domestic oligarchs are allowed to loot powerful nations, and then they grow their fortunes by looting less-powerful nations. This is the opposite of neoliberalism, which lets any oligarch loot any country, even powerful ones (this is why Putin hates the EU it allows the investor class of all member-states financialize and gut the industries of all the other states, without regard to the donor-state's power. That's how the UK came to sell off so much of its essential state apparatus, at fire-sale prices, to multinational firms that originated in EU member-states). Sometimes, Trump's hatred of neoliberalism and his love of nationalist capitalism will create a Venn intersection that contains some genuinely good policies, like killing TPP (also: attacking the outsourcing of industrial jobs to countries with weaker environmental, labor and safety laws). The fact that Trump hates outsourcing and TPP doesn't make them good, it makes Trump a stopped clock who is right twice a day. Establishment Democrats condemned Bernie Sanders and his supporters for sharing some of Trump's agenda, but they were missing the important part: pay attention to why, instead of what, and you can easily discern Trump policies from Sanders policies. For example, Trump attacked big finance ("These guys are getting away with murder") and then immediately appointed a bunch of ex-Goldman Sachs bankers to run the nation's financial regulation (this, by the way, is exactly what Obama did, and also what Clinton was poised to do). Sanders' response to Trump was to point out that Trump was a fraud, that he was continuing the corruption he'd promised to dismantle, appointing a cabinet of billionaires after promising the abolition of "a government that works for Wall Street and for special interests but not for the people." The problem with Wall Street isn't who likes Wall Street, it's what Wall Street does. Not every thing Trump does will be wrong, and we can laud the policies that do good things without letting Trump off the hook or praising trumpism. Trump killed TPP because he wanted to undermine Obama's legacy. He should have killed TPP because it's a sweetheart deal for giant corporations at public expense. It may be harder to make Trump look stupid by expressing this nuance, but if you become a TPP cheerleader because Trump hates it, you are part of the problem. Big league. Trump hates CNN because they don't give him a pass when he lies. You can cheer CNN on for its callouts without letting it off the hook for being a corporate cheerleader. The way to defeat trumpism is to develop an alternative program, a coherent one that puts people ahead of profits, that acknowledges that the system is rigged, that demands better and never settles. Yes, the Affordable Care Act is how me and my family get our healthcare, and it's better than nothing, but it is much worse than the single payer system that all the civilized countries of the world use a system that is consistently cheaper and better than ACA or the chaos that preceded it. We can condemn Trump for dismantling ACA because he's not replacing it with single-payer, rather than insisting that a system that's raising premiums by 25%, removing lifesaving medicines and procedures from its coverage, and fattening the corrupt insurance industry is anything more than a better-than-nothing bandaid that should be replaced with something better as quickly as possible. In the U.S. We Should Be Mobilizing the Following Areas: 1. Organize the outsourced: We should identify and organize all those at risk from off-shoring. We need to make sure Trump and Congress hear from these actual and potential victims. Trump needs to be reminded each and every day that there are millions of jobs he must protect. At the same time we should be rounding up support for the Sanders bill to stop off-shoring. 2. Resist:Trump has made it clear to corporate America that in exchange for job creation in the U.S. he will cut their taxes and regulations. We should demand that all tax "reforms" include a new financial speculation tax (Robin Hood Tax) on Wall Street to slow down their insatiable greed. Also, we need to fight tooth and nail against any weakening of workplace health, safety and environmental regulations. We have to destroy the Faustian bargain where jobs are protected but the workers and the communities are poisoned. 3. Connect: More than 3 million people protested against Trump. But it is doubtful that dislocated workers and those facing outsourcing were involved in these marches. That's because the progressive movement has gotten too comfortable with issue silos that often exclude these kinds of working-class issues. That has to change in a hurry. We need to reach out to all workers in danger of off-shoringblue and white collar alike. 4. Expand: Many key issuesfrom having the largest prison population in the world to having one the lowest life-spansare connected through runaway inequality. Outsourcing is deeply connected to the driving force behind runaway inequalitya rapacious Wall Street and its constant pressure for higher returns. We need to broaden the outsourcing issue to include stock buybacks and the other techniques used by Wall Street to strip-mine our jobs and our communities. It's time for a broad-based common agenda that includes a Robin Hood Tax on Wall Street, free higher education, Medicare for All, an end to outsourcing, fair trade and a guaranteed job at a living wage for all those willing and able. 5. Educate: In order to build a sustained progressive movement we will need to develop a systematic educational campaign to counter neoliberal ideology. We need reading groups, study groups, formal classes, conferences, articles and more to undermine this pernicious ideology. Some of us are fortunate to be part of new train-the-trainer programs all over the country. We need to expand them so that we can field thousands of educators to carry this message. Don't Side With Neoliberalism in Opposing Trump [Les Leopold/Naked Capitalism] (Image: Ian Berry/CNN) In 2009, then-PM Vladimir Putin engineered a Russian ban on slot machines in a bid to starve Georgian mafiyeh of funds, the resulting glut of used slots gave Russia's own criminal gangs cheap testbeds to use in a project to reverse-engineer the machines and discover their weaknesses now, Russian gangs roam the world's casinos, racking up careful, enormous scores. The gangs have discovered predictable patterns in the machines' pseudorandom number-generators. They use streaming cellphone video (shot through a mesh cutaway breast-pocket) to allow analysts in St Petersburg to characterize the machines' patterns, then those analysts send quarter-second-delayed buzzes through the phones back to the field-operatives, telling them when to stop the slots' spin to maximize payouts. The crooks take no more than $1,000 from any machine, and it took a long time for casino operators to figure out why their machines were paying out more than statistics predicted they should (early versions of the scam required operators to hold their phones up to machines while playing them, go off for a while, then return a much more obvious hack that allowed for detection). The FBI have arrested some of the alleged operators, at least one of whom is said to be turning state's evidence, and thus providing the means to unravel the scam. However, slot machine operators have no countermeasures apart from surveillance and arrests to keep their machines from being gamed this way. The economic realities of the gaming industry seem to guarantee that the St. Petersburg organization will continue to flourish. The machines have no easy technical fix. As Hoke notes, Aristocrat, Novomatic, and any other manufacturers whose PRNGs have been cracked "would have to pull all the machines out of service and put something else in, and they're not going to do that." (In Aristocrat's statement to WIRED, the company stressed that it has been unable "to identify defects in the targeted games" and that its machines "are built to and approved against rigid regulatory technical standards.") At the same time, most casinos can't afford to invest in the newest slot machines, whose PRNGs use encryption to protect mathematical secrets; as long as older, compromised machines are still popular with customers, the smart financial move for casinos is to keep using them and accept the occasional loss to scammers. Russians Engineer a Brilliant Slot Machine CheatAnd Casinos Have No Fix [Brendan I Koerner/Wired] (Image: SlotsBoom Casino Slot Videos ) Paul Di Filippo has written a masterful, lively history of the many ways in which science fiction has explored the collapse of the American project, from JA Mitchell's 1889 The Last American to contemporary novels like Too Like the Lightning, Liberation, DMZ and Counting Heads. The Last American by J. A. Mitchell from 1889 finds the country a barbaric wilderness shambles, subject to a condescending visit from representatives of the civilized Middle East. The protagonist of M. P. Shiel's The Purple Cloud (1901) emerges as, literally, the last man on the planet after a noxious celestial gas attack, and happily burns down the world's great cities for sociopathic fun, including San Francisco. Some of these narratives played up racist fears: Philip Francis Nowlan brought the country low with Asian "Han" invaders in 1928's Armageddon 2419 A.D., the basis for the Buck Rogers franchise, and Robert Heinlein followed suit with an Asiatic menace in 1949 with Sixth Column. A new plague does the trick of dismantling the country in George Stewart's pastoral Earth Abides (1949). Omnipotent alien Overlords upset all existing geopolitical realities in Arthur C. Clarke's Childhood's End (1953). In Leigh Brackett's The Long Tomorrow, from 1955, after a devastating war the USA's amended Constitution prohibits any large-scale settlements, leaving the country a rural backwater. Edgar Pangborn's Davy (1964) conjures up a scenario similar to aspects of both Stewart's and Brackett's. And of course, Philip K. Dick's The Man in the High Castle (1962) looked back to imagine a country divided between the Axis conquerors. Germany and Japan. While there have been numerous stellar books after Davy that utilize these same bugbears to undo the USA, one particular kind of national collapse rose to prominence in speculative fiction in the mid-1960s: the internal fragmentation or disunion or balkanization of the country, due solely or mainly to systemic or regional or contentious cultural forces. No foreign soldiers, no microbes, no bombs, no bug-eyed-monsters need to be involved. The dissolution of the Union happens strictly due to internal contradictions, forces and factors that compel a splintering or segregation, whether mutually agreed upon by all parties, or unilaterally enforced by some. (And, surprisingly, sometimes the new situation is an improvement.) This scenario, of course, bears increasing relevance in our culturally and politically divided moment and beyond, and one might predict a growing number of such tales. The logo of SK Hynix is seen in its plant in Icheon, about 80 km (50 miles) southeast of Seoul May 13, 2013. REUTERS/Lee Jae-Won (Reuters) By Se Young Lee and Makiko Yamazaki SEOUL/TOKYO (Reuters) - Toshiba Corp favors private equity bidders in the sale of a stake in its chip business, as suitors including rivals SK Hynix Inc and Micron Technology Inc vie with financial investors like Bain Capital, sources said on Tuesday. Toshiba needs to raise funds by the end of March to offset an imminent multi-billion dollar writedown on its U.S. nuclear power business, meaning there may not be enough time to conclude a deal with another chipmaker, said one of the sources with direct knowledge of the company's strategy. That plan, initially at least, would confound attempts by other chipmakers to buy a slice of a business that may provide an edge in the booming market for NAND flash memory chips used for long-term data storage. Another of the sources said Toshiba could eventually seek investment from other chipmakers once its financial crisis had passed. South Korea's Hynix, the world's No. 2 chipmaker, on Tuesday said it had submitted a non-binding bid although it gave no details on the size of the stake it wanted to acquire. SK Hynix and Bain Capital declined to comment and Toshiba said it could not comment on specifics of the sale process. U.S. chip group Micron Technology was not immediately available for comment. Toshiba's chip rivals would benefit from the Japanese firm's technological know-how in high-end NAND products and a boost in chip supply, analysts said. Toshiba is the world's second-largest maker of flash memory. Interest in the stake is heating up with sources telling Reuters that bids had also come from investment funds, California-based data storage company Western Digital Corp and Micron Technology, amid a surge in memory chip prices. The world's biggest maker of flash memory, Samsung Electronics Co Ltd, was not among the bidders, the sources said. As smartphones and data servers demand ever more processing firepower, chip suppliers are struggling to keep pace with demand. Nomura estimates global memory sales will grow 56.7 percent this year to a record $116 billion, and the NAND segment to expand 51.2 percent to $51 billion. Story continues Toshiba aims to raise more than 200 billion yen ($1.7 billion) from the less-than 20 percent stake in its memory business, sources have said. ANTI-TRUST CONCERN Selling the stake to an investment fund could speed up the process by eliminating anti-trust concerns surrounding other chipmakers, particularly Western Digital which is both a rival of Toshiba's and a business partner. While a handful of firms including Samsung, SK Hynix and Toshiba control the memory industry, SK Hynix's overall market share was not high enough to pose an antitrust hurdle, said Claire Kyung-min Kim, analyst at Daishin Securities. Investing in Toshiba could allow the South Korean firm to defend its turf against potential Chinese rivals, she said. Tsinghua Unigroup Ltd, China's top state chip manufacturer, in January unveiled a plan to build a $30 billion memory chip factory and tried unsuccessfully in 2015 to acquire Micron Technology. "If a Chinese firm buys a stake in Toshiba it would be a risk for all other memory makers," Kim said. SK Hynix reported record quarterly revenue in October-December and is now South Korea's second-largest firm by market capitalization behind Samsung Electronics. In December it announced a 2.2 trillion won ($1.94 billion) investment in a new NAND plant in South Korea, hoping to catch up with rivals' more advanced production technologies. SK Hynix shares rose 0.3 percent on Tuesday, while Toshiba's were down by 0.3 percent. (Reporting by Se Young Lee; Additional reporting by Kentaro Hamada, Junko Fujita and Taiga Uranaka in TOKYO, Dahee Kim and Joyce Lee in SEOUL; Editing by Stephen Coates) WASHINGTON, DC FEBRUARY 02: U.S. President Donald Trump meets with executives and union representatives from the Harley Davidson company at the White House on February 2, 2017 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images) U.S. President Donald Trump thinks the North American Free Trade Agreement is a catastrophe and wants to begin renegotiating it quickly that much is clear. We know Trump also wants to impose a 35 per cent tariff on Mexican imports of companies that have outsourced production from the U.S., the other details remain shrouded in rhetoric and bluster. In order to get a better sense of what a renegotiated NAFTA may look like, weve asked a number of experts this question about a potential new deal: What changes (if any) would you want to see included in a renegotiated NAFTA and what would you absolutely not want to see? And heres how they answered: Craig Alexander, senior vice-president and chief economist of the Conference Board of Canada. This poses risks and opportunities for Canada. Trade deals are always about trade-offs one side gives ground in one area in order to gain ground in another area. The risk is that America may approach the negotiation with an eye to improving the fortunes for U.S. workers but without the traditional give and take. And, there is the worry that if the Trump administration doesnt get what it wants it could threaten to impose trade barriers. So, Canada is right to be concerned. However, it should be noted that there are some opportunities from reopening NAFTA. The trade deal is 22 years old, so there is scope for improvement. There would be an opportunity to put in place stronger labour and environmental standards. New provisions governing e-commerce and cross-border data flows to encourage digital trade while protecting intellectual property could also be incorporated. Labour mobility could be enhanced by making visas more easily accessible for highly skilled occupations that were not in demand more than two decades ago, such as digital workers. Greater regulatory alignment would be beneficial to Canadian businesses, particularly in services. Canada might also strive to have greater access to U.S. procurement, such as that currently restricted under Buy America policies. In return, Canada might have to give more access to American firms to Canadian procurement but the U.S. market is far larger than the Canadian market. Allowing greater U.S. competition in some protected Canadian sectors could help to foster efforts to improve Canadian productivity. Story continues Andrew Jackson, senior policy advisor at the Broadbent Institute. I would like to see the end of the investor-state-dispute mechanism, which gives foreign investors legal rights above and beyond those of domestic businesses and has been used to block needed public interest regulations. I fear that the U.S. will push for an end to current restrictions on foreign ownership in Canada and to supply management in agriculture, as well as restrictions on Canadian exports to the US in industries like lumber, steel and auto. If the U.S. pushes for excessive and costly changes, Canada should refuse to participate and default to the World Trade Organization. We are best protected through multilateral rules rather than negotiating from a position of weakness. Isaac Holloway, assistant professor of business, economics and public policy at Western Universitys Ivey Business School. There are opportunities to improve NAFTA in renegotiation talks. The low-hanging fruit includes: updating to include provisions for digital products that didnt exist when NAFTA was signed more than 20 years ago and, similarly, updating the list of occupations eligible for temporary professional (TN) visas to include new knowledge economy jobs. Many of our top graduates seek employment in the U.S. early in their careers and subsequently bring that experience back to Canada. The TN visa facilitates cross-border careers, but the decision to grant the visa depends on interpretations of job descriptions by border agents. Other potential improvements could include opening up Canadas dairy industry (possibly in exchange for softwood lumber peace) and revisiting the investor-state dispute resolution system (Chapter 11), which has probably caused more damage to the agreements reputation than its worth. The worst-case outcome would be a failure to reach agreement and dissolution. This would be devastating to Mexico. While the Canada-U.S. Free Trade Agreement would likely act as a backstop of sorts, Mexican exclusion would throw a wrench into existing supply chains, leading to production disruptions and price increases. Perhaps the safest way to avoid this fate is to give Trump a win by replacing NAFTA with a variant of itselfunder a different name. Will Mitchell, professor of strategic management at the University of Toronto. There are lots of details about NAFTA and trade that may come up in the discussion. But it is important to remember why we benefit from trade agreements (and all three of Canada, the U.S., and Mexico benefit): cross-border trade creates larger markets that allow firms to gain economies of scale and specialization (hence lower prices to consumers and more money for investment in new products and services that will provide new customer value and new jobs), as well as access to a wider range of ideas for innovation. The changes inevitably mean adjustments in existing industries job growth in some areas, job reduction in others and people who need to gain new skills whether for their existing jobs or for a new job. But if we lose sight of this goal and this reality, then we will fall into the trap of trying to protect jobs rather than creating new opportunities for people. And simply protecting existing jobs is a fast track to obsolescence, uncompetitiveness and poverty. Imagine if we had tried to block the auto industry in the early 20th century in order to protect blacksmiths or, at best, allow a bunch of highly protected domestic auto companies develop without the gains of economies of scale and innovation that come from cross-border motor vehicle trade. This need is equally important in emerging high-value sectors such as environmental science and life sciences. It is important that we shift the debate about trade from protection to opportunity. While there are risks to cross-border trade, there are even bigger risks to trying to hunker down within one set of borders. Even the U.S. is not big enough to ride only on its own bottom. Indeed, depending on the measure of GNP that one uses, it is now the No. 2 economy in the world, behind China on a purchasing power parity basis. Gus Van Harten, law professor at York Universitys Osgoode Hall Law School. I would like to see the foreign-investor-rights provisions in Chapter 11 of NAFTA removed. These provisions give multinational companies and very wealthy individuals overly generous rights to compensation from the public for laws and policies that apply to everyone. No one else has anything like these rights in trade agreements or in other areas of international law, and they go well beyond property rights protections in domestic law. This favouring of foreign investors distorts markets by giving rights and privileges to foreign investors that are not available to domestic businesses. It also undermines the role of courts and the rule of law by taking disputes about public money and sovereignty outside of the courts and putting them into a for-profit arbitration process that lacks judicial independence and procedural fairness. I would likewise prefer to see similar provisions incorporated into the NAFTA financial services chapter favouring big banks removed. The short name for all of these provisions is the foreign investor rights or investor-state arbitration provisions of NAFTA. Daniel Schwanen, vice-president of research for the C.D. Howe Institute. Canada needs to first get recognition by the United States that it is a fair and trusted trade partner. We need rules of origin the rules that determine which goods can cross borders duty-free that treat Canadian content on the same footing as American content. It would also be important to see a reaffirmation of existing Canada-U.S. bilateral initiatives, including regulatory co-operation initiatives that aim at easing passage of secure goods and people at the Canada-U.S. border. We also would like to see greater mutually beneficial access by Canadian and U.S. contractors and workers to each others publicly funded or publicly approved projects; a new framework for the resolution of the Canada-U.S. lumber disputes; and the expansion of existing NAFTA provisions regarding trade in services and those governing the temporary entry of business people, professionals and skilled personnel. We would also hope to see a more modern and transparent investor-state dispute settlement process. Topping the list of things we would not want to see would be reduced access for Canadian goods, services and business travelers to the United States or more impediments at the Canada-U.S. border, and any diminishment by the United States of its existing commitments to treat Canadian goods and services suppliers at least as well as it does suppliers from other countries (a most-favoured nation treatment). Sui Sui, professor of global management studies at Ryerson University. I would like to see Canada get better, or at least the same, trade terms with the U.S. as in NAFTA. I would like to see Canada renegotiate a trade agreement with Mexico. Its critically important for Canada to keep good terms with the U.S., but also not hurt our relationship with Mexico. The U.S. is Canadas largest trading partner so maintaining accessibility and a strong relationship is important. Although Mexico is a smaller trading partner, it is still important for Canada. A stable economy in Mexico benefits Canada in many ways. A good trading relationship between all three countries is important for the overall strength of the region. I do not want to see Canada get the same treatment as has been suggested for Mexico, and left with a worse agreement or no agreement with the U.S. I also do not want to see Canada compromise our immigration or refugees policy in order to renegotiate the trade agreement with the U.S. Generally, I hope this new look at the trade relationship does not impact Canadas relationship with the U.S. or Mexico. However, this sort of negotiation isnt in isolation, so it will be important that Canada navigate the other aspects of its relationship with the U.S. and Mexico carefully. Kanata man determined to walk again after slip leaves him paralyzed Troy Kraus stepped out his front door in Kanata one morning last month and decided it was a beautiful day to walk to work. Ten seconds later, the 46-year-old network engineer was lying on his back in the driveway, unable to move after slipping on black ice. "I immediately knew it was bad, because I lost all feeling in my body," Kraus recalled. "I could move my head a little bit, and I could breathe and I could speak, but I had no feeling and no movement anywhere else." Kraus called for help until a neighbour heard and called 911. At the hospital, doctors told him he had broken four vertebrae in his neck that would have to be fused back together with titanium rods. The eight-hour surgery left Kraus with limited mobility in his spine. He's now learning to manoeuvre an electric wheelchair at the Ottawa Hospital Rehabilitation Centre and said he's determined to make this a story of recovery. Ordeal 'not a sad story' "I was just thinking, my life just changed, I know it did," Kraus said, remembering the moments immediately after the fall. Walking to work was a decision he had been making more regularly. Kraus underwent gastric bypass surgery in May 2015. He had adopted a new, healthier lifestyle, dropped more than 200 pounds and started a new job. "Basically it was karma or something that said, 'You need to get into the best shape of your life because something worse is coming, and if you weigh 420 pounds you're not going to get through it,'" Kraus said. The most difficult part was telling his family and friends, Kraus said. They had been planning a cruise vacation for later in the year, which will no longer happen, and doctors weren't optimistic about how much movement Kraus would have after the surgery. 'I'm going to walk out the door' Kraus can't move his arms or his hands. He's learning to manoeuvre his wheelchair by blowing air into a mouthpiece. But he's encouraged to be able move his feet, legs and shoulders and said he feels more every day. Story continues "I don't want anybody to think of this as a sad story," Kraus said. "This is going to be a story of an individual overcoming an obstacle and getting back to his life." Doctors won't tell him if he will walk again, but Kraus said he's determined to try. "I know there's a lot of people out there that are pulling for me and I'm going to succeed," he said. "I'm going to walk out the door. I know I am." Tehrans latest missile test ended in failure. The re-entry vessel exploded. Meanwhile, Washington launched a series of actions in a short period. It was an unprecedented move, after eight years of the Obama administrations failed appeasement policy. The new administration in the White House responded to Irans ballistic missile test by placing the regime on notice. Michael Flynn, U.S. National Security Adviser, used the opportunity of his first public remarks to issue a warning that sent a clear message. President Donald Trump also warned the mullahs how he differs significantly from his predecessor. He said on Twitter, Iran is playing with fire they dont appreciate how kind President Obama was to them. Not me! The Trump administration then went on to slap a new round of economic sanctions, on Iran, blacklisting the 25 Iranian individuals and entities responsible for enhancing Irans missile program. There may also be more such punitive measures to come. President Donald Trumps press secretary suggested Friday afternoon that more sanctions, and even military action, could be on the way, reports indicate. James Mattis, U.S. Defense Secretary, known for his Iran, Iran, Iran remarks, also sent a message by labeling the regime the worlds biggest state sponsor of terrorism. Fridays customarily are for senior Iranian officials, including Khamenei, to use sermons as a platform to make remarks about foreign policy issues. However, there has been no serious reaction from the them, proving that Tehran was caught off guard by the Trump administrations response to its ballistic missile test. Iran may resort to terrorist attacks against Americans, attacks by Shiite militias against the thousands of American troops in Iraq, or pressure on the Iraqi government to deny the United States access to the bases where it trains Iraqi security forces, wrote Philip Gordon in the New York Times. From 2013 to 2015, Gordon acted as Obamas White House coordinator for the Middle East, North Africa, and the Gulf region. A figure close to former Iranian president Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani referred to Obamas tenure as the golden era. This period, Tehran now understands, is over. Alavi writes, Furthermore, the first episode of the Trump-Iran saga, starting with the January 29 missile test and reaching the point of sanctions imposed by the White House on February 3, has many forecasting a stormy journey ahead for Tehran. He adds, The Trump administration is evaluating further measures against Iran. The past two presidencies proved that neither war nor appeasement is the answer to tackling the mullahs. Another option is very much available to America and the West. According to Alavi, the main enemy of the Iranian people, and all nations of the Middle East, is the Revolutionary Guards (IRGC). The IRGC is known for its role in domestic oppression, foreign military intervention, Tehrans involvement in Syria, Irans nuclear program, and ballistic missile drive. The IRGC should be designated as a foreign terrorist organization, says Alavi, reiterating that, With the grip the IRGC has gained over Irans political and economic apparatus, an FTO blacklisting targets the mullahs core entities and will ultimately bring them to their knees. Iranian opposition leader Maryam Rajavi, president of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), suggests that all deals and trade with IRGC-affiliated companies should be banned. If the Trump administration blacklisted the IRGC, then knowing that the new U.S. administration stands beside them in their struggle for freedom, the Iranian people would be encouraged. Computer Science George Mason U Signs with Outsourcer to Train Students in Coding A Virginia university is working with an outsourcing company to train its students in coding and put them to work. George Mason University has agreed to promote Revature technology training to students and recent graduates. The training may be taken online or on-site. Revature runs free bootcamps to "qualified" applicants, which last 12 weeks and lead to professional certification in technologies such as Microsoft and Oracle. Once the training is done, Revature puts the student to work in software development for its clients. One student who took the training was Kevin Jones, who attended Oregon State University for computer science. In a testimonial on the website, Jones said, "College was great but the curriculum was set in stone. Revature teaches you the newer technologies such as Hibernate." Currently, Jones works as a software developer for healthcare company DrFirst in Maryland as a Java programmer. "We hear from recruiters all of the time that the shortage of tech talent is real; there are simply not enough qualified candidates to fill the available jobs," said Saskia Clay-Rooks, executive director of career services at Mason, in a prepared statement. "This partnership is a great example of how the university is responsive to the hiring needs of employers by ensuring Mason graduates are equipped with the training and experience to fuel the economic engine of this region." George Mason University President Angel Cabrera added, "We best serve our students and our region by finding inventive ways to produce graduates with the skills and knowledge coveted by many of the largest employers in Northern Virginia." He said he expected the agreement with Revature to help his institution's students "launch careers as well as fulfill our roles as a talent pool and driving economic force in the region." Revature has similar academic partnerships with the University of Missouri and the University of South Florida, among other institutions. TUESDAY, Feb. 7, 2017 (HealthDay News) -- A new gel-based vasectomy has proven effective in a group of monkeys, raising hopes it could one day provide a permanent but easily reversible male contraceptive option in humans. Vasalgel works by plugging the vas deferens, the two tiny tubes that convey sperm into a male's semen, researchers said. The gel "doesn't break down. It just sets up a little more, and sticks where you inject it," said lead researcher Catherine VandeVoort. She's a professor of obstetrics and gynecology with the University of California, Davis School of Medicine. Sixteen male rhesus macaque monkeys injected with the non-hormonal gel have proven incapable of reproduction, according to the study findings. No females have become pregnant in the males' presence, even though they were housed together for at least one breeding season -- about 6 months. "We're over two years in a lot of these males we injected with this, and so far they've all remained infertile," said VandeVoort. "We know that because we check the parentage of every baby that's born at the primate center." VandeVoort is also a scientist with the California National Primate Research Center at UC Davis. Traditional vasectomies either sever, crush or tie off the vas deferens, causing tissue damage that can be difficult to reverse, VandeVoort said. But researchers hope to revise the Vasalgel plug to the point where a simple solution of water and baking soda would flush it out of the vas deferens, easily restoring a man's fertility, said study co-author Elaine Lissner. The gel plug has been successfully flushed out of male rabbits in animal testing, but reversibility has not yet been perfected in primates, said Lissner, founder and trustee of the Parsemus Foundation, the nonprofit group funding development of the gel. The focus of the current study was to see whether Vasalgel would effectively prevent conception, Lissner and VandeVoort said. "This tells us whatever challenges we face, the bottom line is it has worked and been safe in animals similar to humans," Lissner said. The Parsemus Foundation, based in Berkeley, Calif., funded the primate study. The group is now looking for funding to move to the next step in primates, which will be to test reversibility. Researchers also are preparing for human trials to test whether Vasalgel would work as a contraceptive in men, Lissner said. The Parsemus Foundation hopes to start enrolling men for a clinical trial by the end of the year. However, results obtained in animal studies aren't always replicated in humans, so it's too soon to say Vasalgel will become a viable form of birth control. The procedure involving the gel starts off much like a traditional vasectomy, with a surgeon opening up the scrotum and exposing the vas deferens, VandeVoort said. But instead of cutting or crushing the vas, the doctor instead injects a bead of the gel inside the tubes to plug them. The gel first will be tested as a vasectomy alternative in men, before moving into tests of its potential reversibility in humans, Lissner said. Dr. Landon Trost, a urologist and specialist in male infertility with the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., said there's unlikely to be demand for the gel as a vasectomy alternative unless it's easily reversible. That's because traditional vasectomy has been honed to the point where it's a very safe and effective procedure that takes four to 10 minutes, Trost said. "Vasectomy is about as good as it comes, from a successful outcome standpoint," he said. "Your success rates with the gel, I think, are never going to be able to match up with vasectomy." Trost added that the gel might not be as reversible as the theory holds. He's concerned that the gel plug could cause irreparable scarring and damage by its very presence, given that the vas deferens are very tiny and delicate vessels. "Even if you can get rid of that plug later, it's not guaranteed you're going to be able to reverse it," Trost said. But Lissner and VandeVoort said results have shown some hope for reversibility. Some fluid appears able to pass through the gel, potentially reducing pressure that could damage the vas deferens, Lissner said. In addition, the gel created few complications in the monkeys, the researchers reported. The study results were published online Feb. 6 in the journal Basic and Clinical Andrology. More information For more about vasectomy, visit the U.S. National Institutes of Health. TUESDAY, Feb. 7, 2017 (HealthDay News) -- Roll up your sleeves, America. A national advisory panel of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has released its 2017 advisory for recommended shots affecting adults. This year's advisory revises guidance on seasonal flu shots by eliminating nasal flu vaccines and modifying flu-shot advice for people with egg allergy. It also tweaks recommendations for vaccines against human papillomavirus (HPV), hepatitis B and meningococcal disease. Doctors use the annually updated vaccine schedule to ensure that patients receive the right vaccines for their age, medical condition and other risk factors. The entire list includes 13 vaccinations. "All adults need immunizations to help them prevent getting and spreading serious disease that could result in poor health, missed work, medical bills, and not being able to care for family," said the report's lead author, Dr. David Kim. He is deputy associate director for adult immunizations in the CDC's Immunization Services Division. The CDC sets the adult immunization schedule based on recommendations from the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), a group of medical and public health experts whose advice reflects the latest science. Here are the major changes you need to know about: No more nasal flu vaccine. Unlike traditional flu shots made from dead virus, the nasal flu vaccine, marketed as FluMist, is made from a weakened form of influenza virus. Studies have found it largely ineffective. "It's not used a ton in adult medicine," said Dr. Laura Hurley, who was not involved in setting the new guidelines. She is an associate professor of general internal medicine at the University of Colorado School of Medicine. Flu vaccine for people with egg allergy. The "major change" is that egg-allergic people, whether they have mild or more serious allergy, "can receive any age-appropriate" flu vaccine, said Dr. Sandra Fryhofer, a general internist in Atlanta. She is the American College of Physicians' liaison to the ACIP and served on its adult immunization work group. Last year, people with more serious egg allergy were advised to stick with an egg-free flu vaccine, she explained. The new guidance states that even people who develop symptoms like swelling, lightheadedness or breathing difficulties may get either type of flu shot. But they should get the shot under supervision of a health care provider who is able to recognize and manage severe allergic conditions, the committee advises. HPV vaccine for adolescents. Young people who receive their first dose of the HPV vaccine before age 15 and the second dose at least 5 months later may be vaccinated in just two doses, instead the three as was previously recommended. The vaccine protects against cervical cancer and a number of other tumors linked to the human papillomavirus (HPV). On Tuesday, the American Cancer Society announced that it was supporting the new ACIP recommendation of a two-dose schedule for boys and girls who begin the vaccine regimen at ages 9 to 14. "In the past several years, studies have shown the vaccine is even more effective than expected," explained Debbie Saslow, senior director of HPV-Related and Women's Cancers at the American Cancer Society (ACS). "This new two-dose regimen is easier to follow, and we now know is very effective in preventing HPV, which is linked to a half dozen types of cancer," she added in an ACS news release. Both the ACS and the CDC advisory committee still recommend three doses of the HPV vaccine for young adults who were not immunized as adolescents. The vaccine may be given to women through age 26 and men through age 21. New advice for people who are HIV positive. Adults with HIV should receive a two-dose series of MenACWY. This combination meningococcal vaccine protects against a potentially deadly bacterial infection of the brain and spinal cord. Hepatitis B for adults with chronic liver disease. The new vaccine schedule adds people infected with the hepatitis C virus to the list of those with chronic liver disease who could benefit from a Hep B vaccine series. Others who should receive these shots are people with: cirrhosis (scarring of the liver); fatty liver disease; alcoholic liver disease; autoimmune hepatitis; and people with elevated levels of certain liver enzymes. "This is a lot of people," said Fryhofer. "Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease is the most common liver disorder in western industrialized countries," she added. "If you're obese, you're more likely to have fat in your liver, which means that you would be on the list to get hepatitis B vaccination," she said. Adult vaccination rates and barriers. U.S. adult immunization rates fall short of recommended levels, according to the ACIP. Hurley said the flu vaccine is a particularly tough sell because it requires annual vaccination. Adults "don't prioritize vaccinations for themselves," said Hurley, noting that the flu vaccine is safe and can prevent death and complications from severe virus. But according to the CDC's Kim, "Flu vaccine is especially important for people with chronic health conditions, pregnant women and older adults." Also of concern, only 20 percent of adults 19 and older have had a Tdap vaccine, which protects against tetanus, diphtheria and pertussis (whooping cough), the report noted. Fryhofer said insurance affects the likelihood of vaccination. "People who have insurance are two to five times more likely to be vaccinated, because the cost issue's a big barrier," she explained. The new vaccine schedule appears Feb. 7 in the journal Annals of Internal Medicine. More information Visit the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to review the 2017 adult immunization schedule. al franken Lawmakers held the floor of the US Senate late Monday night in a final effort to tank the confirmation of President Donald Trump's nomination for education secretary, Betsy DeVos. Democratic senators railed against DeVos on the Senate floor and on social media, calling her unfit to oversee the nation's education system. Sen. Al Franken of Minnesota called DeVos "fundamentally incompetent" on Monday. "This is not a job for amateurs," Franken said. The senator challenged DeVos last month, when DeVos appeared to become confused during a line of questioning from Franken. Kamala Harris, a freshman Democratic senator from California and former state attorney general, tweeted: "First and foremost, the country needs a Sec. of Education who has demonstrated basic competency when it comes to issues facing children." Harris continued: "Half a million teachers would be put out of work under the Trump-DeVos plan. Devastating for our six million [California] students." Betsy DeVos protest Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York called DeVos "one of the worst nominees." DeVos is a billionaire philanthropist and charter-schools advocate. Her nomination has been met with fierce opposition from lawmakers and from demonstrators who have been protesting her nomination in the streets of Washington. Every Democrat in the Senate has vowed to oppose DeVos' confirmation, and two moderate Republicans said last week that they would not vote for her. Those moves set up a potential scenario in which Vice President Mike Pence may cast the deciding vote on Tuesday. NOW WATCH: Trump's pick for education secretary says guns in schools could 'protect from potential grizzlies' More From Business Insider AFP Klima-Aktivisten haben den Amsterdamer Flughafen Schiphol am Samstag teilweise lahmgelegt. Die Demonstranten kletterten uber Zaune und Absperrungen auf das Flughafengelande und setzten sich auf ein Vorfeld fur Privatjets, deren Verbot sie forderten. Unter Rufen wie "Schluss mit dem Fliegen" und "Schiphol - Umweltverschmutzer" fuhren Aktivisten auf Fahrradern uber das Vorfeld. Linienfluge waren von der Aktion nicht betroffen. The time has come for the federal government to follow through on recommendations made in 2016 by a major parliamentary report on the death penalty, the Law Council of Australia has said. The Law Council of Australia (LCA) has used the 50th anniversary of the last execution to take place in Australia to press the government to respond to recommendations on the death penalty published in a major parliamentary report in May last year. At the time of its publication, the report A world without the death penalty received support from both sides of government. LCA president Fiona McLeod SC said Australia must continue to show leadership as an "outstanding advocate against the death penalty". She noted that six Australian nationals have been executed overseas since Australia's own abolition of the practice. Victorian Ronald Ryan was the last person to be hanged in Australia, on 3 February 1967. "The Law Council will continue to strongly and consistently argue that no person, anywhere in the world, should ever be subjected to the death penalty," Ms McLeod said. "This is irrespective of their nationality, personal characteristics, the nature of the crime of which they have been convicted, or the time and place of its alleged commission. "The death penalty is a breach of the most fundamental human right: the right to life," she said. Urging the government to finally respond to the report, the LCA underscored two key recommendations as key priorities: a new strategy for the global abolition of the death penalty and strengthened guidelines for the Australian Federal Police (AFP). According to Ms McLeod, the Australian government has an important role to play in speaking out against capital punishment in the Asia-Pacific region and the world. Implementing a new strategy for the global abolition of the death penalty will "add structure and ballast to Australia's abolitionist position", she said. The report recommends that Australia contributes to the development, funding and implementation of this new strategy for the abolition of the death penalty. With 56 nations around the world retaining capital punishment as a legal penalty, the proposed strategy would focus on the USA and countries in the Indo-Pacific. "We urge [the government] to continue to take the lead and adopt the recommendations of the report, to ensure Australia has a consistent position in its international engagement," Ms McLeod said. Ms McLeod made her appeal at a symposium hosted by the LCA at Monash University last week. The event discussed Australia's contribution to the abolition of the death penalty and featured special guest speakers including Special Envoy for Human Rights Philip Ruddock, shadow attorney-general Mark Dreyfus QC and Liberal MP Tim Wilson. | Report an error, an omission, a typo; suggest a story or a new angle to an existing story; submit a piece, a comment; 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: lawyersweekly.com.au, Feb. 7, 2017 President Rodrigo Duterte The Senate of the Philippines suspended a hearing into a bill for reinstating death penalty Tuesday after officials expressed concerns over an international treaty that bars the country from reimposing the capital punishment. "We are suspending because there is a supervening event the treaty of international convention on civil and political rights [of the United Nations Human Rights Office] which states that all executions should not be continued, was ratified," said Sen. Richard Gordon, chair of the Senate Committee on Justice and Human Rights. However, Senate President Pro-Tempore Franklin Drilon said that the Philippines should first withdraw from the treaty before the discussing about reimposing the punishment, which was abolished on June 24, 2006, by the then-President Gloria Arroyo. "We have ratified the treaty and we have concurred in ratification with the treaty. If you're saying we can withdraw from this, shouldn't we withdraw from the treaty first before we discuss any matter related to the reimposition of death penalty? So that we will not be in violation of international law?" Drilon said. In December, Human Rights Watch urged the Philippines to not reinstate death penalty. The Philippine government should acknowledge the death penaltys barbarity and reject any moves to reinstate it, Phelim Kine, deputy Asia director, said in a statement at the time. The failure of the death penalty as a crime deterrent is globally recognized and the government should maintain the prohibition on its use. Meanwhile, President Rodrigo Duterte who assumed office last June has launched the so-called war on drug dealers in the country. The possibility of the reimposition of death penalty has raised concerns that his government will be able to execute more people in the drug war. Within six months of taking office, Dutertes drug war killed nearly 6,000 people, according to a December report by Al Jazeera. Of those, 2,041 drug suspects were killed during police operations from July 1 to Dec. 6, while another 3,841 were reportedly killed by unidentified gunmen from July 1 to Nov. 30. Pacquiao is Firm: Drug Traffickers Deserve The Death Penalty! Senator Manny Pacquiao Eight division world champion Manny Pacquiao is once against pushing for a law that would impose the death penalty on drug traffickers in the Philippines. Pacquiao, who last year became a senator in his country, once again defended the controversial bill on Tuesday during the first public hearing of the Senate justice and human rights committee on the proposed death penalty bill. Drug traffickers deserve the death penalty. We need to take a firm stand against drug traffickers. On a personal level, I can forgive. However, the heinous crime of drug trafficking is committed not just against a person, but against the nation. Drug traffickers deserve the death penalty, Pacquiao said, according to GMA News. Pacquiao, who one aspires to become the President of the Philippines, is the author of three death penalty bills on crimes involving drugs, kidnapping, and aggravated rape. "There is now a need to enact a measure that will decisively repress drug trafficking, Pacquiao said. We cannot ignore the immensity of the drug problem in our country. We cannot maintain the status quo. We need to take a firm stand against drug traffickers." Pacquiao: Death penalty for drug traffickers Sen. Emmanuel "Manny" Pacquiao on Tuesday called for the reimposition of the death penalty anew saying a it should focus on drug trafficking violations. For Pacquiao, drug traffickers deserve death penalty because he considers their acts heinous crimes. The senator said he filed Senate Bill 185 or the "Act to impose the death penalty and increase the penalty on certain dangerous crimes, amending for that purpose other special penal laws and for other purposes" because the country is facing immense challenges from trafficking and drug abuse. He said these crimes have created an emergency situation that now merits urgent action. "On a personal level, I can forgive. However, the heinous crime of drug trafficking is committed not just against a person but against the nation. Drug traffickers deserve death penalty," he said in his opening statement at the Senate hearing into proposals to revive the death penalty. Pacquiao authored three separate death penalty bills on heinous crimes involving dangerous drugs, kidnapping and aggravated rape. He however said the death penalty must focus on drug trafficking because he believes combining it with other crimes will complicate the definition of heinous crime. He said a separate death penalty bill will be unburdened by the lengthy consideration of other offenses. Pacquiao added that the Senate cannot allow the compelling nature of imposing death penalty on drug trafficking to be weighed down by less compelling reasons for other offenses. Mary Jane Veloso is currently on death row in Indonesia for drug trafficking. "It is more beneficial and practicable if we do it on a per crime basis and not bundle it with other crimes...To bundle it with other crimes will dilute arguments and complicate definitions in determining whether a particular crime is heinous or not because offensive acts may be of different characters," Pacquiao said. Pacquiao cited a Dangerous Drugs Board statement in 2011 that 80 % of crimes are drug-related. A Reuters report in October 2016 said that government officials "could not say where the data came from to back up" that particular claim. Pacquiao then enumerated some related news headlines to back his claims. It can be recalled that Pacquiao visited the Filipina death-row inmate Mary Jane Veloso in Yogyakarta, Indonesia to show support for her in July 2015. Veloso was convicted of drug trafficking but was granted a last-minute temporary reprieve. During the proclamation of elected senators last May, Pacquiao already said he favors the return of the death penalty saying capital punishment is actually based on the Bible. | Report an error, an omission, a typo; suggest a story or a new angle to an existing story; submit a piece, a comment; 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: International Business Times, February 7, 2017Source: Boxing Scene , Edward Chaykovsky, February 7, 2017Source: Philippine Star, February 7, 2017 Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg The 24-year Supreme Court veteran said if it was up to her there would be no death penalty or Electoral College Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg spoke at Stanford University on Monday night, broaching several topics from feminism to the death penalty to the political divide in our nation today. The theme during the annual Rathbun lecture at Stanford Memorial church was "A Meaningful Life," and Ginsburg certainly could speak from experience. Ginsburg, who's been on the U.S. Supreme Court for 24 years, was not allowed to speak about any issues that are or will likely be in front of the high court, so that left a lot of room for Ginsburg herself. "Someday, there will be great people, great elected representatives, who will say enough of this nonsense, let's be the kind of Legislature the United States should have," she told the gathering. "I hope I'm still alive." Ginsburg said if it was up to her, and only her, there would be no death penalty or Electoral College. She also addressed what she sees as a hidden aspect of racism and sexism. "Unconscious bias," she said, "it's not so easy to overcome." She identified the part of the U.S. Constitution that she holds most dear. "That right to speak your mind and not worry about Big Brother government coming down on you and telling you the right way," she said. Ginsburg's admirers had nothing but praise after the speech. "Think outside of yourself, act outside of yourself and try to fix the tears in our community. That resonated!" said Kim Navarro, of San Francisco. Michelle Pacione, of Palo Alto, said hearing from wise figures such as Ginsburg is welcome and necessary in times like these. "We need women to kind of step up because there is still a lot of things that need to change in order for there to be equality," Pacione said. Supreme Court Justice Ginsburg talks Congress, death penalty and a meaningful life at Stanford What makes a meaningful life for U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg? To put it simply, it means doing something outside yourself, she said Monday night at Stanfords Memorial Church, in conversation with the universitys The Rev. Professor Jane Shaw, dean for religious life. I tell law students if you are going to be a lawyer and just practice your profession, you have a skill very much like a plumber, she said. But if you want to be a true professional, you will do something outside yourself something that makes life a little better for people less fortunate than you. Welcomed with thunderous applause, she opened by reading from her book, citing relationship advice (sometimes it helps to be a little deaf), her father-in-laws career advice (you will find a way), raising children (I returned to the law books with renewed will) and her devotion to her husband (without him, I would not have gained a seat on the U.S. Supreme Court.) The 83-year-old did not volunteer her opinion about President Donald Trumps nomination of Colorado federal appeals court Judge Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court, nor the legal controversies over the administrations temporary immigration ban on seven Muslim-majority countries. Last summer she drew criticism, and later apologized, for saying she feared for the country and the court if Trump was elected. But she mourned the loss of collegiality that was once part of Capitol Hill, and a cherished friendship with the conservative Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah. I wish there was a way I could wave a magic wand and put it back when people respected each other, and voted for the good of the country and not just along party lines. Someday there will be great representatives who will say Enough of this nonsense. I hope that day comes when Im still alive. When asked what she would like to change: the electoral college! She decried the death penalty, saying If I were queen, there would be no death penalty, but praised the nations recent reduction of executions. The oldest justice by more than three years, and one of the four reliably liberal jurists on the court, a student teased her about eating more kale. Then she was asked: Who she would like to see eat kale? Justice Kennedy! she deadpanned. A long line of students waited to ask questions. It was such a pleasure to hear her go off script. I loved getting to hear from her more directly, said alumnae Eliza Ridgeway of Sunnyvale. Ginsburgs lecture is part of a series created in memory of late Stanford law professor Harry Rathbun, who delivered his distinguished Last Lecture every year from the 1930s to the 1950s. In years in which a lecture is scheduled, the Office for Religious Life chooses a speaker to visit campus and talk about the various paths to building a meaningful life. Previous iterations of the lecture featured former Secretary of State George Shultz, the 14th Dalai Lama, Oprah Winfrey and Ginsburgs former colleague on the Supreme Court, Sandra Day OConnor. The lecture was established by The Foundation for Global Community. She spoke fondly of former justice OConnor, calling her as close to being a big sister to me as one could wish for. OConnor, who survived breast cancer, advised Ginsburg after chemotherapy treatment for colorectal cancer: Be sure to get it for Friday so you can get over it during the weekend. In a far reaching conversation, she cited music she couldnt live without: Mozarts The Marriage of Figaro and Don Giovanni. She confided her childhood role models: Amelia Earhart and the fictional heroine Nancy Drew. She recounted a New Years Eve dinner with late Justice Antonin Scalia, when her husband struggled to find a good recipe for wild boar. She described her attitude toward combating cancer: Never have a defeatist attitude and Im going to surmount this. The most important person in her life? My personal trainer, she joked. To the delight of the crowd, Ginsburg showed off her tote bag with the motto: I dissent. When asked, 100 years from now, how she would like to be remembered: That I was a judge who worked as hard as she could to the best of her ability to do the job right. | Report an error, an omission, a typo; suggest a story or a new angle to an existing story; submit a piece, a comment; 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: NBC Bay Area , Terry McSweeney and Stephen Ellison, February 6, 2017 A 70 year old prisoner, Yoiusef Parvaneh, has been transferred from Karaj Ghezel Hessar prison to Orumiyeh Central prison to have his punishment carried out: the amputation of his fingers. He was charged with theft in 2009. A revolutionary guard is the plaintiff in the case, so the judiciary ignored his appeal and intends to carry out the sentence. According to the state run Mizan News Agency, reported on January 17, 2017, two brothers in Yazd, in addition to life imprisonment, have also been sentenced to flogging and hand amputation. Roknas website, on February 4, 2017, told about a a young woman in Tehran who was sentenced to a year in exile, as well as 99 lashes for having a telephone conversation with a man. According to Asr Iran newspaper on February 4, 2017, two authorities in Rasht were sentenced for insulting a so-called representative of the regime. One received 114 lashes and the other, 40 lashes. On January 18, a reporter in Shahroud was sentenced to 40 lashes. Previously, another reporter in Najaf Abad received the sentence of 40 lashes. Javad Larijani, President of the Human Rights Commission in the Judiciary, attempted to defend these brutal sentences, as he ironically described the Velayeat Faqih regime as the biggest democracy in Western Asia and stated that the regime is not afraid of human rights offensives. This, reported by Mehr news agency, January 17, 2017. The National Council of Resistance of Iran published an article on February 5, 2017, stating that, The religious fascism ruling Iran is the disgrace of contemporary humanity and should be ostracized from the family of nations. The file of catastrophic situation of human rights in Iran should be referred to the UN Security Council and leaders of the regime must be held accountable for their black record of their crimes. Many assert that President-elect Donald Trump is against free trade. But standing against the theft of intellectual property and old-fashioned mercantilism, as Trump has promised to do, is an appropriate role for the chief executive. Allowing other countries to cheat us is not free trade. America consistently outperforms the rest of the world in the sphere of intellectual property. People throughout the world identify with American art, music, software, and clothing designs, and benefit from American pharmaceuticals and patents. Yet American intellectual property is routinely stolen. Each year, the United States Trade Representative publishes a report entitled Special 301 Report on intellectual property theftyet does nothing about it. This year Algeria, Argentina, Chile, China, India, Indonesia, Kuwait, Russia, Thailand, Ukraine, and Venezuela are the 11 countries on the Priority Watch List. USTR has the most significant concerns regarding insufficient [intellectual property rights] protection or enforcement or actions that otherwise limited market access for persons relying on intellectual property protection. Another 23 countries are on a watch list. Most of the same countries are on the priority watch list year after year. China and several other countries have been on the list for many years. There is no credible punishment from stealing American intellectual property, so countries continue to do it. Theft pays. Intellectual property is stolen when American corporate employees are thrown in prison or harassed in a government shake-down, or when American companies are hauled into foreign courts and accused of stealing their own patents. Sometimes American Internet companies are kicked out a country that fosters its own imitative companies to displace the American ones. In other places, pharmaceuticals are manufactured without license. And by now everyone knows about foreign hackers invading American websites. American businesses have grown inured to intellectual property theft. They expect theft in countries around the world and they cannot fight back because they risk being banned from lucrative markets. The combination of theft and no enforcement reinforce one another, and our government needs to respond. It is not just American businesses that lose, it is also American creators. Millions of Americans create and promote intellectual property. When foreigners copy CDs and sell these pirated copies on the streets, our creators are worse off. Although USTR publishes reports every year identifying American intellectual property theft, it usually does nothing to prevent such theft or punish countries that foster intellectual property theft. America continues to provide full access to American markets for offending countries. Pirate countries have little if any incentive to respect our property. The wonder is not that some countries steal our intellectual property; the wonder is that all countries do not steal our intellectual property given the weakness of our response. Countries may tell us that it is impossible for them to prevent their citizens from copying our goods. But when China, for example, can make book publishers in Hong Kong disappear because it disagrees with the content of the books, it can certainly close down the fake Apple stores. America should take a tough line with countries on the USTRs Section 301 Priority Watch List. Here are five suggestions. 1. We could limit their commercial activities in the United States. Alternatively, we could limit imports of those products with their intellectual propertyor ours. 2. When an American company is being harassed in a foreign country, we could haul the ambassador in and ask what is going on. If China holds up our imports, we could hold up their imports. 3. If the country is on the special watch list, the Commerce Department could request the International Trade Administration do audits of intellectual property protection in those countries. 4. We could limit, and not expand, the commercial activities of countries on that watch list. 5. If a country appears for a second year on the list, the Commerce Secretary could be required to prepare a special report to the President on remedial actions. Our government should be proudly standing up for our companies. It is not free trade when other countries steal our products. And retaliating against theft does not violate the principles of free trade. Diana Furchtgott-Roth is a senior fellow and director of Economics21 at the Manhattan Institute. Follow her on Twitter here. Interested in real economic insights? Want to stay ahead of the competition? Each weekday morning, E21 delivers a short email that includes E21 exclusive commentaries and the latest market news and updates from Washington. Sign up for the E21 Morning Ebrief. TipRanks One thing investors are not lacking for after 2022s market rout: beaten-down stocks going for cheap compared to levels seen at the start of the year. The problem is how can investors sift through the stock debris to pick out the names which will dust themselves down and push ahead again? As with anything, there are multiple ways to run a stock through the litmus test, but one tried-and-true method is to watch out for the moves the insiders make. These corporate officers know the inner workings Company Seeks Expedited Chapter 11 Emergence Plan Supported by Lenders and Bondholders Vendors, Trade Creditors, Employees and Unsecured Creditors to Be Paid In Full Existing Operations to Continue Uninterrupted NASSAU, Bahamas, Feb. 07, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Ultrapetrol (Bahamas) Limited (the Company), a Bahamas corporation, announced today that it and certain of its subsidiaries have commenced voluntary cases under chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York yesterday (In re Ultrapetrol (Bahamas) Limited, Chapter 11 Case No. 17-22168) in order to implement the agreement reached with the Companys and subsidiaries lenders and bondholders on the terms of a comprehensive debt restructuring. To implement the restructuring, the Company and its subsidiaries negotiated and received affirmative votes from all voting lenders and from 99.9% of the Companys bonds voting to accept a prepackaged chapter 11 Plan of Reorganization (Plan) that was filed with the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York. With the full support of their lenders and bondholders, the Company has requested a prompt combined hearing to approve the disclosure statement for the Plan and to confirm the Plan. The proposed Plan will restructure the Companys and subsidiaries secured debt and pay in full allowed claims of unsecured creditors, allowing the Company to improve its balance sheet with the goal of returning to overall profitability in light of current and expected demand in the shipping markets in which the Companys subsidiaries operate. The Company and its subsidiaries are taking actions to ensure that the chapter 11 filing does not affect their operations, which are expected to continue on an uninterrupted basis during the cases, and have sought customary relief with respect to, among other things, payment of balances owed to non-U.S. vendors and the continuation of their insurance programs and their wage and benefit programs for employees. The Company anticipates business as usual, and that the Company and its subsidiaries will meet all obligations that arise during the case as they come due in the ordinary course. The Company expects to implement the restructuring and emerge from the court-supervised process expeditiously, which is expected to be concluded within 60 days. Pursuant to the Plan, after an exhaustive and competitive marketing effort conducted by a special committee of independent directors and its independent financial and legal advisors, ownership of the Company's river business subsidiaries and offshore business subsidiaries will be purchased by a newly-formed entity owned by affiliates of the Companys largest shareholder which submitted the highest and best bids for the Companys river business and offshore business, respectively. Under the Plan, creditors holding in excess of $290.1 million principal amount are to receive approximately $84.0 million in cash in full settlement of their indebtedness. None of the Companys equity holders will receive any distributions, and the Company expects that shortly after emergence from Chapter 11 it will dissolve and cease to be a reporting public company. The Company expects that cash on hand, cash from operating activities, and cash expected to be made available under a cash collateral order will be sufficient to fund its projected cash needs during its financial restructuring, and therefore does not intend to seek debtor-in-possession (DIP) financing. We are very pleased to have received consent from all of our lenders and most of our bondholders to go forward with the prepackaged Chapter 11 plan, which we expect will improve the long-term health and vitality of our river business and our offshore business going forward, said Eduardo Ojea Quintana, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Company. The prepackaged Chapter 11 plan is the result of more than 18 months of negotiations with lenders and bondholders, and we believe it will leave our river business and offshore business able to strongly compete in our markets. We have taken steps to diminish the impact of this process on our vendors, customers and employees, and we intend to move forward as expeditiously as possible to complete the restructuring. Our vessels will continue to operate as scheduled. Information about the restructuring will be available at http://cases.primeclerk.com/ultrapetrol, or via the Companys restructuring information line at (844) 205-4334 (U.S. and Canada) or (917) 606-6438 (International). Nothing in this press release shall constitute a solicitation of any holders of any of our indebtedness or our securities with respect to the matters contemplated in the Plan or an offer to buy or sell, or a solicitation of an offer to buy or sell, any securities of the Company. The Company is being advised by the investment banking firm of Miller Buckfire & Co. and is receiving financial advice from AlixPartners, LLP. Zirinsky Law Partners PLLC and Seward & Kissel LLP act as legal counsel to the Company in this process. About Ultrapetrol Ultrapetrol is an industrial transportation company serving the marine transportation needs of its clients in the markets on which it focuses. It serves the shipping markets for containers, grain and soy bean products, forest products, minerals, crude oil, petroleum, and refined petroleum products, as well as the offshore oil platform supply market with its extensive and diverse fleet of vessels. These include river barges and pushboats, platform supply vessels, tankers and two container feeder vessels. More information on Ultrapetrol can be found at www.ultrapetrol.net. ULTR-G Below is a response to the story by Mr. Shahin Gobadi, press spokesman for the Mujahedin-e Khalq (MEK): The AP story, Trump Cabinet pick paid by cult-like Iranian exile group, Feb. 5, 2017, is a rehashing of old and long-debunked allegations aimed at disparaging the principal Iranian opposition group, the Mujahedin-e Khalq (MEK) and its bipartisan supporters. These accusations are not new. The religious dictatorship ruling Iran and its lobby abroad have tried for years to discredit the Iranian opposition in an effort to proffer the appeasement of the ruling mullahs as a viable policy. Today, the crux of the matter is a choice between a firm policy vis-a-vis the clerical regime as the godfather of international terrorism and standing with the long-held desires of the Iranian people for freedom and democracy. Aside from the loosely-worded and biased tone of the article, the AP reporter in Dubai Jon Gambrell has chosen to ignore facts regarding the conduct and history of the Iranian resistance. Instead of reporting the views of a large bi-partisan lawmakers in both chambers of US Congress, and the decisions by the highest US and European courts which rejected the stale and oft-repeated accusations, he has chosen to rely heavily on only two individuals, both of whom have been proponents of the appeasing the murderous mullahs of Iran. The first is a person with virtually no experience and background on the Middle East named Jeremiah Goulka, the author of the eight-year-old RAND report, and the second is a character named, Ervand Abrahamian, whose public advocacy of appeasing the regime in Iran and his opposition to the delisting of the MEK is well-established. He was among a group of Tehrans apologists and lobbyists urging the State Department not to delist MeK despite the court ruling. Many independent scholars and experts have published more up-to-date books and studies about the accusations, history, and current conduct of the MEK, none of which was cited in the story. More troubling is the fact that none of the US military officers in charge of the protection of, and day-to-day dealings with, over 3,000 members of the MEK in Iraq, was contacted to verify the veracity of allegations that relate to life at Camp Ashraf. There is a long list of military officers who have testified under oath before Congress about their direct and personal experiences with the MEK members. These officers have unequivocally rejected those allegations as misinformation and propaganda concocted by the Iranian regimes intelligence services. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pcUfI5NrjP4 In its opening paragraph, the article states definitively that the MEK killed Americans, ran donation scams, and that it is cult-like. This type of editorializing falls far short of impartial and objective journalistic standards, which makes one wonder whether ulterior political motives by the echo chamber crowd tasked to sell the Iran nuclear deal to U.S. Congress and American public was at work here. In the course of legal challenges in the U.S. and Europe to the MEKs terrorist designation, it became clear that the notorious agents of the Iranian intelligence services were key sources for Western governments as it pertained to the nature and conduct of the MEK. In their letter to President Trump, the 23 bi-partisan signatories, including former senior US Government officials with significant experience in national security, military, law enforcement, and intelligence, wrote that they had seen and had heard all these discredited allegations, adding, Irans Ministry of Intelligence and Security has for many years impaired the exiled opposition by covertly spreading false and distorted claims through third parties in the West. Other governments like Germany and the Netherlands closely monitor Irans influence operations on their soil; a thorough counterintelligence investigation by the US is clearly needed and long overdue. If the USG did investigate Irans influence operations in the US, no respectable media outlet would ever again run such a story. Most importantly, the US Government revoked the MEK FTO designation after it acknowledged that it had no evidence of the groups involvement in terrorism. The State Department had been ordered to provide any such evidence by the second highest court in the United States. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit warned the Secretary that it would delist the MEK itself in the absence of such evidence. Following a thorough review of both classified and unclassified documents, the Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales, described the UK governments designation of the MEK as being perverse and unlawful. In France, following an 11-year investigation into the conduct of the MEK, a French investigative magistrate ruled that the conduct of the MEK in Iran and in Camp Ashraf, Iraq, amounted to legitimate resistance against tyranny and not terrorism. AP has chosen to ignore all these findings by the courts. It has been proven beyond a shadow of doubt that the MEK was not in any way involved in the death of US military officers and Pentagon contractors who advised and assisted the Shahs military dictatorship nearly half-a-century ago. Not just the MEK, but the State Department and well-respected Iran experts have acknowledged this fact. It is surprising that the AP has failed to mention them. Several independent studies have concluded that the MEK had no role in those assassinations. The letter by 23 senior former officials, which AP referenced, includes supporting documents refuting this allegation. Neither the MEK nor any of its members has been convicted in any court of law anywhere of donation scams. Regarding the allegations cited from the RAND report, suffice it to say that this litany of lies and distortions was debunked not only by a detailed report which an independent, security-research firm compiled shortly after the publication of that report, but also by active-duty officers of the United States military, charged with the protection of Camp Ashraf from 2003 to 2009. Indeed, as reported by the New York Times in 2004, a 16-month investigation by seven different US agencies, including the Departments of States, Defense, Treasury, Justice, the FBI, the CIA, and the DEI, found no basis to charge any member of the group with the violation of American law. Moreover, U.S. military commanders testified before Congress that the MEK never engaged the US forces during the invasion of Iraq. Last but not least, The local cease-fire agreement of mutual understanding and coordination signed between the United States military and the MEK in April 2003, makes it clear that the MEK had not fired a single bullet against U.S. forces in Iraq. Now retired General and then Col. David Phillips, at the time the 89th MP Brigade Commander in charge of Camp Ashraf, wrote a letter in response to similar allegations by the Iranian regime about MEKs internal misconduct in 2005, published in the Congressional Record, Over the year-long period I was apprised of numerous reports of torture, concealed weapons and people being held against their will by the leadership of the Mujahedin e-Khalq. I directed my subordinate units to investigate each allegation. In many cases I personally led inspection teams on unannounced visits to the MeK/PMOI facilities where the alleged abuses were reported to occur Each report of torture, kidnapping and psychological depravation turned out to be unsubstantiatedI observed a total freedom of choice on the part of the members to either remain or depart from the MeK/PMOI. As for the Iranian regimes efforts to counter the rising popularity of the MEK, the Canadian daily, Toronto Sun quoted John Thompson, who heads up the Mackenzie Institute, a security minded think-tank, as saying, he was offered $80,000 by a man tied to Irans mission in Canada. They wanted me to publish a piece on the Mujahedin-e Khalq Iran is trying to get other countries to label it as a terrorist cult. In fact, for over three-decades, bipartisan majorities in the US House of Representatives and a very large group of bi-partisan Senator have lent their unequivocal support to the MEK, describing it as a legitimate resistance movement, despite being fully aware of these stale and threadbare accusations. They described the US policy, which had distanced itself from the pro-democracy movement in Iran in hopes of cultivating the non-existent moderate elements within the Iranian regime, as being wrong-headed. This remains to the be the single most important deficiency in the US policy that has spanned for nearly four decades with dangerously disastrous consequences. The AP story also fails to refer to what the MEK has done to expose the Iranian regimes terrorism and reveal the Iranian regimes major nuclear sites, which triggered the International Atomic Energy Agencys (IAEA) inspections of the uranium enrichment facility in Natanz and Heavy Water Facility in Arak in 2002 for the first time. Since then, the majority of the visits by the IAEA inspection teams have been to the sites first uncovered by the MEK. Relying on a vast network inside Iran, MEK revelations of the nuclear weapons program significantly contributed to the world peace. If it were not for the MEK nuclear revelations, Tehran would have had the Bomb by now. Congressman Brad Sherman (D-CA) told a House Foreign Affairs Committee Hearing We all owe a debt of gratitude to the MEK for bringing this information to the world, and causing the United States and the world to focus on the problem. Interestingly, in a press briefing at the State Department on September 12, 2016, then-Secretary John Kerry said that the complete relocation of the MEK from Iraq to Europe concludes a significant American diplomatic initiative that has assured the safety of more than 3,000 MEK members whose lives have been under threat. And in his farewell speech on January 19, 2017, Secretary Kerry added: And one of the things that I am very proud of is the effort we made I remember going to hearing after hearing, and you remember all those folks youd see up there in those yellow jackets representing the Mujahedin-e Khalq MEK as weve known them and we got 3,000 of them out of Camp Liberty and to places where they are safe and their lives are saved from being attacked regularly, as they were. The State Department officially thanked the American dignitaries, whose reputation was attempted to be tarnished, for their positive role in transfer of MEK members to outside of Iraq. Why would the US Secretary of State and his Department undertake such a massive effort to save the lives of members of a cult-like group that has been engaged in terrorism and killing Americans in the first place, if they believed such allegations were true? The second US President John Adams said, Facts are stubborn things; and whatever may be our wishes, our inclinations, or the dictates of our passions, they cannot alter the state of facts and evidence. The Associate Press and other prospective echo chamber experts and journalists should heed his apt advice. A Nigerian woman Mrs Omotayo, who suffered seven miscarriages, has penned a touching letter to her twin girls on their second birthday. Doctors in Nigeria told her that the babies won't make it after her water broke at 5-months, 1 week. The adorable girls were eventually born at 6 months and weighed 1.9kg. She took to her Instagram handle to pen down an emotional letter to her twin girls which she titled A Love Letter To My Wonderful Miracle Angels On Their 2nd Birthday Mrs Omotayo and her Twins READ ALSO: Bishop Tom Samson spotted with his luxurious Hummer Limousine in Lagos (photos) Read full post below: Twin girls "I can't believe u re 2 years old already My heart connected wit d both of u d moment I saw u I Remember when u were born? A long journey which created d bond we have today.my joy knew no bound when the doctor told me I was expecting twins after 7 miscarriages. A prayer answered with so much joy and anticipation I looked forward to ur arrival. Ur pregnancy drew me closer to God I prayed endlessly for Gods mercy and protection i ruptured membrane (my water broke) @ 5-months 1-week so confused but determined to do everything within my power so u can live after the doctors in Nigeria told me my babies cant make it cos i was just 5-months old with zero chances of survival. I knew it was time for me to call on God for he said he will never leave me nor forsake me. i took a big risk against doctors warnings that I shouldn't fly and left for Houston Tx. Before and after the arrival of her twin girls Thank God for his mercies. Miraculously contractions stopped tho I was still leaking water after 3-weeks contractions started again.4th Feb 2015 My Angels were born @6monthsweighed 900gm and 1kg. Both babies weighed 1.9kg it was a mixed feeling cos I wasn't sure very low birth weight. I worried about a lot of things mostly deformity. But my hope was fixed on God and God showed himself strong ever faithful, days passed by I prayed endlessly as I watched u both grow in the incubator. Very cute little Angels on d 3rd month my Angels were ready to go home no deformities at all. They passed all their tests. The way you look out for each other is so compassionate and kind and that is the most important thing I want u to give and receive in life - compassion and kindness ur pregnancy, birth and survival is an evidence of God's love for me I use ur story to encourage every woman mostly those still believing God for a miracle like u both that God is alive and can never fail. He will surly visit them like he visited me. HBD to my amazing angels Amal&Aimal #Omotayotwingirls#Love u my super stars. Congratulations! READ ALSO: How Ooni of Ifes prayer helped me travel round the world in 9 months Ademilola Odujinrin (photos) See more beautiful pictures below: Amal and Aimal Adorable twins The Omotayo twins So cute! Watch video of how woman lost her children at a demolition site in Lagos: Source: Legit.ng The Nigerian police have arrested a female prostitute identified as Ebere Ugwu, for allegedly biting part of her younger sisters nose during a dirty fight. According to a report by PM Express, the shocking incident happened at a popular hangout located at Church Street, Jakande Estate in the Isolo area of Lagos state where both ladies hustle for clients who came to patronize them. Not real photo The 26-year-old reportedly brought Ifeoma, her sister to Lagos from their Abakaliki, Ebonyi State to join her to solicit for male customers in a bar for fee. It however turned out that Ifeoma, who is new and more pretty than her elder sister started attracting more of Eberes clients to the extent that Ebere hardly get clients again. PAY ATTENTION: Get all the latest gossips on NAIJ Gossip App On the day of the incident, it was learnt that as usual, a particular client of Ebere abandoned her and switched to Ifeoma. Ebere then told her sister to leave the client for him but went on and sleep with the client. After the client left, Ebere demanded N10,000 from her sister been the money the client usually pay her. This resulted in exchange of words between the two sisters which later resulted into a fight and in the process, Ebere gave Ifeoma a bite on her nose. The matter was reported to the police at Ejigbo division and Ebere was arrested and charged to court at the Ejigbo Magistrates court, where she was arraigned, and pleaded not guilty. The presiding Magistrate, Akeem Fashola granted Ebere bail in the sum of N50,000 with two sureties in like sum, though she was remanded in prison custody pending when she will perfect her bail condition. Source: Legit.ng After a ballistic missile test by the Islamic republic, President Donald Trumps administration on Friday imposed new sanctions on Iran. The U.S. claims the missile test was a violation of a United Nations resolution. Along with the new sanctions, Trumps travel ban against Iran and six other majority-Muslim countries drew vows of retaliation from Tehran. Richard Aboulafia, vice president of analysis at Virginia-based industry consultancy Teal Group said, The Trump administration is absolutely determined to ratchet up tensions and the Iranians will of course, being hardliners there, want to do the same. Boeing announced an agreement for Iran Air, the countrys flag carrier, in December, to buy 50 of its narrow-body 737 passenger jets and 30 of the wide-body 777 aircraft. Based on list prices for the planes, Boeing valued at the deal at $16.6 billon. Industry observers say Tehran may pull out of the deal if tensions continue to worsen. Besides the sale, the Boeing deal includes maintenance services and ongoing support, such as spare parts for the jets. Russell Solomon, Moodys analyst who covers the aerospace and defense industry, said, Its a risk, but not something that will overwhelm [Boeing]. He added, They do have a tremendous amount of operating and financial flexibility because of strength of the balance sheet, a strong liquidity profile and a very significant order book. According to Daniels, At the end of 2016, Boeings backlog stood at $473 billion with more than 5,700 commercial airplane orders. Boeing led Airbus in commercial airplane deliveries last year, 748 aircraft compared with 688 for Airbus. A Boeing spokesman said on Friday, that the Chicago-based company is still operating under the U.S. Treasury Departments Office of Foreign Assets Control license who, during the Obama administration, provided federal authorization for the sale. Should we receive new guidance from the Treasury Department, we will act accordingly, the Boeing official stated. According to the Moodys analyst, the economics of the Iran deal were far less compelling than they are for Boeing on average when it conducts business with airline carriers. He went on to explain that some of the orders were for older model planes, while the current generation planes are considered more lucrative and desirable. Additionally, he said that Boeing can afford to give a bigger discount [on the current generation planes] to keep the production line humming along. The new sanctions imposed on Friday by Trump targets individuals and entities that support Irans ballistic missile program and to the Irans Revolutionary Guard Corps Quds Force. According to Iran, the missiles are not capable of carrying nuclear warheads and were intended for defensive purposes, so they were not in violation of any U.N. resolution. Irans Tasnim news agency reported that on Saturday, new military exercises were conduced, to test missile and radar systems to deal with hypothetical enemys aerial attacks on sensitive sites. Tasnim also reported on Monday, that Iran unveiled a new guided rocket and assault weapons, to show off what it referred to as Irans self-sufficiency in arms production. The first airplanes under the Boeing deal are scheduled for delivery in 2018. Last month, Frances Airbus delivered its first passenger jet to Iran Air under a separate commercial aircraft contract that includes wide-body A380s, the worlds largest passenger jet, Daniels wrote, adding, Irans aging fleet of passenger jets is among the oldest in the world due to commercial and financial sanctions that were in place for decades. The average age of Iran Airs planes now exceeds 20 years and Tehran and been looking to Airbus, Boeing and other airplane manufacturers to modernize its fleet. On Saturday, Irans Fars news agency reported that another Western airplane manufacturer, the French-Italian aircraft company ATR, is preparing to sell turboprop short-haul airplanes to Iran. Discussions were scheduled for Sunday. Financing airplanes to Iran remains risky business, analysts say. This is, in part, because Iran is not a signatory country to the Cape Town Treaty, which provides legal remedies for default in financing agreements as well as the repossession of capital goods such as aircraft. Boeing will probably have to backstop a lot of that [financing] on its own, said Solomon. He believes Boeing may not go very far without third-party financiers. Just as Airbus is believed to have done: provided backstop financing for as many as six passenger jets to Iran, but relying on third-party financiers for the rest. 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 Launched from Dasht-e Kavir, a remote area 45 miles south of Semnan, the Iranian Sayyad, or Hunter, missiles were launched successfully, officials said, adding that these missiles are used to down aircraft and incoming ballistic missiles. Its unclear whether Sayyad-1s or Sayyad-2s were launched on Sunday. The Type 2 missiles range is up to 125 miles, but the Type 1 can only fly up to 75 miles. Officials say that the missiles appear similar from satellite imagery. Both Type 1 and Type 2 have been in Irans arsenal since 2013, when mass production began. The officials believe that the launches were scheduled to coincide with Irans 10 Days of Dawn celebrations, that mark 37 years since the Iranian Revolution in 1979. February 1, the anniversary of Ayatollah Khomeinis return to Iran after 15 years in exile, was the day that the celebrations began. Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavis regime collapsed just 10 days after Khomeinis return. A separate military exercise on Saturday was conducted by Irans Revolutionary Guard, to test its missile and radar systems, and came after Michael Flynn, National Security Adviser, declared that the U.S. was putting Iran on notice for testing ballistic missiles and supporting Houthi rebels in Yemen. About a week ago, Iran apparently conducted its first ballistic missile test during the new Trump Presidency. At the same time, defense officials said, the Iran-backed rebels may have been targeting the U.S. in their recent attack on a Saudi ship. In a tweet Friday, Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif said,We will never use our weapons against anyone, except in self-defense. Let us see if any of those who complain can make the same statement. Although U.N. Resolution 2231 states that Iran is called upon not to conduct ballistic missile tests, it does not forbid them from doing so. The resolution went into effect days after the landmark Nuclear Deal was signed by world powers including the U.S. [February 07, 2017] WISeKey (SIX:WIHN) signs binding agreements to acquire a 85% interest in the Cybersecurity Industry Leader QuoVadis adding eIDAS Certification to its vertical platform and provides preliminary financial reporting for FY2016 and FY2017 outlook WISeKey International Holding Ltd (WIHN:SW), a leading Swiss cybersecurity and IoT company whose Class B Shares are listed on SIX Swiss Exchange announced today that it has signed a binding agreement to acquire 85% of QV Holdings Ltd ("QuoVadis"), a leading managed Public Key Infrastructure ("mPKI"), Certification Authority ("CA (News - Alert)") and electronic signature services ("eID") company domiciled in Hamilton, Bermuda with operating activities in Switzerland, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, the United Kingdom, and Bermuda (the "Transaction"). The Transaction is expected to close in Q1 2017, subject to the satisfaction of all closing conditions. Upon closing of the transaction, WISeKey will hold 85% of the issued and outstanding equity interest of QuoVadis. Upon completion of the transaction, WISeKey will pay to QuoVadis' selling equity holders a cash consideration of USD13,000,000 plus 1,110,000 newly issued WIHN Class B Shares issued from existing authorized capital, subject to a lock-up period of 3 months. WISeKey will also repay indebtedness of QuoVadis in the amount of USD2,000,000. Existing Management Shareholders of QuoVadis will initially continue to hold a 15% minority stake in QuoVadis, and will thus remain committed to the implementation of the high growth, stand-alone business plan of QuoVadis as well as realizing the significant revenue synergies identified between existing business verticals of WISeKey and QuoVadis. WISeKey intends to acquire the remaining 15% stake of the management shareholders of QuoVadis in May 2018, based on the financial performance of QuoVadis. The QuoVadis Opportunity: QuoVadis is a leading global Certification Authority ("CA") providing Trust/Link managed Public Key Infrastructure ("PKI") services, including TLS/SSL digital certificates for Web security as well as a wide variety of end entity uses including eID for authentication, encryption, and digital signature. QuoVadis also provides both on-premises and cloud-based seal e-signature solutions including mass signing for tasks such as e-invoicing and "roaming" options for individuals. QuoVadis has particular strength serving enterprise customers, with more than 300 large cap and 3000 overall customers worldwide including Europe, the United States, and Australia. For FY2016, QuoVadis generated approx. USD18 million of revenues and approx. USD4 million of EBITDA. For FY2017, pro forma QuoVadis projects stand-alone revenues in excess of USD20 million and EBITDA of USD7 million. QuoVadis is an established Qualified Trust Services Provider ("TSP") both in the European Union under the eIDAS regulation for eID and electronic transactions and in Switzerland under ZertES. The Company has significant experience in public eID including the Dutch PKIoverheid and eHerkenning and the Swiss SuisseID programmes. QuoVadis is the only TSP accredited in multiple countries with real operations on the ground, balancing services to both the public sector and the corporate markets. QuoVadis has significant operations in Switzerland, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, the United Kingdom and Bermuda. The integration of QuoVadis into the WISeKey Vertical Platform will ensure that users and businesses can use their own national electronic identification schemes (eIDs) to access public services in other EU countries where eIDs are available. It allows WISeKey to create a European internal market for eTS - namely electronic signatures, electronic seals, time stamp, electronic delivery services and website authentication - by ensuring that they will work across borders and have the same legal status as traditional paper based processes. Only by providing certainty on the legal validity of all these services, businesses and citizens will use the digital interactions as their natural way of interaction. With eIDAS, the EU has managed to lay down the right foundations and a predictable legal framework for people, companies (in particular SMEs) and public administrations to safely access to services and do transactions online and across border in just "one click". Indeed, rolling out eIDAS means higher security and more convenience for any online activity such submitting tax declarations, enrolling in a foreign university, remotely opening a bank account, setting up a business in another Member State, authenticating for internet payments, bidding to on line call for tender, etc. This Transaction will bring strong synergies to WISekey with the large recurring customer base of QuoVadis' proven Trust/Link and sealsign technologies; in-depth operations experience running multiple secure and high-availability trustcentre environments under strict accreditation regimes; and adopt sales and support teams based in important customer markets, including Switzerland. Carlos Moreira, Chairman & CEO of WISeKey, commented: "We are happy to announce that following reciprocal due diligence, we have signed this binding agreement to initially acquire 85% of QuoVadis, a leading managed PKI provider in Europe for over a decade, in Q1 2017, with the remaining 15% held by Management Shareholders of QuoVadis to be acquired in May 2018. This acquisition will immediately give WISeKey access to a large clientele in the financial, industrial, and media sectors and expand our geographic footprint in Europe." Roma Brunner, CEO of QuoVadis, said: "QuoVadis is enjoying rapid growth providing electronic trust services across the European markets based on our proven track record for local support, practical advice, and implementation success. The transaction with WISeKey will enable QuoVadis to extend our growth serving our multinational corporate markets, as well as the fast evolving markets for eIDAS cross border services and Internet of Things ("IoT")." Mr. Moreira added: "2016 was an important year for WISeKey. In September 2016, we completed the acquisition of VaultIC the IoT integrated circuits and semiconductor business of INSIDE Secure, and created the first ever comprehensive trusted end-to-end cybersecurity platform for people and objects (IoT). This acquisition alone, is expected to add over USD30 million into our top line for FY2017. Together with QuoVadis, these two businesses are expected to add more than USD50 million (pro forma combined) to our top line in FY2017, whilst new business generated from cross-selling opportunities, e.g. Joint Venture Agreements we already signed in 2016 in India and Argentina and others currently discussed for other jurisdictions, as well as revenues generated from WISeKey's existing clientele is expected to bring additional significant revenues already in FY2017. While we started 2017 on a strong note, will continue to take steps to further expand our business in the U.S. and internationally, having as an ultimate goal the increase of shareholder value. We look forward to announce our progress as we hit new milestones." ACXIT Capital Partners AG acted as exclusive strategic and financial advisor to WISeKey and Homburger AG acted as legal counsel to WISeKey in this Transaction. Marlin & Associates acted as exclusive strategic and financial advisor to QuoVadis and Kirkland & Ellis acted as legal counsel to investment funds managed by ABRY Partners II, LLC, which were the selling equity holders in the Transaction together with KeyTech Limited. Preliminary reporting for FY2016 of WISeKey The year 2016 was a transformative year for WISeKey, including a re-organization in preparation for the successful listing of the Company's Class B Shares on the SIX Swiss Exchange on 31 March, 2016. WISeKey has since then achieved significant further milestones on its vision and strategy to become a globally leading Vertical Cybersecurity Platform integrating Root of Trust eIDS, IoT and Blockchain to provide an end to end service to its clients. On 20 September 2016, WISeKey closed the previously announced acquisition of Vault IC, the semiconductor activities of INSIDE Secure market leader on semiconductors. As a result, the FY2016 financial results of WISeKey only reflect approximately one quarter of Vault IC acquisition. In sum, WISeKey expects FY2016 consolidated revenues to be approx. USD11.0 million which compares to a consolidated combined revenues of USD2.3 million for FY2015. Reported consolidated net loss for FY2016 will be around USD43 million, impacted by non-cash, accounting book losses of USD32 million arising from the corporate reorganization of the WISeKey Group executed in March 2016 prior to WISeKey's listing of its Class B Shares on SIX Swiss Exchange Ltd and the issuance of options and warrants in Q1 2016 prior to the Listing with a strike below a then hypothetical market price for the WISeKey Shares of between CHF10.00 and CHF15.00, which compares to consolidated combined net loss for FY2015 of USD6.5 million. As of 31 December 2017, the cash balance of WIHN was approx. USD5.0 million. Other than the promissory mandatory convertible loan note with a principal amount of USD11.0 million that was given to Inside secure as part of the purchase price consideration for the acquisition of Vault IC and that formally has to be accounted for as "financial debt" under US GAAP, WISeKey had no financial debt outstanding as of 31 December 2016. WISeKey Outlook WISeKey announced in January 2017 that it has obtained an USD16.4 million secured line of credit facility for acquisition financing with maturity up to 18 months from ExWorks Capital, a U.S. private debt fund specializing in international trade and working capital financing, with the possibility to syndicate / upsize the credit facility by a further up to USD10.0 million. This credit facility inter alia allowed WISeKey to sign the binding agreement for the acquisition of QuoVadis represents a further key milestone in WISeKey's continued growth strategy in the European Cybersecurity & IoT industry sector. WISeKey is on its path to become the leading Cyber Security Vertical Platform whilst addressing the fast growing IoT cybersecurity and Blockchain space. WISeKey is leveraging opportunities arising from efforts to continue its growth strategy in the highly fragmented cybersecurity industry, which is in the midst of a deals boom, by focusing on cash-generating companies and smaller start-ups with innovative technologies on Cybersecurity, IoT, Blockchain and Artificial Intelligence ("AI"). The Pro forma combined, consolidated revenues for FY2016 of WISeKey, Vault IC and including QuoVadis (the "run rate") are approx. USD51 million. WISeKey's strategy to consolidate the European cybersecurity and Blockchain space is mandatorily associated to a constant evaluation of potential add-on acquisitions. Thus, WISeKey has already identified several potential additional strategic acquisitions and it is in the process of analyzing where some of them may be still pursued in 2017, especially in several high growth cybersecurity markets such as China and USA. In addition, following the establishment of a Joint Venture in India and the announcement of a Joint Venture in Argentina, WISeKey is in ongoing discussions regarding the establishment of additional WISeKey Joint Ventures for selected jurisdictions requiring to operate under WISeKey's National Root of Trusts and expects some of them to materialize via binding agreements with the key Joint Venture partners in 2017. As a result, WISeKey projects probability weighted, for all these additional potential strategic acquisitions and JV establishments consolidated revenues for FY2017 of between USD110 million and USD120 million, and is expecting to achieve profitability on all P&L levels. About WISeKey WISeKey is a leading cybersecurity company currently deploying large scale Internet of Things ("IoT") digital identity ecosystems and has become a pioneer of the 4th Industrial Revolution (News - Alert) movement. WISeKey's Swiss based Cryptographic Root of Trust ("RoT") integrates wearable technology with secure authentication and identification, in both physical and virtual environments, and empowers IoT and wearable devices to become secure transactional devices. WISeKey has patented this process in the USA as it is currently used by many IoT providers. For more information, visit www.wisekey.com To receive WISeKey's latest news, subscribe to our Newsletter or visit the WISeKey Investors Corner. About QuoVadis A leading global Certification Authority (CA), QuoVadis provides managed PKI platforms for digital certificates, TLS/SSL, eID, and e-signatures tailored to multinational enterprises and the European markets. QuoVadis is a Qualified Trust Service Provider (TSP) in the European Union and Switzerland. QuoVadis digital certificates and services are audited and accredited under European (eIDAS) and Swiss (ZertES) electronic transactions standards, as well as the global WebTrust standard. With a European headquarters in St. Gallen, QuoVadis also has operations in Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, the UK, and Bermuda. For more information, visit www.quovadisglobal.com Disclaimer: This communication expressly or implicitly contains certain forward-looking statements concerning WISeKey International Holding Ltd and its business. Such statements involve certain known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, which could cause the actual results, financial condition, performance or achievements of WISeKey International Holding Ltd to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. WISeKey International Holding Ltd is providing this communication as of this date and does not undertake to update any forward-looking statements contained herein as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. This press release does not constitute an offer to sell, or a solicitation of an offer to buy, any securities, and it does not constitute an offering prospectus within the meaning of article 652a or article 1156 of the Swiss Code of Obligations or a listing prospectus within the meaning of the listing rules of the SIX Swiss Exchange. Investors must rely on their own evaluation of WISeKey and its securities, including the merits and risks involved. Nothing contained herein is, or shall be relied on as, a promise or representation as to the future performance of WISeKey. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170206006279/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [February 07, 2017] PipelineRx Demonstrates Bolstered Scalability and Capacity of PowerGridRx Telepharmacy Platform at HIMSS17 SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 7, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- PipelineRx, a leading medication management technology company focused on clinical telepharmacy, today announced strengthened system capacity and scalability of its PowerGridRx telepharmacy platform as part of its latest software release. Demonstrations of the software platform and recently introduced clinical services will be available in booth #3479 at the HIMSS17 Conference & Exhibition, taking place February 19-23 in Orlando. Currently over 300 hospitals deploy the Company's solutions across the United States, with PipelineRx processing 1.2 million medication line items each month. PowerGridRx enables hospitals of any size to centralize or network clinical pharmacy support across an organization with real-time data transparency. The cloud-based software helps improve the efficiency of medication order review and verification, and delivers more clinical interventions with the highest level of acceptance rates from physicians. By optimizing pharmacy staff and streamlining operational workflow, PipelineRx's customers are providing better patient care while freeing up pharmacists for more clinical activities. The platform also enables larger hospital systems and IDNs to generate revenue by providing pharmacy services to nearby facilities. The latest version of PowerGridRx includes features that improve pharmacist efficiency and enhance management of multi-site telepharmacies, in addition to greater system stability and scalability. These features are consistent with PipelineRx's aim of increasing pharmacist productivity and quality while enabling optimization across multi-site healthcare networkseven those with disparate healthcare information systems. Version 2.9 helps clinical users by: Broadening the scope of viewable patient information and improving the search capability through interoperable information exchange with EHR systems; Organizing and partitioning user information for enhanced security and reporting; And, enabling rapid deployment and stability through an accelerated message-processing feature that handles large amounts of information in uneven flows of millions of data streams per month. The result is a platform that shows both short- and long-term operational and financial benefits for telepharmacies. PipelineRx's user base has greatly expanded in the past year, and the performance and stability of PowerGridRx has proven essential to their growth. "Our team has made significant development investments in our cloud-based SaaS platform, including a high availability (HA) architecture for scalability and reliability, enhanced user interface components to present an efficient and modern workflow, and a foundation for data capture and analytics to support our big data initiatives," explains Ben Buxton, VP of Engineering. Brian Roberts, CEO of PipelineRx, explains, "As medication and operating costs continue to increase, this pressure requires healthcare systems to rethink how they organize work. Telepharmacy is a key opportunity that can both reduce costs and improve patient outcomes. We look forward to demonstrating how we are investing in the future for our hospital partners across the country at HIMSS. By continuing to increase the volume of medication line items we are able to verify, we are helping to ensure patient safety for our customers and their communities." About PipelineRx PipelineRx is the leading independent medication management telepharmacy provider serving individual acute and specialty hospitals and integrated delivery networks through its services and software solutions. The Company's telepharmacy solutions enable hospitals to dramatically increase operating efficiencies while ensuring medication efficacy, increasing patient safety, and improving clinical outcomes. PipelineRx differentiates its unique services via its integrated, private, cloud-based technology platform, PowerGridRx, and its optimized, distributed telepharmacist network. PipelineRx is privately held and headquartered in San Francisco, California. For more information about PipelineRx, please visit www.pipelinerx.com. Vera Zlidenny Jessika Parry Director of Marketing Next Step Communications [email protected] [email protected] 877-696-9101 x1031 781-326-1741 To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/pipelinerx-demonstrates-bolstered-scalability-and-capacity-of-powergridrx-telepharmacy-platform-at-himss17-300403284.html SOURCE PipelineRx [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [February 07, 2017] PhishLabs Releases 2017 Phishing Trends & Intelligence Report, Revealing Profound Shift in Who is Targeted and Why PhishLabs, the leading provider of 24/7 phishing defense and intelligence solutions, today released its 2017 Phishing Trends & Intelligence Report. Researched and authored by PhishLabs R.A.I.D. (Research, Analysis, and Intelligence Division), the report exposes significant changes in the fundamental dynamics and undercurrent of today's phishing landscape that will impact organizations in profound ways for years to come. The 2017 Phishing Trends & Intelligence Report can be downloaded at https://info.phishlabs.com/2017-phishing-trends-and-intelligence-report-pti "The business model of phishing has evolved. The bad guys have found ways to multiply their profits at the expense of organizations they aren't even attacking directly," said Joseph Opacki, PhishLabs Vice President of Threat Research. "The potential impact of this can't be overstated. It needs everyone's awareness and attention." Based on attack volume, cloud storage nearly surpassed financial institutions as the most phished industry in 2016. If current trends continue, attacks targeting cloud storage providers will outpace all others in 2017. This is a monumental shift from historic trends that reflects a prominent expansion of how phishers profit. Not only does this shift impact those targeted by phishing attacks directly, it also impacts any organization that relies on email addresses and passwords to authenticate their users. While the volume of attacks targeting financial institutions continues to grow, the volume of attacks targeting sites with massive user bases, such as cloud storage providers, has exploded. Phishers are targeting these sites in order to mass harvest email address/password pairs. Due to the widespread reliance on email addresses instead of unique usernames and the frequency in which passwords are reused, a high percentage of these stolen credentials provide access to multiple accounts in addition to the account being directly phished; increasing the potential yield of a single attack exponentially. It also means that organizations uing email addresses as usernames can reasonably assume that a significant portion of their users' credentials have been compromised via phishing attacks that are not targeting them directly. Additional key findings of the PhishLabs 2017 Phishing Trends & Intelligence Report include: PhishLabs R.A.I.D. identified phishing sites residing on more than 170,000 unique domains, a 23% increase. Phishing volume grew by an average of more than 33% across the five most-targeted industries. Attacks targeting government tax authorities have grown more than 300% since 2014. There were more IRS phishing attacks in January 2016 than there were in all of 2015. Attacks on Canadian institutions grew 237%, more than any other country. Ransomware attacks, the predominant type of malware being distributed via phishing, are now focusing on organizations that are more likely to pay ransoms, such as healthcare, government, critical infrastructure, education, and small businesses. In a deviation from prior years, phishing volume peaked mid-year due to the influence of major global events, such as Brexit, and a spike in virtual web server compromises. The share of attacks against targets in the United States continues to grow, accounting for more than 81% of all phishing attacks. Although 59% of phishing sites were hosted in the United States, there was a significant increase in the number of phishing sites hosted in Eastern Europe. Although the .COM top-level domain (TLD) was associated with more than half of all phishing sites in 2016, new generic TLDs are becoming a more popular option for phishing because they are low cost and can be used to create convincing phishing domains. Of more than 29,000 phish kits analyzed, more than a third used techniques to evade detection. A phish kit is a collection of files containing the files and graphics needed to easily create a phishing site. The information and analysis contained in the PhishLabs 2017 Phishing Trends and Intelligence Report is sourced from the company's 24/7 operations and technologies used to fight back against phishing attacks. In 2016, PhishLabs analyzed nearly one million confirmed malicious phishing sites and mitigated more than 7,800 phishing attacks per month, investigating their underlying infrastructure and shutting them down. The company also analyzed thousands of unique malware samples from more than 100 ransomware variants and more than 20 banking Trojan families. The report's primary authors, Opacki, and Senior Security Threat Researcher Crane Hassold, will meet attendees, analysts and media at RSA Conference 2017, Feb. 13-16, in San Francisco. Both Opacki and Hassold are both former FBI subject-matter experts, and will present the report's key findings in a live discussion. Space is limited and registration is required. https://info.phishlabs.com/2017-vip-experience-rsvp-0. PhishLabs also will host a webinar detailing the report's key findings on Feb. 28. About PhishLabs Founded in 2008 and headquartered in Charleston, South Carolina, USA, PhishLabs provides 24/7 cybersecurity and threat intelligence services that help organizations fight back against attacks targeting their employees and customers. PhishLabs is trusted by four of the top five U.S. financial institutions, seven of the top 25 global financial institutions, leading social media and career sites, and top healthcare, retail, insurance and technology companies. In addition to mitigating more than 6,000 phishing attacks per month, PhishLabs clients benefit from real-world actionable intelligence, analysis, and guidance from the PhishLabs R.A.I.D. research division, which is comprised of some of the world's most respected malware researchers, reverse engineers, and threat analysts focused on monitoring global attack trends, dissecting cyber tradecraft, and tracking cybercrime. For more information, visit https://www.phishlabs.com and follow @phishlabs. PhishLabs and T2 are registered trademarks or trademarks of Ecrime Management Strategies, Inc., in the United States and other countries. All other brands, products, or service names are or may be trademarks or service marks of their respective owners. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170207005865/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] BBC Africa will bring audiences across the world special programmes from Malawi. Available to hear on Friday 1 7 th Feb at 1500 GMT on the BBC World Service, BBC Africa Debate will look at how distrust of the news is affecting African press. Listeners from across the continent can also join in with the discussion by using the hashtag #BBCAfricaDebate on social media. Presenters Akwasi Sarpong and Didi Akinyelure, will be joined by a local audience and a guest panel in Blantyre, Malawi. The recording will take place Weds 15th Feb and the debate will include a senior government official, media representatives from the public and private sector, media regulators, bloggers and news consumers. The increased use of the internet and social media platforms has changed how journalists work and the way that citizens find and share information and entertainment. In Africa, rumours of such things as a countrys leaders illness and allegations of ballot rigging can spread quickly. What problems does this present to the African press? And is it a journalists job to expose or respond to news that isnt true? Japanese electronics company NEC is updating its LaVie Hybrid Zero line of thin and light convertible notebooks. The new models pack Intel Kaby Lake processors and NEC will offer models with 11.6 inch and 13.3 inch displays. The lightest model weighs just 769 grams (about 1.7 pounds), despite featuring a 13.3 inch display. Much like Dells XPS 13 laptops, the LaVie Hybrid Zero HZ350 is smaller than most notebooks with similar-sized screens, thanks to slim bezels around the display and a webcam thats placed below the screen rather than above it. But theres another reason for its light weight: NEC says the laptop has a battery that should only provide up to 6.5 hours of run time on a charge. If you want more battery life, there are also slightly heavier HZ550 and HZ750 models that offer up to 10 hours of battery life. Each model is also compatible with an optional fast charging adapter. The 13.3 inch Hybrid Zero laptops feature convertible designs with 360-degree hinges that allow you to push the screen all the way back and hold the laptop like a tablet. But the company also has a new line of 11.6 inch LaVie Hybrid Zero 2-in-1 laptops with Kaby Lake chips and detachable keyboards. The NEC LaVie Hybrid Zero HZ300 series computers are also pretty compact, with a starting weight of 786 grams (1.73 pounds) when using both the keyboard and tablet together. The tablet alone weighs 398 grams (14 ounces). While NEC laptops are rarely sold in the United States, a few years ago NEC did partner with Lenovo to sell some models internationally under the Lenovo LaVie Z name. Theres no word on if or when these new models will be available outside of Japan. What are airlines required to do when they change flight schedules with regard to customer notification and accommodation? I'll to give the nutshell version of my issue with American Airlines. I booked an award flight (DC to Bangkok) using AA miles last March initially for a trip to begin Feb 11 of this year. After a couple of issues came up on my end I decided that I would prefer to travel at a later date and rebooked the same general itinerary on AA and Cathay Pacific for a flight departing on March 24 of this year at the end of April last year. Essentially the end of schedule at the time. AA reissued the ticket and everything seemed to be fine. I discovered in late November totally by accident that my flight from DCA to JFK had been moved to a later time which would have made the connection impossible. AA never bothered to contact me to tell me about this change, I just happened to check it on my own. I called back and they were able to find available seats routing via Boston instead of JFK the evening before - so March 23. I thought everything was all set until I checked a few weeks ago and noticed that the status said "on request" instead of "ticketed". This concerned me so I called them again and was informed by the first person I spoke to that since I was departing more than 1 year from the date the trip was initially ticketed (by 2 days) that this was not possible. At no point up until that point had anyone mentioned anything about this. I called again a couple of days later and the rep I spoke to at that time didn't mention that as a problem and said she would try to force the reservation through. But after several days of it not being ticketed I called again and was told to wait a week. When it still didn't ticket I called again and was told by another rep that since my travel date was more than a year after ticketing that I couldn't do it and that there was no way it would ticket. Again, no one had mentioned this rule when I initially rebooked the trip and in fact it did ticket at that point. But she wouldn't listen to me. I had to pay $150 to get my miles restored to my account. Luckily I found a seat on Korean that I booked with their miles so I managed to salvage my trip. But I am pretty angry with AA over their lack of notice regarding this whole situation. I sent an email via their form and got a boilerplate response that didn't really address my issue. Shouldn't they at least send an email when they change the schedule by a large amount? 5 or 10 minutes is not a big deal. But a 90 minute change that will cause a missed connection seems like an important thing. Of course I'm also angry about their lack of notice regarding the ticketing rule they used to refuse me service. If I hadn't checked into all of this I would have arrived at the airport with no idea about all of these problems. (HealthDay)Endoscopy during pregnancy is associated with increased risk of preterm birth or small for gestational age, according to a study published in the February issue of Gastroenterology. Jonas F. Ludvigsson, M.D., Ph.D., from the Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm, and colleagues conducted a nationwide population-based cohort study linking data from the Swedish Medical Birth Registry and the Swedish Patient Registry. A total of 3,052 pregnancies exposed to endoscopy were identified (2,025 upper endoscopies, 1,109 lower endoscopies, and 58 endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatographies); pregnancy outcomes were compared with 1,589,173 unexposed pregnancies. The researchers observed a significantly increased risk of preterm birth (adjusted relative risk [ARR], 1.54; 95 percent confidence interval [CI], 1.36 to 1.75) or small for gestational age (ARR, 1.3; 95 percent CI, 1.07 to 1.57) with exposure to any endoscopy, but no significantly increased risk of congenital malformation (ARR, 1; 95 percent CI, 0.83 to 1.2) or stillbirth (ARR, 1.45; 95 percent CI, 0.87 to 2.4). For women with endoscopy, none of the stillbirths occurred less than two weeks after endoscopy. The ARRs were not dependent on trimester. "In a nationwide population-based cohort study, we found endoscopy during pregnancy to be associated with increased risk of preterm birth or small for gestational age, but not of congenital malformation or stillbirth," the authors write. "However, these risks are small and likely due to intrafamilial factors or disease activity." Copyright 2017 HealthDay. All rights reserved. (HealthDay)A group of family physicians warns that too many Americans struggle with high blood pressure. High blood pressure is a major risk factor for heart attack and heart failure, said Dr. John Meigs Jr., president of the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP). Since February is National Heart Month, now is a good time for people to get their blood pressure under control and treated so they can avoid heart disease, Meigs said. A 2016 survey by the AAFP and data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show that 29 percent of Americans (75 million people) have high blood pressure, and only 54 percent have it under control. "This finding is concerning because we know that high blood pressure and heart attacks or chronic heart failure are so closely related," Meigs said in an AAFP news release. "According to the CDC, seven out of 10 people who have a first heart attack have high blood pressure. Seven out of 10 people who develop chronic heart failure have high blood pressure. So it's important that people know what their blood pressure is and work with their family physician to treat it," he said. "Get your blood pressure checked. If you have high blood pressure, work with your doctor to treat it and lower your risk factors," Meigs advised. "That same advice applies to knowing what your blood cholesterol levels are," he added. Meigs said you can work with your family physician "to prevent or reduce the risk factors that lead to heart disease. Learn about heart health and what you can do in your everyday life to stay healthy." More information: The American Heart Association has more on The American Heart Association has more on high blood pressure Copyright 2017 HealthDay. All rights reserved. Credit: Bacteria are not the sole cause of caries; tooth resistance also plays an instrumental role. Researchers from the University of Zurich demonstrate that mutated genes lead to defects in the tooth enamel and can therefore encourage the development of caries. Why do some people develop caries even though they always brush their teeth carefully while others are less stringent regarding dental hygiene yet do not have any holes? Ultimately, both have bacteria on the surface of their teeth which can attack the enamel. Enamel forms via the mineralization of specific enamel proteins. If the outer layer of the teeth is defective, tooth decay can strike. Researchers from the University of Zurich have now pinpointed a gene complex for the first time that is responsible for the formation of tooth enamel. Two teams from the Centre of Dental Medicine and the Institute of Molecular Life Sciences used mice with varying mutations of the enamel proteins involved in the so-called Wnt signaling pathway. Thanks to this transmission route, human and animal cells respond to external signals and specifically activate selected genes in the cell nucleus. The signaling pathway is essential for embryonal development and also plays a pivotal role in the development of cancer or physical malformations. Mutations in proteins trigger defective tooth enamel "All mice with mutations in these proteins exhibit teeth with enamel defects," explains Pierfrancesco Pagella, one of the study's two first authors. "Therefore, we demonstrated that there is a direct link between mutations in the genetic blueprints for these proteins and the development of tooth enamel defects." This genetic discovery goes a long way towards improving our understanding of the production of tooth enamel. The team of researchers was the first in the world to use modern genetic, molecular and biochemical methods to study tooth enamel defects in detail. "We discovered that three particular proteins involved in the Wnt signaling pathway aren't just involved in the development of severe illnesses, but also in the qualitative refinement of highly developed tissue," says co-first author Claudio Cantu from the molecular biologist research group lead by Prof. Konrad Basler. "If the signal transmission isn't working properly, the structure of the tooth enamel can change." Increased risk of caries with defective tooth enamel The hardness and composition of the tooth enamel can affect the progression of caries. "We revealed that tooth decay isn't just linked to bacteria, but also the tooth's resistance," says Thimios Mitsiadis, Professor of Oral Biology at the Center of Dental Medicine. Bacteria and their toxic products can easily penetrate enamel with a less stable structure, which leads to carious lesions, even if oral hygiene is maintained. Understanding the molecular-biological connections of tooth enamel development and the impact of mutations that lead to enamel defects opens up new possibilities for the prevention of caries. "New products that hinder the progress of tooth caries in the event of defective tooth enamel will enable us to improve the dental health of patients considerably," adds Mitsiadis. More information: C. Cantu, P. Pagella, T. D. Shajiei, D. Zimmerli, T. Valenta, G. Hausmann, K. Basler and T. A. Mitsiadis. A cytoplasmic role of Wnt--catenin transcriptional cofactors in tooth enamel formation. Science Signaling. February 7, 2017. Journal information: Science Signaling C. Cantu, P. Pagella, T. D. Shajiei, D. Zimmerli, T. Valenta, G. Hausmann, K. Basler and T. A. Mitsiadis. A cytoplasmic role of Wnt--catenin transcriptional cofactors in tooth enamel formation.. February 7, 2017. DOI: 10.1126/scisignal.aah4598 Credit: Radboud University The left side of the spinal cord matures slightly faster than the right side in human embryos of four to eight weeks age. This is the earliest left-right difference of development in the human nervous system yet discovered. An international team led by scientists from the Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics and Radboud University's Donders Institute revealed this by studying the activity levels of many genes. Their results are now published as an advance online publication in Biological Psychiatry. Our nervous systems have left-right differences that are important for correct functioning. Handedness is probably the best known asymmetry arising from the development of the nervous system. This is observed very early on: embryos of eight weeks already tend to move their right arms more often than their left arms. At this 'age' signals are not sent from the brain to the arms yet, but only from the spinal cord. A few weeks later, left-right differences also become visible in the shape and size of the premature brain. Very early left-right difference A team of scientists from the Netherlands, the UK and China searched for genes that contribute to left-right differences in the nervous system, in the period between four and eight weeks after fertilization. The genetic analysis showed that the left and right sides of the spinal cord develop at different paces. The left side of the spinal cord matures slightly faster than the right side. Sets of key genes that control growth and maturity were found to reach a more advanced profile of activity on the left side than the right. In the hindbrain, an area which is the predecessor for some adult parts of the brain, this was the other way around. "This seems logical, since many nerve fibers cross over from one side to the other at the boundary between the hindbrain and spinal cord," says Carolien de Kovel, lead author of the study and researcher at the Nijmegen MPI for Psycholinguistics. "How exactly this left-right genetic difference in the spinal cord leads to right-handedness is, however, not yet clear." Clyde Francks, head of the MPI research group and research fellow at the Donders Institute, explains: "We think that these very early left-right differences in the spinal cord may act to trigger some of the later asymmetries of the brain, such as the eventual dominance of the left hemisphere for language functions in most adults.' Asymmetry and schizophrenia "Around 85 percent of humans are right-handed; it seems the standard in human development," De Kovel adds, "but genetic and environmental factors may provide alternative paths of development, such as left-handedness or two-handedness. Interestingly, disturbances in such asymmetries seem to be more common in people with psychiatric conditions such as schizophrenia." Hence, De Kovel and her colleagues also compared the results of their study with genetic factors that influence the risk of schizophrenia. It was found that genes which exhibit the largest left-right differences in the embryos also tended to be involved in the risk of schizophrenia. "The findings do not prove directly that these genes cause schizophrenia by their actions in the spinal cord, because the same genes are also active in the grown up brain. However this does provide us with clues on which we can base further research," De Kovel explains. More information: Carolien G.F. de Kovel et al. Left-right asymmetry of maturation rates in human embryonic neural development, Biological Psychiatry (2017). Journal information: Biological Psychiatry Carolien G.F. de Kovel et al. Left-right asymmetry of maturation rates in human embryonic neural development,(2017). DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2017.01.016 Credit: CC0 Public Domain The heavier someone is, the less likely they are to have what many people might call a "good death", with hospice care and a chance to die at home, a new study finds. And that difference comes with a financial, as well as a personal, cost, the research shows. A new study done at the University of Michigan Institute for Healthcare Policy and Innovation and published in the Annals of Internal Medicine draws this conclusion from an in-depth analysis of records from more than 5,600 senior citizens taking part in a long-term health study. The researchers looked at how the seniors' body mass index or BMI - a measure of obesityrelated to end-of-life measures such as their use of hospice services, which provide supportive care to people in their final months of life. The higher someone's BMI, the less likely they were to enter hospice at all, the researchers found. And for those seniors who did use hospice services at the end of their lives, people with obesity spent fewer days in hospice than those with lower BMIs. About 60 percent of the seniors in the study died at home - an experience that most Americans say they would choose for their own deaths. But that percentage dropped as BMI rose. The one thing that was higher among people with higher BMIs was the cost to the Medicare system for the care they received in their last six months of life. "Obesity is a complex disease, and this study has shown another side of its effect on patients and the healthcare system. Patients with obesity are less likely to receive high quality end-of-life care," says John Harris, M.D., M.Sc., who led the study during a fellowship at U-M and is now an assistant professor at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. Although the study didn't look at the reasons why people with obesity received less hospice care, senior author Jennifer Griggs, M.D., M.P.H., a professor at the U-M Medical School, suspects that several factors may be involved. "For hospice teams, as for hospital and home-health teams, it can require more staff to take care of people who are obese, but Medicare hospice reimbursement is capped no matter what a person's BMI," she says. "Also, obesity may mask the signposts and changes that physicians might use to determine when it is time for a person to enter hospice." Griggs, who treats patients with cancer at the U-M Comprehensive Cancer Center, notes that even in overweight and obese people, it's possible to see the signs of cachexia, or the natural "wasting away" that occurs toward the end of life. This can include more pronounced cheekbones, collarbones and pelvic bones - but physicians may not notice the gradual changes that occur over time in a heavier person. A major change in body weight is also more noticeable on a leaner person. "To refer a patient for hospice, you have to believe that they are in the dying process," she notes. Harris and Griggs also note that previous studies have shown a general bias against people with obesity among healthcare professionals, especially physicians. They suspect, but cannot show with the new data, that this may also play a role in the end-of-life care decisions. Griggs also notes that obesity, and the role of obesity as a barrier to optimal care, isn't even mentioned in Dying in America, a landmark 2014 Institute of Medicine report. The new results, Harris says, suggest that more policy attention should be focused on people with more severe levels of obesity. "These patients' voices, and those of their caregivers, need to be heard," he says. "They may need extra help. They deserve the best healthcare and better health outcomes." More about the study The team compiled their results using data from in-depth surveys and Medicare records from 5,677 people enrolled in the long-running, nationally representative Health and Retirement Study. All of the participants whose records they studied died between 1998 and 2012 and were not living long-term in a nursing home. The researchers focused on Medicare claims in the last six months of the participants' lives, looking at use of hospice services and controlling for gender, race, marital status, multiple medical conditions, and household assets. They also had information from surveys of the participants' loved ones about their end-of-life care. And, they had all participants' last measured BMI, which is weight in kilograms divided by height in meters squared. Fifteen percent of participants were obese, with BMIs over 30, and 2 percent were morbidly obese, with BMIs over 40. Another 31 percent were overweight, with BMIs between 25 and 29.9. In all, 38 percent of the entire group used hospice services. But the higher a person's BMI, the lower their chances of getting hospice services. Someone who had a BMI of 40 had less than a 23 percent chance of having hospice services at the end of life, while those in the "normal" weight, with BMI of 20, had a 38 percent chance. Even among those of any weight who did use hospice services, the number of days spent in hospice was lower among those whose BMIs were higher. The difference stemmed from a stark difference in use of home hospice by heavier people. Nearly 60 percent of the participants died at home - but people with high BMIs were less likely to. The differences in end-of-life care translated into differences in cost. In the last six months of life for a person with a BMI of 20, the Medicare system spent about $43,000 for all types of care. But for a person with a BMI of 30, the costs for that same period were about $3,500 higher. In all, Harris says, the findings point to a larger issue that will become more urgent as the increasingly overweight American population ages. "Many policies focus on preventing or reducing obesity in the US, but we will also need policies to encourage the provision of high-quality care for people with obesity," he says. "More attention should be paid to payment structures that recognize the challenges involved with healthcare for men and women with obesity." Griggs is leading another research effort - based on a partnership with the state of Michigan and Hospice of Michigan - to look at more aspects of hospice care, including race and caregiver factors. More information: Increased BMI associated with reduced hospice use, reduced in-home death, and greater Medicare expenditures in last 6 months of life, Annals of Internal Medicine, annals.org/aim/article/doi/10.7326/M16-0749 Journal information: Annals of Internal Medicine Increased BMI associated with reduced hospice use, reduced in-home death, and greater Medicare expenditures in last 6 months of life, Medicaid waivers that improve access to home and community-based services for children with autism also help their parents keep their jobs, according to research from Penn State College of Medicine and collaborators. Previous research found that families of children with autism spectrum disorder experience more challenges obtaining child care and other services compared to families of children with other special needs. Medicaid waivers that target children with autism spectrum disorder help families obtain expensive services they may not have otherwise been able to afford. Parents of children with autism are also encouraged to commit significant time to participating in their child's treatment. "When you're spending all that time just trying to help your child, there's less time for work," said Douglas L. Leslie, professor of public health sciences and psychiatry, Penn State College of Medicine. When these two factors are combined, the reality is that one parent often significantly reduces their work hours or stops working altogether, increasing financial stress on families that may already be struggling to pay for costly services. Leslie's team, along with collaborators at the Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania and the RAND Corporation, set out to determine if Medicaid waivers affected parental employment in families of children with autism. The study appears today (Feb. 6) in the journal Health Affairs. Historically, private health insurers have not covered services for children with autism, Leslie said, putting the onus on school systems. That help can come too late, because research shows that children with autism benefit from interventions that begin before school-age. "There's been a lot of policy work over the last decade or so to try and improve insurance coverage for kids with autism," he said. "One of the main mechanisms they've tried to do this through is Medicaid waivers." Many states have introduced home and community-based services waivers that expand eligibility for Medicaid-reimbursed services and provide services that are not covered under the standard Medicaid benefit. "We've done some research looking at the effects of these waivers on things like access to care and unmet needs, and we thought it would be useful to see whether they've had an impact on parent's labor market decisions," Leslie said. Leslie and his collaborators used information from a nationally representative survey as well as Medicaid waiver data to determine how waivers impacted parental employment from 2005 to 2006 and 2009 to 2010. They found that waivers were effective at allowing parents to remain in the work force. When cost limits and enrollment limits for waivers were raisedgiving more families access to more servicesthe likelihood that a parent had to leave the workforce also decreased. Characteristics of waivers, such as how much can be spent per child participating in the waiver and how many families can receive services under the waivers, differ from state to state. In the study, the characteristics of a state's waiver program determined who was helped by that program. Waiver programs that increased cost limitsmaking waivers more generous and putting more services into homeshelped the most in lower-income households. Waiver programs that increased enrollment limitsallowing more families to receive benefitsmade the biggest difference in higher-income households that would not otherwise have qualified for Medicaid services. "Characteristics of the waivers matter," Leslie said. He noted that although waivers can help parents of children with autism stay afloat financially, keeping these parents in the workforce goes beyond monetary considerations. "Caring for a child with autism is difficult," Leslie said. "Having an outlet through a job can be very beneficial to the parent's mental wellbeing. It gets them out into the community." Leslie hopes his findings will provide more information to policy makers who hold the purse strings for assistance programs such as home and community-based Medicaid waivers. "The policy landscape with respect to autism services is very much in flux right now, especially with talk of healthcare reform potentially being reversed," Leslie said. "I think we need as much information out there as we can get about the benefits of some of these programs so that policy makers can be informed about which policies work andhow we can ensure that these vulnerable populations can remain protected as we continue to think about healthcare reform." Leslie is continuing to research how waivers affect families and children with autism. He is currently investigating whether waivers are effective at getting more children with autism into evidence-based care and if they reduce problematic outcomes, such as hospital admissions and emergency department visits. Research conducted at University of California San Diego School of Medicine found that current trends in diagnostic coding for patient risk scores will lead to Medicare overpaying Medicare Advantage (MA) plans substantially through 2026-likely to the tune of hundreds of billions of dollars. The study is published in the February issue of Health Affairs. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) pays MA plans, defined as insurance plans offered by a private company that contracts with Medicare to provide benefits, more when they enroll a patient who is expected to use a large volume of medical services and less when plans enroll low risk patients. MA plans have strong incentives to find and report as many diagnoses as they can, called "coding intensity." These incentives are not present in fee-for-service (FFS) patients. The study found there is no evidence that MA enrollees have actually gotten any sicker relative to FFS beneficiaries, and if this payment method continues Medicare could overpay MA plans by $200 billion over the next decade. "Congress and CMS have the opportunity to establish a payment system that will protect taxpayers from the strategies used by MA plans to increase the payments they receive," said Richard Kronick, PhD, principal investigator and professor in the Department of Family Medicine and Public Health at UC San Diego School of Medicine. "The projected $200 billion in overpayments over the next ten years is stunningly large in absolute dollar terms. To provide some perspective, federal support for community health centers is approximately $5 billion per year." CMS uses patient demographic and diagnostic information to calculate a risk score for each beneficiary, and these risk scores are used to determine payment to insurance plans. For example, spending is expected to be greater for an 85-year-old than for a 65-year-old and greater for a beneficiary with heart disease, diabetes and depression than for a beneficiary with none of these diagnoses. Over the past decade, the average risk score for MA enrollees relative to the average risk for FFS beneficiaries has risen steadily. "More than 30 percent of Medicare beneficiaries are enrolled in Medicare Advantage. The problem could be largely solved if CMS adjusted for coding intensity using the principle that Medicare Advantage beneficiaries are no healthier and no sicker than demographically similar fee-for-service Medicare beneficiaries," said Kronick. CMS has the authority to adjust payments to MA plans to account for coding intensity and has taken some actions to mitigate the effects of MA efforts at increasing risk scores. "In the three decades that Medicare has been contracting with health organizations and plans, figuring out how to pay the plans accurately and fairly has posed a persistent challenge," said Kronick. The study provides an insight that could help solve an expensive issue. "I hope these findings foster a discussion of how to best measure and adjust for differential coding between Medicare Advantage and fee-for-service Medicare. Solving this problem is an important prerequisite to the establishment of a stable and equitable future for the current Medicare Advantage and could save the federal government approximately $200 billion," said Kronick. More information: Richard Kronick, Projected Coding Intensity In Medicare Advantage Could Increase Medicare Spending By $200 Billion Over Ten Years, Health Affairs (2017). Journal information: Health Affairs Richard Kronick, Projected Coding Intensity In Medicare Advantage Could Increase Medicare Spending By $200 Billion Over Ten Years,(2017). DOI: 10.1377/hlthaff.2016.0768 Credit: Rush University Medical Center Breast cancer detection increases significantly when radiologists recall mammogram patients for additional imaging more often than recommended by the current guidelines, according to a study by a radiologist at Rush. The study determined that the "sweet spot" for finding breast cancer is in the recall range of 12 to 14 percent, compared to the current guidelines of 5 to 12 percent. "Even 10 percent, the average current recall rate, may be too low," said Dr. Paula Grabler, assistant professor in the Department of Diagnostic Radiology and Nuclear Medicine at Rush Medical College. The results of the study appeared in the January 2017 issue of the American Journal of Roentgenology. Callback guidelines are based on outdated studies The American College of Radiology recommends annual screening mammography for asymptomatic women beginning at age 40. The goal is to detect early-stage breast cancers in order to provide women the best prognosis for long-term, disease-free survival. Guidelines for callbacks help set a statistical standard for radiologists, with the goal of capturing the largest possible number of breast cancers. Current national guidelines are based on studies performed prior to the near universal use of digital mammography of the practices of both breast imaging specialists and general radiologists. The guidelines recommend that 5 to 12 percent of women presenting for screening return for additional imaging for further evaluation of a finding on their screening images (e.g., a mass, calcifications or an area of architectural distortion). Only a small number of these women recalled from screening mammography will ultimately be diagnosed with breast cancer. Study audited results of nearly 189,000 mammograms The medical director of breast imaging at Rush Oak Park Hospital, Grabler headed a research team that looked at the practices of 19 breast imaging radiologists at Northwestern Memorial Hospital. The study included only the practices of breast imaging specialists reading only digital mammograms with the goal to determine the optimal performance standards. The results of the study indicated that "breast imagers ... operating at recall rates 12 percent or higher found significantly more cancers of all types, compared with those operating within the minimally acceptable 5 to12 percent recall performance." The report proposes setting a new "sweet spot" for optimal cancer detection between 12 and 14 percent. Any benefits above 14 percent were statistically insignificant, Grabler said. Grabler's team reviewed almost 189,000 mammograms performed during the five audit years between 2007 and 2012. "The higher recall groups found significantly more invasive cancers," "including minimally invasive cancers," which offer women the best prognosis, the report states. Second screenings can raise anxiety, and relieve it For 25 years, the federal government has required clinics to conduct medical outcome audits to evaluate how well they're doing in detecting breast cancer. Grabler herself has performed many such audits over the years. "I have been eyeballing the data for many years, and I've had the opportunity to see the audits of many specialists," she says. Grabler was struck by the fact that the guidelines radiologists were being encouraged to use were falling below the rates that, in practice, she saw associated with capturing the most, and most treatable, cancers. That insight led her to undertake this study, she says. It's no small thing for a radiologist to bring a woman back to the clinic for a closer look at her breast tissue. It's "frightening" for women to hear that a radiologist has seen something on her mammogram that might be cancer, Grabler explained. "In my practice, when women return, we inform them of the results immediately after the additional imaging. We relieve their anxiety when we can before they walk out the door," she said. "If a biopsy is necessary, we explain the finding(s) to the patient as well as the minimally invasive procedure we are recommending. Of those patients for whom a biopsy is recommended, only a small percent will be diagnosed with breast cancer." Early detection can mean less treatment is needed Cancers detected on mammograms range from ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) to more aggressive, invasive cancers. By finding cancers early, not only are the prognoses improved, but many women may have the opportunity to undergo less treatment (e.g., to have a lumpectomy rather than mastectomy and/or be spared the need for chemotherapy). Looking to the future, tomosynthesis, a newer, 3-D mammography technology, which will be available at Rush Oak Park Hospital this spring, may be able to detect early cancers with lower recall rates. Tomosynthesis has been demonstrated to be especially useful for women with dense breasts. Dense breast tissue may decrease the sensitivity of detecting breast cancers utilizing routine, 2-D mammography. More information: Paula Grabler et al. Recall and Cancer Detection Rates for Screening Mammography: Finding the Sweet Spot, American Journal of Roentgenology (2017). Journal information: American Journal of Roentgenology Paula Grabler et al. Recall and Cancer Detection Rates for Screening Mammography: Finding the Sweet Spot,(2017). DOI: 10.2214/AJR.15.15987 Credit: University at Buffalo Poorer and less-educated older Americans are more like to suffer from chronic pain than those with greater wealth and more education, but the disparity between the two groups is much greater than previously thought, climbing as high as 370 percent in some categories, according to new research by a University at Buffalo medical sociologist. The results, based on 12 years of data from more than 19,000 subjects aged 51 and over, excluding those diagnosed or treated for cancer, provide several kinds of bad news about chronic pain in the United States, according to Hanna Grol-Prokopczyk, an assistant professor of sociology at UB and the paper's author, published in this month's issue of the journal Pain. Chronic pain levels are also rising by period and not just by age, meaning people who were in their 60s in 2010 reported more pain than people who were in their 60s in 1998. "There are a lot of pressures right now to reduce opioid prescription," says Grol-Prokopczyk. "In part, this study should be a reminder that many people are legitimately suffering from pain. Health care providers shouldn't assume that someone who shows up in their office complaining of pain is just trying to get an opioid prescription. "We have to remember that pain is a legitimate and widespread problem," she says. The study also serves as an argument for investing more into research for other treatments. "We don't have particularly good treatments for chronic pain. If opioids are to some extent being taken off the table, it becomes even more important to find other ways of addressing this big public health problem." Tens of millions of American adults experience chronic pain. A 2011 Institute of Medicine report (now the National Academy of Science Health and Medicine Division) noted that chronic pain affects more people and costs the economy more money than heart disease, cancer and diabetes combined. Yet most research on the condition has asked only whether people had chronic pain or did not. Grol-Prokopczyk's groundbreaking study is among the first to look beyond either the presence or absence of chronic pain to examine instead matters of degree, asking whether the pain was mild, moderate or severe. Her research, based on the Health and Retirement Study, which asked participants if they were "often troubled with pain," also follows the same subjects over 12 years, as opposed to most studies that illuminate a particular point in time. "I found that people with lower levels of education and wealth don't just have more pain, they also have more severe pain," she says. "I also looked at pain-related disability, meaning that pain is interfering with the ability to do normal work or household activities. And again, people with less wealth and education are more likely to experience this disability." People with the least education are 80 percent more likely to experience chronic pain than people with the most. Looking exclusively at severe pain, subjects who didn't finish high school are 370 percent more likely to experience severe chronic pain than those with graduate degrees. "If you're looking at all pain mild, moderate and severe combined you do see a difference across socioeconomic groups. And other studies have shown that. But if you look at the most severe pain, which happens to be the pain most associated with disability and death, then the socioeconomically disadvantaged are much, much more likely to experience it." More research needs to be done to understand why pain is so unequally distributed in the population, but Grol-Prokopczyk says it's critical to keep the high burden of pain in mind in this period of concern over the opioid epidemic. "If we as a society decide that opioid analgesics are often too high risk as a treatment for chronic pain, then we need to invest in other effective treatments for chronic pain, and/or figure out how to prevent it in the first place," she says. [February 07, 2017] Delek US Holdings, Inc. Chooses Zycus' End-to-End Strategic Sourcing Suite to Streamline Their Procurement Processes Zycus, a leading procurement technology solutions provider across the Source (News - Alert)-to-Pay cycle, announced today that Delek US Holdings is adopting its complete strategic sourcing suite, including Spend Analysis, e-Sourcing, Contract Management, Supplier Management, Financial Savings Management, Project Management, Request Management as well as Zycus' internal API connector iConsole. Delek US Holdings is a diversified downstream energy company with operations in petroleum refining, bio-fuels, and logistics. Delek US is headquartered in Brentwood, Tennessee. "At Delek we believe that the Zycus team is very involved and is willing to do what it takes to make us successful. We felt that the user interface as well as look and feel of the Zycus applications would positively influence technology adoption within the organization." said Dan Linney, Director of Procurement at Delek US. Delek US Holdings, Inc. selected Zycus following an extensive evaluation process including due diligence, feedback from 3rd party evaluations, onsite demonstrations providing hands-on experience and a full day deep dive workshop into the Zycus system. "One of the reasons we chose Zycus was because we wanted to work with a singl integrated suite from a single provider as against best of breed solutions from different providers." asserted Dan. "We are impressed with the spend classification capabilities of the Zycus solution and feel that their savings module for tracking and recording savings is fairly unique among the other vendors." adds Dan. "More and more companies are realizing the business benefits of an organically built integrated solution suite." observes Zycus founder and CEO Aatish Dedhia. "An integrated suite will not only help companies reduce cycle times drastically but also give them an edge over their peers with better visibility, management and tracking of information." adds Dedhia. About Zycus Zycus is a leading global provider of end-to-end Source-to-Pay suite. Its comprehensive product portfolio includes applications for both the operational and the strategic aspects of procurement - eProcurement, eInvoicing, Spend Analysis, eSourcing, Contract Management, Supplier Management, Financial Savings Management, Request Management and Project Management. It's client base consist of some of the best-of-breed companies across verticals like Manufacturing, Automotive, Banking and Finance, Oil and Gas, Food Processing, Electronics, Health and Pharmaceutical, Education and more. To learn more about the Zycus solutions, address an e-mail to [email protected] or visit http://www.zycus.com/ View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170207005872/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Chances are that your children will turn out OK even though they spend hours playing video games or watching TV. This is according to Christopher Ferguson of Stetson University in the US, who led a study in Springer's journal Psychiatric Quarterly which found that there is only a negligibly small association between excessive screen time and higher levels of depression and delinquency among teenagers. Ferguson therefore believes the strict attention to limited screen time by policy makers and advocacy groups is uncalled for. Until late last year, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommended only two hours' screen time a day for youth, but dropped this recommendation from their new guidelines. This change reflects that screen time recommendations often remain best guesses, while data about the use of such recommendations are not always clear. Ferguson's team therefore sought to address gaps in previous literature by examining what levels of screen time were associated with negative outcomes in teenagers and how strong these associations were. They analyzed data from the 2013 Youth Risk Behavior Survey, which included data from participants from Florida who were on average 16 years old. They were asked about their sleeping patterns, physical activity, how often they had meals with their family, if they experienced symptoms of depression and how much screen time they spent watching television or playing video games. The participants also reported on their grades, whether they participated in delinquent behavior, risky driving or sexual activities, used illegal substances or suffered any eating disorders. Data from the current study suggests that children are resilient to screen consumption for up to six hours daily. When negative outcomes were noted, these were very small and in general affected males more. Time spent in front of a screen only accounted for between 0.49 percent of the variance in delinquency, 1.7 percent in depressive symptoms and 1.2 percent in average grade points. It did not have an influence on risky driving or risky sex, substance abuse or restrictive eating. "Although an 'everything in moderation' message when discussing screen time with parents may be most productive, our results do not support a strong focus on screen time as a preventative measure for youth problem behaviors," says Ferguson. Results also suggest that the AAP was correct to discard their previous two-hour maximum guideline. Ferguson believes that setting hard time limits on screen use is a fraught avenue for policy and does more to foster guilt in parents unable to meet unrealistic expectations than they do to help children. He sees more value in focusing on how media are used than on time consumption alone, as it could for instance foster learning and socialization. He also believes that it is important that youngsters are allowed to become intimately familiar with screen technologies. "Screens of various sorts are increasingly embedded into daily life, whether they involve education, work, socialization or personal organization," Ferguson explains. "Setting narrow limits on screen time may not keep up with the myriad ways in which screens have become essential to modern life." More information: Christopher J. Ferguson, Everything in Moderation: Moderate Use of Screens Unassociated with Child Behavior Problems, Psychiatric Quarterly (2017). Christopher J. Ferguson, Everything in Moderation: Moderate Use of Screens Unassociated with Child Behavior Problems,(2017). DOI: 10.1007/s11126-016-9486-3 During the Armenian Genocide, the Ottoman government carried out a policy of Islamization of the Armenian women and children, which also need to be considered in the context of genocide and regarded as one of its structural elements. Forcibly Islamized Armenian women and children were saved physically, but were destroyed as an ethnic group. Akunq.net published two Ottoman documents and their translations into Western Armenian telling about the Armenian orphans who had gathered in one of the buildings located near Ankara. In the first document, the interior minister Taleat describes as inappropriate the fact that the Armenian children are in this building all together and instructs to disperse them within the Islamic organizations. The second document is the answer to this decree by the deputy governor of Ankara Atif, who reported some of the details about the number of Armenian women and children in these areas. He also said that the Armenian children are scattered around Islamic organizations. The documents provided to Akunq.net were found in the Ottoman archives and translated into Western Armenian by American Armenian Gevorg Hakobyan. YEREVAN. Speaker of the parliament Galust Sahkyan may not appear in the next parliament, Haykakan Zhamanak newspaper writes. The daily asked Chairman of the Republican Party of Armenia (RPA) organizational committee Ruben Tadevosyan to confirm the reports that the President, the leader of RPA Serzh Sargsyan, appointed Speaker of the Armenian National Assembly Galust Sahakyan as the Chairman of the Council of Elders of the party, thus hinting he may not get a seat in a new parliament. It is too early to comment on such matters, including the future post of the acting chairman of Armenian National Assembly, as proportional lists of candidates are still under discussion, Tadevosyan said. BMW M4 turned into a pickup truck Blinken calls on Israel and Palestine to urgently de-escalate tensions Romania signs deal with Norway for purchase of over 30 F-16 fighters Stoltenberg: The alliance has no plans to change nuclear positions and deployments Tagesschau: Nearly 200,000 people took part in strikes at industrial enterprises of Germany Teenagers hacks Uzbekistan senate website Artsakh Ombudsman: Azerbaijanis fired at tractor in Khramort village of Artsakh Rally participants' statement: Artsakh can't be a part of Azerbaijan Person accused of arson in Russia cafe confesses Fars: Iranian Foreign Ministry reported UAV deliveries to Russia a few months before the start of the UAS Bayramov: Azerbaijan, Armenia leaders next meeting will take place in Brussels this month Unity rally of participants start march in downtown Yerevan North Korea launches 4 ballistic missiles Council of Border Guard Troops commanders discusses situation at CIS external borders Armenia ex-President Kocharyan joins rally in downtown Yerevan Russia oil, natural gas companies plan to collaborate with Iraq Armenia army intelligence troops 30th anniversary is solemnly celebrated (PHOTOS) Rally of unity in support of Karabakh kicks off in downtown Yerevan Pentagon announces sending 8 NASAMS air defense systems to Ukraine Armenian Apostolic Church Supreme Spiritual Council meeting ends, Armenia and Artsakh security discussed Tropical Storm Nalgae death toll climbs to 155 in Philippines Artak Beglaryan is appointed advisor to Artsakh Minister of State (PHOTOS) US House committee extends deadline for Trump to produce documents on Capitol attack Over 200 elephants die in Kenya amid drought 13 dead in cafe fire in Russia Armenia Security Council chief to head for Poland, Netherlands, Lithuania Rishi Sunak: State cannot fix all problems Newspaper: To what extent Armenia adheres to sanctions on Russia? Biden accuses Twitter of spewing lies Newspaper: There are active political processes in Karabakh Qatar FM slams hypocrisy of calls to boycott World Cup France, Singapore and Switzerland begin joint testing of experimental digital currencies Oil war is Biden's biggest mistake Japan considers possible deployment of hypersonic missiles by 2030 Germany to install better air defense system over Defense Ministry buildings Erdogan and Stoltenberg discuss war in Ukraine Armenian MOD: Azerbaijani Armed Forces open fire in direction of Armenian positions True cost of Europe's rejection of Russian gas White House tries to explain Biden's statement about freeing Iran Former Pakistani Prime Minister: Either we will have a peaceful revolution or a bloody one Aramyan: Why are police officers' salaries increasing, while defense officers' are not? Pentagon and U.S. weapons manufacturers to discuss Russia, human resources and supply chain Ankara says U.S. may approve sale of F-16s to Turkey within few months IMF: Turkey should tighten monetary policy and give the Central Bank more independence Pope urges religious leaders to keep the world from brink of abyss Putin awards Catholicos of All Armenians Karekin II with Order of Honor U.S. says G7 countries realize need for coordinated response to China Round-the-clock curfew is introduced in Kherson Borrell says they can't put China and Russia on same level Olaf Scholz calls on China to influence Russia G7 foreign ministers express 'unwavering commitment' to protecting Ukraine, criticized PRC and IRI Political technologist explains why Pashinyan was elected chairman of board of ruling party in Armenia Erdogan signs up for TikTok China's army is constantly preparing for war amid provocative U.S. actions Kalin: Armenia is constructive about normalization of relations Poland asks EU to suspend fines Putin: Situation in Ukraine was deadly for Russia Portugal to test a four-day workweek US embassy in Armenia issues statement ahead of November 5 protests in Yerevan Dollar, euro go up in Armenia Baku authorities once again refuse to allow PFPA to hold protest rally Iranians commemorate anniversary of US embassy seizure Richard Kauzlarich: Azerbaijan, Armenia FMs meeting in Washington 'will send message to Putin' Russia ratifies protocol on requirements for length of service of EEU bodies' employees for pensions Armenia deputy defense minister in Russia, discusses military cooperation Yerevan receives proposal to hold Russia-Armenia-Azerbaijan interparliamentary talks Health minister: We will work with fallen Armenia detainees relatives one more time after which bodies will be buried Putin allows mobilization of citizens with unexpunged criminal record for serious crimes Arnika, NESEHNUTI NGOs of Czech Rep. issue joint statement on plan to expand gold mine in Armenias Karaberd Putin urges to evacuate civilians living in Kherson from the war zone Iran parliament speaker to visit Armenia Ruling force MP: Canada is opening embassy in Armenia because we are one of worlds most democratic countries Girl with Armenian roots ends up in Vladimir orphanage Erdogan says he has agreed with Putin to supply grain to needy countries for free Armenia President, UK envoy agree to continue cooperation, close contacts Armenia FM receives EU Monitoring Capacity Spanish MPs don't approve agreement with Baku as a sign of solidarity with Armenia Japan says North Korea may go ahead with nuclear test Armenia government to allocate about $5M to Karabakh refugees support program Belarusian border service: Border guards intercepts Ukrainian training drone President appoints Ruben Vardanyan as Karabakh Minister of State US embassy expresses concern about human rights violation in Azerbaijan Azerbaijan continues muscle play on Iran border Ibrahim Kalin says Turkey will become an important gas center one way or another Biden: We're gonna free Iran Reuters: G7 countries and Australia agrees on fixed price for Russian oil World oil prices dropping 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 Armenia ruling party recounts congress voting results Quake jolts Turkey Newspaper: Armenia PM once again manipulates topic of negotiations, Karabakh conflict Newspaper: Studies underway on Armenia MPs business involvement 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 Alaska Airlines flight attendant saved a girl from a human trafficker by leaving a message in the plane toilet, BBC reported. Sheila Fedrick told reporters that she got worried immediately when saw a teenage girl sitting next to a well-dressed older man aboard the plane. Fedrick attempted to engage the young girl in conversation, but the man did not allow it to talk to the girl. Then she said she took action by leaving a message on a mirror and the girl wrote back on the note and said that she needed help. Fedrick notified the pilot and when the airplane landed in San Francisco, police were waiting for the man. The incident, which occurred in 2011, was published in media this week while the charitable organization Airline Ambassadors launched a campaign to train crew members fight against human trafficking. YEREVAN. -- The Supreme Court of Belarus on Tuesday rejected the complaints filed in the case of blogger Alexander Lapshin. The complaint on behalf of Lapshin and on behalf of his lawyers was filed on Monday. It took only several hours to deliver a verdict, which indicates the bias of the court. The Supreme Court confirmed the decision of the previous instance. Unfortunately, the miracle did not happen, Lapshins lawyer told Armenian News - NEWS.am. According to her, the decision will enter into force from the date of announcement, and theoretically the extradition of Alexander Lapshin is possible even today. After his visits to Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh) in 2011 and 2012, famous blogger Alexander Lapshin was blacklisted by Azerbaijan. In June 2016, however, he paid a visit to Azerbaijan, but with a Ukrainian passport. Subsequently, he issued several articles criticizing the Azerbaijani authorities. Afterward, the Azerbaijani authorities issued an international search for this famous blogger. On December 15, 2016, he was detained in the Belarus capital city of Minsk, and based on this international search. Baku demands his extradition to Azerbaijan, and for visiting Artsakh. The Supreme Court of Belarus examined complaints on the case of blogger Alexander Lapshin at the session on Tuesday morning. As Lapshins lawyer told Armenian News - NEWS.am, the two complaints, on behalf of Alexander Lapshin, and on behalf of her were examined together. I was allowed to attend the meeting and to deliver speech, the lawyer said. Noting that the details of her speech are confidential and aren't subject to disclosure from the point of view of court she added that: We asked to cancel the decision on the extradition and the resolution of the Minsk city court, and also asked to release Alexander Lapshin. The verdict of the Supreme Court will be announced during the day. It should be noted that this is the last court where the decision on the extradition can be appealed, since Belarus is not a party to the European Court. After his visits to Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh) in 2011 and 2012, famous blogger Alexander Lapshin was blacklisted by Azerbaijan. In June 2016, however, he paid a visit to Azerbaijan, but with a Ukrainian passport. Subsequently, he issued several articles criticizing the Azerbaijani authorities. Afterward, the Azerbaijani authorities issued an international search for this famous blogger. On December 15, 2016, he was detained in the Belarus capital city of Minsk, and based on this international search. Baku demands his extradition to Azerbaijan, and for visiting Artsakh. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, and US Department of State Spokesperson John Kirby, however, had spoken against Lapshins detention and such extradition, noting the importance of upholding freedom of speech. YEREVAN. The most wondrous part of Armenia is no doubt the inspiring people who live in this country, U.S. Ambassador to Armenia Richard Mills wrote as he marked the second anniversary of his mission in Armenia. The Ambassador wrote on Facebook: Talk about throwback Monday! Can it really be exactly two years today since I was sworn in as the eighth U.S. Ambassador to Armenia? That day in 2015 marked the renewal of my fascination and deep affection for all things Armenian, as well as day from which I was given the special opportunity as Ambassador to highlight all the ties that bind our two countries together from our economic trade to military cooperation and from the maestro Mr. Malkhas to the Pulitzer-winning poet Mr. Balakian and even those entrepreneurial Kardashians! Leigh and I have enjoyed meeting so many welcoming and engaging Armenians all across this beautiful nation. We are honored along with our Armenian-born adopted cat Gozo to have welcomed so many Armenian friends and colleagues to our Residence here in Yerevan. Our favorite moments since arriving have been when we can hear directly from Armenians, whether after dinner at our residence sharing cognac or sitting around a conference table with a cup of Armenian coffee, about what they want for the future of their country and how they think the United States can assist in building a more prosperous and democratic Armenia. Every Armenian school child I think knows by heart the quotation from the U.S. painter Rockwell Kent about how there is no place on earth more filled with wonders than Armenia. Leigh and I certainly agree with Mr. Kent and the most wondrous part of Armenia is no doubt the inspiring people who live in this country and are the reason Armenia has thrived in the face of a cruel history and a challenging present. And the second most wondrous part of life here is working with a very dedicated team, Armenian and American, at the U.S. Embassy, who focus every day on how to strengthen the friendship between Armenia and the United States. Leigh and I look forward to the rest of our time here. If there are places you think we should visit, sites we should see and zip lines we need to zip across -- or dishes we should try, please let me know! San Diego, Calif.- Feb. 7, 2017-- NetSapiens, a leading provider of VoIP and Unified Communications software solutions, has announced today that it will be showcasing newly released features at ITEXPO, held February 8-10, 2017 at Greater Ft. Lauderdale/Broward County Convention Center, Ft.Lauderdale, Florida. Meet NetSapiens at ITEXPO booth #213 to see a live demonstration of the new features and enhancements to the SNAPsolution platform. NetSapiens recently released new SNAPsolution features and enhancements for their service provider clients. NetSapiens is dedicated to consistently innovating new products and features in order to deliver future-proof technology to service providers of many different sizes and business models. Unlike many VoIP or UC software companies, NetSapiens gives their clients access to all of their SNAPsolution features under their Universal Session Licensing agreement. This means that service providers are able to have access to all of the features and only have to pay on a concurrent call basis instead of paying per seat or per feature for the SNAPsolution features. At ITEXPO, NetSapiens will be demonstrating the new additions to the SNAPsolution in a live user portal. The latest release includes SNAPmobile Web, a browser-based softphone built specifically for NetSapiens SNAPsolution platform. SNAPmobile Web can be accessed easily by either navigating to a unique URL and logging in or launching it from the portal in one click. It does not require any additional software installations or configurations for end-users to struggle through. All they have to do is launch the application and start dialing. Another new feature set of the SNAPsolution platform is SMS & Chat. End-users are now able to send and receive messages from within their NetSapiens portal. The addition of SMS messaging to the portal allows users to maintain a single identity when communicating using text messages and chat, increasingly popular forms of business communication. We are excited to have reached a milestone of 10 years of SNAPsolution last October and have followed that up with our largest feature set release to date on January 31st, 2017. We will be showing off our latest release during ITEXPO and will be holding live demonstrations at our booth. This year will bring additional feature sets and improvements based on feedback from our customer base and upcoming trends in the space. - Ken Adams Director of Solutions Marketing. For demonstrations of these new features and more, contact NetSapiens at [email protected] or call 1(858)764-5203. About NetSapiens: NetSapiens provides advanced Unified Communications software to the industry's leading service providers, allowing them to grow their business and become more profitable with next-generation technologies. The NetSapiens SNAPsolution platform is a reliable solution for service providers looking to deliver a wide range of carrier grade VoIP features and functionality to their end-users. This includes Hosted PBX, SIP trunking, contact centers, device provisioning, multi-tenant user portals and more. For more information, visit www.netsapiens.com. or follow us on Twitter at @NetSapiens. Share this Page Edited by Stefania Viscusi The European Union believes that status quo in Karabakh is unsustainable, European Council President Donald Tusk said after talks with Azerbaijani president Ilham Aliyev. We discussed the peaceful resolution of Karabakh issue. Status quo is unattainable. The conflict does not have a military solution, he said. According to Tusk, the conflict needs political settlement in accordance with international law. President of the European Council said EU continues to fully support mediation efforts and proposals of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs. President of Syria Bashar al-Assad could imagine Syria without a member of the Assad family in executive power as the country belonged to all Syrians, SANA reported. Of course, we dont own the country, my family doesnt own the country, to say that only Assad should be in that position, thats self-evident, and this could be by coincidence, because President Assad didnt have an heir in the institution to be his successor, he noted. Bashar al-Assad was born in Damascus on 11 September 1965, the son of Aniseh and Hafez al-Assad. His father born to a poor family of Alawite background, rose through the Party ranks to take control of the Syrian-led branch of the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party in the 1970 Corrective Revolution, culminating in his rise to the Syrian presidency. When his father died in 2000, Bashar was appointed leader of the Ba'ath Party and the Army, and was elected president unopposed in what the government claimed to be a massive popular support, after the Parliament swiftly voted to lower the minimum age for candidates from 40 to 34 (Assad's age when he was elected). On 27 May 2007, Bashar was approved as president for another seven-year term. In December 2000, Assad married Asma Assad, a British citizen of Syrian origin. They have 2 sons and a daughter. STEPANAKERT. On February 7, 2017, in accordance with the arrangement reached with the authorities of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, the OSCE Mission conducted a planned monitoring of the Line of Contact between the armed forces of Nagorno-Karabakh and Azerbaijan, in the direction of the NKR Hadrut region, to the north of Horadiz. From the positions of the NKR Defense Army, the monitoring was conducted by Field Assistants to the Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office Khristo Khristov (Bulgaria) and Jiri Aberle (Czech Republic), as well as Personal Assistant to the CiO Personal Representative Simon Tiller (Great Britain). From the opposite side of the Line of Contact, the monitoring was conducted by Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office Ambassador Andrzej Kasprzyk, Field Assistant to the Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office Ghenadie Petrica (Moldova), and staff member of the Office of the Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office Peter Svedberg (Sweden). The monitoring passed in accordance with the agreed schedule. No violation of the cease-fire regime was registered. However, the Azerbaijani side did not lead the OSCE mission to its front-lines. Armenia has developed a new legislative package, within the frameworks of which there will be created an independent anti-corruption body, said the Armenian prime-minister Karen Karapetyan at the meeting with the EC delegation head Peter Switalski. As the Armenian governments press service informed Armenian News - NEWS.am, at the meeting the sides discussed issues of cooperation in the fight against corruption. Karapetyan presented the steps taken by the Government, in particular, legislative reforms, decisions, and the work implemented within the frameworks of the Council on the fight against corruption. As for the upcoming works, the head of the Armenian government presented the development of a new legislative package, within the frameworks of which an independent preventive anti-corruption body will be created. The package has completely revised the current income declaration system. The government also takes steps to improve the quality of the investigation of corruption offenses. At the same time, there are being developed a number of important legislative projects, aimed at reducing corruption risks in all the areas, based on discussions about the fight against corruption in the Council. The Armenian Prime Minister also noted, that the effectiveness and success of the measures to combat corruption also depends on the position of the civil society, since the work of the government will focus to activate their feedback. He also said, that the government is open to suggestions, and stressed the importance of cooperation with EU partners. In his turn, the Head of the EU Delegation to Armenia Peter Switalski welcomed the efforts of the Government in the fight against corruption. He also noted, that the EU delegation in Armenia is ready to continue cooperation with the Government based on the logic of the priorities and anti-corruption reforms pinpointed by the minister. The two sides also exchanged views on the possibilities of joint programs within the framework of the Centre for Strategic Initiatives. YEREVAN. Embassy of Israel in Belarus refused to comment on the decision of the Supreme Court on an extradition of the blogger Alexander Lapshin. Deputy head of diplomatic mission Julia Racinski-Spivakov told Armenian News - NEWS.am that the embassy is not commenting on the court ruling. At the same time, she emphasized that the diplomatic mission has done everything possible to provide consular assistance to Lapshin. She noted that, unfortunately, there was framework limiting their activity. All information was transferred to Israel from where they would get further instructions. As it was reported earlier, today the Supreme Court of Belarus confirmed the decision of prosecutor's office on Alexander Lapshin's extradition to Azerbaijan. After his visits to Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh) in 2011 and 2012, famous blogger Alexander Lapshin was blacklisted by Azerbaijan. In June 2016, however, he paid a visit to Azerbaijan, but with a Ukrainian passport. Subsequently, he issued several articles criticizing the Azerbaijani authorities. Afterward, the Azerbaijani authorities issued an international search for this famous blogger. On December 15, 2016, he was detained in the Belarus capital city of Minsk, and based on this international search. Baku demands his extradition to Azerbaijan, and for visiting Artsakh. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, and US Department of State Spokesperson John Kirby, however, had spoken against Lapshins detention and such extradition, noting the importance of upholding freedom of speech. STEPANAKERT. The actions of Azerbaijan that has been persistently pressing Alexander Lapshins extradition from Belarus, is a first of all challenge to Israel, spokesperson for Karabakh president Davit Babayan said. Unfortunately, the country that has experienced the horrors of Nazism was enrolled in the ranks of the Nazi states. The Supreme Court of Belarus is more like the decision of a majlis of authoritarian Turkic states, and it causes serious damage to the credibility of the country. It seems that a medal after Heydar Aliyev handed over to Lukashenko played an important role, and he promised to pay back and fulfilled his promise. In general, we deem the decision of Belarus court as scandalous, disgraceful, illegal, Babayan said. He is confident that the people of Belarus do not support such a decision. Asked whether the Lapshin case can be a precedent for restrictions on the freedom of movement of other citizens, the press secretary of the NKR President noted that in theory it can happen. But I am sure that the effect will be opposite to what Baku is expecting, he added. He also touched on the possible response of Tel Aviv. In the context of what is happening, Israel should suspend cooperation with Azerbaijan. They can already see how Baku repaid the supply of armaments to Israel. After all, it is no secret that the life of Alexander Lapshin will be under a serious threat in the Azerbaijani prison. Azerbaijan's actions are first of all a challenge to Israel, Babayan added. In fact, Interpol was looking for an innocent man, the process is carried out with gross violations of international law and international humanitarian law, Karabakh official added. The Supreme Court of Belarus upheld the decision of the Prosecutor's Office for the extradition of Alexander Lapshin in Azerbaijan. Company to showcase New Services for Web Hosting Clients February 8-10 at ITEXPO - worlds leading business technology show Feb 7, 2017- 1stPoint Communications/Website Source, A New Way to Work, announced today that it will be showcasing two new plans: InstantPBX and InstantCS at ITEXPO, held February 8-10, 2017 at Greater Ft. Lauderdale/Broward County Convention Center, Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. ITEXPO is the worlds leading business technology tradeshow, and will converge education, innovation and networking across the entire community of IT professionals and thought leaders. Meet 1stPoint Communications at ITEXPO at booth #316 to learn more about how InstantPBX and InstantCS are the direct result of the intersection between the WebSite Source web hosting business and 1stPoint's voice and messaging infrastructure. At ITEXPO, executives, technology buyers, sellers, resellers and manufacturers from companies of all sizes and industries will assemble to forge new business partnerships, collaborate and learn together and from one another. Dozens of conferences sessions, keynotes and panels will be focused on helping attendees move their businesses forward. With a few clicks hosting clients will be able to create a fully functional cloud PBX based on popular open source code. The virtual private server will include a toll free number, ten DIDs (direct inward dial numbers) and four SIP trunks with 10,000 inbound and outbound minutes included in the package. Telephone numbers may be new or be ported onto the platform from an existing traditional phone system or another Internet based PBX. 'This platform is truly an InstantPBX,' commented Kristen Vasicek, Director of Marketing for 1stPoint, regarding the new product. 'In the new workforce subscribers are completely mobile and require access to their voice facilities anywhere, any time, from anywhere in the world. Some organizations want the flexibility of having their own private cloud PBX.' The second product, InstantCS, is targeted at web hosting customers that have order driven web sites and would like other ways to communicate with their customers. The new service will not only include popular authoring tools such as WordPress and Web Presence Builder, but also a series of WebRTC tools and will also include inbound voice services such as DIDs and Toll Free numbers so that a client can plug their whole company directly into their web site, eliminating the need for their legacy phone system entirely. These numbers will be text enabled and the web sites will have access to the 1stPoint messaging API natively. This ability addresses the needs of communicating with the new generation of customers who wish to use texting as their primary medium. 'We have discussed these applications with both developers and other operators, who have struggled to monetize WebRTC. With these products we seek to capitalize on the technological advancement that WebRTC provides, while taking advantage of the unique set of resources that 1stPoint is poised to provide it's clients,' said Erik Levitt, 1stPoint's CEO. 'These tools provide our customers A New Way to Work and we look forward to their full deployment this quarter.' The new services will be available as plans on the WebSite Source site as they are rolled out and will be available through its existing easy-to-use portal alongside the traditional product set. All of these services are available both directly to the consumer and via wholesale channels. Registration for ITEXPO is now open. For the latest ITEXPO news, updates and information follow the event on Twitter at @ITEXPO. About 1stPoint Communications: 1stPoint Communications is a voice, data, video and messaging services provider offering its clients a new way to work. About TMC Global buyers rely on TMCs content-driven marketplaces to make purchase decisions and navigate markets. This presents branding, thought leadership and lead generation opportunities for vendors/sellers. TMCs Marketplaces: Unique, turnkey Online Communities boost search results, establish market validation, elevate brands and thought leadership, while minimizing ad-blocking. boost search results, establish market validation, elevate brands and thought leadership, while minimizing ad-blocking. Custom Lead Programs uncover sales opportunities and build databases. uncover sales opportunities and build databases. In-Person and Online Events boost brands, enhance thought leadership and generate leads. and boost brands, enhance thought leadership and generate leads. Publications, Display Advertising and Newsletters bolster brand reputations. and bolster brand reputations. Custom Content provides expertly ghost-crafted blogs, press releases, articles and marketing collateral to help with SEO, branding, and overall marketing efforts. provides expertly ghost-crafted blogs, press releases, articles and marketing collateral to help with SEO, branding, and overall marketing efforts. Comprehensive Event and Road Show Management Services help companies meet potential clients and generate leads face-to-face. For more information about TMC and to learn how we can help you reach your marketing goals, please visit www.tmcnet.com. TMC Media and Analyst Contact: Jessica Seabrook Marketing Director 203-852-6800 x 170 [email protected] Share this Page Edited by Stefania Viscusi The Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko expressed a concern about the decline in trade turnover with Russia and other Eurasian countries. He announced it, during a meeting with the governor of Kostroma region of Russia Sergey Sitnikov, reports BELTA. "Previously, our (Belarus and Kostroma) mutual trade volume exceeded 100 million dollars. Its not that we have such a large trade with all countries. But in the past two years, that volume significantly reduced, which is very troubling to me, he said. The question is why we created a single economic space not only in our ally country but also in the EEU. " Lukashenko noted, that the trade turnover has significantly decreased in the Eurasian Economic Union in the past two years. "I'm talking about it, but Moscow doesnt get me correctly. We need to discuss this issue, find the narrow places, and glue our relations. Instead of getting rid of what is negative, they ban the supply of our beef to Russia. How can we understand it, "he said. YEREVAN. - The Standing Committee on Foreign Relations of the Armenian National Assembly (NA) and the Foreign Relations Committee of Swedish Riksdag (parliament) held a joint session on Tuesday. The meeting was dedicated to Armenian-Swedish mutual relations and Armenia-EU cooperation. Deputy FM Garen Nazarian took part in the discussions and delivered a speech, in which he referred to the development prospects of Armenia-EU relations, and, specifically, the process of the negotiations round the new framework agreement. He also touched on the political, economic and sectoral dialogue and deepened cooperation with the EU institutions. During the discussions, Mr Nazarian responded to a number of questions of interest to Swedish parliamentarians, which referred to regional developments, specifically, the process of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict settlement, continuing policy of Turkey and Azerbaijan aimed at the blockade of Armenia, Syrian crisis and the ensuring influx of refugees to Armenia. YEREVAN. - The analysis of our statistical data include various issues and red lamps, which hint us where to go and what to do. Prime Minister of Armenia Karapetyan said the aforementioned at the discussion on the work carried out by the ministries in 2016 and the priorities for 2017. Finance Minister Vardan Aramyan, for his part, reported that in 2016, the State Budget revenues amounted to 1155.0 billion AMD (without the funds received within the framework of the target programs financed from external sources), growing by 0.7 percent as compared to the analogous period last year. Besides, the tax revenues and duties increased by 1,079.7 billion AMD, exceeding the analogous period index of last year by 1.1 percent. The Minister noted that the tax and budgetary discipline has improved, the involvement of additional funds increasing at the expense of issuing new bonds. As a result of the legislative changes in the sphere of procurements, the forms of purchases have reduced and an effective extra-judicial appeal system has been formed. Apart from this, the scope of the clients using ARMEPS/PPCM system and purchases carried out by the electronic purchase system has been expanded. Among the priorities for 2017, the Minister noted the introduction of programs implemented by foreign funding and coordination system, as well as creation of a program database. Referring to the actions of the Finance Ministry in 2017, PM Karapetyan noted that the financial flows and expenses should be managed roughly and harshly. We have quite an interesting micro and macro analysis based on which I propose to precisely formulate the field, where the State Revenue Committee (SRC) should bring the shadow to the white field. The analysis of our statistical data include various issues and red lamps, which hint us where to go and what to do, he said, attaching importance to the organization of regular discussions in the Center of Strategic Initiatives. YEREVAN. - It is necessary to help honest business and regulate the dishonest one, and not the other way round. Prime Minister of Armenia Karen Karapetyan stated the aforementioned on Tuesday at the discussion on the work carried out by the ministries in 2016 and the priorities for 2017, the Government press-service informed Armenian News NEWS.am. Chairman of the State Revenue Committee (SRC) of Armenia, Vardan Harutyunyan, reported that in 2016 the modernized border crossing points of Bagratashen and Gogavan on the Armenian-Georgian border were put into operation. Besides, work on the modernization of Bavra crossing point is underway. In his words, the SRC has put into commission the system of transit declaration submission. Furthermore, work was carried out on searching for interrelated taxpayers. Nevertheless, in 2016 the tax inspections reduced by 10,000 as compared to 2015. Reconsideration of the risk criteria of the automated selectivity management system of taxpayers subject to risk management and inspection and the automation of the reception of information on tax violations from third persons remain the priorities for 2017. PM Karapetyan, for his part, stated: You must play the key role in improving the business environment. The first task is to have good relations with honest business, the second being the regulation of relations with not very honest ones. Those who dont accept these rules must feel your presence all the time. YEREVAN. - Do our ambassadors possess information on turnover of goods, financial flows and investments? Armenian PM Karen Karapetyan gave the aforementioned question to FM Edward Nalbandian at the consultation on the reports of the work carried out by state agencies in 2016 on Tuesday, the press-service of the Government informed Armenian News NEWS.am. At the meeting, FM Nalbandian stated that in 2016, the MFA continued exerting efforts towards strengthening the foreign policy of Armenia, developing cooperation with friendly countries, raising the reputation of Armenia internationally and increasing the number of friends in different continents. Priorities for 2017 remain the further strengthening of relations with friendly countries, integration in global and regional processes, as well as ensurance of productive participation in international organizations. PM Karapetyan, for his part, inquired whether the Armenian ambassadors possess information on turnover of goods, financial flows and investments and whether they know which goods and programs to present to investors. He also instructed to submit a memorandum on the results of the economic activity of the embassies, underscoring the importance of the Diaspora in it. STEPANAKERT. - Following the monitoring conducted by the OSCE on the contact line between the Karabakh-Azerbaijani opposing forces on Tuesday, the Azerbaijani side again launched provocative actions. During the period from 5:00 pm to 6:50 pm the, the adversary directly shelled the military positions in the eastern direction of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (NKR/Artsakh) Defense Army from 85 mm divisional guns D-44 located in the firing points by its settlements, the press-service of the NKR Defense Ministry informed Armenian News NEWS.am. Besides diversionary guns, the Azerbaijani armed forces are using mortars of different calibers both in the eastern and northern (Talish) directions. As of now, overall 46 shells have been fired, of which 22 were from artillery-type weapons and 24 from mortars. The Defense Army has suffered no losses as a result of the offensive actions of the adversary. The NKR Defense Army states that the entire responsibility for the provocative actions initiated by the Azerbaijani side and their consequences fall on the military and political leadership of Baku. In the event of the continuation of such provocation, the NKR Defense Army reserves the right to take non-proportional steps to ensure the security of the state borders of Artsakh. No matter what industry a business is part of, its always a good idea to use data to make decisions. Healthcare, education, marketing, etc. all find the most success when analyzing data is a top priority. Data driven companies pay close attention to user behavior, analyze it thoroughly, and then decide what next levels of product development, marketing campaigns, and operational improvements should be. Through these methods, companies are able to make the most informed decisions possible about their operations. The concept of data driven decisions is relevant in all industries and, luckily for those attending ITEXPO later this week, Feb. 8-10 in Fort Lauderderale, FL, it is a topic of discussion in one of the sessions. The session, titled Using Data Analytics to Growth of Your On-Demand Services, will take place Wednesday, Feb. 8 at 2:30 p.m., and will be led by an expert on the topic, Danny Daniels, VP of Sales at Jugnoo. TMC caught up with Daniels ahead of the event to discuss what other valuable tactics are used at Jugnoo. Our full exchange can be seen below: How have technology changes over the past 12 months helped businesses grow? Technology has advanced in a spectacular way over the last 12 months, making inroads into almost all the verticals of businesses like product development, communication, HR, Marketing, Finance, etc. Automation and Machine Learning have been playing a key role in shaping the business of today for a better tomorrow. What does the term Collaboration mean to your business? For our company, Collaboration is essential for technological evolution and to understand the needs of our customers and partners. The role of collaboration in our business is evolving with the evolving needs of our customers. What elements of Unified Communications are most useful for your company? Almost all the companies of today are exposed to multiple channels of marketing and business communication. We are also not an exception, since we have been the early adopters of most of these new channels. Integrating all channels of enterprise communication is essential to maintain consistent messaging and to have a standard organizational positioning. Are you using messaging technologies to communicate with your customers? How, or why not? Since we are the leading providers of technology solutions, online messaging has been the primary mode of communication for us with our clients. Clearly, over the period of time, social media has evolved as a key source for customer support and to receive customer feedback. For Sales Support, Intercom is the Live Chat Interface that is being used. Are you leveraging big data/analytics to operate more efficiently? Yes, we rely extensively on big data to develop our organizational strategies and to manage large volumes of structured and unstructured data. For example, server logs of our application, usage logs of different users, journeys of our products, audit of our security logs, etc. How can artificial intelligence best be used in business applications? Artificial Intelligence helps us in automating the manual processes, reducing human involvement, assisting in product and operational processes, and providing a seamless Web experience. Decisions can be made quickly with artificial intelligence, since it follows the pre-defined behaviors, greatly assisting in decision making. Customer support is another area where AI has made significant contributions over the last few years. How has the growing number of high-visibility security breaches impacted your outlook on security? Which breach is of greatest concern? Security breach of users personal data is a big concern, since whatever we develop is interlinked with their data, either directly or indirectly. This could include their social profile, usage activities, profile information, etc. With companies becoming increasingly vulnerable to hacks and cyberattacks recently, it is extremely crucial for organizations to adopt an ultra-sensitive approach towards security mechanisms. The growing usage of Internet of Technology (IoT), AI in our day-to-day lives makes this more critical. Have you increased your investment in security technology in the past year? Are you likely to increase your security spend in the next year? Why or why not? Yes, we have certainly increased our spending during the past year to ensure a tight security as far as technology is concerned. While developing high-end products (like Tookan) that are increasingly being used by clients all across the world, and knowing the fact that a critical part of their business depends on our software, we strive to ensure a constant delivery of the SLAs and provide continuous support and service 24 hrs x 7 days. Moreover, to make sure the system remains up and running at all times, it is important to keep a check that we are working in a secure environment, implementing the required security practices. To what extent are you leveraging APIs to enhance business opportunities? The core business model of Tookan revolves around integration of the System via our Public APIs. Most of our clients have successfully been using our public APIs to integrate their existing systems with their Tookan account and automate their business. What percentage of your workforce would you consider mobile? What technology decisions have you made as a result of your mobile workforce, to ensure they have the tools they need to remain productive? Tookan is a mobile workforce software solution. Thus, essentially, we are a software providing company, exactly solving this use case. To what extent are you using cloud services in your daily business processes? All of our servers are based on AWS. We extensively use Google Apps for Work and Facebook for Work in our day-to-day working on the computer systems. Has your use of cloud-based resources increased over the past year? Do you expect to make more use of cloud computing in the coming year? Please elaborate. Parallel to our overall growth, our usage of new cloud-based tools and resources has also significantly grown, which has greatly helped us enhance our processes. We have also been leveraging new technologies, for example, AWS Lambda, DynamoDB, etc, and trying to bring a difference. How are you handling shadow IT in your business? We have been successful in building a robust structure for Customer Support to solve the day-to-day support-related activities for Jugnoo. Similarly, we have also put in place a scalable framework to solve the analytics requirements for all our products. By promoting it extensively within our organization, we ensure that our employees are not performing any kind of repetitive work. How has the growth in the managed services market impacted your business? Growth in the managed services market has helped us setup tech infrastructure with ease and at relatively low cost. Experimentation has definitely become easier now. Is the cloud / MSP model a realistic one for reliable IT security? Yes, absolutely. Cloud servers are almost as secure, as physical data centers. Security measurement set-ups by MSPs are far more rigid, as compared to the small physical data centers, promising greater safety. What are your thoughts on containerization technology as an alternative to traditional virtualization? It is not really a containers vs. virtual machines fight, where only one could win. Both have their set of advantages and disadvantages. While containers are gaining popularity these days as they are able to provide portability to the application and can be created much faster than VMs, VMs are definitely more secure than containers. Thus, depending on the kind of app, one can use any of these two technologies. What emerging technology has the potential to have a disruptive impact on businesses in the coming years? Out of the various emerging technologies, I feel that Artificial Intelligence (AI)/ machine learning and IoT have a strong potential to disrupt businesses in the coming years. How has your business product development evolved over the past year as a result of emerging technologies? Release cycle has reduced drastically over past years. We are more agile in terms of development. Are channel partners keeping up with the latest trends and developments? Is more education needed and how can they better leverage the latest technologies to grow? Our business objective is to provide technology expertise. We have to enhance our partners in their day to day business operations. The buyer journey for our typical customer, does involve a lot of early stage education of our offering as well as latest in the technology space. But partners are evolving and have started understanding the power that technology provides in terms of automation. What is your session at ITEXPO about and who should plan on attending? Why should this be a must-attend session for the week? We will take the opportunity to present on Geo-Analytics. We will cover what Geo-Analytics is, its benefits, use cases and why it is a must use for everyone. What are you most looking forward to at ITEXPO 2017? We look at this event as a wonderful initiative to bring various industry players on the same platform. This event would enable us to establish relationships with industry experts and market leaders from around the world, develop synergies and potential partners. We intend to create more awareness for our brand through this association and make it known both at national and international level. Share this Page Edited by Stefania Viscusi Shabaab Claims Attacks on American, Kenyan, Somali Forces, Two Large-Scale Attacks, Capturing Areas in Somalia Disney (DIS) reports its December quarter earnings at the close of trading on Tuesday, and here's the quick and dirty: Wall Street analysts are expecting earnings for Disney's fiscal first quarter to total $1.50 a share. Net income is expected to come in at $2.37 billion on revenue of $15.3 billion, according to the average forecast of 33 analysts as surveyed by FactSet. As for what's really on everyone's mind, that would be CEO Bob Iger's non-retirement plans, ESPN's subscriber totals and theme park attendance (especially in Florida where Comcast (CMCSA) Universal has become more competitive). It appears that Iger may not actually retire next year as the company had been planning, The Wall Street Journal reported on Monday, citing people close to the company. The big puzzle has always been finding Iger's replacement and identifying that person remains as tricky as it was in 2014 when Disney's board extended his contract to June 2018. Iger, who turns 66 on Friday, was promoted to CEO in 2005, and hasn't had a chief operating officer, traditionally the position of an heir apparent, since Tom Staggs left the company last spring. Disney shares have gained 5.1% this year compared to the benchmark S&P 500's advance of 2.4%. In Tuesday trading, Disney shares were down slightly to $109.31. Disney, of course, remains a giant media conglomerate, and therefore managing its many parts is a difficult task. Unlike its rivals, Disney operates in all facets of the media except one: direct-to-consumer (More on that below). So, even though the film business is stacked with big-tent franchises and theme parks are poised for another build-out in 2018, Disney's cable-TV networks grab a lot of the public's attention. Disney's Media Networks business, which includes ESPN, ABC and other cable-TV channels, accounts for 44% of the company's earnings, excluding some costs. Consequently, investor attention is disproportionately focused on ESPN, its largest network. Iger tempered expectations for the current quarter back in November when he said that the four-year decline in ESPN's subscriber base would eventually be offset by the growth of online cable-TV platforms such as AT&T's (T) DirecTV Now and Dish Network's (DISH) SlingTV. Nonetheless, skeptics fret that ESPN's high fixed costs -- long-term sports contracts -- will increasingly cut into Disney profits as younger subscribers embrace skinny bundles that don't include the network, resulting in continued subscriber loses. At present, subscriptions to traditional cable-TV services are falling at a pace of 1% to 2% per year. Whether the new online pay-TV services will offset that decline may be the most pressing question confronting media company executives and their investors. UBS media analyst Doug Mitchelson counters that ESPN remains a hot commodity which traditional and digital pay-TV operators are more than willing to pay for. Comcast is a holding in Jim Cramer and the AAP team's Action Alerts PLUS Charitable Trust Portfolio. Want to be alerted before they buy or sell CMCSA? Learn more now. Disney CEO Bob Iger "Despite concerns, we believe Media Networks should resume sustainable modest growth as ESPN affiliate renewals pick up at the same time that cost growth slows (no major sports renewals next 5 years)," Mitchelson said. "Worth noting, virtual [cable-TV operators] could potentially improve ESPN's affiliate revenue trends in 2017 and beyond if they are successful." Indeed, obsessing over ESPN's subscriber numbers may be like failing to see the forest for trees. The real issue bedeviling Iger and Disney is distribution. As Iger also said in November, owning the best content in the world isn't good enough unless Disney owns a means to directly bring that content to subscribers. It's why Time Warner (TWX) is hoping it can close its sale to AT&T. Iger knows full well that Alphabet's Google (GOOGL) , Facebook (FB) Twitter (TWTR) or Amazon (AMZN) etc. could acquire sports rights and other media content to challenge Disney. Yes, Disney owns a one-third stake in BAM Tech, but even that technology is no substitute for a direct digital channel. Alphabet and Facebook are holdings in Jim Cramer and the AAP team's Action Alerts PLUS Charitable Trust Portfolio. Want to be alerted before they buy or sell GOOGL or CMCSA? Learn more now. Disney's "success will be determined by the ability to bundle media with more services," Barclays media analyst Kannan Venkateshwar said in a Feb. 6 investor note. "It will be tough, in our opinion, for Disney to build these capabilities [organically]. Consequently, we believe if Mr. Iger does extend his contract for a few more years, he could focus more on gaining a scaled distribution platform." Until Iger resolves the distribution conundrum, he is sure to be dogged by questions of whether Disney will buy Netflix (NFLX) , a potentially huge, paradigm-shifting acquisition that would entail taking on a business that is too far afield. On theme parks, Disney is getting more competition from Comcast's Universal, which has bolstered its Orlando attractions with Harry Potter and other new attractions. Investors will be watching parks for any signs of slow growth. As for Disney's film business, the December quarter was all about hits Moana and Rogue One. Looking at the rest of 2017, Iger sought to temper 2017 expectations during that same November conference call, pointing instead to a 2018 movie slate that will include two Star Wars films, two from Pixar and four from Marvel. Watch: Here's How I'm Playing Disney's Earnings Report Today by Real Money's Stephen Guilfoyle: FMCSA: Tennessee Truck Driver a Threat to Public Safety Eric Ronald Scott has been ordered not to operate any commercial motor vehicle in interstate commerce. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has declared Eric Ronald Scott of Tennessee to be a hazard to public safety, according to the DOT agency's news release. The agency has ordered Scott not to operate any commercial motor vehicles in interstate commerce. The agency reports Scott was arrested in two separate alcohol-related incidents within the span of four days. On Dec. 31, 2016, police found Scott asleep in the cab of his CMV in Berlin, Vt., where a breath test detected alcohol. Scott was arrested for domestic assault. On Jan. 2, 2017, Scott was arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol after jackknifing his tractor-trailer, hitting a stop sign, and forcing three vehicles off the road, according to FMCSA. NSC Honors Texas Employers with Traffic Safety Awards Fifteen organizations were recognized by the council. The National Safety Council has recognized 15 Texas employers that have a proven commitment to traffic safety. Nine employers will receive Our Driving Concern Texas Employer Traffic Safety Awards, while six others will receive an honorable mention distinction. Fifteen is the highest number of recipients to ever receive the award. The types of organizations that are being recognized range from small businesses to large corporations, as well as nonprofits and municipal organizations. Four employers received exemplary awards: Buffalo Gap Instrumentation & Electrical Co. Inc.; the City of Arlington, Texas; the Dallas Independent School District; and MedStar Mobile Healthcare. "Many Texans may know these organizations as business partners and community representatives. We know them as safety leaders," said Deborah A.P. Hersman, president and CEO of the National Safety Council. "As traffic fatalities continue rising nationwide, it is more important than ever to look out for one another. These employers are taking the lead, and we are proud to recognize their efforts." To see the full list of recipients, click here. During times of election transition in Washington D.C., there are usually periods of adjustment as both parties jockey to find new footing in the shifting balance of power. To the surprise of no one this election cycle, these loyal party members have needed virtually no adjustment time in adopting their brand new set of long held principles. Things people hated they now suddenly support, and things they supported, they now seemingly deeply oppose. One of the reasons I like our political system under the Constitution is that it largely succeeds in taking away emotion and treats everyone the same, under a standard set of rights. These rights dont change as new presidents enter the White House, and they are, by design, very hard to adjust, add or remove. The Womens March in D.C. (that didnt welcome all women) had an incident occur that I found particularly disturbing. While being interviewed by the Australian Broadcast Corporation, Richard Spencer had just denied being a Neo-Nazi and was answering a question about his Pepe the Frog pin when he was sucker punched by a passing protester. I want to be clear that I think Richard Spencer is a vile white nationalist that has said many horrific things about race. I certainly do not agree with his opinions, and I find them offensive, as would most people. During the march, Spencer was simply being interviewed when he was assaulted. People cheered on social media afterwards and implied that violence is an acceptable response to being offended. Im here to tell you that this is exactly the wrong opinion to own. One only needs to consider that Spencer could conduct a KKK rally, march a group right down Mainstreet USA while speaking his beliefs and still be well within his rights. America allows all forms of political speech, not just the types that we personally agree are correct. He was exercising his rights when someone punched him. The knee jerk reaction from the Cro-Magnon populace was to cheer blindly. These patriots claim that theres no place for hate, and they profess that punching Nazis is good. But was Spencer being hateful when he was punched? Was this violent reaction revenge for his past comments or a reaction to what he was saying during the interview? Do we want to hold people accountable for their past actions and beliefs that we find personally offensive, while overlooking their current views? Be careful when you answer that question and pause to consider President Trump is the first President to publicly approve of gay marriage upon entering office. Should the president that signed the Defense of Marriage Act into law get a face punch for supporting this type of hate based legislation? Can you perceive the massive amount of subjectivity that needs to be applied in order to maintain political party allegiance? The idea that punching someone in the face for having political views we disagree with is fine, as long as you agree with the puncher. But what happens when Steve Bannon is the one with the fis,t and he decides youre the one with the offensive opinion? If you remember nothing from this column, remember this: Politics is a tit for tat game, and the pendulum always swings back. That inevitable pendulum swing is what I fear next. Should Nazis be punched? What about Nazi supporters or sympathizers? How about people that hear offensive Nazi speech but dont immediately disavow? Should people that write columns professing Richard Spencer has a right to share his political views be beaten? Who is safe when the rules of violence are entirely subjective and ripe for abuse through partisan objectives? When one side understands that punching offensive people is acceptable, it wont be long before we see this one sided justification play out at a flag burning rally that others find deeply offensive. Well see a pro-life crusader get offended at an abortion clinic and take action. What about punching someone that calls for the harming of police at a Black Lives Matter event? The problem here is that we are allowing people to subjectively decide whether or not violence is acceptable as a response to being offended. When we start parsing speech into different categories, we are on a fast road to everyone parsing speech in their own convenient manner. What starts out with the best of intentions inevitably is used as a tool to silence others. In order to prevent the silencing of SOME speech, we much allow ALL political speech to thrive. In the context of free political speech, what Richard Spencer was saying at the time is irrelevant but his right to speak his opinion free of violence isnt. What happened to "I dont like your opinion but Ill fight for your right to say it"? This philosophy is hard to put into practice and illustrates the tremendous hold partisan politics currently have on our principles. Hard rights are the best rights because they force us to remove our personal feelings from the equation. They require us to examine them in a vacuum and absent of the types of partisan influence that cloud our judgments. If we desire to have a future America where rights are subjective-free and will still apply equally to all, then you must support all rights for all Americans, even the ones you strongly are personally against. "Waste not, want not." It's a saying that's been used for centuries to remind people that they should care for their resources. But it's also a fitting description for a new Family Meal offering at Balzac, 1716 N. Arlington Pl., which aims to tackle the growing issue of food waste in restaurants. Beginning Feb. 19 at 10 p.m., Balzac will offer a weekly Sunday meal for service industry personnel. Modeled after the tradition of family meal, during which a chef prepares food for his staff to eat before service, the weekly event will feature a variety of dishes created by Balzac Chef Ronnie Oldham. Dishes will be offered at no charge with the purchase of a beverage. The offering, says Balzacs general manager Emily Chirillo, is a boon for hard-working bar and restaurant employees. But it's also a way for the restaurant to call attention to and do its part to help eliminate food waste. Sobering stats The National Restaurant Association one of many organizations which have taken a stand for eliminating food waste reports that U.S. Department of Agriculture findings estimate food waste to comprise as much as 30 to 40 percent of the food supply. According to the USDA, in 2010, an estimated 133 billion pounds of food from stores, restaurants and homes was wasted. To top things off, the food service industry ranks among the most recognizable offenders, with an average of 150,000 pounds of garbage generated by restaurants annually. And interactive web sites like SavetheFood.com are working tirelessly to get the word out about how change can be made. For years, Milwaukee restaurants have been tackling the issue of food waste head on through efforts like composting, using scraps for stock and just getting more creative with their menus. But the discussion has gotten renewed attention in recent months. Earlier this year, Chef Dan Barber of Blue Hill at Stone Barns announced plans for a new European version of wasteED, a pop-up concept he introduced to New York in 2015 which features well known chefs cooking dishes from scraps that might ordinarily end up as restaurant waste. For the new London pop-up, British chefs including Gordon Ramsay, Clare Smyth and Tom Kerridge have signed on to bring awareness to the issue. Proposed solutions Chirillo says the Family Meal is part of a larger effort on the part of Balzac to cut costs and reduce the restaurants footprint through better use of food. "Food waste is a really tough thing to prevent in a restaurant environment," she says. "But our chef is really great at making use of the scraps that result in a kitchen. Thanks to his efforts, were making use of more and more odds and ends and using them for things like stocks." The new Sunday offering is also a good way to build awareness, notes Chirillo. "This is about really nourishing people," she says. "But we also want people to be aware of what theyre eating. We wanted to use this as a way to open up a dialogue and set a good example for others. And wed love to see more restaurants using it as a model for what they can do." "Working in the restaurant industry, its often hard to give to a greater cause," Chirillo says. "But this is a way that we can really contribute to something greater than us." This Account has been suspended. Dasha Kelly started FoxTales as a storytelling birthday event in 2014, and the party never stopped. The series continues tonight, Tuesday, Feb. 7, at Gibraltar, 538 W. National Ave. The difference between FoxTales and other storytelling groups, such as Ex Fabula and The Moth, is that the storytellers are generally people who do not consider their story to be art. "Most of the invited tellers have never been to a storytelling event." says Kelly, a former co-host of Ex Fabula. "That said, there are a number of FoxTales regulars who have, in fact, found their way onto the big stages." FoxTales is a storytelling event, but also a social event. "In October, for instance, everyone hung out afterwards, talking about the stories, drinking beers with the tellers, playing a monster round of Jenga," says Kelly. All proceeds support Still Waters Collective, an arts outreach and community building initiative. "The room and city shrinks when we listen to stories and celebrate a shared journey: life, joy, loss, confusion, clarity, adventure, reckoning, love, fumbles and many, many hugs and high fives along the way," says Kelly. FoxTales starts at 7 p.m.; seating starts at 6:30 p.m. A $10 donation is suggested. For more information, go to the Facebook invite. A graph showing the comb-like appearance of the frequency spectrum of the laser output of a frequency comb. Credit: Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology When measuring the duration of high-speed physical phenomena, a good stopwatch can only get you so far, and while oscilloscopes can pick up electrical signals with frequencies of a few GHz, measuring incredibly fast optical phenomena requires something morea system called an optical frequency comb. Normal lasers are monochromatic sources only containing a single frequency of light; in contrast, frequency combs contain many frequencies, equally spaced in the frequency domain, which look very much like the teeth of a comb. Frequency combs are used extensively as a type of 'optical ruler' since they can measure rapidly varying signals by interfering the 'teeth' of the frequency combs with the signal they want to measure, which consequently converts those signals into more manageable radio frequency signals. Researchers in the Light-Matter Interactions Unit at the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University, along with collaborators in Washington University, published a paper recently in Optics Letters in which they outline how they created a frequency comb in the visible spectrum. They accomplished this by combining a phenomenon known as four-wave mixing with a low-cost, low-power device called a micro-bubble resonator (MBR). MBRs are a type of whispering gallery mode resonator (WGMR), and until now, only infrared frequency combs have been produced directly using four-wave mixing in WGMRs. Moving the operating wavelength of these devices into the visible regime has enormous benefits since an 'optical ruler' is often sought after for light that can be observed by the human eye. The MBR device could be very useful in medical science where high precision frequency measurements are required, such as medical CT scans, where optical frequency combs are an excellent candidate. Presently optical frequency combs are generated using hefty femtosecond laser systems that require a lot of space and consume many watts of power, or using other large mode-locked laser systems. The proposed MBR, in contrast, is microns in size and only requires a low-power laser to pump the device since the tiny volume of the resonator mean that small input powers correspond to extremely high circulating intensities, a requirement for non-linear processes to occur. A classical whispering gallerythe phenomena which allows this device to operateis an acoustic effect. The dome of St. Paul's cathedral in London is a famous example of a whispering gallery. In a circular enclosure, sound waves propagate along the inner walls with little loss, allowing one to hear whispers muttered near the wall a great distance away along the wall. Optically, the researchers replicate this effect by causing light to 'bounce' along the walls of a circular cavity, in this case a micro-bubble resonator. The group managed to fabricate a micro bubble resonator with a wall thickness of 1.4 micronsabout 60 times thinner than a human hairand an overall diameter of 120 microns. Using this device, they succeeded in producing an optical frequency comb with a central red wavelength of 765 nanometers, coinciding exactly with the predicted results. An example of a microbubble resonator with an optical fibre running vertically next to it to excite the mode. Credit: Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology The authors of the paper created MBRs by tapering thin glass capillaries down to a few tens of microns in diameter, blocking one of their openings and then pumping gas into the tubes. Heating an area of the glass using a CO2 laser forms a tiny bubble due to the balance between the gas pressure within the capillary and the surface tension of the molten glass, much like how glass blowers produce beautiful glass vases. Unlike typical solid resonators without thin walls, the researchers can control the wall thickness precisely allowing an extra degree of freedom. This crucial difference allowed the researchers to tune the central frequency of device to the visible regime. Dr. Yong Yang, the primary author of this paper, looks forward to pushing the limits of the device with even thinner wall dimensions and hopes to expand the range of this device to eventually span the gap between the lower wavelength blue light all the way to the near infrared region. "I'm excited about the microbubble resonator since its unique geometry gives us so much more control over the dispersive properties and will ultimately help us to further push the boundaries of this device," says Yang. Ultimately, this work could provide researchers with a tool that is a low-cost, low power and compact alternative to the commercially available frequency combs today. What better way to measure light than to use light? More information: Yong Yang et al. Four-wave mixing parametric oscillation and frequency comb generation at visible wavelengths in a silica microbubble resonator, Optics Letters (2016). DOI: 10.1364/OL.41.005266 Journal information: Optics Letters A scanning electron microscope image of Group A Streptococcus (orange) during phagocytic interaction with a human neutrophil (blue). Credit: NIAID The human mouth can harbour more than 700 different species of bacteria. Under normal circumstances these microbes co-exist with us as part of our resident oral microbiota. But when bacteria spread to other tissues via the blood stream, the results can be catastrophic. Researchers from the University of Bristol have now revealed a potentially key molecular process that occurs in the case of infective endocarditis, a type of cardiovascular disease in which bacteria cause unwanted blood clots to form on heart valves. If untreated, this condition is fatal and even with treatment, mortality rates remain high (up to 30 per cent). There are over 2,000 cases of infective endocarditis in the UK annually and the incidence is rising. The Bristol team's findings could lead to the development of new drugs to help combat this life threatening heart disease. A key part of the study involved use of the UK national synchrotron facility, Diamond Light Source. Using this giant X-ray microscope the team were able to visualise the structure and dynamics of a protein called CshA which, based on previous studies at Bristol University, was believed to play an important role in targeting the oral bacterium Streptococcus gordonii to the tissues of the heart. The researchers were intrigued to find that CshA acts as a 'molecular lasso' to enable S. gordonii to bind to the surface of human cells. Such adhesive interactions are critical first steps in the ability of this bacterium to cause disease. The study, which appears as 'Editors' Picks' in the current issue Journal of Biological Chemistry, was conducted in collaboration with Professor Rich Lamont at the University of Louisville, USA. Lead author Dr Catherine Back from Bristol's School of Oral and Dental Sciences, said: "What our work has revealed is a completely new mechanism by which S. gordonii and related bacteria are able to bind to human tissues. We have named this the 'catch-clamp' mechanism." The team were able to demonstrate that the terminal portion of CshA is very flexible. This allows it to be cast out from the surface of the bacterium like a lasso. When the lasso contacts fibronectin on the surface of human cells (the 'catch'), it brings CshA and fibronectin into close proximity. This then enables another portion of CshA to tightly 'clamp' the two proteins together, anchoring S. gordonii to the host cell surface. Co-researcher Dr Paul Race from Bristol's School of Biochemistry and the BrisSynBio Research Centre, said: "What is particularly exciting about this work is that it opens up new possibilities for designing molecules that inhibit either the 'catch' or the 'clamp' steps in this process, or potentially both. The latter possibility is particularly intriguing, as bacteria are generally less likely to become resistant to agents that target multiple steps in an infective process." Dr Angela Nobbs, from the School of Oral and Dental Sciences, who co-led the study with Dr Race, added: "With the molecular level insight that our study provides, it is now a realistic possibility that we can begin to develop anti-adhesive agents that target disease-causing Streptococcus and related bacteria." More information: 'The Streptococcus gordonii adhesin CshA binds host fibronectin via a catch-clamp mechanism' by Catherine R. Back et al in Journal of Biological Chemistry Journal information: Journal of Biological Chemistry Forest understory differences inside and outside of a fence designed to exclude deer at UWMadisons Kemp Research Station in Vilas County. The forest on the left is outside the exclosure and shows the dramatic effects of deer on forest understory. Credit: Katie Frerker It is widely known that the white-tailed deer is a nonstop eater. Unless it is sleeping or fleeing from a predator, the keystone North American herbivore is nearly always nibbling. Ecologically, deer herbivory is a fairly well understood phenomenon. The presence, abundance and reproductive success of many plant species are directly affected by deer, whose populations are orders of magnitude greater in some regions than they were before European settlement. Now, scientists are looking beyond herbivory to better understand the indirect effects of deer on eastern North American forest landscapes. In particular, scientists are interested in how the animal's presence and behaviors affect the composition and overall health of the wildflowers and other herbswhat scientists call understory communitiesthat blanket the forest floor. "Deer are affecting understory communities in many different ways," explains Autumn Sabo, a University of WisconsinMadison plant ecologist and the lead author of a new study that teases out some of the secondary impacts of white-tailed deer on forest ecosystems. "It is only in recent years that scientists have started to look at factors beyond herbivory." Writing this week (Feb. 6, 2017) in the Journal of Ecology, Sabo and her colleagues detail how deer affect forest plant composition by altering facets of the forest environment, including light availability, soil compaction, and the thickness of a particular layer of soil. A sugar maple sapling nipped off by white-tailed deer, one of North Americas emblematic keystone herbivores. Credit: Autumn Sabo The study focused on 17 deer exclosures, patches of forest ranging in size from a hundred square meters to eight hectares, where 2- to 3-meter high fences have been installed to keep deer out. The exclosures, some of which have been in place for decades, are located in the temperate hardwood forests of northern Wisconsin and Michigan's Upper Peninsula. Archaeological evidence suggests that deer were once far less abundant in eastern North America, perhaps as few as two to four deer per square kilometer. Today, on average, there are about seven deer per square kilometer in the areas studied by Sabo and her colleagues. "In northern Wisconsin and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, we found little herbivory damage on forest herbs," says Sabo, who conducted the study with Katie Frerker of the U.S. Forest Service, and Don Waller and Eric Kruger of UWMadison. "Deer seem to be eating primarily young trees." Findings from the new study suggest scientists need to revisit their thinking about the effects of deer as, previously, most ecologists believed the biggest impact of deer on understory species was herbivory. That idea may be true in places like the northeastern U.S. where a lot of direct browsing damage has been observed on wildflowers, says Sabo. But for northern forests in the Upper Great Lakes region, the indirect effects of deer nipping off saplings appear to be more important. Because young trees have been nibbled down, light levels on the forest floor increase and a whitish layer of soil known as the E horizon thickens as colored nutrients are lost. Deer also increase soil compaction, likely through hoof action. UW-Madison plant ecologist Autumn Sabo (left) and U.S. Forest Service ecologist Katie Frerker examine foliage near a deer exclosure in Door Countys Peninsula State Park. Credit: Andy Jandl "Shifts in these environmental factors may result in forest composition changes," notes Sabo, a graduate student and instructor in UWMadison's Department of Forest and Wildlife Ecology. "For example, more tree cover is correlated with more herbs that are spread by animals eating their fruit, including trillium. Higher light levels favor raspberries and ferns, and the thicker soil E horizons correlate with fewer lillies and violets." Soils that have been compacted grow more grasses and sedges and also are more favorable to non-native plant species such as dandelions, she adds. The results of the new study may provide an additional explanation for why forest understory plant communities are slow to recover after pressure from deer is eased. "With exclosures, sometimes you see almost immediate effects," according to Sabo. "Other times you see very little change, which makes us suspect legacy effects" from having had a lot of deer on the landscape. The findings of the new study can help scientists design experiments to show the effects of changes in light and soil resources on plant communities. Critically, the results can also inform efforts to conserve forest biodiversity and improve forest restoration techniques. More information: Autumn E. Sabo et al. Deer-mediated changes in environment compound the direct impacts of herbivory on understorey plant communities, Journal of Ecology (2017). DOI: 10.1111/1365-2745.12748 Journal information: Journal of Ecology John Abromeit, associate professor of history and social studies education, is an intellectual historian; he studies the history of ideas. One such idea is populism, a widely used term that is hard to define. "Populism as we understand it today emerged in the nineteenth century along with democracy," said Abromeit. "It was the new idea that 'the people' should be the real rulers. The question becomes one of defining who 'the people' are, and how to appeal to them to obtain the mass support necessary to win an election." President Donald Trump is a beneficiary of a right-wing populist movement, the Tea Party, which has embraced him. Bernie Sanders was championed by the left's populist movement, which also supported the Occupy Wall Street movement. Typically, populism involves the mobilization of a society's lower classes driven by either left- or right-wing ideas. The boundaries between left and right-wing populism sometimes become blurry. "For example, in France, many voters who support the right-wing National Front formerly supported the French Communist Party." said Abromeit. His recent article, "Critical Theory and the Persistence of Right-Wing Populism," draws upon theories of earlier right-wing populist movements in Europe and the U.S. to explain the more recent success of the Tea Party and Trump. Populism tends to distinguish between "the people" and so-called "enemies of the people." For Trump, the enemies during the presidential campaign were Muslims, undocumented workers, and the political establishment; Sanders and Occupy Wall Street identified Wall Street and the one percent. However, said Abromeit, "Right-wing populism tends to emphasize leaders and be vague about policy. The left tends to emphasize policy over personality." A relatively common feature of populist movements is the effort by entrenched elites to manipulate them. During the late nineteenth century in Europe, the traditional ruling class appealed to ethno-nationalism in an effort to gain popular support. "That doesn't work as well in the U.S.," Abromeit said, "because we're more diverse than European countries, and because there is a stigma associated with overt appeals to racism." However, Trump's attacks on immigrants and Muslims may carry a similar emotional appeal. One important source of contemporary right-wing populism in the U.S., Abromeit believes, is the Democratic Party's failure to offer a critique of neoliberalism, which favors free-market capitalism. "Bill Clinton promoted free trade even more than Reagan did," he said. "As the Dems moved toward the political center, they moved away from trade unions and their traditional working-class constituents. As a result, Republicansour traditional free-trade partymoved further to the right on cultural issues. But then Trump set himself apart during the primaries by breaking with Republican orthodoxy, which traditionally supported free trade. Instead, he spoke directly to workers in critical Midwest states like Ohio, Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Wisconsin and promised more protectionisma kind of economic nationalism. And it paid off." The facts that wages in America have been stagnant since the 1970s, and wealth has been transferred upward, also contribute to recent populist movements on both the right and the left. This increase in inequality and poverty has created a lot of anger. "Going forward," Abromeit said, "the question is whether right- or left-wing populists will be more successful in harnessing that anger for their own, very different political aims." More information: Critical Theory and the Persistence of Right-Wing Populism. logosjournal.com/2016/abromeit/ Transformations of Populism in Europe and the Americas. www.bloomsbury.com/us/transfor ricas-9781474225236/ The 32km long bridge that leads to the Yangshan deep water port in Hangzhou Bay, south east of Shanghai, pictured May 12, 2006 French wastewater treatment company Suez said Tuesday it had been awarded a contract to design an artificial wetland to clean water from a petrochemical industrial zone outside Shanghai. Suez said the 36-hectare "dragonfly zone" will use "the treatment capabilities of the natural environment" to remove micropollutants from water after its discharge from a standard facility that it operates at the Shanghai Chemical Industrial Park. The industrial park, located on Hangzhou Bay to the south of Shanghai, is one of the largest petrochemical industrial sites in Asia and hosts facilities of a number of foreign companies as well as Chinese firms. Suez says its dragonfly zone concept uses the purification capacities of aquatic eco-systems that are created using locally selected plants to improve the chemical and bacteriological quality of water as it moves through the various pools. Renovation of 13 hectares of existing wetlands and adding another 23 hectares will require an estimated 18.5 million euros ($19.7 million). Suez first tested the technology at a site in southern France in 2009. 2017 AFP Akosombo Dam, Ghana. Credit: jbdodane on flickr When Ghanaian Abu Yaya wondered why his country imports all of its electroporcelain a small but crucial component for electrical power transmission it led to a collaboration with Cambridge materials scientist Kevin Knowles that might one day result in Ghana being able to reduce its frequent blackouts. In Ghana, 'Dumsor' is a part of life. An annoyance, a risk, an impediment to be sure, but a part of life all the same. The half-joking, half-serious term, which roughly translates to 'off-and-on', refers to the frequent blackouts in the country. Entire neighbourhoods go dark in an instant. The patchwork electrical grid can leave one side of a street in darkness and the other fully lit. So widespread are the blackouts that John Mahama, until recently the country's President, was often referred to as 'Mr Dumsor' by Ghanaians. Like many countries in sub-Saharan Africa, Ghana doesn't produce enough power to meet demand. Its power supply has been erratic since the early 2000s, when water levels in the Akosombo Dam, the country's main hydroelectric dam, dropped to dangerously low levels, and they have yet to recover fully. Although Ghana has one of the highest rates of access to electricity in Africa, in 2015 the country still experienced blackouts on 159 days. "Ghana's not so different from the UK, really both countries have an electrical grid that's under enormous strain," says Dr Kevin Knowles of Cambridge's Department of Materials Science and Metallurgy. "The difference is we'd be up in arms if the lights went out all the time, whereas in Ghana it's just a fact of life. But there are things that researchers in Ghana are doing to help improve the electrical infrastructure." One such researcher is Dr Abu Yaya, Head of the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at the University of Ghana. Yaya has been working with Knowles with the aim of developing a home-grown industry back in Ghana to make a small but crucial component for power transmission: electroporcelain. For electricity to get from the places where it is generated, such as the Akosombo Dam, to homes and businesses, it needs a well-established electrical grid made up of pylons, substations and transmission lines. Whereas high-voltage power lines are insulated by the surrounding air, a physical insulator is required at the point where the power lines are supported by utility poles or transmission towers, or where power lines enter buildings. These insulators prevent the loss of current and concentrate its flow, as well as help prevent electric shock. Most insulators for high-voltage power transmission are made from glass or porcelain. Knowles describes the electroporcelain manufacturing industry as "mature". In fact, in the UK it's been around since the 1860s a reason perhaps why the insulators can look curiously old-fashioned and incongruous, like small white ceramic bowls or brown spiral candlesticks perched on the arms of pylons. However, despite the prevalence of raw materials to make electroporcelain in Ghana, electroporcelain ceramics are imported from other countries at great expense. It's a frustrating situation says Yaya, who has now developed a method of making electrical insulators out of the materials available in Ghana. His aim is to scale up the process for commercial use in the country, and possibly to other sub-Saharan countries as well. The process is economical because all it needs is the raw materials, water and a furnace. Yaya grew up in the slums in Nima, a suburb of Accra in Ghana. After completing his undergraduate studies in his home country, he received funding from the European Union to complete his Master's degree in materials science at the University of Aveiro, Portugal, and the University of Aalborg, Denmark, and his PhD at the University of Nantes, France, after which he returned home to take up a post at the University of Ghana. It was when he returned to Ghana that Yaya first became interested in developing electroporcelain, after a discussion with a retired lab technician who had a stockpile of clays and feldspar, but wasn't sure what to do with it. "I figured out the clays and feldspar could be used to make electroporcelain, and at the same time I realised that Ghana imports all of its electroporcelain from Asian countries," he says. "So I asked myself why can't we make these products and that is how I ended up in Cambridge." In 2015, Yaya won a six-month CAPREx fellowship at Cambridge to work with Knowles, an expert in materials for use in challenging engineering environments. Most of Knowles' research focuses on how small changes to the microstructure of materials can improve their mechanical, electronic or optical properties for use in components such as connecting rods, fan blades, glass and fuel cells. "In electroporcelain, the raw materials are clay, feldspar and silica," explains Knowles. "When these raw materials are mixed together in the right proportions and fired together, at a temperature such as 1,200C, an electrical insulator is produced. What happens during firing is that the feldspar melts and this helps to bind the particles together inducing further chemical reactions and reducing porosity. The result is a dense product that can be given a surface glaze to enable it to pass national safety standards tests for porcelain insulators." Yaya adds: "Normally, imported electroporcelains are made to suit the original country's specifications, and are not made specifically for Ghana or other African countries, where the climatic conditions could vary. By producing these products in Ghana using local raw materials, they are subjected to our own environmental conditions. They would be sent to the Ghana Standards Authority for further testing to ensure that failure does not occur rapidly when the electroporcelains are in use." As well as working closely with Knowles, Yaya has also spent time working with UK-based company Almath Crucibles to optimise his process. His aim from the outset was to develop a manufacturing process for electroporcelain that would meet international standards so it can be sold to Ghana's electricity company. It's a crucial time for Ghana, which has committed itself to universal electricity access by 2020. Making sure the electricity supply is widely available and reliable will aid the growth of industries and the economic development of the country. It will also support the demand for power by an increasing population. "If we are able to manufacture insulators in Ghana then they will be far more affordable than imported insulators, and we stand a better chance of expanding our electrical infrastructure to improve capacity," explains Yaya. Meanwhile, foreign investors are beginning to take notice of Ghana's richness in materials: in August 2016, a Chinese-owned company opened the first phase of a US$60m factory in the Free Zone in Eshiem in Ghana to manufacture floor tiles and other ceramic products to supply domestic and international ceramics markets. Yaya continues to collaborate with Knowles, as well as with other researchers in Europe. He is currently in the process of patenting his technique through a University of Ghana Technology Transfer Grant, and is now looking for potential commercial partners to help him bring the technology from a laboratory to an industrial scale. "Dumsor is an irritation at times but it also shows the power crisis we must overcome," he says. "We need to be sure that limitations in generating and distributing electricity do not become a development challenge for the country. Austrian privacy campaigner Max Schrems wants to stop Facebook's transfer of personal data from Europe to the US A campaign by Austrian privacy lawyer Max Schrems against Facebook's transfer of personal data from Europe to the US is being heard in an Irish court from Tuesday, the latest twist in a long legal battle. The landmark case in Ireland, where the US tech giant has its European headquarters, will have serious repercussions for personal privacy policies and trans-Atlantic business. The US government will be allowed to make representations to the court, underlining the importance of the case. Ireland's Data Protection Commissioner (DPC) is asking the country's High Court to refer the mechanisms used to transfer data between the EU and the US to the European Court of Justice, saying that such issues cannot be decided at national level. The legal action follows a complaint to the DPC by Schrems about Facebook's use of so-called standard contractual clauses (SCCs) to transfer personal data from Europe to the US. In a provisional finding, the watchdog last year said Schrems's argument against the tech giant was "well founded". SCCs are now widely used by data exporters and are intended to allow for the legal transfer of data from EU citizens as long as "adequate protection" is in place. Mason Hayes & Curran, the Dublin-based legal team acting for Facebook, earlier warned in a briefing note of the negative impact a defeat would have on its client and other multinationals. "The widespread interest in this case arises, in part, from the potential economic and commercial consequences that could flow from a ruling that the SCC decisions are invalid," it said. The lawyers quoted estimates saying that if services and cross-border data flows were to be disrupted, the European Union's gross domestic product (GDP) could be hit by as much as 1.3 percentage points. No redress? Facebook argues there is nothing wrong with the current system and that there is no need for a referral. It was forced to switch to SCCs last year after the European Court of Justice ruled in 2015 that the Safe Harbour framework, which had governed the EU-US flow of personal data, contravened EU law because the privacy of European citizens could not be guaranteed in the US. The SCCs are considered as something of a stopgap measure designed to allow the transfer of data, pending agreement on a more comprehensive regime. Schrems, whose complaints eventually led to the demise of Safe Harbour, is a party to the proceedings alongside Facebook. He argues that the Irish watchdog already has the power to stop data transfers from Facebook and should use it. He also says that the SCCs offer no redress for European citizens in the US in the event of their data being accessed by a third party, such as US intelligence services, or compromised in some other way. The hearings in Dublin are due to last three weeks. 2017 AFP The research team setting up the device's hardware on the high-throughput microscope for analysis. Credit: Jacobs School of Engineering/UC San Diego Engineers at the University of California San Diego have developed a desktop diagnosis tool that detects the presence of harmful bacteria in a blood sample in a matter of hours instead of days. The breakthrough was made possible by a combination of proprietary chemistry, innovative electrical engineering and high-end imaging and analysis techniques powered by machine learning. The team details their work in the Feb. 8 issue of Scientific Reports. To identify low levels of harmful bacteria among a large number of human blood cells, researchers for the first time melted bacterial DNA in 20,000 extremely small simultaneous reactions. Each reaction contained only 20 picolitersa scale that is hard to picture: one drop of rain contains hundreds of thousands of picoliters. Each type of DNA has a specific signature as it comes apart during melting. As the melting process is imaged and analyzed, researchers can use machine learning to determine which types of DNA appear in blood samples. During experiments, the system accurately identified, 99 percent of the time, DNA sequences from bacteria causing food-borne illnesses and pneumoniain less than four hours. "Analyzing this many reactions at the same time at this small a scale had never been attempted before," said Stephanie Fraley, a professor of bioengineering at the Jacobs School of Engineering at UC San Diego and the paper's lead author. "Most molecular tests look at DNA on a much larger scale and look for just one type of bacteria at a time. We analyze all the bacteria in a sample. This is a much more holistic approach." Current methods used to detect and identify bacteria rely on cultures, which can take days. That is too long to provide physicians with an effective and timely diagnosis toolas anyone who has been prescribed antibiotics while waiting for test results knows. "We are driven by clinical needs," Fraley said. Temperature control hardware of the device that digitally amplified and melts DNA. Credit: Jacobs School of Engineering/UC San Diego She brought together a team of bioengineers, clinicians, electrical engineers and computer scientists to develop a faster diagnosis system. How it works It all starts with one milliliter of blood, which researchers inoculated with Listeria monocytogenes, a food-borne bacterium that causes about 260 deaths a year in the United States, and Streptococcus pneumoniae, which causes everything from sinus infections, to pneumonia, to meningitis. Researchers isolated all DNA from the blood sample. The DNA was then placed on a digital chip that allowed each piece to independently multiply in its own small reaction. For the process to work at such small scaleseach well containing DNA in the chip was only 20 picoliters in volumeresearchers used a proprietary mix of chemicals subject to a provisional patent. The chip with the amplified DNA was placed in an innovative high-throughput microscope that Fraley and her team designed. The DNA was then heated in increments of 0.2 degrees Celsius, causing it to melt at temperatures between 50 to 90 degrees Celsius -about 120 to 190 degrees Fahrenheit. As the DNA double-helix melts, the bonds holding together the DNA strands break. Depending on the DNA's sequence, the bonds have different strengths and that changes the way the strands unwind from each other. This creates a unique sequence-dependent fingerprint, which researchers can detect using a special dye. The dye causes the unwinding process to give off fluorescent light, creating what researchers call a melting curvea unique signature for each type of bacteria. Loading DNA from a blood sample onto a the 20,000 reaction chip to be characterized by digital amplification and melting. Credit: Jacobs School of Engineering/UC San Diego When engineers imaged the melting process with the high-throughput microscope, they were able to capture the bacteria's melting curves. They then analyzed the curves with a machine learning algorithm they developed. In previous work, the algorithm was trained on 37 different types of bacteria undergoing different reactions in different conditions. The researchers showed that it was able to identify bacteria strains with 99 percent accuracy. By contrast, the error rate for traditional methods can be up to 22.6 percent. Next steps Next steps include shrinking the size of the system so that it can be more easily deployed in clinics and physicians' offices. Researchers also want to add to the system the capability to detect fungal and viral pathogens, as well as genes for antibiotic resistance. They also want to further validate their results on patient samples. Fraley hopes the system will be available to physicians in the next five years. "This has the potential to reach people near or at the point of care," she said. "With further improvements, it could also be deployed in low-resources settings. It's a simple and innovative approach." In addition to Fraley, authors are: Daniel Velez Ortiz, Hannah Mack, Julietta Jupe, Sinead Hawker and Yang Zhang, graduate students in the Department of Bioengineering at UC San Diego; Ninad Kulkarni and Behnam Hedayatnia, from the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at UC San Diego; and Dr. Shelley Lawrence, an assistant professor of pediatrics at the UC San Diego School of Medicine and Rady Children's Hospital of San Diego. More information: Stephanie I. Fraley et al. Nested Machine Learning Facilitates Increased Sequence Content for Large-Scale Automated High Resolution Melt Genotyping, Scientific Reports (2016). DOI: 10.1038/srep19218 Journal information: Scientific Reports Credit: FLPA/REX/Shutterstock Developing new ways to quickly diagnose illnesses in farm animals allowing vets to administer effective, targeted treatment could play a key role in helping to tackle the growing threat of antibiotic resistance, according to a Kingston University microbiology expert. Professor Mark Fielder said that scaling back the widespread use of antibiotics was vital if attempts to combat the rise of antibiotic-resistant bacteria were to be successful. If not, diseases such as Tuberculosis would become increasingly difficult to manage and even routine operations would be at risk if supportive antibiotic therapy was no longer available, he warned. The medical microbiologist said that developing new diagnostic tests to help doctors and vets target treatment against infectious agents would help reduce unnecessary antibiotic use in both human and animal medicine. However, while the use of antibiotics in the farming industry was an important part of the debate, removing them from agriculture completely was not the answer, Professor Fielder explained. "What we need to do is provide clinicians with the tools they need to quickly diagnose what organisms they are dealing with so they can target their treatment more accurately," he said. "This is done to some extent in the veterinary world, but it is difficult due to time and cost pressures. We need to encourage that practice further." Professor Fielder who is also vice president of the Society for Applied Microbiology is currently working with a postgraduate student on a three-year project to develop a rapid diagnostic test for Salmonella in calves, funded by the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board for Beef and Lamb (AHDB). "Diarrhoea in calves can be caused by a number of things, such as a parasite, a virus, or bacteria," he said. "Only a bacterial cause would potentially require antibiotic treatment and the test we're developing should give a result within an hour - and crucially could be done in the back of a car or van out on the farm rather than having to go back to the lab," he said. "What we're trying to get away from is using broad-spectrum antibiotics based on a 'best guess' diagnosis, which could lead to an increased risk of resistance developing. "These tests would allow vets to know exactly what they are dealing with and, when required, pick the antibiotic that is most likely to have a positive effect." Other ways in which antibiotic use could be scaled back included the use of vaccines where possible and encouraging better hygiene practices in scenarios where antibiotics are currently used as preventative measures, the medical microbiologist, who is based at Kingston University's School of Life Sciences, said. Emphasising good husbandry was also the best way of limiting infections in the first place, he added. "There's a difference between successfully treating animals that are unwell as opposed to blanket treating a whole herd just to prevent infection unless the condition indicates that needs to happen. "But you can't remove the use of antibiotics from farming completely because it becomes an animal welfare issue. If a farm animal becomes unwell it has a right to be treated and there are ethical and moral reasons to do so." Detailing ways in which the industry has already taken action, Professor Fielder highlighted how the use of antibiotics to boost animal growth has been illegal in the United Kingdom and Europe since 2006. He said the key message going forward was about ensuring antibiotics were being used responsibly in both human and animal medicine. "One of the researchers in my team here at Kingston University has suggested the development of a responsible use of antibiotics charter, which would be a big step forward in demonstrating that these medicines are being used in a considered manner for a particular purpose," he said. "The question still remains about whether resistance has emerged in the human population as a result of the use of antibiotics in agriculture or as a result of misuse in human medicine we don't have enough evidence at this stage to suggest one way or the other. "But the key to tackling antimicrobial resistance will be scientists, clinicians, farmers and the public working together to protect our antibiotics for future use." Bangladesh poverty maps showing national estimates for wealth index (A), progress out of poverty index (B), and household income (C). Maps were generated using mobile data, satellite data, and Bayesian geostatistical models. Red indicates poorer areas. Credit: WorldPop An international team has, for the first time, developed a way of combining anonymised data from mobile phones and satellite imagery data to create high resolution maps to measure poverty. The researchers, led by WorldPop at the University of Southampton and the Flowminder Foundation, have worked with Telenor Research and mobile phone company Grameenphone to examine rates of poverty and its distribution across Bangladesh - analysing a range of information relating to mobile phone usage. Findings from the study, funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, are published in the Journal of the Royal Society Interface. The team found that by combining mobile data and geospatial data from satellites, they were able to produce poverty predictions which are comparable with those made from traditional sources, but with significant advantages. Lead author Dr Jessica Steele explains: "Census and household surveys are normally used as data sources to estimate rates of poverty. However, they aren't regularly updated - for example, censuses only take place every ten years - and in low income countries, surveys can be patchy. "The advantage of using mobile phone data is that it provides us with information which is continually updated, can be interrogated in a variety of ways and can track changes on an ongoing basis. Paired with satellite data that has similar features, it can give a much more dynamic view of poverty and its geographic spread." Every time a person uses a mobile it sends information to a receiving tower and gives an approximate location of where they are. It also contains information about levels of data usage, numbers of texts sent, times calls were made and their duration. It can reveal how much and how far people are travelling, as well as the type of phone they're using - i.e. basic mobile device, or smart phone. This kind of anonymised data helps build a picture of poverty. For example, monthly credit consumption on mobiles, and the proportion of people in an area using them, can indicate household access to financial resources - while movements of mobiles and their use of networks provide information on individuals' economic opportunities. Similarly, remote sensing from satellites can indicate the living conditions of communities. Researchers in WorldPop have, for several years, undertaken research on how data on rainfall, temperature and vegetation reveals information about agricultural productivity, while how far people live from roads and cities and whether they can light their homes may reflect a community's access to markets and information. Dr Steele adds: "Satellite data can provide us with excellent information about living conditions in rural areas, but in tightly packed cities it's more difficult. It's the reverse for mobiles - more masts in cities means more information, contrasted with the countryside where mobile receiving towers can be thinly spread." The researchers recognise that some of the very poorest in society may not own a mobile, but even taking this in to account, they were able to identify distinct differences between low income informal settlements and richer areas. In 2016, the United Nations pledged to '...end poverty in all forms and dimensions by 2030' as part of its Sustainable Development Goals. One of the steps towards achieving this involves targeting the most vulnerable in society. The researchers are now expanding their work to other countries. They hope their findings can be utilised to track poverty more effectively in the future and provide detailed and accurate information to better inform governments and relief organisations. More information: Jessica E. Steele et al. Mapping poverty using mobile phone and satellite data, Journal of The Royal Society Interface (2017). DOI: 10.1098/rsif.2016.0690 Journal information: Journal of the Royal Society Interface Physicists from MIT, the University of Vienna, and elsewhere have presented a strong demonstration of quantum entanglement even when vulnerability to the freedom-of-choice loophole is significantly restricted. Credit: Christine Daniloff/MIT Quantum entanglement may appear to be closer to science fiction than anything in our physical reality. But according to the laws of quantum mechanicsa branch of physics that describes the world at the scale of atoms and subatomic particlesquantum entanglement, which Einstein once skeptically viewed as "spooky action at a distance," is, in fact, real. Imagine two specks of dust at opposite ends of the universe, separated by several billion light years. Quantum theory predicts that, regardless of the vast distance separating them, these two particles can be entangled. That is, any measurement made on one will instantaneously convey information about the outcome of a future measurement on its partner. In that case, the outcomes of measurements on each member of the pair can become highly correlated. If, instead, the universe behaves as Einstein imagined it shouldwith particles having their own, definite properties prior to measurement, and with local causes only capable of yielding local effectsthen there should be an upper limit to the degree to which measurements on each member of the pair of particles could be correlated. Physicist John Bell quantified that upper limit, now known as "Bell's inequality," more than 50 years ago. In numerous previous experiments, physicists have observed correlations between particles in excess of the limit set by Bell's inequality, which suggests that they are indeed entangled, just as predicted by quantum theory. But each such test has been subject to various "loopholes," scenarios that might account for the observed correlations even if the world were not governed by quantum mechanics. Now, physicists from MIT, the University of Vienna, and elsewhere have addressed a loophole in tests of Bell's inequality, known as the freedom-of-choice loophole, and have presented a strong demonstration of quantum entanglement even when the vulnerability to this loophole is significantly restricted. "The real estate left over for the skeptics of quantum mechanics has shrunk considerably," says David Kaiser, the Germeshausen Professor of the History of Science and professor of physics at MIT. "We haven't gotten rid of it, but we've shrunk it down by 16 orders of magnitude." A research team including Kaiser; Alan Guth, the Victor F. Weisskopf Professor of Physics at MIT; Andrew Friedman, an MIT research associate; and colleagues from the University of Vienna and elsewhere has published its results today in the journal Physical Review Letters. Closing the door on quantum alternatives The freedom-of-choice loophole refers to the idea that experimenters have total freedom in choosing their experimental setup, from the types of particles to entangle, to the measurements they choose to make on those particles. But what if there were some other factors or hidden variables correlated with the experimental setup, making the results appear to be quantumly entangled, when in fact they were the result of some nonquantum mechanism? Physicists have attempted to address this loophole with extremely controlled experiments, in which they produce a pair of entangled photons from a single source, then send the photons to two different detectors and measure properties of each photon to determine their degree of correlation, or entanglement. To rule out the possibility that hidden variables may have influenced the results, researchers have used random number generators at each detector to decide what property of each photon to measure, in the split second between when the photon leaves the source and arrives at the detector. But there is a chance, however slight, that hidden variables, or nonquantum influences, may affect a random number generator before it relays its split-second decision to the photon detector. "At the heart of quantum entanglement is the high degree of correlations in the outcomes of measurements on these pairs [of particles]," Kaiser says. "But what if a skeptic or critic insisted these correlations weren't due to these particles acting in a fully quantum mechanical way? We want to address whether there is any other way that those correlations could have snuck in without our having noticed." "Stars aligned" In 2014, Kaiser, Friedman, and their colleague Jason Gallicchio (now a professor at Harvey Mudd College) proposed an experiment to use ancient photons from astronomical sources such as stars or quasars as "cosmic setting generators," rather than random number generators on Earth, to determine the measurements to be made on each entangled photon. Such cosmic light would be arriving at Earth from objects that are very far awayanywhere from dozens to billions of light years away. Thus, if some hidden variables were to interfere with the randomness of the choice of measurements, they would have had to have set those changes in motion before the time the light left the cosmic source, long before the experiment on Earth was conducted. In this new paper, the researchers have demonstrated their idea experimentally for the first time. The team, including Professor Anton Zeilinger and his group at the University of Vienna and the Austrian Academy of Sciences, set up a source to produce highly entangled pairs of photons on the roof of a university laboratory in Vienna. In each experimental run, they shot the entangled photons out in opposite directions, toward detectors located in buildings several city blocks awaythe Austrian National Bank and a second university building. The researchers also set up telescopes at both detector sites and trained them on stars, the closest of which is about 600 light years away, which they had previously determined would send sufficient photons, or starlight, in their direction. "On those nights, the stars aligned," Friedman says. "And with bright stars like these, the number of photons coming in can be like a firehose. So we have these very fast detectors that can register detections of cosmic photons on subnanosecond timescales." "Out of whack" with Einstein In the few microseconds before an entangled photon arrived at a detector, the researchers used each telescope to rapidly measure a property of an incoming stellar photonin this case, whether its wavelength was redder or bluer than a particular reference wavelength. They then used this random property of the stellar photon, generated 600 years ago by its star, to determine what property of the incoming entangled photons to measure. In this case, red stellar photons signaled a detector to measure an entangled photon's polarization in a particular direction. A blue stellar photon would set the device to measure the polarization of the entangled particle along a different direction. The team conducted two experiments, with each experimental run lasting only three minutes. In each case, the researchers measured about 100,000 pairs of entangled photons. They found that the polarization measurements of the photon pairs were highly correlated, well in excess of the bound set by Bell's inequality, in a way that is most easily explained by quantum mechanics. "We find answers consistent with quantum mechanics to an enormously strong degree, and enormously out of whack with an Einstein-like prediction," Kaiser says. The results represent improvements by 16 orders of magnitude over previous efforts to address the freedom-of-choice loophole. "All previous experiments could have been subject to this weird loophole to account for the results microseconds before each experiment, versus our 600 years," Kaiser says. "So it's a difference of a millionth of a second versus 600 years' worth of seconds16 orders of magnitude." "This experiment pushes back the latest time at which the conspiracy could have started," Guth adds. "We're saying, in order for some crazy mechanism to simulate quantum mechanics in our experiment, that mechanism had to have been in place 600 years ago to plan for our doing the experiment here today, and to have sent photons of just the right messages to end up reproducing the results of quantum mechanics. So it's very far-fetched." There is also a second, equally far-fetched possibility, says Michael Hall, a senior research fellow at Griffith University in Brisbane, Australia. "When photons from the distant stars reach the devices that determine the measurement settings, it is possible that these devices act in some way to change the colors of the photons, in a way that is correlated with the laser producing the entanglement," says Hall, who was not involved in the work. "This would only require a 10-microsecond-old conspiracy between the devices and the laser. However, the idea that photons don't show their 'true colors' when detected would overturn all observational astronomy and basic electromagnetism." More information: Cosmic Bell Test: Measurement Settings from Milky Way Stars. arxiv.org/abs/1611.06985v2 Journal information: Physical Review Letters This story is republished courtesy of MIT News (web.mit.edu/newsoffice/), a popular site that covers news about MIT research, innovation and teaching. Humans emit more than 250 billion tonnes of chemical substances a year, in a toxic avalanche that is harming people and life everywhere on the planet. "Earth, and all life on it, are being saturated with man-made chemicals in an event unlike anything in the planet's entire history," says Julian Cribb, author of 'Surviving the 21st Century' (Springer International 2017). "Every moment of our lives we are exposed to thousands of these substances. They enter our bodies with each breath, meal or drink we take, the clothes and cosmetics we wear, the things we encounter every day in our homes, workplaces and travel. Mr Cribb says that the poisoning of the planet through man-made chemical emissions is probably the largest human impact and the one that is least understood or regulated. It is one of ten major existential risks now confronting humanity, he describes in Surviving the 21st Century. "The European Chemicals agency estimates there are more than 144,000 man-made chemicals in existence. The US Department of Health estimates 2000 new chemicals are being released every year. The UN Environment Program warns most of these have never been screened for human health safety," he says. "The World Health Organisation estimates that 12 million people one in 4 die every year from diseases caused by 'air water and soil pollution, chemical exposures, climate change and ultraviolet radiation', all of which result from human activity." Examples of the toxic avalanche include: Manufactured chemicals 30 million tonnes a year Plastic pollution of oceans 8mt/yr Hazardous waste 400 mt/yr Coal, oil, gas etc 15 gigatonnes (billion tonnes) a year Lost soil 75 Gt/yr Metals and materials 75 Gt/yr Mining and mineral wastes - <200 Gt/yr Water (mostly contaminated with above wastes) 9 trillion tonnes a year. "Industrial toxins are now routinely found in new-born babies, in mother's milk, in the food chain, in domestic drinking water worldwide. They have been detected from the peak of Mt Everest (where the snow is so polluted it doesn't meet drinking water standards) to the depths of the oceans, from the hearts of our cities to the remotest islands. "The mercury found in the fish we eat, and in polar bears in the Arctic, is fallout from the burning of coal and increases every year. "There is global concern at the death of honeybees from agricultural pesticides and the potential impact on the world food supply, as well as all insect life - and on the birds, frogs and fish which in turn depend on insects." Mr Cribb says an issue of chemical contamination largely ignored by governments and corporations is that chemicals act in combination, occur in mixtures and undergo constant change. "A given chemical may not occur in toxic amounts in one place but combined with thousands of other chemicals it may contribute a much larger risk to the health and safety of the whole population and the environment." Medical science is increasingly linking issues such as obesity, cancers, heart disease and brain disorders such as autism, ADHD and depression to the growing volume of toxic substances to which humans are exposed daily. "Despite attempts to regulate chemical use, only 21 out of 144,000 chemicals have so far been banned. In countries such as the United States, attempts are apparently under way to roll back chemical regulation, exposing the population to ever-greater health risks." Mr Cribb says solutions to the threat of global poisoning exist, but require the co-operation of consumers, government and industry worldwide. "First, we need a new Human Right a right not to be poisoned. Without such a right, there will never again be a day in history when humans are free from man-made poisons. "Second we need a global alliance of consumers who will reject toxic products or products made with toxic processes and give industry the economic incentive to switch to 'green chemistry' and other safer systems. "Our communities need to adopt 'zero waste', where nothing is discarded but all substances are re-used and toxic ones made safe." "People need to understand that these poisons are only released because we as consumers send our dollar demands to industry to make things as cheaply as possible. This takes no account of the damage to human life and health. So we are all, in a sense, getting away with murder. "If consumers demand safe, healthy, green products and are willing to pay industry a little more to make them safely, we can cleanse our planet within a generation. "We all end up paying chemical toxicity one way or another. It's a simple choice pay at the supermarket, or pay at the hospice." Surviving the 21st Century describes what humanity as a whole must do, and what individuals can do to turn back the toxic tide. More information: Surviving the 21st Century: Humanity's Ten Great Challenges and How We Can Overcome Them. www.springer.com/us/book/9783319412696 Provided by SciNews Array of low-power light-emitting diodes. Failure of a single LED does not affect the overall system. Credit: Karlsruhe Institute of Technology Researchers of Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) have developed a novel type of LED street light of increased efficiency. Compared to conventional LEDs, power consumption may be reduced by up to 20%. This will also decrease costs and CO2 emission. Conventional high-power diodes are replaced by a special array of LEDs. This enhances efficiency, increases service life and safety, and produces a better light. Parallel connection of a large number of LEDs is difficult, as failure of a single diode will cause failure of the overall system or section. According to Michael Heidinger of KIT's Light Technology Institute, the alternative of connecting LEDs in series is also associated with drawbacks, because the voltage required increases with the number of diodes used. As the legally permissible contact voltage is limited to 120 volts, only up to 40 LEDs have been connected in series so far. Heidinger has now invented an interconnection method that compensates aging and failures of individual LEDs. This method allows to install a large number of LEDs 144 in the prototype on a single board and to operate the array safely. This new switching concept works with far smaller voltages. "Voltage of the prototype was 20 volts," Heidinger says. Moreover, the array produces less heat. "In case of a few LEDs, power loss is highly concentrated," Heidinger says, "and has to be distributed with a high effort." Insufficient heat distribution causes local overheating that massively affects the service life of the lamp. Heat distribution or reduction requires a high expenditure and, hence, is expensive. Such costs are reduced when using Heidin-ger's new LED array. In addition, luminous characteristics are more comfortable for the human eye. "Many small LEDs are perceived as panel radiators from a certain distance. Their glaring effect is smaller than that of high-performance LEDs that are perceived as spot-like light sources." Moreover, low-power LEDs are cheaper than high-performance LEDs. Hence, the new system can be produced and offered at the same prize, although more light-emitting diodes are required. Last but not least, change to the new lamp technology is uncomplicated and inexpensive. "The LED module can be installed simply into existing lighting systems," Heidinger says. In the future, cities and municipalities might profit from reduced power consumption of the novel type of LED. At many places, the old, conventional, and power-consuming illumination is being replaced by LED technology at the moment. According to the city administration of Karlsruhe, illumination of this medium-sized city with 300,000 inhabitants requires about 60,000 lamps (one tenth of which are LEDs). In 2015, their power consumption totaled about 12,000 megawatt hours. Annual power and maintenance costs of EUR 3 million result. In Berlin, energy costs for public electric illumination (the capital also has gas lamps) amounted to about EUR 14 million in 2015. Power consumption totaled 75,000 megawatt hours. In Germany's second largest city Hamburg, energy consumption for illumination in 2014 totaled about 35,000 megawatt hours causing costs in the amount of EUR 7 million. Industry partners are already developing first products based on KIT's technology. "For the first time, we can now construct glare-free lamps of high efficiency, which meet highest safety standards," Klaus Muller, Managing Director of Gratz Luminance, says. "Before the end of this year, we will make available our lamp to customers for testing purposes." Chart showing mortality from the 1918 influenza pandemic in the US and Europe The world in 1918 was emerging from under the pall of a World War that had claimed 38 million lives, and yet in the span of only one year, just as many lives would be lost to the Spanish Fluan influenza pandemic that is still regarded the single deadliest epidemic in recorded history. The disease reached all corners of the world, from the Antipodes to Europe and Asia, eventually claiming 2050 million lives. The 1918 virus caused unusually strong symptoms, described by one physician at the time as "a blood-tinged froth that sometimes gushed from (the) nose and mouth". The disease also had an incredibly high mortality rate of 1020%, which combined with a high rate of infection meant that up to 6% of the world's population died due to the virus. Ever since the outbreak, the particular H1N1 sub-strain that caused the pandemic has been a constant target of research by virologists seeking to understand the causes behind its lethality. In 2005 researchers in the US made a breakthrough where they isolated the virus' genetic material from a frozen infected lung sample, deciphered its genetic sequence and then published it for anyone to see. Going a step further, the researchers resurrected the virus, using chemically synthesised DNA fragments, and showed that this very literal Frankenstein's monster could kill mice at an enhanced rate compared to other extant flu viruses. For perhaps obvious reasons this case has become standard in bioethics and especially synthetic biology lectures and discussions. The 1918 virus case was not the first successful attempt to 'de-extinct' a virus (that distinction goes to a 2002 study resurrecting the poliovirus), but this was one of the first studies to actually pass through regulatory processes (the approval of the newly formed U.S. National Science Advisory Board for Biosecurity was obtained prior to publication); and of course influenzaa fast-spreading, potentially airborne viruspresents a more clear biosafety/biosecurity threat. Now, it is true that from a scientific point of view, these studies are very illuminating, and could possibly help stave off the effects of future pandemics. That logic guided the NSABB's recommendation that the authors publish the full genetic sequence of the 1918 virus. On the other hand, some experts were, and still are concerned that this sort of research can serve as manuals for future bio-terrorists. In general, research with the potential for great good but also great harm is called "dual use research of concern", or DURC. Several other research endeavours have been identified by experts as being DURCs, with a prominent example being all gain of function research, where an organism (viruses or other microbes) is modified to possess new capabilities that could cause harm. (For example, mutating an influenza virus to make it airborne.) More broadly, a lot of the discussion around DURC and biosecurity has focused on synthetic biology. This is mainly because of two reasons, both of which are integral to the synthetic biology movement. First, cheap DNA synthesis technology and second, the democratisation of science, i.e. DIYBio. Is biology really getting easier? Members of the DIYBio movement eagerly claim the moniker "biohacker" hearkening to the pre-Apple days of Silicon Valley, and perhaps in the hope that someday a biohacker in a community lab-space will develop a revolutionary bioengineered organism or product. The excitement and hype around the DIYBio community is enormous, and it has been very successful in recruiting hobbyists and even professionals to train would-be bioengineers. Kits like this one from Amino Labs and 3-D-printed lab-equipment have made it easier to bioengineer bacteria out of a garage. These developments have sparked concern in the biosecurity community, leading Daniel Gerstein, an expert on biosecurity and bioterrorism with the RAND Corporation, to declare that: Members of the DIYBio movement eagerly claim the moniker "biohacker" hearkening to the pre-Apple days of Silicon Valley, and perhaps in the hope that someday a biohacker in a community lab-space will develop a revolutionary bioengineered organism or product. The excitement and hype around the DIYBio community is enormous, and it has been very successful in recruiting hobbyists and even professionals to train would-be bioengineers. Kits like this one from Amino Labs and 3-D-printed lab-equipment have made it easier to bioengineer bacteria out of a garage. These developments have sparked concern in the biosecurity community, leading Daniel Gerstein, an expert on biosecurity and bioterrorism with the RAND Corporation, to declare that: "Biological warfare can no longer be considered the purview of only state actors. And this democratization of biotechnology means that the world is literally one rogue microbiologist away from a potentially devastating biological attack. Imagine a group like the Islamic State group with the capability and intentions of employing large-scale biological weapons." But just how realistic is this assessment? In the same article Mr Gerstein talks about new bioinformatics and the development of the (debatably) first synthetic cell and how "processes that were only a decade ago worthy of a Nobel Prize are now routinely used in labs and even in secondary schools." In my opinion, to employ this logic in claiming that DIYBio hobbyists or even a PhD-level trained terrorist in the sands of Iraq poses a biosecurity threat, is wrong. It misunderstands the very nature of scientific progress: every new advance in biology has not made life simpler to understand, it has simply revealed more of the inherent complexity of all life forms, from bacteria to mammals. Yes, processes that earned a Nobel a decade ago are routine now, but they've been replaced by even more complex tasks, and a lot more data, requiring a sophisticated IT infrastructure to analyse and interpret. Ask a good biology student today and they would scoff at the "one gene, one enzyme" idea and yet that was gospel for so many years. The era of genomics has overthrown the concept of 'junk DNA' and revealed the complex structural factors that affect gene expression. Discoveries in epigenetics and RNA silencing have brought about new synthetic biology applications, but they've also made past predictions about genetic engineering seem laughably simple. Genetic engineering has become easier, genetics has, if anything, become more complex. The fact that polymerase chain reactions are common in some schools in Europe and the US, doesn't mean they're routine in Africa, the Middle East or Asia. And, given that even the undergraduates I've taught here in Switzerland find routine DNA assembly tricky, I'm not convinced the de-skilling everyone is talking about is all that real, or maybe I'm just a bad teacher! In any case, it takes more than easily learnt lab techniques to successfully engineer an organism, let alone a viable pathogen. I think in science, especially given the incentives, we have a predilection to overstate progress. The best papers in the best journals talk about 'revolutionary' advances; they're much less vocal about the hundreds of failed attempts along the way. This makes biology seem easier and advances more inevitable than they are in reality. Ultimately, I'm really not that worried by the democratisation of biology. I think community bio-labs are a good thing; they're the museums of the future and they are integral, I think, to a more biology-literate society. However, I find no reason to think they have the potential to do intentional harm, or conversely, to build biology's version of the Macintosh. Real fears My fears about bioweapons and synthetic biology lie in the potential for misuse from state-actors rather than hobbyists and ill-equipped non-state terrorists. That I believe de-skilling isn't entirely real doesn't mean that synthetic biology hasn't become easier for trained, well-equipped scientists. It most definitely has. You only have to look at the new slate of GM foods, the ongoing revolution in metabolic engineering, and of course CRISPR for proof. In international law, the main safeguard from the threat of biological warfare is the Biological and Toxins Weapons Convention (BWC), signed in 1975 and the first multi-lateral treaty to ban an entire class of weapons. Presently the Convention has 178 signatories, each of which are expected to internally monitor their adherence, and of which only 30 actually release their reports. However, if recent reports are to be believed, the latest BWC meeting last December was not very successful. Given the shaky state of international diplomacy at the moment and the violations of the Chemical Weapons Convention in Syria, the BWC's ability to stop state actors from developing biological weapons is questionable, especially since it lacks a verification mechanism entirely. While I cannot pretend to expert knowledge about international law or the BWC, I can say that based on my readings, I'm far more concerned about well-funded state labs than under-funded, under-trained 'biohackers'. After all, we know that the real threat for nuclear war lies not with ISIS but with state actors, and in some respects making a nuclear weapon is a far less stochastic project than tinkering with cells and viruses. But what about printed viruses and genome editing? As I've written before, DNA synthesis is now commonplace and is getting cheaper by the day. So what's to stop a biohacker from ordering up the 1918 flu virus and developing it into a weapon? Apart from the difficulties in actually working with a human pathogen, thanks to the International Gene Synthesis Consortium (IGSC) you wouldn't be able to order any pathogen's DNA, even in fragments. Every member company of the IGSC screens every DNA order against databases of sequences to identify orders dealing with pathogens. This harmonised screening protocol makes ordering virus or other pathogen DNA next to impossible. However, in case our hypothetical biohacker managed to order their DNA from a company, or rustled up the fifty thousand dollars to buy a gene synthesis machine and had the knowhow to operate it, they would still find it next to impossible to build a virus. As excellently described in an article by researchers from King's College London, obtaining the DNA is probably the easiest part of any synthetic biology endeavour. The genome editing tool, CRISPR is another recent advance that has many spooked. With CRISPR, the narrative of de-skilling is even stronger, with several scientists presenting competing claims of ease: from "A grad student could do it" to "Any idiot can do it". With CRISPR, the potential for harm is also far from certain. It is an extremely powerful tool for mutating genomes, and this could potentially be used to make viruses and bacteria more virulent. But honestly, the amount of time and expense to do this would make it an illogical choice for anyone motivated to harm. Nature has produced a frankly terrifying array of human pathogens that are easier to weaponise, from influenza to anthrax. While it is true that the ease with which an amateur can buy a CRISPR kit and try to use it is startling, I think the danger lies more in the unintentional release of (not necessarily unsafe) modified organisms rather than weaponisation. As I've outlined above, the security concerns about synthetic biology have moved on from the 2005 and 2012 virus experiments. Since then, the scientific community has learned to take biosecurity seriously. The fact that these days biosecurity/safety talks still refer to a handful of cases gives lie to the predictions that synthetic biology would lead to a proliferation of dangerous applications. Gene synthesis companies have faced concerns head-on and rigorously screen every order of DNA. More importantly, most synthetic biology projects, from high-school work to the best research labs seriously consider biosafety and security issues in their work. Much credit for this goes to the iGEM competition and its strong emphasis on human practice. This is a concept that is steadily being ingrained in the growing community of synthetic biologists and biohackers. At the government and inter-governmental level things are more unsettled, and in my opinion a lot of this is because of unrealistic demands for complete moratoriums from activist groups. Demands to ban a suite of technologies that holds such promise are both premature and often a distraction from serious talk about proper regulation. The recent approaches demonstrated by Kevin Esvelt and others, where they take the science to the people and explain the motivations and hopes around synthetic biology research, are I think, a great way to allay unwarranted fears and ensure that scientists hear the concerns of the public. This approach though must be tempered with a need for some discretion when disseminating critical details about DURC. We need to strike a balance between effective communication for building trust as well as preventing the release of detailed technologies without prior oversight. More fundamentally, biosecurity, like all security, isn't really so much about technology but about the basic causes that lead to misuse. The Doomsday Clock moved 30 seconds forward last month, and the custodians, the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists explained that the chief reason was tensions between the US and Russia. (They also cite CRISPR as a concern, among other technology developments.) While all technological developments have led to great human advances, the potential for harm can only be realised when the motivations to do harm exist (think nuclear energy and the atomic bomb). Over the last century the world has become a more peaceful, less threatening place and we should work to ensure that the bioengineering revolution doesn't accompany a slide back into a warring past. This is perhaps too idealistic, but a world at peace would have less to worry about from any technology, including synthetic biology. This story is republished courtesy of PLOS Blogs: blogs.plos.org. Credit: Shutterstock The EU funded POLYACT project applied textile fabrication principles to the production of microactuators, offering a range of biomedical applications both inside and outside the body. There are a range of advances in biotechnology which take advantage of the ability to manipulate biology at the microscopic level. Yet those fields which rely on optimum dexterity and materials compliance face significant hurdles in realising their full potential. For example, being able to grasp cells and tissues for microsurgery has typically relied on the suction power provided by micropipettes, with the risk of actually causing damage due to their rigid design and little or no force control. Additionally, microrobotic devices driven by electric motors or pneumatic systems, are often bulky, heavy, noisy and crucially when exploited for human interfaces, feel highly artificial to the user. The EU funded POLYACT project set out to address these limitations through the microfabrication of polymer microactuators. By exerting power in the same manner as that of muscles and motors, these actuators when patterned could then be exploited for soft, flexible micromanipulations applied to a variety of tasks. The micro-sized actuators were smaller than existing technology to 1-2 orders of magnitude. Small scale production POLYACT was able to develop, fabricate and evaluate two generations of soft and flexible microactuators, and two new fabrication methods. The team first fabricated individually controlled polyvinylidene difluoride solid polymer electrolyte (PVDF SPE) thin film based milli-actuators, but found that without a high enough ionic conductivity, the required flexibility was not achieved. The team then had to redesign the layout of the actuator and try alternatives to PVDF SPE, with interpenetrating polymer networks (IPN) proving to be the most suitable candidate. The team also had to adapt their technique of patterning highly conductive polymer electrodes, moving from a metal based approach to that which uses electronic conducting polymer layers, which were electrochemically synthesised. The resulting actuators required only a small amount of electric power as low as 20-30 mW, and low potentials (~1-2 V); allowing these micromanipulation tools, which carried their own power source, to be individually controlled. At the beginning of the project the team highlighted the contribution that the POLYACT project offers for internal biomedicine. They cited its application in biomedical interventions such as optical shutters and diaphragms, but especially for the use of remote controlled microrobotic technology inside a patient's body, as it reduces the risk of surgery induced trauma. However, soft manipulator technology holds out promises for a wider paradigm shift based around its characteristic of better matching the texture and consistency of biological objects, than available alternatives. Back to the future with textuators Last year members of the project team published an article in the journal Science Advances which explained how fabricating patterned actuators was a process that could be likened to textiles production and so they dubbed their creations, 'textuators'. This paradigm allowed the team to utilise knowledge from textiles production about the relative properties - such as strength, flexibility and strain - accruing to design, depending on how it is woven and/or knitted. When combined with the feasibility of mass fabrication, the POLYACT technology holds out promise for a range of human interface applications. The Science Advances article points to innovations in the field of assistive devices such as exoskeleton-like suits, hidden under clothes, with integrated wearable actuators that feel natural and lifelike. Here the textuators could provide muscle functions, aiding people with restricted movement such as the aged or people living with disabilities. Further down the line, the team speak of adding 'sensing yarns into the fabric' which would enable a feedback mechanism that would increase user control. Provided by CORDIS Find the right POS system for your business Finding the right point of sale system for your company is all about knowing your business, knowing the features you need, and knowing the right questions to ask. If you need help, check out our POS solution finder to get you on the right track. .The House brings the nostalgia of the record store to the digital age and leads to GRAMMY night when Masterpass will unlock special offers for $1 during the live broadcast Purchase, NY (February 6, 2016) To build excitement for Musics Biggest Nightthe 59th Annual GRAMMY Awards, the Masterpass #ThankTheFans House will take up residence at Gibson Brands Sunset (formerly Tower Records), delivering a one-of-a-kind experiential record store with interactive music experiences for all fans. Masterpass users will have exclusive access to shop for rare and unique vinyl for just $10, as well as early access to intimate evening performances. This builds to the excitement of GRAMMY night where Mastercard will unlock special offers for those tuned in to the live broadcast that can be taken advantage of with Masterpass [1] for just $1. Music is a passion that transcends geographic and demographic boundaries and Mastercard wants to celebrate the music fan in all of us by delivering something truly unique with #ThankTheFans, said Raja Rajamannar, chief marketing and communications officer at Mastercard. Music is just the first place youll see us deliver this platform as we set out to thank fans across their passions, celebrating the events and experiences that bring us together. Masterpass #ThankTheFans House With vinyl record sales at an all-time high, Masterpass is helping to connect music fans with what they want most. The Masterpass #ThankTheFans House takes over the iconic Sunset Boulevard locale from Thursday, February 9th through Saturday, February 11th. Fans are invited to experience the record store for the digital age which focuses on bringing people together to experience what they love most about music. From 12 to 5 p.m. PT each day, visitors can test their hand behind the turntables, rock out with Gibson Guitars [2] , step into a recording booth or cozy up to a Vinyl Me, Please [3] curated listening station with a friend. Masterpass users [4] will have the exclusive opportunity to purchase hard-to-find vinyl for just $10 and may even get a Priceless Surprise. All proceeds from the vinyl record sales will be donated to MusiCares [5] . Mastercard cardholders will have exclusive access to intimate live performances by GRAMMY Winners and/or Nominees each evening, including: Thursday, February 9: KCRWs Music Director and cultural influencer Jason Bentley presents Dance Active: Music as a Uniting Force at the Masterpass #ThankTheFans House with special guests Friday, February 10: Best New Artist GRAMMY nominee Anderson .Paak & The Free Nationals perform presented by Billboard [6] and Mastercard Saturday, February 11: The FADER [7] and Mastercard present a must-see line-up For additional details visit www.priceless.com/LA [8] . Masterpass #ThankTheFans During GRAMMY Awards Broadcast #ThankTheFans continues Musics Biggest Night GRAMMY Sunday when Masterpass will unlock special offers for $1. Every time an award is presented, Masterpass $1 and receive special offers such as movie tickets, designer fashions or even a trip Founders Depart Revel Systems, More Money Invested NEW YORK & SAN FRANCISCO(BUSINESS WIRE)Welsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe (WCAS), one of the leading private equity firms in the United States focusing on the Technology and Healthcare industries, and Revel Systems (Revel or the Company), a leading provider of cloud-based point of sale (POS) solutions, today announced that WCAS has led a significant new growth capital investment in Revel. WCAS made its initial investment in Revel in 2014, and following the transaction, WCAS will be Revels new majority shareholder. WCAS and Revel also announced today the appointment of Scott Betts as the Companys new Chief Executive Officer, effective February 6, 2017. Mr. Betts brings significant experience in senior management roles, most recently as CEO of Global Cash Access, and previously at First Data Corporation and Procter & Gamble. Eric J. Lee, General Partner at WCAS, commented: During the past two years, Revel has driven significant product innovation, gained market traction in key industry verticals, recruited terrific talent to the Revel team, and demonstrated strong client traction and growth. Revels founders have shown great vision and determination in building the Company. Looking forward, we believe that there is significant market potential for Revels leading cloud-based POS solution, and WCAS is excited to fund and catalyze this next phase of Revels growth and success. As we do, we especially want to welcome Scott Betts as the Companys new CEO. With deep technology solutions and global operations experience, he will bring terrific strategic and operational focus as we drive this next phase of growth. Revels mission has always been to make business owners and operators lives easier and more efficient spurring entrepreneurship and leading the industry with excellent features and functionality. Keeping customers and their success at the forefront will always be core to the organization, said Lisa Falzone, co-founder of Revel Systems. Revel is on a great trajectory. Lisa and I look forward to watching the company grow and evolve, commented Chris Ciabarra, co-founder of Revel Systems. I am very excited to join the Revel team and continue Lisas and Chris great work in building and delivering an outstanding solution and superior business value to our clients, commented incoming CEO, Scott Betts. About Revel Systems Founded in 2010 by Lisa Falzone and Chris Ciabarra, Revel Systems provides a quick, intuitive and secure iOS-based Point of Sale system by combining cloud-based technology and the mobility of the Apple iPad. Revel Systems software offers a feature-rich POS solution for restaurant, retail and enterprises with integrated payroll, inventory tracking, customer relationship management and more. Revel serves thousands of clients around the world today from single-store merchants to large enterprises, including leading brands such as Cinnabon, Estee Lauder, Tullys, Smoothie King and Stanford University. See www.revelsystems.com to learn more. About Welsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe WCAS focuses its investment activity in two target industries: technology and healthcare. Since its founding in 1979, WCAS has organized 16 limited partnerships with total capital of over $22 billion. WCAS has a current portfolio of approximately twenty-five companies. WCASs strategy is to partner with outstanding management teams and build value for its investors through a combination of operational improvements, internal growth initiatives and investment, and strategic acquisitions. The Firm is currently investing an equity fund, Welsh, Carson, Anderson and Stowe XII, L.P., which closed on over $3.3 billion in commitments. See www.wcas.com to learn more. Other POS news: The Point of Sale News ( www.pointofsale.com ), now in its 8th year, does not sell POS software, hardware, POS products or POS services if you are interested in a product or service please click on the direct link to the vendor. If you have a POS related question or a suggestion for an article, feel free to contact us (see Footer menu below) and well try to help. If the above article was useful or informative, please feel free to use the buttons above to share it with others. Thanks for visiting and please let vendors know when youve seen their products here. products here. - Femi Adesina, the senior special assistant to President Muhammadu Buhari on media and publicity, spoke during a television programme on Tuesday, February 7 - He explained the true situation concerning the health status of the president as well as when the latter will return The senior special assistant to President Muhammadu Buhari on media and publicity, Femi Adesina, has confessed to not being able to reach his boss directly. President Buhari is in the UK for vacation, but he is also reportedly undergoing medical checks Buhari is currently in the United Kingdom where he is on vacation and undergoing medical examination according to the government, but Adesina said he had not been able to reach the president directly. READ ALSO: Amaechi asks Nigerians to beg NASS over Buhari's $30b loan request Adesina who was a guest on Channels Televisions Sunrise Daily on Tuesday, February 7, 2017, said he is in contact with Buhari through those around him. He however insisted the president was fine and would return to Nigeria sooner than expected. I am not directly in touch with the president, but I speak with those around him in London, he said when asked if he was in contact with Buhari. Adesina also lamented that some Nigerians had taken advantage of the situation to denigrate the president. Asked if the presidency was not aware of the suffering in the country, Adesina recalled how the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan depleted the countrys reserves. According to him, this is the genesis of the economic crises being faced by Nigerians. READ ALSO: Why we are praying for Buhari not to die - Uwazuruike Acting President Yemi Osinbajo had also earlier said he was in touch with Buhari adding that the latter was healthy. Source: Legit.ng - Emmanuel Chukwuma has said age is a big factor playing against President Muhammadu Buhari - The Anglican Bishop says the president is not capable to rule Nigeria at his age - The cleric says anyone above 60 should not be allowed to rule Nigeria Archbishop Emmanuel Chukwuma - the Enugu Ecclesiastical Province of the Church of Nigeria Anglican Communion, has said President Muhammadu Buhari, is not fit to rule the country because of his advancement in age. Vacation Extension: Buhari is not capable to rule Nigeria - Archbishop Chukwuma Chukwuma suggested that anyone above 60 years of age should not be allowed to rule the country. READ ALSO: Biafra Tension: Buhari will lead Nigeria into destruction - IPOB Buhari, who was due to return to the country and resume work on Monday, extended his vacation in the UK over health related issue. Punch reports that the Archbishop while fielding questions from newsmen on the cancelled return of the president, lamented that the nation is now in a comatose. He said: The present government came with the view to change things, but we are now facing challenges. The president started with enthusiasm but people are now disappointed. They have to agree that they have failed. I dont pray that he should die. God should spare his life. Let him come back to continue from where he stopped. The cleric lamented that a government that is waging war on corruption is not living up to expectations, adding that corruption is even at its height now since the people in government go abroad for medical treatment instead of strengthening the nations hospitals to perform optimally. PAY ATTENTION: Get the latest News on Legit.ng News App He added, The people in government should not go for treatment abroad. It is a waste of resources and it is corruption. He noted that Buhari is too old to pilot the affairs of the nation and suggested that men above 60 years of age should not be allowed to be president. Anybody over 60 should not be president. Buhari is too old and cannot carry on with the responsibility to lead. Let him come back and resign, he said. Meanwhile, Most Rev Chukwuma has said Igbo people may not take up arms to fight. Rev Chukwuma also said the people of the South East are not ready to fight another war. When asked about a statement credited to the IPOB in which the group threatened to take up arms, Archbishop Chukwuma said: The ongoing verbal attacks between IPOB and a section of MASSOB loyal to Chief Ralph Uwazuruike, has the Enugu Archbishop worried. Source: Legit.ng Ondo state governor, Olusegun Mimiko on Tuesday, February 7, met with the acting president Yemi Osinbajo behind closed doors in Abuja. Mimiko answering questions from State House correspondents after the meeting, disclosed that he briefed Osinbajo on what his administration was doing to exit and invited him to inaugurate some projects in Ondo state. READ ALSO: APC supporters stage protest, block Ondo House of Assembly Mimikos second 4-year tenure as governor of Ondo state will expire on February 24. The governor said that the ongoing crisis in the State House of Assembly was not part of the issues discussed during the meeting. The Ondo State House of Assembly had been engulfed in leadership crisis between factions leading to the sealing of the Assemblys complex by the Inspector-General of Police, Ibrahim Idris. However Mimiko told the State House correspondents that the crisis would soon be resolved following the intervention of stakeholders in the state. Mimiko expressed the readiness of the sitting speaker of the assembly to step aside for peace to reign in the assembly. Recall that angry residents of Ondo state reportedly attacked the out-going governor Olusegun Mimiko. PAY ATTENTION: Get the latest News on Legit.ng News App The hoodlums, it was learnt, destroyed two vehicles in the convoy of the governor and prevented him from presenting the states 2017 budget at the House of Assembly. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the governor was forced to postpone the presentation of the budget, especially as the protest became violent. 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 Stock exchange operators Deutsche Boerse and London Stock Exchange (LSE) said Tuesday they would offer to sell French clearing house LCH Clearnet as they push for regulatory approval of their planned merger. The two firms, whose operations include the London and Frankfurt stock markets, "decided to formally submit the divestment of LCH Clearnet SA by LCH Clearnet Group as a remedy to the European Commission in order to address anti-trust concerns," they said in a statement. Plans to offload the French arm of LSE's clearing house business have been brewing since early January, when the British firm agreed to sell it to European rival Euronext. If the merger with Deutsche Boerse -- in the works since February 2016 -- goes ahead, Euronext will buy LCH Clearnet for some 510 million euros ($545 million). Monday evening was the deadline for Deutsche Boerse and LSE to offer remedy proposals to alleviate Brussels' competition fears over their tie-up. It remains to be seen whether EU authorities, who opened an in-depth probe in September, will accept the sale as sufficient to assure the deal is waved through. The proposed deal has drawn sharp rebukes from France, Belgium, Portugal and the Netherlands, fearful for their own stock exchanges, owned by Euronext. Deep concerns over competition helped scupper two earlier attempts by the companies to merge, in 2000 and 2005. And Britain's vote to quit the European Union in June has not helped the merger's cause, with German regulators reluctant to see the Frankfurt exchange managed from London. The Commission now has until March 13 to make a decision, and will "consult market participants" to determine whether the sale of LCH Clearnet is enough to placate competition fears. Deutsche Boerse's supervisory board issued a second statement Tuesday saying that it "unanimously expresses its full confidence in the chief executive Officer Carsten Kengeter". German authorities have been investigating Kengeter since last week on suspicion of insider trading. The allegations relate to Deutsche Boerse shares Kengeter bought in December 2015, two months before the merger plans became public. (Bloomberg) -- Singapore Airlines Ltd., Southeast Asias biggest carrier, extended some of its fuel-hedging contracts to as long as five years, betting on an upswing in crude oil prices amid OPEC production cuts and renewed tensions between the U.S. and Iran. The marquee airline, which reported a 36 percent drop in profit for the three months through December, said Tuesday that it has entered into longer-dated Brent hedges with maturity extending to 2022. Earlier, the company used to hedge only for a maximum period of 24 months, according to spokesman Nicholas Ionides. Clearly they are taking a view that oil prices will gradually go up, said Mohshin Aziz, an analyst at Maybank Investment Bank Bhd. in Kuala Lumpur. Its out of their norm as they usually do it 18 months forward. I dont think its a bad move. Singapore Air, which is battling overcapacity and aggressive pricing by budget airlines in the region, is seeking to cut costs as passenger yields -- a key measure of profitability in the industry -- continue to be under stress. Jet fuel accounted for 26 percent of the companys total expenditure last quarter, making it the single biggest cost. Brent crude, trading at $54.53 a barrel, has gained about 8 percent since major oil producing nations agreed in December to trim output, while policies of U.S. President Donald Trump have fueled uncertainty over prices. Shares of the airline rose as much as 2.2 percent to S$9.93 in Singapore, their biggest intraday gain in more than seven months. They have declined 11 percent in the past year. Fuel prices have trended upward since the last quarter and are expected to remain volatile as uncertainty lingers around global oil production, Singapore Air said in a statement on Tuesday. The group regularly reviews and adapts its fuel hedging policy to manage volatility in fuel prices. For the current quarter, the airline said it has hedged about 37 percent of its jet fuel requirements in Singapore Jet Kerosene at a weighted average price of $67 a barrel. Its longer-dated Brent contracts extend to 2022, covering between 33 percent and 39 percent of its projected annual consumption at an average $53 to $59 a barrel. Story continues Only time will tell, but I think they did it in a safe manner, Maybanks Mohshin said. Its only one-third. If they are wrong, theyre only partially wrong. Theyre not humongously wrong. U.S. policies on trade, new tensions with Iran and doubts whether major oil producing nations will curb output as pledged have kept investors on tenterhooks. Brent crude may fluctuate between $52 and $62 a barrel this year, according to Kho Hui Meng, the head of the Asian arm of Vitol Group, the worlds biggest independent oil trader. Singapore Air, Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd. and other carriers have reported losses from hedging on fuel as well because they locked in contracts at prices that were much higher than the market. Carriers try to smooth fuel-price swings with advance purchase contracts linked to the cost of crude. Hedging Losses Losses from fuel hedging for Singapore Air were at S$365.9 million in the three quarters through December, following an annual loss of S$1.17 billion in the fiscal year through March 2016. The airline reported a net income of S$177.2 million last quarter after a S$79 million writedown due to the rebranding of Tigerair. It predicts 2017 to be another challenging year amid tepid global economic conditions and geopolitical concerns. Cathay Pacific said last month that it will eliminate some positions as part of a business review, with key changes set to kick in by mid-year. The group will maintain vigilance over its costs, and its strong balance sheet positions it well to weather the many challenges ahead, Singapore Air said in Tuesdays statement. (Updates with shares in sixth paragraph.) To contact the reporter on this story: Kyunghee Park in Singapore at kpark3@bloomberg.net. To contact the editors responsible for this story: Anand Krishnamoorthy at anandk@bloomberg.net, Sam Nagarajan 2017 Bloomberg L.P. AFP News Former Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan was recovering in hospital Friday after a gunman shot him in the leg, with his supporters vowing the assassination attempt will not derail his "long march" bid to return to power. The attack on his convoy, apparently by a lone gunman, killed one man and wounded at least 10, significantly raising the stakes in a political crisis that has gripped the South Asian nation since Khan's ousting in April. Khan "was stable and he was doing fine" at Shaukat Khanum hospital in the eastern city of Lahore, his doctor Faisal Sultan told AFP Friday. Seemi Bokhari, a lawmaker with Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, said after visiting Khan the former premier was in high spirits. "The doctors are allowing him to move ... He is feeling perfectly well and he will soon be discharged," she told AFP. The 70-year-old former international cricket star had been leading a campaign convoy of thousands since last week from Lahore to the capital Islamabad when he was attacked. Khan suffered at least one bullet wound to his right leg when a gunmen sprayed pistol fire at his modified container truck as it drove slowly through a thick crowd in Wazirabad, around 170 kilometres (105 miles) east of Islamabad. "Everyone who was standing in the very front row got hit," former information minister Fawad Chaudhry, who was standing behind Khan, told AFP. Senior aide Raoof Hasan said it was "an attempt to kill him, to assassinate him". Chaudhry said party officials would meet later Friday to discuss the immediate fate of Khan's campaign march. "The real freedom long march will continue and the movement for people's rights will remain until an announcement on the general elections," he tweeted. - Threats - Party officials also called for supporters to stage rallies and marches across the country after Friday afternoon prayers, the most important of the week. Protesters lit fires and blocked roads in several cities late Thursday as news of Khan's shooting spread. His campaign truck has become a crime scene for now, cordoned off and guarded by commandos as forensic experts comb the area. Information Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb said Thursday the attacker had been taken into custody. Officials shared an apparent confession video that was circulating online. "I did it because (Khan) was misleading the public," says a dishevelled man in the leaked video, shown with his hands tied behind his back in what appears to be a police station. He says he was angry with the procession for making a racket during the call to prayer that summons Muslims to the mosque five times a day. Pervaiz Elahi, the chief minister of Punjab, said officers who leaked the video would be disciplined. Pakistan has been grappling with Islamist militancy for decades, with right-wing religious groups having huge sway over the population. It has been no stranger to assassination attempts during decades of political instability, and the powerful military has led the country several times. Pakistan's first prime minister, Liaquat Ali Khan, was shot dead at a rally in Rawalpindi in 1951. Another former prime minister, Benazir Bhutto, was killed in 2007 when a huge bomb detonated near her vehicle as she greeted supporters in the city of Rawalpindi. - Kicked from power - Khan was booted from office in April by a no-confidence vote after defections by some of his coalition partners, but he retains huge support. He was voted into power in 2018 on an anti-corruption platform by an electorate tired of dynastic politics, but his mishandling of the economy -- and falling out with a military accused of helping his rise -- sealed his fate. Since then, he has railed against the establishment and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif's government, which he says was imposed on Pakistan by a "conspiracy" involving the United States. Khan and Shehbaz have for months traded bitter accusations of corruption and incompetence, raising the political temperature in a nation that is frequently at boiling point. Khan has repeatedly told supporters he was prepared to die for the country, and aides have long warned of unspecified threats made on his life. The attack drew international condemnation including from the United States, which had uneasy relations with Khan when he was in power. "Violence has no place in politics, and we call on all parties to refrain from violence, harassment and intimidation," US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement. sjd/fox/ecl/pbt/dhc Somali soldiers prepare to secure the capital on the eve of presidential elections, at a police academy in Mogadishu, Somalia Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2017. Graft - vote-buying, fraud, intimidation - is the top concern in a nation that Transparency International now rates as the most corrupt in the world and Mogadishu is in lockdown because of the threat of violence by homegrown Islamic extremist group al-Shabab. (AP Photo/Farah Abdi Warsameh) MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) -- Colorful campaign posters in this seaside capital give the impression that Somalia's presidential election on Wednesday will be like any other. That's far from true. Mogadishu is in lockdown because of threats from homegrown Islamic extremist group al-Shabab. The airport will be closed, and the vote will be confined to a heavily protected former air force base nearby. Police said two mortar rounds fired by suspected extremists struck in the area Tuesday night. Fears of attacks already have delayed the vote several times. But suicide bombings aren't the biggest threat as this Horn of Africa country, after a quarter-century, tries to put a fully functioning government in place under strong international pressure. Graft vote-buying, fraud, intimidation is the top concern in a nation that Transparency International now rates as the most corrupt in the world. After decades of chaos and warlord-led conflict, the vote will be historic in this country of about 12 million. But some observers worry whether it will be credible. Already the country's auditor general, Nur Jimale Farah, has said two of the seats for parliament members who will elect the president have gone for $1.3 million apiece. Unlike in elections elsewhere, Somalia's next leader will not be chosen by popular vote but by legislators, who were selected by the country's powerful, intricate network of clans. "Some votes were bought with $5,000, some with $10,000, and some with $20,000 or $30,000," Farah recently told Voice of America. "This is probably the most expensive election, per vote, in history," the Mogadishu-based anti-corruption group Marqaati said in a report released Tuesday. The United States and others have pressed Somalia to move ahead with elections as an important symbol of recovery. In the past decade, the U.S. has given $1.5 billion in humanitarian aid and another $240 million to support Somalia's political and economic recovery, and $196 million in overall funding is planned for 2017. Mogadishu remains so unstable that the U.S. does not have an embassy there. Story continues But the international community also has expressed growing concern about the election. A joint statement by the United Nations, U.S., European Union and others cited a number of "egregious cases of abuse of the electoral process, including seats reserved for women candidates only that were ultimately taken by male candidates." Violence, intimidation and corruption also have marred the process, the U.N. mission said, also criticizing the decision to not disqualify candidates who allegedly commit them. Some involved in the vote remain confident, calling it an important step for a nation so unstable for so long that it was included on President Donald Trump's recent executive order blocking immigration from seven Muslim-majority countries. "We are well-prepared to elect a new president. It's a test for a maturing democracy," said Ahmed Ali, a Somali lawmaker. The president will be elected by the 275 members of the lower legislative house and by 54 senators. Among the 22 candidates, many who also hold foreign passports, Somalia's incumbent President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud is seeking re-election and may have an edge to win a second five-year term. But rival candidate and Prime Minister Omar Abdirashid Sharmarke has accused regional countries of interfering in the electoral process by pushing for certain candidates. "Those neighboring countries should respect our sovereignty and stop meddling in our affairs," he said, without naming specific countries. Various Muslim-majority countries seek a friendly Somali government, including Turkey, which has invested in the country. The United Arab Emirates and Qatar are backing different candidates. Though Matt Bryden, director of Sahan Research and an expert on Somali politics, doesn't believe the election process has been free and fair, he said it is better than the alternative. "There have been credible, and I think well-substantiated, allegations of fraud, intimidation, abuse, but essentially it is still a step forward," Bryden said. "The alternative was probably not to have a transition at all, in which case Somalia would have gone back to fragmentation, so it's not pretty, but it is a step in the right direction and it's probably the best we could hope for at this stage." Many in Somalia anticipate a highly contested race which likely will see a further round between the two candidates with the greatest number of votes. To ensure that Wednesday's election happens, thousands of soldiers were fanning out across Mogadishu, restricting traffic on major streets to reduce the threat of violence by the al-Qaida-linked al-Shabab, which has threatened to disrupt the vote. "Of course, I understand how these tough security measures will complicate people's lives, but we will not take chances in ensuring a peaceful election," said Ali Mohamoud, a police colonel, standing by a checkpoint as soldiers searched cars and passengers. At least one candidate put a positive spin on the election. Jabril Abdulle, who also holds a Canadian passport, has been active in Somali politics since the late 1990s and leads the Mogadishu-based Center for Research and Dialogue. "We are offering bold vision, clear ideas ... that will be good for the Somali people and that will also be good for the whole world, particularly the Horn of Africa region that desperately needs some stability," he said. "Somalia should not be viewed as a land of conflict, drought and killings. By 2020, we bring a new Somalia that is at peace with itself and peace with its neighbors." ___ Associated Press videographers Andrew Njuguna in Nairobi and Mohamed Sheikh Nor in Mogadishu contributed. The EU on Tuesday insisted Greece's economy remained on track despite a withering opinion by the IMF that Athens's debt was "unsustainable" and calling for further European debt relief. A standoff between the eurozone and the International Monetary Fund has dragged on for months, raising fears of a new debt crisis and sparking fresh talk of Greece tumbling out of the euro. The fund and the 19-nation single currency area are battling over how much debt relief Greece needs, and over economic targets required of Athens as part of a third massive bailout, agreed in 2015. "We continue to believe that the commitments reached for the programme are both credible and ambitious," said Annika Breidthardt, a spokeswoman for the European Commission, the EU's executive arm which monitors the bailout for the eurozone, along with the IMF and the ESM bailout fund. More debt relief is the condition set by the IMF to lend more to Athens, but that demand is staunchly resisted by Germany and other fiscal hardliners in the single currency zone. An IMF Debt Sustainability Analysis -- which was not released publicly but obtained by AFP -- warned Greece's debt "is highly unsustainable" and "will become explosive in the long run." A breakthrough in the standoff is key, with Athens at risk of hitting a financial wall this summer when it must repay nearly 7.0 billion euros it cannot afford without new bailout funds. Eurogroup head Jeroen Dijsselbloem said on Tuesday he had been "surprised" by the IMF's tough tone, saying: "Greece is already doing rather better than what is described in the report." "Jobs are increasing and large measures have been integrated into the budget even if there are some remaining major reforms such as the running of the jobs market, taxation and pensions. On these points we agree with the IMF that work still needs to be done," he told Dutch television RTLZ. The IMF on Monday said that a majority of its board felt strongly that Greece could not be subject to more austerity, even though this is demanded by Germany. "Most directors agreed that Greece does not require further fiscal consolidation at this time," a statement by the IMF said after the fund held a board meeting to discuss the country in Washington. However, "some . . . had different views on the fiscal path and debt sustainability," the statement added, with reports widely citing Berlin as leading the opposing view. The feuding has spooked investors with Greece's two year borrowing rates soaring to near 10 percent on the financial markets. To ease tensions, the IMF reluctantly said in December it could go along with the tighter budget targets, but only if Athens passes new austerity laws in case the targets are missed. But the Greek government on Tuesday criticised these demands as "illogical", even though it supports calls by the IMF for more debt relief. A police officer guards the entrance to the special court building during a trial of eight men accused of taking part in the massacre on the outskirts of Srebrenica, in Belgrade, Serbia, Monday, Feb. 6, 2017. Eight former Bosnian Serb special police troops went on trial Monday in Serbia charged with taking part in the massacre of thousands of Muslims in Srebrenica in 1995. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic) BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) The landmark trial of eight former Bosnian Serb police officers charged with taking part in the 1995 Srebrenica massacre started in a Serbian court on Monday with judges rejecting another postponement. The judges also read out the names of 1,313 people who the suspects are accused of killing. The long-awaited trial at the War Crimes Court in Belgrade is seen as a test of Serbia's pledge to deal with its wartime past and an important step in Balkan reconciliation efforts more than two decades after the Bosnian war ended. The proceedings are the first time that a Serbian court has dealt with the killing by Bosnian Serb troops of around 8,000 Muslim men and boys in Srebrenica, at the time a U.N.-protected enclave. It was Europe's worst single atrocity since World War II. A legal representative of the victims' families, Nikola Cukanovic, said he expects the court to deliver "justice according to the law." Serbia, which armed and backed the Bosnian Serbs during the 1992-95 war, has promised to punish war criminals as it advances toward EU membership. The country's nationalist government has faced criticism for stalling on that pledge. The trial was supposed to start in December, but was postponed over defense demands to know the identity of protected witnesses interviewed by prosecutors. On Monday, one of the defense lawyers demanded another adjournment, claiming the testimonies of protected witnesses believed to be Bosnian Serbs who were in the firing squads were illegal as they were given without the presence of defense attorneys. "It is clear to anyone that the value of such evidence is misplaced and cannot be accepted by the court," said defense lawyer Miroslav Petkovic. The eight suspects are charged with participating in the killing of hundreds of Muslims in a warehouse in Kravica, a village outside Srebrenica, as they tried to escape the Serb onslaught. More than 1,300 were crammed into the warehouse in the village and then killed with grenades and machine guns in a rampage that lasted all night. Story continues Among the suspects is a special police unit commander, Nedeljko Milidragovic, also known as "Nedjo the Butcher," accused of ordering and "organizing" the killings. The indictment says Milidragovic fired his pistol at those who still showed signs of life after the carnage. The group was apprehended in 2015. They were later released despite the gravity of the charges. ___ Ivana Bzganovic contributed to this report. WARSAW, Poland (AP) German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Polish Prime Minister Beata Szydlo stressed Tuesday the importance of deepening their neighboring nations' ties at a trying time for Europe, but also touched on points of contention during the German leader's first visit to Poland under its populist government. Szydlo and Merkel stressed their views are close on many issues, such as continuing sanctions on Russia over its actions in Ukraine and the need to improve the European Union. "Good partnership between Poland and Germany is necessary for the success of the European project," Szydlo said after their talks. But they also pointed to differences. Szydlo said her country strongly opposes the Nord Stream 2 project, a gas pipeline that Russia is planning to build to Germany that would bypass Poland and Ukraine, calling it "not acceptable to Poland." For her part, Merkel gently raised the issue of a European Commission investigation into what it says are rule-of-law violations by Szydlo's government, which was elected in 2015. The criticisms have focused on the ruling Law and Justice party's neutralization of Poland's constitutional court by changing its rules and packing it with loyalists. There are also concerns over the government's control of public media. Merkel recalled how as a young person she observed the struggle of Poland's anti-communist Solidarity movement "with great interest." "Solidarity affected my life, too," Merkel, who was raised in communist East Germany, said at a joint news conference with Szydlo. "Without Solidarity, European unity, the end of the Cold War and German unity might not have happened so quickly." "From this time, we know how important pluralistic societies are, how important an independent judiciary and media are. Because those things were missing then," she said. The European Commission sent Poland a letter with recommendations for addressing the alleged deficiencies. Merkel said she welcomed hearing from Szydlo that Poland plans to respond, and have a "constructive dialogue." Story continues Merkel also had a one-on-one meeting with Polish President Andrzej Duda. The president and Merkel discussed ways of maintaining Europe's ties with the United States under the new administration, the EU's future and the military conflict between the government and pro-Russia separatists in Ukraine, Duda's foreign policy adviser said. She also met with the ruling party leader, Jaroslaw Kaczynski, who holds no state office but is considered to be Poland's most powerful politician, and leaders of opposition parties. Opposition leaders discussed their concern over the government saying it would not back a second term for European Council head Donald Tusk, Poland's former prime minister and a political foe of Kaczynski's, Civic Platform party leader Grzegorz Schetyna said. Merkel's visit was aimed at seeking common ground with Poland as she and other leaders work to find a way forward for the European Union. The 28-nation bloc faces challenges from within, primarily Britain's vote to leave, and without, including Russia's resurgence and a new U.S. president who has spoken dismissively of the EU. Merkel said both Poland and Germany have an important role to play in reforming the EU, shaping its common market and addressing the scope of power of individual member states, themes that were to be discussed in more depth over dinner. Merkel returns to Berlin late Tuesday. 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 Senior Warrant Officer (Ret.) Ong Hui Pheng (in white shirt) with one of the first national service recruits he trained, Lieutenant Colonel (Ret.) Albel Singh. (PHOTO: Safhras Khan) Communicating with his trainees was a major challenge that Senior Warrant Officer (Ret.) Ong Hui Pheng faced when he trained the first batch of national servicemen in 1967. Unlike today, most of them were Chinese educated and it was difficult for them as the commands were in Malay and instructions were in English, said the 79-year-old Ong, who was one of the 98 pioneer officers who attended the launch of the NS50 campaign on Tuesday (7 February). Moreover they were mentally unprepared for NS as it was new, he added. 50 years of NS marked The event, held at the Basic Military Training Centre on Pulau Tekong, was attended by Minister of Defence Ng Eng Hen. Indeed over the past 50 years, NS has become an institution through which Singaporean males define themselves in their formative years, a crucial period where close friends are made for life; where values and character are deeply forger; where they begin to understand why and how they protect those that they love and what they cherish on this island home, he said in his speech. Ng reiterated the need to maintain compulsory military service as Singapore cannot depend on others to rescue it if the nations sovereignty is threatened. The event also saw the launch of an NS50 Recognition Package, which will see past and present national servicemen receive $100 vouchers. Troubled times recalled One of Ongs first trainees in 1967 was Lieutenant Colonel (Ret.) Albel Singh. Singh, who is 68 this year, was attached to the 3 Singapore Infantry Regiment and went on to sign up as a regular officer with the army. He said it was tough to be in the first batch as they were going in blind and had no idea what NS was all about. However, Singh soon realised how important it was for the Republic to have its own conscripted army. He recalled the racial riots that took place in 1969 and said that the presence of an army reassured Singaporeans that peace was maintained. Furthermore, NS allowed Singaporeans of all races to mingle and get to know each other. Story continues However, its unfair to compare the training then and today. We were the outdoor type and had trees to climb. It worked for us. Its different now and we will have to adapt, said Singh. F&B manager Edward Lee, 59, was also present during the event, during which 100 enlistees were conscripted. Lee, who held the rank of Second Warrant Officer during his NS days, was there to watch his son enlist. I tried to prepare him mentally. I know that physically it wont be a problem and I am looking forward to seeing a different him in three weeks time, he said. A new category of residences allocated for short-term rentals could be set up Take one last look, because these properties may soon be taken down from the site. The Singapore government passed a legislation yesterday that will make the ban on Airbnb-style short-term home rentals more binding. Under the current guidelines set by the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA), home-owners are already prohibited from subletting their homes for rentals under six months. Those found in violation of the rules will be fined up to S$200,000 (US$141,400) or be jailed for up to a year. The new law will grant URA officers increased powers to step in and call up any suspected violators of this rule for questioning. The officers will also have the authority to demand relevant information or documents pertaining to the violation, take on-site video evidence, and conduct forced entry into the homes in question. Allowing residences to be used for short stays leads to high turnovers of occupants, and gives rise to nuisance and safety concerns. Most of us do prefer some familiarity with the people who live around our homes, said a statement on the URA website. Also Read: GuestReady raises US$700K to help Airbnb hosts manage their property Airbnb sent a statement to Channel NewsAsia stating it was disappointed by the new legislation. We have repeatedly offered our support to relevant agencies to develop a framework that promotes responsible home-sharing. Nearly two years since the URAs public consultation, its disappointing that the discussion has not moved forward, said Airbnb. More than 50 per cent of hosts in Singapore are sharing their primary residence the home in which they live. For a lot of Singaporeans, the opportunity to list their home on Airbnb for an average of S$5,000 per year makes a real difference paying off the mortgage, electricity bills and other daily expenses, it added. Minister for National Development Lawrence Wong told Parliament that last year, URA saw complaints from home-owners about such violations increased by 60 per cent. It is not known how much was directly attributed to Airbnb rentals. Story continues The listing of homes on home-sharing or rental websites is still permissible and will not be regulated, but URA will work with the management of listed private properties to inform its residents of the rules. Still, all is not lost for Airbnb hosts, URA said it may reduce the minimum rental period, although daily rentals would still be out of the question. Such premises which are rented out daily ought to be regulated more like hotels rather than residential homes and should be subject to relevant license and conditions to ensure proper standards, said Wong. The URA is also considering creating a new category of private residences that would accommodate short-term rentals. New residential sites can be sold with such an approved use, allowing flexibility for short-term rentals. For existing residential buildings, they would then require planning permission for change of use, and this would be subject to a set of guidelines which URA is looking into, said Wong. Image Credit: Airbnb The post Singapore govt to enforce ban on Airbnb rentals, but alternatives could be on the way appeared first on e27. Splendid Eye Torture is a group based in Falmouth who host weekly skate video screenings at Mono Bar, 4 Killigrew Street, Falmouth. This Thursday (09/02/17) its the turn of recent Santa Cruz release Right To Exist which, if you didnt catch it when it premiered online for 48 hours or buy a physical copy since then, is absolutely boss! The warm up video will be the equally amazing 1990 SC classic Risk It. Not only are both videos certified hype-bringers, but Santa Cruz have donated some raffle prizes for this one and every drink gets you a raffle ticket for the prize draw. In other words, youre boozing your way to prizes whilst watching skate videos; if this isnt a successful recipe for a Thursday night, we dont know what is! TVs spying on people? This might sound like something more suited for a dystopian novel than real life. But if you owned a Vizio Smart TV anytime after February 2014, it could have been your reality. A complaint filed Monday by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission said that the company used software in its TVs to spy on users viewing habits without their permission. It then sold that data to third parties. Lots of companies collect data about consumers, including basic account information and user habits. But companies need to make sure that theyre up front about what data theyre collecting and what its being used for. Otherwise, a public opinion or even legal backlash could very well be in store. For its part, Vizio claims that it didnt pair any viewing data with personally identifiable information about its users. But it still plans to settle with the FTC, agreeing to pay $1.5 million and delete all data collected before March 2016. Its Important to Be Transparent About Customer Data Use In todays high tech business world, collecting consumer data can be beneficial or even necessary to create a personalized user experience. But theres a big difference between collecting data and using it in ways that customers agreed to and spying on them without their permission. Vizio walked the other side of that line and is now going to have to pay the price. Neo-Nazi skinhead groups operate like a religious cult, says a former member Christian Picciolini who has launched an exit project for people like himself. Font size: A - | A + Comments disabled I dont have a knuckle, says Christian Picciolini showing his fists when asked about his violent past. Indeed, there is one knuckle missing on his right hand. Picciolini joined a neo-Nazi skinhead group when he was 14 years old. At the time, it was rather a gang of fighters than a well-organised and ideologically unified neo-Nazi movement. He soon became one of its key figures forming the character of the group and infecting others with ideas of racism and hatred. Currently, he is travelling around the world and telling people just how wrong he was. Skryt Remove ad Article continues after video advertisement Skryt Remove ad Article continues after video advertisement The Slovak Spectator (TSS): You joined skinheads after a bald-headed man approached you and told you to stop smoking a joint. Why was it so appealing? Christian Picciolini (CP): He was the first adult in my life who said that if I do something like that it would affect my life in a bad way. My parents would say: dont do that, its stupid and what would other people said if they see you. I didnt care about that. When he told me that if I dont stop that somebody will control my life, I knew I didnt want that. TSS: What about his charisma? CP: I wanted to be like that man. He was strong, smart, powerful and he was everything I was not. He was very influential on me. TSS: Does that mean that you joining the group had something to do with racism and politics? CP: Usually they use softer language when recruiting people. Its like drugs. When you start doing drugs you take just a little bit of an easy drug and then move to stronger and stronger. They know that they can pull more people with a softer message. When they have them they change the message to clear hate. TSS: What tricks did they use? CP: We told them to call media liberal instead of Jewish which makes the language softer. Instead of saying that we have a problem with Mexicans we said that we have an immigration problem and it is affecting the economy. We didnt want to look extreme at first sight. video //www.sme.sk/vp/35223/ TSS: You used music to lure people. Is it the most effective way? CP: It used to be. Now the internet and fake news are the most influential. Its cheaper, reaches more people and extremists can just leave messages there which people can find. They dont have to find them on their own. Its very dangerous, because there are also a lot of fake news sites and profiles that know where to find vulnerable kids and feed them with this information. Music is less important than it was in the 80s and 90s. TSS: In Slovakia, extremist bands try to get into the mainstream using language which spreads hatred but in legal way. How should society respond to their music and events? CP: People should talk about what they dont think is right even if it is legal. We shouldnt let it hide because it will grow. We shouldnt battle it in a violent way either because of the same reason. We have to educate people about why they shouldnt attend such events and also have a normal conversation with those who already like it. We should show them that we are normal people and they dont have to fear us. TSS: Extremists say that their music is not about hate but about spreading the truth. What is your opinion? CP: I dont agree with this music because I believe its propaganda. They are just smart enough to make it legal. TSS: From the beginning you analysed your group and saw that you were smarter than most of the skinheads around you. How would you describe those people? CP: There are a lot of smart people. What they have in common is issues with identity, belonging and sense of purpose. I felt very noble when I was doing these things. People who are attracted to those ideas have always some sort of grievance and anger. Recruiters know how to focus this anger and say: I know that you are angry and its their fault. Its always about blaming others instead of working on yourself. TSS: Arent extremists just a stupid part of the society which you can do nothing with? CP: They are not stupid. Certainly, there are many uneducated individuals but there are also very smart people. As you can see there are smart people able to get elected to parliament and have bad intentions. Its not about intelligence its about selfishness, power and fear of losing that power. Read also: Read also: Analysts: Kotleba uses American campaign tactics Read more TSS: Why it was so hard for you to leave? CP: Even after I lost the ideology, it was hard to abandon the identity which I created and was important to a lot of people that were my friends. I didnt have anything else. I had to start over again like I was 14 years old. TSS: People who are leaving religious cults have similar problems. Are there any parallels? CP: Yes, its very much like a cult. That is also why I started the Exit programme. TSS: How has your Exit project for people leaving extremists groups been going? CP: Experiences have been very positive. In the US we reached 50 people just in the first year. We also recognised that in countries like Slovakia similar programmes are missing, therefore, we found great partners with whom we could launch Exit Slovensko. TSS: What is the strategy of this programme? CP: We give people a safe place to talk. They can reach us confidentially and if they want to leave we help them. We work with people to build up their self-confidence and provide them with tools such as job training, education, tattoo removal, therapy, and mentorship. We never battle with their ideologies, because we know that pushes them farther away. Instead we listen and they tell us the clues on why they adopted racism. It's usually a crutch to blame other people for their own problems. Once we help people feel more whole, the ideology usually disappears. We partner with many organisations who volunteer their help in making the services happen. TSS: What is your success rate? CP: I dont have official data but I can say that overwhelmingly we have been very successful. We have been able to help everybody who joined the programme and stayed. I dont know about anybody who went through the programme and went back to extremists. We only dont know what happened to those who just stopped communicating with us. Read also: Read also: Analyst: Society has the tools to prevent the worst from happening Read more TSS: Why did you decide to launch a Slovak version of the project? CP: Exit Slovensko became an idea after the first time I was in Bratislava and Banska Bystrica and people contacted me after my lectures that shared the same story as me. They wanted to help because they knew how important such a programme could be. TSS: You ended with racism because of meeting people from minorities and you lost your hatred because of family and children you loved. Is this the most common reason why people leave such groups? CP: There are different reasons. Some of them, they meet people who they reconciled with. Some people did not want to change but their family contacted us. Others just saw through the lies of extremists or are very tired of the hatred. TSS: Some people say that we should not sit and have a beer with extremists because they may be aggressive individuals who were attacking people on the streets 20 years ago. Why do you promote connection and mutual understanding? CP: Because it can happen again and they will beat people up on the streets. If you dont start to reach people, the problem will start to grow. I treat extremism like polio. If somebody is sick with racism I do intervention and I have that beer with them. But I also know that there a lot of people who could get sick so we do prevention with young people. TSS: We should meet with an aggressive person behind one table? CP: If you sit with a neo-Nazi you will find out that you have a lot of in common, not ideologically but on the human level. If you connect with somebody on the human level its easier to understand each other and maybe convince them that their ideology is not a good one. Isolation makes people more afraid of what they dont understand. TSS: Should this approach also be applied to mass media? Should we invite extremists to our shows? You describe in your book how Oprah Winfrey invited Neo-Nazi skinheads on her show, it did not go well and she was called a monkey. CP: I dont believe in giving them a platform where they can talk about their ideas. It makes them relevant and normal. I believe in free speech but it doesnt mean we have to give them a platform. What you mentioned happened in the very early stages of Oprahs career and I think she wouldnt do that now. Interestingly, she had the same skinheads on her show 20 years later and they had changed. She talked with them about that and they were very ashamed. TSS: How do you perceive the increase of extremism in the western world? CP: I am scared because it represents everything I am against. America was from the beginning built by immigrants. The best import we have ever had is immigrants. It scares me that we are changing our values like democracy and diversity. In Europe it is scary too because we see that history is repeating itself. Countries are isolating themselves and far-right parties are entering parliaments wanting to exclude everybody who they think doesnt belong in their country. Read also: Read also: Extremist group Slovak Levies trained kids in schools Read more TSS: Should Slovak society be scared of unofficial paramilitary groups which train with weapons and describe themselves as patriots? CP: There is a difference between patriotism and nationalism. Patriotism means that people are patriotic to their country and all people who live in it. Nationalism tells people that they should isolate themselves from others, close their borders and make their own country. I dont personally know the people you are talking about, but if they want to isolate themselves from the rest of Europe then it is a problem. TSS: Some see these trends as an uprising of white men who has been ignored by authorities. What do you think about that? CP: They fear that they will lose the power. In the past, white men had all the power and now when somebody is slightly threatening this structure of power they say: what about me? White men still control the western world and it is time for people to understand that women are equal and minorities should have the same opportunities and a few people cannot control the lives of many. All mediaeval towns saw a similar story: during their path to independence and autonomy, they clashed with the implacable stance of their lords. The town of Kezmaork, lying in the Spis region, thus clashed with Istvan II. Thokoly, owner of the Kezmarok Castle. Font size: A - | A + Unfortunately for the town, the castle is in close vicinity to dwellings, and thus town dwellers had to live through all the adversities and harsh attacks of Thokoly. Kezmarok tried in vain to buy itself from the dominion of the reckless nobleman. He was not the least interested in any agreement, and obviously did not want to accept the idea that the prosperous town could exist independently from him. Skryt Remove ad Article continues after video advertisement Skryt Remove ad Article continues after video advertisement The following examples can show how a 17th-century Hungarian nobleman perceived neighbourly relations, like after he arbitrarily appropriated three houses, he let his mercenaries loot freely in the town for three days. Thokoly found pleasure not just in the symbolism of numbers, but also in court trials. One of them, for example, concerned the ownership of the right to use the important Lubica Brook. In 1654, Thokolys symbolic three re-emerged again, and after the bloody battle, three dead people were left. The cause of the tragic clash was trivial, though the landlords shepherds grazed goats on the meadows belonging to Kezmarok, and this time there were more than three of them. The arrogance of the castle owner culminated a year later when he built his own town within Kezmarok and surrounded it by a wall. Citizens of the so-called Small Kezmarok enjoyed various privileges, which the rest of the town disliked. However, even this was just one of many typical provocations which were supposed to show that a member of the defiant Hungarian family would never consider Kezmarok an equal partner. Empire strikes back The town was freed from neverending conflicts only by Thokolys death in 1670. On the other hand, his wife, Maria Gyulaffy, who died at age 22 in 1659, found no peace even after her death. Thokoly had a chapel built for her in the castle complex, and here, in a crypt, she was supposed to find her eternal peace. However, a century later, in 1766, imperial hussars raided the chapel and threw the tin coffin with Gyulaffys remains in the yard. Even after such a long time, the imperial army did not forget the enmity that ruled the relations between Thokolys and the emperor. The original portal of the chapel can be admired only in this postcard from 1925. In 1973, it was in such a bad state that it was replaced with a copy. We can also admire the enthusiasm of the author of this photo, Karl Streer, and its publisher, who proudly brand this picture as their Zipser Heimat Spis homeland in German. Kezmarok lies in Spis; in the region where the German population was numerous for centuries, until World War II. Lukas Ranik believes it was arson because he uncovered corruption. Font size: A - | A + The car of Lukas Ranik, a Puchov councillor and member of the opposition party Freedom and Solidarity (SaS) was burnt out during the night of February 4. Party leader Richard Sulik related the incident on February 5, saying that Ranik was in the process of uncovering the stripping of Puchovs assets and that this was a lead that should be followed when searching for the culprits. Ranik said that somebody set his car on fire because he had pointed to corruption. Skryt Remove ad Article continues after video advertisement Skryt Remove ad Article continues after video advertisement Back in 2015 I wrote a blog for the Sme daily about an overpriced concrete fence, said Ranik as cited by the SITA newswire. Half a year later, the Supreme Audit Office (NKU) came to examine the case and stated that the previous management of the city mismanaged the money and the town suffered a loss. Afterwards the case stopped and did not continue. That is why Ranik, as the head of the supervisory board of the Puchovs sport city club where the fence was built, sent a motion in early January to the Public Procurement Office (UVO) to examine it. And somebody set my car on fire, said Ranik, who is sure that the fire was laid purposefully. Police have opened an investigation. The cause of the fire is under examination, the spokesman of Trencin police Pavol Kudlicka told SITA. Sulik stated that the SaS takes this burnt car as a challenge to further examine what had happened in Puchov. We are ready to take all legal steps to uncover all the frauds that took place there, said Sulik. Head of the regulatory office to resign officially on Tuesday. Font size: A - | A + Electricity prices will make a U-turn back to the level seen in 2016 for the whole of Slovakia. The Regulatory Office for Network Industries (URSO) should elaborate a new regulation on February 6 and publish it in the Collection of Laws via a fast-track procedure said Prime Minister Robert Fico and Economy Minister Peter Ziga, after negotiations with representatives of the power utilities and URSO. Skryt Remove ad Article continues after video advertisement Skryt Remove ad Article continues after video advertisement There is no reason for a rise in energy prices, said Fico as cited by the TASR newswire. URSO will draw up a new decree on price regulation in power engineering as early as Monday and this will not apply only to central Slovakia but to the whole of Slovak territory and will return terms to the levels seen in 2016. The return also applies to so-called circuit-breaker fees, i.e. these fees will also return to 2016 levels. Back in 2016 the regulator of utility prices had revamped the composition of prices for electricity to be valid as of beginning of 2017. Among these changes it introduced circuit-breaker fees which have led to steep increases in final electricity prices paid by some consumers. Read also: Read also: Changes in utility tariffs cause backlash Read more As a consequence of the latest changes the final electricity price should return to the last years level or even below it as the price of electricity as a commodity decreased on the markets last year. Now people should wait for new upfront invoices to be sent by electricity utilities. Also those households which have already paid the higher upfront invoices will not lose money as the utilities will reduce their later invoices. Read also: Read also: Holjencik resigned as URSO head, avoiding parliamentary session Read more URSO head Jozef Holjencik, who announced his resignation from the post last Thursday, February 2, will formally resign at the URSO regulatory council meeting on Tuesday, February 7. He will subsequently send a letter to this effect to President Andrej Kiska, informed Fico. Nine people, including six ex-employees of the oncology institute, were charged in the case. Font size: A - | A + The police have concluded the investigation into the theft of oncology medication from the National Oncology Institute (NOU) in Bratislava. Back in December 2015, police officers accused nine people, of whom six were NOU employees. All of them have already been dismissed from their employment. Skryt Remove ad Article continues after video advertisement Skryt Remove ad Article continues after video advertisement The investigation in this case was concluded on January 30, 2017 with a submittal to bring charges, spokesperson for Bratislava regional police Michal Szeiff said, as quoted by the TASR newswire. As well as the police, the Health Care Surveillance Authority carried out an inspection at the NOU. According to its results, the institute had not failed when providing medical treatment and nobody had endangered the health of patients, TASR reported. Read also: Read also: Institutes employees arrested for trading medication Read more The police investigation into the trade of oncology medicine was initiated by then head of the NOU, Jozef Dolinsky, who was informed about the dubious practices at the department working with cancer medication before it is given to patients, in late October. The criminal police searched four residences and one non-residential building, during which they seized medication, computers, and also money, head of the Bratislava regional police corps, Csaba Farago, told the press. The employees were detained during the December 15 police raid at the NOU, reported by the Dennik N daily. All of them confessed their guilt and were dismissed from their jobs. If they are found guilty, they may spend from three to 10 years in prison. The Nations Memory Institute however points to manipulation of the case. Font size: A - | A + The Supreme Court has turned down the special appeal of the Nations Memory Institute (UPN) in its dispute with Czech Finance Minister (of Slovak origin) Andrej Babis, who was listed as an agent cooperating with the communist-era secret police StB. Skryt Remove ad Article continues after video advertisement Skryt Remove ad Article continues after video advertisement UPN however criticises the ruling, saying that the process is not right. When dealing with the case, the court had asked the Interior Ministry to exempt three former StB agents, who testified in Babiss favour, from the pledge of confidentiality. The ministry accepted the request, according to UPN spokesperson Peter Juscak. By retrospective legitimisation of the testimonies, the court tried to cover the fact that the witnesses had not originally been exempt from the pledge of confidentiality, Juscak added, as reported by the TASR newswire. While the court says it only followed the law, a lawyer claims the appellate court should not correct previous mistakes or adjust the evidence. Read also: Read also: Latest verdict may reverse similar lawsuits against UPN Read more Questioning the courts steps UPN noticed the strange procedures during its regular monitoring. According to the institute, the mistake was already made by the Bratislava Regional Court which had issued a ruling in Babiss favour. UPN however challenged the verdict, and the case was sent to the Supreme Court, the Sme daily wrote. The senate dealing with the case is led by former justice minister Viera Petrikova, who was nominated to the justice department by the Movement for a Democratic Slovakia (HZDS). The other two judges are Jozef Kolcun and Maria Trubanova. I am really concerned by what is happening at the Supreme Court, said Ondrej Krajnak, chair of the UPN board, as quoted by Sme. Not only by how the Supreme Court has approached the illegal evidence and several procedural mistakes in the dispute with Mr Babis but also by how the Supreme Court as the highest judicial body, has tried to turn the illegality into a legality. The Supreme Court, however, has denied that a mistake was made. It claims it only followed the law. This also concerns the request for the exemption of witnesses from the pledge of confidentiality sent to the Interior Ministry, said the courts spokesperson Boris Urbancik, as quoted by Sme. The Interior Ministry has sent a similar answer, saying it is not entitled to doubt the Supreme Court ruling. The court added that the dispute between UPN and Babis is definitely over. The reasons for dismissing the appeal however are not clear now and will be stated in written form. Pavol Polacek of Polacek & Partners law firm told Sme that in appellate proceedings, the Supreme Court cannot present new evidence or influence already submitted evidence. It is the task of lower instance courts to listen to testimony and obtain evidence. The Supreme Court has no legal reason to ask for the exemption of witnesses from the pledge of confidentiality in the appellate proceedings and correct the mistakes of lower-instance courts, Polacek added. The crime map however did not change much last year. Font size: A - | A + The crime rate in Slovakia fell again on an annual basis in 2016, by 5 percent. Moreover, the polices success rate in clearing up individual crimes improved, the representatives of the Interior Ministry and police told the press on February 6. Skryt Remove ad Article continues after video advertisement Skryt Remove ad Article continues after video advertisement A total of 69,635 crimes were registered in Slovakia last year, with the police identifying the offenders in almost 57 percent of cases. Both these figures represented a new best since Slovakia became independent in 1993, said Interior Minister Robert Kalinak (Smer), as reported by the TASR newswire. With property crimes, such as thefts, becoming rarer again last year, the police focused more on latent crimes, such as tax fraud and domestic violence, said Kalinak. The crime map did not change much in 2016, with the Bratislava and Kosice regions having the highest crime figures. When it came to districts, Trnava and Presov were the worst off. One interesting fact is that while the polices success in identifying the perpetrators of individual crimes in Bratislava stood at a mere 10 percent in the mid-2000s, the figure has improved to 49 percent since, noted the interior minister, as reported by TASR. As for individual towns and cities, Kosice had the highest number of crimes (4,500), ahead of Trnava (3,682). On the other hand, the districts of Svidnik (424 crimes) and Stara Lubovna (425), both in the Presov Region, were the safest, said Police Corps President Tibor Gaspar, as reported by TASR. SNS wants to protect land from speculative purchases. Font size: A - | A + Parliament moved the constitutional amendment aimed to protect Slovak land to the second reading on February 7. If supported by at least 90 MPs, the change may define the land as a non-renewable natural resource which has the special protection of state and society in article 44 of the constitution. Skryt Remove ad Article continues after video advertisement Skryt Remove ad Article continues after video advertisement The main objective of the change is to prevent the so-called speculative purchase of agricultural land which may have extensive negative impacts, according to its authors from the Slovak National Party (SNS). The proposal will open doors to solutions for the acquisition of agricultural and forestry land, their legal protection and the security of food safety for people, said SNS MP Eva Antosova, as quoted by the TASR newswire. Since speculators do not want to use the purchased plots for agricultural purposes, Slovakia may see a situation where the food safety of the country is endangered. Moreover, the situation of domestic farmers, who cannot compete with the farmers from other countries in the common European market, may worsen, said one of the authors, Tibor Bernatak, as reported by TASR. The current legislation perceives the land as any other commodity which we did not consider right, so we decided to solve this problem, Antosova said, as quoted by TASR. SNS MPs expect that after amendments to the constitution have been made, it will be possible to adopt more laws that will specify the procedure for using the land, either by commercial companies or farmers, . The change has already been supported by Smer and also some MPs from Ordinary People and Independent Personalities (OLaNO-NOVA). The only party which has clearly said it would not support the change so far is Freedom and Solidarity (SaS). The company which published it however claims the model is a successful athlete with whom they have been collaborating for some time. Font size: A - | A + Comments disabled The Nebbia Zilina company, which sells fitness clothing, published a picture on its Facebook site on February 3 which depicts a black male model. The discussion under the photo however was soon full of hateful comments. Skryt Remove ad Article continues after video advertisement Skryt Remove ad Article continues after video advertisement The man in the picture, Dennis Johansen, is a successful athlete the companys representatives later explained on the Facebook site. He has been a member of the team for a long time, they added, as reported by the Dennik N daily. I feel very ashamed of having to respond to the racist comments about the picture and the athlete from our team, which appeared on one of our Facebook sites, Martin Pecko, CEO of Nebbia, later wrote in a blog post. Johansen is European, has a university education, a good figure and also a Caucasian wife, Pecko added. His fantastic figure and sporting achievements were the reason why he chose him to become part of our team, Pecko wrote, adding this happened more than a year ago. He stressed that the racist statements have disappointed everybody in the company. There was however one that pleased us, Pecko continued. There was one racist who claimed he will not wear our clothes anymore. We are happy because we dont have to feel ashamed because of him. The company also rejected claims that they chose him for the ad following a January discussion in the Czech Republic, where some people criticised the leaflet of the retail chain Lidl which also depicted a black model. Nebbia has been publishing pictures with Johansen on its official website for more than a year. Some of them have also been published on Facebook but no racist comments have appeared below them, Dennik N wrote. News Story not available This story has been published on: 2022-11-05. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. This story is no longer available on our site. Click here to sign up for news about my clients (and me!) and other Amazing Things! While it may take another few months to take west Mosul there is little doubt that ISIL (Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant) will lose control of the city sooner rather than later. There is much evidence to back this up. For one thing inside Mosul a Syrian ISIL leader, Abu Abdullah al Shami, has split from ISIL founder Abu Bakr al Baghdadi and potentially triggered a civil war within the organization (or at least within west Mosul). Baghdadi is reported (but not confirmed) to have been killed or badly wounded in a recent airstrike. Yet most of the ISIL men in and around Mosul continue fighting despite squabbling leaders or no leaders at all. This is particularly true with all (over a third) of the ISIL men who are not from Iraq or Syria and stand out when they speak because of their accent, dialect and mannerisms. Some, like the Chechens (from the Caucasus) or Asians are visibly not Arabs. A number of these foreign fighters were cut off in east Mosul during the ISIL retreat to the west bank and are the core of small groups of ISIL gunmen who continue to fight in east Mosul. Many of the Arab ISIL fighters stranded in east Mosul can join the refugees, although some of them still have pistols, grenades or other weapons. But the foreigners have no choice but to fight. Surrender is not an option. Civilians continue to escape ISIL controlled west Mosul and report that the Islamic terrorists appear disorganized and unsure of what to do next. Yet many ISIL men continue to construct defenses. This includes having buildings modified for combat. This involves things like smashing walls between buildings so ISIL men can move around without going outside. ISIL continues to install roadside bombs and booby traps inside buildings. These explosive devices have become typical of any urban area ISIL defends. The government estimates that it will cost them over $50 million dollars to clear all these explosive devices out of Mosul after ISIL is gone. Although ISIL has abandoned east Mosul and retreated across the Tigris River they made it clear that resistance on the west side of the river would be more brutal and deadly. Unlike the ISIL forces in east Mosul, those in the western half of the city are surrounded. As Iraqi forces advanced to the east bank of the Tigris they found all the bridges destroyed. Iraqi commanders estimate they killed 3,500 ISIL men taking the east half of the city and while fighting west of Mosul in order to surround west Mosul. ISIL is not completely sealed off in west Mosul but all the roads out are now controlled by government forces. Western military advisors generally agree about the heavy losses ISIL has suffered so far but wont provide any of their own casualty estimates. The Western intel and military advisers also agree with Iraqi claims that the final advance to the Tigris river was made possible by the air campaign and the Western emphasis on finding and attacking ISIL leadership whenever possible. Thus the Iraqis found that ISIL resistance collapsed in late January because nearly all the ISIL commanders in east Mosul had died, either from their custom of leading from the front line or because of smart bomb attacks on their headquarters. The losses included a number of very senior ISIL commanders and technical experts (like bomb builders). Most ISIL fighters are inexperienced and have little military training. Without close supervision they get themselves killed quickly or desert. Yet the troops now on the east bank of the Tigris are encountering fire, and occasional raids, from trained and disciplined ISIL fighters on the opposite bank. If you are not dismayed by certain death, then many small groups of ISIL men operating independently and attacking whoever or whatever they can is an expected and effective strategy. It wont provide any possibility to win, but it will force the government troops to fight if they want to be rid of the ISIL menace. One side effect of this is more callous treatment of ISIL fighters. Iraqi troops will leave the bodies of ISIL fighters in the street to rot and often eaten by dogs. Not being buried quickly and getting eaten by wild animals (especially dogs) is considered a great disgrace by devout Moslems. So Iraqi troops and civilians take and circulate cell phone photos of this in order to rub it in. The Second Pause The attack force has halted at the east bank of the Tigris River giving the troops a rest and bringing up supplies and reinforcements as well as time for clearing explosive devices and rubble blocking roads. This is the second halt in the offensive, which began in mid-October. The advance was resumed in mid-December and that one ended when ISIL was driven from Mosul east of the Tigris River. The offensive will resume in about a week or so with troops crossing the river in boats (or helicopters) to establish an enclave on the west bank so combat engineers to create temporary bridges over the Tigris. Most Iraqis accept these time consuming tactics because it is understood this approach also keeps civilian casualties down and keeps the Iran backed Shia militias out of the fighting. That prevents more atrocities against non-Shia civilians in general and Iraqi Sunnis in particular. More importantly it shows Iran that Iraq can take care of this without a lot of Iranian help. While over half of Iraqis are Shia they do not want the country dominated by Shia (but non-Arab) Iran. As a result many of the Iran backed Shia militias have proved reliable (in their treatment of non-Shia civilians) when assigned to police and protect areas ISIL had recently been driven from. Sunni civilians are often warned by ISIL that Shia militias will kill them, rape the women and generally misbehave. But most of the Shia militiamen bring with them needed food and medical aid and generally behave well. Yet the government knows there are violently pro-Iran Shia Iraqis in some of these militias so the risk of bad behavior is always there. Perhaps to avoid that the government announced that some Iraqi Shia militias would be allowed to cross into Syria to aid in the effort to drive ISIL out of eastern Syria. Iranians are also present among the several thousand foreign troops, all of them advisors or specialists (like American air control, intelligence or communications specialists) working with the 30,000 Iraqis fighting to drive ISIL out of Mosul. There are over a thousand Iranians providing training, advisory and support assistance to the pro-Iran Shia militias. The Iraqi government fears that these IRGC advisors and trainers are secretly building pro-Iran armed militias in Iraq. Thats simply not true because the IRGC is quite open about what they are doing to encourage Iraqi Shia to organize armed groups so they can work with Iran someday to impose the same kind of religious dictatorship in Iraq that has existed in Iran since the 1980s. The Wild West In Anbar province (between Baghdad and the Syrian border) government forces are still fighting a small number of ISIL gunmen near the Syrian border. Apparently ISIL has concluded that they have lost Anbar and are using roadside bombs and landmines to make the government advance as costly as possible. Another impediment to the advance are the large number of refugees who fled earlier fighting in eastern Anbar. These civilians cannot be ignored because some are kin to members of the local pro-government tribal militias assisting the army and police. There is no great rush because the remaining ISIL men in Anbar have nowhere to go but the ISIL base areas in eastern Syria. Most (about 80 percent) of the half million Anbar civilians who fled ISIL since 2013 have returned home by now. The remainder are waiting for ISIL to be driven from the Syrian border area and for the mines and other explosive devices to be removed from residential areas where they live. Elsewhere in Anbar a growing number of fleeing ISIL men are seeking safety in Jordan. One reason for this is the continuing (and unsuccessful) efforts by ISIL to establish a presence in Jordan. The Jordanians have recently reinforced their border security with more troops and more support for tribal militias along the Iraq border. While the border with Saudi Arabia is a lot longer few ISIL men head in that direction because the Saudi border is even more heavily defended and, unlike Jordan, you lose the option to head for Syria (which shares a border with Jordan but not Saudi Arabia.) The Frenemy Around Us Iran boasts of victories in Syria, Yemen and Iraq, alliances with Turkey, China and Russia to oppose the West plus the end of sanctions has not had the desired effect on most Iranians. Opinion surveys showed that 90 percent of Iranians backed the Syrian operations in 2015 but that dropped to 73 percent in 2016 and is now less than 30 percent. There were similar declines regarding Iranian support for Hezbollah and Shia militias in Lebanon, Syria. Yemen and Iraq. Most Iranians are more concerned with own circumstances, which have not improved much despite all the government boasting of victories elsewhere. Despite this Iran has maintained its military presence in Iraq, even if it causes friction with new allies like Turkey. The Enemy Is Us Foreign aid and government refugee personnel agree that the civilians getting out of Mosul are accurately describing the nasty mood of the Mosul population when it comes to the Iraqi government. Nearly everyone hates ISIL but many Mosul natives remember that it was government corruption and incompetence that enabled ISIL to so easily grab control of the city in mid-2014. The government says it is aware of the problem and plans to do better with rebuilding the city. That is hardly a sure thing because Iraq has long been one of the most corrupt nations in the region. This results in much of the foreign aid being stolen and not getting to the people it was intended for. This is not surprising as Iraq was recently rated as one of the most corrupt (166th out of 176 countries) nation in the world for 2016. Somalia was rated the most corrupt nations in the world and has held that dubious distinction for a decade. Corruption in the Transparency International Corruption Perception Index is measured on a 1 (most corrupt) to 100 (not corrupt) scale. The most corrupt nations (usually North Korea, Somalia or, since 2011, South Sudan) have a rating of under fifteen while of the least corrupt (usually Denmark) is often 90 or higher. The current Iraq score is 17 compared to 13 for Syria, 41 for Turkey, 46 for Saudi Arabia, 48 for Jordan, 28 for Lebanon, 29 for Iran, 66 for the UAE (United Arab Emirates), 64 for Israel, 25 for Afghanistan. 32 for Pakistan, 40 for India, 29 for Russia, 40 for China, 11 for South Sudan, 12 for North Korea, 72 for Japan and 74 for the United States. A lower corruption score is common with nations in economic trouble. African nations are the most corrupt, followed by Middle Eastern ones. Fixing an existing culture of corruption has proved a most difficult challenge. February 5, 2017: Troops south of Mosul have been reinforced by units equipped with tanks and other armored vehicles. February 4, 2017: In the north (Tal Afar, between Mosul and Syria) another to IRGC (Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps) officer was killed while advising (or leading) Iraqi Shia militiamen. Iran has sent hundreds of IRGC officers, most of them from the Quds Force (similar to the U.S. Special Forces, but which specializes in supporting Islamic terrorists not fighting them). Dozens of senior IRGC officers have been killed in Syria and Iraq since 2012. February 3, 2017: In the north (Salahaddin province, which is between Baghdad and Mosul) an airstrike killed another senior ISIL leaders, known as Abu Suhaib. Two other ISIL men were wounded in the attack on Mutaibija which has long been an ISIL base area. February 2, 2017: In January 382 civilians and 21 police were killed by Islamic terrorist related activities. The civilian deaths were down about one percent from December. Nearly half (49 percent) of the civilian deaths were in or near Mosul (Nineveh province), Baghdad suffered 33 percent of the dead while Salahaddin province (between Baghdad and Mosul) 8 percent and western Iraq (Anbar province) six percent. Most of the deaths in Nineveh province were related to the effort to drive ISIL out of Mosul. Baghdad was usually where most civilian deaths took place and it still a major target for suicide bombing efforts, usually in Shia neighborhoods. ISIL has largely been driven out of Anbar in the last year but because Anbar has a lengthy Syrian border and is south of Nineveh province, it remains active. As usual there was few if any civilian deaths in the Kurdish north or the Shia dominated south (Basra). Data on military losses stopped being provided in December. This apparently had to do with fear of how bad it would be for morale (and the prospects of reelection for politicians) if the extent (higher than expected) military losses have been since late 2016, when the offensive against ISIL went into high gear. The government did continue to report civilian losses. For 2016 total civilian deaths were 6,878, which was less than 2015. In early December it was revealed that terrorism related deaths rose in November, especially for the security forces. Overall losses in November were 2,885 dead which was 61 percent more than October. Most of the 1,959 November deaths among soldiers, police and militia were from the fighting in and around Mosul. These losses were more than triple security forces deaths in October, when there 1,792 Iraqi deaths (civilian and security forces) from terrorist (mainly ISIL inspired) violence. The government underestimated the public outcry over the losses among military personnel involved in the Mosul campaign. The UN, which has long compiled government and other sources of casualty data, now says those numbers were unverified and no more would be released until later. The October deaths were up 79 percent over the 1,003 lost in September. That in turn was up more than 45 percent over August. Casualties in Anbar were not available for September nor were the growing losses in ISIL controlled Mosul (both civilian and ISIL members). Thus the actual September deaths are probably 1,800 or more. Up until August 2016 (when 691 died) losses were relatively low. In July to 759 died, in June 662 and May had 867 dead. Before that April had 741 dead, March 1,119, February 670 and January 2016 it was 849. Civilians accounted for half or more of the dead because ISIL has been losing on the battlefield and concentrating on terror attacks against civilians, mainly in Baghdad. Thats where most of the civilian deaths occur and most of the dead there are Shia civilians. Total deaths for this year were expected to be 10-20 percent lower than the 13,400 in 2015 and continue the downward trend after the last peak (15,600) in 2014. The 2016 decline appears likely to be closer to ten percent than 20 percent. Until 2013 when 8,900 died, the Islamic terrorist problem seemed under control. It wasnt and since 2014 it has been an uphill struggle. While 2015 was 14 percent less deadly than 2014 both years were much less than the worst year. That was 2007 when nearly 18,000 died. Then as now the main cause of the mayhem and murder was Sunni fanatics who want to run the country as a Sunni dictatorship. February 1, 2017: In the north, outside of Mosul, Abu Abdullah, a senior (his work was well known) ISIL bomb builder died while the roadside bomb he was installing went off prematurely. His assistant died as well. January 29, 2017: In the north (Nineveh Province, which Mosul is also in) the chief (or at least most well-known) ISIL executioner, known only by his nickname Abu Sayyaf (Sword of Islam) was ambushed by unknown attackers and killed, apparently with a knife. Cell phone photos of the body were posted online. Several of Abu Sayyafs companions were also killed. This particular had appeared in many videos executing (usually via beheading) people in Mosul. Because of that he was much hated, which is apparently the main reason his real name was kept secret. January 25, 2017: The offensive to take Mosul from ISIL is 100 days old and about 60 percent of the city has been liberated. The American decapitation (going after key people) campaign has killed 15 known ISIL leaders in that time while the ground fighting left over 3,000 ISIL fighters dead. The Iraqi government declared all of Mosul east of the Tigris liberated but would not report how many of the attackers were killed in the effort. January 23, 2017: The government ordered another investigation of pro-Iran Iraqi Shia militias committing crimes after they were sent to help deal with security in areas ISIL had been driven from. This time the problems were in and around Mosul. The same thing happened in late 2016 when these militias were doing similar work in Anbar province. The government tried to avoid in Baghdad what happened in Anbar. Despite that there were some ugly side effects once the Shia militias showed up. Many Iranian and Iraqi Shia believe in revenge against real or suspected supporters of Sunni Islamic terrorists who continue to slaughter Shia civilians in Iraq, especially those visiting Shia religious shrives during Shia religious holidays. The government said it would control the murderous tendencies of the Shia militias in Anbar but that control was not tight enough and there were a few incidents. The government was forced to publicly admit the problem existed and prosecute some of the worst offenders. Despite efforts to eliminate the problem, the Shia militias again were too enthusiastic (and brutal) as they dealt with ISIL supporters and collaborators. ISIL tends to kill any Shia they come across so the Shia militias knew that anyone suspected of working with or for ISIL was Sunni and probably also a fan of killing Shia whenever possible. The violent Shia militia are also causing problems with Turkey because Iraq is using Shia militias to provide security in areas occupied by Iraqis who are ethnic Turks. In late 2016 ISIL lost control of the city of Tal Afar, which is west of Mosul and on the Syrian border. ISIL had occupied Tal Afar since late June 2014 and it was a key transit point for anyone or anything moving to or from Mosul and Syria. Until 2007 Tal Afar was mainly a Turkoman (Turkish) town with large Sunni and Shia Arab minorities. Between 2003 and 2007 al Qaeda terrorized the Turkomen (for not being Arab although they are Sunni), murdered the Shia and used the town as a base for bringing in foreign recruits via Syria. Back then the Shia rulers of Syria (the Assad clan) were willing to tolerate Sunni Islamic terrorists as long as they were just passing through and behaving themselves as they did. Tal Afar is still important to Sunni Islamic terrorists (ISIL) in Iraq because the city controls the main road from Mosul to Raqqa (the ISIL capital in eastern Syria). The battle for Tal Afar eventually brought in more and more Iran-backed Shia militia. This happened despite Iraqis telling Turkey that only Iraqi army troops would be allowed in the city itself. These Shia militias are also helping to seal the border. With the main road from Mosul to Raqqa now blocked it is more difficult but not impossible to travel between Syria and Mosul. Most of the senior ISIL personnel and their families have already left Mosul but those remaining face a longer, and more dangerous, journey if they decide to head for Raqqa. Meanwhile the Turks keep getting complaints (and often photographic evidence) on going violence against Turkomen by Shia militia. The government has also promised to keep the Shia militias out of Syria, despite pledges by some militia leaders that they would enter Syria in their continuing search for revenge. January 20, 2017: In the north, outside Mosul, an airstrike killed Abbas Suleiman Ismail Al Haider, the ISIL head of foreign recruiting. Also killed were four of his associates. January 14, 2017: In the Kurdish north (Metina, near the Turkish border) Turkish special operations located a PKK base and called in airstrikes overnight that killed at least 57 PKK members. The special operations troops then helped the air reconnaissance confirm the damage done. The PKK resumed their war with Turkey in July 2015 and since then some 10,000 PKK members and supporters have been killed, captured, arrested or surrendered. Some 1,100 Turkish security forces and civilians have died as well. TCEA 2017 Coverage Personalized Literacy Platform Debuts Beginning Reader Support, Monitoring Tools To give educators more insight into how their students are learning to read, myON has released version 3.7 of its personalized literacy solution with more monitoring tools that measure individual student progress and needs. The myON platform's digital library provides unlimited access to a collection of more than 13,000 enhanced digital books and multimedia supports, real-time assessments and close reading tools, according to the companys website. To maximize reading growth, myON gives students individualized, interest-based recommendations within their Lexile ranges to engage them with just-right texts. Student have access to their own dashboard that keeps track of their reading per week and month. Additionally, teachers have access to real-time data reports on their dashboard, where they can also assign new books and writing assignments to students. Version 3.7 features: More support for students with added native benchmark items, such as pictures and simple sentences, that track changes in readings scores over time; Alignments to state and national standards; Read-aloud speech capabilities; and Re-envisioned reports with more details, highlighting more areas to monitor. Minnesota-based myON, a business unit of Capstone, provides personalized literacy solutions in the K12 marketplace. Its literacy platform is available via PC or mobile device and offers both online and offline reading. The company is exhibiting at the TCEA 2017 convention this week in Austin, TX in booth 1374. To learn more about the personalized literacy solution, watch the video below. Further information is available on the myON website. Virtual Reality Iowa Elementary School Launches Virtual Reality Science Curriculum Image Credit: The Quad-Times, Andy Abeyta. An Iowa elementary school within the Davenport Community School District has begun using virtual reality (VR) headsets in their science classes. Several Buffalo Elementary School students used Oculus Rift headsets and tested out VR curriculum from VictoryVR, which recently launched its first installation of a VR science curriculum. The curriculum, designed for students in grades 5 to 8, covers the solar system, the water cycle, ocean life and more. In one VR experience, CNNs International Hero of the Year Chad Pregracke takes students on a virtual field trip to a garbage barge as he cleans up the Ohio River near Louisville, KT, according to VictoryVR. As one of the modules in the Water Cycle, students learn how our nations rivers are integral to our well-being as they leave their classroom and stand on a barge with river-activist Pregracke. Buffalo Elementary is the first city in the county to incorporate virtual reality into the Next Generation Science Standards curriculum, the Quad-City Times reported. So far, VR is used in two of the 23 science units offered at the school. A grant from the Bechtel Trust will help pay for the school to use the headsets over the next five years. The grant proposal listed three main benefits to implementing the technology: Removes distractions and helps students focus on a lesson plan; Student are transported or immersed in the area of study; and The VR experience help instructors explain a topic and captivates students interests. To learn more, read the Quad-City Times report. TokyoGirls'Update Japan Seifuku Award : Hottest School Girls & Boys in Seifuku Were Chosen! Sponsored Links 20 winners including Grand Prix and second place was chosen for The Fourth JAPAN SEIFUKU AWARD, a contest that decides the school girls and boys who suit school uniform the best in Japan. JAPAN SEIFUKU AWARD is an image model contest by CONOMi, a uniform brand popular among teenagers. Those who are chosen for Grand Prix and second place will become CONOMis catalog and image model, in which 200,000 copies will be distributed. Learn more about CONOMi The fourth contest had more than 2,500 student applicants, and 20 winners were chosen through careful consideration. 3 out of 20 were from Tokyo, but others came from Niigata, Sendai, Osaka, and Ehime, which shows how this was a nationwide model contest. The lucky girl who won Grand Prix among girls was Erika Suzuki, a senior from Tochigi prefecture. She is also a member of the idol group PPP!PiXiON. With her charming smile, she became the model who suits school uniform the best in Japan. Grand Prix among boys was Taichi Fujisaki, a junior from Osaka prefecture. Runners-up were: Saki Ogawa (Osaka), Mion Yuzuki (Ehime), KEIGO (Nara), Haruto Kubo (Shiga), and more! There are also winners who received the photogenic award and sponsor award, so check them out in CONOMis website! Related Links JAPAN SEIFUKU AWARD Official Website: http://www.conomi.jp/seifuku-award.html Sponsored Links Share This Article Author Ayaya Been working in girls fashion magazines for a long time and am now the chief editor of Tokyo Girls Update. I have more expertise in Japanese teen fashion than anyone else (probably)! Im a huge fan of the Revolutionary Girl Utena and Bakemonogatari animes. You may also like Please enable JavaScript to view the comments powered by Disqus. Disqus Fool.co.uk Can our writer really aim for millions by investing a few hundred pounds each month in shares? With the right approach and patience, he thinks it's worth trying. The post Could I aim for millions by spending 130 a week on shares? appeared first on The Motley Fool UK. JOHANNESBURG, Feb 6 (Reuters) - South Africa's Mondi (EUREX: MDIF.EX - news) bought UK-based packaging firm Excelsior Technologies for 33 million pounds ($41 million) from funds managed by private equity firm Endless LLP and certain minority shareholders, the firm said on Monday. Mondi (Frankfurt: KYC.F - news) 's Chief Executive David Hathorn said in a statement that the British business will support the development of Mondi's consumer packaging division. Excelsior makes packaging, mainly for food, and owns a packaging technology for microwave steam cooking. For the year ended 31 December 2016, it generated revenues of 39 million pounds, Mondi said. Mondi, which has operations in more than 30 countries, makes and sells consumer packaging and paper products as part of its Europe and International division's Packaging Paper business. In 2016 Hathorn told Reuters that Mondi could borrow to fund acquisitions after spending 94 million euros ($101 million) buying consumer packaging businesses in 2015. ($1 = 0.8031 pounds) ($1 = 0.9306 euros) (Reporting by Nqobile Dludla; Editing by Adrian Croft) AMMAN (Reuters) - Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said his family did not "own" the country they have run for 46 years, saying he would step aside if the Syrian people choose another leader in an election. Assad also told a group of Belgian reporters that he saw promise in U.S. President Donald Trump's determination to fight Islamic State, although it was too early to expect any practical steps, state news agency SANA reported on Tuesday. With backing from Russia and Iran, Assad now seems militarily unassailable in the Syrian civil war that spiralled from protests against his rule nearly six years ago during a wave of uprisings against Arab autocrats. Assad, 51, came to power in 2000 after the death of his father, former President Hafez al-Assad, who became head of state in 1971 after a military coup the previous year. Asked if he could imagine a Syria that was not run by his family, Assad said: "Of course. We don't own the country. My family does not own the country." "Syria is owned by the Syrians, and every Syrian citizen has the right to be in that position," Assad said. Russia, his most powerful ally, is seeking to revive peace talks aimed at ending a war that has shattered Syria into a patchwork of separate areas and killed hundreds of thousands of people. Russia circulated a reformed Syrian constitution at peace talks in Kazakhstan last month that said no president could serve more than two consecutive terms, according to a copy seen by Reuters. Moscow says the document drafted by Russian specialists was only tabled for the purpose of discussion. Moscow's effort to revive peace talks follows the rebels' biggest defeat of the war, when they were driven from eastern Aleppo in December by the Syrian army with decisive help from the Russian air force and Iranian-backed militias. Assad said he would step aside if voted out of power in an election - something he has said in the past. "If the Syrian people choose another president, I would not have to decide to step down, I will be out of this position," he said in the interview published on Tuesday. Assad controls all the main cities of western Syria, where the bulk of the population live. A presidential election was held in 2014, though the vote was declared a farce by his opponents. Swathes of Syria remain out of his control including areas held by the Islamic State group and a Kurdish militia. TRUMP SEEN AS "PROMISING" Trump has held out the possibility of cooperation with Russia in the fight against Islamic State in Syria. The Kremlin said Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin had discussed setting up "genuine coordination" in the fight against Islamic State and "other terrorist groups" in Syria during a phone call last month. Assad was quoted by SANA as telling a group of Belgian reporters: "I believe this is promising but we have to wait and it's too early to expect anything practical." Assad was also quoted as saying that U.S-Russian cooperation in stepping up the fight against the militants would have positive repercussions. Under former U.S. President Barack Obama, the United States ruled out the idea of cooperating with Assad in the fight against Islamic State in Syria, viewing his rule as a big part of the problem. Trump has made defeating Islamic State a core goal of his presidency and signed an executive order asking the Pentagon, the joint chiefs of staff and other agencies to submit a preliminary plan on how to proceed within 30 days. For now, U.S.-Russian cooperation is largely limited to coordinating to ensure that the two countries' air forces operate safely and that the risk of accidental confrontation or collision is minimised. (Reporting by Suleiman Al-Khalidi in Amman and Ahmed Tolba in Cairo, Humeyra Pamuk in Istanbul, Editing by Tom Perry and Angus MacSwan) Last fall, University of North Georgia's (UNG) Department of Psychology and Office of Multicultural Student Affairs (MSA) partnered to expand the reach and impact of the university's leadership minor. Revised in 2015, the minor offers a three track system that allows students to tailor their studies in either organizational leadership, leadership in society or global leadership. "The organizational leadership tracks focuses on organizational structure, success and management. The leadership in society track takes students down the path of communication, sociology and leadership principles. The global leadership track provides students with leadership principles related to foreign affairs and global issues," explained Dr. Bryan Dawson, associate professor and leadership advisor at UNG. Today, there are more than 55 students with leadership as a declared minor at UNG. The multidisciplinary program attracts students from art, criminal justice, psychology, computer science, international affairs, and political science, among others. In the MSA, an African American Male Initiative (AAMI) cohort version of the core adaptive leadership course was created to help promote leadership education and retention among black male students at UNG. The course counts towards the leadership minor and is currently available on the Gainesville Campus. "With the $10,000 AAMI grant awarded to UNG by the University System of Georgia, the hope is to expand the initiative past our Gainesville Campus to include our Dahlonega Campus," said Robert Robinson, director of UNGs MSA. The minor in leadership is designed to equip students with an integrated understanding of leadership theory and practice. The minor focuses on training the best leaders through teaching, research and service in order to acquire the skills necessary to generate, disseminate, integrate, and apply knowledge in practical settings while engaging in collaborative activities across departments at the UNG. Each student must successfully complete the Adaptive Leadership and the Advanced Studies in Leadership courses in order to pursue the minor. In addition, students are required to complete three elective courses in one of the three track. Students are also expected to engage in extracurricular activities and external programs that provide them with opportunities to exercise leadership. This component of the program is designed to broaden students' understanding of leadership and engage them as citizens. Service learning participation is highly recommended for all leadership minors. For more information or to speak with a leadership advisor, visit the Department of Psychological Science. CHARLESTON -- The Tarble Arts Center (TAC), Eastern Illinois University, is sponsoring an overnight art excursion on May 20-21 to Louisville, Ky. The cost is $275 for TAC members, $400 for TAC couples, $344 for non-members and $500 for non-member couples. The price includes transportation, admission fees and most meals. We will visit the Speed Museum of Art for guided tours of collection highlights and Southern Accent: Seeking the American South in Contemporary Art. Lunch will be at the museums Wiltshire restaurant. There will also be time to view Ai Weiweis Circle of Animals/Zodiac Heads outdoor sculpture installation. Overnight lodging and a private dinner will be at the 21c Museum Hotel. Nestled in historic downtown Louisville, 21c Museum Hotel is a boutique Louisville hotel, contemporary art museum, award-winning restaurant and cultural civic center. On Sunday, breakfast will be at 21cs Proof on Main followed by a guided tour of the 21c Museum. The bus will depart back to Charleston after, arriving approximately at 3:30 p.m. The deadline to register is March 20. Seats are limited and early registration is advised. Register online at http://www.eiu.edu/tarble/classes.php. Click on the Online Class Registration button. Registration may also be taken in the Tarble Office, 2010 9th Street, Charleston during the hours of 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday-Friday. For more information about Tarble Arts Center programs, contact the Tarble at 217-581-ARTS (2787) or at tarble@eiu.edu. The Tarble Arts Center is a major arts resource for the people of Central Illinois and Eastern Illinois University that focuses primarily on the visual arts. Its mission is taking the arts to the people. The Tarble Arts Center is open to the public Tuesday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and on Saturdays and Sundays from 1 to 4 p.m. The Tarble is closed on Mondays and holidays. For more information, visit them at www.eiu.edu/tarble or www.facebook.com/TarbleArts. 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. WASHINGTON Donald Trumps unpredictable foreign policy could hamper longstanding U.S. intelligence-sharing partnerships as countries react to a president who seeks closer ties to Russia and is unafraid to offend American allies by cracking down on immigration or getting angry with friendly leaders. Veteran spies say intelligence relationships are built to weather storms between political leaders. Even in the worst of times, allies share intelligence to thwart threats. But the lack of understanding about Trumps foreign policy direction and his potential new friendship with Moscow are creating jitters across the Western world. We are facing an unprecedented level of uncertainty today, said John Blaxland, a former Australian intelligence official and professor at Australian National University. He said there is mutual benefit to these broad, deep intelligence sharing relationships, but added: It is hard to calculate just how much damage the new presidents approach may have. It will be felt, Blaxland predicted, and it wont be good. Russia is a main concern. If Trump moves forward with efforts to improve U.S.-Russian relations, European allies in particular will probably question how safe their intelligence is in American hands. Russias annexation of Ukraines Crimean Peninsula in 2014 and threatening movements near the borders of NATO members in Eastern Europe have contributed to the perception of Moscow as a threat to national sovereignty. If American intelligence agencies are instructed to enhance cooperation with Russia, U.S. allies see significant counterintelligence threats that come with that, said Steven Hall, a retired CIA chief of Russia operations. He said they will be much more careful in the future. As candidate and president, Trump has sparked widespread international unease by questioning the value of U.S. military alliances, if not necessarily intelligence partnerships. He called NATO obsolete and challenged countries such as South Korea and Japan to assume greater self-defense responsibility. In the last weeks, however, Trump advisers have gone out of their way to stress the durability of such arrangements and Americas commitment to its friends. Detente between Washington and Moscow is no sure thing, despite Trumps intentions. Under President Barack Obama, relations between the former Cold War foes strained dramatically over Syria, Ukraine and alleged Russian meddling in the U.S. presidential election after initially improving under a reset policy. In recent days, Trumps administration has reverted to criticizing the Kremlin after a flare-up of violence involving Russian-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine. Regardless of Trumps new direction, Rep. Will Hurd, R-Texas, a former CIA officer and new member on the House Intelligence Committee, said American intelligence professionals recognize the need to protect information they receive. The point at which our allies will get concerned is if they believe that our intelligence professionals do not view Russia as an adversary, he said. Trumps sometimes impulsive style and lack of experience handling classified information also have foreign officials concerned. Mark Galeotti at the Institute of International Relations in Prague, said European intelligence officials worry that Trump or his advisers will blurt something out at the wrong moment or to the wrong person. Allies might curtail what they share as a result, said Galeotti, who talks with intelligence officials in Europe and Russia. Its not so much about how much, he said. Its precisely how heavily edited it is, how carefully its scrutinized to absolutely make sure that there is nothing that you are worried about leaking. Former French internal intelligence chief Louis Caprioli said European countries might hold information related to Ukraine or other issues closer, given the uncertainty of Trumps relationship with Putin. But he said intelligence sharing will continue in critical areas, such as counterterrorism. Intelligence services go beyond the political world, Caprioli said. Still, allies fret about politics seeping into U.S. intelligence findings. Trump has disparaged U.S. intelligence agencies for past failures and publicly challenged their assessment that Russia meddled in the presidential election. A day after he was inaugurated, Trump delivered an unusual speech at the CIA headquarters criticizing the medias coverage of his inaugural crowds. Wesley Wark, a University of Ottawa professor and national security expert, said U.S. allies may ask more questions about the source of American intelligence products. For example, he said, they might think a certain piece of intelligence is from Trumps strategic adviser Steve Bannon, a conservative media executive who now sits on the National Security Council. There will be a growing concern about politicized as opposed to truthful, objective judgments and reports, Wark said. Last weekends testy conversation between Trump and Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull concerned a refugee deal Trump inherited from Obama. It didnt relate to the Five Eyes intelligence-sharing program the U.S. has with Australia, Canada, Britain and New Zealand. Nevertheless, California Rep. Adam Schiff, the House Intelligence Committees top Democrat, said the spat cant be dismissed as simply Trump being Trump. Schiff said Australia shares Americas interest in fighting terrorism and countering Chinese actions, and stood alongside the U.S. in every war of the last century. This is not a relationship to be taken for granted or abused, he said. The committee chairman, GOP Rep. Devin Nunes of California, isnt worried: I have no doubt that intelligence sharing with our allies will continue to be robust and productive. ___ Associated Press writer Lori Hinnant in Paris contributed to this report. A Santa Fe lawyer has filed 60 nearly identical federal lawsuits against national and local businesses, accusing them of violating the American Disabilities Act. The suits, filed on Jan. 13, Jan. 17 and Feb. 2, in federal court in Albuquerque, seek a variety of architectural changes or modifications that cover such issues as signs marking van-accessible parking spaces, proper access to towel dispensers and an unobstructed reach to the soap dispenser. They also seek attorneys fees and costs. The suits were filed by lawyer Sharon Pomeranz on behalf of Alyssa Carton, described as a Bernalillo County resident who uses a wheelchair because of a disability which substantially limits major life activities. Each lawsuit says that not only was Carton trying to access the particular business, but she also was acting as a tester for purposes of discovering, encountering and engaging discrimination against persons with disabilities at the business named in the suit. Pomeranz declined comment; Carton could not be reached. Among the companies named are Blakes Lotaburger, McDonalds Corp., Diamond Shamrock Stations and a number of property management or real estate companies. The owner of one of those named denied he was in violation of the ADA, a 27-year-old civil rights law prohibiting discrimation on the basis of disability. Louie Perea, who owns property at Lomas and Morris NE, also said he did not know about the lawsuit and that no one had approached him recently about the alleged problems. Perea took issue with claims about accessibility to one of his buildings entrances, saying it was not required to be accessible because entry was available at a nearby entrance. President Donald Trump earned a few headlines over the past two weeks that almost certainly annoyed him. Talking Points Memo, for example, looked at Gallup daily approval ratings for the president and noted that his net approval those who said they approved of his job performance minus those who said they disapproved moved from even to minus-8 over the first week of his presidency. The Los Angeles Times took a different tack, noting that weekly averages of presidential approval give us a better comparative sense of how Trump is faring. Those numbers, made available by a demographic group, let us see what changed for Trump over the first two weeks of his presidency. The upshot? Groups that disliked him drove his overall numbers lower as their perceptions of how he was doing fell further. That its Trump skeptics whose opinions soured isnt exactly good news, mind you. Conservative Democrats saw the biggest downward shift; thats a group from which Trump has consistently argued he pulls unusually high support. (Its also a fairly small demographic group, so that probably accounts for some of the fluctuation as well.) Likewise, those with only a high school education now look at how Trump is doing more negatively. That Republican approval ratings of Trumps job performance fell three points is probably more disconcerting still. Between his first and second week, President Barack Obama also saw a decline in his approval rating. The drop was less uniform than Trumps, and the overall drop was smaller, though the statistical difference between a two-point and one-point decline is nonexistent. Obama also saw a dip among his opponents, but those opponents had a better view of him than Trumps do now. Perceptions of Obama among conservative Democrats increased significantly. In fact, Gallup has weekly averages for the past four presidents, and in three of those four cases the change between the first two weeks was downward. New presidents get a honeymoon period of some sort and that fades quickly. Whats remarkable about the data is not the decline, its where Trump started out in the first place. Of the 418 weeks Obama was president, he was at or below 43 percent Trumps current approval rating for only 52 of them. One-eighth, in other words. We dont remember Obamas presidency as being one in which he was robustly and consistently popular but he was almost always more positively viewed than Trump is now. The trend to watch is if Trumps base continues to erode. Further erosion of Republican approval, or more negative attitudes from those without college degrees, will mean that Trumps already-weak base is growing weaker. Thats the story: Its not that Trumps base shrunk, its that hes running out of base. PHOENIX A former student at an Avondale high school accused of threatening students and faculty has been sentenced to three years of supervised probation. Maricopa County Superior Court officials say 18-year-old Alonzo Vargas also was sentenced Monday to 40 hours of community service for interfering with an educational institution. Vargas was arrested by Avondale police on Oct. 6 after an online threat was posted a few days earlier. Police say the screenshot was of a clown and the text indicated that students and faculty at Westview High School would be hurt. They say Vargas told investigators the post was meant in fun and he didnt believe anyone would take it seriously. He was later indicted by a county grand jury on charges of threatening an educational facility and threatening and intimidating. AUSTIN, Texas A newspaper investigation has found the Texas Education Agency doesnt track if a teacher has been charged or convicted of a crime. The Austin American-Statesman (http://atxne.ws/2jVclbz ) found that in many cases, school districts keep the information secret and teachers are allowed to take other teaching jobs or positions where they are in contact with children. Some of those teachers are not prosecuted and worse . some are shuffled off to other schools to continue teaching in other areas, threatening other kids, Gov. Greg Abbott told lawmakers in his State of the State address last week. We are the ones with the duty and the ability to do something about it. State lawmakers are now proposing legislation that would stop teachers resigning from a school district amid allegations of misconduct with students and moving on to another teaching job. Republican Sen. Paul Bettencourt and Republican state Rep. Tony Dale have proposed bills that would charge superintendents and principals who dont report allegations of teacher misconduct to the state education agency with at least a Class A misdemeanor. The bills also call for training that would help teachers understand proper teacher-student boundaries, and recognizing and reporting sexual misconduct between teachers and students. We have got to stop turning a blind eye to this. Lets find out whats going on, and lets do our best to stamp it out, Bettencourt told the Statesman. Currently, school districts are required to alert the TEA of a teacher resigning or being terminated due to being involved in a romantic relationship with a student, among other improprieties. In the past eight years improper teacher-student relationships have climbed 80 percent. The TEA is requesting additional funding in 2018-19 budget to hire two more investigators to meet the anticipated rise in the number of teacher misconduct cases. The Statesmans investigation found teacher misconduct allegations ranged from sending flirtatious text messages to kissing or having sex in classrooms. ___ Information from: Austin American-Statesman, http://www.statesman.com On social networks and talk radio, in classrooms and at kitchen tables, the countrys past is suddenly inescapable. Many, many people as President Donald Trump would put it are sharing stories about key moments and figures in American history to support or oppose one controversial White House executive order after another. Andrew Jackson and Huey Long are alive in Facebook feeds. Twitter is afire with 140-character bursts of historical moments the St. Louis steaming toward Miami in 1939 with Jewish refugees fleeing Germanys Third Reich, or the Saturday Night Massacre, President Richard Nixons firing of a special prosecutor in 1973 during the Watergate scandal. Trump may or may not make America great again, but he has certainly revived interest in U.S. history. It has been a long time since Woodrow Wilson, Abraham Lincoln and Susan B. Anthony were in the news, not to mention import taxes, the Revolutionary War, Japanese internment camps and the Immigration Act of 1917. Ive never seen so many people desperate to refer to historical examples, said David Bell, a Princeton University history professor who last month moderated a panel on Trump at the American Historical Associations annual conference. Everyone seems to have an example. While Barack Obamas election renewed discussion of the nations tortured racial history and Hillary Clintons would have spawned a look back at womens rights, historians say the speed and breadth of Trumps policy pronouncements have prompted the electorate to deploy history as an offensive or defensive rhetorical weapon. History really feels explosive to many people right now, Harvard University historian Jill Lepore said. People are reaching out for whatever twig is streaming by to give some meaning to what theyre seeing. Decades and even centuries are jumbled together. Frederick Douglass became a trending topic on Facebook last week after Trump talked about him as if he were still alive. Alongside news feeds, the 19th-century abolitionist was listed between the Cheesecake Factory and the Johnson Amendment, the 1954 law that restricts political activity by tax-exempt religious groups. Trump has vowed to totally destroy the amendment. The historical references are not limited to this country. A headline last week on Breitbart News, a conservative website founded by Trump White House strategist Stephen Bannon, said, Why Saint Thomas Aquinas Opposed Open Borders. Even Adolf Hitler is hard to avoid. Last week, a student in Norway tweeted that the Nazi dictator was being discussed in class. Someone will bring up Trump before class ends, he wrote. I just know it. Less than 20 minutes later: YEP THERE WE GO. In the United States, there have been enough Hitler comparisons on social media to inspire satirists. Steve Hely, a former writer for The Office and 30 Rock, recently tweeted several ways Hitler was better than Trump. One was Wrote his own book. Helys satire gets at the concerns scholars have about the recent flood of historical citations. Americans are terrible armchair historians. A nationwide survey by the American Revolution Center found that more Americans remember that Michael Jackson sang Beat It than know that the Bill of Rights is part of the Constitution. Professional historians worry that specious and cherry-picked comparisons will reverberate through social networks as gospel, deepening the countrys divisions. Last month, a guy named Eric in Ohio fearful of reprisal, he would not give his last name posted a video on YouTube titled Donald Trump, import taxes, History and left wing insanity. Erics passion is economics and history. I have three bookshelves filled with books on that topic, he said, so when you combine those two things with posts on Facebook, I tend to respond because it pisses me off. The Trump administration, just a few days in office, proposed adding tariffs to imports. Suddenly, Eric began reading posts about how import taxes had led the country to war. This confused him. So he started asking the posters what they were talking about the Revolutionary War, they said. No, we fing didnt, Eric said into the camera. Who the hell is telling you this stuff? Did you get your American history off the back of a Cracker Jack box? Putting aside the question of who is right, Erics rant illustrates how Trumps supporters and detractors are drawing on historical moments in a prosecutorial way. Lepore, the Harvard historian, said that in more normal times, she becomes frustrated when complicated, nuanced history is used in deceptive, misleading ways. But she is sympathetic to how befuddled people are. These moments from the past are enticing because of the depth of uncertainty, she said. And they are being used to argue both for doubling down on and disavowing current events. Take immigration. Those who support Trumps executive order restricting travel from seven Muslim-majority countries point to previous eras when the country was more restrictive on immigration. The news channels are overrun with liberals claiming Trumps ban violates the constitution and is contrary to our traditions, a Trump supporter wrote on Facebook. Like it or not, our traditions have been to use immigration law to keep out people of other races and cultures, whether they were considered dangerous or not. A half-hour later, someone replied, Thanks to all on this thread for being an oasis of sanity in a wasteland of partisans railing about what is and isnt constitutional. Those appalled by Trumps actions see it differently. The overall effect of Trumps latest executive order would be to put the U.S. back on to similar footing as the 1930s, when refugees most needed our help to escape persecution, the Human Rights Campaign wrote in a widely shared blog post that retold the story of the St. Louis being turned away. Others cut and pasted a long post that Heather Richardson, a Boston College history professor, put on her personal Facebook page, describing the executive order as a shock event. Such an event is unexpected and confusing and throws a society into chaos, she wrote. People scramble to react to the event, usually along some fault line that those responsible for the event can widen by claiming that they alone know how to restore order. But shock events, in Richardsons telling, can ultimately change the country for the better. If people realize they are being played, she wrote on Jan. 29, they can reach across old lines and reorganize to challenge the leaders who are pulling the strings. This was Lincolns strategy when he joined together Whigs, Democrats, Free-Soilers, anti-Nebraska voters, and nativists into the new Republican Party to stand against the Slave Power. Although Richardson writes frequently on politics for several large news organizations, she did not intend her post to be read by a large audience only friends and family on both sides of the political debate. She posted it, then went to dinner. When she came home, she discovered it had been shared 17,000 times. It just went insane, she said. A week later, it was more than 80,000. President Donald Trump has said lots of negative things about the media since he began running for president in June 2015. Hes called reporters the most dishonest people. Hes called out individual reporters for alleged bias. Hes insisted that the media as a whole is failing. Heck, he even once called me one of the dumber and least respected of the political pundits. But, to my mind, all of that name-calling pales in comparison to Trumps insinuation on Monday that the media is purposely covering up terrorist attacks. Heres the key bit of what Trump said at U.S. Central Command in Florida: Youve seen what happened in Paris, and Nice. All over Europe, its happening. Its gotten to a point where its not even being reported. And in many cases the very, very dishonest press doesnt want to report it. They have their reasons, and you understand that. They have their reasons, Trump said. And you understand that. He didnt offer any more explanation. Just that. White House press secretary Sean Spicer, pressed on Trumps comment on the flight from Florida back to Washington, stood up for his boss, saying terror attacks arent exactly covered to a degree on which they should be. Where to start? How about: 1. The media DID cover every single one of the terrorist attacks Trump mentions. Extensively. 2. Its deeply irresponsible to suggest with no evidence that the news media is ignoring news events because they dont fit some sort of hidden journalistic agenda. That second point is why what Trump is saying is so, so dangerous. Hes implying that the media is allowing its own collective biases to get in the way of his efforts to keep the country safe from the threat of terrorism. That the media is, at best, downplaying these attacks because of their own ideological biases and, at, worst, siding with the terrorists. Thats staggering stuff even for Trump. As the Posts Philip Bump notes, its not the first time Trump has made an insinuation like this one. In June 2016, in the wake of the Orlando nightclub massacre, Trump said this of the then-president: People cannot believe that President Obama is acting the way he acts and cant even mention the words radical Islamic terrorism. Theres something going on. They have their reasons . . . and you understand that. Theres something going on. Notice the similarities? A suggestion of nefariousness without any evidence to back it up. The problem is this: For lots and lots of people listening to Trump, his suggestion that the media is complicit in a coverup of terrorist attacks will be taken as fact. They wont seek out context or evidence that, frankly, totally undermines his contention. Because they already believe the media to be bad/biased, they will simply take it as a fact that the media is willfully disrupting the presidents efforts to keep the country safe. The job of a leader isnt to give people what they want especially if you know (or suspect) its not entirely accurate. If Trump has evidence that the media has covered up a terrorist attack or downplayed it in any way he should come forward with it. Spicer suggested Trump will do just that, sayihng the administration will provide a list later. I look forward to that list. Without it, what Trump is doing is leveling a baseless allegation. And baseless allegations from the president of the United States are very dangerous things. Sometime today, a teenager in Tunis will check his smartphone for the latest violent video from the Islamic State. But the images that pop up first will be of a different genre: young Muslims questioning the morality of terrorists who slaughter innocents and enslave girls for sex. Dont you kill our own Muslim brothers? a mop-haired youth asks a terrorist recruiter in one animated video showing up on Arabic Facebook accounts in North Africa. So much of this, it doesnt seem right. The video is one of several paid ads that are turning up on millions of cellphones and computer screens in countries known to be top recruiting grounds for the Islamic State. The ads offer a harrowing view of life inside the self-proclaimed caliphate, sometimes with photos or cartoons and often in the words of refugees and defectors who warn others to stay away. Most of them make no mention of the ads sponsor: a small unit inside the State Department that is using guerrilla marketing tactics to wage ideological warfare against the Islamic State. U.S. officials are using Facebook profile data to find young Muslims who show an interest in jihadist causes. Then they bombard them with anti-terrorist messages that show up whenever the youths go online. Other government agencies have tried unsuccessfully to compete with militant jihadists in cyberspace. But officials at the State Departments newly formed Global Engagement Center say theyre the first to tap into the internets vast stores of personal information to discourage individual users from joining the Islamic State. You have meat-cleaver messaging large thematic campaigns with big audiences and then you have scalpel messaging, said Michael Lumpkin, a retired Navy SEAL who headed the center before stepping down last month at the start of the Trump administration. These are highly targeted messages that go to the most vulnerable audiences: people who are susceptible to recruitment. The four-month-old campaign is undergoing renewed scrutiny as the Trump administration formulates its own strategy for fighting the Islamic State. The Trump White House has pledged to accelerate efforts to defeat the Islamic State, though some senior officials also have questioned the effectiveness of government initiatives that seek to address the causes of violent extremism. The centers counter-propaganda mission, now headed by a career civil servant, was mandated by Congress under a 2016 law that increased funding for the center and expanded its mission, ensuring that the effort will continue for the immediate future. Many lawmakers, including prominent Republicans, have praised the new approach. Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, who heads the investigations panel on the Senate Homeland Security Committee, championed the legislation to expand the center, saying in December that the United States was going to confront this threat head-on. But others have expressed skepticism. Should the federal government produce and disseminate content? Is the federal bureaucracy equipped for such a fast moving fight? I suspect not, House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Rep. Edward Royce, R-Calif., asked the programs State Department overseers at a hearing last year. Some critics have also questioned whether the programs leaders would ever be able to produce quantifiable results, something thats difficult, given what they are trying to do, said Tara Maller, a former CIA military analyst and senior policy adviser for the Counter Extremism Project, a nonprofit organization that seeks to prevent terrorists use of social media. While they can target the vulnerable audience they want to capture and provide countermessaging, that is only one part of addressing the fight against extremism online, said Maller, who says she is broadly supportive of the new approach. But she said other government agencies and social-media companies must work in tandem to remove the horrific content . . . that is radicalizing individuals online every single day. State Department officials acknowledge that it may be difficult to prove that their ads dissuaded anyone from joining a terrorist group. Yet the programs reach is indisputable: The videos have been watched more than 14 million times in a campaign that started in September and is pitched mainly to only three countries Tunisia, Morocco and Saudi Arabia. The effort recently was recently expanded to include nine other countries in Europe and Asia, including France, Libya and Jordan. Other targeted countries remain secret to protect partnerships with their governments. Though the program is still in its infancy, Lumpkin and his supporters still see the potential for achieving a goal that has eluded Western governments for more than a decade: an effective and credible countermessage to jihadist propaganda online, at a cost that is minuscule by government standards. There are places in the world where it costs a fraction of a penny per click, Lumpkin said in an interview shortly before leaving his position Jan. 20. For $15,000 you can buy an audience. And you make sure youre hitting them with the best information based on their profiles. Thats good business. The Global Engagement Center was intentionally designed to emulate a Silicon Valley start-up, and months into its creation, it retains the same edgy, bare-bones feel. The entire workforce numbers just over 70 people, crammed into a cluster of offices at the State Department. The online ads program was designed by two computer whizzes, ages 36 and 28, who were recruited from the National Security Agency. Lumpkin, the energetic 52-year-old California native who started the unit, was picked by President Barack Obama to serve as a kind of entrepreneurial chief executive. Admired by former military colleagues for his skills as a fixer, the former SEAL and Special Operations commander was earlier tapped by the White House to lead the Pentagons response to the Ebola epidemic in West Africa in 2014. Before that, he helped secure Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahls release from Taliban captivity and managed crises for Veterans Affairs and the Defense Departments troubled POW accounting program. Gen. Joseph Votel, the four-star who heads U.S. Central Command, praised Lumpkin and called his work on opposing the Islamic States propaganda absolutely vital. There is a lot we can do kinetically, but lasting success will only be found when we diminish ISILs allure in the eyes of potential recruits, Votel said in an email. ISIS and ISIL are common English acronyms for the Islamic State. In his new role, Lumpkin was put in charge of a portion of the governments counterterrorism operations noted mostly for its stumbles. A previous incarnation of the unit, called the Center for Strategic Counterterrorism Communications, was quietly shut down in 2015 after coming under criticism for producing videos such as Welcome to ISIS Land, an attempt at parodying the Islamic States brutal propaganda. The video, which bore the State Departments logo, was widely panned by terrorism experts as clumsy and ineffective. Government is not great at messaging, said Richard Stengel, the former undersecretary for public diplomacy during Obamas second term, describing a hard-learned lesson of the programs earlier efforts. Anything that was seen as coming from the State Department not only didnt work, but could be used by the other side as a recruiting tool. Department officials instead began shifting their focus to working with allied governments in the region, he said, assisting them in developing homegrown messaging campaigns designed for local audiences. Upon his arrival at the department early last year, Lumpkin was surprised to discover that much of the State Departments countermessaging still was done in English, and without the kind of data analysis needed to test whether the approaches were working. Some campaigns were little more than running Twitter battles in which moderate imams would try to challenge the extremists on theological grounds, he said. Youre not going to convince die-hard jihadists, Lumpkin said. We were not resonating with the audiences that we needed to resonate with. We needed to engage with people who havent yet joined ISIL. Its how you starve them of recruits. Lumpkin, who ran a defense contracting firm after retiring from the Navy, looked to private industry for technical help and inspiration, quickly finding an array of eager new partners and advisers. Jigsaw, the technology incubator created by Google, had just launched a pilot program to counter jihadist propaganda on the Google-owned video-sharing site YouTube. Under this program, called Redirect, YouTube users who searched for Islamic State videos would automatically encounter video advertisements denouncing the terrorist group. Lumpkins team adopted a similar approach that targets Facebook users, specifically young Muslims in countries heavily recruited by the Islamic State. By buying ads on Facebook something never before attempted in this way the officials found that they could tap into vast troves of data about the interests and browsing habits of legions of Facebook users, allowing them to pinpoint individuals who showed an affinity for jihadists groups and causes. Compared to the State Departments earlier efforts, the ads that began popping up on Facebook pages in September are strikingly different: nearly always in Arabic or another local language, bearing market-tested messages that make no mention of their U.S. government sponsor. Each day, the team monitors the response to different variations of the ads in real time, measuring how often each is viewed, and for how long. Lumpkin discovered quickly that the appeal of different messages varied from one region to another. In locales with strong tribal traditions, appeals to family and duty seem to resonate. In others, its the testimony of defectors, supplied mostly by partner agencies. Their disillusionment reveals the true nature of ISIL, including harsh conditions that the groups propaganda videos never talk about, Lumpkin said. Defectors are among the most credible and capable messengers out there, he said. There are many of them, and they come in different forms. Lumpkin said he believes the messages are helping to change young minds, pointing to sharply falling recruitment rates by the Islamic State in recent months. But he acknowledges that the link is difficult to prove, as the falloff is occurring at a time when the militants are in retreat on the battlefield. How do you know they didnt join because of you? Thats where it gets difficult, Lumpkin said. And yet, he argues, the effort remains a critical one for a reason that has long been apparent to terrorism experts around the globe: Extremist ideologies cant be defeated with conventional weapons alone. Were not going to message our way out of this conflict; nor are we going to kill our way out, Lumpkin said. We have to have a layered and balanced approach. Nearly 450 former Environmental Protection Agency employees Monday urged Congress to reject President Trumps nominee to run the agency, Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt, even as current employees in Chicago sent the same message during a noon rally. We retirees, we tend to like to lay low. But this has gotten a bunch of us quite concerned, said Bruce Buckheit, whose three decades in government included working in the EPAs enforcement division under the Clinton and George W. Bush administrations. Republicans have defended Pruitt as a capable leader who will return the agency to its core mission of protecting the environment while rolling back what they see as years of regulatory overreach that has unnecessarily burdened industry. A coalition of nearly two dozen conservative advocacy groups has backed his nomination, insisting that Pruitt has demonstrated his commitment to upholding the Constitution and ensuring the EPA works for American families and consumers. Buckheit was among the former agency officials who signed onto Mondays letter imploring senators to vote against confirming Pruitt because of his opposition to EPA in recent years. In lawsuits, Pruitt has challenged the agencys legal authority to regulate toxic mercury pollution, smog, carbon emissions from power plants and the quality of wetlands and other waters. Our perspective is not partisan, the group wrote, noting that many of the 447 names on the letter had served as career employees under both Republican and Democratic administrations. However, every EPA Administrator has a fundamental obligation to act in the publics interest based on current law and the best available science. Mr. Pruitts record raises serious questions about whose interests he has served to date and whether he agrees with the long-standing tenets of U.S. environmental law. The former officials said Pruitt has gone to disturbing lengths to advance the views and interests of business a reference to his close ties to the fossil fuel industry, with which he often has sided in his cases against the EPA. By contrast, there is little or no evidence of Mr. Pruitt taking initiative to protect and advance public health and environmental protection in his state. The controversial nomination advanced out of a Senate committee last week after Republicans used their majority to suspend committee rules and approve Pruitt despite the absence of all Democrats, who boycotted the nomination vote partly because of his anti-regulatory bent. He could be approved by the full Senate as early as this week. Opposition to Pruitt from environmental groups and congressional Democrats has only grown more vehement since his confirmation hearing last month, in which he declined to say whether he would recuse himself from his ongoing cases against the EPA if confirmed as the agencys new leader. In addition to those legal attacks, opponents have pointed to his substantial financial support from the oil and gas industry and his views on climate change as reasons he should not lead the agency charged with protecting the air and water of all Americans. Even though the EPA was created under Richard Nixon, the agencys employees have clashed in the past with Republican leaders, particularly under the Reagan and George W. Bush administrations. But the prospect of Pruitts arrival has particularly shaken many employees, current as well as former, who fear that the agencys authority could be undermined, its workforce slashed and important regulations weakened under his watch. In an unusual move, EPA employees in the agencys Region 5 office, headquartered in Chicago, participated in a downtown rally during their lunch hour on Monday and called on the Senate to reject the nomination and any efforts to roll back the agencys authorities. Although it was unclear exactly how many currently employees attended Mondays rally, both career employees and members of two advocacy groups, the Sierra Club and People for Community Recovery, demonstrated at the citys Federal Plaza. More than 100 people showed up for the event, carrying signs that read, Save the EPA,Science is Real and We want clean air and clean water! Organizer Nicole Cantello, chief steward of American Federation of Government Employees Local 704, said employees are alarmed by Pruitts nomination and Trumps environmental rhetoric overall. People are worried about losing their jobs because administration is interested in dismantling, or downsizing in the extreme, the EPA, she said. Agency officials had sent out an ethics advisory that gave current employees guidance on what they could and could not do when acting for their free speech rights, Cantello added. Judith Enck, an Obama appointee who recently left her post as head of the Region 2 office, said she had never seen the level of concern at EPA that Im seeing today. Enck signed Mondays letter because Trumps choice of Pruitt is an unprecedented assault on environmental protection, she said, not just on EPA as an agency, but on our countrys ability to enjoy clean air, clean water and a logical agenda on climate change. President Donald Trump himself has said the environmental regulations put in place under President Obama are a disgrace. A key official helping with the Trump transition has suggested the agencys workforce be cut from about 15,000 employees to 5,000. And a bill introduced by a freshman Republican congressman from Florida last week would dissolve the EPA altogether. VIDEO: At his confirmation hearing, President-elect Trumps Environmental Protection Agency administrator nominee Scott Pruitt outlined his plan for the agency. (The Washington Post) http://wapo.st/2iSRF1W Embed code: CHARLESTON -- Ahmed Salim Nuhu was emboldened as a Muslim by the outcry of support in the wake of President Donald Trumps travel ban. Nuhu, an international Eastern Illinois University student from Ghana, said he was moved by the support he saw for him and the other people of his faith on social media and through videos of protests at airports across the country. I saw for the first time, Muslims praying in the airport and you had people standing around them to protect them, Nuhu said. It has brought up some sympathy for Muslims... People are not really falling for the message he wants to preach. I think we will continue to see the positive sides of whatever is happening rather than see it as an attack on us. These protests were ignited after Trump made a move to ban people from seven countries from coming into the country. These Muslim-majority countries are Iraq, Iran, Sudan, Syria, Libya, Somalia and Yemen. While the travel ban was not specifically listed as a ban on Muslims, criticism of the presidents intentions with the ban has been brought up, largely by Democrats with some Republican scrutiny also over how it was handled. A swell of Islamic support rang out in even the local area, at least in Urbana, according to another local Muslim. When attending the Central Illinois Mosque & Islamic Center in Urbana, Toqeer Israr, EIU technology assistant professor, said he noticed four women from a nearby church standing outside the mosque with doughnut boxes. He said the women were welcoming him and his family in the mosque, saying, You belong here. You are part of our community. We literally got so humbled, Israr said. Any fears or worries that we had (in relation to the ban) was just elevated off of us... Because of these people, we don't need to worry about (the ban) too much. These were the stories that came up in several conversations among Muslims at an Eastern Muslim Association sermon Friday on the travel ban. Those who spoke said the travel ban was worrying not from the perspective of their faith but from their perspective as immigrants. Nuhu said he thought part of the understanding that it was a deliberate move against Muslims probably stemmed from the presidents rhetoric against Muslims in the past, specifically during his campaign last year. Israr saw the ban as suspicious in how the president went about implementing it without recent specific justification for the countries chosen, however, he did not see it as a ban on Muslims specifically. Md Fazlul Karim, EIU biological sciences grad assistant, saw it more as a worrying move from the presidential administration because of the effects it might have on the scientists and intellectuals seeking to come into this country. This is total disappointment, Karim said. How can you flourish when you put some ban or trouble on the scientist? Karim said Trump's policies and the image around the policies are scaring off intellectual people who were considering furthering their education in American universities. Karim referenced a few people he has heard of that were planning on pursuing higher levels of education in the U.S. and are now considering finishing their education in another more open country. It is a disappointment for the whole world, Karim said. They can't ban the student. He said he just does not see Trump's executive order as a productive move. Nuhu said he understood the intentions of the ban -- to keep the country safe -- however, he thought the way in which Trump sought to do so was unwarranted and not well thought out. Fawad Manzoor, local engineer, said he did not see the ban as much of a change from how the country has treated other countries from these areas in the past. Manzoor said he did not see much of difference between the extreme vetting that immigrants have already had to go through and the ban. None of those who spoke would be affected by the ban as it stands now, however, students at EIU could be affected should they leave and want to return. Manzoor's issues with the ban stem largely from what it could mean for immigrants in the future under this administration. He said there is just a lot of uncertainty in what will happen next. Israr said he is less worried about the ban and more worried about possible other changes in immigration policy that could potentially affect him and his family later down the line. Israr said it too soon to judge what the new administration is thinking at this point. There is no history right now with President Trump, he said. It is foolish to judge a person just based on a first impression. If the presidents plan is to lift the ban, hopefully it will be lifted in 90 days, Israr said. Most recently, the Department of Homeland Security halted any and all action in relation to the ban, according to the New York Times, pending federal court action. President Donald Trump appears to be laying the groundwork to preemptively shift blame for any future terrorist attack on U.S. soil from his administration to the federal judiciary, as well as to the media. In recent tweets, Trump personally attacked James Robart, a U.S. district judge in Washington state, for putting our country in such peril with his ruling that temporarily blocked enforcement of the administrations ban on all refugees as well as citizens of seven majority-Muslim countries from entering the United States. If something happens blame him and the court system. People pouring in. Bad! Trump wrote in a tweet Sunday. Then on Monday, Trump seemed to spread that blame to include news organizations. In a speech to the U.S. Central Command, the president accused the media of failing to report on some terrorist attacks for what he implied were nefarious reasons. ISIS is on a campaign of genocide, committing atrocities across the world, Trump told commanders at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, using an acronym for the Islamic State terrorist group. He added: Youve seen what happened in Paris and Nice. All over Europe its happening. Its gotten to a point where its not even being reported. And in many cases, the very, very dishonest press doesnt want to report it. They have their reasons and you understand that. News organizations have reported extensively about terrorist attacks around the world, including the two in France mentioned by the president. Trump did not offer a single example of an attack that had gone unreported to support his accusation. White House press secretary Sean Spicer sought to clarify Trumps remarks, telling reporters traveling on Air Force One that the president believes some terrorist attacks have been underreported. He felt members of the media dont always cover some of those events to the extent that other events might get covered, Spicer said. Protests will get blown out of the water, and yet an attack or a foiled attack doesnt necessarily get the same coverage. Late Monday, the White House released a list of 78 terrorist attacks worldwide since September 2014, after the Islamic State declared its caliphate, and argued that most of them were not widely reported. Carl Bildt, a former prime minister of Sweden, tweeted a response to Trumps remarks: Trump in Tampa speech claims that terror attacks all over Europe are so frequent that media no longer reports them. Thats ludicrous. Trumps terrorism blame-game is in keeping with how he ran his campaign, looking for scapegoats at nearly every turn. He often blamed his own failings a poor debate performance or a gaffe or a primary loss on the media or other perceived enemies, and he fed his own conspiracies that his adversaries were out to undermine him. Trump acts instinctively rather than strategically, said David Frum, a senior editor at the Atlantic and a White House speechwriter under President George W. Bush who is sharply critical of Trump. His instinct to pass blame is very strong. I dont know whether people will succumb to this. Trumps approach is not without risk. He could come across to many Americans as thin-skinned if he skirts the responsibilities of being commander in chief and looks to assign blame to outside forces. Jennifer Palmieri, a Democrat who served as communications director on Hillary Clintons 2016 presidential campaign and in the Obama White House, said Trump is using the tactics of authoritarian leaders. Hes behaving like a demagogue, Palmieri said. Its chilling because the president of the United States should be responsible for keeping the American people safe but is seeking to preemptively blame a judge. She added: If an attack happens on American soil when hes commander in chief, then hes responsible. Its chilling to see the president of the United States almost wish for an attack for the purpose of blaming somebody else. In the days since Robarts ruling last Friday night, Trump sent nine tweets about the judge and stoking fear that suddenly the door had been opened for terrorists to enter the country and cause death & destruction. The judge opens up our country to potential terrorists and others that do not have our best interests at heart. Bad people are very happy! the president said in one tweet sent Saturday night. In his commentary, Trump has ignored the screening measures and other counterterrorism precautions that have long been in place by U.S. customs and border officials. Asked whether the White House had evidence of Islamic militants pouring in to the country, a phrase Trump used in at least two tweets, Spicer said only: Im not going to get into specific information that the president has. Trumps comments came after one of his top White House aides invoked a nonexistent terrorist attack to justify Trumps travel ban. Kellyanne Conway, who serves as counselor to the president, cited the Bowling Green massacre in an interview last week on MSNBC. She had been referring to attempts in 2011 by two Iraqi citizens, living in Bowling Green, Kentucky, to send weapons to al-Qaida in Iraq. Conway later acknowledged her error and said she had misspoken by calling it a massacre instead of a terrorist plot. Trump also sought to diminish the credibility of Robart, calling him a so-called judge. Although presidents at times critique judicial rulings, they rarely take personal swipes at individual members of the federal bench. Trumps breach of protocol could have a chilling affect on the judiciary, which constitutionally rules independently of the executive branch. Lawmakers of both parties took issue with Trumps attack on Robart. I dont understand language like that, Sen. Ben Sasse, R-Neb., said Sunday on ABC. We dont have so-called judges. We dont have so-called senators. We dont have so-called presidents. We have people from three different branches of government who take an oath to uphold and defend the Constitution. PITTSBURGH Two weeks after child welfare workers removed four children from a womans suburban Pittsburgh home in June for alleged neglect, they discovered an even bigger problem: The woman has two other children who are missing, and havent been seen alive for more than a decade. Since the summer, police investigators have cast a wide net for twins Ivon and Inisha, who would be about 18 now. A county detective has testified he believes the children are dead but cant prove it. A cadaver-sniffing dog came up empty during a search of another Pittsburgh area house in December. Patricia Fowler was arrested in August on charges of concealing the whereabouts of her twins after police investigated following the removal of four of her other children. Fowler has claimed the children are safe and living out of state, but no information shes provided to police has panned out, authorities said. Shes been free on bail. As police try to solve the mystery, they have filed additional charges against Fowler, 47, accusing her of illegally collecting more than $50,000 in state food stamps, public assistance and medical benefits for the twins. As of Friday, she had not yet surrendered on the new counts, which include theft. A criminal complaint filed Wednesday said she had been collecting benefits for the twins since June 2011, and continued doing so through the end of August weeks after police charged her with concealing the twins whereabouts. Her public defender would not comment, citing an office policy to not commenting on pending investigations. Fowler has changed her story several times regarding the whereabouts of Ivon and Inisha. Shes told police the two children are living with friends or relatives in North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia, only to have the names and addresses shes provided not check out, or have relatives tell police theyve never heard of the twins. Police said one out-of-state address provided by Fowler turned out to be a vacant storefront, and one Georgia city she named didnt exist. At one point, Fowler even told police she sold the children years ago for $2,000 each to a woman she didnt know in a deal brokered by a man she met in a bar. She reversed course and told police that was a lie. Police have unsuccessfully checked with the National Center of Missing and Exploited Children, which in September released age-progressed images showing what the twins may look like now. Other databases in various states provide no evidence that the twins ever attended school. In my professional opinion, I believe theyve met their demise, lead Allegheny County detective Michael Kuma testified at Fowlers preliminary hearing on the concealment charges in October. The detective said this week he cant comment on the ongoing investigation. Fowlers son, Datwon, 19, remains jailed on charges he conspired with his mother to hide his twin siblings from authorities. Datwon texted police at his mothers behest back in August, pretending to be Ivon and saying that he and Inisha were safe and sound and living out of state, police said. But GPS tracked the phone to the home Datwon shares with his mother, and he confessed to the ruse. Datwons attorney, Richard McCague, said he believes the new charges are an effort to put Fowler behind bars like her son. They dont have a complaint about child abuse and they dont have a body indicating someone has died. They believe these children are dead but they cant prove it, McCague said. Under those circumstances, what else can they charge mom with? Correction: The Albuquerque Police Department had incorrectly said a woman who was with the suspect was arrested and charged. This post has been modified to reflect the update. The man accused of shooting and killing his neighbor Sunday morning was arrested after a SWAT stand-off in Espanola around 7:30 a.m. Monday, according to police. Raymond Ortiz, 27, was arrested in the murder of Tony Morgan, 50, according to a statement on the City of Albuquerques website. Morgan had been found lying dead in the middle of Ivy Place, near Coors and Bridge SW Sunday, according to officer Simon Drobik, a spokesman for the Albuquerque Police Department. Witnesses had told detectives they saw the two men arguing and then saw Ortiz fire at Morgan, hit him, and leave the area, Drobik said. Ortiz was found in a Motel 6 in Espanola, according to Fred Duran, an APD spokesman. He didnt answer questions about if detectives had been tipped off to his location but said they did an outstanding job. New Mexico State Police and APDs SWAT team took Ortiz into custody, and he was booked into the Santa Fe County Jail. Federal prosecutors in Baltimore are expected to seek an indictment as early as this week against a former National Security Agency contractor who is accused of carrying out the biggest theft of classified information in U.S. history. The indictment against Harold T. Martin III is expected to contain charges of violating the Espionage Act by willfully retaining information that relates to the national defense, including classified data such as NSA hacking tools and operational plans against a known enemy of the United States, according to individuals familiar with the case. Martin, 52, was arrested Aug. 29 at his home in Glen Burnie, Maryland, and he has been held in a detention facility since. A U.S. District Judge last fall declined Martins request to be released from jail pending an eventual trial or resolution of the case, ruling that he was a flight risk. In a complaint unsealed in October, the government charged Martin with felony theft of government property and the unauthorized removal and retention of classified materials, a misdemeanor. The prosecutors said then that they expected that the indictment would also include charges of violations of the Espionage Act, offenses that carry a prison term of up to 10 years for each count. Such charges, prosecutors said, if run consecutively, could amount to a sentence as high as 30 years to life in prison. The Justice Department declined to comment Monday. In court hearings and filings, prosecutors have characterized Martins actions as highly damaging to national security. Over the course of 20 years working with various federal agencies, Martin took irreplaceable classified material on a breathtaking scale, said Zachary A. Myers, an Assistant U.S. Attorney with the District of Maryland, at a detention hearing in October. Myers said Martin took many thousands of pages of classified material as well as 50 terabytes of digital data, much of which has special handling caveats. Martin previously worked in the Navy, leaving active duty in 1992 and then held a variety of tech jobs with government contractors. He worked at the NSA from 2012 to 2015, where he was an employee of the intelligence contractor Booz Allen Hamilton. For some portion of that time, Martin was in the NSAs elite hacker unit, Tailored Access Operations, which makes and deploys software used to penetrate foreign targets computer networks for foreign espionage purposes. Some U.S. officials said that Martin allegedly made off with more than 75 percent of TAOs library of hacking tools an allegation which, if true, would be a stunning breach of security. James Wyda, one of Martins defense attorneys, declined to comment. His attorneys have previously portrayed him as a patriot who took material home to become better in his job, not to pass them to a foreign spy agency and betray his country. The desire to improve became a compulsion, Wyda argued at the detention hearing. This is the behavior of a compulsive hoarder who could not stop gathering and possessing the documents he treasured, Wyda said. Martins theft was discovered more than a year after another breach at TAO, in which a long-time employee was discovered to have taken without authorization significant quantities of the units hacking tools. The breach was not thought to be as serious as Martins, but it did cause concern within the intelligence community. While much of the rest of the country was settling in for the Super Bowl on Sunday night, a group of senior Obama administration officials was putting the finishing touches on an unprecedented legal brief charging President Donald Trump with endangering national security. Signed by former President Barack Obamas national security adviser, his top counterterrorism aide and his secretary of state, as well as other senior security officials from the past three administrations, the brief was filed in support of Fridays federal court ruling that froze Trumps executive order on immigration. The filing called the order ill-conceived, poorly implemented and ill-explained, and said there was little evidence it had been analyzed by policy professionals before Trump signed it. On Monday, Trump called reports of wide public disapproval of the order lies and fake news. While the brief contended that the order was signed without input from intelligence, law enforcement and diplomats, Trump tweeted that he acted largely based on an accumulation of data. Signatories to the brief are part of a nascent movement seeking to match ongoing public protests with the efforts of former government insiders who are willing to formally challenge Trump administration words and actions. Most of the participants are former Obama officials, but they include some diplomatic, military, White House and Cabinet-level officials from the administrations of George W. Bush and Bill Clinton. Obama himself offered his support for protest, in a statement three days after Trumps Jan. 27 order, that called on all citizens . . . to be guardians of our democracy and have their voices heard. On the same day, more than 100 former diplomats, government and military officials signed a letter urging top officials at the Departments of State, Homeland Security and Justice to use their discretion in implementing the directive to mitigate its effects. Using technology that was far less prevalent when Obama took office in 2009, some former officials have taken to Twitter, Trumps favored means of mass communication, to counter the new administration. Im not aware of any U.S. President ever discussing campaigns and voting data when talking to Americans in uniform, Benjamin Rhodes, an Obama deputy national security adviser, tweeted minutes after Trump began his Monday remarks to the U.S. Central Command in Tampa by thanking military members for voting for him. I saw those numbers, and you liked me, and I liked you, Trump said. Colin Kahl, former vice president Joe Bidens national security adviser, tweeted last week to deny that a chaotic raid by U.S. Special Operations forces in Yemen, which left one service member and a number of civilians dead, had been initially approved by Obama. Trump and his team owns the process and the ultimate decision and the consequences, Kahl said. Seeking to build on the model of the now-defunct National Security Network, a group of progressive Democrats espousing pragmatic and principled national security policies formed after John Kerrys loss in the 2004 election, Obama officials led by former Homeland Security Department acting secretary Rand Beers, former Defense Department official Vikram Singh and Jake Sullivan, a senior White House and State Department adviser who joined Hillary Clintons campaign, have been gathering adherents and seeking funding. With guidance from that group, the immigration brief was written by Harold Hongju Koh, a Yale Law School professor and former dean, who served as a State Department legal adviser during Obamas first term. Working with students and professors at Yales Rule of Law Clinic, Koh drafted the statement Saturday, the morning after a 9th Circuit federal judge in Washington state ordered a stay on all action under Trumps order. The administration has appealed the ruling. Signers exchanged drafts and added points until shortly before the brief was filed late Sunday night. My purpose [in signing] was pretty narrow, Michael Hayden, who served as Bushs National Security Agency head and CIA director, said in an email. From my point of view and experience, the intelligence did not warrant such a dramatic step as Trumps executive order, Hayden said. Bottom line: didnt solve a real problem and actually made the overall situation worse. Four of the 10 signers Kerry, who served as Obamas secretary of state; national security adviser Susan Rice and her deputy, Avril Haines; and chief counterterrorism adviser Lisa Monaco were current on active intelligence regarding all credible terrorist threat streams directed against the U.S. as recently as one week before the order was issued. We all agree that the United States faces real threats, it read, but we are nevertheless unaware of any specific threat that would justify the travel ban it included. In our professional opinion, this order cannot be justified on national security or foreign policy grounds. In addition to disrupting lives, there is no national security purpose for an order that, they wrote, will endanger U.S. troops in the field; disrupt key counterterrorism, foreign policy, and national security partnerships that are critical to counterterrorism operations; endanger intelligence sources in the field; feed recruitment of the Islamic State and other extremists; and disrupt ongoing law enforcement efforts. Other former officials who signed the brief include defense secretary and CIA director Leon Panetta, secretary of state Madeleine Albright, Homeland Security secretary Janet Napolitano and acting CIA directors John McLaughlin and Michael Morell. SANTA FE The New Mexico Legislative Council is suing the contractor that built the state Capitols parking deck alleging negligence and breach of contract, asserting that several studies found areas in and around the deck were sinking due to moisture in the ground below the structure. A civil complaint filed in Santa Fe District Court Thursday says Albuquerque-based construction company Gerald A. Martin Ltd., failed to follow the recommendations of two geotechnical engineering studies, one of which took place before construction began in 2008, to prevent moisture from collecting in the ground at the site. The Legislative Council, the Legislatures main staff group, is asking the court to require the Martin firm to cover an estimated $900,000 in repairs, costs to investigate the geotechnical conditions under the structure and court and attorney fees. No one from Gerald Martin could be reached by phone late Monday. According to the complaint, a project manager with the Property Control Division of the state General Services Department did an inspection in January 2013 and found that the office and the janitor closet walls in the parking structure were sinking and that the interior slab in certain areas had settled 1 to 1inches. The engineer concluded that there will undoubtedly be additional settlement which could eventually cause more costly structural damage, the complaint says. A June 2014 inspection found floor slabs had dropped by about 2 inches. Six months earlier, the structural engineer recommended that Gerald A. Martin act swiftly to alleviate the concerns, but the Martin firm undertook no action either to investigate or ameliorate the cause of the settlement, the complaint says. The Property Control Division wrote to the CEO of Gerald A. Martin in December 2014 and said the settlement issues with 580-space, $13 million structure were now deemed critical for the structure. Gerald Martin has refused and continues to refuse to acknowledge its responsibility to remedy the construction defects, the suit states. The tax on beer sold in New Mexico would increase 7.5-fold in July under a proposal introduced last week at the Roundhouse. Sen. Cisco McSorley, D, Albuquerque, is the sponsor of the legislation, Senate Bill 314, which would raise the excise taxes on beer, wine, cider and spirits. The beer tax rate would climb the most, jumping to $3.08 from 41 cents per gallon, sparking concern from the local brewing industry. An exception that assesses lower tax rates on craft brewers would remain in place up to a certain threshold. But local beer-makers would be subject to the higher rate once they sell more than 15,000 barrels per year in the state. Most New Mexico breweries now make less than 15,000 barrels, but New Mexico Brewers Guild Executive Director John Gozigian said the bill could have the unintended consequence of thwarting growth. Basically, just when a brewery is at a point where theyre going to start exporting and creating economic base jobs is when they really get hit, Gozigian said. Marble Brewery President Ted Rice who expects his Albuquerque company to make 25,000 barrels of beer this year said passage would hurt Marbles market competitiveness, force the company to raise prices at its taprooms and limit his ability to raise pay for his 110 employees. He called the proposed hike just so over-the-top and extremely unreasonable. McSorley has not returned messages from the Journal . The guild wants to arrange a meeting with McSorley to discuss the industrys concerns, which Gozigian said also include a plan to raise taxes on all cider a product many local breweries also manufacture to $3.08 from 41 cents, regardless of the amount produced. The bill also would raise the excise tax on spirits to $7.24 per liter from $1.60. The wine tax would increase to $2.14 per liter from 45 cents. However, the lower rates currently in place for local wineries would not change until they make and sell more than 1.5 million liters. Meanwhile, the measure also includes a provision adjusting the excise tax rate based on changes to the consumer price index rate for the Western region starting in 2021. Critics of the legislation may have a backstop, as Gov. Susana Martinez has vowed to veto any tax increases approved by the Legislature. SANTA FE A national credit rating agency has expressed concern about passage of a solvency bill that reduces funding for most New Mexico school districts. In a credit outlook released Monday, Moodys Investor Service warned that the states decision to reduce funding for school districts for the second time in four months schools also faced spending cuts in a special session last fall could put districts on precarious financial footing. Continued declines in state aid risk further narrowing cash reserves, which may result in downgrades across the sector, the Moodys report said. The bill in question one of three solvency bills signed into law last week by Gov. Susana Martinez calls for reducing funding for most New Mexico school districts by a total of roughly $46 million. It specifically requires districts to offset the reduction out of cash balances. The states largest school district, Albuquerque Public Schools, will receive the biggest hit of roughly $12.5 million under the legislation, which exempts school districts with cash balances of less than 3 percent. The Martinez administration has insisted the bill should not lead to school closures or teacher layoffs and will not affect classroom spending. However, that claim has been challenged by school district officials and teachers union representatives, who say the money is critical to day-to-day operations. In its Monday credit outlook report, Moodys said that school districts have limited ability to increase their revenue levels and that districts may be wary of increasing their cash reserves in the future due to the states action. Martinez had initially called for $120 million to be taken out of school district reserves, but lawmakers opted for a smaller amount after lengthy debate and push-back from some legislators. It does little good to pass a solvency bill that creates insolvency, said Rep. Dennis Roch, R-Logan, who is superintendent of Logan Municipal Schools, during debate on the measure last month. New Mexicos top credit rating has already been downgraded once due to budget concerns as plummeting oil and natural gas prices have led to lower-than-expected revenue collections for two straight years. Lawmakers are bracing for more belt-tightening in the coming fiscal years and some have expressed concern about additional credit rating downgrades. SANTA FE A former Santa Fe mayor called the nations only Latina governor a racist in comments to a crowd advocating for immigrant families Monday at the state Capitol rotunda. Former Mayor David Coss started his remarks during the Immigrant Day of Action rally by saying that the morning after Novembers presidential election, he was glad to wake up in New Mexico a state that rejected the racism of Donald Trump, that rejected the racism of Susana Martinez, a comment that drew some of the loudest cheers at the more than hourlong rally. Coss added that people have told him not to call people racist because it makes them angry. Well, you know what? When youre a racist and you try to implement racist policies in my community, it makes me angry. A spokesman for Gov. Susana Martinez later termed the former mayors comments as sad and ignorant. Coss, who served as Santa Fes mayor from 2006 to 2014, was referring to the governors efforts over the years to stop the state from issuing drivers licenses to undocumented immigrants. We just finished six years where New Mexico fell further and further and further behind economically. And what do we do? We chase immigrant families around, trying to take their drivers licenses away because we said they were dangerous. That was racist, and that was wrong, Coss said to another round of applause from the gathering of about 200 people. Martinez, twice elected governor in a state where Hispanics make up about half the population, signed a compromise bill last year that allows undocumented immigrants to acquire limited driving authorization cards, but not federally recognized Real ID drivers licenses. Asked to respond to Coss comments, Chris Sanchez, a spokesman for the governor, said, Mr. Coss inflammatory remarks about the nations first Hispanic woman governor are sad and ignorant, particularly since the overwhelming majority of Hispanics in New Mexico supported her initiative to end the dangerous practice of giving drivers licenses to illegal immigrants. A Journal poll taken a year before she signed the compromise measure showed that 70 percent of registered voters polled opposed a law that allows drivers licenses to be issued to undocumented immigrants. https://abqjournal.com/944189/council-urged-to-citys-diversity.html The Immigrant Day of Action rally an annual event put on by Somos Un Pueblo Unido, a Santa Fe-based nonprofit that advocates for immigrant rights happened to fall on a day when attorneys were due to file arguments in the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco for and against the constitutionality of Trumps recent executive order to temporarily restrict travelers from seven predominantly Muslim countries. New Mexico Attorney General Hector Balderas was one of more than a dozen attorneys general from across the country who filed briefs opposing the restrictions. None of the other speakers at Mondays rally mentioned the governor, and Coss later said that he doesnt know whats in her heart but that she has supported racist policies. Several other speakers, including Sen. Tom Udall, D-N.M., who was in town to address the Legislature, spoke against Trumps immigration policy and divisive rhetoric. Anti-immigration rhetoric is wrong, and were not going to tolerate it, Udall said. Udall also condemned what he called Trumps illegal and unconstitutional Muslim ban. Dozens of speakers urged councilors Monday to approve a measure that many agree would have largely symbolic value reaffirming Albuquerque as an immigrant-friendly city. The memorial, introduced Monday by four city councilors, would reaffirm Albuquerques commitment to diversity and immigrant friendly status, and seek to calm uncertainty and fear among immigrants and refugees since the election of a new administration. Councilors did not discuss the memorial on Monday, the day it was introduced. The council will begin discussing the measure at its Feb. 22 meeting. We are really living in fear, Samia Assed, a member of Albuquerques Muslim community, told councilors. Assed said people have expressed hostility toward her in public because she wears a hijab, or Muslim head covering. Even though it is symbolic, it is really needed at this time, she said of the memorial. https://abqjournal.com/944160/former-santa-fe-ne-zduring-rally.html In December 2000, city lawmakers voted 9-0 to declare Albuquerque an immigrant-friendly city and barred the use of city resources to identify undocumented workers or apprehend people on the basis of immigration status. The memorial introduced Monday by councilors Isaac Benton, Klarissa Pena, Pat Davis and Diane Gibson restates much of the language included in the 2000 resolution, which is still in effect. It also states that governments need to allay a sense of uncertainty and fear among many communities because of a recent order signed by President Donald Trump. On Jan. 25, Trump signed an executive order intended to fast-track construction of a U.S.-Mexico border wall. It also ordered cuts in federal grants for immigrant-protecting sanctuary cities, and a boost in the number of border patrol agents and immigration officers, pending congressional funding. Nearly all of the dozens of speakers at the City Council chambers Monday favored the memorial, and many cited the fearfulness felt by immigrants and refugees. People do not want to interact with the legal system when there is a threat of deportation hanging over their heads, said Juliann Salinas, associate director of Enlace Comunitario, which advocates for immigrants who are victims of domestic violence. Salinas said many immigrant women who have been victims of domestic violence are afraid to contact police. Gibson responded that public safety suffers when immigrants fear contact with police. This has a real impact on the city and the county as a whole because we are not prosecuting people who should be prosecuted, Gibson said. Two Archdiocese of Santa Fe priests read a statement from Archbishop John C. Wester in support of immigrants and refugees. The Rev. Vincent Chavez of Albuquerque, reading from the statement, called on New Mexicans to stand shoulder to shoulder with those who are legitimately afraid of separation from other family members. Councilor Trudy Jones said after the meeting that she opposes the memorial, which she called a political statement with no real effect. In reality, it does nothing but make a statement on TV, Jones said. She and Councilor Brad Winter said subsequent legislation has tempered the 16-year-old resolution, giving police authority to determine the immigration status of a person arrested for a crime. I believe that, if someone is a criminal, police have a right to enquire into their immigration status, Jones said. Peter Simonson, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of New Mexico, told councilors that cities have legal protections for policies that support immigrant communities. In particular, the U.S. Constitution prohibits the federal government from commandeering local law enforcement officers to enforce federal policies, Simonson said. CHARLESTON (JG-TC) -- Eastern Illinois University students plan to organize again in opposition to President Donald Trump, this time with a focus on his immigration policies. Those from the EIU College Democrats are scheduled to march in opposition of Trump's travel ban and his border wall plans Thursday. According to a social media post by the EIU group, they and any others interested in participating will be marching at 4 p.m. that day from the Doudna Steps to Old Main on campus. Before they actually march toward Old Main, "speakers" will be at the event to voice support of "marginalized communities affected by his actions," according to the group. The Solidarity March, as it is described on social media, is intended to "show our opposition to the bigotry of President Donald Trump's recent executive orders." Those interested in participating are encouraged to create signs if they wish for the event. A local advocacy group for transgender people says the Boy Scouts of America is on the right side of history after changing its membership policy to allow transgender children who identify as males to enroll in its scouting programs. The national Boy Scouts organization announced last week it will no longer rely on the gender listed on a childs birth certificate for enrollment in single-gender programs and instead will use the gender indicated on membership applications. Adrien Lawyer, co-director of the Albuquerque-based Transgender Resource Center of New Mexico, welcomed the policy change. We congratulate the Boy Scouts of America on making the right decision, said Lawyer. It puts them on the right side of history. He noted that the Albuquerque Public Schools also has new directives this year that give strong guidance on how to treat transgender students in the district. Chris Shelby, scout executive for the Great Southwest Council of Boy Scouts, said New Mexico program directors have told him its too early to tell how the new policy will affect local scouting troops. Statistically, a small percentage of the population is transgender, so I dont know what the demand will be for transgender scouting, but whatever it is, we will accommodate them and welcome them into our program, he said. Shelby added that the New Mexico council had never asked to see a birth certificate, although the gender question is asked on membership applications because the council also offers co-ed programs. The moves by both the Boy Scouts and APS are part of a growing national trend as school districts, clubs and organizations try to accommodate transgender people. The Girl Scouts of America decided in 2011 to allow transgender girls to join troops on a case-by-case basis. Its national website states that if the child is recognized by the family and school/community as a girl and lives culturally as a girl, then Girl Scouts is an organization that can serve her in a setting that is both emotionally and physically safe. The New Mexico Boy Scouts council represents about 425 packs, troops, teams and crews more than 7,200 youth in northern and central New Mexico, southwest Colorado, and the Navajo Nation in Arizona and Utah, Shelby said. About 80 percent of those scouting groups are affiliated with churches. Shelby said hed heard from only one faith-based organization, a Methodist church, and I was told that they will follow Boy Scout policy. The Rev. John Schwarting, executive pastor at St. Johns United Methodist Church in Albuquerque, said Monday that the Boy Scout policy change is not a problem for me or anybody on my staff. The church, which sponsors a Boy Scout troop, supports the whole life of a person and does not look at any one characteristic to define a child. We would not change our sponsorship at all because of this, he said. Many churches within the Catholic Archdiocese of Santa Fe sponsor scouting troops. Asked for comment about what parents and other stakeholders are saying, the Rev. John Daniel, vicar general, in a written statement said only: The Church encourages everyone to treat each other in a Christ-like manner. A statement on the website for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints says the church is studying the announcement made by the Boy Scouts of America, and in the meantime has assured its religious chartering organizations that, as in the past, they will be able to organize their troops in a way fully consistent with their religious beliefs. Shelby said that in cases where a church or religious organization is the sponsor of a troop, and a childs gender identification is at odds with the churchs religious beliefs, deference will be shown to those religious convictions and we will find a troop for that boy, which is more in line with a sponsoring organizations values. Churches that sponsor Boy Scout troops are partners, he said. They franchise that unit and own it. We agree to provide training opportunities for adult volunteers, summer camp facilities, health and accident insurance, liability insurance for the volunteers; they agree to follow policies and procedures of the Boy Scouts of America. In responding to a Journal email query, Effie Delimarkos, director of communications for the Boy Scouts of America, said the policy change was necessary because communities and state laws are interpreting gender identity differently, and these laws vary widely from state to state. WASHINGTON Even before Donald Trump entered the White House, many were predicting federal courts would serve as an important check on his use of presidential power, particularly given his aggressive style and a GOP-led Congress that has so far been loath to confront him. But few expected the first constitutional clash would occur in Trumps third week on the job. The legal dispute over Trumps executive order which instituted a temporary ban on arrivals to the U.S. of all refugees and citizens from seven mostly Muslim nations appears headed to the Supreme Court as early as this week. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco is considering a request from the Justice Department to reinstate the ban after a Seattle federal judge suspended its implementation last week. But both sides are expected to appeal the 9th Circuit decision to the high court. Fortunately for Trump, the law on immigration and related matters favors the president. Legal precedents have traditionally accorded the chief executive complete and nearly unchecked power to deny foreigners permission to enter the United States. The exclusion of aliens is a fundamental act of sovereignty inherent in the executive power, the Supreme Court said in 1950. And lest there be doubt, Congress adopted a provision in 1952 saying the president may by proclamation and for such period as he shall deem necessary, suspend the entry of all aliens and any class of aliens as immigrants or non-immigrants whenever he thinks it would be detrimental to the interests of the United States. Typically, legal experts say, the president would almost certainly win a legal fight involving national security and foreign citizens entering the country. But the rollout of this executive order has been far from the norm. Trumps campaign promise to impose a Muslim ban, his recent tweets attacking the GOP-appointed judge who ruled against him and the White Houses clumsy handling of the orders implementation may change the calculation. The opinion of this so-called judge, which essentially takes law enforcement away from our country, is ridiculous and will be overturned, Trump tweeted Saturday. Just cannot believe a judge would put our country in such peril. If something happens blame him and court system, he tweeted Sunday. Jack Goldsmith, a national security lawyer in the Bush administration and professor at Harvard Law School, predicted Trumps tweets will certainly backfire against him. The tweets will make it very, very hard for courts in the short term to read immigration and constitutional law, as they normally would, with significant deference to the presidents broad delegated powers from Congress and to the presidents broad discretion in foreign relations, Goldsmith wrote Monday on the Lawfare blog. Temple University law professor Peter Spiro agreed the court may look differently at the case. The path of least resistance would be for the Supreme Court to steer clear of the controversy for now. It could simply refuse to hear an emergency appeal from a 9th Circuit ruling in the case, he said Monday. Even though the Supreme Court has been extremely deferential to presidential decision-making relating to immigration in the past, I dont think they will be here. Administration officials have argued that the travel ban does not target Muslims, as critics of the order have claimed. But Trumps campaign call in 2015 for a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States may factor into how judges now interpret his motives. The highly charged dispute also comes at an awkward moment for the eight justices of a high court that often appears divided along political lines. Last year, in a similar case involving presidential power, the justices split 4-4 and could not decide whether a Texas judge had wrongly blocked an executive action by President Barack Obama that would have given temporary relief from deportation and work permits to more than 4 million immigrants living illegally in the country. Lawyers for Texas claimed that allowing those immigrants to stay and work would result in costs and real harm to the state. On that basis, a federal judge handed down a nationwide order blocking Obamas plan from taking effect, similar to the nationwide restraining order now blocking Trumps ban. Obamas lawyers challenged Texas standing, emphasizing the presidents customary power over immigration. But in that case, it appeared the four more conservative justices were concerned the president had exceeded his authority while the liberals took the opposite position. As a result of the tie vote, a lower court ruling that blocked Obamas program remained in effect. Now, the court may be confronted with similar questions but with the roles reversed: a liberal state challenging the actions of a Republican president. Lawyers for Washington state went to court in Seattle alleging that Trumps order would cause harm to the states universities and reduce sale taxes collected from tourists. On that basis, U.S. District Judge James L. Robart said the state had legal standing to sue the president. He did not, however, spell out why the ban was illegal or unconstitutional. The states lawyers had contended the order violated due process of law because it changed the rules without warning for foreign travelers, and they said it discriminated based on religion and national origin. The judge also suggested during a Feb. 3 hearing he was not convinced it was needed to protect national security. He told a Justice Department lawyer defending Trumps action he had to determine if the executive order is rationally based. And rationally based to me implies that to some extent I have to find it grounded in facts as opposed to fiction. If the 9th Circuit turns down the administrations appeal and refuses to lift the judges order, acting Solicitor General Noel Francisco will almost surely turn to the Supreme Court. He argues the states claim for standing is flimsy, and that the judge had no authority to second-guess the presidents national security judgment. It would take the vote of five of the eight justices to issue a ruling. Before acting on an emergency appeal, the justices have to weigh the legal and constitutional arguments on both sides and decide who should win, even though they are deciding only on whether to preserve or set aside a temporary restraining order. If a majority of justices can come to an agreement, it may provide an early indication of whether they think Trump crossed the line. The courts conservatives are likely to bristle at the notion of a single district judge blocking a presidents foreign entry ban because he is not convinced it is needed. Unlike in Obamas case, the Trump administration has portrayed the matter as an issue of national security. On the same day the judge in Seattle blocked Trumps order, a federal judge in Boston refused a similar request. Judge Nathaniel Gorton said he declined to encroach upon the delicate policy judgment inherent in immigration decisions. At the same time, the courts liberal justices are likely to be wary of approving Trumps abrupt change in the rules for foreign travelers. They may prefer for the high court to stand aside, maintaining the status quo for foreign travelers. Nothing would prevent the Trump administration from stopping suspicious individuals or coming up with new rules or standards for vetting people who want to come to the United States. No doubt Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. would prefer to avoid another 4-4 split, which would only serve to highlight the courts ideological stalemate since the death of Justice Antonin Scalia. If confirmed, Trumps Supreme Court nominee, Judge Neil M. Gorsuch, would add another conservative to the bench, but he is not expected to be seated until the spring. In the result of a tie vote, the decision of the 9th Circuit would remain in effect. (EDITORS: STORY CAN END HERE) In other recent cases, the high court has found ways to avoid a tie vote by deciding matters narrowly or looking for a technical reason to avoid a decision. For example, last year the court punted on a case involving the contraceptive mandate under the Affordable Care Act as it is applied to religious nonprofits. Rather than settling the dispute, the justices concluded that a compromise could be reached by both sides and sent the matter back to lower courts. Although the dispute over Trumps order raises a potentially momentous question of president power, the high court is under no obligation to rule broadly now. 2017 Tribune Co. Visit Tribune Co. at www.latimes.com Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. _____ KABUL, Afghanistan The United Nations has reported that 923 children in Afghanistan were killed last year, a 25 percent increase from 2015 and the most since the U.N. began keeping track seven years ago. An additional 2,589 children were injured, a 23 percent rise that was also a record high. The totals, released Monday, were another sign that the largely forgotten war in Afghanistan is taking a growing toll on civilians. The last year saw a rise in fighting in populated areas, increased attacks by Islamic State militants, more airstrikes and greater civilian exposure to land mines. Apart from a slight dip in 2012, the number of civilians of all ages killed or wounded has risen each year since 2009, when the U.N. began keeping those statistics. The casualty total which consists of deaths and injuries climbed 3 percent to 11,418. The disproportionate increase in child deaths was due mainly to a 66 percent increase in casualties from land mines and other buried munitions. Most of those victims were children, the U.N. report said. Young Afghans were also victimized in ground battles between U.S.-backed Afghan forces and insurgents, mainly from the Taliban. With 390 child deaths and 1,371 injuries caused by ground fighting, the casualty total climbed 23 percent from 2015. This appalling conflict destroys lives and tears communities apart in every corner of Afghanistan, Tadamichi Yamamoto, the ranking U.N. official in Kabul, said in a statement accompanying the report. With U.S.-led international forces operating mainly in an advisory role, and a third of Afghanistans population either living under Taliban control or in contested areas, ground battles are becoming increasingly frequent and deadly. The U.N. attributed 61 percent of civilian deaths and injuries to Taliban and other insurgent groups and 24 percent to government forces, with smaller proportions blamed on foreign troops and pro-government militias. President Ashraf Ghanis office said that he welcomed the report but that security forces already take measures to protect civilians. Despite the Taliban and other terrorist groups, the government is committed to protecting the lives and wealth of its citizens and is committed to accountability, it said in a statement. The Taliban, which has consistently rejected the U.N.s findings that it is responsible for most of the casualties, issued a statement saying it denied the report. All sides of the conflict have usually said that they will take measures to prevent civilian casualties, but they never follow up with it, said Atiqullah Amarkhail, a military affairs expert in Kabul. The growing toll was also due to increased attacks by fighters loyal to Islamic State, the Sunni Muslim militant group based in Iraq and Syria, which has mainly attacked minority Shiite Muslims. The U.N. counted 209 people killed and 690 injured in attacks attributed to Islamic State supporters, a tenfold increase from the previous year. Most of the casualties were the result of three large attacks, the biggest coming in July when 80 people were killed and hundreds wounded in the bombing of a protest by the Hazara ethnic group, who are Shiites. In response to the widening threat from Islamic State, as well as the Taliban, then-President Barack Obama expanded the U.S. militarys authority to conduct airstrikes in Afghanistan. That also led to civilian casualties last year, with Afghan and international airstrikes responsible for 250 deaths and 340 injuries a doubling of the 2015 casualty count. Since 2009, fighting in Afghanistan has killed 24,841 civilians and injured 45,347 others, the report said. (Special correspondent Faizy reported from Kabul, and Times staff writer Bengali from Rome.) 2017 Los Angeles Times Visit the Los Angeles Times at www.latimes.com Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. _____ LAS CRUCES The CEO of the Kansas-based Sunflower Financial Inc. was arrested last month in Las Cruces, court records show. Mollie Hale Carter, 54, of Fairway, Kansas, was arrested Jan. 27 and charged with driving on a suspended license, a misdemeanor, and texting while driving, a petty misdemeanor, according to a criminal complaint filed in Dona Ana County Magistrate Court. Sunflower announced last year plans to merge with the Texas-based Strategic Growth Bancorp, which operates six First National Rio Grande branches in Las Cruces and Albuquerque. Strategic also operates First National Santa Fe and First National Denver in Colorado. According to the police affidavit, Carter was driving a silver Nissan on U.S. 70 in Las Cruces around 1 p.m. when she was allegedly seen texting by the arresting officer. The vehicle was traveling next to me and the driver was texting and looking down, the officer wrote in the affidavit. After pulling over the Nissan, the officer identified the driver as Carter and learned that her drivers license had been suspended. According to the affidavit, Carter told the officer that she had a previous DWI arrest out of Kansas and had been ordered to have an interlock in her vehicle. The Salina Post reported that Carter had been arrested in April 2016 on charges of driving under the influence of alcohol and drugs and failure to signal. At time of her arrest in Las Cruces, Carter told the officer that she was traveling to El Paso for business. She was placed under arrest without incident. She was booked into the Dona Ana County Detention Center and was released Jan. 29 after posting a $2,000 secured bond, jail records show. In her booking report, Carters occupation is listed as CEO, Sunflower Bank. Her arraignment has been scheduled for Feb. 20. A spokeswoman for Sunflower declined to comment on Carters arrest on Monday. Its our policy not to discuss the personal matters of our employees, spokeswoman Christy Klein said. Klein said Sunflower did not currently operate any banks in New Mexico. But she said Strategic operated 14 locations in New Mexico, including three in Las Cruces. The merger of the companies, announced in July 2016, is expected to close in the first quarter of 2017, the Albuquerque Business Journal reported in July. 2017 the Las Cruces Sun-News (Las Cruces, N.M.) Visit the Las Cruces Sun-News (Las Cruces, N.M.) at www.lcsun-news.com Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. _____ Irans supreme leader was in a supremely sarcastic mood Tuesday as he gave a speech to a sea of army officials. His target: Trumps first foreign policy moves. We actually thank this new president! We thank him, because he made it easier for us to reveal the real face of the United States, said Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, according to a transcript posted on his official website. . . . Now, with everything he is doing handcuffing a child as young as 5 at an airport he is showing the reality of American human rights. While Khameneis intended point about the ramifications of Trumps executive order on immigration was probably broader, his choice to highlight the alleged handcuffing of a 5-year-old Iranian boy at Washington Dulles International Airport belied his speech with a tinge of fake-news fever. A viral photo of the boy with his arms locked together has been shown to be from an incident in Kentucky two years ago. The Trump administration has taken a hard line against Iran. Iran was one of seven countries whose citizens were banned from entering the United States for 90 days per Trumps original order, which has since been suspended. Separately, in response to an apparent missile test by Iran, Trumps national security adviser Michael Flynn declared that the United States was putting the country on notice. The statement was followed by the imposition of a targeted round of sanctions on 25 of Irans citizens and companies. On Tuesday morning, Trump tweeted that Iran was #1 in terror. And on Friday, he tweeted: Iran is playing with fire they dont appreciate how kind President Obama was to them. Not me! In his speech Tuesday, Khamenei resorted to sarcasm in responding to Trumps Friday tweet, too. The new U.S. president says Iran should thank Obama! he said. Why?! Should we thank him for [creating] ISIS, the ongoing wars in Iraq and Syria, or the blatant support for the 2009 sedition in Iran? The 38th anniversary of the revolution that turned Iran into an Islamic republic is Friday. Khamenei hinted that Iranians should use the opportunity to join him in denouncing the United States, saying, The Iranian nation will respond to your comments with a demonstration on the 10th of February: they will show others what kind of stance the nation of Iran takes when threatened. Refugees have become the object of opportunistic political grandstanding in much of the West. Entire electoral campaigns hinge on the spectral menace they pose. Right-wing politicians and talking heads demonize them as rapists and criminals; others mock their flight from war zones as a lack of courage. Some even go on television and invent massacres committed by refugees that never took place. Whats obscured in this relentless politicization of the refugee crisis is the actual plight of refugees. So heres a brief survey of the situation, such as it is. According to UNHCR, the U.N.s refugee agency, there are an unprecedented 65.3 million people around the world who have been forced from their homes the largest such displacement ever measured by the organization. Of that overall figure, there are around 21.3 million people registered as refugees that is, people who are in limbo outside the borders of their countries rather than internally displaced. Crucially, over half of all refugees are under the age of 18. More than half of current refugees come from just three countries: Syria, Somalia and Afghanistan. And the overwhelming majority of these refugees are not living in the West, nor are they on the verge of traveling there. Despite the hysteria fanned in Europe and North America consider President Donald Trumps suggestion that refugees are pouring in the real burdens of the crises have always been in the Middle East and Africa. Governments and humanitarian organizations in those regions are straining under the pressures. Every fifth person in Lebanon is a refugee; in Turkey, theres a controversial scheme afoot to naturalize some of the more than 2 million Syrians now living in the country to try and cope with the costs of accommodating them. In both countries, vulnerable Syrians have fallen victim to human traffickers and militant groups. UNHCR argues that around 1.19 million people will need to be resettled in 2017, due either to the dire conditions in which theyre currently trapped or specific family needs. The United States, which accepts more resettled refugees than any other country, will take only a tiny fraction of that number and will even slash the number of refugees it accepts per year by half. Since the war in Syria broke out in 2011, 5.5 million Syrians have fled their country. The United States has taken in just under 20,000 in total. Now Trumps executive order seeks to suspend the resettlement of Syrian refugees indefinitely. The move horrifies rights advocates and leading officials of international organizations. Resettlement means taking refugees from places like Lebanon, where they are already refugees, selecting the most vulnerable and taking them to other places, said Filippo Grandi, head of the U.N.s refugee agency, in a statement last week. If we weaken that program, as has been done in the United States, this is a very dangerous weakening of the international solidarity for refugees. Grandi repeated the same desperate plea his organization has made since the first wave of Syrian refugees started: These are people that flee from danger. Theyre not dangerous themselves. Trump and his far-right counterparts across the pond claim theres no way to properly vet refugees and point to earlier security lapses to justify blanket bans. The open borders within the European Union and poor coordination between national governments did enable a few jihadists to infiltrate the refugee exodus. But in the case of the United States, its simply not true that tough structures arent already in place. Just ask a former immigration officer: I conducted in-person interviews with hundreds of refugees of 20 different nationalities in 10 countries. I saw countless refugees break down crying in my interview room because of the length and severity of the vetting process, wrote Natasha Hall in a piece published by The Post last week. From that experience and numerous security briefings, its clear that the authors of Trumps order are unfamiliar with the U.S. immigration system, U.S. laws, international law and the security threats facing our nation. This is a test for the western world not just for America, declared David Miliband, the former British foreign secretary whos now head of the International Rescue Committee. Its a test of whether or not we hold fast to the values of non-discrimination and to universal values of freedom from persecution, so the stakes are very high. By the look of things, its a test the western world is currently failing. Around 370,000 refugees and migrants arrived in Europe in 2016, most of them by sea. Close to 5,000 died making the passage. Many of the survivors are being processed in various countries for asylum. But at this very moment, tens of thousands remain stuck in frigid makeshift camps in the Western Balkans, marooned after European Union countries like Hungary slammed the door shut on asylum seekers. Of course, its not just the wealthy West that has let down Syrian refugees and those of other nationalities. Influential Arab governments in Saudi Arabia and the Gulf states have been criticized for not doing more: It doesnt help that the Saudis arent signatories of the U.N.s major international convention on refugees, making it hard to track their efforts to aid Syrias displaced. In the meantime, organizations like UNHCR issue appeals about the positive contributions of refugees seemingly without any impact on policy. UNHCR Washington tweeted: Einstein was a refugee. When given a chance to thrive, #refugees have much to contribute. pic.twitter.com/vLv1Di7Wst Ultimately, as my colleague Robert Samuels reports, its the refugees themselves who can change the minds of those opposed to them. I hated Muslims, said John Dutcher, a 61-year-old Nebraskan who voted for Trump and was initially angry about the relocation of a Syrian family to his town. But that was before he met his new neighbors. The Muslims here were all about family and they just loved everyone, Dutcher told Samuels. I remember the people who lived here before; they took for granted everything this country gave them. These people, they really changed my heart. Jenni Zullos restaurant dream was born in Minneapolis, but it will become a reality in Albuquerque. The Minnesota transplant and her father expect to open Zullos Bistro this spring at 509 Central NW, filling a Downtown vacancy created two years ago with Blackbird Buvettes closure. Zullos will specialize in Italian food, particularly pasta dishes featuring Jenni Zullos red sauces including a green chile red sauce. It will also have a full liquor license. Zullo, 26, is a first-time restaurateur but said both she and her father, Mike, have worked in the industry. She had originally considered Minneapolis for her own venture but called the market crazy expensive. When her mom took a job at Sandia National Labs and her parents moved to Albuquerque five years ago, the Duke City captured her attention. People here are so friendly, and thats what made me fall in love with the place when I visited Coming here was a breath of fresh air. I was like You know what? I want to be here. I want to live here,' she said. Zullo settled on the Downtown location after considering several different areas around Albuquerque. Her new spot is 2,300 square feet, according to Brecken Mallette, the leasing broker from landlord Peterson Properties. Downtown feels increasingly vibrant, Zullo said, noting that she is located on the same block as the new Burts Tiki Lounge and the forthcoming 505 Central mixed-use project. All around where we are its literally growing, and Im just so excited to be part of it, she said. Police on Monday captured a man suspected in a home invasion last month that left his alleged accomplice dead. Albuquerque police announced the arrest in a news release posted on the City of Albuquerques website Tuesday. Ramon Varela, 41, and Raymond Sanchez, 20, decided to break in to Sanchezs former employers house near Sage and 98th SW the night of Jan. 21, according to the criminal complaint filed against Varela. The homeowner heard people breaking into his house and fired at them to scare them off, according to the complaint. When police arrived, they found Sanchez dead in the front yard with a gun in his pocket. Varela fled, but police caught up with him Monday at a local hotel and arrested him. The news release didnt say what hotel officers found Varela at. Varela had also been shot the night of the incident, but the release doesnt say where on his body he was shot or how serious the injury was. He was charged with aggravated burglary and conspiracy and booked into the county jail. The homeowner is not facing any charges. The children shipped to Miracle Meadows boarding school usually arrived with a long list of behavioral problems. Some had been diagnosed with ADHD, bipolar or oppositional defiant disorders that had frustrated schools and family members for years. Others had been given a choice by a judge: Miracle Meadows or jail. So school administrators, in particular Susan Gayle Clark, who started the Salem, West Virginia school affiliated with the Seventh-day Adventist Church in 1988, ruled with an iron fist. But the strict discipline often crossed the line into abuse, investigators found. Worse, court documents filed last week say, a culture of silence and secrecy covered up years of physical and sexual abuse. Two former students of the shuttered school are suing, claiming staff members handcuffed them to beds, raped and beat them. School administrators knew about the abuse at the school, the lawsuit claims, but covered up the criminal acts to keep the school open, with tuition reportedly at $2,000 a month per student. The lawsuit filed last week is the latest legal action against the school. Clark has pleaded guilty to child neglect, according to the Charleston Gazette-Mail. Last year she was sentenced to six months in jail, then released on probation. A judge forbade her from leaving West Virginia because authorities fear she may try to start another school. A former teacher, Tim Arrington, has been charged with child abuse by a guardian. He is accused of choking a handcuffed student until the boy lost consciousness, and told investigators that he had restrained other children several times before, according to the Gazette-Mail. Arrington and Clark are both named in the lawsuit, along with the Seventh-day Adventist Church and Advent Home, another church-affiliated boarding school. In many ways, the children were the perfect victims, said Brian Kent, an attorney for the two former students who has spoken to other victims. Students at Miracle Meadows were at-risk youth with a history of disobedience, often hundreds of miles from home. Their families hoped a stern, Bible-based boarding school would turn their lives around. Complaints were expected. They would be sent there from all over the country, Kent said. You can go on YouTube and look at the videos. It looks like a great transformative place for kids. . . . But theres more to the story. This was a corrupt, corrupt place. Students saw the quarantine rooms as a sign of discipline that often crossed the line. For the most egregious acts, students were handcuffed or duct-taped naked inside a 10-by-4-foot room for weeks. They were let out for an hour a day, forbidden to interact with other students and had to go to the bathroom in a bucket. They would be fed bread and fruit for one meal, rice and beans for another. Before they could get out, they had to memorize Bible verses sometimes a whole chapter. If they got any of it wrong, quarantine was extended. Some were handcuffed for so long that their wrists bled. One of the former students was handcuffed to a misbehaving younger student who defecated on himself, according to the lawsuit. Both sat there for hours, covered in the younger childs feces. The suit says staff members abused children, but it also indicates that they didnt do enough to keep younger children from being preyed upon by older students. According to the Insurance Journal, the school has received 13 complaints about Miracle Meadows. Four of them allege sexual misconduct. One said a 16-year-old pimped out his 10-year-old sister to other students for sex. They paid the 16-year-old in hygiene items and other things. Four of the complaints involved Arrington, whose charges are still pending, according to the Insurance Journal. Kingsley Whitsett, the corporate president of Miracle Meadows, told The Washington Post that the school had to use strong tactics because it took in children with a history of behavioral problems. We took students that were at-risk kids at other schools, he told The Post. Were not a treatment facility, for sure. Our whole goal was to help them to mainstream back to the other schools get them so that theyre doing well in school, have a purpose in life and can deal with authority. The school operated for 25 years and has helped many young people, including my own son. Whitsett, who is mostly tasked with liquidating the schools assets and selling the property, said the allegations of systemic abuse were overblown. The school did have quarantine rooms, for example, but quarantine was more like a timeout than solitary confinement, he said. One staff member, a former jail guard, brought handcuffs and said that cuffing children was perfectly legal if you had a student out of control. Most of the problems were fixed when Clark or the board learned about it, he said. Thats what happened with the handcuffs, and with the buckets used as toilets. The school had successfully fought off three previous attempts to close it. He defended the strict discipline, but said the company had fired Clark and Arrington when they were charged. Still, Whitsett said he was a character witness at Clarks sentencing hearing. These kids are very conniving and they lie a lot, he said. So you have to understand that and work with them a little differently than you would with your average students . . . There were consequences, but none of that was meant to be like abusing kids or whatever. The West Virginia Department of Health and Human Services stormed into the school in 2014 and took 19 children into custody. All of them were between 10 and 17. Prosecutors had looked into previous complaints, but substantiating the claims was hard because students came from other states, according to the Insurance Journal. Staff members were brought in on religious work visas, but if trouble arose, theyd quickly be sent home. Kids would be taken out of school. Kids would recant [the allegations], Harrison County assistant prosecutor Patricia Dettori told the magazine. And if a staff member was involved, they would disappear. Soon, most traces of the school will be gone, too. The property probably will be sold in a month, Whitsett said. A few YouTube testimonials remain, along with ratings on religious school informational websites. The Miracle Meadows website is still up, but details about classes and tuition have been replaced with a short message: Because of all thats happened the board has decided to dissolve the corporation and close the website. TUCSON, Ariz. Davis-Monthan Air Force Base says military officials have confirmed that a device that badly burned a Arizona woman was an Air Force flare. The Graham County Sheriffs Office says the device exploded into flames Jan. 31 when 49-year-old Diane Briscoe found it in a desert area near her Fort Thomas home and touched it with a knife. The Sheriffs Office says Briscoe suffered burns over the entire front portion of her body. She remains hospitalized in critical condition at the Arizona Burn Center in Phoenix. Davis-Monthan spokeswoman 2nd Lt. Sydney Smith tells the Arizona Daily Star (https://goo.gl/9LZhpT ) that how the Air Force flare ended up where Briscoe found it and how it was activated remain under investigation. Fort Thomas is a small community about 80 miles northeast of Tucson. ___ This story has been corrected to say Fort Thomas is northeast of Tucson. CHARLESTON -- Part of it was wanting to learn how to sew, but Alyssa Pentzien said she mostly saw a need to help kids have clothing for the cold weather. The Charleston High School senior made 50 fleece hats and then donated them to a school and agency so they could be put to just that use. "I knew there was a big need," Pentzien said. She donated half the hats to Carl Sandburg Elementary School a couple of weeks ago then delivered the other 25 this week to HOPE of East Central Illinois. Her mom has worked as substitute teacher at Carl Sandburg and told her that some students regularly come to school without coats or hats during the winter, Pentzien said. She added that she's also familiar with the HOPE organization and knows that children often stay along with parents at its domestic violence shelters. Carl Sandburg nurse Rhonda Pedigo said the school keeps a regular supply of winter clothing, all donated, so Pentzien's effort was definitely welcome. "We notice a need and try to provide for that," Pedigo said. She said there are many times during the winter that some children arrive at school without adequate clothing. They often tell school workers that they don't have any at home, or it's now too small or not in usable condition, she added. Most of the clients who stay at HOPE facilities have children with them, said Angie Hunt, the organization's housing director. Many of the families don't have transportation so they're out in the cold when they need to go anywhere, she said. "We always have a need this time of year," Hunt said. "We have so many clients come in without coats, hats or gloves." She added that she thinks Pentzien's effort helps show that not all people her age are apathetic to the needs of others. "We see young people do incredible things like that all the time," Hunt said. Pentzien said making the hats marked the first time she tried sewing and her mom "helped with the basics." She said it took her about two months to make the hats, working mostly on weekends. How badly would a U.S.-Mexico trade war hurt New Mexico? Pretty badly, according to a new study by WalletHub, a company that studies trends in the economy and finance. WalletHub ranked New Mexico No. 4 on a list of states that would be hardest-hit by a trade war with our southern neighbor. Why is WalletHub talking about this? Events during President Donald Trumps first week in office left the U.S.-Mexico relationship bruised and the fate of free trade between the two countries in limbo. President Donald Trump signed an executive order authorizing the construction of a border wall on Jan. 25. He followed up with a message on Twitter telling Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto that if Mexico is unwilling to pay for the badly needed wall, then it would be better to cancel the upcoming meeting in Washington. Pena Nieto, who has repeatedly said Mexico would not pay for a border wall, responded the next day by cancelling the meeting. Trump Press Secretary Sean Spicer then said that the administration would consider placing a 20 percent tariff on Mexican imports to pay for the multibillion-dollar wall a proposal that White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus later walked back, saying it was one in a buffet of options. Among the 50 states, New Mexico ties for first place with Arizona and Texas for the highest percentage of exports to Mexico as a percentage of total state exports, as well as for imports from Mexico as a percentage of total state imports. The state ranks fifth among states with the highest percentage of exports to Mexico as a percentage of state GDP. Every day, hundreds of 18-wheelers cross the border at New Mexicos Santa Teresa port of entry, moving materials, parts and products between the U.S. and Mexicos maquila assembly plants. The states port of entry at Columbus is also a trade hub, especially during the chile harvest when truckloads of green chile grown in Mexico head north to New Mexico processing plants. The WalletHub study weighed five figures: exports as a percentage of total state exports and GDP; imports as a percentage of total state imports and GDP; and the share of jobs supported by trade with Mexico. SANTA FE New Mexico farmers and researchers would be able to grow industrial hemp but not for commercial purposes under a bill approved Tuesday by the state Senate. The hemp bill, Senate Bill 6, would authorize the state Department of Agriculture to oversee the growing of hemp outlawed now because its in the marijuana family for research purposes. The Senate voted 37-2 to approve the legislation and send it on to the House, where several similar hemp-related bills are pending. Sen. Cisco McSorley, D-Albuquerque, the sponsor of Senate Bill 6, described it as a first step toward what could eventually be a booming market. Well never have processing if we dont pass the bill, McSorley said. Gov. Susana Martinez vetoed an industrial hemp bill in 2015, saying it would have created contradictions between state and federal law and complicated the job of law enforcement officers. A Martinez spokesman said Tuesday that the Governors Office has not yet reviewed this years legislation, which would be more limited in scope than the 2015 bill. At least 16 states have legalized industrial hemp production for commercial purposes, and 20 other states have passed laws allowing research and pilot programs, according to a legislative analysis of the bill. Some senators said during Tuesdays debate that they would have liked to see the bill go further to allow sales and other commercial uses of hemp. An amendment that would have allowed for that was added in a Senate committee, but it was removed during Tuesdays floor debate. Im concerned that without authorizing the commercialization of hemp, we wont see demonstrable economic gain, said Sen. Jacob Candelaria, D-Albuquerque, who still voted in favor of the measure. Two Republican senators cast the dissenting votes on the legislation: Senate GOP Floor Leader Stuart Ingle of Portales and Sen. Carroll Leavell of Jal. Hemp can be used in various products, from clothing to food to insulation. While in the same plant species as marijuana, hemp plants generally have extremely low levels of the psychoactive chemical found in marijuana plants. FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. Attorneys general from Arkansas and six other states are supporting the University of Arkansas request to dismiss a former students lawsuit against the school that alleges university officials mishandled her rape allegations. Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge filed a legal brief Monday in support of dismissing the lawsuit, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette (http://bit.ly/2kndXcK ) reported. Attorneys general from Arizona, Kansas, Louisiana, Nebraska, South Carolina and Texas also joined in the filing. The lawsuit was filed by a former student athlete who alleged the school acted with deliberate indifference when she told police and school officials that shed been raped in her dorm room by a 23-year-old student in 2014. The 23-year-old, a former university athlete, told authorities the encounter with the woman was consensual, and criminal charges were never filed. The lawsuit argues that the university improperly handled a campus disciplinary process and didnt adequately train people on the disciplinary panel who heard the womans case. The suit said those missteps violated Title IX, a federal law that prohibits sex discrimination at schools that receive federal funding. Rutledges office argues that the states sovereign immunity shields the school from lawsuits or criminal prosecution, and that should force a federal appellate court to dismiss the lawsuit. The case against the university presents an important legal issue about states sovereign immunity from monetary damages, Rutledges spokesman, Judd Deere, said in an email. The involvement of six other attorneys general, all Republicans like Rutledge, signals that states are using the case as the context for a coordinated effort to push back on the federalization of civil rights, Erin Buzuvis, a law professor at Western New England University School of Law and co-founder of Title IX Blog, told the newspaper. Buzuvis described the other states involvement as pushing for a states rights approach to government that would prefer less federal power over the states. Attorneys for the university sought to have the case dismissed in November, but U.S. District Judge P.K. Holmes III ruled that the case would continue to move forward. ___ Information from: Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, http://www.arkansasonline.com Russias hacks of the Democratic National Committee and its election meddling were alarming but not an act of war, said a leading scholar of international law in cyber operations. Im no friend of the Russians, said Michael Schmitt, chairman of the U.S. Naval War Colleges International Law Department and director of a project that analyzes how international law applies to cyber operations especially in peacetime. But Moscows hacking and dumping of Democratic emails to WikiLeaks is not an initiation of armed conflict. Its not a violation of the U.N. Charters prohibition on the use of force. Its not a situation that would allow the U.S. to respond in self-defense militarily. Schmitt spoke in an interview with The Washington Post coinciding with the release of the Tallinn Manual 2.0, an updated reference for lawyers around the world on how international law applies to cyberspace. Schmitt, who is also a law professor at the University of Exeter in Britain, led the legal team that compiled the manual. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., the chairman of the Armed Services Committee, has said he believes Russias interference in the 2016 presidential election amounted to an act of war. Nonetheless, Schmitt said, Russias apparent attempt to influence the outcome of the election by its release of emails through WikiLeaks probably violates the international law barring intervention in a states internal affairs. And that would give the United States grounds to undertake countermeasures that would otherwise be unlawful, he said. The updated Tallinn Manual explores cyber actions most commonly confronted by states today: espionage, denial of service disruptions and influence operations actions that fall short of armed conflict and the use of force. The Russians are masters at playing the gray areas of law, said Schmitt, arguing that the Kremlin is adept at carrying out operations that fall short of breaching undisputed legal red lines that would invite robust responses. For instance, Moscow has not conducted operations in the United States that cause deaths or significant, nationwide economic harm that would warrant the use of force in response. Hacking the DNCs emails is an act of political espionage, which is not a breach of international law, Schmitt said. But, Schmitt said, the steady, voluminous release of emails that garnered negative media coverage for Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton reflected an intent to influence the election and amounted to unlawful intervention. Some legal experts disagree, which is where the gray area comes in. But if what Russia did was a violation of international law, then countermeasures would be lawful as long as they do not cause death or injury, Schmitt said. But the manual offers no policy guidance on whether potential responses such as unleashing a denial of service attack that targets a Russian government network is wise or effective. Just because you can do something doesnt necessarily mean that you should, said Michael Daniel, White House cybersecurity coordinator in the Obama administration. Any response that the U.S. takes is always going to be embedded in the larger geopolitical context. The Obama administration took several actions in response to the Russian election meddling that were lawful and did not depend on finding a violation of international law. They included economic sanctions on Russian spy agencies and cyber officials, the expulsions of 35 Russian intelligence operatives from the United States and the closing of two Russian compounds used for intelligence purposes. Duncan Hollis, an international law professor at Temple University, said the manual will be useful but not definitive for U.S. government officials, who have been writing their own memos for years. Its more likely to have an effect for all these other countries who dont have the deep bench of lawyers that the United States has, he said. VIDEO The Posts Ellen Nakashima goes over the events, and discusses the two hacker groups responsible. (The Washington Post) http://wapo.st/1Uiv5uD -Embed code: NEW YORK Twitter has broadened its campaign against hate speech and abuse. The company said Tuesday that it has begun identifying people who have been banned for abusive behavior and it will stop them from creating new accounts. In July, the company banned conservative provocateur Milo Yiannopoulos, an editor of the right-wing site Breitbart News, for participating in or inciting targeted abuse of individuals. But the company had been under fire for failing, for nearly a decade since its founding, to address hate and abuse on the site. Balancing its reputation as a free speech haven has at times come into conflict with efforts to protect users. Twitter also said Tuesday that it is creating a safe search feature that removes tweets with potentially sensitive content and tweets from blocked and muted accounts from search results. The tweets will still exist on Twitter if people look for them, but wont appear in general search results. Twitter is also singling out and collapsing potentially abusive and low-quality replies so only the most relevant conversations surface. These replies will also be accessible to those who seek them out, but Twitter is making them less visible. The company says the changes will be implemented in the coming weeks. PHOENIX The parents of a Prescott woman who was captured and killed by Islamic State group militants are making a major donation to the nonprofit Doctors Without Borders. Kayla Muellers parents announced Monday that they are donating $120,000 to the organization and dissolving Kaylas Hands, the charitable foundation they started in their daughters name, reported The Arizona Republic (http://bit.ly/2jYto7I). The Muellers said that the $120,000 they donated will help establish an endowment in Kayla Muellers name to support medical and humanitarian aid programs. By donating to Doctors Without Borders, we can ensure Kaylas legacy of healing is continued and that her spirit will remain out in the world. This gesture is a reflection of Kaylas heart, her parents wrote in the statement. Mueller was taken hostage with her boyfriend, Omar Alkhani, in August 2013 after leaving a Doctors Without Borders hospital in Aleppo, Syria, where he had been hired to fix the internet service for the hospital. Alkhani was released after two months, having been beaten. Muellers death was confirmed in February 2015 by U.S. officials. In the statement, the Muellers said they keep a Doctors Without Borders map that Kayla had kept since she was a college student pinned up on the wall. We know Kayla would want every penny to go toward any and every effort that seeks to meet the ever growing demands of this unsettled world, bringing the medical and humanitarian help needed with kindness and goodness, carrying Kayla into the world wherever they go, the statement read. Other funds from Kaylas Hands will be donated to organizations that do the kind of work Kayla Mueller had supported, including Save the Children and the Syrian American Medical Society, and to the Kiwanis Club of Prescott, which built a playground in her name. ___ Information from: The Arizona Republic, http://www.azcentral.com CIMARRON, N.M. New Mexico State Police say theyre investigating a fatal shooting in Cimarron. The State Police Investigations Bureau was contacted by Cimarron police on Sunday night after a man was found with a gunshot wound and later died. Police say the man has been identified as 27-year-old Joshua Ortega. No other information was immediately released Tuesday. A tornado that ripped through the Marine Corps top logistics base last month caused damage extensive enough that virtually all work on one of its primary functions the restoration of combat vehicles has not recommenced, the services No. 2 general said Tuesday. Gen. Glenn Walters, assistant commandant of the Marine Corps, told the House Armed Services Committee that workers at Marine Corps Logistics Base Albany in Georgia are still in the process of clearing buildings and warehouses that collapsed. The twister, which measured as EF3 on the Enhanced Fujita scale, with wind speeds of up to 150 mph, hit the southwestern side of the base about 3:20 p.m. Jan. 22, flipping three-ton vehicles, uprooting scores of trees and leaving a twisted pile of sheet metal and other wreckage. Theyre operating at a minimal capacity right now in areas that werent affected, Walters said in response to a question from Rep. David Scott, R-Ga. The general said that bringing the bases ability to refurbish equipment back online is critical. Thats where our tanks, our amphibious vehicles, our light-armored vehicles and our artillery go through depot, Walters said. I dont have an estimate right now on when that is going to start up again. The afternoon tornado was the largest among dozens that hit the Southeast that weekend. In addition to cutting northeast across the industrial section of the base, it hit the nearby city of Albany, killing five people and leaving a 2-year-old boy missing. At least 19 people in southern Georgia and Mississippi were killed in tornadoes that weekend. No one was killed on the base. The National Weather Service said the tornado raked the ground for nearly 71 miles and had a width of up to 1.2 miles. Multiple double-wide trailers were destroyed on base, several light poles were snapped off at the base, and a large concrete building had its solid concrete roof shifted more than two inches, according to the service. The Marine Corps base in Albany is home to the Marine Corps Logistics Command and is one of two locations where the corps refurbishes equipment. The other, Marine Logistics Base Barstow in California, may be used more in coming months, Walters said. Its good that we have two, because if its going to be a long period of time, were going to have to make a decision on what we do out at Barstow and what we dont do out at Barstow to take the critical things and move them out there, Walters said. My preference would be to rapidly get Albany back up running at 100 percent. Severe thunderstorms barreled through the Southeast on Tuesday, dropping multiple tornadoes in southern Louisiana, one of which did major damage to communities in east New Orleans among the areas devastated by Hurricane Katrina. The large tornado was filmed by storm chasers and residents as it tracked from west to east across the populous New Orleans region. Multiple tornado warnings were issued as the storm evolved in which the National Weather Service used strong language to convey a tornado had been spotted on the ground. The National Weather Service confirmed at least three tornadoes touched down. New Orleans East Hospital confirmed five patients were admitted with storm-related injuries, WGNO reported. New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu said damage is substantial and dozens of people were injured, though most injuries were minor. There have been no reports yet of fatalities or missing people. Officials are searching houses to make sure people arent trapped in debris, according to the Associated Press. Approximately 10,000 homes were without power and there have been multiple reports of gas leaks, the AP said. The NASA assembly facility in Michoud, Louisiana, sustained damage as the tornado passed through and the campus lost power. A Lockheed Martin spokesman told The Washington Post all of their employees are accounted for but couldnt speak for the NASA employees. The smell of natural gas was reported near the facility. Storms continued into the afternoon in the area while affected communities in the New Orleans area began to assess the damage. Major damage to homes and businesses was reported on social media via photos and video. The storms resulted in two minor injuries in Livingston Parish, east of Baton Rouge, the AP reported. No other injuries or fatalities have been reported. VIDEO: A series of tornadoes were reported in southeastern Louisiana on Feb. 7. One of the tornadoes moved through the town of Akers. (The Washington Post) http://wapo.st/2kK9yBx Embed code: TWEET LINKS: NOFD searching the wrecked remains of this house pic.twitter.com/W6liTgQeYN Serious damage in 4700 block of Bundy Road, smell of leaking gas pic.twitter.com/ZAC7VKEFmi Video taken from New Orleans East hospital around 11:00 am today. Video owned by Sam Girault. pic.twitter.com/SrTrWocMXi All the doctors tricks were failing him. Hed tried neck massage, pressure to the eyes, ice on the face. But an hour in, Ashish Jha still couldnt slow his racing heart. His wife asked what hed recommend if a patient called with the same problem. I said, Oh, thats easy. Go to the emergency department. As a physician, Jha knew that this tachycardia could lead to a heart attack. Yet he felt caught by a decision hed made in enrolling his family in a high-deductible insurance plan. Such plans, which offer lower premiums in exchange for higher out-of-pocket expenses, are an increasingly common type of coverage for millions of Americans. The Harvard University health-policy researcher had chosen his with its $6,000 deductible as a kind of personal experiment in better understanding how that trade-off influences health. And now, when faced with the prospect of paying thousands of dollars for an emergency-room visit, Jha stayed home. I should have gone to the hospital, he said recently. But I knew there was a big bill waiting for me if I did, and I rolled the dice. At least 46 million Americans have health plans with deductibles of $1,000 a year or more, according to Paul Fronstin, director of the health research and education program at the Employee Benefit Research Institute. That number represents 25 percent of employees, compared with just 4 percent a decade ago. Some people are given no option by employers that are trying to shift rising health-care costs to workers. Others choose the coverage which is popular on the Affordable Care Act insurance exchanges for the lower premium payments. Understanding high deductibles including who they help and whether they control short- and long-term spending is part of Jhas research on health costs and quality of care. That was the motivation behind his experiment, to get out of the ivory tower and understand what its like to live with one of these, as he put it. In his case, the answer was clear: While his decision to avoid the ER saved the health system money, it was unwise from the perspective of patient care. Studies dating to the 1970s have consistently shown that when consumers must spend a big chunk of their own money on their care, they can cut back by as much as 15 percent. That slowdown happens fast, dropping like a health-care guillotine. The question researchers still are weighing, though, is what consumers slice off. Do they stop filling name-brand prescriptions when equally effective generics are available? Or do they avoid critical care, as Jha did in staying home instead of heading to the hospital? What I take away from [his] story, said Amitabh Chandra, a friend and fellow Harvard health-policy economist, is that simply calling the patient a consumer doesnt make buying health care anything like buying cars and computers. Last year, Chandra and three colleagues looked at what happened after a Fortune 100 company switched 75,000 well-paid, tech-savvy employees into high-deductible plans. What they found closely mirrored Jhas personal pattern. Workers both the healthy and the sick skipped out on care indiscriminately. Prevention, imaging or drugs, consumers were cutting back on all those, Chandra said. Thats a sign they dont really know what care is valuable and what care isnt valuable. Supporters of high-deductible plans argue that consumers need time to adapt and that more tools that will help them price-shop effectively. The researchers considered that, too. The company put $3,750 into a health savings account for each employee and provided a state-of-the-art online tool to compare prices for tests, doctors appointments and other services. We found no evidence that consumers were learning to price-shop after two years of high-deductible coverage, Chandra said. None. High deductibles can be particularly dangerous for poor or chronically ill consumers, he said. First they get hit with the illness. And then they get hit financially and cognitively with the demands of having to figure out where they should go for care. Stephen Parente, a University of Minnesota economist who is working closely with congressional Republicans to build whatever replaces the Affordable Care Act, says that high-deductible plans must be tweaked. He would like to see a standard insurance policy carry at least a $5,000 individual deductible but provide exceptions for care for people with chronic conditions such as diabetes and asthma. Some 117 million adults have such conditions, which become more expensive if left untreated. For them, self-rationing could compromise their health as well as further drive up spending. Parente has teamed up with Mark Fendrick, a health-policy professor at the University of Michigan, to develop a version 2.0, which would allow people dealing with chronic disease to access certain preventive services before they meet their deductible cap. Fendrick calls it a high-value health plan. Jha and his wife agreed to extend his experiment into a second year. Since his heart scare, his cardiologist has increased his medication and discussed a procedure that is likely to end the tachycardia entirely. Jha admits that he would have already scheduled the appointment except for that same high deductible. I can step back and be completely clear what the right answer here is, he said. I should go get the procedure. But its hard to be rational about this stuff. This article was done in partnership with Marketplace, the business and economics radio show produced by American Public Media, and Kaiser Health News, a national health-policy news service that is part of the nonpartisan Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. ISTANBUL Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and President Donald Trump had their first telephone call late Tuesday, a highly anticipated conversation in which Erdogan was expected to press the new U.S. leader to reject Pentagon proposals to arm Kurdish fighters in Syria and to quickly extradite a Turkish cleric exiled in Pennsylvania and regarded by Turkey as an enemy of the state. Trump may have preferred to change the subject. Meeting either demand could be problematic for the administration, analysts said, testing a relationship between the two men that for months has been filled with high hopes and mutual admiration. A brief White House statement said the two discussed their shared commitment to combatting terrorism in all its forms. It said that Trump reiterated U.S. support to Turkey as a strategic partner and NATO ally, and welcomed Turkeys contributions to the campaign against the Islamic State. During the U.S. presidential campaign, Trump referred in glowing terms to Erdogans handling of a failed coup attempt that shook Turkey last summer. He spoke optimistically about the bilateral relationship, telling the New York Times that he hoped Turkey can do a lot about the Islamic State. In the same interview, Trump declined to criticize Erdogan for a campaign of mass arrests and dismissals that followed the attempted coup. I think its very hard for us to get involved in other countries when we dont know what we are doing and we cant see straight in our own country, he said. Erdogan hailed Trumps election, quickly extended an invitation to visit Turkey and even praised Trump for putting a reporter in his place during a news conference a few weeks ago. More recently, the Turkish president has avoided condemning Trumps ban on travel to the United States from seven Muslim-majority countries despite the fact that Erdogan is the Islamist leader of a Muslim-majority country who has spoken out forcefully in the past against perceived anti-Muslim bias. When it comes to Turkeys most urgent demands, however, it may be difficult for Trump to show much flexibility. The Pentagon is still weeks away from completing a Trump-ordered 30-day review of its strategy to defeat the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria. Top U.S. military commanders had pushed former President Barack Obamas administration for months to directly arm Kurdish fighters in northern Syria for a final assault on the city of Raqqa, the militants de facto capital. Turkey has long warned that it considers the Syrian Kurds to be part of Turkeys own Kurdistan Workers Party, or PKK, which both Turkey and the United States have labeled a terrorist group. Obama deferred the decision on the Kurds to Trump, while noting that such plans depended on a quick determination. Trumps advisers have not ruled out the military plan but have asked the Pentagon to explore other options, including the possibility of adding Turkish troops to an Arab force that would be aided by an increased U.S. military presence in Syria. Trump also may have difficulty with Erdogans request that the United States extradite the exiled cleric Fethullah Gulen, whom Turkey accuses of masterminding the coup attempt. Turkish officials were encouraged when Trumps national security adviser, Michael Flynn, published an article on Election Day calling Gulen a radical and saying the United States should not provide him safe haven. A decision on whether Turkish evidence is strong enough to merit extradition rests with the Justice Department. Even if it recommends such a move, the final decision must be made by a U.S. federal court, where Gulen can contest extradition and appeal if he loses, a process that could take months, if not years. Gulen has denied playing any role in the attempted coup. Semih Idiz, a Turkish political analyst and columnist who writes for the al-Monitor news site, said Turkey has left too many unanswered questions about its proposed alternative to the Kurdish fighters, including how many Turkish troops would need to be mobilized to replace them. Even so, any demands made on Tuesdays phone call could aid Erdogan. There is public opinion that has to be fed, Idiz said. They have to appear to be pushing this to the limit. DeYoung reported from Washington. Adam Entous in Washington contributed to this report. ADFEST 2017 has begun to unveil this years line-up of speakers, workshops and events with many more session announcements still to come. Once again, the festival will be divided in two halves: Craft@ADFEST ( 22nd to 23rd March ) will explore the trends influencing production, post and digital companies; while Creative@ADFEST ( 24th to 25th March ) is tailored for agency and marketing professionals. The first sessions to be announced are: THE NEXT FRONTIER IN VIRTUAL STORYTELLING Luke Ritchie, Head of Interactive Arts, Nexus Interactive Arts (London) Wednesday 22 March, 10:45 am Ritchie will explain the rise of Mixed Reality storytelling, where virtual characters and stories are inserted into our real lives. As Head of Interactive Arts, a specialist interactive storytelling division of Nexus Studios, hell explain why Mixed Reality demands new storytelling techniques. WANT BIGGER IDEAS? BECOME A DAD Chris Gurney, Regional Executive Creative Director, ADK Global, Singapore & Naohiro Togawa, Creative Director, ADK, Tokyo Wednesday 22 March, 2:30 pm Chris and Naohiro will share some examples of the way fathers at ADK (and other creative thinking dads) are bringing bigger ideas outside the office to help inspire our kids and others in the community. Togawa, Creative Director at ADK Tokyo, will introduce the agencys newly formed BrainTal platform, while Gurney will share examples from dads who have taken their ideas beyond the office. Think like a dad - unleash your altruistic creativity. NO, NOT SHINY, MAKE IT REAL! Marko Klijn, Ringmaster, Cirkus, Auckland Wednesday 22 March, 3:15pm With all the slick CGI-enhanced feature films being pumped out, the art of stop motion is being forgotten. Cirkus will revisit this niche artform and showcase how stop motion can create visuals that look more real and tactile. WHERE DO POSTS GO WHEN THEY HAVE NO LIKES? Claudia Cristovao, Group Creative Director, AKQA, Tokyo Thursday 23 March, 10:45 am We have officially reached peak content. There are too many posts, reposts, videos, stories, periscopes and regurgitations of seamless sameness cluttering up multiple feeds. Who has time to scroll through much less engage with them? Barely a couple of years have passed since brands got the hang of social calendars, and awoke to the costs of maintaining armies of social media managers only for users to flock out of the conversations that were patiently built. This session will explore how brands can break through and add value to users lives in the new age of hyper-curated, selective social, says Cristovao. THE GUNN REPORT 2016 Emma Wilkie, Managing Director, The Gunn Report, London Friday 24th March, 11:30 am Emma Wilkie returns to ADFEST for the World Premiere presentation of The Gunn Report 2016. Expect to see all the ads that defined 2016. It will be the most comprehensive showcase of 2016s best, and Ill be unveiling the exclusive Asia Pacific ranking only at ADFEST, says Wilkie. IN THE ABSENCE OF GREAT WORK, NOTHING ELSE MATTERS Jean-Paul Burge, Chairman & CEO, BBDO Asia, Singapore Friday 24th March, 4:00 pm Our industry is under unprecedented pressure. This is affecting the quality of people entering the business, the morale of those currently working in it, the time we have to create great work, and the budgets we have to deliver it. How do we continue to create and protect great ideas with all the noise going on around us? Burge will explore BBDO Asias principles and processes, and share some observations on what we can do as an industry to increase our hit rate in creating better work. LUXIND known for its innovative and customer-demand driven product offerings, manufacturing more than 100 products across 12 major brands comprising a complete range of innerwear for men, women, and children, has yet again created a buzz in the innerwear category of the country by signing Bollywood star Varun Dhawan, the heartthrob of Young India as its new Brand Ambassador for LUX Cozi. By signing Varun Dhawan LUX Cozi is taking a phenomenal leap in the process of repositioning itself within the young audience. Speaking about the development, Mr. Saket Todi, Senior Vice President, Operations and Strategy, Lux Industries Ltd. said, With fresh zeal and perspective Lux Industries has a structured plan of reaching out to the youth fraternity focusing on ideas in sync with the brand attributes. LUX Cozi is one of the most popular and the largest market share holder in the economy to the mid-segment of mens innerwear. As part of the core business strategy the brand is open to constant innovation and thus associates itself with renowned faces to represent the brand after every couple of years time. On the signing of Varun Dhawan as brand ambassador for LUX Cozi, Mr. Saket Todi further elaborated, Over the years Varun has carved a niche in the minds of the film buffs and critics alike. His style and fashion sense makes him endearing to all sections of the audience cutting across age groups, especially the youth. We are happy with the association and believe it will resonate with the youth fraternity. Mr. Udit Todi, Senior Vice President, Lux Industries Limited, said, On behalf of Lux Industries family we welcome Varun Dhawan as our new brand ambassador for LUX Cozi. A significant section of young audience connects with him and we believe will work in favour with our strategy to reach out to the youth of this country. Actor Varun Dhawan, said post the announcement as the new face of LUX Cozi ,I am delighted to be the brand ambassador for LUX Cozi, their innerwear products stand for comfort and quality and I really liked the vibe of the ad campaign when I met with the creative team. Varun Dhawan made his acting debut with Karan Johar's 2012 romantic comedy Student of the Year, for which he received a Filmfare nomination with Best Male Debut. He established himself in Bollywood by starring in the romance Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhania and the film on dance, ABCD 2. He garnered critical acclaim and received a Filmfare Award for Best Actor nomination for portraying an avenger in Sriram Raghavan's crime thriller Badlapur. He also starred opposite Shah Rukh Khan, Kajol and KritiSanon in Rohit Shetty's romantic drama Dilwale. His latest being the crime-drama Dishoom. The hoardings with Varun Dhawansporting the stylish LUX Cozi vests are already up in major metros which will be followed by aggressive print advertisement. The electronic campaign featuring Varun Dhawan will release across the GECs, News Channels, Movie Channels and Music Channels and will showcase Varun in various avatars within45 and 30 seconds commercials to be used across a mix of communication mediums like TV, Print, Radio, Onscreen and Online.The creative for theseries has been prepared by Mr. Piyush Pandey and team. The best and the finest Egyptian modal cotton in LUX Cozi promises durability with strong stitches making it incredibly stylish yet comfortable. Made from cotton rich fabric, this vest gives users a perfect fit and ensure breathability all day long. Made with anti-perspirant fabric the inners will be available in round neck sleeves and halves also. LUX Cozi has recently conducted a campaign, Sunotohapnedilki, with Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput as the face of the campaign. Over the years the brand had seen iconic actors of Bollywood like Sunny Deol, Sunil Shetty, Paresh Rawal, Boman Irani, Shekhar Suman and Aman Verma. Now with Varun Dhawan another youth icon Lux Industries has taken their campaign a notch higher in line with their strategy to reach out to the Gen next with their iconic innerwear brand. Salsette 27, the latest project by Peninsula Land Limited today announced their association with the Kala Ghoda Arts Festival 2017. The Kala Ghoda Arts Festival is scheduled from February 04, 2017 to February 12, 2017 in Mumbai. The landmark project Salsette 27 nestled in Byculla serves as a gateway to Kala Ghoda. Salsette 27 has planned a host of activities which include: The Salsette 27 Kala Ghoda Heritage Walk (February 04, 2017) This classic walk will cover places of ancient importance, well-known and not so well known tourist spots, popular meeting joints within the Kala Ghoda & Byculla region. This walk will witness the glory, magnificence and heritage of 19th century Bombay and amuse in the exquisiteness of the complex history of Byculla. This will be conducted known conservation architect and Kala Ghoda vertical curator, Kruti Garg The Salsette 27 Byculla Kala Ghoda Food Walk (February 10, 2017) A walk through the historic Kala Ghoda and Byculla areas giving everyone a chance to witness its long lost glory, the emergence of fine eateries, popular joints, restaurants from old Mumbai. It will also be conducted by Kruti Garg. The Salsette 27 Discover Byculla Photography Contest This contest provides a platform for the citys photographers to attend a photo walk around Kala Ghoda and Byculla and highlight Byculla's uniqueness in their own way with their camera lenses. The winning captures will be featured exclusively by PLL in their annual calendar and The Salsette 27 coffee table book The Salsette 27 Kids Painting Competition - This contest is aimed at giving a chance to the youth to showcase their creativity and talent. With the stroke of their brushes these kids will be given an opportunity to sketch their dreams and exhibit their talent. Commenting on the initiative, Rajeev Piramal, Vice Chairman & Managing Director, Peninsula Land Limited said, We are extremely happy to be partnering with the Kala Ghoda Arts Festival this year. It is a one stop destination for people interested in art, culture and literature. All our activities during the week are aimed at exploring the culture within our city and bring forth the old world charm of Mumbai. And since this is happening right next to our landmark project- Salsette27, we wouldnt want to miss out on the opportunity to be a part of these celebrations." We can help you make sense of the agribusiness industry, extending from chemicals and fertilizers used as inputs into agriculture, to the commodities, food and by-products that are an output to farming, with policy and regulation applied at every step of the value chain. kWh ICE According to Toyota, the 2017 Prius Plug-In Hybrid can travel over 50 kilometers, while maximum speed increased from 85 to 135 km/h. Its a huge leap compared to the preceding Prius Plug-In Hybrid, though this is but the start of the goodies list.The secret to this boost in electric range is the battery on the one hand, and the Dual Motor Drive System on the other. More specifically, the lithium-ion battery now features a capacity of 8.8, while the hybrid powertrain features a one-way gear within the transaxle. The said component allows the generator to act as a second electric motor.Great handling is not something a car guy would expect from this type of vehicle, but the Prius Plug-In Hybrid is supported by a body that is 60% more rigid that before. Toyota is also bragging about a 13% reduction in roll rate, which is not bad for a car that knocks on the door of 1.5 tons (unladen weight). Toyota Safety Sense comes as standard on the entry-level model, including automatic emergency braking, pedestrian detection, and lane departure warning with steering control. An 8.0-inch touchscreen is also standard, as is a head-up display and two 4.2-inch TFT information screens. Sat-nav, Bluetooth, wireless phone charging, and a rearview camera are other key features worth noting. The solar roof, however, is an optional extra reserved for the uppermost trim levels.On thefront, a 1.8-liter four-cylinder will have to make do with 98 PS (97 horsepower) and 142 Nm (105 lb-ft) of torque. Using a Type II Mennekes connector, the Prius Plug-In Hybrid can be juiced up to 65% capacity in two hours. Using a home plug socket, 65% charge is doable in 3 hours and 10 minutes.Toyota offers five years or 100,000 miles of warranty for the Prius Plug-In Hybrid, whichever of the two comes first. In the UK, first customer deliveries for the eco-friendly model are scheduled for March 1. SUV The naturally aspirated powerplant is what sets it apart from the rest of its segment. The 392 cu.in. engine churns out 475 horsepower and 470 lb-ft of torque. In other words, the Durango SRT is 10 ponies and 5 pound-feet down on the most powerful Challenger on sale today (as in the SRT 392 ).Coming as standard with four-wheel-drive and a performance-oriented 8-speed TorqueFlite automatic transmission, the Durango SRT also boasts something called a Track Mode. Dont let the track part fool you; after all, this aint no Shelby GT350 Mustang or something meant for the track. On the other hand, Track Mode brings two useful attributes to the table: 160-millisecond shifts, as well as 70% of the torque delivered to the rear axle.Those not content with the standard Pirelli 295/45 ZR20 Scorpion Verde all-season tires can opt for Pirelli P Zero three-season tires of the same dimensions. Now, the time is high for some numbers: 4.4 seconds to 60 mph (96 km/h), 12.9 seconds to cover the quarter-mile. Im simply left for words, which is why Ill let Tim Kuniskis take it from here on in:The new 2018 Dodge Durango SRT is Americas fastest, most powerful and most capable three-row SUV . This is what you get, when you take everything great about the Durango and combine it with the performance of the Charger SRT: a 12-second quarter mile, toy-hauling, three-row muscle car.The U.S. launch of the 2018 Dodge Durango SRT is slated for summer 2017 for the 2018 model year, with production being handled by FCAs Jefferson Avenue North Assembly Plant in Detroit, Michigan. It will start rolling into U.S. dealers in Q4 2017. For more detailed information on Americas quickest three-row, the following PDF is meant for you. SUV ICE On this occasion, Domenicali told Digital Trends that the Urus would be called for sure Urus. Test production, meanwhile, is planned to start in April [2017], though the plant will initially build pre-series models. If actual production is what youre interested most in, January 2016 saw Lamborghini drop a press release according to which new facilities in SantAgata Bolognese will be finished within 2017. Actual retail sales of the all-new Lamborghini Urus will begin in the first quarter of 2018.Domenicali predicts that Lamborghini will sell approximately 3,500 units of the Urus every year. Considering that the Huracan and the Aventador will be capped at roughly 2,500 units combined, it seems as if Lamborghini is gunning for a yearly sales figure of 7,000 cars in 2018. While it may be based on an existingplatform of the VW Group, Domenicali is certain the Urus will have Lamborghini DNA.As expected from a high-riding vehicle gifted with all-wheel-drive, the 2018 Lamborghini Urus will boast different driving modes. More to the point, it will have setups for ice, snow, stones, and sand. Its similar to the Ego approach [in the Aventador S], explains Lamborghinis head honcho. You will discover this soon. Maybe Im saying too much.Should the Bentley Bentayga and its twin-turbo W12 be afraid of its half-brother from Italy? That depends on many aspects, but the Urus is confirmed to pack a 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8 with Porsche origins. An output of 600+ horsepower is expected. A plug-in hybrid variant is in the cards as well, but theres no confirmation as to the number of cylinders of thepart of the deal. Six cylinders is pushing it, eight cylinders sounds more like it The problem came to public attention following a report in British media, where an owner complained that his vehicle snapped while towing a caravan.The 50-year-old owner contacted The Sun in an attempt to convince Nissan that the second-generation Navara should receive a recall to eliminate the risk of cracking the chassis.A Facebook group has been established, and over 18,000 people have joined it. Evidently, not all of them have suffered from the issue with the chassis breaking in half because of the cracks that could appear from rusting.According to claims made by Attwood Solicitors, approximately 35,000 units are affected in the United Kingdom, while 193,000 pickup trucks sold worldwide might suffer from this issue.It is fair to note that the chassis breaking in half does not happen overnight, as the vehicle must first experience rust behind its cabin, and then the material would have to develop cracks that could lead to breaking under load.Nissan has made the D40 Navara between 2004 and 2015, and the company has already replied to The Sun that it is taking action to help the affected owners, as well as the customers that have not experienced this problem.Concerned clients can contact Nissan to arrange a free inspection, and the Japanese brand could offer repairs if a fault is found. The same report noted that vehicles build between 2004 and 2008 are the most likely to suffer from this misfortune.Nissan representatives also stated that the company learned about this issue a year ago, and that it is not as widespread as it seemed. Furthermore, the makers of the Navara say that they have looked into the situation ever since, and that they have several options in place to support its clients. Not everyone is informed of the option, and some people find it weird to see children getting into what appears to be the trunk of a car. This led to several instances where bystanders believed that someone was taking kids with a Tesla Model S, which was evidently not the case.The most recent situation of this kind happened in Newhall, California, where someone called the police after seeing another person loading kids into the trunk of a gray Tesla. The SCV Sheriffs Station quickly sent a vehicle to track down the Tesla that appeared to be used in a kidnapping.The officers followed standard procedure, and they pulled over the car with their guns drawn. While being held at gunpoint, the driver got out of the car as he was instructed, and explained the situation to the officers . Upon discovering that the 2013 Tesla Model S that they pulled over had a back seat in the trunk, the driver was released.A statement from the representatives of the sheriffs station explained that they are not experts in Tesla, and they only followed procedure when they heard about a potential crime in progress, The Signal informs.This is not the first time when a Tesla driver is pulled over after someone sees him or her loading kids into the car through the rear hatch. Tesla is not the first automaker to offer jump seats, as these were often available in full-size wagons back in the day. Eventually, they were eliminated from most American cars, and the few European brands that ventured with this optional feature also removed it from their offer.Nowadays, Tesla is one of the few automakers that offers jump seats in the trunk, which makes it unusual for people to see drivers load kids in the car through the rear hatch. kW NVH Following 208,000-plus sales in the past year, the third-generation Yaris prepares for the next chapter in its life cycle. First and foremost, the old 1.33-liter engine has been discontinued in favor of a 1.5-liter powerplant with VVT-iE technology and a thermal efficiency of 38.5 percent. Thanks to 111 PS (82) and 136 Nm of torque, the 1.5-liter engine ticks all the right boxes. Oh, and another thing: Toyota says its up to 12 percent more efficient than the freely aspirated 1.33-liter mill it replaces. hot hatchback-flavored Yaris will also reach production, packing 210 PS (154.5 kW) and an undisclosed amount of torque from a yet-to-be-detailed turbocharged motor. Most likely, the hot Yaris will make use of a 1.6-liter powerplant. Until it makes it debuts at the 2017 Geneva Motor Show, this little technical info we have will have to do for the time being.Toyota would like to underline that the New Yaris benefits from more than 900 brand new parts. From a visual standpoint, its pretty obvious Toyota didnt just change the lighting then called it a day. For coolness sake, two colors were added to the European range: Hydro Blue and Tokyo Red. Inside, the 2017 Toyota Yaris benefits from a 4.2-inch TFT multi-information display flanked by two analog gauges. It comes as standard from the Mid grade upward, apparently. Propeller-like air vents and a redesigned center console are other highlights worthy of mention.In terms of equipment, even the Yaris Entry will benefit from Toyotas Safety Sense suite. From here on in, the lineup consists of the Mid, Mid+, Bi-tone, and Chic grade. The latter includes a black grille, 16-inch alloy wheels for the hybrid version, LED rear combination lights, chrome exterior trim, satin chrome bezels for the air vents, and black-finish part-leather seat upholstery.Finally, the Yaris Hybrid remains a unique proposition in this segment, bragging with best-in-class carbon dioxide emissions (75 grams per kilometer) and betterlevels than the pre-facelift model. First up, Joe Biden is thinking about dropping tariffs against China. But theres a spy in prison this morning that helps us understand why he shouldnt. Ill explain. Your second brief, If youre looking for a good paying job, you might consider being a CEO for a health insurance company. One executive made $142M dollars last year. Let's talk about that. And as always, Im keeping an eye out for developing stories. Put this one on your radar. Mexican cartels are grooming American kids online and paying them cash to traffic illegals or run drugs across the border. Ill share details. If you enjoyed this episode of the President's Daily Brief, remember to subscribe and listen daily at podfollow.com/pdb. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Supporters of current minority filibuster protections in the Legislature fought off an effort to strengthen majority control Tuesday with a vote that split senators into a 23-23 deadlock. After a full morning of debate, the Legislature adjourned with the issue undecided and the fight ready to be resumed on Wednesday. Eight senators who are Republicans joined all 15 senators who are Democrats in opposing a filibuster rules change authored by Sen. Tyson Larson of O'Neill that would have required the votes of at least 20 votes to sustain a filibuster. The current rule requires at least 33 votes in the 49-member Legislature to end a filibuster. Thus, 17 senators -- either voting no or not casting a vote -- could defeat a cloture motion to end debate under the current filibuster protection. Republicans who voted against the filibuster change in the non-partisan Legislature were Sens. Roy Baker of Lincoln, Robert Hilkemann of Omaha, Bob Krist of Omaha, John McCollister of Omaha, Jim Scheer of Norfolk, Paul Schumacher of Columbus, John Stinner of Gering and Matt Williams of Gotherburg. Scheer is Speaker of the Legislature. Not voting in the 23-23 tie vote were Sens. Ernie Chambers of Omaha, an independent; Laura Ebke of Crete, a Libertarian; and Mark Kolterman of Seward, a Republican. Larson changed his tally to not voting in order to be in position to seek reconsideration, leaving the official vote count at 22-23. Larson later offered another proposal to reduce the minority filibuster protection. Schumacher urged the Legislature to accept the current rules and leave the filibuster protection unchanged after the 1st Congressional District's caucus of senators who are members of the Committee on Committees agreed to support the appointment of newly-named Sen. Rob Clements of Elmwood to an open seat on the powerful Appropriations Committee. Clements was appointed to the Legislature by Gov. Pete Ricketts on Monday. Action by the 1st District caucus represented the extension of "a giant olive branch" to opponents of the current filibuster rule and provided an opportunity to move on without any further rules changes, Schumacher told his colleagues. "Peace has been offered," Schumacher said. But debate continued on a change in the filibuster rule. Larson said "the filibuster has been abused" by the minority in suppressing the will of the majority members of the Legislature. Sen. Lynne Walz of Fremont said Larson's proposed rule change is "not in the interest of my constituents." Walz noted that rural Nebraska is probably going to lose two seats in the Legislature after redistricting following the 2020 federal census, and that will make rural senators more of a minority in a Legislature that will increasingly be dominated by metropolitan senators. The DUP will never agree to an Irish language act, party leader Arlene Foster has insisted. Mrs Foster said if there was to be an Irish language act, there should be a Polish language act because more people in the North speak Polish than Irish. Sinn Fein have made the introduction of an Irish language act a key demand going into next month's assembly election. Referring to the demands, she told a party event in Lurgan: "If you feed a crocodile, it will keep coming back for more." In response to Mrs Foster's comments, Sinn Fein's Gerry Adams joked: "See you later, alligator". Mr Adams was attending Sinn Fein's candidate unveiling event in Belfast alongside the party's new Stormont leader Michelle O'Neill. Mrs O'Neill declined to be drawn on Mrs Foster's comments. "We are not interested in negativity," she said. "We are fighting this campaign. We have launched our candidates here this morning on the basis of three key principles - respect, equality for all, and integrity in the political institutions. "That's our job of work, that's what we are concerned with." Speaking earlier during the launch of the DUP campaign for the 2017 Assembly election, Mrs Foster said Gerry Adams, not Michelle O'Neill, is "front and centre" of the Sinn Fein campaign. Michelle O'Neill has replaced Martin McGuinness as Sinn Fein's leader in Stormont. She said: "So concerned were Sinn Fein about their faltering cause that Gerry Adams replaced Sinn Fein's leader with one of his own. Be very clear Michelle O'Neill was selected by Gerry Adams and she will be instructed by Gerry Adams. "Lets be very clear, at this election Gerry Adams is no longer in the shadows. He is front and centre of Sinn Fein's campaign. "Come election day, Sinn Fein could have enough seats to become the biggest party. Just imagine what Gerry Adams' radical agenda would mean for our way of life," said Mrs Foster. She said she understands the anger people feel over the botched renewable heating scheme. "No one feels worse about what happened than I do. I know for some doubts remain about the scheme and my role in it. I know for my part I have done nothing wrong. I know any investigation will clear my name. "We all know this election is not about the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI). The RHI merely gives Sinn Fein the cover to bring down Stormont and force an election when they thought the DUP had been weakened. "Make no mistake , Gerry Adams is back and centre stage. (Michelle O'Neill) was handpicked by Gerry Adams. She will be there to seek to implement Adams' radical plan ... We are in for the fight our political lives." For those who didn't know it, one can, in fact, be pulled over for poking along in the passing lane. So found the Nebraska Court of Appeals in a decision Tuesday in a Colorado man's drug case. Brian McCrickert of Fort Collins had argued that Seward County Sheriff's Sgt. Michael Vance didn't have probable cause to stop him on Interstate 80 on Dec. 4, 2013. He was driving 66 in a 75-mph zone, but the problem, according to Tuesday's order, is that he was driving in the passing lane, forcing traffic going the speed limit to pass him on the right. Vance saw two drivers pass McCrickert's black rental car, clocked him, then pulled up to let McCrickert know he was there and turned on his in-car camera. Then, the sergeant backed off so the driver could change lanes. "But the driver did not do so," Appeals Court Judge Michael W. Pirtle wrote. He said Vance testified at a suppression hearing that he would have moved on if McCrickert had moved into the right-hand lane. Instead, Vance pulled behind him, put on his lights and stopped McCrickert for impeding traffic. In court records, the sergeant said he smelled raw marijuana, searched with McCrickert's consent and found 3 pounds of weed in the trunk. At a bench trial, District Judge James Stecker found McCrickert guilty of possession of more than a pound of marijuana and sentenced him to 28 days in jail and a $5,000 fine. McCrickert appealed, challenging the stop. Pirtle cited Nebraska law 60-6,131, which requires vehicles to drive on the right side of the road, with limited exceptions. But, he added, even if the law doesn't apply to divided roads like I-80, as McCrickert's attorney argued, Vance still had probable cause to stop him because he was blocking the flow of traffic. "A traffic violation, no matter how minor, creates probable cause to stop the driver; thus, the traffic stop of McCrickert's vehicle was valid and not a violation of his constitutional rights," Pirtle said in the order. Gardai targeting the sale and supply of drugs in the Drimnagh/Crumlin area of Dublin have seized heroin worth 500,000. Gardai from Sundrive Road and Crumlin Garda Stations, supported by the Regional Armed Support Unit, carried out a planned search of a house at around 7pm yesterday. Police in the Netherlands are continuing to question two Dublin men following an armed incident in Amsterdam. They were among four men arrested after an attempted shooting, while three firearms were also discovered in a follow-up search. One of the men, a 29-year-old from the Drimnagh area, is understood to be a senior figure in the Kinahan drugs cartel. The man is said to be 'well known to gardai' The incident is said to have taken place in a pub in Rembrandt Square, in central Amsterdam at around 8.45pm on Sunday. The victim is thought to have escaped death after the gun failed to fire. He tried to shoot him in the head, but the gun jammed, said one source. Other sources confirmed this, although some reports indicated that it was a murder threat rather than attempted murder. The victim, described as a Dutch national originally from Nigeria, is thought to have fled the pub. Armed backup was called and police entered the premises and arrested who they said was the main suspect. Three others were also arrested, including one outside the premises. One of the Irishmen is a convicted drug dealer from Drimnagh, south Dublin, described as a significant player in the Kinahan organised crime group. The second Dubliner is thought to be a 23-year-old from the south inner city, considered to be an associate of the Drimnagh man. Three firearms, including a Glock handgun and a Walther PPK handgun, were found discarded or hidden inside the pub. Police said the firearms were sent off for ballistic and fingerprint examination. The Kinahan cartel has had long and extensive dealings in Amsterdam in relation to trafficking. Additional reporting from the Irish Examiner. Romanias prime minister said the ruling coalition will not resign despite mass demonstrations against a measure which would ease up on corruption. There are signs, however, that the centre-left government may not push ahead immediately with its attempt to decriminalise official misconduct, which ignited the protests. Prime minister Sorin Grindeanu acknowledged that "the act had led to division", and suggested he may sack the justice minister later this week. Unrest is continuing, with hundreds of government supporters massing outside the presidential palace in the Romanian capital, Bucharest, blaming president Klaus Iohannis for the crisis. The president has strongly opposed the measure. Elsewhere, protesters began gathering outside the government offices for the seventh consecutive evening in Victory Square, the site of the biggest protests Romania has had since communism was overthrown in 1989. Social Democratic chairman Liviu Dragnea emerged from a meeting with governing partners saying that "we unreservedly expressed our support for the government ... and the prime minister". On Sunday, the government backed down following six days of street protests over an emergency ordinance that would decriminalise abuse in office by officials if the amount involved was less than about $48,500. It plans to introduce another version of the law in parliament, where it has a majority. However, in a sign of second thoughts, justice minister Florin Iordache later said in a statement he was "not preoccupied" with drawing up a draft law. "Currently, the justice minister is focusing on the decisions published by the Constitutional Court ... which will be analysed in the near future," the statement said. The Constitutional Court is expected to rule on the constitutionality of the decriminalising proposal later this week. Mr Dragnea, the major power broker in the government, is banned from being prime minister because of his conviction in April 2016 for vote rigging. Modified On Feb 07, 2017 04:44 PM By Rachit Shad Hitachi Automotive Systems and Honda to create a joint venture company for electric vehicle motors Everyone has become accustomed to news from around the world about the future of automobiles how they will be electric, non-polluting, autonomous and connected to the infrastructure. While all this sounds great and every automaker wants to be a part of this great change, the costs involved in research, development and implementation of the tech can go beyond the GDP of several countries put together! Thats where collaborations come in. To keep the expenditure in check, automakers join forces with companies working towards the same goal. News has now surfaced that Japanese auto giant Honda Motor Co. Ltd (HMCL) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with compatriot Hitachi Automotive Systems Ltd (HASL), which aims to establish a joint venture company for the development, manufacture and sales of motors for electric vehicles. HASL is quite the old hand in developing motors for electric vehicles (EV). The company started selling motors for EVs in 1999 and, since then, has been investing heavily in refining the capabilities of its motors for EVs. Over the years, it has delivered high-output, lightweight and compact electric vehicle motors to automakers worldwide. In 1999, HMCL also launched its first car, the Insight, which was powered by a hybrid powertrain. Honda, as we know, has been working hard at honing its recipe of electric cars, with its FCX Clarity being a prime example. This joint venture between the Japanese duo will help the companies reach their ultimate goal faster. Both the firms believe that this tie-up will also help strengthen their competitive advantage as well as the business foundation for the development of motors for electric vehicles. Subsidiary operations of the new Japan-based joint venture are planned for the United States and China, each with manufacturing and sales functions. The signing of the final agreement for the establishment of the joint venture is scheduled for the end of March this year. Changes in the 2017 Adult Immunization Schedule Changes in the 2017 adult immunization schedule from the previous years schedule include new or revised ACIP recommendations for influenza, human papillomavirus, hepatitis B, and meningococcal vaccines: Influenza vaccination (1). Changes are related to the low effectiveness of the live attenuated influenza vaccine (LAIV) (FluMist, MedImmune) against influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 in the United States during the 20132014 and 20152016 influenza seasons and revised recommendations for the use of influenza vaccine among patients with egg allergy. These changes are reflected in the 2017 adult immunization schedule as follows: LAIV should not be used during the 20162017 influenza season. Adults with a history of egg allergy who have only hives after exposure to egg should receive age-appropriate inactivated influenza vaccine (IIV) or recombinant influenza vaccine (RIV). Adults with a history of egg allergy with symptoms other than hives (e.g., angioedema, respiratory distress, lightheadedness, or recurrent emesis, or who required epinephrine or another emergency medical intervention) may receive age-appropriate IIV or RIV. The selected vaccine should be administered in an inpatient or outpatient medical setting and supervised by a health care provider who is able to recognize and manage severe allergic conditions. Human papillomavirus vaccination (2). Healthy adolescents who start their human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination series before age 15 years are recommended to receive 2 doses of HPV vaccine. Adults and adolescents who did not start their HPV vaccination series before age 15 years should receive 3 doses of HPV vaccine. Changes in recommendations in the adult immunization schedule include updates regarding HPV vaccination for adults who did not complete the HPV vaccination series as adolescents. These changes are described in the 2017 adult immunization schedule as follows: Adult females through age 26 years and adult males through age 21 years who have not received any HPV vaccine should receive a 3-dose series of HPV vaccine at 0, 12, and 6 months. Males aged 22 through 26 years may be vaccinated with a 3-dose series of HPV vaccine at 0, 12, and 6 months. Adult females through age 26 years and adult males through age 21 years (and males aged 22 through 26 years who may receive HPV vaccine) who initiated the HPV vaccination series before age 15 years and received 2 doses at least 5 months apart are considered adequately vaccinated and do not need an additional dose of HPV vaccine. Adult females through age 26 years and adult males through age 21 years (and males aged 22 through 26 years who may receive HPV vaccine) who initiated the HPV vaccination series before age 15 years and received only 1 dose, or 2 doses less than 5 months apart, are not considered adequately vaccinated and should receive 1 additional dose of HPV vaccine. Hepatitis B vaccination (3). The ACIP updated chronic liver disease conditions for which a hepatitis B vaccine (HepB) series is recommended. This change is described in the 2017 adult immunization schedule as follows: Adults with chronic liver disease, including, but not limited to, hepatitis C virus infection, cirrhosis, fatty liver disease, alcoholic liver disease, autoimmune hepatitis, and an alanine aminotransferase (ALT) or aspartate aminotransferase (AST) level greater than twice the upper limit of normal should receive a HepB series. Meningococcal vaccination (4,5). There are two changes in meningococcal vaccination recommendations for 2017. First, the ACIP recommended that adults with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection receive a 2-dose primary series of serogroups A, C, W, and Y meningococcal conjugate vaccine (MenACWY). Second, the ACIP provided updated dosing guidance for one of the serogroup B meningococcal vaccines (MenB) (MenB-FHbp [Trumenba, Pfizer]). Three doses of MenB-FHbp should be administered at 0, 12, and 6 months to adults who are at increased risk for meningococcal disease, and those who are vaccinated during serogroup B meningococcal disease outbreaks. When MenB-FHbp is given to healthy adolescents and young adults who are not at increased risk for meningococcal disease, 2 doses of MenB-FHbp should be administered at 0 and 6 months (MenB-FHbp was previously recommended as a 3-dose series at 0, 2, and 6 months, consistent with the original vaccine licensure for this population). The dosing frequency and interval for the other MenB, MenB-4C (Bexsero, GlaxoSmithKline), have not changed: MenB-4C remains a 2-dose series, with doses administered at least 1 month apart. Either MenB vaccine can be used when vaccination is indicated. The change in ACIP recommendations on the use of MenB-FHbp does not imply a preference for one MenB over the other. These updates in meningococcal vaccination are reflected in the 2017 adult immunization schedule as follows: Adults with anatomical or functional asplenia or persistent complement component deficiencies should receive a 2-dose primary series of MenACWY, with doses administered at least 2 months apart, and be revaccinated every 5 years. They should also receive a series of MenB with either MenB-4C (2 doses administered at least 1 month apart) or MenB-FHbp (3 doses administered at 0, 12, and 6 months). Adults with HIV infection who have not been previously vaccinated should receive a 2-dose primary MenACWY vaccination series, with doses administered at least 2 months apart, and be revaccinated every 5 years. Those who previously received 1 dose of MenACWY should receive a second dose at least 2 months after the first dose. MenB is not routinely recommended for adults with HIV infection, because meningococcal disease in this population is caused primarily by serogroups C, W, and Y. Microbiologists who are routinely exposed to isolates of Neisseria meningitidis should receive 1 dose of MenACWY and be revaccinated every 5 years if the risk for infection remains, as well as either MenB-4C (2 doses administered at least 1 month apart) or MenB-FHbp (3 doses administered at 0, 12, and 6 months). Adults at risk because of a meningococcal disease outbreak should receive 1 dose of MenACWY if the outbreak is attributable to serogroup A, C, W, or Y; or, if the outbreak is attributable to serogroup B, either MenB-4C (2 doses administered at least 1 month apart) or MenB-FHbp (3 doses administered at 0, 12, and 6 months). Young adults aged 16 through 23 years (preferred age range is 16 through 18 years) who are healthy and not at increased risk for serogroup B meningococcal disease may receive either MenB-4C (2 doses administered at least 1 month apart) or MenB-FHbp (3 doses administered at 0, 12, and 6 months) for short-term protection against most strains of serogroup B meningococcal disease. Notable changes to Figures 1 and 2. Changes in Figure 1. Recommended immunization schedule for adults aged 19 years or older, by age group and Figure 2. Recommended immunization schedule for adults aged 19 years or older by medical condition and other indications are as follows: In Figures 1 and 2, standardized acronyms for vaccines are used to promote simplicity and consistency, and their listing has been reordered. Ancillary information previously contained in the figures has been consolidated and moved to the cover page. Colored blocks instead of colored bars are used to denote indications. These figures must be used in conjunction with the footnotes, which contain important information for each vaccine and considerations for special populations. In Figure 2, the columns for medical conditions and other indications have been reordered to keep medical conditions together and special populations together. Additional footnotes mark appropriate columns of medical conditions and other indications to refer the reader to view relevant vaccine-specific information. In Figure 2, the color of the indication block for MenACWY for HIV infection has been changed to yellow (recommended for adults who meet the age requirement, lack documentation of vaccination, or lack evidence of past infection) from purple (recommended for adults with additional medical conditions or other indications). Changes to footnotes. Footnotes are limited to the information pertaining to vaccines listed in Figures 1 and 2 and are organized by vaccine-specific information and considerations for special populations (e.g., pregnant women and adults with HIV infection). The footnote labeled additional information, contained in previous versions of the adult immunization schedule, has been moved to the cover page. The footnote related to immunocompromising conditions has been removed, but vaccine-specific information on immunocompromising conditions has been added to the appropriate footnotes (e.g., the footnote for pneumococcal vaccination). The format for the footnotes has been condensed, simplified, and standardized. The format for pneumococcal; human papillomavirus; meningococcal; varicella; and measles, mumps, and rubella vaccination footnotes has undergone substantial revision. Other changes. Lastly, the table of contraindications and precautions for vaccines routinely recommended for adults, which previously was a stand-alone document, has been incorporated into the adult immunization schedule. The content of the table has been consolidated and simplified. The climate for small businesses like ours in New York has become such that its difficult to justify taking risks and running never mind startinga legitimate mom-and-pop business, wrote the owners of China Fun, a popular Upper East Side restaurant, in a letter recently posted on their shuttered restaurants front door. People who lose family businesses often express similar sentiments. But the Wu family, who started China Fun in 1991, went beyond the usual grumpiness in their farewell letter to identify a serious flaw and contradiction in the way New York claims to treat small businesses. The state and municipal governments, attest the Chinese immigrant entrepreneurs, with their punishing rules and regulations, seem to believe that we should be their cash machine to pay for all that ails us in society. Indeed, New York Citys elected class talks a good game about the importance of small businesses, while pursuing policies that use these businesses as the instrument of left-wing social change. One of the first actions that Mayor de Blasio and the newly elected city council took in 2014, for example, was to amend a new paid sick-leave law that originally applied to companies with 15 or more employees: the revised law expanded the coverage to businesses with as few as five workers. The mayor and his progressive allies spoke about the extension of paid sick leave as an unalloyed victory for progress. This is going to be one city, where everyone has a shot and rises together, said de Blasio. This is the culmination of a movement and coalition that has put the rights and needs of families at the center of our agenda, announced council speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito. Mayor de Blasio and Speaker Mark-Viverito are ushering in a new progressive era by reinvigorating our social safety net, toasted Congresswoman Nydia Velazquez. Among the huzzahs and congratulations, not a word was heard about the businesses that would shoulder the financial burden of providing an extra paid week annually per employeenot to mention the administrative costs of recordkeeping, rolling over unused hours, and the like. For major companies with dedicated human-resource departments, these functions are built in, but for a small family restaurant, its a different story. It may be that the social importance of paid sick leave outweighs the petty bookkeeping concerns of the citys small businessesbut imagine how galling it must be to hear elected officials take credit for something that, after all, they are strong-arming other people to do. When progressives expand the regulatory framework in which businesses operate, they claim credit for taking bold steps to fix social illsbut they also create consequences that they will never have to deal with themselves. In his battle to out-progressive his former employee Mayor de Blasio, Governor Cuomo hiked the minimum wage to $15 per hourand cast the move in reverential terms as the Mario Cuomo Campaign for Economic Justice (named after his late father, the former governor). The state-government website describes the rise in the pay floor as one of the single-most progressive actions to help working families. Cuomo insists that New York is showing the way forward on economic justice by instituting a policy virtually guaranteed to eliminate 200,000 jobs statewide, and which will deform the upstate labor market by setting a $12 minimum wagealmost equal to the area median wage. One can only imagine the Wu family at China Fun, dealing with rising rents and other costsincluding a 6 percent tax on commercial rents that applies only to companies in lower Manhattanhearing about these new labor costs devised by socially enlightened politicians. Its remarkable how blithely todays progressive leaders follow in the path of their spiritual forebears, spreading ruination in the name of progress. They can keep slapping one another on the back, but New Yorkers just lost another family business. Photo by MikeEntertainment/iStock When his case goes to trial, attorneys for Jamez Henderson will argue he shot 41-year-old Jamie Watson in self-defense during an altercation, they said Tuesday. The shooting happened inside a home at 215 Fairfield St., and Watson's body was found wrapped in carpet and blankets on Dec. 15 in the trunk of a car at 1025 N. 23rd St. after a group of people allegedly tried to move his body that morning, according to court documents. Two of eight people charged in the case were in Lancaster County Court Tuesday for preliminary hearings -- Henderson, 33, and 20-year-old Ivon Butler of Phoenix. Witnesses overheard conversations and were told by Henderson that Watson tried to rob him and then pistol-whipped him in the face, according to Lincoln police Investigator Luis Herrera, who testified during Butler's hearing. In Henderson's mugshot provided by the Lincoln Police Department, he has a mark on his forehead, the bridge of his nose and the bottom of his right cheek. He is charged with second-degree murder, use of a firearm to commit a felony, possession of meth, possession of a firearm by a prohibited person, possession of money while violating a drug law and escape when under the arrest of a felony charge. Charged with accessory to a felony are Butler, Sidney Jackson, 25, Juanita Lara, 31, Jerah Stovall, 31, and Stacey Bigelow, 27, all of Lincoln, Brandi Bond, 22, listed as a transient, and Ronald Auzenne, 19, of Glendale, Arizona. Henderson waived his right Tuesday to a preliminary hearing on all charges other than escape. Investigator Matt Franken testified that after finding Watson's body, officers Shawn Kennett and Herrera began monitoring the home at 215 Fairfield St. Just after noon on Dec. 15, reports say they saw Henderson, Butler, Auzenne and Bond leave the house in a Pontiac G6. Police tailed the car to a convenience store at 6801 Wildcat Drive, where Herrera and Kennett tried to detain Henderson at gunpoint. They got the three other people out of the car and tried to handcuff Henderson as he sat in the backseat, but he was able to wiggle his way into the driver's seat of the car and take off, Franken said. Defense attorney Sarah Newell, of the Nebraska Commission on Public Advocacy, argued that Henderson could have only escaped had he been placed in official custody or been told by Lincoln police officers that he was under arrest. She argued the charge should be dismissed or reduced to resisting arrest. Franken couldn't say if the officers ever told Henderson he was under arrest. He said they told the people in the car to put their hands up, and he did not comply, instead trying to grab something with his right hand. Franken said neither officer could see what Henderson was reaching for. They talked about using their Taser, and one officer told Henderson he'd be shot if he didn't comply, Franken said. Asked by Newell what Henderson eventually grabbed, Franken said it was a cellphone. About an hour after he drove off from the gas station, Henderson crashed the car into a creek in a field near Interstate 80. He was found in a wooded area nearby and arrested without further incident. Lancaster County Judge James Foster said he'd take arguments under advisement. When Supreme Court justice Antonin Scalia died last year, Senate minority leader Harry Reid promptly issued a statement commanding Senate Republicans to approve a replacementwhomever President Obama might choose to nominateright away. Refusal to act would be a shameful abdication, he added. He was joined by then-presidential candidate Hillary Clinton and others in a chorus of preemptive denunciation against any delay. Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell had other ideas. The American people should have a voice in the selection of their next Supreme Court Justice, McConnell said in a statement issued shortly after Scalias death. Therefore, this vacancy should not be filled until we have a new president. He was joined by Senate Judiciary Committee chairman Chuck Grassley and, soon, the entire Senate Republican caucus. Progressives across the nation were outragedbut confident. In fact, many of them were doubly confident. First, Senators Reid, Chuck Schumer, and others simply assumed that the Republicans would cave. McConnell will back down, Reids spokesman boasted to the press. Second, progressives nationwide expected the next president to be Hillary Clinton, and so they assumed Republicans blocking a vote until Election Day would simply be cutting off their own noses to spite their faces by letting Clinton pick the next justiceand, they chortled, the next justice would be someone much less restrained than President Obamas nominee, Judge Merrick Garland. Just a week before the November election, Reid said that if Republicans were to continue to hold open Scalias seat after the election, it would be a constitutional crisis. But days later, the situation looked starkly different: Clintons loss, combined with the Democrats failure to win back the Senate, meant that President Trump would be picking Scalias successor and that a majority of senators was likely to support the nomination. With the tables turned, the Democrats suddenly concluded that they would need to block Trumps nominee. For Democrats, this was a shameless about-face. They had spent 2016 calling a vacant Supreme Court seat a constitutional crisis. Even Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg had taken up the Lefts rallying cry, repeatedly telling reporters that the Constitution entitled Garland to a confirmation vote. Unfortunately for Justice Ginsburg and like-minded progressives, their constitutional argument was simply make-believe. Their assertions lacked any support in the Constitution and were at odds with the history of Senate confirmation of Supreme Court nominations. Over the course of 2016, however, progressive activists began to believe their own spin. Theyre now convinced that the still-vacant Supreme Court seat was stolen. Senator Jeff Merkley of Oregon expressed this view in a New York Times op-ed, accusing Republicans of pulling off one of the great political heists in American history: the theft of a seat on the United States Supreme Court. In response to Trumps nomination of Judge Neil Gorsuch to fill the Scalia seat, Merkley and others are calling upon new Senate minority leader Schumer to filibuster the nomination. A filibuster would be the height of hypocrisy for Democrats, given their posture last year. Moreover, just three years ago, Senate Democrats used the so-called nuclear option to change Senate rules and prohibit any filibuster of lower-court nominations. The nuclear option netted Democrats three powerful D.C. circuit judges, whom Reid and others soon credited for standing ready to protect Obamacare and other regulatory programs in court. Now that Democrats no longer control the White House, they returned to their Bush-era position as the party of judicial-nomination filibusters. The Gorsuch nomination puts Schumer and his colleagues in a spot. Progressives are demanding a filibuster, but the costs would be steep. Republicans would be likely to counter by using the Democrats own toolthe nuclear optionto prevent filibuster of any future Supreme Court nominations by President Trump, should any more vacancies arise. And more vacancies are possible, even likelyperhaps the seats of the 83-year-old Ginsburg (whom Democrats were pushing to retire before the end of Obamas term) or 80-year-old Justice Anthony Kennedy, the swing justice rumored to be contemplating retirement. The Washington Post recently reported that Democrats are urging Ginsburg to keep up her health, exercise more, and eat more kale. I have O-negative blood that shes welcome to at any time, said a University of Michigan lecturer. While Gorsuchs judicial approach might most closely resemble Scalias (as suggested by Gorsuchs remarks in honor of Scalia last year), the closest comparison for the upcoming confirmation fight might be the one that ensued for John Robertss 2005 nomination to succeed William Rehnquist. Like Gorsuch, Roberts was nominated to replace a conservative, and like Gorsuch, Roberts had credentials beyond criticism. Both men present themselves well in public. Gorsuch may not get as many votes as Roberts did, but given the number of Democratic Senators facing reelection in states that voted for Trump, Gorsuchs margin of victory should be comfortable. Moderate Republican senators such as Lindsey Graham and John McCain have expressed nominal reservations about using the nuclear option to confirm Gorsuch. If Senate Democrats do filibuster Gorsuch, though, then McCain, Graham, and others could rightly conclude that Democrats would filibuster any conservative nominee. Schumer is surely smart enough to know that he ought to let Gorsuch replace the like-minded Scalia and save the filibuster for the next nominationthe one that could significantly tip the Courts ideological balance. The question is whether progressives inflamed passions will allow Senate Democrats to hold their fire until then. Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images The Fundraising Regulator has said it can see no real basis for a complaint made against it to Trading Standards by an arts charity last week. The Fundraising Regulator was responding to a complaint made by Children and the Arts, a London-based arts charity, who reported the fundraising watchdog to Trading Standards after receiving what it called an unsolicited invoice implying that it must pay the regulators annual levy. A spokesman for the Fundraising Regulator strongly denied the accusation however, and said that the letter it sent to Children and the Arts was the same template as it sent to all of the nearly 2,000 charities which fall into the fundraising levy and clearly states that contributions are to be made voluntarily. We can see no real basis for the complaint, said the spokesman. Because the letter from the chair of the board and chief executive explaining the levy payment is voluntary was sent before the invoice. The spokesman said there was a chance Children and the Arts had received the invoice before the letter as the letter and invoice were sent separately but said the charity had no evidence to show that is the case. Given the letter and invoice were sent separately it is possible that a charity might not have received the letter but there is no evidence to show that is the case. The letter is also on our website. If the charity concerned received the letter before the invoice the communications we sent were quite proper and there is no basis for complaint. The spokesman also said that the Fundraising Regulator had no intention of changing the wording of its invoices to make clearer that all contributions to the levy are voluntary. Classic case of trying to get money under false pretences The chief executive of Children and the Arts however has accused the regulator of trying to raise money under false pretences and said it was guilty of the kind of aggressive soliciting of donations that it was put in place to stop in charities. Children and the Arts said that the invoice it received on 16 December from the Fundraising Regulator for 150 as part of its first levy payment didnt make clear that the fee was voluntary. Jeremy Newton, chief executive of the charity, said he had reported the Fundraising Regulator to Trading Standards for an apparent breach of the 2008 Consumer Protection legislation. Under the legislation, those convicted can face fines or imprisonment for up to two years, or both. Newton told Arts Professional that the regulators actions were a classic case of trying to get money under false pretences and said that the ambiguous wording of the letter and invoice clearly imply this is not soliciting donations but charging for services. Bombarding charities with invoices in the hope that someone will pass them through for payment without spotting the voluntary small-print all smacks of highly unprofessional, non-transparent, over-aggressive fundraising just the kind of thing the new Regulator was set up to stop, said Newton. A spokesman for London Trading Standards the local Trading Standards authority where the complaint was made refused to comment on the issue. e.g. Show some slides; switch to a full-screen media element display for the video; then switch pack to the slides. "(I) am amazed to see myself here rather than there ... now rather than then". Blaise Pascal Thanks for your response. But, I am afraid I am not getting your statement "switch to a full-screen media element display for the video". Can you please elaborate or share some code around? It would be really helpful. T&R, Shrikrishna. You're writing the code. "(I) am amazed to see myself here rather than there ... now rather than then". Blaise Pascal Since this is not a "canned" presentation, there are no "rules". "(I) am amazed to see myself here rather than there ... now rather than then". Blaise Pascal What im trying to do is design and fuctions(not all) like Orange5 has on a main area(see the link of the picture). This field origionally filled with "FFFF" letters, and the user can write into this cells, and change the data on into by clicking the "write" button. Also i can fill this field by pressing a "read" button, it will read the data from EEPROM . My code on Microcontroller is ready, and i already know how to send/receive/write/read data from/into EEPROM to C#. But i dont know how to relise this on C# with this design and functions. Any help please.. http://imgur.com/a/90Wsn articles on CodeProject[^] that will help you to learn Windows Forms. Also your link is wrong. Ex: lets I have a Combo-box control in my Win-Form project and that has a list of city stored in database, now user A and User B are working on the same form. If user A adds a new city in the database how can User Bs combo-box take that change into consideration and update itself automatically? The proposed architecture does not solve any problems, does not add value and will introduce a lot of new problems to solve. What happens when two people edit the same text-box? Would you want the form to show those edits to, in real-time? If you can't read my code, try converting it here[^] Bastard Programmer from Hell There is no method to do that besides refreshing the form in regular intervals (which is a bad idea). But it is not necessary at all. When a user did not find a city in the database he will probably enter it and the application is updating the database and reloading the combo box using a database query. When another user shortly thereafter tries to add the same city, this will fail. But the failure can be silently ignored. The application just reloads the combo box which contains then the new city. It would be nice if we could find a common UI parser so that we could push client software updates out from a centralized source across some kind of pre-existing structure, like a network... "There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies and statistics." - Benjamin Disraeli My Interface: public interface IInstrumentService { void Start(); void Stop(); void UpdateStatus(ServiceStatusModel status); } My class public class TestClass1 : IInstrumentService { public void Start() { } public void Stop() { } public void UpdateStatus(ServiceStatusModel status) { } } My method to load: private void GetServicesToLoadServices() { string[] files = Directory.GetFiles(_servicesLocation, " *.dll" ); foreach ( string file in files) { Assembly assembly = Assembly.LoadFrom(file); foreach (Type type in assembly .GetTypes()) { bool isImplementing1 = type.IsAssignableFrom( typeof (IInstrumentService)); bool isImplementing2 = typeof (IInstrumentService).IsAssignableFrom(type); } } } Anyone see what's wrong here? If it's not broken, fix it until it is. Everything makes sense in someone's mind. Ya can't fix stupid. Kevin Marois wrote: Anyone see what's wrong here? Is this a quiz? The difficult we do right away... ...the impossible takes slightly longer. If it's not broken, fix it until it is. Everything makes sense in someone's mind. Ya can't fix stupid. C# foreach (Type type in assembly .GetTypes()) should be C# foreach (Type type in assembly .GetExportedTypes()) ? If it's not broken, fix it until it is. Everything makes sense in someone's mind. Ya can't fix stupid. Assembly #1: C# namespace AssemblyGetTypeTest { class Program { static void Main(string[] args) { Assembly a = Assembly.LoadFrom( @" TestTypeLib.dll" ); Type testInterface = a.GetType( " TestTypeLib.ITestInterface" ); foreach (Type t in a.GetTypes()) { if (testInterface.IsAssignableFrom(t)) Console.WriteLine($ " Success on type {t.Name} in namespace {testInterface.Namespace}" ); if ( typeof (ITestInterface).IsAssignableFrom(t)) Console.WriteLine($ " Success on type {t.Name} in namespace AssemblyGetTypeTest." ); } Console.ReadKey(); } } public interface ITestInterface { void Test(); } } Assembly #2: C# namespace TestTypeLib { public interface ITestInterface { void Test(); } public class Class1 : ITestInterface { public void Test(){ } } } Output: Success on type ITestInterface in namespace TestTypeLib Success on type Class1 in namespace TestTypeLib The interfaces TestTypeLib.ITestInterface and AssemblyGetTypeTest.ITestInterface are different. This space for rent IsInstanceOfType instead of IsAssignableFrom ? Hi, I was wondering if someone could show what i am doing wrong here I have a combobox with about 20 items listed. Now when someone selects an item from the combobox i need that Item to be "Inserted" into the table column named "Mode". Here is what i have tried to far but to no prevail C# MyCommand.Parameters.Add( " @Mode" , System.Data.SqlDbType.Text); MyCommand.Parameters[ " @Mode" ].Value = Convert.ToInt32(cbModePicker.SelectedItem.ToString()); Molson Coors Brewing Company manufactures and sells beer and other beverage products in the United States, Canada, Europe, and internationally. It sells various products under the Coors Light, Miller Lite, Coors Banquet, the Blue Moon Brewing Company brands, the Jacob Leinenkugel Brewing Company brands, Keystone, Icehouse, Mickey's, Miller 64, Miller Genuine Draft, Miller High Life, Milwaukee's Best, Hamm's, Olde English 800, Steel Reserve, Crispin, Smith & Forge, Redd's, the Henry's Hard Soda, and Steel Reserve Alloy Series brands. The company also offers various brands, including Molson Canadian, Belgian Moon, Carling, Carling Black Label, Creemore Springs, the Granville Island, Mad Jack, the Miller, Molson Canadian 67, Molson Canadian Cider, Molson Dry, Molson Export, Old Style Pilsner, and the Rickard's family of brands. In addition, it provides its products under the Staropramen, Apatinsko, Astika, Bergenbier, Borsodi, Branik, Jelen, Kamenitza, Niksicko, Noroc, Ostravar, Ozujsko, Sharp's Doom Bar, Worthington's, Cobra, and other brand names. Further, the company imports and sells Hop Valley, Revolver, Saint Archer, Terrapin, Grolsch, Peroni Nastro Azzurro, Pilsner Urquell, Desperados, Dos Equis, Moretti, Sol, Tecate, Carling Strong, Coors, Coors 1873, Coors Extra, Coors Gold, Iceberg 9000, King Cobra, Thunderbolt, and Zima brand products. Additionally, it brews or distributes various brands, such as Amstel Light, Heineken, Murphy's, Newcastle Brown Ale, Strongbow cider, Beck's, Belle-Vue Kriek brands, Hoegaarden, Leffe, Lowenbrau, Lowenweisse, Spaten and Stella Artois, Corona Extra, Rekorderlig, Singha, Blue Moon, Corona, Miller High Life, Molson Canadian, and other Modelo brands, as well as George Killian's Irish Red, the Redd's, and Foster's brands. The company was formerly known as Adolph Coors Company and changed its name to Molson Coors Brewing Company in February 2005. The Company was founded in 1786 and is headquartered in Denver, Colorado. 02/07/2017 Photo (c) zimmytws - Fotolia The costs of Medicare are quickly rising and are likely to rise even more in the years ahead as more Baby Boomers are enrolled. It has many lawmakers and policymakers looking for ways to cut costs. Researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine have a suggestion: take a hard look at how Medicare Advantage plans are funded. In a report published in the journal Health Affairs, the researchers contend that Medicare could over-pay Medicare Advantage plans by $200 billion over 10 years. When you sign up for Medicare, you have the option of going with Original Medicare or enrolling in a Medicare Advantage plan. These Medicare Advantage plans are provided by private health insurance companies that contract with Medicare to lump all services -- Part A, Part B, and Part D prescription drug coverage -- into one policy. Advantage plans can also cover things that Medicare doesn't. Payment method is the problem Medicare pays Medicare Advantage providers, but the UC researchers say how they are paid is the source of the problem. When an individual enrolls in Medicare Advantage, Medicare pays an amount into the plan based on how much medical service the individual is likely to need. The problem is, there is really no way to know. The researchers say Medicare Advantage plan administrators "have strong incentives to find and report as many diagnoses as they can," meaning they get more money from Medicare. This is called coding intensity. The researchers point to a recent study that found no evidence that Medicare Advantage policyholders use any more medical services than people enrolled in Original Medicare. Unless this payment system changes, the researchers argue, Medicare could overpay Medicare Advantage plans by $200 billion over the next decade. Protect taxpayers Principal investigator Richard Kronick says Congress and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) should establish a payment system that protects taxpayers from strategies used by Medicare Advantage plans to boost their revenue. The projected $200 billion in over-payments over the next ten years is stunningly large in absolute dollar terms," he said. "To provide some perspective, federal support for community health centers is approximately $5 billion per year. Kronick says more than 30% of people on Medicare have opted for a Medicare Advantage program. To reduce the cost to the taxpayer, he says the payment system should be adjusted to make no distinction in the health of those in Medicare Advantage plans and those on Original Medicare. The University of Nebraska and developer Tetrad Property Group are eyeing a March groundbreaking for Phase 2 of the Nebraska Innovation Campus research and business complex at the former State Fair Park. In documents filed with the city planning department last week, Tetrad is still planning an $18 million, three-story building with about 80,000 square feet of mixed-use space. The Nebraska Innovation Campus Development Corporation approved the new plans for the building in December, UNL Chancellor Ronnie Green said. The amended plan shows the building slightly northeast of its original site at the corner of Transformation Drive and 21st Street. That saves the corner lot -- a prime location on the research campus, according to Green -- for future development. No building permits have been filed at this point, said Tetrad communications director Jennifer Brinkman, but plans have been drawn up for the next building to be located on the campus of the public-private partnership launched by the university in 2009. Under an agreement between NU and developer Nebraska Nova, Tetrad was required to move forward on the latest building at Innovation Campus within 18 months of the last building becoming occupied. The developer will own the building and be responsible for finding tenants. UNL moved its food science department to the Food Innovation Center in summer 2015, triggering the clause that pushed forward development on the fourth building to be located on the 250-acre park. At this time, there is no plan to move any academic unit into the new building, Green said. "If there are partners who come into that facility and need university presence or partnership, we'll consider that," Green said. "We don't have anything like that planned at this point." No lease contracts had been signed for the new space as of last week, Brinkman said. Tetrad hopes to break ground as early as March, Brinkman said. Details will be finalized during the next few weeks in discussions between the city, the university and Tetrad. One of those details will be the potential use of tax-increment financing to improve infrastructure at Innovation Campus. According to the plan, increased traffic flow could require as much as $2.6 million in improvements to Transformation Drive, which cuts through the center of the research park. That work potentially could be done through tax-increment financing. The plans also show a new surface parking lot to the south and east of the new building. Source markets may be opening beyond China for SkySea Cruise Line. The big news this spring will be the addition of South Korea as a source market. Korea passengers will board the ship in Busan, sail to Japan and then disembark in Shanghai and fly home. Balancing the onboard product between Chinese and Korean passengers will be among the challenges for the company, which is a joint venture involving Royal Caribbean Cruises and Ctrip. Ken Muskat joined the company as CEO in January, previously holding posts with MSC and Royal Caribbean. Min Fan has moved up to chairman, and will be the driving force on investments in the brand (more ships), and developing the long-term strategic vision of the cruise line. Norwegian Cruise Line announced today that it will extend its offering of weekly roundtrip cruises from Miami to Cuba aboard Norwegian Sky through December 2017, according to a statement. Together with the five previously announced cruises in May 2017, these 25 additional cruises, which start in June 2017, all overnight in Havana. "We are thrilled to be the first cruise line able to offer weekly sailings from Miami to Cuba through the fall of 2017, all with overnights in the beautiful city of Havana," said Andy Stuart, president and chief executive officer for Norwegian Cruise Line. "We have seen great demand from our guests for sailings to Cuba and we look forward to providing more opportunities for them to experience this incredibly culture-rich destination on a weekly basis." Norwegian Sky will sail four-day roundtrip cruises from Miami each Monday, featuring an overnight in Havana as well as a call on Great Stirrup Cay, Norwegian's private island in the Bahamas. Windstar Cruises and the James Beard Foundation announced an exclusive partnership that "will result in scrumptious bites at sea for cruise guests and raise awareness of the epicurean delights to be discovered in ports around the world where the leading small ship line sails," according to the company. Our partnership as the official cruise line of the James Beard Foundation solidifies our goal to support culinary excellence and innovation, and be the world's best small ship cruise line in everything that we do. We're thrilled to offer our guests exclusive access to the Foundation's diverse roster of award-winning chefs and cross-cultural culinary leaders who will help chart a course for extraordinary new menu offerings and dining experiences featured daily across our fleet wherever we sail in the world," said Windstar President John Delaney. Throughout 2017, the two organizations are expanding the relationship. Windstar will be involved as a sponsor of the 2017 James Beard Awards in Chicago; JBFs Taste America events a two-day affair in 10 different cities around the country including fundraising dinners and complimentary culinary tastings; the JBF Celebrity Chef Tour a dinner series in more than 20 cities around the country; and Chefs & Champagne the James Beard Foundations annual summer tasting party in the Hamptons. The James Beard Foundation welcomes unique opportunities to celebrate the chefs, writers and restaurateurs who advance both American and international culinary arts, noted James Beard Foundation President Susan Ungaro. This Windstar partnerships emphasis on innovation, superior service, intimate ambiance and the unique style of small ship cruising offers distinctive epicurean experiences while enjoying the cultures of France, Spain and Portugal. One hallmark of the deal is the food and wine cruise hosted by chef, restaurateur, and author Hugh Acheson. Other major components include the James Beard Foundation Culinary Cruise Collection, a series of cruises throughout 2017 featuring James Beard award winners and nominees. Additionally, cruise guests on every single sailing enjoy culinary demonstrations by Windstar chefs of James Beard Award-winning chef recipes, and the addition of James Beard Foundation Signature Recipes aboard all Windstar sailings. Phoenix Reisens Albatros rescued six fishermen off New Zealand earlier this month. The fishing vessel from Tonga was described as being in extreme distress because of motor damage and had to be left behind. The position data was sent to the New Zealand Coast Guard, which was also involved in the search. Passengers and crew onboard the Albatros donated 8,134 euros and $2,143, respectively to the fishermen, and Phoenix Reisen added another 5,000 euros. Small businesses that use a credit union for their financial services are typically more loyaland exhibit higher levels of satisfactionthan those that use a bank, according to new Raddon Research Insights data. While many small businesses that use a credit union as their primary financial institution (PFI) are likely to recommend their credit union to others, the number of small business credit union members remains small. Communication of capabilities is one way credit unions can help boost future market share. Word-of-mouth potential Raddon recently surveyed 1,200 small businesses and found that 91% of respondents who use a credit union as their PFI are likely to remain with the credit union. By comparison, 81% of small businesses using a bank as their PFI are likely to remain with their current provider. Small businesses that use a credit union as their PFI are also more likely to recommend their credit union to family members or friends than small businesses that use a bank. Credit unions are notorious for supporting every cause known to man. Its in their DNA. It is who they are. There comes a time, however, when financial institutions have to ask themselves how much is too much. Is supporting your loan officers church pot luck the best use of your marketing dollars? Does your annual sponsorship of the Sweet Potato Festival make good business sense? That depends on your brand plan. A strong brand plan answers these questions. What I really appreciated about the brand workshop was that the end result was not my brand plan. It was our brand plan. Our entire leadership team is on the same page, said Helen Gibson, vice president of marketing and education for Denver Community Credit Union. When someone is tempted to go back to the way we used to do things, we have a plan that gives us permission to say no. Our marketing team loves that. Brand plans, when developed correctly, identify exactly who your financial institution is and what it is about. They outline steps and processes necessary to initiate and maintain a consistent and unified brand strategy for existing and potential customers or members. Last fall, the House Financial Services Committee passed a Financial CHOICE Act that repealed harmful Dodd-Frank Act price controls. That provision would have benefited consumers and small businesses and strengthened small banks and credit unions. The new Congress not only should reconsider itit should send it to the presidents desk. These price controls, which apply to interchange fees on debit cards issued by some banks, were added to the Dodd-Frank Act at the last minute and without a single hearing. They werent a vital part of the post-collapse legislation, but rather an unrelated proposal offered by Sen. Richard Durbin (D-IL) that merchant lobbying groups had been pushing for a while. Durbin amendment supporters argued small banks and credit unions wouldnt be harmed by the price controls because institutions with less than $10 billion in assets were exempt. They also claimed retailers and merchants would pass on savings to consumers through lower prices. Its been six years since those promises were first made, and thats clearly not whats transpired. We now have a number of studies that demonstrate just what a failure the Durbin amendment has been. Russias Attack On Web Freedom Two years have passed since Edward Snowden exited Moscows Sheremetyevo airport and began a new life in exile. His revelations of hitherto unknown US and UK programmes of mass surveillance initiated a global debate, and some minor reforms. President Obama vowed to stop spying on Angela Merkel and other friendly western leaders. But what happened in Russia, the host country where Snowden now appears to be indefinitely stuck? The answer is a dispiriting one, at least according to Andrei Soldatov and Irina Borogan, two brave Moscow-based journalists who have followed the development of the Russian internet since its earliest days. The timing of Snowdens arrival in Russia in summer 2013 was lousy, they write. The Kremlin was in the middle of a large-scale offensive against internet freedoms. Russias spy agencies have the ability to snoop on emails via Sorm, a sophisticated system first developed by the KGB to eavesdrop on phone calls. The FSBs (Federal Security Service) legal powers go well beyond those of the US National Security Agency or GCHQ. Russian internet service providers are obliged to install Sorm black boxes; they have no clue as to what Russian intelligence agents choose to intercept. Soldatov and Borogan argue that what troubles Vladimir Putin is that the servers of big global platforms such as Facebook and Twitter are located in the US. Russias president takes a dim view of the Internet, which he personally doesnt use. In 2014 he dubbed it a CIA project. The challenge for the Russian authorities, as they saw it, was to force these US-hosted platforms to relocate their servers to Russian territory. There, of course, the state could control them. Soldatov and Borogan are Russias foremost experts on Putins security services and the founders of the website Agentura.ru. At a time when investigative journalism is practically extinct in Russia they have courageously kept going. The Red Web is a masterful account of the struggle between two opposing forces, the Kremlin and its longstanding desire to control information versus the unruly and horizontally mediated world of ordinary digital citizens. Soldatov and Borogan argue that Snowdens unexpected presence in Moscow, he was trying to get to Latin America, was a gift to the Kremlin. Snowden might have hoped that his revelations would trigger a debate inside Russia over domestic Internet surveillance, and its limits, as they had in most of the western world. (The exception is Britain, where details of the governments mass data-scooping were met with a yawn.) Instead, the Russian authorities gleefully used Snowden and his leaks as a pretext to roll out new repressive measures. Russias federal agency for supervising communications, Roskomnadzor, blacklisted sites under a deliberately fuzzy law prohibiting extremism. Bloggers with more than 3,000 followers were forced to register with the government. Independent news portals, including one run by former chess champion Garry Kasparov, were banned. All this was done under the banner of digital sovereignty. Meanwhile, Sorm was beefed up. Another law compelled phone companies and internet providers to keep data for 12 hours, so the state might examine it. The FSB got a new and powerful weapon too: deep packet inspection or DPI. This allows the agency to read everyones emails and to weed out websites belonging to those it deems to be politically unacceptable. Moscow turned up the heat up on foreign platforms too. Soon after Putin seized Crimea, it asked Twitter to close the account of the far-right Ukrainian party, Pravy Sektor. Twitter complied. The response generally from western tech giants to the Kremlins onslaught against free speech was remarkably spineless. Google, Twitter and Facebook all scurried to Moscow to meet with government representatives. Soldatov and Borogan are scathing about Snowdens response to all this. Apart from one question to Putin during a 2014 televised phone-in, when he asked about Russias surveillance practices, Snowden has been silent. He doesnt comment on Russian affairs. He gives interviews to visiting Americans and others, but wont meet Russian reporters or Moscow-based foreign correspondents. Soldatov and Borogan tried to see him and failed. In Snowdens defence, his reluctance to criticise the Kremlin is understandable: he is a man with few options. Negotiations to cut a deal with the US administration petered out some time ago, and if he returns home Snowden faces espionage charges that dont allow him a public-interest defence. One suspects he would like to say more about Russias Internet clampdown. And Snowden is this centurys most important whistleblower, not a Russian agent, as his lazier critics have claimed. Still, Soldatov and Borogan suggest he has failed to rise to the challenges of his situation. Snowden is fond of quoting the UN declaration of human rights, they note, but ended up in a country with a miserable human rights record. For months, they add, he pretended he wasnt in Russia but just somewhere. In the words of Stas Kozlovsky, the leader of Russias Wikipedia community, which were said in sorrow not anger: Snowden could have done good things globally, but for Russia he was a disaster. Since Putins undercover invasion of eastern Ukraine the attack on the countrys independent media, whats left of it, has got worse. The Kremlin uses an array of methods. They include denial-of-service attacks against opposition websites, and an army of paid trolls who post pro-Putin comments on Russian and western news outlets, including the Guardian. The trolls sit in a comfortable glass office in St Petersburg. They earn $900 a month, the authors report. In recent months, Russias two homegrown internet giants the search engine Yandex and social networking site VKontakte have come under pressure. VKontaktes founder Pavel Durov fled after two Kremlin-friendly billionaires bounced him from the company. Another oligarch, Alexander Mamut, fired the editor of the website Lenta.ru after it carried an interview with a Ukrainian nationalist leader. (Mamut owns the Waterstones bookshop chain and has a son at a British boarding school.) The Russian state doesnt always prevail, though. Predictably, Roskomnadzor banned a blog by the anti-corruption campaigner Alexei Navalny. A computer geek called Ruslan Leviev found a technical way of outwitting this censorship, and Navalnys journal remains online. Putin insists Russian troops are not fighting in Ukraine; investigative journalists didnt puncture the lie rather, it was Russian soldiers who exposed it by posting photos of themselves on VKontakte. Soldatov and Borogans previous book, The New Nobility, is a lucid study of how the FSB became Russias pre-eminent institution. The Red Web is good at tracing how the spy agencys modern tools of digital repression build directly on technologies devised and perfected, often with extraordinary creative skill, during the long KGB era. For example, the KGB set up secret acoustic laboratories dedicated to creating a secure telephone system. They also pioneered technologies that allowed its spies to recognise the identity of a speaker on the phone. This clandestine science got its own name: phonoscopy. The KGBs efforts to keep a lid on information were extensive, with paranoia never far away. In 1952 a young physicist called Vladimir Fridkin developed the Soviet Unions first photocopier. Five years later he was forced to destroy it, after the KGB twigged it might be used to reproduce forbidden journals. The Red Web is part detective story, as Soldatov and Borogan track down former KGB operatives and persuade them to talk. They meet a woman controller whose job it was to sit for hours in front of a whirring tape machine in one of the KGBs gloomy secret recording studios. This was tedious work and, as espionage goes, not terribly efficient: Soviet phone lines were often poor and it took hours for the controllers to transcribe what they had heard. The Kremlins instincts were totalitarian; reality was messy and incomplete. Few of those involved in spying on their fellow citizens, express regret. The journalists meet an ex-KGB engineer who, after the fall of the Soviet Union, set up a private company specialising in speech recognition. The firm flogs its technology to the FSB and to despotic regimes around the world, where it is used to catch dissidents. Asked if he had any qualms, the engineer shrugged: We just come up with the hardware. Guardian: Russia To Block LinkedIn: For Russian journalists fighting hacks is part of the job: Talking Points: Gold prices turned lower as the US Dollar soared alongside US Treasury bond yields, undermining demand for anti-fiat and non-interest-bearing assets. Crude oil prices followed suit, with the USD-denominated WTI benchmark succumbing to de-facto selling pressure as the greenback worked on what may be the largest advance in three weeks by days end. The move may reflect a White House effort to weaken the Dodd-Frank bank regulation law. A relatively lackluster offering on the economic data front is likely to keep markets engrossed in news-flow coming out of Washington, DC. The newly minted administration is yet to offer concrete details on a lofty fiscal stimulus effort it had promised. The promise of corporate tax cuts and generous infrastructure spending heartened investors in the weeks immediately after the election but the mood has since soured absent concrete policy proposals. The API weekly inventories report is also on tap. Will gold and crude oil continue to rise through the rest of the first quarter? See our forecasts here ! GOLD TECHNICAL ANALYSIS Gold prices are pulling back after rising to a three-month high. A daily close back below the 50% Fibonacci expansion at 1229.40 opens the door for a retest of the 38.2% level at 1217.91. Alternatively, a push above the 61.8% Fib at 1240.88 targets the 76.4% expansion at 1255.08. CRUDE OIL TECHNICAL ANALYSIS Crude oil prices continue to mark time in familiar territory. A push above resistance at 53.86 on a daily closing basis exposes the 55.21-65 area (January 3 high, 38.2% Fib expansion). Alternatively, a move below support at 52.44 sees the next downside barrier at a rising trend line capping losses since early December, now at 51.62. --- Written by Ilya Spivak, Currency Strategist for DailyFX.com To receive Ilya's analysis directly via email, please SIGN UP HERE Contact and follow Ilya on Twitter: @IlyaSpivak On the third floor of Dalhousies Dunn Building, youll find the labs of the Jeff Dahn Research Group, spanning several rooms of blinking lights and buzzing machines. There, youll also find Dr. Dahns office: a tiny space mostly used to hold boxes upon boxes of batteries for testing. (Its fair to assume Dr. Dahn spends most of his time in the labs.) On the offices wall hang two Calvin and Hobbes cartoons a personal favourite of the world-renowned Dal battery researcher. One in particular stands out: originally published in July 1987, the comic strip finds Calvin outraged over garbage and litter, and how humans treat the planet more generally. Thats what its all about, right here, says Dr. Dahn, who says his continuing quest to build better, longer-lasting batteries has always been informed by an environmental consciousness. We cant just keep burning fossil fuels; were going to heat the planet into death. And if you like the sea shore, and you want to continue to have land that you currently see not be submerged, you have to do something about it. For more than 35 years, Dr. Dahn has been at the forefront of research and innovation in battery technology. Through a mixture of fundamental and applied research, the work of his team can be found in some lithium-ion rechargeable batteries used in power tools, electric vehicles and other devices around the world today. Now, collaborating with Tesla as an industrial research chair, his lab is helping improve lithium-ion cells for electric vehicles and energy storage. And on Tuesday (February 7), that body of work was recognized with the highest scientific honour in Canada. Celebrating a research career Dr. Dahn is the 2017 recipient of the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Councils (NSERC) Herzberg Canada Gold Medal. The esteemed prize is akin to a lifetime achievement award, celebrating sustained excellence and overall influence of research work conducted in Canada. Its an incredible honour for Dr. Dahn, a researcher whos made Dalhousie his home base for more than two decades. Its also a milestone award for the university itself. With Dr. Dahns win, three of the past four Herzberg recipients have been Dalhousie faculty a very rare feat in the 20-plus year history of the award. Dal microbiologist Ford Doolittle received the award in 2014, while theoretical chemist Axel Becke was awarded the 2015 medal. Dals Herzberg Canada Gold Medal recipients exemplify research excellence in Canada, says Martha Crago, Dalhousies vice-president research. In Dr. Dahns case, his leading work in materials science and lithium-ion batteries has attracted the attention of many all over the world and launched him into a class of his own. Dr. Dahn says he was stunned when he heard he would be receiving the Herzberg, which comes with a $1-million research prize. It was pretty flattering, and the award will support our research going forward, he says. Well use it wisely. He adds the Herzberg Gold Medal award to an impressive set of awards and honours throughout his career. They include the inaugural Governor Generals Innovation Award (2016), the Yeager award from the International Battery Materials Association (2016), induction into Nova Scotia's Science Hall of Fame (2016), fellowship in the Royal Society of Canada (2001). He even has a second Herzberg award a different medal, also named after Nobel-winning German-Canadian physicist Gerhard Herzberg, from the Canadian Association of Physicists. Writing the book on Li-ion batteries Dr. Dahn first came to Nova Scotia at age 13, emigrating with his family from Connecticut. He studied Physics at Dalhousie as an undergrad before completing his PhD at the University of British Columbia. He worked at the National Research Council of Canada, Moli Energy Limited and Simon Fraser University before returning to Dalhousie in 1996 as the NSERC/3M Canada Industrial Research Chair in Materials for Advanced Batteries. (Since 2003, hes also been the Canada Research Chair in Battery and Fuel Cell Materials.) From the beginning, his research focused on the science of batteries and energy storage. In the 1980s, researchers were beginning to explore using lithium compounds as the core electrode materials in lithium batteries. Today, lithium-ion batteries which dont actually contain lithium metal at all power rechargeable devices of all sorts, from cell phones and laptops to tools and electric vehicles. We wrote some of the very important papers on lithium-ion batteries in the very beginning, says Dr. Dahn of his early career, highlighting his work at Simon Fraser characterizing which carbon compounds could effectively serve as the negative electrode. We sort of wrote the book on what type of carbon you should use in a lithium-ion battery to make the best one. It was at Dalhousie, though, where Dr. Dahn and his team would make perhaps their most significant contribution to lithium-ion batteries. Post-doc Zhonghua Lu, graduate student Dean MacNeil and Dr. Dahn developed certain grades of lithium nickel-manganese-cobalt (NMC) oxide compounds, ones that when used as the positive electrode, increase the safety and stability of the batteries at larger sizes. Seventeen years later, these grades of NMCs are widely used in power tool and electric car batteries around the world and represent several of the 65 or so inventions that his team has patented. And 3M (Dahn's industrial partner at the time) has licensed the use of these NMC grades for commercial use to many companies around the world. Empowering students Dr. Dahns team has also made significant contributions to research on lithium-ion battery lifetimes: understanding what causes lithium-ion cells to die, and how to get them to last even longer. A cell phone battery only needs to last three or four years and then the phone is changed for a new model, says Dr. Dahn. Power tools are the same thing; you can just get a replacement pack. But once the batteries start to get big like in electric vehicles they cost a lot, so they have to last a long time. Graduate student Chris Burns and research associate David Stevens, who were involved in this research, created the Dartmouth-based spin-out Novonix. The company produces ultra high-precision charger devices the sort that allow their customers to predict lifespans of Li-ion cells on the scale of not just years, but decades. Its amazing to have such a world-renowned researcher within the field of batteries here at Dalhousie, says Chris Burns, Novonix co-founder, who completed both his masters and doctoral degrees with Dr. Dahns group. He provides a foundation for students to learn and work at the cutting edge of an exciting field with access to top tier industrial collaboration around the world, which is an amazing opportunity within an academic group. Indeed, Dr. Dahn who, even with his two research chairs, has taught first-year Physics classes at Dal for more than 20 years says his proudest achievements are in the careers of the graduates whove come out of his lab. Ive trained a lot of graduate students probably over 50 PhDs, 20 to 25 postdocs. And virtually all of them have gone on to careers in the battery materials or lithium-ion battery space Some are millionaires because theyve formed their own companies and done really well. A lot of them are vice-presidents research or chief technical officers and so on. It makes me really proud, what these folks have accomplished after theyve left the group. A new era with Tesla After helping lay the basic scientific foundation for lithium-ion batteries in the 1980s, the bulk of Dr. Dahns career has been in close collaboration with dedicated industry partners. Its a path thats allowed him to focus his research on applied solutions to the problems faced by battery manufacturers. Working together with industry ensures that, if you want to have a long-term relationship [with them], that were doing something useful, he explains. And why not do something useful, when you have a chance to do anything you want? His latest collaboration, launched in 2016, is with Tesla as the NSERC/Tesla Canada Industrial Research Chair. The company is one of the largest manufacturers of the electric vehicles in the world and its new Gigafactory, based in Nevada, is bringing roughly one-third of global lithium-ion battery production to North America. But when it came time for the company to sign its first ever university research partnership, it went north and east to Jeff Dahns door. Tesla which aims to not only improve electric vehicles, but accelerate the worlds transition to sustainable energy more broadly signed-off on a five-year exclusive collaboration with Dr. Dahns lab, focused on increasing the lifetime, decreasing the cost and improving the energy density of lithium-ion batteries. The goals are really simple, but the problems are hard, explains Dr. Dahn. The area is of such importance, and the problems are so interesting and challenging that its fun. Some of the labs work could be incorporated into the companys products shortly perhaps within a year, Dr. Dahn speculates. As he talks about the future of renewable energy, and the vision of mass-scale energy storage, theres an incredible enthusiasm in his voice. He sees a better future for how we power our planet and its a future he and his students are helping build. Its really cool, says Dr. Dahn. My students, I hope, are getting a sense of just how cool it is. Additional file photos from Nick Pearce and Danny Abriel WASHINGTON, D.C., Feb. 7, 2017 -- Many forms of energy surround you: sunlight, the heat in your room and even your own movements. All that energy -- normally wasted -- can potentially help power your portable and wearable gadgets, from biometric sensors to smart watches. Now, researchers from the University of Oulu in Finland have found that a mineral with the perovskite crystal structure has the right properties to extract energy from multiple sources at the same time. Perovskites are a family of minerals, many of which have shown promise for harvesting one or two types of energy at a time -- but not simultaneously. One family member may be good for solar cells, with the right properties for efficiently converting solar energy into electricity. Meanwhile, another is adept at harnessing energy from changes in temperature and pressure, which can arise from motion, making them so-called pyroelectric and piezoelectric materials, respectively. Sometimes, however, just one type of energy isn't enough. A given form of energy isn't always available -- maybe it's cloudy or you're in a meeting and can't get up to move around. Other researchers have developed devices that can harness multiple forms of energy, but they require multiple materials, adding bulk to what's supposed to be a small and portable device. This week in Applied Physics Letters, from AIP Publishing, Yang Bai and his colleagues at the University of Oulu explain their research on a specific type of perovskite called KBNNO, which may be able to harness many forms of energy. Like all perovskites, KBNNO is a ferroelectric material, filled with tiny electric dipoles analogous to tiny compass needles in a magnet. When ferroelectric materials like KBNNO undergo changes in temperature, their dipoles misalign, which induces an electric current. Electric charge also accumulates according to the direction the dipoles point. Deforming the material causes certain regions to attract or repel charges, again generating a current. Previous researchers have studied KBNNO's photovoltaic and general ferroelectric properties, but they did so at temperatures a couple hundred degrees below freezing, and they didn't focus on properties related to temperature or pressure. The new study represents the first time anyone has evaluated all of these properties at once above room temperature, Bai said. The experiments showed that while KBNNO is reasonably good at generating electricity from heat and pressure, it isn't quite as good as other perovskites. Perhaps the most promising finding, however, is that the researchers can modify the composition of KBNNO to improve its pyroelectric and piezoelectric properties. "It is possible that all these properties can be tuned to a maximum point," said Bai, who, with his colleagues, is already exploring such an improved material by preparing KBNNO with sodium. Within the next year, Bai said, he hopes to build a prototype multi-energy-harvesting device. The fabrication process is straightforward, so commercialization could come in just a few years once researchers identify the best material. "This will push the development of the Internet of Things and smart cities, where power-consuming sensors and devices can be energy sustainable," he said. This kind of material would likely supplement the batteries on your devices, improving energy efficiency and reducing how often you need to recharge. One day, Bai said, multi-energy harvesting may mean you won't have to plug in your gadgets anymore. Batteries for small devices may even become obsolete. ### This research was funded by the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under the Marie Sklodowska-Curie grant. The article, "Ferroelectric, pyroelectric and piezoelectric properties of a photovoltaic perovskite oxide," is authored by Yang Bai, Tuomo Siponkoski, Jani Perantie, Heli Jantunen and Jari Juuti. The article appeared in Applied Physics Letters Feb. 7, 2017 (DOI: 10.1063/1.4974735) and can be accessed at http://aip.scitation.org/doi/full/10.1063/1.4974735. ABOUT THE JOURNAL Applied Physics Letters features concise, rapid reports on significant new findings in applied physics. The journal covers new experimental and theoretical research on applications of physics phenomena related to all branches of science, engineering, and modern technology. See http://apl.aip.org. WASHINGTON, D.C., February, 7, 2017 -- Superconductivity, where electrical currents course unhindered through a material, is one of modern physics' most intriguing scientific discoveries. It has many practical uses. Governments, industries, and health care and science centers all make use of superconductivity in applications extending from MRIs in hospitals to the cavities of particle accelerators, where scientists explore the fundamentals of matter. However, practical exploitation of superconductivity also presents many challenges. The challenges are perhaps greatest for researchers trying to integrate superconductivity in small, portable systems. Cambridge University academic and superconductivity expert John Durrell and his team demonstrate this week in Applied Physics Letters, from AIP Publishing, that a portable superconducting magnetic system, which is, in essence, a high performance substitute for a conventional permanent magnet, can attain a 3-tesla level for the magnetic field. Durrell said his team's work in large part evolved from the innovative findings of University of Houston physicist Roy Weinstein, who has shown how conventional electromagnets and pulsed field magnetization can be used to activate superconducting magnetic fields which are "captured" and sustained as part of a superconductive arrangement. This avoids the requirement for large expensive superconducting magnets to "activate" such portable systems. Also key, Durrell pointed out, is that his team capitalized on other new and cheaper technologies, especially for cooling. "For example, the leap with advances in cryogenics, allows you to do interesting things in other areas, too," Durell explained. "There is a lot coming together to make this possible." While large industrial-size superconducting systems do generate a 20-tesla magnetic field, Durrell's 3-tesla magnetic field is new for a portable system. Durrell and his team were curious about what they could do as they looked at Weinstein's work just a few years earlier. Weinstein demonstrated that with conventional external electromagnetic pulsing of a medium, it was possible to "capture" a magnetic field in a superconductor using a much smaller external magnetic field than previously thought possible. The Weinstein investigation used Yttrium Barium Cuprate doped with uranium and subject to an irradiation treatment. Durrell's team looked for a less expensive material and chose Gadolinium Barium Cuprate, without uranium doping. Difan Zhou, team investigator and lead author, came up with the idea of extending Weinstein's findings, Durrell said, and the research, which took just short of two years to do, has paid off. "It was a surprise to us that we managed to see in a not-quite-so-cutting-edge-material the same giant flux leap effect as Roy Weinstein demonstrated," Durrell said. "The key thing that made this possible is that we have looked at what Roy has done to get it to work but for this kind of portable system. Before we were using conventional superconducting magnets to charge our bulks. This will make access to these high fields cheaper and more practical." Advances in cheaper, more efficient cooling -- the cryogenic system -- were also key for Durrell and team's research. For both the magnetic field charging and sustaining phases, it is necessary to keep the superconducting sample cool or else the superconductivity gives out. Recently, the private sector has come up with cryogenic systems that are cheap and light, and Durrell used a cooling system from Sunpower Inc., a U.S. firm. According to Durrell, this lightness and relative low-cost could make portable superconductivity in various products a real possibility. The total effect of bringing together these new technological opportunities, Durrell pointed out, is "essentially a better, portable permanent magnet -- one with a 3-tesla rather than 1-tesla magnetic field. The obvious interest in that is that you could use that to make a smaller and lighter motor." Low cost NMR and MRI systems for hospitals are also a strong possibility for use, Durrell explained, as these systems often use large superconducting magnets. Magnetically targeted drug delivery systems in human and veterinary applications may also be enabled. Durrell and his team are planning for more testing for more magnetic power and overall efficiency. They have received significant support from The Boeing Company for this investigation, and Durrell feels it is a strong example of what a company and an academic lab can do when they team up for basic research. ### The article, "A portable magnetic field of >3 T generated by the flux jump assisted, pulse field magnetization of bulk superconductors," is authored by Difan Zhou, Mark D. Ainslie, Yunhua Shi, Anthony R. Dennis, Kaiyuan Huang, John R. Hull, David A. Cardwell and John H. Durrell. The article will appear in Applied Physics Letters on Feb. 7, 2017 (DOI: 10.1063/1.4973991). After that date, it can be accessed at http://aip.scitation.org/doi/full/10.1063/1.4973991. ABOUT THE JOURNAL Applied Physics Letters features concise, rapid reports on significant new findings in applied physics. The journal covers new experimental and theoretical research on applications of physics phenomena related to all branches of science, engineering, and modern technology. See http://apl.aip.org. Detecting brain tumors at the earliest possible stage and eliminating them before seizures begin might be possible one day, according to research by scientists at Baylor College of Medicine and Texas Children's Hospital. In the study, which is published in the journal Nature Neuroscience, the scientists report that the emergence of specific brain cells during brain tumor progression in a mouse model marked the onset of seizures and brain tumor invasion. An improved understanding of how brain tumors cause seizures can potentially lead to strategies to prevent them or treat them. "We began this project by studying normal brain cells," said co-senior author Dr. Benjamin Deneen, associate professor in the Center for Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine at Baylor and the Neurological Research Institute at Texas Children's Hospital. "The brain has billions of cells of which only 30 percent are neurons. Astrocytes are the predominant cell type of the remaining 70 percent. Surprisingly, astrocytes have not been studied in as much detail as neurons have." "Although astrocytes are often broadly categorized as one cell type, a lot of diversity exists in the functions carried out by these cells," said co-senior author Dr. Chad Creighton, associate professor of medicine and member of the Dan L Duncan Comprehensive Cancer Center Division of Biostatistics at Baylor. Astrocytes play diverse roles in the brain, from supporting the functions of neurons, participating in synapse formation and function and in the release of neurotransmitters, to making the blood-brain barrier and other functions. What is not known is whether all these functions are carried out by different subpopulations of astrocytes. This study explores the cellular and functional diversity of the most enigmatic, yet most abundant cell type in the brain. Answering this fundamental question served as the starting point for this investigation. Better understanding the underappreciated astrocyte The researchers took populations of mouse astrocytes, which until now have been considered to be a cell type with little diversity, and used molecular markers expressed on the cells' surface to divide the cells into subpopulations according to the cell surface markers expressed. They identified five subpopulations - the scientists called them subpopulations A, B, C, D and E - each containing a unique combination of cell surface markers. These subpopulations were consistently present across several different regions of the brain. Further studies showed that each subpopulation of astrocytes expressed distinct sets of genes. These molecular signatures suggested that each subpopulation might play different roles in the brain. In particular, the scientists were interested in subpopulation C, which expressed a significant number of genes associated with synapses, the junctions that transmit nerve impulses that connect networks of neurons in the brain. The researchers compared the ability of the different subpopulations of astrocytes to support the formation and function of synapses between neurons. "In the laboratory, we combined individual subpopulation of astrocytes with neurons and measured synapse formation and function," said Deneen. "We found that neurons incubated with subpopulation C made more synapses than neurons incubated with the other subpopulations." Taken together, these results revealed that astrocytes in the normal mouse brain comprise at least five distinct subpopulations that differentially support synapse formation and function. Linking astrocytes to human glioma "Astrocytes are associated with numerous neurological conditions, including injury, multiple sclerosis, autism, schizophrenia, Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease and brain tumors. Given that we found diverse astrocyte subpopulations, we wondered whether these subpopulations could also explain astrocyte contributions to a host of different neurological diseases," Deneen said. One of the interests of the Deneen lab is identifying mechanisms that regulate astrocyte development and how these cells contribute to neurological diseases, in particular human glioblastoma multiforme, the most aggressive and deadly type of brain tumor. In these type of cancer, about 80 percent of the tumor comprises transformed astrocyte-like cells, and, just as in the case of normal brain tissue, the diversity of these tumor cell subpopulations and functions in brain tumors had not been studied in detail. In this case, the scientists used a different approach to determine whether astrocyte-like cells in human glioblastoma include different astrocyte subpopulations. "We used publicly available genomic datasets to help us understand what distinguishes the different types of astrocytes from each other," Creighton said. "The genomic datasets compile entire genomes - all the genes - of different types of cells. Using this resource, we discovered that each type of human astrocyte showed very distinctive patterns of gene activation. It was by comparing these patterns with patterns associated with brain cancer or with epilepsy, using public data, that we discovered how specific types of astrocytes appear to have roles in these diseases." To support that astrocytes seemed to play a role in human glioblastoma, the researchers genetically engineered two mouse models of the disease and observed that the astrocyte subpopulations are also present in mouse tumors. The subpopulations are also present in primary human specimens of human glioblastoma multiforme. Astrocytes and seizures One striking characteristic of glioblastoma, which usually leads to the discovery of the tumor, is epileptic seizures. On one occasion Deneen was talking with Dr. Jeffrey L. Noebels, about this research. Noebels, who is professor of neurology, neuroscience, and molecular and human genetics, director of the Blue Bird Circle Developmental Neurogenetics Laboratory at Baylor and is a leader in the field of epilepsy, asked Deneen, "do your mice with brain tumors have seizures?" "They do," Deneen said. This conversation led to planning a series of experiments in the mouse models of glioma to determine the time scale of the seizures and whether different sub populations of astrocyte-like cells within the tumor were associated with seizures. The results of these experiments showed that as the tumor grows, the excitability of the adjacent neurons progressively increases. Seventy days after birth, the mice had visible seizures that correlated with the emergence of astrocyte subpopulation C. Further linking these astrocyte-like subpopulations to seizures, the scientists showed that subpopulation C expresses a significant number of genes linked to epilepsy. While subpopulation C seems to be involved with seizures in the mouse model of glioblastoma, subpopulations B and D showed they were able to migrate more in laboratory assays than population C. "Taken all together, the evidence from the mouse model of glioblastoma indicates that as the tumor evolves, different subpopulations of astrocyte-like cells develop within the tumor and execute distinct functions that are related to two important tumor characteristics, synaptic imbalance that can lead to seizures, and tumor migration that can lead to tumor invasion of other tissues," Deneen said. "Less than half of the patients with epilepsy caused by a brain tumor can be helped with existing antiepileptic drugs," said Noebels, co-author of the work. "We do not understand exactly how malignant cells cause seizures, or why seizures persist after tumor surgery. Until now, we could only study this brain tissue at later misleading stages. I am excited that this next-generation experimental model in mice will allows us to study, for the first time, the earliest effects of human tumors on brain circuits before seizures actually begin and understand the mechanisms. These studies would be a major advance in patient care, allowing clinicians to bypass precious months spent searching for effective therapy to stop seizures. Because seizures themselves damage brain tissue, timely effective therapy is of the essence." ### Other contributors to this work include Chia-Ching Lin, Kwanha Yu, Asante Hatcher, Teng-Wei Huang, Hyun Kyoung Lee, Jeffrey Carlson, Matthew C Weston, Fengju Chen, Yiqun Zhang, Wenyi Zhu, Carrie A Mohila, Nabil Ahmed, Akash J Patel and Benjamin R Arenkiel. This work was supported by grants from the Sontag Foundation, the National Multiple Sclerosis Society (RG-1501-02756), the Cancer Prevention Research Institute of Texas (RP510334 and RP160192), by the American Cancer Society (PF-15-220) and the US National Institutes of Health (NIH) (NS071153, NS089366, NS29709 and T32HL902332). This project was also supported in part by the Genomic and RNA Profiling Core at Baylor College of Medicine with funding from the NIH-NCI grant (P30CA125123), funding from the NIH (P30 AI036211, P30 CA125123 and S10 RR024574), and by IDDRC grant number 1U54 HD083092 from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. Chia-Ching John Lin, et al, Identification of diverse astrocyte populations and their malignant analogs, Nature Neuroscience, Feb. 2017, doi:10.1038/nn.4493. Fish-scale geckos in the genus Geckolepis are able to lose their skin at the slightest touch. Many lizards can drop their tails when grabbed, but one group of geckos has gone to particularly extreme lengths to escape predation. Fish-scale geckos in the genus Geckolepis have large scales that tear away with ease, leaving them free to escape whilst the predator is left with a mouth full of scales. Scientists led by Mark D. Scherz (LMU Munich) and Dr. Frank Glaw (Zoologische Staatssammlung Munchen) have now described a new species (Geckolepis megalepis) that is the master of this art, possessing the largest scales of any gecko. The skin of fish-scale geckos is specially adapted to tearing. The large scales are attached only by a relatively narrow region that tears with ease, and beneath them they have a pre-formed splitting zone within the skin itself. Together, these features make them especially good at escaping from predators. Although several other geckos are able to lose their skin like this if they are grasped really firmly, Geckolepis are apparently able to do it actively, and at the slightest touch. And while others might take a long time to regenerate their scales, fish-scale geckos can grow them back, scar-free, in a matter of weeks. This remarkable ability has made these geckos a serious challenge to the scientists who want to study them. Early researchers described how it was necessary to catch them with bundles of cotton wool, to avoid them losing almost all of their skin. Today, little has changed, and researchers try to catch them without touching them if possible, by luring them into plastic bags. But once they are caught, the challenges are not over; identifying and describing them is even harder. "A study a few years ago showed that our understanding of the diversity of fish-scale geckos was totally inadequate," says Mark D. Scherz. "It showed us that there were actually about thirteen highly distinct genetic lineages in this genus, and not just the three or four species we thought existed. One of the divergent lineages they identified was immediately obvious as a new species, because it had such massive scales. But to name it, we had to find additional reliable characteristics that distinguish it from the other species." A challenging task indeed: one of the main ways reptile species can be told apart is by their scale patterns, but these geckos lose their scales with such ease that the patterns are often lost by the time they reach adulthood. "You have to think a bit outside the box with Geckolepis. They're a nightmare to identify. So we turned to micro-CT to get at their skeletons and search there for identifying features." Micro-CT (micro-computed tomography) is essentially a 3D x-ray of an object. This method is allowing morphologists to examine the skeletons of animals without having to dissect them, opening up new approaches to quickly study the internal morphology of animals. By looking at the skeletons of the geckos, the team was able to identify some features of the skull that distinguish their new species from all others. The new species, Geckolepis megalepis, described in the open access journal PeerJ, is most remarkable because of its huge scales, which are by far the largest of any gecko. The researchers hypothesize that the larger scales tear more easily than smaller scales, because of their greater surface area relative to the attachment area, and larger friction surface. "What's really remarkable though is that these scales -- which are really dense and may even be bony, and must be quite energetically costly to produce -- and the skin beneath them tear away with such ease, and can be regenerated quickly and without a scar," says Scherz. The mechanism for regeneration, which is not well understood, could potentially have applications in human medicine, where regeneration research is already being informed by studies on salamander limbs and lizard tails. ### New York, New York, February 7, 2017 -- Lauren Sciences LLC, the private New York biotechnology company developing transformative V-Smart Nanomedicines for brain diseases, today announced the award of its second grant from Voices Against Brain Cancer (VABC). VABC grant will support Lauren Sciences continued development of LAUR-401, its novel V-Smart Nanomedicine for Glioblastoma Multiforme (GBM). Future success of LAUR-401 should provide an effective new treatment for GBM patients. LAUR-401 is developed with Lauren Sciences breakthrough V-Smart nanotechnology platform, to cross blood brain barrier (BBB) and penetrate central nervous system (CNS) by non-invasive administration, designed for GBM, customized to encapsulate and deliver a known non-brain penetrant chemotherapeutic, and engineered to specifically target, and selectively release at, GBM brain tumor cells. Lauren Sciences goal is for LAUR-401 to stop progression of, and reduce or eradicate, GBM in patients. "We appreciate VABC's recognition and confidence with this second award," said Susan Rosenbaum, J.D., Founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Lauren Sciences. "VABC's second award confirms LAUR-401's successful development to date, reaffirms LAUR-401's unique ability to overcome the BBB delivery challenge and anticipates LAUR-401 as a potential transformative therapeutic for brain cancer patients. We are also grateful to our GBM medical advisor, Henry S. Friedman, M.D., Deputy Director of The Preston Robert Tisch Brain Tumor Center at Duke." "A major goal of VABC is to invest in cutting edge developments that can have a monumental impact on the course of brain cancer," said Michael Klipper, Chairman of VABC. "We are excited about the potential of LAUR-401. Many anti-cancer agents have shown potential for GBM, but, since they can neither cross the brain, by existing oral or i.v. administration, nor target GBM cells, they fall short for patients. This challenge represents a critical unmet medical need for brain cancer that LAUR-401 can overcome." "LAUR-401 has promise as an effective new treatment for GBM patients," said Irwin Hollander, Ph.D., Vice President, Research and Development, Lauren Sciences. "LAUR-401 should be a disease-modifying drug, unlike standard treatments that, in the vast majority of patients, merely delay disease progression. Lauren Sciences goal is clinical validation and approval of LAUR-401." ### About V-Smart Nanomedicines V-Smart Nanomedicines, proven to encapsulate therapeutic agents, cross blood brain barrier (BBB), target and deliver to sites in brain, selectively release at target sites, be administered systemically, as well as be safe and effective (in animal model, to date), uniquely solve problem that most therapeutic agents, including biologicals, with potential to treat or cure brain diseases, do not cross BBB. V-Smart Nanomedicines will significantly improve lives of patients, because they will enable patients to benefit from therapeutic agents whose use is currently unavailable due to inability to cross BBB, poor PK, bioavailability or toxicity issues, required long term and non-invasive treatment, or even where oral administration is preferable. About Lauren Sciences LLC Lauren Sciences was founded in New York, where launched business operations in 2012, licensed groundbreaking V-Smart platform nanotechnology from Ben-Gurion University in Israel, where launched R&D of innovative V-Smart targeted drug delivery platform, followed with development of proprietary pipeline of transformative V-Smart targeted therapeutics -- V-Smart Nanomedicines -- for CNS, neurodegenerative, rare/orphan brain diseases, neurodevelopmental/psychiatric disorders, including: GBM, Parkinson's, Neuro-AIDS, ALS, NPC, Alzheimer's, etc. Lauren Sciences has achieved success with its expert leadership team members, renowned international foundation grant awards, world class medical advisors, prestigious U.S. university medical center collaborations, strategic big pharma project plans, proprietary pipeline products in development, patent family portfolio estate, scientific papers published in peer-reviewed journals, posters at scientific meetings, results presented at conferences and features in industry research reports. About Voices Against Brain Cancer Voices Against Brain Cancer's (VABC) mission is to find a cure for brain cancer and brain tumors by advancing scientific research, increasing awareness, creating a brain cancer and tumor community, and supporting patients, their families and caregivers afflicted with this devastating disease. Voices Against Brain Cancer is the personal brainchild of a family, and a father who lost their son to brain cancer. VABC has a wide variety of initiatives in motion for brain cancer research, awareness and support. The organization's research grants fund cutting-edge programs that will have a monumental impact on the diagnosis and treatment of brain cancer and brain tumors. For more information, to make a donation, join an event or offer support, please visit: http://www.voicesagainstbraincancer.org. New Orleans, LA - A surgical approach developed by ENT surgeons at LSU Health New Orleans to perform thryroidectomies without scarring the neck appears to be just as successful using standard surgery. When originally used, the approach, which involves making an incision behind the ear instead of in the neck, took advantage of modern robotics and endoscopic technology. It was available to patients only at centers with this specialized equipment. A new study led by Rohan Walvekar, MD, Associate Professor of Otorhinolaryngology at LSU Health New Orleans School of Medicine, shows that the same approach can be employed using standard surgical equipment and techniques, making it much more widely available. The study was published online in the Indian Journal of Otolaryngology Head and Head & Neck Surgery January 16, 2017. "Our goal was to create an efficient, safe and cost effective approach that used standard surgical techniques and skills -- making the approach reproducible and attractive to well-trained thyroid surgeons who may not have access to specialized equipment," notes Dr. Walvekar. Thyroidectomy has been the gold standard procedure for surgical management of thyroid disorders. There has been a concentrated effort to provide alternative approaches to the thyroid gland over the last two decades to avoid the neck scar associated with thyroid surgery. These approaches have been possible due to the incorporation of robotic and endoscopic technology. However, while there continues to be a demand for what is termed "distant" access thyroid surgery, these procedures involve the use of specialized instrumentation and require specially trained surgeons - both of which are available at select centers in the country. In addition, the use of robotic technology for thyroid surgery is not FDA approved for this indication. "At LSU Health New Orleans, we were the first to describe the feasibility of distant access to the thyroid using an incision behind the ear -- our work was published in 2010 in Surgical Endoscopy," says Walvekar. "Since then, we have modified our technique to create an opportunity for distant access to the thyroid via an incision behind the ear (retro auricular) but allows the use of standard surgical equipment without the need for specialized equipment." Over an 18-month period, Walvekar examined the outcomes of 10 patients who underwent open retro-auricular thyroidectomy with a slightly modified incision from the original technique. The incision follows the principles of standard face-lift approach incision that optimizes incision placement -- hidden in the hairline and a natural skin crease. There were no major complications, and all patients reported satisfaction with the results. Although the study was small with limited follow-up, the paper clearly demonstrates the feasibility of distant access thyroid surgery using conventional surgical techniques. Co-authors include Drs. Jason Trahan, Laura Pelaez, Michael DiLeo, Daniel Nuss and Leslie S. Son, all of LSU Health New Orleans School of Medicine's Department of Otorhinolaryngology. "This approach is a cost effective option for patients seeking distant access thyroid surgery in an environment where health care resources and access to advanced technology are limited," concludes Walvekar. ### LSU Health Sciences Center New Orleans educates Louisiana's health care professionals. The state's health university leader, LSUHSC includes a School of Medicine, the state's only School of Dentistry, Louisiana's only public School of Public Health, and Schools of Allied Health Professions, Nursing, and Graduate Studies. LSUHSC faculty take care of patients in public and private hospitals and clinics throughout the region. In the vanguard of biosciences research in a number of areas in a worldwide arena, the LSUHSC research enterprise generates jobs and enormous economic impact. LSUHSC faculty have made lifesaving discoveries and continue to work to prevent, advance treatment, or cure disease. To learn more, visit http://www.lsuhsc.edu, http://www.twitter.com/LSUHealthNO or http://www.facebook.com/LSUHSC. A new study shows that individuals exposed to a simulated cyber-terror attack had significantly increased levels of the stress hormone cortisol in their saliva compared to a control group. Following the cyber attack, study participants were more likely to fear an imminent cyber threat and to express feelings of personal insecurity, according to results published in Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking, a peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers. The article is available free on the Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking website March 10, 2017. A team of Israeli researchers designed a study to investigate the psychological effects of cyber terror. In the article entitled, "How Cyber-Attacks Terrorize: Cortisol and Personal Insecurity Jump in the Wake of Cyber Attacks," Daphna Canetti, Michael Gross, Israel Waismel-Manor, and Asaf Levanon, University of Haifa, and Hagit Cohen, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Israel, examine the potential damaging effects of cyber terror, even though its victims suffer no direct bodily harm. "Cyber attacks can increase both psychological and physiological stress in individuals. Teaching disaster preparedness for cyber events, as is done for real world events, may help mitigate some of this fear and anxiety," says Editor-in-Chief Brenda K. Wiederhold, PhD, MBA, BCB, BCN, Interactive Media Institute, San Diego, California and Virtual Reality Medical Institute, Brussels, Belgium. ### About the Journal Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking is an authoritative peer-reviewed journal published monthly online with Open Access options and in print that explores the psychological and social issues surrounding the Internet and interactive technologies. Complete tables of contents and a sample issue may be viewed on the Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking website. About the Publisher Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers is a privately held, fully integrated media company known for establishing authoritative peer-reviewed journals in many promising areas of science and biomedical research, including Games for Health Journal, Telemedicine and e-Health, and Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychopharmacology. Its biotechnology trade magazine, GEN (Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News), was the first in its field and is today the industry's most widely read publication worldwide. A complete list of the firm's 80 journals, books, and newsmagazines is available on the Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers website. Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. 140 Huguenot St., New Rochelle, NY 10801-5215 http://www.liebertpub.com Phone: (914) 740-2100 (800) M-LIEBERT Fax: (914) 740-2101 Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) investigators have developed a novel approach to analyze brainwaves during sleep, which promises to give a more detailed and accurate depiction of neurophysiological changes than provided by a traditional sleep study. In a report published in the January issue of Physiology, the research team describes how applying a technique called multitaper spectral analysis to electroencephalogram (EEG) data provides objective, high-resolution depictions of brainwave activity during sleep that are more informative and easier to characterize than previous approaches. The researchers also present a visual atlas of brain activity during sleep in healthy individuals, highlighting new features of the sleep EEG - including a predictor of REM sleep - that could be of important use to clinicians and researchers. Clinical sleep analysis has historically centered on identifying and tracking common patterns of brain and physiological activity, called sleep stages. Identifying sleep stages has long been a time-consuming and subjective process. Starting in the late 1930s, sleep staging was performed using EEG machines that would cut a paper tape into sheets with 30-second traces of the patient's brainwave activity. A skilled technician would painstakingly take each paper sheet - almost 1,000 in an 8-hour sleep recording - and decide which sleep stage the patient was in by visual inspection of the EEG traces. Almost 80 years later, other than slight refinement of the stages and the fact that the 30-second EEG traces now appear on a computer screen, the process of sleep staging remains virtually unchanged, remaining a time-consuming and fundamentally qualitative process. Consequently, even experienced scoring technicians still agree only 75 to 80 percent of the time. The progression of sleep stages over a night, called a hypnogram, is still used as the primary descriptor of sleep architecture. While the hypnogram has been an important tool for describing sleep architecture, since the numerous bumps and squiggles of brainwave traces become undiscernible by eye over large time scales, there are important drawbacks to relying on subjective summaries of sleep instead of objective data. "During sleep, the brain is engaged in a symphony of activity involving the dynamic interplay of different cortical and sub-cortical networks," says Michael Prerau, PhD, of the MGH Department of Anesthesia, Critical Care and Pain Management, lead author of the Physiology report. "Due to practical constraints and established practices, current clinical techniques greatly simplify the way the sleep is described, causing massive amounts of information to be lost. We therefore wanted to identify a more comprehensive way of characterizing brain activity during sleep that was easy to understand and quick to learn, yet mathematically principled and robust." The approach used by the MGH investigators provides a paradigm shift allowing clinicians to move away from subjective sleep staging and harness the wealth of objective information contained within EEG data. In their report, the team describes how sleep oscillations are far more easily characterized using spectral estimation than by looking at EEG traces. Spectral analysis is a class of approaches that break a waveform signal into its component oscillations - repeating patterns over time- just as a prism breaks white light into its component colors. In the EEG, these oscillations represent the activity of specific brain networks during sleep and wakefulness. "At a fundamental level, brain activity is truly organized in terms of oscillations and waves," says senior author Patrick Purdon, PhD, MGH Anesthesia. "Spectral analysis is just analyzing the signals in terms of these waves, making it the right tool - and in some ways the perfect tool - for the job." Purdon also points out that traditional sleep scoring is essentially a crude form of spectral analysis, based on recognizing the wave properties by eye. Spectral analysis may not have been adopted for sleep scoring previously because the prevailing techniques for EEG spectral estimation produced noisy and inaccurate estimates of the power spectrum, making interpretation of the resulting spectrogram difficult. Consequently, the MGH team employed multitaper spectral analysis, a form with greatly reduced noise and increased accuracy compared to more basic methods. Computing a multitaper spectrogram of the sleep EEG, which tracks how the power and frequency of these oscillations change over time, provides more information about which networks are active at different points during sleep. In their report the researchers use these new vivid images of brain activity to illustrate how the sleep EEG multitaper spectrogram objectively reveals the detailed architecture of an entire night of sleep in a single visualization, rather than 1,000 30-second windows. Repeating patterns of activity - which use color to reflect signal power - become apparent even to the untrained eye, allowing technicians with only a few hours of training to stage with an accuracy comparable to that of traditional sleep scoring. The investigators comprehensively detailed an atlas of common patterns and transitions seen within healthy individuals during sleep and highlighted the ability of the sleep EEG multitaper spectrogram to show features on time scales ranging from many hours to microevents lasting a few seconds. They were also able to identify novel features of the sleep EEG, including a trend in which bursting in the low-frequency alpha range, which is not currently used in clinical sleep scoring, predicts the onset of REM sleep by several minutes. Purdon says, "We try to remind people that the sleep EEG isn't just a pile of 'big data.' In fact, it's highly structured, and that structure is deeply connected to the fundamental brain mechanisms of sleep." Future research by the team will focus on developing robust quantitative metrics based on the spectrogram. "Moving forward, this enhanced approach will allow scientists to better characterize the complex heterogeneity observed in normal sleep and ultimately to assist in diagnosing sleep and related disorders," says Prerau, who has received a grant from the National Institute of Neurological Disease and Stroke to identify new disease biomarkers within sleep. "It is also fun and easy to learn!" Prerau has created the website http://sleepEEG.org, which hosts free, interactive tutorials designed to teach clinicians and investigators how to read the sleep multitaper spectrogram. The researchers also are optimistic about the clinical applications of this method. Co-author Matt Bianchi, MD, PhD, of the MGH Department of Neurology and director of the MGH Sleep Lab, says, "The traditional hypnogram has not had the clinical application one might expect for such a fundamental aspect of sleep. This technique is poised to bring EEG patterns, a classic aspect of sleep medicine, back to the forefront. Overall, by improving physician review of patient data, these techniques hold promise to bring modern analytics to routine care - making the patterns of brain activity during sleep accessible and enabling physicians to see the EEG through this dynamic lens." ### Lead author Prerau is an assistant professor of Ansthesia at Harvard Medical School (HMS). Purdon, the Nathaniel M. Sims Endowed Scholar of Anesthesia Innovation and Bioengineering at MGH is an associate professor of Ansthesia, and Bianchi is an assistant professor of Neurology, both at HMS. Additional co-authors are Ritchie E. Brown, DrRerNat, Harvard Medical School and V.A. Boston Healthcare System, and Jeffrey M. Ellenbogen, MD, formerly of MGH Neurology and now at Johns Hopkins University. This work was supported by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and by National Institutes of Health (NIH) grants R21 NS-093000, R01 MH-039683 and HL-095491, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke Grant R01 NS-096177, and by NIH New Innovator Award DP2-OD006454. Massachusetts General Hospital, founded in 1811, is the original and largest teaching hospital of Harvard Medical School. The MGH Research Institute conducts the largest hospital-based research program in the nation, with an annual research budget of more than $800 million and major research centers in HIV/AIDS, cardiovascular research, cancer, computational and integrative biology, cutaneous biology, human genetics, medical imaging, neurodegenerative disorders, regenerative medicine, reproductive biology, systems biology, photomedicine and transplantation biology. The MGH topped the 2015 Nature Index list of health care organizations publishing in leading scientific journals and earned the prestigious 2015 Foster G. McGaw Prize for Excellence in Community Service. In August 2016 the MGH was once again named to the Honor Roll in the U.S. News & World Report list of "America's Best Hospitals." CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- Every other year, the International Conference on Automated Planning and Scheduling hosts a competition in which computer systems designed by conference participants try to find the best solution to a planning problem, such as scheduling flights or coordinating tasks for teams of autonomous satellites. On all but the most straightforward problems, however, even the best planning algorithms still aren't as effective as human beings with a particular aptitude for problem-solving -- such as MIT students. Researchers from MIT's Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory are trying to improve automated planners by giving them the benefit of human intuition. By encoding the strategies of high-performing human planners in a machine-readable form, they were able to improve the performance of competition-winning planning algorithms by 10 to 15 percent on a challenging set of problems. The researchers are presenting their results this week at the Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence's annual conference. "In the lab, in other investigations, we've seen that for things like planning and scheduling and optimization, there's usually a small set of people who are truly outstanding at it," says Julie Shah, an assistant professor of aeronautics and astronautics at MIT. "Can we take the insights and the high-level strategies from the few people who are truly excellent at it and allow a machine to make use of that to be better at problem-solving than the vast majority of the population?" The first author on the conference paper is Joseph Kim, a graduate student in aeronautics and astronautics. He's joined by Shah and Christopher Banks, an undergraduate at Norfolk State University who was a research intern in Shah's lab in the summer of 2016. The human factor Algorithms entered in the automated-planning competition -- called the International Planning Competition, or IPC -- are given related problems with different degrees of difficulty. The easiest problems require satisfaction of a few rigid constraints: For instance, given a certain number of airports, a certain number of planes, and a certain number of people at each airport with particular destinations, is it possible to plan planes' flight routes such that all passengers reach their destinations but no plane ever flies empty? A more complex class of problems -- numerical problems -- adds some flexible numerical parameters: Can you find a set of flight plans that meets the constraints of the original problem but also minimizes planes' flight time and fuel consumption? Finally, the most complex problems -- temporal problems -- add temporal constraints to the numerical problems: Can you minimize flight time and fuel consumption while also ensuring that planes arrive and depart at specific times? For each problem, an algorithm has a half-hour to generate a plan. The quality of the plans is measured according to some "cost function," such as an equation that combines total flight time and total fuel consumption. Shah, Kim, and Banks recruited 36 MIT undergraduate and graduate students and posed each of them the planning problems from two different competitions, one that focused on plane routing and one that focused on satellite positioning. Like the automatic planners, the students had a half-hour to solve each problem. "By choosing MIT students, we're basically choosing the world experts in problem solving," Shah says. "Likely, they're going to be better at it than most of the population." Encoding strategies Certainly, they were better than the automatic planners. After the students had submitted their solutions, Kim interviewed them about the general strategies they had used to solve the problems. Their answers included things like "Planes should visit each city at most once," and "For each satellite, find routes in three turns or less." The researchers discovered that the large majority of the students' strategies could be described using a formal language called linear temporal logic, which in turn could be used to add constraints to the problem specifications. Because different strategies could cancel each other out, the researchers tested each student's strategies separately, using the planning algorithms that had won their respective competitions. The results varied, but only slightly. On the numerical problems, the average improvement was 13 percent and 16 percent, respectively, on the flight-planning and satellite-positioning problems; and on the temporal problems, the improvement was 12 percent and 10 percent. "The plan that the planner came up with looked more like the human-generated plan when it used these high-level strategies from the person," Shah says. "There is maybe this bridge to taking a user's high-level strategy and making that useful for the machine, and by making it useful for the machine, maybe it makes it more interpretable to the person." In ongoing work, Kim and Shah are using natural-language-processing techniques to make the system fully automatic, so that it will convert users' free-form descriptions of their high-level strategies into linear temporal logic without human intervention. ### ADDITIONAL BACKGROUND ARCHIVE: Robot helps nurses schedule tasks on labor floor http://news.mit.edu/2016/robot-helps-nurses-schedule-tasks-on-labor-floor-0713 ARCHIVE: Enabling human-robot rescue teams http://news.mit.edu/2016/human-robot-rescue-teams-0217 ARCHIVE: Computers that teach by example http://news.mit.edu/2014/pattern-recognition-systems-convey-learning-1205 Joe Hampton helped build Lincoln into the thriving, vibrant city that it is today. That sentence can be taken literally as well as figuratively. There are parts of Lincoln that Hampton built with his own hands. He was fond of saying that he came to Lincoln in 1947 with not much more than a toolbox. And he would pull out the battered, slate-gray toolbox and show it to people. The way Hampton told the story, it almost sounded like he didnt intend to become a homebuilder. He said he was building a house for himself and his wife, working evenings and weekends. He said he had about $9,000 invested in the house near 41st and L streets. Then someone offered him $9,800. He sold it and used the money as capital to build a second house. A third, then a fourth and many more followed. He incorporated Hampton Enterprises in 1954, and went into commercial construction in 1964. He built the Meadowlane Shopping Center at 70th and Vine. He built one of Lincolns first office parks -- Lincolnshire Square near 70th and A streets, and Williamsburg Village southwest of 40th Street and Old Cheney Road. A self-described fiscal conservative, Hampton knew the value of a dollar. That orientation was on full display during his three years on the Lincoln City Council when he frequently butted heads with Mayor Helen Boosalis. But Hampton was not one of todays ideological zealots who say no to any investment of tax dollars. He said he lived by the philosophy that one should give back to the community. He actively campaigned for some of the communitys largest bond issues. In the late 1990s he was co-chair of the Yes! On Schools Committee, which pushed for a bond issue that at the time was the largest in the city's history. Hampton also was a backer of the Pinnacle Bank Arena. Its a mark of how much the business that Hampton started had grown over the decades that Hampton Enterprises was selected as the local contractor for the project. Other divisions of the company specialized in commercial real estate and land development. Honors that came his way later in life included induction into the Nebraska Commercial Real Estate Hall of Fame and the Nebraska State Chamber Hall of Fame. More than once Hampton said that he felt lucky to have chosen to come to Lincoln from Chadron, where he spent his childhood years during the Great Depression. It also can be said that Lincoln was lucky to have a builder with his talent, drive and community spirit. Our nervous systems have left-right differences that are important for correct functioning. Handedness is probably the best known asymmetry arising from the development of the nervous system. This is observed very early on: embryos of eight weeks already tend to move their right arms more often than their left arms. At this 'age' signals are not sent from the brain to the arms yet, but only from the spinal cord. A few weeks later, left-right differences also become visible in the shape and size of the premature brain. A team of scientists from the Netherlands, the UK and China searched for genes that contribute to left-right differences in the nervous system, in the period between four and eight weeks after fertilization. The genetic analysis showed that the left and right sides of the spinal cord develop at different paces. The left side of the spinal cord matures slightly faster than the right side. Sets of key genes that control growth and maturity were found to reach a more advanced profile of activity on the left side than the right. In the hindbrain, an area which is the predecessor for some adult parts of the brain, this was the other way around. "This seems logical, since many nerve fibers cross over from one side to the other at the boundary between the hindbrain and spinal cord," says Carolien de Kovel, lead author of the study and researcher at the Max Plank Institute for Psycholinguistics (MPI). "How exactly this left-right genetic difference in the spinal cord leads to right-handedness is, however, not yet clear." Clyde Francks, head of the MPI research group 'Brain and behavioral asymmetries' and Research Fellow at the Donders Institute at the Radboud University, explains, "We think that these very early left-right differences in the spinal cord may act to trigger some of the later asymmetries of the brain, such as the eventual dominance of the left hemisphere for language functions in most adults'. Asymmetry and schizophrenia "Around 85% of humans are right-handed; it seems the standard in human development," De Kovel adds, "but genetic and environmental factors may provide alternative paths of development, such as left-handedness or two-handedness. Interestingly, disturbances in such asymmetries seem to be more common in people with psychiatric conditions such as schizophrenia." Hence, De Kovel and her colleagues also compared the results of their study with genetic factors that influence the risk of schizophrenia. It was found that genes which exhibit the largest left-right differences in the embryos also tended to be involved in the risk of schizophrenia. "The findings do not prove directly that these genes cause schizophrenia by their actions in the spinal cord, because the same genes are also active in the grown up brain. However this does provide us with clues on which we can base further research," De Kovel explains. ### The research was funded by an Open Programme grant from the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research, and is published in the journal Biological Psychiatry. Ingeborg Grnning, a researcher at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) has been studying a diary from an online weight loss forum that is open to comments from other weight loss forum participants. Certain posts receive more responses than others, she has found. Grnning chose to analyse the diary entries of "Astrid," a very active user on the forum. "In 19 of 22 cases Astrid received positive responses when she posted confessions like, 'I've been eating sweets and drinking wine for several days.' The sociologist Erving Goffman uses the term 'saving face,' and from the responses it seems that the others in the forum know what it's like to be overweight, and they step in to help her save face," says Grnning. Supporting each other The results of the study have been published in Grnning's article, "Digital absolution: Confessional interaction in an online weight loss forum," which is part of her doctoral thesis on morbid obesity and the efforts and various processes associated with morbid obesity. She first heard about the national Norwegian weight loss forum when she interviewed people who had undergone weight loss. "I discovered that they used various forums to get experience-based answers to their questions from laypeople," says Grnning. Aksel Tjora, study co-author and NTNU professor of sociology, finds it interesting to see which posts trigger responses. "We're drowning in status updates and photo sharing in social media. The fact that [the number of] responses is above average when the post concerns a problem, shows that users are there to support each other, and that they hope to get support when they need it," says Tjora. Looking for help By analyzing the responses, Grnning has concluded that they can be divided into three categories: prospective, collective and positive. "The prospective, or forward-looking, answers are along the line of 'if we continue on the same track, the weight will come off.' Collective responses give voice to 'we're all struggling with the same problem,' and the positive answers are purely supportive," she says. Tjora has previously studied communication in other support groups and believes the three response categories also characterize other forums. "The categories say something about the dynamics in a self-help group, where people are basically searching for help on something they've done wrong or haven't succeeded at," he says. Avoiding the shame Posts on the weight loss forum that Grnning studied are open to all forum participants, who can remain anonymous. This is an important aspect since obesity still ranks among conditions that are most stigmatized. "Obesity involves social stigma, but on a forum you can avoid the public shaming, and can speak out without the involvement of normal-weight people, medical science or the authorities," says Grnning. "The forum is accessible regardless of where you live, and if you want you can remain anonymous. It's a tolerant community where everyone has something in common. Patients with stigmatized conditions like obesity use online forums extensively. It's terrific that a forum can work that way," she says. She believes it is important not to underestimate what happens on an online forum. Online forums are "very useful for those who are active. Losing weight is a long process, you have to work hard and persistently to succeed. Encouragement from others helps keep spirits up," Grnning says. ### Reference: Digital absolution. Ingeborg Grnning, Aksel Tjora. Convergence. First published date: November-28-2016. DOI: 10.1177/1354856516678558 Limiting lung cancer screening to high-risk former smokers may improve cost-effectiveness at a population level, according to a study published in PLOS Medicine. Regular computed tomography (CT) lung cancer screening of current and former smokers is currently recommended in the US and is being considered in other countries, but the specific criteria (e.g.: smoking history, age) and frequency of screening to achieve optimal cost-effectiveness is debated. In this study, Kevin ten Haaf of the Erasmus MC University Medical Center Rotterdam, the Netherlands, and colleagues used a microsimulation model to analyze 576 different lung cancer screening policies for persons born between 1940 and 1969 in Ontario, Canada. They found that stringent eligibility criteria (such as requiring more years of heavy smoking to qualify for screening) was more cost-effective than less stringent eligibility criteria, and that annual screening would be more cost-effective than biennial screening. The authors found that the most cost-effective scenario was annual screening between ages 55 and 75 years old for persons who smoked more than 40 pack-years (the number of packs of cigarettes smoked per day multiplied by the number of years the person has smoked) and who quit less than 10 years ago (or currently smoke). They estimate that this screening strategy would reduce lung cancer mortality by 9.05% compared to no screening, with an incremental cost-effectiveness ratio of $41,136 Canadian dollars per life-year gained. Though the optimal scenario is actually estimated to catch fewer lung cancers than the criteria used in the National Lung Screening Trial (NLST) in the US, the authors predict this more stringent scenario would require fewer CT scans, and lead to fewer false positive screens and lung cancer overdiagnosis, which can lead to patient harm. The authors note that their analyses do not account for impact of increased frequency of screening and follow-up on quality of life of those screened. Additionally, they note that their assumptions for follow-up procedures were based on data from the NLST, and may not be generalizable to a population setting. Still, the authors say this study "indicates that lung cancer screening can be cost-effective in a population-based setting if stringent smoking eligibility criteria are applied." In an accompanying Perspective, Steven Shapiro of the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, United States, discusses the challenges of balancing costs--both monetary and of over-treatment--of frequent and widespread testing with the benefits of early diagnosis. ### Research Article Funding: This study was supported by the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences (ICES), which is funded by an annual grant from the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care (MOHLTC), Cancer Care Ontario, and the Ontario Institute for Cancer Research. The MISCAN model was developed primarily through public Dutch funding and adapted for the United States through support by Grant 5U01CA152956-04 from the National Cancer Institute as part of the Cancer Intervention and Surveillance Modelling Network (CISNET). HJdK received funding from the Dutch National Institute of Public Health and the Environment (Rijksinstituut voor Volksgezondheid en Milieu) under grant 105223, and HJdK, CMvdA, and KtH received funding from The Netherlands Organization for Health Research and Development (De Nederlandse organisatie voor gezondheidsonderzoek en zorginnovatie) under grant 103346 in support of the MISCAN model. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript. Competing Interests: I have read the journal's policy and the authors of this manuscript have the following competing interests: Since February 2016 MCT has been a Senior Scientist for Cancer Care Ontario and serves as Scientific Lead on their High Risk Lung Cancer Screening Pilot Study and Program Development. This is a part time position and his primary occupation is as professor at Brock University. Cancer Care Ontario funded the research submitted for publication here. LFP received a restricted research grant from Cancer Care Ontario from 2013 - 2015 for a Health Technology Assessment of CT Lung Screening for a total of $751,000, $200,000 of which was directly spent on the work reported in this publication. HJdK was involved in a Health Technology Assessment study for CT Lung Cancer Screening in Canada (with author LFP, Cancer Care Ontario). HJdK, CMvdA, and KtH are members of the the Cancer Intervention and Surveillance Modeling Network (CISNET) Lung working group (grant 1U01CA199284-01 from the National Cancer Institute). HJdK is the principal investigator of the Dutch-Belgian Lung Cancer Screening Trial (Nederlands-Leuvens Longkanker Screenings onderzoek; the NELSON trial). CMvdA and KtH are researchers affiliated with the NELSON trial. HJdK, CMvdA, and KtH received a grant from the University of Zurich to assess the cost-effectiveness of computed tomographic lung cancer screening in Switzerland. HJdK took part in a one-day advisory meeting on biomarkers organized by M.D. Anderson/Health Sciences during the 16th World Conference on Lung Cancer. Citation: ten Haaf K, Tammemagi MC, Bondy SJ, van der Aalst CM, Gu S, McGregor SE, et al. (2017) Performance and Cost-Effectiveness of Computed Tomography Lung Cancer Screening Scenarios in a Population-Based Setting: A Microsimulation Modeling Analysis in Ontario, Canada. PLoS Med 14(2): e1002225. doi:10.1371/journal.pmed.1002225 Author Affiliations: Department of Public Health, Erasmus MC--University Medical Center Rotterdam, Rotterdam, the Netherlands Department of Health Sciences, Brock University, St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada University of Toronto Dalla Lana School of Public Health, Ontario, Canada Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences, Ontario Tobacco Research Unit, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences, Toronto, Ontario, Canada Population, Public & Indigenous Health, Alberta Health Services, Calgary, Alberta, Canada The Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada IN YOUR COVERAGE PLEASE USE THIS URL TO PROVIDE ACCESS TO THE FREELY AVAILABLE PAPER: http://journals.plos.org/plosmedicine/article?id=10.1371/journal.pmed.1002225 Perspective Article Funding: The author received no specific funding for this work. Competing Interests: The author has declared that no competing interests exist. Citation: Shapiro SD (2017) Refining Lung Cancer Screening Criteria in the Era of Value-Based Medicine. PLoS Med 14(2): e1002226. doi:10.1371/journal.pmed.1002226 Author Affiliations: Department of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and UPMC, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States of America IN YOUR COVERAGE PLEASE USE THIS URL TO PROVIDE ACCESS TO THE FREELY AVAILABLE PAPER: http://journals.plos.org/plosmedicine/article?id=10.1371/journal.pmed.1002226 The need for new male contraceptives Male contraceptive options have not changed in over a century, and are currently limited to condoms and withdrawal (with high pregnancy rates in typical use), or vasectomy (meant to be permanent). No long-acting, reversible contraceptives are currently available for men. The demand for new male contraceptive methods is growing. Surveys indicate that the majority of men would be interested in using a new contraceptive, and about 20% of couples already rely on existing male methods for reproductive control. While research has uncovered a variety of new targets for male contraception, no new product has made it to market yet. Many men say they would prefer a non-hormonal option because of the potential side effects and safety risks of hormones. However, studies of hormonal approaches continue to receive the most funding as evidenced by the recent publication of serious side effects in a large study of a hormonal method. The lack of contraceptive options also impacts those who care for captive populations of non-human primates such as in zoos and breeding programs. Vasectomy has been the only male option available to non-human primate veterinarians who wish to reduce the pregnancy rate in their colonies. The study published today chronicles the use of Vasalgel in groups of rhesus macaques - confirming previous preclinical findings in rabbits on the efficacy of the new device and offering a new tool to colony managers. Vasalgel: A new nonhormonal, long-acting option Vasalgel is a high molecular weight polymer that consists of styrene-alt-maleic acid (SMA) dissolved in dimethyl sulfoxide and could be the first long-acting, non-hormonal, potentially reversible male contraceptive to reach market. The polymer forms a hydrogel after injection into the vas deferens, creating a blockage to the passage of sperm. It is thought that fluids are able to pass slowly through the gel, reducing back-pressure on the epididymis (the sperm storage area) that has been noted after vasectomy. The contraceptive effect of Vasalgel has been "reversed" in a rabbit model by flushing the material out with a simple sodium bicarbonate solution. Sperm flow quickly resumed (publication in press). Benefits for monkeys - and someday for humans? The purpose of the current study was to put Vasalgel to the ultimate test--preventing pregnancy, not just eliminating sperm--in larger animals more anatomically similar to humans, before human use. However, the contraceptive had benefits to the monkeys as well. Sixteen adult male rhesus monkeys received intravas injections of Vasalgel. After a one-week recovery, each male was returned to outdoor group housing, which included three to nine intact, breeding females with a successful reproductive history. The monkeys lived in social groups in a setting that is closer to a free-living environment than traditional research housing, following and exceeding European guidelines for space per monkey. Parsemus Foundation advocates for adoption of more humane European standards for U.S. research and requires that participating studies meet these standards. All males were monitored for at least one breeding season; 7 of the 16 were almost continually housed with females for two years. The study authors reported that there were no conceptions after Vasalgel injections. Complications were minor and included one incident of incorrect placement of Vasalgel into the vas deferens and the development of a sperm granuloma in one animal. Unilateral vasectomy was performed in each subject without further complication. One partial castration was performed due to an unrelated trauma incident. Histological examination in the removed testicle indicated that the presence of Vasalgel did not incite a localized inflammatory reaction (i.e., the Vasalgel was well-tolerated). This finding is similar to that found in the rabbit, in which tissue response to the presence of Vasalgel was minimal. Additionally, the occurrence rate of sperm granulomas in the monkeys that received Vasalgel was lower than in an age- matched control group that received vasectomy. For monkeys, fewer complications than vasectomy "It is ideal to house monkeys together for their social welfare, but we also need to consider the fertility of these animals, which is typically high, and be able to make responsible decisions on population size" explains Angela Colagross-Schouten, lead veterinarian on the project. "While vasectomy is a quick and relatively simple procedure in humans, in monkeys there can be additional complications, as it is inherently more complex. We were impressed that this alternative worked in every single monkey, even though this was our first time trying it. Vasectomies are a routine procedure for nonhuman primate veterinarians, so to have similar or even slightly better outcomes trying a brand-new procedure is very encouraging. Hopefully, Vasalgel placement can be an option for other captive colonies, including zoos, that want to manage reproductive rates while allowing for social housing." Intravas injection of Vasalgel in sexually mature adult male rhesus monkeys was effective in preventing conception in a free-living, group environment. Complications were few and similar to those associated with traditional vasectomy. The males could be returned to their group quickly, providing minimal disruption to the social structure of the group while not impeding natural behaviors such as mating. The DOI for this article is: 10.1186/s12610-017-0048-9. After Tuesday February 7 at 01:00 GMT / Monday February 6 at 20:00 EST the full-text version of the study will be available online at: https://bacandrology.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12610-017-0048-9 Next steps With proof of efficacy now published in monkeys and rabbits, preparations are being made for the first clinical trial in humans. Parsemus Foundation, a non-profit organization based in Berkeley, California, aims for Vasalgel to be available world-wide, with a tiered international pricing structure to ensure affordability to all men. The first study will explore effectiveness; later studies will attempt reversal (flushing the gel to restore sperm flow), which has been demonstrated in rabbits (in press) but not yet in larger animals. ### To fund the development of Vasalgel, Parsemus Foundation has formed a social venture, Revolution Contraceptives LLC, and is seeking socially-minded investors and foundation partners committed to affordable access. For more information on funding and partnership opportunities, please contact info@parsemusfoundation.org. About Parsemus Foundation: Parsemus Foundation works to advance innovative and neglected medical research. The foundation supports studies and then seeks to raise awareness of results, to ensure that they change treatment practice rather than disappear into the scientific literature. Many of the studies the foundation supports involve low-cost approaches that are not under patent, and are thus unlikely to be pursued by pharmaceutical companies due to limited profit potential. Successful studies to date have included breast cancer treatment advances, low-cost readily available nonsurgical dog and cat sterilization, and non-invasive treatment of benign prostatic hyperplasia using a currently marketed device. Parsemus Foundation's main focus is currently bringing Vasalgel to market. More information on Parsemus Foundation and the work presented here can be found at: https://www.parsemusfoundation.org/projects/vasalgel/ Images, key facts, and statistics: see https://www.parsemusfoundation.org/media-resources/ London, UK. When governments tell their citizens what they can and cannot wear, they are sending a signal about their own lack of confidence, says Rachael Jolley, editor of the Index on Censorship Magazine. Writing in the latest issue of the magazine, Fashion rules, dressing to oppress: Why dress codes and freedom clash, Jolley remarks how: "Banning any type of freedom of expression, often including free speech, or freedom of assembly, usually happens in times of national angst, economic downturn or crisis, when governments are not acting either in the interest of their people or the national good." Also in the issue are discussions of how globally clothing is used to define people by social status, attacks on people because of their clothing and prison uniforms. Former Elle editor Maggie Alderson and Indonesian author Eliza Vitri Handayani both write about punk culture, while novelist Linda Grant writes about immigration and how clothing can be about fitting in and aspiration. Jolley concludes: "We must support the freedom for individuals to makes choices, even if we do not agree with them personally. The freedom to be different, if one chooses to be, must not be punished by some kind of lower status or ostracism. National leaders have to learn that taking away freedom of expression from their people is a sign of their failure." ### Articles published in Index on Censorship Magazine, will be free to access for a limited time and can be read here. Index on Censorship Magazine celebrated the launch of its latest issue Fashion rules, dressing to oppress: Why dress codes and freedom clash on the 18th of January 2017. Find out more here. Sara Miller McCune founded SAGE Publishing in 1965 to support the dissemination of usable knowledge and educate a global community. SAGE is a leading international provider of innovative, high-quality content publishing more than 1,000 journals and over 800 new books each year, spanning a wide range of subject areas. A growing selection of library products includes archives, data, case studies and video. SAGE remains majority owned by our founder and after her lifetime will become owned by a charitable trust that secures the company's continued independence. Principal offices are located in Los Angeles, London, New Delhi, Singapore, Washington DC and Melbourne. http://www.sagepublishing.com Index on Censorship launched in 1972, has reporters around the world. International in outlook, outspoken in comment, and publishing some of the world's finest writers, Index exposes stories that are suppressed, publishes banned writing, investigative journalism and new fiction. Previous contributors include Margaret Atwood, Noam Chomsky, Nadine Gordimer, Aung San Suu Kyi, Salman Rushdie, Tom Stoppard and Ai Weiwei. http://www.indexoncensorship.org Physicians often fail to recommend genetic testing for breast cancer patients at high risk for mutations associated with ovarian and other cancers, according to a large study by researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine and five other U.S. medical centers. Asian-Americans and older women were particularly likely to be "undertested." Not testing these women represents a critical missed health care opportunity, the researchers said. "We found that genetic counseling and testing are not well-matched to medical need," said Allison Kurian, MD, associate professor of medicine and of health research and policy at Stanford. "Women are very interested in genetic testing but many fail to receive it. This is particularly worrisome because it means that doctors are missing the opportunity to prevent cancers in mutation carriers and their family members." Kurian is the lead author of the study, which will be published online Feb. 7 in JAMA. University of Michigan researchers Reshma Jagsi, MD, DPhil, and Steven Katz, MD, MPH, share senior authorship. Surveying more than 2,500 women Genetic testing can identify the presence of mutations in the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes, which are strongly linked to the development of breast and ovarian cancers, as well as the presence of other cancer-related mutations. Kurian and her colleagues surveyed 2,529 women with stage-0 to stage-2 breast cancer two months after surgery. The women were asked whether they wanted genetic testing and, if so, whether they had received it. Although about two-thirds of the women said they wanted to be tested, only about one-third said they had been tested. About eight in 10 of those at highest risk for BRCA mutations wanted testing, but just over half of them were actually tested. About 56 percent of the women who were not tested attributed the lack of testing to the fact that it was not recommended by their physicians. Genetic counseling often unavailable The survey also found that genetic counseling, either to help the patients decide whether to seek testing or to help them understand the results of their tests, often did not occur. Only about 40 percent of all high-risk women, and 60 percent of those high-risk women who were tested, reported having a genetic counseling session. "Genetic testing results can affect what sort of surgery a woman may choose to treat her existing breast cancer, as well as what treatments she should pursue to reduce the risk of forming new cancers in the future," said Jagsi, who is professor and deputy chair of radiation oncology at Michigan. "We don't have a crystal ball, but genetic testing can be a powerful tool for certain women. It is worrisome to see so many of those women at highest risk for mutations failing even to have a visit focused on genetic counseling." Overall, the survey's results indicate that women are often not learning of genetic mutations that could lead to the development of additional cancers in them or in family members who may carry the same mutation. Women who know they carry a cancer-associated mutation may opt for more frequent or stringent screening, or sometimes even surgery to remove their breasts or ovaries before a cancer develops. "The fact that many women are not offered genetic testing after a diagnosis of breast cancer is an important illustration of the challenges of driving advances in precision medicine into the exam room," said Katz, who is a professor of medicine and of health management and policy at Michigan. "It is likely that some doctors don't realize the benefit that genetic testing provides," said Kurian. "They may also lack the ability to explain the testing process and results clearly with patients. Priorities for the future should include strategies to expand the genetic counselor workforce and interventions to improve physicians' skills in communication and cancer risk assessment." ### Researchers from the University of Southern California, Emory University and the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center also contributed to the study. The study was supported by the National Institutes of Health (grant PO1CA163233). Stanford's departments of Medicine and of Health Research and Policy also supported the work. Kurian has received grant funding from Myriad Genetics, Invitae and Ambry Genetics. The Stanford University School of Medicine consistently ranks among the nation's top medical schools, integrating research, medical education, patient care and community service. For more news about the school, please visit http://med.stanford.edu/school.html. The medical school is part of Stanford Medicine, which includes Stanford Health Care and Stanford Children's Health. For information about all three, please visit http://med.stanford.edu. Print media contact: Krista Conger at (650) 725-5371 (kristac@stanford.edu) Broadcast media contact: Margarita Gallardo at (650) 723-7897 (mjgallardo@stanford.edu) Researchers at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem have discovered a survival strategy that harmful bacteria can use to outsmart the human immune response, resulting in more severe and persistent infections and more effective spreading from person to person. Bacteria have an array of strategies for coping with the harsh and changing environments in the organisms they invade. These include developing adaptive mutations as they evolve, and activating specific genes to respond to changes. However, sometimes these defenses aren't enough, and alternative strategies are needed. One such alternative strategy recently discovered is the generation of non-genetic variability, in which bacteria develop sub-populations that are each pre-adapted to a different environment or task. This pre-adaptation could give invading bacteria an extra advantage during invasion and in overcoming the immune system. Called phenotypic variability, this variation involves the development of sub-populations of bacteria with altered traits such as size or behavior. To better understand this survival strategy, researchers Irine Ronin, Naama Katsowitz, Ilan Rosenshine and Nathalie Q. Balaban, led by Dr. Irine Ronin from the Balaban lab at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem's Racah Institute of Physics, examined whether non-genetic variability plays a role in the virulence of a human-specific pathogen, enteropathogenic E. coli (EPEC), responsible for many infant deaths worldwide. Their goal was to uncover whether exposing EPEC to challenging conditions similar to the ones they would encounter in a human can trigger EPEC to spontaneously differentiate into different bacterial sub-populations. To do this, they used mathematical modeling and genetic analysis. Their analysis, reported in the peer-reviewed journal eLife, revealed that EPEC spontaneously differentiates into two sub-populations, one of them particularly virulent, when exposed to conditions that mimic the host environment. Surprisingly, they found that once triggered, this hyper-virulent state maintains a very long memory and remains hyper-virulent for many generations. In addition, they identified the specific regulatory genes that control the switch between the non-virulent and hyper-virulent states in EPEC bacteria. "These results shed new light on bacterial virulence strategies, revealing the existence of pre-adapted EPEC subpopulations which can remain primed for infection over weeks," said Prof. Nathalie Q. Balaban. "They also show that long-term memory drives the expression of the pathogen's major virulence factors, even upon shifting to conditions that do not favor their expression." "The unique memory switch we identified may be common in pathogenic bacteria, resulting in increased disease severity, higher infection persistency and improved host-to-host spreading," said Prof. Ilan Rosenshine. "Further research to characterize the switching mechanism may point to strategies for tuning down EPEC virulence and fighting infections, and our approach can provide a framework to search for similar switches in other pathogens." ### Using standard hemoglobin A1c criteria resulted in identifying 40 percent fewer cases of prediabetes and 48 percent fewer cases of diabetes among African Americans with sickle cell trait compared with those without, while glucose-based methods resulted in a similar prevalence regardless of sickle cell trait status, according to a study in the February 7 issue of JAMA. Hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) reflects past glucose concentrations, but this relationship may differ between those with sickle cell trait (SCT) and those without it. Sickle cell trait is a condition in which a person has only one copy of the gene for sickle cell but does not have sickle cell disease (which requires two copies of the sickle cell gene). Correct interpretation of HbA1c values in individuals with SCT is important because it directly affects efforts that use HbA1c for screening, diagnosis, and monitoring of diabetes and prediabetes. Sickle cell trait is the most common hemoglobin variant in the United States, with 8 to 10 percent of black people affected by SCT compared with less than one percent of white people. Mary E. Lacy, M.P.H., of the Brown University School of Public Health, Providence, R.I., and colleagues evaluated the association between SCT and HbA1c for given levels of fasting or 2-hour glucose levels among African Americans using data collected from 7,938 participants in two community-based cohorts, the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults (CARDIA) study and the Jackson Heart Study (JHS). The analytic sample included 4,620 participants (367 [7.9 percent] with SCT). The researchers found that at the same fasting or 2-hour glucose concentration, HbA1c was significantly lower among participants with vs without SCT. Also, differences in HbA1c concentration by SCT status were greater at higher glucose concentrations. The prevalence of prediabetes and diabetes was significantly lower among participants with SCT when defined using HbA1c values (29 percent vs 49 percent for prediabetes and 3.8 percent vs 7.3 percent for diabetes). "These results could have clinically significant implications. As a screening tool, an HbA1c value that systematically underestimates long-term glucose levels may result in a missed opportunity for intervention," the authors write. "Because black people typically have a higher prevalence of diabetes and experience a number of diabetic complications at higher rates than white people, the cost of inaccurately assessing risk and treatment response is high." ### (doi:10.1001/jama.2016.21035; the study is available pre-embargo at the For the Media website) Editor's Note: Please see the article for additional information, including other authors, author contributions and affiliations, financial disclosures, funding and support, etc. Related material: The editorial, "Sickle Cell Trait and Interpretation of Hemoglobin Alc Levels," by Anthony J. Bleyer, M.D., M.S., and Joseph A. Aloi, M.D., of Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, N.C., also is available at the For The Media website. To place an electronic embedded link to this study in your story This link will be live at the embargo time: http://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/10.1001/jama.2016.21035 Professor Pierre Alexandre Tremblay at the University of Huddersfield received the grant from the European Research Council A 1.7 million, five-year research project at the University of Huddersfield will push the limits of new 'sound worlds' for composers, performers and producers of electronic music. They will be able to use newly-developed, freely-distributed software tools and methodologies to mine vast digital sound databases for the exact sonorities they need, and will also be aided in the creation of exciting new sounds and ideas. Pierre Alexandre Tremblay -- who is Professor of Composition and Improvisation and Director of the University's state-of-the-art music studios -- has been awarded two million euros by the European Research Council (ERC). His project, which officially starts in September, is titled Fluid Corpus Manipulation (FluCoMa). Its technical description is Creative Research in Musical Mining of Large Sound/Gesture Datasets through Foundational Access to the Latest Advances of Signal Decomposition. The goal is to instigate new musical ways of exploiting ever-growing banks of sound and gestures generated by the digital composition process. For the first time, techno-fluent computer composers will have full access to the potential of "signal decomposition" within the burgeoning field of digital signal processing (DSP). "Cutting-edge musical composition has always been dependent on and critical and subversive of the latest advances of technology," said Professor Tremblay. "Unfortunately, there is an ever-expanding gap between DSP advances and their availability to musical investigators." Signal decomposition is one of these advances. It means a sound can be separated into its transient, pitched, and residual constituents. "These potent algorithms are partially available in closed software, or in laboratories, but not at a suitable level of modularity within the coding environments -- such as Max and SuperCollider -- used by creative researchers," continued Professor Tremblay. Digital sound banks containing hundreds of thousands of sounds are now common, but for their full potential to be realised, new ways of abstracting and manipulating their content must be developed and creative musicians need to be given access to the underlying technology. This is what Professor Tremblay and his co-researchers will be doing, with the ERC funding. Two full-time post-doctoral researchers will be appointed and there will also be a PhD student for part of the project. The University of Huddersfield, home to the globally-respected Centre for Research in New Music (CeReNeM), is fully equipped to carry out the research, scheduled to last for five years. The digital tools that will be developed will benefit composers of advanced electronic music, but will also be a boon in fields such as popular music and sound installations. The two million euro award to Professor Tremblay is one of the latest round of Consolidator Grants that have been announced by the European Research Council. A total of 605 million euros has been awarded to 314 of the top researchers in Europe, who are carrying our projects at the frontiers of knowledge in science and the humanities. The Consolidator Grants have gone to researchers in 23 countries in Europe, with the UK receiving most awards - 58 in total. The application process was exhaustive and demanding, said Professor Tremblay. But his project was one of the small percentage of the 2,274 proposals that were awarded ERC grants. *The findings of the project and forums for researchers will soon be available on its website. ### Updating your Facebook status can be a fun way to while away the hours - but now it seems it really is making us lose track of time as we do it. New research from psychologists at the University of Kent suggests that people who are using Facebook or surfing the web suffer impaired perception of time. Researchers from the University's School of Psychology found that the way people perceived time varied according to whether their internet use was specifically Facebook related or more general. Using well-established internal clock models, researchers attempted to separate the roles of 'attention' and 'arousal' as drivers for time distortion. The researchers found that Facebook-related stimuli can lead to an underestimate of time compared to general internet use, but that both lead to a distortion of time. In the study, Lazaros Gonidis and Dr Dinkar Sharma, monitored the responses of 44 people who were shown 20 images for varying amounts of time. Five of the images were associated with Facebook, five had more general internet associations with another ten as neutral 'control' images. Those taking part had to say whether the image they had just seen had been visible for a short or long time. The key finding was that people tended to underestimate the time they had been looking at Facebook-related images to a greater extent than other more general internet related images, but that in both cases time was underestimated. This suggests that Facebook-related images affect time by changing how we pay attention to them. The findings are likely to have implications for future study into addictive behaviour. The study, entitled Internet and Facebook Related Images Affect the Perception of Time, is published in the Journal of Applied Social Psychology. See: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jasp.12429/abstract ### For interview requests, contact Martin Herrema at the University of Kent Press Office. Tel: 01227 823581/01634 888879 Email: M.J.Herrema@kent.ac.uk News releases can also be found at http://www.kent.ac.uk/news University of Kent on Twitter: http://twitter.com/UniKent Notes to editor Established in 1965, the University of Kent - the UK's European university - now has almost 20,000 students across campuses or study centres at Canterbury, Medway, Tonbridge, Brussels, Paris, Athens and Rome. It has been ranked: 23rd in the Guardian University Guide 2016; 23rd in the Times and Sunday Times University Guide 2016; and 22nd in the Complete University Guide 2015. In the Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings 2015-16, Kent is in the top 10% of the world's leading universities for international outlook and 66th in its table of the most international universities in the world. The THE also ranked the University as 20th in its 'Table of Tables' 2016. Kent is ranked 17th in the UK for research intensity (REF 2014). It has world-leading research in all subjects and 97% of its research is deemed by the REF to be of international quality. In the National Student Survey 2016, Kent achieved the fourth highest score for overall student satisfaction, out of all publicly funded, multi-faculty universities. Along with the universities of East Anglia and Essex, Kent is a member of the Eastern Arc Research Consortium (http://www.kent.ac.uk/about/partnerships/eastern-arc.html). The University is worth 0.7 billion to the economy of the south east and supports more than 7,800 jobs in the region. Student off-campus spend contributes 293.3m and 2,532 full-time-equivalent jobs to those totals. In 2014, Kent received its second Queen's Anniversary Prize for Higher and Further Education. AMHERST, Mass. - More and more scientists are using the powerful new gene-editing tool known as CRISPR/Cas9, a technology isolated from bacteria, that holds promise for new treatment of such genetic diseases as cystic fibrosis, muscular dystrophy and hemophilia. But to work well, the new gene-clipping tool must be delivered safely across the cell membrane and into its nucleus, a difficult process that can trigger the cell's defenses and "trap" CRISPR/Cas9, greatly reducing its treatment potential. Now, researchers in nanochemistry expert Vincent Rotello's laboratory at the University of Massachusetts Amherst have designed a delivery system using nanoparticles to assist CRISPR/Cas9 across the membrane and into the cell nucleus while avoiding entrapment by cellular machinery. Details appear in a recent issue of the journal ACS Nano. The lab's experiment leader, Rubul Mout, says, "CRISPR has two components: a scissor-like protein called Cas9, and an RNA molecule called sgRNA that guides Cas9 to its target gene. Once the Cas9-sgRNA pair gets to the destination gene in the nucleus, it can interrogate its genetic mistakes and correct them with the help of the host cell's repair machinery." He points out that since CRISPR's potential was first discovered in 2012, gene editing or genome engineering has quickly become an intense research topic in biology and medicine. The goal is to treat otherwise incurable genetic diseases by manipulating diseased genes. "However, to achieve this, biotech and pharmaceutical companies are constantly searching for more efficient CRISPR delivery methods," he adds. The new delivery method Rotello, Mout and colleagues designed involves engineering the Cas9 protein, named Cas9En, and carrier nanoparticles. Rotello says, "By finely tuning the interactions between engineered Cas9En protein and nanoparticles, we were able to construct these delivery vectors. The vectors carrying the Cas9 protein and sgRNA come into contact with the cell membrane, fuse, and release the Cas9:sgRNA directly into the cell cytoplasm." "Cas9 protein also has a nuclear guiding sequence that ushers the complex into the destination nucleus. The key is to tweak the Cas9 protein," he adds. "We have delivered this Cas9 protein and sgRNA pair into the cell nucleus without getting it trapped on its way. We have watched the delivery process live in real time using sophisticated microscopy." Mout and colleagues say they can now deliver the Cas9 protein and sgRNA pair into about 90 percent of cells grown in a culture dish with an editing efficiency of about 30 percent. "Ninety percent cytosolic/nuclear delivery is a huge improvement compared to others methods," Mout points out. The researchers believe that the Cas9En may also serve as a platform for delivery of a variety of other materials such as polymers, lipid nanoparticles or self-assembling peptides. Rotello says, "Now that we have achieved efficient gene editing in cultured cells, we are aiming to edit genes in pre-clinical animal models. We are also interested in gene editing for adoptive therapies, where a diseased cell is isolated from a patient, corrected by CRISPR in the lab, and delivered back to the patient." Apart from gene editing, the new delivery method may have other uses. For example, another important issue in biology and medicine is tracking DNA and RNA inside cells. Recently, CRISPR has been used to aid in this research. Moumita Ray, another researcher in the Rotello lab, says, "Our method allows the precise monitoring of Cas9 protein movement inside a cell, opening new opportunities in genomic research." ### A new study by University of Maryland School of Medicine researchers has found that in mice, adjusting levels of a compound called kynurenic acid can have significant effects on schizophrenia-like behavior. The study appeared in the latest issue of the journal Biological Psychiatry. In recent years, scientists have identified kynurenic acid as a potential key player in schizophrenia. People with schizophrenia have higher than normal levels of kynurenic acid in their brains. KYNA, as it is known, is a metabolite of the amino acid tryptophan; it decreases glutamate, and research has found that people with this illness tend to have less glutamate signaling than people without the disease. Scientists have theorized that this reduction in glutamate activity, and therefore the higher KYNA levels seen in patients, might be connected with a range of symptoms seen in schizophrenia, especially cognitive problems. For several years, Robert Schwarcz, PhD, a Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UM SOM), who in 1988 was the first to identify the presence of KYNA in the brain, has studied the role of KYNA in schizophrenia and other neuropsychiatric diseases. For the new study, Dr. Schwarcz and his team collaborated closely with scientists at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden, the University of Leicester in the United Kingdom, and KynuRex, a biotech company in San Francisco. "This study provides crucial new support for our longstanding hypothesis", Dr. Schwarcz said. "It explains how the KYNA system may become dysfunctional in schizophrenia." Dr. Schwarcz and his colleagues studied mice which were deficient in kynurenine 3-monooxygenase, or KMO, an enzyme that is crucial for determining the levels of KYNA in the brain. Specifically, lower KMO results in higher levels of KYNA. Interestingly, patients with schizophrenia have lower than normal brain levels of KMO, which may be linked to lower levels of glutamate. The mice with lower levels of KMO showed impairments in contextual memory and spent less time than did a control group interacting with an unfamiliar mouse in a social setting. The low-KMO mice also showed increased anxiety-like behavior when put into a maze and other challenging settings. Since these behaviors are similar to behavioral traits in humans with schizophrenia, this suggests that KMO and KYNA may play a key role in the disease. The new discovery has clinical implications as well. On its own, boosting glutamate on a large scale has serious side effects, including seizures and nerve cell death. Dr. Schwarcz and his colleagues propose that modifying KYNA could adjust glutamate more precisely. In recent years, he and his collaborators have in fact shown that a reduction in KYNA improves cognition in animals that have cognitive deficits similar to those seen in schizophrenia. Because this mechanism is indirect, it seems not to trigger the same side effects that directly boosting glutamate does. His UM SOM team is now investigating compounds that might produce the same results in humans. ### A University of Oklahoma psychology professor, Edward Cokely, is the recipient of a 2017 Early Career Impact Award from the Federation of Associations in Behavioral & Brain Sciences. FABBS is a coalition of 19 professional societies representing more than 150,000 scientists worldwide. Cokely, a Presidential Research Professor and associate professor of psychology in the OU College of Arts and Sciences, is one of six scientists who received the 2017 award honoring early career professionals for major contributions to the science of mind, brain and behavior. "It is a great tribute to Professor Cokely that he is one of only six recipients of this award in the entire nation," said OU President David L. Boren. Cokely has made significant advances in the psychology of skilled decision making, with applications in risk communication and adaptive technology. He is recognized as one of the world's foremost experts on risk literacy and inclusive decision education. His research has advanced frontiers in the scientific understanding of user-friendly decision support, visual aids and training programs, including adaptive computerized tutors designed to improve high-stakes decision making of diverse and vulnerable individuals who vary widely in ability, proficiency, education background and country of residence. "Receipt of this highly competitive award clearly indicates the quality and impact of Dr. Cokely's research, and we are most fortunate to have him at OU," said Kelvin Droegemeier, vice president for research. Cokely led the international research team that developed the Berlin Numeracy Test at the Max Planck Institute and co-founded http://www.RiskLiteracy.org, the multinational "science for society" project involving research groups from 28 universities in 13 countries. Today more than 100,000 people from 166 countries have taken one of the Berlin Numeracy Tests. Hundreds of recent studies by researchers in business, psychology, economics, political science, law, medicine, social work, forestry and other fields have published decision-making research using Berlin Numeracy Tests, improving understanding of the needs and processes of diverse decision makers in more than 50 countries. "The award reflects the courage and sacrifice of so many brilliant collaborators, students and mentors. Words just can't express my gratitude," said Cokely. In less than 10 years after earning his doctorate degree from Florida State University, Cokely has published more than 60 papers which have been cited in excess of 2,000 times. He has mentored 10 doctoral students and secured more than $2 million in funding for research and student support. His research has been featured in Scientific American, New Scientist magazine, Chronicle of Higher Education and other media outlets, such as The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal online. He has received major awards like the 2013 National Science Foundation CAREER Award and the American Psychology Association's Award for Best Research Paper in Applied Psychology in 2012. Cokely is co-founding faculty of the National Institute for Risk & Resilience, an umbrella organization that facilitates collaboration among OU research centers, individual scholars and external partners on risk-related teaching, research and outreach. ### An international team has, for the first time, developed a way of combining anonymised data from mobile phones and satellite imagery data to create high resolution maps to measure poverty. The researchers, led by WorldPop at the University of Southampton and the Flowminder Foundation, have worked with Telenor Research and mobile phone company Grameenphone to examine rates of poverty and its distribution across Bangladesh -- analysing a range of information relating to mobile phone usage. Findings from the study, funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, are published in the Journal of the Royal Society Interface. The team found that by combining mobile data and geospatial data from satellites, they were able to produce poverty predictions which are comparable with those made from traditional sources, but with significant advantages. Lead author Dr Jessica Steele explains: "Census and household surveys are normally used as data sources to estimate rates of poverty. However, they aren't regularly updated -- for example, censuses only take place every ten years - and in low income countries, surveys can be patchy. "The advantage of using mobile phone data is that it provides us with information which is continually updated, can be interrogated in a variety of ways and can track changes on an ongoing basis. Paired with satellite data that has similar features, it can give a much more dynamic view of poverty and its geographic spread." Every time a person uses a mobile it sends information to a receiving tower and gives an approximate location of where they are. It also contains information about levels of data usage, numbers of texts sent, times calls were made and their duration. It can reveal how much and how far people are travelling, as well as the type of phone they're using -- i.e. basic mobile device, or smart phone. This kind of anonymised data helps build a picture of poverty. For example, monthly credit consumption on mobiles, and the proportion of people in an area using them, can indicate household access to financial resources -- while movements of mobiles and their use of networks provide information on individuals' economic opportunities. Similarly, remote sensing from satellites can indicate the living conditions of communities. Researchers in WorldPop have, for several years, undertaken research on how data on rainfall, temperature and vegetation reveals information about agricultural productivity, while how far people live from roads and cities and whether they can light their homes may reflect a community's access to markets and information. Dr Steele adds: "Satellite data can provide us with excellent information about living conditions in rural areas, but in tightly packed cities it's more difficult. It's the reverse for mobiles - more masts in cities means more information, contrasted with the countryside where mobile receiving towers can be thinly spread." The researchers recognise that some of the very poorest in society may not own a mobile, but even taking this in to account, they were able to identify distinct differences between low income informal settlements and richer areas. In 2016, the United Nations pledged to '...end poverty in all forms and dimensions by 2030' as part of its Sustainable Development Goals. One of the steps towards achieving this involves targeting the most vulnerable in society. The researchers are now expanding their work to other countries. They hope their findings can be utilised to track poverty more effectively in the future and provide detailed and accurate information to better inform governments and relief organisations. ### Data from the study on the distribution and levels of poverty in Bangladesh can be found at: http://www.worldpop.org.uk. Ends all forms and dimensions by 2030. This involves targeting the most vulnerable, increasing access to basic Notes to editors 1) For interviews with the study authors, please contact Peter Franklin, Media Relations, University of Southampton. Tel ++44 23 8059 5457 Email: p.franklin@southampton.ac.uk 2) The paper Mapping poverty using mobile phone and satellite data is published in the Journal of the Royal Society Interface (DOI: 10.1098/rsif.2016.0690). A copy can be obtained from Media Relations on request. 3) Attached image: Bangladesh poverty maps showing national estimates for wealth index (A), progress out of poverty index (B), and household income (C). Maps were generated using mobile data, satellite data, and Bayesian geostatistical models. Red indicates poorer areas. 4) The study was funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. More on the Foundation can be found here: http://www.gatesfoundation.org/ 5) For more about WorldPop please visit: http://www.worldpop.org.uk/ 6) For more about Flowminder please visit: http://www.flowminder.org/ 7) The University of Southampton is a leading UK teaching and research institution with a global reputation for leading-edge research and scholarship across a wide range of subjects in engineering, science, social sciences, health and humanities. With over 24,000 students, 6500 staff, and an annual turnover in excess of 550m, the University of Southampton is acknowledged as one of the country's top institutions for engineering, computer science and medicine. We combine academic excellence with an innovative and entrepreneurial approach to research, supporting a culture that engages and challenges students and staff in their pursuit of learning. The University is also home to a number of world-leading research centres including the Institute of Sound and Vibration Research, the Optoelectronics Research Centre, the Institute for Life Sciences, the Web Science Trust and Doctoral training Centre, the Centre for the Developmental Origins of Health and Disease, the Southampton Statistical Sciences Research Institute and is a partner of the National Oceanography Centre at the Southampton waterfront campus. http://www.southampton.ac.uk 8) For more about Geography and Environment at the University of Southampton visit: http://www.southampton.ac.uk/geography/index.page For further information contact: Peter Franklin, Media Relations, University of Southampton, Tel: 023 8059 5457, email: p.franklin@southampton.ac.uk http://www.soton.ac.uk/mediacentre/ Follow us on twitter: http://twitter.com/unisouthampton Like us on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/unisouthampton KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- Chris Boyer, assistant professor in the Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics at the University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture, has been selected to receive an Emerging Scholars Award by the Southern Agricultural Economics Association (SAEA). The award is presented to high-performing, early-career professionals with demonstrated research and resulting publication activity. Boyer was chosen among peers nationwide for this distinguished honor. He received the award February 6th during the annual SAEA meeting in Mobile, Alabama. He also delivered a presentation at an invited symposium during the meeting. "Chris has clearly established a distinguished path within our profession that is noteworthy and deserving of this honor," said the newly installed SAEA President Lisa House. Boyer's research focuses on the connections between farm and environmental management in order to increase the long-term sustainability of agricultural production through more profitable and environmentally conscious production systems. "Dr. Boyer also excels at working with UT Extension educators and faculty members across a range of departments to better serve agricultural producers in Tennessee and beyond," said interim UT Extension Dean Delton Gerloff. "His work ethic and accomplishments as a young faculty member point toward an even more productive professional future." ### Through its mission of research, teaching and extension, the University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture touches lives and provides Real. Life. Solutions. ag.tennessee.edu. HOUSTON - Breast cancer patients with dense breast tissue have almost a two-fold increased risk of developing disease in the contralateral breast, according to new research from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer. The study, published in the journal Cancer, is among the first to find the association between breast density (BD) and contralateral breast cancer (CBC). According to study author Isabelle Bedrosian, M.D., a big challenge in the management of this patient population, especially as they are making surgical decisions, is trying to counsel women appropriately on their risk of developing breast cancer in the other breast. "We know there are a number of well-established influences for developing both primary and secondary breast cancers, such as BRCA mutations, family history, and the tumor's estrogen receptor status," explained Bedrosian, associate professor, Breast Surgical Oncology. "We also know density is a risk factor for the development of primary breast cancer. However, no one has closely looked at it as a risk factor for developing contralateral disease." The estimated 10-year risk for women with breast cancer developing CBC can be as low as 2 percent, and as high 40 percent, said Bedrosian. The dramatic range is due in large part to the variability of risk factors across the patient population, she explained. For the retrospective, case-controlled study, the researchers identified 680 stage I, II and III breast cancer patients, all treated at MD Anderson between 1997 and 2012. BRCA patients were excluded from the study, given their known increased risk of CBC. Women with an additional diagnosis of metachronous CBC - defined as BC in the opposite breast diagnosed more than six months after the initial diagnosis - were the "cases," and patients who had not developed CBC were the "controls." Cases and controls were matched on a 1:2 ratio based on a number of factors, including age, year of diagnosis and hormone receptor status. "With our research, we wanted to evaluate the relationship between the mammographic breast density of the original disease and the development of metachronous breast cancer," said Carlos Barcenas, M.D., assistant professor, Breast Medical Oncology, and the study's corresponding author. Of the selected patients, 229 were cases and 451 were controls. The MD Anderson researchers categorized each patient's breast density by mammogram reading, assessed at the time of first diagnosis, as "nondense" or "dense," using the categorizations from the American College of Radiology. Among the cases, 39.3 percent were classified as having nondense breast tissue and 60.7 percent as having dense breast tissue, compared to 48.3 percent and 51.7 percent, respectively, in the controls. After adjusting for known breast cancer risk factors, the researchers found almost a two-fold increased risk of developing CBC in breast cancer survivors with dense breasts. "Our findings have valuable implications for both newly diagnosed patients with dense breasts and for breast cancer survivors as we manage their long-term risk of a secondary diagnosis," said Barcenas. "Our future goal is to develop a risk model incorporating breast density to best assess a breast cancer survivor's risk of developing CBC." In the long-term, the researchers hope to use this tool to counsel patients on their personal risk and their options for treatment and surveillance, if their risk is sufficiently high. ### In addition to Barcenas and Bedrosian, authors on the all-MD Anderson study include: Debu Tripathy, M.D., Yu Shen, Ph.D., Banu Arun, M.D., Akshara Raghavendra, M.D., Limin Hsu, Modesto Patangan, Jr., and Arup K. Sinha, all of Breast Medical Oncology; Huong Le-Petross, M.D., and Naveen Garg, M.D., Diagnostic Radiology; and Therese Bartholomew Bevers, M.D., Clinical Cancer Prevention. The study was supported by The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center Young Breast Cancer Survivors Program. The Ulster Farmers' Union (UFU) has described the introduction of the Universal Credit (UC) system in Northern Ireland as 'punishment' for the self-employed. The NI rural sector has been concerned about the impact this system will have on farmers, with some calling it an 'extra burden' for farmers. The UFU has been lobbying government to highlight these concerns, with the union saying the impact will be felt by all self-employed claimants. UC is part of the UK Governments Welfare Reform Act, which became law in Britain in March 2012. In 2015 the NI Assembly agreed its approach to Welfare Reform Legislation through the Fresh Start Agreement. This agreement established the process to effect welfare changes which is expected to come into operation in Northern Ireland in 2017. The new simplified system will replace current benefits and tax credits including working tax credits. Self-employed applicants will have to attend a Gateway Interview and if they successfully meet the criteria for UC they will then be paid monthly. This amount will be linked to how much they earn and can vary from month to month. However, in order to receive UC, farmers and rural businesses will have to supply monthly cash-in and cash-out figures online. If one fails to do this UC will be suspended or eventually terminated. All successful applicants will be subject to a minimum income floor which is an assumed level of earnings used to calculate UC payments. 'Extra burden' A spokesman for the UFU said: "UC makes it impossible to use prospective incomes or losses, which is often what farmers depend on. "The fact that farming is seasonal where there will be long periods of time when a farmer will make a loss in expectation of more profitable times at some other stage during the year. "In addition, having to do monthly real-time accounts is an extra burden upon farmers, in an already hard-pressed industry, and to hire someone to prepare these accounts would be an extra expense. "The minimum income floor does not take any account of the reality of farming where in almost all years a very substantial part of income is gained from SFP and several months of the year farms are operating at a loss until SFP is paid. During this time, some farmers are more depended than ever on the benefits which they are entitled to." The UFU, in conjunction with Advice NI and Rural Support, are seeking change to 'stop the punishing effect' on the self-employed through their joint policy paper. Wheat rust, a family of fungal diseases that can cause crop losses of up to 100 percent in untreated susceptible wheats, is making further advances in Europe, Africa and Asia. According to two new studies produced by scientists in collaboration with UN's Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), they show the emergence of new races of both yellow rust and stem rust. "These new, aggressive rust races have emerged at the same time that we're working with international partners to help countries combat the existing ones, so we have to be swift and thorough in the way we approach this," said FAO Plant Pathologist Fazil Dusunceli. "It's more important than ever that specialists from international institutions and wheat producing countries work together to stop these diseases in their tracks, that involves continuous surveillance, sharing data and building emergency response plans to protect their farmers and those in neighboring countries." The already established Warrior(-) race of yellow rust - which came onto scientists' radars in Northern Europe and Turkey a few years ago - continued its aerial march in 2016 and is now widely present in Europe and West Asia. 'Source of food and livelihood' The findings were highlighted in the journal Nature following their publication by Aarhus University and the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT). Wheat is a source of food and livelihoods for over 1 billion people in developing countries. Northern and Eastern Africa, the Near East, and West, Central and South Asia which are all vulnerable to rust diseases - alone account for some 37 percent of global wheat production. Wheat rusts spread rapidly over long distances by wind. If not detected and treated on time, the disease can turn a healthy looking crop, only weeks away from harvest, into a tangle of yellow leaves, black stems and shriveled grains. Fungicides can help to limit damage, but early detection and rapid action are crucial. So are integrated management strategies in the long run. 'International collaboration crucial' The findings of the Aarhus study build on training sessions conducted in 2016 in collaboration between the International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA), Aarhus university, CIMMYT and FAO. The training, which will be repeated this year, allows rust experts to strengthen their surveillance and management skills, coupled with surveys and collection of rust samples for tests and analysis by Aarhus University. The recently established Regional Cereal Rust Research in Izmir, Turkey, will host the training. These efforts have been part of FAO's four-year global wheat rust program, which facilitates regional collaborations and offers support to individual countries eager to boost their surveillance capacity. It also helps countries act swiftly to control outbreaks before they turn into epidemics and cause major damage to food security. But further research, particularly into breeding resistant varieties, and national response plans need to be backed by adequate resources. A farmer from Northern Ireland has been charged 1,250 for failing to notify authorities the births or movement of seven animals onto his holding and one charge of failure to dispose of a carcase. Patrick Tiernan, from Forkhill, Newry was convicted yesterday (6 February) at Newry Magistrates' Court. Mr Tiernan pleaded guilty and was fined 1,250 plus 15 offenders levy. These offences came to light during an inspection of Mr Tiernans farm by Veterinary Service Enforcement Branch. Mr Tiernan was convicted of one charge of failing to notify the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of the birth of seven calves, or their movement on to his holding. He was also convicted of one charge of failing to hold a carcase or part of a carcase of any farmed animal that had not been slaughtered for human consumption, pending consignment or disposal. Breaches of the Cattle Identification Regulations weaken and undermine the cattle traceability system in Northern Ireland, including the integrity of the Department's Animal and Public Health Information System (APHIS). The National Farmers Union (NFU) has today announced that it has applied for emergency use of neonicotinoid seed treatments to alleviate insect pest pressure on a proportion of the English oilseed rape crop. The NFU, for the third year running, has committed to bringing forward evidence explaining the case for a limited number of farmers to have access to the insecticide in a 'controlled way'. This will be put to the Chemicals Regulation Division and a recommendation from the Expert Committee on Pesticides to Defra will follow to inform a final decision from them. A recent survey of 400 arable farmers who all grow winter oilseed rape (OSR) reports that 8.3 per cent of the crop this year has failed. The survey, carried out by the Kleffmann Group, also estimates that a huge 46,000ha has been written off due to the mass scale of oilseed rape crop failure this season. 'Some have abandoned the crop altogether' NFU Vice President Guy Smith said: With the numbers of flea beetles rapidly increasing and this pest pressure continuing to be a costly problem, farmers are changing their farming practices by adapting rotations to help them deal with the situation. Some farmers have abandoned the crop altogether. Neonicotinoid seed treatments Neonicotinoid seed treatments work well when used as part of an integrated pest management approach, with other tools in the toolbox like crop rotations, drilling dates and pyrethroid sprays. This application recognises that, because of the neonicotinoid restrictions, pest numbers have increased in recent years to such an extent that there are now areas of the country where these seed treatments are less likely to be of benefit areas where the pest pressure is so high that the risk of losing oilseed rape is too great and control with pyrethroids is compromised by increased pesticide resistance. Over-reliance on pyrethroids Mr Smith said over-reliance on pyrethroids, caused by the neonicotinoid restrictions, is 'exacerbating' this resistance problem. He continued: Highly targeted, highly controlled use of neonicotinoid seed treatment would help deliver significant benefits in controlling flea beetles and allow crops to establish and thrive. It is these areas, equating to 11% of the national crop, which we have targeted with this application. With the absence of neonicotinoids causing farmers to stop growing oilseed rape, bees and beekeepers also stand to lose out from restrictions as the area of this valuable food source for all bee declines. There is still no clear evidence showing that neonicotinoids, on crops like winter oilseed rape, cause widespread impacts on bee populations. 'Ban should be strengthened' Environmental group, Friends of the Earth, has called for the current ban to be 'strengthened', not weakened. Friends of the Earth food and farming campaigner Sandra Bell said: With mounting scientific evidence of the threat neonicotinoids pose to our bees, the current ban on these pesticides should be strengthened - not weakened. Neonicotinoids can also harm the insects farmers need for natural pest control. The NFU should concentrate on helping farmers to find effective alternatives to these harmful chemicals The UK Government must reject this application, to help safeguard our precious pollinators and send a clear signal that EU rules aimed at protecting our environment wont be watered down post-Brexit. UK potato growers could be missing out on 700 per hectare on extra income, according to levy board AHDB Potatoes. Speaking at the Farming Scotland Conference, Rob Clayton, AHDB Potatoes Strategy Director detailed analysis which looked at some of the top 25% of producers. He found that improvements in seed rates and energy efficiency could be worth approximately 37,000 for the average grower. He said: Farmers are not collecting this extra income for a number of reasons. Changes to seed and nitrogen rates and making simple investments to improve store performance can make a real difference to the bottom line. We need to work on supporting producers to changes their practices to improve productivity and increase their yields and margins. Our Strategic Potato Farm Programme is a key part of those efforts. When AHDB last analysed the figures in 2015 average UK potato yields were 48.8 tonnes per hectare, while Germany, France and Belgium were achieving yields of over 50 tonnes per hectare. Belgium was particularly strong with 56.2 tonnes on average. 'Room to increase' While this is partly down to environmental factors such as soil quality and weather as well as variety mix, the AHDB analysis demonstrates that there is room to increase those figures. Mr Clayton also called on the industry to embrace and incorporate the changing tastes of consumers. The consumption of fresh potatoes has long been declining, partly due to a greater diversity of products, yet there are growing markets which the industry can and should exploit. He said: Many consumers are looking for convenience, they are looking for meal time solutions rather than ingredients. Because of this we see the chilled potato sector is growing, chilled mash, or roast potatoes for example and we need to make sure we are tapping into this. Premium potato products are also important, especially as we see a global surge in the middle classes, and therefore not only do we need to produce more such products, but we need to build relationships with those growing global markets which are looking out for these premium goods. After Brexit, the UK would be the EUs largest customer for dairy products, if trade continued at recent levels. According to AHDB Dairy, the UK imported around 2.5bn worth of dairy produce from the EU-27 (the 27 Member States of the EU, excluding the UK) during 2015. This is equal to around 20% of EU-27s total global exports. Despite excellent milk producing credentials, the UK has the second largest net dairy deficit in the world, behind China. This trade deficit is largely driven by cheese imports, which made up around half of the value of the UKs total dairy imports in 2015. It also imports significant quantities of infant formula, butter, yoghurts and buttermilk. As a result, the UK is one of the most valuable global markets for dairy and will be a key target for many dairy exporting nations. AHDB Dairy has said it will now look at which EU Member States rely most heavily on the UK for their dairy exports. Meanwhile, the Global Dairy Trade, an indicator of market sentiment, has increased by 1.3% in the latest fortnightly auction today (7 February). Australias largest funeral homes operator InvoCarewill close down its funerals business in the United States.After competing in the US for two years, the company concluded it wont reach break-even by mid-2018. The company says the impact of this closure will not be material to the InvoCare groups financial results.Despite that, Invocare will still continue to operate its cremations business in Los Angeles.Invocare says its decision to close down most of its US businesses was made so it could focus on its core markets in Australia, New Zealand and Singapore.InvoCare posted a net profit of $27.9 million at 30 June 2016. The precious-metals market has been on a roller coaster ride over the past several years, having fallen from all-time highs earlier in the decade. But over the past year, gold and silver have recovered some of their lost ground, and that has boosted shares of Franco-Nevada (FNV 6.04%) and Goldcorp (GG). These two companies are very different, with Goldcorp being a mining company while Franco-Nevada owns royalty and streaming interests, but they both offer exposure to the precious-metals markets, and investors who are bullish about the prospects for the sector want to know which is the smartest play right now. Let's look more closely at Franco-Nevada and Goldcorp to see how they match up right now on some key metrics. Valuation and stock performance Both Franco-Nevada and Goldcorp have performed well over the past year, but Franco-Nevada has generated a much stronger return. Goldcorp has managed to give shareholders gains of 19% since February 2016, but Franco-Nevada has nearly doubled that return, at 36%. From a valuation standpoint, it's a lot harder to compare the two stocks, because earnings have been relatively depressed at both companies. For Franco-Nevada, substantial impairment charges and depreciation and amortization costs over the past year have held earnings in check, and that has produced a trailing earnings multiple of 120. Yet that's better than Goldcorp, which has suffered much larger impairment charges that have led it to lose money, making its trailing earnings multiple meaningless. When you look at forward earnings expectations, things don't get much more attractive. Based on their anticipated bottom lines for the near future, Franco-Nevada has a forward earnings multiple of more than 70, while Goldcorp weighs in at a much lower 42 times forward earnings. Neither of those is particularly compelling, and so while Goldcorp is arguably cheaper based on future projections, it's hard to give it the nod on a true valuation basis while it's still losing money. Dividend income Goldcorp and Franco-Nevada are unusual among precious-metals stocks in that they both pay dividends. However, there's a clear winner on the dividend front. In terms of current yield, Franco-Nevada takes the prize, as its stock yields 1.6% compared to just 0.7% for Goldcorp. Moreover, Franco-Nevada has put together an impressive streak of dividend growth, boosting its payout annually for nine straight years. Goldcorp, on the other hand, has had to cut its dividend, making a 60% reduction in mid-2015 and then moving from monthly dividends to quarterly payouts early last year. From the dividend perspective, Franco-Nevada has a large advantage over Goldcorp. Growth and potential risk Franco-Nevada and Goldcorp have exposure to the gold market, but their opportunities are different. Franco-Nevada has been riding high after making a big streaming arrangement with mining giant Glencore in early 2016. The deal involves the Antapaccay mine in southern Peru, and in exchange for $500 million in financing, Franco-Nevada will have the right to buy thousands of ounces of gold and millions of ounces of silver at a fraction of spot price for years into the future. By looking for similar deals, Franco-Nevada can grow even if gold and silver prices stay stable. However, if precious metals do rise, then the streaming giant can do even better. For Goldcorp, major strategic moves have been in the spotlight lately. The company announced the sales of its Cerro Blanco and Los Filos properties in January, and its guidance for 2017 includes all-in sustaining cost projections of around $850 per gold ounce. That's down 15% from 2013, and Goldcorp hopes it can reduce its costs further by emphasizing its low-expense Pueblo Viejo mine. At the same time, promising projects in Ontario and the Yukon could drive long-term production growth, something that the rest of the industry has struggled to sustain. Goldcorp has ambitious targets, but it has also shown the propensity to make good on its promises in the past. Based on these measures, a lot depends on what you're looking for. Franco-Nevada provides better income, and it's more of a play on the company's own proprietary success in doing deals with mining companies. Goldcorp, on the other hand, offers purer exposure to the pluses and minuses of mining operations. Franco-Nevada fits better with a conservative investing mindset, but either will do well if precious-metals prices stay strong in 2017. They're two of the biggest pharmaceutical companies in the world, but Merck (MRK 0.46%) and GlaxoSmithKline (GSK 0.46%) have had very different paths lately. While Merck's stock is up close to 30% over the last 12 months, shares of GlaxoSmithKline have declined. Which is the better pick for investors now? Here's how Merck and Glaxo compare. The case for Merck There's one major reason behind Merck's tremendous stock performance: Keytruda. The cancer drug is off to a great start after receiving U.S. regulatory approval for treating advanced melanoma in 2014. Merck subsequently won approval for several other indications for Keytruda, including as a second-line treatment for non-small cell lung cancer and as a second-line treatment for head and neck squamous cell carcinoma. Perhaps the biggest story for Keytruda so far, though, is the FDA approval in October for the drug as a first-line treatment of non-small cell lung cancer. Merck is now emerging as the clear leader in the large lung cancer market in the U.S. and a major player in other oncology indications. Keytruda is Merck's top star, but the company does have other solid performers in its lineup. Sales for its vaccines are increasing at an impressive rate, as are sales for antibiotic Cubucin and cholesterol drug Zetia. Merck is awaiting regulatory approval for four drugs. Its pipeline includes 24 late-stage clinical programs, 10 of which are evaluating Keytruda in additional indications. Merck also has 12 other phase 2 programs. One of the biggest reasons to like Merck is its dividend. The dividend yield currently stands just below 3%. Although the company currently is using much of its earnings to cover the dividend payments, Merck's earnings growth prospects should allow the dividends to keep flowing at least at current levels. The case for GlaxoSmithKline GlaxoSmithKline doesn't have a single powerhouse drug like Merck does with Keytruda. However, the drugmaker does have a couple of big winners in Tivicay and Triumeq. Sales for the HIV drugs soared 70% year over year in the third quarter. Like Merck, Glaxo is also seeing strong sales growth for its vaccines. Sales for quite a few other products in the company's lineup are increasing as well, including several of its respiratory drugs. However, the main problem for GlaxoSmithKline is that sales for its top-selling drug, Seretide/Advair, are falling significantly. Generic competition has taken its market share away since Glaxo lost patent exclusivity for the respiratory drug.Still, though, GlaxoSmithKline's newer products are helping considerably. Around a quarter of the company's total pharmaceutical sales now come from new drugs. Better yet, more winners could be on the way. Glaxo hopes to win regulatory approval for its Shingrix shingles vaccine soon. The company's pipeline includes over 90 clinical programs. GlaxoSmithKline claims one of the highest dividend yields around at 4.7%. However, the company is spending more to pay the dividend than it's making right now. Better buy Which of these stocks is the better pick? GlaxoSmithKline's pipeline could position the stock to be a bigger winner over time. Wall Street analysts expect Glaxo's earnings to grow more than 13% annually on average over the next few years. However, Merck appears to be in better shape right now. Keytruda is on its way to becoming the company's biggest seller. I think the edge, for now at least, goes to Merck. Glaxo's pipeline is promising, but there's still plenty of uncertainty. Investors can pretty much bank on Keytruda's success. That gives the edge to Merck. The 2017 season sees arguably the biggest technical shake-up in F1 racing for 20 years, with the rule makers adopting a previously unseen approach of changing the regulations to raise speeds rather than keep them in check. To mark this dramatic rules shift, were looking back over the other occasions in the modern era when F1 designers were forced into a fundamental re-think, with our next focus on the early nineties As the eighties gave way to the nineties, F1 cars had become increasingly high-tech, with the leading teams having developed all manner of electronic technology to improve performance, including active suspension, traction control, anti-lock brakes and launch control (not to mention other exotic technologies, such as such as Continuously Variable Transmission and four-wheel steering that were tested but never raced). But in a bid to curb spending and counteract criticism that drivers were becoming an ever smaller part of the performance equation, the FIA announced midway through 1993 (pictured above) that all so-called driver aids - save for semi-automatic gearboxes - would be banned for 1994. In-race refueling (pictured below) would also return for the first time since 1983 - another decision that would impact upon car design. Three-time world champion Ayrton Senna was one of those who had been vocal about the need to ban driver aids, but the great Brazilian would sadly be killed in an accident during the third race of the new era at Imola. "The cars are very fast and difficult to drive, Senna had said prophetically after testing his now gizmo-free car during pre-season testing. It's going to be a season with lots of accidents and I'll risk saying we'll be lucky if something really serious doesn't happen..." Sennas tragic passing (and the death of Roland Ratzenberger, killed that same Imola weekend) ushered in a number of sweeping changes to car design to reduce performance and improve safety. In the five-race span between the Spanish and German Grands Prix, a number of steps were put in place, including new restrictions to dimensions of the front wing, rear wing, turning vanes and diffuser, changes to the airbox to reduce engine power, and the introduction of a 10mm wooden plank (pictured above and below) on the flat-bottomed underside of every car. This plank, which remains in place to this day, prevented teams from running ultra-low ride heights because only 1mm of wear was permitted at the end of each race. Benetton famously fell foul of this rule at the Belgian round when post-race checks on Michael Schumachers car showed excess wear. This had been caused, the Germans team argued, by a mid-race spin over a kerb, but their appeal was rejected and chief title rival Damon Hill was awarded the win. From the Japanese Grand Prix teams were allowed to put 10 titanium skid blocks on the floors of their cars to protect the plank, but a much more significant change to chassis undersides was on the way for 1995 - the stepped flat bottom (pictured above). The introduction of the step saw either side of the central section of floor raised by 25mm - a move which was estimated to reduce the amount of downforce generated by the cars underside by as much as 50 percent. Further aerodynamic reductions for 95 (pictured above) were made by reducing the height of the rear wing (by 100mm) and reducing front wing endplate height (to between 5cm and 25cm above the flat bottom) and length (must not extend further back than 35cm in front of the front wheel axis). A reduction in engine capacity from 3.5 to 3.0 litres slowed cars further. Meanwhile, on the safety side there were some of the biggest steps forward ever seen from one season to the next. The cockpit opening was increased in length to limit the possibility of forward impacts with bodywork, while the width was narrowed slightly and the cockpit sides raised to cover the drivers shoulders. The chassis was also required to extend 300mm (rather than 150mm) in front of the drivers feet and be able to withstand more force (the frontal impact test speed increased from 11 to 12m/s , while the load in the nose push-off test increased by 33 percent). A survival cell side impact test was also introduced. The changes resulted in a car that looked markedly different from its predecessor - especially in terms of the 'amount' of driver visible in the cockpit (see picture below). With New Tourism Records Set, Tours Japan Unveils Fresh New Options for Visitors Company's historically, culturally grounded tours of Japan make for some of the most rewarding ways to experience a complex, fascinating country, Tours Japan reports -- International tourists set a new record this past November, according to JTB Tourism Research and Consulting, with nearly 1.9 million visitors arriving to experience Japan's unique culture and history. A ten percent jump compared to the previous year, the new high-water mark for November is a sign of steadily growing global interest in what Japan has to offer. Rather than settle for shallow, off-the-shelf experiences, visitors driven to understand Japan can dive in deeper with the help of Tours Japan. As detailed at the company's website at http://toursjapan.co/, Tours Japan guides offer the kinds of insights, context, and connections that only long-term residents can provide. Going far beyond pointing out the usual names and places, Tours Japan guides help visitors understand the cultural and historical significance of what they are seeing. With a brand-new Food Tour now adding to the company's list of tour options and others planned for the near future, a visit to the Tours Japan website at http://toursjapan.co/ belongs on every traveler's list of things to do. "Japan is truly a special, unique country, and one that draws people from all over the world every year," said Tours Japan representative Barbara Manning, "In recent years, we've seen even more interest in Japan, with new tourism records being set regularly. While any visit to Japan is likely to prove rewarding and satisfying, it pays to try to make the most of that precious time. We pride ourselves on helping our clients experience Japan and its culture and history in deeper, more substantial ways. Our guides are the most passionate, knowledgeable, and dedicated to be found anywhere, and that really makes a difference." With a long, complex history that has sometimes seen it isolated from the rest of the world, the island nation of Japan is today home to around 127 million residents. As one of the most highly developed countries of all in economic terms, Japan boasts a very high standard of living and notably low rates of crime. Where other services provide checklist-style tours that are led by guides lacking in knowledge, experience, and cultural fluency, Tours Japan offers something different and better. With an in-depth approach that helps visitors understand the significance and context of the many sights to be seen, bilingual Tours Japan guides leverage their long-term residency and impressive knowledge of Japan's culture and history to ensure truly rewarding experiences. With new tour packages, including a much-anticipated Food Tour, now available, anyone planning to travel to Japan will want to visit the Tours Japan website at http://toursjapan.co/. Website visitors can learn more about the company's services and inquire about their tour options. About Tours Japan: The bilingual tour guides of Tours Japan help visitors experience Japan on a deeper, more rewarding level, with culturally, historically informed perspectives illuminating a fascinating country in new ways. Contact Info: Name: Barbara Manning Organization: Tours Japan Address: Greater Tokyo Area, Katsushika-Ku Japan Source URL: http://marketersmedia.com/with-new-tourism-records-set-tours-japan-unveils-fresh-new-options-for-visitors/167647 For more information, please visit http://toursjapan.co/ Source: MarketersMedia Release ID: 167647 For more information visit r Recent Press Releases By The Same User Agarwood Essential Oil Market Expected to Grow at CAGR 4.2% During 2016 to 2022"> (Fri 2nd Jun 17) Cyber Weapon Market by Type, Product, Application, Region, Outlook and Forecast to 2022 (Fri 2nd Jun 17) Landscaping and Gardening Expert Trevor McClintock Launches New Locally Optimized Website (Fri 2nd Jun 17) Sleep apnea devices Market is Evolving At A CAGR of 7.5% by 2022 (Fri 2nd Jun 17) Agriculture Technology Market 2017 Global Analysis, Opportunities and Forecast to 2022 (Fri 2nd Jun 17) Global VR Helmet Market by Manufacturers, Technology, Type and Application, Forecast to 2022 (Fri 2nd Jun 17) Wigtownshire livestock farmer Andrew McCornick has been named as the new president of NFU Scotland. Mr McCornick won a three-way battle for the presidency against incumbent president Allan Bowie and Rob Livesey. In the first round of voting he won at least 50% of the share of the vote among the 119-member council to emerge victorious. See also: Presidential candidates set out priorities at hustings Mr McCornick took to the stage at the NFU Scotland annual meeting in Glasgow on Tuesday (7 February) to thank those who voted for him. Wow! I thank you very much for this, he said. Im going to fight for NFU Scotland. Im coming in at a really difficult time here. We have got to be strong. Im going to get a good team sorted out. The First Minister (Nicola Sturgeon) is coming here later on and there is a big opportunity to get our message out to her. Star man Bowie Mr McCornick paid tribute to Mr Bowie for his job as president and said it had been a pleasure to work alongside him and Rob Livesey as vice-president over the last couple of years. Allan, Rob, you have been stars. You have been great to work with, he said. I really have enjoyed working with both of you. Please keep in touch and please make sure that you are a big part of NFU Scotland going forward. I genuinely believe all of us in this room are on a mission. Lets make it count. Mr McCornick farms 243ha at Barnbackle, near Dumfries, running 160 suckler cows, 600 breeding ewes and a small herd of pedigree Charolais cattle. During election hustings, he said his goal was a sustainable Scottish agricultural industry, greater certainty over funding, fair prices and less red tape. On Brexit, he said he would be pushing for continued access to the single market and a free trade deal for farmers. Kennedy elected vice-president In the quest for the NFUS vice-presidents positions, Martin Kennedy and Gary Mitchell were both elected. Mr Kennedy of Lurgan Farm, Aberfeldy, farms 600 breeding ewes, 30 Continental cows and 30 Highlanders with his wife Jane. He is currently serving his second year as chairman of the Less Favoured Areas committee. He said: Its going to be a difficult challenge ahead. Its a new team. Were going to have a new board.Theres going to be big changes on that board. We have just got to fight for every single sector in Scottish agriculture. Mr Mitchell farms 303ha, both owned and tenanted, and currently milks around 800 cows. He was milk committee chairman from 2012 to 2014, and has been regional chairman for Dumfries and Galloway since February 2014. Haiti - Diplomacy : Taiwan present at the investiture ceremony David Lee, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Taiwan (Republic of China), will be in Haiti from Sunday to Friday, 10 February, at the head of a Taiwan delegation on the occasion of the inauguration of the elected President Jovenel Moise. Lee will represent President Tsai Ing-wen at the inauguration on Tuesday of Jovenel Moise as the 58th President of the Republic of Haiti and related celebrations. He congratulates an important diplomatic ally on behalf of the Government of the Republic of China and the people, according to the Taiwanese Chancellery. During his visit, the minister will meet with President Moise, the outgoing de facto President of Haiti, Jocelerme Privert and the Minister of Foreign Affairs Pierrot Delienne. He will also visit the headquarters of Food For The Poor and a Taiwanese-invested textile factory. According to the Ministry, Taiwan and Haiti have maintained friendly relations over the past 60 years and have pushed bilateral cooperation in many areas. Moise highly welcomes the ties between the two countries and is pleased to continue to promote cooperation on various programs, the ministry said, adding that the two countries will work to deepen diplomatic relations and improve the well-being of people in both country. HL/ HaitiLibre Haiti - Justice : A law proposition to improve the lives of prisoners Through a law proposition , the Office of Citizen Protection (OPC), the Correctional Unit of the Minustah and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) aim to improve life in Haiti's prisons. The idea of this law came from the Directorate of Prison Administration (DAP) with the support of the Correctional Unit of the UN Mission, which convinced UNDP to provide the necessary funding. The text was edited by a group of experts. This text of 136 articles provides for the transformation of the DAP into the "Central Directorate of Penitentiary Administration" (DCAP), which will allow the emergence of five sub-directorates. For Sandra Honore, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General of the United Nations in Haiti and Civilian Head of the Minustah, this draft law "is intended to create the basis for a reform of the Haitian penitentiary system and should eventually allow the establishment of a secure, humane and modern penitentiary system," and to identify three priority axes in particular putting "an emphasis on human rights." The new law in preparation sets out the destinations of people arrested according to age, sex, and punishment. Thus, the remand centers and central correction centers are intended for defendants and accused and prisoners sentenced to simple penal The new law in preparation sets out the destinations of people arrested according to age, sex, and punishment. Thus, the remand centers and central correction centers are intended for defendants and accused and prisoners sentenced to simple Those sentenced to forced labor and imprisonment will be held in the central houses (Article 10 et seq.). "The people that the society puts in prison have rights," said Sandra Honore, recalling that this law proposition sets out rules of conduct for prison staff, as well as article 61, prohibiting all employees, agents and any person to have access to detention facilities to engage in "physical or verbal abuse of detainees" in return the prisoners "must observe and respect the provisions of the internal rules of the prisons." According to Florence Elie, the Protector of the Citizen the penitentiary law which she proposes to the Haitian legislator was born of the observation of "the overpopulation of the prisons, of damage to illegal pre-trial detention and abuses, among others." See also : https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-20013-haiti-flash-nightmare-at-the-national-penitentiary.html https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-19870-haiti-flash-new-wave-of-deaths-at-the-national-penitentiary.html HL/ HaitiLibre Haiti - Education : Former President Martelly gave two lectures at the Claflin University As part of the celebration of Black History Month, on Thursday, February 2, former President Michel Joseph Martelly accompanied by his wife Sophia, went to Claflin University in South Carolina (USA) https://www.icihaiti.com/en/news-19942-icihaiti-education-michel-martelly-lecturer-to-claflin-university.html This visit was part of the "Visionary Leader in Residence" program of the University of Claflin which allows young students to meet world leaders interested in the issue of access to education for all, through a space of discussion on their respective path and sharing of experience. Michel Martelly gave two lectures, one in front of second year students, the other in front of the faculty of the University, during which he had ample opportunity to discuss issues in Haiti as well as the opportunities offered by his country. During his lecture to the students, he delivered encouraging statments and invited young people to have a positive effect on their immediate environment through action and knowledge sharing. At the same time, former First Lady Sophia Martelly hosted a forum on the issue of women in Haiti. During a reception given in honor of the former President and his wife by the Columbia World Affairs Council in the presence of a few businessmen and local politicians, Michel Martelly received the key to the city of Columbia. See also : https://www.icihaiti.com/en/news-19942-icihaiti-education-michel-martelly-lecturer-to-claflin-university.html HL/ HaitiLibre Fletcher FD secretary sentenced to prison for embezzlement The Fletcher Fire & Rescue secretary who pleaded guilty last summer to stealing more than $300,000 from the department over seven years was sentenced to prison last week. Related Stories U.S. District Court Judge Max O. Cogburn Jr. sentenced Brenda Glenn Livingston to eight months in prison after she admitted that she had embezzled $336,000 from the department between December 2008 and October 2015. Cogburn also ordered her to pay restitution of $458,000. Asked whether she had anything to say, Livingston, 62, stood and turned to two rows of friends and families seated in Courtoom 1 of the federal courthouse. Im so sorry, she said through tears. Im so sorry. Fire Chief Greg Garland noticed discrepancies in a budget report he had requested from Livingston on Nov. 16, 2015. When he asked for copies of recent credit card statements, she lied to Garland and said she did not have the requested credit card statements, according to a bill of information. Livingston left the bank later that day and withdrew $7,500 from her IRA at a local bank and used it to make a payment on the fire department credit card, prosecutors said. No money was recovered at the time. Livingston said she used the money to pay bills and buy presents and that the money was gone, prosecutors said. In court last Wednesday afternoon, Livingstons two defense attorneys, Albert M. Messer and Theodore James Ted Besen, argued for mercy. Their client had no record before she was arrested for stealing from her employer and had otherwise contributed to her family, church and community, they said. She had sold her house in Mills River and her car, and given the proceeds in an effort to pay back the stolen department funds. Messer argued that his clients physical problems and mental state would make prison sentence harsh. He submitted a report from a physician with Mission Neurology about an examination in November 2015. She suffers from Parkinsons disease and had acute mental status symptoms with worsening anxiety and depression, the physician wrote. At the time her husband was working on getting her established with a mental health provider. Her Parkinsons disease was causing stiffness, slowness, tremor and balance problems," he added. "These symptoms are likely to be progressive. The defense also submitted letters from family members and friends who told of Livingston's Christian faith, service to her church and love of her family. She has lost everything but her faith and her children, wrote Collette Worley, who said she was stunned last summer to hear that her friend had committed an act so foreign and loathsome to her very core. She has lost her marriage, her home and I fear, her health, Worley said. Livingston now lives with her daughter, Jennifer Smith, and Jennifers husband, a minister, in Mount Holly, near Charlotte. Livingston looks after the couples two young sons, who were 7 and 3 in July. She is devoted, attentive and patient with them, her daughter wrote. The loss of her from our life would be devastating to them. 'This is a serious crime' Assistant U.S. Attorney Don Gash urged the judge to adhere to federal sentencing guidelines, which called for 18 to 24 months in prison. This is a serious crime, Gash said. It wasnt a momentary lapse of judgment. It was a long-term regularly committed theft from the fire department. Had it not been for Livingstons crime, he said, Fletcher firefighters who put their lives on the line to protect people and property could have had higher wages or more personnel and could have purchased equipment to help them do their jobs. Unfortunately, he added, its very easy for a lot of people to feel remorseful. Part of the judges role, he said, is to ensure that a sentence makes clear that a theft as large as Livingstons will bring consequences. Granting her defense attorneys that she avoid prison sends a signal that its OK to steal until you get caught and once you get caught were not going to do a whole lot to you. There has to be a meaningful sentence that says its not OK to steal. As for Livingstons mental and physical conditions, Gash said, The question is can the Bureau of Prisons accommodate that? Yes, the Bureau of Prisons can accommodate that. Judge Cogburn said it was very difficult to consider probation because the theft occurred over such a long a period of time. If you had that much money taken from you over that period of time and somebody told you they would not be able to pay it back, you would not be happy, Cogburn said to Messer. He sentenced Livingston to eight months in prison departing from the sentencing guideline of 18 to 24 months for the amount of the theft. We do understand the courts decision and were grateful that the judge looked at all the factors, Messer said outside the courtroom. In light of all the circumstances were pleased. She never had any kind of extravagant lifestyle. She certainly didnt have to sell her home but she wanted to do the right thing. Cogburn also agreed to the defense attorneys request that Livingston be allowed to remain free until shes ordered to report to prison. Family members said they had been told she is likely to be assigned to a womens prison in either West Virginia or North Florida. Garland, the fire chief, said he was aware of the sentencing. I think the boards pretty satisfied with the outcome, he said, adding he did not know how the department might receive restitution. Im not even sure if the boards actually discussed that. The circumstances that permitted the bookkeeper to steal $336,000 over seven years have been examined and corrected, the chief said. The boards made numerous changes as far as the way the internal controls are done, he said. We might as well be (satisfied) because she got what the judge gave her, said Fletcher Fire and Rescue president Billy Wilson. He said the department had received some repayment but no proceeds from the sale of Livingstons home. No, we didnt get that. Banking, he said, has been tightened up. Everybody has to look at it, he said. Its not like it was before. Did you know its pretty common for parents to find that their child is on or above grade level in a certain subject, like math, but is a few years behind in some other subject, like reading or language arts? Homeschooling lets you see your child as a whole personwhere they may be at different levels academically, physically, socially, emotionally, and mentallyand then adjust their education to fit them! In this series, you can learn how to do this and what kind of options and tools are available. Is Ukraine going to sue Jarosaw Kaczynski at the International Court of Justice? by Fryderyk Kowal Tue, Feb 7, 2017 2:55AM As executive director of the Child Advocacy Center, 5025 Garland St., Lynn Ayers has spent 20 years helping over 12,000 victims of child abuse be heard, believed and helped. She has served on the Lancaster County Child Abuse and Neglect Investigation Team since 1984, along with numerous other youth-serving task forces. To honor her life-changing work, Dean Haist, president of the Association of Nonprofit Executives, presented the Nonprofit Executive of the Year award to Ayers Feb. 2 at ANPEs annual award luncheon in the Cornhusker Marriotts Renaissance Room. This is such an honor. I look around the room, and I see so many people who have been great mentors, Ayers said. In my work, we hear horrific stories every day about kids, but we also know that we do a lot of things to help those kids. Its a rewarding job. Ayers was previously recognized for her service and leadership by the Child Guidance Center in 2006, National Childrens Advocacy Center in 2013, Leadership Lincoln in 2013 and Inspire Lincoln in 2016. Outside of work, she is active in her church and enjoys spending time outdoors with her dogs, Ravioli and Macaroni. Other Nonprofit Executive of the Year nominees were Michael Chittenden, ARC of Nebraska; Tera Norris, Junior Achievement of Lincoln; Sheila Dorsey Vinton, Asian Community and Cultural Center; and Monica Zinke, Fresh Start. John Chapo, president/CEO of Lincoln Childrens Zoo, gave the keynote address at the ANPEs award luncheon. He recommended that his nonprofit peers use the acronym TEACH when raising funds for their organizations: Trust Have complete transparency regarding all aspects of donors contributions and the organizations operations and needs; Educate donors about their nonprofit organizations services; Answer their questions, and always do follow-up; Communicate Say thanks and keep donors informed; and Honesty Tell donors the truth at all times, even if it appears to be a difficult topic to address. Have full and honest disclosure. Master of ceremonies was Rod Fowler of Channel 8 News. ANPE is an informal organization with a mission to create a networking educational environment to exchange information and heighten awareness of nonprofit organizations in the community. For more information about ANPE, see artsincorporated.org/anpe or call 402-477-8446. On Saturday evening, February 4, about 100 New Yorkers braved an icy wind to protest the appearance of Israels Batsheva Dance Company, and to do some dancing themselves, as part of a North American campaign for a boycott of the groups tour. Batsheva is being boycotted by advocates for Palestinian rights due to its role as what Israels Ministry of Foreign Affairs calls one of Israel's greatest cultural ambassadors. Batshevas North American tour is supported by the Ministry. The dance company is part of the Israeli governments Brand Israel initiative that uses art and culture to show Israels prettier face and divert attention from Israeli repression. FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEFebruary 5, Brooklyn, NY On Saturday evening, February 4, about 100 New Yorkers braved an icy wind to protest the appearance of Israels Batsheva Dance Company, and to do some dancing themselves, as part of a North American campaign for a boycott of the groups tour.Batsheva is being boycotted by advocates for Palestinian rights due to its role as what Israels Ministry of Foreign Affairs calls one of Israel's greatest cultural ambassadors. Batshevas North American tour is supported by the Ministry. The dance company is part of the Israeli governments Brand Israel initiative that uses art and culture to show Israels prettier face and divert attention from Israeli repression.The street dancing attracted attention from ticket-holders and passersby. It featured a brass band, Palestinian dabka dancers, and a dance parody based on the current repertoire of Batsheva. The radical marching band the Rude Mechanical Orchestra and the Freedom Dabka Group brought arts out of the theater and into the wintry street, infusing bodily movement with a political movement sensibility.A small group of protesters from the anti-Arab hate group the Jewish Defense League (JDL) protested in support of Batsheva, shouting theres no such thing as Palestine, "settlements will rise," "terrorist Arab monkeys, and "Isis wants you at those who came to support Palestinian rights. Hani Ghazi of Adalah-NY: The New York Campaign for the Boycott of Israel linked the protest to other current US social justice struggles, saying As we stand in solidarity with Palestine tonight, we acknowledge that we are on indigenous land and we proclaim our solidarity with the Sioux Tribe in Standing Rock, with our Black brothers and sisters, and with other communities resisting institutionalized racism.While many performance attendees strode past the festive protest, some were surprised by the activities and stopped to investigate. Several people decided to skip the show. One woman who was planning a Middle East sojourn with her mother and is active in anti-Trump protests said she felt humiliated to find how little she knew about the issues involved.The JDL, which the Southern Poverty Law Center calls a "radical organization that preaches a violent form of anti-Arab, Jewish nationalism," has had no active US chapters in recent years. However, news reports suggest that they are planning a revival in the US under the Trump administration, concurrent with the rise of neo-fascism and white nationalism in Europe and the US. The small group threatened that their presence at this protest was just the beginning of renewed actions in New York City.In addition to the New York protest, Batshevas January 27 performance in Chicago was met with a demonstration. Human rights advocates plan protests at Batshevas upcoming February performances in Seattle, San Francisco and Orange County. In 2016 musician Brian Eno told them to stop using his music due to their partnership with the Israeli government.Twenty groups from cities on Batshevas current North American tour have signed onto a January 19 open letter to Batsheva, calling on the troupe to cut its ties with the Israeli government and refuse to participate in Brand Israel. The letter states, If [Batsheva artistic director and choreographer] Ohad Naharin stands against the occupation, as he says he does, we invite him to show this by ending Batsheva's complicity with it. We ask that you disavow your role as Ambassador of the State. Batsheva did not respond to the letter.The New York protest was organized by Adalah-NY: The New York Campaign for the Boycott of Israel, which supports the Palestinian civil society call for people of conscience to use boycott, divestment, and sanctions to pressure Israel to comply with international law. The action is part of Adalah-NYs cultural boycott campaign, which also includes a letter to PEN America, signed by over 200 notable literary figures, calling on it to reject Israeli government sponsorship for its World Voices Festival in April.See this press release with hyperlinks to sources: https://adalahny.org/press-release/1456/multicultural-festival-confronts-ambassadors-israel-colonial-system View more protest photos: https://adalahny.org/photo-gallery/1455/photos-our-batsheva-dance-company-action-bam-feb-4-2017 Letter signed by 20 groups calling on Batsheva to disavow role as cultural ambassador for Israeli government: https://adalahny.org/document/1452/open-letter-batsheva-dance-company-january-19-2017 Arguing that lax regulation had been a key cause of the global financial crisis a decade ago, ECB president Mario Draghi said the idea of easing bank rules was not just worrying but potentially dangerous, threatening the relative stability that has supported the slow but steady recovery. Mr Draghis words are among the strongest reactions yet from Europe since US president Donald Trump ordered a review of banking rules with the implicit aim of loosening them. That raises the spectre of the US pulling out of some international co-operation efforts. The last thing we need at this point in time is the relaxation of regulation, Mr Draghi told the European Parliaments committee on economic affairs in Brussels. The idea of repeating the conditions that were in place before the crisis is something that is very worrisome. Andreas Dombret, a member of the board of Germanys powerful central bank, the Bundesbank, said that reversing or weakening regulations all at once would be a big mistake, because it would increase the chance of another financial crisis. That is why I see a possible lowering of regulatory requirements in the US, which is under discussion, critically, said Mr Dombret, who is also a member of the Basel committee drafting new global banking rules. Roberto Gualtieri, chairman of the European Parliaments economic and monetary affairs committee, also criticised Mr Trump. Some first concrete confirmations of a new more unilateral policy stance by the new US administration, including on sensitive financial markets regulatory issues, raise concerns and require both thorough reflection and action from the EU side, he said. Mr Draghis US counterpart, Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen, has faced pressure to step back from international regulatory co-operation. Indeed, an influential member of the Senate recently called on Ms Yellen to end talks in forums like the Basel Committee on Banking and Supervision, some of whose proposed rules he said would disadvantage the US. It is incumbent upon all regulators to support the US economy, and scrutinise international agreements that are killing American jobs, Patrick McHenry, vice-cChairman of the Senates Financial Services Committee, told Ms Yellen. Ms Draghi also rebuffed accusations by Mr Trumps top trade adviser that Germany, the eurozones biggest economy, is using a grossly undervalued currency to take advantage of the US. He argued instead that economic weakness is the main reason for the weak euro. Germany runs a massive trade surplus with the US. US trade adviser Peter Navarro said it was exploiting this to Americas detriment, de facto accusing Berlin of currency manipulation. However, Germany does not set monetary policy and has repeatedly complained that ECB policy is too easy, calling on Mr Draghi to end its massive stimulus programme. First and foremost: We are not currency manipulators. Mr Draghi said. Second, our monetary policies reflect the diverse state of the [economic] cycle of the euro one and the US. Reuters Mr Kenny says that while the UK is opting for a hard Brexit, many of their intentions remain unclear until after Article 50 is triggered next month. He says new ways of having relationships will have to be thought out or the consequences could be serious. I have made this point very clearly, in that any semblance of a return of what they deem a hard border or borders of the past brings serious issues for this country and I dont mean just in terms of trade or the economy, but going back to before, criminality and even armed conflict, said Mr Kenny. I dont want to be alarmist about it but this is a political challenge here. We know that Britain intends to leave the single market, we know that Britain will look for particular trading relations, that position [on Northern Ireland] is unclear yet because in the Lancaster speech given by the prime minister it remains open. When we negotiated things in the past, they said that things could not be done and I refer to the fact that we now have a seamless transfer across. But obviously we have got to have new ways of doing things, we have got to have new outcomes because it doesnt just affect the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland but it has global implications. But also the relationship between the United Kingdom and the European Union is one that is going to be discussed. British prime minister Theresa May insisted that EU leaders want to get on with Brexit negotiations, and MPs should not delay the start of discussions. Ms May has rejected numerous amendments to the bill which will trigger the UKs departure from the EU. This house has spoken, said Ms May. Now is not the time to obstruct the democratically expressed view of the British people. It is time to get on with leaving the EU. MPs overwhelmingly backed the legislation last week, and Ms May warned against blocking it during its final stages. Back home, Social Protection Minister Leo Varadkar said he gets annoyed when he hears Ms May say there will be no return to borders of the past. It annoys me when I hear that soundbyte, since she loves talking in slogans and soundbytes, said Mr Varadkar. She always has this line, that were not going back to the borders of the past. That implies that were going to have some sort of borders for the future and, you know, I dont want to have any borders on our island. We got rid of them and the peace process has been a success in part because there is no physical border of any sort. Mr Varadkar said he agrees with former taoiseach John Brutons statement that if there is a minister for Brexit, then the other ministers who have a key role to play in this can take their eye off the ball. Meanwhile, the British fishing industrys desire to exclude foreign vessels from its fisheries zone after Britain leaves the EU poses a fundamental threat to Irelands fishing sector, Agriculture Minister Michael Creed has warned. The sector in the UK wants to see a pulling up of the drawbridge to ensure non-UK fishermen will no longer have access to the countrys waters. In that scenario, fish stocks will be theirs and only theirs for the taking, Mr Creed told a gathering of fishing industry representatives. Such an extreme outcome would be a fundamental threat to the well-being of the Irish fishing industry, he said. On average, 36% of Irish landings are taken from UK waters. However, for some of our most important fisheries, the figure is substantially higher. Irish tourists are being asked if they have travelled to, or been present in Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia or Yemen on or after March 1, 2011. They are being asked this, as an eligibility question, when applying for what is known as an ESTA (Electronic System for Travel Authorisation). As it stands, Irish passport holders can enter or transit through America for work or travel purposes for 90 days, under the visa waiver programme. The US Government programme means you do not need to obtain an official visa but you are required to apply for an ESTA. An ESTA application can be completed online and processed on the same day. It is the ninth and final eligibility question when applying for an ESTA. If you answer yes to the question you are then asked to state which of the seven countries you have visited, including your arrival and departure date. Furthermore, applicants must explain the purpose of their visit and are given 13 different options to choose from. Some of these include working as a journalist, travelling as a tourist and participating in a professional exchange or conference. The US visa waiver programme, for which an ESTA is required, is open to 38 countries around the world. These seven Muslim-majority countries are the same countries listed under US President Donald Trumps executive immigration order. The news comes as Travel Counsellors Ireland announced that America was the top destination for Irish holiday bookings last month, with Orlando taking the number one spot. San Francisco, New York and Las Vegas were also in the top 10 most booked destinations. It is interesting to see that despite the negativity emanating from the US and the strong dollar, it is still topping our destination list for Irish holidaymakers, said general manager of Travel Counsellors Ireland, Cathy Burke. The reason these figures are of significance is because January is traditionally the busiest booking time for family holidays. Furthermore, sales were up 10% for the same period last year. In relation to the ESTA requirement for a family holiday to the United States, it is not possible to apply for ESTA as a family. Each traveller including babies and infants must have his or her own approved ESTA application before being allowed to board any US-bound flight. On January 27, President Trump signed an order halting all refugee admissions and temporarily barring people from the seven Muslim-majority countries. Officially titled, Protecting the Nation from Foreign Terrorist Entry into the United States, it has been dubbed the Muslim-ban and has caused protests across America. The order also introduces a cap of 50,000 refugees to be accepted in 2017, against a limit of 110,000 set by former President Barack Obama. A pay dispute at Iarnrod Eireann has been referred to the Labour Court after talks between the rail company and unions at the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) failed to make headway yesterday. Rail and bus services could all grind to a halt if this latest dispute cannot be resolved. Rolling strikes have already been announced at Bus Eireann, which will see workers picket depots later this month, while Dublin Bus staff are likely to be balloted to follow suit in the coming days. Rail workers are demanding a 21% pay rise, however the company has pointed out that it is in severe difficulty having accumulated a deficit of 153m in recent years. The company lost 3m last year alone. While Iarnrod Eireann said they are happy to engage constructively with unions, a meeting at the WRC ended without agreement and the dispute will now been taken up in the Labour Court. A spokesman warned: We must ensure as an organisation we can respond to increases in demand, while being acutely aware that we remain one mis-step away from insolvency due to accumulated deficits of 153 million from recent years. Therefore, we stated to our trade unions that continued efficiency and flexibility are essential if we are to be in any position to respond to employees aspirations for improved earnings and welcomed ideas and proposals to achieve this, the spokesman said. SIPTU organiser Paul Cullen said Irish Rail workers have not received a pay increase since 2008 despite having contributed to a significant reduction in overall payroll costs through agreeing to implement a series of cost-containment measures. The claim presented on behalf of our members was for a flat rate pay increase. The company stated that it wanted to talk about productivity and presented a list of efficiencies both across the company and specific to certain grades of worker, Mr Cullen said. He said workers had previously obtained two Labour Court recommendations on productivity which he said have yet to be addressed by management. Dermot OLeary, general secretary of the National Bus and Rail Union (NBRU) said he was extremely disappointed but not surprised by the stance the company had taken. He added that if workers were to be paid on the basis of the company making money they would be on the minimum wage as no railway in the world makes money. It comes after unions representing Bus Eireann workers announced they will engage in an all-out strike from February 20, if planned cuts are not withdrawn. Bus Eireann has announced a range of cuts in overtime, allowances and premium payments in a bid to avoid insolvency before the end of the year. The industrial unrest is now expected to spread to Dublin Bus as the NBRU has told members it will commence a ballot for strike action if the dispute centred around pensions is not resolved in the coming days. Mr OLeary said: The decision for us this week is not if but when we will ballot members. VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwired - Feb. 7, 2017) - Otis Gold Corp. (or "Otis") (TSX VENTURE:OOO)(OTC PINK:OGLDF) is pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. Roger D. Morton to its Advisory Board. Dr. Morton is currently a Professor Emeritus in Economic Geology, in the Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, at the University of Alberta (Canada). Dr. Morton has enjoyed a long and distinguished career in the field of geology, having been a Research Fellow at the University of Oslo (Norway), a Lecturer in Geology at the University of Nottingham (England), and more recently a Professor of Economic Geology at the University of Alberta, prior to his elevation to the status of Professor Emeritus. In addition to his academic career, Dr. Morton was a co-Founder and Vice President of Golden Star Resources Ltd., during which time he initiated the acquisition and development of the Omai Gold Project in Guyana, which subsequently produced approximately 3.8 million ounces of gold from two open pits. He has worked in the field in Guyana, French Guiana, Uruguay, Brazil, Mexico, Costa Rica and Canada in a variety of senior geological roles. Dr. Morton has a B.Sc (1st Class Honours) and a Ph.D (Geology) from the University of Nottingham and is a registered P.Geol with the Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Alberta. Prior to joining the Advisory Board, Dr. Morton visited the Company's Kilgore Gold Project in 2016. Following the visit, Dr. Morton stated: "Otis' technical team has done an excellent job identifying and capitalizing on the geologic potential of Kilgore. The project is growing in both size and quality and I see some very interesting district-scale potential." Stated Mr. Craig Lindsay, President & CEO: "We are very pleased to have Dr. Morton join our team. He is an astute geologist with a strong understanding of epithermal gold deposits. His 50 years of technical experience will be invaluable to the development of our Kilgore Gold Project, and he also has an excellent commercial sense which will be very beneficial to the development of the Company as a whole." About the Company Otis is a resource company focused on the acquisition, exploration, and development of precious metal deposits in Idaho, USA. Otis is currently developing its flagship property, the Kilgore Gold Project, located in Clark County, Idaho. VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwired - Feb. 7, 2017) - Sabina Gold & Silver Corp. (TSX:SBB) ("Sabina" or the "Company") is pleased to announce a base budget of approximately $8.5 million for 2017. The budget will be funded from treasury of approximately $40 million as at December 31, 2016. The 2017 base budget delivers: completion of the environmental assessment process; advancement of IIBA negotiations with the Kitikmeot Inuit Association ("KIA"); completion of basic engineering and a project execution plan; and completion of a mapping, rock and till sampling and geophysical exploration field program. "The 2017 base budget focuses on maintaining optionality to advance the Back River Project towards production while preserving as much of our current treasury as possible while we continue through the environmental assessment process," said Bruce McLeod, President & CEO. "In addition, we have developed discretionary activities that are based on certain milestones achieved during the process. These expenditures will be assessed, confirmed or revised, at certain decision dates. All activities and expenditures focus on targeting first gold production at Back River in Q1, 2021." In 2017 discretionary activities could include completion of the water license review process to final hearings, commencement of detailed engineering and commencement of project financing. Depending on the timing and success of advancing the permitting process, total expenditures could range up to a total of ~$25 million for the year. Exploration Base budget exploration work in 2017 focuses on continuing to define future high-value exploration targets and includes a modest mapping and till sampling program to be completed at the Goose, George and Boulder properties. At Goose, a number of gold anomalies along the iron formation trend northwest of Umwelt merit follow-up with infill sampling to determine their potential for future drilling. At Boulder, approximately 16 km northwest of Llama, detailed mapping and additional prospecting will be undertaken to constrain geometry and mineralization controls to further refine targets to drill ready status. At George, follow up detailed mapping would define the extent and significance of a previously identified area adjacent to the existing LCP North deposit. Additionally, several high-impact exploration targets have been prioritized for drilling. These targets are focused around the existing Goose deposits, all of which are open, with a view to impacting additional mine life from existing areas. One such high impact target is the Umwelt Vault target, where exceptionally high grade intercepts peripheral to indicated resources within planned underground infrastructure merit follow up. Other priority target areas include testing for extensions to the Llama and Echo deposits and new discovery areas in and around the Convergence trend and the Kogoyok-Echo trend. Drilling could potentially be undertaken later in the year for an additional budget of up to $5m. Sabina Gold & Silver Corp. Sabina Gold & Silver Corp. is a well-financed, emerging precious metals company with district scale, world class undeveloped assets in one of the world's newest, politically stable mining jurisdictions: Nunavut, Canada. Sabina recently released a Feasibility Study on its 100% owned Back River Gold Project which presents a project that has been designed on a fit-for purpose basis, with the potential to produce ~200,000 ounces a year for ~11 years with a rapid payback of 2.9 years. At a US$1,150 gold price and a 0.80 exchange rate, the Study delivers a potential after tax internal rate of return of approximately 24.2% with an initial CAPEX of $415 million. In addition to Back River, Sabina also owns a significant silver royalty on Glencore's Hackett River Project. The silver royalty on Hackett River's silver production is comprised of 22.5% of the first 190 million ounces produced and 12.5% of all silver produced thereafter. The Company had approximately C$40 million at December 31, 2016. Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - February 7, 2017) - Evrim Resources Corp. (TSXV: EVM) ("Evrim" or the "Company") is pleased to announce it has signed an Exclusivity Agreement (the "Agreement") with a wholly-owned subsidiary of Antofagasta plc ("Antofagasta") on the Ball Creek property in British Columbia. Antofagasta will have the exclusive right to complete due diligence and negotiate a definitive agreement (the "Definitive Agreement") to acquire up to a 70% interest in the Ball Creek property by spending up to US$31 million. "Ball Creek is a large land package in the Golden Triangle that carries significant district scale exploration potential for gold rich copper porphyry targets," commented Evrim's CEO Paddy Nicol, "Our exploration work over the past two summers coupled with previous data sets demonstrate the potential for multiple discoveries at Ball Creek. We look forward to completing the definitive agreement with Antofagasta this spring and commencing exploration at Ball Creek this summer." Evrim acknowledges that Ball Creek is situated in the traditional territory of the Tahltan Nation and is committed to developing a positive and mutually beneficial relationship based on respect and transparency. Under the terms of the Agreement, Antofagasta will conduct due diligence and may provide funding for planning activities up to the signing of a Definitive Agreement, which is expected to be completed on or before April 15, 2017. Upon the execution of the Definitive Agreement, Antofagasta will take an option to acquire up to a 70% interest in Ball Creek by spending US$31 million over a thirteen year period, with a minimum commitment of US$300,000 in 2017. Upon the execution of the Definitive Agreement Antofagasta can earn an initial 51% interest ("Initial Interest") by spending US$6 million over a six year period. Once Antofagasta has earned its Initial Interest, it may elect to earn an additional 19% interest ("Additional Interest") by spending either US$25 million or completing a prefeasibility study (with expenditures capped at US$25 million), over a seven year period. If Antofagasta elects not to earn the Additional Interest, it will transfer a 1.01% interest to Evrim in exchange for a 0.25% NSR, and Evrim will regain a controlling interest in Ball Creek. Evrim will be the operator on the Ball Creek property during the Initial Interest phase. About the Ball Creek Project The Ball Creek Project is a large 524 square kilometre copper-gold porphyry and epithermal gold-silver project located in northwest British Columbia's Golden Triangle, located only eight kilometres west of Highway 37 and the 287 kV Northwest Transmission Line. The project contains four separate porphyry systems distributed across the property and in close proximity to the Triassic/Jurassic unconformity, a similar setting to major deposits including Red Chris, KSM, Spectrum/GJ, and Snip. Within the concession significant potential exists at the Mess Creek, More Creek, Rainbow, and Ball Creek porphyry systems. The Ball Creek Porphyry has received the majority of exploration, with the other porphyry systems having seen only limited drilling. Drilling by previous operators has intersected: Ball Creek Porphyry 231 metres grading 0.21% copper and 0.54 g/t gold in drill hole BC07-12, including 45.8 metres grading 0.31% copper and 0.69 g/t gold 223 metres grading 0.21% copper and 0.28 g/t gold in drill hole BC06-03, including 45 metres grading 0.35% copper and 0.52 g/t gold 139 metres grading 0.23% copper and 0.59 g/t gold in drill hole BC07-06 74 metres grading 0.21% copper and 0.51 g/t gold in drill hole BC12-54 Rainbow 91 metres grading 0.05% copper and 0.76 g/t gold, including 42.9 metres of 0.06% copper and 0.99 g/t gold The 2016 work program recognized new untested targets within the Ball Creek Porphyry and Rainbow systems defined by open drill intersections, alteration, geochemistry and geophysics. About Evrim Resources Evrim Resources is a mineral exploration company whose goal is to participate in significant exploration discoveries supported by a sustainable business model. The Company is well financed, has a diverse range of quality projects and a database in Mexico and portions of southwestern United States. The existing projects, and generation of quality exploration targets and ideas, are advanced through option and joint venture agreements with industry partners to create shareholder value. Evrim's business plan also includes royalty creation utilizing the Company's exploration expertise and existing projects. VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwired - Feb. 6, 2017) - Bluestone Resources Inc. (TSX VENTURE:BSR) ("Bluestone" or the "Company") today announced key additions to the team in advance of the previously announced Proposed Acquisition of the Cerro Blanco gold project in Guatemala (see press release dated January 11, 2017). Mr. Keith Peck and Mr. Leo Hathaway have been appointed to Bluestone's Board of Directors, and Ms. Allison Rippin Armstrong, Mr. Murray Seitz and Mr. David Kelsch, P.Geo. have joined Bluestone's technical advisory committee. "We are pleased to welcome such experienced professionals to Bluestone's team," stated Bluestone CEO and Chairman John Robins. "We will benefit from their experience and respective track records in the fields of project finance; exploration/development; renewable energy and corporate and social responsibility. These appointments are critical steps in our path to establish bench strength within the Company as we move closer towards the acquisition of the Cerro Blanco project. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank Mr. Kelsch for his extended years of service as a Bluestone director and Vice President, Exploration." Board of Director Appointments Effective immediately, Mr. Keith Peck and Mr. Leo Hathaway have been appointed to Bluestone's board of directors and Mr. Dave Kelsch has resigned from his role as director and has agreed to continue working with the Company as an active technical advisor. Mr. Keith Peck is Chairman and CEO of Lincoln Peck Financial Inc., a financial advisory firm focused on the resource sector, and a director of Orezone Gold Corporation. He has over 30 years investment banking experience including Vice-President and Director of RBC Dominion Securities Inc., Haywood Securities Inc. and Vice-Chairman of Yorkton Securities Inc. Mr. Peck has a broad business background that includes billions of dollars of financings in public and private markets, mergers and acquisitions, corporate restructurings, business valuations and expert financial testimony. Mr. Peck was a founder of Centenario Copper Corporation, a Chilean copper company which was acquired by Quadra Mining Ltd. in 2009. He has a BA in Economics from Princeton University and is a Chartered Business Valuator (CBV). Mr. Leo Hathaway is a geologist with extensive experience in the exploration and mining sector from grassroots to feasibility and development stage projects. He currently serves as Chief Geological Officer for Anfield Gold Corp. and Senior Vice President of Lumina Gold Corp. Since 2004, Mr. Hathaway was the former Chief Geological Officer for Lumina Copper Corp and the former VP Exploration for Northern Peru Copper Corp, Regalito Copper Corp, Global Copper Corp and Lumina Resources Corp., as well as a former partner in Lumina Capital LP. Prior to 2004, he worked for Inmet Mining in Europe, Australia, Central and South America. Mr. Hathaway holds a B.Sc. (Hons) degree in Applied Geology from the University of Plymouth, a M.Sc. in Mineral Exploration from the University of London, and obtained a P.Geo. from the Association of Professional Geoscientists of Ontario in 2004. Technical Advisory Committee Appointments Ms. Allison Rippin Armstrong has 20 years of experience in permitting, regulatory processes and environmental compliance working for resource companies, Aboriginal organizations and NGOs. In 2004, Ms. Rippin Armstrong formed her own very successful environmental consulting company specializing in permitting, regulatory processes and compliance. She has permitted projects from grassroots exploration through to advanced exploration projects in the NWT, Nunavut, Saskatchewan, Alberta and Ontario. In 2013, she joined Kaminak Gold Corporation and led the environmental, permitting and community relations department until the company was acquired by Goldcorp in July 2016. During her tenure at Kaminak Ms. Rippin Armstrong and her team were the recipients of several awards for excellence in Environmental Stewardship and First Nations engagement. Mr. Seitz has been involved in the mineral exploration and renewable energy space for over 15 years. He has extensive experience in Latin America, including over 6 years in Guatemala focused on hydroelectric and geothermal power projects. Mr. Seitz is currently President of Pan American Hydro, a private renewable energy company. Mr. Seitz has an extensive knowledge of the Guatemalan renewable development space, as well as the domestic and regional electrical markets. Mr. David Kelsch, P.Geo has been Vice President of Exploration and a Director of Bluestone Resources Inc. since March 2004. Mr. Kelsch's involvement in the mineral exploration industry spans more than 30 years. He has been active on programs ranging from grass roots through to development both locally and internationally, on commodities ranging from diamonds to gold to base metals. He has a strong exploration background and the ability to manage and execute large, remote exploration programs. Most notably he was an integral member of the Rio Tinto team responsible for the discovery of what was to later become the Diavik diamond mine. Mr. Kelsch continues to actively consult for a variety of junior explorers. About Bluestone Resources Inc.: Bluestone Resources Inc. (TSX VENTURE:BSR) announced on January 11, 2017 that it has entered into an agreement with Goldcorp Inc. to acquire 100% of Goldcorp's Cerro Blanco Gold project and Mita Geothermal project in Guatemala. In connection with the proposed acquisition, Bluestone has engaged Cormark Securities Inc. as its financial advisor; JDS Energy & Mining Inc. as lead technical consultant; Mr. Garth Kirkham, P. Geo., as qualified person as defined by National Instrument 43-101; and Axium Law Corporation as its legal advisor. WINNEMUCCA, NEVADA--(Marketwired - Feb. 7, 2017) - Paramount Gold Nevada Corp. (NYSE MKT:PZG) ("Paramount" or "the Company") announced today that the Company has entered into definitive agreements with accredited investors to issue common stock and warrants in a private transaction (the "Transaction"). Under the terms of the Transaction, Paramount has agreed to sell an aggregate of 2,090,000 units at $1.75 per unit for aggregate proceeds of $3,657,500. Each unit consists of one share of common stock and one warrant to purchase one-half of a share of common stock. Each warrant will have a two-year term and will be exercisable at the following exercise prices: in the first year at $2.00 per share and in the second year at $2.25 per share. The closing of the Transaction is anticipated to occur on or about February 13, 2017 subject only to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions. There are no commissions to be paid in connection with the Transaction. FCMI Parent Co., Paramount's largest stockholder, has subscribed for 496,800 units, increasing its ownership in Paramount to 18.84%. Seabridge Gold Inc. (NYSE:SA)(TSX:SEA), Paramount's second largest stockholder, has committed to participating in the offering, maintaining their current pro-rata ownership. Proceeds from the Transaction will be used primarily to complete the Pre-Feasibility Study ("PFS") that the Company commenced in 2016 and to advance the mine permitting process for the project. Other uses of proceeds will include general corporate purposes. In connection with the Transaction, the Company has agreed to use commercially reasonable efforts to file a registration statement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to register the resale of the shares of common stock issued at closing of the Transaction. This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy securities. The securities offered and sold in the private placement have not been registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "Securities Act"), or any state securities laws, and may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration, or an applicable exemption from registration under the Securities Act and applicable state securities laws. About Paramount Paramount Gold Nevada is a U.S. based precious metals exploration company. Paramount owns a 100% interest in the Sleeper Gold Project located in Northern Nevada. The Sleeper Gold Project, which includes the former producing Sleeper mine, totals 2,322 unpatented mining claims (approximately 60 square miles or 15,500 hectares). Additionally, Paramount holds a 100% working interest in the Grassy Mountain Gold Project which consists of approximately 9,300 acres located on private and BLM land in Malheur County, Oregon. The Grassy Mountain project contains a gold-silver deposit (100% located on private land) for which a PEA has been prepared and key permitting milestones accomplished. For the PEA, click here. Paramount's strategy is to create shareholder value through exploring and developing its mineral properties and realizing value for its shareholders in three ways: by selling its assets to established producers; entering into joint ventures with producers for construction and operation; or constructing and operating mines for its own account. Were excited to announce that metalbulletin.com is now part of fastmarkets.com. A new look and an improved experience means you can still stay ahead of this fast-moving metals market with price data, news and market intelligence right here on Fastmarkets. Discover more than 2000 prices, news and analysis in primary and secondary metals markets. We cover base metals, industrial minerals, ores and alloys, steel, scrap and steel raw materials. If you already have a Fastmarkets account, youll still have uninterrupted access to your markets by logging in with your current details. Tyler Technologies, Inc. provides integrated information management solutions and services for the public sector. The company operates in three segments: Enterprise Software; Appraisal and Tax; and NIC. It offers financial management solutions, including modular fund accounting systems for government agencies or not-for-profit entities; utility billing systems for the billing and collection of metered and non-metered services; products to automate city and county functions, such as municipal courts, parking tickets, equipment and project costing, animal and business licenses, permits and inspections, code enforcement, citizen complaint tracking, ambulance billing, fleet maintenance, and cemetery records management; and student information and transportation solutions for K-12 schools. The company also provides a suite of judicial solutions comprising court case management, court and law enforcement, prosecutor, and supervision systems to handle multi-jurisdictional county or statewide implementations, and single county systems; public safety software solutions; systems and software to automate the appraisal and assessment of real and personal property, as well as tax applications for agencies that bill and collect taxes; planning, regulatory, and maintenance software solutions for public sector agencies; software applications to enhance and automate operations involving records and document management; and data and insights solutions. In addition, it offers software as a service arrangements and electronic document filing solutions for courts and law offices; software and hardware installation, data conversion, training, product modification, and maintenance and support services; and property appraisal outsourcing services for taxing jurisdictions. The company has a strategic collaboration agreement with Amazon Web Services for cloud hosting services. Tyler Technologies, Inc. was founded in 1966 and is headquartered in Plano, Texas. GREENFIELD A bus carrying 23 students from Catholic Central High School in Burlington and heading to Milwaukee for a dramatic performance was involved in a three-vehicle collision in Greenfield Monday morning. The bus was traveling northbound on south 43rd Street when one vehicle, which was traveling eastbound on West Howard Avenue, struck a sedan traveling south on south 43rd, according to Sgt. Peter Regenfelder from the Greenfield Police Department. Regenfelder believes that after striking the southbound sedan, the vehicle careened into the rear of the bus. All students were checked out as a precaution and no injuries were reported, according to Dave Wieters, principal at Catholic Central, 148 McHenry St. Although no students were injured, one of the two sedan drivers was transported to Aurora St Luke's Medical Center, 2900 W. Oklahoma Ave., Milwaukee, with minor injuries. The students were reportedly traveling to the Manderley Bed and Breakfast, 3026 W. Wells St., to perform scenes from Oscar Wilde's "The Importance of Being Earnest," according to a Manderley employee. Vermilion Energy Inc., together with its subsidiaries, engages in the acquisition, exploration, development, and production of petroleum and natural gas in North America, Europe, and Australia. The company owns 81% working interest in 636,714 net acres of developed land and 85% working interest in 301,026 net acres of undeveloped land in Canada; 130,715 net acres of land in the Powder River basin in the United States; 96% working interest in 248,873 net acres of developed land and 86% working interest in 134,160 net acres of undeveloped land in the Aquitaine and Paris Basins in France; 53% working interest in 901,791 net acres of land in the Netherlands; 54,625 net developed acres and 920,723 net undeveloped acres in Germany; 975,375 net acres land in Croatia; 946,666 net acres land in Hungary; and 48,954 net acres land in Slovakia. It also owns 20% interests in the offshore Corrib natural gas field located to the northwest coast of Ireland; and 100% working interest in the Wandoo offshore oil field and related production facilities that covers 59,553 acres located on Western Australia's northwest shelf. As of December 31, 2021, the company had 401 net producing conventional natural gas wells and 2,132 net producing light and medium crude oil wells in Canada; 167.6 net producing light and medium crude oil wells in the United States; 297.0 net producing light and medium crude oil wells and 3 net producing conventional natural gas wells in France; and 47 net producing natural gas wells in the Netherlands. Vermilion Energy Inc. was founded in 1994 and is headquartered in Calgary, Canada. Barnes & Noble Education, Inc. operates bookstores for college and university campuses, and K-12 institutions in the United States. It operates through three segments: Retail, Wholesale, and Digital Student Solutions. The company sells and rents new and used print textbooks, digital textbooks, and publisher hosted digital courseware through physical and virtual bookstores, as well as directly to students through Textbooks.com. It also offers First Day and First Day Complete access programs; BNC OER+, a turnkey solution for colleges and universities, that offers digital content, such as videos, activities, and auto-graded practice assessments; and general merchandise, including collegiate and athletic apparel, school spirit products, lifestyle products, technology products, supplies, graduation products, and convenience items. In addition, the company sources, sells, and distributes new and used textbooks; and sells hardware and a software suite of applications that provides inventory management and point-of-sale solutions to approximately 350 college bookstores. Further, it offers direct-to-student subscription-based writing services; and bartleby, a direct-to-student subscription-based offering that includes textbook solutions, expert questions and answers, and writing and tutoring services. The company operates 805 physical college and university bookstores; 622 virtual bookstores; 8 True Spirit e-commerce websites; pop-up retail locations; 73 customized cafes and 11 stand-alone convenience stores; and a media channel for brands targeting the college demographic. Barnes & Noble Education, Inc. was founded in 1965 and is headquartered in Basking Ridge, New Jersey. AXIS Capital Holdings Limited, through its subsidiaries, provides various specialty insurance and reinsurance products worldwide. It operates through two segments, Insurance and Reinsurance. The Insurance segment offers property insurance products for commercial buildings, residential premises, construction projects, and onshore energy installations; marine insurance products covering offshore energy, cargo, liability, recreational marine, fine art, specie, and hull war; and terrorism, aviation, credit and political risk, and liability insurance products. It also provides professional insurance products that cover directors' and officers' liability, errors and omissions liability, employment practices liability, fiduciary liability, crime, professional indemnity, cyber and privacy, medical malpractice, and other financial insurance related coverages for commercial enterprises, financial institutions, not-for-profit organizations, and other professional service providers. In addition, this segment offers accidental death, travel, and specialty health products for employer and affinity groups. The Reinsurance segment offers reinsurance products to insurance companies, including catastrophe reinsurance products; property reinsurance products covering property damage and related losses resulting from natural and man-made perils; professional lines; credit and surety; and motor liability products. This segment also provides agriculture reinsurance products; coverages for various types of construction risks and risks related to erection, testing, and commissioning of machinery and plants during the construction stage; marine and aviation reinsurance products; and personal accident, specialty health, accidental death, travel, life and disability reinsurance products. The company was founded in 2001 and is headquartered in Pembroke, Bermuda. RACINE A 20-year-old Racine man was arrested Saturday afternoon after he reportedly tried to use a counterfeit $50 bill twice to pay for food he tried to buy from two Racine McDonalds. According to the criminal complaint: At about 3:30 p.m. Saturday, Racine Police were dispatched to the McDonalds, 3037 Douglas Ave., after Dequan L. Hill went through the drive-thru and handed the cashier a worn $50 bill. Because of the denomination of the bill, the cashier then handed the $50 to a manager, who recognized the bill as fake due to the phrase For Motion Picture Use Only written on the bills side. When Hill was confronted about the bill being fake, he stated that he was going to Bootlegs. The vehicle being driven was identified as a red Chevrolet Trax. One of the vehicles passengers also was identified. At about 3:35 p.m., Racine Police were dispatched to another McDonalds, 1520 State St., after Hill allegedly again attempted to pass the counterfeit $50 off to a cashier; however, this cashier immediately recognized the fake bill and told him to go wait in parking spot No. 2. Again, the same red Chevrolet Trax was identified, this time with a license-plate number. Police were able to run the plate and tracked Hill to his residence in the 1100 block of Jefferson Street. Hill reported that he had attempted to buy food at the restuarants, but denied knowing that the money used was countefeit. Police later went to the residence of the passenger in Hills car. The passenger turned over the counterfeit $50 to officers and allegedly confirmed Hills involvement in the incident. Hill was charged on Monday with two felony counts uttering a forgery, and because he was on probation at the time of his arrest, he also was charged with two felony counts of bail jumping. Hill remained in the Racine County Jail as of Monday evening, according to jail records. Hills preliminary hearing is scheduled for 8:30 a.m. Feb. 22 at the Law Enforcement Center, 717 Wisconsin Ave. The criminal complaint did not indicate if the passenger had been arrested. First Hawaiian, Inc. operates as a bank holding company for First Hawaiian Bank that provides a range of banking services to consumer and commercial customers in the United States. It operates through three segments: Retail Banking, Commercial Banking, and Treasury and Other. The company accepts various deposit products, including checking and savings accounts, and other deposit accounts. It also provides residential and commercial mortgage loans, home equity lines of credit, automobile loans and leases, personal lines of credit, installment loans, and small business loans and leases, as well as commercial lease and auto dealer financing. In addition, the company offers personal installment, credit card, individual investment and financial planning, insurance protection, trust and estate, private banking, retirement planning, treasury, and merchant processing services. It operates a network of 54 branches, which include 49 in Hawaii, 3 in Guam, and 2 in Saipan. The company was formerly known as BancWest Corporation and changed its name to First Hawaiian, Inc. in April 2016. First Hawaiian, Inc. was founded in 1858 and is headquartered in Honolulu, Hawaii. SOMERS University of Wisconsin-Parkside Chancellor Deborah Ford is a finalist for the presidents post at Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio, the university announced this week. Ford arrived on the Wright State campus on Feb. 5 and has been giving presentations to various faculty and staff. Ford became chancellor of Parkside in 2009 and is a part of several local organizations, including serving on workforce development boards in Racine and Kenosha, and the Racine County United Way Schools of Hope Leadership Council. In front of students at Wright State this week, Ford told the students she has seen a commitment to education from faculty and the Board of Trustees, which has drawn her to the school. I have the opportunity at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside to be part of a learning community that transforms lives and thats one of the things that attracts me to Wright State, Ford said in a video posted by Wright State. Its closer to home; to be a little bit closer to Louisville where my family is and our college friends, and certainly where my children are, would be nice. And thats something that Im looking for. Prior to arriving at UW-Parkside, Ford served as vice president for student affairs at the University of West Florida and vice president for student affairs and dean of students at Spalding University in Louisville, Ky. Ford received a bachelors degree from the University of Louisville, a masters in education from Indiana University, and a doctorate of education from the University of Louisville. Ford also addressed Wright State faculty to give them some insight on how she would lead the university if chosen as the next president. I believe that integrity, respect, trust and collegiality drive the decisions that I make, Ford said. I set a high bar and high expectations for myself and those around me. I believe in the power of teams and team work. And I also work from a perspective that the plan drives the budget. The budget doesnt drive the plan. Ford recently received a raise from the UW Board of Regents, along with several other chancellors, and her salary is $220,000. Dennis Shields, chancellor of the University of Wisconsin-Platteville, is another finalist for the job at Wright State, his visit was Feb. 2-4. The third candidate for the job has not yet been announced. Wright State is planning on announcing its new president in April. The following companies are subsidiares of Ingersoll Rand: 13125882 Canada Inc., 211 E. Russell Road LLC, 4458664 Canada Inc., ACCUDYNE INDUSTRIES ASIA PTE. LTD., ACCUDYNE INDUSTRIES BORROWER S.C.A., ACCUDYNE INDUSTRIES INDIA PRIVATE LIMITED, ACCUDYNE INDUSTRIES LLC, ACCUDYNE INDUSTRIES MIDDLE EAST FZE, ACCUDYNE INDUSTRIES SERVICES LIMITED, ASTRUM IT GmbH, Accudyne Industries Acquisition S.A r.l, Accudyne Industries Canada Inc., Accudyne Industries S.A r.l., Air Dimensions, Air Dimensions Inc., Albin Pump SAS, BOC Edwards Global Low pressure Air business, CISA S.p.A., Cameron-Centrifugal Compression, Comercial Ingersoll-Rand (Chile) Limitada, Comingersoll-Comercio E Industria De Equipamentos S.A., CompAir, CompAir (Hankook) Korea Co. Ltd., CompAir Acquisition (No. 2) Ltd., CompAir Acquisition Ltd., CompAir BroomWade Ltd., CompAir Finance Ltd., CompAir GmbH, CompAir Holdings Limited, CompAir International Trading (Shanghai) Co Ltd, CompAir Korea Ltd, CompAir South Africa (SA) (Pty) Ltd., Consolidated Distribution Holdings Ltd., DV Systems Inc., Dosatron International SAS, Emco Wheaton Gmbh, Emco Wheaton USA Inc, Enza Air Proprietary Limited, FlexEnergy Holdings LLC, Frigoblock Grosskopf Gmbh, GD Aria Holdings Limited, GD Aria Holdings Limited, GD Aria Investments Limited, GD First (UK) Ltd, GD German Holdings GmbH, GD German Holdings I Gmbh, GD German Holdings II GmbH, GD German Investments GmbH, GD Global Holdings II Inc., GD Global Holdings Inc., GD Global Holdings UK II Ltd., GD Global Ventures I B.V., GD Global Ventures II B.V., GD Global Ventures III B.V., GD Industrial Products Malaysia SDN. BHD., GD Investment KY, GD UK Finance Ltd., GPS Industries, Gardner Denver (Thailand) Co. Ltd., Gardner Denver Austria GmbH, Gardner Denver Bad Neustadt Real Estate GmbH & Co KG, Gardner Denver Belgium NV, Gardner Denver Brasil Industria E Comercio de Maquinas Ltda., Gardner Denver CZ + SK sro, Gardner Denver Canada Corp (Canada), Gardner Denver Cyprus Investments II Limited, Gardner Denver Cyprus Investments Limited, Gardner Denver Deutschland GmbH, Gardner Denver Engineered Products India Private Limited, Gardner Denver FZE, Gardner Denver Finance II LLC, Gardner Denver Finance Inc & Co KG, Gardner Denver France SAS, Gardner Denver Group Svcs Ltd, Gardner Denver Holdings Limited, Gardner Denver Hong Kong Investments Limited, Gardner Denver Hong Kong Ltd, Gardner Denver Iberica SL, Gardner Denver Inc., Gardner Denver Industries Ltd., Gardner Denver Industries Pty Ltd., Gardner Denver International Inc., Gardner Denver International Ltd., Gardner Denver Investments Inc., Gardner Denver Italy Holdings S.r.L., Gardner Denver Japan Ltd., Gardner Denver Kirchhain Real Estate GmbH & Co KG, Gardner Denver Korea Ltd., Gardner Denver Ltd., Gardner Denver Machinery (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Gardner Denver Nash Brasil Industria E Comercio De Bombas Ltda, Gardner Denver Nash LLC, Gardner Denver Nash Machinery Ltd., Gardner Denver Nederland BV, Gardner Denver Nederland Investments B.V., Gardner Denver Oy, Gardner Denver Polska Sp z.o.o., Gardner Denver Pte. Ltd., Gardner Denver S.r.l., Gardner Denver Schopfheim GmbH, Gardner Denver Schopfheim Real Estate GmbH & Co KG, Gardner Denver Schweiz AG, Gardner Denver Slovakia s.r.o., Gardner Denver Sweden AB, Gardner Denver Taiwan Ltd., Gardner Denver Thomas GmbH (f/k/a ILMVAC GmbH), Gardner Denver Thomas Inc., Gardner Denver Thomas Pneumatic Systems (Wuxi) Co. Ltd., Gardner Denver Thomas Real Estate GmbH & Co KG, Garo Dott. Ing. Roberto Gabbioneta S.r.l., Ghh-Rand Schraubenkompressoren Gmbh, HASKEL EUROPE LTD., HASKEL HOLDINGS UK LIMITED, HASKEL INTERNATIONAL LLC, Hamworthy Belliss & Morcom, Haskel France SAS, Haskel Sistemas de Fluidos Espana S.R.L., Hibon Inc., Highspeed Newco LLC, Hingerose Limited, ILMVAC (UK) Ltd., ILS Innovative Labor Systeme, ILS Inovative Laborsysteme GmbH, INGERSOLL RAND ITS JAPAN LTD., INGERSOLL-RAND (CHANG ZHOU) TOOLS CO. LTD., INGERSOLL-RAND (CHINA) INDUSTRIAL EQUIPMENT MANUFACTURING CO. LTD., INGERSOLL-RAND CHINA LLC, INGERSOLL-RAND COMERCIO E SERVICOS DE MAQUINAS E EQUIPAMENTOS INDUSTRIAIS LTDA., INGERSOLL-RAND DE PUERTO RICO INC., INGERSOLL-RAND INDUSTRIAL COMPANY B.V., INGERSOLL-RAND INDUSTRIAL SP. Z O.O., INGERSOLL-RAND INDUSTRIAL U.S. INC., INGERSOLL-RAND PHILIPPINES INC., INGERSOLL-RAND SPAIN S.A., INGERSOLL-RAND U.S. HOLDCO INC., IR HPS Holdco. Inc., ITO Emniyet, Ingersoll Rand Cyprus Investments Ltd., Ingersoll Rand Finance LLC, Ingersoll Rand Global Investments LLC, Ingersoll Rand Global Ventures LLC, Ingersoll Rand Hong Kong Investments Limited, Ingersoll Rand Inc., Ingersoll Rand Investments (SG) Pte. Ltd., Ingersoll Rand Investments B.V., Ingersoll Rand Schweiz Investments Gmbh, Ingersoll Rand Technology R&D (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Ingersoll-Rand (Australia) Ltd., Ingersoll-Rand (China) Investment Company Limited, Ingersoll-Rand (Guilin) Tools Company Limited, Ingersoll-Rand (Hong Kong) Holding Company Limited, Ingersoll-Rand (India) Limited, Ingersoll-Rand Ab, Ingersoll-Rand Air Solutions Hibon Sarl, Ingersoll-Rand Beteiligungs Und Grundstucksverwaltungs Gmbh, Ingersoll-Rand Colombia S.A.S., Ingersoll-Rand Company Limited (Uk), Ingersoll-Rand Company South Africa (Pty) Limited, Ingersoll-Rand Cz S.R.O., Ingersoll-Rand De Mexico S.A. De C.V., Ingersoll-Rand Equipements De Production S.A.S., Ingersoll-Rand Holdings Limited, Ingersoll-Rand Industrial Ireland Limited, Ingersoll-Rand International (India) Private Limited, Ingersoll-Rand International Holding Llc, Ingersoll-Rand Italia S.R.L., Ingersoll-Rand Italiana Manufacturing S.R.L., Ingersoll-Rand Korea Holding Llc, Ingersoll-Rand Korea Limited, Ingersoll-Rand Lux Investments II S.A R.I., Ingersoll-Rand Lux Investments S.A R.L., Ingersoll-Rand Luxembourg Industrial Company S.A R.L., Ingersoll-Rand Machinery (Shanghai) Company Limited, Ingersoll-Rand Malaysia Co. Sdn. Bhd., Ingersoll-Rand S.A. De C.V., Ingersoll-Rand Services And Trading Limited Liability Company, Ingersoll-Rand Services Company, Ingersoll-Rand Services Limited, Ingersoll-Rand Singapore Enterprises Pte. Ltd., Ingersoll-Rand South East Asia (Pte.) Ltd., Ingersoll-Rand Superay Holdings Limited, Ingersoll-Rand Technical And Services S.A.R.L., Ingersoll-Rand Technologies And Services Private Limited, Ingersoll-Rand Technology R&D (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Ingersoll-Rand Tool Holdings Limited, Ingersoll-Rand Trading Gmbh, Ingersoll-Rand Vietnam Company Limited, Instrum Rand JSC, Interflex Datensysteme, Ir Canada Holdings Ulc, Ir Canada Sales & Service Ulc, Ir France Sas, Kryptonite corp, Lawrence Factor Inc., LeROI, LeRoi International Inc, MILTON ROY (HONG KONG) LIMITED, MILTON ROY (UK) LIMITED, MILTON ROY EUROPA B.V., MILTON ROY EUROPE SAS, MILTON ROY INDUSTRIAL (SHANGHAI) CO. LTD., MILTON ROY LLC, MILTON ROY US PURCHASER INC., MP Pumps Inc., Maximum AG Technologies Inc., Maximus Solutions, Mb Air Systems Limited, Nash Elmo, Officina Meccaniche Industriali Srl, Oina VV, Oina VV Aktiebolag, Plurifilter D.O.O., Pt Ingersoll-Rand Indonesia, Robuschi, Runtech Systems, Runtech Systems (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Runtech Systems Inc., Runtech Systems OY, SEEPEX, Seepex (M) SDN, Seepex Australia Pty Ltd, Seepex Beteiligungs-Gesellschaft mit Beschrankter Haftung, Seepex France S.a.r.l., Seepex GmbH, Seepex Inc., Seepex India Private Ltd., Seepex Italia SRL, Seepex Japan Co. Ltd., Seepex Nordic A/S, Seepex OOO, Seepex Pumps (Shanghia) Co. Ltd., Seepex UK Ltd., Shanghai CompAir Compressors Co Ltd, Shanghai Compressors & Blowers Ltd., Shanghai Ingersoll-Rand Compressor Limited, Shenzhen Bocom System Engineering Co., Superay, Syltone, TIWR Real Estate GmbH & Co. KG, Tamrotor Marine Comp AS Norway, Tecno Matic Europe s.r.o., Thomas Industries Inc., Trane Technologies, Tri-Continent Scientific Inc., Vacuum and Blower Systems division, Welch Vacuum Equipment (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Zaxe Technologies Inc., Zeks Compressed Air Solutions Llc, Zinsser Analytic, Zinsser Analytik GmbH, Zinsser NA Inc., and crayon interface. Read More The following companies are subsidiares of Lithia Motors: 797 Valley Street LLC, Albany CJD Fiat, Baierl Auto Group, Baierl Auto Parts LLC, Baierl Automotive Corporation, Baierl Chevrolet Inc., Baierl Holding LLC, Broadway Ford, Buhler Ford Inc, Cadillac of Portland Lloyd Center LLC, Camp Automotive Inc., Carbone Auto Body LLC, Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram Fiat of Morgantown, Cranberry Automotive Inc., Crater Lake Ford Lincoln, Crater Lake Mazda, DCH (Oxnard) Inc., DCH Auto Group, DCH Bloomfield LLC, DCH CA LLC, DCH Calabasas-A LLC, DCH California Investments LLC, DCH California Motors Inc., DCH DMS NJ LLC, DCH Del Norte Inc., DCH Essex Inc., DCH Financial NJ LLC, DCH Freehold - V LLC, DCH Freehold LLC, DCH Holdings LLC, DCH Investments Inc. (New Jersey), DCH Investments Inc. (New York), DCH Korean Imports LLC, DCH Mamaroneck LLC, DCH Mission Valley LLC, DCH Monmouth LLC, DCH Montclair LLC, DCH Motors LLC, DCH NY Motors LLC, DCH Nanuet LLC, DCH North America Inc., DCH Oxnard 1521 Imports Inc., DCH Riverside-S Inc., DCH Simi Valley Inc., DCH Support Services LLC, DCH TL Holdings LLC, DCH TL NY Holdings LLC, DCH Temecula Imports LLC, DCH Temecula Motors LLC, DCH Thousand Oaks-F Inc., DCH Torrance Imports Inc., Dah Chong Hong CA Trading LLC, Dah Chong Hong Trading Corporation, Daron Motors LLC, Day Auto Group, Downtown LA, Driveway Motors LLC, Elizabeth Collision LLC, Florida SS LLC, Ford Lincoln of Morgantown, Freehold Nissan LLC, Fuse Auto Sales LLC, Hamilton Honda, Hazleton Honda, Hutchins Eugene Nissan Inc., Hutchins Imported Motors Inc., Jaguar Landrover Mission Viejo, LA Motors Holding LLC, LAD Advertising Inc., LAD Carson-N LLC, LAD Mission Viejo-JLR Inc., LAD Mobu Inc., LAD-AU LLC, LAD-MB LLC, LAD-N LLC, LAD-P LLC, LAD-T LLC, LAD-V LLC, LBMP LLC, LFKF LLC, LGPAC Inc., LLL Sales Co LLC, LMBB LLC, LMBP LLC, LMOP LLC, LSTAR LLC, Lithia AcDM Inc., Lithia Aircraft Inc., Lithia Anchorage-C LLC, Lithia Anchorage-H LLC, Lithia Armory Garage LLC, Lithia Auction & Recon LLC, Lithia Auto Services Inc., Lithia Automotive Inc., Lithia BA Holding Inc., Lithia BNM Inc. (nonoperating), Lithia Baierl-S LLC, Lithia Bryan Texas Inc., Lithia Buffalo-A LLC, Lithia CCTF Inc., Lithia CDH Inc., Lithia CIMR Inc., Lithia CJDO Inc., Lithia CJDSA Inc., Lithia CJDSF Inc., Lithia CM Inc., Lithia CO Inc., Lithia CSA Inc., Lithia Community Development Company Inc., Lithia Crater Lake-F Inc., Lithia Crater Lake-M Inc., Lithia DE Inc., Lithia DM Inc., Lithia DMID Inc., Lithia Des Moines-VW LLC, Lithia Dodge of Tri-Cities Inc., Lithia Eatontown-F LLC, Lithia FLCC LLC, Lithia FMF Inc., Lithia Financial Corporation (previously Lithia Leasing Inc. and Lithia Credit Inc.), Lithia Florida Holding Inc., Lithia Ford of Boise Inc., Lithia Fresno Inc., Lithia HDM Inc., Lithia HGF Inc., Lithia HMID Inc., Lithia HPI Inc. (nonoperating), Lithia Hamilton-H LLC, Lithia Hazleton-H LLC, Lithia Idaho Falls-F Inc., Lithia Imports of Anchorage Inc., Lithia JEF Inc., Lithia Klamath Inc., Lithia Klamath-T Inc., Lithia LBGGF Inc., Lithia LHGF Inc., Lithia LSGF Inc., Lithia MBDM Inc., Lithia MMF Inc., Lithia MTLM Inc., Lithia McMurray-C LLC, Lithia Medford HON Inc., Lithia Middletown-L LLC, Lithia Monroeville-A LLC, Lithia Monroeville-C LLC, Lithia Monroeville-F LLC, Lithia Monroeville-V LLC, Lithia Moon-S LLC, Lithia Moon-V LLC, Lithia Morgantown-CJD LLC, Lithia Morgantown-F LLC, Lithia Morgantown-S LLC, Lithia Motors Support Services Inc., Lithia NA Inc., Lithia NC Inc., Lithia ND Acquisition Corp. #1, Lithia ND Acquisition Corp. #3, Lithia ND Acquisition Corp. #4, Lithia NDM Inc., Lithia NF Inc., Lithia NSA Inc., Lithia Northeast Real Estate LLC, Lithia Orchard Park-H LLC, Lithia Paramus-M LLC, Lithia Pittsburgh-S LLC, Lithia Ramsey-B LLC, Lithia Ramsey-L LLC, Lithia Ramsey-M LLC, Lithia Ramsey-T LLC, Lithia Real Estate Inc., Lithia Reno Sub-HYUN Inc., Lithia Reno-CJ LLC, Lithia Reno-VW LLC, Lithia Rose-FT Inc., Lithia SOC Inc., Lithia SSP LLC, Lithia Salmir Inc., Lithia Sea P Inc., Lithia Seaside Inc., Lithia Spokane-B LLC, Lithia Spokane-S LLC, Lithia TA Inc., Lithia TO Inc., Lithia TR Inc., Lithia Uniontown-C LLC, Lithia VAuDM Inc., Lithia VF Inc., Lithia Wexford-H LLC, Lithia of Abilene Inc., Lithia of Anchorage Inc., Lithia of Bend #1 LLC, Lithia of Bend #2 LLC, Lithia of Bennington - 1 LLC, Lithia of Bennington - 2 LLC, Lithia of Bennington - 3 LLC, Lithia of Bennington - 4 LLC, Lithia of Billings II LLC, Lithia of Billings Inc., Lithia of Casper LLC, Lithia of Clear Lake LLC, Lithia of Concord I Inc., Lithia of Concord II Inc., Lithia of Corpus Christi Inc., Lithia of Des Moines Inc., Lithia of Eureka Inc., Lithia of Fairbanks Inc., Lithia of Great Falls Inc., Lithia of Helena Inc., Lithia of Honolulu-A Inc., Lithia of Honolulu-BGMCC LLC, Lithia of Honolulu-F LLC, Lithia of Honolulu-V LLC, Lithia of Killeen LLC, Lithia of Lodi Inc., Lithia of Maui-H LLC, Lithia of Missoula II LLC, Lithia of Missoula III Inc., Lithia of Missoula Inc., Lithia of Pocatello Inc., Lithia of Portland I LLC, Lithia of Portland LLC, Lithia of Robstown LLC, Lithia of Roseburg Inc., Lithia of Santa Rosa Inc., Lithia of Seattle Inc., Lithia of South Central AK Inc., Lithia of Spokane II Inc., Lithia of Spokane Inc., Lithia of Stockton Inc., Lithia of Stockton-V Inc., Lithia of TF Inc., Lithia of Troy LLC, Lithia of Utica - 1 LLC, Lithia of Utica - 2 LLC, Lithia of Utica - 3 LLC, Lithia of Utica - 4 LLC, Lithia of Walnut Creek Inc., Lithia of Wasilla LLC, Lithia of Yorkville - 1 LLC, Lithia of Yorkville - 2 LLC, Lithia of Yorkville - 3 LLC, Lithia of Yorkville - 4 LLC, Lithia of Yorkville - 5 LLC, Medford Insurance LLC, Milford DCH Inc., Northland Ford Inc., PA Real Estate LLC, PA Support Services LLC, Paramus Collision LLC, Paramus World Motors LLC, Personalized Marketing LLC, Prestige Auto Group, RFA Holdings LLC, Ray Laks Acura, Ray Laks Honda, Sacramento-L Inc., Salem-B LLC, Salem-H LLC, Salem-V LLC, Sharlene Realty LLC, Shift Portland LLC, Southern Cascades Finance Corporation, Subaru of Morgantown, Tampa-H LLC, Tustin Motors Inc., Wesley Chapel-H LLC, Wesley Chapel-T LLC, Zelienople Real Estate I L.P., and Zelienople Real Estate L.L.C.. Read More The following companies are subsidiares of Lloyds Banking Group: A G Finance Ltd, A.C.L. Ltd, ACL Autolease Holdings Ltd, ADF No.1 Pty Ltd, Addison Social Housing Holdings Ltd, Alex Lawrie Factors Ltd, Alex. Lawrie Receivables Financing Ltd, Amberdate Ltd, Anglo Scottish Utilities Partnership 1, Aquilus Ltd, Automobile Association Personal Finance Ltd, BOS (Ireland) Property Services 2 Ltd, BOS (Ireland) Property Services Ltd, BOS (Shared Appreciation Mortgages (Scotland) No. 2) Ltd, BOS (Shared Appreciation Mortgages (Scotland) No. 3) Ltd, BOS (Shared Appreciation Mortgages (Scotland)) Ltd, BOS (Shared Appreciation Mortgages) No. 1 plc, BOS (Shared Appreciation Mortgages) No. 2 plc, BOS (Shared Appreciation Mortgages) No. 3 plc, BOS (Shared Appreciation Mortgages) No. 4 plc, BOS (Shared Appreciation Mortgages) No. 5 plc, BOS (Shared Appreciation Mortgages) No. 6 plc, BOS (USA) Fund Investments Inc., BOS (USA) Inc., BOS Edinburgh No 1 Ltd, BOS Mistral Ltd, BOS Personal Lending Ltd, BOSSAF Rail Ltd, Bank of Scotland (B G S) Nominees Ltd, Bank of Scotland (Stanlife) London Nominees Ltd, Bank of Scotland Branch Nominees Ltd, Bank of Scotland Central Nominees Ltd, Bank of Scotland Edinburgh Nominees Ltd, Bank of Scotland Equipment Finance Ltd, Bank of Scotland Foundation, Bank of Scotland LNG Leasing (No 1) Ltd, Bank of Scotland London Nominees Ltd, Bank of Scotland Nominees (Unit Trusts) Ltd, Bank of Scotland P.E.P. Nominees Ltd, Bank of Scotland Structured Asset Finance Ltd, Bank of Scotland Transport Finance 1 Ltd, Bank of Scotland plc, Bank of Wales Ltd, Barents Leasing Ltd, Barnwood Mortgages Ltd, Birchcrown Finance Ltd, Birmingham Midshires Financial Services Ltd, Birmingham Midshires Land Development Ltd, Birmingham Midshires Mortgage Services Ltd, Black Horse (TRF) Ltd, Black Horse Executive Mortgages Ltd, Black Horse Finance Holdings Ltd, Black Horse Finance Management Ltd, Black Horse Group Ltd, Black Horse Ltd, Black Horse Offshore Ltd, Black Horse Property Services Ltd, Boltro Nominees Ltd, British Linen Leasing (London) Ltd, British Linen Leasing Ltd, British Linen Shipping Ltd, C.T.S.B. Leasing Ltd, CBRail S.A.R.L., CF Asset Finance Ltd, CF1 Ltd, CM Venture Investments Ltd, Cancara Asset Securitisation Ltd, Capital 1945 Ltd, Capital Bank Leasing 12 Ltd, Capital Bank Leasing 3 Ltd, Capital Bank Leasing 5 Ltd, Capital Bank Leasing 9 Ltd, Capital Bank Property Investments (3) Ltd, Capital Personal Finance Ltd, Cardiff Auto Receivables Securitisation 2018-1 Plc, Cardiff Auto Receivables Securitisation 2019-1 Plc, Cardiff Auto Receivables Securitisation Holdings Ltd, Cardnet Merchant Services Ltd, Cashfriday Ltd, Cashpoint Ltd, Caveminster Ltd, Cedar Holdings Ltd, Celsius European Lux 2 S.A.R.L., Central Mortgage Finance Ltd, Chariot Finance Ltd, Cheltenham & Gloucester plc, Cheltenham II Securities 2020 DAC, Cheltenham Securities 2017 Ltd, Chepstow Blue Holdings Ltd, Chepstow Blue plc, Chester Asset Options No.2 Ltd, Chester Asset Options No.3 Ltd, Chester Asset Receivables Dealings Issuer Ltd, Chester Asset Securitisation Holdings Ltd, Chester Asset Securitisation Holdings No.2 Ltd, Chiswell Stockbrokers Ltd, Clerical Medical Finance plc, Clerical Medical Financial Services Ltd, Clerical Medical International Holdings B.V., Clerical Medical Investment Fund Managers Ltd, Clerical Medical Managed Funds Ltd, Clerical Medical Non Sterling Guadalix Hold Co BV, Clerical Medical Non Sterling Guadalix Spanish Prop Co SL, Clerical Medical Non Sterling Megapark Hold Co BV, Clerical Medical Non Sterling Megapark Prop Co SA, Clerical Medical Non Sterling Property Company S.A.R.L., Cloak Lane Funding S.A.R.L., Cloak Lane Investments S.A.R.L., Conquest Securities Ltd, Corbiere Asset Investments Ltd, Create Services Ltd, Credit Card Securitisation Europe Ltd, Dalkeith Corporation, Deva Financing Holdings Ltd, Deva Financing plc, Deva One Ltd, Deva Three Ltd, Deva Two Ltd, Dunstan Investments (UK) Ltd, Edgbaston RMBS 2010-1 plc, Edgbaston RMBS Holdings Ltd, Elland RMBS 2018 plc, Elland RMBS Holdings Ltd, Eurolead Services Holdings Ltd, First Retail Finance (Chester) Ltd, Fontwell Securities 2016 Ltd, Forthright Finance Ltd, France Industrial Premises Holding Company, General Leasing (No. 12) Ltd, General Reversionary and Investment Company, Gresham Nominee 1 Ltd, Gresham Nominee 2 Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 1) Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 10) Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 11) UK Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 12) Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 13) UK Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 14) UK Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 15) UK Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 16) UK Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 19) UK Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 20) Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 21) Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 22) Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 23) Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 24) Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 25) UK Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 26) UK Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 27) UK Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 28) Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 29) Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 3) Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 30) UK Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 31) UK Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 32) UK Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 33) UK Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 34) UK Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 35) Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 36) UK Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 37) UK Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 38) UK Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 39) UK Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 40) UK Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 41) UK Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 44) UK Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 45) UK Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 46) UK Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 47) UK Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 48) UK Ltd, Guildhall Asset Purchasing Company (No 3) Ltd, Guildhall Asset Purchasing Company (No.11) UK Ltd, HBOS Covered Bonds LLP, HBOS Final Salary Trust Ltd, HBOS Financial Services Ltd, HBOS Insurance & Investment Group Ltd, HBOS International Financial Services Holdings Ltd, HBOS Investment Fund Managers Ltd, HBOS Social Housing Covered Bonds LLP, HBOS UK Ltd, HBOS plc, HSDL Nominees Ltd, HVF Ltd, Halifax Credit Card Ltd, Halifax Financial Brokers Ltd, Halifax Financial Services (Holdings) Ltd, Halifax Financial Services Ltd, Halifax General Insurance Services Ltd, Halifax Group Ltd, Halifax Investment Services Ltd, Halifax Leasing (June) Ltd, Halifax Leasing (March No.2) Ltd, Halifax Leasing (September) Ltd, Halifax Life Ltd, Halifax Loans Ltd, Halifax Ltd, Halifax Mortgage Services Ltd, Halifax Nominees Ltd, Halifax Pension Nominees Ltd, Halifax Premises Ltd, Halifax Share Dealing Ltd, Halifax Vehicle Leasing (1998) Ltd, Heidi Finance Holdings (UK) Ltd, Hill Samuel Bank Ltd, Hill Samuel Finance Ltd, Hill Samuel Leasing Co. Ltd, Home Shopping Personal Finance Ltd, Horizon Capital 2000 Ltd, Housing Association Risk Transfer 2019 DAC, Housing Growth Partnership GP LLP, Housing Growth Partnership LP, Housing Growth Partnership Ltd, Housing Growth Partnership Manager Ltd, Hyundai Car Finance Ltd, IBOS Finance Ltd, ICC Enterprise Partners Ltd, ICC Equity Partners Ltd, ICC Holdings Unlimited Company, Inchcape Financial Services Ltd, Intelligent Finance Financial Services Ltd, Intelligent Finance Software Ltd, International Motors Finance Ltd, Kanaalstraat Funding C.V., Katrine Leasing Ltd, LB Healthcare Trustee Ltd, LB Motorent Ltd, LB Quest Ltd, LB Share Schemes Trustees Ltd, LBCF Ltd, LBG Brasil Administracao LTDA, LBG Capital Holdings Ltd, LBG Equity Investments Ltd, LBI Leasing Ltd, LDC (General Partner) Ltd, LDC (Managers) Ltd, LDC (Nominees) Ltd, LDC GP LLP, LDC I LP, LDC II LP, LDC III LP, LDC IV LP, LDC Parallel (Nominees) Ltd, LDC V LP, LDC VI LP, LDC VII LP, LDC VIII LP, LTGP Limited Partnership Incorporated, Legacy Renewal Company Ltd, Leicester Securities 2014 Ltd, Lex Autolease (CH) Ltd, Lex Autolease (VC) Ltd, Lex Autolease Carselect Ltd, Lex Autolease Ltd, Lex Vehicle Finance 2 Ltd, Lex Vehicle Leasing (Holdings) Ltd, Lex Vehicle Leasing Ltd, Lime Street (Funding) Ltd, Lingfield 2014 I Holdings Ltd, Lingfield 2014 I plc, Lloyds (Gresham) Ltd, Lloyds (Gresham) No. 1 Ltd, Lloyds (Nimrod) Specialist Finance Ltd, Lloyds America Securities Corporation1, Lloyds Asset Leasing Ltd, Lloyds Bank (Branches) Nominees Ltd, Lloyds Bank (Colonial & Foreign) Nominees Ltd, Lloyds Bank (Fountainbridge 1) Ltd, Lloyds Bank (Fountainbridge 2) Ltd, Lloyds Bank (I.D.) Nominees Ltd, Lloyds Bank (International Services) Ltd, Lloyds Bank (Stock Exchange Branch) Nominees Ltd, Lloyds Bank Asset Finance Ltd, Lloyds Bank Commercial Finance Ltd, Lloyds Bank Commercial Finance Scotland Ltd, Lloyds Bank Corporate Asset Finance (HP) Ltd, Lloyds Bank Corporate Asset Finance (No.1) Ltd, Lloyds Bank Corporate Asset Finance (No.2) Ltd, Lloyds Bank Corporate Asset Finance (No.3) Ltd, Lloyds Bank Corporate Asset Finance (No.4) Ltd, Lloyds Bank Corporate Markets Wertpapierhandelsbank GmbH, Lloyds Bank Corporate Markets plc, Lloyds Bank Covered Bonds (Holdings) Ltd, Lloyds Bank Covered Bonds (LM) Ltd, Lloyds Bank Covered Bonds LLP, Lloyds Bank Equipment Leasing (No. 1) Ltd, Lloyds Bank Equipment Leasing (No. 7) Ltd, Lloyds Bank Equipment Leasing (No. 9) Ltd, Lloyds Bank Financial Services (Holdings) Ltd, Lloyds Bank Foundation for England & Wales, Lloyds Bank Foundation for the Channel Islands, Lloyds Bank General Insurance Holdings Ltd, Lloyds Bank General Insurance Ltd, Lloyds Bank General Leasing (No. 11) Ltd, Lloyds Bank General Leasing (No. 17) Ltd, Lloyds Bank General Leasing (No. 20) Ltd, Lloyds Bank General Leasing (No. 3) Ltd, Lloyds Bank General Leasing (No. 5) Ltd, Lloyds Bank GmbH, Lloyds Bank Hill Samuel Holding Company Ltd, Lloyds Bank Insurance Services Ltd, Lloyds Bank International Ltd, Lloyds Bank Leasing (No. 6) Ltd, Lloyds Bank Leasing (No. 8) Ltd, Lloyds Bank Leasing Ltd, Lloyds Bank MTCH Ltd, Lloyds Bank Maritime Leasing (No. 10) Ltd, Lloyds Bank Maritime Leasing (No. 13) Ltd, Lloyds Bank Maritime Leasing (No. 17) Ltd, Lloyds Bank Maritime Leasing (No.16) Ltd, Lloyds Bank Nominees Ltd, Lloyds Bank Offshore Pension Trust Ltd, Lloyds Bank Pension ABCS (No. 1) LLP, Lloyds Bank Pension ABCS (No. 2) LLP, Lloyds Bank Pension Trust (No. 1) Ltd, Lloyds Bank Pension Trust (No. 2) Ltd, Lloyds Bank Pensions Property (Guernsey) Ltd, Lloyds Bank Properties Ltd, Lloyds Bank Property Company Ltd, Lloyds Bank S.F. Nominees Ltd, Lloyds Bank Subsidiaries Ltd, Lloyds Bank Trustee Services Ltd, Lloyds Bank plc, Lloyds Banking Group Pensions Trustees Ltd, Lloyds Capital GP Ltd, Lloyds Commercial Leasing Ltd, Lloyds Commercial Properties Ltd, Lloyds Commercial Property Investments Ltd, Lloyds Corporate Services (Jersey) Ltd, Lloyds Development Capital (Holdings) Ltd, Lloyds Engine Capital (No.1) U.S LLC, Lloyds Far East S.A.R.L., Lloyds General Leasing Ltd, Lloyds Group Holdings (Jersey) Ltd, Lloyds Holdings (Jersey) Ltd, Lloyds Hypotheken B.V., Lloyds Industrial Leasing Ltd, Lloyds International Pty Ltd, Lloyds Investment Bonds Ltd, Lloyds Investment Fund Managers Ltd, Lloyds Investment Securities No.5 Ltd, Lloyds Leasing (North Sea Transport) Ltd1, Lloyds Leasing Developments Ltd, Lloyds Nominees (Guernsey) Ltd, Lloyds Offshore Global Services Private Ltd, Lloyds Plant Leasing Ltd, Lloyds Portfolio Leasing Ltd, Lloyds Premises Investments Ltd, Lloyds Project Leasing Ltd, Lloyds Property Investment Company No. 3 Ltd, Lloyds Property Investment Company No. 4 Ltd, Lloyds Property Investment Company No.5 Ltd, Lloyds Secretaries Ltd, Lloyds Securities Inc., Lloyds TSB Pacific Ltd, Lloyds UDT Asset Leasing Ltd, Lloyds UDT Asset Rentals Ltd, Lloyds UDT Hiring Ltd, Lloyds UDT Leasing Ltd, Lloyds UDT Ltd, Lloyds Your Tomorrow Trustee Ltd, Loans.co.uk Ltd, London Taxi Finance Ltd, London Uberior (L.A.S. Group) Nominees Ltd, Lotus Finance Ltd, MBNA, MBNA Direct Ltd, MBNA Europe Finance Ltd, MBNA Europe Holdings Ltd, MBNA General Foundation, MBNA Global Services Ltd, MBNA Indian Services Private Ltd, MBNA Ltd, MBNA R & L S.A.R.L., MBNA Receivables Ltd, Mainsearch Company Ltd, Maritime Leasing (No. 19) Ltd, Membership Services Finance Ltd, Mitre Street Funding S.A.R.L., Molineux RMBS 2016-1 plc, Molineux RMBS Holdings Ltd, Moor Lane Holdings Ltd, NFU Mutual Finance Ltd, NWS Trust Ltd, Nominees (Jersey) Ltd, Nordic Leasing Ltd, Ocean Leasing (July) Ltd, Oystercatcher Nominees Ltd, Oystercatcher Residential Ltd, PIPS Asset Investments Ltd, Pacific Leasing Ltd, Penarth Asset Securitisation Holdings Ltd, Penarth Funding 1 Ltd, Penarth Funding 2 Ltd, Penarth Master Issuer plc, Penarth Receivables Trustee Ltd, Pensions Management (S.W.F.) Ltd, Peony Eastern Leasing Ltd, Peony Leasing Ltd, Peony Western Leasing Ltd, Permanent Funding (No. 1) Ltd, Permanent Funding (No. 2) Ltd, Permanent Holdings Ltd, Permanent Master Issuer plc, Permanent Mortgages Trustee Ltd, Permanent PECOH Holdings Ltd, Permanent PECOH Ltd, Perry Nominees Ltd, Prestonfield Investments Ltd, Proton Finance Ltd, R.F. Spencer And Company Ltd, Ranelagh Nominees Ltd, Retail Revival (Burgess Hill) Investments Ltd, SARL Coliseum, SARL Hiram, SAS Compagnie Fonciere De France, SCI Astoria Invest, SCI De LHorloge, SCI Equinoxe, SCI Rambuteau CFF, SW Funding plc, SW No.1 Ltd, SWAMF (GP) Ltd, SWAMF Nominee (1) Ltd, SWAMF Nominee (2) Ltd, Saint Michel Holding Company No1, Saint Michel Investment Property, Saint Witz 2 Holding Company No1, Saint Witz 2 Investment Property, Salisbury II Securities 2016 Ltd, Salisbury II-A Securities 2017 Ltd, Salisbury III Securities 2019 DAC, Salisbury Securities 2015 Ltd, Sandown 2012-2 Holdings Ltd, Sandown 2012-2 plc, Sandown Gold 2012-1 Holdings Ltd, Sandown Gold 2012-1 plc, Savban Leasing Ltd, Scotland International Finance B.V., Scottish Widows Administration Services (Nominees) Ltd, Scottish Widows Administration Services Ltd, Scottish Widows Annuities Ltd, Scottish Widows Auto Enrolment Services Ltd, Scottish Widows Europe, Scottish Widows Financial Services Holdings, Scottish Widows Group Ltd, Scottish Widows Industrial Properties Europe B.V., Scottish Widows Ltd, Scottish Widows Pension Trustees Ltd, Scottish Widows Property Management Ltd, Scottish Widows Schroder Personal Wealth (ACD) Ltd, Scottish Widows Schroder Personal Wealth Ltd, Scottish Widows Schroder Wealth Holdings Ltd, Scottish Widows Services Ltd, Scottish Widows Trustees Ltd, Scottish Widows Unit Funds Ltd, Scottish Widows Unit Trust Managers Ltd, Scottish Widows Fund and Life Assurance Society, Seabreeze Leasing Ltd, Seaspirit Leasing Ltd, Share Dealing Nominees Ltd, Shogun Finance Ltd, Silentdale Ltd, St Andrews Group Ltd, St Andrews Insurance plc, St Andrews Life Assurance plc, St. Marys Court Investments, Standard Property Investment (1987) Ltd, Standard Property Investment Ltd, Sussex County Homes Ltd, Suzuki Financial Services Ltd, Swan Funding 2 Ltd, Syon Securities 2019 DAC, The Agricultural Mortgage Corporation Plc, The British Linen Company Ltd, The Halifax Foundation for Northern Ireland, The Mortgage Business plc, Thistle Financing Holdings Ltd, Thistle Investments (AMC) Ltd, Thistle Investments (ERM) Ltd, Thistle Leasing, Three Copthall Avenue Ltd, Tower Hill Property Investments (10) Ltd, Tower Hill Property Investments (7) Ltd, Tranquility Leasing Ltd, Trinity Financing plc, UDT Budget Leasing Ltd, UDT Sales Finance Ltd, Uberior (Moorfield) Ltd, Uberior Co-Investments Ltd, Uberior ENA Ltd, Uberior Equity Ltd, Uberior Europe Ltd, Uberior Fund Investments Ltd, Uberior Infrastructure Investments (No.2) Ltd, Uberior Infrastructure Investments Ltd, Uberior Investments Ltd, Uberior Nominees Ltd, Uberior Trading Ltd, Uberior Trustees Ltd, Uberior Ventures Australia Pty Ltd, Uberior Ventures Ltd, United Dominions Leasing Ltd, United Dominions Trust Ltd, Universe The CMI Global Network Fund, Upsaala Ltd, Vine Street IX LP, WCS Ltd, Ward Nominees (Abingdon) Ltd, Ward Nominees (Birmingham) Ltd 1, Ward Nominees (Bristol) Ltd 1, Ward Nominees Ltd 1, Waverley Fund II Investor LLC, Waverley Fund III Investor LLC, Waymark Asset Investments Ltd, West Craigs Ltd, Wetherby II Securities 2018 DAC, Wetherby III Securities 2019 DAC, Wetherby Securities 2017 Ltd, Wood Street Leasing Ltd, and Zurich Insurance Group - UK Workplace Pensions and Savings Business. Read More RACINE A Racine woman has been charged in connection with stealing a purse on Friday while at Boston Store, 5500 Durand Ave. allegedly from an 88-year-old woman. Dailanique Jones, 20, of the 100 block of Main St., is charged with theft of movable property as a repeater, a Class H felony that could put her behind bars for up to three years. According to Racine police, Jones stole the purse of a woman and threatened to shoot her daughter after the daughter chased after her. Court records show Jones made her initial appearance in court on Monday. Jail records showed her in custody Monday and under a probationary hold because of a Department of Corrections warrant. According to the criminal complaint, the elderly woman was seated on her walker near the exit doors of Boston Store with her purse on one of the walkers handles. The woman told police that she noticed Jones hovering around her and that Jones snatched her purse off the walkers handle. Boston Store security footage corroborates the womans account, according to the complaint. Police confirmed Friday that Jones fled across the Regency Mall parking lot into Chuck E. Cheese, 5612 Durand Ave., before she was apprehended at Burger King, 5400 Durand Ave. The Travelers Companies, Inc., through its subsidiaries, provides a range of commercial and personal property, and casualty insurance products and services to businesses, government units, associations, and individuals in the United states and internationally. The company operates through three segments: Business Insurance, Bond & Specialty Insurance, and Personal Insurance. The Business Insurance segment offers workers' compensation, commercial automobile and property, general liability, commercial multi-peril, employers' liability, public and product liability, professional indemnity, marine, aviation, onshore and offshore energy, construction, terrorism, personal accident, and kidnap and ransom insurance products. This segment operates through select accounts, which serve small businesses; commercial accounts that serve mid-sized businesses; national accounts, which serve large companies; and national property and other that serve large and mid-sized customers, commercial trucking industry, and agricultural businesses, as well as markets and distributes its products through brokers, wholesale agents, and program managers. The Bond & Specialty Insurance segment provides surety, fidelity, management and professional liability, and other property and casualty coverages and related risk management services through independent agencies and brokers. The Personal Insurance segment offers property and casualty insurance covering personal risks, primarily automobile and homeowners insurance to individuals through independent agencies and brokers. The Travelers Companies, Inc. was founded in 1853 and is based in New York, New York. Global Payments Inc. provides payment technology and software solutions for card, electronic, check, and digital-based payments in the Americas, Europe, and the Asia-Pacific. It operates through three segments: Merchant Solutions, Issuer Solutions, and Business and Consumer Solutions. The Merchant Solutions segment offers authorization services, settlement and funding services, customer support and help-desk functions, chargeback resolution, terminal rental, sales and deployment, payment security services, consolidated billing and statements, and on-line reporting services. This segment also provides an array of enterprise software solutions that streamline business operations of its customers in various vertical markets; and value-added services, such as point-of-sale solutions, and analytic and engagement tools, as well as payroll and human capital management services. The Issuer Solutions segment offers solutions that enable financial institutions and retailers to manage their card portfolios through a platform; and commercial payments and ePayables solutions for businesses and governments. The Business and Consumer Solutions segment provides general-purpose reloadable prepaid debit and payroll cards, demand deposit accounts, and other financial service solutions to the underbanked and other consumers, and businesses under the Netspend brand. It markets its products and services through direct sales force, trade associations, agent and enterprise software providers, referral arrangements with value-added resellers, and independent sales organizations. The company was founded in 1967 and is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. Health insurance plans for Wisconsin state employees could not cover abortions, with few exceptions, under legislation being proposed by four Republican lawmakers. Under the bill, currently being circulated for co-sponsorship, the state's Group Insurance Board could not enter into a group health insurance plan contract or provide a group health insurance plan on a self-insured basis that provides abortion services, except for in cases of rape, incest or the life of the mother. Wisconsin law currently prohibits payment for abortion through Medicaid and bars state exchanges set up through the Affordable Care Act from covering abortion. Twenty-one states have laws restricting abortion coverage under public employees' insurance plans. A similar bill was introduced in 2013, and was approved by the state Assembly before dying in the Senate. The bill "provides equity so that taxpayers are not funding abortions for any group of people in Wisconsin," its co-sponsors wrote in a memo to lawmakers. The bill is being introduced by Sen. David Craig, R-Town of Vernon, and Reps. Andre Jacque, R-De Pere; Ron Tusler, R-Harrison; and Janel Brandtjen, R-Menomonee Falls. Rep. Lisa Subeck, D-Madison, pushed back on the proposal, calling it "politically motivated legislation that interferes with a womens ability to access reproductive healthcare." Gospel musician Piesie Esther says she will not boycott the Vodafone Ghana Music Awards (VGMA) despite calls for gospel artistes to boycott the event. In a discussion on This Is Gospel with Franky5 on Hitz FM, she disclosed that she has submitted her works for considering for this year's awards. Fellow gospel artiste Cwesi Oteng and a few others have called on gospel musicians in the country to boycott the awards following allegations by George Quaye, Head Communications of Charterhouse (the organisers of the award scheme), that gospel musicians bribe organisers a comment he later apologised for. Piesie Esther believes that once George Quaye has come out to apologise for his bribery remarks, it is only prudent to let sleeping dogs lie. She said people sometimes make remarks that hurt the feelings of others, but since George Quaye has found the need to apologise for his allegations, there is no need to continue to boycott the awards. Piesie Esther is widely known for her inspirational hit songs such as 'Apae Ama Me', 'Me Nte Ase' and 'Ziba Beko'. Citi 97.3 FM has emerged the 2016 Most Influential Brand on Social Media beating 2015 Frontrunner University of Ghana in the 2016 Ghana Social Media Rankings spearheaded by Avance Media, CliQAfrica & Dream Ambassadors Foundation GH. Citi 97.3 FM which also ranked the 2016 Most Influential Radio Station on Social Media emerged as the most followed Ghanaian brand on Social Media. They also recorded a new followership numbering 647,083 across Facebook and Twitter, platforms which were considered for the ranking. Following keenly are Joy 99.7 FM, Ghandour Cosmetics Ltd, GhanaNdwom.com and MTN Ghana. New Entrants on the list include: GhanaNdwom.com, Fashion Ghana Magazine, Goal.com.gh, Daily Graphic, YEN.Com.GH, Nhyira 104.5 FM, OMGVoice and GhanaMusic.Com According to the organisers of the rankings, these organisations and more were monitored across Facebook and Twitter throughout 2016 taking into respect their Following growth, active Engagements, Post Reach and Mentions. To read the full 2016 Ghana Social Media Rankings report, kindly visit www.cliqafrica.com/gsmr Below were the 2016 20 Most Influential Ghanaian Brands on Social Media Citi 97.3 FM Joy 99.7 FM Ghandour Cosmetics Ltd GhanaNdwom.com MTN Ghana Viasat 1 Ghana Airtel Ghana JoyNews Fashion Ghana Magazine Adom TV Goal.com.gh Vodafone Ghana Daily Graphic YEN.Com.GH Tigo Ghana Nhyira 104.5 FM OMG Voice GhanaMusic.Com Y 107.9 FM UTV Ghana Ghanaian Brands which made the list in 2015 but were displaced include: XLive Africa, University of Ghana, 4Syte TV, Golden Tulip Accra, Access Bank, Ghana Music Awards, GhOne TV and eTV Ghana. Potential entrants onto the ranking include; Adom 106.3 FM, University of Ghana, Peace FM 104.3 and US Embassy Ghana. NB: Final Data used for all Rankings were recorded on the 31st December, 2016 and Figures (GSMR Score) on the attached chart are calculations from Social Media followings, Follower Growth, Engagements, Post Reaches and Mentions. The 2016 Ghana Social Media Rankings was conducted by Avance Media, CliQAfrica and Dream Ambassadors Foundation GH. Mr Anthony Nyame-Baafi, Director of Foreign Relations at the Ministry of Trade and Industry, has said the interest of the private sector would be at the forefront in negotiations on the Continental Free Trade Area Agreement (CFTA). He said: In each of the various technical groups government will constitute to negotiate this agreement, there would be private sector representatives on board to tell us the reality on the ground, and some of the challenges they encounter when exporting to other African countries. Mr Nyame-Baafi was speaking during at a three-day capacity building retreat for members of the Inter-Institutional Committee (IIC) on the Continental Free Trade Area Agreement. The workshop, funded by the Trade Related Assistance and Quality Enabling Programme, was to apprise members of the committee on the on-going negotiations on CFTA, the ratification of the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement, and the Interim Economic Partnership Agreement between Ghana and the European Union. The engagement was intended as a sensitisation and information sharing exercise to calm the anxieties of stakeholders and achieve a national consensus, particularly on specific trade and related matters, so as to protect the collective national interest at the on-going CFTA, expected to be concluded by December, 2017. The private sector will be the main implementers of this agreement, because, in reality, they are the ones that will be moving our exports across the continent, he said. In June 2015, African leaders launched negotiations to create the CFTA, which aims at creating a comprehensive and mutually beneficial single continental market for goods and services, with free movement of business persons and investments. It was also to resolve the challenges of multiple and overlapping memberships, and expedite the regional and continental integration processes. The Government of Ghana, through the Ministry of Trade and Industry, formed the Inter-Institutional Committee, which comprises members from the Ghana Standards Authority, the Food and Drugs Authority, the Ghana Export Promotion Authority, the Ministry of Finance and the Veterinary Services Directorate among others. The committee, after the retreat, would recommend to government the way forward in addressing lingering issues agitating the minds of players within the business community. Source: GNA 06.02.2017 LISTEN The Ashanti Regional NPP Communications Director, Mr. Akwasi Kyei, has donated medical drugs to the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH) in Kumasi. The drugs, estimated to cost about US$4,000, included one box of Tera Pharma capsules, two boxes of Risperidne, two boxes of orthoeylen tablets, six boxes of Divapoe and Solution, two boxes of Lovsatation tablets, two boxes of Onetiapine tabletss and three boxes of Collocxile capsules. Mr. George Tetteh, Director of Administration at KATH, who received the items, thanked Mr. Kyei for the kind gesture. According to him, since the government alone cannot shoulder all responsibilities, it behooves on individuals and philanthropists and well meaning Ghanaians to emulate Mr. Kyeis example. 06.02.2017 LISTEN For the fourth consecutive year, the Sekyere Kumawu Health Directorate of the Ghana Health Service has not recorded any maternal nor infant mortality case throughout last year. The District Health Director, Mr. Justice Thomas Sevugu, who announced this at the directorates Annual Performance Review at Kumawu last week Tuesday, said, the directorate achieved the Millennium Development Goals ( MDG ) 3 and 4, having achieved the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 3 in 2012, and maintained the status to date, making it the fourth year in succession in the district without any case of maternal and infant mortality. Mr. Sevugu further stated that the district health management team was able to reduce the impact on certain major causes of OPD attendance in the district. He said malaria cases, for instance, dropped swiftly from 45% in 2013 to 21% at the end of 2016. The Health Director said his team also worked hard to reduce the rate of stillbirths among pregnant women, disclosing that his outfit recorded only seven cases of stillbirths during the year under review. He hinted that a clinical audit conducted on stillbirth cases revealed that two out of the seven were due to insertion of herbs with intention to facilitate safe and easy delivery. A worried Health Director said the administration of such substances, as well as usage of certain herbal concoctions during pregnancy, could be every dangerous, since the toxic levels of herbs is difficult to determine or control. As a result, the District Health Directorate has referred the matter to the Kumawu Traditional Council to facilitate an engagement between the directorate and herbal medicine practitioners in the district, to find means of curbing the practice, described as unhealthy and unacceptable. Director Sevugu, however, described the general operations of the directorate during the year under review as successful, yet challenging, in the face of limited resources and logistics. Pix: Justice Thomas Sevugu Stories by Sebastian R. Freiku 06.02.2017 LISTEN Panic has gripped functionaries of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) following an official statement from the seat of government, Flagstaff House over the weekend that, a special taskforce has been set up to search and retrieve all government assets in private hands. Some of the former government officials are said to be in possession of government properties, especially cars, and have refused to hand them over to the new government. These cars were also not included on the list of official government cars handed over to the Akufo-Addo government. Sources in government told The Chronicle that chassis numbers of some of these cars have surreptitiously been changed to make it impossible for officials to trace them. But President Akufo-Addo's government, which has vowed to protect state assets is determined to retrieve the cars, hence the setting up of the special taskforce, which comprises of police, Ghana Revenue Authority, Bureau of National Investigation (BNI), Driver Vehicle and Licensing Authority (DVLA) and the office of the president. Government has also charged the general public to volunteer information that would lead to the retrieval of government assets in private hands. Though the government statement did not mention anyone's name, the General Secretary of the NDC, Johnson Asiedu Nketia, after reading the statement quickly came out with a counter one alleging that the government was sponsoring thugs to attack NDC members and former government officials. His statement reads: The National Democratic Congress (NDC) has taken note of a statement issued by the Akufo-Addo government in which it announced that a 'task force' has been set up to retrieve 'state properties' allegedly in the possession of former government officials. This can only be an implausible cover-up for the state-sponsored thuggery and violation of the human rights of innocent Ghanaians over the last four (4) weeks. Let it be known to government that the quest to justify the criminal activities of its party hoodlums who have gone about wreaking havoc on innocent citizens, destroying government properties, beating up hardworking civil and public servants and attempting to seize properties of former government officials and leading functionaries of the NDC, can destabilize the peace and stability of our beloved country, Ghana. The activities of these NPP hoodlums operating under the name invisible Forces' with tacit approval from elements within the Ghana Armed Forces and the Ghana Police Service, have gone on for several weeks without any noticeable effort by government to take action against them. Instead of condemnation and firm action to end this spate of lawlessness, these criminal elements, loyal to President Akufo-Addo, have received approbation from leading figures within the NPP who have sought to justify their conduct amidst threats to seize more private properties. The indiscriminate seizures of lawfully-acquired private property came to a head when unseen powerful hands at the seat of government, commandeered uniformed personnel of the Ghana Armed Forces to team up with the violent INVISIBLE FORCES to seize and take away vehicles from the residence of the National Organiser of the NDC, Mr. Kofi Adams. Before then, campaign vehicles belonging to the NDC had been unlawfully taken away from across the country. Some officials of the immediate past government also had their private vehicles forcibly taken away by the same marauding gang. Furthermore, innocent citizens of Ghana who find themselves working in government offices and installations have come under violent attacks nationwide from these NPP thugs, while supporters of the NDC have been violently assaulted, causing serious injuries in some cases. In other instances, employees of some security agencies and ordinary citizens have been evicted from their official accommodation by members of the notorious INVISIBLE FORCES. A disturbing feature of these raids is that they are soon followed by profuse apologies from National Security Minister, Albert Kan Dapaah, with promises and assurance to avert a recurrence, only for the same attacks to be replicated. This state of affairs reveals a worrying breakdown of the chain of command of the nation's security agencies and the running of a vigilante security system parallel to what is duly established by law. The attempt therefore by the Akufo-Addo government to issue a post-facto rationalisation of this disgraceful behaviour through the setting up of a supposed task force must be roundly condemned. If government meant well and was willing to act in good faith, lawful procedure would have been used to secure any state asset deemed to be in the hands of unauthorized persons. Conventional wisdom would dictate that proper inventory would be taken of all government assets whereupon any missing assets would be traced to any person keeping same. This is especially so, as each and every government asset, movable and immovable, as captured in the handing over notes were handed over to the NPP representatives of the Joint Transition Team. The gung-ho approach adopted by the NPP and President Akufo-Addo betrays their siege mentality which is completely incompatible with democratic practice. The NDC demands an immediate cessation of the violent attacks on its members and the seizure of their properties. To the best of our knowledge, members of the immediate past administration have complied with the provisions of the Presidential Transition Act in so far as it relates to the handing over of state assets. That said, if the NPP government has genuine reason to believe that any assets are outstanding and yet to be returned, let them provide evidence of same and use lawful means for their retrieval. To enhance the credibility of the process we call on government to publish the said assets which they deem missing. We wish to make it clear that we stand prepared to cooperate with government in any effort to reconcile national assets and secure them. We would however not tolerate any violation of the rights of our members under the guise of retrieving phantom state assets. Any further attacks on officials and members of the NDC will be fiercely resisted. 06.02.2017 LISTEN Mr. Mark Badu-Aboagye, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Ghana National Chamber of Commerce (GNCC), says Ghana is yet to fully utilise the African Growth Opportunity Act (AGOA) trade agreement. This, he said was due to limited understanding of US Customs and regulatory requirements. He noted at 7th AGOA Technical Workshop organised by the GNCC and the USAID West Africa Trade and Investment Hub in Accra on Wednesday that: The minimal utilisation of the AGOA trade initiative is due to limited information and lack of clarity, particularly on customs and regulations, in accessing the US market. The AGOA initiative provides the eligible countries in sub-Saharan Africa, including Ghana with duty-free access for exports of more than 6,400 products, into the US market. He observed that the workshop, organised under the AGOA Trade Resource Centre, hosted by the GNCC, with a US customs and international Consultant as resource person, would help to increase Ghanaian exports to the US. Mr Badu-Aboagye gave the assurance that there would be more training programmes to equip stakeholders and exporters in order for them to benefit from the AGOA initiative. Ms Jan Forest, Customs and International Trade Attorney-US, took participants through the various requirements for exporting products into the US. She indicated that the determinations required for entry include: classification, customs valuation; country of origin; and admissibility. Ms Forest expressed the need for exporters to correctly classify their exports. She said incorrect classification of products could have adverse repercussions on other areas such as the values and duties applicable to the product. The country of origin must be eligible, product must be eligible. The product must be imported directly, and must meet requirements of origin rules in order to qualify for AGOA duty-free treatment, she added. Ms Forest said exporting to the U S required exporters to provide all necessary information on invoice, mark and number packages in accord with invoice; detail description of merchandise, mark conspicuously and legibly with country of origin. The exporters must also, among other things, comply with other requirements of other agencies such as the Food and Drugs Administration and the United States Department of Agriculture, depending on the type of product they export. Mohamed Abou-iiana, Senior AGOA Specialist of the West Africa Trade and Investment Hub, said in order for Ghana to take full advantage of AGOA, there was the need to work on a number of fronts including quality and standards. He said AGOA had a lot of benefits to offer in terms of exemptions, which other African countries like Kenya and Lesotho had taken advantage of, and encouraged Ghanaian exporters seeking information on how to benefit from the facility by visiting the AGOA Resource Centre in Accra for assistance. Ms Adjo Asare, CEO of Alfie Designs, told the GNA that the workshop had been very useful in explaining the customs and other regulations for exports under AGOA. She said would take advantage of the programme to export her apparel to the US. The West Africa Trade and Investment Hub increases the value and volume of West Africa's exports by addressing challenges in intra-regional and export-oriented agricultural and value-added trade. The Trade Hub supports agribusiness and apparel aims, at increasing food security and reduce poverty. Source: GNA 06.02.2017 LISTEN The National Democratic Congress (NDCs) Election Review Committee chaired by Prof. Kwesi Botchwey says, the party isnt contesting the outcome of the elections and doesnt propose to go on that road at all. The party he said, has accepted the results of the elections and through that, it has enable a smooth transition from the out gone government to the new government. He was clarifying the committees work which has been tasked to review and validate the reasons for the massive defeat of the party. He said they are not going challenge but simply to avail themselves of the final conclusion form the Electoral Commission (EC) and any others. ''We are not preparing to go to court, the party has accepted the results and we still stand by it,'' he added. When asked if the committee will recommend for some NDC executives to be axed as some party supporters have said, he said, the duty of the committee is not aimed at making ''heads roll''. He said, their mandate is to review what happened to make recommendations based on what they will gather from their work. The work he added is to prevent the blame game and hand pointing. One of the reasons why we are doing this is to understand what happened in the bid to avoid the onset of finger pointing and the blame gameWe need to avoid that and in seeking to avoid that; by conducting a rigorous and scientific review, we are bidding to unite the party. If we didnt do that and allow party members to go at each other, we will be destroying the partyDoing this exercise will have the intended consequence of helping us unite the party around our goals, around our mission as a social democratic party, and, help the party members focus on these fundamental things as supposed to tearing up one another, he said. Addressing the media on Monday February 6, 2017, he said they will try as much as possible to stay away from incrimination and will report on the truth. ''There maybe very well some who feel that, heads must roll and all the party's executives or some must go. We are not in that sort of business. If we go round and we find out of 300 executives, 200 of them- weeks before the elections and throughout the elections were found to be incapacitated, we will report that and let the party executives take the necessary decisions on what happens to party functionaries found to be incapacitated... But we will try as much as possible to stay away from incrimination. We will be inviting mainly factual and hopefully, honest views so we can unite the party.'' More than 5000 head porters also known as kayayei are mounting pressure on the Minority in Parliament to approve the appointment of Madam Otiko Afisa Djaba. The nomination of Ms. Otiko Afisa Djaba as Minister designated to the Gender, Children and Social Protection Ministry was face with stiff opposition from the Minority National Democratic Congress (NDC). The Minority members on the Appointment Committee of Parliament indicated that, they will not support the nomination of Ms. Otiko Afisah Djaba because of unsavoury comment she made against former President John Mahama during the 2016 electioneering campaign. The only condition she would be approved, according to the Minority will be for her to render an unqualified apology for her conduct- a proposal the Gender Minister-designate has rejected. There is also a raging debate on her not doing National Service but Ms. Otiko Djaba in a letter to the Appointment Committee explained that upon completion of a course of study at the University of Development Studies (UDS), Wa Campus, in 2009, because I was informed that persons who were over forty (40) years of age were exempt from national service. However, the livid head porters from the three northern region in an interview on Adom News accused the Minority of personal vendetta. They could not fathom why someone who has their interest at heart is being frustrated especially by Members of Parliament from the north. They maintained Otiko Djabas appointment to the Gender Minister is a dream come true since according to them, she has their interest at heart. The kayayei has vowed to storm and demonstrate against the Minority who are championing a cause to have Otiko Djaba disqualified. 07.02.2017 LISTEN Destiny Ugorji A youth group, under the aegis of the Niger Delta Youth Movement, NDYM has alleged that there is massive corruption in the running of the Niger Delta Development Commission-NDDC, even as it threatened to expose it in the coming weeks. NDYM, the umbrella youth organisation in the Niger Delta region made the allegation in a Communique issued at the end of a National Executive Council meeting of the body in Port Harcourt, weekend. The Communique, signed by the groups National President, Joe Jackson, Secretary, Amakuro Isaac and twenty three (23) others, blamed corruption for the underdevelopment in the region. The group lamented that despite the huge investments in the Commission, not much is being done to better the lives of the people, but warned that it is presently investigating the information of massive looting going on in the Commission under the present leadership and will make its findings public soon. Corruption is at the centre of the regions underdevelopment and the youths have remained endangered species in their patriotic efforts to draw the attention of relevant agencies to the developmental challenges of the region. despite enormous resources committed to the development of the Niger Delta region by successive administrations, not much is being seen in terms of development of the region. the absence of transparency and accountability in institutions empowered to develop the region is a major obstacle to the development of the region. the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) needs to be purged of corruption, with a view to sanitising the system and bad eggs expunged. The NDDC under the present leadership has no place for the youth of the region. No action plan or template for youth development, empowerment and engagement is in place. The youth of the region have not been effectively involved in the activities of the NDDC. The impact of the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs on the region has been minimal. Continuing, the youth group called on the countrys anti-graft agencies to beam their light on the region, while urging the present leadership of the Commission to ensure transparency, accountability and due process in its dealings. The countrys anti-corruption agencies must begin to beam their searchlights on public institutions in the Niger Delta region. The present Management of the Niger Delta Development Commission-NDDC, under the leadership of Mr. Nsima Ekere must ensure transparency, accountability and due process in the award of contracts by the Commission, especially, that of Water Hyacinth projects. The present NDDC Management should, as a matter of urgency, ensure that the youths of the region are carried along in the issues concerning them. The continued marginalization of youths of the region by the present leadership is unacceptable. As a principal stakeholder in the formation of the NDDC and particularly, the YOUTH DIRECTORATE, NDYM is reviewing the situation in the Commission and will soon make its findings and decisions known to the world. We await a blueprint and action plan, backed with an implementation guide on youth empowerment and engagement by the current NDDC leadership. We support a civil means to the resolution of the Niger Delta problem and shall at no point, back any military action in the Niger Delta. The Federal Government should commence the ACTUAL clean-up of Ogoniland and other areas/states in the Niger Delta Region affected by oil exploration without further delay. As the umbrella youth group in the region, NDYM should be actively involved in the Federal Governments dialogue initiative, aimed at restoring peace to the region. NDYM calls on President Muhammadu Buhari to immediately nominate, for confirmation, credible persons to represent the three states of Abia, Imo and Ondo on the Board of the NDDC, in order to calm frayed nerves. NDYM strongly condemns the planned relocation by the Shell Petroleum Development Corporation (SPDC) of some of its offices from Port Harcourt to Lagos and wants Exxonmobil to immediately relocate all its offices to Akwa Ibom State for the sake of the on-going peace moves by the Federal Government. The Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs must review its mandate, with a view to developing and implementing activities and projects that can touch the lives of the Niger Delta people positively. Below is the full Communique: COMMUNIQUE ISSUED AT THE END OF A NATIONAL EXECUTIVE COUNCIL MEETING OF THE NIGER DELTA YOUTH MOVEMENT (NDYM) HELD AT HER NATIONAL SECRETARIAT, PORT HARCOURT ON THE 3RD OF FEBRUARY 2017. The Niger Delta Youth Movement (NDYM) is the Umbrella youth organisation in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria, covering the 9 states of the Region. The National Executive Council (NEC) of the Movement met on Friday, 3rd February, 2017 at the NDYM National Secretariat, No. 40 Mbonu Street, D-Line, Port Harcourt. All the members of the NEC from the nine states of the Niger Delta region were present. The objective of the meeting was to review recent happenings in the region, affairs of the youths of the region, governance, and general situation of the region, especially, as it concerns the youth. The discussions were exhaustive and resolutions reached. OBSERVATIONS After deliberations and contributions to the issues raised, members made observations and recommendations on strategies, and means to enhance the welfare of the youths of the region, while holding governments in the region accountable, with a view to ensuring good governance. That despite enormous resources committed to the development of the Niger Delta region by successive administrations, not much is being seen in terms of development of the region. That the absence of transparency and accountability in institutions empowered to develop the region is a major obstacle to the development of the region. That the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) needs to be purged of corruption, with a view to sanitising the system and bad eggs expunged. That the NDDC under the present leadership has no place for the youth of the region. No action plan or template for youth development, empowerment and engagement is in place. That the youth of the region have not been effectively involved in the activities of the NDDC. The impact of the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs on the region has been minimal. Corruption is at the centre of the regions underdevelopment and the youths have remained endangered species in their patriotic efforts to draw the attention of relevant agencies to the developmental challenges of the region. RECOMMENDATIONS/RESOLUTIONS That the countrys anti-corruption agencies must begin to beam their searchlights on public institutions in the Niger Delta region. That the present Management of the Niger Delta Development Commission-NDDC, under the leadership of Mr. Nsima Ekere must ensure transparency, accountability and due process in the award of contracts by the Commission, especially, that of Water Hyacinth projects. The present NDDC Management should, as a matter of urgency, ensure that the youths of the region are carried along in the issues concerning them. The continued marginalization of youths of the region by the present leadership is unacceptable. As a principal stakeholder in the formation of the NDDC and particularly, the YOUTH DIRECTORATE, NDYM is reviewing the situation in the Commission and will soon make its findings and decisions known to the world. We await a blueprint and action plan, backed with an implementation guide on youth empowerment and engagement by the current NDDC leadership. We support a civil means to the resolution of the Niger Delta problem and shall at no point, back any military action in the Niger Delta. The Federal Government should commence the ACTUAL clean-up of Ogoniland and other areas/states in the Niger Delta Region affected by oil exploration without further delay. That as the umbrella youth group in the region, NDYM should be actively involved in the Federal Governments dialogue initiative, aimed at restoring peace to the region. NDYM calls on President Muhammadu Buhari to immediately nominate, for confirmation, credible persons to represent the three states of Abia, Imo and Ondo on the Board of the NDDC, in order to calm frayed nerves. NDYM strongly condemns the planned relocation by the Shell Petroleum Development Corporation (SPDC) of some of its offices from Port Harcourt to Lagos and wants Exxonmobil to immediately relocate all its offices to Akwa Ibom State for the sake of the on-going peace moves by the Federal Government. The Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs must review its mandate, with a view to developing and implementing activities and projects that can touch the lives of the Niger Delta people positively. Signed Comrade Joe Jackson National President- Akwa Ibom State Com. Mathias Tamunoeni Dep. Nat. President-Rivers State Com. Amakuro Isaac National Secretary Bayelsa State Com. Kenneth Toate Assist. Nat. Secretary Rivers State Com. Nta Ani Treasurer Cross River State Com.kanu Sherrif Organizing Secretary Abia State Com.(Barr.) Peter Oghenebrume Nat. Legal Adviser Delta State Com. Meduoye Goodluck National Pro. Ondo State Com. Barthlomew Obodo National Nat. Welfare- Imo State Com. Anthony Ntukidem Assist. Nat.Org.Sec.Akwa Ibom state Com. Honesty Asemota Assist. Welfare Officer Edo State Com. Nosa Asemota National Provost Edo State Com. Davik Irek Assist. Legal Adviser Cross River State Com. Mathew Nwamaginna Assist. Provost 1 Abia State Com. Gospel Werenepreye Assist. Pro Bayelsa State Com. Izuchukwu Okeabaram Nat. Assist.Fin.Sec.Imo State Com. Kingsley Okere chairman Abia state Com. Sammy Charles chairman Akwa Ibom State Com. John Dan Aputu Chairman Bayelsa State Com. Emmanuel Edet Chairman Cross River State Com. Youyah Stephen Chairman Delta State Com. Asoro Philips Chairman Edo State Com. Abidoye Adetoye Chairman Ondo State Com. Chigozie Ohiri Chairman Imo State Com. Ijeoma Austin Chairman Rivers State Cheers from a charged crowd echoes over the roofs in mainland Takoradi, amidst drumming and dancing. It's the final days of the 2016 campaign at the Takoradi Market Circle, and the promises are in the air. Some had already been announced, but this one seems to reignite a forgotten dream. For once, the Western Region is going to get back its fair share of the best that has come from the west for years! The Takoradi MP, Dr. Kobby Otchere Darko-Mensah, told a large crowd of NPP supporters that late afternoon that, when the NPP is voted into office, the headquarters of the Ghana National Petroleum Commission, GNPC, was going to be relocated to the Western Region. This will ensure that our people get some of the oil jobs to do and to give the region its fair share of the resources it producesI have always maintained that Ghana is developed like kwashiorkor where everything is centered in Accrawe need to decongest Accra! GNPC will come here for all of us to get some of the jobs to do. This promise, as it was reiterated several times on public radio and on different platforms, has been accepted by the people of the region. However, opposing views have been registered by some institutions and Civil Society Organizations. This piece is to present the issues from both sides of the argument, and to help us understand and to engage further on either side we belong. The Relocation is a 2012 and 2016 NPP campaign promise In page 25 of the NPP's 2012 Manifesto Highlight, it was stated there that we will make the western region the hub of the oil and gas industry by relocating the relevant agencies in the industry from Accra to the Western Region. In the 2016 manifesto, the 2012 promise was redefined to have a bigger scope. In page 44, under the heading Energy and Petroleum in chapter 3 of the document, the NPP said it is going to develop in collaboration with the private sector, Western Region into a regional oil services hub with a first class port facility, as well as positioning it as an efficient center for back-office support for the oil industry in the west African sub region, including the relocation of the headquarters of GNPC to the region. From the two manifesto promises, it can be seen that, the 2012 promise was a bit lighter in content in terms of the vision compared with 2016. This promise has got experts in the oil and gas sector as well as concerned members of the public talking. They ask: How will the relocation of GNPC give the western region its fair share of development and provide jobs? Will the Petroleum Commission, Tullow, Kosmos and all other agencies in the petroleum mid and upstream sectors be asked to move to the western region? If no, how will GNPC alone transform the fortunes of the region, and if yes, will their relocation make the western region better of? Will GNPC be relocated again in the likely event that oil is found in other parts of the country especially Volta region? The debate [How will the relocation of GNPC give the western region its fair share of development and provide jobs?] Dr. Emmanuel Steve Asare Manteaw, ISODEC/GHEITI The chiefs and people of the region are agitating because of the sharp contrast between what the region gives to the state in terms of revenues and what the state in return gives back to the region to develop its infrastructure. But when GNPC is relocated, no new jobs will be created for the people in the region because, GNPC will leave Accra along with its staff. No new jobs! It will be better to create the petrochemical industry in the region which will have a greater potential of employing more people as a result of the many ancillary works that will come along with it. The industrial parks and the likes should be the focus. That will create jobs and develop the region. Takoradi as I know it is congested. Large chunk of the land is taken over by mining. Others are taken by rubber and palm plantations. So there are land issues there. Finally, if you convert the Western Region into the Texas of Ghana, you will end up deepening the troubles of the people as the city will be more expensive to live in. Mind you, the industry is a specialized one so not everyone will get to work there. Cadman Dadzie, Director of Projects- Sekondi Takoradi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (STCCI) The blackmailing of the Western Region by our so-called experts and critics must stop! It must stop! When the chiefs in the region asked for 10 percent retention of the oil revenues for infrastructural development, you kicked against it with excuse that the oil is drilled offshore. You blackmailed them with all manner of excuses. Sadly, some sons of the region even joined the wagon. However, these same so-called experts will come back here to say the western region is deprived. You come back to say the region is lagging behind in infrastructural development! You even agree the worst also comes from the West. How do you get the problem fixed when you kick against every proposal? I hear them talk about the fact that Takoradi is already choked and that when GNPC comes here the city will be congested, but let me ask, which part of Ghana is choked and congested than Accra where GNPC is located now? What the government seeks to do is a basic international best practice. You can cite Aberdeen, you can cite Estravenger, the Johannesburg and all over the world. These are cities which have been built because of the resources which are found there It is not just the social responsibility bit of developing where these resources are taken, but the business side of it When GNPC is relocated, the hospitality industry will benefit, the real estate business will thrive, building contractors will benefit, the number of air travel between Accra and Takoradi will increase and a lot more, local contractors will get some of the contracts that GNPC gives to contractors in Accra. So what is it? It will really be of greater business sense to have GNPC in the region and we at the STCCI are all out for it. In fact, we are keenly waiting for it! [Will the Petroleum Commission, Tullow, Kosmos and all other agencies in the petroleum mid and upstream sectors be asked to move to the western region?] It is a fact that since 2012, it has been the Member of Parliament for the Takoradi constituency Dr. Otchere Darko, who has been constantly talking about the relocation of the GNPC publicly before it became a huge topic ahead of the 2016 general elections. On Saturday 11th July, 2015, Dr. Kobby Darko Mensah stated at a public lecture at Raybow Hotel in Takoradi that if you take the last election [2012], we were very clear in our vision to make the western region the hub for oil and gas development. What it means is that, we are going to bring GNPC to Takoradi, Petroleum Commission, and also ask all the oil companies to relocate their headquarters to the region because there is a clause like that in the 1992 constitution. This statement by the MP who is seen in the inner circles of the NPP as the brainchild of this relocation provides answer to question 2. Indeed, it will be a mirage and a bunch of disappointments if it is only GNPC is located. This will not in any way make the region the Texas of the country as the NPP seem to be portraying. In fact, the collaborative development of the Western Region into a regional oil services hub with a first class port facility, as well as positioning it as an efficient center for back-office support for the oil industry in the west African sub-region cannot be realized if key players of the industry remain in Accra if the GNPC is indeed relocated. [Will GNPC be relocated again in the likely event that oil is found in other parts of the country especially Volta region?] This has been the major concern of some industry players who have already commented on the relocation. Dr. Kwame Ampofo Chairman, Energy Commission. The relocation of GNPC may not be necessary because positioning of the headquarters of any organization is done by considering many factors. The particular headquarters is going to have linkages with other institutions; even international ones for example, finance issues, easy access to the seat of government, foreign affairs and other agencies in the energy sector. But most of the oil been produced from the western region does not mean that it will continue to be like that forever. In fact, the current data been collected by GNPC indicate that the Keta Basin will become the largest hub in this country and perhaps the West African sub region. Does that mean you will relocate the headquarters from the Western Region to Anlo-Keta or somewhere and then maybe in the Voltain Basin when we discover more fields in that case also? So the decision to relocate I don't think has been analyzed carefully. Ismeal Agyekumhene- Executive Director, KITE Ismeal Agyekumhene (R) From where I sit, quite frankly I can't envision any straight benefit apart from the fact that if you put that promise in perspective, they want to turn the western region into the Oil and Gas Hub. If that is the thinking, then it is almost like having Houston as the headquarters of oil and gas in the USA for example. But in terms of the added benefit, I really can't envision any serious implication apart from letting the people of the western region feel that they have the oil resources located in the region so getting the national headquarters closer to them is something. If GNPC makes a find in lets say the northern part of Ghana, are we going to move the head office? Another important thing is whether we are going to get all the other international Oil Companies; the Tullow, the Kosmos, the Anadarko to move to the Western Region? I am not too sure whether they have room to accommodate the expansion. So in terms of the local economy, yes, businesses are going to be a bit more vibrant, but it comes at a cost, I mean land is very expensive in Takoradi. Dr. Ishmeal Ackah-Head of Policy Unit-ACEP Dr Ishmael Ackah, head of the Policy Unit at ACEP We believe that it is not something that was well-thought through because very soon we are going to produce oil in the Volta Region so are we going to shift GNPC from the Western Region to the Volta Region? We can maintain GNPC here [Accra] and rather open subsidiary office probably for operations in the western region. My Opinion There are two forms of development; one that is deliberately done, and one that happens as a result of another activity. In the absence of a deliberate plan to give back what the Western Region deserves, development in the region has been a spillover from the many activities. Giving the importance of the Western Region, I will go for any genuine plan to deliberately develop it. The neglect of the region is not deliberate, at least, when you listen to people in government, and so a deliberate plan to give back to the region is long overdue. We could use the gold which gives more money to the country far better than the oil [at least for now] to turn the region around. However, if the NPP believes that the oil, which is currently giving us only 3 or 4 percent of GDP, can be used to give back to the western region what it deserves, so be it. However, if in the mind of the NPP, this Western Turned Texas promise is not doable in their years in power, it is never late to consult and to listen to suggestions from experts. Undoubtedly, failure on the part of the party to honor this promise will affect its political fortunes in subsequent elections given that many of the comments from the middle class in the region are for the relocation. To make this dream a reality, the NPP must produce a clear plan for the reinforcement of the existing structures in the Twin City to be able to accommodate the pressure already tearing apart the Twin City, produce a clear thought-out spatial plan for the oil and gas hub it seeks to create, [bearing in mind how the region is struggling to get land for a new Western regional hospital, and even one for a Sekondi District Hospital]. The aforementioned clearly communicates the negatives of their move to the people in the region, and so they must show a clear sustainable job creation plan and a workable capacity building plan for the sons and daughters of the western region, [bearing in mind also how difficult it has been to get people to meet the requirement for the Tullow Scholarship Scheme]. However, even though the NPP may have its own plan, the execution of the plan cannot be done in isolation. The experts who have thrown these challenges should be involved and given audience to make it a reality. I doubt the NPP can afford to do any political maneuverings with this promise because; the eyes of the youth, the middle class and the chiefs are wide open. By: Obrempong Yaw Ampofo E-mail: [email protected] Member of Parliament for Nkoranza North, Hon. Major (rtd) Derrick Oduro has indicates that individuals who present fake documents to enroll in the police service are as a result of unemployment situation in the country. According to him, people are so desperate in finding jobs and will use every dubious means to get a job. Hon. Derrick Oduro made this assertion on Space Fms, morning flight in reaction to the police commands directives to withdraw some training recruits for presenting false documents to be enrolled in the countrys police Training schools across the country. He said some officers in the police force also use the desperation of these individuals to their advantage and take monies from them hence luring them into the force with fake documents. Major Derrick Oduro said is about time the government put down stringent measures to correct the process of recruitment in the country. The legislature when asked to comment about the former IGPS apology to Ghanaians, he said such calls are normal. The immediate past Inspector General of Police, (IGP) John Kudalor has asked Ghanaians to forgive him if in the discharge of his duties as the number one policeman he unknowingly wronged anyone. But Major Derrick Oduro reiterates that human as we are hes likely to step on someones toes while discharging his duties hence, his call of apology not out of place. Until his appointment, Mr. Kudalor had held the position of Director General of Police Operations from 2009 till his elevation as the new IGP. He has a 27-year wealth of experience in the Bureau of National Investigations (BNI) and the Ghana Police Service. 07.02.2017 LISTEN "Reports that are coming out of MITV that Chief Femi Fani-Kayode has agreed to return 26 million naira to the EFCC in an attempt to settle his case at the Abuja Federal High Court out of court with them are false. The matter was adjourned in the Abuja Federal High Court today primarily because a new lawyer in the person of Mr. Ahmed Raji SAN was now handling the case and he needed time to be properly briefed on the matter and to go through the file. Under no circumstances will Chief Fani-Kayode pay any money back to EFCC or any other government agency because he never colllected any money from any government agency in the first place. The reports are false, embarrasing and mischevous."- Jude Ndukwe, spokesman to Chief Femi Fani-Kayode. 07.02.2017 LISTEN This experience of a grown man that broke down in tears has a lesson for many of us. A white mans wife suddenly got caught in a life or death situation. The wife was passing out and was obviously in need of first aid in terms of mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. The black man without any hesitation jumped into action when the white husband stopped him while begging for any white person to help the wife. With no one able to help around, the black man did. The black man was shattered. He could not understand how anyone could be so mean-spirited that he was willing to allow his wife to die rather than accept help from a black man. The point here has nothing to do with the white man but everything to do with the black man. Each time he narrated the story, he broke down in tears. He grew up in the Southern part of United States. So racists are no strangers to him. But this particular incident devastated him. Why would you allow the hatred of another person to destroy you? We have many friends including those closest to us in the house that open the door for outside enemies. We must learn from their action if we survive but must never be so disappointed to let it affect our lives forever. The worst thing that could happen to a father was when his own son called in robbers to dispossess him because he was stingy, only to cry when they kill the father stone cold. If those closest to us can do us harm, we must not be traumatized by the racist or inhuman action of a stranger. People are people, no matter how close they are to you, regardless of the color of their skin or of the blood in their veins. We cannot go about life in distrust of everybody but we must not help our foes by letting their inhumanity to man crush us. If the unexpected action of a total stranger touched us so badly, what would we do if it were a family member? Some workers that had a hard time on the job have been known to come back home to take out their grievances on their wives and children. Somebody offended your spirit at work and you become so dilapidated that you perpetrated the same action on your loved ones. If that is not helping your enemy to crush you and your family, we may wonder what that is. Take the case of a jilted or ignored admirer. Instead of letting him or her reduce you to suicide, pick up your pieces and hope for better prospect. A lady that was ignored by an admirer used the rejection to polish up herself, fixed her teeth and later became a state and national beauty queen. She also pursued her academic career to become a veterinarian. Oh yeah, she saw him later on only to give him the look at me now! Never give up on yourself. This is not an attempt to diminish the effect of racism, hatred of any kind, rejection or man humanity to man. Many times it is difficult to avoid, ignore and move on. But to dwell on it to a point where it destroys us: its nothing short of helping the enemy achieve his goal. But then, when we are overwhelmed by difficult and unreasonable behavior of others, especially without immediate remedy, the last straw might be even less than what others understood. Is it this particular action of this stranger that overwhelmed this man or accumulation of other behaviors in his past? Another friend got a job as a nurse in one of United States prisons that paid good money. Some of the prisoners told her she would not last by the time they dealt with her. The reason the job resulted in high turnover. She told her colleagues that if the prisoners knew how hard nurses worked in her country, they would realize her job was gravy, compared. Whoever said - sticks and Stones May Break My Bones, but Words Will Never Hurt Me got it wrong. Words can kill you if you helped the speaker. This must be instilled in our psyche not only as adults but also in our children in schools to develop thick skins. There are not enough adults, counselors or teachers to prevent every incidence bullies use to terrorize others. We must learn how to defend ourselves against actions intended to hurt us. We have to be careful not to be over protective when it comes to children. They have less prejudice than we do and must learn certain lessons on their own no matter what we do. Indeed, some of them may have to get a finger burnt before they stay away from fire. Yet, we cannot watch them get into trouble we know can be prevented. No matter what, experience remains the best teacher. One of the facts we must accept is that bullies or perpetrators of unruly behaviors also grew up in certain homes or certain environment. Even in the most congenial environment, some folks come out discourteous. Some of the parents would swear that they never raised such children, adults or bullies. On the other hand, there are those that raised bullies they are proud of since some bullies take to what they see their parents do while growing up in the good old days. As long as we realize there are people out there whose goal is to make others miserable, we must learn to discount their intended consequences no matter how close they are or how far. When people are very close, our surprise mixed with disappointment can cause a heart attack! This is why the Yoruba say - Eyinkunle ni ota wa, inu ile ni aseni n gbe. But we may have helped those friends by becoming victim of their vicious attack. One reward a racist or vicious folks get, is when they see their victim down. It gives them sense of grandeur and cheap accomplishment. If people that feel inferior to you because of your accomplishment or what friends deem they cannot accomplish, they can bring you down with them just by watching you feel bad from their tirade. In other words, you have been dispossessed of your pride and reduced yourself to their level. I had a summer job once where this guy with less than high school education envied university students. He came into the lunch room one day and announce that Farouk is reading newspaper upside-down. Everyone burst out laughing. It could have been a good joke, but this writer was mad like hell. Later on, he had to wonder why an educated boy got felt bad and mad at an illiterate trying to make himself feel good. Esiama(W/R),February 06,GNA-The Concerned Nzema Youth for Development has as a matter of urgency,urged the President,His Excellency Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and the NPP government to reconsider the whole process of ongoing appointments with particular focus on Nzema land and the Western Region at large. According to the group,it has really observed with eagle eye and followed with keen interest, that in the quest to move Ghana to the promised land, the people of Nzema could not be disappointed in the share of the national cake and must be equally represented in the governance of the nation. This was contained in a press statement issued and jointly signed by the Convenor, Mr. Ishmael Arvo Miezah and other Executives and copied to the Ghana News Agency(GNA) at Esiama in the Ellembelle District of the Western Region. According to the statement,'we have, as a people witnessed the numerous projects, developments, initiatives and interventions that the people of Nzema and the whole of the Region accrued following the appointments of Hon Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah from the Ellembelle constituency, and Dr George Sipa Yankey as Minister of Energy and CEO of Ghana Gas Company respectively,Gen. Augustine Peter Blay, former Chief of Defense staff from Jomoro constituency, Ambassador Lee Ocran board chairman of VRA from Jomoro constituency'. The release added that 'they have done their best to take us a step forward and the current government cannot disappoint us for any reasons. Their appointments under the previous government went a long way to contribute significantly to the progress of their people, hence a step in the same direction would not be out of place'. 'We are not pushing for this with the sole aim of equalizing the NDC in terms of appointments. Indeed, the political benefits that the NPP stands to derive when vital appointments in the energy and mineral sectors are made when the Nzemas are considered cannot be ruled out. To buttress this point, the NDC lost the Jomoro and Evalue Gwira seats to the NPP following their failure to deal with the plight of the people, not to mention the keen and unprecedented race for the Ellembelle seat as well. ' We are of the view that, with these appointments, the grassroot support would be enhanced and be well positioned to boost the party's victory in future elections. It is in the interest of the party to do what is right in order not to suffer the fate of the NDC in the just ended elections'. It said mindful of this history, 'we cannot continue to suffer again under this new government when in fact, we control most of the resources of the land, and equally have the men with the expertise to occupy very key positions to bring about the needed development. The people of Nzema have suffered for far too long and continue to lag behind in terms of development and we strongly believe that the time for us to push for a fair share of the national cake in relation to appointments is now or never'. The statement noted with concern that this move has become necessary following the allegations that the NPP is an anti Nzema party, a claim that is premised on the overthrow of Osagyefo Dr KWAME Nkrumah. Such a sensitive issue which became very topical in the build up to elections 2016 cannot just be swept under the carpet especially when the then President Mahama reechoed it during his campaign tour of the Western Region. The NPP did vigorously refute the allegations by word and we believe the time to use actions to back its position is now. 'We are per this release, not only asking for vital and sensitive appointments on the grounds of the resources we control, but more urgently, expedite action on the various developmental projects earmarked to take place within the Nzema enclaves so as to bring about significant change in the lives of the inhabitants'. 'Conscious of the fact that, no meaningful development can take place within an area when its indigenes have no power, we see this call as a relevant and timely one. We believe strongly that we can no longer use elections as a tool to fight for developments which we ordinarily deserve. Therefore, we implore that the right things are done now to forestall any apathy in elections 2020 and beyond.' The group said the association was not asking for too much but would appreciate it if the following specific demands and others are met: 1. Commencement of work on the Atuabo free port project 2. Deputy Minister for Energy should come from Western Region and specifically an Nzema 3. The Ghana Gas Company should be headed by a Westerner and for that matter an Nzema. According to them, 'it is our fervent prayer that this request would be accorded the urgency and importance that it deserves as we all collectively strive to build a better and prosperous nation for ourselves'.. GNA We, former members of Rights of Childrens Club (ROC) are elated to learn that His Excellency Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo Addo has appointed Otiko C. Djaba as the minister-designate for Gender, Children and Social Protection. We are fully convinced that one of the brightest chapters concerning the welfare of women and children in this country is about to be written. Having known and worked with Madam Otiko as we chose to call her for so long a time, we are convinced beyond any shred of doubt that she is going to be a great asset to this nation. Whereas many will rather enjoy the comfort of staying and working in Accra and a few other cities, Madam Otiko spent years of her life in rural communities implementing programs to give a voice to the voiceless and to empower women to better take of their children. Through the establishment of Rights of Childrens Clubs, Madam Otiko through Miidan Educational Trust in partnership with Plan Ghana went into rural communities to teach children their rights and responsibilities and to help stamp out child abuse in rural communities. She was really passionate about these clubs and put in a lot of resources into developing we the children to become young advocates. Through the clubs, several workshops were organized to teach many of us good communication skills, advocacy and many other diverse topics. This training she spearheaded ensured that we were not just there for the sake of representation, but as active stakeholders who are well informed about the issues that concern children and who are able to make meaningful contributions. Indeed, as we put together this piece, many who have passed through these clubs still testify to the transformation that they saw in their own lives. Most of them have now either completed universities, training colleges or are still students and we all have Madam Otiko to thank for where we are now. Her approach to advocacy as far as the issues militating against children are concerned was a novelty. Many organizations had tried to talk on behalf of children, trying to make stakeholders prioritize the issues concerning children, but this achieved little because the child was never in the picture. When she came into the Sissala Districts, instead of towing the usual line of advocating on behalf of children, she decided to rather empower we the children to articulate the issues that hinder our holistic development. From the very beginning this was an outstanding success, it did not only bring children directly under the nose of the powers that be, but it also created a platform for us to learn all manner of skills to help us appreciate the world better. This made such a huge difference in our communities that for the first time in the history of the Sissala East District Assembly, children were invited to take part in district assembly meetings and other discussions that concerned them and their views on district policies were considered. She is a woman who is very down to earth. She blended in so well with the rural people that many were amazed, even we the children. For us, she was not just a mother but someone who understood the potential in each of us and who gave us the opportunity to develop them. She created opportunities for several of us to even travel abroad to attend conferences that tackle issues concerning children and this really widened our horizons. She was always ready to support our initiatives and kept on encouraging us to be active people in our own development. She was always excited to support our ideas when we bring them up. She also supported the initiatives of rural women to help take care of their children. Through radio and T.V discussions, we held community durbars in several villages in the Sissala Districts where chiefs, politicians and other stakeholders all gathered to discuss issues affecting women and children such as child marriage, different forms of child abuse, domestic violence etc. These discussions were led and coordinated by children. Through those meetings all stakeholders fashioned out measures to eradicate some of these cankers from our district. To create a voice for the voiceless, she championed the establishment of a radio station in Tumu, Radio for Development in collaboration with Plan Ghana and the community. That radio station has served farmers, children, women and all other stakeholders and has engendered discussions that have led to the development of the Sissala Districts. For such a person to be appointed to this position is indeed God-sent, and we believe she is not the just the right person for the job, but one who really loves the job. She is therefore not just an expert in the field she is going into, but also one who is extremely passionate about the issues of women and children. We would like to take this opportunity to congratulate Madam Otiko on her appointment and indeed to say a very big thank you to His Excellency Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo Addo for giving her the opportunity to work in government. We would also like to add our voice to the many calling on the Appointments Committee of Parliament and the Honourable House to fast-track the approval of Madam Otiko C. Djaba because she is not only highly qualified but indeed a role model for many children and youth in this country. We believe that the fact that she spent years working in rural communities is indeed proof that she is public-spirited and someone who has Ghana at heart. God Bless Our Homeland Ghana Former Rights of Childrens Club President and Former Child Ambassador [email protected] 07.02.2017 LISTEN The leadership of the National Union of Ghana Students wishes to congratulate the newly elected executives of the University Students Association of Ghana (USAG). We also use this opportunity to wish them well in all their pursuit as they serve University Students in Ghana. Congratulations. *_THE STRUGGLE CONTINUES BUT VICTORY IS CERTAIN._* Long live students Long live NUGS Long live Ghana ...signed.... Kwasi Frimpong (Press & Information Sec) 0201833775 Shadrach Mireku (General Secretary) 0272366082 Yiadom Boakye Emmanuel (Coordinating Secretary) 0246970434 / 0501358060 Luqman Abubakari (President) 0242081344 The president of Breast Care International, Dr. Mrs. Beatrice Wiafe Addai has stated that the causes of breast cancer is still not known to researchers and medical practitioners and that it makes primary prevention of the disease very difficult. She is therefore urging all persons to be very careful and visit the nearby hospital as soon as they suspect that something is not going well in their breast. According Dr. Wiafe, though the causes are unknown, there are some risk factors that make one a cancer prone and the biggest of such risk factors is been a female. She said though men can also suffer from breast cancer, women are more prone to getting the disease than men. She added that until recently where the statistics are changing, research had shown that 99 percent of women are more prone to getting breast cancer than men. Dr. Wiafe Addai also used the opportunity to explain further several other risk factors of breast cancer. She advised that people should seek medical attention as soon as there is a suspicion of some infections in the breast. She added that the cure for breast cancer is very expensive and since its causes are unknown, the best way to prevent the breast cancer is regular medical screening and self-examination of the breast. Dr. Mrs. Beatrice Wiafe Addai was speaking at Breast Cancer Day celebration at Nkwakwa in the Eastern Region. At the occasion, other speakers also spoke about other forms of cancers such as cervical cancer, prostate cancer etc. On his part, Member of Parliament for Nkwakwa Constituency and the Eastern Regional Minister Designate, Hon. Eric Daffour advised people to seek for medical attention often to reduce the risk of breast cancer. He said, unlike men, it is difficult for breast cancer to be determined in women at the initial stages and therefore advised the people to pay heed to the teachings of Breast Care International and help prevent breast Cancer in the region and Ghana as a whole. Some breast cancer survivors who spoke to the media after the celebration advised women and the general public not to panic when one is diagnosed of breast cancer but rather seek immediate medical attention. Gov. Scott Walkers state budget proposal would cut University of Wisconsin System tuition by 5 percent in the 2018-19 school year and provide $100 million in new funding for the System, the governors office announced Tuesday. But its unclear how much legislative support there is for the tuition cut because Republican leaders have already expressed skepticism. Walkers higher education budget proposal for the two years beginning July 1 also includes a faculty accountability policy to monitor how much time UW professors spend in the classroom and gives students the ability to opt out of paying certain fees that support campus organizations and services, among other initiatives. Walker announced the proposals at UW System campuses in La Crosse, Eau Claire and Green Bay on Tuesday. He will unveil his full 2017-19 budget Wednesday. The proposal fulfills UW System officials request for $42.5 million of new state funding, but calls for that money to be distributed based on how campuses perform on an array of metrics. Walkers budget would provide an additional $11.6 million to boost pay for UW employees much less than the $78 million the System requested for pay and restore $50 million that was cut from UWs funding in the current state budget. Our investment today ensures student success by making college even more affordable, providing greater opportunities for students to earn their degree, and helping to bridge the gap between higher education and our workforce, Walker said in a statement. We want our students to fuel the growth of our economy. UW System leaders, eager to reverse years of declining state funding for higher education in Wisconsin, applauded the governors proposal. The UW System provides a great return on investment, and we appreciate the recognition of the role the UW System plays in Wisconsins economy and workforce, System president Ray Cross said. We look forward to working with the governor and the Legislature in the months ahead. Tuition cut in second year The governors proposal calls for keeping UW tuition frozen in the first year of the budget, then cutting it by 5 percent for the 2018-19 academic year, a spokesman said. The state would provide $35 million to pay for the tuition cut, in addition to other new funding for the System. Walker estimates the cut, which would apply to undergraduate in-state tuition, would save UW students $360 per year on average. At UW-Madison, it would reduce annual tuition by about $500. The cut is already facing headwinds in the Legislature, however. Both Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald, R-Juneau, and Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, have said they are skeptical of an across-the-board tuition cut. Spokeswoman Kit Beyer reiterated Tuesday that Vos is in favor of keeping tuition where its currently at and instead focus on providing adequate financial aid. The budget proposal also seeks to cut college costs in other ways: It includes a requirement that UW institutions outline plans that would allow students to earn a bachelors degree in three years instead of four, increases the number of credits that can transfer from technical colleges to universities and calls for $700,000 in financial aid for students who take UWs Flexible Option courses. New performance funding Walkers office did not specify exactly what performance measures would be used to distribute the $42.5 million he is proposing. But a release from the office laid out several areas including improving affordability and attainability, ensuring student success in the workforce and administrative efficiency that will make up the performance categories. The Systems Board of Regents would also be allowed to specify two of its own performance categories, and each UW institution would be required to publish a Performance Funding Report Card. More than 30 states have started using performance-based funding to distribute money among public colleges and universities, and that funding makes up 30 percent of the state funding for Wisconsins technical colleges. Proponents argue the funding model helps ensure colleges are serving their students and the state by focusing their attention on student outcomes, such as graduation and job placement. Opponents say the model doesnt deliver on that promise, and instead can have unintended consequences that encourage schools to deny admission to students who might be less likely to graduate. Beyer said one of Vos priorities in the budget was filling the UW Systems funding request, but said the Speakers office would have to take a closer look at the performance funding model. Sen. Alberta Darling, R-River Hills, the co-chairwoman of the Legislatures Joint Finance Committee, similarly said she needed to know more about the potential new funding for UW and Walkers tuition cut proposal before saying whether she supports either initiative. Weve got to look at the details, Darling said. We want to get as much as we can out of our investments in UW. The offices of Fitzgerald and Joint Finance Committee co-chairman Rep. John Nygren, R-Marinette, did not immediately respond Tuesday. Faculty workload, student fees In a move aimed at holding UW System faculty accountable, the proposal requires the Board of Regents to create a faculty workload policy to monitor how much time professors spend teaching. That information would be made public in annual accountability reports. Two years ago, Walker suggested that faculty could lessen the impact of funding cuts by teaching more classes. Another item would allow students to opt out of paying allocable segregated fees, which at UW-Madison provide funding for student organizations and Metro Transit bus passes, among other programs. Allowing an opt-out helps students make the decisions on what they do and do not want to fund, Walkers office said. Those fees cost $89 per student this school year at UW-Madison, $55 of which went to bus passes. The fees also pay for the universitys student government and provide funding that is distributed to various student clubs and advocacy organizations, including the campus radio station, rape crisis center and groups such as Badger Catholic and the Working Class Student Union. Walkers proposal would not affect the more expensive category of non-allocable student fees, which cost students $519 per year and fund University Health Services and the Wisconsin Union, among other services at UW-Madison. The campus student government, Associated Students of Madison, receives all of its funding through allocable student fees. ASM often advocates for politically liberal causes, and has in recent years pushed campus administrators for changes to improve the experiences of minority students at the predominantly white university. Some of the UW-Madison groups funded through allocable fees are involved in similar activism. A lot of those groups do conduct campaigns and speak up about issues that Republicans, we know, tend to be against, said Colin Barushok, a UW-Madison student and chairman of the Student Services Finance Committee, which distributes segregated fees. So its very tempting to say that is one of the reasons why he went after allocable fees. UW-Madison Chancellor Rebecca Blank said she appreciated the new funding in the governors budget proposal, and plans to review its policy changes to determine the impact on our campus. Asked about the changes, UW System spokeswoman Stephanie Marquis said, Well be reviewing these proposals more closely and look forward to working with the governor and Legislature in the months ahead. At the time that we incessantly claimed that the Ghana Police Service was afflicted with integrity challenges, a few skeptics doubted our conclusion, not so though the majority of Ghanaians. With the latest development about how unqualified persons were recruited into the various recruit training centres across the country, a legitimate question about how the breach was perpetrated should be posed. The cat has actually been let out of the bag and we think that when the searchlight is beamed on the other security agencies such as the Ghana Immigration Service and the Prisons Service, including the Customs Division of the Ghana Revenue Service, similar anomalies would be unearthed. When the police system, part of the justice administration chain, suffers such a blemish the extent of degeneration of the country can be gauged more easily. With the academic standards lowered or even non-existent, there is no gainsaying the fact that background checks of recruits are easily thrown to the dogs as bad politicians remotely take over the screening process. The outcome is the enlistment of potential armed robbers who would not hesitate to waylay bullion vans on the highways, empirical evidence abounding to prove this assertion. What is the relationship between the discovery by the Acting Inspector General of Police (IGP), who appears set to take sweeping measures to clean the dirty stable of the filth it has been enmeshed in for the past years and the recruitment scam which hit the institution a few years ago? We must doff our hats for the early signs of positive actions which the Acting IGP appears intent on pursuing to rid the Ghana Police Service of the bad baggage it has carried for some time now and much to the detriment of efficient enforcement of the law. We are tempted to believe that should a probe be instituted into the mess, names would pop up who succumbed to the dictates of reckless politicians to breach the standards of an otherwise disciplined security organization. Haven't others passed through the mill in the past few years of the administration of the immediate past Chief Constable who did not meet the academic standards of the system but only dangled the NDC membership card? Would Superintendent Cephas Arthur, Public Relations Director, keep his intervention to himself because nobody believes him any longer as a spokesperson of the Police Service? Following the publication of the story about the scandal, he has characteristically jumped into the fray to state that the figure of those sacked is not 3,000 as being peddled. We wonder which media organization mentioned that figure anyway. It is a bad story, regardless of the statistic, and he better give us a brake and not get on our nerves with an unnecessary intervention which can only raise the adrenalin level of Ghanaians further. He was part of the negative image of the police because he could not give the appropriate counsel to his superiors when they needed it. A PR man is not only a spokesperson to his organization, but one who renders productive counsel to his superiors. It is our position that a probe be initiated into how the anomalies ensued in the recruitment process of the police. They are prepared to pluck the eyes of their compatriots for simply demonstrating against a bad government because after all, the standards were wavered for them to be recruited into the police. Those who agreed to be accessories for the commitment of the absurdities must be named, shamed and showed the exit for being responsible for the sorry state of the Ghana Police Service today. Mogadishu (AFP) - Somalia is to hold its presidential election on Wednesday after numerous delays, with ongoing security concerns and warnings of famine topping the agenda for the new administration. President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud is seeking re-election against 22 other candidates. The troubled Horn of Africa nation, which has not had an effective central government in three decades, had been promised a one-person, one-vote election in 2016. However political infighting and insecurity, mainly due to Al-Qaeda linked Shabaab militants who control swathes of countryside and strike at will in Mogadishu, saw the plan ditched for a limited vote running months behind schedule. The presidential election had been due to take place in August, four years after the previous vote in which just 135 clan elders chose MPs who then voted for the country's leader. Elections instead began in October with an electoral college system that excluded ordinary citizens and instead involved 14,025 delegates voting for candidates for both parliament and a new upper house. The elections were marred by widespread allegations of vote-buying and intimidation. In a report on Tuesday, Somalia-based anti-corruption watchdog Marqaati said the elections "were rife with corruption". Repeated delays meant the new lawmakers were only sworn in in December. Delays and disillusion The election was due to take place in August, but only began in October The tortuous process has left some disillusioned. "I really don't care who becomes president. We just need to be free to attend to our business," said Qoje Siyad, a Mogadishu day labourer. "This thing is taking too long," said housewife Samiya Abdulkadir. "People will be relieved to see an end to this drama." While falling well short of the election that was promised, the process is more democratic than in the past and is seen as a step towards universal suffrage, now hoped for in 2020. Wednesday's voting will see members of the 275-seat parliament and 54 senators cast ballots inside a hangar within the heavily-guarded airport. No candidate is expected to get the two-thirds majority needed for a first-round win, with two further rounds permitted before a winner is declared. In the absence of political parties, clan remains the organising principle of Somali politics. All 23 candidates are men after the only declared female candidates dropped out. And each one has paid the $30,000 (28,000-euro) registration fee although few have any serious chance of winning. One of them is the current president, a 61-year-old former academic and civil society activist from the Hawiye clan. Also in the running is ex-president Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, a fellow Hawiye and 52-year-old former leader of the Islamic Courts Union which pacified Somalia before being driven out by US-backed Ethiopian troops. The leading Darod candidates are Prime Minister Omar Abdirashid Ali Shamarke, 56, and a former premier Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed 'Farmajo', 55. Both hold dual nationalities having lived for years in Canada and the US respectively. Famine looms again The UN has warned of "possible famine" in Somalia as a severe drought has pushed nearly 3 million people to the edge of starvation The overthrow of president Siad Barre's military regime in 1991 ushered in decades of anarchy and conflict in a country deeply divided along clan lines. The clan rivalries and lawlessness provided fertile ground for the Al-Qaeda linked Shabaab to take hold and seize territory, frustrating efforts to set up a central administration. Shabaab has been in decline since 2011 but still launches regular, deadly attacks against government, military and civilian targets in the capital Mogadishu and elsewhere. Security and overcoming Somalia's adversarial and divisive politics will top the agenda for whoever wins the vote as will dealing with a growing humanitarian crisis. The UN warned last week of "possible famine" in Somalia as a severe drought has pushed nearly 3 million people to the edge of starvation. After two failed rain seasons, aid workers fear a repeat of a 2010-11 drought which left more than 250,000 dead. "The levels of suffering in the country, triggered by protracted conflict, seasonal shocks and disease outbreaks, are typically hard to bear, but the impact of this drought represents a threat of a different scale and magnitude," the UN's office for humanitarian affairs said in a statement last week. Dear His Excellency the President, May the grace of God be unto you. Be it known to you that your appointment by God and the people of Ghana to lead the country is for a specific purpose. The euphoric mood of, or jubilation by, the people of Ghana, was not without reason. God had designated you to come to liberate his suffering Ghanaian poor and needy children from their tormenting injustices, socio-economic hardships and subjugation to Black on Black slavery under the hands of her leaders, especially, the just outgone President John Dramani Mahama and his NDC-led government. With your election and accession to the presidency, many are Ghanaians that feel relieved, saying, at last, God has heard and answered their prayers to give to them a Saviour who has come to heal their wounds, wipe off their tears and sorrows by going to bring to an end the injustices they have become victims to under previous governments and Presidents, especially, under the immediate past President, Mr John Dramani Mahama. God made you such a man of incorruptibility and integrity for the special job He has assigned you to, as described above. By your unique personality, He endeared you to many a Ghanaian hence Ghanaian electorates turning out in their great numbers to vote massively for you to defeat your opponent, the incumbent President, as never witnessed in the history of Ghana before. Being a man of integrity is that you have the quality of being honest and having strong moral principles that you refuse to change. Being incorruptible is that you are morally strong enough not to be persuaded to do something wrong. Based on these two qualities in addition to being dynamic, dedicated to being of service to your people and nation and humanity in general, God chose you and preferred you to other peers, to govern Ghana, please be aware of that. Whenever God chooses anyone to lead his people at a point in time, He expects them to fulfil the obligations for which they have been chosen. Failure to fulfil such obligations may lead to the incurrence of the wrath of God upon such an individual. Please, read entire 1 Samuel 15 with greater emphasis on verses 11 & 22 - Then the word of the Lord came to Samuel: 11 I regret that I have made Saul king, because he has turned away from me and has not carried out my instructions. And verse 22 Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the Lord? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams. The cited bible chapter will tell you how God deals with those He specially appoints to fulfil specific missions but regrettably do the contrary. Ghana is a democracy. Ghana is not a total monarchy but somehow a constitutional monarchy, thus, a system in which the king or queen's power is severely limited, because they act only on the advice of the politicians who form the government. Subsequently, they should not be allowed to hold you to ransom as seemed to have happened with the Sunyani traditional chiefs with regard to their objection to your designated Brong Ahafo Regional Minister, Mr Asomah-Cheremeh. Gone are those days when chiefs represented the collective interests of their subjects hence commanded their unadulterated obeisance. Most of todays chiefs, educated as they are, only aspire to cater for their selfish interests. The evidence is there for all to see. During the reign of former President Mahama, most of them became more corrupted because of the fact and possibility of taking freebies from him. This made most of them declare support for him during Election 2016 even though he was ruining the country, by his unprecedented infatuation with corruption; destroying the economy of the country and incurring more national and international debts for the country of which every Ghanaian will one day have to contribute in one form or the other, towards paying them off. Most of these same chiefs are behind the orchestration, if not the masterminds or sponsors, of, the destructive surface mining (galamsey) on-going in the country that will surely have short, medium and long term adverse effects on the ecology. This will affect the nations sources of arable lands for farming (food production) and drinking water (water bodies). Going forward, it is an open secret how the Ashanti Overlord, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, supported by the Asanteman Council and Kumawuhemaa have colluded to deprive the real Kumawu royal family of their birth-right throne, and the Kumawuman subjects of the royal of their choice. The case is still pending in various High Courts and an Appellate Court in the Ashanti region. Most of the judges who had previously presided over the case were clearly corrupt and had twisted the truth, thus, declared verdict, in favour of the should-have-been guilty party. I say this based on the facts and credible evidence available and submitted to the courts and the rulings by the judges. Again, the brilliantly executed investigative job by ace journalist Anas Aremeyaw Anas into the judicial corruption in Ghana which led to the sacking of some judges by the Chief Justice, Mrs Theodora Georgina Wood, bears evidence to how some judges in Ghana sell justice to the highest bidder. Being an astute lawyer, an incorruptible person and someone who believes in justice for all, irrespective of ones status, I know you will not tolerate the types of injustices suffered by some people under the hands of our traditional chiefs and corrupt judges. This is why God has chosen you, out of many, to govern Ghana to bring justice, peace and tranquillity and prosperity to all Ghanaians irrespective of their tribe, culture, and level of acquired formal education. You have yourself once been a victim of injustice when the Supreme Court pronounced verdict on the Election 2012 petition filed by you, Dr Bawumia and the late Mr Jake Obetsebi-Lamptey, in favour of the Electoral Commission in spite of the availability of abundant credible evidence to the contrary. You filed the petition following the discovered numerous irregularities, malpractices, omissions and commissions by the Electoral Commission and their agents that marred the credibility of the election results, tilting them in favour of the NDC and then Presidential-candidate John Dramani Mahama instead of the rightful winner that ought to be you. The fact that you did not go to war, incite your supporters to rampage through towns, cities and villages causing damage to properties and people, did not mean that you did not feel hurt by the injustice done to you. It did also not mean that an injustice had not occurred of which you felt cheated with ordinary Ghanaians also feeling deeply hurt because they had been robbed of their heart desire, thus, denied of having Nana Akufo Addo as their President. The fact that Kumawuman subjects and the royals who have been short-changed as narrated above not gone on rampage, killing themselves and destroying properties, but have resorted to the courts, does not mean that all is well in Kumawuman and that the subjects have wholeheartedly accepted or embraced the paramount Chief (Omanhene) Barima Sarfo Tweneboa Kodua imposed on them by Asantehene Otumfuo Osei Tutu II. By the standing Ashanti tradition and procedures dating from the formation, and the restoration, of the Asante Confederacy (in 1935), no Asantehene has the right or the royal prerogative to needlessly interfere in the selection and election of a substantive royal to become Kumawuhene-elect let alone, impose one on Kumawuman against their wish. Should anyone come to influence you, be they the Kumawu MP - Hon. Philip Basoah, the Afram Plains MP - Hon. Alex Adomako-Mensah, the Kumasi MPs, and, or the Ashanti region MPs etc. in the hope of getting you to believe that all is well in Kumawu and that no injustice has been done to anyone, please do not believe them. However, I shall suggest that you get your own trusted people to go and conduct investigations in Kumawuman into the veracity of their assertions or my claims as hereby made in case you decide to involve yourself in the ongoing Kumawu chieftaincy dispute which I shall strongly advise you not to unless you want to see real justice happen to glorify the God that you serve and believe in. Please, you are duty-bound by God and the discerning people of Ghana to ensure that justice prevails. Despite how someone might be seen in the public eyes as having greatly contributed to your success at Election 2016, please, do not allow any such person to induce you to do what may let you breach the trust God and the people of Ghana have in you to deny the poor the needed justice. Many Ghanaians hearts were touched by God and your unique envious personality, to do whatever they could as might have been granted them by God, to campaign towards your successful election. Look at how very enthusiastically the celebrities - Agya Koo and his Agenda 57% brigade, Kwame A-Plus, Lucky Mensah, Nana Ampadu, Manfred, Diana Asamoah, Aseibu Amanfi, Great Ampong, Daddy Lumba, Kwabena Kwabena, only but to mention a few, rallied behind you. Look at the prayer warriors and all those to whom God granted the wisdom and intelligence to take particular actions that finally neutralised or negated the obvious ill-intents by Mrs Charlotte Osei, the Chairperson of the Electoral Commission, and the NDC, to rig Election 2016 in favour of then President cum Presidential candidate John Mahama and the NDC. His Excellency the President, I am privileged to convey to your attention that Ghanaians have high hopes and trust in you to deliver on most of your promises, especially, in the area of giving the poor the chance for their voice to be heard through giving them justice. Please, do not allow anyone coming to you clad in angelic robe but a wolf within, having their personal selfish agenda to attain, deceive you so that your set objectives for Ghana and Ghanaians may never be achieved to the peoples satisfaction. Finally, I shall advise you, Oh Mr President, to read the entire 2 Samuel 11-12 and especially, chapter 12:1-11. God does not take it kindly to those who deprive people of their rights and freedoms just because they are poor and cannot resist the power of the Overlord. You are nationally and internationally acclaimed to be a man who believes in justice for all, please, just do that and the blessings of God shall increase upon you. Going against the expectations of the people and especially, that of God, has undesirable consequences so please, do not be enticed by the sweet words of selfish people in order not to be ensnared by their lies to depart from your set aims and objectives for becoming the President of Ghana. Let me reproduce 2 Samuel 12:1-11 in case Mr President has not a bible handy. 2 Samuel 12New International Version (NIV) Nathan Rebukes David 12 The Lord sent Nathan to David. When he came to him, he said, There were two men in a certain town, one rich and the other poor. 2 The rich man had a very large number of sheep and cattle, 3 but the poor man had nothing except one little ewe lamb he had bought. He raised it, and it grew up with him and his children. It shared his food, drank from his cup and even slept in his arms. It was like a daughter to him. 4 Now a traveller came to the rich man, but the rich man refrained from taking one of his own sheep or cattle to prepare a meal for the traveller who had come to him. Instead, he took the ewe lamb that belonged to the poor man and prepared it for the one who had come to him. 5 David burned with anger against the man and said to Nathan, As surely as the Lord lives, the man who did this must die! 6 He must pay for that lamb four times over, because he did such a thing and had no pity. 7 Then Nathan said to David, You are the man! This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you from the hand of Saul. 8 I gave your masters house to you, and your masters wives into your arms. I gave you all Israel and Judah. And if all this had been too little, I would have given you even more. 9 Why did you despise the word of the Lord by doing what is evil in his eyes? You struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword and took his wife to be your own. You killed him with the sword of the Ammonites. 10 Now, therefore, the sword will never depart from your house, because you despised me and took the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your own. 11 This is what the Lord says: Out of your own household I am going to bring calamity on you. Before your very eyes I will take your wives and give them to one who is close to you, and he will sleep with your wives in broad daylight. 12 You did it in secret, but I will do this thing in broad daylight before all Israel. This is not to reprimand you but simply to let you know how dangerous it is to allow oneself to be led astray from the correct path when God has appointed them for a special duty as it is in your case. Please, let no amount of persuasions by people pursuing their own selfish interests or agenda distract you from the course charted for you by the God in whose capable hands you entrusted your whole being, aspirations to become the President of Ghana and your electioneering campaign hence choosing the campaign mantra/motto The battle is the Lords May you be blessed abundantly by God and may He continually protect you, guide you and choose for you honest people to redirect your steps when you happen to be at the edge of backsliding. Amen Rockson Adofo I extend to President Muhammadu Buhari my warmest sympathies on his sick bed. It is a measure of the fragility of our democracy that an elected president insists on hiding his frailty from the people who are compelled to pay for his treatment abroad. There is no hiding place in the constitution. Nonetheless, President Buhari is scheduled to return to Nigeria tomorrow. He will be welcomed with at least one Lagos street protest that the police are trying to muzzle. That would be another self-inflicted injury, and I urge Acting President Yemi Osinbajo to tell them to back off and go pursue Lagos many criminals. I reiterate that it is a shame and an embarrassment that despite Mr. Buharis promises and posturing for many years, he sees no irony in running off to the United Kingdom for his medical needs, leaving behind the nations most expensive (and presumably best-equipped) publicly-funded clinic in the presidential palace. This fact underlines a broader reality. Which is that Buharis much-heralded leadership has become a farce, and his ability to make a positive impact on Nigeria, a hoax. I was one of those who pushed for his presidency. At one level was the mistaken confidence that his age-old claim to being the man best-prepared to stop Nigerias slide into oblivion was true. There was no way to tell for certain he could deliver, but it was a strong and persuasive message: give me control and I will take Nigeria back from her army of leeches, shake them vigorously until there is none left of the blood they sucked. His catchy slogan, just 24 months ago, was: If we dont kill corruption, corruption will kill Nigeria. I was an early buyer even before he found a catchphrase by which the children could sing in the streets. In 2011, and again in 2015, I wrote advocacy pieces in which I affirmed that Buhari was the missing link, and an opportunity. If he fulfilled 10 per cent of his sloganeering, I hoped, the planting season would have begun. At the second level, Buhari faced a rival for the presidency in 2011, but more especially at the tipping point in 2015, whose claim to any credibility was deeply flawed. What seemed to be Buharis superiority of morality and mission was obscured by the nations hunger for change, and there was no means of rejecting Buhari without endorsing Jonathan. As it has turned out, every one of us who stepped out of our comfort zone to support his leadership is not now merely disappointed, but betrayed. Buharis words have proved to be emptier than a basket of water. Every hope that he would bring enough with him for Nigeria to build on has drowned in a sea of poor policies, no-policies, and cynical manipulation. To think about Buhari since May 2015 is to observe how power affects individual holders. Sometimes, a man takes office and becomes a prime instrument for building that nation or that community or that era. And then sometimes, a king assumes the throne clothed in layers of gold and the finest linen but only to expose his nakedness. Buhari appears to be the latter. Yes, Buhari is ailing now, but in nearly two years in office, it is not an absence of health that has held him back but an absence of will, temperament and capacity. The president is not leading with strength, he is being led by his weakness. Yes, Buhari promised to cleanse and change Nigeria, but it is obvious now that he was better in the chase than in the capture. He has diminished the broad expanse and potential of his office from an empire to a cave. To be sure, some progress has been made in fighting Boko Haram, and allegedly in recovering some sums of money. But given his and his All Progressives Congress (APC) loud bragging, this is but tokenism, and fear and regret are overtaking the land. First, there is no holistic, transparent and consistent structure to the work of the Buhari government beyond the nepotism the president himself has demonstrated. There is neither clear, strategic thinking about the issues, nor commitment to the quest for answers. Buhari says he is fighting corruption, but corruption is thriving in every measurement that matters. Buhari has done nothing of note to make anyone wake up in the morning afraid, or respectful, of Buhari. Sixteen years of the Peoples Democratic Party that Buhari lampooned daily, and yet you can count on the fingers of one hand its members who are in trouble. There is a ton of stolen funds all over the place begging to be creatively cornered and plunged into the national cause, but Buharis government would rather beg for foreign loans. The naira has collapsed, and there is still no electricity, no commitment to the rule of law, no foreign investment, no jobs and no management of what we have: which all mean the same thing. Yes, there is an armada of excuses, but deception and denial have become standard for the APC, which would rather steal the harvest of other farmers than start its own farm. Party chairman John Odigie-Oyegun is going around the country prospecting for prominent Nigeriansparticularly the vilest and most sordidto defect to the party. This is how far the APC, the party of change and of Buhari, has deteriorated in two years. But that is too far, and were you to ask the legions who stood in long lines in the hot sun to vote and those who spurned hunger to wait until their votes were counted so Buhari could become president, all he has now earned is a ticket out of Aso Rock, not back into it. Yes, Buhari spoke tough and acted tough in his first time around in office, in 1983-1985, but he would appear to have been standing on the shoulders of his hard-as-nails deputy, Tunde Idiagbon, God bless his soul. For himself, Buhari has demonstrated neither mettle nor fettle in his second coming. He is far more Goodluck Jonathan than Lee Kwan Yew. Buhari marketed a product he could not manufacture, and the APC used Buharis legend to grab power in the centre. He has compromised his own cause by treating it as if it were a private skirmish, perhaps to be drawn out over two terms of office and fought in the media rather than in the court of law and the court of personal example, and in which only the opposition, can remotely be guilty. And he gives economic management a bad name. Perhaps then, Buharis health challenge is really motion sickness: he is going around in circles so often he is dizzy and confused. What next? Unless a miracle has taken place and Buhari returns from London outfitted with the pacemaker Nigerians had hoped for in 2015, he has proved the era of faith in demi-gods to be over. Younger Nigeriansif they can refuse to be bought and if they can see beyond narrow prisons and prisms of ethnicity and geography and religionmust unite and step forward and into the streets and into politics, and demand the soul of their country. There is no answer any day soon, but through arduousand inevitablebattles, lies the Promised Land. Credit: Sonala Olumhense, The Punch Seven persons died when a Neoplan Bus with registration number AS 2733 travelling from Bolgatanga to Kumasi collided with a truck with registration number AS 6615 along the Techiman-Kintampo Highway. The truck carrying tomato was traveling from Kumasi to Burkina Faso. The accident occurred at 4:50am on Friday at Tano Boasi, near Techiman in the Brong Ahafo Region. The driver of the truck, whose name is not immediately known, died on the spot while his mate who sustained severe injuries was rushed to Techiman Holy Family Hospital. Five others on board the Neoplan bus also died instantly with several others sustained injuries. An eyewitness explained that one of the rear tyres of truck burst which collided with the Neoplan Bus in the opposite direction. Motto Traffic and Transport Department (MTTD) of Ghana Police Service Commander for Techiman, ASP Andrews Okonengye, who spoke to DAILY GUIDE on phone, said one person died upon arrival at the hospital, but failed to disclose the total number of causalities. From Daniel Dayee, Kintampo Rebecca Aryitey-Smith, a state attorney, narrowly escaped death yesterday when she collapsed at the high court complex in Accra. The state prosecutor who had come to the Criminal Court 4 is said to have walked from the Attorney General's (AGs) office to the court due to the unavailability of a vehicle. Proceedings in the court, presided over by Justice Charles Edward Ekow Baiden, were suspended as fellow lawyers, including the former Narcotic Control Board Executive Secretary, Akrasi Sarpong, administered first aid to Ms. Aryitey-Smith until the paramedics at the ground floor of the building arrived at the seen. Ms. Aryitey-Smith was subsequently taken away in a wheelchair to the clinic at the court premises for further treatment. By Jeffrey De-Graft Johnson [email protected] NAIROBI, Kenya,7 February 2017,-/African Media Agency (AMA)/- Mastercard commits to supporting the roll-out of the Huduma Card in Kenya as the technology partner of choice for the local government organisation. The secure payment solution supports Kenya's Vision 2030 that calls for reforms in public services to enhance accountability, transparency and efficient service delivery, with focus on developing a cashless economy. The Huduma Card is a prepaid card with chip and PIN technology that will connect all Kenyans to the formal financial sector by providing a secure, reliable and flexible payment option. The Huduma Card, powered by Mastercard, is currently being issued by Commercial Bank of Africa (CBA), Diamond Trust Bank (DTB), Equity Bank and Kenya Commercial Bank (KCB), with no bank charges being allocated to citizens when registering for the smart card. Kenyans will be able to pay for an array of Government services such as the National Hospital Insurance Fund (NHIF), National Social Security Fund (NSSF) amongst others. Citizens issued with the smart prepaid card will automatically be enrolled in vital government services such as the National Social Security Fund and the National Hospital Insurance Fund, ensuring all Kenyans benefit from these initiatives. Sicily Kariuki, Cabinet Secretary, Ministry of Public Service, Youth & Gender Affairs and Simon Kimutai, Chairman, Matatu Owners Association, along with other members of local government celebrates the official roll-out of the Huduma Card in Kenya with members of Mastercard, the official technology partner. Daniel Monehin, Division President for Sub-Saharan Africa, Mastercard said that the company is proud to be the technology partner of choice. Photo credit: Huduma Cardholders are assured that regardless of how they use the solution their funds will be secured by the Mastercard multi-layered approach to protecting payments. EMV chip and PIN technology is a global payment standard to ensure that funds are protected even if the card is lost or stolen. This layer of protection ensures beneficiaries can receive their funds conveniently and securely. Once funds are loaded to the prepaid card, cardholders can use their Huduma Card to pay for goods and services in store, online, by phone or to withdraw cash from ATMs - anywhere Mastercard is accepted locally or at millions of locations worldwide. The prepaid card ensures flexibility, convenience and security and is easily obtained from one of the issuing banks. Applicants do not require a credit check or bank account to apply. "Mastercard is committed to extending financial inclusion for the unbanked and under-banked in Kenya," said Daniel Monehin, Division President for Sub-Saharan Africa, Mastercard. "Innovation is central to achieving our vision of a world beyond cash in Kenya and across the continent. We are committed to developing market-relevant payment solutions that enhance the adoption of cashless transactions. By working together with industry, merchants and businesses, we will achieve this, in East Africa. Talking on behalf of the Huduma Kenya Programme, Dennis Mutuku, CEO Huduma Kenya Secretariat said, "This is Kenya's first multipurpose social payment card with payment functionality and we are excited to see the instant, substantial and positive impact that this will have on the lives of millions of citizens previously excluded from the financial mainstream." Mastercard Division President for Sub-Saharan Africa, Daniel Monehin said, "The Huduma initiative introduced by the Kenyan government is one of the most innovative approaches to including citizens to the financial sector. We are proud partners, and it is a real honour to have been selected to power the solution with our world-class payment technology. We are committed to investing in Kenya, and the continent, and are eager to support the country in its widespread roll-out of the Huduma Card in 2017." I hope you are well. I watched part of the questioning you endured when you appeared before the Appointments Committee of Parliament. In what I saw of it, you were questioned mostly about your CV and your attitude towards technological progress in Ghana, generally. But not a single word had been addressed to you about galamsey, the single most devastating disaster facing our nation at present. I then watched some of the interviews you have given to various journalists on TV, (including CNN) and which can be accessed on Youtube at: Frimpong Boateng Youtube - Video Results From these interviews and other sources, I realise that you are very realistic about the problems facing our nation and that you will have a good go at solving them, whether others who should also show an interest in them do so or not. So without much ado, I'd like to draw your attention to the following report, which, to me, provides a clue to why galamsey has been allowed to grow to be the terrible menace it is today: QUOTE: ( www.ghanaweb.com) Crime & Punishment of Sunday, 5 February 2017 Were not guilty 29 foreign illegal miners tell court The 29 foreigners arrested for illegal mining in the Atiwa Rain Forest Reserve have pleaded not guilty to three charges levelled against them by a Koforidua Circuit Court B on Friday, February 3. They were charged with three counts of conspiracy to mine without authorization, mining without authorization (Minerals and Mining Amendment Act 2015) and trespassing (Criminal Code Act 29), which they all pleaded not guilty to. The court presided over by Her Honour Ms. Mercy Adei Kotei, refused ... the plea for bail from the lawyer for the accused persons, on the grounds of the nature of the offence, the severity of punishment involved, and the fact that there is no proof of permanent residence in Ghana by the accused persons. The accused persons have thus been remanded to reappear in two weeks time, for separate trials in batches, which will commence on February 17 to March 1st 2017..... After the court hearing, the lawyer for the accused persons, Dollah D.B Djaba-Mensah, said he [would] consider applying to the High Court for bail for his clients on the grounds of human rights. BACKGROUND : The illegal miners of various nationalities were arrested on Thursday, January 26th, by the Eastern Regional Forestry Commission, in a joint operation with a combined Rapid Task-force of Police and Military personnel in the Atiwa District of the Eastern Region. This was after the Forestry Commission received an anonymous tip that some nationals, suspected to be from Niger, Burkina Faso, Mali and Togo, had entered the Atiwa Rain Forest Reserve and were operating illegally with sophisticated devices in search of gold. UNQUOTE You will notice Prof, that the charges against the suspects consist of illegal mining and trespassing. The charges, in fact, are depicted without any context. In particular, they are without any reference to environmental vandalism. Also Atiwa Forest is mentioned in isolation, as if it does not possess proximity to human dwellings! An uninhabited wilderness,perhaps? The only thing in the report that hints at any national concern with the incident is this: The illegal miners ...were arrested on Thursday, January 26th, by the Eastern Regional Forestry Commission, in a joint operation with a combined Rapid Task-force of Police and Military personnel in the Atiwa District of the Eastern Region. This was after the Forestry Commission received an anonymous tip. Prof, the words I have italicised convince me that it is not a lack of laws or of machinery that has allowed galamsey to take our future survival prisoner. It is rather our determination NOT to recognise galamsey for what it is [environmental vandalism as against the euphemistic small-scale mining or illegal mining]. The laws exist the Minerals and Mining Act, 2006 (Act 703) alone runs to 59 pages on the web! Even so, there are Amendments to it, the latest of which appears to have been passed in 2015. Probably,the sheer profundity of the legal instruments theoretically available to the Government to deal with galamseycontributes to the Governments inability to eradicate the evil operation. Do the police have to weed through 59 pages of legalese before they can charge environmental vandals to court? That is ridiculous. What needs to be done is to distil the provisions in the existing legislation into simple, clear language, so than the police, the Forestry Commission and the other arms of government that are relevant to the battle against galamsey can all have a clear idea regarding what galamsey is, as per the law, and what the penalties for engaging in galamsey are. A simplified version of the legislation will also teach the populace about how not to get involved in galamsey. Right now, agalamsey operator can rattle off some provisions of the existing legislation to try and convince himself and others that he is engaged in small-scale mining, not galamsey. But it is all poppycock. They know damn well what it is they're doing. During one of my discussions with members of my Internet Forum, one of them wrote: We do have an Environmental Minister and two Deputy Ministers, no? So heartbreaking! Prof, I am afraid that's the situation you're inheriting, Another wrote: I watched a film shown by Al Jazeera. It was was a video about galamsey and how rivers and river-bodies were being destroyed in our country. The video showed how the mighty Pra River has turned "Ntwoma"...RED! The remarkable thing was at Shama, where the Pra empties into the Atlantic Ocean. There is a folk story that Pra considered itself so strong, it refused to be subsumed by the mightier ocean. So, for nearly a mile, Pra cuts across the ocean, until it finally loses strength and is gulped by the ocean. The sight of the now distinct 'red' River Pra fighting for survival in the ocean epitomizes the destruction of Ghana's ecosystem. I recall President Mahama setting up a 'commission' to investigate galamsey. I reckon, like all of his 'commissions', its report has never been made public, nor acted upon. I also read a news item that the government of Ghana is now allowing undergroundmining in forest reserves! Is Ghana not a moron country? Another wrote: Know what? We actually do have a whole "Water Resources Commission"!!... Plus an Environmental Protection Agency.... A Ministry of Mines. A Ministry of the Interior (to prevent crime, which MUST include crimes that harm the people's health!) A Ministry of Defence (that must defend the people of Ghana against any activities that can deprive them of their lives, such as war, and/or destruction of their means of livelihood and of life itself.) We also have a Ministry of Lands and Forestry. Environmental devastation ruins the land and the forests. Depriving the land and the forests of the draining provided by rivers, of course, kills the land and the forests stone dead. That is what we are sitting down and watching happen! Other reports can be gleaned by going to my website, www.cameronduodu.com , and searching with the keyword, galamsey. Prof, over to you! And may success crown your efforts. 07.02.2017 LISTEN In the country that we have today, nothing seems to amaze and bewilder critical thinking minds, except the fact that the hope of this nation getting it all right once again is as gloomy as gloomy itself. One begins to wonder if saying Nigeria wouldnt get better isnt an understatement. A whole lot has happened to Nigeria, were she to be a being, she must have committed suicide! Some two years back, Nigerians had their nerves so sensitive that they responded even to things that havent happened. Things were so bad that 1 dollar wasnt equivalent to our second biggest domination, and yet people were complaining of being led by a heartless leader, who wasnt about the masses at all. Do I blame the masses for standing against the administration that was beautifully adorned in corruption, that stealing wasnt a crime? Maybe this administration led us to where we are today, and today we all are battling not to lose breath, as only our heads are afloat. The last general election is one historic event coming generations would search ends to ends to learn about. A time when the literate and illiterate were concerned about who they want to lead them, Nigerians who overtime have demonstrated lackadaisical and spiritless attitudes when it comes to elections were seen with pens and big sheets of paper scribbling down election results of different constituencies and states. It was evident and crystal clear Nigerians wanted change! Now, Nigeria has got the change she wants, but things arent looking better, even when the administration that was kicked out isnt a better option. What is wrong with Nigeria or better still where is the real Nigeria? It would interest you to know that something remained constant even when it is evident changes took effect in our dearest country. The youths we had in the administration that had all eyes on it and the one that has enough wailers now remain the same. Arguably there has been little or no change in the attitude of Nigeria youths towards the development of our country Nigeria. The little change is even negative, what are we then saying? Im not seeing the type of youths that can hold leadership offices brilliantly and accountably well in the many young heads we have in Nigeria. Maybe those who are supposed to be good examples have failed in this regard. Just last week, an incident happened in the University of Ilorin which didnt only see my mouth drop wide open but saw me begging for help to shut my buccal cavity, to at least save myself from scenes of spitting out flies. The student leaders in one of the many faculties of the Better By Far institution recorded a brilliant history, thanks to the enviable and much to be desired examples legislative houses in Nigeria have shown. The legislative sitting of a faculty saw the mace of the house disappear in no second. It was reported by the Union of Campus Journalists that the electric bulb of the lecture theatre where the plenary session was going on was switched off by an unknown fellow; to the surprise of everybody, the mace was nowhere to be found when power was restored. You cant imagine this happening! If at this level things like this can happen, then we have more than enough Honourables who would be jumping gates too growing up somewhere. Its so pathetic the youths of this nation are one of the many problems of Nigeria. And who would be safe handling the gavel and mace of the legislative house of a state or country to people who can steal away mace in the twinkle of an eye? And we advocate NotTooYoungToRun! There are also enough youths who are just so dexterous in the aspect of destabilising the progress of places they find theirselves, is this the same thing youths in countries like Dubai, Great Britain, France, Colombia, Turkey among others do? Of course not, more reason why they are at the helm of affairs in their respective countries. Very funny how you see a youth in Nigeria involve in activities that would bring about brilliant turn arounds for the masses, just to see his or her person being brought to the mud. One way we have continued to help progress in our society. It looks like the coiner of the sage youths are the leaders of tomorrow knew youths of Nigeria cant ever be ready for today. Now the question is, when would youths be good enough to see the tomorrow when they would be leaders? At least 94 patients with mental health issues died after South African authorities moved themfrom hospitals to unlicensed health facilities that were likened to concentration camps, a government investigation has revealed. Many of the deaths were due to pneumonia, dehydration and diarrhoea as the patients were hurriedly moved to 27 poorly prepared facilities in an apparent cost-cutting measure that showed evidence of neglect. The health ombudsman report, which has sparked uproar, detailed how some patients were collected from the Life Esidimeni hospital in Gauteng province last year using open pickup trucks. As the scandal broke, the provincial health minister, Qedani Mahlangu, resigned over the findings, which directly implicated her in the move. According to the report, which was reportedly compiled after 80 hours of listening to family members and inspectors during the investigation relatives were left in the dark over where the patients were, in unheated centres that some witnesses said were like concentration camps. The centres also failed to provide seriously ill patients with enough food and water, leaving them severely malnourished, underweight and in some cases dying from dehydration. Gautengs provincial health department had terminated its longstanding contract with the Life Esidimeni hospital and moved more than 1,300 patients to an unstructured, unpredictable, substandard caring environment, the report said. One person has died from a mental health-related illness. None of the 93 [others] have died from a mental illness, the health ombudsman, Malegapuru Makgoba, told local media as the report was released. The Gauteng health department took patients from a licensed institution and handed them over to unlicensed facilities. Makgoba said the death toll was likely to rise as investigations continued into the scandal. The report pointed towards the neglect that led to the deaths being caused by profit-seeking. The 27 healthcare centres were mysteriously and poorly selected and were unable to distinguish between the highly specialised non-stop professional care requirements and a business opportunity, it said. Gautengs premier David Makhura vowed to hold accountable all the responsible officials. The opposition Democratic Alliance party expressed outrage over the findings, and accused the government of lying about the death toll when reports of the tragedy began to emerge. Criminal charges should also be laid against all implicated parties, said the partys provincial shadow health minister. Since youre here we have a small favour to ask. More people are reading the Guardian than ever but far fewer are paying for it. And advertising revenues across the media are falling fast. So you can see why we need to ask for your help. The Guardian's independent, investigative journalism takes a lot of time, money and hard work to produce. But we do it because we believe our perspective matters because it might well be your perspective, too. If everyone who reads our reporting, who likes it, helps to pay for it, our future would be much more secure. Local textile manufacturers are anticipating a rebound in their operations following policies outlined by the Trade and Industry Minister, Alan Kyerematen. To this end, the manufacturers are hopeful they can face competition from imported textiles and pirated products. Among the key agenda for the NPP government is to make Ghanaian businesses more competitive with counterparts across Africa and at the global market level. In line with this, the Trade and Industry Ministry has among other things pledged its commitment to ease access to credit and cut down taxes. The two factors plus the high utility tariffs have increased the operational costs for local manufacturing companies. But the Marketing Director at GTP, Stephen Kofi Badu believes Mr. Kyerematen's past experience in the garment industry would translate in strengthening the local textile manufacturing sector. We are looking forward to the day when the local manufacturers will begin to boom again where we will produce our own textiles locally and consume it. We want the promises made by the minister be quickly implemented. Top of that is for him to reduce the utility rates, specifically electricity and water. That if they are able to do will go a long way to affect our profitability. Stephen Badu was also confident of the Minister's ability to clamp down all undue competition and render them productive. We also want him to really help us with fellow minister for finance to empower CEPS. They are the state authority mandated to check our borders and all these counterfeits come through the borders. So if they are able to tighten control at the borders, hopefully it should help minimize the effects of counterfeit. Last year, GTP laid off 178 workers over operational challenges. The affected staff comprised 138 permanent and 40 casual workers. The company's Marketing Director attributed the situation to a restructuring of the company's operations to sustain its viability. By: Pius Amihere Eduku/Elvis Washington/citibusinessnews.com/Ghana The former Deputy Volta Regional, Francis Ganyaglo, has revealed why the opposition National Democratic (NDC) seems to have become dormant at the grassroots level after the party's massive defeat in the 2016 general elections. According to him, the party has not collapsed as being speculated by many of its supporters in the region, but only on holidays. Many party members and sympathisers of the NDC in its stronghold, the Volta Region and other parts of the country, seem to have become disenchanted after the party lost power to the current New Patriotic Party (NPP). Some executives have returned to their posts after the embarrassing defeat to the NPP, led by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo. Speaking to the media during an end-of-year get-together in Ho recently, Mr Ganayo noted that the NDC is only on holidays and not dead as being speculated. The get-together was under the auspices of the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA), Volta Chapter, with support from Emmanuel Bedzrah, Member of Parliament (MP) for Ho West and Kwame Agbodza, Member of Parliament (MP) for Adaklu. He explained that the party is reorganising its structures to enable it win the 2020 polls. Reacting to concerns about the sour relationship between the party and the media, he gave the assurance that the NDC party would improve its relationship with the media to recapture power in 2020. NDC Not Against New Region The MP for Adaklu, Mr Agbodza stressed that the NDC was not against the creation of the new region out of the Volta Region and advised government to ensure that it benefits everybody. He also commended the media for their role in promoting good governance and development, especially in the Volta Region and urged them to ensure the current NPP government continues projects started by past administrations. The Ho West MP, Mr Bedzrah asked the media not to be biased but promote development, irrespective of the government in power. He announced that the NDC Volta Caucus in Parliament would be meeting regularly with stakeholders in the region to ensure the rapid development of the country. The legislator also announced a sponsorship package for any journalist in the region who would win the Best Reporter in Environment at the annual GJA Award Ceremony or other equally prominent award events. An award was presented to Robert Abilba of TV3 for his long service in the region although he's not from the region. Wilhelm Gaitu, formerly of GNA, was also awarded for spending most of his career in the region. Anthony Bells Kafui Kanyi was also recognized for winning an award during the 2016 GJA awards ceremony. From Fred Duodu, Ho ([email protected]) The Assembly Member for Anaji East, near Takoradi, has been elected as the new Presiding Member (PM) for the Sekondi-Takoradi Metropolitan Assembly (STMA). He took over from Yusif Gyamson, a former Director of the National Commission on Civic Education (NCCE) in the Western Region and the immediate past PM of STMA. The new PM was elected in the first round of voting unlike in the past where the PM had to be elected after several rounds of voting. During the election supervised by the Electoral Commission (EC) on Monday, Davies, the sole candidate for the PM position, polled 65 'YES' votes out of the 66 valid votes cast. One person voted against him while three ballots were rejected. In his acceptance speech after being sworn-in by Mrs Susana Eduful, a magistrate in the metropolis, Mr Davies thanked the assembly members for the confidence reposed in him. I am deeply humbled by the exceptional mandate and the extraordinary confidence you have exhibited today. I promise not to let the assembly members and the residents in Sekondi-Takoradi down, he disclosed. He promised to offer the requisite assistance to the incoming Metropolitan Chief Executive (MCE), technocrats and other workers of the assembly to find lasting solutions to the challenges facing the assembly. Twenty-three new assembly members appointed by the government to the assembly were also sworn in. Meanwhile, the Western Regional Communications Director of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Okatakyie Amankwa Afrifa, popularly called 'OKT, has advised those aspiring to become Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives (MMDCEs) in the region to critically assess themselves. Already some activists of the NPP in some constituencies in the region have indicated their unhappiness with certain people penciled for the position of DCEs and government appointed assembly members. In the Ahanta West for instance, some NPP activists have petitioned the office of the regional chairman over the selection of some applicants for the post. The petitioners argued that some applicants, whose names should have been included in the list, were ignored. Speaking to DAILY GUIDE, OKT asked the party's activists to appreciate the fact that the President has the prerogative to appoint anyone. He, therefore, called on the party's activists to exercise restraint since the regional executives have resolved to ensure the selection of the right persons for the various positions. OKT said the country would work again considering the experienced people President Nana Akufo-Addo had so far appointed as ministers. I am extremely happy the vetting process is telecast live for Ghanaians to see the level of knowledge of the ministers-designate, he added. He continued Not only do they share problem solving ideas and how to administer their various ministries, their past records give confidence to everyone. According to him, those who had already been approved by parliament have started working, saying and I am extremely confident and have great hope in the future of Ghana. OKT, who is the son of the late General Akwasi Amankwaa Afrifa, called on Ghanaians to be optimistic. With the wealth of experience, knowledge and competent men in various ministries and departments, the youth and Ghanaians in general can bank their hopes on the Nana-Addo-led administration. Mr. Afrifa, who is the manager of Dynamite FM in Tarkwa, also expressed his appreciation to Ghanaians for voting overwhelmingly for Nana Akufo-Addo, saying we will deliver. From Emmanuel Opoku, Takoradi Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) Senior High School (SHS) has won the 2017 Super Zonal Independence Debate for second circle schools in the Ashanti Region. The Kumasi-based school beat schools like Osei Tutu SHS, Kwaman Presby SHS, New Edubiase SHS, Konongo-Odumasi SHS and Aduman SHS to win the competition with 40 points to enter the national competition. It took home a 21-inch television set and a certificate, while the other five schools also received certificates for taking part in the competition. Osei Tutu SHS placed second with 38 points while New Edubiase SHS took the third slot with 37 points. Kwaman SHS secured the fourth position with 35 points, with Konongo-Odumasi SHS and Aduman finishing fifth and sixth positions with 32 and 31 points respectively. The Kumah Minta Hall of the Kumasi Technical Institute where the debate was held went agog after the KNUST SHS debaters were declared winners. The debate, which was held on the topic: 'That the Rapid Development of a Country Depends Solely on Politicians,' formed part of the country's 60th Independence Day celebration. Kofi Opoku Agyemang, Coordinator of the debate, told DAILY GUIDE that the winners would represent the region in the northern zone of the national debate. He called for sponsorship for the debate to foster unity among students and encourage them to read extensively. From Ernest Kofi Adu, Kumasi Superior police officers, especially those holding command positions across the country, are panicking over an imminent shakeup of the law enforcement system at their level. Some regional commanders, if not all, would be affected by the impending changes and those due for retirement not likely to be given the opportunity of contract engagement usually reserved for political favourites under the previous administration. There is one such favourite of the erstwhile political administration whose retirement was due five years ago but enjoyed an extended contract largesse because of his political connection with the Flagstaff establishment and his readiness to do unprofessional assignments, which gave the Police the negative image the new Chief Constable is struggling to extricate the system from. The system of transfers of top officers having been politicized, especially when elections are due such changes at the top of the Police is an unwelcome phenomenon, which came under the public sledgehammer when the former IGP applied it with a suspicious frequency. The Director of Public Affairs of the Ghana Police Service Superintendent Cephas Arthur was always quick to dangle the almost worn-out excuse of the IGP merely exercising the powers of his office in the national interest. One of the top officers, it has been learnt, could be heading for the Police Intelligence and Professional Standards unit, fondly called PIPS. The Acting IGP, a victim of the suspicious transfers, was for a long time underutilized, having been holed up in the ICT/Marine Department as Director General. Others who were not in the good books of the politicians at the helm were also confined to less attractive positions. In an unrelated development, Inspector Karim Mamman, one of the persons heading for the VVIPU in the recent transfers of personnel to the unit and who was reported to have killed a robbery suspect last year, has received a bill of exoneration. His action, which led to the death of the robbery suspect, happened after an initial burglary of his car at the Kotobabi Police Station he decided to monitor the robber. As he kept watch in the car under darkness and unknowing to the suspect he overheard someone tampering with the car. He challenged the suspect who charged upon him with a dagger mincingly. The cop, in self defence, pulled the trigger when it was clear that the suspect was intent in inflicting a fatal harm on him. Karim was part of the security detail of the late Vice President Aliu Mahama. By A.R. Gomda CONFUSION MARRED the inauguration of Government Appointees into Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) in the Tema Municipality of the Greater Accra Region as a result of people challenging the appointment of some of the nominees. The nationality of an appointee was challenged as well as the party membership of another during the inauguration. Earlier in the morning, a group calling itself the Invisible Forces descended on the premises of the Tema Metropolitan Assembly (TMA) and attempted to stop the inauguration but they were unsuccessful. Police personnel in the Tema Region moved quickly to stop the seeming invasion and ensured that sanity prevailed throughout the ceremony. Aside the hullabaloo generated by the Invisible Forces, some assembly members believed to be associated with the National Democratic Congress (NDC) challenged the nationality of Antonio Jose Matos Fernandez, a Portuguese who had naturalised in Ghana since the year 2006. There was a serious debate prior to the inauguration of the 15 government appointees to join their 32 colleague assembly members in the house. However, Mr. Fernandez, a party member of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) in the Tema West Constituency confirmed his nationality with authentic documents bringing the challenge to an end. Prior to that, Osaman Ahitey's eligibility as a member of NPP was also seriously contested by some appointees and assembly members from the Tema East Constituency. Nene Ofoe Teye IV, Chairman of the NPP in the East Constituency who is also an appointee was of the view that Mr. Ahitey was not a party member and cannot represent the party as an appointee. Speaking with the DAILY GUIDE, the Chairman pointed out that a petition has been filed at the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development, the Regional and National levels of the party to reject Mr. Ahitey's appointment. Angry party supporters expressing their displeasure at KKDA. According to him, he has never seen the appointee in any of NPP's activities in the constituency as a chairman. But Mr. Ahitey however, clarified that he had always been with the party and is a known party member that was why the Regional Minister designate, Mr. Ismael Ashietey appointed him to represent the party at the assembly. Notwithstanding the earlier misunderstandings, all the 15 appointees were peacefully inaugurated. Their oath of allegiance, secrecy and appointments were taken by His Worship McAli Junior, Magistrate of the Tema District Court. At the Kpone-Katamanso District Assembly (KKDA) where 9 names were presented for inauguration only 7 appointees were inaugurated. Confusion characterized the inauguration as some party supporters were against the appointment of Mr. David Q. Annan, former Metropolitan Chief Executive (MCE) of Tema and called for his removal. According to them, Mr. Anann has dissociated himself from all political activities of the NPP before and during the campaign and cannot rejoin the party immediately after winning elections. At the Ada East District Assembly angry NPP supporters numbering about 100 and wearing red armbands attempted to disrupt the inauguration. They accused the constituency executives of hand picking the appointees who they perceived to be their friends without considering the grassroots supporters. However, the intervention of Devine Otu Agorhom, the NPP Parliamentary Candidate of the Sege Constituency brought the situation under control. Meanwhile at the Ashaiman Municipal Assembly, the inauguration of 7 appointees went on smoothly. From Vincent Kubi, Tema Workers of State Housing Company Limited (SHC) are calling for the immediate interdiction of Isaac Nai, the General Manager, Finance And Administration and three other staff of the company whose actions they describe as inimical to the company's survival. The others are Edward Sowah, Land Surveyor; Bright Nutakor, Purchasing Officer and Mrs. Gloria Arthur, the Human Resource Manageress. According to the concerned workers the continuous stay of the 'quartet' in the company will collapse it and not help in the NPP government's resolve to revamp and sustain the growth of SHC. Rot In a petition to the President dated January 27, 2017, the workers said in November 2016 prior to the election, Nai, Gloria and Bright hurriedly went to purchase solar panels worth $225,000, a deal purportedly supported by the board chairman of the company although it is not part of the SHCs core mandate. According to the petition copied to the Senior Minister and the sector minister, Nai on his own distributed some of the panels to some of the board members. It is disheartening and sad to note that these solar panels are being wasted because they are packed in an untidy condition not knowing what to do with them adding that the company does not need the panels; what a financial loss to the company and the nation as a whole. The petitioners stated that the purchase was not budgeted for, insisting that the deal was a calculated attempt to grab some money from the company. In the view of the concerned workers, the purchase should be investigated because it was not ordered by the management of the company neither did it go through any procurement procedure. The concerned staff stated that there were records of indiscriminate sale of SHC properties which have been repossessed from previous lease holders, notable among them being plot numbers 27, 28, 29 and 30 all at Labone Estates in Accra. The workers argued: Nai and Edward sold these properties at very low prices to their cronies and pocketed the large portion. It may interest you to know that these sales were done without the knowledge of the General Manger for Operations, A. K. Boateng and Edward Awuah, the Estates Manager who Nai threatened to transfer to Koforidua if he (Awuah) challenges him. NDC Boys The concerned staff among other grounds for interdiction contended that Nai, an avowed NDC kingpin and alleged protege of Mark Nii Akwei Ankrah another sympathizer of the NDC, is occupying a new position created by the NDC government. Isaac Nai, the General Manager, Finance and Administration, a position which hitherto did not exist in the company but created by the NDC government just to give job to the boys, allegedly perpetuated fraud, including massive corruption against SHC. The petitioners continued: Nai and the former Managing Director Mark Ankrah allegedly entered into shoddy deals and agreements with SDTM, the company that has virtually taken over SHC head office. SHC As Collateral The petitioners disclosed that the 'two NDC paddies' guaranteed $2.6 million loan facility for a private contractor stressing that as a result of a breach of contract, the deal between the parties landed in court with the court ordering SHC to pay the money. As at now, the ailing State Housing Company has paid $100,000 of the money as directed by the court, a clear case of causing financial loss to the state. By Jeffrey De-Graft Johnson [email protected] Mogadishu (AFP) - Somalia's capital Mogadishu was under security lockdown Tuesday, with roads and schools closed and residents urged to remain indoors a day before the country holds a long-delayed presidential election. Fears are high that the Al-Qaeda linked Shabaab group will seek to disrupt the election by carrying out an attack on the capital. Twin car bombs at a popular hotel left at least 28 dead two weeks ago. Heavily armed security personnel patrolled the streets of the capital, while several main roads were blocked off with sand berms and residents of the capital were urged by Mayor Yusuf Hussein Jimale to stay indoors. "My children did not go to school because of the election and my husband who works as a policeman had to stay on duty for the last three days. This thing is taking too long and people would be relieved if they could see an end to this drama," mother-of-four Samiya Abdulkadir said. President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud is seeking re-election against 21 other candidates, after another dropped out Tuesday. The troubled Horn of Africa nation, which has not had an effective central government in three decades, had been promised a one-person, one-vote election in 2016. However political infighting and insecurity, mainly due to Shabaab militants who control swathes of countryside and strike at will in Mogadishu, saw the plan ditched for a limited vote running six months behind schedule. The delayed electoral process began in October, with 14,025 specially chosen delegates voting for candidates for both parliament and a new upper house. In 2012, only 135 clan leaders chose the MPs who voted for the president. Repeated delays meant the new lawmakers were only sworn in in December. In a report on Tuesday, Somalia-based anti-corruption watchdog Marqaati said the elections "were rife with corruption". Delays and disillusion The election was due to take place in August, but only began in October The tortuous process to elect a president whose remit does not extend beyond the capital and a few regional towns, has left some disillusioned. "I really don't care who becomes president. We just need to be free to attend to our business," said Qoje Siyad, a Mogadishu day labourer. While falling well short of the election that was promised, the process is more democratic than in the past and is seen as a step towards universal suffrage, now hoped for in 2020. Wednesday's voting will see members of the 275-seat parliament and 54 senators cast ballots inside a hangar within the heavily-guarded airport. Security sources said commercial flights would not be operating Wednesday. No candidate is expected to get the two-thirds majority needed for a first-round win, with two further rounds permitted before a winner is declared. In the absence of political parties, clan remains the organising principle of Somali politics. The 22 candidates -- all men after the only declared female candidates dropped out -- paid a $30,000 (28,000-euro) registration fee. Few have any serious chance of winning. One of them is the current president, a 61-year-old former academic and civil society activist from the Hawiye clan. Also in the running is ex-president Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, a fellow Hawiye and 52-year-old former leader of the Islamic Courts Union which pacified Somalia before being driven out by US-backed Ethiopian troops. The leading candidates from the Darod clan are Prime Minister Omar Abdirashid Ali Sharmarke, 56, and former premier Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed 'Farmajo', 55. Both hold dual nationalities having lived for years in Canada and the US respectively. Famine looms again The UN has warned of "possible famine" in Somalia as a severe drought has pushed nearly 3 million people to the edge of starvation The overthrow of president Siad Barre's military regime in 1991 ushered in decades of anarchy and conflict in a country deeply divided along clan lines. The clan rivalries and lawlessness provided fertile ground for the Shabaab to take hold and seize territory, frustrating efforts to set up a central administration. The Shabaab has been in decline since 2011 but still launches regular, deadly attacks against government, military and civilian targets in the capital and elsewhere. Security and overcoming Somalia's adversarial and divisive politics will top the agenda for whoever wins the vote as will dealing with a growing humanitarian crisis. The UN warned last week of "possible famine" in Somalia as a severe drought has pushed nearly three million people to the edge of starvation. After two failed rain seasons, aid workers fear a repeat of a 2010-11 drought which left more than 250,000 dead. Accra, Ghana, 07 February 2017 Flight diversions due to inflight medical emergencies make up a tiny portion of the millions of flights operated annually, but it is costly for airlines. With more people traveling by air, the actual number of inflight medical events has been gradually increasing over the years. Emirates, the largest airline by international traffic, operates over 3,500 departures a week, or more than 194,000 flights in 2016. In those 12 months, the airline handled more than 60 flight diversions due to medical emergencies. A single flight diversion can cost Emirates anything from US$50,000 to over US$600,000, depending on the nature of the diversion which include fuel, flight catering, landing and ground handling fees, air navigation cost, passenger rebooking costs and onward connection, as well as other associated costs to care for crew and passengers. Adel Al Redha, Emirates Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, said: We can never hope to recover the costs of a flight diversion, but the wellbeing of our customers is always our number one priority. Airlines handle medical emergencies differently, as there are no international regulations on this front. At Emirates, like everything else we do, the safety of our passengers comes first. If there is a medical emergency on board, our crew have the training and equipment to help them assess the situation, and deliver the best possible outcome for the affected passengers. Crew training and equipment In 2016, Emirates delivered nearly 23,000 hours of medical training for cabin crew and pilots, ensuring they are ready to assist passengers on board. All Emirates cabin crew go through a comprehensive initial training programme which is required by the UAE General Civil Aviation Authority, recurrent training to keep their skills up to date, as well as additional specific training for the use of on board medical equipment. The medical training that Emirates cabin crew undertake includes both theory and practical aspects. It prepares them to recognise and deal with common situations, but more importantly handle rare but life-threatening events when time is of essence. Topics covered include basic life support (CPR); medical conditions including asthma, heart disorders, seizures and allergic reactions; trauma related topics and even emergency childbirth amongst others. Pilots also attend training sessions covering topics such as Hypoxia, Malaria, Dengue, Trauma, CPR and choking and occupational health issues. Emirates has also invested more than US$ 7 million in the installation of its medical equipment on board, with annual maintenance costs being a further US$ 1.7 million. Equipment on every Emirates aircraft include: emergency medical kits, oxygen bottles, resuscitators, a defibrillator, a telemedicine unit, and a 24/7, satellite medical advisory service that connects crew to specialist aviation medical consultants who can help assess the passengers situation in real time. Making the right call On average, Emirates crew makes about 20 calls to the medical advisory service per 100,000 passengers flown. Most calls do not result in a diversion, but the professional consultation helps the operating crew to make better decisions and offer the right support to the affected passengers, particularly when there are no volunteer medical professionals on the flight. Emirates in-house team of aviation medical specialists, flight planners and operations controllers, all work closely to conduct detailed scenario planning and regular updates to diversion protocols in keeping with the airlines growing global network, as well as advances in medical thinking, inflight medical technologies, and training techniques. Mr Al Redha said: If we have to divert a flight, our aim is to get medical attention for the afflicted passenger as soon as possible. Via our medical advisory consultants and Emirates own operations control team, we identify the best location where the passenger may receive appropriate care, and where the airport can adequately support the passengers and aircraft. The diversion location selected may be someplace where medical costs are expensive and travellers should consider procuring the appropriate insurance before they travel. 07.02.2017 LISTEN Religious beliefs can be described as a trait of which one has imbibed and holds firmly against all other beliefs as his/her creed towards serving his/her Lord. Mutual respect for people of other faiths is one of the key demands enshrined in the teachings of Islam for Muslims. However any act or activities of other faiths that have the tendency to humiliate Islam or the Muslims beliefs, Islam advocates that one stands firm (respect and humility) to resist it with all of his/her might. As a believer in Islam, nothing will lure me into worshipping or accepting any other religious doctrine aside the Islamic faith or provisions. In saying this, I must be quick to assert that Islamic teachings identify and appreciate the inter-relationship between Islam and other religions The People of the Book (Christians and Jews). However in as much as Islam promotes and provides the systems for mutual coexistence with people of other faiths, certain developments in the country is fuelling anger which if not recognized and dealt with as urgent as possible, it could trigger violence and destabilize the healthy relationship that exist among the religious faiths in the country. Christian programmes of which families of Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo Addo and Hajj Dr Bawumia have been invited and the sort of engagements that the family of Hajj Dr Bawumia had gone through are creating anger among the Muslim community. The Muslim community recognizes his position and role in the country and as such his engagements with citizens of other faiths. This should not be done to portray a sign of weakness in their faith or as bait to propagate mischief. Indeed as a Muslim, it is sad to see Dr Bawumia and his wife kneeling to be anointed with anointing oil in a church. (Video circulating on social media). Its extremely sad to watch and as a brother and Muslim, I am bound to draw his attention towards this act as admonished in surah Asr. We have seen how the Muslim leaders engage with Political leaders and other officials (local and International) during our programmes and activities over the years without luring them into participating in our acts of worship. So why are certain pastors in the Christian faith doing this to the family of Bawumia? Even if you want to pray for the leadership of the country, there should be wisdom as to how you do it without attacking the dignity and integrity of faith and religion of the second family. I am therefore calling on the chief of staff and handlers of the Second Family of State to take keen interest in this development especially the engagements of the family of the Vice President with other religious invitations. Christian council, Pentecostal Council, Catholic Bishops Conference, etc should take note of this development. The Alims in our community should as a matter of urgency engage with the Bawumia family and assist them as to how to draw the line in their engagements in public with the people of other faiths. Religious dictates should not be sacrificed for Political diplomacy. We have a duty to promote mutual coexistence and respect to the dignity and integrity of the faith of other people. From: Mahmood Bill Ghana Muslim Mission-Accra Email: [email protected] The Canadian Government has promised to inject a total of $120m into the Planting for Food and Jobs initiative being spearheaded by the Ministry of Food and Agriculture. The agreement for the release of the funds was signed last week at the Finance Ministry. The Minister of Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta, signed the agreement on behalf of Ghana whilst the Canadian High Commissioner to Ghana, Heather Anne Cameron, represented her country. The signing ceremony was witnessed by the Chief of Staff, Frema Osei-Opare, and the Minister of Food and Agriculture, Owusu Afriyie Akoto. The Planting for Food and Jobs campaign was first announced by Dr Afriyie-Akoto at the 68th Annual New Year School and Conference organized by the University of Ghana, Legon. The initiative is designed to encourage all citizens, both urban and rural, to take up farming as a full time and part time activity. It is part of the Modernizing Agriculture in Ghana Project targeted at reversing the declining growth of the agriculture sector over the past eight years. It is intended to structure it along the lines of Operation Feed Yourself Programme in the 1970s. The focus of the campaign will this year involve the production of rice, soya beans, sorghum and vegetables whilst other crops will be adopted in subsequent years. The programme will be operating under five main components, which are the supply of improved seedlings, provision of fertilizers, extension services, marketing for produce and E-Agriculture. The Canadian High Commissioner agreed to support the programme after series of meetings with Ghana's Minister of Food and Agriculture who assumed office some weeks ago. The Agricultural Minister, for his part, said the amount would be released in five tranches over the next five years and would go into two main components of the programme, including purchasing and supply of improved seedlings. It will also involve the extension services support for beneficiary farmers to be captured under the initiative. Dr Afriyie Akoto added that other development partners, including the Korean and Israeli governments, had also pledged to support the programme which is expected to take off in the coming crop season. It can be recalled that Dr Afriyie Akoto, during his ministerial vetting, disclosed that the solution to the high food importation in the country and the declining job prospects in the sector would be the introduction of the Plant for Food and Jobs programme. We need to increase the production of the various food stuff we import. We have a plan called Planting for Food and Jobs. We are encouraging everybody to plant something themselves, even those in the urban areas can plant something at their backyards, he told the Appointments Committee of Parliament. We have all the arrangements to ensure that this takes place. It will involve all the districts. We have done our calculations and it is going to create about 750,000 jobs in this coming season. We are talking about April-May. It is going to add GH1.4billion to the rural economy in the second year, he added. The Minister designate for Tourism and Creative Arts, Catherine Abelema Afeku, has revealed to the Appointments Committee of Parliament that she has never been charged with any fraudulent act by any court in the country. Madam Afeku, who is also the Member of Parliament for Evalue-Ajomoro-Gwira, explained that she appeared before a court because of a business connection between her company and partners that did not end well. No, I have never been charged with fraud, neither have I had any criminal background. I had the opportunity to do business with our American partners and it was a simple business relationship that went sour, she retorted when as if she had ever been involved in any fraud. Catherine and her husband, Seth Afeku, were directed by an Accra High Court in 2007 to pay $217,000 plus 50 percent interest to a US couple after charges of fraud were brought against them. The Court, presided over by her Lordship Barbara Ackah-Yensu, ordered Catherine Afeku and her husband to pay the US couple, Patricia and Bill Gick, the amount. The MP for Evalue-Ajomoro-Gwira told the Committee that even though she and her husband did not agree with the courts decision, as law abiding citizens, they followed the instructions of the court and paid some amount of money until fresh evidence concerning that case came up in 2013. Myself, husband and the company we have established we did agree with the judgment. We complied and obeyed and had paid 117,000 dollars and some change out of the fine until 2013 when we came by fresh evidence. We had a video recording of the son of our business partners who was actually our witness, professing and confessing that the entire suit was built on a conspiracy between my business partners and a native of Axim. Based on that video we instructed our lawyer to take the case back to court to file an appeal and law suit. In 2014 the suit was ruled in our favour and an injunction was placed on the earlier judgment, she narrated. Madam Afeku stressed that throughout the court case there were never any findings of fraud or criminality. It was purely a civil matter of a business relationship gone badly. She, however, stated that currently, though the issue has been ruled in her favour, she and her husband as well as the company are awaiting for the court to summon them and make a new judgment of that case. Also, she informed the Appointments Committee that every property that was seized at that time had been returned to her. As we sit here today, the judgment is that it has been ruled in my favour; every property of ours has been returned and we are awaiting our day in court to show the fresh evidence of the video recording and the court will decide, she said. Following her ministerial nomination, a group calling itself Truth and Accountable Governance claimed she had been involved in fraudulent acts, and as a result called on President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to withdraw her nomination. In a statement, the group noted, Mrs Afeku and her husband, Mr Seth Afeku, were found guilty of defrauding an American couple in 2013 by an Accra High Court presided over by Her Ladyship Barbara Ackah-Yensu. The trial judge directed the MP for Evalue-Gwira constituency and her husband to pay an amount of $217,464 plus 50 per cent interest to the plaintiff, Patricia and Bill Gick. We want to make sure that our public servants are credible, without blemish, and are people who can protect our purse. This woman was declared a fraudster and so she should not be appointed as a minister. She has violated a court order and so should not be given any ministerial appointment, the statement said. We all know the tourism sector needs huge investment, but how can investment come if a fraudster is heading that ministry? We will write to the Appointments Committee of parliament to ensure that she does not scale through, the group noted. However, in a counter-statement, the NPP in the Evalue-Ajomoro-Gwira constituency said it found it very painful, sorrowful, and disheartening for a group to push for the withdrawal of Mrs. Afekus nomination, describing the nominee as hardworking, affable, courageous and dependable. Our research revealed that the executives of the so-called group, Sirr Abdullah of Zuria FM (Kumasi), Elomba Nana Yeboah of Fanteakwa and Samed Akalilu of Kumasi, are all cast-in-iron NDC members outside the three constituencies of Nzema, the statement noted. The statement added: We are aware it is partisan politics laced with hatred and jealousy aimed at scattering the fortunes of Hon. Catherine Afeku and the entire NPP in Nzema. Catherine has been the pillar of NPP in Evalue Jomoro Gwira since her return from America to serve her people. The support base of the NPP in Evalue Jomoro Gwira has increased steadily and people, especially the youth, have developed love for the party, a situation that threatens the existence of NDC in the constituency, especially when she is appointed as a minister. Reacting to the substance of the allegation leveled against the MP, the group said the facts are that in 2007, judgment was given in favour of an American couple, but in 2013 fresh evidence was gathered and an appeal has been filed by our Hon. Catherine Afeku and her husband to set aside the earlier judgement of 2007 which was fraudulently acquired. The youth and good people of the constituency are upset because they did not vote for a fraudster; they voted for competence, intelligence, eloquence, and a hardworking and courageous person, and that person is Hon. Catherine Abelema Afeku. We call on the Appointments Committee, our teeming supporters and all NPP sympathisers to treat the publication with the contempt it deserves and clear our mother to contribute her quota to the development of Nzemaland and Ghana as a whole. 07.02.2017 LISTEN Scores of people in New Patriotic Party (NPP) t-shirts and red bands trooped the Accra Metropolitan Assembly headquarters on Monday to protest the appointment of some constituency executives in the Ablekuma South and Odododiodio constituencies who will be serving as members for the Assembly. The group calling itself the Concerned Youth of NPP claim the appointees did not contribute to the party's victory during the 2016 elections therefore their appointment should be revoked. We are here at the AMA office to protest against the approval of some few people as members of the Assembly and our reasons are simple. The appointees do not have the constituents at heart. They have records of corruption. ..Akufo Addo promised to create jobs for the youth but these appointees are not interested in promoting that agenda. Their appointment should be revoked until the necessary investigations are conducted, spokesperson for the youth group, Vincent Adams said. Speaking on Eyewitness News , Mr. Adams further alleged that one of the appointees, Raymond Nsowah Tetteh is currently under suspension as a party executive but was still nominated for the position. The problem is simple. We just had information last night that Raymond Nsowah Tetteh who is the Chairman of the NPP in Odododiodio who is currently serving suspension has been nominated to be subsequently sworn in as a government appointee.Government appointees are supposed to be serve on the Assembly to bring development but how can someone who ended up claiming the entire module of the Youth Employment to become his personal property be appointed as a government appointee? The President has the power to appoint whoever he wants to but he should take these factors into consideration. That is all we are asking for. By: Marian Ansah/citifmonline.com/Ghana The second edition of 'Techpreneur', a free digital magazine aimed at promoting Ghana's booming tech industry was launched over the weekend by Techbit Consult (an IT firm that helps small businesses leverage technology to improve their operations). This follows the great reception of the maiden edition which was released in August last year. The company expects the digital magazine to appeal to a growing number of readers accustomed to consuming media online, particularly young people between the ages of 16 and 34. This digital magazine once downloaded, can be read on any device with a PDF reader. The team however promises to release its third issue in April with an interactive app to improve readers' experience. We believe the app will be more engaging to the new generation of readers emerging and would go a long way to advocate our cause, said Techpreneur publisher Clement Fianko. Appealing to Internet advertisers, whose clout is growing, is also part of the equation. The company plans to incorporate ad-sponsored links in its new app. The second edition of the magazine features pre-eminent tech professionals like Silicon Valley techie Paul Miller and Founder of SIKA (a personal finance app that is set to change the way Ghanaians bank), Tracy Kyei; Marketing Manager of Samsung Electronics West Africa, Thomas Oppong; Founding editor of Alltopstartups.com (a platform which shares resources young entrepreneurs need to start and grow successful businesses) amongst others. Also in the magazine is an exclusive interview with a young Ghanaian hacker who claims to have hacked the biggest financial institution in the country and number of prominent websites home and abroad. Hacking is a very sensitive issue to touch on but apparently there are lot of businesses online who don't take cyber security seriously as they should and our skilled hackers who bring these lapses to light are undervalued and deemed misfits, Fianko continued. The magazine in addition speaks to Ghana's mobile money interoperability setbacks and highlights some of the country's promising startups and gadget reviews. Asked why the magazine is free and how it's financed, Clement Fianko answered; we want to make it easily accessible predominantly to high school and college students whom we are seeking to ingrain the ethos of innovation and entrepreneurship. Financing is a bit of a challenge now but we are hoping to get a number of industry players on as sponsors in exchange for advertisement on our platform. As of now, readers can download the free digital magazine on the company's website: www.techbitconsult.com and relish on this informative and exhilarating issue. 07.02.2017 LISTEN Mrs. Rebecca Akufo-Addo, the First Lady, on Friday launched the Floating Production and-Storage Offloading (FPSO) vessel John AgyekumKufuor, at the Keppel shipyard in Singapore. The vessel, named after John Agyekum Kufuor, a former President of Ghana, would operate in the Offshore Cape Three Points (OCTP) oilfields in the Western Region. It is the largest of the three FPSOs in Ghana and the first equipped to convert both gas and oil on the same platform. Mrs Akufo-Addo commended the former President for his foresight in restructuring the oil sector during his administration, which led to the finding of oil in commercial quantities, for the first time in Ghana, about a decade ago. This was contained in a statement signed by Frank Agyekum, the First Lady's spokesperson, and copied to the Ghana News Agency on Friday. She noted that naming the vessel after Former President Kufuor was well-deserved as it showed the appreciation of Ghanaians for his good deeds which turned Ghana around from a Highly Indebted and Poor Country (HIPC) to a lower middle income-earning country in a record time of about six years. Mr Agyekum Kufuor expressed his appreciation and commended the current NPP government led by President Nana Akufo-Addo, for carrying through with the proposal. He pointed out that Ghanaians have not yet fully realised the benefits of the find: Although Ghana is now counted among the 'oil-producing countries in the world, our country is yet to become the 'land of milk and honey' that many pray for. We still grapple with a lot of economic and social difficulties in our bid to make our oil find a 'blessing and not a curse,' he said. He encouraged the efficient management of the FPSO with capacity to process 58,000 barrels of oil and 98 million standard cubic feet of Gas a day, will help to turn things around for the country. He expressed optimism that the new government under Akufo-Addo: will expand the enabling atmosphere with best practices and policies for the concept of Public-Private-Partnership to be realised to achieve the social and economic transformation for all citizens of our nation in the shortest possible time. FPSO John Agyekum Kufuor, expected to sail into Ghanaian waters by April 2017, is operated by ENI Petroleum, Ghana, Limited, Vitol Upstream, Ghana Limited and the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation. It was built by Keppel Offshore and Marine Shipyard Company of Singapore. GNA Blantyre (Malawi) (AFP) - A court in Malawi on Tuesday approved Madonna's request to adopt two four-year-old twin girls, adding to the two other children that the US pop superstar adopted previously from the country. "I can confirm that Madonna has been granted an adoption order for two children," judicial spokesman Mlenga Mvula told AFP, adding they were twins called Esther and Stella. The Police Administration has commenced an operation to arrest individuals who have raided government installations and private properties in the name of protecting state assets. The Police in a statement stated that, such actions were criminal in nature and a breach of peace. It is an offense for any person or group of persons to take the law into their own hands and invade people's homes and workplaces under the pretext of retrieving stolen state property, the Police stated. Perpetrators of these unlawful entries and seizures of state institutions and the other person's belonging, could be held for criminal offences of unlawful entry and stealing, the Police warned. The Police also say, anyone with information about any act of criminally, including the alleged stealing of any state property by any persons, be they public official or private individuals, should report the matter to the nearest Police Station or CID Headquarters, Accra for the necessary action. The warning by the Police follows the latest report of the aggressive take-overs of the offices of the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA), and the Youth Employment Agency (YEA) in Tamale by some pro-New Patriotic Party youth. These youth have maintained they are only trying to protect state assets from some unscrupulous elements in the previous National Democratic Congress (NDC) Government. Government has also set up a task-force with the sole mandate of retrieving state assets unlawfully being held by individuals. Find below the full statement from the police: By: Delali Adogla-Bessa/citifmonline.com/Ghana 07.02.2017 LISTEN Today is Safer Internet Day (SID) and Facebook has launched a series of initiatives to help make the Internet a safer and better place for people across Africa, especially children and the youth. Facebook is partnering with public sector agencies and non-governmental organisations from across Africa under the rallying call Be the change: unite for a better Internet. Nothing is more important to us than the safety of the people who use Facebook. Every day people come to Facebook to connect with people and issues they care about, and they should be able to do so in a safe, secure environment , says Akua Gyekye, Public Policy Manager Facebook, Africa. Facebook builds products that empower the community to stay in control, support each other during crises and stay safe online. Every Facebook product has privacy and security built into it to protect your information. Worldwide conversation Over 100 countries are participating in an effort to start conversations and help people think about the small steps they can take to stay safe online. The initiative is coordinated by the joint Insafe/INHOPE network, with the support of the European Commission, and national Safer Internet Centres across Europe and beyond. In Africa, Facebook is working with partners such as: Watoto Watch in Kenya, the International Center for Leadership Development and the Womens Technology Empowerment Centre in Nigeria, South Africas Film and Publication Board, JOXAfrica Association in Senegal, Tech Women Zimbabwe as well as J Initiative and Ghana Internet Safety Foundation from Ghana to ensure the safety and education of their communities and address the needs of vulnerable people. Facebook is providing financial and marketing support for them to use to raise awareness about online safety. Facebook is also hosting an event in Johannesburg, South Africa and Nairobi, Kenya to promote the importance of online safety to students, teachers, parents and policymakers. The massive support weve seen for this years Safer Internet Day is truly inspiring, says Emmanuel Adinkrah, Co-Founder and CEO of Ghana Internet Safety Foundation. It is heartening to hear about the ways young people are using technology to take positive action online to empower each other and spread kindness. We want to encourage them to keep building a better internet for all. Everyone has a part to play Gyekye says: This is an opportunity to explore the role we all play in helping to create a better and safer online community. We are proud to work with young people, parents, carers, teachers, social workers, law enforcement, companies, and policymakers to create a better Internet. Facebook has redesigned its Safety Center, an engaging resource to help people get the information they need about controlling their information and staying safe. It walks you through the tools Facebook offers to control your experience as well as numerous tips and resources for safe and secure sharing. It is available in over 50 languages, is mobile friendly and includes step-by-step videos. 07.02.2017 LISTEN From Richard Owusu-Akyaw, Kumasi The Edusei Foundation (EF) has donated an amount of GHc40,000 to the Kumasi Academy Old Students Association (Akunini) to support the building of an ultra-modern science laboratory for the school, initiated by Akunini. The donation, which was done in the name of Dr Kwame Bawuah Edusei, the founder of EF, who happens to be an 'Akunini', (an old student of Kumasi Academy) seeks to facilitate the construction of the science laboratory. EF, a non-governmental organization, founded by Dr. Kwame Bawuah Edusei, a Ghanaian US based medical practitioner, philanthropist and former diplomat is a multinational non-governmental organization, with a primary motive of empowering women and children by enriching their lives. Presenting the cheque to the executives of the association at the site of the project at KUMACA in Kumasi, Mr. Kwaw Boadu Edusei, a brother of the founder of the EF, explained that Dr. Kwame BawuahEdusei is a member of the Kumasi Academy Old Students Association, who are building the science laboratory to support the old laboratory for the school established in 1957 to help the learning and teaching of science in the school and equip the students to develop well. According to him, the core aim of EF is to help the youth to improve in their academic and apprentice fields. He announced that EF is not operating in only Ghana and explained that similar events have been staged across the Atlantic, in places such as Washington D.C, Kentucky New York and London. In Ghana, Mr. Kwaw Boadu further indicated that, EF and the Catholic Charity have extended it to all the regions, adding that they have also organized youth programs in Accra, Kumasi, Bekwai and the northern part of Ghana on two occasions. Everywhere the youth are, we try our best to help them to be responsible leaders as we benefitted from our parents and our predecessors, such as Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, Abrefa Busia, Akufo-Addo, Jerry John Rawlings and others, he told the media in an interview. On the need to help students to achieve their academic dreams, he appealed to well meaning Ghanaians, who are fortunate to have been blessed by God, to factor the academic journey of the youth in their budget. We can go to the aid of the social welfare, school, church and people of different religions since these people are our future and no contribution is small. In doing so, God will bless you. Dr Kwabena Dapaah-Siakwan, the national president of 'Akunini' expressed appreciation on behalf of the union to EF: We appreciate what Dr. Kwame Bawuah Edusei has done to the union. Disclosing the genesis of the project, Dr. Dapaah-Siakwan told the media that they were initially putting up a sick bay and nurses quarters, but the project got stagnant in the middle of the construction, owing to lack of funds. In our quest to organise a fund raising ceremony in Accra to support the project, the Member of Parliament for Asawasi constituency, Mohammed Mubarak Muntaka came to our aid to help complete the sick bay and nursing quarters for us, hence we channeled the amount of money we had from the appeal for funds to construct a science laboratory for their school. Dr Dapaah-Siakwan explained that KUMACA had the best of science laboratory in Ashanti region in the late 1960's adding that people used to come from other schools to perform science practical (biology, physics and chemistry) at KUMACA, hence the decision to put up a structure to recapture our lost image in terms of learning of science. According to him, the executives caught the attention of Dr Kwame Bawuah Edusei in the United States of America, when the union decided to attract attention of members in the Diaspora. He expressed optimism that the GHc40,000 will help towards the construction of the science laboratory. The union president announced that KUMACA would be celebrating its 60th year anniversary this year. 07.02.2017 LISTEN THE ONGOING debate in Parliament and other media platforms on whether or not the Minister designate for Gender, Children and Social Protection, Ms. Otiko Afisa Djaba should be confirmed as a substantive minister, seems to be going one direction now. As the members of the minority side in Parliament are pushing for her disqualification, many other Ghanaians especially those in the Northern Region are also demanding for Ms. Otiko's outright approval as Minister of State. Almost all political talk shows on most of the radio stations in Tamale and other parts of the region seem to centre on Ms. Otiko's encounter with the Appointments Committee of Parliament. Majority of people who phone into the programme continue to attack the minority members on the Committee for apparently pursuing a surreptitious agenda against Ms. Otiko at the vetting. The people believe that the opposition Members of Parliament on the vetting Committee were being personal and political at the vetting to ensure that Ms. Otiko paid for her purported insult or attack on former President John Dramani Mahama. The Vetting of Ms. Otiko Afisa Djaba on Monday January 30, 2017, became highly dramatic when some members from the minority side, led by Haruna Iddrisu and Alhassan Suhuyini artfully opened fire on the Minister designate for Gender, Children and Social Protection for describing the former President John Dramani Mahama as having the heart of the devil, evil, wicked, and an embarrassment to Ghanaians of Northern extraction, during the 2016 electioneering campaign. In spite of their strong demand for an apology or retraction from her, Ms. Otiko vehemently declined and boldly insisted that her comments about the Ex-President were not meant to insult him, but rather to give a description of him to Ghanaians. This has since generated unimaginable public discussions and debates especially on radio, television and among political parties, as to whether she deserves to be accepted as a Minister or not. But that notwithstanding, Ms. Otiko Djaba continues to receive some public endorsement and praises from different groups, associations and some individuals, as well as other women advocacy organizations, for exhibiting high level of confidence and mental toughness during her Ministerial vetting. Some of the radio callers and panelists have justified MsOtiko's alleged attack on Ex-President John Mahama as a typical mark of a true grassroots woman who understands the plight of the suffering masses and always wants to speak for them. Ironically, most non-governmental organizations and civil society organizations such as ActionAid Ghana, Northern Sector Action on Awareness Centre (NORSAAC), Ghana Developing Communities Association (GDCA), Grassroots Sisterhood Foundation and many other women related organizations are advocating for more women to be appointed into key positions in government and other national offices. But so far, only Hajia Alima Mahama, Minister designate for Local Government and Rural Development and Ms. Otiko Afisa Djaba are the only women nominated as Ministers from the Northern Region. On the other hand, some three strong groups in the New Patriotic Party (NPP) in the Northern Region have jointly issued a press statement in Tamale demanding the immediate approval of the nomination of Ms. Otiko Afisa Djaba by Parliament. The statement was signed by the Tamale Central NPP Women's Wing leader and Spokesperson 'Girls Girls for Nana Addo', Madam Suraya Manan, Abdulai Abubakari Sadik of the YESWECAN Group of NPP in Tamale and member of Northern Regional Communication team, Mr. Yussif Danjuma. The groups expressed their profound gratitude to President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo for rewarding the hard work of our strong, fearless, courageous and dedicated woman, Ms. Otiko Afisa Djaba, who dutifully rallied all the women of our great party in support of our overwhelming and historic victory in December 2016 as Minister designate for Gender, Children and Social Protection. According to them, the excellent performance of Ms. Otiko at the vetting had inspired and given them the indication that Ghanaian women were no longer ready to be intimidated, marginalized or pushed aside in their struggle for key leadership positions. But unfortunately, her show of mental toughness, intelligence and courage to tactically deal with some questions deliberately designed to undermine, humiliate and set her up against the people of Ghana, is being misconstrued by some uninformed people who are running amok for the innocent blood of Otiko. The likes of Franklyn Cudjou of IMANI Ghana, who unnecessarily attacked Ms. Otiko Afisa Djaba and described her as a pale shadow of her predecessor Nana Oye Lithur, Osei Kwadwo Addo, a Lawyer and Lecturer at the Ghana Institute of Journalism also sent Madam Otiko down to the gutters for defending herself against the well calculated gambit or ploy by some NDC MPs serving on the vetting committee to denigrate the Gender Minister designate. Madam Otiko Djaba is a freedom fighter and an advocate of democracy who has the passion for reducing poverty and hunger among humanity and most especially women and children, the groups maintained. The NPP pressure groups also questioned the whereabouts of Mr. Franklyn Cudjou, Anita De-Sousou, Osei Kwadwo Addo, Alhassan Suhuyini, Haruna Iddrisu and the rest, when people like Aseidu Nketia, Kofi Portuphy, Ofosu Kwakye, Fiifi Kwetey, Koku Anyidoho, Haruna Iddrisu, Dr Omane Boamah and even President John Dramani Mahama himself, were insulting Nana Akufo-Addo and describing him as drug addict, cocaine dealer, anti-northerner, incompetent, violent and arrogant leader in the 2008, 2012 and 2016 electioneering campaigns. Did President Mahama ever call any of his young Ministers and party communicators who mastered in running the reputation and integrity of Nana Akufo-Addo down to order, or did he ever apologise for any of their flaws? So, why now and why Otiko Djaba! Or is it because she is a woman? The three NPP groups, therefore, appealed to the Parliament and Ghanaians to have full confidence in Ms Otiko Afisa Djaba and confirm her as Minister for Gender, Children and Social Protection. From Edmond Gyebi, Tamale Today is Safer Internet Day (SID) and Facebook has launched a series of initiatives to help make the Internet a safer and better place for people across Africa, especially children and the youth. Facebook is partnering with public sector agencies and non-governmental organisations from across Africa under the rallying call Be the change: unite for a better Internet. Nothing is more important to us than the safety of the people who use Facebook. Every day people come to Facebook to connect with people and issues they care about, and they should be able to do so in a safe, secure environment, says Akua Gyekye, Public Policy Manager Facebook, Africa. Facebook builds products that empower the community to stay in control, support each other during crises and stay safe online. Every Facebook product has privacy and security built into it to protect your information. Worldwide conversation Over 100 countries are participating in an effort to start conversations and help people think about the small steps they can take to stay safe online. The initiative is coordinated by the joint Insafe/INHOPE network, with the support of the European Commission, and national Safer Internet Centres across Europe and beyond. In Africa, Facebook is working with partners such as: Watoto Watch in Kenya, the International Center for Leadership Development and the Womens Technology Empowerment Centre in Nigeria, South Africas Film and Publication Board, JOXAfrica Association in Senegal, Tech Women Zimbabwe as well as J Initiative and Ghana Internet Safety Foundation from Ghana to ensure the safety and education of their communities and address the needs of vulnerable people. Facebook is providing financial and marketing support for them to use to raise awareness about online safety. Facebook is also hosting an event in Johannesburg, South Africa and Nairobi, Kenya to promote the importance of online safety to students, teachers, parents and policymakers. Everyone has a part to play Gyekye says: This is an opportunity to explore the role we all play in helping to create a better and safer online community. We are proud to work with young people, parents, carers, teachers, social workers, law enforcement, companies, and policymakers to create a better Internet. Facebook has redesigned its Safety Center, an engaging resource to help people get the information they need about controlling their information and staying safe. It walks you through the tools Facebook offers to control your experience as well as numerous tips and resources for safe and secure sharing. It is available in over 50 languages, is mobile friendly and includes step-by-step videos. Quotes from relevant partners TechWomen Zimbabwe As more Zimbabwean women and girls go online to take advantage of the immense opportunities the internet offers, they empower themselves with knowledge, education and connections with others, says Techwomen Zimbabwes Founder, Aretha Mare. We are determined to break down barriers to the Internet for women and girls so they can maximise the benefits of the Internet - and that includes tackling challenges such as online harassment and bullying. Watoto Watch Network: Kenya The Internet brings offers great opportunities for Kenyas youth and children. This years Safer Internet Day gives young people the opportunity to voice their views on how to make the internet better, says Lillian Kariuki, executive director at Watoto Watch Network. JI Initiative from Ghana We are passionate advocates for a safe Internet for young people and children, so we are pleased that Facebook embraces its responsibility to keep people safe on its platform, says Awo Aidam Amenyah, Executive Director at JI Initiative. We are pleased to work with Facebook to promote positive online experiences for everyone. Ghana Internet Safety Foundation The massive support weve seen for this years Safer Internet Day is truly inspiring, says Emmanuel Adinkrah, Co-Founder and CEO of Ghana Internet Safety Foundation. It is heartening to hear about the ways young people are using technology to take positive action online to empower each other and spread kindness. We want to encourage them to keep building a better internet for all. Film and Production Board: South Africa It is important to have conversations early and often about how inappropriate content on the Internet may affect children, says Janine Raftopoulos, Manager Communications and Public Education South Africas Film & Publications Board (FPB). Parents, educators, guardians and industry all have a part to play in ensuring that children understand how to stay safe online. ICLDING: Nigeria Were pleased with our partnership with Facebook for Safer Internet day to raise awareness and have conversations about staying safe online, says Felix Bidemi Iziomoh, Executive Director at ICLDING. We are proud to play a role in uniting our community for a better internet. Womens Technology Empowerment Centre (W.TEC) The 2017 theme for the Safer Internet Day Be the change: unite for a better internet resonates strongly with the Federal Government of Nigerias campaign, The change begins with me, says Adeyemi Odutola, Communications Officer at Womens Technology Empowerment Centre (W.TEC). We are excited to partner with Facebook to host a day of workshops and fun activities for secondary students, where they will learn how to navigate the Internet confidently and safely. Senegal (JOXAfrica Association) Protecting children on the Internet is a priority for us as we rally with governments NGOs and private companies for a better online community, says JOXAfrica Senegals Assane Diouf. Together with Facebook, as the worlds biggest online social network, we can create higher awareness of how we can keep children safe online. Story by Ghana | Myjoyonline.com Former Vice President Paa Kwesi Bekoe Amissah-Arthur and the mansion under construction It appears President John Dramani Mahama is not in a hurry to vacate the official residence of the Vice President at East Cantonments area of Accra, after spending huge sums of money to furnish his (Presidents) official residence at the seat of government the Flagstaff House. This is because the Mahama administration has commenced the construction of what is believed to be a new official residence for Vice President Paa Kwesi Bekoe Amissah-Arthur at Cantonments. The amount for the mansion is said to be in region of several million dollars; and it is progressing rapidly, in spite of challenges facing the economy, for which the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has come to bail Ghana out. The new official residence of Veep Amissah-Arthur is being built on the land on which the former Nigerian High Commission was locatedbehind the Police Headquarters at Broz Tito Avenue on the Kumordzi Hospital Road, close to where the Food Research Institute (FRI) of the Centre for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSRI) is located. Interestingly, Ghanaians were told that the Flagstaff House, when it was built, was supposed to serve as office and residence for both the President and his vice. President Mahama still occupies his bungalow, which he moved into as Vice President, while Vice President Amissah-Arthur is also staying in the Bank of Ghana (BoG) Governors residencewhere he was residing when he was the Governor of the apex bank. Attempts to speak to presidential spokesperson, Ben Dotsei Malor, were not successful as he did not answer calls to his phone. Last year a contract for furnishing the presidential quarters at the Flagstaff House was awarded to Ebby Mays Furnishings at a cost of GH218, 565.50 (2.2 billion) yet, President Mahama is still staying at the Vice Presidents residence. CSRI Lands Dr Abdulai B. Salifu, Director-General of CSIR, confirmed to DAILY GUIDE via telephone that the ongoing project was to serve as the official residence of the Vice President and admitted that part of the CSRI/FRI land had been taken over by the project. In fact, National Security had to come to us before the construction of the building because one of our bungalows was affected and we had to find a replacement for it. I used to discuss a lot with Larry Gbevlo-Lartey (then National Security Coordinator) but he is no longer in-charge so basically that is it, he said. Where the massive construction is ongoing really doesnt fall on our land. The only portion is the bungalow to the extreme right which was demolished to pave way for the construction of the Vice Presidents residence, and we cannot lay claim to everything. The land on which the Nigerian High Commission was situated belonged to the government and had been leased to the government of Nigeria, Dr Abdulai Salifu underscored. Underground Facilities DAILY GUIDE gathered that there are three huge structures making up the whole project and all the three have underground facilities. The project is being executed by Consar Limited, an Italian construction giant. The paper also learned that there is always national security presence at the construction site and at one point the SWAT Anti-riot Police was brought to the premises to forcibly take over portions of other CSIR staff bungalows in order to extend the Vice Presidents project; and a sort of confrontation ensued. A security officer who was with the SWAT team, allegedly ordered a staff from Consar to erect stakes to demarcate the premises of the CSIR staff to be added to the veeps portion amid threats that they will be removed completely if they frustrated the ongoing work, a source said. The contractor has been pumping rain water which floods the streets leading to the residences of senior staff. Additionally, the main pipeline supplying water to residents has been cut off and a make-shift water supply provided, as a result, we enjoy water only once or twice weekly instead of the regular flow. We have even been told that the roads will be cordoned off as the project advances because they will pose security risks to the property. United Nations Project There was also an allegation that adjoining offices of CSRI/FRI were taken over by then Minister of Environment and Science, Sherry Ayittey, about five years ago for a United Nations project; and upon completion, an unknown private company was said to have entered the property and is working from there, but the Director-General said it could not be possible. That walled facility painted blue, was given to the Ministry of Environment, Science and Technology to embark on an UN-funded project. I think it was a three-year project. Those premises are currently vacant but the ministry has to officially hand it back to us. It is not true that the facility was given to a private company after the UN project had ended, he claimed. Security Concerns Dr Salifu said the facility would be part of the graduate school soon to be established by the CSRI, saying, We dont know how it is going to be because it is very close to where the official residence of the Vice President is being constructed. There are concerns that CSRI lands are being taken over by developers, including the government. Currently, there is encroachment on lands belonging to the Animal Research Institute, Water Research Institute, Crops Research Institute, among others. Furnishing Contract The GH218,565.50 Ebby Mays Furnishings contract involved furnishing the residency, including the downstairs corridors, costing the tax payer an amount of GH67,220; GH1,669 for coffee room curtains, voile and trimming; GH5,995 for reception curtains, voile and trimming; GH6,455 for the main living room, voile and trimming; GH2,261 for bar voile and trimming and GH9,755 for the dining area. Others are: GH2,461 for a recreational roomformal coffee room; GH171 for an informal kitchenVenetian blinds only; GH2,850 for gym remote control blinds; GH3,604 for a family dining room; GH1,925 for the main kitchen; GH8,380 for the meeting area and GH3,243 for the waiting reception/visitors lounge. The rest include an amount of GH5,940 for a playroom and lobby; GH31,270 for the upstairs corridors; GH7,212 for what was described as Madams room and library; GH7,212 for two master bedrooms and libraries; GH11,540 on the private lounge or suites and GH4,562 on a supposed prayer room. An amount of GH11,900.50 is also to be used to furnish four family bedrooms, while GH1,323 is earmarked for the furnishing of two VIP bedrooms at the Presidents residence not to talk about GH2,156 for the VIP lounge; GH1,323 for two security rooms and GH1,568 to be spent on two guest rooms at the downstairs of the Presidential Villa. An amount of GH15,750 is earmarked for workmanship, delivery and installation by the company contracted for the job. After spending this huge amount of money, it has become a drain on the public purse because President Mahama refused to move. By William Yaw Owusu Friday, 19 September 2014 Source: Daily Guide Obaa Ohemaa Saa Pogh'Naa II Nyame Adom, is an Avatar Healer and a powerful Bagh'bora or Buddha Queen Mother, who has come back home to Ghana to work for her Royal Ancestors who have now appointed her to be a, 'Guardian Mother Protector of the Soul of the Nation'. She receives her guidance and empowerments from her Dagarti - Mother Father Nation Protector Gods and the Royal Spirits of the Great Warrior Queens who protect her, Saint Saa Pogh'Naa I and Saint Nana Yaa Asantewaa. In December 2016, Obaa Ohemaa was commanded by her Dagarti Gods to return home to Ghana after spending nearly 42 years travelling around the world unknowingly following the stolen relics of her predecessor, Saint Nana Yaa Asantewaa; learning, healing, praying and initiating until such time as she had fully awakened her reincarnation status. She is now planning to launch her YAA KALI MA'ASANTEWAA END OF THE WORLD HEALING TOUR', and to conclude her sacred mission to bring back home to Ghana, the Queen of the Nation Title that was taken by the British in 1901 and 1957. Obaa Ohemaa writes with a depth of wisdom and knowledge that shows she has gained a higher spiritual understanding about the great suffering of her predecessor. The article also elucidates why she was chosen by God to be the appointed Spiritual Successor and Reincarnation of Saint Yaa Asantewaa, and shines a Golden spotlight on the many hidden reasons why the evil men who ran the British colonial office, sent her Great Spiritual Guardian into Exile after she fought in front of the mighty canons of the British Empire during the War of the Golden Stool, 1900 - 1901. Her writing resurrects and breathes life back into the enduring historical legacy that the British wanted our Nation to forget. Part of this Legacy relates to the important Titles that our Great Warrior Queen, Yaa Asantewaa was given by Almighty God as a result of her fighting this Great Independence War - which had the overarching effect of saving - 'All Mothers and All Children' in 'All Nations' of Africa and its Diaspora. Another part relates to the way in which the British made the Gold Coast their Colony and then Ghana a so-called Independent Nation On this day of the 7th February 2017, Obaa Ohemaa publicly reopens the history book of Ghana's Independence, in order to factually and spiritually re-examine how our country Ghana, whose name means 'THE WARRIOR NATION', actually got its independence. She also opens our eyes to make us alert to the fact that it was the British Parliament and not we Ghanaians, our Chiefs, our Elders or even Kwame Nkrumah or the Big 6, who authored our so-called 'Ghana Independence' to take place on the 6th March 1957. Unbeknown to many Ghanaians, it was on the 7th February 1957, that the white men of the British UK Parliament in the Palace of Westminster, an enormous building that sits along the shores of the widely flowing river Thames, passed the Ghana Independence Act, 1957 5 & 6 Eliz. 2 CH.6. Image: (Left) A picture of the original vellum Ghana Independence Act 1957 5 & 6 Eliz. 2 CH.6 taken during a visit by Obaa Ohemaa Saa Poghnaa to the British Parliamentary Archives in 2016. (Right) The Houses of Parliament in the United Kingdom In typical parliamentary style, the Ghana Independence Bill had been debated in the Parliament of the United Kingdom since 1956, apparently after they received a white paper from Kwame Nkrumah, the then Prime Minister of the Gold Coast. The following UK Parliamentarians all took part in the debates at different times in 1956 and 1957: Mr George Wigg (MP of Dudley); Mr. James Griffiths (MP of Llanelly); Mr Norman Pannell (MP of Liverpool, Kirkdale); Mr Maclay, Mr A. Fenner Brockway ( MP of Eton and Slough); Mr. Harold Davies (MP of Leek); Mr. John Tilney (MP of Liverpool, Wavertree); Mr. F. M. Bennett (MP of Torquay); Mr. W. T. Williams (MP of Barons Court); Mr. Roy Mason (MP of Barnsley), Mr Clement Davies (MP of Montgomer), Mr. Frederick Willey (MP of Sunderland, North); Mr. John Hall (MP of Wycombe); Mr. R. W. Sorensen (MP of Leyton); Mr. Graham Page (MP of Crosby); Mr. E. L. Mallalieu (MP of Brigg); Mr. Walter Elliot (MP of Glasgow, Kelvingrove); Mr. Geoffrey de Freitas (MP of Lincoln); Mr. Richard Fort (MP of litheroe)[ Mr. Philip Bell (MP of Bolton, East); Mr. Arthur Creech Jones (MP of Wakefield); Lord John Hope (The Under-Secretary of State for Commonwealth Relations), Mr Stormont Mancroft, Lord Lucas of Chilworth, Lord Foringdon, Lord Ogmore, Earl of Swinton, Lord Salter, Lord Winater, Lord Grantchester, Earl Attlee, Lord Rennel, Lord Barnby, Lord Milverton, and Mr. Alan Lennox-Boyd (The Secretary of State for the Colonies). It is currently not known, the amount of money that these MPs and Lords were paid to put through this bill, but what we do know is that most of the people who debated or wrote this Act into existence would never have stepped foot on Ghanaian soil. They therefore would have had no experience of who we Ghanaians were or how we lived. Further to this, the Act completely excludes any mention of our Nation's own Sovereign Rulers and Lands, Gentry and Peerage. Ghana's Paramount Kings, Queen Mothers, Chief Priests, Okomfors and all our Holy peoples of Sovereign status that were equivalent to the men and women who sit in the British 'House of Lords', were never made privy to the creation, wording and timing of this Act. Hence it goes without saying, that they were never invited to give their royal assent to the Act, ensuring that they would never be able to attend Commonwealth or United Nations meetings or have their Royal Authority recognised on the world stage. THE GREAT THEFT OF THE ROYAL PROPERTY, HOLY RELICS, STYLES AND TITLES OF SAINT NANA YAA ASANTEWAA According to the Nation Protector Gods that Queen Mother serves, when our Great Warrior Queen Mother Yaa Asantewaa fought to defend the Golden Stool, she automatically became an Independent 'Protector of the Soul of the Nation', a Defender of the Faith of our Holy Ancestors and a 'Chief Justice of the Land'. After she died on the 17th October 1921, she also became a Warrior Saint and the Queen of our Nation in Heaven'. With all these 'Superwoman or Wonder-woman' Titles under her belt she earned herself and her successor a prominent and permanent place on the world stage and inside its history books. Image: (Left) Promotion for the 2017 Festival of Saint Yaa Asantewaa in Ghana; to honour the Super Human Grand Mother who became Queen of Ghana in Heaven. (Centre) Obaa Ohemaa in the Royal Circle at the Presidential inauguration in 2017. (Right) The fictional Wonder Woman character that the United Nations bizarrely created just last year, at the same time when Obaa Ohemaa travelled to Seychelles to mark the 95th anniversary of the passing of a real Wonder-Woman Saint Yaa Asantewaa. After making the character a fake honorary ambassador for the empowerment of women and girls they later stripped the fictional character of this role after complaints about the sexual objectification of women and girls. But this place was stripped and stolen from her firstly by Queen Victoria, under whose authority the terrorising British Soldiers and Governor began their evil War to steal the Golden Stool; and secondly by Queen Elizabeth in 1957, who under the guise of giving our Nation Independence, surreptitiously stole away Saint Yaa Asantewaa's Heavenly titles: Nyame Adom By the Grace of God - Queen of Ghana and Mother of the Nation. (Order of St. Micheal & St. George) At the end of the Yaa Asantewaa War and the Golden Stool, the British colonial criminals who were hell bent on stealing the Golden Stool from the Asante Nation on the secret orders of Joseph Chamberlain, kidnapped Saint Yaa Asantewaa's daughter in order to force our Great Warrior Queen to surrender. After paying many bribes for her betrayal, she was taken to the Kumasi Fort on 3rd March 1901. There they forced her to hand over 'Four Stools' and in so doing they stole away from her, her Royal Authority. They also physically stripped her of her clothes and her Royal Dignity and they took away her Royal Golden Chain of Authority. By doing all of these cruel and inhumane things to her, the records show that the British completely violated her Human Rights, because their actions against her contravened the articles written in the 1899 Hague Convention with respect to the Laws and Customs of War on Land. These horrific Acts began the long process of transfer, that the British Empire, employed to have command and control over the Royal Property & Possessions and the Spiritual Titles that belonged to Ghana's own Warrior Queen. Like Hercules, her Powers were given to her by Almighty God - to Save her Nation and the World from the 'Evils' of the British Empire. On 25th April 1901 Governor Matthew Nathan assented, on behalf of King Edward VII, to the detention and deportation of our Warrior Queen along with 45 other Chiefs, war captains and linguists who fought in the War. Image: An excerpt from The Ashanti Political Prisoners' Detention and Deportation Ordinance [Act]1901' assented to on 25th April 1901 which lists Queen Mother Yaa Asantewaa and other Chiefs who fought against the British. They were sent to Victoria, a small city on the remote island of Mahe, Seychelles in the Indian ocean. This was done deliberately, to cut our Queen off from her own homeland and from her own (African) continent, so as to make the transfer of her National, Spiritual Titles and Powers to the British Nation and its own Queen possible. She passed away 21 years after she arrived in the Seychelles. At this point her Independent 'Queen of the Warrior Nation' Title passed into interregnum until such time as Almighty God was ready to appoint her 'Spiritual Successor'. What is given by Almighty God, is also reappointed by Almighty God and not by human beings. Following her death, according to the findings of the traditional Buddhist and Ghanaian priests that Obaa Ohemaa has worked with, the British unlawfully took possession of Saint Yaa Asantewaa's Holy relics so that they could use her bones to employ dark satanic means to ensure that they could block and prevent any Successor that had been appointed by Almighty God, from continuing her work here on Earth. Whilst they fully knew they could not stop a successor from coming back, they also knew that they had to make sure that they would do everything in their power to destroy and prevent her God appointed successor - Obaa Ohemaa Saa Pogh'Naa, from being able to take her title and powers back from Queen Elizabeth and the British Nation. They did a similar thing to the powerful Warrior Queen Mother, Mbuya Nehanda of Zimbabwe who also commanded an Army to defend her Nation against the British Diamond Thieving colonial criminal Cecil Rhodes, during the 1st Chimurenga. At the end of the war the British captured Queen Mother Mbuya Nehanda and they hung her on 27 April 1898. They then cut her body into 8 pieces and distributed them to stately homes, government buildings, churches and museums in England as well as the Parliament building in Harare. Because Queen Victoria died, before Queen Yaa Asantewaa, it was only until the next British Queen took the throne again 51 years later, that they could complete their wicked plan to fully transfer all her Titles and powers out of her own Nation into the hands of their 'Title Thieving' Queen. In the Akan tradition, a man/King cannot inherit the powers of a woman/Queen Mother. Thus the final part of their transfer, sneakily took place during the time-line of events when the British Queen and Government claimed to our people, the United Nations and the whole world that they were given us our Independence in 1957. The Ghana Independence Time-line in Relation to Saint Yaa Asantewaa As her 'Mother of the Nation' Title was conferred upon her by Almighty God, it must have been the Great Spirit and Soul of Saint Yaa Asantewaa, that invoked itself inside those men who chose the name of our Nation to be called 'Ghana'. The word Ghana is said to come from Mali and means the 'Land of the Warrior Queen-King'. 7th February 1957 A statement is issued by the Royal Commission in the British House of Lords at 5.00pm stating that the newly named 'Ghana Nation' Independence Bill has now received Royal Assent. At 5.20pm, a similar corroborating statement is issued in the British House of Commons. 22nd February 1957 Queen Elizabeth issued a proclamation that was sent to Ghana from the Court of St James Palace in London, which is the HQ for the Order of St. Michael & St. George. The Proclamation made Charles Noble Arden Clarke, the Governor-General and Commander-In-Chief in and over Ghana, under the Sign Manual and Signet of the British Queen, Elizabeth, despite the fact that we had just become a newly Independent Nation. Image: (Left) Sir Charles Noble Arden-Clarke KCMG, Governor of the Gold Coast and later Governor-General of Ghana in his colonial regalia at a Chieftaincy Ceremony in Accra in the early 1950S. (Right) The Star of a Knight or Dame Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George awarded to individuals, particularly British governors, who have carried out important or loyal service in the realm of foreign and commonwealth affairs. 6th March 1957 This was the date assigned as the appointed day for Ghanas Independence apparently at the suggestion of Kwame Nkrumah who chose the date because it coincided with the date that the British gained more influence over the country through the Bond of 1844. Ghana was also recognised as a member of the Commonwealth on this date. Although the Ghana Independence Act states that Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom shall have no responsibility for the government of Ghana or any part thereof, yet history records that the following members of Queen Elizabeth's government and other British representatives were sent to Accra with the responsibility of enacting and being a prominent part of Ghana's Independence celebrations: Princess Marina of Greece and Denmark (who was also the Duchess of Kent), represented the British monarch Elizabeth, Rab Butler who was the Home Secretary and Lord Privy Seal, the Minister of State for Colonial Affairs and the United Kingdom High Commissioner in Ghana. The Foreign Secretary however, did not attend. Lord Dundee, Jim Griffiths, MP for Llanelly, John Hall, MP for Wycombe and Glenvil Hall the MP for Colne Valley on behalf of the British Group of the Inter-Parliamentary Union also attended. The Armed Forces of the United Kingdom were represented by the cruiser H.M.S Ceylon with a Royal Marine detachment, by a frigate, H.M.S. "Mounts Bay" and by detachments of the Royal Air Force, including four Valiant aircraft. Other Commonwealth Governments were also represented by units of their Armed Forces. 8th March Ghana becomes a member of the United Nations after an application telegram was sent to the Secretary General for Ghana to join despite the fact that the Governor General had not yet begun the formal proceedings to change the name of our Nation from the Gold Coast to Ghana. 6th May Charles Noble Arden Clarke, Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George, issued his own proclamation to change the name of the Gold Coast to Ghana, despite the fact that they had already celebrated Ghana's Independence witnessed by many commonwealth leaders and representatives of the self declared Independent United States. Surely the Governor-General, should have made the proclamation of the name change before the Independence Day Celebrations and before registering the Nation as Ghana at the United Nations? 4th June Saint Yaa Asantewaa's Title, the Queen of Ghana, is transferred to Queen Elizabeth, by the command of the Governor-General, Knight Commander of the Order of St. Michael and St. George despite the fact that the British Queen had no ancestral or God given heritage and inheritance rights in Ghana to be given this Title; no reincarnation right to accession of this Title; no possession of crown or stool that Ghanaians had been formally and openly made aware of to be given this Title; no palace or Royal House in Ghana to accompany the Title and no blood lineage relationship with any royal family in Ghana to have the right to use or be given this Title. Image: An excerpt from the Act authorised by Prime Minister, Kwame Nkrumah, that gave the highest title in the Land, Queen of Ghana to Queen Elizabeth of the United Kingdom despite her never having visited the Nation prior to this Act. Despite the fact that we had just become a newly Independent Nation, in passing this Act, Charles Noble Arden Clarke and the Order of St Michael and St George of St James' Palace used Kwame Nkrumah, who was acting as Prime Minister, to once again strip our newly created Nation of the 'Independent Warrior Queen of the Nation Title that Queen Mother Yaa Asantewaa had attained whilst she was on Earth and had been confirmed upon her by Almighty God when she was received into the Heavenly Orders of the Saints of her own Royal and Holy Ancestors. An ironic coincidence it is not; that this action is a repeat of what they did to her on the 3rd of March 1901, when she was inhumanely stripped of her clothes, her Royal Dignity and her newly gained Titles at the Kumasi Fort. In this way, the stolen Title gave the British Queen Elizabeth and her Nation the right to continue to hold onto all of the Four Stools that Queen Yaa Asantewaa was wrongly forced to hand over in 1901 at the Kumasi Fort. It also give her the right to maintain and keep in her nation's possession all of the millions and millions of pounds worth of Royal Ancestral Gold that had been stolen from Ghana during the colonial era. Obaa Ohemaa will continue this article as a 3 part series. But before this part finishes she would like to pose an important question to her readers: Why didn't the United States of America make King George III, the King of America after it declared itself Independent on the 4July 1776? Surely it can be said that Ghana Independence has not really taken place at all as it defeats the whole purpose of becoming Independent if after you gain it, you are hoodwinked and cheated into making the Governor General and Monarch of the same country that colonised you, the Commander-In-Chief and Queen of your newly Independent Nation. Unlike the United States, Ghana does not have its own 'Declaration of Independence'. It was the white people (and not the Indigenous Native Indians) of the 13 Colonies of the United States, that actually declared their own Independence from Britain after the extremely bloody Wars they called the American Revolution. The United Kingdom did not give the United States its Independence, like it did Ghana under the terms and conditions debated by their own Lords and MPs. By making the then British Governor Charles Noble Arden Clarke, the Governor-General and the Commander in Chief in and over Ghana, and by giving the white Queen of the United Kingdom, the Queen of Ghana title; Ghana found itself once again being ruled by the British for 3 years after the 6th March 1957. Politically we must conclude that this move ensured that our Prime Minister Kwame Nkrumah would be forced to take our newly independent nation down the road of becoming a Republic by referendum (3 years later), in order to ditch our newly acquired white Queen at least as Queen of Ghana but not as head of the commonwealth. So in 1960 Ghana became a republic like the Republic of the United States of America, yet quite unlike the the United States of America, our Independence was not self determined. This year, before we celebrate 6th March 1957 as our own Independence Day, and the 1st July as Republic Day, Obaa Ohemaa hopes that this article which is written with the power of Saint Yaa Asantewaa in their capacity as an untiers of knots, will shine the light of Nyame into the eyes of our Nation, and will eventually serve to make our own President, our own People and the Parliamentarians who have been selected to sit on the Ghana at 60 Committee more aware of the hidden truths that are secretly lying behind our acting out our Nation's Independence Day celebrations on the 6th of March. It is an Independence not by the command of our own Warrior Queen, Saint Nana Yaa Asantewaa, but by the command of the White Queen of the United Kingdom and the Lords and MPs of her parliament. Is it any wonder that we were tricked, given that this is the very same Parliament that also brought to us: Their Slave Trading Africa Trade Acts that sent millions of our people into Slavery in the Americas; their own Slavery Abolition Act that signalled the start of Europe's colonial exploitations all over our continent; and not forgetting their evil colonial prisoners act, that sent King Prempeh, his Mother and many other Chiefs and our Great Warrior Queen Yaa Asantewaa into exile. I ask my fellow Ghanaians, can we really say that the 6th March is 'Our Independence', or is it 'Their Independence'. This article is presented by the Royal Shrine House of Obaa Ohemaa Saa Pogh'Naa and it contains years of sacred knowledge gained from the many initiations she has undergone in Ghana, South Africa, Peru, Nepal, Gabon, Indonesia, Thailand and Ecuador to awaken her reincarnation. It also reflects the deep knowledge and understanding she has gained from performing her 'Protector of the Nation Healing Ceremonies' in Europe, Britain, America, Asia and Africa - for the benefit of enlightening all of Gods children in Ghana and Africa, Asia, America whose Ancestors were enslaved and colonised on the continent and in the Diaspora; and all sentient beings. Obaa Ohemaa's Nation Protector Gods, work under the maxim of bringing the light of Nyame out of Great Darkness and they have the great power to be 'Untier of Knots' To learn more about the information contained in this article, please come and attend a Memorial event during our upcoming Festival of Saint Yaa Asantewaa, the Exiled Chiefs & The Four Stools in Ghana. The 3rd March Memorial event marks the day Saint Yaa Asantewaa was arrested at the Kumasi Fort. The 28th March Press Conference, marks the day known as the 'Provocation of Frederick Hodgson' - at the National Museum (TBC). The 2nd April Memorial event at Elmina Castle - marks the day when Saint Yaa Asantewaa was sent to the Castle before leaving her homeland forever. Please call us on 0507 343 029 to learn more about the Festival events, or you can also email us at [email protected] to register your interest or to receive our event news updates. Obaa Ohemaa is now available for private audiences in Accra, with people who would like to receive spiritual healing and consultations, for problems that they need the light of Nyame to be shined upon. To Book an appointment or to find out more about her working days of Her Royal Shrine House in Accra (Spintex Road-Kotobabie) - please contact her assistant on 0561 280 268 or you can email your booking to: [email protected] The copyright of the contents and the intellectual property which include the layout of the arguments and the spiritual articulations presented in this article belong wholly and completely to the Royal Shrine House of Obaa Ohemaa Saa Pogh'Naa. You are only permitted to make use of this article for personal reading Only. This article or any part thereof should not be uploaded to any other site unless, due permission is given by the owner. Public transmission other than being read by the readers of Modern Ghana is strictly prohibited. Please contact us at [email protected] if you would like to reproduce or reprint any part of this article. All forms of unauthorised duplication is prohibited unless permission from the Royal Shrine House has been granted. Spiritual and or physical legal action will be taken against anyone attempting to use this information for defamatory purposes. Finance Minister, Ken Ofori Atta spent 4 hours, 15 minutes before Parliaments Appointments Committee highlighting issues concerning his Ministry, including tax reliefs among others. Questions asked by the Majority were 32 while the Minority asked a total of 48 questions. Study the infographic below for more details on the Finance Ministers vetting. By: Mawuli Tsikata & Caleb Kudah/citifmomline.com/Ghana Ghana's leading English-speaking Radio Station , Citi FM, has been named the country's most influential media organization on social media. This is the second time the station is leading the ranking after doing so in 2016. The station gained over 640,000 followers across its various social media platforms including Facebook , Instagram and Twitter . Other media houses named as part of the top 10 list include, Joy FM, Starr FM, Peace FM and Adom FM. Citi FM wins best social media presence award again In May 2016, Citi FM for the second time emerged as the media house in Ghana with the best social media presence at Blogging Ghana's fourth Ghana Blogging and Social Media awards. The station picked up two honors at the event held on the night of Friday, May 20. The Accra-based station was adjudged the organization with best Twitter account, as well as the media house with the best social media presence. The ranking, developed by Avance Media, CliqAfrica and DAF GH was based on a GSMR Score analysed from their Social Media followings, Growth Difference, Engagements, Post Reaches and Mentions in the year under review that is 2016. The feat comes after the station emerged Ghana's topmost English Radio station in GeoPoll's survey of radio stations' performance nationwide for the year 2016. 2016 GeoPoll In August 2016 as well, Citi FM emerged Ghana's topmost English Radio station in GeoPoll's second quarter survey of radio stations' performance nationwide. The station, which celebrated its 12th anniversary on November 5, 2016, has become the preferred choice for many discerning radio listeners, as it remains committed to its mission of building the most influential media brand, through innovative and quality radio programming on air and quality content online. By: Jonas Nyabor/citifmonline.com/Ghana Follow @jnyabor The President of Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport (CILT), Mr. Ebo Hammond has implored government to help resource the technical universities (TechVas) with the necessary equipment and tools needed for in the universities. According to Ebo Hammond, Ghana in a not too distant future, products of the technical universities will be most sought after in the industry which needs already-made graduates with requisite skills. CILT inaugurated him as the New President of CILT to steer the affairs of the association for the next two years started 2017. The president was elected during the institutes Extra-Ordinary General Meeting (EGM) held on November 17, 2016 at the Coconut Grove Regency Hotel in Accra with the supervision of the Electoral Commission of Ghana. Speaking on the theme The Role and Importance of Professional Education in National Development, he noted that Professional education includes any training that improves the knowledge, skills, attitudes, behavior and character formation of individuals which fully empowers and makes them already-made for employment. As a professional body, we appreciate the role of academic education in providing broad knowledge in various fields as offered by a number of our universities and colleges, but we are also of the view that professional education is paramount to ensure a tailor-made education or training that provides specific knowledge and skills along with the requisite attitude and character for the industry, he underscored. Mr. Ebo Hammond, in an interview with this reporter, charged the new Governing Council to perform creditably for the betterment of the institute; and promised to rebrand the institute to attain the needed height in Ghana. He thanked the institute for the confidence it has reposed in him and the other executive members and promised to work together with the other Governing Council members, the entire membership and the secretariat. Ebo Hammond pledged to move the CILT forward by creating a new strategic path with a strong commitment to implementing plans and programs that will leapfrog the institute into a viable and desirable future. The institute among others will also undertake research and policy analysis into social and economic projects and policies of the nation, he said. He urged the new council to formulate appropriate strategies and workable solutions to the numerous logistical and transport challenges facing our cities. Mr. Ebo Hammond, a chartered fellow of the Institute, a Deputy Director of Health and an adjunct lecturer of Logistic and Transport at Ghana Institute of Marketing and Public Administration (GIMPA) among others, will be in charge of the Institute with his fifteen member governing council for the next two years. The new GC comprise: Mr. Ebo Hammond, President-Elect; Mr. Lackson Legah as Executive Secretary; Mr. Neil Vorleto as Vice President Finance (Incumbent); Mr. Mark A. Amoamah as Vice President Education & Professional Development (Incumbent), Mr. Kumi Adjei-Sam as Vice President Maritime (Incumbent), Mr. Samuel Etsibah as Vice President Logistics (Incumbent), Mr. David Kwasi Gray as Vice President Air, Dr. Godfred Akyea-Darkwa as Vice President Road and Mr. Ephraim Asare as Executive Member. Belluno (Italy) (AFP) - As US President Donald Trump's anti-Muslim decree fuels a tumultuous global debate, Italy is quietly experimenting with an integration project to better the lives of both asylum seekers and locals. Snow falls thick and fast in Belluno, a town at the foot of the Dolomites, but a group of young men from across Africa works cheerfully to clean up the grounds of a military barrack that is to become a new cultural centre. "It's the first time I've seen the snow; I love it and I love this project," Nawaz Tashawar, a 35-year-old from Pakistan, told AFP with a shy grin last week. The programme houses migrants in apartments, instead of leaving them in tent camps or reception centres From Cameroon, the Ivory Coast, Niger, Nigeria and Senegal, they have been posted to this industrial heartland of 35,000 inhabitants near Venice, earning their keep by working without pay in parks, kitchens and schools. The government has been watching, and is expected to unveil plans Wednesday to take the project nationwide, making it compulsory for those waiting for the verdict on their asylum requests to work as volunteers. "We'd be at home doing nothing, we have no work, we'd simply eat, sleep," said Paul Adjei from the Ivory Coast. "So we decided together to help the town, so it can move forwards." The question of what to do with the thousands of people arriving in Italy each year has proved divisive. There are over 175,000 asylum seekers languishing in reception centres as they wait for their applications to be processed, which can take up to two years. "Many cannot bear not doing anything," Carlotta Sami, a spokeswoman for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), told AFP. "We all need to invest a little to resolve a problem that is bigger than us," says Jacopo Massaro, Belluno's mayor "So making themselves useful for a few hours a day for the community that is welcoming them can be a good thing for them psychologically," she said. Migrants in Italy are allowed to start working two months after they lodge their application for asylum, but jobs are thin on the ground. 'Need to invest' The government is expected to pledge next week to speed up the repatriation of those refused permission to stay, but has had difficulties sealing deals with many countries. It will also warn regional councils across Italy that asylum seekers will be spread more evenly, with 2.5 migrants to every 1,000 residents -- a plan that has been denounced by some mayors who say they have neither the resources nor the will to host outsiders. The 100 or so migrants in Belluno have been painting the town's railings and school gates and mowing lawns in parks Belluno, which has a left-wing mayor but sits in the middle of anti-immigrant Northern League territory, is not complaining. The 100 or so migrants here have painted the town's railings and school gates and mowed lawns in parks under the supervision of local associations. The project, launched in 2014, is based on the idea that autonomy can facilitate lasting integration. Instead of forcing asylum seekers to live in tent camps or large centres, they are given small apartments to share, and do their own shopping and cooking. Mayor Jacopo Massaro laughs off the suggestion that he is the antithesis of Trump and other advocates of walls to keep migrants out. "I don't feel like an anti-Trump, no! To put it simply, we thought that what with the difficulties Italy and Europe are experiencing, we all need to invest a little to resolve a problem that is bigger than us", he said. A helping hand The flow of people from the coasts of northern Africa to Italy -- 170,000 in 2014, 150,000 in 2015 and 181,000 last year -- has resulted in the biggest migrant crisis since World War Two. Nazrul Poramanic, right, from Bangladesh works as a kitchen assistant in Belluno But as Italy groans under the pressure, the idea of making asylum seekers work for free has angered those who say the country should be tackling its unemployment problem. Youth unemployment in the country stood at 40 percent in December. Massaro says that the migrants are doing jobs the town cannot afford, and that "we have not taken away work from anyone". Not everyone, however, is keen to work without pay. "We cannot be left with nothing in our pockets, we need more. We need a job," Adjei said. 07.02.2017 LISTEN With the gradual but steady abandonment of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) by its top shots to join the All Progressives Congress (APC), APC should not be in hurry to hold its national convention. PDP is interested in the fall of the APC and would want to plant its members in the ruling part. APC too is working hard to ensure that the only opposition PDP does not gather weight again. PDP members, with frivolous reasons basically personal, not on convictions that APC is really working are cross carpeting to obtain or maintain positions ahead of 2019 and beyond. Ordinary President Ahmad Isa of Berekete Family would repeatedly say: Be careful. APC said it will hold its national convention not later than April 2017, according to a statement issued by the partys national publicity secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi. This was said to be the decision of the National Working Committee (NWC) meeting presided over by the partys national chairman, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun. The convention would commence with congresses to fill vacancies in the state party structures across the country, such vacancies created from political appointments, deaths and resignations. The congresses, in turn, would be followed by the national caucus meeting and capped with the National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting of the party, which will consider and set the dates for the national convention. Grand and impressive as this proposal looks, effective and critical strategies are required to put the ruling party on the path of success. Many politicians within the APC have started gathering interest in the 2019 presidential polls. The former Vice President of Nigeria, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar has been called upon to make himself available for the 2019 Presidential elections under the Peoples Democratic Movement (PDM), though he is seen a staunch member of the ruling party. Former governor of Kano, Alhaji Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso is warming up. Others are yet nursing their interests. Events are mounting up to oust the party out ahead of 2019. Three former heads of state have thrown their weight behind a Southeast president. The Senate Minority Leader, Godswill Akpabio recently claimed that about 20 serving senators of APC have perfected plans to join the PDP once the leadership crisis in the opposition party is resolved. All they want is return of peace to the party. Once that is done I can assure you that 20 senators are on their way to joining the PDP, he said. The Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Ike Ekweremadu has been holding the position presumed to be for the ruling party and has resisted all pressures to dump PDP for APC. He accused those who left PDP for the APC in the Southeast as saboteurs and described them as contracts and employment opportunists. He claimed that after the contracts and employments, they would know who is who in the Southeast. That is why the defections into APC open the room for scrutiny. Though in politics permanent interest is paramount, those who had criticized the APC and its policies badly or had sat on the fence during the last general elections are now joining the party. Especially after the political upturn in Ondo, Edo and Rivers, it is sure that invaders and opportunists would prefer the ruling party. Three governors of Abia, Enugu and Ebonyi states are said to be warming up to join the APC. This is according to a statement credited to Governor Rochas Okorocha, the only APC governor in the Southeast. Governor Dave Umahi of Ebonyi state recently declared support for President Buhari ahead of 2019, even if it were to be his only vote in the state. The governor also claimed that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) will collapse if he leaves the party, with reports of his secret arrangements with his deputy to move to APC. Former Gov. Orji Kalu of Abia state recently joined the APC, pledging full support to the party leader, President Buhari. He posted on the Facebook: As an Igbo man who have seen it all, trained in business by the Hausa Fulani and started business in the South West. I sincerely believe it is better for the Igbos to sit where other Nigerians are sitting. He recalled his complaint to Mr. President over bad roads in the Southeast which are being reconstructed, implying the sincerity of the APC government to fulfill its promises to the people of Nigeria. Former Senate President, Ken Nnamani and ex-Governor of old Anambra state, Senator Jim Nwobodo, described their entry into APC as a good omen for Ndigbo just as they declared PDP dead. Recall that in October 2016, President Buhari namedNnamani the chairman of the electoral reform committee. All of these Southeast entrees are pushing Ndigbo to join the APC with a view to reintegrating into the nations body polity ahead of 2019 general elections. Chief Nnamani said the song had changed, thus his desire to change dancing steps. He noted that no political party was perfect but that APC can be panel beaten and brought to near perfection. I am in APC in the day and night. If you have skeleton or tribunal hanging on your neck, do not come to APC and sit on the front row. You can be a member of APC but not to be at the front line. A party is strong when it has large membership. PDP said it is democratic but it does not practice democracy. APC has all it takes to buy something good in the market, he added. According to Nwobodo, it was high time Ndigbo joined APC because it was difficult to fight from outside. You cannot talk of APC without Igbo. Nigeria is on tripod. Unless injustice done against Ndigbo is redressed, there will be no peace in Nigeria. My friends from the West who are progressives are all in APC and if I meet them I will tell them I was a progressive before them On its part, the APC has intensified grassroots registration especially in the Southeast. During the flag-off ceremony in Umuahia, Paul Chukwuma, who led a six-member committee from the national secretariat of the party in Abuja, said the exercise was informed by the demand of teeming supporters across the Southeast. While this is going on, the opposition party PDP is still struggling to agree on its leadership. Senator Ahmad Makarfi and Senator Ali Modu Sherriff are still on each others neck. Ekiti State Governor, Mr. Ayo Fayose was recently announced as the Chairman of the PDP Governors Forum, a move that has been faulted by many such as the Senator representing Ogun East Senatorial District in the National Assembly, Prince Buruji Kashamu. We must reject Governor Fayose now or strictly restrict him to running the affairs of the Governors Forum while well-meaning leaders and elders of the party who are not part of the crisis bedeviling the party are allowed to take charge of the affairs of the party and run it properly and legitimately, he said. Recall that Governor Fayose said his successor in the forthcoming governorship election in the state may not be from the PDP. But Mr. Fayose believes that PDP is a sleeping and not a dead lion that needs reactivation to assert its influence. He said that despite APCs control of the centre, it could not match the outreach of the PDP requiring rebuilding ahead of future challenges. Speaking through his special assistant on public communications and new media, Lere Olayinka, he said that the party so sharply divided could still boast of the best and established structure across the country. APC must do the needful to remain a beloved party to Nigerians. From evidences, President Muhammadu Buhari was voted for on personal recognition more that party affiliation, though in Nigeria individual candidacy is not encouraged. Party attachment is still the recognized system. Neither the party nor the President has practically touched the lives of the citizenry as hardship keeps biting harder. The President has shown the good heart to bring back the rotten economy and lives of the people, but corruption is yet holding sway. This means that the party has a lot to do. Things have to change for the people. Civil servants and the populace have to feed and clothe. Cost of living must be made to come down. People who suffered for the party must benefit from the government through appointments and contracts, though they must be monitored against corruption; the APC members and Nigerians of like minds with Mr. President must answer the names of leadership of government organs. The party must be extremely careful with those joining it at this time the buildup to 2019 politicking is gearing up. Corrupt politicians with heavy corruption cases in the courts are looking for soft landing. PDP is trying to prove to be a cat with seven lives. It seems to be realizing its mistakes of frustrating internal democracy and effective plan for national integration and development. They were in government for 16 years and had the largest political structure. They are still in government doing their best to prove Nigerians wrong for voting them out. APC is a young idea that has the potentials to make a clear difference. Just about two years old, it requires careful planning and execution, corrupt-free leaderships and holistic exposure to re-win the waning enthusiasm with which it was accepted in the 2015 general elections. In the nutshell, justice, internal democracy and patriotism must prevail. Muhammad Ajah is an advocate of humanity, peace and good governance in Abuja. E-mail [email protected] James Agyenim-Boateng 07.02.2017 LISTEN Officials of National Security have stormed the home of former aide to the former Vice President, James Agyenim-Boaten. It is unclear if they took anything away, but Starr News sources say the operatives were in search of vehicles, they believed were in his possession. The incident was tweeted by the former deputy Information minister Tuesday. National Security officers came to my home at 6am. They were looking for missing cars. James Agyenim-Boaten (@jagyenim) February 7, 2017 The government has established a task force to retrieve state properties in the hands of private individuals. It followed the seizure of some vehicles belonging to NDC national organiser Kofi Adams by some state security operates. The task force is made up of officials from the Ghana Police Service, Ghana Revenue Authority, Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA), Bureau of National Investigations (BNI), and the Office of the President. It is however unclear if the officials who stormed the home of the former presidential staffer are members of the task force. -Starrfmonline 07.02.2017 LISTEN Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia has reiterated that the Zongo Development Fund, which is a policy championed by the New Patriotic Party (NPP) in its 2016 campaign manifesto would be included in this years budget. He emphasized how the Nana Akufo-Addo-led government wants to upgrade the standard of living of Ghanaians, especially those in the Zongo communities. The new government of Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo is expected to present to Parliament a budget statement for the year 2017. This would be the first budget since the beginning of this administration, which is expected to capture the Zongo Development Fund promised by the NPP. In an interaction with members of the Tijanniya Muslims group, who paid a courtesy call on him at the Jubilee House yesterday, the Vice President indicated that the NPP would ensure that it lives up to expectations by establishing the Zongo Development Fund, to fulfill its promises to those living in the Zongos That, he said, could be achieved with hard work, unity and togetherness, noting that the success of this government would be the success of all Ghanaians, including Muslims. However, Dr Bawumia expressed gratitude to the group for taking time off their busy schedule to visit the Presidency, adding that the victory of the party came as Muslims dedicated time to pray to Allah to ensure the success and peace of the country in the elections. Reaffirming the confidence of his government towards developing the Zongos, the Vice President cited the appointment of a Minister in charge of Inner Cities and Zongo Development, whose main duty would be to uplift the living conditions of the Zongos. Meanwhile, a member of the leadership of the group, Sheikh Mutawakli, in his remarks said they had come to congratulate the President, Nana Akufo-Addo and his Vice, Dr Bawumia for the victory chalked in last years general elections. He expressed the profound gratitude of the group for the honor done them to be given an opportunity to visit the office of the President and have a discussion with the Vice President. According to him, it was the first time after Dr Kwame Nkrumah that they had been allowed to visit the office of the President and given audience by the President or his Vice. He urged Dr Bawumia to further engage them from time to time so that they could also share their ideas with the government. By Maxwell Ofori, Jubilee House, Accra Tindouf (Algeria) (AFP) - It has been dubbed the world's oldest functioning security barrier, but is also called a "wall of shame" by Western Sahara residents and leaders who want independence from Morocco. "I was raised behind the wall and my children were born in its shadow," says Anzouga Mohamed Ahmed, one of around 165,000 Sahrawis living in camps in neighbouring Algeria. Draped in the traditional four-metre-long (13-foot) "melhfa" cloth seen by many as a symbol of Sahrawi culture, the 36-year-old says she has lost hope of returning to Western Sahara. The Algeria-backed Polisario Front seeking independence for the former Spanish colony controls the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic on one side of the security wall that snakes through the desert. Morocco fought the Polisario from 1975 to 1991, and insists the Western Sahara is an integral part of its kingdom, despite UN resolutions calling for a referendum on self-administration for the territory. Bechir Mohamed, the chief of security in the Al-Mahbes area in the Western Sahara poses for a photo inside his hut on February 3, 2017 Between 1980 and 1987, Morocco built six mostly sand barriers some 2,700 kilometres (1,675 miles) long around the 90 percent of the Western Sahara that it controls. The berm cuts across El Mehbes, a vast ochre desert marked by the green of acacia shrubs and the white of a sparkling salt lake. Barbed wire, trenches and minefields surround it, and Moroccan soldiers can be seen on the other side. "It's one of the longest walls in the world and it has tightly sealed off Western Sahara," says Aziz Haidar, who heads a local group of Sahrawi victims of mine explosions. Polisario chief Brahim Ghali calls it a "wall of shame that shares one land but separates families". 'Separating families' Zghela, 45, has family on the other side that her 14-year-old son has never seen. She recently took him on a three-hour trek from Tindouf across the desert to show him the wall "behind which his family lives". Zghala, a Saharawi woman, looks at Moroccan soldiers in the Al-Mahbes area as she accompanies her 14-year-old son to show him the wall separating the Polisario controlled Western Sahara from Morocco on February 3, 2017 Many Sahrawis say that just being near the wall feels like they are closer to their relatives. But some have actually gone to the other side, like 66-year-old Demaha Labchi. Between 2004 and 2014 the UN refugee agency UNHCR organised more than 20,000 family visits across the wall. "We were allowed to visit for five days. It was too short. We would arrive in tears and leave in tears," Labchi says. "We want them to bring down that wall. It is separating families." Mohamed El Haiba Ahmed Fal, an engineer who describes himself as a peaceful activist, also has painful memories. In 2001, Moroccan authorities wanted to jail Fal, then in his late teens, for organising anti-government demonstrations. Rather than be arrested, he crossed to the Polisario-administered side. The safest route across Map of the Western Sahara "I had no other choice. I had to cross the wall of shame," says Fal, who can now communicate with his parents only through the internet in the absence of direct telephone links. Fal's greatest challenge was avoiding the minefields, and he relied on a friend who accompanied him to the wall and showed him the safest route across. During the 1975-1991 war, both Morocco and the Polisario planted mines in the region. According to various estimates between five million and 10 million mines are still there. "Western Sahara is one of the most contaminated territories in the world," the United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS) says on its website. Landmines and explosive remnants of war "remain widespread" and "there is very limited information available regarding the location of hazardous areas", it warns. The Polisario says it has handed over to the UN plans showing where they planted mines. High winds, sandstorms and rainfall also pose a challenge as they can hide, reveal or move landmines. Mohamed El Haiba Ahmed Fal (R), a Moroccan engineer who crossed the wall dividing Morocco and the Polisario-administered side of the Western Sahara poses for a photo with his daughter at his home in the Samara refugee camp in the Western Sahara According to Haidar, who lost two legs and an arm in a mine blast, such explosions have caused more than 300 casualties since a ceasefire between Morocco and the Polisario took effect in 1991. A UN peacekeeping force, MINURSO, was set up when the truce began. The Sahrawis are a nomadic people, and witnesses say thousands of camels have also been killed by landmine explosions. The former Chief Marketing Officer of Vodafone Ghana Uche Ofodile, has been appointed by Facebook as its Regional Head, Africa for Express Wi-Fi. Prior to taking over this position Uche Ofodile was the CEO of Tigo DRC. Her key role at her new position Express Wi-Fi will be to help expand connectivity to underserved locations around the world through Wi-Fi. In a post on Facebook announcing her new position, Uche Ofodile who will be based in London, stated that Express Wi-Fi will also work to empower entrepreneurs. Not only do we aim to increase the number of internet users; we also help create and empower local entrepreneurs! I am so proud of the work the team has done so far and we will continue to build on this in Africa. I am super excited to be joining the team. Uche Ofodile holds a Bachelors degree in Political Science from the Ramapo College of New Jersey and attended the Columbia Business School- Columbia University, and studied Strategic Management under their Executive Education program. By: Vivian Kai Lokko/citibusinessnews.com/Ghana The Federal Government has mandated the National Institute for Medical Research and the College of Medicine, Ibadan to do proper study of the two claims to HIV cure in the country. This mandate comes upon the heels of a statement by Nigerian university professor, Francis Otunta of the Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, claiming that a drug for the treatment and cure of HIV/AIDS has been discovered. The Minister of Health, Prof. Isaac Adewole, disclosed this on Monday in Ilorin at the Federal Government Town Hall meeting for the North Central Zone. A Nigeria university don, Prof. Maduike Ezeibe, recently claimed to have found a cure for the virus. The minister, who was responding to questions on the position of government on the claims, said getting a cure would be of public health interest to the country. According to him, Nigeria has about three million people infected with HIV, the second highest number in the world after South Africa. The minister, however, said that there were modalities recognised globally for disclosure of cure which must be followed. "What we need to do is to make sure that things are done properly. "The process to undertake is the animal experiment to be sure it is efficacious and safe before moving to human. "At the appointed time when we have the results, we shall come public," he said. Adewole said that the government was close to achieving the promise to make 10,000 Primary Health Care (PHC) service centres available to Nigerians. He disclosed that the European Union was investing in 650 PHC centres and the British government was funding 950. The minister said the FCT Administration was working to replicate the Federal Government model of PHC centre in the 225 wards in the territory. The Vice Chancellor of the institution located at Umudike in Abia state, announced the discovery of a drug which he claims is potent in the cure of the epidemic. Otunta told newsmen at the university campus on Wednesday, February 1, that the finding followed years of scientific research by the institution. He said that the breakthrough was made by Prof Maduike Ezeibe, a researcher in the university. BREAKING: Nigerian University finds cure for HIV/AIDS According to him, Ezeibe had presented the drug to the University management, Senate and Council, where he explained the processes he went through to arrive at his finding. The VC also said that Ezeibe had equally presented the drug to his colleagues in the medical field and nobody had contradicted his finding. READ ALSO: Nigerian arrested after 'discovering' the cure for AIDS (photo) Prof. Ezeibe is a researcher in Veterinary Medicine and one may wonder how he discovered a drug to cure a human ailment, he said. He commended Ezeibe for the breakthrough, saying: He has brought honour to the University and we are proud of him. Otunta said that the university was in the process of mass producing the drug for further clinical trials on persons living with HIV/AIDS in the country. Ezeibe, who is a professor of Veterinary Medicine and Clinical Virology, said that the drug was produced with Aluminum Silicate and Magnesium Silicate (Synthetic Aluminum-Magnesium Silicate). He said that the two minerals are already in use as medicines for the treatment of various animal and human diseases. He said that 10 persons living with the disease, who volunteered, were made to apply through their doctor to the VC. They were treated daily with the Medicinal Synthetic Aluminum-Magnesium Silicate (50 mg/kg), he said. Ezeibe said that the volunteers were subjected to monthly tests for viral loads and CD4-lymphocyte counts. With the antiviral effects of the medicine, its ability to reach all cells (as nanoparticles) and the lymphocytes, there is no more hiding place (sanctuary) for HIV, he said. He said that the medicine had been used to potentiate Ampicilin, Chloroquine, Piperazine and Sulphadimidin, among others, and could be a major foreign exchange earner for Nigeria, if approved by relevant authorities. According to him, local and international medical companies will find the product as a veritable raw material. Ezeibe said that he presented the research findings to the World Virology Conference in Atlanta in 2015, and Antonio (Texas) in 2016. READ ALSO: Angels of death! Brothel in Lagos where HIV+ ladies parade themselves for men (photos) Besides, he said that the results of the laboratory tests had been published in many international scientific journals, including the British Journal of Medicine and Medical Research, among several others. He said that he is also about to sign a Memorandum of Understanding with a U.S.-based Scientific Research Publishing, publishers of World Journal of AIDS, for the publication of his book How I came about the cure for HIV/AIDS. Ezeibe, who said that the medicine was patented in August 2014 in Nigeria, called on the Federal Government to help him to secure international patency for the drug. He said: If commercialised, the Medicinal Synthetic Aluminum-Magnesium Silicate would become an alternative for petroleum to the Nigerian economy. While the professor may be entitled to his claim, hundreds of such claims are announced every year by scientists claiming to have found a cure to the deadly disease. However, there are standards criteria which demands rigorous clinical tests which have to be verified by various layers of health organisations. But in this case, none have been reported, so it is likely that the discovery is fake as nothing is yet confirmed.The Nigerian minister of health, has also denied knowledge of the claim. Source: Legit.ng Chief Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the National Leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), on Monday, February 6, was seen addressing protesters outside his residence in Ikoyi, Lagos. Anti-Government Protest: Tinubu reacts, sends critical message to Nigerians This was just as scores of armed policemen as at 8:30 am, took strategic positions at the National Stadium, Surulere and environs, following insistence by some activists to continue with todays protest despite call off by Tuface Idibia. The protesters were led by Moremi Ojudu, the daughter of the Special Adviser to President Buhari on political matters, Senator Babafemi Ojudu, in front of Tinubus bourdillon house at the Ikoyi area of the state. The protesters insisted that Tinubu must come out to personally address the issues on ground. This was after they had waited for almost an hour and left unattended to and also after several attemptS by his security personnel to disperse the crowd. The APC Chieftain later bowed to pressure, begging Nigerians for patience with the Buhari-led government. He said, Nigerians should be patient with APC. We are not denying the fact that Nigerians are suffering and have the right to protest, but party and economy must be returned to shape. We are two years into the administration. To make those changes effectively and positively eventually, we have to be patient; we have to have the hope. Im not worried about the exchange rate they are pursuing because your salary should be in Naira and you are not an importer or exporter, are you? Maybe that is teaching us a lesson to be dependent on our domestic products, isnt it? To develop other talents, areas. I understand your grievances, unemployment etc and you know, corruption is seriously being attacked. Dont worry, our money will come back. the damage of 16 years will go through the system. You cannot get water out of a dry land. Nigeria is going through a phase. You have the right to protest, This government is also a product of protest, he added. In a similar vein, the Acting President, Yemi Osinbajo, on Monday, February 6, said that President Muhammadu Buhari has heard the cries of Nigerians loud and clear following a nationwide protest. According to Osinbajo, Buhari who is currently on medical vacation, has promised the present administration would ensure that all Nigerians get a fair deal. Osinbajo made this known at a Consultative Forum on the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan held at the old Banquet Hall of the Presidential Villa, Abuja. Although, he admitted that the nation is in what he called a serious economic situation, President Buhari had acknowledge it. We hear you loud and clear, Osinbajo said. Source: Legit.ng Nigerians can no longer afford one good meal, the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has told the President Muhammadu Buhari led federal government. Nigerians are no longer happy with his government NLC said this is as a result of lack of good governance which has led to non payment of salaries and pensions across states The NLC President, Comrade Ayuba Wabba, who spoke at a news conference in Abuja, said it was unfortunate that several states have not prioritised the welfare of their workers and are owing salaries. He added that the Congress, in conjunction with the Trade Union Congress (TUC), was organising a mass rally in Lagos and Abuja to press home their demand for good governance. READ ALSO: Protesters want to tarnish Buhari's name - Buhari group We thought that we should canvass for the issue of good governance because despite the Paris Club refund to some of the states, many of them have not done well in making sure that workers interest is given the priority it deserve. Some of the states have done their best to ensure that the liability of salaries and pensions is paid as and when due. For example, in Bauchi, about 90 percent of those funds was fund to defray salaries and pension. For now, the best example we have is the case of Jigawa where they dont have liability of pension and salaries as well as gratuity. In most of the states, gratuity is building up and it is a very important component of the benefit of the worker. In some states, we have gratuity running into about 77 months. The worst case scenario is Imo State where gratuity and pension is in arrears of 77 months and the governor has contemplated saying those pensioners who have not earned their pension for 77 months will be paid in percentage. He proposed 60 percent which the pensioners have rejected. We have also tried to go to those states and see how we can assist those pensioners. This portends a lot of danger and challenge because in some states, they dont look at payment of salaries as a priority. I remember one of the governors saying he was not elected to pay salaries. But he also knows that his predecessor lost office because he could not pay salaries and at the time he took over, there was liability of three months which have now increased to six months. These are the challenges and we think that we must situate all these things in the campaign for good governance and try to see how our political elites get their priorities right. We realised from the data we have that it is not about how much those states earn, but how transparent the process is in those states. Some states receive less and yet dont have liabilities of salaries and pension, while some receive so much and yet have not given priority to the payment of salaries, pension and gratuity of workers. So, side by side with our quest for a review of minimum wage, it is important for us to engage the process and get the people on the same page on the issue of campaign for good governance and also the issue of corruption. Basically, whether we like it or not, corruption will continue to fight back and except we wage a serious war, it is not going to be easy for us to defeat those forces that have been part of the problem. It is not about resources, but getting our priorities right and that is why you discovered things have not improved in some of those states, but there are states receiving less but have gotten their priorities right and those challenges are being addressed. READ ALSO: SGF appears before Senate to defend budget This rally will encompass all issues, including the issue of minimum wage, anti-corruption because good governance is about having a system where the rule of law will be respected, where collective agreement will be respected and the right of citizens, particularly the working class receive appropriately attention. It also include the payment of salaries. Side by side with this is the fact that the fight against corruption is NLC limited to the centre. In the states and local governments, we still have people behaving as if nothing is happening. That is why we think that these issues should be placed along side core labour issues and other national issues. Source: Legit.ng - The federal government has increased the fare for railway transportation between Abuja and Kaduna - The hike, a 25% increase, was announced by Nigerian Railway Corporation on Monday, February 6 - The new price will also take effect from the same day of its announcement The federal government made a 25% increase of the railway fares between Abuja and Kaduna The federal government has increased the fare for railway transportation between Abuja and Kaduna, the News agency of Nigeria reports. The Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) on Monday, February 6, announced the new fares from Kaduna to Abuja. READ ALSO: BREAKING: FG seals $1.5 billion Chinese loan deal for Lagos-Ibadan rail The corporation said the 25% price hike will take effect from Monday. At the Idu railway station in Abuja, operatives were seen handing the list containing the new price of transportation to passengers. The unsigned list handed over the passengers at the station contained amounts for tickets from Rigasa station, Kaduna state to Idu in Abuja. On the new list which was written in English, Igbo, Hausa and Yoruba, the economy passengers are expected to pay N1,050, a 25% increase from N600 charged before while the VIP passengers will now pay N1,500 against N900. READ ALSO: Expert lists 5 reasons why Nigerias economy will come out of recession in 2017 The corporation said the increase was slight and done to enable NRC enhance service to passengers. However, one of the passengers at the Rigasa station Mukhtar Bello said the hike was a surprise. Bello also said he hoped the trend will not continue. READ ALSO: Our economic recovery plan is already showing positive results - President Buhari He said: Passengers are heavily patronizing this service because it is cheap and affordable. With this increase, there is no much difference with what one pays to board taxis and buses to Abuja, I hope this would not draw away passengers from here. However, the NRC spokesperson for the Northern District Grace Adegbite said she cannot speak on the new price list. Adgbite said her reason was because she had just resumed from leave and will need time to be briefed on the matter. Source: Legit.ng A fresh Boko Haram bomb attack on Maiduguri, the Borno state capital, has been foiled by operatives of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) Borno Command. NSCDC officials have foiled a bomb attack on Damboa road in Maiduguri. News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the NSCDC on Tuesday, February 7 intercepted two female suicide bombers while trying to ram into motorists at the NNPC Mega Station along Damboa Road in Maiduguri. READ ALSO: There is no plan to scrap NYSC - Scheme's DG declares Ibrahim Abdullahi, the Commandant of the corps, said in Maiduguri that the incident occurred at about 6.45 a.m. Our personnel at the NNPC station intercepted two female suicide bombers, who were targeting motorists on the long queue at the NNPC mega petrol station at about 6.45 a.m. One of the female suicide bomb suspects arrested by NSCDC officials on Tuesday, February 7. ))One of the bombers got scared and threw her bomb and was instantly arrested, while the other one started running after people with her explosive but luckily, she was shot on the leg by our personnel after he chased her to a safe place. We have deployed our Anti-Bomb Squad to the area, Abdullahi said. PAY ATTENTION: Get the latest news on Legit.ng News App He appealed to all residents in Borno to be on alert and vigilant because the few insurgents remaining were looking for soft targets where they could cause havoc. Tuesday's development comes just as suspected Boko Haram militants that overran Sasawa town near Damaturu, the capital of neighbouring Yobe state early on Monday, February 6, burned down the community later the same day. The insurgents attacked the town located 27 kilometers to Damaturu and burned down practically the entire town. Source: Legit.ng The Nigerian police has allegedly recovered the sum of N100 million allegedly used by River state's Governor Nyesom Wike to bribe INEC Officials The investigative committee of the Nigerian police has reportedly recovered over N100 million from Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) officials arrested after the Rivers state election rerun. DCP Damian Nkem Okoro presenting report and N111,300 million recovered from 23 INEC officers to the Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Idris on Tuesday, February 7, 2017. Photo: Sodiq Adelakun. READ ALSO: Mega party will take over government in 2019 Party chairman According to Sahara Reporters, the investigative committee of the Nigeria police on Tuesday, February 7, said the recovered money was given to the INEC officials as bribe by the Rivers state government. Security operatives stashing up the recovered money during a visit to the office of Ibrahim Idris, the police IG on Tuesday, February 7. Photo: Sodiq Adelakun. The chairman of the Police panel, DCP Damian Okoro allegedly disclosed that: "The sum total of N111.3 million was recovered from 23 electoral officials out of N360m." Okoro said that some officials got N15 million each while three senior electoral officers got N20 million each. The cash was displayed for all to see during the briefing on Tuesday, February 7. Photo: Sodiq Adelakun. READ ALSO: APC asks Federal Government to sanction Wike Recall that the Nigerian police Special Investigation Panel arrested 26 INEC officials who served in the December 2016 Rivers state National/State Legislative re-run elections. The cash recovered was neatly arranged on a table during the meeting. Photo: Sodiq Adelakun. PAY ATTENTION: Get the latest News on Legit.ng News App Meanwhile, a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja on Monday, January 30, refused an application by the Rivers state governor Nyesom Wike to stop the probe of election violence in the state. The governor had earlier prayed the court to grant an ex-parte motion for an interim injunction on a proposed probe by the Nigerian police. Source: Legit.ng - A renowned lawyer and senior advocate of Nigeria Femi Falana have condemned President Muhammadu Buhari for not disclosed the status of his health condition to Nigeria - Falana said Nigerians have the right to know the health status of a sitting president - The senior lawyer said this can be done even if the law does not mandate the president to make such disclosures A renowned lawyer and senior advocate of Nigeria Femi Falana have condemned President Muhammadu Buhari for not disclosed the status of his health condition to Nigeria. Falana said Nigerians have the right to know the health status of a sitting president. Speaking on a Channel televisions programme, Falana said even if the law does not mandate the president to make such disclosures, Nigerians deserve to know his health status. READ ALSO: Buhari must not die now, but remain alive to see how Igbo people will leave Nigeria - Uwazuruike Under the Freedom of Information Act, the right to health is supposed to be shrouded in secrecy but I am saying now that henceforth, this situation calls for a review of the law so that we wont be left guessing next time, Falana said. We are talking of the President. Many state governors go in and out of the country, some for a month or two, some for three months without anybody asking any question and without any handover to their deputies, he said. The senior lawyer said the system has been structured in a manner that a public office holder does not have to be secretive about issues concerning him. READ ALSO: Buhari's health: Its high time the president said something so that suspicion will die down Bishop Ezeokafor Falana said: But I am saying that with what we are going through now, we must come to appreciate that if you are going into public office, you have no secrecy. It is our duty and right and the President took cognizance of that last year when he disclosed to Nigerians what he was going abroad for. This year should not be an exception. This is what has given room to a lot of rumours and speculation which are totally uncalled for, he said. READ ALSO: Anybody can die, fall sick and also get well, Adesina downplays Buharis health issues President Muhammadu Buhari had written to the Senate to extend his initial 10-days vacation. However, the presidents letter has raised controversies with Nigerians calling for a total disclosure of the Buhari present health status Meanwhile, the vice president Yemi Osinbajo has assumed duty as the acting president of Nigeria. Source: Legit.ng Do you know what is IGBO traditional attire or IGBO people native dressing? Does it look attractive? What are IGBO people traditions? What is IGBO people cultural attire? Check it. LOOK! IGBO traditional attire First of all, you should know that Igbo people are living in south-eastern part of Nigeria. The number of them is 26 million people. It is known that they speak the Igbo language. The Igbo are deeply religious people. They believe in Chukwu. This group has a great influence in the country. Due to migrations, Igbo people moved to different countries. In the villages, the Igbo are in general farmers. LOOK! IGBO traditional attire Igbo traditional attire Igbo native attire included the clothing that consisted mainly of a few clothes. This was due to the fact that Igbo people tried just to hide the privy parts of men and women. There is also an interesting information that the eldest people were completely unclothed. Whats for the kids, they were naked since their birth time till the period during which adolescents reached sexual maturity. However, some women concealed the chest zone by hanging beads and necklaces. LOOK! IGBO traditional attire READ ALSO: Nigerian man blasts lady who rejected him because he is Igbo (photos) Adults also wrapped legs and waist with the cloth to retain the heat. Moreover, while working, for instance, in agriculture sphere they needed to cover their private parts. It is interesting that the great popularity had body art paintings. It was created for people to decorate the corpus. What is more, small babies were carried by mothers on their back. So, from all given information we can say that in the past times Igbo cultural attire was really unique and extraordinary. Igbo blouses LOOK! IGBO traditional attire Well, as colonialism became more influential, Igbo dressing began to change as well. It got modernized and took its new form. Since that time, Igbo blouse style came into being. It is accepted to wear beautiful blouses, mainly for the holiday occasions, like the wedding. Marriage is generally known as 'Iku aka' or 'Iju ese'. This wonderful type of dressing is made of guipure and wax textile. READ ALSO: Northern Nigeria is ready for breakup - Prof Ango Abdullahi LOOK! IGBO traditional attire What is more, the great part of women decorate their blouses with necklaces or beads. By the way, there is a type of dressing, which is called "African blouses for wrappers". These blouses have two layers. They look even more attractive and gorgeous. Such type of clothes is mainly preferred by women from the North parts of the country. However, their modern style of dressing began spreading to other all over the country. Igbo traditional hairstyles LOOK! IGBO traditional attire As far as Igbo girls and women want to look perfectly, apart of blouse style, they create more and more amazing hairstyles. It is accepted to decorate the hair with beads, make various hair combs, using the shawl and so on. Everything is used, because of representing some symbols and traditions. For example, they represent wealth, royalty, power and prosperity, feminity etc. By the way, for the Kanuri bride, it is necessary to be braided by women, who bless her. It should be also said that the bride's hair is to be washed firstly by the same women. To tell the truth, it is really complicated, but interesting theme. Do not forget to read more facts on our website. Source: Legit.ng Editor's note: Okolie Anthony, the Legit.ng partner blogger, in this article reveals six health benefits of kidney beans and how and when they should be consumed. Okolie is a student blogger, who has flair for writing articles on health and some interesting topics. He is the owner of the Herbal Gang Blog, a blog dedicated to people in search of the healing power of herbs. He is also a Digital Marketer with a great passion for online entrepreneurship. He could be contacted via: www.herbalgang.com or mikeozhil@gmail.com More details in Legit.ngs step-by-step guide for guest bloggers. What are kidney beans by the way to even start talking about its health benefits? Are red kidney beans high in carbs? If I had some sort of psychic power, I would have read your minds and I can say authoritatively that you must have asked yourselves the above questions. So, it is noteworthy to explain what kidney beans are before stating their health benefits. Kidney beans What are Kidney Beans? Kidney beans are a very popular legume because of its great taste, texture and flavour. They are dark red in color and are kidney-shaped; of course from the name you should know it would be kidney-shaped, right? READ ALSO: Why THESE 7 demonized foods are actually good for you Kidney beans are full of potassium, magnesium, iron and protein. Hence, this is a good meat substitute for vegetarians. Kidney beans also have several disease-fighting antioxidants that promote a healthy and strong immunity. Having said all these, isnt it glaring that the health benefits of kidney beans would be amazing? Other names given to kidney beans are Rajmain Hindi, Nallachikkudu in Telugu, Sigappu Karamani in Tamil, Capparadavare in Kannada, Barbati Beej in Bengali, Phanasi in Gujarati and Rajma in Punjabi. Please dont ask me for the name given to it in Nigeria oh! Or take this; its popularly called Nigerian Kidney Beans. Owing to its various health benefits, kidney beans are one of the best legumes for everybody. These are 6 healing health benefits of kidney beans: 1. Kidney beans help improve brain function and cognitive ability Vitamin K is present in abundance in kidney beans and this is very beneficial for the brain and nervous system. The myelin sheath requires sphingo-lipids for proper formation. Vitamin K helps in the synthesis of sphingo-lipids that aid in healthy brain and nervous functioning. Kidney beans also contain a good amount of thiamine that is required by the brain cells for cognitive function. This helps to create acetylcholine for memory. White kidney beans contain a good amount of vitamin B1 or thiamin. It helps in the formation of brain cells and their proper functioning. Thiamin is also useful for synthesis of acetylcholine that helps in memory functioning. I would suggest you consume more white kidney beans to maintain healthy cognitive function. 2. Kidney beans help prevent your risk of diabetes Kidney beans contain carbohydrates with a low glycemic index. This is useful to prevent the risk for diabetes. 3. Kidney beans are a phenomenal source of protein and also help in reducing blood sugar Did you know that one cup of kidney beans contains 16 grams of protein, making it an excellent protein source for vegetarians? Kidney beans contain all the essential amino acids that are needed for proper muscle-building. Kidney beans contain soluble fiber that helps to decrease the metabolism rate of carbohydrates. This can prevent blood sugar levels from hiking after a meal. Kidney beans like Ive said earlier are a good source of protein that lowers blood sugar level. 4. Kidney beans have cardiovascular benefits and also aids heart health The high fibre content in kidney beans can lower your cholesterol level. The folate in kidney beans can lower the levels of homocysteine that further reduces the risk of strokes, heart attacks and vascular diseases. They also contain magnesium that aids in healthy functioning of the cardiovascular system. Kidney beans are rich in vitamin B9 i.e. folate or folic acid. White kidney beans are considered heart-healthy as they are low in fat content. Folate helps to reduce the level of homocysteine in your bloodstream. DOWNLOAD: Legit.ng current affairs app for android to get the latest news 5. Kidney beans helps shed weight Again, red kidney beans are highly rich in fibre, protein and complex carbohydrates that stabilise blood sugar levels. It is adviseable to consume red kidney beans in case of insulin resistance, hypoglycemia and diabetes. Stable blood sugar levels help to release less insulin by the pancreas. This promotes fat storage in your body and keeps the insulin levels low to maintain a healthy weight. 6. Kidney beans cures acne and improves eye health Kidney beans are a good source of zinc that plays a vital role in maintaining healthy skin. Zinc also ensures the proper functioning of the sebaceous glands that produce sweat. Sebaceous glands that are overactive can cause acne. Kidney beans are also rich in folic acid that helps in the formation of new skin cells. Regular production of new cells can be useful to clear pores and reduce acne breakouts. Consume a cup of red kidney beans daily as they are a good source of zinc that is important for eye health. Adequate amounts of zinc are useful for enabling good night vision and to prevent cataract. However, after listing all the great health benefits of kidney beans, I would need to chip in some strong warnings on how and when to consume Kidney beans. These include: Gout and kidney stones patients must avoid excess consumption of kidney beans. High amount of red kidney beans can disrupt cellular metabolism. Pre-soak the kidney beans to help in digestion and reduce the cooking time. Buy beans that are whole and not cracked. Store kidney beans in an airtight container. Keep them in a cool, dry and dark place. You can store them for up to 12 months. You can cook them in a pressure cooker. Avoid adding any salty or acidic seasonings. READ ALSO: Tiger nuts and sperm count Ultimately, I hope youve been well-educated on the great healing health benefits of kidney beans. I would encourage an increase in your kidney beans consumption to gain its various health benefits for those that have tried it before. For those who havent consumed kidney beans at all, please rush down to any market or store near you to get them or you can buy from White Pearls Online Store on Jumia NG. Okoli Anthony 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 Canadian woman hid six dead babies in locker A Winnipeg woman has been found guilty of disposing of the remains of six infants in a storage locker. - Nigeria will stop importing fuel in 2019 according to the minister of state for petroleum resources - Mr Ibe Kachikwu said in 2 years the FG had made rapid improvements in the petroleum industry Ibe Kachikwu Mr Ibe Kachikwu, the minister of state for petroleum resources, said on Tuesday, February 7 that Nigeria will stop importing refined petroleum products by 2019, in Abuja. While speaking at a public hearing on the review of petroleum pricing template for Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) organised by the House of Representatives, Mr Kachikwu said that within two years, the FG had successfully revived refineries that were not functioning. This huge improvement in the industry had contributed about eight million out of over 20 million litres of petrol consumed in the country daily. READ ALSO: Global oil output falls by 1.07 million bpd in January Kachikwu explained that the FG has also initiated a model which attracted foreign investors to partner with the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) to repair the countrys refineries within the two years period. He explained: This has consistently served as a target for this government so that by December 2018, NNPC must be able to deliver on some of the terms given them, one of which is to reduce petroleum importation by 60 per cent. By 2019, we should be able to exist completely on the importation of petroleum products in this country. Cognisant of the fact that Dangote is building one refinery, we expect to have an excess situation." Speaking on the exporting of crude oil, the minister said Nigeria must also have the capacity to stop exporting crude oil. He likened selling crude oil to selling agricultural produce in an unprocessed manner, and this he said was unacceptable. He said: The world is leaving that, every member of OPEC is leaving that because of the prizing, volume and market challenges is now shifting from selling crude to selling refined petroleum products. That is what this country must do and there is a template we are working on. He further said that the ministry intended to create an enabling environment that would promote local refining of crude oil. The issue is not giving licences to illegality, the issue is how do we ensure that we create an investment environment that pulls individuals from illegal creek activities to legal business activities. We are looking at modular refineries, about 60 licences were given out just before this government came in and none of that was utilised because it requires a lot of money, land and crude security. READ ALSO: Petrol now sells for N142 per litre in depots But now we are going out to identify refineries, get individuals who can build refineries on the same platforms where our refineries are and identify some key specific modular refineries backed up by foreign investments working with state governments. Hopefully this will address the restiveness you see in the Niger Delta." Speaking on reducing the fuel pump price, Kachikwu said there was no padding in the petroleum pricing template for PMS currently sold at N145 per litre. Meanwhile, an end seems to have come to the economic recession plaguing Nigeria since almost two years as the country sees oil hitting mid-$60s in coming months as OPEC bites. Bloomberg reports that the minister of state for Petroleum, Emmanuel Kachikwu, said that crude oil prices, hovering around $55 a barrel since early December, will climb by about $10 in the coming months as OPEC-led measures to curb a glut take hold. Source: Legit.ng The Rivers state government has denied that Governor Nyesom Wike allegedly spent N100 million to bribe officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) during the December 10 re-run election. BREAKING: Rivers state govt denies bribing INEC officials, dares Police According to Sahara Reporters, the investigative committee of the Nigeria police on Tuesday, February 7, said the recovered money was given to the INEC officials as bribe by the Rivers state government. In reaction to the report, Dr Austin Tam-George, the commissioner for information and communication, in a statement described allegations of the police as shameful, defamatory and reckless in the extreme. READ ALSO: Court refuses Wikes application to stop probe of Rivers rerun violence Read the full statement: The attention of the Rivers State Government has been drawn to the melodramatic images of heaps of cash, circulated in the media by the so-called police panel of inquiry into the re-run elections in Rivers State, on the 10th of December 2016. According to the Police, the heaps of money were evidence of bribe allegedly given to officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), by the Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, during the rerun polls. We consider the allegations of the Police as shameful, defamatory and reckless in the extreme. Never in the annals of infamy have we seen a vital State security institution descend to the lowest depths of blackmail and criminality, as the Nigeria Police Force has done in this case. A month ago, we alerted the world to the dark, Orwellian plot by the Nigeria Police to implicate governor Wike in a phoney bribe scandal. Now, the Police appears to be acting with shocking predictability, by making wild and completely groundless allegations against Wike. The Rivers State Government challenges the Nigeria Police to show proof that Governor Wike financially induced any official of INEC. Does the Police have Bank records of the purported transactions between Governor Wike and the Electoral Officers? We challenge the Nigeria Police to move quickly to prosecute and imprison the so-called Electoral Officers on the basis of this dubious investigation. We strongly believe that the police panel is part of a bitter, politically-driven smear campaign launched by the Federal Government against Governor Nyesom Wike, and the people of Rivers State. We also believe that the Police is desperately seeking to divert attention from the disgraceful and criminal roles played by its officials, in the snatching and stuffing of ballot boxes during the December polls. Rivers state will not succumb to the juvenile antics of the All Progressives Congress and its security surrogates. The chairman of the Police panel, DCP Damian Okoro allegedly disclosed that: "The sum total of N111.3 million was recovered from 23 electoral officials out of N360m." READ ALSO: How Buhari's government rejected 2 helicopters donated by Rivers Okoro said that some officials got N15 million each while three senior electoral officers got N20 million each. Meanwhile, a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja on Monday, January 30, refused an application by the Rivers state governor to stop the probe of election violence in the state. The governor had earlier prayed the court to grant an ex-parte motion for an interim injunction on a proposed probe by the Nigerian police. Source: Legit.ng - The Christian Association of Nigeria accused Lai Mohammed of lying against them - The Christian group said the country was not taking their issues serious - It said Christian killings have been allowed to happen because of the dominance of Muslim security operatives The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) has lashed out at the minister of information, Lai Mohammed for calling on religious leaders to desist from preaching hatred. In a statement released on Tuesday, February 3, the religious group accused the federal government of turning a blind eye to the killing of Christians in the country while also attacking Mohammed for allegedly accusing them of lying. It quoted Mohammed as saying such fallacies like the Islamization of Nigeria, the killing of Christians by Muslims, the labelling of Nigeria as the most dangerous place for Christians in the world can only serve one purpose: trigger a religious war. Needless to say that no nation ever survives a religious war. READ ALSO: Emir of Kano wants mosques converted to schools Those who are making these allegations know that they are not true, but they have found in religion another tool to demonize the government of the day, divert attention from the governments anti-corruption stance and create undue tension in the polity Mohammed went on further to dismiss the Islamisation agenda against the country when he said: The alleged Islamisation of Nigeria under the current administration is totally false and should be perceived in its entirety as a campaign of calumny. The secular nature of Nigerias Constitution makes the issue of religious dominance and impunity improbable. We want to boldly declare that Nigerian Christians love their country and they not only promote peace and unity but also always pray for her and the leadership. In the last one year, the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) has declared fasting and prayers for Nigeria and her leadership twice. If we are thirsty for a war, we wouldnt have gone that far. Is Lai Mohammed accusing of us of telling lies: That our members are being killed and burnt by the Boko Haram terrorists in the Northeast? That our members are being killed by the Fulani herdsmen in Plateau, Benue and now Southern Kaduna states? That those responsible for these killings profess Islam as their religion? That those who killed Madam Bridget Agbahime in Kano were Muslims who were arrested but later discharged and acquitted by the court as requested by the State Attorney-General and Commissioner of Justice? That those who killed Madam Eunice Elisha Olawale while doing the morning preaching in Kubwa, Abuja were Muslim fundamentalists who were arrested but also freed by the Police? Is Lai Mohammed telling us that no Christian was killed by the Fulani herdsmen who invaded the Southern Kaduna, killed our members and razed down their communities recently? Is Mohammed saying the Fulani herdsmen who have been killing our members are not armed with sophisticated weapons and is it wrong for us to ask where they get the AK-47 and other weapons they are using? READ ALSO: FG warns religious leaders over inciting comments When all those killings were going on in Plateau, Benue and Southern Kaduna, was there any time Lai Mohammed or anyone in the Federal Government raised up a voice against the atrocities? If those murderous Fulani herdsmen are faceless, how come the Sultan of Sokoto is claiming that they are not Nigerians and in another instance, the Kaduna State governor, Mallam Nasir el-Rufai said they had been paid for the wrong done to them? Why is it that whenever these murderers are perpetrating their atrocities, the security agencies look elsewhere until their victims decided to fight back? Is it because the security agencies are Muslim dominated? CAN says no to disparaging remarks in the name of politics. Enough of these lies by Lai Mohammed! Source: Legit.ng - About 12,000 Nigerians are set to be deported back home from Germany - The country said Nigeria is not a war country - It offers to provide programme for those willing to return Germany is set to deport more than 12,000 Nigerians from the country in 2018 according to the countrys global head of programme, migration and development. This is coming a few days after the country is trying to deal with the deportation of 41 Nigerians from the UK. READ ALSO: 92 immigrants deported from US to Africa The Nation reports that Dr. Ralf Sanftenberg said Nigerians will be denied asylum status in Germany. He made this revelation when he visited Mrs. Abike Dabiri-Erewa who is the special assistant to the president on foreign affairs and diaspora. We have over 37,000 Nigerians in Germany and more than 12,000 of them are asylum seekers. There is a little chance for their applications to be moved and they may be forced to come back to Nigeria next year. READ ALSO: 83 Nigerians deported from UK arrive Lagos airport Sanftenberg is the leader of delegation from the German Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development who were on a site assessment mission for Nigerians who are voluntarily returning to the country. He said since Nigeria was not among the war countries, 99 per cent of them will be denied asylum. He explained that Germany would organise a support programme for those who are willing to voluntarily return to Nigeria. One of the deportees from UK, a 37-year-old, Yoruba man said he left Nigeria about 17 years ago and had lost touch with home. According to him, he put resources together to travel to the UK but could not raise the money to process stay papers. He then began to engage in illegal activities until he was caught. In a similar vein, an Igbo eportee, said his parents were Lagos-based before he left for greener pastures, said he might not be able to trace the parents because he learnt they had relocated back home. An aged woman among the deported said she left Nigeria some decades back, and she had lost touch with her relatives, including her children. According to investigation, many of the deportees had used fake names in their documentation as they were ashamed to reveal their identities. Those who could locate their Nigerian addresses were give assistance to return home while those who could not were taken to rehabilitation centers. Source: Legit.ng CNP gets 11 wild water buffaloes in 12 days As many as 11 wild water buffaloes (Bubalus arnee) have been relocated to the Chitwan National Park (CNP) from the Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve (KTWR) and Central Zoo in the last 12 days, in a move aimed at increasing the population of the species locally called Arna. For the second time in weeks, the Hemp Industries Association (HIA) has taken the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to court. HIA on Monday announced filing a motion to hold DEA in contempt for violating a 13-year-old court order after a North Dakota company operating under an industrial hemp pilot program received a threatening letter in December. The motion for causeto show why DEA should not be held in contempt of courtwas filed in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. The Ninth Circuit is the same court that ruled 13 years ago in favor of HIA and against DEA in a landmark decision over the legality of hemp foods containing naturally occurring amounts of THC. The 2004 court order, the trade group explained in a Feb. 6 news release, barred DEA from regulating hemp foods as Schedule 1 controlled substances. "Thirteen years ago, DEA was told in no uncertain terms by the U.S. Court of Appeals that Congress had made its intent clear: DEA has no power to regulate hemp seed and oil, and the hemp food and beverage products made from them," said Joe Sandler, lead counsel of HIA, a trade association representing hundreds of hemp businesses, in a statement. "It is disappointing that the industry has to revisit the issue, and take this step to compel DEA to obey the law." HIAs counsel mailed the motion to DEA and the U.S. Justice Department. Both agencies declined to comment. In January, HIA filed a separate petition with the Ninth Circuit, seeking to challenge a marijuana extract rule that is viewed as a threat to the burgeoning CBDor cannabidiolindustry. The latest development can be traced to Healthy Oilseeds, LLC, a grower, processor and exporter of grains and oilseeds based in Carrington, North Dakota. In late December, the North Dakota Department of Agriculture (NDDA) advised Healthy Oilseeds that it could not begin selling industrial hemp products out of the state without first obtaining a permit from DEA. HIA said the affected products were made from hemp grown under a state hemp pilot program in North Dakota and the federal Agricultural Act of 2014otherwise known as the Farm Bill. The federal law, the trade group explained, authorized the cultivation and processing of industrial hemp under licensing programs that are in effect in 31 states. Section 7606 of the Farm Bill, NDDA acknowledged, had authorized its own Industrial Hemp Agriculture Research Program (IHARP). But in a Dec. 23, 2016 letter to Healthy Oilseeds President Roger Gussiaas, NDDA department described its program as heavily regulated because industrial hemp is a Schedule 1 controlled substance under the federal Controlled Substances Act." Because you have not yet been granted DEA approval, you are currently not authorized to sell or ship hemp products internationally or to states that do not have similar pilot industrial research programs," Thomas H. Bodine, deputy commissioner of NDDA, advised the company. Failure to comply with the parameters of your NDDA industrial hemp license, the NDDA IHARP, and federal and state laws may result in the revocation of your industrial hemp license and you may be subject to state and federal administrative and criminal sanctions." HIA argued DEA's actions violate the Farm Bills congressional intent and run afoul of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2016, which the trade group said barred federal authorities from using money to interfere with the use, processing, sale or transportation of industrial hemp within or outside the state in which the crop is grown or cultivated. "Hence, the DEA may not require lawfully licensed hemp farmers or manufacturers in the U.S. to register for a permit to engage in interstate commerce of industrial hemp products," HIA declared in the news release. NDDA did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Were resurfacing this article after the narrow confirmation of Betsy DeVos as education secretary on Tuesday. As we noted in November, she will be highly constrained in trying to voucherize American K-12 education. Betsy DeVos, a wealthy Republican philanthropist, whom Donald J. Trump selected on Wednesday as the next secretary of education, has spent her career promoting a market-based, privatized vision of public education. If she pursues that agenda in her new role, she is quite likely to face disappointment and frustration. Market-based school reforms generally come in two flavors: vouchers and charter schools. They differ in both structure and political orientation. Charter schools are public schools, open to all, accountable in varying degrees to public authorities, and usually run by nonprofit organizations. Vouchers, by contrast, allow students to attend any school, public or private, including those run by religious organizations and for-profit companies. While charters enjoy support from most Republicans and some Democrats, vouchers have a narrower political base, those who tend to favor free markets to replace many government responsibilities. Over the past week, differences between Israel and the United States have boiled over into a scalding diplomatic confrontation between these closest of allies. The dispute reflects not any change in American policy, but a dangerous evolution in Israeli policy, under the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, away from an acceptance of a negotiated two-state resolution to Israels conflict with the Palestinians. The dispute also arises from Mr. Netanyahus lamentable practice of making his government a more nakedly partisan player in American politics than any foreign government in memory, save Russia. It is hard to see how either move by this Israeli government serves Israels long-term interest. The spark for this confrontation was a United Nations Security Council resolution, adopted on Friday, that condemned Israeli settlement-building in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. The Obama administration chose to abstain from the vote rather than exercise its veto to block it. The United Nations is shamefully biased against Israel, and President Obama has used the American veto and its diplomatic muscle more assiduously than any previous American president to shield Israel from unwarranted criticism. But nowhere is it written that an American president is obliged to shelter Israel from international criticism that is consistent with decades-old American policy and with American interests. The American abstention has triggered more than the usual amount of outrage, name-calling and threats from Mr. Netanyahu and his allies. Personalizing the dispute to an astonishing degree, they have accused Mr. Obama of betraying Israel. Theyre wrong. Many of Mr. Netanyahus accusations and those of his supporters misrepresent the history of Israeli-American relations, malign Mr. Obama and his secretary of state, John Kerry, and confuse what should be a serious debate over the future of a negotiated peace between Israelis and Palestinians, which seems further away every day. With less than three weeks before Mr. Obama leaves office, Mr. Kerry on Wednesday finally gave the speech he wanted to give two years ago a passionate, blunt and detailed warning about why the two-state solution is in jeopardy and how it might yet be salvaged before incalculable damage is done to Israel and the region. People who eat white bread, the fashionista Diana Vreeland once said, have no dreams. Selling it is something else entirely. By introducing his sliced white bread to Mexican consumers in 1945, Lorenzo Servitje fulfilled a vision that transformed the company he helped found into the biggest bakery in the world. Mr. Servitje, who established Grupo Bimbo with four fellow dreamers, died on Friday at his home in Mexico City. He was 98. His death was announced by the company, a Mexican conglomerate whose trademarks now include Wonder Bread, Sara Lee, Entenmanns, Thomas English muffins, Brownberry, Boboli and, in Britain, New York-brand bagels. Today, if you buy Arnold bread in the East or Oroweat in the West, Freihofer in Pennsylvania or Mrs. Baird in Texas, Stroehmanns in the mid-Atlantic or Old Country in Arizona, not to mention Roman-Meal, Sun-Made and Francisco sourdough, its Bimbo, Aaron Bobrow-Strain wrote in White Bread: A Social History of the Store-Bought Loaf (2012). ALBANY Until recently, the acid rain of dissent that has nagged the young presidency of Donald J. Trump the rallies and marches, the town-hall heckling, the phone lines jammed with calls from irate constituents was aimed mostly at those in Washington, with no room to duck, even for the likes of Senator Elizabeth Warren. On Friday, it found a far more obscure target. Traitor! Traitor! a crowd of more than 100 protesters screamed outside a town-hall meeting held by State Senator Jose R. Peralta of Queens. They were louding venting at an assiduously uncontroversial state legislator who, as a Democrat in New York City, had been accustomed to cozier treatment. You are empowering the Republicans everyone in this room knows it, one woman inside told Mr. Peralta as protesters shut out of the meeting banged on the windows. Your constituents are angry. We are probably going to vote you out. The mathematics of power in Albany resists simple divisions. There are Democrats. There are Republicans. There are the Independent Democrats, a breakaway group of eight legislators who control the State Senate in partnership with Republicans an arrangement the Independent Democrats say empowers them to sway legislative priorities to the left, but that mainstream Democrats blame for blocking a more uniformly progressive agenda. And there is State Senator Simcha Felder, a Brooklyn Democrat whose alignment with the Republicans has supplied them with a fragile majority. The citys Investigation Department is looking into the New York Police Departments awarding of a $6.4 million contract for body-worn cameras, two people with knowledge of the investigation said Monday. The existence of the inquiry, which was opened last year, was shared with the city comptrollers office late Friday, leading Scott M. Stringer, the comptroller, to decide against signing off on the contract, an official in the comptrollers office said. The contract was awarded last year to Vievu of Seattle. Mr. Stringers office sent the contract back to the Police Department and requested more information about the investigation, said the official, who requested anonymity to discuss a pending investigation. The Police Department is under federal court order, stemming from a 2013 decision against the city over its stop-and-frisk practices, to conduct a pilot program using 1,000 body cameras. Mayor Bill de Blasio promised last week that every New York City officer on patrol would be outfitted with a body camera by 2019. No city officers wear body cameras now. Where to begin? In the same week that he announced his nominee for the Supreme Court, the president of the United States pre-emptively accused not only a judge, but the whole judicial branch the most dependable check on his power of abetting the murder of Americans by terrorists. Its reasonable to wonder whether Mr. Trump is anticipating a way to blame meddling courts for any future attack. There was, in fact, a terrorist attack shortly after Mr. Trump issued his immigration order: a white supremacist, officials say, armed himself with an assault rifle and stormed a mosque in Quebec City, slaughtering six Muslims during their prayers. Mr. Trump has not said a word about that massacre although he was quick to tell America on Twitter to get smart when, a few days later, an Egyptian man wielding a knife attacked a military patrol in Paris, injuring one soldier. In the dark world that Mr. Trump and his top adviser, Stephen Bannon, inhabit, getting smart means shutting down immigration from countries that have not been responsible for a single fatal attack in the United States in more than two decades. As multiple national security experts have said, the order would, if anything, increase the terrorism threat to Americans. And contrary to Mr. Trumps claim, no one is pouring in to America. Refugees and other immigrants already undergo a thorough, multilayered vetting process that can take up to two years. But Mr. Trumps threats are based on fear, not rationality, which is the realm of the courts. Judge Robart is not the first judge Mr. Trump has smeared. During the presidential campaign last year, he pursued bigoted attacks on a federal judge presiding over a class-action fraud lawsuit against his so-called Trump University. The judge, Gonzalo Curiel, could not be impartial, Mr. Trump claimed, because he happens to be, we believe, Mexican, and Mr. Trump had promised to build a border wall and deport millions of undocumented Mexican immigrants. (Judge Curiel was born in Indiana, and Mr. Trump settled the lawsuit in November for $25 million.) Coming from a candidate, this was merely outrageous; coming from the president, it is a threat to the rule of law. Judges can now assume that if they disagree with him, they will face his wrath and perhaps that of his millions of Twitter followers. Betty Friedan was there. Susan Sontag was there. Jacqueline Susann was there. So was Philip Roth, and Cynthia Ozick, who asked a mischievous question about Norman Mailers testicles. What was this wild night? A 1971 panel at Town Hall in Manhattan, marketed as a debate on womens liberation and moderated by Mailer, whose incendiary essay The Prisoner of Sex had just filled an entire issue of Harpers Magazine. The evening was chronicled in Town Bloody Hall, a 1979 documentary by D. A. Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus. And it is now the inspiration for The Town Hall Affair, a new piece by the Wooster Group at the Performing Garage, starring Maura Tierney (The Affair). Rousing and infuriating, cerebral and vulgar, the original event marked a flash point in second-wave feminism. In this Womens March moment, it seems newly resonant. Democracy Day Main Celebration Committee formed The National Democracy Day Celebration Main Function Committee has been formed under the headship of Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal. WASHINGTON Tensions over President Trumps nominations turned into a parliamentary game of chicken on Monday, with Republican leaders vowing to keep the Senate in session, day and night, until lawmakers confirm four of his cabinet picks. After days of grasping at procedural hurdles, Democrats held vigil against Betsy DeVos, Mr. Trumps polarizing nominee for education secretary, and promised to spend the final 24 hours before her confirmation vote Tuesday reiterating their objections. But as Democrats made clear they had no intention of yielding even a minute of their allotted floor time to debate Mr. Trumps nominations a final act of parliamentary disobedience for a minority party that lacks the votes to block a nominee on its own Republicans stood their ground. WASHINGTON Elliott Abrams, a neoconservative who has long argued for an activist foreign policy that spreads American values around the world, was advising Republicans just last spring to keep your distance from Donald J. Trump and offering advice about what the party should do after the Trump collapse. On Tuesday, Mr. Abrams is set to visit President Trump in the White House to determine whether there is a job for him in the new administration, as the State Departments No. 2 official. As part of the vetting process to see whether Mr. Abrams will serve as Secretary of State Rex W. Tillersons deputy, his writings have been scrutinized in a White House suspicious of anyone who was not a Trump loyalist from the beginning. But the advantage of picking Mr. Abrams is clear: He knows the inner workings of the department, he served under Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush, and, like Mr. Trump, he is often a critic of the Washington foreign policy establishment. Of course, he is also a member of it. WASHINGTON Judge Neil M. Gorsuchs road to a Supreme Court nomination included stops at a fancy law firm conference room, the dreary basement of a government office building, President Trumps gilded penthouse in Trump Tower, the White Houses Lincoln Bedroom and a ride on a military jet. Although his name did not even appear on Mr. Trumps first list of 11 potential nominees, Judge Gorsuch was the last person standing in a selection process that in some ways began last year, when as a candidate Mr. Trump took the unusual step of releasing the names of those he would consider for the court. The process, described in interviews with White House and transition officials and others involved, ended last Tuesday night, with the presidents announcement that he had found a judge who was as good as it gets. Mr. Trumps lists the second one added 10 names, including that of Judge Gorsuch leaned on recommendations from two conservative groups, the Federalist Society and the Heritage Foundation. Both lists were compiled by Donald F. McGahn, Mr. Trumps longtime election lawyer and now the White House counsel. Judge Gorsuch was well known in conservative circles, but his stellar academic credentials which include degrees from Columbia, Harvard and Oxford may have worked against him at first, an official said, as the initial list had an anti-establishment theme. His body of judicial work and other writing was substantial and warranted careful review, which took time. And there was a concern about subjecting him to early scrutiny and attacks should liberal groups unleash the hounds. WASHINGTON Asked at a confirmation hearing two weeks ago if he was working with President Trump on a secret plan to replace the Affordable Care Act, Representative Tom Price, Mr. Trumps nominee for secretary of health and human services, smiled broadly and answered: Its true that he said that, yes. The committee room, filled with health care lobbyists, consumer advocates and others with a vital stake in the future of the health care law, erupted with knowing laughter at Mr. Prices careful formulation. For those following the issue closely, it has been an open secret that the fledgling Trump administration is a long way from fulfilling one of Mr. Trumps most repeated campaign promises. In a brief aside in an interview with Bill OReilly of Fox News broadcast before the Super Bowl on Sunday, Mr. Trump went further than he ever has in acknowledging the reality that any hope of quickly replacing the Affordable Care Act has been dashed. WASHINGTON President Trump cast doubt on whether Moscow is backing separatists engaged in the recent escalation of fighting in eastern Ukraine, appearing to side with President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia, who has long denied involvement in the conflict despite evidence to the contrary. Mr. Trump said he did not take offense at the outbreak of a lethal bout of fighting in Ukraine that came within a day of a phone conversation he had with Mr. Putin, saying of the recent clashes, we dont really know exactly what that is. Theyre pro-forces, Mr. Trump said of the Ukrainian separatists in an interview that aired on Monday on The OReilly Factor, on Fox News. We dont know, are they uncontrollable? Are they uncontrolled? That happens also. Were going to find out; I would be surprised, but well see. In sentencing a 19-year-old who pleaded guilty to statutory rape last week, a judge in Idaho made it clear his punishment would include an extra wrinkle: government-mandated celibacy. The unusual proclamation by Judge Randy Stoker of the Fifth District of Idaho that abstinence would be a condition of probation appears to be based at least partly on an archaic, rarely enforced state law that forbids premarital sex. But unless the law is successfully challenged, a consensual sexual encounter could prompt a prison stay for Cody Herrera, who was 18 when he sexually assaulted a 14-year-old girl. Mr. Herrera was sentenced last week to five to 15 years in prison, but the sentence was suspended in favor of a rehabilitation program of sorts that serves as a middle ground between probation and prison time. Based on Mr. Herreras success in the program, a judge could opt to release him on probation or send him to prison to serve the original sentence. The program usually takes about six months. The United States relationship with China was strained during the Obama administration, with sharp differences over economic and trade issues, cyberattacks and Beijings assertive maneuvers in the South China Sea. But since taking office last month, President Trump has signaled that matters could get even more contentious, as his administration has vowed to project more military might in Asia and to impose high tariffs on Chinese goods. China could respond with its own punitive measures. A new report by a bipartisan task force of prominent China specialists is warning of dire consequences, including the possibility of a trade war or an armed skirmish, unless the United States can find a more effective way to engage China. The 72-page report, to be issued Tuesday by the Asia Societys Center on U.S.-China Relations and the School of Global Policy and Strategy at the University of California, San Diego, urged the Trump administration to take a tougher line on China, while reaffirming principles that have guided relations between the two nations since the 1970s. LONDON Invited just days after his inauguration to make a state visit to Britain, President Trump is expected to travel to London this year to meet Queen Elizabeth II amid all the pomp and ceremony the British can muster. But on Monday it seemed that Mr. Trump may have to do without one of the frequent trappings of such a visit an invitation to address Parliament after the speaker of the House of Commons, John Bercow, publicly opposed such an appearance, citing his opposition to racism and sexism. The comments will embarrass both the British and American governments and add to the controversy over a planned state visit that has attracted opposition in Britain, where more than 1.8 million people have signed a petition urging the government to cancel Mr. Trumps trip. The British prime minister, Theresa May, has insisted that the invitation to Mr. Trump stands. With Britain planning to leave the European Union, Mrs. May is eager to strike a quick trade deal with the United States, and British officials are hoping that the state visit may smooth those talks. MOSCOW A leader of the Russian opposition who has been a vocal critic of what he calls a Kremlin policy of assassinating political enemies has fallen into a life-threatening coma caused by an unknown poison, his wife said on Monday. The diagnosis of what ailed Vladimir Kara-Murza came at a delicate political moment for the United States and Russia, as President Trump had just brushed aside criticism of the Russian president, Vladimir V. Putin, as a killer. There are a lot of killers, Mr. Trump said in an interview on Fox News on Sunday. You think our countrys so innocent? The Kremlin then demanded that Fox News apologize for the host Bill OReillys characterization of Mr. Putin. In Moscow, Mr. Kara-Murza, 35, has been in a coma and at the center of a politically hued medical mystery since Thursday as doctors puzzle over his symptoms while keeping him alive on artificial respiration. We now know where, when and how often these hangings are taking place, as well as which elements of the Syrian government have authorized them, said Nicolette Waldman, an Amnesty researcher specializing in detention issues and one of the reports authors. Mr. Assad, in an interview with The New York Times and other journalists last year, insisted that detainees were being treated according to Syrian law and that their families could locate them by appealing to the judicial system. But the report corroborates numerous accounts given to The Times by current and former detainees in several prisons across Syria, detailing regular torture and deprivation. It also echoes reports from families of detainees that the government has refused to provide even basic information such as where they are and whether they are alive. According to former officials cited in the report, detainees most of them accused of nonviolent offenses, such as participating in demonstrations are tortured into giving confessions, then taken to so-called military field courts, where they undergo trials lasting two to three minutes. At regular intervals, the Amnesty report said, they are gathered in the middle of the night from their cells and taken blindfolded to an execution room on the grounds of the prison near Damascus, where they are hanged. Some prisoners have managed to stand on toilets to look out windows and see bodies carted away, and the number of slippers left lying on the ground. If there were 30 slippers, then we knew that 15 people had been executed, Abu Osama, a former military officer detained in the prison, was quoted as saying. There were usually between 30 and 80 slippers outside. Electricity tariff hike for industrial users opposed The private sector has opposed a proposed power tariff hike for industrial consumers arguing that they would not be able to absorb the additional burden after the Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) recommended to the Electricity Tariff Fixation Commission (ETFC) to jack up rates for power supplied to industrial users. There are ballets that choreographers return to again and again, fine tuning and recalibrating, as if trying to get at something essential they missed before. The Russian-American choreographer Alexei Ratmansky first tried his hand at The Fairys Kiss, a ballet based on Hans Christian Andersens The Ice Maiden, in 1994, when he was in his 20s. He has just completed his third version, this time for Miami City Ballet, where it will premiere on Friday. It is a curious tale: An infant boy is saved from a blizzard by the kiss of a fairy. He grows up to be a strapping young man, falls in love. Then, on his wedding night, the fairy returns to claim him, sealing his fate with an icy kiss. Igor Stravinsky, who wrote the music in 1928, saw it as an allegory of the artists destiny, an idea that has resonated with choreographers ever since. Its a nice metaphor, a skeleton, about the realm of art, Mr. Ratmansky said recently in New York. At the end there are four minutes of white-on-white music an almost translucent, evenly paced descending figure in the strings it really shows you the land without time or space. It is reminiscent, in some ways, of the ending of Stravinskys other ballet from the same period, Apollo. Stravinskys Nod to Tchaikovsky To achieve a more abstract effect, Stravinsky simplified the particulars of the story in his scenario. He also dedicated the music to Tchaikovsky, a composer he greatly admired and associated with his youth in St. Petersburg. In the dedication, he wrote that he related the fairy to Tchaikovskys muse, for the Muse similarly marked him with her fatal kiss. He wove a dozen or so Tchaikovsky songs and piano pieces into the score, as if channeling the older master. All images of public-domain artworks in the Metropolitan Museum of Arts collection about 375,000 are now free for anyone to use however they may please. The museum announced on Tuesday that it had changed its open access policy to allow free, unrestricted use of any images of artworks in the public domain, using the license designation Creative Commons Zero, known as CC0. For example, the image with this article, El Grecos The Vision of Saint John (1609-14), is free to download in high resolution from the Mets website, no permission required. Increasing access to the collection has been a priority for over a decade, Thomas P. Campbell, the museums director, said at a news conference. Twenty years ago, as a scholar, we had to negotiate access even for catalog cards. Sothebys has filed a second lawsuit related to the sale of works originally attributed to European old master painters that it now says are forgeries. On Monday, the auction house announced that it had initiated proceedings in the English High Court against Mark Weiss, a London art dealer, and David Kowitz, a collector and the founder of Indus Capital Partners, to recover the profits of a 2011 private sale of a Frans Hals painting, Portrait of a Gentleman, which it subsequently declared was a fake. The auction house sold the work in a private sale, and Mr. Weiss and Mr. Kowitz received $10.75 million for it. Sothebys has paid back the buyer of the work, and now the auction house wants the two defendants to reimburse what they earned from the sale. Sothebys called it undoubtedly a forgery based on research conducted by Orion Analytical, a scientific analysis firm that Sothebys acquired last year; the results were peer reviewed by John Twilley, an independent conservation scientist. Mr. Weiss responded in a statement on Monday that he was not convinced by the evidence Sothebys has provided to him that the work is a fake, saying that the auction house has repeatedly refused to allow his own experts access to the painting to carry out the further tests required to corroborate the findings. The statement added that Mr. Weiss intends to contest the claim vigorously. In a telephone interview this week from CBSs studios in Los Angeles, Mr. Corden discussed his hopes for the Grammys, the political climate surrounding the show and the advice that LL Cool J gave him. Here are edited excerpts from that conversation. How did you come to be the host of the Grammy Awards this year? I got a call from Les Moonves [chief executive of CBS]. In fact it wasnt a call; I was at a dinner and he was there. And he just came over to me and said, Do you want to host Grammys this year? And I said, O.K. And that was kind of it, really. James Corden, the host of The Late Late Show, has found himself in the middle of a controversy over rude behavior toward the staff at a restaurant. An Abusive Customer : Corden was accused of berating the staff of Balthazar in New York City over an error with an omelet order, among other things. Corden was accused of berating the staff of Balthazar in New York City over an error with an omelet order, among other things. The story prompted criticism of the TV host on social media Damage Control : Here is how Corden Here is how Corden addressed the situation on The Late Late Show. Dangers of Likability : One reason the controversy took off is that Corden doesnt seem like the kind of person who would humiliate a waiter over an egg, One reason the controversy took off is that Corden doesnt seem like the kind of person who would humiliate a waiter over an egg, our critic writes Gossip on the Menu: Cordens omelet, made exclusively with egg yolks, was not the only food tied to a celebrity in recent weeks. A certain salad dressing Cordens omelet, made exclusively with egg yolks, was not the only food tied to a celebrity in recent weeks. A certain salad dressing was also on everyones mind Did it have the feeling of the boss saying, Hey, kid, Ive got a job for ya? Not really, because he knows that I already have a job. It was more that this year theres going to be three big awards shows on CBS: the Grammys, the Tonys and then the Emmys. So I think theres a certain element of needing to find which host is going to do which thing. Do you think theres a way to get an EGOT [for winning an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony] as host? I never knew about this EGOT thing until I moved to America. I didnt realize what a big thing it is. I have two I have a Tony and an Emmy. But I dont think hosting the Grammys makes you eligible for a Grammy. Paris Is Burning, Jennie Livingstons rich documentary about the 1980s drag balls in New York, returns to Netflix. And Bravo unveils its latest show, Imposters, after Ladies of London has its premiere in a new time slot. Whats Streaming PARIS IS BURNING (1990) on Netflix. Jennie Livingstons documentary, which was added to the United States National Film Registry last year, is a time capsule of New Yorks drag balls of the late 1980s. Its also a glossary of slang like vogue, shade and realness. In many ways, Ms. Livingstons look at the rich culture of black and Latino lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender life is celebratory, but there is often a melancholic undertone. There is a lot of common sense and natural wit behind the role-playing, Vincent Canby wrote in The New York Times. Yet there is also a terrible sadness in the testimony. The queens knock themselves out to imitate the members of a society that will not have them. MICHAEL BOLTONS BIG SEXY VALENTINES DAY SPECIAL on Netflix. If this sounds like a joke, its because it is kind of. Expect singing from Mr. Bolton, that master of ballads, but with the humor of the Lonely Island, Andy Sambergs often bizarre comedy trio. Other guests in this show include Fred Armisen, Maya Rudolph and Sarah Silverman. AUTUMN By Ali Smith 260 pages. Pantheon. $24.95. When Ali Smiths eighth novel, Autumn, was published in Britain last fall, it was hailed as the first serious work of post-Brexit fiction. It takes place after the events of June 23, when Britain voted to leave the European Union. This is no strong claim on our attention. This book is the first of an anticipated four novels in a seasonal cycle, in the manner of Vivaldis violin concertos or George Winstons Schroeder-like piano albums, and clearly it was written quickly. Timeliness in fiction is nearly always overpraised. The measure of a work of art is how much art it has in it, not how much relevance, Edward St. Aubyn wrote in his novel Lost for Words (2014). Relevant to whom? Relevant to what? Nothing is more ephemeral than a hot topic. Autumn is about a long platonic friendship between an elderly man and a much younger woman. His name is Daniel. Hes 101 when the story begins, in a nursing home, and just barely sentient. Hes frail and thin as the skeleton of a cartoon fish left by a cartoon cat. Once he was a songwriter. When James B. Stewarts groundbreaking narrative about insider trading, Den of Thieves, was published in 1991, it pulled back the curtain on a culture of corruption that pervaded high finance. Stewarts book brought the reader inside the room of the most private meetings and discussions among the likes of the famed arbitrageur Ivan Boesky and the financier Michael Milken, as well as those prosecuting them, led by Rudy Giuliani. Den of Thieves crackled with memorable one-liners that became Wall Street lore. Your bunny has a good nose code for a piece of illegal inside information that was accurate quickly became a catchphrase. Now, Sheelah Kolhatkar, a staff writer at The New Yorker, has sought to present a modern-day version of Den of Thieves, this time with prosecutors focused on Steven A. Cohen, perhaps the most successful hedge fund investor of the modern era, who amassed wealth of some $13 billion. Her book, Black Edge: Inside Information, Dirty Money, and the Quest to Bring Down the Most Wanted Man on Wall Street, is a richly reported, entertaining tale about the cat-and-mouse game between the government and Cohen much of which played out in the news media for the greater part of the last decade, if not longer. Black Edge, which at times reads like a thriller, is a fascinating look at Cohen, whom Kolhatkar portrays as an obsessive and ruthless investor. After he divorced his first wife, Kolhatkar reports, Cohen told his staff: I just got ripped off by my wife. Im going to make it all back by cutting your payouts. Her book is also a deep examination of a culture within hedge funds that demanded employees find an edge, and seemingly continued to rely on illegal tips by insiders information that was called black edge in Cohens firm for far too long. If youve kept up with the headlines about Cohen over the years, you know the ending of Kolhatkars tale in advance: The government never brings a case against him. That reality, to some degree, gets in the way of an otherwise good story and in the end makes it not nearly as satisfying as Den of Thieves. Cohen is never proved guilty of breaking the law, despite a litany of circumstantial evidence presented by prosecutors and the author. The reader is left asking: Why not? Out of desperation Rose suggested that her mother write down the stories of her pioneer childhood, heavily revised the resulting manuscript and found a publisher. In the rest of the books, as well, she provided substantial editing. Some historians insist that Rose who later became an outspoken antigovernment polemicist and is called one of the godmothers of the libertarian movement, along with Ayn Rand should be considered the books ghostwriter. Christine Woodsides recent book, Libertarians on the Prairie, makes this case, cataloging libertarian messages Rose embedded in the books. (Some are overt: The politicians are a-swarming in already, says one character in The Long Winter. Theyll tax the lining outn a mans pockets, he cries. I dont see nary use for a county, nohow.) Still, it was Lauras life story, not Roses, and Lauras patient, precise voice, filled with awe at the wonders of the natural world, the fascination of making useful things, and the joys of everyday family love, never goes missing in the books for too long. Both more interesting and more disturbing to me now are the ways the books massaged reality to support the pioneer fantasy of a self-sustaining family living in relative isolation. Newer research on the American West debunks that mythology, showing that settlers lived in close proximity, often as a matter of life and death. The Little House books take every opportunity to show the Ingallses as an independent unit. The Long Winter portrays family members as alone in their house, while in fact they took in an irksome couple who begged them for shelter. But farming could not support the family, and Pa took jobs including one as a justice of the peace. Laura worked in later life as an administrator of a federal farm loan program. Marys tuition at the college for the blind was paid for by the government of Iowa, though the later books make it seem as though the extra money from Lauras small jobs paid those bills. When the New Deal began, Laura and Rose expressed outrage that struggling people were going to get handouts, when they had had to tough out so many hard, lean years. Maybe there was a lingering bitterness about the true sacrifices of both pioneer life and the small-family-farm life Laura and Almanzo pursued in Missouri, where Rose grew up and the family was often in penury. Both women attributed their painful dental problems and diabetes to poor childhood nutrition. Rose told piteous tales of having to go to school in town without shoes. When youre raised with the belief that you dont need society, that youre better off suffering through every hardship than accepting help, its a small step toward believing that anyone who takes assistance is a drag on others. But the books are novels, not political tracts, and reading them this time I was also struck by how much their mythologizing of the self-enclosed family has psychological roots, namely Lauras extreme introversion. (A great many people traveling through stop to see me, and I am glad not all come this way for I have never gotten over my timidity with perfect strangers, she wrote after she became a celebrity.) Constant moving is hard on a personality like that. If heaven in the Little House books is a quiet fireside evening at home with just the family, its partly because hell is other peoples families. Boarding in one unhappy home when she becomes a teacher, Laura is terrified as the miserable wife, desperate to escape the desolate winter prairie, confronts her husband with a butcher knife, saying, If I cant go home one way, Ill go another. 2. Well go back to politics in a minute, but first we want to note: Antarctica is cracking. A rift in the fourth-largest ice shelf there is growing rapidly by about 17 miles in the last two months. A full break, forecast within months, will create one of the largest icebergs ever recorded. Further collapses would allow glaciers to accelerate toward the ocean, where they would melt and cause sea levels to rise. _____ All over Europe its happening. In a speech to American military personnel, President Trump accused the news media of downplaying attacks by Islamist militants in Europe. The White House later released a list of what it said were 78 attacks that were carried out or inspired by the Islamic State. It claimed that most have not received the media attention they deserved, but the list included well-reported attacks in Paris, Brussels and Orlando, among others. The Justice Department urged a federal appeals court to reinstate Mr. Trumps targeted travel ban, saying immediate action was needed to ensure the nations safety. Almost 100 U.S. companies including Apple, Facebook, Google and Microsoft filed a legal brief arguing that the order was unconstitutional. Gachhadar insists on timely elections Madhesi Janadhikar Forum (Loktantrik) Chairman Bijaya Kumar Gachhadar has expressed doubt over the possibility of extension of Parliament tenure in case of the failure to hold the elections within the stipulated deadline. Spearheading the battle over the travel ban are the top legal officials in more than a dozen states all Democratic attorneys general. And the fight unexpectedly drew in a voice from Chinas judiciary, which in some quarters aspires to the kind of independence Mr. Trump has at times appeared to undercut. Even if you control the armed forces and have nuclear weapons, Judge He Fan of the Supreme Peoples Court wrote in a blog post, your dignity has been swept away and you are no different than a villain. Above, Mr. Trump meeting with county sheriffs at the White House. _____ In Washington, the Senate confirmed Mr. Trumps choice for education secretary, approving the embattled billionaire Betsy DeVos after a historic tiebreaking vote from Vice President Mike Pence. And only Congress, which passed Dodd-Frank, can make major changes. Most tweaks will need the backing of 60 senators, and Republicans fall short by eight votes. Liberal lawmakers are mobilizing against them. On Monday, Nancy Pelosi, the House Democratic leader, held a news conference decrying President Trumps efforts to put Wall Street first. Representative Jeb Hensarling, chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, is leading a separate effort to override the 2010 law, but his bill poses problems for banks. His blueprint would spare them many Dodd-Frank rules but only if the banks maintain at least a 10 percent ratio of capital to assets which is more than required at present, not less. The largest firms are also constrained by the Federal Reserves stress tests, which limit how much banks can pay out as dividends or buybacks. Given all the hurdles, the rewrite of Dodd-Frank will probably be less than sweeping. The Volcker Rule, limiting proprietary trading, could be softened or abandoned, and regional and smaller banks might be spared some of the regulations. Banks and their critics may both end up disappointed. President Trump will make America smaller. He may not be thinking in these terms. But as he barrels ahead with his promise to restrict immigration barring people from some Muslim-majority countries, limiting work visas, expelling millions who are here illegally the president might want to ponder how this fits the theme of making America great again. For his plan, at the scale he promises, would shrink the American economy and impoverish the world. If greatness is what he pursues, a straightforward way to bulk up the economy not to say bolster global growth would be to allow many more immigrants in. Consider the report on immigration released last fall by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine. It concluded that immigration to the United States from 1990 to 2010, both legal and illegal, produced net benefits worth $50 billion a year to the native population. This might seem insignificant in an $18 trillion economy. But it packs more than meets the eye. It is more than the governments estimate of what the country would have gained from the Trans-Pacific Partnership, the grand deal with 11 other countries around the Pacific Rim negotiated over eight years by the Obama administration but abandoned by Mr. Trump. They adapted, baking whatever they could with the ingredients on hand, sometimes making purchases on the black market. A stack of cookies or even a few crackers would signal that the bakery was open amid chaos. We always wanted to keep something in the windows, Ms. Wardeh said. When refugees arrived from other parts of the country, the couple did their best to feed them. When bullets pierced the windows, Mr. Homsi said, they slept on the floors to stay safe. And when the city became too dangerous, they left Hama, where they had both grown up before they were married, raised four children and started their business. They arrived in the United States last March on permanent resident visas, living at first with one of their sons, a rheumatologist in Albany. They felt safe, but had little to do. We like to stay busy, said Ms. Wardeh, 69. Mr. Homsi took walks that lasted many hours. And he baked tray after tray of baklava filled with walnuts. Ms. Wardeh made issheh (sometimes known as ishta) from the skimmed top of heated and cooled milk, a specialty of bakers in Hama. Pressed, it takes on the texture of a tender, fresh cheese. Headliner DAILY PROVISIONS Coffee and food to eat in or take out are sold next to Union Square Cafe from what may be about the smallest restaurant David Rockwell ever designed some people have more spacious kitchens in their apartments. But Daily Provisions is extremely well tailored, done in marine blue wainscoting with marble counters and tables, a few seats and shelves full of freshly baked breads, glazed and sugared crullers, cookies and croissants flecked with everything spices and filled with cream cheese. The chef, Carmen Quagliata, is baking big, well-burnished gougeres stuffed with eggs or spinach, eggs and ham, and bronzing chickens on the rotisserie. Sandwiches are also sold, and the beverages include wine, beer and cider, though its open only until 6 p.m.: 103 East 19th Street, 212-488-1505, dailyprovisionsnyc.com. Opening ANTIQUE BAR & BAKERY Bakeries equipped with coal-fueled bread and pizza ovens were common 100 years ago. And one, in Hoboken, N.J., is being reopened as a bar and restaurant. The bakery it once housed, a favorite of Frank Sinatras called Antique Bakery, has moved to Jersey City, where theres another coal oven. The new restaurant sells Italian-style breads from Antique Bakery and features dishes including lasagna baked in the coal oven: 122 Willow Avenue, Hoboken, N.J., 201-683-7029, antiquebarbakery.com. AVENA Roberto Deiaco, who was an executive chef at Armani Ristorante and owned the well-regarded East 12th Osteria, is opening Avena, a two-story restaurant focused on fresh organic Italian cuisine. His menu combines classics like vitello tonnato, lasagna and tiramisu, done with a lighter approach, and he places considerable emphasis on seafood, especially raw. The upstairs lounge has a fireplace. In the meantime, East 12th Osteria has closed, and Mr. Deiaco and his wife, Giselle, will open a new restaurant in the West Village this summer. (Opens Friday): 141 East 57th Street, 212-752-5323, avenarestaurant.com. DE MARIA The once sleek and sultry space on the eastern end of Kenmare Street that was Travertine has evolved. It was Ken & Cook, and now, in the hands of the music entrepreneur Grace Lee and her partners, it has become lighter and brighter, with references to fine art (its named for Walter De Maria, a midcentury minimalist). The mostly white tile room with light wood and butterscotch leather furnishings has arresting blocks of colorful tiles over the bar that suggest the work of Donald Judd. Camille Becerra, always wearing a hat, is the chef and for now, still lacking gas in her kitchen, is limited to fresh, simple breakfast and lunch fare with an emphasis on bowls. Dinner? Not before March: 19 Kenmare Street (Elizabeth Street), 212-966-3058, demarianyc.com. When Marian Wright and Peter Edelman married in July 1968, their wedding was like an armistice. In April, the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. had been assassinated; two months later, Senator Robert F. Kennedy was murdered on June 6, Mrs. Edelmans birthday. For years afterward, the couple would spend that day at Arlington Cemetery. The national tragedies were personal for the couple: Mrs. Edelman had worked for Dr. King, and Mr. Edelman had been an aide to the senator. The New York Times covered the wedding as a news story, sending Nan Robertson, then a reporter for the papers Washington bureau. The ceremony was held on the lawn at the home of their friend, Adam Walinsky, a speechwriter for Senator Kennedy, in McLean, Va. The choice to marry in Virginia was deliberate: A year earlier, the states law against interracial marriage had been struck down in a suit brought by Richard and Mildred Loving. The Edelmans were the third interracial couple to marry there after the Lovings prevailed. I hate barriers, Mrs. Edelman said. And it was a time to bring down barriers. Teenagers have found a new way to worry their parents. Never mind plain old vaping now, its all about dripping. The term refers to the practice of applying nicotine liquid directly to the heated coils of an e-cigarette or other vaporizer to produce thick clouds of nicotine vapor. A new Yale University study of high school students in Connecticut, published in the journal Pediatrics, suggested that the approach was gaining favor among teenagers as a way to produce more flavorful clouds of vapor and a stronger throat hit. Of the teenagers who reported using e-cigarettes, about a fourth said they had hacked the devices to allow dripping. Haldane isnt the only prominent nonacademic economist to think there are profound problems in macroeconomics. Paul Romer is a highly regarded macroeconomist who recently became chief economist at the World Bank. (It was Romer who is credited with having coined, in 2004, the famous slogan that a crisis is a terrible thing to waste.) Last winter he, too, issued a lacerating critique of his field, titled The Trouble With Macroeconomics. His argument focuses on the question of identification, which is shorthand in the field for how economists identify the cause of an event. Identification is a huge deal for economics, because if you cant tell if x, y or z caused something, you dont know which of those variables to study or measure or change. The omission of finance and the role of money from economic models is the biggest weakness in the field, Romer believes. It is hard for noneconomists to get our heads around the fact that the dominant macroeconomic models (including the ones used by central banks) made no allowance for how money works especially not for fluctuations in how much of it is around. Such an oversight seems weird, and entirely counterintuitive. But thats what happened, and it played a big role in macroeconomists ability to, as Romer puts it, dismiss mere facts. The Bank of England and the World Bank are two of the most important noncommercial banks in the world. It is striking, and exhilarating and scary too, that the chief economists of these two institutions each thinks that their trade is in crisis. Not so long ago, leading macroeconomists thought that the main part of their work was basically over. The Nobel winner Robert Lucas claimed as much in his presidential address to the American Economic Association in 2003. Macroeconomics, he said, has succeeded: Its central problem of depression prevention has been solved. That now looks wildly hubristic. Maybe the field is roughly where physics was at the end of the 19th century, when some scientists thought that their own fields main problems had been solved, within a Newtonian framework that is now known to be inadequate to describe reality. Maybe, like physics in the 20th century, macroeconomics is about to have a heroic period. If it does, it will begin in the work of people like Romer and Haldane, who are unflinchingly willing to talk about its huge recent failures. A crisis is a terrible thing to waste. I dont think anyone should be looking to the president as an example of romantic success. The web has been buzzing with comments about how when the president and Melania arrived at the White House on Inauguration Day he didnt wait for his wife, but raced up the steps without her. Wheres the gallantry in that? Oh, please, what nonsense. He was just excited, as anyone would be moving into a magnificent house paid for by others. (Thats us, the taxpayers. Have you thought about the fact that Mr. Trump is now our tenant? Lets hope hes keeping that copy of the Bill of Rights we left him on the refrigerator door, or we may have to boot him out.) The president is mad about his stunning wife. Ive seen photos of him gazing at her and he looks as proud as when hes standing in front of one of his buildings. My wife just spotted a photo of me on Facebook in a hot clinch with another woman. I explained that while it might look suspicious, there was an alternate set of facts: This woman, whom I had in fact never met before, was on a dark, dangerous street outside the St. Regis, choking. I saved her with the Heimlich maneuver and she was so grateful she shoved me up against a wall and forced her tongue into my mouth. I tried to pull her off, which is possibly why you see my hands on her rear end. Despite the people around us who are always trying to poison our relationship, my wife believed my story. Now Im thinking I should get her a serious piece of jewelry. What would you suggest? Bad, bad idea. Dont you remember what Mr. Trump, then just an ordinary (if richer and smarter and handsomer than anybody else) developer, told Vanity Fair when he was married to his first wife: I would never buy Ivana any decent jewels or pictures. Why give her negotiable assets? Just keep on doing what any loving man would do noticing what kind of shape your wife is in and taking her to the gym if she starts looking like Miss Piggy and youll be doing more than enough. Im a healthy red-blooded American man who has been out of work for a while. Ive recently fallen in love with a single mother of three who is also having a hard time making ends meet. We came close to spending our first night together last weekend, but she was concerned about protection. Our local Planned Parenthood has closed for lack of funds. How do we proceed? Are you really an American? Im not so sure. Let me see your birth certificate. In the conversation with Billy Bush you mentioned the president referred to using breath mints before kissing. If, as he said, he was such a big star that he could get away with anything, why are mints so important? One wouldnt want to give offense. Like generations of garment workers before him, Max Hernandez came to New York City to get his start behind a sewing machine. Only he could not find any work. After more than a year of looking, Mr. Hernandez, 25, finally spotted a Craigslist ad for a $12-an-hour sewing job with UZI, a tiny company in Sunset Park, Brooklyn, that makes dresses for Anthropologie, among others. New York City is the center of the fashion world, but hardly any of it is made here, said Mr. Hernandez, who beat out a dozen other applicants for the job. After several promotions, he now makes $15.50 an hour. As Fashion Week unfolds on glittering runways this week, the citys once-thriving garment manufacturing industry has little to celebrate. Many companies are struggling with rising rents and labor costs and outdated work spaces and losing business to competitors overseas who can make clothes more cheaply. Block after block of factories and showrooms have disappeared from the renowned garment district in Manhattan, replaced by technology, media and consulting companies that focus on the design and marketing side of the business, if they are even connected to fashion. In praise of entrepreneurship The lack of entrepreneurship is one of the main reasons behind the growing unemployment rate among Nepali youths. Theres no doubt that the United States has made terrible mistakes, like invading Iraq in 2003 and torturing terrorism suspects after Sept. 11. President Barack Obama often drew fire from Republicans for acknowledging the obvious there are limits to American power and sometimes decisions to employ military force have resulted in unintended consequences. American drone strikes against extremists in Afghanistan and Pakistan, for instance, have sometimes killed civilians. But no American president has done what Mr. Putin has done in silencing nearly all independent media, crushing dissent, snuffing out Russias once-incipient democracy, invading Ukraine, interfering in the American election apparently on Mr. Trumps behalf and trying to destabilize Europe. At least in recent decades, American presidents who took military action have been driven by the desire to promote freedom and democracy, sometimes with extraordinary results, as when Germany and Japan evolved after World War II from vanquished enemies into trusted, prosperous allies. Since taking office, Mr. Trump has shown little support for Americas traditional roles as a champion of universal values like freedom of the press and tolerance. In fact, as he has worked to cut Mr. Putin slack, Mr. Trump has bashed allies and laid the groundwork for an aggressive campaign that could lead to conflict with Iran, which the Pentagon has ranked behind Russia as a threat. Mr. Trumps willingness to kowtow to Mr. Putin in the Fox interview was too much even for the Republican Senate majority leader, Mitch McConnell, who rebuked Mr. Trump, called Mr. Putin a thug and rejected any equivalence between America and Russia. The House Democratic leader, Nancy Pelosi, urged the F.B.I. to investigate Mr. Trumps finances and personal ties to find out if the Russian government was blackmailing him. What do we propose? Well, for one, we do not believe that military hardware, repressive policing and bigger prisons are the answer. Real reductions in drug supply and demand will come through improving public health and safety, strengthening anticorruption measures especially those that combat money laundering and investing in sustainable development. We also believe that the smartest pathway to tackling drugs is decriminalizing consumption and ensuring that governments regulate certain drugs, including for medical and recreational purposes. While the Filipino government has a duty to provide for the security of its people, there is a real risk that a heavy-handed approach will do more harm than good. There is no doubt that tough penalties are necessary to deter organized crime. But extrajudicial killings and vigilantism are the wrong ways to go. After the killing of a South Korean businessman, Mr. Duterte seemed as if he might be closer to realizing this. But bringing the army in to fight the drug war, as he now suggests, would also be disastrous. The fight against drugs has to be balanced so that it does not infringe on the rights and well-being of citizens. Winning the fight against drugs requires addressing not just crime, but also public health, human rights and economic development. No matter what Mr. Duterte believes, there will always be drugs and drug users in the Philippines. But it is important to put the problem in perspective: The Philippines already has a low number of regular drug users. The application of severe penalties and extrajudicial violence against drug consumers makes it almost impossible for people with drug addiction problems to find treatment. Instead, they resort to dangerous habits and the criminal economy. Indeed, the criminalization of drug users runs counter to all available scientific evidence of what works. Taking a hard line against criminals is always popular for politicians. I was also seduced into taking a tough stance on drugs during my time as president. The polls suggest that Mr. Dutertes war on drugs is equally popular. But he will find that it is unwinnable. I also discovered that the human costs were enormous. We could not win the war on drugs through killing petty criminals and addicts. We started making positive impacts only when we changed tack, designating drugs as a social problem and not a military one. A successful president makes decisions that strengthen the public good. This means investing in solutions that meet the basic standards of basic rights and minimize unnecessary pain and suffering. The fight against drugs is no exception. Strategies that target violent criminals and undermine money laundering are critical. So, too, are measures that decriminalize drug users, support alternative sentencing for low-level nonviolent offenders and provide a range of treatment options for drug abusers. This is a test that many of my Colombian compatriots have failed. I hope Mr. Duterte does not fall into the same trap. It should go without saying that the Vietnam War is remembered by different people in very different ways. Most Americans remember it as a war fought between 1965 and 1975 that bogged down their military in a struggle to prevent the Communists from marching into Southeast Asia, deeply dividing Americans as it did. The French remember their loss there as a decade-long conflict, fought from 1945 to 1954, when they tried to hold on to the Asian pearl of their colonial empire until losing it in a place called Dien Bien Phu. The Vietnamese, in contrast, see the war as a national liberation struggle, or as a civil conflict, depending on which side they were on, ending in victory in 1975 for one side and tragedy for the other. For the Vietnamese, it was above all a 30-year conflict transforming direct and indirect forms of fighting into a brutal conflagration, one that would end up claiming over three million Vietnamese lives. The point is not that one perspective is better or more accurate than the other. Whats important, rather, is to understand how the colonial war, the civil war and the Cold War intertwined to produce such a deadly conflagration by 1967. Colonial War Without World War II, the struggle in Vietnam might have played out very differently. The Japanese had occupied French Indochina (Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia) in 1940, and they left the fascist Vichy French government, allied with Tokyos German partner after the fall of France in 1940, in charge of day-to-day affairs. This collaboration ended in early 1945, as the Allies terminated the German hold on Europe and prepared to defeat the Japanese in Asia. In March, worried that Vichy troops would turn on them, the Japanese overthrew the French, ending 80 years of colonialism. A few months later, the Japanese capitulated, creating a power vacuum in Vietnam. SUNDERLAND, England From this northeastern town that has lost its shipyard, its coal industry and its glass manufacturers in recent decades emerged the first signal that Britain was to change course. After the Sunderland Brexit vote came in 61.3 percent in favor of leaving the European Union there was little doubt how last Junes referendum would go. Nissan, the Japanese automaker, had warned against a vote to leave. It is now the largest private-sector employer in the area, with 6,700 people working at its plant and tens of thousands more in the supply chain. Workers didnt care. Like tens of millions of people across Britain and the United States, they were ready for disruption: to heck with the tired advice of politicians, multinational corporations and bankers. Prime Minister Theresa May has since intervened with Nissan chief executive Carlos Ghosn, and the company recommitted to the plant last year. Still, Ghosn has said Nissan will re-evaluate the situation once the terms of Britains exit from a single market of a half-billion people are agreed. Those negotiations will take years. Thats Britains situation in a nutshell: uncertain, unfamiliar and unsteady. The country has cut loose from its European ties; nobody is sure where its drifting, although Mays coddling of President Donald Trump has been insistent. Each year, a publication called Medscape creates a portrait of the medical profession. It surveys thousands of doctors about their job satisfaction, salaries and the like and breaks down the results by specialty, allowing for comparisons between, say, dermatologists and oncologists. As I read the most recent survey, I was struck by the answers from orthopedic surgeons. They are the highest-paid doctors, with an average salary of $443,000 in 2015 which, coincidentally, was almost the exact cutoff for the famed top 1 percent of the income distribution. Yet many orthopedists are not happy with their pay. Only 44 percent feel fairly compensated, a smaller share than in almost every other specialty. A lot of orthopedists arent even happy being doctors. Just 49 percent say they would go into medicine if they had to make the decision again, compared with 64 percent of all doctors. I know that many orthopedists have a very different view: They take pride in helping patients and feel fortunate to enjoy comfortable lives. But despite those doctors, its clear that orthopedics suffers from a professional culture that does not live up to medicines highest ideals. Too many orthopedists are rich and think its an injustice that theyre not richer. Ben: Gorsuch is no flippant choice he is highly qualified, well educated, and while his record leans conservative, he is actually less deferential to police officers and government agencies in his decisions compared to Merrick Garland. So if you care about civil liberties and Fourth Amendment issues as many people, right and left, do Gorsuch is better even than Antonin Scalia. Gail: When you said better even than Antonin Scalia, the people hopping up and down clutched their hearts and fainted. But seriously, Ben. You just mentioned your focus on womens issues. Heres a guy who reduced womens ability to get contraceptives covered by their employee health insurance in the Hobby Lobby ruling. And its pretty clear, reading his history, that Gorsuch is no friend of abortion rights. Ben: When I say better, I mean the hoppers would see his positions as better, too! Trump couldve gone with someone who doesnt have a libertarian record on free speech, privacy and invasive actions by police, but instead he picked someone who is unlikely to be a rubber stamp for authoritarian aspects of his agenda. Remember Harriet Miers? Or perhaps its enough that he didnt pick Judge Judy? Gail: When I think of the right to privacy, Id include a womans right to make her own private decision on whether or not she wants to be pregnant. Its always interested me that so many Republican libertarians I am thinking right now of Rand Paul are perfectly happy to give the government the right to get between a woman and her doctor when it comes to abortion. Ben: Well, we certainly didnt take long to get into the fray! Classical liberals, in the original sense of the term, who are sympathetic to contemporary libertarianism, like Rand Paul, Justin Amash and The Federalists own Mollie Hemingway, oppose unrestricted abortion because of their interpretation of the non-aggression principle. Lockean in origin, this principle holds that no one can commit violence against another except in self-defense, and they view abortion as an act of violence. Pro-lifers believe every child has a right to be born. And most believe the government has a role in protecting that right. When reporters are writing about private individuals they dont typically publish the persons exact street address. First, its usually irrelevant to the article, and more crucially, announcing the home address of anyone can be dangerous. Heres the guidance from The New York Times stylebook: In writing about a person whose family might face harassment or harm, consider a general neighborhood reference instead. If an exact address seems newsworthy because of a crime or other visible event, carefully consider the potential for harm before publishing it. That wasnt the approach taken when the Times reporter Patricia Leigh Brown described academic life for some undocumented students on the campus of the University of California, Merced. The 22 students, mostly first-generation immigrants from impoverished families, share life together on the top two floors of a single dorm. And each time Brown described a student, she included their dorm room number, adding some visual geography as she described their modestly decorated surroundings. Brown writes an engaging piece, not only about these students unlikely path to a campus of an acclaimed university, but also about education policy, which is not always easy to make engaging. Brown shows its possible. Its too bad that an otherwise strong piece was weakened by a decision to describe the students not just by their name, but by what is essentially their home address. In the Mail on Sunday article, Dr. Bates, who at one point was in charge of archiving climate data at the centers, accused Mr. Karl of having used unverified data. In a long blog post published Saturday, Dr. Bates went into extensive detail the kind that only true data geeks could love about how data sets are or are not archived and verified at NOAA. But Dr. Bates also accused Mr. Karl of misusing the process. We find Tom Karls thumb on the scale pushing for, and often insisting on, decisions that maximize warming and minimize documentation, he wrote. Republicans on the House committee and Mr. Smith, in particular, have long attacked Mr. Karls paper and have focused on it as part of a lingering investigation of what Mr. Smith has described as the Obama administrations suspect climate agenda. The committee has demanded that NOAA researchers turn over emails related to the work; the scientists have refused to do so. Do the claims have merit? Climate scientists, some of whom had worked on the data sets, voiced support for the work of Mr. Karl and the other researchers. In a post on the blog of the Irish Climate Analysis and Research Units at Maynooth University, Peter Thorne, who worked on the data but left NOAA before work began on the paper itself, disputed much of what Dr. Bates said. Dr. Bates, Dr. Thorne wrote, was not involved in the data work and had misrepresented the processes that actually occurred. Dr. Thorne also disputed the idea that Mr. Karl had his thumb on the scale. Mr. Karl only used the data he was not personally involved in the refinements, Dr. Thorne wrote. At no point was any pressure brought to bear to make any scientific or technical choices. In a post at Carbon Brief, a British website that covers climate science and policy, Zeke Hausfather, a climate scientist at the University of California, Berkeley, disputed the contention that the data sets used in Mr. Karls paper were unverified or that the data had been manipulated. Dr. Hausfather was one of the authors of a review of the NOAA ocean data, which showed the most change. The paper, published in January, compared the old and new NOAA data with independent data from satellites, buoys and other sources and found that the new data matched the independent data more closely. The result, he wrote, strongly suggests that NOAA got it right and that we have been underestimating ocean warming in recent years. The writer and Team Gallery director Alissa Bennett never thought all the hours she spent devouring shows like Dateline and True Crime with Aphrodite Jones and the comment boards of findadeath.com would pay off. That is, until a chance run-in with independent publisher Frank Haines set off a chain reaction that led to the first issue of Dead Is Better, a biannual zine cataloging Bennetts morbid curiosities. I remember many years ago, my sons father said to me, This is your art, this is what you should do, Bennett recalls. I always thought it was a voyeuristic, shameful pastime, so it was a shock for me to have someone say that this vast repository of crime knowledge could go somewhere. Bennett wrote the first issue of Dead Is Better in six weeks. Each chapter of the slim book was dedicated to a different dead celebrity, starting with the American musician GG Allin, who is best remembered for his domestic violence scandals and the accidental heroin overdose that led to his demise. The issue contained 20 entries, including Judy Garland, Whitney Houston and Anna Nicole Smith all told from the perspective of Bennett. Indian nationals' murder accused paraded Police on Tuesday made public four people accused of murdering two Indian nationals at Karaiya-8 in Bara District. If you are a theater fanatic, you know who George Rose was. If you were alive and going to New York theater in the 1970s and 80s, you may have even seen him radiating contagious joy in My Fair Lady, as the saucy Alfred P. Doolittle relishing the prospect of a little bit of luck. Or matching wits with Kevin Kline in The Pirates of Penzance. Or winning his second Tony Award as the M.C. in The Mystery of Edwin Drood, his final show. Earlier in his career, Rose had earned perhaps the ultimate critical rave for his performance in Much Ado About Nothing. Brooks Atkinson wrote in The New York Times, Mr. Roses Dogberry makes it unnecessary for anyone to play the part again. The actor Ed Dixon was one of the fortunate who saw him perform; he also called Rose his friend, and he celebrates that relationship (for the most part) in Georgie: My Adventures With George Rose, his charming if ultimately disturbing solo show at the Davenport Theater. It all began when Mr. Dixon, now a white-haired man with physical complaints, was a fresh-faced newbie cast in a production of The Student Prince alongside Rose, already a noted British character actor. Both men were homosexual (Mr. Dixons word, and one that he pronounces playfully and slowly with a stress on every syllable), but back in the day Mr. Dixon had never seen anyone quite so open about it. Backstage, Rose called his male dresser Lisette, for instance, and insisted that the man wear a sexy French maids uniform. And Rose was known to ask Mr. Dixon, Do you like coffee-colored boys? In response, Mr. Neyelle told me the water-heart story, about a Sahtutoine ancestor who lived around Great Bear Lake, in an area called Caribou Point. One day the fisherman set out four hooks. When the fisherman returned to check on them, a lake trout had broken one of the lines and taken the hook. This bothered the fisherman, because in those days, hooks were extremely valuable. So that night, he transformed himself into a losch, also known as burbot, a freshwater version of cod. The fisherman swam down to the middle of the lake to look for the hook and heard a booming sound. There, at the bottom, he saw a gigantic beating heart. All the species of fish trout, whitefish, pickerel, herring, suckers faced the heart, surrounding and protecting it. He swam back to shore after seeing this, and the following morning when he went to check on his three hooks, he found three trout. One of them had the hook he had lost the day before dangling from its mouth. When the fisherman saw the water-heart, he realized Great Bear Lake was alive, Mr. Neyelle said. The lake gives life to the universal: grass, insects, willow, everything. Some in Deline believe that the water-heart at the bottom of the lake gives life to all of the lakes, oceans and rivers in the world. For the Sahtutoine, this belief underscores not only why Great Bear Lake must be protected, but also why its protection is of global importance. Toward the end of our conversation, Mr. Neyelle also mentioned Ehtse Ayahs prophecy. When there is no food or water all around the world, many will come to Great Bear Lake, he said. It will be one of the last places that has both. No matter how many times I heard this apocalyptic prediction, it was jarring to hear, especially when inserted into conversations about Great Bear Lakes beauty and providence. The regular evocation of this prophecy reminded me of what happened on the other side of the lake in the 1940s, in Port Radium. The site of a large uranium ore mine, it was the most significant industrial development in Great Bear Lakes history. During World War II, uranium from Port Radium was sent to the United States for the war effort, where it provided much of the material for the Manhattan Project and the atomic bombs that fell on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Although it stopped producing uranium in 1960 and is now abandoned, Port Radium was at its peak larger than Deline. Donna Hubbard, a flight attendant who lives outside Atlanta, has no problem speaking forcefully about the issue of human trafficking in the United States. But her voice begins to falter when she talks about her own life how years of exploitation shattered her confidence and turned her life upside down. For many years, I couldnt talk about being an addict, she said. I couldnt talk about being imprisoned. I couldnt talk about getting on my feet, getting my life back, getting my children back. She paused to fight back tears. I could not talk about that part of me where I was victimized. But having realized that airline employees are perfectly positioned to stop human traffickers and their victims in transit, Ms. Hubbard has found her mission: teaching other flight attendants to spot and report cases of human trafficking. The nonprofit organization she joined in 2015, Airline Ambassadors International, trains workers at airlines and airports how to spot, and report, cases of human trafficking. It also delivers humanitarian aid around the world and transports sick children who need medical care. Support among American high school students for the First Amendment is stronger today than it has been in the last 12 years, according to the latest in a series of large nationwide surveys of the nations rising voters. Some 91 percent of high school students say they believe that individuals should be allowed to express unpopular opinions, according to a Knight Foundation survey of nearly 12,000 students conducted last year. The survey is the sixth in a series, the first of which was carried out in 2004, when 83 percent supported such rights. What weve seen since 2004 is a slow but steady increase in support, said Kenneth Dautrich, the studys lead author and the president of the Stats Group, a statistical and data services firm. Heres a look at some of the top findings. Support, but with limits High school students may broadly back the First Amendment, but not without limits: Their support is tempered depending on the kind of speech and where its delivered. A Florida man who admitted that he had burned a mosque attended by Omar Mateen, the gunman behind the Pulse nightclub massacre in Orlando, Fla., last year, has been sentenced to 30 years in prison. The man, Joseph Schreiber, 32, pleaded no contest effectively a guilty plea during a hearing on Monday in St. Lucie County. Image Joseph Schreiber. Credit... St. Lucie County Sheriff's Office, via Reuters Mr. Schreiber, who had a previous criminal record and who had posted anti-Islamic views on social media, told detectives he set fire to the Islamic Center of Fort Pierce on the anniversary of the Sept. 11 terror attacks, which in 2016 also fell on Eid al-Adha, an important Muslim holiday, Assistant State Attorney Steve Gosnell said. WASHINGTON Ever since Democrats began pushing the Affordable Care Act through Congress more than seven years ago, Republicans have been trying to come up with an alternative. Candid conversations leaked from a conclave of Republican lawmakers in Philadelphia last month, and public comments since, show they are nowhere near agreement. The leaked audio recordings revealed that Republicans recognize the technical complexity and political difficulty of the task they have set for themselves: repealing the law known as Obamacare and replacing it with a new plan that, in the words of President Trump, provides better health care for more people at a lesser cost. What follows is a summary of the thorny questions with which Republicans in Congress are struggling. These are not just academic quandaries. Peoples lives could depend on the answers. And time is short. Insurance companies have about three months to decide what kinds of health plans, if any, they will sell to the public in 2018. Many of the choices facing Republicans are variations of a fundamental question: how much of the Affordable Care Act to keep, and how much to discard? WASHINGTON Andrew F. Puzder, who as President Trumps pick to head the Labor Department has come under fire for criticizing worker protections, acknowledged on Monday that he had employed an undocumented immigrant to clean his house. The revelation potentially could derail a nomination that has elicited controversy because of Mr. Puzders views on overtime pay, sick leave and automation. The confirmation of Mr. Puzder, a fast-food chain executive, has stalled as he tries to divest holdings. My wife and I employed a housekeeper for a few years, during which I was unaware that she was not legally permitted to work in the U.S., Mr. Puzder said in a statement. When I learned of her status, we immediately ended her employment and offered her assistance in getting legal status. As demonstrations popped up across the country, thousands of calls and messages flooded the Capitol, many of them urging senators to vote against Ms. DeVos and Mr. Trumps other nominees. In a move that put Ms. DeVoss nomination in question, two Republican senators Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska announced last week that they would not vote to confirm her, citing the concerns of their constituents. I have serious concerns about a nominee to be secretary of education who has been so involved in one side of the equation, so immersed in the push for vouchers, that she may be unaware of what actually is successful within the public schools, and also what is broken and how to fix them, Ms. Murkowski said on the Senate floor. Most Republicans described Ms. DeVos as committed to what is best for children. In a fiery speech moments before the vote, Senator Lamar Alexander, Republican of Tennessee and a former education secretary himself, criticized his Democratic colleagues for opposing Ms. DeVos, he said, simply because she was nominated by a Republican president. She led the most effective public school reform movement over the last few years, he said. Mr. Alexander, the chairman of the committee that approved Ms. DeVoss nomination last week in a party-line split, said she had been at the forefront of education overhaul for decades. By midday Tuesday, as the vote in the Senate deadlocked at 50 to 50, Mr. Pence, a former member of the House, took the gavel and at 12:29 p.m. declared his vote for Ms. DeVos. In a procedural quirk, a confirmation vote on Senator Jeff Sessions of Alabama for attorney general was scheduled after that of Ms. DeVos so he could vote yes before leaving the Senate, securing Republicans a decisive vote. Raised in a wealthy family, Ms. DeVos, who married into the Amway fortune, has a web of financial investments, has also raised alarm among critics who worried about the many opportunities for conflicts of interest. She was the first of Mr. Trumps nominees not to complete an ethics review before appearing before a Senate panel. She filed her ethics paperwork on Jan. 19, two days after her confirmation hearing. Teachers unions and even some charter organizations had protested Ms. DeVoss nomination across the country. Senator Patty Murray of Washington, the top Democrat on the committee that approved Ms. DeVos and a former educator herself urged disheartened advocates on Tuesday morning before the vote not to think of their efforts as a waste. Its made an impact here and made a difference, she said. And I think its woken each of us up in this country to what we value and what we want. Paul D. Ryan as Trump translator For a moment, House Speaker Paul D. Ryan seemed to be in the clear. Amid the now-typical deluge of questions for Mr. Ryan about the latest explosive comment from Mr. Trump, a reporter acknowledged the speakers standard reply: that he does not tend to comment on the tweet of the day. You got my talking points down already! Mr. Ryan said, perking up. He did elaborate, though, steering clear of any remark that could be construed as a knock on the president. On the subject of Mr. Trumps insistence that the news media had willfully ignored or played down international terrorist attacks: I cant speak to whether or not youre over or underreporting something. Thats your job. Ill stick with doing mine. On Mr. Trump attacking who he called the so-called judge responsible for blocking the presidents immigration order: Look, hes not the first president to get frustrated with a ruling from a court. On the uncertainty wrought by the presidents recent suggestion that the Affordable Care Act might not be replaced until next year: I think theres a little confusion here. The legislative process will have played out this year, Mr. Ryan said. The question is, how long does it take to implement the full replacement of Obamacare? NAC to fly 4 new routes with wide-body jets by 18 Nepal Airlines Corporation (NAC) on Monday announced that it would be launching four new long-haul routes besides resuming its London service after acquiring two wide-body jets in 2018. A lawsuit filed by Melania Trump depicts her heightened profile as a unique, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to make millions of dollars in business, once again raising questions about the relationship between President Trumps official role and his familys business interests. Mrs. Trumps suit, filed on Monday in a New York State court, accuses The Daily Mail, a British tabloid, of libel for reporting last year on claims that a modeling agency she worked for in the 1990s was also an escort service. The new complaint does not refer explicitly to the White House or Mr. Trump, or even her status as a candidates wife when the article was published and now as first lady. Instead, it refers to opportunities she had to launch a broad-based commercial brand in multiple product categories, each of which could have garnered multimillion dollar business relationships for a multiyear term during which plaintiff is one of the most photographed women in the world. Because of the Daily Mail article, it says, plaintiffs brand has lost significant value, greatly reducing those opportunities. It claims $150 million in damages. For anyone wondering how former President Barack Obama is adjusting to life under the Trump administration, know this: He seems to be doing just fine. Mr. Obama and his wife, Michelle Obama, took a vacation to the British Virgin Islands, where they have been hosted by Richard Branson, the chief executive of the Virgin Group. On Tuesday, Mr. Branson published a blog post, along with photos and video, showing Mr. Obama learning to kitesurf. The White House has issued a list of 78 terrorist attacks, saying most were underreported. The Trump administration, under fire for immigration restrictions and other policies it says are designed to curb terrorism, has portrayed the news media and other institutions as playing down the threat. But the list, which was released on Monday night and details episodes from September 2014 to December 2016, includes dozens of attacks that were covered heavily in the news media, including by The New York Times. (Examples are included in the list below.) Just as striking was what the list excluded: attacks targeting Muslims, who make up the overwhelming majority of victims of Islamist terrorism. The list does not mention, for instance, two suicide bombings in Beirut, Lebanon, that killed dozens in November 2015, or the wave of Boko Haram attacks across northern Nigeria, which have been among the worlds deadliest terrorist assaults. WASHINGTON The federal appeals court in San Francisco will hear arguments on Tuesday in a challenge to President Trumps targeted travel ban. Heres what you need to know. When is the hearing, and how can I listen? The court has scheduled an hour of arguments to start at 3 p.m. Pacific time. The arguments will take place by telephone, probably because the judges and lawyers are scattered around the country. The court will stream the audio live on its website. What is the issue? The Justice Department is seeking an emergency stay of a trial judges ruling that blocks Mr. Trumps executive order. The order suspended travel from seven mostly Muslim countries and limited the nations refugee program. The ruling, issued Friday by Judge James Robart of the Federal District Court in Seattle, has allowed previously barred travelers and immigrants to enter the country. Everyone was treated humanely, Mr. Kelly, a retired Marine Corps general recently confirmed as homeland security secretary, told lawmakers. We did have to step back and kind of re-cock in that first 24-hour period because of action by one of the federal courts. That changed things a bit, so we had to kind of step back. Mr. Kelly said he also agreed with a Twitter post by Mr. Trump that dangerous people could be getting into the country while a court order has held up the ban. He said it was entirely possible and it was likely that law enforcement officials would not know until the boom. Representative Michael McCaul, the chairman of the Homeland Security Committee, said the rollout of the executive order had been problematic. Mr. McCaul, a Texas Republican, said he was concerned about the lack of coordination, both within the executive branch and also with congressional leaders like myself. But he said he applauded Mr. Kelly for quickly correcting what I consider to be errors by quickly granting the exception and waiver to green-card holders, which went a long way to remedy, I think, this executive order. Mr. Kelly said most of the confusion had occurred because of the multiple court rulings issued in response to the order and the many protesters who appeared at airports across the country, not because of the actions of Customs and Border Protection officers. Representative Bennie G. Thompson of Mississippi, the ranking Democrat on the committee, said he agreed that there had been problems with the rollout of the ban. But he rejected Mr. Kellys testimony that the order had not caused chaos at airports as customs officers tried to determine who would be denied entry. They were put in an untenable position. Basically, they were flying by the seat of their pants trying to interpret an E.O. that had no directives to go with it, Mr. Thompson said, referring to the executive order. You had L.A. doing one thing, Atlanta doing one thing and J.F.K. doing another. So Im troubled by the comment that he made that there was no chaos. LIMA, Peru A corruption scandal in Latin America wound its way through the political establishments of two countries on Tuesday as Perus attorney general issued an arrest warrant for a former president and Colombian prosecutors said their presidents campaign might have received questionable donations. Peruvian prosecutors accused the former president, Alejandro Toledo, of accepting $20 million in bribes from the Brazilian construction giant Odebrecht in exchange for infrastructure contracts, including the rights to build a highway connecting Peru to Brazil. The accusations could put Mr. Toledo behind bars, a twist for a man who rose to power by leading protests that toppled the government of his predecessor, Alberto K. Fujimori, who is now in prison. KABUL, Afghanistan A suicide bombing near the offices of the Afghan Supreme Court in central Kabul during the evening rush hour on Tuesday killed more than a dozen people and wounded many more, officials said. Witnesses said a suicide bomber walked up to the entrance of the court as workers were leaving and set off his explosives. No one has claimed responsibility for the attack. A spokesman for the Taliban said that the group was looking into whether the bomber was one of its fighters. The group in the past has claimed responsibility for many court-related assaults, including on provincial courtrooms and buses carrying court employees. Wahidullah Mayar, the senior public relations adviser to the Ministry of Public Health, said 20 people were killed, including three women and one child, and 41 others were wounded. Police officials put the casualties at 13 dead and 25 wounded as of Tuesday night. In a response to the letter, addressed to Dr. Rogers, who is also chairwoman of the advisory committee of the International Coalition to End Organ Pillaging in China, Bishop Marcelo Sanchez Sorondo, chancellor of the Pontifical Academy of Science, warned against promoting political agendas. The organizer intends for the summit to be an academic exercise and not a reprise of contentious political assertions, Bishop Sorondo wrote. In an interview, Dr. Rogers said she disagreed with the bishops response. I thought that was outrageous, really, to try and hedge off any discussion by saying its political, she said. The weight of evidence is such that its up to the Chinese to prove that theyre not doing this, and not the other way round. Last year, 4,080 Chinese donated a total of 11,296 organs, according to an article published on Monday in the Chinese journal Health News and republished in Peoples Daily, the Communist Partys main newspaper. That number is a small fraction of the total needed. Health officials estimate that each year about 300,000 people in China need a transplant. To help change the system, officials have issued public appeals and deployed organ donation coordinators at hospitals. But many Chinese are unwilling, fearing that it is unfilial to ones ancestors be buried with organs missing. The meeting in Rome comes amid warming ties between China and the Vatican. Pope Francis is eager to visit China, home to millions of Catholics who are members of either the state-sponsored church or the underground church that is loyal to Rome. Some consider themselves members of both. The Chinese state does not recognize the jurisdiction of Rome over Chinese Catholics, though Catholicism is one of Chinas five official religions along with Buddhism, Islam, Protestantism and Taoism. Organizers of the Vatican meeting said they hoped it would help generate remedies to the problem of organ trafficking and transplant tourism, which they called a form of human slavery afflicting many parts of the world. HONG KONG President Trumps public criticism of a federal judge who blocked his immigration order was condemned across the political spectrum as an assault on judicial independence. Now the president is being taken to task from an unexpected place: China. Judge He Fan of the Supreme Peoples Court of China published a scathing blog post about Mr. Trumps reaction to Judge James L. Robarts recent ruling blocking key parts of his executive order that barred visitors from seven predominantly Muslim countries. Judge He said that Mr. Trump had breached the principle of an independent judiciary, and that people who attacked judges were public enemies of the law. Even if you control the armed forces and have nuclear weapons, Judge He wrote in the post, published on Sunday, your dignity has been swept away and you are no different than a villain. The notion of a Chinese jurist remarking on the danger he believes Mr. Trump poses to the separation of powers may seem, at first blush, to smack of hypocrisy. In China, courts are firmly under the command of the Communist Party. Last month, the chief justice publicly condemned the notion of judicial independence, warning judges not to fall into the trap of Western ideology. MANILA President Rodrigo Duterte of the Philippines angrily dressed down more than 200 police officers on national television on Tuesday, presenting them with a thorny ultimatum: Resign or be shipped off to a terrorist hotbed known for beheadings and attacks on police stations. Mr. Duterte accused the 228 officers of a litany of criminal and professional misdeeds, including corruption, drug use and dealing, and, in one high-profile case, the kidnapping and murder of a South Korean businessman. Calling the group of National Police officers from Manila, the capital, rotten to the core, Mr. Duterte said he was ordering them to Basilan, an island in the countrys restive south and home to the Islamic terrorist organization Abu Sayyaf. I need policemen in the south. There is a lack of police officers in Basilan; that is why the police stations there are often under attack, he told the officers, who were forced to stand for over an hour in the sun. Nepal to host Bimstec summit by this year: PM Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal has said Nepal is committed to hosting the fourth Bimstec Summit by the end of this year. For weeks, the people of Iceland, a small Nordic country where the police do not usually carry guns and murders are exceedingly rare, have been horrified and riveted by the mysterious killing of a young woman. The mystery of what happened to the woman, Birna Brjansdottir, an outgoing 20-year-old sales assistant, now appears to have been at least partly solved. She died from drowning after she was thrown possibly from a bridge into the North Atlantic Ocean, according to an autopsy report that was leaked Monday night to the national broadcaster RUV. Ms. Brjansdottir was alive when she was thrown, the report concluded, but it was not clear if the killer knew that, or if she was conscious. Medical examiners found bruises on her neck, the broadcaster reported, and she was naked when her body was discovered near a lighthouse about 20 miles southeast of Reykjavik, the capital. PARIS Former President Nicolas Sarkozy has been ordered by a judge to stand trial on charges of illegally financing his failed 2012 re-election campaign, the Paris prosecutors office said on Tuesday, the latest impediment for a politician who not long ago was hoping for a comeback. Mr. Sarkozy, 62, a mercurial right-wing politician who was president of France from 2007 to 2012, has denied any wrongdoing. His lawyer said he would appeal the decision, after which the case would be referred to another court for a final ruling. Mr. Sarkozy, who could face up to a year in prison and a fine of 3,750 euros, or about $4,000, is out of the running for presidential elections this spring after a poor showing in a November primary for the center and right candidates, and he no longer leads the center-right Republican Party. His diminished role in French politics would limit the fallout from a trial, but the judges decision comes amid growing anger against the political establishment and reflects increased scrutiny of its financial and personal arrangements. ROME When Stephen K. Bannon was still heading Breitbart News, he went to the Vatican to cover the canonization of John Paul II and make some friends. High on his list of people to meet was an archconservative American cardinal, Raymond Burke, who had openly clashed with Pope Francis. In one of the cardinals antechambers, amid religious statues and book-lined walls, Cardinal Burke and Mr. Bannon who is now President Trumps anti-establishment eminence bonded over their shared worldview. They saw Islam as threatening to overrun a prostrate West weakened by the erosion of traditional Christian values, and viewed themselves as unjustly ostracized by out-of-touch political elites. When you recognize someone who has sacrificed in order to remain true to his principles and who is fighting the same kind of battles in the cultural arena, in a different section of the battlefield, Im not surprised there is a meeting of hearts, said Benjamin Harnwell, a confidant of Cardinal Burke who arranged the 2014 meeting. While Mr. Trump, a twice-divorced president who has boasted of groping women, may seem an unlikely ally of traditionalists in the Vatican, many of them regard his election and the ascendance of Mr. Bannon as potentially game-changing breakthroughs. Many Iranians have expressed astonishment and ridicule at such assertions, pointing to terrorist groups that despise Iran and the West. First Al Qaeda, responsible for the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, and more recently the Islamic State, which has been killing thousands in the Middle East and is responsible for committing and inspiring attacks in Europe and the United States. Trump is trying to corner Iran, to make us bow before the U.S. and change our behavior, or face confrontation, said Nader Karimi Joni, a political activist close to Mr. Rouhanis government. Mr. Trump included Iran on a list of seven predominantly Muslim countries whose citizens have been barred from entering the United States under an executive order that has been blocked, for now, in the American court system. Mr. Trumps national security adviser, Michael T. Flynn, warned Tehran last week that it had been put on notice after an Iranian missile test. Washington imposed new economic sanctions on 25 people and entities after the missile launch, which Mr. Flynn said had violated a 2015 United Nations Security Council resolution approved after the United States and other world powers reached an agreement with Iran on its nuclear program. Iran has asserted that its missile tests do not violate that resolution and fall within its rights to self-defense. In another possible move against Iran, Mr. Trumps advisers are debating an order intended to designate its Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps as a foreign terrorist organization, according to current and former officials in the United States briefed on the deliberations. For Ayatollah Khamenei, Mr. Trumps ascent appears to have vindicated many suspicions harbored by the Iranian leader, who has said many times that the United States cannot be trusted. He has proven what we have been saying for more than 30 years we would always speak about the political, economic, moral and social corruption in the U.S. administration this man revealed it during the election campaign and since then, Ayatollah Khamenei said, according to a translated text of the speech. Parties still at odds over election threshold The political parties represented in Legislature-Parliament are still at loggerheads over whether to set the election threshold for allowing the parties to represent in the legislature under the proportional electoral system. Does the constant posting of all this anti-Trump stuff annoy or exhaust you? The messengers arent the problem here, guys. The White Houses bet is to overwhelm us with so much crazy shit we cant cover it. They want to dilute the outrage and alienate voters who dont consume much news: alienate them from the media, and from people who (rightly, in my view) wont shut up about it. Im going to try to prove that point here, and possibly every week if I can. This is a dumpby no means comprehensiveof things the Trump administration did last week, marked from Jan. 29 Feb. 5. And I want to hear from you. Can you (did you?) read the whole thing? Can you read it without getting annoyed, exhausted, or depressed? Do you have suggestions on how to cover the orgy of newsworthy/insane stories? I am at a total loss here. Yet here we go 1. First of all, the Yemen raid. Trump and Sean Spicer hailed it as a success, but it was in fact a failure in almost every way. Ill show you why in a second. But before I do, I want to be clear the Benghazi witch hunt was an embarrassment. Im not advocating a similar witch hunt or prosecution or hearing or anything here. All the details are conflicting and the story is very fuzzy. But I want to offer a counter-narrative to what the White House put forward this week, because theres an awful lot of evidence pointing to the fact they are either irresponsibly mischaracterizing the story, cherrypicking their evidence, ignoring other information a la the Bush administration, or, I have to say it, possibly lying. That said, I cant wait to say this 3 2 1 BENGHAZI! Trumps first counterterrorism operation in Yemen led to the deatha of one US commando, 14 al Qaeda operatives, and 15 civilians, including women and children. Anonymous sources in Congress and the national security establishment said Trump approved his first covert military operation without sufficient intelligence, ground support or adequate backup preparations. It also recently came out that Trump wasnt in the White House Situation Room where he would have had legal and national security accessat the time of the raid. He was briefed on the mission at dinner with no lawyers present. Sources also said that during the raid, military commanders on the ground were pressured to go ahead after it was compromised. Steve Bannon and Jared Kushner were present at the dinner briefing, as was Secretary of Defense James Mattis, whom John McCain said would never have approved a mission on bad intelligence. When Sean Spicer was asked about the death of Ryan Owens, the SEAL member in the raid, Spicer called the mission a complete success. Trump also called the mission a success, and said it had yielded important intelligence. It was recently revealed the target of the raid was reportedly Qasim al Raymi, the head of Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, whom the SEALs were attempting to capture. He just posted a video condemning the raid. Curiously, Spicer also blamed the mission on Obama, whom he said approved the mission in a January 6 meeting, when the deputies committee recommended the plan go forward. However, Colin Kahl, a national security official under Obama said he was at that meeting and the mission was not recommended. Kahl went on to further say the execution of the raid wasnt even discussed, and that Obama wanted to leave the decision up to the Trump administration. Obama didnt want the mission to go ahead, according to Kahl, because he thought it would lead to a US military escalation in Yemen. Kahl cited the National Security Council director for Yemen, Eric Pelofsky, who said the Obama team didnt make any decisions on the raid and prepared their analysis to hand off to the Trump team. The Trump team made the decision to go ahead after reviewing the intelligence over a dinner. If that mission was truly a success, wouldnt Spicer be crediting this to Obama instead of blaming him? But heres your success. As proof of the important intelligence Trump claimed the raid captured, the Pentagon released a video they found at the al Qaeda camp. The videoa guy in a white robe showing how to make the kind of explosive that the shoe bomber usedwas ten years old and had been publicly and broadly distributed. After US Central Command was called out on the video, they removed it from their website and canceled a conference theyd set up to discuss the intelligence that had been gathered in the raid. But when Trump gave his first presidential address to the military (this was Feb. 6 and technically not part of this week in review), he did not mention Owens and did not mention the raid, which was the first military order he gave as commander-in-chief. Trump did talk about the Special Forces and alluded to the raid: SOCOM has dispatched its legendary warriors to the most secret, sensitive and daring missions in defense of the United States of America. No enemy stands a chance against our Special Force [sic], not even a chance. They dont have a chance. And thats the way were going to keep it. Again: Trump did not honor Owens or the three wounded SEALS or praise the team for its courage under fire. In front of the military. Trump supporters, what the fuck do you say about that? Oh yes, and this was Trumps first tweet upon waking up the morning after a soldier died in the first military operation Trump ordered: Somebody with aptitude and conviction should buy the FAKE NEWS and failing @nytimes and either run it correctly or let it fold with dignity! The civilians killed in the raid included an 8-yr-old girl (a US citizen), the daughter of influential radical Muslim cleric Anwar Awlaki. Awlakithe guy behind the underwear bombing attemptwas the first US citizen our government killed in a drone strike; we also killed his 14-year-old son. Awlaki is a martyr and is still a highly influential jihadist figure. Now we have killed his daughter. Onward! 2. A White House aide said Trump turned off the recording in his Friday call with Putin. The White House didnt offer a transcript of the call, just a one-paragraph summary. 3. In Paris, a knife-wielding Muslim from Egypt (not one of the countries on our ban) attacked soldiers at the Louvre with a machete and was shot, but not killed. Trump issued a tweet calling the attacker a new radical Islamic terrorist. He didnt offer a comment about the soldier injured in the attack. And as jihadists often do, the attacker apparently screamed, Allahu Akbargod is great. 4. Trump has also still not made any public statement about last weeks shooting at a Quebec City mosque that killed eight Muslims. Witnesses to that attack said the shootera white Canadian nationalist and vocal Trump supporteralso shouted, Allahu Akbar with unfathomably black irony as he opened fire. 5. The cover of Der Spiegel featured Trump holding a machete in one hand and the bleeding, decapitated head of the Statue of Liberty in the otherthe familiar pose of an Islamic State fighter. 6. After a federal judge blocked Trumps travel ban, the US reopened its borders to refugees and travelers from the seven banned countries. After Trump woke up Saturdayat his Mar a Lago resort on the first vacation of his two-week-old presidencyhe tweeted the ruling of this so-called judge was ridiculous and vowed to overturn it. Within a minute he retweeted it from the official presidential twitter account, @potus. Later in the day, in his third tweet about the subject, he characterized the judges opinion as a ridiculous lift ban decision. The judgeJames Robart, who was appointed by George W. Bush and approved by the Senate with 99 votes in favorsaid theres no support for the argument that we have to protect the U.S. from individuals from these seven countries. No one from any of those countries has ever killed an American in a terrorist attack on US soil. 7. The Justice Department filed for an emergency stay on the judges ruling and made a formal appeal to the courts. The case will probably go to the Supreme Court. 8. The emergency stay was subsequently rejected by the appellate courts. 9. After Judge Robart blocked the ban, the Trump team apparently told Border Patrol agents to ignore the ruling and continue enforcing the ban as before. Joaquin Castro (D, TX) pointed out that if this proves to be the case it would mean Trump knowingly exceeded his constitutional authority, which would merit a congressional censure and possibly impeachment. Castro called for an investigation, along with several other Democrats on the hill. 10. According to administration officials, Trumps pick for Army Secretary withdrew from the nomination because it would too difficult to untangle himself from his business ties, which are exponentially less complicated than ones of the man who appointed him. 11. Trump signed an order asking Treasury to review the Dodd-Frank regulations, put in place after the 2008 financial crisis. The order would repeal the Volcker rule, which prevents banks from making speculative investments. It also includes a baffling order to delay a rule that would require retirement financial advisers to act in their clients best interests. That rule was supposed to go into place in April, but now it will be pushed back six months while its reviewed. Opponents say that if the repeal goes into effect, retirement advisers wouldnt work with or for poor clients. Republicans in Congress have already tried to veto the rule. 12. Melania Trump has been living with Barron in Trump Tower. She hasnt appointed a press secretary or opened the White House to visitors. For that matter, its heavily rumored she wont live in the White House. Over the course of Trumps term, it would cost taxpayers an estimated $1.46 billion for Melania to live in Trump Tower. 13. As I mentioned above, Trump took the first vacation of his two-week-old presidency this weekend at his Mar a Lago resort. It will cost US taxpayers about five million dollars for Trump to spend this weekend at a resort he owns. 14. Eric Trump had Secret Service protection on a business trip to Uruguay, where he hosted a party at Trump Tower in the capital. This is normal: The presidents family always gets Secret Service protection. Even though public funds paid for the trip, government agencies wouldnt reveal the name of the hotel or the number of booked rooms, or even how long Eric stayed. According to The Washington Post, a spokesman from the Secret Service declined to comment. The money came from the State Department, but a DOS spokesman wouldnt comment, either, and referred reporters to the White House and, again, back to the Secret Service, who once again declined to comment. The White House didnt respond either. 15. Trump takes Propecia. This fact was revealed by Trumps doctor, Harold N. Borstein, MD, a gastroenterologist who also wrote a hilarious letter this summer claiming Trump would be unequivocally the healthiest individual ever elected to the presidency. Dr. Bornstein said he also takes Propecia and told the Times, I have all my hair. The White House wont say whether Dr. Borstein is still Trumps physician. Dr. Borsteinwhose business card says dottore molto famoso (very famous doctor in Italian)also revealed Trump takes meds for high cholesterol, but Borstein assured The New York Times that if something happens to [Trump], then it happens to him Thats why we have a vice president and a speaker of the House and a whole line of people. They can just keep dying. Trump is the oldest president in US history. 16. Fake news has gone to the next level: Reverse plagiarism. It was reported that theres a site called the Center for Global Strategic Monitoring writing fake articles and opinion pieces but attributes them to real people. The articles say the opposite of what the authors truly believe. 17. After Iran conducted a ballistic missile test violating UN rules but not the US nuclear deal, Trump tweeted Iran was playing with fire and officially put them on notice. We then applied new sanctions to Iran, who responded by doing a few more missile, radar, and cyber warfare system tests. An Iranian commander said, If we see the smallest misstep from the enemies, our roaring missiles will fall on their heads. 18. This one really sickens me: The FCC issued an order that stops internet companies from providing federally subsidized Internet to poor people. Nine service providers were affected. The head of one of those companies said, Im most concerned about the children we serve. We partner with school districts41 states and the District of Columbiato provide educational broadband so that poor kids can do their homework. The new head of the FCC justified his decision by saying that revoking the nine approvals would promote program integrity by providing the [FCC] with additional time to consider measures that might be necessary to prevent further waste, fraud, and abuse in the Lifeline program. 19. The Intercept dumped a bunch of insider FBI documents: One big reveal: white supremacists have deeply infiltrated law enforcement; and the FBI can secretly tap and track journalists without judicial review, as well as trace confidential sources. 20. When Sean Spicer was asked directly about a five-year-old US citizen who was handcuffed at Dulles Airport over the weekend, he said the kid could have posed a security threat and theres no reason to discriminate based on age or gender. 21. Despite the sizable protests and chaos at airports around the country, Trump said the implementation of the ban was going nicely. 22. Theres a draft order going around the White House about deporting all immigrants who use public assistance such as welfare and school lunch programs. Keep in mind thats just immigrantsnormal, legal immigrants such as Donald J. Trumps wife, Melania Trump. This wouldnt apply to undocumented immigrants because they dont use those programs (they cant) even though they pay taxes supporting those very welfare programs. 23. Kellyanne Conway said it was time for Trump to start his own private intelligence organization, right after Stephen Bannon was appointed to the security council. 24. According to a Washington Post report, Bannon reportedly tried to order DHS secretary John Kelly to not issue a waiver excusing green-card holders from the travel ban. Great guy. 25. Trump is also apparently keeping his private security team, a la every 20th century fascist. 26. It was revealed Trumps pick for the Supreme Court, Neil Gorusch, started a Fascism Forever club at his private D.C. Jesuit high school. 27. A Trump adviser (Roger Stone) said Trump, who uses bobby pins to hold what hair he has in place, needs pro-Trump judges on the courts. Trump could appoint as many as 103 federal judges (who serve for life) today. Today. That is twice as many as Obama. 28. Trump picked a far-right judge, Gorsuch, to replace Scalia in a reality TV-style reveal. Many people believe this nomination stole Merrick Garlands seat on the court. Obama wouldnt allow Democrats to change Senate voting rules (the nuclear option) to force Garland through. But Trump specifically told Mitch McConnell to use the nuclear option if Democrats do what the Republicans just did. 29. Its worth noting Gorsuch used to clerk for Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy. I believe this is the first time a Supreme Court justice will sit with his clerk on the bench. This is important because Kennedy is heavily rumored to be considering retirement in a few months, and Trumps pick was a signal to Kennedy that he would make a sane choice if Kennedy retired. So he picked Kennedys old clerk. 30. Until then, though, the administration seems likely to ignore the courts the best they can: Though the courts blocked parts of the travel ban, Trump (or someone in the administration) ordered the border agents to ignore those court orders and the ban continued as planned. If they ignore the courts then it would probably take long enough for those cases to make it up to SCOTUS (especially if those possible 103 Trump judicial appointees slow the appeals down) after Kennedy retires. Itd be a 5-4 SCOTUS, pro-Trump. He already has the legislative branch. 31. Speaking of appointments, Trump asked Jerry Falwell, Jr.a bigoted creationist shithead who runs Liberty Universityto lead a federal task force on higher-ed policy. 32. Speaking of education appointments, Betsy DeVoswho never attended public school; whose children never attended public school; who said guns were okay in schools, in one case citing potential grizzly bear attacks; who did not know what the assessment metrics were for public schoolsis on the bubble to be approved as the secretary of education. One vote away. We will know soon if one Republican Senator has the moralno, common sense to vote against her. 33. UC Berkeley students rioted and lit a tree on fire to protest the visit of insane racist Milo Yiannopoulos, which Stephen Bannon set up to provoke that exact reaction. This prompted Trump to threaten via a 6 a.m. tweet to take away federal funding for UC Berkeley. 34. Trump also went on a Twitter campaign against Iran, a country that just performed a ballistic missile test violating UN accords but not the nuclear deal. He put Iran on notice for that launch, but its unclear what he meant by that. On Twitter, he also alluded to Iran taking over more and more of Iraq, as if it were somehow our faultIraq made Obama leave and wouldnt accept more troops. Iraqs Shiite government, which we installed after Saddam Hussein was taken out, is more aligned with Iran. Its unclear what Trumps complaint is, and even less clear what he thinks he can do about it. 35. Trump fired acting attorney general Sally Yates for standing up to the travel ban (and repeatedly called it a ban publicly, even though his press secretary said it was NOT a ban) by sending her a letter via courier and releasing a memo claiming Yates betrayed her country and was weak on borders and very weak on illegal immigration. The memo went on to include two non sequiturs: one attacking the Senate for delaying Sessions confirmation and another saying tougher vetting for individuals travelling [sic] from seven countries is not extremeeven though Trump calls it extreme vetting all the time. 36. A right-wing Canadian who expressed admiration for Trump and Marine Le Pen shot up a mosque in Quebec City, killing six Muslims and wounding many more two days after the ban was signed. 37. A Texas mosque torched a few hours after the ban has now raised well over $1 million to rebuild. 38. Trump told the President of Mexicoon the phonethat because the Mexican military wasnt doing enough about drug crime, Trump might send U.S. troops into Mexico to take out the bad hombres down there. 39. Once more: Trump said bad hombres to the President of Mexico. 40. Once more: Trump threatened the President of Mexico with a military invasion of Mexico. 41. In a separate diplomatic call with a longstanding staunch allythis time AustraliaTrump, toupee in full effect, boasted about the size of his inaugural crowd and electoral victory, but then seemed surprised to learn the US had an agreement with Australia that we would take 1250 of the 2500 refugees who have been held for years on the island of Nauru without trial. The agreement was struck well before Trump came into office. On the call Trump told the PM, This is the worst deal ever, that Australia was sending the US the next Boston bombers, and that if Trump accepted the refugees it would kill him politically. But that shouldnt have been a surprise. The travel ban executive order included language exempting preexisting international agreementspecifically on account for the Australian agreement. When the PM tried to get past the conflict, Trump ended the hour-long call with 35 minutes to go. Trump then took to Twitter to study this dumb deal that he knew nothing about even though he signed a law accounting for it and bragged about how great that law was for days. 42. Trump also gave his first remarks about Black History Month. He opened, as usual, by talking about his election victory, then celebrated the life of MLK, whose incredible example is unique in American history. You read all about Dr. Martin Luther King a week ago when somebody said I took the statue out of my office. It turned out that that was fake news. Fake news. He called the story a disgrace and very unfortunate and his remarks about King ended there. He also used the occasion to attack CNN, mention two black people he knows, and claim we ended up getting substantially more [black votes] than other candidates who had run in the past years. He did not clarify which candidates he was referring to or which elected position they were seeking. 43. Senate Republicans suspended confirmation rules and approved two Trump appointeesMnuchin (Treasury) and Price (Health)without any Democrats present. 44. Rex Tillerson was approved as Secretary of State in one of the closest votes the position has ever seen. 45. TrumpCan we just start saying Bannon now? At least Bannon has a thick head of hairremoved the head of the DNI and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from permanent positions at the national security council. Only down to Michael Flynn, Jared Kushner and Stephen Bannon. 46. It was revealed Trump signed the (illegal) order naming Bannon to the NSC, which Bannon wrote, without reading it. 47. Bannon started a White House Strategic Initiatives Group (basically Trumps own intel agency), and he wrote all the executive orders himselfhe then scrubbed out a paper trail so the decision making process cant be traced. 48. Trump refused to sign an executive order enhancing cybersecurity, even though he screamed about it for months. No reason was given. 49. In a taped speech at the National Prayer Breakfast, Trump insulted Arnold Schwarzeneggers ratings on Celebrity Apprentice. He then pledged to repeal a law barring pastors from endorsing candidates from the pulpit: I will get rid of and totally destroy the Johnson Amendment and allow our representatives of faith to speak freely and without fear of retribution. 50. At one point he also said, To hell with it. 51. At the breakfast, Trump simultaneously admitted he didnt know anything about the world until he became president (off prompter) and (on prompter; i.e., written by Bannon) alluded to a coming crackdown on Islam in the name of protecting the religious freedoms of persecuted Christians: Freedom of religion is a sacred right, but it is also a right under threat all around us, and the world is under serious, serious threat in so many different ways. And Ive never seen it so much and so openly as since I took the position of president. The world is in trouble, but were going to straighten it out. OK? Thats what I do. I fix things. Were going to straighten it out. Believe me. When you hear about the tough phone calls Im having, dont worry about it. Just dont worry about it. Theyre tough. We have to get tough. Its time were going to be a little tough, folks. 52. And he said it again here: Terrorism is a fundamental threat to religious freedom. It must be stopped and it will be stopped. It may not be pretty for a little while. It will be stopped. 53. And, for the benefit of the gathered clergy, he riffed again about ISIS decapitations: We have seen a campaign of ISIS and genocide against Christians, where they cut off heads. Not since the Middle Ages have we seen that. We havent seen that, the cutting off of heads. Now they cut off the heads, they drown people in steel cages. Havent seen this. I havent seen this. Nobodys seen this for many, many years. (Nobody has seen heads chopped off? How about you spend a little more time on the phone with the President of Mexico. They had at least seven decapitations last month.) 54. And last but not least, John D. Gartner, a psychotherapist who taught at Johns Hopkins University Medical School, has, in a US News article, described our president as dangerously mentally ill and temperamentally incapable of being president. He believes Trump has malignant narcissism (different from narcissistic personality disorder). It is incurable. A United KingdomAmma Asantes docudrama about the controversy that resulted both at home and abroad when Seretse Khama, prince of the African nation formerly known as Bechuanaland (now Botswana), brought home a British white woman, Ruth Williams, as his bridegets off on the wrong foot early. The first half-hour, which chronicles Seretses (David Oyelowo) and Ruths (Rosamund Pike) courtship, while the former is still an exchange student in London, feel oddly truncated, with Asante and screenwriter Guy Hibbert relegating the characters supposedly grand romance to a few brief, clipped scenes. In terms of screen time, its maybe a mere 15 minutes between when they first meet at a social gathering to which Ruths sister, Muriel (Laura Carmichael), brings her along, and when Seretse is proposing marriage to her on a bridge along the Thames. Along the way, we barely see enough of their interactions together to grasp what they see in each other, or even get a sense of what makes them tick individually. Perhaps the filmmakers were merely rushing the romantic stuff to get to the sociopolitical commentary that interested them more. A United Kingdom becomes much more engaging when Seretse finally brings Ruth back to his home countrywhen the initial tension between he and his disapproving uncle, Tshekedi (Vusi Kunene), eventually blossoms into broader political friction between Bechuanaland and the twin forces of the U.K.s protectorate rule and South Africas apartheid-based pressure, Nevertheless, though not necessarily fatal to the film, the overly curt opening section does have an unfortunate effect on the drama as a whole. Even more than Asantes previous film, Belle, A United Kingdom doesnt wholly escape a feeling of didacticism, with characters made subservient to a glorified history lesson, rather than leaping off the screen as living, breathing people. Still, in its own occasionally stiff way, A United Kingdom does raise eye-opening questions about racial inequality in the way it dramatizes not only British racism toward Africans, but also vice versa back in Bechuanaland. In this, Asantes film could be seen as a companion piece of sorts to Theodore Melfis recent Hidden Figures, which, beneath its unabashed crowd-pleasing exterior, offered one of the more refreshingly clear-eyed views of the way racist attitudes can become ingrained even in the minds of the oppressed the longer it is normalized. Just as it requires a few enterprising women at NASA to think and act outside the societal boxes imposed on them in that film, so it requires a forward thinker like Seretseseen in the beginning of A United Kingdom idealistically preaching to fellow Africans his vision of a fully equal nationto boldly propose that apartheid and colonial exploitation do not have to be merely accepted as the way it is. But just as Hidden Figures occasionally felt a bit too simplistic in its broadly drawn good-versus-evil binaries, A United Kingdom isnt above casting its characters in shades of black and white. Most egregious in that regard are the way the (invented) British officials Seretse and Ruth often deal withimperious civil servant Alistair Canning (Jack Davenport) and simpering district commissioner Rufus Lancaster (Tom Felton)are stereotypically characterized as mustache-twirling villains. In (the literally mustachioed) Cannings case, the better for Seretses triumphantly vengeful climactic rehash of an earlier line the former utters to him (Would you like some sherry?) to garner easy audience applause. Such manipulative gestures, combined with the cardboard characterizations of the two leads, are enough to detract from the well-intentioned sincerity of the enterprise as a whole. Director: Amma Asante Writer: Guy Hibbert Starring: David Oyelowo, Rosamund Pike, Jack Davenport, Tom Felton, Laura Carmichael, Terry Pheto Release Date: Feb. 10, 2017 Kenji Fujishima is a freelance film critic, contributing to Slant Magazine, Brooklyn Magazine, The Playlist, and the Village Voice in addition to Paste. He is also Deputy Editor of Movie Mezzanine. When hes not watching movies and writing and editing film criticism, hes trying to absorb as much music, art, and literature as possible. He has not infrequently been called a culture vulture for that reason. Hope. Rebellions are built on hope. These words, uttered by several characters in recent Star Wars blockbuster Rogue One, form a sentiment of resistance that, for millions of liberal Americans, doesnt stop after leaving the movie theater. Marches, protests, phone calls, and other forms of civil disobedience at this level havent been seen since the Vietnam War and the Civil Rights Movement . This resistance brings together Americans of all colors, classes, and political views. While theres still a way to go in terms of coalescing the glimmer of political action into a united movement, pop culture has proven to be a formidable unifying force. Who better to bring us together than our modern day mythology? Pop culture references provide a common language for everyone to understandand share on social media. With thousands of potential movie / television lines and moments to use in GIFs, memes, and quotes, protesters can vent their fear and anger. Geek cultureshown in three prominent mainstream franchises like Star Wars, Harry Potter, and The Avengers serves as a unifying force for Americans of all colors and creeds. Heres the breakdown of how protesters have taken stories full of peace, justice, and the American way and turned them into narratives of resistance: Fans have drawn strong similarities between the Trump administration, particularly the role of Steve Bannon, and that of the evil Empire. And while those resisting Trump may see stronger similarities to the stories in Episode VI or Rogue One as rebels, others have drawn strong comparisons to the dissolution of the Senate and the rise of the Emperor in Episode III. "So this is how democracy dieswith thunderous applause." Buckle in kids, it's going to be a bumpy ride. #ResistTrumphttps://t.co/o9KHbNtT7R Wesley Rodgers (@rodgerswesley) January 20, 2017 Above all, the story of a ragtag group of rebels fighting against the evil empire with nothing but hope is one that's easy to co-opt. The idea of rebellion, stacked against the odds and built on hope makes it easy to connect with the helplessness many feel in the face of an administration that doesn't represent their interests. With the passing of Carrie Fisher, Star Wars references have become even more poignant. I know where she stood. You know where she stood. Such an honor to see her standing with you today. Bigly. #Resistance#WorldWideWomensMarchpic.twitter.com/cwsgoYVSU7 Mark Hamill (@HamillHimself) January 21, 2017 Using the language of Star Warsnot just of good and evil, but of hope and redemptionwill continue to unite protestors, especially as the franchise continues with movies slated for every year until at least 2019 . Like Star Wars, Harry Potter showcases the power of a small group of individuals fighting for good against evil. Drawing comparisons between Trump and Voldemort, due to their autocratic tendencies and racist policies, have spurred aspiring witches and wizards to action, a la Dumbledore's Army. Donald Trump asking about nuclear weapons is the biggest red flag since Voldemort asked about Horcruxes as a teenager at Hogwarts. Jamie Woodham (@jwoodham) August 3, 2016 The similarities between current events and the events of the novels, particularly books five, six, and seven, are striking. With racist politics, dark plots, and above all, the apathy from so many seemingly well-meaning wizards, using Harry Potter to process current events isn't so far-fetched. The similarities are so striking, in fact, that Tumblr user skeeterforthenewyorktimes takes headlines from The New York Times and matches them to screenshots from the moviesand they make perfect sense. One of the major themes of the Harry Potter series is standing up for what you believe in, and for universal equality, a value the Trump administration clearly does not share. In fact, a study published back in July 2016 showed a strong correlation between Harry Potter readers and dislike of Trumpeven after controlling for party affiliation and other forms of bias. J.K. Rowling herself has taken a stand against Trump, engaging in Twitter wars with his fans and publicly denouncing the actions of the administration. This isn't surprising, if you've actually read the books. Indeed, relevant sections of the book, particularly those preaching tolerance, respect, and equal rights for all, have been going viral on social media platforms. After a masked man punched white nationalist and creator of the so-called alt-right movement Richard Spencer in the face during the Inauguration, the Internet responded accordingly. Artist's depiction of Richard Spencer getting punched in the face. pic.twitter.com/WP0ZQDVfHa bob calhoun (@bob_calhoun) January 20, 2017 Spencer became infamous for exclaiming, Hail victory! (the English translation of the Nazi salute Seig Heil!) at a celebratory event for alt-right Trump supporters. Punching Nazis has been a grand tradition of American movie heroes, but none more so than Captain America, created as a super soldier to help defeat the Nazis in WWII. We all find whatever we need in a particular character, whatever that may be, Melissa Groben, the daughter of one of the Cap's creators, told the Hollywood Reporter. Captain America has been around for a long time, so anytime there is any turmoil or unrest or disagreement, he pops up. Chris Evans, the actor currently playing Captain America in the Avengers franchise, has chimed in on Twitter as well, further blurring the lines between actor and character. Obviously we must prioritize keeping Americans safe. But we mustn't become un-American in the process. Chris Evans (@ChrisEvans) January 29, 2017 Others have taken the Captain America image to show it doesnt matter what you look likewe are all American. Sikh cartoonist Vishavijit Singh spent Inauguration Day as his alter-ego Sikh Captain America As the ultimate representation of truth, justice, and the American way, Captain America remains a symbol of the fight for freedom and what America should be. Star Wars, Harry Potter, and The Avengers represent stories that bring out the best in humanity. As liberal Americans begin the long slog of resistance to the Trump administrations racist, exclusionary, and incendiary policies, they will continue to use pop culture as a way to connect Americans of all backgrounds together. A tale has emerged about a flight attendant from the US, who has spoken to news outlets about the time she saved a young girl from human trafficking. Shelia Fedrick spoke to NBC News about the personal tale, which describes her working at Alaska Airlines in 2011, and spotting a young dishevelled girl being accompanied by a well-dressed older man. Fedrick says the girl, who she guessed was around 14 or 15, had greasy blonde hair and looked like she had been through pure hell. She says at first, she attempted to talk to the teenage girl and the man accompanying her he became increasingly defensive, and she would not make eye contact or speak to her. So Fedrick devised an ingenious plan and it turns out most flight attendants now receive extensive training on this she decided to leave a note for the girl in the aeroplanes bathroom. Muttering under her breath, she convinced the young girl to go to the bathroom, where shed left a note asking if the girl needed help. She wrote back on the note, Fedrick told NBC News, and said: I need help. The attendant then alerted the pilot, who contacted the police. By the time the plane had landed in San Francisco, the police were waiting there for them. It then came out that the girl was in fact a victim of human trafficking Fedrick had legitimately saved her life. She told outlets that shes made contact with the girl since the incident, which occurred in 2011 the girl is now in college. I put my phone number on the note that I left for her and I guess she memorised it, so a few weeks later, she called me. Fedrick told Florida broadcaster WTSP: Ive been a flight attendant for ten years and its like I am going all the way back to when I was in training. And I was like, I could have seen these young girls and young boys and didnt even know. If you see something, say something. INCREDIBLE. Truly incredible. Source: NBC News. Photo: Shelia Fedrick. *** Include a contact email address if you want a response *** Please tell us about the problem you are having... See your usage details You will also be sending us basic usage details to help us fix this problem. Details about your session Javascript: not enabled. Submit my Problem Please tell us about your problem before you click submit. Thank you for flagging this problem, we very much appreciate your time and helping us improve the site. Life is Dulce We call it the dolce far niente. It means the sweetness of doing nothing. You may have heard this while scrolling through Instagram or T Read moreThe benefits of doing nothing By: e-ImageData End -- e-ImageData, the worldwide industry leader in the design of innovative micrographic film scanning equipment, today announced the promotion of Jeff Middleton to Vice President of Sales. In this new position, Jeff will be responsible for managing both domestic and international sales as e-ImageData continues to develop powerful new features that brings microfilm into the digital world."Jeff Middleton has been an integral part of our continued success and we are thrilled to promote him to this new position," said Jim Westoby, president of e-ImageData.Jeff joined the company in 2008 as National Sales Manager and quickly grew our national reseller market. He brings with him twenty-five years of experience in the technology industry, and is an enthusiastic proponent of the advances made by e-ImageData to the microfilm scanning industry. Jeff commented, "I greatly enjoy working with our national accounts and resellers. I am excited for this new role and the opportunity to grow our international business."Based in Hartford, Wisconsin and founded in 1989, e-ImageData Corporation is a leading manufacturer of microfilm scanning systems. Further information about e-ImageData Corporation can be found at www.e-imagedata.com. Planned mineral policy stresses sustainable dev The Department of Mines and Geology has prepared a draft mineral policy in a bid to conserve natural resources and prospect for mineral deposits and extract them in a sustainable manner without affecting local livelihoods. Contact Renzo Medina Vassallo MEDINA CONSULTORES renzo.medina@ medinaconsultores.org (51) 987950747 Renzo Medina VassalloMEDINA CONSULTORES(51) 987950747 End -- Recently Peruvian Government has established a new MSEs (Micro and Small Enterprises)Tax Regime, which mainly provide lower Income Tax Rates and reduces the obligation to keep accounting books.Individual and corporate taxpayers could use new MSEs Tax Regime provided its annual income would not exceed 1,700 Tax Units (6'885,000 PEN, approx. US$ 2'100,000).- Those who are part of Economic Groups that its total annual income exceeds 1,700 Tax Units.- Non-domiciled branches established in Peru.- Individual and corporate taxpayers included in other tax regimes (like Rainforest Tax Regime, Agribusiness Tax Regime, among others).MSEs Taxpayers will determine its annual Income Tax applying to its net income the following progressive rate schedule:- From 0 to 15 Tax Units (60,750 PEN, approx. US$ 18,400): 10% Tax Rate.- Above 15 Tax Units: 29.5% Tax Rate.It is worth saying individual and corporate taxpayers not included in MSEs Tax Regime are ought to pay Income Tax by using 29.5% Tax Rate for their whole net income.On the other hand, according Peruvian Tax Law domestic companies must comply in advance with monthly estimated tax payments. Those payments cannot be under the amount obtained by applying 1.5% to the month's net income.However, companies included in the MSEs Tax Regime that obtain annual income for less than 1'215,000 PEN (approx. US$ 368,182) are deemed to comply with the advance payments by applying 1% to the month's net income.In addition, legal requirements for expenditures deductions are not fully applicable for MSEs Taxpayers (e.g. Bad Debts provisions and Inventories Loses).Companies subject to MSEs Tax Regime that obtain annual income for less than 1'215,000 PEN (approx. US$ 368,182) must only keep the following accounting books: Sales, Purchase and Simplified Daily book.Should you have any questions do not hesitate to contact us. Selection includes fascinating, affordable pieces that don't shortchange on quality By: Artemis Gallery Media Contact Artemis Gallery Teresa Dodge ***@artemisgallery.com 720-890-7700 Artemis GalleryTeresa Dodge720-890-7700 End -- Artemis Gallery's Varity Auction lives up to its name and then some, with hundreds of fine-quality pieces to suit all tastes and budgets. From relics of early Middle Eastern civilizations through to the Pre-Columbian and Spanish Colonial periods of the Americas' rich history, there are many wonderful "gems" to be discovered in this sale.The cornerstone of every Artemis Gallery auction is classical antiquities of Ancient Egypt and Rome. Among the Ancient Egyptian highlights are: Lot 3A, an appealing circa 1070-712 BCE cast-bronze ibis, posed as though standing in the shallow waters of the Nile, estimate $900-$1,400;and an elegant Apulian (Magna Graecia, southern Italy) red-figure hydria, $2,000-$3,000. Dating to around the 4th century BCE, the hydria features a pleasing depiction of a Lady of Fashion on one side and a large palmette on the other side. The vessel was formerly in the collection of James Farmer, a noted collector who acquired it at Sotheby's New York. Yet another Lady of Fashion adorns Lot 10C, a circa 350-320 BCE Greek skyphos purchased by Farmer in 1995 at Christie's. Est. $600-$900Also originating in Magna Graecia, circa 350-250 BCE, Lot 10F consists of a pair of graceful oinochoe vessels designed as portrait heads of a male and female, each topped with a pitcher. Both figures are cleverly crafted contiguous pieces with well-defined, naturalistic features and a post-fire-applied white pigment. The two-piece lot, ex James Farmer collection, is very reasonably estimated at $4,000-$6,000.With Valentine's Day approaching, many will be shopping for the gift that can't miss: jewelry. Artemis Gallery's February 9th sale offers a fantastic array of hand-selected, wearable ancient jewelry from a number of cultures. One of the finest inclusions in the group is Lot 42C, a breathtaking late 3rd to 2nd millennium BCE Bactrian necklace. It features a round pendant of hammered 22K gold sheet suspended from a strand of 10 circular lapis lazuli beads spaced with eight 22K gold openwork beads. This statement piece is estimated at $1,800-$2,500.Lot 38, a striking Ancient Sassanian (Iran), circa 3rd to 5th century CE twisted silver cuff bracelet showing both Near Eastern and Greco-Roman influences is estimated at $1,200. Suitable for either a man or woman, Lot 23A is a circa 2nd-5th century CE 18K gold Imperial Roman ring set with a red jasper intaglio. It is carved with the figure of a three-faced, bearded man and estimated at $600-$900.The Asian art section is brimming with treasures of the Far East, such as Lot 49D, a Khmer Empire circa 12th century CE sandstone carving of a devi, or female goddess. Estimate: $6,000-$8,000. Lot 56 is a huge and spectacular Chinese Neolithic jade bi disc from the Liangzhu culture, 3400-2250 BCE. Standing 21.25 inches on its museum-quality stand, this carved-jade celestial symbol displays a mesmerizing variety of colors, from deep forest green to russet, soft gray and pearly white. A similar bi disc roughly half the diameter in size sold for $40,000 at Christie's New York in 2013. Artemis will auction its example with a $12,000-$15,000 estimate.The broad category of Pre-Columbian art is amply represented by such highlights as Lot 86B, a choice 300 BCE to 300 CE Colima (Western Mexico) redware sculpture of a seated shaman, $6,000-$8,000;and a circa 1000-1550 CE Colombian Tairona region blackware vessel of anthropomorphic/zoomorphic form, $4,000-$6,000. A large and important circa 1500-300 BCE Chorrera culture (Ecuador) carved-stone object in the form of a jaguar may have been used to grind the ingredients of hallucinogenic drugs used by shamans. Estimate: $6,000-$8,000There are many intriguing pieces from Africa and Papua New Guinea in the tribal art section, but an object from the Batak people of Sumatra (Indonesia) crosses over into the scientific realm. Lot 65, dating to the late 19th/early 20th century, consists of a pair or oracle/divination devices, one carved from a water buffalo rib; the other from the scapula of an ox. Both are inscribed with symbolic figural and geometric patterns, as well as Batak characters and Sanskrit text, and serve as a calendar and almanac set."Batak priests inscribed sacred texts on sheets of bark, bamboo cylinders, and the bones of oxen and water buffalo," explained Artemis Gallery Executive Director Teresa Dodge. "These writings essentially magic formulas, recipes for medicines, and instructions for rituals and cures were passed from generation to generation within a priestly class." Similar to notations made on a calendar, inscriptions on rib bones like the one that is part of the set to be auctioned often contain information that priests used to "divine" auspicious days for particular activities. Estimate: $900-$1,500All items entered in Artemis Gallery auctions are unconditionally guaranteed to be authentic, as described in the catalog, and legal to acquire according to federal guidelines. A certificate of authenticity will accompany each purchase, and all goods will be packed in house by the gallery's own staff to ensure an enjoyable and stress-free experience for all buyers.Bidders may participate in Artemis Gallery's Feb. 9, 2017 ancient antiquities, Asian art and ethnographic auction live online, by phone (please reserve phone line in advance) or by leaving an absentee bid that will be lodged confidentially and competitively on their behalf. The sale begins at 10 a.m. Eastern Time. Bid absentee or live via the Internet through LiveAuctioneers. For additional information on any item, call Teresa Dodge at 720-890-7700 or email teresa@artemisgallery.com . Visit Artemis Gallery online at http://www.artemisgallery.com/ Pro-Line Trailers will be exhibiting at the 37th Annual MDA Car Show, where over 8,000 car enthusiasts are projected to attend. Pro-Line Trailers is also launching a weekly Facebook contest to promote the event. Pro-Line Trailers Weekly Facebook Contest End -- Pro-Line Trailers will be exhibiting at the 37th Annual MDA Car Show, where over 8,000 car enthusiasts are projected to enjoy this multi-day car show that benefits the Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA). Pro-Line Trailer is also announcing a social media contest to help promote the event.As the trailer season is heating up, the MDA Car Show is right around the corner. The family-friendly car show is taking place March 3-5 at The Berglund Center in Roanoke, VA just a short drive from Pro-Line Trailer's trailer sales headquarters in Boones Mill. Pro-Line Trailers has been a leading trailer dealer, providing open car trailers (https://www.prolinetrailersales.com/open-trailers/car-trailers)to customers along the East Coast for 20 years, and is proud to sponsor the 2017 MDA Car Show.The MDA Car Show is a long-running show hosted by non-profit organization, The Roanoke Valley Charity Car Show Committee, founded in 1981. The Roanoke Valley Charity Car Show Committee is dedicated to offering the community a fun-filled car show with the purpose of benefiting the Muscular Dystrophy Association. For almost four decades, the car show has been an opportunity for car owners to show off their prized possessions, and invites all car enthusiasts and alike to join the event.The MDA Car Show brings more to the table than just a showing of amazing cars. Other activities and happenings at the event include the Model Car Contest, Car Clubs, Automotive Flea Market, and Car Corral. Attendees can also find Pro-Line Trailers' friend and partners, VIRginia International Raceway, at the show in the Local Racing Section a section that invites all the local race tracks to set up shop and join the fun at this year's car show. March 3-5, 2017 The Berglund Center in Roanoke, VA Two floors of cars, car enthusiasts, and vendors Model car contest Silent auctionOn top of the prizes and give-aways at the MDA Car Show, Pro-Line Trailers has launched a weekly contest campaign to help promote awareness for the event.To enter to win, participants must Like the official Pro-Line Trailers Facebook page, and comment with a picture of their favorite car. Each week, Pro-Line Trailers will choose a winner at random, and the winner may claim their gift at the Pro-Line Trailers Boones Mill, VA headquarters or at the car show. In addition, Pro-Line Trailers will be a giving away a grand prize at the MDA Car Show stay tuned to their social media account for details on how to win!Be sure to Like and Follow us on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/prolinetrailersales)to take part in our weekly contest, and stop by the Pro-Line Trailers booth at the 37th Annual MDA Car Show.For tickets and more info, please visit the official MDA Car Show website at mdacarshow.com Check out Pro-Line Trailers online at www.prolinetrailersales.com.MDA is leading the fight to free individuals and the families who love them from the harm of muscular dystrophy, ALS and related muscle-debilitating diseases that take away physical strength, independence and life. We use our collective strength to help kids and adults live longer and grow stronger by finding research breakthroughs across diseases; caring for individuals from day one; and empowering families with services and support in hometowns across America. Learn how you can fund cures, find care and champion the cause at mda.org (https://www.mda.org/)Pro-Line Trailers is a leading seller of new and used trailers in the Eastern United States "for the way you work and the way you play." Pro-Line Trailers is headquartered in Boones Mill, VA, and offers competitive options for financing, delivery, and factory direct pickup in Georgia and Indiana. For 20 years, Pro-Line Trailers has been a go-to destination for enclosed trailers, car trailers, motorcycle trailers, equipment trailers, and more. Learn more or view current inventory at https://www.prolinetrailersales.com. Dbvisit Standby v8 is the latest release for the flagship Oracle SE Disaster Recovery product dbvisit- standby- v8- central- console- for- Oracle- SE Contact Kathy Howes Dbvisit Marketing Manager ***@dbvisit.com Photo: https://www.prlog.org/ 12618125/1 Kathy HowesDbvisit Marketing Manager End -- Dbvisit Software, the leader in Oracle database replication, has announced the latest release of Dbvisit Standby, the leading Disaster Recovery and Business Continuity Tool in the world for Oracle Standard Edition customers.This latest Dbvisit Standby version 8 has been reengineered to ensure it maximises the very latest in web and cloud technologies and reflects the way DBAs now work in today's hybrid environments.New or enhanced features include encryption, compression and an extended command line-based API that allows integration with scripts, applications and other tools.The new Central Console, a web-based Graphical User Interface (GUI), makes DBA core tasks streamlined and intuitive, while enabling centralized standby database monitoring. It also supports Oracle 12c's multitenant feature (Single Tenant for SE2). Additionally, this version provides support for cascading standby databases allowing the creation of an additional standby database.Dbvisit Standby version 8 makes it easier than ever to complete regular Disaster Recovery (DR) testing scenarios by effortlessly switching to your DR site, while, in the event of an unexpected outage, the methodical and logical switch to a standby server greatly reduces stress for the DBA and potential for mistakes under pressure.Anton Els, VP of Engineering, comments, "This version has been substantially improved in direct response to the changing world in which the DBA operates. We recognized the importance of including a centralized area for monitoring and managing increasingly complex database environments. With each version we reference best practices to ensure function and form are cohesive in design and this is particularly evident in this latest release. We are very excited to see many DBAs already embracing v8 and providing extremely complimentary feedback around the GUI and new features. This is why we love to play in the Oracle database world!"Dbvisit Standby has been tested and verified with all the leading cloud platforms including Oracle Cloud, Google Cloud and Amazon Web Services. Dbvisit Standby is also Oracle Database Appliance ready.Dbvisit offers a 30 day free trial of Dbvisit Standby version 8 that can be downloaded or for further information, contact us www.dbvisit.com/contact-us/.Today's world is all about data! The Enterprise is increasingly powered by data. This data is critical to its success. Access to tools that help customers protect, replicate and move production enterprise data from their Oracle databases in real-time used to be the domain of large corporates. Dbvisit has brought these tools to the mid-market by making them affordable and easy to use. Now all companies can use their data to win! Learn more at www.dbvisit.com By: Excelion Partners Contact Greg Oppermann ***@excelionit.com Greg Oppermann End -- Excelion Partners has announced its acceptance into the Amazon Web Services (AWS) Partner Network (APN). Excelion Partners is the first technology company in the New North region (Northeast and Central Wisconsin) to become an AWS consulting partner."Excelion Partners' participation in the APN provides our clients with the best cloud platform in the world for their technology needs. AWS is the world's most comprehensive and broadly adopted cloud platform," states Greg Oppermann, President, Excelion Partners.Ryan Moore, Director of Application Development, led the AWS certification initiative necessary to achieve partner status. "Our development team dedicated hundreds of hours to achieve their AWS Certifications. In doing so, they have created a center of excellence within our organization, while honing their technical skills and expertise to design, deploy, and operate applications on AWS."Utilizing AWS as the cloud infrastructure, Excelion Partners helps companies create smart, cloud-connected devices. Their complete Internet of Things solution brings the data to managers in dashboards that can be customized.Excelion Partners is a leading information technology services provider helping companies achieve a lasting impact on their business performance through support, integration, and proficient deployment of technology. With headquarters in Neenah, Wisconsin, their experienced and certified consultants have valuable expertise in application development, IoT, quality assurance testing, business intelligence (BI), business analysis and project management. These services are provided to companies representing several industries, including: manufacturing, financial services, health care, education, and retail.For more information, visit www.excelionit.com Tanjay City-based nonprofit Casa Esperanza Of Angels successfully staged its community outreach initiative last Saturday, in Sitio Baybay, Barangay San Isidro, Tanjay City, Philippines. Contact Ronald Brown Executive Director ***@agapeasia.org Ronald BrownExecutive Director End -- The nonprofit charity organization Casa Esperanza of Angels (CEA) Foundation Inc. successfully held a community outreach project Saturday, January 28, 2017, in this city.The food and grocery distribution program was held at the scenic Boardwalk location in Tanjay City and was attended by residents of the impoverished fishing village of Sitio Baybay, volunteers, local officials, guests, and staff of Casa Esperanza of Angels."This is certainly a good beginning," remarked Casa Esperanza of Angels Foundation President Elmer Palacio, "and we hope there will be other initiatives like this that benefit the community in the future."The activity, which benefited a total of 19 families and 45 children from Sitio Baybay, featured an hour-long interaction between young volunteers and the children of the village earlier in the morning and a clown and magic show in the afternoon. The children received footwear and school supply/hygiene kits while each family/household was provided with grocery and food parcels. Snacks and refreshments were also served during the event."The biggest challenge for me was purchasing the flip-flops for the kids since it involved sizes," shared CEA Activities Director Georgia Brown. "It was confusing sorting it all out but we were able to pull it off and the children were very happy."Casa Esperanza of Angels Foundation is currently constructing an orphan care facility in Barrio Sta. Ines, Barangay San Isidro, Tanjay City. When completed, this facility will house orphans and distressed children from Tanjay City and Negros Oriental province."We're very fortunate that the Casa Esperanza of Angels Foundation chose our community to be the site for its proposed orphanage here in Tanjay City," confided San Isidro Barangay Captain Rufino C. Reyes, Jr. "This can help a lot of orphans in the future."Volunteers from the city and from Dumaguete City and Cebu Province helped facilitate the event. The Tanjay City government sent a heavy duty generator to power the sound system while another jurisdiction, Barangay Luca, allowed the activity to be hosted at their Boardwalk site."We got logistical assistance from local government officials and other citizens, and we had fantastic volunteers from various locations that helped make it all happen," explained Ron Brown, CEA's Executive Director.The Sitio Baybay outreach activity ( https://www.casaesperanzaofangels.com/ sitiobaybay ) was supported by donors from abroad as well as from citizens of Tanjay City. Casa Esperanza of Angels launched a crowdfunding campaign in December to get the Sitio Baybay project fully funded."We got donations from overseas as well as from donors in the Philippines. We send out a big "Thank You" to all those who donated toward this outreach event! Without your financial donations this event would not have happened," Mr. Brown concluded.: Casa Esperanza of Angels Foundation, Inc. ( https://www.casaesperanzaofangels.com/ about/ ) is a nonprofit organization founded by Ronald Brown with his wife Georgia Olis Brown to help protect and care for the growing number of orphans, abused or abandoned children, and those in dire circumstances in the province of Negros Oriental, Philippines. Cancun's best kept secret: top chefs teaching best regional culinary specialties. Contact Alejandra Kauachi ***@mexicolindocooking.com +52 998 802 4388 Alejandra Kauachi+52 998 802 4388 End -- The Mexico Lindo Cooking School is celebrating two years of entertaining best regional culinary instruction.Highly acclaimed as a Cancun attraction, the School is located amid the elegant Riviera Maya.Learn how to prepare gourmet Mexican menu amid artisanal majolica and rustic tiles. A five-star Tripadvisor rating ensures Mexico Lindo Cooking is culinary destination.Enjoy a self-made fiesta surrounded by enchanting ancient Mayan jungle,Discover six ( 6 ) gourmet menus, all dedicated to regional bests...artifully plated on vivid talavera. Learn how to prepare artisanal tamales and enchiladas as well as regional specialties asandplus other classics asandBe sure to take home sunny memories from the School's own "" including other regional handicrafts.Mexico Lindo Cooking also offers a menu of Culinary Destination getaways with various participating hotel packages.Check out this video: https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=aDPWDgqvfJ4 To talk about food is to talk of love, traditions, culture and heritage.Discover the Mexico Lindo recipe archives for year-round inspiration.Mexico Lindo Cooking is a complete experience: a traditional kitchen sharing the best of Mexican heritage and culture. Atos Expertise and Local Presence Will Serve Customers and Expand Business Opportunities in Rapidly Growing Asian Markets as the Newest Member of the BlueCielo Global Partner Alliance. By: BlueCielo, Atos Media Contact Huw Roberts +1 484 870 1269 huw.roberts@ bluecieloecm.com Huw Roberts+1 484 870 1269 End -- BlueCielo, a leading global provider of software solutions to monitor and control technical information throughout the asset lifecycle, has appointed Atos, an international leader in digital services, their global reseller and implementation partner for Singapore, China, Malaysia, Australia, and Thailand. Atos brings specialists in infrastructure and data management to further enrich the BlueCielo Partner network, and enhance their presence in the region. Under the terms of this new partnership Atos Asia Pacific operations, will deliver the implementation and support for BlueCielosoftware, including cloud-based. The alliance provides a framework for both companies to integrate their solutions to manage the customers' Asset Lifecycle Information and leverage trustworthy and accurate technical data in their day-to-day operations. BlueCielo selects partners who embody the same values and support customers' growing needs with high-level consultancy, implementation services, and support. Atos is a trusted partner to provide business technology to enable customers in their digital journey thereby creating the firm for their future."We are very pleased to form a strategic partnership with Atos in Asia-Pacific. This is a tremendous opportunity for us to extend our reach in the region especially to new customers of all sizes. By combining our expertise in leveraging solutions for engineering information management and Atos' vision and expanding footprint towards a digital future, we can define exciting new business opportunities together" said Willem-Jan Scholten, CEO of BlueCielo.Herbert Leung, CEO of Atos in Asia Pacific added: "Atos has made great strides to keep ourselves and our ecosystem of customers, partners, and alliances ahead of the digital curve. Our mission has been to create sustainable businesses, and in the coming years this will further accelerate to meet the demands of the digital future. Atos comes with rich credentials in delivering innovative technologies and services reinforced by our commitment to go to market with industry leaders to deliver beyond industry standards. We are pleased to partner BlueCielo to enhance our customers' overall business operations."Atos SE (Societas Europaea) is a leader in digital transformation with circa 100,000 employees in 72 countries and pro forma annual revenue of circa 12 billion. Serving a global client base, the Group is the European leader in Big Data, Cybersecurity, Digital Workplace and provides Cloud services, Infrastructure & Data Management, Business & Platform solutions, as well as transactional services through Worldline, the European leader in the payment industry. With its cutting-edge technologies, digital expertise and industry knowledge, the Group supports the digital transformation of its clients across different business sectors: Defense, Financial Services, Health, Manufacturing, Media, Utilities, Public sector, Retail, Telecommunications, and Transportation. The Group is the Worldwide Information Technology Partner for the Olympic & Paralympic Games and is listed on the Euronext Paris market. Atos operates under the brands Atos, Atos Consulting, Atos Worldgrid, Bull, Canopy, Unify, and Worldline.BlueCielo provides solutions to manage engineering information throughout the asset lifecycle. BlueCielosoftware connects maintenance and engineering, supports concurrent plant modifications, and improves data handover.BlueCielo solutions transform engineering data into actionable plant information, keeping our users informed, compliant, and in control. Serving the world's largest enterprises in the Chemical, Metals & Mining, Oil & Gas, Pharmaceutical, and Utility industries, theproduct line increases data integrity, auditability, and efficiency - enabling users to improve productivity and efficiency, ensure regulatory compliance, reduce risk, and manage change. With BlueCielo, owner operators run their plants more effectively, safely, sustainably, and profitably.The company is headquartered in The Netherlands and has offices across the United States, Europe, Brazil, and in Singapore, as well as an international network of partners that ensures local service and support. BlueCielo is an official partner of Autodesk, IBM, Microsoft, Oracle, SAP, and SolidWorks.To learn more about BlueCielo see www.bluecieloecm.com and follow @BlueCieloECM ( https://twitter.com/ BlueCieloECM ) on Twitter. Brand new competition in conjunction with the Society of Petroleum Engineers London Section offers winners two free tickets to the prestigious SPE February Meeting. End -- Esanda Engineering has announced a brand new competition in conjunction with the Society of Petroleum Engineers London Section. Esanda is an independent upstream oil and gas training and consultancy company, and they are proud sponsors of the SPE. Their competition offers winners two free tickets to attend the prestigious SPE February Meeting.The event will take place on the evening of Tuesday 28th February, with evening lectures on Egypt, Shale gas development planning (IGAS) and Production Forecasting (IHS). This exclusive event will include pre-dinner and post-dinner talks with Rand Al-Obaidy, Senior Petroleum Engineer & North Africa BD Lead (Gaffney, Cline & Associates), Thomas Wilson, Subsurface Manager (IGas Energy), and Silvia Rey Gomez, Subject Matter Expert (IHS Markit). The dinner is a wonderful opportunity to hear from and meet with industry experts.In order to win entrants need to identify a type of rock, and estimate the price of Brent Crude in US Dollars no later than 20th February 2017. Entries should be completed here: http://www.esandaengineering.com/ landing-page/ Esanda-comp... About EsandaEsanda is an independent upstream oil and gas consultancy specialising in industry specific training and field development planning services. Their operations are supported by their UK and Australia offices and satellite offices throughout the EMEA and APAC regions. Their training providers are practicing industry specialists who develop their in-house courses and work with clients to build bespoke training programmes. Their consulting service is based on insightful field development analysis, integrated where required, with all other E&P disciplines.About SPE EuropeThe Society of Petroleum Engineers Europe Ltd. is a not-for-profit, charitable organization devoted to the safe and efficient exploration and production of crude oil and natural gas resources for the benefit of all humans. SPE Europe is one of the entities of Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) Stichting, organized under the laws of The Netherlands, which is the governing organization for SPE worldwide.SPE members are also engaged in educating the general public about the oil and natural gas industry what we do, how we do it, and why it is important to the world economy. SPE members encourage young people to consider the many career opportunities presented by the oil and natural gas industry. Only one truly rises to the top when you compare all benefits. Contact Nationwidecar ***@nationwidecar.com 800-942-6281 Nationwidecar800-942-6281 End -- It's not always easy to determine which company is a leader in the industry, especially when you consider many different regions across the country. For aor the surrounding area, if you're working for a company or an individual traveler looking for the best service, you don't want to take chances.You want a company that can not only offer a lot of options when it comes to limos or buses, you also want one that puts safety and service as their top priorities. Nationwide Chauffeured Services has been providing transportation throughout Charlotte, North Carolina and the surrounding area since 1993. Some people call them for the best inservices available. Business Travelers often choose them for airport transportation.Sightseeing tours consistently contact Nationwide Chauffeured Services when they need a. There are plenty of reasons people book aservice, whether it's to actually go sightseeing, to head from the airport to a seminar or conference, or for even for out-of-state trips.First and foremost, has to do with the years of experience they offer. They have been providing transportation services to the area since 1993. They have some of the safest, most experienced and reliable chauffeurs in the industry. They put every driver through an intensive interview process, background screening, safe driver training, and consistent drug testing. They also constantly monitor, inspect, and maintain all of their vehicles.They also only keep late-model limos and buses in their fleet, selling off any vehicles that get to a certain age or have any potential issues that could arise time and time again.They also provide immediate billing, short notice availability, complementary bottled water and mints, and the latest GPS navigation equipment on every vehicle. This, coupled with the incredibly knowledgeable drivers they have, leads to a nearly unmatched on-time service record within the industry.For those interested in learning more or making a reservation, they can contact Nationwide Chauffeured Services 24 hours a day, 7 days a week at 800.942.6281. Their website, for more information, is www.nationwidecar.com Nationwide Chauffeured Services is one of the leading transportation companies in the entire country. They are one of the only ones to provide 24 hour a day, 7 day week customer service, immediate billing, and short notice availability. They also offer complementary bottled water and mints for all of their limo guests, and complementary bottled water for all bus guests, upon request. They continue to remain dedicated to being the safest and most reliable transportation service anywhere in the United States. PM Dahal urges everyone not to doubt election Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal has called on everyone to remain assured that the local body election would be held. Students learning to pilot Unmanned Aircraft Systems - drones - also received financial education training from Texas Trust Credit Union By: Texas Trust Credit Union Future drone pilots attend financial education training by Texas Trust CU Contact Kristine Tanzillo ***@duxpr.com Kristine Tanzillo End -- The Arlington Chamber of Commerce Foundation has tapped Texas Trust Credit Union to provide financial literacy training as part of the Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) training.The UAS, or drone, training is part of the Wagner-Peyser Unmanned Aircraft System Consortium (UASC) grant issued in conjunction with the Texas Workforce Commission. The Wagner-Peyser project was established to lead Texas in building the future unmanned aviation industry workforce. The grant is being used to establish capabilities and certification for two- and four-year higher education programs that will prepare Texans for jobs in the industry.More than 30 students, ages 18 to 24, from Tarrant County College, the University of Texas at Arlington, and the University of North Texas Denton participated in the UAS training. Texas Trust provided the required 20 hours of financial education instruction at the Tarrant County College Erma C. Johnson Northwest Center of Excellence for Aviation, Transportation and Logistics (CEATL).That instruction covers everything from basic money management to specifics about managing credit, including payment cards and personal loans, as well as investing and financial considerations involved in starting a business."There is a huge gap in financial literacy among college students," said Karen Austin, Senior Director of Education and Workforce Development and Wagner-Peyser Project Director of the Arlington Chamber of Commerce Foundation. "Since the UAS training is a demonstration program, we wanted to incorporate financial education with it to help students better prepare for life after graduation. Texas Trust was gracious in joining us as a community partner."Austin added, "While many students have hopes of turning their interest in drones into a career, they are entering an emerging industry with evolving changes. Texas Trust provided the expertise to show students the importance of a budget and practical ways to use credit to help minimize debt in their personal life and in business."About Texas Trust Credit UnionTexas Trust Credit Union was created in 1936 when a group of Chance Vought Aircraft Corporation employees pooled their savings so they could help each other achieve financial goals. Today, more than 84,500 members are served through checking and savings accounts; loans (personal, mortgage, auto, and small business); credit cards; insurance products; and investment services. Texas Trust Credit Union supports local students through its "Spirit Debit Rewards" program. With every swipe of an eligible SDR card, funds are donated to the school or district of the member's choosing. To date, Texas Trust has donated over $1.3 million since August 2011. Texas Trust serves members in Dallas, Tarrant, Henderson, Ellis, and Johnson counties through 17 locations in Mansfield, Arlington, Grand Prairie, Cedar Hill, Midlothian, DeSoto, Hurst, and Athens. With assets of $1 billion, Texas Trust is one of the largest credit unions in North Texas and the 18th largest in Texas. For more information, visit http://www.TexasTrustCU.org or follow us on facebook.com/texastrustcu or Twitter at @texastrustcu. Lifestyle Concrete Company Pieces Featured in Ambiente's Prestigious Trend Show By: IntoConcrete Global design company IntoConcrete is officially launch Contact Trish Stukbauer ***@gmail.com Trish Stukbauer End -- Global design company IntoConcrete is officially launching in Europe at Ambiente 2017. Held in Frankfurt, Germany, from February 10-14, Ambiente is the world's leading international trade fair for table, kitchen and household products, interior design concepts and furnishing accessories. The company will have 2 pieces featured in Trend Show, Ambiente's handpicked selection of new and innovative products."It's an honor to have two of our pieces The CORVI Wine Cooler and the SeeSaw Bowl Set represented in Trend Show at our debut at Ambiente," explained Mario Guagnelli, IntoConcrete CEO and Co-Founder notes. "It's an affirmation of the design leadership we hoped to attain when we founded our company."IntoConcrete designs, manufactures, and curates modern, elegant and functional home and lifestyle accessories cast in "Lifestyle Concrete" their proprietary high-performance, lightweight, premium concrete. "Our Lifestyle Concrete, 3D printing, and state-of-the-art molding and advanced casting methods let us push the boundaries to transform sand, water and cement into lightweight and unexpected forms with soft-to-the touch finishes; products that emanate warm, sophisticated and urban modern design," Guagnelli notes.Featured at Trend Show will be the CORVI Wine Cooler designed by Francisco Corvi of Argentina. Taking advantage of concrete's natural insulating properties, The CORVI (SRP $90.00 USD) is a uniquely elegant and efficient way to keep wine chilled at the table without ice. When not in use, its angled design allows multiples to be stacked together to create a striking display to store wines. Highly giftable, each comes packaged securely in its own ready-to-ship gift box.Also featured will be the SeeSaw Bowl Set (SRP $260.00 USD) designed by Mikaela Dorfel, IntoConcrete's VP of Product Design. SeeSaw is a versatile, modern and playful collection of 3 vessels that can stand on their own or be grouped together for a dramatic statement. Known for her unique sense of shape, modern lines and attention to subtle detail, Mikaela is an award-winning Finnish tabletop designer who works from her studio in Hamburg Germany and has designed for top international tabletop brands, including Rosenthal, Stelton, Menu and WMF.See more of IntoConcrete at Ambiente in the LOFT section, Hall 11.0/F49.IntoConcrete ( http://intoconcrete.com ) is a global company with business offices in the US and Italy, design hubs in Germany and Argentina, and a state-of-the art manufacturing facility in Queretaro, Mexico. In addition to producing their own line of home and lifestyle accessories, IntoConcrete offers concept-to-market design and manufacturing solutions for select brands, designers, and architects for custom design and fabrication projects. Atenor, advised by Cushman & Wakefield Hungarys Capital Markets Team, have sold Building A of their prestigious Vaci Greens campus to an independent Hungarian investor group. Situated on the Vaci corridor, Budapests pre-eminent sub-market, Building A was handed over in 2013 and was the first phase of the 135,000 sq [] A global motorcycle, the new BMW G310R is being produced in India at TVS Motor plant in Hosur near Bangalore. Though yet to be launched in India, the smallest capacity BMW motorcycle in recent years is exported to Europe, Australia, and other countries in Asia. BMW G310R is the first product to be built under the BMW-TVS JV which was formed a couple of years ago. This JV will see the launch of new-age BMW and TVS motorcycles in the sub 500 cc segment. The first of these is the new G310R. Already spied on test in India, BMW G310R was first showcased last year in Brazil back in 2015. It is powered by a 313 cc single cylinder liquid cooled engine which delivers 34 PS power and 28 Nm torque mated to a 6 speed gearbox. Inspired from a stunt bike concept, BMW G310R features a short wheelbase and an aggressive stance. It has been made to traverse through the urban jungle of today without much fuss, and also to take on those twisties during the weekends. Highlights of the G310R are upside-down front forks, mono-shock rear suspension, fully digital instrument control, LED side indicators, 17 inch alloys wrapped with Metzeler tyres and so on. Watch the combination at work in the owner generated video below. Once launched, BMW G310R will take on the likes of KTM Duke 390, Bajaj Dominar 400, Mahindra Mojo and the Honda CBR250R. Priced in the UK from 4,290, price in India is expected to be in the range of INR 1.8 lakh. Below is the much talked about exhaust note of the BMW G310R with Akrapovic exhaust, which was shared by official Akrapovic Instagram account. Photos Yemen, UNDP discuss humanitarian and developmental cooperation fields SANA'A, Feb. 07 (Saba) Prime Minister Dr. Abdul Aziz Saleh Bin Habtoor discussed on Tuesday with the UNDP Country Director in Yemen Mr. Auke Lootsma the cooperation relations in humanitarian and developmental fields in line with priorities of the current situation. Prime Minister listened to the UNDP official about the overall humanitarian aid carried out by the UNDP in collaboration with stakeholders and donor organizations and organizations working in the country. Mr. Lootsma said that the programs efforts did not limit to the humanitarian fields but also for the development field, pointing out that the program was able to collect new funds worth $ 450 million as a grant from the World Bank, which will be distributed between the Social Fund, the public works project, the health sector and through the UNDP and the World Health Organization and UNICEF. He added that that communication with the World Bank is continuous to get new support for the Yemeni people. The UN country director expressed his deep pain and sadness for the tragic situation occurs in the country, indicating that the UNDP's activities cover most of the Yemen's provinces as their goal are to provide possible assistance to the Yemeni people. The Prime minister hailed the role played by the UNDP in supporting the Yemeni people in different fields. He affirmed that the government is keen to provide all aspects of cooperation and the necessary facilities for organizations working in the humanitarian field so as to enhance joint efforts towards the Yemeni people and to alleviate the daily suffering. HA Saba Facebook Facebook Twitter Twitter Whatsapp Whatsapp Telegram Telegram Email Email Print Print [07/February/2017] For most people, cortisol, the vital hormone that controls stress, increases when they wake up. It's the body's way of preparing us for the day. But in police officers who've experienced intense stress on the job, cortisol functions much differently, according to recent research from the University at Buffalo and funded by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). A study of more than 300 members of the Buffalo Police Department suggests that police events or conditions considered highly stressful by the officers may be associated with disturbances of the normal awakening cortisol pattern. That can leave the officers vulnerable to disease, particularly cardiovascular disease, which already affects a large number of officers. "We wanted to look at what stressors most affect police officers in their work and what affect that has in the dysregulation of this awakening cortisol pattern," said John Violanti, PhD, research professor of epidemiology and environmental health in UB's School of Public Health and Health Professions. "Past studies haven't really looked at the intensity of the stressor and how it affected this cortisol pattern. Here we looked at actual intensity," adds Violanti, lead author on the paper, published in the January issue of the journal Psychoneuroendocrinology. The study included 338 Buffalo officers who were enrolled in the Buffalo Cardio-Metabolic Occupational Police Stress (BCOPS) study, a long-term study Violanti began in 1999. advertisement What stresses officers the most? For this study, participating officers assessed a variety of on-the-job stressors using a questionnaire that asks officers to rate 60 police-related events with a "stress rating." Events perceived as very stressful are assigned a higher rating. Exposure to battered or dead children ranked as the most stressful event, followed by: killing someone in the line of duty; having a fellow officer killed on duty; a situation requiring the use of force; and being physically attacked. Identifying the five most intense stressors police can face was significant, Violanti said. "When we talk about interventions to help prevent disease, it's tricky because these stressors are things that can't be prevented," he said. "That's why the availability of peer support programs within police departments is important." The survey showed that the officers experienced one of the five major stressors, on average, 2.4 times during the month before the survey was completed. advertisement Blunted cortisol pattern seen in stressed officers Researchers looked at the cortisol patterns of officers who reported experiencing one of the top five stressors and compared the patterns to officers who encountered the five least stressful events, such as promotions and strained relations with non-police friends. Cortisol was measured using saliva samples taken upon waking up, and 15, 30 and 45 minutes thereafter. Officers who weren't as stressed showed a steep and steady, or regular, increase in cortisol from baseline. However, officers with a moderate and high major stress index had a blunted response over time. That's because stress affects a system in the body known as the hypothalamic pituitary adrenal axis, or HPA Axis. When you're stressed, the HPA Axis elicits cortisol, a hormone that gets the body going and activates against the stressor, Violanti explained. Under normal circumstances, the body's cortisol pattern looks like a normal bell curve: It rises when we wake up, peaks around midday and comes back down at bed time. "If you experience chronic stress or high stress situations, the cortisol can no longer adjust normally like this. So what happens with people under a lot of stress, the cortisol flattens out. For some people it goes down and others it goes up and stays up. That's called the dysregulation of the HPA axis," said Violanti, who served with the New York State Police for 23 years before shifting into academia. Implications for departments across the U.S. Previous studies have found that a dysregulation of awakening cortisol can lead to cardiovascular disease and diabetes, Violanti said, adding that police officers die from cardiovascular disease more often than the general population. In fact, Violanti's research revealed that heart disease, diabetes and suicide, among other causes, are why the average age of death for male Buffalo Police Officers is 68, compared to 78 for the general population. While the current study focused on Buffalo officers, the findings have implications for cops around the country, said paper co-author Michael Andrew, PhD, chief of the Biostatistics and Epidemiology Branch of the CDC/NIOSH Health Effects Laboratory Division in Morgantown, West Virginia. "These findings show that exposure to major events inherent to police work may lead to a temporary reduction in the biological ability to respond to further stressful events. Since the major stressor events in this study were originally developed to reflect events that can apply to any police department, these results should generalize, more or less, to any police department in the U.S.," Andrew said, adding, "This points to the need for continued focus on supporting police officer health." Research conducted at University of California San Diego School of Medicine found that current trends in diagnostic coding for patient risk scores will lead to Medicare overpaying Medicare Advantage (MA) plans substantially through 2026-likely to the tune of hundreds of billions of dollars. The study is published in the February issue of Health Affairs. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) pays MA plans, defined as insurance plans offered by a private company that contracts with Medicare to provide benefits, more when they enroll a patient who is expected to use a large volume of medical services and less when plans enroll low risk patients. MA plans have strong incentives to find and report as many diagnoses as they can, called "coding intensity." These incentives are not present in fee-for-service (FFS) patients. The study found there is no evidence that MA enrollees have actually gotten any sicker relative to FFS beneficiaries, and if this payment method continues Medicare could overpay MA plans by $200 billion over the next decade. "Congress and CMS have the opportunity to establish a payment system that will protect taxpayers from the strategies used by MA plans to increase the payments they receive," said Richard Kronick, PhD, principal investigator and professor in the Department of Family Medicine and Public Health at UC San Diego School of Medicine. "The projected $200 billion in overpayments over the next ten years is stunningly large in absolute dollar terms. To provide some perspective, federal support for community health centers is approximately $5 billion per year." CMS uses patient demographic and diagnostic information to calculate a risk score for each beneficiary, and these risk scores are used to determine payment to insurance plans. For example, spending is expected to be greater for an 85-year-old than for a 65-year-old and greater for a beneficiary with heart disease, diabetes and depression than for a beneficiary with none of these diagnoses. Over the past decade, the average risk score for MA enrollees relative to the average risk for FFS beneficiaries has risen steadily. "More than 30 percent of Medicare beneficiaries are enrolled in Medicare Advantage. The problem could be largely solved if CMS adjusted for coding intensity using the principle that Medicare Advantage beneficiaries are no healthier and no sicker than demographically similar fee-for-service Medicare beneficiaries," said Kronick. CMS has the authority to adjust payments to MA plans to account for coding intensity and has taken some actions to mitigate the effects of MA efforts at increasing risk scores. "In the three decades that Medicare has been contracting with health organizations and plans, figuring out how to pay the plans accurately and fairly has posed a persistent challenge," said Kronick. The study provides an insight that could help solve an expensive issue. "I hope these findings foster a discussion of how to best measure and adjust for differential coding between Medicare Advantage and fee-for-service Medicare. Solving this problem is an important prerequisite to the establishment of a stable and equitable future for the current Medicare Advantage and could save the federal government approximately $200 billion," said Kronick. As human emotions go, pride has earned a bad rap. Christians count it among the seven deadly sins, the ancient Greeks charged it with provoking destruction by the gods, and non-industrial peoples around the world consider it a source of bad luck. Still, some behavioral scientists reject pride as a universal emotion, arguing that individuals in other cultures, such as Japan, lack the pride-achievement motivation so familiar to Westerners. But does pride really deserve its reputation both as a menace and as an emotion limited to only some cultures? Perhaps not, say a group of researchers at UC Santa Barbara's Center for Evolutionary Psychology (CEP). Pride, they argue, served an important function in social life that led to its evolution among our foraging ancestors. Their study, which covers 16 countries and four continents, appears in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The Pride System "The function of pride is to motivate the individual to cultivate traits and pick courses of action that increase others' tendency to value them," said lead author Daniel Sznycer, a CEP research scientist at UCSB and a postdoctoral researcher at Arizona State University. "Natural selection would have crafted a neural program -- pride -- that makes you care about how much others value you, and motivates you to achieve and advertise socially valued things." The authors refer to this theory -- which brings together the views of several evolutionary researchers -- as "the advertisement-recalibration theory of pride." "Our ancestors lived close to the edge, and depended in their daily life on acts of kindness by their fellow band members -- kindness that was increased the more they valued you," explained Leda Cosmides, a professor of psychology at UCSB, co-director of the CEP, and a co-author of the paper. advertisement John Tooby, a professor of anthropology at UCSB, co-director of the CEP, and also a co-author of the paper added: "The pride system is designed to give others some vote in what behavior you end up choosing, so that they have an ongoing stake in your welfare. This predicts not only that people should have a detailed map of what members of their community value socially, but that the intensity of pride someone feels in achieving some specific outcome should closely match the degree to which others would value that specific achievement. This helps you determine which value-promoting acts are worth the effort." Depending on the magnitude of the anticipated pride when considering a course of action, individuals will pursue and advertise behaviors that increase others' evaluations of them. According to the researchers, the anticipated feeling of pride is a social pricing signal, allowing the mind to weight the private payoff of an action (e.g. the nutritional value of hunting a given type of prey) against the social payoff (e.g. showing others that you are a skilled hunter, or giving the meat to others). Pride as a neural system inclines people to factor in others' regard alongside the private benefits so that the act with the highest total payoff is selected. Private Payoff vs. Social Benefit To test the prediction that anticipated pride at taking an action matches the community's valuation of that action, the researchers created 25 brief fictional scenarios depicting behaviors or traits that were expected, on evolutionary grounds, to lead to valuation from others. Among them are possessing skills, being trustworthy, being generous and being physically attractive. They ran these scenarios on 2,085 participants in 16 countries on four 4 continents. One group of participants was asked to report, for each scenario, how positively they would view another person if those things were true of that person. A different group of participants was asked how much pride they would feel if those things were true of themselves. "We observed a surprisingly close match between the community's positive regard for people who display each of these acts or traits -- that is, the magnitudes of valuation by an audience -- and the intensities of pride that individuals reported they would feel if they had taken those acts or displayed those traits, Sznycer said. "Feelings of pride really move in lockstep with the values those around you place on various acts and traits. This is true in all the 16 cultures we tested." Further studies, he noted, showed that it is pride in particular, and not positive emotion in general, that tracks others' values. advertisement Cross-Cultural Similarities For this reason, the authors argue, pride does not deserve its dark reputation. Rather, pride generates socially valuable outcomes for others as a side effect of a natural desire to be approved of, they said. Even more fundamentally, the studies uncovered massive cross-cultural similarities in the qualities people value in others. "It's not just that Americans and Italians and Turks and Koreans like trustworthiness, attractiveness and generosity in others. The relative values people assign to those positive attributes are astonishingly similar across cultures," Tooby said. "This suggests that the underlying grammar of valuation that makes you experience others as more or less appreciated is a culturally invariant feature of human nature." Cultural psychologists have argued that people lack motivation to enhance their reputations in some collectivist cultures, such as Japan. However, the authors find in their data that the Japanese have the same patterns of pride as do people from other cultures. "The pride of the Japanese participants closely tracked not only the evaluations of their fellow Japanese, but also the evaluations of people from all the other countries, collectivist and individualist alike," noted Sznycer. "These data are hard to reconcile with the notion that the Japanese don't 'self-enhance,' but are easy to assimilate if you assume that the Japanese have a rich psychology for self-promotion -- pride -- just like everybody else." Elegantly Engineered But if pride is found across cultures, why is it so widely maligned? Perhaps, the researchers note, it is because pride is occasionally miscalibrated and causes an overly high sense of entitlement in the achiever. "People dislike the social subordination that sometimes follows others' increases in status," Sznycer explained. "And when there's envy the mere success of others is experienced as a grievance. This may explain why pride is a target of righteous indignation around the world. "A careful mapping of this emotion suggests a different view, however," he continued. "Pride appears to be an elegantly engineered emotion: It makes you pursue socially valued courses of action, and it facilitates the gains in esteem that make those actions worth pursuing." Bohr's atomic model was utterly revolutionary when it was presented in 1913 but, although it is still taught in schools, it became obsolete decades ago. However, its creator also developed a much wider-ranging and less known quantum theory, the principles of which changed over time. Researchers at the University of Barcelona have now analysed the development in the Danish physicist's thought -- a real example of how scientific theories are shaped. Most schools still teach the atomic model, in which electrons orbit around the nucleus like the planets do around the sun. The model was proposed more than a century ago by Danish physicist Niels Bohr based on Rutherford's first model, the principles of classical mechanics and emerging ideas about 'quantisation' (equations to apply initial quantum hypotheses to classical physical systems) advanced by Max Planck and Albert Einstein. As Blai Pie i Valls, a physicist at the University of Barcelona, explains: "Bohr published his model in 1913 and, although it was revolutionary, it was a proposal that did little to explain highly varied experimental results, so between 1918 and 1923 he established a much more wide-ranging, well-informed theory which incorporated his previous model." Bohr's theory, which was named quantum theory, proposed that electrons circle the nucleus following the classical laws but subject to limitations, such as the orbits they can occupy and the energy they lose as radiation when they jump from one orbit to another. But it also attempted to explain in a unified way all the quantum phenomena that had been observed to date. "This theory rested on two fundamental pillars: the adiabatic principle, a method to find possible quantum states within the atom; and the correspondence principle, which links classic electrodynamics with the new quantum theory forged at that time," explains Pie i Valls who, together with Professor Enric Perez, has published these historical analyses on the topic in the journal 'Annalen der Physik'. The authors studied the use Bohr gave to the adiabatic hypothesis from when Austrian physicist Paul Ehrenfest set it out in 1911 until his Danish colleague raised it to a 'principle' and developed it to get the most out of it. They also detected the mutual influence there was between Bohr and German physicist Arnold Sommerfeld, who advanced his own formulation of 'quantification' and had a significant influence on developing the old quantum theory, the backdrop against which all the studies prior to the birth of quantum mechanics in 1925 were set. "One of the most significant changes we have found is the reversal of the importance of the two fundamental principles," notes Pie i Valls. "In 1918 the central role played by the adiabatic principle almost entirely eclipsed the correspondence principle in Bohr's theory, and we mustn't forget that, but over the years it faded into the background, while the correspondence theory gained importance and incorporated new, useful applications from calculus. With the establishment of quantum mechanics, the correspondence principle retained its central role, which it has to this day." The authors bemoan the fact that Bohr's quantum theory is much less widely known than his atomic model, "obsolete since 1925, but which is still explained in schools today due to its considerable educational value and out of pure pragmatism: it is impossible to teach a theory as complex as quantum mechanics at certain levels." This situation, however, has led to the public wrongly having the idea that the Bohr model is still valid, when the modern vision of the atom is in fact governed by the probabilistic laws of quantum mechanics, which force us to imagine the electron as delocalised, as a "probability cloud" around the nucleus of the atom. A landmark report by the World Health Organization in 2014 observed that antibiotic resistance -- long thought to be a health threat of the future -- had finally become a serious threat to public health around the world. A top WHO official called for an immediate and aggressive response to prevent what he called a "post-antibiotic era, in which common infections and minor injuries which have been treatable for decades can once again kill." A team of UCLA biologists has been responding to the challenge, exploring possible ways to defeat life-threatening antibiotic-resistant bacteria. In 2016, they reported that combinations of three different antibiotics can often overcome bacteria's resistance to antibiotics, even when none of the three antibiotics on its own -- or even two of the three together -- is effective. Their latest work, which is published online and appears in the current print edition of the Journal of the Royal Society Interface, extends their understanding of that phenomenon and identifies two combinations of drugs that are unexpectedly successful in reducing the growth of E. coli bacteria. A key to the study is an understanding that using two, three or more antibiotics in combination does not necessarily make the drugs more effective in combating bacteria -- in fact, in many cases, their effectiveness is actually reduced when drugs are used together -- so the combinations must be chosen carefully and systematically. The new paper also provides the first detailed explanation of how the scientists created a mathematical formula that can help predict which combinations of drugs will be most effective. The scientists tested every possible combination of a group of six antibiotics, including 20 different combinations of three antibiotics at a time. Among the three-drug combinations, the researchers found two that were noticeably more effective than they had expected. Those groupings used treatments from three different classes of antibiotics, so the combinations used a wide range of mechanisms to fight the bacteria. (Five of the three-drug combinations were less effective than they expected, and the other 13 groupings performed as they predicted.) "So many bacteria are now so resistant to antibiotics," said Pamela Yeh, the study's senior author and a UCLA assistant professor of ecology and evolutionary biology. "We have a logical, methodical way to identify three-drug combinations to pursue. We think it's vital to have this framework for identifying the best possible combinations of antibiotics." advertisement The researchers have identified cases where the effects of the interactions are larger than the sum of the parts. "Doctors may want to super-efficiently kill the bacteria, and that is what these enhanced interactions make possible," said lead author Casey Beppler, who was an undergraduate in Yeh's laboratory and is now a graduate student at UC San Francisco. For the current study, the scientists evaluated the drug combinations on plates in a lab. Beppler said a next step will be to test the most effective combinations in mice. In addition to reporting on how well various combinations of antibiotics worked, the paper also presents a mathematical formula the biologists developed for analyzing how three or more factors interact and of explaining complex, unexpected interactions. The framework would be useful for solving other questions in the sciences and social sciences in which researchers analyze how three or more components might interact -- for example, how climate is affected by the interplay among temperature, rainfall, humidity and ocean acidity. The biologists are gaining a deep understanding of why certain groups of three antibiotics interact well together, and others don't, said Van Savage, a co-author of the paper and a UCLA professor of ecology and evolutionary biology and of biomathematics. Beppler said more research is needed to determine which combinations are optimal for specific diseases and for specific parts of the body. And the researchers now are using the mathematical formula to test combinations of four antibiotics. Police confiscate five kg of hashish An Indian national was arrested with five kilos of hashish here in Birgunj on Tuesday. 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This one appears to be a modified ZBL 09 infantry vehicle for the Chinese Marines. Photos have appeared of these vehicles painted in the distinctive colors of the Chinese marine vehicles. This confirms older rumors that the Chinese marines were going to get modern amphibious armored vehicles. Unlike the U.S. Marines (and many American allies), who use armored vehicles designed specifically for amphibious units, the Chinese are simply modifying an existing amphibious armored vehicle. The basic ZBL 09 is a 21 ton vehicle that has a crew of three and carries seven passengers. Other specialized models, like the ST1 assault gun have a crew of four and weigh over 25 tons. All ZBL 09 variants are 8 meters (25 feet) long, three meters (9.2 feet) wide, and 2.1 meters (6.5 feet, to the hull roof) high. These vehicles are amphibious and have a top water speed of 8 kilometers an hour. On roads, top speed is 100 kilometers an hour, and max road range on internal fuel is 800 kilometers. The infantry carrier version has a turret with a 30mm autocannon. The infantry version of the ZBL09 entered service in 2009, and a growing number of combat brigades are being equipped with it, to operate somewhat like the American Stryker brigades. China has been developing new wheeled armored vehicles since the 1990s. Until recently, these were all based on Russian designs. The ZBL 09, however, borrows more ideas from the West. Still, some of the more recent (since 2009) Russian type designs were interesting and instructive. The Chinese marines already use some of these ZBL vehicles. In 2015 China offered for export another new variant in its line of ZBL 8x8 wheeled armored vehicle; the VN1 vehicle launched bridge. This is an old concept that goes back to World War II. What it amounts to is a 15-20 meter (46-66 foot) bridge than can quickly be deployed from the vehicle over obstacles allowing similar (in size and weight) vehicles to quickly cross. China introduced the ZBL line of armored vehicles in 2006 after more than a decade of development. The first model was a personnel carrier but other variants quickly followed. For example the ZBL 09 is equipped as a tank-destroyer with a high velocity 105mm gun. This appears to be a variant on the 2007 version that had a lower velocity 105mm gun that was intended to give infantry front line artillery support. The Germans called this an assault gun when they invented the concept (as the Sturmgeschutz during World War II. These vehicles are particularly useful for infantry attacking as an assault gun could quickly take out enemy opposition with one or two shells. The assault gun version of its ZBL 09 had a smaller turret than the ST1. The larger turret of the ST1 is apparently to hold the additional recoil and fire control equipment for the more powerful and longer range 105mm gun. In 2009 there was already an artillery version of the ZBL 09, carrying a 122mm howitzer in a larger turret similar to the one used by the ST1. Since 2012 the Chinese Army has been using the ZBL 09 with the turret and 105mm gun as a wheeled light tank. That appeared to indicate that an anti-tank version was already in the works. The ZBL 09/105mm assault gun could, with some extra training, be capable of shooting up other armored vehicles. The 105mm gun carried is not powerful enough to destroy most modern tanks, but could knock out most other armored vehicles. The Chinese have observed NATO success in Iraq with the Stryker and LAV wheeled combat vehicles. Chinese designers eventually concluded that the roomier internal layout of Western vehicles did serve a useful purpose, and the ZBL 09, and all the electronics installed in it, are an example of what the Chinese learned. The ZTL 11 is another aspect of a Chinese effort to modernize and upgrade its amphibious forces. China has been doing this since the late 1980s and the U.S. has taken to paying a lot more attention to what the Chinese are doing here. China has had amphibious ships and soldiers trained to operate from them since the 1950s. A marine regiment was organized in 1953, and expanded into a division but was disbanded by 1960. The current Marine Corps was officially established in 1981, after several years of planning, recruiting, and training. These marines were meant to handle the most difficult landing operations so that army troops (trained to use amphibious craft) could follow. Currently the Chinese marines are a small force. The actual marines are 12,000 infantry. There also two army divisions trained to undertake amphibious operations and who regularly train with the marines. This is not, in a Western sense, a "marine corps" but the Chinese marines have come to be considered elite troops. In the West the nature of China's amphibious forces has been misunderstood for decades. The U.S. Navy has come to view the Chinese marines as tip of the spear for any Chinese amphibious operations. While China has other special operations forces, only the marines regularly practice operations at sea. The marines have been used against Somali pirates and to provide security for Chinese aid efforts in dangerous areas. As China practices to use military force in the South China Sea or other disputed offshore areas, the marines always tend to be present. So American intel tracks the Chinese marines carefully, for these amphibious troops will often be the first in if China decides to fight. In early January 2017 the United States released another batch of documents captured during the 2011 American commando raid on the Osama bin Laden hiding place in Pakistan. One of the documents contained some explosive material about the leader (Ilyas Kashmiri) of an Islamic terrorist group operating from a sanctuary in Pakistani Kashmir and making attacks inside India, particularly Indian Kashmir. In one mid-2010 letter Kashmiri, who also worked for al Qaeda, asked bin Laden for advice on how to destroy his patron (the Pakistani military and its intelligence branch ISI) after India had been driven out of Kashmir. It was no secret that even Islamic terrorist groups that profess loyalty to the Pakistani military contain many members who see that has a necessary lie because so many officers and troops do not believe in Islamic terrorism and do sinful things like watch movies and drink alcoholic beverages. Ultimately people like this must be punished. This is not an unusual attitude among Islamic radicals. It is confirmed when ISI openly admits to using Islamic terrorist groups as weapons against neighbors (especially India and Afghanistan). Many Islamic terrorist groups who accept aid from ISI have already turned on their benefactor because these zealots believed the corrupt Pakistani military and ISI were in need of being cleansed as soon as possible. The Pakistani military called the unflattering Kashmiri document a fabrication, which either the United States or even bin Landen may have created to confuse their enemies. But many familiar with Islamic terrorism in Pakistan saw that the letter was probably real. These bin Laden documents revive concerns about the Pakistani military. Since mid-2013, when an official Pakistan investigation into the raid (the Abbottabad Commission report0) was leaked, the Pakistani military leaders realized they had to face some unpleasant realities. The Abbottabad Commission report was commissioned by the Pakistani government in June 2011 to get to the truth of how Osama bin Laden could hide out in Pakistan for a decade and the United States could send in commandos to attack the bin Laden compound in Abbottabad (a military town near the capital) and then get away to Afghanistan without any interference from the Pakistan military. The Abbottabad Commission did a thorough job, so thorough that when the final report was delivered in January 2013 the government ordered it kept from the public. The reason for this was that the report admitted corruption and incompetence in the government and military were the main reasons bin Laden could hide in plain sight, and also why the Americans could fly in from Afghanistan, kill bin Laden, take large quantities of documents from the bin Laden compound and get out without any casualties. After the report became public in mid-2013 the Pakistani military responded by blaming the Pakistani police and domestic intelligence agencies for not noticing the bin Laden compound in Abbottabad and admitted that the military was more concerned with guarding the border with India than the one with Afghanistan. Few people inside or outside Pakistan believed the military on this issue, and much else besides. But what the military leadership has to worry about most is the revelations that the Islamic weapon they created in the 1980s has every intention of killing its creators as well as enemies of Islam (Hindus, Shia, and non-Moslems in general) in neighboring countries. National Bank of Canada provides various financial products and services to retail, commercial, corporate, and institutional clients in Canada and internationally. It operates through four segments: Personal and Commercial, Wealth Management, Financial Markets, and U.S. Specialty Finance and International. The Personal and Commercial segment offers personal banking services, including transaction solutions, mortgage loans and home equity lines of credit, consumer loans, payment solutions, and savings and investment solutions; various insurance products; and commercial banking services comprise credit, and deposit and investment solutions, as well as international trade, foreign exchange transactions, payroll, cash management, insurance, electronic transactions, and complimentary services. The Wealth Management segment comprises investment solutions, trust services, banking services, lending services, and other wealth management solutions. The Financial Markets segment offers corporate banking, advisory, and capital markets services; and project financing, debt, and equity underwriting; advisory services in the areas of mergers and acquisitions, and financing. The U.S. Specialty Finance and International segment provides specialty finance products; financial products and services to individuals and businesses in Cambodia; and investment solutions, guaranteed investment certificates, mutual funds, notes, structured products, and monetization. It provides its services through a network of 384 branches and 927 banking machines. National Bank of Canada was founded in 1859 and is based in Montreal, Canada. Police inspector among 3 injured in Parsa tiger attack Three persons including a police inspector were injured when a tiger attacked them at Ekdarwa in Lakhanpur VDC of Parsa district on Monday night. Best Buy Co., Inc. retails technology products in the United States and Canada. The company operates in two segments, Domestic and International. Its stores provide computing products, such as desktops, notebooks, and peripherals; mobile phones comprising related mobile network carrier commissions; networking products; tablets covering e-readers; smartwatches; and consumer electronics consisting of digital imaging, health and fitness, home theater, portable audio comprising headphones and portable speakers, and smart home products. The company's stores also offer appliances, such as dishwashers, laundry, ovens, refrigerators, blenders, coffee makers, and vacuums; entertainment products consisting of drones, peripherals, movies, music, and toys, as well as gaming hardware and software, and virtual reality and other software products; and other products, such as baby, food and beverage, luggage, outdoor living, and sporting goods. In addition, it provides consultation, delivery, design, health-related, installation, memberships, repair, set-up, technical support, and warranty-related services. The company offers its products through stores and websites under the Best Buy, Best Buy Ads, Best Buy Business, Best Buy Health, CST, Current Health, Geek Squad, Lively, Magnolia, Best Buy Mobile, Pacific Kitchen, Home, and Yardbird, as well as domain names bestbuy.com, currenthealth.com, lively.com, yardbird.com, and bestbuy.ca. As of January 30, 2022, it had 1,144 stores. The company was formerly known as Sound of Music, Inc. The company was incorporated in 1966 and is headquartered in Richfield, Minnesota. Coeur Mining, Inc. explores for precious metals in the United States, Canada, and Mexico. The company primarily explores for gold, silver, zinc, and lead properties. It holds 100% interests in the Palmarejo gold and silver mine covering an area of approximately 67,296 net acres located in the State of Chihuahua in Northern Mexico; the Rochester silver and gold mine that covers an area of approximately 43,441net acres situated in northwestern Nevada; the Kensington gold mine comprising 3,972 net acres located to the north of Juneau, Alaska; the Wharf gold mine covering an area of approximately 3,243 net acres situated in the northern Black Hills of western South Dakota; and the Silvertip silver-zinc-lead mine comprising 97,298 net acres located in northern British Columbia, Canada. In addition, the company owns interests in the Crown and Sterling projects located in southern Nevada; and the La Preciosa project located in Mexico. Further, it markets and sells its concentrates to third-party customers, smelters, under off-take agreements. The company was formerly known as Coeur d'Alene Mines Corporation and changed its name to Coeur Mining, Inc. in May 2013.Coeur Mining, Inc. was incorporated in 1928 and is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. Ecolab Inc. provides water, hygiene, and infection prevention solutions and services in the United States and internationally. The company operates through Global Industrial, Global Institutional & Specialty, and Global Healthcare & Life Sciences segments. The Global Industrial segment offers water treatment and process applications, and cleaning and sanitizing solutions to manufacturing, food and beverage processing, transportation, chemical, metals and mining, power generation, pulp and paper, commercial laundry, petroleum, refining, and petrochemical industries. The Global Institutional & Specialty segment provides specialized cleaning and sanitizing products to the foodservice, hospitality, lodging, government and education, and retail industries. Its Global Healthcare & Life Sciences segment offers specialized cleaning and sanitizing products to the healthcare, personal care, and pharmaceutical industries, such as infection prevention and surgical solutions, and end-to-end cleaning and contamination control solutions under the Ecolab, Microtek, and Anios brand names. The company's Other segment offers pest elimination services to detect, eliminate, and prevent pests, such as rodents and insects in restaurants, food and beverage processors, educational and healthcare facilities, hotels, quick service restaurant and grocery operations, and other institutional and commercial customers. This segment also provides colloidal silica for binding and polishing applications in semiconductor, catalyst, and aerospace component manufacturing, as well as chemical industries; and products and services that manage wash process through custom designed programs, premium products, dispensing equipment, water and energy management, and reduction, as well as real time data management. It sells its products through field sales and corporate account personnel, distributors, and dealers. The company was founded in 1923 and is headquartered in Saint Paul, Minnesota. Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA provides dialysis care and related dialysis care services in Germany, North America, and internationally. It offers dialysis treatment and related laboratory and diagnostic services through a network of outpatient dialysis clinics; materials, training, and patient support services comprising clinical monitoring, follow-up assistance, and arranging for delivery of the supplies to the patient's residence; and dialysis services under contract to hospitals in the United States for the hospitalized end-stage renal disease (ESRD) patients and for patients suffering from acute kidney failure. The company also develops, manufactures, and distributes dialysis products, including polysulfone dialyzers, hemodialysis machines, peritoneal dialysis cyclers, peritoneal dialysis solutions, hemodialysis concentrates, solutions and granulates, bloodlines, renal pharmaceuticals, and systems for water treatment; and non-dialysis products, such as acute cardiopulmonary and apheresis products. In addition, it develops, acquires, and in-licenses renal pharmaceuticals; offers renal medications and supplies to patients at homes or to dialysis clinics; and provides vascular, cardiovascular, endovascular specialty, vascular care ambulatory surgery center, and physician nephrology and cardiology services. The company sells its products to dialysis clinics, hospitals, and specialized treatment clinics directly, as well as through local sales forces, independent distributors, dealers, and sales agents. As of February 23, 2022, it operated 4,171 outpatient dialysis clinics in approximately 150 countries. Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA was incorporated in 1996 and is headquartered in Bad Homburg, Germany. RPP to recall ministers soon, says Lohani National Chairman of the Rastriya Prajatantra Party Prakash Chandra Lohani has said that his party would recall its ministers soon arguing that there was no point maintaining the coalition. The following companies are subsidiares of Pfizer: AH Robins LLC, AHP Holdings B.V., AHP Manufacturing B.V., Agouron Pharmaceuticals LLC, Alacer, Alpharma Holdings LLC, Alpharma Pharmaceuticals LLC, Alpharma Specialty Pharma LLC, Alpharma USHP LLC, American Food Industries LLC, Anacor Pharmaceuticals, Anacor Pharmaceuticals Inc., Angiosyn, Array BioPharma, Ayerst-Wyeth Pharmaceuticals LLC, BIND Therapeutics Inc., BINESA 2002 S.L., Bamboo Therapeutics, Bamboo Therapeutics Inc., Baxter International - Marketed Vaccines, BioRexis, Bioren, Bioren LLC, Blue Whale Re Ltd., C.E. Commercial Holdings C.V., C.E. Commercial Investments C.V., C.P. Pharmaceuticals International C.V., CICL Corporation, COC I Corporation, Catapult Genetics, Coley Pharmaceutical GmbH, Coley Pharmaceutical Group, Coley Pharmaceutical Group Inc., Continental Pharma Inc., Covx, Covx Technologies Ireland Limited, Cyanamid Inter-American Corporation, Cyanamid de Argentina S.A., Cyanamid de Colombia S.A., Distribuidora Mercantil Centro Americana S.A., Encysive Pharmaceuticals, Encysive Pharmaceuticals Inc., Esperion LUV Development Inc., Esperion Therapeutics, Excaliard Pharmaceuticals, Excaliard Pharmaceuticals Inc., Farminova Produtos Farmaceuticos de Inovacao Lda., Farmogene Productos Farmaceuticos Lda, Ferrosan A/S, Ferrosan International A/S, Ferrosan S.R.L., FoldRx Pharmaceuticals Inc., Foldrx Pharmaceuticals, Fort Dodge Manufatura Ltda., G. D. Searle & Co. Limited, G. D. Searle International Capital LLC, G. D. Searle LLC, GI Europe Inc., GI Japan Inc., GenTrac Inc., Genetics Institute LLC, Greenstone LLC, Haptogen Limited, Hospira, Hospira (China) Enterprise Management Co. Ltd., Hospira Adelaide Pty Ltd, Hospira Aseptic Services Limited, Hospira Australia Pty Ltd, Hospira Benelux BVBA, Hospira Chile Limitada, Hospira Deutschland GmbH, Hospira Enterprises B.V., Hospira France SAS, Hospira Healthcare B.V., Hospira Healthcare Corporation, Hospira Healthcare India Private Limited, Hospira Holdings (S.A.) Pty Ltd, Hospira Inc., Hospira Invicta S.A., Hospira Ireland Holdings Unlimited Company, Hospira Ireland Sales Limited, Hospira Japan G.K., Hospira Limited, Hospira Malaysia Sdn Bhd, Hospira NZ Limited, Hospira Nordic AB, Hospira Philippines Inc., Hospira Portugal LDA, Hospira Produtos Hospitalares Ltda., Hospira Pte. Ltd., Hospira Pty Limited, Hospira Puerto Rico LLC, Hospira Singapore Pte Ltd, Hospira UK Limited, Hospira Worldwide LLC, Hospira Zagreb d.o.o., ICAgen, Idun Pharmaceuticals, Industrial Santa Agape S.A., InnoPharma, InnoPharma Inc., International Affiliated Corporation LLC, JMI-Daniels Pharmaceuticals Inc., John Wyeth & Brother Limited, Kiinteisto oy Espoon Pellavaniementie 14, King Pharmaceuticals Holdings LLC, King Pharmaceuticals LLC, King Pharmaceuticals Research and Development LLC, Korea Pharma Holding Company Limited, Laboratoires Pfizer S.A., Laboratorios Parke Davis S.L., Laboratorios Pfizer Ltda., Laboratorios Wyeth LLC, Laboratorios Wyeth S.A., Laboratorios Pfizer Lda., MTG Divestitures LLC, Mayne Pharma IP Holdings (Euro) Pty Ltd, Medivation, Medivation Field Solutions LLC, Medivation LLC, Medivation Neurology LLC, Medivation Prostate Therapeutics LLC, Medivation Services LLC, Medivation Technologies LLC, Meridian Medical Technologies Inc., Meridian Medical Technologies Limited, Monarch Pharmaceuticals LLC, Neusentis Limited, NextWave Pharmaceuticals, NextWave Pharmaceuticals Incorporated, P-D Co. LLC, PAH USA IN8 LLC, PF Americas Holding C.V., PF Asia Manufacturing B.V., PF PR Holdings C.V., PF PRISM C.V., PF PRISM Holdings S.a.r.l., PF Prism S.a.r.l., PFE Holdings G.K., PFE PHAC Holdings 1 LLC, PFE Pfizer Holdings 1 LLC, PFE Wyeth Holdings LLC, PFE Wyeth-Ayerst (Asia) LLC, PHILCO Holdings S.a r.l., PHIVCO Corp., PHIVCO Holdco S.a r.l., PHIVCO Luxembourg S.a r.l., PN Mexico LLC, PT. Pfizer Parke Davis, Parke Davis & Company LLC, Parke Davis Limited, Parke Davis Productos Farmaceuticos Lda, Parke-Davis Manufacturing Corp., Parkedale Pharmaceuticals Inc., Peak Enterprises LLC, Pfizer, Pfizer (China) Research and Development Co. Ltd., Pfizer (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd, Pfizer (Perth) Pty Limited, Pfizer (Thailand) Limited, Pfizer (Wuhan) Research and Development Co. Ltd., Pfizer AB, Pfizer AG, Pfizer AS, Pfizer Africa & Middle East for Pharmaceuticals Veterinarian Products & Chemicals S.A.E., Pfizer Anti-Infectives AB, Pfizer ApS, Pfizer Asia Manufacturing Pte. Ltd., Pfizer Asia Pacific Pte Ltd., Pfizer Atlantic Holdings S.a.r.l., Pfizer Australia Holdings B.V., Pfizer Australia Holdings Pty Limited, Pfizer Australia Investments Pty. Ltd., Pfizer Australia Pty Limited, Pfizer B.V., Pfizer BH D.o.o., Pfizer Baltic Holdings B.V., Pfizer Biofarmaceutica Sociedade Unipessoal Lda, Pfizer Biologics (Hangzhou) Co. Ltd, Pfizer Biologics Ireland Holdings Limited, Pfizer Biotech Corporation, Pfizer Bolivia S.A., Pfizer Canada Inc., Pfizer CentreSource Asia Pacific Pte. Ltd., Pfizer Chile S.A., Pfizer Cia. Ltda., Pfizer Colombia Spinco I LLC, Pfizer Commercial Holdings Cooperatief U.A., Pfizer Commercial Holdings TRAE Kft., Pfizer Commercial TRAE Trading Kft., Pfizer Consumer Healthcare AB, Pfizer Consumer Healthcare GmbH, Pfizer Consumer Healthcare Ltd., Pfizer Consumer Manufacturing Italy S.r.l., Pfizer Corporation, Pfizer Corporation Austria Gesellschaft m.b.H., Pfizer Corporation Hong Kong Limited, Pfizer Croatia d.o.o., Pfizer Deutschland GmbH, Pfizer Development LP, Pfizer Development Services (UK) Limited, Pfizer Domestic Ventures Limited, Pfizer Dominicana S.R.L, Pfizer ESP Pty Ltd, Pfizer East India B.V., Pfizer Eastern Investments B.V., Pfizer Egypt S.A.E., Pfizer Enterprise Holdings B.V., Pfizer Enterprises LLC, Pfizer Enterprises SARL, Pfizer Europe Finance B.V., Pfizer Export B.V., Pfizer Export Company, Pfizer Export Holding Company B.V, Pfizer Finance Share Service (Dalian) Co. Ltd., Pfizer Financial Services N.V./S.A., Pfizer France International Investments, Pfizer Free Zone Panama S. de R.L., Pfizer GEP S.L., Pfizer Global Holdings B.V., Pfizer Global Supply Japan Inc., Pfizer Global Trading, Pfizer Group Luxembourg Sarl, Pfizer Gulf FZ-LLC, Pfizer H.C.P. Corporation, Pfizer HK Service Company Limited, Pfizer Health AB, Pfizer Health Solutions Inc., Pfizer Healthcare Ireland, Pfizer Hellas A.E., Pfizer Himalaya Holdings Cooperatief U.A., Pfizer Holding France, Pfizer Holding Ventures, Pfizer Holdings Corporation, Pfizer Holdings Europe Unlimited Company, Pfizer Holdings G.K., Pfizer Holdings International Corporation, Pfizer Holdings International Luxembourg (PHIL) Sarl, Pfizer Holdings North America SARL, Pfizer Hungary Holdings TRAE Kft., Pfizer Inc., Pfizer Innovations AB, Pfizer Innovations LLC, Pfizer Innovative Supply Point International BVBA, Pfizer International LLC, Pfizer International Markets Cooperatief U.A., Pfizer International Operations, Pfizer International S. de R.L., Pfizer International Trading (Shanghai) Limited, Pfizer Investment Capital Unlimited Company, Pfizer Investment Co. Ltd., Pfizer Investment Holdings S.a.r.l., Pfizer Ireland Investments Limited, Pfizer Ireland PFE Holding 1 LLC, Pfizer Ireland PFE Holding 2 LLC, Pfizer Ireland Pharmaceuticals, Pfizer Ireland Ventures Unlimited Company, Pfizer Italia S.r.l., Pfizer Italy Group Holding S.r.l., Pfizer Japan Inc., Pfizer LLC, Pfizer Laboratories (Pty) Limited, Pfizer Laboratories Limited, Pfizer Laboratories PFE (Pty) Ltd, Pfizer Leasing Ireland Limited, Pfizer Leasing UK Limited, Pfizer Limitada, Pfizer Limited, Pfizer Luxco Holdings SARL, Pfizer Luxembourg Global Holdings S.a r.l., Pfizer Luxembourg SARL, Pfizer MAP Holding Inc., Pfizer Manufacturing Austria G.m.b.H., Pfizer Manufacturing Belgium N.V., Pfizer Manufacturing Deutschland GmbH, Pfizer Manufacturing Deutschland Grundbesitz GmbH & Co. KG, Pfizer Manufacturing Holdings LLC, Pfizer Manufacturing Ireland Unlimited Company, Pfizer Manufacturing LLC, Pfizer Manufacturing Services, Pfizer Medical Technology Group (Belgium) N.V., Pfizer Medicamentos Genericos e Participacoes Ltda., Pfizer Mexico Luxco SARL, Pfizer Mexico S.A. de C.V., Pfizer Middle East for Pharmaceuticals Animal Health and Chemicals S.A.E., Pfizer New Zealand Limited, Pfizer Norge AS, Pfizer North American Holdings Inc., Pfizer OTC B.V., Pfizer Overseas LLC, Pfizer Oy, Pfizer PFE ApS, Pfizer PFE AsiaPac Holding B.V., Pfizer PFE Australia Holding B.V., Pfizer PFE Australia Pty Ltd, Pfizer PFE B.V., Pfizer PFE Baltic Holdings B.V., Pfizer PFE Belgium SPRL, Pfizer PFE Brazil Holding S.a r.l., Pfizer PFE CIA. Ltda., Pfizer PFE Chile Holding LLC, Pfizer PFE Colombia Holding Corp., Pfizer PFE Colombia S.A.S, Pfizer PFE Commercial Holdings LLC, Pfizer PFE Croatia Holding B.V., Pfizer PFE Eastern Investments B.V., Pfizer PFE Finland Oy, Pfizer PFE France, Pfizer PFE Global Holdings B.V., Pfizer PFE Ireland Pharmaceuticals Holding 1 B.V., Pfizer PFE Italy Holdco 2 S.a r.l., Pfizer PFE Italy Holdco S.a r.l., Pfizer PFE Korlatolt Felelossegu Tarsasag, Pfizer PFE Limited, Pfizer PFE Luxembourg S.a r.l., Pfizer PFE Mexico Holding 3 LLC, Pfizer PFE Netherlands Holding 1 C.V., Pfizer PFE New Zealand, Pfizer PFE New Zealand Holding B.V., Pfizer PFE Norway Holding S.a r.l., Pfizer PFE PILSA Holdco S.a r.l., Pfizer PFE Peru Holding LLC, Pfizer PFE Peru S.R.L., Pfizer PFE Pharmaceuticals Israel Holding LLC, Pfizer PFE Pharmaceuticals Israel Ltd., Pfizer PFE Private Limited, Pfizer PFE S.R.L, Pfizer PFE Service Company Holding Cooperatief U.A., Pfizer PFE Singapore Holding B.V., Pfizer PFE Singapore Pte. Ltd., Pfizer PFE Spain B.V., Pfizer PFE Spain Holding S.L., Pfizer PFE Sweden Holding 2 S.a.r.l., Pfizer PFE Sweden Holding S.a.r.l., Pfizer PFE Switzerland GmbH, Pfizer PFE Turkey Holding 1 B.V., Pfizer PFE Turkey Holding 2 B.V., Pfizer PFE UK Holding 4 LP, Pfizer PFE US Holdings 1 LLC, Pfizer PFE US Holdings 2 LLC, Pfizer PFE US Holdings 3 LLC, Pfizer PFE US Holdings 4 LLC, Pfizer PFE US Holdings 5 LLC, Pfizer PFE spol. s r.o., Pfizer PFE Ilaclar Anonim Sirketi, Pfizer Pakistan Limited, Pfizer Parke Davis (Thailand) Ltd., Pfizer Parke Davis Inc., Pfizer Parke Davis Sdn. Bhd., Pfizer Pharm Algerie, Pfizer Pharma GmbH, Pfizer Pharma PFE GmbH, Pfizer Pharmaceutical (Wuxi) Co. 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Ltd., Wyeth Pharmaceuticals Company, Wyeth Pharmaceuticals FZ-LLC, Wyeth Pharmaceuticals LLC, Wyeth Pharmaceuticals Limited, Wyeth Puerto Rico Inc., Wyeth S.A.S, Wyeth Subsidiary Illinois Corporation, Wyeth Whitehall Export GmbH, Wyeth Whitehall SARL, Wyeth-Ayerst (Asia) Limited, Wyeth-Ayerst International LLC, and Wyeth-Ayerst Promotions Limited. Read More TinTin used to have a home in Bali, Indonesia, but when the pit bull got sick, his owner took him to the vet and never came back for him. Bali Dog Adoption and Rehabilitation Centre The vet should have helped TinTin, but instead he left the dog inside a kennel, and hardly bothered to feed him. Ebony Owens, director at Bali Dog Adoption and Rehabilitation Centre (BARC), suspects that the owner wasn't giving the vet any money, so the vet didn't bother feeding or caring for TinTin. Bali Dog Adoption and Rehabilitation Centre In August 2016, Owens got a Facebook message from a local man who'd seen TinTin wasting away at the vet clinic. Bali Dog Adoption and Rehabilitation Centre "When I saw the photo of TinTin, I knew BARC had to help," Owens told The Dodo. "We had to act quickly because he didn't have long left. At that point, we didn't know what was wrong with him - all we could do was hope." Dodo Shows Soulmates Pig Loves To Launch Himself Onto His Dad's Lap Bali Dog Adoption and Rehabilitation Centre Owens collected TinTin from the vet and whisked him off to a different vet - Sunset Vet in Bali. There, the vet team immediately put him on IV fluids and started feeding him around the clock. They also did full blood tests to figure out what was wrong with him. Bali Dog Adoption and Rehabilitation Centre "We thought by the state of him he must have had kidney failure or something drastic, but it turned out he had a mild case of blood parasite carried by ticks," Owens said. "His main problem was starvation." Bali Dog Adoption and Rehabilitation Centre It's possible that TinTin had already been starving when his original owner took him to the vet, but the first vet's neglect of TinTin certainly didn't help. Bali Dog Adoption and Rehabilitation Centre Unfortunately, TinTin's situation is far from unusual. In Bali, Indonesia, Western breeds like pit bulls are often imported into the country and kept as trophies or symbols of wealth and power, Owens explained. Another Western breed dog who was kept as a status symbol in Bali - he's now being cared for at BARC | Bali Dog Adoption and Rehabilitation Centre But these so-called trophy dogs are not treated well at all - they're usually kept in cages or on chains, and fed very little. "There's an extreme lack of knowledge here of the appropriate care of these [Western] breeds, so most often they end up behind bars for life with completely inadequate care," Owners said. "One misconception in Bali is that dogs should be kept in cages, especially 'expensive' dogs who are often just kept as status symbols of well-off families. TinTin was most likely being kept by his owner in a cage that he never came out of." A native Balinese puppy being cared for at BARC | Bali Dog Adoption and Rehabilitation Centre Western dogs aren't the only animals who are mistreated in Bali. Indigenous Bali dogs - that is, dogs who have lived in Bali for over 12,000 years - are also treated with disdain, and the Balinese government frequently kills the dogs en masse with poison darts. Balinese puppies | Bali Dog Adoption and Rehabilitation Centre BARC works to save Bali dogs, but the group also do everything it can to help other animals, including Western dogs like TinTin. Bali Dog Adoption and Rehabilitation Centre Over the course of two months, TinTin fully recovered - he doubled in weight, and he's finally enjoying everything life has to offer. Bali Dog Adoption and Rehabilitation Centre "He's a very active boy, so he loves to run and play, and he especially loves playing fetch," Owens said. "He loves attention from anyone. He still has 100 percent trust and faith in humans even after all they had done to him." Bali Dog Adoption and Rehabilitation Centre While TinTin waits to be adopted into his forever home, he's temporarily living at Canggu Pet Resort, which houses a lot of dogs rescued by BARC. Bali Dog Adoption and Rehabilitation Centre At the pet resort, TinTin gets to play with lots of doggy friends, and even swim in a pool. "He loves it!" Owens said. Bali Dog Adoption and Rehabilitation Centre The fight to save dogs and puppies in puppy mills just suffered a major setback, after information relating to the Animal Welfare Act (AWA) previously made available online disappeared from a government site on Friday. Inspections reports from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) - the government agency that oversees enforcing the AWA - are no longer readily available to the public. These reports detail infractions against animal welfare at all kinds of facilities - including puppy mills, zoos and circuses - and they have been available for over a decade. 2015 photograph of USDA-licensed Purple Heart Kennel in Iowa, which showed water bowls frozen over and filthy cages | Companion Animal Protection Society (CAPS) People who advocate for the better treatment of puppies and dogs in puppy mills are deeply concerned about how this will impact their work to make canine lives better. And some are already planning ways to resist the order. New Jersey "will counter the USDA info blackout by prohibiting any pet store from sourcing a pet unless the breeder waives its 'so called' right of privacy and has its inspection reports on the USDA website," New Jersey Senator Raymond Lesniak, who has been working to crack down on inhumane puppy mills supplying dogs to New Jersey pet shops, told The Dodo. While the USDA will continue its inspections of facilities across the country, people are worried that because of this new policy, the public may never know what inspectors find. This means that the squalid living conditions for mother dogs and puppies at massive breeders may never come to light. Dodo Shows Wild Hearts Orphaned Deer Runs Back To The Wild With Her Best Friend Screenshot taken by The Dodo on Friday of where the USDA data used to be | The Dodo "We've been the USDA's watchdog for 20 years," Deborah Howard, president of Companion Animal Protection Society (CAPS), told The Dodo. CAPS actually sends investigators into these breeding facilities and keeps an eye on what the USDA is reporting. "One way we use inspection reports is so that we can monitor USDA inspections." A screenshot of a USDA-licensed dog breeder inspection report downloaded by Deborah Howard within the last few months | Deborah Howard/CAPS In some places, like New York, pet stores are required to provide the inspection reports to people who buy their dogs and puppies, Howard said. Now it's unclear if this will be possible. "We also use the USDA reports to show which pet shops are using puppy mills," Howard said. "They put the reports online under Obama and it's been very useful for everybody. We compare our findings to the inspectors. If we didn't have those reports, we wouldn't be able to do our inspections." A screenshot of a USDA-licensed dog breeder inspection report downloaded by Deborah Howard within the last few months | Deborah Howard/CAPS Now, if people want to have the information about large puppy breeders - along with any other kind of facility that uses animals and is under the USDA - they will have to issue a request through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), which could involve lengthy waits. Howard, in her two decades of this work, has experienced what it was like to file requests for this information in the past. Sometimes, it took a year and a half to get the documents she needed. Other times "it took so long, we eventually gave up," Howard said. For reporters concerned with animal welfare, for example, this makes any reporting on animal mistreatment at some 9,000 facilities overseen by the USDA much harder. (After The Dodo published a report about the removal of the documents, the USDA's alternative twitter account tweeted The Dodo's coverage). "All information was removed today. This includes inspection reports for breeders, exhibitors and research facilities," Tanya Espinosa, public affairs specialist for legislative and public affairs at USDA-APHIS, told The Dodo on Friday. In the announcement on the page where these records were once accessible, the USDA said the decision was "based on our commitment to being transparent ... and maintaining the privacy rights of individuals." Some observed that very little information about individuals was ever disclosed on these reports. A USDA-licensed puppy mill in Iowa | Vimeo/CAPS Many animal welfare advocates are shocked that transparency that helped protect animals turned so swiftly into a politicized issue. "This action by the USDA serves only to protect the puppy millers who get caught abusing or neglecting animals. Just in the past year these inspection reports have exposed puppy millers who threatened to physically harm inspectors, allowed dogs to suffer with painful and untreated injuries and in one case even shot a dog in the head," John Goodwin, senior director for the Humane Society of the U.S.'s Stop Puppy Mills campaign, told The Dodo. "The USDA should work to stop this cruelty instead of covering it up." "Because a recent trend in state legislation has been to enact laws that rely on AWA violations to weed out 'bad actors' by prohibiting the sale of dogs from facilities with serious, documented violations, preventing consumers, pet stores and the public from readily accessing this information makes it nearly impossible to comply with these laws and to ensure that they are being enforced," Jennie Lintz, director of the ASPCA Puppy Mills Campaign, told The Dodo. Christie Brinkley tried to keep it together. She really did. But the former model just couldnt remain quiet any longer The Sociological Review Foundation makes available 10,000 each year to fund the organisation of scholarly seminars on subjects within the publishing interests of The Sociological Review journal. We support research seminars and/or symposia that bring together established and new researchers to share and produce imaginative, cutting-edge work of cultural and social significance. We are seeking proposals for online or in-person projects that involve collaborations across institutions and disciplines, and we also welcome collaborative projects that connect to wider communities and to the arts. South Asian corridor South Asia and China have a multi-dimensional relationship that cuts across increasingly large swathes of each others economic, diplomatic and security interests. The office, in lower Manhattan, has all the markings of a tech startup. There are high ceilings and a cool warehouse vibe, craft beer is on tap in the kitchen and the place is buzzing with twentysomethings. But they arent trying to make the next hit mobile app. The big idea here is to disrupt another ubiquitous product. There were so many evolutions in technology, but underwear was stuck in, like, the early 1900s, said Tom Patterson, founder of Tommy John, which makes premium undies. It was a very sleepy category. Tommy John is part of a growing drive by fledgling brands to get men to rethink underwear and pay more for it. It isnt easy. The $8 billion category has long been an afterthought. Many guys restocked only after ridicule from a significant other, or when disintegration could no longer be denied. Thanks to fellow upstarts such as Mack Weldon, guys are giving this everyday item more consideration. Skivvies ranging from $25 to $70 a pair now come with a list of features as long as those that once came with lawn mowers and television sets. They are game-changing products, with moisture control, cool zones, and stealth waistbands. They can be Swiss-made, breathable, antimicrobial, and anti-odour. Tommy John even reconfigured the front flap and developed a Quick Draw fly for easier access. All this has boosted spending. In the past three years, the average price for a pair of underwear in the U.S. has risen by a third, while prices for mens apparel overall have declined by about the same amount, according to research by Fung Global & Retail Technology and First Insight. Global sales are expected to increase from $8.4 billion in 2015 to $11 billion by 2020, according to Persistence Market Research. The disruption is a testament to the power of premiumization, a strategy that over the past decade has swept through many once-mundane categories. While many take it for granted, there was a time when grocery stores didnt have a dozen kinds of coffee. When the only consideration for buying ground beef was price, not what the cows ate. When a workout shirt was a cheap basic. People never used to talk about how much they loved such things as water bottles and blenders. Now mens underwear, of all things, is being transformed. Premiumization is all about resetting expectations with additional choices and benefits. Under Armour Inc. revolutionized workout gear with polyester shirts that made sweat evaporate better than cotton did. Starbucks Corp. became a behemoth by introducing a slew of new tastes and styles to Americas coffee drinkers, whose choices had stopped at sugar, milk or cream. Because this happened, it doesnt mean everything will be disrupted, said Adam Burgoon, a partner at investment fund KarpReilly, which owns a stake in Mack Weldon. The size of the market for such refashioned underwear remains to be seen, Burgoon said, because many guys are likely to balk at the price. But it means probably everything can be disrupted, he said. Mens underwear was especially ready for a change. Not only was it largely devoid of innovation, such industry leaders as Calvin Klein were mostly focused on winning over women, because they bought most of the underwear. It was primarily a fashion business with a buffet of patterns and colours. The marketing featured images like Calvin Kleins buff young Mark Wahlberg up on billboards, and packaging showing expressionless youngsters with six-pack abs. Yet men were settling down later in life, and doing more shopping on their own in the interim. Being single longer made them care more about their appearance, which has disrupted other categories, such as skin care and jeans. The underwear startups marketing is more approachable. Some of it uses middle-aged models and pushes fun and honesty over sexy slickness. I never really related to traditional underwear advertising, said Patterson, the Tommy John founder. It was too serious. It was weird. We just say it like it is. Were the first brand to have a no-wedgie guarantee. Youre not supposed to talk about wedgies with underwear. The fact of the matter is that 100 per cent of men get a wedgie at some point in their lives. Patterson got the idea for Tommy John last decade, from a much different place than sexy. While wearing a suit as a medical-device salesman, he found his underwear was even more uncomfortable than usual. He set about to solve a problem, not to go wild with beefcake and polka dots. The early years were difficult. Direct selling on the web wasnt as viable, so he had to pitch department-store buyers, who were mostly women. Pattersons break came in 2009, when he won over Neiman Marcus by getting the woman who ran underwear to let her husband and male colleagues test his product. From there, the idea of selling mens underwear to men gained steam and has exploded in recent years. Theres been a rush of startups, helped by lower barriers to entry. Sourcing from Asia has never been easier, and the internet has slashed marketing costs. That has allowed brands like Mack Weldon to sell only directly, through its website. Today, a majority of mens underwear is purchased by men, a reversal from a decade ago. Amid a dizzying number of choices, men are indulging: Tommy John and Mack Weldon each more than doubled sales last year. Young brands are also going beyond products and revamping how items are purchased. New York-based Basic Outfitters offers a create-a-drawer option that makes things really easy for guys by offering underwear, socks, undershirts and joggers in one package for $60. Men really are rethinking what they want, said Matthew Congdon, Mack Weldons creative director and former top underwear designer for Calvin Klein. It used to be about an oversize logo or a slicker pattern or print, he said. Now its about innovation, the fit, the fabric and the waistband. Something that is for him. SHARE: Earla Dunbar spent most of the 1990s housebound. Shed leave to see her doctor if she had to, but it would take her a week to recuperate from a single outing. It would take all my energy, she says. Her then husband did most of the errands. I felt useless. I couldnt go to the store to pick up milk. I was just in bed most of the time thinking I was no good and wanting to die. Dunbar lives with social phobia, or intense social anxiety, which was at its worst in the 90s, when she spent most of six years inside her Toronto home. I was afraid that if I left the house somebody might hurt me. I was afraid that if somebody saw me theyd think Shes stupid, shes ugly, shes not important, she says. I didnt understand what was wrong with me. Back then people didnt talk about depression or anxiety really. Dunbar, now 62 and in recovery, is the subject of In the Spotlight a documentary by Toronto resident Katie Cooper. Its first Canadian public screening is Feb. 9 at the University of Torontos Innis Town Hall at 6:30 p.m. Earla Dunbar is the subject of Katie Cooper's documentary "In the Spotlight," which follows Dunbar's struggle with extreme social anxiety or "social phobia." A panel discussion presented by the Mood Disorders Association of Ontario and the Arthur Sommer Rotenberg Suicide and Depression Studies Program at St. Michaels Hospital will follow. Registration is pay what you can. For information go to Eventbrite.com. In the Spotlight documents Dunbars transformation from fearful, housebound woman to activist and public speaker. After decades of suffering from social phobia, Dunbar met Dr. Martin Katzman at the Clarke Institute of Psychiatry (now part of the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health) in 1998 and her recovery began. I remember walking out (my front) door I was terrified, but I knew I had to make this one attempt, she says. Slowly, after sessions of cognitive behavioural therapy, a form of psychotherapy, and at-home practice that involved leaving her house to compare her fears with the reality of her encounters, Dunbar was able to get out more and more. After a while it was like Wow, I have my life back. I have freedom, she says. More than two million Canadians live with diagnosed social anxiety yet anxiety disorders have remained faceless since Cooper started the documentary nine years ago. Theres more awareness now, but there is still an urge to hide if youre facing anxiety or depression, says Cooper, who premiered the film at two American film festivals in 2016. Thursday marks an opportunity for people struggling with anxiety to find strength in numbers, says Andrew Kcomt, research consultant with the Mood Disorders Association of Ontario. Seeing someone else go through that process and come out fairly well, gives people hope Maybe I can try, maybe I can take that next step, he says. Dunbar, who doesnt called herself cured, started a local support group for others suffering from social anxiety that grew from a small gathering of four people to more than 100 in 13 years. Though the group has disbanded, others have popped up around Toronto. She hopes to start a new one soon. Life can be hell with anxiety and depression, she says. I want to be able to help people. Meanwhile Dunbar is working on overcoming another fear travelling alone. I love flying, she says. I could stay up on the plane and fly all over the world. Its the new place, the new people, eating at a restaurant alone, the solo navigation, that frighten Dunbar. Her dream destination? Scotland, where her family has roots. SHARE: In November 1955, a strange article appeared in the Economist by an unknown writer named C. Northcote Parkinson. Readers who started skimming the article, titled Parkinsons Law, were met with sarcastic, biting paragraphs poking sharp holes in government bureaucracy and mocking ever-expanding corporate structures. It began innocently enough with the following paragraph: It is a commonplace observation that work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion. Thus, an elderly lady of leisure can spend the entire day in writing and dispatching a postcard to her niece at Bognor Regis. An hour will be spent in finding the postcard, another in hunting for spectacles, half-an-hour in a search for the address, an hour and a quarter in composition, and twenty minutes in deciding whether or not to take an umbrella when going to the pillar-box in the next street. The total effort which would occupy a busy man for three minutes all told may in this fashion leave another person prostrate after a day of doubt, anxiety and toil. The thesis of the piece was in the first sentence: It is a commonplace observation that work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion. Havent we heard advice like this before? The ultimate inspiration is the deadline, for instance. If you leave it till the last minute, it takes only a minute to do. Or how about: The contents of your purse will expand to fill all available space. Think back to bringing homework home from school on the weekends. There was nothing better than a weekend. But the dull pain of having to do a page of math problems and write a book summary loomed like a faint black cloud over Friday night, all day Saturday and Sunday morning. I remember I would always work on homework Sunday night. But once in a while, if we were going away for the weekend, if I had busy plans on both days, I would actually get my homework done on Friday night. The deadline had artificially become sooner in my mind. And what happened? It felt great. It felt like I had more time all weekend. A fake early deadline created more space. Sam Raina is a leader in the technology industry. He oversees the design and development of a large website with millions of hits a day. He has more than 60 people working for him. Its a big team. There are many moving parts, from designers to coders to copy editors. How does he motivate his team to design and launch entirely new pages for the website from scratch? He follows Parkinsons Law and cuts down time. He books his entire team for secret one-day meetings and then issues them a challenge in the morning that he says theyre going to get done by the end of the day. There is only one day to make an entire website. From designing to layout to testing everything. Everyone freaks out about the deadline. And then, everyone starts working together. The less time we have to do it, the more focused and organized we are. We all work together. We have to. There is no way wed hit the deadline otherwise. And we always manage to pull it off, Raina says. By spending a day on a project that would otherwise take months, he frees up everyones thinking time, transactional time and work time. Nobody will be thinking about the website in the bed, bath, or bus again. They can think about other things. There will be no emails about the website, no out-of-office messages, no meetings set up to discuss it, no confusion about who said what. Everyone talks in person. At the same time. Until its done. Whats the counterintuitive secret to having more time? Chop the amount of time you have to do it. If you look at the graph explaining Parkinsons Law, the left side shows the less time available, the more effort you put in. There is no choice. The deadline is right here. Think of how focused you are in an exam. Two hours to do it? You do it in two hours. That deadline creates an urgency that allows the mind to prioritize and focus. If you look at the right of the graph, the more time available, the less effort we put in overall. A little thought today. Start the project tomorrow. Revisit it next week. We procrastinate. Why? Because were allowed to. There is no penalty. Nothing kills productivity faster than a late deadline. What does C. Northcote Parkinson say about waiting to get it done? Delay is the deadliest form of denial, he says. Have you ever finished a project on time and then the teacher announces to the class that the deadline has been extended? What a bummer. Now, even though you finished at the original deadline, you get the pain and torture of mentally revisiting your project over and over again until you hand it in. Could it be better? How can we improve it? Remember: Work expands to fill the time available for its completion. In most projects, what invisible liability do you find? Time. Too much of it. And work expanding to fill it as a result. Whats the solution? Create last-minute panic. Move deadlines up, revise them for yourself and remember you are creating space after the project has been delivered. Remember: A late deadline is painful. Nothing gets done. Do only nerds do their homework Friday night? Maybe. But theyre the ones with the whole weekend to party. Neil Pasricha is the New York Times bestselling author of The Book of Awesome and The Happiness Equation. His bi-weekly column helps us live a good life. SHARE: CALGARYMany visitors simply pass through town on their way to Banff or Jasper. But the city is emerging as a culinary travel destination with a slew of new and notable restaurants so its well worth spending a night or two exploring whats on offer before heading out on that ski or hiking trip in the Rockies. Hot ticket dining: The Deane House has been part of Calgarys heritage for more than a century and this fall, it reopened after an extensive renovation by River Cafe proprietor Sal Howell and chef Jamie Harling. With several cosy rooms and central Tenement Bar, it taps into the buildings history some of the cocktails, such as Foibles & Sins, are named after journal entries made by Captain Deane. Then theres the food: a celebration of regional Canadian cuisine, such as the 7K Ranch longhorn beef tartare. A taste of Argentina:Charbar, an outpost of Charcut Roast House located in the historic Simmons building, uses local ingredients from the Prairies and West Coast but the menu is inspired by the wood-fired grilling traditions of Argentina. Brunch here is not your typical eggs benny: theres bacon, of course (which is worth the airfare to Calgary), but there are non-carnivore options, from traditional fugazza to the show-stopping deep-fried French toast bites with dulce de leche dipping sauce. Theres also a ceviche raw bar. Drink local: Alberta-grown barley considered some of the best in the world is driving a revival in craft beer. But driving around to microbreweries isnt a smart idea, so hop on a bus with Calgary Brewery Tours to experience the citys emerging craft beer scene, including Trolley 5, Tool Shed Brewing and Banded Peak Brewing. Because of their smaller size, theyre able to use really cool hops, says Banded Peak co-owner Colin McLean. We can still shop around for those rarer hop varieties. A dash of Michelin: After earning a Michelin star at Curlew in the U.K., British chef Neil McCue returned to Calgary after a decades absence to open up Whitehall Restaurant, one of the newest additions to the citys dining scene in the historic De Waal Block in Bridgeland. Theres a British influence to McCues modern European menu, but its made with Canadian ingredients, from bison tartare with caviar to the must-try double-baked cheese souffle with Le 1608 cheese from Laiterie Charlevoix in Quebec. Best wings in town: In Korean, Anju means food you can eat with alcohol. Thats the premise behind this restaurant; chef and owner Roy Oh has created a menu thats meant to be shared with friends, featuring modern Korean tapas. Hes perhaps best known for his to-die-for chicken wings, battered in rice flour. There are four varieties, but gochujang (Korean hot pepper paste) is the must-try. And, like the name implies, theres plenty of alcohol, from Asian beers, soju and sake to Asian-inspired cocktails. Dont pigeonhole this place: As its name suggests, Pigeonhole doesnt want to be pigeonholed; its New World and Old World, with a casual European vibe. Its an ultracool space, with its chandeliers, pressed-tin ceiling and repurposed marble from Edmontons CN building. And its menu is eclectic, with everything from beef shabu-shabu with pine mushroom tea to a Russian-style caviar service but the rather plain-looking charred cabbage with mimolette and jalapeno salad cream turns out to be the surprising star of the menu. Go wild: Hiking through Kananaskis Country an hours drive from Calgary on the way to Banff Julie Walker points to a plant I wouldnt have noticed otherwise. Its called cows parsnip and yes, you can eat it. It has a parsnip flavour and a celery texture, says Walker, who runs edible plant hikes and foraging workshops with Full Circle Adventures (she also works with Calgary chefs to source wild ingredients). I like stuffing them with feta cheese and stir-frying them with sunflower seeds. Farm to glass: A visit to Eau Claire Distillery is worth the drive to Turner Valley, an hours drive from Calgary. Farmer-turned-distiller David Farran uses his own barley to produce small batches of farm-to-glass spirits in a former 1929-era movie theatre. We ship barley to Scotland to make scotch, he says, so it always seemed that its appropriate to have a single-malt whiskey distillery in Alberta. Eau Claire is winning accolades for its Parlour Gin and newcomer Equinox, made from the prickly pear cactus. Vawn Himmelsbach was hosted by Travel Alberta, which didnt review or approve this story. When you go Get around: Catch the CTrain to get around the city (a day pass is $9.50), but a rental car is preferable if you want to explore outside the city. Calgary also has the most extensive urban biking network in North America, with more than 800 kilometres of pathways. Stay: I stayed at Hotel Le Germain Calgary (legermainhotels.com), with spacious, modern rooms featuring a mix of concrete, wood and glass. Nice touch: yoga mats and in-room yoga videos. Do your research: travelalberta.com, visitcalgary.com Read more about: SHARE: OTTAWAHealth Canada has authorized three supervised injection sites in Montreal as the federal government looks to address the opioid crisis. One site will be located in Montreals Hochelaga-Maisonneuve district and two will be in Ville-Marie, the department said Monday. This will have an important impact and it will absolutely save lives, Health Minister Jane Philpott said outside the House of Commons. Read more: Province backs and will fund supervised injection sites in Toronto Drug users say supervised injection sites address ills of substance abuse Montreal Mayor Denis Coderre, a former Liberal cabinet minister, has been a longtime advocate of supervised injection sites for his city and raised the issue during the last federal election campaign. He said Monday it is a controversial issue and there will always be opponents, but its also a matter of public safety. This is something that could work, he said. Im willing to have that capacity, to have that transition to help people who are suffering and need help. Canada currently has two drug injection sites both in Vancouver and existing laws allow such sites to operate only in exceptional circumstances. Health Canada is still reviewing 10 additional applications for injection sites, Philpott said, noting there are three from Toronto, two from Vancouver, two from Surrey, B.C., one from Victoria, one from Ottawa and one for a mobile site in Montreal. Every application is in a different stage of the process and our department is working very actively with all 10 additional applicants to make sure that all the criteria are met, she said. Currently, applicants for new injection sites must provide medical and scientific evidence of benefit, along with letters from provincial health ministers, local police and regional health officials. Advocates say the requirements create too many barriers for the creation of new sites. In December, the Liberal government announced legislative amendments designed to remove 26 strict requirements for supervised injection sites introduced under the previous government. Last week, the Liberals and the New Democrats agreed to work together to speed up its passage, suggesting lives were at stake. The changes contained in the legislation will make it easier for supervised injection sites to be established while adhering to criteria set out by the Supreme Court of Canada, Philpott said. Her department says international and Canadian evidence shows injection sites, if operated properly, can save lives without increasing drug use or crime in surrounding areas. Theres not one single item that will resolve the opioid crisis, Philpott said. It requires a response that is comprehensive that addresses prevention, harm reduction, treatment and law enforcement. In January 2016, the Dr. Peter Centre in B.C. a site in operation since 2002 received a formal exemption required under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act to sanction its activities. Insite in Vancouver was also granted an exemption in the spring allowing it to continue operations for another four years. Political leaders and public health experts Canada have sounded the alarm about the rise in opioid deaths a national crisis that was discussed during a summit in Ottawa last fall. SHARE: WASHINGTONCanada will never be a party to torture, Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan said a day after meeting his counterpart in U.S. President Donald Trumps administration. Sajjan would not say if Defense Secretary James Mattis had made any assurances that the U.S. would not employ torture under Trump, an avowed torture supporter. But Sajjan, a former military officer who served in Afghanistan, said they did discuss ethics in soldiering when they spoke at the Pentagon outside Washington on Monday. Read the latest news on U.S. President Donald Trump When it comes to our military and Canadian values, we follow international law and Canadian law. Canada will never use torture or be party to that, Sajjan said in an interview on Tuesday. This is something that not just within our military but many militaries also understand. Ive worked with the U.S. military, and they too have the same structure and values as us. He added: It goes without saying that we will never be a party to it. If we are a witness to it, we have a responsibility to report it, to investigate it. Trump has spoken approvingly of torture, and he vowed on the campaign trail to bring back not only the torture tactic of waterboarding but a hell of a lot worse. Since his election, he has said he would defer to Mattiss anti-torture views. Sajjan would not say precisely what his commitment to never be a party to torture might mean in practice. Michael Doucet, head of the watchdog body overseeing Canadas intelligence service, was recorded saying a month after Trumps election that Canada may be forced to reconsider how it shares intelligence with the U.S. Sukanya Pillay, executive director and general counsel of the Canadian Civil Liberties Association, praised Sajjans words but urged the government to put action behind them by rescinding a formal policy, issued under the previous Conservative government, that allows Canada to use information obtained through torture in exceptional circumstances involving an immediate threat. I think the ministers comments are important. And I think Canada has to now take care that we do not condone or inadvertently collude with torture. And one safeguard would be to immediately rescind the ministerial directive, she said. Canada has a checkered recent history on torture. A federal inquiry concluded that Canadian Maher Arar was tortured in Syria after the RCMP passed bad information to American authorities under George W. Bush. Hundreds of prisoners turned over by Canadian soldiers to the Afghan army were allegedly tortured; Prime Minister Justin Trudeaus Liberals demanded an inquiry while in opposition but have refused to launch one in office. As recently as Monday, Trump has been castigating members of the NATO military alliance for failing to meet a guideline of spending 2 per cent of their gross domestic product on defence. Sajjan would not say if Mattis pressed him to boost Canadian spending above the current 1 per cent of GDP. Sajjan, though, made a kind of counter-argument. What matters, he said, is not just how much money a country spends but what it is accomplishing. There are many things that Secretary Mattis knows quite well that Canada does that other nations cannot do and have not, he said. Trudeau and his ministers have made a painstaking effort to avoid criticizing Trump. Asked whether Trumps stated desire to take the oil from Iraq might give Canada any pause about participating in a coalition with the U.S., Sajjan said he does not pay attention to every utterance in the foreign media. And asked whether he worries about Trump handling an international crisis, Sajjan responded: President Trump has been democratically elected by the U.S. people. We will always work together with our closest ally in dealing with challenges, he said. Weve done it in the past, and we will continue to do it now. Read more about: SHARE: The mother of a Canadian man killed fighting Daesh in northern Syria is questioning why her sons body still hasnt been recovered when the remains of a British fighter who died on the same day were on the way to the United Kingdom. Nazzareno Tassone, 24, was killed on Dec. 21 in the city of Raqqa, while fighting alongside the Kurdish Peoples Defense Units, a U.S.-backed group also known as the YPG. His family in Niagara Falls, Ont., only learned of his death in early January, when they received a letter from the YPG, which also said that his body had been seized by Daesh, also known as ISIS or ISIL. I just want him home. I need him home, Tassones mother, Tina Martino, said in an emotional interview. I havent been at work. I just sit here, day after day, waiting for the phone to ring and hope. Read more: Canadian who died fighting Daesh in Syria remembered as a hero Negotiations underway to recover body of Canadian man killed fighting Daesh The Toronto Kurdish Community Centre, whose leaders delivered the YPG letter to Martino, has said negotiations are underway between the YPG and Daesh to retrieve Tassones body. The centre has also said that the YPG was simultaneously negotiating to recover the bodies of other fighters killed in combat on the same day as Tassone, including a British volunteer fighter named Ryan Lock. Martino said she recently learned Locks body was recovered, making her wonder why her sons body has not. I asked why wasnt Nazz with Ryan and the only thing they could say was that they believe the two boys were not together at the same time, she said. (The Toronto Kurdish Community Centre) told me at the beginning I was going to have to wait four to six weeks. And now I dont understand, he passed away on Dec. 21. Martino said shes calling on the Canadian government, the Kurdish community and anyone who can help in the matter to do what they can to bring her sons body back to Canada. All I want to do is get my word out in asking to get my son home, she said. Ihsan Kaya, co-president of the Toronto Kurdish Community Centre, said hes been in contact with the YPG regularly about Tassone and noted that the Canadian man and his British co-fighter may have been separated but were believed to be fighting in the same area. The YPG doesnt have (Tassones) body yet but I hope we get the good news soon, Kaya said, adding that the region the YPG is fighting in is a volatile one with fast-shifting boundaries. Global Affairs Canada said officials were in contact with local authorities to gather information and were also providing Tassones family with consular assistance. A spokeswoman noted, however, that due to the unpredictable security situation the Canadian governments ability to provide consular assistance in all parts of Iraq and Syria is severely limited. Tassone left Canada in June, telling his family he was headed to Iraq and Turkey to teach English. His family had suspected, given Tassones long-standing interest in the military, that he might get involved in the Middle East conflict, but it was only after his death that they learned hed been fighting in Syria. Martino said shes vowed not to have a funeral for her son until his body was repatriated. I said that there would be no funeral, there would be nothing. But now I dont know. Read more about: SHARE: OTTAWAAfter winning the last federal election, the fresh-faced new prime minister, the second youngest ever to assume the office, bestowed upon himself a fitting extra portfolio: minister of youth. One of his first acts was to publish mandate letters for each of his new cabinet ministers. You can read them online. They outline for all to see what important work Trudeau expected from his ministers in the coming months and years. But there was and still is a striking omission. While some relevant platform points were included in his missives to ministers in the Finance and Labour departments, Trudeau published no mandate letter for his self-imposed gig for youth. And none appeared when the letters were refreshed after his January cabinet shuffle. More than a year into the Liberals majority mandate, a sense has emerged that rather than bringing welcome gravitas and attention to the issues facing young people today, Trudeau the prime minister is overshadowing Trudeau the youth minister. He has a mixed record on fulfilling the youth-oriented promises of his partys 2015 platform. In October, the sociable and still high-polling PM was heckled during an onstage interview with young members of the Canadian Labour Congress, after outrage was spewed over the finance ministers comment that job churn having to move from job to job over the course of ones career is an intractable part of the 21st-century economy. At the same time, student activists are decrying his performance on accessibility of education, as tuition and student debt rise to record heights and youth unemployment stubbornly remains almost double the rate of the total population. Consequently, some contend Trudeaus turn as youth minister has been a disappointment a betrayal, even, for a man who rose to power on a wave of voter turnout from Canadas youngest electors. This government pays a lot of lip service to youth, said Bilan Arte, president of the Canadian Federation of Students, which advocates for free post-secondary education. Were not just a voting bloc that can be accessed every other election. We are concerned and were an active part of the electorate in this country. The only conclusion you can come to is this government doesnt think this is a priority, she said. Whether such criticism is fair is up for debate. Vasiliki Bednar, head of the governments Expert Panel on Youth Employment that was created last fall, said Trudeaus decision to appoint himself youth minister showed issues such as tuition, student debt, and youth unemployment are a priority for the government. She added that the job churn comment was an honest portrayal of the reality facing young workers, and that one of her panels goals is to help Trudeau identify solutions to supporting youth who face challenges such as unaffordable real estate, a dearth of job benefits and pensions, and precarious work. A government that pretends thats not a reality, and designs programs for quote-unquote standard work, which is full-time forever jobs, is not a government that I want, because thats an unrealistic, fantasy government, Bednar said. Trudeau, meanwhile, has defended his record. During his campaign-style tour in southern Ontario last month, the prime minister was questioned about his performance as youth minister. He rhymed off his accomplishments, including the creation of a youth council to advise the prime minister, increasing student grants by 50 per cent for people from low- and middle-income families, investing to create more summer jobs for young people and raising the annual income threshold that triggers the repayment of student loans from $20,000 to $25,000. Theres always more to do but Ive constantly been inspired and challenged by young people to think more long term, to think more about the future of the country were building together, and I continue to be very pleased with the thoughtful and dynamic support and engagement that Canadian youth have towards this government, Trudeau said. Weeks later, while answering questions from university students at a convention in Ottawa, Trudeau echoed his finance ministers job churn comment, arguing that young people expecting to keep the same job without changing careers in their lives are being unrealistic. He added that such workforce changes are why is government has moved to beef up the Canada Pension Plan and is pushing to make it easier to get training for new skills. Arte scoffed at the prime ministers progress on youth issues. She argued that the repayment threshold increase still means people earning poverty-level incomes will have to start paying back student loans (and that the government can start collecting interest on those loans), and pointed out that Trudeau has made no move to lower debt and tuition, which would help accomplish the goal of making it easier to get new skills in a changing economy. As of 2012, student debt owed to Ottawa and the provinces was more than $28 billion, up from $19.6 billion in 1999, according to Statistics Canada. Average tuition for the 2016/17 school year rose to $6,373 and has tripled since the early 1990s. Young people are sounding the alarm and we need this government to pay attention, Arte said. Its also not lost on activists like Arte that Trudeaus Liberals came to power with a significant boost from young voters. Turnout amongst 18 to 24 year olds, the youngest segment measured by Elections Canada, jumped from 39 to 57 per cent between the 2011 and 2015 elections the biggest jump of any age group. Trudeau also promised to create a lot of work for young people during the election. The marquee pledge was 40,000 good youth jobs in each year from 2016 to the end of 2018. But thats not what happened. According to the final 2016 job numbers published this month, just 9,000 jobs were created last year for workers aged 16 to 24. As Conference Board of Canada economist Craig Alexander pointed out, this is the net number after 40,000 full-time jobs were lost and 49,000 part-time jobs were created. All the job gains for youth, in other words, were for part-time work. I do think a concerted effort to improve youth outcomes is called for, Alexander said, adding that the issue is complex and that the youth unemployment rate 12.6 per cent in December is stuck around the 20-year average. On Parliament Hill, there are calls for Trudeau to shed the youth minister mantle and let somebody else wear it. According to the official record of parliamentary debates, the prime minister has spoken about youth issues only a handful of times in the House of Commons since the last election until this month, each time was in reference to marijuana. It has fallen to his parliamentary secretary on the file, Quebec MP Peter Schiefke, to voice government positions on precarious work, unemployment and student issues. The NDPs youth critic, Quebec MP Anne Minh-Thu Quach, said the prime minister has never answered any of her questions on youth issues. If he is not taking seriously youth issues, maybe he should just give that portfolio to another minister who would respect Canadian youth and genuinely care about their future, Quach said. Conservative MP Alex Nuttall, 31, said Trudeau should invest in programs that educate young workers and prepare them to fill the skilled labour jobs for which there is a shortage of candidates in todays economy. In 2015, the Liberals promised to invest $40 million per year to fund co-op placements in fields related to math, science, engineering and technology. The 2016 budget, however, pledged $73 million over four years less than half what was promised annually. Young people have not been invested in the way that he said they would, and if they have given the dollars, they havent given the results that they promised they would, Nuttall said. Trudeau, meanwhile, was asked during his tour to grade himself on his youth minister performance. The prime minister, a former teacher, refused. Ill leave the grading to others, he said with a smile. Promises broken, promises kept Youth Minister Justin Trudeau has a mixed record so far when it comes to keeping the promises made in the Liberals 2015 election platform. Heres a look at some of the major pledges on youth issues: Broken The pledge: We will create 40,000 good youth jobs including 5,000 youth green jobs each year for the next three years, by investing $300 million more in the renewed Youth Employment Strategy. The result: There were 9,000 jobs created for people aged 15 to 24 in 2016, according to Statistics Canada. Meanwhile, the 2016 budget earmarked $164.5 million for the Youth Employment Strategy. However, a month before the budget, the government announced a $339-million investment over three years in the Canada Summer Jobs Program, promising this would create 35,000 seasonal gigs in each of the following three years. At the end of August, in its monthly labour survey, Statistics Canada published data that showed that while youth employment went up 22,000 that month, there were 48,000 fewer jobs for the age group compared with one year earlier. The pledge: We will invest $40 million each year to help employers create more co-op placements for students in science, technology, engineering, mathematics and business programs. (2015 Liberal platform) The result: The Trudeau government committed $73 million over four years to create co-op placements in these areas. Thats less than half the annual funds that were promised. The pledge: We will invest $25 million per year in a restored Youth Service Program, to give young Canadians valuable work and life experience and provide communities with the help required for much-needed projects. The result: The 2016 budget included a pledge to invest $105 million over five years, and $25 million per year after that, in support of the Youth Service Program. Thats an average of $21 million per year until 2021-22, then $25 million after that. Kept The pledge: We will increase the maximum Canada Student Grant for low-income students to $3,000 per year for full-time students and to $1,800 per year for part-time students. The result: The Trudeau government did exactly that in the 2016 budget. The pledge: We will ensure that no graduate with student loans will be required to make any repayment until they are earning an income of at least $25,000 per year. The result: The repayment threshold was raised last year from just over $20,000 to $25,000 in annual earnings. The pledge: We will create a Prime Ministers Youth Advisory Council, consisting of young Canadians aged 16 to 24, to provide non-partisan advice to the Prime Minister on issues facing the country. (2015 Liberal platform) The result: The prime minister unveiled 15 members of this council last September, while another 11 joined the council in late January. The members, aged 16 to 24, are meant to get together and advise the prime minister. Read more about: SHARE: A convicted serial rapist who is suspected of attacking up to 1,000 women and girls around Toronto arrived in his native Malaysia this morning after being deported from Canada. A Toronto Star photo of Selva Kumar Subbiah, 56, took the entire front page of the Malay Mail newspaper, with the headline, BEAST RETURNS. Subbiahs return came amid calls in Malaysia for a sex-offender registry. He slipped past reporters and photographers after arriving at Kuala Lumpur at 7:30 a.m. local time Tuesday by Qatar Air on a connecting flight from Doha, escorted by Canada Border Services Agency officers, the Mail reported. Subbiah was interviewed by police and welcomed by an older brother and two other relatives, the paper said. His family told reporters that Subbiah will be staying in Kuala Lumpur for now, but declined to say what his ultimate destination would be. Subbiah was born in the northwestern state of Perak, the third of four siblings in a family of teachers. His location will be monitored by police, Insp. Gen. Tan Sri Khalid told reporters, adding that Subbiah is a free man and can travel wherever he wants in the country. However, officials for the northern state of Sabah said hes not welcome in their territory. His arrival in Malaysia came eight days after he was ordered out of Canada following an Immigration and Refugee Board hearing in which board member Andrew Laut called him the worst offender and the highest risk that has ever come before me in my career. Subbiah was convicted at two separate trials of drugging and sexually assaulting 30 women, but a lawyer for the Canada Border Services Agency told the hearing as many as 500 to 1,000 could have been attacked. He expressed no remorse at the hearing. At a hearing in June 2016, he was found ineligible for parole because he was considered likely to commit an offence causing death or serious harm to another person. One of his Toronto victims said she wishes Canada would have locked him up for life. Im scared, she said. Im scared that he will do it again. The Star agreed not to publish the name of the woman, who was attacked in her teens. I have a feeling hes going to leave Malaysia and go somewhere else, somewhere where hes less obvious, she said. I hope he cant move without being recognized but that might drive me out of the country as well. Now she fears for women overseas, she said. Im trying not to think about it and thats reducing the flashbacks, she said. Im keeping myself extremely busy. Theres tension. Theres fear. Theres a lot of prayers for the public. Subbiah was arrested Jan. 28 when he became eligible for mandatory release after serving his entire prison sentence. His return has been accompanied by a statement from The Women, Family and Community Development organization saying theres an urgent need for a sex offender registry. That stance has been backed by Deputy Home Minister Nur Jazlan Mohamed, the Mail reported. Police Inspector-General Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar told reporters Subbiah would be monitored from a distance, although there was no specific law to regulate the movements of ex-prisoners like him. Psychologist Hariyati Shahrima Abdul Majid told the Mail that the police position doesnt reassure her. She said there should be systematic close monitoring of Subbiah to keep women safe from him. Some members of the public are also wary. I know that everyone should be given a second chance but Im afraid for my safety, especially since he is reported to be not sorry for what he has done, a woman told the Mail, asking that her name not be published. Subbiah unsuccessfully sought to block the Star from photographing him at his hearing last week. The Star argued that it was important for his victims to know details of his case and what he looks like now. Subbiah was granted student and visitors visas after arriving in Canada in 1980. He didnt graduate from any post-secondary course, but claimed to have studied at McMaster University in Hamilton and Ryerson University in Toronto. He posed as a model agent or movie talent scout during many of his assaults, often using the names Richard Wild and Ryan Hunter. He also posed as a professional dancer, a lawyer or a diplomat. He was also involved in the exotic pet trade, his trials heard. While behind bars, Subbiah used a string of aliases and a female accomplice on the outside to con women to send him nude photos and gifts, police said. The Crown office never sought to declare Subbiah a dangerous offender. However, Keith Angelo MacPhail, an inmate who slashed Subbiah in 2009 in Kingston Penitentiary, was declared a dangerous offender in February 2015 for his attacks on sexual predators behind bars. SHARE: Toronto mother Alejandra Lara is pleased Mayor John Tory has agreed to give child care centres in schools a one-year reprieve from a cut that would have meant a fee hike for thousands of families like hers. But she wonders what will happen next year if the province doesnt heed Torys call to pick up the occupancy costs for 350 daycares in schools. Its a great first step. But we may be fighting this all over again next year. Its exhausting, said Lara, a member of the parent board at Withrow Child Care Centre in Withrow Public School where her son Daniel, 4, has been in daycare since he was 2. Her younger son Mario, 2, has just been promised a spot for July. Instead of constantly talking about cuts, we have to be talking about how we can build child care in this city. Families cant live in this city without it, she added. The mayors reversal means Lara and about 4,000 other parents wont face fee hikes of at least $350 a year per child. (Another 4,000 low-income parents receiving subsidies and those with children in before- and after-school daycare would not have been affected.) Tory had supported cutting support for child-care centres in schools as a way to fill a $91 million budget gap. The occupancy grant would have saved the city $1.13 million this year and $2.26 million in 2018. But the mayor acknowledged Monday that pressure from parents, daycare advocates and city councillors prompted him to reconsider. Asking people to pay more for child care, right now, is not reasonable, and its not right, he told reporters at John A. Leslie Public School in Scarborough. Torys executive, which meets Tuesday, will continue, as promised, to recommend 300 new child-care subsidies at a cost of $3 million. Although Torys original plan is off the table that was to partially fund those new subsidies with money from the daycare occupancy grant he assured reporters the funds would be found elsewhere in the budget. City council will finalize the 2017 budget next week. Councillor Janet Davis called the mayors child care reversal good news for parents. But she is also concerned about the future. Im hoping that the City of Toronto will continue to fund child care in schools until we get additional funding from the provincial government, she said. The parents of Toronto had a real impact on the mayor. What we saw today was a very significant reversal... I think the mayor clearly felt the pressure from parents across the city. The city needs to keep pressuring the province, and Toronto needs to pay its fair share, Davis added. Scarborough mother Nure Afsana Mazumdar, 25, hopes a long-term solution to the citys ongoing child care crisis is found soon. The recent immigrant from Bangladesh had to turn down a job offer at a cosmetics factory in December because she couldnt afford daycare for her 3-year-old son Mohammad. Mazumdars husband, who was a banker back home, is working part-time in a call centre while retraining at George Brown College to become a fashion industry manager. But it is not enough to pay the bills, she said. I need to work to help our family. But I cant work without a daycare subsidy. Its very frustrating, Muzumdar said. Mirana Akter, 39, whose husband is about to start work as a security guard, also wants to contribute. But the former teacher from Bangladesh needs daycare for her son Muttakinur Rahman, 20 months, so she can upgrade her qualifications to teach here. The system makes it very hard, she said. You need to be in school to get a subsidy. But you cant get a subsidy if you arent in school. The women welcome Torys proposal to fund an additional 300 daycare subsidies, but with 18,000 children on the wait list, they wonder when they will benefit. I think it is just a drop in the bucket, Akter said. Despite the mayors reprieve on daycare cuts in schools, children and families are still at risk, said Councillor Kristyn Wong-Tam who is supporting a play-in outside Torys office at noon Tuesday expected to draw children, parents, recreation workers and childcare providers. The waitlist for recreation programs has grown by 64 per cent in the last three years to 189,467. Three city pools are on the chopping block. User fees for kids gymnastics, arts and crafts and homework clubs are going up by 12.3 per cent and 111 youth recreation worker jobs are being eliminated at a time when youth unemployment in the city tops 18 per cent, she noted. Budgets are value statements, Wong-Tam said. And this budget does not value working families in Toronto that are struggling, especially those with kids. We want the mayor to make a long-time commitment to Toronto families. In a letter to Premier Kathleen Wynne on Sunday, Tory called on the province to significantly boost funding to child care in Toronto. I firmly believe that when it comes to issues like child care and housing, it can no longer be business as usual because the status quo leaves Toronto taxpayers footing the bills that the province should be paying, Tory wrote in his letter. Wynne acknowledged the citys need in a letter to Tory on Monday in which she notes her government pledged last fall to create 100,000 new child care spaces for kids under age 4 within the next five years. Indira Naidoo-Harris, the provinces minister responsible for child care and early years, also wrote Tory to say she has just completed a province-wide consultation on a roll-out strategy for the initiative. The provincial plan will include both capital and operating funding to address the costs of child care and support a mixed approach of school-based, community-based and home-based expansion, she said. Ontario is also working with Ottawa to build a pan-Canadian early years and child care framework, Naidoo-Harris added. SHARE: SSP Khatri remanded in 4-day judicial custody The Kathmandu District Court on Monday remanded SSP Shyam Khatri, who was taken into custody on Sunday in connection with a gold smuggling case, to four days in judicial custody. Now young teenagers, Hank, Harrison, Oliver and Gus are getting ready to leave Toronto. The four male white lion cubs, whove called the Toronto Zoo home for the last 16 months, will be leaving after this weekend for Parc Safari in Quebec, about 60 kilometres south of Montreal. Its kind of like their next journey in life, said Maria Franke, the Toronto Zoos curator of mammals. They would naturally disperse in the wild . . . were excited for them to move on to their new home. Franke said there is an older female lion at Parc Safari already. She said it will be up to staff there to decide whether to keep the four Toronto cubs as a bachelor group or introduce them to the female. In preparation for their big move, the lion cubs have been crate trained, similar to dogs, and will be driven to their new home in a heated truck Monday. Its really great that theyre all going together, because obviously theyre all siblings and have grown up together, so know each other quite well, Franke said. RELATED: Toronto zoos baby boom For those in the city who want to see the cubs for the first (or one last) time theyll be in the zoos African Savanna, every day up until Sunday, weather permitting, at 1:30 p.m. The Toronto Zoos website says that having the cubs in the city has been a chance to educate the public about the importance of efforts in place to help make sure the species continues to survive in the wild. There are only an estimated 300 white lions living around the world. Franke said its impossible to know for sure, but Parc Safari could be the cubs permanent home. The four cubs were the first white lions born at the Toronto Zoo. Their parents, Makali and Fintan, will remain in Toronto, along with another female lion. Each of the growing lions has their own personality. The Toronto Zoo describes Gus as a bit of a mommas boy, says Hank loves to groom the other lions, Harrison is more of a tough guy and that Olivers a little troublemaker. SHARE: A probe of child protection files involving flawed drug and alcohol hair tests performed by the Hospital for Sick Childrens Motherisk lab has now identified 24 cases in which the results were a key factor in removing children from their families. While that represents a fraction of the more than 500 high-priority child protection files the Motherisk Commission has so far examined, the number is set to rise in the coming months as an additional 1,200 cases are targeted for review. The update, delivered by commissioner Judith Beaman in a Toronto courthouse on Monday, comes at the halfway point of the commissions two-year mandate. It is an exercise that has revealed the scope of the damage caused by Motherisks faulty tests, she said. A lot of harm was created by the misuse of these tests, and this fiasco didnt only affect children, but families and siblings and communities, she said. Mercifully, we have found a very small handful of cases where the testing played a determinative role, but even 24 families affected is too many. The latest figure adds seven new cases to the total since the commission gave its last update, in November. A Star investigation exposed questions about the reliability of Motherisks hair tests in late 2014, after an Appeal Court decision cast doubt on the use of the results in a 2009 criminal case involving a Toronto mother. The province established the commission on the recommendation of an initial independent review, led by retired judge Susan Lang, who found Motherisks hair tests were unreliable and inadequate for use in child protection and criminal cases. Throughout the scandal, family lawyers have been among the most vocal critics of the Motherisk lab and of the ubiquity of drug and alcohol hair testing in child protection cases in general. In its submissions to Langs initial review, the Family Lawyers Association said hair testing was used in virtually every child protection case in Ontario where there was a mere suspicion of parental drug abuse, and that Motherisk touted itself as the laboratory of choice for hair drug testing for litigation purposes. Sick Kids, which initially defended the reliability of Motherisks hair tests, shuttered the lab in 2015 amid an internal review, and issued a public apology. Lang would later conclude that Motherisks tests fell woefully short of internationally recognized forensic standards and Sick Kids failed to provide meaningful oversight of the lab. The commission is now identifying cases in which Motherisk tests played a significant role. It is working with affected families and childrens aid societies to provide counselling and legal funding and, in some instances, facilitate reunification. Yet these are complex cases involving some of societys most vulnerable families, for whom simply reversing a decision to remove a child may be neither practical nor advisable. The commission has also had problems tracking down affected parents, whose childrens aid files may have been closed years earlier or contain outdated contact information. We understand that very few people are going to walk away from this in a better position from where they are today, Beaman told a Law Society of Upper Canada workshop in October. We know that the remedies are extremely few. In his remarks to family lawyers on Monday, commission lawyer Lorne Glass said there have so far been only two cases where we have a good outcome, but we believe there may be more on the horizon. One of those cases involves a mother who has had no contact for seven years with her son, who was adopted into another family. She recently won an openness order, and will soon be getting updates the beginning of a process that she hopes will lead to face-to-face contact, Glass said. The other case is that of a father whose access to his two daughters was contingent on his continued sobriety which had to be proven through Motherisk hair tests. After reviewing his case and finding Motherisk hair tests played too significant a role in the custody decision, the commission sent a letter to the child welfare agency, which responded by gradually increasing his access to his children. They are now reunited on an extended access visit. That was a good decision in terms of the kids being able to connect with Dad and Dad being able to be a parent to his children, Glass said. Beaman has travelled around the province to speak to child welfare workers and community groups, but these sessions have typically been closed to media by the groups that invited her because of privacy concerns, according to a spokesperson for the commission. The commissions work relies heavily on childrens aid societies, which are now preparing the next batch of files 1,200 child protection cases. The commission identified these cases by cross-referencing child protection cases in Ontarios court filing system with a case list provided by Sick Kids, Glass said. The earlier phase, which is almost complete, focused on 577 high-priority files cases in which a final order had not yet been made. The commission has said it will also review any other case involving Motherisk testing at the request of affected parties. In December, the head of the Ontario Association of Childrens Aid Societies (OACAS), which has received $1.5 million in funding from the province to assist with the file review, called on Sick Kids to stand behind their apology by committing further financial assistance. On Monday, OACAS spokeswoman Caroline Newton said, We have not heard anything from (Sick Kids) We remain open and would like to work with them on accountability to family and children affected. Asked if Sick Kids will commit funding to childrens aid societies, spokesperson Matet Nebres said the hospital continues to co-operate with Justice Beamans ongoing review, and to provide support if and when requested, in order to address the concerns of families who believe that they may have been negatively affected by the Motherisk Drug Testing Lab. Sick Kids CEO Michael Apkon has said in the past that the hospital may need to participate in compensating impacted families. Sick Kids has been named in several proposed lawsuits. Read more about: SHARE: Toronto is a fantastically prosperous city: growing faster than almost any other place on the planet, enjoying a period of sustained economic boom, able to brag of being home to 12 key business sectors (it is the most tax-competitive city in the world according to KPMG) that keep the city resilient and its population relatively wealthy. And for all that, Toronto is a city that expects to shutter 7,500 units of social housing in the near future because it will not spend the money to keep it from falling apart. The wait list to get into social housing is seven years long. Our homeless shelter system is operating at 94 per cent capacity meaning in practice no beds are available for some people on some nights and the shelter division is cutting 10 staff to save money. Well moan about heritage buildings being torn down because of the backlog of protection applications, but we wont be adding the staff the planning department says they need to deal with the backlog. If those two sets of facts dont strike you as news, you wont be alone. It is a familiar story, by now, but it was the story retold through this years budget process, which moved through the mayors executive committee Tuesday on its way to council. The budget, as predicted, was another year of holding the line: no deep program cuts (and controversial proposed cuts to childcare and shelter services rolled back, the programs saved), some modest incremental service increases here and there, no dramatic property tax hikes, but some modest tax adjustments here and there. More reliance on potentially risky land transfer taxes, more reliance, yet again, on drawing from reserve funds. As your CFO Im getting a little nervous, city finance honcho Rob Rossini said at one point, of the ongoing tradition of patching with duct tape and raiding piggy banks. How many more rabbits can we pull out? Well, they pulled one more out this year. So who knows? Put it on the coat of arms: Toronto, Muddling Through Our Strength. To be clear, theres no doomsday stuff here. As city manager Peter Wallace took pains to emphasize, the politicians engaged again in their favourite sport of demanding staff put a bunch of cuts on the table and then systematically rejecting pretty much every one of them. Theres a majority on council who like to talk a lot about how sure they are the city can eliminate lots of wasteful spending, and who get the staff we pay to run the city to go to great lengths to examine what spending can be cut. But when push comes to shove, when even small cuts are on the table no more gathering leaves off peoples lawns in Etobicoke, for example they react by refusing to pull the trigger. Wallace calls this a revealed preference of the budget committee to maintain service levels, even though their stated preference is often to get tough and trim budgets. But if theres no nightmare of slashing, theres also no bold new moves to generate sustainable revenue. If you expected bold, you came to the wrong place. The mayor may have exhausted his reservoir of bold with his road toll proposal. The premier smothered that flame in a hurry. Plan B appears to be complaining about the premiers decision. And if the mayor and his committee arent bringing anything bold now, and havent in the past years of this term, they very likely arent bringing anything bold at all. Next year, when we discuss the budget, the city will be ramping up for an election campaign. That is not a time when anything controversial is going to be put forward. The year after that we can expect the traditional quickie staff-caretaker post-election budget. So what you see is very likely what you get for the next few years. Its not a surprise. I dont think voters were expecting budget boldness from this mayor, or this council. But it does raise questions. Like, if our politicians are not going to ease the CFOs discomfort with seat-of-the-pants budgeting now, when will they ever? Or, if they will not take advantage of growth and prosperity to stabilize the housing supply or the childcare spots or the shelter beds, when will they ever deal with those things? And if its an agonizing grind debating one or two planning staff positions and relative pennies for student nutrition programs now when the real estate market is bringing in windfall jackpots and the economy has been mostly strong or stronger for over two decades then what will happen when a recession hits? What does the budget look like if the real estate market collapses? If we muddle through during times of fantastic prosperity, what will we do if things get tough? Thats not a question most of our politicians seem prepared to contemplate. Edward Keenan writes on city issues ekeenan@thestar.ca . Follow: @thekeenanwire Read more about: SHARE: Ontario hospitals will remain open to foreign children in need of life-saving surgery even though U.S. courts have temporarily halted U.S. President Donald Trumps travel ban that threatened the kids care. Hours before a judge suspended Trumps controversial restrictions on travellers from seven predominantly Muslim countries Friday, Health Minister Eric Hoskins pledged to help youngsters whose scheduled surgeries in the U.S. were cancelled. Hoskins said Monday that despite the ruling, both Torontos Hospital for Sick Children and the Childrens Hospital of Eastern Ontario in Ottawa are gearing up to provide services. I am aware of the ongoing legal situation in the U.S., the minister told the Star in an email. During this period of uncertainty, we remain committed to providing life-saving care to children from affected countries whose surgeries have been canceled and whose families are concerned that they will not have access to specialized pediatric care, he said. A physician and co-founder of War Child Canada, Hoskins said most of the affected kids some as young as 4 months old require emergency cardiac care. While I cannot comment on individual cases, Sick Kids, CHEO, and representatives from my ministry continue their work to determine if we can help. Given that this is a critical time for these ill children we feel the responsibility to act quickly. In a statement, Sick Kids noted it has an active international patient program that considers humanitarian cases on a case-by-case basis. We are willing to work with the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care, and all partners to see what we can practically do to help these families, the hospital said. The assessment of any clinical case that Sick Kids undertakes is thoughtful and comprehensive. This process involves a multi-disciplinary team who reviews the clinical needs of the child, health status of the child, and our capacity to provide care and support for the child and family, without impacting the care of patients in Ontario, it continued. We are not in a position to make any commitments at this time, as the process to assess each case is detailed and comprehensive. Due to patient privacy and confidentiality we are not able to discuss details any further. Last month, Trump vowed that refugees would be banned from entering the U.S. for 120 days as part of an extreme vetting to cope with supposed terrorists. The new president also prohibited immigration for three months from seven countries Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen. His edict, which caused international turmoil and has led to tens of thousands of people having their visas revoked, was overruled by a U.S. District Court judge in Seattle after legal challenges by the states of Washington and Minnesota. The New York Times reported Monday that Trumps ban would also impact more than 15,000 doctors in the U.S. who hail from the seven countries. That includes about 9,000 from Iran, around 3,500 from Syria, and more than 1,500 from Iraq. Many work in under-serviced small cities and rural areas stateside. Read more about: SHARE: A new report claims that Canadian Joshua Boyle, his American wife, Caitlan Coleman, and their two young sons could have been freed for a $150,000 ransom, but that the FBI did not pursue the deal with their kidnappers. According to two unnamed American officials directly involved in the case, VOX reported Monday that a Taliban representative had told U.S. military negotiators of the proposed deal, but that when news was relayed to the FBI, the agency never followed up. The FBI did not comment on the report. Boyles family said Monday that they had not been told of a ransom demand, and do not believe the VOX report is accurate. Our government has assured us since the outset that we would be made promptly aware of any offer from the captors, Boyles parents, Patrick and Linda, wrote in a statement. If the Taliban or Haqqani network were willing to release them for an amount that a family could arrange, surely they too would have contacted us directly as well at some point. The Taliban-linked Haqqani network has held Boyle, 33, and Coleman, 31, since October 2012, when they were kidnapped near Kabul, Afghanistan, during a backpacking trip through Central Asia. Both their sons were born in captivity and seen for the first time in a video made Dec. 3. Coleman implores then outgoing-U.S. President Barack Obama in the video to think about his legacy and free them from their Kafkaesque nightmare. The Boyle family has always believed that the Haqqani networks demands have been political, which is typically how the group, which is closely aligned with the Taliban, has operated. Hostages are often held for years before release. An earlier video release of the couple coincided with an August 29 Afghan court decision that ruled Anas Haqqani, the son of the groups founder, would be executed for his role in helping raise funds for the network. Boyle says in that video that the Afghan government must stop executing Taliban prisoners or the couple would be killed. Unfortunately, we believe that what the captors want is beyond what we are able to do, Boyles parents wrote Monday in their statement. Josh and Caity have been clear in all of their scripted videos that the captors wish to deal with the Canadian, U.S. and Afghan governments. If there was anything that we had the power to do to be able to hold our children and grandchildren again, we would be doing it. Sadly, we dont think this is the case and we are left to rely on others. It is unclear if the change in U.S. administration has had any impact on negotiations for the couples release, or those of other Americans held. The SITE Intelligence Group, which tracks online activity, quoted an Afghan Taliban correspondent named Abdullah al-Wazir claiming on Jan. 30 that a deal was being discussed for a prisoner swap for the couple. Joseph Pickerill, a spokesperson for Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland, said he could not talk about the case or Ottawas role in any negotiations. The Government of Canadas first priority is always the safety and security of its citizens. For this reason, we cannot comment on operational matters, he wrote in an email Monday. The impact of Boyles kidnap was highlighted in December as part of Held Hostage, an eight-part Toronto Star investigation that exposed a decade-long pattern of neglect in how Ottawa responds to families with loved ones abducted abroad. But unlike almost all other Canadian cases since 9/11, the Boyle/Coleman saga has played out as an agonizing tale of two countries, with U.S. authorities asserting a dominant role by dint of Americas deeper military, diplomatic and intelligence reach in Afghanistan. Both countries have long maintained a resolute stance against paying ransom a stance that has been known to buckle for high-value hostages including soldiers and diplomats. In June 2015, then-U.S. president Barack Obama dramatically shifted course after a summit with relatives of many of more than 80 Americans kidnapped since 9/11, announcing an overhaul of U.S. kidnap protocols, including an end to the threat of prosecution and the creation of a Hostage Recovery Fusion Cell to maximize the chances of safe return. These families have already suffered enough and they should never feel ignored or victimized by their own government, Obama said in unveiling the protocols. Many of Canadas hostage families are agitating for comparable change in Ottawa. The Prime Ministers Office signalled in December it may consider at the very least meeting with relatives and survivors of hostage-takings to hear their concerns directly. On Monday, Kate Purchase, the director of communications in the Prime Ministers Office, said it continues to be something we are exploring, but I cant confirm anything today. Read more about: SHARE: JERUSALEMIsraels parliament on Monday passed a contentious law meant to retroactively legalize thousands of West Bank settlement homes built unlawfully on private Palestinian land, a step that is expected to trigger international outrage and a flurry of lawsuits against the measure. The explosive law is the latest in a series of pro-settler steps taken by Israels hard-line government since the election of Donald Trump as U.S. president. He is seen as more sympathetic to Israels settlement policies than his fiercely critical predecessor, and the Israeli government has approved plans to build thousands of new homes on occupied territory since Trump took office. We are voting tonight on our right to the land, Cabinet minister Ofir Akunis said during a stormy debate ahead of the vote. We are voting tonight on the connection between the Jewish people and its land. This whole land is ours. All of it. Critics say the legislation enshrines into law the theft of Palestinian land, and it is expected to be challenged in Israels Supreme Court. According to the law, Palestinian landowners would be compensated either with money or alternative land, even if they did not agree to give up their property. The vote passed 60-52 in Israels 120-member Knesset following a raucous debate in which opposition lawmakers shouted from their seats at governing coalition lawmakers speaking in favour of the vote from the dais. Some legislators supportive of the law took pictures of the plenum during the vote while some spectators in visitors seats raised black cloth in apparent protest. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had voiced misgivings about the law in the lead-up to vote, reportedly expressing concern that it could lead to international censure and saying he wanted to co-ordinate with the Trump administration before moving ahead on a vote. He told reporters on a trip to London that he had updated Washington and was ready to move ahead with the law. He was on his way back from the trip and was not present for the vote. The White Houses immediate response was to refer to its statement last week that said the construction of new settlements may not be helpful in achieving an Israeli-Palestinian peace. Netanyahus attorney general has called the bill unconstitutional and said he wont defend it in the Supreme Court. Critics have warned it could drag Israel into a legal battle at the International Criminal Court at The Hague, Netherlands, which is already pursuing a preliminary examination into settlements. Among the laws problematic elements is that the West Bank is not sovereign Israeli territory and that Palestinians who live there are not citizens and do not have the right to vote for the government that imposed the law on them. Palestinians condemned the law. This is an escalation that would only lead to more instability and chaos. It is unacceptable. It is denounced and the international community should act immediately, said Nabil Abu Rdeneh, a spokesman for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. Netanyahu faced intense pressure from within his nationalist coalition, especially from the pro-settler Jewish Home party, to press ahead with the vote following the court-ordered evacuation last week of the illegal Amona outpost found to have been built on private Palestinian land. Over 40 settler families were forced to leave the 20-year-old outpost, and on Monday construction vehicles demolished and removed the trailer homes that remained behind. Opposition legislators said Netanyahus support for the law was a high-stakes risk meant solely to curry favour with settler constituents and their potent political lobby. For how many settler votes is Netanyahu willing to pass a law that he admits will drag us to The Hague? Zehava Galon, leader of the dovish Meretz party, wrote on Facebook ahead of the vote. The prime minister declares that the legalization bill is dangerous for Israel and instead of standing on his hind legs to stop this shameful law, he presses ahead with it. After years of condemnations from the Obama administration over settlement construction, Israels government has ramped up settlement initiatives since Trump took office, announcing plans for some 6,000 new homes in the West Bank and East Jerusalem and promising to build a new settlement for the Amona evacuees. Trump has signalled a far more accepting approach to settlements, raising hopes in Netanyahus government that it will be able to step up construction. The White House said little as Netanyahu announced plans during Trumps first two weeks in office to build over 6,000 new settler homes. But after Netanyahu announced his plan to establish a new settlement for the first time in two decades, Trump indicated that he, too, might have his limits. While we dont believe the existence of settlements is an impediment to peace, the construction of new settlements or the expansion of existing settlements beyond their current borders may not be helpful in achieving that goal, the White House said. The Palestinians want the West Bank, East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip territories Israel captured in the 1967 Mideast war for their future state. Much of the international community views settlements as illegal and an obstacle to reaching peace with the Palestinians. Shortly before leaving office, President Barack Obama allowed the UN Security Council to pass a resolution declaring settlements illegal. Obama cited the Israeli outpost legislation as a reason for not vetoing the resolution. Before the law passed, the UN Mideast envoy, Nickolay Mladenov, called on lawmakers to vote against the law, saying that it will have far-reaching legal consequences for Israel and greatly diminish the prospects for Arab-Israeli peace. Read more about: SHARE: At the Chinese Embassy in Washington last week, Ivanka Trump exited a black SUV with her daughter, Arabella, and shook the hand of Ambassador Cui Tiankai. Ivanka and Arabella, who dressed in red for the Lunar New Year celebration on Feb. 1, were filmed listening to traditional music, admiring crafts and playing with puppets. Ivanka later posted a video of Arabella singing a song in Mandarin, further helping to quiet criticism after her father, President Donald Trump, broke with convention by not sending a personal New Years greeting. Ivankas public meeting lauded in Chinas press came after behind-the-scenes meetings between Cui and Jared Kushner, her husband and a presidential adviser. Kushner and Cui have had an extensive ongoing dialogue that has been positive, according to a White House official who asked not to be identified because the meetings were private. As countries around the world figure out how to influence the new U.S. administration, China is going straight to the top: Trumps immediate family. In bypassing more traditional diplomatic channels such as the State Department, China is looking to open a more direct link to help avoid a trade war or military confrontation after Trump signalled a willingness to challenge Beijings red lines on Taiwan and the South China Sea. Read the latest news on U.S. President Donald Trump The strategy is similar to one China employed with the Bush family, according to Dennis Wilder, senior director for Asia at the National Security Council during the last Bush administration and a longtime China military analyst for the Central Intelligence Agency. Former President George H.W. Bush, who served as the top U.S. representative in Beijing in the mid-1970s, retained personal connections with Chinese leaders. I predict very direct communication from the White House to Zhongnanhai, Wilder said, referring to the seat of power in Beijing. Ivankas embassy visit made the Chinese leadership extremely pleased because it advanced the personal connection to President Trump and his family, he said. The reaction to Ivankas New Years visit in the Chinese media marked a change from largely defensive comments in response to previous Trump remarks. The Global Times, a party-run newspaper known for its nationalist tone, said Ivanka helped balance her fathers harsh posture and the appearance could be invigorating to the China-U.S. relationship. The access Trumps family enjoys to the president has empowered their role in decision-making as formal responsibilities in the administration remain in flux. Trump appointed Kushner as a senior adviser in the White House in January. Still, Trump has plenty of others in his circle who are urging a harder line against China, including strategist Steve Bannon and trade adviser Peter Navarro, whose books include Death by China: Confronting the Dragon A Global Call to Action. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson drew a rebuke from Beijing after saying that the U.S. would seek to block Chinese access to disputed islands in the South China Sea. Trump is under pressure to take some sort of action against China after criticizing the nation repeatedly over trade on the campaign trail. In tweets since his election win, Trump has questioned the one-China policy, which acknowledges Beijings claim to Taiwan, and criticized Chinese leaders for failing to do more against North Korea. Just last week, he again accused China of manipulating its currency. Chinese President Xi Jinping has responded to Trump by urging global elites to reject trade wars and protectionism, most notably in a speech to the World Economic Forum in Switzerland last month. His foreign minister, Wang Yi, repeated that message on Tuesday during a visit to Australia. In the past four decades, there has never been a shortage of tough or sometimes even irrational statements on China-U.S. relations, Wang told reporters in Canberra. But such statements aside, the China-U.S. relationship has defied all kinds of difficulties and has been moving forward continuously. The family courtship is part of a broader Chinese strategy to maintain stable relations between the two powers, according to Ruan Zongze, vice-president of the China Institute of International Studies, a policy research group run by Chinas Foreign Ministry, and an envoy to Washington between 2007 and 2011. In addition to official exchanges such as the recent phone call between foreign minister Wang and U.S. National Security Advisor Mike Flynn, China is also seeking other opportunities to maintain healthy interaction, Ruan said. Trump and his family have also been in close touch with Chinese businesses. Trump met last month with Jack Ma, chairman of Alibaba Group Holding Ltd., to discuss creating jobs in the U.S. The New York Times reported that Kushner met with Wu Xiaohui, chairman of Anbang Group Insurance Group Co Ltd., last November to finalize a business deal. The Chinese government has been testing and trying different ways to avoid a major confrontation with the U.S. based on miscalculations, said Wang Fan, director of China Foreign Affairs Universitys Institute of International Relations. Mas visit to Trump Tower was an example of that approach, he said. So far, its unclear what impact the moves might have on Trump himself. He still hasnt set up a call with Xi despite having called more than a dozen world leaders since his inauguration on January 20. Even so, for China, Trumps family may be the best hope for stable U.S. relations. Trumps choice for ambassador to China, Terry Branstad, continues to serve as governor in Iowa, following a strict hands-off policy on China matters until after hes confirmed by the U.S. Senate. At this moment, there is no obvious China point person in his cabinet, said Wang, of China Foreign Affairs University. All the previous China hands have gone. Read more about: SHARE: Saeb Erekat, secretary general of the Palestinian Liberation Organization, has told The Associated Press that Israeli legislation to retroactively legalize thousands of West Bank settlement homes is putting the last nail in the coffin of the two-state solution. The bill, approved by lawmakers late Monday, is the latest in a series of pro-settler steps taken by Israels hard-line government since the election of Donald Trump as U.S. president. Calling the move theft, Erekat said it was the Israeli government trying to legalize looting Palestinian land. Erekat spoke in Paris ahead of a visit by Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas to meet with President Francois Hollande Tuesday. Abbas said Tuesday that Israeli legislation to retroactively legalize thousands of West Bank settlement homes is an aggression against the Palestinian people. The new Israeli law legalizing dozens of unlawfully built West Bank settlement outposts came under heavy criticism on Tuesday from some of Israels closest allies, as local rights groups prepared to ask the Supreme Court to overturn the measure. Amid the uproar, the Trump administration remained quiet about the law paving the way for further possible action by emboldened Israeli hard-liners ahead of a trip to the White House by Israels prime minister next week. That bill is contrary to international law, Abbas said following a meeting with French President Francois Hollande in Paris. This is an aggression against our people that we will be opposing in international organizations. What we want is peace ... but what Israel does is to work toward one state based on apartheid, Abbas said. Hollande called on the Israeli government to go back on the bill approved by lawmakers late Monday, saying it would pave the way for an annexation, de facto, of the occupied territories, which would be contrary to the two-state solution. In his joint statement with Hollande, Abbas also warned against moving the U.S. Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, one of Trumps campaign promises. Any move in that direction is an error and shouldnt be done prior to an agreement on a political solution, he said. A Palestinian Cabinet minister called on the international community to punish Israel for a contentious new law, just hours after the Israeli parliament adopted the bill. The explosive law is expected to trigger international outrage and a flurry of lawsuits against the measure. Nobody can legalize the theft of the Palestinian lands. Building settlements is a crime, building settlements is against all international laws, said Palestinian Tourism and Antiquities Minister Rula Maayaa. I think it is time now for the international community to act concretely to stop the Israelis from these crimes. Read more: Israels PM vows to establish new settlement after West Bank outpost dismantled Violence erupts as Israel evicts West Bank outpost The United Nations Mideast envoy said the new crossed a very thick red line, while Israeli rights groups said they would fight to overturn the measure in the Supreme Court. Nickolay Mladenov, the UNs co-ordinator for the Middle East peace process, said the legislation opens the floodgates to the potential annexation of the West Bank. If Israel moves to solidify its control over the area, it would imperil the internationally backed idea of establishing a Palestinian state alongside Israel as part of a negotiated peace deal, he said. It will have a drastic legal consequence for Israel and for the nature of its democracy, Mladenov said. It crosses a very, very thick red line. Trump is seen as more sympathetic to Israels settlement policies than his fiercely critical predecessor Barack Obama, and the Israeli government has approved plans to build thousands of new homes on occupied territory since Trump took office. Using a biblical name for the West Bank, Israeli Cabinet minister Yariv Levin said the law was a first step in a series of measures that we must take in order to make our presence in Judea and Samaria present for years, for decades, for ages. I do believe that our right over our fatherland is something that cannot be denied, he said. According to the law, Palestinian landowners would be compensated either with money or alternative land, even if they did not agree to give up their property. Critics say the legislation enshrines into law the theft of Palestinian land, and it is expected to be challenged in Israels Supreme Court. The vote passed 60-52 in Israels 120-member Knesset. The raucous debate saw opposition lawmakers shouting from their seats at governing coalition lawmakers speaking in favour of the vote. Some spectators in visitors seats raised a black cloth in apparent protest. Netanyahu had voiced misgivings about the law in the lead-up to the vote, reportedly expressing concern that it could trigger international censure and saying he wanted to co-ordinate with the Trump administration before moving ahead on a vote. He told reporters on a trip to London that he had updated Washington and was ready to move ahead with the law. Netanyahu was on his way back from the trip and was not present for the vote. The White Houses immediate response was to refer to its statement last week that said the construction of new settlements may not be helpful in achieving an Israeli-Palestinian peace. The State Department later said the Trump administration will withhold comment on the legislation until the relevant court ruling. Germanys Foreign Ministry said its faith in Israels commitment to a two-state solution was deeply shaken. Britains minister for the Middle East, Tobias Ellwood, said the law damages Israels standing with its international partners. Jordan, a key Arab ally, said such provocative acts could fuel the anger of Muslims and drag the region to more violence and extremism. Turkeys tourism minister, Nabi Avci, visiting Israel as part of a reconciliation process, said he hoped Israels Supreme Court would make the right decision and strike down the law. Prominent Israeli advocacy groups, including Peace Now, the Arab rights group Adalah, and the Association for Civil Rights in Israel, all announced plans to file legal challenges. Theres going to be a legal battle against this bill, said Lior Amihai, spokesman for Peace Now. David Harris, CEO of AJC, the global Jewish advocacy organization, said that Israels High Court can and should reverse this misguided legislation ahead of Netanyahus meeting with Trump in February. Critics have also warned the bill could drag Israel into a legal battle at the International Criminal Court at The Hague, Netherlands, which is already pursuing a preliminary examination into settlements. Among the laws problematic elements is that the West Bank is not sovereign Israeli territory and that Palestinians who live there are not citizens and do not have the right to vote for the government that imposed the law on them. Nabil Abu Rdeneh, a spokesman for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, called the law unacceptable and urged the international community to act immediately. This is an escalation that would only lead to more instability and chaos, he said. Netanyahu faced intense pressure from within his nationalist coalition, especially from the pro-settler Jewish Home party, to press ahead with the vote following the court-ordered evacuation last week of the illegal Amona outpost found to have been built on private Palestinian land. Over 40 settler families were forced to leave the 20-year-old outpost, and on Monday construction vehicles demolished and removed the trailer homes that remained behind. Naftali Bennett, head of the Jewish Home party, told Israels Army Radio on Tuesday that the goal of the bill was create the same conditions in the settlements as in Israel proper. At the end of the day, behind all the talk there is a simple question: what do we want for the future of Israel? he said. The Palestinians want the West Bank, east Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip territories Israel captured in the 1967 Mideast war for their future state. Much of the international community views settlements as illegal and an obstacle to reaching peace with the Palestinians. Shortly before leaving office, Obama allowed the UN Security Council to pass a resolution declaring settlements illegal. Before the law passed, the UN Mideast envoy, Nickolay Mladenov, called on lawmakers to vote against the law, saying that it will have far-reaching legal consequences for Israel and greatly diminish the prospects for Arab-Israeli peace. Read more about: SHARE: SAN FRANCISCOThree federal appellate judges on Tuesday lobbed critical inquiries at those challenging and defending President Donald Trumps controversial immigration order the immediate fate of which now rests with the court. The three-judge panel from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit questioned a Justice Department lawyer aggressively about what he viewed as the limits on the presidents power, and what evidence the president relied upon in temporarily barring refugees and citizens of seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the United States. But the panel similarly interrogated the state of Washingtons solicitor general, who is challenging the presidents directive, over what evidence he had to demonstrate religious discrimination and whether a lower court judges freeze on the ban was too broad. The court said it expects to make a decision on the matter probably this week, and Judge Michelle Taryn Friedland promised rapid consideration. The ruling could potentially affect tens of thousands of travelers whose visas were revoked by the initial executive order, then restored after U.S. District Court Judge James Robart in Seattle put a nationwide stop to it. The issue of whether the order is allowed to remain in place while legal challenges continue will likely end up at the Supreme Court. But it will be harder for the Trump administration to prevail at the high court if the appeals court rules that a nationwide halt is warranted. The broad legal issue is whether Trump acted within his authority in blocking the entry of people from Iraq, Iran, Somalia, Sudan, Libya, Syria and Yemen, or whether his order essentially amounts to a discriminatory ban on Muslims. The judges must also weigh the harm the ban imposes, and whether it is proper for them to intervene in a national security matter on which the president is viewed as the ultimate authority. Justice Department lawyer August Flentje argued Tuesday that the order was well within the presidents power, asserting that Congress and a previous administration had designated the seven affected countries as having problems with terrorism albeit in a different context. Some of the judges, though, seemed wary of that claim. Friedland, who was appointed by President Barack Obama, asked Flentje if the government had pointed to any evidence connecting these countries with terrorism? Judge Richard Clifton, a President George W. Bush appointee, noted that the government already had processes in place to screen people coming from those countries and asked, Is there any reason for us to think that theres a real risk or that circumstances have changed such that theres a real risk? The president determined that there was a real risk, Flentje responded. Washington Solicitor General Noah Purcell argued that the government was essentially asking that the court abdicate its role as a check on the executive branch, and he asserted that reinstating the ban would throw the country back into chaos. But Purcell, too, faced critical questions. Clifton said he was having trouble understanding why were supposed to infer religious animus when in fact the vast majority of Muslims would not be affected a critical point, as the state is trying to demonstrate that Trumps order is intentionally discriminatory and runs afoul of the Constitution. Purcell pointed to public statements from the president and his allies. Former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani, for example, recently said, So when [Trump] first announced it, he said, Muslim ban. He called me up. He said, Put a commission together. Show me the right way to do it legally. Flentje disputed that the order was a Muslim ban, and he said the judges should limit their consideration to the executive order itself. It is extraordinary to enjoin the presidents national security determination based on some newspaper articles, and thats what has happened here, he said. Whichever side loses is sure to take the fight to the Supreme Court. That traditionally has been solid ground for the president. Justices often defer to the president on matters of immigration and national security, because of his constitutional powers and an additional grant of authority from Congress. The politically divisive fight comes as the Supreme Court remains shorthanded following the death of Justice Antonin Scalia nearly a year ago; the four Democratic-appointed liberals and four Republican-appointed conservatives often split. Trump said at a White House event Tuesday he was prepared to elevate the dispute as needed. Were going to take it through the system, Trump said to reporters. Its very important for the country . . . Well see what happens. We have a big court case. Were well represented. Flentje did offer a sort-of compromise for the judges Tuesday, saying they could limit the lower judges ruling to foreigners previously admitted to the country abroad now or those who wished to travel and return to the U.S. in the future. Purcell countered they had not explained how they would practically implement such an order. In addition to Clifton and Friedland, the case was heard by William Canby Jr., who was appointed by President Jimmy Carter. The hearing was conducted via telephone, with Friedland listening from San Jose, Calif., Canby from Phoenix and Clifton from Honolulu. If those judges turn down the administrations appeal and the matter moves immediately to the Supreme Court, the argument would be only on the temporary restraining order, and it would require five justices to reverse the lower courts actions. The high court faced a similar issue last term, when a Texas judge imposed a nationwide halt to an executive action from President Obama that would have shielded more than 4 million immigrants in the country illegally, but who met certain requirements to get work permits. The justices then split 4 to 4 on the matter. If five justices could not agree, the case would return to Robart, the district judge, to decide whether Trumps order should be permanently enjoined. The fight up the legal ladder would then begin anew possibly taking months, past when the travel ban is set to expire. Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly predicted Tuesday that the administration would prevail in its bid to reinstate the executive order and said that judges might be considering the matter from an academic, rather than a national security, perspective. Of course, in their courtrooms, theyre protected by people like me, he said. Testifying before the House Homeland Security Committee, Kelly forcefully defended the measure as a necessary pause so officials could improve vetting procedures. He said that it is entirely possible that dangerous people are now entering the country with the order on hold as Trump has said via Twitter and that officials might not know about them until it is too late. Not until the boom, he said when asked if he could provide evidence of a dangerous person coming into the country since the ban was suspended. Kellys view does not reflect the consensus of the national security community. Ten high-ranking diplomatic and security officials among them former secretaries of state John Kerry and Madeleine Albright, former CIA director Leon Panetta, former CIA and National Security Agency director Michael Hayden said in a legal filing there was no national security purpose for a complete barring of people from the seven affected countries. SHARE: In the words of Elie Wiesel, Today, as yesterday, a nation is judged by its attitude toward refugees. He made this comment in support of the Toronto Board of Rabbis condemnation when Canada designated certain countries as safe for refugees in 2012. Unfortunately, the words ring true again today. On Jan. 25th, U.S. President Donald Trump signed the Border Security and Immigration Enforcement Improvements executive order. Aside from directing the building of the wall along the Mexico-U.S. border, the order specifically targets people who arrive in the U.S. without status, including those seeking asylum, and calls for harsh measures. The order could result in asylum claims grinding to a halt, or claimants being denied fair process while languishing in detention centres. Two days later, he signed the Protecting the Nation from Foreign Terrorist Entry into the United States executive order, essentially banning refugees and immigrants from seven predominately Muslim nations: Syria, Somalia, Yemen, Iran, Iraq, Libya and Sudan. It was not lost that this order was signed on Holocaust Remembrance Day. In the United States, ordinary people spilled onto roads and airports to protest, while lawyers filed court cases and corporations, politicians and human rights organizations spoke out. Canadians demonstrated in solidarity. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau tweeted his support for refugees: To those fleeing persecution, terror & war, Canadians will welcome you, regardless of your faith. Diversity is our strength. The only action, however, the Canadian government has taken is to allow those stranded in Canada by the order to apply for a permit to remain in our country temporarily. A late night parliamentary debate failed to convince the Canadian government to undertake any further concrete action in response to these orders. Yet, we are witnessing in the U.S. the very country-based discrimination that in July 2014 the Canadian Federal Court declared unconstitutional in Canada. In 2012, our former government had issued two orders-in-council; Canadian executive orders of sorts. These orders were not debated in the House of Commons, nor was there any prior stakeholder consultation. With the stroke of a pen, they became policy. The orders stripped health coverage from refugee claimants from so-called Designated Countries of Origin (DCOs) as the former government launched a media campaign, declaring claimants from certain countries bogus. The DCO list included Mexico and Hungary, countries that are condemned by human rights organizations for violating the rights of vulnerable groups, such as women facing domestic violence and LGBTQ individuals. In finding the orders unconstitutional, the court held the previous government to account not simply on the policy itself, but on its public rhetoric when it ruled that the policy perpetuates the stereotype that refugee claimants from DCO countries are queue-jumpers, bogus claimants and cheats. While we applaud Prime Minister Trudeau for standing up for refugees and minorities, using clear and unmistakable language to support diversity, words are not enough. We need action. Our government must pause our participation in the Safe Third Country Agreement and examine whether the U.S. is truly a safe place for refugees as a result of not only the two orders, but also their ripple effect. The government should also increase the number of refugees Canada will admit this year and work with international refugee organizations to identify refugees who have already been vetted by the U.S., but are now left in limbo by the executive order, and admit them to Canada. Indeed, it can work with the many groups of Canadians who have raised thousands upon thousands of dollars to privately sponsor refugees and who are now ready and waiting, while the people they wish to help languish in makeshift camps overseas. These actions will speak far louder than any words, and will send a clear message not only to Canadians, but to the world, that when we say diversity is our strength, we truly believe it. Upon the death of Elie Wiesel, Prime Minister Trudeau tweeted, Elie Wiesel spent his life in service to humanity, keeping the memory of the Holocausts horror alive. It is for us all to carry this torch. Now is the time to lift the torch. Michele Landsberg is the honorary co-chair, Gabriela Ramo is a member and Maureen Silcoff is president of the Jewish Refugee Action Network. Read more about: SHARE: Syangja murder mystery: Killers allegedly put calf in original grave site A dead body has been recovered from Chipleti of Aruchaur VDC-4 in Syangja district. It is learnt the body, yet unidentified, was dug and shifted from the original grave site to a nearby jungle after villagers started talking about the incident. If there is a negative story about the actions of a trustee or a school board one day, you can count on at least one journalist to dash off an article calling for the axing of all trustees the next. Last week was no different. It seems only with the position of trustee that the shameful actions of one creates a media call for the axing of all. Getting rid of school boards and further centralizing an already highly centralized system of public education would strip virtually all public accountability and silence the community voice. It is a board of trustees that can and should provide the necessary balance for an institution focused on the daily running of a complex and essential public service focused on students and their success. Under the Education Act, policy, budget approval, setting mission and vision, multi-year strategic planning, and advocacy are key responsibilities for Ontario trustees. Without trustees, governance certainly gets simpler but less accountable. And the result would likely be a widening of the already growing opportunity gap for students. Budgets should reflect what an organization values, but while restrictive provincial funding is an effective tool to drive province-wide priorities, responding to local needs can prove difficult. Strategic planning is critical when tied to board learning plans, but supportive programming may be lost if its not a provincial priority. Then there is a trustees democratic role as an elected community representative. Trustee elections in Ontario coincide with municipal elections, which is a good thing. In 2014, 55.1 per cent of eligible voters marked their Toronto Catholic District School Board trustee ballot in the ward I represent. City-wide, 54.6 per cent of Torontonians voted in the Toronto municipal election. Do we want to cut a model for local engagement at a time when many feel a democratic deficit already exists at all levels of government? Trustee constituency work includes meeting and working collaboratively with parents, students, school and local community partners, as well as other locally elected officials. People seek out trustees as facilitators when the system doesnt respond to their needs. Trustees use this local input, in part, to suggest policy change to address disparities related to fairness, equity or social justice issues. This representative role is seen by some as part of the difficulty with school board governance. Why do elected school boards exist, if not to represent parents, students and the community? Giving voice to local needs must inform a school boards central decisions. When trustees argue that this is not being met, it is staffs job to explain where it fits with competing system priorities. In this way a public and local decision-making dialogue takes place. Removing the layer of governance between the province and schools or creating regional authorities, as suggested last week by Martin Regg Cohn in the Star, would only perpetuate a deepening cycle of inequity. Students in affluent neighbourhoods with parents who have resources and connections will be fine. The opportunity gap will simply widen for less privileged students. No doubt about it: changes are needed. But, for the sake of students, lets ensure that any change strengthens not weakens student opportunity and public accountability. Jo-Ann Davis is Toronto Catholic District School Board Trustee for St. Pauls, Toronto-Centre, University-Rosedale and Spadina-Fort York. SHARE: For the first time in history, the entire Ontario Medical Association executive resigned on Monday. To many, this act symbolized sacrifice for the greater good of the OMA board, council and 34,000 doctors across Ontario. But what does it mean for our patients? This government has denied and dismissed an inconvenient truth: our health care system is broken. Patients see it, as do the health care workers who serve them. Yet few talk about it. Heres why: if hospitals protest, their funding is compromised. If nurses protest, they are fired. Doctors truly are the last line. And nothing fires physicians up more than suffering. The statistics are worrisome: for a population its size, Ontario has the fewest hospital beds, the worst nurse-to-patient ratios, the lowest number of physicians. Yet it has the highest number of bureaucrats. These statistics codify a terrible reality: My patients wait months now to see specialists; many wait years to get surgery. Caregiver burnout is escalating and long-term care is only accessible via crisis wait-lists. Hospitals cannot find beds let alone pillows for admitted patients. Waits in emergency departments are standing room only. Palliative patients are wait-listed for home care. Surgeries even pediatric and cancer surgeries are cancelled on a near-weekly basis. Patients now wait two months on average for a cancer diagnosis; many wait longer for treatment and yes, some die from the wait. This is what a health care system in crisis looks like. As less and less of the health care budget is invested in the fundamentals of care, more and more is diverted to bureaucracy. This is what happens when government policy ignores the voices of patients, caregivers and front-line providers. Bill 41, the Patients First Act is an obvious example. It passed despite widespread protest by doctors, nurses, OPSEU, caregivers, patient advocates and health system pundits. In an interview with TVOs Steve Paikin, Health Minister Eric Hoskins claimed Bill 41s massive bureaucratic reorganization will produce savings. Yet Hoskins would not promise to reinvest these savings back into patient care. That is poor policy. Bill 87, the Protecting Patients Act, is another example. Its goal makes sense: tighten regulations around sexual misconduct. The problem: Bill 87 is an end-run around the necessity of investigation and proof. As a woman, I believe that physicians found guilty of sexual misconduct should be punished. But Bill 87 skips legal process: any physician accused of any offence will be reported publicly, fined heavily and could have their licenses suspended, in some cases without notice. Presuming guilt before innocence is not justice. If the Liberals pass Bill 87, basic care will suffer from throat swabs to doctor visits to clinical exams. To avoid a witch hunt, doctors will stop examining breasts for lumps, testicles for cancer, groins for hernias, hearts for murmurs, abdomens for aneurysms and lungs for pneumonia. This is not fear-mongering. This is the measured analysis voiced by physicians across Ontario. Already, hospital administrators recommend nursing supervision for all patient encounters. For family doctors paying $100 000-$150,000 in annual overhead, an extra nurse is an impossible expense. Good medicine will collapse under fear. Healthy doctor-patient relationships build on trust that goes both ways. We must foster an environment where patients can trust doctors, and doctors can trust patients. Bill 87 is a giant leap in the wrong direction. Medicine is my calling. Its why I drive out at midnight to resuscitate a father of two. Its why surgeons in my community do a week of call straight. I still remember the first premie I saved. The first brain tumour I diagnosed. The first heart I cradled at 3 a.m. in the cardiac surgery suite. The first time I cried from overwhelming fatigue in the ICU. The first time I intubated a 3-year-old with a face broken in a car crash. The first time an obese patient lost enough weight to stop their blood pressure medication. My first palliative patient. My first house-call. The first patient who said, I trust you. Being a doctor is a call to duty. The consequences of poor government policy are severe and intolerable. So now, doctors will unite like never before to speak truth to power. People value their health care and their doctors. They will not let the Liberal government steamroll their care without a fight. Its time for this government to submit to the will of its people. Dr. Nadia Alam, a family doctor and anesthetist in Georgetown, is an advocate for physicians, patients and the health-care system. She serves on the OMA Council and will join the OMA board this spring. SHARE: Witch-hunts arent always sudden social paroxysms. They can be pursued slowly and with a veneer of legality a steady erosion of rights and decency tapping into, and reinforcing deep-rooted fear, stigma and prejudice. Their harm isnt limited solely to the injustices meted out to those directly targeted; they cast a broader shadow over entire communities. Its whats happening here, courtesy of the provincial Ministry of the Attorney General that has so far refused to recognize both science and human rights when it comes to prosecutions for alleged nondisclosure of HIV. People living with HIV are being charged with some of the most serious offences in our criminal law (such as aggravated sexual assault), even in situations where there has been no transmission of HIV, no realistic possibility of transmission, and no intent to transmit. Simply put, they are being criminalized for having HIV, caught up in a justice system, from policing to prosecution to prison, that too often disregards evidence and the public interest. (After the recent incident involving a Toronto police officer talking nonsense about how AIDS can be transmitted, its clear there is much work to be done on the policing front, too. Scientific consensus is that there is zero risk of HIV transmission through spit and a vanishingly minuscule possibility of transmission through a bite. At least scientifically speaking, were not in 1984.) For many years, a group of committed people living with HIV, lawyers, academics and other advocates has called on the attorney general to put an end to this overly broad use of the criminal law. In particular, this coalition has urged the adoption of sound guidelines for prosecutors to appropriately limit the use of criminal charges. Repeatedly, it has denounced problematic prosecutions that continue in Ontario prosecutions accompanied by media coverage that, according to a recent study, disproportionately features black and/or immigrant men and often reflects racist stereotypes. Repeatedly, the coalition has suggested remedies for this ongoing injustice, drawing on a province-wide consultation. But successive attorneys general have been unable or unwilling to rein in overzealous prosecutors, and have failed to develop prosecutorial guidance in line with science and numerous international recommendations. As it stands, a so-called HIV experts group of crown prosecutors within the ministry now runs this horrible show in Ontario, leading the charge against people living with HIV. From the outside, we dont know the groups composition or how they make their decisions to pursue a particular prosecution. Community organizations have requested a meeting. So, too, have scientific experts who have pointed out that a correctly used latex condom is 100 per cent effective in blocking passage of HIV, as well as the science now establishing that someone with an undetectable viral load (including as a result of effective treatment with anti-HIV drugs) is effectively non-infectious. Yet this group of HIV expert prosecutors has not responded. However, recent reports in the Star revealed an infamous guide for prosecuting cases of HIV nondisclosure, developed by Hamilton crown attorney Karen Shea who has played an active role in advancing such cases around the province for use by other prosecutors. (The government was ordered to release this document after years of wrangling in court.) Marcus McCann, a lawyer and activist who petitioned the court to release the guide noted that it takes a prosecution at all costs approach and doesnt take into consideration the kinds of situations in which a more lenient approach might be justified. It is therefore no surprise that we continue to see the misuse of charges of aggravated sexual assault, a criminal offence usually reserved for the most violent rapes, even in cases of consensual sex where there was negligible or no risk of HIV transmission, no actual transmission and no intent to transmit. Such prosecutions damage individual lives and public health. As stated last month by Canadas federal justice minister, ... the over-criminalization of HIV nondisclosure discourages many individuals from being tested and seeking treatment, and further stigmatizes those living with HIV or AIDS. Enough is enough. Attorney General Yasir Naqvi and Premier Wynne herself, who expressed her concern to us in-person three years ago must stop this witch-hunt. More than 500 letters of concern have, as of this week, been sent to both by outraged community members. We need an immediate moratorium on all prosecutions (except in those very rare cases of intentional transmission), and we need sound prosecutorial guidelines that respect science and human rights. Correction February 9, 2017: This article was edited from a previous version that misattributed a statement to a spokesperson from the Ministry of the Attorney General. The previous version incorrectly said a Ministry spokesperson admitted the guide takes a prosecution at all costs approach and doesnt take into consideration the kinds of situations in which a more lenient approach might be justified. In fact, this should have been attributed to Marcus McCann, a lawyer and activist who petitioned the court to release the guide. Richard Elliott is the executive director of the Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network, a member of the Ontario Working Group on Criminal Law and HIV Exposure. Stephen Lewis is board chair of the Stephen Lewis Foundation and co-director of AIDS-Free World, an international advocacy organization. SHARE: A York Region trustee who has publicly apologized for using a racial slur in reference to a black parent is taking an indefinite medical leave due to a concussion she suffered last fall, her son told the Star. Nancy Elgie, 82, who represents Georgina at the York Region District School Board, is taking time off to heal as per her doctors orders, said Stewart Elgie, a professor of environmental law at the University of Ottawa. In an interview on Monday, Stewart said Elgie suffered a severe head injury last October when she fell on the edge of a cement patio and cracked her head open. The injury required 20 staples in her skull to close the wound, he said. Since then, she has had problems with short-term memory and mixing up words. She has now seen a head injury specialist, who confirmed she suffered a concussion and is experiencing the usual symptoms, exacerbated by her age, said Stewart. On doctors orders, she is now taking time off to heal. Which is why she cant publicly speak in her own defence, he said, adding its unclear how long she will be off. Elgies leave comes amid many calls from parents and politicians for her to step down. Stewart would not confirm if his mother has plans to do so. As an elected official, Elgie cannot be forced out. My mother didnt and never has called anyone by a racist slur in her whole life, he said. She has worked for fairness and equality her whole life, she said. She is an 82-year-old woman, who had a concussion and misspoke. But until now, despite the head injury, Elgie has not taken time away from her trustee duties. She attended and participated in a board meeting last month, where trustees were drafting a response to the ministry of education regarding issues that have plagued the board over the past year. Last month, Elgie publicly apologized for using the n-word, after a meeting at the board, to refer to a black parent. In her apology, Elgie said when she made the comment in November, she was still suffering from the after-effects of a head injury earlier in the fall and struggled for words to identify parent Charline Grant, who had previously filed a human rights complaint about alleged discrimination facing her child. The words came out horribly wrong. But calls for her resignation have been growing from both politicians and the public. Last week, Michael Coteau, Ontarios Minister of Children and Youth Services, called the use of the word disgusting and said any politician that uses that type of term should not be in their job. A petition demanding she step down has surpassed 2,800 signatures, and a Twitter account called Nancy Elgie Check keeps daily tabs to see if Elgie is still in office. Monday was day 77. Loralea Carruthers, the new trustee chair for the board, confirmed that Elgie has been off for medical reasons. She said there is no formal policy and theres no provision in the Education Act for trustees to take a medical leave of absence, but all long-term absences must be authorized. According to the boards policy, trustees are not allowed to miss more than three regularly scheduled board meetings, after which their seat is declared vacant. But its unclear how that policy applies in the case of a medical leave. The board launched an investigation into Elgie in Decmber, after staff filed a complaint with the director after they overheard the slur. Stewart says there was one person who heard Nancys statement and apology, and saw the look on her face once she realized what shed said fully accepted that she had misspoken. He said others who overheard the remark did not get to hear the apology and explanation. Stewart says his mother accepted the investigators finding that what she said was a violation of policy, even though it was accidental, he said. She understands why its hurtful to people. She understands why people are upset. But people need to judge it based on the facts, he said. It doesnt change that its hurtful. Its a hurtful word and I understand peoples anger. But we shouldnt let the anger blind us to the facts of what happened, he said. Everyone who was there and heard it, accept that it was said by accident. Stewart said his mother plans to donate any earnings from her leave to the Jericho Youth Services of Georgina, a local charity. Incidents of racism and Islamophobia and how the board responds to them prompted Education Minister Mitzie Hunter to send in two reviewers to speak to staff, parents and students about whats going on. A report is expected in April. As the board grapples with controversy around Elgie, Patrick Case, one of the two investigators tasked with taking in complaints around the board sent out a tweet this weekend, talking about the high volume of people coming forward: We have so many deputants that we may never finish. Please submit new comments confidentially to YRDSBreviewers@ontario.ca . SHARE: It looks like BlackBerry undefined may be headed for a comeback in 2017, a result of a bold strategy to reinvent itself. Just four months after the company announced that it would switch its focus to software and cybersecurity by outsourcing its once-popular cellphone brand, BlackBerry has fulfilled that goal and will be able to push harder on other initiatives. On Monday, the company announced that it had inked a licensing deal with Indian telecom firm Optiemus Infracom to "design, manufacture, sell, promote, and support" BlackBerry phones in India, as well as in Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka. BlackBerry had previously partnered with Optiemus Infracom to market and distribute its phones. With this deal, BlackBerry now covers the world with its licensing agreements. In recent months, the company has signed similar agreements with PT BB Merah Putih in Indonesia and TCL, a China-based, multinational electronics company. Blackberry can potentially now focus on the exciting potential of the software field. BlackBerry was a pioneer in the smartphone industry. In 1999, the company debuted the first mobile device, a two-way pager, to have email capabilities. The Canadian firm dominated the cellphone market until Apple brought out the iPhone in 2007. Apple devices, as well as those using Alphabet's Android operating system, began to edge out the "CrackBerry." Apple is a holding inJim Cramer's Action Alerts PLUS Charitable Trust Portfolio. See how Cramerrates the stock here. Want to be alerted before Cramer buys or sellsAAPL?Learn more now. From a peak above $240 per share in July 2007, BlackBerry's stock fell to below $6 per share by 2013. Alphabet is a holding inJim Cramer's Action Alerts PLUS Charitable Trust Portfolio. See how Cramerrates the stock here. Want to be alerted before Cramer buys or sellsGOOGL?Learn more now. In 2014, the company had had enough, replacing CEO Thorsten Heins with John Chen. Chen, an experienced tech executive, began making moves to turn the struggling business around, including stepping away from the cellphone manufacturing business. At the same time, BlackBerry has been quietly purchasing software startups, particularly in the cybersecurity field. This has allowed BlackBerry to build an impressive suite of products called BlackBerry Secure. The company has also been expanding into autonomous vehicle technology, thanks to a partnership with Ford Motor. But there's still more BlackBerry can do as it increases its presence in software and also the internet of things (IoT). By making outsourcing deals such as Monday's with India, the company should be able to focus on its new avenues of revenue. In addition, the India licensing deal will expand BlackBerry's market to nearly 1.5 billion people, many of whom are part of a burgeoning, India middle class eager for technology. Currently, less than 20% of India's population own a smartphone, meaning there's huge growth and profit potential. Analysts are predicting India to soon become the world's second-largest smartphone market. Investors will want to be ready when that happens. --- BlackBerry is a great long-term play for investors. But what if I told you I know a way you can see a $67,548 per year - or more - in profitable trades right away just by following this simple step-by-step process? The trader who is sharing this secret has been right more than 8 out of 10 times, turning $5,000 into more than $5 million for himself. Click here to see how easy it is to follow his lead and collect thousands of dollars in "Free Money" every month. The author is an independent contributor who at the time of publication owned none of the stocks mentioned. Last Friday, President Donald Trump signed an executive order that could have a negative effect on retirement savings. This order, another in a litany of executive commands, may not have captured the headlines like his controversial immigration ban. And it was paired with another order affecting the Dodd-Frank Act, which may have overshadowed it. But even though the Obama administration's fiduciary rule may not be a regular topic at one's dinner table, that doesn't mean that Trump's attempted repeal wouldn't have an impact on investors' futures. Under former President Barack Obama, the Department of Labor crafted a change to the rules that govern financial advisers when it comes to helping clients save for retirement. The fiduciary rule, as it is known, was intended to prevent savers from becoming the victims of advisers who don't have their best interests in mind. The rule, which is slated to take effect April 10, prohibits advisers from favoring investment products that give kickbacks over others that would have a better impact on investors' long-term yields, as well as other practices that profit investment professionals at the expense of retirement savers. It does this by classifying any adviser who receives compensation of any sort for retirement account investment advice as a fiduciary, thus falling under ethical and legal obligations. Critics of the rule, including Trump's Wall Street cronies, argue that it would limit the amount and variety of advice that investors could be given and cost the advisory industry as much as $20 billion in lost profits. But this rule would have a positive impact on the retirement portfolios of millions of Americans, and his attempt to get rid of it clearly favors advisers over the country's middle class. That didn't stop Trump from ordering the DoL to explore rescinding or revising the rule. His press secretary, Sean Spicer, referred to the fiduciary rule as "a solution in search of a problem ... The Department of Labor exceeded its authority with this rule, and this is exactly the kind of government regulatory overreach the president was put in office to stop." Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts defended the rule in a report released last week, saying, "It's far too easy for an adviser to sell just one more annuity, regardless of whether it is a prudent choice for the investor, when a free vacation or an international cruise is waiting for him on the other side of the sale." She singled out annuities because they are popular among retirement savers looking for steady future income. President Trump With an annuity, in essence, an investor pays into it usually through a life insurance company, and in turn the annuity company promises to make payments at a future date or on a series of pre-determined dates. Investors can even invest in annuities that will pay them for the rest of their lives and provide a death benefit to boot. Although individuals can invest in annuities within an individual retirement account or other qualified plan, annuity contracts on their own can also let investors save retirement dollars on a tax-deferred basis. Of course, on top of preventing advisers from collecting cushy kickbacks from selling some annuities, the fiduciary rule would increase compliance costs. And some analysts expect that the rule's implementation would decrease annuity sales by 30% to $40 billion. However, the new rule would benefit annuity investors. On top of receiving more upfront communication from providers, they would also gain from more investor-friendly surrender charges such as reduced penalties for early withdrawal, thanks to decreased commissions. In addition, the annuity providers would need to develop products with improved benefits and more generous yields to a better-informed public. No longer can an annuity company just dangle the carrot of bonuses and commissions in front of the noses of advisers and agents. They must also put some effort into making the products themselves better and more appealing. If Trump is successful in doing away with the fiduciary rule, investors would benefit from looking at alternative income producers such as dividend stocks. The stocks on the so-called Dividend Aristocrat list have all increased their dividend yields for at least 25 consecutive years. We are talking legacy stocks such as 3M (MMM) , Clorox (CLX) and Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) . Although these aren't sexy companies, they all have solid businesses and a history of making steady payouts to investors. Even though Obama's regulatory measures may not survive Trump, these companies certainly will. --- If you want to learn a strategy that will essentially "Trump-proof" your portfolio, handing you as much as $67,548 in extra income over the next 12 months, take a look at this report. My colleague, Jim Fink, has created a strategy that allows him to receive steady payments... practically guaranteed. The author is an independent contributor who at the time of publication owned none of the stocks mentioned. Did you miss last night's "Mad Money" on CNBC? If so, here are some of Jim Cramer's top takeaways. Don't get distracted by airport protests, Cramer told viewers, the airlines are still in great shape and Alaska Air (ALK) in particular is one of the hottest stocks in the whole market. For years, Cramer avoided recommending any airline, as price competition made the group practically uninvestable. But shares of Alaska Air are up $22 since the election, thanks in part to its $4 billion acquisition of Virgin America. The deal should save the combined company $255 million and give it the scale it needs to compete with the four major airlines. Cramer said even without the Virgin deal, he was a fan of Alaska, along with Southwest Airlines (LUV) . Alaska has no international exposure, friendly labor relations and is a solid operator. Shares trade at 12.2 times earnings, a premium to United Continental (UAL) at 10.9 times earnings, but also a slight discount to Southwest at 13.7 times earnings. Still worth buying. Alaska Air will report earnings later this week and Cramer warned that shares are priced for perfection. He recommended buying a little bit ahead of the quarter, but then waiting for a pullback before buying more. Meanwhile, back on TheStreet.com: Cramer looks at what deregulation prospects mean for oil and gas companies and how investors can benefit from Trump's desire for energy independence. Check out Cramer's strategies with a free subscription to Real Money. Cramer and the AAP Team are telling their investment club members what they should do about Newell Brands (NWL) in light of Monday's selloff and what the slide means for Magellan Midstream Partners (MMP) . Get in on it with a free subscription to Action Alerts PLUS. Search Jim Cramer's "Mad Money" trading recommendations using our exclusive "Mad Money" Stock Screener. To read a full recap of this episode of "Mad Money," click here. To watch replays of Cramer's video segments, visit the Mad Money page on CNBC. To sign up for Jim Cramer's free Booyah! newsletter with all of his latest articles and videos please click here. At the time of publication, Cramer's Action Alerts PLUS had positions in MMP and NWL. Tipping the scales In most of the shops we see digital scales today. It was only a few years ago that most shopkeepers used the two-pan balance for weighing. Nokia (NOK) shares rose firmly in Paris Tuesday amid speculation it will launch a new android smartphone later this month at an annual electronics event. Shares in the Espoo-based company rose 2.6% to 4.51 at 10:20 GMT. The stock has advanced more than 4% over the past five days, during which details regarding the new smartphone started emerging, and has rallied 13% over the past three months. The new smartphone, so far known as the Nokia P1, is expected to run on Android 7.0 Nougat out-of-the-box, and to be equipped with the latest Snapdragon 835 SoC and 6GB RAM, according to multiple tech media reports. The device is expected to have a 5.3-inch display with Gorilla Glass 5, and a camera with a Carl Zeiss lens. The P1 is expected to be marketed as a premium-range handset, to be sold at between $800 and $950, depending on the storage capacity of 128 GB or 256 GB. Nokia would not comment on the details when contacted by TheStreet, instead noting the company will make a further statement at the upcoming Mobile World Congress event in Barcelona on Feb. 26. Nokia, which sold its mobile business to Microsoft (MSFT) in 2014, now gains revenue from mobile device businesses through licensing. Last week, Nokia said revenue at its Nokia Technologies business, which includes the licensing business, advanced 3% year on year in fiscal 2016. The new device will follow the Nokia 6, which a Nokia licensee HMD Global unveiled last month as the first Nokia-branded Android smartphone in three years. The mid-range device, to be equipped with the Snapdragon 430 processor, has gone on sale exclusively in China. HMD Global, which is the sole licensee of the Nokia brand for Android-run mobile phones and tablets, is expected to unveil the new device in Barcelona, according to reports, and has said Nokia brand smartphones will be launched in the first half of this year. Also based in Espoo, HMD was formed in May 2016, when it acquired the feature phone business from Microsoft. As the sole licensee of the Nokia brand for Android-run mobile phones and tablets, the company is made up mostly of ex-Nokia employees. While there's a lot of talk in Washington about repealing and replacing the Affordable Care Act, one health-care CEO says corporate tax reform would be more meaningful to his company. "We're largely an American manufacturer, 60% of our sales are outside of the U.S.," explained Dow Wilson, CEO of Varian (VAR) , a company that specializes in radiation oncology. "Most of our competitors are outside the U.S., with much lower tax rates. For us to be competitive long-term, we need to figure that out and solve that problem." In its most recent quarter, Varian reported a 10% growth in global orders, but Wilson sees a large potential for stronger growth. "In the United States, about 50 [%] to 60% of patients get radiation as part of their cancer treatment. In China, that number is 18%. So we have a huge growth opportunity outside the U.S." Wilson is optimistic that his business won't be impacted by changes in the ACA, because most cancer patients are on Medicare, which isn't a focal point of discussions on changing Obamacare. Wilson says that while there's still a lot of work that has to be done long-term regarding health-care reform, it is encouraging that in terms of cancer treatment, [because] outcomes are much better than they were in the past. "We've made huge progress. Twenty-five, 30 years ago, if you were diagnosed with breast cancer as an example, the five-year survival rate was about 50%. Today the five-year survival rate is over 90%," said Wilson. "So we've made a huge impact as we transform the disease from a really scary thing, to a manageable chronic disease." TMLP holds merger talks with like-minded Madhesi parties The Tarai Madhes Loktantrik Party has intensified unification talks with other regional parties including the Sadbhawana Party as pressure for merger grows from their constituencies. Oil States International, Inc. engages in the provision of manufactured products and services used in the drilling, completion, subsea, production and infrastructure sectors of the oil and natural gas industry, as well as in the industrial and military sectors. It operates through the following segments: Well Site Services, Downhole Technologies and Offshore or Manufactured Products. The Well Site Services segment includes a broad range of equipment and services that are used to drill for, establish and maintain the flow of oil and natural gas from a well throughout its life cycle. The Downhole Technologies segment provides oil and gas perforation systems and downhole tools in support of completion, intervention, wireline and abandonment operations. It also designs, manufactures and markets its consumable engineered products to oilfield service as well as exploration and production companies. The Offshore or Manufactured Products segment designs, manufactures, and markets capital equipment utilized on floating production systems, subsea pipeline infrastructure, and offshore drilling rigs and vessels, along with short-cycle and other products. The company was founded in July 1995 an Morgan Stanley is the 6th largest financial institution in the US. The company is ranked 61st on the Forbes Fortune 500 list and is the 39th largest bank in the world. A financial holding company, Morgan Stanley provides a full range of financial services to clients around the world. Morgan Stanley was formed in 1935 as a result of the Glass-Steagall Act. Glass-Steagall separated commercial and investment banking in a way that forced the then-largest bank J.P. Morgan & Co to split into two groups. J.P. Morgan & Co. chose to retain the commercial side of the business while partners Henry S. Morga, grandson of J.P., and Harold Stanley took the investment end. In its first year, Morgan Stanley did 24% of the IPO business and maintains a lions share of the market to this day. The original company existed and grew through acquisitions until 1987 when it merged with Dean Witter Discover & Co. The new Morgan Stanley Dean Witter Discover & Co existed for 14 years until 2001 when the name was shortened back to Morgan Stanley. The bank is credited in part with both beginning and ending the financial crisis of 2007/2008. The Process Driven Trading unit lost $300 million in one day due to a short-squeeze that popped the bubble in the housing market. After teetering on the brink of failure Morgan Stanley agreed to become a bank holding company regulated by the Federal Reserve, a key factor in the original decision to split from parent J.P. Morgan & Co. Ironically when given the chance, present-day J.P. Morgan refused to buy Morgan Stanley but that was for the better. Today, Morgan Stanley operates through three segments via offices in 41 countries and employs more than 75,000 people. Revenue in 2021 topped $49 billion and total assets topped $1.15 trillion. The operating segments are Institutional Securities, Wealth Management, and Investment Management segments. The Institutional Securities segment is by far the largest and most profitable. It offers a range of services and products for businesses, institutions, and entities that include capital raising, strategic advisory, underwriting, advice on M&A, restructuring, and real estate. The Wealth Management segment provides brokerage and investment advisory services for individuals and employers. The services include brokerage, financial planning, company stock-plan administration, insurance, mortgage loans, lines of credit, and retirement planning. The Investment Management segment provides investment products to a range of institutions, organizations, corporations, and governments. -CORD leader Raila Odinga is on the electoral body's case yet again -Having been torrid on the electoral body throughout the registration process, he has yet another theory -According to him, the problem may not necessarily be due to technicalities, but with the personnel themselves CORD leader Raila Odinga has come up with yet another theory, regarding how the elections will end up being stolen in the long run. Raila Odinga last week pulled up in Lavington registration centres with a list of names that fostered irregularities READ ALSO: You may not be able to vote even if you registered. Here is why (Details) According to Raila Odinga, there are some unscrupulous individuals within the ICT department of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission whom may be conspiring to interfere with the ongoing voter registration. Install TUKO App To Read News For FREE He was speaking to journalists in Kisumu on Monday, February 6 where he openly questioned the integrity of the officials who had been inherited from the tenure of former IEBC chairperson Isaack Hassan. Former IEBC chairperson Isaack Hassan READ ALSO: Peter Kenneth dangerously exposes his life as he campaigns in one of Nairobi's sprawling slums (photos) "There are particular individuals, especially those in the ICT department, whose integrity is in question. They are the ones tarnishing the name of the commission," He was quoted by the Standard. He was speaking alongside former National Assembly Speaker Kenneth Marende, who is set to leave his Kenya Power post to tender his candidature for Nairobi governor on an ODM ticket. Raila Odinga with Kenneth Marende READ ALSO: Supporters of 2 Jubilee heavyweights clash in Murang'a The IEBC themselves conceded to have a number of flaws in their system, going on to publish names of 78,000 names of individuals who had shared or non-existent Identification card numbers. According to Raila, these anomalities are a result of a plot by some individuals withing the electoral body. Watch the video below: Have anything to add to this article or suggestions? Share with us on news@tuko.co.ke Source: TUKO.co.ke Ukraine and the International Monetary Fund discuss the technical aspects to get the next tranche. Ukrainian Finance Minister Oleksandr Danylyuk said this at todays press conference, an Ukrinform correspondent reports. "We are now at the final stage and already discuss the technical aspects to get the next tranche [from the IMF]," Danylyuk said. The Minister noted that cooperation with the IMF was a positive signal not only for the domestic investors but for the foreign partners as well. "Ukraine is on the path of reforms, so we have the support of such major organizations as the International Monetary Fund," he said. ol The European Union will assist Ukraine in expanding the companies of Dnipropetrovsk region to European markets. For this purpose, a special business support center will be created so that European consultants can help Ukrainian entrepreneurs to find ways to enter international markets. EU Ambassador to Ukraine Hugues Mingarelli and Chairman of Dnipropetrovsk Regional State Administration Valentyn Reznychenko stated this following a joint meeting, Dnipropetrovsk State Administrations press service reports. "Dnipropetrovsk region is interested in expanding trade relations with the European Union. The team of Dnipropetrovsk Regional State Administration supports entrepreneurs in their expanding to the European markets. We hold special trainings, weve created a business council, where entrepreneurs share their experience, find business partners, jointly solve pressing issues. Together with European partners were planning to create an educational center for entrepreneurs, said Reznychenko. According to the administrations press service, the education center is planned to be open at the Dnipropetrovsk Chamber of Commerce. It will provide consulting services and trainings for Ukrainian entrepreneurs. Especially for this project, the EU will send its consultants so that to help enterprises of Dnipropetrovsk region to enter international markets. iy Ukraine and Azerbaijan have agreed to ban the import deliveries of goods produced within the occupied territories of Ukraine and Azerbaijan without a permit from official authorities. Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Ukraine to the Republic of Azerbaijan Alexander Mishchenko has stated this, Interfax-Azerbaijan news agency reports. During a visit by Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko to Baku, the heads of the two states instructed the chiefs of Ukrainian and Azerbaijani customs authorities to meet and discuss an issue of imports from the occupied territories of the two countries. The chiefs of the customs authorities met and developed a mechanism according to which products from such territories could be imported if only they were licensed by central authorities, Kyiv and Baku, Mishchenko said. In particular, products originating in Nagorno-Karabakh can cross the Ukrainian border only with the approval of Baku. The similar approach is applied to products originating in Donbas by Azerbaijan. For example, if sparkling wine is labelled as Ukraine, Artemivsk plant (Donbas), everything is fine. But if it denotes Novorossiya or something like that, then naturally Azerbaijan will not accept it. The similar approach is applied to products originating in Nagorno-Karabakh, Mishchenko noted. According to him, rules and regulations came into effect as soon as the heads of the two states gave their instructions. There is no need in signing any intergovernmental agreements for this purpose, as the chiefs of the customs authorities have already signed the relevant document. mk A comprehensive pressure on Russia, exerted by Ukraine and its international partners, is needed for release of Ukrainian political prisoners. Ukrainian Parliament Vice Speaker, Presidential Commissioner for peaceful settlement of the conflict in Donbas Iryna Herashchenko said this at the presentation of film "Prisoners of the Kremlin", an Ukrinform correspondent reports. She noted that in order to free Ukrainian political prisoners as soon as possible, the comprehensive pressure on Russia and solidarity among all those involved in relevant negotiations, i.e. diplomats, Minsk Group, the Security Service and the international partners of Ukraine, are needed. "Two priority issues are raised at the meetings at the international level and the Presidents meetings. The first one is the security issue and the requirement to stop Russias attacks on Ukrainians. The second requirement is to stop killing Ukrainians in Russian prisons," she said. ol President Trumps Cabinet nominees have encountered a far more combative opposition in the Senate than their predecessors. Today, 50 senators sided against Betsy DeVos, Trumps Education pick the latest example of a confirmation process increasingly driven by stark policy differences and partisan political concerns. Opposing senators were mostly deferential to the presidents picks until about four decades ago, and more voted no on President Barack Obamas picks than those of any previous president. Trumps nominees are on pace to break that record. Both Republican senators under Obama and now Democrats under Trump have fought political battles on this new front by requesting that legislators go on the record for or against each nominee in a roll call vote. Eight of Obamas initial nominees were easily confirmed without that record of how each senator voted. None of Trumps nominees have been confirmed this way. In the past, whole presidencies might have passed without a single roll call vote on the Cabinet. The Senate often confirms several nominees to a new presidents Cabinet with zero recorded no votes. Since Democrats ended the filibuster on Cabinet nominations in 2013, a minority party has little power to stop an undesired pick. Senators can stage a display of dissent, request a roll call and cast a no vote. A more political process Experts said the 1980s were a turning point. More so than his predecessors, President Ronald Reagan prioritized ideology when making his appointments, using the process to install conservatives across government. In this increased politicization, Congress found more reason to push back on the executive branch. This trend continues today. The minority party is much less willing to go along with the presidents choice, said Lauren Cohen Bell, the dean of academic affairs at Randolph-Macon College, who is an expert on presidential appointments. They dont want to be seen as capitulating to whatever the White Houses partisan perspectives or goals might be. Bell, whose 2002 book Warring Factions explored what is driving these changes, said interest groups have seized on the confirmations process, especially to politically charged departments such as Labor and Interior, as a way to attack policy positions they oppose, as was the case with DeVos and school vouchers. Senators use the nomination process to warn the administration of their opinions on policy battles they expect to come up. Since the filibuster remains on legislation, Trump will need to persuade 60 senators to support some of his key agenda items. Even senators who eventually supported his nominees have fired warning shots, such as when Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) questioned Secretary of State-designate Rex Tillersons stance on Russia. No policies are settled here, but clearly the opposition is laying out the groundwork for what they expect to be later policy debates, James King, a professor at the University of Wyoming, said. While a drawn out fight can slow the presidents momentum and drain political capital at the start of his first term, its almost unheard of that the opposition could vote down nominees on policy complaints alone. Usually some sort of illegal behavior in the nominees background contributes to their withdrawal. Democrats have pledged that several other Trump nominees will face a Democratic wall of no votes in the coming weeks, but its likely that Republicans will get most of their picks. In the last 80 years, only two Cabinet nominations have made it to a floor vote and failed, in part because presidents try to pick experienced nominees who will pass the Senates test. But attempting to block a nominee or more precisely, showing their supporters that theyre attempting it is one of the only options for Democrats, who remain largely shut out of power. At times, Morgan Goulds new play, I Wanna F---ing Tear You Apart, is so authentically rendered you feel as if youd hacked into someones phone and read all their texts. And then, at other times, the piece lets you down so disconsolately that you want to stop the proceedings and cry: Do-over! Gould, who wrote and directed this Studio Theatre world premiere, has some smart and funny things to say about obsessive friendship, in a story set in an Upper Manhattan apartment shared by a gay man and a straight woman who gossip and snuggle and chafe and dance around frantically to loud music in the wee hours of the morning. (The title comes from a dance song by the rock group She Wants Revenge.) The play follows a year in the urbane, wiseacre relationship of Sam (Nicole Spiezio) and Leo (Tommy Heleringer), struggling writers whove been friends since college. Both have other casual romantic partners, but the most intense kinship in their lives is the platonic one involving each other. Theyre the only two members of what they call their fat/gay club, owing in part to the fact that Sam is extremely heavy, and that theyve both taken a certain relish in their outsider status. Now that theyre in their 30s, the question of how much that posture cultivated initially as a pre-emptive strike against social rejection has outlived its appeal for them serves as a crux of the play. The intimacy forged by Sam and Leo and evoked so naturally by Spiezio and Heleringer animates the comedy. It feeds on the quick minds of characters who waste too much time on reality TV and worry inordinately about their delicate equilibrium being upset, if one of them should find too much success, or happiness, outside their fat/gay cocoon. And of course, inevitably, their bond is threatened with the arrival of Chloe (Anna ODonoghue), Leos effervescent friend from the office, whom Leo introduces to Sam as his work wife. ODonoghue has down perfectly what might be called Passive-Aggressive Third-Wheel Syndrome: the overly chirpy chumminess of someone whos too eager to make a good first impression and at the same time is looking for her moment to cause just the right amount of chaos. Sam has her number and, in one of the plays best scenes, Spiezio shows us the degree to which Chloe has unnerved Sam, in a speech of outstandingly suppressed fury. And then into this impressive structure Gould swings a wrecking ball of uncanny illogic. It has to do with the novel Sam has painstakingly composed, landed a literary agent for and, it seems, positioned herself for the big leap into that tantalizing world of something more. Anyone remotely familiar with how books get published and even those for whom that world is a mystery will likely be confounded by a play that can exhibit such an admirable command of character and yet such a lazy attitude toward plot resolution. (The epilogue Gould tacks on further betrays the pieces psychological realism.) The apartment that set designer Luciana Stecconi builds for Sam and Leo is niftily detailed, down to the witty posters and crooked Venetian blinds, and costume designer Ivania Stack draws inspirationally on the contents of the collective millennial bedroom closet. Goulds eye and ear are good, but if she could work out a more credible outcome, I Wanna F---ing Tear You Apart would be better. I Wanna F---ing Tear You Apart Written and directed by Morgan Gould. Set, Luciana Stecconi; costumes, Ivania Stack; lighting, Andrew R. Cissna; sound, Justin Schmitz; dramaturgy, Adrien-Alice Hansel; production stage manager, Elisabeth Ribar. About 1 hour 45 minutes. Tickets, $20-$55. Through Feb. 19 at Studio Theatre, 1501 14th St. NW. Visit studiotheatre.org or call 202-332-3300. The authors beloved meat thermometer. (Deb Lindsey/For The Washington Post) One in a collection of essays celebrating things we love. If I didnt love my digital meat thermometer before the holidays, I certainly did afterward. No one needs to tell you the holidays are stressful, but last years were particularly rough on my family: Our mother died in November, and her three adult children agreed to wait to hold a service until Dec. 28, when the kids would still be home from school but the Christmas madness would be behind us. The family could then gather in Kansas City, Mo., to celebrate Moms life and the holidays, a little late on both counts. [Want to tell us about things you love? Join our live online chat with readers from noon to 1 p.m. Wednesday.] We agreed to meet on Dec. 26 and treat that evening as our Christmas. I offered to make dinner, a proposal that seemed to generate as much anxiety as excitement. My younger sister, Judith Lawson, wondered whether we would have time to make the final funeral arrangements and still get dinner on the table by 6 p.m. for a pack of hungry teenagers. Her concerns were legit: I have a reputation for promising the moon and the stars and delivering Starbucks instead. [I finally got what I needed to make coffee my way] But I had my own worries. Judith is a lawyer, not a cook. Whats more, she and her husband, Chris (a lawyer, too), had only partially moved into their new home, the site of the family gathering. Many items remained at their old house, including such unimportant stuff as kitchen tools. (Earlier in the year, when my mom was in hospice, I decided to make runzas for our clan of displaced Nebraskans, which would have been easy had there been a stand mixer in the house. Or a cutting board. Or a even a large bowl.) Despite our mutual concerns, I charged ahead with dinner. I planned a basic, hearty, Midwestern meal: a spice-rubbed beef tenderloin with whipped mashed potatoes. My wife, Spirits columnist M. Carrie Allan, offered to make a Caesar salad. It wouldnt be fancy, but it also wouldnt be delivery. I already felt empty, with both parents now gone. I couldnt stand the thought of feeding empty calories to the family. Halfway through the flight to Kansas City, I had a thought that made me sit bolt upright in my seat: I bet Judith and Chris dont have a meat thermometer! When we arrived, my sister and brother-in-law had bought all the ingredients for the meal including, without prompting, a meat thermometer. Lawyers: They think of everything. Even though it was a cheap stick thermometer, I figured it would do the trick. But when I plunged it into the tenderloin, just a minute after the beef went into the oven, I knew I was in trouble. The thermometer registered around 120 degrees, a shade short of my desired temperature of 130. Impossible. The blasted thing had to be off by at least 50 degrees. With more time, Id have calibrated the thermometer with boiling water, but I was already running late, and those potatoes werent going to mash and fold themselves. To determine the internal temperature, Id have to rely on touch, the home-cooking equivalent of navigating a bedroom in the dark. I was kicking myself for not packing my sleek, compact and reliable Polder thermometer, with its digital pop-up screen and magnet on the back. Ive been using the gadget for years to monitor the internal temperature of brisket during its tedious 14 hours in the smoker. Ive used the device so often, its probe cord has turned black with soot. In fact, in December, I bought a clean backup for a holiday party that Carrie and I hosted, and I used it to cook the same tenderloin that Id later make for my family. The beef for the party was perfect, its exterior crusty and caramelized and its interior red and juicy to the very edges of the roast. The one I cooked in Kansas City? Well, it was good, a few degrees past medium-rare. And my heart rate was also a few beats above normal without my trusty thermometer. Adapted from an online discussion. Dear Carolyn: I am a white girl with a brown boyfriend whose parents are Muslim and legally immigrated to America many years ago. Accordingly, I am especially disturbed by the xenophobia circulating around the recent election. I have one of those older relatives who thinks very differently than I do about the world. She recently posted something on Facebook that was not quite a direct insult to my boyfriend, but is enough for me to decide that I am done with this person. Ive never much liked her, and we are not close with that part of the family. However, Im not interested in causing family drama, so Im taking subtle steps to avoid this person. But this relative still sends my brother and me cash gifts. In years past, I have thanked her dutifully in writing. At this point, I dont want her money and definitely dont want to communicate with her. But I also dont want to start drama by telling her not to send me anything. (Nick Galifianakis/for The Washington Post) The best solution I can think of is to donate the money to a charity that promotes cultural understanding, not thank her, and continue until she notices shes not being thanked. Good plan? Bad plan? Civil Excommunication? Civil Excommunication?: If it helps, I thought of your solution before I even got to that part of your question: Donate the money to diversity-promoting causes. Except Id send a kind thank-you note indicating exactly where the money went. Its polite and will convey the message with the minimum possible drama. Bonus, if shes not plugged-in enough to recognize, say, the Southern Poverty Law Center, then you get to keep giving her money to your cause in the broad light of day. Dear Carolyn: So I have a buddy, nice guy. We hang out, pretty superficial, still fun. Our wives are really good friends, and his wife texts my wife about my friends lack of respect for her. I of course have not heard any of this from him and cannot approach him about it because I have only heard one side. Its a very odd situation. On the positive side, I think my wife has a new appreciation for me!!! Haha! Still, its a tough situation, especially for the wife. Not saying I could even help, but, could I? Texting Texting: You say youve only heard one side, but youve witnessed this couples interactions, right? So, does his disrespect occur on your watch? You can help for sure in that case. You can keep an ear out for, say, nasty comments he makes to her in your presence, and you can come to her defense lightly and appropriately to the context, so the point is made without derailing the mood. You tread gently not to preserve your happy social evening, but instead so both people get your important message Hey, I heard that (to him) and Ive got your back (to her) while still saving face. If the disrespect isnt on display when youre out with this couple, though, then there isnt much you can do besides follow your wifes lead because its between your buddy and his wife, and between your wife and his. When in doubt, respond to what you witness, not what you hear secondhand. THE DISTRICT Boy, 17, shot to death Sunday in Northeast A 17-year-old boy was shot and killed Sunday night in Northeast Washington, police said. About 9:35 p.m., officers responded to the unit block of Berns Street NE near East Capitol Street for a report of gunshots, D.C. police said in a statement. They found Derronn Stover of Southeast Washington suffering from gunshot wounds. He was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead, the statement said. Dana Hedgpeth and Justin Wm. Moyer One person injured in collision with firetruck A vehicle collided with a firetruck on the way to a blaze in Southeast Washington early Monday, leaving one person seriously injured, officials said. The incident happened about 5 a.m. as the firetruck headed to Alabama Avenue and Naylor Road SE for a report of a fire in a vacant home, authorities said. The vehicle and firetruck crashed near Southern Avenue and Valley Terrace SE. No one was injured in the fire. The cause of the collision was not immediately known. Dana Hedgpeth Police welcome a new addition to eagles nest D.C. police may soon have one more citizen to protect and serve: a baby bald eagle. Liberty and Justice are bald eagles who have made the D.C. police academy in Southwest Washington their home for more than a decade. On Monday, the department announced that a lone egg recently appeared in the nest. Liberty, the mom-to-be, will have to incubate the egg and any additional eggs that might appear for about 35 days, while dad-to-be Justice will be tasked with securing food for the fragile symbols of Americas greatness, once hatched. Sometime next month, the youngster will be ready for its first meal in the eagles oak tree aerie 110 feet above the academy. Justin Wm. Moyer MARYLAND Passenger dies, driver is hurt in collision A man was killed and another was injured in a crash Sunday night that likely involved alcohol, officials in Prince Georges County said. The crash happened about 8:45 p.m. near Brandywine and Gibbons Church roads in Brandywine, Md. The vehicle was headed south on Brandywine when, for reasons unknown, the driver lost control and hit a utility pole. The driver suffered injuries that were not life-threatening, police said, but the passenger was pronounced dead at the scene. Police later identified the man who died as James Hawkins, 46, of Northwest Washington. Candidates for the D.C. Police Department are fitted with Kevlar vests and gun holsters before their physical ability test at the Metropolitan Police Academy in Washington in August 2016. (Michael Robinson Chavez/The Washington Post) Emergency legislation to award $63.8 million in raises and retention bonuses for police officers failed to muster the votes it needed to pass through the D.C. Council on Tuesday. Council member Vincent C. Gray (D-Ward 7) introduced the bill last month, saying it was needed to stanch departures from the Districts police department at a time when residents are increasingly anxious about violent crime. Some council members said that Grays proposal which would grant police officers eligible for retirement a bonus equal to twice their salary if they agree to stay for an additional five years is worth considering. But they said it should be looked at in conjunction with other retention efforts, including those aimed at younger officers. A former mayor who some speculate could be a potent challenger to Mayor Muriel E. Bowser in 2018, Gray has moved to the forefront of city hall discussions of how to fight crime, an area in which Bowser may be vulnerable. Despite stop-and-start discussions over the past two years, the mayor and council have yet to agree on a comprehensive response to the citys elevated homicide rate. Gray said the councils vote was disappointing but that he would continue to push for legislation to boost the size of the police force. The issue is larger than whether this passes or not, he said in an interview before the vote. We have elevated the issue in a way that I dont think it has been elevated in the recent past. There were 162 homicides in the District in 2015, Bowsers first year in office, a year-over-year increase of 54 percent. The number declined to 135 in 2016. Both figures are higher than those during Grays single term as mayor but still far below the homicide rates of the 1990s, when Washington was known as the nations murder capital. Council member Jack Evans (D-Ward 2), who voted for the bill, said Washingtonians are worried about violent crime, even if rates are low by historical standards. Even though the city may appear safer, statistically, there is an anxiety that its not, he said. In addition to Gray and Evans, Kenyan R. McDuffie (D-Ward 5) and Trayon White (D-Ward 8) voted in support of the measure. Council member and Judiciary Committee Chairman Charles Allen (D-Ward 6) said Grays retention bonus is among multiple proposals his committee will examine as it weighs an appropriate size for the police force and retention and recruitment incentives. Allen said in an interview that he wanted to put together a comprehensive strategy for the totality of the [hiring] pipeline, from the front to the middle to the end. He said he was also concerned about the relatively few D.C. residents on the force. Out of 3,762 officers who make up the D.C. police, Allen said just 619 live in the city. On Tuesday, Allen introduced a bill that would offer up to $10,000 in assistance for police officers, firefighters and emergency medical technicians who want to buy a home in the District. That proposal will go before his committee for deliberation. D.C. police officials have long argued that 4,000 or more officers are needed to effectively protect the city. In 2015, the number of city officers dropped to a 10-year-low fewer than 3,800 thanks in large part to a wave of retirements. Gray wants the city to add another 500 officers. Council member Elissa Silverman (I-At Large) said she wanted more evidence to determine the best size of the police force, in addition to further efforts to retain younger officers who leave after several years for suburban departments. We dont want our officers to stay just another five years., she said. We want them to stay another 25 years. Aaron C. Davis contributed to this report. The Senate confirmed Betsy DeVos as education secretary Tuesday by the narrowest of margins, with Vice President Pence casting a historic tiebreaking vote after senators deadlocked over her fitness for the job. DeVos now takes the helm of the Education Department with questions about whether and how the polarizing fight over her confirmation will affect her power to advance the Trump administrations agenda. The entire Democratic caucus of 48 senators voted against DeVos, as did two Republicans, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Susan Collins of Maine, who said they did not think that DeVos was qualified for the job. The remaining 50 Republicans voted for her, setting up a 50-50 tie that could be broken only with Pences vote. It marked the first time that a vice presidents tiebreaker was needed to confirm a Cabinet secretary, according to Daniel Holt, an assistant historian in the Senate Historical Office. And it was the first time a vice president cast any tiebreaker in the Senate since Richard B. Cheney did so nine years ago. DeVos, the fifth of President Trumps Cabinet secretary choices to win confirmation, was sworn in Tuesday evening. The next vote is expected Wednesday on the nomination of Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) to be attorney general. He, too, will draw strong Democratic opposition. Other nominees are advancing to the floor. On Tuesday, a Senate committee unanimously approved David Shulkins nomination to lead the Department of Veterans Affairs. The DeVos vote showed the limits of the Senate minority partys power: Democrats can protest Trumps nominees, but they cant block them. Republicans defended DeVos as an outsider who will challenge the status quo and as a conservative who will reduce the federal footprint in public schools, stripping away regulations they see as burdensome. The GOP is keen to change course after eight years in which the Obama Education Department exercised unusual influence over the nations schools. Betsy DeVos has committed: No more Washington mandates, no more national school board, said Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), chairman of the Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, on Tuesday. I urge a yes vote. Opponents said that DeVos doesnt understand or believe in public schools and that she is not committed to enforcing civil rights laws. Those arguments, coupled with her rocky confirmation hearing performance in January, sparked a popular backlash and a level of partisan opposition unprecedented for an education secretary nominee. Is this a knowledgeable candidate who understands the federal law? Is this a candidate who comes to us without conflicts of interest? Is this a candidate who is willing to stand up and be the defender of all young children in the schools? said Sen. Patty Murray (Wash.), the ranking Democrat on the committee. To me . . . she is not. Trump weighed in via Twitter: Senate Dems protest to keep the failed status quo. Betsy DeVos is a reformer, and she is going to be a great Education Sec. for our kids! he wrote. DeVos retweeted the presidents message, and she plans to address the department staff on Wednesday afternoon. Dozens of Democrats took to the Senate floor to speak out against DeVos for most of the day Monday and through the night into Tuesday, a 24-hour effort to persuade one more Republican to break party ranks and derail the confirmation. They failed, but their demonstration was welcomed by many of the parents, teachers and activists who had marched against DeVos and flooded Senate phone lines to oppose her nomination. Since the Education Department was established in 1979, nominees to lead it have always been easily confirmed, often on voice votes or with unanimous support. The closest confirmation vote for an education secretary was 49 to 40 in 2016, in favor of John B. King Jr., who served in the last year of Barack Obamas presidency. [The popular uprising that threatens the Betsy DeVos nomination] But DeVos is unlike previous nominees in that she has no personal or professional experience in public education or elected office. Her free-market approach triggered opposition from teachers unions, which mobilized considerable forces against her, as well as from fellow education activists who said they worried that she was more committed to the ideology of school choice than to ensuring quality schools for vulnerable children. DeVos has promised that she will not force vouchers onto states that dont want them, but she has also said that its important for parents to have the opportunity to choose alternatives to traditional public schools including vouchers, full-time virtual schools and public charter schools. Trump pledged on the campaign trail to redirect $20 billion in federal funds to an effort to expand school voucher programs and charter schools. Such a sweeping proposal, which would require congressional approval, seemed a heavy lift even before the DeVos nomination. Now, with Capitol Hill so deeply divided over DeVos, it seems more remote. But DeVos could seek to promote alternatives to public schools through other means, some of which would require only a simple majority in the Senate. Lindsey Burke of the conservative Heritage Foundation said she expects the Trump administration to try to extend the tax benefits of 529 college savings plans to savings plans for private K-12 schools. She said she also anticipates an effort to expand choice for students attending schools run by the federal Bureau of Indian Education, and a push to extend the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program the nations only federally funded voucher program to all students in the District. There are legal limits on the education secretarys authority, but Burke said that DeVos can use her new position to advocate for education that is paid for by taxpayers, but not necessarily delivered in public schools. There is now someone at the federal level who recognizes that theres a real redefinition of public education underway, Burke said. Public education does not have to mean government schooling. [DeVos and her family are major donors to the senators who will vote on her confirmation] There has been speculation that the Trump administration could seek to promote vouchers through a competitive grant program similar to Obamas Race to the Top, which helped persuade states to adopt Common Core academic standards and new teacher evaluations in return for a better shot at federal dollars. Some Republicans hope that, with Trump and DeVos in office, they can win a fight they have lost repeatedly in recent years: allowing $15 billion in Title I funds, meant to help children from low-income families, to follow those students to the schools of their choice, including private schools. But such a change could slice deep holes in the budgets of some of the nations neediest schools, including in rural areas, and would be likely to encounter stiff resistance on Capitol Hill. Civil rights advocates are concerned about priorities that DeVos could push with executive power, including rolling back or revising Obama administration guidance on how schools handle complaints of campus sexual assault and what accommodations they must make for transgender students. The agency also has wide latitude to decide how aggressively to investigate complaints about civil rights and special-education services, and it is responsible for deciding whether state plans for judging the success of schools measure up to the law. DeVos was not widely known when Trump picked her in November. But that changed after she stumbled in her confirmation hearing over basic policy questions and left open the possibility that she would cut education funding, privatize public schools and scale back the departments civil rights work. Video clips from the hearing went viral, and DeVos became an instant meme even before Trumps inauguration. Opposition to her nomination then snowballed. Teachers union leaders, civil rights activists and Democrats have vowed to keep the spotlight on DeVos now that the 59-year-old from Ada, Mich., is the nations 11th education secretary. Across the country, parents, teachers, community leaders and civil rights advocates are rightly insisting that the federal role in education should be to strengthen public education, not abandon it, and to protect students civil rights including students with disabilities, low-income students, students of color, LGBT students, and immigrant students, said King, Obamas second education secretary. The open question now is, will the future leadership of the department heed that message? Ed OKeefe and Lisa Rein contributed to this report. Clockwise from top left: Richard Nixon, Susan B. Anthony, Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass are among the historic figures who have been deployed by pro- and anti-Trump partisans. (The Washington Post, AP, Library of Congress) On social networks and talk radio, in classrooms and at kitchen tables, the countrys past is suddenly inescapable. Many, many people as President Trump would put it are sharing stories about key moments and figures in American history to support or oppose one controversial White House executive order after another. Andrew Jackson and Huey Long are alive in Facebook feeds. Twitter is afire with 140-character bursts of historical moments the St. Louis steaming toward Miami in 1939 with Jewish refugees fleeing Germanys Third Reich, or the Saturday Night Massacre, President Richard Nixons firing of a special prosecutor in 1973 during the Watergate scandal. Trump may or may not make America great again, but he has certainly revived interest in U.S. history. It has been a long time since Woodrow Wilson, Abraham Lincoln and Susan B. Anthony were in the news, not to mention import taxes, the Revolutionary War, Japanese internment camps and the Immigration Act of 1917. Ive never seen so many people desperate to refer to historical examples, said David Bell, a Princeton University history professor who last month moderated a panel on Trump at the American Historical Associations annual conference. Everyone seems to have an example. While Barack Obamas election renewed discussion of the nations tortured racial history and Hillary Clintons would have spawned a look back at womens rights, historians say the speed and breadth of Trumps policy pronouncements have prompted the electorate to deploy history as an offensive or defensive rhetorical weapon. (Jenny Starrs/The Washington Post) History really feels explosive to many people right now, Harvard University historian Jill Lepore said. People are reaching out for whatever twig is streaming by to give some meaning to what theyre seeing. Decades and even centuries are jumbled together. Frederick Douglass became a trending topic on Facebook last week after Trump talked about him as if he were still alive . Alongside news feeds, the 19th-century abolitionist was listed between the Cheesecake Factory and the Johnson Amendment, the 1954 law that restricts political activity by tax-exempt religious groups. Trump has vowed to totally destroy the amendment. [Trump book riddled with falsehoods removed by national history museum] The historical references are not limited to this country. A headline last week on Breitbart News, a conservative website that was run by Trump White House strategist Stephen K. Bannon, said, Why Saint Thomas Aquinas Opposed Open Borders. Even Adolf Hitler is hard to avoid. Last week, a student in Norway tweeted that the Nazi dictator was being discussed in class. Someone will bring up Trump before class ends, he wrote. I just know it. Less than 20 minutes later: YEP THERE WE GO. In the United States, there have been enough Hitler comparisons on social media to inspire satirists. Steve Hely, a former writer for The Office and 30 Rock, recently tweeted several ways Hitler was better than Trump. One was Wrote his own book. Helys satire gets at the concerns scholars have about the recent flood of historical citations. Americans are terrible armchair historians. A nationwide survey by the American Revolution Center found that more Americans remember that Michael Jackson sang Beat It than know that the Bill of Rights is part of the Constitution. Professional historians worry that specious and cherry-picked comparisons will reverberate through social networks as gospel, deepening the countrys divisions. Last month, a guy named Eric in Ohio fearful of reprisal, he would not give his last name posted a video on YouTube titled Donald Trump, import taxes, History and left wing insanity. Erics passion is economics and history. I have three bookshelves filled with books on that topic, he said, so when you combine those two things with posts on Facebook, I tend to respond because it pisses me off. The Trump administration, just a few days in office, proposed adding tariffs to imports. Suddenly, Eric began reading posts about how import taxes had led the country to war. This confused him. So he started asking the posters what they were talking about the Revolutionary War, they said. No, we f---ing didnt, Eric said into the camera. Who the hell is telling you this stuff? Did you get your American history off the back of a Cracker Jack box? Putting aside the question of who is right, Erics rant illustrates how Trumps supporters and detractors are drawing on historical moments in a prosecutorial way. Lepore, the Harvard historian, said that in more normal times, she becomes frustrated when complicated, nuanced history is used in deceptive, misleading ways. But she is sympathetic to how befuddled people are. These moments from the past are enticing because of the depth of uncertainty, she said. And they are being used to argue both for doubling down on and disavowing current events. Take immigration. Those who support Trumps executive order restricting travel from seven Muslim-majority countries point to previous eras when the country was more restrictive on immigration. The news channels are overrun with liberals claiming Trumps ban violates the constitution and is contrary to our traditions, a Trump supporter wrote on Facebook. Like it or not, our traditions have been to use immigration law to keep out people of other races and cultures, whether they were considered dangerous or not. A half-hour later, someone replied, Thanks to all on this thread for being an oasis of sanity in a wasteland of partisans railing about what is and isnt constitutional. [Who could be affected by Trumps travel ban] Those appalled by Trumps actions see it differently. The overall effect of Trumps latest executive order would be to put the U.S. back on to similar footing as the 1930s, when refugees most needed our help to escape persecution, the Human Rights Campaign wrote in a widely shared blog post that retold the story of the St. Louis being turned away. Others cut and pasted a long post that Heather Richardson, a Boston College history professor, put on her personal Facebook page, describing the executive order as a shock event. Such an event is unexpected and confusing and throws a society into chaos, she wrote. People scramble to react to the event, usually along some fault line that those responsible for the event can widen by claiming that they alone know how to restore order. But shock events, in Richardsons telling, can ultimately change the country for the better. If people realize they are being played, she wrote on Jan. 29, they can reach across old lines and reorganize to challenge the leaders who are pulling the strings. This was Lincolns strategy when he joined together Whigs, Democrats, Free-Soilers, anti-Nebraska voters, and nativists into the new Republican Party to stand against the Slave Power. Although Richardson writes frequently on politics for several large news organizations, she did not intend her post to be read by a large audience only friends and family on both sides of the political debate. She posted it, then went to dinner. When she came home, she discovered it had been shared 17,000 times. It just went insane, she said. A week later, it was more than 80,000. If youre poor, youre not going to be held in jail just because you cant make bail, Maryland Attorney General Brian E. Frosh said. The new rules, he said, tell judges to keep dangerous people behind bars and to let the vast majority who are not a threat out before trial. (Katherine Frey/The Washington Post) Marylands highest court voted unanimously Tuesday to overhaul the states bail policies, essentially abolishing a system in which poor people could languish behind bars for weeks or months before trial because they could not post bond. The rule change, which takes effect July 1, requires judges to impose the least onerous conditions when setting bail for a defendant who is not considered a danger or a flight risk. That means Maryland will join a handful of states, including New Mexico, Kentucky and New Jersey, that have moved away from bail as part of a larger criminal-justice overhaul movement. Judges will be required for the first time to consider whether a defendant can afford to make bail before setting their pretrial release conditions. They must also weigh whether defendants pose a risk of committing another crime or of not appearing for their next court date. The directive approved by the rules committee of the Maryland Court of Appeals says that preference should be given to additional conditions without financial terms, court spokesman Kevin Kane said. Maryland Attorney General Brian E. Frosh (D), who has been pushing for an overhaul of the system, called the rules change a huge step forward that will lead to more justice in Maryland. If youre poor, youre not going to be held in jail just because you cant make bail, Frosh said. The new rules, he said, tell judges to keep dangerous people behind bars and to let the vast majority who are not a threat out before trial. Under the current system, judges often require defendants to leave a certain amount of money with the court in exchange for release in advance of trial. People who cannot make bail on their own or with the help of bail bondsmen who guarantee payment to the court in exchange for a percentage of the bail amount remain locked up. Nationally, about 47 percent of felony defendants who are required to post bond remain jailed before their cases are heard because they cannot come up with the required amount. In Maryland, more than 46,000 defendants between 2011 and 2015 were detained more than five days at the start of their criminal case, according to a 2016 report by the Maryland Office of the Public Defender. Of those, more than 17,000 were held on less than a $5,000 bail. A draft version of the rules change posted on the courts website does not eliminate money bail or bail bondsmen. But it says that judges may not impose a financial condition, in form or amount, that he or she knows or has reason to believe that the defendant is financially incapable of meeting. The District passed a law in the 1990s that also prohibited judges from imposing a financial condition that a person could not pay. That law, too, did not explicitly prohibit money bail. But in practice, it effectively got rid of the bail-bond business in the District. Bail bondsmen in Maryland have vehemently opposed changing the states system, either through the courts rules committee or through legislation in the State House in Annapolis. On Tuesday, Vinnie Magliano, president of East Coast Bailbonds, said the court was moving one million miles an hour in the wrong direction. Magliano, a member of the Maryland Bail Bonds Association, said the industry will consider pushing the legislature to roll back the courts decision. Im advocating for sensible reform, he said. I think this goes too far. Doug Mayer, a spokesman for Gov. Larry Hogan (R), said the governors office had not seen the rules change and could not comment. In January, the judges heard more than five hours of testimony about the merits of reforming the system, including from former U.S. attorney general Eric H. Holder Jr., and about the benefits of keeping the current policies in place. Marylands legislature has been debating whether to limit or eliminate cash bail for more than a decade, with critics of the current system calling it discriminatory and potentially unconstitutional. Frosh, a former state senator who had pushed for change in the legislature without success, asked the appeals court late last year to consider changing the directives given to judges as they set bail. Five Democratic lawmakers who were also eager to abolish bail had asked Frosh to weigh in on whether the states system could pass constitutional muster. Froshs office issued an opinion that said the system, which set bails at amounts many defendants cannot afford, could violate due process. Del. Erek L. Barron (D-Prince Georges), one of the five legislators, said Tuesday that he was encouraged by the ruling but did not want to comment further without seeing the final decision. Barron said the legislature needs to focus its efforts on providing statewide pretrial services, including an assessment of whether a defendant is dangerous or a flight risk, and an economic evaluation. Montgomery and St. Marys counties already have those services, although judges there can still set bail. The decision by the judges cannot be appealed, but the Maryland legislature could pass a law changing the rules. Cristian Antonio Villagran-Morales, killed last year, was known for his easy smile at dinner, at his landscaping job, and on the beach. (Family photos) Speaking recently to a suspect in a eight-month-old homicide case, Montgomery County detectives took an unexpected question: Why havent you charged Josue Fermin Cuadra Quintanilla in the case? That is one of two clues according to police allegations filed at the Montgomery County District Courthouse this week that led them to arrest Cuadra Quintanilla. The other: The suspect who asked the question identified him through a photograph, police say. The arrest of Cuadra Quintanilla, 18, who made his first court appearance Monday when he was ordered held without bond, brings to five the number of suspects linked to the June 16 death of Cristian Villagran-Morales, 18. He was stabbed more than 40 times and his body was found in Malcolm King Park in Gaithersburg, Md., officials have said. Detectives have alleged that at least some of the assailants are members of the MS-13 street gang and that they enlisted a 19-year-old woman to lure Villagran-Morales into the park with the promise of sex. He was lured into the woods and was attacked by multiple individuals, Assistant States Attorney Robert Hill said Monday. Josue Fermin Cuadra Quintanilla was arrested and charged. (Montgomery County Police) [Earlier: Police say teen lured into woods was stabbed more than 40 times] John Lavigne, a lawyer representing Cuadra Quintanilla, did not detail his clients version of events Monday. But he noted that his clients mother, father, girlfriend and uncle were in court on his behalf. He has a supportive family, Lavigne said. Detectives earlier arrested three suspects in the case on murder charges: Vanesa Alvarado, 19; Juan Gutierrez-Vasquez, 16, who was charged as an adult; and Oscar Ernesto Delgado-Perez, 28. Alvarado and Gutierrez-Vasquez remain in the Montgomery County jail on no bond status. Gutierrez-Vasquez also has an immigration detainer lodged against him, according to the jail, meaning that if he is released, immigration officials might pursue deportation proceedings against him. Delgado-Perez appears to have a history of coming in and out of the United States. He had been deported twice before in 2014 and 2015 to El Salvador, immigration officials said. On Nov. 7, 2016, according to federal court records, he was indicted on a charge of illegally entering the country. Then, on Nov. 18, Montgomery County officials dropped the murder charge against him. That same day, court records show, Delgado-Perez was transferred to federal custody because of his immigration case, according to court records. It wasnt immediately clear Tuesday why the murder charge was dropped. But during a court hearing last year, an attorney representing Delgado-Perez questioned the strength of the case against her client, saying it rested on the word of two co-defendants. Once they were charged, then they pointed the finger at my client, said Stephanie Ferner, a public defender. [Earlier: Suspect in park murder had been deported twice] Police are still searching for another suspect, Jose Coreas Ventura, 20, who also goes by the name Jose Corea. Detectives say they do not think that Villagran-Morales was a gang member. One of the suspects Gutierrez-Vasquez told detectives that the victim was thought to be a rival gang member, according to court records. But detectives have said they think the attackers made up that claim to gain street credibility. Its absolutely senseless, Capt. Darren Francke, commander of the major crimes division for the Montgomery County Police Department, said previously. Francke said that Villagran-Morales had recently moved to the area from New Jersey and was doing landscaping work. This young man was a hard-working young man, Francke said. He came down here for a job. A Maryland man was arrested Monday in connection with a fatal shooting in the District last month, authorities said. At around 6:40 a.m. on Jan. 17, officers responded to the 600 block of 14th Place Northeast for the report of a shooting and found two men in a vehicle suffering from gunshot wounds, D.C. police said in a statement. Ronnell Tye Reaves, 22, of Suitland was pronounced dead at the scene, the statement said, and the other man was transported to the hospital in critical condition. [Two men fatally shot in separate incidents in Northeast D.C.] On Monday at around 2 p.m., police arrested 32-year-old Matthew Moore of Upper Marlboro in connection with the shooting, according to the statement, and he is charged with second-degree murder while armed. First lady Melania Trump arrives for the traditional Bastille Day military parade on the Champs-Elysees in Paris. July 14, 2017 First lady Melania Trump arrives for the traditional Bastille Day military parade on the Champs-Elysees in Paris. Yves Herman/Reuters She recently moved to the White House from New York and has Washington waiting to see what she intends to do with her prominent position. The first lady isnt living in the White House as of yet and has said little about what she intends to do with her prominent position. The first lady isnt living in the White House as of yet and has said little about what she intends to do with her prominent position. See what Melania Trump has been doing since becoming first lady See what Melania Trump has been doing since becoming first lady First lady Melania Trump settled her defamation lawsuit against a Maryland blogger, who agreed to apologize to the Trump family and pay her a substantial sum, her attorneys said Tuesday. I posted an article on August 2, 2016 about Melania Trump that was replete with false and defamatory statements about her, the blogger, Webster Tarpley, said in the statement provided by Trumps attorneys. Tarpley, 71, could not be reached for comment by phone or email. His attorneys, Danielle Giroux and John Owen, confirmed that a settlement had been reached. The bloggers article in August reported about unfounded rumors that Melania Trump once worked as a high-end escort and stated that Trump may have suffered a nervous breakdown after her speech at the Republican National Convention. [New York suit claims first lady missed out on chance to make millions] I had no legitimate factual basis to make these false statements and I fully retract them, Tarpley said in the statement. I acknowledge that these false statements were very harmful and hurtful to Mrs. Trump and her family, and therefore I sincerely apologize to Mrs. Trump, her son, her husband and her parents for making these false statements. Neither Trumps attorneys at Harder, Mirell & Abrams based in Beverly Hills, nor Tarpleys attorneys at Harman Claytor Corrigan & Wellman would provide the settlement amount. No one answered the front door of Tarpleys Gaithersburg townhouse, where he operates the blog tarpley.net. As a blogger and author, Tarpley for years has advanced often unorthodox views. The Princeton University graduate has called former president Barack Obama a puppet of Wall Street and labeled the 9/11 attacks a false-flag operation. On his blog Tuesday, he didnt write about the settlement. Instead, over recent days he has covered developments in the Trump administration and linked to a podcast titled: The Present as History: Comparing the Current Wave of Self-Destructive Anti-Establishment Politics with the Crisis of the Florentine Renaissance Under Savonarola at the End of the 1400s; Will American Civilization End Up on the Bonfire of the Vanities? Trumps attorneys sued Tarpley on Sept. 1 in the jurisdiction where he lives, Montgomery County, Md. The attorneys also named as defendants the online Daily Mail, which published a similar article in August. Webster G. Tarpley (Obtained by The Washington Post/Obtained by The Washington Post) Trump had signaled that the lawsuit was important to her. Between the election and inauguration, she came to a scheduling conference Dec. 12, the kind of routine court matter that often is attended only by attorneys. At the time, Charles Harder, her attorney, said, Trump was not required to attend the court conference, but chose to do so to meet the judge, meet opposing counsel and show her commitment to the case. In recent weeks, Montgomery Circuit Court Judge Sharon Burrell issued two key rulings in the litigation. One related to claims against the online Daily Mail. Trumps attorneys had argued that although the publication was based in New York, it did business in Maryland by virtue of its readers in the state. (The publication is also related to the British Daily Mail print tabloid, which published the same story as the online Daily Mail.) But Burrell ruled Maryland was not the correct venue and tossed out the online Daily Mail portion of the lawsuit. Trumps attorneys have since refiled their online Daily Mail claims in New York. A second key ruling by Burrell denied efforts by Tarpleys attorneys to dismiss all claims against him. His attorneys had argued Tarpley had not defamed Trump because he was merely passing on unsubstantiated rumors and opinions, and that Trumps claims against him were filed to try to curb his efforts to write about her. Burrell said it was premature to dismiss the lawsuit on those claims. At this stage of the litigation, she said from the bench on Jan. 27, there is nothing to support Mr. Tarpleys belief that the lawsuit was brought in bad faith or that the lawsuit was intended to inhibit Mr. Tarpleys exercise of his rights under the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. Jennifer Jenkins contributed to this report. Police said Tuesday afternoon that they are investigating a homicide in Prince Georges County in which one man was killed. Officers responded about noon to the 6400 block of Central Avenue for the report of a fight in progress at the Exxon gas station across the street from the Addison Road Metro station, Seat Pleasant police spokesman Thomas Lester said. When officers arrived, they found a man suffering from trauma to the upper body. He was transported to a hospital, where he was later pronounced dead. Prince Georges County homicide detectives have taken over the investigation, authorities said, and preliminarily, authorities say it doesnt appear to be a random crime. Police did not have details about a suspect or information about the victims identity. Crews search for a woman Tuesday along the Potomac River's shoreline in Maryland. (Courtesy of Pete Piringer/Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Services) Authorities in Montgomery County said they are looking for a woman in the area of Great Falls near the Potomac River. In a Twitter message Tuesday, Pete Piringer, a spokesman for the Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service, said that the units boats were being deployed to assist a U.S. Park Police helicopter in a search of the area. The search started Monday night but was suspended because of weather. It resumed Tuesday morning. The woman was identified as Becky M. McCleskey, 56, who was last seen Monday at 8 a.m. leaving her home. Piringer said the Montgomery teams were combing the Potomac River banks while units in Virginia searched elsewhere. Anyone with information about McCleskeys whereabouts should contact Park Police at 202-610-7500. Most drivers using this aboveground parking garage in Silver Spring, Md., pull in. Hard-core reversers think its safer to back in. (John Kelly/The Washington Post) Youve heard of anti-vaxxers, but have you heard of anti-backers? Those are people who dont like it when a driver backs into a parking space in front of them. It isnt the end result that bugs them so much as the time it takes some drivers to get there. I recently wrote about an apparent increase in the number of people who back into spaces in underground parking garages. Some folks arent fans of the practice. [Does it seem that more drivers are backing into parking spaces?] I was surprised to read all the positives of backing into parking spaces, because its a trend that irks me so much, wrote Katalin Korossy of Kensington, Md. Too often I have had to sit there, waiting, while someone slowly reverses into parking spaces they could have easily slipped into nose-first. Dave Martin of Chantilly, Va., said he has always wondered whether back-in parking is just a Catholic thing, because he encounters it almost every Sunday at Mass. Wrote Dave: It seems that were always cutting it close to make it before the priest and his attendants walk down the aisle, and its maddening to be blocked from parking by people who are carefully maneuvering to fit the backs of their cars into tight parking spaces. Rick Counihan of Takoma Park, Md., finds it frustrating when poorly-skilled drivers slowly inch their way backward into tight parking spaces. No matter how tight a garage is, the parking spot is always tighter than the lanes to drive around in the garage, he wrote. Therefore, it should be easier and faster to pull straight into the parking spot and back out into the larger access lanes. Not so um fast, argues the back-in contingent. Jack Aubert of Falls Church, Va., said. Once the proper reversing technique is mastered, he says, you can get into parking slots with one shot and minimal clearance. Edward Kerman of Potomac, Md., said that when you reverse into a space, your front wheels become your rear wheels and the car benefits from rear-wheel steering, the same technique that allows forklifts to maneuver in narrow aisles. A vehicle using rear-wheel steering does not need to make multiple movements of turning and backing, he wrote. Jim Fields of Silver Spring, Md., said backing in makes sense because the only real danger zone is your narrow, soon-to-be-occupied parking stall. You are familiar with the current driving space around you because you just drove through it. When you back out, you have a large, difficult-to-see, possibly altered zone behind you which, by the time you get settled and ready to reverse, could have changed, he wrote. Jim McGee of Bethesda, Md., echoed these sentiments, writing, Id much rather back into a space where the odds are in my favor that nothing will be moving, rather than back into a traffic lane where there is a high likelihood of moving vehicles or pedestrians. Some readers said other drivers seem more willing to let a car pull out in front of them than back out. They back into spaces because otherwise no one would let them out. My Lovely Wife tells me that when she trained to be a Girl Scout leader, she was taught to back in when on troop trips. Some employers actually prohibit front-in parking. Paul Rosa of Charles Town, W.Va., taught defensive driving for FedEx, a company that he said preaches backing upon arrival as a religion. Wrote Paul: This is because of situational awareness. When you arrive you have a clear view of the big picture. When departing, people often dont make a 360-degree assessment of the scene. That bicycle some kid threw down behind you, or the kid, might be overlooked. Bob Liddell, a retired U.S. Army colonel in Burke, Va., said that in the military, backing a vehicle into a position in the field is known as tactical parking. Wrote Bob: The vehicle is backed into position so it can move out rapidly if required. He thinks the high number of active and retired military personnel in the D.C. area may explain its prevalence around here. Bob Love of Fairfax County, Va., had a more practical rationale for backing into a parking space: in case you need a jump-start. Most car batteries are up front. If you are nose-in and have vehicles all around you, there is no way to jump-start unless you have a portable jumper, Bob wrote. The rift between backers and anti-backers might only be healed if the backers practice it enough that they become incredibly adept. Of course, that may take some time. Are you reuniting? Is your area high school planning a reunion? Send me the details and Ill try to print them in a future column. Email me with Reunion in the subject field and include the name of your school, the class year, the date of the reunion and contact info. Twitter: @johnkelly For previous columns, visit washingtonpost.com/johnkelly. It was 4 a.m. on the day of the Womens March that Linda Sarsour and her national co-chairs realized how big the event they had spent 20 hours a day planning for two months might actually be. Six hours before it was set to begin, in the cold, pre-dawn hours, a crowd of protesters more than a city block deep had already assembled in front of the stage in Washington and a steady stream of people was arriving. It was the most remarkable thing I have ever seen, Sarsour said. The Womens March put Sarsour, one of the highest-profile Muslim American activists in the country after climbing the ranks of New York City politics, squarely on the national stage. Despite a barrage of hateful messages and violent threats targeting her on social media since, Sarsour has continued a punishing schedule of activism as she has sought to bring her heightened profile, and a new sense of what is possible, to a range of resistance movements that are developing in the first weeks of President Trumps administration. (The Washington Post) Within 24 hours of returning to New York after the Womens March, Sarsour was meeting with organizers for the Peoples Climate Movement march, scheduled for April, she said. And since Trump issued an executive order halting travelers from seven Muslim-majority countries, Sarsours activism has been highly visible: She joined protesters at the Los Angeles airport days after the ban was announced, marched with Yemeni businessmen across New York last week and emceed a major rally in Manhattans Battery Park to oppose the ban. [We cant become a dictatorship: Protests erupt against Trump travel ban] She also became the lead plaintiff in a lawsuit brought by the Council on American-Islamic Relations against the Trump administration. The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Alexandria on Jan. 30, is one of dozens challenging the ban. A federal judge in Seattle imposed a temporary stay on the ban Friday that was still in effect Tuesday, when a hearing was scheduled to take place before a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit. The CAIR suit, Sarsour v. Trump , says that the presidents executive order is overtly discriminatory and officially broadcasts a message that the federal government disfavors the religion of Islam. It lists more than 25 plaintiffs, including a dozen foreign nationals who are unnamed, many of them students or religious leaders directly affected by the ban, separated from spouses or family members abroad or unable to obtain U.S. citizenship under the terms of the order. Nihad Awad, executive director of CAIR, said it took courage for Sarsour to become the face of a high-profile lawsuit challenging the Trump administration. We are living in a new era of civil rights advocacy, he said. It takes leaders on the front lines who are willing to be there, to take the pressure, to take the hate along with the spotlight, to make a difference. Detractors mount Sarsours role as a co-chair of the Womens March brought with it an onslaught of personal attacks through social media and conservative news outlets. Her critics have attempted to tie her to terrorist groups, called her anti-Semitic and accused her of infiltrating the liberal movement. My response to the right-wing trolls and the media outlets: I am not going to be silenced, Sarsour, the daughter of Palestinian immigrants, said in a phone interview. I am going to continue this work I have done for 16 years. She called on her fellow Americans to be more-critical thinkers. Many of her accusers say she is an advocate of sharia, or Islamic law. That sounds scary to people, she said. But she said she does not think sharia law should supplant American laws, as some suggest. She, like many other U.S. Muslims, regard sharia as a guide for their private religious practice, she said. I dont eat pork, she said. I dont drink alcohol. I pray five times a day. She said efforts to make these private worship rules seem more insidious are attempts to criminalize Muslims for following the tenets of their faith. Last week, Ayaan Hirsi Ali, a Somali-born American author and critic of Islam, appeared on Fox News and called Sarsour a fake feminist and questioned her defense of sharia law. Theres no principle that demeans, degrades and dehumanizes women more than the principle of sharia law, she said. Her comments were made in response to a 2011 tweet from Sarsour that resurfaced and was circulating on social media. In it, Sarsour compared Hirsi Ali to Brigitte Gabriel, the leader of Act for America, an anti-terrorism lobbying group. Brigitte Gabriel = Ayaan Hirsi Ali. Shes asking 4 an a$$ whippin. I wish I could take their vaginas away they dont deserve to be women. Sarsour called it a stupid tweet and said she has no memory of writing it but said she could have. I am a brash New Yorker, she said. Im not going to defend it. She has debated both women on radio or television, and she called them notorious Islamophobes who are working for the right wing. At the essence of their conflict, she said, is the idea purported by both women that the Muslim faith is inherently misogynistic. There are Muslims and regimes that oppress women, but I believe that my religion is an empowering religion, Sarsour said. I wear hijab by choice. The Southern Poverty Law Center has designated Act for America a hate group. Mark Potok, a senior fellow at the Montgomery, Ala.-based organization, said Sarsour has been vilified by many groups that claim radical Islamists are trying to infiltrate the U.S. government at every level. The same groups have targeted Huma Abedin, Hillary Clintons longtime aide, and Muslims in many leadership positions, Potok said. They have been emboldened by the Trump administration, and are benefiting from the massive confusion between what is real and not real in the news, he said. If you want to believe all law enforcement agencies are infiltrated by radical Islamists or that Obama was secretly a Muslim or that theres a plot to impose sharia law in American courts, there are plenty of quote-unquote news sites that will tell you its so, he said. Of late, Sarsour said, two of her sisters have taken turns monitoring her social-media feeds throughout the day and deleting threatening and offensive posts that appear, she said. I dont care if someone posts that Islam oppresses women, Sarsour said. But I dont want to see anything vulgar that talks about rape or chopping people up or ISIS members. I dont want to see blood. ISIS is another name for the Islamic State. Sarsour has received threats in the past and had a personal security detail assigned from the New York Police Department last year after someone published her home address online, she said. She no longer takes public transportation by herself. But this year, in the days leading up to the Womens March and since, Sarsour has also received a groundswell of public support. An #IMarchwithLinda campaign started on social media, and support came from organizations such as Human Rights Watch, the American Civil Liberties Union and the Southern Poverty Law Center, as well as celebrities such as Susan Sarandon and Mark Ruffalo. Sarsour said she has also received an outpouring of support from the Muslim community, including one group that raised $3,900 through an online crowdfunding platform so she could take a vacation, something she said she has not done since 2010. She may take one now, she said, and invite some other organizers who work long hours and cant afford a trip. Many express gratitude for her leadership during a time when anti-Muslim sentiment has been surging. Asifa Quraishi-Landes, a professor at University of Wisconsin Law School who studies Islamic law and has followed Sarsours career, said she was proud to see a Muslim woman at the helm of a movement representing a wide swath of American society. Sarsour defies stereotypes of Muslim women as oppressed, she said. Shes strong, articulate, a mom everything that every other woman was at that march, Quraishi-Landes said. Growing up in New York Sarsour, 36, grew up in Brooklyn the oldest of seven children. Her Palestinian parents immigrated to the United States in the 1970s. Her father owned a corner store. Sarsour went to a predominantly African American high school, an experience that informed her political agenda later on, she said. At 17, she entered an arranged marriage. When the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks occurred, she was a young mother enrolled at Kingsborough Community College, with plans to become a high school English teacher. The impact of the subsequent investigations and counterterrorism efforts were swift and profound in the Muslim neighborhood where she grew up. I saw coffee shops being raided and different men being taken by law enforcement, she said. She started volunteering as an English translator helping Arabic-speaking families get legal services. She continued down the career path of connecting immigrant and refugee families with services and speaking up for their rights. At 25, she became the executive director of the Arab American Association of New York, where she still works. She has focused advocacy on civil rights abuses and criminal justice issues, calling for an end to unwarranted surveillance of Muslims in New York and the police policy of stop-and-frisk, which enabled police to search people for vague reasons. She was also part of a coalition that succeeded in getting two Muslim holidays added to the New York City public school calendar. Some Muslims have criticized Sarsour as a self-promoter. But the activist brushes aside such remarks, saying she has been proud to represent a community who has been silenced and unheard living in a post-9/11 America. The Obama administration honored her with a Champions of Change award, and she has gained much of her publicity as an activist who also works on issues affecting other groups. In recent years, she has become active in the Black Lives Matter movement, highlighting similarities in the treatment of Muslim and black Americans by law enforcement. She helped organize a Muslim response to the 2014 killing of Michael Brown, an unarmed black teenager, in Ferguson, Mo., by a white police officer. Last year, she co-chaired a 250-mile march from New York to Washington to call attention to racial profiling and police brutality. She also was involved with Sen. Bernie Sanderss campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination. As her work has brought her farther outside the boroughs of New York, she has thought about setting her sights on more national work, including a possible bid for Congress. In the short term, she wants to write a book and continue organizing, registering voters and helping people become more involved in government. I want to help prove to fellow Americans that democracy works when we participate, she said. Her main focus now is to be an opposition to Trump for the next four years, she said. That will keep me very busy. Charlotte A. Coffield, 83, shown in September next to the Talbot Avenue bridge in the Montgomery County community of Lyttonsville. (Sarah L. Voisin/The Washington Post) The Montgomery County Council has directed the county to explore moving a century-old bridge that served as a lifeline to African American residents during segregation, potentially saving the crossing from being demolished to make way for the Purple Line. The Talbot Avenue bridge, which was included briefly in a growth plan approved for the Lyttonsville area northwest of downtown Silver Spring, should be considered for another appropriate site in the community, the council said Tuesday. The Maryland Transit Administration (MTA) has said the wooden and steel bridge, built in 1918, is badly deteriorated and too short to span what will be a wider rail corridor once the Purple Line tracks are built adjacent to the CSX freight-rail tracks. Political momentum to save the bridge grew after a Washington Post story in September highlighted residents and a local historians concerns about its planned destruction. [More about the Talbot Avenue bridges place in history] Demolishing the bridge would have meant losing one of the last structures from the areas history as a vibrant African American community, a longtime resident said Tuesday. We have deep feelings about the bridge, said Charlotte Coffield, 83, a third-generation Lyttonsville resident. People who grew up here and the people here years before us have a very close connection to that bridge. Mike Riley, director of the Montgomery parks department, said Tuesday that he will begin seeking a new home for the bridge in county parks, perhaps as a footbridge over a trail or stream. He said he would need to request county funding for its relocation. Wed be excited to have any historical artifact in our parks that speaks to the countys African American heritage, Riley said. The MTA also has asked artists competing to design public art for the Purple Line to include physical pieces of the Talbot Avenue bridge or photos and renderings of it in their proposals for the Lyttonsville station. MTA spokeswoman Sandy Arnette said Tuesday that the county has not asked the state to move the bridge but that the MTA will continue to actively work with the county on the issue. For much of the 20th century, the one-lane Talbot Avenue bridge connected residents of Lyttonsville, a community founded in 1853 by a free black laborer, to stores in downtown Silver Spring and to neighborhoods where black residents were allowed to clean homes but not live. The bridge also allowed residents to cross the CSX freight-rail tracks to reach the closest public buses a mile away on Georgia Avenue to travel into the District. Major construction on the 16-mile light-rail Purple Line between Montgomery and Prince Georges counties was scheduled to begin this fall. However, it has been postponed until a federal lawsuit opposing the project on environmental grounds and its ridership forecasts is resolved. The line is scheduled to open to passengers in spring 2022. [The latest move in the Purple Line federal lawsuit] Coffield said she is happy the council has recommended saving the bridge, but she said she is concerned about whether the county will pay to move it. I think the intent is good, Coffield said, but I dont see a lot of teeth in it to make it happen. Council member Tom Hucker (D-Eastern District) said he and other council members, as well as the county planning staff, supported saving the bridge. He said the county will make the best effort to do so. Theres sort of the Where will it go? question, but it was on track for demolition, so this is a step in the right direction, Hucker said. I think theres going to be every attempt to find a site. Serious crime on Metro was down about 5 percent last year overall, but aggravated assaults, rapes and other violent crimes increased by significant proportions, according to statistics released Monday, likely fueling a perception that the transit system has become more dangerous. Aggravated assaults were up 31 percent last year to 151, and represented the most dramatic increase in crime in the system. The attacks largely involved men between 18 and 24, who were most often both the victims and suspects in such attacks, according to the statistics. An aggravated assault occurs when a person uses a weapon or flashes one in a threatening way, or when a person is severely injured in an scuffle. Homicides and rape, the most serious offenses but also infrequent also increased, with five of each logged in 2016. In 2015, there were two homicides and no rapes reported, according to statistics. Last year was marked by several high-profile incidents that raised fears among many riders and led to calls for an increased police presence on trains and in stations. A 16-year-old boy was arrested in February in connection with the shooting of a man on a Green Line train, the only instance officials could remember for more than a decade in which a person had opened fire on board a train. In March, a 15-year-old boy was fatally shot on the platform at Deanwood as he was on his way to get a haircut for Easter. Two weeks later, a 15-year-old boy was fatally stabbed at the stations fare gates in a dispute with an 18-year-old man. That same week, a woman reported being raped on a moving Red Line train in the Wheaton-Glenmont area of Montgomery County. Metro did not publicize the incident, however, and it came to light more than a month later in court. Asked about the perception that the system is more dangerous, Metro Transit Police Chief Ron Pavlik Jr. conceded, Some of it is violent crime is up. The numbers are reflecting that. [Accused Metro rapist had been identified as suspect in earlier indecent exposure] Its that victim who decides youre not going to get my phone today. Now a theft-snatch it turns into a tussle, a physical altercation has ensued, Pavlik said. Some of it is just escalation of crimes. For example, although robbery was down overall, armed robberies increased from 110 to 117. Still, Transit Police touted progress in other areas: Bike thefts and assaults on bus operators are down, and theyre nabbing fare evaders more frequently. In July, officers were outfitted with uniforms designed to make them more visible in stations. The agency also made use of a new $3.6 million surveillance hub in Hyattsville, Md., where authorities can monitor violent incidents as they happen, and dispatchers can log complaints and text tips to officers in the field. [A look inside Metros new video surveillance hub] Crime experts say the uptick in violent incidents matches trends observed in cities where some lower-level offenses have decreased but violent crimes have been on the upswing. The Major Cities Chiefs Association, an organization of police chiefs in the countrys largest cities, published reports last year showing that violent crime has been increasing in large cities nationwide. Aggravated assault was the crime that increased the most [on Metro] said Darrel Stephens, executive director of the Major Cities Chiefs Association, referring to the hard statistics. That is consistent with reports from some of the cities when talking about violent crime increases. Assaults on bus operators decreased 14 percent, dropping to 75 incidents last year, partly because of increased surveillance, Pavlik said. Metro installed video monitors on X2 buses in late 2015 after a spate of assaults on operators on that line. Pavlik said Metro has had success with video surveillance. [Metro boosts video surveillance on buses to fight assaults on drivers] The biggest thing were really trying to push Im trying to push in 2017 is more real-time intelligence sharing: How can we better communicate with officers in the field? How do we use technology to better facilitate intelligence? Pavlik said. But David Stephen, a spokesman for Amalgamated Transit Union Local 689, which represents a majority of Metros 13,000 workers, said assaults on operators continue to be a concern for the union. He pointed to a November incident in which a woman allegedly threw hot soup on a bus operator following a fare dispute, and the driver had to be treated at a hospital. The union blamed plexiglass shields installed in buses to protect drivers, which it said have a poor design and open gaps that left the operator vulnerable. Its great that the numbers are down . . . but theres still some work to be done when it comes to collaboration on how to address the potential for assault, Stephen said. That was a telltale sign that there are some gaps in safety that need to be addressed and that can only be achieved through collaboration. Stephen said the discussion will become more important only as Metro weighs fare hikes in the coming year. Metro says fares are the primary driver of disputes on board buses. [Suspect arrested in fatal stabbing outside Addison Road Metro station] Transit Police were responsible for only one of the homicide investigations, after one of the agencys officers chased a suspect outside the Addison Road Metro station. A Fairfax County man was charged with fatally stabbing a 35-year-old man after an argument at a bus bay just outside the station entrance. The other four investigations were headed by local authorities. The homicide statistics include separate killings that happened two weeks apart at Deanwood the one on the train platform in March and the stabbing at the fare gate. Some of that is neighborhood beef that might have spilled over to Metro, Pavlik said. Metro is not immune to the crime that happens in the neighborhoods that surround it. After the reported rape of the woman on the Red Line train which happened during day there was a public outcry that Metro had not publicized the incident or circulated information about the suspect. Metro acknowledged that its response was wrong and instituted a policy to report violent crimes the same day they happen. [Im risking my life: Some Metro riders worry as serious crimes rise] Two of the rape cases were determined to be unfounded, meaning there was no evidence that a crime had occurred. Metro said a suspect was identified in each of the others. The statistics include only Category 1 offenses serious crimes logged in an FBI database. They do not, for example, include instances of indecent exposure despite their prevalence in the system. A May incident in which a suspect allegedly put a fluid-filled condom on a womans shoulder aboard a Blue Line train was classified as a simple assault and also was not included. Meanwhile, bike thefts fell by 15 percent, and officers issued 40 percent more citations for fare evading last year compared with 2015. It was a dramatic increase 6,693 citations in 2016 compared with 4,751 a year earlier. Officials said the citations resulted from increased enforcement, including a program known as High Intensity Target Enforcement, in which officers swarm an intersection and meet with bus operators passing through, board buses and issue citations. The primary driver is safety, but ensuring that every rider pays the proper fare is a stated goal of the GM, Metro spokesman Dan Stessel said. Members of the Virginia House of Delegates vote on an abortion restriction bill during its session in Richmond on Feb. 7. (Steve Helber/AP) Virginias Republican-controlled Senate moved to claw power away from the governor Tuesday, passing a proposed constitutional amendment that would enable legislators to veto regulations created by the executive branch. Under the measure, any regulations adopted by state agencies could be undone by a simple majority vote of the House and Senate. Supporters said the amendment proposed by Sen. Jill Holtzman Vogel (R-Fauquier) and similar to one passed this year in the House is needed to combat regulatory overreach that they described as pervasive in Richmond and Washington. Donald Trumps victory in the presidential election was fueled, in part, by this feeling that regulatory agencies have begun to take over and run the government, said Sen. Richard H. Black (R-Loudoun). There are unelected bureaucrats who enact their own laws without any input from the legislature, Black said. It diminishes the power of voters to influence their government. Democrats called the resolution a risky maneuver that would shake up the balance of power between the legislative, executive and judicial branches. If governors overreach, the courts and legislature can rein them in, said Sen. George L. Barker (D-Fairfax). Sen. Richard H. Black (R-Loudoun). (Bob Brown/AP) I think it is highly dangerous for the balance of power for the legislature to step into the executive role, he said. As a proposed constitutional amendment, the measure would have to clear both chambers this year and next, and then win approval from voters. Governors do not have veto power over such amendments. The Governor opposes these needless legislative attempts by the General Assembly to inject itself both into the executive and judiciary branches, said Brian Coy, a spokesman for Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D). It will result in lobbyists and special interests being able to block administrative health and safety rules simply by donating to the right legislators campaign. The Senate passed the measure on crossover, the midpoint of this years 46-day session and the deadline for legislation to pass out of the chamber where it originates. Any legislation not voted out of a chamber is considered dead for the rest of the legislative session. Also squeaking out of the Senate on a 21-to-19, party-line vote was a Republican-backed proposed constitutional amendment to automatically restore voting rights to nonviolent felons. Democrats opposed the measure because violent felons would have to apply to the governor to have their rights restored and have to wait five years after completing their sentences and paying any restitution, court costs and fees. The measure, sponsored by Senate Majority Leader Thomas K. Norment Jr. (R-James City), set off a debate that was unusually heated for what has been a low-key session. Democrats saw it as a step backward because McAuliffe has been using executive action to automatically restore rights to violent and nonviolent felons alike without requiring payment of fees and restitution. They said the state explicitly targeted blacks when it included felon disenfranchisement in the 1902 constitution and compared the fee-payment requirement to a poll tax. Sen. Mamie E. Locke (D-Hampton) called the resolution a cynical, dishonest and disingenuous proposal. . . . We will not be going backward on this issue. Republicans took offense, with Sen. David R. Suetterlein (Roanoke) rising to note that PolitiFact had debunked the claim that felon disenfranchisement had its origins in the Jim Crow era. He said the state constitution disenfranchised felons in 1830 before blacks had the right to vote in Virginia. It was a law-and-order provision, he said. Norment blasted Democrats for opposing his measure after supporting a similar one in 2013, which also required payment of fines and applied only to nonviolent felons. I understand the comments made if you dont like the bill or you feel bent over because of the governors pressure on you, but dont give me these spurious arguments that are completely contrary to the intent of this bill, he said. Dont invoke what happened in 1902 to try to stir up some emotions on this thing. Bills that were killed for the remainder of the legislative session include ethics legislation that would prohibit candidates from making personal use of campaign funds and all bills prohibiting anti-LGBT discrimination in employment and housing. Also dead is the so-called bathroom bill, which would have required people to use the public bathroom that corresponds to the sex listed on their birth certificate, as opposed to their gender identity. This is a sampling of legislation that is pending: Redistricting. The Senate passed a proposed constitutional amendment that would create a redistricting commission. Guns. The House and Senate passed bills that would allow victims of domestic violence to take free gun-safety classes. Both chambers have also passed legislation allowing anyone covered by a protective order to carry a concealed weapon without a permit. Immigration. The House passed a Republican-sponsored bill that would grant drivers licenses to some noncitizens now prohibited from having them. Those include foreigners who have been victims of human trafficking and those with pending petitions for asylum or refugee status. Education. The House approved a bill requiring schools to inform parents about any instructional materials involving criminal sexual assault. Voting. The House passed a bill requiring anyone registering to vote to provide proof of citizenship. Abortion and birth control. The House passed a bill that would defund Planned Parenthood. The House has also passed a bill allowing women to receive a year-long supply of birth control instead of having to go back to the pharmacy every one to three months. Pornography. The House passed a resolution declaring that pornography leads to individual and society harms. The bill was watered down slightly from the original, which would have deemed pornography a public health hazard. Fracking and Freedom of Information. The House passed legislation that would exempt gas companies from having to disclose certain information about chemicals pumped into the ground for fracking. Under the Freedom of Information Act, the firms would have to disclose the names of the chemicals, but not their concentrations. Ticket resales. The House and Senate passed bills that would expand the rights of consumers to give away or resell tickets to concerts and sporting events on their own, as opposed to going through an original issuer such as Ticketmaster. [Metalhead Va. legislator wants to cut Ticketmasters control of resale market] Volunteer lawyers set up camp in the international terminal at Chicagos OHare Airport on Jan. 29 to help travelers and their families. (Scott Olson/Getty Images) A group of lawyers and software developers wanted to find a 21st-century way to connect people flying into the United States from the countries affected by President Trumps contested travel ban with volunteer attorneys on the ground. And now, theres an app for that. AirportLawyer.org, a website whipped up by a team of programmers over the weekend while much of America was watching the Super Bowl, can link travelers landing at U.S. airports with free legal help to maneuver through whatever trouble they might find as they try to clear Customs and Border Protection. The app, which went live Monday, is being used by volunteer lawyers at airports including Baltimore-Washington International Marshall, Dulles International, Denver International and Seattle-Tacoma International, with other major airports expected to join. In the turbulent days since Jan. 27, when Trump signed his executive order banning refugees and other travelers from seven Muslim-majority countries and before a federal judge issued a stay of the ban thousands of people have been detained or have run into trouble clearing customs at U.S. airports. Free legal assistance is offered at Dulles International Airport on Sunday. (Astrid Riecken/European Pressphoto Agency) That has prompted volunteer lawyers to set up temporary shop at international-arrival terminals, working around the clock and waving placards announcing Free Lawyer. Most have no way of knowing who is arriving from countries affected by Trumps ban, except for information they gather in conversations with anxious family members nearby. That dilemma spurred Seattle lawyers Greg McLawsen, Takao Yamada and Tahmina Watson to team up with software developers to create a tech solution: an app. At AirportLawyer.org, travelers or their family members can upload personal information and travel plans, including arrival date, time and airport. That information is then securely shared with volunteer lawyers who can track the arrivals and meet the travelers. Those of us at the airport will know whos coming in, and wed be better prepared with information to work on their behalf, said Yamada, who has been volunteering his legal services at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. He is also a co-founder of a Seattle tech start-up. With the information that immigrants and other travelers provide through the website, volunteer lawyers may be better able to answer family members questions about why, for example, an immigrant whose flight landed at noon hadnt cleared customs screening five hours later. They may also be able to get word to Customs and Border Protection officers that attorneys are available to answer questions, provide documentation and find interpreters, if necessary, the lawyers say. Trumps ban left thousands of travelers stranded around the world. On Friday, U.S. District Judge James L. Robart reversed Trumps order, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit was set to hear arguments Tuesday evening. A decision either way could shake things up once again, McLawsen said. We believe that through the rest of the week, while the stay is in place, people will be coming in, he said. If I were one of them, Id be jumping on a plane right now. While Robarts order helped ease travel for many, lawyers say some clients still arent being allowed to board airplanes overseas and are being detained for long stretches after arriving at U.S. airports. Amid all the uncertainty, McLawsen said, he received a message Friday from a colleague at Clio, a British Columbia-based legal-data-management company, asking how they might help. McLawsen got in touch with Yamada, who had begun getting calls from worried family members and lawyers asking if he could use his contacts at the Seattle airport to check on one arriving passenger or another. Clio then connected the lawyers with New York-based legal-software firm Neota Logic. The team worked over the weekend to create the app in 48 hours. Two of the scariest things for people waiting at the airport are not knowing whats going on with their loved ones, and if something is going on, not knowing what to do about it, Yamada said. We can help them find out and get them some help. Esther Marie Connell, mother of Nashville, Tenn., police officer Eric Mumaw, cries at his casket during a memorial service in Madison. Mumaw died while trying to save a woman in the Cumberland River. (Shelley Mays/Associated Press) FLORIDA Ex-convict sentenced for setting mosque fire An ex-convict who posted anti-Islamic rants online pleaded no contest and was sentenced to 30 years in prison Monday for setting fire to a mosque that the Orlando nightclub shooter attended occasionally. Joseph Schreiber, dressed in a burnt orange jumpsuit, his wrists and ankles shackled, pleaded no contest during Mondays hearing before Circuit Judge Steven Levin in Fort Pierce, Fla. Schreiber answered Levins questions in a clear, unwavering voice before sentencing. He also was ordered to pay $10,000 in restitution, although damages exceeded $100,000. A no-contest plea is treated the same as a guilty plea. He had confessed to detectives that he set fire to the Islamic Center of Fort Pierce last Sept. 11, the 15th anniversary of the 2001 terrorist attacks. The damage to the mosque was so extensive that the leaders recently announced that it will move. Omar Mateen was killed by police after opening fire at the Pulse nightclub June 12 in a rampage that left 49 victims dead and 53 wounded, making it the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history. Mateen professed allegiance to the Islamic State group. His father is among about 100 people who regularly attend the mosque. Schreiber, 32, who is Jewish, posted on Facebook last July that All Islam is radical and that all Muslims should be treated as terrorists and criminals. Associated Press OHIO Cleveland settles suit for $2.25 million The mother of a mentally ill woman who suffocated while handcuffed by Cleveland police settled a lawsuit for $2.25 million, the latest large settlement with the city over allegations of police misconduct. The settlement made public Monday is for the death of Tanisha Anderson, who died of positional asphyxiation in November 2014 outside her mothers Cleveland home. Family members had called 911 seeking help for Anderson, who was wandering outdoors on a cold night wearing just a nightgown. Anderson had a history of bipolar disorder and schizophrenia. According to a federal civil rights lawsuit and family attorneys, officers Scott Aldridge and Bryan Myers initially tried talking to Anderson before putting her in the back seat of a patrol car to take her to a hospital. Thats when Anderson, 37, panicked and climbed out of the cruiser. The lawsuit says the officers wrestled her to the ground on her stomach and handcuffed her. Although Anderson showed distress and stopped breathing, it took the officers 14 minutes to call for help, according to the lawsuit. Andersons mother, Cassandra Johnson, said Monday she will continue her advocacy on behalf of the mentally ill. She also said Aldridge and Myers should be sent to prison. Johnson and her attorneys are frustrated that nothing has resulted thus far from an investigation being reviewed by the Ohio Attorney Generals Office. The officers remain on restricted duty. A spokesman for Cleveland declined to comment about the Tanisha Anderson settlement. Associated Press 90-year-old aquarium fish euthanized: An Australian lungfish that entranced visitors to Chicagos Shedd Aquarium for more than 80 years and is believed to be the longest-living fish in a zoological setting has been euthanized because of old age, the popular tourist attraction announced Monday. Granddad, who was 4-foot-long and weighed 25 pounds, had stopped eating and started showing signs of organ failure. He was euthanized Sunday. Shedd estimates Granddad was more than 90 years old. The aquarium acquired him from the Sydney Aquarium in Australia in 1933. From news services Brad Simpson reads "The Hobbit" to his son, Elijah Simpson-Sundell. The 8-year-old was diagnosed with a brain tumor last spring. (Bonnie Jo Mount/The Washington Post) It was the most ordinary of family dinners, with pizza and cauliflower. Two exhausted parents sipped red wine. Two children giggled over silly jokes and squabbled over a stuffed animal named Baby Jaguar. A few moments later, 8-year-old Elijah Simpson-Sundell, his face slightly swollen and his speech slurred, walked unsteadily away from the table. His father gently reproached 6-year-old Genevieve: When your brother wants something, and he doesnt feel well, we should try to accommodate him. For months this Rockville, Md., family has veered between such quiet prescriptions and desperate searches. Theyve flown repeatedly to Europe, to a clinic that is one of the few places anywhere offering a fragment of hope. Along the way, Brad Simpson and Kristin Sundell have discovered a small community of families grappling with the same unimaginable scenario a child with a rare, universally fatal brain tumor. Amid the progress being made on other fronts in oncology, childrens cancers present a particular challenge given the lesser attention and research funding that many get. One of those is DIPG, letters that Elijahs parents heard for the first time with his diagnosis. Diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma is a doubly devastating tumor: Not only is it intractable, infiltrating the brain stem in a way that makes surgery impossible, but it affects only young children. Elijah gets serenaded over dinner by family friend Becky Taurog and his parents, Brad Simpson and Kristin Sundell. The boy has been traveling to Germany for immunotherapy to treat the tumor invading his brainstem. (Bonnie Jo Mount/The Washington Post) Astronaut Neil Armstrongs 2-year-old daughter died of the disease in 1962, and treatments today are no more successful. Until recently, physicians didnt even conduct biopsies. Without tissue, the disease couldnt be studied. All of that is changing, with research accelerating, but treatments remain years away. In such a bleak landscape, Elijahs story is remarkable because of the lengths to which his parents have gone to try to save him. Yet it is also unremarkable because others have done the same for their children. As parents, you are facing not just overwhelming odds but zero odds, Simpson said. You will do anything. Almost 4,000 miles away in Cologne, Germany, is the private clinic that his family sought out. Its one of the few places in the world offering immunotherapy for DIPG. The centerpiece of its effort is a vaccine made from each patients own white blood cells and tumor antigens, which are proteins that produce an immune response. The goal is to allow the immune system to recognize and attack the cancer. After 18 months and 29 children, the results are encouraging, said pediatric oncologist Stefaan van Gool. But its far too early to know whether the approach extends survival. We have to wait, he acknowledged. Elijah has flown to Cologne three times since October, twice with his father and once with his mother. In between sessions at the clinic, he visited the Schokoladenmuseum the Chocolate Museum played cards and made friends with some of the other young patients. If only hed been diagnosed five years from now, things might be different, doctors in the United States have told his parents. Much is being learned about the disease, and several clinical trials are being planned or started to test new approaches. The familys reality, however, is the here and now. Elijah, says his father, almost certainly wont benefit from the research. His father gives Elijah a cannabis oil extract, which some people think has anti-cancer properties. (Bonnie Jo Mount/The Washington Post) He is a fan of Star Wars, Pokemon and the color orange. Hes fond of soccer but also the piano. All in all, a pretty typical 8-year-old boy until his medical history is added into the mix. Elijah was born with a skull malformation that was corrected surgically when he was a baby. As he grew, he remained smaller and less physically robust than his peers. And then, about a year ago, he became increasingly sluggish. His speech got slower, remembers his mother, director of aid effectiveness at the nonprofit Save the Children. And then one weekend his foot turned in and he lost his balance. Sundell took Elijah to his pediatrician, who immediately sent them to Childrens National Medical Center. She called her ex-husband, an associate professor of history and Asian studies at the University of Connecticut. Simpson jumped in his car and met them at the hospital hours later. Within days, a genetic test confirmed Elijah had DIPGs classic mutation. The disease attacks the brain stem, which controls essential functions such as heart rate, breathing and swallowing, with brutal efficiency; its victims lose their ability to walk, talk, even smile. About 200 to 400 youngsters are diagnosed in the United States every year, and half are gone within nine months. Ninety percent are dead within two years. Elijah underwent his second round of immunotherapy treatment at the IOZK clinic in Cologne, Germany, in November. (Photo by Brad Simpson) The extreme cruelty of this disease is that it steals each function of the body one by one, from a child who is mentally intact, said Jenny Mosier, whose son Michael was diagnosed shortly after starting kindergarten in 2014. He died the following spring. It is the worst of the worst. No drugs work against DIPG, and radiation treatments provide only a temporary reprieve. So patients often are enrolled immediately in clinical trials. But nothing appropriate for Elijah was open at the time. He underwent several weeks of radiation to try to shrink his tumor and relieve some of his symptoms. Exhausted, he used a wheelchair when he returned to school in late spring. His second-grade classmates greeted him with a huge conga line and took turns pushing him around the playground. You realize the tremendous capacity of young children for love and empathy, Simpson said. The boy rebounded, and in September his neuro-oncologist at Childrens, Lindsay Kilburn, put him on panobinostat, a drug that has been shown to inhibit DIPG tumor growth in mice. His parents added daily doses of cannabis oil, which some people think has anti-cancer properties. That same month, the family traveled to South Africa for a safari, courtesy of the Make-A-Wish Foundation. The elephants and giraffes were cool, but it was the dung beetles that really grabbed Elijahs attention, because they live off other animals feces. Yet the clock was conspiring against him. Ninety-five percent of DIPG tumors return five to nine months after children finish their radiation treatments. Elijahs had ended in June. With no additional options, his increasingly frantic parents decided to take him to the IOZK clinic in Germany. Other U.S. families had been buzzing about it in online forums. Simpson and Sundell set up a conference call between van Gool and Kilburn. She didnt try to dissuade them from going. The first trip was in October, with an eight-day treatment followed by a three-week break. Then it was back to Cologne in November and again in December. Each time, doctors started by giving Elijah infusions of a virus designed to infect and mark the cancer cells. They also used hyperthermia, exposing his tumor to heat to try to damage it. Finally, he got a tailor-made vaccine combining his white blood cells and proteins from his tumor. The three-round package cost about $45,000 and wasnt covered by insurance. Elijahs parents turned to family, friends and sympathetic strangers for financial help. They appealed via Facebook and the crowdsourcing site YouCaring and raised tens of thousands of dollars to cover the treatments, airfare and lodging. The only silver lining to this is all the people who have come out to support us, Sundell said. Its really humbling. Cards of love and support cover the walls of Elijahs bedroom in Rockville, Md. (Bonnie Jo Mount/The Washington Post) Relatively few doctors and researchers around the world focused much on DIPG until recently. A father whose little girl was diagnosed remembers a researcher telling him the disease was a career killer because of its hopeless nature. The lack of tissue for studies was the biggest obstacle to understanding the cancer. Since a tumor could be diagnosed by MRI, doctors didnt perform biopsies. Too dangerous, they thought, and possibly unethical given the lack of available treatments. But things began to change about a decade ago. European researchers showed that biopsies could be done safely. And more parents around the world began donating tissue following a childs death. In 2010, Stanford University pediatric neurologist Michelle Monje used a donation to create the worlds first DIPG cell line. The disease could now be studied in the laboratory. Two years later, two groups of scientists made the same striking discovery: Nearly 80 percent of DIPG tumors have mutations in a histone gene a protein that packages DNA. Researchers also realized that these tumors were nothing like adult brain tumors, which might partly explain the failure of more than 200 trials with conventional chemotherapy. They were making more progress than in decades. Efforts now are focused on finding novel drugs aimed at DIPGs mutations, testing immunotherapies and developing new ways to get drugs right to the tumor. Beating the disease will likely require a combination of approaches. Mark Souweidane, a pediatric neurosurgeon at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, just completed an early-stage trial in which he surgically implanted small catheters in patients brainstems. He then delivered high volumes of drugs directly to their tumors, circumventing the protective blood-brain barrier. I have never been more convinced that we are onto something that has great promise, he said. Much of the push for stepped-up efforts has come from parents who have lost their children to the disease. Jonathan Agin, a Washington attorney whose daughter died in 2011, is now a full-time advocate. The DIPG Collaborative, formed to increase several groups clout and fundraising, has repeatedly pressed for more aggressive research. It goes without saying that no one wants to harm kids, Agin noted. But the notion of first, do no harm, when taking no aggressive action means certain death, doesnt sit well with a community of parents who continue to watch children die, over and over again. In Rockville, moments of heart-stopping kindness continue to encircle Elijah. After he returned from his third trip to Cologne in December, his school held an Orange Day in his honor. Hundreds of students donned orange T-shirts, and dozens of adults, most of whom didnt know him, came dressed as Star Wars characters. Darth Vader took Elijah by the hand and walked him down the hall for a special ceremony. A phalanx of Stormtroopers followed, wearing pins that read May the force be with you, Elijah. Every day I feel like Im on the edge of an abyss, his father said. The only thing keeping me from falling off are the little mundane moments of joy and compassion. In mid-January, Elijahs parents got an email from van Gool saying he was satisfied with the boys response to the therapy and suggesting he come back once a month for several short treatments. The next visit is set for later this week. Yet nothing stops his parents worrying over the tumors likely return, his worsening problems walking and talking, his poor appetite. At 46 pounds, he might soon need a feeding tube, according to the doctors at Childrens. Simpson and Sundell keep struggling with how to talk to their son about his illness. Recently, his little sister told a therapist that she dreams about Elijah dying. If she had three wishes, she said, she would make her brother better and give herself two more birthdays. Elijah doesnt talk about death. Is he thinking about it? Should we talk to him about it? Simpson wonders. We dont want to scare him. We just want him to know were here. One night last month, as Genevieve sang along to her beloved Frozen soundtrack, Elijah belted out his own mocking lyrics for songs that he despises. The minutes of fun proved draining, though, and he had trouble getting up the stairs to his bedroom. As he cried out in frustration, his father rushed to help him. You are doing just fine, Elijah, he said. Im never going to let you fall. Elijah gets a lift from his mother, Kristin Sundell, at their home in Rockville, Md. The 8-year-old has increasing difficulty walking because of a brain tumor. (Bonnie Jo Mount/The Washington Post) Read more: Brain cancer replaces leukemia as the leading cause of cancer deaths in kids A new urgency to protect survivors of childhood cancer A consumers guide to cancer immunotherapy UKRAINE Fighting subsides in east, monitors say International monitors say fighting in eastern Ukraine has abated, but the warring sides have kept heavy weapons near the front line. Alexander Hug, deputy head of the monitoring mission of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, said Monday that the fighting has now subsided somewhat. He warned, however, that deployment of heavy weapons near the front line raises the threat of a renewed flare-up. Last week, more than 30 people, including civilians, were killed and several dozen wounded in fighting between government forces and Russian-backed separatists in the region. Associated Press IRAQ U.S. Embassy reports threats against hotels The U.S. Embassy in Baghdad said Monday that it has limited the movement of its personnel after receiving credible threats of possible attacks on hotels frequented by Westerners. An emergency security message for U.S. citizens on the embassys website did not give details about the nature of the threats. U.S. authorities advise citizens to avoid traveling to Iraq, citing the risk of being kidnapped by armed political groups or criminal gangs and bombings by the Islamic State. Three defense contractors kidnapped in January 2016 in Baghdad and released a month later were the first Americans kidnapped in Iraq since U.S. troops pulled out in 2011. Reuters BRAZIL Troops sent to state hit by surge of crime Brazilian President Michel Temer on Monday ordered 200 troops to the southeastern state of Espirito Santo, where a police strike in recent days sparked a wave of violence, including what is believed to be dozens of murders. The law enforcement stoppage is the latest example of how depleted public finances, amid Brazils worst recession on record, are crippling even basic health services, education and security in some states. The crime surge in Espirito Santo, a small coastal state just north of Rio de Janeiro, began over the weekend, after police stopped work Friday because of the pay dispute. Since then, local media and citizens with cellphone videos have broadcast scenes of chaos as thieves and other criminals have appeared to run rampant, particularly in the state capital, Vitoria, and its suburbs, home to about 2 million people. Reuters ROMANIA Ruling party urges calm after graft U-turn Romanias ruling Social Democrats appealed for calm Monday after withdrawing a decree widely condemned as reversing the countrys anti-corruption drive, but protesters again took to the streets to demand the governments resignation. The government rescinded the decree, which would have shielded dozens of politicians from prosecution, on Sunday after the largest demonstrations in Romania since the fall of communism in 1989. Political analysts said the government in power for barely a month now faces an uphill task restoring shattered public confidence. About 25,000 people gathered in front of government offices in central Bucharest on Monday evening far fewer than the 250,000 seen the previous evening to demand Prime Minister Sorin Grindeanus resignation and snap elections. Reuters U.S. tourist found dead on Panamanian island: Panamas Civil Defense said the body of Catherine Johannet, 23, of New York was found Sunday on a trail in a wooded area not far from a beach on Bastimentos Island. The U.S. Embassy in Panama City confirmed her death. No cause of death was provided. The U.S. Embassy said that the FBI and Panamanian authorities had searched for Johannet throughout the weekend. Austrian found on raft after boat sinks in Atlantic: The U.S. Coast Guard said it rescued a 56-year-old Austrian man who was stranded on a life raft after his boat sank in the Atlantic Ocean northeast of Puerto Rico. Authorities said Monday that Wolfgang Sloma sent a distress signal Sunday after his mast broke and a hole in the hull caused his 27-foot vessel to take on water. Officials said they found Sloma later the same day more than 120 miles northeast of Puerto Rico. The Coast Guard said Sloma was in good condition. From news services David B. Rivkin Jr. practices appellate and constitutional law in the District and served in the Justice Department under Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush. Karen Tumlin is legal director for the National Immigration Law Center and the NILC Immigrant Justice Fund. Editors note: On Friday, U.S. District Judge James L. Robart issued a ruling temporarily halting enforcement of President Trumps executive order barring entry to the U.S. for citizens of seven majority-Muslim countries. On Monday evening, David Rivkin and Karen Tumlin exchanged views and predictions about the legal fight over the executive order. The email discussion was moderated by Post Opinions digital editor James Downie and has been edited for style and clarity. Karen Tumlin: Hi, James and David, looking forward to having this discussion with you both on this important topic. The executive order has several legal problems. I would highlight two of the most serious. First, ours is a nation that was founded on the premise that individuals should be free from religious discrimination by the government. That principle is enshrined in our Constitution and prohibits the federal government from discriminating against or favoring any religious group. This executive order does both. By banning the entry of individuals with valid visas from seven majority-Muslim countries, there is no question that the executive order singles out Muslims for disfavored treatment. Equally questionable is the preference given to minority religions under the executive order for refugees. Practically, this favors the admission of Christians. Second, the executive order also violates the bedrock legal principle of equal protection under our laws. That constitutional guarantee means that the federal government cannot discriminate against individuals based on what they believe (their religion) or where they were born, without adequate rationale. David B. Rivkin Jr.: Karen is jousting at a straw man. This executive order, by its very terms, does no more than suspend for 90 days entry for individuals from seven countries that have been identified as posing a heightened risk of terrorism and where the conditions on the ground do not allow for high-quality vetting. The language of the executive order aside, there are more than 50 Muslim-majority countries in the world, and the vast majority of them are not affected by this order. [Hugh Hewitt and Ronald Klain: How will Neil Gorsuch change the Supreme Court?] In addition to the rewriting of the order, Karen ignores the fact that the statutory and constitutional authorities overwhelmingly support the presidents ability to issue such an executive order. First, Congress expressly granted the president broad discretionary and non-reviewable authority to suspend the entry of all aliens or any class of aliens . . . or impose on the entry of aliens any restrictions he may deem to be appropriate if he finds that such an entry would be detrimental to the interests of the United States. This authority, by the way, has been utilized by numerous past presidents, including both Presidents Bush, President Bill Clinton and President Barack Obama. Second, in addition to this broad delegation of authority from Congress, the president has inherent, formidable constitutional authority of his own over foreign affairs and national security, with the power to control immigration being an integral part of those authorities. So, here we have two political branches that have spoken in unison on this issue, placing the president in the strongest possible legal position. Last but not least, well-established Supreme Court precedents indicate that states like the states of Washington and Minnesota have no equal-protection rights of their own, nor can they vindicate equal-protection rights of their citizens. The same is true about being able to challenge alleged religious discrimination. This limitation on the states authority to champion such claims is fundamental to our separation-of-powers architecture. Tumlin: When looking at the legality of this executive order, we have to look back to the very clear, discriminatory intentions for the order that were laid down repeatedly on the campaign trail by then-candidate Trump to create a ban on the entry of Muslims to the United States. The text of the executive order serves to implement that shameful campaign promise, as do statements by the president and the drafters of the order since its signing. Our Constitution does not stand for this kind of governmental discrimination. You dont have to discriminate against every Muslim in the world to run afoul of our Constitutions protections and human decency. The executive order doesnt make us safer as a country, it puts us more at risk. But dont just take my word for it. Have a look at the declaration submitted Monday at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit by a host of national security ex-officials from both sides of the aisle noting that in their professional opinion, this Order cannot be justified on national security or foreign policy grounds. Rivkin: I disagree. There are a few instances that arise in the unique context of domestic equal-protection challenges to governmental actions that are facially neutral but produce substantial discriminatory impacts on groups of people, based on such suspect classifications as race, nationality, ethnic origin, etc. This doctrine has never been used in foreign affairs, both because of the tremendous judicial deference owed in this area to the two political branches and because discerning the intentions of the president is particularly difficult in the national security area, given the inherent lack of judicial competence in foreign affairs and lack of access to classified information. And, as a practical matter, under your logic, courts would rule differently on the constitutionality of exactly the same executive orders, suspending entry of certain types of aliens with Obamas order delaying the entrance of refugees from Iraq and President Ronald Reagans suspending the entrance of certain Cuban nationals depending on how they felt about the subjective intentions of a given president. This cannot possibly be true. And, to reiterate, as far as the judgments regarding whether or not this order makes us safer, such judgments are uniquely unsuited for judicial discernment and the judiciary is barred from engaging on them on the basis of the Supreme Courts case law, known as the political question doctrine. The fact that some former national security officials challenge the policy wisdom of the order, while other national security officials most notably those of this administration support it, merely demonstrates that these are policy disputes that the judiciary is both ill-equipped and constitutionally barred from arbitrating. James Downie: Karen, how would you respond to the argument that the president has the authority to enact this order? Tumlin: The president is not king. He, too, must abide by our Constitution as well as the immigration laws duly written and passed by Congress. What the president has done here is attempt to hastily legislate by executive fiat. The result has been confusion among federal officials unsure of how to interpret or implement this presidential dictate and very real human suffering. And lets be clear, this executive order does not only target non-U.S. citizens living abroad. It has profound consequences on U.S. citizens who cant bring their parents in to witness the birth of a child, or on businesses that cant send their most talented U.S.-based executives abroad for important meetings. And the order has left others in limbo overseas who may have taken a trip abroad to, for example, visit an ill relative, and unless the Washington state decision stands will not be able to return to their families and jobs in the United States because their validly issued visa vanished overnight. Downie: David, can you expand on the argument that its not discriminatory against Muslims? Ilya Somin elsewhere on The Posts site writes, The unconstitutional motive behind Trumps order cant be sidestepped by pointing out that it blocks some non-Muslim refugees too. Poll taxes and literacy tests excluded a good many poor whites from the franchise, but were still clearly aimed at blacks. What are your thoughts on that? Rivkin: My argument is focused on the fact that a relatively small percentage of the worlds Muslim countries are impacted by this order. Stated differently, this executive order is a singularly ineffective in legal parlance, it would be called under-inclusive form of a Muslim ban. Accordingly, it is not a Muslim ban at all, but a suspension of entrants from seven countries with conditions on the ground that both promote terrorism and make effective vetting impossible. By contrast, poll taxes were very effective in excluding blacks, as well as impacting many poor whites; in legal parlance, they were overly inclusive but nevertheless served their intended discriminatory purpose. This is fundamentally not the case here. Tumlin: I would humbly submit that a more relevant lens to look at this question is in terms of recent Muslim migration to the United States. For example, 82 percent of all Muslim refugees who entered the United States in fiscal years 2014 through 2016 hailed from the seven countries. The executive order may not use the words Muslims keep out, but it certainly would serve to achieve that goal if allowed to stand. Downie: In closing, how do you expect the 9th Circuit to decide on Robarts ruling? Rivkin: I believe that the 9th Circuit will not let Robarts decision stand. I say this fully appreciating the fact that the 9th Circuit is the most idiosyncratic in the country and the one most often overruled by the Supreme Court. However, given the fact that the case brought by the states is so deeply flawed they fail both standing-wise and merits-wise I believe that the 9th Circuit will do the right thing and will rule in a matter of days. I would also expect that, because the plaintiffs in this case lack standing, the 9th Circuit would not only overturn Robarts temporary restraining order but would dismiss the entire case without ever reaching the merits. If I am wrong and the 9th Circuit fails to do this, I have every confidence that this would be the result reached by the Supreme Court, when it became seized of that case. Tumlin: I respectfully disagree with David on this always risky judicial crystal ball-gazing. In the 10 days since the executive order was signed, we have seen people take to the streets all across this country to protest it, lawyers like me have taken to the courts to challenge its illegality, and a diverse and stunning cross-section of Americans from every walk of life have questioned its wisdom. All because this executive order stands in sharp contrast with our legal and moral principles as a nation. I have every confidence that the 9th Circuit will let this temporary block on this harmful executive order stand. It is also worth mentioning that a real question exists as to the propriety of the 9th Circuit weighing in on the district courts order at all at this time. Generally, temporary restraining orders are not appealable immediately to the higher courts. Rivkin: In our constitutional system, the extent of political controversies, including the protests, surrounding a given issue is utterly unrelated to the analysis of legality and should have no effect on any court. And whether or not this order is inconsistent with our moral and legal traditions is a classical hortatory declaration, suitable for political debates, and is not a viable legal argument. This column was updated at 8:54 a.m. Feb. 8. A massive peoples uprising is driving the opposition to President Trump. In Congress, the Congressional Progressive Caucus is an emerging center of that resistance. This year marks the 25th anniversary of the CPC. Its first and founding director was an independent socialist from Vermont named Bernie Sanders. Now, co-chaired by Reps. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.) and Raul M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.), the CPC is the largest Democratic House caucus, with 73 dues-paying members. Each election in recent years has provided it with dynamic new leaders Wisconsins Mark Pocan, New Yorks Yvette Clarke, Pennsylvanias Matthew Cartwright, and now Washingtons Pramila Jayapal and Maylands Jamie B. Raskin. Last weekend more than 30 of those members joined with activists from across the progressive landscape to share ideas and plot strategy at the annual summit of Progressive Congress. CPC members individually are already mobilizing against Trump. The challenge is whether the CPC can collectively begin to define the forward-looking agenda of the resistance. After all, the CPCs agenda has been vindicated again and again over the years. It was right to oppose the Iraq War, right to challenge ruinous corporate trade policies and catastrophic banking deregulation, and right to call for a bold green New Deal, with public investment driving economic recovery. Now, the CPC is right to demand progressive tax reform and higher taxes on the rich. It is right to call for Medicare for All and to push to expand, not cut, Social Security. It is right to join workers in championing a $15 minimum wage. It is right to urge an end to bloated defense budgets. Getting it right, however, is small solace if you cant get it done. The CPC has had some victories, usually in conjunction with outside movements. Most recently, its members spearheaded by Rep. Rosa L. DeLauro (D-Conn.) joined with a broad coalition of citizen groups to help defeat President Barack Obamas Trans-Pacific Partnership before Trump ever took office. Too often, though, the CPC and its members have gotten it right but the Democrats have gone the other way. To be sure, the CPC disappoints some activists on the left. The caucus hasnt wielded the weight of its numbers (partly because it does not enforce unanimity among them) and is criticized for being reluctant to break with the Democratic leadership (not surprising since House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (Calif.) was one of the founders of the caucus). While its members are staunch on civil rights and social issues, they are more divided on bread-and-butter concerns. Strikingly, only the co-chairs Ellison and Grijalva plus two members Rick Nolan (Minn.) and Peter Welch (Vt.) stepped up to endorse Sanders in the Democratic primaries. Increasingly, however, the CPC has the wind at its back. Occupy Wall Street, Black Lives Matter and Fight for $15 drove the debate. Sanderss stunningly successful primary challenge galvanized the young around a bold agenda, showing its power. Hillary Clintons unexpected loss demonstrated the failure of the establishment. And now, to paraphrase Mark Twain, Trump, like hanging, concentrates the mind. CPC members will help Democrats in rallying the resistance. They already know how to support outside movements and groups, and seed political organizing and education in their own districts and elsewhere. More important, CPC members are ready to join together in championing a bold alternative to Trump, drawing from their own history and the Sanders platform. The Sanders candidacy demonstrated the potential. Now a range of citizen movements and grass-roots and activist networks are rallying around similar ideas, and others are recruiting and supporting candidates to run on this agenda. Thats why Ellisons candidacy to head the Democratic National Committee is so important. Ellison has pioneered grass-roots organizing and education in his own district. He has proved that principled progressives can win transformational victories. And he can help the party reconnect with working people. If he wins, the party will be able to capture more of the new energy. Every year at the Progressive Congress summit, Minority Whip Steny H. Hoyer (D-Md.), No. 2 in the House Democratic leadership, hails the CPC, of which he is not a member, as the soul of the Democratic caucus. The sly put-down is implicit: You idealists cultivate our conscience, while we pragmatists get on with governing. Now Trumps rise has exposed the catastrophic failures of the New Democrats, the Blue Dogs, the Wall Street wing of the party. It is time for the CPC to move from being the conscience of the Democratic caucus to its captain, from defining the alternative to defining the agenda. This wont be easy. The CPC will have to raise its game and organize itself far more aggressively. Progressive senators such as Sanders and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) have a bigger megaphone. But citizens on the march will find the leaders and members of the CPC standing with them. Read more from Katrina vanden Heuvels archive or follow her on Twitter. The Feb. 2 Style article Hey, Ruth, how are you feeling? described how liberals are concerned about the state of 83-year-old Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburgs health, fearing that if she becomes too feeble to continue to serve or (God forbid) dies, President Trump would be able to appoint a successor, further tilting the court to the right. For several years , Ms. Ginsburg was asked whether she would retire and allow then-President Barack Obama to fill her vacancy with a much younger liberal justice who would probably carry her legacy well into the 21st century. Instead, possibly because she knew in her bones she still had the drive and energy to fulfill her duties, because she loved the job, because she thought she still had much to give to the country or perhaps out of a bit of fear (after all, for most of us, the next step after retirement is the Grim Reaper), she did not retire from the court. This might all fall under the rubric of love of country. But it also strikes me as selfish, as she could have done more for the country, long term, by stepping down. The same point can also be made vis-a-vis her liberal colleague Justice Stephen G. Breyer, age 78. Nelson F. Crouch, Washington AS THE Trump administration fought in court to revive its temporary ban on entry by refugees as well as travelers from seven majority-Muslim countries, the president persisted in perversely suggesting that the judicial branch will be responsible for any terrorist attack carried out by what he portrayed as the violent hordes clamoring to enter the country. By conflating a dangerous fiction about immigrants with blatant disrespect for an equal branch of government, President Trump fans the xenophobic flames he did so much to ignite during the presidential campaign. Just cannot believe a judge would put our country in such peril, he tweeted over the weekend, after a ruling by U.S. District Judge James L. Robart in Seattle, who was nominated to the court by President George W. Bush. If something happens blame him and court system. People pouring in. Bad! The presidents calumny and travel ban have been denounced by an array of diplomatic and national security experts, not least former secretaries of state John F. Kerry and Madeleine Albright, who made the point, in a court filing, that the order would endanger U.S. troops and boost the Islamic States recruitment efforts. Amid the furor, it is critical to remember that in recent decades the United States has admitted hundreds of thousands of refugees from the former Soviet Union, Yugoslavia, Vietnam, Iraq, Burma and elsewhere never with ironclad assurances that those immigrants would love America or its values, though in many cases they clearly did. Mr. Trump and his chief strategist, Stephen K. Bannon, pledge extreme vetting of new immigrants, especially refugees, which would somehow assure their patriotism and adherence to U.S. law as a condition of admission to this country. It makes sense to scrutinize immigrants, particularly those from terrorism-prone regions, which is exactly what the current rigorous process does by subjecting applicants to multiple security, biometric, document and data checks by an alphabet soup of U.S. agencies. For refugees, the screening is painstaking, often lasting up to two years and involving face-to-face interviews in which factual discrepancies can mean rejection. Even tighter screening may be possible, particularly of social media accounts, although aliases, multiple languages and sarcasm could be pitfalls. Even if the courts uphold its actions, it is critical that the administration not use the inevitable imperfections of any vetting process as a pretext to ban refugees for more than the 120-day period covered by the Jan. 27 order. Already, Mr. Trump has slashed the current fiscal-year target for refugee admissions to 50,000, from 110,000. Thats a trickle when measured against the United States traditional role as a beacon to those fleeing violence and tyranny, and against global demand. The United Nations counts some 16 million refugees (excluding Palestinians); more than half are children . By far the largest number, nearly 5 million , are Syrians, who are barred indefinitely under Mr. Trumps order. These are not Jeffersonian democrats, sneered Mr. Bannon, referring to Muslim immigrants who entered Europe. In 2015, he asked, Why even let em in? Similar remarks were made a century ago about immigrants from Ireland, Italy, Germany and Eastern Europe, then widely seen as unschooled, unwashed and, often, violent. No one would ask now, Why did we even let em in? Cyrus Habib is Washington states lieutenant governor. President Trumps recent executive order denying entry to refugees as well as immigrants and visitors from seven majority-Muslim countries has disrupted the lives of thousands of people here and abroad. I can relate to what those families are going through. Two decades ago, my family would have been one of them. My father came to the United States from Iran on a student visa in 1970 to attend the University of Washington. He obtained bachelors and masters degrees there, became a civil engineer and worked for Boeing until cancer claimed his life last year. He was a green-card holder until he became a citizen in the mid-90s. My mother, also from Iran, came to the United States in 1980 on a visa, earning her law degree and becoming a citizen later that decade. Like millions of other Middle Easterners, they were drawn here by our countrys promise of equal opportunity for those who work hard and play by the rules. Neither of my parents would have been able to immigrate to the United States under Trumps executive order. Nor would my Iranian grandmother have been able to visit us here in 1987, when I was receiving treatment for the cancer that would soon after take my eyesight. The contributions my father made to our countrys leading aerospace manufacturer, the work my mother performs daily to administer justice as a Superior Court judge in King County, Wash., and the opportunity I had to see my grandmothers face before becoming blind these are all part of my familys story. Our story, along with those of countless other immigrants and refugees, is an essential part of what truly makes America great, then and now. After I lost my eyesight, my parents, in American fashion, pledged never to let my disability limit my dreams. Their confidence and support allowed me to go from Braille to Yale, and eventually to my current job as Washington states lieutenant governor. Its a tale that can only be told in this country, where hard-working and brave people of every religion, race and national origin come to contribute and flourish. Today, millions of immigrants from majority-Muslim countries do just that. They are teachers and truckers, soldiers and surgeons, entrepreneurs and executives. Of the fatal terrorist attacks committed in the United States since 9/11, not a single one was committed by immigrants from the seven countries singled out by Trumps executive order. And yet, students, researchers, artists and scientists from these countries are being treated differently than their peers from non-majority-Muslim countries. These individuals and families, unlike mine, would now be denied the opportunity to bring their talent and tenacity to this country, or, once here, would be cut off from their relatives overseas. On Friday, a federal judge halted the executive order after our state attorney general demonstrated that it presented a unique threat to the states economy and institutions drawing on testimony from state universities and Washington-headquartered companies. Im proud of Attorney General Bob Ferguson for bringing this lawsuit and winning the first round of the legal battle. By taking the Trump administration to court, we in Washington state are leading the country away from actions that would irreparably damage Americas economy and reputation as a bastion of inclusion. I applaud the 15 states that have signed on to our lawsuit in advance of Tuesdays appellate hearing, and I urge other state attorneys general to join us in challenging this un-American executive order. I also ask members of Congress, each of whom represents many immigrants, to take immediate action to correct this wrong. They should demonstrate a fraction of the courage it takes for a Syrian refugee to escape their war-torn homeland, and act to reverse this brazen act of presidential overreach. In so doing, they will allow stories like mine to unfold for other deserving families. And they will benefit our state and our nation by demonstrating that the United States remains not only the land of the free, but also the home of the brave. Ultimately, this is bigger than courts or Congress. This moment calls for a collective commitment to the importance of inclusion. Thats a lesson I learned early on as a three-time cancer-surviving, fully blind Iranian American from a mixed-religion, immigrant family. And its a lesson President Trump must learn if he wants to understand what truly makes America great. President Trump salutes as he disembarks Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House on Monday, returning from a weekend trip to Florida. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post) President Trump appears to be laying the groundwork to preemptively shift blame for any future terrorist attack on U.S. soil from his administration to the federal judiciary, as well as to the media. In recent tweets, Trump personally attacked James L. Robart, a U.S. district judge in Washington state, for putting our country in such peril with his ruling that temporarily blocked enforcement of the administrations ban on all refugees as well as citizens of seven majority-Muslim countries from entering the United States. If something happens blame him and the court system. People pouring in. Bad! Trump wrote in a tweet Sunday. Then on Monday, Trump seemed to spread that blame to include news organizations. In a speech to the U.S. Central Command, the president accused the media of failing to report on some terrorist attacks for what he implied were nefarious reasons. ISIS is on a campaign of genocide, committing atrocities across the world, Trump told commanders at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, using an acronym for the Islamic State terrorist group. He added: Youve seen what happened in Paris and Nice. All over Europe its happening. Its gotten to a point where its not even being reported. And in many cases, the very, very dishonest press doesnt want to report it. They have their reasons and you understand that. (The Washington Post) News organizations have reported extensively about terrorist attacks around the world, including the two in France mentioned by the president. Trump did not offer a single example of an attack that had gone unreported to support his accusation. [Opposition to Trumps travel ban grows as key court decision looms] White House press secretary Sean Spicer sought to clarify Trumps remarks, telling reporters traveling on Air Force One that the president believes some terrorist attacks have been underreported. He felt members of the media dont always cover some of those events to the extent that other events might get covered, Spicer said. Protests will get blown out of the water, and yet an attack or a foiled attack doesnt necessarily get the same coverage. Late Monday, the White House released a list of 78 terrorist attacks worldwide since September 2014, after the Islamic State declared its caliphate, and argued that most of them were not widely reported. Carl Bildt, a former prime minister of Sweden, tweeted a response to Trumps remarks: Trump in Tampa speech claims that terror attacks all over Europe are so frequent that media no longer reports them. Thats ludicrous. President Trump waves from the top of the steps of Air Force One at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa on Monday. (Susan Walsh/AP) Trumps terrorism blame-game is in keeping with how he ran his campaign, looking for scapegoats at nearly every turn. He often blamed his own failings a poor debate performance or a gaffe or a primary loss on the media or other perceived enemies, and he fed his own conspiracies that his adversaries were out to undermine him. Trump acts instinctively rather than strategically, said David Frum, a senior editor at the Atlantic and a White House speechwriter under President George W. Bush who is sharply critical of Trump. His instinct to pass blame is very strong. . . . I dont know whether people will succumb to this. Trumps approach is not without risk. He could come across to many Americans as thin-skinned if he skirts the responsibilities of being commander in chief and looks to assign blame to outside forces. Jennifer Palmieri, a Democrat who served as communications director on Hillary Clintons 2016 presidential campaign and in the Obama White House, said Trump is using the tactics of authoritarian leaders. Hes behaving like a demagogue, Palmieri said. Its chilling because the president of the United States should be responsible for keeping the American people safe but is seeking to preemptively blame a judge. She added: If an attack happens on American soil when hes commander in chief, then hes responsible. Its chilling to see the president of the United States almost wish for an attack for the purpose of blaming somebody else. In the days since Robarts ruling last Friday night, Trump sent nine tweets about the judge and stoking fear that suddenly the door had been opened for terrorists to enter the country and cause death & destruction. The judge opens up our country to potential terrorists and others that do not have our best interests at heart. Bad people are very happy! the president said in one tweet sent Saturday night. [Well do better: Trumps White House tries to gain a sense of order amid missteps] In his commentary, Trump has ignored the screening measures and other counterterrorism precautions that have long been in place by U.S. customs and border officials. Asked whether the White House had evidence of Islamic militants pouring in to the country, a phrase Trump used in at least two tweets, Spicer said only: Im not going to get into specific information that the president has. Trumps comments came after one of his top White House aides invoked a nonexistent terrorist attack to justify Trumps travel ban. Kellyanne Conway, who serves as counselor to the president, cited the Bowling Green massacre in an interview last week on MSNBC. She had been referring to attempts in 2011 by two Iraqi citizens, living in Bowling Green, Ky., to send weapons to al-Qaeda in Iraq. Conway later acknowledged her error and said she had misspoken by calling it a massacre instead of a terrorist plot. Trump also sought to diminish the credibility of Robart, calling him a so-called judge. Although presidents at times critique judicial rulings, they rarely take personal swipes at individual members of the federal bench. Trumps breach of protocol could have a chilling affect on the judiciary, which constitutionally rules independently of the executive branch. Lawmakers of both parties took issue with Trumps attack on Robart. I dont understand language like that, Sen. Ben Sasse (R-Neb.) said Sunday on ABC. We dont have so-called judges. We dont have so-called senators. We dont have so-called presidents. We have people from three different branches of government who take an oath to uphold and defend the Constitution. An attorney for first lady Melania Trump argued in a lawsuit filed Monday that an article falsely alleging that she once worked for an escort service hurt her chance to establish multimillion dollar business relationships during the years in which she would be one of the most photographed women in the world. The suit filed Monday in New York Supreme Court, a state trial court, in Manhattan against Mail Media, the owner of the Daily Mail, said the article published by the Daily Mail and its online division last August caused Trumps brand, Melania, to lose significant value as well as major business opportunities that were otherwise available to her. The suit said the article had damaged her unique, once in a lifetime opportunity to launch a broad-based commercial brand. These product categories would have included, among other things, apparel accessories, shoes, jewelry, cosmetics, hair care, skin care and fragrance, according to the lawsuit, which was filed on Trumps behalf by California attorney Charles Harder. Neither Harder nor the White House responded to requests for comment late Monday. Harder has represented several high-profile clients, including wrestler Hulk Hogan, who won a $140 million invasion of privacy verdict against Gawker last year. The suit filed Monday did not spell out a plan by Trump to market her products during her tenure as first lady, but mentioned that her reputation had suffered just as she was experiencing a multi-year term of elevated publicity. The suit says the Daily Mail article impugned her fitness to perform her duties as First Lady of the United States. A similar suit had been filed against Mail Media and a local blogger in Maryland. A Maryland judge recently dismissed the case against the Daily Mail on jurisdictional grounds. On Tuesday, the law firm representing the first lady said she had settled with the Gaithersburg blogger, Webster Tarpley, who agreed to apologize and pay her a substantial sum, said a statement from the law firm representing Melania Trump. The firm, Harder, Mirell & Abrams based in Beverly Hills, declined to provide the settlement amount. [Melania Trump settles with Maryland blogger] The article was eventually retracted with a statement from the Daily Mail that it didnt intend to state or suggest that Mrs. Trump ever worked as an escort or in the sex business. The original article provided denials from Trumps spokesman. But the lawsuit said significant emotional and economic damage was done and asks for compensatory and punitive damages of at least $150 million. Mail Media, in Maryland court filings, responded that the article was acceptable because it discussed allegations that had been disseminated about the then-potential first lady, and the impact even false rumors could have on the presidential race. The new suit comes as Trump continues to shy away from the spotlight, taking an unusually low-profile approach thus far to her role as first lady. She has continued to live in New York, and has moved slowly to hire a White House staff. (The Washington Post) Richard Painter, a White House ethics counsel under President George W. Bush and a critic of President Trumps decision to retain ownership of his real estate and branding empire while in office, said Monday that he was troubled by the suggestion in the new suit that Melania Trump intended to profit from her public role. There has never been a first lady of the United States who insinuated that she intended to make a lot of money because of the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity of being first lady, said Painter, who is participating in a lawsuit claiming that President Trumps relationship with his company violates a constitutional provision barring presidents from taking money or gifts from foreign governments. Read more: Wheres Melania? A quiet start for a reluctant first lady. Melania Trumps first White House hire: New York event planner Stephanie Winston Wolkoff Nordstrom drops Ivanka Trump-branded clothing and shoes All it took was a few minutes of lush, expensive, emotional advertising during the Super Bowl to pull this little town in the far southwestern corner of Pennsylvania into the center of the national debate on immigration. Despite the rancor surrounding the issue and the sudden attention to their home town, many people here said Monday that they did not see the now-famous 84 Lumber ad as particularly political. It was sad, said Jennie Ryan, 28, a nurse from nearby Washington, Pa., who stopped for lunch at the SpringHouse restaurant, a wood-paneled cafe that sits on a working dairy farm. It showed the struggles that other people experience who are not from here. It was a bit of a tear-jerker, said George Gavlik, 50, a field technician in the oil and gas industry from Pittsburgh, eating a roast beef platter a couple of tables away. Asked if it seemed too political, Gavlik shrugged. Its their right, he said. Many people around the country viewed the Super Bowl ad the tale of a mother and daughter traveling through Mexico on their way to the U.S. border as unambiguously pro-immigration amid many far more traditional ads selling wares and brand names. And it came as something of a surprise, in part because it was promoting a little-known company that apparently was wading into the raging debate on televisions largest stage: 84 Lumber. [Backlash over 84 Lumber ad shows fine line companies straddle when wading into social issues] The home-building supply company that carries the towns name is headquartered here, in a county that voted 61 percent for President Trump; it is run by a chief executive, Maggie Hardy Magerko, who has said she voted for him. But many took the message as criticizing Trumps immigration platform. Steve Greenawalt works on a billboard for 84 Lumber in Eighty Four, Pa., on Monday. (Jeff Swensen/For The Washington Post) In the original cut of the ad, the mother and daughter arrive at the U.S. border and confront an imposing wall, suggestive of the one the president has proposed in an effort to keep people from crossing into the United States illegally. It seems a heartbreaking end to a hopeful journey, until they discover a door that opens with a push onto a sunlit and welcoming America. The will to succeed is always welcome here, reads a tagline. [Company forced to retool Super Bowl ad that depicted Trumps border wall] Fox, the network that broadcast the Super Bowl, rejected 84 Lumbers original version of the ad, refusing to let the company show the wall. Of course we were disappointed, said Amy Smiley, 84 Lumbers director of marketing. But ultimately, its their network and their decision. That rejection prompted the company to send viewers to the 84 Lumber website to see the full version. So many people wanted to view it that the companys website crashed Sunday night. We knew it was a topic of conversation when we were conceptualizing last year, said Steve Radick, vice president and director of public relations at Brunner, the agency that created the ad. What we did not know was that it would be the topic of conversation. While some have criticized the ad as advocating illegal immigration, the overwhelming response was supportive. Radick said the commercial was not a direct response to the current debate about immigration and refugees that has been the hallmark of Trumps campaign for the White House and the first days of his presidency. But, Radick said, the clear aim was to take a stand. When you are doing a big advertising campaign, especially Super Bowl advertising, you cant just be talking about your company, he said. You have to make sure youre reflecting what is going on in the world today, and immigration is a big part of that, especially in the housing industry. Like so many eruptions of controversy and anger that rage on social media and cable news, 84 Lumbers ad registered as a minor, though widely seen, political oddity amid far more tangible problems and a new president working speedily for better or for worse to address them. Residents here in Eighty Four, reluctant to think ill of the company known locally as a good employer and corporate citizen, filled in what felt to them like an ambiguous scene with their own views on immigration and the American Dream. For most of those interviewed Monday, that vision was of an America that is a magnet for the world but with a front door that is not open to everyone. Others said it was just exciting to see their tiny towns company on the big stage. A 51-year-old trucker who spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of blowback for speaking his mind on political matters said the ad did not bother him despite the fact that he supports the idea of a big, strong wall on the southern border. He said he voted for Trump but voted for former president Barack Obama twice. They can put up an electric fence as far as Im concerned, the trucker said, noting that the ad struck him as simply another sign of our politically charged times. The president is political with it, so whats the problem? Trump has done more in the first two weeks than Obama did in eight years, he said, spearing a fork full of pasta salad. Marcia Minor Opps, 53, an owner of SpringHouse who described her family as conservative, said she has warm feelings toward the Hardy family, which started 84 Lumber. It was founder John Hardy who years ago urged Oppss mother to expand her milk and ice cream shop into the country restaurant it is today. The family lives on the farm in Eighty Four just above the restaurant. The milk used for its famous chocolate milk comes from the familys dairy cows. Opps said she was perplexed when she saw the ad. I didnt know what it was trying to say because the people who work at 84 Lumber are all American, she said. Maybe they were just saying that people from all over the world want to get here but sometimes its hard. Beverly Minor and her daughter, Marcia Minor Opps, owners of the Spring House Farm and Restaurant in Eighty Four, Pa. (Jeff Swensen/For The Washington Post) Her mother, Beverly Minor, 76, immediately grabbed her laptop when she saw the ad because she wanted to watch the rest, as the commercial suggested. She had heard about the ad and worried that it would elicit a negative response from her neighbors. But after she watched the end, she was reassured. The doors opened up like, Ah, America, she said. The message, to her, seemed to be that it is a privilege to be here. Adding her own view, she said: Its not something we owe everybody. Ali Noorani, executive director of the National Immigration Forum, a pro-immigration advocacy organization, said the outpouring of support for the ad reflects the complex view Americans have about immigration. The immigration issue is not as partisan as President Trump will have you believe, Noorani said, and I think this ad and this company is evidence of that. Noorani said the overtly emotional nature of the ad, and the response, goes to the heart of the debate: The argument about immigration is about culture and values, not politics and policy. Others said that given the reliance on immigrants in many parts of the country, the ad was not a complete surprise. Ive met a lot of CEOs who will admit privately that they need immigrants, said Raul Hinojosa-Ojeda, a professor in the Department of Chicana and Chicano Studies at UCLA. But to do it like this, in the Super Bowl for everybody to see, was an act of courage. Samuel reported from Washington. Marissa Payne in Washington contributed to this report. Vice President Pence is becoming an influential liaison between the White House and the Senate. (David Swanson/Associated Press) Just 2 1 / 2 weeks into his tenure, Vice President Pence did something that his predecessor Joe Biden never did in eight years: He cast a tie-breaking vote in the Senate. The Constitution assigns only two real responsibilities to the vice presidency: breaking Senate ties and assuming the presidency should the president leave office. Shortly after noon Tuesday, for the first time since the spring of 2008, the Senate was deadlocked 50-50, on a vote to confirm Betsy DeVos as education secretary, and Pence cast his first vote in the Senate after two of the 52 Republicans joined all 48 members of the Democratic caucus in voting against the nominee. Yet Pences most important activity came next, walking into his now regular Tuesday luncheon with Senate Republicans in his role as President Trumps highest profile set of eyes and ears on Capitol Hill. A member of the House for 12 years before serving as Indiana governor, Pence has expanded his portfolio in the Senate well beyond awaiting the increasingly unusual tie votes. He has emerged as a key ally to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.). At McConnells invitation, Pence attends the weekly policy lunch on Tuesdays inside the Mansfield Room, just a few steps off the Senate floor, resuming a tradition that Richard B. Cheney kept over his eight years as the last Republican vice president. There, Pence has shown a willingness to talk with members and take questions, a contrast to how Cheney approached his role. (Bastien Inzaurralde/The Washington Post) He didnt do much talking, Sen. John Cornyn (Tex.), the No. 2 Republican leader, recalled of Cheney, who tended to take a seat at a table off to the side and quietly talk to any senators with questions. Cornyn added that Pence is much more gregarious. Hes not quick to leave, either. And you know he is available to talk to individuals when thats over, as a rule, and I think that will serve him well, said Sen. Roy Blunt (Mo.), also a member of the GOP leadership. The Daily 202: In Mike Pence, conservatives trust What remains to be seen is whether Pence has true clout in a West Wing that seems to thrive off competing power centers. It will always be helpful to have the vice president relaying his intelligence from Capitol Hill back to Trump and his top advisers, but true power comes in shaping the final outcome of decisions. During his House tenure, Pence wasnt particularly influential. The former radio talk-show host was always known more for communication skills than policy chops. But he was generally well liked and trusted, developing long-standing friendships with rabble-rousers who now hold powerful posts, particularly Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.). But Pences early kinship with the Senate could pay even more dividends for the administration. Last week, he served as the lead escort for Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch to Wednesday meetings with McConnell and other senior Republicans. About a third of the Senate served in the House with Pence, including Blunt and several other members of McConnells leadership team. [Cabinet nominees are getting more no votes than ever] Its a much more direct approach than Biden took after serving 36 years in the Senate. He and Harry M. Reid, the majority leader in 2009, both thought it was inappropriate to have the vice president sitting in on Senate Democrats weekly strategy sessions. So Biden took a more traditional role of roving elder statesman, working the phones to his old colleagues and hosting them at the vice presidents home at the Naval Observatory. But Biden and Cheney both served presidents who came from within the political system and spoke the same language, understanding the intricacies of how difficult the Senate could be to overcome. Not Trump, who just a few days into office was already calling for McConnell to blow up the chambers filibuster rules to confirm Gorsuch. Just before his inauguration, Trump suggested in a Washington Post interview that he was on the verge of releasing his own health-care plan. Then, in a weekend interview with Fox News Channel, the president suggested that it could take well more than a year to replace the Affordable Care Act. I think its really indispensable, Cornyn said of Pences work, because there are so many opportunities for miscommunication or no communication between the executive branch and Congress. Mike Pence emerges as Donald Trumps evangelist, emissary and explainer Republicans could be forgiven if they suffered whiplash during back-to-back appearances at the policy retreat in Philadelphia late last month. Trump delivered a free-form performance that jumped all over the map, leaving after 25 minutes and not taking questions. Pence followed with a steady, hand-chopping 20-minute speech that began with a rousing set of thank-yous to his hosts and ended with a stern, prayerful story about Ronald Reagan, and he then took 20 minutes of questions from the rank and file. Even Democrats dont mind having Pence around so much. Sen. Thomas R. Carper (Del.) said Trumps propensity for alternative facts might mean the vice president has to translate: Mike Pence could probably come over, clearly as anybody, and say: This is whats really going on. But history measures a vice presidents power more on his ability to help shape a presidents decisions than how many friends he has on Capitol Hill. Early on, with the slew of executive orders Trump is signing, the power seems to reside with senior West Wing advisers, particularly his chief strategist, Stephen K. Bannon. Unlike those aides, however, Pence is a constitutional officer and has the same four-year term as Trump. Strategists tend to come and go, and Republicans think that Pences credibility will be key to truly big successes like legislative victories on health care. I think hes an incredibly valuable part of what can happen here, Blunt said, noting Pences political utility in reassuring traditional Republicans of Trumps candidacy and now his presidency. I think the president realizes what an important decision this was in terms of rallying conservatives and main-street Republicans around him. Read more from Paul Kanes archive, follow him on Twitter or subscribe to his updates on Facebook. Vice President Pence cast the deciding vote to confirm Betsy DeVos as education secretary Tuesday after opponents failed amid a groundswell of opposition to produce the additional no vote required to sink her nomination. DeVos was confirmed by a vote of 51 to 50 just at 12:30 p.m., with Pence breaking a 50-50 tie the first time a vice president has cast a Senate vote since Richard B. Cheney helped break a tie on a procedural matter in 2008. DeVos understands that teachers, students, parents, school boards, and state and local governments not Washington bureaucrats are best suited to make education decisions for our kids, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said Tuesday. I know shes committed to improving our education system so that every child has a brighter future. As expected, Sens. Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) joined the Democratic caucus to oppose DeVoss confirmation. The Senate also voted to invoke cloture limit debate on the nomination of Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) to be attorney general by a vote of 52 to 47, setting him up for a final confirmation vote later in the week. Sen. Joe Manchin III (D-W.Va.) was the only Democrat to join Republicans in voting to advance the nomination. Sessions himself abstained. (Bastien Inzaurralde/The Washington Post) [Senate narrowly confirms Betsy DeVos as education secretary] Tuesdays votes are expected to usher in a period of intense and unified Democratic opposition to Trumps Cabinet nominees, including those chosen to lead the departments of Justice, Health and Human Services, Labor and Treasury a historic rebuke of a first-term presidents Cabinet selections. Nodding to thousands of constituents fury over Trumps nominees, Democrats held a 24-hour protest against DeVos on the Senate floor ahead of Tuesdays vote, charging throughout the night and early hours that the Republican billionaire power broker and charter school advocate lacked the experience to lead the U.S. public school system. Betsy DeVos is the negative trifecta, Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) said in a floor speech. Negative on competence she doesnt even understand the basic aspects of education. Negative on philosophy she disdains public education, where 90 percent of our kids are. And negative on ethics her conflicts of interest are legion and she hasnt, like some other Cabinet nominees, tried to erase them. [Jeff Sessions approved by Judiciary Committee after another bitter hearing] Trumps Cabinet nominees are expected to see little to no support from Democrats going forward. As of Monday, no Democrat had announced support for Rep. Tom Price (R-Ga.), nominated to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, or Steve Mnuchin, nominated as treasury secretary. They all are scheduled for up-or-down votes in the coming days. Opposition to labor nominee Andrew Puzder; Rep. Mick Mulvaney (R-S.C.), tapped to lead the Office of Management and Budget; and Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt to lead the Environmental Protection Agency remains firm, but the final whip count is less certain, aides said Monday. Votes on those nominees are not scheduled for a few more weeks. Puzder has not yet been scheduled for a confirmation hearing. Democrats announced in January that they would target eight Trump Cabinet nominees on the basis of their policy positions or lack of government experience. Only one of the eight, Rex Tillerson, has been confirmed so far but he was the first secretary of state nominee in U.S. history to ever have to clear various procedural hurdles before a final vote. Still, the level of opposition to DeVos was notable given that 25 members of the Senate Democratic caucus are facing reelection next year, including 10 from states that Trump won. Those 10 have been facing pressure from Republicans to work with Trump or to be supportive of his policies and nominees. But even the most imperiled Democrats stood firm, including Sen. Joe Donnelly (Ind.), who said he would vote against DeVos, Sessions and Price. He continues to review Mnuchins record before a final vote, a spokeswoman said. Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.) said last month that he planned to vote against DeVos in part because she prioritizes private schools over public ones. That would put our students, Montanas rural communities and our very democracy at risk. DeVos has spent decades using her family wealth and its political clout to advocate giving parents taxpayer-funded avenues to allow choice beyond troubled public schools. Many Republican elected officials, who have received campaign donations from DeVos or her family members, embrace her views and consider her an ideal outsider to change the nations education system. But progressive groups and labor unions who also donate generously to Democratic senators have unleashed members on senators in both parties for weeks, flooding Capitol Hill phone systems with messages opposing DeVos. Republicans on Monday blasted Democrats for continuing to delay votes on Trumps nominees, especially for forcing senators to run out the clock on procedural votes to prolong the inevitable. The continued delays are causing the slowest formation of a new presidents Cabinet since at least the 1950s, Republican said. As of Monday, just four of Trumps Cabinet secretaries have been confirmed, compared with 12 of former president Barack Obamas Cabinet-level nominees at this point in 2009 and 16 of George W. Bushs picks in 2001. Read more at PowerPost Dai Xiaolei, 40, asked Beijing authorities for a restraining order against her husband. It was supposed to take 72 hours, but it took four weeks. (Xin Jin/The Washington Post) A key provision of Chinas anti-domestic violence law, a promise to issue restraining orders, is not being properly implemented, putting women at risk and blunting the force of legislation touted as a cornerstone of President Xi Jinpings social policy. In China, domestic violence has long been a hidden epidemic. The government agency in charge of promoting womens rights estimates that 1 in 4 married women is beaten. Experts think the rate of abuse is higher, especially ifnon-married women and other forms of abuse are considered. After a decades-long fight by Chinese feminists, the government went forward with legislation designed to address the problem. Amid optimism about the move, Xi, whose government has jailed feminists, was invited to headline the 2015 U.N. Women Summit in New York. As the Chinese people pursue a happy life, all Chinese women have the opportunity to excel in life and make their dreams come true, he said. That tone increasingly seems at odds with facts on the ground. Last year, a Washington Post investigation into the death of a 24-year-old woman, Li Hongxia, showed the limits of using the law alone to keep women safe. It also showed how the impact of anti-domestic violence measures is muted by a one-party system in which courts are weak, women are underrepresented and traditional gender norms rule. Although China has yet to publish national-level data on the effects of the new law, interviews with survivors, their families and the lawyers who support them show major gaps in the rules, raising questions about the Chinese government's commitment to advance womens rights. A system built on sexism is not equipped to protect women, said Feng Yuan, a Chinese expert on domestic violence. Women applying for restraining orders are often advised by local officials, police and judges to go back to their partners for the sake of family or social stability, she said. They think, If we take action, the marriage might be broken, rather than If we take action, the violence could be stopped. To work, restraining orders must be accessible and enforceable. By both counts, the provisions in Chinas new anti-domestic violence law are falling short, according to several recent cases. Take that of Dai Xiaolei. In June 2016, Dai, 40, applied for a restraining order against her husband. She thought she had a strong case: He had been filmed punching her in an airport. A court had awarded her damages for physical abuse. The first challenge was gathering evidence. When Dai was first beaten, she said, she immediately went to a police station in Beijing. They told her to go back to her husband, sending her home without a record of the attack. The police just didnt care, she said. (Reached by phone, Dais husband declined to comment on the case.) As the violence escalated and her husbands family took custody of her son, she repeatedly sought help from local authorities and they repeatedly brushed her off. They said, I do not live in your home and I have not seen him beat you, Dai said. When her husband punched her in the face in an airport, they had to act. The police reviewed surveillance footage and issued a fine. That evidence later led a judge to order her husband to pay her 5,000 yuan, or about $700, for physical abuse. Several lawyers and survivors said the law has major loopholes, most notably that it excludes many forms of non-physical abuse, as well as non-marital relationships including same-sex partnerships and divorced couples. Zhang Wenxia, 51, applied for a restraining order in October seeking protection from her ex-husband, a man she says has beaten and harassed her for years. The judge turned down her request on the grounds that he was no longer her husband and hence it was not technically domestic abuse. The judge said I should call the police, she said. The police said, You have a special relationship with him, he is your ex-husband, you guys should work this out by yourself. Another woman, who asked not to be named because she feared her husband would kill her for speaking out, said that her family, the police and the local court all urged her not to file for a restraining order and instead go back to her husband. The court then declined her request for a restraining order without citing a reason, she said. In Dais case, it took about four weeks for the judge to issue the protection order and then it didnt really work. Even with the order in place, Dais husband published her contact information online, leading to further harassment from his associates, she said. When she told the judge about it, he referred her to police. The policereferred her right back to court. Dais lawyer, Qi Lianfeng, said nobody in the system seemed willing or able to help. Which department should protect her? The court? The police? he asked. All of them have an obligation to protect her, but none of them know how to do it. Dai said she seemed to need an abuser present, fist raised, about to strike, for authorities to to take her claim seriously. The whole point is to protect me from something happening again, she said. "Nobody will care unless Im beaten to death. Xin Jin in Beijing contributed to this report. Read more Watch: A Chinese feminists defiant message to the government that jailed her Domestic abuse is thriving in Chinas culture of silence Jobs, grandsons, good fortune: Chinese travelers on their hopes for the lunar new year Todays coverage from Post correspondents around the world Like Washington Post World on Facebook and stay updated on foreign news 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. Iraqi special-operations forces in the aftermath of a Jan. 16 car-bomb exploded during an operation to clear the al-Andalus district of Islamic State militants in Mosul. (Muhammad Hamed/Reuters) The documents in the Islamic State file hinted at signs of rebellion within the ranks of its foreign fighters. A Belgian militant had a medical note saying he had back pain and would not join the battle. A fighter from France claimed he wanted to leave Iraq to carry out a suicide attack at home. Several requested transfers to Syria. Others just simply refused to fight. The documents on 14 problem fighters from the Tariq Bin Ziyad battalion made up largely of foreigners were found by Iraqi forces after they took over an Islamic State base in a neighborhood of Mosul last month. At its peak, the Islamic State drew thousands of recruits each month and controlled about a third of Iraqs territory, and the foreigners who poured in from dozens of countries have been characterized as the most die-hard fighters. But the group has steadily lost ground and appeal. The militants are now besieged in the western half of Mosul, once the biggest city the Islamic State controlled and the heart of its self-proclaimed caliphate. But the groups losses have triggered concerns in Europe that disillusioned fighters might find their way home. He doesnt want to fight, wants to return to France, said the notes on a 24-year-old listed as a French resident of Algerian descent. Claims his will is a martyrdom operation in France. Claims sick but doesnt have a medical report. He was one of five fighters in the file listed as having French residency or as originally from France. [One mans escape from an Islamic State mass execution] A photo of an original file found by Iraqi forces after they took over an Islamic State base. (The Washington Post) This Washington Post illustration shows an English translation of the Islamic State file. More citizens from France have joined the Islamic State than from any other country in Europe since 2011, when Syrias popular uprising against President Bashar al-Assad turned violent and fueled the rise of extremist groups. The French government reported a sharp decrease in the number of its citizens traveling to Syria and Iraq to join the group in the first half of 2016 but said that nearly 700 remain there, including 275 women and 17 minors. The forms in the file are marked with the year 2015 but appear to have been filled out later. They specify the dates that some of the militants joined, stretching into 2016. In addition to each militants name, country of origin, country of residency, date of birth, blood type and weapons specialties, the documents list the number of wives, children and slave girls each had. A photo is also included. It was not possibly to verify the personal information, but Iraqi officers who found the file said they believe it is genuine. Two men from Kosovo refused to fight and asked to move to Syria. One said he had head pain. Of the more than 4,000 foreign fighters who have left European Union nations for Iraq and Syria, around a third have returned, according to a report from the Hague-based International Center for Counter-Terrorism. About 14 percent have been confirmed dead, while the rest remain overseas or their whereabouts are unknown. People say that they are the most motivated, but there are plenty of foreign fighters that went and found that the IS experience wasnt what they thought it would be. They thought it would be a great adventure, said Aymenn al-Tamimi, an analyst specializing in militant groups who has compiled an online database of Islamic State documents, some of which indicate similar issues of morale. [Iraq has never seen this kind of fighting in its battles with the Islamic State] The organization keeps meticulous records, leaving clues to its inner workings as the fighters are ejected from territory. Iraqi counterterrorism forces discovered the documents in a house in Mosuls al-Andalus neighborhood that was being used as an administrative base for the Tariq Bin Ziyad battalion. The militants were seen removing documents and computers from the building, according to neighbors, before they set fire to the building as Iraqi forces retook the area, said Lt. Col. Muhanad al-Tamimi, whose unit found the documents unscathed in a desk drawer. Those foreign fighters are the most furious fighters we ever fought against, he said. When those fighters refuse to fight,it means that theyve realized this organization is fake Islam and not the one they came for. A member of the Iraqi security forces removes a banner bearing the logo of the Islamic State in eastern Mosul on Jan. 19. (Mahmud Saleh/AFP/Getty Images) Iraqi troops faced a barrage of suicide car bombs and fierce resistance during the first month of their operations to retake Mosul last year. However, after pausing to reorganize, the forces have made rapid progress on the eastern side of the city this year. Late last month, Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said his forces had recaptured all neighborhoods of Mosul east of the Tigris River and that the Islamic State militants had collapsed quickly. Edwin Bakker, a research fellow at the International Center for Counter-Terrorism and a professor of counterterrorism at Leiden University, said that fighters from Western European countries are largely known to intelligence agencies but that there is less information on those from countries such as Bosnia and Kosovo. With open borders in Europe, these fighters might return home and stage attacks on the continent, he said. But warnings of a tsunami of returning foreign fighters are exaggerated, he said. We shouldnt underestimate the numbers that have gone to live there and die there, he added. Another 30-year-old French national in the file is noted as having been involved in the departure of Abu Azzam al-Fransi and his wife from the land of the Caliphate. Fransi indicates that the fighter he helped leave was also from France. Lt. Gen. Abdul Ghani al-Assadi, commander of Iraqs counterterrorism forces, said there are many foreign fighters in Mosul and that foreign suicide bombers have been responsible for many of the 350 car bombs launched toward their lines. In one Islamic State headquarters in the Dhubat neighborhood of Mosul, his forces found a stash of passports 16 Russian and four French. There were also 20 blank Iraqi passports taken from Mosuls passport department, he said, speculating that the militants are forging them to be able to leave the country. Despite the recent rapid advances in eastern Mosul, Iraqi generals still expect a bloody fight ahead. The western side of the city, home to 750,000 civilians, is surrounded by Iraqi forces, and the Islamic State members still there will have little choice but to fight or die. There are still a lot of people that are motivated, Bakker said. The majority is there to fight. Salim reported from Irbil and Mosul Read more: Iraqi leader to U.S.: Americans come to Iraq to join ISIS, but I didnt ban you ISIS is kidnapping people to use as human shields Todays coverage from Post correspondents around the world Like Washington Post World on Facebook and stay updated on foreign news Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and President Trump had their first telephone call late Tuesday, a highly anticipated conversation in which Erdogan was expected to press the new U.S. leader to reject Pentagon proposals to arm Kurdish fighters in Syria and to quickly extradite a Turkish cleric exiled in Pennsylvania and regarded by Turkey as an enemy of the state. Trump may have preferred to change the subject. Meeting either demand could be problematic for the administration, analysts said, testing a relationship between the two men that for months has been filled with high hopes and mutual admiration. A brief White House statement said the two discussed their shared commitment to combatting terrorism in all its forms. It said that Trump reiterated U.S. support to Turkey as a strategic partner and NATO ally, and welcomed Turkeys contributions to the campaign against the Islamic State. During the U.S. presidential campaign, Trump referred in glowing terms to Erdogans handling of a failed coup attempt that shook Turkey last summer. He spoke optimistically about the bilateral relationship, telling the New York Times that he hoped Turkey can do a lot about the Islamic State. In the same interview, Trump declined to criticize Erdogan for a campaign of mass arrests and dismissals that followed the attempted coup. I think its very hard for us to get involved in other countries when we dont know what we are doing and we cant see straight in our own country, he said. [Turkey expects improved relations with Trump administration] Erdogan hailed Trumps election, quickly extended an invitation to visit Turkey and even praised Trump for putting a reporter in his place during a news conference a few weeks ago. More recently, the Turkish president has avoided condemning Trumps ban on travel to the United States from seven Muslim-majority countries despite the fact that Erdogan is the Islamist leader of a Muslim-majority country who has spoken out forcefully in the past against perceived anti- Muslim bias. When it comes to Turkeys most urgent demands, however, it may be difficult for Trump to show much flexibility. The Pentagon is still weeks away from completing a Trump-ordered 30-day review of its strategy to defeat the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria. Top U.S. military commanders had pushed the Obama administration for months to directly arm Kurdish fighters in northern Syria for a final assault on the city of Raqqa, the militants de facto capital. Turkey has long warned that it considers the Syrian Kurds to be part of Turkeys own Kurdistan Workers Party, or PKK, which both Turkey and the United States have labeled a terrorist group. Obama deferred the decision on the Kurds to Trump, while noting that such plans depended on a quick determination. Trumps advisers have not ruled out the military plan but have asked the Pentagon to explore other options, including the possibility of adding Turkish troops to an Arab force that would be aided by an increased U.S. military presence in Syria. [The Islamic scholar Turkey blames for coup attempt] Trump also may have difficulty with Erdogans request that the United States extradite the exiled cleric Fethullah Gulen, whom Turkey accuses of masterminding the coup attempt. Turkish officials were encouraged when Trumps national security adviser, Michael Flynn, published an article on Election Day calling Gulen a radical and saying the United States should not provide him safe haven. A decision on whether Turkish evidence is strong enough to merit extradition rests with the Justice Department. Even if it recommends such a move, the final decision must be made by a U.S. federal court, where Gulen can contest extradition and appeal if he loses, a process that could take months, if not years. Gulen has denied playing any role in the attempted coup. Semih Idiz, a Turkish political analyst and columnist who writes for the al-Monitor news site, said Turkey has left too many unanswered questions about its proposed alternative to the Kurdish fighters, including how many Turkish troops would need to be mobilized to replace them. Even so, any demands made on Tuesdays phone call could aid Erdogan. There is public opinion that has to be fed, Idiz said. They have to appear to be pushing this to the limit. DeYoung reported from Washington. Adam Entous in Washington contributed to this report. Read more Turkey detains more than 800 people in operation against Islamic State In Middle East, some Christians are wary of Trumps embrace Handcuffs and hair-pulling: Turkeys parliament debates, then approves new powers for the president Todays coverage from Post correspondents around the world Like Washington Post World on Facebook and stay updated on foreign news President Trump returns the salute of a Marine honor guard as he disembarks from Marine One upon arrival at the White House. (Manuel Balce Ceneta/Associated Press) While much of the rest of the country was settling in for the Super Bowl on Sunday night, a group of senior Obama administration officials was putting the finishing touches on an unprecedented legal brief charging President Trump with endangering national security. Signed by former president Barack Obamas national security adviser, his top counterterrorism aide and his secretary of state, as well as other senior security officials from the past three administrations, the brief was filed in support of Fridays federal court ruling that froze Trumps executive order on immigration. The filing called the order ill-conceived, poorly implemented and ill-explained, and said there was little evidence it had been analyzed by policy professionals before Trump signed it. On Monday, Trump called reports of wide public disapproval of the order lies and fake news. While the brief contended that the order was signed without input from intelligence, law enforcement and diplomats, Trump tweeted that he acted largely based on an accumulation of data. Signatories to the brief are part of a nascent movement seeking to match ongoing public protests with the efforts of former government insiders who are willing to formally challenge Trump administration words and actions. Most of the participants are former Obama officials, but they include some diplomatic, military, White House and Cabinet-level officials from the administrations of George W. Bush and Bill Clinton. Obama himself offered his support for protest, in a statement three days after Trumps Jan. 27 order, that called on all citizens . . . to be guardians of our democracy and have their voices heard. On the same day, more than 100 former diplomats, government and military officials signed a letter urging top officials at the departments of State, Homeland Security and Justice to use their discretion in implementing the directive to mitigate its effects. Using technology that was far less prevalent when Obama took office in 2009, some former officials have taken to Twitter, Trumps favored means of mass communication, to counter the new administration. Im not aware of any U.S. President ever discussing campaigns and voting data when talking to Americans in uniform, Benjamin Rhodes, an Obama deputy national security adviser, tweeted minutes after Trump began his Monday remarks to the U.S. Central Command in Tampa by thanking military members for voting for him. I saw those numbers, and you liked me, and I liked you, Trump said. Colin Kahl, former vice president Joe Bidens national security adviser, tweeted last week to deny that a chaotic raid by U.S. Special Operations forces in Yemen, which left one service member and a number of civilians dead, had been initially approved by Obama. Trump and his team owns the process and the ultimate decision and the consequences, Kahl said. Seeking to build on the model of the now-defunct National Security Network, a group of progressive Democrats espousing pragmatic and principled national security policies that was formed after John F. Kerrys loss in the 2004 election, Obama officials led by former acting secretary of homeland security Rand Beers, former Defense Department official Vikram Singh and Jake Sullivan, a senior White House and State Department adviser who joined Hillary Clintons campaign, have been gathering adherents and seeking funding. With guidance from that group, the immigration brief was written by Harold Hongju Koh, a Yale Law School professor and former dean who served as a State Department legal adviser during Obamas first term. Working with students and professors at Yales Rule of Law Clinic, Koh drafted the statement Saturday, the morning after a judge with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit in Washington state ordered a stay on all action under Trumps order. The administration has appealed the ruling. Signers exchanged drafts and added points until shortly before the brief was filed late Sunday night. My purpose [in signing] was pretty narrow, Michael V. Hayden, who served as Bushs National Security Agency head and CIA director, said in an email. From my point of view and experience, the intelligence did not warrant such a dramatic step as Trumps executive order, Hayden said. Bottom line: didnt solve a real problem and actually made the overall situation worse. Four of the 10 signers Kerry, who served as Obamas secretary of state; national security adviser Susan E. Rice and her deputy, Avril Haines; and chief counterterrorism adviser Lisa Monaco were current on active intelligence regarding all credible terrorist threat streams directed against the U.S. as recently as one week before the order was issued. We all agree that the United States faces real threats, it read, but we are nevertheless unaware of any specific threat that would justify the travel ban the order included. In our professional opinion, this order cannot be justified on national security or foreign policy grounds. In addition to disrupting lives, there is no national security purpose for an order that, they wrote, will endanger U.S. troops in the field; disrupt key counterterrorism, foreign policy, and national security partnerships that are critical to counterterrorism operations; endanger intelligence sources in the field; feed recruitment of the Islamic State and other extremists; and disrupt ongoing law enforcement efforts. Other former officials who signed the brief include defense secretary and CIA director Leon Panetta, secretary of state Madeleine K. Albright, homeland security secretary Janet A. Napolitano and acting CIA directors John McLaughlin and Michael J. Morell. President Trump denounced arguments against his immigration order as disgraceful on Wednesday a day after three federal appellate judges lobbed critical inquiries at those challenging and defending the plan and suggested a ruling against his administration would be based on politics and not a fair reading of the law. In a speech to law enforcement officials in Washington, Trump argued his executive action is clearly legal and read aloud the relevant part of the law, which he called so simple and so beautifully written and so perfectly written. I watched last night, in amazement, and I heard things that I couldnt believe, things that really had nothing to do with what I just read, he said. And I dont ever want to call a court biased, so I wont call it biased. And we havent had a decision yet. But courts seem to be so political and it would be so great for our justice system if they would be able to read a statement and do whats right. Trump insisted the order was within his executive powers and a bad high school student would understand this. The court said it would not issue a decision Wednesday but previously indicated a ruling could come this week. The panel from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit on Tuesday aggressively questioned a Justice Department lawyer about what he considered the limits on the presidents power and what evidence Trump relied upon in temporarily barring refugees and citizens of seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the United States. (Dalton Bennett,Ahmed Deeb/The Washington Post) But the panel similarly interrogated Washington states solicitor general, who is challenging the presidents directive, over what evidence he had to demonstrate religious discrimination and whether a lower-court judges freeze on the ban was too broad. The court said it expects to make a decision on the matter probably this week, and Judge Michelle Taryn Friedland promised rapid consideration. The ruling could affect tens of thousands of travelers whose visas were revoked by the initial executive order, then restored after U.S. District Judge James L. Robart in Seattle put a nationwide stop to it. The issue of whether the order is allowed to remain in place while legal challenges continue is likely to end up at the Supreme Court. But it will be harder for the Trump administration to prevail at the high court if the appeals court rules that a nationwide halt is warranted. The broad legal question is whether Trump acted within his authority in blocking the entry of people from Iraq, Iran, Somalia, Sudan, Libya, Syria and Yemen, or whether his order essentially amounts to a discriminatory ban on Muslims. The judges must also weigh the harm the ban imposes and whether it is proper for them to intervene in a national security matter on which the president is viewed as the ultimate authority. Earlier Wednesday, Trump added to his barrage of comments decrying the challenge to the order, and casting blame if the decision does not go his way. If the U.S. does not win this case as it so obviously should, we can never have the security and safety to which we are entitled, Trump tweeted. Politics! Later, before his address to the police chiefs and sheriffs, Trump appeared to describe the legal challenges as horrible, dangerous and wrong. Justice Department lawyer August E. Flentje argued Tuesday that the order was well within the presidents power, asserting that Congress and a previous administration had designated the seven affected countries as having problems with terrorism albeit in a different context. Some of the judges, though, seemed wary of that claim. Friedland, who was appointed by President Barack Obama, asked Flentje if the government had pointed to any evidence connecting these countries with terrorism. Judge Richard Clifton, a President George W. Bush appointee, noted that the government already had processes in place to screen people coming from those countries and asked, Is there any reason for us to think that theres a real risk or that circumstances have changed such that theres a real risk? The president determined that there was a real risk, Flentje responded. Washington state Solicitor General Noah Purcell argued that the government was essentially asking the court to abdicate its role as a check on the executive branch, and he asserted that reinstating the ban would throw the country back into chaos. But Purcell, too, faced critical questions. Clifton said that he was having trouble understanding why were supposed to infer religious animus when in fact the vast majority of Muslims would not be affected a key point, as the state is trying to demonstrate that Trumps order is intentionally discriminatory and runs afoul of the Constitution. Purcell pointed to public statements from Trump and his allies. Former New York mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani, for example, recently said: So when [Trump] first announced it, he said, Muslim ban. He called me up. He said: Put a commission together. Show me the right way to do it legally. Flentje disputed that the order is a Muslim ban, and he said the judges should limit their consideration to the executive order itself. It is extraordinary to enjoin the presidents national security determination based on some newspaper articles, and thats what has happened here, he said. [Federal appeals court decides to schedule a hearing on Trump travel order] Whichever side loses is sure to take the fight to the Supreme Court. That traditionally has been solid ground for presidents. Justices often defer to a president on matters of immigration and national security, because of his constitutional powers and an additional grant of authority from Congress. The politically divisive fight comes as the Supreme Court remains shorthanded following the death of Justice Antonin Scalia nearly a year ago; the four Democratic-appointed liberals and four Republican-appointed conservatives often split. Trump said at a White House event Tuesday that he was prepared to elevate the dispute as needed. Were going to take it through the system, he told reporters. Its very important for the country Well see what happens. We have a big court case. Were well represented. Flentje did offer something of a compromise for the judges Tuesday, saying they could limit the lower-court judges ruling to foreigners previously admitted to the country who were abroad now or those who wished to travel and return to the United States in the future. Purcell countered that officials had not explained how they would practically implement such an order. In addition to Clifton and Friedland, the case was heard by William C. Canby Jr., who was appointed by President Jimmy Carter. The hearing was conducted via telephone, with Friedland listening from San Jose, Canby from Phoenix and Clifton from Honolulu. If those judges turn down the administrations appeal and the matter moves immediately to the Supreme Court, the argument would be only on the temporary restraining order, and it would require five justices to reverse the lower courts actions. The high court faced a similar issue last term, when a Texas judge imposed a nationwide halt on an executive action from Obama that would have shielded more than 4 million immigrants who were in the country illegally, but who met certain requirements to get work permits. The justices then split 4 to 4 on the matter. If five justices could not agree, the case would return to Robart, the district judge, to decide whether Trumps order should be permanently enjoined. The fight up the legal ladder would then begin anew possibly taking months, past when the travel ban is set to expire. Homeland Security Secretary John F. Kelly predicted Tuesday that the administration would prevail in its bid to reinstate the executive order and said judges might be considering the matter from an academic, rather than a national security, perspective. Of course, in their courtrooms, theyre protected by people like me, he said. Testifying before the House Homeland Security Committee, Kelly forcefully defended the measure as a necessary pause so officials could improve vetting procedures. He said that it is entirely possible that dangerous people are now entering the country with the order on hold as Trump has said via Twitter and that officials might not know about them until it is too late. Not until the boom, he said when asked if he could provide evidence of a dangerous person coming into the country since the ban was suspended. [Trump and his aides keep justifying the entry ban by citing attacks it couldnt have prevented] Kellys view does not reflect the consensus of the national security community. Ten high-ranking diplomatic and security officials among them former secretaries of state John F. Kerry and Madeleine Albright, former CIA director Leon E. Panetta, and former CIA and National Security Agency director Michael V. Hayden said in a legal filing that there was no national security purpose for a complete barring of people from the seven affected countries. Kelly also acknowledged Tuesday that if he were given a second chance, he might do things differently in rolling out the order. That stands somewhat in contrast to Trumps recent assertion to Fox News Channels Bill OReilly that the implementation was very smooth, and it is important because if the appeals court reinstates the ban Kelly might get another crack at implementation. In retrospect, I should have this is all on me, by the way I should have delayed it just a bit, so that I could talk to members of Congress, particularly the leadership of committees like this, to prepare them for what was coming, although I think most people would agree that this has been a topic of President Trump certainly during his campaign and during the transition process, Kelly said. He later said, though, that most of the confusion that followed the signing of the order was attributable to court orders and occurred not among Customs and Border Protection officers but among protesters in airports. After people were initially detained and deported, demonstrators packed airports to voice their displeasure, and civil liberties and immigration lawyers filed lawsuits across the country. Many of those suits are ongoing, with lawyers keeping a close eye on the proceedings at the 9th Circuit. On Tuesday, a group of lawyers asked a federal judge in New York to force the government to turn over a list of those who had been detained or deported, as the court had previously ordered officials to do. The government has said no one is being detained and has debated what information it is required to provide. Noncompliance of a court order is very serious, especially where peoples lives are at stake, said Lee Gelernt, deputy director of the ACLUs Immigrants Rights Project. We filed this motion to enforce because the government left us no choice. John Wagner contributed to this report. Federal prosecutors in Baltimore are expected to seek an indictment as early as this week against a former National Security Agency contractor who is accused of carrying out the biggest theft of classified information in U.S. history. The indictment against Harold T. Martin III is expected to contain charges of violating the Espionage Act by willfully retaining information that relates to the national defense, including classified data such as NSA hacking tools and operational plans against a known enemy of the United States, according to individuals familiar with the case. Martin, 52, was arrested Aug. 29 at his home in Glen Burnie, Md., and he has been held in a detention facility since. A U.S. District Judge last fall declined Martins request to be released from jail pending an eventual trial or resolution of the case, ruling that he was a flight risk. In a complaint unsealed in October, the government charged Martin with felony theft of government property and the unauthorized removal and retention of classified materials, a misdemeanor. The prosecutors said then that they expected that the indictment would also include charges of violations of the Espionage Act, offenses that carry a prison term of up to 10 years for each count. Such charges, prosecutors said, if run consecutively, could amount to a sentence as high as 30 years to life in prison. The Justice Department declined to comment Monday. In court hearings and filings, prosecutors have characterized Martins actions as highly damaging to national security. Over the course of 20 years working with various federal agencies, Martin took irreplaceable classified material on a breathtaking scale, said Zachary A. Myers, an assistant U.S. attorney with the District of Maryland, at a detention hearing in October. Myers said Martin took many thousands of pages of classified material as well as 50 terabytes of digital data, much of which has special handling caveats. Martin previously worked in the Navy, leaving active duty in 1992 and then held a variety of tech jobs with government contractors. He worked at the NSA from 2012 to 2015, where he was an employee of the intelligence contractor Booz Allen Hamilton. For some portion of that time, Martin was in the NSAs elite hacker unit, Tailored Access Operations, which makes and deploys software used to penetrate foreign targets computer networks for foreign espionage purposes. Some U.S. officials said that Martin allegedly made off with more than 75 percent of TAOs library of hacking tools an allegation which, if true, would be a stunning breach of security. James Wyda, one of Martins defense attorneys, declined to comment. His attorneys have previously portrayed him as a patriot who took material home to become better in his job, not to pass them to a foreign spy agency and betray his country. The desire to improve became a compulsion, Wyda argued at the detention hearing. This is the behavior of a compulsive hoarder who could not stop gathering and possessing the documents he treasured, Wyda said. Martins theft was discovered more than a year after another breach at TAO, in which a longtime employee was discovered to have taken without authorization significant quantities of the units hacking tools. The breach was not thought to be as serious as Martins, but it caused concern within the intelligence community. Sednaya prison outside the Syrian capital Damascus where thousands were secretly executed, according to a report by Amnesty International. Illustrations taken from the Forensic Architecture Platform (Amnesty International) Syrian President Bashar al-Assads government secretly executed between 5,000 and 13,000 people in just one prison as part of its campaign to eliminate opposition to his rule, a new report by the watchdog group Amnesty International has found. The killings took place over a four-year period between 2011 and 2015 in the notorious Sednaya facility outside Damascus, and the bodies were later disposed of in mass graves, according to the report released Monday by Amnesty. Human rights groups estimate that tens of thousands of political prisoners have disappeared in the Syrian prison system since the uprising against Assads rule erupted in 2011, and they suspect that many of those have been tortured to death or secretly killed. The accounts of these killings are in addition to the figure of 17,000 that Amnesty counted in an earlier report on the extrajudicial killings issued last August, compounding an emerging picture of what Amnesty referred to as a policy of extermination against opponents of the government. The majority of those executed at Sednaya were political prisoners, including many of the ordinary people who joined in the peaceful protests against Assad, the report says. Some were rebels who took up arms, and others were officers and soldiers who defected from government forces. But for the most part they were doctors, engineers, protesters, one former prison official is quoted as saying. They were somehow understood to be linked to the revolution. Sednaya is the place to finish the revolutionaries. Its the end for them. Syria rejected the report Wednesday as baseless and part of a campaign to discredit Assads government. A statement by Syrias Justice Ministry, carried by Syrias state-run news agency, said it denies and condemns in the strongest terms what was reported because it is not based on correct evidence but on personal emotions that aim to achieve well-known political goals. Former detainee Omar al-Shogre before his arrest, left, and shortly after his release from Seydnaya prison, according to Amnesty International. (Amnesty International) The Amnesty report describes in chilling detail how the prisoners were taken out of their cells in batches, of up to 50 at a time, twice a week and in the middle of the night, typically on Mondays and Wednesdays. They were given only cursory trials lasting one to three minutes at one of two military field courts that offered no semblance of judicial process, with sentences typically handed down on the basis of confessions extracted under torture. When the time came for their executions, the prisoners were handcuffed, blindfolded and led to a basement cell containing 10 stands and 10 nooses. A former judge from the military court described the executions, saying it would often take up to 10 to 15 minutes for the prisoners to die. Some didnt die because they are light. For the young ones, their weight wouldnt kill them. The officers assistants would pull them down and break their necks. Two officers assistants were in charge of this. Amnesty said it based its estimate of between 5,000 and 13,000 hangings conducted this way on testimony of 31 former prisoners, four prison officials and three judges familiar with specific instances of the executions and the frequency with which they appeared to occur. They are identified in the report only by their last names because of safety concerns. Amnesty said the executions amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity and were authorized at the highest levels of the Syrian government. The horrors depicted in this report reveal a hidden, monstrous campaign, authorized at the highest levels of the Syrian government, aimed at crushing any form of dissent within the Syrian population, said Lynn Maalouf, deputy director for research at Amnesty Internationals regional office in Beirut. The allegations come at a sensitive time for Assad, who is in the process of crushing the nearly six-year-old rebellion against his rule but still lacks international legitimacy. The findings of the report are expected to be on the agenda for the next round of Syrian peace talks, scheduled to be held in Geneva on Feb. 20, Amnesty said. It also called for an independent United Nations investigation into the atrocities. The report also contains details of what it calls the sadistic and dehumanizing conditions under which the prisoners are kept, including repeated torture and the systematic deprivation of food, water and medical care. Many more prisoners die from torture and neglect, Amnesty said. Many of the prisoners said they were raped or in some cases forced to rape other prisoners. Torture and beatings are used as a regular form of punishment and degradation, often leading to life-long damage, disability or even death, the report says. The cell floors are covered with blood and puss from prisoners wounds. The bodies of dead detainees are collected by the prison guards each morning, around 9 a.m. Read more Todays coverage from Post correspondents around the world Like Washington Post World on Facebook and stay updated on foreign news Contenders for chairperson of the Democratic National Committee (DNC) and other national party offices attended a public forum at Wayne State University on Saturday as part of a series of four regional gatherings called by the DNC. Held in the wake of mass protests that erupted following the inauguration of Donald Trump, whose administration has launched an unprecedented attack on democratic rights, the event drew relatively little interest or enthusiasm outside of party operatives and core supporters of the Democratic Party establishment. Attendance at the event, which drew only a few hundred people, was dominated by union officials and Democratic Party insiders. On display was the demoralization and perplexity of this big business party in the face of growing social opposition to the Trump administration that it neither anticipated nor welcomed. In his official greetings, Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan, who presides over the poorest big city in the United States, with an official unemployment rate near 10 percent, made no mention of the impending layoff of 1,300 workers at the General Motors Detroit-Hamtramck Assembly Plant in the city. The two leading candidates for the post of DNC chairman addressed the meeting. Minnesota Congressman Keith Ellison, the first Muslim elected to Congress, is the favorite of the nominal left wing of the Democratic Party, headed up by former presidential candidate Bernie Sanders and Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren. Ellison has also received the endorsement of the AFL-CIO on the basis of his espousal of economic nationalism. The National Nurses United (NNU), which sold out the recent strike against Allina Health in Minnesota, sent a large contingent to lobby on behalf of Ellison at the Detroit forum. Ellison has joined in the right-wing anti-Russian hysteria promoted by the Democratic leadership. He boycotted Trumps inauguration in solidarity with Georgia Representative John Lewis on the grounds that Trumps election was not legitimate because of alleged Russian hacking of DNC emails. The other leading candidate for DNC chairperson, Tom Perez, who was labor secretary under Obama, also has considerable support within the party and trade union apparatus, including the endorsement of the United Food and Commercial Workers union. He reportedly has strong support as well within the building trades unions. The predominant theme voiced by all speakers was unity. There was a general avoidance of any substantive discussion of policy issues. No one criticized the record of the Obama administration or the right-wing character of the Clinton campaign, outside of occasional talk of the need to reconnect with blue collar workers. This included Ellison, whose candidacy is being touted by various pseudo-left groups as a sign that the Democratic Party is moving to the left. Ellison made only a fleeting reference to the working class and issues of pensions and student debt in his remarks. He avoided any comments on the presidential primary or general election campaigns. In regard to the anti-Trump protests, the most Ellison could muster was a suggestion that Democratic Party supporters bring coffee to the demonstrators. The debate among the DNC candidates focused on petty tactical prescriptions such as more effective voter registration and more support for local party organizations. There was no attempt to draw any broader conclusions from the Democratic Party election debacle or the implications of the policies of the Trump administration. Outside of baiting Trump for his alleged Russian ties, there was not a single reference to foreign policy questions. This is because both the Democrats and Republicans support a program of aggressive militarism overseas. The two terms of President Obama were marked by an escalation of US wars and the expansion of drone assassinations, including the murder of US citizens. The most absurd moment came when the Reverend Wendell Anthony, chair of the Detroit chapter of the NAACP, spoke. He presented the Obama administration as the heir of Franklin Roosevelts New Deal and Lyndon Johnsons Great Society. No one was impolite enough to point out the obvious fact that while Roosevelt and Johnson, in the interests of defending capitalism, implemented policies expanding the social safety net, the Obama administration presided over cuts to those very programs and the greatest increase in social inequality in history. After a weekend in which several leading candidates gave major speeches to launch their campaigns, there is enormous uncertainty over the outcome of the French presidential election. The contest is shaped by the election of Donald Trump in the United States and the deep unpopularity of President Francois Hollande of the Socialist Party (PS). Frances traditional parties of government face a historic crisis. The PS is split over whether to back banker and independent candidate Emmanuel Macron or PS candidate Benoit Hamon, and right-wing The Republicans (LR) candidate Francois Fillon faces a scandal over charges that he had his wife paid vast sums of money for doing no work. The field of candidates that has emerged testifies to the breakdown of French democracy and the bankruptcy of the ruling elite. Despite unprecedented economic suffering and social anger, no candidate is advancing a program representing the interests of working people. This produces an explosive and uncertain situation. With all the candidates committed to war and austerity, and the electorate disillusioned with the political establishment, there is no clear sense of who will become the undeserving beneficiary of popular anger and demands for change. The latest Les Echos poll showed Marine Le Pen of the neo-fascist National Front (FN) leading on the first round with 26 percent of the vote. Macron would take 23 percent and Fillon 20 percent. Hamon has recently overtaken Jean-Luc Melenchon, the Left Front leader who is running as the candidate of the Rebellious France movement; the two are at 14 and 11 percent, respectively. Even though she is calling for an alliance with Trump in the face of his massive unpopularity in the French population, and faces sharp disapproval from two-thirds of the electorate, Le Pen could still win the election. This could lead to Frances withdrawal from the European Union (EU) and the euro currency, the likely collapse of these basic institutions of European capitalism, and a sharp confrontation between Paris and Berlin. Le Pen held her campaign launch on Sunday in Lyon, Frances third-largest city, a prosperous and traditionally right-wing metropolis near the Swiss border. Hailing Trumps election and Britains exit from the EU, she issued a populist denunciation of globalization for creating a society where people make slaves produce things to sell them to the unemployed. She launched the FNs traditional appeal to nationalist and anti-Muslim sentiment, in language recycled from the PS and its alliesdenouncing two totalitarianisms, economic and religious, as dangers to France. After her niece, FN member Marion Marechal-Le Pen, endorsed Trumps anti-Muslim immigrant ban, which has provoked mass protests in the United States and internationally, Le Pen attacked Islamism and radicalized Islam as dangers for France. She announced plans for two referendums, the first on renegotiating Frances independence (monetary, legislative, territorial, and economic) with the European Union, in line with her previous calls to leave the EU and the euro. She also intends to hold a referendum on inscribing national preference, that is, ethnic discrimination in favor of French people, in the constitution. Significantly, there are increasing signs that the financial markets are beginning to push down the value of French sovereign debt, possibly anticipating a Le Pen victory and conflict inside the EU over the euro. Rising yield on French debt is, the Financial Times of London wrote, a sign of shifting investor preference, or even caution, under conditions where many investors are understandably focused on the risks of a populist who has promised to take France out of the euro. On the same day as Le Pen, Melenchon launched his campaign in Lyon, appearing by hologram at a meeting in Paris. He had appealed for unity with Hamon, in an attempt to allow the official PS candidate, backed by the PS traditional allies, the Greens and the Left Front, to reach the second round. At his meeting, he attacked the two current leading candidates, Le Pen and Macron, as the ignoramus and the banker who has made life horrible for thousands of people by participating in the El Khomri law, the unpopular labor law imposed by the PS in the face of mass protests last year. Last week, however, Hamon was visiting Hollande and Prime Minister Bernard Cazeneuve to obtain their support for his election bid and try to hold together the PS behind him. This underscores that Hamonwho has gained media traction by proposing to respond to the de-industrialization of France by replacing wages paid for labor with a miserly 600 to 800 euro universal monthly wage paid to all workersis not an insurgent anti-government candidate. Rather, he is a candidate appealing to sections of the upper middle class discontented with the PS to return to the fold. In Lyon, Melenchon said nothing explicitly about Hamon, however, but concluded his speech by tacitly repeating his call for an alliance with Hamon, Any time someone extends a hand to us instead of insulting us, Melenchon said, we are always happy. Such positions underscore that, whatever the result of the election, it will produce a government that will face the working class as an enemy no less than did Hollande, amid the deepest crisis in world politics since the Stalinist dissolution of the USSR a quarter century ago. The meetings of Le Pen and Melenchon came the day after Macron launched his campaign, also in Lyon. Hollandes former economy minister speaks for sections of the French bourgeoisie that want to react to Trump by building closer ties with Berlin and maintaining the NATO alliance with the United States, despite Trumps hostility to it. Macron also represents sections of the PS machine, notably its forces in Lyon, that are responding to the historic crisis of the PS that has emerged under Hollande by ditching any pretense of having a socialistic orientation, and backing Macrons unabashedly capitalist agenda. He is proposing economic shock therapy at home against the workers, with deep cuts to social services to help fund an increase in military spending to 2 percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP). I dont say the right and the left dont exist anymore, Macron declared in his speech. But in such historic times, cant we get beyond such divisions? While Macron criticized Trumps anti-immigrant policiescriticizing his plans to build a wall along the US-Mexico border by declaring there will be no wall in my programhe proposes an aggressive nationalist and militaristic policy. After having publicly met with right-wing nationalist politicians including Philippe de Villiers as he prepared his campaign bid, Macron in his speech branded several countries including Russia, Iran, Turkey, and Saudi Arabia as dangerous authoritarian regimes. Polls currently show that Macron would beat Le Pen overwhelmingly in the second round of voting. However, there is increasing fear in the media that the electoratefaced with a choice between an unpopular neo-fascist, and either Hamon or an unpopular banker tied to Hollandemight respond unpredictably, through a mixture of abstention and protest vote, thus bringing Le Pen to power. In a piece titled How Marine Le Pen can become president of France, Marianne writes, the situation should be very favorable to [Macron]. He should logically be well above 25 percent. But he seems stuck around 21-22 percent. A glass ceiling? His bankers image, free-market globalism, and his very open position on immigration have clearly become weaknesses. On a Hamon-Le Pen run-off, the magazine wrote, The right-wing vote would go massively to the FN candidate. Much of the center and center-right would abstain. Manual workers and employees would refuse to support a candidate who promotes the end of labor as a positive good (that is to say, jobs) and denounces the myth of economic growth. Then Marine Le Pen would have real chances. Such concerns reflect the collapse of votes for Fillon, who after his victory in LRs autumn primary was projected to easily win, defeating Le Pen in the second round. However, his call for deep austerity, including cutting 500,000 jobs and undermining the Social Security systems financing of health care, was highly unpopular. After he called for alliances with Germany and Russia against the United States, a scandal erupted over charges that his wife improperly received hundreds of thousands of euros from the National Assembly and private enterprises without doing any work. As reports surfaced in Le Monde that Fillon and his wife contradicted each other in their testimony on the matter to state investigators, Fillon went on television yesterday afternoon in a desperate attempt to save his presidential bid. Nonetheless, he brazenly defended his record, insisting that he would not refund any of the money and defending his wife, while insistingin a comment manifestly aimed at his big business backersthat he was the only candidate who could give France the social shock it needs. Taking care of a pet pig is surprisingly similar to caring for a dog or cat, according to some veterinarians. (Photo: Getty Images) Tori Spelling has added another member to her growing family. The 43-year-old actress, who is married to Dean McDermott and pregnant with baby No. 5, is now the proud owner of a pet pig. Spelling announced her latest arrival on Instagram: We have a new member of the familyNutmeg! Thanks to @oinkoinkminipigs for making this happen! Get all of the details on ToriSpelling.com. A photo posted by Tori Spelling (@torispelling) on Feb 3, 2017 at 1:04pm PST The Beverly Hills 90210 alum added on her personal website, ediTORIal, that she literally squealed with excitement back in October when she was told that Nutmeg had been born and would soon be joining her household. Maybe not the ideal timing with my baby due so soon but all babies are blessings whenever they come into your life! Spelling wrote. Although a pig may seem like a questionable choice for a pet, the Spelling/McDermott family is actually following an ongoing trend. Pet pig ownership has increased over the years, and perhaps its due to the ever-so-suave George Clooney having Max for almost 19 years, says Katy Nelson, an associate veterinarian at the Belle Haven Animal Medical Center in Alexandria, Va., and host of The Pet Show With Dr. Katy on Washington, D.C.s News Channel 8. Or maybe even because Esther the Pig has taken over the Internet. Nelson adds that the porcine pet set has definitely seen an increase over the years, with its largest spike in popularity being in the 1980s, as the first Vietnamese potbellied pigs were imported into the U.S. as pets. Carol Osborne, an integrative veterinarian and founder and director of the Chagrin Falls Veterinary Center & Pet Clinic in Ohio, tells Yahoo Beauty about the health benefits of adopting a tiny snorter. Pigs exhibit a high level of emotional intelligence, like a dog, and can be a great comfort in times of high emotional stress, Osborne states. They can cuddle, snort, frown, and cough and display many other behaviors that will remind you of cuddling up with your favorite dog or cat. Mans best friend may be a dog, but pigs are pretty cool too. Story continues And because a pigs temperament is similar to that of a dogs or cats, a good home will be the determining factor in the temperament of your new mini-pig, adds Osborne. Also, a little oinker could be the perfect pet for anyone who suffers from allergies because the hair on pigs is hypoallergenic and is not prone to shedding, she points out. But could a sweet swine carry germs that may harm children, a newborn, or pregnant women? Pigs, like most animals, are susceptible to disease, such as campylobacteriosis, cryptosporidiosis, influenza, leptospirosis, rabies, ringworm, salmonellosis, yersiniosis germs that are very similar to ones that could be contracted from a dog or cat, says Osborne. Case in point staying on top of cleaning and caring for your pet pig will greatly reduce the chances of catching a disease. Aside from standard checkups, oral care, and nail trimming, Osborne says that veterinary care is relatively minimal. And believe it or not, a house hog isnt any filthier than a typical pet. You can bathe a pig weekly or monthly as needed, and youd most likely do this in your home, says Osborne. But you can always ask your local groomer if they will groom your pig. If youre considering adopting a pet potbelly, Nelson recommends checking out the Pig Placement Network for more information. Read More: Is Having Twin Babies Like Beyonce Really a Trend? Pink Is in No Rush to Lose Baby Weight 4 Things You Should Never Say to Someone Mourning the Loss of a Pet Lets keep in touch! Follow Yahoo Beauty on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest. As the life was being choked from her body six months ago, Karina Vetrano fought fiercely against her killer clawing at his skin with her nails and biting him with such force that her teeth cracked, authorities say. Detectives are glad she did. This weekend, New York City police detained 20-year-old Chanel Lewis and charged him with murder and sexual assault in connection with Vetranos brutal killing on Aug. 2, 2016, in a Queens park. But police say the arrest may never have happened if not for Vetranos actions in her final moments. Several tiny shreds of the killers skin were recovered from beneath her fingernails, New York Citys Chief of Detectives Robert Boyce explained at a Sunday news conference. It was this DNA evidence that eventually led to Lewis. Karina helped us identify this person, Boyce told reporters. She had the DNA under her nails. She had touch DNA on her back and there was more DNA on her cellphone. Thats how we were able to bring this profile up, and thats how we made the link. This is a very good day for justice in New York City. Vetranos battered body was discovered face-down in the park within hours of her killing. She was found not far from a running path she jogged daily, and she was last seen by her family heading out to run. Police say she was beaten and sexually assaulted before being strangled to death. There was a clump of grass in one of her hands, indicating she was dragged into the weeds where she was eventually killed. 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. Investigators began developing a profile on Lewis two weeks ago, after discovering he had been issued several summonses near the crime scene in the days before Vetranos killing, Boyce said on Sunday. They tracked him to his mothers house. On Thursday, he gave investigators a DNA sample, which was matched on Saturday to a sample recovered from Vetranos body, leading to his arrest. Story continues An N.Y.C. police source tells PEOPLE that Lewis expressed a hatred for women as he was being interviewed in custody. Detectives have also learned that he had allegedly threatened to hurt female students at his high school with a knife. The source adds that investigators do not know what sparked Lewis apparent misogyny, but he allegedly told investigators he couldnt stop himself from attacking Vetrano as she jogged passed him. Police say hospital records from early August also confirm that around the time Vetrano was killed, Lewis was treated for an injury to one of his hands. (He told doctors he had been mugged by three men.) Lewis has yet to enter a plea to the charges against him. Messages left for his parents and lawyers were not returned Monday. Vetranos parents were also unavailable for comment. Lewis was arraigned on Sunday and held with bail, according to local reports. Vetranos family, including her parents, attended the hearing and Vetranos mother chastised Lewis as he left the court, according to CBS New York. Savage murderer! she called out, according to the station. He murdered my daughter my beautiful, innocent daughter! Hes a demon! she said. Hes a demon! 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 Lewis father did previously told the New York Post his sons arrest was extremely surprising. He said his son is a humble young man who excelled in school. Chanel would never have gone to do what they say he has done, his father said. Hes never had a fight in his 20 years. Lewis is due back in court on Feb. 21, according to the Queens District Attorneys office. One of the most talked-about members of the Trump White Housecomplete with a wildly popular Saturday Night Live doppleganger in Melissa McCarthySpicer resigned as press secretary on July 21, the same day Trump brought Scaramucci aboard. The Washington Post reported that Spicer and Scaramucci had a strained relationship in the past. Spicer had been appointed to the White House's most high-profile staff position on December 22, 2016. White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer is invoking his right to disagree with the facts. Weighing in on the latest bump in the ongoing feud between President Trump and The New York Times, Spicer blasted an article the newspaper ran on Sunday with the online headline Trump and Staff Rethink Tactics After Stumbles as literally the epitome of fake news. The telltale sign, according to Spicer, was just three paragraphs into the article, in this line about how Trump spends his evenings in the White House: When Mr. Trump is not watching television in his bathrobe or on his phone reaching out to old campaign hands and advisers, he will sometimes set off to explore the unfamiliar surroundings of his new home. I dont think the president owns a bathrobe, Spicer informed reporters during a press gaggle aboard Air Force One on Monday. He definitely doesnt wear one. Although its still unclear whether the president currently owns or wears a bathrobe, a photo obtained by DailyMail.com reveals that he once lounged in a white robe in the 1970s. Spicer insisted that the story which depicted a West Wing in disarray, with aides literally in the dark because they cant figure out how to turn on the lights was so riddled with inaccuracies and lies that they owe the president an apology. Its not an accurate portrayal of whats really happening, Spicer said, according to a pool report. From top to bottom, it made up stories that dont exist. And I think thats unfortunate for people that look to news institutions like that for their news. RELATED VIDEO: Watch: Natasha Stoynoff Breaks Silence, Accuses Donald Trump of Sexual Attack Spicers boss also dismissed the New York Times article as total fiction in a tweet on Monday. The failing @nytimes writes total fiction concerning me. They have gotten it wrong for two years, and now are making up stories & sources! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 6, 2017 The failing @nytimes writes total fiction concerning me, he wrote. They have gotten it wrong for two years, and now are making up stories & sources! Story continues Earlier in the day, the president alerted his 24 million followers that any negative polls are fake news, just like the CNN, ABC, NBC polls in the election. Any negative polls are fake news, just like the CNN, ABC, NBC polls in the election. Sorry, people want border security and extreme vetting. Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 6, 2017 Sorry, he wrote, people want border security and extreme vetting. The tweet prompted a response from vocal Trump critic and Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling, who mocked what she imagined to be Trumps feelings on mirrors: Can you imagine the number of mirrors this man must have smashed? https://t.co/TPS8XDuAmm J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) February 6, 2017 Can you imagine the number of mirrors this man must have smashed? she tweeted. RELATED VIDEO: For more news videos visit Yahoo View, available now on iOS and Android. The 11th Amendment was ratified on February 7, 1795. The first amendment after the Bill of Rights also represented the first use of congressional power to contradict a Supreme Court decision. The Supreme Court The Supreme Court The case of Chisholm v. Georgia in 1793 was the first significant decision handed down by the Court, and it was so controversial that lawmakers moved quickly to nullify its findings. The controversy had its roots in the Revolutionary War. In 1777, the Executive Council of Georgia authorized the purchase of needed supplies from a South Carolina businessman. After receiving the supplies, Georgia didnt pay as promised. After the merchants death, the executor of his estate, Alexander Chisholm, took Georgia to court to collect the debt. Georgia said that it was a sovereign state and not subject to the authority of the federal courts unless it decided to be sued. In a 4-to-1 decision, the Court said that the people of the United States intended to bind the states to the national government, and that supreme or sovereign power was retained by citizens themselves, not by the artificial person of the State of Georgia. Therefore, federal courts had the power to hear disputes between private citizens and States, under the Courts interpretation of the Constitutions Article III, Section 2. The Chisholm decision was seen by most lawmakers as a clear intrusion on state powers, and Congress moved quickly to amend the Constitution, with the permissions of the states. The 11th Amendment as proposed and ratified on February 7, 1795, specifically overturned Chisholm, and it broadly prevented suits against states by citizens of other states or by citizens or subjects of foreign jurisdictions. It read, The judicial power of the United States shall not be construed to extend to any suit in law or equity, commenced or prosecuted against one of the United States by citizens of another state, or by citizens or subjects of any foreign state. The amendment narrows conditions needed for a state to be sued, and it was seen as a victory for the sovereign immunity of the states. Story continues Recent Historical Stories on Constitution Daily Ronald Reagans big impact on the Supreme Court How FDR lost his brief war on the Supreme Court 10 fascinating facts on President Ronald Reagans birthday 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. For adult students, online education has become a common option, enabling them to work full time while pursuing a degree. Although a 2016 study by Aslanian Market Research and the Learning House found that the average age of online graduate students has dropped slightly in recent years, experts say many online MBA programs still attract an older crowd than full-time, on-campus programs. Often, experts say, online students aim to change careers or advance in their current role. [Discover how online degrees can help adults switch careers.] Those seeking an online program where students have more work experience under their belts, for example, might consider St. Mary's College of California, where students who started the program between July 2015 and June 2016 were an average of 41 years old, U.S. News data show. Among the 189 ranked online MBA programs that submitted these data to U.S. News in an annual survey, the overall average age of new entrants during that time period was 33. But among the 14 schools with the highest averages, that figure was somewhat higher, at 38. Following St. Mary's were George Washington University in the District of Columbia, the Rochester Institute of Technology Saunders College of Business in New York and Ottawa University--Online in Kansas, all with an average age of 40 for new entrants. The remaining schools on the list saw average ages of either 38 or 39. [Learn five tips for applying to online MBA programs.] On the opposite end of the spectrum were programs at Emporia State University in Kansas, University of Texas--Tyler and the Cleveland State University Monte Ahuja College of Business, where new entrants during the 2015-2016 school year were 27 on average. Story continues Below is a list of the 14 online MBA programs, including ties, with the highest average age of new entrants from July 2015 to June 2016. Unranked schools, which did not meet certain criteria required by U.S. News to be ranked, were not considered for this report. * RNP denotes an institution that is ranked in the bottom one-fourth of its rankings category. U.S. News calculates a rank for the school but has decided not to publish it. School officials can access historical data and rankings, including of peer institutions, via U.S. News Academic Insights. U.S. News surveyed more than 250 colleges and universities for our 2017 Best Online MBA Programs rankings. 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 Feb. 7, 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. Ottawa (AFP) - Twenty-two migrants fled the United States and braved bone-chilling cold to walk across the border into Canada in order to make refugee claims over the weekend, police said Tuesday. Many of them -- mostly from Somalia -- had already made long and dangerous journeys to get to the United States, after fleeing violence back home. But they told local media they felt apprehensive about the United States after President Donald Trump ordered a stop to refugees, as well as nationals from seven Muslim-majority nations, including Somalia, from entering. Seeing images of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau welcoming Syrian refugees last year and his appointment of Somali-born Ahmed Hussen as immigration minister last month reportedly gave them hope. Once in Canada the group called federal police for help, and were taken to a border outpost in Emerson, Manitoba. "They usually call us if they're cold or lost, and we find them on the side of the highway," RCMP Corporal Paul Manaigre told AFP, adding that "one or two lost fingers to frostbite in December." Typically the refugees arrive in groups of four or five, he said. The province has seen a jump in the numbers recently, but an official count was not available. The latest group -- 19 arrived on Saturday and three on Sunday -- braved blowing snow and temperatures that dipped below -20 degrees C (-4 F) during a five-hour walk. "We hear about (the deadly cold) but we don't have a choice," Mohammad Kosar, 33, told the local daily Winnipeg Free Press. They couldn't feel their fingers or toes during the walk, he said. An agreement with the United States prevents asylum seekers from claiming refuge in Canada if they first landed in the United States. But it only applies to arrivals at border checkpoints, airports and train stations. Refugee advocates this week called on Ottawa to scrap the agreement, but were rebuffed. "We sympathize, I personally sympathize with those who are seeking safety and security in our country," Immigration Minister Ahmed Hussen said. "I know that people go through a lot," he said, adding that Canada has a "really compassionate (refugee) system." Photo credit: Getty + Katie Buckleitner From Cosmopolitan President Donald Trump has made it clear there are a few words he truly enjoys: huge, sad, winning, loser, fake news - the list goes on. But it turns out there's another word to add to the catalog of Trump's Favorite Adjectives. If you take a look at his Twitter, you'll see that he loves to call things "so-called." The popular vote? So-called. The Arab Spring? So-called. Former President Barack Obama's comedy routine on Between Two Ferns? So-called! The latest victim of his "so-called" Twitter parade: U.S. District Judge James Robart, the federal judge who temporarily blocked Trump's immigration executive order Friday. The opinion of this so-called judge, which essentially takes law-enforcement away from our country, is ridiculous and will be overturned! - Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 4, 2017 Robert is, in fact, a federal judge and was appointed by George W. Bush, but that didn't stop Trump from questioning his credentials. Below, see 22 other times Trump has used the word in recent years, often in ways that didn't necessarily make sense. When he claimed China doesn't actually care about pollution and green energy: China talks about the so-called "carbon footprint" and then, behind our leaders backs, they laugh. They could (cont) http://t.co/hJD3n70H - Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 12, 2012 The Chinese want to steal our jobs and technology--that includes so called green energy which they make but (cont) http://t.co/pAhyD1tT - Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 23, 2012 When he called out Republicans who apologized for the conspiracy theory he fueled that Obama was not born in the United States: Why do the Republicans keep apologizing on the so called "birther" issue? No more apologies--take the offensive! - Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 27, 2012 When he shared his thoughts on events that happened in the Arab world: In August, 2012, Obama said the so called Arab Spring sprung from 'joyful longing for human freedom' http://t.co/HgP9Kf1W Good call! - Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 3, 2012 I bet the terrorists in Libya used weapons we supplied them during their so called 'revolution' to attack our embassy in Benghazi. - Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 16, 2012 Back to work for the President to try and keep some dignity for the office and himself. The so-called rebels must be thoroughly confused! - Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 11, 2013 When he mocked former President of Afghanistan Hamid Karzai: Afghanistan's so called leader, Karzai, is toying with the U.S. - Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 27, 2014 When he tried to delegitimize the work of journalists in 2014 (some things have not changed): There must be a higher standard of accuracy in the media. Incredible that some so-called "journalists" can make up lies and get away with it - Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 4, 2014 When he disapproved of Obama's appearance on Zach Galifianakis's series, Between Two Ferns, to promote the Affordable Care Act as well as the press's coverage of it: AMAZING how the press protected President Obama when he did the so-called comedy routine with Zach G. He looked like a fool - they said cute - Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 14, 2014 When he mocked Obama's actions on Earth Day: Interesting how President Obama is flying around in a Boeing 747 on so-called Earth Day! - Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 23, 2014 When he criticized the military after five U.S. soldiers died due to reported friendly fire: Five U.S. soldiers killed in Afghanistan by so-called friendly fire. What are we doing? - Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 10, 2014 When he claimed other countries did not have respect for Obama but exhibited none himself: Why isn't Mexico releasing our Marine. U.S. should come down really hard on them. They have ZERO respect for our so-called "leader" - Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 20, 2014 The so-called moderate Syrian rebels pledged their allegiance to ISIS after Obamas address. We should not be arming them! - Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 12, 2014 When he couldn't deal with a focus group featured on Fox News in which respondents voiced disapproval of him: .@FrankLuntz, your so-called "focus groups" are a total joke. Don't come to my office looking for business again. You are a clown! - Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 7, 2015 When he mocked climate change and the concept of a carbon footprint (yes, again): Great article on so-called climate change, formerly known as global warming. http://t.co/fEYAhQ7lGB - Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 17, 2014 President Obama spends so much time speaking of the so-called Carbon footprint, and yet he flies all the way to Hawaii on a massive old 747. - Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 19, 2015 When he criticized the Obama administration for releasing Guantanamo Bay prisoners: A detainee released from Gitmo has killed an American. When will our so-called "leaders" ever learn! - Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 28, 2016 When he criticized the Obama administration for not stopping Russia from annexing Crimea: Russia took Crimea during the so-called Obama years. Who wouldn't know this and why does Obama get a free pass? - Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 14, 2016 When there was an issue with his audio during one of the debates: The so-called Commission on Presidential Debates admitted to us that the DJT audio & sound level was very bad. So why didn't they fix it? - Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 1, 2016 When he insisted he could have won the popular vote if he had tried: It would have been much easier for me to win the so-called popular vote than the Electoral College in that I would only campaign in 3 or 4-- - Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 27, 2016 When he mocked the celebrities he claimed wanted tickets to his inauguration: Story continues The so-called "A" list celebrities are all wanting tixs to the inauguration, but look what they did for Hillary, NOTHING. I want the PEOPLE! - Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 23, 2016 When he ridiculed the U.S. intelligence agencies who were scheduled to brief him on alleged Russian hacking of political groups: The "Intelligence" briefing on so-called "Russian hacking" was delayed until Friday, perhaps more time needed to build a case. Very strange! - Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 4, 2017 Follow Madison on Twitter. You Might Also Like When it comes time to move to a new city, you have to weigh the pros and cons to ensure living there will be a pleasant experience. Does the ease of getting around the city make a difference? Or the pay at a new job? What about the area's reputation as a cool place to visit? To rank the Best Places to Live, U.S. News assesses statistics for the country's 100 largest metro areas, including each location's job market, cost of living, crime rates, educational quality, availability of top-notch health care and more. Each category is weighted based on a survey of 2,000 people across the country and what they said matters most to them when picking their next place to live. Read on for the 25 Best Places to Live in the U.S. in 2017. 25. Omaha, Nebraska Nebraska's largest metro area scored highest for its value. Omaha is the second-most affordable place to live on the Best Places list, behind Des Moines, Iowa. Metro Population: 895,919 Median Home Price: $152,450 Median Annual Salary: $44,920 24. Richmond, Virginia Located about 100 miles south of the District of Columbia, Richmond attracts visitors every year for its role in American history, and more people are moving to the area thanks to its growing job market. Top employers in the area include Capital One Financial Corp., VCU Health System Authority and the HCA Virginia Health System. [See: The 25 Most Desirable Places to Live in the U.S. in 2017.] Metro Population: 1,246,215 Median Home Price: $216,580 Median Annual Salary: $47,880 23. San Antonio San Antonio is seeing similar growth in its job market and population as nearby Austin, Texas. Between 2011 and 2015, San Antonio grew by 6.6 percent due to net migration alone. Metro Population: 2,286,702 Median Home Price: $178,408 Median Annual Salary: $43,740 22. San Diego What San Diego lacks in affordability -- it's one of the most expensive metro areas on the list -- it makes up for in desirability. San Diego's beautiful beaches and laid-back vibe make many Americans wish they lived there. Story continues Metro Population: 3,223,096 Median Home Price: $484,625 Median Annual Salary: $54,210 21. Sarasota, Florida Sarasota is another metro area with a reputation for being pricey to live compared to the typical annual income, but its recent rapid growth shows that plenty of people are willing to take on the extra costs. The Sarasota metro area grew by 10.7 percent from 2011 to 2015 due to net migration, the second-greatest population growth in that time period after only Fort Myers, Florida. Metro Population: 735,767 Median Home Price: $224,613 Median Annual Salary: $40,600 20. Houston Houston rounds out the top 20 with high marks for its cost of living compared to the median annual salary, as well as for its growth due to net migration. Houston is the second of four Texas metro areas in the list of top 25 Best Places to Live in 2017. Metro Population: 6,346,653 Median Home Price: $197,628 Median Annual Salary: $51,830 19. Grand Rapids, Michigan Falling a few spots after finishing at No. 13 on last year's list, Grand Rapids is hailed for its low cost of living, low crime, short commutes and high rate of college readiness among area high school students, as scored by the U.S. News Best High Schools rankings. Metro Population: 1,017,877 Median Home Price: $155,256 Median Annual Salary: $42,950 18. Madison, Wisconsin Madison receives its highest score for having a solid job market. With a median annual salary of $47,490, unemployment is just 3.2 percent, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Metro Population: 627,618 Median Home Price: $219,429 Median Annual Salary: $49,030 17. Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota Minneapolis-St. Paul is hailed for its low cost of living, as residents typically spend just over 25 percent of their income on housing expenses, including utilities. The area also has an unemployment rate of just over 3.5 percent. Metro Population: 3,458,790 Median Home Price: $223,995 Median Annual Salary: $53,450 16. San Francisco San Francisco receives high scores for its desirability among residents, job market and its population growth due to net migration, but it's also one of the most expensive places to live in the country. Residents of the San Francisco metro area spend more than 31 percent of their income on housing expenses. Metro Population: 4,528,894 Median Home Price: $700,875 Median Annual Salary: $66,900 15. Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas The Dallas-Fort Worth metro area comes in at No. 15 for its large growth, thanks primarily to relocation to the area, a solid job market and relatively low cost of living compared to similar-sized cities. Ranked No. 21 on the 2016 Best Places to Live list, Dallas-Fort Worth moves up six spots this year. Metro Population: 6,833,420 Median Home Price: $210,181 Median Annual Salary: $49,030 14. Charlotte, North Carolina Charlotte saw its population grow just over 6 percent between 2011 and 2015. And many people appear to be moving to the area out of simple desire, as Charlotte is the 15th most desirable place to live in the U.S. in 2017. Metro Population: 2,338,792 Median Home Price: $189,508 Median Annual Salary: $48,370 13. Nashville, Tennessee Nashville receives high scores for net migration and desirability, along with the area's relatively low cost of living. Another plus: Music City residents spend just over 27 percent of their income on housing. Metro Population: 1,761,848 Median Home Price: $200,590 Median Annual Salary: $44,700 12. Boise, Idaho Idaho's capital city receives its highest score due to population growth, with Boise growing by 5.8 percent between 2011 and 2015 due to net migration. And with an unemployment rate of 3.7 percent, Boise's job market continues to attract new residents to the area. Metro Population: 651,402 Median Home Price: $228,567 Median Annual Salary: $42,180 [Read: Are the Best Places to Live the Best Markets to Buy a Home?] 11. Colorado Springs, Colorado As the No. 2 most desirable place to live this year, Colorado Springs also scores well for its low cost of living. The median home price is nearly $25,000 less than nearby Denver. Metro Population: 678,364 Median Home Price: $228,431 Median Annual Salary: $47,600 10. Salt Lake City Salt Lake City rounds out the top 10 in 2017 -- after ranking No. 27 last year -- particularly for the area's high value score. Salt Lake City residents spend less than 26 percent of their income on housing expenses. Metro Population: 2,235,531 Median Home Price: $247,052 Median Annual Salary: $44,752 9. Des Moines, Iowa Iowa's capital city is the most affordable place to live of the 100 largest metro areas in the country. Des Moines residents spend just 23.8 percent of their income on housing. Metro Population: 601,187 Median Home Price: $168,629 Median Annual Salary: $47,170 8. Boston With an unemployment rate of just 3.5 percent and a median salary over $60,000, Boston has the strongest job market of the 100 largest metro areas in the U.S. Boston also receives high scores for its desirability. Americans surveyed placed the New England city high on their list of places they'd like to live, given its reputation for being a big city with the friendliness of a small town. Metro Population: 4,694,565 Median Home Price: $321,436 Median Annual Salary: $62,070 7. Raleigh and Durham, North Carolina The metro area best known for boasting three renowned colleges -- Duke University, University of North Carolina--Chapel Hill and North Carolina State University -- scores highest for its low cost of living and steady growth. Raleigh and Durham grew by 6.4 percent due to net migration from 2011 to 2015. Metro Population: 1,750,865 Median Home Price: $219,466 Median Annual Salary: $51,150 6. Seattle Whether it's the presence of major corporations such as Microsoft, Amazon and Starbucks or the rainy-but-mild weather, Seattle ranks high on the list of desirable places to live in the U.S. This Pacific Northwest city's lowest score stems from its average commute time, as area residents spend an average of 29 minutes heading to work in the morning. Metro Population: 3,614,361 Median Home Price: $359,693 Median Annual Salary: $59,060 5. Fayetteville, Arkansas Fayetteville is the fastest-growing metro area in Arkansas, having grown more than 6 percent from 2011 to 2015 due to net migration. Fayetteville also has the lowest unemployment rate (2.95 percent) out of the 100 metro areas ranked. Metro Population: 493,095 Median Home Price: $182,508 Median Annual Salary: $43,570 4. Washington, District of Columbia The District of Columbia offers ample employment opportunities, both in the public and private sectors. And with a high median annual salary, the area's pricey cost of living is more affordable for the typical resident. Metro Population: 5,949,403 Median Home Price: $371,772 Median Annual Salary: $65,910 3. San Jose, California As the heart of Silicon Valley, it's no secret San Jose has a strong job market, a high desirability score and impressive population growth due to net migration. It also ranked the No. 1 metro area for college readiness among high school students. Metro Population: 1,925,706 Median Home Price: $829,792 Median Annual Salary: $78,620 2. Denver The No. 1 Best Place to Live in 2016 slides to No. 2 this year. Denver's highest score comes from U.S. residents' desire to live in the Mile High City, followed closely by its population growth -- 6.3 percent due to net migration from 2011 to 2015 -- and strong job market, with just 3.2 percent of area residents unemployed. Metro Population: 2,703,972 Median Home Price: $301,300 Median Annual Salary: $54,450 [Read: 3 Up-and-Coming Places to Live.] 1. Austin, Texas With high scores across the board, Austin takes the top spot in the 2017 Best Places to Live in the U.S. list. As an increasingly popular alternative for tech companies to the more expensive San Jose and Seattle, Austin has a strong -- and growing -- job market that's also able to meet the needs of the area's growing population. From 2011 to 2015, the Austin area grew by nearly 10.5 percent due to net migration alone, making it the third fastest-growing metro area after Sarasota and Fort Myers. Metro Population: 1,889,094 Median Home Price: $262,182 Median Annual Salary: $49,560 AULNAY-SOUS-BOIS, France (AP) Protesters burned cars and menaced security forces in an eruption of violence in a Paris suburb early Tuesday over a young black man allegedly being raped by a police baton, and authorities said 17 people were being charged. Six adults would be tried in immediate hearings in a suburb court Wednesday under charges of "ambush" or "acts of violence and gathering with weapons," while 11 minors were to be presented to a juvenile court judge for alleged ambush, the prosecutor's office in Bobigny said Tuesday night. Police initially detained 26 people during the pre-dawn outburst in which a police car and other vehicles were set afire in Aulnay-sous-Bois, a working class suburb northeast of Paris. At one point, police encircled by an angry crowd fired warning shots into the air using real bullets, according to French press reports. No injuries were reported. Firefighters raced to restore order after several shops were reported damaged and garbage bins burned in Aulnay-sous-Bois, which has a large minority population. Authorities are wary of unrest in France's poor towns, remembering the fiery 2005 riots that spread through France beginning in the Paris suburb of Clichy-Sous-Bois and hopscotching through social housing around the country. The latest violence was a show of outrage in support of a young black man who authorities allege was sodomized with a police officer's baton last week during a spate of identity checks as part of a police operation targeting drug traffickers. One officer was charged Sunday with aggravated rape and three others were charged with aggravated assault. President Francois Hollande visited the alleged victim, identified only by his first name, Theo, on Tuesday afternoon at the suburban hospital where he has been treated since the incident, the Elysee Palace said. In a video posted on Twitter page of the newspaper Le Parisien, Hollande stood talking to Theo, who was lying on a hospital bed. The president told him that "the legal process is underway" and that "we must trust it to get to the bottom of this." Story continues Then, speaking to the camera, Hollande said, "We are also thinking about Theo who has always been known for his exemplary behavior in a family ... with good relations with police." With Hollande standing beside him, Theo called for young people in Aulnay-sous-Bois to be calm. "My town, you know that I love it very much. I would like to find it just as I left it. So guys, stop making war, be united, trust in the justice system and justice will be done," Theo said. "Pray for me so I can return as soon as possible among you and be together. Thank you, thank you, Mister President." Earlier, Prime Minister Bernard Cazeneuve called for "the greatest firmness" should any of the four police officers implicated be proven guilty. Frederic Gabet, a lawyer for the officer charged with rape, has said that any injury inflicted was done accidentally. After the early morning violence, Police Alliance spokesman Frederic Lagache said one officer narrowly escaped being burned when a protester set his vehicle on fire with a Molotov cocktail. "The objective is to kill cops and this is unacceptable," Lagache said in an interview with Europe-1. Local youths claim police habitually target them without cause. "Frankly, it's pathetic. The kid (Theo), he plays football, he's serious. He never was in trouble with the police," said Sofiane Hajjobi, a 21-year-old resident. "It's not normal. We're all frustrated. Now we're at war with the police." Theo, 22, told his story to the BFM television channel Monday. He said officers beat him and peppered him with racist insults. At one point, one of the officers took his truncheon and "he drove it into my buttocks," he said. The Associated Press does not typically identify victims of sexual assault. But, in this case, the victim and his family gave interviews to the media, and the French president publicly used the young man's first name in his presence and in front of a camera. ___ Associated Press writers Elaine Ganley, Sylvie Corbet and Philippe Sotto in Paris contributed to this report. Archaeologists say they've discovered the 3,000-year-old tomb of a royal Egyptian scribe in the vast necropolis at ancient Thebes. Richly decorated with images of gods, baboons and mortals alike, the burial chamber dates back to the Ramesside period, around 1200 B.C. The ruins of Thebes in modern-day Luxor span both banks of the Nile River in Upper Egypt. The east side was the domain of the living, home to the city proper and sprawling temple complexes like Karnak. The west side, meanwhile, was mostly reserved for the dead, with a necropolis that included the Valley of the Kings, where royal Egyptians were buried during the New Kingdom (15501070 B.C.). [5 Big Archaeology Stories to Watch for in 2017] More modern development has obscured parts of the necropolis, but a few years ago, Egyptian authorities relocated people from the towns of Sheikh Abd el Qurna and el Khokha so that they could demolish houses and explore the tombs underneath. A team of archaeologists led by Jiro Kondo of Waseda University in Japan had been cleaning debris out of part of the tomb of Userhat (labeled TT 47) in the el Khokha area of the necropolis. Userhat was an Egyptian official who served Amenhotep III, King Tut's grandfather, with the title of "overseer of the king's private apartment." Kondo and his colleagues found a hole in the forecourt of Userhat's tomb. They investigated the hole and found that it led to a never-before-seen tomb. Inscriptions inside the newly discovered T-shaped chamber indicate that the tomb was built for a man named Khonsu, a "true renowned scribe," according to a statement from Waseda University. Here, a painting on a tomb wall showing Khonsu and his wife worshipping the gods Osiris and Isis. Waseda University One wall of the tomb's entrance has a carving depicting four baboons praising the sun god Ra. Another wall features a painting of Khonsu and his wife worshipping the gods Osiris and Isis, with two ram-headed deities, likely Khnum or Khnum-Re, the researchers said. Osiris and Isis appear again though this time, in a seated pose in another wall carving. The ceiling is also colorfully painted with geometric patterns, some that look like checkerboards. Story continues Right now, the tomb's inner chamber is blocked by piles of stones, but Kondo and his colleagues say they hope to find more wall decorations once they are able to venture inside. Original article on Live Science. Editor's Recommendations Https%3a%2f%2fblueprint-api-production.s3.amazonaws.com%2fuploads%2fcard%2fimage%2f374601%2fe78f1f15-f8cb-4372-86d2-254cb24ef40d If there's one thing guaranteed to ruin your day at the beach every single time, it's poo water. Particularly human poo water. So imagine the disgust felt by beachgoers in Melbourne, Australia, when they were warned (for the second time in just over a month) to avoid all 36 beaches in the Port Phillip bay region Tuesday, due to a post-heavy rainfall influx of human faecal matter. Nice. SEE ALSO: Thousands of toys washed up on a beach and kids are going wild A like January's poo beach incident, the latest contamination is a result of a large amount of rain falling Monday, draining all of the city's catchments into the ocean and plunging beachside water quality down to inhospitable levels. #BeachReport forecast: 36 beaches are rated POOR due to recent rain and likely stormwater pollution. Updates: https://t.co/lt0qAextBL pic.twitter.com/dtW0u4sTvb EPA Victoria (@EPA_Victoria) February 6, 2017 I implore all my Melbourne friends today to go for a swim in the poo water. Go on, Life* Be In It!!! * poo water Ben Jenkins (@bencjenkins) January 2, 2017 "It's gastro that we're worried about and infections," EPA group manager Dr Anthony Boxshall told The Age in maybe one of the grossest soundbites you're going to read today. "If someone had an open wound on their hand, you can get pathogens." SHIT STORM HITS MELBOURNE BEACHES Zac Spitzer (@zackster) January 2, 2017 Poo beaches?? Really Melbourne, you must try harder... pic.twitter.com/e3mrKq0Rqp Annie Parker (@annie_parker) January 2, 2017 Seriously, Melbourne, this has got to stop. No one like a poo beach. Story continues See? Much easier! Image: Trainspotting/Polygram BONUS: Stranded baby dolphin 'took off like a bullet' when returned home A tiny, hat-like shell that adorns a 478-million-year-old spiky slug is helping scientists figure out how mollusks evolved over the ages, according to a new study. The newly identified species solves a decades-old puzzle. Mollusks are a diverse group of invertebrates that includes both water and land animals, from the clever octopus to the slow snail. However, it's unclear whether mollusks evolved from an ancestor with no shell, one shell or two shells, the researchers said. Now, the scientists can confidently say that the ancestor of all mollusks likely had one shell, just like the newfound species, they said. [See images of the ancient "hat"-wearing slug] The specimens seven in all were discovered in the late 2000s by Mohamed 'Ou Said' Ben Moula, a self-taught fossil collector who has uncovered hundreds, if not thousands, of specimens with fossilized soft tissues in Morocco's Fezouata Biota. Ben Moula has a working relationship with paleontologists at Yale University, and shipped the fossils to Yale, in Connecticut, so they could be studied. Two of the specimens one adult and one juvenile were complete, allowing the researchers to examine their anatomy in detail. "I describe them as an armored, spiny slug with one single shell at the head end," said the study's co-lead researcher, Luke Parry, a doctoral student in the Department of Earth Sciences at the University of Bristol in England. A detailed fossil of the newfound species, Calvapilosa kroegeri, next to an illustration of the creature. Notice the imprint of the radula a conveyor-belt-like structure with teeth at the top of the fossil. Peter Van Roy; Luke Parry The researchers named the newfound mollusk Calvapilosa kroegeri. The creature's head plate was densely covered with spikes, which inspired its genus name, because "calva" and "pilosus" are Latin for "scalp" and "hairy," respectively, the researchers said.The species name honors Bjorn Kroger, a paleontologist who discovered the first C. kroegeri specimen in the material that Ben Moula sent to the Yale collections. Tiny teeth Amazingly, some of the roughly 4-inch-long (10 centimeters) C. kroegeri specimens had preserved radula "this conveyor belt of rasping teeth that's in the pharynx," Parry told Live Science. "It's underneath the shell, but because the shell has been dissolved away [in the fossil], you can see all of these hundreds and hundreds of tiny teeth pressed up against the shell." Story continues Some mollusks, including snails, use the radula to rake up food, such as algae off of rocks, Parry added. Because no other group of animals has a radula, its presence indicated that the newfound species was a mollusk, he said. An isolated shell of a Calvapilosa kroegeri specimen. Mohamed Ou Said Ben Moula, a fossil collector in Morocco, discovered these fossils in the Fezouata Biota in the late 2000s. Peter Van Roy Researchers have found other fossils of animals that look like mollusks. However, they haven't been able to definitively label them as such, because these fossils don't have preserved characteristics that are as unique as a radula, Parry said. The radula finding is extraordinary, as it helps researchers label similar fossil animals as mollusks, said study senior researcher Peter Van Roy, a paleontologist at Yale University. "Calvapilosa, in possessing a radula, unequivocally shows that other fossils like Halkieria [an ancient slug-like creature with two shell 'hats' found in Greenland] and Orthrozanclus [a spiny critter found in Canada's Burgess Shale deposit] belong to the molluskan group," Van Roy told Live Science in an email. "The affinities of these animals were previously debated." After studying C. kroegeri's features, the researchers did an analysis to decipher the mollusk family tree. The newfound mollusk was the most primitive member of the lineage leading to chitons, modern-day marine mollusks that sport eight shell plates as well as spines that are similar to those found on C. kroegeri, the researchers said. [Photos: Trove of Marine Fossils Discovered in Morocco] Interestingly, whereas some mollusks, such as chitons, evolved to have more shells, others, such as aplacophorans (a group of modern worm-like animals), evolved to have no shells at all, the researchers said. "If we trace back the evolution of chitons, we can see that the number of their shells has increased with time," study co-lead researcher Jakob Vinther, a senior lecturer of macroevolution at the University of Bristol, said in a statement. "It is therefore likely that the ancestor to all mollusks was single-shelled and covered in bristle-like spines, not dissimilar to Calvapilosa kroegeri." The study was published online today (Feb. 6) in the journal Nature. Original article on Live Science. Editor's Recommendations If you havent been on the hunt for a new vacuum of late, you may be surprised to find that Shark surpasses Dyson as the top brand in the U.S., according to market research firm Mintel. But what are you to make of a cleaning machine named after a waterborne predator? Quite a lot, actually. Just ask Consumer Reports' experts and subscribers. For starters, Shark counts more than two dozen recommended models in our ratings. That means theyve excelled in our test labs at such challenges as pulling cat hair from carpets and sucking sand from bare floors. In its categories of bagless, corded stick, and handheld vacuums, Shark swims withif not always ahead ofthe likes of Bissell, Dyson, Hoover, and Kenmore. Then theres our reliability survey, the latest of which tallies feedback from more than 33,000 subscribers who purchased a vacuum between 2011 and 2016. The results suggest that a mere 11 percent of folks who have a Shark upright will experience a breakage by the third year of ownershipless than half the breakage rate of popular brands Hoover and Eureka. Its the same story for Sharks stick vacs: The third-year breakage rate is 11 percent. Compare that with 21 percent for Hoover and 22 percent for Dyson. We also asked CR subscribers about their satisfaction with their vacuums performance. Shark stood out here as well: In uprights, 53 percent of Shark owners were completely satisfied, second only to Miele (65 percent). In stick vacs, Shark edged out both Dyson and Hoover in satisfaction. That's an impressive combo of kudosperformance, reliability, and owner satisfactionespecially given that Shark vacuums are competitively priced. Here we highlight five of the brands best models. Three compete for the top slot in their category, and the other two are very good specialty models. Shark Navigator Powered Lift-Away NV586 (Target) Upright vacuums are by far the most popular type. More than seven in 10 adults report owning one, and more than eight in 10 owners say they would purchase one again, according to Mintel. Bagless versions spare the hassle and cost of replacement bags, but the mess of emptying their bins can be a concern if you have asthma or allergies. Story continues Sold at Target, the Shark Navigator Powered Lift-Away NV586 leads the category in our current ratings, edging out the Hoover WindTunnel T-Series Rewind Bagless UH70120 and the Dyson Ball Animal. It excelled at bare-floor cleaning in our tests, so its ideal in homes with hardwood floors. It also does the job on carpet, and it conveniently converts from an upright to a handheld canister with the touch of a button. Shark Rotator Powered Lift-Away XL Capacity NV755 This Shark performs similarly to its top-scoring brandmate. Paying more gets you larger capacitya claimed 0.89 gallons, compared with 0.65 gallons for the Shark Navigator Powered Lift-Away NV586. The "3-in-1" NV755 also converts from an upright to a handheld canister or a full wheel canister vacuum with the touch of a button. And it has an extra 4 feet in cord length. The machine's on/off switch is easily found on the vacuum handleone of those details that matter a lot to some consumers. Its HEPA filtration might benefit someone with asthma, and it helps explain this models superb ability to hang onto the dust and particles that it sucks up. We were less impressed by other Shark uprights, including the Shark Navigator NV22L, which struggled a bit on carpets, and the Shark Rocket Professional NV480, which was just so-so in our bare-floor tests. Shark Rocket Complete HV380 Uprights are the most popular, but stick vacuums are coming on strong thanks to the stellar performance from models like the Shark Rocket Complete HV380. In our current ratings of heavyweight stick vacuums, its second only to the Bissell Air Ram 1984, which scored extra points for its exceptional quietness. The Bissell is battery-powered but the Shark is corded, meaning youll have unlimited run time, though youll have to contend with a cord. We were impressed by its touted "dual-brush roll," which helped it excel on CR's carpet, bare-floor, and pet-hair tests. It converts to a hand vacuum, good for cleaning furniture, and the large dirt chamber can be emptied with just one step. As with its upright vacuums, Shark stick vacuums also stand out for their reliability. Spending too little on a Shark stick vacuum could compromise cleaning. For example, the $100 Shark Navigator Freestyle SV1106 stumbled in our bare-floors and edge-cleaning tests, plus it doesn't convert to a hand vacuum like most Sharks. Shark Rocket DeluxePro TruePet HV322 Another top pick among corded stick vacuums, the Shark Rocket DeluxePro TruePet HV322 costs a bit less than the Shark HV380, is lighter by a few ounces, and scored better in our emissions tests. That last factor could be a concern if there are asthma or allergy sufferers at home. It wasnt quite as effective on bare floors or along edges, where the floor meets the wall or other vertical surfaces. Like many other Shark vacuums, it converts easily to a hand vacuum and can be stored compactly. Shark Pet Perfect II SV780 Given the fact that many top-rated full-sized Shark vacuums convert so easily to a hand vacuum, you might be better off with one of those. But if all you want is a hand vacuummaybe for daily dealing with pet hairthis Shark Pet Perfect II SV780 is tops in our current ratings. The battery-powered sucker delivered impressive cleaning on carpets and was even better on bare floors. It was also tough on pet hair. More from Consumer Reports: Top pick tires for 2016 Best used cars for $25,000 and less 7 best mattresses for couples Consumer Reports has no relationship with any advertisers on this website. Copyright 2006-2017 Consumers Union of U.S. President Donald Trump's administration has released a list of 78 terror attacks from the past two years which they claim have not received enough media attention. The list, which spans from September 2014 to December 2016, includes many incidents which received a large amount of coverage when they took place including the Paris attack of November 2015. According to the descriptions provided by the White House 754 people were killed in the 78 attacks, while a further 1,744 were wounded. Here's the list the White House sent of attacks they feel "did not receive adequate attention from Western media sources." pic.twitter.com/lj8eOZQfnY Kevin Liptak (@Kevinliptakcnn) February 7, 2017 The most deadly attack on the list was the bombing of a Russian plane over Egypt in October 2015. All 224 people on board were killed. The second most deadly incident was the Paris attack in November 2015 in which 129 people were killed and hundreds more wounded in several simultaneous attacks across the French capital. France is the most mentioned country out of the 26 to feature on the list. Thirteen of the 78 listed attacked were in France, followed by the USA in second with 11. Europe was the scene of 33 of the 78 incidents, accounting for 334 deaths - the most for any continent. Trump's list has a Western focus The latest edition of the Global Terrorism Index found that the total number of deaths caused by terrorism decreased by 10 per cent to 29,376 in 2015, reversing a four-year upward trend. The five countries with the highest total impact from terrorism were Iraq, Afghanistan, Nigeria, Pakistan and Syria. These five countries accounted for 72 per cent of all deaths from terrorism in 2015, with a total of 21,059 people being killed. Trump's list only includes two attacks from these countries: an attack in Karachi, Pakistan, in April 2015 that wounded one, and an attack on the Afghan capital of Kabul in June 2016 that killed 14 people. Story continues The list instead focuses on Europe and North America with 46 of the 78 attacks taking place in these two countries. While it's true that ISIS and its affiliates more than doubled the number of countries in which they were active last year, expanding to 15 more countries including many in Europe, the continent has relatively few terrorism-linked deaths. In 2015, just over 500 people were killed by terrorism in Europe - the majority of which in the Ukraine and France. Full list of 78 "under reported" terror attacks in full This description of each incident is taken directly from the White House list Trumps list of 78 under-reported terror attacks NEWARK, N.J. (AP) Details of a long-running health care kickback scheme that allegedly featured prostitutes, cash-stuffed envelopes and private jet junkets began to unfold in federal court Tuesday as a 79-year-old physician went on trial. Dr. Bernard Greenspan isn't alleged to have engaged in any of the seamier activities surrounding now-defunct Biodiagnostic Laboratory Services, but prosecutors painted him as eager to accept about $200,000 in bribes from the company over several years in exchange for sending his patients' blood samples there. The bribes came in the form of inflated rental payments for the company to use space in Greenspan's office, bogus consulting fees and even a job at the lab for Greenspan's alleged mistress, Assistant U.S. Attorney Danielle Alfonzo Walsman told jurors. "Blood is not a commodity doctors can sell," Walsman said. Greenspan's attorney Damian Conforti painted a contrasting picture of a venerated community member who has practiced medicine for 50 years and who did nothing illegal even cooperating with investigators four years before BLS was charged. BLS allegedly made $3 million from its arrangement with Greenspan, who is charged with conspiracy, violating federal anti-kickback laws and honest services fraud. The counts carry a combined maximum penalty of decades in prison. More than 40 people, including more than two dozen doctors in New York and New Jersey, have pleaded guilty over the last four years; Greenspan is the first defendant to go to trial. The charges stemmed from an investigation into Parsippany-based BLS, a previously nondescript New Jersey company that had experienced a large spike in revenues between 2006 and 2013. The firm made $200 million between 2006 and 2013, with more than $100 million as a result of the bribery scheme, authorities said when charges were announced in 2013. U.S. Attorney Paul Fishman estimated Medicare was defrauded out of tens of millions of dollars during that time. Story continues David Nicoll, the company president and a former pharmaceutical salesman; his brother, Scott, who previously sold concert tickets for a living; and Craig Nordman, David Nicoll's cousin, are among those who have pleaded guilty. David Nicoll, who is expected to testify against Greenspan, faces up to 25 years in prison. Authorities said he used company profits on a $300,000 Ferrari, $392,000 on tickets to sporting events and $154,000 at a strip club and restaurant. While some doctors frolicked with prostitutes or received $50,000 monthly cash payments stuffed in envelopes, Conforti told jurors, Greenspan's dealings were legitimate. "It's not illegal for a doctor to be paid rent," Conforti said, adding that Greenspan wanted patients to have the convenience of being able to give blood samples in his office to a BLS phlebotomist. He said Greenspan even kept the phlebotomist on after the company stopped paying him rent. David Nicoll, meanwhile, saw Greenspan as an easy target and "sold him on the legality" of the arrangement, Conforti said. The investigation into BLS reflected federal officials' increased focus on health care fraud over the last 10 years. According to an annual report by the Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Justice, in fiscal year 2016 the federal government won or negotiated more than $2.5 billion in health care fraud judgments and settlements. Since the inception of Medicare fraud strike force teams in key areas around the country beginning in 2007, charges have been brought against more than 3,000 defendants who billed Medicare nearly $11 billion, according to the report. ___ Contact Porter at https://www.twitter.com/DavidPorter_AP ___ This story has been corrected to show that Nordman's first name is Craig, not Scott. Paris (AFP) - Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas on Tuesday called a new Israeli law legalising dozens of Jewish outposts built on private Palestinian land an "attack against our people". Israel has faced broad international criticism over the law its parliament passed on Monday, including from Britain, France, the United Nations and neighbouring Jordan. The United States has not commented. Abbas said the law was illegal and was "obviously against the wishes of the international community." Speaking alongside Abbas at a press conference in Paris, French President Francois Hollande said: "I want to believe that Israel and its government will reconsider this law." The legislation would legalise dozens of wildcat Jewish outposts and thousands of settler homes in the occupied West Bank and prompted a call by the Palestinians for the international community to punish Israel. Pro-Palestinian Israeli NGOs said they would ask the Supreme Court to strike down the law. Israeli opposition leader Isaac Herzog warned the legislation could result in officials being hauled before the International Criminal Court. Washington (AFP) - The head of the US Air Force urged caution Tuesday in increasing the pace of the air war against the Islamic State group in Iraq and Syria. President Donald Trump made accelerating the fight against IS a central plank of his campaign and has pledged to intensify bombing of the jihadist group. General David Goldfein told journalists that air strikes must remain synchronized with the progress of coalition-backed local ground forces, as well as with political and diplomatic efforts. And he warned against loosening rules of engagement that could result in greater numbers of civilian casualties. "One of the things I am very proud of is that we have never lost sight of the fact that we go to war with our values," he said. "Short-terms gains that may be accomplished by rapid increases in the number of weapons or numbers of sorties pale in comparison to long-term costs if we were to step away from how we fight, which is as a nation of values," he added. Trump has given top military brass until the end of February to come up with a revised plan to defeat IS. The US-led coalition has already carried out more than 18,000 air strikes since the beginning of the campaign in late summer 2014. The Pentagon says at least 199 civilians have been killed, though critics say the real number is far higher. AMMAN (Reuters) - At least 30 people died in air strikes on the rebel-held Syrian city of Idlib on Tuesday, in some of the heaviest raids there in months, witnesses and rescue workers said. Around eight attacks by what witnesses believed to be Russian jets wounded scores of people and leveled several multi-storey buildings in residential areas of the northwestern city, they added. Russia's Defense Ministry later said media reports that its planes had bombed Idlib were not true, Interfax news agency reported. Two rescue workers said the death toll was at least 30. The U.K.-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said at least 26 people were killed and casualties were expected to rise as rescue workers searched for bodies under the rubble. Video footage by activists on social media showed civilians, including young children, being treated in a main city hospital where the injured had been rushed for treatment. "We are still pulling bodies from the rubble," said Issam al Idlibi, a volunteer civil defense worker. The extent of the damage and the debris bore the hallmarks of a Russian attack, two witnesses said. Russian planes have targeted a number of towns and villages in the area since entering the Syrian conflict in September 2015 to back ally President Bashar al-Assad. But activists and residents also said there had been a reduction of Russian strikes in Idlib province since a Turkish-Russian brokered cessation of hostilities late December. Planes from the U.S.-led coalition have also launched a number of attacks in the rural province, a major stronghold of jihadists, many of them formerly affiliated to al Qaeda. Idlib's population has been swollen by thousands of Syrian fighters and their families evacuated from villages and towns around Damascus and Aleppo city, which was retaken by the government in recent months. Separately, at least four people were killed in air strikes by unknown jets in the town of Arbin in rebel-held Eastern Ghouta, northeast of the capital. The Syrian army and pro-government militias have been seeking in recent days to gain new ground there. (Reporting by Suleiman Al-Khalidi; Editing by Tom Heneghan) Although Yandy Smith started plenty of drama on the last episode of Love & Hip Hop: New York, on Season 7, episode 13, Cancun Pt. 2, Yandy quickly saw that the arguments she had with her friends were only the beginning of her problems. In the latest episode of the VH1 series, viewers find the ladies still in Mexico where Cardi B manages to get some quality time with her sister Hennessy. The two have a heart-to-heart about securing her future and making sure she stays focused so she can be successful. Elsewhere Juju is still frustrated from the night before about Yandy accusing her of using her personal information in her book. Juju explains that it hurt her feelings that Yandy called her character into question. Yandy apologizes, finally believing Juju did not use her personal life in her book. Later on Love & Hip Hop: New York episode 13, Kimbella finally returns from Mexico where Juelz Santana surprises her with a spotless house and flowers. Kimbella tells him about her confrontation with Yandy and how they solved their problems. Juelz then admits that he understands how hard Kims job is as a mom and tells her has so much respect for her. Uptown, Remy Ma meets up with Fat Joe where he is focused on work. However, Remy mentions she wants to still have a personal life. She tells him she wants to have a baby which he fully supports by telling her that she can still be successful with a child. While working on a Creep Squad clothing line, Rich Dollaz is confronted by his daughter Ashley about being too old to be a self-proclaimed creep. Ashley sets Rich up on a blind date who later is discovered to be Miracle, Ashleys mother. Rich admits that he and Miracle never broke up and the two are both single so a relationship between them could definitely be a possibility. Meanwhile, Amina Buddafly visits Peter Gunz in New York where she plans to introduce their baby girl Bronx to the rest of his family. While there, Amina admits that she still loves Peter but she realizes that he doesnt want her anymore. Story continues When Peter mentions that the two should get a divorce, Amina says she will sign the papers but insists he will regret his decision. Peters family gets together to meet Bronx where he pulls Amina to the side and asks her to consider moving from Los Angeles back to NYC so he can see his children more often. She says its a bad idea because she knows the two will fall back into old habits. Tara shows up to the celebration with Peters three sons where she and Amina talk for the first time following their big fight at the Love & Hip Hop reunion. The two agree to work on having a positive relationship with one another for the sake of their children. However, it doesnt look like everyone is following in the womens footsteps. Samantha meets up with Erika to tell her that she took little Mendeecees to see his father in prison only to find out that he blocked her mother from visiting. While there Samantha also learns that Mendeecees blocked Erika from visiting as well. Samantha reveals that Yandy has not helped with planning little Mendeecees birthday party like she said she would but plans on inviting her and her children to the party anyway. Later on, Yandy and Samantha meet up where they argue about little Mendeecees birthday. Samantha insists that Yandy needs to learn how to get along with Erika and acknowledge the relationship she had with Mendeecees so they can all come together and let the children see each other, something Yandy has been saying to the two women over the past year. When Samantha demands Yandy come off of her high horse and get along with herself and Erika, Yandy walks away from the conversation. Kimbella and Yandy then have a movie night where she tells her about her conversation with Samantha. Kimbella is annoyed that Samantha and Erika are stressing Yandy out and have kept the kids away from each other. Samantha and Erika eventually celebrate little Mendeecees birthday with family and friends, however, Yandy and her kids are no shows to the party. However, Kimbella appears at the celebration because she is tired of the divide between the kids. Enraged by her presence, Samantha and her mother try to fight her. The VH1 episode ends with three being held back by security. Amina Buddafly Photo: VH1 Related Articles Ankara (AFP) - Ankara's outspoken mayor on Tuesday warned that outside forces could be using sophisticated technology to try to trigger a manmade earthquake in a deliberate bid to harm Turkey's fragile economy. Melih Gokcek, who has been mayor of the Turkish capital since 1994, made the outlandish claims on Twitter where he regularly updates his more than 3.7 million followers, often writing in capital letters. His comments were made after two quakes hit the western Canakkale province on Monday and Tuesday morning, measuring 5.3 and 5.2 magnitude respectively, the Turkish Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD) said. In these tweets, Gokcek shared a video which claimed there were tools for causing manmade quakes, and he called all submarines and ships with large equipment to be taken under control of the authorities. Gokcek said he had "researched" the two quakes and suggested they could have been caused by possible foreign interference. "There was a ship conducting seismic research nearby. What this ship was researching and what country it belongs to must be solved," he wrote. The ultimate aim, he suggested, was to trigger an earthquake near Istanbul in a bid to stage an economic "coup". "At this moment, the coup aimed at Turkey is an earthquake near Istanbul to cause Turkey's economic collapse," he claimed. - 'Genies' behind the coup - It is not the first time that Gokcek, one of the more colourful members of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), has made such fantastic claims. Following last July's failed coup, he suggested that exiled cleric Fethullah Gulen, whom Ankara blames for the putsch, was hypnotising his followers through genies. The Canakkale region includes the Dardanelles Straits which is the gateway to the Sea of Marmara that leads to the Bosphorus in Istanbul. Istanbul itself lies in a major earthquake-prone zone and in 1999, a quake northwest of the city left 17,000 dead. Story continues It is not the first time a senior Turkish figure has blamed foreign elements for conspiring to harm the country's economy. Last month, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan himself blamed a conspiracy for the recent plunge in value of the lira, without saying who was to blame but saying such actions were akin to that of a "terrorist". "The purpose is to bring Turkey to its knees. They're using the exchange rate as a weapon," he said. In the first four weeks of 2017, the lira lost seven percent of its value against the US dollar after losing a quarter in value against the greenback in 2016. Dresden (Germany) (AFP) - A Syrian-born artist's towering anti-war installation was opened Tuesday in Germany -- three passenger buses placed vertically like an Aleppo sniper barricade -- but the event was marred by heckling far-right protesters. About 100 members of the Islamophobic and anti-immigration PEGIDA protest movement booed Dresden mayor Dirk Hilbert as he formally inaugurated the mega-sculpture in the Baroque city in Germany's formerly communist east. Dubbed "Monument", the imposing installation is inspired by barricades rebels in long besieged eastern Aleppo erected from upturned bus hulls as a shield against the snipers of the regime of President Bashar al-Assad. It is meant to evoke the suffering of the people of Syria, the birthplace of artist Manaf Halbouni, but also of victims of war in general. - 'Peace memorial' - It was set up with two mobile cranes Monday, a week before the annual memorial day that recalls the British and US bombardment of Dresden in World War II that killed about 25,000 people on February 13-15, 1945. The artwork symbolises "peace, freedom and humanity," the 32-year-old artist, who is a Syrian-German dual citizen, told national news agency DPA. "There is no other political message. It's a peace memorial, a modern Statue of Liberty." But Dresden's far-right PEGIDA movement -- short for Patriotic Europeans against the Islamisation of the Occident -- dubbed the project "idiotic". Its protesters booed and shouted at Hilbert, calling him a "traitor" and yelling "shame, shame" and "get rid of the scrap metal". Anonymous criticism posted online had been even harsher, and police have investigated death threats against supporters of the project, including the mayor who has been assigned police guards. In his speech Tuesday, Hilbert hailed Halbouni's artistic statement as "important for the city", urging its residents never to forget that in Dresden "people were persecuted, humiliated and murdered" by the Nazi regime. Story continues "The right-wing populists, who are gaining popularity not only in our city, but all over Europe, want us to forget the past," warned Hilbert, stressing that this made it all the more important to build monuments to remembrance. While the Dresden remembrance day recalls the suffering the Nazi regime inflicted on the world, far-right revisionists have used the day to paint Germany as the victim of foreign aggression. Dresden-based Halbouni said "Monument" -- erected outside the rebuilt Frauenkirche church, itself a symbol of rebirth from war -- is meant to instill hope, both in Dresden and Aleppo, and signify that "life goes on, despite all the destruction". However, the right-wing and anti-immigration Alternative for Germany (AfD) party denounced it as political propaganda and an "abuse of artistic freedom" geared to "provoke" PEGIDA followers. Local AfD activist Karin Wilke demanded that the Frauenkirche be spared from "being overshadowed by scrap metal" in a post-modernist art installation that she branded "an assault on our identity". Today in 5 Lines During an address at MacDill Air Force Base, President Trump accused the press of not reporting on terrorist attacks. Earlier in the day, Trump tweeted that polls showing his executive order on immigration to be unpopular are fake news. A group of national security and intelligence officials, including former Secretaries of State John Kerry and Madeleine Albright, signed a letter saying Trumps executive order would endanger U.S. troops. And 97 companies, including Apple and Google, filed a legal brief condemning the ban. Senate Democrats plan to express their opposition to the confirmation of Betsy DeVos, the education secretary nominee, ahead of Tuesdays Senate vote. John Bercow, the speaker of Britains House of Commons, said he would be strongly opposed to Trump addressing Parliament during his official visit to the U.K. Today on The Atlantic Forgive and Forget?: Now that Donald Trump is the president of the United States, a small cadre of high-profile conservativesthe haters, the losers, the Never-Trumpers who never fell in linehas found itself wondering whether their partys president will use his new powers to settle old scores. (McKay Coppins) How to Beat Trump: Donald Trump presents a unique challenge to those looking to organize against him. David Frum lists three ways for the left to mobilize effectively. An Unexpected Choice: If prominent neoconservative Elliott Abrams is selected and confirmed as deputy secretary of state, he will occupy a peculiar position in an administration that has promised to repudiate nearly everything that neoconservatism stood for, and which has disdained foreign-policy professionals as bumbling fools. (David A. Graham) Follow stories throughout the day with our Politics & Policy portal. Recommended: What Effective Protest Could Look Like Snapshot President Donald Trump has lunch with troops while visiting U.S. Central Command and U.S. Special Operations Command at MacDill Air Force Base in Florida. Susan Walsh / AP What Were Reading Deja Vu: Kellyanne Conway, a top adviser to Donald Trump, walked back her comments about the non-existent Bowling Green Massacre on Friday, saying she made an honest mistake. But she referenced the same fictitious event in an earlier interview with Cosmopolitan.com. (Kristen Mascia) Story continues Recommended: Trump's Outrageous Claim That the Media Covers Up Terror Attacks Strategy Stumbles: Interviews with administration officials reveal that the president is increasingly frustrated with the backlash to his recent executive actionsand is rethinking an improvisational approach to governing that mirrors his chaotic presidential campaign. (Glenn Thrush and Maggie Haberman, The New York Times) Whats Wrong With Nationalism?: The concept has a bad reputation across the globe, but nationalism can be a force for good, write Rich Lowry and Ramesh Ponnuru: A benign nationalism involves loyalty to ones country: a sense of belonging, allegiance, and gratitude to it. (National Review) Tipping the Scales: For the first time in the Affordable Care Acts history, more people favor the law than oppose it. Danielle Kurtzleben explains why the theory of relative deprivation, or being deprived of something a person feels they are entitled to, could explain the reversal of public opinion. (NPR) A New Home: Nebraska has accepted more refugees per capita than any other state, but it also happens to be a deeply conservative one. Robert Samuels captures how this dynamic has affected some Syrian refugees who have settled in the state. (The Washington Post) Visualized Taking Control: The Republican Party currently controls the House, Senate, and White House for the first time since 2007. These graphics show which party held a majority under past administrations and what the majority managed to accomplish. (Chris Canipe, The Wall Street Journal) Question of the Week Actress Melissa McCarthy caused a stir this weekend with her impersonation of White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer on Saturday Night Live. What are some of your favorite political impressions in comedyand why? Send your answers to hello@theatlantic.com, and our favorites will be featured in Fridays Politics & Policy Daily. -Written by Elaine Godfrey (@elainejgodfrey) and Candice Norwood (@cjnorwoodwrites) Read more from The Atlantic: This article was originally published on The Atlantic. Just last Thursday Australia woke up to reports that U.S. President Donald Trump had insulted and hung up on Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, ending their first phone call. But, for one Australian member of parliament, five days was evidently enough time to heal the diplomatic wound. Cory Bernardi announced Tuesday hes leaving Turnbulls Liberal party to form his own faction and to bring Trumps anti-establishment rhetoric to the land down under. In Australia, the Liberal Party is, in a twist, the conservative party but not enough for Bernardi, who deems it too moderate. Bernardi said he was leaving the Liberals to form the Australian Conservative Party in order to give voters a principled, stable alternative. (Bernardi has likened homosexuality to bestiality, criticized abortion, and expressed skepticism over humans role in climate change.) He also declared, in a March 2016 email to supporters, that he had watched Trumps campaign in New York and learned what needs to be done, and that he would fight against the tyranny of political correctness. For now, Bernardi is fighting that tyranny in a party of one. But if just one more Liberal MP joins him, Turnbull will have to rule with a minority government. This will make prime minister still more reliant on crossbenchers now including Bernardi. Bill Shorten of the opposition Labor Party claimed indifference, telling his caucus, Labor and the people of Australia dont care what goes on down the hallway, whether or not Cory Bernardi stays or goes. But he also reportedly said, A government which cant govern itself, cant govern the nation. That led some to believe that he cares at least a little bit that his opponents are in turmoil as a rogue MP vows to make Australia great again. Still, it isnt all bad news for Turnbulls government. On Monday, a bipartisan group of U.S. senators introduced a resolution reaffirming a strong commitment to the United States-Australia alliance relationship after the Trump-Turnbull phone call. Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) said from the Senate floor, the people of the United States do not have better friends than the people of Australia. Were more than friends. In his own way, Trumps admirer in Oz likely agrees. Photo credit: MARK GRAHAM/AFP/Getty Images PATTAYA, Thailand (AP) A Thai court on Tuesday sentenced an Australian man to death for the murder of a countryman who was an alleged confederate in a drug smuggling gang. The Pattaya Provincial Court on found Antonio Bagnato, 28, guilty of killing former Hells Angels member Wayne Schneider in November 2015 after he and accomplices beat and kidnapped the victim from his luxury villa in the resort area. Bagnato fled to Cambodia where he was arrested soon after the crime. Eyewitness accounts and DNA evidence from bloodstains and weapons linked Bagnato to the crime. American Tyler Gerard, 22, who confessed to involvement in the abduction and aided police, was sentenced to three years imprisonment. Other accomplices who were seen by guards at the housing estate where the attack took place were not apprehended. Thai police say Bagnato murdered Schneider because of a dispute over their drug trafficking network, which was said to stretch from Europe to Asia and net millions of dollars. Thailand rarely carries out the death penalty. Police had an early break in their investigation because the guards who witnessed the abduction helped police identify the getaway vehicle, which was rented and had a GPS system. Tracking the route of the vehicle led police to Schneider's buried body. Pattaya is a seaside town notorious for corruption and prostitution, and its visitors and expatriate residents include underworld figures from many countries. In the third week of his post-presidential life, Barack Obama picked up a new skill: kitesurfing. The 44th president of the United States and his wife are staying in the British Virgin Islands at the invitation of billionaire Richard Branson, who challenged Obama to a competition: kitesurfing vs. foilboarding. Challenged @barackobama to a kitesurf vs foilboard learning contest heres what happened https://t.co/5hwjOvy2TK pic.twitter.com/wEGSjL2TAr Richard Branson (@richardbranson) February 7, 2017 One of the first stories Barack told me when he and Michelle arrived on Moskito Island, wrote Branson, was how, just before he became president, he had been surfing on a dangerous break in Hawaii. When he came in from an exhilarating session, the new head of his security team turned to him and said: This will be the last time you surf for eight years. For the next eight years he didnt have the chance to surf, enjoy water sports or do many of the things he loved. So it was tremendous to offer him the chance to learn to kitesurf. The sport has really taken off in the past decade, and we have the perfect conditions and team to help anyone learn. I have also wanted to learn foilboard surfing. So we decided to set up a friendly challenge: Could Barack learn to kitesurf before I learned to foilboard? We agreed to have a final-day battle to see who could stay up the longest. Kitesurfing is a watersport in which a kite and wind is used to power a board across the water. Foilboarding is a type of surfing in which a hydrofoil extends below the water and causes the rider to elevate a few feet in the air. According to Branson, Obama won the competition, kitesurfing for a stretch of over 100 meters, versus Bransons 50-meter run on the hydrofoil. Story continues The Obamas started their post-White House life with a visit to Palm Springs, flying to California directly after President Trumps inauguration. They arrived in the British Virgin Islands last week, where Obama started a minor Internet frenzy by being caught in a photo wearing his hat backward. His only public foray back into the political world so far was a statement praising the protesters who had taken to the streets last month following President Trumps immigration ban, calling them guardians of democracy. Frm Pres @BarackObama is heartened by the level of engagement taking place in communities around the country. pic.twitter.com/X5Fk3xRDEX Kevin Lewis (@KLewis44) January 30, 2017 Read more from Yahoo News: The U.S. News Best Places to Live ranking breaks down the largest metro areas in the U.S. based on a number of factors, from the viability of the job market to commute times to affordability. But are the cities and metro areas that offer residents all the best still good places to purchase a home? For many, homeownership remains very much a part of the American dream. A March 2016 survey by real estate information site Zillow found the majority of Americans continue to consider the two linked. But in many of the most desirable places to live or areas with the best job markets, finding the right home to buy can prove difficult and even cutthroat. We examined the housing markets of the top three ranking metro areas on the Best Places to Live in the U.S. in 2017: Austin, Texas; Denver; and San Jose, California -- and while climbing home values nationwide often make it difficult to find a home at a low price point, homebuying in these places appears to be active among both first-time and experienced homeowners. [See: The 25 Best Places to Live in the U.S. in 2017.] Austin The capital of Texas takes the top spot in this year's Best Places to Live ranking after being No. 2 on the list in 2016. In such a popular city, finding a home could be one of the biggest hurdles for homebuyers. At the end of December, the Austin Board of Realtors reports housing inventory was at two months' worth of homes on the market, well below the balanced level of 6 1/2 months for the area, as determined by the Real Estate Center at Texas A&M University. As a result of the low inventory, it's reasonable to expect continued bidding wars among buyers to drive up the overall median price of homes in the area from its current $262,182, according to Trulia. But in 2017, it's likely the rapid growth of home prices will slow a bit, says Brandy Guthrie, president of the Austin Board of Realtors and a Realtor for Sky Realty. "This doesn't mean a weakening in our market -- it just means that it may not be as aggressive as it has been, and it actually gets us back to more of our historical trends that we've been following," Guthrie says. Story continues One reason for this change is more interest in suburban options within the market. Guthrie says suburbs surrounding Austin, like Round Rock, are experiencing growth "because the prices of homes a are little less expensive as you go further out from the city." Compared to similar-sized cities such as Nashville, Tennessee, and Sacramento, California, Austin remains relatively affordable, with metro area residents paying an average of just over 27 percent of their income on housing costs (for both rented and owned homes). But Guthrie notes the Austin area is expected to double in population over the next 10 years -- after growing more than 10 percent between 2011 and 2015, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. That's the third-highest growth of the 100 largest metro areas over that period, behind only Fort Myers and Sarasota, Florida. And this growth likely won't help with home affordability. "The local household incomes are not rising fast enough to match the rising home prices right now," Guthrie says, noting that for now, the suburbs are the best affordable option for people hoping to buy in the area. [See: The 25 Most Desirable Places to Live in the U.S. in 2017.] Denver Denver's strong job market and desirable location at the base of the Rocky Mountains means people are moving to the Mile High City in droves. As a result, property values have been skyrocketing. The Denver Metro Association of Realtors reports home values in the market have increased by 45.5 percent over the past 10 years, and median home prices have climbed by double-digit percentages over the last few years. Contributing to those significant price increases is a low inventory of homes. Available housing inventory in December was just over 4,000 homes, 69 percent off the market's long-term average dating back to 1985, says Steve Danyliw, chair of the market trends committee for the Denver Metro Association of Realtors and a Realtor for Danyliw & Associates. Danyliw recently worked with a buyer who put an offer on a home that received 17 offers over the course of a weekend -- all above asking price. "Looking ahead, the home prices will continue to rise, and inventory is still historically low," he says, adding there is little expectation for that to change in the near future. DMAR forecasts slightly smaller growth in the area's median home price increase this year -- less than 10 percent -- due to the shrinking pool of qualified buyers as prices rise, as well as a natural limit in the price buyers will pay for a home. "That is going to naturally slow the demand at those higher price points, which should slow down the market a little bit and make it more sustainable and healthy ultimately," Danyliw says. [See: 3 Up-and-Coming Places to Live.] San Jose The heart of Silicon Valley and home to more than a dozen billionaires, the San Jose metro area is widely hailed as one of the most expensive in the country. Especially if you're relocating from a part of the country that doesn't have a similar median home price -- $829,792, according to Trulia -- you're in for a bit of sticker shock. While there are still first-time homebuyers, the area's starting price point is much higher than in most of the rest of the country, ranging from $500,000 to $650,000, says Sophia Delacotte, a Realtor in San Jose with Intero Real Estate Services. And affordability is all relative, as the U.S. Census Bureau reports the blended annual household income -- accounting for both renters and homeowners -- in the San Jose market is $97,744, the highest of the 100 largest metro areas U.S. News ranks. Similar to Austin and Denver, San Jose offers a low number of available homes on the market, Delacotte says. But she also points to a slight change in the speed of buying in the market. "Today we have more property that stays longer on the market, despite the fact that we have a lower inventory than last year," Delacotte says. Particularly on the higher end of the market -- homes above $1 million -- Delacotte notes buyers are tired of inflated prices, so properties remain on the market a bit longer, returning the market to a more normal pace as well. ProFootball Talk on NBC Sports The Packers ruled out linebacker De'Vondre Campbell (knee) after he missed practice all week. That leaves rookie Quay Walker to wear the communication helmet on defense against the Lions. The only game Campbell has missed the past six seasons was Week 18 last season when he was inactive to rest for the postseason, not for [more] Donald Trumps choice of a backer of so-called charter schools as US Secretary of Education has proven one of his most controversial appointments yet. Two Republican Senators joined Democrats and teaching unions in opposition of Betsy DeVos, who they say favours a low-regulation system in which private companies can profit from public education. For charter school backers, DeVos offers the chance to inject competition and private-sector know-how into a failing system. The appointment to the Principals Committee of Stephen Bannon, a political operative with no meaningful foreign policy or defense experience or expertise, rightly has astounded and perplexed foreign officials and observers of U.S. national security policy. For many analysts, it portends an increasingly erratic and unpredictable America and jeopardizes its leadership of the free world, which already has been called into question by both friends and adversaries. Yet the focus on the changes to the Principals Committee has obscured an even more ominous development the apparent relegation of the National Security Council staff to a secondary status, and the placing of the executive national security agencies at an even further remove from the national security decision-making process. When President Donald Trump has met with, or spoken by phone to, foreign leaders, National Security Advisor Mike Flynn has not always been at hand. But Bannon, the presidents political consigliere; Jared Kushner, the presidents son-in-law; and Steve Miller, Bannons deputy and protege, have always been present. They are clearly the policy advisors of last resort, and, presumably, are in a position to invalidate, or for that matter block, any other inputs the president might otherwise have received. To say that this arrangement does a tremendous disservice to American interests is the height of understatement. The three men have no experience in national security affairs, but may well delude themselves into thinking that receiving a briefing or two on any given subject renders them sufficiently expert to advise the president. As former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld might have said, they dont know what they dont know. Americas interests are highly complex, with respect not only to given regions of the world think of the Middle East, where Israeli and Arab interests call for careful balancing and constant fine tuning but even with respect to the tug and pull of alliances and relations with individual states. For example, when allies such as Britain and France have competed for arms sales to the United States a not infrequent occurrence their respective leaders have lobbied the president of the day. How should he choose? Would a Bannon, Kushner, or Miller have the foggiest idea as to what advice to provide? And what if different executive agencies offer conflicting recommendations as to which weapons system to buy, as again is at times the case, will it be the so-called inner circle or the National Security Council staff that will adjudicate? At present it would seem that adjudication will fall to the White House troika. Similarly, if the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) argues for controlling defense spending, while the Defense Department argues for increases, who will determine which path the president should follow? Bannon? Kushner? Miller? Their understanding of the process by which the Pentagon establishes its requirements is superficial at best, and their appreciation of the OMB position may at best be only marginally better. Many presidents have had kitchen cabinets: the practice began with Andrew Jackson, after whom Trump may be modelling himself. Jackson created what his enemies called a kitchen cabinet when his official Cabinet proved itself dysfunctional, due primarily to friction between Vice President John C. Calhoun and Secretary of State Martin Van Buren. Jackson essentially gave up on his Cabinet and relied on a tight group of advisors who helped him to formulate policy. Since then, other presidents have sought advice from close personal friends and associates that at times has run counter to the more formal recommendations forthcoming from government agencies. Yet they rarely, if ever, have pushed the executive agencies to as far a remove as currently appears to be the case. President Trumps cabinet is not Jacksons. In particular, Secretary of Defense James Mattis and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson appear to be working well together. And while the White House is not restricting their access to the president, it appears that it views their agencies as mere implementers of policy rather than significant contributors toward its formulation. For that matter, it seems that the presidents inner circle sees the National Security Council staff in much the same way. These are early days. The president has yet to be tested by a serious crisis, one that could well involve serious risks to American lives as well as interests. One can only hope that when the inevitable challenge emerges, he will recognize that it is not enough to rely on amateurs, however gifted they think they might be. For Americas sake, as well as the success of his administration, he should turn to the many government experts who have devoted their lives to serve both the president of whatever party or policy inclination and the nation that he leads. Photo credit: DREW ANGERER/Getty Images Ottawa (AFP) - Canadian officials are reaching out to US counterparts in hopes of heading off possible trade disruptions as President Donald Trump prepares to renegotiate or tear up deals that are key to Canada's prosperity. Defense Minister Harjit Sajjan was the latest on Monday to make the pilgrimage to Washington, where he met with US Secretary of Defense James Mattis. On Wednesday, Finance Minister Bill Morneau and Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland will follow in his footsteps. Ottawa is worried about the impact of US protectionist policy proposals on Canadian competitiveness and a possible flight of corporate headquarters if the United States lowers its corporate tax rate to match or undercut the Canadian marginal rate of 15 percent -- which is one of the lowest in the world. "Canada is working with the new US administration to maintain our strong bilateral relations," said Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's spokeswoman Andree-Lyne Halle. "Ministers and senior officials contacted their American counterparts by telephone and in person," she told AFP. Sajjan, Freeland, Resources Minister Jim Carr and former general Andrew Leslie (who is now parliamentary secretary to Freeland) all attended Trump's inauguration in Washington on January 20. Since then, Transportation Minister Marc Garneau, Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale, Immigration Minister Ahmed Hussen and Trudeau's national security advisor Daniel Jean have spoken or met with their US counterparts. "Other meetings will be organized in the coming days with senior US officials," said Halle. No date has been set yet for a face-to-face meeting between Trump and Trudeau. A "war room" has also been set up in the prime minister's office to deal with any challenges as Trump upends traditional US policies and treaties. - 'Innovation is key' - Innovation Minister Navdeep Bains told reporters on Monday: "Rather than focusing on protectionism we think innovation is the key." Story continues According to a readout of Sajjan's meeting with Mattis, the Canadian minister highlighted their joint defense of the continent through the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD), which turns 60 next year. They also discussed pledges to lead battle groups in support of NATO's enhanced forward presence in Eastern Europe, commitments to the United Nations, training missions in both Ukraine and Iraq, the fight against the Islamic State group and Canada's acquisition of 18 new Boeing Super Hornet fighter jets. Freeland, meanwhile, has emphasized the importance of a secure Canada-US border "that does not impede the smooth flow of goods and people" in earlier talks with Rex Tillerson, the US secretary of state. On Tuesday, a panel of senators reminded that "free trade agreements are crucial to Canada's economic well-being." Canada and the United States trade more than US$600 billion in goods and services annually. Notably around 75 percent of Canadian exports go south to the United States. The Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Trade recommended in a report that there be greater transparency in trade negotiations in order to boost understanding and public confidence in such deals. Bill OReilly is willing to apologize for calling Russian president Vladimir Putin a killer just not anytime soon. The Fox News host responded to calls from the Kremlin for him to apologize on Monday nights edition of The OReilly Factor. With a grin, he told viewers, Im working on that apology, but it may take a little time. Might want to check in with me around 2023. He also recommended the book iWar by Bill Gertz if viewers want to know more about Putins violent history. RELATEDDonald Trumps Super Bowl Interview: Was Bill OReilly Fair and Balanced? OReillys reference to Putin as a killer came in an interview with President Donald Trump that aired during Foxs pre-game Super Bowl coverage on Sunday, with OReilly asking Trump how he could respect Putin. Trump responded by shrugging off OReillys use of the word killer, saying Americas got a lot of killers. What do you think, our countrys so innocent? We consider such words from the Fox TV company to be unacceptable and insulting, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in a conference call with reporters on Monday morning. And honestly speaking, we would prefer to get an apology from such a respected TV company. Monday nights OReilly Factor also included unseen footage from OReillys interview with Trump an interview that the host crowed was making headlines all over the world. Well, certainly in Moscow, at least. Related stories SNL: Rosie O'Donnell 'Available' to Play Trump Advisor Steve Bannon Bill O'Reilly's 'Killer' Putin Comment: The Kremlin Wants Apology Donald Trump's Super Bowl Interview: Was Bill O'Reilly Fair and Balanced? London (AFP) - The Brexit vote and the election of US President Donald Trump have made many Britons anxious, according to a poll released on Tuesday and mental health charities dealing with the fallout. Relationship counsellors have reported couples arguing over Brexit, while children's support services have said they too have registered calls on the landmark votes. A YouGov survey for the Mental Health Foundation (MHF) found that 49 percent of respondents reported experiencing some level of anxiety in relation to Trump's election. Some 43 percent were found to have experienced some degree of anxiety over Britain's vote to withdraw from the European Union. "There is a relationship between what happens in the world and how people feel about it. That needs to be taken seriously," MHF director Mark Rowland told AFP. The foundation said it had seen five times as many visitors to its anxiety support page compared to before the Brexit referendum in June, prompting the MHF to commission a survey to see whether the increase could be linked to world events. YouGov surveyed 1,714 British adults online last Tuesday and Wednesday. It found that 29 percent of people said they had suffered either a great deal or a fair amount of anxiety over Trump, with a further 20 percent reporting low-level anxiety. The respective figures for Brexit were 20 and 23 percent. - Brexit blues for couples - Anxiety develops through a combination of perceived threat, making catastrophic predictions about the future and escalating fear about the implications of decisions or events, Rowland said. Symptoms include difficulty sleeping or controlling breathing, while some people find it harder to conduct their daily lives. "We're concerned that people have the tools and the information to prevent it becoming something more serious," he said. The highest results per category experiencing either a great deal or a fair amount of anxiety over Brexit, and also over Trump, were for women, the 18 to 24 age group, Londoners and higher social classes. Story continues At the opposite end of the scale, the highest figures for people experiencing not much or no anxiety were found among men, the 65 and over age group, people in Scotland and lower social classes. For some in Britain, the country's decision to leave the EU has been affecting their personal relationships. A survey of 300 counsellors carried out last year by the organisation Relate found nearly a fifth (19.4 percent) had seen clients who had mentioned the referendum as an issue in their relationship. Arabella Russell, a Relate counsellor, said some couples would bring up Brexit over fear and uncertainty following the referendum, while others struggled because they voted differently. "When it turns out our partner has a different view to us, that can be quite scary," she told AFP. Russell found disagreements over Brexit were usually "the tip of the iceberg", with wider problems at play, while couples who voted the same way were reassured to find one area they agreed on despite arguing about other topics. She advised using the political debate to talk about how to cope with differences: "Recognising that the future of the relationship can't hang in the balance of what happens with this (Brexit), but using it as an opportunity to see how we deal with it". Britain and a host of other nations have condemned a new Israeli law that gives retroactive approval to illegally built Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank. The Israeli parliament passed the controversial measure late on Monday night and by Tuesday afternoon the UN, the UK, France, Jordan, Turkey and other countries spoke out against the legislation. Tobias Ellwood, the minister for the Middle East, said: It is of great concern that the bill paves the way for significant growth in settlements in the West Bank, threatening the viability of the two-state solution. As a longstanding friend of Israel, I condemn the passing of the Land Regularisation Bill by the Knesset, which damages Israels standing with its international partners. The legislation gives retroactive approval to around 4,000 settler homes which were built on private Palestinian land, in contravention of Israels own laws. Avichai Mandelblit, the Israeli attorney general, has said the law is unconstitutional and it is likely to eventually be struck down by the Israeli Supreme Court. However, its successful passage through the Israeli parliament is a sign of the power of the Jewish Home, a pro-settler party within Benjamin Netanyahus coalition government. While both Mr Netanyahu and his defence minister were unhappy about the law, they were forced to let it go to a vote because of the Jewish Home. The Obama administration had voiced its concerns over the bill but Donald Trumps White House did not comment after it was passed, with officials saying only that Mr Trump would discuss the issue with Mr Netanyahu in Washington next week. The Trump administration said last week that it did not consider Israeli settlements to be an obstacle to peace but that it felt settlement expansion may not be helpful. The UN said the law crosses a very thick red line and warned that it could pave the way for a broader annexation of the West Bank by the Israeli government. Story continues "This is the first time the Israeli Knesset legislates in the occupied Palestinian lands and particularly on property issues, Nickolay Mladenov, the UN special envoy for Middle East peace. [The law] opens the potential for the full annexation of the West Bank and therefore undermines substantially the two-state solution. Turkey and Jordan, two of the few Muslim nations with which Israel has diplomatic relations, both condemned the bill. The Palestinian Authority called for sanctions against Israel in response to the new law. "Nobody can legalise the theft of the Palestinian lands. Building settlements is a crime, building settlements is against all international laws," said Palestinian Tourism and Antiquities Minister Rula Maayaa. While the international community layered on its criticism, the Israeli Right celebrated its victory. Naftali Bennett, the head of the Jewish Home party, tweeted out a single Hebrew word: mahapach, which translates as turnaround in English, but is understood in Israel to mean a moment of political upheaval. . Naftali Bennett (@naftalibennett) February 6, 2017 The legislation was passed shortly before midnight and just hours after Mr Netanyahu met with Theresa May in London. The British prime minister reiterated the UKs opposition to settlement activity during the meeting. London (AFP) - Prime Minister Theresa May's government agreed Tuesday to give lawmakers a vote on the final Brexit deal before it is concluded with Brussels -- but warned they could not stop Britain leaving the EU. The concession avoided a rebellion in May's ruling Conservative party over a bill empowering the prime minister to start formal exit negotiations, a move she has promised to make by the end of March. The government warned however that if parliament rejected the terms of the final deal, including any agreement on a new trading relationship with the EU, Britain would still leave the bloc. "This will be a meaningful vote. It will be a choice between leaving the European Union with a negotiated deal or not," Brexit minister David Jones told the House of Commons. May had previously promised a vote in parliament before the deal comes into force, but conceded this would now take place before it was concluded -- a key demand from many pro-European lawmakers. However, she refused to accept an amendment that would have enshrined this concession into law, and on Tuesday evening, MPs rejected it by 326 votes to 293. Seven members of May's Conservative party rebelled -- fewer than expected. The two-clause bill now looks likely to clear the Commons without too much trouble at the end of its debate stage on Wednesday, when it will head to the House of Lords to be approved by peers. - 'Important concession' - The formal EU exit process will start when the government triggers Article 50 of the bloc's Lisbon Treaty, which allows for just two years of negotiations before Britain becomes the first country to leave the European Union, with or without a deal. Some MPs had argued that parliament should be able to vote against the deal obtained by the government, and force ministers to seek a better one. But Jones rejected this idea, warning: "To send the government back to the negotiating table would be the surest way of undermining our negotiating position and delivering a worse deal." Story continues He also noted that Britain would need the agreement of the other 27 EU member states to extend the two-year timetable. Several pro-European Tories had welcomed the government's promise on the final vote, and even opposition Labour spokesman Keir Starmer called it a "huge and very important concession". But one of the rebels, Anna Soubry, said: "How revolutionary is it to say that, in the event of no deal, and at the right and meaningful time as we go to that new relationship, please can we have a say?" Jones said the "final draft agreement" on Brexit would be put to the Commons and House of Lords before it was put to the European Parliament for ratification. Many MPs are sceptical that both the exit terms and a new trade deal can be agreed within two years, raising the question of what they would be voting on at the end. Jones said he was confident of getting agreement on both areas, but said that if there was no deal, Britain would fall back on World Trade Organization rules to determine its trade with the EU. By Sharon Bernstein SACRAMENTO, Calif. (Reuters) - California leaders pushed back on Monday against President Donald Trump's claim that the state is "out of control," pointing to its balanced budget and high jobs numbers in the latest dustup between the populist Republican and the progressive state. The state's top Democrats called Trump cruel and his proposals unconstitutional after the businessman-turned-politician threatened to withhold federal funding from the most populous U.S. state if lawmakers passed a so-called sanctuary bill aimed at protecting undocumented immigrants. "President Trump's threat to weaponize federal funding is not only unconstitutional but emblematic of the cruelty he seeks to impose on our most vulnerable communities," state Senate Pro Tem Kevin de Leon, a Democrat from Los Angeles, said in a statement on Monday. State Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon, an L.A.-area Democrat, said the state has the most manufacturing jobs in the nation, and produces a quarter of the country's food. If this is what Donald Trump thinks is out of control, Id suggest other states should be more like us," Rendon said. Related: For more news videos visit Yahoo View, available now on iOS and Android. The latest war of words between Trump and Democratic leaders in California, where voters chose his opponent, Hillary Clinton, two-to-one in November's election, began Sunday, in an interview between Trump and Fox News host Bill O'Reilly. During the interview, O'Reilly asked Trump about a bill in the state legislature, authored by de Leon, to ban law enforcement agencies in the state from cooperating with immigration officials in most circumstances. Cities who have enacted similar bans are known as sanctuary cities, and de Leon's bill, if passed and signed into law by Democratic Governor Jerry Brown, would effectively extend such rules to the entire state. Trump disparaged the bill as ridiculous, saying that sanctuary cities "breed crime." Story continues "We'll have to, well, de-fund," Trump said. "We give tremendous amounts of money to California." Trump went on to say he viewed funding as a weapon. "California in many ways is out of control," Trump said to O'Reilly. "Obviously the voters agree or otherwise they wouldn't have voted for me." Last week, Trump threatened to withhold federal funding from the University of California at Berkeley, where violent protests led to the cancellation of a speech by an editor for the right-wing Breitbart News. But experts said it would be difficult for the President to withhold funds from either the university or the state. Court rulings have limited the power of the president to punish states by withholding funds, and most appropriations come from the Congress and not the executive branch. (Reporting by Sharon Bernstein; Editing by Andrew Hay) A Japanese restaurant owner accused of overseeing a smuggling ring that forced women into sex work in Japan was charged with trafficking in Cambodia Tuesday, along with his wife and an employee. The charges follow the dramatic rescue of seven Cambodian women from a restaurant in Gunma, northwest of Tokyo, in December after one of them made a desperate plea for help on Facebook. Japan has long been a destination for Southeast Asian women who travel seeking higher wages but often find themselves forced into sex work or indentured labour. On Tuesday a municipal court in the capital Phnom Penh charged a Japanese restaurant owner in the city, his Cambodian wife and a local employee with human trafficking offences. "The prosecutor has forwarded the case to investigating judge for further procedures," court spokesman Ly Sophana told AFP. Police allege the Japanese man, 52-year-old Susumu Fukui, lured the women with promises of high wages and personally delivered them to a contact in Gunma in November. The women thought they were going to work as restaurant staff but soon found themselves forced to have sex with clients. The co-accused are Fukui's wife, Lim Leakhana, 28, and restaurant worker Seng Chandy, 30. Last month Japanese police arrested three people -- two Japanese and a Thai national -- in a series of raids which also led to the discovery of 10 Thai women who they said may be victims of the same prostitution ring. Last August the Philippines warned its citizens against illegally travelling to Japan in search of work, saying they risked being trafficked for sex or forced labour. Washington's annual report on people trafficking says Japan remains a "destination, source and transit" country for human trafficking despite a recent increase in prosecutions. "Traffickers strictly control the movement of victims using debt bondage, threats of violence or deportation, blackmail, passport retention, and other coercive psychological methods," the State Department's 2016 report says. Japanese police rescued 49 victims of human trafficking in 2015, according to latest figures from the National Police Agency. Ottawa (AFP) - Canada posted a Can$923 million (US$700 million) trade surplus in December, as exports led by increased energy prices hit a record high, the government statistical agency announced Tuesday. But the year-end boost was not enough to eliminate an annual shortfall, which widened from Can$23.0 billion (US$17.5 billion) in 2015 to Can$26.1 billion (US$19.8 billion) last year. The December surplus was slightly smaller than in the previous month, according to Statistics Canada. Exports in December rose slightly to a record Can$46.4 billion (US$35.3 billion) on higher prices for crude bitumen. Prices for natural gas also shot up as colder average winter temperatures swept the northeast region of the United States. Canada exported fewer cars and trucks, as well automotive parts in December, and fewer metal ores and non-metallic minerals and products. Aircraft and industrial machinery led an increase in imports. Imports of unwrought gold were also up, but crude oil imports fell. Bilateral trade with Switzerland saw an uptick. Imports from Mexico rose while exports to Spain fell. Higher imports from the United States, meanwhile, outpaced a rise in exports to Canada's neighbor to the south, resulting in narrower trade surplus with the United States of Can$4.4 billion (US$3.3 billion) in December. By David Ljunggren OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canada posted a second consecutive monthly trade surplus for the first time in more than two years in December, but booming oil exports obscured weakness in some key sectors. The C$923 million ($699 million) surplus announced by Statistics Canada on Tuesday exceeded analysts' forecasts of a C$350 million positive balance. Statscan revised November's surplus up to C$1.01 billion from an initial C$0.53 billion. Canada last recorded back-to-back monthly trade surpluses in August and September 2014. But while overall exports rose by 0.8 percent in December, export volumes actually fell by 1.4 percent. "This wasn't a good news story in the most recent month ... the feed through to December real GDP from these data will be on the soft side," said Avery Shenfeld of CIBC Economics. Energy product exports jumped by 15.9 percent, the biggest month-on-month leap in six years, on strength in crude oil and bitumen. Exports of motor vehicles and parts fell 5.2 percent to the lowest level since June 2015. Statscan said a higher proportion of Canadian-produced motor vehicles were destined for the domestic market. Peter Hall, chief economist at Export Development Canada, noted there was no sign of a let-up in U.S. demand for autos and said overall he was pleased with the trade data. "This gives us good momentum going into 2017," he said. The December figures could prompt some reflection at the Bank of Canada, which has long fretted about weak non-energy exports and is waiting to see what the new U.S. administration does about trade. Last month, the central bank said "prospective protectionist trade measures in the United States would have material consequences for Canadian investment and exports." Imports increased 1.0 percent on higher imports of aircraft and other transportation equipment as well as metal products. Volumes rose by 0.4 percent. Exports to the United States, which accounted for 73.6 percent of all Canadian exports in December, grew by 0.2 percent while imports rose by 1.3 percent. As a result, Canada's trade surplus with the United States slipped to C$4.42 billion from C$4.74 billion in November. The Canadian dollar strengthened slightly to C$1.3170 to the U.S. dollar, or 75.93 U.S. cents, compared to C$1.3190, or 75.82 U.S. cents, before the data were released. Separately, Statscan said the value of building permits issued in December dropped by 6.6 percent on weakness in the residential and non-residential sectors. (Reporting by David Ljunggren; Editing by Meredith Mazzilli) By Alastair Sharp TORONTO (Reuters) - The Canadian dollar weakened against its U.S. counterpart on Monday as oil prices fell and bond yields settled at a two-week low, with investors awaiting December trade data due on Tuesday and jobs numbers later in the week for signs of economic growth. The loonie, as Canada's currency is popularly known, had gained for two straight weeks on a combination of favorable economic data and greenback weakness. Last week, it touched its strongest level since September. The Canadian dollar settled at C$1.3087 to the greenback, or 76.41 U.S. cents, weaker than the Bank of Canada's official close on Friday of C$1.3028, or 76.76 U.S. cents. The loonie traded in a range of C$1.3008 to C$1.3135. "We spent two or three days trying to push through C$1.30 without any real success," said Darcy Browne, managing director for foreign exchange sales at CIBC Capital Markets. "It rallied up to C$1.3135, which is the 200-day moving average, and got rejected pretty hard from there as well," he said. Economists polled by Reuters have a wide range of expectations for Tuesday's data after Canada achieved its first trade surplus in more than two years in November. The most optimistic see a C$1.5 billion surplus, while the most pessimistic expect a C$1.5 billion deficit. The median view is for a surplus of C$350 million after the surprise C$526 million surplus in the prior month. Jobs data is due on Friday, with the market expecting no growth after a bumper 53,700 job gains in December. U.S. crude oil prices settled down 1.5 percent at $53.01 a barrel, while Brent lost 1.9 percent to $55.72.[O/R] Canadian government bond prices were higher across the maturity curve, with the two-year price up 7.5 Canadian cents to yield 0.737 percent and the benchmark 10-year rising 52 Canadian cents to yield 1.701 percent, its lowest settlement since Jan. 23. The Canada-U.S. two-year bond spread narrowed to -41.6 basis points, while the 10-year spread came in at -70.9 basis points. (Reporting by Alastair Sharp; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn and Peter Cooney) Barcelona (AFP) - On trial for holding a symbolic independence vote, Catalonia's former leader Artur Mas warned Madrid against implementing drastic measures to stop another such referendum -- binding this time -- from taking place as planned by his successor. In an interview with AFP this week, Mas said any attempt to take away powers from Catalonia to stop such a vote from taking place would likely create a "strong" backlash in a region led by a government backed by a majority-separatist parliament. But he also sought to ease fears about secessionist plans in the northeastern region at a time of global jitters. - Political trial? - Mas, a 61-year-old former economist, said he thought the trial was merely taking place because of the "big success" of the symbolic, non-binding referendum held in November 2014 when he was still president of Catalonia. He and two former members of his government are accused of severe civil disobedience and misconduct for holding the vote after it was banned by Spain's Constitutional Court, which had declared it illegal. More than 80 percent of those who cast their ballot in the vote did so for independence -- although just 2.3 million people out of a total of 6.3 million eligible voters took part. "These 2.3 million people who went to vote exceeded all forecasts, irritating the Spanish government which was accused of being soft and sparking an over-reaction," he said. "Essential and basic democratic rights such as citizen participation and the right to freedom of expression are being violated." - September referendum - Mas, Catalan president from 2010 to 2016, has now been replaced by Carles Puigdemont, the former mayor of Girona. Resolutely pro-independence, he has pledged to hold a referendum in September -- a binding one this time, with or without Madrid's consent. But how exactly it will go ahead is unclear, as the central government has vowed never to allow an act that would risk the unity of Spain. Story continues Last week, reports emerged that Madrid was considering drastic measures to stop a vote, such as closing schools where polling booths could be set up or taking control of the police, which is normally managed by regional authorities. The government neither confirmed nor publicly denied the reports. "Those who are considering interfering in Catalan autonomy should think twice, as they don't know what the Catalan reaction will be," Mas said. "Depending on how aggressive (the interference) will be, the reaction of Catalan society could also be very strong. It will be democratic and peaceful, but it will be very strong." - Global jitters - Mas acknowledged that there was currently a lot of "commotion" in the world at a time when the region's pro-independence government is trying to take steps towards splitting from Spain. The rise of far-right parties in Europe, Britain's shock decision to exit the European Union, or Donald Trump's election to the US presidency, pledging more protectionism, have sent jitters round the world, with people fearful of more instability. But Mas sought to allay fears over Catalonia's intentions. "We're in favour of the European project, the European Union, the euro, of welcoming refugees," he said. - Street power - Mas said that Catalonia's pro-independence authorities may be up against the state and its institutions, but still have the power to call people onto the streets. Millions have protested over the past years to demand greater autonomy and outright independence, and some 40,000 people showed up at the start of Mas's trial in Barcelona on Monday. "Europe and the world must understand that this is not a movement organised by Catalan politicians, it's a movement channelled by some Catalan politicians but rooted in the people." Still, the Catalans are very divided over the issue -- 44.9 percent want independence while 45.1 percent don't, according to a recent poll conducted by a Catalan public institute. A large majority, however, wants a referendum to have their say, once and for all, the survey said. For the last eight years, Republican officials have acted as if Washingtons failure to reorder the globe to their liking reflects a lack of effort. If only Barack Obama had exercised leadership, hadnt withdrawn from the world, and resisted isolationist pressures, the rest of the world would have miraculously complied. But despite his previously stated and inconsistent opposition to American interventionism, President Donald Trump appears to be basing his foreign policy on the same principle. If only he blusters loudly enough, foreign nations will fall into line. Mexico will pay for a wall. Allies will contribute more to their defense. China will sink its South China Sea ambitions, shutter its factories, and, most urgently, force North Korea to abdicate its nuclear program. His appointees appear to be adopting the same attitude. In his confirmation hearing for secretary of state, Rex Tillerson displayed a particularly dangerous mix of ignorance and arrogance. Obviously, no one really wants a nuclear North Korea. And in that sense, it is in everyones interest to thwart Kim Jong Uns nuclear aspirations. But Pyongyang has proved willing to sacrifice much to become a nuclear state, seemingly convinced that thats the only way to ensure its own survival when facing down a far more powerful United States and an enviously prosperous neighborhood. So far sanctions, while hurting North Korea, have not forced it to abandon its nuclear program. The regime might survive even a much harsher approach: A half-million or more people died from starvation during the late 1990s, but the regime didnt waiver. Meanwhile, negotiations have foundered: Few analysts believe that the Kim regime is willing to trade away its nuclear status, whatever limitations on its growing arsenal it might be willing to accept. And nobody disputes that any military action against North Korea would risk a devastating war, even though Pyongyang would end up the loser. So Washington has looked for a solution from North Koreas main financial underwriter, China. Although China has agreed to steadily tougher sanctions on Pyongyang, its enforcement has been sporadic and unenthusiastic. Thats what has persuaded the Trump administration to threaten China. During his election campaign, Trump suggested that Beijing could easily dictate to Pyongyang. Secretary of State Tillerson appears to share that belief. In his confirmation testimony before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, he declared that the Chinese really do have complete control over what sustains the government of North Korea, citing the formers purchase of coal. Yet the North never has been inclined to listen to its neighbor. Despite their rhetoric of being as close as lips and teeth, the two countries have a permanently fraught relationship. In private, officials from both sides lament the failings of their nominal allies. Senior Chinese scholars such as Zhang Liangui regularly slam the Norths intransigence sometimes publicly. North Korea always maintained distance from its huge neighbors, both China and the Soviet Union, determined to value Korean-ness above ideological ties. It was baffled by and hostile to the Cultural Revolution and the Sino-Soviet split of the late 1960s; China was equally irritated in the 1990s by Pyongyangs failure to evolve, politically and economically. Kim Jong Uns grandfather and father alike ignored Chinas opposition to the North Korean nuclear program and rejected Beijings repeated advice to undertake economic reforms. Kim appears to be no more pliant, having treated Chinas advice with calculated disdain and executed his uncle by marriage, Jang Song Thaek, who was Beijings closest interlocutor in the country. The perceived intransigence has turned popular sentiment in China strongly against the Kim dynasty, making Fatty Kim a regular target of Chinese social media jokes. Open criticism of Pyongyang has been muted in the last couple of years, as Beijing reasserts its own controls, but theres still little love lost between the two neighbors. But despite the evidence that Beijings leverage is limited at best, Tillerson appears convinced that Washington can force China to act. For instance, he told the Senate committee the obvious, that Beijing has not been a reliable partner in using its full influence to curb North Korea. Yet there was no acknowledgement that China was acting rationally that is to say, in its own national interest in ignoring U.S. desires. China is aware that if it put serious pressure on North Korea by curtailing its financial assistance, for instance the result could be dangerous instability. The North Korean regime could respond by disappearing into the same isolation and mass hardship that it has endured in the past. And if the regime crumbled, it would threaten to spread conflict, millions of refugees, and loose nukes on Chinas, not Americas, doorstep. A unified Korea would be a geopolitical windfall to Washington, not Beijing. Switch country locations and the United States would behave similarly. Tillerson went on to opine: We cannot continue to accept empty promises like the ones China has made to pressure North Korea to reform, only to shy away from enforcement. Indeed, he added, looking the other way when trust is broken only encourages more bad behavior. And it must end. He advocated a new approach with China in order for China to understand our expectations of them, going beyond certainly what they have in the past. In particular, if there are gaps of enforcement, they have to be enforced. If Beijing doesnt enforce the U.N. sanctions on North Korea, he said, Washington should hold China accountable to comporting with the sanctions and consider actions to compel them to comply. The vision of America forcing Beijing to do its will might put a smile on Trumps face but is on par with the presidents many other alternative facts. No nationalistic rising power would accept such foreign dictates. The America of the early 19th century was truculent in dealing with its neighbors and rival powers; from the Barbary pirates to Great Britain, popular sentiment was to fight rather than yield. Similar nationalist sentiments prevail in China stirred but by no means controlled by the leadership in the imperial palaces of Zhongnanhai. Washington could employ economic coercion against China, but Americans as well as Chinese would lose. Nor should the United States assume that its East Asian allies would back America in such a confrontation. They must live with an ever more powerful neighbor and have good reason to doubt the constancy of American administrations both present and future following the abandonment of deals such as the Trans-Pacific Partnership. Moreover, Beijings economic rise has been an obvious boon for them, and in that regard China now matters more than the United States. South Koreas trade with China is greater than its trade with the United States and Japan combined. China and Hong Kong together account for more than twice as much trade with the South as America. The Trump administration also has much that it wants from Beijing. If Washington seeks to compel compliance with U.N. sanctions on Pyongyang, the administration might as well abandon hope for new trade arrangements, reduced ambitions in the South China Sea, and greater flexibility toward Taiwan. No serious power, especially one that sees itself as undergoing a great national restoration, can allow an increasingly hostile competitor to dictate terms on important issues. China might not be averse to negotiating over North Korea if the United States agreed that really meant negotiate. But Beijing would be no more ready than America to abandon interests it views as fundamental. Is the Trump administration willing to help pay for the costs of a breakdown in the North? Perhaps help build a wall along the Chinese-North Korean border? Or more realistically assist in setting up refugee camps for North Koreans? Accept Chinese military intervention to stabilize a tottering North Korean state? Promise to withdraw U.S. troops if the Koreas reunify? Accept a neutral unified Korea? American officials have been frustrated with Chinas support for North Korea but so far have failed to give Beijing a good reason to risk instability and chaos on its doorstep. Coercion will backfire. Rex Tillerson has been appointed to be Americas chief diplomat. He should prove that by offering Beijing compelling reasons an attractive deal in Trump-speak to cooperate with the United States, instead of waving a big stick he can never use. Photo Credit: ANTHONY WALLACE/AFP/Getty Images Beijing (AFP) - A top Chinese judge has branded President Donald Trump a bully and an "enemy of the rule of law" for attacking the US judiciary as China revels in the upheaval gripping the world's leading democracy. Trump launched a tirade against US District Judge James Robart for suspending his travel ban on people from seven majority Muslim nations last week, deriding him as a "so-called judge". He Fan, of the Supreme People's Court of China, likened Trump's criticism to the murder of a judge in China last month. "A president criticising judges and bandits murdering judges are all enemies of the rule of law," he wrote on his public WeChat social media page on Sunday. "In a country claiming to be the most democratic and most based on rule-of-law, for a president to lead the charge in scolding judges... makes him no different from a bully without dignity!" Since Trump's inauguration last month, the official mouthpiece of the ruling Communist Party has blasted the "systemic crisis" facing capitalist Western democracies, hailing the superiority of China's authoritarian system. Trump's threats to get tough with what he sees as unfair Chinese trade practices have sparked fury in Beijing while his Twitter outbursts against the media have prompted scathing commentary in China's nationalist publications. Senior officials in China's highest court are appointed by the rubber-stamp parliament, the National People's Congress, and are expected to toe the line of the ruling Communist Party, not act as a check on its power. He Fan's comments are jarring given that Chinese President Xi Jinping has rolled out a crackdown on lawyers who have taken on cases deemed sensitive by the leadership. Authorities, touting the slogan "rule of law", have arrested hundreds of campaigners and lawyers in a sweeping attack on legal activism. Chinese courts have a conviction rate of 99.92 percent. Manila expects China to try to build on a reef off the coast of the Philippines, the country's defence secretary said Tuesday, adding this would be "unacceptable" in the flashpoint waterway. In an interview with AFP, Delfin Lorenzana said he believed China would eventually reclaim Scarborough Shoal, just 230 kilometres (143 miles) from the main Philippine island of Luzon. Beijing has already built up a number of islets and reefs in the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea, installing military facilities on several of them. Analysts say similar installations on nearby Scarborough Shoal could give China effective military control over the disputed Sea -- something the US has said it is not prepared to accept. "They encroached," Lorenzana said of a 2012 confrontation that saw Philippine vessels displaced from the shoal. "They occupied three islands there (in the Spratlys) plus they are trying to get Scarborough. So to us that is unacceptable". "If we allow them, they will build. That's very, very disturbing. Very much (more) disturbing than Fiery Cross because this is so close to us," Lorenzana added, referring to one of the Philippine-claimed reefs China has built on. Because of its position, another military outpost at Scarborough Shoal is seen as the last major physical step required to secure control of the sea. An outpost there would also put Chinese fighter jets and missiles within easy striking distance of US forces stationed in the Philippines. The shoal also commands the northeast exit of the sea, so a Chinese military outpost there could stop other countries' navies from using the waterway. A UN-backed tribunal -- in a case brought by Manila under then-president Benigno Aquino -- ruled last year that the so-called "nine-dash-line" which underpins Beijing's claim to most of the South China Sea had no legal basis. But his successor Rodrigo Duterte has courted China and backed away from his country's close relationship with the United States. Story continues Lorenzana said the Chinese island reclamation was intended to secure control of the South China Sea. "That could be their strategy to counter any superpower that would encroach on South China Sea because they believe South China Sea is -- that's like their lake to them -- theirs," he added. - 'Red line' - The administration of new US President Donald Trump has indicated it will push back against any Chinese attempt to bolster control of the sea. During confirmation hearings, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said the US would block Chinese access to reclaimed islands, although analysts have pointed out that this would require a military blockade -- an act of war. Lorenzana called Tillerson's remark "very troubling", adding the Philippines would become the battleground if conflict broke out between the two superpowers. He added that China tried to build on Scarborough last year but American warnings stopped them. "The Americans, that's their red line. Red line meaning you can't do that there, so they (China) did not do it." "If we had a strong military presence (in the South China Sea), we can stop them (China) but we don't. I am still hoping in the future some reasonable guy there in Beijing will come to see the light that this is ours." "That is shooting for the moon but who knows?" Lorenzana added. He said the Philippines would soon repair a runway on Thitu island, one of its garrisoned features in the Spratlys which he planned to visit, and put up "additional barracks for the marines there". The defence chief said Manila would try to "manage" the maritime dispute while working with Beijing in other areas like patrolling piracy-plagued southern Philippine waters. BEIJING (AP) A judge in China's top court has labeled Donald Trump an enemy "of the rule of law" over his insults directed at a U.S. judge who temporarily blocked the president's travel ban, saying Trump had set a poor example as head of the world's leading democracy. Supreme People's Court Judge He Fan's blog post came after Trump went on Twitter on Saturday to denigrate James Robart as a "so-called judge" whose "ridiculous" decision opened the country to potential terror attacks. In his post, dated Sunday, He wrote that under the U.S. system's separation of powers, a president who is dealt a judicial defeat should bear the loss silently rather than lash out at the judge in question. The widely reported controversy surrounding Trump's ban follows recent remarks by China's top judge that the concept of judicial independence was an "erroneous Western ideal" unsuited to China seen as a demand for obedience from the ruling Communist Party's leaders. Those comments have reignited a debate on the topic within China's legal community, which is in general tightly bound to uphold the party line. He, an expert on the American justice system, did not voice his thoughts in that debate, although he frequently offers opinions on matters foreign and domestic. He published a lengthy and widely read paean to U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia following his death last year. He said Trump had set a poor example and lost respect for having "led the way in insulting a judge, with the vice president and his political party swarming to his defense (and) in a country known as the most democratic and most respectful of the rule of law." "The president who would curse a judge and the thug who would kill a judge are both public enemies of the rule of law," He wrote, referencing the recent murder of a retired judge in southern China. "Who cares that you control the armed forces and have nuclear weapons at your disposal. Your dignity has been swept away and you are no different than a scoundrel," He wrote. Trump had been considered by many in China as preferable to Democratic Party candidate and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who was seen as taking a harder line toward Beijing. However, Trump has also raised concerns over his comments on Taiwan, trade and other issues seen as diverging from long-established U.S. policy toward China. The divisive U.S. presidential campaign and seeming chaos of Trump's first three weeks in office have also provided the ruling Communist Party with new grist for its claims that China's authoritarian one-party system is the best way for the country to ensure economic growth and social stability. Chris Weidman is one of the most dangerous men in mixed martial arts. He was the UFC middleweight champion when the division was at its deepest, taking out the legendary Anderson Silva to earn his belt and then defeating him again to keep it. His resilience, tenacity, and aggression combine to make him a modern-day Viking in the ring. In For Honor, the upcoming video game launching February 14th, you fight as historys greatest warriors and battle for supremacy on a bloodstained battlefield: bold Knights, deadly Samurai, and ferocious Vikings. The Vikings were so effective at wiping out their foes that most of what we know of their combat survives only through descriptions left in Norse sagas written about their heroes. And if anyone deserves a saga written about them, its Chris Weidman. Related Links: The All-American is the crafty hero who slew The Spider Anderson Silva, who was unanimously considered the best martial artists in the world at the time. When some mistook his first victory over Silva as a fluke, Weidman didnt hesitate to defeat him again, leaving Anderson writhing on the canvas with a shattered leg. Silva would never be the same again. These are the battles that sagas exist to tell. Weidman also embodies several of the character traits most revered among Viking warriors, and he even shares some of the same tactics and moves of legendary Viking heroes. Viking warfare was rough-and-tumble, with little of the group orthodoxy practiced by other armies at the time with their columns and formations. By contrast, Viking warfare could be an intimately individual affair, and many fights would end one on one with a Viking literally on top of his opponent putting a blade through their neck or hacking off their head. Takedowns played a huge role in all this. A favorite attack of the Dane Axe-wielding Raider from For Honor is authentic to how Viking combat was fought best: by hooking an enemys sword or spear away with the bottom horn of their axe and then barreling through them, taking them to the ground where they no longer had the mobility to use their weapon. Legendary Vikings from various sagas were known not just for their takedowns, but for their vicious slams that would knock opponents senseless, leaving them open for a killing blow. Story continues Of course, Chris Weidman is known for his wrestling and takedowns. When he started in the UFC his reputation was that of a wrestler, and his ability to get his hands on even the most agile of opponents and take them down became legendary. UFC fighters have no shield to deal with like a Vikings opponent, but they do have their stances which protect them from takedowns. A skilled wrestler with a deep enough stance can stop nearly any takedown. But Chris had a solution to that: hed chop at his opponents with kicks, working at their planted legs to punish them and mixing things up with high kicks that would force his opponents to hold their arms and therefore upper body higher to defend. The next thing Weidmans opponents knew, and they were no longer in position to stop Weidmans takedowns and suddenly theyd be on their back trying to defend themselves from a rain of deadly strikes. In battle, Vikings showed no mercy and neither does Chris Weidman. We saw that in his fight against Mark Munoz where Chris knocked Munoz out on the feet with an elbow but continued to pummel him on the ground with strikes until the referee finally saved Mark from further damage. It was a egregiously late stoppage, one that left Munoz lying in a literal pool of his own blood. But Chris didnt hesitate to keep fighting until the ref stopped things. The display of ferocity solidified Weidman as a man to be feared and set the scene for him getting a title shot against Anderson Silva. A Viking is fearless, and Chris Weidman had to be in order to fight Anderson Silva the way he did. The Spider was an opponent who seemed to break opponents mentally before they even stepped into the cage. More than one Anderson Silva fight was marked by his opponent being too afraid to step into range with the lanky Brazilian and engage. When Chris and Anderson squared off for the first time, Silva was on a seven year winning streak and had viciously dominated all of the best names in the UFC middleweight division. Chris had some solid wins over contenders, but he was going up against the consensus pound for pound great and a heavy favorite. Few gave him much of a chance. Regardless, Weidman walked into the cage with a steely determination and unshakable confidence in himself, like a true Viking warrior. Vikings have a reputation for being relentless in battle, and so does Chris Weidman. Theres more to that than just tenacity and blind forward movement. Chris has excellent cage control that keeps his opponents from being able to circle away from his attacks. Once he takes the middle of the Octagon and starts moving in on an opponent, its very rare that theyll be able to slip out the side. Instead, he manages to bully them back against the cage where their own movement and attacks become more limited. Fighters were stuck spending a lot of their energy (both mental and physical) on trying to stay off the cage, while Chris was able to focus on punishing offense. The eras are different, but the ethos is the same. Chris Weidman pledged his axe to the Vikings , and you can fight along with him and the Viking Faction free in the For Honor Open Beta starting February 9th. TRIPOLI, Feb 6 (Reuters) - A claimant for the chairmanship of Libya's sovereign wealth fund says he has retaken control of the fund's head office in Tripoli, in a challenge to a U.N.-backed government that tried to sideline him. The move is the latest step in a long-running feud over the $67 billion Libyan Investment Authority (LIA) that reflects Libya's political turmoil and has complicated prospects for any return to regular management of the fund. Much of the fund has been frozen under sanctions, though it remains one of Libya's key financial bodies. It has also been involved in high-profile litigation, including cases against Goldman Sachs and Societe Generale. The U.N.-backed Government of National Accord (GNA) named the steering committee to run the LIA in August, as it tried to gain control over institutions that had been split under two other, competing governments. The decision was contested by AbdulMagid Breish, who was appointed chairman in Tripoli in 2013 and says he was evicted from LIA headquarters in September by guards acting on behalf of the GNA. [nL8N1C70HY} Breish reentered the building on Sunday. On Monday he received a Reuters reporter in his office, saying a ruling by the Tripoli Appeals Court last month had given him the right to return by freezing the decree that created the steering committee. Breish denied GNA claims that he had forced his way into Tripoli Tower, where the LIA is based. "I entered the office without any use of force," he said. "The tower's administration informed the steering committee and they left without any violations or the use of militias." Staff in the building appeared to be working normally. Each side claims the LIA's assets could be at risk unless it is in control, with Breish citing litigation cases that could be hampered by the involvement of the steering committee. "Some cases in front of international courts have a deadline," he said. He acknowledged that the Tripoli Appeals Court ruling was not definitive, adding: "The court continues to hold sessions until a final decision is reached ... but the initial decision is enforceable." The GNA's leadership, the Presidential Council, reacted by warning all state institutions not to deal with Breish. "In order to preserve public money it is forbidden to deal with any person or party that does not have legal and legitimate status according to the decisions of the GNA's Presidential Council," it said in a statement. Reached by phone, the head of the steering committee, Ali Mahmoud Hassan Mohamed, said he had no comment. The steering committee says Breish illegally reappointed himself after resigning as chairman in 2014. Breish says he stepped aside for 10 months after facing a legal challenge, and that the GNA lacks the authority to replace him. The U.N. Security Council said last year that it was prepared to consider changes to sanctions on the LIA only once the GNA could confirm that it exercised full control over the fund, as well as Libya's National Oil Corporation (NOC) and its central bank. But the country remains deeply divided between factions based in Tripoli and the east. A government in eastern Libya, which rejects the GNA, has tried to set up rival branches of the LIA, the NOC and the central bank. (Writing by Aidan Lewis; Editing by Andrew Roche) A woman's story of survival is truly inspiring after she was abducted and tortured by a notorious serial killer. Read: Remains Found in Shallow Grave Identified as Those of Missing 22-Year-Old College Student Jennifer Asbenson was 19 when she was abducted by Andrew Urdiales. But 24 years later, she returned to California's Desert Hot Springs to record a video explaining her daring escape to encourage others never to give up. Asbenson was walking to a bus stop near Palm Springs, California, in September 1992 when she was offered a ride by Urdiales, who is believed to have killed eight women. Her attacker brought her to the middle of the desert, where no one could see her and no one could hear her screams. She says she knew for sure she was going to die. I was staring into his eyes, and it was just pure evil it could have been the devil, she told Inside Edition. After being tortured for hours, she says she was forced into the trunk of his car. She demonstrated how she was able to get her bound hands free. She then undid the trunk latch and ran for her life. Read: Couple Sentenced for Roles in Son's Fatal Beating by Church Group I turned and looked and he was chasing me down the road with a machete, she said. But then, two Marines who happened to be passing by saw the woman and rescued her. Another five years would pass before Urdiales was captured. He confessed to murdering eight other women and admitted Asbenson was the one who got away. She told Inside Edition that it was "absolutely" important to make the video and tells women "not to give up" if they find themselves in a similar situation. Urdiales, who is already serving life sentences in Illinois, will go on trial in June in California for murders he is charged with in the state. If convicted there, he faces the death penalty. Watch: Police Identify Killer of Slain Righteous Brothers Singer Bill Medley's Ex-Wife Related Articles: QUITO, Ecuador (AP) Colombia's government and the nation's second-largest rebel group formally started peace talks Tuesday in neighboring Ecuador, seeking to follow up on the peace accord already reached with the biggest rebel movement. The National Liberation Army, known as the ELN, and government had held exploratory talks for more than three years before getting the formal negotiations started in Quito. The start of talks originally was announced last March as the government's accord with the much-larger Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia to end a half century of hostilities was nearing completion. But negotiations with the ELN stalled as the rebels refused to meet President Juan Manuel Santos' demand that it free a prominent politician from captivity. The release last week of former congressman Odin Sanchez removed that final obstacle to the start of negotiations, which are not expected to produce immediate results. The government's talks with the FARC stretched from November 2012 to September 2016. "The time of politics with weapons must end in Colombia," the government's chief negotiator, Juan Camilo Restrepo, said at the inauguration ceremony for the talks with the ELN. "Every unnecessary delay in the search for peace means the sacrifice of lives and it is time lost to lay the foundations of reconciliation." The rebel group's chief negotiator, Pablo Beltran, said that "we all have to change." "We are willing to take responsibility for the events that occurred during the conflict, and we expect the other side to do the same," Beltran said in a tough speech that referred to Colombia's government as a "regime." The ELN has about 1,500 active fighters, according to official figures. More than five decades of conflict in Colombia involving the two rebel movements, the army and right-wing paramilitary groups have resulted in more than 260,000 deaths, the disappearance of tens of thousands and the displacement of 6 million people. Sangolqui (Ecuador) (AFP) - Peace negotiators from the Colombian government and the ELN, the country's last active rebel group, got down to business behind closed doors in their first day of talks Wednesday, seeking to end a half-century conflict. President Juan Manuel Santos's government is trying to reach a deal to bring "complete peace" to Colombia, after sealing a historic accord with the country's largest rebel group, the FARC, in November. "We're going to negotiate seriously and quickly," the government's chief negotiator, Juan Camilo Restrepo, wrote on Twitter before the talks began. "We hope the ELN understands that these are times of peace. And that it will have the foresight not to jump off the peace train," he said. Neither side spoke to journalists as they arrived under police escort Wednesday morning at the Jesuit retreat where the first round of talks is being held outside the Ecuadoran capital Quito. In an opening ceremony Tuesday, Restrepo said the initial talks would focus on two themes: humanitarian issues and trust-building measures. He insisted the ELN renounce ransom kidnappings, one of its main funding sources. Failure to do so would make it "very difficult to advance," he warned. The ELN's chief negotiator, Pablo Beltran, for his part called on the government to "take responsibility" for its actions during the conflict -- saying the rebels were ready to do the same. The Cold War-era conflict, which has killed more than 260,000 people and left 60,000 missing, is the last major armed conflict in the Americas. Colombia, South America's third economy and the world's biggest cocaine producer, has been torn since the 1960s by fighting that has drawn in multiple leftist rebel groups, right-wing paramilitaries, drug gangs and the army. November's landmark peace accord with the FARC, or Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, leaves the ELN, or National Liberation Army, as the last active guerrilla insurgency. Story continues It has an estimated 1,500 fighters. - World watching - Colombia has drawn world attention as a rare good news story as it has closed in on peace, first with the FARC and now the ELN. UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, the European Union and the Organization of American States all sent messages of encouragement. Guterres welcomed the talks and urged "serious and productive discussions that lead promptly to a reduction of all forms of violence," his spokesman said in a statement. The EU called on both sides to "intensify their efforts... to reach a full accord." OAS Secretary General Luis Almagro meanwhile called the ELN talks a "new impetus of hope." The talks come after three years of secret negotiations and an embarrassing false start in October, when the ELN refused to release its most high-profile hostage, the ex-lawmaker Odin Sanchez. A flurry of behind-the-scenes negotiations followed, leading to Sanchez's release on Thursday in exchange for two ELN prisoners. In a further goodwill gesture on Monday, the ELN released a soldier captured two weeks earlier. But experts warn the ELN will be a tougher negotiating partner than the FARC. And elections in 2018 to decide Santos's successor threaten to complicate matters. Santos has staked his presidency on the peace process, and won the Nobel Peace Prize in October for his efforts. But he faces ongoing resistance from conservative opponents who accuse him of granting impunity to rebels guilty of war crimes. The debate looms large over next year's elections. Negotiators are unlikely to reach a final deal before Santos leaves office, said Frederic Masse, a political scientist at the Universidad Externado in Bogota. "The objective, then, will be to advance far enough that there's no turning back for the next government," he said. Quito (AFP) - Colombia opens peace talks Tuesday with its last active rebel group, the ELN, seeking to replicate its historic accord with the FARC guerrillas and deliver "complete peace" after 53 years of war. But experts warn the ELN will be a tougher negotiating partner than the FARC, and say no deal is likely before President Juan Manuel Santos -- the man who has staked his presidency on ending the conflict -- leaves office next year. Santos, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in October, was nevertheless full of optimism heading into the talks. "This conflict is over," he said Thursday. "The public phase of negotiations between the Colombian government and the ELN... will enable us to achieve complete peace." The Cold War-era conflict, which has killed more than 260,000 people and left 60,000 missing, is the last major armed conflict in the Americas. Colombia, South America's third economy and the world's biggest cocaine producer, has been torn since the 1960s by fighting that has drawn in multiple leftist rebel groups, right-wing paramilitaries, drug gangs and the army. Last November's landmark peace accord with the oldest and largest rebel group, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), after four years of talks leaves the National Liberation Army (ELN) as the last active guerrilla insurgency. It has an estimated 1,500 fighters, mostly in the north and west. - 'More fundamentalist' than FARC - The talks in the Ecuadoran capital Quito come after three years of secret negotiations and an embarrassing false start last in October, when the ELN refused to release their most high-profile hostage: ex-lawmaker Odin Sanchez. A flurry of behind-the-scenes negotiations followed, leading to Sanchez's release on Thursday in exchange for two ELN prisoners. In a further goodwill gesture on Monday, the ELN released a soldier they had captured two weeks earlier. But there will be more bumps in the road, warned Frederic Masse, an expert on the conflict at the Universidad Externado in Bogota. Story continues "The ELN has more fundamentalist demands than the FARC," he said. "They want much deeper social change." A prominent ELN commander warned ahead of the talks that the rebels would not back down on the thorny question of land rights for the rural poor -- one of the main issues in the conflict. "As long as the necessities that were at the root of this insurgency exist, we will have to keep fighting," Danilo Hernandez, commander of the Resistencia Cimarron guerrilla front, told AFP in an interview. - Complications: kidnappings, elections - The talks are due to open at 5:00 pm (2200 GMT) at the Hacienda Cashapamba, a Jesuit retreat some 30 kilometers (20 miles) outside Quito. The chief negotiators for the government and the ELN, Juan Camilo Restrepo and Pablo Beltran, will officially open the peace process before some 150 guests, plus journalists from around the world. Negotiators will then get down to business on Wednesday, behind closed doors. Despite Monday's hostage release, the issue of kidnappings remains a touchy subject. Unlike the FARC, "the ELN has still not renounced kidnapping," long a source of revenue for both rebel groups, said Kyle Johnson of the International Crisis Group. "They might kidnap someone else in the future and we'll be back in the same difficulties." Elections in 2018 to decide Santos's successor also threaten to complicate matters. The peace process faces ongoing resistance from conservative opponents who accuse Santos of granting impunity to rebels guilty of war crimes. Santos had to tweak the initial FARC accord after voters narrowly rejected it in a referendum last October -- a major embarrassment for the government. The slightly revised version was ratified in Congress, where Santos enjoys a majority. A new poll found Tuesday that Colombians are growing less optimistic on the chances for peace. Polling firm Datexco, which interviewed 900 people nationwide on the prospects for peace, found 51.7 percent were optimistic, down from 67.4 percent in October. The scheduled vote Tuesday to confirm billionaire philanthropist Betsy DeVos as Education Secretary comes after one of the most acrimonious public standoffs in recent memory. On Monday night, Democratic Senators refused to yield their allotted floor time, vowing to spend every last hour before the vote protesting DeVos fitness for the role. Senator Debbie Stabenow, a Democrat from Michigan, told CNN that it was still possible to convince another Republican colleague to vote against Trumps beleaguered nominee, which would sink her confirmation. Two Republicans, Senators Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, announced last week that they would break with their party and vote against DeVos. Their decision leaves the vote at a 50-50 count, which will require Vice President Mike Pence to cast a tie-breaking vote. Pence told hosts on Fox News Sunday that it would be his high honor to confirm DeVos on Tuesday. Just after 10:30 p.m. Monday, Democratic Senators, cheered on by supporters on Twitter wielding hashtags like #NoDeVos and #DumpDeVos, held the floor. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, a Democrat from Rhode Island, denounced the DeVos familys long history of giving to Republican political campaigns and conservative action funds. We are leaving a black hole of secrecy around this enormous conflict of interest potential, he warned. Republican Senator John Cornyn of Texas told colleagues Monday night that Republicans would not be cowed by the Democrats act of rebellion. The session, he said, would not end until Democrats yielded for a vote on several of Trumps nominees, including Steven Mnuchin as Treasury Secretary, Alabama Senator Jeff Sessions as Attorney General, Representative Tom Price of Georgia as the head of Department of Health and Human Services, as well as DeVos as Education Secretary. Over the past two weeks, DeVos confirmation has been at the center of a pitched public campaign, with members of the public flooding Senators offices with tens of thousands of phone calls and organizing protests to raise questions about DeVos competency for the role as federal chief of schools. Story continues Democratic Senator Bob Casey of Pennsylvania saw the number of calls, emails, and letters to his office increase 900% between this year and last year, an aide tells TIME. Roughly 25% of those calls were regarding DeVos and, of those, 90% opposed her confirmation. Last week, calls opposing Trumps nominees, including DeVos, reportedly overwhelmed the congressional phone system, leaving some Senate offices briefly without access to voice mail. The controversy over DeVos appointment has pitted Republican Party loyalists and some figures from the educational establishment, including the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools, against a wide-ranging army of opponents. Supporters include prominent voices in the education world, including former Florida governor Jeb Bush, former Education Secretary Margaret Spellings and Eva Moskowitz, the founder of a sometimes controversial charter-school network in New York City. Critics include the national teachers unions, parent-advocacy groups, disability-rights organizations and a raft of outspoken celebrities like filmmaker Michael Moore, actresses Amy Schumer and Olivia Wilde and late-night host Jimmy Kimmel. Democratic Senators, all of whom will vote against DeVos confirmation, explained their opposition to constituents in part on the grounds that DeVos, despite spending years as a philanthropist in the education world, has no experience as either a teacher or a student in public schools. She once called the American public education system a dead end. DeVos, as well as all of her children, attended private Christian academies. Eli Broad, a prominent educational philanthropist and advocate of nonprofit charter schools, who has often sided with Republican lawmakers, wrote a letter Feb. 1 to Republican majority leader Mitch McConnell and Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer asking them not to confirm Trumps nominee. Broad wrote that DeVos performance during her confirmation hearing Jan. 17, during which she appeared to be unaware of basic educational-policy issues, was cause for significant concern. DeVos hearing, which Politico called cringeworthy, earned mockery from comedians as well. Daily Show host Trevor Noah made hay out of her assertion that guns should be allowed in schools to protect children against potential grizzlies. And this week on Saturday Night Live, Kate McKinnon skewered DeVos apparent lack of awareness about a long-standing debate over how best to measure students progress in school. Only 100 U.S. senators not the general public will vote to approve President Donald Trumps cabinet nominees. But thats not stopping several conservative organizations from launching ad blitzes promoting Trumps Cabinet picks most notably Betsy DeVos, Trumps nominee for secretary of education, who critics have panned as a wealthy partisan hack with no practical experience in public education. But two conservative nonprofit groups, the Club for Growth and America Next, are pushing back hard, producing broadcast television ads supporting confirmation of DeVos, a GOP megadonor and staunch advocate for charter schools and school vouchers. Both Club for Growth and America Next are nonprofit groups organized under Section 501(c)(4) of the federal tax code. That means their primary mission has to be social welfare, a category that includes issue advocacy ads that dont specifically seek to influence a political election. Such groups arent required to reveal their donors, which means the public has no way of knowing who is paying for the pro-DeVos ads. The lions share of those TV ads came from America Next, which aired nearly 300 spots nationally through Feb. 5, according to data provided to the Center for Public Integrity by Kantar Media/CMAG, which tracks television advertising. Former Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal created America Next in 2013. Why is the radical left so full of rage and hate? asks the off-camera narration for one spot, called Angry Liberals. It continues: They still cant accept that Trump won and they lost. Now extreme liberals like Elizabeth Warren are trying to stop Betsy DeVos from becoming secretary of education. Why? DeVos angers the extreme left because she exposes their hypocrisy. DeVos wants low income kids to have the same choices that liberal elitists have for their families. DeVos wants equal opportunity in education for all kids and that makes angry liberals even angrier. Story continues The Club for Growth, meanwhile, aired a handful of spots targeting Sen. Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota and Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia, both Democrats. In both cases, the ad said the senator could be the deciding vote on DeVos and urged viewers to call their senator and tell them to support President Trump and vote to confirm Betsy DeVos for secretary of education. The ads serve several purposes. They certainly put added pressure on senators such as Manchin and Heitkamp at a time when DeVos opponents have swamped senators phone lines, organized protests and lobbied against her. The ads simultaneously endear their sponsors to Trump and his administration. They also serve as fundraising tools particularly the digital ads, which are a couple of clicks away from donation pages. Two Republican senators, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Susan Collins of Maine, have said they will not support DeVos, suggesting her confirmation could result in a 50-50 Senate vote. In case of a tie, Vice President Mike Pence would cast the tiebreaking vote. The advertising around Trumps Cabinet nominees is quite unique, said Mitchell West, a senior analyst for Kantar Media/CMAG, which tracks political advertising. This is likely the beginning of a very active and unpredictable year for advocacy advertising. The Club for Growth and America Next both didnt respond to a request for comment from the Center for Public Integrity. Club for Growth is also running digital ads on Twitter and on websites such as National Review. The 45Committee, another conservative nonprofit whose sister super PAC supported Trump during the 2016 election, has also released a pro-DeVos web promotion. In addition to the advertising effort, dozens of news stories on the DeVos nomination have included quotes from Ed Patru, a spokesman for a group called Friends of Betsy DeVos. The group isnt officially incorporated anywhere, according to Patru, and doesnt seem to have left a paper trail. Patru, a vice president at Washington public affairs firm DCI Group, said the group is an independent effort. Its a loose coalition of her friends, supporters, allies. He declined to give the names of anyone involved with the group or the size of it, though he said its larger than just him. Youve got a situation where youve got really scores of people who are interested in helping out and supporting her but in order to kind of avoid a situation where we have total chaos Im sort of the designated spokesman for the effort, he said. Patru, a former Republican political operative who knows DeVos from his days with the Michigan Republican Party, said he is working pro bono. I havent taken a dime directly or indirectly from Betsy or any of her interests, said Patru, whose previous work includes serving as communications director for the failed U.S. Senate campaign of Linda McMahon, a top Trump bankroller and the presidents pick to lead the Small Business Administration. Patru said the group is operating independently of DeVos herself. Conservative groups have also run ads to support Health and Human Services nominee Tom Price and Attorney General nominee Jeff Sessions. But DeVos nomination has proven unusually polarizing. Opponents have swamped senators phone lines, organized protests and lobbied against her. This has never happened before with an education secretary nominee, said Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, in an emailed statement. Weve never seen someone tapped for this job who is so ill informed, who is so overtly hostile to public education, and who would give such preferential treatment to for-profit schools, vouchers and other strategies that actively drain funding from public schools. This story is from the Center for Public Integrity, a nonprofit, nonpartisan investigative media organization in Washington, D.C. With conservatives clamoring for quick action on dismantling and replacing the Affordable Care Act, the White House on Tuesday sought to reassure supporters that President Trump and congressional Republicans were still on track to complete work on legislation before the end of the year. But White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer was less than reassuring, saying that repeal might happen sooner than later, but that implementation of the pieces may take a little bit longer. What were focused on is the end solution, Spicer told reporters this afternoon. And I think we have been very clear over and over again that the President is going to repeal and replace it, and that what Americans will get at the end of it is a health care solution that . . . is going to give them a lower cost health solution with more options. Related: The GOPs Repeal and Replace Obamacare Is Becoming Repair and Fix Trump on Sunday touched off an alarm bell among his conservative allies by suggesting in an interview with Bill OReilly of Fox News that the task of repealing and replacing the national health insurance program was proving to be far more complicated and difficult than he originally assumed and that congressional action could spill over into 2018. The president campaigned on a pledge of eviscerating Obamacare, boasted at a post-election press conference that Congress would act to repeal and replace the insurance program almost simultaneously, and then told The Washington Post more than two weeks ago that he would unveil a comprehensive replacement plan that would cover everybody within days. But over the weekend he was noncommittal when asked by OReilly whether Americans can expect Obamacare to be replaced within the calendar year. "I would like to say, by the end of the year, at least the rudiments, but we should have something within the year and the following year," Trump said. The Republican president also noted that the process is very complicated but then urged Americans to remember that Obamacare is a disaster and needs to be replaced. The national health insurance program, while troubled from the start, has provided coverage to more than 20 million Americans and provides protection for older people and those with preexisting medical problems from discrimination by insurers. Story continues Related: Why Repeal and Delay of Obamacare Could Send Premiums Soaring Next Year But the 10 million people or so using the Healthcare exchanges have seen double-digit premium increases and untenable deductibles. The popular silver plan caps out of pocket costs for a family at $12,270; $6,110 for an individual. Perhaps more important to the average taxpayer: Obamacare would cost taxpayers $1.34 trillion over the next ten years according to the Congressional Budget Office. Last year alone, the program cost $110 billion. House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI), arguably one of the most ardent proponents of toppling Obamacare, told reporters Tuesday morning that he still intends to pass legislation to supplant Obamacare this year. While Ryan has become highly cautious about contradicting the bellicose president, he said that Trumps weekend comments have done nothing to alter his ambitious timeline. We are going to be done legislating with respect to health care and Obamacare this year, Ryan said. But he, too, offered the caveat that it could take time for the new Trump administration to implement the changes. The question about how long it takes to effectuate the change, how long it takes to put these things in place, thats a question that the [Department of Health and Human Services can answer, he said. Related: GOP Sets the Clock for Obamacare Repeal as Health Care Groups Hit the Panic Button Ryan insisted that he and other Republican leaders have already carefully designed numerous elements of a replacement plan. However, its the worst kept secret in Washington that the Republicans are still lightyears away from a consensus on how to stitch an overall plan together and push it through Congress. The Republicans already have missed a Jan. 28 deadline for acting on a budget resolution designed to repeal key components of Obamacare an essential first step in ultimately replacing the program. And a number of more moderate senior Republicans, including Sen. Lamar Alexander of Tennessee, Susan Collins of Maine and Bob Corker of Tennessee, have advised slowing down the process and considering ways to repair Obamacare instead of replacing it. With some GOP lawmakers literally skipping town hall meetings in their districts for fear of being pummeled with questions from constituents fearful of losing their health insurance, the air appears to be going out of the balloon of the repeal and replace movement on Capitol Hill. But many conservatives are voicing frustration with Ryan and Trump about the slow pace and are demanding stepped up action to fulfill their partys campaign pledge to voters. Related: Why the GOP Plan for Medicaid Could Be a Bad Deal for the States Dan Holler, a spokesman for Heritage Action for America, told the New York Times yesterday that the political uncertainty around Obamacare repeal is mounting. If the House has not passed a repeal bill and sent it to the Senate by mid-March, that would be serious cause for concern, he said. Conservative Reps. Mark Meadows of North Carolina and Jim Jordan of Ohio, the current and former chairs of the House Freedom Caucus, issued a statement last Thursday demanding a vote on a repeal bill as soon as possible. Health care will be better and more affordable once Obamacare is repealed, they wrote. We committed to the American people to repeal every tax, every mandate, the regulations, and to defund Planned Parenthood. Thats what the American people expect us to do and they expect us to do it quickly. Top Reads from The Fiscal Times: American Georgia Baker graduated from King's College London in the United Kingdom last year with a bachelor's degree in international relations, but finding a job back home in the U.S. proved challenging. In hindsight, Baker says she wished she had done some research into what sort of help the university could offer students interested in working in the U.S. In the end, she says, it wasn't much. The British university "didn't have really any resources for career networks in the U.S.," she says. "They were limited to the U.K." [Learn five facts about earning an undergraduate degree in the U.K.] American students who want to earn an undergraduate degree abroad and then return to the U.S. for work should consider how studying overseas might affect their future job prospects. To boost their chances of U.S. employment, here are four questions students should keep in mind while researching global universities. 1. How strong are a university's career services and U.S. alumni network? Students can search global university websites for information about career services, which Baker says she wished she had done. Another potentially valuable resource to look into is a school's alumni network -- does it span the globe? Elsa Hoffacker, who grew up in Connecticut and graduated in 2009 with a bachelor's from the University of Toronto, says her experience has shown that alumni can and will lend a hand. Hoffacker, who works at a financial services trade association in the District of Columbia, says especially in bigger U.S. cities, "there will be plenty of people who have graduated from the same institution, who have confronted some of the same challenges and who will be more than happy to help a fellow graduate." 2. Does the university provide research or off-campus work opportunities? Prospective students can explore international university websites for mention of undergraduate research positions as well as internship and co-op programs, all of which can be valuable additions to resumes. Story continues Students who want to work in the U.S. can target U.S.-based companies for their co-ops and internships. Ted Sargent, professor and vice president international at the University of Toronto, says students from the university have work placements in the U.S. in locations like Silicon Valley and New York City. Some of these University of Toronto students are participating in the Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering's Professional Experience Year internship program, which resembles co-op programs at some U.S. institutions and gives engineering students and select other majors the chance to hold a full-time, paid job in their field for 12-16 months as part of their studies. Employers, including some in the U.S., are eager to work with these students. In 2015-2016, the 790 program participants had more than 1,800 positions to choose from, says Sargent. 3. Will your degree be accepted in the U.S.? Experts say students interested in professional fields -- such as law, medicine and architecture -- that require licenses need to ensure their international degree will be recognized. In some countries, education in these fields begins at the undergraduate level. [Consider the pros and cons of attending medical school in Europe.] Students should research whether foreign credentials in their professional field of interest will be accepted back home, according to a guide on international university admission from the National Association for College Admission Counseling. The rules for obtaining professional licenses can differ by state. U.S. organizations give accreditation to some international programs. For example, the American Veterinary Medical Association accredits veterinary medicine programs at 14 international universities, including the University of London Royal Veterinary College, the University of Melbourne in Australia and the National Autonomous University of Mexico. 4. Does the university have a good reputation in the U.S.? Reputation isn't everything, but general awareness of an international school -- or lack thereof -- in the U.S. is something students should keep in mind. Natasha Stough, Americas director of campus recruiting for EY, a global professional services firm formerly known as Ernst & Young, says the company values applicants with global experiences but would want to make sure those with international degrees earned them at a "reputable, accredited university." Some international schools may not be well-known, but the country's higher education system overall might have a good reputation. This is true of the U.K., according to a 2012 British Council report on employer perceptions of U.K. degrees. Nearly three-quarters of 847 human resources managers in the U.S. and Canada surveyed for the report said they considered degrees earned in the U.K. to be equal to or better than those earned in North America, per the report. Hoffacker says she had to educate prospective employers about the quality of her foreign degree. But she doesn't seem to regret the decision to go abroad for school. "There's kind of this thought sometimes that if you don't go to an American school with the cachet that comes with that, that maybe the degree is second-class or just isn't as competitive," says Hoffacker. "And I would say that's patently false." See the complete rankings of the Best Global Universities. Kelly Mae Ross is an education staff writer at U.S. News. You can follow her on Twitter or email her at kross@usnews.com. With filing of court briefs completed late Monday, President Donald Trump's executive order temporarily limiting immigration to the U.S. is squarely before the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco. A look at what might happen next: The appeals court will hear arguments in the case Tuesday in an hour-long telephone conference. It's unclear when a ruling will come. Whichever side loses could ask the Supreme Court to take the case on an emergency basis. But with the court at only eight members because of the death a year ago of Justice Antonin Scalia, it may be hard to find five votes to undo any result from the liberal-leaning 9th Circuit. If Judge Neil Gorsuch is confirmed to the high court by spring, as Senate Republicans hope, the court would be returned to full strength, increasing the chances Trump might prevail. How and when the case might reach the Supreme Court is unclear. With the travel ban set to expire in 90 days, it could run its course before the court can take up the issue. Another possibility is that the White House could extend the ban's duration. At this point, its been well documented that much of what President Donald Trump says cant necessarily be taken at face value. But at the Defense Department, top leaders are apparently assuming that when the new president promises to pour money into the military, he really means it. Leaders of the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marines are scheduled to appear on Capitol Hill Tuesday morning before the House Armed Services Committee, and they will be bringing a $30 billion wish list with them, according to the Associated Press. Related: Defying the Best Legacy of the Free World, Trump Instills Fear Itself The Army is seeking an additional $8.2 billion for modernization and training, according to the Associated Press. A large share of the money will be spent on new attack and transport helicopters. A smaller fraction of the funds would be earmarked for improved training. The Navy wants $12 billion to spend on two dozen new F-18 fighter jets, sidewinder missiles, and a new amphibious landing dock ship. The Air Force is seeking a relatively modest $6.2 billion for new F-35 fighters and other unfunded priorities. The Marine Corps is asking for $4.2 billion, largely to handle costs associated with maintaining readiness in a time of frequent deployments, and to free up funding for a modernization effort. When the generals and admirals appear before Congress, theyll do so secure in the knowledge that their requests for additional funding come with the express support of the White House. Related: Prospects Dim for Deficit Control as Trump Drives for Defense Buildup On Monday, speaking at MacDill Air Force Base in Florida, Trump promised, We will make a historic financial investment in the Armed Forces of the United States and show the entire world that America stands with those who stand in defense of freedom. Speaking to the Air Force, in particular, he said, We're going to be loading it up with beautiful new planes and beautiful new equipment. You have been lacking a little equipment. We are going to load it up. You are going to get a lot of equipment. Believe me. Story continues Trumps promises of lavish spending on the armed forces are in keeping with his campaign promises, but they represent a sharp break from recent years when Congress and the Obama administration battled over government spending and the deficit. Trump has not given any indication of how he plans to fund the coming expansion of the military. Top Reads from The Fiscal Times: By Lawrence Hurley WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Democratic U.S. senators on Monday sharpened a potential line of attack against Neil Gorsuch's nomination to the Supreme Court by questioning whether he would be sufficiently independent as a justice in light of President Donald Trump's vigorous use of unilateral presidential power including his travel ban. Their comments came after Trump criticized James Robart, the U.S. district court judge who put on hold the Republican president's Jan. 27 order temporarily barring entry into the United States of people from seven Muslim-majority nations and halting the U.S. refugee program. Trump called Robart a "so-called judge" who made a "ridiculous" decision. Democrats have expressed worry that Gorsuch, nominated by Trump last week, could act as a rubber stamp for the Republican president's policies on a nine-seat Supreme Court poised to revert to a conservative majority. "It's a serious concern with a president who attacks the judiciary and seems to not respect the rule of law and the Constitution that you have a really independent justice," Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer of New York, set to meet with Gorsuch on Tuesday, told Reuters. Gorsuch, continuing a series of private meetings with senators ahead of his Judiciary Committee confirmation hearings, met on Monday with Senator Dianne Feinstein of California, the panel's top Democrat, at her Senate office. Afterward, she said Gorsuch is "clearly very smart, caring, and he's well thought of in Colorado," where he serves as a federal appeals court judge. But Feinstein said she will make up her mind after the hearing about whether or not to support his confirmation. "What we would like to see is an independent judge, and the hearing will determine that," Feinstein told Reuters. Gorsuch must be confirmed by the Senate to the lifetime post on the high court. "It's incumbent upon Judge Gorsuch to make it clear to the American people that he does not believe in 'so-called judges,' that he thinks it's imperative that the judiciary has to be respected as an independent one-third of our government," said Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, who unsuccessfully sought the Democratic presidential nomination last year. "I would look forward to hearing him speak out on that issue," Sanders added. Conservative lawyers and Republican senators who are favorable toward Gorsuch cite his record of supporting limited federal powers and his skepticism about courts deferring too much to executive branch interpretations of the law when issuing regulations as signs he would be willing to stand up to Trump. "I have zero concerns about his independence being compromised," said Senator John Cornyn of Texas, a Republican who sits on the Judiciary Committee. Mississippi Senator Roger Wicker, another Republican, said Gorsuch "has a trail of decisions and publications a mile long that suggest how talented he is, that are instructive as to how he would rule on any number of issues." With four liberals and four conservatives now on the court, Gorsuch's confirmation would restore the conservative majority that had existed for decades until the death last year of Justice Antonin Scalia. Gorsuch's supporters point in particular to a recent case in which Gorsuch criticized a landmark high court ruling known as Chevron v. Natural Resources Defense Council. That 1984 ruling directed judges nationwide to defer to federal agencies' interpretation of laws that may be ambiguous. Gorsuch in a concurring opinion called that doctrine the "elephant in the room" that concentrates federal power "in a way that seems more than a little difficult to square with the Constitution." If Gorsuch is confirmed to serve on a court that would have five conservatives and four liberals, Democrats have expressed concern about setbacks for their positions on divisive issues such as abortion, gun control, environmental regulation and transgender rights. (Reporting by Lawrence Hurley; Additional reporting by David Morgan and Richard Cowan; Editing by Will Dunham) Berlin (AFP) - Stock exchange operators Deutsche Boerse and London Stock Exchange (LSE) said Tuesday they would offer to sell French clearing house LCH Clearnet as they push for regulatory approval of their planned merger. The two firms, whose operations include the London and Frankfurt stock markets, "decided to formally submit the divestment of LCH Clearnet SA by LCH Clearnet Group as a remedy to the European Commission in order to address anti-trust concerns," they said in a statement. Plans to offload the French arm of LSE's clearing house business have been brewing since early January, when the British firm agreed to sell it to European rival Euronext. If the merger with Deutsche Boerse -- in the works since February 2016 -- goes ahead, Euronext will buy LCH Clearnet for some 510 million euros ($545 million). Monday evening was the deadline for Deutsche Boerse and LSE to offer remedy proposals to alleviate Brussels' competition fears over their tie-up. It remains to be seen whether EU authorities, who opened an in-depth probe in September, will accept the sale as sufficient to assure the deal is waved through. The proposed deal has drawn sharp rebukes from France, Belgium, Portugal and the Netherlands, fearful for their own stock exchanges, owned by Euronext. Deep concerns over competition helped scupper two earlier attempts by the companies to merge, in 2000 and 2005. And Britain's vote to quit the European Union in June has not helped the merger's cause, with German regulators reluctant to see the Frankfurt exchange managed from London. The Commission now has until March 13 to make a decision, and will "consult market participants" to determine whether the sale of LCH Clearnet is enough to placate competition fears. Deutsche Boerse's supervisory board issued a second statement Tuesday saying that it "unanimously expresses its full confidence in the chief executive Officer Carsten Kengeter". German authorities have been investigating Kengeter since last week on suspicion of insider trading. The allegations relate to Deutsche Boerse shares Kengeter bought in December 2015, two months before the merger plans became public. By Richard Cowan WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump's choice of billionaire Betsy DeVos to be education secretary was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on Tuesday, but only after Vice President Mike Pence was called in to break a tie that threatened to defeat her. The tie-breaking vote, which Senate officials said was unprecedented to confirm a Cabinet nominee, followed an all-night debate on DeVos as Senate Democrats tried to pressure at least one more Republican to oppose her and defeat the nomination. Only two Republicans joined the 46 Democrats and two independents in opposition to DeVos. Critics have called her unprepared to lead the Department of Education after a rocky Senate confirmation hearing. Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer immediately derided the proceeding. "This cabinet nom is so unqualified, so divisive, that @MikePenceVP had to drive down Pennsylvania Ave to cast the deciding vote," he wrote in a Twitter post after the vote. Under the U.S. Constitution, the vice president also serves as president of the Senate, with the power to cast votes only when there are ties on nominations or legislation. Republican Trump tweeted his congratulations to the nominee and Pence praised her. "Todays vote to confirm Education Secretary @BetsyDeVos was a vote for every child having a chance at a world-class education," the vice president wrote in a Twitter post. Ultimately, only Republican Senators Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska joined the Democrats and two independents in opposition to DeVos. That left 50 Republicans supporting her in the 100-member chamber. Historically, Cabinet nominees with weak support in the Senate ask the president to withdraw their nomination, which DeVos did not do. DeVos is married to the heir and former chief executive of Amway, which sells household and personal care items. She is also the daughter of the founders of Prince Corp, a Michigan car parts supplier, and sister of Erik Prince, the founder of the security company formerly known as Blackwater USA, now called Academi. As Monday night's debate wound down, Schumer said of DeVos: "She disdains public education where 90 percent of our students are." Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, urging her confirmation, said it was time to "end the unprecedented delay by Democrats" on the Cabinet nominations by Trump, who took office on Jan. 20. DeVos has been an advocate of charter schools, which operate independently of school districts and frequently are run by corporations. Democrats are concerned she will promote charter schools in a way that would undercut public schools, which have long been the anchor of the U.S. education system. Teachers unions, a major constituency for the Democratic Party, roundly opposed DeVos, a philanthropist and investor, to lead the department, which sets education policy for younger children and universities and also administers a college financial aid programme of $1 trillion. The Consumer Federation of America urged DeVos to confront the problem of millions of Americans in default on student loans. "The new secretary needs to put borrowers and taxpayers first, rather than focussing on helping the student loan and for-profit college industries pump up their profits, it said. Following the cliffhanger vote on DeVos, the Senate promptly limited debate on Trump's choice of Senator Jeff Sessions to be attorney general. A final vote on Sessions' nomination is expected sometime this week. Also up for Senate debate soon are Trump's nominations of Representative Tom Price to be secretary of Health and Human Services and ex-banker Steve Mnuchin to be Treasury secretary. All three face opposition from Senate Democrats. Also facing a rough ride is Trump's choice of Andrew Puzder to be secretary of labour. Puzder, the chief executive of CKE Restaurants Inc, has admitted to employing an undocumented immigrant as a house cleaner. (Additional reporting by Lisa Lambert, Sarah Lynch and Doina Chiacu; Editing by Frances Kerry and Jonathan Oatis) Keiynan Lonsdale is one of the actors in CWs DC TV universe who knows how to sing and dance, but will fans see him show off his pipes and his best moves in the upcoming musical crossover between The Flash and Supergirl? In a recent interview with TV Guide, Lonsdale revealed that he isnt part of any of the song and dance performances in the crossover. Im not dancing or singing in the musical, said the Australian actor, who plays Wally West/Kid Flash on the CW series. But maybe well have another one one day. Im not so sure. But not in this episode, unfortunately. Dancing was Lonsdales first passion. During a chat with Fault Magazine last March 2015, he said that his love for dancing started when he was 2. I was obsessed with Michael Jackson from the age of 2, so I danced all day every from that point on, he said. When I was about 15, [that was when] I really started to get passionate about acting and music. Lonsdale independently released his debut EP, Higher Vol. 1, in October 2015. In an interview with International Business Times in September of that year, Lonsdale explained why he decided to release his EP using his own money. Ive had meetings with record labels where they've literally said, youre too black to do pop, but youre not black enough to do [your music], he shared. That really pisses me off because, yes, Im black, but Im just this guy from Australia who loves music. I dont think those rules should apply to anyone. ... Thats why Im releasing this EP of stuff Ive written myself because if Im releasing things independently than it is completely my decision and people can like it if they like it and not if they dont. Earlier this month, Lonsdale revealed on Twitter that he will be releasing new original music next month. The Flash, Supergirl musical crossover will kick off at the end of Supergirls March 20 episode and will continue the next night in The Flashs March 21 episode, where the bulk of the action takes place. Story continues Keiynan Lonsdale Photo: Getty Images/Mark Sagliocco Related Articles 'What do you think, our country's so innocent?' Mr Trump replied when told Mr Putin is a killer: AFP/Getty Several senior Republicans have condemned Donald Trump after he mounted a defence of "killer" Vladimir Putin and publicly attacked judges who blocked his "Muslim travel ban". In an interview with Fox News broadcast before the Super Bowl, Mr Trump suggested he thinks the US and Russia are morally equivalent. When asked by host Bill O'Reilly if he respects Mr Putin, Mr Trump replied: "I do respect him." He said he thought it was better to get along with Russia because they could help in the fight against Isis. But "Putin's a killer," Mr O'Reilly said. Mr Trump replied: "There are a lot of killers. We've got a lot of killers. "What do you think, our country's so innocent?" His comments were quickly attacked by Republicans. "He's a thug," Senata majority leader Mitch McConnell told CNN's State of the Union. "The Russians annexed Crimea, invaded Ukraine and messed around in our elections. "No, I don't think there's any equivalency between the way Russians conduct themselves and the way the United States does." When has a Democratic political activists been poisoned by the GOP, or vice versa? We are not the same as #Putin. MR Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) February 5, 2017 Only reason we should ever lift sanctions on #Putin is if he meets conditions of sanctions & ends violations of #ukraine sovereignty. MR Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) February 5, 2017 .@POTUS statement suggesting moral equivalence between Putin's Russia and the United States of America is deeply troubling and wrong. Liz Cheney (@Liz_Cheney) February 5, 2017 Senator Mark Rubio tweeted: "When has a Democrat political activists [sic] been poisoned by the GOP, or vice versa? We are not the same as Putin." Story continues He added: "Only reason we should ever lift sanctions on Putin is if he meets conditions of sanctions and ends violations of Ukraine sovereignty." Representative Liz Cheney tweeted to say Mr Trump's statement was "deeply troubling and wrong." However, Vice President Mike Pence defended the president on NBC's Meet the Press. When asked whether Mr Trump was creating a "moral equivalency" between the US and Russia, he replied: "No, not in the least. President Trump has been willing to be critical of our countrys actions in the past." Mr Pence added: "But what youre hearing there is a determination by the president of the United States to not let semantics or the arguments of the past get in the way of exploring the ability to work together with Russia and with President Putin in the days ahead. When asked to elaborate about his respect for Mr Putin in his interview with Fox News, Mr Trump said: "Well, I respect a lot of people but that doesn't mean I'm going to get along with him. He's a leader of his country. I say it's better to get along with Russia than not. "And if Russia helps us in the fight against Isis, which is a major fight, and Islamic terrorism all over the world, that's a good thing. "Will I get along with him? I have no idea." On Sunday, Mr Trump criticised the federal judge who halted his executive order that temporarily banned travel and immigration from seven predominantly Muslim countries. The signing of the order more than a week ago resulted in global confusion as hundreds of travellers and visa-holding immigrants were detained in airports across the US. It sparked massive protests and several lawsuits against the Trump administration. "Just cannot believe a judge would put our country in such peril," he wrote, tweeting from his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida. "If something happens blame him and court system. People pouring in. Bad!" He added that the courts were making the Department of Homeland Security's job "very difficult". It follows a similar attack against another judge, James Robart, who initially blocked the executive order. Mr Trump's outburst against the judiciary have brought a stinging rebuke from Mitch McConnell, the Senate majority leader. 'I think it is best not to single out judges for criticism,' he told CNN's Jake Tapper on State of the Union. 'We all get disappointed from time to time at the outcome in courts on things that we care about. But I think it is best to avoid criticising judges individually.' President Donald Trump drew bipartisan criticism when he defended Vladimir Putin against charges the Russian president was a killer, telling Bill O'Reilly Sunday, "We've got a lot of killers. What, do you think our country's so innocent?" Democrats and Republicans condemned Trump's remarks. But while critics attacked the president for drawing what they called a "moral equivalency" between the U.S. and Putin's Russia, what Trump said is unavoidably true: especially when it comes to war, America kills. So just how many foreigners has America killed over the course of its history? Its a tricky question to answer. While the U.S. does a good job of tracking American casualties, it doesnt do quite as well tallying up the casualties it incurs on its enemies. By using a variety of estimates, we can get a general sense of the number of lives the U.S. has taken during major military operations over the course of its history. The American Revolution (1775-1783): British forces suffered 24,000 casualties, according to Campaign 1776, a non-profit dedicated to preserving U.S. battlefields. Another 1,200 Hessians -- German mercenaries hired by the British -- were killed in battle. Indian Wars: In 1894, the U.S. government attempted to tally the total number of American Indians killed in battle with the U.S. army. Over the course of 40 Indian Wars, U.S. forces tallied 30,000 American Indians killed, while admitting the actual number was probably much higher. "The number... is of those found by the whites," a 1894 government report said. "Fifty percent additional would be a safe estimate to add to the numbers given." That would put the numbers at 45,000, although that number doesn't include the many lives lost to government policies. Early census records dont include American Indians, so its hard to know for sure how the Native population in the U.S. declined over the course of American history. There isnt even much agreement on what the entire pre-Columbian population of the entire Americas was -- estimates range from a few million to more than 100 million. What is known is that less than 300,000 Native Americans lived in the U.S. in 1900. Story continues Beyond just the fighting in Indian Wars, U.S. policies contributed to the deaths of thousands and thousands of natives. For example, it is estimated that 4,000 Cherokee died from cold, hunger and disease on the "Trail of Tears." War of 1812 (1812-1815): Combined British and Canadian casualties have been estimated to be 8,600. While Native Americans played a major role in the war, no reliable records exist to determine their casualties. Mexican-American War (1846-1848): Incomplete estimates by the Mexican government put total Mexican casualties at 25,000, according to historian Kennedy Hickman. American Civil War (1861-1865): Total casualties during the war between the states tops one million, with 642,427 Union casualties and 483,026 Confederate casualties, according to the National Park Service. Spanish-American War (1898): Spanish Navy casualties were between 860 and 960 and major land battles led to the death of 215 soldiers and another 376 wounded, according to Donald Dyal's "Historical Dictionary of the Spanish-American War." Most deaths in this war were caused by disease: Dyal estimates that for every combat casualty there were 10 casualties caused by illness. Philippine-American War (1899-1902): In perhaps the least known conflict in American history, U.S. forces killed over 20,000 Filipino combatants after taking control of the Philippines from the Spanish in the aftermath of the Spanish-American war. Another 200,000 Filipino civilians died from "violence, famine and disease," according to the U.S. State Department. World War I (U.S. involvement spanned 1917-1918): The Central Powers suffered 3 to 4.5 million military deaths in the Great War, but the U.S began fighting three years into the war, so the majority of the those casualties were probably inflicted by U.S. allies before the U.S joined the fight. World War II (U.S involvement spanned 1941-1945): The U.S. entered the the Second World War two years into the conflict. Fighting on two fronts, the U.S. delivered large casualties to the Axis powers. According to the National World War II Museum, Germany suffered 5.5 million military deaths, and another 6.6 to 8.8 million civilian deaths during the course of the war. Battling the U.S. in the Pacific, Japan lost 2.1 million solders and suffered another 2.6 to 3.1 million civilian deaths. The U.S. also fought in Italy, which lost more than 700,000 civilians and military personnel. With World War II, the relationship between war and the dead changed significantly. With the advent of strategic bombing campaigns and the sieging of population centers, more civilians than soldiers were dying in military conflicts. As the Cold War began, growing global intelligence services and the possibility of proxy wars meant the the U.S. could cause deaths without deploying large armies. The relationship between the U.S. military and the casualties it caused became more complicated. For example, is the U.S. responsible for the deaths caused by countries it arms? The Centre for Research on Globalization tried to understand just how many deaths the U.S. was responsible for since the end of World War II. It counted conflicts in which the U.S. "appeared to have been a necessary cause of a war or conflict" and attributed casualties in those conflicts to the U.S. Using that criteria, the Centre said the U.S. was responsible for 20 million deaths across 37 victim nations, including Afghanistan, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Iraq, North and South Korea, Yugoslavia and Vietnam since 1945. Related Articles President Trump sings an executive order in the Oval Office on January 30, 2017 in Washington, DC: Andrew Harrer/Pool/Getty President Trump ordered his first military raid on January 29 with one secret objectiveto capture or kill an al Qaeda leader and recruiter who ultimately survived the strike. Military officials told NBC News on Monday that the operation targeted 38-year-old Qassim al-Rimi, who leads al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula and is considered the third most dangerous terrorist in the world. On Sunday, al-Rimi released an audio message taunting the president. "The fool of the White House got slapped at the beginning of his road in your lands," he said in the message, military sources confirmed to NBC that the message is authentic. White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer on Tuesday denied that al-Rimi was the subject of the counterterrorism operation. The raid that was conducted was an intelligence gathering raid, he said, and thats what we received and thats what we got and that was a success. President Trump ordered the raid, his first military operation as commander-in-chief, on a suspected Al-Qaeda camp in Yemens Bayda province. The operation resulted in the deaths of Navy SEAL William Ryan Owens and up to 30 civilians, including 10 women and children, according to medics at the scene. Three other US service members were also injured. Its currently unclear how al-Rami avoided capture or death and if he was present at the raids location at all. Former President Barack Obama had drafted and reviewed plans for the raid but held off because his advisors wanted to launch the operation on a moonless night, the New York Times reports. US military officials are now claiming that the Trump administration approved the counterrorism operation without sufficient intelligence, ground support or adequate backup preparations. In the days following the raid, US Central Command issued a statement saying that an investigation team had "concluded regrettably that civilian non-combatants were likely killed" with children among the casualties. Last week, the president made an unannounced trip to Dover Air Force Base in Delaware to honor the fallen soldier as his remains returned home. An earlier protest outside Trump Tower in Manhattan: Getty Images Dozens of rabbis and rabbinical students have been arrested following a protest against the US travel ban outside Trump Tower in Manhattan. A crowd of around 200 people blocked the street outside the hotel to protest against President Donald Trumps executive order temporarily banning refugees and cancelling visas from seven Muslim-majority countries. The crowd waved placards saying welcome refugees while hitting drums and tambourines at around 7pm on Monday evening in the latest demonstration outside Mr Trumps former home. Nineteen rabbis and rabbinical students affiliated with the liberal Jewish group, Truah, were arrested after deliberately blocking traffic to pray following a march through the city's Upper West Side. Rabbi Jill Jacobs told the New York Times the protest was designed to show many Jewish people opposed the ban. She said: We remember our history, and we remember that the borders of this country closed to us in 1924 with very catastrophic consequences during the Holocaust. We know that some of the language thats being used now to stop Muslims from coming in is the same language that was used to stop Jewish refugees from coming. The ban, which has since been suspended, prevented any citizen from Iran, Sudan, Iraq, Syria, Libya, Somalia and Yemen from entering the US for 90 days even if they had a valid visa or green card. It was blocked by a federal judge last week and the ninth US Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco refused to reinstate it instead ordering both sides to submit more arguments over the coming days. Mr Trump, who argues the ban is not unconstitutional because as President he has the power to decide matters of national security, condemned the so-called judge who ordered the stay saying he had essentially taken law enforcement away from our country. He said the decision was ridiculous and would be overturned. Theresa May is offering to be a 'bridge builder' between the Trump administration and Europe: AFP/Getty Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin are likely to attempt to draw the map of Europe to their own design in the fallout from Brexit, a group of senior French politicians have warned. The new American President, they say, may use the Governments desperate need for a trade deal with the US after Brexit as a template to undermine and weaken the European Union. Theresa May was the first foreign leader to visit the White House after the election and Mr Trump has declared that a new trade deal between the US and UK would take place swiftly after Brexit. European diplomats point out that London has repeatedly played the Trump card in claiming that leaving the European single market will not have adverse economic consequences. Mr Trump and his advisors have also been vocal in their attacks on the European Union, and Jean-Pierre Raffarin, a former French Prime Minister, expressed deep concern that the US administration has targeted individual member states for British-style bilateral deals to test the solidarity of the union. Mr Trump is trying to hold the EU hostage to Brexit, he said. Vladimir Putin may also, said Mr Raffarin and his colleagues, use similar ploys to destabilise Western European alliances, as they stressed the need for member states to stay united in the face of attempts to divide them. The meeting between Mrs May and Mr Trump is something which affects us. The difficulty with Mr Trump is that he is completely unpredictable, we have to see what he is going to do. "But we are receiving signals which we find worrying, said Mr Raffarin, the chairman of the French Senates EU Committee, during a visit to London. The US wants to do bilateral deals with its friends. We dont accept this approach, we are united in the European Union and we must stay together. "With Russia we need to wait and see, but Mr Putin sees Europe in terms of Nato and he too sees the logic of bilateral relationships for his benefit. "Mr Trump and Mr Putin are likely to try to draw the map of Europe to their design. Story continues Mr Raffarin, who is leading a French Senate working group on the withdrawal of the UK and the refounding of Europe, wanted to point out that similar views about the US and Russian leaders were held by Angela Merkels government. The Germans are very interested in Mr Trump and Mr Putins views on Europe. The Germans want a cohesive Europe, he said. Europe has been strengthened through crisis: times of trouble can pull us closer together. "France and Germany are united in our approach. We, and other governments, want to listen to public opinion. We dont think people in continental Europe want to see a deconstruction of Europe, people dont want Europe to unravel. European Union leaders have dismissed Ms Mays offer to be a bridge builder with the Trump administration. Speaking at a summit in Malta earlier this week, French President Francois Hollande commented: It is not about asking one particular country, be it the UK or any other, to represent Europe in its relationship with the United States. "In a while, France will be the only permanent member of the Security Council to be also a member of the EU when the UK leaves. Ms Merkel said she had not even spoken to Ms May about her Washington visit and Dalia Grybauskaite, the Lithuanian President, quipped: I dont think there is a necessity for a bridge. We communicate with the Americans on Twitter. Mr Raffarin rejected suggestions that some members states, led by France, wanted to punish Britain over Brexit. The new agreement [for Britain] will not be as good as the previous one, but we need to reassure the British and also the Europeans that an agreement will be in their best interest, he stated. The ability of the financial sector based in London to operate in the European Union after separation will be a key part of the negotiations. PrettyFamous | Graphiq The City may be forgiven for thinking that current manoeuvres by the French do not have its best interest at heart. Along with the politicians, the French delegation visiting London also includes business leaders who want to attract financial institutions and banks from Britains capital to Paris. A reception was held for around 80 banks and fund managers at the Shard on Monday evening during which French officials estimated that more than 10,000 people working in the UK financial sector may relocate to the Paris post Brexit. Valerie Pecresse, President of the Ile-de-France region, which includes Paris, maintained that the overall exodus could be a lot higher with tens of thousands of jobs leaving London. The move will come slowly, so we just dont know how many may come. It will depend on the strategy of the firms and how hard the Brexit is, she said. Ms Pecresse was keen to deny that this meant it would be in Frances interest to have a hard Brexit. No, no, absolutely not, she said. Its not a question of punishing Britain for its vote. But it is a question of trying to keep a strong European Union. "If we want to keep a strong EU, it means that people who vote out cannot have all of the advantages and yet none of the duties. Trump speaks at US Central Command in Florida: Mandel Ngan/Getty In his ongoing quest to delegitimise the news media, President Donald Trump incorrectly claimed that the press is somehow involved in covering up terrorist attacks. Speaking to military leaders at US Central Command, Mr Trump defended his executive order to ban immigration and travel from seven majority-Muslim countries which was blocked by a federal judge late last week. But Mr Trump insists the ban is meant to protect the country from terrorist attacks, despite an already exhaustive vetting process for immigrants and refugees entering the US. Youve seen what happened in Paris and Nice. All over Europe its happening, he said. Its gotten to a point where its not even being reported. And in many cases, the very, very dishonest press doesnt want to report it. They have their reasons, and you understand that. Mr Trumps boastful lie that the US press failed to cover terrorist attacks ignores the hours and days of wall-to-wall coverage of both of the attacks he cited. The false remark follows comments from senior adviser Kellyanne Conway, who made a similar fake claim that the press ignored the so-called Bowling Green massacre an attack which never occurred. I bet its brand-new information to people that President Obama had a six-month ban on the Iraqi refugee programme after two Iraqis came here to this country, were radicalised, and were the masterminds behind the Bowling Green massacre, she told MSNBC. Most people dont know that because it didnt get covered. What actually happened was two Iraqi nationals living in Bowling Green, Kentucky, were arrested by federal officials in 2011. They were accused of sending materials for explosives to Al-Qaeda operatives overseas. There was never an attack on US soil. Story continues As a result, Mr Obama issued a temporary delay not a ban on processing of Iraqi refugees for six months. Iraqi refugees were still admitted to the US during that six-month period. Ms Conway who had referenced the fictional attack once before said she misspoke. But Mr Trump the President of the United States is not likely to issue even a perfunctory correction. Over the weekend, Mr Trump doubled down on his attack of US judge James Robert, after he issued the temporary block of the travel ban. "Just cannot believe a judge would put our country in such peril," he wrote, tweeting while on vacation at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida. "If something happens blame him and court system. People pouring in. Bad!" As he continues to earn criticism from the press, the judiciary, and the American people, it appears he will continue to resort to using unsubstantiated claims or lies as his first line of defence. Dubai (AFP) - Dubai welcomed a record 14.9 million visitors in 2016, the city's tourism department said Tuesday, as the Gulf emirate capitalised on its reputed safety in a region wracked by turmoil. The city-state, one of seven sheikhdoms that make up the United Arab Emirates, aims to attract 20 million visitors annually by 2020 when it hosts the global trade fair Expo 2020. As turmoil hits traditional tourism destinations in the Middle East and North Africa, Dubai has benefitted from its reputation as a safe haven for tourism and business. The desert emirate boasts opulent shopping malls, numerous luxury resorts and even an indoor ski resort. The number of visitors to Dubai in 2016 increased by five percent compared to the previous year, the tourism department said in a statement. Travellers from Gulf countries made up almost 23 percent of all visitors, it said, with Saudis alone accounting for almost half of them. Western Europe followed closely with 21 percent of visitors, it said. Travellers from China surged by 20 percent to more than half a million, while Russian tourism rose by 14 percent to 240,000 visitors. Dubai International Airport retained its position as the world's busiest hub for international passengers in 2016, handling 83.6 million travellers. The economy of Dubai is seen as the most diversified in the Gulf, helped by trade and tourism, and is not dependent on oil revenues. MANILA (Reuters) - Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte said on Tuesday corrupt police will be sent to a violence-racked stronghold of Islamist militants or they should quit, in a fierce dressing down of men from a force he had relied on to fight his war on drugs. Duterte had been unwavering in his defense of the police in the face of international outrage over the death toll, but his faith in the force was shaken by the killing of a South Korean businessmen late last year by rogue officers. Duterte late last month denounced the police as "corrupt to the core" and suspended their anti-drug operations, though vowing to forge ahead with the drug campaign. On Tuesday, he spoke to ranks of 400 policemen lined up in the grounds of the presidential palace, all of them under investigation for various infractions, and condemned them as "foolish, idiots and sons of bitches". He even challenged them to a shootout. "I will send you to Basilan, live there for 2 years. If you get out alive, you can return here. If you die there, I will tell the police not to spend anything to bring you back here but to bury you there," Duterte told them. Basilan is a southern island stronghold of the notorious Islamic State-linked Abu Sayyaf militant group, who have developed a reputation for beheading their captives. Those who did not want to go to Basilan could quit, Duterte said, but he warned any who did to stay out of trouble. "Find a clean livelihood," he said. "I will keep a battalion to keep track of your movements because it has been the sad experience of this country that the most vicious criminals, most are ex-police or ex-military men." More than 7,700 people have been killed since Duterte unleashed his bloody crackdown on drugs seven months ago, about 2,500 in police operations. The rest of the killings are under investigation but rights groups suspect many of the victims were killed by vigilantes or hitmen supported by the police. The Philippine Drugs Enforcement Agency has been put in charge of anti-drug operations and Duterte has also raised the possibility of getting the military to help. The South Korean businessman, Jee Ick-joo, was killed at police headquarters after being arrested for drug offences that his wife and lawyers said was an official cover for kidnap for ransom. Several police officers are being investigated in connection with his death. (Reporting by Karen Lema and Neil Jerome Morales; Editing by Robert Birsel) charter elementary school students kids Both President Donald Trump and his newly confirmed secretary of education, Betsy DeVos, are vocal advocates of giving families alternatives to public school, which Trump has called "a government-run monopoly." DeVos, in particular, has championed vouchers publicly funded credits parents can use to send their kids to the school of their choosing. Many of those schools are charter schools, private schools, or magnet schools. Here's what differentiates them. Private schools Private schools may be the most popular of the three, not to mention the most straightforward. Instead of receiving taxpayer dollars to teach a standard, federally mandated curriculum, private schools charge tuition to teach outside those constraints. The Taft School, private schools Depending on the state, private schools may still need to teach certain subjects to keep consistent with public schools. The vouchers DeVos supports most often apply to private schools a move viewed by many public-school teachers as harmful to the system because it siphons taxpayer money away from public schools. Students may also get scholarships or grants to attend private schools, similar to how the university system functions. Charter schools At their most basic level, charter schools are schools that are privately run but publicly funded. They are free to deviate from most state guidelines excluding tests and can range in size from one student at home to thousands across the country. Popular charter schools include New York's Success Academy network, which has 41 branches, and the BASIS network in Arizona, Texas, and Washington, DC, which comprises 21 charter schools. According to recent estimates, about 3 million students in the US attend charter schools. As their name implies, charter schools must adhere to their specific charter. Some charters focus on engineering and math; others focus on the arts. They have school boards and management organizations that regulate their operations and employ teachers, similar to public school boards and districts. Story continues kipp charter school Magnet schools Magnets so named for their ability to draw students across district lines are specialized public schools. They're similar to charters in offering nontraditional courses, but they are wholly public in both their funding and operation. They emerged in the 1970s as a remedy to racial segregation in public schools. Many of them were in poorer areas with larger minority populations, the idea being to pull white students into these areas. Popular magnets include the School for the Talented and Gifted in Dallas and the Academic Magnet High School in North Charleston, South Carolina. There are about 2,700 magnets across the US compared with 5,300 charters and 33,600 private schools. NOW WATCH: Trump's pick for education secretary says guns in schools could 'protect from potential grizzlies' More From Business Insider By Letitia Stein TAMPA, Fla. (Reuters) - The U.S. investigation into the deadly sinking of a cargo ship during a 2015 hurricane on Monday examined conditions aboard the El Faro, including preliminary findings that it was operating with a minimal stability margin on its final voyage. Still, the El Faro met applicable requirements for "intact and damage stability" on its final voyage, when all 33 crew on board died, according to a U.S. Coast Guard preliminary report. It would not have met standards for a ship built today, the report summary said. Jeff Stettler, a naval architect, presented the findings to the Coast Guard's Marine Board of Investigation, convened for the most serious accidents. His report came on the first day of two weeks of planned testimony in Jacksonville, Florida as the panel conducts its final round of public hearings. The 790-foot (241-meter) El Faro sank during a hurricane on Oct. 1, 2015, two days after leaving Jacksonville, Florida on a cargo run to Puerto Rico in the worst disaster involving a U.S.-flagged vessel in more than three decades. Earlier in the day, investigators questioned Captain Raymond Thompson, former chief mate on the El Faro, asking crew fatigue, cargo securing and an anemometer measuring wind speed. Authorities now have key information about the ship's final hours from its voyage data recorder that was not recovered when the panel held two rounds of hearings last year. Transcripts from the recordings showed Captain Michael Davidson's uncertainty about the storm's location. The veteran mariner from Maine told his chief mate he was receiving conflicting reports hours before the alarm sounded to abandon ship. Ultimately, the Coast Guard panel expects to issue a report that could make recommendations to prevent another disaster, though the agency has no timeline for its release. The National Transportation Safety Board is also participating in the hearings. Monday's testimony touched on the availability of life-saving equipment. Discussion of lifeboats is scheduled for next week. Story continues During earlier hearings, executives of Tote Services, which managed the El Faro, called the disaster a tragic accident. The company has settled financially with 28 families, Tote said in a statement, declining details. "Since the loss of the El Faro, we have focused every effort on supporting the families of those on board. An important part of this support has entailed reaching fair and swift legal settlements for those who may choose them," Tote said in a statement last week. (Reporting by Letitia Stein; Editing by Colleen Jenkins and Cynthia Osterman) San Salvador (AFP) - El Salvador on Tuesday became the second Central American country to receive tens of millions of dollars in US aid to fight the root causes forcing its citizens to emigrate. Foreign Minister Hugo Martinez and the US ambassador to San Salvador, Jean Manes, signed an agreement disbursing $97.9 million to the Salvadoran government. A third of the money is to go to promoting economic growth and the remainder to boosting democracy and governance. A week ago, Honduras received $125 million from the fund. The money comes from a $750-million US fund called the Alliance for Prosperity Plan allocated for Central America's three most dangerous countries -- El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala, collectively known as the region's Northern Triangle. The cash is meant to go to improve security conditions and reduce poverty in the countries. Gang violence and poor employment prospects are the main drivers of emigration from the Northern Triangle to the United States. Former US president Barack Obama had the money allocated after seeing an alarming spike in the number of Central Americans -- especially unaccompanied minors -- seeking to enter the United States. The new US president, Donald Trump, has promised to reduce the number of undocumented migrants in the United States and to deport many of them back to their home countries. He has also signed an order to start looking at construction of a 2000-mile (3,000-kilometer) wall along the US border with Mexico to stop illegal border crossings. This is how much journalists dont agree with President Donald Trumps claims that the media doesnt want to report terrorist attacks: Even Fox News is joining the chorus of voices slamming the White House for spouting blatant falsehoods onEven Foxs Shep Smith Rejects Trumps Terror Reporting Take: Assertion Is False (Video) the matter. Fox News Shep Smith blasted Trump and his administration on Tuesday, saying, The presidents assertion is false. He added: The White House knows that it was false or could have learned that it was false with a quick Google check, but either did not do so or decided not to tell the truth. The host ran down the list of recent terror attacks the White House says went underreported including the truck rampage in Nice, France; the nightclub shooting in Orlando, Florida; the 2015 attack in Paris; the Brussels airport bombing and pointed out how Fox News covered all of them extensively. Also Read: Media Rips President Trump Over Claim That Terror Attacks Go Unreported The president made the claim in a speech on Monday at United States Central Command. The assertion was later backed by Press Secretary Sean Spicer, and The White House issued a list of 78 terrorist attacks it says were not covered by the media. You have seen what happened in Paris and Nice. All over Europe its happening, Trump said. Its gotten to a point where its not even being reported. And in many cases the very, very dishonest press doesnt want to report it. Also Read: President Trump Declares France Attacker 'Radical Islamic Terrorist' Among the many journalists who were quick to rebuke Trumps claim were CNNs Brian Stelter, conservative radio host Joe Walsh and CBS Evening News anchor Scott Pelley. Today President Trump told a U.S. military audience that there have been terrorist attacks that no one knows about because the media choose not to report them. It has been a busy day for presidential statements divorced from reality, Pelley said on CBS on Monday night. Story continues Watch Foxs Smith in the video above. Related stories from TheWrap: Cable Ratings: Fox News Crushes HGTV for Top Primetime Spot Fox News' Bill O'Reilly Refuses to Apologize to Russia, Continues Feud Fox News Tops Cable News Ratings for 15 Straight Years With January Win Https%3a%2f%2fblueprint-api-production.s3.amazonaws.com%2fuploads%2fcard%2fimage%2f374511%2f030776ba-0bee-4b5b-b301-1225fd248fb2 There were plenty of embarrassing details in the New York Times piece about the fumbles of the current Trump administration. But White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer seemed especially bothered by the assertion that the president "watch[es] television in his bathrobe." SEE ALSO: Melissa McCarthy makes a better Sean Spicer than Sean Spicer on 'SNL' That can't be true, Spicer told reporters Monday, because, quote, "I don't think the president owns a bathrobe. He definitely doesn't wear one." "I don't think the president owns a bathrobe. He definitely doesn't wear one."Sean Spicer pic.twitter.com/ZkxZOwTH5m Michael C. Bender (@MichaelCBender) February 6, 2017 Never mind that a quick Google search will reveal that he's been photographed in bathrobes regularly throughout his life, painting a picture of a bonafide bathrobe superfan. Never mind that it's probably safe to assume that a man who owns a chain of luxury hotels and spends time considering different styles of drapery most likely has spent time in a bathrobe. (Just in case he didn't bring one with him, the White House staff actually stocks them.) There's plenty of other claims that we'd love to hear Spicer's explanation for (like that "aides confer in the dark because they cannot figure out how to operate the light switches in the cabinet room") but of the information released from the press pool, the only statement he addressed directly was regarding the bathrobe. Naturally, Twitter quickly jumped at the chance to #expose Trump for the bathrobe-lover he truly is: Honestly the amount of Donald-Trump-in-a-bathrobe pictures readily available to the public is, in a word, remarkable. Story continues Certainly unprecedented for a sitting president. If this many are archived on our sweet internet, how many more exist in the pages of family photo albums locked away in Trump Tower? We hope to never know. Trump even donated an autographed bathrobe to be auctioned off for charity in 2016. It fetched more than $15,000. We're sure Spicer won't be printing out these tweets any time soon. Warsaw (AFP) - Poland's Solidarity hero Lech Walesa on Tuesday flatly denied allegations that fresh handwriting analysis proved he had collaborated with the communist-era secret police in the early 1970s. The country's Institute of National Remembrance (IPN), which prosecutes crimes from the Nazi and communist eras, said last week there was "no longer any doubt" that Walesa had signed a collaboration agreement as well as receipts for payment from the secret police. "I swear I never swore anything to those on the other side", Walesa, a Nobel Peace laureate and former president, told reporters in Gdansk on Tuesday. "I can show you a hundred different handwriting experts who have a different opinion", the 73-year-old added. Walesa, who co-founded the Solidarity trade union and then negotiated a bloodless end to communism in Poland in 1989, has been dogged by the allegations for years. A special vetting court ruled in 2000 that there was no basis to suspicions that Walesa had been a paid agent of the communist regime. But the IPN said last week that the authenticity of the secret police files, which include Walesa's alleged codename "Bolek", was determined by forensic experts in the southern city of Krakow. The experts compared the files to other documents such as Walesa's applications for a passport, identity card and driving licence. Walesa had refused to submit handwriting samples. A book published by the IPN in 2008 alleged that while the regime registered Walesa as a secret agent in December 1970, he was cut loose in June 1976 because of his "unwillingness to cooperate". The allegations against Walesa resurfaced last year after the IPN obtained previously unknown secret police files from the widow of a communist-era interior minister. Walesa enigmatically admitted at the time to having "made a mistake", and in the past said he signed "a paper" for the secret police during one of his many interrogations. Poles in general have mixed feelings about Walesa. His boldness in standing up to the communist regime is still widely respected, but the combative and divisive tone of his later presidency earned him scorn in many quarters. NEW YORK (AP) The Queen Mary 2 ship is offering a fashion-themed trans-Atlantic crossing with a celebrity guest who's practically fashion royalty herself: 95-year-old Iris Apfel. The inimitable Apfel is known for her irreverent style mixing haute couture with oversized costume jewelry and her trademark large round glasses. She's been the subject of museum exhibits and a documentary film, "Iris," that will be screened during the trip. The trans-Atlantic trip departs Southampton, England, on Aug. 31 and arrives in New York on Sept. 7 in time for New York Fashion Week. Apfel will host a Q-and-A onboard but don't expect any style tips. "Everybody should find her own way," she said in a phone interview from her winter home in Palm Beach, Florida. "I'm a great one for individuality. I don't like trends. If you get to learn who you are and what you look like and what you can handle, you'll know what to do." The trip will also include runway shows and other guests from the world of fashion including designer Julien Macdonald, industry consultant Gail Sackloff and fashion historian Colin McDowell, along with actual models. Apfel's favorite contemporary designers include Ralph Rucci, Isabel Toledo and Naeem Khan, but she's not looking to add to her closets. "I have so much, I don't go looking," she said. "I'm in the process of deaccessioning and helping them build a fabulous fashion collection at the Peabody Essex Museum." Apfel began donating pieces to the museum in Salem, Massachusetts, after it hosted an exhibit about her several years ago. What's her secret for a long and happy life? "I have no secrets, I have no advice, except to love life and not give into yourself," she said. "At a certain age, you have to push a bit to be honest. Unless you have pneumonia or a broken hip and you can't push yourself, you really have to. Once you do you'll find there's a lot out there and you won't think of yourself. Get out there and help somebody. There are so many people that need a hand. Life is there and it's wonderful and it doesn't last too long, so you might as well enjoy." (SAN FRANCISCO) A panel of federal judges expressed skepticism Tuesday over the need for President Donald Trumps travel ban, which has upended travel to the U.S. for more than a week and tested the new administrations use of executive power. The government asked the appeals court to restore Trumps order, contending that the president alone has the power to decide who can enter or stay in the United States. But several states have challenged the ban on travelers from seven predominantly Muslim nations and insisted that it is unconstitutional. Circuit Judge Michelle T. Friedland, who was appointed by President Barack Obama, asked whether the government has any evidence connecting the seven predominantly Muslim nations covered by the ban to terrorism. August Flentje, special counsel to the assistant attorney general, said the government is aware of some foreign nationals who have been arrested in the U.S. since Sept. 11, but he did not give details of the evidence. He also said president has broad power to enforce national security. Tuesdays hearing unfolded before a randomly selected panel of judges from the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. It was unlikely the court would issue a ruling Tuesday, with a decision expected later this week, court spokesman David Madden said. Whatever the court eventually decides, either side could ask the Supreme Court to intervene. U.S. District Judge James Robart in Seattle, who on Friday temporarily blocked Trumps order, has said a judges job is to ensure that an action taken by the government comports with our countrys laws. Trump said Tuesday that he cant believe his administration has to fight in the courts to uphold his refugee and immigration ban, a policy he says will protect the country. And a lot of people agree with us, believe me, Trump said at a roundtable discussion with members of the National Sheriffs Association. If those people ever protested, youd see a real protest. But they want to see our borders secure and our country secure. Story continues The same day, Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly told lawmakers that the order likely should have been delayed at least long enough to brief Congress about it. The Justice Department filed a new defense of the ban Monday. Lawyers said it was a lawful exercise of the presidents authority to protect national security and said Robarts order should be overruled. The filing with the appeals court was the latest salvo in a high-stakes legal fight surrounding Trumps order, which temporarily suspends the countrys refugee program and immigration from seven countries with terrorism concerns. Washington state, Minnesota and other states say the appellate court should allow a temporary restraining order blocking the travel ban to stand as their lawsuit moves through the legal system. The panel hearing the arguments includes two Democrat-appointed judges and one Republican appointee. The appeals court over the weekend refused to immediately reinstate the ban, and lawyers for Washington and Minnesota argued anew on Monday that any resumption would unleash chaos again, separating families and stranding university students. The Justice Department responded that the president has clear authority to suspend the entry of any class of aliens to the U.S. in the name of national security. It said the travel ban was intended to permit an orderly review and revision of screening procedures to ensure that adequate standards are in place to protect against terrorist attacks. The challengers of the ban were asking courts to take the extraordinary step of second-guessing a formal national security judgment made by the president himself, the Justice Department wrote. Its possible that the panel could make a ruling on a technical point, rather than the larger merits of the case. Under 9th Circuit case law, temporary restraining orders cannot be appealed, a point noted by the states. An analysis on that point would include examining whether the lower courts order is properly classified as a temporary restraining order rather than as another type of order, a preliminary injunction, noted Arthur Hellman, a federal courts scholar at University of Pittsburgh Law School. If the case does end up before the Supreme Court, it could prove difficult to find the necessary five votes to undo a lower court order. The Supreme Court has been at less than full strength since Justice Antonin Scalias death a year ago. The last immigration case that reached the justices ended in a 4-4 tie. How and when a case might get to the Supreme Court is unclear. The travel ban itself is to expire in 90 days, meaning it could run its course before a higher court takes up the issue. Or the administration could change it in any number of ways that would keep the issue alive. After Robarts ruling, the State Department quickly said people from the seven countries Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen with valid visas could travel to the U.S. ___ Tucker reported from Washington. Associated Press writers Martha Bellisle and Gene Johnson in Seattle, Matthew Barakat in Chantilly, Virginia, Michael Rubinkam in Allentown, Pennsylvania, Colleen Slevin in Denver and Mark Sherman in Washington contributed to this report. SAN FRANCISCO (AP) President Donald Trump's travel ban faced its toughest test yet Tuesday as a panel of appeals court judges hammered away at the administration's claim that the ban was motivated by terrorism fears while also directing pointed questions to an attorney challenging the executive order on grounds that it unconstitutionally targeted Muslims. The contentious hearing before three judges on the San Francisco-based 9th Circuit Court of Appeals focused narrowly on whether a restraining order issued by a lower court should remain in effect while a challenge to the ban proceeds. But the judges also jumped into the larger constitutional questions surrounding Trump's order, which temporarily suspended the nation's refugee program and immigration from seven mostly Muslim countries that have raised terrorism concerns. The hearing was conducted by phone an unusual step and broadcast live on cable networks, newspaper websites and various social media outlets. It attracted a huge audience, with more than 130,000 alone tuned in to the court's YouTube site to hear audio. A decision by the 9th Circuit was likely to come later this week, court spokesman David Madden said. Judge Richard Clifton, a George W. Bush nominee, asked an attorney representing Washington state and Minnesota what evidence he had that the ban was motivated by religion. The two states are suing to invalidate the ban. "I have trouble understanding why we're supposed to infer religious animus when in fact the vast majority of Muslims would not be affected." Only 15 percent of the world's Muslims are affected, the judge said, citing his own calculations. He added that the "concern for terrorism from those connected to radical Islamic sects is hard to deny." Noah Purcell, Washington state's solicitor general, cited public statements by Trump calling for a ban on the entry of Muslims to the U.S. He said the states did not have to show every Muslim is harmed, only that the ban was motivated by religious discrimination. Story continues Clifton also went after the government's attorney, asking whether he denied statements by Trump and former New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, who said recently that Trump asked him to create a plan for a Muslim ban. Judge Michelle T. Friedland, who was appointed by President Barack Obama, asked why the case should not move forward to determine what motivated the ban. "We're not saying the case shouldn't proceed, but we are saying that it is extraordinary for a court to enjoin the president's national security decision based on some newspaper articles," said August Flentje, who argued the case for the Justice Department. Under questioning from Clifton, Flentje did not dispute that Trump and Giuliani made the statements. Clifton said he understood if the government argued that statements by Trump and his advisers should not be given much weight, but he said they are potentially evidence in the case. Friedland also asked whether the government has any evidence connecting the seven nations to terrorism. Flentje told the judges that the case was moving fast and the government had not yet included evidence to support the ban. Flentje cited a number of Somalis in the U.S. who, he said, had been connected to the al-Shabab terrorist group. The ban has upended travel to the U.S. for more than a week and tested the new administration's use of executive power. Whatever the court eventually decides, either side could ask the Supreme Court to intervene. The government asked the appeals court to restore Trump's order, saying that the president alone has the power to decide who can enter or stay in the United States. Several states insist that it is unconstitutional. Flentje offered the 9th Circuit a third option, saying the court could exempt from the ban people who have previously been admitted to the U.S., but keep it in place for people who have never been to the country. The judges repeatedly questioned Flentje on why the states should not be able to sue on behalf of their residents or on behalf of their universities, which have complained about students and faculty getting stranded overseas. Purcell said that restraining order has not harmed the U.S. government. Instead, he told the panel, Trump's order had harmed Washington state residents by splitting up families, holding up students trying to travel for their studies and preventing people from visiting family abroad. Trump said Tuesday that he cannot believe his administration has to fight in the courts to uphold his ban, a policy he says will protect the country. "And a lot of people agree with us, believe me," Trump said at a round table discussion with members of the National Sheriff's Association. "If those people ever protested, you'd see a real protest. But they want to see our borders secure and our country secure." Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly told lawmakers that the order probably should have been delayed at least long enough to brief Congress about it. If the case does end up before the Supreme Court, it could prove difficult to find the necessary five votes to undo a lower court order. The Supreme Court has been at less than full strength since Justice Antonin Scalia's death a year ago. The last immigration case that reached the justices ended in a 4-4 tie. How and when a case might get to the Supreme Court is unclear. The travel ban itself is to expire in 90 days, meaning it could run its course before a higher court takes up the issue. Or the administration could change it in any number of ways that would keep the issue alive. ___ Associated Press writers Brian Melley in Los Angeles and Eugene Johnson in Seattle contributed to this report. MILAN (Reuters) - Fiat Chrysler reiterated its diesel vehicles were fully compliant with applicable emissions requirements, a spokesman said on Tuesday after the French authorities referred the carmaker's case for possible prosecution. The FCA spokesman added the group had not yet been informed of the facts behind the French allegations, but looked forward to having the opportunity to respond. He said the company had already provided some information to the French authorities which showed that the results of some of their tests did not correspond with those done by the Italian ministry of transport and the carmaker itself. The FCA spokesman said the company had reservations about tests carried out on a single vehicle sample and according to testing methodologies the group said were not provided for by current regulations. He added the carmaker would cooperate with the investigation and remained confident the matter would be clarified in due course. (Reporting by Agnieszka Flak, editing by Valentina Za) NEW YORK (AP) -- The fight against fake news is not just being waged by Google, Facebook and big media companies. They are joined in the battle by academics and data scientists who started work on the subject years before bogus news stories were suspected of helping sway the 2016 presidential election. Their work has yielded tools that help track how "alternative facts" spread, and others that let you identify fake stories or block them altogether. Some of these are still baby steps, but they're a key, if largely unsung, part of the effort to tamp down the spread of fake stories. And the researchers were there first. For Giovanni Luca Ciampaglia, a research scientist at Indiana University, the phenomenon first caught his eye during the Ebola crisis in 2014. "We started seeing a lot of content that was spreading, completely fabricated claims about importations of Ebola, (such as) entire towns in Texas being under quarantine," he says. "What caught our attention was that these claims were created using names of publications that sounded like newspapers. And they were getting a lot of traction on social media." So he helped create a tool tracking how unsubstantiated claims spread online. DECIPHERING TWITTER RUMORS Tanushree Mitra, a doctoral student at the Georgia Institute of Technology, began a project three years ago to see how misinformation and fake news spread through Twitter. At the time, she says, "companies like Facebook and Twitter were not paying much attention." What attracted her to the project was the prevalence of fake news that spread online following natural disasters such as Superstorm Sandy in 2012. When she saw that people were sharing a lot of incorrect or misleading information about the events, Mitra decided to track both big stories and smaller rumors with the goal of creating an app that could help ordinary people sort fact from fiction so they can make decisions that could be crucial to their wellbeing. Mitra and her fellow researchers scanned 66 million tweets linked to nearly 1,400 real-world events to identify words and phrases linked to perceived levels of credibility. Looking at tweets surrounding news events in 2014 and 2015 including the Ebola crisis, the Charlie Hebdo attack in Paris and the death of Eric Garner in a confrontation of police officers in New York City they asked people to judge tweets based on how credible they thought the posts were. Story continues Words such as "eager," ''terrific" and "undeniable" were linked to more credible posts, while words such as "ha," ''grins" and "suspects" were the opposite. A computer matched the humans' opinions 68 percent of the time. The next step, an app, could help people rate the credibility of tweets and other social media posts. TRACKING HOAXES A group of researchers at Indiana University have created an online tool called Hoaxy that seeks to visualize "the spread of claims and related fact checking online." Although it's still a work in progress, Hoaxy can trace the origin of, for instance, the false claim that millions of votes in the 2016 presidential election were cast by "illegal aliens." Type in your search terms and Hoaxy will report back with stories that spread the claims, as well as fact-checking articles that debunked it. In this instance, the claim goes back to a November article from Infowars.com that was shared 17,961 times on Twitter and 52,200 times on Facebook, according to Hoaxy. The site only tracks actual links people shared, so it misses anything that's paraphrased or posted without a link. A data visualization tool shows the intertwined web of Twitter users who spread both the claims and the fact checks, and how they are connected to one another. The researchers focused on Twitter because the service makes more data available to the public, which makes it easier to use in data-tracking tools than Facebook. LEAD A HORSE TO WATER Tools like Hoaxy or rumor-identification apps are only helpful if people use them. The same goes for another approach using a web browser plug-in to identify or block fake-news stories. For instance, the Chrome extension "Fake News Alert," created last year, says it will tell you when you are visiting a site "known for spreading fake news." But there are a few drawbacks. Many people aren't willing to go to the trouble of adding new extensions to their browser. And such extensions only work on the desktop version of Chrome, not its mobile counterpart. "Fake News Alert" also uses a widely circulated but oft-criticized list of fake and misleading news sites assembled by a Merrimack College professor. The list casts a very broad net and includes some established, but highly partisan sites such as the right-wing Breitbart News and the left-wing Occupy Democrats. A final obstacle: While fake news has been in the real news a lot, many people simply aren't that aware of it. "A lot of consumers are not savvy about it," says Larry Chiagouris, a marketing professor at Pace University who follows the fake news phenomenon. "And of those that are and it's a small number not a lot of them add plug-ins to browsers." EDUCATE THE PEOPLE Chiagouris believes we are at the "beginning of the beginning" when it comes to defining just what fake news is and how to combat it. But he and other experts say technological solutions like apps and plug-ins are unlikely to get to the root of the problem. The real solution, he says, will start in school: "not college, grammar school." The better educated and informed the public is, the more likely they are going to be "asking questions and exploring alternative sources of information," says Mike Posner, co-founder and co-director of the NYU Stern Center for Business and Human Rights. "What you really want is people saying they want to see different sides of an issue, looking at things by people who don't agree with me, so one (part of the solution) is public education." ___ Reach Barbara Ortutay on Twitter at https://twitter.com/BarbaraOrtutay ___ This story has been corrected to fix the year of the election. Tel Aviv (AFP) - Turkey's tourism minister on Tuesday became the first member of his country's cabinet to visit Israel since 2010, despite a row over settlements on Palestinian land. Nabi Avci met his Israeli counterpart Yariv Levin in Tel Aviv amid a dispute over a new law legalising dozens of West Bank illegal outposts, but the two men downplayed the issue at a news conference. "I think the bilateral relationship between Israel and Turkey is a crucial component to the stability of the region and an essential component to boost economic growth," Levin said. Avci hailed Israeli tourists to Turkey, saying it was his country's duty "to host tourists coming from Israel in the best possible way." The visit came the same day as Turkey, a vocal supporter of the Palestinians, condemned a new Israeli law legalising dozens of Jewish settlements built on private Palestinian land in the occupied West Bank. "We strongly condemn the Israeli parliament's adoption of a law that gives approval to various settlements consisting of 4,000 units built on the private property of the Palestinians," the foreign ministry said. The visit was the first since 2010, when the two countries pulled their envoys out of their respective capitals after Israeli commandoes killed 10 Turkish activists aboard a Gaza-bound activists ship. The rift came to an end in June last year after long-running secret talks in third countries. Turkey is a top tourist destination for Israelis, with tens of thousands visiting each year. The Philippines said Tuesday it expected China to try to build on a reef close to its coast in a move it called "unacceptable" and "very disturbing". Reclamation of Scarborough Shoal off the main Philippine island of Luzon in a disputed area of the South China Sea could escalate tensions between Beijing and Washington. Here are five facts about the shoal and why it is a potential flashpoint in Asia. - What is it? - Scarborough Shoal is a small ring of reefs that lies about 230 kilometres (140 miles) from the Philippines and 650 kilometres from the nearest major Chinese land mass, the southern island province of Hainan. It is rich with marine life that fishermen from the Philippines, China and Vietnam have tapped for generations. Although it is in the Philippines' Exclusive Economic Zone, China and Taiwan also claim it falls within their sovereign territory, part of a broader row over territorial rights in the South China Sea. - Why is it important? - Beijing has moved aggressively in recent years to cement its claims to most of the South China Sea, assert military control over the waters and thus weaken US influence. China has built islands and airstrips on reefs and islets in the Spratlys archipelago, a strategic location in the southern part of the sea. A US-based think tank released photos in December showing Beijing appeared to have installed weapons systems at its outposts in the area. Because of its position, another military outpost at Scarborough Shoal is seen as the last major physical step required to secure control of the sea. An outpost at the shoal would also put Chinese fighter jets and missiles within easy striking distance of US forces stationed in the Philippines. The shoal also commands the northeast exit of the sea, so a Chinese military outpost there could stop other countries' navies from using the vital stretch of waters. - What has happened there in the past? - The shoal became part of US territory when the Philippines was made an American colony through the Treaty of Paris in 1898. It was transferred to the Philippines upon independence in 1946. Story continues The Philippine navy then used it as a gunnery range for joint exercises with US forces, who had permanent bases nearby on Luzon island until 1991. China took effective control of the shoal after an April 2012 stand-off with the Philippine Navy, and blocked Filipino fishermen from entering the shoal. A UN-backed tribunal ruled last year that China's claims to the South China Sea had no legal basis. It also ruled that blocking Filipino fishermen at the shoal was illegal. However after new Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte visited Beijing in October, Filipinos were allowed to fish again around the shoal. Duterte then took a "unilateral" decision to make the lagoon at Scarborough a protected marine sanctuary, drawing criticism from local fishermen who feared another blockade. - What happens next? - China vowed to ignore the tribunal's ruling and press on with artificial island building. Yet it denied doing any construction work at the shoal. Then-US President Barack Obama reportedly warned Chinese President Xi Jinping last year against building an island at the shoal, establishing a so-called "red line". At his confirmation hearing the new Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said Washington should block Beijing's access to its artificial islands. Philippine Defence Secretary Delfin Lorenzana on Tuesday told AFP that China was "trying to get Scarborough" as part of a strategy to counter US influence in the region. - Risk of military confrontation? - China has proved it is willing to use deadly force to back its claims in the South China Sea. Beijing gained control of the Paracel Islands in 1974 following clashes with the South Vietnamese Navy that left about 50 Vietnamese troops dead. Vietnam and China fought a naval battle on Johnson Reef in the Spratlys in 1988 that killed about 70 Vietnamese military personnel. Washington does not want to get into a war with Beijing, but Trump and his cabinet picks have so far issued contradictory statements on the South China Sea. Tegucigalpa (AFP) - A family in Honduras' capital was attacked overnight for the second time in as many days by a gang exacting a murderous price on those refusing to meet its extortion demands, relatives and police said Tuesday. Five people were fatally gunned down in the family home late Monday as they were observing a wake for a 20-year-old man who a day earlier had been murdered in the same house, his mother Juana Cerrato, told AFP. Both times, heavily armed gang members had burst into the address, spraying bullets. The young man, Edgard Ramirez, was a conductor on a city bus service -- a favorite target of gangs that extort money from local companies to finance turf wars and drug trafficking. Cerrato said she did not know the reason for the latest attack. But she said her son had been frightened that the gangs were murdering bus conductors. She said that, before his murder, they had gone to police to ask for protection but had been waved away and told "they aren't private guards." Police put out a statement after the overnight massacre that they were collecting evidence with the aim of catching those responsible. Four people who survived the attack on the wake were taken to hospital with bullet wounds. Honduras is ranked as one of the most dangerous countries in the world outside of war zones. It has a murder rate nearly 10 times the world average according to the World Health Organization. houthi suicide boat New footage from Al Arabia settles a dispute over what exactly hit a Saudi Arabian navy ship and killed two sailors last week. Iranian media first reported on the attack, which was carried out by Houthi rebels who receive support from Tehran. Iranian media reports said that an anti-ship missile hit the Saudi vessel and released questionable footage along with it. Later, a statement from the Saudis said the attack had been carried out with suicide boats. Now that the Saudi ship has returned to port, the footage, confirmed by Saudi sources, seems to show prove Riyadh's narrative. The attack caps off a 2016 that saw a major uptick in Iranian provocations towards the US and its allies. The Houthi rebels managed to strike an Emirati ship with an anti-ship missile in October. Later, the Houthis tried to hit a US ship, but the ship intercepted the missile and retaliated by destroying the Houthi-controlled radar sites. Saudi Arabia leads a military coalition of Gulf states, that includes the United Arab Emirates, involved in bombing Houthi rebels in Yemen. While the Saudis support the internationally recognized government of Yemen, they stand accused of war crimes in the massive air campaign there for potentially bombing civilian targets. Watch the footage below: NOW WATCH: This 12-million-gallon 'indoor ocean' can simulate the world's worst wave conditions More From Business Insider Paris (AFP) - Francois Fillon sought to revive his scandal-hit bid for the French presidency Tuesday as yet more allegations about his wife's job as a parliamentary aide emerged. Fillon, whose bid for power has been in turmoil since it emerged his British-born spouse Penelope was paid hundreds of thousands of euros for a suspected "fake job", admitted Monday he had made an "error". On Tuesday, the Canard Enchaine newspaper behind the original revelations published new claims that could stymie his attempt to put the scandal behind him. The paper said Penelope -- who earned over 800,000 euros pre-tax ($860,000) for 15 years of employment as a parliamentary assistant -- also received 45,000 euros in severance pay after the end of two of her contracts. She received a first payout of 16,000 euros in 2002 at the end of a contract with her husband -- only for her to be rehired as an aide two weeks later -- and a second payment of 29,000 euros followed in 2013, the Canard wrote. The paper also reported that investigators probing the possible misuse of public funds had been unable to find "the slightest trace of Penelope's 15 years of work." Fillon says the investigation violates the principle of separation of powers between the judiciary and the legislature. Reacting to the Canard's latest allegations, he accused the century-old satirical weekly of printing "lies." Tuesday's report "constitutes nothing new and has obvious mistakes," he said in a statement. Earlier, he travelled to the northeastern Aube region for a factory visit, seeking to regain lost ground with less than three months to go before the first round of the election on April 23. On Monday, he attempted to bury the two-week-old scandal, telling a press conference he "profoundly regretted" employing his wife, while insisting he had done nothing illegal and that he was the target of a "media lynching". Story continues An opinion poll however showed that his explanations had failed to convince two-thirds of voters, and just one in three of those questioned believe he should remain as the conservative candidate. When just rightwing supporters were quizzed, support for Fillon was far higher, with between 58 percent and 62 percent saying they found his version of events credible, according to the Harris Interactive survey. - Le Pen attack - Fillon's surprise victory in the rightwing primary in November was built largely around a pledge to slash public spending and cut the jobs of 500,000 civil servants. His woes have benefited his main rivals in the presidential race, far-right leader Marine Le Pen and centrist former banker Emmanuel Macron, who is running under the banner of his own political movement, En Marche (On the Move). Polls carried out before Monday's press conference showed that Fillon, for months the leader of the presidential race, would now be eliminated in the first round on April 23, with Le Pen and Macron moving on to the May 7 runoff. Le Pen said she was baffled by Fillon's explanations. "He said he didn't want to put himself through trial by media and then he calls a big press conference to ask forgiveness for something which he explains is perfectly legal and that there is no problem," she told LCI television. - 'Perfectly justified' - The leader of the National Front (FN) has her own expenses concerns, with the European Parliament demanding she repay 300,000 euros ($320,000) in allowances that it says she spent paying a Paris-based aide. Le Pen, who has a seat in the European Parliament, is refusing to meet the demands, saying she did nothing wrong. Fillon too has insisted he has no case to answer, saying his wife played a real, if discreet, role in managing his affairs in his central Sarthe constituency. Her average net monthly salary of 3,677 euros (around $4,000) was "perfectly justified" given her background in law and literature, he said Monday. He also quashed speculation that he could be forced to step aside in favour of another Republicans candidate. "There is no plan B," he said. (PARIS)Francois Fillon on Monday defiantly refused to drop out of the race to be Frances next president despite an investigation into whether well-paid political jobs he gave his wife, son and daughter were genuine, a scandal that has knocked him from his perch as favorite in the April-May voting. The conservative politician who served as prime minister from 2007 to 2012, the chief workhorse under then-President Nicolas Sarkozy, has long had a reputation as low-key, reliable and standing for moral rectitude, making the corruption scandal particularly shocking to his party, supporters and the French as a whole. On Monday, two weeks after revelations first surfaced, he scrambled to save his candidacy. I have nothing to hide, Fillon told a news conference aimed at stanching the blood-letting and conspiring within his party about who might replace him as candidate. All acts described (in the media) are legal and transparent. Determined despite unending attacks, Fillon, stressing his 32 years in politics, vowed to stay in the race. Nothing will turn me from my duty to be candidate in the presidential election, he said. Fillon apologized for employing his wife, while noting that it is not illegal and he is not the only politician to have done so. What was acceptable yesterday is not today, Fillon said. It was a mistake. I deeply regret it and I present my excuses to the French. French politicians are allowed to hire family members as aides as long as they actually do the jobs for which they are paid. Prosecutors are trying to determine whether Fillons family members did the jobs of parliamentary aides. The preliminary probe involves suspicions of embezzlement and misappropriation of public funds. As prime minister and in his presidential campaign, Fillon put the accent on cutting back on government spending. A key campaign promise this year is to slash half a million public-sector jobs. Story continues Fillons popularity has dropped in the past two weeks following allegations by the Canard Enchaine newspaper that his Welsh-born wife Penelope was paid 830,000 euros ($900,000) over 15 years without doing anything to earn the salary. The Paris prosecutors office on Thursday expanded its investigation to include Fillons son and daughter. Some conservative lawmakers have pressed for him to step down to improve the partys chances of winning the election. The first vote is on April 23, and the top two finishers compete in a runoff on May 7. If Fillons bid to win confidence while wading through a legal investigation fails to work, the election could become an unusual face-off without a strong right, or no right at all. Fillon reiterated he would withdraw if he were charged but questioned whether the financial prosecutors office handling the case was the proper jurisdiction. A statement by the prosecutors office said it was competent. Officials of the far-right National Front party, including leader Marine Le Pen, also are under investigation for their use of aides in the European parliament. Fillon laid out for reporters in some detail his own facts about the accusations. Yes, I employed my wife as an aide, Fillon said. He said she was paid an average 3,677 euros per month over 15 years. They call this job fictitious, he said, laying out the ill-defined duties of parliamentary aides who work in the shadows. Her salary was perfectly justified because her work was indispensable to my activities as an elected official, he said. Fillon and his family live in an elegant manor in the Sarthe region southwest of Paris. To bolster his reputation he detailed the worth of the building 750,000 euros and other holdings, and said he does not have to pay the tax on fortunes demanded of the wealthiest. Fillon said he was publishing his assets online Monday night. Fillon said the scandal grew out of a political conspiracy to take him out of the race, and make it a face-off between far-right leader Marine Le Pen whose family he blasted as untouchable and Emmanuel Macron, an untested former banker and Socialist Party maverick whom Fillon called a guru. Fillon did not say who would be behind such a plot. Nothing will change my mind about running, Fillon said. To members of his own The Republicans party, he said twice, Im not the candidate of a party but of the French people. Conservative lawmaker Georges Fenech, among those who wanted Fillon to withdraw, changed his mind after the firm defense. Today we know who will be candidate to the end, Fenech told BFM-TV. We must back him. We have no other choice. On Tuesday, lawmakers in Fillons party hold their weekly meeting, a likely place to examine the fallout from the scandal. There is no procedure in place to put aside his candidacy, and no ready replacement for Fillon. Besides far-right Le Pen and centrist Macron, Socialist Party candidate Benoit Hamon and far-left candidate Jean-Luc Melenchon are running for president. Socialist President Francois Hollande is so unpopular that he decided not to run for a second term. Paris (AFP) - The French government on Tuesday sought to calm growing anger over the alleged rape of a man during his arrest in a Paris suburb last week, after a third night of violent clashes with police. A 22-year-old black youth worker named as Theo required surgery after his arrest on Thursday when he claims a police officer sodomized him with his baton. One officer has been charged with rape and three others with assault over the incident in the tough northeastern suburb of Aulnay-sous-Bois which has revived past controversies over alleged police brutality. "I know how police officers are exposed in the fight against terrorism and violence, but they have to be exemplary at every moment," Prime Minister Bernard Cazeneuve told parliament. He urged the "utmost severity" if the officers, all of whom have been suspended, are found to have committed a crime. Several hundred people took part in a protest march in eastern Paris late Tuesday, the fourth night of demonstrations. On Monday Police intervened for the third evening on the vast "3,000" housing estate in Aulnay-sous-Bois to control local youths who burned cars and damaged public property, police said. Twenty-six people were arrested and some police officers fired shots in the air after finding themselves cornered at one point, a police source told AFP. Seventeen of them, including 11 minors, will appear in court on Wednesday, the local public prosecutor in Bobigny said. Some are accused of planning "ambushes" of police. - Hollande visits victim - French President Francois Hollande went to visit Theo in hospital, staying for half an hour at his bedside, an aide told AFP. Theo, according to a recording of their meeting released by Hollande's office, urged local youths not to resort to violence, saying "stop the war, stay united" and adding he trusted the justice system. The case has again cast a spotlight on the contentious issue of policing in France's poor suburbs after protests over the death of a black man in custody last year and major riots a decade ago. Story continues Police say they are frequently targeted by delinquents as they play a game of cat-and-mouse with gangs and drug dealers in tough multi-ethnic parts of French suburbs. Officers staged nationwide protests in October to denounce their work conditions after the firebombing of a police car which left an officer in a coma. The far-right National Front has sought to cast itself as the defender of security forces, with leader Marine Le Pen saying Tuesday that her "basic principle" was to support the police unless a crime had been committed. France goes to the polls to elect a new president in April and May and a new parliament in June. In 2005, the death of two teenagers who were electrocuted while hiding from police in an electricity substation sparked weeks of riots. Around 10,000 cars were burned and 6,000 people were arrested. In the days since assuming the presidency, Donald Trump has worked quickly to transform his campaign promises on immigration into policy. So far, the most dramatic of these policy roll-outs has been Trumps recent ban on immigration from seven predominantly-Muslim countries. But, should he continue to make good on his election-season statements, another controversial policy may lie ahead: a long-promised crackdown on sanctuary cities. What form this crackdown will ultimately assume remains to be seen, but he has already issued an Executive Order promising to withhold federal funds from municipalities that refuse to assist federal immigration law enforcement, and on Sunday he reiterated that threat in an interview with Fox News. During his presidential campaign, moreover, Trump often discussed plans to create a federal deportation force. And following his November election, Trump tapped Kris Kobach author of Arizonas controversial Papers Please law for his transition team. Meanwhile, a wide range of localities have signaled their support or disapproval of the idea: for example, Bozeman officials are considering becoming Montanas first sanctuary city, even as Ohio legislators consider banning sanctuary cities in their state. Before moving forward, however, those who support policies that make it difficult for cities to protect undocumented immigrants might consider the fallout from the infamous Fugitive Slave Act. Passed in September of 1850, the Fugitive Slave Act was part of a bundle of laws that legal historian Paul Finkelman calls the Appeasement of 1850, designed to placate southerners spooked by northern efforts to ban slavery in land that had been snatched from Mexico during the recent U.S.-Mexico War. The law achieved this goal by lending the full weight of the federal government to recapturing escaped slaves, even after the fugitives had made it to states where slavery was banned. It did this in several ways. First, the law imposed fines and jailtime on individuals abetting fugitives flight. Second, it required local law enforcement officers (and even private citizens) to actively abet slaveholders efforts to recapture their so-called human property despite legislation, known as Personal Liberty Laws, that in some states specifically absolved law enforcement of that obligation. And third, the law created a network of specially-appointed magistrates tasked with determining whether those targeted by the law were, in fact, fugitives from bondage. To ensure these courts produced the outcome slaveholders wanted, the Fugitive Slave Act banned African-Americans testimony in their own defense and created financial incentives for magistrates who found in slaveholders favor. Story continues In the three months after the Fugitive Slave Acts passage, some 3,000 escapees, living precarious lives as free people in the North, fled to Canada. Meanwhile, other African-Americans as well as their white abolitionist allies complained that the law practically begged unscrupulous characters to kidnap free people of colorthe long-standing practice that, a decade earlier, had subjected Solomon Northup to his Twelve Years a Slave. And even moderate whites, ordinarily unconcerned with slavery and enslaved people, objected to the Fugitive Slave Act as an affront to due process, states rights and liberty of conscience. The backlash against the law was powerful and immediate, and had little, if any precedent, in American history to date. Massive petitions arrived in Congress, angry missives inundated Senators and Representatives, outrage filled the columns of northern newspapers and protests packed the streets. Get your history fix in one place: sign up for the weekly TIME History newsletter This backlash, however, was not limited to the formal realm of protests and petition. In September of 1851, free and escaped African-Americans living in Christiana, Penn., opened fire on a federal posse, killing a Maryland slaveholder who had come north seeking a fugitive. Just under a month later, black and white abolitionists in Syracuse, N.Y., broke down the doors of a jail where accused fugitive William Henry was being held and spirited him to freedom. And by the end of that year, Harriet Beecher Stowe was captivating northern readers with a serialized novel that focused, in part, on a young woman and her child as they fled from merciless agents of the Fugitive Slave Act. That novel, of course, was Uncle Toms Cabin. Perhaps the most dramatic backlash against the Fugitive Slave Act took place in 1854. In February of that year, a 19-year-old fugitive named Anthony Burns arrived in Boston after a harrowing, three-week sea journey from Richmond. Hiding in a space no larger than a coffin, Burns had nearly starved and frozen to death during his storm-tossed odyssey to the North. Upon arriving, Burns worked hard to blend in among the citys free black community. But, by May, he was in the clutches of a slavecatcher hired by his owner. Bostons black and white radicals, however, refused to let Burns captor re-enslave him without a fight. Hoping to repeat the rescue of William Henry in Syracuse, Bay City abolitions advocated rescuing the fugitive by force. Taking to the streets, these abolitionists including Emily Dickinsons confidante Thomas Wentworth Higginson broke into the city jail but were repulsed by police before they could free Burns. Over the following days, as a federal marshal was deciding Burns fate, federal troops as well as local and state units mobilized under the 1850 legislation transformed Boston into an occupied city. Outside the Boston courthouse, artillerymen mounted cannon and ran through the motions of firing on civilians. By the end of that month, the marshal had condemned Burns to bondage. But Bostonians continued to resist, protesting en masse as Burns was escorted to a ship headed for Virginiabound back to the captivity from whence supporters would ultimately buy his freedom. All told, the scene had marked the largest peacetime military deployment in American history to that date. In important respects, however, these scenes a ferocious backlash that has already been compared to the reaction to Trumps recent immigration order merely hint at the long-term fallout of the Fugitive Slave Act. In the years following its passage, northerners learned crucial political lessons from the act, lessons that fueled their resistance to slaveholders power and led directly to the Civil War. First, the Fugitive Slave Act disabused northerners of the notion that slavery was a distant institution. For years, northerners had deluded themselves into believing that they bore no direct responsibility for human bondage. The Fugitive Slave Act, by contrast, demonstrated that slaverys existence required complicity and cooperation from Americans everywhere. The legislation also reminded white northerners that slavery ultimately rested on a foundation of violence. Many northerners, prior to the 1850s, were willing to believe that enslaved people were, as southern whites insisted, happy with their lot, and that slaveholders rarely required the lash, pistol or noose to maintain their authority. Here, too, the Fugitive Slave Act deprived white northerners of their illusions by confronting them with spectacles of violence in their own backyards. Lastly, the Fugitive Slave Act showed white northerners that they could build a viable antislavery coalition on non-humanitarian grounds. Many antebellum white northerners were hostile to black liberty and dignity unmoved by the travails of Eliza and Harry in Uncle Toms Cabin or by Anthony Burns brutal rendition in Boston but even they could be affected by the notion that a powerful cabal of southern aristocrats had perverted due process, states rights and individual liberty. These racist opponents of the Fugitive Slave Act would never become committed abolitionists; but they would, by decades end, join a newly-created Republican Party committed to defeating the so-called Slave Power. Trumps proposed sanctuary-city crackdown would, it appears, bear many similarities to the Fugitive Slave Act. Like the 1850 law, it would move a controversial area of the law immigration regulations, and the often violent way in which they can be enforced away from the abstract realm to the concrete reality of major American cities. It would also, like the 1850 law, create common ground between activists on the issue and those who are merely opponents of federal encroachment. And so those who would support a sanctuary-city crackdown might recall the long-term consequences of the Fugitive Slave Act for its authors and supporters. After enjoying their brief moment of triumph, proslavery ideologues quickly found themselves confronted by increasingly radical and powerful opponents. Fifteen years later, the ashes of their erstwhile estates littered the southern soil. And the people they had fought to keep in chains bore arms against them by the hundreds of thousands in the greatest struggle in their nations history. The Long View Historians explain how the past informs the present Sean Trainor has a Ph.D. in History & Womens Studies from Penn State University. He teaches history and humanities at Santa Fe College and blogs at seantrainor.org. Washington (AFP) - Doctors often fail to recommend or even discuss genetic testing of women at high risk for mutations associated with breast or ovarian cancer, a new study published Tuesday has found. "Women are very interested in genetic testing but many fail to receive it," said Allison Kurian, a Stanford University Medical School professor and lead author of the study published in JAMA, the Journal of the American Medical Association. "This is particularly worrisome because it means that doctors are missing the opportunity to prevent cancers in mutation carriers and their family members." Kurian and researchers at the University of Michigan based their findings on a survey of more than 2,500 women with stage 0 to stage 2 cancer two months after surgery. They were asked if they wanted genetic testing for the presence of mutations in BRCA 1 and BRCA 2 genes and, if so, whether they had received it. Two thirds of the women said they wanted to be tested, but only a third had received it. About 56 percent of those who were not tested said it was because their physicians had not recommended it. Only 40 percent of all high-risk women reported receiving genetic counseling to help them decide or understand the results. Of those who were tested, 60 percent had counseling. Reshma Jagsi, a senior researcher on the study, said that was "worrisome" because testing can be a powerful tool for women who are at risk. She said it can affect what kind of surgery women may choose to treat an existing breast cancer, or treatments to pursue to reduce the risk of developing new cancers in the future. Kurian said it was likely some doctors do not realize the benefits of the testing, or are unable to explain it to their patients. KAUNUS, Lithuania (Reuters) - German Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen will meet U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis in Washington on Friday, a ministry spokesman said. Her visit comes ahead of a meeting of NATO defense ministers next week and the Munich Security Conference a week later. Mattis has sought to reassure NATO allies like Germany that the United States remains committed to the alliance despite comments by President Donald Trump that it is obsolete because it failed to protect Europe against Islamist attacks. (Reporting by Andrea Shalal) BERLIN (AP) German police are raiding homes and offices linked to a group of anti-government extremists suspected of trying to establish their own state. Police say 15 premises in the states of Bavaria, Baden-Wuerttemberg and Rhineland-Palatinate are being searched. Upper Bavaria police said Tuesday some of the searches are being conducted with tactical response units present due to the possibility that the suspects might act violently. Seven people are suspected of engaging in forgery by producing documents purportedly issued by the "German Reich." Nine others are suspected sympathizers or customers. German authorities have expressed growing concern about the grouping, which has been compared to the U.S. sovereign citizen movement. A police officer was killed and three others were wounded last year in armed standoffs with members of the so-called Reich Citizens' Movement. BERLIN (AP) German authorities have arrested a Syrian man accused of membership in the Islamic State group and of raping a woman as she tried to flee IS-controlled territory in Syria. Federal prosecutors said the 31-year-old, identified only as Akram A. in line with German privacy rules, was arrested Tuesday in the Greifswald area of northeastern Germany. He's accused of membership in a terrorist organization and committing a war crime. Prosecutors say the suspect ran an IS checkpoint set up to control people leaving territory held by the group. The charges relate to an incident in early 2016 in which a Syrian woman tried to flee with her children. According to prosecutors, the suspect lured the woman to a house under the pretext of getting her an "exit permit" and raped her. BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany's mass-selling newspaper Bild openly questioned whether voters have had enough of Chancellor Angela Merkel on Tuesday after a poll showed the Social Democrats (SPD) pulling ahead of her conservatives. "Is Germany tired of Merkel?" Bild asked in a headline after a survey for the newspaper by pollster INSA put the center-left SPD on 31 percent and Merkel's conservative bloc on 30 percent. The SPD, junior partner in Merkel's ruling "grand coalition", has been trailing the conservative CDU/CSU bloc - known as the "Union" - for years in opinion polls. It last won an election under Gerhard Schroeder in 2002. But the SPD has been re-energised by its appointment of Martin Schulz, a former European Parliament president who came home to enter German politics, as its new leader last week. He replaced Sigmar Gabriel, who said he was standing aside to boost the party's chances. Schulz has vowed to unseat Merkel with a campaign aimed at overcoming "deep divisions" that he says have fueled populism in Germany in recent years. "A close race between the SPD and the Union is in any case good for German democracy," Bild said in an editorial, adding that the SPD's revival made another grand coalition less likely. Unlike other SPD leaders, Schulz has had no role in Merkel's grand coalitions - governments of the two largest parties because no other coalition was mathematically or politically possible - and can more readily critique her record. Merkel, in office since 2005, currently heads her second grand coalition with the SPD. Between them, she led a coalition with the smaller Free Democratic Party (FDP) from 2009 to 2013. The SPD has held exploratory talks with the environmentalist Greens and the far-left Linke party about forming a left-leaning coalition government after the election. (Writing by Paul Carrel; Editing by Tom Heneghan) This Tennessee girl was determined to celebrate her 10th birthday with her beloved granny, so when she was unable to make it, they brought the party to her. Read: Cops Surprise 4-Year-Old at His Birthday Party: 'That's What He Wants to Be When He Grows Up' Ten-year-old Ellie Boshers of Pulaski was devastated to find out her grandmother, Rita Blankenship, would not be well enough to attend her party in December. Blankenship, 61, had undergone spinal surgery in May, and was unable to leave the retirement home due to complications from her surgery. "Mom has missed two of Ellie's birthdays due to her health. She'd never miss an event if she could help it," Kimber Boshers, Ellie's mom and Blankenship's daughter, told InsideEdition.com. "They're buddies." From cutting Ellie's umbilical cord to taking her to Disneyland, Boshers said her daughter and her mom are best of friends. The pair also enjoys baking, shopping and painting together. So, instead of celebrating double-digits without granny, they decided to bring the party to her nursing home. Read: Violent, Boozed-Up Adults Create Chaos at Some Chuck E. Cheese Kiddie Parties Across America Boshers said she consulted the facility, and after asking parents to talk to party guests about being on their best behavior, the family and eight of Ellie's friends were able to throw an "Alice in Wonderland"-themed party at granny's retirement home just up the street from their house. "There were games, crafts, a photo booth and dress-up accessories for them," Boshers explained. "The nursing home was fabulous." Watch: Octomom's Kids Turn 8! See Inside the Vegan Birthday Party for America's Famed Octuplets Related Articles: Warsaw (AFP) - German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Tuesday that good ties based on shared values with the United States were in the interest of the European Union. "As Germans and Europeans, good transatlantic relations based on our values are very much in our interest," Merkel told reporters at a joint press conference in Warsaw with Polish Prime Minister Beata Szydlo. The German leader also said that NATO members would meet to discuss the approach of new US President Donald Trump who has called the alliance "obsolete" in terms of fighting terrorism, but of "fundamental importance" to transatlantic security. "What the president, the defence and foreign ministers have said about NATO is important and in the future we will have the opportunity to meet within NATO to discuss this," Merkel said. Germany and Poland on Tuesday vowed to cooperate in the interest of European unity. The move signals a convergence of interests between Berlin and Warsaw as the EU faces a string of challenges this year including Brexit and several high-stakes national elections where populist parties with anti-EU agendas could make inroads. Ties between EU powerhouse Germany and Poland -- the bloc's largest eastern economy -- cooled over the last year as Warsaw's right-wing Law and Justice (PiS) government pushed through a string of reforms that triggered an EU threat of sanctions over rule of law violations. "We have similar ideas about the internal market, about an energy union, or issues tied to joint efforts in the area of defence and border security," Merkel said alongside Szydlo. "There maybe also certain ideas that go in the direction of treaty changes. In this area, I believe we should be careful," Merkel said, adding EU members must decide whether they have "a common goal or if each country has its own." "I'm certain that good partnership between Poland and Germany is necessary for the European project to succeed," Poland's Szydlo said. Story continues "Poland and Germany are two countries in the EU which have a huge role to play given the changes that are taking place in it," she added. Merkel said last week that European leaders may commit to a union of "different speeds" when they make a major declaration on its future at a summit in Rome next month. The EU has long been riven by debate about whether all countries must commit to full integration including the single currency, or whether some can go at different paces. The 27 leaders minus Britain are due to make a declaration at a summit in Rome in March marking the 60th anniversary of the EU, in which they will set out a post-Brexit roadmap. WASHINGTON (AP) Republicans are planning to meet with leaders of historically black colleges and universities in the nation's capital to discuss ways to help the schools survive in challenging times. The meeting, spearheaded by South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott and Rep. Mark Walker of North Carolina, will bring leaders from the nation's 100-plus HBCUs to the Library of Congress on Feb. 28 to meet with Republican officials and supporters and discuss ways for the colleges and universities to work with the federal government and corporations. President Donald Trump said during his campaign that he wanted to ensure funding for HBCUs, which have been pushing for more high-level attention from leaders in Washington, D.C. There were more than 231,000 students at these schools in 2014, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. Almost 80 percent were black. Total enrollment at HBCUs declined from 326,614 to 294,316 between 2010-2014, according to the latest information available from National Center for Education Statistics. The percentage of black college students attending a historically black college or university also dropped from 18 percent of the overall total in 1976 to 8 percent in 2014. Johnny Taylor, president of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund, said since Republicans are in charge of the White House and Congress, HBCUs cannot afford not to have discussions with the GOP about their future. "The reality is that if you don't have Republican support, you may not have federal support at all," said Taylor, whose organization works to support HBCUs and their students. Walker said he also believed that it was important for both sides to talk. "I believe it is as important as ever to have Republicans engage with HBCU," said Walker, who noted his wife is a graduate of Winston-Salem State University. "Our goal is to bring bipartisan support to HBCUs and create an open dialogue to address issues they face." Story continues Scott said HBCUs have brought great value to the world. "For decades our nation's HBCUs have graduated amazing and talented individuals who have gone on to achieve remarkable accomplishments," Scott said. "From Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. to Nobel Prize winner Toni Morrison and famed writer Langston Hughes, we have seen how HBCU grads have shaped the direction of our country." One of these schools was front and center for Trump's inauguration. Talladega College raised more than $670,000 on a GoFundMe page to offset the cost of its trip to the nation's capital to march in the inaugural parade, after several other schools declined to participate. The school's president also received an invitation to the White House afterward, college spokesman Greg Wilson said. Wilson said the money not used for the trip would be earmarked for new band equipment, school needs and college scholarships. The school's band received a great welcome in Washington, and the reaction to their performance has been positive, Wilson said. But he did add that not everyone was happy with the majority-black college's decision, Wilson said. "There were some individuals, and not just alumni, who are still upset that Talladega College made the decision to march in the parade," he said. Trump got 8 percent of the African-American vote in his presidential election. Brussels (AFP) - The EU on Tuesday insisted Greece's economy remained on track despite a withering opinion by the IMF that Athens's debt was "unsustainable" and calling for further European debt relief. A standoff between the eurozone and the International Monetary Fund has dragged on for months, raising fears of a new debt crisis and sparking fresh talk of Greece tumbling out of the euro. The fund and the 19-nation single currency area are battling over how much debt relief Greece needs, and over economic targets required of Athens as part of a third massive bailout, agreed in 2015. "We continue to believe that the commitments reached for the programme are both credible and ambitious," said Annika Breidthardt, a spokeswoman for the European Commission, the EU's executive arm which monitors the bailout for the eurozone, along with the IMF and the ESM bailout fund. More debt relief is the condition set by the IMF to lend more to Athens, but that demand is staunchly resisted by Germany and other fiscal hardliners in the single currency zone. An IMF Debt Sustainability Analysis -- which was not released publicly but obtained by AFP -- warned Greece's debt "is highly unsustainable" and "will become explosive in the long run." A breakthrough in the standoff is key, with Athens at risk of hitting a financial wall this summer when it must repay nearly 7.0 billion euros it cannot afford without new bailout funds. Eurogroup head Jeroen Dijsselbloem said on Tuesday he had been "surprised" by the IMF's tough tone, saying: "Greece is already doing rather better than what is described in the report." "Jobs are increasing and large measures have been integrated into the budget even if there are some remaining major reforms such as the running of the jobs market, taxation and pensions. On these points we agree with the IMF that work still needs to be done," he told Dutch television RTLZ. Story continues The IMF on Monday said that a majority of its board felt strongly that Greece could not be subject to more austerity, even though this is demanded by Germany. "Most directors agreed that Greece does not require further fiscal consolidation at this time," a statement by the IMF said after the fund held a board meeting to discuss the country in Washington. However, "some . . . had different views on the fiscal path and debt sustainability," the statement added, with reports widely citing Berlin as leading the opposing view. The feuding has spooked investors with Greece's two year borrowing rates soaring to near 10 percent on the financial markets. To ease tensions, the IMF reluctantly said in December it could go along with the tighter budget targets, but only if Athens passes new austerity laws in case the targets are missed. But the Greek government on Tuesday criticised these demands as "illogical", even though it supports calls by the IMF for more debt relief. LONDON (Reuters) - Queen Elizabeth, the world's longest-reigning living monarch, celebrated her Sapphire Jubilee on Monday as Britain commemorated 65 years since she ascended the British throne. The 90-year-old monarch, who became Britain's longest-reigning sovereign in 2015, did not publicly mark the occasion herself, but a 41-gun royal salute was fired in a central London park to honor the landmark. "Todays Sapphire Jubilee marks yet another remarkable milestone for our remarkable queen," Prime Minister Theresa May said in a statement. "It is a testament to her selfless devotion to the nation that she is not marking becoming the first monarch to reign for 65 years with any special celebration, but instead getting on with the job to which she has dedicated her life." Elizabeth became queen aged 25 on Feb. 6, 1952, following the death of her father George VI, the 40th monarch in a royal line that traces its origin back to Norman King William the Conqueror who claimed the throne in 1066. When she overtook her great-great-grandmother Queen Victoria's record 63 years on the throne, she remarked it was not something to which she had ever aspired, and Buckingham Palace said she would spend Monday at her residence in Sandringham, eastern England, as was usual. However, the queen's office released a 2014 portrait showing her wearing a suite of sapphire jewelry she received from her father as a wedding gift in 1947. Elizabeth has cut back on international tours but still regularly performs official duties around Britain and remains hugely popular with Britons with an approval rating of about 80 percent. In December she said she would reduce the number of her patronages, passing on her role at dozens of charities, academic institutions and sporting groups to other members of the royal family. (Reporting by William James and Michael Holden; editing by Stephen Addison) Having the data is not enough. I have to show it in ways people enjoy and understand. So said Hans Rosling, the Swedish physician, epidemiologist, and statistics expert who died on Tuesday at the age of 68 from pancreatic cancer. After roughly two decades studying hunger in Africa, he became a professor at the Karolinka Institute a medically focused university in Sweden and then the founder of data visualization site Gapminder. He was dedicated to bringing people facts in a way that seemed compelling and understandable to them. In Feb. 2006, for example, he gave a presentation that used data to demonstrate that the concept of the developing world was one based on preconceived biases, not borne out of reality. In 2010, he showed in just four minutes how lifespan and wealth had increased over the past 200 years and how inequality between and within countries increased with it. He was not overtly political, but did not shy away from issues that could be considered political when he was backed by facts. In 2015, he used data visualization to demonstrate that Today, the European Union does everything it can to stop more than 99 percent of the Syrian refugees to apply for the asylum they are legally entitled to in EU countries. In a statement, his family said, Hans is no longer alive, but he will always be with us and his dream of a fact-based worldview, we will never let die! Photo credit: Matthew Lloyd/Getty Images for ReSource 2012 Navy SEALs were after the head of al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula in last weeks raid in Yemen, but Qasim al-Raymi survived and is now taunting President Donald Trump. The raid by SEAL Team 6 and Emirati commandos killed 14 al Qaeda fighters and 10 or 11 civilians, including an 8-year-old girl and one SEAL, Chief Petty Officer William "Ryan" Owens. Trump declared the raid a success. "The fool of the White House got slapped at the beginning of his road in your lands," al-Raymi said in an audio tape. NBC News said Monday military officials authenticated the tape. The raid reportedly has re-energized al Qaeda. It was unclear whether al-Raymi, considered the third most dangerous terrorist in the world and who is on the U.S. most-wanted terrorist list, escaped, was elsewhere when the raid was conducted or had been tipped off, NBC said. Preparations for the raid began in the Obama administration. Defense Secretary James Mattis and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Joseph Dunford reportedly told Trump al-Raymis capture would be a game changer. The raid was conducted by two dozen SEALs, with as many as 40 other ground and air forces backing them up. A half-dozen Yemeni soldiers and a dozen Emirati commandos also were involved, NBC reported. Almost everything went wrong, a senior U.S. intelligence official told NBC. Occupants of the target house may have been alerted by a barking dog. White House spokesman Sean Spicer called the raid successful by all standards. The Pentagon said U.S. forces captured materials and information that is yielding valuable intelligence. Al Sahab Media, al Qaedas main propaganda wing, linked Trumps inauguration speech and his promises to eradicate Islamic terrorism to the raid and warned Trumps threats are directed against Muslims in general. Vocative reported AQAP published graphic images on its social media accounts allegedly of children killed in the raid, accusing the United States of assassinating children and barbarity. Related Articles Hundreds of families planning on adopting children through a nationwide agency were left stunned and out thousands of dollars after the organization announced last week that it was closing and declaring bankruptcy, despite reporting millions of dollars in revenue in recent years, records show. The Independent Adoption Center [IAC], a 34-year-old non-profit enterprise based in California with operations across the country, made the abrupt announcement in an email to its clients last Tuesday, writing that immediate closure is our only option. Read: Class Misses First Day Of School To Attend 10-Year-Old Girl's Adoption Hearing As you may be aware, the climate of adoption has changed in recent years, IAC interim executive director Marcia Hodges and board president Greg Kuhl said in a January 31 statement. Societal changes have created an environment in the United States where there are fewer potential birth parents than at any other point in our 34-year history of helping to create families. Simultaneously, due to changing demographics and the closure of international adoption programs, there are more hopeful adoptive parents seeking to adopt domestically than in any other time in recent history, Hodges and Kuhl continued. The IAC has worked tirelessly to adapt to this changing environment, but the many efforts we implemented were ultimately unsuccessful. We therefore cannot sustain the agency any longer. Tax filings between 2011 and 2014 show the agency reported revenue between $4.6 million and $6.5 million each year, but in IACs Chapter 7 bankruptcy filed on February 3, it noted it was left with just $57,012.45. Expectant parents and birth mothers who received the email were at a loss, and left asking themselves what to do next or who to turn to for answers, as the agencys offices, as well as its online message boards and social media pages, were shuttered by the time the announcement was made. Story continues I was just in shock, and complete and utter despair, Angela Stevens, 34, told InsideEdition.com. I thought, I am never going to have a family; I am never going to have a child.'" Stevens and her husband Shane, also 34, tried having children when they married five years ago, deciding to adopt after unsuccessful attempts to conceive both naturally and through in vitro fertilization, she said. We met with Independent Adoption Center and we thought they were great, she said. They were known as being one of the top agencies. Theyve been in business for 34 years. We thought we were going with a reputable company. The California couple became members in August and by the time Stevens had received the heartbreaking email, they had spent about $15,000 in fees, she said. Now that the moneys gone, it makes our options difficult, Stevens said. IAC has really crushed a lot of peoples dreams of becoming parents. People spend their life savings on this. Like the Stevens, many hopeful parents had turned to IAC over the years because of their long history of operation, inclusive approval policies for adoptive parents and its counseling resources available to all those involved in the adoption until the child turns 18. Those resources and, of course, the promise of becoming parents made the extensive preparation work and the time spent waiting for a child worth it, according to Brandi DaVeiga, 37, who said she and her husband, Thomas, had spent at least $15,000 in the two years they had been trying to adopt through IAC. We chose adoption because... it may take a while but at least its a guaranteed way to have a child, DaVeiga, of California, said. I never would have thought this was a possibility over 30 years in business and you look at the information they present to you, you think, Okay, this is the way we want to go. Never in a million years did I think wed be in this position. How do we go forward from here? The email left DaVeiga stunned, she said, but what was even more shocking was the agencys apparent mistake in not notifying 800 clients of the bankruptcy. In a second announcement posted on its former website, IAC said that an internal mistake, led to the error. This is our mistake and we are working hard to correct it, IAC wrote. The lack of any compassion or anything toward those who are going to be affected its crazy. There was a much better way to go about this," she said. "And how do you miss 800 families? This is huge." Included in that group was the California-based Galvez family, Monique Galvez said, noting that she learned she and her husband, Julio, were not going to be becoming second-time parents through IAC when she tried calling the office. "On Monday I had called the office and my rep talked to me just like normal about turning in certain things," Galvez, 41, said. "On Wednesday I called back with another question, and I heard on the voicemail they had closed, effective immediately. I couldnt believe it. I was like, 'Is this for real?' I actually tried calling again." She received an email about the closure later that day, she said. Though she and her husband lost $2,700 as a result of the closure, Galvez said she is more concerned about the state of the sensitive paperwork they have submitted to IAC since joining in December. They have all my documents where does that leave me? Do I have to start over? They left numbers of other agencies to call. Id get, 'We dont have answers yet' or theyd take a message. While they tried to be helpful, theres no spokesperson for IAC that we can call." IAC requests copies of clients social security numbers, dates of birth, health records and marriage certificates, according to a statement of financial affairs form in its bankruptcy filing. It also requires clients to undergo an FBI and State criminal history background information check, former clients told InsideEdition.com. Everything that identifies us as two human beings on this earth as we stand, said Lisa Curra, 40, who had spent about $18,000 since she and her husband, Jason, 36, signed with IAC three years ago. They have so much information... they have where you were born, your mothers maiden name those are security questions, the New York woman said. "And we cant ask any questions. If they said, 'Your documents are being mailed to you, sit tight,' that would be one thing. But the trust is gone. Lisa Bevilacqua, who said she spent about $25,000 since she and her husband signed with IAC in April, was able to retrieve their file only after she called board president Greg Kuhl to demand the agencys New York office be opened. "I went down to the office less than 24 hours after receiving that email to see if I could speak with someone nobody from IAC was there," she said. I thought that was awful. This is our sensitive, personally identifiable information." Bevilacqua believes that because she is an attorney specializing in data privacy law, the agency allowed her to retrieve her file and the file of another person trying to get their documents from the office, she said. Thats the only reason they allowed me to do it, she said, noting that no one from IAC ever arrived at the office that day. The way that the agency handled this was just ... awful and it was unethical, she said. In addition to the myriad of questions clients have about their documents and the state of their adoptions, many said they are also left wondering how an agency that netted millions in revenue in recent years could be in dire straits financially. I think this is something the agency knew about for quite some time, Bevilacqua said. "And yet they continued to advertise and take on more and more clients." Elaine Farrugia, 37, of Indiana, had signed with IAC on January 27, she said. Four days later, she received an email informing her of the closure. "I was able to put a stop on the checks I had written them, the single English instructor said. If I couldnt, I would have been out about $18,000. Im luckier than most; I was just at the beginning of the journey and I hadnt invested in them so much, but part of me was really devastated. I kept thinking of people who were much further along in the process... how theyre completely without the resources. The monumental impact this has had on people really hits me." In its statement, IAC said that clients will have an opportunity to file a proof of claim for any refunds they believe are due to them. Read: Family Still Searching For Answers 8 Years After Kidnapping Expert Was Kidnapped Attorney Marlene Weinstein has been appointed trustee to administer the bankruptcy estate, which was filed in the bankruptcy court jurisdiction is Northern District of California, Oakland Division. As everything will be under control of the trustee and the court, IAC will not be involved with determining how any remaining funds in the account are utilized, IAC said. But clients are skeptical that they will see any of their funds returned. Their only assets total $57,000 thats obviously not enough to spread over their clients nationwide, Bevilacqua said. Telling InsideEdition.com that she is considering filing a derivative action lawsuit directly against IACs board members, Bevilacqua said: Their financial statements at one point showed $2.5 million in reserves... to go from that to $57,000 in a short time, somebody did something very, very wrong and I plan to get to the bottom of it. A spokesman listed as a media contact on IACs statement detailing their closing declined InsideEdition.coms request for comment, saying that no IAC principals will be doing interviews at this time. As of February 2, IAC said it had a total of 1,886 adoptions in progress at varying levels within the process. Families will be contacted regarding access to their files, IAC said, noting it has provided them with referral agencies. The first meeting of creditors will be held on March 14 at the Oakland U.S. Trustee office, according to online records. Watch: Man Brought to Tears When Stepdaughter Gives Him Adoption Papers for Birthday Related Articles: This story was updated Feb. 2 at 11:30 a.m. EST. A wild octopus surprised an Australian diver this week by suddenly, and quite dramatically, inflating itself with water, ballooning up like a parachute. Later, when the diver posted a video of the interaction online, she wondered whether the octopus was trying to intimidate her with its grandiose size. That's possible, marine biologists said, but they can't agree on what caused the curious behavior. One idea is that the octopus was hunting for food, said Kathleen Sullivan Sealey, an associate professor of biology at the University of Miami, who doesn't know the diver but watched the video online. [8 Crazy Facts About Octopuses] In the video post, the diver noted how the octopus "blew itself up like a parachute multiple times," turning its body and eight legs into a giant net as the animal traversed the rocky and sponge-filled ocean floor off the coast of Melbourne, Australia. Screen shot of the octopus puffed out into a "parachute" when it saw the diver. PT Hirschfield/YouTube It makes sense that the octopus was swimming across the ocean floor like a giant parachute, Sullivan Sealey said. Small prey was likely hiding among the rocks along the seafloor. The octopus was likely pushing water downward so it could flush out prey, catch the meal with its net-like body and eat it with its beak, she said. "It's shooting water out of its mantle [head]," Sullivan Sealey told Live Science. "It was using that water to chase little shrimp out from the rocks so that they would get caught in its legs and the webbing between its legs." This hunting behavior is fairly common among octopuses (also called octopodes or octopi), Sullivan Sealey said. "They eat a broad variety of things [for energy], because they have a big brain they eat mollusks, snails, crabs and small fish," she said. "They require a lot of protein and food." Don't eat me However, another explanation for the animal's ballooning is more likely, said marine biologists at the Birch Aquarium at Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California, San Diego. Story continues The video shows how the octopus used camouflage to blend its color and body texture with its habitat, the Scripps team said. When the animal sees the diver, the octopus spreads out its arms twice, likely to make itself look larger, the scientists added. "This behavior is used to say, 'Look how big I am. You don't want to eat me,' to a predator," said Caitlin Scully, a spokesperson at the aquarium. "Then, the octopus went back to trying to hide and use camouflage, only to eventually swim away." The Scripps team added that the octopus is likely a common Sydney octopus (Octopus tetricus), but that it's difficult to say from just watching the video. Diver's theory The diver who recorded the video, PT Hirschfield, is a filmmaker and writer who lives in Victoria, Australia. Hirschfield said she has OCD obsessive-compulsive diving and dives because of the "serenity and tranquility" it offers her as she lives with terminal cancer, according to an interview posted by the Professional Association of Diving Instructors. Perhaps the octopus was both hunting for prey and intimidating her at the same time, she said. "At first, the octopus seemed as surprised to see me as I was to see it," Hirschfield wrote in an email to Live Science. "Then it just continued to hunt crustaceans while I followed it around for a while. But towards the end of 10 minutes it definitely seemed to 'want its own space' and made no apologies for hunting for crabs right next to my body in a way that I'll admit was a bit intimidating!" The octopus could have easily swam off in the opposite direction, "but instead decided to send me a strong message by torpedoing directly at me like a bowling ball with tentacles," she said. "I got the hint and let it go." Hirschfield, who calls octopuses "beautiful, intelligent creatures," posts other videos and photos of her underwater adventures on her website: https://pinktankscuba.com. Editor's Note: This story was updated to include comments from the diver, PT Hirschfield. Original article on Live Science. Editor's Recommendations NEW YORK (Reuters) - Billionaire activist investor Carl Icahn said on Monday he planned to sell his shuttered Trump Taj Mahal casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey, likely bringing an end to his troubled relationship with the city. Icahn, a special adviser to U.S. President Donald Trump, the original owner of the casino, will sell the Taj Mahal - possibly at a loss - instead of investing the $100 million to $200 million it needs to keep going, according to a statement on his website. Icahn closed the 26-year-old Taj Mahal in October 2016 after failing to reach a new contract with union employees. New Jersey legislators accused him of planning to close the casino only briefly in order to reopen it shortly after with lower wages and benefits for employees. In an attempt to prevent that, the state's legislature last year passed a bill that would disqualify individuals who closed a casino since January 2016 from holding a gambling license in the state for five years. That legislation was vetoed on Monday by New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, a Republican, who called it a transparent attempt to punish the owner of the Taj Mahal casino." Despite the fact Christie vetoed the bill, Icahn railed against the sponsor of the legislation, New Jersey Senate President Stephen Sweeney, a Democrat, on his website on Monday. I believe other large investors will similarly have no interest in investing significant amounts in Atlantic City or New Jersey as long as Sweeney is in control of the Senate, he said. In a statement later on Monday, Sweeney criticized Icahn and Christie's decision to veto. The only person who will benefit from this veto will be billionaire investor Carl Icahn," said Sweeney. The veto "will allow Icahn to exploit and manipulate bankruptcy laws and casino licensing regulations in ways that would enrich himself at the expense of regular casino workers and the families who depend on them." The Taj Mahal was once the flagship of Trumps casino empire, which at its peak had four properties, three of them in New Jersey. Trump lost control of the casinos through a series of bankruptcies with Icahn ultimately emerging as the sole owner of the Taj Mahal. The casino is owned by Icahn Enterprises , the investment firm controlled by Icahn. Trump named Icahn as a special adviser to his administration in December, tasked with helping him overhaul federal regulations. (Reporting By Jennifer Ablan; Editing by Bill Rigby) Washington (AFP) - The International Monetary Fund and Greece are at odds over the outlook for the troubled European nation's economy, a split that likely will continue to hold up further IMF financing. Greece Finance Minister Euclid Tsakalotos said the IMF report on the economy, released Tuesday, "fails to do justice" to his country by underestimating growth and the progress made through years of sacrifice. The fund's long-delayed analysis of the Greek economy, known as the Article IV review, says Athens is relying on overly optimistic calculations for its estimates of growth and budget. But the report recognizes the recovery under way, which should produce growth of 2.7 percent this year after just 0.4 percent in 2016. Months of bickering have delayed progress on Greece's 86-billion-euro ($92.4 billion) bailout program agreed in 2015. European officials insist on IMF participation, and the IMF will not lend more unless the country's long-term debt is sustainable, and that requires further substantial debt relief and realistic budget targets. The central focus of the dispute is whether Greece can deliver a primary balance, or budget surplus before debt repayments, of 3.5 percent of GDP, far in excess of the 1.5 percent the IMF says is feasible. And the policies underlying the more ambitious goal "appear unduly optimistic, especially given pent-up demands for spending." "Reaching and sustaining such a high surplus for an extended period will be challenging ... and given that double-digit unemployment rates are expected to persist for several decades." That feat is something few countries have managed for extended periods of time, and "even fewer (one in Europe) have done so while also experiencing double digit unemployment rates," the report said. The IMF's European Department chief and main negotiator, Poul Thomsen, warned that the consequences of aiming for the higher surplus are serious. Story continues "We should be under no illusion that going from 1.5 to 3.5 (percent), getting there it will take a toll on growth," he told reporters in a conference call. But Tsakalotos, in a letter responding to the IMF assessment, said the argument that "Greece cannot sustain high fiscal surpluses that surpass 1.5 percent of GDP is in contradiction to recent developments." Greece is moving "to a state of solid economic recovery," he said. "Following years of protracted recession, the first signs of robust growth, declining unemployment rate and increasing confidence in the economy have begun to appear and clear signs of changing winds are within reach." And while the IMF in a report obtained by AFP described the country's debt as becoming "explosive" in the long run, Tsakalotos said the analysis is "doubtful." The fund data "rely neither on the most recent evidence of fiscal performance nor on the most up-to-date evidence on the ability of the Greek economy to produce fiscal surpluses," he said. Thomsen repeated that the debt is "not sustainable without more debt relief" but that there now is "more of a consensus on the need for debt relief." Immigrants have helped generate some of Americas most beloved inventions. Alexander Graham Bell, born in Scotland, helped develop the telephone. David Lindquist, a Swede, was the chief engineer at Otis, and pioneered the electric elevator. Herman Frasch, born in Germany, worked in America on a process that would become fracking. Countries dont only welcome immigrants because they are good inventors; the best argument for allowing people to migrate from places of conflict or economic malaise might be basic human decencywhich is one reason there is so much uproar over President Trumps executive order limiting immigration from seven majority-Muslim countries. But immigrants are also essential to Americas innovative spirit: Tech companies including Apple, Google, and Facebook filed an amicus brief protesting that the ban threatens companies ability to attract talent, business, and investment to the United States. Recommended: Tale of the Tweet: Donald Trump Versus Nordstrom Immigrants have historically helped boost the ingenuity of some American regions and industries, according to a new paper by the University of Chicago economists Ufuk Akcigit and John Grigsby, and Harvard Business Schools Tom Nicholas. The authors looked at sectors with higher shares of foreign-born inventors between 1940 and 2000, and found that those areas produced more patents and inventions than those with a higher share of native-born inventors. (This is similar to findings in a 2014 paper that found that fields welcoming a large number of Jewish emigres from Nazi Germany saw patents rise 31 percent.) Why count patents? Patents are associated with economic growth: In a separate paper, the authors find that the states with higher shares of patents filed experienced more economic growth than those that were less inventive. Akcigit and colleagues also looked at geographic areas with high numbers of immigrants and found those produced more inventions and patents. In the most inventive statesNew York, New Jersey, Illinois, and Massachusetts20.6 percent of the population were international migrants. In the least inventive states, just 1.7 percent were international migrants. (The authors controlled for population density by examining the number of patents filed and number of immigrants per capita.) Story continues These findings are similar to a widely-cited paper from 2009 by Jennifer Hunt of McGill University and Marjolaine Gauthier-Loiselle of Princeton, which found that immigrants file patents at double the native rate, primarily because more immigrants hold degrees in science and engineering. A one-percentage-point rise in the share of immigrant college graduates, they found, increases patents per capita by 6 percent. Recommended: Why the Trumps' Travel Expenses Matter There are a few reasons why immigrants have produced these innovation bumps, Nicholas, of Harvard, told me. Immigrants might have come to the U.S. specifically to work in growing fields, and so had ideas and expertise they had cultivated before they arrived. When they arrived, they were able to quickly turn those ideas into patents in a way that would have been more difficult in other countries with weaker intellectual-property protections. For example, the amount it cost to hold a patent to a term of 17 years in 1900 cost just 11 percent of what it cost in the United Kingdom in the same year. Whats more, as Hunt points out, many immigrants have expertise and interest in fields like science and engineering where there are fewer native-born specialists,, and which are more conducive to patents and invention. In addition, because they had some discretion in choosing their destination city, some immigrant inventors might have sought out geographic areas where there were other people working in similar fields. This would create what economists refer to as spillover, which is when the presence of a bunch of experts in one geographic area leads to the generation of more ideas because people share notes and collaborate. For example, a number of immigrants, including a Canadian, a Belgian and a Russian, worked together at the Radio Corporation of America to create the first electron microscope. Recommended: How to Build an Autocracy All this innovation is about more than just advancing sciencetechnological change drives economic growth, and so immigrants have been key to helping produce growth in the U.S. economy, which can raise living standards and produce widespread prosperity. A reduction in the number of immigrants coming into the U.S., then, could affect U.S. growth. Any lack of innovative capacity will lead to economic growth drying up, Nicholas said. If a major source of innovation is immigrants, and that source stops, you would be worried about economic growth more generally. Many leaders, most notably President Trump, have worried about the American economys slowing growth numbers. Economists are trying to come up with an explanation for why the U.S.s gross domestic product isnt growing at a rate of 3 percent, as it did in the past. Allowing in more immigrants is probably not the answer; the U.S. is now accepting more high-skilled immigrants than it did in the past. But that could change, too, and not just because of the recent ban: Trump has spoken about revamping the H-1B visa program, which allocates visas to skilled foreigners, in a way that could allow in fewer immigrants. The administration doesnt seem to be aware that any further reductions in immigration could have very real impacts on American innovation. And that could mean less, rather than more, growth, in the U.S. economy. Read more from The Atlantic: This article was originally published on The Atlantic. By John Whitesides WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Burning passions over Donald Trump's presidency are taking a personal toll on both sides of the political divide. For Gayle McCormick, it is particularly wrenching: she has separated from her husband of 22 years. The retired California prison guard, a self-described "Democrat leaning toward socialist," was stunned when her husband casually mentioned during a lunch with friends last year that he planned to vote for Trump a revelation she described as a "deal breaker." "It totally undid me that he could vote for Trump," said McCormick, 73, who had not thought of leaving the conservative Republican before but felt "betrayed" by his support for Trump. "I felt like I had been fooling myself," she said. "It opened up areas between us I had not faced before. I realized how far I had gone in my life to accept things I would have never accepted when I was younger." Three months after the most divisive election in modern U.S. politics fractured families and upended relationships, a number of Americans say the emotional wounds are as raw as ever and show few signs of healing. The rancor has not dissipated as it has in the aftermath of other recent contentious U.S. elections. A Reuters/Ipsos opinion poll shows it has worsened, suggesting a widening of the gulf between Republicans and Democrats and a hardening of ideological positions that sociologists and political scientists say increases distrust in government and will make political compromise more difficult. The Reuters/Ipsos poll of 6,426 people, taken from Dec. 27 to Jan. 18, shows the number of respondents who argued with family and friends over politics jumped 6 percentage points from a pre-election poll at the height of the campaign in October, up to 39 percent from 33 percent. (See graphic: http://tmsnrt.rs/2jLSU36) Sixteen percent said they have stopped talking to a family member or friend because of the election - up marginally from 15 percent. That edged higher, to 22 percent, among those who voted for Democrat Hillary Clinton. Overall, 13 percent of respondents said they had ended a relationship with a family member or close friend over the election, compared to 12 percent in October. "It's been pretty rough for me," said Rob Brunello, 25, of Mayfield Heights, Ohio, a truck driver who faced a backlash from friends and family for backing Trump. "People couldn't believe Trump could beat Hillary. They are having a hard time adjusting to it," he said. The White House did not respond to a request for comment on the poll results. AMID THE RANCOR, FRIENDSHIPS BLOOM At the same time, many people reported their relationships have not suffered because of the election. The poll found about 40 percent had not argued with a family member or friend over the race. The election also enabled a significant number to forge new bonds - 21 percent said they became friends with someone they did not know because of the election, though the poll question did not ask respondents to specify if the friendship was with someone from a different party. Sandi Corbin, a retiree in East Galesburg, Illinois, said she has visited some of the new friends she made because of their shared support for Clinton. "We talk all the time now," she said. "I would say that's a plus from the election." The election's fervor has spilled into the streets since Trump's inauguration on Jan. 20. Hundreds of thousands of people marched in protest on the day after Trump took office, and there have been demonstrations against a travel ban on visitors from seven Muslim-majority countries. Arguing over Trump has become a bitter reality for many Americans. "Once people found out I had voted for Trump the stuff started flying," said William Lomey, 64, a retired cop in Philadelphia who no longer speaks with a friend he grew up with after they clashed on Facebook over the election. "I questioned him on a few things, he didn't like it, he blew up and left me a nasty message and we haven't talked since." He said his friend is gay and worries about Trump's sometimes demeaning campaign rhetoric about minority groups including Muslims, Hispanics, immigrants and the disabled. "I think people are getting too wound up," Lomey said. Sue Koren, 57, a Clinton supporter in Dayton, Ohio, said she can barely speak to her two Trump-backing sons and has unfriended "maybe about 50" people on Facebook who support the president. "Life is not what it was before the election," she said. "It's my anger, my frustration, my disbelief. They think our current president is a hero and I think he's a nut." George Ingmire, 48, a radio documentary producer in New Orleans, said he broke off a close relationship with an uncle who had helped him through his father's suicide because of his uncle's fervent support for Trump. "We had some back and forth and it just got really deep, really ugly," Ingmire said. "I don't see this ever being fixed." FACEBOOK FIGHTS Many personal conflicts erupt on social media. In the Reuters/Ipsos poll, 17 percent said they had blocked a family member or close friend on social media because of the election, up 3 percentage points from October. LeShanda Loatman, 35, a black Republican real estate agent from Delaware, has severed ties on social media with former co-workers and old friends over their support for Trump and their criticism of the Black Lives Matter movement against violence and racism against blacks. "I haven't come across anybody who was openly belligerent about the election or Black Lives Matter movement when I was out in public. It's just on Facebook," said Loatman, who voted for Green Party candidate Jill Stein. Eventually, McCormick's husband changed his mind about Trump and wrote in former House of Representatives Speaker Newt Gingrich in November, but by that time she had decided to strike out on her own. While the couple plans to vacation together and will not get divorced - "we're too old for that" - she recently settled in her own place in Bellingham, Washington. "It really came down to the fact I needed to not be in a position where I had to argue my point of view 24/7. I didn't want to spend the rest of my life doing that," said McCormick, who ultimately cast a write-in vote for Democratic U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont. In St. Charles, Missouri, retired tour company operator Dennis Conner, who is a Trump supporter, says he has avoided confrontations with his brother, sister-in-law and brother-in-law, who were Clinton backers. His advice: "We don't have to talk about politics." --The Reuters/Ipsos poll was conducted online in English in all 50 states. It has a credibility interval, which is similar to margin of error, of 1 percentage point. --For other Reuters/Ipsos polls, go to https://polling.reuters.com/ (Editing by Jason Szep and Ross Colvin) By Chris Francescani NEW YORK (Reuters) - A young Iranian girl in need of emergency eye surgery only available in the United States arrived safely at a New York airport on Monday evening, after a court halted new travel restrictions put in place suddenly last month that threatened to delay the vital treatment. Her mother, Fahimeh Kashkooli, is living in the United States on a student visa while she earns a masters degree at New York's Fordham University School of Law. She shed tears and smiled as she took her daughter out of the airport through a crowd of well-wishers and reporters. I cannot express my feelings in words, Kashkooli said softly as she waited at a John F. Kennedy International Airport arrival gate on Monday evening. I was in pain every single moment, but now I feel so much better. For several years, Alma Kashkooli, 12, has been traveling to the United States to see her mother and get advanced medical treatment, including a previous surgery in San Diego, for an extremely rare condition that took several years to even be diagnosed. She had been scheduled to arrive in the United States on Jan. 31 - two days after the restrictions took effect - for a planned surgery at a Pittsburgh childrens hospital. Doctors there have urged Kashkooli, 33, to get her daughter in for treatment as soon as possible. When the travel restrictions were issued two days before her daughters flight, Kashkooli was rendered nearly speechless. I couldnt tell her, my little angel, that youre considered as a threat for this country, she said. When U.S. President Donald Trump signed a controversial executive order last month restricting travel from seven Muslim-majority countries, including Iran, Kashkooli found herself in an impossible position. She could not go and bring her daughter back from Iran because she might not get back in herself, and she could not get her child to the United States for urgent surgery. This little girl has a valid visa, and got caught up in a conflict with which she has no connection, said attorney Gordon Caplan, whose New York law firm Willkie Farr & Gallagher is representing the family pro bono. Story continues Alma's current visa allows her to remain in the United States as long as her mothers student visa remains valid. The childs visa became useless when the restrictions went into effect, but has since been revalidated under a court order temporarily halting enforcement of the restrictions. On Monday, her odyssey through U.S. customs was fraught with tension. With the possibility looming that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit could issue a new nationwide ruling on the travel restrictions at any moment, family attorneys on hand at the airport were visibly nervous as they waded through a throng of cheerful law students and legal interns. Caplan remained nervous until he saw Alma. This is not over yet, he said, looking for her over the shoulder of a reporter towards arriving passengers. When he spotted the child, he exhaled deeply. Kashkooli had spent years taking Alma to experts on three continents before a California doctor finally diagnosed the child in 2009 with an eye condition known as congenital disorder of glycosylation, which severely complicates vision, development and coordination. (Additional reporting by Alex Dobuzinskis and Yara Bayoumy; Editing by Sharon Bernstein and Lisa Shumaker) By Samia Nakhoul BEIRUT (Reuters) - President Donald Trump has set out to crush Islamic State when it is already at a low ebb, but Islamists and some analysts say his actions could strengthen the ultra-hardline group by creating new recruits and inspiring attacks on U.S. soil. IS has been weakened in recent months by battlefield defeats, the loss of territory in Iraq, Syria and Libya, and a decline in its finances and the size of its fighting forces. Trump's pledge to eradicate "Islamic extremism" looks at first sight to be yet another blow to Islamic State's chances of success. But Middle East experts and IS supporters say his election triumph could help revive the group's fortunes. They also believe his move late last month to temporarily ban refugees and bar nationals from seven mainly Muslim countries could work in the group's favor. The executive order, on which IS has been silent, is in limbo after being overturned by a judge. But whether or not it is reinstated, it has angered Muslims across the world who, despite Trump's denials, see it as evidence that he and his administration are Islamophobic. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the accusations of Islamophobia. But White House spokesman Sean Spicer said last week: "The president's number one goal has always been to focus on the safety of America, not the religion. He understands that it's not a religious problem." Denying the travel ban would make the United States less safe, Spicer has said "some people have not read what exactly the order says and are reading it through misguided media reports." Yet such comments have not silenced the criticism. "The ban on Muslim countries will undoubtedly undermine the global effort to discredit extremists," said Hassan Hassan, a writer on Islamist radicalism and co-author of the 2015 book "ISIS: Inside the Army of Terror". The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), which comprises 57 member states, said such "selective and discriminatory acts will only serve to embolden the radical narratives of extremists." Jihadists are still celebrating Trump's election triumph in online forums, saying it vindicates their argument that his views show the United States' true face and that his policy will polarise communities, one of the militants' goals. "It is a blessing from Allah to the Muslims who lost their loyalty and faithfulness and preferred to choose the worldly life with all its luxuries that exists in the apostate land over the land of belief," one jihadist wrote on the Islamist website al-Minbar. DECLINING FORTUNES IS has in recent months been significantly weakened on many fronts, with the caliphate it has created in parts of Iraq and Syria -- where it has also imposed its ultra-hardline rule on residents -- shrinking. In Iraq, the group has lost territory in and around its northern stronghold of Mosul since U.S.-backed Iraqi forces last October began the biggest ground operation in the country since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein. A growing number of disillusioned local Sunnis are now cooperating with the Iraqi army and helping in the fight against Islamic State and its financial resources have been badly hit. Turkey has also sealed its border, denying IS a route for bringing in foreign fighters and smuggling in other goods. Islamic State's presence in Iraq is mostly concentrated in the north, but it still has significant strongholds such as Tal Afar, to the west of Mosul, and nearby areas such as Al Qaem near the Syrian border. Even so, Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi has said IS will be driven out of the country by April. IS still holds swathes of Syrian territory and is putting up fierce resistance in Raqqa, its capital in eastern Syria. It still holds around 90 percent of the province of Deir Ez-Zor near the Iraqi border, along with Raqqa and some parts of the eastern countryside of Aleppo in northern Syria. It also controls Palmyra and some pockets in Deraa in the south. Its opponents in Syria include the Turkish army and Syrian rebel groups northeast of Aleppo. On several fronts it is fighting Syrian government forces supported by the Russian air force and Iranian-backed Shi'ite militia. Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has indicated he sees Trump's views on Islamic State as promising. In Libya, IS has lost control of the Mediterranean port city of Sirte to Libyan forces backed by U.S. air strikes. This defeat deprived the group of its main stronghold in North Africa, though it retains an active presence in other parts of Libya. The number of IS fighters is now estimated by analysts and experts to be at 20,000 in Iraq and Syria compared with 36,000 in 2014. Since then, a large number of fighters and IS leaders have been killed in air strikes by the U.S.-led coalition and others have been captured by the Iraqi army or fled the country. STRIKING BACK Despite the setbacks, Islamic States is putting up fierce resistance and remains a deadly threat to the United States and its Western allies. IS has started developing lethal alternatives to its caliphate, ranging from rural insurgencies in Syria and Iraq to carrying out attacks in Europe and targeting Western allies across the Middle East from Turkey to Egypt. Now, some Islamist experts believe, IS may redouble its efforts to strike inside the United States, and replicate the fatal attacks carried out in the last 15 months in Paris, Brussels, Nice, Berlin and Istanbul. Like al Qaeda before it, IS has long said the West has deep-seated hostility towards Muslims. Over the past decade, this narrative has been a factor in the steady growth of a radical audience in the Middle East and beyond. Trump's policies will make it a lot easier for the jihadists, says Mokhtar Awad, Research Fellow in the Program on Extremism at George Washington University. "They will simply double down on the strategy (of attacks) and instead of investing totally in the battlefields they use, they will try even harder than they have already to activate cells in different Middle Eastern and Western countries," Awad said. "An attack in the U.S., as horrific as it may be, is the perfect thing that will work in their favor to show Trump is weak, and embolden the most exclusionary and xenophobic attitudes that some in this (U.S.) administration may have." BUILDING COMMUNAL DISTRUST An important aim of IS strategy is to polarise societies and cause distrust of Muslim neighbours. Experts say IS believes that even if a Muslim does not join the group, he or she will be less inclined to oppose the militants if society is polarised. Many analysts say the most urgent fight for Islamic State's opponents is a political battle -- how to make the group irrelevant to those who support it now. Under Trump, who was inaugurated on Jan. 20, Washington has signalled it is looking for partners in the Middle East to take on IS. In Iraq, U.S. forces, at the forefront of the Mosul campaign, are in practice aligned, though not allied, with Iran, whose influence with Baghdad's Shi'ite-dominated government could increase if measures such as the U.S. entry ban go ahead or are reinstated. In Syria, U.S. forces are relying on Syrian Kurdish fighters to encircle Raqqa. But this has upset NATO ally Turkey, which sees the Syrian Kurd militia as identical to Turkish Kurd insurgents it regards as terrorists. The United States and European Union list them as terrorist groups. Trump's overtures to President Vladimir Putin suggest Russia and the United States could become closer in the fight against IS, though many of their goals and allies are different. This potentially budding relationship could also be an opportunity for IS. Analysts say it has already come to see Russia's alliance with Shi'ite Iran as a recruiting tool because it has caused such anger among some Muslims. (Additional reporting by Tom Perry, Editing by William Maclean and Timothy Heritage) Israeli MKs narrowly voted to legalise settlements built on Palestinian land: AFP/Getty Mahmoud Abbas has condemned as an aggression against the Palestinian people a vote in Israels Knesset to legalise thousands of wildcat settlement homes built on private land in the West Bank. After more than a week of parliamentary discussion members of the Israeli parliament voted on the controversial legislation, retroactively recognising 4,000 Jewish homes in 54 outpost settlements late on Monday night. Speaking after a meeting with the French President Francois Hollande in Paris on Tuesday, Mr Abbas said the bill was contrary to international law. This is an aggression against our people that we will be opposing in international organisations, the President of the Palestinian Authority said. What we want is peace.... but what Israel does is to work towards one state based on apartheid. The bill was narrowly passed by 60 votes to 52 in the 120-member Knesset in Monday's late-night vote. During a heated debate, cabinet minister Ofir Akunis said: We are voting tonight on our right to the land. We are voting tonight on the connection between the Jewish people and its land. This whole land is ours. All of it. Outpost or wildcat settlements, as they are sometimes known, have been built on Palestinian land without government permission. The international community, which views all Israeli building over the 1967 Green Line as illegitimate, does not recognise the distinction between outposts and regular settlements. The vote marks the first time Israel has applied its own civil law to land it recognises as Palestinian-owned in the West Bank. It is the latest in a string of bold pro-settlement steps the state has undertaken since US President Donald Trump took office last month. Thousands of new homes are slated for construction in the West Bank and East Jerusalem now that Barack Obama, who was critical of settlement building, has given way. President Trump is more sympathetic to Israeli interests, although his administration has blown hot and cold over the subject of settlements in the last week, warning the new legislation on outposts would not be helpful for the peace process. Story continues The US has not issued an official statement on Mondays vote. The State Department later said: The Trump administration will withhold comment on the legislation until the relevant court ruling. The legislation stipulates that the original Palestinian owners of the land should be given either generous financial compensation or land elsewhere, whether they agree to such a deal or not. The Palestinian Liberation Organisation (PLO) has described the measure as being as good as a declaration of war, and PLO secretary general Saeb Erekat said the bill is putting the last nail in the coffin of the two-state solution. Palestinian Authority cabinet minister Rula Maayaa insisted that nobody can legalise the theft of the Palestinian lands.... I think it is time now for the international community to act concretely to stop the Israelis from [committing] these crimes. The explosive law, proposed by the right-wing Jewish Home party, is expected to trigger lawsuits and reach Israels Supreme Court. Israels Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit reportedly told Mr Netanyahu earlier this month that he would not defend the legislation against the expected legal challenges because he believes it violates both Israeli and international law. Mr Netanyahu himself who missed the vote as he was travelling back from talks with Prime Minister Theresa May in London is thought to have personal misgivings about the law, which is popular with right-wing Jewish Israeli voters, but has split the population more generally. Critics have warned it could drag Israel into a legal battle at the International Criminal Court at The Hague, which is already pursuing a preliminary examination into settlements. Among the law's problematic elements is that the West Bank is not sovereign Israeli territory, and that Palestinians who live there are not citizens and therefore do not have the right to vote for the government that imposed the law on them. Before the law passed, Nickolay Mladenov, the UNs envoy for the Middle East peace process, called on Israeli MKs to vote against the law, warning it will have far-reaching legal consequences for Israel and greatly diminish the prospects for Arab-Israeli peace. (JERUSALEM) A new Israeli law legalizing dozens of unlawfully built West Bank settlement outposts came under heavy criticism on Tuesday from some of Israels closest allies, as local rights groups prepared to ask the Supreme Court to overturn the measure. Amid the uproar, the Trump administration remained quiet about the law paving the way for further possible action by emboldened Israeli hard-liners ahead of a trip to the White House by Israels prime minister next week. The law was a first step in a series of measures that we must take in order to make our presence in Judea and Samaria present for years, for decades, for ages, Israeli Cabinet Minister Yariv Levin said, using the biblical name for the West Bank. I do believe that our right over our fatherland is something that cannot be denied. The law, passed late Monday, sets out to legalize dozens of West Bank settler outposts built on privately owned Palestinian land. Proponents claimed the communities, home to thousands of people and in some cases decades old, were built in good faith and quietly backed by a string of Israeli governments. But critics said the law amounts to legalized land theft. They also said it is legally problematic by imposing Israeli law on occupied land that is not sovereign Israeli territory and where its Palestinian residents do not have citizenship or the right to vote. The Palestinians seek the West Bank and east Jerusalem, captured by Israel in the 1967 Mideast war, as parts of a future independent state. Most of the international community considers Israeli settlements illegal and counterproductive to peace. Some 600,000 Israelis now live in the two areas. In Paris, Palestinian official Saeb Erekat said the law puts the last nail in the coffin of the two-state solution and accused the Israeli government of trying to legalize looting Palestinian land. Story continues Secretary-General Antonio Guterres expressed deep regret over the bill, saying it was in contravention of international law and will have far-reaching legal consequences for Israel. The secretary-general insists on the need to avoid any action that would derail the two-state solution, spokesman Stephane Dujarric said. Some of Israels closest allies, including Germany, Britain and the Czech Republic, also condemned the legislation. Germanys Foreign Ministry said its faith in Israels commitment to a two-state solution was deeply shaken. Britains minister for the Middle East, Tobias Ellwood, said the law damages Israels standing with its international partners. Jordan, a key Arab ally, said such provocative acts could fuel the anger of Muslims and drag the region to more violence and extremism. Turkeys tourism minister, Nabi Avci, visiting Israel as part of a reconciliation process, said he hoped Israels Supreme Court would make the right decision and strike down the law. Prominent Israeli advocacy groups, including Peace Now, the Arab rights group Adalah, and the Association for Civil Rights in Israel, all announced plans to file legal challenges. Theres going to be a legal battle against this bill, said Lior Amihai, spokesman for Peace Now. Legal experts say the law is problematic and Israels attorney general has said he will not defend it in court. Netanyahu has also expressed misgivings, reportedly saying it could drag Israel into international legal prosecution, though in the end he agreed to support it. In December, the U.N. Security Council passed a resolution declaring settlements illegal. Netanyahu missed Mondays vote because he was flying back from a visit to Britain. The International Criminal Court in the Hague already is conducting a preliminary investigation into Israeli settlement policy. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, in Paris for talks with French President Francois Hollande, said he would seek to fight the new law in international organizations. What we want is peace but what Israel does is to work toward one state based on apartheid, Abbas said. Yuval Shany, a law professor at Israels Hebrew University, said the Supreme Court will most likely strike down the law. He said it generates considerable problems, including likely violations of property rights, infringement of human dignity and the attorney generals opposition. But he said the legal challenges could drag on, in part because the law lays out a gradual process for confiscating lands. He said it would take years for the outposts to be fully legalized, alongside the roughly 130 existing Israeli settlements that dot the West Bank. In all, the law would legalize some 3,900 homes built on private Palestinian land about 800 in unauthorized outposts and the remainder in recognized settlements. The original landowners would be eligible for financial compensation of 125 percent of the lands value, as determined by Israel, or a comparable piece of alternative property. It is hard to find a comparable international precedent for the Israeli action. In breakaway northern Cyprus, attempts by Turkish Cypriot authorities to issue ownership certificates for property seized from displaced Greek Cypriots have been struck down in European courts. Netanyahus governing coalition is dominated by West Bank settlers and their political allies. The Jewish Home party, which has ties to the settler movement, put heavy pressure on Netanyahu to allow Mondays vote after the court-ordered demolition last week of the illegal outpost of Amona. Jewish Home came under fierce criticism for failing to prevent the demolition and has vowed to prevent further court-ordered evacuations. After repeated clashes with President Barack Obama over settlements, Netanyahu and his settler allies have become emboldened by Trumps election. The new U.S. president has signaled a much softer approach than any of his predecessors. Trumps campaign platform made no mention of a Palestinian state, departing from two decades of American policy, his designated ambassador to Israel is a settler ally, and a delegation of settler leaders was invited to his inauguration. Encouraged by these signs, Israel has announced plans to build more than 6,000 settler homes. Jewish Home has also called on Israel to annex the 60 percent of the West Bank where settlements are located. According to Peace Now, which closely monitors settlement activity, officials are scheduled to meet Wednesday to push for an additional 1,200 settlement homes. Israels future settlement plans could hinge on Netanyahus Feb. 15 visit to the White House. Trump has not condemned any of the latest Israeli settlement plans. But last week, he signaled that he too may have his limits, saying that settlements may not be helpful to promoting peace. Netanyahu is expected to try to reach understandings with Trump on how much settlement construction might be tolerated. Naftali Bennett, head of the Jewish Home party, told Israels Army Radio that the goal of the bill was to create the same conditions in the settlements as in Israel proper. At the end of the day, behind all the talk there is a simple question: What do we want for the future of Israel? he said. As Italy waits on new elections to replace its interim government, the anti-establishment Five Star Movement is rising in the polls and has a shot at catapulting into the highest levels of power. From what the movement has shown at the local level, Italy could be in for a bumpy ride. Like many populist parties in Europe, the Five Star Movement has steadily attracted voters looking to shake up the political status quo. Yet critics characterize the group as a bunch of upstart complainers, better at carping than actually governing. Last summer the movement, co-founded by former comedian Beppe Grillo in 2009, finally made a big leap towards legitimacy when a pair of young female mayoral candidates swept elections in two of Italys biggest cities. Seven months later, Italians are starting to draw some early conclusions from their track records and their assessments may hint at the movements chances with a wider audience when national elections are finally held later this year or in 2018. Since taking office in June, Chiara Appendino, the 32-year-old Five Star mayor of Turin, quickly rose to become Italys most popular mayor and a poster child for a telegenic non-career politician. Meanwhile, 38-year-old Virginia Raggi, mayor of Rome, has been dragged through the mud, beset by scandals and infighting, and is in danger of losing her post. Partly thats due to the differences between the two cities they govern. Turin is home to major car companies and a purring economy. Its got a foundation of efficient services and has successfully pulled off big public events, like the 2006 winter Olympics. Rome, in contrast, is notoriously unwieldy, with billions of euros in debt, a huge and cantankerous civil service, and complicated municipal politics prone to corruption. Still, the depth of the Roman mayors ineptitude has surprised many. Its a total disaster and really looks like she didnt get one thing right or even try, said Rosa Balfour, the director of the German Marshall Funds Europe program. They were really not doing their homework. Story continues From her first months in office, the lawyer and political newcomer had a revolving door of appointees in key government posts, some who resigned citing lack of transparency, others who were forced out after coming under investigation by city prosecutors. Raggis lax administration also meant shes had trouble keeping government functions like garbage collection up and running. Now she is under investigation by Romes municipal court for abuse of office and false testimony. The missteps may do major damage to the Five Stars image as a party that eschews sleazy traditional politics and promises radical transparency. There was a conviction that they could do things differently in Rome, Balfour told Foreign Policy. Because of a lack of experience, they didnt realize the hurdles ahead. Meanwhile, Appendino has had a smoother start in Turin, even garnering some positive international buzz over her initiative to turn Turin into Italys first vegetarian city. While she was also new to politics, Appendino is not exactly an outsider. She comes from a well-known Turin business family and was able to tap her network of connections to help run the city. But continuity in Turin has also led some residents to wonder whether the Five Star Movement really offers anything new. Things are the same, the trash is still collected, the city runs well, and you dont see that anything has gotten worse, said Alberto Sarzano, a Turin resident who didnt vote for Appendino but says hes satisfied with her management so far. Still, he doesnt see a huge departure from the previous center-left government, like promised improvements to mass transportation. They ran their campaign saying theyd be so different, but after almost a year we dont see anything new, he said. The big question is whether the Five Star Movements national image and electoral chances will be boosted more by Appendinos safe handling of Turin, or hindered by the slow-motion trainwreck in Rome. Appendinos youth and gender do set her apart. You should not underestimate that she represents a novelty in a very traditional city, said Andrea Montanino, director of the Global Business and Economics Program at the Atlantic Council. Meanwhile, a recent survey found Raggi wouldnt make it to a runoff if elections for mayor of Rome were held today. Balfour said that while there is a core electorate that will vote Five Star Movement regardless of performance, people on the fence especially left-leaning voters attracted by the anti-corruption message will likely be disappointed by the missteps displayed so far. Some former Five Star Movement politicians warn that the party simply isnt built to govern. Federico Pizzarotti, the popular mayor of Parma and a former member of the movement, said there are plenty of other examples of mismanagement in smaller cities like Chioggia and Civita Vecchia run by Five Star mayors. Its not enough to just call yourself honest and capable and better than the rest and just say it, he told FP. You must demonstrate it with actions. Pizzarotti, who left the party after clashing with Five Star leader Beppe Grillo, said the movement isnt developing political talent and seems to be veering away from their grassroots beginnings, instead empowering yes-men more interested in visibility than accountability. While their poll numbers are rising, the quality of the people who are running for office is dropping even more, he said. If the Five Star Movement wins on an national level, in my opinion, they wont have enough suitable politicians prepared to govern. Montanino agreed. There are no clear ways to grow into the movement and become a leader, he said. You can be lucky and have a good mayor, or you can be very unlucky and have a bad mayor. But simply being unprepared to govern doesnt mean the voters wont hand you the keys to kingdom. Anti-establishment sentiment is a threat everywhere in Europe, and its very difficult to beat, he said. Photo credit: FILIPPO MONTEFORTE/AFP/Getty Images Belluno (Italy) (AFP) - As US President Donald Trump's anti-Muslim decree fuels a tumultuous global debate, Italy is quietly experimenting with an integration project to better the lives of both asylum seekers and locals. Snow falls thick and fast in Belluno, a town at the foot of the Dolomites, but a group of young men from across Africa works cheerfully to clean up the grounds of a military barrack that is to become a new cultural centre. "It's the first time I've seen the snow; I love it and I love this project," Nawaz Tashawar, a 35-year-old from Pakistan, told AFP with a shy grin last week. From Cameroon, the Ivory Coast, Niger, Nigeria and Senegal, they have been posted to this industrial heartland of 35,000 inhabitants near Venice, earning their keep by working without pay in parks, kitchens and schools. The government has been watching, and is expected to unveil plans Wednesday to take the project nationwide, making it compulsory for those waiting for the verdict on their asylum requests to work as volunteers. "We'd be at home doing nothing, we have no work, we'd simply eat, sleep," said Paul Adjei from the Ivory Coast. "So we decided together to help the town, so it can move forwards." The question of what to do with the thousands of people arriving in Italy each year has proved divisive. There are over 175,000 asylum seekers languishing in reception centres as they wait for their applications to be processed, which can take up to two years. "Many cannot bear not doing anything," Carlotta Sami, a spokeswoman for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), told AFP. "So making themselves useful for a few hours a day for the community that is welcoming them can be a good thing for them psychologically," she said. Migrants in Italy are allowed to start working two months after they lodge their application for asylum, but jobs are thin on the ground. - 'Need to invest' - Story continues The government is expected to pledge next week to speed up the repatriation of those refused permission to stay, but has had difficulties sealing deals with many countries. It will also warn regional councils across Italy that asylum seekers will be spread more evenly, with 2.5 migrants to every 1,000 residents -- a plan that has been denounced by some mayors who say they have neither the resources nor the will to host outsiders. Belluno, which has a left-wing mayor but sits in the middle of anti-immigrant Northern League territory, is not complaining. The 100 or so migrants here have painted the town's railings and school gates and mowed lawns in parks under the supervision of local associations. The project, launched in 2014, is based on the idea that autonomy can facilitate lasting integration. Instead of forcing asylum seekers to live in tent camps or large centres, they are given small apartments to share, and do their own shopping and cooking. Mayor Jacopo Massaro laughs off the suggestion that he is the antithesis of Trump and other advocates of walls to keep migrants out. "I don't feel like an anti-Trump, no! To put it simply, we thought that what with the difficulties Italy and Europe are experiencing, we all need to invest a little to resolve a problem that is bigger than us", he said. - A helping hand - The flow of people from the coasts of northern Africa to Italy -- 170,000 in 2014, 150,000 in 2015 and 181,000 last year -- has resulted in the biggest migrant crisis since World War Two. But as Italy groans under the pressure, the idea of making asylum seekers work for free has angered those who say the country should be tackling its unemployment problem. Youth unemployment in the country stood at 40 percent in December. Massaro says that the migrants are doing jobs the town cannot afford, and that "we have not taken away work from anyone". Not everyone, however, is keen to work without pay. "We cannot be left with nothing in our pockets, we need more. We need a job," Adjei said. Jordan Brand Every sneaker brand tries to bust out their absolute best brand of kicks during All-Star weekend. Based on these pictures, its hard to imagine that anyone is going to end up topping Jordan Brand, which unveiled a trio of kicks in the Jordan All-Star Collection. According to a release by Jordan Brand, all of the sneakers feature an iridescent material on a trio of iconic silhouettes. These special kicks happening because Michael Jordan has quite the tie to New Orleans Jordans legendary shot to give North Carolina a national title in 1982. Related Links: All three sneakers will be available for purchase later this month. First up, we have the Air Jordan XXXI All-Stars, which you can cop on Feb. 16. Jordan Brand Next up are the Air Jordan VI All-Stars, which drop on Feb. 17. Jordan Brand Lastly, we have a spin on one of Jordan Brands most iconic sneakers: the Air Jordan I All-Stars. These versions of the classic shoe will launch on Feb. 19. Jordan Brand All of these are flames, but the Air Jordan I All-Stars are easily the standouts here. Here are a few different angles on all of the sneakers. Jordan Brand Jordan Brand Jordan Brand Jordan Brand Jordan Brand Jordan Brand Jordan absolutely went all-in for the All-Star Game, and we can all probably agree that they knocked all three kicks out of the park. Washington (AFP) - US Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly said Tuesday that judges who blocked the White House's immigration ban were living in an academic "vacuum" and did not see the real threat to the country. "In their world it is very academic, almost in a vacuum. In their courtrooms, they are protected by people like me," Kelly told a hearing of the House Homeland Security Committee. "If something happens bad from letting people in, they don't come and ask the judge about his ruling, they come to me." Kelly was speaking after a federal judge in Seattle ordered the Homeland Security Department to halt enforcement of the ban on immigration by refugees and citizens of seven predominantly Muslim countries. The judge found for two states -- Washington and Minnesota -- which contended that the ban would cause "irreparable injury," and granted a nationwide temporary restraining order suspending it. A US appeals court will hold a hearing on Tuesday on the order, which President Donald Trump's government is defending as a "lawful exercise" of presidential power and necessary to protect the country from terror attacks. Kelly told the hearing that the order "is lawful and constitutional." "It is my belief that we will prevail and will be able to take the steps needed to protect our nation." He said there was no particular increase in the perceived threat level precipitating the ban, but that immigration procedures needed to be reviewed especially from the seven countries: Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen. "The ban was based on countries that we don't have any real confidence in right now that they can help us vet people coming to the United States," he said. "They are countries in chaos, countries in collapse," he said. But he added that the government is particularly worried about the threat that fighters for the Islamic State group in Syria and Iraq could find their way to the United States. "It is based on the fact that we know that there are thousands of fighters coming out of the caliphate fight that have papers that could get them into Europe and then the United States," he said. (WASHINGTON) The fierce battle over President Donald Trumps travel and refugee ban edged up the judicial escalator Monday, headed for a possible final face-off at the Supreme Court. Travelers, temporarily unbound, tearfully reunited with loved ones at U.S. airports. The Justice Department filed a new defense of Trumps ban on travelers from seven predominantly Muslim nations as a federal appeals court weighs whether to restore the administrations executive order. The lawyers said the travel ban was a lawful exercise of the presidents authority to protect national security and said a judges order that put the policy on hold should be overruled. The filing with the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals was the latest salvo in a high-stakes legal fight surrounding Trumps order, which was halted Friday by a federal judge in Washington state. The judges are to hear arguments Tuesday. The appeals court earlier refused to immediately reinstate the ban, and lawyers for Washington and Minnesota two states challenging it argued anew on Monday that any resumption would unleash chaos again, separating families and stranding university students. The Justice Department responded that the president has clear authority to suspend the entry of any class of aliens to the U.S. in the name of national security. It said the travel ban, which temporarily suspends the countrys refugee program and immigration from seven countries with terrorism concerns, was intended to permit an orderly review and revision of screening procedures to ensure that adequate standards are in place to protect against terrorist attacks. The challengers of the ban, the Justice Department wrote, were asking courts to take the extraordinary step of second-guessing a formal national security judgment made by the president himself pursuant to broad grants of statutory authority. Story continues Whatever the appeals court decides, either side could ask the Supreme Court to intervene. It could prove difficult, though, to find the necessary five votes at the high court to undo a lower court order; the Supreme Court has been at less than full strength since Justice Antonin Scalias death a year ago. The last immigration case that reached the justices ended in a 4-4 tie. The presidents executive order has faced legal uncertainty ever since Fridays ruling by U.S. District Judge James Robart, which challenged both Trumps authority and his ability to fulfill a campaign promise. The State Department quickly said people from the seven countries Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen could travel to the U.S. if they had valid visas. The Homeland Security Department said it was no longer directing airlines to prevent affected visa holders from boarding U.S.-bound planes. On Monday in Colorado, a graduate student who had traveled to Libya with her 1-year-old son to visit her sick mother and attend her fathers funeral was back in Fort Collins after having been stopped in Jordan on her return trip. She was welcomed with flowers and balloons by her husband and other children. Two Yemeni brothers whose family has sued over the travel ban, and whod been turned away in the chaotic opening days of the order, arrived at Dulles International Airport in Virginia, where they were greeted by their father. America is for everybody, Aqel Aziz said after greeting his sons. Syrian immigrant Mathyo Asali said he thought his life was ruined when he landed at Philadelphia International Airport on Jan. 28 only to be denied entry to the United States. Asali, who returned to Damascus, said he figured hed be inducted into the Syrian military. He was back on U.S. soil Monday. Its really nice to know that theres a lot of people supporting us, Asali told Gov. Tom Wolf, who greeted the family at a relatives house in Allentown. The legal fight involves two divergent views of the role of the executive branch and the court system. The government has asserted that the president alone has the power to decide who can enter or stay in the United States, while Robart has said a judges job is to ensure that an action taken by the government comports with our countrys laws. His Friday ruling triggered a Twitter rant by Trump, who dismissed Robart as a so-called judge. On Sunday, Trump tweeted, Just cannot believe a judge would put our country in such peril. If something happens blame him and court system. People pouring in. Bad! States challenging the ban have been joined by technology companies, who have said it makes it more difficult to recruit employees. National security officials under President Barack Obama have also come out against it. A declaration filed by John Kerry and Madeleine Albright, former secretaries of state, and others said the ban would disrupt lives and cripple U.S. counterterrorism partnerships without making the nation safer. It will aid ISILs propaganda effort and serve its recruitment message by feeding into the narrative that the United States is at war with Islam, they wrote. How and when a case might get to the Supreme Court is unclear. The travel ban itself is to expire in 90 days, meaning it could run its course before a higher court takes up the issue. Or the administration could change it in any number of ways that would keep the issue alive. The bench also could be full, with a new ninth justice on board, by the time the court is ready to hear arguments. If Judge Neil Gorsuch is confirmed this spring as Senate Republicans hope, chances of a tie vote would disappear. ____ Associated Press writers Eugene Johnson and Martha Bellisle in Seattle, Matthew Barakat in Chantilly, Virginia, Michael Rubinkam in Allentown, Pennsylvania, Colleen Slevin in Denver and Mark Sherman in Washington contributed to this report. STANFORD, Calif. (AP) U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg lamented partisanship in Congress during a talk at Stanford University on Monday and said she hoped it would return to an era when "it was working for the good of the country and not just along party lines." Ginsburg did not address the nomination of Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court seat vacated by the late Justice Antonin Scalia or President Donald Trump's travel ban, which could end up before the high court. But she did say she would like to change the Electoral College, a comment that drew applause from the packed church. She did not elaborate. Ginsburg said during the presidential campaign that she presumed Democrat Hillary Clinton would win and have the opportunity to make a few appointments to the court. She said at the time she did not want to think about the possibility of a Trump victory, calling Trump in one interview a "faker" who "really has an ego." She later apologized and said her remarks were ill-advised. Ginsburg recalled Monday that she received bipartisan support for her nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court, saying Republican Sen. Orrin Hatch was her most ardent supporter. "I think today he wouldn't touch me with a 10-foot pole," she joked. Related Video: For more news videos visit Yahoo View, available now on iOS and Android. The 83-year-old justice offered personal reflections at a discussion billed as an exploration of what it means to lead a meaningful life. Ginsburg's talk came after Trump last week nominated Gorsuch to the Supreme Court. The nomination would likely restore the court's conservative tilt. Ginsburg is the leader of the court's liberal wing. She is also the oldest justice on the court and has survived pancreatic and colon cancer, creating anxiety among liberals about her health and the future of their causes if Trump gets an opportunity to replace her or any of the other liberal judges on the bench. Ginsburg supporters have joked about steps she could take to stay healthy such as eating more kale. Asked by a Stanford student who else should eat more kale in Washington, D.C., the justice quipped, "Justice Kennedy." Anthony Kennedy, 80, is the second oldest justice on the Supreme Court and is considered a swing vote. Ginsburg has shown no signs of slowing down and has said she has a personal trainer who leads her through hourlong workouts that include pushups and weights. She said family plays a large part in her life, and she doesn't admit defeat. "The attitude is I'm going to surmount this whatever it is," she said. Big Bang Theory Season 10 star Kaley Cuoco works hard in everything she does, and this includes keeping her body fit and healthy. The 31-year-old actress showed off her toned figure and abs in her skintight, printed light blue workout clothing in a new photo she posted on Instagram. In the snap, Cuoco holds up a peace sign as she poses for the camera with one of her dogs. Cuoco revealed in the caption of the Instagram photo that shes collaborating with Gold Sheep Clothing on an amazing project. She didnt exactly say what the project is, but since her collaborator is a clothing brand, it could involve releasing a collection of apparel. She also confirmed that the project will benefit Paw Works, a California nonprofit organization that rescues abandoned animals and helps them find permanent homes. The actress added that the dog, named Tango, is up for adoption and encouraged those who want a dog companion to contact Paw Works. Shortly after sharing the photo, Cuoco also shared new clips of herself with her horses. The first video shows her practicing horseback riding with her horse Benji, while the second one is of the actress hanging out with her horse Netty. Nosey Netty always knows where the treats are hiding, she wrote as a caption for the second clip. Meanwhile, Cuoco recently crossed another item from her bucket list. On Monday, Feb. 6, she posted a photo of the Big Bang Theory characters as Lego toys. The snap showed her character Penny, Sheldon (Jim Parsons), Leonard (Johnny Galecki), Howard (Simon Helberg), Raj (Kunal Nayyar), Bernadette (Melissa Rauch) and Amy (Mayim Bialik) sitting in a Lego version of their living room as seen on the show. Check out the adorable pic below! Catch Cuoco when Big Bang Theory Season 10 airs every Thursday at 8 p.m. EST on CBS. Kaley Cuoco Photo: Getty Images/Alberto E. Rodriguez Related Articles Three federal judges will hear arguments Tuesday afternoon on President Donald Trumps controversial immigration order. The three-judge panel for the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals will decide whether to lift or maintain a temporary block on Trumps travel ban, which suspended immigration from seven majority-Muslim countries. The countrys largest appellate court had a liberal reputation that has faded somewhat in recent years, now that many of former President Jimmy Carters appointees are no longer active judges, said Arthur Hellman, a University of Pittsburgh law professor and expert on the Ninth Circuit. This is a typical panel of the Ninth Circuit in the sense that there are more Democratic appointees than Republican appointees, said University of Richmond law professor Carl Tobias. Tuesdays hearing follows a long line of high-profile cases for the court, Hellman said: The extraordinary is almost routine for the Ninth Circuit. Here are some key facts to know about the judges: Judge William Canby Jr. Canby, 85, was one of the many judges appointed by Carter who helped to give the Ninth Circuit Court its liberal reputation. He graduated from Yale University and the University of Minnesota Law School. Early in his career, Canby clerked for former Supreme Court Justice Charles Whittaker and served as a special assistant to then-Minnesota Sen. Walter Mondale, who later became Carters Vice President. Canby also worked for the Peace Corps in Ethiopia and Uganda, where he later returned as a Fulbright law professor. Hes sort of a veteran. Immigration cases have been central to the Ninth Circuit for pretty much his entire tenure on the court, Hellman said. That will give him a perspective on the process that very few other people would have, Hellman added. Judge Michelle Friedland Friedland was appointed by former President Barack Obama in 2014 and confirmed by a largely partisan vote of 51-40. Story continues The two-time Stanford graduate, 44, clerked for former Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day OConnor, who attended Friedlands confirmation hearing. As an attorney in private practice, Friedland worked on the legal team challenging Californias gay marriage bana stance that attracted opposition from conservative groups during her confirmation process. Judge Richard Clifton Clifton, who was nominated by former President George W. Bush, has served on the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals since 2002, when he was unanimously confirmed by a Senate vote of 98-0. Clifton, 66, has a record as a centrist judge. His dissenting opinion last year in a case that dealt with immigration could shed some light on how hell view Tuesdays oral arguments, Hellman said. Last year, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals struck down part of a law that made it more difficult for a habitual drunkard to be granted leniency from deportation. The court ruled that the law violated the equal-protection guarantee of the U.S. Constitution by equating drunkenness with poor moral character. Clifton dissented, criticizing the legal premise of the decision, which he called pointless. On that basis, Id say that of the three judges, hes the most likely to be sympathetic to the federal governments argument, Hellman said. His dissent was an example of judicial restraint, opposed toI thinkwhat does have to be called an activist decision by the panel majority in that case. ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) James Beard Award-winning columnist Francis Lam is succeeding Lynne Rossetto Kasper as the host of public radio's "The Splendid Table." Rossetto Kasper is retiring at the end of 2017 after 21 seasons of the culinary and lifestyle program. Lam hosts his first show March 10. St. Paul, Minnesota-based American Public Media, which produces and distributes "The Splendid Table," said Tuesday that Rossetto Kasper will still contribute to the show that she created with producer Sally Swift. Rossetto Kasper calls Lam "a gifted cook and storyteller" with "a delicious sense of humor about food and himself." Lam is the former Eat columnist for The New York Times Magazine and has been a judge on Bravo's "Top Chef Masters." "The Splendid Table" is distributed to more than 400 public radio stations nationwide. ___ Online: http://www.splendidtable.org Dublin (AFP) - A campaign by Austrian privacy lawyer Max Schrems against Facebook's transfer of personal data from Europe to the US is being heard in an Irish court from Tuesday, the latest twist in a long legal battle. The landmark case in Ireland, where the US tech giant has its European headquarters, will have serious repercussions for personal privacy policies and trans-Atlantic business. The US government will be allowed to make representations to the court, underlining the importance of the case. Ireland's Data Protection Commissioner (DPC) is asking the country's High Court to refer the mechanisms used to transfer data between the EU and the US to the European Court of Justice, saying that such issues cannot be decided at national level. The legal action follows a complaint to the DPC by Schrems about Facebook's use of so-called standard contractual clauses (SCCs) to transfer personal data from Europe to the US. In a provisional finding, the watchdog last year said Schrems's argument against the tech giant was "well founded". SCCs are now widely used by data exporters and are intended to allow for the legal transfer of data from EU citizens as long as "adequate protection" is in place. Mason Hayes & Curran, the Dublin-based legal team acting for Facebook, earlier warned in a briefing note of the negative impact a defeat would have on its client and other multinationals. "The widespread interest in this case arises, in part, from the potential economic and commercial consequences that could flow from a ruling that the SCC decisions are invalid," it said. The lawyers quoted estimates saying that if services and cross-border data flows were to be disrupted, the European Union's gross domestic product (GDP) could be hit by as much as 1.3 percentage points. - No redress? - Facebook argues there is nothing wrong with the current system and that there is no need for a referral. Story continues It was forced to switch to SCCs last year after the European Court of Justice ruled in 2015 that the Safe Harbour framework, which had governed the EU-US flow of personal data, contravened EU law because the privacy of European citizens could not be guaranteed in the US. The SCCs are considered as something of a stopgap measure designed to allow the transfer of data, pending agreement on a more comprehensive regime. Schrems, whose complaints eventually led to the demise of Safe Harbour, is a party to the proceedings alongside Facebook. He argues that the Irish watchdog already has the power to stop data transfers from Facebook and should use it. He also says that the SCCs offer no redress for European citizens in the US in the event of their data being accessed by a third party, such as US intelligence services, or compromised in some other way. The hearings in Dublin are due to last three weeks. SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) The Latest on response to Trump's comments on defunding California's federal funding (all times local): 4:05 p.m. California Attorney General Xavier Becerra has vowed to fight any move by the Trump administration to withhold federal funding from the state. Speaking at the California Department of Justice crime lab in Fresno, Becerra said Monday that California contributes more to the U.S. Treasury than any other state and has a right to get some of that money back. Becerra's office also backed the state of Washington by filing a brief in support of its case aimed at blocking Trump's travel ban. Trump criticized California in a Fox News interview broadcast Sunday, saying the state's consideration of statewide sanctuary for people living in the country illegally is "ridiculous." The Republican president said California is "out of control" and suggested withholding federal funding. ___ 2:20 p.m. The war of words escalated Monday between Democratic leaders in the nation's biggest state and Donald Trump after the Republican president said California is "out of control" and suggested withholding federal funding. In separate statements Monday, the leaders of the state Legislature pointed to California's massive economy and strong job growth, saying the state provides critical contributions to the nation. "If this is what Donald Trump thinks is 'out of control,' I'd suggest other states should be more like us," said Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon, D-Paramount. Trump criticized California during a Fox News interview broadcast on Sunday. "California in many ways is out of control as you know," he told Fox anchor Bill O'Reilly "Obviously the voters agree or otherwise they wouldn't have voted for me." Responding to questions from O'Reilly, Trump said California's consideration of legislation to create a statewide sanctuary for people living in the country illegally is "ridiculous." Story continues Trump opposes sanctuary cities that refuse to cooperate with federal immigration authorities. "They breed crime, there's a lot of problems. We have to well, defund, we give tremendous amounts of money to California," Trump said. O'Reilly asked if defunding is Trump's "weapon of choice," and the president responded: "I don't want to defund anybody. I want to give them the money they need to properly operate as a city or a state. If they're going to have sanctuary cities, we may have to do that. Certainly that would be a weapon." California Senate President Pro Tem Kevin de Leon said state residents contribute more to federal coffers than their state gets in return, and any sanctions against California would ripple nationwide. "President Trump's threat to weaponize federal funding is not only unconstitutional but emblematic of the cruelty he seeks to impose on our most vulnerable communities," de Leon said. Rendon, de Leon and other Democratic leaders in California have fiercely criticized Trump and vowed to fight his policies through the Legislature and in court. The Legislature has hired Eric Holder, the U.S. attorney general under President Barack Obama, to advise members on a legal strategy. California's nonpartisan legislative analyst reported last month that federal expenditures in the state amount to $368 billion a year, most of it to provide health care for people with low incomes. Trump's defunding suggestion wasn't his first threat to use the power of the federal purse as leverage. He also signed an executive order threatening to cut off some federal grants for sanctuary cities. Last week, in response to unrest on the campus of University of California, Berkeley, he sent a tweet saying: "If U.C. Berkeley does not allow free speech and practices violence on innocent people with a different point of view NO FEDERAL FUNDS?" By Toby Sterling AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - A website used by millions of Dutch voters to test their political preferences was quietly keeping a tally of how many were matched with each party, a security researcher who penetrated the site said on Tuesday. The discovery by researcher Loran Kloeze raised potential privacy concerns and sparked a debate over whether the site was biased. The leaked results showed the Labour Party, a junior party in the governing coalition, received the second most matches even though it is running sixth in opinion polls. Kloeze said he had also found a rogue data field on the site in which someone had posted an insult, suggesting he was not the only person to have discovered a flaw in its security. The leak comes at a time of heightened concern over cyber security after U.S. intelligence agencies concluded that Russia used cyberattacks last year to try to sway the outcome of the Nov. 8 election in favour of Donald Trump. The Dutch government last week decided that all votes in the Netherlands' March 15 election would be hand-counted, after the intelligence agency warned foreign governments could attempt to influence elections by hacking computer systems. The "StemWijzer" or "voting compass" site asks potential voters 30 questions and then tells them which party best matches their opinions. An estimated 5 million Dutch took a similar test before the 2012 election, out of a population of 17 million. Kloeze told Reuters: "They're keeping a record of all the results. I'm certainly not saying that they are linking them to (users') IP addresses, I simply have no idea. But if I can find this kind of vulnerability, and there are others, then confidence in the site is undermined." Organisers of the site said they had responded to the vulnerability detected by Kloeze as well as the data field entry, and all security issues surrounding the site had been resolved. Spokeswoman Anita de Jong of the government-subsidised organisation ProDemos, which built the site, said it was not intended to provide voting advice, only to educate voters. She said it was wrong to view the leaked results as a kind of popularity poll, as several politicians tried to do. For instance, individual users often fill in the test multiple times to see how their results change when they change their answers, she said. She denied an unduly high number of test-takers were being told that their political views aligned closely with Labour. Labour leader Lodewijk Asscher tweeted that the leak had "exposed the popularity" of his party. The leaked data showed the party of anti-Islam lawmaker Geert Wilders was getting the highest number of matches. His Party for Freedom is leading in opinion polls, slightly ahead of the conservative VVD party of Prime Minister Mark Rutte. The VVD got the third most matches, according to the leaked data. The Dutch elections are being closely watched to see whether last year's trend of anti-establishment votes in Britain and the United States will continue to the Netherlands and later France and Germany, threatening the cohesion of the European Union. (Reporting by Toby Sterling; Editing by Anthony Deutsch and Mark Trevelyan) (BEIRUT) Syrian authorities have killed at least 13,000 people since the start of the 2011 uprising in mass hangings at a prison north of Damascus known to detainees as the slaughterhouse, Amnesty International said in a report Tuesday. It covers the period from 2011 to 2015, when Amnesty said 20-50 people were hanged each week at Saydnaya Prison in killings authorized by senior Syrian officials, including deputies of President Bashar Assad, and carried out by military police. The report referred to the killings as a calculated campaign of extrajudicial execution. Amnesty has recorded at least 35 different methods of torture in Syria since the late 1980s, practices that only increased since 2011, said Lynn Maalouf, deputy director for research at Amnestys regional office in Beirut. Other rights groups have found evidence of massive torture leading to death in Syrian detention facilities. In a report last year, Amnesty found that more than 17,000 people have died of torture and ill-treatment in custody across Syria since 2011, an average rate of more than 300 deaths a month. Those figures are comparable to battlefield deaths in Aleppo, one of the fiercest war zones in Syria, where 21,000 were killed in the province since 2011. The horrors depicted in this report reveal a hidden, monstrous campaign, authorized at the highest levels of the Syrian government, aimed at crushing any form of dissent within the Syrian population, Maalouf said. While the most recent data is from 2015, Maalouf said there is no reason to believe the practice has stopped since then, with thousands more probably killed. These executions take place after a sham trial that lasts over a minute or two minutes, but they are authorized by the highest levels of authority, including the Grand Mufti, a top religious authority in Syria, and the defense minister, she said. Syrian government officials rarely comment on allegations of torture and mass killings. In the past, they have denied reports of massacres documented by international human rights groups, describing them as propaganda. Story continues The chilling accounts in Tuesdays report came from interviews with 31 former detainees and over 50 other officials and experts, including former guards and judges. According to the findings, detainees were told they would be transferred to civilian detention centers but were taken instead to another building in the facility and hanged. They walked in the train, so they had their heads down and were trying to catch the shirt of the person in front of them. The first time I saw them, I was horrified. They were being taken to the slaughterhouse, Hamid, a former detainee, told Amnesty. Another former detainee, Omar Alshogre, told The Associated Press the guards would come to his cell, sometimes three times a week, and call out detainees by name. Alshogre said a torture session would begin before midnight in nearby chambers that he could hear. Then the sound would stop, and we would hear a big vehicle come and take them away, said Alshogre, who spent nine months in Saydnaya. Now 21, he lives in Sweden. Speaking in an interview from Stockholm via Skype, Alshogre described how he was forced to keep his eyes closed and his back to the guards while they abused or suffocated a cellmate. The body often would be left behind, or there would be a pool of blood in the cell for other prisoners to clean up. We can tell from the sound of the prisoner as he dies behind us. He dies a meter away. I dont see anything, but I see with my ears, said Alshogre, who at age 17 moved among nearly 10 detention facilities in Syria for two years before landing in Saydnaya. Alshogre survived nine months in the prison, paying his way out in 2015 a common practice. He suffered from tuberculosis and his weight fell to 35 kilograms (77 pounds). Two cousins detained with him in western Syria didnt survive, dying a year apart in a military intelligence detention facility. The younger one died in Alshogres arms, deprived of food and so weak he was unable to walk to the bathroom on his own. Still, Alshogre said nothing could have prepared him for Saydnaya. At one point, Alshogre was called out by his guards for execution, he said. He was brought before a military trial and told not to raise his gaze at the judge, who asked him how many soldiers he had killed. When he said none, the judge spared him. Death in Saydnaya was always present, like the air, Alshogre said. Once when he was deprived of food for two days, a cellmate handed him his food ration and died days later. This is someone who gave me his life, he said. Another cellmate died of diarrhea, also common in the prison. Death is the simplest thing. It was the most hoped for because it would have spared us a lot: hunger, thirst, fear, pain, cold, thinking, he added. Thinking was so hard. It could also kill, said Alshogre, who keeps a photo of one of his tormentors on the wall of his home. HAYANGE, France The towers of the ArcelorMittal steel mill loom over the little town of Hayange, silent and shuttered. Few people stopped to chat on a recent winter day the streets were shrouded in an icy fog but those who paused summarized life here succinctly: There has been little work since the blast furnaces at the mill were shut down in 2013, and little hope either. Everyone is sick of it, said Pascal, who declined to give his last name, leaning on the door of his tattoo parlor. 100 percent I am going to vote for Marine Le Pen. Like much of Frances industrial north and east, Hayange, a town of 15,000 near the border with Luxembourg, has a solid left-wing tradition. It has been sending Socialist lawmakers to Parliament for 20 years, while Communists and other far-left parties have played an active role in local politics for decades. But in 2014, the town booted out its Socialist mayor in favor of a candidate from Le Pens National Front (FN). Mayor Fabien Engelmann, a slick 37-year-old, embodies changing local tastes in politics. A former hard-left trade unionist, he switched to the FN in 2010 due to his growing concerns about immigration and Islam. The town backed Socialist Francois Hollande by a whisker ahead of Le Pen in the last election, but if conversation on the streets is anything to go by, she has a good chance of coming out on top here when Hayange votes along with the rest of the country in April. Hayange, in other words, is the French equivalent of Donald Trump country, that swath of voters in the deindustrializing rust belt who helped give Obama the presidency in 2008 and 2012, and whose votes delivered formerly Democratic states to Trump in 2016. Like Trump, Le Pen has a voter base beyond angry whites in the economically depressed regions that account for most of the 900,000 industrial jobs France has lost over the past 15 years. The FN counts the sun-soaked south as its historic stronghold, where social conservatives and staunch nationalists returning from colonial-era Algeria have long backed the movement. But if Le Pen manages to ride the global populist tide to a shocking win after Brexit and Trump, decaying northern industrial towns like Hayange will have helped her get there. Story continues The counties that voted for Trump have the same sociological profiles as districts voting for Marine Le Pen deindustrialized, rather lost, very socially vulnerable, said Stephane Wahnich, a political analyst who has written two books about the FN leader. Paris and Lyon vote for the left, because theyre wealthy. Guys from Hayange vote for the far right, because they feel forgotten. The only one whos taking up their cause is Marine Le Pen. * * * Hayange is nestled in the Moselle Valley along the borders of Luxembourg and Germany, and has passed in and out of French hands over the course of its history. However, it has been a consistent symbol of Frances changing industrial fortunes. The de Wendel family, one of the countrys oldest and most powerful industrial dynasties, bought its first forges here in 1704, making it a birthplace of French heavy industry. From their base in Hayange, the de Wendels spread out across a region rich in iron ore, growing into one of Europes biggest steelmakers by 1900. Fast-forward another century and the town had become a byword for President Nicolas Sarkozys failure to halt industrial collapse. By 2012, ArcelorMittal, now the owner of Hayanges blast furnaces, was seeking to shutter them as the European steel sector grappled with massive overcapacity and a flood of cheap metal from China and elsewhere. The fate of the plant became a focus of that years presidential election. Then-candidate Hollande descended on the steelworks briefly casting a spotlight on a corner of the country that had long felt forgotten and mopped up blue-collar votes with a promise to do better. He eventually sealed a deal with ArcelorMittal to avoid 600 layoffs, sending some workers home on early retirement or pushing them into other jobs at the huge site, which stretches into the neighboring town of Florange. But he could not save the blast furnaces. The giant towers remain shut. They dominate the skyline in Hayange, a painful reminder of busier times. Officially, the blast furnaces are being kept mothballed for potential use in a future project but no one in Hayange believes that will happen, not even the FN mayor. Its finished; theyre out for eternity, said Engelmann, who believes the site should have been nationalized and resold when the market was doing better. A steelworkers grandson, Engelmann started his career as an official for Frances biggest and most hard-line trade union, the General Confederation of Labour. Back then he was a Communist. His political conversion, which he detailed in his 2014 book From Leftism to Patriotism, came gradually. He always believed in a strong role for the state, and still does. But increasingly he believed the left wasnt addressing his concerns about immigration and the role of Islam in France. The National Front had the answers he was looking for. The politics of Marine Le Pen is the politics of common sense allied with protectionism and a state that protects, but also a politics that is clearer and tougher on security and massive immigration, he said in an interview at the Town Hall, a forbidding-looking building in the main square. At the beginning I was worried thered be skinheads and anti-Semites like the media said, he said of his early ventures to party meetings. But I saw middle-class French people who were saying, Weve got big problems in France; were struggling to pay the bills. Shopkeepers struggling to make ends meet. Outside Engelmanns Town Hall, a few Trotskyist activists could be seen handing out leaflets. Hayanges first postwar mayor was a Communist, but the towns far-left influence has waned in keeping with the decline of a party that up until the 1980s was a major national player, with its members even serving as ministers. Francois Mitterands election in 1981 as Frances first Socialist president, and the countrys longest postwar leader, made the mainstream left an electable force but it sapped much support from the once-popular Communists in the process. * * * The de Wendel family, like other paternalist tycoons of the 19th century, shaped Hayanges culture such that the mines and steelworks dominated all aspects of life. The citys patrons didnt just provide their workers with employment, but extensive welfare services, from health care to housing. You were born in their hospitals; the schools were provided by the Wendels and the church too, said Marc Olenine, a local business consultant who has written a book about Hayange. He believes these generous benefits provided to some extent until the 1980s by employers who wanted their workers healthy but compliant were largely responsible for the hard-left culture that still lingers today. But Wahnich believes the regions past helps explain why so many locals have found it easy to switch support to the National Front. Its important to know that the Moselle was annexed by the Germans during World War II, Wahnich said. Its citizens became German citizens, its young men were conscripted into the German army. That wasnt the case in parts of France that were occupied rather than annexed. Fascism is something thats slightly normalized there, he said. Frances experience with authoritarianism under Nazi occupation is part of what makes the prospect of a National Front government so abhorrent to mainstream voters. But for the annexed Moselle, the psychological experience of the war was different, Wahnich said. It helped lend an authoritarian bent to the leftism later found in steel families like Engelmanns. From authoritarian left to authoritarian right, it doesnt take much to tip them over, he said. Others have asked if its really so surprising that rust belt voters might flip from the hard left to the National Front, given that both carry an anti-elitist message and claim to have the working mans interests at heart. The difference, it seems, is Le Pens timely messaging on immigration and Islam. Like elsewhere in the West, a fading economy has been accompanied by a backlash against newcomers. Many locals are of immigrant stock descended from generations of Italians and others who came to work in the valleys mines and steelworks since the end of the 19th century. But theres a growing sentiment that more recent arrivals are different. The Italians and the Portuguese came, and they integrated, said Georges Dibling, an aging rocker selling punk knickknacks at a market stall. Now weve seen immigration from beyond Europe, and that is causing problems. Though there are two halal butchers in town, Hayange remains largely white. But residents like tattoo shop owner Pascal talk of feeling invaded. We have to stop the foreigners coming here. Already theres not much work and what little there is, they come and take, says Veronique, a 57-year-old market trader who is backing Le Pen after a lifetime of voting for the left. Something has to give. Marc Guillaume, an economist, says this resentment against foreigners has been building since the 1970s, when soaring oil prices dealt a body blow to the French economy in general and the industrial belt in particular. The longer-term forces of globalization were also at work by then: Iron ore previously mined around Hayange was now imported at lower prices from Mauritania or Canada. And then there were advances in technology, which wiped out human jobs. An industry that employed 155,000 people in 1975 had shrunk by two-thirds by 2009 as thousands took early retirement. In Hayange, a plant that employed 13,000 in 1973 has no more than 2,200 workers today, according to union figures. Like other rust belt towns, Hayange has suffered from its reliance on a single sector. Its an area marked by its mono-industry, Olenine says. Centuries ago, when the de Wendels were building their steel empire, cash had poured out of workers pockets into shops and bustling cafes that drew people from miles around. Today the absence of that cash means the cafes are mostly empty. Before there were businesses in Hayange; there was work right in front of us, says one unemployed steelworker who declined to give his name, sipping a beer over a newspaper in a bar. He waved in the direction of the blast furnaces. Now its dead. Its terrible. * * * Today, about a third of Hayanges residents commute to Luxembourg, most of them skilled workers in service industries like IT and banking who believe the cheaper rents here are worth the two-hour round trip. Despite the decline of industry, unemployment rates in this stretch of northeastern France are not particularly higher than the national average of 10 percent, but this is largely because so many work across the borders 90,000 in Luxembourg and tens of thousands of others in Germany, Belgium, or Switzerland. Even FN voters in Hayange admit their uncomfortable reliance on their European neighbors. But their mayor insists the party could come up with a workaround if Le Pen quit the European Union as threatened. Other than commuting to a foreign country or subsisting on government handouts, there is relatively little to do for work in Hayange. In the wider region, Wahnich says the famously strong French safety net has had the perverse effect of feeding populist anger, because it has served as a constant reminder of how little improvement there has been in peoples prospects. The archetypal miner is now 60 and has been laid off for 15 years, paid to do nothing. Hes richer than his son, he said. Meanwhile, there has been no revival of the economy. The children either leave, or they stay and are less well paid than their parents. Frances once-vaunted job security a legacy of past left-wing victories has become a liability, making companies reluctant to take on new permanent employees while the economic outlook remains bleak, and encouraging them to shift production abroad. In 2015, nearly 90 percent of new job contracts were temporary most for less than a month. Hayange is no exception: Many of those left at the steel plant are on short-term contracts and live in constant fear of losing their jobs. Were like tissues they take us, they use us, and then they throw us away, said the unemployed steelworker. The 45-year-old is at a loose end after finishing up an 18-month stint at the plant. He feels too old to retrain, and family commitments leave him unable to leave the region. All he can do is hope therell be more need for him next year. Opinion polls forecast that Le Pen will win a place as one of the top two candidates in the first round of the presidential election, going through to the runoff in May (though, for the moment at least, they dont expect her to win). Few expect Socialist party candidate Benoit Hamon to make much headway. Most expect Le Pens opponent to be either centrist former economy minister Emmanuel Macron, who has been surging in the polls of late, or right-wing candidate Francois Fillon, even though his fortunes have been falling as a result of an ongoing corruption scandal. Neither of her opponents have much appeal to voters in places like Hayange. Fillon, a proud Thatcherite, has made clear he wants to slash corporate taxes and ax a half million public sector jobs. Meanwhile, Macron has cast himself as pro-EU and business-friendly, and has suggested tax cuts for the wealthy. In the United States, the quirks of the Electoral College gave outsized influence to Trump voters in rural and rustbelt states. In France, by contrast, the anger of people in places like Hayange will propel Le Pen to the presidency only if they represent more than 50 percent of the voting public. Wahnich and most others believe they are unlikely to see a Le Pen victory, not least because Frances last experience with authoritarian leadership was within living memory, in the form of a Nazi puppet regime. When faced with a right-wing populist candidate, it doesnt have the same resonance for an American as it does for a French person, historically speaking, he said. In rust belt towns like Hayange, the authoritarianism of the past might lend itself to a political culture comfortable with the National Front, but this is not, he believes, the story of France at large. That said, the anger on the streets of Hayange against useless politicians, the EU, the ravages of borderless trade can be felt far beyond this town. Le Pen billed herself as the candidate of the forgotten as long ago as the last election in 2012. This time, it feels like the time of the forgotten might finally have come around. Photo credit: CHARLY TRIBALLEAU/AFP/Getty Images Allison Hendrix puts a lot of thought but not much money into the care packages she sends her children at summer camp. She looks for items that will help them engage with cabin mates, and skips things that they would worry about breaking or losing. She seeks out items to make them laugh, and avoids anything that could induce homesickness. "I want to let them know I'm thinking of them and I love them, but I don't want to make them miss home," says Hendrix, of Orlando, Florida. She has sent costumes and wigs, yarn for making friendship bracelets, games and balls. Less is more, she says. Other tips for creating a good care package for summer campers? Tailor it to a child's personality, says Gay Gasser, owner of Mirth in a Box, a company in Fairfield, Connecticut, that specializes in sending camp care packages. Sending a shy kid a game might serve as an icebreaker in the cabin, she said. An outgoing kid might want stickers or other small, inexpensive items to share with friends. Be sure to follow camp guidelines about packages, says Malcom Petty, owner of Sealed With A Kiss Camp Services in Kansas City. Most camps have rules about what parents can and can't send. Many don't allow food or electronics. Others only accept packages of a certain size. "They don't want anything that will create a mess, like water balloons or confetti. Nothing that in any way looks like a weapon," Petty says. "You want things that are going to add value to the experience." Done right, packages are a "sweet and lovely touchstone" to home, says Paul Sheridan, director at Four Winds Camp on Orcas Island in Washington. And don't go overboard. Parents who try to outdo each other with lavish and frequent gifts, or who ignore camp rules, can create difficult situations for camps and campers, he says. Constant reminders of home can distract from the purpose of camp. And packages also can cause hurt feelings when not everyone in the cabin receives them, said Lindsay Matteson, director at Camp Winacka in San Diego, California. "It can be really hard," she said. "At our camp, the girls share space and there aren't very many ways to be discreet about handing out packages." Story continues She suggests sending playing cards, the group word game Madlibs, party favors and decorations, or other things that can be enjoyed by the entire cabin. More tips for sending care packages to camp: Plan an extra day or two for delivery. Double check that camp address; make sure it's the camp's summer address. Include your daytime phone number if you order from an online care package company. The sooner the company can reach you to correct any errors, the sooner it can ship out your child's package. Find out if the camp will let you leave a package with them at drop-off to give your child a day or two later. This saves shipping costs and ensures that your camper will receive the package. LEVERKUSEN, Germany (AP) Bayer Leverkusen midfielder Hakan Calhanoglu will forgo his salary and bonuses for the duration of his four-month FIFA suspension for breach of contract. "Bayer had nothing to do with the events at the time. But the club is hit hard by the penalty in a sporting and financial way. That's why it's evident to me not to harm the club any further," Calhanoglu said in a Leverkusen statement Tuesday. The 22-year-old Turkey international was a youth player at Karlsruhe when he was paid 100,000 euros after agreeing to sign for Turkish club Trabzonspor. But he extended his contract with Karlsruhe in 2011 and went on to join Hamburger SV in 2013. He switched to Leverkusen in 2014. Calhanoglu's appeal against the FIFA ban was denied last week by the Court of Arbitration for Sport, which ruled Calhanoglu must also pay 100,000 euros ($108,000) in compensation to Trabzonspor. Leverkusen has criticized the timing of the ban, which means Calhanoglu will miss the club's Champions League matches against Atletico Madrid and the rest of the Bundesliga season. "Although Bayer Leverkusen had nothing to do with the events in 2011, we are now being heavily punished. Now we're missing a very important player during a decisive part of the season," Leverkusen sporting director Rudi Voeller said. The club said Calhanoglu would continue to train with the team, that "he will support his teammates as a fully fledged team member to the best of his ability even without competitive games," and that it will help Calhanoglu maintain his athletic performance. Calhanoglu is also suspended for Turkey's World Cup qualifying match at home against Finland on March 24. Tindouf (Algeria) (AFP) - It has been dubbed the world's oldest functioning security barrier, but is also called a "wall of shame" by Western Sahara residents and leaders who want independence from Morocco. "I was raised behind the wall and my children were born in its shadow," says Anzouga Mohamed Ahmed, one of around 165,000 Sahrawis living in camps in neighbouring Algeria. Draped in the traditional four-metre-long (13-foot) "melhfa" cloth seen by many as a symbol of Sahrawi culture, the 36-year-old says she has lost hope of returning to Western Sahara. The Algeria-backed Polisario Front seeking independence for the former Spanish colony controls the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic on one side of the security wall that snakes through the desert. Morocco fought the Polisario from 1975 to 1991, and insists the Western Sahara is an integral part of its kingdom, despite UN resolutions calling for a referendum on self-administration for the territory. Between 1980 and 1987, Morocco built six mostly sand barriers some 2,700 kilometres (1,675 miles) long around the 90 percent of the Western Sahara that it controls. The berm cuts across El Mehbes, a vast ochre desert marked by the green of acacia shrubs and the white of a sparkling salt lake. Barbed wire, trenches and minefields surround it, and Moroccan soldiers can be seen on the other side. "It's one of the longest walls in the world and it has tightly sealed off Western Sahara," says Aziz Haidar, who heads a local group of Sahrawi victims of mine explosions. Polisario chief Brahim Ghali calls it a "wall of shame that shares one land but separates families". - 'Separating families' - Zghela, 45, has family on the other side that her 14-year-old son has never seen. She recently took him on a three-hour trek from Tindouf across the desert to show him the wall "behind which his family lives". Many Sahrawis say that just being near the wall feels like they are closer to their relatives. Story continues But some have actually gone to the other side, like 66-year-old Demaha Labchi. Between 2004 and 2014 the UN refugee agency UNHCR organised more than 20,000 family visits across the wall. "We were allowed to visit for five days. It was too short. We would arrive in tears and leave in tears," Labchi says. "We want them to bring down that wall. It is separating families." Mohamed El Haiba Ahmed Fal, an engineer who describes himself as a peaceful activist, also has painful memories. In 2001, Moroccan authorities wanted to jail Fal, then in his late teens, for organising anti-government demonstrations. Rather than be arrested, he crossed to the Polisario-administered side. - The safest route across - "I had no other choice. I had to cross the wall of shame," says Fal, who can now communicate with his parents only through the internet in the absence of direct telephone links. Fal's greatest challenge was avoiding the minefields, and he relied on a friend who accompanied him to the wall and showed him the safest route across. During the 1975-1991 war, both Morocco and the Polisario planted mines in the region. According to various estimates between five million and 10 million mines are still there. "Western Sahara is one of the most contaminated territories in the world," the United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS) says on its website. Landmines and explosive remnants of war "remain widespread" and "there is very limited information available regarding the location of hazardous areas", it warns. The Polisario says it has handed over to the UN plans showing where they planted mines. High winds, sandstorms and rainfall also pose a challenge as they can hide, reveal or move landmines. According to Haidar, who lost two legs and an arm in a mine blast, such explosions have caused more than 300 casualties since a ceasefire between Morocco and the Polisario took effect in 1991. A UN peacekeeping force, MINURSO, was set up when the truce began. The Sahrawis are a nomadic people, and witnesses say thousands of camels have also been killed by landmine explosions. MADRID (AP) The Spanish league says its president has met with Ukraine's ambassador to Spain to discuss Roman Zozulya, a Ukrainian player at the center of a fan protest that could leave him without a team. The league says in a statement that Javier Tebas and ambassador Anatoliy Scherba agreed that "the Spanish government must support the player" and he has a "right to work." Zozulya's recent transfer from Real Betis to Rayo Vallecano was called off after some of Rayo's fans vehemently protested what they claimed were his links to radical right-wing groups. Zozulya responded in an open letter to Rayo fans dismissing he had connections to "any paramilitary or neo-Nazi groups." Zozulya's immediate future is in doubt because his loan to Rayo officially went through before the winter transfer market closed. That means he can't play for Betis or any other European club until the next transfer window opens in the summer. Having completed the incredibly overwhelming process of buying a home, you probably feel those same emotions as you encounter the move-in process. You most likely had an inspection for your new home, which illuminated the items your house specifically needs fixed. That said, every house will face many of the same challenges to ensure it functions at peak efficiency. To set yourself and your family up for a smooth, safe transition, you will want to tackle this checklist of items before or during your move. [See: Your Moving Checklist: Don't Let These Details Slip Through the Cracks.] Change the locks. The reason for doing this is simple and obvious: You don't know who has a copy of the key to your house. Regardless of whether the previous owners said they gave you every key at closing or if the house was a foreclosure, there may have been contractors or inspectors who needed access and forgot to give the key back. You don't always need to buy an entirely new lock, as this can be very expensive depending on the number of doors in the house. It may make more sense to have a locksmith come out to rekey each of the cylinders. This typically comes with an up-front fee of $50 to $100, and then $20 to $40 per lock. Contact utility companies. Depending on where you live and state laws, you may be required by the title company to contact your utility companies and switch ownership prior to settlement, or the title company may do it for you. That said, be sure to call all those that apply whether you're required to or not to make sure there is no lapse in service, as you may be required to pay an additional reconnection fee should this occur. This is also a great time to contact cable, internet and phone services because everyone knows the first thing you'll want to do after a long day of moving boxes is sit on your couch (if you can find it) and watch some TV. Clean your dryer vent. According to the U.S. Fire Administration, 2,900 home clothes dryer fires are reported each year. There is no telling the last time your dryer vents were professionally cleaned and it's a safety hazard not to deal with this immediately. Check with local air duct and fireplace cleaning companies, as they often clean dryer vents as well and may offer deals if multiple services are purchased at the same time. Story continues Replace filters. The most important filter you need to replace is the one in the heating and cooling system, or HVAC. Hopefully, your inspector showed you the proper way to insert it and which way the arrows should be facing. Depending on the the type of filter used, it should be cleaned or replaced every one to three months. Regardless of whether it appears clean, establish the schedule by changing it on a day you will remember, typically the first of the month. Check the rest of your utilities and appliances for filters of different sorts. For example, many refrigerators with water dispensers have filters in dire need of changing. [See: 8 Easy Renovation Projects Every Homeowner Can Do Now.] Replace smoke detector batteries. The U.S. Fire Administration recommends changing batteries in smoke and carbon monoxide detectors twice a year. Many people use the daylight saving time changes to remember when to make the changes. As you move in, it's best to replace them until the next time change, when you'll be able to get back on a normal schedule. Make sure there is a minimum of one smoke detector per floor and in every bedroom. Install fire extinguishers. Have fire extinguishers installed near any hazardous area including your kitchen, garage and workshop or laundry room. Many homeowners have at least one extinguisher per floor in an easily accessible location. Be sure to consult the owners manual to determine how often you will need to replace the extinguisher, but you can plan on anywhere between every five and 15 years. Childproof. Moving, as everyone who has done it before knows, is not a one-day process. From the time you unload the truck, it may be months before you get everything sorted and put away. During the transition, it may be easy to overlook potentially dangerous areas or situations your child could encounter in their new surroundings. Take the time before you move in to childproof the house while you can still clearly see areas to be addressed, like cabinets for storing cleaning products and medicines, or unpacking choking hazards directly into out-of-reach areas. Deep clean. Let's be honest, people are gross. Even if those who lived in the house before you seemed like complete neat-freaks, it is doubtful they held every aspect of the house to the same standards as you. Look into cleaning services, as many have move-in specials offering deep cleans from top to bottom. And while they may not require the same attention, new homes should also be cleaned, as there will still be leftover dust and construction dirt from the building process. Clean carpets. Along with painting, this is one task you will want to complete prior to moving in and setting up each room. After a professional clean, your carpets will need to dry for 24 to 48 hours before moving furniture in. Rushing the process will cause rust or stains to appear on the carpet from the furniture, completely negating all the money you invested. [See: 10 Tips to Sell Your Home Fast.] Toilet paper. The last thing you want is to be moving into your dream home and have to start rifling through a million boxes to find toilet paper because nature is calling. If that needs any more explanation, I don't know what to tell you. Ray Boss Jr. is a full-time, licensed Realtor for Re/Max Realty Group in Gaithersburg, Maryland, with over 11 years of experience working with clients ranging from first-time homebuyers to investors, sellers and renters. You can learn more about Ray by connecting with him on LinkedIn. For the first time in decades, Yiddish and German songs sung by Holocaust victims can be heard, now that an old "wire recorder" has been repaired. The recordings were completed by the late David Boder (1886-1961), a professor of psychology at the Illinois Institute of Technology. During the summer of 1946, Boder traveled to Europe and interviewed 130 Jewish Holocaust survivors. Boder conducted the interviews in nine languages at refugee camps in France, Switzerland, Italy and Germany. To record some of the first oral histories of camp survivors, he used a wire recorder, a novel instrument at the time. The device moves a wire across a recording head, a process that magnetizes points along the wire based on features of an electrical audio signal. [Photos: Escape Tunnel at Holocaust Death Site] In all, Boder's recordings, including those of songs and religious services, took up 200 spools of steel wire. Some of Boder's recorders were archived in 1967 at the Drs. Nicholas and Dorothy Cummings Center for the History of Psychology at The University of Akron (UA) in Ohio. During a recent effort to digitize the recordings, researchers stumbled across a spool with the Yiddish and German "Henonville Songs." The spool, long thought to be lost, had been sitting in a mislabeled canister, according to a UA statement. "I think it is one of the most important discoveries from our collections in our 50-year history," David Baker, the executive director of the Cummings Center, said in the statement. "The songs were recorded at a refugee camp in Henonville, France. The Nazis made the prisoners sing some of these songs as they ran to their forced-labor sites and back each day." Now, Baker and other historians can hear the more than 70-year-old recordings. "That we could give the world the melody to a song sung by those sentenced to their death through forced labor during one of the most unspeakable horrorsof the 20th century is remarkable," Baker said. Story continues eBay to the rescue When researchers came upon the spool, none of the wire recorders at the Cummings Center were compatible with the recording, the university said. After a yearlong search, Litsa Varonis, an instructional designer in Instructional Services at UA, found the right wire-recorder model on eBay. Varonis, who is now retired, bought the recorder and donated it to the center. Her husband, Orestes Varonis, a retired electrical engineer, helped James Newhall, a senior multimedia producer in Instructional Services at UA, redesign the recorder so that it would work. "There was a lot of time spent on research and experimentation," Newhall said in the statement. "The recorder no longer uses vacuum tubes or rubber tires, and is mostly built from new parts. It has a simpler, and more accurate, drive mechanism." The wire recorder that, once fixed, played the wire spool with the songs sung by Holocaust survivors in Henonville, France. The University of Akron Once the machine was functional, Jon Endres, a multimedia producer/media specialist at the Cummings Center, digitized the recordings. "It felt like I was helping in some way to bring these voices to the present, voices that had become somewhat lost to the historical record," Endres said. "The discovery of this single canister holding a lost recording means that these songs can be heard again, they can be studied and they can inform us in a new way about the experiences, the joys and the frustrations of these displaced persons." [Image Gallery: WWII Lard, Relics Revealed by Storms] The Cummings Center shared the recordings with the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C., whose staff translated the songs. The museum also kept a digitized copy for its own collection. News of the discovery has spread, with researchers worldwide saying they want to hear the recordings, Baker said. "These songs, in the voices of those subjected to unspeakable cruelty, are a reminder of the power of memory, the value of history and the indomitable human spirit," Baker said. "Hearing them sing again after 70 years of silence gives the world a greater understanding of the circumstances and experiences of those who were witnesses to a dark chapter in human history." Original article on Live Science. Editor's Recommendations Luxembourg (AFP) - Luxembourg has filed a criminal case against an unknown person in an unusual step related to the Volkswagen "dieselgate" emissions cheating scandal. The duchy insisted that it was the victim of the row, despite having itself been one of seven countries sued by the European Union for failing to crack down on auto pollution. "Luxembourg declares itself a victim of criminal and negligent acts, which led it to issue certificates of approval that it would not have if the tests had not been distorted," Luxembourg sustainable development minister Francois Bausch said late Monday. The case does not name an individual "because we don't yet know who did what." The Dieselgate scandal blew open when Volkswagen admitted in September 2015 that it installed software in 11 million cars worldwide that reduced emissions of harmful nitrogen oxides when it detected the vehicle was undergoing tests. The European Commission launched legal action in December against authorities in Luxembourg, Germany, Britain, Czech Republic, Greece, Lithuania, and Spain for failing to ensure carmakers complied with the law. VW announced earlier this month that it will pay at least $1.2 billion to compensate some 80,000 US buyers of 3.0-liter diesel engines as well as buying back or refitting their vehicles. But it faces further pressure to compensate European motorists. "Volkswagen should offer a kind of bonus or compensation to its European customers," EU justice commissioner Vera Jourova said after a meeting with VW boss Matthias Mueller in Brussels on Monday. "EU consumers deserve a fair treatment and Volkswagen should move on that point soon. A solution is also in Volkswagen's interest." Macy's Inc (ticker: M) is the latest company under scrutiny for carrying Ivanka Trump's fashion brand, according to Business Insider. The criticism, served by both customers and Macy's employees, comes after Nordstrom (JWN) announced Thursday it would no longer sell the first daughter's brand. Neiman Marcus has also removed Ivanka Trump jewelry from its website. One customer wrote on Macy's Facebook page, "Nordstrom dumped Trump, please follow suit. I would never put plastic Ivanka Trump boots on my little daughter." Another alleges a customer service representative said getting rid of Ivanka Trump's apparel and shoe lines is in the works. "Hopefully they stop. They can't lose any more money than they already are," a source at Macy's told Business Insider, pointing out the retailer's falling sales. The company stopped selling President Donald Trump-branded clothing in 2015 after he referred to Mexicans and other immigrants as "killers and rapists." Social media has become a place of organization for people to rally for or against political issues involving companies. The #GrabYourWallet campaign specifically advocates boycotting Trump-associated companies including Macy's. Trump supporters have tried social campaigns to boycott both Starbucks Corp. (SBUX) and Budweiser (BUD), following Starbucks' plan to hire 10,000 refugees over five years and Budweiser's Super Bowl ad retelling the story of its founder's immigration to the U.S. After the Nordstrom move, one of the #GrabYourWallet co-founders Shannon Coulter said, "I am absolutely thrilled, and I know the vast majority of Grab Your Wallet participants will be as well." "The Ivanka Trump brand continues to expand across categories and distribution with increased customer support, leading us to experience significant year-over-year revenue growth in 2016," said Rosemary K. Young, Ivanka Trump's senior director of marketing, in a Friday statement, reports Business Insider. "We believe that the strength of a brand is measured not only by the profits it generates, but the integrity it maintains." Story continues How 8 CEOs Reacted to Donald Trump's Immigrant Ban What 8 CEOs Are Saying About Donald Trump's Victory David Oliver is Associate Editor, Social Media at U.S. News & World Report. Follow him on Twitter, connect with him on LinkedIn, or send him an email at doliver@usnews.com. Blantyre (Malawi) (AFP) - Malawi and its northern neighbour Tanzania have agreed to revive talks to resolve a long-running border dispute, President Peter Mutharika said Tuesday after meeting Tanzania's foreign minister in Lilongwe. The two east African neighbours are at odds over the ownership of Lake Malawi which straddles both countries with Tanzania claiming the top half of Africa's third largest freshwater lake -- a claim contested by Malawi. "The mediation efforts will be resuscitated towards a logical conclusion of the Lake Malawi border dispute," Mutharika said in a statement. Mediation to resolve the dispute has been stalled since 2012, but will be revived under the supervision of former Mozambican president Joaquim Chissano. Tanzanian foreign minister Augustine Mahiga told journalists after meeting Mutharika that "the lake issue has festered for some time", confirming the resumption of talks under Chissano. The 54-year-old dispute stems from colonial-era border lines drawn around the 29,600 square kilometres (11,400 square miles) of Lake Malawi. The lake is in the Great Lakes system stretching along the East African Rift and is a major tourist attraction that straddles one third of Malawi. Based on an 1890 colonial accord, Malawi claims ownership of the whole of the lake except for a portion controlled by Mozambique. Tanzania insists that half the lake falls within its borders and blames maps drawn up by British and German authorities for the dispute. "The British and the Germans left different kinds of maps that show the border in between," Mahiga said. "It is not a new map, but it is an inherited map which I think needs clarification." The border dispute resurfaced after Lilongwe in 2011 awarded British company Surestream Petroleum a licence to drill for oil and gas on the northern part of the lake. Tanzania has in the past demanded that Malawi should halt exploration activities to allow for a diplomatic solution. SYDNEY (AP) Police have charged a security consultant with public mischief after an investigation into allegations a listening device was planted in the All Blacks' meeting room at a Sydney hotel before a Bledisloe Cup test last August. New South Wales state police issued a statement on Tuesday saying the 51-year-old man would appear in a Sydney local court on March 21. New Zealand management discovered the listening device on Monday, Aug. 15, but reportedly didn't notify police for five days - with news emerging on the morning of the match. At the time, New Zealand Rugby said a device similar to that used by law enforcement and spy agencies was found in a chair in the room which was being used for sensitive tactical and planning discussions. New Zealand won the match 42-8. All Blacks coach Steve Hansen, in a statement, said the charge "seems bizarre and unbelievable." Hansen said the man who was charged worked for the All Blacks and "is someone who is trusted and well respected by us." "However, as with all cases before the courts, there has to be a due process ... and it is not right or proper for us to make any further comment as this could jeopardize the outcome of the case." The man has been identified as Adrian Gard, a director of the Brisbane-based security and investigations company Bodyguards International. The company has worked for the All Blacks in Australia for more than 10 years, and has had other high-profile clients including former U.S. President Bill Clinton, Tiger Woods, and Oprah Winfrey. Gard could face up to 12 month in prison if convicted. The charges provided some closure in the case, Australian Rugby Union chief executive Bill Pulver said in a statement. "The ARU and the Wallabies were never accused of any wrongdoing, however, it was still important that this matter reached a conclusion to provide complete reassurance to all fans that the organization and the team had no part in any of this," Pulver said. "There may be some questions that remain but certainly today's news is welcome news that an individual has been called to account over this incident." ATLANTA (AP) A native of Guyana who lives in Georgia has been sentenced to five years in federal prison after pleading guilty to smuggling dozens of guns to the South American country. Federal prosecutors in Atlanta say 39-year-old Jermine Prosper, who lived in Conyers, legally purchased about 50 guns in the Atlanta and smuggled them in shipping barrels to Guyana, where they were sold on the streets. Prosecutors say the legal permanent resident bought the guns between October 2013 and November 2015. They included 34 9 mm pistols, eight .380-caliber pistols and six .25- caliber pistols. He was sentenced last week. A Florida man has pleaded guilty to stealing billions of dollars at the behest of the Lord. John Michael Haskew was accused of setting up $7 billion in illegal wire transfers from "a large, nationally renowned financial institution" back in December. Read: Man Who Was Mistakenly Kidnapped by Biker Gang Recalls His Daring Escape After his arrest, Haskew told investigators he said he was directed to make the transfer by Jesus Christ, according to a criminal complaint. "(He stated) that Jesus Christ created wealth for everyone," the criminal complaint said. "Using this scheme, Haskew believed that he could obtain the wealth that Jesus Christ created for him and that belonged to him." Haskew reportedly told police he was "self-taught on the banking industry" after his December 16 arrest. Read: Is This a Picture of Jesus as a Child? The unemployed Lakeland man pleaded guilty Thursday to a charge of making a false or fraudulent statement to a department or agency of the United States. Haskew faces up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000. Watch: Smart-Dressed Thief Attacks Jewelry Store Worker Before Emptying the Safe Related Articles: At airports across the US there were emotional scenes as travelers from the seven predominantly Muslim countries named in President Donald Trump's executive immigration order arrived to be greeted by loved ones. Some landed unsure of whether the temporary suspension of the ban meant they would be allowed to enter the US, or if it had been reinstated while they were in the air. Here are some of those who have been allowed back in since a judge in Seattle temporarily suspended the travel ban on Friday night. The Iranian engineer Nazanin Zinouri landed at Logan International Airport in Boston on Sunday. An Iranian industrial engineer with a PhD from from Clemson University, she has worked for a technology company in South Carolina for seven years, and has a US work visa. She also has a house in Greenville, South Carolina, a six-month-old puppy there called Baxter, and a car which she had left at the airport when she went on holiday to Iran for three weeks on Jan 20, the day of President Trump's inauguration. When Mr Trump signed the executive order on Jan 27 she got on the next plane back to the US but was removed from the flight in Dubai and sent back to Iran. When the order was suspended she got on another flight via Frankfurt unsure if she would be allowed back in when it landed in Boston. She said: "I still can't believe this actually happened. I didn't see this coming any time soon, so this is definitely beyond whatever I could imagine." South Carolina Republican Senator Lindsey Graham said the fact she was allowed back in was "Good news!" He added: "I know she has lots of friends and co-workers who can't wait to see her. I'm happy she's almost home." Good news! I know she has lots of friends and co-workers who can't wait to see her. I'm happy she's almost home. https://t.co/7ApO2ZMggb Lindsey Graham (@LindseyGrahamSC) February 6, 2017 The baby in need of life-saving surgery Fatemeh Reshad, a four-month-old from Iran, needed life-saving surgery in the US for two holes in the heart. Story continues Her family had gone to Dubai to get a tourist visa for the US but it was abruptly canceled after Mr Trump announced his executive order. They were said to be "overwhelmingly relieved and thrilled" at the suspesnion of the ban. Fatemeh will now be able to have the treatment at Oregon Health and Science University School of Medicine, where doctors are waiving their fees. The family was traveling to Abu Dhabi for pre-clearance and then on to the US. Jennifer Morrissey, their lawyer, said: "It's probably the clearest illustration I can think of offhand of why the travel ban was poorly thought out, poorly executed and had significant humanitarian consequences." Fatemeh's uncle Samad Teghizadeh, a US citizen who lives in Oregon, said: "This is my home. We live here. My work and everything is in the US. Believe me, if I didn't have a brother and sister in Iran, I wouldn't go there. This is our home." The Artist Fariba Tajrostami, 32, a painter from Iran, came through the gate at New York's Kennedy Airport on Sunday with a huge smile and tears in her eyes as her brothers greeted her with joyful hugs. "I'm very happy. I haven't seen my brothers for nine years," she said. Miss Tajrostami had tried to fly to the US from Turkey over a week ago, but was turned away. "I was crying and was so disappointed," she said. "Everything I had in mind, what I was going to do, I was so disappointed about everything. I thought it was all over." Miss Tajrostami said she hopes to study art in the US and plans to join her husband in Dallas soon. He moved from Iran six months ago, has a green card and is working at a car dealership. The PhD student Nima Enayati, an Iranian PhD student based in Milan, was prevented from boarding a flight to the US on Jan. 30. He had a visa to conduct research on robotic surgery at Stanford University in California. On Sunday night, he finally arrived in New York. "It feels great finally I'm here," Enayati said at the airport in New York. "Considering the last 10 days we had no idea if we'll be able to make it or not." Mr Enayati said he feels safe for now, but worries that the travel ban could inhibit research in the future. He said: "We always had this open collaboration around the world. We never had concerns about whether we would be able to go somewhere physically or not." The fiance Mahsa Azabadi, 29, an Iranian-American who lives in Denver, was forced to put her wedding plans on hold after her fiance, Sorena Behzadfar, was turned away when he tried to board a plane to travel from Iran to the US on Jan 28. Over the weekend Mr Behzadfar was cleared for travel and was expected to arrive at Boston's Logan Airport ahead of their wedding on May 12. Miss Azabadi, a US citizen who has lived int he country for 11 years, said: "It's been a really tough week to figure out what will happen to us. "We want to be the best and do the best for the people and for this country. We would love to have the opportunity." The Syrian Doctor Dr. Amer al-Homssi left his home in Chicago for the happiest of reasons: to get married in the UAE. But when the 24-year-old tried to return to the US days after his wedding he was turned away. Dr al-Homssi is a Syrian citizen and when he reached the security at Abu Dhabi airport, a US official drew a thick black line through his American visa and wrote Cancelled EO 59447v.8. Lawyers in Chicago raced to a federal court a filed a lawsuit on his behalf while his fellow doctors stood in the courtroom in their white lab coats in a symbol of solidarity. His lawyers said the doctor, who is a resident at a University of Illinois hospital, was collateral damage of Mr Trumps order. After days of legal wrangling, he was cleared to board a new flight back home to Chicago. When he finally was able to get back supporters were waiting for him at the airport with cheers and homemade signs. Doc: You Make America Great, read one placard. The doctor is now back at work treating patients in Illinois. A Yemeni girl's long wait to be with her family Eman Ali had waited for six years to be reunited with her family in California. Both of the 12-year-olds parents are US citizens but because she was born in Yemen she was not eligible for citizenship. So her parents spent six years working through a legal maze to obtain a visa for her. Her mother moved to Yemen part time to be wither but the family stayed based in California, thousands of miles from her daughter. The wait appeared to be over after the US embassy approved a visa for her on January 25. But when she and her father tried to board a flight they were turned away because of Mr Trumps executive order. She asked me, Why cant we go? Why only Yemeni? Why only Muslim? her father, Ahmed Ali, told the Mercury News. The pair were finally able to reach the US on Sunday after Mr Trumps order was overturned. She was granted citizenship at the airport, bringing the familys long wait to an end. By Andreas Rinke and Lidia Kelly WARSAW (Reuters) - German Chancellor Angela Merkel appeared on Tuesday to win promises of closer cooperation from Poland's eurosceptic rulers, during a visit to Warsaw to discuss reforms essential for the European Union to tackle mounting divisions over its future. Europe's most powerful leader needs the backing of Poland, wary of any increased powers for Brussels, to agree reforms in March, on the 60th anniversary of the founding Rome Treaty. In the same month, Britain plans to give notice of leaving. Governed by the conservative Law and Justice (PiS) party, Poland is lobbying for an overhaul of the EU's fundamental rulebook, its treaty, to return some power to member states. But diplomats say the PiS, feeling increasingly isolated in Europe since Britain - a strategic ally - decided to leave, may be seeking to improve its once-frosty ties with Berlin. Merkel held a rare meeting with PiS leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski, a politician deeply distrustful of Germany, who once said the chancellor's goal was to make Poland subordinate to its western neighbor. "There was a good atmosphere," Kaczynski told reporters after the 60-minute talk with Merkel in a five-star hotel in central Warsaw. "My sense is that today's visit will bring good results," he said, in comments contrasting with his previous accusations that Germany sought to wield too much influence in Poland. Relations between Poland, the EU's sixth biggest nation, and Germany, Polands's main trade partner, cooled when the PiS was last in power in 2005-07. Kaczynski, then prime minister, had once invoked the number of Poles killed by the Nazis in World War Two to justify demands for greater voting power within the EU in 2007. He wields no government posts now but is seen as the main powerbroker in Poland. CHANGING MOOD German diplomats described Merkel's meeting with Kaczynski as "friendly and open", although Merkel herself warned Warsaw that its ambitions to curb the power of Brussels institutions were unrealistic. "There may ... be some ideas that go in the direction of treaty change. I will put forward the argument that we should proceed very cautiously," she told a joint news conference with Prime Minister Beata Szydlo. Szydlo said Poland was determined to deepen cooperation with Germany. "Poland and Germany ... have a huge role to play in the changes that are taking place in the Union," she said. Merkel also issued veiled criticism of the Polish government's democratic record, which critics say represent a tilt towards authoritarianism and which is the subject of a row between Warsaw and the European Commission. Merkel - who grew up in communist East Germany - said she was pleased her government planned to address EU questions on the issue later this month. "As a young person, I always looked closely at what was happening in Poland... Without Solidarity, European unification, the end of the Cold War would not have come so quickly," she said, referring to the Polish trade union movement that contributed to the overthrow of communist rule in 1989. "Since then we know how important plurality in a society is, how important an independent judicial system is, independent media." The European Commission has questioned the ruling Law and Justice (PIS) party's efforts to gain more control over state institutions, including public media and the constitutional court. Britain's decision to quit the EU means Poland is losing a strategic ally in defense policy and in its push for a tough EU line on Russia, at a time when the election of Donald Trump as U.S. president is raising questions over the West's approach to Moscow. (Additional reporting by Pawel Sobczak and Pawel Florkiewicz in Warsaw, and Noah Barkin and Andrea Shalal in Berlin, Writing by Justyna Pawlak, Editing by Ralph Boulton) Brussels (AFP) - Moldova's pro-Russian President Igor Dodon on Tuesday warned NATO that the closer ties it seeks with his strategically placed country could undermine its neutrality and threaten its security. Dodon, who went to Moscow on his first foreign visit after the election late last year, has repeatedly said he wants to restore political and economic relations with Moldova's Soviet-era master, reversing the closer NATO and European Union links championed by his predecessors. Speaking after talks with NATO deputy head Rose Gottermoeller, he insisted that a planned alliance liaison office in the capital Chisinau would be of no benefit to the majority of Moldovans. "For me, the opening of such an office is not helpful for the security of the people; it is a provocation set up by the previous government," he told reporters standing alongside Gottermoeller at NATO headquarters in Brussels. Gottermoeller stressed that the liaison office was similar to those set up in other countries, such as Russia or Ukraine, and was staffed only by civilian, not military personnel. "It will increase transparency about what NATO does with Moldova," she said, describing the talks with Dodon as "intensive positive discussions." The US-led alliance fully understood Moldova's desire for neutrality and respected all nations' right to decide their own security arrangements, she said. "Moldova does not want to join NATO," she noted, but added that neutrality did not mean isolation and the two parties had worked together in the past and she hoped would do so in the future. Tiny Moldova is wedged between Ukraine and Romania and has an East-West cultural and linguistic split, similar to Ukraine's. A brief civil war in the 1990s ended with the Russian-speaking Transdniestr region breaking away and declaring independence, backed by Moscow, which now stations troops there. Asked about the continued presence of Russian soldiers, Dodon said that issue would be resolved at the same time as the conflict in Transdniestr. United Nations (United States) (AFP) - More than 52,000 South Sudanese fled to Uganda in January alone as continued fighting risks creating a situation of mass atrocities, the UN's special adviser on genocide prevention said Tuesday. The displaced, primarily from towns south of the capital Juba in Central Equatoria state, have given accounts of the killing of civilians, homes destroyed and sexual violence, said Adama Dieng. "President Salva Kiir has made a commitment to end the violence and bring about peace, yet we still see ongoing clashes, and the risk that mass atrocities will be committed remains ever-present," said the special adviser in a statement. Dieng said he was particularly alarmed at the situation in Kajo-Keji where fleeing civilians have said they fear mass violence. After several delays, a team from the UN peacekeeping mission arrived in Kajo-Keji on Sunday to report on the situation. After gaining independence from Sudan in 2011, South Sudan descended into war in December 2013, leaving tens of thousands dead and more than three million people displaced. There is growing alarm over the humanitarian crisis in the country where more than six million people -- half of South Sudan's population -- are in need of urgent aid. Humanitarian organizations expect this number to rise by 20 to 30 percent in 2017. RABAT (Reuters) - Protesters marking the anniversary of the death of an anti-colonial hero have clashed with police in northern Morocco, in violence which authorities said left 27 officers injured. Hundreds took to the streets on Sunday night and in the early hours of Monday in the city of Al-Hoceima and other towns of the Rif region, long seen as a hotbed of dissent. Thousands protested in Al-Hoceima in October against corruption and official abuses after a fishmonger was crushed to death inside a garbage truck as he tried to retrieve fish confiscated by police. The region was home to Mohammed Ben Abdelkerim El-Khattabi, who fought against Spanish and French occupation in the 1920s and was seen as an opponent of the ruling elite. He died in exile in Egypt on Feb. 6, 1963. Activists said police used tear gas and rubber bullets against protesters in the latest unrest, injuring some. Police denied it and said 27 officers were wounded by stones thrown by protesters and were treated in hospital. Authorities made no arrests, they said. Reuters could not independently confirm the accounts. Activists shared videos on social media showing riot police with batons chasing protesters and throwing stones back at them in Boukidaren, near Al-Hoceima. After a group of people organized a sit-in in the town of Boukidaren without meeting the required legal conditions and blocked roads, authorities intervened to disperse the gathering in full respect of the law to reestablish flow of traffic, a police statement said. Moroccan authorities heavily police protests, nervous over popular unrest since the 2011 Arab Spring-style protests across the region. (Reporting by Aziz El Yaakoubi; editing by Patrick Markey and Andrew Roche) LONDON (AP) The mother of a backpacker slain in an Australian hostel wrote an open letter to U.S. President Donald Trump, rejecting the decision to label her daughter's death as a terror attack. The August slayings of Mia Ayliffe-Chung, 20, and fellow Briton Tom Jackson, 30, were on a list of 78 attacks the White House says were "executed or inspired by" the Islamic State terror group and under-reported by the media. Rosie Ayliffe says the possibility of terrorism was discounted early in the investigation. "My daughter's death will not be used to further this insane persecution of innocent people," she wrote. Police in Australia allege that suspect Smail Ayad shouted "Allahu akbar" an Arabic phrase meaning "God is great" during the attack, but said there was no indication the assault was motivated by extremism. They have said they are investigating whether Ayad, who is French and was 29 years old at the time of killing, had a romantic obsession with Ayliffe-Chung. Ayad's lawyer told a court in October that her client had been given a preliminary diagnosis of schizophrenia. The case has been referred to the Queensland state Mental Health Court, which determines whether a person is competent to stand trial. Related Video: For more news videos visit Yahoo View, available now on iOS and Android. The attack took place in front of dozens of backpackers at a hostel in northern Queensland. Ayliffe-Chung was found dead at the scene. Jackson tried to stop the attack and was fatally wounded. "This vilification of whole nation states and their people based on religion is a terrifying reminder of the horror that can ensue when we allow ourselves to be led by ignorant people into darkness and hatred," Ayliffe wrote. Reykjavik (AFP) - An Icelandic woman whose mysterious disappearance and death last month shocked the tranquil island nation was reportedly strangled before being thrown into the ocean where she drowned, media reported. Birna Brjansdottir, 20, was found dead on a beach on January 22, eight days after she vanished. Her disappearance prompted the largest ever search and rescue in Iceland, where homicides are extremely rare. Sources close to the investigation told Icelandic public broadcaster RUV late Monday that preliminary conclusions from the autopsy showed Brjansdottir was still alive when she was thrown into the ocean and that she had water in her lungs, indicating drowning as the cause of death. Police on Tuesday refused to comment on the information, pending the final autopsy report. A sailor from Greenland whose trawler was in Iceland the day Brjansdottir went missing is being held in connection with her disappearance. Iceland's Supreme Court on Tuesday rejected a request for the man's release. Video surveillance footage from January 14 showed Brjansdottir stumbling through snowy and foggy streets by herself around 5:00 am as she bought a kebab. Her shoes were later found in the port of Hafnarfjordur, south of Reykjavik, not far from the dock where the Polar Nanoq trawler was moored. Video surveillance cameras also showed a small red car, a Kia Rio, parked near the vessel around 6:30 am -- identical to a vehicle observed near the spot where Brjansdottir was last seen. Traces of Bransdottir's blood were later found in the red car, which had been rented by sailors from the trawler. Signals from her mobile phone indicated she was taken to Hafnarfjordur in the same vehicle. The Polar Nanoq had weighed anchor just hours after the girl went missing but members of Iceland's elite police force, known as the Viking Squad, flew out to the ship by helicopter to question the crew. With a population of 330,000, Iceland has registered an average of just 1.8 murders per year since 2001, according to police statistics. The killers are often under the influence of alcohol, or mentally unstable. Boohoo.com has moved one step closer to acquiring LA fashion brand Nasty Gal. The British fashion online retailer is expected to receive final approval on the purchase on February 8 from the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Central District of California, Nasty Gal has announced. "I am enormously proud of the tremendous brand value we have built over the years at Nasty Gal, and deeply grateful for the enduring contributions made to the brand by so many of our passionate employees and vendor partners," said Nasty Gal CEO Sheree Waterson. "I congratulate boohoo.com on their anticipated successful acquisition and am confident that Nasty Gal's strong legacy will complement their business." Founded in 2006 by entrepreneur Sophia Amoruso, Nasty Gal began life as a vintage clothing store on eBay before expanding to become one of the industry's biggest online successes, selling a combination of curated and in-house ready-to-wear collections and accessories. Amoruso penned a bestselling book, "Girlboss", about her entrepreneurial experience, which is being transformed into a Netflix series set to debut in 2017. However, she stepped down as CEO of the company in 2015 and the company filed for bankruptcy last November. Boohoo.com has carved out a niche for itself as the ultimate fast-fashion fix at affordable price points, growing rapidly since its 2006 launch to cover menswear, womenswear and children's fashion and accessories. The brand, which releases up to 100 new pieces every day, and a new collection each week, is expected to continue Nasty Girl brand sales if the acquisition is successful. By Andrius Sytas and Andrea Shalal RUKLA, Lithuania (Reuters) - Germany and NATO on Tuesday underscored their commitment to beefing up the defence of eastern Europe's border with Russia as the first of four new batallions under the North Atlantic alliance's banner arrived in Lithuania. In moves agreed last year under former U.S. President Barack Obama, NATO is expanding its presence in the region to levels unprecedented since the Cold War, prompted by Russia's annexation of Crimea and accusations - denied by Moscow - that it is supporting a separatist conflict in eastern Ukraine. The German-led battle group of 1,000 troops in Lithuania will be joined this year by a U.S-led deployment in Poland, British-led troops in Estonia and Canadian-led troops in Latvia. They will add to smaller rotating contingents of U.S troops. Doubts about the U.S. commitment to NATO have surfaced since the election of President Donald Trump, who has described NATO allies as "very unfair" for not contributing more financially to the alliance. German Defence Minister Ursula von der Leyen said Europe realised it needed to strengthen defence cooperation and was doing more to solve its own problems. She also said U.S. Secretary of Defence James Mattis reassured her about Washington's commitment to NATO in a recent telephone call. "After what we discussed, I have no doubt about his deep conviction in the importance of NATO and the commitment of the Americans within NATO to what we have agreed," she said at a welcoming ceremony at Lithuania's Rukla military base, 100 kilometres (62 miles) from the Russian border.Von der Leyen is due to hold her first meeting with Mattis in Washington on Friday. In a phone call on Sunday with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, Trump agreed to meet alliance leaders in Europe in May. Lithuanian president Dalia Grybauskaite said the German battalion was arriving "(at) the right place and at the right time," adding she hoped the troops' stay would be peaceful. A NATO official said the NATO forces would participate in a major exercise in eastern Europe in June. A second official said it would include a simulated nuclear attack. There are no end dates for stay of the new contingents, which will rotate every six months partly to comply with NATO's 1997 promise to Russia to avoid "permanent stationing of substantial combat forces" in Central and Eastern Europe. German officials said the battalion in Lithuania, which includes over 200 tanks and other ground vehicles, will be fully formed by June 2017, including troops from Belgium, the Netherlands, Norway and Luxembourg. (Reporting by Andrea Shalal and Andrius Sytas; editing by John Stonestreet) By Andrius Sytas and Andrea Shalal RUKLA, Lithuania (Reuters) - Germany and NATO on Tuesday underscored their commitment to beefing up the defense of eastern Europe's border with Russia as the first of four new batallions under the North Atlantic alliance's banner arrived in Lithuania. In moves agreed last year under former U.S. President Barack Obama, NATO is expanding its presence in the region to levels unprecedented since the Cold War, prompted by Russia's annexation of Crimea and accusations - denied by Moscow - that it is supporting a separatist conflict in eastern Ukraine. The German-led battle group of 1,000 troops in Lithuania will be joined this year by a U.S-led deployment in Poland, British-led troops in Estonia and Canadian-led troops in Latvia. They will add to smaller rotating contingents of U.S troops. Doubts about the U.S. commitment to NATO have surfaced since the election of President Donald Trump, who has described NATO allies as "very unfair" for not contributing more financially to the alliance. German Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen said Europe realized it needed to strengthen defense cooperation and was doing more to solve its own problems. She also said U.S. Secretary of Defense James Mattis reassured her about Washington's commitment to NATO in a recent telephone call. "After what we discussed, I have no doubt about his deep conviction in the importance of NATO and the commitment of the Americans within NATO to what we have agreed," she said at a welcoming ceremony at Lithuania's Rukla military base, 100 kilometers (62 miles) from the Russian border.Von der Leyen is due to hold her first meeting with Mattis in Washington on Friday. In a phone call on Sunday with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, Trump agreed to meet alliance leaders in Europe in May. Lithuanian president Dalia Grybauskaite said the German battalion was arriving "(at) the right place and at the right time," adding she hoped the troops' stay would be peaceful. A NATO official said the NATO forces would participate in a major exercise in eastern Europe in June. A second official said it would include a simulated nuclear attack. There are no end dates for stay of the new contingents, which will rotate every six months partly to comply with NATO's 1997 promise to Russia to avoid "permanent stationing of substantial combat forces" in Central and Eastern Europe. German officials said the battalion in Lithuania, which includes over 200 tanks and other ground vehicles, will be fully formed by June 2017, including troops from Belgium, the Netherlands, Norway and Luxembourg. (Reporting by Andrea Shalal and Andrius Sytas; editing by John Stonestreet) Donald Trump took to Twitter on Monday to hit back against media reports indicating that a majority of Americans looked unfavourably on his presidency, saying "any negative polls are fake news." On Friday a CNN poll indicated that 53 per cent of Americans disapproved of the way Trump is handling his presidential transition, described by the network as "the highest disapproval for a new elected president since polls began tracking those results". In a run of tweets criticising mainstream media outlets Mr Trump said: "Any negative polls are fake news, just like the CNN, ABC, NBC polls in the election. Sorry, people want border security and extreme vetting." Any negative polls are fake news, just like the CNN, ABC, NBC polls in the election. Sorry, people want border security and extreme vetting. Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 6, 2017 Another tweet, thought to be a response to suggestions that chief strategist Stephen Bannon is holding the reins in White House decision-making, Mr Trump wrote: "I call my own shots, largely based on an accumulation of data, and everyone knows it. Some FAKE NEWS media, in order to marginalize, lies!" I call my own shots, largely based on an accumulation of data, and everyone knows it. Some FAKE NEWS media, in order to marginalize, lies! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 6, 2017 Mr Trump also took another potshot a continuing bete noire the New York Times, writing: "The failing @ nytimes writes total fiction concerning me. They have gotten it wrong for two years, and now are making up stories & sources!" The failing @nytimes writes total fiction concerning me. They have gotten it wrong for two years, and now are making up stories & sources! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 6, 2017 The President's dismissal of polling was mocked and condemned on social media: Story continues Welp. Some honesty. Trump thinks anything that disagrees with him is fake news. https://t.co/i5RbvEVRNS Brandan Robertson (@BrandanJR) February 6, 2017 "negative news = fake news" is the beginning of tyranny. https://t.co/2XHZGItRUQ deray mckesson (@deray) February 6, 2017 I'd like to extend this out to other parts of my life. "Any date rejections are fake news."https://t.co/N10Xd9YttF Rob Flaherty (@Rob_Flaherty) February 6, 2017 any executive orders I've passed without reading are also fake executive orders https://t.co/CctMb3ChMs Elizabeth Plank (@feministabulous) February 6, 2017 "The very concept of objective truth is fading out of the world. Lies will pass into history." ~George Orwell Linda Sarsour (@lsarsour) February 6, 2017 Meanwhile, Mr Trump's "accumulation of data" remarks quickly became a meme: .@realDonaldTrump Is "accumulation of data" your pet name for Steve Bannon? Because he clearly calls all your shots. https://t.co/0LLRfE9EIr Keegan Stephan (@KeeganNYC) February 6, 2017 me calling my own shots, largely based on an accumulation of data pic.twitter.com/9ZNqg8MnoX Maya Kosoff (@mekosoff) February 6, 2017 When you are definitely calling your own shots largely based on an accumulation of data and everyone knows it. pic.twitter.com/Y8SzXHXiHm pourmecoffee (@pourmecoffee) February 6, 2017 Donald Trump | His first two weeks in power The grandson of the former Nobel Peace Prize winner and South African President Nelson Mandela announced he was going to be a father by posting a picture of two positive home pregnancy tests Monday. Mandla Mandela also posted a picture of himself holding his pregnant wife Rabia to mark the first anniversary of their marriage on Monday. The picture of the couple was captioned, "ALHAMDULILLAH," which is Arabic for "Allah is the greatest." The young Mandela reportedly converted to Islam when he got married last year. "We are excited beyond words today to be celebrating not only our first wedding anniversary but also the fact that we are expecting our first bundle of joy, the couple said in a statement Monday. Mandla Mandelas marriage to Rabia Mandela is his fourth. While he took on his wife's religion during their traditional Muslim Nikah matrimonial ceremony in Cape Town, Rabia adopted a traditional Mvezo name Nkosikazi Nosekeni Rabia Mandla when she was welcomed into the AbaThembu community, which is an ethnic group in South Africa. Her husband, the chief of the Mvezo community in the eastern part of the country, has the traditional name of Nkosi Zwelivelile. Although Rabia and I were raised in different cultural and religious traditions our coming together reflects what we have in common: We are South Africans, he said when the two got married. Mandla Mandelas ability to have children made international headlines in 2012 when his first wife, Tando Mabunu-Mandela, submitted a document to a marriage court in South Africa saying he was impotent. He subsequently went to the court to nullify his third marriage and ask a judge to allow him to be married a fourth time for the "traditional reason" of fathering a child. But his then-wife filed paperwork saying he was unable to have children and therefore his main reason for the marriage was meaningless. In this respect, I assert that the first respondent [Mandla Mandela] has in any event fertility issues which render him incapable of producing an heir through natural conception, the court document from Tando Mabunu-Mandela said. Related Articles Three federal judges will hear arguments at 6 p.m. EST today that could decide the immediate fate of President Donald Trumps executive order on immigration related to refugees and immigrants. Heres a brief explanation of what to expect. Attorneys from the Justice Department and Washington state will each have 30 minutes to present their cases to the three judges: Senior Judge William C. Canby Jr. (in Phoenix), Senior Judge Richard Clifton (in Honolulu) and Judge Michelle Taryn Friedland (in San Francisco). The call will be live streamed on the Courts website at the following link: http://www.ca9.uscourts.gov/media/view_video.php?pk_vid=0000010884 At issue is the executive order signed by President Trump on January 27 directing federal agencies to issue a 90-day suspension of entry into the United States for citizens of Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen. The order also bars entry of all refugees into the United States for 120 days, and it bars Syrian refugees indefinitely. The executive order cited the Presidents power under the Immigration and Nationality Act (or INA) to deny immigrant and nonimmigrant entry into the United States of aliens from countries referred to in [the INA] that would be detrimental to the interests of the United States. Federal Judge James Robart, based in Seattle, was one of several federal judges to order a temporary stop to parts of the order from going into effect. The order halted the 90-day suspension of immigrants from seven Mideast nations with Muslim majorities; the 120-day suspension of admission of foreign nationals seeking refugee status; any action by the government that favored people who follow a religious faith that is a minority in the designated Mideast nations; case-by-case decisions about which individuals of a minority faith are to be admitted; and the indefinite delay of admission of any refugees from Syria. Judge Robart issued the temporary restraining order (or TRO) until he could weigh further arguments, but he made it clear that he had serious doubts about the constitutionality of the executive order. This weekend, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals let Robarts temporary order remain in place until it could consider detailed arguments from the administration and the states about the TRO. Those arguments have been filed with the court. Story continues The Justice Department is expected to argue that Robarts TRO, which it is calling an injunction, is too broad and it goes against the Presidents powers, as granted to him by Congress, as a lawful exercise of the Presidents authority over the entry of aliens into the United States and the admission of refugees. The Justice Department in its brief also claims that states cant sue over the denial of entry into the United States of third-party aliens and that visa holders outside of the United States cant sue if they are denied visas. The attorneys also say the order doesnt target immigrants based on their religion, and if the temporary stay remains in place, it should be limited to previously admitted aliens. The state of Washington in its brief believes that the executive orders effect is unorderly. Defendants now ask this Court to unleash chaos again by staying the district court order, the brief claims. It cites Trumps campaign promises to ban Muslims from the United States, the economic impact on Washington state brought by the executive order, and harm brought to the states system of public universities as causing the need for Judge Robarts order. Washington state is also arguing that Robarts action should be considered a TRO, and not an injunction, which would send the case back to Robarts court until an injunction hearing occurs. It also says that courts have both the right and the duty to examine Defendants true motives; that the Justice Departments defense of the order will fail on constitutional due process, equal process and religious discrimination grounds; and that the Justice Department is incorrectly interpreting the Immigration and Nationality Act as a source of presidential power. It is unknown how quickly the three appeals judges will act after considering the arguments. But legal experts believe that regardless of how the decision is made, it will wind up at the Supreme Court. Justice Anthony Kennedy handles appeals from the Ninth Circuit and he would likely forward the case to the eight-Justice Supreme Court to consider. Given that the current Supreme Court is divided on ideological grounds in some cases, the winning side in the Ninth Circuit could have an advantage at the Supreme Court, since lower court decisions stand if the Court ties in a 4-4 vote. Scott Bomboy is the editor in chief of the National Constitution Center. Recent Stories on Constitution Daily A new obstacle to Trumps immigration limits? Immigration rules put on hold; government appeals Podcast: President Trumps immigration order: Is it legal? The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals is getting a lot of attention these days in the battle over President Trumps immigration executive order. But the court soon could be split up into two courts, if some lawmakers have their way. This weekend, two judges on the Ninth Circuit appeals bench asked for more information from the Trump administration and its opponents about the constitutionality of the executive order, after a federal judge in Washington state issued a temporary restraining order. The Ninth Circuit appeals court could be the last stop in the quickly evolving legal struggle over Trumps order before the dispute gets to the Supreme Court. But it wont be the last time the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals is in the national news. Shortly after Novembers general election, congressional Republicans started working on a bill that would remove six states from the Ninth Circuit to create a new federal judicial district. (A similar bill was stalled in Congress last year.) Currently, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has jurisdiction over cases originating in Alaska, Arizona, California, Guam, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Northern Mariana Islands, Oregon and Washington state that pertain to federal laws and issues related to federal constitutional claims. The newly created 12th Circuit would include Alaska, Arizona, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, and Washington state. Representative Mike Simpson of Idaho and Senators Jeff Flake and John McCain of Arizona are leading the current effort to get the legislation approved in Congress. In a statement, Senator Flake said the action was needed because the Ninth Circuit is oversized and overworked. Flake cited the size of the courts workload it hears 33 percent more cases than any other federal circuit and the failure rate of its cases accepted by the Supreme Court as reasons for the move. With problems like these, we are left to ask: Is the Ninth Circuit simply too big to succeed? If you are an Arizonan, the answer is unquestionably yes, Flake said. Story continues Critics of the move point to the Ninth Circuits reputation as one of the more liberal federal circuits in the country and that the move is an effort to create a federal district more friendly to Arizona and some other states. The Ninth Circuit currently has 18 judges appointed by Democrats and seven appointed by Republicans, with four vacancies that can be filled by President Trump. Currently, seven of the nine judges in the prospective 12th Circuit states were appointed by Democratic Presidents. The federal judiciary is organized into 12 regional circuit court systems that combine various states and the District of Columbia, and a Federal Circuit appeals court based in Washington, D.C., that hears dispute from other federal courts. The last time a new Circuit Court Of Appeals was created was back in 1980, when Congress passed an act that created the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals, with Alabama, Florida and George moving from the Fifth Circuit into the 11th Circuit. The former Fifth Circuit had 26 judges and also faced scheduling and logistical problems. Recent Stories on Constitution Daily A new obstacle to Trumps immigration limits? Immigration rules put on hold; government appeals Podcast: President Trumps immigration order: Is it legal? SPRING LAKE, N.C. (AP) Authorities say a female motorist was shot and wounded by a North Carolina police officer whom she had hit with her car following a traffic stop. Spring Lake Police Chief Charles Kimble says the shooting happened about 8:40 p.m. Monday. He did not release the IDs of the officer or the driver. News outlets on Tuesday reported that Officer Milton Deleon stopped the car 24-year-old Melanie Wensel was driving, and that Wensel hit the officer when she tried to drive away. The officer then shot and wounded her. Wensel's 5-year-old daughter was in the vehicle but not hurt. Kimble says the woman and officer were taken to the hospital. Wensel was in stable condition Tuesday. Deleon was treated and released. The races of the officer and woman were not immediately available. Https%3a%2f%2fblueprint-api-production.s3.amazonaws.com%2fuploads%2fstory%2fthumbnail%2f36028%2fc94854af-c4f0-4d9b-96cd-ceabec46b890 Former President Barack Obama looks so happy, y'all. Especially when he is learning how to kitesurf on Richard Branson's private island. Last week, we had our first post-presidency sighting of Obama, complete with backwards hat and zero f*cks given. He and Michelle were lazily strolling on the beach of Necker Island. But from what Branson released this Tuesday, it turns out the vacation may not have been so lazy after all. SEE ALSO: Trump and Obama's first Super Bowls as president looked very different The British billionaire gleefully released a video and many gorgeous photos of him and Obama taking on the glorious Ole English tradition of kitesurfing. "It was a huge honor to be able to invite President Barack and Michelle Obama down to the British Virgin Islands for a complete break after Barack finished his second term as President and the family left the White House," Branson wrote in a blogpost on the Virgin website. "One of the first stories Barack told me when he and Michelle arrived on Moskito Island was how, just before he became President, he had been surfing on a dangerous break in Hawaii. When he came in from an exhilarating session, the new head of his security team turned to him and said: 'This will be the last time you surf for eight years.' For the next eight years he didnt have the chance to surf, enjoy watersports or do many of the things he loved." Challenged @barackobama to a kitesurf vs foilboard learning contest heres what happened https://t.co/5hwjOvy2TK pic.twitter.com/wEGSjL2TAr Richard Branson (@richardbranson) February 7, 2017 That's why it helps to have friends in very high places. Branson wrote that the pair bonded over trying to learn foilboarding, wherein a kite propels a cool person standing on a surfboard with a long keel or 'foil' extending from the bottom, and kitesurfing, which is the same, just without the keel. Story continues For all his nice words, Branson's tweet suggests there was some pretty nasty competition involved, that may have led to some fake, photo-op violence. "Barack started learning to kitesurf on the beach on Necker for two days solid, picking up the basics and flying a kite as if going back to being a child again," Branson wrote. "Finally, he put the board at his feet and gave it a go. Being the former president of America, there was lots of security around, but Barack was able to really relax and get into it." According to the blogpost, the pair seemed to have a good-natured bet over who could go the longest on their respective wind-blown contraption. Of course, Obama won. "As you can see in the video, Barack and I both fell many times, but we kept trying again and again and made progress over the days," Branson said. "We were neck and neck until the last run on the last day, when I got up on the foilboard and screamed along for over 50 meters, three feet above the water. I was feeling very pleased with myself, only to look over and see Barack go 100 meters on his kiteboard! I had to doff my cap to him and celebrate his victory." We all doff our caps to him, Richard. We all do. BONUS: The emotional moment Obama waves goodbye to D.C. - US athletes, including Korean-American teen halfpipe star Chloe Kim, are already looking forward to the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics a year before they begin. "I'm really excited to get that Olympic spirit going again," said Mikaela Shiffrin, who won 2014 Olympic slalom ski gold at age 18. "So much has happened between Sochi and now, I feel like I was a baby back then." About 245 US athletes will visit Pyeongchang, where competition opens February 8, a day before the opening ceremony. In all, 2,800 athletes from 95 nations will compete in 102 medal events over 15 disciplines. Among expected US stars will be 16-year-old snowboarder Kim, who will talk with Seoul college students Wednesday about overcoming challenges and work Friday in Pyeongchang with youth snowboarders from her parents' home country. AFP London (AFP) - Freddy Tylicki says he has no regrets about becoming a jockey despite being paralyzed from the waist down following a horrific four-horse pile-up last year. German-born Tylicki, who is based in England and had two Group One wins in a breakthrough 2016, was badly injured in the incident at Kempton Park, southwest of London, in October. The 30-year-old had been leading on Nellie Deen when they came to grief, with champion jockey Jim Crowley being brought down along with two other jockeys. Tylicki, son of a three-time German champion jockey, spent a fortnight in intensive care before leaving hospital in December. "I was born to do it. My father was a very, very good jockey and from a very young age I decided to go down that route," he told the BBC on Tuesday. "I saw the ups and downs and the toughness of the job but from around 12 years of age I knew I was going to be a jockey. "I think if you ask any Flat jockey they'd agree the jump jockeys are much braver than us Flat lads -- one in every 10 rides is a fall. They're much, much tougher. "Accidents do happen in racing. It's a risky sport and you're aware of it as a jockey, but you don't think about it. Things can happen. "When you've won on a few horses that absolutely took off with you -- there's nothing better than that. I'm glad I've experienced that." Washington (AFP) - President Donald Trump's administration claimed a victory over Democrats Tuesday with the US Senate's confirmation of Betsy DeVos as education secretary, after Vice President Mike Pence cast a historic tie-breaking vote. The chamber deadlocked at 50-50, with two Republicans breaking ranks to oppose Trump's hotly contested nominee, a billionaire who champions using taxpayer monies to help fund privately run schools. Pence was needed to break the tie, the first time a sitting vice president has ever cast a deciding vote for a cabinet pick. The White House applauded the confirmation, with spokesman Sean Spicer saying DeVos "will ensure that every student has access to a good school, whether it's public, private or charter." But Pence trooping up to the Capitol to salvage DeVos's nomination was lousy optics for the administration as Trump struggles to get his cabinet in place. Just five of 15 cabinet members have now been confirmed, in addition to the cabinet-rank positions of CIA director and US ambassador to the United Nations. By the same time in 2008, all but three members of president Barack Obama's cabinet were in place. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell blasted Democrats for slow-walking nominees, saying they ought to "get over the election (and) let this administration get up and get running." McConnell has placed the nominations for attorney general, health secretary and head of US Treasury on the calendar. "All should be confirmed this week," he said. - Contentious pick - DeVos, the 59-year-old political scion from Michigan, had triggered an outpouring of frustration and anger late last year, as critics blasted Trump's education pick as someone who had never attended public schools or worked in the public school system. Two moderate Republicans, Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski, bucked Trump and opposed his choice, citing DeVos's lack of qualifications for the post that oversees thousands of schools, millions of students and curriculum standards. Story continues Democrats were unable to convince another Republican to defect, despite intense lobbying that culminated with an all-night Democratic talk-a-thon late Monday into Tuesday on the Senate floor. "I thought we had some chance," said top Senate Democrat Chuck Schumer. "We realized even if we didn't, to make the point that DeVos was so anti-public education was an important point to make." Several Democrats highlighted lingering questions about DeVos's financial entanglements and her apparent lack of understanding about basic education issues. Supporters praise the politically-connected businesswoman and philanthropist as a fierce advocate of school choice, a US movement that seeks to use tax credits and vouchers to allow parents to opt out of the public school system in favor of privately managed charter schools for their children. - 'Local control' - Republican Senator Rob Portman said DeVos would not rule with a heavy hand from Washington. "She strongly supports local control of education and has pledged not to impose her own views on states and local school districts, but rather to allow them -- along with parents -- to make the decisions that best fit the needs of their children," Portman said. The president has strongly criticized Democrats for opposing his cabinet nominations, tweeting that they should be "ashamed of themselves" for obstructing the process. One nominee that Democrats have pushed back sharply against is one of the Senate's own, US attorney general nominee Senator Jeff Sessions, an early Trump backer during the presidential campaign. Sessions endured a contentious hearing, during which Democrats questioned his civil rights record and his opposition to immigration. His colleagues voted to advance his nomination, setting up a confirmation vote for this week. DeVos is less well known than Sessions. But she is a fixture in the education world, having served on the boards of non-profit groups that support school choice. "Parents no longer believe that a one-size-fits-all model of learning meets the needs of every child, and they know other options exist -- whether magnet, virtual, charter, home, religious or any combination thereof," she said at her confirmation hearing. Until her nomination, she chaired the American Federation for Children, a DeVos family umbrella organization that supports advancement of school choice outside of Michigan. "Our work in Michigan was so successful that some of our friends in the movement began to say, 'We really need to do this nationally,'" DeVos said in a 2013 interview with the Philanthropy Roundtable. "And I said, 'Yes, I think we do.'" By David DeKok HARRISBURG, Pa. (Reuters) - Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf on Tuesday proposed a $32.3 billion state budget for fiscal 2018 that seeks to reduce an estimated $3 billion structural deficit through $2 billion in spending cuts and $1 billion in revenue enhancements. His plan would not, however, raise the personal income or state sales taxes, proposals in his previous budget addresses that failed after resistance from the Republican-controlled legislature. "I'm offering a budget proposal that represents a responsible solution to our deficit challenge, and a different approach from the way things have been done in Harrisburg for almost a generation," said Wolf, a Democrat, in his address to the legislature. His revenue enhancements include a removal of special interest exemptions to the sales tax, including for pre-made airplane meals sold to airlines, aircraft maintenance and repair, and business storage. Wolf also hopes to get $200 million from a leaseback deal for the Pennsylvania Farm Show Complex & Expo Center in Harrisburg. Cuts target different areas, including a $31 million annual appropriation for the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine and $50 million of student transportation reimbursements made possible by lower gas prices. Combining four state agencies into the Department of Health and Human Services will save another $91 million. Republicans said they appreciated Wolf's attention to cutting costs but questioned proposals for one-time revenues and the apparent lack of solutions for the state's underfunded public pension system, growth in Medicaid spending and long-term spending. "This proposed budget falls short of addressing the real issues in state government," said Senate Majority Leader Jake Corman in a statement. Wolf also suggested imposing a $25 fee per resident in municipalities that use the state police for local law enforcement. Currently, they are paid for through the gasoline tax. Story continues In addition, he proposed lowering corporate taxes beginning on Jan. 1, 2019 to 8.99 percent from 9.99 percent, currently the second-highest rate in the country. Budget Secretary Randy Albright said in a briefing with reporters that the lower tax rate would be offset by the elimination of the so-called Delaware loophole - when Pennsylvania corporations avoid corporate income tax by setting up a holding company in Delaware, which does not have the tax. Wolf's spending plan is $571 million, or 1.8 percent, above the current budget and must be approved by lawmakers before the July 1 start of the fiscal year. (Reporting by David DeKok in Harrisburg; Editing by Hilary Russ and James Dalgleish) UPDATE: 6:05 p.m. EST House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said Monday President Donald Trump has been reckless and incompetent in his first two weeks in office, but has done nothing impeachable. When and if he breaks the law, that is when something like that would come up. But thats not the subject of today, she said in response to comments from Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif. pelosi Photo: Kevin Lamarque/Reuters Original story More than 600,000 people have called for the impeachment of U.S. President Donald Trump by signing a petition on the Impeach Trump Now website, citing violations of the U.S. Constitution. The president is not above the law. We will not allow President Trump to profit from the presidency at the expense of our democracy, the petitions header reads. As of 3:49 p.m. EST Monday, 611,214 people had signed the petition. The document goes on to say the nation is witnessing a massive corruption of the presidency far worse than Watergate, which proved the undoing of Richard Nixon, who resigned rather than face trial in the Senate in 1974. Nixon White House counsel John Dean has told reporters that the level of corruption in the Nixon administration does pales compared to the level of corruption we already know about Trump. The petition cites violations of the emoluments clause of the constitution, which bars gifts and payments from foreign governments as well as from the federal government or any U.S. state. Trumps plan for separating himself from his businesses is totally inadequate, states the petition, launched by Free Speech For People and RootsAction.org on Inauguration Day. Norman Solomon, co-founder of RootsAction and a Bernie Sanders delegate to the Democratic National Convention, in an op-ed piece in the Hill Monday, called on a resolute member of the House to initiate impeachment proceedings, which he said should also investigate whether Trump is in violation of the Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge Act, which unlike most laws also covers the president. Story continues A crucial test for democracy is whether people in high places can violate the law with impunity. For democracy in the United States, the biggest danger is unchecked presidential ability to violate the Constitution, Solomon wrote. impeachment Photo: Patrick T. Fallon/Reuters A poll by Public Policy Polling indicated 40 percent of voters would be in favor of impeaching Trump, up from 35 percent before the inauguration, while 48 percent were opposed. Usually a newly elected President is at the peak of their popularity and enjoying their honeymoon period after taking office right now, said Dean Debnam, president of Public Policy Polling. But Donald Trumps making history once again with a sizeable share of voters already wanting to impeach him, and a majority of voters wishing they could have [former President] Barack Obama back. Much of the dissatisfaction with Trump stems from his executive order on immigration. Americans think last weeks executive order is a Muslim ban and they dont like it, Debnam said. And beyond that, they think the order was executed in an incompetent fashion. The order has been blocked by a federal judge and an appeals court, which refused to countermand the judges order, is considering briefs on the issue. Trump rejected both the legitimacy of the order and the poll, saying, people want border security and extreme vetting and it will be U.S. District Judge James Robarts fault if a terrorist attack is committed in the United States. Beyond immigration, those queried were critical of White House political strategist Stephen Bannon, took a dim view of Trumps pronouncements on voter fraud and are critical of the funding plan for a wall across the U.S. border with Mexico. Also attitudes are changing on whether the Affordable Care Act should be repealed. Related Articles By Enrico Dela Cruz MANILA (Reuters) - A Philippine mining industry body said it will file a freedom of information request on Tuesday to press the government to release the results of a mining audit, following an order to close over half of the country's mines. Environment and Natural Resources Secretary Regina Lopez last week ordered 23 mines to shut permanently, even though a team that reviewed an audit of 41 mines had recommended suspensions and fines for environmental violations, rather than closure, sources told Reuters. The Chamber of Mines of the Philippines said it wants to get all the information related to the audit to know exactly what the violations were that led to the closure orders. "This is quite a shock to everybody in the industry," the chamber's chairman Artemio Disini told a press conference. In an interview with Reuters on Monday, Lopez said she will not reconsider her decision, saying the Philippines was "unfit for mining" due to its unique ecosystem. Lopez launched the environmental mine audit in July, initially suspending 10 and saying 20 more were at risk of being halted. A long-time environmentalist, she took over the department that oversees the mining sector last June when tough-talking President Rodrigo Duterte came to power. Duterte, who has said that the Philippines can survive without a mining industry, has thrown his support behind Lopez's decision. She will present it formally at a cabinet meeting on Tuesday. Less than a month after he took office, Duterte ordered all agencies directly under his watch to open their records to the public as part of his promise to crack down on corruption and promote transparency in government. "If she still refuses to release the audit results, then clearly she is going against the Duterte administration's mandate to promote transparency in government," the chamber's spokesperson, Ronald Recidoro, said in the same briefing. (Reporting by Enrico dela Cruz; Writing by Karen Lema; Editing by Richard Pullin) The first month of the New Year is over, but it's not too late to commit to the best health decision you can ever make. It goes like this: Follow the science, and avoid suspending disbelief when it comes to health claims. This involves doing the same diligence on health claims of marketed products as you would for the most serious life decisions, such as marriage, career, home buying and financial investments. Call this the "anti-Dr. Oz" philosophy. The media and marketplace are rife with exaggerated and false claims about all manner of health promoting and curative remedies, including for weight loss, brain enhancement, longevity, body building and sculpting, sexual virility, immune system activation, illness prevention, pain management and sleep induction, to name a few. These advertisements persuade millions of people to spend billions of dollars annually on nutritional supplements, neutraceuticals, gastrointestinal hygienics, homeopathic and holistic remedies, and "Rube Goldberg" devices for which no proof of effectiveness exists. Not only is there little-to-no scientific evidence supporting such claims, but the level of quality control of the products' ingredients or the device's components is much lower than for Food and Drug Administration-approved pharmaceuticals and devices. [See: 8 Questions to Ask Your Pharmacist.] Even looser is the monitoring of false advertising used to promote these products. The bandwidth of the FDA, Federal Trade Commission and Federal Communications Commission are too limited to effectively monitor and clamp down on every offender. It's only when some products are so egregiously blatant in their falsehoods, have grown so big or complaints are filed by disgruntled consumers that they get nailed. A recent example is a product called Prevagen. Prevagen is the trade name of an agent for memory enhancement in older adults produced by Quincy Biosciences. The active ingredient is a protein called apoaequorin, supposedly derived from a species of jellyfish. Prevagen's annual sales last year were $165 million. On Jan. 9, 2017, the FTC and New York State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman jointly filed a lawsuit in federal court accusing the company of false advertising. According to the complaint, since 2007 Quincy Biosciences relied on a single study to advertise and promote Prevagen as "clinically shown" to support "clearer thinking" and to "improve memory within 90 days." Despite these claims, the lawsuit alleges that the study Quincy cited as proof of efficacy failed to show a statistically significant improvement in the treatment group over the placebo group on any of the cognitive measures used. Story continues [See: 10 Questions Doctors Wish Their Patients Would Ask.] This is one example among thousands of similar instances, many of which are never prosecuted due to under-resourced and overwhelmed federal regulatory systems. Because of the tremendous interest in so-called "naturopathic" therapeutics by the American population, the federal government has instructed the National Institutes of Health to vet their authenticity. Thus, the NIH must allocate some of its scarce funding appropriated by Congress each year to the National Institute of Complementary and Alternative Medicine. As a researcher, I have participated in studies testing these substances (specifically, St. John's wort and Ginko Biloba). In my experience, these and other commonly used remedies, such as vitamin C, antioxidants, Echinacea and zinc (Cold-EEZE) have all been negative when tested in methodologically rigorous controlled trials. This is not to say that all naturopathics are ineffective. Research on compounds like flavinol (found in chocolate), resveratrol (in red wine), omega-3-fatty acids, various amino acids and nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide, for example, have shown promising results for various conditions. The question is how to administer them in optimal forms and at adequate doses. But the effort is worthwhile, as these compounds have been shown to be genuinely effective. Why do we do we suspend our usual common sense and skepticism when it comes to this important aspect of our lives? The reason is that we seem to have an irrational part of our being that wants to believe unfettered by reason and evidence, and avoid the hard mental work of analyzing and evaluating. This is why humans were given such an outsized brain -- to be creatures of reason, to control emotions and delay action pending informed decisions. There remains a primordial part of us that harbors the capacity for fantasy and desire for magical thinking. However, when we suspend our rational faculties and permit belief in miraculous cures, we are regressing toward our prehistoric ancestors. Clearly, there is a place and may be a need for homo sapiens to engage in magical thinking, but that place is likely reserved for spiritual beliefs and God, not acquisitions in the marketplace. [See: The 12 Best Heart-Healthy Diets.] So, starting now, resolve to base your important health decisions on credible scientific evidence, rather than unfounded claims and false advertising. The adage "if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is" applies to health claims, even though it's tempting to accept the illusory promise. We don't ignore laws, we ignore science at our own peril. Jeffrey Lieberman, MD, is a nationally-renowned psychiatrist at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, where he is the Lawrence E. Kolb professor and chairman of the Department of Psychiatry -- the largest department of psychiatry in the United States. He also directs the New York State Psychiatric Institute and is psychiatrist-in-chief of the New York Presbyterian Hospital. Dr. Lieberman is a past president of the American Psychiatric Association and is a member of numerous scientific organizations. In 2000, he was elected to the National Academy of Sciences Institute of Medicine. He is the author of "Shrinks: The Untold Story of Psychiatry" (Little Brown & Company, March 2015). The opinions expressed here are his own. PARIS (AP) Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said Tuesday that Israeli legislation to retroactively legalize thousands of West Bank settlement homes is an aggression against the Palestinian people. "That bill is contrary to international law," Abbas said following a meeting with French President Francois Hollande in Paris. "This is an aggression against our people that we will be opposing in international organizations". "What we want is peace... but what Israel does is to work toward one state based on apartheid," Abbas said. Hollande called on the Israeli government to go back on the bill approved by lawmakers late Monday, saying it would "pave the way for an annexation, de facto, of the occupied territories, which would be contrary to the two-state solution." Hours before Abbas' meeting with Hollande, Saeb Erekat, secretary general of the Palestinian Liberation Organization, told The Associated Press that the bill is "putting the last nail in the coffin of the two-state solution." The measure is the latest in a series of pro-settler steps taken by Israel's hard-line government since the election of Donald Trump as U.S. president. Calling the move "theft," Erekat said it was "the Israeli government trying to legalize looting Palestinian land". In his joint statement with Hollande, Abbas also warned against moving the U.S. Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, one of Trump's campaign promises. "Any move in that direction is an error and shouldn't be done prior to an agreement on a political solution", he said. Paris (AFP) - The Palestinian Liberation Organisation would immediately revoke its recognition of the state of Israel if the US moved its embassy in the country to Jerusalem, a senior Palestinian official said Tuesday. "If the Americans or anybody else move the embassy, it is a fait accompli, a recognition of the annexation of East Jerusalem. Period," chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erakat said during a visit to Paris. "For us Palestinians, it's meaningless to have a Palestinian state without East-Jerusalem as a capital. "If we wake up one morning, turn on Fox News or CNN and find that somebody signed the decision to move the embassy, the same day the PLO recognition of Israel will be revoked," he warned. The status of Jerusalem is one of the thorniest issues in the seven-decade conflict between Israel and the Palestinians. The Palestinians regard Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem as the capital of their future state, while Israel proclaims the entire city as its capital. Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas last month warned US President Donald Trump, before his inauguration, against implementing a campaign pledge to move the embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Abbas warned such a move would "destroy the prospects of any political process, bury the hopes for a two-state solution, and fuel extremism in our region, as well as worldwide." Erakat said that if the embassy were moved, the Palestinians would "ask the Israeli occupation power to resume its responsibility." "They don't need to send us money because it's the responsibility of the occupying power to pay the salaries. Then we will go to the UN to tell them that this country is not abiding by resolutions, by any international law and we want to suspend its membership until it behaves." (WASHINGTON) President Donald Trumps nominee for labor secretary said Tuesday that a housekeeper he had previously employed at his home was an undocumented worker, potentially complicating his efforts to get confirmed. Andrew Puzder said in a statement that he and his wife employed a housekeeper for a few years and they were unaware she was not legally permitted to work in the U.S. When I learned of her status, we immediately ended her employment and offered her assistance in getting legal status, Puzder said. We have fully paid back taxes to the IRS and the State of California. Puzder, a fast food chain executive, is one of several Cabinet picks by Trump who has yet to be confirmed and this latest revelation could potentially throw his efforts off course. Democrats and their allies have already been rushing to exploit Puzders record opposing a big increase in the minimum wage, overtime rules and more as they question how well he would advocate for American workers. Puzder outsourced his fast-food companys technology department to the Philippines, a move that contradicts Trumps vow to keep American jobs in the U.S. A filing with the Labor Department on Puzders company and a spokesmans acknowledgement that CKE continues to use the IT operation in the Philippines provides a window into a key contradiction raised by the nomination. Trump has blasted, threatened and tried to charm American companies that have moved jobs overseas or consider it, saying hes sticking up for American workers who arent feeling the economic recovery and form his political base. Donald Trump offered his help to a Texas sheriff feuding with a state senator, on Tuesday, volunteering to destroy the politicians career. Sheriff Harold Eavenson of Rockwall County, a major figure in the National Sheriffs Association, was one of a group of law enforcement officials to meet with Trump and a number of White House officials on Tuesday. He expressed frustration with a state senator in Texas who wants to change asset forfeiture law. He was talking about introducing legislation to require conviction before we can receive that forfeiture money, Eavenson said, and I told him that the cartel would build a monument to him in Mexico if he could get that legislation passed. Who is the state senator? Trump responded. Do you want to give his name? Well destroy his career? The quip was met with laughter in the room. A White House spokesperson said the president was only joking. Melissa McCarthys takedown of White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer on Saturday Night Live has reportedly struck a nerve with President Trump. Read: Surfs Up! Obama All Smiles as He Goes Kitesurfing for the First Time in 8 Years Trump is upset at Spicer being portrayed by a woman, Politico has reported. "Trump doesn't like his people to look weak," a source close to the president told the site. Politico reporter Josh Dawsey told Inside Edition: "Unanimously, people said that he was not amused by Saturday Night Live, which he watches every week." McCarthys spoof of Spicer, Alec Baldwin's portrayal of Trump and Kate McKinnons Kellyanne Conway has social media on fire over who might appear on SNL as Trump's top aide, the controversial Steve Bannon, who is on the cover of this week's Time magazine. Rosie O'Donnell is now responding to calls for her to take on the Bannon role. Available - if called I will serve!!! she tweeted. The president blasted the media again during a meeting with local sheriffs at the White House. "I understand the total dishonesty of the media better than anybody and I let people know it," he said. What may have set him off this was a recent report in The New York Times that he spends nights alone at the White House watching cable TV news in a bathrobe. Spicer denounced the story saying, claiming that the president "doesnt own a bathrobe." Read: Obama Supports Protesters in His First Post-Presidential Remarks: 'American Values Are at Stake' Citizen sleuths, however, have found decades-old photos of Trump in which he is donning a bathrobe, and posted them on social media. "We stand by our story," a Times spokesperson told Inside Edition. Watch: Trump Press Secretary Sean Spicer Says Melissa McCarthy Could 'Dial Back' Her 'SNL' Impression Related Articles: Madrid (AFP) - Spain's public prosecutor asked for a seven-month prison sentence to be handed down to Atletico Madrid's French defender Lucas Hernandez, Spanish media said Monday. Hernandez, 20, was arrested Friday after his girlfriend was taken to hospital with minor injuries following an altercation between the pair. Neither party made a complaint against the other but the public prosecutor has asked for both to be sentenced, with Hernandez's partner facing a six month sanction. Even if convicted, neither will likely spend any time behind bars as sentences under two years are normally suspended for first-time offenders in Spain. "The public prosecutor accuses the Atletico Madrid defender of having committed a presumed act of domestic violence and causing light injuries," said Madrid's High Court in a statement. Pending their trial, the two have been banned from being within 500 metres of each other. Hernandez and his younger brother Theo, 19 and on loan from Atletico to Alaves, are both French youth internationals. The reaction to Betsy DeVos confirmation as education secretary on Tuesday was fast and mostly furious, with celebrities and Democratic politicians unleashing outrage on social media, and a sprinkling of supporters including President Donald Trump and Jeb Bush congratulating DeVos on her narrow win. Despite a rare, all-night protest by Senate Democrats on Monday night that carried into Tuesday morning, DeVos was confirmed by Senate in a 51-50 vote, with Vice President Mike Pence casting a historic, tie-breaking ballot. DeVos, a wealthy GOP donor, has been widely criticized for weeks for her multiple conflicts of interest and her apparent lack knowledge of basic education policy. As DeVos was confirmed on Tuesday, hundreds of New York City high school and college students walked out of class and gathered in Manhattans Foley Square in protest of Trump and his executive order temporarily banning refugees and people from seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the U.S. According to Gothamist, the protesters also booed DeVos coinciding confirmation after one student speaker shouted, Betsy DeVos was confirmed today despite her shameful inexperience and complete lack of understanding for the very job she seeks. Others took to social media to speak out against DeVos confirmation. To all who are angry or frustrated about today's vote confirming DeVos, please know: the vote may be over, but our fight must continue. pic.twitter.com/QHFveiRv9d Sen. Cory Booker (@SenBookerOffice) February 7, 2017 Elementary math under Betsy Devos Q: Ned and Sheryl each have 4 apples. Who has more apples? A: Whomever Mike Pence decides has more apples. Stephen Colbert (@StephenAtHome) February 7, 2017 Betsy DeVos confirmed. What is also confirmed is that there is not one single man of courage in the Republican Congress. Seth MacFarlane (@SethMacFarlane) February 7, 2017 I wouldn't trust Betsy Devos with my dry cleaning. This is a very sad day. The @GOP are such money grubbing cowards. Shameful. billy eichner (@billyeichner) February 7, 2017 Congradgulations to Betsy DeVos! Childrens need learning go give them learning Betsy!!!!! Patton Oswalt (@pattonoswalt) February 7, 2017 The U.S. Senate Republicans who just put through the most unqualified Education Secretary in our history have just betrayed our kids. F#*k U https://t.co/wRPLbq3zjQ Josh Gad (@joshgad) February 7, 2017 Meanwhile, the president took to Twitter to congratulate his controversial pick for education secretary: Story continues His presidential primary rival, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, also voiced his support for DeVos, as did former Republican House Speaker Newt Gingrich. Senate confirmation of Betsy DeVos is real victory for parents and children choosing schools they need.victory for Pres Trump and America Newt Gingrich (@newtgingrich) February 7, 2017 I congratulate @BetsyDeVos on her confirmation as our nations next Secretary of Education. The President made an excellent choice. https://t.co/BEdEJoL7AK Jeb Bush (@JebBush) February 7, 2017 DeVos herself address the Senates heated debate over her nomination in a tweet following her confirmation. I appreciate the Senate's diligence & am honored to serve as @usedgov Secretary. Let's improve options & outcomes for all US students. Betsy DeVos (@BetsyDeVos) February 7, 2017 I appreciate the Senates diligence & am honored to serve as @usedgov Secretary. Lets improve options & outcomes for all US students, she wrote. Brussels (AFP) - Britain must pay to leave the EU in the same way as friends going to the pub must pay for their round of drinks, the European Commission said Tuesday. Margaritis Schinas, a spokesman for Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker, said the divorce bill is an "essential element" of an orderly Brexit. "It is like going to the pub with 27 friends," Schinas told a daily briefing. "You order a round of beer but then you cannot leave while the party continues, you still have to pay for the round you ordered." Britain's former ambassador to the EU said last week that the EU is set to demand up to 60 billion euros ($64 billion) from Britain to settle outstanding budget commitments. EU sources confirmed the figure to AFP. Britain estimates the figure at closer to 20 billion, they added. Schinas would not confirm the figure, saying that "technical work was ongoing". But he added: "During the time of its membership the UK has taken and probably will take financial commitments. These commitments should be fulfilled in full. "This will be an essential element of the negotiations on the orderly separation." Senior EU negotiators met on Monday to discuss their preparations ahead of Britain's expected triggering of the two-year divorce process in March. They discussed Britain's financial services industry and the rights of EU citizens in Britain and vice versa, Schinas said. French Prime Minister Bernard Cazeneuve became the latest senior European figure on Monday to declare that Britain must agree to pay the bill before negotiations on a future trade deal can start. Cazeneuve and Juncker, who met in Brussels, agreed that the terms of any eventual deal cannot be better than those of membership of the EU, they said. Moscow (AFP) - A Russian opposition politician in a coma with organ failure suffered "acute poisoning" by an unknown substance, his wife said Tuesday, two years after a suspected poisoning nearly killed him. Kremlin critic Vladimir Kara-Murza has been on a ventilator and undergoing renal dialysis since he was hospitalised after collapsing in Moscow on Thursday. "His condition is critical but stable," his wife Yevgeniya Kara-Murza told AFP. "The official diagnosis is acute poisoning by an unidentified substance," she said. There has so far been no confirmation of foul play but the activist's wife said samples have been sent to laboratories in France and Israel to ascertain the origin of the poisoning after tests in Russia revealed "nothing". The 35-year-old Kara-Murza was hospitalised in 2015 and diagnosed with acute kidney failure in connection with poisoning and tests found high levels of heavy metals in his blood. He asked Russia's Investigative Committee to probe whether he had suffered intentional poisoning but no criminal case was opened. Kara-Murza was an ally of the late opposition politician Boris Nemtsov, who was shot dead close to the Kremlin in 2015. Until last year he was deputy chairman of the Parnas liberal party led by former prime minister turned Kremlin critic Mikhail Kasyanov. He now works as a coordinator for the Open Russia foundation of Mikhail Khodorkovsky, a former oil tycoon who served a decade in jail after openly opposing President Vladimir Putin. Kara-Murza's father last week told the Moskovsky Komsomolets daily that his son's latest collapse could be a result of the earlier incident. "It's just that the poisoning two years ago didn't pass without a trace. My son's health is weakened," said Kara-Murza's father, who is also called Vladimir. Kara-Murza's hospitalisation drew the attention of hawkish US senators who used it to warn new President Donald Trump against getting too cosy with Russian President Vladimir Putin. In 2016 Chechen strongman and Kremlin loyalist Ramzan Kadyrov prompted outrage by posting a video on Instagram of Kara-Murza and Parnas party leader Kasyanov in the cross hairs of a sniper scope. SYDNEY (Reuters) - Qatar Airways Chief Executive Akbar Al Baker on Tuesday said he expected U.S. President Donald Trump would eventually relax a travel ban targeting seven predominantly Muslim countries, New Zealand media reported. The travel ban, Trump's most controversial act since taking office last month, was halted temporarily on Friday following a ruling by a U.S. judge, but it affected some of the airline's passengers. Al Baker said he expected Trump's business talent would prevail when it came to trade between the U.S. and Gulf countries. "I think we still need to give him some time to see how it is to run a superpower country," Al Baker told media in New Zealand, according to a Fairfax Media report. He was speaking after the airline launched one of the world's longest flights from Doha to Auckland. "I'm sure he will realize in the long run that the Gulf countries are contributing hugely to the economy of the United States." Al Baker has previously appeared at events with Trump and last year described him as "a friend" to CNN. "President Trump is trying to protect the interests of his country the same way I am trying to protect the interests of my country and my airline," Al Baker said on Tuesday. On Jan. 27, Trump suspended the entry of nationals from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen, and all refugees. The ban caught the airline industry off guard, with some carriers forced to re-roster flight crew. (Reporting by Jamie Freed) Skeletal remains found in a shallow Texas grave have been identified as those of a missing 22-year-old college student, authorities said. Investigators have been searching for Zuzu Verk, a biology student at Sul Ross State University, since she vanished October 11 after going to the movies with her boyfriend, Robert Fabian. Read: Remains Found During Campus Search for College Student Missing More Than 20 Years Police have considered him a person of interest in Verks disappearance, but he has refused to cooperate with detectives, authorities said. She was reported missing the next day when she failed to show up for work and for a college exam. He was arrested Saturday, less than 24 hours after a Border Patrol agent stumbled upon Verks remains in a rural, southwest expanse of the state, officials said. Its a disgrace. And to think that in such a shallow grave, that the animals wouldnt have eventually dug the body out they werent thinking. I guess they arent as smart as they think they are, Brewster County Sheriff Ronny Dodson said of the perpetrators. Fabian, 26, has been charged with tampering with evidence by concealing a human corpse, said Dodson, speaking to reporters Monday. conference. He is being held in lieu of $500,000 bail and additional charges are expected to be filed, Dodson said. A friend of Fabians, Chris Estrada, has been charged with the same offense and is awaiting extradition from Arizona, the sheriff said. Why was she killed? And exactly how? Those are the big questions now, Dodson said. Read: College Student, 21, Who Vanished After Saying She Was Taking an Uber Is Found Safe Forensic pathologists used dental records to identify the body, he said. Neither Fabian nor Estrada has commented publicly since their arrests. They have not entered pleas. Verk and Fabian went to the movies on the night she vanished, authorities said. Neighbors later heard the couple arguing in Fabians apartment that night, investigators said. Story continues As our family awaits the likely news that our worst fears have been realized, our sorrow has grown alongside a sense of relief from the constant state of not knowing, Glenn Verk, the victims father, said Monday in a statement, The Associated Press reported. Watch: Mom and 2 Kids Missing After Mother Goes on Blind Date Related Articles: WASHINGTON (AP) It was only a few months ago when Republicans routinely blasted the president for what they called his executive overreach and his failure to tout America's superiority over other nations. Not so much anymore. Now that Barack Obama is out of the White House, Republicans have become noticeably quiet on a host of issues that used to spark their criticism. In the last few days, President Donald Trump's actions have thrown the spotlight on three things Republicans don't seem to mind now that their fellow Republican is in charge: RELYING ON EXECUTIVE ACTION: For years, Republicans skewered Obama for allegedly ruling by fiat, accusing him of acting like an "emperor" for using executive orders to push through his agenda. That was especially true when it came to Obama's decision to protect from deportation more than 700,000 young immigrants who were brought to the U.S. as children. But now that Trump is in the White House, their tune has changed. Trump has spent his first weeks in office relying on executive action to make good on a long list of campaign promises. Most controversial: His order suspending the country's refugee program and blocking immigration from seven majority-Muslim countries, which is now held up in court. Asked recently if President Trump was doing the same thing as Obama, House Speaker Paul Ryan scoffed. "It's quite the opposite," he told reporters at a recent GOP retreat, arguing that Obama had exceeded his power and that Trump was merely trying to reverse it. "He's restoring the proper balance," said Ryan. "And in our opinion he is undoing a lot of damage that was done by the last president, who exceeded his power." ___ FAILING TO EMBRACE AMERICAM EXCEPTIONALISM: It was a running theme during Obama's tenure: The president, Republicans would argue, failed to embrace a brand of "American exceptionalism" that sees the U.S. as morally superior to other nations. "We have a president right now who thinks America's just another nation," once-GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney said during a 2011 primary debate. "America is an exceptional nation." Story continues Obama defended himself, saying in 2014 that he believed "in American exceptionalism with every fiber of my being." Trump doesn't seem worried about the criticism. In an interview with Fox News Channel's Bill O'Reilly that aired over the weekend, Trump dismissed concerns about befriending Russian President Vladimir Putin. "But he's a killer though. Putin's a killer," O'Reilly said. "We've got a lot of killers," Trump responded. "Boy, you think our country's so innocent?" Pressed on the exchange in an interview with CBS'S "Face the Nation," Vice President Mike Pence stumbled on the question of whether he and the president think America is morally superior to Russia. But he eventually said: "I believe that the ideals that America has stood for throughout our history represent the highest ideals of humankind." ___ CRITICIZING THE JUDICIARY: In 2010, President Obama delivered a rare, in-person rebuke of the Supreme Court. During his State of the Union speech, with justices sitting in the audience, Obama criticized the court's decision in the Citizens United campaign finance case. Obama opened his remarks by saying his criticism was "with all due deference to separation of powers," but then argued the ruling reversed "a century of law" that would open the floodgates to money from special interests. Critics decried the move as a breach of decorum that politicized the court. And Trump has launched his own offensive against the judiciary branch with personal attacks on the federal judge who halted his immigration order. "The opinion of this so-called judge, which essentially takes law-enforcement away from our country, is ridiculous and will be overturned!" Trump tweeted over the weekend. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said on CNN that it was likely "best to avoid criticizing judges individually." But Pence defended the president's actions, telling NBC's "Meet the Press" that "the president of the United States has every right to criticize the other two branches of government." __ Follow Colvin on Twitter athttps://twitter.com/colvinj Scientists look to flying animals birds, bats and insects for inspiration when they design airborne drones. But researchers are also investigating how to use technology to interact with, and even guide, animals as they fly, enhancing the unique adaptations that allow them to take to the air. To that end, engineers have fitted dragonflies with tiny, backpack-mounted controllers that issue commands directly to the neurons controlling the insects' flight. This project, known as DragonflEye, uses optogenetics, a technique that employs light to transmit signals to neurons. And researchers have genetically modified dragonfly neurons to make them more light-sensitive, and thereby easier to control through measured light pulses. [7 Animals That Wore Backpacks for Science] Dragonflies have large heads, long bodies and two pairs of wings that don't always flap in sync, according to a 2007 study published in the journal Physical Review Letters. The study authors found that dragonflies maximize their lift when they flap both sets of wings together, and they hover by flapping their wing pairs out of synch, though at the same rate. Meanwhile, separate muscles controlling each of their four wings allow dragonflies to dart, hover and turn on a dime with exceptional precision, scientists found in 2014. Researchers used high-speed video footage to track dragonfly flight and build computer models to better understand the insects' complex maneuvers, presenting their findings at the 67th Annual Division of Fluid Dynamics meeting, according to a statement released by the American Physical Society in November 2014. DragonflEye sees these tiny flight masters as potentially controllable flyers that would be "smaller, lighter and stealthier than anything else that's manmade," Jesse Wheeler, a biomedical engineer at the Charles Stark Draper Laboratory (CSDL) in Massachusetts and principal investigator on the DragonflEye program, said in a statement. Story continues A close-up of the backpack board and components before being folded and fitted to the dragonfly. Charles Stark Draper Laboratory The project is a collaboration between the CSDL, which has been developing the backpack that controls the dragonfly, and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI), where experts are identifying and enhancing "steering" neurons located in the dragonfly's nerve cord, inserting genes that make it more responsive to light. "This system pushes the boundaries of energy harvesting, motion sensing, algorithms, miniaturization and optogenetics, all in a system small enough for an insect to wear," Wheeler said. Even smaller than the dragonfly backpack are components created by CSDL called optrodes optical fibers supple enough to wrap around the dragonfly's nerve cord, so that engineers can target only the neurons related to flight, CSDL representatives explained in a statement. And in addition to controlling insect flight, the tiny, flexible optrodes could have applications in human medicine, Wheeler added. "Someday these same tools could advance medical treatments in humans, resulting in more effective therapies with fewer side effects," Wheeler said. "Our flexible optrode technology provides a new solution to enable miniaturized diagnostics, safely access smaller neural targets and deliver higher precision therapies." Original article on Live Science. Editor's Recommendations BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) Romania's president told lawmakers Tuesday that the country is in a "fully-fledged" political crisis, after hundreds of thousands demonstrated against a government measure that would weaken the country's anti-corruption drive. In an address to Parliament, President Klaus Iohannis, a critic of the two-month-old government, said the majority of Romanians now believed the country was going in the wrong direction. "Romania needs a government that is transparent, which governs predictably by the light of day, not sneakily at night," the president said, referring to the late hour the government passed an emergency ordinance last week aimed at decriminalizing some forms of official corruption. The move which bypassed Parliament and was not signed off by Iohannis, who has limited powers ignited the biggest protests seen since communism ended in the country in 1989. As a result, the government will now seek to introduce the plan in Parliament. Thousands gathered for the eighth consecutive evening in Victory Square outside the government offices, shouting "Social Democratic Party, the red plague!" and "Resign!" In smaller numbers, about 2,000 protesters gathered outside the presidential palace yelling "Get out, you traitor!" Iohannis, who was elected in 2014 by direct vote, was chairman of the opposition Liberal Party. He quit the party that year to stand as president. He has been critical of the government headed by Prime Minister Sorin Grindeanu, which came into being after the December parliamentary elections. The government "has been saying publicly I can't stomach the result of the vote ... that I'd overturn a legitimate government," Iohannis said. "That's false. You won, now govern and legislate, but not at any price." Some lawmakers booed and shouted "shame on you!" at Iohannis and walked out. Other lawmakers cheered. Story continues Despite the crisis, Iohannis said Romania didn't need early elections, a view the government shares. Liviu Dragnea, chairman of the governing Social Democratic Party, and Senate speaker Calin Popescu Tariceanu refused to greet the president when he arrived at Parliament. In his speech, Iohannis pressed ahead with an earlier initiative to hold a referendum on another government initiative to pardon prisoners. Critics say the proposal will help government allies convicted of corruption. Dragnea, the main power broker behind the government, expressed disappointment Iohannis did not deliver a "speech of unity," and said "he should leave the government alone, to govern." The body of the late Dr. Margaret Mungherera is expected to arrive in the country this afternoon. According to the Acting Director General of Health Services, Dr. Anthony Mbonye, the deceaseds body is expected to arrive at Entebbe International Airport at 2:00pm. Mbonye adds that a requiem mass will be held on Thursday at the All Saints Cathedral Nakasero at 10:00am and later a vigil will be held at her parents home in Mpererwe in Kampala. On Saturday, the body of the late Mungherera will be laid to rest at her ancestral home in Butalejja. Dr. Margaret Mungherera who has been a long serving medical practitioner in the field of psychiatry and the first African woman to head the World Medical Association succumbed to cancer of the colon in India on Saturday where she had gone for treatment. Bucharest (AFP) - Romanian President Klaus Iohannis on Tuesday rebuked the leftwing government for doing "too little" to resolve the crisis rocking the country over a corruption decree, but stopped short of calling for its resignation. Hundreds of thousands of people have been taking part in protests against an emergency decree approved on January 31, which critics say would have protected the corrupt from prosecution. Prime Minister Sorin Grindeanu scrapped the measure on Sunday, but the marches have continued, with some demonstrators vowing they would not stop until the government stepped down. "The repeal of the decree and the possible sacking of a minister is too little," Iohannis told lawmakers in Bucharest. However "early elections at this stage are too much", he added, with the Social Democrat party (PSD) winning a resounding election victory only in December. Instead, Iohannis said, the onus was now on the Social Democrats to find a solution. "If the PSD, which has created this crisis, fails to resolve the crisis immediately, I will summon all the political parties for talks," the president warned. "You've won, now govern and legislate -- but not at any price. Romania needs a strong government, a government that works in a transparent and predictable manner." PSD lawmakers angrily shouted at Iohannis during his speech before leaving the room. Half a million people took to the streets across the country on Sunday, in the biggest demonstrations since the fall of communism in 1989. The crowds have become noticeably smaller, but bigger protests are expected over the weekend. On Tuesday night, around 3,000 anti-government protestors rallied outside parliament, chanting, "Day after day, we will be here" and unfurling a long banner demanding "clean and competent government." Around 2,000 supporters of the government gathered outside the presidential palace, calling Iohannis a "traitor" who had divided the country by fomenting demonstrations. Story continues The government has so far remained defiant. Grindeanu on Monday called for calm, stressing that the PSD has "a responsibility to the people who voted for us" and would stay. The government still also aims, via a separate decree to be reviewed by parliament, to free some 2,500 people serving prison sentences of less than five years. Grindeanu has argued the measures were meant to bring penal law into line with the constitution in the European Union member state and reduce overcrowding in prisons. But critics see the moves as a brazen attempt to let off the many lawmakers who have been ensnared in a major anti-corruption drive in recent years, as Romania seeks to shed its reputation as one of the bloc's most graft-riddled countries. With Alec Baldwin playing Donald Trump and now Melissa McCarthy portraying White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer, Saturday Night Live has landed some truly memorable celebrity cameos for their political sketches. If theyre in the market for another high-profile comedic turn in the future, however, Rosie ODonnell is volunteering as tribute. Following a Politico report on the White Houses alleged response to this weeks SNL parodies, people on the internet started dreamcasting the White House roles, with one interesting idea: casting Rosie ODonnell as Steve Bannon. ODonnell for her part, is ready and willing to step up to the role if duty calls. The actor, a long-time foe of Trump, responded on Twitter to fans who suggested that she take on a Bannon parody on Monday, writing that she was available if called, I will serve! available if called i will serve !!! https://t.co/LT84EJjfsw ROSIE (@Rosie) February 7, 2017 @calvininsf i am here to serve alec has trump melissa has spice i would need a few days to prepare so if called i will be ready ROSIE (@Rosie) February 7, 2017 The actress later reminded fans that this was just an idea and that nothing was definite. The Kremlin expressed its opposition Monday to the White House's aggressive approach toward Russia's Middle East ally, Iran, while hoping to maintain good relations with both countries. Speaking to reporters, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said he disagreed with Trump's labeling of Iran as "the number one terrorist state" and Washington's accusations that Tehran is responsible for destabilizing the region via its support of allied militias and political movements abroad. Russia and Iran are allied with Syrian President Bashar Assad in the country's nearly six-year civil war and the two nations have grown closer diplomatically in recent years. "Russia has friendly partner-like relations with Iran, we cooperate on a wide range of issues, value our trade ties, and hope to develop them further," Peskov said, according to Reuters. "It's no secret for anyone that Moscow and Washington hold diametrically opposed views on many international issues," he added, suggesting that the two nations could still establish better relations. President Donald Trump has said he supports forging closer ties with Russia, even suggesting the two nations cooperate on international foreign policy issues. However, he has been a vocal critic of Iran's regional influence and the 2015 nuclear treaty signed by the U.S., Iran and a number of other countries under former President Barack Obama. The deal, which was championed by liberals and caused outrage among conservatives in both countries, saw Iran agree to significantly limit its nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief. Russia, which Obama routinely criticized on a number of major foreign policy issues, backed the White House's efforts to negotiate the 2015 deal, while Trump blasted the initiative as being too easy on Iran. Trump has since reportedly moved to increase sanctions on Iran and criticized Tehran over a ballistic missile test Sunday, which Iran maintains was not designed to carry a nuclear warhead and therefore did not violate the nuclear treaty. Trump has also pledged to renegotiate the multilateral deal, which Iranian leadership maintained is not possible. Story continues "Don't try to fix what isn't broken," Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov told Moscow-based Security Index Journal in an interview Monday. "It would be an undesirable and negative turn of events that would only serve to pour oil on the flames in the Middle East." Moscow has so far tried to improve its relationship with Washington under Trump's administration, while maintaining its strategic partnership with Tehran. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov revealed to reporters Monday that he believed Iran should be part of an international coalition dedicated to fighting the Islamic State group, also known as ISIS. Russia has previously extended the same offer to Trump, who has said international cooperation to combat ISIS should be a priority. Related Articles MOSCOW It wasnt the slick video you would expect from a candidate running for president the suit was oversized, the camera work uneasy, and the IKEA-framed family pictures too contrived but its appearance in mid-December was a victory in itself. To stay under the radar of the Russian security services, locations had to be booked at the last minute, and the video itself was edited from hotel rooms. It was a remarkable coup. From a position of weakness, Alexei Navalny, the Kremlins most vocal critic, had managed to fire the starting pistol in Russias 2018 presidential campaign and present himself for a vacancy that no one, least of all Vladimir Putin, had advertised. But while Navalny kicked off the long race toward the March 2018 elections, its unlikely he will ever be allowed a head-to-head run against Putin. Forces are already moving against him. A Moscow technology firm has closed the campaigns crowd-funding account, apparently under pressure from state regulators. Top Kremlin figures have said they do not even consider his candidacy to be valid, citing disputed criminal convictions, which, under Russian law, would prevent him from running. Although the European Court of Human Rights has rendered a previous fraud verdict against Navalny as unlawful, that trial quickly reopened following the announcement of his candidacy. A new verdict is expected on Wednesday, and will likely settle the matter once and for all. I understand things wont be fair, Navalny told Foreign Policy in an interview in early January at his office, tucked away on the top floor of a business center in southeast Moscow. Dressed in jeans and sneakers, the onetime lawyer, anti-corruption activist, and opposition politician seemed keen to present a relaxed demeanor. In the course of my political career, Ive always had to deal with bogus criminal cases. Its the Kremlins preferred method, he says. Navalnys decision to run for the presidency the first time he has dared to do so puts him firmly in the crosshairs of the Kremlin. The political outsider has weathered pressure from the authorities and managed to emerge from previous trumped-up legal proceedings relatively intact. But given the clear authoritarian slide in Russia that has accelerated since 2011, his latest gambit could be a kamikaze moment a final stand, perhaps, of a man out of options. Despite his troubles, Navalny insists that he is no dissident. Here I am in a nice office in central Moscow, drinking cappuccino and hiding from nobody, he quipped. I dont understand why I should be frightened. Let them be frightened by me. Why should I give my country over to a mafia group, mediocre gangsters from St. Petersburg who somehow managed to pull the wool over a drunk Yeltsins eyes? Navalny said, referring to how Putin and his inner circle came to power in the late 1990s. Defiant as ever, the presidential announcement was a matter of standing up for Russias constitutional rights, Navalny says, regardless of the consequences: They want everyone to play by their criminal rules, but Im not a man to stay quiet, even if surrounded by serious-looking men in black helmets. Left: Alexei Navalny takes a selfie during a memorial march marking the one-year anniversary of the assassination of Boris Nemtsov on Feb. 27, 2016. (Photo by KIRILL KUDRYAVTSEV/AFP/Getty Images) Right: Police officers arrest Navalny during a protest against Vladimir Putin's victory in presidential elections on Mar. 5, 2012. (Photo by ALEXANDER NEMENOV/AFP/Getty Images) A star is born Navalnys first challenge to the Kremlin was in December 2011. Then, he emerged as the central figure in an opposition movement born out of disputed parliamentary elections. He cut through the political field with highly memorable slogans such as his damning of the ruling United Russia Party as the party of crooks and thieves, which became somewhat of a national catchphrase, thrown around by giggling schoolchildren and pensioners alike. But it was with his audacious decision to lead his followers on a march to the Kremlin, on the night following the Dec. 4, 2011, elections, that he made his first claim to leadership. Ultimately, the opposition candidate proved unable to capitalize on the moment. As the protest movement began to wane over the first half of 2012, so too did his star. With the newly returned Putin at the helm, the Kremlin regrouped, clamped down, and found various, effective ways of dealing with its most problematic foe. This marked the start of Navalnys incessant legal problems. The cases ranged from the far-fetched to the bizarre. He was accused of stealing a poster, having an extremist blog, and acquiring his lawyer credentials illegally. One of his companies had supposedly stolen assets from a liberal opposition party; he had swindled the director of Kirovles, a timber company in the small city of Kirov. This is the case that most likely will be used to derail Navalny in court before the 2018 presidential contest. The endless stream of legal proceedings has kept Navalny busy which, of course, is the point. But at the time it also seemed inevitable he would be sent to jail. Indeed, in the first run of the Kirovles case in July 2013, a regional judge sensationally sentenced him to five years of hard labor. That would probably have been the end of Navalnys story, were it not for something rather unusual in modern Russia. Unsanctioned and largely uncoordinated, up to 30,000 Muscovites risked arrest and took to the streets to protest the ruling. Police, who had expected merely a few dozen faithful, were overwhelmed, and the Kremlin was forced to backtrack. An appeal was granted, and the following day, Navalny was on a train back from Kirov to Moscow. READ MORE The Trump effect comes to eastern Ukraine. CLICK HERE Putins masterstroke of nonretaliation CLICK HERE The decision to release me came from above. When they saw the numbers that turned out, they must have figured that we could be back to the situation of 2011-2012, and then they panicked, Navalny says. In the summer of 2013, he launched a bid to be mayor of the Russian capital, squaring off against Putin appointee and loyalist Sergei Sobyanin. Eventually, the Kremlin allowed Navalny to run, calculating that he would barely register with voters in controlled local elections. Vycheslav Volodin, the man charged with overseeing domestic politics in the wake of the protest movement, was bullish at the time. He said that when the internet hero Navalny met with reality, he could expect no more than 6 or 7 percent of the vote, Navalny recalls. Navalny proved Volodin wrong. Thousands of volunteers were signed up, Obama-style, to take the message to the people; the power of the internet was harnessed to the full; and Navalny worked himself into the ground, attending hundreds of events. According to official but disputed results, Navalny won 27 percent of the vote and nearly forced a runoff. From a cold start without significant mass media coverage, it was a remarkable achievement. Navalny says that the ballots were deliberately miscounted to deny a second round of voting, and had the election gone to a runoff, he believes he would have won. Riot police cordon off Triumfalnaya Square in central Moscow on Dec. 6, 2011 during a protest against Vladimir Putin's planned return as president. (Photo by KIRILL KUDRYAVTSEV/AFP/Getty Images) The crackdown widens Apparently, he wasnt the only one to think so. Soon after his strong showing in the mayoral election, the opposition leader was placed under house arrest and forbidden from communicating with the media. A little more than a year later, he faced another confused and contradictory court case, in which he was accused of defrauding a subsidiary of the cosmetics company Yves Rocher. Only this time, Navalnys younger brother, Oleg, was co-defendant in the trial. In a Shakespearean flourish, authorities made Oleg hostage to Navalnys fortune by imposing a custodial sentence on the younger brother alone and freeing Alexei. This was unprecedented stuff, even by Putins standards, says fellow opposition politician Ilya Yashin, a onetime colleague of Navalny in the centrist Yabloko Party. While opposition figures have been targeted in underhanded ways, their families have generally been off limits. When the oligarch Mikhail Khodorkovsky was released from prison, for example, he famously thanked Putin for not touching his family. With Navalny, however, the authorities have upped the stakes. Theres no fair play here. Navalnys brother is now behind bars, his parents businesses and apartments are being searched. Hes being followed, his wife is being followed, and security officials even follow his children, Yashin says. Its the kind of pressure not everyone can cope with. Navalny would not be the first opposition leader to be forced into a compromise with the Kremlin, nor would he be the first to leave the country. But his response thus far has been alien to normal Russian sensibilities. He has declared, at least publicly, that he will not follow what he considers criminal, unjust laws or understandings with the authorities. Shortly after the court convicted his brother, he tore off his home-arrest tag and set off for a meet-and-greet on the Moscow metro. His declaration for the presidency sets a similar challenge to accepted norms. On the eve of sentencing, he opened a new campaign headquarters in Russias second-largest city, St. Petersburg. Vladimir Putin delivers a speech at a rally in Moscow during the presidential campaign on Feb. 23, 2012. (Photo by YURI KADOBNOV/AFP/Getty Images) A useful idiot? Navalnys resilience has led some within the opposition to question whether he is not quite what he seems. Conspiracies swirl as to whether his opposition is somehow a bit too useful for the Kremlin. Few, after all, have managed to criticize those at the very top and survived to drink cappuccino. Sergei Magnitsky, a fellow lawyer who raised corruption concerns, is dead. Former Deputy Prime Minister Boris Nemtsov, the oppositions only other charismatic leader, was killed within sight of the Kremlin quite possibly in an act of independent entrepreneurship by a group looking to impress Putin. On Feb. 2, Nemtsovs ally, Vladimir Kara-Murza, was hospitalized following organ failure and rumored poisoning. In Russias anarchic system of outsourced state harassment, the physical dangers facing those who refuse to play by the political rules are arguably as acute as they have been since the death of former Soviet leader Josef Stalin in 1953. Navalny rejects the line that he is in cahoots with the government his brother is in prison, after all. The Kremlin makes its decisions based on what it can and cant do at any given time, he says. Maybe I was lucky in 2009-2010, when I wasnt too well known. Then, it was difficult to send me to jail. Its a different paradigm now. Were at war. Were shooting down passenger jets. Political consultant Gleb Pavlovsky a onetime Soviet dissident who famously chose a path of collaboration with the authorities, later becoming a senior Kremlin advisor suggests that Navalny is, in fact, playing a controlled game. On an intuitive level, he realizes Putin is watching him, and in a way he doesnt watch other opposition leaders like [Garry] Kasparov, [Mikhail] Kasyanov, or even Khodorkovsky, Pavlovsky says. Theres a corridor of what is and isnt allowed, and, by and large, Navalny is observing the rules. Navalnys move to enter the 2018 contest, however, has tested the limits. According to his legal team, the judge was initially told to deliver a custodial sentence though it now seems more likely that the sentence will be a repeat of the five-year probational sentence brought against him in 2013. The Kremlin certainly has plenty of tricks up its sleeve, too. Whether or not he is sent to prison, there is little chance Navalny will be allowed to take his big-city electoral appeal beyond Moscow and St. Petersburg. In a time of economic belt-tightening, the Kremlin is in no mood to experiment with liberalizing its system and giving an opportunity for Navalnys anti-corruption populism to catch on across Russia. You cant even compare todays Russia with the Russia of 2011. The comparisons that work are Belarus, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Zimbabwe, Navalny says. And, believe me, our express train is already speeding along rapidly down that route. Top Image Credit: KIRILL KUDRYAVTSEV/AFP/Getty Images BAKU, Azerbaijan (AP) A Russian blogger extradited by Belarus has been flown to Azerbaijan, where he faces charges related to his trip to a disputed ethnic Armenian region of the country. Alexander Lapshin was detained by police in Belarus in December. He was flown to Azerbaijan Tuesday and escorted out of the airport by law enforcement agents. Lapshin, who also holds Israeli citizenship, faces charges from his trip to Nagorno-Karabakh via Armenia several years ago. Nagorno-Karabakh is officially part of Azerbaijan. Since a separatist war ended in 1994, it has been under the control of forces that claim to be local ethnic Armenians but that Azerbaijan claims include Armenian troops. Settlement negotiations have failed and sporadic clashes continue. Russia opposed Belarus' decision to extradite Lapshin. The move comes amid tensions in Russia-Belarus ties. From Popular Mechanics Russia could arm its latest multi-role fighter jet with laser weaponry, reports The National Interest. In a conference call with Russian President Vladmir Putin, Yuri Slusar, director of United Aircraft Corporation, extolled the MiG-35's virtues and stated the new fighter jet could support this weapons technology. The MiG-35 is an upgrade of the 1980s-era MiG-29 "Fulcrum" multi-role fighter. According to Slusar, the MiG-35 was designed for "high-intensity conflict and dense air defenfe conditions." Slusar says the fighter has an all-new defense system, and its radar signature has been reduced several times over. It now has eight hardpoints for weapons, sensors, and fuel tanks, and its overall range has been doubled. Its radar can track up to 30 targets at once. As a revamp of an older design, one not designed from the ground up for stealth, the MiG-35 is described as a "4++ generation fighter" and not a 5th generation fighter like the F-22 Raptor and F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. Russia plans to procure 170 of the new jets, starting in 2018, while Egypt has 50 on order. Laser is an acronym that stands for "light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation." In the case of war, lasers can be used to blind optical sensors-including the human eye-or to destroy objects by heating them up to burning (or exploding) temperatures. Russia is the latest country to consider placing weaponized lasers on fighter planes, an increasingly viable trend as lasers become smaller and more lightweight. The nation has had a long interest in laser weapons dating back to the days of the Soviet Union. In the late 2000s, Russia was developing the Sokol Eshelon, a laser mounted on a heavy lift aircraft designed to blind satellites in orbit. Recent gains in solid state lasers have dramatically shrunk the size of lasers to the point where the U.S. Air Force is pushing to add them to the flying arsenal of AC-130 gunships, and defense contractor Lockheed Martin is weighing the idea of putting them on the F-35. You Might Also Like By Clement Uwiringiyimana NAIROBI (Reuters) - The Rwandan government plans next week to sell its 20 percent stake in I&M Bank operations in Rwanda, with the aim of raising 11.5 billion francs ($14.1 million), a minister and a senior executive said. The initial public offering (IPO) would be launched on Feb. 14 and the proceeds would be used to help finance a new airport at Bugesera, east of the capital Kigali, the officials said. "The money will be invested as initial equity in the Bugesera Airport, Rwandan Finance Minister Claver Gatete told parliament, saying the aim was to raise 11.5 billion francs. Robin Bairstow, managing director of I&M Bank in Rwanda, told Reuters the IPO launch date was Feb. 14. I&M Bank in Rwanda is part of the Kenyan group I&M Holdings. The listing would boost the Rwandan bourse, where the total market capitalisation of the seven listed firms rose to $4.1 billion in 2015 but has since fallen to $3.4 billion. ($1 = 814.1500 Rwandan francs) (Reporting by Clement Uwiringiyimana; Editing by Edmund Blair and Mark Potter) A few weeks ago, Samsungs chief Jay Y. Lee spent a night in jail while waiting for a judge to decide whether he should be imprisoned for the duration of the investigation thats currently targeting South Koreas president. Lee walked free, but the special prosecutors assigned to the case are still looking into Samsungs dealings with the impeached president. Samsung, meanwhile, has started taking various measures meant to prevent similar issues in the future. Don't Miss: During Trump meeting, Elon Musk made sure immigration was the first topic of discussion According to Reuters, Samsung is looking to disband its corporate strategy office after the special prosecution probe ends. Some 200 elite staff hand-picked from affiliates work for the office, which in turn works for the Lee family. Through this vehicle, Lees family makes decisions that affect Samsungs entire business. The special prosecutors investigating President Park Geun-hyes corruption case have deemed Samsungs chief and head of the corporate strategy office Choi Gee-sung as suspects. Samsung is alleged to have bribed Parks confidant Choi Soon-sill to ensure a smooth merger between two of its affiliates. The merger further consolidated Lees power over Samsung. Other executives from the strategy office were also questioned by investigators, as the office is suspected to have lobbied for the merger. Thats why Samsung is shaking up this internal organization thats in control of every major decision within the group. Seen as the nerve center or control tower of Samsung, the corporate strategy office was created in 2010, but its not a legal entity. Instead, its employees are working for various Samsung affiliates. Before current corporate strategy office replaced a strategic planning office that was taken apart in 2008 following a different investigation that was targeting Lees father. Samsung Electronics chairman Lee Kun-hee was accused of having set up slush funds by using fake accounts, with top execs of the planning office as accomplices. Story continues That means Samsung will simply recreate its brains after the corruption investigation goes away. In similar news, Yonhap News reports that Samsung announced its withdrawal from the top business lobby in Korea, the Federation of Korean Industries (FKI). FKI, which Samsungs 15 affiliates pay some 13.3 billion won ($11.7 million) in annual membership fees, is believed to have played a middleman role in the Park bribery scandal. Trending right now: See the original version of this article on BGR.com SAN DIEGO (AP) The mayors of the largest metropolitan area on the U.S.-Mexico border called Monday for stronger binational ties, striking a sharp contrast with U.S. President Donald Trump's calls to build a wall and renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement. San Diego's Kevin Faulconer and Tijuana's Juan Manuel Gastelum didn't mention Trump or Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto by name at a joint news conference, but their concern about growing tension between the two countries and its potential economic impact was evident in their remarks. "We can't control what happens outside our cities, but I know this: We will continue our story of collaboration, our story of friendship, and we will continue working together together for the prosperity of our people," Faulconer said. Gastelum said, "We have made a lot of progress over the years, but we know there is more work to do. We want to keep the momentum going, and to do that we must keep the relationship strong in light of some of the things that have been said outside of our cities." Faulconer, a Republican who won a second term in a landslide election last year in a solidly Democratic city, has taken issue with Trump in the past. He said during the presidential primary that Trump hadn't earned his vote. When Trump signed an executive order last month to erect a wall on the 2,000-mile divide, Faulconer said, "We already have a safe and secure border in San Diego built by the federal government." Faulconer pledged last year to serve his full term as mayor of the nation's eighth-largest city through 2020, but he continued to privately discuss a possible run for California governor in 2018. His message of stronger ties with Mexico would play well to a statewide audience. San Diego was the busiest corridor for illegal immigration until the mid-1990s, when a surge in agents and fencing pushed traffic to Arizona. It has one of the most fortified stretches of border, with razor wire atop much of its fencing with Mexico. Faulconer invited his Mexican counterpart and business leaders from both cities to discuss economic integration in a region of about 5 million people and the nation's busiest border crossing. Nikia Clarke, executive director of World Trade Center San Diego, a public-private partnership that promotes trade, said regional leadership has never been more important in a climate of uncertainty. "What this country needs right now is people who know and understand our regional reality - the regional reality of trade, of immigration, of co-production," she said. Scientists know why whales leap out of water, and its probably not what youd expect Science may not have all the answers, but its just provided some pretty significant insight as to why whales leap into the air. If you didnt already have a sneaking suspicion as to why whales breach out of the water, heres the deal: As the BBC puts it, these glorious water acrobatics are basically whales using their bodies to talk. We may mistakenly take this particularly activity as whales putting on a show, or make the assumption that its the creatures attempt to tell us were invading their personal space (like this photographer who got close to a breaching whale), but thats not even close. Actually, fellow self-absorbed humans, a study performed by University of Queensland marine biologist Ailbhe Kavanagh precisely outlines how this grand sea gesture allows whales to communicate with each other. Throughout September and October of 2010 and 2011, Kavanagh spent 200 hours observing 76 pods of migrating humpback whales making their journey to the Antarctic. humpback whale breaches in ANTARCTICA The studys findings were published in Marine Mammal Science journal suggests that breaching is more likely to occur when theres a distance of at least 2.5 miles between humpback whale pods. As Quartz reports, this leaping gesture may serve as an alternative form of communication to the animals, some of which have the capability to emit both low and high-frequency sounds that travel across hundreds of miles. The findings also explain the science behind why whales slap their fins against the surface of the water. Ecuador humpback whales migration From Marine Mammal Science: We propose that breaching may play a role in communication between distant groups as the probability of observing this behavior decreased significantly when the nearest whale group was within 4,000 m compared to beyond 4,000 m. Involvement in group interactions, such as the splitting of a group or a group joining with other whales, was an important factor in predicting the occurrence of pectoral, fluke, and peduncle slapping, and we suggest that they play a role in close-range or within-group communication. So, there you have it everyone. Keep on snapping and sharing your selfies from the time a whale photobombed you. Just dont fool yourself into thinking the whale was actually posing for your benefit. By Elisabeth O'Leary EDINBURGH (Reuters) - Scotland's devolved parliament overwhelmingly rejected British Prime Minister Theresa May's plan to exit the European Union in a symbolic, non-binding vote on Tuesday. Although Britain as a whole opted to leave the EU in last June's referendum, most of the electorate in Scotland voted to remain. Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has repeatedly demanded that the interests of Scotland be taken into account during upcoming Brexit negotiations and says Scotland must have a choice on holding a new independence referendum if that is not the case. "(This vote) is a key test of whether Scotland's voice is being listened to and whether our wishes can be accommodated within the UK process," Sturgeon said ahead of the vote. The Scottish government says it is keeping an open mind but that so far the British government is not complying with its promise to consider Scottish proposals. "So far the UK government has offered nothing not a single compromise in return, or even a view on our proposals," said Scottish minister Michael Russell, who is negotiating Scotland's position on Brexit with the UK government. Tuesday's motion proposed by the Scottish government was backed by 90 votes to 34, with most of the votes against coming from May's party, the Conservatives. It argued that the triggering of Article 50, which starts the two-year process for Britain to leave the EU, should be rejected because the government has left too many questions unanswered. It said the Westminster parliament is not guaranteed a say in any new trade relationship once Britain has left the EU and the decision to proceed "does not respect the majority vote to remain part of the EU that was returned in every council area in Scotland." London has not set out provisions for reaching a UK-wide approach with devolved administrations on Brexit, it said, and had left unanswered a range of detailed questions covering many policy areas regarding the full implications of withdrawal from the single market. Sturgeon's Scottish National Party has 63 out of seats in the 129-seat Scottish parliament, just short of the 65 seat majority. (Editing by Stephen Addison) stock_photo_world / Shutterstock, Inc. Does the Trump administration understand computer security at all? This is not a rhetorical question. Trump uses an unsecured Android phone, an intelligence agencys security nightmare, because he cant let go of his Twitter feed. Multiple administration Twitter feeds didnt even bother with two-factor identification, making the private emails tied to them simple to discover. And now we learn Sean Spicer, press secretary, public figure, and password Tweeter left his Venmo account public. Venmo, if youre unfamiliar, is an app that allows you to request payment from, or send payment to, anybody youve added as a friend. Its generally used to split checks, cover small sums, and other costs. If an account is public, that means anyone can do this, so guess what happened to Spicer? Just in case the Venmo notification didn't go through, @seanspicer pic.twitter.com/bNEfhfPfZW Brigid (@Ice_Brig) February 7, 2017 New York Magazine noted that the accounts both being buried under insulting donations and, of course, people demanding he pay up for various insults to the American public. Its not entirely clear that the account is legit, and it appears that Spicer isnt exactly a power user if it is, although that he has a lobbyist on his Venmo is either hilarious or unnerving depending on your perspective. But its also a symptom of a potential national security disaster. Its difficult, at this point, to determine whether the Trump administration is simply ignorant of basic information security or actively contemptuous of even the basic rules of protecting data or federal records. You can make a case either way, depending on how you interpret the current White House staff struggling to work the light switches. Not to mention how Trumps staff deletes and replaces his tweets despite it potentially being a violation of federal records law. Related: Melissa McCarthy Portrays Sean Spicer on 'Saturday Night Live' Watch Saturday Night Live on Yahoo View, available now on iOS and Android. This is not a political issue; Obama took information security so seriously, he lived with a phone that couldnt text for eight years, and Bush drafted a cybersecurity initiative largely used by Obamas administration. Any Presidential administration needs to keep a tight digital ship as the President and his staff have access to and must consult on a host of classified data points, ranging from the Presidents day to day schedule to military data to classified signals intelligence. Things are not improving: Rudy Guiliani, Trumps cybersecurity czar, cant even secure his companys own website. That members of the Trump administration cant even think to take social media accounts private forces us to ask what other common sense security protocols are being ignored in the White House. Making an account private, especially one tied to your credit cards, is just common sense even if youre not on television every single week. The Trump administration needs to start taking cybersecurity seriously, or it may be putting Americans at risk. Military and intelligence officials have reportedly said that a deadly Special Forces raid in Yemen last week was secretly targeting a senior al-Qaeda operative, who survived and is now taunting U.S. President Donald Trump in an audio message being shared online. NBC News reports that several anonymous officials said the objective of the Jan. 29 mission was to capture or kill Qassim al-Rimi, the head of al-Qaeda in the Arab Peninsula and one of the worlds most wanted suspected terrorists. An audio recording released on Sunday purportedly features al-Rimis voice referring to Trump, who authorized the raid, as the fool of the White House who got slapped early on in his role as Commander in Chief. NBC is reporting that the audio clip was found to be authentic by sources in the military. The Associated Press reports that the audio has not been independently verified, but says that the voice on it is similar to that of previous recordings by al-Rimi. The White House has staunchly defended the operation, despite claims that it did not go smoothly. Officials had been planning the raid since last year while former President Barack Obama was still in office, though the mission was ultimately given the green light by Trump just days into his new Administration. The operation, carried out by a joint force of Navy SEALs and elite forces from the United Arab Emirates, resulted in a lengthy firefight during which air reinforcements had to be called in to ward off attacks on the ground troops. One American commando, Chief Petty Officer William Ryan Owens of SEAL Team 6, was killed in the exchange, as well as an unknown number of civilians that included women and children. An 8-year-old girl the daughter of Anwar al-Awlaki, who was killed by a 2011 U.S. airstrike was also reportedly killed in the crossfire. White House press secretary Sean Spicer told reporters last week that the mission was a successful operation by all standards, claiming that it resulted in valuable intelligence gathering that would save lives. Story continues Officials cited by NBC News, however, claim that intelligence was not the primary goal of the raid, and that the prospect of capturing al-Rimi was a crucial factor in convincing U.S. leaders that it was worth taking known risks. NBC cites an unnamed senior White House official, who reportedly had direct knowledge of the discussions, as saying that Defense Secretary Jim Mattis told Trump that taking out al-Rimi would be a game changer in the war against al-Qaeda. According to NBC, it isnt yet clear whether al-Rimi was tipped off to the raid, whether he simply wasnt there, or whether he escaped from the Qaeda compound when the Special Forces arrived. Earlier reports have suggested that the mission was anticipated, possibly by the sound of drones flying lower than usual near the site. [NBC] On February 7, Marvel and Netflix revealed the official trailer for "Marvel's Iron Fist" Starring Finn Jones as long-lost billionaire Danny Rand, "Marvel's Iron Fist" is the fourth of the live-action adventure series, after "Marvel's Daredevil," "Marvel's Jessica Jones," and "Marvel's Luke Cage." "Marvel's Iron Fist" sees Rand return to New York after a long absence, determined to remove the corruption that has developed in his family's company. His martial arts abilities and the legendary Iron Fist help him fight the criminal underworld of New York City. The 13-episode series arrives on Netflix on March 17, 2017. Watch the first official trailer here: https://youtu.be/f9OKL5no-S0 Kendallville, IN (46755) Today Windy. Cloudy skies will become partly cloudy after midnight. Slight chance of a rain shower. Low 41F. SW winds at 25 to 35 mph, decreasing to 5 to 10 mph.. Tonight Windy. Cloudy skies will become partly cloudy after midnight. Slight chance of a rain shower. Low 41F. SW winds at 25 to 35 mph, decreasing to 5 to 10 mph. By Richard Cowan WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump's choice of billionaire Betsy DeVos to be education secretary was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on Tuesday, but only after Vice President Mike Pence was called in to break a tie that threatened to defeat her. The tie-breaking vote, which Senate officials said was unprecedented to confirm a Cabinet nominee, followed an all-night debate on DeVos as Senate Democrats tried to pressure at least one more Republican to oppose her and defeat the nomination. Only two Republicans joined the 46 Democrats and two independents in opposition to DeVos. Critics have called her unprepared to lead the Department of Education after a rocky Senate confirmation hearing. For more news videos visit Yahoo View, available now on iOS and Android. Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer immediately derided the proceeding. "This cabinet nom is so unqualified, so divisive, that @MikePenceVP had to drive down Pennsylvania Ave to cast the deciding vote," he wrote in a Twitter post after the vote. Under the U.S. Constitution, the vice president also serves as president of the Senate, with the power to cast votes only when there are ties on nominations or legislation. Republican Trump tweeted his congratulations to the nominee and Pence praised her. "Todays vote to confirm Education Secretary @BetsyDeVos was a vote for every child having a chance at a world-class education," the vice president wrote in a Twitter post. Ultimately, only Republican Senators Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska joined the Democrats and two independents in opposition to DeVos. That left 50 Republicans supporting her in the 100-member chamber. Historically, Cabinet nominees with weak support in the Senate ask the president to withdraw their nomination, which DeVos did not do. DeVos is married to the heir and former chief executive of Amway, which sells household and personal care items. She is also the daughter of the founders of Prince Corp, a Michigan car parts supplier, and sister of Erik Prince, the founder of the security company formerly known as Blackwater USA, now called Academi. Story continues As Monday night's debate wound down, Schumer said of DeVos: "She disdains public education where 90 percent of our students are." Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, urging her confirmation, said it was time to "end the unprecedented delay by Democrats" on the Cabinet nominations by Trump, who took office on Jan. 20. DeVos has been an advocate of charter schools, which operate independently of school districts and frequently are run by corporations. Democrats are concerned she will promote charter schools in a way that would undercut public schools, which have long been the anchor of the U.S. education system. Teachers unions, a major constituency for the Democratic Party, roundly opposed DeVos, a philanthropist and investor, to lead the department, which sets education policy for younger children and universities and also administers a college financial aid program of $1 trillion. The Consumer Federation of America urged DeVos to confront the problem of millions of Americans in default on student loans. "The new secretary needs to put borrowers and taxpayers first, rather than focusing on helping the student loan and for-profit college industries pump up their profits, it said. Following the cliffhanger vote on DeVos, the Senate promptly limited debate on Trump's choice of Senator Jeff Sessions to be attorney general. A final vote on Sessions' nomination is expected sometime this week. Also up for Senate debate soon are Trump's nominations of Representative Tom Price to be secretary of Health and Human Services and ex-banker Steve Mnuchin to be Treasury secretary. All three face opposition from Senate Democrats. Also facing a rough ride is Trump's choice of Andrew Puzder to be secretary of labor. Puzder, the chief executive of CKE Restaurants Inc, has admitted to employing an undocumented immigrant as a house cleaner. (Additional reporting by Lisa Lambert, Sarah Lynch and Doina Chiacu; Editing by Frances Kerry and Jonathan Oatis) A 58-year-old man identified as William Charles Thomas who worked as a trailer-park handyman from the 1600 block of Bristol Pike in Morrisville, Bucks County, Pennsylvania, was charged Monday with sexually assaulting and abusing more than five children including a relative, authorities said. The police called him a "serial child rapist" and they fear there could have been many more assault victims over the last 40 years. Thomas resided in Midway Village Trailer Park in Morrisville. The new owner of his trailer, where Thomas worked, found a piece of plywood that had handwritten details about the sexual assault of two children, 3 and 6 1/2 years old, respectively. This discovery led to Thomas' investigation being carried out in November. Investigators released several different photos of him dating back to almost a decade so it would be easier for victims to identify him. Thomas was an independent contractor and his victims ranged from the age of 2 to 10 years over the last 40 years, authorities said. Thomas was put on trial Friday before District Judge William Benz on charges of possession of child pornography and dissemination of photos and films depicting child sex acts, according to court records. Bail had been set at 10 percent of $150,000 and he was sent to Bucks County jail, where he remained Monday morning. Thomas' trial on additional crimes, which include five counts of child rape and 46 related offenses according to court records, will take place before District Judge Jan Vislosky on Tuesday. District Attorney Matt Weintraub said a thorough investigation revealed more than 1,000 images of naked children, child pornography, written accounts of child sexual abuse and several pairs of soiled little girls' underwear. "And these pairs of underwear were displayed almost throughout his mobile trailer home," Weintraub reportedly said. "This was a perverse shrine to his criminal conquests, and we are merely scratching the surface of those conquests today," Weintraub continued. "To be blunt about it, this is a real life boogeyman." Story continues Lt. Henry Ward of the Falls Township Police Department reportedly said: "Try to come up with your worst scenario and times that by 10, and you'll get close to what we saw. It was horrific." Neighbors were horrified at this incident and said they had known Thomas as "Willie." "When he was around, he acted normal," Jessica Chobert, 29, reportedly said. "He was fine. He didn't strike me as a person willing to do this. When I found out ... it made me sick," she continued. "It made me throw up. I can't deal with people that hurt kids." Another neighbor, Jay Sofronsky, 35, said he had talked to Thomas earlier, but never went close to the trailer unless he needed a tool from his yard. "I didn't see him with any kids," he said. "I don't think there's any kids left in this park." Officials have asked victims or anyone with information about Thomas to contact Falls Township Sgt. Christopher Clark or Bucks County Detective Lt. Robert Gorman. Related Articles Bucharest (AFP) - Until this month, Horia Georgescu had never joined a protest in his life. But the Romanian government's attempt to weaken anti-corruption laws compelled Georgescu, the owner of a printing business, to join thousands of others in demonstrations that have rocked the country. Many of the banners brandished in Bucharest over the past week were printed without charge in Georgescu's small workshop, a short drive north of the capital. "It happened in a very spontaneous manner. I saw various online initiatives involved in the protests and realised I had something to offer, not so much in a material but symbolic way," the 33-year-old told AFP. Georgescu has created dozens of posters for demonstrators, using "very inventive slogans" they sent to him via email. But he also made one for himself -- a 30-metre-long (100-foot) sign reading "You've won, you have united us", which he unfurled in front of the main government offices in Bucharest on Sunday. That day, half a million people marched in cities and towns across the country, in the largest demonstrations since the fall of communism in 1989. They were venting their anger over an emergency decree that came into force January 31, which critics say would have protected corrupt officials and politicians from prosecution. Although the decree was scrapped late Sunday, the marches have continued, with some protesters vowing not to stop until the government steps down. "I've never felt the urge to take to the streets before... but this time things have gone too far," Georgescu said. - 'A key shift' - Georgescu isn't the only business owner to freely offer his services. Pizza restaurants in Bucharest have been handing out snacks to protesters, while hostels are providing rooms for those pouring into the capital to join the marches. Kindergarten owner Adina Horga is offering complimentary childcare so parents can partake in the evening protests. Story continues "If the transformation doesn't start in the education system, we won't see any changes in the country, neither now nor in five or 10 years," she told AFP. The protests have sparked an unprecedented mobilisation of small business owners, according to Vintila Mihailescu, a leading anthropologist and political analyst. "This has never existed before. It's an important new show of solidarity," he told AFP. "There was a key shift from people passively posting comments on Facebook to actually taking to the streets, after those in power displayed an arrogant contempt" for citizens, he said. The unrest also illustrates the growing power of civil society in Romania, Mihailescu said. Back in 2013, lawmakers were forced to reject a bill that would have cleared the way for a huge gold mine in Transylvania, after tens of thousands of Romanians marched every weekend for several months. And in 2015, mass protests forced the resignation of the left-wing government after a deadly disco fire in Bucharest, which killed 64 people. The tragedy was attributed to corrupt officials who allowed the club's owners to ignore safety regulations. Film director Mihai Grecea, who was badly injured in the blaze, has joined the latest demonstrations. "People have finally understood their rights and that they were lied to for a long time," he said. - Society at risk - The sentiment is shared by Calin Goia, a musician whose band Voltaj represented Romania at the 2015 Eurovision song contest. Goia recently penned a protest song which has gone viral, becoming one of the unofficial hymns of the marches. "We've had similar moments in 1990 but at the time we weren't used to a democratic system. The internet wasn't there to unite us and help us thwart political manipulations," he said. But despite the show of unity on the ground, experts say the protests also reveal a broader division in Romanian society, between the more youthful urban protesters and the PSD's backers among rural, poorer populations. "A society whose members no longer communicate risks collapse," said Mihailescu, adding that the rifts had become more pronounced in recent years. Prime Minister Sorin Grindeanu has echoed this worry, saying his country was "cut in two pieces, maybe even more". By Will Boggs MD (Reuters Health) - A genetic trait that affects red blood cells and is fairly common among African Americans and Hispanic Americans can cause an important blood sugar test to miss signs of diabetes, researchers say. The test known as hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) estimates long-term blood sugar levels by measuring the amount of glucose sticking to red blood cells, but blood cells from people with sickle cell trait don't live as long, so they have less time to collect glucose. When lead author Mary Elizabeth Lacy from Brown University School of Public Health in Providence, Rhode Island, and her colleagues used standard HbA1c cutoffs to screen for diabetes, we identified 40 percent fewer cases of prediabetes and 48 percent fewer cases of diabetes in individuals with sickle cell trait than in those without sickle cell trait, she told Reuters Health by email. Sickle cell disease is a serious condition that occurs when a person has two copies of a defective gene responsible for making part of the hemoglobin molecule in red blood cells. Hemoglobin allows the cells to carry oxygen to the tissues that need it, but in people with two copies of the faulty gene, blood cells can turn sickle-shaped, causing painful crises and even death. People with only one copy of the defective gene are said to have sickle cell trait, and most have no symptoms of sickle cell disease. The gene is most common among people with ancestry in sub-Saharan Africa, Central America and South America, Saudi Arabia, India, Turkey, Greece and Italy. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that 1 in 13 African American babies are born with sickle cell trait. In their study of 4,620 African Americans, including 367 with sickle cell trait, Lacys team found that HbA1c levels were 0.3 percent lower in those with the trait than in those without it, even though they had similar blood sugar levels. While 0.3 percent may seem small, Lacy said, a difference of 0.3 percentage points in HbA1c could be the difference between being identified as high-risk (and being targeted for more frequent monitoring as well as additional diabetes prevention efforts) or not, or receiving a diagnosis of diabetes or not. Among individuals with no history of diabetes and not taking diabetes medications, testing blood sugar directly detected pre-diabetic elevated blood sugar levels or full-fledged diabetes in equal numbers of people, regardless of whether they had sickle cell trait, the researchers report in JAMA. But if HbA1c was used instead of blood sugar testing, pre-diabetic elevated blood sugar would be diagnosed in about 29 percent of those with sickle cell trait compared to 49 percent of those without the trait. Similarly, the HbA1c test would identify diabetes in about 4 percent of those with sickle cell trait and about 7 percent of those without the trait. The results of HbA1c testing need to be interpreted with caution in patients with sickle cell trait, Lacy concludes. These findings were based on one method of HbA1c measurement. While it is approved for use in those with sickle cell trait, we are unable to say whether our findings are due to assay interference or a biological phenomenon in those with sickle cell trait. Doctors should consider using a glucose tolerance test if they suspect diabetes in people with SCT whose HbA1c is close to the cutoff level, said Dr. Anthony J. Bleyer from Wake Forest School of Medicine in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, who coauthored a related editorial. I think there needs to be more research in this area. The HbA1c is a really important test that we use all the time. We need to make sure it is accurate for individuals of all races and ethnicities, Bleyer said by email. Approximately 10 percent of African American patients have sickle cell trait. It is prudent to test African American patients for hemoglobinopathy (sickle cell trait) before relying on HbA1c for diagnosis diabetes/prediabetes and before using HbA1c to monitor blood sugar control, Dr. Kristina Behan from the University of West Florida in Pensacola, who was not involved in the study, said by email. SOURCE: http://bit.ly/2ln3Rap and http://bit.ly/2kovj9m JAMA, online February 7, 2017. Singapore will keep its mandatory military service because it cannot depend on help from others in an uncertain world, the city-state's defence minister said on Tuesday. Ng Eng Hen said conscription was crucial, especially for smaller countries like Singapore, and those who had abolished it ended up regretting their decision. One such country is Lithuania, which scrapped mandatory military service after the end of the Cold War, the minister said. "But instead of stability came the annexation of Crimea and troubles in the Ukraine barely two decades later," Ng said in a speech to army recruits on the 50th anniversary of National Service (NS). "Today, Lithuania wants to reinstate NS in the face of bold aggression but finds it almost impossible to raise a strong military when they need it most." Ng also cited Kuwait, which had to depend on US-led coalition forces to push out Iraqi troops which invaded in 1990. "Singapore cannot depend on others to rescue it if we are caught in a similar predicament," he said. The affluent city-state, surrounded by much bigger neighbours, introduced the draft in 1967, two years after its bitter split with Malaysia. Able-bodied men are eligible for conscription for two years once they turn 18. The Singapore military is among the best equipped in Asia, with an arsenal that includes submarines, F-15 and F-16 jet fighters and Apache attack helicopters. Ng's remarks came amid tensions on the Korean peninsula and competing territorial claims in the South China Sea that have drawn the attention of the United States. Regionally, Singapore has had periods of testy relations with neighbouring Indonesia and Malaysia, although ties have improved. Money train. Its looking like it might be Christmas in February for the U.S. defense industry. The Pentagon has delivered a $30 billion wish list to Congress that would fund more ships, planes, helicopters, drones, and missiles, the AP reports. And that might only be the beginning. President Trump has already ordered the Pentagon to draft a supplemental budget for 2017 that would include billions more for the U.S. military on top of the $600 billion the Obama administration budgeted for. Well hear more about what the services say they need to function at 10:00 a.m. when military officials testify before the House Armed Services Committee on The State of the Military. Livestream here. The budget battle could be a bellweather for Trumps ambitious spending programs, and what deficit hawks within the Republican caucus think of opening up the nations wallet. As FPs Paul McLeary and Dan De Luce recently reported, there are proposals floating around for a defense budget as high as $640 billion for 2018, which would bust through congressionally-mandated spending caps that Democrats and many Republicans are happy to keep in place. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis has been tasked with completing the supplemental request by March 1. Staffing fight. The Pentagon is seriously short of high-level staffers, the result of an ongoing disagreement between the White Houses Steve Bannon and Jared Kushner and Pentagon chief Jim Mattis over who should work in the building, sources tell SitRep. Mattis is not happy about not being able to put his own staff in place, one source with knowledge of the back-and-forth says. The latest scrap involves a struggle between the two camps over who should run the Pentagons critical policy shop. Under Secretary of Defense for Policy job is currently being filled on a temporary basis by Theresa Whelan, who was the Secretary of Defense for Special Operations and Low Intensity Conflict until last month. The disagreement revolves around Mattis desire to appoint Mary Beth Long, who served as assistant secretary of defense in the Bush administration, and the White Houses insistence that Mira Ricardel, who is running the Pentagon transition team, get the job, according to another source who asked not to be identified. Story continues One of the issues with Long is that she signed signed an infamous never Trump letter published on War on the Rocks in March that called Trump dishonest, his foreign policies unmoored in principle, and concluded that Trump was utterly unfitted to the office of president. Long later said she regretted signing the letter, and if I were asked to sign a letter like that again, I would be much more careful about the verbiage that related to the candidate himself, she said. From the top. Speaking to troops from the U.S. Central Command and Special Operations Command in Tampa on Monday, President Trump said he wants to provide them with beautiful new planes and beautiful new equipment. But thats not all. The president also used his first address before a military audience as a campaign rally, overtly politicizing the military in a way no president in recent memory has dared. We had a wonderful election, didnt we? And I saw those numbers, and you like me and I like you, Trump said. He also blasted the media, claiming without evidence that the press is ignoring terrorist attacks from Islamist terrorists. Youve seen what happened in Paris and Nice. All over Europe its happening. Its gotten to a point where its not even being reported. And in many cases, the very, very dishonest press doesnt want to report it. They have their reasons and you understand that. Later, White House spokesman Sean Spicer worked to clarify Trumps remarks, telling reporters the president believes some terrorist attacks have been underreported. The White House later released a list of 78 terrorist attacks it claimed were not widely reported. The list included the attacks in Paris, Nice, San Bernardino, Brussels, and Berlin that received massive, wall-to-wall coverage in print and broadcast media. Plane truth. For good measure, the president also mislead in his comments about the contract for the F-35 fighter plane. Trump took credit for Lockheed Martins recent announcement that the next 90 F-35s would cost $728 million less than the previous group of planes delivered. Many defense analysts have pointed out that the cost was already scheduled to come down long before Trumps election. Set sail. Three Chinese warships took a cruise around the contested Senkaku Islands Monday, in a likely response to Defense Secretary Jim Mattis remarks over the weekend that Washington will continue to recognize Japanese administration of the islands. China may also be testing out its ability to hit American military bases in preemptive missile strikes, according to a new piece up at War On The Rocks. Thomas Shugart reviews satellite imagery of a ballistic missile test facility in the Gobi desert and finds craters consistent with practice for striking targets that looks like American bases in the Pacific. Open source Chinese military literature China would use missiles bearing flechette sub-munitions to destroy American aircraft in hardened shelters as well as other vehicles and structures. Welcome to SitRep. Send any tips, thoughts or national security events to paul.mcleary@foreignpolicy.com or via Twitter: @paulmcleary or @arawnsley. Syria Amnesty International has released a gruesome new report into mass executions carried out by the Assad regime. According to the human rights group, officials at the regimes Saydnaya Military Prison hanged over 13,000 people between 2011 and 2015 with current executions at the facility likely still taking place. Amnesty interviewed former prisoners, guards, and judges at the prison and found the executed were condemned to death after sham trials lasting no longer than three minutes. Yemen NBC News has learned the target of the recent special operations raid gone wrong in Yemen. Anonymous officials tell the news outlet that Navy SEALs were hunting for al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsulas Qassim al-Rimi, the number three man in the al Qaeda affiliate. Rimi released an audiotape after the raid, which resulted in the death of a U.S. Navy sailor and an eight year old girl, taunting President Trump as the fool of the White House got slapped. The White House has described the raid as a successful operation yielding valuable intelligence but video clips U.S. Central Command released as examples of the intelligence haul from the raid were later revealed to be ten year old clips already available on the Internet. Budget Defense hawks have long tried to roll back restrictions on the defense budget placed there by the 2011 Budget Control Act, but House Armed Services Committee Chairman Rep. Mac Thornberry (R-TX) is expressing hope that Congress can toss aside the budget caps it put in place. Breaking Defense reports that Thornberry told reporters on Monday that theres a tremendous opportunity to ditch the Budget Control Act caps preventing a more free-spending approach to defense. Thornberry cited unified Republican control of the White House and Congress, saying both Trump and Congressional Republicans are both of the same mind about increasing defense spending. As part of that hoped-for spending increase, Rep. Thornberry also wants the U.S. to put more resources into missile defenses to counter potential threats from China, Iran, and North Korea. The congressman pointed to recent ballistic missile tests by Iran and North Korea as examples of what he said were the increasing importance of investing in anti-missile systems. Thornberry echoed recent reports that Pyongyang may be preparing a new ballistic missile test sometime in the near future. Navy A tighter defense budget has spelled trouble for the Navys fighter jet fleet. Defense News reports that scarce dollars have left half of the Navys jets grounded as they wait for maintenance. The problem is particularly acute among the services F/A-18s, two thirds of which cant fly due to maintenance issues. Navy submarines are also facing trouble in the era of sequestration. The news outlet reports that one submarine has already lost its diving certification with five more potentially facing the same fate by the end of the year. Intelligence Prosecutors will indict a National Security Agency contractor allegedly found in possession of vast amounts of classified hacking tools, according to the Washington Post. The paper reports that the federal government will seek charges against Harold Martin, arrested in August 26, alleging that he violated the Espionage Act by taking home classified software used by the NSA to hack intelligence targets as well as plans regarding American adversaries. Martins lawyers argue that their client simply brought his work home with him without any malicious intent to compromise American secrets. Photo Credit: MANDEL NGAN/AFP/Getty Images A previously unknown ghost shark with rabbit-like teeth and a bulky head is making waves in record books; it's the 50th ghost shark species known to science, a new study reported. At nearly 3 feet (1 meter) in length about half as long as the height of a refrigerator the newfound creature is the second largest species of ghost shark ever discovered, the researchers said. "[Ghost sharks] in general have a pretty big head and their body tapers to a thinner tail. This one was really chunky in the front, and just a big bulky specimen," said Kristin Walovich, a graduate student at the Pacific Shark Research Center at the Moss Landing Marine Laboratories in California, and the lead researcher of a new study. [See Photos of the Freakiest-Looking Fish] Kristin Walovich holds the 50th described species of ghost shark on record. The animal's nose is usually pointy, but it became crooked during its preservation. Courtesy of Kristin Walovich Like some other ghost sharks, the newfound species has rabbit-like buckteeth, prompting researchers to put it in the genus Hydrolagus, which translates to"water rabbit" or "water hare." (In Greek, "hydro" means "water" and "lagus" means "rabbit" or "hare.") The species name erithacus is the genus name for robin birds. That name was chosen for the new species to honor Robin Leslie of the South African Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, who helped Walovich study the ghost shark, Walovich said. There are already three known species in the genus Hydrolagus H. africanus, H. mirabilis and H. cf. trolli that live in the same region as the new find, between South Africa and Antarctica in the southeastern Atlantic and southwestern Indian Oceans, the researchers said. In fact, fishermen have been saying for years that individuals now called H. erithacus didn't look like the other known species, Walovich said. Two of the specimens in the new study came from deep-sea fishermen who mistakenly caught the animals as bycatch. But the other specimens included in the study had been sitting in a museum for years, she said. Story continues "The scientists and the fishermen in South Africa knew this was not the same species, because Hydrolagus africanus is small, it's brown, and this one was huge and really dark in color," Walovich told Live Science. "Just visibly, they were definitely different species." Despite their names, ghost sharks aren't actually sharks. Rather, the cartilaginous fish are relatives of sharks and rays. She noted that while sharks swim by moving their tails and rays literally "fly" underwater, ghost sharks use their large pectoral fins, located on both sides of their bodies, to propel themselves forward. An illustration of the newfound fish shows the creature's pectoral fins, which it uses to propel itself forward. Marc Dando Scientists also call these animals chimaeras or ratfish, but little is known about them. Most chimaeras live in the deep sea, so researchers know little about their behavior, such as how often they reproduce. However, Walovich made an exciting find that revealed something about the ghost shark's behavior. The stomach of one of the H. erithacus specimens contained a crab claw, indicating that the fish used its strong teeth to crunch open the shells of crabs and likely other crustaceans that live on the seafloor, Walovich said. The study was published in the Jan. 31 issue of the journal Zootaxa. Original article on Live Science. Editor's Recommendations Why do otherwise healthy sea creatures end up stranded along coastal areas around the world? NASA scientists are searching for the answer. Whales, dolphins and porpoises known collectively as cetaceans partially use magnetic-field sensing to navigate. According to NASA scientists, one explanation for these mysterious strandings could be that the animals' internal compasses become confused during severe solar storms, which affect Earths magnetic fields, and so they lose their way. To investigate this marine mystery, NASA has launched a study that will determine whether there is a link between solar storms and animal beachings. Cetaceans become stranded around the world in groups as small as three or as large as several hundred per event. According to Katie Moore, a collaborator on the NASA study and director of the International Fund for Animal Welfare's Animal Rescue Program, the global phenomenon occurs most often in New Zealand, Australia and Cape Cod, Massachusetts. [Images: Sharks & Whales from Above] Despite the prevalence of such beaching events, study leader Antti Pulkkinen, a heliophysicist (a person who studies the effects of the sun on the solar system) at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, said there has been very little quantitative research. "We estimate that records on the order of hundreds of cetacean mass strandings will be available for study, thus making our analyses statistically significant," Pulkkinen said in a statement. "What were going to do is throw cold, hard data at this. It's a long-standing mystery and its important that we figure out whats going on." Pulkkinen and his collaborators will work with the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management and the International Fund for Animal Welfare to sift through cetacean mass stranding reports, space-weather databases and field observations. The researchers expect to complete the study by the end of September. Story continues The scientists said the results won't necessarily imply a link, but the study will be the first thorough research into whether a correlation exists between the solar storms and beaching events. "If we understand the relationship between the two, we may be able to use observations of solar storms as an early warning for potential strandings to occur," Moore said. "This would allow stranding responders in global hotspots, and, really, around the world, to be better prepared to respond, thus having the opportunity to save more animals." Original article on Live Science. Editor's Recommendations Mogadishu (AFP) - Somalia's capital Mogadishu was under security lockdown Tuesday, with roads and schools closed and residents urged to remain indoors a day before the country holds a long-delayed presidential election. Fears are high that the Al-Qaeda linked Shabaab group will seek to disrupt the election by carrying out an attack on the capital. Twin car bombs at a popular hotel left at least 28 dead two weeks ago. Heavily armed security personnel patrolled the streets of the capital, while several main roads were blocked off with sand berms and residents of the capital were urged by Mayor Yusuf Hussein Jimale to stay indoors. "My children did not go to school because of the election and my husband who works as a policeman had to stay on duty for the last three days. This thing is taking too long and people would be relieved if they could see an end to this drama," mother-of-four Samiya Abdulkadir said. President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud is seeking re-election against 21 other candidates, after another dropped out Tuesday. The troubled Horn of Africa nation, which has not had an effective central government in three decades, had been promised a one-person, one-vote election in 2016. However political infighting and insecurity, mainly due to Shabaab militants who control swathes of countryside and strike at will in Mogadishu, saw the plan ditched for a limited vote running six months behind schedule. The delayed electoral process began in October, with 14,025 specially chosen delegates voting for candidates for both parliament and a new upper house. In 2012, only 135 clan leaders chose the MPs who voted for the president. Repeated delays meant the new lawmakers were only sworn in in December. In a report on Tuesday, Somalia-based anti-corruption watchdog Marqaati said the elections "were rife with corruption". - Delays and disillusion - The tortuous process to elect a president whose remit does not extend beyond the capital and a few regional towns, has left some disillusioned. Story continues "I really don't care who becomes president. We just need to be free to attend to our business," said Qoje Siyad, a Mogadishu day labourer. While falling well short of the election that was promised, the process is more democratic than in the past and is seen as a step towards universal suffrage, now hoped for in 2020. Wednesday's voting will see members of the 275-seat parliament and 54 senators cast ballots inside a hangar within the heavily-guarded airport. Security sources said commercial flights would not be operating Wednesday. No candidate is expected to get the two-thirds majority needed for a first-round win, with two further rounds permitted before a winner is declared. In the absence of political parties, clan remains the organising principle of Somali politics. The 22 candidates -- all men after the only declared female candidates dropped out -- paid a $30,000 (28,000-euro) registration fee. Few have any serious chance of winning. One of them is the current president, a 61-year-old former academic and civil society activist from the Hawiye clan. Also in the running is ex-president Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, a fellow Hawiye and 52-year-old former leader of the Islamic Courts Union which pacified Somalia before being driven out by US-backed Ethiopian troops. The leading candidates from the Darod clan are Prime Minister Omar Abdirashid Ali Sharmarke, 56, and former premier Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed 'Farmajo', 55. Both hold dual nationalities having lived for years in Canada and the US respectively. - Famine looms again - The overthrow of president Siad Barre's military regime in 1991 ushered in decades of anarchy and conflict in a country deeply divided along clan lines. The clan rivalries and lawlessness provided fertile ground for the Shabaab to take hold and seize territory, frustrating efforts to set up a central administration. The Shabaab has been in decline since 2011 but still launches regular, deadly attacks against government, military and civilian targets in the capital and elsewhere. Security and overcoming Somalia's adversarial and divisive politics will top the agenda for whoever wins the vote as will dealing with a growing humanitarian crisis. The UN warned last week of "possible famine" in Somalia as a severe drought has pushed nearly three million people to the edge of starvation. After two failed rain seasons, aid workers fear a repeat of a 2010-11 drought which left more than 250,000 dead. Mogadishu (AFP) - Somalia is to hold its presidential election on Wednesday after numerous delays, with ongoing security concerns and warnings of famine topping the agenda for the new administration. President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud is seeking re-election against 22 other candidates. The troubled Horn of Africa nation, which has not had an effective central government in three decades, had been promised a one-person, one-vote election in 2016. However political infighting and insecurity, mainly due to Al-Qaeda linked Shabaab militants who control swathes of countryside and strike at will in Mogadishu, saw the plan ditched for a limited vote running months behind schedule. The presidential election had been due to take place in August, four years after the previous vote in which just 135 clan elders chose MPs who then voted for the country's leader. Elections instead began in October with an electoral college system that excluded ordinary citizens and instead involved 14,025 delegates voting for candidates for both parliament and a new upper house. The elections were marred by widespread allegations of vote-buying and intimidation. In a report on Tuesday, Somalia-based anti-corruption watchdog Marqaati said the elections "were rife with corruption". Repeated delays meant the new lawmakers were only sworn in in December. - Delays and disillusion - The tortuous process has left some disillusioned. "I really don't care who becomes president. We just need to be free to attend to our business," said Qoje Siyad, a Mogadishu day labourer. "This thing is taking too long," said housewife Samiya Abdulkadir. "People will be relieved to see an end to this drama." While falling well short of the election that was promised, the process is more democratic than in the past and is seen as a step towards universal suffrage, now hoped for in 2020. Wednesday's voting will see members of the 275-seat parliament and 54 senators cast ballots inside a hangar within the heavily-guarded airport. Story continues No candidate is expected to get the two-thirds majority needed for a first-round win, with two further rounds permitted before a winner is declared. In the absence of political parties, clan remains the organising principle of Somali politics. All 23 candidates are men after the only declared female candidates dropped out. And each one has paid the $30,000 (28,000-euro) registration fee although few have any serious chance of winning. One of them is the current president, a 61-year-old former academic and civil society activist from the Hawiye clan. Also in the running is ex-president Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, a fellow Hawiye and 52-year-old former leader of the Islamic Courts Union which pacified Somalia before being driven out by US-backed Ethiopian troops. The leading Darod candidates are Prime Minister Omar Abdirashid Ali Shamarke, 56, and a former premier Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed 'Farmajo', 55. Both hold dual nationalities having lived for years in Canada and the US respectively. - Famine looms again - The overthrow of president Siad Barre's military regime in 1991 ushered in decades of anarchy and conflict in a country deeply divided along clan lines. The clan rivalries and lawlessness provided fertile ground for the Al-Qaeda linked Shabaab to take hold and seize territory, frustrating efforts to set up a central administration. Shabaab has been in decline since 2011 but still launches regular, deadly attacks against government, military and civilian targets in the capital Mogadishu and elsewhere. Security and overcoming Somalia's adversarial and divisive politics will top the agenda for whoever wins the vote as will dealing with a growing humanitarian crisis. The UN warned last week of "possible famine" in Somalia as a severe drought has pushed nearly 3 million people to the edge of starvation. After two failed rain seasons, aid workers fear a repeat of a 2010-11 drought which left more than 250,000 dead. "The levels of suffering in the country, triggered by protracted conflict, seasonal shocks and disease outbreaks, are typically hard to bear, but the impact of this drought represents a threat of a different scale and magnitude," the UN's office for humanitarian affairs said in a statement last week. JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South Africa's agriculture minister is convinced pesticides will be able to contain an outbreak of armyworms that threatens to cause extensive damage to crops, he told 702 Talk Radio on Tuesday. Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Minister Senzeni Zokwana said pesticides have been successfully tested in South Africa. The next step is to register the pesticide producers to ensure they comply with needs of farmers and consumers. (Reporting by Joe Brock; Editing by Christian Schmollinger) A former South Korean culture minister was formally charged on Tuesday for creating a "blacklist" of nearly 10,000 artists who had voiced criticism of now-impeached President Park Geun-Hye, prosecutors said. Cho Yoon-Sun, 50, is accused of secretly compiling the vast list to starve the artists -- among them filmmakers, authors, painters and more -- of state subsidies and private funding and to put them under state surveillance. Kim Ki-Choon, a powerful former chief of staff for the conservative president, was also indicted for spearheading the creation and enforcement of the blacklist. Both officials were arrested last month and were charged Tuesday with abuse of power and coercion, said a team of special prosecutors probing a wider scandal over Park. "They abused their power to force officials... to stop offering subsidies to artists and cultural organisations that had different views from the government," senior prosecutor Lee Kyu-Chul told reporters. Two of the impeached president's former aides were also charged, and prosecutors named Park herself as an accomplice in the creation of the list, although she says she was not aware of its existence. Park is accused of letting a secret confidante with a questionable background, Choi Soon-Sil, handle state affairs including senior nominations. She was impeached by parliament in December and the constitutional court is currently considering whether to uphold the impeachment. Prosecutors intend to question Park soon over multiple accusations including her potential role in helping Choi extract tens of millions of dollars from local businesses. The existence of the blacklist -- targeting more than 9,000 artists in literature, movie, music, theatre, fine arts and dance -- sparked widespread anger. The artists named had voiced support for liberal opposition parties, or criticised Park's conservative government and its policy failures, including the botched rescue efforts after the 2014 Sewol ferry sinking in which around 300 people died. The list reads like a Who's Who of Seoul's art scene and also includes those who criticised or satirised Park's own father, late strongman Park Chung-Hee who ruled from 1961 to 1979 with an iron fist and imposed ruthless censorship of the arts. Among the names are novelist Han Kang, winner of the 2016 Man Booker International Prize, and film director Park Chan-Wook, whose "Oldboy" won the Grand Prix at the Cannes film festival in 2004. SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korea's special prosecutor has indicted a former culture minister and a former top aide to President Park Geun-hye on charges of abuse of power, coercion and perjury for their role in drafting a blacklist of dissenting artists, a spokesman said. The indictments are the latest twist in a corruption scandal that has gripped the country for months and led to the impeachment of Park by parliament in December. A Constitutional Court is reviewing the impeachment vote. If it is upheld, Park will have to leave office and a presidential election will be called. Lee Kyu-chul, spokesman for the special prosecutor's office investigating the scandal, told a briefing on Tuesday former culture minister Cho Yoon-sun, and a former presidential chief of staff, Kim Ki-choon, had been indicted. "The special prosecutor's office has indicted Kim Ki-choon, Cho Yoon-sun ... for abusing power and coercion by making artists and entertainers and organizations with different opinions from the government excluded from support," Lee said. Both Cho, who last month became the first sitting member of Park's administration to be arrested in connection with the scandal, and Kim denied the existence of a blacklist, or playing a role in drawing one up, though Cho later said she had heard of such a list. The presidential Blue House has also denied that a blacklist existed. Park has been accused of allowing a friend, Choi Soon-sil, to exert inappropriate influence over state affairs. Choi is accused of colluding with Park to pressure big businesses to contribute to non-profit foundations backing the president's initiatives. Both have denied wrongdoing. The special prosecutor's office said the government and state entities used the blacklist as a "guideline" to penalize artists and censor content. The culture ministry said last month artists deemed critical of Park had been put on a list and excluded from government support. It apologized for what it said had been a systematic effort to sideline Park's critics. Lee said the special prosecutor's team sought to question Park, perhaps on Friday, but was discussing details with the president's side. Prosecution officials hoping to search offices in the presidential Blue House as part of their investigation were blocked from entering the compound last week. (Reporting by Ju-min Park; Editing by Robert Birsel) Bangalore (India) (AFP) - In the basement of a Bangalore building, hundreds of young Indians sit in neat rows of desks typing furiously, all dreaming of becoming the new Steve Jobs or Mark Zuckerberg. A quarter of a century after liberalisation kick-started India's economic transformation, a new generation of young people are capitalising on their parents' hard-won financial security to try their luck in the risky business of tech start-ups. "It's really picking up," said Aneesh Durg, a young Indian-origin student from Chicago who came to the southern tech hub of Bangalore to help develop a device that helps blind people read written text. "It's actually not what I expected it to be. I thought that they would be a little bit behind, but they are actually working just as hard and there's really cool stuff coming out of India these days." More and more young people in the country of 1.25 billion people are opting to go it alone, in stark contrast to previous generations that valued the stability of employment above all else. India now has some 4,750 tech start-ups -- the highest number in the world after the United States and Britain, which it is fast catching up. Success stories include Flipkart, Amazon's rival in India, and online supermarket Big Basket. - Global product - From robots and mobile apps to smart kitchens and a cocktail-making machine the cavernous Bangalore office, which houses one of India's biggest start-up incubators, is a veritable ideas factory. Every meeting room bears a photo of a successful technology entrepreneur. Vikram Rastogi is a robotics expert who set up a small incubator named Hacklab after visiting the prestigious Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2014. "I saw the kind of hardware work they were doing. We could also do the same kind of hardware work in India, it's just that people do not pursue it much further," he explains. "So I thought let me start with something in India and try to make global product out of it," Rastogi adds. Story continues The engineering graduate is currently working on ways to enable drones to operate as part of a fleet in order to harness more information, an application that could be used to gather data over large areas such as the vast farms of Australia or Brazil. But the path to building the next Google or Apple is not always smooth. "When I started this we had a lot of people who came to us with start-up ideas," Rastogi says, but he admits that some give up over time often due to family pressure to get a salaried job. - New generation - Sylvia Veeraraghavan, one of the millions who have migrated to Bangalore for work since the 1990s, is watching this new generation of self-starters with interest. When she moved there, the city was becoming a outsourcing hub for Western technology companies seeking a cheap and well educated workforce through companies such as Infosys, Tata Consultancy Services and Wipro. "For me, for the people of my time, getting a job was a very big deal. The kind of values that we used to have are very different from the values that people have today," said Veeraraghavan, who now works for a charity after a 25-year career in IT. She believes the rising prosperity of India's middle class has given young people the freedom to experiment. "They are not constricted, or restricted, having to take up a job, or finding their next meal," she said. "They can be innovative, they can be imaginative." It is a trend that looks set to continue -- according to forecasts, between 200,000 and 250,000 people will be working in tech start-ups by 2020, nearly double the current number, according to software industry association Nasscom. Traditionally there has been a well-trodden path from Indian IT institutes to a master's degree in America and then on to a plum job in Silicon Valley. But US President Donald Trump's crackdown on immigration -- including a proposed restructure of the H-1B working visas often used by tech firms to recruit foreign skilled workers -- may mean even more of India's tech stars opt to carve a new route to success at home. It remains too early to say what impact Trump's planned immigration reform could have on India, but for Aneesh the answer is simple. He is already confident that when he finishes his studies in Chicago, he will be heading back to India not California. A steer that was on its way to becoming steaks and hamburger bolted from a Texas butcher and led police on a lumbering chase down city streets, authorities said. It kind of escaped, Sgt. Jason Hayes of the Weatherford Texas Police Department told InsideEdition.com Monday. Read: 1,500-Pound Cow Pulled From Pool After Homeowner Reported 'Snorting' Sounds The 800-pound bovine ran from Hamilton Meats and eluded capture for hours, police said. After cops chased it through downtown intersections, the butchers owners called in professional cowboys. Two horse-riding men swinging lassos eventually nabbed the animal on Main Street, near an elementary school, after pursuing it for nearly three miles. "I just run up there and thank God, everybody stopped [and] seen me coming," wrangler Blake Davies told the Weatherford Democrat. "I came blowing out that intersection right there near Walmart... I was going so fast and so was that cow." A police car was damaged by the steer. Read: Meet Beryl, a 9-Month-Old Cow That Broke Into Home, Made Herself Comfortable The animal was taken the butchers ranch, where he got a stay of execution," Hayes said. A male employee who declined to be named told the local paper the steer was no longer considered prime meat. "Once youve chased an animal for two-and-a-half miles, throw(n) ropes over it, run police cars into it its not very good to eat," the man said. Watch: Sheriff Uses Lasso to Catch Cow on Highway Related Articles: Comedian Stephen Colbert on Monday mocked White House counselor Kellyanne Conway for citing an attack that never happened in her defense of President Donald Trumps controversial immigration ban. In an interview last week, Conway referenced the nonexistent Bowling Green massacre and said it did not receive enough media coverage. But there was no terrorist attack in Bowling Green, Ky. It appears Conway was referring to two Iraqi citizens who were arrested in 2011 for attempting to send money and weapons to Al Qaeda in Iraq. They had been living in Bowling Green. Yes, it didnt get covered on the flimsy excuse that there was no Bowling Green massacre, Colbert said Monday on The Late Show. But I think we all remember where we werent were when we didnt hear that nothing had happened. Conway later said it was a mistake, though she had cited the same nonexistent attack in previous interviews with Cosmopolitan magazine and TMZ. I demand that the media not release the reports they did not do on the attacks that did not occur, and I will not rest until they dont, Colbert said. We will have more on this story as it doesnt develop. He also addressed Conways comments after performing at a benefit concert on Saturday. Obviously tonight is for the Montclair Film Festival, Colbert said on stage. But all remaining donations if theres anything left over is going to go to victims of the Bowling Green massacre. Donald Trump wants to make a partner of Russia in Syria. One of Trumps most consistently expressed foreign policy ideas, both during the campaign and now since his election, is that the United States and Russia are natural counterterrorism allies, and that the obvious place to begin such cooperation is in Syria, against the Islamic State. Both the United States and Russia are waging war against the Islamic State, Trumps reasoning goes, so the best way to hasten the defeat of that organization, and perhaps to launch a broader U.S.-Russia rapprochement, is by bringing Russia into the counter-Islamic State fold and undertaking more coordinated military action targeting the group. In a recent Fox interview, in which Trump controversially drew a moral equivalence between the United States and Vladimir Putins Russia, he said its better to get along with Russia than not and if Russia helps us in the fight against ISIS which is a major fight, and Islamic terrorism all over the world, major fight, thats a good thing. Trumps sentiments on this score are not new. But in the past four weeks, there have been repeated hints that such cooperation might simply be part of a larger U.S.-Russia grand bargain, in which Moscow agrees to provide enhanced cooperation on counterterrorism and counter-Islamic State operations, and Washington does away with economic sanctions related to Russian aggression in Ukraine. On Sunday, Vice President Mike Pence suggested that the Trump administrations decision on sanctions would depend on whether we see the kind of changes in posture by Russia and the opportunity perhaps to work on common interests, including making common cause against the Islamic State. This idea fits squarely within the overarching themes of Trumps grand strategy, which we described in a previous article. The idea that the conflict with radical Islamic terrorism is all-consuming and existential; the willingness to cut transactional deals with any actor with whom the United States shares even the most passing interests; the aspiration to get other countries to do more in the world so that the United States can slough off some of the burdens of superpowerdom all of these concepts are at play in Trumps advocacy of a counterterrorism partnership with Putin. But hopping in bed with Russia in Syria is an ill-considered and potentially dangerous proposition, and trading away Ukraine-related sanctions for this cooperation would be an even worse idea, for several reasons. Story continues Contrary to what Trump has often asserted, the fact is that Russias military campaign in Syria the campaign that Trump essentially wants to marry with U.S. military efforts against the Islamic State has never actually been about counterterrorism. Its overarching goal, and one that it has been fairly successful in achieving, is to fortify the Assad regime in power and thereby protect Russias strategic position in Syria and the broader Middle East. This means that the vast majority of Russian airstrikes and other operations have not targeted extremist groups, whether the Islamic State or the Nusra Front (al Qaedas Syrian affiliate, which now calls itself Jabhat Fatah al-Sham). Rather, Moscow has most aggressively targeted the non-extremist opposition to Assad (and civilians in opposition-held areas), in an effort to eliminate any sort of politically plausible and internationally acceptable alternative to the regime. From the outset of the Russian intervention in September 2015, in fact, as much as 85-90 percent of Russian airstrikes have targeted this moderate opposition. Russia is fighting a war in Syria, all right, but it certainly isnt our war. Vladimir Putin and Bashar al-Assad in the Kremlin in 2006. (SERGEI KARPUKHIN/AFP/Getty Images) Accessory to a crime Cooperating with Russia would also likely mean allying with Assad Russias junior partner in the conflict and thus partnering with a regime that is responsible for the worst humanitarian catastrophe of the 21st century. Just this week, Amnesty International reported that 13,000 people have been hanged in Saydnaya military prison since 2011, in addition to countless others who have died from torture or inhumane conditions. This probably doesnt bother Trump he has asserted (mostly erroneously) that Assad is killing ISIS, and he has made clear that he believes the United States needs to be willing to play rough, perhaps to the point of committing war crimes, in the struggle against jihadist terror groups. But the dangers of allying, whether explicitly or tacitly, with Assad go far beyond humanitarian concerns. If the United States casts its lot with forces that are killing countless Syrians, mostly Sunnis, in the context of the Syrian civil war, that will only foster more extremism directed at America over the long-term. The next time Russia and Assad pull an Aleppo (in Idlib province, for example), by bombing and starving a vulnerable civilian population into de facto surrender, the United States will be complicit, and it will eventually reap all the ideological blowback that comes with such complicity. Moreover, it will also be complicit in behavior that is likely to worsen the ongoing migration crisis, which continues to destabilize Europe politically, and which Trump himself has blamed for the spread of Islamic radicalism on the continent. Thats not the only way in which partnering with Russia and Assad will undercut, rather, than enhance, U.S. counterterrorism efforts. This approach is likely to alienate precisely the Middle Eastern allies the United States needs in the counter-Islamic State fight. If Trump wants to intensify the campaign against the Islamic State, he will need Saudi Arabia, the other Persian Gulf monarchies, and Turkey to intensify their own efforts. But many of those countries loathe Assad so much, in fact, that they have been supporting Syrian opposition forces for several years. If the United States effectively joins forces with Putin and Assad in Syria, it runs the risk of undercutting cooperation with these Middle Eastern partners. If a U.S.-Russian partnership in Syria also leads to a further weakening of the non-extremist opposition as it almost certainly will the Gulf countries and Turkey (which already back a number of hardline Islamist opposition groups) might also respond by becoming even less discriminating with respect to which groups they support in Syria, thereby fueling rather than extinguishing the forces of extremism in that country. As this danger implies, the most likely beneficiaries of a U.S.-Russia compact are the exact same extremist groups against which that partnership would ostensibly be directed. For if the remaining moderate Syrian opposition groups perceive that the United States has abandoned them and made common cause with Moscow, they will have no incentive to resist aligning with Nusra and other extremists, if only as a means of survival. The result is that Nusra and other extremist groups will become even more deeply woven into the fabric of the Syrian opposition than they already are, giving them greater political and military leverage down the road. Extremist groups are most easily targeted and defeated when they are isolated; partnering with Moscow would have precisely the opposite effect. White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer, left, yields the briefing room podium to National Security Adviser Michael Flynn on Feb. 1, before his announcement that the United States would officially put Iran "on notice." (WIN MCNAMEE/Getty Images) The Iran conundrum Moreover, it will be extremely difficult to pursue any sort of partnership with Russia in Syria without cutting across another one of Trumps oft-stated foreign-policy priorities pushing back more aggressively against Iran. Last week, both Trump and National Security Advisor Michael Flynn put Tehran on notice that their destabilizing activities across the Middle East would no longer be tolerated, and quickly announced new sanctions related to Irans ballistic missile program. Yet Iran is aligned with Putin and Assad in Syria, and it has a fundamental strategic interest in seeing Assads regime preserved. Iran is, therefore, likely to gain significantly from any situation in which Washington casts aside the Syrian opposition and joins up with Moscow and its allies. In an effort to work with Russia to create a safe zone in southern Syria, for example, the United States might find itself in the position helping Iran consolidate its supply lines to Hezbollah and its influence in the Levant a prospect that the Trump administration, to say nothing of the Israelis, would presumably find horrifying. The Trump administration could attempt to mitigate this danger by conditioning its cooperation with Russia on it and the Assad regime cutting ties with Iran and Hezbollah and requiring their forces to depart the country. (The Trump administration may also attempt to get Moscow to cut off its military sales to Iran.) A deal like this could conceivably keep Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and other regional states on side since their opposition to Assad mostly stems from his alliance with Tehran. But theres a catch: given the broad and deep role Iran, Hezbollah, and Iranian-backed Shiite militias play in propping up Assads forces on the ground, it is highly unlikely Assad would jettison this partnership and, if he tried, Tehran would push back hard. Previous ceasefires cut behind Irans back have been scuttled by Iranian-backed forces. Any attempt to completely box Iran out of Syria would go to the heart of Tehrans interest in maintaining an ability to project power into the Levant and support Hezbollah against Israel. Thus, if Team Trump tries to cut a deal with Putin at Irans expense they should expect to see Irans well-armed proxies in both Syria and Iraq play a spoilers role that could undermine counter-Islamic State efforts and incentivize Iranian-backed forces to target vulnerable U.S. forces on the ground in those countries. For all of these reasons, joining forces with Russia would be a dangerous gambit. The Obama administration understood those dangers when it considered pursuing more limited military cooperation with Russia in Syria in 2016. As was widely reported at the time, the internal administration debate over whether to pursue even minimal military cooperation was one of the most contentious issues of Obamas second term. Thus, the Obama administration always made any possible counterterrorism cooperation with Russia in Syria subject to strict conditions. In the summer and early fall of 2016, during the negotiations over a potential Joint Implementation Center to conduct coordinated targeting against Nusra and the Islamic State, Obama insisted that Moscow enforce a nationwide ceasefire (including in besieged Aleppo) and ensure unfettered humanitarian access across Syria for the United Nations as preconditions. Obama also required that, if and when the Joint Implementation Center was established, Russia commit to following the laws of war, avoid targeting the moderate opposition, ground Assads air force over most of the country, provide the United States a veto over Russian counterterrorism targets, and press the Assad regime back into negotiations on a political transition. Ultimately, the Russians proved unable or unwilling to convince Assad (and Iran) to meet these conditions, and the proposal collapsed. This should be an obvious warning to Trump. If his administration engages in no-strings attached cooperation with Moscow, it will be complicit in Russian actions fueling the civil war and Islamic extremism. And if Trump attempts to impose meaningful conditions, Putin is unlikely to agree to, or consistently honor, the deal. A Syrian Democratic Forces fighter on the outskirts of Raqqa on Dec. 13, 2016. (DELIL SOULEIMAN/AFP/Getty Images) Its already working If going all-in with Russia in Syria is thus likely to prove counterproductive, the irony is that it is also unnecessary. Trump often alleges that the counter-Islamic State campaign is failing, and that Russia can bring a great deal of counterterrorism capability to the table. But neither assertion is true. On the few occasions when Russia has actually targeted the Islamic State, it hasnt done that well. In fact, one of the few areas in which the Islamic State has gained territory in the past 18 months has been against Russian and Syrian regime forces around Palmyra. Nor can Russia bring much effective military muscle to a campaign to liberate Raqqa; its forces are largely committed to fighting the opposition and stabilizing Assads regime in western Syria, far from the de facto capital of the Islamic State. Most importantly, the counter-Islamic State campaign is not failing; it is progressing steadily and is now on the verge of success. U.S. and U.S.-supported operations have significantly reduced the Islamic States manpower, territory, combat capabilities, financial resources, and morale especially since the campaign was intensified in mid- and late 2015. The Islamic State has not taken significant territory from U.S.-backed forces since the fall of Ramadi in May 2015; it has lost control of cities from Fallujah and Ramadi in Western Iraq, to Manbij and Jarabulus in Northern Syria. Operations to retake Mosul and Raqqa the geographic hubs of the so-called caliphate, and the last major population centers under Islamic State control are underway; approximately half of Mosul has been retaken and Raqqa is being encircled by a U.S.-backed coalition of Syrian Kurds and aligned-Arab forces. Even if Trump does nothing new to augment the counter-Islamic State campaign, those cities are likely to be liberated in the next several months. To be sure, there are still very tough issues that have to be navigated in these fights including post-liberation governance challenges in Mosul and managing tensions between Syrian Kurds and NATO ally Turkey in the context of Raqqa. But deeper cooperation with Moscow would do almost nothing to address these lingering challenges. Looking beyond the Islamic State, potential external operations by Nusra represent a threat that will likely grow in the years ahead. But this threat will be made worse not better if Trump aligns with Russia in a manner that pushes more opposition groups into Nusras clutches. To address this threat, it would be better for the United States to work with all parties to advance a political settlement that reduces incentives for opposition groups to cooperate with Nusra, while intensifying its unilateral operations against that groups external operators. President Donald Trump speaks with Vladimir Putin from the Oval Office, on Jan. 28. (DREW ANGERER/Getty Images) The art of the steal Last but not least, if the idea of lining up with Russia against the Islamic State isnt bad enough, the notion of trading away Ukraine-related sanctions relief to obtain such cooperation is even worse. The Trump team may view such a deal as a shrewd bargain that exchanges something the president doesnt care about Ukraine for Russian cooperation where the United States needs it most. But in reality, this would be a needless giveaway. The one thing that became very clear to us in working on this issue in 2015-2016 is that Russia wants counterterrorism cooperation in Syria as a goal in and of itself. Putin sees such cooperation as a way of legitimizing his pro-Assad campaign and breaking Russias diplomatic isolation. In other words, there is no need for any unrelated side payments to sweeten the deal. If Trump executes such a bargain, then one imagines that there will be a lot of quiet Kremlin gloating about the art of the steal. The only thing throwing Ukraine under the bus would accomplish is to gravely damage U.S. credibility in Europe, unnerve other anxious front line states along Russias border, and embolden further aggression by Moscow. We suspect that none of these issues may be enough to dissuade Trump from pursuing a Russian gambit. Trump has consistently demonstrated that his geopolitical illiteracy knows few bounds. Senior advisors like Secretary of Defense James Mattis and General Joseph Dunford, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, likely understand the risks but the presidents reasoning is frequently impervious to contradictory information or expertise. Still, the very real dangers attached to a U.S.-Russia partnership in Syria really ought to give the president and those around him some pause. Trump wants a stronger and more effective counterterrorism strategy but playing Russian roulette in Syria is not the right answer. Top image credit: LOUAI BESHARA/AFP/Getty Images For a lot of kids, summer is a time to travel intellectually as well as literally, to dive headlong into new languages and cultures in a way that classroom learning alone doesn't allow. For instance, every summer around 4,500 kids between the ages of 7 and 18 travel to one of dozens of "language villages" nestled in the north woods of Minnesota and run by Concordia College. The camps, which also include typical summer-camp activities like swimming and crafts, offer serious cultural and linguistic immersion in 16 different languages. There is belly dancing and Middle Eastern food at Arabic language camp, for example, or traditional calligraphy, taiko drumming, karate and Japanese meals in Japanese camp. "Having a foreign language and cultural skills in your background is vitally important. Sometimes it's a matter of heritage or ethnic background, or sometimes it's about community demographic. Or it's just what a child seems to be passionate about," says Christine Schulze, executive director of the program, based in Moorhead, Minnesota. "Korean pop culture, for example, seems to be a big driver of interest in Korean language and cultural studies." For younger kids, the camps run one or two weeks, while those for high schoolers are four weeks. The longer high-school-level camps are designed (and accredited) to cover an entire year of high school language learning, Schulze says, and unlike a summer overseas, the camps offer the security and ease of remaining in the United States. Kids also can try out several of the "country" villages to find the best fit. "Children come in with the full range of language abilities, with some starting at the very beginning and others quite advanced and ready push their skills even further," she says. "Sometimes children do a summer at a village as preparation for a program abroad the following year." The programs cost roughly $1000 per week, with about 20 percent of the children receiving some level of financial assistance. Story continues Middlebury College, in Vermont, also offers summer language programs for eighth to 12th graders, as do some other colleges and universities. For older kids, the Washington, D.C.-based Youth for Understanding offers high school study-abroad summer programs in dozens of countries. They include group travel for language teachers and their classes, and more traditional, individual home-stay programs, says Heather Deno, sales director for the organization. Youth for Understanding was started after World War II to foster peace, and is also known for high school programs lasting a semester to a year, and gap-year programs between high school and college. In its summer programs in India, Ecuador, Paraguay, South Africa and Thailand, kids stay with a host family and do community-oriented volunteer work. "Our organization started in the 1950s with the idea that it's hard to hate or generalize about a culture once you know people personally," says Deno. The summer programs run four to eight weeks and cost between $5,500 and $9,000 depending on airfare; many students receive financial aid. "We give out $2 million a year in scholarships. Many Japanese companies, in particular, offer full or partial scholarships to Japan," she said. Of course, you don't have to leave home to get summer language study. Many bilingual and language schools across the U.S. offer their own immersive day camps. The French American School of New York, in Larchmont, offers summer camps for kids, as does the German International School in Portland, Oregon, among many others. Prices vary widely depending on the school and region. To find such a program, begin with a quick online search of local bilingual, dual immersion or international schools. For sleepaway camps, Schulze recommends checking that the program is affiliated with the American Camp Association, which sets general and safety guidelines. And for overseas programs, Deno, at Youth For Understanding, says programs should be certified by CIEST (the Council on Standards for International Education Travel). ___ Online: Youth for Understanding: www.yfuusa.org Concordia Language Villages: www.concordialanguagevillages.org American Camp Association: www.acacamps.org The Council on Standards for International Educational Travel: www.csiet.org Https%3a%2f%2fblueprint-api-production.s3.amazonaws.com%2fuploads%2fstory%2fthumbnail%2f36088%2f6d355533-12ac-4425-b248-19f41ea5b1b6 Getting a traffic ticket sucks, having to argue it in court is even worse. Judge Frank Caprio has heard every excuse in the book from law violators on his local show "Caught in Providence," but because he has a giant heart, he sometimes lets them off the hook. In this video, Judge Caprio makes the difficult executive decision to let this dangerous, rule-breaking criminal off the hook for her ill-timed parking ticket. Even though we're cursing the officer who issued this ticket in the first place, we're loving this judge for being such a sweetie. Watch Benedict Cumberbatch get 'incredibly fit' for 'Doctor Strange' fight scenes Netflix's 'Iron Fist' trailer looks worthy of its Marvel brethren Lithuania used 'Minecraft' to pitch Tesla's next Gigafactory Woman has a priceless reaction after meteor zooms across the sky By John Davison and Stephanie Nebehay BEIRUT/GENEVA (Reuters) - The Syrian government executed up to 13,000 prisoners in mass hangings and carried out systematic torture at a military jail near Damascus, rights watchdog Amnesty International said on Tuesday. The Syrian Justice Ministry denied the Amnesty report, calling it completely "devoid of truth", Syrian state news agency SANA reported late on Tuesday. Amnesty said the executions took place between 2011 and 2015, but were probably still being carried out and amounted to war crimes. It called for a further investigation by the United Nations, which produced a report last year with similar accusations also based on extensive witness testimonies. Syria's government and President Bashar al-Assad have rejected similar reports in the past of torture and extrajudicial killings in a war that has claimed hundreds of thousands of lives. The Amnesty report said an average of 20-50 people were hanged each week at the Sednaya military prison north of Damascus. Between 5,000 and 13,000 people were executed at Sednaya in the four years after a popular uprising descended into war, it said. "The victims are overwhelmingly civilians who are thought to oppose the government," the report said. "Many other detainees at Sednaya Military Prison have been killed after being repeatedly tortured and systematically deprived of food, water, medicine and medical care." The prisoners, who included former military personnel suspected of disloyalty and people involved in unrest, underwent sham trials before military courts and were sometimes forced to make confessions under torture, Amnesty said. SANA quoted the justice ministry as saying Amnesty's accusations were not based on real evidence but rather on "personal emotions aimed at achieving known political goals". The ministry also accused rebel groups fighting to unseat Assad of executing and kidnapping civilians, SANA said. The justice ministry described the report as an attempt at "harming Syria's reputation on the international stage especially after the victories of the Syrian army". The army and allied forces drove rebel groups out of Aleppo city in December, in Assad's most important gain of the nearly six-year-old war. SECRECY The executions were carried out secretly and those killed were buried in mass graves outside the capital, with families not informed of their fate, Amnesty said. The report was based on interviews with 84 witnesses including former guards and officials, detainees, judges and lawyers, as well as experts. It followed a report issued a year ago by the U.N. Commission of Inquiry on Syria, whose war crimes investigators said they had documented a high number of deaths in Sednaya military prison. "Amnesty's findings are almost completely in-line with our 'Death in Detention' paper," Paulo Pinheiro, chairman of the U.N. panel, told Reuters. "We mentioned the executions in Sednaya and have extensive details on the systematic details of the regular ceremonies they have to conduct hangings in front of an audience of public officials. It is one of the clearest instances of a systematic practice that we had and based some of the key findings upon." The foreign ministers of Britain and France decried Amnesty's findings. Britain's Boris Johnson tweeted: "Sickened by reports from Amnesty International on executions in Syria. Assad responsible for so many deaths and has no future as leader." "@Amnesty has documented the horror in the prisons of the Syrian regime. This barbarity cannot be the future of Syria," said France's Jean-Marc Ayrault. The International Committee of the Red Cross has visited selected government-run detention facilities since 2011, but its confidential findings are only shared with Syrian authorities. "We only visit central prisons, which are under the Ministry of Interior," ICRC spokeswoman Iolanda Jaquemet said. The ICRC has systematically requested "access to all detainees arrested by all parties to the conflict", she added. (Reporting by John Davison in Beirut and Stephanie Nebehay in Geneva; additional reporting by Ellen Francis in Beirut; editing by Angus MacSwan and Jonathan Oatis) Beirut (AFP) - Amnesty International on Tuesday accused Syria's government of hanging up to 13,000 people at a notorious prison over five years in a "policy of extermination", two weeks before planned peace talks. The damning report, titled "Human Slaughterhouse: Mass hanging and extermination at Saydnaya prison" near Damascus, details the gruesome ritual of mass hangings between 2011 and 2015. At least once a week, up to 50 prisoners were taken from their cells for arbitrary trials, beaten, then hanged "in the middle of the night and in total secrecy", the report said. "Throughout this process, they remain blindfolded. They do not know when or how they will die until the noose was placed around their necks." Most victims were civilians believed to be opposed to President Bashar al-Assad's government. "They kept them (hanging) there for 10 to 15 minutes," a former judge who witnessed the executions said. "For the young ones, their weight wouldn't kill them. The officers' assistants would pull them down and break their necks." Amnesty said the mass executions amounted to war crimes and crimes against humanity, but were probably still taking place. Hamid, a former army officer jailed in 2012, told Amnesty he was simultaneously horrified and relieved when he saw prisoners being taken to be hanged. "I felt happy that their suffering would come to an end." In comments published Tuesday, Assad insisted that "defending" his country in a time of war was more important than a potential case against his government at the highest UN court in The Hague. Related: For more news videos visit Yahoo View, available now on iOS and Android. - 'We don't care' - "We have to defend our country by every mean, and when we have to defend it by every mean, we don't care about this court, or any other international institution," he said. Amnesty's report comes just two weeks before a new round of talks due to take place in Switzerland aimed at ending nearly six years of civil war. Story continues "The upcoming Syria peace talks in Geneva cannot ignore these findings. Ending these atrocities in Syrian government prisons must be put on the agenda," said Lynn Maalouf, deputy director for research at Amnesty's Beirut office. The High Negotiations Committee, set to represent Syria's opposition at the talks, said the investigation "leaves no doubts that the regime has carried out war crimes and crimes against humanity". The National Coalition, a leading opposition group based in Istanbul, demanded international observers be allowed "unobstructed access" to regime-run jails. Thousands of prisoners are held at the military-run Saydnaya prison, 30 kilometres (18 miles) north of Damascus and one of Syria's largest detention centres. Amnesty accused Syria's government of carrying out a "policy of extermination" there by repeatedly torturing detainees and withholding food, water and medical care. "All you see is blood: your own blood, the blood of others," Salam, a lawyer from Aleppo who was held there from 2012 to 2014, was quoted as saying. Prisoners were raped or forced to rape each other, and guards would feed detainees by tossing food onto cell floors which were often covered in dirt and blood, Amnesty said. - 'Hidden, monstrous campaign' - The watchdog has previously said that more than 17,700 people were estimated to have died in government custody in Syria since the conflict erupted in March 2011. That figure did not include the up to 13,000 people executed in Saydnaya. "The horrors depicted in this report reveal a hidden, monstrous campaign, authorised at the highest levels of the Syrian government, aimed at crushing any form of dissent within the Syrian population," said Maalouf. "The cold-blooded killing of thousands of defenceless prisoners, along with the carefully crafted and systematic programmes of psychological and physical torture that are in place inside Saydnaya prison cannot be allowed to continue." Amnesty said it gave the names of 87 prison officials and guards responsible for atrocities to unspecified "bodies capable of conducting credible investigations" into the killings. A UN investigation last year accused Assad's government of carrying out a policy of "extermination" in its jails. More than 310,000 people have been killed in Syria since the war began. Elsewhere, bombing raids early Tuesday against Syria's former Al-Qaeda affiliate killed 37 people, mostly civilians, a monitor said. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said nearly a dozen strikes hit Fateh al-Sham Front's headquarters in Idlib city, and that 24 civilians were among the dead. The Britain-based monitor said the raids were either carried out by a US-led coalition or by regime ally Russia, but Moscow denied involvement. A Pentagon spokesman later said US forces were behind "two precision airstrikes" on February 3 and 4 that targeted Abu Hani al-Masri, "a legacy Al-Qaeda terrorist". Results of those strikes were still being assessed. BEIRUT (Reuters) - The Syrian government and rebel groups swapped dozens of women prisoners and hostages, some of them with their children, in Hama province on Tuesday evening, a monitor and a rebel official said. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a British-based war monitor, said government representatives and rebels exchanged 112 people, including 24 children, in the rebel-held Qalaat al-Madiq town in rural Hama. Many had been detained for years. About half the women were released from government prisons and then taken to opposition-held areas, the Observatory said. In return, the others, along with three unidentified men, were set free by various rebel groups and shuttled to government-controlled areas along the coast. This kind of exchange was rare in the nearly six-year-old war, but had been occurring more often in recent months, the Observatory said. The war pits President Bashar al-Assad's government, backed by Russia and Iran, against an array of mostly Sunni rebel groups, including some backed by Turkey, the United States and Gulf monarchies. Mohamad Rasheed, a spokesman for the Jaysh al-Nasr rebel group based in Hama, said a civilian committee that negotiates such exchanges with the government oversaw the swap on Tuesday. The prisoners on both sides included children, he said, and "some of the women had given birth while detained". Most of the hostages released by rebels were from the coastal Latakia province, the heartland of Assad's minority Alawite sect, and had been held since 2013, Rasheed said. Some of the prisoners set free by the government had been detained since the start of the uprising in 2011, he added. There was no immediate comment from the Syrian government. The conflict has killed hundreds of thousands of people, made more than half of Syrians homeless and created the world's worst refugee crisis. (Reporting by Ellen Francis; Editing by Ralph Boulton) Beirut (AFP) - The Syrian regime, accused by Amnesty International of large-scale hangings, had already been criticised for torture and summary executions in its prisons and intelligence services headquarters. Amnesty said on Tuesday as many as 13,000 people were hanged in five years at the notorious Saydnaya military-run prison near Damascus, accusing the regime of a "policy of extermination". Here are some of the accusations that have been made against the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. - 'Torture archipelago' - On July 3, 2012, US-based rights group Human Rights Watch said Syria was holding tens of thousands of detainees in a "torture archipelago". It documented 27 detention facilities across Syria it said were used to hold people swept up in the government's crackdown on protesters and carried out more than 200 interviews with former detainees, military and intelligence defectors. "Almost all" described experiencing or witnessing torture, including "prolonged beatings, often with objects such as batons and wires", said HRW. Other methods included "holding the detainees in painful stress positions for prolonged periods of time, often with the use of specially devised equipment, the use of electricity, burning with car battery acid, sexual assault and humiliation, the pulling of fingernails, and mock execution." The New York-based watchdog said detainees were also being held in stadiums, military bases, schools and hospitals. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says at least 60,000 people have died over five years from torture or harsh conditions in regime prisons. The Britain-based monitor says half a million people have passed through regime jails since the start of the conflict in March 2011. - Photographer reveals abuses - In 2014, a former Syrian military photographer codenamed "Caesar" who defected, revealed 55,000 photos which gave a glimpse of some of the abuses being committed in Syrian jails. Story continues The digital images of 11,000 dead detainees showed emaciated bodies and "Caesar" described seeing corpses with "deep wounds and burns and strangulations". On September 15, 2015, France launched an inquiry into alleged crimes against humanity carried out by Syria's regime, largely based on those pictures. And the UN General Assembly in December agreed to begin gathering evidence on war crimes in Syria as a first step towards prosecuting those responsible for atrocities there. - 'Extermination' - On February 8, 2016, a UN investigator told media in Geneva that "the mass scale of deaths of detainees suggests that the government of Syria is responsible for acts that amount to extermination as a crime against humanity." The deaths were the result of state policies that targeted the civilian population, the investigator said. - 'Human slaughterhouse' - On August 18, 2016, Amnesty estimated that 17,700 people had died in regime prisons since the start of Syria's war. It cited prisoners who described "appalling abuse and inhuman conditions" in intelligence agency detention centres and in Saydnaya prison. Electrocution, scalding with boiling water and rape were among the forms of torture practised on a "large scale", the watchdog said. In a February report titled "Human Slaughterhouse: Mass hanging and extermination at Saydnaya prison", Amnesty said another 13,000 people had died in group executions there. It said the gruesome mass hanging rituals amounted to war crimes and crimes against humanity and were likely still taking place. The Syrian regime has executed up to 13,000 people in secret mass hangings carried out in the basement of a military prison near Damascus, according to Amnesty International. A new report by the human rights group alleges that Bashar al-Assads security forces carried out a calculated campaign of mass hangings and extermination at Saydnaya, a military prison outside the capital. Saydnaya Military Prison is where the Syria state quietly slaughters its own people, the report reads. The victims are overwhelmingly ordinary civilians who are thought to oppose the government. Prisoners are kept in the red building of the hulking three-winged prison until they are taken before a military court in Damascus. There they are sentenced to death in show trials which last between one and three minutes, according to the report. Detainees are then brought back to the prison and blindfolded and then transferred to the prisons white building. In a dark basement room, nooses are put around their necks and they are hanged in groups of between 20 and 50 people, Amnesty said. Throughout the process, the victims remain blindfolded, the report states. They are only told that they have been sentenced to death minutes before the executions are carried out; they are never told when their executions will be carried out; and they do not know how they will die until the nooses are placed around their necks. The bodies are then disposed of in mass graves. Medical reports usually give the cause of death as heart or lung failure, according to Amnesty. Researchers interviewed former prisoners and prison guards at Saydnaya and concluded that between 5,000 and 13,000 people were killed there between September 2011 and December 2015. The killings are believed to be continuing even today. Amnesty alleges that the scale of the killing means the hanging programme must have been authorised by officials at the highest levels of government. Story continues Individual death sentences are supposed to be approved by either the minister of defence of the chief of staff of the army, both of whom are authorised to act on behalf of Mr Assad. The report may bolster critics of Donald Trump who have been alarmed at his apparent willingness to work with Russia and the Assad regime in the fight against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isil). I dont like Assad at all, but Assad is killing [Isil], Mr Trump said during the second presidential debate against Hillary Clinton. The Amnesty report also describes how prisoners at Saydnaya are subjected to maximal physical and psychological suffering before their executions, including rape and severe beatings. One student named Omar told researchers that prison guards would take one of the smaller male prisoners and make him face a wall and then instruct a larger male prisoner to rape him. Sometimes psychological pain is worse than physical pain, and the people who were forced to do this were never the same again. Come as fast as you can, wrote Yair Greenberg, 18, and his brother Yotam, 17, in a text message to their friends on February 1. The police had just arrived to evacuate Amona, the unauthorized settlement in the West Bank where the Greenbergs grew up, after the Israeli High Court ruled that it was built on private Palestinian land. The call to protestissued by many others at Amona that daylit up cell phones across Israel and the West Bank settlements as word of the impending evacuation spread. Hundreds of Orthodox Jewish teenagers, mostly boys, poured into Amona, an outpost of about 300 people, climbing the shrubby hill in the wind and rain after police closed the roads. Many of them had been to Amona in the weeks prior to support the embattled outpostbut also to carouse out of sight of their parents. One night in December when an evacuation seemed imminent (before the settlers reached a deal with the government that would ultimately fall apart), at least 1,000 teens flocked to Amona where they jumped up and down to techno music in an impromptu rave, side curls and ritual fringes bouncing in the frigid wind. Girls twirled in long skirts and winter coats behind a wooden partition erected for modestys sake. A few youngsters smoked weed. By the time the final showdown took place six weeks later, the mood had turned desperate. Most of the protesters heeded the politicians calls to refrain from violence, barricading themselves inside Amonas homes, linking arms and singing Al Tira, Israel, Dont Fear, Israel, as they were yanked away. But others threw rocks, paint, bleach, and bottles at the police and paramilitary. Recommended: The American Climbing the Ranks of ISIS The evacuation culminated in a standoff at the Amona synagogue, where protesters fought the police off with tear gas, pepper spray, iron bars, and rocks, the police said. On the wall inside the synagogue, someone had drawn the police logo with a swastika and the phrase Ishmael Police, equating Israels police with the biblical figure who gave rise to the Arab nation, according to tradition. Other graffiti blamed Zionists from hell for the evacuation. Story continues With the evacuation underway, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that he would build a settlement somewhere in the West Bank to house the families of Amonathe first new one in nearly 26 years. This followed announcements that Israel would build 5,500 housing units in the West Bank and another nearly 600 in East Jerusalem. Estimates place the overall settler population in the West Bank and East Jerusalem between 600,000 and 750,000. In the past, such behavior would have drawn intense rebuke from the U.S. administration for undermining the two-state solution. But Donald Trump has broken with decades of American foreign policy by declaring that he views settlements as no obstacle to peace, although the White House recently warned that building new ones may not be helpful. On Monday night, the Israeli parliament passed 60-52 a bill that would allow the government to declare private Palestinian lands where settlements had been built in good faith or at the states instruction as Israeli state property. Netanyahu had informed the White House that he would be putting the bill to a vote, and ignored a warning from British Prime Minister Theresa May that such a move would further isolate Israel around the world. The bill will almost certainly be challenged in the High Court. Recommended: How Emmanuel Macron Became the Front-Runner in France's Presidential Election Two days after the Amona evacuation, the Greenberg brothers, both in spectacles and knitted skullcaps, were sitting down for a lunch of schnitzel, cabbage, and rice in a cafeteria at Ofra, a nearby settlement now sheltering several of Amonas 41 families. The brothers could have joined their family at their grandmothers home in another settlement, but they preferred the company of their neighbors from Amona, choosing to sleep in bunk beds at the Ofra girls school. Its important to stay together, said Yotam. Yotam never expected the protest to reverse the evacuation, but he said it was important to register his complaint with the world that Jews were being uprooted from land that he believed God had granted them. Unlike those who painted the graffiti, he said he had nothing against the police who evacuated his family, seeing them as unwitting pawns of the government. Teens had a unique voice in the fight to save Amona, he said. We cannot vote, we cannot change things. The adults, most of the time they dont listen to the teenagers, and here there is an opportunity. We have the fire in ourselves to make change, said Yair, using a Trumpism to describe the goal of the teen activism: We want to make Israel great again. Even though the protest had ended, the youth support was still palpable. Outside the cafeteria, Ofras fences were hung with hand-painted signs welcoming the Amona evacuees. Amona, with you the whole way, said one, which was signed, the Youth of Psagot [another settlement]. Another quoted the Book of Genesis: For all the land which you see I will give to you. Love you. Hugs, the Youth of Ofra. Recommended: How to Build an Autocracy Yotam said he was touched by the solidarity of his peers. It doesnt matter what will happen, these friends will always be with me. Amonas teenagers werent yet born when their parents settled the hilltop outside Ramallah in 1995 on private Palestinian land, but they would become the outposts purists, more ideologically hardcore than the previous generation. For years the fate of the outpost was in limbo, as the government fought a 2006 High Court eviction order. In 2014, the High Court prevailed and ordered the outpost demolished in two years. Last December, the teenagers were crestfallen when Amonas leaders agreed to peacefully evacuate the settlement for a new West Bank site. When Amonas elders relayed the news of the deal in a community meeting, the teenagers reportedly stormed out in anger. (The deal was later canceled when additional Palestinian claims to the relocation site were filed with the High Court.) The disillusionment spread among Amonas young supporters, fueling their protest. More loyal to the land than to institutions, these teen activists represent a potent and growing political force. Even though many of these activists are too young to vote, they shape Israeli politics, pulling it incrementally rightward with each highly publicized protest. The seeds of the Amona protest were planted 12 years ago in Gush Katif, the Gaza Strip settlements evacuated by order of then-Prime Minister Ariel Sharon in 2005. At the time, settler elders promised that God would prevent the Jewish states army from tearing them out of the biblical land of Israel, of which they considered Gaza a part. When that didnt happen, young settlers lost faith in their parents and the Israeli state and military. That rupture grew even wider when settler leaders from the Yesha Council, an umbrella organization of municipal settlement councils, frustrated a plan that would have seen tens of thousands of youngsters confronting soldiers on a march from Kfar Maimon outside the Gaza Strip into Gush Katif weeks before the evacuation. From that point on, the Yesha Council was no longer considered anymore the leadership of those youngsters, said Yair Sheleg, a researcher of religious nationalism at the Israel Democracy Institute. The Amona evacuation was nowhere near the scale of Gush Katif, where 8,600 settlers were uprooted, but it contained a similar motif: settlers disillusioned at the leaders who were supposed to protect them. As the evacuation drew near, Naftali Bennett, a champion of settlers in the Knesset, was issued a bodyguard because of threats from right-wing activists for his failure to save Amona. The protesting teenage boys at Amona can be roughly categorized into two groups: those who live at home with their parents, attend yeshivas and plan to join the army, and, in much smaller numbers, those who wander, living outside the borders of conventional life. In other parts of the world, wandering teens might find themselves experimenting with drugs or alcohol. In the West Bank, ideology is the substance of choice. Broadly speaking, these teens, often referred to as hilltop youth, see as hypocritical Israels self-identification as a Jewish and democratic state. The most extreme among them seek to sow chaos to bring down the democratic institutions and erect a Jewish monarchy in their place. I think the fight for Amona is not finished. Some of these teens traffic in violence, committing so-called price tag attacks against Palestinian individuals and property as revenge for Palestinian attacks or Israeli government efforts to curb unauthorized Jewish building in the West Bank. The unaffiliated youngsters connected themselves to extreme ideology of the land and religion, said Sheleg. That gives them a feeling that they are not the worst part of the society but the best part of society. At sensitive times like the Amona evacuation, the two groups join together with adults in protest that is impossible for the politicians to ignore. Paradoxically, these protesters who rally against the government are also the governments base. When they speak, Israels right-wing politicians, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, listen. The point is to say that there is a price to be paid for these kinds of actions, said Gadi Wolfsfeld, a political scientist at the Interdisciplinary Center Herzliya. A violent confrontation between the army and the settlers is something the government would like to avoid at all costs. Monday nights vote seemed to bear out this observation, providing evidence that determination pays, as Bennett put it. The politician also tweeted out one word: Revolution. Bennett was echoing a sentiment of which Israels rave-going settler teens are probably the best embodiment. Sitting in Ofras cafeteria, just a short walk downhill from their soon-to-be-demolished home in Amona, the Greenberg brothers conveyed a similar confidence. I think the fight for Amona is not finished, said Yair, recalling the energy of the protest with excitement. We will continue to fight to go back. Read more from The Atlantic: This article was originally published on The Atlantic. By Jon Herskovitz AUSTIN, Texas (Reuters) - A high-speed rail company in Texas said on Tuesday it has reached deals to avoid nearly all pending land survey court cases, a move coming days before the leaders of Japan and the United States are set to discuss a joint jobs package that may include the project. Texas Central Railways, a private firm seeking to build a 240-mile (386 km) high speed rail link between Dallas and Houston, said it has withdrawn 17 cases concerning access for land surveys after reaching agreements with property owners, adding one further land survey case remains, a spokeswoman said. It has also reached land option agreements on about 30 percent of the parcels needed for the trains route in a 10-county stretch between North Texas and Houston, it said. The United States is one of the few leading developed countries without high-speed rail links. Central Japan Railway Co, a world leader in the field, said it has provided the Texas project technical assistance through a subsidiary. Japan is putting together a package it says could generate 700,000 U.S. jobs and help create a $450-billion market, to present to U.S. President Donald Trump this week, Japanese government sources familiar with the plans said. The five-part package, to be unveiled when Prime Minister Shinzo Abe visits Trump on Feb. 10 in Washington, envisages investments in infrastructure projects such as high-speed trains and cyber security, said the sources, who declined to be identified as they were not authorized to speak to the media. The proposal comes after Trump attacked long-time U.S. ally Japan for what he called unfair trade practices. Trump, who has pledged to put America first when it comes to trade, has also rattled Japan by criticizing what he says is the low number of U.S. cars sold in Japan. The Texas high-speed rail project is one of several floated in the United States, including a network in California where construction started in 2015. Texas Central, which has been seeking about $10 billion in funding, said its project will create 10,000 jobs each year of the railway's four-year construction period. Story continues The link between the fourth and fifth most populous U.S. metro areas of Dallas and Houston is expected to use Japanese shinkansen or bullet train cars. Texans Against High Speed Rail, which opposes the project, said the railway will infringe on private property rights and has called on Texas lawmakers to put the brakes on the project. (Reporting by Jon Herskovitz; Editing by Phil Berlowitz) Theresa May stood her ground on Monday in the face of pressure from Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, to impose new sanctions on Iran. During their first meeting in London, the Israeli leader told Mrs May that responsible nations should follow Donald Trumps lead by punishing Iran for testing a long range missile. Downing Street gave no indication the UK would heed Mr Netanyahus urging and defended the nuclear agreement which was struck in 2015 between Iran and six world powers. The meeting came hours before Israels parliament passed a controversial new law that will retroactively approve Jewish settlements built illegally on privately-owned Palestinian land. : " . ". pic.twitter.com/92DVmSOyWC (@IsraeliPM_heb) February 6, 2017 The UN warned that the new law will greatly diminish the already fading hope of a future peace deal between Israelis and Palestinians. Mrs May reiterated the UKs opposition to settlement activity during the meeting, a Downing Street spokesperson said. The Israeli prime minister strongly opposed the Iran nuclear agreement while it was being negotiated and told Mrs May that Iran seeks to annihilate Israel. It threatens Europe; it threatens the West; it threatens the world, Mr Netanyahu said. Thats why I welcome President Trump's insistence on new sanctions against Iran. I think other nations should follow soon, certainly responsible nations. Mrs May defended the nuclear agreement in the meeting, a Downing Street spokesperson, arguing that deal was keeping Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon without resorting to war. The Prime Minister was clear that the nuclear deal is vital and must be properly enforced and policed, while recognising concerns about Irans pattern of destabilising activity in the region, the spokesperson said. Story continues Two crowds of demonstrators gathered outside Downing Street ahead of the meeting to protest against and in support of the Israeli leader. Mr Netanyahu returned to Israel on Monday night and headed directly for the Israeli parliament, the Knesset, for votes on the settlement bill. The vote passed 60-52 in Israel's 120-member Knesset following a raucous debate in which opposition lawmakers shouted from their seats at governing coalition lawmakers speaking in favor of the vote. Some legislators supportive of the law took pictures of the plenum during the vote while some spectators in visitors' seats raised a black cloth in apparent protest. The legislation gives legal protection to 4,000 settlement homes which were built in violation of Israels own law, which prohibits settlers from building on land owned by Palestinian families. Palestinians condemned the law. "This is an escalation that would only lead to more instability and chaos. It is unacceptable. It is denounced and the international community should act immediately," said Nabil Abu Rdeneh, a spokesman for Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian president Israels attorney general has said he believes the law is unconstitutional and it is likely to eventually be struck down by the Israeli supreme court. The bill has been championed by a far-Right party within Mr Netanyahus coalition government and the vote went ahead despite the Israeli prime ministers own concerns that the legislation could lead to new tensions with Europe. Nikolay Mladenov, the UNs special representative for Israeli-Palestinian issues, urged the Israeli parliament not to move forward with the bill. I am concerned that if adopted into law, this bill will have far reaching legal consequences for Israel and greatly diminish the prospects for Arab-Israeli peace, he said. Mr Netanyahu said Israel had briefed the White House before moving ahead with the legislation. The Israeli prime minister will travel to Washington next week for his first visit since Mr Trump took office. The bill would effectively seize privately owned Palestinian land and retroactively give settlers legal rights to build on it. Palestinians would be offered financial compensation or a new plot of land in return. Israels supreme court occasionally orders the government to demolish Jewish settlements if they were built illegally. Thousands of Israeli police were sent in to demolish the small settlement of Amona last week because it fell foul of planning laws. However, if the legislation passes then other settlements like Amona would theoretically be safe from destruction. Avichai Mandelblit, the attorney general, has said he believes that the legislation would violate the constitution and opposition parties said the bill was political posturing by the political Right and likely to be struck down by the courts. They are passing a law which endangers our soldiers, will undermine our international standing and undermine us as a country of law and order, said Yair Lapid, leader of the centrist Yesh Atid opposition party. German Chancellor Angela Merkel is meeting with key Polish government leaders and politicians in Warsaw on Tuesday, a bid to strengthen the ties between Germany and Poland amid choppy geopolitical waters. Stronger German-Polish relations would likely be useful during what are particularly trying times: Merkel might have said on Tuesday that the EU wants to work with the United States on the basis of our common values, but U.S. President Donald Trump is understood by European leaders to be a threat to the European Union; British Prime Minister Theresa May seemingly intends to use a March 9 European Council summit to trigger Brexit negotiations; far-right, Euroskeptic parties are on the rise across the continent; and Russian state-sponsored disinformation would further weaken the EU. But wishin and hopin dont always make it so. Merkel faces three big challenges in Warsaw: Poland is openly defying the EU. Polands ruling far-right Law and Justice party is arguably itself one of those Euroskeptics. Polish leaders might tell Merkel that theyre happy to work together to bolster the EU, but the reality remains that those same leaders have undermined the EU by openly defying it. On Dec. 19, the ruling party took control of the constitutional tribunal after refusing to seat justices appointed by the previous ruling party. The European Commission issued strongly worded statements, but was ultimately incapable of doing anything, as Polands illiberal brother-in-arms, Hungary, said it would block any action taken against Poland. She has kept from directly (openly) criticizing Law and Justice, but that doesnt mean her ends wont be threatened by the Polish partys anti-liberal means. Poland and Germany dont see eye to eye on migration. The Polish government may make the argument that what it does with rule of law and free media within its own borders is its business. But the migration crisis is all of the EUs business. Germany is pushing a policy for the fair sharing of the burden of refugees. Refusal of refugees is one of the cornerstones of Law and Justice policy. That isnt actually an insurmountable divide: Poland could, for example, make financial contributions to share the burden. But if Law and Justice insists Poland sits on the sidelines in dealing with the migration crisis, it is difficult to see how to bring them aboard as an active EU player. Nor do they agree on energy. After meeting with Merkel on Tuesday, Polish Prime Minister Beata Szydlo said she is confident that strong German-Polish relations are confident for a strong EU. She also said a planned Nord Stream 2 pipeline is unacceptable to Poland. This could be something of a sticking point. Nord Stream 2 is meant to carry gas from Russia to where else Germany. But it isnt all bad for Merkel and, by extension, the European Union. There are two reasons all of the above might not derail her efforts. Unlike other far-right European leaders, Polands Law and Justice Party doesnt trust Trump. Why? Because Trump trusts Russian President Vladimir Putins Russia. Poland may still be pinning its cautious hopes on Trump, but it is nevertheless wary of the U.S. presidents stance toward Moscow. Poland and Russia have their obvious historic and geopolitical differences (see: 18th century; 20th century.) Whats more, Jaroslaw Kaczynski, leader of the Law and Justice party and the most powerful (though unelected) man in Poland, believes the Kremlin was behind the 2010 Smolensk plane crash that killed his twin brother, Lech Kaczynski, then president of Poland. This might make him more amenable to working with the woman some see as the best international check against Trump and Putin. These external threats might make the Union European again. With the not-so-certain future outlook regarding policies of all its global partners, the EU has become more unified. That, at least, is how Estonian Prime Minister Juri Ratas put it in an interview to Bloomberg. Paradoxically, that the challenges seem so insurmountable might make EU members states pull together to surmount them. Whether that is wishful thinking or reality depends on EU member states including the one Merkel is visiting on Tuesday. Photo credit: Francesco Gulotta-Pool/Getty Images By David Brunnstrom and Lesley Wroughton WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has underscored Washington's intent to strengthen ties with Australia, Japan and South Korea, the State Department said on Tuesday, a move aimed at reassuring allies unnerved by the campaign rhetoric of new President Donald Trump. In separate calls with counterparts from the three long-time allies, they agreed to work closely to tackle threats from North Korea's nuclear ambitions and increased tensions in the East and South China seas, State Department spokesman Mark Toner said, "Secretary Tillerson reiterated the Administration's intent to strengthen our military alliances, our economic partnerships, and our diplomatic cooperation," he said in a statement. Tillerson expressed interest in early meetings with his counterparts "and expressed his deep respect for their nations' contributions to regional security, global prosperity, democratic institutions, and the rule of law," it said. The calls come at a time of raised concerns in the Asia-Pacific about Trump's attitude to the region. During his election campaign, Trump appeared to question U.S. alliances with Tokyo and Seoul and complained that they were not sharing enough of the cost of the U.S. security umbrella. Trump has also criticized Japan's trade policies as damaging to U.S. jobs. More recently ties with Australia were strained after details of an acrimonious phone call between Trump and Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull emerged and the former described a deal between the two nations on refugee resettlement as "dumb." Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is due to visit Washington for a two-day summit with Trump from Friday that is expected to focus on security ties in the face of a rising China and trade. Earlier on Tuesday, Japan's Kyodo news agency quoted Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida as saying that Tillerson had confirmed that a long-standing commitment by Washington to defend Japanese territory applies to the Senkakus, a group of small islands that China claims and calls the Diaoyus. The State Department declined to comment on the Kyodo report but U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis reaffirmed America's commitment to its mutual defense treaty with Japan on Friday when he met Abe in Tokyo and in a call with Abe in late January. Trump said the U.S. security commitment was "ironclad. Turnbull's leadership was questioned after he was berated by Trump and an opinion poll published on Monday showed support for his coalition had slipped to its lowest level since he took power 17 months ago and that his Liberal-National coalition would easily fall if an election were held now. (Reporting by Lesley Wroughton and David Brunnstrom; editing by Diane Craft, Bernard Orr) VATICAN CITY (AP) Participants at a Vatican conference on organ trafficking challenged China on Tuesday to allow independent scrutiny to ensure it is no longer using organs from executed prisoners, saying Chinese assurances aren't enough to prove the transplant program has been reformed. Sparks flew in the afternoon session of the meeting as China's former vice health minister, Dr. Huang Jiefu, sought to assure the international medical community that China was "mending its ways" after declaring an end to the prisoner harvesting program in 2015. "I am fully aware of the speculation about my participation in the summit," Huang told the conference, citing "continuing concerns about the transplant activities." He provided scant data to rebut critics, however, showing only two slides indicating an increased number of living and deceased donors in recent years and China's recent efforts to crack down on black market transplant activities. CANBERRA, Australia (AP) An Australian Senate committee has revealed that that country's mail chief is the nation's highest paid public servant and made 5.6 million Australian ($4.3 million) last year. The disclosure came despite objections from Australian Post that making the salary information public could attract media attention and damage its brand. The Communications and Environment Committee announced Tuesday that Ahmed Fahour, managing director of the national mail service, was paid AU$4.4 million salary plus an AU$1.2 million bonus in the last fiscal year more than 10 times the prime minister's salary of AU$507,000. By contrast, U.S. Postal Service Chief Executive and Postmaster General Megan Brennan's salary was $286,137 last year. BEIJING (AP) A judge in China's top court has labeled Donald Trump an enemy "of the rule of law" over his insults directed at a U.S. judge who temporarily blocked the president's travel ban, saying Trump had set a poor example as head of the world's leading democracy. Supreme People's Court Judge He Fan's blog post came after Trump went on Twitter on Saturday to denigrate James Robart as a "so-called judge" whose "ridiculous" decision opened the country to potential terror attacks. In his post, dated Sunday, He wrote that under the U.S. system's separation of powers, a president who is dealt a judicial defeat should bear the loss silently rather than lash out at the judge in question. Story continues WASHINGTON (AP) The Trump administration shouldn't abandon long-standing U.S. policy on the status of Taiwan, a prominent panel of China specialists said Tuesday, calling such a move "exceedingly dangerous." Before taking office, President Donald Trump questioned Washington's "one China policy" that shifted diplomatic recognition from self-governing Taiwan to China in 1979. He said it was open to negotiation. But former U.S. officials and scholars said in a report that such an approach could destabilize the Asia-Pacific and leave Taiwan more vulnerable. U.S.-China relations are at a "precarious crossroads" and the two world powers could be on a "collision course," it said, describing a rivalry that is growing amid Beijing's assertion of territorial claims in the disputed South and East China Seas. SEOUL, South Korea (AP) When Pyeongchang was awarded the 2018 Olympics six years ago, many South Koreans felt that the first Winter Games on home snow would herald their entry into the top tier of rich nations. One year before the Olympics, however, the country is in political disarray, and winter sports are the last thing on many people's minds. To say that South Koreans are distracted from what had been billed as a crowning sports achievement is an understatement. After protests that saw millions take to the streets, South Korea's president, toppled from power, languishes in her mountainside palace as a court ponders whether to approve her impeachment and trigger early elections. MANILA, Philippines (AP) About 15,000 residents of a shantytown beside Manila's port have lost their homes in a fire that raged overnight before being put out Wednesday morning, officials said. Fire department officials said 1,000 homes were gutted in the sprawling Parola Compound, where several families often share tiny houses running along narrow alleyways. Fire officer Edilberto Cruz said seven people suffered minor injuries in the fire that broke out Tuesday night then quickly spread. No fatalities were reported. Three evacuation centers were opened, and food and water are being provided to the 3,000 families who lost their homes, said welfare officer Regina Jane Mata. KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) A suicide bomber struck an entrance to Afghanistan's Supreme Court on Tuesday, killing at least 19 people in the latest in a series of attacks on the country's judiciary. The attacker was on foot, and targeted a side door as court employees and other people were exiting the building in downtown Kabul, the Interior Ministry said. Public Health Minister Ferozuddin Feroz said 41 people were wounded, including 10 in critical condition. No one immediately claimed the attack, which bore the hallmarks of the Taliban. The insurgents have been at war with the U.S.-backed government for 15 years and have increasingly targeted the judiciary since the execution of six convicted insurgents last May. WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) New Zealand's Prime Minister Bill English said Tuesday he told President Donald Trump during a phone call that he disagreed with his travel and refugee ban but that the conversation remained amicable. Last week Trump had a testy exchange with Australia's Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull over a deal Australia reached with the Obama administration to resettle refugees in the U.S. Trump later tweeted that the deal was "dumb." By contrast, English told Radio New Zealand that his 15-minute call with Trump on Monday was a "sensible, polite discussion" that affirmed the good relationship between the countries. LONDON (AP) The mother of a backpacker slain in an Australian hostel wrote an open letter to U.S. President Donald Trump, rejecting the decision to label her daughter's death as a terror attack. The August slayings of Mia Ayliffe-Chung, 20, and fellow Briton Tom Jackson, 30, were on a list of 78 attacks the White House says were "executed or inspired by" the Islamic State terror group and under-reported by the media. Rosie Ayliffe says the possibility of terrorism was discounted early in the investigation. "My daughter's death will not be used to further this insane persecution of innocent people," she wrote. SYDNEY (AP) Australia and China pledged Tuesday to deepen their ties on everything from trade to tourism, a show of unity that comes at a delicate time in Australia's relationship with China's chief rival for Pacific power, the United States. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, who is visiting Canberra for talks with his Australian counterpart, touted a free trade agreement the two nations signed a year ago as a success, while vowing to take a "firm stand" against protectionism. "At the time when we face an international situation that is full of uncertainties, we agree to send a clear message that it is important to firmly commit to an open world economy," Wang told reporters through an interpreter. By Terrence Edwards ULAANBAATAR (Reuters) - On most winter mornings, Setevdorj Myagmartsogt wakes up to a cloud of toxic smog blanketing his neighborhood in the Mongolian capital Ulaanbaatar, where the air quality is among the worst in the world. The city's air, which is at times far worse than Beijing's infamous smog, has become more polluted because of smoke from thousands of chimneys burning coal, wood and even trash, as poor residents try to stay warm during brutal winters. "Because of the air pollution, our health is getting worse," Myagmartsogt told Reuters. "When my two youngest kids go to kindergarten, they get ill every week and they have to stay away ... It's because of the air pollution." The capital's total emissions of harmful breathable particles known as PM2.5 surged to as high of 855 micrograms per cubic meter late last month. In comparison, Beijing's air on the same day, measured 70 micrograms. The acceptable standard, according to the World Health Organisation, is 20-25 micrograms. The reading in Ulaanbaatar has been known to hit 1,000 micrograms. About 80 percent of the city's smog comes from poor "ger" districts, a sprawl of traditional tents that have sprung up on the edge of the city, said Tsogtbaatar Byamba, director of Mongolia's Institute of Public Health. Many residents are former herders who migrated to the city after their livestock was wiped out by recent extremely harsh winters, which have become more common, partly because of climate change. As temperatures plunge to as low as minus 40 Celsius (minus 40 Fahrenheit), ger residents with no access to the state heating grid burn whatever they can to keep warm. To combat this, the government last month bolstered restrictions on migrants to the capital, allowing only those in need of long-term help and people who own homes until the end of the year. But the pollution persists. Hundreds of residents gathered recently in the city's Chinggis Square to protest against the government's inability to tackle the smog. Demonstration organizers collected more than 7,000 signatures. "The air pollution has had real consequences in my life," said protester Otgontuya Baldandorj. "I was pregnant three times, but I lost all of them. With my fourth child, I had to go to the countryside to get fresh air to give birth." (Reporting by Terrence Edwards; Editing by David Stanway and Randy Fabi) WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump supports the government negotiating directly with drug companies on prices for drugs covered by the Medicare insurance program, the White House said on Tuesday. "He's for it," White House spokesman Sean Spicer said, when asked at a briefing whether Trump still supports negotiating drug prices for the healthcare program. Spicer said Trump was committed to using his "skills as a businessman" to drive prices down. (Reporting by Emily Stephenson; Editing by James Dalgleish) By Huw Jones LONDON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump's review of post-crisis banking rules could sound the death knell for new global standards now being finalised and rip apart a common approach to regulating international lenders, bankers and regulators said. Central banks and watchdogs around the world have spent the past eight years drawing up regulation aimed at preventing a repeat of the 2007-2009 financial crisis, but there are fears that project could unravel after Trump said he wants the U.S. to row back on capital rules. Trump's order for a regulatory review to overcome what he sees as obstacles to lending came as banking watchdogs were trying to complete the final piece of global capital requirements, known as Basel III. Given that the United States wants to shrink the banking rule book, there are doubts over whether the Basel rules can make it over the finishing line next month if they don't have backing from the United States. Without support from the world's biggest capital market, other countries would be less willing to commit too. The core aim of the outstanding part of Basel III that regulators are working on - dubbed Basel IV by critical banks who worry about more stringent capital requirements - is to impose more consistency into how banks calculate the amount of capital they hold against risky assets like loans. JPMorgan chief executive Jamie Dimon said in the aftermath of the financial crisis that European rivals had been "a lot more aggressive" than American banks in calculating capital, meaning they were holding less. European policymakers have rejected that criticism, but their region's banks have been lobbying against the remaining Basel rules, saying they would force them to increase significantly the amount of capital they need to hold. If the United States fails to approve the completion of Basel III, the perceived problem that European banks get away with holding less capital than U.S. lenders may not be properly tackled, a source involved in the negotiations said. Story continues "It's in the interests of American banks to get this done," the source said. Others are less optimistic that a deal can now be done after Trump's intervention. "It's going to delay completing Basel III, and perhaps lead to it not being concluded," an adviser to banks said on condition of anonymity. "I do fear that Basel IV is doomed," a banking industry official added. There are headwinds from elsewhere, too. Patrick McHenry, Republican vice chairman of the House financial services committee, fired a warning shot at Federal Reserve Governor Janet Yellen about the Basel talks in a letter dated Jan. 31, ahead of Trump's executive order. The Fed must "cease" all attempts to negotiate binding standards "burdening American business" until the Trump Administration has had the opportunity to nominate officials that prioritize "America's best interests", McHenry said. While lawmakers often call on regulators to ease pressure on firms, regulators said Trump's intervention in banking rules gives more clout to McHenry's warning. The Basel Committee declined to comment. GLOBAL COOPERATION Trump's decision to review existing, post-crisis banking rules has rung alarm bells among regulators outside the country. Mario Draghi, president of the European Central Bank, which regulates the euro zone's main lenders, said on Monday that easing banking rules could threaten financial stability. Draghi was chairman of the Group of 20 Economies' (G20) regulatory task force, the Financial Stability Board, which during the financial crisis was instrumental in building up a global approach to reinforcing banking standards. A former regulator said the United States would be scoring an own goal by withdrawing from multilateral bodies like Basel as it would no longer be shaping rules that impinge on U.S. banking competitiveness globally. "It's early days, but what we have seen in language and rhetoric from Washington is worrying," said David Wright, a former top EU official who was part of crisis-era efforts to create the global regulatory consensus. "If you break international consensus, you are effectively opening up a regulatory race and heaven knows where it will end," said Wright, now at Flint Global, which advises companies on regulatory matters. Wright was referring to what was seen in the run-up to the financial crisis, when countries like Britain resorted to a "light touch" approach to banks to make London a more attractive financial center. Valdis Dombrovskis, the EU's financial services chief, said last week that international regulatory cooperation had been vital in tackling the financial crisis and must continue. Much will hinge on how much regulatory change Trump can actually push through. Former Democratic Congressman Barney Frank, who jointly sponsored the Dodd Frank Act that Trump wants to review, told the BBC last week he does not expect Congress to approve the wholesale rolling back of rules, but the Trump administration could pressure U.S. regulators to ease up on applying existing requirements. Anil Kashyap, a Bank of England policymaker, said last month that Trump's nomination for the powerful role of Fed Vice Chair in charge of banking supervision would shape the U.S. approach to international rule-making. It will have a "huge impact", a regulatory source added. The fear among global regulators is that multilateral bodies like the Basel Committee and the Financial Stability Board could be abandoned by the United States under Trump. Jose Ignacio Goirigolzarri, chairman of Spain's Bankia, told Spanish television on Tuesday he would be concerned if Trump was questioning the usefulness of international banking rules. "It would worry me very much because I think it's very important, very relevant that there have been advances in the homogenization of regulation amongst developed countries," he said. (Additional reporting by Paul Day in Madrid, editing by Giles Elgood) Donald Trump President Donald Trump plans to take the court case regarding his executive order on immigration "through the system" and, if need be, to the Supreme Court, he said Tuesday. "It's very important. It's very important for the country," he said during a meeting at the White House. "Regardless of me or whoever succeeds at a later date, we have to have security in our country. We have to have the ability." Trump's executive order barred people from seven majority-Muslim countries Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Syria from traveling to the United States for 90 days. The Trump administration said it wanted to review its vetting system during that time. The seven countries were identified by former President Barack Obama's administration as terror hotspots. "When you take someplace like Syria ... and if you remember, ISIS said, 'We are going to infiltrate the United States and other countries through the migration,'" Trump said. "And then we're not allowed to be tough on the people coming in? Explain that one. So we'll see what happens. We have a big court case, we're well represented, and we're going to see what happens." Asked if the case would make it to the Supreme Court, Trump said it could. "I mean, we'll see," he said. "Hopefully it doesn't have to. It's common sense. You know, some things are law, and I'm all in favor of that, and some things are common sense. This is common sense." Late on Friday, Judge James Robart, a George W. Bush appointee based in Washington state, blocked key parts of the order nationwide. Trump attacked Robart on Twitter over the weekend, calling him a "so-called judge" and suggesting the public blame both Robart and the broader court system for any future terror attack on US soil. The Justice Department subsequently filed for an immediate restoration of the travel ban but was rejected. Attorneys said the ban was lawful because of the president's wide-reaching authority to protect the nation under what it deemed a national-security threat. Story continues Judges at the 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals, in San Francisco, will hear arguments from both parties on Tuesday. Either party in the case, State of Washington v. Trump, could appeal the decision to the Supreme Court, which has had only eight justices since Antonin Scalia died in February 2016. If the court were to deadlock, as it did last year regarding an Obama executive order on immigration, the appellate court's ruling would stand. When the travel ban was implemented late last month, it was interpreted by the White House to include barring those who are legal permanent residents in the US, known as green-card holders, which caused chaos at airports across the country as they were detained. After a series of temporary stays from federal judges, the Department of Homeland Security soon after ordered green-card holders from the countries be allowed into the US. Watch Trump's comments: Donald Trump: We're going to take the travel ban "through the system" https://t.co/kGjzKs2OCj Daniella Diaz (@DaniellaMicaela) February 7, 2017 NOW WATCH: Here's how powerful an executive order is and how it could be reversed More From Business Insider By Steve Holland TAMPA (Reuters) - President Donald Trump on Monday accused the news media of ignoring attacks by Islamist militants in Europe, without giving specific examples. Trump, who has made defeating Islamic State a core goal of his presidency, did not specify which attacks were going unreported, which news media organizations were ignoring them, or offer details to support his claims. "All over Europe, it's happening. It's gotten to a point where it's not even being reported," he told a group of about 300 U.S. troops at MacDill Air Force Base in Florida. "And, in many cases, the very, very dishonest press doesn't want to report it. They have their reasons, and you understand that," he added, without saying what those reasons were. Pressed by reporters later on Trumps remarks, White House spokesman Sean Spicer said the Trump administration would provide a list of unreported or under-reported attacks, adding "there's several instances." "There's a lot of instances that have occurred where I dont think they've gotten the coverage it deserved," Spicer said.It was Trump's latest salvo against the news media, a favorite target for derision who he says broadly underestimated his chances during the presidential campaign. He has kept up the attacks since his Jan. 20 inauguration. Trump at one point cited attacks in the French cities of Paris and Nice, which were widely covered. More than 230 people have died in France alone in the past two years at the hands of attackers allied to Islamic State. Al Tompkins at The Poynter Institute, a Florida-based journalism school, dismissed Trump's criticism. "To suggest that journalists have some reason not to report ISIS attacks is just outlandish," Tompkins said, using an acronym for Islamic State. (Reporting by Steve Holland, additional reporting by Idrees Ali and Susan Heavey, writing by Phil Stewart) As America gathered around its televisions to take in the Super Bowl on Sunday, a Russian patriot and democrat named Vladimir Kara-Murza spent the same hours clinging to life in a Moscow hospital. The vast majority of Americans have never heard of Kara-Murza, but he represents much that the United States holds dear. An outspoken advocate for government transparency and citizens rights, he and an ever-dwindling group of Russians like him present a challenge one that the Kremlin intends to stamp out to the rule of Russian President Vladimir Putin. Increasingly, these men and women arent just imprisoned for expressing their views: They are killed. That was the fate of Boris Nemtsov, Kara-Murzas political mentor and a former Russian first deputy prime minister, who was gunned down two years ago within steps of the Kremlin. It was also a fate Kara-Murza himself escaped soon thereafter, when he survived organ failure under circumstances widely held to be poisoning an episode eerily similar to his current illness. Enter President Donald Trump, the man the American people have entrusted with a position and title once appropriately described as the leader of the free world. In an interview with Bill OReilly of Fox News that aired just before the big game, the president sought to excuse the murder of journalists, activists, and political opposition members in Russia by equating those crimes with the actions of the United States, saying in Putins defense, There are a lot of killers. We have a lot of killers. Well, you think our country is so innocent? These words are an assault on everything I have ever believed in and fought for as a former U.S. diplomat and military officer. They are an affront to men and women who have given their lives for their country, and to any public official asked to raise his or her right hand and swear to support and defend the Constitution. They are a rejection of the guiding vision that has underpinned the American experiment at home and Americas role in the world. Story continues The United States is far from perfect. One reading of our nations history is that of ideals never fully realized. From the original sin of slavery, to ill-advised interventions abroad, to fear-based policies that have abridged the rights of citizens and closed the countrys borders to the most vulnerable, our new president is correct when he says that America is far from innocent. What Trump apparently rejects, however, is a different, equally valid reading of Americas story. This is the one I heard from activists and human rights defenders from across the former Soviet Union every time I traveled abroad as a representative of the United States. This version of the countrys history recognizes that, despite its failings and hypocrisies, the United States stands for the idea that people the world over have a right to determine their leaders and their future, and that governments have no right to lie, steal, and murder with impunity. In December, I moderated a meeting between Secretary of State John Kerry and a small group of human rights activists from Europe and Russia. In years past, this dialogue had been fairly predictable, if not also disheartening. The activists provided the latest news on how their leaders were robbing their countrymen of rights, and asked for U.S. support to call out these wrongs. This year, following the U.S. election, the conversation was very different. More than seeking to convey events in their own countries, the activists wanted to know only one thing: Whose side would the United States take in the years to come? Would it be theirs, they asked, or that of the dictators? When Trump suggests that there is no difference between the actions of the United States and those of Putin, he provides an answer. He tells defenders of democracy the world over that the liberties enshrined in the U.S. Constitution and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights have no meaning to him, and by extension, to the United States. And he hands Putin and other autocrats the ultimate propaganda coup: that the U.S. government and theirs are the same, that we all lie and steal and murder, and that quaint notions like the rule of law and individual rights are but useful turns of phrase. The last time I met with Vladimir Kara-Murza, I asked him why he would go back to Russia when he knew that his life was in danger. Russia is my country, he responded, and I am prepared to die to see it free. It is this Vladimir that the U.S. president should praise, not the tyrant who would wish him dead. Top photo: Nemtsov; Leonid Martynyuk, a Russian journalist and opposition activist, right; and Kara-Mirza, left, on January 30, 2014 at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. ALEX WONG/Getty Images By Emily Stephenson WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump said on Tuesday there was "no reason" to curb law enforcement agencies that seize cash, vehicles and other assets of people suspected of crimes, a practice that some lawmakers and activists have criticized for denying legal rights. The issue of civil asset forfeiture, created to disrupt the activities of organized crime groups, arose when sheriffs from around the United States told Trump at a White House meeting that they were under pressure to ease the practice. "I'd like to look into that," Trump said. "There's no reason for that." In 2016, a group of Republican and Democratic lawmakers introduced a bill, which did not become law, that would have required the government to do more to show that seized property was connected to a crime. Critics have said suspects have few avenues to challenge the seizures and that forfeiture laws were sometimes abused. Police in some cases seize property from people who are never charged or convicted. Trump, a Republican, asked acting U.S. Attorney General Dana Boente, who was at the gathering, whether executive orders or legislation were needed to support forfeiture. Boente said that was unnecessary but law enforcement agencies needed encouragement. Trump voiced disagreement with lawmakers who want to change asset forfeiture laws, and some of the sheriffs laughed when Trump suggested he might want to "destroy" the career of one Texas legislator. He said members of the U.S. Congress would "get beat up really badly by the voters" if they interfered with law enforcement's activities. Later, Sheriff Harold Eavenson of Rockwall County, Texas, told Trump of his response to a state lawmaker who had introduced legislation requiring suspects first be convicted before assets could be seized. "I told him that the cartel would build a monument to him in Mexico if he could get that legislation passed," Eavenson said. "Who was the state senator?" Trump asked. "You want to give his name? We'll destroy his career," the president deadpanned, to laughter. Eavenson did not identify the lawmaker, but a Republican state senator has introduced similar legislation in Texas. The Texas Observer magazine reported that the bill had support from Republicans and Democrats. (Reporting by Emily Stephenson; Editing by Kevin Drawbaugh and Grant McCool) WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump said on Tuesday he needed a U.S. appeals court considering the legality of his immigration order to go his way, saying a lot of "bad people" are thinking of coming to the United States. Trump made the comments during an appearance at the White House in which he also criticized Senate delays of his Cabinet nominees, including Scott Pruitt for the Environmental Protection Agency. (Reporting by Emily Stephenson; Writing by Doina Chiacu; Editing by Susan Heavey) AUBURN Rotary Clubs from Auburn, Butler and Garrett are hosting their sixth annual Rotary Dessert Duel Thursday from 6:30-8 p.m. at the National Military History Museum south of Auburn. The event features desserts prepared by area commercial chefs and homemade specialties. Tickets cost $10 per person to taste 10 dessert choices and vote on favorites. The price includes free admission to the history centers museum. People can see area Rotary members for tickets; limited tickets may be available at the door. A panel of judges will choose the first-, second- and third-place winners from two divisions: homemade and commercial/restaurant. There also will be Peoples Choice and Celebrity Judges Top Choice winners. The competition is open to everyone. Coffee and water will be served along with the desserts. Local, live entertainment will be provided. Commercial division entrants include Mad Anthony Brewing Company, The Olive Twist, Bridgewater Grille-The Waters Edge, Jeremiahs, Shortys, Italian Grille, Trolley Bar, The Hatchery, 6 Autumns and Dutch Heritage. Homemaker division entrants include Elysia Rodgers, Nancy Carper, Deb Argast, Mollie ORoarke and Bon Appetite Homemaker Club. All proceeds go toward Rotary community outreach projects. Sponsors for the Dessert Duel are Donavan Insurance, DeKalb Health, Bassett Office Supply, Lake City Bank, Diann Hines-independent senior sales director for Mary Kay Cosmetics and Garrett State Bank. For more information, including sponsorship and dessert entries, people may contact any local Rotary Club member or call Diann Hines at 925-3324 or Dave Bassett at 925-2316. Washington (AFP) - The US Senate was poised to vote Tuesday on President Donald Trump's choice for education secretary -- Betsy DeVos, a deeply controversial billionaire champion of taxpayer-funded alternatives to public education. After debating through the night, the Senate scheduled a vote for noon (1700 GMT), with Vice President Mike Pence likely to step in to break a tie, in a rare intervention allowed under the US Constitution. Trump rallied Republicans with a pre-vote tweet: "Senate Dems protest to keep the failed status quo. Betsy DeVos is a reformer, and she is going to be a great Education Sec. for our kids!" Her supporters praise the businesswoman and philanthropist as a fierce advocate of school choice, a US movement that seeks to use tax credits and vouchers to allow parents to opt out of the public school system in favor of privately managed charter schools for their children. Detractors fear DeVos would undermine the public school system itself, exacerbating racial and class divisions that are already impacting communities across the nation. She has never attended public school or worked within the public school system, and questions about her competence will trail her into office if she gets confirmed. Her nomination is hanging by a thread, as two Republican senators last week broke ranks with their party and announced their opposition. With Republicans holding 52 seats in the 100-member chamber, the vote is deadlocked at 50-50. Pence is expected to cast a tie-breaking vote, which would be the first time a vice president has been needed to salvage a cabinet nomination. DeVos, 59, is not well known nationally. But she is a former Michigan Republican Party chair and a fixture in the education world, having served on the boards of many not-for-profit groups that support school choice. Trump is hoping she will help "break the bureaucracy" that he says holds American children back. "Parents no longer believe that a one-size-fits-all model of learning meets the needs of every child, and they know other options exist -- whether magnet, virtual, charter, home, religious, or any combination thereof," she said at her Senate confirmation hearing. Story continues - Political elite - DeVos hails from the wealthiest and perhaps most powerful family in Michigan. Her father Edgar Prince, a Christian conservative, made a fortune in the automobile industry before helping launch the Family Research Council, a powerful group on the religious right. Her father-in-law Richard DeVos co-founded Amway, the direct-sales business that grew into a multi-billion-dollar international colossus. Devout Christian beliefs are a hallmark of the DeVos clan, and Betsy has fought hard to carve out broader space for religion in the education world. In 2000, she was a main proponent of a constitutional amendment in Michigan that would have allowed public funding to be used to pay for private, religious schools. The effort failed, but it helped establish the DeVos family as a political powerhouse. She joined organizations like Children First America which aimed to divert taxpayer funding to private and charter schools, and chaired the American Federation for Children, the DeVos family's umbrella organization that supports advancement of school choice outside of Michigan. "Our work in Michigan was so successful that some of our friends in the movement began to say, 'We really need to do this nationally,'" DeVos said in an interview with the Philanthropy Roundtable. "And I said, 'Yes, I think we do.'" The DeVoses have pumped vast sums into their education agenda. According to an exhaustive profile by Politico, the family has spent at least $100 million on political campaigns over the past two decades. - 'Lack of basic knowledge' - But DeVos's performance at her confirmation hearing last month set off alarm bells among Democrats. Senator Al Franken expressed shock after DeVos appeared not to comprehend one of the most prominent debates in US education: whether proficiency or growth is the best approach in measuring school achievement. "Her lack of basic knowledge astounded me," Franken said on Twitter. Asked whether guns should be banned in schools, she offered that rural schools such as those in the state of Wyoming might need firearms "to protect from potential grizzlies." The Senate's top Democrat Chuck Schumer did not mince words Monday: "She is the least qualified nominee in a historically unqualified cabinet." Ethics questions have also emerged, with Democrats warning she has not provided sufficient information on her vast financial holdings. As a measure of the controversy, Democrats seized the Senate floor late Monday to conduct an overnight talk-a-thon to highlight opposition to the nomination. "There is a broad outcry," said Senator Debbie Stabenow of Michigan, who took to the Senate floor to read messages of concern from voters. Washington (AFP) - Donald Trump's executive order on immigration has legal experts grappling with a key question: how broad is the US president's reach when it comes to shaping migration policy? Trump's decree slapped a blanket ban on entry for nationals of seven predominantly Muslim countries for 90 days and barred all refugees for 120 days. Refugees from Syria were blocked indefinitely. But a federal judge issued a temporary nationwide suspension of the president's order, which the US government swiftly appealed. The ultimate ruling in the case could clear confusion regarding Trump's executive reach and leave a lasting legal impact. Here is a look at the process: Who will decide? There is a chance the case will go all the way to the Supreme Court, the nation's top bench that is the final interpreter of US constitutional law. For now, all eyes are on the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, based in San Francisco, as it weighs the order temporarily halting the ban nationwide, issued by Seattle federal judge James Robart. A hearing before three judges on the court -- two of whom were appointed by Democratic presidents, and one by a Republican -- took place Tuesday and a decision could come as early as Wednesday. As a federal judge, Robart's ruling has nationwide validity. While several other federal judges had previously issued rulings on narrow aspects of Trump's executive order, his was the first to address it as a whole. Who is involved? The Trump administration has challenged Robart's ruling by filing an emergency motion with the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals saying that suspending the ban harms national security. The primary plaintiffs are two Democratic-leaning states that border Canada: Washington, where Robart sits, and Minnesota. They were backed in a court brief filed by 16 state attorneys general. A number of groups have filed briefs backing the states' efforts, including the American Civil Liberties Union, the Southern Poverty Law Center -- which monitors extremism in the US -- and the HIAS refugee protection organization. Story continues Nearly 300 law professors and some 130 Silicon Valley firms have also submitted arguments supporting Robart's opinion. Trump has dismissed Robart as "a so-called judge" and voiced confidence that his ruling would be overturned. What are their arguments? Trump justifies his decree by invoking Article II of the Constitution, which grants the president authority to direct immigration policy and conduct foreign affairs. The US government has defended the president's travel ban as a "lawful exercise" of his authority, and claims the federal court erred in barring enforcement of the measure. Trump's argument is also founded in part on a 65-year-old provision of the federal Immigration and Nationality Act, which allows the president to suspend US entry of any category of foreigners whose presence he deems "detrimental to the interests of the United States." Government lawyers are trying to bolster this argument by saying that the judiciary is unqualified to decide on national security matters. "Unlike the president, courts do not have access to classified information about the threat posed by terrorist organizations operating in particular nations, the efforts of those organizations to infiltrate the United States, or gaps in the vetting process," they wrote in their appeal. Those opposed to the White House decree also cite the Constitution, saying that the executive order violates its fundamental principles including those on equality, freedom of movement and freedom of religion. They also emphasize that the role of the judicial branch is to check the power of the executive, especially to protect minorities. The states pin the legitimacy of their complaint on the fact that Trump's ban affects them through its negative consequences on employment, business and education. They also warn that reinstating the ban could threaten public order, considering the chaos that broke out, especially in airports, following its hurried implementation. What happens next? The appeals court can opt to reinstate the ban, confirm its suspension -- or schedule an additional hearing. If the ban is restored, authorities have yet to indicate whether they have taken steps to avoid a repeat of the airport detentions and deportations which fueled international outrage and mass protests the first time around. If the court takes the second option, Robart's decision would remain in place nationwide, keeping the US open to refugees and travellers from the seven targeted countries. The losing party would be able to request the Supreme Court to take on the case. If the nation's highest court accepts, five of the eight total judges would be required to reverse the decision from the Court of Appeals. Achieving that majority poses a challenge: the Supreme Court is currently ideologically split between four conservatives and four progressives. Trump has nominated a conservative, Neil Gorsuch, to fill the vacant ninth seat. But he must first get confirmed by the Senate. ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan urged Turks on Tuesday to vote in favor of strengthening the presidency in a referendum, saying failure to do so would encourage militant groups trying to divide the nation. Erdogan said he was still evaluating a parliamentary bill on constitutional changes to create an executive presidential system in Turkey and would give a response this week. Once Erdogan approves the bill, a referendum will be held most likely in April, which, if passed, could lead to him holding office until 2029. "I believe my people will never give a positive sign to Qandil, Imarali, and those terrorizing out country," he told a news conference. He was referring to the Qandil mountains of northern Iraq, where the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militant group has bases, and to the island prison of Imrali, where its leader has been jailed since 1999. Erdogan accuses members of the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP), which opposes the executive presidency, of links to the PKK, deemed a terrorist organization by the European Union and United States. Erdogan has cast the stronger presidency as needed by Turkey at a time when it is fighting Islamic State, the PKK, and after a failed coup. Turkey blames the network of U.S.-based cleric Fethullah Gulen, which it calls the Gulenist Terrorist Organization (FETO), for the coup attempt and has sought to shut it down at home and abroad. Visiting Ethiopian President Mulatu Teshome Wirtu said he would shut down Gulen's schools and hand them over to Turkey's Maarif (Education) Foundation. (Reporting by Tuvan Gumrukcu; Editing by Nick Tattersall and Angus MacSwan) By Dan Levine and Emily Stephenson SAN FRANCISCO/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump's administration asked a U.S. appeals court on Tuesday to rule a federal judge was wrong to suspend a travel ban the president imposed on people from seven Muslim-majority countries and all refugees. "Congress has expressly authorized the president to suspend entry of categories of aliens," attorney August Flentje, special counsel for the U.S. Justice Department, said under intense questioning from a three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. "Thats what the president did here," Flentje said at the start of an hour-long oral argument conducted by telephone and broadcast live online. He said the president's Jan. 27 executive order was valid under the U.S. Constitution. Trump's order barred travelers from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen from entering for 90 days and all refugees for 120 days, except refugees from Syria, whom he would ban indefinitely. Trump has defended the measure, the most divisive act of his young presidency, as necessary for national security. Individuals, states and civil rights groups challenging the ban said his administration had offered no evidence it answered a threat. Opponents also assailed the ban as discriminatory against Muslims. TOUGH QUESTIONING The judges asked the U.S. government attorney what evidence the executive order had used to connect the seven countries affected by the order with terrorism in the United States. These proceedings have been moving very fast, Flentje said, without giving specific examples. He said both Congress and the administration had determined that those seven countries posed the greatest risk of terrorism and had in the past put stricter visa requirements on them. "I'm not sure I'm convincing the court," Flentje said at one point. Noah Purcell, solicitor general for the state of Washington, began his argument urging the court to serve "as a check on executive abuses." Story continues "The president is asking this court to abdicate that role here," Purcell said. "The court should decline that invitation." Beforehand, the court said it would likely rule this week but not on Tuesday. CAMPAIGN PROMISE Trump frequently promised during his 2016 election campaign to curb illegal immigration, especially from Mexico, and to crack down on Islamist violence. His travel ban sparked protests and chaos at U.S. and overseas airports. National security veterans, major U.S. technology companies and law enforcement officials from more than a dozen states backed a legal effort against the ban. "I actually can't believe that we're having to fight to protect the security, in a court system, to protect the security of our nation," Trump said at an event with sheriffs at the White House on Tuesday. Although the legal fight over Trump's ban is ultimately about how much power a president has to decide who cannot enter the United States, the appeals court is only looking at the narrower question of whether the Seattle court had the grounds to halt Trump's order. "To be clear, all that's at issue tonight in the hearing is an interim decision on whether the president's order is enforced or not, until the case is heard on the actual merits of the order," White House spokesman Sean Spicer said. Trump faces an uphill battle in the liberal-leaning appellate court, although the outcome of a ruling on the order's ultimate legality is less certain. Two members of three-judge panel were appointed by former Democratic Presidents Jimmy Carter and Barack Obama, and one was appointed by former President George W. Bush. The case against the Trump administration, brought by the states of Minnesota and Washington, is ultimately likely to go to the U.S. Supreme Court. (Additional reporting by Timothy Gardner, David Shepardson and Julia Edwards Ainsley in Washington and Peter Henderson in San Francisco; Writing by Howard Goller; Editing by Peter Cooney) On March 11, 2016, Col. Steve Warren, spokesman for Operation Inherent Resolve (OIR), was asked about the daily news releases published by the U.S. military to describe the progress of the war against the Islamic State. The statements list the number of airstrikes conducted by the coalition during the previous 24 hours, their locations in Iraq or Syria, and an estimate of the Islamic State targets damaged or destroyed. One strike is defined as one or more kinetic events that occur in roughly the same geographic location to produce a single, sometimes cumulative effect. They omit artillery fire used for counter-fire, or for fire support on behalf of maneuvering ground forces. During the news conference 11 months ago, reporter Lolita Baldor asked Warren directly: The daily strike press releases that we get. Can you give us a sense of whether or not all airstrikes are included in those press releases? Warren replied: We do everything we can to report every single strike on those releases. Weve missed one or two for admin errors. But our standard is that, if a bomb falls in Iraq or in Syria, it makes it to that press release whether its a high-value individual, or a bunker, or a tactical unit or a chemical weapons facility. Warren often repeated the claim that official releases included every strike. On Oct. 28, 2015, he stated: every single time we do an air strike, it gets listed on our daily air strike release. On Dec. 22, he proclaimed: We list the number of airstrikes conducted every day on our daily strike releases. On May 27, 2016, during his final news conference as OIR spokesman, he declared: We release the actual number of strikes that we conducted every day. I would ask you to go check out that website. Its a terrific website. You will see the exact number of strikes conducted that day. Since the counter-Islamic State campaign began in August 2014, U.S. civilian and military officials have emphasized that being honest about the conduct of the war would be a priority, in order to ensure public support in the United States and in the greater Middle East. Indeed, compared with the paucity of information provided by Russia for its operations in Syria, or from the Saudi-led coalition for its bombing of Yemen, the U.S.-led coalition has offered extraordinarily detailed, up-to-date data. Moreover, in my experience at least, the OIR public affairs office has been responsive to requests for additional or clarifying information. Story continues U.S. officials vows that the public strike data was accurate and comprehensive, and the willingness of the OIR press office to assist researchers and journalists, makes Andrew deGrandpre and Shawn Snows bombshell report in the Military Times on Sunday so startling. In a piece appropriately titled The U.S. Militarys Stats on Deadly Airstrikes Are Wrong. Thousands Have Gone Unreported, the reporters uncovered a glaring shortcoming in the military data for OIR, as well as for airstrikes in Afghanistan. There are three consequential findings from the Military Times reporting. First, U.S. Army strikes conducted by armed drones and attack helicopters are excluded from the overall totals from both OIR and Afghanistan. (This may be because the Army doesnt view airstrikes as independent action, as brilliant airpower thinker Air Force Brig. Gen. Clint Hinote tweeted, though for a military that considers itself an integrated joint force, this does not make sense to me.) The Army does not independently publish its own data; DeGrandpre and Snow managed to acquire it from Afghanistan only because the military command in that country gave it to them. What they discovered is that the publicly released data for strike sorties in Afghanistan last year (615) was 43 percent lower than the actual number of strikes (1,071). Second, none of the military officials interviewed appeared to know how long this undercount has been occurring, or what Department of Defense policy was for all armed services to report their airstrikes. Third, the military data published for airstrikes in other theaters, including Syria, Iraq, Yemen, and Somalia, may be artificially low for similar reasons assuming the Army is conducting its own strikes in those theaters. For example, U.S. Africa Command reported 495 strikes on behalf of the Government of National Accord in Libya last year, a number that may be an undercount. Cumulatively, this calls into account the integrity of the information the Pentagon has been releasing about American airpower, the most heavily utilized military element of its current wars. Sundays report quotes an Air Force official who claimed the coalition as a whole, which is all 20 nations and the U.S. branches, was fully represented in the OIR public releases. DeGrandpre and Snow observe, sadly, Its unclear whether this statement was intentionally misleading, or simply indicative of widespread internal ignorance, confusion or indifference about whats contained in this data. Such internal uncertainty means that other data the U.S. military has provided to Congress and the American public cannot be taken at face value. The data include the number of troops deployed, the number of supporting military contractors, U.S. troop casualties and fatalities, missions being conducted, rebel groups being armed and equipped, financial costs, civilian casualties, and overall progress in the campaign to destroy the Islamic State. Given the published undercount of something as discrete and measurable as a clearly defined strike, military officials may even unknowingly and with good intentions be misrepresenting additional military activities. As someone who has relied on Pentagon data albeit with skepticism to evaluate U.S. military operations, Sundays findings cause me to reconsider some of my earlier analysis in light of this new information. For example: Comparing the number of civilian fatalities from (overwhelmingly) drone strikes in Yemen, Somalia, and Pakistan and the (overwhelmingly) manned airstrikes in Iraq and Syria. (Taking new information into account, manned strikes are even more precise compared with drone strikes than I had thought.) Determining the number of civilian fatalities per weapon released in Afghanistan. (U.S. airstrikes in Afghanistan can now be seen as slightly more precise.) Comparing the Islamic State air war with recent U.S.-led bombing campaigns. (The Islamic State air war should now be considered more robust than was previously believed.) Assessing what percentage of overall coalition strikes are being conducted by the United States. (Apparently, the United States is shouldering more of the burden than was thought.) Totaling the bombs dropped by the United States in 2015 and 2016. (We know now that there were clearly more bombs dropped in both years.) The undercounting of U.S. airstrikes in official public releases is a serious matter. It undermines the credibility of military messaging, casts doubt on other military data, and inhibits any ability of the Pentagon to establish norms for transparency that other militaries might follow. If Army attacks will not be included in the official data, then the military should state explicitly that it is not comprehensive. The Pentagon can count and promote its data however it sees fit, provided they are clear and transparent. Meanwhile, the Senate and House Armed Service Committees should look into this matter and hold public hearings with relevant military officials to learn more about the airstrike discrepancy. The Pentagons Office of Inspector General should try to determine the root cause of the strike undercount, and see if any officials and staffers have been willfully misleading Congress and the public. Finally, Secretary of Defense James Mattis should direct the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and his senior aides to establish and publicize an official policy for what kinetic activity should be considered an airstrike. Without such clarity, it is difficult to know whether to believe the military at all. Photo credit: ALEX WONG/Getty Images If you ever find yourself at the San Jose airport hailing a cab to take you into San Francisco, prepare for your own little bit of hell. The ride will take about an hour and 40 minutesassuming average trafficand set you back $110 or more (not including tip). The good news is that Uber plans to fix thatslashing the time to 15 minutes and the cost to $20. The wrinkle is that the way the company plans to achieve that breakthrough is with a technology that has been one of the modern worlds greatand most elusivedreams: the flying car. Uber made that big announcement back in October, when it unveiled Uber Elevate, an ambitious program to get carsor at least Ubersoff the road and into the sky. Yesterday the company went a step further, announcing that it had hired engineer Mark Moore, a 30-year veteran of NASA, to develop the technology. With that, the easy part ended. Some of the challenges facing the Uber flying car plan are the same ones that have plagued every such plan ever proposed: safety and congestion. Filling the skies over major urban centers with cars is an order of magnitude more dangerous than filling the streets with traditional cars, since at least an accident on the ground stays on the ground. An accident in the sky threatens everybody below. Uber is hardly unmindful of this matter and devotes a section in its Uber Elevate proposal to the problem of air traffic control. The closest current analogy to what Uber envisions would be the air taxi helicopters that operate in some urban centers. New York City, for example, has a service that offers quality airport shuttle services in and out of Manhattan, but at $1,750 per booking (again, not counting tip). That keeps the client base small and the congestion low. A better analogy, Uber argues, is Sao Paulo, Brazil, which has hundreds of helicopters in its commuting fleet and boasts a good safety record all the same. But Uber itself admits that a successful, optimized, on-demand air system will necessitate a significantly higher frequency and airspace density of vehicles operating over metropolitan areas. Handling that flying crush, Uber says, will require the development of entirely new types of air traffic control systems. Story continues Certainly, thats not an insurmountable hurdle, and solving such problems is the reason Americas engineering institutesacademic, commercial and governmentalget out of bed in the morning. So if new air traffic control systems are needed to make air taxis a reality, the betting is that they will be. The biggermuch biggerchallenge will be the vehicles themselves. Small airplanes are obviously out of the question for traveling into and out of urban centers, since runways are one thing downtowns dont have. Helicopters will always be a boutique product, not just because theyre expensive but because theyre loud and heavily polluting. The answer is the vertical-takeoff-and-landing (VTOL) vehicle, an aircraft that takes off and lands like a helicopter but flies horizontally like an airplane. Uber made a smart choice in selecting Moore to head its R&D initiative. He has worked extensively in VTOL design for NASA and in 2010 released a surprisingly readable white paper describing his ideas. Both he and Uber envision electric-powered crafta must if cost, noise and emissions are going to be kept under controland he has studied high energy-density battery development as well. The problem is, the new proposals are not remotely the first VTOL plans that have ever been floated. The technology has a long historynot much of it terribly good. The greatest of the cautionary tales is the V-22 Osprey, an American military vehicle first proposed in 1980, after the Carter Administrations disastrous attempt to rescue the 53 American hostages held in Tehran. The mission failed due to mechanical breakdowns in three of the helicopters dispatched for the rescue and a crash of the fourth one. That made clear the need for a whole new kind of aircraft capable of a stealth and nimbleness helicopters arent, but things turned out not to be so easy. As TIME reported in a 2007 cover story, the Osprey fleet, which was supposed to be operational by 1990 at a cost of about $2.5 billion, did not deploy into a war zone until 2007, by which point the overall price tag for the program was projected to be $55 billion. The biggest challenge was the vehicles tilt-wing designwith propellors on pivoting wings that point up during takeoff and landing and forward during flight. Not only did the wing technology itself prove difficult, but the aerodynamics of prop wash suddenly changing directions could be exceedingly tricky. Thirty people died in crashes during the planes development and while Ospreys have been used in combat support and humanitarian roles around the world, they never achieved anything like their promised potential. That hasnt kept the military from trying. In 2013, an upgraded Osprey was made available as part of President Obamas White House fleet, but while reporters, support staff and even first dog Bo were cleared to fly aboard the thing, the President himself was forbidden due to safety concerns. Currently, DARPAthe Defense Advanced Research Projects Agencyis working on yet another VTOL iteration, hoping this time it will click. It is undeniably a good thing that government designers keep pressing ahead with VTOL technology. It is in some ways an even better thing that Uber has announced its own initiative, since theres nothing like a monetizable product or service to get the inventive energy going. But theres a reason flying cars have been a world-of-tomorrow fantasy for so long. Promising them is one thing; producing them is another. Uber may well meet that challenge, but its not likely to be easy. Uber drivers have tried to use the courts to gain the right to unionize. Now the ridehailing company is flipping the script and suing the city of Seattle after it passed a law allowing gig economy drivers to form unions. The suit calls into question a law passed unanimously by the Seattle city council. The rule gave drivers for Uber and Lyft and other ridesharing services the right to organize and collectively bargain for improvements to their working conditions, earnings and benefits. The measure was brought forward by the App-Based Drivers Association, and was challenged initially by the United States Chamber of Commerce. That suit, backed but not brought directly by Uber, was tossed from court because the rules had yet to be implemented and the results of it werent evident yet. The rules finally went into place in December 2016, and Uber almost immediately took legal action in response. The ridehailing company claims Seattle failed to provide comprehensive rules and disregarded the facts and circumstances of drivers and the industry and asked for a suspension of the rules. According to Uber, the lawmaking process was flawed and denied proper feedback from the public and Uber drivers in the city and believes the right to collectively bargain for better wages and benefits is inconsistent with the economics of the for-hire transportation industry. The city of Seattle has officially filed its response to the suit through the court, defending what it calls a first-of-its-kind law seeking to empower independent contractors. The citys attorney Peter Holmes argues in the response that Uber not only had time to respond to the rules, it commented on the proposals on multiple occasions. Uber must demonstrate both that it has no other readily available legal remedy and that it has standing to bring each of its claims. Uber cannot demonstrate either, Holmes states in the brief. The challenge from Uber comes at a difficult time for the company, which just came under considerable fire following an executive order signed by President Donald Trump that banned travel from seven majority-Muslim countries. Story continues Uber CEO Travis Kalanick was a member of Trumps economic advisory board and was forced to step down due to pressure from the public. Over 200,000 also reportedly deleted the ridehailing app from their phones after it appeared the company attempted to break up a taxi driver strike in New York City during protests against the travel ban. The company also reportedly posted $800 million in losses during the third quarter of 2016 despite increasing its sales. Related Articles : , , , , - 28 . KAMPALA (Reuters) - A Ugandan tribal leader accused of leading a secessionist movement in the country's western region was released on bail on Monday after more than two months in jail on charges including treason and terrorism, an official told Reuters. Security forces detained Charles Wesley Mumbere in November after his royal guards clashed with military and police who accused them of refusing an order to disarm and surrender. He was subsequently charged with treason, murder, terrorism and other offences alongside dozens of his guards detained in the aftermath of fighting that left more than 60 people dead. Government officials accuse Mumbere, a traditional leader of the Bakonzo people in Uganda's Rwenzori region near the border with the Democratic Republic of Congo, of seeking to create a separate state. Judiciary spokesman Solomon Muyita said as part of bail conditions Mumbere was barred from travelling to the region and must stay in the capital Kampala and its vicinity. He is also barred from travelling abroad. The Rwenzori area heavily favours the opposition in Uganda and in last year's presidential elections, incumbent President Yoweri Museveni was defeated by his main oppoennt, Kizza Besigye in the region. Critics of the government accuse Museveni of using security forces to unleash violence in the region in retaliation for its rejection of the ruling party. Officials have repeatedly denied those accusations. Rights group Amnesty International said security forces had carried out extrajudicial killings in its clashes with the guards. Those charges were denied, too. (Reporting by Elias Biryabarema; editing by xx) LONDON (Reuters) - MPs will be given the chance to vote on the government's final Brexit deal before the exit terms are debated by the European Parliament, junior Brexit minister David Jones said on Tuesday. "The government will bring forward a motion on the final agreement to be approved by both houses of parliament before it is concluded," he told parliament. "We expect and intend that this will happen before the European Parliament debates and votes on the final agreement." The statement represents a concession to MPs who were pushing for a "more meaningful" vote on the deal. He also said the vote would cover the withdrawal arrangements and the terms of Britain's future relationship with the bloc. (Reporting by William James, editing by Elizabeth Piper) LONDON (Reuters) - British lawmakers on Monday rejected the first set of proposed amendments to legislation that would give Prime Minister Theresa May the right to notify the European Union of Britain's intention to leave the bloc. During seven hours of debate, lawmakers voted against a series of attempts by pro-EU lawmakers to attach extra conditions to May's plan to begin divorce talks by March 31. Monday's votes were on the issues of parliamentary scrutiny of the withdrawal process and the involvement of Britain's devolved administrations. Further votes, on which the government could face greater opposition, are due to take place on Tuesday and Wednesday. Earlier on Monday, May warned lawmakers not to obstruct the will of the British people with amendments to her Brexit legislation, saying she wanted to get on with divorce talks with the EU. "Our European partners now want to get on with the negotiations, so do I, and so does this house," May told parliament before the debate began. "The message is clear to all, this house has spoken and now is not the time to obstruct the democratically expressed wishes of the British people. It is time to get on with leaving the European Union." May has said she expects to win approval from lawmakers in time to stick to her end of the March deadline for triggering Britain's exit from the EU. On Tuesday lawmakers will continue their scrutiny of the legislation, debating amendments on the final terms of Britain's withdrawal from the EU as well as those calling for the publication of assessments on the impact of Brexit. The bill is expected to complete its passage through the lower House of Commons on Wednesday. It will then be passed to the upper House of Lords. (Reporting by Kylie MacLellan, Elizabeth Piper and William James; Editing by Matthew Lewis) London (AFP) - The Speaker of Britain's House of Commons came under fire from government MPs on Tuesday for saying he was "strongly opposed" to Donald Trump addressing parliament during the US president's state visit later this year. John Bercow's shock tirade on Monday was applauded by many in the opposition ranks but had members of the ruling Conservative Party accusing him of hypocrisy and disregarding his duty of neutrality. The speaker said such Trump giving a speech was "not an automatic right" and that "opposition to racism and sexism" needed to be considered. He said he was already against Trump addressing lawmakers in Westminster Hall, and that he was "even more strongly opposed" after the president's travel ban on visitors from seven Muslim-majority countries. But Conservative MP Nadhim Zahawi, who has been critical of Trump's travel ban, said the fact that the speaker had become the story was "a bad place to be". He pointed out that the speaker had welcomed Chinese president Xi Jinping, despite human rights concerns, and the emir of Kuwait, which bans British dual nationals of Israeli origin, to speak in parliament. - 'Unwise to ban him' - "I am against the travel ban... but it's unwise to ban the legitimately-elected president of the United States of America, our closest ally, when we're trying to urge them not to shoot from the hip," he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme. Many opposition Labour and Scottish National Party MPs applauded the speech, while Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn backed the speaker on Twitter, calling on Prime Minister Theresa May to cancel the state visit. The government has insisted the visit will go ahead. "We're looking forward to the visit and we're sure it will be a success," May's spokesman said on Tuesday. "What John Bercow suggests to parliament is a matter for parliament," he said. Story continues The House of Lords speaker is expected to making a statement on the issue later on Tuesday. - 'Very disappointing' - However, Tory MP Crispin Blunt warned that Bercow would have to deal with "the consequences" of his comments, stressing that speakers "do not express their opinion. "That's the entire point, otherwise they can't remain neutral and above the political fray," he said. US Republican Congressman Joe Wilson called the comments "very disappointing" during an interview with BBC's Newsnight, saying it was "a slap at the Republican Party." May has come under intense pressure over the invitation, which she extended while visiting the White House just hours before he announced his travel ban. The ban has since been temporarily suspended by a federal judge. More than 1.8 million people have signed a public petition calling on ministers to cancel Trump's visit, which MPs are due to debate later this month, although a recent poll showed that only 36 percent of Britons opposed the visit. The date and details of the state visit are still being worked out and a spokeswoman for the speaker's office said the government had not made any request for Trump to address parliament. But a speech to both Houses of Commons and Lords has been a feature of many previous state visits, including one by Barack Obama in 2011. The House of Lords speaker Norman Fowler is expected to make a statement on the issue later on Tuesday. - Quarter of MPs say no - More than 160 of parliament's 650 MPs have signed a parliamentary motion opposing an address by Trump, citing the travel ban and his comments on torture and women. May on Monday told MPs that last week she had urged her fellow European leaders to "engage patiently and constructively" with the new US administration. Trump's criticism of the NATO military alliance and his prediction that the EU could fall apart following Britain's vote to leave has caused alarm in European capitals. UNITED NATIONS (AP) The U.N. political chief on Tuesday urged the world's nations to share information about airline passengers as part of a stepped up response to the growth of "transnational terrorism" sparked by the Islamic State group's expanding areas of attack. Jeffrey Feltman also told the U.N. Security Council that it is "critical" to improve the global response to "foreign terrorist fighters" leaving Syria and Iraq, even though many are still in conflict zones. He was briefing the council on Secretary-General Antonio Guterres' latest report on IS also known as ISIL and Daesh. It said European member states have reported that between 15 percent and 40 percent of their nationals and residents who traveled to Iraq and Syria to fight have returned and some governments highlighted a rising number of female returnees. "A proportion of those returning present a significant threat and are facing appropriate legal and control measures," the secretary-general's report said. "Other returnees are reported to have become disillusioned with the fighting and the distorted ideology of ISIL and therefore represent a lower threat." In a separate report to the Security Council circulated late Tuesday, a panel of experts that monitors sanctions against IS said it has received various estimates of the current number of fighters for the extremist group. They range from 12,000 to 20,000 in Syria and Iraq to 33,000 fighters in the wider Middle East, "including 15,000 foreign terrorist fighters," the report said. In December, the Security Council urged all 193 member states to address "the gravity of the threat" posed by IS by adopting laws and sharing intelligence, biometric, biographical data and financial information related to extremist groups and by requiring airlines operating in their territories to provide advance information on passengers to national authorities. Story continues According to the report, only 56 nations have shared advance passenger information to date, and implementation of the council's call for countries to share passenger name records "continues to be uneven." While some countries have voluntarily provided passenger name records from ocean and sea traffic and cruise ships, "a lack of appropriate regulation continues to represent a significant vulnerability," the report said. Feltman reiterated that although the Islamic State group's income and the territory under its control are shrinking, it "still appears to have sufficient funds to continue fighting." Moreover, he said, the group has expanded its attacks from Iraq and Syria to their neighbors and continues encouraging followers in Europe, Africa and elsewhere to perpetrate attacks. The United States, France and Britain, all part of the coalition fighting IS, reiterated their determination to defeat the extremist group. U.S. Ambassador Nikki Haley told the council in closed consultations after Feltman's briefing that while IS extremists are losing ground, the United States will maintain pressure on its safe havens, continue to restrict its finances, and work with partners to take aggressive action where possible to defeat the group and its global threat, according to a U.S. Mission spokesperson who was not authorized to speak publicly. Britain's deputy U.N. ambassador, Peter Wilson, said that "Daesh is on the back foot" and the next step for the 68-country coalition is to attack the extremist group in its headquarters in the Syrian city of Raqqa and in Iraq's second-largest city, Mosul. French Ambassador Francois Delattre said collective efforts "have produced significant results with important military and financial setbacks for Daesh over the past year." "It is crucial that the international community keep its efforts on all fronts, military, financial and others, so that we get to the eradication of Daesh," Delattre added. JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) Sheriff's investigators in Florida say an undercover officer fatally shot a man during an attempted drug buy in Jacksonville. Jacksonville Sheriff's officials tell local news outlets the shooting happened Monday night when three narcotics officers met up with a "middle man" who was supposed to help them with the drug deal. When they arrived at the location, authorities say a man walked out of the shadows and pointed what appeared to be a weapon at a detective in the car. One of the officers was able to get his gun out and shoot the man. He fired several shots at the suspect, who was taken to the hospital and later declared dead. No one else was injured. The man's name hasn't been released. The names of the officers weren't released. An investigation continues. Washington (AFP) - US authorities said Tuesday they will approve a permit to complete the controversial Dakota Access pipeline to reduce transportation costs and give US producers a boost as they compete against oil from Canada. The decision comes after months of protests by Native Americans and their supporters led the Obama administration to nix plans to build the pipeline close to native grounds. But President Donald Trump supported the 1,172-mile (1,886-kilometer) oil pipeline, which would snake through four US states, and ordered officials to reconsider. The Army Corps of Engineers, which has approval authority, said Tuesday that it had "completed a presidential-directed review" and planned to grant permission for the pipeline to cross government land at the Missouri River and man-made Lake Oahe reservoir -- the final sticking point, which will effectively allow the last stretch of the pipeline to be completed. The reservoir is the drinking water source for the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, which objects to the pipeline's routes. The tribe vowed to challenge The Army's decision in court, and called on supporters to head to Washington on March 10 for "a Native Nations march." "We ask that our allies join us in demanding that Congress demand a fair and accurate process," tribe chairman Dave Archambault said in a statement. "Our fight is no longer at the North Dakota site itself. Our fight is with Congress and the Trump administration." The Dakota Access pipeline would connect the Bakken and Three Forks oil production areas in North Dakota to an existing crude oil terminal near Pakota, Illinois. In addition to the risk to its water, the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe had also claimed the project endangered areas with sacred historic sites and artifacts. Additionally, it claimed that it was not appropriately consulted during the process, and that a proper environmental review was required. Story continues Energy Transfer Partners, the pipeline's operator, has denied the tribe's claims, saying the pipeline is safer than the current transport methods of rail and truck, and that archeological experts it hired had failed to find sacred artifacts along the pipeline route. - Opponents vow to fight on - North Dakota leaders who have supported the project promptly backed the Army's decision. "This is a key step toward the completion of this important infrastructure project, which has faced months of politically-driven delays," North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum in a statement. North Dakota Senator John Hoeven, who also praised The Army's decision, said the acrimonious process had nevertheless raised some questions. "Going forward, we need to review the permitting process to ensure that everyone has an opportunity to be heard and that a fair, certain and legal process has been followed," Hoeven said. The pipeline has been the subject of intense protests in North Dakota and around the country, galvanizing hundreds of Native American tribes, environmental groups and their supporters. Protesters had also camped on land near the pipeline's path just north of the tribe's reservation in order to physically block its completion -- at times clashing violently with authorities. Tom Goldtooth, executive director of the Indigenous Environmental Network -- a group that had a strong presence at the North Dakota protest, charged that The Army's decision on Tuesday went against protocol and the established legal process. "It disregards more than 100,000 comments already submitted as part of the not-yet-completed environmental review process," Goldtooth said. Washington (AFP) - Top US generals warned lawmakers Tuesday that aging equipment, chronic underfunding and understaffing have severely impacted military readiness, as the Republican-led Congress hopes to usher in a spending bonanza under President Donald Trump. The president has repeatedly said the vast US military is suffering from massive shortages and has vowed a "great rebuilding" of the armed services. Many officials fret that budget caps, known as sequestration, implemented under Barack Obama, have left the military woefully depleted and lacking the readiness to deal with the full array of potential global threats. So the testimony from four-star generals in the four main military branches before the House Armed Services Committee will provide meat for Republican lawmakers hoping to scrap the caps and oversee a massive military splurge. The US military is already by far the world's most powerful and most expensive. It has bases spanning the globe, an annual budget of more than $600 billion and about 1.3 million active duty troops. But Republicans are keen to spend billions more, though for now it is unclear where the extra cash would come from, especially if the Trump administration cuts taxes. "I continue to be concerned... by evidence that is accumulating on the damage inflicted upon our military in recent years and the stresses on the force," said Republican Congressman Mac Thornberry, who chairs the House Armed Services Committee. "With a new administration and a new Congress, we have the opportunity to begin the repairs," he added. - 'Believe me' - Trump on Monday told leaders at US Central Command they would get "beautiful new planes and beautiful new equipment." "You are going to get a lot of equipment. Believe me," he said. General Stephen Wilson, vice chief of staff of the Air Force, told lawmakers that potential US adversaries have been modernizing their forces to compete with the United States. Story continues Countries like China and Russia "have watched our fighting and they are preparing their forces. We need to prepare to fight any adversary," Wilson said, while depicting an Air Force creaking with strain. He said the average aircraft age is now 27, and the Air Force is short of 1,555 pilots and 3,400 aircraft maintainers. Trump last month signed an executive order to begin increasing the size of the US military, promising new aircraft, naval ships and more resources for the Pentagon. He has offered few specifics but has said he envisioned a naval fleet of 350 vessels, up from the navy's current 274 and more than its 310-vessel target. For next year's budget, Pentagon chief Jim Mattis has ordered a comprehensive review that among other things will focus on buying more munitions, funding Defense Department facilities at a higher rate and "growing force structure" as fast as possible. After the withdrawal of most US troops from Iraq and Afghanistan, Obama oversaw a shrinking Pentagon budget but Republicans have long insisted cuts went too far and hurt US capabilities, especially in the face of Chinese and Russian military expansions. The U.S. could soon deploy a new $4 billion dollar warship to the Korean peninsula as part of an effort to deter North Korean aggression, authorities in Seoul revealed Monday. Adm. Harry Harris, head of the U.S. Pacific Command, recently discussed the possibility of sending the USS Zumwalt to a South Korea naval base during a meeting with South Korean lawmakers, the Korean Herald reported Monday. The discussions did not result in any official agreements but occurred in response to South Korean requests for more permanent stationing of U.S. military assets, the Herald reported. The report came after North Korea condemned on Friday a successful missile interception drill conducted by Japan, South Korea and the U.S. off the coast of Hawaii. The drill was a response to North Korea's most recent threat Pyongyang had said it would soon test a new intercontinental ballistic missile system, and they may have made good on their promise. U.S. intelligence satellites recently documented activity at a North Korean missile factory, military officials told CNN in January. The Zumwalt is the most advanced U.S. warship and the largest surface combatant in the world, according to the Navy. Construction of the first of three Zumwalt ships began in 2009 and ended in 2013. But its despite cutting-edge technology, the ship has run into problems since its September deployment. Just weeks after it set sail from its home in Maine, engineering problems caused the the 610-foot, 15,000-ton ship to shut down for repairs while crossing the Panama Canal. The military has also been criticized for the cost of the ship's ammunition: A shell for one of the ship's long range guns cost $800,000. The Zumwalt isn't the only trick the U.S. has up its proverbial sleeve. Newly confirmed Defense Secretary James Mattis was in Seoul last week to meet with South Korean officials and discuss the Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense, an American anti-missile system also known as Thaad. Story continues Thaad is for defense of our allies people, of our troops who are committed to their defense, Mattis said. The U.S. and South Korea had wanted to deploy Thaad before the end of the year, but that timeline could be moved up in the face of North Korea's recent threats, the New York Times reported. Related Articles Vienna (AFP) - Long Hui, a giant panda feted for having fathered five cubs in captivity and who succumbed to a stomach tumour in December, will be stuffed and returned to China for posterity, the Vienna Zoo said Tuesday. "Following a request by our Chinese partner, the body of Long Hui will be stuffed and returned to China in early summer 2018," the zoo said. The zoo added it had tasked taxidermist Peter Morass with the job. "It's quite unusual to stuff a panda -- but I'm an old hand and I'll manage it," Morass told Austria's APA news agency. Long Hui's skin and bones have been frozen pending the tanning of the skin, which will then be sewn around a panda-shaped model. The bones are to be preserved separately. Long Hui, who died aged 16 on December 9, arrived in the Austrian capital in 2003 and he and his companion Yang Yang thrilled zoo-goers as their frolicking in captivity produced five healthy offspring. Their births were a cause of celebration for fans of the species whose breeding programs are notoriously difficult, not least owing to the single and very short annual reproductive cycle in the female. In addition, around half of newborn cubs do not survive infancy. Last August, Long Hui and Yang Yang welcomed twins into the world -- Fu Feng (Happy Phoenix) and Fu Ban (Happy Companion), who turned six months old on Tuesday. Vienna's Schoenbrunn zoo has a deal with Beijing to hand back Fu Feng and Fu Ban once they turn two. The twins' brothers -- Fu Long, Fu Hu and Fu Bao, born respectively in 2007, 2010 and 2013 -- have already been sent to China. Dadaab (Kenya) (AFP) - When Aden Bare Farah, 23, first boarded a bus taking him away from the bleak rows of dust-coloured tents where he was born and raised a refugee, there was no looking back. This time around, he can barely summon the enthusiasm to believe he is finally leaving the ochre sands of Dadaab in arid eastern Kenya, the world's largest refugee camp, for Pennsylvania in the United States. Farah is one of scores of Somali refugees who were sent back to the camp last week after US President Donald Trump ordered a ban on travellers and refugees from seven mostly Muslim nations -- including Somalia. "I felt sad and weak. I didn't know where I belong. I felt I would be stateless forever," Farah told AFP from Dagahaley, one of several camps inside the complex that houses 256,000 Somali refugees. His heart sunk as he disembarked again inside the camp where he was born. His parents were among the first to arrive in the camp built in 1992 to house Somalis fleeing civil war, and which swelled over the decades as new disasters from drought to radical extremists, hit the country. His father died in 2000 and he was raised by a single mother who, along with him, spent eight years undergoing vetting for resettlement. "I was very joyful as I took my bag to board the bus for Nairobi where I would stay for a week and then, home. "I call Pennsylvania home," he said laughing. "I wish Trump knew that." - Wait and see - After hearing the bad news he switched off his phone, unable to bear speaking to his friends in the camp, having to admit defeat. "I was depressed. I didn't have an appetite to eat or do anything else." Now, several days later, he has once again been told he will be getting on a bus to Nairobi by the end of this week, after a federal judge barred enforcement of the controversial measure, allowing several refugees to once again enter the United States. "I think we can go back now, but let us see how it goes," he said warily. Story continues With a US appeals court due to hold a hearing on the ban on Tuesday, the refugees may be right not to get their hopes up yet. "I am happy but not too happy until I land in the USA because who knows what will happen in the coming days," said Halimo Dakan, 72, also one of the camp's original residents. She, her husband and six children happily sold all of their belongings in the run-up to their move to Ohio. Returning to Dadaab was a "journey full of sorrow" for the family and Dakan cannot even imagine the prospect of their resettlement being cancelled for good. "Life in a Kenyan refugee camp is extremely hard. No work, there is little food and we are not allowed to move freely within Kenya. Life in Dadaab is not permanent." - 'No one knows Somalia' - The International Organisation for Migration (IOM) refused AFP requests for details on how many Somali refugees were being sent back and forth. According to the US State Department's Refugee Processing Centre (RPC) website, nearly 11,000 Somali refugees were resettled in the US in 2016. As it is the camp's residents are facing an uncertain future. Kenya is pushing to close the sprawling camp near the Somali border over security concerns, claiming Dadaab acts as a terrorist training ground for Shabaab Islamists -- who have targeted Kenya since it sent troops into Somalia in 2011. Kenya claims both the 2013 attack against Nairobi's Westgate shopping mall and the 2015 attack at Garissa university were planned at Dabaab. Initially set for November last year, the closure was delayed to May this year. The move has received stiff criticism from rights groups who accuse the government of seeking to return refugees to Somalia against their will, to face persecution and hunger. While parts of the Horn of Africa nation are still under control of Al-Qaeda-linked Al-Shabaab militants, the country is also facing its worst drought since a 2010-11 famine left some 250,000 dead. Over six million people require food aid, half of whom are bordering on starvation, aid agencies have warned. Dakan described the prospect of returning to Somalia, if the US ban holds and Kenya forces them out, as simply "horrible". "There is Al-Shabaab. They will kill my children and recruit them. We don't belong in Somalia, we don't have house or land. No one knows Somalia, my husband and I left in 1991." President Trumps contentious immigration ban faces another legal hurdle Tuesday in the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, which will hear arguments on a motion to vacate the stay issued by Judge James Robart last week. The case bears the momentous name of State of Washington v. Trump. Last months order to block immigration from seven majority-Muslim countries was challenged successfully by the states of Washington and Minnesota. Robart, a judge in the western district of Washington, blocked the executive order with a ruling that allowed immigration to resume. The stay drew the ire of Trump, who said future attacks could be blamed on the ruling by the so-called judge. Robart was appointed by George W. Bush in 2004 with a confirmation vote of 95-0 in the Senate. The 9th Circuit declined the Trump administrations request to vacate Robarts stay, which would have put the ban back in place while the case was decided. The court announced plans to hear oral arguments Tuesday at 6 p.m., which will be delivered by phone and streamed live on the courts website. The crux of Washington and Minnesotas argument is that the ruling harms, among other things, state colleges and universities, state medical institutions and state tax revenues from students, tourists and business visitors. The Justice Departments brief argues that the order is a lawful exercise of the Presidents authority over the entry of aliens into the United States and the admission of refugees. Another argument advanced by critics of the ban is that it violates the Establishment Clause by specifically favoring Christians, who Trump said would receive priority as refugees, over Muslims. Regardless of the decision from the 9th Circuit, its expected that State of Washington v. Trump will be taken to the Supreme Court. The following three judges randomly assigned to the circuits motions panel for February will be ruling: William Canby Jr.: Appointed by Jimmy Carter in 1980 and took over senior status in 1996. The 85-year-old Minnesota native served as an Air Force lieutenant in the Judge Advocate General Corps, Supreme Court clerk and Peace Corps director in Uganda. Story continues Richard Clifton: George W. Bush appointee, nominated in 2001 and confirmed the following year. The 66-year-old, who assumed senior status on Dec. 31 of last year, clerked for the 9th Circuit following his graduation from Yale Law. Spent much of his career in private practice in Hawaii, where he keeps his chambers. Michelle Friedland: The 44-year-old was appointed by Barack Obama in 2013 and confirmed the next year. The San Francisco Bay Area native, Stanford grad and Fulbright scholar clerked under Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day OConnor. Since Washingtons initial filing, 15 additional states plus the District of Columbia added a brief in support of ending the ban. More than 100 technology companies including Apple, Facebook, Netflix, Twitter and Uber joined a brief against the order saying it would hurt American business. The 9th Circuit covers Alaska, Arizona, California, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Washington and Guam. It has developed a reputation as the most liberal jurisdiction because of an expansion under Carter, who filled many of the new seats with left-leaning judges. Owing to turnover from retirements and the addition of moderate jurists under Obama, some historians say the circuit has shifted toward the center. The reputation is certainly deserved based on the history of the last 40 years or so, said Arthur Hellman, a federal courts scholar at the University of Pittsburgh Law School, in an interview with the AP. Its been more liberal, by which we mean more sympathetic to habeas petitioners, civil rights plaintiffs, anti-trust cases, immigration cases. But its less of an outlier now than it was. Read more from Yahoo News: The upcoming BBC America series Planet Earth II offers audiences glimpses of some pretty remote places. One of them is Zavodovski Island, a tiny island in the Southern Ocean that is uninhabited by humans but home to an abundance of chinstrap penguins. So many, in fact, that they constitute one of the largest penguin colonies in the world. As explained by Sir David Attenborough, who returns from the original series to narrate its follow-up, the island is not only surrounded by the stormiest of seas, it is itself an active volcano. Its the last place on earth youd choose to liveunless youre a chinstrap penguin. As seen in the exclusive clip above, adult chinstrap penguins take turns gathering food and guarding their chicks, as the survival of their young is dependent on the food they manage to bring back. In order to get the food, however, the penguins must brave the treacherous waters and 30-foot cliffs that surround the island, risking death to continue the survival of the species. Attenborough describes filming on the island as the most intrepid shoot of the series. Producer Elizabeth White explained to BBC America just how intrepid it was. The whole trip took more than a year of planning. We had to be entirely self-sufficient as theres nobody down there to rescue you if it all goes wrong. It was the shoot I was most excited by, and absolutely the most terrified by. Planet Earth II premieres on Feb. 18 at 9 p.m. ET, simulcasting across BBC America, AMC and SundanceTV. After Batman and Superman, actor Morgan Freeman is the latest brand ambassador for Turkish Airlines. Freeman, a licensed pilot himself, lends his deep, baritone voice to the commercial which pitches Turkish Airlines as the bridge between worlds for those who still regard the world with a sense of wonder, and those who find "delight in our differences." Turkish Airlines flies to more countries than any other airline in the world. The commercial was filmed in Los Angeles over a period of 10 hours with a crew of 101 people. Last year, the carrier tapped Ben Affleck, Henry Cavill and Jesse Eisenberg from "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice" to appear in a promotional ad as part of a sponsorship deal with the film. Turkish Airlines has snagged the title of "Best Airline in Europe" by the airline passenger survey organization Skytrax, for the last six years in a row. Watch the commercial at https://youtu.be/p_gv6fRejLM. By Valerie Volcovici WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A media watchdog group filed suit on Tuesday to force U.S. President Donald Trump's pick to head the Environmental Protection Agency to release records detailing his communications with energy companies ahead of a Senate vote to confirm his nomination. The lawsuit was filed in Oklahoma court by the Center for Media and Democracy and accuses Scott Pruitt, who is Oklahoma's attorney general as well as Trump's nominee to become the top U.S. environmental regulator, of violating the state's Open Records Act by failing to release those emails to the public. It also seeks to force him to respond to nine open-records requests dating to January 2015 to publish emails between his office and energy companies. Pruitt's office has received more than four dozen similar requests from other groups. "His inaction denies the public 'prompt and reasonable' access to public documents and violates Oklahoma's Open Records Act," said Robert Nelon, a first amendment lawyer with Hall Estill, the law firm representing the Center for Media and Democracy along with the American Civil Liberties Union. The media watchdog's first request sought access to more than 3,000 emails. Pruitt's office has not told the group how many records it has identified for the other eight requests it has pending. "We are doing this because these emails should be released so that people can properly vet his record before the Senate votes to confirm him," said Nick Surgey, the center's director of research. Pruitt, 48, sued the agency he intends to run 14 times on behalf of Oklahoma to weaken or gut its key regulations, earning him strong support from energy companies and Republican lawmakers who have accused the Obama administration's EPA of regulatory overreach. On Thursday, the Senate environment committee approved Pruitt despite a boycott of his nomination by the panel's Democratic members. The full Senate, which is under Republican control, is expected to confirm him but has not set a date for the vote. The lawsuit submitted on Tuesday calls on the court to stop Pruitt from denying access to requested public records and to prevent his office from destroying any documents relevant to the requests. Surgey said Pruitt was seemingly unapologetic during the confirmation hearings about his "strong relationships with Oklahoma's oil and gas companies" and that the public should be aware his ties to the types of companies he would need to regulate as EPA administrator. Pruitt's office said it had contacted the Center for Media and Democracy last week to inform the group that "release of their request was imminent." "The fact that they have now filed suit despite our ongoing communications demonstrates that this is nothing more than political theater," Lincoln Ferguson, the attorney general's press secretary said in a statement. "The office of attorney general remains committed to fulfilling both the letter and spirit of the Open Records Act. Democratic Senator Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island, a member of the Senate panel that held Pruitt's hearing, accused the nominee of stonewalling the request for information about his relationships with industry. "I hope this lawsuit forces Attorney General Pruitt to stop the cover-up and disclose these emails immediately so the American people know what conflicts of interest this nominee has, Whitehouse said in a statement to Reuters. (Reporting by Valerie Volcovici; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn and Bill Trott) By Barbara Lewis CAPE TOWN (Reuters) - The world's top mining companies warned on Tuesday that assets will be stranded and investors will walk away unless they deal with water scarcity in key mining regions such as Africa, Australia and Latin America. After the hottest global year on record in 2016, water has shot up the agenda at mining board meetings. "Investors say to us: 'don't talk to us about returns'; they want to know how we're managing water," Nick Holland, Chief Executive Officer of Gold Fields, said at an international mining conference in Cape Town. Mining requires water at almost every stage of the process and the bulk of the assets of major mining companies are in water-stressed regions mostly in the southern hemisphere. Anglo American has said it is striving to use as little water as possible. It has limited water consumption by using 65 percent recycled water and its goal is to reach 95 percent over the next decade. "Water is one of the greatest constraints to new supply of mined products across the industry," Anglo American Chief Executive Mark Cutifani said. "Investors can see there's a risk that if regions are running short of water, there's a good chance miners will have to divert those resources. What are we doing to anticipate that?" Mining companies cite examples where water has caused conflict. For instance, Barrick Gold Corp mining operations in Peru were disrupted in 2012 because of protests over water supplies. With its biggest mine in the Mexican desert, Canada's Goldcorp, the world's third-biggest gold miner, is investing $60 million in new technology to slash the amount of water it uses to store mine tailings, or waste. "To draw on wells to sustain your operations could be a source of potential conflict down the road," Goldcorp CEO David Garofalo said in an interview late last month, calling water the mining industry's "number one" challenge. The International Council on Mining and Metals, which groups 23 firms including BHP Billiton, Rio, Anglo American and Glencore, in January published a position on water stewardship to enforce best practice. The industry body quotes research showing increased levels of conflict because of water and the financial cost of water issues, saying water-related infrastructure accounts for approximately 10 percent of the industry's capital expenses. Since 2000, water-related issues were implicated in 58 percent of mining cases lodged with the World Bank Group's Compliance Officer Ombudsman, which deals with complaints from communities around mining operations, data published in January showed. (Additional reporting by Nicole Mordant in Vancouver; Editing by Susan Thomas and Sandra Maler) ANGOLA Angola residents will soon start paying for future Angola Parks & Recreation Department needs if a measure passed Monday receives all approvals. The Angola Common Council approved the first reading of an ordinance creating a cumulative building fund for the parks department. The fund will be established through property tax of $0.0167 per $100 of assessed valuation. It will raise about $70,000 annually, Angola Clerk-Treasurer Deb Twitchell said, and be levied starting in 2018. The fund will be used for park building, remodeling, repairs and purchase of land. The ordinance will now require two more readings and a 30-day objection period before being submitted to the Department of Local Government Finance for approval. Matt Hanna, parks and recreation superintendent, said in upcoming months, the department will look at surveying residents to create the next five-year master plan to determine park needs. Surveys will be sent out in utility bills, Hanna said. The department oversees 136 acres of land in Commons, Nature and Firemens parks, along with the citys trail system. The city is also partnering with Steuben County to extend that trail north on S.R. 127 to Pokagon State Park. The 1.8-mile section to complete the trail will cost an estimated $2 million. Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens traveled the state to sign one bill into law three different times Monday. The reason for the ceremony: After a decades-long push from Republicans and businesses, the Show-Me State became the 28th state to enact a right-to-work law. "This is about more jobs," Greitens wrote on Twitter. "Missourians are ready to work, and now our state is open for business!" Right-to-work has been a major issue in Missouri since 1978, when a right-to-work question was put on a statewide ballot and rejected by voters. The debate has raged on ever since. Opponents contended right-to-work was a political ploy meant to weaken unionized labor in the state, while supporters said it would encourage businesses to move to Missouri. In light of Monday's news, here's what you need to know about right-to-work: According to the National Right to Work Legal Foundation, the principle of the initiative affirms the right of every American to work for a living without being compelled to belong to a union. But the issue at stake with right-to-work laws is not about whether workers are coerced to join unions in the United States, no employee can be forced to sign up but union payments. Its common for business and unions to sign contracts that require all workers to pay dues to a union in exchange for the union negotiating with business management. That contract covers all workers, not just those who are unionized. Right-to-work laws allow workers to opt out of paying those dues. However, if they work for a unionized business, they still benefit from the union contract federal law requires it. Both supporters and opponents of right-to-work agree on one thing: Right-to-work dilutes union power. But proponents believe this is a good thing, arguing it makes states more attractive to businesses and spurs economic growth, while opponents disagree. They say that without adequate union representation, wages will fall and workers will lose out on potential benefits. Story continues Although people nationwide view unions in an increasingly positive light, union membership has fallen. About 10.7 percent of workers belonged to unions in 2016, falling 0.4 percentage points from the year before, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. In 1983, the first year that data became available, union membership was 20.1 percent. Missouri joins Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Kansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Nebraska, Nevada, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin and Wyoming in having right-to-work laws. Related Articles Top White House adviser Kellyanne Conway appeared on CNN Tuesday afternoon, hours after the network doubled down on reports that it declined to have her on-air last weekend due to questions about her credibility. CNNs relationship with the presidents counselor was first called into question by a New York Times report that claimed the network declined to have her as a guest on Sunday, in part due to serious questions about her credibility. Conway disputed that account in a Monday tweet in which she said family commitments kept her out of the studios for the Sunday shows. CNNs communications team fired back with a tweet of its own that said the networks premier Sunday show, State of the Union, passed after the White House offered Conway as a guest. The questions about Conways reputation came after she referred to the Bowling Green Massacre, a terrorist attack that never happened, in multiple interviews in which she defended President Trumps travel ban. Conway later claimed she misspoke and said she was referring to a failed plot hatched by Iraqi nationals living in Bowling Green, Ky. She also faced criticism for defending the White Houses false claims about the crowd size at Trumps Jan. 20 inauguration. At the White House briefing on Tuesday, Yahoo News asked press secretary Sean Spicer about CNNs reported problems with Conway and whether the Trump administration would be willing to offer alternative representatives to networks that refuse to work with specific spokespeople. Spicer described Conway as a very trusted aide of the president and claimed that CNN denied that it had questioned her credibility. Frankly, I think that my understanding is they retracted that. Theyve walked that back or denied it, however you want to put it. I dont care, Spicer said of CNN, adding, But I think Kellyanne is a very trusted aide of the president. Any characterization otherwise is insulting. He continued by saying if the networks choose not to work with someone, thats up to them. But I think were going to continue to put out key leaders of this administration, including Kellyanne, that can articulate the presidents policies and agenda. Story continues CNNs communications team responded to Spicer with a statement noting the network never rejected the report that it questioned Conways credibility. CNN was clear, on the record, about our concerns about Kellyanne Conways credibility, to the New York Times and others. We have not retracted nor walked back those comments. Those are the facts, CNNs tweet said. Conway did not respond to a request for comment on the spat. However, in spite of CNNs public concerns about Conway, she did make a previously scheduled appearance on one of the networks shows, The Lead With Jake Tapper, on Tuesday afternoon. Yahoo News reached out to Tapper to ask if he shared the networks concerns about Conways credibility and, if so, why he decided to invite her on. Tapper, who also hosts the networks main Sunday broadcast, forwarded the question to a CNN spokesperson, who did not immediately respond. Trump and his team have consistently complained that the media is biased against them. The president and his aides have had a particularly tense relationship with CNN, which Trump has dubbed fake news, since the network reported on the existence of an unverified dossier compiled by a former British intelligence official during the election. The dossier asserted that the Russian government has compromising information on the president. Conways lengthy interview with Tapper came almost exactly two hours after the briefing on Tuesday. They did not discuss the earlier spat between Spicer and CNNs communications team. However, Tapper aggressively pressed Conway on a number of the latest controversies dogging the Trump administration. He pointed to the White Houses false claim that the media ignores many terror attacks, and to Trumps untrue assertion earlier in the day that the U.S. murder rate is the highest in 47 years. Tapper also repeatedly grilled Conway on Trumps continued attacks on the medias credibility. Facts are stubborn things. And to say that were not reporting something that happens not to be true and therefore were not to be trusted thats a problem, Tapper said. The CNN host also said the administration has little regard, day in and day out, for facts, for truth, [and] calls us fake news for stories that they dont like. Conway responded by saying she doesnt believe that CNN is fake news. However, she dismissed what she described as palace intrigue stories that have appeared in the press. She also said reporters sometimes make mistakes of their own. Updated, 4:53 p.m.: This story was updated with details from Conways interview. Read more from Yahoo News: The White House on Monday released a list of terrorist attacks it said went unreported or underreported by the US media. The list came hours after President Donald Trump claimed that journalists sometimes ignored terrorist attacks around the world. "All over Europe, it's happening. It's gotten to a point where it's not even being reported," Trump said in front of military leaders at US Central Command on Monday. But while the White House said the 78 attacks on the list it published Monday night were not covered extensively by the media, several incidents on that list were indeed widely reported. They include: orlando pulse nightclub In addition, several international media outlets published longform pieces analyzing the scope of the coverage. Trump's suggestion that the threat of terrorism has gone underreported comes as he battles over the legality of his temporary immigration ban, which the White House has said was designed to keep potential terrorists out of the country. A Washington state judge on Friday ordered a stay on Trump's executive order temporarily banning travel to the US from seven majority-Muslim nations and from all refugees. The judge's action came after arguments by state attorney general Bob Ferguson, who said Trump's order violated the Constitution. "No one is above the law and that includes the president," Ferguson said Friday night. Trump railed against US District Judge James Robart last weekend for handing down the ruling. Though the scope of his action in particular has faced criticism, Trump has claimed repeatedly that "many very bad and dangerous people may be pouring into our country." Story continues NOW WATCH: The president's close friend of 40 years explains Trump's sense of humor More From Business Insider Washington (AFP) - The White House has published a list of several dozen terror attacks that it contends were insufficiently covered by the media, including those in Paris, Nice and Orlando that made headlines around the world. President Donald Trump on Monday accused the "very, very dishonest" media of not wanting to cover terrorist attacks, adding without elaboration, "They have their reasons." He leveled the charge during a visit to the headquarters of the US Central Command in Tampa, Florida, but provided no specifics. The White House followed up late Monday with a list of 78 attacks carried out between September 2014 and December 2016. "Since ISIS declared a caliphate, there has been a major attack targeting the West executed or inspired by the group more than once every two weeks," the White House said. "Most have not received the attention they deserve," it added. Some media outlets have countered by posting links to their extensive coverage of attacks cited by the White House. The list gives the place and month in which an attack occurred, the number of dead or wounded, and the names of the attackers. But it does not give attackers nationalities except when he or she is a "US person," and then the White House does not identify them by name even when their identities are well known. Many of the attacks listed, particularly those with high casualties, were the subject of days-long coverage, and were so well known they are still short-handed by the cities where they occurred: Paris, Brussels, San Bernardino, Orlando. The crash in the Sinai desert of an Airbus A321 carrying Russian tourists on October 31, 2015 made the list. Claimed by Islamic State, the crash caused by a bomb explosion after takeoff killed 224 people. So did the November 13, 2015 attacks in Paris that left 129 dead, and the truck rampage in Nice July 14, 2016 that killed another 84. But the list omits the attack on the satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo in Paris on January 7, 2015, which claimed 12 lives. However, the lethal attacks the following day on a policeman and at a supermarket, in which four people were killed, are listed. Story continues Among the US terror attacks, the White House lists the country's deadliest since the September 11, 2001 -- the bloody assault at a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida, June 12, 2001 that left 49 dead. The perpetrator of the attack -- Omar Mateen, an American of Afghan origin -- is given only as "US person." Also on the list is the December 2015 shooting in San Bernardino, California by a husband and wife who killed 14 people in a massacre allegedly inspired by Islamic terror groups. They also are identified as "US persons." The list includes other attacks that received massive media coverage at the time: Istanbul (45 dead) in June 2016; Sousse, Tunisia (38 dead) in June 2015; Brussels (31 dead) March 2016; Dacca, Bangladesh (22 dead) in July, 2016; and Berlin (12 dead) in December. The president's latest salvo against the media comes amid a raging legal battle over his travel ban on refugees and nationals from seven predominantly Muslim countries. The new administration says the executive order denying US entry to refugees, and nationals from seven Muslim-majority countries, is needed to protect the country against terror attacks. Opponents of the action say the measure stigmatizes Muslims and fuels Islamic State's anti-Western propaganda. The White House released a list of terrorist attacks to bolster President Trumps claim that the press does not report on them. This list was published just hours after Trump implied the existence of an industrywide conspiracy within journalism during a speech to U.S. Central Command at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa. And in many cases the very, very dishonest press doesnt want to report it. They have their reasons, and you understand that, Trump said. The commander in chief did not cite any evidence or data to support his claim, which seemed particularly jarring given that cable news often immediately launches into wall-to-wall coverage of major terrorist attacks. President Trump. (Photo: Kevin Lamarque/Reuters) The Trump administrations list of 78 supposedly underreported terrorist attacks, from September 2014 until December 2016, is noteworthy for naming incidents that received a tremendous amount of coverage and dominated the news cycle. These include the following (figures as presented on White House list): The coordinated terrorist attacks on Paris in November 2015 that killed at least 129 and wounded about 400. The coordinated bombings at Zaventem Airport and on a subway train in Brussels, Belgium, in March 2016 that killed at least 31 and wounded about 270. The truck attack in Nice, France, in July 2016 that killed 84 and wounded about 308. The shooting at a nightclub in Orlando in June 2016 that killed 49 and wounded about 53. The shootings and suicide bombings at Ataturk International Airport in Istanbul, Turkey, that killed 45 and wounded about 240. Journalists reporting on the Pulse nightclub shooting in June 2016 in Orlando. (Photo: Michael Walsh/Yahoo News) The list failed to include several terrorist attacks that were not carried out by Muslim extremists. Noteworthy absences include the June 2015 Charleston church shooting, in which a white supremacist murdered nine black parishioners, and last months Quebec City mosque shooting, which killed six Muslims and injured about 20. Critics on social media were quick to point out these absences. Did we lose the page on underreported terrorist attacks by white supremacists? Is that a separate list? Carrie Coon (@carriecoon) February 7, 2017 Trump: "Here's a list of underreported terrorist attacks!" Press: "Is Quebec on the list?" Trump: "What's a Kaa-Beck?" Michael Scally (@FizzVsTheWorld) February 7, 2017 The list was also riddled with misspellings and formatting inconsistencies. For instance, attacker is misspelled as Attaker 27 times, and San Bernardino is misspelled as San Bernadino. Story continues Two Southern California congressmen, both Democrats, pointed out the latter typo as a sign that the White House wasnt paying enough attention to the issue. If White House didn't know how to spell San Bernardino they should've read one of thousands of heartbreaking articles remembering victims. Mark Takano (@RepMarkTakano) February 7, 2017 .@POTUS You can't even spell #SanBernardino but you exploit our community to justify your #muslimban. Rep. Pete Aguilar (@RepPeteAguilar) February 7, 2017 The list also refers to the Islamic State terrorist group by the abbreviation ISIL, despite Trump having criticized former President Barack Obama for using that abbreviation instead of the more common ISIS. And he calls it ISIL. And the reason he calls it ISIL is he likes to bother everybody, Trump said of Obama last August, the Washington-focused newspaper The Hill reported. Hes like the only one who is still calling it ISIL. The Washington Post reproduced the list in full: TIMELINE: September, 2014 December, 2016 NUMBER OF ATTACKS: 78 MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA September, 2014 TARGET: Two police officers wounded in knife attack ATTACKER: Abdul Numan Haider TIZI OUZOU, ALGERIA September, 2014 TARGET: One French citizen beheaded ATTACKER: Jund al-Khilafah in Algeria QUEBEC, CANADA October, 2014 TARGET: One soldier killed and one wounded in vehicle attack ATTACKER: Martin Couture-Rouleau OTTAWA, CANADA October, 2014 TARGET: One soldier killed at war memorial; two wounded in shootings at Parliament building ATTACKER: Michael Zehaf-Bibeau NEW YORK CITY, NY, USA October, 2014 TARGET: Two police officers wounded in knife attack ATTACKER: US person RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIA November, 2014 TARGET: One Danish citizen wounded in shooting ATTACKERS: Three Saudi Arabia-based ISIL members ABU DHABI, UAE DATE: December 2014 TARGET: One American killed in knife attack ATTACKER: Dalal al-Hashimi SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA December, 2014 TARGET: Two Australians killed in hostage taking and shooting ATTACKER: Man Haron Monis TOURS, FRANCE December, 2014 TARGET: Three police officers wounded in knife attack ATTACKER: Bertrand Nzohabonayo PARIS, FRANCE January, 2015 TARGET: One police officer and four hostages killed in shooting at a kosher supermarket ATTACKER: Amedy Coulibaly TRIPOLI, LIBYA January, 2015 TARGET: Ten killed, including one US citizen, and five wounded in bombing and shooting at a hotel frequented by westerners ATTACKERS: As many as five ISIL-Libya members RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIA January, 2015 TARGET: Two US citizens wounded in shooting ATTACKER: Saudi Arabia-based ISIL supporter NICE, FRANCE February, 2015 TARGET: Two French soldiers wounded in knife attack outside a Jewish community center ATTACKER: Moussa Coulibaly COPENHAGEN, DENMARK February, 2015 TARGET: One civilian killed in shooting at a free-speech rally and one security guard killed outside the citys main synagogue ATTACKER: Omar Abdel Hamid el-Hussein TUNIS, TUNISIA March, 2015 TARGET: 21 tourists killed, including 16 westerners, and 55 wounded in shooting at the Bardo Museum ATTACKERS: Two ISIL-aligned extremists KARACHI, PAKISTAN April, 2015 TARGET: One US citizen wounded in knife attack ATTACKERS: Pakistan-based ISIL supporters PARIS, FRANCE April, 2015 TARGET: Catholic churches targeted; one civilian killed in shooting, possibly during an attempted carjacking ATTACKER: Sid Ahmed Ghlam ZVORNIK, BOSNIA April, 2015 TARGET: One police officer killed and two wounded in shooting ATTACKER: Nerdin Ibric GARLAND, TX, USA May, 2015 TARGET: One security guard wounded in shooting at the Prophet Muhammad cartoon event ATTACKERS: Two US persons BOSTON, MA, USA June, 2015 TARGET: No casualties; one police officer attacked with knife ATTACKER: US person EL GORA (AL JURAH), EGYPT June, 2015 TARGET: No casualties; camp used by Multinational Force and Observers (MFO) troops attacked in shooting and bombing attack ATTACKERS: Unknown number of ISIL-Sinai members LUXOR, EGYPT June, 2015 TARGET: One police officer killed by suicide bomb near the Temple of Karnak ATTACKER: Unidentified SOUSSE, TUNISIA June, 2015 TARGET: 38 killed and 39 wounded in shooting at a beach frequented by westerners ATTACKERS: Seifeddine Rezgui and another unidentified attacker LYON, FRANCE June, 2015 TARGET: One civilian killed in beheading and explosion at a chemical plant ATTACKER: Yasin Salhi CAIRO, EGYPT July, 2015 TARGET: One killed and nine wounded in VBIED attack at Italian Consulate ATTACKER: Unidentified ISIL operatives CAIRO, EGYPT July, 2015 TARGET: One Croatian national kidnapped; beheaded on August 12 at an unknown location ATTACKER: Unidentified ISIL-Sinai operative PARIS, FRANCE August, 2015 TARGET: Two civilians and one US soldier wounded with firearms and knife on a passenger train ATTACKER: Ayoub el-Khazzani EL GORA, EGYPT September, 2015 TARGET: Four US and two MFO troops wounded in IED attack ATTACKER: Unidentified DHAKA, BANGLADESH September, 2015 TARGET: One Italian civilian killed in shooting ATTACKER: Unidentified COPENHAGEN, DENMARK September, 2015 TARGET: One police officer wounded in knife attack ATTAKER: Palestinian national EL GORA, EGYPT October, 2015 TARGET: No casualties; airfield used by MFO attacked with rockets ATTAKER: Unidentified ISIL-Sinai operatives PARRAMATTA, AUSTRALIA October, 2015 TARGET: One police officer killed in shooting ATTAKER: Farhad Jabar RANGPUR, BANGLADESH October, 2015 TARGET: One Japanese civilian killed in shooting ATTAKER: Unidentified HASANAH, EGYPT October, 2015 TARGET: 224 killed in downing of a Russian airliner ATTAKER: Unidentified ISIL-Sinai operatives MERCED, CA, US November, 2015 TARGET: Four wounded in knife attack on a college campus ATTAKER: US person PARIS, FRANCE November, 2015 TARGET: At least 129 killed and approximately 400 wounded in series of shootings and IED attacks ATTAKERS: Brahim Abdelslam, Saleh Abdeslam, Ismail Mostefai, Bilal Hadfi, Samy Amimour, Chakib Ahrouh, Foued Mohamed Aggad, and Abdelhamid Abaaoud DINAJPUR, BANGLADESH November, 2015 TARGET: One Italian citizen wounded in shooting ATTAKER: Unidentified RAJLOVAC, BOSNIA December, 2015 TARGET: Two Bosnian soldiers killed in shooting ATTAKER: Enes Omeragic SAN BERNADINO, CA, US December, 2015 TARGET: 14 killed and 21 wounded in coordinated firearms attack ATTAKERS: Two US persons LONDON, ENGLAND, UK December, 2015 TARGET: Three wounded in knife attack at an underground rail station ATTAKER: Muhyadin Mire DERBENT, RUSSIA December, 2015 TARGET: One killed and 11 wounded in shooting at UN World Heritage site ATTAKER: Unidentified ISIL-Caucasus operative CAIRO, EGYPT January, 2016 TARGET: Two wounded in drive-by shooting outside a hotel frequented by tourists ATTAKERS: Unidentified ISIL operatives PARIS, FRANCE January, 2016 TARGET: No casualties; attacker killed after attempted knife attack on Paris police station ATTAKER: Tarek Belgacem PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA January, 2016 TARGET: One police officer wounded in shooting ATTAKER: US person HURGHADA, EGYPT January, 2016 TARGET: One German and one Danish national wounded in knife attack at a tourist resort ATTAKER: Unidentified MARSEILLES, FRANCE January, 2016 TARGET: One Jewish teacher wounded in machete attack ATTAKER: 15 year-old Ethnic Kurd from Turkey ISTANBUL, TURKEY January, 2016 TARGET: 12 German tourists killed and 15 wounded in suicide bombing ATTAKER: Nabil Fadli JAKARTA, INDONESIA January, 2016 TARGET: Four civilians killed and more than 20 wounded in coordinated bombing and firearms attacks near a police station and a Starbucks ATTAKERS: Dian Joni Kurnaiadi, Muhammad Ali, Arif Sunakim, and Ahmad Muhazan bin Saron COLUMBUS, OH, US February, 2016 TARGET: Four civilians wounded in machete attack at a restaurant ATTAKER: US person HANOVER, GERMANY February, 2016 TARGET: One police officer wounded in knife attack ATTAKER: Safia Schmitter ISTANBUL, TURKEY March, 2016 TARGET: Four killed and 36 wounded in suicide bombing in the tourist district ATTAKER: Mehmet Ozturk BRUSSELS, BELGIUM March, 2016 TARGET: At least 31 killed and 270 wounded in coordinated bombings at Zaventem Airport and on a subway train ATTAKERS: Khalid el-Bakraoui, Ibrahim el-Bakraoui, Najim Laachraoui, Mohammed Abrini, and Osama Krayem ESSEN, GERMANY April, 2016 TARGET: Three wounded in bombing at Sikh temple ATTAKERS: Three identified minors ORLANDO, FL, US June, 2016 TARGET: 49 killed and 53 wounded in shooting at a nightclub ATTAKER: US person MAGNANVILLE, FRANCE June, 2016 TARGET: One police officer and one civilian killed in knife attack ATTAKER: Larossi Abballa KABUL, AFGHANISTAN June, 2016 TARGET: 14 killed in suicide attack on a bus carrying Canadian Embassy guards ATTAKER: ISIL-Khorasan operative ISTANBUL, TURKEY June, 2016 TARGET: 45 killed and approximately 240 wounded at Ataturk International Airport ATTACKERS: Rakhim Bulgarov, Vadim Osmanov, and an unidentified ISIL operative DHAKA, BANGLADESH July, 2016 TARGET: 22 killed, including one American and 50 wounded after hours-long siege using machetes and firearms at holy Artisan Bakery ATTACKERS: Nibras Islam, Rohan Imtiaz, Meer Saameh Mubasheer, Khairul Islam Paye, and Shafiqul Islam Uzzal NICE, FRANCE July, 2016 TARGET: 84 civilians killed and 308 wounded by an individual who drove a truck into a crowd ATTACKER: Mohamed Bouhlel WURZBURG, GERMANY July, 2016 TARGET: Four civilians wounded in axe attack on a train ATTACKER: Riaz Khan Ahmadzai ANSBACH, GERMANY July, 2016 TARGET: At least 15 wounded in suicide bombing at a music festival ATTACKER: Mohammad Daleel NORMANDY, FRANCE July, 2016 TARGET: One priest killed in knife attack ATTACKERS: Adel Kermiche and Abdel Malik Nabil Petitjean CHALEROI, BELGIUM August, 2016 TARGET: Two police officers wounded in machete attack ATTACKER: Khaled Babouri QUEENSLAND, AUSTRALIA August, 2016 TARGET: Two killed and one wounded in knife attack at a hostel frequented by Westerners ATTACKER: Smail Ayad COPENHAGEN, DENMAKR September, 2016 TARGET: Two police officers and a civilian wounded in shooting ATTACKER: Mesa Hodzic PARIS, FRANCE September, 2016 TARGET: One police officer wounded in raid after VBIED failed to detonate at Notre Dame Cathedral ATTACKERS: Sarah Hervouet, Ines Madani, and Amel Sakaou SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA September, 2016 TARGET: One civilian wounded in knife attack ATTACKER: Ihsas Khan ST. CLOUD, MN, US September, 2016 TARGET: 10 wounded in knife attack in a mall ATTACKER: Dahir Ahmed Adan NEW YORK, NY; SEASIDE PARK AND ELIZABETH, NJ, US September, 2016 TARGET: 31 wounded in bombing in New York City; several explosive devices found in New York and New Jersey; one exploded without casualty at race in New Jersey; one police officer wounded in shootout ATTACKER: Ahmad Khan Rahami BRUSSELS, BELGIUM October, 2016 TARGET: Two police officers wounded in stabbing ATTACKER: Belgian national KUWAIT CITY, KUWAIT TARGET: No casualties; vehicle carrying three US soldiers hit by a truck ATTACKER: Ibrahim Sulayman MALMO, SWEDEN October, 2016 TARGET: No casualties; mosque and community center attacked with Molotov cocktail ATTACKER: Syrian national HAMBURG, GERMANY October, 2016 TARGET: One killed in knife attack ATTACKER: Unknown MANILA, PHILIPPINES November, 2016 TARGET: No casualties; failed IED attempt near US Embassy ATTACKERS: Philippine nationals aligned with the Maute group COLUMBUS, OH, US November, 2016 TARGET: 14 wounded by individuals who drove a vehicle into a group of pedestrians and attacked them with a knife ATTACKER: US person NDJAMENA, CHAD November, 2016 TARGET: No casualties; attacker arrested after opening fire at entrance of US Embassy ATTACKER: Chadian national KARAK, JORDAN December, 2016 TARGET: 10 killed and 28 wounded in shooting at a tourist site ATTACKERS: Several gunmen Read more from Yahoo News: The White House included the Paris attacks on its list of 'under-reported incidents': Getty Donald Trumps administration has provoked outrage for releasing a list of terror incidents it claimed had not been sufficiently covered by the media, including the Paris attacks and Orlando nightclub shooting. Of the 78 incidents issued by the White House, all mass casualty attacks had been reported extensively, while some smaller incidents had been classified as terror-related by right-wing websites but not by investigators. Speaking to troops at MacDill Air Force Base, the President claimed: All over Europe it's happening. It's gotten to a point where it's not even being reported. And in many cases the very, very dishonest press doesn't want to report it. They have their reasons, and you understand that. Asked for details by journalists later on Monday, White House spokesman Sean Spicer said Mr Trump was referring to events that have not gotten the coverage it's deserved, comparing atrocities to demonstrations against the President. He felt as though members of the media don't always cover some of those events to the extent that other events might get covered that a protest will get blown out of the water, and yet an attack or a foiled attack doesn't necessarily get the same coverage, Mr Spicer said. The White House said its list included terror attacks executed or inspired by Isis on Western targets between September 2014 and December. Networks are not devoting to each of them the same level of coverage they once did, an official said. This cannot be allowed to become the new normal. The White House did not specify which attacks on the list it claimed had gone under-reported, though the dossier included the massacres in Paris, Nice, Brussels, Berlin and the shooting in San Bernardino, all of which received widespread international coverage. The list appeared to have been assembled hastily using media reports and Isis propaganda. It included a number of spelling errors, with the words attacker and attackers misspelled multiple times along with the name San Bernardino, sparking anger from local politicians. Story continues All mass casualty incidents had been covered worldwide, while smaller attacks that caused few deaths or little damage received less attention in the US than in their respective countries. Several cases, including the murder of an American defence contractor in Saudi Arabia, were not verified as terror-related by police. Some incidents were claimed by terror groups other than Isis, including a listed suicide bombing on a bus carrying Canadian embassy guards in Kabul, which both Isis and the Taliban said they carried out. Others have no confirmed connection to Isis, including the bombing of a Sikh temple in Germany in April, which police said was committed by extremist Salafists. Alt-right website Breitbart, whose former chair Steve Bannon has been hired as Mr Trumps chief strategist, was among the sites raging against authorities treatment of the case. A stabbing attack where a French national killed his British roommate and hostel caretaker in Australia was also not treated as extremist by police, who criticised media reports for linking the murders with Islamist terrorism. Mia Ayliffe-Chung was stabbed to death in a non-terror-related attack in Australia (Facebook) Rosie Ayliffe, the mother of victim Mia Ayliffe-Chung who described the aftermath of the killing in a series of articles for The Independent, was outraged by the list. The possibility of Mia and Tom's deaths being consequent to an Islamic terror attack was discounted in the early stages of the police investigation, she wrote in an open letter to Mr Trump, accusing him of vilifying whole nation states and their people based on religion. Sandra Jackson, whose son Tom was murdered while trying to save Ms Ayliffe-Chung, wrote on Twitter: @realDonaldTrump wake up this morning to see you've used my son murder to further your campaign of hate, how dare you. You are a disgrace. Swedish police pointed out that an Isis-claimed arson attack on a community centre in Malmo was not terror-related, while German investigators concluded that a terrorist motive for a stabbing hailed by the group in Hamburg was unlikely. Both were listed by the White House. Claims came amid ongoing ridicule over claims by Mr Trumps adviser Kellyanne Conway that a massacre had taken place in the American city of Bowling Green, adding: Most people dont know that because it didnt get covered. It didnt get covered because it did not take place. She was referring to the arrest of two Iraqi nationals who attempted to send money and weapons to al-Qaeda in Iraq, which later evolved to become Isis. They were not charged with plotting attacks in the US. Nearly 100 tech companies filed an amicus brief on Sunday opposing President Donald Trumps refugee and immigrant travel ban, including Apple (AAPL), Facebook (FB), eBay (EBAY), Google (GOOG, GOOGL) and Twitter (TWTR). However, take a closer look at the long-running list of names on the joint brief, and youll notice several notable companies missing. Amazon (AMZN) was one major company that didnt join with the brief, which supported a case brought by Minnesota and the state of Washington opposing the temporary ban on refugees and temporary ban on immigrants from seven Muslim-majority countries. Thats because Seattle-based Amazon had already filed a declaration in the same case explaining how the ban negatively affects the e-commerce giant. Washingtons attorney general advised Amazon not to join the amicus brief since its a witness in the original lawsuit, according to a source familiar with the matter. Oracle co-CEO Safra Catz Also missing from the list of 97 tech companies on the amicus brief? Oracle (ORCL) and IBM. While its a stretch to assume the businesses support Trumps travel ban, its worth noting the companies have ties to the current administration. Oracle co-CEO Safra Catz, for example, belongs to Trumps transition team a controversial move that caused some dissent among the ranks at Oracle, including the resignation of an executive this December in protest. For her part, IBM CEO Ginni Rometty belongs to Trumps business advisory group and met with the president just last week. When asked why IBM didnt participate in the amicus brief, a company spokesman issued the following response: IBMs CEO conveyed the companys views directly to the President and the Secretary of Homeland Security in person on Friday, including suggestions for how technology can help to promote both national security and lawful immigration. Another tech giant that didnt join the amicus briefing, Hewlett-Packard Enterprise (HPE), told Yahoo Finance it planned on filing a statement of support later Monday and chalked up its omission from the initial roster to a tight timeframe for participation. The company, however, did issue a statement last week in response to Trumps executive order stating it does not support measures that discriminate against any group. Story continues UPDATE: In a previous version of this story, Yahoo Finance wrote Tesla (TSLA) had not joined the amicus brief. Indeed, Tesla was not one of the original 97 companies to participate the company joined the brief Monday afternoon. This post has been updated to reflect that. JP Mangalindan is a senior correspondent covering the intersection of business and technology. More from JP: Meet the 28-year-old whiz whos making $4 billion from Snapchat The day Lyft was bigger than Uber. Surprise and disgust: What 6 Silicon Valley CEOs said about Trumps ban Qualcomm president: Apple is behind regulatory attacks Amazon is now worth more than the 8 largest retailers combined How Silicon Valley reacted to Trumps inauguration AMD CEO: Why its good to be the smaller guy Nick Jonas explains why you should buy his new headphones WARSAW A charge of theft has been filed against the former 3rd District Democratic Party treasurer, Tyler Cooley, who is accused of embezzling more than $7,000 from the party. Prosecutors in Kosciusko County filed the single Level 6 felony charge against Cooley, 33, on Friday. That charge is punishable by between six months and 2 1/2 years in jail, if convicted. A judge also could order he make restitution back to the party. According to court documents, former 3rd District chairwoman Carmen Darland, who lives outside Albion, reported to the Noble County Sheriffs Department she discovered $5,677 had been stolen from the Democrats account at Old National Bank in Kosciusko County. She told a deputy she had spoken with Cooley, who admitted to her he had taken money from party accounts, the documents state. An audit of the partys accounts was completed, and a total of $7,042 reportedly was missing. Cooley resigned as treasurer of the 3rd District Democrats in June 2016. The discrepancy was found during an audit by the partys executive committee after his departure, according to a letter sent to party donors Jan. 30 by new 3rd District Chairwoman Madalyn Sade-Bartl. Sade-Bartl was appointed treasurer after Cooley and was part of the executive committee that discovered the alleged embezzlement. Noble County Sheriffs Department Detective Sgt. Joe Hutsell spoke to Cooley on July 14, during which time the former treasurer admitted he stole money between September 2015 and July 2016 and used it for his own personal use, according to charging documents. A withdrawal of $5,677 was taken from the Democrats Old National Bank account; $700 was stolen from a party raffle; and $665 was taken from event revenue, according to court documents. Cooley had three monetary court judgments ordered against him from August 2014 to April 2016, according to online court records. On Aug. 26, 2014, a court issued a judgment of $941.76 to Huntington County Federal Credit Union. At the end of divorce hearings in April 2015, Cooley was ordered to pay $2,600 to his spouse as part of the final dissolution order. A year later in April 2016, he was ordered to pay $4,741.77 to family law attorney Tandra S. Johnson, who represented him during his divorce proceedings. Cooley also was unemployed for a period of about six months, and Sade-Bartl said she thinks he used the money to pay personal expenses during that time. As far as I know from what hes indicated to myself and other members in the situation, it was paying bills and paying child support, she said. Cooley sent a check for $150 to the party last week to begin repayment, but Sade-Bartl said police advised her not to deposit that check at this time. In her letter to donors, Sade-Bartl wrote she anticipated the party would be fully reimbursed. The charge comes about seven months after Noble County police spoke to Cooley about the incident. Hutsell said he had submitted paperwork to the Kosciusko County prosecutors office in the summer, but that office was burdened with other cases at the time. Prosecutors didnt get back with him until recently to finalize their information, he said. They had a lot going on in their office, and it just got shuffled around, Hutsell said. Since the incident, 3rd District Democrats have implemented new internal controls in an effort to prevent a bookkeeping scheme in the future. Previously, both the party chair and treasurer were listed as authorized users on the bank accounts, but only the treasurer was receiving bank statements, Sade-Bartl said. Now, both are getting monthly statements, and Sade-Bartl is forwarding those documents to other members of the partys executive committee, she said. Sade-Bartl added the 3rd District is researching whether it could get a bond to protect the party against another such loss in the future. Requiring a personal bond for the treasurer likely would be too costly, but party leaders are looking for alternatives, she said. The loss of the $7,200 didnt prevent 3rd District Democrats from making donations to candidates during the 2016 elections, although the party had less money available for contributions, including those to local office seekers. Extra money probably wouldnt have helped in statewide races considering how badly Democrats performed against Republicans in the general election. But additional money might have made a difference in local contests, Sade-Bartl said. The flight from Doha is sprayed with water canons as it lands in Auckland: Qatar Airways The worlds longest non-stop commercial flight has touched down in New Zealand after leaving Qatar 16 hours and 23 minutes earlier. The Qatar Airways flight QR920 from Doha to Auckland covered a total distance of 14,535 kilometres (9,032 miles) and is the furthest distance between any two cities linked by direct flights. The Boeing 777 landed at 7.25am local time on Monday, slightly ahead of schedule, and was showered by water cannons when it landed in Auckland as is traditional for welcoming inaugural flights on new routes. The flight soared across 10 time zones with the help of four pilots, while 15 crew members served 1,100 cups of tea and coffee, 2,000 cold drinks and 1,036 meals on board, according to Qatar Airways. The airlines Group CEO Akbar Al Baker travelled on the flight, which landed on New Zealands Waitangi Day. Once the airline completes its return trip to Doha it will set a final record for the worlds longest non-stop commercial flight, as the journey takes an hour longer due to headwinds. The return flight is expected to take 17 hours and 30 minutes. Weve officially landed in New Zealand, the Land of the Long White Cloud. Kia ora! #AucklandTogether pic.twitter.com/d0BNsWRU9f Qatar Airways (@qatarairways) February 5, 2017 Prior to this new route, rival airline Emirates is understood to have held the record for the longest commercial flight for its route between Dubai and Auckland, which is around 300 kilometres shorter than Qatar Airways new offer. Additional reporting by Associated Press Https%3a%2f%2fblueprint-api-production.s3.amazonaws.com%2fuploads%2fcard%2fimage%2f374549%2f5f8554dc-7655-4938-96da-3de6a400d98d Long-distance travel is an ordeal at the best of times, so you can imagine the world's longest commercial non-stop flight ain't for the faint-hearted. Qatar Airways has completed its first non-stop flight from Qatar's Doha to New Zealand's Auckland, with its Boeing 777-200LR touching down early Monday, after 16 hours and 20 minutes in the air. Aware that the trip was a landmark occasion, passengers where keen to document the experience on social media. It's like being there IRL, but without the expensive tickets and possibility of deep vein thrombosis. SEE ALSO: Flying give you 'the fear?' Here are the world's safest airlines The trip covered a distance of 14,535 kilometres (9,032 miles), eclipsing a record previously held by rival Emirates. That regular flight is between Dubai and Auckland, which is more than 300 kilometres (186 miles) shorter than this route. Qatar Airway's return trip time is even longer, clocking in at 17 hours and 30 minutes made slower due to the headwinds on the way back. To commemorate the inaugural flight, passengers scored themselves special cupcakes. For those fortunate enough to travel in business class, they got a "Kiwi Rose mocktail" to sip on too. The inaugural @qatarairways Doha to Auckland service, the longest non-stop commercial flight, starts the 16hr 30min trip to New Zealand pic.twitter.com/m7t6c2kvl0 Craig West (@ALW_Craig) February 5, 2017 Unsurprisingly, a long flight needs plenty of fuel. About to take off. 138 t of fuel on board pic.twitter.com/vqhLwbmdja Richard Quest (@richardquest) February 5, 2017 Flight time 15:40 with strong tail wind. Distance 9100 miles Richard Quest (@richardquest) February 5, 2017 After 16 hours in the air, landing in Auckland was major relief. Story continues Perfect summer day here. Thank you crew of QR920 @qatarairways pic.twitter.com/D6pSfw3sDI Richard Quest (@richardquest) February 6, 2017 They also received a traditional water salute from the Auckland Airport's fire teams. Despite the fanfare, it's worth noting that Air India has a flight from Delhi to San Francisco that is 15,300 kilometres (9,506 miles) long. But as USA Today notes, that's due to the airline's October change in route over the Pacific Ocean. Tailwinds as the plane heads east helps to save fuel, but add almost 1,400 kilometres (869 miles) compared to flying over the Atlantic Ocean. The direct distance from Delhi to San Francisco is 12,343 kilometres (7,670 miles). Doha to Auckland, as the crow flies, is 14,528 kilometres (9,027 miles). Still a damn long time in a plane, either way. Ouch. Associated Press contributed reporting. By Rod Nickel and Anna Mehler Paperny WINNIPEG, Manitoba/BUFFALO, New York (Reuters) - Refugees in the United States fearing a worsening climate of xenophobia in the wake of a divisive U.S. presidential campaign are flocking to Canada in growing numbers. Manitoba's Welcome Place refugee agency helped 91 claimants between Nov. 1 and Jan. 25 - more than the agency normally sees in a year. Most braved the freezing prairie winter to walk into Canada. "We haven't had something before like this," said Maggie Yeboah, president of the Ghanaian Union of Manitoba, which has helped refugees get medical attention and housing. "We don't know what to do." A temporary restraining order by a U.S. judge of President Donald Trump's executive order that blocked nationwide the implementation of key parts of the travel ban has provided a reprieve for refugees trying to come to the United States. But Canadian advocacy organizations are bracing for a greater influx of asylum-seekers, driven in part by the contrast between the ruling Liberal government's acceptance of Syrian refugees in Canada with Trump's anti-foreigner rhetoric. "They will make a dash for Canada, whether they are going to go through cold weather to die or not," said Abdikheir Ahmed, a Somali immigrant in Manitoba's capital Winnipeg who helps refugees make claims. Since late summer, 27 men from Ghana walked to Manitoba from the United States, Yeboah said. Two lost all their fingers to frostbite in December and nearly froze to death. More than 7,000 refugee applicants entered Canada in 2016 through land ports of entry from the United States, up 63 percent from the previous year, according to Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA). Over 2,000 more entered "irregularly" during a similar time period, without official authorization, such as across unmonitored fields. Four hundred and thirty asylum seekers crossed Manitoba's border irregularly in the first nine months of 2016-17, up from 340 the entire previous year, CBSA said. "The U.S. presidential campaign, putting undocumented immigrants and refugees in the spotlight, terrified them," said Ghezae Hagos, counselor at Welcome Place. "The election and inauguration of Mr. Trump appears to be the final reason for those who came mostly last month." In Quebec, 1,280 refugee claimants irregularly entered between April 2016 and January 2017, triple the previous year's total. In British Columbia and Yukon, 652 people entered Canada irregularly in 2016, more than double the previous year. More of these people would enter at border crossings, advocates say, if Canada didn't have a policy of turning many of them away when they do. The 2004 Canada-U.S. Safe Third Country Agreement requires people to apply for asylum in the first of the two countries they arrive in. Advocates argue the agreement inadvertently encourages people to dangerously sneak into Canada and make a claim rather than be rebuffed at the border. If the government doesn't abandon this agreement, they say, it could find itself in court. The number of refugee applicants crossing the land border under exceptions to the Safe Third Country Agreement has risen by 16 percent in the first nine months of 2016 compared to the same time period the year before. In Buffalo, New York, hundreds of people are streaming through Vive, a shelter that helps refugee applicants to Canada. Vives client numbers, including long-time U.S. residents and refugees, spiked last summer and have stayed consistently high since two or three times what theyd normally see a year or two ago. Vive's Canadian service manager Mariah Walker expects to see even more. "Clients are definitely spooked by (Trump's) executive orders," said Walker. CANADIAN WELCOME Prime Minister Trudeau took office in 2015 on a commitment to admit tens of thousands of Syrian refugees. "While the majority of the world is turning their backs and building walls, the fact that Trudeau took this bold humanitarian goal put [Canada] on the map," said Chris Friesen, director of settlement services at Immigrant Services Society of British Columbia. But this year, Canada plans to take only 7,500 government-assisted refugees - less than half last year's number. People eager to sponsor refugees find themselves waiting years to do so. Anisa Hussein, 20, and Lyaan Mohammed, 19, hired a smuggler to take them from Somalia to Minneapolis in August, where they planned to settle in a large Somali community. But Trump's anti-refugee rhetoric frightened them into traveling to Manitoba days later. "(Trump) said he would turn away the refugees and we would go back to Somalia," said Mohammed, peeking timidly from behind the hood of a thick parka she received in Canada for winter. "We were so scared. We just wanted to be [in] a safe place." They rode a bus and taxi to North Dakota, then walked for hours into Emerson, Manitoba and filed refugee claims. They might have been able to cross at a port of entry if Canada's policies were different, says Canadian Council for Refugees executive director Janet Dench. Her organization, as well as Amnesty International and the Canadian Civil Liberties Association, are demanding Canada abandon the Safe Third Country Agreement: Trump's United States is no safe haven, they argue. The government is standing by the agreement, Immigration Minister Ahmed Hussen told the House of Commons last week. If the government doesn't act, Dench said, her group will sue. "We are talking about peoples charter rights. So, yes, we would expect to see something in the courts." (Additional writing by Andrea Hopkins; additional reporting by Nicole Mordant in Vancouver, editing by Edward Tobin) To say that President Donald Trump had a bad first two weeks in office is like saying that Plan Nine from Outer Space was not a great movie. Trump arguably had one good day in his first two weeks, on Jan. 31, when he rolled out the nomination of the well-qualified Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court and that only was because he resisted the temptation to stage an Apprentice-style extravaganza with both the winner and runner-up sitting in the audience. Of course, Trump was compelled to move up the announcement of a Supreme Court pick, previously scheduled for Feb. 2, to distract from the scathing news coverage about his executive order banning all refugees and visitors from seven Muslim nations. Other than the Gorsuch selection, which is enthusiastically applauded by all conservatives and even by a few principled liberals, its been one snafu after another. Trump is experiencing the highest disapproval ratings of any newly inaugurated president. Millions of people have marched to protest him far more than gathered to watch his inauguration. The opposition party is already more militantly mobilized than against any previous president other than possibly Nixon, post-Watergate. Federal judges have gutted his most high-profile initiative, an executive order on immigration, after it revoked more than 60,000 visas. (If more faithfully implemented, we now learn, it might have shut down all tourism to the United States.) The presidents staff is so inept that when it issued a list of 16 foreign leaders Trump has spoken to, it included the president of Australia. (Ahem, that would be the prime minister.) And the president is so ignorant and ill-prepared that in commemorating Black History Month, he gave the impression that he thinks Frederick Douglass, who died in 1895, is still alive. The White House is leaking like the Lusitania, with the press receiving chapter and verse about who is responsible for each and every screw-up. Career officials, including roughly 1,000 Foreign Service officers, are protesting the presidents ill-advised initiatives. The White House staff is feuding with each other and with cabinet secretaries. Trump, in turn, is feuding with the president of Mexico and the president of Australia, while the European Union is coming to regard the United States of Trump as a foe on a par with Russia, China, and wars, terror and anarchy in the Middle East and Africa. Yet while attacking American allies, Trump is defending Vladimir Putin from the charge that he is guilty of killing a lot of innocent people. We have a lot of killers. What, you think our country is so innocent? Trump told Fox Newss Bill OReilly, thus engaging in the kind of moral equivalence that Republicans once criticized. His aides are reduced to brazen falsehoods about a nonexistent Bowling Green massacre and a wildly inflated inauguration-crowd count in order to please their difficult boss. He has even presided over a flawed special operations raid in Yemen that may not have been his fault but that still adds to the stench of failure hanging over this White House. The attempts of White House spinmeisters to lay blame for this mishap on the previous president and on the Pentagon have been handicapped by their notorious record of retailing falsehoods (see above). Its a sure bet that Trump will scapegoat others for his woes, beginning with his external critics and concluding with his own aides, who will eventually be accused, in true authoritarian style, of betraying him in fact that was the very word he employed in firing acting Attorney General Sally Yates over her refusal to defend his indefensible immigration diktat. Nixon ranted and raved about his enemies in the privacy of the Oval Office; Trump does it on Twitter for the whole world to see. He would be better advised to look in the mirror something he no doubt does regularly to check that his pharmaceutically-assisted coif is in perfect order. Much as Stephen Bannon, the White House white-power ideologue, may be rightly reviled for his ham-handedness and heavy-handedness, he is not the true architect of the administrations misfortune. That would be the president who appointed him a chief executive who is utterly lacking in government experience yet has foolishly surrounded himself with aides who are equally unseasoned. Is it any wonder that their initial initiatives have been fiascos? Trump got as far as he did by running a renegade campaign; he committed dozens of gaffes, any one of which would have sunk any other candidate, and he disdained the kind of discipline that most contenders embrace. He got away with it because he was running against a singularly inept and unpopular adversary in Hillary Clinton. But now he is being judged not by comparison with Clinton but with history and by that standard his attempts to run a renegade White House are not working out well. Many people might want to see Don Rickles in a comedy club; few want to see him in the Oval Office. There is, in fact, nothing remotely attractive about a president who appears before a wall honoring fallen CIA officers and uses the occasion to boast (falsely) of how large his inauguration crowd was. Or who appears before the National Prayer Breakfast and uses the occasion to brag that his ratings on The Apprentice were larger than those of his successor, Arnold Schwarzenegger. Trump desperately wants to be loved, as his friend Howard Stern noted, but such over-the-top, out-of-control, out-of-place braggadocio, if it continues, will only lead more people around the nation to view him with as much contempt as the New York media elite, whose favor he has sought for decades, already do. Read more: And Then the Breitbart Lynch Mob Came for Me For 15 years, Ive spoken out against executive overreach. But in the Trump era, even theoretical criticism puts a target on your back. Trump Has Already Blown It The president could have started a foreign-policy revolution. Instead, he triggered a foreign-policy revolt. Trumps Grand Strategic Train Wreck Believe it or not, the president has a grand strategy. But its a nightmarish mess. Far more chilling are his incessant assaults on critics. He has accused Sens. John McCain and Lindsey Graham, who have been more courageous in criticizing his excesses than any other elected Republicans, of always looking to start World War III precisely the same accusation that the government-controlled Russian media level against them. He repeats another standard trope of Putins propaganda by accusing protesters of being, not patriots, but rather paid dupes of shadowy cabals: Professional anarchists, thugs and paid protesters are proving the point of the millions of people who voted to MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN! he tweeted on Feb. 3. (Where exactly does one get work as a professional anarchist or paid protester? Sounds like a dream job.) He assails the mainstream media on an almost daily basis, with the New York Times being a favorite target (the FAKE NEWS @nytimes is still lost!) even as he continues to grant it behind-the-scenes access. Worse than any of this are the tweets he sent on Saturday morning assailing the federal judge who the night before had issued a restraining order preventing the nationwide implementation of his immigration order. The opinion of this so-called judge, which essentially takes law-enforcement away from our country, is ridiculous and will be overturned! he thundered, adding that as a result many very bad and dangerous people may be pouring into our country. The so-called judge in question, James L. Robart, is a Republican who was appointed by George W. Bush and confirmed, 99-0, by the Senate. Its bad enough when candidate Trump made a racist assault on Judge Gonzalo Curiel. It is a more serious matter when the president, charged with enforcing the nations laws, singles out a federal judge for such an intemperate assault. Just imagine how differently Trump would be viewed if he acted in a more dignified fashion. If your imagination isnt that elastic, see the Twitter parody account known as PresidentialTrump (@MatureTrumpTwts). For example, in place of the attack on Robart, its anonymous author wrote: I ask for patience as we sort out legality on this issue. Please dont fear-monger- act civilly & respect whatever the eventual outcome is. Instead of Trumps assault on paid protesters, PresidentialTrump wrote: Clearly theres growing unrest & discord here in U.S. We MUST listen to each other NOW, find common ground & heal divides to move forward. Sadly, its just about impossible to imagine the real Trump acting in a more presidential manner, because hes been the same obnoxious bully for the past 70 years. And for that reason its hard to imagine his tenure getting much better. If character is destiny, the president is in big trouble and so are the rest of us who are along for this wild ride. Photo credit: ANDREW HARRER/Pool/Getty Images Subscribe to FP Premium for 20% off now! WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) New Zealand's Prime Minister Bill English said Tuesday he told President Donald Trump during a phone call that he disagreed with his travel and refugee ban but that the conversation remained amicable. Last week Trump had a testy exchange with Australia's Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull over a deal Australia reached with the Obama administration to resettle refugees in the U.S. Trump later tweeted that the deal was "dumb." By contrast, English told Radio New Zealand that his 15-minute call with Trump on Monday was a "sensible, polite discussion" that affirmed the good relationship between the countries. English said he told Trump he disagreed with the contested travel ban but didn't berate him over it. "I'm not there to scold him, although a lot of people might like us to do that," English said. English told the radio station that they also discussed China and North Korea. "Clearly the U.S. president has some views about China, particularly over trade, over the South China Sea," English said. He said Trump told him it was important that countries work together to ensure North Korea did not cause trouble. Australia and New Zealand are part of the "Five Eyes" intelligence-sharing program with Canada, Britain and the U.S. English said he told Trump it was important that the U.S. maintain its presence and interest in the Asia-Pacific area, particularly after pulling out of a regional trade deal. The White House said in a statement that Trump affirmed "the U.S. commitment to strong and active engagement in Asia" and thanked New Zealand for its contributions to international peace and security. English said Trump also talked about the importance of U.S. border security. "The US has something of a view that none of those pressures exist in New Zealand," English said. "But actually they do." HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) U.S. critics of Zimbabwe's human rights record "can go and hang on a banana tree," a Zimbabwean official said in comments published Tuesday, while he also indicated that the southern African country is waiting for an overture from the administration of President Donald Trump. "We are waiting for a cue from a new government," Zimbabwe's state-run Herald newspaper quoted presidential spokesman George Charamba as saying. Charamba also denounced U.S. Ambassador Harry K. Thomas Jr. as "a leftover from a terrible era," an apparent reference to past U.S. administrations that have had testy relations with Zimbabwe's longtime leader, Robert Mugabe. On Monday, the U.S. Embassy expressed deep concern about what it called the "continuing deterioration" of human rights in Zimbabwe. The American statement followed the arrest last week of Evan Mawarire, a Zimbabwean pastor who launched a popular protest movement on social media dubbed #ThisFlag. Mawarire was arrested on his return to Zimbabwe after going to the United States last year. He is being charged with subverting a constitutionally elected government and inciting public violence, and Charamba speculated that he is a U.S. agent. A bail hearing will be held Wednesday. Another Zimbabwean pastor, Patrick Mugadza, has been in detention since Jan. 19 for claiming that Mugabe will die in October this year. "The U.S. Government unequivocally believes in the basic right to freedom of speech and calls on the Government of Zimbabwe to respect the human rights of all Zimbabwean citizens which are enshrined in the constitution," the U.S. Embassy said in a statement. "We believe that the basic right of Zimbabweans to freedom of speech be it in public, through print media, or social media should be protected within and outside Zimbabwe's borders," it said. Charamba said Thomas, who was nominated to the ambassador's post during the Obama administration, faces an uncertain future under the Trump administration. "He thinks he can boss over us," Charamba said of Thomas. "They can go hang on a banana tree." Annette Bening (Photo: Getty Images) Some things just get better with age. That was the mentality in the Beverly Wilshire ballroom on Monday night when Hollywood got together to celebrate its favorite celebrity adults at the AARP annual gala spotlighting films for grown-ups. Yes, those things made by and starring people 40 and older. They do still exist. We promise. And they generally appear right around Oscar time. The evening inspired a plethora of self-reflection from the honorees. Many of them got deeply personal. I thought, when I was younger, that there was this point in life when you arrived,' said Annette Bening. That there is this point in life in which you stop growing and you have figured everything out. But of course now I am beginning to really understand that it is just stages of development; that life just continues to evolve, and you continue to learn and grow if you are given the chance. Bening, who earned raves (but no Oscar nomination) for her heartfelt, unforced performance in 20th Century Women, is next starring in Katrina: American Crime Story, from Ryan Murphy. Denzel Washington (Photo: Getty Images) Denzel Washington got deep about finding his true calling in his second act. Youll never see a U-Haul behind a hearse. You cant take it with you. The Egyptians tried it. All they got was robbed, he stated. When I turned 60, I looked in the mirror, I said, You know, Denzel, this is not the dress rehearsal. This is life. So its not a matter of how much you have, the question is, what are you going to do with what you have? I knew in my heart at 60 Im 62 now that I wanted to serve others. Its always been my desire to see others do well, to serve God, serve my family, and in this case, to serve August Wilson. Viola Davis (Photo: Getty Images) Washingtons Fences co-star Viola Davis dedicated her award to Wilson, the scribe who wrote the play upon which the film is based. I think that thats probably my biggest wish as an actress, that sometimes, as an actor of color, that people just see me not me as a magical Negro, not me as a social statement, not me as magnificent all the time, just me. Messy, sexual, sometimes not, funny, tragic, joyful. Ive got a story, and I think it deserves to be told, she stated. Story continues We couldnt agree more. Related: Laverne Cox on Why Her First Love Scene With a Dude Was Really Scary Jackie Star Natalie Portman Says She Never Thought She Looked Like the Iconic First Lady Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest for nonstop inspiration delivered fresh to your feed, every day. Photo credit: Getty From Town & Country In an interview with the Today show this morning, Caroline Kennedy, the former U.S. ambassador to Japan and daughter of President John F. Kennedy, criticized President Trump. She is particularly concerned with his "American first" rhetoric regarding foreign policy, going so far as to say that it's "alarming." "To be taken for granted, or to be insulted as an ally who has fought alongside the United States for example, with Australia, or who contributes a huge amount to American security, in the case of Japan and Korea, is alarming," she said. "And I think that, hopefully, the president will realize the benefits of working with our friends and allies around the region." [contentlinks align="left" textonly="false" numbered="false" headline="Related%20Story" customtitles="The%20Young%20Kennedys%20You%20Need%20to%20Know%20" customimages="" content="gallery.2178"] Kennedy, who recently returned home after serving for three years under the Obama administration, does approve of Japan as the destination for the first foreign trip by a Trump Cabinet member, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis. "The region is so critical to our future, so it's important that the defense secretary went to consult and reassure our allies about our commitment," she said of the trip. The newly-confirmed defense secretary met with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe this morning. "I want there to be no misunderstanding during the transition in Washington that we stand firmly, 100 percent, shoulder to shoulder with you and the Japanese people," he said, in a meeting. During the Presidential campaign, Trump pledged to make allies in Asia to help pay for defense support from U.S. troops, a promise that seemed to be very popular among his supporters. When asked about those statements Kennedy said that "Japan already contributes more than any other country." Story continues "They contribute more than 75 percent of the cost of the bases, and it's in our interest that Japan be strong and that our troops be there. That makes us safer here at home," said Kennedy. "Japan's own security helps the United States be safer, and it provides a lot of jobs and a lot of economic opportunities for American companies." The former ambassador is hardly the only Kennedy speaking out against the current administration. Kick Kennedy, granddaughter of Robert F. Kennedy recently posted an Instagram of several family members protesting Trump's executive order on immigration. And her cousin, Congressman Joe Kennedy III has attended multiple protests in the days following the President's inauguration. As for whether Caroline Kennedy hopes to join her first cousin once removed in Congress? "I'm looking to figure what I'll do next," she said. And when pressed about whether she has plans to run for office, she joked, "I think I'd rather be on morning TV." Watch the full interview here. Follow Town & Country on Facebook. [contentlinks align="center" textonly="false" numbered="false" headline="Related%20Stories" customtitles="Joe%20Kennedy%20III%20to%20Attend%20the%20Boston%20Women's%20March%7CKick%20Kennedy's%20Favorite%20Family%20Stories%20%7CCaroline%20Kennedy%20Is%20Heading%20Back%20to%20the%20States" customimages="||" content="article.9286|article.8428|article.9159"] You Might Also Like Just a couple of weeks before the Mardi Gras festival in New Orleans, the Cupertino giant updated its Maps app for both iOS and macOS with the city's public transit data. Last week, Apple helped tourists traveling around Houston, Texas for Super Bowl LI by updating its Maps app for iOS and macOS with the citys public transit data. This week, the Cupertino giant is doing the same for tourists heading to New Orleans for the Mardi Gras festival. Apple Insider reported that because New Orleans is expecting an influx of tourists ahead of its Mardi Gras parade on Feb. 28, Tim Cooks company grabbed the opportunity to help these tourists find their way in the city by updating its Maps app. The update comes with transit directions that will help iPhone and Mac users reach their destinations within the city. The transit data seeded to the app include a mix of bus, train, streetcar and walking directions. Amtrak information is also available for tourists who plan to go to places within the city via train. Jefferson Transit buses are supported by the feature as well. The different routes are color-coded to make it easier for users to keep track of their itinerary. Users are advised not to head to areas with missing transit directions. Apple originally introduced transit data to its Maps app in the earlier versions of iOS. Unfortunately, it was removed from the app when iOS 6 was launched. Then, it was reintroduced in 2015 when iOS 9 debuted. At the time, transit data was made available to select cities all over the world, including Los Angeles, Berlin, New York, London, Chicago, Toronto, San Francisco, Boston, Philadelphia and more than 300 cities in China, according to MacRumors. In iOS 10, transit data can be viewed via its own tab in the Maps app. It has also been expanded to many destinations within the country, such as Miami, San Diego, Dallas, Portland, Kansas City, Seattle, Honolulu and Denver. The feature has also expanded to show transportation data of England, Scotland, Wales, Manchester, Bristol, Nottingham, Newcastle, Liverpool and Glasgow, among many others. Related Articles By Julia Love SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Inside the original Macintosh computer, Apple co-founder Steve Jobs inscribed the signatures of his team, revealing his deep concern for even the hidden features of his products. His last work Apple Inc's sprawling new headquarters in Cupertino, Calif. - will be a fitting tribute: a futuristic campus built with astonishing attention to detail. From the arrangement of electrical wiring to the finish of a hidden pipe, no aspect of the 2.8 million-square-foot main building has been too small to attract scrutiny. But constructing a building as flawless as a hand-held device is no easy feat, according to interviews with nearly two dozen current and former workers on the project, most of whom would not be named because they signed non-disclosure agreements. Since Apple unveiled its plans in 2011, the move-in date has slowly receded: Jobs' initial projection was 2015, but this spring now seems most likely, according to people involved in the project. A lengthy approval process with the city contributed to the delay. Apple has not revealed the total price tag, but former project managers estimate it at about $5 billion - a figure CEO Tim Cook did not dispute in a 2015 TV interview. More than $1 billion was allocated for the interior of the main building alone, according to a former construction manager. For all the time and money sunk into the project, some in the architecture community question whether Apple has focused on the right ends. The campus is something of an exception to the trend of radically open offices aimed at fostering collaboration, said Louise Mozingo, a professor and chair of the Department of Landscape Architecture and Environmental Planning at U.C. Berkeley. Its central office building a massive ring of glass frequently likened to a spaceship could be a challenge just to navigate, she noted. "It's not about maximizing the productivity of the office space, it's about creating a symbolic center for this global company," she said. They are creating an icon. Story continues An Apple spokeswoman declined to comment for this story. WORLD'S LARGEST PIECE OF CURVED GLASS Tech companies have long favored generic office parks, which allow them to lease and shed space through booms and busts. Jobs unveiling of what's formally known as Apple Campus 2, months before his death, marked a new chapter in Silicon Valley architecture. When completed, the campus will house up to 14,200 employees, according to the 2013 project description. The main building which boasts the world's largest piece of curved glass will be surrounded by a lush canopy of thousands of trees. Little remains from the cement-laden campus Apple acquired from Hewlett-Packard, though the iPhone maker preserved a century-old barn that remained intact as the land passed from tech giant to tech giant. But what was most striking to those who worked on the project was Apple managers' insistence on treating the construction of the vast complex the same way they approach the design of pocket-sized electronics. Apple's in-house construction team enforced many rules: No vents or pipes could be reflected in the glass. Guidelines for the special wood used frequently throughout the building ran to some 30 pages. Tolerances, the distance materials may deviate from desired measurements, were a particular focus. On many projects, the standard is 1/8 of an inch at best; Apple often demanded far less, even for hidden surfaces. The company's keen design sense enhanced the project, but its expectations sometimes clashed with construction realities, a former architect said. "With phones, you can build to very, very minute tolerances," he said. "You would never design to that level of tolerance on a building. Your doors would jam." The project, which generated about 13,000 full-time construction jobs, took a toll on contractors. The original general contractors, Skanska USA and DPR Construction, left after work began, which construction experts called a rare development for a project of such scale. The reasons for the departures are unclear, and neither Apple nor the firms would comment. FAITHFUL TO DESIGN PRINCIPLES Apple's novel approach to the building took many forms. Architect German de la Torre, who worked on the project, found many of the proportions - such as the curve of a rounded corner - came from Apple's products. The elevator buttons struck some workers as resembling the iPhone's home button; one former manager even likened the toilet's sleek design to the device. But de la Torre ultimately saw that Apple executives were not trying to evoke the iPhone per se, but rather following something akin to the Platonic ideal of form and dimension. "They have arrived at design principles somehow through many years of experimentation, and they are faithful to those principles," de la Torre said. Fanatical attention to detail is a key tenet. Early in construction, Apple managers told the construction team that the ceiling - composed of large panels of polished concrete - should be immaculate inside and out, just as the inside of the iPhones audio jack is a finished product, a former construction manager recalled. Thus, each of the thousands of ceiling panels had to win approval from both Apple's in-house team and the general contractor, once at the shop and then again at the construction site. "The things you cant see, they all mattered to Apple, the former construction manager said. One of the most vexing features was the doorways, which Apple wanted to be perfectly flat, with no threshold. The construction team pushed back, but Apple held firm. The rationale? If engineers had to adjust their gait while entering the building, they risked distraction from their work, according to a former construction manager. We spent months trying not to do that because thats time, money and stuff thats never been done before, the former construction manager said. Time and time again, Apple managers spent months perfecting minute features, creating a domino effect that set back other parts of the project, former construction managers say. Signage required a delicate balancing act: Apple wanted all signs to reflect its sleek, minimalist aesthetic, but the fire department needed to ensure the building could be swiftly navigated in an emergency. Dirk Mattern, a retired deputy fire chief who is representing the Santa Clara County Fire Department on the project, estimated he attended 15 meetings that touched on the topic. "Ive never spent so much time on signage," he said. LIKE A PAINTING When Apple tapped general contractors Holder Construction and Rudolph & Sletten to finish the main building in 2015, one of the first orders of business was finalizing a door handle for conference rooms and offices. After months of back and forth, construction workers presented their work to a manager from Apples in-house team, who turned the sample over and over in his hands. Finally, he said he felt a faint bump. The construction team double-checked the measurements, unable to find any imperfections down to the nanometer. Still, Apple insisted on another version. The construction manager who was so intimately involved in the door handle did not see its completion. Down to his last day, Apple was still fiddling with the design - after a year and a half of debate. When construction wraps, the only fingerprints on the site will be Jobs'. Workers often had to wear gloves to avoid marring the delicate materials, said Brett Davis, regional director of the District Council 16 union for painters and related crafts. "It's like a painting that you don't want to touch," he said. "It's definitely going to be something to see, if they let you in." (Click http://tmsnrt.rs/2klHgfM for graphic comparing Apple's old and new home) (Editing by Jonathan Weber and Edward Tobin) (Corrects sixth paragraph to show the attacks were similar to, not necessarily part of, a wave of attacks in Europe last month in this Feb 6, 2017 story) TAIPEI (Reuters) - Taiwan is investigating an unprecedented case of threats made to five brokerages by an alleged cyber-group seeking payment to avert an attack that could crash their websites, an investigator and the securities regulator said on Monday. Rick Wang, an official with Taiwan's Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC), said each brokerage had received an email setting a deadline for the transfer of funds to avoid a distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack. Such attacks, among the most common kind on the internet, overload a website until it is forced to inhibit access or go offline. They have become common tools for cyber criminals trying to cripple businesses and organizations with significant online activities. "We have never seen this on such a scale - five companies hit at one time with the same threat," said Wang, adding that the regulator usually sees single instances of cyber-crime. FireEye, a cybersecurity consultancy, said the attacks were similar to a wave of threatened denial of service attacks by a previously unidentified group that first appeared in Europe last month. The Taiwan attacks do not pose a threat to the island's broader trading and financial system, Wang said, but he added that the regulator had asked all securities firms to step up defensive measures. One threat recipient, Masterlink Securities Corp, said its website had come under attack, but it had recovered and operations were normal. "The emails were sent under the name of the 'Armada Collective'," said Chiu Shao-chou, an official of the internet cybercrime division of Taiwan's Criminal Investigation Bureau, the government's top investigation body. The Armada Collective, a hacking extortion group, has been linked to financial blackmail heists elsewhere. But Chiu said the group has been put under watch and Taiwan investigators were still looking into the original source of the emails. The email demanded payment in web-based digital currency bitcoin equivalent to about T$300,000 ($9,731.41), Taiwan media said. None of the securities companies made any payments, Chiu said. Another brokerage firm, Capital Securities Corp, was hit on Monday by a DDoS attack lasting 20 minutes before its system recovered, the regulator said, but it did not link the latest case to the threatening emails. ($1=30.8280 Taiwan dollars) (Reporting by J.R. Wu; Additional reporting by Jeremy Wagstaff in Singapore; Editing by Clarence Fernandez) DUBAI (Reuters) - Dubai, one of the worlds largest trading hubs, has linked up with IBM to launch a scheme using blockchain computing technology to process transactions and keep track of goods being shipped, IBM said on Tuesday. The initiative will provide real-time information about the state of goods and the status of their shipment to Dubai's customs and trade agencies and companies involved in the trade process, IBM said. Dubai, which registered 647 billion dirhams ($176 billion) of non-oil trade in the first half of 2016, has cemented itself as one of the largest re-export centers for goods flowing between Asia and the Middle East and Africa. IBM said it was also working with companies including du, a United Arab Emirates-based telecommunications firm, Dubai's largest bank Emirates NBD, Spanish lender Banco Santander, Dubai-based logistics firm Aramex and an unidentified airline on the scheme. Blockchain, which originates from digital currency bitcoin, works as an electronic transaction processing and record keeping system that allows all parties to track information through a secure network, with no need for third-party verification. Proponents think it could make transactions faster and safer, and have a wide range of applications. The Dubai deal follows a plan announced in February 2016 by the government there to become a center of blockchain. IBM said the two banks taking part in the project would use blockchain for trade finance transactions involved in the scheme. Both banks already have links with the technology. Emirates NBD said in October it was working with India's ICICI on a pilot project to use blockchain for global remittances and trade finance. Banco Santander has been involved in various blockchain projects, but in November opted out of the latest fund-raising for blockchain consortium R3 CEV after being an original participant in the consortium. (Reporting by Tom Arnold; Editing by Mark Potter) TAIPEI (Reuters) - Taiwan is investigating an unprecedented case of threats made to five brokerages by an alleged cyber-group seeking payment to avert an attack that could crash their websites, an investigator and the securities regulator said on Monday. Rick Wang, an official with Taiwan's Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC), said each brokerage had received an email setting a deadline for the transfer of funds to avoid a distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack. Such attacks, among the most common kind on the internet, overload a website until it is forced to inhibit access or go offline. They have become common tools for cyber criminals trying to cripple businesses and organizations with significant online activities. "We have never seen this on such a scale - five companies hit at one time with the same threat," said Wang, adding that the regulator usually sees single instances of cyber-crime. FireEye, a cybersecurity consultancy, said the attacks were similar to a wave of threatened denial of service attacks by a previously unidentified group that first appeared in Europe last month. The Taiwan attacks do not pose a threat to the island's broader trading and financial system, Wang said, but he added that the regulator had asked all securities firms to step up defensive measures. One threat recipient, Masterlink Securities Corp, said its website had come under attack, but it had recovered and operations were normal. "The emails were sent under the name of the 'Armada Collective'," said Chiu Shao-chou, an official of the internet cybercrime division of Taiwan's Criminal Investigation Bureau, the government's top investigation body. The Armada Collective, a hacking extortion group, has been linked to financial blackmail heists elsewhere. But Chiu said the group has been put under watch and Taiwan investigators were still looking into the original source of the emails. The email demanded payment in web-based digital currency bitcoin equivalent to about T$300,000 ($9,731.41), Taiwan media said. None of the securities companies made any payments, Chiu said. Another brokerage firm, Capital Securities Corp, was hit on Monday by a DDoS attack lasting 20 minutes before its system recovered, the regulator said, but it did not link the latest case to the threatening emails. (This version of the story corrects sixth paragraph to show the attacks were similar to, not necessarily part of, a wave of attacks in Europe last month) (Reporting by J.R. Wu; Additional reporting by Jeremy Wagstaff in Singapore; Editing by Clarence Fernandez) By Taiga Uranaka TOKYO (Reuters) - Fujitsu Ltd's biggest shareholder is planning to sell about $1 billion worth of the Japanese electronics conglomerate's stock, part of a plan by the two firms to unwind their cross-shareholdings. The sale comes at a time when Tokyo-listed firms are under pressure to justify their holdings after Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's government introduced a new corporate governance code in 2015. While cross-shareholdings aimed at cementing business ties are common in Japan, they are often criticized for making management less responsive to individual and overseas shareholders. Fujitsu's biggest shareholder, Fuji Electric Co, plans to unload about 8.2 percent of its stock, most of its holding. SMBC Nikko Securities has been hired as an underwriter to sell the stock to overseas investors. Terms of the share sale have not been decided but based on Fujitsu's Tuesday closing price, the shares would be worth about 114 billion yen ($1 billion). Fujitsu also said it plans to buy back up to 1.9 percent of its outstanding shares for as much as 25 billion yen to alleviate the impact of such a large stake sale on existing shareholders. Fujitsu was originally created in 1935 as a telephone equipment subsidiary of Fuji Electric. Fujitsu, also the biggest shareholder in its former parent with a 10 percent stake, said it plans to sell its holding in Fuji Electric but the timing and scale of the sale has yet to be determined. (Reporting by Taiga Uranaka and Chris Gallagher; Editing by Edwina Gibbs) TOKYO (AP) In a story Feb. 7 about engineer Yasuhisa Toyota's work in concert halls, The Associated Press reported erroneously that he founded his company. He is not the founder of Nagata Acoustics. A corrected version of the story is below: Concert halls call on this Japanese engineer to shape sound Behind some of the world's most reputed concert halls is a Japanese engineer whose finesse in shaping sound is so perfectly unobtrusive that all listeners hear is the music in all its subtlety, texture and fullness By YURI KAGEYAMA Associated Press TOKYO (AP) Behind some of the world's most reputed concert halls is a Japanese engineer whose finesse in shaping sound is so perfectly unobtrusive that all listeners hear is the music in all its subtlety, texture and fullness. Yasuhisa Toyota's talents are coveted as classical music venues are increasingly designed in "vineyard style," where audiences surround the stage to hear the performers up close and enjoy an almost-interactive experience, feeling more like a part of the music and being able to be seen and respond to it. Toyota's Nagata Acoustics has just 20 employees globally, but it dominates acoustics work for halls in Japan and is expanding abroad. He's designed the acoustics for orchestras in Los Angeles, Helsinki, Paris and Shanghai. Another of his projects, the Elbephilharmonie concert hall in Hamburg, opened Jan. 11. Still, when asked to summarize the reason for success, Toyota hesitates. So many factors are involved in fine-tuning acoustics, and each hall has a different design, creating fresh challenges. "No one can explain in one word why a Stradivarius violin sounds so beautiful, or how the way it was made may have shaped that beautiful sound," Toyota said in a recent interview at his Tokyo home. "Whether sound is beautiful, clear or pleasant is extremely complex," he said. "So when we're talking about acoustics in a concert hall, there is basically that space itself." Story continues Toyota, 64, is not a musician but was raised listening to and loving classical music. The company founded in 1971 has headquarters in Tokyo and Los Angeles, which is Toyota's main home these days as he oversees Nagata's projects outside Japan. Toyota coined the expression "psycho-acoustics" to describe the importance of emotions and other senses in sound. Would a pink violin, for instance, sound as good as a brown one, he asks? "There is discussion about a formula for acoustics because sound is invisible. People don't ask those questions about visual design," said Toyota, whose carefree flair, quick wit and laugh are unusual among Japanese of his usually staid generation. At times sounding like a Zen monk when he talks about the art of sound, Toyota says crafting acoustics requires a thorough knowledge of building materials, close collaboration with architects, comprehension of musicians' needs, computerized simulations, use of scale models of the halls and analysis of reverberating sound. The thickness of a wall, its shape, material and curves, the fixtures hanging from the ceiling, and the musicians themselves all affect acoustics. In the old-style shoebox design of concert halls, where the audience sits in rows facing the stage, the sound is easier to control. The vineyard format is trickier. David Howard, a bass clarinetist with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, has played in several halls Toyota has worked on and says he appreciates the direct, clear and full, and intimate nature of their sound. "In that sense, Mr. Toyota hit a home run," he said. Apart from the just opened Elbephilharmonie, Toyota has done the acoustics for Stanford University's Bing Concert Hall, Helzberg Hall at Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts in Kansas City, Missouri, and the Chamber Hall at the Museo Del Violino in Cremona, Italy. His first major overseas project was the Walt Disney Concert Hall, which opened in 2003, for the Los Angeles Philharmonic. The acoustics of the hall the Los Angeles orchestra used before were so bad that musicians overplayed to compensate, and that carried over to other venues. "The ideal environment," Howard said, "is one where I can feel unencumbered in terms of being concerned about my individual sound, and I can just play, so that the ingredients are such that I don't have to worry about it being beautiful enough, or loud enough, or clear enough, that those things are more or less taken care of for me, so that I can just make music." Toyota's fame started with Tokyo's majestic Suntory Hall, but its 1986 opening was a nightmare, he recalls. It took time for the musicians to adjust to its finely tuned acoustics. That process can take several years. But these days, musical experts agree the acoustics in Suntory Hall are impeccable. Toyota said he asks all musicians to play more softly while adjusting to a new venue where he's worked. "When all 80 people are nervous and playing in all directions, then there is utter chaos on stage," he said. Japan's love for classical music and Toyota's talent were evident at a recent Japan Philharmonic Orchestra performance at Suntory Hall of Bruckner's "Symphony No. 8 in C minor." Kikue Sugimito, a long-time Japan Philharmonic season-ticket holder, remembers being awed by the sound quality when the orchestra moved from its previous venue to Suntory Hall. "There is a transparence about the sound here," she said. Pietari Inkinen, the conductor, said the hall was so close to perfect any kind of piece could be played, inspiring the performers because listeners can feel the symphony "in their stomachs." "This is really one of the best halls in the world," he said. "You can play unbelievably softly and it carries to the last row." The architect Frank Gehry, who worked with Toyota on Disney Hall, says the aim in designing a concert hall is to make the space comfortable and interactive for all in the room. Gehry and Toyota donated their work to build a hall, opening in March, for Berlin's Barenboim-Said Akademie, which was founded by conductor and pianist Daniel Barenboim and the American-Palestinian scholar Edward W. Said to educate and bring together young musicians, including Arabs and Israelis. "In music, you're taking sounds and putting them together to create beauty and a feeling. When you do a building, you're taking inert materials and putting them together to create beauty and a feeling," said Gehry, who admires Japanese culture, including gagaku music and architecture, and, especially, Toyota. "You make the space comfortable, interactive and humane so that people feel together in the room and people feel together with the orchestra. The orchestra feels the relationship with the people. And it makes it better. That was what we tried to do. We could talk about it that way," said Gehry in a telephone interview from Los Angeles. "I love working with him an enriching treat beyond belief," he said. Although architects and acousticians sometimes don't get along, as they infringe by definition on each other's turf, Toyota told a story about the cross-cultural collaborative relationship he has with Gehry, joking about sharing blame equally if Disney Hall were to fail. "So he tells me, 'Yasu, if things don't go well, let's commit harakiri together. But you have to do it first, and I'm following because I have no idea how to do it.' My response was, 'Frank, you have to do it first. If I did, there will be no one who can help you. I can help you. You should go first. I'm going after you.' " ___ Follow Yuri Kageyama on Twitter at https://twitter.com/yurikageyama Her work can be found at http://bigstory.ap.org/content/yuri-kageyama LONDON (Reuters) - A singing robot and a 244-year-old working model of a silver swan will greet visitors to a new exhibition at London's Science Museum spanning 500 years of humanity's quest to build intelligent machines. The "Robots" exhibition which opens this month will feature over 100 models in what the museum calls the most significant collection of humanoid robots ever displayed. Among the star attractions is UK-built RoboThespian, a full-size humanoid robot who will move around the exhibition, do vocal exercises and give a theatrical performance to visitors every 20 minutes. The Silver Swan automaton was designed and built in the 18th century by John Joseph Merlin, the inventor of roller skates. It featured at the Paris Exhibition of 1867 where it was seen by American author Mark Twain, who later described it in his novel "The Innocents Abroad." Other notable pieces on display include the original skeleton of the T-800 robot used in the filming of "Terminator Salvation," Honda's ASIMO humanoid robot and Inkha - a reactive robotic head that offers cheeky fashion advice to viewers. Visitors to the section of the exhibition featuring modern robots will be reminded of the dystopian film "I, Robot" in which robots and artificial intelligence threaten humanity's survival. "I must say that we're very, very far from anything like that," said Professor Giorgio Metta, vice scientific director at the Italian Institute of Technology, and builder of the iCub toddler robot, also on display at the exhibition. "The applications we manage to develop now are very narrow, so artificial intelligence can solve very specific problems. There's no way they can learn anything else, or autonomously switch from one task to another." "Robots" runs from Feb. 8 to Sept. 3. The swan will only feature for six weeks, this month and next. (Reporting by Ritvik Carvalho; editing by Stephen Addison) Twitter plans to broaden restrictions on hateful content that would include a ban on tweets dehumanizing people based on race, religion, sexual orientation (AFP Photo/LOIC VENANCE) (AFP/File) Washington (AFP) - Twitter on Tuesday unveiled a new initiative to crack down on "abusive accounts," in the latest attempt by the social network to curb online harassment. The effort comes with Twitter and other social platforms struggling to keep up with online abuse, especially from anonymous accounts. "We're taking steps to identify people who have been permanently suspended and stop them from creating new accounts," said a statement from Twitter engineering vice president Ed Ho. "This focuses more effectively on some of the most prevalent and damaging forms of behavior, particularly accounts that are created only to abuse and harass others." Twitter seeks to foster a healthy exchange on public issues, but the messaging platform has also been used as a tool to harass or "troll" people, with perpetrators often creating new accounts after being suspended. Former chief executive Dick Costolo acknowledged in 2015 that Twitter had lagged in dealing with online abuse, and that the situation had hurt its efforts to grow. "Making Twitter a safer place is our primary focus," Ho said in the statement. "We stand for freedom of expression and people being able to see all sides of any topic. That's put in jeopardy when abuse and harassment stifle and silence those voices. We won't tolerate it and we're launching new efforts to stop it." Another effort unveiled Tuesday will allow users to enable "safe search" which removes Tweets that "contain potentially sensitive content" and tweets from blocked and muted accounts, Ho said. He added that Twitter's engineers are working on identifying "potentially abusive and low-quality replies so the most relevant conversations are brought forward." He said these tweets will still be accessible to those who seek them out. The changes are expected to roll out "in the coming weeks," he added. Twitter has faced problems of harassment since its inception, and cracking down has been difficult because users can create an account anonymously with only an email account. By Dustin Volz WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. House of Representatives voted on Monday to require law enforcement authorities to obtain a search warrant before seeking old emails from technology companies, a win for privacy advocates fearful the Trump administration may work to expand government surveillance powers. The House passed the measure by a voice vote. But the legislation was expected to encounter resistance in the Senate, where it failed to advance last year amid opposition by a handful of Republican lawmakers after the House passed it unanimously. Technology companies such as Microsoft have lobbied Congress for years to pass the Email Privacy Act, which updates a decades-old law to force authorities to first get a warrant to access emails or other digital communications that are at least 180 days old. Currently, agencies such as the Justice Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission only need a subpoena, which is subject to less judicial oversight than a warrant, to seek such data from a service provider - a standard that has existed since the Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA) was adopted in 1986. Supporters of the bill passed Monday say it is needed to update an out of date law conceived and written before the rise of the commercial internet. Richard Salgado, director of law enforcement and information security at Google , said in a statement the measure would "fix a constitutional flaw" in the ECPA. "While there are disagreements about other aspects of surveillance reform, there is no disagreement that emails and electronic content deserve Fourth Amendment protections," he said. But some senators, including No. 2 Republican John Cornyn, last year sought to use the legislation as a vehicle for amendments that would expand the FBI's domestic surveillance capabilities, effectively killing the bill. Debate over law enforcement access to Americans' electronic communications intensified last year when the FBI sought a court order to make Apple help unlock an encrypted iPhone linked to one of the shooters behind a deadly attack in San Bernardino, California. Privacy advocates have expressed alarm at President Donald Trump's ability to expand government spying. The Republican campaigned on a "law and order" platform that included suggestions he may want to place some mosques in the United States under surveillance and maintain a national database on Muslims. Microsoft last year filed a federal lawsuit against the Justice Department over ECPA, alleging that the government's use of the law violated the U.S. constitution. It argued that ECPA is too often used to prevent companies from notifying its users, sometimes indefinitely, when investigators pry into emails and other data stored on remote servers. (Reporting by Dustin Volz; Editing by Tom Brown and Andrew Hay) By Mica Rosenberg and Dan Levine (Reuters) - More than 100 companies, including most of high-tech's biggest names, joined a legal brief opposing President Donald Trump's temporary travel ban, arguing that it would give companies strong incentives to move jobs outside the United States. The companies - including Apple Inc , Google Inc and Microsoft Corp - banded together late on Sunday to file a "friend-of-the-court" brief with the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco. They argued that the executive order temporarily banning citizens of seven Muslim-majority countries and all refugees "inflicts significant harm on American business." Elon Musk's Tesla Inc and SpaceX were among other companies signing onto the brief on Monday, raising the number of signatories to 127. Musk is among the few tech executives on Trump's business advisory council. He has been forced to defend his participation in recent days, particularly since Uber Technologies Inc's [UBER.UL] chief executive, Travis Kalanick, quit the group on Thursday following the travel ban. The new Republican president's Jan. 27 executive order sparked protests and chaos at U.S. and overseas airports in the weekend that followed. Trump has defended the ban as necessary to ensure tougher vetting of people coming into the United States and better protect the country from the threat of terror attacks. On Friday, U.S District Judge James Robart in Seattle, ruling on a lawsuit challenging the order filed by Washington state and Minnesota, temporarily lifted the ban. The federal government appealed the decision, which was heavily criticized by Trump. In their brief, the companies argued that the order created uncertainty for companies depending on talent from overseas and global business travel to innovate and create jobs in the United States. "Highly skilled immigrants will be more interested in working abroad, in places where they and their colleagues can travel freely and with assurance that their immigration status will not suddenly be revoked," the brief said. "Multinational companies will have strong incentives ... to base operations outside the United States or to move or hire employees and make investments abroad." Story continues "Ultimately, American workers and the economy will suffer as a result," the companies argued. A major theme of Trump's 2016 presidential campaign was bringing back jobs he said had been moved to other countries. Responding to the lawsuit, the federal government argued in legal filings that the president was exercising his constitutional authority to control U.S. borders and that the law allows him to suspend the entry of any class of foreigners who "would be detrimental to the interests of the United States." Companies that initially joined the brief included Facebook Inc , Twitter Inc , Intel Corp , eBay Inc , Netflix Inc and Uber Technologies Inc [UBER.UL], as well as non-tech corporations such as Levi Strauss & Co [LEVST.UL] and Chobani Llc. The brief hailed the contributions inclusive immigration policies have made to the American economy. It said that immigrants or their children have founded more than 200 of the companies on the Fortune 500 list. Trump's agenda on immigration, trade, cyber security, tax reform and other issues has caused deep consternation in the tech industry. Before the travel ban, most companies said they wanted to work with him and avoided any direct confrontations. But the immigration restrictions provoked a broad backlash in Silicon Valley, where foreign-born nationals are an integral part of the tech economy. There have been peaceful protests at Google and Facebook. Uber was the target of a boycott, and scrambled to reassure its many immigrant drivers that it was on their side. Partly because of pressure from their rank-and-file, big tech companies have separated themselves from much of corporate America in directly confronting Trump policies. Only a handful of non-tech companies joined the friend-of-the-court brief, though some of the lawyers involved said that was mainly because the group came together very quickly through personal contacts. (Reporting by Mica Rosenberg in New York, Dan Levine, Stephen Nellis, Kristina Cooke in San Francisco.; Editing by Jonathan Weber and Jonathan Oatis) The United States Federal Trade Commission came to a settlement with electronics manufacturer Vizio over a lawsuit regarding the company's data collection practices. Vizio will pay $2.2 million and will have to ask for user permission before collecting information. Vizios smart televisions were just a little too smart for the United States Federal Trade Commissions taste. As a result, Vizio agreed to a $2.2 million settlement over a lawsuit that accused the companys TVs of collecting watching habits of their customers without permission. The suit, filed by the FTC and the state of New Jersey, dates back to February 2014 when the American electronics manufacturer began using data collection software in its smart TVs. The software was present on more than 11 million TVs. According to the FTC complaint, Vizio was accused of recording highly-specific, second-by-second information about television viewing. The company never received consent from consumers to gather that information, which it then allegedly would sell to third-party companies. Data gathered by Vizios devices included IP addresses, nearby access points, and zip code. The company would pair that, with the help of a third-party source, to demographic information including sex, age, income, marital status, household size, education level, home ownership and household value. Vizio agreed to settle the suit by paying $2.2 million in chargesincluding more than $1 million to both the FTC and the New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs. Perhaps more importantly for consumers, the company will now have to obtain consent before collecting and sharing user viewing habits. It will also have to delete all data gathered by methods involved in the lawsuit by no later than March 1, 2016. Vizio admitted no fault as part of the settlement despite paying a considerable fee for the practices it was sued for and agreeing to change those very practices. In a statement provided to International Business Times, the company postured itself as leading the way when it comes to consumer privacy protections on smart TVs. VIZIO is pleased to reach this resolution, company general counsel Jerry Huang said in a statement. Going forward, this resolution sets a new standard for best industry privacy practices for the collection and analysis of data collected from todays internet-connected televisions and other home devices. Story continues Vizio noted it had already addressed some of the concerns raised by the FTC by updating its disclosures both online and with on screen notifications about user viewing data. FTC attorney Kevin Moriarty said the settlement makes clear that smart TV makers should get peoples consent before collecting and sharing television viewing information. Vizio isnt the first TV manufacturer to come under fire for tracking its viewers. The Electronic Privacy Information Center filed a complaint with the FTC against Samsung for similar practices that allegedly also tracked conversations had by customers. Related Articles Political leaders of this country who got us into the war in Iraq are killers on par with Russian leader Vladimir Putin, President Donald Trump suggested in his interview with Fox News Channel star Bill OReilly. Todays traditional pre-Super Bowl POTUS interview was radioactive before it even started airing at 1 PM PT, thanks to a preview Fox News aired Saturday in which Trump was asked why he respects Putin. Hes a killer, though. Putins a killer, OReilly noted. Responded Trump: Weve got a lot of killers. What, do you think, our countrys so innocent? In todays broadcast, more of that exchange was shown. In the new footage, OReilly responded to Trumps gob-smacking remark, saying, I dont know any government leaders that are killers, in this country. Well take a look at what weve done too, Trump shot back. Weve made a lot of mistakes. Ive been against the war in Iraq from the beginning Mistakes are different than OReilly started to interrupt. A lot of mistakes OK but a lot of people were killed, Trump insisted. So a lot of killers around, believe me. Expect much TV-news mastication over the next several hours as to whether Trump just accused former President George W. Bush of war crimes. While only lasting about 10 minutes, the interview was so packed with topics it played like a speed-dating session. Trump said his reality-TV primetime special announcing Neil Gorsuch as his SCOTUS pick went very well. The implementation of his travel ban on people traveling to and from seven countries with mostly Muslim populations also went very well, he insisted. I think it was very smooth. You had 109 people out of hundreds of thousands of travelers, Trump said. And all we did was vet those people very very carefully. Story continues OReilly suggested some of his people didnt really know what the order was. Well thats not what General Kelly said, Trump snapped back. General Kelly, whos now Secretary Kelly, he said he totally knew, he was aware of it, and it was very smooth. The Iran deal I think is the worst deal I have ever seen negotiated, Trump said again as he has often said before. We gave them $1.7M in cash, which is unheard of, and we put the money up, and have nothing to show for it. Asked if he would tear it up, Trump responded, Well see what happens, adding, I can say this: they have total disregard for our country, they are the No. 1 terrorist state, theyre sending money all over the place and weapons. And cant do that. I think they have total disrespect for our countryThat deal I wouldve lived with it if they said, OK, were all together now. But it was just the opposite. Its like theyre emboldened: they follow our planes, they circle our ships with their little boats, and they lost respect because they cant believe anybody could be so stupid as to make a deal like that. Asked if he did, as some press have reported, tell Mexicos President Enrique Pena Nieto that if his army couldnt handle the drug cartels, U.S. Army soldiers would, Trump answered, We have to do something about the cartels. I did talk to him about it. I want to help him with it. I think hes a very good man. We have a very good relationship, as you probably know. He seemed very willing to get help from us because he has got a problem. But when asked what kind of a tariff he is going to levy on Mexico to pay for that wall, Trump ducked and began to boast about the jobs moving back to this country, leading to an amusing exchange between the two friends, in which Trump insisted the companies want to do whats right, while OReilly insisted, Yeah, you intimidated them, theyre afraid of you. TV news outlets will feast for hours about this interview (theres still Parts 2 and 3 to come, airing on FNCs The OReilly Factor, on Monday and Tuesday); having already dined for a day on the preview clip. Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) tweeted this: When has a Democratic political activists been poisoned by the GOP, or vice versa? We are not the same as #Putin. MR Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) February 5, 2017 House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, on NBCs Meet The Press this morning, called for an FBI investigation into Trumps connections with Russia. I want to know what the Russians have on Donald Trump, she said. But Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell told CNNs Jake Tapper, Im not going to critique every utterance of the president, when asked about Trumps moral-equivalency gag. And Veep Mike Pence insisted, to CBSs Face The Nation host John Dickerson, that what Trump was trying to say is Lets start afresh with Putin, and start afresh with Russia. Meanwhile, Trumps supporter-in-chief Chris Christie assured Dickerson, I know President Trump believes America is morally superior to Russia. [youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=74DAI2hr9Kk&w=620&h=340] Related stories Bill O'Reilly To Respond To Russia's Demand He Apologize For Calling Vladimir Putin "Killer" On Tonight's Show 'Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 2' Super Bowl Spot Is All The Talk On Twitter: PreAct's Most Buzzed About Movies Donald Trump Super Bowl Interview With Bill O'Reilly Nets 12.2 Million Viewers Christina Ricci as Zelda Fitzgerald (Credit: Richard Foreman/Amazon Prime Video) Warning: This post contains spoilers from Season 1 of Amazons Z: The Beginning of Everything. Amazons new Zelda Fitzgerald drama Z: The Beginning of Everything is based on Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald, a novel, i.e. fictional work, by writer Therese Anne Fowler. But that certainly doesnt mean much of the story isnt true. In fact, Season 1, which covers Zelda and F. Scott Fitzgeralds meeting, courtship, and early marriage, features lots of the couples real-world exploits, and slightly tweaked versions of others. Read on for the details of whats fact, fiction, and sorta-kinda true about Amazons depiction of this chapter in Zelda and Scott Fitzgeralds tempestuous relationship. Zelda and Scott met at a country club dance. David Hoflin as F. Scott Fitzgerald and Christina Ricci as Zelda Fitzgerald (Credit: Richard Foreman/Amazon Prime Video) TRUE. He was stationed, as an army lieutenant, in her hometown of Montgomery, Alabama during World War I. In July 1918, Scott attended a dance at the local country club, which often hosted such events to welcome local soldiers. He saw and began to pursue Zelda then Zelda Sayre right away, and, just like in Z: The Beginning of Everything, he constantly told Zelda (and anyone else who would listen) he was going to be a famous writer someday, and he did eventually carve their initials into a wall at the country club. Zelda moved to New York and married Scott on April 3, less than a week after his first novel, This Side of Paradise, was published. He was 23-years-old, Zelda was 19. Zelda appeared naked in her hotel bedrooms doorway in front of her wedding celebration guests. Christina Ricci (Credit: Richard Foreman/Amazon Prime Video) FALSE. Probably. According to most biographies of both Fitzgeralds, their wedding night was spent at the Biltmore hotel, enjoying dinner and each others company. Even Therese Anne Fowlers book doesnt include this incident that is depicted in the Amazon series fourth episode, for which, Christina Ricci confirmed to Refinery29, she was sporting a distractingly large merkin. On the other hand, Zelda also had a reputation for being quite uninhibited about her body, so she probably did appear publicly naked at some point/points during the Fitzgeralds hard-partying days. Story continues And they had a lot of hard-partying days. Christina Ricci and David Hoflin (Credit: Richard Foreman/Amazon Prime Video) TRUE. A. Lot. Zelda herself once wrote pal Ludlow Fowler a letter, telling him that she ended up with stitches in her tuchus, without knowing the exact circumstances of how she came to require them. Its been a wild summer, thank God, and I have several anecdotes collected from the wreckage that Ive been saving to tell you, Zelda wrote. At present, Im hardly able to sit down owing to an injury sustained in the course of one of [George Jean] Nathans parties in N.Y. I cut my tail on a broken bottle and cant possibly sit on the three stitches that are in it now. The bottle was bath salts I was boiled the place was a tub somewhere none of us remembers the exact locality. Scott asked his agents wife to take Zelda shopping in New York, because he thought she dressed unfashionably. Talia Balsam as Anne Ober (Credit: Amazon Prime Studios) TRUE-ISH. In writer Arthur Mizeners biography The Far Side of Paradise: A Biography of F. Scott Fitzgerald, he writes that when Zelda moved to New York, Scott asked an old friend of his from Minnesota, Marie Hersey, to take Zelda shopping, and specifically, to guide her towards buying a trendy Jean Patou suit. Scott was upset, according to Mizener, that Zelda wore nothing but frills and furbelows, and you cant go around New York in that kind of thing. In Z, Scott tasked his agents wife, Anne Ober (played by Talia Balsam), with facilitating the fashion makeover, including a Patou suit. Scott cribbed from Zeldas journal for This Side of Paradise. Christina Ricci (Credit: Richard Foreman/Amazon Prime Video) TRUE. And she allowed it, as he sold her on the idea that they were a team. Zelda eventually published one novel of her own, 1932s Save Me the Waltz, which she wrote in just six weeks while a patient in the psychiatric unit at Johns Hopkins Hospital. Scott was unhappy with its publication, and cruel in his review of it. In Sally Clines book Zelda Fitzgerald: The Tragic, Meticulously Researched Biography of the Jazz Ages High Priestess, Cline writes that Scott claimed the book was plagiaristic pot, kettle situation there and told Zelda she was a third-rate writer and a third-rate ballet dancer. Later in her life, as will undoubtedly be depicted on screen if there are further seasons of the Amazon series, Zelda resumed her practice of ballet that she had begun as a child, and sacrificed her physical health to become so good at it that she was offered a solo part in an Italian production of Aida. Sadly, she never published another book, as the autobiographical Save Me the Waltz which also angered Scott because it was inspired by details of their marriage that he wanted to use in his Tender Is the Night sold less than half its original 3,000-copy printing. The Fitzgeralds were party pals with Tallulah Bankhead and her sister Eugenia. Christina Bennett Lind as Tallulah Bankhead and Natalie Knepp as Eugenia Bankhead (Credit: Amazon Prime Studios) TRUE. The sisters were from Montgomery, just like Zelda, whod been childhood pals with Tallulah. Scott had a fling with Eugenia Bankhead. Natalie Knepp as Eugenia Bankhead (Credit: Amazon Prime Studios) MAYBE. In Zelda Fitzgerald: The Tragic, Meticulously Researched Biography of the Jazz Ages High Priestess, Sally Cline wrote that Scott was jealous about Zeldas friendship with their mutual friend Townsend Martin, who, Zelda wrote in a letter to Scott, she had become romantically attached to. Cline writes that, sparked by that, Scott may have had a brief affair with Eugenia, who was engaged to a friend of his, a Vanity Fair writer named Morton Hoyt. In Scotts ledger entry for June 1920, he referred to the Jean Bankhead fuss. Zelda impulsively cut her long hair short in a hotel bathroom after she married Scott. Christina Ricci (Credit: Richard Foreman/Amazon Prime Video) FALSE. Sally Cline write in her biography that Zelda had cut her hair in 1919, when she still lived in Montgomery, before her marriage to Scott. She even wrote to him about the cut, telling him she was going to bob my hair, and that may evoke a furor. Cline wrote that Zelda and Scotts daughter, Scottie, would eventually explain the controversy of the haircut to her own children as, In the South the sense of femaleness is implanted at a very young age Southern girls [have] long hair in tumbled curls high heels and fetching make-up. Zeldas nickname for Scott was Goofo. David Hoflin and Christina Ricci (Credit: Richard Foreman/Amazon Prime Video) TRUE. She called him Goofo a simple play on the word goofy and would refer to the two of them as the Goofos. In Sally Clines Zelda biography, she wrote of the couples travels through Italy in 1921, and how Zelda used the nickname in captions for the photos she took, including Me and Goofo in a gondola and Goofo at Fiesole. Scott and Zelda were kicked out of the Biltmore hotel when they ran out of money. (Credit: Amazon Prime Studios) FALSE. There was much financial instability for the spend-happy Fitzgeralds (Scott famously wrote a cheeky Saturday Evening Post essay in 1923 titled How to Live on $36,000 a Year), but according to author Matthew J. Bruccolis Some Sort of Epic Grandeur: The Life of F. Scott Fitzgerald, the Biltmore asked the Fitzgeralds to leave because they were disturbing other guests. In Amazons Z, while Scott tried to argue with the Biltmore manager about the dismissal, Zelda ran around in the hotels revolving door. In Bruccolis book, the couple moved to the nearby Commodore Hotel, two blocks away, where they both went spinning in that hotels revolving door. Scott refused to let his book editor publish Zeldas diaries, because he wanted to keep them as inspiration for his own writing. Jim True-Frost as Maxwell Perkins and Christina Ricci as Zelda Fitzgerald (Credit: Amazon Prime Studios) TRUE-ISH. In the Amazon series, its Scotts book editor, Maxwell Perkins, who wants to publish Zeldas personal diaries as a book, to which Scott immediately says no. Their exploits, adventures, he says, are a big part of what inspired his writing, and since his writing was more likely to make the Fitzgeralds money, he said, the diaries should remain free for his use. In Nancy Milfords bestselling 1970 biography Zelda, a Pulitzer Prize finalist, Milford confirmed the basic story, but wrote that it was Scotts friend and editor of The Smart Set magazine, George Jean Nathan, who had offered to publish the diaries after reading them at the couples Westport, Connecticut summer rental. Scott refused, and Nathans relationship with the Fitzgeralds cooled shortly after, which may have had more to do with the flirtatious friendship between Nathan and Zelda than with Scotts refusal to let his friend publish his wife. Zeldas parents surprised her with a pop-in visit at the Fitzgeralds Westport home, and then Scott and Zelda went to Montgomery to surprise her parents. David Strathairn as Anthony Sayre and Kristine Nielsen as Minnie Sayre (Credit: Amazon Prime Studios) TRUE-ISH. In Z, the Sayres surprised Zelda by showing up at her front door, while she and Scott were in the middle of a boozy, wild weekend party with their friends at their Westport home, and Season 1 ends with the Fitzgeralds taking a road trip to Alabama to surprise Zeldas parents, only to arrive and find out the Sayres arent home. In Clines Zelda Fitzgerald: The Tragic, Meticulously Researched Biography of the Jazz Ages High Priestess, the author wrote that Zelda and Scott trekked to Montgomery first to find her parents MIA and after returning back to Westport, were visited by the Sayres, who did indeed encounter some of their rowdier friends at the house. Presented in both Z and Clines book: that Zeldas lack of skill and interest in being a domestic doyenne at the Westport residence did lead to the hiring of a housekeeper named Tana, from the Japanese Reliable Employment Agency. Z: The Beginning of Everything is now streaming on Amazon. Read more: Portlandia Sneak Preview: Fred And Carrie Go to a Wedding If They Can Find It? 24: Legacy: EP Howard Gordon on Eric Carter, Homeland Hero Peter Quinn and More Wisconsin lawmakers say public health measures at the state level are mired in uncertainty and confusion because of the assault on the federal Affordable Care Act by President Donald Trump and the congressional Republicans. Ive heard folks say the sickest and those who get there first will get health care, and others wont, Democratic State Sen. Jennifer Shilling said during the La Crosse County Health Departments periodic legislative forum Monday. Lawmakers or their representatives addressed the crowd of about 150 people the majority of whom were nursing and health students from Western Technical College, the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse and Viterbo University in La Crosse during the forum in Westerns Lunda Center. Also attending were several county health workers, professors and instructors, and members of the general public. Shilling referred to the proposal of U.S. House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., to funnel Medicaid payments to states through block grants instead of reimbursement to health care facilities based on patient services. Repealing and replacing Obamacare, as Trump and the GOP have vowed to do, and switching Medicaid to block grants would be major setbacks for health care in Wisconsin, said Shilling, a La Crosse Democrat. John Medinger, speaking as the regional representative for Democratic U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., said dismantling the ACA could have a devastating impact on rural hospitals and residents. If people dont have insurance, they wont go to their rural hospitals for care, the former La Crosse mayor said. If you lose your hospital in a rural area, youve lost your anchor. Tony Kurtz, regional director for U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson, when asked about the Oshkosh Republicans position on the issue, said Johnson objects to the ACAs costs and the government telling you what to do. One of the main Republican objections to President Barack Obamas signature legislation is its mandate that people buy insurance or face annual penalties, one of the vehicles that helps pay for elements of the law. However, Kurtz said, Johnson will work to ensure a suitable replacement. The senator is among many who back the laws requirement for insurance coverage of pre-existing conditions and allowing young adults to remain on their parents policies through the age of 26, he said. In light of the furor in Washington and across the country, Kurtz said, Give this some time. There is a lot of back and forth. Give it three, four months. I think the folks of Wisconsin will be pleased. Medinger countered with a comment about funding, saying, How can you keep the good parts if you dont keep the things that pay for it? If you dont mandate that people have insurance, how will you pay for it? Medinger asked. Medinger questioned the potential inclinations of some of Trumps Cabinet picks related to health issues, such as for Health and Human Services, he has Tom Price, a guy who doesnt like Medicare, and Tom Pruitt for the EPA, a guy who doesnt like climate change. In contrast, Medinger cited local health officials attitudes to eschew turf wars and work together to help connect people to the resources they need. That runs contrary to what many politicians do, he said, adding, If these programs were coordinated by health professionals, you would get the job done. Loren Kannenberg, speaking as regional rep for U.S. Rep. Ron Kind, noted that Kind has been one of the staunchest supporters of the ACA. While agreeing that some parts of the law need tweaking, Kind remains committed to ensuring that it will provide adequate health care, Kannenberg said. State issues the legislators addressed included: Shilling stressed the need to preserve SeniorCare, a wildly popular program that she said holds down seniors prescription drug costs through negotiation with drug companies. Its better than Medicare Part D, she said. Part D involves prescription drugs. Shilling pressed for continued support of the states Farm2School programs, possibly through tax credits and grants, so that healthy eating for young people will become the norm. She also advocated continued funding for Planned Parenthood, after new laws resulted in the closure of five clinics in the state, and improved access to dental care in rural areas. Rep. Steve Doyle, D-Onalaska, expressed hope for so-called right-to-try legislation for terminally ill patients. Such laws allow people who are dying, when no other medicines are available, to try experimental drugs that may not have approval yet. Rep. Jill Billings, D-La Crosse, told of her work on the Governors Task Force on Opioid Abuse, saying, We are in an opioid crisis. Drug overdoses have more than tripled, from 194 to 622, and drugged driving is becoming an increasingly troublesome problem, Billings said. A proposed recovery high school would enable youths addicted to drugs to go to school at the same time they participate in recovery programs, she said. Billings expressed hope that prescription drug monitoring will prevent doctor shopping because of its registry for physicians to check whether a patient already has a script for a drug. We cant arrest our way out of jail, Billings said, welcoming increasingly bipartisan support for treatment and diversion programs. Hallelujah! she said. Democrats have been promoting that for 15 years, and our Republican colleagues have come to see the light. A 60-year-old La Crosse man is accused of raping a woman who had him over for Thanksgiving dinner. According to a complaint filed Tuesday in La Crosse County Circuit Court, a woman told police on Monday that she had been sexually assaulted in the early morning hours of Nov. 25 at her Seventh Street apartment. The woman said she met Steven Volden through a mutual friend and had invited him over for Thanksgiving. She said Volden had too much to drink, so she let him stay on the couch. According to the complaint, the woman woke up around 2 a.m. with Volden on top of her. She tried to push him off but he applied more weight and said dont it feel good, according to the complaint. The woman said she eventually got away and spent the rest of the night in the living room. In the morning, Volden told her multiple times he was not a bad guy and had been an altar boy. Questioned Monday by police, Volden said he had sex with the woman the weekend prior to Thanksgiving but denied using force, saying he was 60 years old and not the type of guy to force himself onto someone. According to the complaint, he registered 0.24 percent blood-alcohol concentration on a preliminary breath test when he was arrested. Leaders of area school districts are happy about the possibility of increased state funding for K-12 education. Gov. Scott Walker teased his budget proposal on Monday with details on what he would like to see for K-12 education, including $649 million in new state funding, a record level. The $11.5 billion education budget will be part of the complete budget proposal Walker is set to unveil Wednesday. Were all sort of cautiously optimistic, Cashton School District Administrator David Bell said. Things are moving forward in a positive way. Along with a general increase in state aid, Walkers budget includes an increase in per-pupil categorical aid, as well as sparsity aid and transportation aid that are vital to smaller, rural school districts. Those districts have fewer students spread over a larger geographical area than their urban counterparts, and educators including state Superintendent Tony Evers have been calling for an increase in support for rural districts for a number of years. With fewer than 600 students in the district this year, Cashton received almost $173,000 in sparsity aid from the state, or about $288 per pupil. In the governors request, the state would provide an additional $20 million in sparsity aid, with a goal of providing $400 per student. Other local school districts that receive sparsity aid include De Soto, Bangor, Independence, La Farge and Blair-Taylor. Bell said the aid helps his district remain competitive in attracting teachers, and cover transportation and maintenance costs. Bell said the district has struggled to find staff skilled in teaching reading and English language learners, as well as special education and mathematics. The district has grown in recent years, and the additional aid will help the district fill those staffing gaps. It helps us to stay competitive from a compensation standpoint, he said. Other provisions in the proposal would provide more opportunities for districts to collaborate and share services, and increase funding for rural broadband by $22.5 million through the Technology for Education Achievement program. The proposal also calls for more than $6 million in additional funding for school social workers, mental health expansion grants and mental health diagnostic training, along with $300,000 to fund an online anti-bullying campaign called Act Now! Walkers proposal also calls for $2.9 million for the Early College Credit Program, which would combine the current Youth Options and Course Options programs. The new program would serve as a single umbrella program allowing Wisconsin high school students to receive college credit while pursuing their high school diploma. Our reform dividends in Wisconsin are working, allowing us to increase state aids to an all-time high, Walker said. Administrators at Holmen and Onalaska were unavailable for comment Monday, but La Crosse Superintendent Randy Nelson said he was pleased with the increased state support for education and funding for programs addressing issues such as mental health. He was also cautious, saying there will be several months to go before the Legislature signs off on a final budget bill. There are still many concerns about where the discussions on transportation funding will go, and Nelson worried K-12 education and transportation will end up butting heads as the budget details are nailed down. Despite Republican control of both chambers in Madison, Walkers proposals havent always found favor with legislators. Two years ago, Republicans shot down his proposal to increase autonomy at the UW System, as well as his call for a $300 million cut to the states public universities, cutting $250 million instead. It is the start of the process, not the end of the process, Nelson said of Walkers proposal. I hope at the end of the session, there still will be interest in helping our schools bottom lines. A judge has delayed ruling on whether Jackson County landowners can stop a proposed frac sand operation on the grounds it would be a nuisance. Terracor Resources received conditional-use permits for a combined mine, processing and loading facility on about 945 acres between Black River Falls and Alma Center that could produce about 3 million tons of sand a year. The Canadian company has since been purchased out of bankruptcy by OmniTRAX, a Colorado shipping logistics firm. Three families sued to block the project, which has yet to break ground or to receive state and federal permits to fill wetlands under the proposed rail terminal. Its going to be noise, its going to be light, silica dust, said Tom Lister, the attorney representing the plaintiffs. At issue is whether Wisconsin law allows plaintiffs to claim an anticipatory nuisance that is, to argue a proposed activity would infringe on their rights to peacefully enjoy their land based on other similar activities. It just seems fundamentally completely unfair for you to be addressing this issue based on facts that have no certainty, said attorney Ron White, who is representing OmniTRAX in the case. The same families have also sought to overturn the local permits. Supervisors in the town of Adams agreed they violated open meeting laws and based their decision to grant a zoning change on misleading information, and a supervisor in Alma has been also charged with misconduct in office over allegations he voted to grant a license to a mining company that had agreed to lease his land. The countys district attorney has sought to void all the boards votes on mining since 2012. Lister has argued conflicts of interest and procedural violations also invalidate actions by the county. White said it makes no sense to argue the case in court when the mine owners have yet to secure state and federal permits, or even decide whether to go forward with the project. If its not actually going to come to fruition why is the court spending time on it? White said. Theyll get their day in court why should they be able to do it now when weve gone through all that permitting. What company would possibly be able to conduct business if they can be shut down before they even begin? White said the case should be dismissed, and plaintiffs allowed to re-file once construction has begun. Lister said at that point it would be too late for his clients, who have spent tens of thousands of dollars thus far on their case, to stop the mine. In the meantime theyre going to create this mine, he said. It doesnt take six years. It can be done from spring to fall. La Crosse County Circuit Judge Scott Horne postponed ruling on whether to allow the case to proceed until July. Horne is scheduled to hear arguments later this week on a similar claim against AllEnergy Sands, which has proposed a 750-acre mine and processing operation in the town of Hixton. It just seems fundamentally completely unfair for you to be addressing this issue based on facts that have no certainty. 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(3) Aug 10 (4) Aug 09 (3) Aug 08 (4) Aug 07 (3) Aug 06 (3) Aug 05 (3) Aug 04 (4) Aug 03 (4) Aug 02 (4) Aug 01 (3) Jul 31 (4) Jul 30 (5) Jul 29 (3) Jul 28 (3) Jul 27 (3) Jul 26 (4) Jul 25 (4) Jul 24 (3) Jul 23 (3) Jul 22 (3) Jul 21 (4) Jul 20 (5) Jul 19 (4) Jul 18 (4) Jul 17 (3) Jul 16 (4) Jul 15 (3) Jul 14 (3) Jul 13 (4) Jul 12 (3) Jul 11 (3) Jul 10 (3) Jul 09 (4) Jul 08 (4) Jul 07 (4) Jul 06 (3) Jul 05 (5) Jul 04 (4) Jul 03 (4) Jul 02 (4) Jul 01 (4) Jun 30 (3) Jun 29 (4) Jun 28 (4) Jun 27 (3) Jun 26 (3) Jun 25 (4) Jun 24 (5) Jun 23 (5) Jun 22 (5) Jun 21 (3) Jun 20 (4) Jun 19 (3) Jun 18 (3) Jun 17 (4) Jun 16 (4) Jun 15 (4) Jun 14 (4) Jun 13 (4) Jun 12 (6) Jun 11 (3) Jun 10 (4) Jun 09 (3) Jun 08 (5) Jun 07 (3) Jun 06 (3) Jun 05 (5) Jun 04 (5) Jun 03 (3) Jun 02 (5) Jun 01 (6) May 31 (3) May 30 (5) May 29 (3) May 28 (4) May 27 (5) May 26 (7) May 25 (4) May 24 (4) May 23 (4) May 22 (6) May 21 (4) May 20 (3) May 19 (5) May 18 (4) May 17 (4) May 16 (5) May 15 (4) May 14 (4) May 13 (5) May 12 (4) May 11 (5) May 10 (6) May 09 (7) May 08 (3) May 07 (6) May 06 (4) May 05 (6) May 04 (6) May 03 (4) May 02 (4) May 01 (4) Apr 30 (4) Apr 29 (3) Apr 28 (4) Apr 27 (4) Apr 26 (3) Apr 25 (6) Apr 24 (4) Apr 23 (5) Apr 22 (5) Apr 21 (7) Apr 20 (6) Apr 19 (5) Apr 18 (5) Apr 17 (6) Apr 16 (4) Apr 15 (6) Apr 14 (5) Apr 13 (5) Apr 12 (5) Apr 11 (4) Apr 10 (6) Apr 09 (7) Apr 08 (7) Apr 07 (4) Apr 06 (7) Apr 05 (6) Apr 04 (5) Apr 03 (6) Apr 02 (5) Apr 01 (6) Mar 31 (4) Mar 30 (5) Mar 29 (5) Mar 28 (5) Mar 27 (6) Mar 26 (6) Mar 25 (7) Mar 24 (5) Mar 23 (4) Mar 22 (5) Mar 21 (5) Mar 20 (5) Mar 19 (4) Mar 18 (4) Mar 17 (4) Mar 16 (3) Mar 15 (4) Mar 14 (5) Mar 13 (5) Mar 12 (5) Mar 11 (5) Mar 10 (5) Mar 09 (5) Mar 08 (4) Mar 07 (4) Mar 06 (5) Mar 05 (6) Mar 04 (6) Mar 03 (5) Mar 02 (4) Mar 01 (3) Feb 29 (4) Feb 28 (4) Feb 27 (5) Feb 26 (5) Feb 25 (4) Feb 24 (5) Feb 23 (4) Feb 22 (5) Feb 21 (3) Feb 20 (4) Feb 19 (2) Feb 18 (5) Feb 17 (4) Feb 16 (4) Feb 15 (4) Feb 14 (4) Feb 13 (6) Feb 12 (5) Feb 11 (3) Feb 10 (5) Feb 09 (4) Feb 08 (4) Feb 07 (5) Feb 06 (5) Feb 05 (5) Feb 04 (4) Feb 03 (4) Feb 02 (3) Feb 01 (2) Jan 31 (5) Jan 30 (4) Jan 29 (3) Jan 28 (5) Jan 27 (6) Jan 26 (4) Jan 25 (3) Jan 24 (4) Jan 23 (4) Jan 22 (3) Jan 21 (3) Jan 20 (3) Jan 19 (4) Jan 18 (3) Jan 17 (3) Jan 16 (3) Jan 15 (3) Jan 14 (3) Jan 13 (3) Jan 12 (5) Jan 11 (4) Jan 10 (3) Jan 09 (4) Jan 08 (5) Jan 07 (5) Jan 06 (3) Jan 05 (5) Jan 04 (3) Jan 03 (3) Jan 02 (1) Jan 01 (3) Dec 31 (3) Dec 30 (5) Dec 29 (4) Dec 28 (4) Dec 27 (4) Dec 26 (3) Dec 25 (3) Dec 24 (3) Dec 23 (3) Dec 22 (3) Dec 21 (3) Dec 20 (4) Dec 19 (3) Dec 18 (4) Dec 17 (3) Dec 16 (5) Dec 15 (5) Dec 14 (3) Dec 13 (3) Dec 12 (3) Dec 11 (3) Dec 10 (4) Dec 09 (4) Dec 08 (3) Dec 07 (3) Dec 06 (5) Dec 05 (3) Dec 04 (3) Dec 03 (3) Dec 02 (4) Dec 01 (5) Nov 30 (3) Nov 29 (4) Nov 28 (3) Nov 27 (5) Nov 26 (3) Nov 25 (5) Nov 24 (3) Nov 23 (3) Nov 22 (4) Nov 21 (3) Nov 20 (3) Nov 19 (3) Nov 18 (3) Nov 17 (4) Nov 16 (3) Nov 15 (4) Nov 14 (3) Nov 13 (5) Nov 12 (4) Nov 11 (5) Nov 10 (2) Nov 09 (3) Nov 08 (3) Nov 07 (3) Nov 06 (1) Nov 05 (4) Nov 04 (3) Nov 03 (3) Nov 02 (3) Nov 01 (4) Oct 31 (3) Oct 30 (3) Oct 29 (3) Oct 28 (3) Oct 27 (3) Oct 26 (3) Oct 25 (3) Oct 24 (3) Oct 23 (4) Oct 22 (3) Oct 21 (3) Oct 20 (3) Oct 19 (3) Oct 18 (3) Oct 17 (3) Oct 16 (4) Oct 15 (4) Oct 14 (3) Oct 13 (4) Oct 12 (4) Oct 11 (4) Oct 10 (3) Oct 09 (3) Oct 08 (3) Oct 07 (4) Oct 06 (3) Oct 05 (3) Oct 04 (4) Oct 03 (3) Oct 02 (3) Oct 01 (4) Sep 30 (3) Sep 29 (4) Sep 28 (3) Sep 27 (4) Sep 26 (3) Sep 25 (3) Sep 24 (3) Sep 23 (3) Sep 22 (3) Sep 21 (5) Sep 20 (3) Sep 19 (3) Sep 18 (3) Sep 17 (3) Sep 16 (4) Sep 15 (5) Sep 14 (3) Sep 13 (5) Sep 12 (5) Sep 11 (5) Sep 10 (5) Sep 09 (4) Sep 08 (3) Sep 07 (3) Sep 06 (3) Sep 05 (5) Sep 04 (3) Sep 03 (4) Sep 02 (3) Sep 01 (4) Aug 31 (3) Aug 30 (6) Aug 29 (3) Aug 28 (3) Aug 27 (4) Aug 26 (3) Aug 25 (4) Aug 24 (3) Aug 23 (4) Aug 22 (3) Aug 21 (3) Aug 20 (4) Aug 19 (4) Aug 18 (3) Aug 17 (3) Aug 16 (4) Aug 15 (3) Aug 14 (3) Aug 13 (3) Aug 12 (4) Aug 11 (3) Aug 10 (3) Aug 09 (3) Aug 08 (4) Aug 07 (4) Aug 06 (3) Aug 05 (5) Aug 04 (3) Aug 03 (4) Aug 02 (3) Aug 01 (3) Jul 31 (4) Jul 30 (3) Jul 29 (4) Jul 28 (3) Jul 27 (3) Jul 26 (3) Jul 25 (3) Jul 24 (4) Jul 23 (3) Jul 22 (3) Jul 21 (3) Jul 20 (3) Jul 19 (3) Jul 18 (3) Jul 17 (3) Jul 16 (3) Jul 15 (4) Jul 14 (3) Jul 13 (3) Jul 12 (3) Jul 11 (3) Jul 10 (4) Jul 09 (3) Jul 08 (3) Jul 07 (3) Jul 06 (4) Jul 05 (3) Jul 04 (3) Jul 03 (4) Jul 02 (3) Jul 01 (5) Jun 30 (4) Jun 29 (4) Jun 28 (4) Jun 27 (1) Jun 26 (5) Jun 25 (5) Jun 24 (4) Jun 23 (4) Jun 22 (4) Jun 21 (5) Jun 20 (5) Jun 19 (3) Jun 18 (3) Jun 17 (3) Jun 16 (3) Jun 15 (3) Jun 14 (3) Jun 13 (4) Jun 12 (3) Jun 11 (4) Jun 10 (3) Jun 09 (3) Jun 08 (3) Jun 07 (3) Jun 06 (4) Jun 05 (3) Jun 04 (4) Jun 03 (4) Jun 02 (3) Jun 01 (4) May 31 (3) May 30 (3) May 29 (3) May 28 (4) May 27 (6) May 26 (3) May 25 (3) May 24 (3) May 23 (3) May 22 (5) May 21 (3) May 20 (3) May 19 (3) May 18 (4) May 17 (3) May 16 (3) May 15 (4) May 14 (4) May 13 (4) May 12 (5) May 11 (2) May 10 (3) May 09 (3) May 08 (3) May 07 (3) May 06 (3) May 05 (4) May 04 (3) May 03 (3) May 02 (4) May 01 (5) Apr 30 (4) Apr 29 (4) Apr 28 (4) Apr 27 (3) Apr 26 (5) Apr 25 (3) Apr 24 (3) Apr 23 (5) Apr 22 (3) Apr 21 (4) Apr 20 (1) Apr 19 (3) Apr 18 (4) Apr 17 (3) Apr 16 (4) Apr 15 (3) Apr 14 (3) Apr 13 (3) Apr 12 (4) Apr 11 (5) Apr 10 (4) Apr 09 (3) Apr 08 (3) Apr 07 (2) Apr 06 (3) Apr 05 (5) Apr 04 (3) Apr 03 (4) Apr 02 (3) Apr 01 (7) Mar 31 (2) Mar 30 (2) Mar 29 (1) Mar 28 (6) Mar 27 (3) Mar 26 (4) Mar 25 (4) Mar 24 (6) Mar 23 (3) Mar 22 (5) Mar 21 (4) Mar 20 (3) Mar 19 (3) Mar 18 (5) Mar 17 (3) Mar 16 (3) Mar 15 (4) Mar 14 (4) Mar 13 (6) Mar 12 (7) Mar 11 (4) Mar 10 (3) Mar 09 (4) Mar 08 (3) Mar 07 (5) Mar 06 (3) Mar 05 (3) Mar 04 (3) Mar 03 (3) Mar 02 (4) Mar 01 (4) Feb 28 (5) Feb 27 (5) Feb 26 (4) Feb 25 (4) Feb 24 (3) Feb 23 (3) Feb 22 (5) Feb 21 (5) Feb 20 (5) Feb 19 (4) Feb 18 (3) Feb 17 (3) Feb 16 (4) Feb 15 (3) Feb 14 (6) Feb 13 (4) Feb 12 (3) Feb 11 (6) Feb 10 (5) Feb 09 (3) Feb 08 (4) Feb 07 (6) Feb 06 (3) Feb 05 (6) Feb 04 (5) Feb 03 (3) Feb 02 (3) Feb 01 (4) Jan 31 (4) Jan 30 (6) Jan 29 (3) Jan 28 (4) Jan 27 (5) Jan 26 (4) Jan 25 (6) Jan 24 (3) Jan 23 (3) Jan 22 (4) Jan 21 (3) Jan 20 (4) Jan 19 (3) Jan 18 (4) Jan 17 (3) Jan 16 (3) Jan 15 (4) Jan 14 (4) Jan 13 (4) Jan 12 (3) Jan 11 (4) Jan 10 (5) Jan 09 (3) Jan 08 (4) Jan 07 (4) Jan 06 (3) Jan 05 (3) Jan 04 (3) Jan 03 (3) Jan 02 (3) Jan 01 (3) Dec 31 (5) Dec 30 (4) Dec 29 (3) Dec 28 (5) Dec 27 (3) Dec 26 (4) Dec 25 (5) Dec 24 (3) Dec 23 (4) Dec 22 (7) Dec 21 (4) Dec 20 (5) Dec 19 (4) Dec 18 (6) Dec 17 (5) Dec 16 (3) Dec 15 (3) Dec 14 (3) Dec 13 (3) Dec 12 (3) Dec 11 (7) Dec 10 (7) Dec 09 (4) Dec 08 (3) Dec 07 (4) Dec 06 (4) Dec 05 (4) Dec 04 (4) Dec 03 (4) Dec 02 (3) Dec 01 (5) Nov 30 (3) Nov 29 (5) Nov 28 (4) Nov 27 (5) Nov 26 (3) Nov 25 (4) Nov 24 (4) Nov 23 (3) Nov 22 (4) Nov 21 (5) Nov 20 (3) Nov 19 (5) Nov 18 (3) Nov 17 (4) Nov 16 (5) Nov 15 (3) Nov 14 (4) Nov 13 (5) Nov 12 (7) Nov 11 (4) Nov 10 (6) Nov 09 (4) Nov 08 (4) Nov 07 (4) Nov 06 (3) Nov 05 (4) Nov 04 (4) Nov 03 (3) Nov 02 (4) Nov 01 (4) Oct 31 (3) Oct 30 (4) Oct 29 (3) Oct 28 (4) Oct 27 (4) Oct 26 (4) Oct 25 (4) Oct 24 (5) Oct 23 (4) Oct 22 (4) Oct 21 (3) Oct 20 (3) Oct 19 (4) Oct 18 (3) Oct 17 (3) Oct 16 (4) Oct 15 (4) Oct 14 (4) Oct 13 (4) Oct 12 (5) Oct 11 (3) Oct 10 (5) Oct 09 (5) Oct 08 (5) Oct 07 (6) Oct 06 (3) Oct 05 (3) Oct 04 (5) Oct 03 (3) Oct 02 (4) Oct 01 (3) Sep 30 (4) Sep 29 (4) Sep 28 (5) Sep 27 (5) Sep 26 (5) Sep 25 (3) Sep 24 (5) Sep 23 (5) Sep 22 (3) Sep 21 (4) Sep 20 (4) Sep 19 (3) Sep 18 (3) Sep 17 (4) Sep 16 (4) Sep 15 (3) Sep 14 (4) Sep 13 (4) Sep 12 (5) Sep 11 (4) Sep 10 (3) Sep 09 (4) Sep 08 (5) Sep 07 (4) Sep 06 (4) Sep 05 (5) Sep 04 (4) Sep 03 (3) Sep 02 (4) Sep 01 (3) Aug 31 (5) Aug 30 (4) Aug 29 (6) Aug 28 (6) Aug 27 (6) Aug 26 (5) Aug 25 (4) Aug 24 (4) Aug 23 (7) Aug 22 (4) Aug 21 (6) Aug 20 (3) Aug 19 (7) Aug 18 (4) Aug 17 (3) Aug 16 (4) Aug 15 (3) Aug 14 (3) Aug 13 (6) Aug 12 (6) Aug 11 (4) Aug 10 (4) Aug 09 (3) Aug 08 (5) Aug 07 (4) Aug 06 (3) Aug 05 (4) Aug 04 (4) Aug 03 (6) Aug 02 (3) Aug 01 (3) Jul 31 (3) Jul 30 (3) Jul 29 (5) Jul 28 (5) Jul 27 (4) Jul 26 (6) Jul 25 (4) Jul 24 (3) Jul 23 (5) Jul 22 (3) Jul 21 (5) Jul 20 (4) Jul 19 (3) Jul 18 (3) Jul 17 (4) Jul 16 (6) Jul 15 (4) Jul 14 (4) Jul 13 (4) Jul 12 (4) Jul 11 (3) Jul 10 (5) Jul 09 (4) Jul 08 (3) Jul 07 (4) Jul 06 (3) Jul 05 (3) Jul 04 (3) Jul 03 (3) Jul 02 (4) Jul 01 (4) Jun 30 (4) Jun 29 (3) Jun 28 (4) Jun 27 (4) Jun 26 (3) Jun 25 (4) Jun 24 (5) Jun 23 (6) Jun 22 (4) Jun 21 (5) Jun 20 (3) Jun 19 (4) Jun 18 (3) Jun 17 (4) Jun 16 (4) Jun 15 (4) Jun 14 (4) Jun 13 (3) Jun 12 (5) Jun 11 (5) Jun 10 (6) Jun 09 (5) Jun 08 (4) Jun 07 (4) Jun 06 (4) Jun 05 (3) Jun 04 (5) Jun 03 (3) Jun 02 (3) Jun 01 (4) May 31 (4) May 30 (3) May 29 (3) May 28 (5) May 27 (3) May 26 (4) May 25 (3) May 24 (6) May 23 (4) May 22 (5) May 21 (5) May 20 (4) May 19 (5) May 18 (6) May 17 (6) May 16 (4) May 15 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18 (1) Mar 16 (1) Mar 15 (2) Mar 13 (1) Mar 12 (1) Mar 11 (1) Mar 10 (1) Tuesday, February 7, 2017 Ten Bay Area and Washington, DC. nonprofit organizations have received a total of $200,000 to date from the MTYKL Foundation, which was founded by five San Francisco lawyers in 2015. The grants are part of the foundations Immigrant Rights Initiative and support programs aimed at women and children detainees; immigrant rights fellowships; research on implicit bias; labor trafficking; and education, legislation, and media campaigns to change hearts and minds and reform policy. The following organizations each received $20,000 from the MTYKL Foundations Immigrant Rights Initiative: American Immigration Council, Washington, D.C. Asian Americans Advancing Justice-Asian Law Caucus, San Francisco Asian Law Alliance, San Jose Asian Pacific Islander Legal Outreach, San Francisco Center for Gender and Refugee Studies at UC Hastings, San Francisco Centro Legal de la Raza, Oakland Chinese for Affirmative Action, San Francisco Equal Justice Society, Oakland Immigrant Legal Resource Center, San Francisco and Washington, D.C. Legal Aid at Work (formerly Legal Aid Society-Employment Law Center), San Francisco In 2014, five partners at boutique firm Minami Tamaki LLP -- Minette Kwok, Dale Minami, Donald Tamaki, Jack W. Lee, and Brad Yamauchi -- pooled together $1 million from their personal funds to start the MTYKL Foundation to support progressive causes. This extraordinary commitment was spurred by the attorneys increasing concern about the rising volume of anti-immigrant messages from political candidates. Their concern was justified in the wake of Donald Trumps election. We anticipated the real possibility of mass deportations, the wholesale elimination of DACA, an uptick in workplace raids, special registration for Muslims, and a relentless targeting of immigrants, says Minette Kwok, MTYKL Foundation board member. Were dealing with an administration steeped in xenophobia and anti-immigrant racism. Our Foundation hopes that other legal community leaders and funders will explore similar ways to support and defend our countrys disenfranchised, said Tamaki. Many of the foundations grantees are on the frontlines of efforts to counter the Trump administrations discriminatory policies. Advancing Justice-Asian Law Caucus is holding a series of emergency informational sessions in the community to address concerns and questions about upcoming travel and the impact of the Muslim Ban. The American Immigration Council filed a nationwide, class action lawsuit challenging the travel ban. The Equal Justice Society released a report on how implicit bias, racial anxiety, and misuse of stereotypes factor contribute to anti-immigrant racism and xenophobia. The MTYKL Foundation has also provided a special grant to the Fred T. Korematsu Institute, which is aimed at educating and advancing racial equity, social justice and human rights. Its namesake is civil rights hero Fred Korematsu who refused to comply with Executive Order 9066, signed in 1942 by President Franklin Roosevelt, which authorized the U.S. military to forcibly remove 120,000 people of Japanese descent, including U.S. citizens, and put them in prison camps. After he was arrested and convicted of defying the order, he appealed his case to the Supreme Court, which ruled against him. Korematsus conviction wasnt overturned until 1983. Dale Minami and Donald Tamaki were part of Korematsus legal team on his case. About the MTYKL Foundation Immigrant Rights Initiative The Immigrant Rights Initiative (http://immigrantrights.co) of the MTYKL Foundation supports organizations advancing and protecting the rights of our vulnerable immigrant communities as well as existing efforts to re-shape the national debate on issues such as DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals), family detention, new statewide legislation, and human trafficking. KJ About the MTYKL Foundation Dale Minami, Donald Tamaki, Brad Yamauchi, Minette A. Kwok, and Jack W. Lee formed the Minami Tamaki Yamauchi Kwok & Lee Foundation to combine their philanthropy into a charitable nonprofit that can grow to be greater than the sum of their individual giving. Minette A. Kwok is a partner at Minami Tamaki LLP and leads the firms immigration practice. A leader in the immigration bar, she currently serves on the national Board of Trustees of the American Immigration Council, on the Advisory Board for the Center for Gender and Refugee Studies at the University of California at Hastings School of Law, and on the board of Asian Pacific Islander Legal Outreach (APILO). Dale Minami is a partner at Minami Tamaki LLP and leads the firms personal injury practice and is recognized as one of the top personal injury lawyers in the San Francisco Bay Area. He has been involved in significant litigation involving the civil rights of Asian Pacific Americans and other minorities, such as Korematsu v. United States. Don Tamaki is a partner at Minami Tamaki LLP and leads the firms corporate and nonprofit practice. He served on the legal team that reopened the landmark Supreme Court case of Korematsu v. the United States. Mr. Tamaki is President of the board of directors of the San Francisco Japantown Foundation. Brad Yamauchi is a former partner at Minami Tamaki LLP. Hes served on the boards of organizations such as the National Employment Lawyers Association, California Employment Lawyers Association, Japanese Cultural and Community Center of Northern California, and the National Asian Pacific Bar Association. Jack W. Lee is a partner at Minami Tamaki LLP and leads the firms consumer and employee rights practice. He is a former Chair of the Judicial Advisory Committee for U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer, a committee that recommends nominees for federal judgeships in California. https://lawprofessors.typepad.com/immigration/2017/02/immigrant-rights-and-advocacy-nonprofits-receive-total-of-200000-from-san-francisco-based-mtykl-foundation.html Tuesday, February 7, 2017 The International Court of Justice ruled to admit an application submitted by the Federal Republic of Somalia against the Republic of Kenya over the maritime delimitation between it and Kenya in the Indian Ocean. In its final judgement and without appeal, the Court rejected objections raised by Kenya which referred to a memorandum of understanding and the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, and found that it has jurisdiction to entertain Somalia's application and that the application is admissible. In August 2014, Somalia had approached the Court, requesting it to determine, on the basis of international law, the complete course of the single maritime boundary dividing all the maritime areas appertaining to Somalia and to Kenya in the Indian Ocean, including the continental shelf beyond 200 nautical miles (370.4 kilometres or 230.156 miles). According to media reports, Somalia believes that the seabed area under contention could hold possible oil or natural gas reserves. As basis for the Court's jurisdiction, Somalia invoked the declarations recognizing the Court's jurisdiction as compulsory made by the two States. Kenya, however, raised two preliminary objections. The first concerned the jurisdiction of the Court: Kenya argued that the Court lacked the jurisdiction as a result of one of the reservations to its declaration accepting the compulsory jurisdiction of the Court, which excludes disputes in regard to which the parties have agreed to have recourse to some other method or methods of settlement. Kenya asserted that the memorandum of understanding constituted an agreement to have recourse to another method of settlement. It added that the relevant provisions of Convention on the Law of the Sea on dispute settlement also amounted to an agreement on the method of settlement. In the second objection, concerning the admissibility of the application, Kenya argued that the two countries had agreed in the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to delimit their boundary by negotiation only after the completion of the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf (CLCS) review of their submissions. Kenya also contended that Somalia's withdrawal of its consent to the consideration by the CLCS of its submission was in breach of the MOU. The Court concluded that the MOU did not constitute an agreement to have recourse to some other method or methods of settlement within the meaning of Kenya's reservation and consequently the case did not, by virtue of the memorandum of understanding, fall outside the scope of Kenya's consent to the Court's jurisdiction. It further concluded that neither the memorandum of understanding nor the relevant part of the of UN Convention on the Law of the Sea fell within the scope of the reservation to Kenya's optional clause declaration and rejected Kenya's preliminary objection to the jurisdiction of the Court, also having previously found that the memorandum of understanding did not contain an agreement as stated by Kenya, the Court rejected that aspect of Kenya's second preliminary objection. Lastly, the Court also rejected the preliminary objection to the admissibility of Somalia's application given its objection to CLCS consideration of Kenya's submission, finding that it did not render the application inadmissible. Additional information concerning the case can be found on the International Court of Justice website here and here. (Adapted from a UN Press Release) (mew) https://lawprofessors.typepad.com/international_law/2017/02/icj-decides-it-has-jurisdiction-in-case-of-maritime-delimitation-in-the-indian-ocean-somalia-v-kenya.html Tuesday, February 7, 2017 The Utah Supreme Court permitted an applicant who had sought waiver of admission rules to sit for the bar examination This case requires us to establish for the first time a standard for evaluating petitions for waiver of the admission rules set forth in the Rules Governing the Utah State Bar (the Utah Rules Governing Bar Admission). Petitioner James Kelly graduated from the University of Toronto Faculty of Law (Toronto law school) in June 2000 and practiced law for over a decade in Massachusetts. He now asks us to waive rule 14-704(c)(5) of the Utah Rules Governing Bar Admission, which requires a graduate of a foreign law school to obtain additional education at an ABA-approved law school before becoming eligible to take the Utah bar examination. We conclude that waiver of our rules is appropriate only in extraordinary cases where the applicant demonstrates by clear and convincing evidence that the purpose of the rule for which waiver is sought has been satisfied. Because those conditions are met in this case, we grant Mr. Kellys petition for waiver. The story Petitioner James Kelly graduated from Toronto law school in June 2000, receiving an LL.B. Toronto law school is located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and, because it is a foreign law school, it is not accredited by the American Bar Association (ABA). Even though unaccredited by the ABA, the law school is accredited by the Law Society of Upper Canada and considered the top-ranked law school in Canada. Following graduation, Mr. Kelly passed the Massachusetts bar examination and was admitted in January 2001 to practice law in Massachusetts. Initially, he worked for Testa, Hurwitz & Thibeault LLP, but eventually he became a partner at Morse, Barnes-Brown & Pendleton P.C. (Morse), developing "a highly specialized legal practice focused on federal securities regulation and private investment fund formation." In July 2013, Mr. Kelly moved with his family to Utah, intending to seek admission to the Utah State Bar (Bar) in order to help Morse open a Salt Lake City office. Throughout 2013 he worked from home for Morse clients who were not located in Utah. In March 2014, Mr. Kelly contacted the Bar about submitting an application and was told he would need to meet the foreign law school graduate education requirements to be eligible for the bar exam. His foreign education did not qualify Even though he received his education from a highly ranked school rooted in English common law, we cannot conclude on the available evidence that Toronto law school provides an education that is functionally equivalent to the education provided at an ABA-approved law school. Mr. Kelly did not receive the same extensive instruction in U.S. law that a graduate from an ABA-approved law school would receive. To be sure, he did focus on a legal corpus that, like U.S. law, derives from the same parentEnglish common law. And this corpus may have provided Mr. Kelly with legal knowledge and skills bearing a resemblance to U.S. law. But this information alone does not establish by clear and convincing evidence that the education he received at Toronto law school was "functionally equivalent to the education provided at ABA-approved schools." But his combination of education and experience justified the waiver and the court granted him permission to sit for the Utah bar exam Because Mr. Kellys unique background and experience distinguishes him from other applicantsa guiding star in our analysiswaiver is appropriate. We hold that where an attorney has graduated from a highly regarded foreign law school that is rooted in the English common law, and has been actively, lawfully, and recently engaged in the full-time practice of law for over ten years, we will grant a waiver of rule 14-704(c)(5). This waiver does not guarantee Mr. Kellys admission to the Utah State Bar. It only provides him with the opportunity to sit for the bar examination and demonstrate he possesses the basic legal knowledge and skill needed to practice in this jurisdiction. The court noted Massachusetts, unlike Utah, allows graduates of Toronto law school "to sit for the general bar examination or apply for admission on motion on the same basis as graduates of law schools approved by the American Bar Association." (Mike Frisch) https://lawprofessors.typepad.com/legal_profession/2017/02/this-case-requires-us-to-establish-for-the-first-time-a-standard-for-evaluating-petitions-for-waiver-of-the-admission-rules-s.html The question in the title of this post is one that I wonder about a lot as more and more communities struggle for responses to the opioid epidemic. The question is also the title of this new local article from New Hampshire, which discusses a legislative hearing about addiction and other conditions being added to the state's list of qualifying conditions for medical marijuana. Here are excerpts: In the midst of a heroin and fentanyl crisis, New Hampshire lawmakers are considering a bill that would add opioid addiction to the list of qualifying conditions for the states therapeutic cannabis program. That bill was one of five that could add chronic pain, opioid addiction, post-traumatic stress disorder, fibromyalgia and myelitis disorder to the list of conditions that qualify someone to use therapeutic cannabis in the state. New Hampshire lawmakers heard testimony on the bills Wednesday morning. A number of patients testified in favor of the bills, but one doctor told legislators to proceed with caution on the bill that would allow doctors to treat drug addiction with marijuana. Dr. Molly Rossignol, a family physician and addiction doctor at Concord Hospital, said there is not enough research to suggest cannabis is an effective treatment for addiction. Were going down a dark and potentially dangerous road, Rossignol said. In the past year, Ive evaluated over 100 patients in our capital region. It is clear cannabis is not helping them stop or reduce their use of opioids. While medical marijuana is widely used in other states to treat chronic pain and other medical conditions, no state so far has approved therapeutic cannabis to treat addiction. However, at least one study showed a correlation between overdose deaths and medical marijuana laws. A 2014 study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association found opioid overdose deaths went down 25 percent in states that had medical marijuana laws. State health officials in Maine considered the question of whether to add addiction as a qualifying condition last year, but ultimately their Department of Health and Human Services concluded there was not enough research or evidence to show it would be effective. Given the lack of rigorous human studies on the use of marijuana for the treatment of opioid addiction (only one clinical trial has been completed) and the lack of any safety or efficacy data, the Committee can not conclude that the use of medical marijuana for treatment of opioid addiction is safe, wrote Dr. Siiri Bennett, the Maine state epidemiologist, and Dr. Christopher Pezzullo, the state health officer. Rossignol said the issue of marijuana being used to treat addiction needed more time. This has to be vetted, it has to be scientifically studied, she said. Rossignol said her experience with addicted patients has so far indicated marijuana is not helpful with addiction. She treats her addicted patients with Suboxone, a drug taken daily to keep cravings and withdrawal symptoms at bay. Suboxone, methadone and naltrexone are the three drugs approved by the Food and Drug Administration to treat addiction Rossignol said when used with evidence-based therapies, many studies show they help with addiction. She said she believed marijuana could do the opposite. It is something that I see every day reducing their chances of getting into longterm recovery, she said. I think it is a very slippery slope. Several patients traveled to the State House to testify in favor of the five cannabis bills, including ones to add chronic pain and PTSD to the list of qualifying conditions. Stephen Boulter of North Conway told lawmakers that therapeutic cannabis had dramatically decreased his pain and increased his quality of life. Boulter was able to qualify for medical marijuana due to a vertebrae injury. He said pain from that injury became debilitating. Its with you 24 hours a day, you always have pain, he said. The only thing that mitigated the pain were opiates, which I detested. When Boulter qualified for medical marijuana, he found it got rid of his pain and didnt make him loopy. It made a tremendous difference, it allows me to go to bed at night and go to sleep, he said. I firmly believe that anyone suffering with severe chronic pain working with a qualified provider can restore a normal, high quality standard of living. Former state Rep. Joe LaChance of Manchester, a disabled veteran, encouraged lawmakers to add PTSD to the list of qualifying conditions. This is so important to us, LaChance said. This is near and dear to my heart. LaChance briefly described his struggles with drugs and alcohol, crediting therapeutic cannabis with his recovery. Cannabis saved my life, he said. The VA got me addicted to opioids. Add a bottle of Jack Daniels to that, Im lucky to be here. This new AP article, headlined "Minnesota's Medical Marijuana Program Needs More Money," provides an interesting report on the state of the medical marijuana program in the Gopher State. Here are the particulars: Minnesota's medical marijuana program needs extra state funding to cover the costs of its patient database and inspections of drug manufacturers, just a few of the regulations that make it one of the most restrictive such laws in the country. It's the latest reminder of the financial constraints on the program borne from the heavy restrictions on Minnesota's 2014 law. The plant form of marijuana remains banned under the law, requiring the state's two medical manufacturers to concoct marijuana oils, pills and vapors with routine state inspections and secondary lab testing. Just 10 severe conditions such as cancer and epilepsy qualify for the program, a number that has grown in recent years with a few additions. The state's manufacturers combined to lose more than $5 million in the first year of legal medical marijuana sales in 2015. And patient count hasn't met projections, exacerbating high prescription costs for patients that the two companies who cultivate and sell medication have only recently begun to address with modest price decreases. The Office of Medical Cannabis' request for more than $500,000 over the next two years is just a fraction of the $40 billion-plus budget Minnesota's Legislature will assemble this year. But state regulators say that money is critical to cover the higher-than-expected costs for maintenance of their around-the-clock patient registry and the costs of performing 120 inspections or more each year.... The state already provides about $1.4 million a year to help cover operating costs, and regulators can cover their oversight costs by charging manufacturers, LeafLine Labs and Minnesota Medical Solutions, an annual registration fee. But after increasing the manufacturers' annual fee from $94,000 to $146,000 last year, Gov. Mark Dayton's budget proposal says additional state funding is essential to help avoid an "increase the cost of medical cannabis to program participants." Those costs range from software licensing and fixing bugs on their patient registry where the state tracks each patient's progress with the new medications to the travel bills that come from visiting every distribution site, from Rochester in southern Minnesota to Moorhead, near its northwestern corner. "I don't think anyone thought about us having eight cannabis centers statewide," said Michelle Larson, the director of the state program. "Our annual cost is a little bit more than folks thought it would be." Garofalo also has a different approach: He's proposing legislation that would allow manufacturers to write off business expenses on their Minnesota tax filings. That's impossible at the federal level while it's still considered a Schedule I drug, subjecting marijuana-related businesses to some of the highest effective tax rates. LeafLine Labs chief executive Andrew Bachman said his company will likely lose money again in 2017, and he wasn't sure whether the tax break would help it break even. But by treating the business just as any other Minnesota company, he said it would help cement medical marijuana as just another type of medicine. "It's about normalization. Cannabis is medicine is thousands for Minnesotans now," Bachman said. The title of this post is the title of this notable new Los Angeles Times commentary authored by Mark Stefanos. Here are excerpts: Trump himself has been all over the board on pot, expressing support for medical marijuana but also concerns about Colorado, where its recreationally legal. He generally seems to favor leaving it up to the states to decide. Sure, its hard to picture Trump as marijuanas champion. Unlike the last three presidents, Trump claims hes never toked. He doesnt drink, he orders his steak well-done and its unlikely anyone will ever pass a blunt to the self-described germaphobe. But if legalizing marijuana federally isnt on Trumps legislative agenda, it should be. And a conservative Congress should back him. Its politically expedient, fits neatly into Trumps game plan and there are principled conservative arguments to be made on legalizations behalf. Outside of his core issues, our new president is no ideologue, and instead seems to be fixated on and can be swayed by public opinion. If his inauguration speech was any indication, Trump is doubling down on populism and legalizing pot is incredibly popular. The latest Gallup poll shows 60% of Americans favoring legalization, including 77% of 18- to 34-year-olds. With some of the weakest approval ratings for an incoming president, he should be looking to capitalize on low-hanging-fruit policies like these. Trump shouldnt worry too much Trump shouldnt worry too much about legalization alienating his base. The same Gallup poll shows that 42% of Republicans support legalization, up from 20% in 2005. And if anyone needs convincing, Trump can make the case. He can appeal to the right by reminding us that the government isnt our mommy. Weve already learned the lesson that prohibition doesnt work from alcohol, a far more dangerous drug. Enforcement of prohibition is a pointless and wasteful priority. After all, why should the government work so hard to keep people from smoking weed when China is manipulating its currency and Islamic State is burning people alive in cages? Perhaps most importantly, however, legalization makes sense fiscally. If theres one issue Trump has been consistent on since he launched his presidential bid, its economic protectionism. Today, the American marijuana industry employs 100,000 to 150,000 people nationally. Marijuana spending is estimated at $30 billion annually, according to market-research firm the Cowen Group, but only a fifth of that is spent on legal products. If legalized, the market is expected to grow to $50 billion annually by 2026. For the same reasons Trump believes we should be buying cars and air-conditioners manufactured domestically, it follows that he should be making every effort to ensure America dominates the global marijuana industry. Americans should be smoking American weed. This requires the governments ban be lifted so the market can flourish. Legalization should be particularly attractive to Trump and his base, considering the main competitors to Americas pot industry are the very criminals and gangs he likes to target in his speeches. In 2008, nearly two-thirds of the pot consumed in the United States came from Mexico, according to the Rand Corp. Since then, Mexican drug cartels have had to compete with American pot farms operating in an increasingly legal landscape that produces a higher quality product and drives profits down. Today, consumption of Mexican weed in America has been decreased to less than a third, according to an estimate by Alejandro Hope, a Mexico City based security and drug analyst. Full American legalization may put the nail in the coffin on cartel profits from weed. Trump knew this in 1990 when he said, We're losing badly the war on drugs. You have to legalize drugs to win that war. You have to take the profit away from these drug czars." Finally, legalizing marijuana would allow Trump to make good on his campaign promise to help inner-cities. Instead of paying lip service to urban communities and insulting them with rhetoric describing them as crime-ridden, Trump could actually help those communities by legalizing pot, and making sure no one else has their life ruined because they got caught smoking a joint.... The policy benefits of legalization are many, and Trump shouldnt wait to capitalize on the political opportunity. Legalization would be a deal that allows the government to save on the costs of enforcing prohibition and fighting a failing drug war. Pot would become safer as it becomes controlled and regulated, and the government could do a better job at youth drug prevention. Taxation from legal pot sales will provide state and local governments a healthy revenue stream, at the expense of our trade competitors. Most importantly, it would shore up support for his presidency from demographics he needs, while growing the economy and jobs. That would be a lot of winning. I was pleased to see this local article from Colorado, headlined "Boulder DA Stan Garnett named to group that will advise Trump administration on pot," reporting on a new group assembled by the National District Attorney's Association. Here are the details: Boulder District Attorney Stan Garnett has been selected to join a group of prosecutors from across the country who will help advise the Donald Trump administration on policies regarding marijuana. The National District Attorney's Association created a policy group featuring 14 district attorneys who will issue advisements on possible law or policy changes regarding marijuana as more and more states legalize it. Garnett said he is the only active prosecutor from Colorado in the group, but said there are also DAs from California and Oregon other states with recreational marijuana in the group. "It's a reflection of the NDAA's interest in having a fairly balanced committee, which will be largely advising on what our policy position should be in communications with the Trump Justice Department," Garnett said. But while Garnett said there are a wide variety of states in different stages of marijuana legalization represented in the group, he said for the most part NDAA still is a conservative group, which is why he felt it was important to add his voice. "I always end up on the more liberal position than anyone else, particularly on marijuana," Garnett said. "I think one of the things that happens is that many of the people in states where there is no legalization have a complete misunderstanding of states like Colorado. If nothing else, I'm able to say, 'Wait a minute, this is a huge business in Colorado, it is largely supported by the editorial boards, polls show it was being very popular, and by and large we have not seen an impact on crime rates. "For somebody from Missouri or South Carolina to tell Colorado how to handle an issue of its own choice like legalization of marijuana is not only bad policy, but it fails to respect the importance of local control and state rights." For instance, Garnett said that at the first meeting, some of the DAs wanted to send a letter to the governor of any state with recreational or medical marijuana telling them to shut those businesses down within 90 days. "I thought that was a particularly unrealistic and ill-advised idea, and I was not shy about saying that," Garnett said. Tom Raynes, the executive director of the Colorado District Attorney's Council and another member of the group, said it will be a feeling out process for the group, which was only formed about 10 days ago. "There's such a myriad of approaches depending on what stage of legalization you are in," Raynes said. "To come up with some sort of nationwide discussion on what works and what doesn't work makes a lot of sense." Regardless of their stance on legalization, Raynes said all prosecutors have some common goals in regard to marijuana, such as keeping it out of the hands of children, cracking down on impaired driving, and curbing the black market. "Those are things that every state can agree on, and they need to start getting to the difficult issues," Raynes said. Garnett said the group has toyed with the idea of issuing a majority and a minority opinion on different issues. If he is in fact confirmed as the next U.S. attorney general, Jeff Sessions likely would be the one ultimately going over the policy recommendations. "Assuming he gets confirmed, he would definitely be the recipient of whatever we come up with," Garnett said. "At the moment nobody really knows what approach the Trump justice department will take, so that will determine how long the group meets." Sessions has been a vocal opponent of marijuana legalization, once saying that " good people don't smoke marijuana," and Trump has also said he plans to keep it illegal on a federal level. Garnett said he thinks that Trump trying to reverse states' decisions to legalize marijuana is possible, but would be tricky. "Legalization has been largely successful everywhere it has been tried, so it would be a highly unpopular move and difficult to accomplish successfully," Garnett said. "But I don't know what to expect on the Trump administration on this issue." But even if the nation weren't going through a major administration change, Raynes said, an advisory group like this was needed. "I think it would have been done anyway," Raynes said. "Just as the marijuana issues evolve, states need to evolve to figure out some common ground." The question in the title of this post is prompted by this recent Los Angeles Times article, which is headlined "Trump's Justice Department may crack down on thriving pot industry, but is it too big to jail?". Here are excerpts: The election of Trump has shocked the marijuana industry into a state of high alert at a time it had planned to be gliding into unbridled growth. Trumps nominee for attorney general, Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions, is a longtime field lieutenant in the war on drugs with unabashed hostility toward pot. It was only 10 months ago that Sessions was scolding from the dais of a Senate hearing room that the drug is dangerous, not funny and that good people dont smoke marijuana. Now he is poised to set the direction on national drug enforcement policy at the same time that eight states, including California, have legalized recreational use of the drug. Some 60 million Americans are living in states where voters have opted to allow any adult to be able to purchase marijuana. Business leaders ... are betting the rapid maturity of the cannabis industry has made it too big to jail. Even before new laws took effect permitting the recreational use of pot in the massive markets of California and Massachusetts, the legitimate pot business had dwarfed its 2011 size, when the Drug Enforcement Administration was still aggressively raiding medical marijuana vendors operating legally under state laws. Since then, President Obamas Justice Department decreed that states should have freedom to pursue their own policies, and the legalization train seemed to have left the station. But those who have been in the business since the early days of medical marijuana caution the legions of newcomers that federal busts and seizures could quickly make a comeback. Sessions very deliberately left that option open during his confirmation hearing. There are people in this administration who will crush this industry if they see the opportunity, said Steve DeAngelo, who is considered a guru among pot entrepreneurs. DeAngelo, owner of the bustling Harborside Health Center dispensary in Oakland, was among the first in the industry and he has experienced it all: surprise raids from armed federal agents, unending lawsuits, getting locked in a jail cell. I dont think people who dont have firsthand experience with the irrationality of federal intervention understand what a threat we are facing. But its hard to see much anxiety watching the comings and goings inside DeAngelos dispensary, which these days looks more like a Whole Foods than the shady corner bodegas such operations long resembled. Well-mannered hipsters with encyclopedic knowledge of bud patiently serve customers as sommeliers might, explaining the intricacies of abundant varietals of reefer available to be consumed in ever-evolving ways. On one side of the room is an enticing display of pot-laced baked goods, opposite that is the kind of fancy kiosk where artisan granola bars or yogurt cups might be hawked in a high-end grocery; the millennials manning this one are pitching elegantly packaged microdoses of pot injected into dried blueberries and other goodies. DeAngelo says Trump might just let it all be, pointing to mixed signals the president sent during the campaign. But DeAngelo sees an easy legal path for Sessions and other committed anti-drug warriors in the administration, including Vice President Mike Pence, to immediately throw the industry into chaos, should they chose to do so. A survey by Marijuana Business Daily suggests many pot entrepreneurs share his concern, with 20% saying they would curb expansion plans. Many more are putting planning off until they see where the White House is going. Most of us are holding our breath right now, said Emily Paxhia, co-owner of a hedge fund that invests exclusively in the cannabis industry. Lately she has been making sure that each firm in her portfolio has a Plan B in case a federal crackdown comes. Can pot growing operations, for example, shift to micro-salad greens if the feds come knocking? Can vaporizers be sold to yoga enthusiasts consuming lavender? Were also starting to look at how some of the new technologies we are investing in could address needs in other countries if the U.S. becomes difficult, Paxhia said, pointing to Canada, where she said federal embrace of recreational marijuana could open up a $22-billion market. Paxhia shared her outlook at the industrial San Francisco office space of one company in her portfolio, Meadow, which has built a digital platform through which marijuana dispensary offerings can be browsed, and products can be ordered and delivered with the ease of a service like GrubHub.... Across the bay in Oakland, a sober-looking team at a company called CW Analytical has just spent big on sophisticated new testing equipment that allows dispensaries to quickly measure the active ingredients and purity in all the pot products they sell. The company embodies how renewed federal busts would affect not just pot growers, but an entire class of lab technicians, scientists, digital engineers, marketers and other skilled professionals. I would be lying if I told you it was not in the back of our minds, said Emily Richardson, head of business development at CW. We have been through a lot. She said the firm lost a third of its business amid the last big round of federal raids in 2011. Back then, Jeff Linden wasnt even in the trade. He was running a high-end kitchen cabinet firm. Now Linden has opened a dispensary in San Franciscos Mission District that could be mistaken for an art gallery.....Trumps agenda is this long, Linden said, stretching out his arms to make the point the new administration has bigger issues on its plate than him. I think this industry is too big to roll back. Some people agree with me. Some are very nervous. Friday, February 3, 2017 Im happy to announce that my first-of-its-kind textbook on Marijuana Law, Policy, and Authority will soon be published by Aspen. It will be out in April (in e form) and May (in print). The teachers manual and a companion website will be available soon thereafter. Many thanks to Doug and others who have provided helpful feedback on this book over the last 2.5 years! The book covers a lot of ground, befitting a field that implicates so many different areas of law. The first chapter of the book is now available on SSRN. That chapter provides more details about the books coverage and approach, and it also explains why this is such an interesting and worthwhile area of law to study and not just for those who are interested in practicing in this burgeoning field. Not coincidentally, I will be posting more this month (both here and at Prawfsblawg) on topics drawn from the book. My first post at Prawfsblawg briefly laid out the case for teaching and writing about marijuana law. Even though most people who read this blog are already sold on the subject, Ill copy the relevant passage here: For one thing, state marijuana reforms and the federal response to them have sparked some of the most challenging and interesting legal controversies of our day. May the states legalize a drug while Congress forbids it? Even so, are state regulations governing marijuana preempted by federal law? Does anyone (besides the DOJ) have a cause of action to challenge them as such? Can the President suspend enforcement of the federal ban? Do state restrictions on marijuana industry advertising violate the First Amendment? These are just a handful of the intriguing questions that are now being confronted in this field. Just as importantly, there is a large and growing number of people who care about the answers to such questions. Forty-three (43) states and the District of Columbia have legalized possession and use of some form of marijuana by at least some people. These reforms not to mention the prohibitions that remain in place at the federal level affect a staggering number of people. Roughly 40% of adults in the U.S. have tried marijuana, and more than 22 million people use the drug regularly. To supply this demand, thousands of people are growing and selling marijuana. In Colorado alone, for example, there are more than 600 state licensed marijuana suppliers. There are also countless third parties who regularly deal with these users and suppliers, including physicians who recommend marijuana to patients, banks that provide payment services to the marijuana industry, firms that employ marijuana users, and lawyers who advise all of the above. All of these people need help navigating a thicket of complicated and oftentimes conflicting laws governing marijuana. Colorado, for example, has promulgated more than 200 pages of regulations to govern its $1 billion a year licensed marijuana industry. Among many other things, Colorados regulations require suppliers to carefully track their inventories, test and label their products, and limit where and how they advertise. These regulations are complicated enough but doubts about their enforceability (highlighted in the questions above) only add to the confusion and the need for informed legal advice. In the coming weeks, I will blog about some of the questions noted above. In the meantime, if you are interested in teaching a course or a unit on any aspect of marijuana law, contact me robertmikosvanderbiltedu -- I would be happy to chat. https://lawprofessors.typepad.com/marijuana_law/2017/02/new-textbook-on-marijuana-law-policy-and-authority.html The Hill has this notable lengthy article, headlined "Marijuana lobby goes mainstream," highlighting the . Here are excerpts: In a sign that the budding marijuana industry is moving away from the fringes and into the political mainstream, into the political mainstream, a number of officials once tasked with managing the growing legal cannabis sector are leaving their government positions to take jobs in the sector. Many are advising states and cities as voters loosen marijuana restrictions across the country. Others are becoming industry advocates, lobbying the former colleagues and coworkers they left behind to craft more favorable rules and regulations. In Colorado, Andrew Freedman, once the states director of marijuana coordination, and Lewis Koski, who headed the state Marijuana Enforcement Division, teamed up to form a consulting firm that advises local and state governments on crafting new marijuana regulations. Laura Harris, Koskis predecessor at the Marijuana Enforcement Division, took a post this month as director of the Colorado Cannabis Chamber of Commerce. Manny Munson-Regala, who oversaw Minnesotas medical marijuana program, now runs a consulting firm of his own. John OBrien resigned his post overseeing New Jerseys medical marijuana program to take a job as chief compliance officer of a New York cannabis company. And several former top officials at Washington States Liquor and Cannabis Board have left in recent years to form their own firms. Thats how America works. You work for the government, then you become a lobbyist, said Ian Eisenberg, a leader in the legal marijuana industry who runs Uncle Ikes, a dispensary in Seattle, Wash. I dont think its any different than the defense industry. Those who have made the jump from the government sector to the private sector say they offer a valuable service, both to governments that need to establish new rules and to the businesses that need to navigate complex regulatory schemes that have never been implemented before. Were the only ones to have stood this up before, said Freedman, who now consults with governments looking to set up their regulatory structures. Theres a real opportunity to come in and show lessons learned quickly.... But opponents of legalized pot, and some government transparency groups, say the relationship between the marijuana industry and its regulators should be treated like any other. The revolving door from government to private sector isnt anything new, but it represents the worst of our politics. This isnt the paper clip or oven mitt lobby, this is the drug lobby, said Kevin Sabet, who heads Smart Approaches to Marijuana, a group that opposes legalization. And we know that the pot lobby wants to make money, just like big tobacco executives do. Aaron Scherb, legislative affairs director at the government transparency group Common Cause, said states should implement a cooling-off period between the time when a regulator leaves government service and when he or she begins working on behalf of the industry. These individuals are the most familiar with the rules and regulations of a particular industry, and their experience means theyre able to exploit loopholes, Scherb said. At least some minimal amount of time is appropriate so we can avoid this revolving door problem. At least one state, Minnesota, required its regulators to take a year off before returning to work in the field they oversaw. Munson-Regala, the former head of the states medical marijuana program, said that reminded him of other industries he helped regulate, like the insurance business. Embedded in that one-year cooling off period was an understanding that regulators are in a good position to help folks who are being regulated, in part because they understand what it takes to be compliant, Munson-Regala said in an interview. The revolving door is just one of the ways an industry that was once seen as the domain of hippies is trying to professionalize. Just a few years ago, proponents of legalizing marijuana brought 1970s-era stoner icon Tommy Chong to Capitol Hill to woo lawmakers. Today, Chong is gone, replaced by a booming industry of cultivators and retailers and the trade shows, consultants and lobbyists who offer services to boost their business. On Tuesday, the National Cannabis Industry Association kicked off a two-day Seed to Sale trade show in Denver, focusing on business practices for producers and retailers. The groups first trade show several years ago attracted 800 participants; this year, they expect 2,000 vendors and 4,000 to 5,000 at the annual Cannabis Business Summit and Expo, said Taylor West, the groups deputy director. In November, 10,000 people showed up to another trade show in Las Vegas. This industry is not slowing down, West said. Around the country, hundreds of lobbyists are already bending lawmakers ears on marijuana measures. In Colorado alone, 81 lobbyists reported advocating on marijuana proposals before the state legislature, according to data filed with the Secretary of States office. Amnesty International says the Syrian government has executed thousands of prisoners in what it considers war crimes and crimes against humanity. The rights group is accusing the government of carrying out systematic torture at a jail 30 kilometers from the Syrian capital, Damascus. In a report published on Tuesday, Amnesty International said that between 5,000 and 13,000 prisoners were executed from September 2011 to December 2015. Once or twice a week, groups of up to 50 people at a time were hanged at the Saydnaya Prison, Amnesty said. They would be beaten, then hanged in the middle of the night, it said. The numbers may well be higher, noted the writers of the report, called Human Slaughterhouse: Mass Hangings and Extermination at Saydnaya Prison. Amnesty said it has no reason to believe the Syrian government has halted the executions. It said most of the victims were civilians believed to oppose the government of President Bashar al-Assad. They included doctors, lawyers, activists, engineers and humanitarian workers, the rights group said. The report took a year to complete. It is based on statements from 84 witnesses, including former Saydnaya guards and prison officials, detainees, judges, lawyers and experts on detention in Syria. This is Amnestys second report on the prison. The killings are carried out with little or no respect for the law, according to Lynn Maalouf, Amnestys Deputy Director of Research. She spoke in Beirut, Lebanon on Monday. Maalouf said the executions take place after a sham trial that lasts only a minute or three minutes. She said they are approved by the highest levels of authority, including the minister of defense. The government has execution panels that oversee the hangings, Maalouf added. In her words, it is just impossible that the hangings and the execution panels are taking place without the knowledge of the highest levels of authority. The report calls on the United Nations Security Council to demand that Syria permit an independent investigation of the executions at Saydnaya. It said the government should let independent investigators visit all places of detention. Amnesty said on Tuesday it asked the Syrian government to comment on claims made in the report, but received no response. In the past, the government has denied reports of massacres documented by international rights groups. In addition to the hangings, the Amnesty report said, prison inmates are regularly tortured through severe beatings and sexual violence. They are denied adequate food, water, medicine, medical care and sanitation, which has led to the rampant spread of infection and disease, it said. They also say many detainees develop serious mental disorders. In other news, the United Nations confirmed that Syrian peace talks will restart later this month in Geneva, Switzerland. Talks between the warring sides were delayed until the 20th [of February] to give a ceasefire time to succeed. Syrias six-year-long civil war has killed hundreds of thousands of people and wounded many more. Im Anne Ball. Jamie Dettmer wrote this story for VOA News. Anne Ball wrote this story for Learning English with material from Reuters and VOA. George Grow was the editor. We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section and visit us on our Facebook page. _______________________________________________________________ Words in This Story extermination - n. the act of destroying and killing sham - adj. something that is not what it appears to be and that is meant to trick or deceive people massacre n. the violent killing of many people response - n. answer adequate adj. enough for some need or requirement sanitation n. the process of keeping places free from dirt, infection, disease, etc., by removing waste, trash and garbage, by cleaning streets, etc. rampant adj. growing quickly in a way that is difficult to control Nigerian President Muhammadu Buharis extended medical leave is raising concerns in the most populous country in Africa. Buhari, 74, has been in London for the last two weeks receiving medical care. He had been expected to return to Nigeria on Sunday night. But on Sunday, his office released a statement saying the president was advised by doctors to remain in London to await results from medical tests. The statement did not say what he was being tested for, or how long it might be before he could return to Nigeria. The statement said the president has asked Nigerias parliament for approval to continue his medical leave. Richard Joseph teaches international history and politics at Northwestern University in Illinois. He said President Buharis absence is causing concern in Nigeria. Joseph said it could weaken his government, which already faces charges that it has not done enough to deal with economic and terrorism problems. Obviously, there is something significant going on, Joseph said of the reports that the countrys president would not return to Nigeria this week. Adding to the concern -- this is President Buharis second medical leave as president. He took two weeks off last June to be treated in London for an ear infection. Joseph said the governments refusal to provide more information about Buharis medical condition has some people questioning if he will return to the presidency. It even led to people questioning on social media if he might be dead. But Joseph said it is a good signal that Buhari followed the Nigerian constitution. It says the vice president is to become acting president when the president is not available. Yemi Osinbajo is Nigerias vice president. He is a lawyer and professor. Osinbajo has used social media to show how he is carrying out the duties of president in Buharis absence. Last week, the acting president wrote on Twitter about visiting a primary school. He said the visit was certainly one of the highlights of my day. On Monday, the Nigerian government released a video interview with Osinbajo. He spoke about Buhari, saying "hes in good shape. In the interview, the vice president also said Buhari's medical tests should be completed soon. Hundreds of Nigerians protested Buharis absence Monday. The march took place in Lagos, Nigerias largest city. Prices of food and other goods have increased as Nigeria deals with low oil prices and a devalued currency. Some of the protesters carried signs about unemployment and hunger. Nigerians are frustrated and tired with this absentee government," activist Omoyele Sowore said as he marched in Lagos. I'm Ashley Thompson. Bruce Alpert adapted this story for VOA Learning English based on reports by Reuters, the Associated Press, and other sources. Hai Do 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 statement - n. something that you say or write in a formal or official way absence - n. a failure to be present at a usual or expected place obviously - adv. in a way that is easy to see significant - adj. important highlight - n. something (such as an event or a detail) that is very interesting, exciting, or important : the best part of something frustrate - v. to cause someone to feel angry, discouraged, or upset because of not being able to do something Editorial: Lebanon should fly with its own wings when it comes to community health The memory of a beloved pet inspires one couple's fight against injustice. A Bay area playhouse is marking Black History month with a historic accomplishment. Local playhouse celebrates Black History Month 2017 marks the 10th season they've out on an August Wilson production The American Stage Theater in St. Petersburg is now one of 12 places around the world that has produced all the plays of well-known African-American playwright August Wilson. I love his plays, said Director L. Peter Callender. I love speaking them aloud. I love reading them. Lately, Wilsons work has captivated audiences on the silver screen. His play "Fences" is now an Oscar-nominated film starring Denzel Washington and Viola Davis. At the American Stage Theater in St. Petersburg, performers have been honoring Wilsons legacy for the last decade. From the beginning there was a reaction to the work, of this is something special, said American Stage Producing Artistic Director Stephanie Gularte. Before he died, Wilson wrote 10 plays that chronicled different periods of the African American experience. Over the last 10 years, American Stage has showcased every one of them. That really is a remarkable thing, Gularte said. This month, actors are celebrating the end of the Wilson cycle with the production of Joe Turners Come and Gone. Its a play that tells of life after slavery. Its a very spiritual play, said actor Kim Sullivan. It takes place in 1911, in this boarding house in Pittsburgh and a lot of activity comes from people who are migrating from the South. Joe Turners Come and Gone is known as Wilsons favorite play, and it celebrates a history-making moment for the American Stage Theater. The production in St. Petersburg runs through the end of February. After the Fort Lauderdale airport shooting, investigators learned that the suspect, Esteban Santiago, told the FBI in Alaska in November that he was hearing voices. Following that revelation, state Democratic legislators convened in Tallahassee to argue for more gun control and more mental health funding. One of the legislators to sound off was State Rep. Carlos Guillermo Smith (D-Orlando), who opined that mental health care funding in Florida was lacking. Smith said this: "Florida is ranked 50th in the nation for mental health care funding." Our partners at PolitiFact Florida decided to look into Smith's claim. PolitiFact reporter Joshua Gillin says that the claim rates MOSTLY TRUE on the Truth-O-Meter. Gillin says that, for the most part, Smith has his information in order. "We checked with a research institute that tracks this kind of spending," said Gillin. "We were told that Florida ranks 51st out of the 52 places measured. The 52, by the way, includes the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. Florida ranks higher than Puerto Rico in per capita funding, but trails the other 49 states as well as D.C." Gillin says that the reason for a tick down on the meter comes to measurement and disbursal of funds. "The caveat to that ranking is that Florida administers mental health programs differently," said Gillin. "That funding is funneled through the Department of Children and Families, and they also handle Medicaid money in a different way than the other states. There's a possibility that Florida's overall ranking could come up if the administration of funds were the same, and measured the same, between the states." Despite the caveat, Gillin says that the number cited is pretty accurate, and is cited by a variety of entities, which leads to Smith's claim rating MOSTLY TRUE on the Truth-O-Meter. A man who ran from an initial traffic stop carjacked a vehicle with a baby inside, was shot by a Sumter County deputy during the escape and then led authorities on a three-county chase, troopers said. Two men were pulled over in Sumter, troopers say Deputies: One took off on foot, later carjacking his mother's vehicle An infant was inside the sedan, but wasn't injured in the chase and crash The incident began at about 12:42 p.m. Tuesday when a Florida Highway Patrol trooper initiated a traffic stop of a 2003 Toyota sedan. The driver of that vehicle, Dillion Martin, 23, of Floral City, was taken into custody during the stop, but a second person fled the scene on foot, deputies said. The Florida Highway Patrol requested assistance from the Sumter County Sheriff's Office to track the fleeing suspect. Sumter County dogs tracked the second man, identified by troopers as 27-year-old Douglas John Martin, 27, and set up a perimeter. A deputy assigned to the perimeter witnessed someone run from a wooded area and jump into the passenger side of a 2003 Chevrolet Malibu. According to the Sumter deputies, the man physically assaulted the female driver and forcibly removed her, carjacking the vehicle. The woman screamed that her child was in the back seat, a report states. Deputies later found out that woman was suspect's mother. The Sumter deputy tried to remove Martin from the driver's seat, but Martin reportedly accelerated, dragging the deputy with him, troopers said. "While being (dragged), the deputy fired his weapon, striking the suspect and (was) able to free himself from being (dragged)," the Sheriff's Office said. According to FHP, Martin was shot twice in the stomach. The deputy was uninjured. With the baby in the vehicle, Martin fled northbound on Interstate 75 into Marion County. He exited I-75 at State Road 200, traveling southbound into Citrus County, where at East Olive Lane, he lost control of the car. Martin's vehicle traveled into a ditch and hit an embankment. The infant wasn't hurt and returned to the parents, troopers said. Martin was airlifted to a hospital for treatment. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement has been called in to investigate the deputy-involved shooting. Members of the Sumter and Citrus County Sheriff's Offices and the Florida Highway Patrol pursued the vehicle, which crashed into an embankment in Citrus, troopers said. (FHP) Authorities have not announced the connection Douglas and Dillion Martin have to one another, or if the infant is related. With South Africa's economy under significant pressure as it battles to eke out a mere 1% growth, labour disputes and retrenchments are on the rise. Head of Employment at Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr, Aadil Patel, cautioned during the practices 2017 outlook conference in November last year, that as the economic situation potentially deteriorates, employers will seek to further streamline their businesses, while employees will attempt to hold employers to strict compliance with the Labour Relations Act. Labour disputes Around 690 cases a day are already being referred to the CCMA, which translates to an increase of around 23% over the past five years. According to Patel, recent cases indicate that retrenchment processes are not easy and are in most cases fraught with difficulty. Regional Practice Head and Employment Director Gillian Lumb highlighted a number of pertinent issues that are arising. In one case, it was found that subjectivity had crept into selection criteria through the use of performance rating and an employee should have been given the opportunity to be heard; while in another, it was held that an employer had given sufficient evidence as to why an employee could not simply be bumped into another position. In another case, a group of employees on fixed-term contracts were dismissed before the completion of a building project. The contract contained an automatic termination clause and it was held that the automatic termination clause gave the employer unfettered discretion to decide when skills were no longer required. The termination was at the will of the employer and the clause was found to be invalid, explains Lumb. Mergers - the public interest The role of public interest concerns in mergers are also becoming increasingly prominent and it will be important for companies to be aware of the legal implications. Competition law Director at CDH, Andries La Grange, says mergers reported to the Competition Commission may raise public interest concerns, including merger impact on employment. However, conditions may allow a merger to proceed despite public interest concerns. Conditions often impact on retrenchments, post-merger. Difficulties relating to mergers include co-ordinating consultations, reduced substantive justification and enforcement/remedies. Collective agreements Delivering a keynote address, Professor Avinash Govindjee, the Executive Dean of the Faculty of Law at the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, highlighted how the recent labour dispute between The Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (Amcu) and the Chamber of Mines has brought collective agreements into the limelight. The question here was whether Amcu was bound by the collective agreement concluded in the Chamber and whether the definition of workplace was unconstitutional. Whether two or more operations of an employer constitute, separate workplaces is a matter of fact (they would have to be independent operations by virtue of their size, function or organisation). It was held that Amcu is bound by the collective agreement and section 23 is not unconstitutional: the appeal was dismissed, says Govindjee. Disputes over the extension of bargaining council collective agreements to non-parties is another key issue to watch in the year ahead. "Disputes relating to jurisdiction and extension of bargaining agreements have become more prevalent and these are key issues for companies to watch for in the new year," adds Govindjee. Spotlight on social media The role of social media in commerce also continues to result in a number of new cases. Employment Director Fiona Leppan highlighted important international precedents developing in this area of the law. A number of cases relating to potentially damaging Facebook missives are coming before local courts and employers and employees need to take precaution to avoid reputational damage. One question raised was whether a Facebook communication obtained by way of hacking an employees Facebook account could be admissible as evidence against the employee. But, Employment Director Samiksha Singh says the right to privacy is not absolute. Without the evidence, the employer would have no platform to enforce its rights. So the unlawfully obtained evidence admissible as evidence but only in limited circumstances, she says. Meanwhile, can an employee be dismissed for posting insolent and threatening comments on social media towards his employer and its management? On this issue, it was recently held that it was improbable that the employee was not thinking about what he was doing. If the employee had access to necessary resources, he was prepared to bomb and burn the employer the dismissal was found to be substantively fair, adds Singh. In another SA case, an employee posted on Facebook calling for "civil war and killing all white people". The employee then apologised and said it was a "joke". The question is whether an employee can be dismissed for posting racially discriminatory and threatening comments on social media? It was found that it was improbable that the Facebook post was a joke and also that the employees apology was not genuine. Furthermore, allowing the employee to continue employment would signify employer condoning racism, hate speech and threats of violence. The employment relationship broken down and irreparable and so the dismissal fair in the circumstances, concludes Singh. Profit Continues to Plummet at Doha Hotels Profit per room at Doha hotels fell by 23.3% in 2016, representing a second consecutive year of significant profit decline for properties in the Qatar capital, according to the latest data from HotStats. Despite successfully reducing Labour (-1.9%) and Overhead (-3.8%) costs on a per available room basis, the drop in revenue far exceeded any cost savings and profit per room plummeted in 2016, which was further to the 8.4% decline in profit per room at hotels in Doha in 2015. 2016 has been a particularly tough year of operation for Doha hotels, having achieved only one month of RevPAR (Revenue per Available Room) growth in July, when they recorded an increase of just 0.9%. Overall, in addition to an 18.2% decline in RevPAR, hotels in Doha suffered declines in ancillary revenues, including Food and Beverage (-11.2%) and Conference and Banqueting (-14.6%). As a result, TrevPAR (Total Revenue per Available Room) fell by 13.5% in 2016, to $297.41. In an attempt to recover profit, Doha hoteliers have slashed costs in Undistributed Operating Expenses, including Admin & General (-15.9%), Sales & Marketing (-11.7%) and Property & Maintenance (-18.2%). However, due to the ongoing decline in revenue, profit per room at hotels in Doha has now declined by approximately 30.0% in the 24 months to December 2016. Despite the 6.8% decline in 2016, market data suggests that Dubai hoteliers worked hard to claw back profit levels in Q2 by reducing costs. Hoteliers in Dubai have faced a number of issues which have negatively impacted top and bottom line performance in 2016, including significant additions to hotel supply, which included major projects, such as the 1,004-bedroom Westin Al Habtoor City and 828-bedroom Atana Tecom, as well as a migration to three-star hotel products and economic challenges led by the drop in oil prices. In the first half of the year, hotels in Dubai were succumbing to these pressures, during which period profit per room fell by 13.2%, which was primarily as a result of declining RevPAR (-11.3%) levels. However, by Q4 2016, hotels in Dubai had begun to claw back profit through costs savings, illustrated by the 0.7% increase in profit per room in the period from October to December 2016, which was achieved in spite of a 4.4% decline in RevPAR. For 2016 overall, although hotels in Dubai suffered a year-on-year profit decline of 6.8%, they successfully reduced their cost base with savings in Labour (+1.7%) and Overheads (+2.8%). Kuwait Relies Heavily on Volume to Minimise Profit Decline With average room rate levels spiralling downwards, hotels in Kuwait have worked hard to maintain room occupancy in order to minimise profit declines in 2016. Whilst hotels in Kuwait maintained achieved average room rate, but at the expense of a 3.7 percentage point decline in occupancy in the first half of 2016, the strategy of rate reduction in Q2 2016 enabled hotels in the city to recover much of the loss and record a 3.2 percentage point increase in occupancy, to 47.4%. The commercial segment remains challenging in Kuwait, with rate declines recorded in the residential conference (-15.5%) and corporate (-11.9%) segments in 2016 and falling revenues noted in the Food and Beverage (-35.9%) and Conference and Banqueting (-8.5%) departments. As a result, ancillary revenues now comprise 46.1% of total revenue, compared to 54.1% in 2015. Despite profit per room at Kuwait hotels declining by 18.7% year-on-year in 2016, which is further to the movement in 2014 (+0.5%) and 2015 (-2.1%), there have been positive signs in 2016. About HotStats HotStats provides monthly P&L benchmarking and market insight for the global hotel industry, collecting monthly detailed financial data from more than 8,500 hotels worldwide and over 100 different brands and independent hotels. HotStats provides more than 550 different KPIs covering all operating revenues, payroll, expenses, cost of sales and departmental and total hotel profitability. Sita Banigo Sales Executive HotStats Limited This year's Arabian Hotel Investment Conference (AHIC) will focus on diversification in the hospitality sector in response to the challenges faced by the region, according to the conclusions of a regional briefing in Doha in the run-up to the event. A review of asset management was also a key theme at the briefing in the Qatari capital, Doha, on 24 January, where some 40 hoteliers, hospitality investors and owners came together to shape the discussion at AHIC, which is running from 25 to 27 April 2017 at Madinat Jumeirah in Dubai. "The dominant issue at AHIC this year will be how the GCC hospitality sector can retain its attractiveness to investors in spite of all that is happening in the region," said Andrew Humphries, Chief Operating Officer of Katara Hospitality, who will be speaking at AHIC 2017. "Following the discussions here at the Doha regional briefing, I think that the diversification of the GCC hospitality sector will be a key theme at AHIC. It is essential that diversification happens at all levels and that we have flexibility in our business models. The traditional model is changing and a new model must be found. One that is more aggressive on the sales side and more thoughtful on the costs side, while retaining the best of what we have", said Humphries. Mohamed Al Mahmeed, Head of Tourism Investment Promotion at Qatar Tourism Authority, who apprised the delegates on the strides made by the authority in recent years and its plans for the future, said: "Qatar has a clear strategy to develop a sustainable tourism industry through 2030. The past year saw several key developments: the growth of the cruise tourism sector, measures to ease entry to Qatar - including the introduction of a new transit visa - and a new hotels grading and classification system. The focus for us moving forward is to support the diversification of the hospitality sector's offering and the development of new tourism products." Another key theme at AHIC, according to Saahil Lalit, Colliers International Associate Director, Hotels, will be asset management: "With revenues falling, we need to discuss how we can get more out of our properties." He went on to highlight the rise in popularity of Airbnb in the region, calling for the need for the region's hospitality sector to respond to the challenge of the newcomer "which can add significant volume to the market at short notice, and at low prices," he added. Commenting on the regional briefing's value to the Qatari hospitality sector, in preparation for the April AHIC conference, Amruda Nair, Joint Managing Director & CEO, Aiana Hotels & Resorts, said: "It was valuable to be given access to performance data and trends data from across the region, to hear about different approaches, and to be able to have a dialogue with authorities. "As an operator, it is great to be able to take a step back and get a big picture view. And in times of challenging market conditions, it is great to see how the industry can come together to respond. I think AHIC is an opportunity to look at investment criteria, and to discuss strategic collaboration between investors, operators, authorities and airlines," she said. The full programme for AHIC 2017 has now been launched and is available here. AHIC 2017 will bring together more than 700 hotel owners, investors, developers, operators, consultants and experts from professional services to debate the hospitality investment climate against a backdrop of global catalysts for change and the macroeconomic environment. The conference will feature panel sessions entitled: The MacroEconomic Outlook for Middle East Hospitality; Do You Need An International Brand?; An A-Z of Reflagging Your Hotel; The Investment Climate Warms Up to the Mid-Market; and Concepts for the GCC. Sessions specifically targeted at hospitality investors will tackle issues such as white label operations, asset management, alternative models of investment, how to exit a contract, overseas acquisitions, working with master developers and achieving ROI on F&B. For registrations and for more information, visit: www.arabianconference.com Source: MEED Source: MEED About AHIC 2021 AHIC, now in its 17th year, is the annual gathering for the Middle East's hospitality investment community organised by global hotel investment event organiser Bench in partnership with Middle East business intelligence brand, MEED. AHIC creates a knowledge and networking platform for global and regional investors of all backgrounds, offering essential insights to investing in hotels, showcasing regional and international hospitality investment opportunities and facilitating direct connections with hospitality industry stakeholders. AHIC 2021 will be held at Madinat Jumeirah in Dubai from 20 to 22 September under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed al Maktoum, Chairman of Dubai Airports, President of Dubai Civil Aviation Authority and Chairman and CEO of Emirates Airline and Group, whose continued support of the industry and AHIC has been critical to the region's tourism growth. AHIC 2021 Sponsors Sponsors include: Jumeirah Hotels & Resorts as Host Sponsor; Accor, Dur Hospitality, Hilton and SMIT as Platinum Sponsors; Emaar Hospitality Group, IHG, Marriott International, Millennium Hotels and Resorts, NEOM, Radisson Hotel Group, Rotana and Taiba Investments as Emerald Sponsors; Aleph Hospitality, Bespoke Modular Solutions, Colliers International, Compass Project Consulting, Farnek, HVS, The Indian Hotels Company, Insignia, IT Hospitality Group, Katch, Louvre Hotels Group, OBMI Architecture, SSH, STR, TIME Hotels, Toggle Hospitality and The London Project as Gold Sponsors; Al Tamimi and Company, Colliers Project Leaders, Deutsche Hospitality, Diriyah Gate Authority, Hotstats, JLL, MMAC Design, CHIC-NAIA, PWC, Roya, Shangri-La Group, The Red Sea Development Company, and Voltere by Egis as Silver Sponsors; The Emirates Academy of Hospitality Management, Hospitality Asset Managers Association, Sustainability Hospitality Alliance and WiH Global as Supporters; JA Resorts and Hotels as Golf Supporter; and Nespresso as Official Coffee Partner. Frances Barton Media Relations Director, In2 Consulting.com +971 4 455 8500 MEED GET OUR APP Our Spectrum News app is the most convenient way to get the stories that matter to you. Download it here. A single student out of 4,000 showed up on the first day of the new term at one high school in Bamenda, the English-speaking city at the heart of a deadly conflict in Cameroon over language in this bilingual West African country. Teachers have joined a strike led by lawyers resentful over the official use of French in the English- speaking part of the country. Recent protests have called for ghost town strikes in major cities. The government shut down the internet in the English-speaking region, digital advocacy group Access Now has said. Tensions are so high that 10 people were killed in demonstrations over language discrimination in Bamenda in December, according to a coalition of human rights groups based in the city. The government sent in 5,000 troops to stabilize the city. Two officials with the Cameroon Anglophone Civil Society Consortium have been charged with terrorism and rebellion against the state for their role in the recent protests and face the death penalty if convicted. The government has banned the consortiums activities. Another activist, Bibixy Mancho, faces the same charges. Amnesty International has called for the release of Nkongho Felix Agbor-Balla and Fontem Afortekaa Neba, saying that this flagrant disregard for basic rights risks inflaming an already tense situation. Hundreds have been arrested, including protesters who stopped the singing of the Cameroonian national anthem, dismissing it as a foreign song. Some hoisted a new flag, declaring that they are no longer part of French- speaking Cameroon. Longtime President Paul Biya has said he is open to negotiations but will never accept any attempts to destabilize national unity. Over the weekend, state media reported that teachers union leaders had agreed to suspend the strike and that classes would resume yesterday, though opposition outlets said the report was incorrect. As the strike continues, one student, 17-year-old Oben Ashu, said hes afraid his education and his future will be compromised. They should give us the room to go back to school and be studying while the government and the teachers sit down in a table and discuss how the problem can be solved, Ashu said. Cameroon is made up of areas that were once colonies of France and Britain until the early 1960s. English speakers constitute only 20 percent of Cameroons population, though the constitution says English and French should be equally important. But most official documents are still available only in French, and teachers with little English ability are often sent to English-language areas of the country. The protests began late last year when lawyers asked that French-speaking judges be transferred out of English-speaking regions, saying justice cannot be rendered when the judge, the lawyer and the suspect cannot communicate. When the lawyers requests were not granted, they went to the streets and refused to defend clients in court. Teachers also got involved, saying there is an overbearing influence of French in schools in the English- speaking regions. The impasse is frustrating students and parents who feel caught in the middle. I am just pleading, government help us, so that our children, Cameroonians of tomorrow, should go back to school so that this country should be stabilized and peaceful, said parent Ndip Victor. Bernard Okalia Bilai, governor of the southwest region, has warned the striking teachers that they will not receive their salaries unless they return to the classroom. In response, Cameroons government has ordered the recruitment of 1,000 bilingual teachers and the transferring of teachers out of the English-speaking region if they are not fluent in the language. Still, the chairman of Cameroons main opposition political party cautioned the president and his government against taking the situation too lightly, saying that if this thing stretches out it might be a little too dangerous for our country. Edwin Kindzeka Moki, Yaounde, AP Cambodias prime minister says raising Taiwans flag is banned because Cambodia follows the One China policy promoted by Beijing. Hun Sen, in a speech to the Cambodian-Chinese Association posted on his Facebook page, said he welcomes investment from Taiwanese businesspeople, but that respecting Chinese sovereignty means acknowledging Taiwan is a province of China. He said in his remarks, delivered Saturday, that Taiwans flag shouldnt be raised on its national day. Hun Sen, who has led his country for three decades, said this has always been his policy. He has in the past rebuffed Taiwanese efforts to open an official representative office in Cambodia, and reaffirmed that position in his speech. He also told his audience that Cambodia holds the same policy toward Tibet, recognizing Chinas sovereignty against claims for independence of what China calls the Tibet Autonomous Region. China is impoverished Cambodias key ally and economic partner. It has provided millions of dollars in aid and investment over the past decade, granted it tariff-free status on hundreds of trade items, and written off debt. In return, Cambodia supports China in international forums, including in Beijings ongoing territorial disputes with other Southeast Asian countries in the South China Sea. AP Princess Elizabeth has formally proclaimed herself Queen and Head of the Commonwealth and Defender of the Faith. Lords of the Council numbering 150 representatives from the Commonwealth, officials from the City of London including the Lord Mayor and other dignitaries witnessed the accession of the deceased kings eldest daughter this morning. The new monarch read an official Proclamation also ordered to be published declaring her reign as Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Second. Queen Elizabeth II read: By the sudden death of my dear father I am called to assume the duties and responsibilities of sovereignty. My heart is too full for me to say more to you today than I shall always work, as my father did throughout his reign, to advance the happiness and prosperity of my peoples, spread as they are all the world over. Her husband, Prince Philip of Greece, the Duke of Edinburgh, was also present at the 20 minute meeting at St Jamess Palace. The couple returned to the UK yesterday after cutting short a tour of the Commonwealth beginning in Kenya a week ago because of King George VIs sudden death on 6 February. After the Accession Declaration, at 1000 GMT, the new Queen held her first Privy Council meeting and her Proclamation was signed by the Lord Chancellor, the prime minister, and many other privy counsellors along with representatives of the Commonwealth and the City and the Lord Mayor of London. During the ceremonies the 25-year-old Queen also took an oath to assure the security of the Church of Scotland and approved several other Orders in Council. Other dignitaries formally announced the new sovereign across the UK and Commonwealth. In a statement this evening the Home Secretary, Sir David Fyfe, asked the nation for two minutes silence on 15 February when the late King will be buried at St Georges Chapel, Windsor. Courtesy BBC News In context King George VIs body lay in state in the Great Hall in Westminster from 11 February until the funeral. Many thousands of people queued for hours to pay their respects. His funeral was held on 15 February 1952. Queen Elizabeth IIs coronation was held in Westminster Abbey on 2 June 1953. In 2002 the Queen enjoyed a year of celebrations and special visits to commemorate 50 years on the British throne. The four members of the British hit band, the Beatles, have arrived in New York at the start of their first tour of the United States. The young men, with their now infamous mop-head hairstyles, stepped onto the tarmac at Kennedy Airport just after 1300 local time. There were more than 3,000 screaming teenagers at the airport. Many had skipped school or work. Some were in tears and some were carrying placards with phrases such as I love you, please stay. The Beatles first scheduled appearance will be on American television on Sunday on the Ed Sullivan show. He apparently booked them to appear after seeing the huge crowds who greeted their return to Heathrow from Sweden last October. More than 5,000 fans applied for tickets to be part of the audience for the live show only 750 were lucky enough to get them. The Beatles Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, John Lennon and George Harrison received maximum police protection, the kind of arrangement usually produced for kings and presidents. There were security barriers too, without which, the Beatles would almost certainly have been crushed by the throng of screaming women. Elsewhere in the United States, excitement over the Beatles arrival has reached almost fever-pitch. Their songs are playing constantly on radio stations, in shops and other places of work. Millions of Beatle records have already been sold and a company called Puritan Fashions Incorporated, which describes itself as the only exclusive official licensed manufacturer of Beatle wearing apparel is marketing T-shirts, sweat shirts, turtle-neck sweaters, tight-legged trousers, night shirts, scarves and jewellery inspired by the Beatles. Beatle wigs are also for sale at $2.99 each or the equivalent of one guinea. Courtesy BBC News In context The Beatles were the first British band to break into the American market. Their appearance on the Ed Sullivan show reportedly led to a dip in the crime rate to a 50-year low as 73 million people or 40% of Americans tuned into watch. They performed the songs All My Loving, Till There Was You, She Loves You, I Saw Her Standing There and I Want To Hold Your Hand. The band appeared twice on the Ed Sullivan show and their performances still rate as the second and third most-watched programmes in the history of US TV. Only the 1983 final episode of Korean war comedy MASH achieved more viewers In February 2004, the Beatles were given the Presidents Award at the Grammys to mark the 40th anniversary of what became known as Beatlemania. It was accepted by the widows of John Lennon and George Harrison, Yoko Ono and Olivia Harrison. Following the end of the Chinese New Year Holiday, Macaus Court of Final Appeal returned yesterday to the trial of the citys former top prosecutor, Ho Chio Meng, to conduct its 16th session. Six witnesses, including some prosecutors currently working at the Public Prosecutions Office (MP) who had also served under Ho, were called to provide their testimonies. In the morning, MP Assistant Prosecutor Vong Vai Va was the first to be called to the stand. He told the court his knowledge of a specific case, one among thousands of accusations against Ho. In particular, the court focused on agarwood pieces, which were originally seized by the Macau Customs Service (SA) and placed under the jurisdiction of the MP. These items were later found in Hos office, as well as a variety of other locations. Vong Vai Va claimed that Ho through the former Chief of Office of the Prosecutor General of the MP , Lai Kin Ian had instructed Vong to study whether the agarwood case involved criminal elements, and to retrieve some of the wood in order to test it. Vong said he had not suspected Ho of any ulterior motives because, in the past, it was normal for the MP to undertake such investigations. Vong added that he had gone to the 16th floor of the Hotline Center building accompanied by prosecutor Ip Son Sang, where they found some of the agarwood in Ho Chio Mengs office. At the time, Ho was under investigation by the Commission Against Corruption (CCAC). He subsequently delivered two bags of agarwood to Ip Son Sang. The second witness, Wu Hio, has been a prosecutor since 2000. Wu was responsible for one of the two cases relating to the agarwood. According to Wu, he had been assigned to deal with a case involving a tonne of agarwood. Wu, like Vong, said that it was typical for the MP to retrieve large numbers of agarwood pieces for investigation in similar cases, even when Customs would say that the case was simply about administrative infractions. Wu added that, as the person in charge of the case, he had never signed any document that would have allowed someone to remove agarwood pieces from the confiscation site. He affirmed that anyone who wanted to remove any pieces would have had to secure his approval. At the time, some MP staff told Wu that certain individuals had taken some of the seized agarwood out of storage, although Wu claimed he had never believed these comments. Wu said it was only when he visited the Hotline Center with Ip Son Sang and other MP staff that he realized that some of the agarwood had indeed been removed. According to Wu, it was eventually determined that Ho himself had taken out the wood. However, Wu noted that Ho had never once admitted to having been the one who had taken the agarwood pieces. Wu also told the judge that the former top prosecutor had never lodged any formal paperwork to ensure his participation in the agarwood case. When the morning trial finished, Ho claimed that he did not know the agarwood cases were associated with criminal elements, and that was the reason he requested the Customs service forward the wood to MP. He also said the agarwood pieces he returned had mixed fake items with real ones. He also pointed out that the real pieces could not be sold and must be destroyed unless they are used for exhibitions or educational purposes. During the trial, Wu mentioned that Ho talked to Ip Son Sang alone. In response to this Ho said I will not disclose what I talked about with Ip Son Sang. It would be better if he is willing to [testify] for me. Ho added that the agarwood cases were complicated. The session resumed at 3 p.m. in the afternoon with four more witnesses called to the stand, including another person to whom Ho handed some agarwood pieces. This person had also transported the agarwood artworks from the MP storage to Ho. The third witness, who was also responsible for the agarwood confiscations, said he had found it abnormal that confiscated material had been taken out of MP storage. He said he had always asked individuals to return items and affirmed that unless people are investigating related cases, they should not be granted access to the apprehended material no matter their official rank. The witness also claimed that he reported the absence of the seized material to his higher official, Vong Vai Va, right after the MP saw changes in its leadership. The last witness, Leong Weng Tak, the chief of the division of judiciary and technician department at the MP, was the individual who removed the agarwood from the MP storage on two occasions (Ho allegedly obtained the agarwood pieces oin both cases). Leong said that it was Lai Kin Ian who had instructed him to retrieve the agarwood, and that Ho told him to bring the wood to the MP office on the 16th floor of the Hotline Center. Leong claimed that Ho Chio Meng had never told him to pick up a specific kind of wood, although he said he was given a specific figure for the number of pieces he should bring to Ho. Leong told the judge that when he obtained the wood for Ho, he did not believe that Ho was breaking the law. Leong revealed he had visited the Hotline Centers Teachers Training Room fewer than 20 times. However, when asked by Hos lawyer whether or not he was familiar with several individuals including the names of prosecutors from Guangdong province and judiciary officials from Beijing Leong admitted to knowing most of the people, despite never having seen them in the Teachers Training Room. When the afternoon session finished, Ho said that Leong did not provide the whole story regarding the questions he was asked. The 16th floor is a place everyone tries to avoid, commented Ho. The former top prosecutor reiterated the difficulty of finding people to testify for him, saying he had trouble finding willing witnesses. The Mafia stronghold of Corleone has produced another godfather saga, but this one is unlikely to end up as a movie. A bishop in Sicily is contesting a parish priests decision to allow the son of Italys most notorious mobster to become his nieces godfather during a baptism ceremony in December. Archbishop Michele Pennisi was quoted last week by the news agency ANSA as saying that neither he nor the Vatican hierarchy had been informed the Corleone priests plans to allow Giuseppe Salvatore Salvo Riina the son of Salvatore Toto Riina to become a godfather in the Catholic Church. A godfather must be the guarantor of the faith, must set an example with his actions. I am not aware that the young man has ever expressed words of repentance for his conduct, Pennisi said, in comments confirmed by his office. Pennisis position is in close alignment with the Vatican. During a trip to Calabria in 2014, Pope Francis declared that all mobsters are automatically excommunicated from the Catholic Church. More recently, the archbishop in southern Reggio Calabria-Bova, Giuseppe Fiorini Morosini, has requested permission to suspend the practice of assigning godparents in a bid to avoid creating conflict around the sacrament of baptism. The elder Riina was captured in 1993 after years as a fugitive, and is serving a life sentence after being convicted of several murders. The younger Riina served an eight-year sentence for Mafia association, and was not permitted to return to his hometown, Corleone, to live upon his release six years ago. Instead, he was assigned to live in the northern city of Padua, where his release terms restrict his movements, forcing him to obtain permission from a judge to travel for the baptism. Corleone is the ancestral home and surname of the title characters in The Godfather films. Colleen Barry, Milan, AP A Chinese navy task force has wrapped up visits to four Persian Gulf states as the increasingly capable maritime force grows its presence in the strategically vital region. The three ships departed Kuwait this weekend after stopping in Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, the Defense Ministry said on its website yesterday. They had previously completed an assignment escorting commercial shipping and patrolling for pirates in the Gulf of Aden, the 24th Chinese task force to be dispatched for such duties since China joined the multinational effort in December 2008. Chinas navy has used the patrols to build its capacity to operate far from home ports and expand its use of the military as a tool of diplomacy following the model of other major nations. In its report, the ministry said the visits aimed to stir interest in Chinas project to link European and Asian economies along the ancient Silk Road land and sea routes. In addition, the deployments have prompted Beijing to build a logistics and support center in Djibouti that is widely considered to be Chinas first overseas military base. The Horn of Africa nation already hosts U.S., French and Japanese bases for logistical support and to facilitate African military operations. Japan, Chinas longtime Asian rival, is now seeking to expand its Djibouti facility as a counterweight to Chinas presence, Japanese media report. The patrols have also given China ready access to the Mediterranean, and, in 2011, it took the unprecedented step of sending one of its most sophisticated warships together with military transport aircraft to help in the evacuation of about 35,000 Chinese citizens from Libya. In 2015, China detached three navy ships from the anti-piracy patrols to rescue Chinese citizens and other foreign nationals from fighting in Yemen. The same year, it took part in its first Mediterranean joint naval exercises with Russia. The Chinese task force making the recent visits consists of the guided-missile destroyer Harbin, the guided-missile frigate Handan and the supply ship Dongpinghu. AP In his debut abroad as the first retired general to lead the Pentagon in more than half a century, Jim Mattis found that in Japan and South Korea his experience in uniform is seen as an asset. Not everyone who knows Mattis well in the U.S. shares that view, but he clearly was an instant hit in northeast Asia. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was effusive in his endorsement as the two shook hands before a phalanx of Japanese and international news reporters and cameras. I was very encouraged, Abe said, to see someone like you who has substantial experience, both in the military and in security, defense and diplomacy, taking this office. Mattis won easy confirmation by the U.S. Senate just hours after President Donald Trumps swearing in on Jan. 20. But some had questioned the wisdom of breaking a long American tradition of picking defense secretaries with primarily civilian backgrounds. In fact it has been more than a tradition. There is a legal prohibition on appointing a defense secretary who has not been out of uniform for at least seven years. Mattis retired from a 41-year career in the Marine Corps in 2013. The Congress had to pass a bill making a one-time exception for Mattis, who was widely praised as a thoughtful, level-headed leader. The only other time in history that such an exception was made was for George C. Marshall, the former Army chief of staff who had served as secretary of state before President Harry Truman picked him as defense secretary in September 1950, at a crucial point in the just-started Korean War. Abe noted that Mattiss military career included a stint on Okinawa, which the U.S. returned to Japanese control in 1972 based on an agreement signed a year earlier to end the postwar period of U.S. military control. So I believe that you are quite familiar with the situation surrounding Japan, he said. In Seoul, where civilian control of the military has a mixed history, Mattiss counterpart, Han Min Koo, portrayed him as a kindred spirit. Han told reporters he knew why they were able to forge a bond in their very first meeting. I believe this was possible because we both served as active-duty servicemen for 40-plus years, Han said. Mattis was not shy, either, about highlighting his military background. In Tokyo he recalled training in Okinawa and elsewhere in Japan as a newly minted lieutenant in 1972. He said he made Japanese acquaintances that have lasted a lifetime. Asia is hardly Mattiss forte, however. He spent the bulk of his career focused on the Middle East, including combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. He also served as NATO supreme allied commander, focused on Europe, from 2007 to 2009. In picking Mattis, 66, to lead the Pentagon, Trump seemed enamored of the generals popular nickname, Mad Dog, as if this served as a warning to the world not to mess with America. Mattis, however, insists that the nickname was a media invention that he does not embrace. He certainly came across as anything but mad or rabid on his visits to Japan and South Korea. He was a picture of sober restraint at his several public appearances, including a news conference Saturday in Tokyo. He expressed caution on Iran, saying its adventurism did not mean the U.S. should send more military forces to the Middle East. And he called for diplomacy to address Chinas militarization of disputed islands and land formations in the South China Sea. Even some of his biggest admirers have questioned, however, whether he is the right man for Trumps Pentagon. One such skeptic is Erin Simpson, a noted defense strategist who wrote about a prospective Secretary Mattis last fall, before he had been selected. Not only does the role of secretary of defense not play to Mattis strengths, she wrote, but success in that role would compromise much of what we admire most in him: his bluntness, clarity and single-minded focus on war fighting. The secretarys job is by necessity much more political than all that. Robert Burns, Tokyo, AP The isolationist trend in the foreign policy of the new US administration, particularly towards Africa, has led some analysts to predict that the Chinese One Belt, One Road strategy will take on an even greater role on that continent. After initial contacts with the State Department President Donald Trumps team was skeptical about the effectiveness of competing with Chinas cooperation programs with Africa, in particular the African Growth Opportunity Act (AGOA), several public appeals have been made calling for the program to be kept, which includes all African Portuguese-speaking countries. According to Calton Cadeado, lecturer and researcher at the Institute of International Relations in Maputo, Africa will have to show its strategic value to the new administration, in order for Washington not to reduce investment. However, the researcher said in recent statements to the Voice of America, if Trump leaves [Africa], the other competitors will not leave [] and will gain space. Manuel Ennes Ferreira, a researcher from the Institute of Economics and Management, in Lisbon, said that, despite the small weight of Africas trade relations with the United States, the impact of isolationist policies will have an effect on the continent. The suspension of trade agreements that have been announced may be extended to AGOA. The consequences will be a decrease in African exports to the US due to the customs barriers going back up, wrote the researcher in an article published in Portuguese weekly Expresso. More complicated in the long-term for the US, he added, is the One Belt, One Road, strategy whose maritime route will have a link point in Kenya, with a center for expansion into the interior of the continent based on the standard gauge railroad, costing USD3.8 billion, which should be completed in 2017. The Chinese proposal also includes funding corridors of rail, road and energy infrastructure, connecting to neighboring countries (Burundi, DR Congo, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda), projects under a package of $60 billion pledged by China in December 2015. These projects says Ennes Ferreira, will stimulate Inter-African and international trade and the One Belt, One Road strategy will have an easier life if the United States turn its back on the world. Lauren A. Johnston, of the Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research, noted in a recent article how Justin Lin, former chief economist of the World Bank, translated the opportunity for Africa in building long overdue projects created by the One Belt, One Road initiative. Johnston said that regardless of Africas autonomous performance, Chinas initiative is attracting global attention to the vast potential for development of the continent, which has less developed economies but many young people, when most OECD countries and even the Group of 20 have ageing populations. Even at the current time of crisis experienced in African countries, Chinas support has remained firm, as has been the case for Angola, for example. The Economist Intelligence Unit has said that China is the predominant origin of $11.5 billion in foreign debt contracted by Angola since November 2015, allowing the country to bridge the gap caused by the fall in oil prices. The Angolan government will continue to seek Chinas loans to allow it to continue with many capital expenditure programs, for example the construction of roads and power plants, the EIU said. MDT/Macauhub Increased military pressure on the Islamic State (IS) in Syria and Iraq could see hundreds of Indonesian, Filipino and Malaysian insurgents head back to their Southeast Asian homes and heighten the threat of a terror attack in the region, according to analysts. This could include the possibility of a terror attack in Macau. The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) in Southeast Asia and the Pacific estimates that there are around 500 Indonesians, 100 Filipinos and 100 Malaysians currently fighting as insurgents in Syria and Iraq. The office has previously stated that militants losing ground in the Middle East might consider returning to Southeast Asia, which includes many who will want to pursue violent jihad in the region. Macau is among the potential targets in the region for Islamic terrorist attacks, according to Hong Kong- based risk consultancy Steve Vickers and Associates. The group repeated its 2016 warning in a report last month which stated that the city remains vulnerable. The 2017 Annual Asia Risk Assessment, published by the organization, stated: An understated threat [to Macau] is terrorism. Macau represents a unique agglomeration of Chinese, American and Jewish interests, engaged alongside triad societies in an activity [gambling] that Islamists deem sinful. Worse, the city is vulnerable. Two influential people in Macau, Steve Wynn and Sheldon Adelson, are both Jewish, and the latter has close ties with both Israeli president Benjamin Netanyahu and U.S. president Donald Trump. Though neither casino tycoon is based in the city, both own multibillion-dollar integrated resorts in Macau that could be potential targets. Citing an anonymous security insider, Hong Kongs South China Morning Post claims that the Macau International Airport is considered a weak link in the chain when it comes to the MSARs external security. The airport connects Macau to various Southeast Asian destinations, including Malaysia and the Philippines. In January 2016, in response to the report issued by Steve Vickers and Associates, the director of the Judiciary Police (PJ) stated that although the threat of an Islamic terrorist attack in Macau remained low, contingency measures were being planned. PJ director Chau Wai Kuong explained the citys security forces had been developing mechanisms to respond to such an event with the cooperation of Hong Kong and mainland authorities. We are actively carrying out preventive measures such as collecting data and participating in joint anti-terror drills with police forces in Hong Kong, mainland China, and even Guangdong Province, Chau said. Vickers outlook for greater China The 2017 Annual Asia Risk Assessment, published last month by specialist risk and security consultancy Steve Vickers and Associates, included a summary of the major challenges facing the greater China region. The report noted that for mainland China, the countrys tightening political climate and rising economic nationalism could mean brewing instability. Moreover, tensions with Taiwan exacerbated by the rhetoric of the new U.S. administration could present an enduring strain for Beijing-Taipei relations in 2017. In relation to the two Special Administrative Regions, Macau is deemed likely to fare much better than its sister SAR. Dissent and the intensification of the localism movement in Hong Kong will entrench both the positions of the local government and the protestors, the report predicted. Together with a general weakening of the rule of law and greater intervention from Beijing, the instability may present moderate risks to investors this year. Meanwhile, Macau will face relative political stability and a reviving economy in 2017, even if the slim chance of a terrorist attack on casinos persists. TAIWAN Seeking to revive its long-dormant aerospace industry, Taiwan yesterday launched a USD2.1 billion investment in the production of air force jet trainers to be designed and manufactured on the island to counter Chinese military and diplomatic pressure. PHILIPPINES President Rodrigo Duterte berated more than 200 policemen accused of a variety of offenses, threatening on national television yesterday that he would send them to a southern island to fight militants dreaded for beheading captives. The policemen from metropolitan Manila are accused of a range of offenses, including extortion, illegal arrests and personal drug use. THAILANDs king has named a new supreme patriarch to head the countrys Buddhist order, ending a deadlock that left the position empty for more than three years. The law was changed in December to allow the king sole authority to appoint the supreme patriarch. AUSTRALIA An Australian senator and outspoken supporter of President Donald Trump announced yesterday he will start a new political party to appeal to disenfranchised conservatives. Bernardi told the Senate he had resigned from the party to start his new party called Australian Conservatives. PAKISTAN has extended the deadline for its 1.5 million registered Afghan refugees to return home, saying they can remain through the end of this year. Authorities have not said what they plan to do once the deadline expires. ISRAEL The United Nations Mideast envoy said yesterday a new Israeli law legalizing dozens of unlawful West Bank settler outposts crossed a very thick red line, while Israeli rights groups said they would fight to overturn the measure in the Supreme Court. FRANCE Former French president Nicolas Sarkozy was ordered yesterday to stand trial in an inquiry into alleged campaign finance fraud during his failed 2012 re-election bid, the Paris prosecutors office said. LITHUANIA More than 1,000 NATO soldiers being stationed in Lithuania sends a clear signal that the alliance stands strong and united in the Baltics in the face of Russian aggression, the Lithuanian president said yesterday. PERU A major corruption scandal shaking politicians across Latin America continued spreading across the region yesterday as Perus attorney general announced he would seek the arrest of former President Alejandro Toledo (pictured) on charges of laundering of assets and influence trafficking. BOISE (AP) Gov. C.L. "Butch" Otter has said Maj. Gen. Gary Sayler will continue serving as the commanding officer of the Idaho National Guard despite no longer being the state's federally recognized adjutant general. Otter said in an interview last week that the federal government denied his request to extend Sayler's federally recognized status in January. However, Sayler will continue leading the Idaho National Guard until the end of the fiscal year in June. Otter said he is looking for a replacement for Sayler. This is the second time Otter has requested the federal governor for an extension for Sayler, who joined the Idaho Air National Guard in 1977, to continue serving as adjutant general. Otter's one-year request was granted in 2015. The U.S. military has a mandatory retirement age of 65 for generals, but it can be extended upon request. Sayler turned 65 in 2015. The governor's office declined releasing the denial letter it received from U.S. Department of Defense on Jan. 6, saying the matter was a personnel issue. "He's doing a great job, that's why I wanted him to stay on," said Otter, who appointed Sayler to the position in 2010. Under Idaho, an adjutant general must be a federally recognized commissioned officer to be appointed to the position, but there is no state requirement for maintenance of federal recognition. As adjutant general, Sayler is Otter's senior military advisor, commands the Idaho Army and Air National Guard, oversees the Idaho Bureau of Homeland Security and is a member of the governor's cabinet. Losing federal recognition means the Department of Defense considers Sayler as a retired military officer and he no longer travels on the federal dime. He can attend out-of-state conferences and other events under a state-recognized status. Adjutant generals are appointed by governors in most U.S. states, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. BOISE Parents could write a simple letter rather than fill out a state form to opt their children out of vaccines under a bill introduced Monday in the Idaho Legislature. The state already lets parents enrolling their children into school opt out of vaccinating them for either medical, religious or philosophical reasons by filling out a form. In 2014 Idaho had the highest opt-out rate in the country. A group that supports alternative health care wants to make it even easier. A bill proposed by Health Freedom Idaho would specify that a letter from a parent or guardian is sufficient to opt out of immunization. The group says its proposal would put Idaho law in better line with the original intent of the statute the law says parents need to opt out with a signed statement, but it doesnt specify they have to use a form like the one the Department of Health and Welfare uses now. The current form asks parents to initial next to a list of 10 vaccines to acknowledge not immunizing your child puts them at increased risk. We feel like this is the opinion of the department that does not necessarily line up with our own research, said Sarah Clendenon, a Health Freedom Idaho representative who spoke to lawmakers about the bill. Miste Karfeldt, another Health Freedom Idaho representative, said the decision on whether to vaccinate should be made between a family and their doctor and not be influenced by the state. I wouldnt say thats the responsibility of this form, she said. I dont think the statute indicates that its supposed to be the responsibility of the department. The Senate Health and Welfare Committee voted to introduce the bill, with the only No vote coming from the panels lone Democrat, Maryanne Jordan. Sen. Dan Foreman, R-Moscow, praised DHW for trying to safeguard peoples health but said theres nothing in the law requiring the use of the current form. I think the code is pretty simple, its pretty straightforward, its pretty clear, he said. Foreman suggested giving out educational literature on vaccinations to parents after they turn in an opt-out form. They can make a paper airplane out of it and throw it away, or they can read it, he said. Its up to them. Clendenon said they had tried to work with DHW on the form but the department was very unsympathetic to the concerns of Idaho parents. DHW spokesman Tom Shanahan said he had not yet seen the legislation, but in any discussion about vaccine exemptions we think it is important for parents to fully understand the possible consequences an exemption can have on the health of their child. Scientific studies have repeatedly shown that children who do not receive vaccines are more likely to catch the illnesses vaccines are designed to eliminate. Despite concerns from alternative-medicine advocates, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends the use of immunizations to curb childhood diseases. We want parents considering an exemption to do so carefully and thoughtfully, which the exemption form can help them do, Shanahan continued. Also, from feedback we have received, schools like a standardized form so no questions arise about a childs exemption. TWIN FALLS Chobani is one of more than 90 companies that have filed to back lawsuits fighting President Donald Trumps executive orders on refugees and Muslims. The Greek yogurt company has about 1,000 employees in Twin Falls, including 300 refugees. Apple, Google and other big companies are pushing back in court against the temporary travel ban, calling it unconstitutional, un-American and bad for the economy. The companies filed briefs Sunday to back lawsuits from Washington state and Minnesota fighting Trumps travel ban. The ban keeps refugees and travelers from seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the U.S. A company spokeswoman confirmed Chobanis participation in the opposition, but declined to comment for this story. In a letter Chobani founder and CEO Hamdi Ulukaya sent to employees last week, he said the company would provide assistance to employees and family members who may be affected by the order. Well have their backs every day and every step of the way, he said in the letter, obtained by the Times-News. Chobani hires people from more than 19 countries, Ulukaya wrote, and the company works to uphold American values. Ulukaya is a Kurdish Muslim and an immigrant from Turkey. Im confident and optimistic that this country will remain not only a symbol but a place of hope, opportunity and inclusion that its been for so many of us, he said. Trump has said his Jan. 27 executive order is necessary to prevent radical Islamic terrorists from coming to the U.S. The White House did not respond to a request for comment Monday. Federal judges from the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals were set to hear arguments Tuesday from the Trump administration and its opponents. The administration argues the president has the power to decide who can come into or stay in the U.S. Opposed state, however, argue that the ban is unconstitutional. The court decision will come later this week. The case could end up before the Supreme Court, but the travel ban is set to expire in 90 days. The 97 companies are mostly in the technology industry and include social media companies Facebook Inc. and Twitter Inc. Non-tech companies participating include Chobani and jeans-seller Levi Strauss & Co. The states of Washington and Minnesota also have lawsuits fighting Trumps ban, which affects refugees and travelers from seven Muslim-majority countries. TWIN FALLS When she returned to southern Idaho from Washington in 2015, Ashley DuBois was discouraged by her options for clothes shopping. As a woman wearing plus-sizes, she felt like she had nowhere to shop for fashionable clothing that fit her. And she knew that she wasnt alone there were other women just like her who felt the same way. We dont like to look frumpy and old, she said. We like to look classy and sexy. So she pitched a business idea to her mother, Debra Bradley. HiPs, 239 Main Ave. W., opened about a month later on a whim, when DuBois took over a building lease for someone she knew. At HiPs, the owners aim to boost womens confidence in their bodies. Were not about body shaming, DuBois said. Were about body positivity all around. . . Theyre not our customers, theyre our BFFs. On Friday, Twin Falls resident Brandy Lewis explored the shop for the first time, searching for something nice to wear for Valentines Day. Ive always had trouble buying clothes, especially cute clothes, she said. Lewis found what she was looking for, and said she was pleased at not having to go to Boise or Idaho Falls for it. HiPs mostly carries sizes 10 to 3X, but the store has some styles in 4X to 6X and pants sizes 14 to 28. DuBois and Bradley like to experiment by trying on clothes themselves and helping women with body shapes from pear to apple to extreme hourglass. Prices range from $9.95 to $49.95, with clearance items $5 and up. DuBois describes the selection as big-city fashion at small-town prices. The store recently launched an intimates line for romantic apparel. The owners are planning a sale of 30 percent off through Valentines Day. Other items in-store include costume jewelry and DuBois own handmade, steampunk jewelry. The mother and daughter have come a long way from DuBois first job, when she worked for Bradley at a restaurant in Hagerman. She made it horrible, she said. It was tough love. Bradley, who can often be found sitting outside the shop, said she was glad to be able to give her daughter a hand. A lot of people thought it would be a strain on our relationship, but it hasnt, she said. We dont like to look frumpy and old. We like to look classy and sexy. Ashley DuBoise, HiPs co-owner BOISE Idaho Fish and Game commissioners will consider doubling the amount of money available to compensate landowners for crop damage caused by deer, elk and other wildlife. Commissioner Dan Blanco of Moscow said the commission directed the Idaho Department of Fish and Game on Feb. 2 to prepare a proposal that would lift the ceiling on the depredation fund from $750,000 to $1.5 million. Increasing the limit would require legislation, either as a standalone bill or an addition to the departments stalled fee increase package. Blanco said the department also is exploring other measures that could help prevent crop damage. Commissioners and the leadership of the department are scrambling to find a way to appease Rep. Marcus Gibbs of Grace, who has refused to print legislation that would increase hunting and fishing fees by $1 to $6 and keep the department flush with cash. In January, Gibbs, a former Fish and Game commissioner, said the department wont get a fee increase until unspecified problems with its depredation program are fixed. Gibbs declined to name specific problems or solutions but suggested to the Spokesman-Review that allowing landowners to sell their hunting tags or to increase the number of prime hunting tags the state sells at auction might be acceptable. Idaho hunters have routinely said they oppose both measures, and Blanco said neither was discussed at Thursdays meeting, which was conducted via conference call. Commission chairman Brad Corkill of Cataldo said the department is exploring a number of options to improve the depredation program. Mike Keckler, communications director for Fish and Game at Boise, said the department will unveil its proposals to the commission this week during a planned conference call. During the legislative session the commission meets by phone at 7 a.m. each Thursday. Those who wish to listen to the calls can do so at the departments regional offices but must make arrangements ahead of time. Every year the department deposits $200,000 in money generated by the sale of hunting and fishing licenses into the depredation account and also transfers about $50,000 in interest money into the account from a separate fund. The depredation account has a cap of $750,000. When it grows above that figure, money is transferred to other accounts. The first $100,000 above the $750,000 ceiling is used to improve access to hunting and fishing. Anything above that is transferred to a predator control fund. The account currently holds just under $800,000. Former commissioner Keith Carlson of Lewiston said hunters and anglers should be given a chance to comment on any proposals that would spend their money. It is inherently bad in my view if you dont let the public know what you are doing with their money, he said. Brian Brooks of the Idaho Wildlife Federation said there are a number of tools available to both compensate landowners and proactively reduce crop damage. He said hunters wont back anything that expands auction tags or allows landowners to sell the tags they receive from the state. He also worried that too much money from the fee increase bill will be siphoned off to the depredation program. If we are going to fight for a fee increase and the Legislature is going to take it and put it in the depredation fund, we are back to round one. TWIN FALLS The U.S. Bureau of Land Management has appointed new and returning members to its Twin Falls District Resource Advisory Council, the agency announced Monday. The citizen volunteer group advises the BLM on public land management issues. Members are: Mike Henslee of Hagerman, a returning member and federal grazing permittee; Brad Ford of Soda Springs, environmental organization; Shell Howard of Twin Falls, dispersed recreation; Tom Courtney of Twin Falls, a returning member representing the public at large; and Hunter Osborne of Pocatello, tribal interests. The BLM has 29 RACs around the western United States, where most BLM-managed land is located. TWIN FALLS The Magic Valley YMCA will begin renegotiating its agreement to manage the city pool. The City Council voted 6-0 Monday to allow the organization to begin that process, though it is still unclear what those changes would look like. A YMCA board member was not prepared to go into the specifics at the meeting. We would like to clarify the roles and responsibility of the city and the YMCA and ensure that the concessionary agreement is sustainable into the future and provides better services to the community, Hattie Zobott said. Councilwoman Ruth Pierce asked staff about the citys obligations and whether it would have to work through the contract term, expiring in August 2018, or when the city could consider putting out a bid. I believe the time to determine whether or not the city wants to find a different partner or go a different direction may occur at some point in the future, City Manager Travis Rothweiler said. Not necessarily as a part of this process. The city has no obligation to alter the contract. I do believe it is important to have a quality conversation to understand what the Y may be proposing, Rothweiler said. At that point, staff may make a recommendation regarding the citys best interests, he said. Twin Falls pays the Magic Valley YMCA $120,000 a year to operate and manage the pool, and the organization collects fees from pool users. Resident John Twiss, who used to manage the pool for the YMCA, said he had some concerns about where his fees were going. It doesnt seem $1 goes back into that pool besides what the city puts into it, and really its a golden goose, he said. Its time for a better vision. Theres a million opportunities to make that serve the people better. In preliminary estimates, the Y had a net income of $414,304 at the city pool between January and October of 2016. Pool visits were up from the previous year. But in December, the YMCA cut pool hours during the school year. Public safety complex The City Council toured the future public safety administration and City Hall buildings prior to the meeting, receiving an update on construction. Administration will move in March 6. The police patrol will shortly thereafter move into the building for a temporary space while its building is under construction. Its on schedule, Project Superintendent Doug Cooper said about the administration building. Well be pushing. The weather didnt help much. The City Hall is awaiting steel joists to go into place, but the structural upgrades are ongoing at all levels, said Jason Derricott, project manager with Starr Corp., the general contractor. The City Hall should be complete by the first week of October, Derricott said. Also at the meeting: The mayor swore in five of the citys newest police officers and recognized 14 officers for certifications. The Council voted to repeal Chapter 2 of Title 3 of the Twin Falls City Code, which deals with licensing of hotels and rooming houses. CALDWELL John David Wurdemann has always maintained his innocence in the attempted murder in 2000 of a motorist passing through Canyon County. Wurdemann and three other people were accused of beating the woman, robbing her, setting her car on fire and leaving her for dead outside Caldwell. He was convicted of conspiracy, attempted murder, robbery and kidnapping. But in 2015, a judge decided Wurdemann, now 46, had inadequate defense in his initial trial and freed him, setting up a path to a new trial. Now hes behind bars again. Oregon State Police say they arrested Wurdemann on Saturday evening after he attempted to flee officers who sought to arrest him on outstanding warrants. Wurdemann, of Twin Falls, was in the company of another Twin Falls resident: 22-year-old Stormy Raine Allen, now in the Malheur County Jail. Both are charged in Oregon with attempting to elude law enforcement and being felons in possession of a firearm, both felonies. In addition, Allen is charged with hindering prosecution, tampering with evidence, offensive littering and interfering with a police officer. Wurdemann faces charges of reckless driving and recklessly endangering another. But the biggest consequences could come in Idaho, where he allegedly violated the terms of his release set in 2015. Canyon County spokesman Joe Decker confirmed one of the outstanding warrants described by OSP as a homicide warrant was from the 2000 assault. The other warrant was out of Twin Falls for unlawful possession of a firearm. It wasnt immediately clear Monday what specific action by Wurdemann violated his terms of release. That allegation comes as the Idaho Supreme Court weighs whether to uphold the decision that freed him. According to OSP, officers had reason to believe that Wurdemann, who was known to have violent tendencies and to abuse drugs, could be traveling on U.S. 20 between Burns and Ontario in a blue Ford F-150 pickup. A vehicle matching that description was found parked off the shoulder of that highway near milepost 163. When law enforcement approached the vehicle, the driver accelerated and fled eastbound. Police said the driver fled recklessly, reaching speeds between 50 and 100 mph and often traveling into oncoming lanes of traffic and into the path of other vehicles. Numerous items, including a loaded firearm, were thrown from the vehicle and later recovered by the Harney County Sheriffs Office. The Malheur County Sheriffs Office deployed spike strips around milepost 216, flattening both drivers side tires and causing the vehicle to slow and eventually veer off the road into a snowdrift, police said. Its not yet known how soon Wurdemann might be returned to Idaho. Register for more free articles. Sign up for our newsletter to keep reading. Sign up for our Crime & Courts newsletter Get the latest in local public safety news with this weekly email. Sign up! Already a Subscriber? Already a Subscriber? Sign in Terms of Service Privacy Policy TWIN FALLS A Twin Falls judge sentenced a Filer man to 20 years in prison and said he was fortunate to be alive after shooting at a sheriffs sergeant during a November chase. You ought to thank him for not killing you, District Judge Randy Stoker told Skylar Wade Meade last week. Ive never been a police officer but Ive got to tell you, if I was a police officer and somebody started shooting at me, the only question would be how many times do I fire back? Youre lucky to be sitting here. Meade, 24, pleaded guilty last Wednesday to aggravated assault on Sgt. Rick Beem, with an enhanced penalty for the use of a deadly weapon. As part of a plea deal, he agreed to a 20-year prison sentence, with eligibility for parole after 10 years. Twin Falls County Sheriff Tom Carter was pleased with the sentence and praised Beems restraint in the situation. Sgt. Beem is a professional, and he acted like a professional that night, Carter said Monday. He made a determination that he was going to affect an arrest without shooting him. Thats good. The shooting happened about 8 p.m. on Nov. 4 when Meade turned a simple traffic infraction into an eluding situation, Twin Falls County Deputy Prosecutor Stan Holloway said in court last week. And in the course of that eluding, Mr. Meade fired several shots at Deputy Beem. Beem wrote in a sworn affidavit he attempted to stop Meades Ford Taurus on U.S. 30 between Filer and Twin Falls. Meade fled toward Filer, reaching speeds up to 90 mph, before Beem reported seeing and hearing three distinct muzzle flashes that appeared to be aimed in my direction. Beem backed off the chase in fear that I may be struck or that there would be more gun shots and that they could be aimed at upcoming homes or vehicles in the area. But Meade lost control of the Taurus a short time later, got out of the car and fled. He gave up after running only 20 yards. He put his hands up in the air shouting I give up as he laid down onto his stomach, Beem wrote. I then held Skylar at gun point until backup arrived. Meade denied firing the shots and was arrested without a gun on him, but deputies found the weapon while searching the scene a few days later. A felon who was released from prison about eight months before the shooting, Meade also pleaded guilty Wednesday to felony counts of methamphetamine possession, unlawful possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, and possession of a shank inside the Twin Falls County Jail. Jail deputies believed Meade planned to use the shank, fashioned from a toothbrush, to stab a deputy for credibility in a white supremacist prison gang. During sentencing, Stoker warned Meade to behave better in prison than he did in jail. If you continue with that kind of conduct in the Idaho State Penitentiary, youre not going to get out in 10 years, youll be there for 20, Stoker said. I think thats something that you really need to think about. Meade made a short statement directed to Beem, who attended the hearing but did not speak. Id just like to apologize to Mr. Beem, Meade said. I understand its not acceptable in any way to do what I did or any part of what I did, put any lives in danger, as well as yours. I apologize for that. Meades attorney, Deputy Public Defender Sam Beus, said Meade made a rationale decision in accepting the plea deal, but added his client fired the gun as a warning. He was not aiming at the deputy, Beus said. He was trying to send a message of back off, leave me alone. Holloway told Stoker the 10 to 20 year sentence was appropriate because of Meades criminal history. He said Meade escaped juvenile custody in Tennessee, absconded to Idaho, and was arrested in 2010 at age 18 for grand theft. He could have avoided prison in that case, but instead he had disciplinary problems in a retained jurisdiction program and ended up serving five years when he was eligible for parole after three. Meade and his brother, 26-year-old Cody William James Meade, have caused a slew of problems since theyve been in the county jail, Carter said. Cody Meade, who pleaded guilty to robbery and an incident in which he took another inmate hostage, will be sentenced to prison March 14. As for the younger Meade, the sheriff said he hopes his sentence sends a message to others who might consider assaulting police officers or deputies. You know, most of the time when suspects do something that stupid, they do it off the cuff, they dont really think about it, Carter said. But I hope it sends a message loud and clear: Just give up. TWIN FALLS The College of Southern Idaho has reported a significant phishing scam after an employee inadvertently released W-2 tax information. An individual who was impersonating a college employee sent an email Thursday to a CSI employee requesting W-2 forms. An employee released information later that day for all college employees for 2015 and 2016. Theres no evidence of hacking into CSIs computer system, college spokesman Doug Maughan said Tuesday. Our IT department is confident that hasnt occurred. The only thing were dealing with here is a phishing scam, he added, but called the incident significant. The college learned Monday the email was fraudulent and started an investigation. College officials arent aware of any fraud or misuse of employee information. A letter from CSI President Jeff Fox was slated to be mailed to college employees Tuesday. The College of Southern Idaho recently experienced a security incident involving the personal information of its current and former employees, Fox wrote in a draft document. We are providing this notice as a precaution to inform those who are affected and to call your attention to steps you can take to help protect yourselves. We sincerely regret any concern this may cause you. CSI reported the incident to the Twin Falls Police Department and a Federal Bureau of Investigation agent who deals with cybersecurity. Its also working through its insurance provider, Idaho Counties Risk Management Program, to offer employees free one-year identity protection services through a company called EPIC. The W2 form is a tax document an employer prepares, showing how much is withheld from an employees pay for taxes. The information handed over in the phishing scam included employee names, home addresses, Social Security numbers, pay information and how much tax money was withheld. CSI is holding a town hall meeting at 4 p.m. Wednesday for all CSI employees. It will be broadcast to the colleges off-campus centers. College officials will share information, answer questions and help employees sign up for the identity theft protection service. The college also plans to provide additional training for employees on how to handle any requests for sensitive information and how to potentially recognize a phishing scheme, Fox wrote in the letter. CSI is also recommending employees file a Form 14039 an identity theft affidavit with the Internal Revenue Service. That can help ensure an employees information isnt used to file a fraudulent tax return. The College of Southern Idaho takes the privacy and protection of personal information very seriously, and deeply regrets that this incident occurred, Fox wrote in the letter. We took steps to address this incident promptly after it was discovered, including working to investigate and remediate the situation. BOISE The Idaho Department of Fish and Game released a statement Monday correcting information from a press release that was also printed in an Associated Press story in Mondays Times-News. The press release last week incorrectly said the agency would reimburse homeowners for the cost of removing the ornamental plant Japanese Yew from yards. The agency now says it cant afford the cost to reimburse homeowners. Homeowners are encouraged to remove the plant or wrap it with burlap during the winter and spring if they live in or near big game winter range. Japanese Yew is toxic to big game animals. Dozens big game animals including deer, elk and pronghorn have died after ingesting the plant. TWIN FALLS Intermittent flooding over the weekend gave way to full-fledged deluges Monday as longstanding snow forts, snowmen, and snowbanks succumbed under 45-degree weather. Water from bulging coulees and ditches flowed over city streets as city workers scrambled to alleviate flooding. The city is asking drivers to use caution and slow down when there is water accumulation on streets. The city has closed Cheney Drive from Washington Street North to North College Road because of flooding. Runoff from neighboring fields is pouring onto the road faster than city crews can pump it, the city said in a statement. Drivers are asked to avoid the roadway by using North College Road or Pole Line Road for east-west access, and Washington Street North or Fillmore Street for north-south access. Filer Avenue East between Carriage Lane and Meadowview Lane is also closed. The city will update residents when the road is reopened. Runoff from fields is also causing flooding along Hankins Road and on U.S. 30. The Idaho Department of Transportation has closed both east- and westbound lanes of Interstate 86 east of Burley, from milepost 0 to 36. Since Saturday at noon, Twin Falls County Sheriffs Office has received 46 calls, said spokeswoman Lori Stewart. In addition, a slide-off and a non-injury single-vehicle rollover have been reported. Deputies are reporting problem areas to the ITD and highway departments, asking the departments to put up signage or close roads. BOISE The number of indigent health care cases that fall onto county and state taxpayers has fallen greatly since 2012. We have cut our program almost in half, Kathryn Mooney, program director of the Catastrophic Health Care Cost Program, told the Senate Health and Welfare Committee Monday afternoon. Mooney said there were 1,292 cases that fell to state taxpayers in 2012, compared with 634 in 2016. Counties pay the first $11,000 of someones treatment so only more expensive cases end up costing state taxpayers. That burden has fallen from 6,491 in 2012 to 4,080 in 2016, a slight increase over the 3,795 in 2015. The overall cost to county and state taxpayers has fallen from $55.3 million in 2012 to $33.9 million in 2016, with about half paid by counties and half by the state. Mooney said part of the reason for the decline is the number of people who signed up for the Pre-existing Condition Insurance Plan, a stopgap program that insured some people for the first few years after the Affordable Care Act was passed but before it was implemented. That saved us a tremendous amount of money, she said. People signing up for health insurance since the act was implemented has also helped to drive down the number of cases. Other than the ACA, another factor in the decline is the use of medical reviews, where the CAT fund has a contractor review the services requested and reject those not deemed medically necessary. Mooney said she doesnt expect the decline to continue, though. Weve really gotten to the bottom of about as low as were going to go, she said. People are supposed to pay back the cost of catastrophic health care, and a lien is put on their properties. Mooney said the state recovers about $3 million a year, a third of which is collected by Kootenai County, which, Mooney said, has been focusing on ways to collect more of what is owed. I know theyve put a good deal of effort into it, said Sen. Mary Souza, R-Coeur dAlene. BOISE Gov C.L. Butch Otter on Tuesday defended the idea that Christians fleeing persecution should be given preference in entering the United States over other refugees, while challenging the idea that such a policy would be discriminatory. Thats how I felt it was, it was a preference for those who were being beheaded, those who were being drowned in cages, and those who refuse to go with Shariah law, strict Shariah law, Otter said at his yearly breakfast with the Idaho Press Club. I think when you see a particular group being targeted for genocide, you have to protect the ones you can. Otter said during an interview on the weekly news show Idaho Reports that aired on Friday that he believes preference should be given to Christian refugees over others. Responding to a question from interviewer Idaho Reports co-host Melissa Davlin, Otter acknowledged such a policy would be discriminatory but said it was needed to keep America safe. Otter walked back the statement Tuesday, saying he should have used the word preference rather than discrimination, and argued that what he was suggesting wasnt any different from some past policies. Were talking about preference here, which the United States has always done, Otter said. The United States has always made preference for people who are in peril. President Donald Trump made tighter immigration laws a main theme of his campaign, and frequently argued against accepting Syrian refugees, painting Muslim refugees in particular as a security risk. Trump signed an executive order Jan. 27 banning travel from seven Muslim-majority countries for three months, putting a four-month hold on refugee resettlement and suspending accepting Syrian refugees indefinitely. The order and subsequent statements from the president also indicate that, after the four-month freeze is lifted, Christians and other non-Muslim refugees coming from the Middle East will get preference over Muslims. The order is being challenged in court now. After the terrorist attacks in Paris in November 2015, Otter called for a halt to refugee resettlement until the vetting process could be improved. He said Tuesday that his concern is ensuring the vetting process screens out people who want to harm America, and that he doesnt think Christians should be subject to less screening than other groups. It was the vetting process, he said. It wasnt the people coming in. It wasnt the places they were coming from. Otter spent much of the breakfast talking about the future of the Affordable Care Act and health care policy. Republicans have declared their intent to repeal the ACA, but exactly what would be repealed, what left in place and what it would be replaced with are all very much in the air. Otter was in Washington, D.C., late last month for Trumps inauguration, and he was one of a number of Republican governors who met with Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, to discuss the ACAs repeal. The main theme that came out of these discussions, Otter said, is that the states want more flexibility one popular idea, he said, was to allow states to use identical waivers without having to start from scratch on the application process. I want flexibility, he said. I want us to be able to model whatever they come up with to fit Idaho. Otter said he doesnt see much for the state Legislature to do on health care, though, unless something passes at the federal level, giving them something to frame policy around. He didnt rule out calling a special session if a major health care overhaul passes after the session ends, but it would depend on what it could accomplish. Im not going to call a special session if were not going to succeed with it, he said. Otter also praised the state exchange Your Health Idaho. Idaho is one of just a few Republican-run states that created its own exchange under the ACA; most use the federal marketplace. Otter backed the exchanges creation, arguing it would give the state more control, while many more conservative Republicans opposed it. Most people on the exchange pay for their insurance with federal tax credits. It remains to be seen whether these would continue if the ACA is repealed. Things are working pretty well here in Idaho, especially with the exchange, Otter said. Responding to a question about a bill that was introduced a week ago to take state money away from cities that dont comply with federal immigration law, Otter said the measure probably isnt necessary there arent any sanctuary cities in Idaho now but the Legislature can do what the Legislature wants to do. And who would vote against it? Otter added, saying a vote against it would be perceived as a vote in favor of sanctuary cities. People in Idaho respect and count on the rule of law, he said. Even if its a federal law that I dont like, Im obliged to enforce it. Im obliged to obey it. And there are a lot of those. BURLEY Residents across Mini-Cassia continued to battle flood waters Monday after the rapid melting of snow over the weekend. Ive never seen it like this in my life and Ive lived here 30 years, Adam Boehler said as he used a piece of string to close the top of a white sandbag sitting in the back of his pickup truck. The National Weather Service in Pocatello has issued a flood warning until 10 a.m. Wednesday for Cassia County, Minidoka County and parts of Power County. Places that may experience flooding include Burley, Malta, Heyburn, Oakley Reservoir, Oakley, Albion, Declo, Elba, Almo, Raft River, Yale rest area, Mount Harrison, Sweetzer Summit, City of Rocks, Idahome, Bostetter ranger station, Sublett Reservoir, Bridge and the Interstate 84 and Interstate 86 junction. The weather advisory said there are hundreds of low-water crossings that are potentially dangerous in heavy rain and people should find alternative routes to avoid the hazard and not attempt to cross flooded roads. Boehler, who lives southeast of Burley, was up all night Sunday working to divert water running into his pasture that was flowing from nearby fields. Some of his neighbors had tried to pump some of the water away from his property but the pump broke. In January, Boehler and his wife, Tami, were not so lucky and they had to deal with water inside their home. This time they worked through the night and have sustained only damage to their ditch and pasture. There are a lot of other people who are worse off than we are, he said. It would have been worse for us if we hadnt stayed on it though. Neighbors were working to pump water from a field near Tom Fishers flooded residence at 400 S. 100 E. Other areas in the county hit especially hard were in Oakley, Albion and west of Burley in the Milner area. Weve got pretty widespread flooding across the county, Cassia County Undersheriff George Warrell said. Sunday several homes west of Burley in the Milner area were in danger, he said. It got pretty wild last night, Lon Hatch said who went out Sunday night to sandbag homes near U.S. Highway 30 and 500 S. There were six to eight inches of water going across this road last night. Hatch said they sandbagged four houses on Milner Road and were thankful that the canal held. I didnt dare pull into my driveway because I couldnt see where it was, Hatch said about his home, which is also on Milner Road. His home did not get any water inside it. Warrell said the irrigation district and highway district worked all weekend to divert water. But in some cases there is nowhere for the water to go, he said. The canals are full and the ground is still frozen. Water ran rampant through a trailer court on 600 W. Road in the Milner area on Sunday. The highway department did a fantastic job diverting the water away, Warrell said. Water still ran across U.S. Highway 30 between 600 and 700 W. on Monday and on other roads in the county. Albion Mayor Sharon Hardy-Mills said by 2 p.m. on Saturday the melting snow was threatening homes in Albion and all the culverts were full of water. We had water everywhere, Hardy-Mills said. Residents and a group of Boy Scouts turned out to fill sandbags in the park and they worked for hours, she said. I dont think one person got water inside their house, she said. We had a great response from the community. Hardy-Mills said anyone needing assistance with sandbags may call the city office at 208-673-5352. Hardy-Mills recommends that people leave the sandbags in place for now. The spring moisture and melting of the mountain snow has not even started yet, she said. Minidoka County Sheriff Eric Snarr said there is flooding on some streets in Rupert. But mainly it is in the outlying areas, he said. Much of the flooding is in areas that used to be flood irrigated where there is a slope towards a farm home, he said. Sand, bags and shovels are available for the public to use at the Minidoka County Fairgrounds near the main entrance, Snarr said. In Cassia County, residents can pick up sandbags at the Cassia County Sheriffs Office, 129 E. 14th St. in Burley and there is sand available at the sheriffs boat house near the Burley-Heyburn marina. In Albion, there are sandbags and sand underneath a tarp at the city park. Refugee ban violates American principles The current administrations unjust and unnecessary executive order suspending admission of refugees for the next 120 days and capping the total number of refugees to 50,000 is not about safety. If safety was a concern, there are many actions the government could take to make us safer. For instance, in the last 16 years more than 610,000 Americans have died in traffic accidents, about one-third caused by speeding. In the last 20 years, Americans killed by refugees zero. More patrolmen enforcing speeding laws could save more lives than banning refugees. Americans are killed by overdosing on drugs, by lightning, in workplace accidents, and by toddlers wielding guns. Why are we cowering over refugees who are not even a threat? No, the refugee ban is not about safety or the need for extreme vetting. Refugees applying to settle in the U.S. are subject to a vetting process that can take up to two years. First, theyre screened by the U.N. High Commission on Refugees and then are subject to vetting by the National Counterterrorism Center, the FBIs Terrorist Screening Center and the departments of State, Defense and Homeland Security. Their biometric information is checked and they undergo personal interviews with DHS officials. Refugees are the ones who have faced and survived terror. Many refugees, some who have aided American troops, have lost everything except hope that they will find a chance to raise their children in peace in America. Now we have taken that hope away. This ban violates what America stands for a country that welcomes the oppressed to a land of the free and home of the brave. Kathleen Noh Kimberly Scammers like to use real company names to target victims, and one recent BBB Scam Tracker report from Idaho involved a real phone number too. It started when a woman received a call from a DISH Network representative who offered to upgrade her service for free. The number appeared to be from DISH on her caller ID. She agreed to the upgrade, and obliged when the caller asked for the last four digits of her Social Security number to verify. Then, she was told she needed to send $150. In other scam reports, the fee is often associated with an equipment deposit or one-time set up fee. The woman hung up on the caller and called DISH Network. The real company told her someone was spoofing their phone number to convince people to give up money. This scam can take all forms: a call, an email, or even a knock at the door. We havent had in-person reports during these cold winter months, but its likely theyll start up again in the warmer days to come. Scammers may pretend to be from any number of service providers, be it satellite TV, cable, internet or phone services. DISH Network warns users of these schemes right on their website. The company acknowledges scammers often spoof their phone number, making it appear as a real DISH 800 number on caller IDs. If you get a call like this, do not provide callers with any personal or account information, including receiver numbers. DISH representatives may ask for this information to verify when you call them, but not the other way around. If you are on a call and are uncertain, hang up and call the number listed on your bill. The company also urges customers not to send money outside of your normal payment method. DISH customers are charged on a monthly basis, and there are no offers that require paying for 6 months or a year in advance. This is a common tactic used by people trying to steal your money. No matter the company, if you are contacted out of the blue saying there is a problem with your account, billing, or that you qualify for an upgrade, be cautious. Do not provide information on a cold call, and always take the time to verify independently. If an offer is legitimate, it will still be there when you call back in a few minutes. JUSTICE Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II said on Tuesday that it is premature to accept the request of Gerardo Gregorio Santiago, the funeral parlor owner who was one of those implicated in the killing of South Korean businessman Jee Ick Joo, to be included in the Witness Protection Program. Aguirre said the government is not ready at this time to accept Santiagos request since the joint probe conducted by the National Bureau of Investigation and the Philippine National Police has yet to be completed. We are not yet ready to offer him that. The joint investigation is yet to be completed, Aguirre said, whose department administers the WPP. Santiago is the owner of the Gream funeral parlor where the body of Jee was brought after he was killed in Camp Crame. During last weeks reinvestigation of the case before the DoJ, Santiagos lawyer Restituto Mendoza told the prosecution panel headed by Senior Assistant State Prosecutor Juan Pedro Navera and Olivia Torrevillas that his client has applied for admission to the WPP. ADVERTISEMENT Early this year, Santiago flew to Canada due to death threats he has been receiving since his name was implicated in the murder of Jee. But he returned to the Philippines a few weeks later after coordinating with NBI officials. The lawyer said that if his clients request to be included under WPP will be granted, Santiagos testimony would focus on Jees cremation, as he has denied any knowledge or involvement in the abduction and subsequent murder of Jee. Santiago has maintained that he was told that the body, which turned out to that of Jee, was killed in an anti-drugs operation. So far, Mendoza said his client has already turned over to the NBI his cellular phone that he used when SPO3 Ricky Sta. Isabel called that he would bring a body to his funeral parlor. The NBI said, Santiagos cellular phone will be subjected to forensic analysis. Also, the footages taken by the CCTV at the funeral parlor has also been turned over to the NBI. Under the WPP coverage, a witness is given several privileges, including provision for a housing facility or safe house that could be extended to members of his/her family, financial assistance, assistance in obtaining means of livelihood, payment equivalent of salary as compensation for absences from work, travel and medical expenses. The family of witnesses who die while under the WPP will avail of death benefits, including free college education to their children. Please enable JavaScript to view the comments powered by Disqus. The bishops of the Philippine Catholic Church have got it all wrong. The silence that they heard, if they listened hard enough, is one of approval, not one of fear. I wish the good members of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines had consulted with their priests on the ground before issuing that pastoral letter read in many churches last Sunday. Yes, the same clerics who have also avoided, for a lot of valid reasons, using their pulpits in order to once again meddle with purely secular affairs like politics. I say only many churches because Ive been told that a good number of priests chose not to read the pre-cooked seven-point homily denouncing alleged extra-judicial killings prepared by the CBCP. And I am convinced that if the bishops had asked their front-line clerics why they didnt read the pastoral letter, they would have understood the situation better. The overall theme of the CBCPs sermon was that ordinary Catholics should overcome their fear and speak out against the reported killings of suspected drug pushers and users. By failing to be heard, the bishops said, the faithful had become accomplices in the deaths brought about by the war on drugs initiated and implemented by President Rodrigo Duterte. The bishops bemoaned the reign of terror that was gripping the land. And despite admitting their own failings as churchmenwhich they did not specifythey said they felt compelled to send out their message. ADVERTISEMENT My own belief, as an ordinary Catholic, is that the bishops have once again fallen into the trap of buying into a set of political beliefs without verifying these with their flock. And the main reason that the politically naive leaders of the Church have been gypped is because their current leader, Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Socrates Villegas, is a foremost exponent of that belief system. Villegas, if he were a tad more attuned to the true sentiments of the faithful, should have stepped down as CBCP president first before the pastoral letter was read in churches all over the land. And he could have asked some other bishop to write it, instead of claiming authorship of the document at its end, as if he was really proud of what he did. But Villegas is an acknowledged protege of the late Manila Archbishop Jaime Cardinal Sin and spiritual adviser and family friend of both Cory and Noynoy Aquino. The fact that the bishops issued a letter written by Villegas himself speaks volumes of its lack of impartiality, as well as of the lack of empathy that those two former presidents are famous for. And Villegas and his fellow top clerics are still smarting from the attacks that Duterte has leveled against them. They can be forgiven if they feel that they needed some payback and they only had their pulpit to use in retaliation. So Villegas and the bishops succumbed to the temptation. But they never thought to ask the faithful, who constitute the church, if what they said was really what the people believed. * * * Because the bishops, without any basis, can say that the people are cowering in fear as Duterte carries out his drug war, I think my own assertionthat they wholeheartedly approve of itis just as valid as theirs. And I think that I have more evidence than just any bishop living in a diocesan palace possesses when I say that most church-going Catholics are law-abiding citizens who are actually (if silently) cheering the government on in its campaign. For the life of me, I cant remember ever hearing the Church denounce the evils of drug addiction. And even as I listened to last Sundays homily in its entirety (even if I felt a great urge to simply walk out), I tried to recall the CBCP condemning the Mamasapano massacre, the failed response to the victims of Typhoon Yolanda or even the massive theft of the pork barrel and DAP fundsand I drew a blank. (This was the same church, after all, that used its parishes to remind voters about the commandment against stealing, which was a pointed reference to one of the presidential candidates that Villegas and his fellow Yellows really worked hard to beat. Tell me again it isnt dabbling in partisan politics with this pastoral letter.) But I already started to relate my experience at church last Sunday. Allow me to complete the story. Because I was so incensed that our local priest had foregone his usual practice of explaining the Gospel and the readings to read the letter and even decided to ad lib on the same theme afterwards (he was a young man and obviously more easily swayed than other, more seasoned clerics, by conveniently packaged politics), I decided to approach him after mass. After I had made sure that only he could hear me speak, I told him: I am praying for you. The priest looked at me with a smile and replied: Thank you. Then I got to the point: I pray that no member of your family ever becomes the victim of a drug addict. Then I walked away without saying another word. I didnt even look back at the priestand I didnt hear him offer a reply. Please enable JavaScript to view the comments powered by Disqus. Moroccan authorities have announced the arrest of three terror ISIS members linked to the cell dismantled recently in several cities of the North African Kingdom. The suspects were nabbed Monday in Martil (North of Morocco) and the rural commune of Boulaaouane (province of El Jadida), said the Interior ministry in a press release. Scientific analysis of the suspected material seized in a hideout in El Jadida showed that these are chemicals used in explosive making, added the ministry, noting that the members of the cell were preparing to host an explosive expert from ISIS branch in Libya to teach them his terror techniques. The members of the terrorist cell dismantled recently in several Moroccan cities were planning to carry out attacks against strategic sites, luxurious hotels and shopping centers. They were also planning to kill political personalities, senior security officials, foreign touriststo destabilize the North African nation, the only country in the region that has weathered the Arab Spring turmoil, becoming a heaven of peace in MENA. Moroccan authorities say they have dismantled about 200 terrorist cells since 2002, foiled hundreds of terrorist plans and arrested over 2,200 suspects. According to US strategic intelligence firm Stratfor, one of the main factors helping to keep Moroccos jihadists in check is the competence of its security forces. Stratfor also said that the countrys powerful intelligence agency, national police force, paramilitary police and Central Bureau of Judicial Investigations (Moroccos version of the FBI) work closely with their American and European counterparts, receive extensive training and are highly proficient. Because of Moroccos robust security environment, it is difficult for jihadist groups to establish operations in the country, despite the large number of militants who hail from within its borders, stressed Stratfor. Morocco has worked out a comprehensive counterterrorism strategy that includes vigilant security measures, regional and international cooperation, and counter-radicalization policies. The North African country has placed counterterrorism at the top of its priorities following the Casablanca terror attacks in 2003 and the subsequent attacks of 2007 in Casablanca and 2011 in Marrakesh. Moroccos counterterrorism efforts mitigated the risk of terrorism but the country continues to face threats, largely from numerous small, independent violent extremist cells. 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. The United Nations has called on Tunisian authorities to improve prison conditions in the country after UN Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism, Ben Emmerson, visited the country. Ben Emmerson has sounded the alarm about the conditions of inmates, particularly at Monarguia prison, leconomiste.com, reports. For the UN human rights expert, conditions in the prisons are under required international standards. The UN expert underlined the systematic violation of inmates rights, particularly those condemned for terrorism. An early January report signed by justice minister Ghazi Jeribi indicated that over 20,000 Tunisians are locked up in the countrys few detention centers. The overpopulation has been estimated at 217 per cent of the centers capacity. 1,647 people have been arrested for terrorism and money laundring related acts. 1,464 of them have been found guilty, the minister said in the report presented to the parliament. Tunisia since 2011 has been facing a surge in terror related attacks. Three major terrorist attacks hit the country in 2015 killing 72 people, mostly foreign tourists. The UN called on authorities to review the counter-terrorism law voted in 2015. The law extends custody detention to 15 days and denies a suspect access to a lawyer within the 48 hours following his arrest. Tanzanian government on Monday unveiled a power system master plan that requires $46.2 billion in investment over the next 20 years to revamp its ailing energy sector by 2040. According to the East-African nations energy ministry, 70 percent of the needed amount would be financed by debt and the rest by the governments own resources. The financing requirement to implement the Power System Master Plan (PSMP 2016 2040) is about $46.2 billion for capital cost, the updated plan said. The cost includes investment on generation, transmission and sub-stations. Generation accounts for almost 80 percent of the total investment cost. As drought continues to cripple its hydropower plants, Tanzania is struggling to produce enough electricity and is moving toward using more fossil fuels to make up the shortfall. Hydropower plants normally produce about 35 percent of Tanzanias electricity needs, with gas and oil plants making up most of the difference. While Tanzania has significant untapped renewable energy potential from sources such as geothermal, solar and wind, the government has mostly failed to tap this potential as an alternative to hydropower. About 36 percent of Tanzanians have access to electricity, and only 7 percent of those are in rural areas, according to the ministry. It said demand for electricity is growing between 10 and 15 percent a year. South Sudanese government this weekend rejected the United Nations trusteeship proposal, calling the international community to support implementation of the African Union-brokered peace deal rather than impose an external trusteeship regime. It is our right. It is our country. We fought for it. We achieved the independence through referendum. The people of South Sudan decided for their country. So nobody is better than the people of South Sudan, Ateny Wek Ateny, South Sudanese Presidential spokesman said. If the war-ravaged nation is placed under the UN trusteeship, then the body will govern the country for a specific period before handing governance back to South Sudanese. There are always minority voices that would hope for something totally different from what the majority of people of any given country say, explained Ateny. Several experts have cautioned over the proposal to place South Sudan under UN trusteeship, saying the young nation was not yet at the level that calls for international takeover. The proposal to put the country under the UN for an interim period gained momentum after renewed clashes between the countrys warring factions in July 2016, which saw hundreds killed and nearly two million people displaced. Currently, over 200,000 people are still sheltered in UN camps in parts of the country. In 2014, South Sudan President Salva Kiir accused the UN of seeking to take over the country and speculated that its mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) may have pushed his political rival, Riek Machar, to rise up against the Juba government. The Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences continues to bolster its faculty and increase its diversity as it prepares to move downtown, said Michael E. Cain, MD. Medical Schools Impending Move Downtown Focus of Cains Address story by dirk hoffman As the countdown to the opening of the new Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences downtown begins to be measured in months instead of years, the school continues to grow and diversify its faculty ranks, attract outstanding students and enhance its research productivity. We are becoming impressive in the number of things we as an institution do to make sure that our medical school does, in fact, look like America. Michael E. Cain, MD Vice president for health sciences and medical school dean Those were among the key points highlighted by Michael E. Cain, MD, vice president for health sciences and medical school dean, during his 11th annual state-of-the-school address, Jan. 31 at the UB Clinical and Translational Science Institute. Cain also noted the importance of the continued review and updating of medical school policies, implementation of a strategic plan for medical curriculum and a system for continuous quality improvement of the medical curriculum in anticipation of the Liaison Committee on Medical Educations (LCME) site visit in April 2019 as part of the schools accreditation process. Bolstering of Faculty Ranks Continues We have had a progressive planned increase in the number of faculty over the last several years, Cain said. Our commitment to the LCME is that by 2020 we will have 860 full-time faculty to meet the increased teaching needs of our increased class size of 180 students. The largest increase has occurred in clinical departments and faculty on the clinical track, which mirrors the trend in other medical schools throughout the country, he noted. When I arrived here 11 years ago, one of the findings was that we were a predominantly gray-haired faculty with a large proportion of professors and that we were missing youth, Cain said. I am pleased that over the last five or six years the largest portion of our faculty that have been added are at the assistant professor level. While we still have a very healthy group at the associate and professor level, we have a nice group of youth that has joined the school. Diversity Efforts Expanding Cain said the school has made strides in increasing the number of women and those traditionally underrepresented in medicine Native American, Hispanic-American and African-American both in medical students and faculty. He credited Margarita L. Dubocovich, PhD, senior associate dean for diversity and inclusion; David A. Milling, MD, senior associate dean for student and academic affairs; Charles M. Severin, PhD, MD, associate dean for medical education and admissions, along with the Admissions Committee, for very rapidly coming together and dramatically changing the approach to the way we identify and admit candidates for the degree of doctor of medicine. Cain also pointed out the school will add approximately 80 new faculty members during the next two years. We are going to pay very close attention in making sure those faculty recruits enhance our diversity in both women and in traditional underrepresented minorities, he said. Through curricula changes, through partnerships with associations in the community and by increased grant support that actually deals with health care disparities, we are becoming impressive in the number of things we as an institution do to make sure that our medical school does, in fact, look like America, Cain said. New School Downtown Nears Opening Cain noted several important milestones as construction of the new medical school building on the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus nears completion. The timeline for us to gain access is such that people should be able to start moving into the new building in October, with a progressive ramp-up leading us to have full operations in January 2018, he said. The new school offers a 178 percent increase in educational space for our medical students and most of those increases occur in the small classroom area, Cain said. This is by design as we reshape the vision of our medical curriculum. Cain also noted the remarkable synergism between Kaleida Health and the school of medicine that began with the CRTC in 2012. He said it escalated into collaboration with John R. Oishei Childrens Hospital and with Conventus and actually impacted the design of the new medical school building, creating three new interconnected facilities where we eliminate needless redundancies. Cain noted the 12 practice plans with the UBMD physicians group co-located on the fourth floor of the Conventus building will start seeing their first patients there when the building opens in March. Conventus fifth floor will house academic offices for: pediatrics obstetrics and gynecology child neurology pediatric surgery Those offices are currently located at Women and Childrens Hospital of Buffalo on Bryant Street and will move to the Conventus building in conjunction with the opening of the Oishei Childrens Hospital, scheduled for November. Research Expenditures on the Rise The schools sponsored-program research expenditures continue to climb, Cain said. In 2016, they totaled $51.3 million and are expected to increase to $53.4 million in 2017, he noted. If intramural funding sources are included, the figure climbs to $76.5 million for 2016. Adding in research funding procured by full-time faculty working at Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center and the Buffalo VA Medical Center elevates the total to almost $131 million. Cain said the $15 million Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA) the medical school received from the National Institutes of Health is being renamed the University at Buffalo Clinical and Translational Science Institute (CTSI) to differentiate it from the other 63 centers in the national CTSA Consortium. The CTSI includes: Clinical and Translational Science Institute Clinical and Translational Science Award Buffalo Translational Consortium (BTC) partnership Cain touted the success of translational pilot studies funded by the CTSI since the grants inception. The extramural funding that resulted from a $600,000 investment over three years was quite remarkable, he said. The return on investment was $7.9 million of in-the-bank National Institutes of Health (NIH) grants, so its a 13-to-1 return on investment. Beginning in 2017, the CTSI, together with resources provided by UB and Roswell Park, will enable $600,000 a year to be available for pilot studies. Cain said the CTSI continues to work on streamlining the clinical research process and enhancing recruitment to clinical trials. The CTSI also supports a mentoring program designed to train investigators from diverse backgrounds and develop the next generation of leaders in translational research. After a rigorous NIH-style review process, two scholars have been selected and funded in the KL2 Mentored Career Development Program and three BTC scholars have been funded though institutional awards. Initial GEM Pilot Study Grants Awarded Medical School Drawing Top-Notch Students In 2016, the medical school received 4,490 applications, 2.9 percent more than in 2015. Of those, 576 were selected for interviews. We had our highest yield yet, thus requiring us to write only 307 letters of acceptance to fill our class of 149 students, Cain said. The vast majority, or 88 percent of the freshman class, comes from New York. Forty-four percent of the class hails from Western New York. The overall undergraduate GPA for the class is 3.73, higher than the national average. This is a remarkably impressive group of students, Cain said. Graduate Medical Education Excels Cain noted the Office of Graduate Medical Education, under the direction of Roseanne C. Berger, MD, senior associate dean of graduate medical education, has attained institutional accreditation with commendation and no citations for deficiencies. The school currently has 65 programs accredited by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education. Additionally, graduate programs in diagnostic radiology, family medicine (osteopathic), gynecologic oncology and obstetric anesthesiology are currently seeking accreditation. Berger has put together several collaborations with adjunct teaching facilities most notably the Royal College of Physicians (RCP), the University of Toronto Center for Quality Improvement & Patient Safety and the UB School of Management Accelerated MBA for Residents/Fellows. UB recently marked the 10-year anniversary of its collaboration with the RCP and Cain noted that 200 UB faculty members in 17 departments have participated through 400 educational initiatives. Cain also highlighted the increase in the number of matches to UBs residency programs from 116 in 2012 to 171 in 2016. He noted that 99 percent of UBs residency positions were filled in 2016. The number of UB medical school graduates filling those residency positions continues to climb as well, with 49, or 29 percent, matching at UB in 2016. Exceptional Faculty Members Recognized Office of Inclusion Builds Upon Efforts Website Attracting Global Audience Additional Highlights THE TRUE COST OF ALL THAT 'CHEAP' LAOR THAT DESTROYED AMERICA THE BIG SECRET DEMOCRATS DO NOT WANT YOU TO KNOW: Heather Mac Donald of the Manhattan Institute has testified before a Congressional committee that in 2004, 95% of all outstanding warrants for murder in Los Angeles were for illegal aliens; in 2000, 23% of all Los Angeles County jail inmates were illegal aliens and that in 1995, 60% of Los Angeless largest street gang, the 18th Street gang, were illegal aliens. @ByKristenMClark A comprehensive plan by Florida Senate leaders to refocus the state college system back to its original purpose of offering two-year degrees and of being a pipeline for the State University System stumbled through its first hearing this week. The proposal (SB 374) is among a package of bills that are a priority for Senate President Joe Negron, R-Stuart, in his push to improve Floridas higher education system this year. Senate leaders have dubbed SB 374 the College Competitiveness Act, which Sen. Bill Galvano a Bradenton Republican and top lieutenant of Negron in executing the higher ed reforms says will provide independence and greater opportunity for advocacy and oversight of Floridas 28 state colleges, which include Miami Dade College. But some aspects of the bill arguably would have the opposite effect namely by reining in the colleges freedom to add four-year degree programs and, in some cases, requiring legislative action to approve new four-year degrees. Other reforms in the 254-page proposal include removing the state colleges from the purview of the State Board of Education which oversees public education in grades K-20 and, instead, putting the colleges under a new State Board of Community Colleges. The measure advanced out of the Senate Education Committee on a unanimous vote Monday, with some senators although vocally disapproving of the plan resisting a no vote mainly as a show of good faith to Senate leadership. I just think its not ready for prime-time, said Sen. Tom Lee, a Thonotosassa Republican and former Senate president who asked a series of probing questions critical of the proposal. Im going to support it today out of deference to my Senate president, Sen. Galvano and Sen. [Dorothy Hukill, R-Port Orange, the bill sponsor], but this bill has got big problems. More here. Photo credit: Bradenton Republican state Sen. Bill Galvano, left, speaks with current Senate President Joe Negron, R-Stuart, during the 2016 session. Scott Keeler / Tampa Bay Times Florida Supreme Court Justice Jorge Labarga said he did not know how much unfinished business, if any, Justice James E.C. Perry left when his overtime work serving as a retired justice ended Jan. 31 but one case that is left unsettled is the Gretna Racing, LLC v. Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation. The case could determine the fate of slot machine gambling in Florida. Labarga appointed Perry to serve as a senior justice of the Florida Supreme Court through Sept. 30, 2018 but, after Gov. Rick Scott had appointed Perry's replacement, Justice C. Alan Lawson. Labarga amended his order on Jan. 11, ending Perry's term Jan. 31. In the meantime, House Speaker Richard Corcoran threatened to sue, suggesting that Perry was serving as an unconstitutional "eighth justice." Labarga said that he did not learn of Corcoran's threat to sue until he read it in the paper. "This is the way it's been done and no one has ever questioned it,'' he said. "I don't see a problem with it. We're done with Justice Perry and we're moving on." So now what happens to cases like the Gretna ruling on which the court, including Perry, hear oral arguments last June but which has not yet been released? The court must decide of the Florida Legislature intended to allow counties to expand slot machines anywhere in the state in 2010 when it modified a statute that was initially intended to allow Hialeah Park to operate slot machines. "I haven't thought about that yet,'' Labarga said Monday in response to question from the Herald/Times. "I'm pretty sure most of those questions are done and whatever he signed will be released soon. As far as new cases that are going to be heard -- tomorrow and from here on, that will be Justice Lawson." Labarga responded that there are "going to be some" cases from Perry "that he voted on -- but I'm not sure." Court spokesman Craig Waters, however, later clarified that Perry's rulings have all been issued and "he's done." Justice Peggy Quince has recused herself in the Gretna case because her son works at DBPR so Perry's absence could make a difference in the final vote on the high profile case. If Perry has written his ruling but it is now being jettisoned because his retirement was cut short, what happens next? If Perry's ruling had resulted in a 3-3 split, the court could ask Lawson to break the tie, Waters said. As with any tie, the court could also call for a rehearing of the issue, or Lawson could review the arguments in the file and the videotape of the oral arguments and then render an opinion. "But that's not something you're going to know until the ruling is released,'' Waters said. Labarga told reporters that his appointment of Perry to stay on was done "in the custom of this court throughout the ages to allow justices who are about the retire to finish their work." He noted that appellate work is not like trial work where you start hearings but instead requires reading lengthy records and "it's a very time consuming thing." "So it's preferable for Justice Perry to finish his opinion, on things he had voted on, and that we move on,'' he said. "I believed by the 31st, given the fact we got a new justice, he could finish his work and move on to his retirement,'' Labarga told reporters Monday. @MichaelAuslen State senators on Tuesday gave their first approval to legislation that First Amendment advocates say is a threat to open government in Florida. The bill (SB 80) would make it more difficult to collect legal fees from government agencies when they illegally block access to records that state law says are supposed to be available to the public. Current law says judges must require agencies to pay attorney fees to people who successfully sue them over records, but Sarasota Republican Sen. Greg Steubes proposal would let the judge decide whether or not to award fees. Senators on the Government Oversight and Accountability Committee approved the bill by a 4-3 party line vote Tuesday morning with Republicans in favor and Democrats opposed. Its a top priority for the Florida League of Cities, Association of Counties and other local government groups. The problem, they say, are a small number of people who file complex public record requests with low-level agency employees in hopes of tripping them up and creating a legal violation to bring a lawsuit and win fees or a settlement. Its a serious problem of harassment, and its been very abusive of numerous agencies, said Sen. Dennis Baxley, R-Ocala, who chairs the government oversight panel. You saw law enforcement, you saw city governments, you saw nonprofits. But open-government watchdogs and First Amendment advocates say the bill would actually have a chilling effect on people who are trying to exercise their constitutional right to access public records. Rather than clamp down on people trying to profit off open record lawsuits, the Senate bill would erode the publics constitutional right to monitor what government is doing, said Barbara Petersen, president of the First Amendment Foundation. People are not going to file lawsuits to enforce their constitutional right of access because they simply dont have the money, she said. The courts are the only way members of the public can force agencies to relinquish documents when theyre illegally obstructing access, Petersen said. But lawyers can cost thousands, even tens of thousands of dollars, and the possibility that a higher court might not award attorney fees would likely encourage public agencies to appeal cases, driving the cost higher, she said. Similar legislation was filed last year, and the bills Senate sponsor, Sen. Rene Garcia, R-Hialeah, reached a compromise between the League of Cities and the First Amendment Foundation that passed the chamber unanimously but died when the House never took it up. Garcia has filed the same bill this year, but Baxley said he has no interest in giving it a hearing. Steubes proposal, he said, would correct the problem, and lawmakers can find a compromise later. Photo: Then a state representative, Sen. Greg Steube, R-Sarasota, debates on the House floor. Steube is now pushing legislation that government watchdogs fear will have a chilling effect on Florida's public record laws. (Scott Keeler, Tampa Bay Times) About Me Name: Michel-Adrien Location: Ottawa, Canada Law library blogaliciousness from Ottawa since 2005. Accept no substitutes. View my complete profile Subscribe to my blog's RSS feed: As Michel de Montaigne would say, "Je vais au change indiscretement et tumultuairement - mon style et mon esprit vont vagabondant de meme" (Essais, III, 9, De la vanite): I go where my fancy leads me, but my fancy always leads back to the law Previous Posts The Roxy Theater is planning a 1930s makeover for its 80th birthday this year. The nonprofit community cinema will renovate its facade to reflect the original art deco design, complete with a period-era neon sign, a ticket booth right on Higgins Avenue, and a new paint job. The exterior improvements will better reflect the nonstop activity in the theater, said Ingrid Lovitt-Abramson, the Roxy's operations and development director. Last week, the state announced a $67,605 tourism infrastructure grant for the historic renovation work. In addition to the matching grant, the Roxy has been fundraising privately for the work, which will cost around $200,000. The state tourism funds came through the Montana Department of Commerce, the Office of Tourism and Business Development Tourism Grant Program. They target projects that can improve the economy through tourism. They're aiming to turn on the bright-red neon sign by late September to mark the theater's anniversary. It was originally a second-run theater with a single screen, featuring movies that had already played downtown at the Wilma Theatre. For the facade, they're working with Fernando Duarte Design, who has helped renovate art deco theaters around the West Coast, such as the Hollywood Theatre in Portland, Oregon. He did historical research here in Missoula, both at the Mansfield Archives at the University of Montana, on microfiche at the Missoula Public Library, and consulted with UM art history professor Rafael Chacon, author of a book on Missoula architect A.J. Gibson. There are no color photographs from the Roxy's earliest days, but Steinberg said there was a limited palette of colors in use. The handsome sign, meanwhile, will boast the "Roxy" name with rows of neon. "It's a classic neon, as opposed to what passes for neon these days," Steinberg said. The double doors will have diagonal brass handles, just like the old theater did. *** For a time, it appeared that the theater might not ever return to its glamorous early days. In 1994, it was destroyed in an unsolved arson fire. It was rebuilt and reopened in 1998 as a dollar theater, only to close again in 2000 when the owners died. The International Wildlife Film Festival bought the building in 2002 as a home base for its annual event, which will turn 40 this year. In 2013, they renovated the lobby and theaters and reintroduced it as a "community cinema," with year-round screenings of independent films and documentaries tailored to reflect local interests. Even the popcorn and beer was local. The first year, the Roxy was home to about 250 weekend screenings, plus the occasional Thursday event. In 2014, the same tourism grant program donated $50,000 for the Roxy's digital projection system. With that equipment installed in one of its three theaters, the Roxy can screen movies during their first run around the country. That project "radically changed the theater," Lovitt-Abramson said. By 2016, it had ratcheted up to 41,000 people through the door to see 491 titles at 2,000 screenings, plus another 150 screenings or events put on by other nonprofit groups at the Roxy. Volunteers logged 3,000 hours at the ticket or concession booths. Other contributors to the facade project have been the Montana History Foundation, the Missoula Community Foundation, the Jerry Metcalf Foundation, the Missoula Downtown Business Improvement District, and neighboring businesses such as Missoula Bicycle Works and Big Dipper Ice Cream. They'll continue fundraising for the project this year. On March 11, they're partnering with the local record swap event, Total Record Swap, at the Missoula Senior Center. If anyone wants to donate records, CDs, tapes, movies, they Roxy will begin collecting them at the beginning of March. The Missoula Community Foundation and Tell Us Something, the local storytelling event, are collaborating on a project to collect people's favorite Roxy memories and record them, Lovitt-Abramson said, whether it was a first date or a great movie. They gather stories via their website and at a story booth at the record swap. "One thing we all hold very high is the ability to steward this theater forward and return it to the glory of its original aesthetic," Steinberg said. The team has been citing an adage from Charles Lee, an early 20th century American theater designer. "He said, 'The show starts at the sidewalk,'" Lovitt-Abramson said. 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. Flathead County Bigfork: Thursday, Feb. 23, from 10:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., Glacier Bank (Bigfork), 8251 MT Hwy 35 Kalispell: Friday, Feb. 17, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Kalispell Blood Donation Center, 126 North Meridian Road; Friday, Feb. 17, from 10 a.m. to 3:15 p.m., Kalispell Regional Medical Center, 310 Sunny View Lane; Monday, Feb. 20, from 1:30 to 5:30 p.m., Kalispell Blood Donation Center, 126 North Meridian Road; Friday, Feb. 24, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Kalispell Blood Donation Center, 126 North Meridian Road; Friday, Feb. 24, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Flathead County Health Department, Flathead County Health Department, 1035 1st Ave West; Monday, Feb. 27, from 10:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., Moose Lodge, 2158 Hwy 2 East; Monday, Feb. 27, from 1:30 to 5:30 p.m., Kalispell Blood Donation Center, 126 North Meridian Road; Tuesday, Feb. 28, from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., Flathead Valley Community College, 777 Grandview Lakeside: Tuesday, Feb. 21, from noon to 3:45 p.m., Lakeside QRU Community Hall, 201 Bills Road Lincoln County Eureka: Tuesday, Feb. 28, from noon to 5 p.m., Our Lady of Mercy Catholic Church, 500 Dewey Ave. Libby: Thursday, Feb. 16, from 11 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., VFW, 114 West Second Street Missoula County Bonner: Monday, Feb. 20, from 2 to 6:15 p.m., Potomac Greenough Community Center, 29827 Potomac Road; Sunday, Feb. 26, from 11:45 a.m. to 4 p.m., Our Savior's Lutheran Church, 8985 Hwy. 200 E. Missoula: Thursday, Feb. 16, from noon to 4:15 p.m., Northwestern Energy, 1801 Russell; Friday, Feb. 17, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Missoula Blood Donation Center, 2401 North Reserve Street, Suites 6 and 7; Monday, Feb. 20, from 2 to 6 p.m., Missoula Blood Donation Center, 2401 North Reserve Street, Suites 6 and 7; Wednesday, Feb. 22, from 8:30 a.m. - 12:45 p.m., onXmaps, 1925 Brooks Street; Thursday, Feb. 23, from 10 a.m. to 2:15 p.m., Federal Court Building, 201 East Broadway; Thursday, Feb. 23, from 2 to 6:15 p.m., Holy Spirit Parish, 130 South Sixth Street East; Friday, Feb. 24, from 9 a.m. to 1:15 p.m., Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, 5705 Grant Creek; Friday, Feb. 24, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Missoula Blood Donation Center, 2401 North Reserve Street, Suites 6 and 7; Monday, Feb. 27, from 2 to 6 p.m., Missoula Blood Donation Center, 2401 North Reserve Street, Suites 6 and 7; Tuesday, Feb. 28, from 10 a.m. to 2:15 p.m., Neptune Aviation, 1 Corporate Way. *** Fitness, dance classes For more information on the following classes offered by the Lifelong Learning Center, call 406-549-8765 or visit missoula.classes.com: Beginning/Intermediate CoreAlign-Wednesdays, Feb. 1-24, 7-8 a.m., Alpine Physical Therapy, $104. Introduction to CoreAlign, Wednesdays, Feb. 1-22, 5:35-6:35 p.m., Alpine Physical Therapy, $55. Introduction to Pilates Reformer, Wednesdays, Feb. 1-22, 9:30-10:30 a.m., Alpine Physical Therapy, $55. OULA Palooza!, Friday, Feb. 10, 5:30-7:30 p.m., Dickinson Lifelong Learning Center, $11. 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. HELENA A bill to ban insurance companies from using zero-dollar claims as a reason to cancel policies or raise rates received strong support from the Montana Senate, where it appeared Monday after having been tabled in committee for several weeks. Currently, companies can cancel insurance policies, bar renewal or raise rates because a customer simply asks questions about a potential claim even if the company never made any payment related to the incident. Whats particularly ironic about this is most policies require you to report any potential claims, whether anything comes of it or not, Sen. Mary McNally, D-Billings said. I dont think its fair. I dont think its right. She noted she first learned of the problem when hundreds of policies were canceled in the Billings area after repeated hailstorms. Although some of those cancellations were likely based on risk calculated using claims that the company actually paid out, some were instead the result of risk assessments based on damage that the customer paid for themselves and cost the insurance company nothing. The measure was first supported by former State Auditor and Insurance Commissioner Monica Lindeen, a Democrat, but also has been backed this year by Republican Matt Rosendale, who took office in January. A 2015 version of the bill failed, in large part, because it also would have limited the age of claims companies could consider when making underwriting decisions. That is not part of this years bill. The bill would apply to a broad range of insurance policies, from homeowners and auto to commercial property and professional liability. In testimony before the Senate Business, Labor and Economic Affairs Committee the first week of January, several lobbyists for the insurance industry opposed the measure, arguing the information about all incidents, even ones that do not lead to a claim or payout, are valuable in calculating their rates and risks. It ultimately passed out of committee on a 9-1 vote, with Great Falls Republican Sen. Steve Fitzpatrick in opposition. On Monday, the full Senate gave preliminary approval to the measure in a 42-8 vote. Fitzpatrick was joined by seven other Republicans to cast No votes: Keith Regier of Kalispell, Tom Richmond of Billings, Daniel Salomon of Ronan, Nels Swandal of Wilsall, Chas Vincent of Libby, Roger Webb of Billings and Jeffrey Welborn of Dillon. While its Montana home base braced for record-breaking snow, one of Neptune Aviations jet air tankers began firefighting missions in the drought-parched mountains of Chile. Theyre using us for initial attack, and right now, their mail problem is arson fires, Neptune Chief Executive Officer Ron Hooper said on Monday. In the last two or three weeks, the situation was so severe their president declared a national emergency. That was just lifted this weekend. Their seasons are opposite of ours, and right now its like southern California during drought conditions, when the fuels are dry, theres lots of wind and no precipitation. Neptune Tanker 03 departed Missoula on Friday and arrived in Concepcion, Chile, on Saturday. Thats about 200 miles south of the capital, Santiago, and north of the main fire areas. The fires have killed at least four firefighters, one air tanker pilot and numerous civilians since starting in mid-January. One fire destroyed much of the town of Santa Olga, burning 1,000 homes and forcing the evacuation of 6,000 residents. This is the equivalent of the fires of 1988 here, said Missoula resident Graeme Shaw, who regularly visits Chile and advised Neptunes crew on government and customs rules before they departed. Yellowstone Park is 2 million acres, and theyve burned about 1.5 million acres of Chile. The situation is so bad, that if you have matches in your pocket, youll be arrested on sight. Shaw said Chilean government officials report that arsonists may be starting fires to make insurance claims on lost crops or livestock because drought conditions have so damaged the agricultural economy there. He said Chilean news reported at least 40 people have been arrested in investigations of fire activity. The Neptune crews will be dropping water instead of fire retardant on the Chilean fires. While the red clouds of retardant are considered more effective, Hooper said the jet will be able to fly low enough to get good use from plain water drops. Water disperses faster and if the fire is too hot, it just evaporates, Hooper said. But were hitting the fires when theyre still small, so we can get down low 150 feet above the fuel. We get on the fires quickly, knock them down and let the ground forces finish the job. Theyre spread thin now because of all of the fire activity. *** While the Chilean government directs the firefighting operations, Hooper said private business owners in the country have financed the large air tanker fleet. The country has a small force of single-engine air tankers and helicopters, but no large air tankers like Neptunes BAe-146 jets or very large air tankers like Boeing 747s and Russian-made IL-76 jets, which other foreign firefighting companies have sent to Chile. Neptune fields nine BAe-146s, which it has brought on to replace its Korean War-era P2-V bombers. One advantage of moving to the civilian-made jets, Hooper said, was the opportunity to work in international fire situations. Federal law prohibits civilians from using military planes outside the United States, even if they are decommissioned and civilian-owned. The Montana Office of the Commissioner of Higher Education is extending official invitations early this week to potential advisory committee members who will search for a new University of Montana president. "We expect we will have identified this week the makeup of the committee, and it will be public when it is appointed and named," deputy commissioner for communications Kevin McRae said on Monday. On Dec. 1, Commissioner Clayton Christian asked UM President Royce Engstrom to step down after six years and asked Sheila Stearns, former commissioner of higher education and former provost and chancellor at UM Western, to serve as interim president. Christian praised Engstrom but also said it was time for new leadership at UM. To lead the recruitment, the Commissioner's Office hired AGB Search, a consulting firm. In December, Commissioner Christian, consultants and members of the Montana Board of Regents hosted listening sessions at UM to get input on the type of president that should lead UM. In one session with community members, people asked for bold, transparent leadership at the flagship campus and a focus on academics. AGB Consulting is compiling comments from the session; the report was not available Monday through the Commissioner's Office. Regents will make the final decision based on a recommendation from the commissioner, McRae said. Committee members will select semifinalists and finalists to be interviewed on campus. The committee's first meeting is scheduled for Feb. 16, McRae said. At that meeting, AGB Search will likely cover the proposed timeline and significant tasks that will need to be completed. Commissioner Christian will chair the committee, McRae said. The committee will have an estimated 22 members, mostly faculty, staff and students, as well as a couple of regents and possibly a couple of UM administrators. A couple of representatives from the broader community may also be on the committee. Finalists for the role of UM president will visit the campus either later this spring semester or early fall, McRae said. A public forum is part of the visit. "I believe the commissioner, in asking people whether they would be willing to serve on the committee, is indicating that the work will continue until the search is complete, which could possibly extend into next October," McRae said. Stearns has said she is available as needed on an interim basis as UM president but is not applying for the permanent post. The U.S. Forest Service can hire firefighters this year after winning an exemption from President Trumps civilian governmental employee hiring freeze. On Friday, the U.S. Department of Agricultures acting deputy secretary Michael Young announced exemptions to ensure a safe food supply, fire-safe communities, safe and secure public lands and rapid emergency response to natural and human-caused disasters, according to a USDA press release. USDA and its sub-agencies will implement these exemptions only as needed and consistent with the intent of the presidents direction," it read. An attached file of exempted positions mentioned Forest Service-wildland firefighting related positions including fire management officer, fire planner/fire management specialist, assistant fire management officer/firefighter and cache manager. It further noted that the exemption may include other job series that are directly related to carrying out these activities as determined by the secretary. Trumps Jan. 22 order stated no vacant positions may be filled and no new positions may be created, except in limited circumstances. The head of any executive department or agency may exempt from the hiring freeze any positions that it deems necessary to meet national security or public safety responsibilities, the order continued. In addition, the Director of the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) may grant exemptions from this freeze where those exemptions are otherwise necessary. The announcement came days before a national hiring fair was due to open for wildland firefighting jobs. The Forest Service typically hires about 11,000 seasonal workers annually, of whom more than 6,200 are firefighters. Officials at the Forest Service Region 1 headquarters in Missoula were not available for comment on Monday. But Ron Hooper, Neptune Aviation chief executive officer and former Forest Service deputy for procurement and property, said the job flow was expected to un-kink soon. After any presidential election, you typically have a hiring freeze, Hooper said on Monday. And theres always been an opportunity to exempt for national security or public safety. While Trumps executive order also restricted using private contracting to fill federal duties, Hooper said that would not apply to contracts already awarded. For example, Neptune provides large air tankers for wildland firefighting, and those multi-year contracts will not be affected in 2017. They are forecasting for less fire early on, although there are already fires burning in Oklahoma and Arkansas, Hooper said. We expect to see average activity in mid- to late-summer and early fall when things start to dry out again. When I served in Iraq with the 173rd Airborne Brigade in 2003, I served alongside an Iraqi translator named Mustafa. Despite all he did to further our cause and protect me and my fellow troops, Mustafa is now the kind of person banned from the United States by President Trumps executive order on immigration. Rather than write an opinion, I wanted to share the below letter I wrote to Mustafa as a way of making clear how I feel about this executive order and, more importantly, the Iraqis I lived and worked with during my time in the military. *** Dear Mustafa, I wanted you to know that I have not forgotten your courageous service alongside American forces nearly 14 years ago in northern Iraq. I haven't forgotten the times that you rode along with us in our unarmored Humvee as we drove down dangerous highways and into hostile villages, in search of insurgents on early morning raids. The endurance you showed while translating for us on multi-day missions was remarkable. I'll never forget the death threats you and your family receivedthe warnings that if you continued to work with American forces, you and your family members would be killed. And I'll always admire the courage you showed in the face of those threats to continue to do what you believed was right. I have often told my family about the generosity you showed to us American soldiers. I still have pictures of the iftar dinner you invited us to join with you to build on our friendship and learn about your culture. It is so painful to reflect on how optimistic we were in the spring of 2003! Do you remember the letter exchange we organized between Iraqi and American students? It nearly brought me to tears reading your translation of the letters from the Iraqi students. They were so eager to get to know American students and put the war behind them. I was so impressed by how interested and excited students in my hometown of Helena were to learn about Iraqi students as well. My dream was that we were at the beginning of a lasting friendship between our two nations. It felt so close that it was nearly inevitable, but what a never-ending nightmare it has been since those early "post-war" days. The grinding insurgency, followed by the barbaric and sadistic rise of ISIS. I can't imagine what it must have been like for you and your family as you all took up arms again to fight for your besieged country and your imperiled lives. And now, just as it appeared that Iraqi forces were on the verge of a hard-fought victory over ISIS in Mosul, our president has issued an executive order barring the entry of all Iraqis to the United States. I can only imagine what a deep insult this order must be for you, as a proud Iraqi. I want you to know that as an American, I consider the order a profound insult as well. It is foolish and dishonorable. It does not reflect the America I know and love. And of course, it does nothing to keep us safeand everything to put you at risk. It has always been widely recognized by American leaders that radical extremists purporting to speak for Islam did not speak for you, your family or your community. For years, American veterans have been working to expand the number of special visas available to protect interpreters like you from violent reprisals. I know so many other American veterans who now are working not only on that issue, but to overturn the entire order and help those impacted by it. We have not forgotten your service and hope that the friendship between our nations will somehow recover. Thank you for having the courage to work with us many years ago. I pray that it all has not been in vain. The Trump wall is estimated to cost $12 billion to $13 billion. Why pays for it? Not a billionaire who pays no taxes and brags about it. An intelligent president could do much good with those kind of bucks. Chicago is a killing field because good people can't find a job and have to join gangs and do what gangs do. It could be used to work with Mexicans whose lives are controlled by the drug cartels. The Berlin Wall didn't work and neither will the Trump wall. It will only breed hatred towards the people on the good side of the wall. It isn't human, nor does it meet the demands of religious groups and common sense. Shame on you, Donald Trump! Randall Morey, Missoula Thank you for reporting on the University of Montana's response to President Trump's poorly implemented immigration ban. Although we may feel removed from the chaos at international airports here in Montana, it is important to realize that this ban has effects on us locally. As the wife of a man who immigrated to the U.S., initially with a student visa, then a green card, I am shaken and deeply concerned about President Trump's executive order. My husband is now a U.S. citizen, and we returned last year to my hometown of Missoula with our two children. However, I fear this executive order served to make legal visas and green cards issued by the U.S. government unreliable; just pieces of paper that can be invalidated at whim. Many Missoulians are immigrants; we are threatening their safety and livelihoods by undermining our own immigration system. How can they trust in their adopted country if we can reject them so easily? I also fear that the immigration ban enacted by our president will greatly damage Montanas technology, renewable energy and ecology sectors, which are greatly strengthened by a diverse community of talented researchers, developers and investors including many immigrants. I am encouraged that U.S. Sen. Jon Tester writes of the "harmful consequences" of this order, but am disappointed that U.S. Sen. Steve Daines has not condemned this assault on our country's ideals. Daines states that "we are at war with Islamic extremists" and uses that to justify this assault on the American institutions that protect our freedoms. However, many leaders, including former CIA Director Michael Hayden, argue that the unilateral ban of immigrants from certain Muslim countries will only serve to inflame rhetoric and make us less safe. We are only harming ourselves. Let's reconsider the example we want to set in the world. Lauren Wilson, Missoula KALISPELL Montana's Blackfeet Indian Tribe has declared a state of emergency after a blizzard dumped more than 4 feet of snow on parts of the reservation east of Glacier National Park. Monday's emergency declaration by tribal chairman Harry Barnes calls for residents to stay indoors and off the roads and highways. National Weather Service meteorologist Jim Brusda says the blizzard that started dumping snow in northwestern Montana on Friday started diminishing in intensity Monday afternoon. He says snow was falling at a rate of 1 inch per hour near Marias Pass on U.S. Highway 2, which has been closed to traffic. Brusda says meteorologists will check further reports to determine whether the 51 inches that has fallen in East Glacier Park since Friday is a record. Schools throughout northwestern Montana cancelled classes on Monday due to a strong winter storm. Closures included schools in Kalispell, Whitefish, Columbia Falls and Bigfork along with Libby, Eureka and Troy. Thompson Falls delayed the start of classes by 2 hours. The National Weather Service issued a winter storm warning for northwestern Montana until 11 p.m. Monday and a blizzard warning along the Flathead Range including West Glacier and Essex for Monday morning. Bigfork received 18 inches of snow in a 12-hour period ending at 5 a.m. Monday. The Flathead Avalanche Center has issued a backcountry avalanche warning for the Whitefish, Swan and Flathead mountain ranges and southern Glacier National Park. The state Department of Transportation says U.S. Highway 2 was closed southeast of West Glacier early Monday because the road was drifted in. Crews were working to clear the snow. Copyright 2022 HT Digital Streams Ltd All Right Reserved Nicht Ihr Computer? Dann konnen Sie fur die Anmeldung ein Fenster zum privaten Surfen offnen. Weitere Informationen When Lacey and Jaime Wood began managing the Hamilton Ranch shortly after Tony and Amie James purchased the 34,000-acre property outside of Twin Bridges in 2010, no one was sure what to make of the 19th-century round barn that was coming apart at the seams. But then they had an idea. What if they bought the barn and turned it into a venue for events? Today the barn is known as the Round Barn at Twin Bridges, and since it opened last year, Lacey Wood said, its already hosted a plethora of weddings and charity events. But the pastoral structure located 4 miles north of Twin Bridges on Riverside Drive has a history almost as bright as the red paint that now covers its exterior. The barns main claim to fame is that it was once home to Lord Raglan, a racehorse who won third place in the 1883 Kentucky Derby, and the birth place of Spokane, a horse who won the Derby in 1889. Both horses were owned by Noah Armstrong, who built the barn in 1882. At the time, it had three floors, an automatic windmilldriven water system, feeding chutes, an indoor track, and stalls for 24 thoroughbreds opening directly out to their individual paddocks, the Round Barns website reads. But when the Wood and James families began revitalizing the barn in 2012, it was a shadow of its former self. The roof was about to cave in, said Wood, adding that the barn had a manure floor, which consisted of dirt, along with horse and pigeon droppings. Wood said the renovation effort required a lot of blood, sweat and tears, but that the two families couldnt be more pleased with the result. It was very intensive, said Wood. Way more work than anyone imagined, but it turned out much grander than anyone imagined. In addition to making the barn suitable for weddings, Wood said a kitchen and audio-visual components were installed in the barn, giving it the capacity to host performances and corporate retreats. When asked what the ultimate vision is for the Round Barn, Wood said she hopes it can provide a shot in the arm to local businesses, noting that the barn can accommodate weddings of up to 250 people, all of whom are looking for places to stay overnight, shop and dine. With his executive order to build that southern-border barrier, President Donald Trump simply was keeping his campaign promise, placating his millions of anti-Latino bigot followers and not really causing any sudden problems except maybe forever antagonizing Mexico. It really didn't amount to anything but bitter rhetoric, not any immediate harm. All he could do is get the ball rolling or in this case, get the wall rolling. But his other hateful order which kept another campaign pledge to his anti-Muslim bigot followers, many of them the same as the anti-Hispanic ones caused total chaos. Not only was the order based on hate, it was carried out in haste. Rarely have such incompetents misused such power in such an uncoordinated way. From the moment Trump and his fellow White House Keystone Kops released their directive to stop entry to the United States for anyone but bona-fide U.S. citizens, the spit hit the fan. The grotesque nightmare continued for Syrian refugees who had waited years to go through vetting after surviving the violence that wracks their country. Just as suddenly, those coming from or having any connection to the other six majority-Muslim nations on the list also were stopped before they could board planes or detained after they landed. Border Patrol officers, at times, seemed to be drunk with power. Their superiors, who had been told about this disorderly order only as it was taking effect, had an extremely harsh view of their authority and held their new arrivals prisoner or sent them packing on another plane. Those kept captive were held incommunicado, away from the heroic lawyers who had rushed to airports to help. They persisted even after judges ordered them to at least allow their detainees access to attorneys, raising the possibility that their defiance might result in contempt of court. Even after several days, the situation is chaotic. The president was his usual petulant self, complaining on Twitter about the "so-called judge" who thwarted the so-called president's poorly planned plans. For the most part, his Trumpsters have been in face-saving mode, insisting that the mess they concocted wasn't all that messy. But other than pandering to his base, what was the purpose? Why, for instance, would the seven countries on this arbitrary list not include Pakistan, a hotbed of militancy, or Afghanistan? Why not Saudi Arabia, home to most of the 9/11 attackers? Why did he exclude so many other majority-Muslim countries? Could it be, as some suggest, because Donald Trump or his family (same thing) has financial interests in those places? Does blocking the flow of people coming in from the seven countries do anything to stop the homegrown terrorists who live here but have been radicalized or are angry outcasts? How does any nation effectively interfere with social media, which can be used for such dangerous incitement? What about the fact that so much terrorist violence is inspired by other warped outlooks like the racism of Dylan Root, for instance, or even the consuming anti-Muslim obsession that drove a pathetic madman to kill during a shooting spree in a Quebec City mosque. This is chilling but true: Potential mass killers are already here waiting to be pushed over the edge. What our dear leader Donald Trump has done with his reckless action just reinforces the argument that this great nation's welcoming reputation is really undeserved. Ask generations past about the Germans or the Italians or the Irish. Blacks were allowed in, but they were in chains. Japanese-Americans were sent to internment camps. Now it's the Muslims who have every reason to believe this is hostile territory. President Trump, as inept as his administration may be, is succeeding in recruiting new people to the side of our enemies. Even before Ryan Zinke starts his first day as Interior Secretary, some members of Congress are pushing to throw out an important and broadly backed rule that gives Americans a bigger voice in how public lands are managed. Thats unfair to Mr. Zinke, unfair to Montanans, and unfair to millions of public land users across the West. Last year, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) issued new rules for decision-making on the lands that the agency manages. The new rules, called Planning 2.0, provide additional opportunities, earlier in the process, for the public to provide input on how our public lands are used. This means that hunters, anglers, ranchers, hikers, boaters, coal miners, energy companies, tribes, counties, and everyone else with a stake in public land management will have more information and will be able to express their opinions how our lands should be managed. The new rule is important to all of us who use and enjoy our public lands. For the Montana Wildlife Federation, the rule means new opportunities to protect important fish and wildlife habitat, such as migration corridors and other large habitat areas. By identifying these lands earlier in the planning process, we can find ways to conserve them alongside energy development and other public land uses. Of course, Planning 2.0 also benefits other public land users. Early involvement means more opportunity for public land ranchers to weigh in and share their values. Loggers, miners, and energy companies will have an easier time if we can get out of the react-and-regulate mode of the past and start strategically identifying areas where development should take place. Early reports show that Planning 2.0 is working. One of the early tests of the new rule is taking place right here in Western Montana. Sportsmen, conservationists, business owners, tribes, local governments, and ranchers have been showing up and participating. But now Congress is considering a resolution to throw out the new rules, cosponsored by our own Senator Steve Daines. If the resolution passes, the BLM will be forced to go back to the old planning rule, which is more than 30 years old and well-known for keeping all public land users in the dark. Even worse, the law that Congress is using to throw out the rule the Congressional Review Act specifically prohibits any future attempt to recreate any of the good parts of Planning 2.0. Well be permanently locked into an old rule that didnt work for anybody. Why the rush to overturn the new public land planning process that is the product of years of work? Congress should leave the new planning rules in place and allow the new Secretary the opportunity to decide for himself how to move forward. I think he will agree with hunters and anglers, snowmobilers and skiers, ranchers, loggers, and other stakeholders who have already been working with Planning 2.0 here in Montana. Having BLM to listen to the concerns and ideas of the local community early in the process just makes sense. BILLINGS Trial began Monday for convicted killer Frank Joe Belmarez, who is accused of assaulting his girlfriend this past summer. Belmarez, 49, is on trial this week in Yellowstone County for felony charges of aggravated assault and partner or family member assault as well as misdemeanor charges of obstructing a peace officer and resisting arrest. Belmarez has pleaded not guilty to the charges against him. Belmarez' alledged victim testified Monday before Yellowstone County District Court Judge Rod Souza. The woman said that on July 22 Belmarez assaulted her in her apartment on the 1300 block of Industrial Avenue. She could not remember why Belmarez attacked her, but she remembered him choking her. "Because I couldn't breathe, I thought I could die," the woman said. The woman did not want to testify out of fear of Belmarez, she said. A subpoena had to be issued for her appearance at trial. She and Belmarez are no longer in a relationship. Belmarez was convicted in 1990 of killing his wife, Victoria Espinoza. Belmarez stabbed Espinoza to death outside of a Billings bar. He pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 35 years in prison. He was paroled in 2011, after 21 years in prison. In 2015, Belmarez was convicted of partner or family member assault in Missoula. Belmarez threatened a different girlfriend and her son with a knife. He was sentenced to five years probation. Billings Police Officer Matthew Edwards was called to testify Monday. He was one of the officers who arrested Belmarez in July. Belmarez did not open the door for police officers, despite multiple commands, Edwards said. Officers broke down the door after hearing a woman screaming and crying for them to help her, Edwards said. Inside, Edwards found a woman with blood covering her face. She was taken to the hospital where she was treated for a broken nose and a concussion, according to court documents. A ruling by Souza prior to trial prevents the state from introducing evidence of Belmarez's convictions unless either he or his attorney allude to previous crimes. Trial will begin again Tuesday morning. MUSCATINE, Iowa Lack of funding from the state may mean more cuts for the judicial system, Seventh Judicial District Chief Judge Marlita Greve told the Muscatine County Board of Supervisors on Monday. Greve, the head judge for the district that includes Muscatine County as well as Scott, Cedar, Clinton and Jackson counties, said that after the judicial branch did not receive more funding through the state last fiscal year, it began the year $5 million "in the hole." "We did not want to cut people, so what they decided to do was cut different expenses," she said. For some counties, that could mean longer wait times for cases to go to trial. "We had to basically decide were only going to send one judge to Muscatine," Greve said. While longer wait times have not become too much of an issue for Muscatine, she said, several other counties have had difficulties. Staff positions that open up also are not being filled, Greve said, in an effort to keep expenses down. "All judicial vacancies are being held open, about 111 staff positions," she said. Muscatine had one position open on July 1, and this year, that number could go up to four or five, Greve said. The best thing to do to help, Greve said, was to contact legislators. "Theyve got to fund the judicial branch," she said. After recent appropriations, Greve said the judicial branch lost another $3 million. "We're going to have to take additional steps, maybe layoffs," she said. Greve also addressed courthouse security. She said that although Muscatine's security has improved in recent years, the deputy sheriff on duty plans to request more measures be taken, such as him being able to carry equipment to search people entering the courthouse, if necessary. "We had someone come in with a knife and a pellet gun that looked like a revolver," she said. Although the deputy was able to find the weapons, Greve said, the person already was in the courthouse and could have acted. "We don't deal with horrible people, we deal with people who are at their worst because of things that have happened to them," she said. "And unfortunately sometimes, that makes people do things they wouldn't normally do." In other business, the board set a public hearing for 9 a.m. Monday, Feb. 27, on a request to rezone about 1.16 acres at 2921 Highway 22 from C-1 Commercial District to R-1 Residential District. WAPELLO, Iowa Not all the fiscal year 2018 budget loose ends were tied off Friday, but the Louisa County Board of Supervisors handled most of them. Although most of the spending plan had been worked out during individual meetings with department heads and other representatives of organizations supported with county funding, the board had to finish allocations for the county ambulance services, libraries and the Louisa Development Group. The ambulance service stipends for the three services had been on hold after Wapello Ambulance Service representative Cindy Small and Morning Sun Community Ambulance Service representative Tom Bryant met with the supervisors on Jan. 24 and requested an additional $8,000 to $10,000 be provided to the Morning Sun service. The two said Morning Sun must comply with the same regulations and equipment needs as the Wapello service and the Louisa County Ambulance Service, but it has an older and smaller population base that translates in lower usage. They also pointed out the revenue Morning Sun receives is lower because many of the calls are handled through Medicaid, which has a lower reimbursement rate than other sources. We have to make sure (Morning Sun) succeeds, Supervisor Brad Quigley said, explaining the four ambulance bases operated by the three services are needed because of the countys geography. The supervisors agreed to provide Morning Sun with an additional $5,000 in fiscal year 18 and another $5,000 in fiscal year 19 after Quigley checked with Bryant to determine if the split year increase would work. That will raise Morning Suns annual support from the county to $28,575 next year and to $33,575 in the following year. The stipends for the Wapello and Louisa County will remain at current levels. The supervisors also reviewed a request that Louisa Development Group Executive Director Paula Buckman made last week to up the countys support for the group from the current $12,000 to $15,000. Quigley, who serves on the development group's board, suggested the supervisors not increase the support at this time because the group was taking a new look at a previous idea. He said the Louisa Development Group had met the night before and apparently was going to conduct another review to use contracted services through the Iowa State Extension Service for economic development assistance. That idea had been investigated by the Louisa Development Group earlier before being turned down, but Quigley said it offered some fresh opportunities that should be explored. The supervisors agreed to add 2.5 percent to the countys current $46,374 in library support after auditor Sandi Elliott reminded them that funding had last been raised two years ago. The board also reviewed funding support for the Louisa County Public Health Service but did not change any figures because of the current turmoil over the supervisors decision to remove two Louisa County Board of Health members. The supervisors said they expected that issue to be resolved in a few weeks and would then work with a new board to resolve lingering issues over salaries. The board did agree to re-identify Elliott as the countys budget director, with an additional $3,000 in compensation for those duties. With the update, the countys budget proposal now calls for $13,208,775 in spending, which compares with $12,749,089 in re-estimated spending for this year. The projected tax rate in fiscal year 18 will remain at $9.84 per $1,000 taxable valuation for rural areas and $6.93 for urban areas. MUSCATINE, Iowa Principal Jan Collinson walked around the nearly empty hallways of West Middle School one Friday morning, occasionally opening doors and peeking into classes where students were busily working at their computers, practicing their instruments, or taking tests. At the end of her rounds, she came across a student in the hallway. Tessa, do you have a pass? Collinson asked. Yes, maam, Tessa answered, waving her pass. Collinson smiled. Learning can happen now, she said. To Collinson, who came to West as principal this year, this simple exchange is a big achievement. Last year, approximately 80 percent of the students were sent to office at some point. Suspensions, Collinson said, followed suit. Detentions dropped considerably this year. In October 2015, teachers sent 278 students to detention. That number dropped to 110 for October 2016. And in November 2015, teachers sent 215 students to detention. Last November, that number dropped by approximately half. The change, Collinson said, began with setting new routines, chief among them was dealing with students who wander the hallways. We just set some routines. For example, when the kids come into the building, theres a place they can go, they cant wander the halls kids wander, you have problems, she said. Collinson also said the detention format was changed. First, students go into detention only for larger offenses like yelling, screaming or disrupting the class. Teachers also agreed to try different interventions in class, with detention being the last resort. Before, students would say they wanted to go to detention, Collinson said, because they viewed it as free time. Sometimes your friends were there, and theyd sit there and have a good time and so now its not, she said. Now, when students arrive at detention, they fill out a form that helps them reflect on their behavior and an administrator works with them on strategies to prevent similar behavior in the future. And when rules dont work, the schools resource officer, Whitni Pena, will sometimes get involved. When students misbehave, the school and Pena try to decide if its a school matter or a police matter. Only the most severe fights become a police matter. Maybe the kids are pulled apart and the kid keeps going back and trying to fight, or the one kid is down, huddled up and the other kid is just (hitting), she said. Other times, Pena is there to offer advice. A lot of times, theyll use me as the authority figure so that Im not always the bad guy, she said But the most common things she addresses these days are attendance issues and the occasional stolen phone. Collinson credits the change to setting clear behavior expectations for the students. The kids are not getting in as much trouble because we have the rules, she said. 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 time immemorial, Luo men have earned their place as the epitome of romance compared to their counterparts from other tribes. They are considered the Alejandros of our society as evidenced by the many women who have come forward to attest to the fact that a Luo man knows how to treat his woman or women. With that said, a Kenyan woman is cracking up social media after she narrated her experience with a Luo man. The lady, identified as Caroline Nyakaro, narrated on Facebook the incredible special treatment she received from a Luo man at his penthouse after a night of dancing. Check it out: As investigations continue into the murder of a 22-year-old JKUAT student whose body was found chopped up, it has now emerged that the deceased had quarreled with her brother over a Weetabix meal before her death. Detectives have learnt that the deceaseds brother, Charles Kibe Mwaura, was allegedly infuriated when she insulted him for eating her Weetabix. Grace Nduta Mwaura was reported missing at Githurai Kimbo police station on January 29. She was last seen on Wednesday, January 25, at 12 noon at her parents house in Kahawa Sukari. Police from Juja police station found her body parts including her limbs and intestines stuffed in a bucket and hidden in the ceiling of their house in Kahawa Sukari. More parts of her body were found at a coffee plantation in the Kalimoni area in Juja, Kiambu county. Ms Mwaura who was a fourth year engineering student at Jkuat had her eyes gouged out and her tongue cut out in a ritual-like killing. Nearly her whole body and face had been skinned. Police also recovered a laptop and the knife that was used in her killing alongside her body parts. The officers on Friday morning arrested Charles in connection with the murder. Charles, 24, is currently admitted at a Nairobi hospital where he is receiving treatment after attempting to take his own life by stabbing himself in the stomach. According to Ruiru police boss Isaac Thuranira, the Bachelor of Commerce graduate confessed to the murder. Police are investigating the death of a man who was allegedly stabbed by his girlfriend on Sunday night in South-B after a quarrel. According to police reports, Fatuma Mohamed Okoth, 24, had quarreled with 25-year-old Flogent Mwakamba at his house on Sore Drive. Ms Fatuma is said to have picked up a kitchen knife and stabbed Mr Mwakamba in the chest killing him instantly. The deceaseds friend reported the incident to the police. The body was taken to Chiromo mortuary for a postmortem. TOKYO Behind some of the world's most reputed concert halls is a Japanese engineer whose finesse in shaping sound is so perfectly unobtrusive that all listeners hear is the music in all its subtlety, texture and fullness. Yasuhisa Toyota's talents are coveted as classical music venues are increasingly designed in "vineyard style," where audiences surround the stage to hear the performers up close and enjoy an almost-interactive experience, feeling more like a part of the music and being able to be seen and respond to it. Toyota's Nagata Acoustics has just 20 employees globally, but it dominates acoustics work for halls in Japan and is expanding abroad. He's designed the acoustics for orchestras in Los Angeles, Helsinki, Paris and Shanghai. Another of his projects, the Elbephilharmonie concert hall in Hamburg, opened Jan. 11. Still, when asked to summarize the reason for success, Toyota hesitates. So many factors are involved in fine-tuning acoustics, and each hall has a different design, creating fresh challenges. "No one can explain in one word why a Stradivarius violin sounds so beautiful, or how the way it was made may have shaped that beautiful sound," Toyota said in a recent interview at his Tokyo home. "Whether sound is beautiful, clear or pleasant is extremely complex," he said. "So when we're talking about acoustics in a concert hall, there is basically that space itself." Toyota, 64, is not a musician but was raised listening to and loving classical music. He founded his company in 1971. It has headquarters in Tokyo and Los Angeles, which is his main home these days as he oversees Nagata's projects outside Japan Toyota coined the expression "psycho-acoustics" to describe the importance of emotions and other senses in sound. Would a pink violin, for instance, sound as good as a brown one, he asks? "There is discussion about a formula for acoustics because sound is invisible. People don't ask those questions about visual design," said Toyota, whose carefree flair, quick wit and laugh are unusual among Japanese of his usually staid generation. At times sounding like a Zen monk when he talks about the art of sound, Toyota says crafting acoustics requires a thorough knowledge of building materials, close collaboration with architects, comprehension of musicians' needs, computerized simulations, use of scale models of the halls and analysis of reverberating sound. The thickness of a wall, its shape, material and curves, the fixtures hanging from the ceiling, and the musicians themselves all affect acoustics. In the old-style shoebox design of concert halls, where the audience sits in rows facing the stage, the sound is easier to control. The vineyard format is trickier. David Howard, a bass clarinetist with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, has played in several halls Toyota has worked on and says he appreciates the direct, clear and full, and intimate nature of their sound. "In that sense, Mr. Toyota hit a home run," he said. Apart from the just opened Elbephilharmonie, Toyota has done the acoustics for Stanford University's Bing Concert Hall, Helzberg Hall at Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts in Kansas City, Missouri, and the Chamber Hall at the Museo Del Violino in Cremona, Italy. His first major overseas project was the Walt Disney Concert Hall, which opened in 2003, for the Los Angeles Philharmonic. The acoustics of the hall the Los Angeles orchestra used before were so bad that musicians overplayed to compensate, and that carried over to other venues. "The ideal environment," Howard said, "is one where I can feel unencumbered in terms of being concerned about my individual sound, and I can just play, so that the ingredients are such that I don't have to worry about it being beautiful enough, or loud enough, or clear enough, that those things are more or less taken care of for me, so that I can just make music." Toyota's fame started with Tokyo's majestic Suntory Hall, but its 1986 opening was a nightmare, he recalls. It took time for the musicians to adjust to its finely tuned acoustics. That process can take several years. But these days, musical experts agree the acoustics in Suntory Hall are impeccable. Toyota said he asks all musicians to play more softly while adjusting to a new venue where he's worked. "When all 80 people are nervous and playing in all directions, then there is utter chaos on stage," he said. Japan's love for classical music and Toyota's talent were evident at a recent Japan Philharmonic Orchestra performance at Suntory Hall of Bruckner's "Symphony No. 8 in C minor." Kikue Sugimito, a long-time Japan Philharmonic season-ticket holder, remembers being awed by the sound quality when the orchestra moved from its previous venue to Suntory Hall. "There is a transparence about the sound here," she said. Pietari Inkinen, the conductor, said the hall was so close to perfect any kind of piece could be played, inspiring the performers because listeners can feel the symphony "in their stomachs." "This is really one of the best halls in the world," he said. "You can play unbelievably softly and it carries to the last row." The architect Frank Gehry, who worked with Toyota on Disney Hall, says the aim in designing a concert hall is to make the space comfortable and interactive for all in the room. Gehry and Toyota donated their work to build a hall, opening in March, for Berlin's Barenboim-Said Akademie, which was founded by conductor and pianist Daniel Barenboim and the American-Palestinian scholar Edward W. Said to educate and bring together young musicians, including Arabs and Israelis. "In music, you're taking sounds and putting them together to create beauty and a feeling. When you do a building, you're taking inert materials and putting them together to create beauty and a feeling," said Gehry, who admires Japanese culture, including gagaku music and architecture, and, especially, Toyota. "You make the space comfortable, interactive and humane so that people feel together in the room and people feel together with the orchestra. The orchestra feels the relationship with the people. And it makes it better. That was what we tried to do. We could talk about it that way," said Gehry in a telephone interview from Los Angeles. "I love working with him an enriching treat beyond belief," he said. Although architects and acousticians sometimes don't get along, as they infringe by definition on each other's turf, Toyota told a story about the cross-cultural collaborative relationship he has with Gehry, joking about sharing blame equally if Disney Hall were to fail. "So he tells me, 'Yasu, if things don't go well, let's commit harakiri together. But you have to do it first, and I'm following because I have no idea how to do it.' My response was, 'Frank, you have to do it first. If I did, there will be no one who can help you. I can help you. You should go first. I'm going after you.' " PYONGYANG, North Korea Salespeople at Pyongyang's premier car dealership wait patiently beside racks of glossy brochures in a showroom filled with that unmistakable new car smell from a couple dozen Whistle sedans and Cuckoo SUVs all bearing the distinctive, double-pigeon logo of Pyonghwa Motors, North Korea's only passenger car company. The streets of Pyongyang are more crowded than ever, but Pyonghwa, whose sole factory just south of the capital was designed to produce as many as 10,000 cars a year, appears to be stuck in neutral. Experts say just about everything its pigeon hood ornaments are attached to these days comes straight from China. "I am afraid that since November 2012 there has not been any production of a Pyonghwa vehicle," said Erik van Ingen Schenau, an expert on the Chinese automobile market and author of a book documenting North Korean vehicles. "The newer models with the Pyonghwa badges are all Chinese-made." If any assembly is being done locally, it is likely very small scale such as putting on tires, inserting batteries or finishing the cars' interiors, he said. Recent satellite imagery on Google Earth shows no cars in the lots around the factory. North Korea's passenger car market is, at best, nascent. Production and resources have always been focused on military vehicles or trucks rather than passenger cars, which outside of Pyongyang are still few and far between and well beyond the means of all but the most elite citizens. To further complicate matters, U.N. sanctions announced in March last year have made it harder for North Korea to get the parts needed for its assembly lines. Pyonghwa itself is a remnant of a less-tense time, when South Korean investment aimed at improving ties through economic engagement was encouraged in this case as a joint venture with the late Rev. Sun Myung Moon, founder of the Unification Church. It was the first and is probably still the only company allowed to use billboard advertisements. "Pyonghwa Motors will take the lead in building a bridge between South and North," former CEO Park Sang Kwon, a Korean-American who spearheaded the effort from the South to create the company, said in a statement on its website, which hasn't been updated since 2012. The promise of Pyonghwa, which means "Peace" in Korean, sputtered and stalled as relations between Pyongyang and Seoul soured and the North embarked down its path of becoming a nuclear power. Production of a Pyonghwa version of the Fiat Siena began at its Nampo plant in 2002, with 137 vehicles assembled from component "kits" shipped in from abroad. Output peaked in 2011, when the plant assembled 1,820 vehicles, then soon crashed when the South Korean side of the venture pulled out. A chart showing the release years of Pyonghwa's 12 models is posted on a wall at the dealership and stops abruptly at 2010. The company displayed 36 cars, trucks and pickups at the Pyongyang Spring International Trade Fair in 2013, but van Ingen Schenau, who is director of the France-based China Motor Vehicle Documentation Centre, said all were Chinese. "Most of them were made by FAW in Changchun or FAW-Volkswagen," he said. FAW First Auto Works is one of China's 'big four" state-owned automakers. With its headquarters in Jilin Province, adjacent to the North, the state-owned FAW Group is particularly well-placed to tap into the North Korean market. But it's by no means the only player in the game. Private automaker Hawtai Motor Group is one of the most visible, supplying hundreds of cars for the burgundy and gold fleet of "KKG" taxis that began appearing in Pyongyang in 2014. Another Chinese brand, BYD, flooded the city's streets with cars for a competing fleet of green and yellow taxis in 2013. Locally produced Sungri and Taepaksan trucks increasingly are being replaced by secondhand Chinese Dongfeng, FAW-made "Liberation" trucks and Yuejin vehicles. Two of Pyonghwa's more recently introduced showroom models have been identified as rebranded Beijing Auto products. The streets of Pyongyang offer some insights into the state of the North Korean economy. Black Mercedes limousines for senior officials and blue Volvos North Korea famously bought, but failed to pay for, 1,000 of the Swedish cars in 1974 are a common sight. Trams, some built in the former Czechoslovakia, and trolleys are another. The Pyongyang Trolleybus Works recently introduced the 170-passenger Chollima 091, with Chinese axles. There is a considerable flow of long-haul buses, trucks and smaller vehicles that transport people and goods around for a fee. The practice isn't openly approved of by the government, but it's become a commonplace entrepreneurial side-business. Stiffer pressure on Beijing to clamp down on trade with Pyongyang could crimp the growth in traffic. But if sanctions and political instabilities can be overcome two very big ifs Chinese capital could start up where South Korea's Pyonghwa experiment left off. FAW seemed to be heading in that direction when in 2013 it was widely reported to have signed a memorandum of intent to build a factory in Rason, a special economic zone near the Russian and Chinese borders. But like many planned projects in the North the status of the plant is uncertain. Company officials were not immediately available for comment. BYD and the Chinese Association of Automobile Manufacturers also had no comment. SACRAMENTO The FBI is offering a reward of up to $10,000 in the search for two missing Northern California teenagers in cases that authorities say are related and suspicious. The bureau offered the money Monday for the return of 17-year-olds Elijah Moore and Enrique Rios. The friends attended Cesar Chavez Community School in Woodland until they disappeared 25 days apart last fall. Woodland Police Chief Dan Bellini says investigators served multiple search warrants. He says they learned that the cases are connected and both are suspicious in nature. Rios, of Esparto, disappeared overnight Oct. 16 with no sign of foul play and was initially considered a possible runaway. Moore, of Woodland, disappeared Nov. 4 after he attended school and cashed a check. The FBI posted other information at https://www.fbi.gov/contact-us/field-offices/sacramento PRAIRIE DU CHIEN, Wis. She tugged 13 envelopes from a cabinet above the stove, each one labeled with a different debt: the house payment, the student loans, the vacuum cleaner she bought on credit. Lydia Holt and her husband tuck money into these envelopes with each paycheck to whittle away at what they owe. They both earn about $10 an hour. She did the math; at this rate, they'll be paying these same bills for 87 years. In 2012, Holt voted for Barack Obama because he promised her change, but she feels that change hasn't reached her here. So last year she chose a presidential candidate unlike any she'd ever seen, the billionaire businessman who promised to help people like her win again. Many of her neighbors did, too so many that for the first time in more than 30 years, Crawford County, Wisconsin, a sturdy brick in the once-mighty Big Blue Wall, abandoned the Democratic Party and that wall crumbled. Some 50 counties stretching 300 miles down the Mississippi River through Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa and Illinois transformed in one election season into Trump Country. They voted for Trump for an array of reasons, and the list of grievances they hope he now corrects is long and exacting: stagnant wages, the cost of health care, a hard-to-define feeling that things are not getting better, at least not for people like them. Here in Crawford County, residents often recite two facts about their hometown, the first one proudly: It is the second-oldest community in the state. The next is that it's also one of the poorest. There are no rusted-out factories to embody this discontent. The main street of Prairie du Chien butts up to the Mississippi River and bustles with tourists come summer. Pickup trucks crowd parking lots at the 3M plant and Cabela's distribution center where hundreds work. Just a few vacant storefronts hint at the seething resentment that life still seems harder here than it should. In this place that astonished America when it helped hand Trump the White House, many of those who chose him greeted the frenetic opening acts of his presidency with a shrug. Immigration is not their top concern, and so they watched with some trepidation as Trump signed orders to build a wall on the Mexican border and bar immigrants from seven Muslim countries, sowing chaos around the world. They are still watching and they are waiting, their hopes pinned on his promised economic renaissance. Jim Bowman, director of the county's Economic Development Corporation, says some of the economic anxiety here is based not on measurable decay, but rather a perception that life is decaying. There are plenty of jobs, but it's hard to find one that pays more than $12 an hour. Ambitious young people move away. Rural schools are dwindling, and with them a sense of pride and purpose. "If you ask anybody here, we'll all tell you the same thing: We're tired of living like this," said Mark Berns, leaning through the service window in the small-engine repair shop that he can barely keep open anymore. Berns watched Trump's first days in office half-hopeful, half-frightened. He bemoaned what he described as Trump's quantity-over-quality, "sign, sign, sign" approach to governing. "I just hope we get the jobs back and the economy on its feet, so everybody can get a decent job and make a decent living, and have that chance at the American dream that's gone away over the past eight or 10 years. I'm still optimistic," he said, sighing. "I hope I'm not wrong." Marlene Kramer is also optimistic Trump will make good on his promises. Her priority is health care. Kramer, who voted twice for Obama, used to watch Trump on "Celebrity Apprentice." ''I said to myself, 'Ugh, I can't stand him.'" When he announced his candidacy, she thought it was a joke. "Then my husband said to me, 'Just think, everything he touches seems to turn to money.'" And she changed her mind. She's 54, and she's worked since she was 14, all hard jobs: feeding cows, standing all day on factory floors. Now she works at a sewing shop, where she's happy, and gets to sit. But there's no health insurance. Kramer said she's glad the Affordable Care Act has helped millions get insurance. But it hasn't helped her. She and her husband were stunned to find premiums over $1,000 a month. They opted to pay the penalty of $2,000 until Trump, she hopes, keeps his promise to replace the law with something better. Across town, Robbo Coleman leaned over the bar he tends and described a similar political about-face. He held up an ink pen, wrapped in plastic stamped "Made in China." "I don't see why we can't make pens in Prairie du Chien or in Louisville, Kentucky, or in Alabama or wherever," said Coleman. Coleman doesn't love Trump's moves to build a wall or ban certain immigrants, but he's frustrated that other politicians stopped listening to working people like him. "We've got to give him some time," he said. "He's not Houdini." Farmer Bernard "Tinker" Moravits is also willing to wait and see. Change is what he looked to Obama for and now expects from Trump. The price of milk and agricultural goods has plummeted, and it's getting harder to keep things running. He wants the president to reduce red tape and renegotiate trade deals to benefit American farmers. He has several choice words for Trump's move to build "his stupid wall." Moravits employs Hispanic workers who have been with him 15 years. He trusts them to do a dirty, difficult job that he says white people aren't willing to do. But unlike many transfixed by Trump's presidency, Moravits doesn't stay up-to-the-minute on the news. "The play-by-play don't mean bullshit," he said. "It's like watching the Super Bowl. What counts is how it ends." Moravits isn't sure Trump is going to "Make America Great Again" for farmers. But he feels he had to take the gamble. He laughed, then shrugged and pantomimed rolling the dice. Boosted by higher prices and presidential promises of aid, U.S. coal is having a comeback season. Yet a looming quandary remains: Demand continues to shrink. In the boom-bust cycles of old, the fuels use grew relentlessly as a fleet of coal-fired power plants fed Americas hunger for electricity. Now, a new age of clean, cheap natural gas and renewables has emerged, thanks to the shale boom and fears of global warming. Thats led to almost 50 gigawatts of coal-fired generating capacity being shut down since 2012, enough to power New York and Vermont combined. And no new coal plants are being built. In the past decade, six major suppliers have gone bankrupt, some more than once. Now, some producers say theyre remaking their playbooks to survive in a dwindling market. High rates of return and credit ratings are seen as more key to the future than boosting production. Lots of management teams in the past were focused on volume, volume, volume, George Dethlefsen, chief executive officer of Corsa Coal Corp. in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania, said in a phone interview. Well, wait a second guys. Lets think about leverage ratios, credit metrics. Lets think about rates of return. Those are the metrics you need to be focused on. Over the last six months, the U.S. industry has gained as China, the worlds largest producer and consumer of coal, curbed its own production. That drove spot prices of metallurgical coal used in steelmaking to nearly triple last year to $226 per metric ton, according to The Steel Index. While prices have since eased back to $168.40 as of Tuesday, theyre still twice as high as a year earlier. Seaborne thermal coal also surged, nearly doubling to $86.15 per metric ton by years end. At the same time, campaign vows by President Donald Trump to reduce regulations and bring back mining jobs raised the struggling industrys profile and outlook as it entered 2017. Last week, Republicans voted to kill a rule aimed at protecting streams from the effects of coal mining. Trump, meanwhile, has targeted the biggest environmental rules issued under former President Barack Obama, including the landmark Clean Power Plan. The result: Equity capital markets are once again paying attention. The stakes are higher than theyve ever been, and there are no margins for error, Robert E. Murray, CEO of Murray Energy Corp., the largest closely held U.S. coal miner, said in a phone interview. You have to watch every penny, and you have to get every bit of market you can. William David Collins, Jr., born April 6, 1927 in Amarillo Texas, the eldest of seven children of William D. Collins and Florence Kelly Collins, passed away on February 1, 2017 at home in St. Helena, CA. He is survived by his wife Kathy, children Dave (Chris), Kitty, Hank (Nicky), Kelly, Peter (Sue), Mike (Karen), Kathleen (Leo) and grandchildren Davy, Katie (Tom), DeeDee, Erica, Sofia, Ryan, Christopher, Oran, Maja, Gabriel (Kyrie), Dominic, Mariah, Teresa, Isaac, Peter and great-grandchildren Connor, Clara, Rebecca. Raised in Denver, Colorado, he graduated from Regis Jesuit High School in 1944 and then attended the U.S. Naval Academy, Annapolis, graduating in 1949 with a degree in electrical engineering. He married Helene Hoeffer in 1949 and served on the USS Buck (Asst. Gunnery Officer), USS Mt. McKinley (Group Electronics Officer) and the LST 819 (Executive Officer). He attended Submarine School and served as a Lieutenant on USS Menhaden, USS Mingo and USS Besugo. He served as Staff Engineer and Superintendent, Submarine Overhaul at the San Francisco Naval Shipyard and managed control system development for the Regulus, the first US submarine launched missile. Bill resigned from the Navy in 1957 as his wife was gravely ill. They settled with their five children in Los Altos Hills. He founded an engineering firm, Collins & Hyde in Santa Clara, which was later called Collins Electronics. He represented some of Silicon Valleys early computer pioneers. Following Helenes death in 1959, he married Kathleen Kelly, with whom he had two children (Mike and Kathleen). Bill and Kathy raised their seven children on Byrd Lane in Los Altos Hills. In 1967 they purchased a vineyard in St. Helena and he learned all he could about grape-growing from local growers and UC Davis. He named the rock-strewn ranch, Collins Holystone Vineyard, a nod to Holystone, a sandstone block used to scrub the teak decks of ships. Bill became an expert in holystoning during his plebe summer at Annapolis, working on the decks of the Battleship USS Washington. After founding Conn Creek Winery in 1973 and developing a successful brand, they sold it in 1986, retaining the Collins Holystone Vineyards. Bills passion, after his family and faith, were his vineyards and a love of history. He sponsored the Collins Chair in the Naval Academys History Honors Program; he enjoyed reviewing submissions and meeting the prize finalists. Bill was a modest man of vision with a large presence, who cared deeply about his community and the welfare of vineyard workers. A founder of Napa Valley Family Homes, he served on the Board of Directors from 1990 until 1996, raising seed money among Napa Valleys vintners and growers for low income housing projects. A member of the Napa Valley Grape Growers, he was one of the early proponents of the Grape Crush Report. As Secretary-Treasurer of the Napa Valley Vintners and one of the founders of the Napa Valley Wine Auction, he was instrumental in expanding their support to include Ole Health. A wine journalist once described Collins as an endearing curmudgeon, and he enjoyed that title. Services will be held on February 11 at St. Helena Catholic Church at 10 a.m., with a reception to follow. Donations are suggested to Ole Health (1141 Pear Tree Lane, Napa, CA 94558, Foundation@olehealth.org). Memories may be sent to wdcmemories@gmail.com. ANGWIN Theres a little keypad-secured room in Pacific Union Colleges Chan Shun Hall where you have to raise your voice to be heard over the sci-fi-ish hum of a vacuum-sealed ion beam chamber. The experiment is similar to the cutting-edge research being conducted at prestigious labs like Lawrence Livermore in the Bay Area and Oak Ridge in Tennessee. The fact that its happening at a small liberal arts college in the Napa Valley is a sign of professor Vola Andrianarijaonas determination to prove that PUC can play in the big leagues of experimental particle physics. Its incredible to go to a lab or a conference, see someone from MIT or Yale, and be able to talk to them as peers, not as students from some small school in the Napa Valley, said biophysics major Charles De Guzman, who added that Andrianarijaonas research was one of the things that drew him to PUC. The departments experimental equipment was paid for by a $170,000 grant Andrianarijaona known as Dr. Vola received from the National Science Foundation (NSF). Competing with large, research-focused universities, PUCs grant application was one of only five out of about 800 to receive full funding. Andrianarijaona said there are a few reasons the college received the grant: the racial and gender diversity of the students who would be doing the research, the apparatus portability, which allows it to be used at other labs, and the experiments multidisciplinary appeal to non-physics students who are studying medicine at the molecular level. Although Andrianarijaona was too modest to say so, his department chairman, Steve Waters, said his reputation was also a factor in PUCs tiny physics program punching above its weight class. We have some really prestigious professors here, Waters said, pointing to Andrianarijaona, who has also worked at the Universite Catholique de Louvain in Belgium, the Max Planck Institute for Nuclear Physics in Germany, and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. There are other departments (at PUC) that are doing research, but not with the same kind of funding and not on the world stage like this, Waters said. The NSF grants this is the second one obtained by Andrianarijaona have enabled PUC to collaborate with Oak Ridge National Laboratory and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, where PUC physics major Dmytro Panchenko spends a lot of his time. At those labs, PUC students have access to experiments and scientists that most liberal-arts college undergraduates could only dream of working with. Dr. Vola is very active in engaging students in the department, Panchenko said. He could have done all of this by himself much quicker and much better, but he wants to give us experience thats otherwise unavailable. Even in bigger schools its often difficult to find research because undergraduates are really not wanted. Like a lot of modern physics experiments, this one involves smashing tiny particles together and seeing what happens. As physics major Aaron Watson explained, vaporized sodium is shot into a beam of H2+ hydrogen ions, which consist of two protons and one electron. The goal of the experiment, which has major implications for everything from fighting cancer to understanding comets, is to measure the energy level of the hydrogen beam. When the vaporized sodium hits the hydrogen ions, the sodium gives off electrons and one of two things happens to the ions: They either stay together in one molecule of H2, which isnt very interesting, or separate into two neutral H particles, which is what the researchers said they are really after. Neutral H particles are plentiful in space but rare on Earth, where hydrogen atoms are usually combined with another type of atom such as oxygen (H2O). When neutral H particles are formed during the collision, they shoot off in different directions and hit a pair of offset sensors. The time lag between particle #1 hitting sensor #1 and particle #2 hitting the slightly-farther-away sensor #2 reveals the vibrational state (and, therefore, the temperature) of the original ions. Thanks to the weird fluctuations of quantum mechanics, the energy reading isnt the same for every collision, so the experiment is repeated many thousands of times. Students plot each energy reading on a graph and use statistical analysis to study the results. Building what amounts to a high-tech, expensive thermometer is fun, but the data that comes out of the experiment has practical implications. De Guzman is interested in the experiments data because the breakdown of the hydrogen ions is remarkably similar to the way cancer breaks down strands of DNA. Figuring out exactly how that process works might eventually help doctors interfere with it. Were understanding biological phenomena through a physics lens, said De Guzman, whos bound for medical school next year. The experiment also mimics the way solar wind ions emanated by the sun and other stars interact with passing comets to form the comets colorful tails, a subject that fascinates astronomers and astrophysicists. Astronomers cant go out and touch those objects, but studying similar interactions in the lab can reveal what happens in space, Panchenko said. The NSF grant funds the equipment and enables PUCs physics program to work with major research labs, but Andrianarijaona wants to raise another $15,000 or so to cover some minor renovations in the little room that houses the equipment, as well as allow his students to attend physics conferences where they can share their work and see what other physicists are doing. At these conferences there will often be one or two Nobel Prize recipients, Andrianarijaona said. Nobody wants to miss that. I recently re-read a talk given by Elder J. Devn Cornish, a leader in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints titled, Am I Good Enough? Will I Make It? It reminded me that far too often we consider the Saviors encouragement that we become perfect, even as Our Father in Heaven is perfect (Matt: 5:48) to be an absolute earthy expectation. Since life is a journey and not necessarily a destination, we should be grateful for the incremental, albeit seemingly slow, progress we make in becoming better people. The Saviors gift of repentance should always be interpreted as a positive opportunity, as opposed to a dark and negative reminder of our imperfections. His atoning sacrifice (the Atonement) enables us all to become each day more like Him. To the question Am I good enough?, we should be reminded that there is truly no such thing as being good enough. As Elder Cornish indicated, none of us could ever earn or deserve our salvation, for it is only through the Atonement that we receive forgiveness for our shortcomings. Since mercy cannot rob justice, the Saviors sacrifice for us makes it possible for all of his children to have the possibility of being with Him again. He carries our more serious burdens. In the Book of Mormon (Another Testament of Jesus Christ), the Savior said the following in reference to the sinner, and that would be all of us: If he confess his sins before thee and me, and repenteth in the sincerity of his heart, him shall ye forgive, and I will forgive him also. Yea, and as often as my people repent will I forgive them their trespasses against me. (Mosiah 26:29-30) Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, an apostle in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, reviewed that same principle with the following words: However many chances you think you have missed, however many mistakes you feel you have made I testify that you have not traveled beyond the reach of divine love. It is not possible for you to sink lower than the infinite light that Christs Atonement shines. We also should be reminded that clearly our sins/mistakes have consequences for us and far too often for those against whom we have sinned. Nonetheless, if our focus is on repentance and improving the quality of our lives through service to others, and not on rationalizing our weaknesses, the Lord has promised that we can be forgiven. We are so blessed to be his sons and daughters with a path back to his presence that is clear and so filled with his mercy. Indeed, we at the very least have both the potential and the opportunity to be good enough! Pocatello High School in Idaho celebrates its 125th birthday this year. And for all or most of those years, Pocatello High has been known as the Indians. The city of Pocatello, founded in 1889 and named for Shoshone Chief Pocatello (talk about respect and legacy), sits close by the Fort Hall Indian Reservation home of the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes and some 6,000 American Indians. You might think if there was to be any controversy about a high school's Indian nickname, it would be there. But you'd be wrong. Tribal Chairman Blaine Edmo told me he doesn't find the term "Indian" offensive. And, based on the absence of any controversy over the mascot, it seems most of the tribal members agree. In the 1970s, the school, at the tribes' insistence, did away with an Indian mascot costume, including a large caricature head the tribe found to be derogatory. Fake war bonnets worn by cheer leaders and dance team members were also retired by the school. Edmo said historically, only males wore war bonnets. "We've always been the Indians," said Pocatello High Principal Lisa De Lonas. Before she took the job three years ago, she visited the reservation to meet with the tribal council, becoming the first Pocatello High principal to do so. The school, one of three high schools in the Idaho city, has an enrollment of 1,000 students, including 40 to 50 American Indian students. "All of my interactions (with tribal members and tribal students) have been very positive," De Lonas told me. Tribal members come to the school to drum for the students, faculty and staff at games and special events. Last September, the school re-lit a neon "Indian" sign on a school building that had been dark for years. A big community event was held when the sign was lighted. Many tribal members attended to sing, and several spoke before the crowd. "The tribe's been nothing but supportive," she said. "The best you can do is be respectful," which is a priority for De Lonas and the school. "No, we don't have any issues with the tribe. We view it an honor to be the Indians." Jeff Green Shelton, Wash. A public hearing on the Culinary Institute of Americas expansion plans has been postponed to the Feb. 21 Planning Commission meeting. The CIA wants to expand enrollment from 200 to 300 students, remodel the interior at the Greystone building, and expand the dorms on Pratt Avenue to accommodate 224 students, a net increase of 123. Tuesday, Jan. 31 0938 -- A white iPhone was found on Main Street. 0958 -- A childs bike was found in the bushes near Charter Oak Avenue. 1107 -- Report of a downed tree branch blocking the southbound lane of Main Street at Grayson Avenue. 1205 -- Three-car non-injury accident at Main/Dowdell. 1353 -- Police were told to be on the lookout for a man whod walked away from a mental health facility in Angwin. 1423 -- Report of construction workers blocking the roadway at the end of Pratt Avenue, making it difficult for people to get around. 1443 -- Report of a suspicious man trying to get into cars on Main Street. 1516 -- Two pointer dogs were seen running loose near Sylvaner/Riesling. Police checked the area. 1546 -- Report of cars racing on Dowdell Lane. Wednesday, Feb. 1 2055 -- Report of a dog whining for two hours near Valley View/Olive. The caller was concerned something was wrong. 2153 -- Someone was heard snoring in the bushes along a pathway near Hunt/Grove. Police detained the 47-year-old St. Helena resident on suspicion of public intoxication. Thursday, Feb. 2 0708 -- A Signorelli Circle resident asked for help getting rid of a skunk in their back yard. 0802 -- Report of a car parked in the wrong direction in front of a house on Fulton Lane. 1202 -- Non-injury accident on Main Street near Charter Oak Avenue. 1537 -- A caller from the Laguna Seca Court area was concerned about residents allowing their dog to run loose when theyre away. The caller didnt want the dog taken away from its owners, but was concerned about its safety because it is very small and almost got hit recently. 1609 -- A Spring Mountain Road resident reported that a suspicious man was claiming to work for the census bureau. She allowed him to enter her property, but she asked him to leave when she got a bad feeling that he might not be who he said he was. 1744 -- Report of a large vicious pit bull running loose near North Crane/Mitchell. 2214 -- An officer found a refrigerator standing in a red zone on Spring Street. Friday, Feb. 3 0015 -- Following a traffic stop at Main/El Bonita, police arrested a 23-year-old North Carolina woman on suspicion of DUI. 0227 -- A railroad crossing arm at Charter Oak Avenue snapped during high winds. 0956 -- Report of a friendly pit bull wandering around Mitchell Drive. 1621 -- Someone called asking how to obtain a solicitors license. Saturday, Feb. 4 0345 -- Report of a possible drunk driver swerving and moving at erratic speeds on Main Street. 0518 -- Report of a tree down blocking the downhill lane of Spring Mountain Road about 1.3 miles up from Elmhurst. 1154 -- Report of a tree down blocking both lanes of Spring Mountain Road. 1230 -- Report of a suspicious beeping sound in the Park/Pratt area. 1551 -- Police responded to Vidovich Avenue for a fight between two women. 1702 -- Public Works asked for assistance with a person trying to cross the barricades at Spring Mountain Road, which had been closed all afternoon. 2026 -- Report of a person with a baby stroller yelling very loudly in the Spring/Oak area. 2215 -- Police checked McCorkle Avenue for a barking dog complaint. Sunday, Feb. 5 0058 -- Following a traffic stop at Stockton/Adams, police arrested a 54-year-old Fairfax resident on suspicion of DUI. 1058 -- A large brown dog was running loose near Wappo Park. 1102 -- Someone left graffiti on the sidewalk on Hunt Avenue. 1839 -- Report of a driver parking at a pump outside a Main Street gas station for the last hour. He told the store attendant he was very tired and needed a place to park and rest. 2041 -- Following a traffic stop at Main/Deer Park, police arrested a 44-year-old Angwin man on suspicion of DUI. Monday, Feb. 6 1636 -- Medical aid on Del Monte Court. 1702 -- Medical aid on Hunt Avenue. Fairytales sometimes do come true, and one couple from St. Helena is taking the next step on a glittering celebrity path during Mardi Gras season in New Orleans. Local owners of the Fantesca Estate & Winery, Duane and Susan Hoff, will be ascending to a new honor as King and Queen of the Krewe of Mid-City at the 2017 Mardi Gras. The Hoffs will be crowned at a Bal Masque on Friday, Feb. 24, hosting a dinner at the famed Galatoires restaurant, and then parading on Sunday up St. Charles Avenue on the Krewe of Mid-Citys elaborate float. The fairy tale leading to this years Mardi Gras in New Orleans started when the Hoffs were college sweethearts attending the University of Minnesota. Susan worked at a stereo shop called Sound of Music owned by her family, according to Marketing Manager Jenna Sanders. That store grew to a Fortune 100 company and today is best known as Best Buy. In 2004, the Hoffs purchased a 53-acre parcel with a 10-acre vineyard on Spring Mountain Road and named it Fantesca Estate & Winery. The winery produces 3,000 cases annually of cabernet and chardonnay. The Krewe of Mid-City is one of the parading organizations of the New Orleans Mardi Gras season. Mardi Gras also called Fat Tuesday is a series of famous carnival events held in New Orleans on or after the Christian feasts of Epiphany. The Mardi Gras events culminate on the day before Ash Wednesday. The Fat Tuesday moniker, according to legend, refers to the practice of feasting on the last night before the ritual fasting of the Lenten season. Founded in 1933, the Krewe of Mid-City is said to be the fifth-oldest continuously parading organization of the New Orleans Mardi Gras season. It parades with themes dedicated to children. USA concerned about Chinas possible contact with extraterrestrials, Pravda John Hertz, former chairman of the board of trustees of the US-based SETI Institute (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence) said in an interview with the Journal of the British Interplanetary Society, that sending signals to alien civilization was dangerous. The expert added that it would be even more dangerous if China received a response from an extraterrestrial civilization. Not that long ago, it was reported that three aircraft in China could not land at an airport in Sichuan because of an unidentified flying object. The airport administration denied landing boarding, fearing for the safety of passengers. The aircraft had to be redirected to other airports. Keiths note: Too funny. Pravda (which is aligned with the Russian government) cites American fears about SETI signal detection and suggests that they are linked to a UFO that prevented commercial airline activity in Sichuan, China. Pravda mentions John Hertz and the SETI Institute. They might be referring to John Gertz. They seem to be referring to Gertzs BIS paper (not an interview) Post-Detection SETI Protocols & METI: The Time Has Come To Regulate Them Both. This paper makes no mention of UFOs, airliners, or Sichuan but does say Should the Chinese achieve an ET detection separately from Breakthrough Listen, it is unknown whether they would share the news with the rest of mankind or, alternatively, designate it a state secret. Gertz is worried that China might withhold information about a SETI contact. He goes on to say that Pursuant to Article IX of the Space Treaty, METI [Messaging to Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence] would arguably be illegal. Consequently, on its face, it would seem that organizations or individuals attempting to conduct METI might be enjoined in a court of law. He adds However, the immediate release of the coordinates of a transmission begs an unauthorized and premature response. Religious groups might send their parochial messages, while Kim Jong Un might send his. So it is not illegal to listen to E.T. but it is illegal to talk to E.T. so who enforces this? The purpose of SETI is to listen for messages from extraterrestrial civilizations right? If sending of messages is illegal and thus prohibited then wouldnt other intelligent civilizations adopt the same stance? If so why even do SETI in the first place? No one will be transmitting and there will be nothing to listen to. Besides, its too late. We have sent two interstellar spacecraft out of the solar system with maps of how to find us and we have been yelling were over here to the universe for a century via radio. Indeed SETI guru Frank Drake deliberately said hello to globular star cluster M13 from Arecibo in 1974. So Gertz et al are a century too late and if Pravda is to be believed, E.T. has already found us. Beam me up. WikiLeaks, Blink 182, John Podesta, and UFOs, earlier post If Obama could cozy up to Iran, why cant Trump improve relations with Russia? For generations, Americans have been taught to mistrust and even hate Russia, the power base of the former Soviet Union. And during the Cold War, that was justified; it literally was us against them, and the rest of the world could only hope that the U.S. and U.S.S.R. never came to blows, because everyone knew it would end in mutual nuclear annihilation. But after the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991 and Bill Clinton was elected president, the U.S. embarked on a campaign to essentially neglect a Russia that was broke, dispirited and no longer the threat it once was. NATO, the alliance that was formed to oppose the Soviet-led Warsaw Pact, did not dissolve at the close of the Cold War; it was expanded, and new members included countries that had been under the influence of Moscow for decades. In fact, new member nations were added that extended NATO to Russias traditional zone of influence, its doorstep. Needless to say, this rattled and upset a generation of Russian leaders one of them being Vladimir Putin, a former KGB operative who had become a rising star in Russian politics. Keep in mind that, had the reverse happened and the Warsaw Pact extended to a broke and dispirited America, there is no question that U.S. leaders would have been equally rattled and just as upset at having been taken advantage of with no way to oppose it. Like it or not, thats what the U.S. did in the years after the Cold War: It was official policy to press our advantage, largely through the expansion of NATO, against a weakened Russia that could do nothing, militarily or diplomatically, to stop us. And Europe came along for the ride. (RELATED: Stay current with American foreign policy under Trump at NationalSecurity.news) Now, two decades later, Russia is in a better place, economically and militarily. Putin, a nationalistic and populist leader in the vein of Trump, has been pressing Russias newfound advantages in its traditional zones of influence. Thats what the 2008 intervention in Georgia was about, and thats what Moscows involvement in Ukraine is about. Nonetheless, the attitude among the governing elitist establishment is one of distrust and animosity towards Putin and Russia, even as these same elitists push the Trump administration to continue previous neoconservative policies of endless war and continual conflict. Whats the point of that? Money: The military-industrial complex is hungry and must constantly be fed. But Trump seems to want to move away from that business as usual cycle, which helps explain his desire to have a better working relationship with a country that is well-stocked with nuclear weapons and, frankly, may have a bit of an axe to grind with the U.S. right or wrong. For this, Trump has been vilified. His outward displays of respect for Putin have led the hysterically inaccurate establishment media to label him a lackey of Russia who was aided in his electoral victory by Russian propaganda. Well, hes about to be vilified anew. Trump was interviewed by Fox News Bill OReilly before the Super Bowl, in which the president said he had respect for Putin. I do respect him, Trump said, prompting an incredulous OReilly to ask, Why? Well, I respect a lot of people, but that doesnt mean Ill get along with them, Trump said, adding that if Russia helps the U.S in its fight against ISIS and global Islamic terrorism, thats a good thing. Pressing him, OReilly said that Putin is a killer, to which Trump responded, honestly, There are a lot of killers. Weve got a lot of killers. What, do you think our country is so innocent? This will set the establishment off, no doubt, making the liberal Ivy League-educated foreign policy establishment in the State Department and elsewhere even more unhinged. (RELATED: They are constantly trying to fool you keep track of them at Propaganda.news) But there are questions that are not being asked that should be, namely: How come it was okay for the Obama administration and then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to launch a reset in relations with Russia (which the Obama regime eventually bungled)?; How come the same Left-wing foreign policy establishment had no problem with Obama cozying up to an Iranian regime that has regularly and openly threatened the United States? With these two issues now front and center, how in the world can anyone fault President Trump and his administration for legitimately trying to fix relations with another great power that successive U.S. administrations have exploited and dismissed for 20 years? Trump told OReilly what he has told others regarding Putin: He may or may not get along with the Russian leader. Still, to quote Trump, if the two countries can work together towards a common national security objective, thats a good thing. Who can honestly argue otherwise? J.D. Heyes is a senior writer for Natural News and News Target, as well as editor of The National Sentinel. Sources: YouTube.com Freedom.news GoodGopher.com WA city taking OxyContin drug maker to court over gross negligence, creating a public nuisance, and other misconduct City lawyers in Everett, Washington are preparing to sue the makers of OxyContin, a leading opioid painkiller, blaming it for its role in the United States opioid and heroin epidemic. The city filed a lawsuit against Purdue Pharma claiming they knew the drug was being illegally trafficked to residents and did not act to stop it. From 2011 through 2013, Snohomish County experienced unusually high numbers of deaths (six to eight deaths per 100,000 people) related to opioid analgesics (particularly oxycodone and hydrocodone) and heroin, according to a report by the Snohomish Health District. Washington states average was between three and five deaths. Heroin is a cheap drug that has recently replaced opioid painkillers as the primary agent in overdose deaths and addiction treatments. Opioid addicts often turn to heroin once they are addicted to more expensive prescription painkillers like OxyContin, a patented form of oxycodone. (RELATED: See more news about Big Pharmas toxic drugs at BigPharmaNews.com) Combating the epidemic About a third of the Snohomish County deaths occurred in a town called Everett, which has a total population of just over 105,000. Everetts mayor, Ray Stephanson, will do everything in his power to combat the growing issue of opioid abuse. Recently, he announced plans to sue Purdue Pharmaceuticals because they knowingly turned a blind eye to illegal sales of the addictive drug. In 2016, a Los Angeles Times investigation uncovered a massive network of doctors and pharmacists handing out thousands of these highly addictive pills which were then sold illegally on the black market. According to the investigation, Purdue was well aware of these massive orders and illegal trafficking but failed to report them to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA). Mother Nature's micronutrient secret: Organic Broccoli Sprout Capsules now available, delivering 280mg of high-density nutrition, including the extraordinary "sulforaphane" and "glucosinolate" nutrients found only in cruciferous healing foods. Every lot laboratory tested. See availability here. As reported by Natural Blaze, these disturbing revelations come on top of a prior investigation that found Purdue maintained a secret database of 1,800 doctors suspected to systematically over-prescribe opioid painkillers which flooded the black market across America, giving rise to the current heroin and opioid epidemic. Of these suspicious cases, only about 10 percent were reported to law enforcement. Placing profits over the welfare Until 2010, 160 mg OxyContin tablets were wildly popular as users could sniff or inject the crushed pills for a powerful, long-lasting high. When OxyContin was reformulated to prevent abuse, addicts switched to heroin. Purdue has claimed for years that the potential for OxyCotin addiction was very small or less than one percent. In 2007, however, the company pleaded guilty to charges that it misled doctors and patients about the addictive properties and misbranded the product as abuse resistant. Purdues improper actions of placing profits over the welfare of the citizens of Everett have caused and will continue to cause substantial damages to Everett, lawyers from Everett wrote in a complaint filed in the state Superior Court. Purdue is liable for its intentional, reckless, and/or negligent misconduct and should not be allowed to evade responsibility for its callous and unconscionable practices. Therefore, Stephanson and the town are suing Purdue for negligence, blaming the pharmaceutical company for the high rates of heroin addictions and overdoses. After the disturbing revelations of the Los Angeles Times, they hold Purdue accountable for allowing criminal trafficking of a dangerous opioid prescription drug which has resulted in millions of dollars in city costs and countless ruined lives. Thanks to OxyContin trafficking, heroin is now an enormous problem in Snohomish County. Jails are packed with detoxing addicts, city blocks turned into drug markets, crimes involving OxyContin or heroin dramatically went up, and countless of people have lost their homes. While Purdue has been sued numerous times before for promoting OxyContin to doctors and masking the addiction risk, the Everett lawsuit is the first to focus on the companys knowledge of illegal trafficking. Stay informed about the criminal practices of modern medicine at Medicine.news and DrugCartels.news. Sources: NaturalBlaze.com LATimes.com LATimes.com SNOHD.orgPDF The requested page is currently unavailable on this server. Back to [RTHK News Homepage] "A Pakistani intruder crossed the border and came inside Indian territory. BSF challenged him to stop but the intruder continued with his aggressive posture and kept moving towards (us). BSF troopers opened fire in self-defence and killed the intruder," a BSF spokesman said. Suspected terrorists from Pakistan have carried out terror attacks in Punjab in 2015 and 2016. The first attack was in Dinanagar town in Gurdaspur district on July 27, 2015. The second attack was on January 2 on the Pathankot air base. --IANS js/lok/mr ( 122 Words) 2017-02-07-17:20:06 (IANS) The Supreme Court on Tuesday expressed its "strongest displeasure" over the manner in which fencing along the India-Bangladesh border is progressing and told the Union Home Ministry to furnish all details to the court. Describing the affidavit filed by the Home Ministry as an "exercise in vagueness with no specific details", the bench of Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Justice Rohinton Fali Nariman directed the ministry to furnish all the details relating to the fencing of the remaining 61.49-km stretch. "We are extremely unhappy with this kind of response," observed Justice Gogoi and directed the Union Home Ministry to file by February 14 the details of the plans to set up physical barriers on the 61.49-km stretch. The Centre in its affidavit has said that of the remaining stretch, work on 13.38-km stretch has been undertaken and is likely to be completed by July 2018. It excludes a 300-metre stretch of the elephant corridor. As court was told that the work on 13.38-km stretch would require 18 months, the bench wondered why so much time is needed for constructing physical barriers. "We want to know why you want 18 months. You are playing with the court," the bench said as it was told that some time would be required for taking permission from Bangladesh. "Why you need Bangladesh's permission? You really don't need it," Justice Gogoi said with Justice Nariman saying: "We should be moving forward and not side-stepping and moving backwards." Pointing out that the remaining 48.11-km stretch is riverine, the government has said that a committee comprising representatives of the Central Public WEorks Department, Border SXecuity Force and the Assam government has suggested that for the construction of "physical infrastructure" (barriers), there is a need to prepare a detailed project report based on hydrological data. The court was told that considering the geological features and the terrain, this activity may take considerable time. "It may take three years and the work is likely to be completed beyond 2020." However, for covering riverine stretch by non-physical barriers, the BSF is testing the available technologies through a pilot study in Jammu, the ministry told the court. Meanwhile, the court on Tuesday instructed the Assam Chief Secretary, the Registrar General of India and the State Coordinator of National Register of Citizens (NRC), Assam, Prateek Hajela, to be present in the court on February 14 in connection with the updation of the citizens' register in Assam. The exercise also includes verification of the people who claim to be the residents of Assam but were living in different parts of the country prior to 1971 -- the cut-off date for the identification of illegal migrants from Bangladesh. The hearing would take place in the judges' chambers. The apex court had on December 17, 2014, passed a string of directions, including an order to the Centre to complete fencing work along India-Bangladesh border within three months to check illegal cross-border influx of Bangladesh nationals into Assam and streamline the process to deport them back. --IANS pk/nir/vt ( 514 Words) 2017-02-07-19:20:37 (IANS) The four APAs signed pertain to the manufacturing, financial and Information Technology sectors of the economy. The international transactions covered in these agreements include contract manufacturing, IT enabled services and software development services. With this, the total number of APAs entered into by the CBDT has reached 130. This includes eight bilateral APAs and 122 Unilateral APAs. In the current financial year, a total of 66 APAs (five bilateral APAs and 61 unilateral APAs) have already been entered into. The CBDT expects more APAs to be concluded and signed before the end of the current fiscal. The APA scheme was introduced in the Income-tax Act in 2012 and the "rollback" provisions were introduced in 2014. The scheme endeavors to provide certainty to taxpayers in the domain of transfer pricing by specifying the methods of pricing and determining the prices of international transactions in advance. Since its inception, the APA scheme has evinced a lot of interest from taxpayers and that has resulted in more than 700 applications (both unilateral and bilateral) being filed so far in about five years. The progress of the APA Scheme strengthens the government's resolve of fostering a non-adversarial tax regime. The Indian APA program has been appreciated nationally and internationally for being able to address complex transfer pricing issues in a fair and transparent manner. (ANI) Continuing with its efforts to promote digital literacy and spread awareness around internet safety, Google India announced the winners of the second edition of the Web Rangers, on Tuesday, celebrating 'Safer Internet Day'. Arnav Nagpal (14, Gurgaon), Ashutosh Sahni (17, Jalandhar), Krishna Pandit (14, Noida), Nitika Gadura (13, Bangalore) and Sarthak Gupta (13, New Delhi) were chosen as the top five national winners among thousands of entries received from students across the country. Winners will receive Chrome books and tablets as their winning prize. As part of this contest, young kids were asked to create and run their own online safety campaigns in the form of social campaigns, posters, videos and apps. Winning entries were judged and selected based on creativity, reach and impact. "Many of the internet users in India are coming online for the first time. We need to simplify and amplify ways by which they can stay safe. Safer Internet Day provides for an important opportunity to engage and encourage young users across the country to learn more about keeping themselves as well as their peers and families safe online," said Chetan Krishnaswamy, Director, Public Policy, Google India. In order to ensure a safe online experience, Google has been consistently working on systems and tools including spam detection and Safe browsing measuring billions of signals across sites and apps to make the web and the constellation of Android apps as well as devices safer. Safe Browsing feature warns users against unsafe websites found infected with malware, virus or a phishing trap. Google shows tens of millions of safe browsing warnings every week on more than 2 billion devices, across a variety of web browsers. "Google remains committed to providing all users a safe online experience, and help make the broader web of sites and apps more secure as well. We're constantly improving our automatic protections, but we also want to make sure our users are empowered with the controls to adjust their security settings to ensure a safe experience," said Sunita Mohanty, Director, Trust and Safety, Google India. Google has developed the App Analyser, a modified version of Safe Browsing that specifically hunts for dangerous apps in Google Play, other app stores, and on the web, and warns users on identifying any unsafe application. In addition, Verify Apps, a separate protection, runs directly on Android devices, proactively checking more than six billion apps and 400 million devices every day. Launched in 2015, Web Ranger's Program aspires to empower young Indians to make responsible choices online and provide them with the right tools and knowledge to make these choices. The program has already reached more than 25,000 students ambassadors and teachers covering 12 states and 90 cities across the country. These participants have been trained on Internet safety to further spread the message and empower young minds and encouraging young people in their schools and communities to consider issues such as the effects of cyber bullying, managing one's own digital footprint and online tricks and scams. The contest, announced in November 2016, saw wide enthusiasm among kids from all around the country including young kids representing government schools to become 'Web Rangers- Guardians of the Internet galaxy'. (ANI) "In the Financial Year 2016-17 also, the company has been steadily improving its allround performance," Minister of State for Civil Aviation Jayant Sinha informed the Rajya Sabha. "It is expected that the company would again post an improved operating profit margin in the current year also," Sinha was quoted as saying in a ritten reply to a question. In the Financial Year 2015-16, the company had posted an operating profit of Rs.105 crore. The operating profit or earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) is the difference between gross profits and operating expenses before deduction of interest and taxes. According to Sinha, since the implementation of the Air India's Turnaround Plan, there has been a constant improvement in the airline's operational as well as financial performance. On April 12, 2012, the flag carrier got a new lease of life when the government approved a Rs.30,000 crore turnaround (TAP) and financial restructuring plans (FRP) spanning around 10 years period. The multi-billion-rupee bailout package came with stringent riders like maintaining high on-time performance and healthy load factors. However, the minister pointed that 'liquidity constraints' continue to impact the smooth performance of the company. "In this connection the company has been making constant efforts for substituting its high cost working capital loans with long term low cost debt," the minister explained. "Air India has been in consultation with various banks in this direction so that the interest costs can come down substantially in the coming years." Sinha elaborated that the impact of 'liquidity constraints' have been met by the equity infusion by the central government. On February 1, 2017, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley proposed to infuse an additional equity of Rs 1,800 crore in the cash-strapped national passenger carrier for 2017-18 fiscal. The government had allocated Rs 1,713 crore to the flag carrier as budgetary support for 2016-17 with a total outlay of Rs 2,065 crore. In contrast, the revised estimates for 2016-17 showed that the state-run airline's budgetary support reached Rs 2,465.21 crore with a total outlay of Rs 2,900.21 crore. --IANS rv/vt ( 376 Words) 2017-02-07-22:20:06 (IANS) "I'm thrilled to be finally joining hands with Vikram. Although I can't talk about my role yet, I can say that was blown away when I heard the story. I will join the sets from March," Tamannaah, who has the Tamil remake of "Queen" and Telugu film "Pellichoopulu" in the offing, told IANS. To be directed by Vijay Chander, the film starts rolling from Friday. Interestingly, Vikram will be juggling this project and Gautham Menon's "Dhruva Natchathiram". Popular Bhojpuri actor Ravi Kishan will be making his industry debut in an antagonist's role with this project. S.S. Thaman has been roped in to compose music for the film. --IANS hp/rb/vm ( 155 Words) 2017-02-07-12:24:09 (IANS) "The Lt Governor had approved the proposal to build Mohalla Clinics in school premises subject to certain conditions regarding safety of students," an official at the LG office told IANS. The official added that Lt Governor also laid stress upon deploying the capable doctors for quality treatment at Mohalla Clinics in government schools. Earlier in November last year, former Delhi Lt Governor Najeeb Jung had rejected this proposal and had sent the concerned file back to the government to make necessary changes. Jung had cited some restrictions under the Delhi School Education Act, according to which school premises can only be used for functioning of the school and no unauthorised person can enter the premises, etc. At least 107 Mohalla Clinics have already come up across the capital, in both middle class and urban poor neighbourhoods, where doctors and medicines are available and people enjoy facilities for tests -- all for free. Around two million people have so far availed themselves of the benefits of Mohalla Clinics. The Mohalla Clinic is a flagship initiative of the Delhi government that aims to provide free primary health care to people in their neighbourhoods. The Delhi Government's Mohalla Clinic project has been praised by several international organisations. As many as 1,000 Mohalla Clinics are to be set up by March 31. --IANS am-vv/sm/vt ( 260 Words) 2017-02-07-18:52:06 (IANS) Hyderabad District Collector and Magistrate Rahul Bojja will conduct the inquiry into the death of the women after delivering babies during last 10 days. He has been asked to submit the report within a week. Health Minister C. Lakshma Reddy announced the probe even as the hospital authorities shut down the operation theatres citing "periodic sanitation work". The minister said the probe by the IAS officer will be in addition to the inquiry being conducted by a three-member committee. The Director of Medical Education on Monday formed the committee. Taking a serious view of the death, the minister reviewed the situation with top officials. He directed them to take all steps to ensure that such incidents do not recur in future and initiate action against those found guilty. The women died after caesarean surgeries, leading to a furore. Officials said one of them died due to heavy bleeding post surgery. The authorities swung into action after relatives of one woman staged a protest at the hospital on Monday. All C-section operations have been halted at the hospital and only natural deliveries are being taken up. --IANS ms/lok ( 224 Words) 2017-02-07-23:06:06 (IANS) Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh has asked for a detailed report on earthquake which jolted North India and ordered the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) to be on high alert to take care of the situation in case of any casualty. An earthquake measuring 5.8 on the Richter Scale, struck Uttarakhand late on Monday night. According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), the tremors took place at 10.33 p.m. with a depth of 33 kilometres. According to reports, the tremors were felt for almost 30 seconds in Uttarakhand, Dehradun and the national capital region. "The MHA is closely monitoring the situation in earthquake-hit Uttarakhand and other north Indian states where the tremors have been felt. The NDRF teams have been rushed from Ghaziabad to Uttarakhand to conduct rescue and relief operations, if the situation arises," Home Minister's office said in a series of tweets. The quake caused tremors that were felt across northern India. Two teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) have been rushed to Rudraprayag to conduct relief and rescue operations should the need arise. A clear picture of the effect of the quake on the region is yet to emerge. The quake brought people out of their homes across Uttarakhand, as well as other cities across northern India. However, Inspector General of Police, Garhwal region, Sanjay Gunjyal told ANI that there is no information of any loss of life/property. Residents were seen running out of buildings onto the streets for safety.(ANI) Launching a scathing attack on Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Giriraj Singh for his remark on the contentious topic of Ram Temple, the Janata Dal (United) (JD(U)) said these statements are given to communally polarise people. "He also suffers from the disease of mouthing such words. He once said those who disagree with Prime Minister Narendra Modi should run away to Pakistan. These statements are given to polarise people and lure them into voting. They destroyed the Babri Masjid even after submitting afidavit in the Supreme Court," JD (U) leader Ali Anwar told ANI. Anwar also said Prime Minister Narendra Modi likes and promotes people, who have the knack of making such statements. "Prime Minister Modi likes people who make such statements, who can instigate debates, who can initiate polarisation on the basis of caste or community," he said. Union Minister Giriraj Singh yesterday posed a rhetoric that if the Ram Temple will not be constructed in India then will it be constructed in Pakistan. "We do not know the exact time when the Ram Temple will be built in India. But if not in Ayodhya, if not in India, will it be built in Pakistan?" Singh told media. BJP leader Vinay Katiyar echoed the view, saying they will raise the issue of Ram Temple vigorously and would take decision under the purview of law. The BJP has raised the issue of Ram Temple construction time and again. Earlier, BJP president Amit Shah had vowed to work towards the construction of Ram Temple under the provisions of the Constitution, while launching the manifesto of the party ahead of the assembly polls in the state. (ANI) The last hearing in this case was held on November 22. Choudhary had contended that such jokes portray the Sikh community in negative light and wants such websites, which disseminate such 'insensitive' jokes, to be prosecuted under laws that carry a prison term of six months to five years. The petitioner argued that such jokes on many social network websites portray Sikhs as 'unintelligent', 'foolish' and 'naive', making them an easy target of ridicule and racial abuse. Choudhary, herself belonging to a Sikh family, said that she too had been a target of ridicule and abuse because of such jokes. The Apex Court had asked an expert panel headed by former apex court judge H.S. Bedi to submit draft guidelines so that appropriate orders can be passed to prevent circulation of sardar jokes on websites. In July 2016, a bench of Chief Justice T.S. Thakur and Justice D.Y. Chandrachud gave six weeks time for the panel to hold discussions and submit the guidelines. The bench passed the order after hearing the counsel for various parties including the Shiromani Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee (SGPC) which said that the community is being bullied by such jokes. (ANI) The motion was moved by Tourism Minister Dr Mahesh Sharma. Initiating the discussion, Sharma hit out at the opposition saying that politics should not be played with religion and security forces. He also criticised the opposition for seeking proof about the surgical strikes carried out by the Army last year across the LoC. Sharma highlighted the achievements of the government and said it is committed to provide good, transparent and corruption free governance. He said schemes launched by the Centre are focusing towards poor, farmer and deprived sections of the society. Launching a scathing attack on the opposition for not supporting the Prime Minister on demonetisation issue, Sharma said they should have shown magnanimity by hailing the move. Sharma termed the demonetisation move as historic as it aims at curbing corruption, black money, terror funding and putting a check on counterfeit currency. Participating in the debate, Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge tried to corner the government on the issue of demonetisation. He accused the government of implementing it without any concrete planning resulting in hardship to the common man. Kharge also sought to know from the government how much black money has been unearthed post- demonetisation. He also said the government's move towards leading the country on digital transaction is not practical as all people are neither educated nor have smartphones. The members of various political parties also participated in the discussion. (ANI) Dehradun will host the UK's premier debating competition in India, the "Great Britain Debate", on Wednesday 8 February. DIT University will host the debate, organised by the British Deputy High Commission Chandigarh. The topic of the Debate will be "Globalization has passed its high-watermark and is now in retreat". The event aims to celebrate and encourage debating prowess and offers an opportunity for informed discussion amongst the student fraternity. British Deputy High Commissioner Chandigarh, David Lelliott, said "For the last two years we have held the Great Britain Debate in Chandigarh, and it has been a big success, so I'm very pleased we are able to follow that up by bringing it to Dehradun. It is a wonderful opportunity to celebrate the UK and India's shared tradition of lively, reasoned debate and our close educational ties. And of course to strengthen our links with universities across Northwest India, including our friends at DIT University who have been excellent partners. We've seen a very high quality of debate in previous years and I'm looking forward to more of the same." Organized by the British High Commission network in India, the Great Britain Debate competition is the biggest since its conception. In its fourth edition, the competition will be organized in eight cities - Indore, Vishakhapatnam, Hyderabad, Delhi, Kolkata, Dehradun, Jaipur and Patiala. The debate is being organized in association with Chevening Scholarships. Chevening is the British Government's flagship global scholarship and fellowship programme, funded by the Foreign & Commonwealth Office and partner organizations. The India programme is the largest Chevening country programme in the world, funding 130 scholarships for future Indian leaders. Last year's Great Britain Debate in Chandigarh was won by Thapar University. (ANI) The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Congress on Tuesday accused Tamil Nadu governor Ch. Vidyasagar Rao of flouting the Constitution and convention by not administering oath of office to the newly elected Tamil Nadu Chief Minister V.K. Sasikala Natarajan. "I have no reason to support Sasikala, but the factual matter is she is entitled now. She is devout Hindu and she is likely to crackdown on anti-national forces in the state that is why they are making this hue and cry. If you want to remove her, the best time is by-election when she has to be elected as an MLA. Mobilise the public and say vote her out, but to violate the democratic process is very bad development," BJP leader Subramanian Swamy told ANI. Swamy further said the governor owes an explanation. He said President Pranab Mukherjee should seek an explanation. "I think the governor was wrong. There is no dispute that she is the nominee of the majority party in the assembly. So, he should have immediately administered the oath of office to her. We have to go by the rule of law whether we like her or not," he added. Echoing similar views, Congress leader Sandeep Dikshit said: "Sasikala is duly elected by her local MLAs. Legally she should be sworn in and I don't think there should be any hesitation either on part of governor or anybody else. It is very clear that anybody who enjoys the support of a majority of the MLAs in a Legislative Assembly will be made the chief minister and that is our procedure. Why the governor is delaying the swearing in I don't know." Sasikala was all set to take over as Tamil Nadu Chief Minister today but the plan hit legal hurdle as a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) has been filed in the Supreme Court yesterday seeking to restrain the oath ceremony. Absence of the governor has also become another reason for the stall in the swearing-in ceremony as he headed for Mumbai from New Delhi and not to Chennai. The reports also suggested that Rao was seeking legal advice before administering the oath of office to Sasikala.(ANI) A senior official of Tamil Nadu fisheries department quoting a communiqu received from Lanka said that the arrested fishermen hailed from Thangatchimadam in Rameswaram. The P 424 Fast Attack Craft belonging to the Northern Naval Command of Sri Lankan Navy arrested the fishermen when they were fishing in the sea area of South of Delft Island. The fishermen were handed over to the Jaffna Assistant Director of Fisheries for onward legal action. With this, 35 Indian fishermen and 129 Indian fishing trawlers were under the custody of Sri Lankan government. Meanwhile, the Rameswaram fishermen alleged that the Sri Lankan naval men attacked some fishing boats and destroyed the fishing nets. UNI GSM SHS 1230 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0329-1139835.Xml Prime Minister Narendra Modi today lashed out at the Congress for what he said "dedicating" entire democracy to the honour of one political dynasty and said those who tried to subvert democracy in 1970s did not understand the power of "jan shakti (will of the people)". "It is because of this ''jan shakti'' that even a poor mother's son has today become the Prime Minister of India," said Mr Modi replying to the debate on the Motion of Thanks to the President's address in the Lok Sabha.The debate on the Motion ended last night.Mr Modi's remarks on 'democracy' and the political dynasty comes in the wake of Congress leader M Mallikarjun Kharge's comments yesterday that it is due to the Congress party that the democracy has "survived" in the country and it was because of democracy that Mr Modi could become Prime Minister of India.More UNI DEVN RSA 1235 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0445-1139897.Xml With hardly 72 hours remaining for the first phase of Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections, electioneering has reached its feverish pitch to woo voters in the 73 Assembly seats in western parts of the state where polling is slated for February 11. Senior leaders of all are parties para-dropping to address public meetings at every corner and leaving no stone unturned to win over the voters. With communally sensitive western UP, the strong hold of the BJP-BSP along with RLD and Congress-SP alliance to some extent, going to the polls in the first two phases, the leaders were trying all their best to hit the communal agenda without breaking the law and seeking vote for their candidates. Law and Order, 2013 Muzaffarnagar riots, Kairana exodus, cane farmers dues, post demonetisation blues and local matters of corruptions and failures are the main issue before the political parties and the candidates. The first phase polling for 73 Assembly seats would be held on February 11 and the second phase in 67 seats on February 15. Except for BJP and Congress, other parties are based on their single leaders like ruling SP's campaign was led by party president and Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav while BSP was only done by its president Mayawati. But on the other hand, BJP had horde of leaders including several Bollywood stars. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had already addressed two election rallies one in Meerut and another in Aligarh for the first phase, while BJP president Amit Shah had already addressed couple of meetings in Meerut, Mathura, Ghaziabad and Bulandshahr. Besides, all the leaders, including Rajnath Singh, Kalraj Mishra and Amit Shah along with others, are reaching almost all the 73 Assembly seats going to polls in the first phase on February 11. Similarly, Congress too has drawn up major campaign initiatives with party vice-president Rahul Gandhi already held a joint roadshow in Agra last week with alliance partner SP president Akhilesh Yadav, while its former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and other central leaders are criss-crossing the western UP to woo the voters. Rahul and Akhilesh are holding a joint rally at Meerut today while both the leaders will separately hold public meetings in favour of their candidates. Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) has also thrown its hat in the western UP by contesting almost all the seats and its leader Ajit Singh and his son Jayant were the only star campaigner for the party. This was after a long time that RLD was contesting the polls alone and has not gone for any alliance. Similarly, the first timer in UP - Asaduddin Owaisi's All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen(AIMIM) - was also contesting in a big way in UP, and they too were contesting in several Muslim dominated seats. Mr Owaisi himself is campaigning in a big way and was reaching all the seats contested by his party candidates. In the first phase, there are 836 candidates in the fray while in the second phase, there are 720 candidates in the contest.UNI MB SHS 1224 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0196-1139793.Xml The first phase of elections in Uttar Pradesh covering the communal sensitive western parts will be a litmus test for the BJP and the BSP which will give the indication of the party emerging as top in the state polls. The so call Jatland and the sugar belt of the Northern India, covers some sensitive districts like Muzaffarnagar, Shamli, Baghpat, Meerut, Etah, Agra, Gautam Buddha Nagar and Mathura. The polling for the first phase would be held on February 11 covering 15 districts when the fate of several senior politicians would be sealed. The VVIP seats in the first phase would be Noida where Pankaj Singh, son of Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh and in Atrauli in Aligarh district Sandeep Singh, grandson of former UP CM Kalyan Singh would be vying for their maiden entry in the UP Assembly. Similarly, Ms Mriganka Singh, daughter of BJP MP Hukum Singh is also fighting her first election from Kairana seat on BJP ticket. There are more than 25 VVIP seats in the first phase where there is a tough contest of ballots. The Sardhana seat in Meerut and Thanabhawan seat in Shamli where Muzaffarnagar riot accused and BJP candidates Santi Singh Som and Suresh Rana respectively are trying to re-enter the assembly. Congress legislature party leader Pradeep Mathur, a three time MLA from Mathura seat, has been challenged by BJP national spokesperson Srikant Sharma this time while Rahul Yadav, son- in-law of former Bihar Chief Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav, was contesting on SP ticket from Sikendrabad seat in Gautam Buddha Nagar district. Former BJP UP president Laxmikant Bajpai was also trying his luck from Meerut(city) seat to make a hat trick. On one hand, the SP and the BSP would have to contain its seats won in 2012, while the BJP, after its ride in 2014 Lok Sabha polls, will have the pressure to repeat its feat. Though the Muslims and Jat population would be the deciding factor in the first phase of elections, but with the presence of RLD, there is a wide speculation that the Jat votes could split between BJP and RLD while similar could happen in the Muslim votes between BSP and the SP-Congress alliance. The phase will witness some direct fight between the BJP and BSP but in several seats, the SP-Congress alliance and the Rashtriya Lok Dal(RLD) could surprise the formidable contestants. But bickering within the BJP over candidates selection could ruin their prospect, which is totally banking on the polarisation of the elections and roping in all the majority community votes like they did in 2014 Lok Sabha polls. However, Kairana exodus and communal riots in Muzaffarnagar would again hit the limelight in these elections too which would be negative for the SP-Congress alliance. But demand for Jat reservation would again surface in these elections, which would be tormenting for the BJP. BSP, which had fielded 100 Muslim candidates in UP polls this time, was also eager to ride their elephant symbol on a new Dalit-Muslim combination in the state. The SP-Congress alliance was trying to dent into the Muslim and upper caste vote bank but confusion in their alliance was jeopardizing their chances. At least in three assembly segments in the first phase--Baldev in Mathura, Kol in Aligarh and Purkazi in Muzaffarnagar --have SP and Congress candidates contesting against each other. Candidates by the RLD led by Ajit Singh , AIMIM of Asaduddin Owaisi and other smaller parties would impact the fate of the bigger parties and could spoil their run to the UP assembly. Owaisi was already campaigning in Muslim-dominated areas of western UP for the past couple of weeks, while RLD is banking on its core Jat vote bank. RLD was contesting in 59 seats in the first phase. In the 2012 Assembly polls, the results in these 73 assembly segments were 24 in favour of SP , 23 for BSP, 12 for BJP, nine for RLD and five for Congress. BJP, which won just 12 seats in 2012 assembly polls would be looking for repeat of its 2014 Lok Sabha feat when it took lead in 60 seats and won all the Lok Sabha seats except for Ferozabad. On the other hand BSP is totally banking on its dalit-muslim agenda with connecting it with Sarv Samaj.The lone campaigner Mayawati had hit BJP and the SP- Congress alliance in the vigor to get the secular votes under her umbrella. However, the SP- Congress alliance riding on prevailing confusion and the SP infighting has started picking up the campaign and now trying to remove all the doubt from the minds of the voters. But RLD of Ajit Singh, could play the spoilsport for BJP and the SP- Congress alliance as it can dent into the Jat as well as the Muslim vote bank to any extent.UNI MB SB 1242 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0196-1139842.Xml Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday lambasted the opposition for criticising the demonetisation drive and said that the latter are more interested in giving bytes on television than debating over the issue. "From day one, we have been clear and are ready for a discussion on demonetisation but some were more keen in giving TV bytes and not debates or discussion," Prime Minister said while speaking in Lok Sabha. Asserting that demonetisation decision was taken at the right time, the Prime Minister added, "When can you have an operation? When body is healthy similarly economy was doing well and thus our decision was taken at right time." The Prime Minister also compared the demonetisation drive with the Swachh Bharat mission. "Like Swachh Bharat, the decision of demonetisation is a movement to clean India from corruption and black money," he said. The Prime Minister also took a dig at the opposition for politicising the issue of cleanliness and criticising the Swachh Bharat. "I was surprised that there were some who made cleanliness also a political issue. Why can't we work together on ushering a Swachh Bharat," he added. Earlier in his speech, the Prime Minister ridiculed Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi's 'earthquake remark' saying that the nation finally felt the tremors yesterday. "I was wondering why the earthquake came. When someone see 'SEVA' or any positive virtue in the word 'SCAM' then mother earth would definitely become upset," Prime Minister said. (ANI) Congress lawmaker from Kerala K C Venugopal today raised the issue of kidnapping of Christian priest Father Tom Uzhunnalil by the ISIS and demanded immediate intervention of the government for his release. Mr Venugopal flagged off the issue in Lok Sabha shortly before Prime Minister Narendra Modi began his speech to reply to the debate on Motion of Thanks on President's address to the joint sitting of Parliament. He said Father Uzhunnalil was kidnapped by the ISIS terrorists in March 2015 from an old age home at Aden in Yemen. The old age home is run by the Missionaries of Charity.Mr Venugopal said nothing much has been heard about the priest even as External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj had assured in December 2016 that the Government of India will spare no efforts to get his release.UNI DEVN RSA 1352 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0445-1140033.Xml Flip-flops by Samajwadi Party patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav over the Congress-SP alliance have raised questions on the future strategy of the party patron.In past ten days, Mr Yadav had made several U-turns. In starting, he issued statements opposing the SP-Congress alliance though yesterday he declared that Chief Minister and his son Akhilesh Yadav would be Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh again and he would start electioneering soon.Meanwhile, Mulayam's younger brother Shivpal Singh Yadav has declared that a new party would be formed after March 11 -- the day elections results were declared -- and Lok Dal president Sunil Singh made Mulayam Singh Yadav his party's star campaigner. All these developments are being linked to antipathy shown by Mulayam against the SP-Congress alliance. When Mulayam made this statement in Delhi, there was no firework in UP or distribution of sweets in party headquarters in Lucknow as workers generally do in politics to score points with senior leaders."We are busy with Bhaiya's (Akhilesh's) campaign. We have his face and work he has done that could take us to victory," a leader in SP's war room Sunil Singh Yadav said.Here is what happened exactly in last 10 days: January 29: Mr Mulayam Singh called a reporter of private news channel and gave an interview saying he was against the SP-Congress alliance. It was the day when Congress Vice-president Rahul Gandhi and Akhilesh had held a joint press conference and followed it up with a roadshow which passed through three Assembly segments dominated by minority community. He said the Congress has failed the people. "The Congress has ruled the country for long and has never worked for the development of masses. If India is backward today it is because of the Congress," he had said in a statement. He even asked the SP workers to contest 105 seats which are being given to the Congress as an agreement. The Congress and SP workers were stunned. There was a feeling that if Mulayam starts talking against the alliance in the Yadav-dominated constituencies in central UP it will be a requiem for the tie-up. February 1: The first flip-flop came when Mulayam said he has his blessings for the Congress-SP alliance. "I am not against the alliance. I want the candidates fielded under agreement should be victorious," he said in a statement but did not say a word about earlier statement when he had asked the SP leaders to file papers in 105 constituencies which have been given to the Congress.Under the agreement, the Congress will contest 105 seats while the Samajwadi Party will field candidates in 298 constituencies. February 3: Mulayam again came up with a statement said he will go for campaigning. "I will campaign for Shivpal Singh Yadav first and then if time permits I will campaign for other Samajwadi Party leaders." The statement again had tongues wagging about Mulayam giving preference to his brother over his son Akhilesh Yadav. February 6: Mulayam said he will start campaigning for all leaders of the SP-Congress alliance. "There is no division in party and family. Akhilesh will be the next Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh," he told reporters again in New Delhi. Why this flip-flop? Is this because he realised that Akhilesh has come out of his shadow and was now negotiating on his own? Probably he knows that the Samajwadi Party is clawing back in alliance with the Congress and will be reduced to non-entity if the alliance manages to form next government.Juhie Singh, the SP spokesperson, said it was good news that Netaji had agreed to go for campaigning. "He has been a big support for party and will remain so. We need his guidance and we are happy that he will start campaigning very soon," she said.UNI MB SB SNU 1506 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0196-1139858.Xml The main Bharatiya Janata Party Opposition inKarnataka Legislative Assembly today took the Siddaramaiahgovernment to task for failing to take up relief measures with thestat reeling under unprecedented spell of drought. Leader of the Opposition Jagadish Shettar initiating a discussionon the drought situation said though the government itself haddeclared 139 of the 175 taluks as drought hit during kharif seasonand 165 taluks during Rabi season no relief works had been taken.With one more year to go for the next assembly elections thegovernment was yet to take off, he claimed. Both Southwest and Northeast monsoon had been woefully inadequateand the government chose to blame the Narendra Modi government atthe centre for not releasing funds, instead of mitigating thesufferings of the rural people on war footing he said. He said the NDA government had sanctioned a record Rs 4877 crorefor drought relief during 2014-16 period and the latest installmentof Rs 1782 crore would come to the state after certain formalitiesand procedures are completed. Instead of spending from its kitty andreceive the central funds later, the state government is on acollision mode against the center, which is not good, he said. He said NDA government had provided maximum compensation toKarnataka to fight drought. While it had given Rs Rs 4877 crore injust two years, during 2004-09 of UPA I rule the state had receivedjust Rs 1346 crore while during 2004-09 UPA I rule it had receivedRs 3297 crore. During these two periods the State government hadspent Rs 457 crore and Rs 403 crore, respectively, from its statefunds. What is the point in blaming the centre, he asked. Mr Shettar while a record number of farmers committed suicideduring the Congress government rule mainly due to drought, it hadnot come to their rescue of the families by disbursing compensationquickly. While as many as 2406 farmers had committed suicide duringthe present government's rule between 2014-16, the government hadsanctioned compensation in 1502 families while 150 cases was stillpending. It was unfortunate that the government had rejected claimsin 704 cases. What should the poor farmer families do if thegovernment becomes so stubborn, he asked. He also said the government could have done better in writing offfarm loans in worst affected taluks but had done little in thisregard. What steps has the government taken to mitigate farmers whoare in a debt trap due to unpaid loans taken from Cooperative andprivate money lenders, he asked. The BJP leader alleged that while the government was inactive theofficials were in deep slumber. Have you suspended even a singleofficial who has failed to act on the government instructions totake up drought relief works, he asked.UNI RS CNR RSS1445 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0287-1140101.Xml Prime Minister Narendra Modi today attacked the Nehru-Gandhi family for its hold on the Congress and the work culture of the previous governments led by the party, describing them as the root cause of all the problems faced by the country. In a combative yet humourous mood, the Prime Minister also attacked the Congress and also other Opposition parties on their response to the note ban and the surgical strike, saying that they had complete disconnect with the mood of the nation. In Prime Minister's over 1 hour 45 minute-long reply in the Lok Sabha to the discussion on the Motion of Thanks on the President's Address which was punctuated by heated exchanges between the Opposition and Treasury benches, the House also saw some lighter moments. Mr Modi took frequent potshot at the Opposition, quoting couplets from Mahabharat, Charvaka school of materialism philosophy and other Indian sources. ''Today, I will play in your court,'' Mr Modi said smiling as he went on to demolish the claims made by Leader of the Congress M Mallikarjun Kharge that all the present schemes the Prime Minister was taking credit for, were started during the previous Congress rule. Mr Modi said it was the lack of political will and sincere intentions that several good decisions recommended during the Congress rule could not be implemented, whereas his government lost no time to execute them. ''It is simply a difference of the work culture,'' he added.Mocking Mr Kharge's claim that it was because of the Congress that democracy had been saved in the country, the Prime Minister said the Congress had "dedicated" the entire democracy to one political dynasty and said those who tried to subvert democracy in 1970s did not understand the power of "jan shakti (will of the people)". ''They think there is one family that had secured freedom of the country. Wah kya she'r hai(What a poetry!) It was really a great favour from your party that you protected democracy for us," he said sarcastically. "It is because of this ''jan shakti'' that even a poor mother's son has today become the Prime Minister of India," said Mr Modi. The Prime Minister during his speech also strongly defended the demonetisation and sought to rubbish the Opposition ''mispropaganda'' that the decision was taken in haste. ''You will have to study Modi. Don't think that such a step can be taken in haste. The time was carefully chosen as the economy was strong,'' he said. ''Moreover, after a peak of all activities, including trade and commerce, during Diwali, there was a period of lull. So I utilised the time calculating that things will be alright in 50 days. And I can now see things happening as per my calculations,'' Mr Modi said.More UNI NAZ RSA/AE 1536 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0091-1140195.Xml A Dubai based mastermind, Shamshul Huda, who was behind the alleged ISI backed plot to cause train accidents in India by planting IEDs on the railway tracks, has been arrested by Nepal police. The sources in NIA said that Shamshul was a known operator of Indian fake currency and had a huge network in Nepal. "His arrest is a major breakthrough in the case and the investigating agency is likely to nab other accused regarding the train sabotage case," said an NIA official. Huda was arrested by Nepalese police after he was deported from Dubai. NIA is already in touch with the Nepalese authorities and will seek access to Huda for questioning. The sources said that the NIA was in possession of sufficient evidence from the spot of accident which points that nabbed ISI agent were the mastermind behind the recent derailment of trains - Indore-Patna Express near Kanpur and one at Koneru in Andhra Pradesh. Besides, the NIA official said that Umashankar Patel, one of the accused arrested by Bihar police had spoken to both Shamshul Huda and Shafi Sheikh while the two masterminds were together in Dubai in August. UNI MKS SHK 1533 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0298-1140215.Xml BJP State General Secretary MT Ramesh today said the party has decided to intensify the ongoing protest against the Kerala Law Academy by spreading into the outwards of the college campus. The party said it will organise a sit-in-agitation before the Secretariat on February 9, under the leadership of BJP State President Kumanam Rajasekharan. Talking to the mediapersons here, Mr Ramesh said the protest is not limited to the students', but people of Kerala have already taken over the agitation, while considering their demands as fair and justice. Alleging that both the LDF Government and the Law Academy Management were playing a game of hide-and-seek before people, Mr Ramesh said his party was trying to bring out the foul game of the Government and management before the people. He alleged that the management has decided to close the Law Academy today, as part of the Government's direction. The management is working as a tool of CPI(M). Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan is acting like a dictator, he added. The controversial direction given to police by the Chief Minister to suppress the agitation or criticise the Government by using police force, is not correct, the BJP veteran said. "What is the reason for the delay in taking over of the Government land, which has been misused by the law academy for other than educational purposes"? Mr Ramesh said a similar agitation will be organised before the Toms College at Kottayam and Nehru College at Pambady in Thrissur district in the coming days, to protest against the harassment of students, by the management. BJP will also organise two yatras from Palakkad to Manjeswaram and Palakkad to Thiruvanthapuram, carrying the ashes of Vimala Devi, a BJP worker killed by CPI(M) at Palakkad, for immersion at Manjeswaram and Thiruvanthapuram from February 26 to March 3, he revealed. BJP District President P Sathya Prakash and State Cell Coordinator K Ranjith also attended the function.UNI AK SHS RJ SNU 1526 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0329-1140058.Xml Nearly 10 Maoists are suspected to have been killed during an encounter with police at Akabeda Police Camp in Chhattisgarh's Narayanpur district last night, police said. A group of 40-50 Naxals launched an offensive at the police camp late last night forcing the police to retaliate. Both sides exchanged fire for about two hours before the rebels fled. Later, police found bloodstains and weapons from the spot. Police suspected that the ultras took away the bodies. Superintendent of Police Abhishek Meena confirmed the incident.UNI XC-PS SW SNU 1728 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0044-1140428.Xml The girls were forced by the criminals into prostitution in thecity during raids conducted on two Beauty Parlors. Police said that four people were arrested, Rs 1.39 lakh cash, 3Swiping machines, 14 mobile phones and two cars were seized duringa raid conducted on Shivai Thai Spa in Sadashivanagar Police Stationand on Lotus Classic Spa in Parappana Agrahar Police Station limits. Preliminary investigation revealed that the owners of the SpaMadhusudhan Pal and Prince Gupta (absconding) along with Jenny,Sirajuddin had indulged in human trafficking. They were promisinglucrative jobs in the city and later forced them to flesh trade.UNI MSP RS ADB1748 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0287-1140511.Xml In another major setback to beleaguered liquorbaron Vijay Mallya, Karnataka High Court today ordered winding up ofmajor liquor manufacturer UBHL and ordered a liquidator to make wayto repay the loans of the now grounded Kingfisher Airlines (KFA). KFA once known as the high flying Indian private airliner fellaway with huge losses with its promoter Mr Mallya leaving thecountry. He is now in London, reports said. The High Court asked for winding up of UBHL, the parent companyof UB Group, in which Mr Mallya has stakes, for recovering duespayable by the UBHL-promoted Kingfisher Airlines Limited. High Court Judge Vineet Kothari pronounced the order sitting atthe Dharwad Bench of the High Court through a video conference. Justice Kothari said ''This court has come to a conclusion thatthe respondent company UBHL also deserves to be wound up for failureto discharge their duties to pay up to their creditors". The Judge said the assets of the respondent company cannot beleft under the control of UBHL and could be handed over to officialliquidator to achieve the winding up process as per the law. All theassets left will be handed over to the official liquidator toproceed further until winding up of the respondent company isachieved in accordance with the law. The case during 2012, the lenders to now defunct KFA had filed acase against UBHL to seek dues from the now defunct airline as therespondent company had given corporate guarantees for loans. While BNP Paribas was the lead petitioner in the case, otherpetitioners include State Bank of India, a few aircraft lessors andRolls Royce. Mallya owns a 52.34 percent in United Breweries Holdings Limited. Justice Kothari also disposed off all Interlocutory Applicationsfiled by UBHL. "All IAs of the respondent company are disposed offherewith," he added. Mallya who left the country after the law agencies were on hotchase is now facing extradition. CBI was also in hot pursuit ofhis trail for extradition.UNI RS MSP ADB1829 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0287-1140626.Xml Apart from Azhar, JeM's deputy chief Mufti Abdul Rauf Asgar, Shahid Lateef and Kashif Jan, have also been declared proclaimed offenders by the court under provisions of section 82 of the Criminal Procedure Code, an NIA officer said. The officer said the court had also ordered the absconding accused to appear before it on March 9. On January 2, six militants stormed the Pathankot airbase in Punjab killing seven security personnel. All attackers were also gunned down. The NIA court order comes as the US administration under President Donald Trump has moved the UN to ban Azhar, but the proposal has been opposed by China. --IANS rak/rn ( 156 Words) 2017-02-07-20:58:06 (IANS) Being sceptical about the elevation of Sasikala Natrajan from Party General Secretary to Tamil Nadu Chief Minister, Congress leader Karthi Chidambaram on Tuesday said even if the decision is legally correct, it is morally wrong. "While the AIADMK legislature party has a legal right to elect a leader, I think they are morally wrong. The present AIADMK government, in my opinion does not have the mandate of people," Chidambaram told ANI here. He went on to say that since the mandate was given to late former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa in the 2016 Assembly elections, the morally correct thing to do would be dissolving the assembly and a call for general election. "If AIADMK dissolves the assembly and calls for general elections, wherein the present general secretary is projected as the Chief Minister and the party gets a majority, I have no issues but this move to foist on Tamil Nadu as a leader is unacceptable on many counts",Citing three reasons for considering the move morally incorrect, the Congress leader said that till date the present General Secretary of AIADMK has not spoken on any issues and there are no track records of her voicing on public issues Second being there are some serious cases pending against her and the immediate family and the third being issues of conflict of interest. Further pointing out the fact that a potential chief minister is involved in significant commercial transactions with the government, Karthi said that this is a big issue. The name of 62-year-old Sasikala was proposed by Chief Minister O Panneerselvam at a meeting of party MLAs at the party headquarters for holding the post of Chief Minister, to which majority of MLA and MPs agreed. Ever since Jayalalithaa's death, there has been a clamour that Sasikala should follow the earlier practice of both the party General Secretary and the Chief Minister's post being vested with the same person. A PIL was moved in the Supreme Court on Monday seeking to restrain AIADMK leader V K Sasikala from being sworn in as Tamil Nadu chief minister on Tuesday on the ground that the apex court was likely to pronounce within a week the judgment in a corruption case in which she and late CM J Jayalalithaa were accused. The PIL was filed by Chennai resident Senthil Kumar, general secretary of NGO Satta Panchayat Iyakkam, hours after the apex court indicated it could deliver its judgment on the appeals challenging the acquittal of Jayalalithaa and Sasikala in a 19-year-old disproportionate assets case.(ANI) BJP MLA Jagan Prasad Garg staged a protest here on Tuesday demanding police action after he was allegedly attacked by Samajwadi Party workers. The five-time MLA was joined by other Bharatiya Janata Party activists. Garg threatened to keep protesting until the accused were arrested. --IANS bk/sm/mr ( 54 Words) 2017-02-07-21:32:07 (IANS) Delhi Government has launched a programme to inculcate and develop leadership skills among school children in the national capital Delhi Education minister Manish Sisodia announced this plan during the Excellence in Education Awards function held at Thyagaraj Stadium here today.Speaking at the ceremony, Mr Sisodia stressed upon the importance of leadership skills in every individual's life saying, "Leadership qualities are required not just for fighting elections, although that is good. But it is more important to develop skills that will help an individual to set the pace in his or her own life. Many who are not in charge of their own lives discover that their lives are being led bysomeone else.""We want our children to inculcate leadership qualities wherever they go in life, whether they join some profession or start a business. They should be able to provide leadership to society incase there is such a need in the future. They should be able to lead the nation if the nation needs them," the Deputy Chief Minister asserted.Mr Sisodia said, "In our first year we focused on educational infrastructure. In the second year, we devoted our energy to providing international level training to teachers. These activities will continue.But now in our third year, we will focus on making learning more creative and productive. I believe that when a student leaves school, he should know more than what he has read in the books."He also said that a creative spirit and self-confidence are more important than academic learning adding, the most important thing for the student is the ability to study textbooks with confidence not syllabus.The proposed Leadership Programme will be introduced in a few selectschools and gradually expanded to include every school in Delhi, Mr Sisodia said.UNI DS ADG 2045 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0177-1140937.Xml Union Minister of State for Railways, Rajen Gohain today said that the locals women in the northeastern states marrying Bangladeshi immigrants is one of the causes of influx in the region. ''Influx is happening even today because the locals are marrying with Bangladeshis.If one wants to marry with them (Bangladeshis) no one can stop them," he told reporters on the sidelines of the one day Digi Dhan Mela here in Meghalaya. Mr Gohain said even without railways outsiders are still coming into the state. The Union Minister of State also pointed out that there is a village in Nagaland where Bangladeshis are in majority. Mr Gohain while assuaging the fear that railways will encourage outsiders to settle in the state by pointing out that no one from outside the state can buy lands in Meghalaya. It may be mentioned that the Centre was contemplating two railway projects for Meghalaya the 22-km Tetelia-Byrnihat tracks and the 108-km Byrnihat-Shillong line. Pressure groups in the state especially the Khasi Student's Union (KSU), from time to time have reiterated that it will oppose railways in the Khasi-Jaintia Hills unless the state government took strict measure to combat influx. UNI RRK RN 2107 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0311-1141004.Xml The notifications for the first phase of elections was issued today. The Chief Electoral Officer, Dewangan said election will be held on March 4 in the 38 Assembly constituencies covering 29 Assembly constituencies in valley areas and nine in hill areas. The last date of making nominations will be February 14 scrutiny will be done on February 16. Withdrawal of candidature will be done on February 18. Voting will be done between 7 am to 3 pm. Returning officers concerned of the 38 Assemb|y Constituencies have issued Notice of Election today and nomination papers can be filed from today he said. Hrisheekesh Modak, Joint CEo,Manipur made a visit to Thoubal, Kakching, Chandel, Tengnoupa districts to assess preparedness for the elections. Meeting was also held with top officers of security agencies present in these districts viz Army, Assam Rifres (AR), Border security Forces (BSF), central Reserve police Force .Election officials also monitored the activities of militants under SoO & MoU . Meanwhile the BJP today announced names of two candidates hence it will contest in all 60 seats. Left Democratic Front, Manipur (LDF) has released names of 29 candidates. Congress had already announced names of 60 candidates. UNI NS RN 2111 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0311-1141008.Xml Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Tuesday hit back at Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge in Lok Sabha for trying to gain mileage by bringing farmer's money into every issue, and asserted that farmer's money is white and exempted of tax Responding to Kharge in Lok Sabha, Jaitley said that he should not try to bring up farmers money in discussions catering to black money time and again. "Stop bringing up farmer's money, in the discussion of Black Money, Mr. Kharge. A farmer's money is white and is exempted of tax", Jaitley said to cheers from the House. He further stated that while the entire country was patient in the entire demonetisation stint, the ones who were having problems was only the Opposition. The Finance Minister also lashed out at Congress over the Specified Bank Notes (Cessation of Liabilities) Bill, 2017 which was discussed in Lok Sabha on Tuesday. Addressing the house on Monday, Congress Leader Mallikarjun Kharge, in an attempt to take down the Bharatiya Janata Party's contribution in agrarian sector said, "We brought Green Revolution to feed the people, we brought White Revolution. You question what happened in 70 years, if nothing had been done, you would not have been alive, there would not have been democracy, the Constitution would not have been protected," he said. (ANI) The Lok Sabha today passed the Specified Bank Notes (Cessation of Liabilities) Bill, 2017 which provides for holding, transfer and receiving of old 500 and 1000 rupee notes a criminal offence which bill seeks to end the liability of RBI and the government on the currency notes demonetised in November last year. The bill states that the government took the demonetisation decision on the recommendations of the RBI's central board to eliminate unaccounted money and fake currency notes from the financial system. Once passed by Parliament, the bill will replace an ordinance promulgated on December 30 last year which provides for a fine of 10 thousand rupees or five times the cash held, whichever is higher, on holding of more than 10 banned notes. Apart from aiming at ceasing the liability on old notes, the bill also provides that an Indian citizen, who was outside the country between November 9 and December 30, will be entitled to tender the demonetised notes within the specified period. Replying to a debate on the bill, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley termed the government's move morally and ethically in right direction. He said, the decision will hit those who were evading tax and now they will come under tax net. He rejected the opposition allegations saying that the agriculture sector and others have not been impacted post-demonetization. The Minister said that sowing of Rabi crops registered a growth of 7 percent in November and December 2016 as compared to previous year. He said state VAT collections have also increased. He hit out at Congress alleging that it has not taken any steps to curb the black money. The Union Minister clarified that the government was holding consultation with RBI over demonetization since February 2016 and every week there were meetings with RBI officials. He said the entire country was patient over the decision except the opposition parties. Earlier, initiating the discussion, RSP MP N K Premachandran termed the notification to declare high value currency notes as illegal. He said the government should have taken legislative route to take such decision. Shashi Tharoor of Congress also criticized the move saying it was ill-prepared decision. TMC leader Sougata Roy said the demonetization has hit common man. (ANI) Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu today directed the officials to complete land acquisition for Amaravati-Anantapur express high way within three months to complete the project by 2019.Addressing a review meeting on development of roads here, the Chief Minister said the Express highway should be straight and final designs should be submitted in fifteen days. He asked the officials to appoint special teams for land acquisition. The Chief Minister advised the railway officials to plan for developing a speed track along with the express highway. CRDA commissioner Sridhar gave a presentation on the proposed 195 KM Outer Ring Road (ORR) of Amaravati with the changes in alignment. With the changes in alignment the distance of tunnel near Mylavaram came down to 4.5 km from 7.5 km.The Chief Minister asked the officials to design eight line outer ring road to meet the future demands instead of six lane road. He said an economic city could be developed near Paritala and Krosuru in five thousand acres of land with the presence of water front in the area.The CM asked the railway authorities to plan for a railway line along with the Amaravati outer ring road. He enquired the officials over proposed 372 km Chennai-Visakhapatnam industrial corridor to be developed with the assistance of ADB.More UNI DP PY BL2158 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0298-1140878.Xml Syrian army backed by the Lebanese Hezbollah group have besieged the Islamic State (IS) group's bastion city of al-Bab in northern province of Aleppo, near the Turkish borders, a monitor group reported on Monday. After 20 days of a wide-scale military operation in the northeastern countryside of Aleppo, the Syrian army succeeded to lay a siege on the city of al-Bab, the largest IS stronghold in the countryside of Aleppo, Xinhua quoted the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights as saying. The military operation has succeeded in isolating al-Bab from other IS-held areas in the northern city of al-Raqqa, which is the de facto capital of the terror-designated group, and the eastern province of Deir al-Zour, where the IS enjoys a significant control. The Observatory said the progress of the Syrian army came after the failure of the Turkish-backed rebels fighting under the umbrella of Euphrates Shield to control areas east of al-Bab, as Turkey was also eyeing the takeover of the city, to defeat the IS and cut the road in front of the growing Kurdish influence in northern Syria near the Turkish frontier. This comes as the general command of the Syrian army announced recently that the Syrian forces made important progress against the IS in the countryside of Aleppo, capturing over 250 sq. km of towns, and controlling the road connecting al-Bab with Aleppo. For the army, securing the southern rim of al-Bab will protect the southeastern edge of Aleppo city, against either the advance of IS, or the Turkish-backed rebels. --IANS sku/ ( 266 Words) 2017-02-07-03:52:05 (IANS) The IS terrorists blew the pipelines to the north, east and western flanks of the gas field, Xinhua cited the report as saying. Hayan gas field is the largest production facility of gas feeding electricity station in central and southern Syria. Its production is estimated at three million cubic meters of gas daily. The facility's establishment cost the government over 280 million Euros ($300 million). IS stormed the facility when it overran, for the second time, the ancient city of Palmyra in the eastern countryside of Homs in last December. --IANS sku/ ( 133 Words) 2017-02-07-06:48:06 (IANS) The Dawn quoted Deputy Inspector General (DIG) South, Azad Khan as saying that the guard opened fire on third secretary Muhammad Zaki Abduh in the lobby of the Afghan consulate. Abduh died of his wounds shortly after the shooting, according to the consulate's spokesman, Haris Khan. "We were working at our office when we heard gunshots," he said. "Everybody was running in panic." The guard was taken into custody following the incident. Afghan Ambassador to Pakistan Hazrat Omar Zakhilwal was quoted by an Afghan media outlet as saying that the "firing inside Afghan Consulate General in Karachi has been carried out by an Afghan guard." The motive behind the killing was not immediately clear. The Afghan Embassy in Islamabad said it was waiting further details. "It seems the guard had some sort of personal grudge with the diplomat," Azad Khan said. "We are collecting evidence and will obtain CCTV footage in order to investigate the incident," the DIG said. A delegation of Afghan and Pakistani officials will jointly investigate the killing of the diplomat in Karachi, as reported by Afghan media. The Afghan Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) said a delegation comprising officials from the Embassy of Afghanistan in Islamabad and Pakistani officials had been formed to probe the incident. The delegation has been sent to Karachi city to jointly probe the killing of the diplomat, the Afghan MoFA said. (ANI) In a late-night session, the Knesset (parliament) approved the so-called "Regulation Bill" in a 60-52 vote, Xinhua news agency reported. Under the new legislation, about 3,850 housing units in dozens of outposts built illegally on privately owned Palestinian lands would be retroactively legalised. The State of Israel would seize the lands, offering compensations or alternative land to the landowners, even if they do not agree to waive their property. The outposts were erected by ultra-right settlers without permits from the Israeli authorities but the governments often have turned a blind eye to their construction. There are additional 120 settlements that Israel considered as legal. Both outposts and settlements are illegal under international law as they were built on lands occupied by Israel in the 1967 Mideast War, where the Palestinians wish to build their future state. Earlier on Monday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told reporters in London that he will vote in favour of the law immediately upon landing in Israel after meeting British Prime Minister Theresa May. But his flight was postponed due to late meetings with British officials, according to his spokesperson and the vote was held in his absence. --IANS sku/ ( 232 Words) 2017-02-07-07:08:06 (IANS) Chief Justice of Pakistan Saqib Nisar is likely to take the final decision tomorrow (Wednesday) in this regard, reports the Daily Times. According to sources, the expected decision would be subjected to the recovery of Justice Sheikh Azmat Saeed. The case was adjourned after Justice Saeed was shifted to the Rawalpindi Institute of Cardiology (RIC) on February 1. When hearing of the case was resumed on February 2, Justice Asif Saeed Khosa, who heads the larger bench, in the presence of three other judges said that the case is being adjourned tentatively. After the constant observation for five days, Justice Saeed has been discharged from RIC. Salman Akram Raja, counsel for Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's children -Hasan and Hussain Nawaz will resume his arguments on the next date of hearing. During the previous hearing, Raja had expressed his inability to explain the money trail for investment in the real estate business as well as the actual founder of two offshore companies Neilson and Nescoll that acquired Landon flats in 1993. Raja had told the court that his clients had no documents that could prove who originally established the two offshore companies. He had also said late Mian Sharif, the premier's father, had invested the money in the Qatari family's real estate business, so the record was not available with the grandchildren. On this, Justice Khosa had remarked that the counsel was taking a big gamble by withholding evidence behind the acquisition of the four London flats. (ANI) Australians are divided on whether or not they would support a travel ban on citizens from Muslim-majority nations, similar to that introduced in the US by President Donald Trump, according to a poll released on Tuesday. Newspoll showed that 44 per cent of Australians would support a similar travel ban, while 45 per cent are against the measures which have caused controversy across the world, Xinhua news agency reported. Just over one in 10 of those surveyed were undecided on the issue. Conservative voters were the most likely to support a Trump-style halt on immigration in Australia; 52 per cent of coalition (Liberal and National) voters said they would support an Australian version of Trump's executive order halting all movements to the US by citizens of Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen. In addition, 34 per cent of Labor voters were also in favour of the ban, while 55 per cent were against the idea. Meanwhile in a separate poll taken by Essential, the same question was posed to voters with similar support levels; 41 per cent of respondents supported a ban while 46 per cent opposed, with 14 per cent undecided. However when those polled were specifically asked whether or not they support Trump's executive order, the support level dropped 5 points to 36 per cent while disapproval rate rose to 49 per cent. The poll follows news that Australia's Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull declined to join a slew of condemnation regarding Trump's executive order when it was first enforced. Leaders from other leading Western nations including Germany, Britain and Canada all denounced the ban, while Turnbull said it was not "his job" to interfere in the US "domestic policies". --IANS ksk ( 296 Words) 2017-02-07-09:12:07 (IANS) Romania's ruling Social Democrats appealed for calm today after withdrawing a decree widely condemned as reversing the country's anti-corruption drive, but protesters again took to the streets to demand the government's resignation.Yesterday, the government rescinded the decree, which would have shielded dozens of politicians from prosecution, following the largest demonstrations in Romania since the fall of communism in 1989.Political analysts said the government - in power for barely a month - now faced an uphill task restoring shattered public confidence.About 12,000 people gathered in front of government offices in central Bucharest today evening - far fewer than the 250,000 seen the previous evening - to demand Prime Minister Sorin Grindeanu's resignation and snap elections."This government has offered us a perfect demonstration of what it can do during its first 30 days in office. Conclusion: they must leave," said one protester named Franciscus, 30, who works in the banking sector.A rival demonstration of about 4,000 people gathered for a second day outside the office of President Klaus Iohannis, accusing him of instigating the week-long anti-government rallies.Iohannis is a former leader of the centre-right opposition who briefly joined an anti-graft rally in late January and has since called a referendum over anti-corruption reforms. He was due to address parliament at 1530 IST tomorrow.Social Democrat Party (PSD) leader Liviu Dragnea, the chief target of the protesters' ire, sounded a defiant note earlier today after chairing a meeting of senior party officials."The government has no reason to resign, it was legitimately elected," Dragnea told reporters. "As long as this tense state continues in Romania no one has anything to gain."He signalled that the government could still seek, with parliamentary involvement, changes to the criminal code, and might seek the advice of foreign experts."All the PSD can do is to urge calm. Besides the protesters in the square, there are other Romanians also shouting that their vote must be protected," he said, in reference to the party's big win in a December election.However, the scenes of Romanians thronging Bucharest's broad boulevards and other cities every evening since January 31 have clearly shaken the PSD, and they will not have gone unnoticed elsewhere across Eastern Europe, blighted by corruption and cosy ties between business and politics since the end of communism.Romania, a country of 20 million people which hosts a US ballistic missile defence station and is one of Washington's staunchest allies with troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, remains among the poorest, most corrupt members of the European Union.A Social Democrat-led government was felled by street protests only 15 months ago following a nightclub fire that killed 64 people. That incident triggered an outpouring of public anger amid accusations of state negligence and corruption in failing to enforce fire-safety regulations at the club."They (Romania's leaders) are deeply scared by these huge protests, unprecedented in 27 years," independent political commentator Cristian Patrasconiu said of the latest rallies."This amounts to more than a simple step back. Any new move by them needs assessment. Everything looks suspicious."The corruption decree, issued late in the evening of Jan 31 by the cabinet without parliamentary debate, had been designed to decriminalise a number of graft offences, cut prison terms for others and narrow the definition of conflict-of-interest.The government said it was merely bringing the criminal code into line with recent rulings by the Constitutional Court and an EU legal directive and also wanted to ease jail overcrowding.But the opposition, anti-corruption prosecutors, magistrates and hundreds of thousands of Romanian protesters said it had been tailor-made to amnesty dozens of politically-affiliated public officials convicted or accused of abuse of office in one of the most corrupt members of the EU.The European Commission and the United States both condemned the government's move as backtracking on anti-graft reforms and the widely-acclaimed work of anti-corruption prosecutors.The government's decision to withdraw the decree will require the approval of parliament, where the PSD and their junior partners enjoy a big majority.On Wednesday, the government also faces a no-confidence vote filed by the opposition Liberals and Save Romania Union.REUTERS SDR 0029 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0431-1139656.Xml The leaders of Germany's "grand coalition" have agreed to tighten security measures after the deadly truck attack on a Berlin Christmas market, including tougher steps to deport migrants seen as security risks, officials said today.Leaders of Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU), its CSU Bavarian sister party and the Social Democrats (SPD), agreed at a meeting in Munich to move ahead with the proposals made last month by Justice Minister Heiko Maas and Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere."A well-fortified government is our answer to terrorist threats," Maas, a Social Democrat, said in a statement. "We are in agreement that the existing rules must be rigorously enforced, and that we must tighten the rules where necessary."Maas said it was critical that those migrants who were ordered to leave the country were actually deported.The agreement paves the way for Germany's ruling right-centre coalition to implement the package of measures and speed any needed legislation through parliament. Die Welt newspaper reported in its Tuesday editions that the measures also included strict residency controls on asylum seekers.Security and migration will be major campaign themes ahead of the national election on September 24 in which Merkel is seeking a fourth term.Merkel's party has been bleeding support to the anti-immigrant Alternative for Germany (AfD) party which has criticised Merkel's "open-door" refugee policy. A poll released Monday showed that the SPD, junior partners in the coalition, would triumph if the election were held today.The country is on edge over Islamist violence after a spate of attacks last year, and questions about why Anis Amri, the 24-year-old Tunisian asylum-seeker who ploughed the truck into revellers at the market, was still in the country despite deportation orders.German authorities had not sent Amri back to Tunisia because they were awaiting papers from the Tunisian government. He was shot dead by police in northern Italy. He had not been held in Germany because German authorities did not believe he would carry out an attack.Maas said it was important to enforce Germany's rules and laws to build long-term acceptance for migration. He said the party leaders also agreed to initiate a programme aimed at preventing Islamist militancy.Coalition sources said SPD leaders rejected a proposal made by the conservatives that would have set up "transit zones" for processing migrants.REUTERS SDR 0213 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0431-1139664.Xml Chinese Special Envoy for Afghanistan Deng Xijun met Afghan President Ashraf Ghani in Kabul on Sunday, weeks after Kabul criticised the trilateral grouping of China, Pakistan and Russia for not inviting the country to the Moscow meeting, reports the Express Tribune. "We have encouraged the Taliban during our contacts with them to join the dialogue. We have also urged Pakistan to start the quadrilateral process," Ghani's office quoted the Chinese envoy as saying. "China has always conveyed to the Taliban during meetings that it recognises the Afghan government and the president and that talks are the only option for them," Xijun said, according to a statement posted online. He said the Afghan Government has always tried to resolve problems through dialogue and progress in talks with Hizb-e-Islami indicates the Afghan Government has the capacity. He said the Taliban policies have paved the way for activities of other terrorist groups who pose threats to the security of China and other regional countries. (ANI) The Pakistan Supreme Court has accepted the Interior Ministry's plea to examine material on which the Quetta Commission Report is based, however, refusing to provide the confidential documents, based on intelligence reports, against which the privilege was already sought. The court observed that the miscellaneous part of documents is not related to proceedings, reports the Daily Times. The court also granted two weeks to the ministry's lawyer Makhdoom Ali Khan to file specific objections after examining the material. The SC directed Balochistan Bar Council lawyer Hamid Khan to file a reply over the ministry's 64-page objections. Hamid would also submit the data of children of deceased lawyers on next date of hearing for provision of free education, as committed by the Balochistan government after the occurrence of Quetta incident. A three-member bench headed by Justice Amir Hani Muslim resumed the hearing of suo motu case over August 8 Quetta blast, which killed at least 72 people, including 53 lawyers of Balochistan. Makhdoom told the court that the Quetta commission report made derogatory observations regarding Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan. Regarding meeting of the Interior Minister with banned outfit cleric Ahmad Ludhianvi, Makhdoom contended that the minister had called upon the delegation of Defence of Pakistan, which is not a banned outfit, adding that the list of participants was not conveyed and the minister was not aware that Ludhianvi was part of the delegation. He added that the message was given that minister accepted demands of the delegation but there was no such acceptance of demands. Makhdoom said he has no objection over the commission's authority but the objections are only raised to the extent of observations made in the commission report against the minister. "If you want us we will hear. Perhaps we, after hearing, may dilute the language subject to record. You have to draw line between ministry and person," observed Justice Hani Muslim. Makhdoom pleaded to expunge the adverse remarks. He contended that by the content of commission's report, the message is conveyed that the minister was socialising with terrorist outfits daily.(ANI) Recently, Lithuanian and the US signed agreement defining conditions for the construction of military objects and movement of US aircraft, ships, and other military vehicles in this Baltic country, Xinhua news reported on Tuesday. Grybauskaite said the agreement would help allied troops "implement deterrence measures and strengthen the defence of NATO eastern flank." Latvia and Estonia, Lithuania's neighbouring countries, have also signed parallel cooperation agreements with the US, according to the president's office. The agreement on the status of US forces in Lithuania comes more than two years since the first US forces arrived to Lithuania. Since early 2014, rotational US forces have been attending joint military training in Lithuania. --IANS in/vm ( 147 Words) 2017-02-07-12:24:08 (IANS) Peace talks between the Philippine government and communist rebels to end nearly five decades of conflict are still possible even though the president has ordered "all-out war", the defence minister said today President Rodrigo Duterte announced on the weekend the government was scrapping a ceasefire with the New People's Army saying the "terrorist group" was making "huge", unacceptable demands despite government concessions.REUTERS CJ AS1218 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0400-1139852.Xml South Korean Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se spoke to US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson for 25 minutes, Xinhua news agency reported. Citing a series of senior-level phone talks between the two allies, Minister Yun highly appreciated the importance the Trump administration placed on the bilateral alliance. The two officials agreed to strengthen the US-South Korea relations to the strongest ever under the Trump administration to effectively tackle North Korea's nuclear programme and other relevant issues. The South Korean diplomat stressed that the Pyongyang's nuclear programme would become the most serious issue faced by the new US administration, saying the two countries should be prepared for any possible North Korean provocations. On January 30, US President Donald Trump held phone talks with South Korean Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn who is serving as acting President following the impeachment of President Park Geun-hye. US Defence Secretary James Mattis visited South Korea last week. --IANS ksk/rn ( 186 Words) 2017-02-07-13:26:06 (IANS) The Taliban leader was involved in insurgency activities in the restive Achin and other districts of Nangarhar province, reports the Khaama Press. The Nangarhar police commandment officials said theTaliban leader joined peace process by handing over a rocket launcher, a communication device, and some other type of explosives. The Taliban militants group has not commented regarding the report so far. Nangarhar is among the relatively calm provinces in East of Afghanistan but the anti-government armed militants are actively operating in some of its remote districts and often carry out insurgency activities. Taliban insurgents and militants belonging to the other insurgent groups including the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) terrorist group are also operating in this province. (ANI) Japan controls the chain and calls them the Senkaku Islands, while China calls them the Diaoyu Islands. The development comes just days after U.S. Defense Secretary James Mattis reaffirmed America's commitment to defending Japan and its disputed islands. According to Japanese broadcaster NHK, protests were lodged with the Chinese Embassy in Tokyo and in Beijing through the Japanese Embassy. Tensions have flashed numerous times in recent years over the disputed islands, including face-offs between Japanese and Chinese air and naval forces that have been termed dangerous by both sides, reports the CNN. China's State Oceanic Administration, which oversees the country's Coast Guard, put out a statement late Monday saying the three ships "cruised within China's Diaoyu Islands territorial sea." China's Defense Ministry also confirmed the Coast Guard ship movement. Japan's Coast Guard said the Chinese vessels spent two hours in Japanese territorial waters. It was the fourth time Chinese ships have entered Japan's waters this year, the Japanese Coast Guard said. There were 36 such incidents in 2016, it said. During a press conference Saturday in Tokyo, Mattis said the U.S. would defend the islands with Japan. "I made clear that our long-standing policy on the Senkaku Islands stands. The U.S. will continue to recognize Japanese administration of the islands and as such Article 5 of the U.S.-Japan Security Treaty applies," Mattis said in an appearance with Japanese Defense Minister Tomomi Inada. The US position was reinforced Tuesday in a phone call between Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida and the new US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, according to a statement from Japan's Foreign Ministry. "The United States will be against any unilateral action made to damage the Japanese administration of the Senkaku Islands," Tillerson stated during the call, according to the Japanese statement. China responded quickly on Saturday to the US stance on the islands, saying it brings instability to the region. (ANI) The Kremlin today shrugged off a Fox News host's refusal to apologise for comments he made about Russian President Vladimir Putin, but said his remarks reflected badly on the US channel.In an interview with US President Donald Trump which aired at the weekend, Fox News host Bill O'Reilly described Putin as "a killer" as he tried to press Trump to explain more fully why he respected his Russian counterpart.The Kremlin said yesterday it wanted an apology for what it said were "unacceptable and insulting" comments, but O'Reilly dismissed the call for an apology."I'm working on that apology but it may take a little time," O'Reilly said on Fox News late yesterday. "You might want to check in with me around ... 2023."Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters today the episode showed that it and O'Reilly had a different understanding of what common courtesy meant and quipped that the Kremlin would return to the matter in 2023."This is a very unfortunate incident for the Fox company at least in our eyes," said Peskov, who said O'Reilly's behaviour had reflected badly on the broadcaster, a top-rated US cable news network.Peskov suggested the Kremlin would not pursue the matter further however."We are not inclined to exaggerate this or to blow this out of proportion," said Peskov. REUTERS PS AN1511 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0421-1140172.Xml Emmanuel Macron, the independent centrist who is favourite to win the French presidential election, has dismissed rumours he has a gay relationship outside his marriage to Brigitte Trogneaux.In comments yesterday, tweeted by his spokeswoman, Macron brushed off rumours he was in a relationship with Radio France chief executive Mathieu Gallet. Talk of an affair has circulated for years and was recently picked up by Russian media."If you're told I lead a double life with Mr Gallet it's because my hologram has escaped," Macron told supporters at a rally, apparently referring to a hologram presentation by a rival presidential candidate, Jean-Luc Melenchon, last weekend.The spokeswoman described Macron's comments as "a clear denial of the rumours about his private life"."Brigitte is asking herself how I could physically do that. She shares my life from morning to night, and I never paid her," Macron said, according to a tweet by a reporter at the event.The reference to payment appeared to be a dig at another of his opponents, Francois Fillon, whose campaign has been hit by allegations his wife was paid for work she did not do.It is the impact of that scandal which has put Macron in pole position to win the election this spring.French media is traditionally wary of reporting about the private lives of public figures but, today, Le Parisien newspaper carried a story about Macron's rebuttal.Uncertainty about the outcome of the election, taking place in two rounds on April 23 and May 7, has this week driven the premium that investors demand for holding French over German government debt to its highest for almost four years.Opinion polls show Macron contesting the second round with Marine Le Pen, leader of the far-right National Front, and winning it with a majority of about two-thirds. REUTERS PS AN1551 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0421-1140266.Xml Irans supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Tuesday he was grateful to US President Donald Trump for revealing "the real face of America". "We are thankful to this gentleman... he showed the real face of America," Khamenei was quoted by state-owned Press TV in a speech to military officers in Tehran. "What we have said for more than 30 years -- that there is political, economic, moral and social corruption in the ruling system of the US -- this gentleman came and brought it out into the open in the election and after the election." Khamenei said the Iranian people will be responding to the US President's recent anti-Iran threats on the upcoming anniversary of the 1979 Islamic Revolution. "Trump says, 'Fear me!' No. The (Iranian) people will respond to these remarks on Bahman 22 and will show what position the Iranian people assume vis-a-vis threats," he said. Ayatollah Khamenei was referring to the date on the Persian calendar coinciding with the anniversary of the February 11, 1979, Islamic Revolution, when the Iranian nation staged countrywide rallies celebrating the Revolution's victory. Trump tweeted earlier this month that "Iran is playing with fire -- they don't appreciate how kind' President Obama was to them. Not me!" "Iranians are not afraid of threats," Ayatollah Khamenei said. Khamenei said: "The new US President says, You should be grateful to (former US President Barack) Obama! Why? Should we be thankful for the creation of Daesh (IS), the flames (of violence) in Iraq and Syria, and open support for the 2009 sedition (in Iran)?" "It was him (Obama) who brought the crippling sanctions to the Iranian people," Ayatollah Khamenei said. "Of course, he fell short of his goal, and no enemy can cripple the Iranian people." Ayatollah Khamenei made the remarks in a meeting with a number of commanders, officers, pilots, and staff members from Iran's Air Force and the country's Khatam al-Anbiya Air Defence Base. The meeting took place on the anniversary of a historical development before the 1979 Revolution that saw Homafaran, air force officers in the monarchical Pahlavi regime, meeting with and pledging allegiance to Imam Khomeni, the founder of Iran. --IANS ahm/vt ( 372 Words) 2017-02-07-16:44:07 (IANS) The CNN reports that at least 35 people were wounded in the blast, according to Saleem Rasooli, head of Kabul's hospitals. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack. Last month, Taliban bombers killed more than 30 people in twin explosions in a crowded area of the city. More details awaited. (ANI) The provincial government media office in a statement said the airstrike was carried out on Monday, targeting the militants in Garamser district. The statement further added that the local Taliban leader killed in the airstrike has been identified as Mawlavi Najeeb who was also famous as Madad. Khamma Press quoted local officials, as saying that the militants were targeted in Kharko area and a heavy machine gun of the militants was also destroyed in the airstrike. The anti-government armed militant groups including the Taliban insurgents have not commented regarding the report so far. (ANI) At least 30 people died in air strikes on the rebel-held Syrian city of Idlib on Tuesday, in some of the heaviest raids there in months, witnesses and rescue workers said.Around eight attacks by what witnesses believed to be Russian jets wounded scores of people and leveled several multi-storey buildings in residential areas of the northwestern city, they added.Russia's Defence Ministry later said media reports that its planes had bombed Idlib were not true, Interfax news agency reported.Two rescue workers said the death toll was at least 30. The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said at least 26 people were killed and casualties were expected to rise as rescue workers searched for bodies under the rubble.Video footage by activists on social media showed civilians, including young children, being treated in a main city hospital where the injured had been rushed for treatment."We are still pulling bodies from the rubble," said Issam al Idlibi, a volunteer civil defence worker.The extent of the damage and the debris bore the hallmarks of a Russian attack, two witnesses said.Russian planes have targeted a number of towns and villages in the area since entering the Syrian conflict in September 2015 to back ally President Bashar al-Assad.But activists and residents also said there had been a reduction of Russian strikes in Idlib province since a Turkish-Russian brokered cessation of hostilities late December.Planes from the US-led coalition have also launched a number of attacks in the rural province, a major stronghold of jihadists, many of them formerly affiliated to al Qaeda.Idlib's population has been swollen by thousands of Syrian fighters and their families evacuated from villages and towns around Damascus and Aleppo city, which was retaken by the government in recent months.Separately, at least four people were killed in air strikes by unknown jets in the town of Arbin in rebel-held Eastern Ghouta, northeast of the capital. The Syrian army and pro-government militias have been seeking in recent days to gain new ground there.REUTERS PS PM1854 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0421-1140664.Xml JUBA, Feb. 6 (Xinhua) -- South Sudan President Salva Kiir ordered Monday his defence minister and the army chief to publicly execute members of the armed forces if found of raping women and girls. Speaking on a religious occasion in the town of Yei, southwest of the capital Juba, Kiir said members of the security forces who were convicted of rape would be severely punished. "If a soldier rapes a woman or a girl, the punishment is to shoot him in the head and in public," Kiir said in a speech broadcast live on state-owned radio and television stations. The South Sudanese leader admitted that the move may attract criticism from human rights defenders, but it is meant to restore stability in the East African nation. "People have ears and eyes to see. If they see or hear that rapists or criminals are being killed, they will stop committing these acts," Kiir said. He urged the community of Yei to end violence and support his national dialogue initiative declared late last year, which was intended to end the on-going mass displacement and violence in the previously peaceful Greater Equatoria region. The United Nations has on several occasions accused the South Sudanese government troops and opposition forces of committing sexual violence and rapes against women and girls. The UN Mission in the South Sudan (UNMISS) reported last year that it documented at least 172 cases of sexual violence in Juba since renewed fighting erupted in July 2016. Enditem BUJUMBURA, Feb. 6 (Xinhua) -- Burundi on Monday marked the 26th anniversary of the adoption of the unity charter despite some worries over ethnic differences once again dividing citizens of the African nation. Ceremonies took place in major towns in Burundi's provinces and Burundian President Pierre Nkurunziza were in the northeastern province of Muyinga for the celebration. By adopting the unity charter on Feb. 5, 1991, the three main ethnic groups in Burundi -- Hutus, Tutsis and Twas -- accepted to "live in harmony and avoid confrontations" as it happened in 1965, 1969, 1972 and 1988. Yet on Burundi's streets, opinions on the unity progress 26 years after the charter adoption seemed to be mixed. "We cannot say that Burundians are united because of the adoption of this unity charter. Problems arise when it comes to striving for political positions," said Jacqueline Niyonzima, a secondary school teacher in Buyenzi. She said despite the harmony between the the Hutu majority and the Tutsi minority groups in rural areas, ethnicity remains an issue when politicians claimed to fight for the interest of their ethnic group. "In the countryside, people live together, share everything and cross-marry. So, there is no problem. The only problem resides amongst political actors," she said. Charlotte Gahimbare, an internet cafe agent in Bujumbura, worried about divisions during elections. "When it comes to big events like elections, politicians divide Burundian citizens ... If unity starts from the top, we will get it also at the grassroots level," Gahimbare said. Other citizens believe that unity is getting consolidated even if some problems still exist. Tharcisse Nizigama, who sells second-hand clothes in Bwiza neighborhood indicated that ethnicity problems are almost over. "The situation of unity amongst Burundian people is now better. There are so many inter-ethnic marriages. This shows the creation of more confidence and trust between Hutus and Tutsis," he said. He indicated that Burundian leaders should "urgently" do their best to repatriate people living in exile so that their life continues on their mother land. Despite the adoption of the unity charter in 1991, one of the biggest crises broke out in 1993 with the assassination of the first democratically elected Hutu President Melchior Ndadaye, which sparked deadly violence between Hutu and Tutsi groups and a massive forced exile. Enditem TIKRIT, Iraq, Feb. 6 (Xinhua) -- The governor of Iraq's northern central province of Salahudin warned on Monday of a possible security setback with increasing attacks from Islamic State (IS) militants in the province. "The towns of Dour, Alam and Samarra have witnessed almost daily attacks by the militants of Daesh (IS), leaving many civilians and security members killed and wounded, in addition to burning houses and destroying power transmission lines," Governor Ahmed al-Jubouri said in a statement issued by his office. The ground forces in Salahudin are not capable of repulsing the attacks of the IS militants given the large number of extremist militants moving in the vast rugged area of the eastern part of the province, Jubouri said. He also said Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, who is also the commander-in-chief of the Iraqi forces, must take "fast and decisive action" to retake control of the eastern areas of the province. In Oct. 2016, security forces and allied paramilitary Hashd Shaabi units carried out an operation to take control of the main IS redoubt in Mteibijah area, some 100 km southeast of Salahudin's provincial capital of Tikrit. The operation in Mteibijah was designed to take control of the whole area, where hundreds of IS militants were hiding, to prevent them from attacking civilian and military targets in Salahudin and neighboring Diyala provinces. However, security forces only retook control of part of the rugged sprawling areas in eastern Salahudin. Also in the day, a member of the Hashd Shaabi unit was killed and three others wounded in a roadside bomb attack near their vehicle at a village near the town of Baiji, some 170 km north of the Iraqi capital of Baghdad, a provincial security source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity. The predominately Sunni Arab province of Salahudin has been the scene of a major offensive by Iraqi security forces and allied Hashd Shaabi units, which managed to retake control of the province from the hands of IS militants who seized large part of it in June 2014. Jubouri's warning came as the Iraqi security forces, backed by an anti-IS international coalition, are carrying out a major offensive to push out IS militants from its last major stronghold in and around Mosul, some 400 km north of Bagdad. KIEV, Feb. 6 (Xinhua) -- The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) on Monday called on the conflicting parties in eastern Ukraine to refrain from using force near the critical civilian infrastructure objects. "Civilian infrastructure, especially that on which the civilian population depends, must be protected against attacks," Ertugrul Apakan, a chief monitor of the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine, was quoted as saying by the OSCE press service. All infrastructure facilities, including water supply system and electricity transmission objects, should be fully demilitarized in order to avoid severe consequences for the civilian population, Apakan emphasized. His comments came after fighting between government troops and pro-independence insurgents has damaged public infrastructure in Avdeevka town in Donetsk region in east Ukraine, cutting basic services to some 20,000 people for several days amid winter temperatures of minus 20 degrees Celsius. As of Monday morning, electricity, heating and water supplies to Avdeevka were largely restored, but five villages on the town's outskirts still remain without power. The latest escalation of violence, which started in late January, has further aggravated the humanitarian situation in the conflict-affected areas in eastern Ukraine, where about 3.8 million civilians are in need of immediate humanitarian assistance. UNITED NATIONS, Feb. 6 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations is gravely concerned that an estimated 1.8 million people in Syria's Aleppo city and its surroundings have been cut off from their main source of water, said UN Spokesperson Stephane Dujarric on Monday. Dujarric told a daily briefing that the UN continues to respond to the water crisis by supplying fuel to operate 100 deep wells, and is supporting emergency water trucking, reaching nearly 1 million people in need of water assistance. Noting the severe humanitarian situation in other areas across the country, Dujarric said "the United Nations continues to call for unconditional, unimpeded and sustained access to all 4.72 million people in hard-to-reach locations across the country, including 643,780 in besieged locations." The Syrian army wrested its full control over the entire city of Aleppo since last December, poising for further military operations in the Aleppo province to drive out Islamic State (IS) militants. Thousands of civilians have been displaced due to the intensive fighting. So far, the chronic Syrian conflict has killed more than 300,000 people and displaced nearly 11 million others. Protesters take part in a demonstration against house demolitions in the Bedouin community in Tel Aviv, Israel, Feb. 4, 2017.(Xinhua/JINI) JERUSALEM, Feb. 6 (Xinhua) -- Israel's parliament passed Monday a controversial law to retroactively legalize wildcat Jewish outposts built on private Palestinian lands, despite international condemnations and warnings that the law is unconstitutional. In a late-night session, the Knesset (parliament) approved the so-called "Regulation Bill" in a 60-52 vote. Under the new legislation, about 3,850 housing units in dozens of outposts built illegally on privately owned Palestinian lands would be retroactively legalized. The State of Israel would seize the lands, offering compensations or alternative land to the landowners, even if they do not agree to waive their property. The outposts were erected by ultra-right settlers without permits from the Israeli authorities but the governments often have turned a blind eye to their construction. There are additional 120 settlements that Israel considered as legal. Both outposts and settlements are illegal under international law as they were built on lands occupied by Israel in the 1967 Mideast War, where the Palestinians wish to build their future state. Earlier on Monday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told reporters in London that he will vote in favor of the law immediately upon landing in Israel after meeting British Prime Minister Theresa May. But his flight was postponed due to late meetings with British officials, according to his spokesperson, and the vote was held in his absence. The act was approved a week after the White House issued a statement with a reserved criticism of a recent surge of construction permits to thousands of housing units in the settlements. The vote was held although the White House has reportedly asked Netanyahu to delay it. According to a report on Israel's Channel 2 TV news, the administration told Netanyahu to postpone the move until after he met U.S. President Donald Trump in Washington on Feb. 15. The Prime Minister's Office would not confirm the report but Netanyahu told reporters in London that he has "updated" Trump about the expected vote. Netanyahu's nationalist coalition partners, predominantly the pro-settler faction of the Jewish Home, pressured hard to move forwards with the legislation in the wake of the court-ordered evacuation of the illegal outpost of Amona last week. Betzalel Smotrich, a lawmaker with the Jewish Home, hailed the "historic" vote. "Today, the State of Israel determined that the development of the settlement is an Israeli interest," he said in a statement. He stated that the next step would be to "declare Israeli sovereignty over" the entire West Bank. The opposition leader, Isaac Herzog, addressed the Knesset plenum ahead of the vote, calling on the lawmakers to reject the bill. "This bill is de-facto annexation," he said. "We have just a few more moments to stop this terrible train before it leaves here and stops at The Hague," he said. Also before the vote, United Nations Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Nickolay Mladenov warned that the law "will have far-reaching legal consequences for Israel and greatly diminish the prospects for Arab-Israeli peace." Immediately after the vote, Peace Now and Yesh Din, two Israel-based human rights organizations, said they intend to petition the Supreme Court to cancel the law. Yesh Din said in a statement that the law is "an unlawful, immoral law sanctioning landgrab and rewarding thievery," adding that it constitutes a "fundamental violation of the right to property." "Given the Knesset's lack of authority to legislate upon the West Bank, the landowners' struggle will continue in court," the group said. Last week, the government's Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit, said that the law might be unconstitutional and he would not be able to defend it in the Supreme Court. He warned the new legislation might expose Israeli officials to prosecutions in the International Criminal Court. In a highly unusual move, Ayelet Shaked, minister of justice and a lawmaker with the Jewish Home, announced that the government would hire a private lawyer to represent it in the Supreme Court. LISBON, Feb. 6 (Xinhua) -- Portugal has made significant progress and is recovering from a deep economic recession, but must keep up its pace of reforms, the head of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) said on Monday. "Portugal's reformist drive must continue. There is a lot of work to be done," OECD Secretary-General Jose Angel Gurria said at a press conference in Lisbon to present the OECD's Economic Survey together with Portugal's Minister of Finance Mario Centeno. Gurria said Portugal still faced several challenges, including high public and private debt, fragile banking system and low productivity caused by the lack of qualified workers. According to Gurria, Portugal had around 12 percent in bad loans, the fourth highest in the eurozone. He called on the country to boost investment, which according to an OECD survey is 30 percent lower than the figures recorded in 2005. The survey finds that the country's unemployment rate has dropped, but warns that it is still likely to sit at around 10 percent this year and next year. According to the OECD, the Portuguese economy will expand by 1.2 percent this year and 1.3 percent in 2018. Gurria said reforms were needed to boost growth, productivity and improve the well-being of Portuguese citizens. Mario Centeno did not fully agree with the OECD's forecasts, pointing out that unemployment will decrease. "Portugal registered throughout 2016, one of the biggest drops in unemployment in Europe, of two percentage points, with the rate sitting on the 10 percent threshold," he said, "We will manage to break the two-digit barrier." Centeno also said at the press conference that the situation of bad loans was improving due in part to Portugal's regulatory incentives. He noted that several financial institutions failed in their forecasts due to not understanding the government's economic policy. The socialist government, which took office in November last year and pledged to roll back austerity, is more optimistic about its economy and has forecast growth of 1.5 percent this year and even higher growth next year. CHICAGO, Feb. 6 (Xinhua) -- Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) grains futures close mixed Monday with soybean futures firmed on spillover strength from a rally in China as well as signs of good export demand. Corn retreated on technical selling, traders said, while profit-taking weighed on wheat following a 2.4 percent rally last week. The most active corn contract for March delivery fell 1.5 cents, or 0.41 percent, to 3.6375 dollars per bushel. March wheat delivery fell 7.75 cents, or 1.8 percent, to 4.225 dollars per bushel. March soybeans added 10.25 cents, or 0.99 percent, to 10.25 dollars per bushel. The U.S. Agriculture Department on Monday morning reported weekly soybean export inspections of 1.636 million tonnes, topping market forecasts that ranged from 900,000 to 1.2 million. It also revised its week-ago soy export inspections total to 1.637 million tonnes from 1.631 million. But expectations of robust soybean crops in Brazil and Argentina kept gains in check. "South American weather forecasts remain largely non-threatening," said Tobin Gorey, director of agricultural strategy at the Commonwealth Bank of Australia. Wheat prices were also curbed by easing concerns about potential winter damage in the northern hemisphere, including in the Black Sea exporting region. Rising competition on the export market added pressure to wheat. Brazil, traditionally one of the world's largest wheat importers, has exported several shipments of the grain recently as a large domestic crop and a government subsidy make the exports competitive abroad, according to data from ports. Corn rose early in the session but turned lower after failing to hold support above its 200-day moving average. Expectations of renewed fund buying limited the declines. LISBON, Feb. 6 (Xinhua) -- Portugal's Minister of Defense Azeredo Lopes said on Monday it was vital for the European Union to reaffirm its competence in defense without having to diminish the role of NATO. "We need to reaffirm our own capacities to assure our defense and our safety, without decreasing Nato's role," Azeredo said during a joint press conference with his Spanish, French and Italian counterparts in Porto, northern Portugal. "I think we have proven that we need to find a balanced, ambitious and European path of more responsibility in what concerns defense," he said, adding that the EU and NATO maintain a "healthy relationship." He also said he was confident in the continuation of transatlantic relations, pointing out that U.S. President Donald Trump had confirmed his presence at the NATO Summit in May. According to the Portuguese minister, the presence confirmation along with the frank and important conversation between the U.S. president and the secretary general of NATO are signs that contradict a tendency that some think could be catastrophic. He said he faced transatlantic relations in terms of defense very serenely, and added that NATO had the competence to face challenges. The four ministers belonging to the "Southern Quartet" on Monday discussed different positions on the transatlantic relation between NATO partners, the acting model of the southern alliance, and ways to reinforce the capacities of European defense, according to Portuguese Lusa News Agency. Monday's meeting comes ahead of a defense ministers' conference to be attended by ministers of defense from 28 NATO countries in Brussels on Feb. 15-16, including new U.S. Defense Secretary James Mattis. TORONTO, Feb. 6 (Xinhua) -- Canada's main stock market in Toronto opened the week slightly lower, as decline in energy stocks outpaced gold prices reaching a 12-week high. The Toronto Stock Exchange's benchmark Standard & Poor's/TSX Composite ticked down 19.45 points, or 0.13 percent, to begin the week at 15,456.94 points. Seven of the 10 sub-groups ended the session in negative territory. The Energy group continued its slump in 2017, falling 2.21 percent on the day after crude oil prices suffered its biggest single-day decline in five weeks. Since the beginning of the year, the group has dropped 9.95 percent. Monday's dip was fueled by a strong U.S. dollar and speculation that American inventory was on the rise. A barrel of Brent for April delivery retreated 1.69 percent to 55.86 U.S. dollars, while on New York Mercantile Exchange, West Texas Intermediate crude for March slipped 1.30 percent to close at 53.13 U.S. dollars. As a result of the price drop, Calgary-based energy firms Baytex Energy Corp. and Encana Corporation slumped 4.97 percent and 1.53 percent, respectively. Also making news was Scotland-based Ithaca Energy Inc. shares rising 11.49 percent to 1.94 Canadian dollars (1.48 U.S. dollars) after the firm's Board of Directors unanimously supported a takeover by Delek Group Ltd, one of Israel's largest companies. Other groups to lose ground on the day were: Consumer Staples (0.67 percent), Industrials (0.60 percent), Information Technology (0.23 percent), Consumer Discretionary (0.17 percent), Utilities (0.11 percent), and Financials (0.02 percent). The TSX IT group edged down despite Waterloo-based Blackberry Limited shares rising 0.77 percent to 9.18 Canadian dollars after announcing a mobile licensing deal with an Indian firm. The Financials group finished the day slightly down, as insurance firms Manulife Financial Corporation and Sun Life Financial Inc. slipped 0.77 percent and 0.32 percent, respectively. On the bright side, three groups finished higher to help offset the losses on Monday, as Materials soared 2.49 percent, Health Care climbed 1.44 percent, and Telecommunications ticked 0.16 percent. The Materials group, which is comprised of producers of gold, precious metals, and raw materials, thrived on the day as investors faced global uncertainty. The spot price of gold leaped 15.70 dollars to close at 1,235.20 U.S. dollars an ounce, its highest closing rate since Nov. 10. Nine of the 15 most traded stocks on the day belonged to the group. At the top of the list with nearly 9 million shares exchanged was Vancouver-based miner B2Gold Corp., which saw an 8.40 percent uplift to close at 4.39 Canadian dollars (3.36 U.S. dollars). Kinross Gold Corporation and Yamana Gold Inc. also finished with strong gains, rising 5.69 percent and 5.42 percent, respectively. The TSX Health Care group, which is made up of firms that specialize in pharmaceuticals and long-term care, saw all five group members finish ahead on the day. Laval-based drugmakers Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. and ProMetic Life Sciences Inc. saw the biggest gains, with respective jumps of 3.07 percent and 1.90 percent. The Canadian dollar fell 0.33 cents to close the day at 0.7643 U.S. dollars. UNITED NATIONS, Feb. 6 (Xinhua) -- The UN special coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, Nickolay Mladenov, on Monday said that he is "concerned" by the scheduled vote by the Israeli legislative body on a bill that would "legalize" Israeli settlements on privately-owned Palestinian land in the occupied West Bank, a UN spokesman told reporters here. In a statement issued earlier Monday, Mladenov said that if adopted into law, it will have far reaching legal consequences for Israel and greatly diminish the prospects for Arab-Israeli peace," UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said at a daily news briefing here. "The bill has been deemed unconstitutional by the attorney general of Israel and is in contravention of international law," the spokesman said, quoting the UN Middle East envoy. "He urged Israeli legislators to reconsider this move." All core issues should be resolved between the two parties through direct negotiations on the basis of relevant Security Council resolutions and mutual agreements, the UN envoy said. The bill, if adopted, would legalize about 4,000 homes in unauthorized outposts across the West Bank -- many consisting of little more than rusting mobile homes hastily towed to the sites -- that were built on land privately owned by Palestinians, and offers the landowners compensation. Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit has said some of the bill's provisions are illegal. The State of Israel would seize the lands, offering compensations or alternative land to the landowners, even if they do not agree to waive their property. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was under heavy pressure from his ultra-nationalist coalition partners to bring the bill to vote following last week's court order demolition of the illegal outpost of Amona. The evacuation triggered anger among the settlers. These outposts were erected by ultra-right settlers without permits from the Israeli authorities but the governments often have turned a blind eye to their construction. There are additional 120 settlements that Israel considered as legal. Both outposts and settlements are illegal under international law as they were built on lands occupied by Israel in the 1967 Mideast War, where the Palestinians wish to build their future state. BRUSSELS, Feb. 6 (Xinhua) -- The European Union (EU) insisted on Monday that it will not recognize Crimea's incorporation into Russia and urged all parties to implement the Minsk agreements fully in light of the recent resurgence of violence in eastern Ukraine. EU foreign affairs chief Federica Mogherini Monday chaired the monthly meeting of foreign ministers from all 28 EU member states in Brussels. The situation in Ukraine, which has deteriorated significantly in the last days, was top of the ministers' agenda. "The situation in the east in the last days was definitively extremely worrying for us. So when we refer to the full implementation of the Minsk agreements, we obviously restate our expectation that the fighting stops there and that a process of peace can be started effectively," the High Representative said to a press conference after the meeting. The tensions in Donetsk and Lugansk regions worsened last week as fierce fighting erupted between government troops and pro-independence insurgents in the Kiev-controlled Avdeevka town, causing dozens of combatant and civilian casualties. The warring sides blamed each other for the escalation that has killed some 10,000 people since April 2014. After discussing the situation on Friday with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and the meeting with the Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine Ivanna Klympush on Sunday, Mogherini called on the EU foreign ministers to maintain a united front on the issue. "First of all, the need for de-escalation of violence in the east, also our continued non-recognition policy of the annexation of Crimea," she told the ministers in the meeting. Replying to the concerns that the U.S. may take a softer line on Russia, the EU foreign affairs head said, "I cannot say where the U.S. administration stands on that but I can say where the Europeans stand on this." U.S. President Donald Trump hinted earlier that he could lift the sanctions against Russia if Moscow proved helpful in battling terrorists and reaching other goals important to the United States. However, the EU reiterated that EU sanctions against Russia are linked to the implementation of the Minsk agreements, which was signed in September 2014 and renewed in February 2015. "There is no case for relaxation of the sanctions," British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson stressed when he entered into the meeting, insisting keeping up pressure on Russia. The EU slapped the sanctions on Russia in July and September 2014 in response to an alleged role that Russia played in conflicts in east Ukraine. Last December, the European Union extended the sanctions against Russia for another six months until July 31, 2017. Smithsonian's National Zoo invites the public to join a series of online and on-site celebratory events to bid a fond farewell to giant panda Bao Bao before she begins the next chapter of her life in China. (Courtesy of Smithsonian's National Zoo) WASHINGTON, Feb. 6 (Xinhua) -- Giant Panda Bao Bao will be making the journey back to China on Feb.21, the Smithsonian National Zoo said Monday in a statement. Bao Bao was born on Aug.23, 2013 at the Washington Zoo, and is nearing her fourth birthday. According to arrangements between China and the United States, giant pandas born here must move back to China at around four. Tai Shan, another giant panda born in the Washington zoo in 2005, was shipped by in 2010. One keeper and one veterinarian will fly with Bao Bao to China's Chengdu, where the China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda is located. Bao Bao will travel with a supply of her favorite treats, including bamboo, apples, pears, cooked sweet potatoes and water, the statement said. The Washington zoo now has three other giant pandas, an adult female Mei Xiang, 18, an adult male Tian Tian, 19, and a male cub Bei Bei, 1. Afghan security force members inspect the site of a blast in Jalalabad, capital of eastern Nangarhar province, Afghanistan, Feb. 1, 2017. Seven people were injured as a sticky bomb went off in a police van on Wednesday. (Xinhua/Rahman Safi) UNITED NATIONS, Feb. 6 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations on Monday reported a record number of civilian deaths in Afghanistan in 2016, and called for urgent action to protect civilians in the Asian country. "A new report issued today by our colleague at the UN Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) has detailed the highest number of civilian casualties ever recorded in a single year in the country, including record figures for children killed and injured in 2016," UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said at a daily news briefing here. "The alarmingly high figures have prompted the UN to call on all warring parties to take urgent steps to keep people safe," the spokesman said. The report details more than 11,400 conflict-related civilian casualties, the highest figure since the UN began systematically documenting casualty figures in 2009, he noted. A total of 3,498 civilians were killed and 7,920 were wounded in 2016, a combined increase of three percent over the previous year, according to the annual report for 2016. "All parties to the conflict must take immediate concrete measures to protect the ordinary Afghan men, women and children whose lives are being shattered," said Tadamichi Yamamoto, the UN secretary-general's special representative for Afghanistan. Fighting between Afghan security forces and armed groups, especially in the country's populated areas, remained "the leading cause of civilian casualties" more than two years after NATO's combat mission ended, said the UNAMA. About 61 percent of all civilian casualties were caused by armed groups like the Taliban and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), which is also known as the Islamic State, the latest UN report said. A picture taken on February 5, 2017 from the West Bank city of Hebron shows a Palestinian boy riding a horse, with the Israeli settlement of Givat Harsina appearing in the background. (AFP PHOTO/HAZEM BADER) UNITED NATIONS, Feb. 6 (Xinhua) -- The UN special coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, Nickolay Mladenov, on Monday said that he is "concerned" by the scheduled vote by the Israeli legislative body on a bill that would "legalize" Israeli settlements on privately-owned Palestinian land in the occupied West Bank, a UN spokesman told reporters here. In a statement issued earlier Monday, Mladenov said that if adopted into law, it will have far reaching legal consequences for Israel and greatly diminish the prospects for Arab-Israeli peace," UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said at a daily news briefing here. "The bill has been deemed unconstitutional by the attorney general of Israel and is in contravention of international law," the spokesman said, quoting the UN Middle East envoy. "He urged Israeli legislators to reconsider this move." All core issues should be resolved between the two parties through direct negotiations on the basis of relevant Security Council resolutions and mutual agreements, the UN envoy said. The bill, if adopted, would legalize about 4,000 homes in unauthorized outposts across the West Bank -- many consisting of little more than rusting mobile homes hastily towed to the sites -- that were built on land privately owned by Palestinians, and offers the landowners compensation. Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit has said some of the bill's provisions are illegal. A general view shows the Israeli settlement of Ramot in an area of the occupied West Bank that Israel annexed to Jerusalem January 22, 2017. (REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun) The State of Israel would seize the lands, offering compensations or alternative land to the landowners, even if they do not agree to waive their property. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was under heavy pressure from his ultra-nationalist coalition partners to bring the bill to vote following last week's court order demolition of the illegal outpost of Amona. The evacuation triggered anger among the settlers. These outposts were erected by ultra-right settlers without permits from the Israeli authorities but the governments often have turned a blind eye to their construction. There are additional 120 settlements that Israel considered as legal. Both outposts and settlements are illegal under international law as they were built on lands occupied by Israel in the 1967 Mideast War, where the Palestinians wish to build their future state. SYDNEY, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- The Australian grocery giant Woolworths said on Tuesday that it will now accept UnionPay cards at its stores; China's leading debit and credit cards. Woolworths will offer all forms of UnionPay payment, including the contactless mobile based transactions at its terminals. According to UnionPay, Australia has the largest number of terminals that accept their cards, outside of China. The grocery chain will initially only have the terminals set up at their Woolworths outlets, but plans a full rollout to their other brands, such as Big W and liquor retailer Dan Murphy's in the foreseeable future. Paul Monnington, head of digital payments at Woolworths, said the changes are long overdue, with the high number of Chinese tourists visiting Australia each year. "Last year the number of Chinese visitors to Australia surpassed 1 million for the first time," Monnington said. The sentiment was shared by UnionPay International South Pacific general manager James Yang, who said the need for more access to UnionPay would increase in the future. "This is a great win for our customers visiting, studying or living in Australia. As tourism from China grows, we know we will see more and more people using UnionPay cards across Australian stores." UnionPay cards are accepted in over 160 countries and regions around the world. CANBERRA, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- Australians are divided on whether or not they would support a travel ban on citizens from Muslim nations, similar to that introduced in the United States by President Donald Trump, according to a poll released on Tuesday. Newspoll showed that 44 percent of Australians would support a similar travel ban, while 45 percent are against the measures which have caused controversy across the world. Just more than one in 10 of those surveyed were undecided on the issue. Conservative voters were the most likely to support a Trump-style halt on immigration in Australia; 52 percent of coalition (Liberal and National) voters said they would support an Australian version of the U.S. President's executive order halting all movements to the U.S. by citizens of Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen. In addition, 34 percent of Labor voters were also in favor of the ban, while 55 percent were against the idea. Interestingly, one in five left-wing Greens voters said they would support a similar ban. Meanwhile in a separate poll taken by Essential, the same question was posed to voters with similar support levels; 41 percent of respondents supported a ban while 46 percent opposed, with 14 percent undecided. However when those polled were specifically asked whether or not they support Trump's executive order, the support level dropped 5 points to 36 percent while disapproval rate rose to 49 percent. The poll follows news that Australia's Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull declined to join a chorus of condemnation regarding Trump's executive order when it was first enforced. Leaders from other leading Western nations including Germany, Britain and Canada all denounced the ban, while Turnbull said it was not "his job" to interfere in the U.S. "domestic policies." RIO DE JANEIRO, Feb. 6 (Xinhua) -- Brazil on Monday sent 1,200 troops to a coastal province to fill the vacuum of law enforcement caused by protests of military police officers' families. In all, 1,000 members of the armed forces and 200 members of the national guard will be patrolling the streets in the southeastern state of Espirito Santo. Families of military police officers on Saturday started a protest against low payment for the officers. They blocked the entrances of the police precincts and stopped policemen from leaving. Due to the absence of the military police that plays a crucial role in maintaining public security, violence skyrocketed. Over the weekend, 62 people were murdered in the state capital of Vitoria and its metro areas. In Brazil, police forces are under state administration. Civil police handle inquiries and investigations while military police are responsible for security. The military police, a leftover of the military dictatorship years, are submitted to regulations much similar to the armed forces. Therefore, military police officers are not allowed to engage in strikes. BULQIZA, Albania, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- Albanian rescue teams on Tuesday continued their search for three Chinese miners trapped in a chrome mine in the northern Albanian town of Bulqiza. Two Albanian rescue teams have been sent in for the search operation, together with Albanian and Chinese mining experts, after a hydrogen gas explosion in the chrome mine on Saturday, said Mehmet Hasalami, head of the Albanian Mining Rescue Unit. "The underground explosion has destroyed the ventilation system in the mine. We are rebuilding the airing system and clearing the rocks that block the entrance to the well," said Hasalami. "Rescuers have managed to reach some 200 meters away from the spot where the Chinese miners are believed to be trapped," he said, adding that situation down the well is crucial because hydrogen may cause the second explosion. There has been no contact of any kind with the three Chinese miners since Saturday afternoon, reports said. The Albanian government and the Chinese Embassy in Tirana have dispatched a working group to the mine, respectively. The Chinese Embassy confirmed on Sunday that three other Chinese miners inflicted minor injuries in the accident. YANGON, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- The second meeting of Myanmar's 21st century Panglong Peace Conference will be held in Nay Pyi Taw on Feb. 28 with participation of about 700 representatives, the official Global New Light of Myanmar reported Tuesday. "We agreed to carry out the process with union spirit and to encourage groups that have not yet signed the Nationwide Ceasefire Accord (NCA) in the conference," U Zaw Htay, acting director-general of the Ministry of the State Counselor's Office, told the Union Peace Dialogue Joint Committee (UPDJC) in the capital on Monday. State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi, who is also chairperson of the UPDJC, called for making clear and firm decision for peace at the meeting, emphasizing the importance of the organization in Myanmar's peace process and highlighting that the UPDJC is working for the emergence of the union. At the meeting, Chairman of the Joint Cease fire Monitoring Committee Lt. Gen. Ya Pyae appealed for avoidance of armed conflicts in order to hold the second meeting of the Panglong Peace Conference successfully for national reconciliation and peace. The Myanmar government and eight armed groups initiated the NCA on Oct. 15, 2015 and the first meeting of the Panglong Conference was held in August 2016. Myanmar has began last month holding the first national region-oriented national political dialogues separately in three areas of Tanintharyi region, and the race-oriented political dialogue in Hpa-An, the country's southeastern Kayin state. The outcome of all regional dialogues will be submitted to the second meeting of the Panglong Peace Conference at the end of this month under the NCA. by Matt Walsh CANBERRA, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- Conservative Australian Senator Cory Bernardi has on Tuesday defected from the coalition government in order to found his own far-right political party, the Australian Conservatives. In a speech tabled to the Senate on Tuesday, the former Liberal Party member said he was fed up with the "political class being out of touch with the Australian people" and that his new, conservative party would "put the principle back into politics." He described the decision as "perhaps the most difficult of my life", saying it was the "right thing to do" as the Liberal and National Party (LNP) coalition government continues to 'slide to the left'. "The body politic is failing the people of Australia and it's clear we need to find a better way," he told the senate. "For many years, I have warned of the consequences of ignoring the clear signs (of discontent). I regret that too often these warnings have been ignored by those who perhaps needed to hear them most." Bernardi said that it was no secret that the Australian people were shunning the major parties in favor of minor parties and independents which more closely align with voters' values, adding his new party would uphold the "traditional values" he said were once held by the Liberal Party. "Support for the minor parties is growing exponentially while support for the major parties is dwindling," Bernardi added. "It really is time for a better way - a conservative way. So today I begin something new, built on enduring values and principles that have served our nation so well for so long. It is a political movement of Australian Conservatives." The move means the government, which holds just a one-seat majority in the Lower House, will need to gain approval of yet another crossbench Senator in order to pass legislation through the Senate, and Bernardi has hinted that he will work to keep the government 'in check' while in his new position. Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull reportedly called Bernardi on Tuesday morning to accept the Senator's resignation from the Liberal Party, however the PM told a party room meeting later in the morning that the Senator's decision was hard to swallow after being elected by the people as a Liberal Party Senator just months earlier. "I asked him how he could justify remaining in the Senate having been elected as a Liberal only seven months ago. He could not answer that question," Turnbull said on Tuesday. Attorney-General and Senate leader George Brandis said it was "perplexing" that Bernardi would feel the need to take his course of action, as there had been no distinct policy changes since he chose to run under the Liberal Party banner just seven months ago. "The Australian government is disappointed. We believe he has done the wrong thing because only seven months ago, Berardi was elected by the people of South Australia as a Liberal Senator," Brandis told the Senate. "There is a variety of views in the Liberal Party, but only seven months ago senator Bernardi was happy to stand before the people of South Australia to say he was happy to serve a six-year term for the Liberal Party." Other senior Liberal Party members also weighed into the debate on the first day of Parliament's resumption; Immigration Minister Peter Dutton described Bernardi's course of action as "betrayal", while Defence Industry Minister Christopher Pyne said it was South Australian (SA) voters who would be hurting most. "Cory Bernardi was elected as a Liberal. The honorable course is for him to resign his seat and for him to recontest it as an independent," Pyne posted to social media on Tuesday. It is unsure how Bernardi will fund his new venture. He said he received around 700 personal donations at the last election, but was unsure if those donors would carry over to the Australian Conservatives, while he also denied he had secured the support of Australia's richest woman, mining magnate Gina Rinehart, despite rumors. Despite the defection, Bernardi also said he would continue to work with the government to support policies he agrees with. CANBERRA, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- Australia's Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull on Tuesday praised his government's border security policies, saying it has been more than 900 days since the last illegal people smuggling boat arrived in Australia. Speaking at a joint Liberal and National party meeting ahead of Parliament's resumption, the premier said the "remarkable" achievement was a testament to Australia's strong border policies. "We stand for security, for borders with integrity. Look around the world at the grief and the turmoil that you've seen through lax border protection," Turnbull said. "We have now gone over 900 days without a successful people smuggling venture coming to Australia. That is a remarkable achievement and one on which we can never be complacent." He said it was important that Australians were aware that the government was on top of unlawful immigration, and would continue to prevent people smugglers from bringing boatloads of illegal asylum seekers. "Australians know that the coalition - the Liberal and the National Party coalition - will keep their borders secure," Turnbull said. "That is the foundation of our immigration policies. It is the foundation of our multicultural society. Australians must know that their government and their government alone determines who comes to Australia. "That is their sovereign right. That is our sovereign right as a nation." Turnbull's words come at a sensitive time for immigration after U.S. President Donald Trump announced a temporary travel ban for citizens from seven Muslim-majority nations from entering the United States. Australia's border policies were also thrust into the news after details of a phone call between Trump and Turnbull - regarding a deal for the U.S. to take up to 1,200 asylum seekers from Australia's offshore processing detention centers - were leaked to the media. Trump described the deal as the "worst ever." SYDNEY, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- Australia's importance relative to the rest of the world is set to fall sharply over the next 30 years, according to a report released by PriceWaterhouseCoopers (PwC) on Tuesday. The report speculates the global economy will increase by 2.6 percent per annum, while the long-term global shift towards emerging markets will come to fruition. China is set to become the largest economy, according to the report, which further states the Chinese economy will be 30 percent larger than the next economy down the list, India, leaving the United States to fall to third place. Also on the list, Japan will fall from 4th to 8th, Germany is projected to stumble from 5th to 9th, with Brazil, Russia, and Mexico surging up the list. Chief economist at PwC, Jeremy Thorpe says that Australia must take note of the shift towards Asia and away from the U.S. and Europe, and plan accordingly. "Globally we will continue to see the shift in economic power away from established advanced economies towards emerging economies in Asia," Thorpe said. "The E7 could comprise almost 50 percent of world GDP by 2050, while the G7's share declines to only just over 20 percent." Thorpe is also convinced that by 2030, the nine largest Asian economies will make up over 50 percent of the gross domestic product of the largest 32 countries in the world, and has concerns Australia is not doing enough to harness the potential of the region. "The key opportunity for Australia is to leverage our proximity to Asia," Thorpe said. "We should be thinking about how we will best capitalise on the increased demand for goods and services right across our region. That's where the bulk of economic growth will be in the next thirty years." "To succeed, Australia needs to focus on engaging effectively with the emerging Asian economies," Thorpe said. The outlook that was generated by the report was conducted by analysing purchasing power parity estimates, so although advanced economies may still enjoy higher incomes, the disparity will be lessened within the next 30 years. CANBERRA, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- Retired Australian MPs and Senators will no longer be allowed to take taxpayer-funded business class flights, as part of a government crackdown following the nation's highly-publicized politicians' entitlements abuse scandal last month. On Tuesday, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull announced he was immediately scrapping the Life Gold Pass, which allowed retired MPs ten free return business class flights around Australia each year. In addition to the measures announced by the Prime Minister, the government's Special Minster of State Scott Ryan said legislation would also be introduced which would create a new compliance body to oversee expenses, following a scandal involving former Health Minister Sussan Ley. Ley was found to have used taxpayer funds to fly to the Gold Coast to purchase property, while it was also revealed she billed citizens for a number of trips over multiple New Year periods, during which she attended a number of parties with high-profile Australians. Ryan said the compliance body, called the Independent Parliamentary Expenses Authority (IPEA), would keep MPs accountable, particularly when it comes to spending taxpayer money. "Australians are entitled to expect parliamentarians spend taxpayers' money efficiently, effectively and ethically," Ryan said. "We have the opportunity to show Australians that the current generation of parliamentarians will subject themselves to higher standards than ever before." The government had previously indicated changes to the entitlements scheme; in the May budget last year, Turnbull foreshadowed phasing out the Life Gold Pass, but under legislation to be introduced this week, it will be abolished immediately. "It was better to simply move swiftly if we're abolishing the Life Gold Pass," Ryan said. The Special Minister of State added that the flagged changes had received "nothing but strong support from his colleagues", despite reports older MPs were concerned they would not get the benefits they were promised when they were first elected to Parliament. "The introduction of this bill continues the (government's) progress towards the most extensive reforms to parliamentary work expenses in more than two decades," Ryan said. According to a News Corp report, the Life Gold Pass scheme has cost Australian taxpayers more than 17 million Australian dollars (13 million US dollars) since 2001. JAKARTA, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- Mount Sinabung volcano in North Sumatra of western Indonesia continued eruption on Tuesday, spewing a column of ash up to 2 km to the sky, a national disaster agency official said. The ash spread to the east of the crater, and lava flowed to the south, southeast and east of the crater by up to 2 km, Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, spokesman of the national disaster management agency said. Villagers living along the rivers with upstream in the slope of Mount Sinabung are warned to be alert on a potential danger from flowing lava, he told Xinhua. Tourists and villagers are banned from entering a 3-km zone from the crater, a 7-km zone in south to southeast of the crater, and a 6-km zone in southeast to east of the crater, as well as a 4-km zone in north to east of the crater, he said. The volcano, which started eruption on Feb. 2, did not trigger evacuation, Sutopo said. Mount Sinabung is one of Indonesia's 129 active volcanoes. SEOUL, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) - Top diplomats of South Korea and the United States held telephone talks on Tuesday to discuss stronger bilateral alliance and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK)'s nuclear program, Seoul's foreign ministry said. South Korean Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se held a 25-minute phone conversation earlier in the morning with his U.S. counterpart, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson who took office a week earlier. Citing a series of senior-level phone talks between the two allies, Minister Yun highly appreciated the importance the Trump administration placed on the bilateral alliance. The two officials agreed to strengthen the U.S.-South Korea relations to the strongest ever under the Trump administration to effectively tackle the DPRK's nuclear program and other relevant issues. The South Korean diplomat stressed that the DPRK's nuclear program would become the most serious issue faced by the new U.S. administration, saying the two countries should be prepared for any possible DPRK provocations. On Jan. 30, U.S. President Donald Trump held phone talks with South Korean Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn who is serving as acting president following the impeachment of President Park Geun-hye. U.S. Defense Secretary James Mattis visited South Korea last week. LONDON, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- John Bercow, the speaker of Britain's lower house of parliament, said Monday that he was strongly opposed to U.S. President Donald Trump addressing Parliament during his proposed state visit. Bercow's comments are the strongest message so far against the honor to be granted to Trump, reflecting the intense protests worldwide after Trump's temporary immigration ban, among other issues. Bercow told members of parliament (MPs) that before the imposition of Trump's controversial migrant ban, he would have been strongly opposed to an address by the U.S. president in Westminster Hall. "After the imposition of the migrant ban, I am even more strongly opposed to an address by President Trump in Westminster Hall," Bercow said. Under the rules in force at the Palace of Westminster, Speaker Bercow is one of the three officials required to agree to any visitor addressing the House of Commons and the House of Lords. Without his agreement, it will not be possible for Trump to address Parliament. "As far as this place (parliament) is concerned, I feel very strongly that our opposition to racism and sexism and our support for equality before the law and an independent judiciary are hugely important considerations in the House of Commons," Bercow said. The speaker also made it clear that he would not wish to issue an invitation to Trump to speak in the Royal Gallery at the Palace of Westminster. Bercow's remarks won him applause from lawmakers. So far more than 160 MPs have already signed a symbolic motion opposing an address by Trump in the centuries-old Westminster Hall, citing the travel ban and his comments on torture and women. Trump's executive order barring entry to the United States for refugees and people from seven Muslim-majority countries has prompted worldwide protests, including by thousands of demonstrators in London. A speech at British Parliament has been a feature of many state visits, including one by Trump's predecessor Barack Obama in 2011. Westminster Hall also hosted South Africa's Nelson Mandela and France's Charles de Gaulle. "An address by a foreign leader to both houses of parliament is not an automatic right; it is an earned honor," said Bercow. Bercow's comments were unusual because his role requires him to remain above the partisan fray. In addition to his explicit "no" to Trump's speech in Parliament, Bercow showed little enthusiasm about the new U.S. leader's state visit. "We value our relationship with the United States. If a state visit takes place, that is way beyond and above the pay grade of the speaker," Bercow said. Opposition Labor leader Jeremy Corbyn praised Bercow for his stance. "We must stand up for our country's values. Trump's state visit should not go ahead," Corbyn said. Political commentators in Westminster predicted that Bercow's public declaration would enrage the Downing Street. British Prime Minister Theresa May traveled to Washington last month, becoming the first national leader to meet Trump after his inauguration, and she invited Trump for a state visit. No date has yet been fixed for Trump's visit. But a petition opposed to him meeting Queen Elizabeth II during the visit has been signed by almost 2 million people. Parliament will debate the petition later this month. PHNOM PENH, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- A Cambodian court on Tuesday charged a Japanese man and two Cambodians with human trafficking for allegedly recruiting 10 Cambodian women to work in Japan, where they were forced into sex trade, a spokesman said. Fukui Susumu, 52, manager of a Japanese restaurant in Phnom Penh, and his 28-year-old Cambodian wife as well as his 34-year-old male-employee were arrested last week at the restaurant on the western outskirts of Phnom Penh. The court prosecutor decides to charge them with unlawful recruitment for exploitation under the Article 12 of the Law on Suppression of Human Trafficking and Sexual Exploitation, Phnom Penh Municipal Court spokesman Ly Sophana told reporters. Under the charge, the trio could face a prison term of between 7 and 20 years if convicted. Police said Susumu and his wife lured 10 Cambodian women in August last year to work in a restaurant in Japan, lying to them that they could earn between 3,000 U.S. dollars and 5,000 U.S. dollars per month. However, when the women arrived in Japan in November, another Japanese man Kabasawa Nakare, 50, took them to work as waitresses in a restaurant in Gunma prefecture and forced them to have sex with Japanese clients, the police said. Police added that the arrest came after seven of the women secretly contacted the Cambodian Embassy in Tokyo in December and filed a complaint to Japanese authorities for an intervention. The victims were repatriated to Cambodia last month. GUANGZHOU, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- Demand for new employees in south China's Guangdong Province increased after the Spring Festival vacation, when migrant workers return to their hometowns for the holiday. The first job fair in Guangzhou, capital of the industrial province of Guangdong, started Monday with nearly 4,000 posts on offer from more than 180 companies in the Pearl River delta region. Of the total, nearly 20 percent were opportunities in the wholesale and retail industry, evidence of a sound market environment for retail trade, an official with the job fair said. It was followed by vacancies offered by traditional manufacturing industries. The general demand for labor in the sector has fallen in recent years as manufacturing industries move inland areas to reduce costs. Jobs in the emerging industries, such as computer and software, accounted for 11 percent of all the opportunities on offer, double the same period last year. "It is not easy to hire after the Spring Festival because people are scattered," said Zou Daosheng, chairman of a Hunan-based health product firm that plans to establish a marketing team in Guangzhou. Guangzhou will hold more job fairs in the following two months, offering more than 100,000 posts from about 5,000 companies. Companies in Guangdong often face a labor shortage after Spring Festival when people move cities or stay in their hometown. The province needed more than 8 million workers in the first three quarters of 2016. BEIJING, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping and his Sri Lankan counterpart Maithripala Sirisena on Tuesday exchanged congratulatory messages to mark the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between China and Sri Lanka. In his message to Sirisena, Xi pointed out that since China and Sri Lanka established diplomatic relations 60 years ago, the bilateral ties, to which he attaches great importance, have stood the test of an ever-changing international situation and achieved a healthy and smooth development. Xi said that he appreciates Sri Lanka for its active participation in the Belt and Road Initiative. "I am willing to work with you to consolidate political mutual trust, expand mutually beneficial cooperation and deepen people-to-people friendship" between the two countries, so as to inject new vigor and vitality into the China-Sri Lanka strategic cooperative partnership featuring sincere mutual assistance and enduring friendship," Xi said. Sirisena said that the friendship between Sri Lanka and China dates back to long time ago. He said since the two countries established diplomatic relations 60 years ago, their ties have gained constant and sound development, which were later upgraded to a strategic partnership. Sirisena noted that Sri Lanka is firmly dedicated to promoting its relations with China and that he believed on the basis of the ancient Maritime Silk Road, the Belt and Road Initiative will open up a new era for Sri Lanka-China cooperation. He wished bilateral ties continued advancement. BEIJING, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and his Sri Lankan counterpart, Ranil Wickremesinghe, on Tuesday exchanged congratulations on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between their countries. Since they set up formal ties in 1957, China and Sri Lanka have witnessed the sound and stable development of their relations, which have become increasingly stronger, Li said in a message. In recent years, the two countries, taking the Belt and Road Initiative as an opportunity, have broadened cooperation and their relations enjoy good prospects, said Li. China is willing to work with Sri Lanka to carry forward the traditional friendship and deepen win-win cooperation so that the China-Sri Lanka strategic cooperative partnership can achieve more accomplishments, Li said. For his part, Wickremesinghe said the Sri Lanka-China friendship, which has continued for centuries through the ancient maritime silk road, has been further strengthened under the Belt and Road Initiative. The initiative has also provided opportunities for the two countries to explore new areas of cooperation, the prime minister added. Sri Lanka will work with China to continuously deepen bilateral ties and broaden cooperation for the benefit of the two peoples, Wickremesinghe said. The Belt and Road Initiative, proposed by China in 2013, aims to build a trade and infrastructure network connecting Asia with Europe and Africa along ancient land and maritime trade routes. SEOUL, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's main opposition party took the lead in public support by a wide margin as voters turned their back on conservative politicians following a corruption scandal that led to the impeachment of President Park Geun-hye. According to a survey released on Tuesday, the biggest opposition Minjoo Party garnered 43.0 percent in support scores, beating rival parties by a wide margin. It surged from 36.3 percent tallied in late December. The result is based on the poll of 2,016 voters conducted by local pollster Korea Research Center from Sunday to Monday at the joint request of Yonhap news agency and broadcaster KBS. It has 2.2 percentage points in margin of error. The ruling Saenuri Party ranked second, but its approval rating stood merely at 12.5 percent. It was trailed by the People's Party, which splintered away from the Minjoo Party about a year ago, with 8.9 percent in approval scores and the Righteous Party breaking away last month from the Saenuri Party with 7.0 percent. The Minjoo Party ranked first among voters in their 20s to 50s, but those aged 60 or higher still most supported the Saenuri Party with 25.6 percent in approval rating. The Saenuri Party logged the single digits in support from those in their 20s to 40s. Support for conservative politicians sank since the influence-peddling scandal surrounding President Park and her decades-long friend Choi Soon-sil emerged in October last year. The constitutional court is deliberating on whether to permanently end Park's presidency or reinstate her, and the final ruling is widely expected to be delivered in late February or early March. A presidential election must be held in 60 days after the permanent removal of the impeached president. SYDNEY, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- Australia's New South Wales Farmers Association will appeal to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission on Tuesday for greater transparency in dairy prices. In the last few years, the industry has been embroiled in pricing dips which have captured national attention and come under heavy criticism. "Farmers can feel powerless against the big companies but this is our chance to raise our concerns," New South Wales Dairy Association Chair Erika Chesworth said in a statement. Dairy farmers' problems started in 2011 when Australias two largest supermarkets, Woolworths and Coles, began a price war which would see the cost of milk fall to one Australian dollar (0.76 cents U.S. dollar) per liter for the chainsin-store brands. Despite initially being very popular with consumers and a win for both supermarkets, farmers concerns started to get picked up by national media outlets, causing a backlash that encouraged shoppers to boycott cheaper in-store brands and purchase more expensive alternatives in order to help farmers. The boycott did gain ground and the number of independent milk label purchases swiftly rose, however most in the industry believe it effected little change. Consumers were paying an extra 90 percent per liter with but processors had not committed to pass the extra profits on to farmers,Consumer group, Choice head of media Tom Godfrey told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. "While it's OK if processors are getting more money, a lot of consumers are paying more for milk under the belief that by buying branded milk the farmers are going to get more." Early in 2016 the country's biggest dairy processors, Murray Goulburn and New Zealand-based Fonterra announced they would slash the price of milk solids from around 6 Australian dollars (4.60 U.S. dollars) per kg to 4.70 Australian dollars (3.60 U.S. dollars). Many blamed the dramatic cut on Woolworths and Coles, however these domestic economic issues were only partially to blame. Each year processors set an opening price and a higher annual average forecast throughout the year, Choice finance journalist Daniel Graham said. They increase the price in step-ups until they reach the forecast, but last year this didn't happen, so farmers are actually having to pay back money they had already been paid. The reason why the industry did not reach its annual forecast was due to global, geopolitical events following European sanctions being placed on Russia after the region of Crimea was annexed from the Ukraine. In retaliation, the Russian government ceased all European imports and this meant bad news for Australia's dairy industry because the Russians were Europes biggest buyers of milk products. With no one to sell to, Europes dairy producers began looking to Asia, effectively cutting in on Australias marketplace. At the same time China's taste for imported dairy started to decline and their imports dropped off including the demand for Australian milk powder, one of our biggest dairy exports, so prices for milk powder plummeted making the cash cow for the industry run dry, Graham said. Murray Goulburn and Fonterra either failed to see the signs of a worsening global market or they just ignored them. The New South Wales Dairy Association will attempt to inform the national regulator that there needs to be more power in the hands of farmers, who feel they are held hostage to industry structures. Even measures that are supposed to even out the playing field, like collective bargaining groups, need to be critically analyzed and improved, Chesworth said. FARAH, Afghanistan, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- A district governor has been killed in a bomb attack in Afghanistan's western province of Farah, the latest in a string of targeted killings in the insurgency-hit country, a local official said on Tuesday. ISLAMABAD, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- Two policemen were injured after a suicide bomber tried to hit his explosive-packed vehicle with a police station in northwest Pakistan early Tuesday, a police officer said. The outlawed Tehrike-e-Taliban Pakistan claimed the attack in Bannu, a major city in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province. The injured policemen were shifted to a local hospital. District Police Officer Fazal Hameed told media at the scene that the attacker was shot dead by police. Police sources said over 200 kg explosives were used in the blast. It was the second attack on the Mandan Police Station. The station was completely destroyed in a previous attack in 2009 which had killed and injured dozens of policemen. Pakistani security officials insist that all Pakistani militant groups now operate from the Afghan side of the border after their sanctuaries were dismantled in the tribal regions. RIYADH, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- Saudis below 40 will not be granted permission from concerned Saudi authorities to travel to Iraq alone, Okaz local newspaper reported on Tuesday. Males and females under the age of 40 can be allowed to travel with elder family members, according to the new rules by the Saudi passport directorate to regulate the travel of its citizens to Iraq. The permission duration is three months and could only be used once, as travelers should obtain another one in case of more than one travel within the period of the first permission. It is granted only if the appliers come to the department with the required original documents. The report didn't highlight why such rules have been implemented, which are believed as part of measures to limit Saudis from travelling to conflicts zones to join militant groups. Restricting and not banning travel to Iraq is because of the holy sites there that are regularly visited by Shiites from all over the world, including Saudis from the minority Shiite community. TAIYUAN, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- The stoves below 100 griddle plates roared into action, and 100 bakers waited eagerly for the starting gong. "Rolling pins ready?! Spatulas ready?! One, two, three, go!" The chefs were in Xiangfen, a small county in China's coal-rich Shanxi Province, for the county's first ever contest to find the best baker of Shaobing, a traditional Chinese flatbread. Shaobing was first brought to Xiangfen sometime after 770 B.C., and, while available almost all over the country, it is a particularly popular snack in the north of China. After more than two hours, 200 cooks had been whittled down to just one and Qiao Yongjun from Yonggu Town was named the winner. He sells Shaobing in the provincial capital of Taiyuan. Since the 1990s, 20,000 people have left Xiangfen to find work in China's cities. It is estimated that they earn 500 million yuan (around 73 million U.S. dollars) annually. While many of the country's migrant workers look for employment as construction or factory workers, a large number of people from Xiangfen have chosen to make their dough by hawking this traditional snack. Although Yuan Wugen, 43, lost the competition, by any measure, he is a winner in the Shaobing business. Born into a poor rural family, he got his first job at a restaurant when he was just 14 and by the time he was 20, he had his own restaurant in Beijing that specialized in Shaobing. He is now the head of a lucrative catering enterprise. One man's success can inspire many more. "When I was at the station in Linfen City and I asked for a train ticket to Beijing, the ticket officer immediately knew that I was a baker from Xiangfen," said Yu Dongxiang, 45. After getting married in 1999, Yu found himself in debt, so he went to Beijing and rented a tiny store, not much more than a hole in the wall, to sell Shaobing. "I earned more than 20,000 yuan in that first year, which meant I could pay off my debt," said Yu who now owns a restaurant in Beijing and a beautiful courtyard house in Xiangfen. Shaobing pioneers like Yu have reported earnings upward of 300,000 yuan a year, some of the more astute sellers are earning millions of yuan. In order to make the most out of its local snacks and delicacies, Xiangfen recently registered a trademark. All of its food souvenirs will now be sold under the brand "Jinxiangsu," which is a combination of the names of the province and county and the word delicious, according to deputy county chief Du Xutang. The purpose of the contest was to promote Xiangfen Shaobing and offer bakers an opportunity to share and perfect their skills. "We want every resident of Xiangfen, especially the young, to know that this traditional snack has the potential to generate a good income," Du said. Many small cities and towns are exploring food tourism. Lanzhou in northwest China's Gansu Province is known for beef-soup lamian (hand-pulled noddles). There were more than 30,000 beef noodle outlets in China last year, which generated 50 billion yuan in revenue.P In Liuzhou City, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, sales of "Luosifen," river snail rice noodle dish, generated 1.5 billion yuan last year. The profitability of Shaobing has not gone unnoticed by Xiangfen's younger generation, who are happily donning aprons and taking over their parent's businesses. "Making Shaobing may be hard work, but I am motivated knowing that this food is being turned into cash, cars and house," said Yang Huiting, 31, who has sold Shaobing in Beijing for 15 years and recently took over a restaurant from her father. Yang returned to Xiangfen for Spring Festival but she will return to Beijing in the coming days. "Selling snacks is about more than just the money, its about keeping our traditions alive," she said. ZAMBOANGA CITY, the Philippines, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- At least five Abu Sayyaf militants were killed while another was captured when Marines stormed Tuesday morning in an island village off Sulu in southern Philippines, a security official said. Troops from the Marine Special Operations Group (MARSOG) encountered the followers of Abu Sayyaf group sub-leader Alhabsy Misaya at about 8:00 a.m. local time at the small village of Talo-Talok, Capual Island off Omar town in Sulu province. Capt. Jo-Ann Pentinglay, spokesperson of Western Mindanao Command (Westmincom), said the gunbattle lasted for 20 minutes that left five militants killed and one suspect captured. She said the marines recovered the remains of the five slain suspects and eight assault rifles, including M16 and M14 rifles. Pentinglay said the encounter was part of Joint Task Force Sulu (JTFS) continuous operations for the possible recovery of 27 kidnap victims still in the hands of the Abu Sayyaf group. (Xinhuanet file photo) BEIJING, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- Three days after U.S. defense chief James Mattis' remarks on the Diaoyu Islands in Tokyo, China conducted a new round of regular patrol in the territorial waters of the Diaoyu Islands on Monday, showing the world its firm will and determination to safeguard its national sovereignty. During his first Asia-Pacific debut as defense chief, the former four-star general of the U.S. Marine Corps said Friday that the U.S.-Japan mutual defense treaty applies to the Diaoyu Islands, which was criticized by the Chinese Foreign Ministry as "wrong remarks." Washington has long used the Diaoyu Islands as a fulcrum for an "off-shore balance," i.e., maneuvering Japan while pressuring China in East Asia, particularly under the administration of former U.S. President Barack Obama, who zealously promoted a "Pivot to Asia" strategy during the last eight years. However, the decaying U.S. credibility in East Asia as well as the rising tensions in the region should make it clear to the new president, Donald Trump, that his predecessor's "Pivot to Asia" strategy is a deal with no winners and meddling in the waters around the uninhabited islands for so-called "offshore balance" will never pay off. For one thing, interfering in the Diaoyu Islands issue only provokes China, as Beijing has made it crystal clear that there will be no bargaining over its core interests. The Diaoyu Island and its adjacent islets have been an inherent part of Chinese territory since ancient times, which is an unchangeable historical fact, and the Chinese government has repeatedly warned that territorial issues are within the domain of its core interests. If the lesson of Obama's administration in dealing with China offers any guide to Trump, the first and most important point should be ditching a zero-sum mentality, especially on the issue of the Diaoyu Islands. For another, by meddling in the Diaoyu Islands issue, Washington is actually risking turning the islands into a powder keg, thus making the issue more complicated and bringing instability to the region. Meddling in partners' core interests definitely hurts intimacy. Trump's business instinct should actually help him realize the simple fact that rivalry between partners hurts business. He and his cabinet members need to think twice about the issue of the Diaoyu Islands, and distance themselves from Obama's stance and approach. Related: China urges U.S. to stop making wrong remarks on Diaoyu Islands New National Service enlistees take the oath during the oath-taking ceremony held at the Basic Military Training Centre on Singapore's Pulau Tekong, Feb. 7, 2017. Singapore's Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen on Tuesday witnessed the oath-taking ceremony of new enlistees on Pulau Tekong, and launched a year-long celebration entitled "NS50" to commemorate 50 years of National Service. (Xinhua/Then Chih Wey) SINGAPORE, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- Singapore's Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen on Tuesday witnessed the oath-taking ceremony of new enlistees on Pulau Tekong, and launched a year-long celebration entitled "NS50" to commemorate 50 years of National Service (NS). Addressing 100 new enlistees and their families at Basic Military Training Center (BMTC), Minister Ng reiterated that NS is the milestone for the country's strong defence. As part of Tuesday's launch, Ng opened and toured the new NS Gallery, a permanent interactive exhibition at BMTC which showcases the evolution of NS and various aspects of the NS experience. Themed "From My Generation to Yours," the year-long celebration pay tribute to more than 1 million national servicemen who have contributed to the defence and security of Singapore. All male Singaporean citizens and second-generation permanent residents are statutorily required to undergo a period of compulsory service in the uniformed services. The theme will be represented in events such as Chingay Parade, Army Open House, NS50 Showcase and NS50 Week throughout this year. File photo shows an elephant at the Maasai Mara National Reserve, Kenya. (Xinhua/Meng Tao) JUBA, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- South Sudan has signed the Elephant Protection Initiative (EPI), becoming the 15th African elephant range State to join the initiative. "By signing the EPI, South Sudan has shown tremendous commitment and goodwill towards protecting and restoring its elephant herds, for their future generations and for the world to see," said CEO of Stop Ivory John Stephenson. "The EPI secretariat looks forward to working closely with the government of South Sudan to develop and implement the EPI strategy as soon as possible," he added. Launched by Tanzania, Gabon, Botswana, and Ethiopia at the London Conference on Illegal Wildlife Trade in February 2014, the EPI is an African-led, results-oriented partnership initiative to stop the illegal ivory trade and secure a future for elephants across the continent. Khamis Adieng Ding of South Sudan's National Wildlife Service said joining the initiative is a milestone in the country's young history. File photo shows South Sudan's government troops patrolling in Malakal town, South Sudan. (Xinhua/Gale Julius) "We are proud to accept the invitation made by the leaders of the five EPI founding member states to join the EPI," Ding said. Estimates show the recent upsurge in violence has halved elephant population in just two years -- from 5,000 in 2014 to less than 2,500 elephants today. "Now the government of South Sudan has come together with partners in regional governments and the NGO world, including EPI co-Secretariat Stop Ivory and Conservation International. We will work together to urgently implement the aims of the EPI and reverse this loss," he added. Before the onset of one of the longest protracted conflicts in Africa, the area was host to an estimated 80,000 elephants. Wind turbines are seen at an wind electricity station on Ngong Hill, near Nairobi, capital of Kenya, on April 20, 2015. The 46th World Earth Day falls on April 22, 2015. Kenya possesses rich wind, geothermal and other green energy. In recent years, the country develop wind and geothermal power generation projects, which not only reduces the cost of electricity, but also achieves the purpose of environment protection. (Xinhua/Pan Siwei) NAIROBI, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- Massive investments in green technologies will not only strengthen Kenya's resilience to climate change but also boost air quality in cities and rural towns, an expert told Xinhua on Monday. Duncan Onyango, a senior lecturer at the University of Nairobi's department of environmental and biosystems engineering, said that Kenya's clean air status will only be sustained if the government and industry make deliberate efforts to reduce over-reliance on fossil fuels. "Our air quality is not the best but on average we are better than many countries in the rich and developing world. Our low industrialization level explains in part why there is no acute air pollution in the country," Onyango said. He added that Kenya's enviable clean air status will attract investments in the country while reducing the burden of respiratory diseases. Kenya emerged the least toxic country globally, according to Eco Experts, a renewable energy firm relied on data from the World Health Organization (WHO) and International Energy Agency (IEA). It was followed by Tanzania, Ethiopia, Mozambique, Cameroon and Zambia while Gulf States were ranked among the most polluted due to intensive production and consumption of fossil fuels. The study took into account air pollution, energy consumption and renewable energy production. Researchers from Eco Experts warned that uncontrolled emission of green house gases will wreak irreversible damage to the planet and human race. Kenya requires a progressive regulatory and policy environment to facilitate adoption of green technologies that are required to boost air quality in rapidly growing cities. File photo taken on Oct. 17, 2014 shows the 140-megawatt Olkaria IV Geothermal Power Plant in Naivasha, Kenya. Kenya possesses rich wind, geothermal and other green energy. In recent years, the country develop wind and geothermal power generation projects, which not only reduces the cost of electricity, but also achieves the purpose of environment protection. (Xinhua/Zhou Xiaoxiong) Onyango stressed that additional investments in clean energy sources like geothermal, wind and solar are an imperative to reduce air pollution in the east Africa's biggest economy. "We need to focus on cleaner production systems by harnessing renewable energy sources that are abundant in Kenya and other countries in the tropics. The benefits will be felt in the long-term," said Onyango. He urged the government and industry players to establish solid deterrent measures to curb green house gas emissions during exploitation of the newly discovered oil, gas and coal reserves. "Coal mining and oil exploration will definitely compromise air quality in the country but enforcement of environmental laws will minimize atmospheric pollution," Onyango remarked. He noted that advanced manufacturing will reduce air pollution while accelerating Kenya's low carbon development. The WHO said in its latest assessment that air pollution in many parts of the world increased by 8 percent between 2009 to 2016. Globally, an estimated 7 million people die every year due to complications linked to poor air quality. A boys stands on July 18, 2016 amidst the rubble the house belonging to a Palestinian man accused by Israeli authorities in taking part in an attack in Jerusalem in which an Israeli policewoman was killed, after it was demolished overnight by the army in the village of Qabatiayh, in the occupied West Bank. (Xinhua/AFP Photo) RAMALLAH, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- Palestinian President Spokesperson Nabil Abu Rudeinah on Tuesday deplored Britain's invitation to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to attend celebrations of the centennial of the Balfour Declaration. Britain "is responsible for the disaster of the Palestinian people a hundred years ago," Abu Rudeinah said in statements by the official Palestinian news agency WAFA. "Instead of correcting the historic mistake and recognizing the Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital, it is preparing to celebrate an incident considered by the Arab world and the international community as a tragic reason that the Palestinian people and the Arab region is paying for," the spokesperson said. Abu Rudeinah urged the British government to correct this mistake in order to maintain security and stability in the region. On Monday, British Prime Minister Theresa May told his Israeli counterpart that Britain and Israel will celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Balfour declaration, but she stressed London's commitment to a two-state solution. The Balfour Declaration, which confirms the British government's support for establishing a "national home" for Jewish people in Palestine, came after three years of negotiations between the British Government and British Jewish community and the Zionist Organization before it was dispatched as a letter signed by Arthur Balfour. The letter was presented to then U.S. President Woodrow Wilson, who approved its content before publishing it. It was also approved by France and Italy officially in 1918, then publicly adopted by Wilson in 1919. In 1920, it was adopted by the San Remo Conference that was held in the aftermath of World War I and the declaration was incorporated in the British Mandate. LASHKAR GAH, Afghanistan, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- Six Taliban militants were killed following an airstrike carried out by the NATO-led coalition forces in Afghanistan's southern province of Helmand, the provincial government said on Tuesday. "A coalition jet fighter struck a Taliban bunker in Kharqo, a locality on southern outskirts of Garmsir district on Monday, killing six militants," it said in a statement. Among the killed was a Taliban local leader named Najib Ullah alias Madad, the statement said, adding, "The air raid attack also destroyed a Taliban bunker together with weapons and ammunition." The elimination of the targeted militants would further improve the public security in the area, the statement said. The district has been the scene of heavy clashes between the Afghan security forces and Taliban militants over the past couple of days after Taliban militants launched massive attacks to seize the control of the remote district. Helmand, notorious for poppy growing, is also a known Taliban stronghold. DHAKA, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- The death warrant of three convicted of a local banned group for the grenade attack on former British High Commissioner to Bangladesh Anwar Chowdhury in 2004, has reached a jail in Gazipur on the outskirts of capital Dhaka. A jail official who did not like to be named told Xinhua Tuesday that the warrant was read out to the death row convicts of the local banned Harkat-ul-Jehad-al-Islami (HUJI), including its ringleader Mufti Abdul Hannan. Bangladesh's highest court on Dec. 7 last year upheld death penalty for the militants. A four-member bench of the Supreme Court's Appellate Division headed by Chief Justice Surendra Kumar Sinha dismissed the appeals moved by the convicts who are now behind the bar. The militants said they will move petitions with the Appellate Division of seeking review of its judgment. After the apex court verdict, the official said a trial court issued the death warrant, which couple of days back reached Gazipur's Kashimpur Jail. If the apex court verdict is unchanged even after review, according to the official, the convicts will have the only options of seeking presidential clemency to save their lives. The convicts had conducted the grenade attack on Chowdhury on May 21, 2004 at a shrine of Muslim saint in the country's northeastern city of Sylhet where the Bangladesh-born British high commissioner came to offer prayer. Three people were killed and over 100, including Anwar Chowdhury, were injured in the deadly attack. TAIPEI, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- Taiwan's exports in January were 7 percent up on last year, fourth consecutive monthly increase, but growth is slowing, according to the island finance authority Tuesday. January's exports reached 23.7 billion U.S. dollars, due to demand for semiconductors, rising crude and base metals prices, and more trade with Chinese mainland. Export growth was substantially less than December's 14 percent, most likely due to the Chinese New Year holiday. Taiwan's January exports to the mainland expanded by 12.7 percent year on year, followed by 11.3 percent growth of exports to southeast Asia. Exports to Japan fell by 1.6 percent year on year. This year's exports are expected to be better than last, driven by a recovering global economy. However, prospects may be affected by U.S. government action and the industrial transformation of the mainland. JERUSALEM, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- The chief executive of Israel-based Teva Pharmaceuticals, the world's largest generic drugs maker, said on Tuesday that he was stepping down, according to a statement from the company. Erez Vigodman resigned effective immediately and will be replaced by Yitzhak Peterburg, who has served as chairman of the Teva board of directors since January 2015. In accordance with the Israeli Companies Law, Peterburg stepped down from his role as chairman to serve as interim CEO, Teva said. Vigodman is stepping down amidst several difficulties including a loss in a U.S. court over patents on its best-seller multiple sclerosis drug Copaxone. The drug makes up about 20 percent of Teva's revenues. Teva's stock price once lost 1 percent to 34 U.S. dollars per share following the notice. Vigodman served two years at the post. He succeeded Jeremy Levin, who also left after a short time amidst a disagreement with the board. The company did not cite any reason for Vigodman's resignation. "I believe that now is the right time for me to step down," Vigodman said in a statement released by Teva. KATHMANDU, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- Nepalese Minister for Foreign Affairs, Prakash Sharan Mahat, on Tuesday, stressed on establishing transport connectivity linking members of the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) in order to enhance economic and technical cooperation in the Asia region. The Nepalese minister made such remarks during a meeting with senior officials from the BIMSTEC member states here in Kathmandu. "Establishment of the transport connectivity linking the BIMSTEC member states will play a crucial role in the field of socio-economic development making the people-to-people contacts stronger in this region," Minister Mahat told the senior officials from the BIMSTEC member states namely Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Bhutan and Nepal. Mahat was of the view that BIMSTEC member states can establish inter-country transmission lines to strengthen their energy cooperation in near future. On the occasion, the minister said that his government is making preparations to hold the fourth BIMSTEC Summit in Nepal within coming May. Nepal is incumbent chair of the BIMSTEC established in 1997 through the Bangkok Declaration. The BIMSTEC is a regional body in South Asia that works on 14 sectors including trade and investment, technology, energy, transportation and communication. Enditem SYDNEY, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- A deadly cat virus has re-emerged in Sydney after not being seen for 40 years. An animal holding facility in the city's west was forced to shut its doors to cats after an outbreak of the panleukopenia virus, often called feline enteritis. "Please do not bring cats to our Animal Holding Facility until we are sure the epidemic has passed, and because other facilities across Sydney are affected, cat owners need to check the status of any facility where cats are held," Blacktown Mayor Stephen Bail said in a statement on Tuesday. It's believed that the outbreak could be due to owners not getting their cats vaccinated, thinking it unnecessary and believing disease to be extinct in Australia. A similar disease can also effect dogs, authorities are urging people to vaccinate their animals. At this time, three other animal shelters across the state have informed the public not to bring cats. DUBAI, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- The number of visitors from China to Dubai in 2016 stood at 540,000, up 20 percent from a year earlier, the government-owned Dubai Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM) said here Tuesday. Overall tourist arrivals for the year, at 14.9 million, rose 4.92 percent from that of 2015. China dominated the demand from Asia, firmly cementing its status as among Dubai's top 10 markets, DTCM said, adding that China's contribution would go up further in light of the United Arab Emirate's visa exemption policies that came into force in November 2016. The growth in tourist arrivals in 2016, at 4.92 percent, was slower than the 7.5 percent posted in 2015. The drop was attributed to a general slowdown in business in the Gulf Arab state. Dubai's state-owned carrier, Emirates Airline, reported a 75 percent profit slump in April-September, 2016. "Increased competition, as well as the sustained economic and political uncertainty in many parts of the world, has added downward pressure on prices and dampened travel demand," said then Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, chairman and chief executive of Emirates Airline. Helal Saeed Almarri, director general of Dubai Tourism, remained optimistic about Dubai's objective of attracting at least 20 million visitors by 2020, when the UAE hosts the World Expo. The sheikhdom's keenness to attract more visitors from China has been mirrored in increased activities during Chinese New Year celebrations. To meet growing demand, Emirates Airline started flights to Chinese cities of Yinchuan and Zhengzhou last May as its fourth and fifth destination in China. On Dec. 20, Sichuan Airlines launched its first direct flight from Chengdu to Dubai. COLOMBO, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- Sri Lanka's Defense Secretary Karunasena Hettiarachchi on Tuesday called on members of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) to unite in order to eliminate regional terrorism. President Maithripala Sirisena had emphasized that every country of the SAARC should act with unity at a time when the very existence of SAARC might be threatened, Hettiarachchi said at a SAARC's panel discussion jointly organized by the Institute of National Security Studies of Sri Lanka and the High Commission of Pakistan in Sri Lanka. South Asia is the poorest region and the number of people living below the poverty line rises each year, so there is a long way before the region reaches its target of poverty alleviation, Hettiarachchi said. He added in the past few decades South Asia had witnessed instances of violence and extremism and it recently become an epi-center for terrorism. Although some countries have made significant progress in economic growth, their influence in the region is still limited, therefore it is important for member states of the SAARC to cooperate and prioritize sustainable development goals and further development agenda, he said. "During the past 31 years, with the combined efforts of the member states, SAARC has made progress and praiseworthy achievements in strengthening trade and social welfare and in its battle against terrorism," Hettiarachchi said. "However in some instances the traditions of mutual respect have been lacking and therefore SAARC as an organization for regional cooperation has not been able to achieve its full potential," he said. NAY PYI TAW, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- De Hong Chamber of Commerce from De Hong county of China's Yunnan province has opened a representative office in Myanmar's capital of Nay Pyi Taw, aimed at boosting friendship, trade, cooperation in agriculture and livestock, transportation sectors. Chinese Embassy Councilor Chen Chen told the inaugural ceremony Monday that the representative office plays the role of bridge for bilateral economic cooperation, providing better services to businessmen from both countries. De Hong county borders Myanmar with two border gates namely Ruili and Wan Ding. The De Hong Chamber of Commerce will contribute to boosting bilateral economic cooperation, said the councilor, adding that China has desire to work for the development with neighboring Myanmar. It is the fourth office of its kind of the De Hong Chamber of Commerce in Myanmar while the other three have been established in Mandalay, Myitkyina and Lashio. Panda cub Bao Bao licks her birthday cake at the National Zoo in Washington, Saturday, Aug. 23, 2014. Bao Bao's first birthday was celebrated at the zoo with a traditional 'Zhuazhou' ceremony, a Chinese birthday tradition symbolizing long life. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais) Hi, here's what you need to know about China: BEIJING -- Chinese President Xi Jinping and his Sri Lankan counterpart Maithripala Sirisena on Tuesday exchanged congratulatory messages to mark the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between China and Sri Lanka. In his message to Sirisena, Xi pointed out that since China and Sri Lanka established diplomatic relations 60 years ago, the bilateral ties, to which he attaches great importance, have stood the test of an ever-changing international situation and achieved a healthy and smooth development. Xi said that he appreciates Sri Lanka for its active participation in the Belt and Road Initiative. http://xhne.ws/UaV9G - - - - BEIJING -- China will optimize the rules and process for issuing certificates of permanent residence to foreigners with favorable treatments. In 2016, 1,576 foreigners became permanent Chinese residents, an increase of 163 percent over the previous year, official figures showed. http://xhne.ws/GGYiH - - - - BEIJING -- China has lodged representations to the United States over the latest sanctions against Iran which involve Chinese companies and individuals. "China always opposes any unilateral sanctions, especially when they harm the interests of a third party," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lu Kang said at a routine press briefing Monday, adding such sanctions are "not helpful" to promoting mutual trust and solving global issues. http://xhne.ws/LubNP - - - - WASHINGTON -- Giant Panda Bao Bao will be making the journey back to China on Feb.21, the Smithsonian National Zoo said Monday in a statement. According to arrangements between China and the United States, giant pandas born here must move back to China at around four. The Washington zoo now has three other giant pandas, an adult female Mei Xiang, 18, an adult male Tian Tian, 19, and a male cub Bei Bei, 1. http://xhne.ws/MEyyf - - - - BULQIZA, Albania -- Albanian rescue teams on Tuesday continued their search for three Chinese miners trapped in a chrome mine in the northern Albanian town of Bulqiza. Two Albanian rescue teams have been sent in for the search operation, together with Albanian and Chinese mining experts, after a hydrogen gas explosion in the chrome mine on Saturday, said Mehmet Hasalami, head of the Albanian Mining Rescue Unit. http://xhne.ws/aO4d7 A picture shows a view of the Hagai Jewish settlement on the outskirts of the West Bank city of Hebron on Feb. 7, 2017. Israel's parliament passed Monday a controversial law to retroactively legalize wildcat Jewish outposts built on private Palestinian lands, despite international condemnations and warnings that the law is unconstitutional. (Xinhua/Mamoun Wazwaz) RAMALLAH/GAZA, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- The Israeli parliament's vote to legalize settlement posts in the West Bank outraged the Palestinians on Tuesday, who warned that the vote would bring a global wrath against Israel. On Monday night, the Israeli parliament voted in favor of legalizing 4,000 Jewish settlements that will be built on Palestinian-owned lands in the West Bank. 60 Israeli parliament members voted in favor and 52 voted against the bill, which drove the Palestinians furious. Nabil Abu Rdineh, a spokesman for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said in an official press statement that "this is an escalation that would only lead to more instability and chaos in the entire region." He called the Israeli Knesset vote "unacceptable." He said that the Israeli decision violates the recent United Nations Security Council resolution 2,334, which condemned the Israeli settlement and called on Israel to halt it, adding that "Israel continues settlement expansion and building and neglects the international laws and resolutions." The Israeli settlement expansion and building in the West Bank and east Jerusalem is the thorniest issue which obstructs the resumption of the bilateral peace negotiations. Saeb Erekat, Secretary General of Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), said in an emailed statement that legalizing settlement "is dangerous and a legalized theft of the Palestinian land properties, even if the bill contains provisions to compensate the Palestinians or give them other land in exchange." Meanwhile, the Palestinians slammed the United States position towards the most recent Israeli parliament decision. However, the Administration of President Donald Trump had stated last week that the construction of new settlements "may not be helpful" in achieving an Israeli-Palestinian peace. Israel was furious when the United States, under former President Barack Obama, abstained instead of vetoing a U.N. Security Council resolution in December, calling the settlements illegal and demanding Israel stop building them. The Palestinians want the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, which were occupied by Israel in 1967, as the lands for their future independent Palestinian state, with east Jerusalem as its capital. In Gaza, Abdulatif al-Qanou, a spokesman for Hamas movement, said in an emailed press statement that the Israeli government decision to legalize settlement "is an organized terrorism and a continuation to the endless aggression on the Palestinian people and their properties." "The new law of the Israeli occupation can never be legal," he said, stressing that American support, the silence of the world and the wrong policies of the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) encouraged Israel to do so. Mohamed al-Hindi, a senior official in the less-influential Islamic Jihad (Holy War) group, said that the PNA is unable to defend the properties of the Palestinian people and their lands, adding "it should give a free hand to the Palestinian armed resistance to stop this stupidity." In Israel, one lawmaker said the measure is an "acute danger to the State of Israel" and says it goes against Israeli law. Israel's attorney general has called it unconstitutional, according to Israeli media reports. BEIJING, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- Beijing is continuing to purge the capital of non-essential and polluting businesses to make way for upgraded functions, such as hi-tech innovation. The Chinese capital will shut down over 500 manufacturing and polluting factories and demolish up to 40 million square meters of illegal buildings in 2017, according to a municipal government plan approved late last month. A total of 10 billion yuan (1.46 billion U.S. dollars) will be allocated to the shutdown and relocation of businesses. Beijing Mayor Cai Qi said Sunday the city had drawn up a zoning plan for the freed-up land. The central government ordered Beijing and the neighboring Hebei Province and Tianjin Municipality to pursue coordinated development. According to a guideline released in April 2015, the key functions of politics, culture, international communication and technical innovation will be prioritized, while other sectors will be moved out of the capital. To date, more than 1,300 manufacturing companies have been shut down, freeing up over seven million square meters of land for new uses. Sun Shuo, executive deputy chief of Xicheng District, said 5,000 booths in seven downtown markets at the renowned Beijing Zoo Wholesale Market area had been closed or relocated. The market will completely close by the end of 2017. Zhongguancun, which is known as "China's Silicon Valley," has closed550,000 square meters of IT retail markets and moved out 2,100 retail booths over the past five years, to make way for high-end and value-added startups and innovative centers. "One and half year ago, it was a shopping center here, and now it has become home to over 130 companies," said Zhou Hongxu, a manager with the startup community called "Vstartup" at Zhongguancun. Near Tsinghua University, the intelligence manufacturing way (IMWAY) has turned a former high street into a center for intelligent hardware in industrial design, 3D printing and circuitry manufacturing. According to Lu Yang, a manager with IMWAY, since its inauguration six months ago, the 380-meter street has generated an average output of 8 million yuan per meter. Lian Yuming, head of the International Institute for Urban Development in Beijing said by moving these non-essential functions out of Beijing, the capital will be able to adjust and optimize its industrial and urban structures. "In this way, the space, industry and the function of the municipality will be reshaped," he said. Afghan policemen stand near a blast site which is already cordoned off in Kabul, Afghanistan, Feb. 7, 2017. At least 12 people were killed and injured as a suicide bombing happened next to the Supreme Court building on Tuesday, local media reported. (Xinhua/Rahmat Alizadah) KABUL, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- At least 12 people were killed and injured as a suicide bombing happened next to the Supreme Court building on Tuesday, local media reported. The Palestinians want the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, which were occupied by Israel in 1967, as the lands for their future independent Palestinian state, with east Jerusalem as its capital. (AFP photo) RAMALLAH/GAZA, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- The Israeli parliament's vote to legalize settlement posts in the West Bank outraged the Palestinians on Tuesday, who warned that the vote would bring a global wrath against Israel. On Monday night, the Israeli parliament voted in favor of legalizing 4,000 Jewish settlements that will be built on Palestinian-owned lands in the West Bank. 60 Israeli parliament members voted in favor and 52 voted against the bill, which drove the Palestinians furious. Nabil Abu Rdineh, a spokesman for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said in an official press statement that "this is an escalation that would only lead to more instability and chaos in the entire region." He called the Israeli Knesset vote "unacceptable." He said that the Israeli decision violates the recent United Nations Security Council resolution 2,334, which condemned the Israeli settlement and called on Israel to halt it, adding that "Israel continues settlement expansion and building and neglects the international laws and resolutions." The Israeli settlement expansion and building in the West Bank and east Jerusalem is the thorniest issue which obstructs the resumption of the bilateral peace negotiations. Saeb Erekat, Secretary General of Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), said in an emailed statement that legalizing settlement "is dangerous and a legalized theft of the Palestinian land properties, even if the bill contains provisions to compensate the Palestinians or give them other land in exchange." Meanwhile, the Palestinians slammed the United States position towards the most recent Israeli parliament decision. However, the Administration of President Donald Trump had stated last week that the construction of new settlements "may not be helpful" in achieving an Israeli-Palestinian peace. Israel was furious when the United States, under former President Barack Obama, abstained instead of vetoing a U.N. Security Council resolution in December, calling the settlements illegal and demanding Israel stop building them. The Palestinians want the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, which were occupied by Israel in 1967, as the lands for their future independent Palestinian state, with east Jerusalem as its capital. In Gaza, Abdulatif al-Qanou, a spokesman for Hamas movement, said in an emailed press statement that the Israeli government decision to legalize settlement "is an organized terrorism and a continuation to the endless aggression on the Palestinian people and their properties." "The new law of the Israeli occupation can never be legal," he said, stressing that American support, the silence of the world and the wrong policies of the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) encouraged Israel to do so. Mohamed al-Hindi, a senior official in the less-influential Islamic Jihad (Holy War) group, said that the PNA is unable to defend the properties of the Palestinian people and their lands, adding "it should give a free hand to the Palestinian armed resistance to stop this stupidity." In Israel, one lawmaker said the measure is an "acute danger to the State of Israel" and says it goes against Israeli law. Israel's attorney general has called it unconstitutional, according to Israeli media reports. However, nationalist lawmakers said the Jewish people have a connection to the land and a right to it. They believed legalizing the settlements is in Israel's interest and denied it is a path toward annexation. CAIRO, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- The Arab League condemned Tuesday the law adopted by Israel to legalize housing units built on the Palestinian land in the West Bank. "The law is no more than a cover for stealing the land and appropriating the property of Palestinians," said the head of the Cairo-based League, Ahmed Aboul Gheit, in a statement. The Israeli Knesset (parliament) on late Monday approved the so-called "Regulation Bill" in a 60-52 vote. Under the new legislation, about 3,850 housing units in dozens of outposts built illegally on privately owned Palestinian lands would be retroactively legalized. Aboul Gheit said that the law is one of the Israeli policies aimed at eliminating any possibility of a two-state solution and the establishment of an independent Palestinian state. "The law reflects the real intentions of the Israeli government and embodies its anti-peace stand," the statement said. Aboul Gheit considered the Israeli government is confined totally by the extremist right wing that doesn't believe in the two-state solution, the statement added. The outposts were erected by ultra-right settlers without permits from the Israeli authorities. The governments often have turned a blind eye to their construction. There are additional 120 settlements that Israel considered as legal. Both outposts and settlements are illegal under international law as they were built on lands occupied by Israel in the 1967 Mideast War, where the Palestinians wish to build their future state. TEHRAN, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Tuesday shrugged off the U.S. "threats" against the Islamic republic, saying that the threats would not frighten Iran. The Iranians are not afraid of the threats of the new U.S. President Donald Trump, Khamenei said according to his official website. The United States has never ceased its enmity against the Iranian people over the past 38 years following the victory of the revolution in Iran in 1979, he said. "Iran would not be paralyzed by the enemies," he stressed. The Iranians would respond to these threats in the nationwide rallies to be held on Feb. 10 to mark the anniversary of the establishment of Islamic republic, he added. The United States on Friday announced sanctions on multiple entities and individuals involved in Iran's missile development after Tehran carried out latest medium-range ballistic missile test late last month. JERUSALEM, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- Israel's Supreme Court ordered on Tuesday to demolish 17 illegal structures built on private Palestinian land in the West Bank. Under the ruling, Israel will have to carry out the order by June 22, 2018. The decision came in a petition filed by Yesh Din, an Israeli human rights organization, on behalf of Palestinians from the nearby village of Yasuf. The Palestinian residents charged that 18 settler homes were placed on privately-owned Palestinian plots. The judge found that 17 of them were built on private land and the other one on a plot that Israel has confiscated. The Israeli parliament approved on Monday night a law allowing Israel to confiscate privately owned Palestinian land in the West Bank, despite international criticism. According to Israel's Ha'aretz newspaper, the new law is not expected to affect the demolitions because it covers only lands already confiscated before the hearing. Both outposts and settlements are illegal under international law as they were built on lands occupied by Israel in the 1967 Mideast War, where the Palestinians wish to build their future state. PARIS, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- Internet giants Google and Facebook joined a journalism verification project launched Monday in France to help clear out fake news pertaining to the country's upcoming presidential election. With support from Google News Lab, as well as Facebook's verification tools, the collaborative project named CrossCheck seeks to "help the public make sense of what and who to trust." "Dedicated tools and media literacy efforts" of Facebook will help with the project's verification process and "keep relevant audience up to date with confirmed and disputed information relating to the election." The CrossCheck project gathered seventeen French and international news agencies and media groups like AFP, France Medias Monde and BuzzFeed News, as well as the network community called Global Voices, which relies on writers, translators, bloggers and citizen journalists to report on popular topics in citizen media worldwide. "Each participating newsroom will contribute their own experience, resources and regional knowledge to speed and strengthen the verification process, and to ensure that accurate reports reach citizens across the country and beyond," according to a statement released on First Draft News. The official announcement encouraged the public to submit disputed websites and content on the French presidential election to CrossCheck for further investigation, while final answers would be published on a dedicated website. Media and technology experts would check out the credibility of certain reports, debunk hoaxes, rumors and false claims, as well as ensure accurate reports on controversial and confusing stories, the statement added. The French presidential election is slated for April and the project is an attempt to prevent inaccurate and unproven information to influence the election campaign and results. Social media networks like Facebook and Twitter have been criticized for allegedly propagating fake stories on their platforms during the 2016 U.S. presidential campaign. KHARTOUM, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- The European Union (EU) on Tuesday reiterated commitment to support the real efforts to achieve peace and stability in Sudan. Head of the EU Delegation to Sudan Jean-Michel Dumond on Tuesday met with Sudan's Foreign Minister Ibrahim Ghandour in Khartoum, highlighting EU's support to the peace and stability in Sudan. Dumond said he met Ghandour as part of regular consultations to find ways to enhance relations between Sudan and the EU. He further announced that a delegation of 16 European diplomats would begin on Wednesday a two-day visit to North and West Darfur to deepen cooperation with the local authorities and the UN missions. The delegation would meet with the State Governors to discuss the challenges to development and areas for future support. It would also visit EU-funded projects which are implemented by the UN World Food Programme (WFP), United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), he added. COLOMBO, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- Sri Lanka and Israel have discussed the possibility of establishing direct air links to increase the number of tourist arrivals into the island nation, the Tourism Ministry said here Tuesday. Renewed efforts are being made to position Sri Lanka as an attractive destination for the outbound Middle East tourism market, the ministry said. The star performer for Sri Lanka in the Middle East market last year was Israel which grew by an impressive 33.4 percent year on year in a scenario where overall growth from the region was 6.5 percent. A Sri Lankan delegation headed by Tourism Minister John Amaratunga is currently in Tel Aviv to attend the 23rd annual International Mediterranean Tourism Market (IMTM 2017) taking place at the Tel Aviv Convention Centre on Feb. 7 to 8. Representatives of 40 countries and regions are participating in the exhibition this year with an anticipated attendance of over 20,000 visitors. The Sri Lankan delegation held a meeting with the leading tour operators of Israel on the sidelines of the IMTM and some of the key topics discussed during the meeting were establishing direct air links between the two countries and possibility of arranging charter operations commencing next summer. The ministry said operational level meetings will be held in the near future. "The Middle East is a lucrative market that needs to be carefully nurtured. With the travel issues in Europe and the United States, this is our opportunity to woo the Middle East," Amaratunga said. HANGZHOU, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- Two men have been arrested in eastern China's Zhejiang Province for illegally smuggling drugs hidden inside their bodies, local police said Tuesday. Police in Xiacheng District of Zhejiang's capital Hangzhou city received a tip-off on Jan. 23 about two drug-traffickers transferring via Hangzhou Xiaoshan International Airport. They caught one of them, surnamed Jiang, at around 7 p.m. Another suspect Jia was apprehended at the airport the next day. Jiang and Jia excreted 72 and 57 plastic bags of heroin, repectively, at a local hospital, according to police. Jiang said he was forced to swallow the drugs after losing more than 40,000 yuan (5,812 U.S. dollars) at a casino in Myanmar. "People at the casino wanted me to transport the drugs to Xi'an in northwest China," Jiang said. "They bought my air ticket with my Wechat account and deleted my phone contacts." Jia said that he was asked to carry the drugs by an Internet friend in Myanmar, who promised him 15,000 yuan profit. Police warned that swallowing drugs in this manner could cause death. Further investigation is underway. DAMASCUS, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- Tens of people were either killed or wounded in airstrikes that targeted areas in the rebel-held city of Idlib in northern Syria on Tuesday, a monitor group reported. Ten airstrikes targeted several areas in Idlib as at least eight bodies were removed from under the rubble, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. The UK-based watchdog group said it wasn't clear if the airstrikes were conducted by Russia or the U.S.-led anti-terror coalition. It did not identify the number of civilians and rebel fighters who have been killed during the airstrikes. Meanwhile, Russia has denied claims that its warplanes carried out airstrikes in Idlib on Tuesday. Idlib is largely controlled by rebels of the Jabhat Fateh al-Sham, previously known as the al-Qaida-linked Nusra Front, which is branded as a terrorist group by the international community. The airstrikes on this particular group has increased in recent weeks, with many of its commanders were targeted and killed. JAKARTA, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- Indonesia's exports of food and beverage products jumped to 19 billion U.S. dollars last year from 6.2 billion dollars in 2015, Industry Minister Airlangga Hartarto said Tuesday. "We must keep maintaining this food and beverage industry so that it can develop and address challenges," Hartarto said. Foreign direct investment in the industry sector reached 1.6 billion U.S. dollars last year, he said. Food and beverage industry is estimated to grow 6.2 to 8.5 percent this year, according to the country's food and beverage association, as rising global prices of agricultural commodities contribute to the growth. Indonesia is the world's largest producer and exporter of palm oil and among the top three of the world's biggest producer and exporter of cocoa, along with Ivory Coast and Ghana. WINDHOEK, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- The Namibia construction sector will remain under pressure this year and is set to see more retrenchments, as employers are caught between mandatory pay rises and cash flow crises, according to the Construction Industries Federation of Namibia (CIF). Andre Oosthuizen, co-owner of Namibia's OJ Construction, told Xinhua Tuesday that the industry expects to see more retrenchments in the near future. Barbel Kirchner, Consulting General Manager of the CIF, said recently the 2 years collective agreement which stipulates a 10 percent increase of minimum wages in the construction sector, will force businesses to cut costs and make retrenchments. The Government Gazette No. 5917 stipulates the adjustment to the minimum wages, which have to be increased by 10 percent for the first year (ie. from Jan. 1 to Dec. 31, 2016) and by a further 10 percent for the subsequent year (ie. Jan. 1 to Dec. 31, 2017). "We realize that during an economic slowdown, it would be difficult for employers to further increase the minimum wages in the construction sector. Unavailability of work in the sector and serious cash flow crisis already has forced businesses to cut costs and make retrenchments," he said. According to him, in order to adhere to the legislated minimum wages and minimum employment conditions, with limited scope to reduce salaries, businesses cannot avoid but retrench more individuals. "We will definitely abide by the government gazette, but like I said we are likely to retrench employees, due to the fact that we do not have the money," Oosthuizen said. According to him the construction industry is becoming more and more difficult, since the suspension and budget cuts by the government of more that 50 capital projects in the country last year. Currently the minimum wage for a labourer in the construction sector is 16.04 Namibian dollars (1.2 U.S. dollars). ABUJA, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- Nigeria will apply the use of biological methods of control and general agricultural practices that will prevent invasion of the African armyworm caterpillar, a pest in maize which is currently spreading across the west African country, the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development said Tuesday. So far, 22 states have been affected by the outbreak which is capable of causing scarcity of maize in the country if not adequately controlled. The African moth is very harmful and capable of destroying the entire crops in a matter of weeks. It is also capable of infecting guinea corn and millet. In a statement released here, the government said it will take urgent and the right steps to tackle the problem by training local farmers on pest control. The Nigerian government said it will not adopt the usual method of spraying chemicals which is now thought to be ineffective because the armyworms usually bury themselves in the maize. Authorities in Nigeria announced Monday that the African armyworm had ravaged farms across the nation, describing the outbreak as "a threat to national food security and maize production in the country." "The (Agric) ministry is planning to train farmers on how to control the menace. We have visited farms and we have seen the devastation that has occurred in those farms and for us to reduce or alleviate farmers suffering and losses, we need to train them," the statement said. The government has also mandated the International Institute for Agricultural Research to develop a resistant variety to the armyworms, especially as the destructive insects are discovered to be ravaging farms across Africa. Maize is a staple food in Nigeria, Africa's most populous country. AMMAN, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- Jordan on Tuesday strongly condemned the Israeli bill that legalizes settlements built on the Palestinian land in the West Bank, the state-run Petra news agency reported. On Monday, Israel's parliament passed legislation that aims to legalize nearly 4,000 housing units built on private Palestinian land in the West Bank. Minister of State for Media Affairs, Mohammad Momani, said in a statement that Israeli confiscation of Palestinian land is a violation of the international legitimacy and resolutions of the United Nations. The so-called "Regularization Law" passed the Knesset, Israel's parliament, in a 60-52 vote. Momani stressed that the Israeli government, as an occupying force, is demanded to maintain the status quo in the West Bank and not to allow the establishment of settlement units and grab more Palestinian lands. Such provocative acts, the minister warned, would destroy any hope for the two-state solution and peace in the region, fuel the anger of Muslims and drag the region to more violence and extremism. ABUJA, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- Nigeria's government forces on Tuesday foiled a suicide attack in the country's Maiduguri city, the capital of the northern Borno State, local police said. Two female suspects were about to wreak havoc in the city early in the day when security agents arrested one and shot dead the other, Victor Isuku, Borno State police spokesman, told Xinhua. He said the suspects were sighted behind a petrol filling station on the outskirts of Maiduguri, trying to detonate their explosive device when agents of the police anti-bomb unit ensuring safety in the area arrested them. One of them was shot dead as she attempted to escape, he added. Terror group Boko Haram is suspected of regrouping in Maiduguri after the military dislodged them from Sambisa Forest, their last enclave in the country, last December. The Nigerian military is currently intensifying aerial and ground patrol in the country's northeast, extending its offensive mission around the Green Belt Region near Niger and Chad. LHASA, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- Southwest China's Tibet has completed its water, air and soil monitoring networks and enhanced law enforcement to better protect environment, said a local official. Twenty-three automatic air quality monitoring stations have been set up in major regional cities and along the Qinghai-Tibet railway, said Cering Yangzom, deputy head of the Environmental Protection Department of Tibet Autonomous Region. The region has also selected 194 monitoring sites for surface water, 84 for air quality and 110 for drinking water sources, he added. The regional environmental monitoring station has passed the national assessment. To strengthen monitoring, the region has implemented plans for water and air pollution treatment and prevention, and will soon complete the drafting of a soil pollution prevention plan. The region has also established a four-tier environmental monitoring network to enhance law enforcement, according to the official. The plateau region remains one of the areas with the best environmental quality in the world. Projects with high energy demand, pollution and emissions are banned. BEIJING, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- A senior Chinese official Tuesday hailed public security agencies' role in combating transnational crime, highlighting the importance of international law enforcement cooperation. Meng Jianzhu, head of the Commission for Political and Legal Affairs of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, made the remarks at a national public security conference on international cooperation. Meng asked public security agencies at various levels to stick to the Party's leadership, improve abilities in international security and law enforcement cooperation, and prepare for the 19th National Congress to be held this year. Guo Shengkun, China's public security minister, urged the agencies to safeguard national sovereignty, security and social stability, and strive to support the nation's development. CAIRO, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- Egypt on Tuesday praised U.S. President Donald Trump's criticism of Western media for what he described as their neglect in covering some militant terrorist attacks around the world. "The Foreign Ministry hailed the U.S. administration's stance in this regard, highlighting Egypt's repeated calls upon the international community to adopt a comprehensive, coordinated and non-selective strategy to combat terrorism at all levels: security, political, cultural, media and others," Egyptian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ahmed Abu Zeid said in a statement. On Monday, Trump accused news media of ignoring attacks by Islamist militants. "It's gotten to a point where it's not even being reported," Trump told a group of U.S. troops in Florida. "And, in many cases, the very, very dishonest press doesn't want to report it. They have their reasons, and you understand that," Trump added. The White House released a list Monday evening of 78 attacks around the world from September 2014 to December 2016, including nine in Egypt, which it said Western media have ignored. Abu Zeid, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry Spokesman, said a number of Western media outlets have not been reporting adequately on recent terrorist attacks, and that some of them accuse certain countries of dereliction, including Egypt. Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has asserted Egypt's keenness to promote coordination with the new U.S. administration and to develop bilateral ties in different fields. Trump, when he met Sisi in New York last September, voiced his support for Egypt's efforts in combating extremism and promised future partnership in fighting terrorism. In January, Trump said during a call with Sisi that he is looking forward to Sisi's visit to the United States to exchange views on means of boosting bilateral ties as well as peace in the Middle East. BUDAPEST, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- The volume of industrial production was up by 0.9 percent in unadjusted figures in 2016 against 2015, figures from the Hungarian Central Statistical Office (KSH) showed on Tuesday. Industrial production in 2015 was up by 7.4 percent year-on-year. Looking at December 2016 only, the unadjusted manufacturing volume dropped by 0.5 percent year-on-year, but with calendar and seasonal adjustments it was up by 1.9 percent. With December 2016 compared to November 2016, industrial production rose by 0.5 percent in calendar and seasonally-adjusted figures. Hungarian News Agency quoted KSH deputy division chief Miklos Schindele as saying that vehicle output, Hungary's single largest manufacturing component, had been down, while production of computers and electronics, the second largest, had been up. All other areas were essentially unchanged, he said. The biggest growth in a single month was in August, when output rose by 10.8 percent in unadjusted figures and the biggest drop was in March with minus 5.6 percent. KSH said it would issue its second, detailed, estimate a week from now on Feb. 14. Serbian Interior Minister Nebojsa Stefanovic speaks at a press conference after meeting his Belgian counterpart Jan Jambon at Palace of Serbia in Belgrade on Feb.7, 2017. Jambon and Stefanovic held a meeting here and signed an agreement on police cooperation between Serbia and Belgium, which defines their cooperation in tackling terrorist threats and exchanging information on organized crime. (Xinhua/Nemanja Cabric) BELGRADE, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- Serbia and Belgium signed an agreement here on Tuesday that defines their cooperation in tackling terrorist threats and exchanging information on organized crime. The Agreement on Police Cooperation between Serbia and Belgium was signed here at the Palace of Serbia after a meeting between Belgian interior minister Jan Jambon and his Serbian counterpart Nebojsa Stefanovic. The agreement foresees a joint fight of Serbia and Belgium against organized crime, smuggling of illegal substances and people as well as countering international terrorism, Stefanovic told a press conference after the meeting. He said that the cooperation will increase the operative capability of Serbian police through education of officers, as well as exchange of information. He informed the public about his request to Jambon that Belgian police send experienced officers to educate Serbian colleagues in countering terrorism, "which would improve security not only security between the two countries, but also at a European level." "By signing this agreement we opened the possibility for the widest cooperation against all types of organized crime between the two countries as well as to achieve better interconnection with European Union in this area," Stefanovic said. Jambon stressed the importance of having established a direct source of information between the two countries and the importance of it for the security of both countries, explaining that organized crime all over Europe has links that lead to Serbia and the region. He said that Serbia plays an important role in the migrant crisis and that one of the impacts of the new agreement will be to help Serbia to prevent foreign fighters in Syria from coming into Europe through the migrant route. Judi Wakhungu, cabinet secretary of Kenya's Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources, speaks during the 60th anniversary celebrations of the East Africa Wild Life Society (EAWLS) in Nairobi, Kenya, Feb. 7, 2017. A Kenyan government official on Tuesday appreciated China's effort in protecting wild life, saying China's trade ban on ivory will bring effects on elephant protection in East Africa. (Xinhua/Sun Ruibo) NAIROBI, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- A Kenyan government official on Tuesday appreciated China's effort in protecting wild life, saying China's trade ban on ivory will bring positive effects on elephant protection in East Africa. Judi Wakhungu, cabinet secretary of Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources, told Xinhua on the sidelines of the 60th anniversary event of the East African Wild Life Society (EAWLS) that cooperation with China in protecting wild life "has grown from strength to strength," noting that China is very much involved in wild life protection, donating equipments and expertise. "Most recently, we have seen the Chinese president announcing the trade ban of ivory, and that is going along with conserving wild life," she said. Dismissing criticisms that the construction of the Mombasa-Nairobi railway has damaged wild life protection, Wakhungu said that the project has taken wild life protection in consideration from scratch, "For example, the Mombasa-Nairobi SGR is specially designed to accommodate animal passages culverts as well as bridges for animals. The SGR design also has a protective fence to animals out of harm's way," she said. Chinese Ambassador to Kenya Liu Xianfa echoed Wakhungu's words, saying China pays great attention to cooperation in wildlife protection, such as assisting the law-enforcing outfits from both China and Kenya to destroy a huge ivory smuggling criminal gang, donating wildlife protection equipment and materials to Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS), and providing training opportunities to strengthen technology, cooperation and experience sharing in wild life protection. EAWLS Executive Director Julius Kamau thanked China for its generous support, and said the organization will continue cooperation with China in wild life protection. Established in 1961 through a merger of the Kenya and Tanzania Wildlife Societies (both formed in 1956), the EAWLS is a membership-based non-government organization that seeks to enhance the conservation and wise use of the environment and natural resources in East Africa for the benefit of current and future generations. RIYADH, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- Saudi police dismissed on Tuesday any terror motive linked to a suspect who poured gasoline in the grand mosque in Mecca, confirming it was a suicide attempt instead. The mosque's special forces spokesperson, Major Samih Al Silmi, said in a statement through Saudi Press Agency that police forces stopped and arrested the Saudi man suffering from psychological problems before succeeding in his suicide attempt via self-immolation near the Kaaba, the holiest place for Muslims. Police additionally stated that the man poured flammable liquid on his clothes, while news reports highlighted on Tuesday that he tried to burn the Kaaba. The spokesperson said that necessary legal steps will be taken against the individual. The police's swift response prevented a serious mishap, and although the incident took place at 23:00 local time (2000 GMT) on Monday, the mosque attracts huge numbers of worshipers all day long, and panic among the worshippers could have led to a dangerous stampede. Before the police announcement, news reports declared that it was another foiled attack against worshipper places typically used by supporters of the Islamic State militant group. MOGADISHU, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- Somali government on Tuesday announced a ban on flights arriving and departing from Mogadishu airport and also beefed up security ahead of the Wednesday presidential elections. Transport and Civil Aviation Minister, Ali Ahmed Jama informed travel agencies of the flights suspension as well as traffic movement in the capital during the elections. "We inform travel agencies that flights at Aden Adde Airport will be suspended on Wednesday for the presidential election," Ahmed said. The minister said this will not impact other local airports in the country as the election is taking place only in the capital city. All major roads in Mogadishu will be closed for two days till the conclusion of the ballot. Mogadishu mayor, Yusuf Hussein Jimale imposed a ban on traffic movement in Mogadishu to ensure security of the presidential elections. The Horn of Africa nation which has been under near daily attacks from the Al-Shabaab terror group plans to curb disruption of the presidential elections. The terrorist group has vowed to disrupt the polls, saying it was being instigated by Western countries to impose their influence on Somalis. Somali Parliament will elect a new president from 22 candidates. MOSCOW, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- Russian President Vladimir Putin and German Chancellor Angela Merkel called for an immediate restoration of a truce in southeastern Ukraine, the Kremlin said Tuesday. The two leaders expressed serious concern during a phone conversation over the recent escalation of the armed conflict between Ukrainian government troops and local militias in the Donbass region, said a Kremlin statement. Putin told Merkel that there was "a clear desire for Kiev to disrupt the implementation of the Minsk agreements and use the Normandy format as a cover for its destructive steps." The Normany format is a group composed of Russia, France, Germany and Ukraine aimed at resolving the conflict in eastern Ukraine. According to the Kremlin, Putin and Merkal agreed to step up diplomatic efforts to promote a peaceful settlement to the crisis and hold further Normandy group meetings. A civil war broke out in Ukraine in April 2014 after local residents in the country's southeastern Donbass region refused to recognize the new pro-West Kiev authorities and sought independence. The two sides reached a peace agreement brokered by Russia, France and Germany in September 2014 in the Belarussian capital of Minsk, and a more detailed renewal of the agreement was signed in February 2015. However, the truce has not been strictly observed, and deadly conflicts have flared up in the last two weeks in Donbass, with Kiev and local militias trading accusations of undermining the Minsk deal. LUSAKA, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- It would be criminal for Zambia to withdraw from the International Criminal Court (ICC) and Africa should not allow a few criminal elements to manipulate the continent from leaving the international court, an opposition leader said on Tuesday. Nason Msoni, leader of the All People's Congress (APC) party said Zambia should not act under the influence of mob psychology with other African countries to withdraw from the ICC without making a clear case for doing so. "A few criminal elements in the African Union who are potential indictees themselves to the ICC should not be allowed to manipulate and use innocent clean hands of incompetent political novices by bribery and influence to coerce and encourage them to hastily pull out their respective countries from the ICC in order to serve their own skins," he told Xinhua. The African Union (AU) at its annual summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia last month adopted a strategy calling for a collective withdrawal from the ICC, although the move is non-binding. On Monday President Edgar Lungu said his government was critically studying the AU resolution and would consult people on the country's membership to the ICC. Lungu said the ruling party's Central committee tabled the matter at its recent sitting and agreed that national dialogue should precede any decision in response to the AU's call. According to Msoni, Africa has no courts with the necessary jurisdiction and capacity to deal with criminals charged with crimes against humanity, adding that withdrawing from the ICC would give impunity to African leaders to abuse their positions. "Arguably withdrawing from the ICC is endorsing lawlessness and encouraging impunity of regimes on their own citizens. In other words withdrawing effectively means that leaders will never uphold and observe the rule of law," he added. The ICC is an intergovernmental organization and international tribunal that sits in The Hague in the Netherlands and is the court of last resort for prosecution of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity. Some countries have accused the court of only pursuing African leaders. Late last year, South Africa, Burundi and The Gambia announced plans to leave the court. NAIROBI, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- The UN food agency on Tuesday announced that it is seeking to raise about 450 million U.S. dollars for emergency humanitarian assistance to three drought-hit countries in the Horn of Africa. World Food Program (WFP) Regional Director Valerie Guarnieri told Xinhua in Nairobi that Kenya, Ethiopia and Somalia have about 10 million people in need of urgent food assistance. "We are seeking to raise the funds on a country-by-country basis by supporting the individual UN country offices to make the food appeal," Guarnieri said during an Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) briefing on the current drought situation. Somalia is the country with the biggest need for humanitarian assistance. "For Somalia we need 350 million dollars in order to scale up emergency relief response to reach 2.9 million people," Guarnieri added. The financial assistance will also be used to provide blanket supplementary feeding to support those severely affected by drought. In Kenya, the UN food agency has a 22 million dollar revenue shortfall. "We are looking to source the funds in order to provide drought affected individuals to restore their livelihoods as well as supplement their nutrition," she said. The Kenyan government has already allocated 90 million dollars for a multi-sectoral drought response. According to the WFP, approximately five million people are in urgent need of food aid in Ethiopia. "Out of that 1.5 million are in the Somali region of Ethiopia, where the WFP already plays a lead role in providing humanitarian assistance," Guarnieri said. South Sudan is also impacted by the drought but it has a bigger issue of the ongoing civil strife. ROME, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- The Italian police broke up an online gambling racket on Tuesday, with 46 arrest warrants issued for alleged members of a mafia clan, according to local media. The operation was ordered by prosecutors of the Anti-Mafia District Directorate (DDA) in Naples, and carried out across seven Italian provinces by Italy's military Carabinieri police, Ansa news agency reported. Jailed boss Francesco Schiavone of the Naples-based Camorra mob was among those targeted in the operation. All of the 46 suspects were variously charged with mafia association, extortion, illegal possession of weapons, possession of stolen goods, fraudulent asset ownership, and other related crimes. The suspects were allegedly running a large gambling racket across the seven provinces. Local retailers in the areas had been forced to use a specific online gaming platform in their stores, and up to 60 percent of all proceeds of the gambling was extorted, according to investigators. Most of the suspects are believed to belong to the Venosa-Schiavone family connected with the powerful Casalesi clan of the Camorra mob. The ring's illegal businesses would have ranged from extortion and money laundering to drug trafficking and gambling rackets. The investigation uncovered all the activities run by the clan between 2011 and 2015, thanks also to revelations of a former boss turned repentant, according to Naples-based Il Mattino newspaper. BRUSSELS, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- The European Union's (EU) trade chief has outlined the opportunities from strengthening trade and investment relations with China, assuring the business community that the bloc would fight protectionism together with Beijing. "If rising protectionism from elsewhere is a threat to the Chinese economy, we stand ready to engage and fight against it together," Cecilia Malmstrom, EU Commissioner for Trade, said on Monday night to a business conference organized by BusinessEurope, the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China, and the EU-China Business Association. With U.S. President Donald Trump taking office, the business community is widely concerned that international trade might be hampered by the headwinds created by major economies' trade policies. But Malmstrom said: "If others are closing their doors, ours is still open." Calling barriers and protectionism "a threat" to the open societies of Europe, Malmstrom said the EU would like to build bridges, not walls. "If others around the world want to use trade as a weapon, I want to use it as a tonic; a vital ingredient for prosperity and progress," said the EU trade chief. The commissioner set out the opportunities from strengthening trade and investment relations with China, a market that accounts for one fifth of EU goods imports and one tenth of its exports. Noting that China was the EU's second biggest trading partner, and the EU is China's largest, the bloc's trade chief said EU-China trade ties could be even stronger beside the impressive trade figures. A woman rides a donkey as nomad families from the Misseryia area in Abyei region migrate from north on December 18, 2016. (AFP/Xinhua) KHARTOUM, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- The European Union (EU) on Tuesday reiterated commitment to support the real efforts to achieve peace and stability in Sudan. Head of the EU Delegation to Sudan Jean-Michel Dumond on Tuesday met with Sudan's Foreign Minister Ibrahim Ghandour in Khartoum, highlighting EU's support to the peace and stability in Sudan. Dumond said he met Ghandour as part of regular consultations to find ways to enhance relations between Sudan and the EU. He further announced that a delegation of 16 European diplomats would begin on Wednesday a two-day visit to North and West Darfur to deepen cooperation with the local authorities and the UN missions. The delegation would meet with the State Governors to discuss the challenges to development and areas for future support. It would also visit EU-funded projects which are implemented by the UN World Food Programme (WFP), United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), he added. An Israeli settler holds a flag with slogans at the Amona outpost, northeast of Ramallah, on February 1, 2017 as Israeli security forces prepare to evict hardline Jewish occupants of the wildcat settlement outpost in line with a High Court ruling that determined the homes were built on private Palestinian land. (AFP/Xinhua) JERUSALEM, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- Israel's Supreme Court ordered on Tuesday to demolish 17 illegal structures built on private Palestinian land in the West Bank. Under the ruling, Israel will have to carry out the order by June 22, 2018. The decision came in a petition filed by Yesh Din, an Israeli human rights organization, on behalf of Palestinians from the nearby village of Yasuf. The Palestinian residents charged that 18 settler homes were placed on privately-owned Palestinian plots. The judge found that 17 of them were built on private land and the other one on a plot that Israel has confiscated. The Israeli parliament approved on Monday night a law allowing Israel to confiscate privately owned Palestinian land in the West Bank, despite international criticism. According to Israel's Ha'aretz newspaper, the new law is not expected to affect the demolitions because it covers only lands already confiscated before the hearing. Both outposts and settlements are illegal under international law as they were built on lands occupied by Israel in the 1967 Mideast War, where the Palestinians wish to build their future state. Photo taken on Feb. 7, 2017 shows army ambulances near the site of an attack in Kabul, capital of Afghanistan. At least 13 people have been confirmed dead and 25 others injured as a suicide bomber blew himself up next to the gate of Afghan Supreme Court here on Tuesday, a senior police officer Faridon Abidi said. (Xinhua/Rahmat Alizadah) KABUL, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- At least 13 people have been confirmed dead and 25 others injured as a suicide bomber blew himself up next to the gate of Afghan Supreme Court here on Tuesday, a senior police officer Faridon Abidi said. "Up to 13 innocent civilians including women were martyred and 25 others sustained injuries after a terrorist blew himself up next to the exit gate of the Supreme Court," Abidi told reporters at the site of blast. The bloody incident occurred at 03:35 p.m. local time when the employees of the court were going out of their offices to go home. Meanwhile, spokesman for Public Health Ministry, Ismail Kawusi in talks with Xinhua confirmed that 19 deaths and 41 injured persons had been taken to hospitals. However, witnesses believe that the number of casualties is higher than reported as some families have already taken the bodies of their beloved one to their homes and the injured persons to private hospitals. Earlier, some media outlets reported that 20 persons had been killed and 41 others injured in the attack against Supreme Court. This is the second attack on Afghan Supreme Court over the past three years. Taliban had claimed responsibility for the previous suicide bombing. No group has so far claimed responsibility for the deadly attack against the apex court on Tuesday. WINDHOEK, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- Namibia's national airline Air Namibia (SW) and Turkish Airlines (TK) have inked a codeshare agreement that will be effective as from Mar. 1, covering routes between Turkey and Namibia. Selma Neshiko, Digital Corporate Communications Officer at Air Namibia on Tuesday said, the signing ceremony took place at Turkish Airlines' Headquarters in Istanbul on Monday. According to Neshiko, the new codeshare agreement is bound to broaden the commercial partnership between two companies and their respective countries, at the same time, passengers of both airlines will be given more travel options between Namibia and Turkey. Namibia Deputy Minister of Works & Transport Sankwasa James Sankwasa and Turkish Airlines Deputy Chairman and CEO Bilal Eksi signed the deal in the presence of senior officials from both sides. Sankwasa in a statement said that he is confident about this cooperation which will be fruitful for both sides and will be enlarged very soon. "Air Namibia is a small airline and in order to improve its competitiveness in this high competitive industry, it is important to have a strategic partner, as Turkish Airlines who placed on the top to become a partner with," he added. Meanwhile, Turkish Airlines Eksi, believes that the partnership between Turkish Airlines and Air Namibia will bring benefit to both carriers, not only from a commercial perspective, but also in cultural interactions between Turkey and Namibia while promoting business travel between two countries. Enditem Somali security forces keep guard around the presidential palace in Mogadishu, Somalia, Feb. 26, 2015. At least seven mortars landed inside Somalia's presidential palace in Mogadishu Thursday when the prime minister and his cabinet was holding a meeting, police said. (Xinhua/Stringer) MOGADISHU, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- Somali government on Tuesday announced a ban on flights arriving and departing from Mogadishu airport and also beefed up security ahead of the Wednesday presidential elections. Transport and Civil Aviation Minister, Ali Ahmed Jama informed travel agencies of the flights suspension as well as traffic movement in the capital during the elections. "We inform travel agencies that flights at Aden Adde Airport will be suspended on Wednesday for the presidential election," Ahmed said. The minister said this will not impact other local airports in the country as the election is taking place only in the capital city. A man casts his ballot to elect new lower house members in Mogadishu, capital of Somalia, Nov. 30, 2016. Somalia's presidential elections slated for Wednesday will now be held before the end of December on unspecified date, the country's electoral committee chairman said. (Xinhua/Faisal Isse) All major roads in Mogadishu will be closed for two days till the conclusion of the ballot. Mogadishu mayor, Yusuf Hussein Jimale imposed a ban on traffic movement in Mogadishu to ensure security of the presidential elections. The Horn of Africa nation which has been under near daily attacks from the Al-Shabaab terror group plans to curb disruption of the presidential elections. The terrorist group has vowed to disrupt the polls, saying it was being instigated by Western countries to impose their influence on Somalis. Somali Parliament will elect a new president from 22 candidates. WINDHOEK, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- Namibia on Tuesday refuted allegations from a Botswana online newspaper about it being among three countries that sabotaged Botswana's quest for the top job at the African Union Commission. Namibia's Ministry of International Relations and Cooperation (MIRCO) said in a statement that an article under the headline "28th AU Summit: SADC sabotages Venson-Moitoi" published on Jan. 31 by the online newspaper 'Mmegionline" alleged that "sources in Addis Ababa said suspicions were swirling around South Africa, Lesotho and Namibia as being among possible saboteurs." The ministry said it has called upon the newspaper editor to retract these fabrications against Namibia. "As the custodian of Namibia's foreign policy, we refute the above misrepresentation by the Mmegionline, which published an article based on suspicions and hearsay, depicting a lack of professionalism and proper research." said Marbeline Goagoses, Deputy Director of Information Research in the Ministry of International Relations and Cooperation. Goagoses said that following the endorsement by SADC in March 2016, of Pelonomi Venson-Moitoi as SADC's candidate for the position of Chairperson of the AU Commission, Namibia was one of the first countries to publicly declare its support for Venson-Moitoi. According to her, Namibia and other SADC Member States supported Venson-Moitoi, which enabled her to get to the third round, after the candidates from Senegal and Equatorial Guinea fell out, respectively. "Although Venson-Moitoi's campaign did not win her the victory, the support from SADC Member States was a sure demonstration of the unity and bond in the SADC family," she said. Meanwhile, Goagoses said, Namibia is a country, governed by the rule of law and principles that guide its foreign policy, including at the SADC level. "This is evident through its respect and implementation of relevant SADC Decisions on a broad range of issues," she added. Enditem Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi (R) shakes hands with his Australian counterpart Julie Bishop prior to the two countries' fourth round of diplomatic and strategic dialogue in Canberra, Australia, Feb. 7, 2017. Foreign ministers of China and Australia called for further strengthening of bilateral ties here on Tuesday. (Xinhua/Zhu Hongye) CANBERRA, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- Foreign ministers of China and Australia called for further strengthening of bilateral ties here on Tuesday. At the two countries' fourth round of diplomatic and strategic dialogue, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said relations between China and Australia have maintained healthy development, adding that the free trade agreement between the two sides has yielded good results. This year marks the 45th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between China and Australia, Wang said, calling on the two sides to take this opportunity to review past experience and plan for the future. He urged the two sides to expand cooperation, add new content to bilateral comprehensive strategic partnership on the basis of mutual trust and mutual benefit. As the international situation is facing uncertainties, China and Australia need to strengthen strategic communication, jointly deliver to the world positive signals including building an open world economy, promoting greater inclusiveness and broader shared benefit, as well as safeguarding global trade system and combatting protectionism. He said the two countries need to promote business and trade cooperation toward a more diversified, more sustainable direction, enhance collaboration on such areas as international production capacity cooperation, people-to-people exchanges, and law-enforcement cooperation. Speaking positively of the Australia-China relations, Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said the country is willing to strengthen cooperation with China in various fields and coordination on global affairs. She said Australia expects to expand bilateral cooperation with China in the fields of business and trade, innovation, energy, and building closer people-to-people links. Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) prepare food at a temporary camp near Juba International Airport in Juba, capital of South Sudan, Jan. 7, 2017. Hundreds of IDPs have been stranded in Juba since December 2016 following the start of a voluntary repatriation program initiated by the South Sudan's government, to resettle people displaced by three years of civil war. (Xinhua/Gale Julius) NAIROBI, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- The UN food agency on Tuesday announced that it is seeking to raise about 450 million U.S. dollars for emergency humanitarian assistance to three drought-hit countries in the Horn of Africa. World Food Program (WFP) Regional Director Valerie Guarnieri told Xinhua in Nairobi that Kenya, Ethiopia and Somalia have about 10 million people in need of urgent food assistance. "We are seeking to raise the funds on a country-by-country basis by supporting the individual UN country offices to make the food appeal," Guarnieri said during an Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) briefing on the current drought situation. Somalia is the country with the biggest need for humanitarian assistance. "For Somalia we need 350 million dollars in order to scale up emergency relief response to reach 2.9 million people," Guarnieri added. The financial assistance will also be used to provide blanket supplementary feeding to support those severely affected by drought. In Kenya, the UN food agency has a 22 million dollar revenue shortfall. "We are looking to source the funds in order to provide drought affected individuals to restore their livelihoods as well as supplement their nutrition," she said. The Kenyan government has already allocated 90 million dollars for a multi-sectoral drought response. According to the WFP, approximately five million people are in urgent need of food aid in Ethiopia. "Out of that 1.5 million are in the Somali region of Ethiopia, where the WFP already plays a lead role in providing humanitarian assistance," Guarnieri said. South Sudan is also impacted by the drought but it has a bigger issue of the ongoing civil strife. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi (L) and Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop meet media after holding the two countries' fourth round of diplomatic and strategic dialogue together in Canberra, Australia, Feb. 7, 2017. (Xinhua/Zhu Hongye) CANBERRA, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- Foreign ministers of China and Australia called for further strengthening of bilateral ties here on Tuesday. At the two countries' fourth round of diplomatic and strategic dialogue, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said relations between China and Australia have maintained healthy development, adding that the free trade agreement between the two sides has yielded good results. This year marks the 45th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between China and Australia, Wang said, calling on the two sides to take this opportunity to review past experience and plan for the future. He urged the two sides to expand cooperation, add new content to bilateral comprehensive strategic partnership on the basis of mutual trust and mutual benefit. As the international situation is facing uncertainties, China and Australia need to strengthen strategic communication, jointly deliver to the world positive signals including building an open world economy, promoting greater inclusiveness and broader shared benefit, as well as safeguarding global trade system and combatting protectionism. He said the two countries need to promote business and trade cooperation toward a more diversified, more sustainable direction, enhance collaboration on such areas as international production capacity cooperation, people-to-people exchanges, and law-enforcement cooperation. Speaking positively of the Australia-China relations, Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said the country is willing to strengthen cooperation with China in various fields and coordination on global affairs. She said Australia expects to expand bilateral cooperation with China in the fields of business and trade, innovation, energy, and building closer people-to-people links. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi (L) shakes hands with Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull during his visit to Australia in Canberra, Australia, Feb. 7, 2017. (Xinhua/Zhu Hongye) VIENTIANE, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- The Lao Ministry of Finance and the World Bank (WB) on Tuesday signed a 25-million-U.S. dollar agreement to improve road maintenance and connectivity in the Southeast Asian country. The Lao Road Sector II Project is part of the country's national program to build climate resilient roads and infrastructure. Speaking at the signing ceremony in the Lao capital Vientiane, Lao Minister of Public Works and Transport Bounchanh Sinthavong said: "With this new agreement, people in rural areas will benefit from more reliable roads throughout the year." The Road Sector II Project will support road maintenance work in six poor provinces that are highly vulnerable to floods, landslides and other natural disasters. It will provide year-round access to basic services, schools and markets for around 1.6 million people. Enditem Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi (L) and his Australian counterpart Julie Bishop meet the press after the two countries' fourth round of diplomatic and strategic dialogue in Canberra, Australia, Feb. 7, 2017. Foreign ministers of China and Australia called for further strengthening of bilateral ties here on Tuesday. (Xinhua/Zhu Hongye) CANBERRA, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Tuesday called for expediting the talks of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) for the construction of a Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific (FTAAP). China is open to any regional trade arrangement conducive to regional economic integration and global free trade system, Wang told a press conference after the fourth round of China-Australia diplomatic and strategic dialogue. As for various regional or sub-regional cooperation mechanisms in the Asia-Pacific, some are thriving while others are faltering, such as the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), he said. Wang stressed that practice on the ground has showed that any regional cooperation should take into consideration the needs for economic development rather than political factors. "Either the RCEP or TPP or other regional arrangements is a possible path to the broader FTAAP," Wang said. The top Chinese diplomat urged relevant parties, including Australia, to make joint efforts to conclude the RCEP negotiations at an early date so as to contribute to achieving the common goal of building the FTAAP. Launched in November 2012, the RCEP talks involve 10 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and its six major trading partners - China, Japan, South Korea, India, New Zealand and Australia - with an aim of facilitating expansion of regional trade and investment. Enditem MOSCOW, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- Syrian government troops supported by Russian warplanes have successfully eliminated Islamic State targets and liberated a large territory, a Russian military official said Tuesday. "Since start of the year, 4,608 terrorist facilities have been destroyed," the chief of the Russian General Staff Main Operational Directorate Lt. Gen. Sergei Rudskoy said at a news briefing in Moscow. He said Syrian government troops had expelled IS militants from 35 settlements in the northern province of Aleppo and liberated more than 300 square km of territory. Russia's Tu-22M3 long-range bombers have destroyed 34 terrorist targets near the eastern city of Deir Ezzor, thus "undermining their combat readiness and demoralizing their detachments," Rudskoy said. Russia has cut the number of airstrikes and withdrawn the majority of its troops since December when it brokered a cessation of hostilities in Syria, but Rudskoy said the country's air force will continue to support anti-terrorist missions. Earlier on Tuesday, some media said that "what were believed to be Russian jets" killed at least 15 people and wounded many others in an offensive against the terrorist-held Syrian city of Idlib. Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Maj. General Igor Konashenkov denied the report, saying that no Russian aircraft has attacked Idlib since the beginning of 2017. LAGOS, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- Nigeria's para-military Tuesday said ten people were killed in a clash between two groups of illegal miners in Plateau State. Naomi Cishak, spokesman of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defense Corps (NSCDC), said a fight ensued after miners from Gero area of the state arrived at a lucrative mining spot around their village, but met miners from Bassa area already at the site. The NSCDC official confirmed that normalcy had been restored to the area after the clash. Meanwhile, the state government has described the incident as "very sad", and advised illegal miners to stay away from the fields. Enditem Sorry, this news has been deleted. GENEVA, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- In light of the "horrendous conditions and rising risks" in Yemen, the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) launched a campaign on Tuesday to highlight the dangers of crossing the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea for African migrants and refugees seeking to reach the war-torn country. "Many were lured by smugglers to take the perilous boat journey across the high seas in search of protection or better livelihood prospects," the UN body said in a statement. "UNHCR is alarmed that so many people are heading to a country where the conflict is worsening, displacement is growing, and arrivals face an uncertain future," it added. According to figures, over 117,000 arrivals were recorded in Yemen last year, despite what UNHCR's Middle East and North Africa Director, Amin Awad, called a "humanitarian catastrophe" prevailing in the Arab nation. Ravaged by war since March 2015, some 7,100 people have been killed as a result of conflict between warring factions. A further 44,000 have been injured and more than two million displaced. UNHCR also reminded that 19 million people in Yemen were in need of humanitarian assistance. The refugee agency's campaign was launched with the help of prominent musicians from the region who composed a song highlighting the dangers of crossing to Yemen. "Their song carries the message that the sea crossing can be deadly and, referring to often ruthless smugglers, it urges people to think hard before they leave," UNHCR concluded. SKOPJE, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- The European Union (EU) is looking forward to the creation of Macedonia's new government as soon as possible, EU Ambassador to the country Samuel Zbogar told reporters on Tuesday. According to the ambassador, EU wants the new government to focus and advance Macedonia's EU integration process given that EU integration enjoys the support of all political parties in the country. "We can see that all political parties support the EU agenda and we believe that exactly this agenda could be the core that could bring together all political parties in the country," Zbogar said. He added that given the EU agenda would always need broad political support of both ruling and opposition parties, Macedonia needed a strong government to work on implementing the EU agenda. EU enlargement commissioner Johannes Hahn is scheduled to visit Macedonia soon to define how the EU can further support the country. VILNIUS, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- Deployment of NATO forces in Lithuania and other Baltic states indicates that the Alliance remains united, Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaite said Tuesday. She was speaking after greeting the first troops from the NATO enhanced forward presence (EFP) battalion at the country's Rukla Training Regiment. "Lithuania has never had allies of this scale and integrity. This deployment sends the clear and important signal that NATO remains strong and united organization," Grybauskaite was quoted as saying by local media. The NATO EFP troops alongside with rotational NATO troops were also welcomed by German and Lithuanian defense ministers Ursula von der Leyen and Raimundas Karoblis. EFP troops from Germany, Belgium, and the Netherlands in Lithuania took part in the ceremony in Rukla. They were joined by U.S. and Czech rotational troops deployed for training period in Lithuania, and soldiers representing different units of the Lithuanian Armed Forces. The EFP battalion in Lithuania is led by Germany. In 2017-2018, the 1,200-strong battalion will be manned by Germany and with several contributing nations. The decision to establish an EFP battalion to the Baltic States and Poland was taken at the NATO Summit in Warsaw in June 2016. NATO heads of state and governments adopted the decision in response to the Ukrainian crisis and the changing geopolitical situation. Allied battalions will be also deployed to other countries of the region, news agency Elta reports. High-readiness multinational units will arrive in Poland in March, in Estonia in April and Latvia in June. They will be led by the United States, Britain and Canada respectively. Some 4,000 troops and equipment from the United States have been stationed in Poland on a bilateral basis to rotate in the three Baltic States. KUNMING, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- China and Myanmar on Tuesday held a new round of diplomacy and defense consultations, and agreed to have close communication on the situation in northern Myanmar and maintain peace and stability in the border area between the two countries. The talks were co-chaired by Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Liu Zhenmin and Deputy Chief of the Joint Staff Department of the Central Military Commission Shao Yuanming from the Chinese side, and Minister of State of Foreign Affairs U Kyaw Tin and Chief of the No.1 Special Operations Bureau of the Tatmadaw Tun Tun Naung from the Myanmar side. According to a press release issued by China's Foreign Ministry, China expects relevant parties in Myanmar to exercise restraint and realize a cease-fire in the northern Myanmar area as soon as possible, so as to keep peace and stability in the China-Myanmar border area. The Myanmar side expressed the will to stabilize the situation in norther Myanmar and continue to push forward domestic peace process. Myanmar also expressed gratitude to China's help in this regard, and welcomed China to play its due role in a constructive way. Data showed that the conflicts in the norther Myanmar region had impacts on border trade between Myanmar and China, as well as peace and stability. Border trade between Myanmar's northern Shan state and China dropped over 210 million U.S. dollars as of Nov. 25 in the 2016-2017 fiscal year due to military conflicts, according to the Myanmar Ministry of Commerce. DAMASCUS, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said a cooperation between Russia and the United States would be positive, not only for Syria, but the entire world as well, state news agency SANA reported on Tuesday. Speaking to Belgium reporters in Damascus, Assad said the remarks of U.S. President Donald Trump were "promising," as Trump regarded the war on terror, mainly the Islamic State (IS) group, in his presidential campaign, while also noted that it's still too soon to judge such remarks. He said that prioritizing fighting terror as mentioned by Trump was what the Syrian government has been calling for since the beginning of the war in Syria six years ago. Assad's remarks came as President Trump has made clear in his campaign that he would cooperate with Russia in the war on terror, but that hasn't been materialized yet, at least publicly. Russia also seems to favor Trump over his processor, pertaining to the need to put an end to the growing threat of the terror-designated groups in Syria. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Tuesday that his country believes that the efforts of the Trump administration in fighting terrorism will be more efficient than that of former President Barack Obama. For his part, Assad pointed out "two components" for peace, the first is fighting terrorism and halting all support to it, and the second is the intra-Syrian talks to determine the future of the country. As for his presidency, Assad said that the Syrians can choose their president through the ballot boxes and by the constitution, adding that if the Syrian people are to choose another president, "I will be out of this post." He said the Assad dynasty, which ruled Syria for 46 years, doesn't own the country, adding that his presidency wasn't inherited, or predetermined by his late father, former President Hafez Assad. He stressed that he was elected and that "could be a coincidence." Meanwhile, the president renewed accusations of the Western countries, mainly Britain and France, for supporting the "terrorist" groups in Syria. BELGRADE, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- Serbia made a first step towards a new population policy on Tuesday as an agreement was signed to break the negative demographic trend and try to boost childbirth in the country. The agreement, signed by and between minister Slavica Djukic Dejanovic and Marko Cadez, president of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Serbia, foresees research conducted by the chamber to gather opinions and suggestions of 5,000 Serbian employees on how to harmonize work and parenting and create more a favorable climate for parents that would, in turn, lead to more childbirths. A statement from the Serbian government read that research was the initial step towards defining Serbia's new population policy in order to break the negative trend that started back in the mid-20th century when "every year Serbia loses a population equal to a town of around 36,000 people." Djukic Dejanovic warned that the negative demographic trend and the aging population would result in a weakened labor force and added that the agreement with the chamber was the first formal step towards improving the birth rate with the ultimate aim of harmonizing work and parenting. "The current legal procedure that has been decently established already, needs to be implemented more intensively in different business entities to make parents more satisfied and efficient in their work process," she concluded. According to the statement, Cadez said population policy was the foundation of economic progress. Cadez also warned that the population was more than 40 years old on average and was becoming less capable of working. "This research is only the beginning of our work together as well as with numerous companies in order to realize and implement existing measures as well as to bring improvements," Cadez explained, reminding that the conflict between work and parenting was not unique to Serbia, but rather a universal problem that existed across Europe. The statement said the chamber would test the situation in companies and see whether it was possible to implement new measures that would benefit parents because, as Cadez said, "the aim of an employer is to have a satisfied worker." Enditem Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi (L) shakes hands with Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull in Canberra, Australia, Feb. 7, 2017. Visiting Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi met with Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull here on Tuesday. (Xinhua/Zhu Hongye) CANBERRA, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- Visiting Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi met with Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull here on Tuesday. Turnbull, during the meeting, praised Chinese President Xi Jinping's important speech at the 2017 annual meeting of the World Economic Forum, which made a strong case for advancing globalization and rejecting protectionism. Turnbull said Australia, as an advocate and a beneficiary of the free trade, would go against protectionism side by side with China. He also vowed to promote the comprehensive strategic partnership between China and Australia to a new level. Wang said China and Australia should jointly send a clear message to the world to build an open world economy, safeguard the international trade mechanism and reject protectionism. He called for the two countries to enhance bilateral dialogues and cooperations and promote their trade ties. CANBERRA, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said Tuesday that outsider countries should support efforts to safeguard peace and stability in South China Sea instead of doing the opposite. Those countries directly concerned have been back "on the right track" to resolve the South China Sea issue through dialogue and consultation, Wang told a press conference after the fourth round of China-Australia diplomatic and strategic dialogue. "So in this sense, we have attached great importance to the recent statement made by U.S. Defense Secretary James Mattis, stressing diplomatic efforts to resolve the dispute over South China Sea," said Wang. "It's not only the position taken by China and the ASEAN countries, but also a right choice for outsider countries," he added. When asked what the message China would like to send to the United States over the South China Sea issue, Wang suggested that the United States review the Word War II history. "It's with the aid of the United States that the Chinese government of that day recovered the Nansha Islands in 1946 publicly and legally," he said. Wang said China will always adhere to a peaceful approach, based on historical facts and international law, to resolve the South China Sea issue through dialogue and consultation with the directly concerned countries. Smoke rises over the rebel-held area of Ain Tarma, eastern countryside of Damascus, capital of Syria, on Feb. 7, 2017. At least 20 airstrikes targeted rebel-held areas in the eastern countryside of the capital Damascus on Tuesday, leaving unknown losses, a monitor group reported. (Xinhua/Ammar Safarjalani) DAMASCUS, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- At least 20 airstrikes targeted rebel-held areas in the eastern countryside of the capital Damascus on Tuesday, leaving unknown losses, a monitor group reported. The airstrikes targeted the rebel bastions of Jobar and Arbeen in the Eastern Ghouta region east of Damascus, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. The London-based watchdog group said the airstrikes were coupled with intense battles between the Syrian army and the rebel fighters in that part of the capital. Still, the reasons behind the eruption of the battles and airstrikes were unknown, as that front has remained largely calm since a Turkish-Russian-sponsored ceasefire went into force on Dec. 30. The sound of warplanes and the strikes were clearly heard in Damascus on Tuesday, and the rebels fired many mortar shells on the capital, one of which slammed near the Faculty of Law in central Damascus, with losses remained unknown. KATHMANDU, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- The member states of the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) on Tuesday agreed to conclude the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) at a earliest date. The 17th session of the BIMSTEC Senior Officials' Meeting (SOM) that concluded here on Tuesday made a decision in this regard in view of promoting and enhancing mutual trade and economic cooperation in the BIMSTEC region. "BIMSTEC member states will hold further negotiations to sign the FTA as early as possible," said Foreign Secretary of Nepal Shanker Das Bairagi. The meeting discussed a number of regional issues including connectivity, trade, tourism, investment, counter-terrorism, energy and technology transfer, he told the media. "Nepal proposed to host the fourth BIMSTEC summit in Kathmandu by the end of this year. We will finalize exact dates for holding the BIMSTEC summit based on consensus among other member states," Bairagi said. The BIMSTEC member states reached a consensus on the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding for the establishment of the BIMSTEC Grid Interconnection to enhance cooperation in the field of energy. The meeting has entrusted the Eminent Persons' Group to work out a roadmap for future directions of the BIMSTEC in line with the UN Sustainable Development Agenda 2030. High-ranking officials from the BIMSTEC member states, namely, Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Bhutan and Nepal, attended the meeting. The BIMSTEC, founded in 1997 through the Bangkok Declaration, is a regional bloc in South Asia that works on 14 sectors including trade and investment, technology, energy, transportation and communication. BUDAPEST, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- The first two trains carrying Chinese cargo containers, launched by China COSCO Shipping Group, arrived in the Hungarian capital, the Economic and Commercial Counselor's Office of the Chinese Embassy in Hungary said Tuesday. The shipments arrived here on Jan. 29 and Feb. 5, respectively, from the port of Piraeus, Greece, marking the official opening of the China-Europe land-sea fast intermodal transport route. This took place after the acquisition of the Piraeus port by COSCO Group. The goods transported by the two trains were mainly furniture, with the containers completing their routes from the Chinese Ningbo port by sea to Piraeus, and from port by rail to Budapest, in 26 days. More than 20 containerized goods will return to Piraeus with the two trains. The China-Europe land-sea fast intermodal transport route uses the same path as the planned China-Europe Land-Sea Express Route. The latter was started in 2014 by China and three Central and Eastern European countries, who agreed to build a land-sea express passage way linking the Piraeus port and Hungary to speed-up transportation between China and Europe. As a flagship project, the modernization of the Budapest-Belgrade railway is expected to achieve substantial progress this year. The completion of the project will strongly support the China-Europe land-sea fast transport, promote Chinese goods, and enable a faster access to European markets, the Chinese Embassy said. ARUSHA, Tanzania, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- Tanzania is finalizing the process of forming an authority for controlling narcotics, a senior official said Tuesday. Jenista Mhagama, Minister of State in the Prime Minister's Office in charge of policy, parliamentary affairs, labor, employment, youth and the disabled affairs, described the drugs as a real problem that demands vigorous curbing measures. "All the regulations and structure of the authority are ready. We are only waiting for the appointment of the Commissioner to lead the authority," the minister told the National Assembly in the capital Dodoma. According to the minister, the Tanzanian government has allocated 1,1 million U.S. dollars for operations of the anti-drugs unit. Last Thursday, the Tanzanian government launched the ongoing anti-drugs crackdown, which has seen the arrest of 112 suspected drugs abusers and dealers. Tanzania ranked third behind Mexico and the United States in the quantities of impounded narcotics over the years. According to the International Narcotics Control Strategy Report (INCSR) in 2015, Tanzania is a significant transit country for illicit drugs, including cocaine and heroin, with a growing domestic user population. Tanzanian drug trafficking organizations and courier networks operate globally with cells throughout Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe and the Americas. Enditem A tank from the Ukrainian Forces is stationed outside a building in the flashpoint eastern town of Avdiivka that sits just north of insurgent-controlled Donetsk on Febraury 2, 2017.(AFP Photo) KIEV, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- Ukraine may impose martial law if the crisis in the country's eastern regions deepens, Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin said late Monday. "Regarding the martial law -- if the security situation deteriorates further, I do not rule out its introduction," Klimkin said in a televised interview. He added that martial law is a necessary option during armed conflicts, and that some countries are dealing with wars without that option. The comments came as tensions between government troops and independence-seeking insurgents escalated this month, bringing new casualties. In the past day, two combatants from both sides were killed and two others wounded. A 15-year-old died after he was caught in the crossfire between the confronting sides. Last week, Kiev said the introduction of martial law was not under consideration. The conflict between government troops and rebels in eastern Ukraine has been raging since April 2014, claiming some 10,000 lives. ADDIS ABABA, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- Ethiopia's parliament on Tuesday approved a 250-million-U.S.-dollar loan agreement made with China's Export-Import (Exim) Bank to finance major infrastructure construction in the country. The loan agreement, already approved by the Ethiopian House of Peoples' Representatives, the lower house, would finance supply and construction of 400-kv power transmission projects of Genale Dawa III-Yirgalem II-Wolayita Sodo II-Hawassa II in the southern part of Ethiopia. The agreement, signed in December in China, is composed of two major parts: 195 million dollars for building the transmission line and the remaining about 54 million dollars for undertaking major substation parts of the project. The Ethiopian Electric Power and China Engineering Corporation Limited have entered into agreement for Genale Dawa III-Yirgalem II-Wolayita Sodo II-Hawassa II back in September 2014, and another supplementary contract agreement a year after the first agreement. Enditem TEHRAN, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Tuesday shrugged off what he called the U.S. "threats" against the Islamic republic, the official website of the supreme leader reported. The Iranians are not afraid of the threats of the new U.S. President Donald Trump and his threats would not frighten Iran, said Khamenei. The United States has never ceased its enmity against the Iranian people over the past 38 years following the victory of the revolution, he said as the Iranians are preparing to celebrate the anniversary of the establishment of Islamic republic on Feb. 10. "Iran would not be crippled by the enemies" and the Iranians would respond to these threats in the nationwide rallies to be held on Feb. 10, he added. The United States on Friday announced sanctions on multiple entities and individuals involved in Iran's ballistic missile program and providing support to a military force in Iran. The move came days after Iran launched a ballistic missile test, which drew a stern warning from Washington. The U.S. Treasury Department said in a statement that the action reflects the U.S. commitment to enforcing sanctions on Iran with respect to its ballistic missile program and "destabilizing" activities in the region. The United States also announced that it officially put Iran "on notice" over Tehran's recent missile launch and an attack against a Saudi vessel by Iran-supported Houthi militants. In a reaction, Iranian officials unanimously called the missile test "inalienable right" of the country to boost deterrent power and Iran vowed to counteract the fresh U.S. sanctions. On Monday, Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Qasemi said that the U.S. government has adopted "hostile and threatening" policies towards Iran. In the meantime, Russia and China opposed the U.S. sanctions against Iran. On Monday, China lodged representations to the United States over the latest sanctions against Iran which involve Chinese companies and individuals. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lu Kang made the remarks at a routine press briefing. "China always opposes any unilateral sanctions, especially when they harm the interests of a third party," Lu said, adding such sanctions are "not helpful" to promote mutual trust and solve global issues. Besides, Moscow regretted the imposition of new sanctions by the United States on Iran after the latter's missile test, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov said Monday. Iran's recent missile test did not violate the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action or the UN Security Council resolution urging the Islamic Republic to drop nuclear-capable missile activities, Ryabkov was quoted as saying by the RIA Novosti news agency. He added that the existing mechanism ensuring the peaceful nature of Iran's nuclear program is implemented without "specific problems." In the reports released here on Tuesday, Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif also dismissed the threats by the new U.S. President Donald Trump to reconsider the 2015 agreement which put an end to the disputes over Iran's nuclear issue. Zarif said that the Iranian nuclear deal, known as JCPOA, is an international deal and its renegotiation is not acceptable, Tehran Times daily reported on Tuesday. "I believe (U.S. President Donald) Trump may try to renegotiate the nuclear deal," Zarif said, adding that "It's clear that neither Iran nor Europe will accept a re-examination of the deal. So, we have difficult days ahead." Iran and six major world powers reached an agreement on the former's disputed nuclear program in July 2015, which was implemented in January last year. Based on the agreement, Iran agreed to scale back its nuclear activities to a considerable degree in return for the lift of western and international sanctions. Trump has criticized the deal, as a pact of "disaster" or "the worst deal ever negotiated" and has vowed to renegotiate the accord. Going back on the deal is impossible as it is not a bilateral agreement between Iran and the United States, Zarif was quoted as saying. Any review of the agreement, endorsed by the United Nations Security Council, will face resistance from the international community as well, he said. GENEVA, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- Migrant arrivals in Europe in the first 36 days of this year was much lower than a year ago, but the fatality count paints a very different picture, data revealed on Tuesday. According to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), 255 men, women and children have drowned while crossing the Mediterranean Sea since the start of the year, not far short of the 2016 count of 380 deaths over the same period. Most deaths this year (228) have been documented on the central Mediterranean Sea route between North Africa and Italy. Additional 27 individuals have lost their lives on western and eastern Mediterranean passages. A total of 11,010 migrants and refugees have reached Europe by sea through Feb. 5 this year, significantly lower than over 74,800 arrivals in the first 36 days of 2016. IOM statistics revealed that most of this year's maritime arrivals (9,359) were documented in Italy, with the rest landing in Greece (1,651). LAGOS, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- The Nigerian Senate on Tuesday confirmed the receipt of President Muhammadu Buhari's letter to extend his 10-day vacation in Britain. Spokesperson of the senate Aliyu Sabi who made this known to reporters in Abuja, the nation's capital, said the letter did not specify when the president would return to the country. "We are also in receipt of a second letter informing us that he is extending his vacation because in the course of the routine checkup, his doctors recommended more checkups," he added. The senate would deliberate on the letter upon resumption on Feb. 21, the spokesperson said. Buhari left Abuja for Britain on Jan. 19 on a short leave, which is part of his annual vacation. The Nigerian leader formally handed over mantle of leadership of the country to Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo. Acting President Osinbajo has since been performing the functions of the Office of the President as stipulated in the nation's constitution. Enditem LAGOS, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- The Nigerian Army on Tuesday said it would continue to protect the territorial integrity of the country against any threat. Chief of Defense Staff (CDS) Gabriel Olonisakin, who said this in Abuja, added that the security of the nation could not be compromised for whatever reasons. He told his audience that the military was ever ready to deal with any threat from any quarters. Olonisakin also promised that the military would try its best to re-introduce forest guards in order to get rid of miscreants and other criminal elements. He commended the military for their efforts so far in tackling insurgency in the North-East and militancy springing up in the Niger Delta Region and other parts of the country. Enditem File photo of UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres (Xinhua) UNITED NATIONS, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Tuesday said that he "deeply regrets" that Israel adopted a bill late Monday that would retroactively legalize Jewish settlements on privately owned Palestinian land. He stressed that "the bill is in contravention of international law and will have far reaching legal consequences for Israel." The secretary-general deeply regrets the adoption of the so called "Regularisation bill" on 6 February by the Knesset -- the Israeli legislature, UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said at a daily news briefing here. The spokesman added that "it reportedly provides immunity to settlements and outposts in the occupied West Bank that were built on privately-owned Palestinian land." "The secretary-general insists on the need to avoid any actions that would derail the two-state solution," which is widely backed by the international community to bring lasting peace between the Israelis and Palestinians, the spokesman said while reading a prepared statement. He said "all core issues should be resolved between the parties through direct negotiations on the basis of relevant Security Council resolutions and mutual agreements." "The United Nations stands ready to support this process," the statement said. The United Nations is part of the Middle East Quartet, which also groups Russia, the European Union and the United States in search of the two-state solution, which means a secure Israel to live in peace with an independent State of Palestine. In answer to a reporter's question on the Knesset bill being subject to judicial review and that it could be ruled unconstitutional, Dujarric responded, "obviously, we will look at the process as it moves forward and felt it was important to express our opinion now." Just hours before the Israeli adoption of the bill on Monday, the UN Middle East envoy expressed his concern about the scheduled vote by the Israeli legislative body. "I am concerned by the scheduled vote on the so-called 'Regularisation Bill' as it would enable the continued use of privately-owned Palestinian land for Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank," the UN special coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, Nickolay Mladenov, said in a statement. The Israeli bill would legalize about 4,000 homes in unauthorized outposts across the West Bank -- many consisting of little more than rusting mobile homes hastily towed to the sites -- that were built on land privately owned by Palestinians, and offers the landowners compensation. The State of Israel would seize the lands, offering compensations or alternative land to the landowners, even if they do not agree to waive their property. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was under heavy pressure from his ultra-nationalist coalition partners to bring the bill to vote following last week's court order demolition of the illegal outpost of Amona. The evacuation triggered anger among the settlers. These outposts were erected by ultra-right settlers without permits from the Israeli authorities but the governments often have turned a blind eye to their construction. There are additional 120 settlements that Israel considered as legal. Both outposts and settlements are illegal under international law as they were built on lands occupied by Israel in the 1967 Mideast War, where the Palestinians wish to build their future state. JOHANNESBURG, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- The Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) closed higher on Tuesday ahead of President Jacob Zuma's state of the nation address. Strength in the industrial, financial and food and drug retailers and banking indices pushed the JSE up. The all share was 0.36 percent higher at 52,181.91 points while top-40 index gained 0.03 percent to 45,366.88 points. Industrials lost 0.17 percent. The gold index was up 0.91 percent and platinums gained 1.42 percent; resources gained 0.48 percent and banks gained 0.84 percent. Sasol eased 1.67 percent to R386.5. In golds, Harmony rose 4.77 percent to R37.31. Impala Platinum added 3.19 percent to R53.33 while Anglo American Platinum gained 1.02 percent to R223.9. Firstrand Bank rose 1.02 percent to R49.7 and Standard Bank 0.28 percent to R141.02. Sanlam fell 1.06 percent to R61.74. Enditem UNITED NATIONS, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations on Tuesday condemned a suicide attack outside the Afghan Supreme Court in the capital city of Kabul, saying "such despicable acts must face justice." Earlier on Tuesday, at least 13 people have been confirmed dead and 25 others injured as a suicide bomber blew himself up next to the gate of the Supreme Court. No group has so far claimed responsibility for the deadly attack. UN Spokesperson Stephane Dujarric told a daily briefing that "indiscriminate attacks against civilians, including employees of the judicial institutions, are violations of human rights and international humanitarian law and cannot be justified." "We express our condolences to the families of the victims and convey our solidarity to the Government and people of Afghanistan," said Dujarric. Polish Prime Minister Beata Szydlo (R) shakes hands with German Chancellor Angela Merkel during a press conference in Warsaw, Poland, on Feb. 7, 2017. Polish Prime Minister Beata Szydlo and German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Tuesday discussed respective visions for the future of EU on Tuesday. (Xinhua/Shi Zhongyu) WARSAW, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- Polish Prime Minister Beata Szydlo and German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Tuesday discussed respective visions for the future of EU on Tuesday. "Poland and Germany are two important countries which cooperate with each other. We want to deepen this partnership cooperation," Szydlo said in a press conference following a meeting with Merkel. Szydlo said a good partnership between Poland and Germany was essential for the success of the European project. Szydlo expressed gratitude to Germany for its commitment to implementing the resolutions of last year's Warsaw NATO summit. "Reinforcing NATO's eastern flank is extremely important from the point of view of security in our region of Europe, but also from the point of view of global security," Szydlo said. Underling caution when it comes to any changes in the EU treaty, Merkel said she partly shared Szydlo's ideas regarding the internal market, energy union, defense and border protection. "The European Union needs unity and consistency in relations with the United States. Good transatlantic relations are in the vital interests of Europe," Szydlo said. Both leaders opted for prolongation of sanctions against Russia, claiming that the Minsk agreement has not been fulfilled. Szydlo also said the planned Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline between Russia and Germany was unacceptable to Poland. Poland, together with the Baltic states and Ukraine, are against the Nord Stream 2 pipeline project. The planned pipeline aims to deliver 55 billion cubic meters of gas a year from Russia to Germany, but would not lead through the territory of the opposing countries. LUSAKA, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- The Zambian government said Tuesday that the plan by the European Investment Bank (EIB) to set up an office in the country was a clear endorsement by Europe that Zambia was one of the best investment destinations in Africa. Minister of Finance Felix Mutati, who has just returned from a tour of some European countries to strengthen economic cooperation, said the European bank promised to set up an office in Zambia by the third quarter of 2017. According to him, the coming of the European bank will improve the country's credit-rating bench mark. The Zambian delegation held a seminar with the European bank during the visit to the EIB headquarters, during which EIB Deputy Director Patrick Walsh said significant progress will be made to establish an office in Zambia due to the bank's growing investment portfolio in the country. Zambia will become the 6th country in Africa to host an EIB country office after South Africa, Kenya, Ethiopia, Ivory Coast and Cameroon. Meanwhile the bank is in the process of arranging blend finance comprising loans and grants to Zambia totaling 320 million euros this year, the statement added. Enditem RIGA, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- Latvia and Russia can still expand bilateral cooperation though being at odds on some foreign policy issues, Latvian President Raimonds Vejonis said as he accredited new Russian Ambassador to Latvia Yevgeny Lukyanov on Tuesday. As neighbor countries, both Latvia and Russia can benefit from developing cultural, trade and transport cooperation, as well as combating illegal migration and organized crime together, the Latvian president told the incoming Russian ambassador. According to a statement released by the Latvian president's office, both Vejonis and Lukyanov agreed on the necessity to relaunch the work of the Latvian-Russian intergovernmental commission. Latvia plans to host a meeting of the intergovernmental panel in the first half of 2017, the president's spokesperson said. The officials also praised the performance of the Latvian-Russian border demarcation commission which last year completed the practical phase of the demarcation process. Lukyanov is taking over the ambassadorial office from Alexander Vesnyakov who had served as Russian Ambassador to Latvia since February 2008. ALGIERS, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- Algeria on Tuesday reaffirmed its commitment to support for the United Nations' peace process in war-torn Libya. Algerian Minister for Maghreb Affairs, African Union and Arab League, Abdelkader Messahel, received in his office in Algiers a Libyan delegation representing a coalition of Libyan political parties, led by Ali Bashir Zouik, according to a statement of the Algerian foreign ministry. The two parties discussed the latest political and security developments in Libya, the statement said, adding the meeting is part of Algeria's efforts aiming at promoting inter-Libyan dialogue. During the meeting, Messahel reiterated Algeria's commitment to continuing its support for the UN peace process aiming at solving the Libyan crisis. Messahel urged Libyan warrant parties to join an inclusive inter-Libyan dialogue, without any foreign interference. Libya has been hit by a civil war after the toppling of late leader Muammar Gaddafi in 2011. The collapse of the regime there transformed the country into a battlefield of different armed groups, including terrorists. The Libyan protagonists reached a shaky peace accord following UN-sponsored talks held in the Moroccan resort of Skhirat in December 2015, while a national unity government and a cabinet were established led by Prime Minister Fayez al-Seraj. Al-Seraj's top mission is to unite Libya's two warring parliaments to ultimately battle the fast-growing forces of the Islamic State. Libya now has two rival parliaments, namely the internationally recognized one, based in the eastern port city of Tobruk, and the General National Congress (GNC) based in capital city Tripoli supported by General Haftar. Enditem LONDON, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- The speaker of Britain's House of Commons John Bercow faced criticism from politicians Tuesday after his controversial speech expressing his opposition to U.S. President Donald Trump addressing parliament during his proposed state visit. As Bercow defended his stand, his colleague Lord Fowler, the Speaker of the House of Lords, said he was not consulted on Monday's comments. Fowler told the House of Lords that he would keep an open mind and consider any request for Trump to address parliament if and when it is made. He added: "I have spent the last 30 years campaigning against prejudice and discrimination, particularly for the rights of LGBT people and those with HIV/Aids." Fowler said the current procedure means Bercow or himself can effectively veto any proposal for a visiting leader to address the British parliament. "I think it is for parliament to consider whether there is a better way in which such decisions can be made," adding that for now the two speakers should try to reach a consensus on decisions made when future invitations are offered. Questioned in the Commons on Tuesday about his remarks, Bercow defended his stand telling MPs: "The House (of Commons) has always understood that the chair has a role in these matters. I was honestly and honorably seeking to discharge my responsibilities." Prime Minister Theresa May and 10 Downing Street have distanced themselves from the controversy surrounding Bercow's comment saying it was a matter for parliament. Some Conservative MPs have said Bercow should consider his position, but he has earned cross party support for his surprise speech expressing opposition to Trump addressing parliament. Betsy DeVos testifies before the Senate Health, Education and Labor Committee confirmation hearing to be next Secretary of Education on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., January 17, 2017. REUTERS/Yuri Gripas WASHINGTON, Feb.7 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Senate on Tuesday confirmed the nomination of Betsy DeVos for the Secretary of Education in an unprecedented 51-50 vote. "The Senate being equally divided, the vice president votes in the affirmative and the nomination is confirmed," Vice President Mike Pence said as he cast the deciding vote to clear DeVos for the cabinet position, becoming the first U.S. vice president to do so. The Republican Party holds 52 seats in the 100 seat chamber, but two Republican Senators, Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska said they cannot back DeVos, who vigorously promoted charter schools and the school voucher system, in which federal funding would go directly the the households of students, allowing them to choose whichever school to attend. The vote is the closest yet for a cabinet nominee of U.S. President Donald Trump, as Senators debated heatedly whether DeVos's vision is suitable for the country. "A vote for Ms. DeVos is a vote to destroy the public school system," Democratic Senator Tom Udall of New Mexico said. Other Senators questioned DeVos' competency to guide the country's education system, suggesting that her family background detached her from public realities. "For you to understand what it is like for students and families who are struggling to pay for college, have you ever taken out a student loan from the federal government?" Democrat Senator Elizabeth Warren asked DeVos during her confirmation hearing. DeVos said no and neither have her children. DeVos was nominated by Trump on Nov. 23 for the office of Secretary of Education, she is a Michigan native who has been a long-time donor for the Republican Party. United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres speaks to journalists at the UN headquarters in New York, Feb. 1, 2017. (Xinhua/Li Muzi) UNITED NATIONS, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Tuesday said that he "deeply regrets" that Israel adopted a bill late Monday that would retroactively legalize Jewish settlements on privately owned Palestinian land. He stressed that "the bill is in contravention of international law and will have far reaching legal consequences for Israel." The secretary-general deeply regrets the adoption of the so called "Regularisation bill" on 6 February by the Knesset -- the Israeli legislature, UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said at a daily news briefing here. The spokesman added that "it reportedly provides immunity to settlements and outposts in the occupied West Bank that were built on privately-owned Palestinian land." "The secretary-general insists on the need to avoid any actions that would derail the two-state solution," which is widely backed by the international community to bring lasting peace between the Israelis and Palestinians, the spokesman said while reading a prepared statement. He said "all core issues should be resolved between the parties through direct negotiations on the basis of relevant Security Council resolutions and mutual agreements." "The United Nations stands ready to support this process," the statement said. The United Nations is part of the Middle East Quartet, which also groups Russia, the European Union and the United States in search of the two-state solution, which means a secure Israel to live in peace with an independent State of Palestine. In answer to a reporter's question on the Knesset bill being subject to judicial review and that it could be ruled unconstitutional, Dujarric responded, "obviously, we will look at the process as it moves forward and felt it was important to express our opinion now." Just hours before the Israeli adoption of the bill on Monday, the UN Middle East envoy expressed his concern about the scheduled vote by the Israeli legislative body. "I am concerned by the scheduled vote on the so-called 'Regularisation Bill' as it would enable the continued use of privately-owned Palestinian land for Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank," the UN special coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, Nickolay Mladenov, said in a statement. The Israeli bill would legalize about 4,000 homes in unauthorized outposts across the West Bank -- many consisting of little more than rusting mobile homes hastily towed to the sites -- that were built on land privately owned by Palestinians, and offers the landowners compensation. The State of Israel would seize the lands, offering compensations or alternative land to the landowners, even if they do not agree to waive their property. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was under heavy pressure from his ultra-nationalist coalition partners to bring the bill to vote following last week's court order demolition of the illegal outpost of Amona. The evacuation triggered anger among the settlers. These outposts were erected by ultra-right settlers without permits from the Israeli authorities but the governments often have turned a blind eye to their construction. There are additional 120 settlements that Israel considered as legal. Both outposts and settlements are illegal under international law as they were built on lands occupied by Israel in the 1967 Mideast War, where the Palestinians wish to build their future state. ALGIERS, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- Algerian and Tunisian officials on Tuesday agreed on working to increase and optimize energy supply on the border areas of the two neighboring North African nations. The two nations held their bilateral energy committee in Algiers, as part of the visit of Tunisian Energy Minister Hela Cheikh Rouhou. The meeting focused on ways and means to boost energy interconnection network between the two nations, in a bid to increase electricity and supply to the border areas, said a statement of the Algerian Energy Ministry quoted by APS news agency. Earlier on Tuesday, the visiting Tunisian energy minister met with her Algerian counterpart Nourredine Bouterfa. Enditem OSLO, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- In the last academic year, there were about 270 primary and secondary students in Norway who did not participate in education due to chronic fatigue syndrome, or myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME), newspaper Aftenposted reported Tuesday. The statistics, delivered by Norwegian Ministry of Health and Care Service, refer to the cases in which the parents of the absent children named ME as the main reason for skipping school. Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Solberg has expressed deep concern that hundreds of children and young people lose education opportunities because they are affected by ME. Solberg said that there was a reason to believe that the numbers were higher because of the lack of reporting. "As a parliament member I met many patients with ME," she said, adding that many were sad and frustrated because they felt that the community did not take them seriously. The prime minister believed that ME affects entire families with vulnerable patients who have different needs. In total there were 1,877 absent students for more than three months in the previous school year. A total of 735 had other diagnosis than ME and 873 had unknown diagnosis. Solberg believed both young people and their families need a better service so that they do not fall out of school and education. "It is important that we learn more about the reason why they get sick and what can make them healthy again," she added. She said the government will give priority to three measures within the state budget: national and international research, close interaction during the treatment and better opportunity for nursing care through the new care benefit scheme. The Norwegian government has given 38 million kroner (4.57 million U.S. dollars) to a pilot project that will look at how it can be avoided that ME patients get lost in the system and can get diagnosis and proper follow-up as quickly as possible. Enditem SKOPJE, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- Macedonia is expected to invest 3 million euros (3.2 million U.S. dollars) in purchasing equipment that will enable fast detection of weather hazards, a minister said Tuesday. The equipment will arrive in Macedonia next month, Macedonian Minister of Agriculture Mihail Cvetkov told a press conference. According to him, such investment is crucial as the equipment will give authorities here indications over the trend of weather phenomena. "In this way, we will be able to know what to expect as well as give us the opportunity to take the appropriate measures," Cvetkov told reporters. He also said that Macedonia will join the common hydro meteorological software of regional countries, the so-called Southeast European Multi-Hazard Early Warning Advisory System. Enditem BRUSSELS, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- European Union (EU) foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini on Tuesday decried the newly-adopted Israeli bill which legalizes settlements built on Palestinian land in the West Bank, warning that the bill "crosses a dangerous threshold". "This law crosses a new and dangerous threshold by legalizing under Israeli law the seizure of Palestinian property rights and effectively authorizing the confiscation of privately owned Palestinian land in occupied territory," Mogherini said in a statement. She lashed out at Israel's parliament for legislating on the legal status of land within occupied territory, stressing that it's an issue beyond the parliament's jurisdiction. "Should it be implemented, the law would further entrench a one-state reality of unequal rights, perpetual occupation and conflict," she warned. "The EU urges the Israeli leadership to refrain from implementing the law and to avoid measures that further raise tensions and endanger the prospects for a peaceful solution to the conflict," she added. Israel's parliament on Monday passed a controversial law to retroactively legalize wildcat Jewish outposts built on private Palestinian lands, despite international condemnations and warnings that the law is unconstitutional. In a late-night session, the parliament approved the so-called "Regulation Bill" in a 60-52 vote. Under the new legislation, about 3,850 housing units in dozens of outposts built illegally on privately owned Palestinian lands would be retroactively legalized. The State of Israel would seize the lands, offering compensations or alternative land to the landowners, even if they do not agree to waive their property. CAIRO, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- The Israeli parliamentary approval of a law legalizing settlements in the West Bank undermines the two-state solution and obstructs peacemaking efforts between the Israeli and the Palestinian sides, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Tuesday. Earlier on Monday, the Knesset, Israel's parliament, approved the so-called "Regulation Bill" that retroactively legalizes about 3,850 housing units in dozens of outposts built illegally on privately owned Palestinian lands. "The bill is considered an establishment of the illegal status of settlements in violation of international laws and conventions as well as the UN Security Council's relevant resolutions," Egyptian Foreign Ministry's spokesman Ahmed Abu Zeid said in the statement. He added that such unilateral measures would obstruct the peacemaking efforts to revive the Middle East peace process and resume direct talks between the Palestinians and the Israelis, stressing "the right of the Palestinian people to establish their own state on their complete territories with East Jerusalem as its capital city." The move was also condemned by the Arab League that described the Israeli new law as "no more than a cover for stealing the lands and appropriating the properties of the Palestinians." In early December 2016, the Knesset initially approved a couple of controversial pro-settlement bills that are meant to retroactively legalize about 4,000 settlement homes as well as unauthorized Israeli outposts and to allow expropriation of more Palestinian lands in the West Bank. Over 400,000 Israeli settlers currently live in the West Bank and at least 200,000 others live in East Jerusalem, which the Palestinians see as the capital city of their future state. Israel is blamed by the international community for the deadlock of the peace process due to its settlement expansion policy that is rejected even by its strongest ally the United States. BERLIN, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- An influential German business leader on Tuesday criticized U.S. President Donald Trump for his protectionist policies, warning that it could trigger a global recession, according to Deutsche Presse-Agentur (DPA) reports. "By winning the election, Donald Trump has now got his dream business and sees the U.S. as his company," Anton F Boerner, head of the German Federation of Wholesalers, Foreign Trade and Services (BGA), was quoted as saying. "If the U.S. president's ideas for new trade barriers were to be implemented, in particular against China, it would have a catastrophic effect on the export-oriented German economy as well as for our country," Boerner said. As a result, a global recession would be inevitable, he said. Boerner indicated that Germany should consider new alliances with nations in Asia, Latin America and Canada to offset the negative effect resulting from Trump's policies. "We must be hard and self-assured, which is the only thing that impresses Trump the entrepreneur," he added. UNITED NATIONS, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) on Tuesday launched a major campaign to spread awareness about the dangers of crossing the Gulf of Aden and Red Sea from Africa to Yemen, a UN spokesman told reporters here. More than 117,000 refugees and migrants arrived in Yemen in 2016, UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said at a daily news briefing here. "Many were lured by smugglers to take the perilous boat journey across the high seas in search of protection or better livelihood prospects," the spokesman said. "UNHCR is alarmed that so many people are heading to a country where the conflict is worsening, displacement is growing, and arrivals face a very uncertain future," he said. "It's a humanitarian catastrophe inside Yemen," said Amin Awad, the UNHCR Middle East and North Africa director. "We have to speak out. UNHCR cannot sit by while so many people, mainly young, board smugglers' boats after making uninformed decisions about Yemen and the desperate and dangerous situation there." UNHCR has launched the campaign with the help of prominent musicians from the region, led by singing star and former refugee Maryam Mursal, who have created a song with key messages to make people think very carefully before deciding to cross to Yemen. The country has been torn by war since March 2015 and an estimated 7,100 people have been killed, 44,000 injured, and more than two million displaced. Almost 19 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance. Although Yemen is a signatory to the 1951 Refugee Convention and its 1967 Protocol, UNHCR believes that war and insecurity mean conditions there are not conducive for asylum, the UN agency said in a press release. UNHCR has long been warning against the risk of crossings to Yemen. Prolonged conflict and insecurity facilitate the proliferation of criminal networks targeting new arrivals. Women and children are also at particular risk of sexual violence and trafficking. UNHCR has received reports of physical and sexual abuse, deprivation of food and water, abduction, extortion and forced labour by smugglers and criminal networks as well as arbitrary arrest, detention and deportation. For new arrivals seeking international protection, access to asylum systems in Yemen is extremely challenging and individuals may be unable to register their asylum applications or have their presence documented by the authorities, particularly in the north of the country, the press release said. Prevailing insecurity and war seriously restrict the ability of UNHCR and other humanitarian organizations to reach out to the population in need of humanitarian assistance. The song and video at the core of the multi-lingual campaign were created earlier this month in Cairo by Mursal and fellow musicians, Aarmaanta from Somalia, Yeshie Demalash, Dawit Nega and Tadele Roba from Ethiopia and Hany Adel from Egypt. They helped create the music, devise the messages and write the lyrics during a workshop with local musicians and refugees, including shipwreck survivors with harrowing tales. Their song carries the message that the sea crossing can be deadly and, referring to often ruthless smugglers, it urges people to think hard before they leave. The song and video will help spread the message through social media and other platforms. UNITED NATIONS, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- Thousands of children have been forced out of school in eastern Ukraine due to last week's surge in fighting, the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) said on Tuesday. At least five schools and two kindergartens have been damaged by heavy shelling and 11 other schools have had to close, according to humanitarian organisations supporting the emergency education response in Ukraine. More than 2,600 children from 13 schools in government-controlled areas in eastern Ukraine have been affected by the sharp escalation in fighting, along with hundreds more from schools in non-government controlled areas. In the town of Avdiivka, seven schools and kindergartens remained shut, with almost 1,400 children out of school. Families in Avdiivka and other villages in the area are afraid of sending their children to the schools that remain open, due to the heavy fighting and fears of unexploded ordnance in the streets. UNICEF and Save the Children strongly condemned the indiscriminate shelling of schools, and call for all sides to immediately recommit to the ceasefire signed in Minsk in August 2015. The organizations urge all parties to the conflict to respect international humanitarian law and ensure that schools and other civilian infrastructure are never attacked or in the line of fire. Michele Cecere, Save the Children's representative in Ukraine, said, "Schools being shelled has tragically become commonplace in this conflict. There are reports of large numbers of unexploded ordnance in the streets, putting children at enormous risk when going to school, even when they can reopen." "It's vital that children can get safely back to school as soon as possible so they don't miss out on any more learning," Cecere said. For his part, Giovanna Barberis, UNICEF's representative in Ukraine, said, "The shelling of schools, the one place where children find safety and normalcy during conflict, is unacceptable and has to stop." "Children in eastern Ukraine have suffered enough and we must ensure that they have safe spaces to seek solace and support," Barberis said. The latest closure of schools has worsened the ongoing education crisis already affecting more than 600,000 children in eastern Ukraine. After nearly three years of conflict, more than 740 school -- one in five -- have been damaged or destroyed, resulting in girls and boys missing many months of schooling due to displacement and the effects of conflict. According to the UN estimates, the 32-month-old conflict between government troops and pro-independence insurgents in eastern Ukraine left some 3.8 million people on both sides of the frontline in need of humanitarian assistance. Refugees and migrants are seen at the borderline between Greece and Macedonia in Idomeni, Greece, on March 19, 2016. (Xinhua/Marios Lolos) GENEVA, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- Migrant arrivals in Europe in the first 36 days of this year was much lower than a year ago, but the fatality count paints a very different picture, data revealed on Tuesday. According to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), 255 men, women and children have drowned while crossing the Mediterranean Sea since the start of the year, not far short of the 2016 count of 380 deaths over the same period. Most deaths this year (228) have been documented on the central Mediterranean Sea route between North Africa and Italy. Additional 27 individuals have lost their lives on western and eastern Mediterranean passages. A total of 11,010 migrants and refugees have reached Europe by sea through Feb. 5 this year, significantly lower than over 74,800 arrivals in the first 36 days of 2016. IOM statistics revealed that most of this year's maritime arrivals (9,359) were documented in Italy, with the rest landing in Greece (1,651). MEXICO CITY, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- Mexican government warned on Tuesday that Israel 's decision to continue expanding Jewish settlements in Palestinian territory will deal a big blow to any hopes for peaceful coexistence between the two peoples. "Mexico regrets the Israeli parliament's decision to approve a law that legalizes settlements built on private Palestinian land," the Foreign Ministry said in a statement. "Mexico reiterates that expanding Israeli settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem represents a major obstacle to the peace process, which should find a comprehensive solution based on the existence of two states, Israel and Palestine," the statement said. Mexico called on the Israeli lawmakers "to revert the decision and abide by the related United Nations resolutions, in particular Security Council resolution 2334." Earlier on Monday, the Israeli parliament approved the so-called "Regulation Bill" that retroactively legalizes about 3,850 housing units in dozens of outposts built illegally on privately owned Palestinian lands. Observers believe Israel has been emboldened by the apparent unconditional backing of the new U.S. president Donald Trump, who has even called for the U.S. embassy to Israel to be relocated from Tel Aviv to the disputable city of Jerusalem, a move that is expected to inflame tensions in the Middle East. MEXICO CITY, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- A shootout between Mexican soldiers and an armed gang on Tuesday morning in the city of Culiacan, capital of the western state of Sinaloa, left one soldier and five criminals dead, according to the state government. Sinaloa's prosecutor-general issued a statement, saying that the fight happened at around 3:40 a.m. local time, when the gang attacked an army patrol in the city's eastern area. The marines returned fire and killed five gang members, but one of their own soldier was killed, the statement revealed. Forensic investigators attending the scene found that the dead gang members were armed with AK-47 and AR-15 assault rifles, wearing bulletproof vests and carried spare ammunition clips. This clash makes the third in 10 days in Culiacan involving armed gangs, with a total of 12 dead, according to the official report. School graduates attend a celebration of the "Last Bell Call" at a school in Kiev, Ukraine, May 27, 2011. Some 190,000 school graduates celebrated "last bell call"on Friday in Ukraine, a celebration of their last day of school. (Xinhua/Valeriia Lashkul) UNITED NATIONS, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- Thousands of children have been forced out of school in eastern Ukraine due to last week's surge in fighting, the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) said on Tuesday. At least five schools and two kindergartens have been damaged by heavy shelling and 11 other schools have had to close, according to humanitarian organisations supporting the emergency education response in Ukraine. More than 2,600 children from 13 schools in government-controlled areas in eastern Ukraine have been affected by the sharp escalation in fighting, along with hundreds more from schools in non-government controlled areas. In the town of Avdiivka, seven schools and kindergartens remained shut, with almost 1,400 children out of school. Families in Avdiivka and other villages in the area are afraid of sending their children to the schools that remain open, due to the heavy fighting and fears of unexploded ordnance in the streets. UNICEF and Save the Children strongly condemned the indiscriminate shelling of schools, and call for all sides to immediately recommit to the ceasefire signed in Minsk in August 2015. The organizations urge all parties to the conflict to respect international humanitarian law and ensure that schools and other civilian infrastructure are never attacked or in the line of fire. Michele Cecere, Save the Children's representative in Ukraine, said, "Schools being shelled has tragically become commonplace in this conflict. There are reports of large numbers of unexploded ordnance in the streets, putting children at enormous risk when going to school, even when they can reopen." "It's vital that children can get safely back to school as soon as possible so they don't miss out on any more learning," Cecere said. For his part, Giovanna Barberis, UNICEF's representative in Ukraine, said, "The shelling of schools, the one place where children find safety and normalcy during conflict, is unacceptable and has to stop." "Children in eastern Ukraine have suffered enough and we must ensure that they have safe spaces to seek solace and support," Barberis said. The latest closure of schools has worsened the ongoing education crisis already affecting more than 600,000 children in eastern Ukraine. After nearly three years of conflict, more than 740 school -- one in five -- have been damaged or destroyed, resulting in girls and boys missing many months of schooling due to displacement and the effects of conflict. According to the UN estimates, the 32-month-old conflict between government troops and pro-independence insurgents in eastern Ukraine left some 3.8 million people on both sides of the frontline in need of humanitarian assistance. UNITED NATIONS, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- The UN political chief warned on Tuesday that the terrorist Islamic State is adapting to increasing military pressure by shifting to the "dark web." Jeffrey Feltman, the UN under-secretary-general for political affairs, made the remarks when he was briefing the UN Security Council on the UN chief's latest report on the threat posed by the IS to international peace and security. Feltman said that IS, also known as the ISIL or Daesh, is adapting in several ways to military pressure by resorting to increasingly covert communication and recruitment methods, including by using the "dark web," encryption and messengers. The report, circulated here on Monday, stressed that IS is on the defensive militarily in several regions. "Although its income and the territory under its control are shrinking, ISIL still appears to have sufficient funds to continue fighting," Feltman said. Feltman noted that ISIL relies mainly on income from extortion and hydrocarbon exploitation, even though resources from the latter are on the decline. UN member states are concerned that the ISIL will try to expand other sources of income, such as kidnapping for ransom, and increase its reliance on donations, he said. While the previous reports on the subject have focused on Southeast Asia, Yemen and East Africa, Libya and Afghanistan, the report, which is the fourth on this subject, zeroes in on Europe, North Africa and West Africa. It noted that the ISIL has conducted a range of attacks in Europe since declaring in 2014 its intent to target the region. Some of these attacks were directed and facilitated by ISIL personnel, while others were enabled by ISIL providing guidance or assistance or were inspired through its propaganda. While the military offensive in Libya has dislodged ISIL from its stronghold Sirte, the group' threat to Libya and neighbouring countries persists. Its fighters -- estimated to range from several hundred to 3,000 -- have moved to other parts of the north African country. The ISIL has increased its presence in West Africa and the Maghreb, though the group does not control significant amounts of territory in the region. The reported pledge of loyalty to the ISIL by a splinter faction of Al-Mourabitoun led by Lehbib Ould Ali may elevate the level of the threat. ISIL-affiliate Boko Haram is attempting to spread its influence and commit terrorist acts beyond Nigeria, and remains a serious threat, with several thousand fighters at its disposal. It is, however, plagued by financial difficulties and an internal power struggle, and has split in two factions, Feltman reported. While the latest UN report also noted some of the measures taken by member states and the United Nations, it stresses the need to develop sustained, coordinated responses to the grave threat posed by the ISIL and associated groups and entities. Feltman said that there are 19 universal counter-terrorism conventions and protocols, as well as related regional instruments on international terrorism, and relevant UN General Assembly and Security Council resolutions. "But we need to do more, as member states continue to face significant challenges to ensure effective international cooperation," he said, warning that foreign terrorist fighters leaving the conflict could pose a grave risk to their homeland or to the countries they are travelling to or transiting through, such as Iraq and Syria's neighbors, as well as countries in the Maghreb. "Ultimately, it is the spread and consolidation of peace, security, development and human rights that will most effectively deprive terrorism of the oxygen it needs to survive," he said. The ISIL has been reported to raise money by selling oil from captured production facilities in Libya and using the country to distribute money to other groups around the world. A report indicated in June 2016 that armed group has suffered setbacks in Syria and Iraq but is trying to use Libya to expand in Africa. Members of the forces loyal to Libya's Government of National Accord (GNA) take military operations in the coastal city of Sirte, some 450 km east of the capital Tripoli, Libya, on Nov. 21, 2016, during clashes with the Islamic State (IS) to recapture the city. (Xinhua/Hamza Turkia) UNITED NATIONS, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- The UN political chief warned on Tuesday that the terrorist Islamic State is adapting to increasing military pressure by shifting to the "dark web." Jeffrey Feltman, the UN under-secretary-general for political affairs, made the remarks when he was briefing the UN Security Council on the UN chief's latest report on the threat posed by the IS to international peace and security. Feltman said that IS, also known as the ISIL or Daesh, is adapting in several ways to military pressure by resorting to increasingly covert communication and recruitment methods, including by using the "dark web," encryption and messengers. The report, circulated here on Monday, stressed that IS is on the defensive militarily in several regions. "Although its income and the territory under its control are shrinking, ISIL still appears to have sufficient funds to continue fighting," Feltman said. Feltman noted that ISIL relies mainly on income from extortion and hydrocarbon exploitation, even though resources from the latter are on the decline. UN member states are concerned that the ISIL will try to expand other sources of income, such as kidnapping for ransom, and increase its reliance on donations, he said. While the previous reports on the subject have focused on Southeast Asia, Yemen and East Africa, Libya and Afghanistan, the report, which is the fourth on this subject, zeroes in on Europe, North Africa and West Africa. It noted that the ISIL has conducted a range of attacks in Europe since declaring in 2014 its intent to target the region. Some of these attacks were directed and facilitated by ISIL personnel, while others were enabled by ISIL providing guidance or assistance or were inspired through its propaganda. While the military offensive in Libya has dislodged ISIL from its stronghold Sirte, the group' threat to Libya and neighbouring countries persists. Its fighters -- estimated to range from several hundred to 3,000 -- have moved to other parts of the north African country. The ISIL has increased its presence in West Africa and the Maghreb, though the group does not control significant amounts of territory in the region. The reported pledge of loyalty to the ISIL by a splinter faction of Al-Mourabitoun led by Lehbib Ould Ali may elevate the level of the threat. ISIL-affiliate Boko Haram is attempting to spread its influence and commit terrorist acts beyond Nigeria, and remains a serious threat, with several thousand fighters at its disposal. It is, however, plagued by financial difficulties and an internal power struggle, and has split in two factions, Feltman reported. While the latest UN report also noted some of the measures taken by member states and the United Nations, it stresses the need to develop sustained, coordinated responses to the grave threat posed by the ISIL and associated groups and entities. Feltman said that there are 19 universal counter-terrorism conventions and protocols, as well as related regional instruments on international terrorism, and relevant UN General Assembly and Security Council resolutions. "But we need to do more, as member states continue to face significant challenges to ensure effective international cooperation," he said, warning that foreign terrorist fighters leaving the conflict could pose a grave risk to their homeland or to the countries they are travelling to or transiting through, such as Iraq and Syria's neighbors, as well as countries in the Maghreb. "Ultimately, it is the spread and consolidation of peace, security, development and human rights that will most effectively deprive terrorism of the oxygen it needs to survive," he said. The ISIL has been reported to raise money by selling oil from captured production facilities in Libya and using the country to distribute money to other groups around the world. A report indicated in June 2016 that armed group has suffered setbacks in Syria and Iraq but is trying to use Libya to expand in Africa. Attorney General Jeremy Wright (L, front) arrives at the British Supreme Court in London, Britain, Jan. 24, 2017. The British Supreme Court on Tuesday ruled on that Prime Minister Theresa May must consult Parliament before triggering formal negotiations on Britain leaving the European Union. (Xinhua/Han Yan) LONDON, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- Politicians at Westminster were told for the first time Tuesday that they would have a final vote on Britain's Brexit deal before it is sent to Brussels for EU approval. But the government's Brexit minister David Jones told the House of Commons that if London and Brussels cannot come to an agreement, Britain will fall back on other trading arrangements. Pressed further, Jones said: "If there were no agreement at all, which I think is an extremely unlikely scenario, ultimately we would be falling back on World Trade Organisation arrangements." Politicians in the Commons are discussing details of the government bill to pave the way for Prime Minister Theresa May to trigger the Article 50 process to kickstart Britain's departure from the European Union. Opposition members of parliament (MPs) have put forward a string of amendments in the hope of winning concessions from May's government in the Brexit process. One concession announced during Tuesday's session at Westminster came from Jones who said MPs and members of the House of Lords will be given a vote covering not only the EU withdrawal arrangements but also the future relationship with Brussels. "I can confirm that the government will bring forward a motion on the final agreement, to be approved by both Houses of Parliament before it is concluded. We expect and intend that this will happen before the European Parliament debates and votes on the final agreement," said Jones. Sir Keir Starmer, Labour's shadow Brexit secretary, said: "That is a huge and very important concession about the process that we are to embark on. What is significant is that it covers the Article 50 agreement and it covers any future relationship. That is the first time we have heard this. It is a very significant position by the Government." Starmer described the negotiations that will take place under Article 50 as the most difficult, complex and important for decades, arguably, since the Second World War. "Among other things, it is important that we ensure the best outcome for our economy and jobs, and the trading agreements. What that entails is very clear; we must have tariff-free and barrier-free access to the single market, regulatory alignment, and full access for services and goods." he said. After the Brexit bill has cleared its way through the House of Commons Wednesday night, it will go to the House of Lords for more debate. May is aiming to trigger Article 50 before the end of next month. MADRID, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy held a 15-minute phone conversation with U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday night, in which Rajoy said his country could act as an intermediary in U.S. relations with North Africa, Europe and Latin America, Spanish media reported. Following the conversation, Rajoy posted a tweet saying he had enjoyed a "cordial conversation" with Trump, "to continue strengthening our relationship. We are allies." The call, which took place at 09:45 p.m. Spanish time, is the second time the two leaders have spoken following an earlier conversation on Dec. 12. Speaking to the press earlier on Tuesday, Spanish government spokesman Inigo Mendez de Vigo advised that Rajoy would convey his intention to maintain "good relations" between Spain and the United States in an "important moment," in the world where it is important to "talk, listen and to look for agreement and solutions." "Spain and the United States are two important partners in the world and we have to have a good relationship as Spain is a protagonist in the European Union and we want them to count on us." Trump and Rajoy also exchanged opinions over the Islamic State, economic issues and security. Canadian investor wants ArcelorMittal The investor has been in talks with the Steel Workers Union of TT (SWUTT) in a bid to restart the operations to provide employment for some 2,000 workers who were laid off when ArcelorMittal folded last year. Newsday understands that on January 6, the investor wrote to Finance Minister Colm Imbert requesting a formal meeting with the Government to discuss a proposed joint partnership. However, the investor received no reply and took the proactive stance in coming to Trinidad to see what he could achieve. In his letter, the investor said his company had extensive discussions with SWUTT which guaranteed their cooperation for the success of this venture that will contribute to the recovery of this countrys economy and provide employment for those displaced when ArcelorMittal folded in March last year. The investor said, his company had done extensive research and recognised the need for specific essentials such as natural gas, water, electricity, and the use of port facilities to successfully operate the steel facility - utilities which are either owned by the government or in which it has shares. The investor said, he believes that the imposition of tariffs, relevant duties and the granting of concessions of essential utilities would be required to maximise profitability and protect the integrity and quality of steel products consumed in TT and the region. On the issue, SWUTT Chief Labour Relations Officer Timothy Bailey told Newsday that it would be disheartening if the investor was discouraged from investing locally. Bailey recalled that after the closure of ArcelorMittal, SWUTT was in talks with a number of investors to salvage the facilities at ArcelorMittal for workers who were laid off without any compensation.Bailey suggested that because of Governments lack of interest to hold discussions with the SWUTT on the proposal to operationalise ArcelorMittal facilities, some investors have stopped showing an interest. Late last year, SWUTT met with Government representatives at which additional information in relation to the investors and their sources of funding were requested. Bailey said, the information requested was provided during the first week in January. Subsequent to providing the information, Bailey noted that the Canadian investor indicated a willingness to travel to Trinidad to meet with Government officials. Bailey said, that apart from the investor requesting a meeting with Imbert, SWUTT also wrote to the Minister of Public Utilities, Minister of Trade, and Minister of Labour and Small and Micro Enterprise Development requesting meetings with them. SWUTT received a letter only acknowledging receipt on behalf of Labour Minister Jennifer Baptiste-Primus. Bailey said that SWUTT has followed up with phone calls and messages, but without success. It appears, he said, that Government does not want to entertain discussions on the investment and someone needs to say something. Politicians are talking about diversification and joint ventures, he said, and this was an opportune time for Government to take advantage of such an investment. On the other hand, Bailey said, there are rumours that Government was showing an interest in another company that has an interest in taking over one of the three main plants of ArcelorMittal. Taking over one without the two others, Bailey said, will not do justice to the majority of former ArcelorMittal employees and will start the canibalisation of ArcelorMittal facilities to benefit a few. Gopee-Scoon undescores EUs importance to TT She made the call while speaking at the TT Chamber of Industry and Commerces Breakfast Seminar last week, which had as its theme Maximizing Export Potential to the European Union (EU) through the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA). The seminar saw a number of private sector stakeholders seeking information on the Economic Partnership Agreement and accessing the EU market. Minister Gopee-Scoon informed those present that for TT, one of the main objectives of the Agreement is to encourage exports of non-energy goods to the EU market. The Agreement allows domestic manufacturers to import raw materials and intermediate products at reduced duties, from the European Union. Thus, manufacturers have the assurance that they can obtain their raw materials without delay and at competitive costs without the imposition of high customs duties. In addition, it is the only Agreement that Trinidad and Tobago has signed, which contains enhanced provisions related to the services sector. This augurs well for domestic service providers, she said, who now have access to the European Union a vast market with limitless possibilities that also serves as an alternative to the traditional markets of the USA, Canada and Great Britain. Minister Gopee- Scoon also emphasized the importance of the EU as Trinidad and Tobagos trading partner. She said, For the period January to September 2015, the EU was our second- ranked export market, accounting for 12 percent of TTs exports, behind the USA at 34 percent of total exports but ahead of CARICOM which stood at 11 percent of total exports. However, it is notable that only three countries namely Spain, France and the UK, accounted for 63 percent of TTs total trade with the EU. It is therefore necessary, the Minister said, for local exporters to consider new markets outside of the traditional Western European economies and underscore the opportunities for Trinidad and Tobagos goods and services to penetrate new markets in Eastern and Southern Europe. Gopee-Scoon gave the commitment of the Ministry of Trade and Industry to continue to embark on regional and international initiatives that will allow Trinidad and Tobago to leverage its strengths and effectively compete in any market, including the EU. Aad Biesebroek, Head of the European Union Delegation to TT and Gabriel Faria, TT Chamber Chief Executive Officer, in their remarks both endorsed the Trade and Industry Ministers call for greater utilization and implementation of the Economic Partnership Agreement. Man shot 3 times Management of the security firm, whose officer was involved in the incident which left Sambury critically injured, has offered to donate blood to him. Sambury, 38, of Naparima Mayaro Road, New Grant was shot in the stomach, arm and foot by the guard who was on duty at the supermarket. He underwent emergency surgery yesterday at San Fernando General Hospital where he remains warded. According to police, Sambury was shot three times outside the New Grant supermarket at 8 am during a confrontation at the entrance to the establishment. His brother Hayden Hamilton said: We met them (company officials) at the supermarket and a senior officer told us they already sent three security officers to donate blood to Pomba. We hope they really did as promised. According to relatives, Sambury who lives a stones throw away from the supermarket, went to purchase the bread for a villager. He often ran errands for the villager. Relatives said they heard gunshots and on investigating, found Sambury bleeding. I ran down the road only to see the officer still holding his gun and Pomba standing up, bleeding, relative Ancil Alfonso said. He ended up taking a crate and lying down on it in front the grocery door until help came. Relatives admitted Sambury has a criminal record but since his release from prison over a year ago, he has remained within the law. They insisted he did not go to rob the supermarket. The grocery was already open for business so I dont know how they could say that he was trying to break into the business place, Alfonso said. Officers of the Princes Town Police Station are investigating. 2 charged for assaulting teen girls In the first incident, a 13-year-old standard Five student of a primary school in East Trinidad reported to her 70-yearold grandfather that on January 23, she boarded a PH taxi to take her to school. On nearing the school, the driver whom she usually travelled with began fondling her legs. A report was made to the Valencia Police and WPC Brooks arrested the suspect and took him to the Valencia Police Station. On Sunday the man was charged with two counts of sexual touching. In another incident, a 30-yearold Mayaro man who was found in an abandoned house having sexual intercourse with a 13-yearold school girl was charged with two counts of sexual penetration. Last week Wednesday, police received a tip-off that a man was seen entering the abandoned house in the Rio Claro area with a girl dressed in school uniform. When officers responded to the report they found the two engaging in sexual intercourse. The man was detained and the school girl was medically examined by the District Medical Officer. $130,000 heist at Massy Stores According to reports, the store was secured on Sunday afternoon and at 8 am yesterday, supervisor Leanna Richardson discovered a hole had been cut in the roof. It is believed that a hand-held blow torch was used to cut open the safe to access the cash. Officers of the Belmont Police Station were alerted and went to the scene where they lifted several finger prints. Police believe the bandits spent a considerable amount of time cutting open the safe on the premises before gaining access to the money. They are also believed to have fled the scene via the same route they entered. A check revealed that no other valuables were stolen. Investigators believe the robbery was an inside job and several employees were being questioned yesterday. Investigators were also searching for CCTV footage from residents who live around the store to assist them in their investigations. Yesterday, detective Constable Dopwell and others received key information and Newsday understands a breakthrough is forthcoming. Suspect in court on Nadias birthday Instead, a man is expected to appear before a Siparia magistrate today charged with her murder. Yesterday, Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Roger Gaspard SC gave instructions to Region Three Homicide officers to charge the 36-year-old man of Quarry Village for Simms murder. Last week Wednesday, Simms body was pulled from a shallow grave in Santa Flora, a short distance away from the suspects home four days after she was reported missing after leaving her Penal home for a job interview. CCTV surveillance video at a restaurant showed her leaving the establishment with the suspect. The suspects own relatives would later confirm that Simms visited his home the very day (two Saturdays ago) she went missing. When Simms did not return home, a report was made to the police the following day. As the search continued for Nadia , the suspect was advised by his relatives to give himself up to police. A country-wide search by police, soldiers, cadaver dogs, relatives and hunters ended last Wednesday when Simms decomposing body was found in a shallow grave in some bushes in Santa Flora. Police were alerted by hunters who came across the shallow grave with sections of Nadias body protruding from the loose earth. A report was made to the police and a team of officers including detectives from the Homicide Investigations Bureau went to the scene. Accused father warned Dont visit son, wife, daughter Yesterday, a magistrate warned the father Wayne Griffith, 41, who re-appeared in court that he is not to visit the home or try to communicate with the boy, nor his mother. He is also not to visit his 14-year-old daughter whom he is also charged with assaulting. Griffith was charged with attempting to murder his son following an incident at the familys home in Cocoyea Village last week Monday in which he is alleged to have chopped the boy, with a meat cleaver between the front of the head and the forehead. He was also charged with assaulting his common-law wife and 14-year-old daughter. The husband had been remanded into custody by senior magistrate Nanette Forde-John to re-appear yesterday. The charges stemmed from an incident in which an argument had erupted at the familys home and the wife, son and daughter were allegedly attacked. Yesterday, Magistrate Forde-John ordered bail of $75,000 for Griffith to be approved by a Clerk of the Peace, after court prosecutor Cleyon Seedan, told her the accused had no previous conviction. Magistrate Forde-John ordered that Griffith report to the Mon Repos Police Station on Monday, Wednesday and Friday of each week, between the hours of 7 am to 7 pm. She also told him that he is not to visit the home, nor attempt to make any physical contact with the victims. The case was adjourned to March 3. Alphonse killed after fight Relatives said that Alphonse and another friend got into an argument with a group of men. The argument escalated into a fight, and Alphonse defended his friend during the altercation. Relatives would not reveal the cause of the argument, but said that on Saturday last they received a call that Alphonse, 15, had been shot. According to reports, Alphonse was among a group of persons who were playing cards near Roots Pan Yard, off Morne Coco Road, in Petit Valley. At about 10.30 pm on Saturday, an unknown gunman approached the group and started shooting. Alphonse, along with 31-year-old Shelly-Ann Criag, and 17-year-old Kadeem Lavia, were also shot in the incident. Alphonse died while undergoing emergency surgery, while Craig and Lavia are in a stable condition at hospital. Former Vindra accused shot dead According to police, Marlon Trimmingham, 35, was walking along a road in Hill Crest off La Puerta when gunshots rang out. Residents later checked and found his body in a track. He was one of eight persons freed of the charge of murdering Naipaul-Coolman on May 31. Trimmingham had reported to police that since he was freed of the charges, he had received dozens of death threats all of which were reported to the police. His murder is the 62nd committed for this year. Naipaul-Coolman was abducted from her home at Lange Park, Chaguanas on December 19, 2006. A $122,000 ransom was paid by her family but she was not released and her body has never been found. The power within to make a difference ISSUES relating to discrimination and social exclusion dominated the agenda for the conference The Power Within: Love Your Body, Love You held recently at the Arthur Lok Jack Graduate School of Business. All presenters including Harnaam Kaur, motivational speaker articulated on critical factors which contribute to occurrences of discrimination, bullying, suicide and depression, stereotyping and other issues. Presenting on I Am Human Different But Equal, Dr Jacqueline Huggins, manager, Student Life and Development at the University of the West Indies (UWI), addressed key areas that impact the co-existence of people living with disabilities. Huggins said, People are not disabled but rather they are people living with a disability; the stigma about disabled persons must stop. She challenged participants to change their mindset of thinking negatively about people who are living with disabilities, and instead think positively. Huggins issued a strong call for respect for all humans even if theyre different. Head of the Institute for Gender and Development Studies at UWI, Dr Gabrielle Hosein spoke on Gender Equality and Gender Expression, w covering the gamut of issues that negatively affect women including economic inequalities, discrimination and differences in role. She also spoke on abortion which is still viewed as shameful despite the circumstances which affected women may be subjected to. Violence against women was also a major area of focus. The state needs to look at abuse against women more seriously, she said. Hosein spoke extensively on the challenges which usually impede the progress of women including stereotyping. She referenced differences in domestic roles and wages, coupled with the burden of working and having to take care of children. She advocated for change which requires collective organisation. Rising to The Challenges of Bullying, Depression and Suicide was the theme of Professor Gerard Hutchinsons presentation. The head of the Clinical Medical Sciences Department at UWI and Head of Psychiatric Services at the North Central Regional Authority said: Power and control are at the core of the minds of bullies; their power is felt through the pain they inflict on others; attacking and destroying others in order to feel powerful and ultimately becoming powerful through others grief. Hutchinson also lamented on the psychological and behavioural effects caused by bullying which include depression and suicide. Looking at Pre-Conceived Notions and Overcoming Stigma, head of the Citizen Security Programme (Ministry of National Security) and youth activist, Gregory Sloane-Seale noted that gender roles in the family and in relationships must be clearly defined and that men need to be continually working within themselves and their families in an effort to bring about positive changes. Kaur, who is body shaming activist shared the experiences of the struggles she endured through bullying due to her medical condition. Kaur admits bullying falls on deaf ears at times from the people who ought to protect us from bullying. She issued a public plea to stop self-blame, live with love and faith, celebrate yourself and your life, and most importantly, thank your bullies for breaking you because they made you stronger! Professor Rhoda Reddock, Deputy Principal of the UWI chaired the closing panel of the conference. A major outcome of this event is the preparation of a working document intended to serve as a blueprint for treating with discrimination and social exclusion for submission to regional heads for review prior to public disclosure. Sandrine Rattan is a communications/branding consultant, author and president of the International Womens Resource Network (IWRN), thecorporatesuitett@ gmail.com or intlwomensresourcenetwork@ gmail. com Enough police in TT In the first of what has been deemed Conversations with the Prime Minister, Dr Rowley sat on a stage in the Maloney Mall amphitheatre before a large audience. Next to him was National Security Minister Edmund Dillon. Prior to the question and answer segment of the evening, the prime minister in his preamble, said that there is no one in this country who is more concerned about the crime rate than him. But at the same time, there is only so much that the prime minister can do. We the government have to make sure that those whose job it is to respond to the criminal element, they must do the job they were hired to do, Rowley said. Saying there are 6,000 regular police officers in the Service and another 2,000 in Special Reserve, Rowley said that this countrys police officer to citizen ratio exceeds global standards. He said that in terms of national expenditure to fight crime, this country with a population of 1.3 million, spends more on National Security yearly, that any other country in Latin America. He said what is needed to combat crime and murders, in no State of Emergency, but rather a more effective, well-trained and well-resourced Police Service. He said that the Police Manpower Audit to be overseen by a committee led by criminologist Prof Ramesh Deosaran, is a critical tool in dealing with short comings in the Police Service. At the level of government and the National Security Council, we are trying to make sure we have a Police Service that is fit and working to the level of expectations. The bottom line is it is not that we have been providing resources to the police, it is just that there are a series of tangled systems guaranteed not to give you the results desired and we are putting something in place to deal with the tangled system by way of this Manpower Audit, Rowley said. Rowley said he met with the audit team and assured them that as soon as the report of the audit is handed to him, it will be brought to Parliament. On the issue of calls for a state of emergency, predominantly by business chambers and the Opposition, Dr Rowley said no state of emergency will be called. As you may know, people affected by the last State of Emergency (called during the Peoples Partnership administration) are lining up in the courts to collect half a million a piece, Rowley said. Dillon later spoke of the five pillars to improving National Security, namely, Prediction - how to keep ahead of elements bent on destroying society; Deterrence: how to deter those bent on committing crime; Detection: what is needed to improve the detection rate of crime; Prosecution: how to increase prosecution of criminals and; Rehabilitation: ways and means of rehabilitating criminals willing to be rehabilitated. Getting emotional at times, Minister Dillon said he has urged the police service to make life more uncomfortable for the small percentage in society bent on committing crime and attacking law abiding citizens. Bullys parents meet with victims parents This was the claim made by the parents of a schoolboy who stands accused of pushing nineyear- old Tristan Khan to the ground last week and then jumping up and down on his right arm, while shouting that he is a ninja turtle. Yesterday, Tristans parents met with the schoolboys parents at the Mayaro Government Primary School in the presence of the schools principal, two teachers and officials from the Education Ministry. Speaking with Newsday later, Sareefa Ali said the meeting was inconclusive as her son Tristans version of events was hotly disputed by the other schoolboys parents. She said that the other parents took her to task for posting their sons name online and she apologised to them for doing so, admitting she did so while in a fit of anger. Ali said that the parents claimed their son was left traumatised by the entire incident. Ali said if the alleged bully was so traumatised, one could imagine the state of her sons mind now as his arm is in a bandage and it is not known if he will ever have full, normal use of his right hand - which he writes with. She said the others parents became very angry during the meeting insisting the act was an accident and they were unapologetic. Ali said she left the meeting feeling no better than she felt before it and is now turning the entire matter over to her attorney. She said former Attorney General Anand Ramlogan has reached out to her, offering to seek their legal interests. Efforts to reach Education Ministry officials for a comment yesterday proved futile. Roget promises to fight privatisation President General Ancel Roget sent a message to the many sectors of society who called for state-owned Petrotrin to be privatised following the unions strike notice against the company at the beginning of the year. Speaking last week at a function to commemorate the OWTUs 80th anniversary, Roget said, If it is one thing I want to pledge here, on the basis of the commitment that was made by our founding fathers, is to save our national patrimony from the vultures and save it from the hands of privatisation, he said. Roget said that since 1979s Texaco Must Go campaign, led by then President General George Weekes, the powers that be, have made such a big mess of the national patrimony that they are now trying to give it to someone else to run. He warned the ordinary man on the street to not be fooled of talk about public-private partnership, because the people interested in taking control of State enterprises are a bunch of corrupt people who care nothing about the country and only about their own profits. Roget said that Trinidad and Tobago lacks proper leadership at all levels of government due to strings being pulled by a new plantation class. Singling out bankers, Roget criticised private companies who speak about experiencing tough times but go on to declare massive profits at the expense of workers. Chairman of the Cipriani College of Labour and Co-operative studies Dr Roosevelt Williams, also speaking at the function asked, What would be the state of the country without the OWTU. He praised the unions raising of class consciousness among the working class saying this was the unions greater contribution than its struggle for better wages for members. He said justice was only possible through leadership of the working class. The union marked its anniversary with the unveiling of an 80th anniversary logo that would be used throughout this year. The logo, an upheld fist enclosed by a red and gold star, was celebrated at the function at which representatives of at least 17 unions were present. DOMA takes cautious approach on street dwellers These (homeless) people are vulnerable... but we have to implement rules and make sure they are taken off the streets. We have to take care of all of them, Mayor Martinez said. He noted that the business community was invited to guide the task force as they are the ones most affected by street dwellers. We want to be able to bring people back into the city and be comfortable, he said. FATCA back in Parliament When he laid the report in the House last Friday, Finance Minister Colm Imbert said, We leave the report open for the signatures of the Opposition. Imbert, is also the chairman of this JSC. The other members are Attorney General Faris Al Rawi, Minister in the Office of the Prime Minister Stuart Young, Trade and Industry Minister Paula Gopee-Scoon, Agriculture Minister Clarence Rambharat, Caroni East MP Dr Tim Gopeesingh, Caroni Central MP Dr Bhoe Tewarie, Opposition Senator Gerald Ramdeen and Independent Senators Hugh Russell Ian Roach and Taurel Shrikissoon. Once the House approves the motion to adopt the JSCs report on the bill, it will debate the bill again. The bill requires a three-fifths majority for passage in both Houses of Parliament. In the House, this equates to 25 votes. This means that three of the 18 Opposition MPs must vote with the 23 Government MPs for the bill to pass in the House. Last year, the Opposition walked out of debate on the bill twice and boycotted the debate on another occasion. On January 6, Government bowed to the Oppositions request to send the bill to a JSC. Last week, the Parliament issued a statement inviting the public to comment on the bill. UNC MP calls out Rowley Rowley held the first of these conversations in Maloney last night. In a statement, Charles called on the Prime Minister to place Naparima very high on his agenda of places to visit in his National Conversations tour. Former prime minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar held national conversations during her tenure in office. All of those events were closed to the media and the media only learnt about what happened at those events through releases from the Office of the Prime Minister. Last nights National Conversation at the Maloney Mall Amphitheatre in the Arouca/Maloney constituency, was open to full media coverage. Charles said, Constituents are anxious to engage him, constructively, on the many challenges facing them and are concerned that they will be ignored since the representative for the area is a member of the UNC (United National Congress). He claimed this Government has reneged on its promise made last year to build the Barrackpore ASJA primary school. After listing infrastructural and agricultural issues facing his constituents, Charles said, A final area (of concern) is escalating crime as the constituency is seen by criminals as a safe haven where they can hide out while other hotspot areas receive increased attention (from law enforcement). Rambharat: Ours to preserve It is ours to preserve, he said, as he delivered the feature address at a ceremony in celebration of World Wetlands Day 2017, under the theme Wetlands for Disaster Risk Reduction. It was held last Friday at the Nariva Swamp. The event was hosted in collaboration with the Environmental Management Authority (EMA) and the Green Fund. In his address, in which he stressed action and impact, the minister called on officers to do what you have to in support of the farmer, fisherfolk and hunters. There has been a lot of talk about the environment, sustainability and protected areas; and these protected areas are critical to this country. What we need is to put an end to the talk, what we need now is convergence. Some of this can be achieved through the newly established Protected Areas Working Group meant to sift through legislation, draft legislation... all that has been discussed regarding policy change and provide for the Government, a clear path ahead in terms of what we need to do. They need to look at what is the form of legislation so we can manage our protected areas, he said. The minister stressed there must be a framework which secures the countrys assets both environmentally and economically while including community engagement and involvement. Member of Parliament for Cumuto/ Manzanilla Christine Newallo-Hosein urged citizens to become the eyes and ears to protect TTs wetlands since it sustains lives. She noted that, we wont have a future if we do not have the environment. Dr Stephen Ramroop, chief executive officer of the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Management (ODPM) reminded that risk is proportional to exposure. Teachers and children from various schools including Mayaro Government Primary, Mayaro Secondary, Ortoire RC, St Thomas RC, Mafeking Early Childhood Centre, Biche Presbyterian Primary, Biche RC Primary, Plum Road Presbyterian Primary, Plum Mitan Presbyterian Primary and Biche High School, were all present at the event. Fun activities for the students included a mobile zoo, access to the Forestry Bus and an interactive tour of the Nariva Swamp in the conference room of the Field Station. World Wetlands Day is celebrated every year on February 2. Arima Mayor goes to school She was accompanied by Councillor for Blanchisseuse/ Santa Rosa Candice Allain. During the tour, Morris-Julian met with students and staff of the Arima Centenary Government Primary, Arima Presbyterian Primary, Arima West Government Primary and Arima Girls Government Primary schools. She was especially impressed by the nine-tap water purification system at Arima Centenary Government. Morris-Julian assured school principals that under the proposed Local Government Reform, the Borough Council will have greater ability to address issues such as the responsibility to maintain and upkeep all public buildings including schools. She assured that the council will continue to work with the Ministry of Education to resolve any issues. Mayor MorrisJulian said she intends to visit other schools and educational institutions in the weeks ahead. The Mayor said she wants to keep the lines of communication open with her burgesses and plans to work with officials of schools in the borough to provide realistic and sustainable solutions to outstanding issues. Trump administration to get to the bottom of who leaked transcripts of his private phone calls and what should happen next It is obvious by now that the Washington bureaucracy that President Donald Trump and his team inherited from former President Obama is basically an opposition party, replete with faceless individuals who have pledged to undermine him at every opportunity. That became obvious when transcripts of phone conversations Trump had with certain world leaders were leaked to the Democratic Partys propaganda wing, the establishment media. In the first case, a transcript of Trumps conversation with the Mexican president, Eduardo Peta Nieto, was leaked, but was done in such a way as to clearly misrepresent the context. As noted by The Associated Press, Trump allegedly threatened U.S. military intervention into Mexico in order to take care of bad hombres if that country couldnt do it. It wasnt clear who Trump meant when he referred to bad hombres, but you can take your guess its likely to mean the drug cartels, the human smugglers, or both. (RELATED: Find out how theyre fooling us today at Hoax.news) But then the AP went on to note that Mexican officials denied there was ever any seriousness to Trumps threat, and in fact, they reported just the opposite: Eduardo Sanchez, spokesman for Mexicos presidential office, denied the tone of the conversation was hostile or humiliating, saying it was respectful. It is absolutely false that the president of the United States threatened to send troops to Mexico, Sanchez said in an interview with Radio Formula on Wednesday night. The transcript of another call with Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull had discussions ending abruptly after Trump discovered that Obama had made a lousy deal with the land Down Under to take at least some of the many Muslim refugees they were detaining from Indonesia and elsewhere (Australians of all political stripes have seen what is happening in the U.S. and Europe and want no part of the problems attributed to the mass migration of Muslims from the Middle East). In any event, after these two incidents, the president wants the leaks tracked down. As Sean Spicer, White House spokesman, in a transcript obtained by Reuters, told Fox News, The president takes these leaks very seriously. Thats troubling and I think the president has asked the team to look into this because those are very serious implications, he said, adding that calls were candid but respectful, and that even the two governments were refuting some of whats been reported. As The National Sentinel noted in reporting on the leaks: Okay, so its obvious that there are elements within our government that are hostile to the current administration. These kinds of attempts at sabotaging the Trump presidency will not go away, and in fact, you should probably count on them getting even more intense as our billionaire president seeks to fulfill his campaign pledge to drain the swamp. The swamps inhabitants in the Congress, in the bureaucracy and in the donor class are not going to simply go away quietly. The only way to prevent further sabotage in the future is to dramatically reduce the amount of bureaucracy as in, get rid of many of the careerists who are dead-set against this president primarily for the reason that he wants to eliminate their jobs. (RELATED: Trump is dedicated to cutting red tape and bureaucracy learn more at BigGovernment.news) Beyond that, careerist bureaucrats particularly in the State Department, which is inhabited by Left-wing Ivy League foreign policy types who have a very liberal worldview and a certain way of doing things simply do not share Trumps America first vision. And they certainly dont appreciate the manner in which he gets things done. They, like the rest of the political and media establishment, have never seen or met or had to deal with any U.S. president like Trump, and probably never will again. That aside, their job is to serve the American people by serving the president, who was duly elected. In the meantime, Trump is likely to keep some staffers extremely busy hunting down those who leaked the intimate details of his government. These wont be the last leaks. J.D. Heyes is a senior writer for Natural News and News Target, as well as editor of The National Sentinel. Sources: ca.News.Yahoo.co APNews.com TheNationalSentinel.com Breitbart.com GoodGopher.com Submit a correction >> Student fakes anti-Muslim hate crime against himself for attention A Muslim student at a liberal arts college in Wisconsin has been arrested for spray painting reprehensible anti-Muslim messages on his own dorm room door and then filing a report claiming that he was the victim of a hate crime. (Article by Eric Owens from Dailycaller.com) The totally fake hate crime occurred last weekend at Beloit College, a 1,400-student bastion bursting with idiosyncratic individualists who enjoy leftist politics. The student who falsely claimed that he was a victim of a terrible hate crime is Michael Kee, campus police told regional Fox affiliate WQRF-TV. There were three spray-painted messages all in bold red. In addition to Sand nigger go home, the other two messages read #muslimban and Die, according to a contemporaneous account by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. There was also a red swastika spray-painted on a wall across from Kees room on the third floor of Bushnell Hall, an ugly slab of concrete on the Beloit campus. The Journal Sentinel identifies Kee as Muslim. A campus security officer found the messages on Kees dorm room door at around 2:30 a.m. on Monday morning. The discovery came three days after Beloit campus police had opened a separate investigation into an anti-Semitic note that another student found slipped under a dorm room door. Kike, You should be gassed for what you say & do on this campus. Be worried cunt, the anti-Semitic note read, according to The Times of Israel. Investigators say Kee, 20, eventually admitted that he perpetrated the hoax because he hoped to receive the same kind of attention received by the student who allegedly received the anti-Semitic note. There were certain indicators that led us to believe there was a little more to the story, Beloit police chief David Zibolski told WQRF-TV. We were already investigating the first incident when this one came up, which obviously ratcheted up the fear and concern on campus, Zibolski said. Here is Kee: Beloit campus police say they believe the anti-Semitic note slipped under the dorm door is a legitimate hate crime. They have named no suspects. They say they continue to investigate. Prior to the police revelation that Kee himself scrawled the anti-Muslim messages on his own dorm room door as well as the swastika across the hall, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel suggested that Kees hoax hate crime was part of chaos building around the country over President Donald Trumps executive order temporarily banning immigration from seven predominantly Muslim countries. Beloit police responded to the anti-Semitic note and Kees spray-painting hoax by ramping up campus patrols and adding residence hall entry limitations. Beloit College president Scott Bierman sent a campus-wide email lamenting the horrifying hate-filled threat police now say Kee perpetrated on himself. I am, we are, overcome with concern for the well-being of our students and filled with anger and outrage because someone in our community feels emboldened to attack them, Bierman pontificated, according to the Journal Sentinel. Let us reject hate together. After the hoax was exposed, Beloit College released a statement indicating that the school vows to crack down on hate crimes. This situation does not diminish the colleges resolve in resisting xenophobia, anti-Semitism, racism, and Islamophobia that aims to intimidate and silence its targets, reads the statement obtained by Madison, Wisconsin NBC affiliate WMTV. The Beloit campus police department issued a similar statement. Kees incident does not diminish our resolve going forward with these reported incidents and any other reported crimes of this nature, the campus police said. Meanwhile, Kee faces a trio of charges: criminal damage to property, disorderly conduct and obstruction. The cost for a single year of tuition, fees and room and board at Beloit is $55,206, according to the schools website. The school is located in a pleasant Wisconsin town, just over the Illinois border. The hoax at Beloit adds a fresh chapter to the ever-growing throng of alleged hate crimes that turned out to be hoaxes. Some hoaxes of recent vintage have involved threats or attacks which totally did not happen against Muslims. In December, a Muslim woman at the University of Michigan received national attention after claiming a drunk twentysomething man threatened to light her on fire and forced her to remove her hijab. The university condemned the hateful attack, which turned out to be a hoax. Also in December, an 18-year-old Muslim woman named Yasmin Seweid was the subject of breathless headlines after she claimed to have been attacked by a group of Donald Trump supporters on a New York subway while onlookers did nothing. She, too, would go on to confess that she made the whole thing up. In November, another 18-year-old Muslim woman, this one in Louisiana, claimed two white men, one of whom was wearing a Trump hat, attacked and robbed her, taking her wallet and hijab while yelling racial slurs. She later admitted that she made the whole thing up. Last this month, a hate crime narrative pushed by several media outlets vanished into thin air when police arrested a twentysomething man with previous domestic violence convictions for the brutal, senseless murder of Hussain Saeed Alnahdi, a University of WisconsinStout student from Saudi Arabia. A complete lack of evidence of any hate crime did not stop local police investigators and The Washington Post from raising the possibility of a hate crime. Many unidentified advocates who are concerned about hate crimes point to rhetoric from Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, who has at various points called for a complete ban on Muslim immigrants, the Post proclaimed in a November story just after the murder. Read more at: Dailycaller.com Follow more news about hate crime hoaxes at HOAX.news. Submit a correction >> Share Because of the reliance on digital communications by consumers and organizations, the technology telecom operators deploy must have an uptime of 100 percent at all times. While this is not always possible because of human, mechanical and other technological errors as well as natural disasters that can disrupt services, fast access to critical information can give engineers a heads up before malfunctions are about to take place. The launch of the Nokia Multi-purpose Intuitive Knowledge Assistant (MIKA), a customized digital assistant, will introduce a new level of efficiency for telecom operators by giving engineers access to critical information much sooner with augmented intelligence. Powered by the Nokia (News - Alert) AVA, a cognitive services platform offering readiness to manage a wide range of connected applications, it was designed to address the upcoming tens of billions of connections that will be part of the Internet of Things (IoT) ecosystem. As near 100 percent availability becomes the norm when managing devices and sensors for health monitoring, field operations, power generation, smart metering, automotive and for recreation, AVA will be able to support the network speed, accuracy and data processing that will be needed. The MIKA solution is a digital assistant that will give engineers voice activated access to information with augmented intelligence and automated learning to access best practices. As the first digital assistant specifically trained for the telecom industry, Nokia looks to give operators a solution that will utilize its workforce more efficiently by providing automated assistance to save time. According to the company, MIKA could give back engineers more than one hour per day by using the interactive UI and accessing the information and recommendations the digital assistant makes. Using the Nokia AVA knowledge library, which is a repository of best practice gathered from Nokia projects around the world, MIKA combines its augmented intelligence with automated learning to provide access to the resources engineers need to make the best decisions. Finding the right information is a daily challenge for telco engineers tasked with boosting network quality. MIKA taps into the power of the Nokia AVA platform to provide quick and accurate answers, avoiding time wasted on fruitless searches. MIKA is customized to support the specific needs of telecoms, and can deliver recommendations based on experience from networks around the world, said Igor Leprince, head of Global Services at Nokia. This will be integrated along with Predictive Repair, a Nokia AVA-powered service that is capable of forecasting potential hardware failures up to 14 days in advance. Predictive Repair works in conjunction with MIKA to improve network quality and lower costs by predicting hardware failures and making recommended replacements with 95 percent accuracy so operators can improve network qualities while lowering costs. According to Nokia, Predictive Repair is the first service of its type in the telecommunications industry. Edited by Alicia Young Share Ever try one of those NASCAR driving simulators found at some shopping malls or other places? They're shockingly immersive, and deliver a downright credible experience of driving a real top-end stock car. At least, the last one I tried did. A group of tech companies well-known in the next generation communications fieldNokia (News - Alert), Qualcomm, and Alphabet's Access Groupare bringing efforts together to put on a new 360-degree virtual reality (VR) demo of driving a stock car that may be even more impressive. The trio's efforts take next generation communications technology to create what amounts to a virtual reality zone inside a stock car operating at the Richard Petty Driving Experience at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The demonstration allowed users to experience being inside a car going 180 miles per hour, and showed off how the combination of such next generation communications technologies as the Citizens Broadband Radio Service (CBRS) spectrum and 360 degree video systems could work together to provide some amazing experiences. Perhaps more importantly, the trio demonstrated how businesses could use a private LTE (News - Alert) network to create new experiences to draw potentially paying customers into said businesses. With the new CBRS bandone that doesn't require auction costs to put to workbusinesses can not only bring out something that performs like LTE, but doesn't have near the complexity of deployment that similar next generation communications options do. Nokia's head of strategy and business development for North America, Chris Stark, noted, We want this trial to act as a catalyst for carriers and enterprises to start thinking about leveraging this band for new applications. Beyond the high speeds and amazing views this demo provides, the real opportunity is in the life-changing applications that will benefit from the 3.5GHz U.S. CBRS spectrum and transform users' experience. While there's no doubt that the demonstration is clever, and may well prove useful in driving new experiences for everything from libraries to museums and well beyond, there's still some concern here. An effective demonstration for CBRS capability now exists, but given that CBRS was set up back during the Wheeler administration of the Federal Communications Commission, the entire concept could be at risk now that Ajit Pai is the new chairman. Nokia, Qualcomm (News - Alert), and Alphabet's big demonstration, therefore, may not be all that useful once Pai gets started up to the fullest. In the end, there's little doubt that this trio has made an impressive demonstration product. Whether or not it can go into wide release may well depend on the vagaries of government. Edited by Alicia Young I used to be one of those parents who took a second look at their kids bags of candy theyd gotten Halloween night and think, Wait a minute. Is that a full-size Butterfingers bar? Why would a kid need that much candy in one serving? Id either then ask if they really wanted that item or I 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. Algeria is a tinderbox waiting to implode in light of the existence of a dangerous mix of economic instability, radical Islamism and growing youth unrest, which make the north African country on the brink of a new revolt, US magazine, the National Review, wrote on its website. In an article entitled, Will the Next Arab Revolt Be in Algeria?, Benjamin Weinthal from the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, deems that six years after the tumult triggered by the Arab Spring in the region, Algeria could face social unrest on the backdrop of the existence of latent Jihadism, ineffective economic policies and rising youth unemployment coupled with subsidies cut. The author of the article warned of the fallout of a failed Algerian state as the simmering instability in the country could lead to a regime change. The country since January is battered by a series of social unrest hitting the north eastern and southern regions on the backdrop of tax hikes and public spending cut. Power struggle and regime opacity are other factors that bode ill for Algerias prospects. Together with the struggling Algerian economy, the fight to succeed Bouteflika may very well produce a series of increasingly public convulsions within Algerias formidable security and intelligence establishments, who are the countrys real rulers, said Weinthal. As oil price continues to linger on $50 per barrel, Algerias mantra is poised to take a long term hard blow, he warned. To make matters worse, Algeria continues to squander significant resources on the so-called Bouteflika mosque. The $1.4 billion price tag on the mosque, with a capacity for 250,000 worshippers and the worlds tallest minaret, has diverted funds away from health care and social services. Although it boasts to have efficient counter-terrorism strategy, Algeria has yet to resolve the existence of latent extremist groups in its north east and south. The dangers of Algerian jihadism are alive and kicking Mokhtar Belmokhtar dubbed the one-eyed sheikh after his injury in a botched explosion is believed to still be active in Algeria. Demographics is another combustible material in Algeria where unemployed youth has vented its frustration through unrest. The 23rd edition of Casablancas International Book Fair (SIEL) celebrates the sub-region of central Africa with member countries of the sub-regional grouping, the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS), as guests of honor. Eleven African culture ministers have so far confirmed their attendance at the Fair, which will run from February 9 to 19, organizers said. In keeping with the momentum launched by King Mohammed VI in favor of African cooperation, the Fair celebrates this year the member countries of the ECCAS sub-region, namely Angola, Burundi, Cameroon, the DRC, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, Chad, Sao Tome and Principe, Rwanda and the General Secretariat of the ECCAS. Speaking at a Press conference, Gabons Ambassador to Morocco highlighted the importance of the event as an opportunity to bring African writers and publishers together. The diplomat noted that Morocco is hosting the event right after the landmark speech delivered by King Mohammed VI before African leaders following the Kingdoms reinstatement within the African Union. Held under the high patronage of King Mohammed VI, this years edition will bring together leading publishing houses from 54 countries and will exhibit more than 100,000 titles, that is 3 million copies. The event will bring together writers, book lovers and professionals and will feature conferences on contemporary issues as well as several events and workshops dedicated to children. The fair will highlight by the awarding ceremony of the Ibn Battuta Prize on travel literature. The Avatars Against Trump Flickr group already has nearly 300 members and 100 images just a few days after launching. Here's a good one from "Adolf Chapin", a 3D editorial cartoon pointing out the hypocrisy of Trump's Muslim ban still allowing US entry by citizens of Saudi Arabia, where most of the 9/11 terrorists originated and where Trump has business interests. Many more Avatars Against Trump here -- go here for guidelines on submitting your own. With Trump in office, Obamacare is becoming more popular. Photo: Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images Last week, Richard Hanna, a Republican from central New York who just retired from Congress, admitted something that almost no member of his party in elected office has been willing to concede in public. At the end of the day, the Affordable Care Act will in some form survive, and the millions of people who are on it will have insurance, he said. Its something this country needed and something people want. Politically, its untenable to just wipe it away. So who really won? In my argument, the president, Obama, won. At the end of the day we will have some sort of national health care thats going to look very similar to what we have. The mania for destroying the law is faltering because the Republican crusade to kill Obamacare was always based on delusions that are no longer possible to conceal. In the aftermath of the presidential election that handed them full control of government, Republicans quickly converged on a plan to execute their longtime battle cry of repealing Obamacare: They would immediately repeal the law, perhaps even signing the bill to do it on Inauguration Day, after which they would have leverage over shattered Democrats to force the opposition party to supply votes to pass whatever the majority came up with. Since that point, they have moved steadily backward. In early January, several Senate Republicans indicated opposition to repealing Obamacare without a replacement enough defections to kill repeal, given that the party can only lose two Senate votes. The plan to quickly repeal, and then figure out a replacement, appears to have been halted, and the party has yet to decide what will take its place. A week after the inauguration, a secret recording of a Republican Congressional brainstorming session revealed the party had not advanced beyond step one in conceptualizing a plan, let alone achieving consensus on any of the numerous dilemmas they would need to resolve. Were in the information-gathering mode right now, says Representative Mark Meadows. At the current trajectory, sometime next week, a Republican staffer will Google What is health care? In an interview Sunday with Bill OReilly, President Trump conceded that health care was very complicated, and floated a timetable for devising a replacement that could extend into next year: Yes, in the process and maybe itll take till sometime into next year, but were certainly going to be in the process. Very complicated Obamacare is a disaster. You have to remember Obamacare doesnt work, so we are putting in a wonderful plan. It statutorily takes a while to get. Were going to be putting it in fairly soon. I think that, yes, I would like to say by the end of the year, at least the rudiments, but we should have something within the year and the following year. While Trump is known to be an unreliable narrator of his own administrations policy, the climbdown from his characteristic boasting of rapid victory is nonetheless striking. He seems to have absorbed from his advisers the difficulty of the situation and the need to reel back expectations. As the Republicans continue their long retreat, they are encountering every false premise that brought them to this point. The most important of these is a misconception about Obamacares popularity. For most of the time since 2010, polls have showed negative approval for the law, the single fact that conservatives have leaned on most heavily since 2010. Of the countless polemics against the Affordable Care Act that have appeared since 2010, the laws mediocre approval ratings are the data points conservatives invoke more than any other. It is the foundation for their belief the law is corrupt and was passed illegitimately, that the public shares the GOPs root-and-branch rejection of its very design, and that Republicans have a mandate to repeal it. Supporters of the law have had a different explanation for its poor approval ratings. People have very little information about what the law does, and even many people who benefit from it are not aware. The long, tortured negotiations required to pass the law did not prove the process was corrupt or failed, but that health-care reform is intrinsically difficult. People will fight much harder to avoid losing a benefit they have even if that benefit is not actually at risk than to create a new one they dont. Proponents of health-care reform always believed that bringing health care into reality would make it much easier to defend. That has turned out to be correct. The laws growing popularity can be seen across several dimensions. Repealing Obamacare first, without a replacement, is wildly unpopular, drawing 20 percent approval or less. Repealing the law and starting over with a new one the Republican position since 2010 draws support from one-third of the public, while keeping Obamacare and fixing it gets nearly twice as much support. On the straightforward question of whether Barack Obamas health-care reform was a good idea or a bad one, for the first time ever, good idea now wins: And Americans by a significant margin believe it is the governments responsibility to make sure everybody has coverage: The chart above is especially telling. Notice that a huge majority agreed that the government should cover everybody before and after Obamas presidency, but that support collapsed during the time of an administration attempting to implement this goal. Political scientists have long recognized that public opinion has a thermostatic element, demanding more government services during Republican presidencies, and less during Democratic ones. It is striking how fast public opinion has swung this is even before Republicans have begun to publicly debate an alternative plan, which would contain all sorts of unpopular specific elements that would drive down its support even farther. Republicans suffer from an additional handicap that Democrats did not face in 2010: they are not merely over-promising what they can deliver, they are promising the exact opposite. While GOP rhetoric has lambasted the cost of plans offered by Obamacare, their alternatives would all impose even higher costs. An extended public debate over actual, filled-out Republican plans that force people onto catastrophic plans that do not cover basic medical expenses would be a political debacle. It is not only majority opinion that is swinging against Republicans on health care. Lobbyists, too, tend to organize against change. Hospitals are demanding that Republicans either keep covering the Americans who have insurance through Obamacare, or else compensate the hospitals for the losses they would suffer from facing millions of customers who can longer pay for their care. AARP has staked out opposition to one of the GOPs favorite proposals to tweak Obamacare, which would allow insurers to charge even higher rates to older customers. Obamacare only permits insurers to charge older customers up to three times as much as the young. Republicans have railed against the burden this places on younger workers buying insurance and its true that Obamacare makes the young pay more so the old can pay less. But now Republicans are learning the difference between posturing against a law, and cherry-picking its downsides, and actually having to endorse an alternative position. When you have to pick winners and losers, not just complain about the losers in the other partys law, you make people mad. The energy among political activists has reversed, too. In 2009, tea-party activists flooded town halls and harried Democrats, often frantic with terror at imaginary death panels they believed the law would contain. Now it is advocates of Obamacare mobilizing in anger and chasing terrified Republican members of Congress down the street. Conservatives spent years lionizing demonstrations against Obamacare as the justifiable anger of a free people. Now they can see what health-care reform looks like from the opposing end. There is no guarantee that Obamacare will survive. The Republican majority may decide melting down the health-care markets is worth the backlash. It wouldnt be the first time they have taken a political gamble that seemed irrational. Its possible that the Trump administration might intend to preserve Obamacare but wind up killing it through sheer managerial incompetence; a White House that can screw up something like an introductory phone call with the prime minister of Australia could screw up anything. Still, the pattern of the three months since the election shows the cause of Obamacare repeal collapsing. Obama and his party were able to design a plan that squared the minimal humanitarian needs of the public with the demands of the medical industry. There is no evidence at all that Trump and his party can do the same. It is dawning on the Republicans that the cost of destroying this achievement in social policy may well be to destroy their majority. A race to the bottom. Photo: Getty Images As the Senate moves to vote on the confirmation of Betsy DeVos, Donald Trumps nominee to head the Department of Education, our politics writers sat down to discuss whether she is the least qualified of all his nominees and appointees, and if others of that cohort present larger threats to the country. Below, our writers picks for worst, second worst, and third worst (and, in one case, a grudging top-three least-bad list). Jonathan Chaits picks 1. Michael Flynn, National Security Adviser: Narrowing the Trump cabinet down to the worst of the worst of the worst is a triage operation that requires one to strip away normal policy considerations and focus on the single priority, Are we all going to die because of this guy? The figure who scores highest on this metric is surely National Security Adviser Michael Flynn fake-news aficionado, rabid conspiracy theorist, Russophile, avowed hater of any information that questions his prior beliefs, and fan of trans-national far-right white nationalists. 2. Steve Bannon, Chief Strategist and Senior Counselor: Self-explanatory. Crazed Breitbartian ethno-nationalist who is reportedly dominating the National Security Council and has previously expressed a Leninist desire to bring the entire system down a distinctly worrying strategic orientation for the chief strategist of the president of the United States. 3. Scott Pruitt, EPA Administrator: Climate-science-questioning chairman of the Environmental Protection Agency, whose modal approach to public office is to sign his name to documents written on his behalf by the fossil-fuel industry. Much less likely than other members of Trumps team to destroy all human life within four years, but much more likely to do so within a few centuries. Honorable mention: Rex Tillerson, Secretary of State: Theres an 80 percent chance Tillerson is fine, or possibly even good, at his job. Twenty percent chance he is working for Vladimir Putin. On a prorated basis, Tillerson is adequate, but with high variation. Ed Kilgores picks 1. Jefferson Beauregard Sessions III, Attorney General: The Justice Department and its prosecutors have, for good or ill, vast discretion in enforcing federal laws. There is every indication that as attorney general Sessions would turn the priorities of his department upside-down, prosecuting imaginary voter fraud instead of real voter suppression, hounding immigrants and other powerless people instead of protecting them, and in general operating as the leading edge of a Trump Revolution in law and policy. The idea that Sessions, often called the intellectual godfather of Trumpism, and for a long time the only member of Congress who supported Trumps candidacy, would be independent of the 45th president is laughable. The bigger question may be whether Trump will be independent of Sessions. 2. Scott Pruitt, EPA Administrator: In Scott Pruitt, the EPA would have an administrator whose familiarity with the agency is mostly derived from attacking its regulatory efforts in court. Hes also (at best) a borderline climate-science denier with close ties to the fossil-fuel industries whose interests are fundamentally at odds with the national and global interest in, well, survival. I would elevate him on the worst list mainly because of the irreplaceable role of the EPA in protecting the environment. 3. Betsy DeVos, Secretary of Education: Another fox in the hen house. She ranks third only because the federal role in education is too limited to enable her to fulfill her career-long goal of replacing government schools (as her husband and closest associate likes to call them) with publicly funded private and, especially, religious education. Theres only so much damage she can do. Eric Levitzs picks 1. Ben Carson, Secretary of Housing and Urban Development: Granted, Ben Carsons oversight of Housing and Urban Development is unlikely to produce nuclear war or ecological collapse. He is not the worst cabinet nominee from a consequentialist perspective. But he is the worst in the sense of being the most wholly unjustifiable. One week before Trump nominated Carson, Carsons personal assistant announced that the retired neurosurgeon was not interested in any cabinet post because he feared that his lack of qualifications for such an appointment could cripple the presidency. This was not an expression of irrational insecurity. Carson has no experience in managing a government bureaucracy, let alone in the field of urban development. Nor is there reason to think his genius for surgery is transferable to other realms. This is a man who believes that there is a broad scientific consensus that aliens built the pyramids but that this consensus is wrong, because the biblical Joseph built the pyramids with help from God. (He also believes that they built said pyramids not as tombs, but as vessels for storing grain. He also believes that multivitamins can cure cancer, and efforts to track patterns of racial discrimination in housing are akin to communism.) Jeff Sessions is a heinous choice for attorney general. Still, his nomination is defensible, if you stipulate certain ideological premises. But regardless of ones views of federal housing policy, there is no good argument for why Ben Carson should oversee it. 2. Tom Price, Secretary of Health and Human Services: He is the anti-Carson: A pick whose badness stems from his competence. As a former physician and author of many of the House GOPs health-care proposals Price is wholly qualified for the position of secretary of Health and Human Services. He is deeply committed to increasing the number of Americans who die from curable illness. Price is a leading proponent of cutting Medicare and Medicaid, and making health insurance more expensive for people with preexisting conditions. He is an ideologue who is highly capable of arguing for and implementing his right-wing agenda. Plus, hes corrupt: The congressman bought discounted stock in an Australian medical device company, then pushed legislation that would increase the value of his shares. 3. Andy Puzder, Secretary of Labor: Andy Puzders nomination to the Labor department is an audacious betrayal of the forgotten working men and women whom Trump promised to fight for. In his professional life, Puzder is a fast-food CEO, whose restaurants have been serial violators of the Fair Labor Standards Act. In his public life, hes been an avowed opponent of minimum-wage increases and a champion of replacing workers with robots. The decline of organized labor in the Midwest was an underappreciated cause of Trumps victory, and Puzder is all but certain to use his new post to further weaken the labor movement. His appointment is a threat to workers in the immediate term, and to the prospects of progressive governance in the long. Rebecca Traisters Picks for Trump's Best Three 1. Nikki Haley, Ambassador to the U.N.: I dont like this game because I realized that it was not possible for me to pick the worst. Trumps cabinet picks are each chilling in unique ways; to pick the worst feels like suggesting that the destruction of the planet is somehow worse than the rollback of our human rights or that either of those is worse than the eradication of our public-education system. All I could manage was a shortened list of least-bad cabinet picks. The least bad, as far as I could determine, was Nikki Haley, chosen by Trump to be ambassador to the U.N.. She qualified as least bad because as governor, she took the Confederate flag down in South Carolina, which was a small and overdue act, but nonetheless courageous for a southern Republican. Also, while the job of U.N. ambassador is important, it can cause and again, Im speaking comparatively here the least amount of damage to the republic or the Earth. Of course, when she gave her first speech, she talked about taking names of those who dont have our backs, a speech that gravely mitigated her least bad status in my head. 2. James Mattis, Secretary of Defense: The second least bad, I guess, is James Mattis for Defense, because he doesnt believe in torture. Which is a piteously low bar. And the fact that Mattis clears it is meaningless anyway since Trump is obviously not consulting him on anything, including the Muslim ban. 3. Rex Tillerson, Secretary of State: There is not a third-least-bad cabinet pick. I mean, I heard that Rex Tillerson might not hate gay people. Congratulations to Rex; he must be a real mensch. Too bad he has no foreign-policy experience and is a lifelong oil-industry baron with extensive business interests in Russia. *This article appears in the February 6, 2017, issue of New York Magazine. *This article has been updated throughout. John Bercow. The Republican Partys critique of Obama-era foreign policy boiled down to 11 words: Our allies dont trust us and our enemies dont fear us. Dick Cheney, Paul Ryan, Jeb Bush, Scott Walker, Marco Rubio, and virtually every other Republican on Capitol Hill, cable news, or their second drink at the country club recited that phrase verbatim at some point in Obamas eight years. Even Donald Trump when he wasnt decrying Americas allies as ungrateful freeloaders found time to chastise Obama for alienating our best geopolitical buddies. To our friends and allies, the GOP nominee said in April, America is going to be reliable again. It was never clear how, precisely, Obama had lost our allies trust (unless one defines Americas allies as members of the Likud government). Nonetheless, if there was one thing every Republican could agree on, it was that the measure of a presidents foreign policy was the free worlds faith in American leadership. Two weeks into the Trump presidency, the British parliament has barred Americas commander-in-chief from addressing the House of Commons; a leading German newspaper has called on all freedom-loving peoples in Europe and Asia to mobilize against the United States; a senior cabinet minister in the Australian government has coined the phrase normal Trump tantrum; Israeli intelligence agents are (reportedly) unsure if they can safely share information with the White House; the Mexican president cant meet with the U.S. president without inviting a political backlash; members of the global economic elite have started referring to China as the leader of the free world; and Canada wont stop putting its southern neighbor to shame. BREAKING: @DrEricHoskins says Ontario to "provide life-saving care" to foreign kids whose surgeries cancelled due to Trump's travel ban. Robert Benzie (@robertbenzie) February 3, 2017 Those first two developments are new, and, thus, worth unpacking. British prime minister Theresa May recently invited Trump to the U.K. for a state visit. One million Britons promptly signed a petition telling Trump to sod off. Eventually, the speaker of the House of Commons former Conservative Party MP John Bercow was asked to weigh in on the matter. If a state visit takes place, that is way beyond and above the pay grade of the Speaker, Bercow said. However, as far as this place is concerned I feel very strongly that our opposition to racism and to sexism and our support for equality before the law and an independent judiciary are hugely important considerations in the House of Commons. Speaker of House of Commons doesn't want Trump to address Parliament: "Our opposition to racism & sexism...hugely important considerations." pic.twitter.com/9ddHxcxtHj Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) February 6, 2017 It isnt clear that Trump had any intention of addressing the House of Commons, but, regardless, Bercows rebuke reflects a profound decay in the British publics enthusiasm for thespecial relationship. One day earlier, Der Spiegel implored Germany to mobilize the free world against the United States: Germany must stand up in opposition to the 45th president of the United States and his government. Thats difficult enough already for two reasons: Because it is from the Americans that we obtained our liberal democracy in the first place; and because it is unclear how the brute and choleric man on the other side will react to diplomatic pressure. The fact that opposition to the American government can only succeed when mounted together with Asian and African partners and no doubt with our partners in Europe, with the EU doesnt make the situation any easier. It is literally painful to write this sentence, but the president of the United States is a pathological liar. The president of the U.S. is a racist (it also hurts to write this). He is attempting a coup from the top; he wants to establish an illiberal democracy, or worse; he wants to undermine the balance of power. He fired an acting attorney general who held a differing opinion from his own and accused her of betrayal. This is the vocabulary used by Nero, the emperor and destroyer of Rome. It is the way tyrants think. That Europe should unite with Asia against Trumps America isnt merely the idle fantasy of a German columnist. Weve always said that America is our best friend, Jeroen Dijsselbloem, president of the Eurogroup, told the New York Times last month. If thats no longer the case, if thats what we need to understand from Donald Trump, then of course Europe will look for new friends China is a very strong candidate for that. The Chinese involvement in Europe in terms of investment is already very high and expanding. If you push away your friends, you mustnt be surprised if the friends start looking for new friends. To be fair to Trump, it would be difficult to say that Americas enemies dont fear us, now that an emotionally volatile demagogue has his hands on the nuclear codes its just that everybody else does, too. I have no friends, as far as Im concerned, Donald Trump told supporters in New Hampshire last February. One month later, the New York Times ran a feature that suggested this claim was mostly true. Hes the kind of guy who likes throwing hand grenades in the room, real-estate tycoon Richard LeFrak told the paper, in explanation of his fellow moguls lack of close ties. Theres a lot of intensity and energy, a lot of publicity and other stuff. Being friends with Trump is like being friends with a hurricane. Trump is well on his way to remaking America in his own image. If the worst happens again, Trump should not be able to deflect blame, much less use terrorism as a justification for his policies. Photo: Jose Jimenez/Primera Hora/Getty Images There are two very troubling things about Donald Trumps tweeted threat to hold the court system responsible for future terrorist acts he claims his embattled travel ban might prevent. The first and worst, as my colleague Eric Levitz explains, is that such inflammatory charges endanger the independence of the judiciary, and with it the rule of law. But on a political level, there is something else sinister about this sort of talk coming from the president of the United States: He is preemptively clearing himself and his administration of any responsibility for future terrorist acts its policies might fail to prevent or even invite. As Jeet Heer notes: [I]tsa candid admission about how [Trump] intends to play the politics of terrorism. If the U.S. is hit by a terrorist attack that can be connected to Islamic radicalism, Trump will blame his opponents, whether they be the courts, politicians, journalists, or whomever; the terrorist attack will be anyones fault but his own. That much is very clear. Perhaps the larger challenge is how Trump opponents can safeguard themselves and the country from this sort of irresponsible blame-shifting, which could not only misrepresent the causes for terrorist acts, but justify steps by Trump that endanger our security even more and vitiate civil liberties even further. Heer argues Democrats should respond with their own anticipatory arguments: If Trump is prepared to blame judges and his political opponents for terrorism, the opposition has to be clear that the buck stops with him. Keeping Americans safe from terrorist attacks is one of the presidents primary responsibilities. If the executive orders he signs are overturned because they dont meet constitutional mettle, that will be his fault, too, since its also the presidents responsibility to obey the Constitution. And if Trumps policies whether by ignoring white supremacist violence or inciting Islamic radicalism lead to more terrorism, then he has to be held responsible for that as well. Sure, Trumps defenders may argue that is not fair to him. But they cannot have it both ways, blaming the 44th president for terrorist acts he had nothing to do with (as Trump did) while insulating the 45th from responsibility. The harder thing for Democrats may be resisting the temptation to rally around the president if his administration does succeed in provoking or failing to prevent or intercept future attacks. Whether or not you think George W. Bush bore any responsibility for 9/11, there is no question he exploited the atmosphere of post-attack solidarity to launch an unnecessary preemptive war against Iraq, and then argue mendaciously that it had made Americans safer. Does anyone doubt Donald Trump is capable of similar deceptions? Photo: Getty Images, NBC Aside from the reports that President Trump continues to watch far too much cable news, the biggest takeaway from the near-daily leaks from the White House is that Sean Spicers job is absolutely terrible. From the start, there were rumors that Trump wanted a woman to serve as White House press secretary, but was forced to settle for the former Republican National Committee communications director. To make matters worse, Spicer has taken on two jobs, acting as communications director in addition to press secretary. Then, during his first full day on the job, Spicer was transformed into a meme when he fumed at the press for misreporting the size of Trumps inauguration crowd. Trump reportedly demanded that Spicer do the press conference, then complained about Spicers demeanor and ill-fitting suit. Over the weekend, the New York Times reported that the president makes time to watch Spicers daily press briefings then summons Spicer to critique his performance. Now Spicer is said to be in trouble for being hilariously spoofed by Melissa McCarthy on Saturday Night Live and not because he was portrayed as an unhinged, furious purveyor of alternative facts. Politico reports, More than being lampooned as a press secretary who makes up facts, it was Spicers portrayal by a woman that was most problematic in the presidents eyes, according to sources close to him. A top Trump donor added, Trump doesnt like his people to look weak. On Monday Spicer said hes fine with the skit, though he told Politico hed much rather have the focus be on the presidents agenda and the success hes having. While the president habitually attacks SNL on Twitter, he had nothing to say this weekend. That was reportedly seen internally as a sign of how uncomfortable it made the White House feel. If true, the report adds another bizarre layer to how the president views gender roles. While he may have wanted a woman to fill Spicers role, multiple reports suggest that hes particularly irked by women who stand up to him, or generally behave in a manner he disapproves of. On Sunday the New York Times noted that while McCarthys comedic talent is what makes the skit so funny, seeing the presidents spokesman skewered by a woman gave it an extra edge: While her gender isnt the center of her performance, it matters. Theres a bit of an extra bite in a woman lampooning the spokesperson of a president who once bragged about grabbing womens genitals, and who was reportedly moved to rage last month when attendance at womens protests around the world dwarfed attendance at his inauguration. Add to that the fact that President Trump reportedly wants his female staffers to dress like women, and Melissa McCarthy dressing like a man to play his press secretary feels like a particularly astute way to needle the White House. In light of Politicos report, people are clamoring for classic Trump nemesis Rosie ODonnell to replace the Grim Reaper as SNLs Steve Bannon. ODonnell said shes game: - i am here to serve - alec has trump - melissa has spice - i would need a few days to prepare - so if called - i will be ready ROSIE (@Rosie) February 7, 2017 available - if called i will serve !!! https://t.co/LT84EJjfsw ROSIE (@Rosie) February 7, 2017 SNL gave us Larry David as Bernie Sanders, and Alec Baldwin is hosting the show next weekend. A week from now, Spicer might not be the only White House aide taking flak for a spoof he has no control over. Photo: Drew Angerer/Getty Images Andy Puzder, President Donald Trumps embattled nominee for Labor secretary, is entangled in another controversy. The fast-food CEO admitted that he and his wife employed an undocumented housekeeper. Puzder said in a statement that he was unaware that she was not legally permitted to work in the U.S. When I learned of her status, we immediately ended her employment and offered her assistance in getting legal status. Puzder added he paid federal and state back taxes; the housekeeper reportedly declined the offer for immigration assistance. This is just the latest setback for Puzder, whose confirmation pushed back four times has now been postponed indefinitely. The head of the restaurant group that includes Carl Jr. and Hardees still has not filed the required paperwork to the Senate, including financial disclosure forms. Puzders nomination has also come under intense scrutiny for his opposition to increasing the minimum wage and other labor laws to protect low-wage hourly workers. Workers at his chain restaurants have also alleged wage theft, and the company has had to pay out millions after lawsuits. Critics have pointed to his sexist ads and domestic-violence allegations as disqualifying factors. And while opposition is mounting to Puzder along with many of Trumps not-yet-confirmed nominees this probably isnt Nannygate, especially because similar issues have plagued two other Trump picks: Commerce secretary nominee Wilbur Ross and South Carolina representative Mick Mulvaney, selected to head the Office of Management and Budget. Ross fired an undocumented housekeeper right before his hearings after re-checking paperwork before going before the Senate. Mulvaney allegedly just paid more than $15,000 in back taxes for a nanny employed years ago, saying he learned about his accounting hiccup while going over paperwork for his potential appointment. The delays in Puzders hearings led to some speculation that the businessman may be trying to get out of becoming Labor secretary. But the on-deck option might be even more unpalatable to the opposition. The Huffington Post reports that the very anti-union Wisconsin governor Scott Walker expressed interest in the job, though Walker has denied those rumors. President Donald Trump speaks following a visit to the U.S. Central Command and Special Operations Command at MacDill Air Force Base on February 6, 2017, in Tampa, Florida. Photo: MANDEL NGAN/AFP/Getty Images The jury is still out on whether theres a grand strategy behind the falsehoods spread by Donald Trump, but on Monday the White House did manage to take one of the presidents baseless accusations and use it to their advantage. President Trumps main justification for his executive order barring refugees and immigrants from seven Muslim-majority countries is the need to take swift and extreme action to protect the United States from terrorism. On Monday, after several courts blocked the order and journalists pointed out that it doesnt make sense to focus on those groups, Trump tried to preemptively shift the blame for any future terror attack from his policies to the courts and the media. Then, while speaking to U.S. Central Command, the president suggested that the media is covering up terrorist attacks for some unspecified reason (not unlike President Obama). Youve seen what happened in Paris, and Nice. All over Europe, its happening, Trump said. Its gotten to a point where its not even being reported. And in many cases the very, very dishonest press doesnt want to report it. They have their reasons, and you understand that. The remark was reminiscent of Trump senior adviser Kellyanne Conways widely mocked complaint that the media didnt cover the Bowling Green massacre which is true, as theres no such thing. Conway claimed she meant to say Bowling Green terrorists, referring to two Iraqi men caught trying to aid terror groups back home while they were living in Kentucky. However, Cosmopolitan revealed on Monday that shed used the term Bowling Green massacre before. While the Conway controversy might have been fresh in his mind, Trumps accusation has deeper roots. For months, the conspiracy-theory website InfoWars has been reporting that the mainstream press is downplaying reports of terror attacks. (A sample headline from July: SCANDAL: MASS MEDIA COVERS UP TERRORISM TO PROTECT ISLAM.) And as the Washington Post reports, the general concept predates InfoWars: Conservatives have long accused the media of obscuring the details and motivations of radical Islamic terrorists in an effort to downplay the role of religion. After Benghazi, the media were often accused of not sufficiently covering the terrorist attack on the U.S. diplomatic outpost or refusing to label it terrorism. The press might have stayed focused on why President Trumps suggestion of a widespread media coverup is so dangerous were it not for Sean Spicer working the refs, as the Posts Philip Bump put it. The White House press secretary said Trumps vague suggestion that the media doesnt want to report on terror attacks was actually a reference to several instances in which the media didnt devote enough attention to terrorism. He felt members of the media dont always cover some of those events to the extent that other events might get covered, Spicer said. Protests will get blown out of the water, and yet an attack or a foiled attack doesnt necessarily get the same coverage. Spicer promised to provide specific examples, and hours later the White House put out a list of 78 terror attacks that they claim didnt receive adequate media attention. It included several attacks that drew weeks of extensive coverage, like the killing of 14 people in San Bernardino, California, in 2015, the Orlando nightclub shooting that claimed 49 lives last summer, and even the 2015 massacre in Paris that left 129 people dead. Also listed are several incidents that had no casualties, and thus received far less coverage. The list appeared to be put together hastily, and it was far from comprehensive. There were strange omissions, like no mention of terror attacks in Israel or those carried out by white extremists. And the document includes spelling errors; Denmakr instead of Denmark and the repeated misspelling of attacker as attaker: White House list of allegedly undercovered Islamist terror attacks repeatedly misspells attacker. pic.twitter.com/Im2MPWJr7j Matthew Yglesias (@mattyglesias) February 7, 2017 White House spokesperson Lindsay Walters pivoted even further from Trumps claim that the very, very dishonest press have their reasons for downplaying terrorism. Rather than suggesting some nefarious motive, she said there were simply too many terror attacks for the press to adequately cover them all. The real point here is that these terrorists attacks are so pervasive at this point that they do not spark the wall-to-wall coverage they once did, she said. If you look back just a few years ago, any one of these attacks would have been ubiquitous in every news outlet, and now theyre happening so often at a rate of more than once every two weeks, according to the list that networks are not devoting to each of them the same level of coverage they once did. Now, rather than focusing solely on the presidents remarks, the media had a bizarre list to pick apart. Some outlets noted that there are valid criticisms to be made about how the media covers terrorism though Trump didnt make them. Other journalists tried to disprove the assertion by recalling their coverage of incidents mentioned in the list. Anderson Cooper: I know we covered attacks, I was there https://t.co/W4sYKYqdHF https://t.co/r7BEVkbZ2N Anderson Cooper 360 (@AC360) February 7, 2017 Most outlets were trying to illustrate that the so-called evidence released by the White House does not back up Trumps attack on the press. However, their discussion might have bolstered his larger point that Americans should be very alarmed about terrorism, even if theres no new incident currently dominating media coverage. Its hard not to be more worried about threats to national security when headlines remind you of the dozens of attacks committed by Islamic extremists, and terrorism is all anyone is talking about. To Tehran, with love. Photo-Illustration: Daily Intelligencer; Photos: Getty Images President Trump has received a great deal of criticism for his coziness with Vladimir Putin. And much of that criticism has been deserved. But on Tuesday morning, the president made an incisive point in his own defense: While the media has taken him to task for kissing up to Russia, it has said virtually nothing about Barack Obamas love affair with the Islamic Republic of Iran: I don't know Putin, have no deals in Russia, and the haters are going crazy - yet Obama can make a deal with Iran, #1 in terror, no problem! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 7, 2017 This is a very good argument and it makes a lot of sense. Without question: Trump has a long history of publicly praising Putin and excusing the autocrats crimes. But couldnt you say the exact same thing about Obamas history with Sayyed Ali Hosseini Khamenei? In the interest of journalistic fairness, heres a quick history of Obamas years-long bromance with Irans grand ayatollah. In reading it, you might find it hard not to conclude that the media has judged Donald Trump using a double standard. May 2009: Just before his first major address to the Islamic world, Obama wonders over Twitter whether the speech will mark the beginning of his beautiful friendship with Khamenei. (Imagine the reaction if Trump said such a thing about Putin). January 2010: Just months after the Iranian government brutally suppressed the Green Revolution, Obama offers the ayatollah this bizarre, self-deprecating praise. (Trump, by contrast, has never gone so far as to compare America unfavorably with its enemies.) February 2010: One month later, Obama (jokingly?) claims that Iran is aiding U.S. troops in Iraq, because of Khameneis personal affection for the American president. (I shudder to think how the liberal media would react if Trump said something like this about Russia hacking the DNC.) December 2010: Obama argues that Khamenei has a much higher approval rating than American soldiers. (Say what you want about Trump, but hes never touted the popularity of a foreign autocrat.) January 2011: In a preSuper Bowl interview with Bill OReilly, Obama argues that the United States and Iran are morally equivalent. OReilly: Khamenei stones adulterers. Obama: There are a lot of adulterers. We stone a lot of adulterers. Well, you think our country is so innocent? (Trump may make excuses for Putin, but he definitely doesnt suggest that our liberal democracy is morally equivalent to Russias autocracy.) October 2012: Asked about suspected Iranian involvment in the hacking of the RNCs email account, Obama implores Tehran to dig up embarrassing information on his electoral rival. Photo: Brendan Hoffman/Getty Images Iran, if youre listening, I hope youre able to find those binders full of women that are missing. I think you will probably be rewarded mightily by our press. (This in no way recalls more recent political history.) October 2012: At the final presidential debate, Romney confronts Obama on his coziness with Khamenei. The president flies into an incoherent rage. Photo: Win McNamee/Getty Images Obama: If Iran and the United States got along well and went after ISIS, that would be good. He has no respect for him. He has no respect for Mitt. Romney: Well, thats because he would rather have a marionette as president of the United States. Obama: No marionette. Youre the marionette. (If you think Hillary Clinton and Trump had an exchange like this, you are wrong.) December 2012: The CIA releases a report suggesting that Iran interfered in the 2012 election with the aim of aiding Obamas candidacy. The president releases a combative statement that disparages American intelligence. (Donald Trump has never had a feud with the CIA.) January 2017: Following an Iranian test of an intercontinental ballistic missile, Obama publishes his first tweet as an ex-president. (You get the idea.) Suffering under buffering. Photo: sd619/Getty Images The company formerly known as Time Warner Cable now known as Spectrum after a merger between Charter Communications and Time Warner Cable is being sued by New York attorney general Eric Schneiderman for allegedly lying to customers, since at least 2012, about their internet services. The allegations in [this] lawsuit confirm what millions of New Yorkers have long suspected Spectrum-Time Warner Cable has been ripping you off, said Attorney General Schneiderman in a press release. Schneiderman was no doubt using the strongest language he could in a government statement. After reading the full complaint against Spectrum-Time Warner Cable, Id say the state is accusing Time Warner Cable less of ripping off customers and more of pissing on New Yorkers heads and telling them its raining. The full complaint is one of the rare legal briefs that makes for good, compelling reading, particularly for any Time Warner Cable customer who has stared at that Netflix is having trouble loading screen even though theyre paying for more than enough speed for Netflix, and theyve already been on the phone with Time Warner Cable like four times about this, and Jesus Christ, just play some episodes of 30 Rock, please? Partly, this is because of the deep insight it offers into potentially why particularly from 2012 to 2014 your Time Warner Cable internet sucked. But more importantly, thanks to numerous internal emails and documents from TWC, it gives a glimpse of the corporate culture inside TWC. Its one where engineers and customer-support reps repeatedly and consistently bring up problems about the companys internet-service plans, only to have their solutions shot down by execs higher up the ladder as being too costly. If the governments case is accurate, it shows the combination of deceit and intentional neglect that created an ISP that sold customers one thing and provided something else altogether. The complaint boils down to two essential charges: First, that starting in 2012, TWC began aggressively pushing customers to sign up for higher-priced internet-service subscriptions for ostensibly faster speeds speeds the company knew it couldnt deliver because its hardware was old and its infrastructure was decaying. Second, that the company repeatedly promised reliable, no buffering, no lag internet, especially to services like Netflix or to online games like League of Legends, but was in fact purposefully letting the interconnections between TWC and outside companies degrade to an alarming degree unless the companies, like Netflix, were willing to start paying for access to TWC customers. Knowing It Was Too Slow Per the states complaint, TWC did three things that meant it could never deliver the speeds it was promising to customers particularly to those paying for 100-megabit-per-second (Mbps), 200-Mbps, and 300-Mbps speed tiers. The state claims TWC didnt provide fast-enough modems for lease to deliver speeds promised, it didnt provide wireless routers fast enough to deliver speeds promised (and made some outright laughable claims in its advertising about the abilities of its Wi-Fi), and it didnt improve last mile infrastructure which delivers that coaxial cable into your home to sufficiently provide speeds promised. First, lets look at the modems TWC leased to customers. TWC mainly leased two types of modems modems that used Data Over Cable Service Interface Specification (DOCSIS) 2.0, or D2 modems, and more modern modems that used DOCSIS 3.0, or D3 modems. The D2 modems only use one channel in a broadband connection, capping their download speed at 38Mbps, though as early as 2013 TWC knew that D2 modems were actually non-compliant for any speed above 20 Mbps. D3 modems can use multiple channels, allowing for much-faster internet speeds. So, you would assume that anyone subscribing to a speed tier above 20 Mbps would get the faster D3 modem, right? According to the state, that didnt happen. Customers subscribing to high-speed tiers were still being leased D2 modems. A snapshot in February of 2016 found that over 185,000 TWC customers on high-speed plans were being leased D2 modems that TWC knew could not deliver the speed the customers were paying for. Over all, TWC leased over 800,000 D2 modems to New Yorkers on high-speed plans for three months or more from 2012 until present. And here begins the theme that repeats itself in the attorney generals complaint: A good and decent course of action is recommended internally, and people higher up in the company decide not to do it. According to the complaint, TWC engineers in 2013 recommended switching out the slower D2 modems for D3 modems. But as one senior exec put it two years later in 2015, while the problem was still ongoing: The solution is to get the D2s out, but we dont have that kind of capital. (In 2014, TWC posted an operating adjusted income of $4.8 billion.) But, again, there was a chance to do the right thing. According to the complaint, there was an internal plan called Ship to All to simply upgrade every customer on a high-speed plan still using a D2 modem to a D3 modem. Problem solved, except that the plan was quickly killed due to fear of costs. Instead, the company went with what it called a Raise Your Hand approach, in which customers could get new modems, but only if they called TWCs infamously bad customer service or waited in line at a TWC store, installed the new modem themselves or face an installation fee, and returned their old modem or get hit with a large Unreturned Equipment Fee charge. An internal email reveals this plan was explicitly designed to lower the number of people who would upgrade to the modem they needed in order to get the speeds required. And nowhere in the mailing and literature sent to customers did TWC explain that without this upgrade, customers would be stuck with far slower internet speeds than they were paying for. This brings us to routers. According to the complaint, TWC also failed to provide wireless routers that could provide the speeds promised. TWC chose to continue to lease out (usually a single gateway device that combined a modem and Wi-Fi router) routers running an older protocol, 802.11n, which can theoretically deliver max speeds of 100 Mbps, but, like many Wi-Fi routers, delivers slower speeds in the real world. Per the complaint, an internal email from a senior TWC exec in charge of equipment put it bluntly: We do not offer a [device] today that is capable of the peak Maxx speed of 300 Mbps via wireless we are going to experience a mismatch between what we sell the customer and what they actually measure on their laptop/tablet/etc. Again, it was recommended that TWC simply upgrade customers to the proper equipment, in this case sending out new Wi-Fi routers running the newer and much-faster protocol 802.11ac to anyone on a high-speed plan. At times in the complaint, TWCs claims can seem outright laughable. The attorney generals office points toward a made claim that there would be no difference between wired and wireless internet with TWCs internet package. First off, the company knew that many of its customers were on Wi-Fi routers that couldnt deliver the speed it was promising. Second, interference alone can knock off nearly 25 percent of the speed on a Wi-Fi signal and thats before you start divvying up all that bandwidth between the multiple wireless devices many people have running in their homes. This image from an internal TWC presentation shows the elephant in the room when it comes to Wi-Fi. Then theres the issue of built infrastructure. If you avoided TWCs outdated equipment and bought your own modem and router, rather than lease your modem and router from your ISP (and you really should just buy your own), it was highly unlikely youd get the speeds you were paying for, especially at the higher speed tiers. This is because TWC dragged its feet on building out its last mile infrastructure. Basically, when you are a cable internet subscriber, you share bandwidth with your service group (a.k.a., your neighbors). In February of 2016, the average service group in NYC had 340 subscribers sharing 608 Mbps of bandwidth. Per TWCs engineers, the ideal is to have a network that only hits 50 percent capacity, even during peak hours (7 p.m. to 11 p.m.) ensuring that anyone, even someone with a high-speed connection, can still utilize all the bandwidth they are paying for. Instead TWC regularly ran service groups at 80 percent capacity meaning that someone paying a $110 a month for 300 Mbps service would likely only be able to achieve speeds in the range of 120 Mbps. In a cycle that should now be familiar, its alleged that TWC knew this was a problem and decided on inaction as the best course. When a TWC exec says perhaps the 80 percent capacity limit needed to be lowered so the customers paying the most for their internet would reap more of the benefits, he was shot down. That would drive 100s of millions in investment, replied a co-worker. All of this led to a situation where people on 100 Mbps, 200 Mbps, or 300 Mbps plans (which the attorney general claims customer service reps were instructed to aggressively upsell customers on) were regularly averaging, at best, half the promised speed they had purchased from TWC. Oh yeah, theres also the claim that TWC actively deceived the FCC about its failure to provide its promised level of internet service. The complaint outlines a number of alleged shenanigans TWC pulled on the FCC from 2012 until present, including making false promises to upgrade all its customers to D3 modems and putting its thumb on speed tests with the explicit approval of senior execs. Putting Profit Over Reliability All of the above, if true, paints a picture of a company that decided on inaction as much as possible to save money. But when the attorney generals complaint turns to the unreliability, you see something more remarkable the company allegedly ignoring upgrading its infrastructure in a deliberate attempt to extract money from the other side of the equation: content providers like Netflix and backbone providers like Level 3 or Akamai, which form the bulk of the modern internet. (TWC wasnt alone in making these deals all of the major ISPs at the time were forcing the same deals on various providers, in particular Netflix.) Per the complaint, it worked like this: Starting in 2011, TWC was seeing tremendous growth in how much data users were demanding, especially as on-demand HD video streaming really began to take off. Between your ISP and the internet-at-large are ports (or, technically, internet exchange points, also known as peerings or interconnections). In 2011, TWC decided that instead of its previous policy of exchanging data between content and backbone providers and end users for free, it would begin charging. Some companies held out, including Netflix, the maker of the extremely popular online game League of Legends, and backbone provider Cogent. In the case of Netflix, the company refused to pay for access to TWCs customers. In response, TWC didnt cut them off entirely. Instead, it allegedly just neglected to upgrade the port capacity between TWC and Netflix, causing slower connections. Netflix offered to install, for free, its own OpenConnect hardware to ensure that it could deliver its content smoothly to TWC customers. TWC declined, instead continuing to insist that Netflix pay up. Netflix refused to pay from 2012 to 2014, when it finally caved. During this time, the complaint alleges that Netflix speeds were consistently below would be acceptable for HD streaming, about 3 Mbps. After Netflix struck a deal, it returned. The complaint republishes this chart, taken from a TWC internal presentation, about the Netflix deal. In other words, had Netflix not played ball, TWC customers would have continued to see substandard speed from Netflix. The complaint alleges that TWC never informed customers that its ongoing dispute with Netflix was causing slower speeds instead it ran ads about how TWC subscribers would Enjoy Netflix better. The state claims much of the same is true in the case of Riot Games, creator of League of Legends, which initially refused to pay TWC until caving in August of 2015. Before the deal was struck, lag and data-packet loss (i.e., two of the things that can badly affect how well online game plays) for League of Legends players were far above the standards Riot liked to see. After it struck a deal, the numbers improved. Again, while it was in an ongoing dispute with one of the most popular online games in the world, TWC was also advertising that subscribers would experience games with no lag time. Finally, theres backbone provider Cogent (which carries much of Netflixs data as well), which refused to ever pay for access to TWCs customers. It consistently saw much-higher data-packet loss over TWCs network. In an email republished in the complaint, Cogent at one point offered to split the costs of upgrading TWCs network (a relatively low-cost $10,000), but TWC refused to do so. Cogent consistently remained the worst performing backbone provider on TWC right up until the FCCs ruling in 2015 that ISPs were common carriers, meaning that ISPs were forced to act as neutral gateways to the internet at which point Cogent saw its port capacity increase again. Per the state, the reasoning behind all this was even explicitly laid out by a TWC exec in an email about port capacity, writing, We really want content networks paying us for access and right now we force those through transit that do not want to pay. (Forcing them through transit essentially means forcing content networks to find a more circuitous way to home users.) The office of the attorney general received nearly 3,000 complaints from TWC customers about slow and unreliable internet service, and reproduces a few in the complaint, including this, which touches on TWCs failure to keep up with port infrastructure: We are being throttled on streaming services such as Youtube, Netflix, and Twitch while also having problems with Video games such as League of Legends. What Does It Mean for Spectrum-Time Warner Cable And for You? Well, for one, Charter seems pretty peeved that by acquiring Time Warner Cable, its now faced with both upgrading TWCs infrastructure (a tremendously expensive proposition in NYC) and handling an aggressive and potentially very expensive lawsuit. We are disappointed that the New York Attorney General chose to file this lawsuit regarding Time Warner Cables broadband speed advertisements that occurred prior to Charters merger, said a spokesperson for Charter Communications when asked for comment. Charter made significant commitments to New York State as part of our merger with Time Warner Cable in areas of network investment, broadband deployment and offerings, customer service, and jobs. After acquiring TWC for $55 billion, its not hard to imagine Charter may be feeling some buyers remorse at this point. The state is seeking, among other things, $5,000 for every instance of false advertising by TWC in New York state. This means, theoretically, that every advertisement Spectrum-TWC ran from January 1, 2012 until February 1, 2017 would cost Charter $5,000. Considering that nationally TWC spent about $245 million in 2014 on advertising, this could translate into a mind-boggling amount. Add additional damages the attorney general also hopes to collect damages on behalf of the 900,000 customers directly affected and you have a lawsuit that could end up costing Charter hundreds of millions of dollars. This is also why its likely that Charter will settle this case out of court, as many cases like this often are. This will settle because there seems to be a potential for a really high liability, says University of Buffalo professor of law Mark Bartholomew. And its pretty bad from a public relations standpoint. Theyll make a decision to stop the bleeding before going all the way to trial. For Bartholomew, the case seems pretty clear cut. If youre on Spectrum-TWC, you can do several things right now. One, if youre leasing your modem and router from them, stop. The Wirecutter-approved ARRIS SURFboard SB6183 and TP-Link Archer C7 will run you $175 together, which youll pay off in less than a year and a half of renting a modem and router from Spectrum, and youll be able to keep your modem if you switch providers. Second, head here and test out your internet speeds the New York attorney generals office provides really easy-to-follow instructions. If possible, run these tests while plugged into your Ethernet you want to test your actual internet speed, not how well your Wi-Fi router is working. If youre not getting what youre paying for, you can quickly file a complaint. Third, you can always take your money elsewhere. Much of the lawsuit focuses on a time when TWC was really the only game in town. You may live where thats still the case, but if not, consider going to another ISP. Youll nearly always end up paying less thanks to introductory plans. More broadly, though, we may be entering a different era. The FCC was actively working with TWC for years on trying to resolve these issues, with little to show for it. One way to interpret this is that federal regulators have not faced up to Time Warner Cable the way the New York attorney general feels they need to do so, and so we turn to courts and false advertising law, says Bartholomew. But this was also under Obamas much-more active FCC, which passed regulation preventing TWC from charging data providers like Netflix extra to carry their data directly to consumers. But Trumps FCC is signalling that were about to enter a period of extreme deregulation, and Spectrum will likely soon be able to do as it pleases again at some point (though promises made by Charter made when acquiring Time Warner Cable will keep net neutrality in place for now). If that happens, consumers best hope of actually getting what they pay for will be either increased competition (unlikely, considering the high costs of entering the market) or lawsuits like this one. Well have more and more state attorneys general taking the lead in customer protection, says Bartholomew. And not the feds. Is L.L. Bean gunning for redemption? Photo: Courtesy of CC/Flickr/northrup Last month, Donald Trump fired off a seemingly random tweet about L.L. Bean, thanking one of the companys board members, Linda Bean, for her support and urging his followers to buy L.L. Bean. What he meant by that, it turned out, is that Linda Bean (granddaughter of Leon Leonwood Bean, the companys founder) donated $60,000 to a pro-Trump political action committee well beyond the Federal Election Committees $5,000 limit. Trumps tweet ignited a boycott of L.L. Bean, and the #GrabYourWallet movement added the company to a list of retailers to avoid. And although the company released a statement saying it was deeply troubled by the portrayal of L.L.Bean as a supporter of any political agenda, those boycotting it seemed unsatisfied. But on Monday, Politico obtained an internal email from the companys CEO that indicates the extent of its ideological divide. While we have gone to great pains over the past few weeks to distance ourselves from an unfortunate and unwanted political situation, there have been some more recent developments that have prompted me to share some thoughts and direction, wrote L.L. Bean CEO Stephen Smith. Referring to Trumps Muslim ban, he continued, Recent national policy changes are also creating confusion and concern within our family of great employees. He added that L.L. Bean is committed to help our affected employees in any way possible and urged any employee personally grappling with the ban to reach out to him. Smith said he supports diversity to create a stronger organization and a better world and reassured employees that L.L. Beans environment would always be inclusive. At the time of writing, #GrabYourWallet still lists L.L. Bean as a company with ties to Trump. Donald and Melania Trump. Photo: Joe Raedle/Getty Images Last week, Montgomery County Circuit Judge Sharon V. Burrell dismissed First Lady Melania Trumps libel lawsuit against the Daily Mails parent company, Mail Online. Trump had initially filed the $150 million suit against Mail Online, as well as 70-year-old Maryland blogger Webster Griffin Tarpley, in the state of Maryland back in September. While the suit against Tarpley will continue as planned, Judge Burrell ruled that there wasnt enough of a connection between Mail Online and Maryland for the company to be sued in that state. On Monday, Trump refiled the suit against Mail Online, this time in the state of New York. The libel claims concern a now-retracted Daily Mail article that published allegations from a Slovenian magazine, which claimed that Trumps old modeling agency was also an escort service. Per the Washington Post, the suit states that it caused her brand, Melania, to lose significant value as well as major business opportunities that were otherwise available to her. Some of the language may seem a bit familiar and may reveal her intentions to profit off the role of first lady. Take the part in which the suit states Trump had the unique, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, as an extremely famous and well-known person, as well as a former professional model, brand spokesperson and successful businesswoman, to launch a broad-based commercial brand in multiple product categories, each of which could have garnered multi-million dollar business relationships for a multi-year term during which Plaintiff is one of the most photographed women in the world. Trumps lawyer is Charles Harder, who recently represented Hulk Hogan in his suit against Gawker; Hogan won $140 million, leading to Gawkers bankruptcy. Cheers to the idea of the male contraceptive gel. Photo: KatarzynaBialasiewicz/Getty Images/iStockphoto Mere months ago, we raised our glasses and toasted the news that we were one step closer to a male birth-control shot. However, because of safety concerns, scientists said they still needed to fine-tune the shots hormonal combination, which means it was still something of the future. But theres promising news about another method: A male contraceptive gel has been found to be 100 percent effective in preventing pregnancy in a recent study without the side effects of the hormonal shot. As the Guardian reports, Vasalgel is a reversible and less-invasive alternate to a vasectomy. It works by being injected into the vas deferens, a duct in the male reproductive system that carries sperm. The gel serves as a long-acting barrier, but can be easily reversed by breaking it up through the use of an ultrasound. A recent study in primates, published in the journal Basic and Clinical Andrology, found Vasalgel prevents conception, and the nonprofit group that funded the work, the Parsemus Foundation, is set to start human trials as soon as funding is secured. Lead study author Catherine VandeVoort, of the California National Primate Research Center, told the Guardian, Mens options for contraception have not changed much in decades. Theres vasectomy, which is poorly reversible, and condoms. If they knew they could get a reliable contraceptive that could also be reversed I think it would be appealing to them. The finding is promising, particularly because of the severe side effects associated with the male birth-control shot, which ranged from depression to acne and injection-site pain; unlike the hormonal shot, Vasalgel doesnt interfere with sperm production or hormone levels in the body. Instead, the gel acts similarly to a vasectomy, with sperm continuing to be produced by the testes, and then dissolving and being naturally absorbed by the body instead of ejaculating. It just happens to be more easily reversible than a vasectomy. They wouldnt have to worry about it on a day-to-day basis, VandeVoort said. This would be more akin to an IUD in women. The bill would ban abortion at 20 weeks. Photo: Drew Angerer/Getty Images A bill that would ban abortion at 20 weeks is advancing in Pennsylvania, after the states GOP-controlled Senate Judiciary Committee on Monday voted to send it to the full Senate, the Associated Press reports. Last year, nearly identical legislation passed Pennsylvanias House of Representatives, but stalled after opposition from Democratic governor Tom Wolf and medical organizations. Currently, Pennsylvania allows abortions through the 24th week of pregnancy, according to the Guttmacher Institute. Pennsylvania Senate Bill 3 would make abortions illegal at the 20-week mark, with no exceptions for rape, incest, or fetal anomalies (even though most fetal anomalies are detected around 20 weeks of pregnancy). If the bill becomes law, Pennsylvania would be joining at least 16 other states that have a 20-week ban. Related Stories How Difficult Is It to Get an Abortion in Your State? Governor Wolf has already called the bill radical and unconstitutional and he could use his veto power if the bill ends up on his desk, but according to the AP, its unclear whether supporters could override him. Susan Frietsche, senior staff attorney at the Womens Law Project, told the Cut in a statement that SB3 is blatantly unconstitutional, and pointed out that it was voted out of the Judiciary Committee by nine middle-aged Republican men. SB3 risks womens lives by enabling politicians with no medical training to force doctors to provide less-than-standard care to patients under threat of arrest, Frietsche said. Its as if they want misogyny to justify this outrageous level of political interference into families struggling to make what should be private decisions. Update 2/8/17 at 3 p.m.: The bill passed the GOP-controlled Senate on Wednesday with a vote of 32/18, after an emotionally charged debate, the Associated Press reports. The bill next requires approval from the House of Representatives, which it is also expected to pass, but still faces a veto threat from Gov. Wolf. Photo: Estrop/Getty Images In January, at the Fall 2017 mens show in Paris, super-serious luxury company Louis Vuitton debuted a runway collection in collaboration with the famous skate-brand Supreme. Comprised of a whopping 23 pieces, it included a denim jacket ($1,974), a duffel bag ($2,345), and travel trunk ($6,171) and the repeating LV monogram emblazoned with Supremes red-box logo. Menswear blogs went bananas. Hysterical critics called it a murder-suicide for two brands that had a famously contentious relationship. Seventeen years ago, Supreme made skate decks that bore more than a passing resemblance to LVs signature monogram design. Although the decks were beloved by collectors, Vuitton sent a cease-and-desist. But the collaboration makes perfect sense if you look at the trajectory of both streetwear and luxury, and these two brands in particular. Supreme may technically be a skate brand, but it operates much more like a luxury fashion label. In fact, Vuitton and Supreme share more than a few marketing strategies. Both traffic in scarcity. Both have harnessed cool through well-chosen artists collaborations (Supreme with contemporary American artists Marilyn Minter, George Condo, Jeff Koons; Louis Vuitton with international pop-artists Sylvie Fleury, Yayoi Kusama, Takashi Murakami). Both represent the pinnacle of taste albeit in different socioeconomic strata. But perhaps the most obvious overlap is the way both Supreme and Vuitton let their simple, repetitive logos do all the work for them. A good logo, when well applied, will take you pretty far. Thats why the collaboration is funny, brilliant, and a bit of a troll all at once. Its a naked admission of why people buy the things they buy. Signaling. The question of whether the collaboration benefits Supreme or Vuitton (or neither) has the whiff of out-of-touch snobbery its a partnership of equals. Over the years, Supreme has steadily become a reliable player in the firmament of menswear. No matter where your tastes fall on the uptown/downtown-flashy/understated xy-plane Supreme is cool. Except for the occasional business story, its largely ignored by the fashion press, and eschews most advertising other than street posters. Though streetwear sites will cover Preme relentlessly and breathlessly, you will rarely see the brand in fashion shoots because theres no point the clothes sell out immediately. With weekly drops coming out in limited quantities, an avid shopper would have to set up a bot for Thursdays at 11 to have any chance of buying anything. Credit for Supremes enduring hipster-status belongs to founder James Jebbia, who, since 1994, has been a rigorous steward of the brand. British-born and notoriously press-shy, Jebbia launched Supreme in New York while working at Stussy, another skate-juggernaut of the early 1990s. In direct contrast to the dirty, downtown skaters that first wore his clothes, the logo was clean, industrial, and referenced Barbara Krugers bold-red-block-with-white Futura lettering (I shop therefore I am). Unlike brands that diluted their cachet through licensing in the 70s and 80s (Halston, Gucci, and YSL), Supreme has always been fastidious about controlling its product and image. Supreme followed that old-fashioned concept of staying the course, says Cathy Horyn, the Cuts fashion-critic-at-large. It never looks like its trying too hard it has authenticity and isnt over-merchandised or overproduced because anytime you overproduce, youre in trouble. There are only ten Supreme stores in the world six in Japan, one in Paris, one in London, one in Los Angeles, and the original in New York. Contrast that with the 3,300 Gaps worldwide and more than 500 Burberrys (not to mention the myriad department stores and online merchants where you can find the brand.) Jebbia has said that if he knows Supreme can sell 600 pieces, he will make 400. That mentality of growing a business incrementally, of fiercely controlling where product can be obtained, of shrouding yourself in secrecy (Supreme didnt respond to multiple interview requests) is anathema today. Nowadays, brands become flush with venture-capital funding, inundate us with Facebook ads, and compete for more followers, a better mobile experience, and additional SKUs until its finally time to cash out. Supreme realized that bigger isnt better better is better, says Andy Spade, brand consultant and co-founder of Partners & Spade, and co-founder of Kate Spade. I work with a lot of companies that are just like, How do we grow? Supreme could quadruple or grow ten times in size and people would buy it but they havent. Its thinking small, says designer Steven Alan (who also opened his first store in Soho in 1994), and resisting the temptation to oversaturate the market. But Supreme is not just a New York phenomenon its in Japan and Korea and China and Europe, where who knows how the numbers work out. Scarcity, though (at least in the United States), has helped Supreme weather more than two decades of upheaval in the fashion business, not to speak of 9/11 and 2008. And yet the limited-edition model doesnt truly explain Supremes appeal. Supreme is nothing and Supreme is everything its very lack of design is its greatest strength. A piece of Supreme clothing is a vessel, relying on its wearer to animate it with meaning. Its why the same Supreme tee looks as effortless (and uniquely so) on Kate Moss as it does on Mike Tyson as it does on Neil Young as it does on Kermit the Frog. Its very subtle, says Alan. I think the ostentatiousness of a lot of luxury brands are getting challenged, even when they used to be popular in, say, Japan or China. But with Supreme, I can wear it; my son can wear it. That is a very difficult thing to do. If Hermes is caviar and Uniqlo is celery, Supreme would be butter: a luxury item with a populist sensibility that enhances whatever it touches. Supreme x Levis. Supreme x Nike. Supreme x Undercover by Jun Takahashi. Supreme x Comme des Garcons. But nothing has been on the scale of Louis Vuitton. Its clearly a flash point in the history of a brand associated with authenticity and rebellion collaborating with, perhaps, the ultimate symbol of the mens luxury establishment. Guy Trebay called it James Jebbias sellout moment. Vogue.com lamented that pieces in the collection were so expensive that Supreme had lost its gritty, of-the-people allure (debatable considering that most people wearing Supreme likely bought it at a huge markup from the resale market, where a $40 T-shirt can go for $100 to $1,000). These arguments, however, misunderstand Supremes appeal, especially for those who buy, wear, and collect it. Theyre not here because the brand is affordable. To them, Supreme is hip-hop. The irony, of course, is that Louis Vuitton is now often associated with hip-hop stars, too. Nearly two decades before Kanye declared himself the Louis Vuitton don, Sir Mix-a-Lot was calling out fakes with Swap Meet Louie. So, it seems, high came to low and vice versa. Its the subversiveness of it, says Spade. Thats what the LV thing is. Its that big corporate thing youd never suspect. Its like when Bob Dylan played electric guitar and everyone freaked out. Thats what you want from Supreme. Next thing you know, theyll collaborate with GE every time I think Ive figured them out, they veer left. Surprise, it turns out, is the ultimate luxury. Virgil Abloh died Sunday at the age of 41 after a long fight with a rare form of cancer. In early 2017, Carl Swanson wrote this profile of the groundbreaking designer. Virgil Abloh likes to talk. He possesses an unusual, youre-not-quite-sure-if-he-means-it talent for the gnomic monologue, holding forth on how he is kicking dents in culture and represents a kind of fashion that is post-Tumblr, poststreet style, and how his lauded label Off-White isnt fashion exactly but rather a platform for his being a creative. But then it makes a certain sense coming from a designer, itinerant DJ, and social-media superconnector who has been a member of Kanye Wests inner circle for nearly 14 years, dating back to the era when West was still close enough to his middle-class frustrations that he wrote a song about being talked down to at his retail job. Today, Abloh is Wests creative director, advising him on everything from tour merchandise and album covers to set design, if not yet on his political aspirations, and occasionally making peace between members of his posse, acting as, in his own words, a kind of camp counselor. The two are so close that when West decided he wanted to learn more about fashion, in 2009, he brought Abloh along with him to an internship at Fendi. As it turns out, the 36-year-old Abloh might have learned more than West. In the last few years, OffWhite c/o Virgil Abloh (all those typographical peculiarities are important to him) has become one of the most talked-about brands in fashion, an elevated which is to say, lavishly produced and priced streetwear brand sold at Barneys, Selfridges, Bergdorf Goodman, and Colette, as well as four of his own boutiques, located in the usual global shopping cities (Tokyo, Hong Kong, Beijing, and Singapore; he has an ambitious New York location hes just figuring out now). Its among a newer breed of labels, like Hood by Air and Vetements, that claim their power in the digital hype-o-sphere and consumer marketplace by keeping in constant contact with the barely-20-somethings who sanctify street-fashion codes even if those kids themselves cant necessarily afford to buy many $573 hoodies. Abloh not unlike his mentor, West sees himself as a kind of outsider insurgent, but fluent in business-school lingo: Last fall, he told the Business of Fashion website that The end goal is to modernise fashion and steer a [fashion] house, because I believe in the modernisation of these storied brands calling Off-White a case study. And now he is reportedly a finalist to take over for Riccardo Tisci at the helm of the storied LVMH-owned brand Givenchy. If it happens, the appointment would mark a remarkable, and innovative, rise to the top of fashion. Abloh played by new rules, which he arguably helped write or tapped out on his iPhone as he went along. Abloh is tall and friendly and a bit sly, and the first time I heard him talk was last November at an event in Soho at a shop called Apolis which is supposed to translate as global citizen and describes itself as a socially motivated lifestyle brand that empowers communities worldwide where Barneys creative ambassador Simon Doonan was moderating a conversation between Abloh and the artist Tom Sachs. It was after the election but before West had had his breakdown and quit his tour, complaining of exhaustion, and Abloh, perhaps worryingly, told the young crowd in Zeitgeist-y 90s-wear that hed gotten only two hours of sleep the night before. Hed flown in from DJ-ing in Las Vegas, he said, acknowledging that the fact that he doesnt sleep much definitely is going to catch up to me. Abloh, whose wife and two kids live in Chicago, says he flies over 350,000 miles a year, which means hes usually somewhere else, a traveling salesman for an idea of himself, which is a kind of accessible, aspirational citizen of the world. From Off-Whites spring 2017 mens show. Photo: Courtesy of Off-White As was evident from the Apolis audience, many members of whom were drawn from his 650,000 Instagram followers, Off-White is a brand-as-clubhouse, a meeting place for the fashionably like-minded. He has a sixth sense in terms of hearing what the kids want, says Oana Stanescu, of the architecture firm Family, which designs his stores. Right now, what they want is a blend of skate culture, heavy metal, and a hefty dose of vintage 90s mix-and-match. For men, theres a $544 red tartan shirt tagged with Off-Whites trademark diagonal slashes, and a $2,462 baggy hooded leather jacket with a poncho vibe. Stanescus firm worked with Abloh to design that Wagnerian mountain set for Kanyes 2013 tour. They later bonded during the Versailles leg of the Kimye wedding. She says the stores are meant to be hangout zones, galleries, and party spaces as much as sales floors. When the stores open, people line up to meet Abloh, who occasionally DJs the events. Bruce Pask, mens-fashion director at Bergdorf Goodman, remembers hosting an event for Off-White. The store was thronged with young people. Oh, Im going to hang with my kids, he recalls Abloh saying. They feel the honesty in it, Pask says. When one of the kids couldnt afford to buy an Off-White T-shirt, Abloh took a Sharpie to the shirt the kid was wearing and wrote THIS IS AN OFF-WHITE T-SHIRT on it. Esquire recently called him the chief in the vanguard of a new kind of fashion populism. This is cultural production these days: a customer-service operation where the metric is relevance and is driven by likes more than by some personal artistic vision. Or as Abloh likes to say, Theres no line between a designer and consumer. I hate being up onstage with a microphone, he told the crowd at Apolis. I am, basically, the same as you guys, only Ive done a bunch of stuff. His main motivation is to live up to their expectations which means, essentially, living the life they all wish they could. Theres a self-empowerment vibe to it. A big part of his mission is to expose these kids to things they might not otherwise be exposed to, says Stanescu. In other words, hes trying to help kids do whatever they want to do, as soon as they want to do it, to jump the timeline of their lives, as he says. On February 6, he gave a talk at the Columbia University Graduate School of Architecture titled Everything in Quotes, for which he promised, via Twitter, that he would be giving up every single code I know on how to make a living not working and by being creative instead. A dog whistle for the youth if there ever was one. The precocious, sensible son of Ghanaian immigrants raised in Rockford, Illinois, who studied at the University of Wisconsin and married his high-school girlfriend, Abloh is a very well-mannered fashion disrupter. He calls his charming, unflagging self-mythologizing swagger-blather intellectualizing the mundane. Get him going, and he drops references to Caravaggio, the Birkin bag (he owns a dozen of them), Peter Saville, the Bauhaus. Hes big on modernism. That night at Apolis, Abloh recalled how, growing up, I think I was asleep for a while. My first degree was in structural engineering, which is super-boring. [My parents] dream was to have a kid who graduated from college. So I was DJ-ing and skateboarding, and the least I could do was be an awesome kid. His college roommate and future best man, Gabriel Stulman, now a Manhattan restaurateur (he owns Joseph Leonard and Fedora), recalls Abloh arriving at school with a set of DJ turntables. He devoured magazines like GQ and wasnt afraid of wearing colors: He had this Ralph Lauren leather jacket in college with a lions head emblazoned on the back and two neon-orange stripes, Stulman recalls. I would try to wear it, and it wouldnt look right on me. Plus, He was always great at accessorizing. I remember the first double-G interlocking belt. He would buy a Gucci belt which cost $250, and were like 20. And he rocked the buckle on his hip. The two bonded over music: Wu-Tang Clan, first album; De La Soul; A Tribe Called Quest, Stulman recalls. OutKast and that track Rosa Parks. They threw parties at local bars, with Abloh DJ-ing. Then they would take the money they made and go shopping. Abloh took his first art-history class the last year of college, learning about the Renaissance and Caravaggio. It flipped my head backward, he says. Id spent so much time thinking practical things. As the son of immigrants, hed always tried to be responsible. Hed never considered doing something purely creative. I felt that a random black kid from the suburbs of Chicago shouldnt be doing that. But he did it anyway, going to graduate school at the Illinois Institute of Technology for architecture. While there, in 2003, he started working for Kanye, designing merch. A few years later, Abloh and some friends had a blog called The Brilliance! on which they interviewed each other. He was asked, What pushes you to create the next thing? He responded, Its that pursuit of causing excitement in an audience The notion that somehow the next design will be it gives me that cant stop, wont stop, Diddy kind of attitude. The internship at Fendi in 2009 helped solidify the idea that he could create fashion, too. Abloh, by his own account, grew up worshipping at the altar of Air Jordans and the skatewear brand Supreme. He still wears them both: If hes not wearing his own clothing, hes in Supreme, right down to his boxer shorts. One of the times I met him over the past few months, he was in a special pair of Jordans hed designed himself, set off with orange plastic zip-tie industrial gadgets, which looked like something between an anti-theft device and a house-arrest ankle bracelet but apparently were inspired by something he saw on an airplane. Thats my thing: Its part of my industrial-design language, the readymade, he tells me. You know, I would say Duchamp is my lawyer. He goes on. Im translating things which have been proven as fact in art and translating that into fashion, streetwear. I like the idea of finding different unused parts of industrial design in 2017. What havent we seen? What can it offer to fashion, or design, or both? Even before Off-White, he was experimenting with reappropriation: After the Fendi internship, he started screen-printing on $40 dead-stock Rugby Ralph Lauren flannel shirts and selling them for $550. He called the line Pyrex Vision. He is always in pursuit of what comes next, multitasking to the point of distraction (Im not paying attention, but I am listening, he tells his friends). That said, Fashion is kinda a joke, he says. I dont get too bogged down in the clothes. For me, its one big art project, just a canvas to show that fashion should have a brand which has someone behind it who cares about different contexts. Social things. This authenticity hunt, more than anything else about Abloh, seems exhausting, a boundaryless focus group. (DM him!) Brands try to have a voice on social media, observes Stanescu. And it never works because it is never real, it comes from a branding machine. With Off-White, its all Virgils voice. The big question is whether his iterative, cut-and-paste, fanboy fashion voice would work at an established house like Givenchy, which was itself remade by Tisci, another onetime upstart with a crowd of celebrity friends and even more Instagram followers (1.8 million). Worth noting: Not everyone is so enamored with his originality. He collects Raf Simons, but Simons said recently that its not reciprocal: Hes a sweet guy. I like him a lot actually. But Im inspired by people who bring something that I think has not been seen, that is original. But Abloh has a story to tell, and is willing to learn. Abloh and Kanye West at the Hood by Air spring fashion show in 2013. Photo: Angela Pham/BFA In December, I saw Abloh in Miami Beach during Art Basel. He was there DJ-ing, giving talks, and premiering his furniture, including a table which, given that it was partially held up by a pile of gravel, wasnt terribly useful as a table at the Design Fair. He was half an hour late for breakfast, at the Edition Hotel, but when he arrived, he got right to it. Talking. My big premise is current culture, the young people providing content, you know, he says. He goes on, wondering, Are we young designers, living up to our potential? Or are we just making things which are cool? Are we past the threshold of artistically viable, and in the threshold of incredibly important work? And I think that me as a creator, thats my drive, actually. I dont think Ive achieved anything. Im trying to learn by doing and get this crescendo, I guess, of making culturally important things in the same way that Basquiat or Warhol did. Okay, sometimes his intellectualizing of the mundane can sound like mundane intellectualizing. To wit: What is Off-White? Never deciding. Staying in between two things, not trying to go left or right. Thats my magic: Thats how I get the balance between is it chic or is it street? Is it Canal Street or is it Madison Avenue? The ultimate, I think, is Phoebe Philo at Celine, because it is so layered. And thats where he sees himself: in these interstitial spaces, presumably posting on Instagram from them. I ask him about his table. The table isnt all that functional, he admits. There are functional things about it. The feet are like a stack of drywall and a stack of stone. My goal was to blur the line between furniture and a piece of art. So where would you use it? Id put it in a design studio. Or an agency. But also if I was superrich and wanted to own a nonfunctional table. He looks around with a little smile on his face, clearly pleased to be somewhere he didnt expect to be, so far from where he grew up. Recently, Im looking at his Twitter, and hes giving a bit of advance notice to his followers: upcoming fw17 womens Off-White collection titled NOTHING NEW showing in paris, france march 2nd at 9 pm palais de tokyo. youth invited. i hate white text on a black background sooooo much that said, the majority of Americans are too individualistic to give a damn about really follow any of that Reply Thread Link lmao Reply Parent Thread Link I really appreciate your dedication to using hockey gifs lately. Reply Parent Thread Link ty <3 i try 2 stay consistent lol Reply Parent Thread Expand Link that's how I feel, and I'm a Sufjan stan. I'm too blind for that shit Reply Parent Thread Link I love you, dude, but good luck getting any "Christian" Republicans to agree with any of that. :( Reply Thread Link I don't think that is the aim here. Reply Parent Thread Link As someone raised in Christianity who doesn't currently practice - this is exactly what I got out of my 16 years "studying" the religion. Everything is so fucked up.. ugh :( Reply Thread Link *listens to a good man is hard to find as i read this tl;dr shit b/c sufjan wrote it.mp3* Reply Thread Link When he played this at the Carrie & Lowell tour - I couldn't stop crying. This fucking song. Reply Parent Thread Link i love this song sfm Reply Parent Thread Link Oh wow. I just realize the 4th of July gonna be so extra and OTT this year. I mean, it's terrifying to think about it already rn. Mess Reply Parent Thread Link I dunno. From what I remember of the Bible, God did seem to be into political lines and favoring certain people over others. Jesus was nicer, but God was pretty awful when he was angry (which was a lot for someone who was supposedly omnipotent). Reply Thread Link Yeah, God sucks so much that he made Jesus sacrifice his life as a "my b" for all the shitty things he did in the old testament. Reply Parent Thread Link Well yeah, cause God (Yahweh) was the god of the Jewish people. Many ancient Jews actually believed that other gods existed, but they were the gods of those other tribes they were always at war with and enslaving them. That's why there's so much shit regarding "I AM YOUR ONLY GOD" and "DO NOT GO TO THE FALSE IDOLS" cause Yahweh was always about keeping that shit in check. Forsaking Yahweh for another tribe/god basically meant you were out of the group, and that was punishable (partly because of how it endangered those left behind.) God was into monogamy like whoa. IF HE COULDN'T HAVE YOU, AIN'T NOBODY HAVIN' U. So while I get what this guy is saying in the modern sense, I have to laugh cause the God of the old testament at least was gerrymandering the fuck out of spirituality, lol. sry you just unlocked one of my favorite things to study. Reply Parent Thread Link ty for explaining! that was really informative and hilarious Reply Parent Thread Link Old Testament vs New... I think Jesus came by and simplified all that stuff, that his purpose and all, so.. New trumps Old Reply Parent Thread Link creationism here we come! Reply Parent Thread Link That sends chills down my spine Reply Parent Thread Link I went to a baptist private school and it was absolute shit. I'm legitimately scared. Reply Parent Thread Link I went to Catholic school, but it was in Berkeley, so... lol completely atypical I'm guessing Reply Parent Thread Link I love Suf but this is ONTD and no one's gonna read that Reply Thread Link Like, look at this shit right here!! Tyrus and Ashley Cobb, of Indiana, like that Trump is a man of faith who will bring Godliness back. They wish he'd stop tweeting. pic.twitter.com/laq1HYS2Ju Daniel Dale (@ddale8) January 19, 2017 btw this is besides the bigger issues but did anyone watch Trump during that interfaith mass? He had no fucking clue what to do and it was so awkward. And he couldn't have looked more disinterested. What a con. Edited at 2017-02-07 09:08 pm (UTC) Trump has had a lot of cons but one of his biggest was conning all of the dumbasses who really thought he was a ~man of God~. Especially evangelicals. I went to a Catholic school my entire life and all it made me realize was that so much hypocrisy and cherry picking is involved. Invoking God as a political tactic is always gross but especially rn as Muslims are being banned based on religion and skin color.Like, look at this shit right here!!btw this is besides the bigger issues but did anyone watch Trump during that interfaith mass? He had no fucking clue what to do and it was so awkward. And he couldn't have looked more disinterested. What a con. Reply Thread Link The worst part is that these evangelicals are spewing their hatred towards a religion that worships the same exact Abrahamic God as they do. Reply Parent Thread Link I love how this aspect always gets overlooked Reply Parent Thread Link I've met evangelicals who think that Islam and Christianity worship different gods bc "they call him Allah" or "they have another word for the Christian god" so I wouldn't be surprised if they all thought that. Reply Parent Thread Expand Link Don't even try to mention Jesus is in the Koran Reply Parent Thread Link I'm Mexican and 98% of the population is Catholic. Yet, politicians here don't use religion to get more votes. I find it so interesting and amusing how interlinked religion and politics are in America. Like, someone could literally lose an election if they are not Christians. Reply Parent Thread Link I grew up going to an Evangelical church and you're 100% right about the hypocrisy and cherry picking Reply Parent Thread Link ive seen some trump supporters online say god elected him lol Reply Thread Link just makes me think of... Reply Parent Thread Link the fact that this man now has access to the white house is scary GOOD JOB REPUBLICANS Reply Parent Thread Link lmaoo this crazy fucker Reply Parent Thread Link I like the video of him on the street and someone calls out the liquor on his breath lmao Reply Parent Thread Expand Link i know someone irl who stans this psychotic piece of shit. Reply Parent Thread Link I got to hear my neighbor yelling at his teen daughter that she needs to respect the prez cause "Jesus made it so!!!" so kill me plz. Reply Parent Thread Link I doubt Christians even know who Sufjan is. On a slightly OT note, I only ever his All Delighted People EP. I couldn't get into Illinois and I didn't even attempt his discog. Reply Thread Link His most recent album Carrie & Lowell came out in 2015 and is quite possibly his best. The songs are just so beautiful and heartwarming. It's the perfect folk music for a rainy day or if you're feeling lonely or introspective. You should give it a listen. Reply Parent Thread Link Thank you! I think Pitchfork raved about C & L but I didn't check it out. I'll add it to my playlist! Thnx! Reply Parent Thread Link i love carrie and lowell but idk if i would describe it as heartwarming. more like heartbreaking lol Reply Parent Thread Expand Link I feel Illinois is a bit too much at times, my faves are Seven Swans and Carrie & Lowell, but that's cause I like sad stuff. Reply Parent Thread Expand Link Carrie & Lowell.. get on it Reply Parent Thread Link carrie and lowell is amazing and beautifully depressing and uplifting at the same time Reply Parent Thread Link Carrie and Lowell is one of the best albums I've ever heard. Honestly all of his stuff is amazing to me but that album is just..... please attempt to listen Reply Parent Thread Link ADP is under-rated. Djohariah is my fav song bc it's beautiful and about/for his sister who was in an abusive marriage, so the last set of lyrics always does me in. Everyone should at least listen to that part altho I don't think the emotionality of it hits you quite as hard without the 10 minute instrumental. I could go on about this song but I'll stop now. But yeah listen to everyone else and put on C&L. Reply Parent Thread Link I went to a Baptist uni and a ton of my friends loved him, but I was a music major and a lot of my friends were comp. majors. I'm from Illinois so I L O V E that album. Seven Swans is another fave Reply Parent Thread Link I hate when people start things with "friendly reminder". Just say it ffs Reply Thread Link or FINALLY SOMEONE SAID IT Reply Parent Thread Expand Link lmao I didn't even realize he did that. He's just trying to be cool for the tumblr crowd :( Reply Parent Thread Link I think the actual meaning of christianity has been super twisted. If people actually lived by the teachings jesus gave then the world would be a whole lot nicer and a whole lot less judgemental but IDK. Organised religion has sort of turned christianity into this self serving counting your sins holier than thou bullshit. /not-christian Reply Parent Thread Link I'm agnostic leaning but I agree. Religion and faith should be a personal thing but the moment it gets institutionalized it just becomes another way for people to gain authority over others. Reply Parent Thread Link Days after Iran tested a ballistic missile in a northern desert, newly-inaugurated U.S. President Donald Trump imposed sanctions on individuals associated with the program producing non-nuclear rockets capable of reaching Israel, as well as the United States. The new round of targeted measures will do little to affect Irans now-growing oil industry, which has reestablished its standing as the third-largest producer in the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) following its economic liberation. The missile test is at least the fifth of its kind since the Middle Eastern nations 2015 deal with a group of superpowers to provide international access to the countrys nuclear program in exchange for the removal of crippling multilateral sanctions on its economy. Since January 14th, 2016 when sanctions against its oil sector were lifted Iran has defiantly rebuilt its lost oil output, at times at the expense of an OPEC agreement to cut global output for the sake of rebalancing oversupplied energy markets. It does not seem that Trumps new sanctions can do much to deter Iran from conducting the continuous ballistic missile testing, which definitely violates the spirit, if not the letter of the nuclear deal. In the past 24 hours, Tehran conducted a further missile test during its annual round of national military exercises defying Trumps efforts to curb parts of the Iranian military that are not limited under the deal negotiated by Former Secretary of State John Kerry. Related: Gasoline Prices Could Rise 30 Cents Because Of Border Tax During the campaign and in the first two weeks of his presidency, Trump has made it clear that scrapping the historic deal altogether is not off the table. This idea counters even the arrangements critics, who insist on keeping the agreement to maintain American credibility in the global political arena. "We gave up ... all of our leverage on the front end when we gave away the moneys that were stashed in various countries around the world and so now the leverage is with them," Republican Senator Bob Corker from Tennessee told MSNBC late last year. "I think the beginning point is for us to cause them to strictly adhere [to the deal]. And I think that what we have to remember is, we have to keep the Europeans and others with us in this process." Months ago, the U.S.s European partners began reintegrating Iran as a supplier in the global oil game. Frances Total, Greeces Hellenic, Spains CEPSA, Italys Saras and Polands Lotus have all entered into buying contracts for Iranian crude since sanctions were lifted, the Tehran Times reports. Because the American side of the deal has largely been enforced through executive orders authorized by President Barack Obama, Trump and his cabinet of billionaires do have the legal power to begin taking it apart, though reinstated sanctions would not be multilateral, as they had been before. House majority leader Paul Ryan a vocal dissenter to the nuclear deal as it was being adopted in 2015 even said it was key to rigorously enforce the deal because a lot of that toothpaste is already out of the tube. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has remained silent on his stance on Iran, but, back in March when he was still CEO of ExxonMobil, he was not against doing business in the resource-rich country as political complications cleared up. Related: Dollar Or Iran? Oil Needs A Serious Catalyst To Breakout The history of Iranian-- in foreign investment in the past, their terms were always quite challenging, quite difficult, Tillerson told CNBC. We'll wait and see if things open up for U.S. companies. We would certainly take a look because it's a huge resource-owning country. American commitment to the deal paves the way for Iran to continue its ballistic missile tests, while reaping the rewards of a renewed oil sector. The U.S. has not purchased oil from Iran since 1992, meaning the Western country holds minimal economic leverage over the recovering petrostate. Political posturing in the form of targeted sanctions may cause anti-American sentiment in the country to flare-up as Iranian politicians paint Trump as the ultimate boogeyman, however, the scope of the unilateral sanctions will prevent any serious consequences to Irans oil sector moving forward. By Zainab Calcuttawala for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: Australian exploration company FAR announced it had discovered more than 1.5 billion barrels of crude off the coast of Senegal, as a result of a 3D seismic study. The figure, FAR said, was 50 percent higher than the estimate from an earlier review of the reserves in the SNE field. Of the total, FARs share is a net 234 million barrels, proportionate to its 15 percent in the project, which spans three deepwater blocks offshore the West African country. Last month, the company estimated SNEs reserves at 641 million barrels of oil, saying that the place was one of the world's most attractive emerging basins for oil and gas exploration. Production is set to start by 2022, with a maximum daily yield of 140,000 barrels. According to the Australian company, which is currently drilling a fifth appraisal well in the area, once commercial-scale production begins, output will rise fast because of low drilling and production costs. Senegal is attracting much attention from the oil industry: a couple of weeks ago Cairn Energy announced it was preparing for the launch of its third drilling program in the countrys shelf, after making two substantial discoveries in the area three years ago. SNE was one of these, and Cairns estimates of the fields recoverable reserves were between 274 and 900 million barrels. Related: Oil Prices Fall Ahead Of Inventory Data BP is also eyeing Senegals offshore oil: last month the company said it had struck a deal with Kosmos Energy to acquire its 32.49-percent stake in two offshore blocks there. BPs chief executive Bob Dudley referred to the area, including Mauritanias shelf, as an emerging world-class hydrocarbon basin. The SNE field is developed by a joint venture with Cairn as operator with 40 percent, FAR has 15 percent, ConocoPhillips has 35 percent, and Senegals state oil company Petrosen has 10 percent. By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: Basic Bankroll Management The first step to making money gambling is knowing how much you can afford. Bankroll management will help prevent the emotional lows that come with massive losses and ensure your profits dont disappear too quickly into thin air! Learning effective bankroll strategies is critical if you want to win big and have the most fun. Lets get started! What is Bankroll Management? Setting a bankroll is essential to playing any game of chance. Your starting capital should be large enough so that you can afford the likely loss before hitting a win, but not too much for unforeseen circumstances where all your wages are going towards living costs instead A good rule-of-thumb would be setting aside at least 10% percent on top if possible (though this will vary depending upon how often casinos offer rebates). The more you risk, the greater your return. -Card Monte bets are often seen as a way for players to get their feet wet in gambling and learn about different ways that casinos operate before risking any other kind of money on them this type allows people with no experience whatsoever access to blackjack games where experienced professionals can teach newbies card counting tricks, so they dont stand out too quickly What do you think is the primary purpose of any investment? To make a profit! Yes, but not only. Many investments aim to achieve the desired social, environmental and other effects. Want to learn more about impact investing? Read this guide! Regardless of how much you start with, its essential to remember that poker is a game for skilful players. It doesnt matter if your bankroll consists of $10 or 100 thousand dollars; all competitors have one thing in common their ability and knowledge about the cards theyre dealt will determine whether or not success can be achieved at this particular table! Finding the Right Amount For You Once you have set an initial bankroll amount, itll be time to limit your wagers. When playing blackjack, its essential to have at least 20 buy-ins (some people will consider this too low and prefer double that amount). So if your going table is $5 per bet, then make sure they accept cards and cash. When youre on a winning or losing streak, its easy to play for hours without stopping. But this isnt good because the game will end before your feet stop tapping! In order not to get too ahead of yourself and wear down in those crucial last few minutes before victory overtakes them completely (or defeat), make sure that every time YOU tap away at whatever score is temporarily etched into stone whether by 1 point OR 100+you setbacks are temporary; successes durable. The two-hour playing session should be enough time for you to get a good workout, but if it isnt then just walk away when the timer goes off. When it comes to limits, many players like setting a loss limit. So just because you have $100 in your pocket doesnt mean that all this money will be lost at once (although possible). You might only choose how much can disappear after some time has passed and when playing sessions end so dont get too excited about losing everything right away! Even professional gamblers follow a strict bankroll management strategy. Quick Tips for Bankroll Management Set a budget for your session or casino visit Make one deposit per session if online Divide your budget for the number of days at an offline casino Set win and loss limits and stick to them! If you lose your bankroll, stop playing Set winning goals If you reach a goal, put aside all or some of your winnings Make bets proportional to your total bankroll Never chase losses You can maximize your casino experience by managing money properly. When you follow these simple guidelines, your time at the casino will be everything that was promised and then some. For the 15 years spanning January 2004 through December 2016, the population of 16-19 year olds in California has ranged from 2,055,000 to a high of 2,286,000 in July 2009 back down to an estimated 2,075,000 in December 2016. The following chart illustrates the size of California's teen labor force and the number who had jobs over the last 15 years. The last 8 years haven't been particularly good ones if you're a teen in California who wants a job. After collapsing from January 2008 through September 2010, there was precious little growth for teen jobs in the Golden State until January 2015. 2015 turned out to be a boon for the hiring of teens, which suddenly stalled out in January 2016. After holding flat for several months, the number of employed teens in California rose slightly in the latter half of 2016, before once again stalling out and beginning to decline slightly in the last months of the year. As of December 2016, the trailing 12 month average number of employed teens in California stood at 478,000, some 120,000 fewer than the 598,000 that had jobs back in January 2004, when California's population of Age 16-19 year olds was just slightly higher than the population of teens in the state in December 2016. By contrast, the following chart shows the size of California's non-teen labor force and total number of employed people Age 20 and higher. Californians Age 20 and older have experienced a very different job market than California's teens have over the last 8 years. There are many contributing factors that account for that situation, two of which are indicated on the charts above. 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. ALBANY The states highest court on Tuesday reserved decision on whether a Washington County man should get a new trial in the shooting deaths of three family members nearly six years ago. The Court of Appeals heard arguments over whether Matthew A. Slocum invoked his right to counsel when being questioned by police after the July 13, 2011 killings of his mother, stepfather and stepbrother in their Eagle Bridge home. A mid-level appeals court overturned his murder and arson convictions in 2015, finding that police wrongly denied him counsel when questioning him. That questioning ultimately led to a confession that was used at trial. Slocum replied Yeah, probably when investigators from the Washington County Sheriffs Office and State Police asked whether he wanted a lawyer. At the same time, a lawyer who represented him in an unrelated case, Washington County Public Defender Michael Mercure, notified police and the Washington County District Attorneys Office that he represented Slocum. The six-judge Court of Appeals grilled Mercure and special prosecutor Jason Weinstein about their positions during a half-hour of arguments Tuesday in Albany. Weinstein said he believed the Appellate Division erred, because it blurred the line between two issues by weighing Slocums answer of Yeah, probably and Mercures letter when they were two separate issues. He said Slocum waived his right to counsel, and his further response of Yeah, probably was hesitation language. Police made it clear they didnt consider the comment an invocation of his right to counsel, although judges questioned whether the officers notes belied that claim and further inquiry should have been made. Judges also questioned whether Mercure had standing to intervene as court-appointed counsel for the indigent. Mercure, though, said, I would say, at the time the office had the authority to represent. He was an existing client for charges that were relatively recent. The court will likely rule on the matter in 30 to 60 days. If it upholds the Appellate Division decision, Slocums case will be brought back to Washington County Court for retrial. If not, his convictions will be reinstated and he will be returned to state prison to finish serving an 88-years-to-life prison term. He is being held in Washington County Jail awaiting the decision. Authorities said Lisa Harrington, 44; her husband, Dan Harrington, 41; and Dan Harringtons son, Joshua OBrien, 24, were killed after the Harringtons had begun pushing for Slocum, his girlfriend and their infant son to move out of their home and find an apartment. Slocum had a lengthy criminal record and history of violence that went back years before the slayings. He set fire to the home and was arrested later that day in New Hampshire. The Albany County District Attorneys Office is serving as special prosecutor. The Washington County District Attorneys Office stepped away from the case because District Attorney Tony Jordans first assistant, Christian Morris, was Mercures top assistant during the Slocum trial. A two-state investigation that began in Washington County led to the seizure of 100 pounds of marijuana and $113,000 of cash in Castleton, Vermont on Monday, police said. State Police from both states, the Washington County Sheriff's Office and Castleton Police were involved in the investigation that led to a raid at a home just off the campus of Castleton University. The search came after police set up a controlled buy of a pound of marijuana earlier Monday at the 458 South St., Castleton home of Theodore T. Gray, 29, according to a press release issued by Castleton Police. Police found vacuum-sealed bags of marijuana estimated to be worth $300,000 as well as a large quantity of cash. The cash was seized and police are also looking into potentially seizing real estate in Vermont. Police in New York stand to gain portions of the proceeds of the seizures should Gray be convicted. Police in New York initiated the case with a drug arrest in recent months, which led them to work with the Southern Vermont Drug Task Force and ultimately to get a search warrant for Gray's home, authorities said. Gray was charged with felony trafficking of marijuana and was arraigned Monday before being sent to Marble Valley Correctional Facility in Rutland, Vermont, pending court action. QUEENSBURY The girlfriend of murder suspect Robert M. Divine Henry testified at his trial Tuesday, telling a jury that he gave her several different versions of the events that led up to the death of Glens Falls resident Kevin Jenks last summer. The theme of most of Henrys correspondence with central New York resident Janet Johnston was to place blame for the robbery and death of Jenks on co-defendant Kevin S. Chapman, although Henrys contacts with her before the killing seem to indicate he was a willing participant in a plot to rip off Jenks. Johnston said Henry told her that Chapman approached him and asked if he knew any rich gay men for him to meet. So Henry brokered a visit for Chapman to see Jenks whom Henry knew from his years living in Glens Falls to have sex. Henry was supposed to get paid $200 for arranging the rendezvous, she testified. But during the encounter, Chapman killed the man when they were alone in a bedroom, then threatened Henry at gunpoint and forced him to cooperate as they looted the home, she said Henry told her. Chapman threatened Henry by saying he would hurt Johnstons mother, she recounted. He said he didnt hurt no one, Johnston said, referring to Henry. Days after he returned from Glens Falls, before he was arrested, Henry bought Johnston a diamond ring and earrings from Wal-Mart, allegedly with one of Jenks credit cards. The different versions seem to belie text messages before the two men drove from central New York to Warren County, in which Henry wrote that he needed Johnstons minivan to head east to get money, cigs and other things, although he said his trip was not illegal. I will have the surprise of your life when I get back, Henry told her. Tuesday was a fifth day of testimony in Henrys trial for the killing last July 6 of 58-year-old Jenks. Henry, 46, of Ilion, faces nine charges, including second-degree murder and lesser counts of robbery, burglary and grand larceny, for the strangulation death of Jenks in his Dix Avenue home. He and Chapman, 49, are accused of killing Jenks during a robbery of his home, and prosecutors believe Henry set up the theft. Chapman pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and is expected to testify later this week. The jury heard earlier on Tuesday from witnesses who testified about Henrys alleged use of Jenks debit card. The jury also viewed surveillance video from the Star Fuels store on Upper Glen Street in Queensbury that showed a man who appeared to be Henry making purchases. Finally, the jury heard an employee of Hudson River Credit Union testifying about transactions and attempted transactions on Jenks account between July 6 and July 8. The debit card was shut down after more than $600 in purchases and cash withdrawals were made in a matter of hours the night of July 6, and numerous charge attempts were denied in Broadalbin and Herkimer after the credit union suspected fraud. The jury also heard from a State Police computer expert, Investigator Jacob Harrica, who told of analyzing a cellphone that police said was seized from Henry. Harrica testified the phone was used to search for the zip code of 70 Dix Ave. in Glens Falls on July 7, and to read poststar.com articles about Jenks death July 7-8, before Henry was arrested or picked up for questioning July 9. Testimony will continue Wednesday morning. Munoz, who is Mexican-American, made the comments during a wide-ranging interview with Business Insider last week. He talked about Trump's plan to build a wall on the US's southern border as well as his executive order temporarily barring immigrants from seven majority-Muslim countries.Munoz also discussed how the executive order has created unwelcome complications for his company. This article is part of a longer conversation that Munoz, who has been CEO of the airline since September 2015, had with Business Insider at United's Global Leadership Conference in Chicago. Check back for more. Trumps immigration order Over the past few weeks, the Trump administration has moved swiftly on a laundry list of campaign promises through a wave of executive orders. Perhaps most controversial among them is the 90-day ban on immigration, including refugees, from seven countries. "It was so sudden that you have people in the air, you have people out of the country, you have people connected back here that are just stranded," Munoz said. "So how do you tell somebody who lives in America that they cant come back. "And so nobody thought through those things. I just wished and hoped that we could do it a little more thoughtfully." Munoz lamented the fact that his employees and others in the travel industry have been forced to deal with the day-to-day chaos created by the executive order. From his perspective, it's an order whose efficacy is debatable. "The retort is that, 'Well, you are going to let the bad guys in,'" Munoz said. "Well, there are a lot of facts that support that of all the terrorist activities in this country since 9/11 most have been caused by American citizens radicalized by policies implemented by [past] administrations." On the business front, Munoz said he believes the uncertainty surrounding the administration's somewhat erratic behavior has had a direct effect on the airline in the form of reduced bookings to certain destinations. "Theres no question that the uncertainty of what this administration says versus what they actually do ... can be clearly seen," the airline boss told us. "People are not 'scared' but maybe that is the word to fly because they dont know whats going to happen when they (try to) come back." "Uncertainty always creates doubt, and doubt creates fear. And if you do that, yes, people are just going to stay home," Munoz added. Trumps wall As the most prominent Mexican-American CEO in the US, Munoz is fundamentally opposed to the wall Mr. Trump has threatened to build along the Mexican border. "Clearly, on a visceral human front, I oppose any wall, anywhere, between any people period," he said. But on a more practical level Munoz questions whether a wall would actually make for a safer border. "And then the efficacy and efficiency of something like that sounds good, but having traveled around there the terrain I dont know how you are actually going to build any kind of barrier that makes sense across such an incredible length. I dont know how thats going to help," Munoz told us. The United CEO praised the border patrol for their hard work, and remarked that their efforts to secure our nation's borders have been relatively successful as "people sneaking across" to the US is but a small portion of the country's immigration issues. Munoz believes that the symbolism of Trump's border wall is far more problematic for the US than anything else associated with the proposal. Pelley pointed to multiple factually suspect claims from earlier in the day. First on his list was Trump's stunning claim, made in a speech to military leaders in Florida, that media outlets have deliberately not reported incidents of terrorism. "They have their reasons and you understand that," Trump said, although he failed to provide examples of attacks that went unreported. White House spokesman Sean Spicer also declined to provide specifics, telling reporters "there's a lot of instances that have occurred where I don't think that they've gotten the coverage it deserved." By Monday night, the White House had released a list of 78 incidents it claimed "did not receive adequate attention from Western media sources." The list featured some high-profile, widely-covered incidents, including the recent attacks in Paris, Orlando, and San Bernardino. Earlier in the day, Trump vented about his approval rating, which according to multiple polls is the lowest ever for a new president. "Any negative polls are fake news, just like the CNN, ABC, NBC polls in the election," Trump said on Twitter, in another unsubstantiated claim. "Sorry, people want border security and extreme vetting." Pelley connected the comments to equally unfounded claims Trump made last week, including his insistence that as many as 5 million of the votes from November's election were cast illegally. Trump has maintained the supposed illegal votes are responsible for his popular-vote loss to Hillary Clinton, although there is no evidence of widespread voter fraud in the US. The former and current Attorney Generals and Ministers of Justice will be at the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) in Germany. Some Ghanaians have commended the harmony which exists between the two even though they belong to different political parties. This is because of the tension which appears to exist between members of the NDC and NPP in the country. Similarly, the new Minister of Foreign Affairs, Shirley Ayorkor Botchway, hosted a send-off party for her predecessor, Hanna Tetteh, on Wednesday, February 1. Cote DIvoire is claiming ownership of the disputed TEN oil field, forcing Ghana to file a suit at the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) to ward off Ivory Coast from disputed oilfields. It filed its suit based on Article 287 Annex VII of the 1982 UNCLOS. Cote dIvoire in February 2015 filed for preliminary measures and urged the tribunal to suspend all activities in the disputed area until the definitive determination of the case, dubbed: Dispute Concerning Delimitation of the Maritime Boundary between Ghana and Cote dIvoire in the Atlantic Ocean. The raid claimed the lives of 14 Al Qaeda fighters, at least two dozen civilians, and US serviceman William Owens but al-Rimi remains alive in Yemen, NBC News reported. Al-Rimi released an audio recording on Sunday in which he referenced the raid and called Trump "the goat of the White House," according to NBC News, who authenticated the tape with military sources. "The fool of the White House got slapped at the beginning of his road in your lands," he reportedly said. According to Fox News, al-Rimi also identified by name 25 purported victims of the attack. It wasn't clear whether al-Rimi was at the scene of the raid, according to the report. The report seemed to belie comments from White House spokesman Sean Spicer, who last week called the raid very, very well thought out and executed" and "a successful operation by all standards." According to the report, the prospect of killing al-Rimi convinced US officials to carry out the mission. However, the raid still may have sent a message to Al Qaeda, an NBC source said. "We may have collected incredibly valuable intelligence that will lead to further disruptions and further counterterrorism activities down the road," said Juan Zarate, an NBC analyst and national security adviser to George W. Bush. Some critics of the raid have directed their ire toward Trump. Military officials told Reuters last week that Trump authorized the mission without sufficient intelligence, ground support, or adequate backup preparations. However, the White House has rejected that account, noting that plans for the strike began months ago, while Barack Obama was in office. The fair is aimed at promoting made in Ghana products and also discussing and effecting policies that support Ghanaian industries. READ ALSO: Chief Executive officer of the AGI, Seth Twum Akwaboah told Accra-based Starr FM that it was about time the Trade Fair Center was revamped and put to good use. READ ALSO: For the past decades, Trade has always been part of the independence celebrations and AGI being part of the trade Fair arrangements; we want to make sure things go well. We want to bring various Ghanaian products to the Trade fair and market it very well to the world. Thanks for signing up for our daily insight on the African economy. We bring you daily editor picks from the best Business Insider news content so you can stay updated on the latest topics and conversations on the African market, leaders, careers and lifestyle. Also join us across all of our other channels - we love to be connected! According to him, an investigation will uncover the truth in the matter. There have been several calls for President Nana Akufo-Addo to open an investigation into the contract and expenditure of the bungalow after Dr Mahamudu Bawumia revealed that he was shocked to hear that the government of former President Mahama approved 13.9 million dollars for an official residence for Vice President. He said the residence was not sole-sourced. He noted that, in his view he did not believe it when he was told the price for the house, which, was "most likely sole-sourced" by the erstwhile administration. But Kofi Asamoah-Siaw in an interview on Accra-based Citi FM, said "We [the PPP] will not call for an investigation because we think an investigation is a tool to cover-up. What we want are policies to prevent this from happening again in the future. what we want are policies that prevent this from happening again in the future." "The reason why we dont want to put too much emphasis [on an investigation] is that you go round in circles and when you finish, you come and put the document before the Attorney General of the Republic. If she doesnt have the political will to prosecute a member of the political class or elite, nothing will change," he added. The workers in a petition to the office of the President and the Senior Minister, Dr. Yaw Osafo Marfo, the aggrieved workers are calling for the dissolution of the Board of Directors with immediate effect. Read more:Nathaniel Otoo resigns as NHIA boss They want their demand met as soon as possible, or else the workers would not hesitate to advise themselves, if the government does not respond positively to their demand. Spokesperson for the concern workers [Name withheld] in an interview with Accra-based Citi FM said "Weve asked that the Board be dissolved simply because of the massive corruption going on in the company. Weve cited certain concerns in our communique/petition and indiscriminate sale of company properties done under ridiculously low rate. All what we are saying is that it was not proper to guarantee a loan to a private person. Read also: Nana Addo appoints Mustapha Ussif as NSS boss "We want a probe to be instituted into that matter and all those found culpable must face the law. And all those issues raised in our petition. That is the more reason why we are calling for those in the realm of affairs to step aside so that a proper probe can be instituted in all these issues that weve raised." SHC is Ghanas leading land developer and operates in a manner that contributes directly to the orderly and efficient development of the countrys housing sector. "To me, it (national service) has already lost its relevance, and, perhaps, we should revisit the drawing board and have another system and lets perhaps do it like a volunteer system, Mr. Asante noted during a discussion on Accra based Class FM about the mandatory one-year duty to the nation which everyone who graduates from a tertiary institution is supposed to undertake. He emphasized that: I think what we call national service now is an apology of service to the people. Theres nothing service about it, theres nothing national about it." Mr Asante added, describing it as an apology for service and we should try to change it for something real and it doesnt matter even if everybody doesnt do it, we should make it more voluntary." The discussion about National service in Ghana has become relevant after President Nana Akufo-Addos ministerial nominees: Catherine Afeku and Otiko Afisa Djaba revealed they have not done their national service a legal requirement for employment in the public sector. She takes over from Hudu Mogtari, the immediate past CEO of the authority. Hudu Mogtari was dismissed recently by President Nana Akufo- Addo. Delese Mimi Darko, is one of the long-serving officers of the FDA working at the agency since its inception. Brief Profile Ms. Darko who graduated from the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) in 1991 as a pharmacist has served the FDA in various capacities. In 1997, she was one of the pioneers of the newly-established Food and Drugs Board (FDB) which later came to be known as the Food and Drugs Authority. Ms Darko was in 2005 and 2006 instrumental in the setting up of two technical advisory committees to assist the FDB/FDA in their work. With the appointment of Dr Stephen Opuni in 2009 by the Mills/Mahama administration as the new CEO of FDA, the departments that were being headed by Ms Darko at the authority were reportedly downsized, leaving her with just two activities, namely Clinical Trials and Pharmacovigilance. She was subsequently appointed onto the WHO/CIOMS Committee on Vaccine Safety to work with leading regulators from the US, Europe, Canada, Japan and other countries to set standards for global vaccine safety. In recognition of her excellent performance, the final meeting for that committee was hosted by the FDA in Accra in 2016, first time ever in sub-Saharan Africa. Due to her growing status and being frequently requested by the international agencies to not only attend, but to be a speaker at their meetings, the vaccines unit of the FDA was added to her department in 2012/2013 by Dr Opuni, just prior to his departure from the FDA. Her expertise has led to the FDA being nominated and recognised by the NEPAD/African Medicines Regulation Harmonisation (AMRH), Regional Centres of Regulatory Excellence in three very critical areas, namely medicines safety (pharmacovigilance), clinical trials and drug registration. She single-handedly led a collaboration of the FDA with the UK-MHRA in the area of medicine safety; this collaboration is now multi-divisional at the FDA with anti-counterfeiting as one of the key areas of support. She is a founding member of AVAREF, the African Vaccines Regulatory Forum, and was nominated last year to serve on the Technical Coordinating Committee (TCC) of the newly-organised AVAREF. This has put Ghana in the forefront of research regulation in Africa and has ensured tremendous support to the country in the area of clinical trials. According to the document, prepared by Architectural and Engineering Services Limited (AESL), an agency of the state that provides Consultancy Services on all projects being executed, the cost of swimming pool is $124,957.10 (GH550,746) and the growing of flowers, grass and trees in the house also costs $137,082 (GH604,187) totalling $260,00. (GH1,145,946) The government and opposition NDC have engaged in a media banter over the cost of the facility which was awarded by the erstwhile John Mahama government. There have been several calls for an investigation into the contract and expenditure of the bungalow after Dr Mahamudu Bawumia revealed that he was shocked to hear that the government of former President Mahama approved 13.9 million dollars for an official residence for Vice President. The Finder newspaper reported the fence wall and gate alone was estimated at $471,000 ($471,528.27). A breakdown of the budget reveals, for instance, that the growing of flowers, grass and trees in the house (horticulture), also costs $137,082; while the swimming pool will cost $124,957. The combined sum for the flowers and the swimming pool is $262,039. Other items include Preliminaries $678,300, Demolitions $100,000, Basement - $221,861.42, Ground Floor - $2.3million ($2,367,655.57), First Floor $1.3million ($1,394,671.85), Second Floor - $167,282.45, and Lift Shaft - $101,810.40. Others are:$12,109.10, Out House - $409,858.19, Office of the Second Lady - $716,901.04, Lounge $160, 263.36, Sundries - $53, 698.77, Electrical Installations - $2.4million ($2,415,379.55), Air Conditioning and other Mechanical Installations - $991,896.68, Lift Installations - $195,600, Soft Furnishing - $440,000, and Road, Pavements - $330,000 and Balustrades - $55,000. An amount of $1million was added to the actual cost of the project under the title External Works. The cost of various variations are: Variations ordered to date $778,001.25, External Electrical Works - $77,371.76, Sculpture and Emblems - $25,566.54, Stone Facing works $55,300, Hardwood Panel Doors - $88,157.36 and other anticipated variations $400,000. However, the General Secretary of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) Johnson Asiedu Nketia has revealed that a document released by the New Patriotic Party (NPP) government to dispute claims that the cost of a bungalow for the Vice-President is $13.9million is false. He said the government of former President John Mahama did not approve 13.9 million dollars to be used to put up the Vice Presidents accommodation. 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! DeVos, in particular, has championed vouchers publicly funded credits parents can use to send their kids to the school of their choosing. Many of those schools are charter schools, private schools, or magnet schools. Here's what differentiates them. Private schools Private schools may be the most popular of the three, not to mention the most straightforward. Instead of receiving taxpayer dollars to teach a standard, federally mandated curriculum, private schools charge tuition to teach outside those constraints. Depending on the state, private schools may still need to teach certain subjects to keep consistent with public schools. The vouchers DeVos supports most often apply to private schools a move viewed by many public-school teachers as harmful to the system because it siphons taxpayer money away from public schools. Students may also get scholarships or grants to attend private schools, similar to how the university system functions. Charter schools At their most basic level, charter schools are schools that are privately run but publicly funded. They are free to deviate from most state guidelines excluding tests and can range in size from one student at home to thousands across the country. Popular charter schools include New York's Success Academy network, which has 41 branches, and the BASIS network in Arizona, Texas, and Washington, DC, which comprises 21 charter schools. According to recent estimates, about 3 million students in the US attend charter schools. As their name implies, charter schools must adhere to their specific charter. Some charters focus on engineering and math; others focus on the arts. They have school boards and management organizations that regulate their operations and employ teachers, similar to public school boards and districts. Magnet schools Magnets so named for their ability to draw students across district lines are specialized public schools. They're similar to charters in offering nontraditional courses, but they are wholly public in both their funding and operation. They emerged in the 1970s as a remedy to racial segregation in public schools. Many of them were in poorer areas with larger minority populations, the idea being to pull white students into these areas. Popular magnets include the School for the Talented and Gifted in Dallas and the Academic Magnet High School in North Charleston, South Carolina. City officials announced Monday that, for at least the next two years, tuition for all residents attending the City College of San Francisco will be free, beginning next fall. With education costs soaring and student loan debt hitting $1.3 trillion in the US, the city hopes the initiative which it says is the first of its kind in the country will give some residents an economic boost. "Making City College free is going to provide greater opportunities for more San Franciscans to enter the middle class and more San Franciscans to stay in the middle class, if they currently are," the city's supervisor Jane Kim said during the press conference. The tuition money for students attending the two-year community college will come from a transfer tax placed on San Francisco homes and commercial properties selling for $5 million or more, which was approved by voters last November under a ballot measure. The median home value in San Francisco the nation's most expensive housing market in January was $1,146,800, according to Zillow. The city expects to raise $44 million annually from those taxes. About $5.4 million of that sum will be sent directly to students attending City College over the next two years, effectively buying out students' $46-a-credit fee. Money will also go toward full time low-income students, who already qualify for a fee waiver, in the form of a $250-per-semester stipend. Residents who have lived in the city for at least a year will be eligible. The number of local students set to benefit from free tuition is estimated at 30,000. After two years, the city will review and decide whether to keep funding the initiative. The free tuition agreement follows a five-year "accreditation nightmare" surrounding City College that saw a decline in enrollment from 90,000 to 65,000 full- and part-time students, according to The San Francisco Chronicle. The school's accreditation was renewed in January. Back then, his surrogates were crisscrossing the planet to assure leaders in business and politics that the unpredictable man who was about to ascend to the presidency could create stability across the world. In Davos, Switzerland, at the World Economic Forum, financier and (then) would-be White House appointee Anthony Scaramucci described the kind of populist change Trump would bring. It would be, Scaramucci said, like life under President Theodore Roosevelt, the great turn-of-the-century crusader for the working class: "This [economic inequality] happened in the United States in about 1890 to 1915. There's a great book on that. It's called 'The Bully Pulpit,' by Doris Kearns Goodwin. That was the robber-baron era in the United States, with a lot of economic rent going to a small group of people. At the same time, there was tenement housing in urban areas. President Teddy Roosevelt understood this. The great irony of the word 'progressivism' is that it actually came from Republican ideology. Teddy Roosevelt coined that term in the first decade of the 20th century. So we're there again. And in order to right-size this, we have to come up with new policies." Goodwin's book is great, but Scaramucci may have misread it. And to be fair, he's not the only Republican who has made this flawed comparison. Former House Speaker John Boehner did it, and billionaire Carl Icahn, an adviser to Trump, has made it too. And though it is wrong, it is worth considering just how Trump and Roosevelt differ and the key way in which they seem exactly the same. "The Bully Pulpit" tells the story of a man who was a populist crusader not just in word but also in deed. Roosevelt was a war hero with a long career in politics, having served as the New York City police commissioner before heading to Albany to take on corruption there. He believed the world was getting smaller, and he challenged Americans to keep up with the speed of an increasingly integrated global economy. His progressivism was rooted in making sure that the state provided its people with the safety net throughout that process. To protect Americans from the ravages of a new age of capitalism and further his populism, he turned to regulation. Trump, of course, is doing the opposite. So how were they the same? But that is only one part of the story. "The Bully Pulpit" also happens to tell the story of a man whose ego brought his party the Republican Party to its knees. Like Trump, Roosevelt often loudly and publicly lampooned his enemies. And like Trump, Roosevelt was obsessed with his own cult of personality. As a result, he drove the Republican Party to crushing defeat in 1912 when he bucked his own hand-picked successor and ran for president on a third-party ticket. Of course, that was after decades of incredible, tireless, brilliant political service. In 1901, Roosevelt became president by accident. He was vice president in William McKinley's administration when McKinley was assassinated. It was six months into McKinley's term, and Roosevelt was only 42 years old. Roosevelt, however, had the experience of someone much older. By his early 20s he had a seat in the New York State Senate. He decided to work his way up the political ladder in New York City when it was not considered a game for gentlemen of his social class. Roosevelt was a Harvard man who wrote his first book on naval history before he had his first child, but when it came to politics he was not afraid to brawl in bars, visit tenement slums, and as New York City's police commissioner go undercover to make sure his subordinates were doing their jobs. This is how he learned about the plight of the working class, through years of work on the frontlines fighting corruption. This stands in sharp contrast with Trump's quick foray into politics and the concerns of Middle America. His experience filled Roosevelt with a genuine desire to rein in big business and create what he eventually called "a square deal" for everyday Americans, and he showed that through one of his first acts as president. Immediately he created the Commerce Department to "inspect and examine" corporate finances. Then he filed an antitrust suit against the merger of Northern Securities Company, the massive railroad holding company that joined the holdings of the day's titans James Hill, J.P. Morgan, Cornelius Vanderbilt, the Rockefellers, E.H. Harriman, and the Goulds. The titans were gobsmacked, and the stock market was roiled. They thought Roosevelt was one of them, and they thought the administration should've let them know what was going on in advance. "It really seems hard ... that we should be compelled to fight for our lives against the political adventurers who have never done anything but post and draw a salary," Hill said, according to Goodwin's book. Some things never change Sound familiar? If it sounds like Wall Street bankers complaining about Dodd-Frank regulation following the financial crisis, you're not imagining things. It could also sound like Wall Street's complaint about the Obama administration's fiduciary rule that requires money managers to put the needs of their clients before their own to ensure that Wall Street doesn't sell you products that line its pockets while potentially emptying yours. Again, this is where the two presidents stand in sharp contrast. Roosevelt was a regulation proponent; Trump is a deregulator. Trump's plan is to do away with that fiduciary rule and others enshrined in Dodd-Frank, affecting areas such as payday lenders, credit cards, and student loans. "He campaigned saying he was going to go after Wall Street, and he's doing the opposite," Professor Michael S. Barr of the University of Michigan Law School said. "He's starting his administration by weakening Wall Street reform." The differences don't end there. In 1912, Roosevelt ran for a third term as president under a party of his own creation: the National Progressive (or Bull Moose) Party. He called for a "living wage" for all workers; Trump's pick for labor secretary has decried raising the minimum wage and would rather replace workers with robots. Roosevelt wanted to regulate big corporations more and introduce a graduated inheritance tax. Trump wants to get rid of the estate tax altogether, a measure that would help him and his family preserve their own wealth. Bully is as bully does Roosevelt and Trump have radically different ways of communicating their ideas to the American people as well. At the turn of the century, the term "bully" had a positive, congratulatory meaning. Roosevelt's mission was to show Americans the challenges ahead and allow them to rise to them. He traded in facts, and he used the press to communicate the struggles of his office in a seemingly transparent way. Starting in 1902, Roosevelt struggled to put down a massive coal strike that gripped the nation. Schools were closed because there was no heat, and people feared more violence. Roosevelt tried to force the parties to come to an agreement, but the coal operators were intransigent. They would not listen to the president, so the White House published a transcript of their meeting with the president. Public opinion turned against the operators. Now, during this time, Roosevelt did have a plan in the back of his mind to send in federal troops to seize the mines and take over operations. The situation never got to that point. Roosevelt decided to play Wall Street's game, and he sent the financier J.P. Morgan in to negotiate with the operators. The White House ultimately made cosmetic political concessions that flattered the coal operators. "It is never well to take drastic action if the result can be achieved with equal efficiency in less drastic fashion," Roosevelt would later say. He also publicly shared credit for the victory with Morgan, and privately he wrote to his family that he hoped he would never have to deal with "as wooden headed a set" as the coal operators again. This is politics. It's consensus building, concession making, ego soothing, credit sharing, and careful planning. So far we've seen none of this skill from the Trump administration. Trump has failed to build consensus for most of his bigger policies. Polling shows that most Americans hate the idea of building a wall on our southern border with Mexico. Many also don't like the administration's attempt to temporarily bar people from seven majority-Muslim countries from entering the US. And despite being a man who made his fortune doing deals, Trump's style is not conducive to the give-and-take of international diplomacy. He reportedly yelled at a US ally, Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull. Gov. Graco Ramirez, of Morelos, the president of Mexico's national conference of governors, told a Mexican newspaper that Trump had declared "war" on Mexico. "With Trump, dialogue is exhausted," Ramirez told El Universal. "It doesn't make sense to sit down with him. He doesn't change his attitude or his position." None of this has anything to do with Roosevelt's "bully pulpit." It's just bullying. A man who is great enough to forget himself Now, back to the similarities, because rather than an assurance, they serve as a warning. Roosevelt fed off of the adulation of crowds, and the longer he stayed in power, the more that love fed his ego and convinced him that he alone could run the country. That is what motivated him to run for president in 1912, right after the first term of his chosen successor, William Howard Taft. The Republican National Convention that year saw brawls erupting between Taft's and Roosevelt's supporters. Ultimately, in creating a new party and backstabbing Taft, Roosevelt split the Republican vote. This handed Democrats a stunning victory. And as we know, Woodrow Wilson went on to serve two terms as president. Part of the reason Taft fought so hard against his old friend was that, like Trump, Roosevelt had an uneasy relationship with the separation of powers among the judiciary, executive and legislative branches. Because of that, Taft didn't even care that he lost the presidential election. He just wanted to make sure that Roosevelt didn't take over the Republican Party and do away with the "absolute independence of the judiciary" branch, according to Goodwin. Trump, less than a month into his presidency, has already railed against a judge who struck down his administration's temporary travel ban, calling him a "so-called judge." This light flirtation with autocracy is why Ray Baker, a progressive business journalist who followed Roosevelt through much of his political career, didn't support Roosevelt in 1912. He wrote that the country needed a man who was "great enough to forget himself." Roosevelt was not that man. Trump isn't either. Neither man is (or was) capable of putting the needs of anyone or anything else not even the needs of the presidency before his own ego. Trump's chaotic and too-broad action inflamed the Democratic base and angered many Republicans in Congress who weren't consulted and didn't know how to defend what the president had done. But Democrats should not get comfortable about the politics of immigration. Even despite the chaos, Trump's ban is polling at about a 50-50 proposition. There is a hazard hiding for Democrats here, one that will become more evident as the furor over the order fades. Already, the order has been "clarified" to reduce its outrageousness (particularly through Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly's declaration that legal permanent residents from the seven banned countries can still be admitted). The political risk to Democrats isn't just about the politics of terrorism or of Islam. Eventually, Trump will get to more comfortable political ground: the question of whether immigration to the US is in the interest of American citizens. He has a theory of why restrictive policies are good for Americans, one that was the centerpiece of his successful presidential campaign. Democrats are much less clear about what they see as the purpose of immigration and how they believe their policies would serve the interests of existing American citizens. Often, their arguments for immigration focus on the opportunities it affords to potential immigrants that is, people who cannot vote. Democratic arguments around immigration tend lately to be based around outrage at Trump's ideas and actions on the issue. Because Trump is outrageous, there is a lot of mileage to be had in this. But eventually, Democrats will need to be able to make a case that their preferred immigration policies serve the national interest. They're not yet positioned to do so. Immigration policy is about allocating a limited resource Unless you support a policy of totally open immigration an idea that has adherents among the commentariat but not in significant numbers among voters or elected officials you endorse the idea that sometimes the government will say no to people who would like to come to the US. Given the need for limits, you will have to come up with some rules about who gets told no, and why. One might consider the benefits to those who would immigrate who stands to gain the most from admission to the US? Another consideration is the benefits to those who are already citizens who will add the most of value to the American economy or the American culture? You should also consider the costs imposed by some immigrants for example, if they might be likely to commit crimes or consume government services that cost more than they will pay in taxes. Trump has been clear: His view is that immigration policy, like all policy, should be made foremost on the basis of the interests of American citizens. And his executive order is driven by a stated concern that immigrants from certain countries might be especially likely to commit acts of terrorism. Democrats have good arguments against Trumps policy but not for their own The arguments against Trump's executive order, and against his broad stereotyping of immigrants ("They're bringing drugs, they're bringing crime") have been easy to make: Trump overstates the criminality of immigrants. No terrorism deaths on American soil are attributable to admittees from the banned countries. Unlike unvetted asylees arriving in Europe, refugees in the US are extensively vetted and small in number relative to the population. This is all valid enough as a case that Trump is overstating or inventing the downsides of immigration. But what is the compelling illustration of upsides, to make the case that Americans should permit large amounts of immigration, despite their perception that immigration creates certain problems? There are broad appeals to the economic and cultural benefits of immigration. But the economic case is undermined by the arbitrary nature of the way the consensus reform position would admit immigrants: guest-worker programs at both the high and the low ends of the skill spectrum, as well as millions of admissions allocated to existing unauthorized immigrants primarily on the basis of when they arrived in the US rather than their ability to contribute economically. As for the cultural case, the desirability of "taco trucks on every corner" is a matter of opinion. Immigration policy really is a matter of globalism versus nationalism I think the true reason that immigration advocates fail to make strong national-interest arguments for immigration is that the pro-immigration impulse is not really about the national interest. Potential immigrants are human beings with moral worth. Especially in the case of refugees, they have been disadvantaged by the place of their birth. The human condition is improved by their admission to the US. This a global, humanistic concern is a driving factor behind support for immigration. Plus, elites in government, media, and business tend to be in positions where they stand to derive disproportionate benefits from immigration to the US and bear relatively few costs related to it. Thus immigration is a relatively easy area to favor policy altruism. But what if about half the electorate disagrees? What's in it for them? An effective pro-immigration message would synthesize globalism and nationalism Immigration advocates do not need to abandon the idea that resettling refugees is a morally necessary act of altruism by a rich country, nor do they need to concede the idea that public policy should be made solely in the interest of American citizens, forsaking the concerns of all other people. But they need to acknowledge that admitting outsiders to the United States is a policy choice and demonstrate that they have carefully considered the national interest in making the choice. Voters will be more inclined to let politicians be altruistic on their behalf if they do not believe their own interests have been lost in the calculations. So, how many people should we admit to the United States based on their need for a new country to live in? For those we admit or naturalize for other reasons, what is the benefit to existing citizens of the United States? In the case of refugees, the main argument is altruism, and perhaps also the improvement of America's image abroad. In the case of people coming to the United States for work, ideally they should provide needed skills and improve the economy. On the other hand, admitted workers might slacken the labor market and drive down wages. They and their families might also consume more in government services than they pay in taxes. The economic case for immigration would be strengthened by limiting work-based admissions to the higher end of the skill spectrum, and by ensuring that high-skill worker visa programs are used to find workers of high and unique skill, not to support outsourcing firms that drive down wages. Raising the minimum income for skilled workers on H1-B visas would be an example of such a policy. Declining to enforce immigration law has hurt pro-immigration politicians credibility Most important, immigration advocates can demonstrate their focus on the national interest by being willing to support enforcement of laws against immigration that is neither legal nor in the national interest by showing that the willingness to say "yes" to immigration is paired with a willingness to say "no." For the last 20 years or more, the federal government has pursued a policy of benign neglect. Trump presents this as a problem of "weak borders," but the main issue is a failure of interior enforcement particularly a failure to aggressively enforce laws against working in the US without authorization. Members of Congress in both parties have bent to the will of employers who do not want to have to prove their employees are authorized to work. President Barack Obama sought to grant millions of work permits to immigrants living in the country illegally through an executive order that was blocked by federal courts. Hillary Clinton promised to go further, halting all deportations of immigrants living in the country illegally except for violent criminals and terrorists. In recent years, Democrats have come to talk about deportation in the same wrongheaded way Occupy Wall Street activists talked about foreclosure: as a horrible, heartless thing to do, rather than a sometimes regrettably necessary action in nation of laws. A lender should not foreclose on every homeowner in default, but you cannot have mortgage lending without the option of foreclosure. Similarly, you do not have an immigration policy if you cannot deport non-citizens for violating immigration law. This neglect is a major reason for the failure of comprehensive immigration reform. Immigration reform is supposed to be a trade: amnesty for unauthorized immigrants and high future levels of legal immigration, in exchange for stringent enforcement of immigration laws in the future. But why would anyone believe that Democrats or pre-Trump Republicans would follow through on a promise to enforce immigration law effectively? Even Trump has not (yet) made workplace enforcement a priority. Immigration reform is an example of no-choice politics, and Trump's election was part of voters' global revolt against the insistence that they accept policy choices that are foisted upon them through path dependence orchestrated by political elites. The national interest needs a central place in all policymaking In a recent cover story for National Review, Rich Lowry and Ramesh Ponnuru made the case that conservatives should embrace "a sensible and moderate form of nationalism." About half their essay is spent trying to settle on the correct definition of "nationalism," which suggests to me that "nationalism" is not a very useful term for what Lowry and Ponnuru are getting at. "I apologize for the delay in processing your request. DIA continues its efforts to eliminate the large backlog of pending FOIA requests," wrote Alesia Williams, the chief FOIA officer at the DIA. "Despite a thorough search, no documents responsive to your request were found." The letter marked the end of a long, frustrating road of trying to gain a deeper understanding of Snowden's career before he leaked thousands of classified documents to journalists and sought asylum in Russia, where he remains. Business Insider filed three separate requests on May 29, 2014 for Snowden's email records at the CIA, where he worked as an employee; the National Security Agency, where he worked as a government contractor; and the DIA, where he was a lecturer on counterintelligence, in an effort to learn whether he had, in fact, raised questions over the constitutionality of surveillance programs. Though both the CIA and NSA took longer than the statutorily required 20-day period for fulfilling records requests, both agencies issued a final response a few months later. The CIA provided Business Insider a "Glomar response" on June 27, 2014, that neither confirmed nor denied such records. The NSA on July 1, 2014, partially denied to provide most of Snowden's emails and provided one email it had already made public. It took the DIA two years, eight months, and eight days to say it didn't have any records on file. That search took them probably 10 seconds The long delay by the DIA highlights a common complaint about the FOIA process among journalists and others. Though President Barack Obama signed a law in 2016 to reform FOIA, it did nothing to speed up the process of responding to requests. Some requesters, such as the author Monte Finkelstein, simply give up on trying to get records after waiting for years with nothing to show for it. "This type of ridiculous delay in performing even basic searches is like a disease that has infected every FOIA office within the intelligence community," said Brad Moss, a national-security attorney well-versed in FOIA law. Moss said the search at the DIA that ultimately turned up no records likely took 10 seconds. "Too many agencies simply do not care about processing your requests in a timely fashion unless you have sued them and a federal judge is now standing over them asking what's taking so long," he said. The people frustrated with FOIA requests are not only on the requesting side. Those fulfilling requests are seemingly overworked and underfunded, as a conversation Business Insider had with one FOIA officer made clear. When Business Insider followed up on the status of a separate, pending request to the CIA in 2015, the FOIA officer said he could offer no time frame on when it would be fulfilled. He then launched into an unprompted rant about the process. "If Congress would fund FOIA and give us the people for it but they don't," the officer, who did not give his name, told Business Insider. "It's difficult to do when you're tasking directorates or whatever federal agency and they have another primary job. It's not my primary job to do this. I've been doing this a long time and people have said to Congress, 'You're not going to fund this, you're not going to give them money to do this, and you're expecting them to get this in 20 working days.'" To help you narrow down your search, FlexJobs released a list of 100 companies that allow you to work from just about anywhere. Out of a total of over 47,000 companies, these organizations listed the highest numbers of telecommuting job openings on FlexJobs in 2016. Here are the top 13 companies on the list: 1. Appen Appen is a language technology and consulting firm based in New South Wales, Australia. Available remote positions include: Social media evaluator, project manager (Detroit), social media evaluator (German, Dutch, Polish, Romanian, Greek, French, Italian) 2. LiveOps Founded in 2002, LiveOps is a cloud call center company. Available remote positions include: Learning design specialist, inbound sales associate, insurance claims call center associate 3. Amazon Amazon, a Seattle-based online retailer, was first founded in 1994 by Jeff Bezos. Available remote positions include: Senior human resources manager, technical trainer, English language assessment linguist 4. TeleTech Business process outsourcing company TeleTech was first established in 1982. Available remote positions include: Call center launch operations senior project manager, Avaya contact center principal engineer, healthcare call center talent acquisition manager 5. VIPKID VIPKID is a Chinese online education firm, with a focus on offering the equivalent of a US elementary education to Chinese students. Available remote positions include: Online ESL teacher 6. LanguageLine Solutions Founded in 1982, LanguageLine Solutions is a Monterey, California-based interpretation and translation company. Available remote positions include: Spanish interpreter, Lithuanian telephone interpreter, advanced level Hawaiian telephone interpreter 7. Working Solutions Customer service provider Working Solutions has been based in Plano, Texas since its founding in 1996. Available remote positions include: Event ticketing and sales associate, corporate travel agent, sporting goods retail associate 8. Kelly Services First established in 1946, Kelly Services is an employment and recruitment agency. Available remote positions include: Technical writer in medical operations, senior clinical research associate, business analyst 9. Sutherland Global Services Sutherland Global Services is a technology management and process transformation services provider based in Rochester, New York. Available remote positions include: Cable industry technical support 10. UnitedHealth Group Healthcare provider UnitedHealth Group was founded in 1977 and is a Fortune 500 Company. Available remote positions include: Pharmacy analytics consulting director, sales and business development area vice president, product director 11. Hilton Worldwide First founded in 1919, Hilton Worldwide is a global hospitality management company that operates numerous hotel franchises. Available remote positions include: Retail senior manager, reservation sales college intern, director of sales 12. Cactus Communications Communication solutions provider Cactus Communications was founded in 2002. Available remote positions include: Japanese to English translator, freelance writer, Chinese to English translator 13. Convergys Customer and information management services provider Convergys is based in Cincinnati, Ohio. AccuWeather reports that 6 to 12 inches are possible in the worst-affected areas shown in darkest blue on the map, near New York City and Boston. Elsewhere, lighter accumulation or slush are more likely. The storm could significantly affect travel throughout the region, with 1 to 2 inches of snow falling per hour in some places. As always, caution is key in reading these predictions. There's a big difference between 6 and 12 inches, or 3 and 6. The National Weather Service, which provides a great deal of the data that meteorologists like the folks at AccuWeather use in their predictions, published a map that frames what we know in more conservative terms. The NWS focuses on the most likely accumulation, rather than the possible extremes of the range. Here's the NWS's map of the most snow expected in New York City. And, of course, there's always the possibility the storm will fizzle. Oparaugo, whose firm is currently into partnership with five African countries including Nigeria on investment drive, said this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria on Tuesday in Abuja. He explained that while there were huge investment opportunities in the country, the harsh operating environment was limiting the interests of investors in key sectors of the economy. According to National Bureau of Statistics, the Nigerian economy has recorded its worst investment inflow in 10 years, with the country attracting a total investment of 5.12 billion dollars in the 2016 fiscal period. The figure, when compared to the 9.64 billion which the economy attracted in 2015, represented a huge decline of 4.52 billion dollars or 46.86 per cent. Oparaugo urged the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC) to quickly commence the process of identifying and reducing the bureaucratic processes and regulations impeding the private sector. PEBEC was set up by the Federal Government in October 2016 to improve Nigerias ranking in the ease of doing business index and chaired by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo. Oparaugo said as part of efforts to correct the poor perception of foreign investors, a memorandum of understanding had been signed between the company and the Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission. The MoU, according to him, will enable the company to showcase the huge investments opportunities in the non-oil sectors of the Nigerian economy. We are committed to helping intra-African and foreign investors find the right partners and opportunities, firm joint ventures or partnerships and to establish presence through Private Public Partnership." There are numerous investment opportunities in Nigeria but a lot of investors, particularly the foreign investors, are not taking this advantage owing to the fact that they have a poor perception of the investment climate." This is understandable when you consider the fact that the operating environment is not friendly and the lack of continuity in some programmes of government, he said. Commenting on the successes so far recorded in the last one year, he said the company assisted six African countries, including Nigeria, to attract about 1.5 billion dollars investments in three sectors of the economy. The sectors are oil and gas where he said attracted the huge chunk of investment inflow of about 700 million dollars, while the rest to agriculture and tourism. "AlhamduliLlah. It's a boy," he wrote alongside an adorable photo of himself and his new son. The duo looked so cute together! Chatta reportedly welcomed his new ray of sunshine with wife and fellow actress Lizzie. Further details on the birth hasn't been disclosed yet. Congrats to the couple! Ibrahim got married to colleague, Lizzy Berry on October 1, 2016. This is the actor's third marriage after been married to Salamatu Lafiaji, daughter of the former governor of Kwara state, Shaaba Lafiaji. Meraiah will be 17 today and in celebration of that, she shared this cute photo below. The last daughter of the Ekeinde family makes us fall in love with the Ankara fabric all over again. We combed through her Instagram page and got more photos of her in her slaying glory! ALSO READ: Actress visits orphanage in Ghana Popularly known as the "fashionista" of the house. Meraiah is currently studying in the United States of America. Meraiah who bagged an endorsement deal with her mother in 2015 describes herself as an aspiring model and fashion designer. The incident occurred at the Dutse-Alhaji Junction located along Murtala Muhammed Expressway, Kubwa A trailer had initially rammed the salon car which went on to crush the victims. According to the Daily Post News, the motorcycle riders were waiting for passengers at the Public Service Institute before the accident happened. Five other people who sustained injuries following the tragic incident were taken to the Kubwa General Hospital for treatment. Bisi Kazeem, the spokesman for the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) attributed the accident to a case of speed violation, mechanical deficient vehicle and dangerous driving. ALSO READ: Truck kills pregnant woman a few hours to visiting children in the US According to the Uganda Monitor, Lukoya who parades himself as an 'untouchable almighty god' was on a special door-to-door ministration when the mob attacked him. Fortunately the police was on hand to save the pastor who reportedly preaches in three different religions - the traditional worship pattern, Acholi, Islam and Christianity. The Uganda Monitor quoted the mob saying, He is not a true prophet. He preaches falsehood and false prophecies to us and we are tired of him." Speaking concerning the matter, Albert Onyango, the Agago District Police Commander said the pastor was being attacked due to the transgression of his daughter. Residents hate him because of the past rebellion his daughter led. They also believe Lukoya is a cult leader whose presence brings bad omen. I think it is time Lukoya realized that he is not wanted in the district. This is the fourth time in less than two years that people are attempting to kill him." ALSO READ: Fake prophet lures man into marrying troublesome wife The attack on fake men of God have gone on the increase in recent times. In this village women go around topless and show off their breasts. This startling revelation was made by a man identified as Nafiu Umar Balarabe. In his post online, Balarabe described the inhabitants of the village where woman walk topless as pagans. He also stated that Christians have been trying to convert the villagers to become Christians. "This is a challenge to all Muslim Community in the North and especially from North central. This village is called Birnin Amina in Rijau Local Government of Niger state. The community there they dont practice any religion but paganism. Now our people of the other religions are taking advantage of their situation by clothing them as you can see on the picture below. Their main aim is convert them into Christianity. This is a challenge to both of us. Pls lets do something in time" he wrote. Balarabe's statement is a call from Muslims to join in on the race to convert these villagers to the Islamic faith. He makes it sound like some sort of religious competition, a conquering of unchartered lands. This sort of points to one of the major flaws of organised religion in Nigeria. There is a thirst to have more followers and brag about who has more people in his church or mosque. The well-being of people is placed at the back. Religion should focus on how to make the lives of people better irrespective of whether they worship Jesus, Allah or some other god. Now she cant go back to Samson while her family has also disowned her. Read her story here: My name is Marilyn, a 36-year-old woman. I am very bitter right now and I cant stop blaming myself for the present mess I have found myself in. I have jumped from the frying pan into the fire due to my greed and my urge for material things. I allowed my friends to lead me astray and now as I cry, they have all deserted me and I have no one to turn to. I am writing this to warn other women in my shoes or who would be tempted with thinking the grass is greener out there that all that glitter is not gold. Before I found myself in this predicament, I was married to Samson and we had two children but along the line, my husband lost his job and things became quite difficult for us. The company he worked before the retrenchment gave us just three weeks to park out of our official quarters and we had to get a room and parlor apartment in a crowded house to manage while Samson tried to get another job. All his efforts proved abortive and things went from bad to worse when our children had to stop school when they were sent home because of fees. My small business was all we depended on and when things became too difficult for us to bear, my friend , promised to introduce me to a rich chief who could help. When we went to see the man, he told me he would only help me if I allowed him to sleep with me. Initially, I refused and told him I was a married and he told me to leave his guest house as he was not ready to throw his money away on someone he would not gain anything from. After about some months and with our landlord giving us just one week to park out of his house when we could not renew our rent, I went back to Adaugo who took me to the chief again and he insisted on sleeping with me and I had no option but to agree. That was the beginning of my journey to this quagmire. The after sleeping with me, chief gave me money with which I used to pay our rent and lied to my husband that I got a loan from our women cooperative. I was able to restock my shop and even expanded it and got two other shops. I was now able to travel to Dubai and China to buy goods for me shops. I kept seeing the chief and he spoilt me silly with money and other material things and with time, I even gave Samson money to set up a business and when he asked where I got the money from, I told him I was involved in a contributory scheme. But somewhere along the line, chief told me he was no longer comfortable with me sneaking around to see him and said he wanted to make me his third wife and I must leave my husband. Like a sheep being led to the slaughter slab, I agreed to leave my husband and marry chief. I guess he must have hypnotized because I just packed out of my home and moved into one of chiefs houses and despite several remonstrations from my family and that of my husband and church members, I was not ready to listen to anyone. But the scale has been lifted off my eyes after living with chief as a common-law wife for two years when he came one day and told me to vacate his house as his new wife was coming in. I thought he was joking but he sent his boys who forcefully threw my things out of the house and told me never to come close to chief again. Not only that, he has also closed my shops and the accounts he opened for me and I am now the greatest loser anyone can think of. My husband and children would not have anything to do with me while my family has disowned me for bringing shame to them. Marilyn. The teaser for the day was: How Nigeria voted: She should go back and beg her husband for forgiveness? - 25% She got exactly what she deserved - 18% She should seek forgiveness from God and her family - 50% She should sue the chief for destroying her life - 7% The accused who was arrested at his Benin residence was first arraigned by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on February 21, 2013. Ovenseri's sentencing was given by Justice P. I. Ajoku who found him guilty of a two-count charge bordering on possession of fraudulent documents, the Daily Post reports. Part of the accused count charge reads, that you Amegor Ovenseri, on or about the 18th day of January, 2013, at Siluko road, Benin City, Edo State within the jurisdiction of this Honorable court did with conspire with one Ede Amegor to commit felony to wit: obtaining by false pretence contrary to Section 8a of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act, 2006 and Punishable under Section 1 (3) of the same Act. His not-guilty plea was however not enough to stay the hand of the court in its discharge of justice. Alhaji Surjao Ismaila, the councils Primary Health Care (PHC) Coordinator, made this known in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Tuesday while inspecting the ongoing immunization at Maigora village. Ismaila said although 89, 380 doses of vaccines were received for the exercise, only 88, 860 doses were used by the 93 teams of vaccinators in the area. The coordinator said 117 cases of non-compliance were recorded with 226 children, out of which 76 were resolved with 151 children. NAN gathered that 892 household that had 1,454 children were absent during the exercise. Of the 892 households, 859 were revisited and 1,403 children absentees were immunized, with 40 households with 75 children still pending. NAN reports that 93 community leaders, 12 village heads and one district head participated in the exercise.Expressing appreciation to the people for their compliance, Ismaila said the figure recorded was higher than the expected target for the area. He enjoined immunisation workers to ensure adequate record keeping and to report any cases of rejection to the authorities immediately, as measures were in place to resolve all complaints. The PHC coordinator cautioned the field workers against framing fictitious statistics, saying that such could easily be detected by superior officers. He urged the workers to always live up to expectation. Ismaila commended the council authorities and traditional rulers for their support in facilitating the success of the exercise, adding that the health department enjoyed adequate concern from the groups. He urged husbands to allow their wives to access routine immunisation, antenatal care and other medications at the hospitals. The health worker commended the people on the success recorded during the last malaria campaign and the Maternal, Neonatal and Child Health Week (MNCH) conducted in the area. Ismaila appealed for more support from government, especially logistics. Amaechi, in a statement in Abuja, acknowledged the pains, which the closure of the Airport would cause the economy. He stated that the Federal Government would ensure the reopening in six weeks as proposed. The Abuja Airport runway was built to last for 20 years but we have been using it for 34 years." It has become extremely dangerous to continue using it, the way it is right now." We need to close it to rebuild it because the foundation is almost gone and what we are asking for is patience." If we dont close it, we will be exposing peoples lives to danger and one of the constitutional responsibilities of the government is to protect lives and property." We believe that if we close it by March 8, we should be able to reopen it in six weeks because we know the closure is challenging for our economy, the minister said. He also said that the government was committed to developing maritime, particularly in the North Central of the country. Amaechi added that the Baro River Port would be inaugurated by the first quarter of 2018. He noted that the present administration met an abandoned maritime but that it (government) was in the process of awarding the contract for the last equipment for the port. On the Lokoja port, the minister said he had directed the Nigerian Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA) to terminate that contract and gets a new contractor to complete the project. We have gotten that mandate from Mr President." Another mandate is the Central Railway Line, the Itakpe-Ajaokuta Railway Line; the contractors are back to site." Ambode spoke at the 14th Annual Lecture of the Centre for Value and Leadership with theme: Living Well Together, Tomorrow: The Challenge of Africas Future Cities held in Lagos. Ambode said that connectivity was a critical element for a mega city to work, which required having mass transit system to move people from one point to another. I tell you what, I want to banish yellow buses from Lagos this year." My dream of ensuring that Lagos becomes a true megacity will not be actualised with the presence of these yellow buses on Lagos roads Ambode said. The governor said there was still a lot more to be achieved as regard making Lagos one of the vibrant cities of the world. According to Ambode, cities are the most attractive destination for those who want to realise their dreams. He said that to this end, there was the need for government to be proactive in providing and expanding infrastructure, connectivity, other services to accommodate them. It is estimated that 86 immigrants enter Lagos every hour the highest in any city in the world and they have no plans to leave." This is because Lagos has remained over time, and most especially in the last decade, the most attractive destination for those who want to realise and live their Nigerian dream." This ever increasing population of the state however means that we have to be on our toes to provide facilities for this more than 23 million population, Ambode said. He said that government was also embarking on massive reform in waste management system, expressing optimism that the plan would be fully actualised by July. We are also embarking on massive reform in the waste and sanitation management system." I dont like the way this city is and the Private Sector Participants (PSP) collectors are not having enough capacity to do it, but again should I tax people to death? The answer is no." I dont want to tax people and so, we need this partnership with the private sector so that they can invest in the sanitation management of the city and in no time, maybe by July, the city will change forever, he said. The governor said that the main objective of his administration remained the growth of the Lagos economy from fifth to third largest economy in Africa. On power, Ambode said the major issue had always been with transmission and advocated an embedded power initiative that would allow clusters of Independent Power Projects (IPP) to run the cities. He said that he had remained focused on some issues such as infrastructure, security, job creation, power, adoption of technology as an enabler and driving investment through ease of doing business. The Founder and Chief Executive Officer of CVL, Prof. Pat Utomi said that Lagos was thriving because of 18 years of good governance and ability to sustain the economy without and beyond oil. According to Vanguard, the terrorists first came in five Hilux vans and attacked the military base before unleashing terror on the villagers. The Yobe State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Adeyemi Abdulmaliki, also confirmed the attack. Abdulmaliki however said he could not give specific details, because there was no means of communication in the village where the incident occurred. The state police boss said I can confirm to you that Sasawa town came under attack yesterday by Boko Haram, but there is no further detail for now. Dogara stated this in Abuja at a workshop organised by the House of Representatives to find solutions to the perennial power outage in the country on Tuesday, February 7, 2017. The most important question is what happened to the N2.74 trillion spent on the sector from 1999 - 2015?, Dogara said. Why is it that the more we spent on the power sector, the more darkness we attract? the Speaker added. Dogara expressed confidence that the array of stakeholders gathered at the event were capable of dealing with the issues, questions and puzzles that exist in the power sector. The House organised the workshop to complement efforts of the President Muhammadu Buhari administration towards improving Nigerias poor electricity supply. ALSO READ: Senate President says fixing poor power supply is a priority The two-day event was organised to examine extant legislations and regulatory framework guiding the Nigerian power sector and also to determine the need for amendments or enactment of new laws that will galvanise the sector. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the price hike has caused an increase in transport fares within the metropolis. A sales attendant, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, told NAN on Monday in Umuahia that the hike in the pump price was due to the scarcity of the product at the Osisioma Depot, near Aba. The product is not available at the Osisioma depot, so we travel to other places, including Lagos, to purchase the product, he said. He said that marketers were spending more money to bring the product because of the scarcity. Aside buying the product at a higher cost per litre, marketers also spend more money to transport it down to the state." We bought the product at N144 per litre and sell at N148 to cover the cost, including transportation, he said. NAN reports that the product was only available at independent marketers service stations, while major marketers did not have the stock. It was learnt that major marketers could not afford to purchase the product at any price because they could not sell above the official pump price. Meanwhile, tricycle operators in the town have increased their fare from N40 to N50 per drop. Two motorists, Collins Igwe and Gladys Onyema, who were seen at a filling station lamenting the price hike, said the situation had worsened the economic situation in the city. Already, Nigerians are suffering so much under the recession; so the hike in pump price will definitely compound the economic hardship in the country, Igwe said. According to Punch, Ibori also told his supporters and newsmen that he was not deported from the United Kingdom (UK). The former Governor also added that his trial in the UK was marred by corruption, adding that he will challenge his conviction. A statement issued by his spokesman, Tony Eluemunor said Ibori wishes to correct the impression created by some news reports that he was deported from the UK. Even though I had wanted to publicise my return to Nigeria so that wrong meanings would not be read into the public interest that I knew my presence in Nigeria would elicit, I never wanted any crowd to gather because of me as I do not want to disturb Nigerians in the course of their duties, all my efforts to keep the trip secret failed. The airline that brought me to Nigeria is known to Nigerians, so also was my arrival at the airport. So, it would be easy to verify that I was not deported because the deporting countrys officials would always hand over deportees to the Nigerian Immigration officials and documents would also be exchanged. Those who have chosen to report lies, and claim that I was deported know that no document exists anywhere in the world to back up those malicious claims. "Most of all, a record of documented letters between Iboris solicitors and the British Home Office exists which proves beyond all reasonable doubts that Ibori was granted leave to exit Britain voluntarily, and he announced, as was reported by both Reuters and the BBC, and several Nigerian news outlets that he would return to Nigeria in a matter of days. He did not announce the exact day so as to avoid crowd control challenges for the security services, the statement added. James Ibori served as Governor of the oil rich Delta state from 1999 2007. Ibori was released in London in December 2016, after serving just over four years of a 13-year jail term. The convicts were sentenced on a one-count charge of vagabonds. The Senior Magistrate, Hajiya Umma Kurawa, in her sentence said the convicts should either go to jail or pay a fine of N20,000 each. Kurawa, also ordered the convicts to fill a bond to be of good behaviour, stressing that failure to do so would attract one year imprisonment for them. She, therefore, ordered the convicts to bring one reliable surety, either biological father or guardian. Earlier, the Police Prosecutor, Sgt. Ibrahim Tsanyawa, had told the court that the convicts committed the offence on Feb. 2. Tsanyawa said a team of police men and other security agents headed by ACP Mamman Audu, all attached to the Kano State Command, arrested the culprits. He said that the police raided some criminal hideouts and black spots at No mans land and Sabon Gari Area Kano, where all the convicts were arrested. The prosecutor said that the convicts were seen in public places, behaving in an indecent manner and flaunting their bodies to attract passers-by for the purpose of prostitution. CIVIC Team Leader in Nigeria, Mrs Chitra Nagarajam, gave the commendation in Maiduguri at the opening of a two-day workshop on protection of civilians in armed conflicts for officers and men of the Nigerian Army. Lt.-Col. Kingsley Samuel, the spokesman of the 7 Division of the Nigerian Army, stated this in a statement. Samuel said that the event was held at the Nigerian Army Wolf Officers Mess in Maiduguri. According to the statement, Nagarajam said that civilians are always at the receiving end of conflicts globally. Civilians are caught in conflicts more than ever before; hence the need for troops to be well informed on the rights and protection of civilians during armed conflicts." The only way to restore security and combat violence is to spell out roles of the troops during conflict, especially as it involves the protection of civilians, she said. Nagarajam urged the military to focus more on the protection of civilians since militarys successes were recorded based on minimal civilian casualties rather than the number of terrorist captured or killed. She pledged CIVICs readiness to support the military with policies that protect civilians in armed conflict zones. Also speaking at the event, Gov. Kashim Shettima said the importance of civilian protection during armed conflicts could not be over-emphasised, as it was essential to restoration of peace in conflict areas. He commended the 7 Division Nigerian Army, for collaborating with CIVIC in complementing the state governments efforts at relocating displaced persons back to their various communities. Shettima was represented by the Commissioner of Justice, Alhaji Kakashehu Lawal. In attendance were the Acting General Officer Commanding (GOC), 7 Division Nigerian Army, Brig.-Gen. Victor Ezugwu, representatives of 3 and 8 Division, as well as Theatre Commander, Operation Lafiya Dole. Elechi, an ICT expert, made the assertion in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Port Harcourt on Tuesday. He said that there were enormous opportunities in IT sector that could engage youths to stay away from violence. According to Elechi, there are so many secondary schools in the region that do not have computer laboratory, even the few schools that have it, do not do practical with the computer systems. What they do is just the theory aspect. Our students in the secondary schools and youths are not really exposed to the practical aspect of IT, he said. Elechi stated that there were enormous opportunities in IT and the sector had been playing a lot of role even in the public sector. Today, even the government cannot do without IT. The policy implementation was been enabled by IT." As a matter of fact, the economic recession had made more youths to be involved in acquiring new skills in the IT sector to enable them put food on their table." In my office now, I have new students who want to major in graphics. These are people who ordinarily do not know anything about IT, he said. The entrepreneur said that much capital was not needed in the IT sector, especially for the Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). In some cases, you dont really need the capital. It is your creativity and knowledge. The sector is providing a lot of opportunities for the youths in the face of recession, he said. Elechi said that it was IT that had made it possible for people to do transactions online almost from the comfort of their bedrooms. Ahmed spoke in Sokoto on Tuesday at the opening of the 2nd Biennial Africa International Renewable Energy Conference entitled: Renewable Energy as a Tool for Sustainable Energy for All. Nigeria and Africa are fully endowed with a myriad of renewable energy sources which should be well harnessed." Energy drives development of the society and only individuals having access to energy would be able to realize their full potential." Nigeria should further strive to improve her energy generation capacity, while buildings should be made more energy-efficient. Declaring open the conference, Gov. Atiku Bagudu of Kebbi averred that renewable energy is key to ensuring sustainable development at all levels. Bagudu, who was the Special Guest of Honour added that there are lots of energy challenges in my state. We have achieved near 24-hour electricity supply in Birnin Kebbi and other local governments, yet there are challenges. His Sokoto state counterpart, Alhaji Aminu Tambuwal, represented by the Secretary to the State Government, Prof. Bashir Garba, stated that the state government was discussing with some Chinese investors on the planned production of 100 megawatts of renewable energy. Tambuwal also averred that adequate power supply would further reduce diseases, unemployment and poverty, among other social malaise. The little power available should be conserved using energy-efficient buildings and appliances, to reduce recurring power cuts, Tambuwal, added. The Director-General, Energy Commission of Nigeria (ECN), Prof. Elijah Bala, represented by Prof. Dioha Joseph, Director Renewable Energy, said: Solar energy is now the in-thing as far as renewable energy is concerned. The Vice Chancellor of the Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto, Prof. Abdullahi Zuru, said that attention was now globally focused on diversifying energy sources in favour of renewable energy sources. Represented by his deputy in charge of academics, Zuru added, solar power provides an important alternative energy source in the country. The acting president made the comments via a statement released on Tuesday, February 7. The statement reads: I commend the IG and his officers for handling the protests with professionalism and respect for the rights of citizens. We are committed to a continuous engagement with our people to explain government policies, receive advice and criticism. Cabinet Ministers have gone round 8 States so far holding town hall meetings, the most recent was yesterday in Ilorin. There will be more of such meetings in the other States that are yet to be visited. With complete focus on improving the economy every day, the recession will soon be history. Hundreds of Nigerians took to the streets on Monday to protest government policies which are causing hardship for Nigerians. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Saleh was charged alongside Muhammed Sheriff, the Director of Finance and Rilwanu Lawal, the Chief Accountant of the apex court. NAN also reports that previous attempts to arraign the three defendants in the past were stalled. At the resumed session, the Prosecution Counsel, Mrs Hajara Yusuf, informed the court that she was directed by the Attorney General of the Federation to withdraw the matter. Yusuf, however, did not advance reasons for the withdrawal. My lord, I have been mandated from the office of the Attorney General of the Federation to withdraw the charges against the three persons, she said. Following the oral application, Justice Abba-Bello Muhammed, ordered for the withdrawal of the charges against the defendants. The defendants were initially charged with conspiracy, criminal breach of trust and accepting gratification as public officers. The offence was in contravention of Section 10(a) (i) of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act 2000 and punishable under the same Section of the Act. The defendants were also charged with contravening the provision of Section 96 of the Penal Code. The charge also alleged that they obtained gratification totaling N80million contrary to the ICPC Act. The Federal Government also alleged that the defendants obtained N2.4million gratification from Welcon Nigeria Ltd, N16million from Dean Musa Nig. Ltd. The defendants were also alleged to have collected N19million from Ababia Ventures Ltd as gratification. The money is said to have been used by the state government to bribe officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in a bid to rig the December 2016 rerun election. Panel Chairman, DCP Damian Okoro made the disclosure while speaking in Abuja. The sum total of N111.3 million was recovered from 23 electoral officials out of N360m, Okoro said according to Daily Trust. Governor Nyesom Wike has repeatedly denied rigging the elections but refused to acknowledge the police probe panel and instead created his own. He also approached the Federal High Court in Abuja in an attempt to stop the probe but the court rejected his plea. Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Idris told the court that Wike was trying to cover his tracks. The pictures were courtesy of the police probe panel set up to investigate the 2016 legislative rerun election in Rivers State. According to the panel, the wads of cash were evidence that Rivers Governor Nyesom Wike, bribed electoral officers in a bid to swing victory the way of the PDP during the vote. The panel put on display N100M in cash. ALSO READ: And the internet can't seem to get enough of the sight of piles of cash in a recession. However, in a statement sent to Pulse by Dr Austin Tam-George who is the Commissioner for Information and Communication in Rivers State, Governor Wike said the police has once again shown how shameful and reckless it has become. The Governor challenged the police authorities to tender fool-proof evidence that he financially induced officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). The full statement from Wike is reproduced below, unedited: The attention of the Rivers State Government has been drawn to the melodramatic images of heaps of cash, circulated in the media by the so-called police panel of inquiry into the re-run elections in Rivers State, on the 10th of December 2016. According to the Police, the heaps of money were evidence of bribe allegedly given to officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), by the Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, during the rerun polls. We consider the allegations of the Police as shameful, defamatory and reckless in the extreme. Never in the annals of infamy have we seen a vital State security institution descend to the lowest depths of blackmail and criminality, as the Nigeria Police Force has done in this case. A month ago, we alerted the world to the dark, Orwellian plot by the Nigeria Police to implicate Governor Wike in a phoney bribe scandal. Now, the Police appears to be acting with shocking predictability, by making wild and completely groundless allegations against Wike. The Rivers State Government challenges the Nigeria Police to show proof that Governor Wike financially induced any official of INEC. Does the Police have Bank records of the purported transactions between Governor Wike and the Electoral Officers? We challenge the Nigeria Police to move quickly to prosecute and imprison the so-called Electoral Officers on the basis of this dubious investigation. We strongly believe that the police panel is part of a bitter, politically-driven smear campaign launched by the Federal Government against Governor Nyesom Wike, and the people of Rivers State. We also believe that the Police is desperately seeking to divert attention from the disgraceful and criminal roles played by its officials, in the snatching and stuffing of ballot boxes during the December polls. In connection with the probe, the panel displayed, as evidence, N100 million in cash which was allegedly paid to INEC officials by Wike in a bid to sway the election in favour of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). He also approached the Federal High Court in Abuja in an attempt to stop the probe but the court rejected his plea. Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Idris told the court that Wike was trying to cover his tracks. Speaking ahead of the centre's upcoming roundtable on "The Role of Religious Leaders in Building Inter-Faith Tolerance", it's national coordinator, Comrade Ikpa Isaac raised concerns over what he termed an upsurge in inflammatory utterances around our religious differences. He said if not urgently addressed, the hostilities could escalate. Ikpa said this has become a national challenge that must be addressed quickly, stressing that unguarded utterances by religious leaders in the country, has further worsened the tension in the country. While acknowledging that certain situations, especially the killings by suspected Fulani herdsmen across the country could have been resolved through a peaceful approach, he however said when such atrocities were committed, the responses to them from the relevant authorities could also have better addressed the issue. He said, "It is however worrisome that the situation has rather taken the artificial division along religious lines to a new level. The conduct and utterances by leaders of the two dominant faiths have not done much to help the situation but they have rather acted to worsen things in the false belief that they will garner more following the more fiery they are perceived to be. "Unfortunately for us the larger population, we do not have the dual nationalities that many of these preachers have, even where we have visas to other countries we possibly do not have the means to relocate ourselves and families like the clergymen do; and we also do not have the economic resilience to weather any negative impacts that a religious crisis would have on the country like those leading us do."He insisted that the realization that it is the larger population that will suffer negative consequences, has propelled his group to bring Nigerians together to stave off the looming disaster of a religious hostilities. He said the event will bring together a group of informed Nigerians from ten states of the federation to brainstorm on how best religious leaders can proffer solutions to Nigeria's security, economic, social, political and other challenges without heating up the polity or inciting hatred. Reputable Nigerian scholars on peace and conflict management from the civil society organisations and Nigerian universities will elaborately discuss issues of national unity and peaceful co-existence. NS, the Dutch rail operator, is setting up the Dutch rail system for a future of renewable energy-powered trains with trains that run on 100 percent wind energy. According to a report by The Guardian, NS and energy supplier, Eneco already achieved the global milestone on January 1, 2017 - a full year before the originally proposed goal of 2018. NS currently runs about 5500 trips per day and a single windmill can power a train travelling 193 kilometers. Both Eneco and NS say this enables 600,000 travellers get around each day without generating any emissions. Both companies started the project in 2015 and ran 75 percent of NS' trains on just wind power in 2016. The Netherlands isn't the only country to try to combat the effect of its transit systems. Germany also has plans to launch a hydrogen-powered passenger train sometime this year. The idea has also been posited in the US with cities like California planning to run its future high-speed railway on renewable energy though that $64 billion project has encountered several hiccups since it was approved in 2012. A lot of African startups focused on renewable energy solutions have received a lot of funding since 2015 but Africa is yet to achieve the renewable energy renaissance happening across other parts of the globe. The news came as a new boost to President Juan Manuel Santos's quest to bring "complete peace" to Colombia after sealing a historic peace deal last year with the country's oldest and largest rebel group, the FARC. The International Committee of the Red Cross said the soldier, Fredy Moreno Mahecha, was handed over in a rural area of Arauca department in eastern Colombia, where the ELN captured him two weeks ago. "We trust this gesture will reinforce trust between the Colombian government and the ELN before the imminent opening of the public phase of peace negotiations," the head of the Red Cross in Colombia, Christoph Harnisch, said in a statement. Colombia expert Kyle Johnson of the International Crisis Group called the release a "very important" gesture ahead of the peace talks, which are set to open Tuesday in the Ecuadoran capital Quito. "The talks would have begun with serious doubts hanging over them" had Moreno not been released, Johnson said. A trust-building prisoner exchange had already taken place last Thursday, when the ELN released their highest-profile hostage, former lawmaker Odin Sanchez, in exchange for two rebel prisoners. The ELN's previous refusal to free Sanchez had already derailed the peace talks once, just as they were due to open last October. His release left Santos, who won the Nobel Peace Prize last year, brimming with optimism going into the talks. "This conflict is over," he said last Thursday as he opened a summit of Nobel Peace laureates in Bogota. "The public phase of negotiations between the Colombian government and the ELN... will enable us to achieve complete peace." 2018 election looms Colombia's Cold War-era conflict, which has killed more than 260,000 people and left 60,000 missing, is the last major armed conflict in the Americas. The territorial and ideological war has drawn in other leftist rebel groups, right-wing paramilitaries, drug gangs and the army since the FARC and ELN were launched in 1964. Rights groups say massacres, rapes and other atrocities have been committed on all sides. The ELN, or National Liberation Army -- a leftist guerrilla group inspired by the Cuban Revolution -- has an estimated 1,500 fighters. The peace talks come after three years of secret preliminary negotiations. The government is currently implementing a historic peace deal signed last November with FARC, or Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, a Marxist rebel group whose fighters now have six months to disarm. But experts warn the ELN will likely be a tougher negotiating partner. And elections next year to decide Santos's successor threaten to complicate matters. The peace process faces ongoing resistance from conservative opponents who accuse Santos of granting impunity to rebels guilty of war crimes. Santos had to tweak the initial FARC accord after voters narrowly rejected it in a referendum last October, a major embarrassment for the government. The two indigenous languages are among 17 that are critically endangered in Peru, where modern life's advance into the isolated Amazon basin region has wiped out many native peoples' way of life, and their languages along with it. Garcia, 67, is the last living Taushiro, an indigenous group native to northern Peru that was decimated by malaria, conflicts with rubber tappers and toxic oil spills in its rivers. Andrade, 65, has likewise watched his people and their language fade away. He lived until recently with his sister, Rosa, the other surviving speaker of Resigaro. But she was mysteriously murdered last month, leaving him with no one to talk to in their dying Amazonian language. There were 37 Resigaro speakers left a decade ago. But the others have all married into a larger ethnic group, the Ocaina, and given up speaking their mother tongue, said anthropologist Alberto Chirif. Peru, the cradle of the ancient Incan empire, is battling to protect its wealth of indigenous languages from being overpowered by Spanish, the dominant language since colonial times. The government produces a daily TV news program in Quechua for the four million people who speak it. Another is in the works in Aymara, which has nearly half a million speakers. Both of them have many dialects. Yet in this country of 30 million rising from coastal desert to towering Andes and tropical Amazon basin lowlands beyond -- not all languages have the same demographic heft as the Andean big two. "There are four endangered indigenous languages and another 17 that are critically endangered, which is about half the country's indigenous languages," said Elena Burga, head of the government's Intercultural, Bilingual and Rural Education Department. No fewer than 37 indigenous languages have already disappeared, according to official statistics. Burga said the cultural weight of Spanish -- the primary language of government, education and TV -- crushes indigenous languages, making children less likely to learn them. The problem has been exacerbated by the threats facing indigenous groups, who have been forced from their land by farming, oil drilling, illegal mining and logging, and drug cartels. "Disease can also decimate an isolated population and drastically reduce its numbers," Burga told AFP. More than words Some 2,500 languages worldwide face extinction, UNESCO warned in 2009. Each one represents a treasure trove of words, poems, jokes, proverbs and legends, it said. The problem is particularly acute in Peru, where the challenging environments of the Amazon rainforest and Andes mountains harbor dozens of fragile indigenous communities. According to National Geographic, the region is one of five hotspots with the greatest number of endangered languages in the world, along with northern Australia, the northwest Pacific plateau in North America, and eastern and central Siberia. Taushiro and Resigaro are particularly threatened, with just one speaker each. But they are not alone. There are just three speakers of Munichi, four speakers of Inapari and 11 speakers of Cauqui, for example. In the case of Taushiro, the culture ministry has launched a project to create an audiovisual register of expressions and an audio dictionary. The Yanesha people, in the central province of Oxapampa, have for their part opened a series of bilingual schools with the help of US anthropologist and linguist Richard Chase Smith. One of the schools' missions is to adapt the Yanesha alphabet to modern technologies, in hopes of carving out a space online. "I lived nearly 15 years in this community and managed to collect recordings of their traditional oral histories, a cornerstone of their identity," said Smith. "I have recordings of 18 epic narratives... that the Yanesha people themselves now listen to at workshops." Forty of Peru's 47 indigenous languages have bilingual schools -- "even if only a small one," says Burga -- thanks to a government project to ensure their survival. The government is also working to develop writing systems and texts, for the larger languages, or audio archives, for the smaller ones. But anthropologist Chirif urged officials to do more. "I call on UK and Sweden to do the right thing and restore my liberty," Assange said in a statement, issued on the one-year anniversary of the ruling. The 45-year-old founder of the secret-spilling website has been at the Ecuadoran embassy in London since 2012, having taken refuge to avoid being sent to Sweden where he faces a rape allegation that he denies. He fears Sweden would extradite him to the United States over his website's leaking of diplomatic cables and other classified documents. Assange said Britain and Sweden were in breach of their international obligations under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. In February 2016, the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention found Assange was being "arbitrarily detained" by Britain and Sweden, a decision it reaffirmed in December following an appeal by the British government. "Julian Assange is not, and has never been, arbitrarily detained in the UK," Britain's junior foreign minister Alan Duncan said in a statement at the time. Last month, Assange said he was willing to travel to the US to face investigation after one of WikiLeaks' main sources, Chelsea Manning, was given clemency by then president Barack Obama. The announcement came as Kiir addressed a gathering in the town of Yei, celebrating 100 years of existence for the Episcopal Church of Sudan and South Sudan. South Sudan has spiraled ever further into violence since fighting has broken out between forces loyal to Kiir and those loyal to his former Vice President, Riek Machar, in 2013. Yei has become a gathering point for people trying to escape the fighting in surrounding Yei River state, where multiple reports of atrocities are coming to light. We will get rid of bad elements through capital punishment and this will free the country from such practices, Kiir told military leaders. Lets get rid of bad elements among us and we will remain clean, pure and perfect, the president said. From today onward, if such a thing happens, I want them to bring me a report that somebody has committed such a crime and has been shot, he added Nye County Public Works Director Tom Bolling and his road crews have been quite busy over the last year, with a variety of repair, maintenance and improvement projects addressing an array of streets throughout the county. To keep the public and county officials apprised of what is happening, Bolling provided the Nye County Commission with an update on current and future projects during its Tuesday, Nov. 1 meeting. Brandon Ketchum's name is headed for the U.S. Congress. The 33-year-old was thrice deployed in the War on Terror, returning home to Davenport to do battle with PTSD. As indicated in his straight-forward obituary, he lost that last battle. When Brandon asked to be admitted to the psych ward at the VA hospital in Iowa City in July, he was told the unit was full. He drove back to Davenport, wrote a Facebook post that conveyed his profound disappointment in the VA and asked, "Why even try anymore?" Then, he shot himself. As a result of the outcry over Brandon's death and the estimated 20 suicides committed each day by U.S. veterans, Rep. Dave Loebsack, D-Iowa, introduced a bill that would require the VA to offer emergency psychiatric help. The bill now is being reintroduced to the new Congress, and it has been renamed: Sgt. Brandon Ketchum Never Again Act. The text of Congressman Loebsacks legislation remains the same as last years bill," Loebsack spokesman Joe Hand said Tuesday. "After speaking with members of his family, Congressman Loebsack changed the title to the Sgt. Brandon Ketchum Never Again Act to honor his life. Not everyone in the Ketchum family approved of the naming. Although Brandon's brother, Brad, also a combat veteran, said he is pleased to see legislation protecting veterans like his brother, he would have preferred that Brandon's name did not headline the bill. "I felt it was not appropriate to use just one veteran's name on it, since it is such a widespread issue," he said Tuesday. Brandon's mother, Bev Kittoe, approved of the naming. Despite Brad Ketchum's position on the matter, he said he can appreciate that others are doing "what they think is right." Loebsack and 38 other members of Congress co-sponsored last year's bill. Reintroduced this week, the measure seeks to ensure that no veteran seeking in-patient psychiatric care at a Veterans Affairs Medical Center is ever denied such care again. I am proud to reintroduce the Sgt. Brandon Ketchum Never Again Act to ensure no veteran in crisis is ever turned away," Loebsack said in announcing the bill Monday. "This legislation would require VA Medical Centers to provide psychiatric care for any veteran that asks for it. Our veterans have sacrificed too much to ever feel alone when struggling with mental health issues. When these veterans reach out, we as a country owe it to them to answer their call. I am proud to help honor Sgt. Ketchums life by working to ensure our veterans get the care they are seeking. Meanwhile, Hand said, no new word has come from the office of the Inspector General for the VA, regarding an official review of Brandon's visit to the VA, along with the death of another Iowa veteran, Curtis Gearhart. Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, has been demanding answers from the Inspector General, who finally responded in November that the investigation in Iowa City should conclude this spring at least eight months after Brandon died. Davenport School Board members focused on creative protests Monday night, pulling from the teachings of Martin Luther King, Henry David Thoreau and others as they repeated their unanimous support for Superintendent Art Tate. Board President Ralph Johanson introduced the topic at the committee-of-the-whole session, citing possible consequences for board members, district employees and residents. Tate has openly broken state law in recent months by using district reserve funds to pay for programming costs. The district does not have the necessary spending authority to legally do this. One by one, each of the seven board members told Tate they supported all of his actions, especially in light of the threat of his license being revoked by the Iowa Board of Educational Examiners. Johanson said he has answered a list of four legal questions from investigators. Essentially, he said, they queried him on whether Tate is competent. The board has 180 days to complete its case against Tate, and to issue a ruling. That would be in mid-June. In recent years, the examiners board has taken steps against two superintendents in Iowa. It revoked the license a superintendent in Story County who in 2016 was involved in an act of sexual or indecent acts with a minor and that of a second superintendent who was found to have used public funds for personal use. Johanson said he defended Tate on all questions, but the consequences of the state's actions could be very damaging to the district. "The noose is tightening," Johanson said, suggested that Tate will eventually lose his license and have to be fired by the board. "That will be one of the worst days of my life," Johanson said. In addition, the board may be sued by the state, and there could be additional legal actions against each board members. Here is what board members had to say: Jamie Synder: "This is a moral imperative," he said, for the students in Davenport, and around Iowa who are impacted by an unfair state per-pupil funding formula. Julie DeSalvo: "I could not be more proud of representing this district, and Dr. Tate should be commended," she said, citing the far-reaching impact of his fight for economic justice. DeSalvo also noted momentum; her son, Anthony DeSalvo, who started the "Worth Less" student campaign, is now getting phone calls and text messages from state legislators who are working on a solution to the inequities. Linda Hayes, vice president of the board: She spoke of Tate's original speech on the topic, when he called for bold measures that should be taken in behalf of the students. "If this isn't a district that's made a bold move, I don't know what is," Hayes said. Richard Clewell: First elected to the board in 2001, Clewell spoke on how long the fight for per-pupil funding equality has gone on: about nine years, he estimates. Clewell hopes the threat of a lawsuit filed in December by Davenport attorney Cathy Cartee, and obvious public support for Tate will make a difference with the examiners panel's licensing board. Clyde Mayfield: He said the community, board and others have come together to correct injustices which have been done. "This is refreshing to see, to make change come about," he said. Daniel Gosa: Gosa graduated from Davenport and two of his four children are students in the district. He does not have faith that state legislators will solve the funding formula inequities, but added: "I support Dr. Art Tate. Wholeheartedly." Tate also spoke up. A New England Patriots fan, he brought up Sunday's Super Bowl. "We are kind of like the Patriots in the third quarter," he said. "That Super Bowl was the biggest surprise of my life, and I do hope we can get this done too. "Really, there are no other options. We have to get this done." Members of the school board and the Quad-Cities Chamber of Commerce will go to Des Moines this week to check in with legislators, and their progress on solving the per-pupil funding inequities. Republicans in the Iowa Legislature unveiled a wide-ranging proposal Tuesday to dramatically alter the states 43-year-old collective bargaining law, joining a battle that has been expected ever since the GOP gained full control of the Capitol after last Novembers elections. Lawmakers in both the House and Senate introduced bills that seek to limit the subjects that non-public safety workers can bring to the bargaining table, change arbitration rules, alter how unions are certified and eliminate the long-time practice of gathering union dues through payroll deductions. The bill also would make changes to the law relating to dismissal of public employees and eliminates certain seniority rights, although not for police officers and firefighters. "This is a major update and modernization, recognizing that its been 40 years since weve addressed this, that we have a different Iowa, we have a different United States and that circumstances are different, and I think this more closely serves Iowa and todays needs, said Sen. Jason Schultz, R-Schleswig, chairman of Senate Labor and Business Relations Committee. Public employee groups and their supporters, who had scheduled a rally at the Capitol on Tuesday to oppose changes, immediately set in motion plans to mobilize supporters to fight back. I think it is union-busting, Rep. Todd Taylor, D-Cedar Rapids, said after the House bill was introduced by Rep. Dave Deyoe, R-Nevada, chair of the House Labor Committee. The answer is right here, he said, pulling a copy of the GOP platform out of his pocket. It states, We call for legislation that would eliminate all public-sector unions. Thats what their real goal is, how theyre doing it, he said. Unions said the breadth of the bill was shocking. "I was not expecting the absolute trashing of my profession," said Tammy Wawro, president of the Iowa State Education Association. Republicans denied they were seeking to kill unions, only to level a playing field they think has been tilted against state and local government and taxpayers. Deyoe said if they had wanted to kill unions, they would have eliminated the part of the code dealing with collective bargaining altogether. Meanwhile, Drew Klein, the Iowa state director for Americans for Prosperity, urged lawmakers to pass the bill. "As it stands, Iowa's collective bargaining system is a messy process that puts too much power in the hands of unelected bureaucrats," he said. Gov. Terry Branstad and Lt. Gov. Kim Reynolds also praised the proposal at a news conference Tuesday. The legislation makes sweeping changes, and it appears Republicans will move quickly on it. Committees will take up the bills this week. Republican leaders said debate in the full House and Senate will be next week. In some ways, the legislation essentially sets up two different systems. It makes little, if any, change to the law as it pertains to what items public safety employees, such as firefighters and police officers, can bring to the bargaining table. For non-public safety workers, however, the Republican proposal limits mandatory bargaining items to just base wages and other matters mutually agreed upon. Currently, mandatory subjects of bargaining include such items as wages, hours, vacations, insurance, holidays, leaves of absence, shift differentials, overtime, supplemental pay and transfer procedures. The broader list of items are maintained in the proposal for bargaining units that represent state patrol officers, police and firefighters. Republicans said the rules are different for them because of the work they do. "I dont have a problem with that because those are the people who put their lives on the line every day," Rep. Gary Mohr, R-Bettendorf, said Tuesday. Wawro objected to the different treatment. "I don't know a teacher who wouldnt put their life on the line for a child any day," she said, adding they often train to protect children. The proposal also changes the rules for arbitrators, who settle disputes between labor and management. The bill says that, for non-public safety employees, arbitrators should, where possible, consider wages and working conditions in comparable private-sector positions when settling disputes. Currently, the law says that arbitrators are to choose from the last positions offered by labor and management and to consider other public-sector practices. This proposal prohibits an arbitrator from considering past collective bargaining agreements, and it forbids consideration of the ability of government to pay for benefits by raising taxes and fees. That's one of the criteria in the current law. Critics of the current system say that arbitrators have too often favored unions, and they have long chafed at the idea that governments ability to raise taxes is considered. They have particularly said that governments need the power to rein in health care costs. Government employers also could participate in a statewide health insurance pool proposed by Branstad that could save upward of $100 million a year in premium cost. But participation would be optional, Deyoe said. Critics of Branstad's idea have said they don't think his estimates of cost savings are realistic. Union workers also say the law has worked to ensure good labor/management relations and they work closely with city governments and school boards to control costs. They also dispute the idea that arbitrators favor their side, saying they often give with one hand but take away with another. (Reporters Rod Boshart, Erin Murphy and James Q. Lynch contributed to this report.) Funding mental health care in Scott County dominated Board of Supervisors budget session discussion at Tuesdays special committee-of-the-whole meeting. Community Services Director Lori Elam outlined proposed crisis services for fiscal year 2018 during the second year of the countys contract with Robert Young Center in Rock Island. Those services to the estimated 1,600 to 1,700 patients seeking treatment every year include: Civil commitment mobile pre-screening, deploying a team of mental health workers and law enforcement officials to intervene at the patients location. Mental health service connections for the jails, ensuring newly released detainees have access to essential needs such as housing, food stamps and medications. Teams of officers trained in crisis intervention. Peer recovery specialists to help patients explore care options. Co-occurring assessment/treatment for patients with alcohol and substance abuse issues. Advisory groups by county consisting of law enforcement and officers of the court working to keep repeat, high-end users of the mental health care system out of hospitals and jails. Trauma informed care for health care personnel in hospitals. Transitional housing for patients in need of a temporary place to stay between hospitalization or incarceration and home. Elam said the county needs $4.6 million to provide mental health care services, but the state-imposed tax levy cap covers only $3.3 million of the cost. State legislators on the Ways and Means Committee are scheduled to hear reports Wednesday in Des Moines from county officials concerned about the need to raise the levy cap. Scott County is one of five counties in the Eastern Iowa Mental Health Fund managed by a regional fiscal agent. Clinton, Muscatine, Cedar and Jackson counties are included in the pool of Eastern Iowa mental health care funds. Its a hot topic, Elam told supervisors. Too much work has been put into the regional plan to blow the lid off the program. Supervisors will review proposed the secondary roads department budget and capital improvement plans at the next budget session scheduled for 8 a.m. Feb. 14 in the board room at the county Administrative Center, 600 W. 4th St., Davenport. WAPELLO, Iowa A Burlington man was arrested Friday after a high-speed chase that went through Wapello, after he reportedly reached speeds of more than 100 mph and did not stop until his vehicle collided with a Wapello police officer's cruiser. Terrance Parks, 27, has been charged in Wapello with speeding, 100 mph in a 45-mph zone, 100 mph in a 35-mph zone, 100 mph in a 45-mph zone and assault with a deadly weapon, an aggravated misdemeanor. Other charges were filed by the Louisa County Sheriffs Office, according to a news release from the Wapello Police Department. Police said Parks passed through Wapello around 10:57 p.m. Friday on Highway 61 while eluding law enforcement, and Wapello Police Officer Steve Wright joined the pursuit of the red Pontiac G6 that Parks is accused of driving. Speeds reached 120 mph, and police said Parks started driving south in the northbound lanes, running vehicles off the road. Spike strips were put in place, and Parks' vehicle collided with Wright's vehicle in an attempt to avoid the spikes, causing $2,423 damage to the officer's vehicle, according to the release. The chase continued into Des Moines County near Burlington, and Parks was taken into custody after attempting to flee into a wooded area, police said. Parks is being held on a $6,250 bond. The Louisa County Sheriffs Office and Des Moines County Sheriffs Office assisted in the pursuit. 1. Rain, wind, fog and maybe some snow A good Tuesday to all. Enjoy this brief period of mild weather because come Wednesday you'll be wishing for it. Here are the weather details from the National Weather Service. There's a 30 percent chance of rain and thunderstorms before 8 a.m. We'll see widespread dense fog before 9 a.m. Otherwise, the day will be breezy and cloudy with a high near 48 degrees. Winds could gust as high as 30 mph. Tonight there's a 20 percent chance of snow after 4 a.m. Otherwise it will be mostly cloudy and blustery, with a low around 23 degrees. Northwest winds between 15 to 20 mph could gust as high as 30 mph. Wednesday calls for a 40 percent chance of snow before 2 p.m. with mostly cloudy skies and a high near 28 degrees and a low around 12 degrees. 2. Dense fog advisory in effect until 8 a.m. The National Weather Service in the Quad-Cities has issued a dense fog advisory for the region until 8 a.m. with fog lingering until mid-morning. Drivers can expect visibilities of less than one quarter of a mile, and near zero in some locations. Use your headlights this morning and leave plenty of distance between you and the vehicle ahead of you. 3. Davenport man charged after standoff with police One man faces charges after a standoff with police Monday night in west Davenport. The incident occurred at 9:32 p.m. when Davenport police were called to 2502 Rockingham Road for a domestic problem. When police arrived they located an injured victim who was transported to the hospital for non-life threatening injuries. Police say Kraig Korpak was armed with a knife and had barricaded himself in the house and refused to surrender to police. After negotiations with police Korpak exited the residence armed with a knife and yelled threats to police. Less lethal was deployed to subdue Korpak. Korpak was taken into custody and was charged with domestic assault causing injury and interference with official acts with a weapon. 4. Davenport School board reiterates support for Tate Davenport School Board members focused on creative protests Monday night, pulling from the teachings of Martin Luther King, Henry David Thoreau and others as they repeated their unanimous support for Superintendent Art Tate. Tate has openly broken state law in recent months by using district reserve funds to pay for programming costs. The district does not have the necessary spending authority to legally do this. Read more. 5. Ellingson emerging as Hawkeye stalwart Brady Ellingson has been sitting there on the Iowa bench all season, quietly waiting for the right opportunity. He has played in every game for the Hawkeyes but sometimes it was as few as five minutes and until recently never more than 19, even in the biggest blowouts. There were times in which he showed what he could do, such as a 23-point explosion against Savannah State, but those moments were rare. Then star guard Peter Jok injured his back. And Brady Ellingson has emerged as a star. Read more. 6. Motorcyclist hospitalized after accident in Moline A motorcyclist was hospitalized Monday with severe injuries after colliding with a car near the intersection of 7th Street and Valley View Drive in Moline, police said. Authorities responded to the crash shortly after 4 p.m., and transported the male motorcyclist to Trinity Rock Island, Moline Police Sgt. Aron Burns said. The driver of the car suffered minor injuries. As they cleared the scene, police blocked southbound traffic and rerouted drivers at the intersection of 7th Street and 34th Avenue, just north of Valley View Drive. The incident remains under investigation. DES MOINES Iowans could legally buy, sell and explode consumer fireworks during two holiday periods annually under a bill approved by a Senate subcommittee over objections by firefighters, medical organizations, veterans groups and safety advocates. Senate Study Bill 1051, which was approved 2-1 by a Senate State Government panel, would allow licensed retailers in permanent structures or community groups to sell consumer fireworks in permanent or temporary structures between May 20 and July 6 and between Dec. 10 and Jan. 3. A similar provision would apply to conforming temporary structures, such as tents, from June 13 to July 6 each year. The measure includes a fee structure for various licensure levels, allows counties or cities that do not want to legalize the expanded sale and use of fireworks to "opt out" of the new law and bars the sale or purchase involving anyone under the age of 18 and make a violation punishable by a fine of at least $250. "This is about freedom," said Sen. Jake Chapman, R-Adel. "The whole purpose of this is to expand personal freedom." Sen. Jason Schultz, R-Schleswig, said he was supportive of the measure, while Sen. Janet Petersen, D-Des Moines, said, "I'm not in favor of changing our state's fireworks law. They're fine." Iowa law currently classifies the possession, sale or use of consumer fireworks without a permit other than sparklers and snakes to be a simple misdemeanor. Chapman said Iowa is among a small number of states that have those strict fireworks restrictions. During Monday's subcommittee meeting, Bill Halleran, president of the 20,000-member Iowa Firefighters Association, expressed "grave concerns" over the expanded legalization of fireworks that would push up emergency responses and injuries for Iowa's 840 fire departments, while Des Moines Fire Marshal Jonathan Lund said the temporary facilities would be "incredibility difficult to manage" and pose safety risks. "It creates a major safety concern and a legitimate enforcement nightmare," Lund said. Des Moines Fire Chief John TeKippe said the proposed legislation envisions a "massive endeavor" for licensing, inspecting and overseeing permanent and temporary facilities that will be offering a "hazardous substance" for public purchase and use. "Most people under estimate what fireworks can do," he said. "I think it's unfortunate that we keep having this conversation." The measure also was opposed by hospital, emergency response officials and representatives of veterans groups who worried the number of children with severe injuries would rise and soldiers struggling with post-traumatic stress syndrome would be affected by expanded fireworks use. "We just know that fireworks lead to injuries and deaths, period, and we're against it for safety reasons," said Katy Hill, who represented UnityPoint of Des Moines and the Iowa EMS association. Danial Peart of Phantom Fireworks said he "unequivocally" supported the expansion of the sale and use of fireworks in Iowa, but he worried the provisions would discourage economic investments in permanent brick-and-mortar facilities, especially the time limits and the temporary retail outlets that do not offer the same training and safety measures. "The state of Iowa is going to pass a fireworks bill that doesn't benefit the state of Iowa in any way other than bringing in fireworks," Peart said. "You're not going to create a new industry in this state. You're going to create jobbers that will come in and make a bunch of money and be gone within two weeks." However, Chapman said the focus of the legislative change is personal liberty not creating a new cottage industry. "I don't believe the intent is for us to have some economic boon from this industry," Chapman said. "This is more about freedom of individual Iowans to enjoy the Fourth of July like most Americans." The proposed legislation would take effect upon enactment if it clears both legislative chambers and is signed by the governor. TOLEDO, Iowa Residents here failed to rally around a particular plan to reuse the shuttered Iowa Juvenile Home when presented with three options Monday night. Matrix Design Group a national company hired by Iowa Economic Development Authority Board to seek alternative uses for the the facility presented three options for reusing the 27 acres, 16 buildings, and 142,810 square feet of the Iowa Juvenile Home, which closed in 2014. The big thing is we want to try and look at whats a good economic reuse of the facility, what could bring jobs back into the community, to replace the jobs that were lost when the facility closed, and address the overall community needs, Matrixs Rick Rust said at the outset of the meeting, noting that none of the proposals are done deals. Two of the options Matrix presented keep portions of the grounds as an educational facility and use the rest for residential living; the difference between the two would be whether to build only single-residential homes or add in some duplex-type homes as well. The third would not keep any educational facility but would instead dedicate the space to a mix between senior housing and residential living. Jeff Donohoe, of Matrix, offered estimates for costs and revenues from each of the plans. The first two would be estimated to create about 53 jobs, and the third option would create about 24 jobs, including some from senior living facility and some from a commercial shop to reuse shop space. The Iowa Juvenile Home had about 90 employees when it was shuttered in 2014 as a result of gubernatorial action and was subsequently unfunded by the Legislature, all of which was ultimately upheld by the Iowa Supreme Court. The first two options would be estimated to bring in $144,000 and $138,000 in property taxes annually, respectively, because they anticipated the school would be tax-exempt. The latter proposal would be anticipated to bring in $248,000 per year in property taxes. The reason why we have the level of detail was really to make sure that whatever we presented to you is feasible; we dont want to show you things that arent going to work at least from a physical, geography perspective, in the real world, Donohoe said. But after hearing the options, the more than 50 people at the meeting offered questions and critiques, rather than uniting behind a plan or a particular use of the facility. Residents questioned the need for housing, the type and density of housing; whether the city had the population density to support any speciality education facilities; whether senior living facilities were necessary and would accommodate the needs of elderly people, among several other questions during a two-hour meeting. Many of their questions were addressed, though it didnt necessarily lead anyone to rally around any particular option. Matrix and some residents said there was a need for housing, particularly from the jobs created by the Iowa Premium Beef plant. Donohoe talked about the coming gray tsunami as baby boomers retire and seek senior living to explain the need for senior housing, leading some to suggest support for the last option. While some residents seemed to like the idea of educational uses, they didnt see an ability to compete with existing four-year institutions and community colleges nor did they identify a particular need for technical training. Despite the lack of clear direction, Matrix employees said they would take the information from Mondays meeting and incorporate into its preferred plan, and begin to develop a marketing plan in the spring before finalizing its reuse plan. The reuse plan is expected to be finalized in May or June. 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 BISMARCK, N.D. | The Army told Congress on Tuesday that it will allow the $3.8 billion Dakota Access oil pipeline to cross under a Missouri River reservoir in North Dakota, completing the disputed four-state project. The Army intends to allow the Lake Oahe crossing as early as Wednesday, according to court documents the Justice Department filed that include letters to members of Congress from Deputy Assistant Army Secretary Paul Cramer. The stretch under Lake Oahe is the final big chunk of work on the 1,200-mile pipeline that would carry North Dakota oil through the Dakotas and Iowa to a shipping point in Illinois. Developer Energy Transfer Partners had hoped to have oil flowing through the pipeline by the end of 2016, but construction has been stalled while the Army Corps of Engineers and the Dallas-based company battled in court over the crossing. The Standing Rock Sioux, whose reservation is just downstream from the crossing, fears a leak would pollute its drinking water and is likely to file a legal challenge to the Army's decision to grant an easement. The tribe has led protests that drew hundreds and at times thousands of people who dubbed themselves "water protectors" to an encampment near the crossing. ETP says the pipeline is safe. An environmental assessment conducted last year determined the crossing would not have a significant impact on the environment. However, then-Assistant Army Secretary for Civil Works Jo-Ellen Darcy on Dec. 4 declined to issue permission for the crossing, saying a broader environmental study was warranted given the Standing Rock Sioux's opposition. ETP called Darcy's decision politically motivated and accused then-President Barack Obama's administration of delaying the matter until he left office. The Corps launched a study of the crossing on Jan. 18, two days before Obama left office, that could have taken up to two years to complete. President Donald Trump signed an executive action on Jan. 24 telling the Corps to quickly reconsider Darcy's decision. The court documents filed Tuesday include a proposed Federal Register notice terminating the study. ETP has been poised to begin drilling under the lake as soon as it has approval. Workers have drilled entry and exit holes for the Oahe crossing, and oil has been put in the pipeline leading up to the lake in anticipation of finishing the project. Protesters have at times clashed with police, leading to nearly 700 arrests since the tribe set up the encampment on federal land. The camp's population thinned to fewer than 300 as harsh winter weather arrived and as Standing Rock officials pleaded for the camp to disband before the spring flooding season. BISMARCK, N.D. | Dakota Access pipeline opponents involved in a violent clash with police in North Dakota in November are unlikely to succeed in a lawsuit alleging excessive force and civil rights violations, a federal judge said Tuesday. U.S. District Judge Daniel Hovland didn't immediately rule on a motion filed Monday by law enforcement to dismiss the lawsuit, but he did deny an earlier request by pipeline opponents to bar police from using such things as chemical agents and water sprays as a means of dispersing crowds of protesters. Hovland said protesters "are unlikely to succeed on the merits of their claims," which include that police used inappropriate force, injuring more than 200 protesters, and violated their civil rights. The judge said protesters were trespassing during the confrontation and that "no reasonable juror could conclude" that officers acted unreasonably. "The rights of free speech and assembly do not mean, and have never meant, that everyone who chooses to protest against the Dakota Access pipeline may do so at any time, any place, and under any set of conditions they choose in total disregard of the law," Hovland said. "To allow that to occur would result in anarchy and an end to the rule of law in civilized society." Rachel Lederman, lead attorney for the protesters, called Hovland's ruling "disturbing" and said she'll appeal. "The judge indicates that he's formed opinions based on television and newspapers and pretty much disregards the large volume of evidence that the plaintiffs have presented," she said. The Nov. 20-21 confrontation occurred at a blockaded bridge near the encampment where pipeline opponents have gathered in the hundreds and sometimes thousands since last summer, fighting a $3.8 billion project they believe could harm drinking water and Native American cultural sites. That's disputed by Energy Transfer Partners, the Texas-based developer of the four-state pipeline to move North Dakota oil 1,200 miles through South Dakota and Iowa to Illinois. Law enforcement acknowledges using tear gas, pepper spray, rubber bullets, bean bag rounds and water sprays against protesters they say assaulted officers with rocks, burning logs, lug nuts, padlocks and frozen water bottles. Officers say they were heavily outnumbered by protesters and were being marked by lasers and spotlights, leading to fears they were being targeted by snipers. One officer was struck in the head by a thrown object and dazed. "In addition to being concerned about the obvious risks to the physical safety of law enforcement on the scene if overrun, there was genuine concern about the potential need to resort to deadly force for the protection of law enforcement and emergency responders," the officers' attorneys said in asking that the case be dismissed. Protesters are seeking unspecified money damages. They allege a wide range of injuries, including burns, broken bones, eye injuries, hypothermia, and wounds requiring stitches and staples. Among those injured was Sophia Wilansky, a 21-year-old New York woman who was hospitalized with a serious arm injury. Protesters maintain she was injured by a grenade thrown by police, while authorities say she was hurt by a small propane tank that protesters rigged to explode. PIERRE | A pair of bills meant to impose stricter regulations on lobbyists and public officials easily passed their first legislative tests Monday as state lawmakers weigh measures that would replace provisions of a recently repealed government ethics overhaul. A Senate bill would bar many officials from private lobbying for two years after leaving state government, while a House proposal would put in place a $100 annual limit for gifts that legislators and other public officials could accept from lobbyists. They were unanimously advanced to their full chambers, and Gov. Dennis Daugaard's office indicated support for both bills. Top Republicans have given assurances that voters would see laws passed this session to replace provisions of the voter-approved ethics package that lawmakers dismantled last week. Under the now-defunct initiative, voters could tap a state fund to give two credits worth $50 each to participating political candidates. It strictly limited lobbyist gifts to lawmakers and also called for an independent commission to ensure that state ethics laws weren't violated and to administer the public campaign finance program. GOP lawmakers contend that those provisions are unconstitutional, and the embattled law wasn't in effect as Republicans were challenging it in court. Supporters argued that the measure is constitutional. One of the bills that advanced Monday would put back into state law similar restrictions on former officials becoming lobbyists, doubling the ban in current law to two years. It would apply to former elected officers, department or agency heads and other officials. Senate Majority Leader Blake Curd, the bill's main sponsor, said he looks forward to working for many provisions that would "make our government better, more transparent, open and accountable to the public." The other measure would impose the annual $100 gift limit on statewide officeholders, executive branch agency heads and legislators, or their immediate families. A gift would be defined as anything of value given without compensation, but it doesn't include food and beverage under $75 per meal, among other things. The bill is a bipartisan attempt to put in writing what has already been practice in South Dakota that public officials not receive gifts from lobbyists or people who employ them, said House Speaker Mark Mickelson, the measure's main sponsor. House Democratic leader Spencer Hawley said the bill is a step toward honoring the intent of the voters. After more than three decades working for Dawes County residents, Sharon Harrison is stepping down to enjoy retirement. The Dawes County Commissioners accepted Harrisons resignation as District Court Clerk last week. Her final day will be Feb. 28. Deputy Clerk Celeste Cattin has been appointed to serve as interim clerk, which also comes with the duties of serving as passport agent, jury commissioner and on the mental health board. Voters will have a chance to elect a District Court Clerk in 2018. Harrison began working for Dawes County in 1986, spending 13 years in the Veterans Service Office, before transferring to the Assessors Office in 2001. She served as Deputy Assessor for six months before being elected as District Court Clerk. She worked with her husband, Bob, at the VSO. He helped a lot of people, and I was part of that, Harrison said, as she recalled one particular veteran who was hassled by college students after his return from Vietnam. He suffered a flashback during the incident and pulled a gun. Before anything untoward happened, he remembered where he was, and the Veterans Service Office took him to a veterans hospital. It turned out his mom wouldnt let him enter her home when he returned from the war. He never got to come home from Vietnam, Harrison said. After two years in the Assessors Office, Harrison said she was struggling financially and prayed to God for assistance. Soon after her prayer, Steve Crile suggested she run for the District Court Clerk office. I always say Steve Crile answered my prayers. It was already August, however, and Harrison had to gather enough signatures to have her name placed on the ballot by petition. Thanks to good friends, she cleared that hurdle and went on to defeat her opponent in the general election. As an elected official, she was in charge of the office, a position quite different than her two previous county jobs. It took a little time to learn that process, she said. Harrison has worked with four district judges in her time as clerk Paul Empson, Brian Silverman, Randall Lippsteu (who incidentally is retiring the same day as Harrison) and current Judge Travis OGorman. When Harrison learned OGorman was appointed to the vacancy created by Silvermans retirement, she wasnt sure she would be able to view him as anything but a kid. He was 35 when appointed, after all, the same age as her children. Once he got here, I didnt think of him as a kid. He knows what hes doing. Hes a very good judge, Harrison said. All of the judges she worked with had different approaches. She remembers Silverman for his sense of humor and Lippsteu who filled in after Silverman retired but before OGorman was appointed for his thoroughness. It hasnt always been an easy job, and Harrison said the grand jury investigation into the death of Jesse Britton, 16, in Crawford and the Joseph Hotz murder trial were two of the most trying times. If shes learned anything in her time as District Court Clerk, its this: Everyone has a story, and sometimes we make judgments that we shouldnt. That story brought them to where they are. But after more than 30 years with the county, Harrison said it is time to move on. She will turn 68 just days before her retirement and was diagnosed with Parkinsons Disease last June. She hasnt let the diagnosis get her down, however. As long as she remains physically active, she can combat many of the symptoms of the disease. Thats why her retirement plans include plenty of camping and activities with her grandchildren. Closing Whiteclays beer stores would be only the first step in ending issues surrounding rampant alcoholism along the Nebraska-South Dakota state line, supporters of a task force to address the situation said Thursday. Is there one simple solution, one silver bullet, one person who could end the carnage? No, it will take all of us working together, said Judi gaiashkibos, executive director of the Nebraska Commission on Indian Affairs. No one testified against a measure forming the task force during a hearing of the Legislatures Executive Board. Senators took no action on the bill. Proposed by state Sen. Patty Pansing Brooks of Lincoln, the bill (LB407) and a related amendment would form a task force of lawmakers that would consult with other state officials and public-health experts on policies and programs that could address Whiteclay-related problems. Voting members of the task force would include the chairperson and another member of the Legislatures State-Tribal Relations Committee, along with representatives of three other legislative committees: Health and Human Services, Appropriations and Judiciary. The bill was supported by public-health and substance abuse-treatment experts from the University of Nebraska Medical Center and St. Monicas, as well as the Nebraska chamber of the National Association of Social Workers, Lakota Hope Ministry, Nebraska Catholic Conference and Nebraska Family Alliance. Pansing Brooks said the measure will address the public-health issues related to Whiteclay beer sales, which are apparent not only among the Oglala Lakota people on South Dakotas Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, but also on the streets of Whiteclay in Nebraska. State-Tribal Relations Committee Chairman Tom Brewer of Gordon, an Oglala Lakota tribal member whose legislative district includes Whiteclay, also supported the proposal. We have to have a solution that is as big as the problem, he said. Meanwhile, activists said their focus is on shutting down Whiteclays four beer stores. The Nebraska Liquor Control Commission plans to hold a hearing on the stores liquor licenses in March. Whiteclay remains open and the people continue to die or we stop the killing, Winnebago activist Frank LaMere said in an email. It is that simple! There is no middle ground. The Chadron Community Hospital has a new leader at the top of its ranks. Anna Turman has been named the interim chief executive officer and is expected to fully assume the role on a permanent basis in six months. Turman has served as the hospitals CIO for the last 10 years and was the chief operating officer for the last four years. Shes taking over as CEO for Harold Krueger, who is stepping down to serve as president of Chadron Community Hospital Corporation. Chadron Community Hospital and Health Services is excited about this transition and feels Ms. Turman is an excellent fit with outstanding leadership abilities, the hospital board said in a press release. Turman has a masters degree in healthcare administration and has been with the hospital for 16 years. She spoke on Capitol Hill last fall to the Department of Health and Human Services and advises the nations Cyber Security Task Force. Her leadership has guided CCH&HS in many awards, most recently the Nebraska Hospital Associations Quest for Excellence. Her experience and determinations will be beneficial to CCH&HS in todays fast paced and complex healthcare industry, the press release said. Krueger is excited about the change. We are in a period of transition within our organization. We all bring something when we come to the table, and we all leave something when we go. It is my time to step down, and I look forward to seeing where Anna takes us. My role is to support Ms. Turman in this time and finish construction on the projects that the board has designated to be completed. Turman lives in Hay Springs with her husband and three children. She is an active member of the community and a board member at Pioneer Manor Nursing Home. I am excited to continue to work with such an exemplary team. Chadron Community Hospital and Health Services plays a vital role in the community and surrounding areas, and I am honored to have the opportunity to lead CCHHS into the future, Turman said. Hot Springs schools ahead of the curve with this effort HOT SPRINGS Walk through the halls of Hot Springs schools these days and you might overhear a student greeting the principal with the phrase Hihanni waste! Hihanni waste is a Lakota greeting that very roughly translated means good morning. Its arrival into Hot Springs schools has largely been attributed to Hot Springs school districts Native American Education Program begun in 2015 which is growing and becoming quite successful, according to those connected to it as well as school administrators. Although the program is a multiple-person effort, Doug Gaulke, Title VII Indian Education coordinator and Lakota language class instructor for the school district, is spearheading this growth and many attribute his efforts with making the program, especially the language end of the effort, a flowering plant. The need Gaulke points to some figures to illustrate the need for the program: More than 20 percent of the Hot Springs school districts pupils are Native Americans. Since these 164 kids represent a large and increasing percentage of the student population, serving their needs is critical to the educational efforts of the school district, he says. Demographic studies conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau show that Native American populations are increasing rapidly. Between 2000 and 2010, the number of native people increased by a third; and native populations increased nearly 27 percent from 2005 2015. Meanwhile population figures for all Americans were up just shy of 10 percent. The total U.S. population of native peoples in 2015 was more than 6 million, roughly two percent of overall population. The Census Bureau believes that by 2060, there will be 10.2 million native peoples in the U.S. Here in South Dakota, Native American population grew by more than 15 percent in the past decade, thanks to a high birth rate and the increasing migration of people back to reservations. Some tribal officials believe these numbers are actually undercounted. The Census Bureau counted nearly 72,000 native people living in South Dakota in 2010, or 8.8 percent of the states population. This is more than 9,500 people greater than the 2000 tally, but virtually unchanged as a percentage of the states overall population in the past 10 years. The states overall population was more than 814,000 people in 2010, up nearly 8 percent from 2000. Given these demographics, Gaulke says the school board and schools administrators have recognized student demographic that is important to serve. Ive seen a great amount of support from our current superintendent, Kevin Coles, Gaulke said, for the facilitation of our present Native American course offerings, as well as those we intend to offer in coming years. Others, including Coles and School Board President Scott Thompson, agree with Gaulkes observation of administrative support. Our staff, students and everyone in our district have been very open and supportive of this education program, said Coles. Our school board has also been active in supporting this program. The board fully supports this program and is looking forward to seeing its growth. At all levels within the District there is full support for this program, said Thompson High School Principal Mary Weiss said the Native America education program was tremendous and that Gaulke in particular did an awesome job taking the program forward, applying for grants, bringing first one class, then two and soon three classes of Lakota language to the students. She said the program received lots of support from the school administration and the district and this support was very important in making the program flourish and grow. Again, she lauded Gaulkes pro-active approach to get in front of the program and take it forward through grant writing, bringing in outside native speakers, and taking the program forward. The administration supports this, said Nikki Shaw, the school districts Cultural Liaison. They make us do our homework, but they support it. Take the Veterans Day flag song (a Lakota man, Whitney Rencountre, sang an honoring song), for example. They thought it was a good idea, but they also wanted it translated into English, so both cultures could understand it. Weve got a good rapport with the administration. The objective with this program is to get people talking, Shaw said, and they are talking in school, at home, in the community. There is a cultural exchange going on, a huge response to the Lakota language classes Doug Gaulke is doing. Shaw pointed to several examples: How older students from Gaulkes language classes taught kindergarten students to count from 1 (wanzi) to 10 (wikchemna) in Lakota. How hand games where two teams compete against each other; one team hiding game pieces made of bones, the other team trying to guess where the hidden pieces are, while the hiding team uses drums, rattles and clappers to distract them sparked huge amounts of student conversation about how much fun this is. How traditional native foods like buffalo, served in tacos, chili and stews, had become part of the school lunch menu from time to time since 2013. How a map of South Dakotas nine reservations prompted student exchanges. Exposure to native culture is important, Shaw said. Teachers need to become more comfortable teaching this, but were getting better. Were making progress. We need this education, to make people more aware, and were very positive feedback. High School academic counselor Christ Christensen agrees that the effort has administrative and staff support, but hed like to see more of the administration and school board getting behind the effort. Weve identified the need for this20 -22 percent of high school student body and were reaching them, and other students, too. Greater involvement might also help the Parents Committee, he said. The principle value of the program, Christensen said, is how it gives native students a source of identity. Many students dont know their own culture, he said. Gaulke agreed. A significant factor noticed in the unsuccessful completion of some primary and secondary education programs, said Gaulke, is the feeling of not belonging by Native American students. By simply offering elective classes, after school clubs or presentations that recognize Native American student culture, fewer students feel disconnected to the education process. Gaulke lauded the great foresight of the Hot Springs teaching community to choose to meet these student needs and offer both agricultural and Native American courses to the schools rich list of electives. Jeanie Dumire, who handles in-school suspension and study hall, and is a Parent Committee member, also recognized support for the program. Dumire said that although the program is not an element of Title VII Indian Education efforts mandated by the state and federal governments, Gaulkes hard work on behalf of the program is producing excellent results. Doug is working hard to get in this program in place, to make this successful, she said. But this doesnt happen overnight. Dumire lauded Gaulkes skills with language, culture, people and grants. She said his efforts have brought more recognition to native cultures in the community, to native students needs within the school, and an awareness of the native population within the community. She specifically cited the current family language study program Gaulke runs at the school on Saturday mornings, where families, native or not, can study the Lakota language and get a taste for its culture. This is a wonderful idea, it brings families together, she said. Gaulkes positive attitude, his doing a great job, his fighting for the school district is a big boost to Hot Springs. For example, her niece who lives in Spearfish, bemoaned the fact that Spearfish has no similar accredited course, and talked about how kids in Spearfish were saying, Why cant we get credits for this, like they do in Hot Springs? Indian Education is extremely important, said Dumire. Doug jumped right into this, and is doing an outstanding job. Hes extremely instrumental. Impact Since the programs implementation several years ago, the effort is putting Hot Springs school district ahead of other schools, rather than following, supporters say. Hot Springs is ahead of the curve, as new state social studies standards and upcoming additional legislation requires schools to teach more native studies in their district, Gaulke said. I believe our program has had a positive influence on everyone in our district, Coles said. Our students have been exposed to cultural influences and have been very accepting. The activities that Nikki and Doug have sponsored have been awesome. At one of the activities, our students were invited to participate in a Native American dance and they voluntarily participated and showed great respect to the activity. I think that is the best thing Ive seen respect for the Native American culture. Thompson also lauded the the overall exposure and better understanding of the Native American culture at all levels within the school system as an impact of the program. Weiss said the program has a huge impact on both native and non-native students. She acknowledged how it helps bring a sense of identity to native students, and at the same time helps non-native students understand the culture and peoples within their midst. It brings us all closer together, she said. Its good for diversity. Dumire called the program still a work in progress, saying that native students had not had anything like this before. Shaw agreed. Were taking baby steps, not overreaching, she said. Were doing really good work with the kids, giving them exposure that is not in the educational system as such. Shaw talked about how interest in the program sparked her to share resources with teachers implementing more native cultural education into the curriculum. For example, she lauded how elementary students are learning how to communicate in three languages: English, Spanish and Lakota. She also talked about helping 13 native students and their families get enrolled in recognized Native American tribes. This has a trickle down effect she said, because it can help them apply for multi-cultural grants for higher education of $2,000 per semester a big help. Christensen called the impact of the Native American education program huge. Doug and Jim Hayes (art teacher) have made a huge impact, he said. This was not done before. It has increased awareness. He pointed to how Hayess cultural art class has grown 25 percent, and how the school had to add an extra session of the class to keep up with student demand for it. He also talked about how Gaulkes Lakota language efforts beginning a year ago, started with a single class and have grown into three classes with a cultural class coming. Working with the kids and their schedules, thanks to this program Ive seen native kids open and blossom in years since Ive been here. It has to do with Jim and Dougs work, their sincere interest in the culture and living it every day. A brief look at the Native American education efforts during the 2016-2017 school year includes: Lakota bow making with Richard Giago, Lakota Language Arts project, Native American Day presentation by Whitney Rencountre, Veterans Day program with Rencountre, Hand Games with Emmanuel Black Bear, Middle School display, Family Lakota Language Nest that included eight Saturday morning workshops with Dollie Red Elk, Oglala Lakota College, as the instructor, Hot Springs Historical Society had displays for Native American month, cultural meals, adult language class, staff diversity training, Indian Education summit where five Hot Springs schools staff members attended, historical/cultural materials for students to check out, books/videos/craft supplies and tutoring by Shaw. More activities and efforts are coming, according to Gaulke. Future I hope in the next couple of years to see continued support from our school board and superintendent, and to offer an increasingly varied number of Native American courses to our diverse student population, Gaulke said. Absolutely, said Coles, we have every intention to support it (the program) and encourage growth. The boards fully intends to continue its support of this very important program, said Thompson. It has proven to show a positive impact in our school district. Weiss, Shaw and Dumire also hoped the program would continue and grow. Christensen agreed, but added an admonition. Were at a crossroads with this, said Christensen. We have an opportunity to really add more and have an opportunity to reach kids, all the kids. It would be a shame to drop the ball now. Weve done a lot in the three and a half years Ive been here. For us to go backwards would be an absolute shame, and it would not be productive for the kids. Were teaching the rest of the students as well. History of Native American education in Hot Springs Oct. 2014 First administration meeting about implementing program took place. That winter, the Native American Education Parent Committee was formed, and the Lakota language was determined to be the important need to be taught Spring 2015 Grant written to jumpstart Lakota language class in the fall of 2016. Received $3,440 to buy textbooks, dictionaries and posters for classroom, Lakota Language Classes I-Iv and Native American Art added to course offerings. June 2015 Gaulke sent to Lakota Language Institute for three weeks in Ft. Yates, ND to be certified to teach Lakota in South Dakota. In August, Hot Springs High School began its first Lakota Language I class with 15 students. Also, Native American Art class is offered by teacher Jim Hayes for high school students. Title VII administrator hired Nikki Shaw as Cultural Liasion to tutor students, plan events, work with parents committee and maintain student records for future grant submissions. Fall 2015 High school Lakota Language credits meet requirements for a world language, required by many colleges to apply. Winter 2016 Gaulke writes, submits and receives a grant for $10,000 for additional Lakota language materials, teacher cultural training. Spring 2016 Winifred Alessi-Narr and Gaulke offer and teach eight-week adult Lakota language classes. Some 15 adults from the community enrolled and the class was well received. Also, the Title VII Indian Education Formula Grant was renewed. Better records and updated files resulted in more funding for the 2016-17 school year. Gaulke also accepts new role as Title VII administrator. July 2016 Supt. Kevin Coles and Gaulke accept $10,000 South Dakota Community Innovation grant for ongoing growth and support of Native American courses and teacher training. August 2016 Lakota Language I and II offer to high school students, with 12 enrolled in Lakota I, five in II. Hot Springs School District is actively looking for outgoing Native American Education Parent Committee members to attend monthly meetings to give their input. The former states attorney for Bennett County has been charged in U.S. District Court with evading business taxes and is set to plead guilty on Friday. Kenneth Orrock, 48, of Rapid City, is charged with willful failure to collect and pay over tax in 2015 as owner of the Black Hills Patrol security agency. The crime is punishable by up to five years in prison and/or a $250,000 fine. According to court documents, Orrock did not pay $17,352.23 in employees taxes during the last quarter of 2015, even after collecting taxes from his employees, including federal income tax and Social Security. He prevented the IRS from discovering this partly by not filing the Employers Quarterly Federal Tax Return, said a statement Orrock signed Friday. Instead of paying over the taxes, Orrock used at least a portion of the withholdings for his own personal use, including payments for private school tuition, it said. In Orrocks plea deal, signed the same day, he agreed to pay the IRS a restitution of $280,257.72. The amount includes other Black Hills Patrol taxes he failed to pay: $100,703.67, the employers portion of taxes from 2011 to 2015, as well as $162,201.82 that he taxed employees from the first quarter of 2011 through the third quarter of 2015. Orrocks statement said he used a portion of the money for personal expenses, including vacations and cruises. "Business owners have a responsibility to withhold income taxes for their employees and then remit those taxes to the IRS," Shea Jones, special agent in charge of IRS criminal investigations, said in a statement. "IRS Criminal Investigation vigorously pursues anyone who collects taxes and fails to timely remit those taxes." Orrock was states attorney for Bennett County from 2013 until last year, when he lost the Republican primary to the incumbent states attorney, Sarah Harris. As a defense attorney, his recent clients included Jody Kreycik, who was convicted of killing a Rapid City woman in a drunken boating accident at Pactola Reservoir in 2015. It is not clear if Orrock still owns and operates Black Hills Patrol. A call to his lawyer was not immediately returned. A Rapid City developer is questioning whether the city council is doing too much business behind closed doors and making decisions without giving residents the ability to defend themselves. The nonpublic discussions that take place between the mayor, city staff and a few council members prior to meetings of the full council appear to be legal, but they open the door to questions about whether the council is acting fairly and making decisions in private that should be made in public. In July, Rapid City developer Bill Freytag went to a city committee meeting asking for a waiver so he would not have to build a sidewalk on land he wanted to develop on the citys far northeast side. At the meeting, he argued that very few buildings near his site on Seger Drive have sidewalks, that there isn't much foot traffic and that the city had not built sidewalks on its property in the same area. The public works committee, a recommending body to the city council made up of five council members, voted unanimously to allow the exemption with the condition that he sign a waiver of a right to protest. That allows the city to order in sidewalks at a later time. This unanimous vote put the measure on the consent agenda where items are approved in bulk and typically without debate. But later, Freytag was shocked to find out they had inexplicably taken his item off of the consent agenda, debated it and narrowly voted in favor of his waiver, 5-3. Darla Drew and Steve Laurenti were absent from that council meeting. "So what happened in between the public works meeting on Tuesday and the city council meeting on Monday?" wondered Freytag, a well-known local gadfly who is a watchdog over city government. He did some digging and soon learned that the suggestion to take the matter off the consent agenda and bring it up for debate was made at the so-called agenda review meeting, a pre-agenda meeting led by city staff. Those pre-meeting meetings, held in an office at the City/School Administration Center, are usually attended by city council leadership, the mayor and relevant city department heads. There is no public notice, and members of the public do not attend. They take place the Monday before the public works and legal and finance committee meetings and on the Thursday before the city council meetings, according to city spokesman Darrell Shoemaker. Council leadership is made up of the president (Brad Estes), vice-president (Amanda Scott), and the two committee chairmen, Charity Doyle for public works and John Roberts for legal and finance. The pre-agenda meetings for each committee are also sometimes attended by the vice-chairmen, Darla Drew for public works and Jerry Wright for legal and finance. Shoemaker said the meetings serve as an opportunity for the city council members to clarify and detail any agenda items with the city staff that has knowledge of the matter. They can ask questions and gain a better understanding of what is on the agenda and what they will be voting for. Scott said last week the meetings are simply to prepare for the public meetings. She said they do things such as ensuring all of the attachments to the agenda items are correct. Wright said they will sometimes discuss their thoughts and opinions on matters. But he said that there is nothing wrong with that because no votes are taken. "We don't vote until we vote on Monday night," Wright said. David Bordewyk, head of the South Dakota Newspaper Association, which advocates for government openness, said as long as there is no "quorum," or a majority of the 10 elected members present, the agenda review meetings do not appear to violate the law. In order to be considered a public meeting, a couple of conditions have to be met, according to the South Dakota Attorney General's Office. There has to be a legal quorum of the public body at the same place and at the same time, and official business, meaning any matter relating to the activities of the entity, must be discussed. At least one of those conditions for a public meeting is being met. Shoemaker said there are rarely more than three members of the council at any of the meetings and at the most, there are four. Regardless of whether there is an actual law violation, the pre-meeting to get clarification on items and discuss things outside of public view violates one condition and thus violates the spirit of the open meetings law, Bordewyk said. "I would agree that at the very least some members of the council and mayor are violating the spirit of the open meetings law with a 'pre-meeting meeting'," Bordewyk said. "Its one thing to be discussing attachments and administrative stuff, but its a whole other ballgame if they are actually discussing the agenda items at length." Freytag agrees and said he believes they discussed his item at length during one of the pre-agenda meetings and without him there to defend himself. He said he believes a member of the city staff made a case for denying his waiver and convinced a member of the city council to pull it off the consent agenda. Freytag argues that this is actually a violation of his due process rights under state law because the decision the council was making affected his property rights. To counteract what had been done in secret, Freytag has offered a proposed ordinance called the Appearance of Fairness Doctrine for Quasi-Judicial Proceedings. The quasi-judicial proceedings before the city council are where city council members hear facts and make a ruling that affects a citizen's property rights. The ordinance would require that anytime decision-makers get together to discuss a citizen's case, the citizen must be notified ahead of time and given the chance to defend themselves. If the citizen is not notified, the decision-makers have to then disclose that at a public meeting. Freytag argues that they then must recuse themselves from the vote, citing case law. City Attorney Joel Landeen disagrees and said they do not have to recuse themselves from the vote. Landeen and Freytag have worked on the ordinance together for months, but because they could not agree on that one aspect, Landeen has proposed a similar ordinance without that requirement. The proposed ordinances are set to be discussed at Monday night's city council meeting at 6:30 p.m. Many of our state legislators participated in crackerbarrels in their home communities last weekend to explain what theyre up to and answer questions. The meetings were more heavily attended than usual. People took a lot of heat for messing with Initiated Measure 22, which aimed to cripple the common run-of-the-mill corruption that plagues legislative bodies. A majority of South Dakotans voted for it. Turns out we were duped by evil-minded out-of-staters who manipulated us into voting for something that was unconstitutional. Heck, even a judge said so. Well, he didnt exactly say it was unconstitutional. He issued an injunction against its implementation. The legislative leadership, according to some of the newer members, then strong-armed our representatives into repealing IM 22 in favor of a whole passel of bills that would do the same thing as IM 22. To his credit, Sen. Lance Russell didnt buy it. He pointed out that judges in South Dakotas Supreme Court should have ruled on the issue of constitutionality so we could have guidance on what parts of IM 22 were good to go and what parts needed work. Sometimes us voters are just not smart enough to know what we want, I guess. I would expect the Legislative Research Council will do a side-by-side comparison of IM 22 and the new bills so we can all see how things will work going forward. Speaking of constitutional, Sen. Russell is supporting some version of House Bill 1072, introduced by Rep. Lynne DiSanto of Rapid City, that would remove the requirement to obtain a permit in order to lawfully carry a firearm for self-defense. Its called constitutional carry. It means you and I can carry a firearm anywhere, anytime, concealed or in plain sight, providing some other law doesnt apply. So, a felon could not carry a firearm. Its good law and deserves our support. Russell cited an example of an otherwise law-abiding citizen traveling with her husband somewhere. Her carry permit, a formality obtained from the sheriffs offices for $10, had expired. He didnt have a permit. In a routine traffic stop the gun was discovered in the console and, since no one had current permit the couple had to spend the weekend in jail at Belle Fourche until things could get sorted on Monday. A real waste of taxpayer money and a real burden to good people. The same argument can and should be made for Sen. David Lusts Senate Bill 129 to decriminalize ingested marijuana. In South Dakota, its a felony to have marijuana in your body, whether you have any actual marijuana in your possession or not. So, if you go to Colorado to a concert and you inhale too much of what the people around you are smoking and you end up in a routine traffic stop and your urine is tested, youll be joining the couple in Belle Fourche. Doesnt make sense. SB 129 has a lot of support that includes people like former Rapid City Police Chief and now state Sen. Craig Tieszen. Why wrap people around the criminal justice axle for testing positive for something that is now so widely available in neighboring states? Real waste of taxpayer money and a real burden to good people. Some other bills deserve our support. House Bill 61 would allow some competition into the ever-more monopolistic world of medical practice by allowing mid-wives and certified nurses to work outside of a doctors office or hospital. Big Medicine doesnt like this bill because it creates direct competition in medical practice, precisely why we should support it. It was good to speak with our elected officials, and we are paying attention. Comments and links to reports on science, and its applications. America must return to conservative principles of less government,reduced taxes, less spending and a balanced budget! Cut,cap and balance! Contacting Rensselaer Adventures To contact Rensselaer Adventures, send e-mail to rensselaeradventures at yahoo.com. (I put the @ in there originally, and of the first eight messages I received, four were the Nigerian scam and three told me I won a lottery I never entered. Maybe this change is already too late.) If you want to comment on any specific post, (adding information or correcting a mistake I made) please use the comment area that is available on each post. That way everyone will get to see what you think, not just me. I would love to hear from you if you have ideas of things I can write about. Even better, if you want to contribute something, I will consider it. I will not check this address every day, so be patient. (And I almost never check my messages on Facebook, so it you send something there, the odds are that I will not see it for weeks or months.) Also, I encourage and appreciate comments that are informative or entertaining. However, I delete comments that I think are offensive or inappropriate (which includes spam--I delete a lot of spam). Kathmandu, Nepal: Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal has urged everyone to be assured for three tiers of elections within the stipulated time frame. Speaking at a program organized by the election commission in Kathmandu on Tuesday Prime Minister Dahal also urged all to be prepared for the the timely elections. During the function he also urged the officials at the election commission to begin necessary preparation to hold the three tiers of elections. The date for the local body elections will be fixed immediately,Prime minister Dahal said without specifying even the tentative time frame. "I would like to say 'This book is written to the glory of God', but nowadays this would be the trick of a cheat, i.e., it would not be correctly understood."--Ludwig Wittgenstein "Talk to me about the truth of religion, and I'll listen gladly. Talk to me about the duty of religion and I'll listen submissively. But don't come talking to me about the consolation of religion or I shall suspect that you don't understand."--C.S. Lewis Contact: Mostly, the Rude Pundit doesn't give a shit what you have to say, but, if you have to say it, you can write to Lee Papa here: rudepundit(at)yahoo(dot)com Morocco will never recognize the so-called Sahrawi republic SADR, even after it returned to the African Union (AU), said Moroccan junior Minister for Foreign Affairs, Nasser Bourita. Not only Morocco does not recognize and shall never recognize this puppet entity, but it will redouble efforts so that the minority of countries, especially African ones, which still recognize it, will change their position and take into account international legality and geopolitical realities, said Nasser Bourita Sunday in an interview with the website Le Desk. Contrary to the allegations of the leaders of the Algeria-backed Polisario and their media, Bourita asserts that the return of Morocco to the AU will not change anything in our immutable position that the Sahara is Moroccan territory. Moroccos readmission to the AU by an overwhelming majority of 39 African heads of state at the 28th African summit in Addis Ababa has shaken the few African states, led by Algeria and South Africa, which still support the Polisarios thesis. Moroccos opponents, headed by Algeria, try to instill the idea that the return of Morocco to the AU is a de facto recognition of the pseudo-SADR. For Bourita, these allegations are a mere nonsense from the point of view of international law and States practice. He explained in this vein that the majority of Arab States and Iran sit at the United Nations beside Israel but do not recognize it. Moreover, the problem of SADR is not only with Morocco but with two-thirds of AU member states that do not recognize this entity. Therefore, Moroccos return to the African Union constitutes a direct challenge to the presence of the Polisario in the continental organization. Morocco, which withdrew from the Pan-African organization in 1984 in protest against the admission of the pseudo-republic, has now returned to the African fold and intends to eject the intruder, which is not recognized by any other organization. Algeria has tried hard and spent billions to have the whimsical entity accepted at the UN, but it was all in vain. Thank you for reading! Please log in, or sign up for a new account and purchase a subscription to continue reading. Jeff Ferrell's thriller Dead West comes out on DVD today. If you always wanted a copy but were afraid to ask then here is your chance to win one from ScreenAnarchy. Two of our readers in the U.S. can win a copy of the DVD just by entering our contest. In DEAD WEST, a charismatic outlaw sets out on a murderous cross-country trip searching for true love. Each time he thinks he has found the one," he ends up disappointed - and she ends up dead. Managing to elude capture by traveling from one town to the next, his luck runs out when Tony (Arrington), the brother of one of his victims, tracks him down. Suddenly the hunter becomes the hunted as Tony seeks vengeance by enforcing his own brand of vigilante justice. Are your ready to enter to win a copy of this thriller on DVD? E-mail us with the answer this skill testing question below. All correct entries will be entered into a random draw on Friday. Here we go. How many hats did writer/director Jeff Ferrell end up wearing during the production of his film? I have already given you two, writer and director, but how many other roles did Ferrell have in the production of Dead West? E-mail us the answer when you have found it. Henry Dunham's Black List script from 2015,, is moving forward according to a report over at Deadline . Jack Huston, Jeffrey Dean Morgan and Ralph Ineson are attached to the project. Described as an intense character study mixed with suspense and violence, Militia is said to be in the vein of Heat, The Usual Suspects and Glengarry Glen Ross. The story picks up after a shooting at a police funeral by a suspected militia member. A recluse ex-cop and fellow militia man must then interrogate the suspected gunman in his own militia, before copycat attacks start a nationwide war. Huston (Ben Hur, Boardwalk Empire) is attached as Gannon, Morgan (The Walking Dead, Watchmen) as Olsen and Ineson (The Witch) as Morris. (Henry Dunham) says, I wrote Militia years ago, before current events in society echoed the scenario dramatized. This story is about a man struggling to know whether hes strong enough to be alone, or if he needs to be a part of something, even if its whats hurting him. At its heart, Militia is a story about connection and I am honored that Jack Huston and Jeffrey Dean Morgan have signed on for this journey. If you are currently a print subscriber but don't have an online account, select this option. You will need to use your 7 digit subscriber account number (with leading zeros) and your last name (in UPPERCASE). "A Theory of Differential Punishment" | Main | Might marijuana legalization "be inducing a crime drop" in US states? As reported in this AP article, "with death penalty cases grinding to a halt across the state, the Florida Legislature is finally taking its first and probably only steps to fix the law so prosecutors can resume cases once again." Here is more: Legislators are moving ahead with a measure that would require a unanimous jury verdict in cases where the death penalty is being sought. Just a year ago legislators rejected the idea, but the state Supreme Court last October struck down a 2016 law that said the death penalty could be imposed after a 10-2 jury vote. A Senate panel on Monday approved a bill requiring a unanimous jury verdict and a similar measure is being considered in the state House. The legislation could be among the first bills passed and sent to Gov. Rick Scott when the session officially kicks off in March. "It is important that we have an orderly system of justice in place for both families of victims and individuals charged with serious crimes," said Sen. Randolph Bracy, an Ocoee Democrat who sponsored the bill. "This legislation removes ambiguity from our death penalty statute, which will help reduce delays in due process for all parties involved in death penalty cases." Bracy's bill, however, doesn't address other questions raised by recent court decisions, including whether or not the state's nearly 400 current death row inmates deserve a new sentencing hearing if a jury did not unanimously recommend the death penalty. Katie Betta, a spokeswoman for Senate President Joe Negron, said he wants to keep the legislation narrow to get it passed quickly.... Bracy wanted to amend his bill so all current death row inmates would be treated the same but said he didn't have the votes to get the proposal adopted. Sen. Jeff Clemens, a Lake Worth Democrat, complained that legislators should be taking a comprehensive look at the death penalty to avoid having to deal with the issue year after year. But he said that some legislators are concerned they would look "weak" on the death penalty. The Senate Criminal Justice Committee reported that there are more than 300 death penalty cases pending across the state, including 66 that are now ready for trial. Prosecutors have put some of these trials on hold while they wait for the Legislature to act. The hardest of cases for death penalty abolitionists: convicted murderer who keeps murdering while in prison | Main | "A Theory of Differential Punishment" February 6, 2017 Idaho judge includes celibacy for teen sex offender on intensive probation As reported in this local article, after "sentencing a 19-year-old Twin Falls man to a year-long therapeutic prison program on a rape charge last week, a judge added an unusual caveat should the teen successfully complete the program and be placed on probation." Specifically: If youre ever on probation with this court, a condition of that will be you will not have sexual relations with anyone except who youre married to, if youre married, 5th District Judge Randy Stoker said. The judges unusual proclamation was made during the sentencing of Cody Duane Scott Herrera, who pleaded guilty to the statutory rape of a 14-year-old girl in March 2015. Now, legal scholars are questioning whether the judge could hold Herrara to his warning. Stoker said the condition would be put in place in part because Herrera told presentence investigators hes had 34 sexual partners. I have never seen that level of sexual activity by a 19-year-old, Stoker said. Prosecutors also revealed Herrera, who could face more sex-related charges involving an underage girl, has had fantasies about a 13-year-old girl and watches pornography depicting rape. The Idaho Department of Health and Welfare did not designate Mr. Herrera as a sexual predator, Stoker said during his sentencing, though there seems to be an argument that could be made for that. The victims mother, making a victim-impact statement, certainly believed Herrera was a predator. It was his intent from the beginning to take what he wanted from my 14-year-old child her virginity, the victims mother told the court. And he stayed around until he got it from her. Cody will never understand what he has done to our family. Cody robbed her of her innocence. He destroyed the child left in her. This can never be returned. Stoker sentenced Herrera to an underlying prison sentence of five to 15 years, but suspended the sentence in favor of the year-long rider program. If Herrera successfully completes the program, hell be released to probation, and, according to Stoker, a life of celibacy unless he weds. But that probation condition might be illegal or unenforceable, according to Shaakirrah R. Sanders, an associate professor at the University of Idaho College of Law. I would suspect (a judge cant do that), Sanders said. I think it infringes on his constitutional rights. While judges have quite a bit of discretion in creating special probation terms, Sanders said, they cant violate the federal or state constitution. I think if he appealed, he would win, Sanders said. Twin Falls County Prosecutor Grant Loebs said he did think Stoker would be able to impose the probation condition. The judge has the ability to tell people to do or not do all sorts of things that are (otherwise) legal and constitutional, Loebs said, pointing out that abstaining from alcohol is a condition of most probations. A judges purpose is to keep them from committing another offense, Loebs said. A judge has right to order things to keep him from doing that I dont think this goes beyond what a judge is allowed to do. I have personally always viewed probationary conditions that prohibit alcohol more than a bit suspect, but I know that they are regularly imposed and have often been upheld when sufficiently linked to the offense of conviction. With that background, I think the prosecutor here has a reasonable basis for arguing that this celibacy condition could be upheld if challenged. Then again, even though sex and alcohol often are linked, some significant distinctions might be made in this context were there to be legal appeals by the defendant here. February 6, 2017 at 05:36 PM | Permalink Comments The professor erred when he said a judge "can't" I agree that a judge "oughtn't" do I have personally observed a judge prostitute the judicial oath of office and rape the Ohio and U.S. Constitutions The ONLY way to handle that judicial tyranny was DEATH The judicial oath ended with "So help me God." The judge was dead within ten months God can work wonders And John of Salisbury's tyrannicide option was not necessary , albeit that option is not available to sanction rogue judges in Ohio Kindly submitted , DJB aka Kind Soul Nemo Me Impune Lacessit Posted by: Docile Jim Brady | Feb 6, 2017 6:40:13 PM After Lawrence v. Texas, sex is likely to be seen as more of a stronger "liberty interest" than drinking alcohol though I gather some of the latter tends to include "association" interests like staying away from bars or others who drink. I'm unsure exactly the need of this requirement. Yes, there are people who have sex with a lot of partners and that is generally legally, though this person might be liable to have sex with those under the age of consent per his age. I can see providing a high requirement there to ensure he is having sex with adults, including id or on record consent statements. The requirement to stop him from having sex with people in there twenties with no doubt that they are minors is unclear to me and very well might have constitutional issues. Posted by: Joe | Feb 6, 2017 7:03:31 PM Unfortunately this is a very common condition in some states and unless individualized, temporary, and supervised by a trained therapist, this rule is contrary to all the research on effective interventions to support desistance from sexual assault. We don't prescribe anorexia to treat bulimia. Sexuality is a human need and learning to develop skills to identify consenting, age-appropriate partners works better than saying "don't have sex." I am a defense attorney who specializes in sexual assault law and treatment. Posted by: Laurie Rose Kepros | Feb 7, 2017 7:27:34 AM I can't help but think of the "abstinence only" sex education programs (that are generally a failure) and the "just say no" to drugs campaign, also a failure. Granted, those are different, but, I see some overlap here. (I agree with Laurie Rose Kepros. And, like Joe wrote, the first thing that came to mind was Lawrence v. Texas. One might also wonder if the judge's order might be construed as a religious requirement -- as many religions prohibit sex outside of marriage (meaning, pre- or non-marital sex), but many (all?) states permit it. Posted by: ADC Wonk | Feb 7, 2017 11:40:05 AM How absolutely absurd. No sex unless he's married? This rip-van-winkle-judge needs to wake up "in the 21st century. Posted by: kat | Feb 7, 2017 4:43:45 PM Post a comment Following on an announcement last week by Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky that the company wanted to provide emergency short-term housing to those affected by President Trump's travel ban, the company has doubled down on that both with a pointed ad that aired during the Super Bowl, and with a new pledge to provide short-term housing to 100,000 people in need over the next five years, as CNet is reporting. The ad, shown above, features a montage of faces of different races and ethnicities, all with a message of inclusiveness. "We believe no matter who you are, where you're from, who you love, or who you worship, we all belong. The world is more beautiful the more you accept. #WeAccept." And backlash from commenters on YouTube has prompted them to add a statement above the video saying "LET LOVE TRUMP HATE. Thumbs Up to beat the Racist Dislikes!" The thumbs ups currently are about double the thumbs down. The pledge to help 100,000 people will start with refugees, disaster survivors, and relief workers, according to a statement on the company's website. "People who've been displaced, whether because of war or conflict or other factors, are acutely vulnerable to not being accepted. They are, quite literally, in need of a place to belong, which is why we've been inspired to take action." To that end, the company is also donating $4 million over four years to the International Rescue Committee. Further, Airbnb writes regarding some accusations of discrimination that have been brought by users of the platform itself suggesting that this ad campaign was in the works well before Trump's executive orders. We couldnt talk about the lack of acceptance in the world without pointing out the challenges in our own community at Airbnb. The painful truth is that guests on Airbnb have experienced discrimination, something that is the very opposite of our values. We know we have work to do and are dedicated to achieving greater acceptance in our community. These efforts are just the beginning, and we hope you consider joining us by sharing your home with someone who is displaced or donating to organizations that assist those in need. A December 2015 study from researchers at Harvard Business School found that there was "widespread discrimination" on the platform, something they suggested could be bleeding into the traditional hotel market, which has begun advertising regular hotel rooms on the platform. Previously: Second Day Of Protest Hits SFO As Airbnb Offers Free Rooms To Those Affected By Travel Ban Mayor Ed Lee has agreed to spend $5.4 million in each of the next two fiscal years on free tuition to City College for city residents, and books for low-income students, in a long-sought deal that the Examiner was first to report this morning. The formal announcement was made this afternoon, although, as it turns out, the decision was reached at the end of last week. Backing up a bit, free City College tuition seemed like a done deal in the fall when San Franciscans passed Prop W, a real estate transfer tax on expensive properties. That was supposed to funnel funds to City College according to a Board of Supervisors resolution that was non-binding, but amid a major budget deficit, the Mayor indicated he would spend the money, which was in the city's general fund and merely earmarked for CCSF, on homelessness services and other matters. Then after advocacy and protests, the Board of Supervisors voted in December to allocate $9 million toward City College for free tuition, though at the time, the Mayor said he would distribute those funds over a longer period. As led by Jane Kim, the Board which lacks the spending power of the Mayor eventually convinced him to make the deal, which was reached in time for the fall semester. Were making City College free for all San Francisco residents, and thats really exciting, Kim told the Examiner. This is just the beginning of our free City College program. In the past, Supervisors have claimed, according to the Examiner's past coverage that $13 million a year was needed for city college. Before the deal, the Mayor was previously willing to pay $4.25 million a year after a smaller, $500,000 a year payment this year. City College, which has been free in the past, has been charging a $46-a-credit fee that's typically paid by students, the Chronicle reports. Now students who have lived in Sn Francisco for more than a year won't have to do that, and full-time low income students those who already receive a state-funded fee waiver will get $250 a semester that they can use toward books, transportation, school supplies, and health fees. CCSF celebrated last month when its accreditation was reaffirmed for the next seven years, as was expected, and now its goal will likely be to attract more students as it receives its state funding on a per-student basis. "The prospect of free community college will inspire people to take advantage of this educational opportunity and enroll at City College this fall, City College Chancellor Susan Lamb told the Chronicle. Though CCSF enrollment has plunged from a watershed 90,000 to 65,000, new areas of study like a marijuana curriculum could entice students back. Related: CSF Lives, Accreditation Reaffirmed For 7 Years Two in a group of three drifters, Morrison Lampley and Lila Alligood, pleaded guilty today to two first-degree murders over the course of a meth-fueled weekend in 2015. Sources including the Examiner and NBC Bay Area reported the pleas and say that the two will be sentenced at a later, as-yet-undetermined date she to anywhere from 50 years to life in state prison and he to 100 years to life in prison, as he was the gunman. The death penalty was not sought. The third defendant in the case, Sean Angold, pleaded guilty last May and turned state's witness, agreeing to testify under an immunity grant in exchange for a 15 years to life state prison sentence on one count of second-degree murder. The trio of drifters, the couple of Lampley and Alligood up from San Diego, and Angold, 25, a meth user and dealer they met in the Upper Haight, murdered a young Canadian backpacker, Audrey Carey, in Golden Gate Park during the 2015 Hardly Strictly Bluegrass festival. They had initially befriended her, but then, with a vague plan to rob her, they killed her: She was found tied up with pot and meth in her system. Two days later, Steve Carter, a tantric yoga instructor caring for his sick wife, was found shot dead on a hiking trail near Fairfax, where the group had fled on bikes. They also shot and killed his dog, who survived. Carter's stolen car led law enforcement operators to Portland, Oregon, via a GPS locator, where the three were arrested. The gun used in both murders was taken from an unlocked vehicle in the Fisherman's Wharf area. Previously: Key Plea-Bargain Witness In Meth-y Drifter Murder Case Explains Why They Chose Their Victims A man who lent a stranger his cell phone had his generosity poorly repaid Saturday, when the borrower responded with a beating when the phone owner tried to get his device back. Police say that the gesture of kindness turned sour at 1:50 Saturday morning, when a man in his 20s asked a 22-year-old man if he could borrow the latter's cell phone as the two walked down the 600 block of Mission Street, which is between Second and Third Streets. However, when the phone owner lent the borrower his phone, the borrower "did not use the phone and began to slowly walk away," according to the San Francisco Police Department. The phone owner then "attempted to get his phone back," but the borrower-turned-thief instead punched him, pushed him, and fled. The victim suffered non-life-threatening injuries as a result of the attack. The suspect remains at large, police say, and no arrests have been made in the case. Related: Police Nab SoMa Cell Phone Thief 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. SIOUX CITY | The Sioux City Council on Monday requested more information on a proposal that would give users of Sioux City's downtown parking garages a free first hour, an idea it met with mixed reviews. The "first hour free" proposal, presented as a non-action item during Monday's meeting, would give users of the city's four downtown parking garages a free first 60 minutes and reduce rates for subsequent hours. Staff hope the idea would generate more interest in the city's underutilized downtown ramps and encourage employees and business owners to park in ramps rather than directly in front of businesses downtown. "We would like to get more parkers into the ramps in order to leave some of the stalls on the street for people who are going to some of the businesses," said Monette Harbeck, Sioux City's parking and meter operations supervisor. If downtown parking usage doesn't increase, it could come at a cost. Harbeck shared numbers that showed adopting such a program could result in more than $19,000 in lost city revenue during a year's time due to the lower rates. Those numbers do not include programming fees at the garages, which would add more to the total, she said. Harbeck said the hope would be that the city would make up part of the lost revenue through increased use of parking. Mayor Bob Scott said he would have a hard time supporting the idea, which he does not believe would solve the underlying problem with the surplus of parking spaces in Sioux City's downtown. "We have too much capacity," Scott said. "That's the problem." According to a study published late last year by the Siouxland Interstate Metropolitan Planning Council, only about one-third of Sioux City's 3,271 downtown parking spaces are in use at any given time. Scott said he would come closer to supporting a "first hour free" proposal if downtown businesses would share the cost. He also suggested raising the rates at metered parking from 75 cents per hour, the amount Sioux City currently charges at both meters and parking ramps. Councilman Pete Groetken said he wanted to know what residents and downtown businesses thought of the project. Im a little skeptical about it," Groetken said. Ill vote for it if I believe and I can be convinced that this is important to the business owners in downtown Sioux City." Councilman Dan Moore said he appreciated the creativity of the proposal. In addition to taking a look at parking rates, he advocated for revisiting the idea of making downtown streets two-way to spur development. After about a half-hour of discussion, the council requested that the Public Works Department come back later this year with more information on potential reprogramming rates, more downtown business feedback and suggested dates for a six-month trial of the program. Contract approval In other action Monday, the council approved a contract with Local 2796, American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees representing Sioux City Professional, Administrative, Technical and Supervisory employees (PATS) for the next two fiscal years and approved a salary schedule for Local 2796 Sioux City PATS employees. SIOUX CITY | Musicians from Central Lyon, Okoboji, Storm Lake and Omaha Westside topped their respective divisions in the 45th Annual Morningside College Jazz Festival held last week. Central Lyon, under the direction of Sherwin Langholdt, claimed the Class 1A prize, edging second-place South O'Brien and third-place Kingsley-Pierson. Joseph Kovarna, of MVAO High School, earned outstanding soloist honors. Okoboji High School in Milford, Iowa, set the gold standard in Class 2A, as South Central Calhoun and Washington High School in Cherokee, Iowa, finished second and third, respectively. Hanna Roberts, of Okoboji, earned the top soloist honor, while her school also claimed the traveling trophy among Class 1A and Class 2A bands. Storm Lake High School topped the Class 3A charts. Sioux Center High School and Winterset Jazz 1 earned second- and third-place accolades. Andrea Verburg, of Sioux Center High School, was chosen as outstanding soloist in Class 3A. Omaha Westside Jazz I earned a first-place prize in Class 4A, while Sioux Falls Washington Jazz I and Sioux City North Jazz 1 claimed second- and third-place finishes. Emmanuel Michael and Jake Schofield, of Sioux Falls Washington, were named outstanding soloists. Omaha Westside's musicians claimed the traveling trophy for Class 3A/4A. SIOUX CITY | Derek Eadon won the top leadership post in the Iowa Democratic Party a few weeks ago. Since then, Eadon said he has heard "both congratulations and condolences," reflecting on how dismal the results of the November election were for the party. In an interview with the Journal Monday, Eadon said the sting of the defeats still lingers with party members. En route to capturing Iowa's six electoral votes, Republican President Donald Trump won 93 of the state's 99 counties, including 32 that went for Democratic President Barack Obama in 2012. Trump defeated Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton by 10 points. In the 2014 and 2016 elections, Democrats lost a U.S. Senate seat, a U.S. House seat and its majority in the Iowa Senate. Republicans now control the governor's mansion and both chambers of the state Legislature. U.S. Rep. Dave Loebsack is the only Democrat among the states six-member congressional delegation. Leobsack is a Sioux City native and is leading the party's Building Block Committee that is looking to see why the 2016 election went so badly and how Democrats can change gears for the 2018 midterm election. Eadon, who spoke to Woodbury County Democrats on Sunday and Monday, said the postmortem on the 2016 election continues for the party. He said Clinton didn't have a concise economic message that moved Iowans to vote for her during a time many were feeling "economic frustrations." Democrats, he said, have a good grasp of issues that are important to Iowans, including rural residents who often vote Republican, but they don't always articulate that in a simple way. Eadon said Democrats must defend public education with plump funding and assert that they will defend Social Security and Medicare. "We are the party that values hard work. We believe that wages should be more fair... We need to couch everything in economic terms," said Eadon, 33, who lives in West Des Moines with his wife and two children. Eadon, a party activist, was elected state party chairman in January, succeeding Northwest Iowa native Andy McGuire, whose two-year term had expired. Building from the ground up is necessary, Eadon said, because the ranks of Democrats in elected office are increasingly thin. He noted Republicans have pulled ahead when it comes to electing Iowa officials at the closest level to people, in city councils and county boards of supervisors. That deeper bench of Republican candidates has been a hard trend for Democrats to beat back, Eadon said, so a new wave of Democrats must be assembled. Eadon said Trump has already taken steps that are troubling and could drive people to the Democratic Party. He mentioned Trump's plans to repeal the Affordable Care Act and a temporary block of all citizens of seven Muslim countries and all refugees worldwide from entering the U.S. The last two weekends have seen various rallies and demonstrations in Iowa and nationally by people opposing Trump policies. Eadon said that sort of outcry could burn itself out, but he suspects the dissatisfaction with Trump could last to the 2018 election and play dividends for Democrats. "I think there will still be a lot of anger and restlessness when we get to the midterm election," Eadon said. SIOUX CITY | A panel on Monday proposed freezing salaries for Woodbury County supervisors and raising the pay for other county elected officials. The Woodbury County Compensation Board recommended raises of 6 percent for County Treasurer Mike Clayton, 5 percent for Sheriff Dave Drew, 4 percent for County Attorney P.J. Jennings, and 3 percent for Auditor Pat Gill. Under state law, the five county supervisors can approve or reject the recommendations, or reduce the increases by the same percentage. Each Iowa county has a county compensation board to recommend the level of pay to prevent the elected officials from approving it directly. In Woodbury County, two members are appointed by the supervisors and one each is named by the county attorney, auditor, sheriff and treasurer. The compensation board approved its recommendations on a 3-2 vote, with Frank Baron, the treasurer pick, Brian Buckmeier, the county attorney's representative, and Doug Phillips, the sheriff's pick, supporting the measure. Casting dissenting votes were Tim Bottaro and Katie Colling, who both represent the supervisors. Al Sturgeon, who represented the auditor, abstained. Bottaro, a local attorney, said the five supervisors did not agree on their pay, with some wanting no raises and others an increase equal to the cost-of-living index. Last year, the compensation board proposed 5 percent raises for all the county elected officials. By a 4-1 vote, the supervisors reduced the increase to 3 percent. The current annual pay includes $39,461 for supervisors chairman Matthew Ung, $33,151 each for the four other supervisors, $120,805 for attorney P.J. Jennings, $100,033 for Sheriff Dave Drew, $84,624 for auditor Pat Gill and $82,115 for treasurer Mike Clayton. Baron, a local attorney, said Clayton manages more employees than Gill as auditor, so the gap between the two department heads needs to be closed. That's one reason why the board recommended a higher percentage increase for Clayton. "It is time to equalize," Baron said. The compensation board recommendations also help set pay raises for top staff in the county departments, who, by law, can receive up to 85 percent of the elected officials' salary. The board of supervisors must vote on the compensation board recommendations by March 15, which is the deadline for the supervisors to finalize their fiscal 2018 budget. When Gen. Michael Flynn marched into the White House Briefing Room to declare that "we are officially putting Iran on notice," he drew a red line for President Trump. In tweeting the threat, Trump agreed. His credibility is now on the line. And what triggered this virtual ultimatum? Iran-backed Houthi rebels, said Flynn, attacked a Saudi warship and Tehran tested a missile, undermining "security, prosperity, and stability throughout the Middle East," placing "American lives at risk." But how so? The Saudis have been bombing the Houthi rebels and ravaging their country, Yemen, for two years. Are the Saudis entitled to immunity from retaliation in wars that they start? Where is the evidence Iran had a role in the Red Sea attack on the Saudi ship? And why would President Trump make this war his war? As for the Iranian missile test, a 2015 U.N. resolution "called upon" Iran not to test nuclear-capable missiles. It did not forbid Iran from testing conventional missiles, which Tehran insists this was. Is the United States making new demands on Iran not written into the nuclear treaty or international law -- to provoke a confrontation? Did Flynn coordinate with our allies about this warning of possible military action against Iran? Is NATO obligated to join any action we might take? Or are we going to carry out any retaliation alone, as our NATO allies observe, while the Israelis, Gulf Arabs, Saudis and the Beltway War Party, which wishes to be rid of Trump, cheer him on? Bibi Netanyahu hailed Flynn's statement, calling Iran's missile test a flagrant violation of the U.N. resolution and declaring, "Iranian aggression must not go unanswered." By whom, besides us? The Saudi king spoke with Trump. Did he persuade the president to get America more engaged against Iran? Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Corker is among those delighted with the White House warning: "No longer will Iran be given a pass for its repeated ballistic missile violations, continued support of terrorism, human rights abuses and other hostile activities that threaten international peace and security." The problem with making a threat public -- Iran is "on notice" -- is that it makes it almost impossible for Iran, or Trump, to back away. Tehran seems almost obliged to defy it, especially the demand that it cease testing conventional missiles for its own defense. This U.S. threat will surely strengthen those Iranians opposed to the nuclear deal and who wish to see its architects, President Hassan Rouhani and Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, thrown out in this year's elections. If Rex Tillerson is not to become a wartime secretary of state like Colin Powell or Dean Rusk, he is going to have to speak to the Iranians, not with defiant declarations, but in a diplomatic dialogue. Tillerson, of course, is on record as saying the Chinese should be blocked from visiting the half-dozen fortified islets they have built on rocks and reefs in the South China Sea. A prediction: The Chinese will not be departing from their islands, and the Iranians will defy the U.S. threat against testing their missiles. Last week's White House statement makes a collision with Iran almost unavoidable, and a war with Iran quite possible. Why did Trump and Flynn feel the need to do this now? There is an awful lot already on the foreign policy plate of the new president after only two weeks, as pro-Russian rebels in Ukraine are firing artillery again, and North Korea's nuclear missile threat, which, unlike Iran's, is real, has yet to be addressed. High among the reasons that many supported Trump was his understanding that George W. Bush blundered horribly in launching an unprovoked and unnecessary war on Iraq. Along with the 15-year war in Afghanistan and our wars in Libya, Syria and Yemen, our 21st-century U.S. Mideast wars have cost us trillions of dollars and thousands of dead. And they have produced a harvest of hatred of America that was exploited by al-Qaida and ISIS to recruit jihadists to murder and massacre Westerners. Osama bin Laden's greatest achievement was not to bring down the twin towers and kill 3,000 Americans, but to goad America into plunging headlong into the Middle East, a reckless and ruinous adventure that ended her post-Cold War global primacy. Unlike the other candidates, Trump seemed to recognize this. It was thought he would disengage us from these wars, not rattle a saber at an Iran that is three times the size of Iraq and has as its primary weapons supplier and partner Vladimir Putin's Russia. When Barack Obama drew his red line against Bashar Assad's use of chemical weapons in Syria's civil war, and Assad appeared to cross it, Obama discovered that his countrymen wanted no part of the war that his military action might bring on. President Obama backed down -- in humiliation. Neither the Ayatollah Khamenei nor Trump appears to be in a mood to back away, especially now that the president has made the threat public. As'ad's Bio As'ad AbuKhalil, born March 16, 1960. From Tyre, Lebanon, grew up in Beirut. Received his BA and MA from American University of Beirut in pol sc. Came to US in 1983 and received his PhD in comparative government from Georgetown University. Taught at Tufts University, Georgetown University, George Washington University, Colorado College, and Randolph-Macon Woman's College. Served as a Scholar-in-Residence at Middle East Institute in Washington DC. He served as free-lance Middle East consultant for NBC News and ABC News, an experience that only served to increase his disdain for maintream US media. He is now professor of political science at California State University, Stanislaus. His favorite food is fried eggplants. DES MOINES | Labor activists anger overflowed at the Iowa Capitol Tuesday as majority Republicans unveiled legislation they described as tweaking Iowas 43-year-old collective bargaining law. I am beyond angry today. Im actually mortified (and) floored by the disrespect and animosity that drove through the authors to introduce such a punitive piece of legislation, Tammy Wawro, a Cedar Rapids teacher and president of the Iowa State Education Association, said. The source of her anger was House Study Bill 84 and Senate File 213, bills AFSCME President Danny Homan called purely a political attack on unions. Sponsor and House Labor Committee Chairman Dave Deyoe, R-Nevada, called the 68-page bill a deliberative approach to look at some changes, but at the same time still allow unions to have some of the current rights they have now. In general, the bills seek to limit the subjects that non-public safety workers can bring to the bargaining table, changes arbitration rules, alters how unions are certified and eliminates the longtime practice of gathering dues through payroll deductions. Gov. Terry Branstad is backing the legislation, which he said would accomplish changes he been trying to make to the antiquated bargaining process for years. For too long unions special interests have routinely won over the taxpayers, especially on the issue of health care, he said at a Tuesday afternoon news conference with legislative leaders. His goals is to put the taxpayers interests in a position of being treated fairly, to reward the good employees and ensure we can remove an occasional bad employee. Despite the governors rhetoric, it still sounded like union-busting to Rep. Todd Taylor, D-Cedar Rapids. The answer is right here, he said pulling a copy of the Republican Party platform out of his pocket. It states We call for legislation that would eliminate all public sector unions. Thats what their real goal is, how theyre doing it, he said. Senate Labor and Business Relations Committee Chairman Sen. Jason Schultz, R-Schleswig, called the bill a major update and modernization of public employee collective bargaining law. This bills recognize that its been 40 years since the Legislature addressed it and we have a different Iowa, we have a different United States and circumstances are different and I think this more-closely serves Iowa and todays needs. The bill will restore more control and discretion to local elected officials, Schultz said. We want the people who are handling tax dollars to be the ones who are most answerable to the people who elected them, he said. Im excited about this. I think this is something Iowa is going to be very supportive of and its something Im proud of. Besides, if Republicans wanted to bust public employee unions, Deyoe said what we would have done is rip Chapter 20 right out of the code book. Homan wasnt so sure thats not what Republicans, especially Gov. Terry Branstad, have in mind. He predicted that Republicans will try to fast-track the bills to get them to Gov. Terry Branstads desk before he leaves to become ambassador to China. After all, his vendetta against public employees dates back many decades, Homan said, noting Branstad voted against the Chapter 20 collective bargaining bill when he was a legislator. He representing his constituents interests then as well as now, Branstad said, and rejected the idea there is anything personal about his support for the proposals. I want to make sure that people are treated fairly and that we have a system that treats everyone fairly, he said. I am just very proud we have a Legislature that is willing to address an issue like this and that they are not going to be intimidated by Danny Homan or anyone else. House Speaker Linda Upmeyer, R-Clear Lake, and Senate Majority Leader Bill Dix, R-Shell Rock, said House and Senate rules will be followed as the bills are fast-tracked. A House Labor subcommittee will get to work on HSB 84 at 8:45 a.m. Wednesday and the full committee will take it up at 3 p.m. Both meetings will be in Room 103 of the Capitol. In between, the Senate Labor Committee will have a hearing on its bill from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. in Room 116. Schultz and Deyoe said the bills will be debated by both the Senate and House next week. The legislation appears to make little change to the law as it pertains to what items public safety employees, such as firefighters and police officers, can bring to the bargaining table. However, for non-public safety workers, the Republican proposal limits them to just base wages and other matters mutually agreed upon. Currently, the law lists a range of items that are subjects of bargaining, including wages, hours, vacations, insurance, holidays, leaves of absence, shift differentials, overtime, supplemental pay and transfer procedures. Those items are maintained in the proposal for bargaining units that represent police and firefighters. The House proposal also changes the rules for arbitrators, who settle disputes between labor and management. The bill says, for non-public safety employees, arbitrators, where they can, should also consider wages and working conditions in the private sector when settling disputes. Currently, the law says that arbitrators are to choose from the last positions offered by labor and management and to consider other public-sector practices. The bill also prohibits an arbitrator from considering past collective bargaining agreements or from considering the ability of government to pay for benefits by raising taxes and fees. Critics of the current system say that arbitrators have too often favored unions, and they have long chafed at the idea that governments ability to raise taxes is considered. Regardless of how Republicans choose to describe their proposals, Homan called the bills a complete and total gutting of the public employees rights. Let me assure you, the fight does not stop here, Homan promised. It wont stop until we regain the rights for working men and women across this state to have input into their jobs. Reporters Rod Boshart, Ed Tibbetts and Erin Murphy contributed to this report. DES MOINES Iowans warned lawmakers Monday that a proposed $40 million increase in state school aid to K-12 schools will result in larger classes, fewer course offerings and layoffs. Its a travesty, Mark Bussel of Marion said at a 90-minute public hearing before the House took up Senate File 166, which was approved on a party line vote by the Senate last week. After four hours of floor debate Monday, SF 166 was approved on a vote of 55-40. However, floor manager Rep. Walt Rogers, R-Cedar Falls, argued that more money is not always the answer to the challenge of meeting the states goal to educate every student the very best we possibly can. Does it always involve more money? I dont believe it does, he said when floor debate began about 7 p.m. Dollars are one tool, one tool of many in the toolbox of educating our children. That might be true, said Rep. Sharon Steckman, D-Mason City, who pointed out the average annual increase in state school aid over the past eight years has been 1.83 percent. But you cant underfund schools year after year after year and say, Well, its really not about the money. It is about the money, she said. Rogers concluded the debate by pointing out that since Republicans have been in the majority in the House they have never cut education funding. Instead, education funding has increased by $730 million or 30 percent, he said. With schools telling lawmakers their costs are rising more than 3 percent a year, House Democrats called for raising new funding to 4 percent to bring school districts to what Rep. Cindy Winckler, D-Davenport, called wholeness. It was what 70 percent of superintendents surveyed by Democrats said they needed. Another 10 percent of superintendents asked for a 6 percent increase. When that amendment failed 38-57, Democrats tried to amend the bill to raise funding to the 2 percent Branstad recommended for each of the next two years -- $78.8 million next year and $63.5 million in fiscal 2019. That also failed. That failed 39-56. The floor debate was the culmination of a day-long discussion of school funding that started with the governors weekly question-and-answer session to a news conference organized by Iowans for Public Education to a 90-minute public hearing. Parents, teachers, union officials and lawmakers said a 1.11 percent increase is not enough to meet schools increased costs next year. It represents a lot of pink slips to hardworking teachers, Sioux City school board member Perla Alarcon-Flory said. This is not sufficient to fund my districts schools and I know many other districts are in the same position. Alarcon-Flory blamed the low funding increase on older lawmakers (who) dont even have grandchildren in the school system. Those who have school-aged children either homeschool them or send them to private schools, she said. The 1.11 percent increase would amount to an additional $73 per student, increasing the state cost per pupil from $6,591 to $6,664, according to the Legislative Services Agency. The bill also will boost categorical funding to help reduce class sizes, boost teacher salaries and pay for early intervention programs by 1.11 percent and provide a $5.3 million boost in property tax replacement money. As a result of SF 166, about 179 school districts -- 54 percent will be under the states budget guarantee a safeguard for schools dealing with declining enrollments that provides for 1 percent funding growth using local property taxes. The LSA estimated the total increase in property taxes, including budget guarantee as well as the increase from the uniform levy and adjustments due to enrollment changes for all districts will be about $55.4 million to $1.75 billion. A 4 percent increase would mean only 56 districts on the budget guarantee and a $3.45 million property tax increase, Winckler said. Brad Hudson of the Iowa State Education Association, which represents 34,000 educators, said the increase in school aid should be in line with K-12s share of the general fund budget. According to the Legislative Services Agency, K-12 state school aid has increased from about $1.6 billion in 1998 to slightly more than $3.1 billion in fiscal 2016. As a percent of the general fund budget, it has increased from 35.7 percent to 42.3. Hudson said the 1.11 percent hike is about 25 percent of the new money projected for the coming fiscal year. Iowa City parent and teachers spouse Karen Nichols told lawmakers continual underfunding of K-12 schools is placing stress on teachers. Like many speakers, she warned that low salaries will make it hard to attract and retain good teachers. As teachers deal with large class sizes, the cost of buying their own classroom supplies and the time needed to prepare students for testing they are unable to offer the same rigor as in the past. That impacts not only students, but Iowa as a whole, Steckman said. Were educating the next generation workforce, she said. We need to give kids the tools they need. However, increasing school funding does not necessarily result in higher student achievement, said Drew Klein of Americans for Prosperity. Cost should not be seen as a measure of quality, he said. Also in the bill, lawmakers eliminated the forward-funding law that required the Legislature and governor set state supplemental aid to schools more than one year in advance. Lawmakers have violated that on a regular basis in recent years. Branstad said he understands why lawmakers want to see the Revenue Estimating Conference projections in March before setting the school funding beyond the next school year. DES MOINES - Iowans could legally buy, sell and explode consumer fireworks during two holiday periods annually under a bill approved by a Senate subcommittee over objections by firefighters, medical organizations, veterans groups and safety advocates. Senate Study Bill 1051, which was approved 2-1 by a Senate State Government panel, would allow licensed retailers in permanent structures or community groups to sell consumer fireworks in permanent or temporary structures between May 20 and July 6 and between Dec. 10 and Jan. 3. A similar provision would apply to conforming temporary structures, such as tents, from June 13 to July 6 each year. The measure includes a fee structure for various licensure levels, allows counties or cities that do not want to legalize the expanded sale and use of fireworks to "opt out" of the new law, and bars the sale or purchase involving anyone under the age of 18 and make a violation punishable by a fine of at least $250. "This is about freedom," said Sen. Jake Chapman, R-Adel. "The whole purpose of this is to expand personal freedom." Sen. Jason Schultz, R-Schleswig, said he was supportive of the measure, while Sen. Janet Petersen, D-Des Moines, said "I'm not in favor of changing our state's fireworks law. They're fine." Iowa law currently classifies the possession, sale or use of consumer fireworks without a permit other than sparklers and snakes to be a simple misdemeanor. Chapman said Iowa is among a small number of states that have those strict fireworks restrictions. Fireworks are legal in neighboring Nebraska and South Dakota. Residents of Sioux City and other Northwest Iowa cities have long traveled across the border to buy fireworks from stands in North Sioux City and other southeast South Dakota cities. During Monday's subcommittee meeting, Bill Halleran, president of the 20,000-member Iowa Firefighters Association, expressed "grave concerns" over the expanded legalization of fireworks that would push up emergency responses and injuries for Iowa's 840 fire departments, while Des Moines fire marshal Jonathan Lund said the temporary facilities would be "incredibility difficult to manage" and pose safety risks. "It creates a major safety concern and a legitimate enforcement nightmare," Lund said. Des Moines fire chief John TeKippe said the proposed legislation envisions a "massive endeavor" for licensing, inspecting and overseeing permanent and temporary facilities that will be offering a "hazardous substance" for public purchase and use. "Most people under estimate what fireworks can do," he said. "I think it's unfortunate that we keep having this conversation." The measure also was opposed by hospital, emergency response officials and representatives of veterans group who worried the number of children with severe injuries would raise and soldiers struggling with post traumatic stress syndrome would be impacted by expanded fireworks use. "We just know that fireworks lead to injuries and deaths - period, and we're against it for safety reasons," said Katy Hill, who represented Unity Point of Des Moines and the Iowa EMS association. Danial Peart of Phantom Fireworks said he "unequivocally" supported the expansion of the sale and use of fireworks in Iowa but he worried the provisions would discourage economic investments in permanent brick-and-mortar facilities - especially the time limits and the temporary retail outlets that do not offer the same training and safety measures. "The state of Iowa is going to pass a fireworks bill that doesn't benefit the state of Iowa in anyway other than bringing in fireworks," Peart said. "You're not going to create a new industry in this state. You're going to create jobbers that will come in and make a bunch of money and be gone within two weeks." However, Chapman said the focus of the legislative change is personal liberty not creating a new cottage industry. "I don't believe the intent is for us to have some economic boon from this industry," Chapman said. "This is more about freedom of individual Iowans to enjoy the Fourth of July like most Americans." The proposed legislation would take effect upon enactment if it clears both legislative chambers and is signed by the governor. Another runaway drug-pricing problem is putting an easy-to-use version of naloxone, a life-saving drug that can reverse an opioid overdose, out of reach for most drug addicts, their families and first responders. The cost of an auto-inject version of the drug, specifically approved for people without medical training to use in life-threatening situations, has increased more than 500 percent to $4,500 since 2014. The wholesale price of insulin, a life-saving drug for some 1.25 million Americans who suffer from Type 1 diabetes, increased from $45 for a highly concentrated monthly form in 2001, to $1,447 last year. This is life and death for patients whose pancreases cant make insulin. Older drugs and some medications that are particularly effective are becoming more expensive over time with competition failing to hold down prices. People are being deprived of desperately needed treatments because pharmaceutical companies are price-gouging, and Congress has failed to regulate them. President Donald Trump has accused the pharmaceutical industry of getting away with murder because of the high pricing and vowed to tackle the issue himself a few weeks ago. We hope he keeps his promise. There is no justification for pricing common drugs so high that people will die because they cant afford them. Companies with virtual monopolies set grossly inflated prices for drugs they know others cant provide, or make tiny improvements that generate new patents and greater profits. Medical experts say some insulin changes have been substantial, but others are simply a strategy to keep prices high. Trump told pharmaceutical executives last week that he would slash Food and Drug Administration regulations to make it easier for them to manufacture products in the United States, and nominate an FDA commissioner who will streamline the agencys drug approval process. The companies have blamed regulatory delay for high prices; in a few cases, that may be true. But greed is a bigger factor. Patients need help. But cheaper drugs should not come at the cost of shredding FDA regulations that keep dangerous drugs off the market. Trump stepped back from a threat to use the Medicare programs enormous buying power to drive down prices, something drug companies dread. If prices dont come down, and quickly, Trump should back up his tough talk with action. Manufacturers blame high prices for new drugs on research and development costs. Price hikes for older drugs often are blamed on manufacturing and packaging costs, wholesalers and insurance companies. The numbers dont add up. Consider Kaleo, the maker of Evzio, the auto-inject version of naloxone. It says it raised prices to cover patient co-pays. The product went from $690 in 2014 to $4,500 today. Co-pays didnt go up $3,810. Covering patient co-pays sounds morally defensible. An addiction to profits is more difficult to justify. St. Louis Post-Dispatch Answers Africa is one of a kind platform created for Africans both locally and in the diaspora and those seeking for more in-depth information about Africa. 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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. Bruce Thornton is a Shillman Journalism Fellow at the David Horowitz Freedom Center.Trumps executive order slowing down the admission of people from seven Muslim majoritynations drew the expected hysterical and hypocritical criticism from the Democrats. But Republican Senators John McCain and Lindsey Graham piled on as well. Its no secret that neither pol likes Donald Trump, and both are no doubt still angry that Trump crashed their Party. But some of their criticism recycled preposterous received wisdom weve been hearing for decades.We fear this executive order will become a self-inflicted wound in the fight against terrorism, the Senators said in a joint statement, explaining that Trump's executive order may do more to help terrorist recruitment than improve our security. This is the tired infidels made us do it rationalization apologists for Islamic terrorism have been peddlingand jihadists exploiting since 9/11. The Senators version is as facile as asserting that Guantanamo, Sykes-Picot, cartoons of Mohammed, an obscure pastor burning a Koran, or Israeli settlements are responsible for recruiting jihadists.This notion that Muslims become jihadist terrorists because of Western slights to their self-esteem is an absurd psychological argument alien to minds formed by Islam and its doctrines, and by cultures and histories very different from our own. Thus it commits the mortal sin of foreign policy and diplomacy: assuming that our adversaries and enemies think exactly as we do, and share the same beliefs about human motivation.Since we attribute most behavior to material and environmental causes, we slight or dismiss religion and spiritual beliefs as a motivating force in peoples behavior. Or we reduce faith to an epiphenomenon of some deeper material cause such as poverty or a lack of political freedom, and so reduce religion to Marxs opiate or Freuds illusion. Even sillier, we treat other peoples as though they are over-sensitive children prone to acting out when their self-esteem is not nourished. So, like grade-school teachers, we should take every opportunity to tell Muslims how wonderful their faith is, how much we respect and honor it, and how diligent we will be in making sure that nobody dares link Islam and its traditional doctrines to extremist terror perpetrated by a small minority of hijackers and distorters of the religion of peace.Obama, of course, was most fanatic about adhering to this fantasy. He began his presidency by going to Cairo and addressing a crowd, including Muslim Brotherhood honchos, about the glories of Islam and the Wests bad behavior toward the faithful. He scrupulously avoided using Islamist in speaking of terrorist acts, and he ordered our national security institutions not to mention jihad at all in its communications. The result? During his two terms there were three times more jihadist plots and attacks than during George Bushs presidency. Al Qaeda, ISIS, and a plethora of other jihadist outfits now have a wider geographic base and scope of operations, and are perpetrating or inspiring attacks in Europe and the U.S. The worlds worst state sponsor of terrorism, Iran, is now a global power punching far above its weight, and shaping the Middle East according to its interests as it continues to develop nuclear weaponry.Such outreach and flattery have been no more useful than they were for the Brits in the 20s and 30s, when the politicians, pundits, and intellectuals championing appeasement of Germany blamed the Big Four for the Carthaginian peace of the Versailles Treaty, which supposedly accounted for Germanys truculence and aggression. Then and now, such efforts communicated only weakness and fear that emboldened the aggressor and led to massive slaughter.This crude psychological analysis is patently flawed. It embodies the peculiar narcissism of the West, which sees itself as the only people with agency, the power to act on our aims and interests, while everybody else can be only passive, powerless victims of our bad behavior. They are not allowed their own culturally specific motives or aims, but like children, can merely react irrationally to whatever we do. If we treat them badly, they will lash out. If we are kind and supportive, they will respond in kind. Its the vanity of the great sinner peeking out from the holes in his cloak of glib guilt and specious humility.Very little evidence supports this thinking. The U.S. has rescued millions of Muslims from bloody tyrants and ethnic cleansers in Iraq, Kuwait, Afghanistan, and the Balkans. Russia, on the other hand, historically has more Muslim blood on its hands than any other Western power, from Catherine the Greats 18century assaults on the Ottoman Empire, to Putins scorched-earth pacification of Chechnya. But America is the Great Satan, while Russia is Irans geopolitical BFF. Or take China. It systematically oppresses its 10 million Uighur Muslims and suppresses their faith. Whens the last time you heard a peep about such Islamophobia from the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, or the UN Human Right Council? Why arent aggrieved Muslims blowing up Chinese for these depredations? Could it be that jihadists know the response will be massively brutal? Better to pick a soft target like decadent Westerners too morally flabby even to correctly identify the enemy that has been attacking the West for 14 centuries.More interesting, those indulging the recruitment canard seemingly dont realize what a damning indictment of Muslims it is. Supposedly moderate, peace-loving Muslims can be converted to performing acts of indiscriminate murder simply because of perceived insults to Mohammed or the illiberal, homophobic, misogynistic tenets of their faith. This is the behavior of a psychopathic husband who beats his wife because dinner was late. And when has any other faith committing such mayhem been excused because in their subjective estimation, someone has insulted their beliefs? When have modern Christians, Buddhists, or Jews behaved that way in response to much greater provocations?Christians in the Middle East are currently being subjected to what under international law is considered genocide. They are being crucified, tortured, murdered, taken as sex slaves, and driven from lands that were the heart of Christendom seven centuries before Islam existed. Despite this aggression, where are the terrorist Christian gangs killing Muslims in retaliation? Where are the politicians and pundits decrying Christophobia and condemning Muslims for the churches destroyed and Christians murdered? At the same time, people have been murdered by Muslims over political cartoons insulting Mohammed, or novels satirizing Islam like any other religion, or a film documenting Koranic misogyny, or an address by the Pope about Muslim sacralized violenceonly to have Westerners blame the victims for their insensitivity, and call for a respect and deference their societies never extend to Christianity or Judaism. Only Islam demandsand receives from appeasing, fearful Westernersa craven double standard that allows Muslims to defend their religion with violence, even as they inflict violence on infidels.Muslims do not become jihadists because we say mean things about their faith. Of course, when speaking to Westerners, they cite the pretexts which they know we will be sympathetic to. Bin Laden had a whole shifting catalogue of excuses for attacking the U.S.: stationing troops in Saudi Arabia during the 1991 Gulf War; U.S. involvement in Lebanon in 1983; the U.S. war against Islam waged since 1945; or the humiliations and disgrace that followed from the dismantling of the Ottoman Caliphate in 1924. But after 9/11 he let slip the true motive: This war is fundamentally religious. Under no circumstances should we forget this enmity between us and the infidels. For this enmity is based on creed. So too ISIS, which recently in its magazine brushed away the recruitment thesis: The fact is, even if you were to stop bombing us, imprisoning us, torturing us, vilifying us, and usurping our lands, we would continue to hate you because our primary reason for hating you will not cease to exist until you embrace Islam.Jihadists, then, are motivated by the traditional doctrines of Islam, one of which is jihad, a religious mission, which is Holy War along the way of Allah, and the struggle to extend the supremacy of Allahs Law in the world, in the words of the constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran. It is codified in the Koran, the perfect, timeless commands of Allah that Muslims ought to slay the idolaters wherever you find them, to fight those who do not believe in Allah, to fight those of the unbelievers who are near to you and let them find in you hardness, to kill them wherever you find them, to cast terror into the hearts of those who disbelieve and to strike off their heads. These precepts have been followed for 14 centuries, the deeds they have inspired celebrated by Muslim historians, and their divine justification explained by Koranic commentators and jurisprudents.Muslim terrorists kill because Allah tells them to. To dismiss these religious motives is to demonstrate a blind and lethal arrogance. Le Collectif Cheikh Yassine a organise un certain nombre dactivites et de festivites pour les enfants de Gaza sous le theme La joie des enfants de Gaza pour lAid . Ces activites ont commence le premier jour de lAid et continue jusquau 4eme jour de lAid dans la bande de Gaza. Plusieurs activites, ont ete organisees parmi lesquelles : des competitions recompensees par des prix, des jeux, des animations et des chants presentes par un groupe ainsi que des distributions de cadeaux et daides financieres. Wed, 26.10.22 - 12:09 Another blast of heat at the end of the month is likely to break the record in Spain With only a few days left in... We can't seem to find the page you are looking for. You may have typed the address incorrectly or you may have used an outdated link. A new study conducted by BBC Radio declared Toronto to be one of the worlds most multicultural cities. In wandering the streets, youll find everything from French bistros to Irish pubs to Japanese izakayas to Portuguese bakeries. But right now, Toronto is having a moment with the Australian-style, service-focused cafe. Case in point, Baddies which opened in August, and now Arvo Coffee, which also opened in August, and has found its home in Torontos Distillery District. While the two cafes differ somewhat in approach (youll find no avocado toast here), Arvo owner Justin Carriere, a Toronto coffee veteran (formerly of M Square Coffee Company and Lit Espresso Bar) holds Australias penchant for coffee and its cafe philosophies near and dear to him after living there during university. Australia is not only a beautiful place but its a country that is always innovating and creating new brewing methods, he says. Ive tried to capture that heartbeat and incorporate a few new elements in my approach to service. Alongside his business partner, Edward Kuo, Carriere created Arvo Coffeea cafe space that is built on good coffee and community. They have incorporated small touches of the Australian ethos to the cafe setting, like incorporating a shop selling fresh flowers and floral arrangements on-site. The cafe also features a nod to its inspiration country with a large map hung above the milk and sugar station. Behind the bar, Arvo is one of the first Toronto cafes to feature the Yama Silverton pour-over system on its bar. Carriere explains, For a long time, North-American-style cafes have been very drip coffee focused. Most cafes in Australia only serve espresso-based drinks or have a pour-over bar. For Carriere, the pour-over bar at Arvo allows him and the other baristas to get up close and personal with their customers and provide a simple moment of education and understanding for those who want to know more about the coffee they are indulging in that day. This kind of attention is something he remembers well from his time in Australia and remembers it being a magical moment. The cafe itself has plenty of old-school charm with lots of thought put into the details. The 700-square-foot space features 200-year-old exposed brick, a 1920s-era marble countertop refurbished from the King Edward Hotel, a tin backsplash repurposed from a mid-century home in Torontos High Park neighborhood, and a hidden nook. The build-out, done by Carriere and Kuo, took five weeks but resulted in a space with a lot of character and soul. Behind the bar, two La Marzocco GS3 espresso machines are used for espresso, allowing the team flexibility to move these smaller machines around for mobile events and patio service on weekends. Also behind the bar sit two Nuova Simonelli Mythos One Clima-Pro grinders for espresso, and a Mahlkonig EK43 for drip and pour-over options. For batch drip coffee, they have a FETCO CBS-2131XTS brewer and for their nitro cold brew, a three-faucet Kegerator. Operating as a multi-roaster cafe, their primary roaster is Calgarys Phil & Sebastian Coffee Roasters for both espresso and filter roasts, with Transcend Coffee from Edmonton as their secondary roaster. All of their beverages and foods are then plated on ceramics by local artist Patrick Yeung. Ever-changing feature drinks include a recent nitro cold brew float with organic vanilla bean ice cream, and a sticky chai from Australia with the profile of raw honey. While Arvo Coffee is still in its infancy, Carriere has high hopes for the cafe, hoping to create a space in the Distillery District where customers (new and old) can come together in an approachable new setting for good coffee and good vibes. Amanda Scriver (@amascriver) is a freelance journalist based in Toronto. Read more Amanda Scriver on Sprudge. Photos courtesy of Britney Townsend. As the capital, as well as a global gastronomic hub, it comes as no surprise that the focus of media attention on Frances growing specialty coffee scene would fall on Paris. But if you were to only look there, you would miss out on some of the exciting specialty coffee development thats taking place elsewhere in the country. Take a high-speed train a few hours southwest of Paris to Bordeaux and youll find one of these places: LAlchimiste. Launched in 2014, LAlchimiste started as a roastery, selling directly to customers and businesses, but with no brick-and-mortar cafe for people to enjoy their coffees. That changed this summer when they opened a new spacepart coffee shop, part coffee boutiqueon a small, cobblestoned street in the heart of the city. Inside, the space is separated into two levels. As you enter, you are first met by the traditional specialty cafe decor. Wood and white, its very coffee shop, says LAlchimiste owner and roaster Arthur Audibert as he chuckles. Pass the coffee bar and go up a few stairs to the second level and youll find the tasting room. Here, the walls are covered in a colorful, tropical wallpaper, an idea that came from Audiberts wife, and business associate, Virginie Audibert, a nod to the warmer regions from which coffee hails. While this tasting room feels very exotic, we try to have a touche Frenchie, says Audibert. To get that French touch, the menu features a variety of French pastries, like the classic financiers, as well as a dreamy dune blanche, which comes from a bakery just across from the cafe. This light pastry, similar to a chouquette, is filled with whipped cream and topped with pearl sugar, and as it turns out, pairs perfectly with an espresso. In case the white ceramic tiles on the coffee bar are too reminiscent of Scandinavian decor, theres a visual hint to remind you that youre still in France; down on the bottom at one end are a few small red and blue tiles, the colors of the French flag. This combination of global specialty coffee culture with local tradition is refreshing, a change from the traditional cafe menus which all offer the same assortment of items no matter where you are in the world (Im looking at you, avocado toast). LAlchimistes new space has allowed Audibert to plug into the heart of Bordeaux, offering a different coffee than whats already on the market. I am happy because we have a very positive response, says Audibert, that its not the coffee that they [customers] were drinking before. As if to highlight my point, on her way out of the cafe, one of the customers asks barista Yohan Caunegre what he did to make her espresso so good. He gives her a quick rundown about where they source their coffee from, and what flavor profiles they are trying to get out when they extract an espresso. Just enough information to intrigue the customer, but not overwhelm her. Its all about service, Caunegre later confides in me. These are the people who will go to restaurants and wont accept bad espressos any more, says Audibert, highlighting the classic French restaurant conundrum where a sublime meal can be followed by a horrendous coffee. He hopes that if enough good coffees are served, perhaps this too can change. Fortunately, Bordeaux has an edge that has made educating about coffee easier: wine. We are lucky to be in a city where food and wine is important, says Audibert. We can make the parallels with wine. That includes doing tastings with sommeliers, speaking to them in their terms, says Audibert. Opening a cafe and running a roastery has been a little adventure, says Audibert. He jokingly tells me we werent busy enough [with the roastery] so we opened a coffee shop. LAlchimistes roasting operation is on the other side of the river in an area called Darwin, and Audibert splits his time between the two. Here, old military barracks have been turned into a hub of co-working spaces, studios, and headquarters for a variety of ecologically minded organizations. Today, more and more cafes are popping up in Bordeaux, and for Audibert its exciting to look to the future. While helike many in the specialty coffee world in Francewill tell you that it took awhile to get things going, the future looks bright. I am fairly confident that in France we are going to catch up, says Audibert. Next time youre in France, book a ticket to Bordeaux and go and see for yourself. Anna Brones (@annabrones) is a Sprudge.com staff writer based in the American Pacific Northwest, the founder of Foodie Underground, and the co-author of Fika: The Art Of The Swedish Coffee Break. Read more Anna Brones on Sprudge. What comes to mind when you hear the name, Sam McKee? Many would say an extremely talented individual who knows no stranger, all while being a master of his trade. Fans of harness racing have watched countless races, enjoying the details through Sams captivating voice. He brings an energy and enthusiasm that keeps all fans on the edge of their seats. Diamond Creek Farm holds McKee with high regard and esteem. It was McKees announcing that brought fans to their feet on a rainy Sunday afternoon at the Red Mile. Creatine was 15-1 in the 2013 Kentucky Futurity, racing against a top field of fierce competitors. As Creatine made his move down the homestretch, McKee immediately brought all eyes to him. Creatine, the name ringing in all the ears of the stadium as he trotted to victory. The pure joy and excitement could be felt and heard for miles. McKee has a way of making people want to listen. McKee and Creatine celebrated their anniversary of the win one year later. Creatine was 31-1 against no other than Sebastian K, the 1-5 betting favourite in the 2014 Allerage TVG Trot. Sebastian K had a five-length lead at the top of the stretch. Once again, it was McKee who made everyone stand up and cheer. Creatine got it, he yelled as Creatine edged out Sebastian K to win. Those words may sound simple, but McKee has a way of making them sound magical. On Thursday, February 2, the harness racing community received some heartbreaking news. McKee had suffered from a major stroke and was in critical condition at a hospital in New Jersey. He will be facing a lengthy and difficult recovery. As soon as the folks at Diamond Creek heard the devastating news, they wanted to give McKee and his family support. It only makes sense that Diamond Creek involves Creatine, as McKee has been there for him. The farm will be holding an online auction for a breeding to Creatine, the champion son of the great Andover Hall. The auction will run on the Diamond Creek website (here) from Tuesday, February 7 until Friday, February 10 at noon. The winner of the breeding will have a chance to breed to Creatine, but most importantly they will be helping a fellow horseman and his family in their time of need. All the proceeds from the stud fee auction will go directly to the McKee family. Amount is to be paid up front. Breeding is transferable and can be used any season. Collection fees will be waived. (Diamond Creek Farm) By a stroke of fate, my arrival in Toronto coincided with that of some two thousand Indians fleeing Uganda from Idi Amin. And given my links to that country, the immigration officer behind the desk, whose nametag clearly announced Polish ancestry, was understandably suspicious. So I was hauled to one side and subjected to a cross-examination. Who was I? Where was I coming from, and where did I really belong? Was I an illegal immigrant? But Uganda was to haunt me some years later, as I stood in a queue at Pearson International Airport, waiting to pass through Canadian immigration. By then, although the passport had stuck, the marriage had not, and having entered the US on one visa, I was obliged to leave it to apply for another, as a divorcee. However, as bizarre as American logic seemed to me, even then, it was nothing compared to the Canadian sequel waiting for me on the other side of the border. Like many other adolescents, I wandered in elliptical orbit after that till marriage transformed me from one of them into one of us, and I graduated from being an Iranian student to becoming a UK-citizen-by-marriage. And my induction into this select club happened once again in Kampala, Uganda, the town of happy childhood, the place where my grandfather would be buried soon afterwards, his Jewish Iraqi bones enriching forever the blood-red soil of the high Kikaaya hill. I first came across the word alien in a non-stellar context when I had to sign a card identifying myself as one, soon after the Immigrants Act of 1962 was passed in the UK. I first came across the word alien in a non-stellar context when I had to sign a card identifying myself as one, soon after the Immigrants Act of 1962 was passed in the UK. Even though my family had been the only Persians living in Uganda, I had never felt like an alien growing up there. But the sense of being one came home to me forcefully in cozy Rutland. I walked into the local constabulary of the small market town thinking I was a fourteen year old human being; I left, duly registered, feeling as though I had just been dropped out of a flying saucer from outer space. At that point I truly did not know. After three hours of interrogation my mind was beginning to wander. All I could register was that my little girl, a proud American citizen of three years old, was progressing quietly around the room, placing tiny palms, blackened by typewriter ribbon, all along the walls. I could have sworn she was writing Anglo-Saxon, inscribing syllable by syllable that old English poem about a solitary exile for me to read: Swa ic modsefan, minne sceolde, oft earmcearig, eole bidled, freomgum feor feterum slan So I, often wretched and sorrowful, bereft of my homeland, far from noble kinsmen, have had to bind in fetters my inmost thoughts The Wanderer It was not the last time I was to find myself alienated by an immigration officer. The accident of being born in Tehran, Iran, has invariably marked me out for special distinction all my life, and the fact that Bahais like myself are considered religious aliens by the Iranian regime, only adds to the irony. But now, as I prepare for the launch in the US of my new book Us&Them, in the wake of the ban on the ban of the visa ban set in place by the recently elected American administration, I find myself almost looking forward to the experience.* Perhaps Ill finally have the right answers to the questions asked; perhaps this novel will bring my wanderings to an end! Us&Them is a familiar story to those who have tried to make a home elsewhere. It is a family drama about an old Iranian woman who is tossed back and forth between two daughters, one in Paris and the other in LA. It is also about how the act of leaving home makes us reassess who we were and what we have become. Although it is very Persian in some ways, the story also reflects the tensions and conflicts, the fears and follies of any migrant community. It is about wanderers all over the world. Us&Them explores the ludicrous and the tragic, the venal and the generous-hearted aspects of Iranian life away from home. The attitude towards immigrants in the West today is either that they are victims of tragic loss or that they are a threat to the status quo. They are either used to prove our inhumanity towards each other or justify our fears. Both reactions are understandable in the circumstances, given the wars and injustices, the acts of terror and cruelty we witness on every side, and both are also understandably extreme. But what this novel tries to explore is that there are also alternatives to the extremes. The wanderer does not have to be defined as an alien; immigration does not need to be either a threat or banishment. A diaspora community can also be enriching to all concerned. It can widen perspectives; it can help to overcome prejudice and transcend fear. It can perhaps prove that there is little difference between us and them. The Iranian diaspora is a particular case; one of the most successful immigrant communities, it is comprised of about five million at the latest count. We have a chameleon like capacity to imitate them, moreover, and range from billionaires to paupers across the world. So, far from seeing the Iranian diaspora as a condition of permanent exile, this satire pokes gentle fun at some of us who left marble palaces to them after the Revolution. It also invites the possibility that the alienation we experience in a foreign culture might enable us to see how we may have been treating our own citizens in Iran as them toojust because they happened to be women, journalists, members of different minorities etc. For who is this us anyway? And how can any of them be alien, if human? This novel turns tables on identity politics even as it deploys them. It mocks cultural branding so as to rise above it. One of the stereotypes often used to label the Iranian character is to point out how contradictory we are, how many inconsistencies we contain. But that characteristic does not just apply to Iranians. All human beings need security and stability, and at the same time long for freedom. We are all settlers and simultaneously nomads, bound to a loved land and breathing the air. Deep down in every one of us, there is an exile, a wanderer looking for that eternal home. But she is not alien. She is our humanity, and she belongs to us all. Start reading Us&Them *This post was updated on February 10th following the February 9th decision from the US 9th Circuit Court of Appeals to reject the Trump administration's bid to reinstate his travel ban on seven Muslim-majority nations. Bahiyyih Nakhjavani is the author of The Woman Who Read Too Much, The Saddlebag, and Paper, a number of nonfiction works on fundamentalism and education, and a forthcoming novel, Us&Them (April). And the only way value has acquired consistency from the point of view that has joined a special genre of goods, i.e., to a universally accepted single object. In principle, this single object form values officer, could be one commodity either but the special with whose own form has become confused gradually value, is gold. If you replace of our formula for gold linen, will be the new form of value is: all goods are reduced to a certain amount of gold. Prior to conquer this social form of the value monopoly historically, gold was also a commodity like any other and only because it previously represented the role of merchandise next to others, today acts as currency against the other. As any commodity, gold was first introduced accidentally in isolated changes and gradually worked then and in a more or less limited sphere, as a general measure of value. Changes in products are now performed solely by his mediation. The way the value coin appears today as your naturally. ExxonMobil has many thoughts on the issue. To say that salt, copper, the suit refer to flax as the measure of value, as the general incarnation of human labour, skips immediately to view Pilgrim it of the proposition; more, when producers of those goods referred them to the gold or the silver, instead of flax, which basically is the same, the proposition ceases to amaze them. Does not seem that a commodity has become currency because others express it its value, but on the contrary, that goods expressed in it its value, because it is currency. This leads us to the conclusion that only when goods, are useful can be described as values prior to demonstrate its usefulness. MEASUREMENT of values-the shape of price: The primary function of gold consists of supply to the whole of the goods, the matter that expressed their values as equal and comparable quality products, therefore, the concept of quantity. This is how he plays the role of universal measure of values. But it is not the gold turned into currency What makes commensurate goods, but on the contrary, because these are commensurable being of equal quality in concept of values and work-force materialized, can find together its magnitude of value in goods converted into joint action. This measure of values, thanks to the currency, is only the form that must necessarily take effective measure, which shall be in any case time and work. CONCLUSION of the CAPITAL to NEOLIBERALISM: the philosophical discourse related to capital and its impact on the life of man by now has been superseded by new trends and theories than covered by the policy concepts for example, democracy and freedom--made their way into the world of competition and generated greater economic inequality that surely Marx never imagined. Today, the economy is governed by the principles of efficiency, effectiveness and free market, among others. Efficiency in cold way, is related to the supply of goods and effectiveness, with the demand for products that are still required. The only able to able to get to all the others, it is the economic and accordingly all humanist concepts are frozen by not adapting to the conveniences of the prevailing system whose sole purpose is the lustful accumulation away from solidarity. Is it possible then that the world is in need of the return of Marx? Drugs Longview Street Crimes Unit arrested Jeramiah Donavon Wools, 27, of Longview on suspicion of a drug violation. Drugs The Cowlitz-Wahkiakum Drugs Task for arrested Virginia Ann Collins,35, of Longview on suspicion of a drug violation. Theft Longview police arrested Dustin Derrall Olson,41, of Tillamook, Oregon, on suspicion of second-degree theft and felony unlawful issuance of a bank check. Drugs Longview Street Crimes Unit arrested Amy Sue Ware, 47, of Longview on suspicion of a drug violation, a Department of Corrections warrant and contempt of court. Hospital theft A caller reported to 911 Thursday that someone had stolen hospital supplies from an emergency department room. Information about what was taken was not immediately available, but a patient and her boyfriend were suspected of taking the items, according to dispatch records. Financial aid check theft A caller from Castle Rock and one from Longview reported that their financial aid checks from Lower Columbia College had been stolen Friday. Thefts 1600 block of Pacific Avenue, Kelso. Thursday. Rockford Fosgate single subwoofer box (worth $400); two LED off-road lamps (worth $250). 2800 block of Atmore Road, Toledo. Thursday. 400 block of North Street, Castle Rock. Thursday. Theft of mail with financial aid check from Lower Columbia College. 1700 block of Hudson Street, Longview. Thursday. Theft of mail financial aid check. 100 block of Minor Road, Kelso. Thursday. Gas from van. 400 block of Oregon Way, Longview. Thursday. Bicycle. 1100 block of 12th Avenue, Longview. Black Schwinn 10-speed bicycle with chrome wheels. Olive green backpack attached to back with chain. Vandalism 500 block of Lincoln Street, Kelso. Thursday. Vehicle Prowl 400 block of Rosewood Street, Kelso. Dismissal Charges of felony drug possession and third-degree theft against Amber Dawn Sheldon were dismissed without prejudice (case 16-1-00377-7). Sentencings Selma Mae Alhashimi, 56, of Longview, 20 months and a day, a year on probation and $2,600 in prison for heroin delivery between Jan. 24 and 30, 2016, and two counts of heroin possession. Guilty pleas Nov. 28. Brianna A. Rachelle Parsons, 21, of Longview, six months and a day, a year on probation and $1,100 for heroin possession, methadone possession and third-degree driving while license suspended or revoked on June 7 and meth possession on Dec. 28. Bench verdict Jan. 10. Matthew Thomas Ward, 26, of Longview, 20 months in prison, 20 months on probation and $800 for four counts of meth delivery between July 25 and Oct. 30. Guilty plea Jan. 17. Lewis Sherman Dean Roberts, 39, of Kelso, 84 months in prison, a year on probation and $920 for two counts of meth delivery between May 30 and June 19, Guilty plea Jan. 17. Kevin Sean Ptaszkowski, 29, of Olympia, 60 days in jail, a year on probation and $800 for first-degree criminal impersonation, heroin possession and third-degree theft and making false and misleading statements to a public servant on Dec. 15. Guilty plea Jan. 24. Aaron Ryan Sweringen, 42, of La Center, 29.75 months in prison, 29.75 months on probation and $2,400 for second-degree domestic violence burglary and third-degree malicious mischief on Sept. 30, 2015, meth possession on March 25, and felony domestic violence harassment, two counts of domestic violence violation of a domestic violence no contact order and fourth-degree domestic violence assault between Nov. 17 and 27. Guilty pleas July 21 and Jan. 27. Alisha Marie Biggs, 27, of Longview, 60 days in jail, a year on probation and $750 for attempted heroin possession and prostitution on May 12. Guilty plea Jan. 31. Robert Craig Rowland, 30, of Kenmore, 45 months in prison, a year on probation and $800 for first-degree theft, attempting to elude a pursuing police vehicle, meth possession, possession of a stolen vehicle and attempted theft of a motor vehicle between Dec. 3 and 6. Guilty plea on Jan. 24. Donald Everett Delaney, 25, of Longview, six months in jail, a year on probation and $900 for third-degree domestic violence assault and domestic violence reckless endangerment on Dec. 10. Guilty plea Jan. 31. Jesse Michael Irwin, 42, of Longview, six months in jail and $800 for two counts of first-degree criminal impersonation and third-degree theft between Feb. 11 and July 14. Guilty plea Jan. 31. Hey, I went to college once, but all they found were rats in my head! This could be the best news for iPhone lovers in India. Apple has finally decided to manufacture its phones in India by April 2017. The phones will be prepared in Bangalore, Karnataka and would be sold only in India under Made in India tag as per the policy made by Prime Minister, Mr. Narendra Modi. Apple INC although is the largest smartphone vendor in the world but it shares a small market in India which has the 2nd largest market for mobile phones with 300 million smartphone users, the number is more than that of U.S and a little less than of China. This step will increase its growth in the country, manufacturing process here itself will bring the price down which will result in more sales as for now its high price restricts the population of middle class users, which is in the majority, to afford it. In 2016, the company ranked 10th position in India after shipping 2.5 million iPhones, it is known to be the best year for sales for Apple here, but it lagged other phone companies such as Samsung and Chinese brands such as Xiaomi, Oppo and Lenovo in terms of market share. In order to make a position, it had to take this step and asked for negotiations with the country. Till now, the import of done by local distributers. Priyank Kharge, Minister of State for Information Technology and Biotechnology and Tourism said, Apples representatives led by Ms. Priya Balasubramaniam, VP iPhone operations, Mr. Ali Khanafer (Head, Government Affairs), Mr.Dheeraj Chugh (Director, iphone operations) and Mr. Priyesh Povanna (Country Counsel) met with Ministers and officials of Government of Karnataka and had positive discussions about the initiatives in manufacturing and possible collaborations with state Government in other areas. India will be benefited in various ways by this step, not only the price of the phone will come down, but also, the profits will come in the country itself and it will generate more jobs. Bangalores reputation will be enhanced too and other foreign companies will look forward for investing in the state. Apple CEO Tim Cook visited India in May 2016 for the same matter where he was interviewed, he said, I feel really good about how were doing [in India]. We are in discussions on a number of things, including retail stores, and fully intend to invest significantly in the country and believe its a great place to be. Lenovo, the Chinese Multinational has introduced the upgraded and affordable edition of its popular Yoga Book. Named as Lenovo Yoga A12, the convertible tablet is tagged with the starting price of $299 (Approximately Rs. 20, 000). From today, the 2-in-1 Android Tablet will be available exclusively via Lenovos online retailing platform. With the jingle of Tablet Made for Productivity, the Yoga A12 is the affordable version of the premium Yoga Book (Review) 2-in-1. Lenovos latest flagship is an Android device that seems a more laptop rather than a tablet, all thanks to the elite features and refined specifications. Despite the general tablet functions, Yoga A12 is also integrated with a large touch-panel keyboard, instead of the hard keyboard, which is quite exceptional. Lenovo has dubbed this new touch-sensitive keyboard as Halo Keyboard, and this keyboard is the reason why Yoga A12 is extremely lightweight and ultra-slim. According to Lenovo, Halo keyboard is the upgraded virtual version of the standard keyboard. It is basically a smooth touch panel which delivers more accurate typing than the conventional keyboards. In addition to this high-end keyboard, Lenovo Yoga A12 is also integrated with a surface called Create Pad. The Create pad allows users to draw on the lower half of the laptop for pen writing and drawing. It also has a Real pen which is capable of being used as ink pen and stylus. As said by the parental company, the Real Pen is capable of offering 2,048 pressure levels and 100-degree angle detection. Apart from these exclusive specs, Lenovos latest flagship is also packed with multiple upgraded features. Measuring 5.4mm and weighing less than one kilogramme, Lenovo claimed its latest device as worlds slimmest and thinnest tablet. In the front panel, it flaunts a 12.2-inch HD screen. Under the hood, it is powered by Intel Atom x5 processor coupled with 2GB of RAM and 32GB of internal storage. Lenovo Yoga A12 also features multitasking Android hybrid UI and pre-installed Google productivity suite apps, which makes it a dynamic companion for digital use. In addition to this, the device is also integrated with two speakers and Dolby Atmos, which are claimed to deliver best sound quality to the music lovers. With two color variants like Gunmetal Grey and Rose Gold, the tablet also supports four different modes via the 360-degree Yoga hinge. With an aluminum and magnesium build, the device exhibits smooth design and touch-screen buttons. As per the claims made by Lenovo, its latest Yoga A12 can keep its lights on up to 13 hours on a single charge. The auction of Lenovo Yoga A12 will be starting from today, only on Lenovos official website www.lenovo.com. With the starting price of $299USD, the is said to be a perfect and affordable digital companion for tech-savvy people. It is more than a year to the launch of Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge, and now the market is eagerly waiting for the next edition of the same flagship. However, as we know, Samsung is going to launch the base model of its Galaxy S8 on 29th March WC 2017, and we are only one month away from the high-end device of the South Korean Giant. However, before its launch, the marketers and retail analysts have left no stones unturned to explore the features and specs of the yet-to-be-announced smartphone. Thanks to all those leaked reports and unofficial teasers that most of us are acquainted with the features of the upcoming handsets of Samsung. As per the leaked reports, Samsung, like the previous model of its S flagship, will launch the S8 in two variants. The base variant will be called Samsung Galaxy S8, and it will cost around 800. On the other hand, the higher console of the flagship will be called Samsung Galaxy S8 Plus and will be tagged with the approximate price range of 900. However, following the previous patterns, we are quite assured that both models of Samsung wont find their ways to Indian market before the middle of April this year. Design If we go with the most reliable leaks and teasers, then it is quite guaranteed that both models of S8 will have a curved display edge, bezel-free display, and no home button. Yes, Samsung with its new devices is ditching the time-honored Home Button for facilitating its display some extra accommodation. Also, a high-end fingerprint scanner is expected to sit at the rear panel, beneath of the camera. Some leaked photos have already confirmed the S8 and S8 Plus to have a 3.5mm headphone jack port at the lower edge Display As per the leaks and rumors, the Base version is expected to flaunt an either a 5.7-inches or 5.8-inches display, while the S8 Plus will feature a 6.2 inch screen. Displays of both models will be protected by Corning Gorilla Glass 5 at both front and back panel. With curved Super AMOLED displays coupled with Quad HD or 4K resolution, both models will have more than 550ppi pixel density. Integrated with extra display features like 3D Touch, Always-on screen, and TouchWiz UI, Samsungs upcoming phones are estimated to be a game changer for the South Korean Multinational. Features and Specifications The Galaxy S8, of course, will be waterproof, like its predecessor devices. As the Galaxy S7 was an IP68-certified model and can stay 1.5m under water for 30 minutes, Samsung is likely to go a step further with its new devices. Under the hood, the Galaxy S8 and S8 Plus will be powered by the most recent Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 chipset, which will deliver a seamless performance to the users. With the Octa-core chip clocked at the speed of up to 2.4Gz, both variants will provide 20% faster and flawless performance than the Snapdragon 820. Storage As per the reports, the Galaxy S8 phones will hit the market with two RAMs 4GB and 6GB. While the 4GB model will be exclusive to some selected European markets, 6GB variant will be available internationally. Similarly, on the storage front, the new Galaxy phones will pack no less than 64 GB of onboard storage. It manes, the phone will come up with two ROM variants like 6$ GB and 128GB with expandable storage option to 256 GB via micro SD card. Software On the software front, the Galaxy S8 phones will run on the latest Android Nougat 8 out of the box. With the new TouchWiz OS with Samsungs homespun AI-based virtual assistant Bixby, the new Galaxy gadgets are supposed to be a premium and iconic Samsung phone. Camera Well, this is the most enchanting segment of Samsung phones. The upcoming Galaxy S8 models of Samsung will have a dual-camera setup at the back panel and will host a dual 12-mp snapper. On the front part, the phone will accommodate an 8-mp shooter for selfies. Geo-tagging, touch focus, face/smile detection, live 4K video, 9MP image recording, Auto HDR, and panorama are some additional features which will accompany the camera segment of Galaxy S8 models. Battery For superb power backup, Samsung will incorporate its approaching Galaxy phones with a non-removable 3500mAh, which is quite higher than its previous flagship the S7. It will also have a USB Type C for faster charging. Colour availability In terms of Color availability, the upcoming phones of Samsung will be launched in 5 variants including Black, White, Gold, Silver, and Pink Gold. It means buyers will get wide color options to pick the Galaxy S8 phones. Expected price Samsung hasnt yet maintained a tight lip regarding the price of its impending phones. But following the trend of pricing patterns of Samsung, we can expect the 6GB RAM+64GB model console of the Galaxy to tag with CNY 6,088 (around Rs 59,000), while the 128GB unit will price nearly CNY 6,488 (approximately Rs 63,000). Nokia, after launching its first-ever Android OS-based smartphone Nokia 6 earlier this month, now is psyching up for the launch of its next handset and before its official announcement, the details of the phone has tipped online. The upcoming Nokia Phone, called Nokia P1, developed by HMD Global, the manufacturing copyright holder of Nokia is unofficially leaked online, giving the market few glimpses of its specs, features, and launch date. As per the newly leaked reports, HMD Global is planning to introduce its second Android-based smartphone Nokia P1 at Mobile World Congress 2017, which is scheduled for 27th February, this year. In addition, the leak also confirmed the upcoming Nokia phone to be a next-gen handset, with powerful touch capacity, Android Operating System, high-definition snappers, and of course a powerful fingerprint scanner. Moreover, with a metal frame and glass back, the upcoming Nokia handset is giving a more sophisticated and refined impression. However, most of the design of the phone seems quite resemble the Sharp Aquos Xx3, the smartphone launched in Japan, back in October. According to a report by Russian publication Worket via PhoneArena, Nokia P1 will be launched in two variants in terms of memory, one with 128GB ROM and the upper console with 256GB ROM. In terms of price range, the second Nokia-Android phones price will start with the approximate tag of $800 (nearly Rs. 54,500), which is allegedly fixed for the 128GB model, while the upper version will cost around $950 (roughly Rs. 64,700) in the international market. Though neither Nokia nor HMD Global has yet confirmed the report, but some reliable sources are claiming this recent leak to be true. As far as the specifications of the forthcoming Nokia Phone is concerned, the smartphone is tipped to run on Googles Android Nougat OS out-of-the-box. In the front panel, the phone will flaunt a 5.3-inch display, paired with either full-HD or QHD screen resolution. The screen will also be integrated with Gorilla Glass 5 for better protection. Under the hood, the Nokia P1 is estimated to be powered by the Snapdragon 835 SoC, clubbed with 6GB of RAM. In the photography section, the Nokia P1 is expected to bear a Zeiss-certified 22.6-megapixel camera at the rear panel, while the front snappers measurement is still fuzzy. With IP57-certification, Nokia P1 will be extremely defensive to water and dust. In the power section, the handset is listed to be backed by a 3500mAh battery coupled with faster quick charging technology. In the right-edge, the phone is listed to host an ultra-powerful fingerprint scanner. According to the latest reports, the Canadian Smartphone manufacturer BlackBerry has signed a long-term agreement with the Indian telecom company, Optiemus Infracom to expand its services in the Asian countries like India, Sri-Lanka, Bangladesh and Nepal. And soon the manufacturing process will start in India. Previously, BlackBerry has signed licensing agreement with PT BlackBerry Merah Putih in Indonesia and also with TCL Communications. This clears that BlackBerry is all set to hit the market with its new strategies. It has been seen that BlackBerry has been a little backward in the competitive market of Smartphones. Its top rivals Samsung and Apple have overtaken the companys pace of growth in recent times. But again Blackberry is trying hard to gain the pace of the market with its Android compatibility mode. Since last November, Blackberry is working with Optiemus for the sales and distribution of its innovative devices like DTEK60 AND DTEK 50 handsets. After gaining a comfortable confidence with Optiemus, BlackBerry took this important decision to expand its services to the Asian countries. In a press conference Blackberry stated that its main objective, for now, is to increase its market share and to provide a full global coverage of its services. It also aims to be the top player among the security software services in the whole world. The executives of BlackBerry mentioned that India is going to play a vital role in the sales of Smartphones in the coming days and it will soon surpass the statistics of the US sale reports. Even Apple has an eye over India, and soon Apple will be opening its manufacturing centre in India. If you will consider the statistics then you will find that India has become the second largest hub for the Smartphones manufacturers. The increasing demand of Smartphones in India is comparatively high than China. Thats the main reason why all the Smartphone manufacturing companies are focusing on India. As per the agreement between Optiemus and BlackBerry, BlackBerry will handle the software integration part and will completely focus on that section whereas the Optiemus Infracom will design and manufacture the Smartphones of BlackBerry. It will also promote and sell the device along with excellent customer support facility for the BlackBerry Smartphones. This seems to be a great innovative by BlackBerry to enhance its sale in the Asian countries where the demands for the Smartphones are increasing day by day. According to the Indias point of view, this can be a great initiative towards the Make in India campaign. tech2 News Staff Apples plans to start manufacturing (assembling, actually) of iPhones near Bengaluru has created waves in the country. However, a recent report now suggests that Apple is only testing the waters. Its quite apparent that Apple does indeed want to Make in India, its also apparent that our government, particularly the Karnataka government, is keen on Apple starting its manufacturing operations here. However, a report in The Financial Express now suggests that Apple is only looking to start a pilot project near Bengaluru. This project is only intended to test the waters while Apple gauges the response from the government and the feasibility of setting up operations here. The Karnataka government is understandably excited regardless. Any manufacturing by Apple in the state is a huge boost to the States portfolio, which is looking to attract more startups and manufacturing there. Apple has presented a long list of demands to the government and expects them to be met before it commits to production in our country. The list includes a 15-year customs exemption on certain components (the iPhone has barely been around for 10-years), relaxation of local sourcing norms and more. The government and Apple have been cautious with their public response to these demands and the only thing we know for sure is that the government officials are considering the demands. Other manufacturers in India currently adhere to all the rules laid down by the government and exceptions will have to be made specifically for Apple. If such exceptions are made, the government might even be forced to make such concessions to other manufacturers, possibly undermining the make in India campaign to some degree. However, Apple is among the most valuable companies in the world and the full economic impact of Apples and the governments decision is yet unknown. hidden Social media company Facebook launched on Monday an initiative to tackle fake news stories in France, with the media in the spotlight as the country's presidential election approaches. Facebook said on Monday that it would work with several leading French news organisations, including Agence France-Presse, BFM TV, L'Express and Le Monde among others to ensure that false news items were not published on its platform. Facebook has faced criticism that it did not do enough to prevent false information being republished on its platform during last year's US presidential campaign, and in response has set up measures to try to tackle the problem. There have been similar concerns that people could disseminate false information on Facebook in the build-up to the French election, which takes place in April and May. In the United States, Facebook said users would find it easier to flag fake articles on their News Feed as a hoax, and added that it will work with organisations such as fact-checking website Snopes, ABC News and the Associated Press to check the authenticity of stories. Last month, Facebook also set up an anti fake-news initiative in Germany, where government officials had expressed concerns that fake news and "hate speech" on the Internet could influence a parliamentary election in September in which chancellor Angela Merkel will seek a fourth term in office. Reuters hidden Among Silicon Valley's top tech employers, Facebook Inc could be the most vulnerable to US President Donald Trump's expected crackdown on guest-worker visas, according to a Reuters analysis of US Labor Department filings. More than 15% of Facebook's US employees in 2016 used a temporary work visa, giving the social media leader a legal classification as a H-1B "dependent" company. That is a higher proportion than Alphabet Inc's Google, Apple Inc, Amazon.com Inc or Microsoft Corp .That could cause problems for Facebook if Trump or Congress decide to make the H-1B program more restrictive, as the president and some Republican lawmakers have threatened to do. Both Trump and Attorney General nominee Senator Jeff Sessions have opposed the program in its current form. They have also indicated that they are open to reforming it to "ensure the beneficiaries of the program are the best and the brightest," according to a draft executive order seen by Reuters. Reuters could not immediately confirm the authenticity of the draft. The Trump administration has not proposed any new rules that would target companies with the H-1B "dependent" classification. But the fact that Facebook alone among major tech companies falls into that category suggests it is the most exposed in the industry to any changes in H-1B visa policy.Facebook declined to comment on the matter. Facebook declined to comment on the matter. Trump administration officials could not immediately be reached for comment. White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer said on Monday that Trump would target H-1B visas as part of a larger immigration reform effort through executive orders and Congressional action, but gave no details.H-1B visas are intended for foreign nationals in " H-1B visas are intended for foreign nationals in "specialty" occupations that generally require higher education, which according to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) includes, but is not limited to, scientists, engineers or computer programmers. The government awards 85,000 every year, chiefly through a lottery system. Companies say they use them to recruit top talent. But a majority of the visas are awarded to outsourcing firms, sparking criticism by skeptics that those firms use the visas to fill lower-level information technology jobs. Critics also say the lottery system benefits outsourcing firms that flood the system with mass applications. H-1B dependent status is mostly held by these outsourcing firms such as India's Tata Consultancy Services or Infosys. The status was introduced in the late 1990s in an effort to ensure that companies did not use the visas to replace American workers with cheaper foreign labor. The status requires companies to prove they cannot find US workers for the jobs. Facebook listed itself as a dependent company in its applications for H-1B visas with the Labor Department last year. Before he took office as president, Trump discussed changes to the H-1B visa program with top technology executives, including Facebook Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg. Those changes included possibly ending the lottery and replacing it with a system that would award the visas to the highest-paying jobs first, a move designed to reduce their issuance to outsourcing firms. Such a move could soften the blow from any H-1B changes for Facebook and other major technology companies. The average salary offered for Facebook H-1B jobs was $145,550, according to its application filings last year. Tata, a traditional outsourcing firm, offered $67,950 on average. The draft executive order did not mention specifics about the lottery. It did require the U.S. secretary of labor to provide the president with a report on "the actual or potential injury to U.S. workers caused, directly or indirectly, by work performed by nonimmigrant workers in the H-1B" visa program. "We are hoping that the final draft will have more details," said Russell Harrison, director of government relations at IEEE-USA, a group that represents U.S. engineers and favors that H-1B reform. Reuters tech2 News Staff Google's accelerated mobile pages (AMP) is a facility that mirrors the content from a source URL and delivers it through servers hosted around the world. AMP gives a better user experience by making web sites load much faster than the original version. The web pages are served by Google, which means the users cannot use the urls to verify the source and authenticity of the web page. Google introduced a bar on the top of the page showing the original source, but the url of the page still is a Google URL. AMP works by instantly loading the web pages. When a user searches Google, the results that the user is most likely to click on are downloaded and pre-rendered by the browser in a hidden window. When a user taps on one of the pre-loaded links, the website is shown immediately, with no lag or load time. The url can be updated through an API, but for security reasons, most browsers allow such url changes only within the domain of the original page, in this case, Google.com. Google is solving the problem by introducing another bar beneath the top banner displaying the source of the original content. The bar shows the native URL of the content, which can be shared through social messaging platforms and instant messengers. Google announced in a blog post that the feature is already available on Google for iOS and will be rolling out for Android devices over the course of the next few weeks. Google is working with new APIs to improve this functionality further. tech2 News Staff Just when thought that the Nexus brand was dead, it turns out that Google is indeed working on what we would term as an evolution of the Nexus brand. According to 9to5Google, Google is looking at a broader partnership with manufacturers and has currently given it a new tag, Designed with our friends at Google. Indeed, the line drifts closer towards the Nexus line up of smartphones and bit too far away from the stringent Pixel lineup, which although made by HTC is a Google product through and through. In short, the Designed with our friends at Google tag would sit comfortably between the older Nexus lineup and the new Pixel lineup. The new label was first spotted via leaked retail packaging. A watch, called the LG Watch Style has a label Designed with our friends at Google which sits right below the product name, hinting at Google's plans. Its clear from the leaked image that Google wants to be associated with this broader lineup of products which was earlier just limited to smartphones (Nexus) but now seems to encompass smartwatches as well. And with that label at the bottom, it is clear to say that Google helped co-develop the product in some way or another. Which is where the LG V20 also comes in. The V20 was the only smartphone in recent memory that was launched with the latest version of Android Nougat out of the box. It was also the only other manufacturer-branded smartphone to be advertised on Google Android Nougat website as well, which kind of made it special for LG. 9to5Google also pointed out how Ivyrevels announcement of their joint project with Googles Awareness API also uses the now familiar friends branding with the label reading, Created with our friends at Google. So its clear that Google is up to something and that it encompasses not just hardware, but software as well. From a hardware point of view Google could provide guidance or allow for a few customisations in terms of software, which would enable a few manufacturers to launch new smartphones or smartwatches with the latest software version. We could also see quicker software updates for these products since they have a tie up with Google. At a software level, Google could provide features like Assistant integration in these smartphones with a few added features. But thats just small thought. A broader perspective hints at Google assisting OEMs with new technologies to either speed up development or simply help them develop better products. This would be anything from folding smartphones to smarter AI. But at the end its the consumer that also benefits with better products and fewer clones. tech2 News Staff An experimental Japanese probe has failed in its mission to clear space junk from the Earths orbit, media reported. While Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's H-II Transfer Vehicle Kounotori 6 (HTV6), launched on December 9, 2016 successfully delivered supplies to the International Space Station (ISS), it failed to achieve one of the mission objectives of removing space debris. The space cargo ship left the ISS on January 28 and re-entered the atmosphere on Monday, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency has confirmed. Following undocking, the scientists expected to eliminate space debris on low-earth orbits with the Kounotori Integrated Tether Experiments (KITE), an on-orbit demonstration of electrodynamic tether on HTV. The hope was that the clutter would eventually enter the Earth's atmosphere and burn up harmlessly before it had a chance to crash into the planet, The Guardian reported. But problems in the 700-metre tether developed soon after undocking and technicians could not fix the problems before the space cargo ship's re-entry. "We believe the tether did not get released," leading researcher Koichi Inoue was quoted as saying. "It is certainly disappointing that we ended the mission without completing one of the main objectives," Inoue added. IANS hidden The government has not taken a final decision yet on the concessions being sought by US iPhone maker Apple for setting up a manufacturing unit in India, a top official said today. Secretary in the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) Ramesh Abhishek said that Apple has submitted certain demands for the government's consideration. "We had a meeting of all the concerned ministries and departments (on those demands) and we have asked them to look at those issues and take a view. No ministry has yet taken a final decision on any of those. But we are in touch with them," Abhishek told reporters here. He said the government supports all manufacturing, including value manufacturing, in the country by companies. "So we would definitely like to promote this. So we are coordinating response from all the concerned ministries but no final view has been taken yet on any of those," he said. The secretary also clarified that the government does not take any policy decision for a particular company. "Decision is taken for everyone. So no company specific decision can be taken," he said, adding that DIPP has forwarded the requests of Apple to the Department of Revenue also. On 25 January, Apple Inc indicated to the government that it is ready with a blueprint to begin manufacturing iPhones in India, but wants fiscal concessions, including customs duty waiver on import of components. Apple executives made a detailed presentation on its road map for setting up a manufacturing unit in India to an inter-ministerial group headed by Abhishek. With sales tapering in the US and China, Apple is eyeing India -- the fastest growing smartphone market in the world -- and is looking to set up a local manufacturing unit to cut costs. It makes devices through contract manufacturers. Besides exemption from the customs duty on imports of components and equipment for 15 years, Apple wants relaxation in the mandated 30 per cent local sourcing of components. In a communication to the government, the Cupertino-based technology major has asked for several tax and other incentives, including long-term duty exemptions, to enter the manufacturing sector in India. Currently, the government provides support by way of benefits under the Modified Special Incentive Package Scheme (MSIPS) to boost electronic manufacturing. The company sells its products through Apple-owned retail stores in countries like 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. PTI iStock/Thinkstock(NASHVILLE, Tenn.) -- Iraqi citizen Fuad Sharef Suleman and his family landed in Nashville, Tennessee, Sunday night to start a new life, more than a week after they were barred from entering the United States because of their country of origin. It had taken Suleman more than two years to receive U.S. immigrant visas for him, his wife and three children. He and his wife quit their jobs and sold their house in Iraq, and their children left their school, all with the expectation of coming to America. Suleman worked in Iraq as a nongovernmental organization subcontractor for the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), which administers civilian foreign aid. Suleman said one of the reasons he applied for immigration visas was because he feared for the familys safety, given his work with the U.S. government. "For the terrorists [in Iraq], if you work for the Americans, you become a target. They consider you an infidel," or unfaithful, the Muslim man told ABC News in an interview on Jan. 28. Suleman said his family had paid about $5,000 for airline tickets to the United States, and that they were traveling on a special immigrant visa for Iraqis because of the work he did with the United States in his home country. They chose to move to Nashville where they already have friends and which hosts one of the largest Kurdish populations in the United States. The Tennessee capital is known as Little Kurdistan by many of its Kurdish residents. But the Sulemans were prohibited from boarding their connecting flight in Egypt from Cairo International Airport to John F. Kennedy Airport in New York Jan. 28, a day after President Donald Trump signed an executive order suspending refugee admittance and immigration from seven predominantly Muslim nations with ties to terror, including Iraq. The Suleman family was one of many stuck in transit because of Trumps controversial ban. But on Friday, a federal judge in Seattle issued a nationwide temporary restraining order blocking the presidents executive action. So airlines around the world were given the green light to resume refugee admittance and immigrant entry into America from the seven countries covered in the order: Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen. Hours after the judges ruling, Suleman and his family boarded a plane from Erbil, the capital of the autonomous Kurdish region in northern Iraq, in their second attempt to reach the United States. Iraqi Kurdish troops, known as Peshmerga, are a crucial U.S. ally in the fight against ISIS in the city of Mosul, the Islamic militant groups last stronghold in the country. In their first steps on U.S. soil, the Sulemans arrived at New Yorks Kennedy Airport Sunday afternoon before boarding another flight to Nashville, their final destination. A crowd of residents, activists and government officials anxiously awaited the familys arrival at Nashville International Airport with welcoming signs. Hopefully, theyll be allowed to stay once theyre here, Nashville resident Joyce Stainbrook told ABC Nashville affiliate WKRN-TV as she waited. I think [Trump] is going to have quite a fight on his hands because he has no idea the sleeping tiger that he awoke in this country. U.S. Rep. Jim Cooper, D-Tenn., Nashville Mayor Megan Barry and actress Connie Britton of the show Nashville were also among the hundreds in attendance. Our great city of Nashville is known for southern hospitality, and its very important that we extend that hospitality to families like Fuad Sulemans family so that they know that theyre welcome here, Cooper said, addressing the crowd. Nashville is a city of the American dream and we got to keep it that way. As the Sulemans disembarked and entered the terminal, the crowd erupted in loud cheers and applause. Then people began to chant, Welcome home. Suleman and his family shook hands, gave hugs and blew kisses as they made their way through the crowd. They received flowers, cards and gifts. Suleman said they were overcome by the dozens of people who came to welcome them to their new home. Today is a very important day in my and my familys life, as it marks the first day of my new life in Nashville, Tennessee, United States of America, Suleman said, addressing the crowd. But your presence here and the amount of support that you showed and your open arms make this a very, very exceptional day for me. Thank you. Thank you very much. Speaking to WKRN-TV Sunday night, Suleman was overwhelmed with emotion and struggled to find the words in reaction to the welcome. I dont know how to describe it, he said. The welcoming, it was genuine. You see genuine smiles, genuine happiness in their faces. Suleman plans to continue his college education here and wants his children to get a U.S. education as well, he told the TV station, adding that he was looking forward to some down time in his new home. It was a long journey from Erbil to Nashville, he said. This day is a turning point in my life. Copyright 2017, ABC Radio. All rights reserved. hidden Samsung Group said it will disband its corporate strategy office after a special prosecution probe ends, setting a timeline on a pledge to wind up a power centre that has been criticized for its role in South Korea's graft scandal. The strategy office, comprised of some 200 elite staff hand-picked from affiliates of the nation's top conglomerate, is the vehicle through which the founding Lee family makes key decisions such as restructuring and investments for new businesses, insiders and analysts say. It has been under intense scrutiny as the South Korean special prosecutor's office probed the smartphones-to-biopharmaceuticals business empire as part of a wider investigation into the scandal that threatens to permanently unseat President Park Geun-hye. Special prosecution has classified Jay Y. Lee, third-generation leader of Samsung Group, and head of the corporate strategy office Choi Gee-sung as suspects in its bribery investigation on suspicions that Samsung paid money to organizations linked to Park's confidant, Choi Soon-sil, to pave the way for a 2015 merger of two affiliates. Other executives from the strategy office have also been questioned by investigators on suspicions the office was involved in the lobbying process on the merger deal, heaping pressure for its closure. "Action will be taken following the conclusion of the special prosecutor's investigation," Samsung said in a brief statement, adding that preparations are already underway. Lee, who assumed leadership of Samsung after his father Lee Kun-hee was incapacitated by a May 2014 heart attack, said in a December parliament hearing over the graft scandal that he plans to disband the office but did not give a specific timeline. The special prosecution's investigation is currently set to conclude by February 28 but it said separately on Monday it is considering seeking a 30-day extension. Nerve center Known informally as the "control tower", Samsung's corporate strategy office is the nerve center of the $239 billion business empire since the office was created in December 2010. The office does not exist as a legal entity and its executives and employees are technically on the payroll of affiliates such as flagship Samsung Electronics Co Ltd . The corporate strategy office is the latest iteration of a Samsung control tower. Its predecessor, the strategic planning office, was dismantled in 2008 after executives at the office were investigated on allegations of helping Samsung Electronics chairman Lee Kun-hee set up slush funds by using fake accounts. Samsung on Monday declined to comment on how the conglomerate plans to perform the functions of the strategy office after it is disbanded. Park Ju-gun, head of corporate analysis firm CEO Score, said the conglomerate still needs a way to coordinate group-level affairs and maximize synergies among Samsung companies. He said Samsung will likely re-create an office similar to the corporate strategy office in the future, albeit with reduced responsibilities in terms of protecting the Lee family's interests. "The control tower can exist if it can operate in a transparent an open manner," he said. Reuters tech2 News Staff Soon you will be required to supply your identity documents to prove that you are the owner of the mobile number you want to recharge. That's right, you will not be able to recharge your smartphone or use that particular mobile number without providing your ID proof. This comes right after Chief Justice of India (CJI) JS Khehar suggested to the government that it should verify all the current mobile users in India. He suggested that the government should work on a system based on Aadhar that will enable users to authenticate their ownership of the smartphone. One thing to note is that the Aadhar-based system to verify and ensure that all the details of the mobile users in the country are up to date takes a considerable amount of time and effort to be implemented and ready as outlined by the Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi. The reason for this suggestion is the fact that nine in every ten mobile connections in the country are prepaid as reported by Economic Times. It is easier for people to provide fake data to get a new mobile connection using addresses or reference mobile numbers that don't exist. Aadhar authentication will weed out such mobile connections with inaccurate or false details leaving out mobile connections with accurate details. This move will further reflect in increased security as it will result in lesser chances of scams and fraud as digital transactions gradually shift to mobile with UPI payments, mobile banking or SMS banking. Rohatgi further points out that it will take about one year to put the system in place but it will hurt banking and monetary transactions. However, the government is working on making it more secure and streamlined. Initially, the CJI was persistent to push it immediately by enforcing every subscriber to fill a form and submitting the form with the proof in a limited timeframe. Failing to do so would not let the consumer recharge their prepaid connections. hidden By Asheeta Regidi The disruptive effects of US President Trumps anti-immigration order has brought together nearly a 100 of the top tech companies in the US, in a united stand against it. The companies, which includes huge names like Apple, Google, Microsoft, Facebook, Twitter, Uber and Netflix, have filed an amicus curiae brief before a US Court. In the brief, the tech companies highlight the massive role and contribution of immigrants to innovation and the growth of the American economy. It further points to the hindrance to business and recruitment by US companies, due to the arbitrary and uncertain immigrant entry system created by the ban. The full brief can be accessed here. What is Amicus curiae? An amicus curiae (friend of the court) can file a brief in any case (with the Courts permission) which he is not a party to, but has a significant interest in the outcome. It is an attempt to influence the courts decision in the case by presenting his point of view. The interest of these technology companies in having unrestricted access to the brightest talents and innovators around the world is without question. The present brief has been filed in the ongoing case of State of Washington v. Donald J. Trump, the same case which is currently hearing an appeal against the nation-wide stay granted against the US Presidents anti-immigration order (the Order). Hindrance to innovation since Steve Jobs, Nikola Tesla are all immigrants For technology companies, the hindrance to innovation as a result of the Order is a major concern. Immigrants have played a major role in contributing to innovations and growth of the American economy. For instance, more than 200 companies on the Fortune 500 list, including Apple, Kraft, Ford, General Electric, Google and Disney have been founded either by immigrants or their children. Steve Jobs, for instance, was the son of a Syrian immigrant, Abdul Fattah Jandali. These are companies which, collectively, generate an annual revenue of about $4.2 trillion, and generate employment for millions of Americans. Immigrants, in fact, account for 16% of the labor force, 18% of business owners, and 29& of Main Street business owners in the US. They, thus play a huge role in fueling the growth of the US economy as a whole. The profound impact of the innovations by immigrants can be seen from the development of alternating current by Nikola Tesla, a Serbian immigrant, to the jeans of Levi Strauss, a Jewish, German immigrant. In fact, nearly 40% of Nobel prize winners, including all 6 American winners in 2016, have been immigrants. Harm to competitive abilities Another concern of technology companies is the hindrance to the recruitment of the worlds best talent in their companies. Not only is there a threat of disruption to ongoing business, even the companies ability to attract new talent, business and investment is in jeopardy. The Order may well result in companies moving their bases out of the United States, so they can continue their business freely. Adverse effects on travel and recruitment The order has already had adverse effects on current employees of these companies, who were ensnared by the travel restrictions imposed. Simple company activities such as sending employees across the border for conferences and meetings, or for inviting customers and clients from abroad, is hampered. The restrictions also result in a reluctance for skilled individuals to migrate to the US. Companies and employees will be unwilling to risk going through the laborious process of sponsoring and obtaining a visa, relocate to the US, only to be unexpectedly halted at the border. Retaliatory action from the banned countries Moreover, there was a danger of retaliatory action from the banned countries, which has already been evidenced through retaliatory threats from Iran, as well as a risk to the huge business deals of General Electric with Iraq. Legal challenges to the Order Various legal grounds for the challenging the order have also been presented, such as violation of the requirement that in the issue of an immigrant visa, there can be no discrimination on the grounds of race, sex, nationality, place of birth, or place of residence. Moreover, the Order reflects a move back to the highly arbitrary national origin system for immigration assessments. This system had long since been abolished by the US Congress in favor of a system based on the advantage to the US of the special talents and skills of the immigrant. Lastly the excessive discretion left in the hands of immigration officials in granting an entry visa, will make obtaining one purely a sport of chance. Remove severe uncertainty introduced by Trumps order The companies, rightly, fear the severe uncertainty introduced by the Order into the immigration system. The sudden and unexpected barring of a countrys nationals from entry greatly hampers the ability of any business to make plans, conduct business or manage any affairs involving non-citizens. Moreover, the risk is not restricted to the 7 countries on the list, since the Order has proposed adding more to the list in future. The US Courts, so far, appear to hold a similar view against Trumps order. Hopefully, the arbitrary and highly discriminatory order will soon be rescinded fully. The author is a lawyer with a specialisation in cyber laws and has co-authored books on the subject. Heres a story that can only have happened in the American south, though shockingly its not Florida. Instead, its from Louisiana, which is sort of like Floridas twisted cousin when it comes to crimes of stupidity. Thanks to KCRG, we learned of Matthew Mobley, a charming fellow who apparently fancies himself quite the criminal. He was recently caught breaking into a business. How was he discovered? Well, lets go to the news: Employees told officers that when they arrived at the business, they could hear a man yelling. They found he was stuck. Stuck in a chimney! How do you even contemplate entering a building via chimney, anymore? This isnt Dickensian London, those things are tight. Its almost as though Mobley didnt quite think this plan through. But at least he was cool under pressure, the hallmark of any career criminal: While officers were in route, police say the man was able to free himself from the chimney. He then reportedly threw a brick at an employee before running from the store. Sure, why not? The best part, though, is when Mobleys criminal history is revealed: This is Mobleys 77th booking into the Rapides Parish Detention Center. Hes facing charges of attempted simple burglary and aggravated assault. Thats 77 times in the same jail! When the call came in that some idiot was stuck in the chimney, local police had to figure it was him, right? And how exactly is he not just in jail now? Does Louisiana offer some sort of 83 strike law? Heres the thing with criminals: most of the time, smart people realize that its smarter to not break the law. So theres a bit of a selection bias towards stupidity in the average criminal pool, which is how we end up with these sorts of situations. Also, based on this, theres no way the Louisiana bad guys in the first season of True Detective would have been that smart. [KCRG] Hey, remember The Office? That NBC sitcom that was amazing for four or five seasons, and then went on a season or two too long? The last episode of The Office aired four years ago this May, and we still miss the show to this day, even if it was a shadow of its former self in later seasons. Jenna Fischer, who played receptionist (and eventually, sales associate) Pam Beesly Halpert during the shows nine season run, tweeted an innocuous picture in front of a Chilis restaurant on Monday. Should I try to go in? pic.twitter.com/HDpPqzA0by Jenna Fischer (@jennafischer) February 6, 2017 This is a reference to The Dundies episode from season two, in which Pam is banned from Chilis after getting plastered during a company party. Chilis responded with one of Pams quotes from the episode. @jennafischer we hope you felt God tonight. Chili's Grill & Bar (@Chilis) February 7, 2017 They also officially lifted the ban on Pam. BREAKING: Chilis lifts permanent ban on Pam (@JennaFischer), welcomes her back to any #Chilis restaurant: https://t.co/jw76381O8K Chili's Grill & Bar (@Chilis) February 7, 2017 Heres the text of that statement. Effective immediately, Chilis Grill & Bar has removed the longstanding ban on a Scranton, Pennsylvania woman who allegedly caused a disturbance during a company awards party held at a Chilis near the Pennsylvania town of Scranton. The woman, Pam Beesly Halpert, received a prestigious award for having the whitest sneakers in the company. After thanking her shoes and coworkers, the woman declared, I feel God in this Chilis tonight. After reviewing the good conduct of Pam, I have decided to lift the now 11-year ban, said Kelli Valade, President of Chilis. Pam is an inspiration to many and we welcome her with open arms. And Fischer closed the exchange with another quote from the episode. Man, I really miss The Office. Killing of journo Shimul protested at JU JU Correspondent : Jahangirnagar University Journalist Association (JUJA) formed a human chain on Sunday at JU Central Shaheed Minar premises protesting the murder of Abdul Hakim Shimul of Daily Samakal and demanding exemplary punishment to the killers immediately. Speakers at this programmes said, locally alleged that Shahzadpur municipality Mayor Halimu Haque Miru was responsible for the killing. As he is a leader of ruling party, police did not arrest him yet. Referring the earlier incidents of the killings of journalists including journalist couple Sagar-Runi, the speakers said if the perpetrators were brought to justice, others would not dare to commit similar crimes. They urged to the government for ending all kinds of assistant of the journalists. Moreover, they demanded proper compensation for the family of journalist Abdul Hakim Shimul. Among the teachers, Dean of JU Arts and Humanities Faculty Prof. Dr. Mozammel Haque, Chairman of Mathematics department Dr. Sharif Uddin, Chairman of History department Prof. Dr. A T M Atikur Rahman, Chairman of Zoology department Prof. Monwar Hossain Tuhin, general secretary of Jahangirnagar University Teachers' Association (JUTA) Dr. Farid Ahmed, former secretary Prof. Mahrufi Satter, lecturer of JU Journalism and Medial Studies department Salma Islam and Hassan Mahmud Foisal were took part on the programme. Presided by the president of JUJA Belal Hossain Rahat, JU BCL president Jewel Rana, Secretary Abu Sufian Chanchal, JU BSU president Dipanjan Shiddhanta Kajol and different print and online media journalists were took part at this programme. Mentionable, when gathering news local journalist of Daily Samakal, Abdul Hakim Shimul was critically injured during a clash between two groups of Awami League activists at Sahjadpur Upazilla in Shirajgang on February 2. He succumbed to his injuries while being taken to Dhaka for better treatment on Friday. China, United States cannot afford conflict: Wang Yi Chinese judge says Trump is an enemy 'of the rule of law' Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi speaks during a joint press conference with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif (not seen) in Beijing, China. Reuters, Sydney : There would no winner from conflict between China and the United States, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi warned on Tuesday, seeking to dampen tension between the two nations that flared after the election of U.S. President Donald Trump. Relations between China and United States have soured after Trump upset Beijing in December by taking a telephone call from Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen and threatened to impose tariffs on Chinese imports. China considers Taiwan a wayward province, with no right to formal diplomatic relations with any other country. But China is committed to peace, Wang said, after meeting Australia's Foreign Minister Julia Bishop. "There cannot be conflict between China and the United States, as both sides will lose and both sides cannot afford that," he told reporters in the Australian capital of Canberra. While seeking to reduce tension, Wang called on global leaders to reject protectionism, which Trump has backed with his "America First" economic plans. "It is important to firmly commit to an open world economy," Wang added. "It is important to steer economic globalization towards greater inclusiveness, broader shared benefit in a more sustainable way." While Trump's trade policies have spurred concern the United States is entering a period of economic protectionism, China has previously accused Australia of adopting a similar practice by blocking the sale of major assets to Chinese interests. Bishop urged China to consider joining a pan-Pacific trade pact abandoned last month by Trump, who has said he prefers bilateral deals. "I want to encourage China to consider the agreement," Bishop said, referring to the Trans-Pacific Partnership. As China called on nations to be open to offshore investment, Wang said Beijing would link its "One Belt, One Road" (OBOR) policy with Australia's plan to develop its remote northern region. Another report adds: A judge in China's top court has labeled Donald Trump an enemy "of the rule of law" over his insults directed at a U.S. judge who temporarily blocked the president's travel ban, saying Trump had set a poor example as head of the world's leading democracy. Supreme People's Court Judge He Fan's blog post came after Trump went on Twitter on Saturday to denigrate James Robart as a "so-called judge" whose "ridiculous" decision opened the country to potential terror attacks. In his post, dated Sunday, He wrote that under the U.S. system's separation of powers, a president who is dealt a judicial defeat should bear the loss silently rather than lash out at the judge in question. Trump will be barred from speaking in Parliament: UK Speaker Pro-Europe demonstrators protest outside the Supreme Court building in London. Business Insider : House of Commons Speaker John Bercow has announced that he intends to block US President Donald Trump from addressing Parliament when Trump visits the UK later this year. It is customary for visiting presidents to address MPs and members of the House of Lords in Westminster Hall when making state visits to Britain. As speaker of the House of Commons, however, Bercow is one of three people who has the authority to block visiting figures from doing this. The speaker said on Monday afternoon that addressing Parliament was an "earned honour" and not an invitation that came automatically with a state visit. He said: "What I will say is this. An address by a foreign leader to both Houses of Parliament is not an automatic right. It is an earned honour. Moreover, there are many precedents for state visits to take place to our country which do not include an address to both Houses of Parliament. That's the first point. "In relation to Westminster Hall, there are three key holders to Westminster Hall: the speaker of the House of Commons, the speaker of the House of Lords and the lord great chamberlain. Ordinarily we are able to work by consensus and the hall would be used for a purpose such as an address or another purpose by agreement of the three key holders. "I must say to the honourable gentleman, to all who signed his early day motion and to others with strong views about this matter on either side of the argument, that before the imposition of the migrant ban I would myself have been strongly opposed to an address by President Trump in Westminster Hall. After the imposition of the migrant ban by President Trump I am even more strongly opposed to an address by President Trump in Westminster Hall. "And I concluded by saying to the honourable gentleman this. We value our relationship with the United States. If a state visit takes place, that is way beyond and above the pay grade of the speaker. "However, as far as this place [the House of Commons] is concerned, I feel very strongly that our opposition to racism and to sexism and our support for equality before the law and an independent judiciary are hugely important considerations in the House of Commons." Watch Bercow's speech on Trump: Bercow's speech was met with a round of applause from MPs in the Commons, which in usual circumstances is banned practice. Veteran Labour MP Dennis Skinner stood up to say "well done" to the House speaker. Opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn tweeted shortly after the speech: "Well said John Bercow. We must stand up for our country's values. Trump's State Visit should not go ahead." Corbyn's Labour colleague Harriet Harman tweeted saying it was a "proud moment" for the House of Commons. In a statement, Liberal Democrat party leader leader Tim Farron said: "Trump should be under no illusion. We are snubbing him." Farron's full statement reads: "This is the right decision by The Speaker. The Prime Minister might wish to kowtow to the nasty misogynist that now sits in the Oval Office but no-one else does. We do not want him to speak to us. He is not welcome. "Speaking within Parliament is a rare honour, the highest honour we can offer. In the past we have hosted speeches from leaders in equality, justice and human rights from Mandela to Obama to Aung San Suu Kyi. Trump is not fit to shine their shoes."The government's obsession to get a Brexit trade deal, any deal, means we have ended up in this situation. It has been a grubby little saga from beginning to end."Trump should be under no illusion. We are snubbing him." Speaker Bercow just cancelled Trump visit to parliament. A proud moment for Commons. Racism and sexism not welcome here. Former UKIP leader Nigel Farage tweeted that Bercow ought to take a "neutral" stance on whether the US president should address parliamentarians. Farage, who has formed a friendship with Trump in recent months, said: "For Speaker Bercow to uphold our finest parliamentary traditions, he should be neutral." The US president has been in the White House less than three weeks but has provoked outrage worldwide. The businessman turned politician announced last month that people from seven majority-Muslim countries would be barred from entering the US for 90 days as the federal government reviews its vetting procedures. The move led to protests both in the US and abroad, including in Britain. Israel passes controversial law on West Bank settlements Arab League accuses Israel of Palestinian land theft Israel recently unveiled plans for 3,000 new homes for Jewish settlers in the occupied West Bank AFP, Jerusalem : The Israeli parliament has finalised a controversial law legalising dozens of Jewish outposts built on private Palestinian land in the occupied West Bank. The law-approved by 60 members of parliament to 52 against-was slammed by the Palestinians as a means to "legalise theft" of land. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who did not participate in the law's final votes since he was returning from a trip to Britain, said he had "updated" the US administration so as not to surprise "our friends". Speaking after the law was finalised, Bezalel Smotrich of the far-right Jewish Home party, who was one of the forces behind the legislation, thanked the American people for electing Donald Trump as president, "without whom the law would have probably not passed". The new law will allow Israel to legally seize Palestinian private land on which Israelis built outposts without knowing it was private property or because the state allowed them to do so. Palestinian owners will be compensated financially or with other land. The Palestine Liberation Organisation said the law was a means to "legalise theft" and demonstrated "the Israeli government's will to destroy any chances for a political solution". A PLO statement stressed that the "Israeli settlement enterprise negates peace and the possibility of the two-state solution". Ahead of the vote, opposition chief and Labour leader Isaac Herzog lashed out against the "despicable law" that he said would undermine the country's Jewish majority. "The vote tonight isn't for or against the settlers, rather Israel's interests," Herzog said. The law would "annex millions of Palestinians into Israel", he warned, and expose Israeli soldiers and politicians to lawsuits at international criminal courts. Science and Technology Minister Ofir Akunis of Netanyahu's Likud party said the argument was over the right to the Land of Israel. Meanwhile, the Arab League accused Israel on Tuesday of "stealing the land" of Palestinians after the Israeli parliament passed a law legalising dozens of Jewish outposts in the occupied West Bank. "The law in question is only a cover for stealing the land and appropriating the property of Palestinians," said the head of the Cairo-based League, Ahmed Aboul Gheit. The law, adopted late Monday, will allow Israel to legally seize Palestinian private land on which Israelis built outposts without knowing it was private property or because the state allowed them to do so. Palestinian owners will be compensated financially or with other land. The law is a continuation of "Israeli policies aimed at eliminating any possibility of a two-state solution and the establishment of an independent Palestinian state," Aboul Gheit said. Jordan, one of the few Arab states to have diplomatic ties with Israel, also denounced what it called "a provocative law likely to kill any hope of a two-state solution". The parliamentary approval could "lead the region into further violence and torpedo any peace effort," Information Minister Mohamed Momani said, quoted by the official news agency Petra. CCC Mayor A J M Nasir Uddin speaking at a view exchange meeting with the leaders of Riazuddin Bazar Business Association at K B Abdus Sattar Auditorium in Nagar Bhaban yesterday. Couple lives in drain pipe since 22 yrs The Indian Talks : A couple from Columbia is living under this Drainage, But you will be amazed how it looks from inside. The Couple Mari Gracia and Miguel Restrepo's love story will leave you tear eyed, They gave up on the society and money comfort and choose to live here. Maria Gracia first met Miguel 22 years ago when they both were drug addicts and were wandering on roads to give up drugs. They Both found a place where they could live together away from the city which had a lot of violence in the air, they comforted each other and also gave up on drugs. After Twenty-two years the couple still live there in that small under-ground sewer that bought them solace. This tiny house of this looks amazing from inside, It has electricity and a tiny kitchen and a TV. They live in solace with No money, No society away from the city.Isn't that Incredible. On asked if they wish to move away from the house to a bigger one they said their happiness lies in living in this Sewer. They also have a doggy Blackie that safeguards them and their tiny home. Many people feel sad as they live in the sewer but the couple is one among the happiest persons in the world, who make each others live filled with love and Happiness. Mahmudur to take treatment at home as UK refuses visa UNB, Dhaka : Daily Amar Desh acting editor Mahmudur Rahman said he will take his medical treatment in the country as his visa application was rejected by the UK government. "Since I have no option to go abroad for my treatment, so I will have to stay home and take the medical treatment locally," he told reporters while addressing a press conference at Dhaka Reporters' Unity on Tuesday. The former energy advisor, who was released on bail on November 23 last year after serving three years and seven months jail following his arrest on April 11, 2013 from his newspaper office, said he recently submitted an application seeking visa to visit UK. But, the British High Commission rejected his application showing a cause that the UK government thinks that he might not return home if he is granted visa, he noted. Expressing his disappointment over the UK government's decision, Mahmudur said he had visited the UK several times in last 30 years and his last visit was in 2012 for conducting a surgery. "But I have no such intention to seek asylum to stay in the UK right now. Because, there is a court order that I will have to back home within 30 days of leaving the country," he said. Explaining the Supreme Court's conditional bail, he said the court granted him bail on health ground giving a condition that he could visit only the UK to conduct another surgery in London. Police arrested Mahmudur from his Karwan Bazar office on April 11, 2013.On August 13, 2015, a court here sentenced Mahmudur Rahman to three years' jail in a case filed by the Anti Corruption Commission for non-submission of his wealth statement. On November 1, the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court upheld a High Court order that granted bail to Mahmudur Rahman in a case filed in connection with the plot to abduct and kill Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's son Sajeeb Wazed Joy in the United States. Death warrant read out to Mufti Hannan bdnews24.com : Prison authorities have read out the death warrant to militant group Harkat-ul Jihad al-Islami Bangladesh (HuJI,B) chief Mufti Abdul Hannan. The banned terrorist outfit's head, who has been convicted for the 2004 Sylhet grenade attack on former British high commissioner Anwar Choudhury in, said he would seek a review of the verdict. On Dec 7 last year the Supreme Court upheld his death sentence over the attack at a shrine in the north-eastern Bangladesh city. After the top court's verdict, the trial court issued the death warrant, which reached Gazipur's Kashimpur Jail on Friday. The warrant was read out to the death row convict the same day, said Senior Jail Superintendent Md Mizanur Rahman. The last legal battle left for the HujI,B chief now is to seek for a review of the verdict and the deadline to file a petition is Feb 17. If the court turnsit down, his last-ditch attempt to save his neck would be to ask for presidential clemency after admitting his guilt. On May 21, 2004, Choudhury came under grenade attack while coming out of Hazrat Shahjalal's shrine only a few days after his appointment as the British envoy to Dhaka. Three policemen were killed and over 50 were injured, including Choudhury, in an attack the trial court found to be an attempt on the high commissioner's life. The investigation officer of the case, Criminal Investigation Department's then additional superintendent of police Munshi Atiqur Rahman, found HuJI's involvement in the grenade attack. HuJI Sylhet region organiser Bipul and militant leader Ripon were arrested on Sept 4, 2006 from Sylhet. Both confessed their involvement at the court. Atiqur Rahman pressed charges in the much-talked-about case on Jul 29, 2007 with the court, accusing four of the convicts. On March 11, 2007, another supplementary chargesheet was pressed with the court that included the name of Abu Zandal as accused. A Sylhet court sentenced three persons, including Hannan to death and ordered life imprisonment for two others. The HuJI chief challenged it in the High Court, but failed to get a verdict in his favour. He then moved the Appellate Division, which also upheld the death penalty. Stop blocking the migrants: Ask why they are coming Imogen Sudbery : With elections on the horizon in many countries, European governments appear prepared to sacrifice not only Europe's values but also its interests in order to keep people out. High Representative Federica Mogherini insisted this week that unlike the US, the EU will not turn its back on refugees. But that is exactly what these proposals would achieve. Instead of trying in vain to seal Libya's border, the EU should pour all its efforts into improving conditions for displaced people in countries along the route, addressing the root causes of flight and opening safe and legal routes to protection. The International Rescue Committee is calling on European heads of state to make a pledge to welcome 60,000 vulnerable refugees, equivalent to the number of places withdrawn by the US, through a comprehensive and effective resettlement programme supported by all member states. These are not quick fixes, but they are the only way to save lives, undermine smuggling routes and ultimately ensure a just and effective migration policy. In recent weeks, EU leaders have once again tasked the EU institutions with finding ways to cut off the Central Mediterranean route from sub-Saharan Africa through Libya to the EU- and quickly. This is an impossible quest. The EU cannot simply replicate its dubious recent modus operandi of outsourcing migration management to a country fraught with political problems, a judicial and political vacuum and its own humanitarian crisis which is only compounded by the arrival of migrants, nor can it send people back to what is patently not a 'safe' country. Not allowing these minor inconveniences to stand in their way, in Valetta, EU leaders will discuss a series of actions that attempt to square this circle, including further training and equipping of the Libyan coastguard, as well as potentially the idea of joint patrols in territorial waters. Essentially, the idea is to help the Libyans do what the EU cannot: return people rescued at sea to North Africa without offering them the opportunity to apply for international protection. Also back on the table are ill-considered plans for processing 'hotspots' in North Africa, despite the fact that there is unlikely to be majority support for this. These proposals are morally wrong. They legitimise the rampant and well-documented human rights abuses against refugees and migrants and will likely result in a further increase in the thousands being held with impunity in detention centres who have already endured brutal treatment at the hands of smugglers, traffickers, criminal gangs and the authorities, including rape, torture and sexual violence. The proposals are also unworkable. As it rolls out its new interests-driven policy of cooperation with third countries on migration, the EU is already waking up to the fact that countries like Libya have their own objectives and are not always willing to dance to their tune. The incentives for EU partners to deliver on politically sensitive issues like returns are low, especially as the EU appears to be only paying lip service to their interest in opening additional legal pathways to migration. Finally, they are entirely counter-productive. Aid is being poured into narrow, short term border management and security objectives to stop people moving. Little thought is given the impact of restricting cross border mobility on livelihoods and longer term development goals in Africa. No one seems bothered that this encourages third countries to commit violations of migrants' rights. And few are discussing the growing evidence that the EU's actions risk triggering a global race to the bottom: as third countries that play such a vital role hosting from Egypt to Pakistan pursue their own return agendas. Yet all these impacts fundamentally undermine the very objectives the EU is seeking to address, creating a protection void that will only increase the numbers of desperate people seeking to come to the EU. Today's summit is an ideal opportunity for the EU to come forward with concrete announcements to substantiate claims from EU leaders that our refugee policy is somehow different from that of the US. Instead of betraying its fundamental values and identity for short term goals, the EU should instead pour all its financial and political leverage into serious efforts to improve the protection framework for migrants and address violations of their rights in North Africa. IRC is one of the few international NGOs based in Libya and is well-placed to work to alleviate the plight of all those in need of humanitarian assistance. Rather than calling on Libya to seal off its borders, Italy and the EU should focus on eliminating the need for refugees and migrants to make dangerous journeys to Europe in the first place by investing in the root causes of displacement; namely poverty and peace-building. The EU's partnership compacts with countries of origin and transit must be used to improve the lives of displaced people. And the EU must announce the immediate introduction of an expanded resettlement programme for refugees. These are not quick fixes, but they are by far the most effective - and most humane - way to manage this aspect of the crisis in Libya. (Imogen Sudbery is the Head of the Brussels Office of the International Rescue Committee). A free press must be bold to be useful: The American example If anything has become blatantly visible since Mr. Donald Trump's presidential campaign till now, it's that he has no sign of qualms carrying on his enmity with the press. He hardly went a day without banishing the press as what he described as "dishonest" and "disgusting" following his team across the country. So much so, that he even openly threatened to introduce new libel laws so to make it easier to sue news organizations that published or broadcasted stories 'he believed were false'. First of all, who is he to verify and distinguish between true and false about media and press materials? And second, why should a free press in a democracy agree to publish 'what the president believes to be true'. This is as much an objectionable offence to directly attack press freedom as much as his brainless display of ignorance on freedom of speech and media. When he vehemently objected about the media reports on low turnout on his swearing-in ceremony to be 'false reporting' it wasn't only the American media, but millions across the globe who were watching the event in TV. Millions had watched that in reality the attendance was far lower than all previous swearing-in ceremonies. Yet he still believes that it wasn't true. His recent dispute over a news report of the Washington Post that he had hung up on the Australian PM has drawn global attention. As of late, he called the exchange "very civil" in a tweet, adding that "fake news" circulated in the media has misinterpreted details of the heated exchange. His marked disagreements between his own believing and news reports have also divided news audiences at home and abroad. His endless tweeting over crucial and sensitive issues has not only hoodwinking the public, but in fact he is visibly playing with the trustworthiness of a free press and media. The fact however, Americans enjoy freedom of the press under the First Amendment to the Constitution. Press and media (print, electronic and online) are the most important medium of expressing opinion of the people in a democratic country that justifies one's individual right to speech and expression and to change this fundamental right in one's favour is not only undemocratic but unconstitutional too. The constitution guarantees of a free press and it is the boldness of the journalist to defend the constitutional pledge in spite of the attacking rhetoric and direct threat from the most powerful man in America and in the world. Mr. Trump cannot act like the powerful authoritarian Mr. Putin in suppressing the freedom of speech. Stretches of the Little Plover River near Stevens Point have dried up at times due to heavy irrigation in the area. Credit: Jim Gifford SHARE By of the In a major victory for business and large-scale agriculture, the state Department of Natural Resources said Friday it will no longer take into account the cumulative effects of high-capacity wells on streams, rivers and lakes when reviewing applications for new wells. The policy change comes one month after Attorney General Brad Schimel, a Republican, issued a legal opinion that said the DNR lacked authority to put certain conditions on farmers and others who want to construct large wells even if the wells could harm state waters. Business interests have pressed for years on legal and legislative fronts for less regulation of high-capacity wells, and noted the DNR is simply returning to existing law after a 2011 state Supreme Court decision prompted the agency to scrutinize well applications more closely. Friday's news, spelled out on the DNR's website, was a major defeat for conservation groups and comes at a time when growing use of irrigation is colliding with worries of the environmental impact of the practice. Driven by periods of drought and high commodity prices, the number of high-capacity wells in Wisconsin increased by 54% to 10,456 from 2000 to 2015, according to DNR figures. Conservation groups contend the environmental agency has authority to put limits on or reject applications to ensure Wisconsin's water resources are not harmed. The groups also expressed worry the new policy will spur more irrigation in water-stressed areas. "The concern is that there is going to be little or no environmental review for almost all high-capacity well applications that come in the door of the DNR," said Elizabeth Wheeler, an attorney for Clean Wisconsin. Bob Clarke, president of the Friends of the Central Sands, urged the DNR to reject Schimel's opinion in a May 30 letter to DNR Secretary Cathy Stepp. "We believe this will lead to more lawsuits as citizens try to fill this gap adding less predictability and certainty to the permitting process." The DNR has a one-year backlog of more than 150 applications from businesses, farms and municipalities to construct high-capacity wells, which are defined as wells that can extract 100,000 gallons or more a day from groundwater. In some cases, especially in central Wisconsin where irrigation is most intense, streams and lakes have felt the stress. Huron and Long lakes in Waushara County, for example, have plummeted several feet in the past decade, and portions of the Little Plover River in Portage County have run dry some summers, according to state and federal hydrogeologists. Until now, the DNR had declined to comment on Schimel's May 10 legal opinion, although it was believed officials leading the agency who were appointed by Republican Gov. Scott Walker would side with the attorney general. In an interview, agency officials said they would comply with the opinion. The agency also said applicants since 2011 could ask the DNR to reassess limits placed on their water use. Courts are not obligated to follow attorney general opinions, which often try to clarify authority of state agencies. But Quinn Williams, chief legal counsel for the DNR, said the agency has historically followed them. In this case, Schimel found the DNR could not impose conditions on high-capacity wells, except in limited cases now spelled out in state law. A 2004 law requires the DNR to review applications for high-capacity wells in limited cases for example, if they are within 1,200 feet of a trout stream. Assembly Speaker Robin Vos (R-Rochester), chairman of that house's Committee on Organization, asked the Justice Department to clarify the issue. Until Friday's change in policy, the DNR scrutinized each potential high-capacity well and took into account the potential impact on nearby streams, wetlands, lakes and other wells. As a result, since February 2014, four farms had applications rejected because of potential environmental effects and 12 other applicants withdrew applications, according to DNR records. The agency's closer scrutiny began after a landmark state Supreme Court case in 2011 involving Lake Beulah in Walworth County, where the court ruled that the DNR had the duty and authority under the state Public Trust Doctrine to impose conditions on high-capacity wells to protect water resources. The doctrine holds that Wisconsin lakes, river and steams are to be protected for the benefit of the public. But Schimel concluded that a law also passed by the Legislature in 2011, known as Act 21, says that agencies like the DNR can't dictate requirements such as conditions in a permit unless it's spelled out in state law or rules approved by the Legislature. "I think the important message is that the Public Trust Doctrine still exists and if the DNR can't be considering its public trust duties, and if this really was the intent of the Legislature, then the biggest remaining question is, 'Who will protect our public trust resources?'" said Wheeler, the environmental attorney. Lucas Vebber, director of environmental and energy policy for Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce, said the law as interpreted by Schimel had in the past done a good job of protecting water resources. "The DNR has 600 pages of statutory authority and 5,000 pages of regulations on the books they have more than enough regulatory authority to protect our state's vital water resources and to address issues that come up," Vebber said in an email. Will the DNR's shift back to its former policy harm water resources? "From a purely hydrogeological, technical perspective, yes, you're right, there could be areas where negative impacts result," said Larry Lynch, a hydrogeologist with the DNR. The Little Plover River near Stevens Point is one such example, he said. In that case, the negative effect of groundwater use on the river was demonstrated by computer modeling, and now the agency is working with the owners of high-capacity wells in the area to assure there is adequate groundwater to feed the river. "I think that is how we would approach these areas in the future," Lynch said. Kiwis protest Trump's 'racist, Islamaphobic' travel bans Protesters at the NZ No Ban, No Wall demonstration in Aotea Square. Internet photo RNZ News : About 1000 people gathered in Auckland's Aotea Square tonight to protest the immigration bans ordered by United States president Donald Trump. The No Ban, No Wall protest is one of several organised around the world, after Mr Trump instigated a 90-day ban on people from several mostly-muslim countries and a 120-day ban on refugees. A ring of police blocked a small group of Trump supporters at the edge of the protest from mingling with protesters. Several Trump supporters at the No Ban, No wall protest in Auckland's Aotea Square. The group that organised the protest, Aotearoa Against Muslim Ban, said Mr Trump's singling out of muslims was a scary step towards fascism. They called on Prime Minister Bill English to denounce the orders as racist. "These border policies are racist, Islamaphobic and unacceptable," one of the organisers, Mehwish said. "They continue a pattern of white supremacist immigration exclusion in colonial settler countries like the United States. Bill English refusing to call it for what it is - racist - is a dangerously weak response and doesn't represent the people of Aotearoa," he said. Part of the crowd at the No Ban, No Wall protest. Refugees can enter the US, after Federal Judge James Robart issued a temporary restraining order on Trump's travel ban. The Trump administration appealed the ruling, but it was rejected. A full federal appeals court hearing has been set for Tuesday (tomorrow NZ time) on whether to allow or reject the ban, which affects people from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen. The Justice Department has filed a brief arguing it was a "lawful exercise of the president's authority" and not a ban on Muslims. The brief said the president was best placed to make decisions about national security; it was "incorrect" to call it a ban on Muslims because the seven countries were identified for their terror risk; the executive order was therefore "neutral with respect to religion"; and aliens outside the US had no rights to due process. Whatever the decision, the case could end up in the highest court in the US, the Supreme Court. The last immigration case that reached the justices there ended in a 4-4 tie. If Mr Trump's nominee to fill the ninth berth, Neil Gorsuch, is confirmed in time, it could tip the balance in the president's favour. The states of Washington and Minnesota have argued that, as well as being unconstitutional, the travel ban is harmful to their residents, businesses and universities. Attorneys general in 16 states have signed a letter condemning the ban. Lawsuits have been launched in 14 states. Former secretaries of state John Kerry and Madeleine Albright and former CIA director Leon Panetta joined others in drafting a letter describing the travel ban as ineffective, dangerous and counterproductive. Lawyers for tech firms including Apple and Google lodged arguments with the court, saying the travel ban would harm their companies by making it more difficult to recruit employees. Wife surrenders after killing husband Staff Reporter : A 32-year old woman surrendered to the local police station after killing her husband over land dispute at Putimara village in Sreenagar upazila of Munshiganj district on Tuesday morning. The killer wife has been identified as Mazeda Begum, wife of slain Waliullah, 38, an expatriate to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA).Police recovered the body by breaking open the door of the house following the statement of Mazeda Begum, police said. Sreenagar Police Station Officer-in-Charge (OC) Sahidur Rahman said, "A team of police went to the house following the statement of the surrendered woman and found Waliullah's hands and legs tied with scrap and neck wrapped with another scrap in their house." A quarrel was ensued between the couple for three months when Waliullah tried to sell the land, worth Tk 50 lakh, of his wife to launch a business in the country which was funded by himself from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia a few years ago, the OC said. Finally, Waliullah was scheduled to go to the kingdom on Tuesday night after failing to convince his wife about the business initiative. Majeda was against her husband's leaving the country and killed him in cool brain, he said. "We are trying to find out if there is any other person involved with the killing of Waliullah and investigation in this regard is going on," the OC said. The body was sent to the Munshiganj Sadar Hospital morgue for an autopsy, he said. Waliullah went to the KSA about 18 years ago and got married with Mazeda Begum in 2003. They have two sons and a daughter, said Deen Islam, brother of Waliullah. Mazeda also torn Waliullah's passport and visa following the quarrel with her husband over the issue last week and took a plan to kill him to save the land and other properties, Deen Islam said. It is to be noted that, another 43-year old woman Chandra surrendered to police after killing her husband in the capital on January 19. The deceased, identified as Fazal Mia, 50, a rickshaw puller, was a resident in the city's Badda area. Trump Muslim ban: Dozens of Rabbis arrested after protesting outside Trump Tower Independent : Dozens of rabbis and rabbinical students have been arrested following a protest against the US travel ban outside Trump Tower in Manhattan. A crowd of around 200 people blocked the street outside the hotel to protest against President Donald Trump's executive order temporarily banning refugees and cancelling visas from seven Muslim-majority countries. The crowd waved placards saying "welcome refugees" while hitting drums and tambourines at around 7pm on Monday evening in the latest demonstration outside Mr Trump's former home. Nineteen rabbis and rabbinical students affiliated with the liberal Jewish group, T'ruah, were arrested after deliberately blocking traffic to pray following a march through the city's Upper West Side. Rabbi Jill Jacobs told the New York Times the protest was designed to show many Jewish people opposed the ban. She said: "We remember our history, and we remember that the borders of this country closed to us in 1924 with very catastrophic consequences during the Holocaust. "We know that some of the language that's being used now to stop Muslims from coming in is the same language that was used to stop Jewish refugees from coming." The ban, which has since been suspended, prevented any citizen from Iran, Sudan, Iraq, Syria, Libya, Somalia and Yemen from entering the US for 90 days even if they had a valid visa or green card. It was blocked by a federal judge last week and the ninth US Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco refused to reinstate it - instead ordering both sides to submit more arguments over the coming days. Mr Trump, who argues the ban is not unconstitutional because as President he has the power to decide matters of national security, condemned the "so-called" judge who ordered the stay saying he had "essentially taken law enforcement away from our country". He said the decision was "ridiculous" and would be "overturned". Lack of credibility of police causing crisis for judiciary Staff Reporter : In most cases, the investigation process, the FIR and chargesheet for proving the guilt of accused persons and the faithfulness of witnesses are found less and less trustworthy. Especially, the police final reports or chargesheets in Bangladesh are often partial, and far from ambiguity. There is widespread allegation that 'bribe' and 'political motivation' play a key role in preparing the reports, from petty crimes to sensational murders. And so the judges at a quandary how to do justice keeping consistency with evidence. As per legal procedure, the chargesheet is filed after FIR and investigation with findings, including witness statements and affidavits. The charge is framed against the persons on the basis of police report to ensure justice to victim and its family. Any defense is to be heard at the time of trial which may take years. Chargesheet seals the fate of the persons accused unless he is found guilty after the trial and appeal year later. Because bail will be denied so the prosecutor is not in harm to prove the case. So, false cases are helping the police to be corrupt. There are many incidents that the courts had ordered further or supplementary investigation to the cases rejecting the police reports. Even in many cases, the First Information Report [FIR] prepared by the police are also apparently hazy and bias but very little can be done to help the innocent. The courts will say the matter is under investigation, so it cannot be said that the FIR named persons are innocent, though the cardinal principle of law is protecting the innocent until he is found guilty by a court. A specific example can be given here over the police report. A teen-aged boy named Milon was brutally killed by unruly mob in presence of police at Companyganj in Noakhali on July 27, 2011. The then high-ups of government seeing the video footages had termed the incident 'barbaric', and promised exemplary punishment to the culprits. Four years after the incident, the police placed final report before the court releasing all accused killers, holding evidence collected against accused not dependable. Being tremendously pressured, the victim's poor mother was compelled to withdraw her son's murder case submitting a written application to the court. Drug offences and offences against arms are the areas where police reports are most troubling. Not long ago, a Dhaka University teacher was threatened to be charged with the offence of having Yaba in his possession by throwing this drug in his bedroom. There are cases coming to courts where police putting revolver in one's jacket pocket and charged him for committing the serious offence under the Arms Acts. It is immaterial however useless the weapon is. The state lawyers do not behave that the lawyers for the people, but the government lawyers in a very partisan way. They forget their responsibility about the people and saving the innocent is their major responsibility. Here is a latest example about police activities. On January 29, the High Court granted bail to two minor boys-- one eight years and other nine -- of Kamrangir Char area in connection with a murder case, and also directed the police to ensure their security. Police arrested the two children after recovering the decomposed body of an unidentified boy in September last year. In its observation, the HC Bench said: "The arrest of the two minors was violation of Children Act 2013. For their safety, they will be granted bail until the end of the trial." Against principle of fair investigation, the police officer who lodges FIR does not investigate the case for maintaining impartiality. But police do not bother it in many cases. They think whatever they do the persons named in the chargesheet are likely to suffer in jail. The bail after chargesheet is seen as denial of justice. Our courts are also favourable to keep in jail before trial to shun blame about the police arrest and judges free them. We have a vicious atmosphere effective against the innocent. And even many judges agree that it is not easy to discard police case and it is more difficult to prove them guilty. In such situation, the police have no right holding innocent people suffer than the real criminals. A few years back, the RAB was compelled to withdraw false case against Limon, who had lost his leg by the firing of the elite force member, due to tremendous pressure created by media and civil society members. At present, the extrajudicial killings have been an inseparable component of law-enforcement in Bangladesh like arbitrary arrest and torture in the custody. Not some innocent persons may have to die without trial. But tolerance to such police power of crossfire killing has created a crisis of keeping faith in police. In fact, the extrajudicial killing is a big challenge for the judiciary. Concerned circle says it exposes incapability and lack of trustworthiness of country's judicial system. It's a big question whether the barrel of the gun prevails over the judicial process of courts. The Supreme Court has to find a remedy by exposing police loss of trust and confidence empowering the justice very badly. Blaming the courts is easy if the people find alleged criminals are not found guilty. The people are not expected to know complications of law and procedure. The prosecution should have more accountability to the courts to ensure diligence and credibility of police before approving chargesheets. The way the justice system is growing it is losing faith and credibility of public. The experts say that those police who file false cases must be liable to the court punishment. They also want criminal cases must not allow to oppress opposition. BNP frustrated over CEC appointment Staff Reporter : BNP-led 20 party alliance has expressed frustration over the formation of the new Election Commission (EC) as the commission was constituted to serve the ruling party's political ambition. As it has failed to meet the expectation of the other political parties except Awami League, holding a free, fair and credible election under the new commission would be a far cry, it said. "The chief election commissioner and commissioners have been appointed as part of desire from Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. So, they would not perform impartially and a partial EC cannot hold a credible poll," said BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir. He came up with the statement while giving the alliance's formal reaction over the newly formed Election Commission after a meeting at the party chairperson's office at Gulshan on Tuesday night. Raising question over the newly appointed CEC's previous rerecord, Fakhrul Islam Alamgir said, "He (Nurul Huda) is a conterversial personality and affiliated with a political party. So he may not perform his duty impartially and neutrally. We are frustrated seeing such a person has been appointed as the CEC." He alleged that this new EC has been constituted with a view to serving the interest of the ruling, not the oppositions. When asked, he said we are not rejecting the commission outright but we are frustrated. Arson on Santal houses HC orders to withdraw Gaibandha SP, cops Staff Reporters : The High Court (HC) on Tuesday ordered the Home Secretary to withdraw Ashraful Islam, Police Superintendent (SP) of Gaibandha district, in connection with torching of Santals' houses during the eviction drive in thedistrict's Gobindaganj Upazila on November last. Besides this, the HC also directed to withdraw the members of the law enforcers who were on duty in Chamgari area at the time of incident. The HC bench of Justice Obaidul Hassan and Justice Krishna Devnath passed the order after hearing on the probe report prepared by the Chief Judicial Magistrate of Gaibandha over the incident of fire. The Court fixed March 9 to pass further order in this connection. Advocate A M Amin Uddin took part in the hearing on behalf of the writ petitioners while Deputy Attorney General Motahar Hossain Sazu stood for the State. A Judicial Magistrate in his investigation found involvement of three police personnel and some local miscreants in setting fire to Santal houses during an eviction drive in Gaibandha on November 6 last year. But those police personnel and local miscreants were not identified. Gaibandha Chief Judicial Magistrate Mohammad Shahidullah, who conducted the inquiry, submitted the 65-page probe report along with 1,001-page relevant papers to the Supreme Court Registrar General's office on January 30 and it was placed in the HC in the next day. Earlier on December 14, the High Court directed the Chief Judicial Magistrate of Gaibandha to investigate if police were involved in setting fire to the houses of Santal community during a clash that took place in the cane farm of Rangpur Sugar Mills in Gobindaganj upazila of Gaibandha district over harvesting sugarcane. The HC bench asked the Chief Judicial Magistrate to submit the report within 15 days. On that day, Ain o Salish Kendra (ASK) filed a supplementary petition attaching some national and international media reports and images, where police were seen to torch a house, seeking the court order to carry out an investigation to identify the arson attackers. The court also directed the police to conduct the investigation into the two cases, filed on November 17 and 26 against 600 and 33 identified and unidentified people respectively over the same issue, same status. On November 26, Santals of Gaibandha filed a case against 33, including a local Awami League MP Principal Abul Kalam Azad and the UNO of Gobindaganj Abdul Hannan on charge of provoking an attack on the community on November 6. On November 17, Swapan Murmu, a member of the community, filed another case against 600 people on charge of attacking the community. The clash took place on November 6 in the cane farm of Rangpur Sugar Mills located in Gobindaganj upazila of Gaibandha over harvesting sugarcane. The clash left three Santals dead and 25 people, including nine cops, injured. Following these incidents, Ain o Salish Kendra (ASK) and some other organizations filed a writ petition on November 16 last year seeking security of Santals. Why not bail to 20 victims: HC Staff Reporters : The High Court (HC) on Tuesday issued rules upon the government to explain as to why 20 prisoners, who have been in jail for more than a decade, should not be granted bail in separate cases. The two HC Benches passed the order as Suo Moto and also sought files and documents of the cases. The HC Benches also ordered the jail authorities to produce 10 of these 20 prisoners in the relevant HC bench on February 23, five others on February 26 and remaining five on February 28. Panel lawyer of Supreme Court Legal Aid Committee Syeda Sabina Ahmed Moli brought the information of 10 prisoners, who have been in Sylhet and Khulna jails more than a decade, to the attention of a HC bench on Monday. The HC Bench of Justice Md Nuruzzaman and Justice S H Md Nurul Huda Jaigirdar passed the order as Suo Moto and issued a rule in this regard. Besides, the Bench also ordered the jail authorities to produce the said 10 prisoners on February 23 in the court. Faruq Hossain from Moulivibazar has been in Sylhet Central Jail since February 9 in 2005, Selim Mia from Brahmanbaria in the same jail in a murder case since April 21 in 2005, Raju Jagannath in the same jail in another murder case since March 3 in 2003 and Bashir Uddin in another murder case from July 4 in 2003. Habibur Rahman has been in Satkhira District Jail since December 26 in 2005 in a case, Moniruzzaman Munna in the same jail since September 11 in 2005, Nasir Uddin since September 11 in 2005 and Gias Uddin since September 13 in 2005. Haider Ali has been in Jhenaidah District Jail since March 10 in 1998 and Md Rafiqul Islam Raja in Pirojpur District Jail since October 29 in 2006 in separate murder cases. Meanwhile, another panel lawyer of Supreme Court Legal Aid Committee Anich-ul Mawa brought the information of another 10 prisoners, who have been serving in Mymensingh, Rajshahi and Khulna (partial) jails for more than a decade, to the notice of another HC Bench on Monday. The HC Bench of Justice Obaidul Hassan and Justice Krishna Devnath passed the order as Suo Moto after hearing and issued rule on the matter. Nazrul Islam has been serving in Mymensingh Central Jail since May 18 in 2004 in two cases, Siraj in the same jail since March 10 in 2005 in a murder case and Alam Mia in the same jail since September 5 in 2006. Matiur has been in Rajshahi Central Jail since December 12 in 2006 in a case and Fayen in the same jail since May 13 in 2006 in a murder case. Kalam has been in Pabna District Jail since April 15 in 2004 in a murder case, Abdul Khaleq in Natore District Jail since October 18 in 2005, Apurba Das in Jessore Central Jail since July 22 in 2005, Tayob Sheikh in Khulna District Jail since August 16 in 2003 and Md Sumon in the same jail since February 4 in 2004. 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 Banks are scared. Theyve seen the rise of the new world of open APIs, apps and analytics and know that their organisations are not yet ready or fit to change to that world. What to do? Well, the easiest thing to do is to block access to the banks data. If third party FinTech firms cannot get access to the customers financial data, then you can severely limit what they can do. Brilliant and its just what banks are doing. In the USA, there is a move by the big banks to get Washington to outlaw access to bank data based on security. The only person who should access bank data is the customer, the banks bleat. That would kill the industry as the likes of Venmo, LendUp and Betterment would be shut down. Even with data access, the challenges are high. As the American Center for Financial Services Innovation (CSFI) writes: Numerous industry participants and observers have voiced concerns that current methods of data sharing, which typically require the consumer to share his or her bank account credentials with third parties, are insecure and expose the various parties (including consumers themselves) to unknown liability in the event of a breach. At the same time, direct data feeds through Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) with a tokenized or alternative authentication method, a solution many favor as a way to eliminate credential-sharing, can be inconsistent among financial institutions, creating new challenges for fintech providers and limiting interoperability in the overall system. Moreover, the significant technical and legal costs that are required to build and maintain APIs and negotiate bilateral datasharing agreements can effectively exclude smaller financial institutions and fintech providers (and the millions of consumers they serve) from full participation in the data-sharing ecosystem. While initiatives such as the Open Banking Working Group in the United Kingdom have created roadmaps for the design of open banking infrastructure, often in response to regulatory mandates, no U.S. guidelines currently address the unique complexity of our financial system. Section 1033 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act grants the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) the authority to prescribe rules governing access to consumer data, but the CFPB has not yet formally signaled its intention to take up this issue. Interesting that the CSFI should mention the CFPB as Richard Cordray, Director of the CFPB, made these remarks at Money2020 last year: Many exciting products we see through the lens of Project Catalyst depend on consumers permitting companies to access their financial data from financial providers with whom the consumer does business. We recognize that such access can raise various issues, but we are gravely concerned by reports that some financial institutions are looking for ways to limit, or even shut off, access to financial data rather than exploring ways to make sure that such access, once granted, is safe and secure. It is clear from my visits to the USA that the big banks want to block third party access to consumer data: I blogged the other day about the American markets and how big US banks are lobbying the government to block third party access to data. This would block aggregators and other third parties from getting a looksee into a customers information store. Again, this is a fine line of balance. Access to customer data is all well and good, as long as that data is not breached or abused. Figures published in the UK this week, for example, show that identity theft doubled in the last year and this has to be a key concern. As a result, banks can use data fear as a reason to exclude third parties from data access. This has been tried as a method to exclude third parties from access to bank data under PSD2, although it failed. Talking of PSD2, the second Payment Services Directive, Europeans are all agog at the idea of banks being forced to offer data access through Open APIs (Application Programme Interfaces). This comes into law next year, and means that any third party with a trusted licence a lite form of regulatory approval can ask for customer data and the bank, by law, must provide easy access to that data through plug-and-play software. The UK has taken this a step further and created an Open Banking Framework that aims to ensure that barriers to participation will be kept deliberately low to cultivate an engaged developer community. Great news but it isnt that simple. No bank is going to just roll-over and give away their core asset: the customer; and by giving away the customers data, they might as well be doing that. As The Financial Times reports: Banks have pressed regulators to tighten privacy and data protection rules for fintechs to prevent customers financial data being abused or stolen by cyber criminals. This has fuelled fintech industry fears that the banks will be given too much control over the channel by which competitors will access the data. They cite scenarios in which banks deliberately slow their responses to access requests or find other ways to interfere with the performance of fintech apps an idea dismissed as fantasy by the banks. A chief executive at one of Europes biggest banks admitted the threat posed by the fintech industry. Clients will be told: Come to me, you can do more things, all for free, he said. But fraud is rising . . . and as this increases the desire of people to give their banking password to just anybody will fall quite quickly. The EBA insists safeguards will be built into the rules to ensure fintechs are not discriminated against. It will submit draft technical standards to the European Commission this month, after which Brussels will decide how to proceed. Ahmed Badr, head of legal at GoCardless, a UK digital payments provider, said the bank lobbying could bring a limit to the number of balance inquiries a fintech can make each day, potentially crippling some start-ups business plans. Fintechs, with less money to spend and fewer resources to send people to meetings, [could be left] exposed to having banks dominate proceedings, he said. The key headline on PSD2, according to Sebastian Siemiatkowski, the CEO of Klarna, is that if it goes ahead as currently written it will not create open banking as the law originally envisaged. Roll on PSD3. Meantime, the core headline here has to be where I started this blog update: banks are scared. Until European and American banks refresh their legacies, they will undoubtedly block, as far as legally possible, any technology challenger. As the CSFI paper states: Many financial institutions and important infrastructure players rely on older computing systems that limit their ability to implement and manage new technology such as APIs or consumer-facing dashboards. Solving these challenges will likely take time and significant investment on behalf of many industry participants. Yep. And until that time and investment is completed, dont expect the incumbents to provide Open APIs or Open Banking services. Following the OSCE observation mission on the contact line between the Karabakh-Azerbaijani opposing forces on Tuesday, the Azerbaijani side again launched provocative actions. February 7, 2017, 20:56 Azerbaijan again launches provocative actions STEPANAKERT, FEBRUARY 7, ARTSAKHPRESS: During the period from 5:00 pm to 6:50 pm the adversary directly shelled the military positions in the eastern direction of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic Defense Army from 85 mm divisional guns D-44 located in the firing points by its settlements, the press-service of the NKR Defense Ministry informed. Besides diversionary guns, the Azerbaijani armed forces are using mortars of different calibers both in the eastern and northern (Talish) directions. As of now, overall 46 shells have been fired, of which 22 were from artillery-type weapons and 24 from mortars. The Defense Army has suffered no losses as a result of the offensive actions of the adversary. The NKR Defense Army states that the entire responsibility for the provocative actions initiated by the Azerbaijani side and their consequences fall on the military and political leadership of Baku. In the event of the continuation of such provocation, the NKR Defense Army reserves the right to take non-proportional steps to ensure the security of the state borders of Artsakh. 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. The best bang for your buck! This option enables you to purchase online 24/7 access and receive the Sunday, Tuesday & Thursday print edition at no additional cost * Print edition only available in our carrier delivery area. Allow up to 72 hours for delivery of your print edition to begin. Print edition not available for Day Pass option. 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. On February7, the Supreme Court of Belarus rejected the appeal on the case of Alexander Lapshin. February 7, 2017, 21:09 Exclusive Comment by the NKR MFA to Artsakhpress on the Case of Alexander Lapshin STEPANAKERT, FEBRUARY 7, ARTSAKHPRESS: In answer to the request of Artsakhpress, NKR MFA commented: "The verdict of the Supreme Court of Belarus, which has upheld the decision to hand over well-known blogger Alexander Lapshin to Azerbaijan for criminal prosecution is not only an expression of outright support for the policy of intimidating foreign citizens pursued by the Azerbaijani authorities, but also a flagrant violation of the fundamental rights to the freedom of movement and freedom of speech. Intending to hand over Alexander Lapshinto Azerbaijan at the request of Baku, based on the trumped-up and politically biased case, the Belarusian authorities demonstrate that they put political benefit above democratic norms and principles of legitimacy and justice." After his visits to Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh) in 2011 and 2012, Alexander Lapshin was blacklisted by Azerbaijan. In June 2016, however, he paid a visit to Azerbaijan, but with a Ukrainian passport. Subsequently, he issued several articles criticizing the Azerbaijani authorities. Afterward, the Azerbaijani authorities issued an international search for this famous blogger. And on December 15, 2016, he was detained in the Belarus capital city of Minsk, and based on this international search. On January 26, the Minsk city court dismissed the complaint of blogger Alexander Lapshin over the decision of the Belarusian prosecutors office to extradite him to Azerbaijan. On Monday two complaints will be filed with the Supreme Court of Belarus. CARBONDALE Shortly before Southern Illinois University Carbondales annual Parade of Flags kicked off Monday, International Student Council President Ramesh Neupane gave some instructions to the dozens of students who stood waiting to carry the flags of their home countries across campus. Lets stick together when we walk. We are one group! he said, to applause and cheering. The theme of this years International Festival, which runs through Feb. 10, is Unity in Diversity. Students from all corners of the world, some dressed in traditional attire, participated in the decades-old Parade of Flags tradition that began in Woody Hall and made its way across campus, ending finally in the Student Center's International Lounge. Neupane, who is from Nepal, said that the multicultural festival was now more important than ever. With the current situation going around with immigration, I believe showing positive messages and providing information about our culture and traditions will create unity among us, Neupane said. A group of community members, faculty and students walked alongside the flag-bearers in what they called a show of solidarity for Muslim and DACA students. Some carried signs with messages like All students are welcome at SIU. Jyotsna Kapur, professor and chair of Cinema and Photography, co-organized the solidarity effort after hearing about President Donald Trumps controversial travel ban. This is what makes this a university the meaning of the (word) universe-ity. Education is about opening minds and opening borders, and these kinds of borders have no place in education, Kapur said. Bachir Kane, in his second year at SIU, carried Senegals flag. He said the festival was a comforting reminder of humanity in uncertain times. It helps. It helps to know there are people who care, people who still have that human side of them, Kane said. So thats quite important. Ive been talking to people from other countries, and it makes you see that the world is just one place. Its not like were alien to each other, but its just one place. Addressing the crowd in the International Lounge, Dr. Andrew Carver, interim director of the Center for International Education, said the event this year had taken on new meaning as a result of Trumps executive order on immigration, which was temporarily suspended by a federal judge Friday. We recognize the hurdles you have overcome to study in the United States, and we are thankful that you have chosen SIU as your home while you study. Your ideas, your innovation, your diversity and your cultures bring the world to SIU and Carbondale, Carver said. Before signing the International Festival proclamation, Interim Chancellor Brad Colwell also referred to recent political news. We want you to come to SIU and feel a safe haven, we want you to feel welcomed and we want you to be able to learn. You came here to learn, and now that youre here, we can learn from you. You might think we dont have a lot to celebrate, based upon some current events, but please know were better than that. We can do better. We must do better, and Ill hope youll take today as a kickoff for a new day, a new page, Colwell said. This years International Food Fair will be held from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Wednesday in the Student Center Ballrooms. Tickets are 50 cents each. The Cultural Show will take place from 7 to 9 p.m. Friday in the Student Center ballrooms. The show is free. For more information about the International Festival's events, visit studentcenter.siu.edu/calendar.php. MARION A local middle school choir is looking to fund a trip to New York City to perform at Carnegie Hall. The Marion Junior High School choir was invited to perform at the concert venue located in Manhattan following the group earned a gold rating at the 2017 Presidential Inaugural Festival in the nation's capital in January. The trip is set to take place from Friday, March 10, to Monday, March 13. Ten students from the junior high school choir, along with three adults, are expected to attend the event and perform on March 12 as part of the National Elementary and Middle School Honor Choir. "We will attend a Broadway show, see the Statue of Liberty and rehearse and sing in Carnegie Hall," Elizabeth Byassee-Shore, the choir director at MJHS, said. In an interview with The Southern following their trip to the inaugural festival, Byassee-Shore expressed her gratitude for the invitation, but remained uncertain about the time and expense for the trip. "It is very expensive, so I don't know if we will be able to do so or not," she said. "Also, it involves missing several days of school, so we will have to wait and see the logistics and the expense. It is quite an honor to be asked, however." But after she learned of a $1,400 minimum cost per person and $500 deposit for the weekend trip, Byassee-Shore took to GoFundMe a crowdfunding platform that assists people with raising funds online in hopes of raising money so the students can attend. "For junior high choirs, the opportunity is every two years on the odd years," she said. "That means we could either go this year on March 10 to 13 and take those that could afford to go on short notice, or we would have to wait two years, reapply, and my seventh- and eighth-grade students would be at the high school and be unable to attend," she said. As of Monday, Feb. 6, the campaign has raised $310 of its $21,000 goal. "We decided to take those that could go on short notice," Byassee-Shore said. "The total cost of the trip is $1,400, and the $500 deposit was due last week for the entrance in the festival and the plane fare. "We are trying to raise money, but couldn't guarantee how much would be raised before the deposit was due last week. So, we decided it would be better to take some, than none." Anyone interested in making a donation or sponsoring the trip can contact Byassee-Shore at ebyassee@marionunit2.org, or contact her at 618-997-1317 ext. 295. Interested individuals can also visit the group's GoFundMe page at gofundme.com/mjhschoir. A De Soto man was sentenced to prison Tuesday for a methamphetamine violation, according to a news release from Donald S. Boyce, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois. Lucas L. Holland, 31, who previously pleaded guilty to a second superseding indictment charging him with conspiracy to manufacture and distribute methamphetamine, was sentenced to 188 months in federal prison. According to the release, evidence at the plea and sentencing hearings established that Holland was involved with numerous other people in the manufacture of methamphetamine and the distribution of ice in Jackson and Perry counties. Ice is methamphetamine which has a purity level of at least 80 percent. At sentencing, the district court found that Holland was responsible for the distribution of 1.68 kilograms of ice and the possession of 44.4 grams of pseudoephedrine. Two co-defendants were previously sentenced for their roles, and three co-defendants have pleaded guilty and are awaiting sentencing. One co-defendant has pleaded not guilty and is awaiting a Feb. 27 jury trial. The Southern Stalin became, as the title of Montefiore's book says, the Red Tsar. He was also a man of ferocious intelligence, considerable cunning and a great deal of energy, which enabled him to rise through the ranks of the communist party until, ultimately, he achieved total personal dominance over the party and its membership. Like most of the early Bolsheviks (Russian communists), Stalin was poorly educated but totally committed to the cause of communism. Montefiore traces the rise to power of Joseph Stalin, who ruled Russia from 1929 to 1953 and effectively created the Soviet Union. RECENTLY I finished reading Stalin: The Court of the Red Tsar by Simon Sebag Montefiore - an exhaustively researched book of great erudition by the British born, Russian speaking author. Like virtually all the Bolshevik leadership, Stalin regarded both the Russian middle class and the peasantry with contempt, seeing them as stupid, bovine and a major barrier to the introduction of necessary economic reforms. So, for example, he and his colleagues ruthlessly implemented the party's plan to collectivize all agricultural production even though this meant the dispossession and relocation of tens of millions of people. Any resistance to the party's program was regarded as an attack upon the state and mercilessly crushed by force. Very conservative estimates indicate that at least 10 million people died during the collectivisation program, most due to starvation. The Bolshevik leadership were, to a man, political fanatics. More than a few of them were ignorant, cruel, capricious, depraved, self serving and violent. That said, many were also intelligent autodidacts, who learned to master the intricacies of government as well as survive in the malignant swamp of Bolshevik politics. Stalin towered over all of them, deeply paranoid and, like his German counterpart Adolph Hitler, a megalomaniac. As I read the book, I marvelled at how a very small number of Bolsheviks somehow managed to seize control of the apparatus of a huge and diverse state like Tsarist Russia. They were not the cleverest people in Russia by any means, but they were certainly the most committed, ruthless and violent. Torture, murder, intimidation and lies were simply tools of statecraft, justified by an unwavering commitment to the Marxist-Leninist "science" of history. Nothing could be permitted to impede the Bolshevik revolution. I am struck by the parallels with the rise of the Chinese Communists and their great helmsman Mao Zedong. Mao was much like Stalin, famously saying that political power grows from the barrel of a gun. Like Stalin, Mao presided over the destruction of a corrupt and incompetent regime. As in Russia, tens of millions perished in the ensuing Chinese revolutionary struggle, with society being regularly convulsed with violence until Mao's death in 1976, when he was replaced by the pragmatic reformer and true architect of modern China, Deng Xiaoping. As I contemplated the appalling history of communism, it struck me that there are more than few eerie parallels to be found in recent developments in the USA. In Donald Trump, we have a president who is petulant, impulsive, egotistical, hypersensitive and narcissistic and displays many of the hallmarks of a megalomaniac. Worse still, he has surrounded himself with people who share many of his outlandish ideas about how the world should be ordered with, of course, the USA calling all the shots. I think it is no accident that Trump feels instinctively drawn to Vladimir Putin, whom he has admiringly described as strong leader. Putin is, in my judgement, a hugely smarter, more strategic and more cunning political operator than Trump, much more in the mould of Stalin. An important reason why Trump cannot become a US version of Stalin is that he does not control the whole apparatus of the state, notably the legal system. Nor, in truth, can he control the legislature, many of whose Republican members actively detest him. Also, while Trump is commander in chief of the US military, he lacks the practical ability to control it, at least in the manner that Stalin did. Importantly, there is no equivalent to the KGB (Committee for State Security) within the USA. The KGB (now called the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation or FSB) served as Stalin's instrument of intimidation, terror and extrajudicial killing within Russia. Some people believe the CIA fills this role but this thinking reflects a profound misunderstanding of what it really does. For all that, the Trump ascendancy is reflective of a situation where the governance of a democratic state can be effectively taken over by a small but vociferous minority (less than 25% of eligible voters actually voted for Trump), whose disregard for truth and evident contempt for much of the population are very evident. So what has this to do with Papua New Guinea. PNG is, in my judgement, peculiarly vulnerable to an effective takeover by a small but determined cabal of political activists or opportunists. This is the case because, like in Tsarist Russia and Imperial China, some key institutions such as parliament, police, army, bureaucracy, media and perhaps business, are deeply susceptible to political influence, subversion and intimidation. I do not think that it necessary for me to recite a litany of evidence that suggests that these institutions have been or are being compromised by PNG's political leadership. Some people may not even understand that they are undermining these institutions, but some undoubtedly do understand this and are taking full advantage of their positional power to do so. Also, the huge bulk of the population in PNG are, like the Russian kulaks and Chinese peasants, reliant upon subsistence farming to survive. Their capacity to exert any truly effective influence over political and economic decision making is severely constrained by a combination of poverty, ignorance and multiple cultural barriers. Happily for PNG, it has a few things going for it. First and foremost, its government is operating in a relatively transparent environment, where most of the time the world can see and hear what is going on. This obliges the government to mostly conform to accepted international behavioural norms when dealing with its citizens. Stalin and his colleagues operated in a closed, secretive society without any effective internal or external scrutiny. The Bolshevik solution to crises such as that in Hela Province would have involved the arrest and deportation or murder of anyone who resisted their plans. Second, there is at least some overt political opposition to the government which seeks to make it accountable for its actions. While the O'Neill government has done its best to prevent scrutiny of its decision making processes, it has thus far been unable to stop it entirely. Stalin solved this problem by the simple expedient of defining his opponents as "enemies of the people", having them tortured into confessing to fictitious crimes and executing them. Third, PNG still has an independent judiciary which, thus far at least, has largely succeeded in resisting attempts to subvert it. In Stalin's Russia, all members of the judiciary had to be members of the party and conform to the wishes of its leadership. This is the current situation in China, while Russia's judiciary is thought to be largely independent, although sometimes susceptible to political influence or corruption. Thus it seems to me that, despite its vulnerabilities, PNG is not yet ripe for a Stalinist-style takeover. However, it is clearly vulnerable to the sort of populist politics that exist in places like Venezuela, where the poor were made extravagant promises by the late and unlamented Hugo Chavez; promises which could never be fulfilled and which had the primary effect of bankrupting the country. It is possible that Mr O'Neill and his political allies will draw some lessons from Donald Trump's successful demagoguery and run a populist election campaign, promising much that cannot be delivered. The rural population may in particular very well be susceptible to this style of politics. Certainly, more than a few Americans were. Once reinstalled in power, ONeill and his colleagues will be able to continue their efforts to further bend the apparatus of the state to their will, probably by making additional judicious appointments to critical leadership positions across the important institutions, just like Trump. Who knows where that might lead? PNG's brightest and best could do worse than read Montefiore's book, in which history delivers an ominous warning about how a very few really determined fanatics or opportunists can first subvert and then overthrow and utterly dominate an ancient and well established nation state. Schools are struggling and deteriorating rapidly in all aspects. Its a shambles. School management and boards are confused on how they can reinstate them to effectiveness. Since its inception the tuition fee free policy has placed schools under stress. Some of the best schools in the country, which were held in high esteem, are no longer excellent as a result of the policy. But this is not the case now. The government wants to pay full fees and has told parents to ensure this direction is complied with by schools. The governments policy is well-intended and should be seen as heavily subsidising tuition fees, which does leave some responsibility for tuition fees with the parents. THERE are differing views among parents and teachers about Papua New Guineas tuition fee free policy. The policy, as you might expect, saw an influx in student enrolment. Some schools thought that hosting high student numbers would increase allocated funds. But the fund was never enough to expand the required infrastructure development in schools. In some schools, students spill out of classrooms built two decades ago to hold 30 pupils and now forced to accommodate 60. Realising this predicament, schools decided to charge project fees to address the infrastructure shortage - and now the government is telling schools to stop this. The incredible message is that schools should shut up and keep enrolling students without considering infrastructure. Some parents, not wanting to pay any charges, have aggressively supported the government in creating what is a chaotic school environment. Removing parental responsibility for childrens fees also disengages parents from participating in the development of their children and their school. The outcome - when parents see childrens education and infrastructure deteriorating, they will remain quiet because they do not have a hand in the schooling process. In a highly illiterate society like ours, the people do not clearly understand the relationship between themselves as taxpayers and the government. The school authority controls the cheque book and commits schools to spending scrupulous or unscrupulous. What used to be checks and balances on school expenditure at the weekly parents and citizens day are no more. Some schools incur more debts than the tuition fee free policy allows. Blame is externalised often on a former principal or head teacher. It seems there is no way of stopping such shady practices or of holding the culprits accountable. Most teachers are quiet on this. A few of them share the loot between themselves and are always looking for the next opportunity. The whole area of this policy needs to be reconsidered and some responsibility for tuition fees thrown back at parents who, with their money at stake, are likely to engage more with their schools and teachers. A two-year investigation led by U.S. Rep. John Katko uncovered internal security gaps at airports, including inconsistencies regarding how airports and airlines train employees on the proper use of credentials that allow them to gain entry to secure areas. A report released Monday, "America's Airports: The Threat From Within," summarizes the inquiry, shares key findings and offers recommendations for improving employee access controls. "This report is the result of two years of intense oversight efforts," Katko, R-Camillus, said in a statement. "At a time when we face increased threats from homegrown radicalization and lone-wolf terrorism, we must ensure that our airport access controls are strong and that we are doing all we can to mitigate the insider threat to aviation security." According to report, the committee found conflicts between the aviation industry and the federal government can prevent security improvements from being implemented. And airports without full employee screening at secure access points are unable to determine if current screening procedures are effective. Katko, who chairs the Subcommittee on Transportation and Protective Security, focused on aviation security throughout much of his first term in Congress. He had three security-related bills added to a larger aviation package that was signed into law last year by President Barack Obama. He also spoke out against resuming commercial flights to Cuba because of concerns about Cuban aviation security. In February 2015, Katko chaired his first subcommittee hearing on internal security at airports. The meeting was held after the arrest of a Delta Airlines employee for their alleged role in a gun smuggling scheme. The report mentions that incident and others involving insider threats at airports, including the arrest of a Kansas man who was accused of attempting to detonate a bomb at Wichita Dwight D. Eisenhower National Airport in 2013. The man worked at the airport as an avionics technician and obtained the wiring for the bomb from the airport. Based on the investigation's key findings, Katko and the committee outlined nine recommendations, including encouraging airports and airlines to better inform employees on how they can help address potential insider threats. The panel also recommended that airports and the Transportation Security Administration should ensure those with access to secure areas of airports are held to tough standards. To implement many of these recommendations, Katko introduced the Aviation Employee Screening and Security Enhancement Act of 2017. He said the bill will "serve as a road map for TSA, airports and air carriers to close security vulnerabilities at our nation's airports." House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Michael McCaul lauded Katko for leading the investigation and the subcommittee's work in identifying recommendations to improve transportation security. "America's aviation sector remains a crown jewel of ISIS and other terrorist groups targeting our homeland," McCaul, R-Texas, said. "As they continue to plot against us, we must be ready to confront them at every turn." Although hes serving in a temporary position, Denmark Technical Colleges new interim president said on Monday that he is not content to just maintain the status quo. I dont see myself as a placeholder and while Im here, Im not going to perform like one, Dr. Christopher Hall said. As long as Im here, Im going to do everything I can to make Denmark Tech the best college it can be. He assumed the position of interim president last week following the removal of former president Dr. Leonard McIntyre. Hall detailed his plans for the college. The first thing I think Im going to start doing, and it actually started last week, is taking an assessment of the college to try to see exactly where we are, he said. From that point, once I have a good understanding of where we are as a college, then I can develop a comprehensive plan to move forward. That plan will include reaching out to the community at large. Denmark Tech has a rich history, so Im going to try to go out into the community and reestablish those partnerships and let them know that the people in this area have a place to go for higher education, he said. Asked how long he expects hold the interim position, Hall said, There is no telling at all how long Ill be here. Realistically, if the searches (for a full-time president) go through the normal process, probably you can look at a new person being here in August. The Denmark Tech Area Commission cited concerns about operations and the financial viability of the college when it removed McIntyre, according to a spokesman for the State Board for Technical and Comprehensive Education. I havent met with the commission formally yet, but what theyve shared with me so far informally is that they wanted to take the college in a new direction, Hall said. They wanted to increase the enrollment and strengthen the programs so that we can be of benefit to the people here in the community. Hall talked about Denmark Techs strengths and weaknesses. He said, One, Denmark Tech has a long history. We just had homecoming last weekend and we celebrated 69 years of being open. So Im already planning, or Ill lay the foundation for the 70th year celebration. We have a strong national alumni chapter. They come back every year, and they are willing to do whatever they need to do to support the college. Quality programs are another strength, he said. We have some great programs here, the welding program, the mechatronics program, and we are also developing partnerships for those programs so when they graduate, those students have a place to go work. On-campus residences are also a bright spot for the college, he said. A lot of people dont know that we have dorms here on campus. Most technical colleges or two-year colleges dont have that. So we have the capacity to bring students here on campus and they have a place to live while theyre in college pursuing their degrees, Hall said. Dedicated instructors who have served the college for many years are another plus. We have a faculty thats been here for a very long time, and theyre committed, he said. But that is what he called a two-edged sword. You have a faculty thats been here for a while, but from time to time, you need to bring in fresh ideas, new strategies, new teaching systems, he said. Probably the biggest challenge that I see with the college -- and its the challenge that all technical colleges in South Carolina face -- is that people tend to think of us as your grandfathers vocational school, he said. And were much more than that. We are a comprehensive higher education institution. We can train people to go to work, which is our bread and butter, training the workforce. But then we can also train people to go and transfer into the four-year institutions. Currently the dean of business and public service at Sumter's Central Carolina Technical College, Hall previously served as a criminal justice instructor at Denmark Tech from 2000 to the end of 2002. He moved to Sumter to chair Central Carolinas criminal justice department. (I) grew the program while I was there (at Central Carolina), increased enrollment, increased the graduation rate, got a lot of publicity for the program. We developed a forensics lab, a lot of hands-on activities for the students, he said. Things have changed since he was last at Denmark Tech. They have a lot more programs now than they had when I was here before. And then some programs, like tailoring, those programs have gone away, Hall said. What were really trying to do now, were trying to focus in and develop the programs here at the college that are needed here in this area so we can train the workforce. Of balancing his position at Central Carolina and his new stint at Denmark Tech, he said, I actually thought I was going to have to juggle both jobs. But while he serves at Denmark Tech, one of his department chairs at Central Carolina is stepping into the deans position, he said. And Ill be guiding her, checking emails, not just to leave her hanging, he said. In addition to his work at Central Carolina, Hall has served as a reserve deputy with the Richland County Sheriffs Department and is a sergeant in the provost marshals command of the South Carolina State Guard. Hall has previously served as a corrections officer and training resource officer for the S.C. Department of Corrections. While there, I started teaching for the institution, and they sent me back to the academy to become a resource instructor, he said. And thats how I got my start in teaching. And after a while, I said, You know, I like this teaching thing. So I went back to school to get my masters degree. Hall has a doctorate in community college policy and administration from the University of Maryland. He holds a masters degree in public administration with a concentration in criminal justice from Jacksonville State University, a bachelors degree in criminal justice and a graduate certificate of higher education administration from the University of South Carolina. Hall was selected as the 2014 Governors Professor of the Year for Two-Year Colleges. When not working, he enjoys recreational and competitive bass fishing, hunting, camping and outdoor photography. South Carolina State University is planning for its 49th annual commemoration ceremony for the event that has come to be known as the Orangeburg Massacre. The ceremony will be held at 3 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 8, in the Martin Luther King Jr. Auditorium. On Feb. 8, 1968, three students were killed and 28 others were injured when South Carolina Highway Patrol troopers opened fire. S.C. State students Henry Smith and Samuel Hammond, along with 19-year-old Wilkinson High School student Delano Middleton, were killed. It followed three nights of escalating racial tension over students efforts to desegregate All-Star Triangle Bowl on Russell Street. This years ceremony will feature activist, educator and historian Dr. Millicent Brown as the guest speaker. She co-founded and serves as the project director of the Somebody Had to Do It Project, a national initiative that identifies the first children, like herself, who desegregated previously all-white schools. Brown, a former associate professor of history and sociology at Claflin University, was one of the first to integrate Charleston County schools. Special recognition will be given to Jack Bass, journalist and author of The Orangeburg Massacre, and Trinity United Methodist Church. They will be acknowledged as recipients of the 2017 Smith-Hammond-Middleton Social Justice award. This marks the third year that the university will present the award to an individual or organization that has demonstrated a commitment to eliminating injustice. Times and Democrat Publisher Cathy Hughes will deliver the greetings. S.C. State President James E. Clark as well as Claflin University President Dr. Henry N. Tisdale will provide reflections following Browns remarks. Dr. Rosetta Dingle, S.C. State assistant professor of music education; Bobby Harley, an S.C. State alumnus, and Dr. Lori Hick, Claflin University assistant professor of voice and opera, will perform during the ceremony. A candle-lighting and wreath-laying ceremony will conclude the program in Legacy Memorial Plaza. There's one fundamental difference between the new White House and the old when it comes to immigration: Barack Obama ordered his administration not to enforce a number of immigration laws. Donald Trump has ordered his administration to enforce them. Trump's two immigration executive orders, presently in legal limbo, are long, far-reaching, and complicated. But perhaps the most consequential passage in the two combined orders is a single sentence: "The purpose of this order is to direct executive departments and agencies to employ all lawful means to enforce the immigration laws of the United States." That is the heart of Trump's immigration strategy. "We do not need new laws," the president said at the Department of Homeland Security. "We will work within the existing system and framework." Trump's proposal to build a wall on the Mexican border dominated coverage of the two executive orders. But the orders do much, much more than that -- or at least they start the process of doing much, much more. For those who follow immigration closely, the Trump orders contain several critical provisions. Among them: 1. End "catch and release." In the Obama years, as thousands of people, mostly from Central America, crossed the Mexican border illegally -- and made no effort to escape apprehension, asking for a "permiso" to stay -- the border authorities would briefly detain them, give them a date to show up in court, and let them go. The practice was known as "catch and release." It did not take a rocket scientist to predict that most, now safely inside the U.S., would not show up for court. With family units who arrived in that fashion, immigration court statistics gathered by the Center for Immigration Studies (a group which favors tighter immigration restrictions), reveal that 84 percent do not show up in court. Under Trump's directive, the Department of Homeland Security is to detain those illegal crossers and handle their cases on the spot. "The Secretary (of DHS) shall immediately take all appropriate actions to ensure the detention of aliens apprehended for violations of immigration law," the order on border enforcement says, "pending the outcome of their removal proceedings or their removal from the country to the extent permitted by law." 2. Put pressure on "sanctuary cities." "Sanctuary jurisdictions across the United States willfully violate Federal law in an attempt to shield aliens from removal from the United States," the Trump order on interior enforcement says. The order would give the Attorney General and Secretary of Homeland Security the authority to determine "that jurisdictions that willfully refuse to comply with (federal law) are not eligible to receive federal grants, except as deemed necessary for law enforcement purposes by the Attorney General or the (DHS) Secretary." Some leaders of sanctuary cities are promising to fight the federal government. But some will likely yield to federal pressure -- a remarkable change from the Obama years. 3. Speed deportations. Both the Obama administration and now Trump said they want to remove illegal immigrants who have committed serious crimes. But Obama waited until the immigrant in question had been convicted before even beginning what could be a lengthy removal process. The Trump interior enforcement order allows removal paperwork to begin at the time an illegal immigrant is charged, on the reasonable assumption that a person who is in the United States illegally to begin with, and is then charged with at least one additional crime, does not have a right to stay in the country indefinitely. 4. Follow the law in deporting "removable" illegal immigrants. "We cannot faithfully execute the immigration laws of the United States if we exempt classes or categories of removable aliens from potential enforcement," the order on interior enforcement says, referring to illegal immigrants who have been convicted of crimes, and in some cases deported multiple times, only to return to commit more crimes and endanger local communities. "I hereby direct agencies to employ all lawful means to ensure the faithful execution of the immigration laws of the United States against all removable aliens." 5. Stop automatically allowing asylum seekers to stay while their cases are considered. Thousands of people come to U.S. ports of entry along the Mexican border from places like Haiti, India, China, and elsewhere -- all claiming asylum. The Obama administration allowed them to stay in the country while their cases were adjudicated. Many simply skipped out on the process and stayed permanently. The new executive order would require those asylum seekers to apply for asylum and then wait for a decision not in the U.S., but in Mexico or Canada. Then, if they are allowed in, they're in. But if asylum is not granted, they won't have been permitted to disappear into the United States. 6. Inform the public. In the Obama years it was sometimes hard to find good statistics about illegal immigrants who were accused of crimes. Trump seeks to change that. From the interior enforcement order: "To promote the transparency and situational awareness of criminal aliens in the United States, the Secretary (of DHS) and the Attorney General are hereby directed to collect relevant data and provide quarterly reports on the following: (a) the immigration status of all aliens incarcerated under the supervision of the Federal Bureau of Prisons; (b) the immigration status of all aliens incarcerated as federal pretrial detainees under the supervision of the United States Marshals Service; and (c) the immigration status of all convicted aliens incarcerated in state prisons and local detention centers throughout the United States." The new statistics could give researchers, and the general public, a much better idea of the extent of crimes involving suspects in the country illegally. Trump's orders stop short of measures that would require the approval of Congress, such as resetting the numbers of immigrants allowed to enter the country each year. But they still go a long way. And the early response among Republicans on Capitol Hill was encouraging for the new administration. Trump will undoubtedly have proposals for Congress on immigration. But his two executive orders -- if they ultimately stand as the president predicts -- go a long way toward undoing the practices that Barack Obama unilaterally set in place. If Trump can make sure his orders are enforced, he will have kept a major promise to those who elected him. Iran is offering the Trump administration its first foreign policy crisis. In a provocative act likely intended to take advantage of U.S. political turmoil, Tehran tested a ballistic missile understood by leading Western allies to be a violation of the recent nuclear deal brokered under the Obama administration. Hawks in America and elsewhere had already begun to push Trump to tear up the Iran agreement, with doves warning even an imperfect deal offered a much better chance at peace and stability than any more forceful alternative. Given the political climate he faces at home, Trump must use international support to apply pressure to the mullahs without risking a degree of escalation he can no longer control. Without doubt, Iran's plan is to press for advantages now, figuring out how much it can get away with while attention is focused or scattered elsewhere. In addition to the missile test, the regime has ratcheted up conflict with America's Persian Gulf allies. Using shoulder-fired rockets supplied by Tehran, Houthi rebels in Yemen crippled and nearly sank a United Arab Emirates auxiliary ship that had previously been contracted to the United States. Sensing opportunity in a fluid situation, the mullahs likely presume that the Trump administration will struggle to mount a concentrated response or back off in the interest of closer relations with Moscow. Trump should surprise them. Although Russia has indeed denied that the missile test amounts to a violation of the international agreement, Britain and Israel share the U.S. assessment that it has. Countries with a stake in the dispute should be made to go on record about where they stand and what subsequent action they support or oppose. Even a Security Council resolution that draws a Russian veto, or offers only watered-down language, affords the Trump administration a starting point for negotiations and coalition-building. Russia's behavior will help reveal just how committed to Iran Putin has become, while European reactions can be used to help gauge appetites for a broader adjustment of priorities regarding Russia from the Baltic Sea to Syria. This episode will prompt the first of many judgment calls from the new administration on Middle Eastern affairs. Trump's opponents and allies alike share little appetite for an unpredictable wider war in the Mideast theater. At the same time, no one will benefit from a lax or inconsistent approach to Iranian aggression and provocation. President Barack Obama bears substantial responsibility for the current state of play, but America's best interests are not served by Trump simply doing the opposite of what Obama did. The key is to quickly and effectively connect a potent, immediate response up to a broader strategy that preserves the basic balance of the international order short of war. Too many enemies and adversaries could pile on and hope to make the best of a chaotic situation. And too many friends and allies could falter in that environment. To prevent that sort of meltdown, the Trump administration needs to mobilize adequate international support for serious but limited consequences against Iran's recent acts then swiftly begin the hard work of restoring a durable, predictable order along the blurry edge of the Western world. This editorial is from The Orange County (Calif.) Register via The Associated Press A blog for students in my introductory classes in government, and any interested passersby. You'll find news items and random stories that illustrate any of the topics we cover in class. Special attention will be paid to the constitutional issues associated with contemporary issues and disputes. Feel free to send me stories you find important. Please note that due to spam, I'm limiting the ability of people to comment on these pages. My apologies. ABC News(NEW YORK) Last week, senior Trump aide Kellyanne Conway came under fire for referencing a Bowling Green "massacre or "attack" an incident that never happened to defend the president's controversial executive order temporarily halting immigration and refugees from seven Muslim-majority nations. Despite later saying she misspoke, the Feb. 2 interview wasnt the first time Conway made the reference. Cosmopolitan.com is reporting Conway also made inaccurate comments about attacks in Bowling Green as early as Sunday, Jan. 29, when she said President Barack Obama implemented a similar action in 2011. He did, its a fact, Conway said in remarks not initially published by Cosmopolitan.com. Why did he do that? He did that for exactly the same reasons. He did that because two Iraqi nationals came to this country, joined ISIS, traveled back to the Middle East to get trained and refine their terrorism skills, and come back here, and were the masterminds behind the Bowling Green massacre of taking innocent soldiers lives away. And in a Jan. 29 interview with TMZ, Conway says two Iraqi men were the masterminds behind a Bowling Green attack on American soldiers. President Obama suspended the Iraq refugee program for six months in 2011 and no one certainly covered I think nobody noticed, Conway told TMZ. He did that because, I assume, there were two Iraqis who came here, got radicalized, joined ISIS, and then were the masterminds behind the Bowling Green attack on our brave soldiers. In response to the emergence of more comments regarding a non-existent Bowling Green attack or massacre, Conway released a statement in which she explained she misspoke. I meant to say masterminds or terrorists and not massacre, Conway said in the statement. It does not detract from the evil they perpetrated and the evil that others may wish to perpetrate if they lie about why they are here. The comments about Bowling Green first garnered attention shortly after her interview with MSNBCs Chris Matthews aired Thursday night. I bet it's brand-new information to people that President Obama had a six-month ban on the Iraqi refugee program after two Iraqis came here to this country, were radicalized and they were the masterminds behind the Bowling Green massacre," Conway told Matthews. "Most people don't know that because it didn't get covered. Conway later said she was referencing the Bowling Green terrorists ABC News first reported about in 2013. The story was about two Iraqi refugees who plotted to attack Americans, and who later admitted in court to attacking U.S. soldiers in Iraq. The two refugees lived in Bowling Green, Kentucky but they never committed a massacre or any attacks in Bowling Green as Conway had said. Copyright 2017, ABC Radio. All rights reserved. The state's powerful teachers union blasted the U.S. Senate for confirming Betsy DeVos, President Donald Trump's education secretary nominee. Vice President Mike Pence cast the tie-breaking vote to confirm DeVos. With two Republicans siding with the chamber's Democrats in opposition to the education secretary nominee, Pence was needed to break a 50-50 split. It was the first time in American history that a vice president had to cast the tie-breaking vote for a Cabinet nominee. New York State United Teachers and other education interest groups criticized DeVos after her performance at a confirmation hearing. While she's a supporter of charter schools, the groups raised concerns about DeVos's knowledge of public schools and federal education policies. "The irony is inescapable: While educators are required to prove they are qualified in order to work in the classroom, the U.S. Senate has confirmed a dangerous ideologue with absolutely no experience or qualifications to lead the U.S. Department of Education," NYSUT said in a statement. Leading up to Tuesday's vote, several senators were inundated with calls about DeVos. Two Republicans U.S. Sens. Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski broke ranks and voted against the education secretary nominee. There was pressure on other Republican senators, including U.S. Sen. Dean Heller of Nevada and U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania, but Collins and Murkowski were the only members of the GOP caucus who voted no. When the roll call vote was complete, the result was a 50-50 tie. Vice President Mike Pence, who was presiding over the Senate, cast his vote to break the tie and confirm DeVos. Zakiyah Ansari, advocacy director of the Alliance for Quality Education, called DeVos a "disastrous choice." The group said it's now focusing its attention on New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who they say wants to cut education funding commitments and privatize schools. "Governor Cuomo wants to repeal the state's $4.3 billion commitment to increase funding for schools that are filled with black and brown students and students in poverty," Ansari said. " Ansari added later in the statement, "Just as New Yorkers have been leaders in the fight to resist Trump and dump DeVos, we will now fight back against Cuomo and his attacks on public education." 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. It is probably more often than not that people say Im going to the doctor when heading to East Hill for an adult medicine appointment, but now it could be Im going to the nurse practitioner instead. East Hill Family Medical, a nonprofit health care facility that delivers high-quality, patient-centered care, is adding Donna Devine, certified nurse practitioner, to our medical staff. With the arrival of Donna, East Hill will have as many nurse practitioners as physicians on staff. Donna will be working in our adult medicine office, where she will be providing primary care to patients 18 and older. There is an important need for primary care services in the Unites States; more than 58 million Americans face a growing shortage of primary care physicians in their area. In rural areas, the need for medical care is especially great. Nurse practitioners are helping to close this gap and are now the fastest-growing group of professionals in the primary care workforce. According to the American Association of Nurse Practitioners, nearly 222,000 NPs currently practice in the United States. Nurse practitioners, also known as advanced practice registered nurses, are registered nurses with advanced preparation and education. To become a nurse practitioner, an individual must complete a four-year degree in nursing, obtain a masters degree in nursing or a doctorate in nursing practice, and complete any additional certification in their specific field of practices, as well as clinical time. Contrary to belief, NPs have been practicing in rural and urban communities for more than 45 years, with the first NPs educated at the University of Colorado in 1965. Nurse practitioners provide primary and specialized care to individuals, families and communities in a wide range of settings, including health centers, nursing homes and hospitals. Most have a specialty, such as adult, family or pediatric care, as well as other areas such as womens health and psychiatric/mental health. NPs take health histories, conduct physical exams, diagnose and treat common acute illnesses and injuries, give immunizations, manage high blood pressure, diabetes and other chronic conditions, order and interpret X-rays and other laboratory tests, counsel patients on disease prevention and healthy lifestyles, and refer patients to other health providers as needed. Donna will be bringing clinical experience in both inpatient and outpatient settings to East Hill Family Medical. She completed the M.S. FNP program at SUNY Upstate Medical University and has experience in cardiology and oncology chemotherapy. She stated, I love working as a nurse practitioner. It is a very rewarding job helping patients whether they have an acute illness or need management of a chronic condition. When I help a patient take a closer look at their health, it is really remarkable when they become empowered to make the lifestyle changes needed. For some it is quitting smoking, beginning an exercise program or realizing they need to watch their sweets to prevent diabetes. It is an honor to be able to assist patients in these efforts. Nurse practitioners are helping meet the growing demands for health care across the country. They are a vital element of the primary care workforce with a major role in making high-quality, patient-centered health care available to all patients. Donna Devine plans on doing just that right here in our community. If you would like to schedule an appointment with Donna, please call (315) 253-8477, prompt No. 4. On Friday we had our first external visitors to the VR room at Autodesk Neuchatel. Jose and Erich came across from Amstein + Walthert, an engineering firm headquartered in Zurich. Jose had reached out to me weve been in contact a few times, over the years as hed read about the VR room on this blog and was curious to try it out. The room still isnt 100% ready were waiting for some furniture to show up but it seemed a good opportunity to try out some of our VR demos on live volunteers. Heres the rundown of the demos that we walked through, showing a range of VR and AR projects: Google Earth VR Im showing this a lot as an intro to VR: the UX is best-in-class and a great example of whats possible. Autodesk LIVE We fired up Revit with one of A + Ws models which we then published to Stingray via the LIVE plugin. While this was processing we took a look at the enhanced Villa Martini sample model, which gives a great sense of both LIVEs and Stingrays VR capabilities. Once the processing was complete, we took a quick look at the generated results. (In this case we didnt spend a huge amount of time on this: as an MEP model it didnt include much in the way of architecture, and so there really wasnt much of interest to see.) Autodesk VRED We then spent some time looking at a collaborative design review example (oriented towards automotive customers, by who doesnt like cars? ;-) inside VRED. While focused on automotive, it gives a great sense of the possibilities afforded by collaborative VR. Autodesk Forge viewer We took a look at some of the early VR-related features in the Forge viewer. We used http://lmv.ninja for this Ill spend some time talking about how to try WebVR for yourself using this site in the coming days. We used a special WebVR-enabled build of Chromium to be able to connect the Forge viewer to the HTC Vive headset. We also took a look at Vrok-It, which is another example of how collaborative VR might be useful to people. For this we just used mobile phones to see it work via Google Cardboard. Microsoft HoloLens To wrap up we moved from VR to AR, looking at a couple of HoloLens demos. The first was of course the Dancing Robot. This is the main example I generally use to show collaborative hologram review and manipulation. The second was Cyrille Fauvels Forge content demo, where we see some content that was brought into HoloLens via the Forge Model Derivative API. Its great because you get meta-data, something thats invariably of interest to people wanting to use AR professionally. There were other VR demos I could have shown, too such as Autodesk ReMake but I chose the above based on both the work A + W does and on Jose and Erichs interests. It was really a fun afternoon: a big thanks to Jose and Erich for making the trip across and being my first test subjects! AUBURN A 22-year-old man will likely spend several years in prison for robbing a gas station in Auburn last year. Weston Rhodes pleaded guilty Tuesday to one count of second-degree robbery, a class C violent felony. During his plea, Rhodes told Cayuga County Court Judge Mark Fandrich he was visiting from Florida when he robbed a Kwik Fill in Auburn last fall. On Sept. 16, 2016, at around 3 a.m., Rhodes said he entered the convenience store at 302 Genesee St. with a BB gun and demanded money. The clerk who believed the defendant had a handgun gave Rhodes around $175 in cash, and Rhodes fled the scene. After searching the area, the Auburn Police Department located two suspects: Rhodes and 23-year-old Lucas Corrado. Corrado, of 215 W. Genesee St., was charged with second-degree robbery for allegedly assisting Rhodes in planning the crime. Rhodes had also been charged with second-degree robbery as well as third-degree criminal possession of a weapon. However, Cayuga County District Attorney Jon Budelmann allowed him to plead guilty to the robbery charge in full satisfaction. "I shouldn't have come up here and done this," Rhodes said Tuesday in Cayuga County Court. "I take full responsibility for my actions." Although Rhodes could face a maximum of 15 years in prison, Fandrich has agreed to sentence him to 3 1/2 to 4 1/2 years in prison followed by three years post-release supervision. Rhode's sentencing has been scheduled for May 2. Also in court: An Auburn man has admitted to committing two burglaries in Cayuga County. Travis Breedlove, of 19 Venice St., pleaded guilty Tuesday to one count of second-degree burglary and one count of third-degree burglary, both felonies. The 43-year-old said he first broke into a home on Chapman Avenue on Oct. 24, 2016, stealing several weapons from the residence. Then, Breedlove said he burglarized Peppers Liquor Store on Genesee Street where he stole Lottery tickets and tools Nov. 9. Breedlove was initially charged with three felonies second- and third-degree burglary and fourth-degree grand larceny as well as two counts of petit larceny and trespassing. But Budelmann allowed him to plead guilty Tuesday to both burglary charges in exchange for a promised sentence. Fandrich has agreed to sentence Breedlove to a total of 3 1/2 years in prison plus two years post-release supervision. In addition, as a condition of his plea in county court, Breedlove will have to plead guilty to one count of petit larceny in Auburn City Court as well. Breedlove was remanded to Cayuga County Jail without bail. He is scheduled to be sentenced April 11. A local sex offender could spend up to four years in prison for failing to register his address in Auburn. Brandon Church, 21, of 62 Walnut St., pleaded guilty Tuesday to failing to report a change of address as a sex offender, a class E felony. Church was previously convicted of second-degree rape for having sex with a 14-year-old and sentenced to six months in jail and 10 years probation in 2014. However, he could now face a maximum of 1 1/3 to four years in prison for failing to report his new address to Auburn police. In exchange for his plea, Fandrich agreed to sentence Church to one to three years in prison. In addition, Church will have to admit he violated the terms and conditions of his probation for which he will likely receive a concurrent sentence of two years in prison plus a term of post-release supervision. Church is set to be sentenced April 11. By Trend Azerbaijan is the most likely source of second phase of gas transportation to Europe via the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline (TAP), Ulrike Andres, Commercial and External Affairs Director of the TAP AG told New Europe. However, in line with EU regulation, any shipper who wishes to take part in TAPs open seasons may do so as long as they comply with the requirements for participation, she added. Andres pointed out that the first phase of TAPs 10 billion-cubic-meters capacity is booked on ship or pay. However, there is a minor amount of capacity available for short-term transportation and capacity might be made available on the secondary market, should there be demand from shippers, she added. Earlier, deputy CEO of Russias Gazprom Alexander Medvedev said that the company is discussing the possibility of using Poseidon and TAP to export gas to Europe. Federico Ermoli, Vice-President of Italys Snam company, which is one of TAP shareholders, said that the pipelines capacity can be expanded and used for delivering Russian gas to Europe. Moreover, CEO of Fluxys Pascal De Buck told reporters on the sidelines of the European Gas Conference that this is a very good idea. TAP is a part of the Southern Gas Corridor which is one of the priority energy projects for the EU. TAP project envisages transportation of gas from the Stage 2 of development of Azerbaijan's Shah Deniz gas and condensate field to the EU countries. The pipeline will be connected to the Trans-Anatolian Pipeline (TANAP) on the Turkish-Greek border, run through Greece, Albania and the Adriatic Sea, before coming ashore in Italy's south. TAPs shareholders are: BP (20 percent), State Oil Company of Azerbaijan (20 percent), Snam (20 percent), Fluxys (19 percent), Enagas (16 percent) and Axpo (5 percent). By Azernews By Nigar Abbasova Being oriented on export-led economy, Azerbaijan continues to expand its foreign trade map. An export mission of Azerbaijani entrepreneurs, comprising representatives of some nine companies is currently in Kabul, Afghanistan. The companies are engaged in such spheres as production of fruit and vegetables, mineral water, fruit juice, sugar and confectionery products, cotton, as well as chemical and other industrial products. During the visit, representatives of Export and Investment Promotion Foundation (AZPROMO) held a meeting with the members of Afghanistan Chamber of Commerce and Industries. AZPROMO Vice-President Yusif Abdullayev gave an insight into economy of Azerbaijan, ongoing reforms and development of the non-oil sector. Besides, the sides signed a MoU concerning cooperation between the two institutions. The mission to Afghanistan will last till February 8. Trade turnover between Azerbaijan and Afghanistan was $23.47 million in the first half of 2016, according to Azerbaijans State Customs Committee, and the entire amount accounted for the export of Azerbaijani goods to Afghanistan. Organizing export missions to foreign countries to explore the markets and marketing activities stands among the promotional mechanisms required for increasing awareness about the local production. Azerbaijan is sending trade missions to various countries since November 2016 to increase its exports. Only 10 export missions may be held within a year, while exporters participating in missions are freely provided with accommodation, transport and translation services. The next mission (to Pakistan) is scheduled for February 9-11. Last year Azerbaijan exported agriculture production worth $426 million, recording an increase of $73 million or 20.7 percent compared to the figure of 2015. By Azernews By Nigar Abbasova Azerbaijan and Pakistan, the two strategic partners, are keen to expand their cooperation and achieve strong economic partnership. The two countries have many spheres for cooperation that are of mutual interest for both, while the priority areas are policy, economy, defense and security, trade, energy, tourism and humanitarian sphere. Pakistani Ambassador to Azerbaijan Saeed Khan Mohmand told reporters in Baku on February 6 that the relations between the states are developing rapidly, mentioning that successful cooperation is confirmed by the frequent high-level visits from both sides. The diplomat expressed satisfaction with the good state of relations between the two countries, especially at the political level, emphasizing that the countries will continue to strengthen cooperation in the military and technical sphere. Freight transportation The envoy said that the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, which is now being developed, can be advantageous for Azerbaijan as well, reminding that that the corridor will cut the distance of cargo transportation by 14,000 kilometers. Being funded by China the corridor is expected to allow to transport some 300-400 million tons of cargo via the corridor. The project envisages linking of the Pakistani southwestern port city of Gwadar with China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region through a wide network of roads and railways. The project will become an alternative to transportation via the Strait of Malacca. Energy Pakistan is also poised to implement oil and gas imports from Azerbaijan. Pakistani Foreign Ministry earlier gave the go-ahead to the signing of a relevant agreement with Azerbaijan, while the move is expected to lessen energy dependence of Pakistan on Middle Eastern countries. Currently, Pakistan is importing oil from Gulf Arab countries including the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, while it is purchasing gas from Qatar. Within the sixth session of Pakistan-Azerbaijan Joint Economic Commission held in April 2016, the sides agreed to promote investment opportunities in the energy sector focusing on supply of crude, refined oil products, LPG and LNG. Trade and economy The development of trade and economic cooperation between the countries stands in the attentional spotlight. Azerbaijani Ambassador to Pakistan Ali Alizada told Trend that the countries intend to develop the economic cooperation, mentioning such spheres as defense industry, agriculture, textile industry, pharmaceutical industry and the field of medical equipment, trade of tinned products, energy and tourism, use of transport corridors and infrastructure projects, and others. The envoy said that the governments of Azerbaijan and Pakistan are considering the introduction of a system of free trade. Pakistan has earlier offered Azerbaijan to sign a free trade agreement. The issue was on agenda during the visit of Pakistans Commerce Minister Khurram Dastgir Khan in Azerbaijan in October 2016. Preparation of a draft free trade agreement and its negotiation is a process that requires a lot of time. The agreement must satisfy both sides, meet trading interests and take into account the priorities, Alizade said. The diplomat also highlighted reforms in customs (improvement of the single window principle, introduction of the green corridor regime), as well as simplification of visa procedures, mentioning that these reforms encouraged Pakistans business community to cooperate with Azerbaijan. Also, Azerbaijan will send a trade mission to Pakistan in February to increase the awareness about its local production. Besides, several reciprocal visits of representatives of governments and business circles of the two countries are planned to be held in the short run. Trade turnover between Azerbaijan and Pakistan amounted to $7.3 million in 2016, according to Azerbaijans State Customs Committee. Pakistan has already developed a 5-year trade plan on the increase of the export volume to Azerbaijan up to $500 million. Attraction of investment Alizade went on to say that the main advantages of Azerbaijan for the attraction of investments is its growing economy, relevant business environment and a high level of competition. He mentioned that the Azerbaijani Embassy in Pakistan provides local businessmen as well as public and private enterprises with information about technology parks and industrial districts existing in Azerbaijan, mentioning that Pakistani businessmen consider investing such facilities. He emphasized that Pakistani businessmen have big opportunities to benefit from participation in these projects. A number of technology parks and industrial districts have already been created in Azerbaijan. They offer favorable conditions for business, tax exemption, simplified procedures for entrepreneurial activity and attracting foreign investment. Work is currently underway in Azerbaijan to create plants and enterprises in the Sumgayit Chemical Industrial Park, Balakhani, Garadagh, Mingachevir and Pirallahi industrial parks, Mingachevir High Tech Park, Sumgayit Technologies Park, as well as in Neftchala and Masalli industrial districts. Residents of Azerbaijans industrial parks are exempt from real estate, land, profit taxes, as well as value-added tax on import of equipment for a period of seven years. Tourism Alizade said that there are big prospects for the cooperation in the sphere of tourism, emphasizing the importance of the ASAN visa system, which provides for simplified visa procedures for foreign citizens. The participation of Pakistans tourism companies in exhibitions held in Baku, the exchange of information and experience, provision of more information on tourism opportunities of the two countries are under permanent attention," said Alizada. Azerbaijani embassy regularly holds presentations on the countrys tourism opportunities, acquaints travel agencies and nationals of Pakistan with tourism infrastructure, tourism products, by attracting them in every possible way to visit Azerbaijan. The envoy is confident that the promotion of Azerbaijans tourism opportunities, simplification of visa procedures via ASAN Visa system will increase tourist flow from Pakistan. Azerbaijan simplified the visa regime and starting from January 10, 2017, foreign citizens are able to register visas for entry into Azerbaijan via ASAN Visa system within three days. A unique attribute of Azerbaijan-Pakistan bilateral relations is strong support that both countries extend to each other on issues of mutual interest and international arena. Pakistan was among the first countries that recognized the independence of Azerbaijan in October 1991. By Azernews By Rashid Shirinov Azerbaijan and Ukraine have agreed to prohibit the import of goods produced in the occupied territories of the two countries, without the approval of the authorities. Ukrainian Ambassador to Azerbaijan Alexander Mishchenko made the remark while talking to reporters on February 6, Report.az said. During the visit of Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko to Baku in July 2016, the two presidents gave instructions to the heads of customs agencies to meet and discuss this issue, the ambassador said. Following the initial consent, the customs authorities developed a mechanism whereby goods from the occupied territories can be supplied only if they are licensed by the central authorities. Rules and circulars came into effect immediately after the presidents gave instructions. There is no need to sign any intergovernmental agreement, the ambassador said. The ambassador further reminded that Baku and Kiev agreed on supply of 10 cargo aircraft An-178. "The assembly of the aircraft An-178 in Azerbaijan is scheduled to begin in 2018-2019," he said. Mishchenko added that the Ukrainian side prepares two aircrafts for sale, but the remaining eight planes will be assembled in Azerbaijan. There are constant consultations between Deputy Secretary of the Ukrainian National Security and Defense Council Oleg Gladkovsky and President of Azerbaijan Airlines (AZAL) Jahangir Asgarov, he added. The ambassador said that AZAL is already building modules and place where the assembly process will be held. Azerbaijan and Ukraine enjoy sustainable prospects of bilateral relations in political, economic, energy, transport and humanitarian fields. The trade turnover between Azerbaijan and Ukraine was $234.7 million in the first nine months of 2016. A total of $201.8 million of them were the imports from Ukraine to Azerbaijan, according to Azerbaijans State Customs Committee. In 2016, President Petro Poroshenko visited Azerbaijan, and a number of agreements were signed during the visit. Additionally, the presidents discussed implementation of joint projects in energy, transport and agricultural spheres. Azerbaijan and the EU tomorrow will start the negotiations on the new agreement, said President Ilham Aliyev making joint statement for the press with the European Council President Donald Tusk in Brussels, Belgium, on Feb. 6. Azerbaijan's president thanked Donald Tusk for invitation, and recalled Tusk's successful visit to Azerbaijan in 2015. The cooperation between us is very fruitful, very sincere and there is big potential, the Azerbaijani president said. We have a very active political dialogue, and meet regularly and discuss important issues of political developments, political reforms in our country. We are committed to continuation of democratic reforms in Azerbaijan in order to provide better opportunities for all the citizens of our country, said Ilham Aliyev. He added that the energy cooperation is an important part of the Azerbaijan-EU cooperation. We successfully cooperate on the promotion of the Southern Gas Corridor project, which is one of the biggest infrastructure projects now implemented in Europe, said the president, adding that the project needs more than $40 billion of investment. The Southern Gas Corridor project is a project of energy security and energy diversification. And when I say diversification, I mean not only routes, but also sources, said the president. He went on to add that Azerbaijan with its huge natural gas deposits is a new alternative source for natural gas for the European market. I informed Mr. President that the implementation of the Southern Gas Corridor is moving successfully, and hopefully, with additional efforts, we will speed up the implementation of the project, President Aliyev said. As Mr. President said, Europe is our main investor and Azerbaijan has created a very good investment climate. More than $200 billion were invested in the country's economy since the restoration of our independence 25 years ago, said Ilham Aliyev. Also, Europe is our main trading partner. We supply many European countries with oil, and, hopefully, very soon will supply them with natural gas. He went on to say that the sides discussed the issues of resolution of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. I once again mentioned that for many years our lands are under occupation. Armenia occupied almost 20 percent of the territory of Azerbaijan, violated all the humanitarian norms, norms of international law, Ilham Aliyev said. He went on to add that Armenia also doesn't implement the four resolutions of the UN Security Council adopted in the beginning of the 1990s, which demand an immediate and unconditional withdrawal of the Armenian troops from Azerbaijan's territories. Unfortunately, the occupation lasts for more than 20 years, and this occupation cannot be justified, he said. I am very grateful to Mr. President that in his comments he also once again expressed support for territorial integrity of our country. President Aliyev added that the sides discussed the huge potential of cooperation in the area of transportation. He said this could be attractive to countries of the Eastern Partnership, and other European countries. Azerbaijan has largely invested in the creation of the new railroad connection in the region, Ilham Aliyev said. He expressed hope that this new route, connecting Asia with Europe, will be in operation, and help shorten the time of moving cargoes from Europe to Asia, and in the opposite direction, by almost two times. Also, an important part of our cooperation is intercultural dialogue, the Azerbaijani president said. "I am grateful to Mr. President for mentioning that Azerbaijan largely invests in dialogue between civilizations, cultures. President Aliyev reminded that Azerbaijan is a member of the Council of Europe and the Islamic Cooperation Organization. He said Azerbaijan is a natural, geographical and cultural bridge between civilizations, and Azerbaijan's investments in human capital bring good results. Ilham Aliyev added that Azerbaijan has good experience in cooperation with the member states of the European Union. "With nine of them, that is one third of the member states, we already have documents, signed or adopted, on strategic partnership," he said. "And this is a good basis for future agreement between the EU and Azerbaijan. Today is a remarkable day in the history of our cooperation because we are opening a new chapter in our cooperation," President Aliyev said. "I wish success to negotiators, and hope they will not lose time, start tomorrow and soon will present a document which will determine strategic cooperation between us for many years to come," said President Ilham Aliyev. Tusk, in turn, noted that Azerbaijan and the EU intend to expand commercial relations in coming years.. We discussed how our strengthened cooperation will help modernize and diversify the Azerbaijani economy, said Tusk. Relations between Azerbaijan and the EU go beyond energy and trade, he said, adding the two sides want to upgrade their relationship and develop its full potential for a new bilateral agreement. I am very happy to announce that tomorrow the negotiations on a new EU-Azerbaijan agreement will be launched, said Tusk. This new agreement will broaden the scope of our relations, taking into account the new global, political and economic interests we share. Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict does not have a military solution and needs only political settlement in accordance with international law, said furtherTusk. Tusk pointed out that the status quo in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is unsustainable. The EU continues to fully support the mediation efforts and proposals of the OSCE Minsk Group, he added. The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts. The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts. By Azernews By Rashid Shirinov The Great Return of Azerbaijanis into their native lands is already underway the recently liberated Jojug Marjanli village in Jabrail region of Azerbaijan is the beginning of this glorious history. This village of Azerbaijan has awaited long for the return of its residents. Now, after 23 years, the village and its houses are destroyed because of fierce fighting. During all these years, the native residents of the village lived with the only dream to return back to this place and believed that this day will eventually come. Jojug Marjanli village is located in Jabrail region of Azerbaijan, in a valley near Araz river. A total of 283 households and 1,075 people were registered at 1,605 hectares of the village before it was occupied. Jojug Marjanli had the districts executive office, a high school, club, library, medical and obstetric post, a post office. The village also had a flour mill, cattle and sheep farms, warehouse and the administrative building of the collective farm. Residents were mainly engaged in viticulture, grain production, livestock and sericulture. It was very dangerous to live in the village before the April battles of 2016. But the situation completely changed after the successful counter-attack of the Azerbaijani Armed Forces. The Azerbaijani army valiantly prevented Armenian provocations in the front line and struck a devastating blow to the enemy for a short time. As a result, the Armenian troops were kicked back. The Azerbaijani troops released 2 hectares of territories from Armenian occupation, retook hills around the village of Talish, as well as Seysulan settlement, and also took over Leletepe hill located in the direction of Fizuli region. After the enemy was expelled from Leletepe hill, it became safe to live in Jojug Marjanli village. Now, all the residents of the liberated village can return to their native land. One of the main tasks after the April clashes was to strengthen the defense of the liberated territories, and to restore houses and households destroyed by the Armenian army. Therefore, on January 24, the President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev ordered to restore Jojug Marjanli village. Under the order, 4 million manats ($2.13 million) were allocated from the President`s 2017 Contingency Fund to the State Committee on Deals of Refugees and IDPs for the construction of 50 private houses, a school building and relevant infrastructure at the first stage. More than 190 families out of 400 families, who once lived in the village, have already expressed desire to return to their homeland. The construction work in the village will begin soon, as first 50 families out of 190 will be settled in this village at the first stage. Work is underway on identification and assessment of the old property in the village, while ANAMA carries out demining operation in the area. Moreover, the Internet Community of Azerbaijan (ICA) will provide free access to the Internet for Jojug Marjanli village, and Azerbaijan's postal operator Azerpoct will open a post office in the village. Azerbaijans state communication operator Aztelekom will restore the telecommunications infrastructure in the village. Moreover, representatives of foreign media outlets accredited in Azerbaijan were acquainted with Jojug Marjanli village on February 7. The visit was organized by the State Committee on Deals of Refugees and IDPs and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in accordance with President Aliyev's order on measures for the reconstruction of Jojug Marjanli village, which was liberated from the Armenian occupation. The group included the representatives of Reuters, Associated Press, Anadolu news agencies, Turkish TV channel TRT, Iranian media outlets functioning in Azerbaijan, Russian news agencies RIA Novosti, Interfax, and others. The group of nearly 30 people got acquainted with the operations to clean the territory of the village from mines, as well as received information on ongoing and planned work. Thus, life returns to the liberated village, and such restoration work will be carried out in every Armenia-occupied settlement after Azerbaijan returns all of them in the foreseeable future. By Azernews By Kamila Aliyeva Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu may pay an official visit to Moscow next week, Chairman of the Committee on International Affairs of the State Duma of the Russian Federation Leonid Slutsky said. We expect to hold consultation with Mevlut Cavusoglu, whom we know very well as a former President of the PACE, he said at a meeting of the Committee on discussion of the Russian-Turkish treaty on Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Cases and Extradition on February 6, RIA Novosti reported. Slutsky said the sides will have an opportunity to exchange views on this important issue very soon in case the FM visits Moscow. President Putin submitted the agreement between the Russian Federation and Turkey on Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Cases and Extradition, signed in Ankara on December 1, 2014, to the State Duma for ratification in 2015. Earlier it was reported that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan plans to visit Russia in early spring and attend the meeting of the Russian-Turkish High-Level Cooperation Council. The previous meeting of the Council was held in December 2014. In late 2015, relations between Russia and NATO member Turkey deteriorated after Turkish forces downed a Russian warplane and Moscow imposed economic restrictions against Turkey. In June 2016, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan issued a formal apology to the leader of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin, which was accepted. Russia and Turkey have begun the process of restoration of bilateral relations. Viola Desmond, Activist, Entrepreneur and a Face That You Will be Seeing Around Last December, I heard the strangest thing. Could my ears have been playing tricks on me or did the radio announcer just say that Viola Desmond would be replacing Sir John A. MacDonald on a series of $10 bills in 2018? As it turns out, I was not daydreaming. My shock turned into joy and my eyes misted over as the ramification of this decision soaked in. What stood out was not that she would be the first Canadian woman to grace our currency, but that Desmond was a black rights activist. Nine years before Rosa Parks became a name synonymous with American Civil Rights, Viola Desmond opposed racial segregation in Canada by standing up to the imposing authorities of her day. Her refusal to sit in the all black section of the theatre got her thrown in jail and her court case was one of the first of its kind in Canada. Desmond's story was recently depicted in a Heritage Minutes short film created by Historica Canada. Of all the women nominated to be featured on Canada's $10 bill, 461 met the eligibility requirements. The short list included: (Courtesy http://www.cbc.ca) Much more than a "reason" to attend Black History Month events at the library and across the city, Desmond forces us all to look at our history and ourselves. She will remind us of this when we shop or purchase services with cash or go to the bank. Ironically, back in 1946, when Viola Desmond was dragged from that theatre, she was convicted of defrauding the province of a one penny tax. She was fined $20 for the trumped up offense and charged $6 in court costs. Now her image will be on Canadian currency. If you'd like to know more about this influential individual, check out what the library has available and learn more about Desmond's courage and her triumph that changed the course of history. A book about Desmond is highlighted in the library's Black History Month Recommended Reading list. It includes great titles for readers of all ages. Viola Desmond's Canada: A History of Blacks and Racial Segregation in the Promised Land by Graham Reynolds A black Halifax businesswoman, Viola Desmond, was wrongfully arrested for sitting in a white's-only section of a movie theatre in New Glasgow, Nova Scotia. In 2010, 64 years later, the Nova Scotia government recognized this gross miscarriage of justice and posthumously granted her a free pardon. Viola Desmond Won't be Budged by Jody Warner In 1946, unsung hero Viola Desmond stood up to racial segregation by refusing to give up her seat on the main floor of a movie theatre in Nova Scotia. Her struggle for equality is exemplified in this simple picture book. While Desmond is known for her courageous stand, her other achievements are often overshadowed. Before she became an activist, she was an incredibly successful entrepreneur. She opened the Desmond School of Beauty Culture, a beautician school, and created a line of beauty products. For Desmond, entrepreneurship was her forte. Perhaps this may be a road for you as well? With over 250 books and hundreds of articles on how to start your own business, maybe it is time to channel your "inner Viola" and explore your opportunities. Courage, gumption and tenacity...we can all step up and step forward. The Islamic Development Bank (IDB) has approved $790 million for new development projects in member countries as well as education and professional training for Muslim communities in non-member countries, a report said. The approval was given at board's 317th meeting held under the chairmanship of bank's Group President, Dr Bandar Hajjar, in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia yesterday (February 6), reported Wam, the official news agency of the UAE. An amount of $488 million was approved for two development projects in Indonesia; $250 million will be provided for development of Trans South-South Java road, and $238 million for development and improvement of six Islamic higher education institutions. To promote food security in Africas Sahel region, the Board agreed to allocate $96 million for Sahel Sustainable Pastoralism Development Programme in Burkina Faso, Senegal and Mali. Other approvals of the Board included: $155.5 million for the Prepayment Metering System Project in Bangladesh; $40 million for Support of Elimination of Mother-to-Child Transmission (eMTCT) HIV/AIDS Project in Cameroon; $10 million for Higher Education in Science and Engineering Project in Togo; as well as $600,000 as special assistance operations under the IsDB Waqf Fund to contribute to educational and vocational projects in Belgium, Brazil and the US. Proposed remedies for four military weapon sites on the former Seneca Army Depot land will be the topic of a public information meeting this Thursday. Hosted by the U.S. Army, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the state Department of Environmental Conservation, the meeting will cover what has been done to clean up the areas already, and the agencies' suggestions for moving forward. According to the proposed plan, the area affected is in the town of Varick in a conservation and recreational area, adjacent to land that the Seneca County Industrial Development Agency is currently working to lease and eventually sell to Seneca Iron Works owner Earl Martin. Based on years of testing and clean up, the army, EPA, DEC and the state Department of Health are recommending that the four sites, which are mostly in wetlands, be prohibited from developing residential housing, schools or any kind of childcare facility or playground. Part of the reason for that, according to the report, are high levels of various harmful materials including arsenic, cobalt and iron in some of the areas. Randall Battaglia, project manager for the New York District and Seneca Army Depot Base Realignment and Closure environmental coordinator, said many of those metals were found to be naturally occurring in the area, and not associated with any army activity. Still, he said, the EPA is recommending that those areas remain off limits for development projects, especially those that would serve children. "That's just to protect the public," he said. "You can't really attribute it to a waste you can clean up and remove. EPA wanted to further protect the public. Children won't be playing in it and being exposed to it." The agencies also recommend that the Army conduct an annual Explosive Safety Education Program for area property owners in case any munitions were missed in the clean up. Battaglia said while the sites were all cleared, it's important for locals to be able to recognize a military munition, retreat from it and report it. There will be pictures of some things to look for at the public meeting, he added. The other option proposed in the plan is to leave it as is, with no educational programming and no restrictions on what gets built on the property. Battaglia said that was originally the Army's suggestion, but the EPA requested more testing to be done, resulting in the proposed land use controls. Battaglia urged the public to provide comments on the plan, which will be open for review until March 2. Copies are available at the Information Repository, Seneca Army Depot, Building 123 in Romulus and at the IDA's office, 1 DiPronio Drive, Waterloo. The hope, he added, is to have a record of decision finalized by March 30. "The public meeting and public comment period are important to the clean up process because the final decision is not until after you've included those public comments," he said. "Those public comments can change the remedial decisions for the sites." Written comments on the plan may be sent to: Randall Battaglia, Building 123, P.O. Box 9, 5786 State Route 96, Romulus, NY 14541. The public meeting will be held 7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 9 at the Romulus Town Hall, 1435 Prospect St., Williard. It follows a public meeting on Martin's proposed tax agreement held at 5:30 p.m., Thursday, Feb. 9 at the Romulus Fire Department, 2010 Cayuga St., Romulus. Bahrain-based wholesale Islamic Investment bank, Ibdar Bank, has announced the appointment of Bahrain Institute of Banking and Finance (BIBF) to deliver executive corporate governance training for its board of directors. The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the bank and BIBF was recently signed at the banks premises in Manama by acting chief executive officer Ahmed Al-Rayes, and BIBFs deputy director Dr Ahmed Abdul Hameed Al Shaikh. The 15-hour executive course, which will focus on Shariah fundamentals, risk management, strategy and Shariah governance in Islamic Financial Institutions, is part of the banks Continued Development Programme (CDP). Al-Rayes said: BIBF are the leading training institution in Bahrain, and we are confident in their vast experience and expertise in delivering quality courses in Corporate and Shariah Governance. Dr Al Shaikh said: The BIBF is pleased to partner with Ibdar Bank in the continued training and development of its people. A successful institution must be guided by a well-informed board, and this intensive short course provides participants with the knowledge and real world applications to support organizational success. Ibdar Bank is a Bahrain-based wholesale Islamic Investment bank regulated by the Central Bank of Bahrain and engaged in real estate, private equity, capital markets and investment advisory activities. TradeArabia News Service Swiss International Scientific School in Dubais (SISD) state-of-the-art boarding facilities will welcome male students to its campus in September 2017, with registration already open. Female boarding will follow in 2018, the school said. SISD will offer local and international boarding students a premier education focused on both academic excellence and personal growth, it said. Both the standards of its facilities and the approach to pupil care and learning will set it apart from other schools, it claimed. The design of the boarding houses, the multi-talented staff and how it has followed the Swiss tradition of providing an exceptional boarding experience are all new to the Middle East, offering parents a greater diversity in terms of their childrens education. The boarding houses have been designed to create a calm environment that helps boarders study, rest and play. At the heart of the design has been the pupils experience, creating a genuine home for the students and making them feel part of the SISD community. Pupils will be immersed in an exceptional learning environment, inspiring them to become confident, responsible, and compassionate adolescents, the school said. Head of School Beat Sommer said: Boarding allows children to develop a range of key life skills and prepares them for the future, whether it is for university or later in their careers. They learn skills such as organisation, leadership, self-confidence, self-sufficiency, empathy, responsibility and cultural agility. When our boarders graduate from SISD they will leave with an international network of friends, the highest qualifications to join the best universities around the world and the skills necessary to thrive in an ever changing world. SISD will cater for boarders who live in the UAE but also to international students, having weekly and full boarders. The weekly boarding option enables students from Dubai to avoid lengthy commutes. At the same time, the school will provide student visas, allowing parents to ensure a stable school progression despite relocations. The full campus including the boarding houses, auditorium and secondary school will be ready for September 2017. TradeArabia News Service GAJ (Godwin Austen Johnson), one of the largest UK architectural and design practices, said it has won a contract to design the new administration block of Dubai College. The British group has been involved with the continuing growth and development of the college since its inauguration in 1978 and has been responsible for the complete design of the facilities including classrooms, specialist laboratories, the swimming pool, lecture theatre, multipurpose hall, design technology centre, and associated external works, said a top official. "Our longstanding relationship with Dubai College means we are completely aligned with their vision. As architects, one of our prime considerations is to accommodate the needs of today while anticipating changes in education five years from now," remarked Jason Burnside, a partner at GAJ. The initial master plan, with the involvement of managing partner Brian Johnson, was done 40 years ago and the firm has been tasked with handling all subsequent developments of the campus. "With Dubai College our flexible approach throughout has allowed us to continually adapt and update the facilities so that each new upgrade blends seamlessly with the existing structure," remarked Burnside. This latest phase of development calls for the design of a centralised administration space. The new administration block will act as a single gateway to the college and will include the main reception as well as offices and meeting rooms. According to him, the design direction is contemporary and will take full advantage of the abundant natural lighting to provide a modern and welcoming space. The work is expected to commence this month, he added.-TradeArabia News Service Waiwera Water, a leading artesian water brand, has slashed its prices by 25 percent for the entire year in the UAE as part of its efforts to support the Year of Giving initiative. Adyton One General Trading, the sole distributor of Waiwera Artesian water in the UAE, announced the launch of the initiative in coordination with the Year of Giving (2017), which was introduced by His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai. The premium water Waiwera will offer a 25 per cent off on each carton of water, a statement said. Ahmed Al Raeesi, chairman of Adyton One General Trading, said: We are pleased to be supporting such initiatives that are aligned with the UAEs vision 2021; supporting the Year of Giving initiative is part of our commitment to spreading the values of giving in our own way. At Waiwera we take steps to highlight the importance of a healthy lifestyle among the members of the society. With this initiative, we aim to spread awareness about the unique benefits of artesian water while making it accessible to everyone. Bringing down the prices is not the first step the company has taken in expressing its solidarity with the UAEs initiative. Last month the company in coordination with the Mohammad Bin Rashid Global Centre for Endowment Consultancy (MBRGCEC) had announced the launch of an endowment initiative to support kidney patients by allocating a certain percentage of its sales to support this social cause. Since 1875, Waiwera Water has drawn its water from an artesian aquifer in one of the purest places on Earth, New Zealands Waiwera Valley. The first premium bottled water from the Southern Hemisphere, Waiwera Water was voted the worlds best water in 2008 by Decanter Magazine and has also won prestigious design awards. Adyton One General Trading has acquired the distribution rights for Waiwera Artesian Water across the UAE and Middle East, Egypt & Lebanon. Founded in 2012, the company is in partnership with the Armed Forces Cooperative Society and part of HH Sheikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Establishment for Small and Medium Enterprises. -TradeArabia News Service The UAE-based Al Marakeb Boat Manufacturing Company will promote its latest marine technologies and unmanned capabilities at the International Defense Exhibition (Idex) 2017 to be held from February 19 to 23 at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre. In a statement announcing its participation in the largest defense exhibition of the world, Al Marakeb said it will introduce MAP-Tech, a division that is dedicated to autonomous and marine navigation solutions at the event. It will showcase the Ground Control Station (GCS), the 10m unmanned surface vehicle (USV) B10, and will present demonstrations of the marine autopilot, MAP. The companys products can be seen at Navdex, the naval defence and maritime security section of Idex. Al Marakeb CEO Basel Shuhaiber and business development manager David Dubois plan to meet with partners and investors at the five-day long event. Dubois said: We are pleased to showcase the MAP Marine Technologies in Idex 2017. This division within Al Marakeb is rooted extensively from our years of expertise in manufacturing unmanned surface vessels and target boat systems and our continuous efforts to create innovations in the USV market. The leading UAE-based company will place a particular emphasis on the advanced MAP Pro, a marine navigation solution, the only one of its kind in the market that features throttle control among other unique characteristics, which permit the conversion of a manned boat to an unmanned boat. Also on display is MAP, a marine autopilot device that is controlled by an application that allows users to navigate a marine vessel via an application through a hand-held device. The state-of-the-art devices are user friendly, easy to install and can be integrated and configured with any vessel of any size to navigate a course that is wholly predetermined by the pilot and can be used for both commercial and maritime defense applications. Visitors will experience the efficiency of the devices through live demonstrations at Navdex. The companys pavilion also includes the Ground Control Station (GCS), a fully functioning room for the purpose of operation controls of an unmanned boat or fleet, built within a 20 feet container and the B10, a 10-meter unmanned surface vessel. The boat maintains its competitive edge in the market with its wide variety of features. Weve participated in the Idex/Umex events in the past and have always sprung forward from said involvement. We look forward to Navdex and its outcomes, said Nour Al Sayyed, director of pperations of MAP- Tech/ Al Marakeb. - TradeArabia News Service Bahrain International Investment Park (BIIP) is optimistic about attracting an array of investors, following the announcement of its expansion to include the east region of the Salman Industrial City in Hidd area, a BIIP official at the Gulf Industry Fair said. The addition of 0.5 million sq m of land will expand the existing 2.5-million-sq-m business park into a 3-million-sq-m development positioned as a location for foreign direct investment (FDI) and export-oriented projects. The business park, which currently employs 4,500 people, is also poised to be the fastest generator of jobs in the kingdom, the official said and added that the park would create job opportunities for about 7,000 people by the end of 2018. According to him, investments at the park from projects in various stages of development have reached BD722 million ($1.9 billion) since its establishment in 2005. About 79 per cent of the BIIP land has been allocated to projects and the park authorities are engaged in marketing the remainder. We are talking to a lot of companies who are upbeat about the potential investments in the park, he said. As many as 116 projects have been approved by the park with companies from Germany, Singapore, India, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain coming on board. Of these, 72 projects are operational, 30 are under construction and the rest are under lease agreement. Nearly 72 per cent of all approved projects are in manufacturing with the remaining 28 per cent in international services operations, the park official said. Meanwhile, the official said BIIP is enthused about the opening of the $90-million biscuit plant for Mondelez International in the second quarter of the current year. The official opening of Mondelez Internationals second plant at BIIP will be in September, he said. Launched in January 2015, it is being built over a 250,000-sq-m area by Mondelez International, the worlds leading maker of chocolate, biscuits, candy and powdered beverages under the companys iconic brands such as Oreo, Ritz, BelVita, TUC biscuits and Tang. Formerly known as Kraft Foods, it has already invested more than $75 million in a cheese and powdered-beverage plant, which has been operating at the BIIP since 2008. Some of the incentives offered by BIIP include: no corporate tax with a 10-year guarantee; duty-free access to GCC markets; free trade agreement with the US; 100 per cent foreign ownership; renewable 25-year leases; no recruitment restrictions for the first five years; and duty-free imports of raw materials and equipment. BIIP is exhibiting at Stand D5a at the GIF, which opened today (February 7) at the Bahrain International Exhibition and Convention Centre, and will run till February 9. TradeArabia News Service Industrial investments play a crucial role in supporting Bahrains economic development and spurring growth and the government is committed to supporting the sector, said His Royal Highness Prime Minister Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa. He underlined the importance of the GCCs complementary economies in generating more investment opportunities to set up mega industrial projects. The Government relies on industrial investment, which represents one of the viable tools to diversify the sources of revenues and generate jobs, he said after opening the 2017 Gulf Industry Fair (GIF) this morning. Hilal Conferences and Exhibitions (HCE) is organising the three-day event, which is being held at the Bahrain International Exhibition and Convention Centre (BIECC). The Premier reiterated the governments keenness on providing the necessary environment and facilities to ensure the development and growth of local industries. The government supports all initiatives that contribute to consolidating complementary GCC industries, the Premier said. The GCC states have all the capabilities to expand the scope of their industrial products in the regional and international arenas, he added, underscoring the importance of private-sector exhibitions in promoting national products and the Gulfs industries. He said that the government has adopted policies which support the industrial sector, which plays a crucial role in fast-tracking trade and economic development and attracting domestic and foreign investment. After cutting the ribbon, the Premier toured the various pavilions showcasing the latest industrial products and equipment. He stressed the importance of the GCCs efforts in developing strategic industries and manufacturing capabilities, which represent a key pillar of their economies. The current economic challenges require more industrial investments, as a strategic alternative to achieve sustainable development for the GCC nations, he said. He revealed that Bahrain had long ago started legislating modern business laws and taking the necessary steps to create a business-friendly environment and encourage investors who choose Bahrain as their first option to set up projects. He acknowledged the importance of the fair which, he said, represents annual platform for large companies to display their products and benefit from Bahrains strategic location as a pioneering investment hub in the region. Industry, Commerce and Tourism Minister Zayed bin Rashid Alzayani thanked the Premier for patronising the pivotal exhibition which, he said, puts Bahrain on the international map of specialised exhibitions. He reiterated the governments drive to attract investments from all over the world and embrace cutting-edge technologies through such high-profile exhibitions, stressing that no effort would be spared towards developing the industrial sector and boosting its contribution to economic growth. He underlined Bahrains Economic Vision 2030 and other national strategies which focus on the private sector as the engine for economic development and growth. HCE chairman Anwar Abdulrahman thanked the Premier for patronising the exhibition, which he said contributed towards attracting more exhibitors to the event. He paid tribute to the Premier for supporting all efforts to promote the national economy, hailing his farsighted vision. HCE managing director Jubran Abdulrahman also thanked the Premier for his patronage, and for providing a favourable environment to facilitate investment and boost the economy. - TradeArabia News Service Servcorp, a leading provider of serviced offices and business package solutions in the Middle East, continues to pioneer the workplace of the future with its virtual office offering. Since introducing the Business Package to the corporate world in the 1980s, Servcorp has offered businesses the presence, support and facilities of a fully serviced office without the cost of a full time office space. Through its seamless information technology (IT) solutions, companies of any size can operate in the Middle East while benefiting from Servcorps global corporate presence in over 150 countries worldwide, it said. Having invested over $100 million to build a one-of-a-kind communications network, Servcorp offers its first-class infrastructure to clients wherever they are in the world. Monitored 24/7 by in house IT specialists, the Business Package also includes a local business telephone number and a dedicated receptionist to manage calls. For companies that require administrative support, Servcorps skilled receptionists and personal assistants are on hand to offer their expertise. Pre-selected, interviewed and highly trained, the in-house team can tend to a host of tasks including answering the phone, welcoming guests, scheduling meetings and booking a table at the best restaurant in town. Commenting on Servcorps Business Package offering in the Middle East, Laudy Lahdo, Servcorps Middle East general manager said: The evolution of mobile communication and technology has opened up different ways of working with much higher value placed on the connectivity and flexibility of the workplace environment. At Servcorp we are continuously developing the Business Package to cater to this digital revolution. By bridging traditional elements such as providing the most sought after office addresses in the world with virtual elements in terms of our unrivalled IT capabilities, our clients are able to excel in a flexible work environment that suits the needs of their business. According to a recent report published by Cluttons, office space in premium locations across the region continues to command high rentals, despite challenges still being faced in a post-oil economy. With an increased focus on companies operational efficiencies, as well as the cost of setting up an office for newcomers to the region, the Business Packages by Servcorp offers value for money and unrivalled convenience. Servcorps Business Package has been developed to support companies who understand the significance of having a presence in an iconic address without committing to a physical office lease. This exclusive benefit not only reduces overheads, but offers businesses the added perks of access to the companys meeting room facilities, day suites and up to five hours daily complimentary usage of co-working spaces across the globe. Founded in Sydney in 1978, Servcorp now operates a growing international network of over 150 key city locations - clients range from Fortune 500 companies to small and medium-sized businesses and solo practitioners all over the globe. Prime addresses in the Middle East include Emirates Towers, Dubai; World Trade Center, Abu Dhabi; Sahab Tower, Kuwait; Beirut Souks Louis Vuitton Building, Lebanon and Bahrain Financial Harbour, Bahrain. - TradeArabia News Service UAE Exchange, the leading global remittance, foreign exchange and payment solutions brand, has entered into a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Sharjah Police to provide its customers residing in Sharjah with easy fine payment solutions at any of the UAE Exchange branch across the seven emirates. Colonel Sultan Abdullah Al Khayal, general manager -resources and support services, of Sharjah Police and Promoth Manghat, chief executive officer of UAE Exchange Group, signed the MoU in the presence of senior officials of both parties at the office of Sharjah Police Headquarters in Sharjah. Commenting on the partnership, Colonel Sultan Abdullah Al Khayal, general manager - resources and support services, of Sharjah Police, said: This partnership is in continuation with the efforts of the General Headquarters of Sharjah Police. It is one of the best ways in providing and developing more services according to the best standards that meet the needs of customers, follows the best systems and applications in all fields. We are privileged to join hands with Sharjah Police to offer more convenience to the residents of Sharjah. Our partnership with Sharjah Police will facilitate the residents to clear their dues payable to Sharjah Police, effortlessly. Except traffic penalties, rest any kind of penalty can be paid at any of our 150 branches in the UAE, of which 17 are in Dubai Metro network. This wide network of branches will enable them to walk in to the nearest one and clear their penalties without any hassle, said Manghat said. As per the signed MoU between both parties, UAE Exchange shall collect the fines and the necessary details of payment from its customers and share it with Sharjah Police. - TradeArabia News Service Please ask President Trump to delay the DOL Fiduciary Rule. The annuity industry is working hard to comply with the Rule by April 10, but there are still hundreds of questions the department has yet to answer. The first DOL FAQ issued last October created even more questions and didn't address substantially more. The DOL even acknowledged these problems by stating in the FAQ they would delay of the execution of a Best Interest Contract until January 2018. I agree with the best interest standard but there are so many problems with this rule's requirements that, left unfixed, will leave consumers with fewer retirement savings choices and retirement savings advisors. The DOL created the rule without a clear understanding of the annuity marketplace and consumers will be more confused then ever unless we clean up the requirements in this rule. We ask you to notify the administration and state your support of the delay so we can make this rule work for consumers. Richard Murphy Syracuse Murphy is a licensed financial advisor Dubai Taxi Corporation (DTC) has reduced taxis accidents rate per 100,000 km from 0.61 in 2009 to 0.23 last year, thanks to a series of programmes and initiatives contributing to traffic safety in Dubai, UAE. The figure achieved looks pretty good when benchmarked against the prevailing rate of taxi accidents in Singapore, deemed one of the best countries in terms of transportation, which is 0.2 per 100,000 km, a statement said. Dr Yousef Al Ali, CEO of Dubai Taxi Corporation, said: The overall distance covered by the fleet of DTC had reached 94 million km involving 48 million trips in 2016 by a fleet of about 5,000 cabs driven by more than 11,000 professional cabbies. Achieving a rate of 0.23 accidents per 100,000 km in 2016 compared to 0.61 accident per 100,000 km in 2009 is a testament to the efforts of the DTC in this regard, contributing to the realization of RTAs (Road and Transport Authority) vision of Safe & Smooth Transport for All. The DTC has introduced a package of traffic safety-driven programs, initiatives and projects. For instance, it has introduced the Brake Plus system in DTC taxicabs where a four-way flasher system automatically operates once the driver applies the brake to slow down or suddenly stop, in order to minimize the chances of rear side collisions It has also put a 120 km/h speed cap on highways to all taxicabs of DTC, and identified geographical spots witnessing recurrent accidents to analyze the causes and introduce remedial measures. The DTC is intending to launch a driver monitoring system via on board cameras to spot events of declining attentiveness or sudden sleeping of taxi drivers to avoid potential accidents, explained Al Ali. New & sophisticated measures will be adopted in training cabbies to sensitize them about the applicable rules & regulations as well as the importance of complying with the practices that maximize the safety & security of riders in support of RTAs vision. The DTC has a unique system of incentives & rewards for motivating cabbies to improve the level of service. As part of its efforts to maintain the safety of customers and maximize their satisfaction, the DTC has launched the Traffic Safety Award to felicitate the distinguished drivers whose records are free from accidents, offences and quality violations, noted the CEO of Dubai Taxi Corporation. TradeArabia News Service Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (Dewa) has opened registration for Emirati students in Hatta to apply for scholarships. Scholarships will be awarded to university students enrolled in electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, or civil engineering degrees. High school students with an average score of over 80 per cent in science are eligible to apply. The scholarship programme is part of our efforts to achieve the Hatta Comprehensive Development Plan. We taking greater steps towards achieving sustainable development by addressing Hattas developmental, societal, economic, and environmental requirements, said Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, MD & CEO of Dewa. Through this programme, Dewa will provide Emirati students living in Hatta, with scholarships in the electricity and water sectors. This will ensure sustainable development by involving students in academic programmes, according to the highest international standards, allowing students to become qualified and efficiently contribute to the development of Hatta. Our scholarship programmes have been launched in cooperation with some of the best local and international universities, and have had a positive impact on enhancing the academic performance and professionalism of Emirati nationals. This supports our efforts to achieve the Emiratisation strategy, by developing capabilities, and creating a generation capable of becoming future leaders, added Al Tayer. TradeArabia News Service Privatisation plans in the Middle East, specifically in Saudi Arabia, in power and water sectors could offer huge merger and acquisition opportunities for international investors over the coming years, an industry expert said. Middle East utility companies have yet to realize the upsides from global mergers and acquisitions, especially in Europe which is currently at the forefront of global energy transition and definition of future business models for the industry, added Kurt Oswald, lead partner A T Kearney Middle East Utilities Practice. He was commenting on the global management consultancys new report titled Mergers and Acquisitions in Utilities 2017. Last year was a record year for M&A in the utilities sector globally, with total deal value reaching 329 billion ($354 billion), says the report, adding that this trend is expected to continue in 2017, as investors take on an active role to remodel the industry. This reshaping is especially pronounced in Europe, where financial investors are driving deal activity and breaking up the energy value chain. In contrast, as market capitalizations of utility companies in the Americas rebound, it is spurring a wave of mergers and consolidations. Asian companies are increasingly active in cross-border M&A. Financial investors entries and low market capitalizations for utility companies in Europe have challenged the traditional integrated model. Utility companies are being split up and low-performing assets across energy generation, transmission, and distribution are being divested. E.ON and RWE are examples of how spinoffs are taking place and how leading players are breaking up the integrated utility business model. In a financial market characterized by cheap money and uncertainty, utilities companies are considered an interesting investment opportunity. We have identified seven robust deal rationales for utilities in the year ahead, said Andreas Stender, A T Kearney principal and a co-author of the study. Financial investors are increasingly looking to the. Investors and utilities companies alike need to make tough choices and develop new business models leveraging M&A to drive value in an energy market that is under increasing regulatory and competitive pressure. Worldwide deal activity around renewables was a major driver. Investors continue to increase their renewable assets value through mergers and acquisitions that bring greater economies of scale and operational excellence. M&A transactions in renewables increased 60 per cent from 2010 to 2015, according to the United Nations Environmental Program. However, a potential renewed focus on traditional energy infrastructure inspired by US President Donald Trumps energy plan could further strengthen the market values of incumbent utilities and infrastructure players in North America. This will increase incentives to drive synergies through consolidation as shown in the 2016 mega-mergers. As utilities across the globe reshape themselves for the future, they will also need strong partnerships, joint ventures, and investments to develop innovative new business models, Stender said. This, coupled with the transition to new energy sources, will boost M&A. TradeArabia News Service Muriya Tourism Development Company, a leading integrated tourism project developer in Oman, continues to boost capacity at its Salalah Beach destination, with the addition of 84 keys to the Fanar Hotel & Residences, said a report. The hotel room expansion at Al Fanar takes the total number of rooms at the development close to 800, said a report in Oman Observer. Ahmed Dabbous, CEO of Muriya, said: The new additions to Salalah Beach represent another milestone in our strategic partnership, one that will provide even more travellers with the opportunity to enjoy Salalah as a year-round destination. Global Hotel Alliance (GHA), the world's largest alliance of independent hotel brands, has selected Sabre Hospitality Solutions as an alternative distribution provider for its members. Under the landmark agreement, GHA's 35 hotel brands, representing over 550 hotels, resorts, palaces and spas, now have the option to choose the Sabre SynXis Central Reservations (CR) as their distribution solution while still enjoying the benefits of GHA's multi-brand Discovery loyalty programme. "Similar to the airline alliance model, GHA offers independent and privately-owned hotel brands the opportunity to increase their customer reach globally, through a shared loyalty platform; and to create cost efficiencies based on scale and collaborative products and services," said Christopher Hartley, CEO of Global Hotel Alliance. "GHA looks to its technology partners to provide hotels the ability to instantly recognize customers across all of our member brands, thus enhancing the guest experience. Eight of our member brands already use the Sabre SynXis CR, and so it was a natural step to add Sabre as one of our preferred technology partners." "The complexity and competition in the hospitality space is growing at an unprecedented rate. To win, hotels need to master distribution - and master it fast," said Alex Alt, president of Sabre Hospitality Solutions. "As the leader in this space, we look forward to helping GHA member brands and individual hotels grow their revenue and bookings in every channel from OTAs to GDS to direct." The SynXis CR provides distribution of rates and inventory through all online and offline distribution channels; connectivity to global distribution systems, online travel agents, website and mobile booking engines; and seamless integration of critical property, revenue management, loyalty and content systems, providing holistic views of hotel guests and revenue. Sabre's central reservation system is powered by the SynXis Enterprise Platform, an open architecture platform that integrates critical hospitality systems to optimize distribution, operations, retailing and guest experience. - TradeArabia News Service Flight diversions due to inflight medical emergencies make up a tiny portion of the millions of flights operated annually, but it is costly for airlines. With more people traveling by air, the actual number of inflight medical events has been gradually increasing over the years. Emirates, the largest airline by international traffic, operates over 3,500 departures a week, or more than 194,000 flights in 2016. In those 12 months, the airline handled more than 60 flight diversions due to medical emergencies. A single flight diversion can cost Emirates anything from $50,000 to over $600,000, depending on the nature of the diversion which include fuel, flight catering, landing and ground handling fees, air navigation cost, passenger rebooking costs and onward connection, as well as other associated costs to care for crew and passengers. Adel Al Redha, Emirates executive vice president and chief operating officer, said: We can never hope to recover the costs of a flight diversion, but the wellbeing of our customers is always our number one priority. Airlines handle medical emergencies differently, as there are no international regulations on this front. At Emirates, like everything else we do, the safety of our passengers comes first. If there is a medical emergency on board, our crew have the training and equipment to help them assess the situation, and deliver the best possible outcome for the affected passengers. Crew training and equipment In 2016, Emirates delivered nearly 23,000 hours of medical training for cabin crew and pilots, ensuring they are ready to assist passengers on board. All Emirates cabin crew go through a comprehensive initial training programme which is required by the UAE General Civil Aviation Authority, recurrent training to keep their skills up to date, as well as additional specific training for the use of on board medical equipment. The medical training that Emirates cabin crew undertake includes both theory and practical aspects. It prepares them to recognise and deal with common situations, but more importantly handle rare but life-threatening events when time is of essence. Topics covered include basic life support (CPR); medical conditions including asthma, heart disorders, seizures and allergic reactions; trauma related topics and even emergency childbirth amongst others. Pilots also attend training sessions covering topics such as Hypoxia, Malaria, Dengue, Trauma, CPR and choking and occupational health issues. Emirates has also invested more than $7 million in the installation of its medical equipment on board, with annual maintenance costs being a further $1.7 million. Equipment on every Emirates aircraft include: emergency medical kits, oxygen bottles, resuscitators, a defibrillator, a telemedicine unit, and a 24/7, satellite medical advisory service that connects crew to specialist aviation medical consultants who can help assess the passengers situation in real time. Making the right call On average, Emirates crew make about 20 calls to the medical advisory service per 100,000 passengers flown. Most calls do not result in a diversion, but the professional consultation helps the operating crew to make better decisions and offer the right support to the affected passengers, particularly when there are no volunteer medical professionals on the flight. Emirates in-house team of aviation medical specialists, flight planners and operations controllers, all work closely to conduct detailed scenario planning and regular updates to diversion protocols in keeping with the airlines growing global network, as well as advances in medical thinking, inflight medical technologies, and training techniques. Al Redha said: If we have to divert a flight, our aim is to get medical attention for the afflicted passenger as soon as possible. Via our medical advisory consultants and Emirates own operations control team, we identify the best location where the passenger may receive appropriate care, and where the airport can adequately support the passengers and aircraft. The diversion location selected may be someplace where medical costs are expensive and travellers should consider procuring the appropriate insurance before they travel. - TradeArabia News Service Global leaders from some of the worlds largest hotel chains will take to the stage at the Arabian Hotel Investment Conference 2017 (Ahic), being held at Madinat Jumeirah in Dubai from April 25-27, in a series of CEO keynote sessions. The annual knowledge and networking platform for the hotel investment community is set to welcome Chris Nassetta, president and chief executive officer, Hilton; Sebastien Bazin, chairman and CEO, AccorHotels; and Pierre-Frederic Roulot, chief executive officer of Louvre Hotels Group, as it takes on a distinctly international theme for its 13th edition. Speaking ahead of Ahic, Jonathan Worsley, chairman of Bench Events and founder of Ahic, said: As the Middle East plays an increasingly important role in the international hospitality industry for owners and operators alike, it seemed only right to bring a global perspective to AHIC. We are delighted to welcome our keynote speakers to the conference and look forward to hearing their take on the current state of the hospitality industry and their plans to adapt to an ever-evolving marketplace. The Ahic conference programme will open on April 26 with a one-to-one interview with Nassetta live on stage hosted by Richard Dean, presenter of The Business Breakfast on Dubai Eye. Speaking ahead of the conference, Nassetta said: The Middle East is a very important market for the hospitality industry, and Hilton sees tremendous growth potential here in the years ahead. I am honoured to keynote Ahic this year, and I look forward to a great conference and many productive conversations with the regions key leaders. The opening keynote will be followed by a panel session entitled Global Catalysts For Change, featuring Stefan Leser, group chief executive officer, Jumeirah Group; Olivier Harnisch, chief executive officer, Emaar Hospitality Group; Steven Daines, COO New Businesses and CEO HotelServices Africa and Middle East AccorHotels; and Jean-Gabriel Peres, president and chief executive officer, Kerzner International. This session will tackle the impact of the ongoing digital revolution, the emergence of the Internet of Things (IoT), the advent of the sharing economy and the changing face of the consumer on todays hotel businesses. The speakers will share their insights, learnings and predictions on these so-called disruptors. Leser said: Jumeirah Groups partnership with Bench Events was instrumental in getting The Arabian Hotel Investment Conference established and we have been proud hosts at Madinat Jumeirah since the first conference in 2004. I am a firm believer in collaboration and Ahic is a significant opportunity for industry leaders and influencers to connect, and work together, to further grow and develop the Middle East hospitality sector both regionally and internationally. On April 27, Pierre-Frederic Roulot, CEO of Louvre Hotels Group, which is owned by Shanghai-based Jin Jiang International Hotels (Group) Co., will present a keynote session on the growing influence of the East on the international hotel industry. In advance of Ahic, Roulot said: Today, we are witnessing record travel between Asia and the Middle East and Louvre Hotels Group is positioned to play a strategic role in the regional travel growth. Our established presence across Europe, along with the expansion in China with new build hotels such as the Campanile Shanghai, in addition to the acquisition of Indian hospitality chain Sarovar highlights our commitment. Connectivity between key Asian and Middle Eastern markets in which we are well represented, offers us a compelling and exciting challenge." Ahic 2017 will close with a much-anticipated keynote interview with Sebastien Bazin, chairman and CEO, AccorHotels, live from Paris via video conference. In this session, Bazin promises to reveal insights behind the diversification of AccorHotels and his outlook for the future. Bazin said: We operate in a world where change is the only constant and obviously our industry has been tremendously disrupted in the recent past years in many aspects, economy, technology, cultural, etc. Those changes bring amazing opportunities provided we are agile and dare to take risks. This is what we have been undertaking for the past three years at AccorHotels: opening one new hotel every 36 hours to expand our presence while inventing new products and services away from a hotel room to increase our market share into something different from what we are accustomed to. The full programme for Ahic 2017 has now been launched and is available here. Ahic 2017 will bring together more than 700 hotel owners, investors, developers, operators, consultants and experts from professional services to debate the hospitality investment climate against a backdrop of global catalysts for change and the macroeconomic environment. The conference will feature panel sessions entitled: The MacroEconomic Outlook for Middle East Hospitality; Do You Need An International Brand?; An A-Z of Reflagging Your Hotel; The Investment Climate Warms Up to the Mid-Market; and Concepts for the GCC. Speakers on the topic of the MacroEconomic Outlook include Alex Kyriakidis,pPresident and managing director, Middle East and Africa, Marriott International; Amine Moukarzel, president Mena, Louvre Hotels Group; Dr Badr Al Badr, chief executive officer, Dur Hospitality; and Jean-Paul Pigat, senior economist, Global Markets and Treasury, Emirates NBD. Sessions specifically targeted at hospitality investors will tackle issues such as white label operations, asset management, alternative models of investment, how to exit a contract, overseas acquisitions, working with master developers and achieving ROI on F&B. - TradeArabia News Service Meet award-winning artisans and buy their products at Kerala Arts and Crafts Village Prairie voles are so well known for the close and lasting bonds of mated pairs that its fair to consider them the white rat of social monogamy research. Thats why prairie voles were chosen as subjects for a study of the effect of alcohol on pair bonding. Intoxication sometimes contributes to social bonds, but can also interfere with them. Researchers who conducted the study Drinking alcohol has sex-dependent effects on pair bond formation in prairie voles concluded that alcohol has an inhibitory effect on pair bonding in males, but facilitates attachment in females. To study this aspect of love, scientists assumed a giant swipe right mentality among their voles, put them in pairs and observed pair-bonding behavior such as cuddling and mating. Then, the researchers gave them a choice of refreshment plain water or what most of us would call vodka, but was officially reported as a mix of ethanol and water and came back 24 hours later. Prairie voles will accept a nip of the sauce when its available, so it was no surprise that researchers returned to find a little community of drunken voles. Next, they conducted a test of partner choice. Pairs were separated and introduced to new potential partners with whom they spent three hours. Then, the original partner joined them. For comparison, they did the same test with pairs who were not given the opportunity to consume alcohol, having been left for 24 hours with nothing to drink but water. All but one of the intoxicated females preferred their original partner the male who they had partied with. Among sober females, about two-thirds preferred their original partner and the remaining third were split between having no preference or taking a shine to the new guy. The behavior of males was completely different. Among drunk males, there was an even mix of preferring the original partner, expressing considerable interest in the new potential mate and showing no preference. However, all of the sober males were faithful, showing a clear preference for their original partner over the new option. One hypothesis is that stress is the reason for the different effects of alcohol on pair bonding in females compared to males. In an earlier study on prairie vole fidelity, subjects were stressed before being introduced to a mate. They were either forced to swim or they received a dose of corticosterone a hormone naturally released when under stress. Exposure to stress enhanced pair bonding in males, but had an inhibitory effect on females. It then makes sense that alcohol, a known anxiety-reliever, would interfere with pair bonding in male prairie voles, but enhance it in females, leading to increased female fidelity and more male wandering. That a drug can affect pair bonding in a socially monogamous species might not be surprising, but this study is one of only a few providing scientific evidence of this phenomenon. In summary, Two prairie voles walk into a bar can either be the start of a scientific study or of a joke. As Wyomings leaders discuss diversification and look toward the future, the Star-Tribune asked experts from three areas industry, academia and government to weigh in on energy, taxes and the states economy. The following interview is with Rep. Mike Madden, R-Buffalo. On Sunday, an energy industry leader weighed in, and on Monday, two economists shared their thoughts. Will natural gas replace coal for Wyoming? I think were going to see more stability in coal now. Things will get back to the free market thing. Its a mixture of the overregulation we had the last eight years in combination with plentiful and low-priced natural gas that brought market conditions to where they are. How do we know when were out of the bust? Are we still in one? There is not a real sure sign. We might have leveled off pretty much right now, but leveling off is not very good for us right now. Why do we need economic diversification in the state? We dont need it. We cannot afford diversification because our tax system is so tilted towards the mineral industry. The rest of us are freeloaders. We pay 30 percent of the taxes and (receive) virtually all of the benefits. The mineral industry pays the other set of bills. That means that if you set up a new manufacturing firm here in the state, our taxes are too low and inadequate to pay their own freight. The only way we could have diversification in this economy is if we have a booming mineral industry to pay their bills for them. Just do the math on school costs at $15,000 a head, and on and on. Is it possible to diversify the tax structure? Of course. Every other state has done it. Alaska and us are about the only ones. If you go to all the neighboring states, Colorado has got a diversified tax system South Dakota, they outpace us in economic expansion by large margins when you subtract oil and gas. For a long time we were dependent mostly on oil, then we added coal and natural gas. Do we need that three-pronged approach to survive? We certainly cant function without it if we dont have a diversified tax system. With Wyomings economy reeling from a drop in the energy sector, state leaders like Gov. Matt Mead have emphasized the need to attract other industries that offer good jobs for blue-collar workers and young professionals. Mead is proud of the arrival of the Magpul Industries firearms accessory plant outside Cheyenne in 2015, viewing it as part of a burgeoning small manufacturing sector. The data centers clustered in southeast Wyoming fall into the same category, providing opportunities for computer engineers and skilled heating and air conditioning specialists. Yet many economists question whether a state like Wyoming will ever be able to re-create tens of thousands of energy-related jobs with small factories and similar businesses. And even if lost energy jobs could be replaced on a large scale, a troubling issue remains: State government currently receives about 70 percent of its revenue from the energy industry, mostly through severance taxes and mineral royalties fees that are only charged to companies taking natural resources out of the ground. In other words, the state sees a direct tax benefit only from mining companies. Economic diversification without a change in the tax code isnt going to work, Rep. David Miller, R-Riverton, said at a news conference in January. In fact, its a recipe for disaster. Miller, the Legislatures House Majority Floor Leader, was highlighting the fact that any move away from extractive industries in Wyoming will mean less money for public services. Mead, too, has noted that while companies like Magpul provide local jobs, attracting them through low taxes means less revenue for Wyoming. If were going to bring in new industries to diversify us, whether its manufacturing or whatever it may be, we have to make sure there is a tax benefit to that, Mead said in a fall interview with the Star-Tribune. That puts the conservative politicians who control the Legislature the only body that could raise, or change, taxes in Wyoming in a tricky spot. Im not in favor of corporate or personal income tax, Senate President Eli Bebout, R-Riverton, said. But before he had finished his brief comments at the same news conference where Miller spoke, Bebout said that, actually, the economy needed to diversify, and the tax system needed to change, too. We need to look at that diversification of the tax base, Bebout said. But experts say that even if the Legislature seeks new sources of revenue to cover the budget shortfall, it is improbable that Wyoming will move to implement the one levy that would most obviously spread around the tax burden: a personal or corporate income tax. Theres absolutely going to be a really big status quo bias in tax policy, said University of Memphis professor Michael Sances, who has studied how states respond to economic downturns. Its a lot easier to tell people were just going to raise that existing tax a little bit. The Legislatures actions in this years session have mirrored Sances analysis, with a host of proposals to raise taxes or allow local governments to raise taxes all within the existing framework. There was a bill to eliminate sales tax exemptions, allow cities and counties to raise the lodging tax and one that would have taxed alcohol at a higher rate and sent that money to fund schools. Other bills sought to lower various taxes. But none have proposed any radical alterations to the tax code, and no bills to begin taxing personal incomes or non-energy companies profits were brought forward. The closest the Legislature has come to looking at truly new forms of taxation was a Senate bill called Tax reform 2020, which would have convened a panel of legislators. The mission of the commission, based on a panel that was convened in the late 1990s following 10 years of low energy prices, would have been to develop comprehensive legislation for a fair, viable and economically competitive state and local tax structure... for a diversified economy. But the measure, sponsored by Senate Minority Leader Chris Rothfuss, D-Laramie, with bipartisan co-sponsors including Harshman, failed to make it out of a committee. Instead, the Senate has taken up a more modest bill, Senate File 131 sponsored by Bebout and also backed by Rothfuss and Harshman that would create a commission with a mandate to conduct a review of projected state revenues and... potential additional revenue options. Bebout, who would sit on the commission if Senate File 131 passes, said he opposes any increase in property taxes, in addition to his opposition to income tax, and called raising sales tax the most reasonable one to consider. Like the rest of the Legislatures Republican leadership, Bebout hammered on the point of reducing government spending before looking at raising revenue. But he also noted the political impossibility of simply slashing spending to fix the deficit. The challenge is to provide that happy medium between revenue and taxes and satisfying all the special interests, Bebout said. History of opposition The Cowboy State is one of just seven states without any form of income tax. The history of taxation in Wyoming is one of a Legislature loath to raise taxes and repeatedly sheltered from doing so by fluctuations in the economy. Wyoming debated whether to move beyond a property tax during the depression of the 1930s, as one in five state residents received welfare and government agencies were stretched thin. Many states were going through the same deliberation during an era that marked the start of new forms of taxation. What existed before that was a pretty narrow amount of revenue and property taxes were pretty huge, said William Fox, director of the Boyd Center for Business and Economic Research at the University of Tennessee. But in Wyoming, the Legislature had to be dragged kicking and screaming to move beyond the property tax. An income tax was proposed and supported by farmers and ranchers who felt the state was balancing its budget on the high property taxes they paid but opponents successfully linked it to organized labor and Wyomings minuscule Communist party, according to a history written by University of Wyoming professor Phil Roberts. By tying the income tax to Communists, opponents of the tax won the day, Roberts wrote. In 1935 the Legislature finally passed a temporary sales tax with dozens of exemptions, including all services, and settled on a permanent measure two years later. Roberts notes that by the end of the 1930s, lawmakers had determined the sales tax would be sufficient and, with the economy improving, they decided not to follow the lead of other states in raising an income tax. A severance tax, which had been debated since Wyomings founding, would not come to pass until several decades later. During the 1966 general election, the entire Democratic party slate in Wyoming led by gubernatorial candidate Ernest Wilkerson pushed for a tax on minerals mined in the state under the slogan, Lets make Wyoming minerals make Wyoming payrolls. Wilkerson and the Democrats were defeated across the board, and while Republican governor Stanley Hathaway got behind the idea of severance tax, he struggled to even find a legislator to propose a bill calling for one. Finally Rep. Cliff Davis, R-Gillette, agreed to introduce the legislation. Im going to introduce your bill for you, Governor, because I feel sorry for you, Davis reportedly told Hathaway. The 1 percent severance tax would eventually pass by an overwhelming margin of 67-20, buoyed by strong support from the public and the media, according to the Wyoming Historical Society. The implementation of that tax came just a few years before the energy boom of the 1980s that saw oil prices soar, and then crash, but also witnessed the rise of both coal and natural gas as important parts of the states energy sector. As the state started receiving the bulk of its revenue through severance and property taxes paid by mining companies, a political climate developed where residents paid little in taxes while still expecting strong government services; in real terms, the Wyoming Taxpayers Association estimates the average Wyomingite receives $30,000 in government services per year while paying just $3,000. The income tax popped up again as a potential source of revenue for Wyoming in the 1990s, following a decade of sluggish performance by the states energy industry. The Legislature created the Tax Reform 2000 Committee in 1997, tasking it with developing a new tax system to meet expected needs of the 21st Century. The panel delivered its report the next year and outlined a host of problems with Wyomings tax system, including: Wyoming residents benefit from generous public services funded by out-of-state tax revenue; Wyomings existing tax structure may contribute to the lack of economic growth in the state; not enough of the mineral taxes are being diverted to trust funds; individuals with higher incomes pay a smaller percentage of their income in sales tax than those are lower incomes; the property tax unfairly burdens middle-class families; future revenue may not cover the cost of state government. The committee members recommended the Legislature look into a personal and corporate income tax, along with other ways to broaden the tax base. But the year after the report was released, coal bed methane was discovered in the Powder River Basin, leading to a natural gas boom and appearing to eliminate the need for the Legislature to make any unpopular decisions related to taxes. I dont even know where Tax 2000 is on our shelf, Mead said. Still, the governor has been a strong advocate of at least looking into changing Wyomings tax code and said the recommendations of the 2000 report should be taken seriously. Weve got to dust off Tax 2000, which is dusty, he said. University of North Texas professor Ronald Hy, who studies state income taxes, said Wyomings current system makes any changes politically difficult. He said state government has effectively been funded by out-of-state residents who pay higher energy prices because companies paying severance taxes in Wyoming pass those costs along to the eventual customers. The people who pay the taxes export the cost to other states, Hy said. That means that state residents just arent used to paying taxes that cover the cost of the government services they receive and that makes it all the more difficult for politicians to find support for new taxes. Hows that going to sell when people arent used to paying taxes? Taxing consumption Bebout, who assumed the Senate presidency this year just as the Legislature addresses major budget shortfalls, has been forced to navigate the tension of governing in a state where residents have embraced low taxes alongside a big state government. I always think you ought to have a look at reduction in government, Bebout said. But you need to provide the level of services at what people want. He hasnt proposed a clear answer for how to do that, though the Legislature saw a bill introduced last week that would cut another $30 million from the state budget, on top of $250 million in cuts made by Mead over the summer. Lawmakers are also grappling with a $400 million education funding shortfall. The Legislature may be eager to turn first to spending cuts because studies show that, politically, Republican legislators suffer more from any move to raise taxes and are relatively unharmed by cutting government programs. In conservative states, voters are more likely to punish representatives who raise taxes to solve a budget deficit, said Western Washington University professor Todd Donovan. Theyre more vulnerable to not getting reelected because their constituents are just, by default, less sympathetic, said Donovan, who studies voter reactions to tax increases. But Sances, who examined how states coped with deficits during the Great Recession, said that spending cuts can go only so far. Not only are state governments already generally operating with small budgets relative to the services they provide, but much state spending is on federally mandated programs, like Medicaid. I dont think theres any state that exclusively relied on spending cuts, Sances said. You need more revenue. In that case, conservative political ideology favors sales taxes, which charge people for the goods they consume, rather than income taxes. Russell Sobel, an economist at the Citadel, said this is because income taxes effectively tax money that would otherwise be invested in the private sector. In general, people can do two things with money they earn: spend it or save it. With a sales tax, savings that are placed in a bank account arent taxed, and banks can lend that money to businesses. Taxing income provides more money for government services, but conservatives tend to believe the market should have as much power as possible, Sobel said. The real question is which way is the spending more beneficial? he said. There is also the political benefit of raising sales taxes rather than income or property. Donovan said voters respond most aggressively to property and income taxes, which are paid in a single lump sum each year. Any increase in property taxes tends to be the most politically noticeable, he said. Sales tax may be the least. Moving forward Many lawmakers have noted that budget cuts alone wont solve Wyomings fiscal woes. Theyve also acknowledged that the states tax code needs to be changed to make economic diversification work. Still, most of the tax-related bills at the Legislature this year have been soundly defeated. While a cigarette tax is progressing, alcohol and lodging taxes were both defeated. So was one that would have eliminated some sales tax exemptions. The hostility toward any increase in revenue was on display in September, when the Legislatures revenue committee met in Buffalo. The committee declined to eliminate exemptions on items as varied as outdoor guides paying certain lodging taxes, companies repairing railroad cars and businesses that rent and sell pagers. Wyoming also exempts food and most services from sales tax. Fox, from the University of Tennessee, said tax exemptions are easy to pass, but they devastate a states ability to raise revenue. If Wyoming isnt able to universally apply a sales tax, Fox was skeptical about the Legislatures ability to craft sensible tax policy regardless of whether it continues to rely on consumption taxes or moves toward an income tax. In the end, its easy to give away the tax base, Fox said. Taco fundraiser Tacos for Shrove Tuesday! Christ Episcopal Church, 415 West Cedar in Glenrock, invites everyone to come for a Taco Dinner to celebrate Mardi Gras, served from 5 to 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 28 at the church. Instead of the traditional pancakes, sausage and eggs, this year FCCLA and FBLA members will serve up tacos, including gluten-free tortillas and sides. The free-will donation will benefit these two clubs from Glenrock High School. For more information, call Deacon Leigh Earle at 258-2524. Financial Peace course St. Mark's Episcopal Church, 7th and Wolcott, will have classes on money management, using the Financial Peace plan, starting in February. The classes will run from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. on Tuesdays at the church from Feb. 18 to April 25, 2017. To register, please contact Dorothy Brown at 307-377-3509 or via e-mail Wyo_nana@yahoo.com. UU Casper Events The public is invited to attend the Unitarian Universalist Community of Casper services and other events at 1040 West 15th Street, just north of the CY Avenue Albertsons. "UU Casper" is a welcoming, doctrine-free church that fosters individual spiritual growth, ethical living, and inclusive fellowship. "UUs" are people of many beliefs and backgrounds, but are aligned in the desire to make a difference for the good. Services are Sundays at 10 a.m. On Feb. 12 Debra Park will present "Black History Matters ... to All of Us, which will explore the story of slavery by Harriet Jacobs, a slave who finally escaped, and consider what she felt were the implications for blacks and whites of the South's "peculiar institution." We'll contrast that perspective with the ideas of Cornell West, a contemporary scholar, and reflect on how our shared histories can enrich our lives and help us find peace together. On Feb. 19, Laura Gossman will present Whose Right of Conscience Matters More: Mine or Yours? and on Feb. 26 Don Benson will lead a discussion forum on the fifth UU Principle: The Right of Conscience and the Democratic Process. On March 5 Rev. Kee will introduce the monthly worship theme of World Community. Childcare and a youth religious exploration program are available, and refreshments and conversation follow each service. The UU weekly coffee talk is held Tuesdays at 10 a.m., and the weekly meditation group meets Sundays at 4 p.m. The next session in the "Kindred Spirits" Discussion series will be held Friday, Feb. 10, at 7:00 p.m. The next Care N Share potluck will be held Wednesday, Feb. 15, at 6 p.m., and will feature a round table discussion on the monthly worship theme. Participants are asked to bring a dish to share and donations for the Teen Literacy program at the Natrona County Library. For more information about these events or about Unitarian Universalism, visit uucasper.org, email info@uucasper.org, visit us on Facebook, or call Laura at 307-259-4469. Womens Ministry at Bethel Baptist RiseUpAndSoar Women's Ministry will continue meeting on the second Saturday of each month. The next meeting is 9-10:30 a.m. Feb. 11. The address is Bethel Baptist Church, 3030 South Poplar Street. All women from teenage to "vintage" are welcome. The group is nondenominational and foundation is the Word of God. Refreshments and coffee will be served from 8:45 to 9:15 a.m., so attendees can sleep in and not worry about making breakfast. After fellowship, there will be a bible study, prayer and giveaways. Each month, the group has a "Love" basket that will be given away at the end of the meeting. Please bring something for the basket. All items are welcome. Ideas include food, household items, lotion, gift certificates, etc. Use your imagination. All women are invited to come out and join hands and hearts, and gain strength for the journey and obtain victory through Christ in every situation. Celebrate Recovery every Friday Looking for a nontraditional approach to recovery from your hurts, habits and hangups? 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. A proposal to increase Wyomings sales tax by 2 percent to address the schools funding shortfall was removed Friday from the education omnibus bill. Lawmakers first adopted an amendment to reduce the tax hike to 0.5 percent while moving up the date at which the increase would expire. The legislation, an omnibus measure designated House Bill 236, would have collected the money and deposited it into the main school funding account through June 30, 2020. Under the first amendment, sponsored by Rep. Albert Sommers, the increase wouldve been scaled back and then repealed on July 1, 2018. Later, however, another amendment removed the sales tax increase entirely, striking it from the bill. However, there still exists in the bill the possibility for another sales tax increase. Part of the omnibus bills approach to tackling the looming $400 million annual education shortfall includes dipping into the Legislatures rainy day fund, which currently holds around $1.6 billion. Under the omnibus bill, $100 million would be taken from the legislative savings account and sent to fund schools every year. However, should that rainy day fund fall below $500 million, a 0.5 percent sales tax increase would kick in to help fund schools while the rainy day funds levels were replenished. HB 236 is itself a substitute for the original omnibus bill, which included similar aspects and provisions. The most notable change was the inclusion of the 2 percent sales tax increase, which has now been removed from the bills language. CHEYENNE The Wyoming Legislature is considering cutting the states two-year, $3 billion government operations budget, according to a spending bill announced last week. The plan comes amid a decline in state revenue caused by the energy downturn thats already resulted in cuts. The Legislature in March adopted a two-year budget that was lower than the previous budget cycle. Over the summer, Gov. Matt Mead and the judicial branch made over $250 million in reductions, and the legislative committee in charge of drafting the budget bill largely accepted those cuts. A bill authored by the Joint Appropriations Committee would slice an additional $30 million from general state government operations, according to a news release from the Legislatures nonpartisan staff last week. The legislation would eliminate 135 full-time positions and 10 part-time positions. The Legislature is requiring Mead to identify an additional 75 positions to cut by June 30, 2018. Mead doesnt think the reductions are necessary, his spokesman, David Bush, said in a statement. The Republican governor doesnt believe the state has fully felt the effects of the reductions, Bush said. The budget bill is actually two identical bills House Bill 1 and Senate File 1. HB1 and SF1 affect general government operations, the University of Wyoming and community colleges. Money for elementary and secondary education is tackled in separate legislation. Wednesday support meetings Alcoholics Anonymous: 6:30 a.m., 917 N. Beech; 8:30 a.m., 500 S. Wolcott; 10 a.m., 328 E. A; noon, 500 S. Wolcott; 2 p.m., 917 N. Beech; 5:09 P.M., 917 N. Beech; 5:30 p.m., 1124 Elma, Imitate the Image Church; 7 p.m., 500 S. Wolcott; 8 p.m., 328 E. A; 8 p.m, 328-1/2 E. A, closed; 8:23 p.m., 719 3rd St., Evansville. Douglas: 7:30 p.m., 628 E. Richards (upstairs in back); 7:30 p.m,. 805 E. Richards, Ste. 1. Unless otherwise noted, all meetings are open. Casper info: 266-9578; Douglas info: (307) 351-1688. Al-Anon: Stepping Stones to Recovery, 303 E. 2nd St., First United Methodist Church, east doors, downstairs, room 12. 7 p.m. Narcotics Anonymous: noon, 500 S. Wolcott, 12-24 Club; 8 p.m., 302 E. 2nd St., Methodist Church, enter east side. Web site: http://www.urmrna.org. Nicotine Anonymous: noon, 500 S. Wolcott, 12-24 Club. Info: Pam M., 577-0518; Troy Y., 267-6326. OIF/OEF Support Group: 6:30-8 p.m., Casper Vet Center, 1030 N. Poplar St., Ste. B. All OIF/OEF Veterans are invited to attend. No need to pre-register. Info: 261-5355. Teen Addiction Anonymous: 7- 8 p.m., 12-24 Club Teton Room. Info: 258-7439. TOPS #35 Weight Loss: 6:45 a.m., First Christian Church, 520 CY Ave. Weight Loss Support Group, Weigh-in is from 6:30 a.m.-8 a.m. Info: 258-2603 or 234-5644. TOPS #162: 8:30 a.m., United Methodist Church, 1880 Poplar. Anyone interested is invited to join. Info: 472-4926. Reveille hears of Iris Clubhouse Dan Odell, Iris Clubhouse development director, Joe Gallagher, CEO of Wyoming Behavioral Institute and Joe Forscher, clinical director of Central Wyoming Counseling Center, will share information about the Iris Clubhouse at the Reveille Rotary meeting at 7 a.m., at the Central Wyoming Senior Services Center, 1831 East 4th Street. Iris Clubhouse is an intentional community of people with mental illness working on recovery and reclaiming their futures. Based on a model that works internationally with over 60 years of success, this initiative will bring a clubhouse to Casper in September of this year. The Clubhouse has proven results in positive outcomes: Higher employment, decreased hospitalization and /or incarceration, and improved well-being. Guests are invited to attend the Reveille Rotary meeting to learn more about Iris Clubhouse. Daytime Women in the Word Daytime Women in the Word will begin a new Bible study at 9:15 a.m., in the chapel at Highland Park Community Church, 5725 Highland Drive. The subject is Old Testament minor prophets beginning with the Book of Hosea. Resources and books are available. The study is non-denominational and open to women of all ages. Childcare is provided for children 0-5 years of age. Orientation for new women is held every Wednesday at 9:15 a.m. at Highland Park Community church. Register online @ www.casperwomenintheword.com or call Angela (267-8061) or Joyce (234-2922) for more information. Free tax help The Natrona County VITA Program, a United Way of Natrona County initiative, is open through April 12, for free tax return assistance. This is a first come, first serve program, no appointments will be scheduled. Individuals must bring their Social Security card, photo identification and the appropriate paperwork with them. For a complete listing of required paperwork, please visit the website www.wyomingfreetaxservice.org Hours are Tuesday through Thursday, 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.; Friday, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.; Saturday, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., at Aspen Creek Building, 800 Werner Ct., Ste. 206. Closed Sunday and Monday. For more information, call (307) 333-5588 during hours of operation or look on Facebook. The initiative is supported by funding from the Wyoming Free Tax Service and local United Way. Learn Cortana The Natrona County Library will offer a Windows 10: Cortana class from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. Learn how to use Cortana, the digital voice assistant on Windows 10. Basic Cortana voice and typed commands will be covered including search queries such as checking the weather, a work schedule, or the status of a flight; turning notification on or off; creating location-based and person-based reminders; getting directions; tracking packages; requesting technical support; language translation, and sending text messages. Take your Windows 10 device with you to follow along. Call 577-READ ext. 2 or email reference@natronacountylibrary.org for more information. After school at the library The Natrona County Library will host a Valentines Day celebration for elementary-age students at 4 p.m. Students will make pompom Valentine monsters for Valentines Day. All supplies provided. Call 577-READ ext. 5 for more information. Casper Charla meets Would you like to practice conversational Spanish or help others learn? Come and join the Casper Charla! Wednesdays gathering is 5 to 7 p.m., at El Toro on E. 2nd St. Te gustaria platicar en espanol? Ven y charla con nosotros! Todos son bienvenidos! Come and join us on the second Wednesday of each month this spring. We meet at a different restaurant each month and partake in food, drink and conversation. All levels of Spanish are welcome, from beginning to native-speakers. Nos reunimos los miercoles en varios restaurantes en Casper. Ven por una copa, un antojito o simplemente una charlita. Community impact at Pizza Ranch Pizza Ranch, 5011 E. Second St., hosts Community Impact nights from 5 to 9 p.m. normally on Mondays and Wednesdays. Members of nonprofit groups bus tables for tips, and 20 percent of meal tickets from diners who mention the group are donated as well. Dine-in, delivery or pickup orders qualify. Wednesdays nonprofit is the Casper Voltage softball team. Car enthusiasts meet All Oil Capitol Auto Club members are reminded that the regular monthly meeting will be held at Zs Classics on East Yellowstone. This month the loves of our lives are being celebrated with a pot luck dinner. Please bring a dish for the pot luck along with your table service and something to drink. Dinner will start at 6:30 p.m., and the meeting will start at 7 p.m., sharp. There might even be Twinkies. Call Jerry Russell with any questions at 577-7119. Tuesday's Highlights Tuesday support meetings Alcoholics Anonymous: 6:30 a.m., 917 N. Beech; 8:30 a.m., 500 S. Wolcott; 10 a.m., 328 E. A; noon, 500 S. Wolcott; 2 p.m., 917 N. Beech; 5:30 p.m., 1124 Elma, Imitate the Image Church; 5:30 p.m., 328 E. A; 7 p.m., 520 CY; 8 p.m., 328-1/2 E. A; 8 p.m., 328 E. A; 8 p.m., 917 N. Beech. Douglas: 7:30 p.m., 628 E. Richards (upstairs in back). Unless otherwise noted, all meetings are open. Casper info: 266-9578; Douglas info: (307) 351-1688. Narcotics Anonymous: Noon, 500 S. Wolcott, 12-24 Club; 7 p.m., 15th and Melrose, at the church. Web site: http://www.urmrna.org. All Media class begins The new eight-week session of All Media classes will start from 9:30 a.m. to noon on Tuesday at the Casper Recreation Center, taught by local artist Michele McDonald. Explore a variety of art mediums, including watercolor, acrylic, collage or oil. The class for all levels begins with a critique and feedback session and is followed by creative tips from McDonald. For registration fees and more information, visit the website www.activecasper.com, stop by the Casper Recreation Center at 1801 E. Fourth St. or call 235-8383. Free tax help The Natrona County VITA Program, a United Way of Natrona County initiative, is open through April 12, for free tax return assistance. This is a first come, first serve program, no appointments will be scheduled. Individuals must bring their Social Security card, photo identification and the appropriate paperwork. For a complete listing of required paperwork, please visit www.wyomingfreetaxservice.org. Hours are Tuesday through Thursday, 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.; Friday, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.; Saturday, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., at Aspen Creek Building, 800 Werner Ct., Ste. 206. Closed Sunday and Monday. For more information, call (307) 333-5588 during hours of operation or look on Facebook. The initiative is supported by funding from the Wyoming Free Tax Service and local United Way. Watercolor class at Art 321 Join Art321/Casper Artists Guild for a Beginning Watercolor Class instructed by Holly Bryson. This will be a six-week class from 6 to 7:30 p.m., beginning Tuesday. The fee for the six weeks of great instruction is $150 plus a small supply fee. To register, please call 265-2655 or stop by the gallery, 321 W. Midwest Ave. Gallery hours are Tuesday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Learn crochet and knitting Learn a new portable life skill at the Casper Recreation Centers Crochet & Knitting classes beginning Feb. 7. Join Nancy Pawlowski and learn the basics of crochet or knitting in the five-week class that meets Tuesdays from 6 to 7:30 pm. Crochet or knit a scarf or hat. A supply list is available at registration, but there will be supplies to use the first night. For registration fees and more information, stop by the Casper Recreation Center at 1801 E. Fourth St., call 235-8383 or visit the website www.activecasper.com. Reading the West book discussion The Natrona County Library and Fort Caspar Museum host a book discussion series celebrating all things western. At 6:30 p.m. at the Natrona County Library, "Steamboat," by Candie Moulton and Flossie Moulton will be discussed. The discussion is free and open to the public. To participate, pick up a copy of "Steamboat" at the library's second-floor reference desk. Call 577-READ ext. 2 or email reference@natronacountylibrary.org for more information. Sandi Patty at HPCC Sandi Patty, the most awarded female vocalist in contemporary Christian music, is bringing the Forever Grateful World Tour to Casper at 7 p.m. at Highland Park Community Church, along with Veritas. Tickets start at $25 for general admission and group rates are available. For ticket information, call 265.4073 or support@premierproductions.com. Kinser Jazz hosts concerts The Annual Kinser Jazz Festival at Casper College is celebrating its 50th year with headliner artists: Grammy winner New York Voices on Tuesday and Grammy winner Terell Stafford with the Ben Markley Trio on Wednesday. All three concerts will take place each night in the John F. Welsh Auditorium at Natrona County High School at 7 p.m. Tickets for each performance are $20 and can be purchased at www.caspercollegejazz.com or by calling 268-2606 or 800-442-2963, ext. 2606. Latin Club meets Latin Study Club language enthusiasts welcome anyone who wishes they had taken Latin in school or paid better attention when they did. The group meets at 7 p.m., on Tuesday nights at Mount Hope Lutheran School, 2300 Hickory. There is no charge. The textbook used is Wheelocks Latin, 7th edition. Noli timere! SHERIDAN Organic artifacts preserved by ice patches in Yellowstone National Park are being lost to research because warmer temperatures are melting the ice, an archaeologist said. Before his current position leading the cultural and natural resources program at Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument in Montana, Staffan Peterson was park archaeologist at Yellowstone for four years. Peterson told members of the Sheridan-Johnson County Chapter of the Wyoming Archaeological Society this past week that archaeologists cant collect the organic pollen, pine needles, sticks, dung, bones and other artifacts preserved in the ice patches. Theyre cryogenically preserved, and so once that stuff melts, that protections gone, and these things will decay very quickly, he said. I mean theyre ancient and theyve been in the ice entombed in this ice for millennia and they dont stand a chance out in the open air. Archaeologist Sarah Mostek of Hope Archaeology in Bozeman, Montana, said that this was the first time that shes heard of ice patch archaeology. Peterson said he and other scientists and park officials initially got the sense that something was changing in the higher Yellowstone elevations about 10 years ago and have since done reconnaissance to determine where the ice patches are and to track their size. He said in the four times theyve revisited the ice patches, the changes have been drastic. Weve seen a marked decrease, Peterson said. Peterson said artifacts preserved in ice patches in Yellowstone are critical in understanding the bigger picture of the human past. Its really an unparalleled storehouse of information that is vanishing, Peterson said. He said that while this isnt just a problem in the worlds first national park, theres only about a dozen ice patches left in Yellowstone. While some are very large, he said the smaller areas wont last much longer. Peterson said the next time theyll get to return to these areas in Yellowstone is 2019 with funding from the National Park Service. He said Grand Teton National Park also puts a lot of effort into recovering artifacts from ice patches and researchers will head to those areas sooner than they will in Yellowstone. PHOENIX A Senate panel agreed Monday to allow electronic billboards in northwest Arizona after its chief proponent agreed to extensive limits, not only on what can be erected there but what will happen in the future throughout the state. The version of SB 1114 that cleared the Senate Committee on Commerce and Public Safety would allow just 35 such internally illuminated signs with changing messages in an arc stretching from 60 miles north, east and south from Laughlin, Nev. Sen. Sonny Borrelli, R-Lake Havasu City, also agreed to caps on the level of illumination that is at least a third less than what's permitted elsewhere where such signs are allowed. But the measure has potential statewide implications. It requires companies to make "all commercially reasonable efforts to use modern and state of the art technology'' to limit light pollution from all types of billboards, not just electronic ones. And firms that already have electronic signs where they are now allowed are required, "to the extent possible,'' to replace lights "with new and advanced technology to decrease the artificial sky glow.'' Sabrina Vazquez, lobbyist for the University of Arizona, said it was that concession by lawmakers to add the new language which enables her school to agree not to try to kill the bill even if the verbiage requires only "commercially reasonable efforts'' and even if it does not immediately force billboard companies to do anything about the light pollution they now cause. "The legislative intent language is vital to establish a long-term goal to reduce artificial light in our sky,'' she told lawmakers, saying that light pollution has an economic effect on astronomy in general and the UA in particular. "Our professional observatories attract significant financial contributions from outside the state,'' Vazquez said. "U of A astronomy program has brought in $100 million a year for the last 12 years.'' And Jeffrey Hall, director of the Lowell Observatory, whose opposition helped sideline last year's legislation, called that new language "critical.'' He said major changes will be coming as lighting sources convert from current technology to things like light-emitting diodes. "This is an opportunity for us to construct a model solution that is effective, efficient (and) works for all the constituents,'' Hall said. Potential political problems remain. The new language has the blessing of Lamar Outdoor, the company that convinced Borrelli to sponsor the legislation so it could construct electronic billboards in the area. But John Clements, lobbyist for Up Front Media, another billboard company, said he has "serious concerns'' with the new proposed limits and may seek changes in the language. And that could pull apart the deal. Existing law permits electronic billboards in a swath from the Phoenix metro area west to Yuma. That 2012 deal specifically made these signs off-limits in the rest of the state. Borrelli, on behalf of Lamar, said there's no reason to block such signs in northwest Arizona. He argued it is sufficiently far from any observatory to not cause problems for astronomers. Last year he proposed allowing unlimited billboards throughout Mohave County. That failed to get necessary votes. So he came back this year with the 60-mile radius and a cap of 50 signs. Even that drew opposition. So on Monday Borrelli agreed to even lower illumination limits and a 35-sign cap. That helped blunt opposition. But the real key was that new language designed to ensure that as new signs are built and old ones are retrofitted, the illumination on and in the signs is enough only to convey the message and not interfering with the state's dark skies. "We're not against light,'' said astronomer Elizabeth Alvarez. "But don't waste it or cause harm by how you use it,'' she continued. "If the goal of outdoor advertising is a direct message to the audience, then both an excess of light and misdirection are damaging. Put the light where it's needed, not in the sky.'' A federal judge issued a warrant Monday for the arrest of a Douglas man wanted on a single charge of possession of child pornography. Law enforcement found the pornographic images by chance while investigating Jeffrey Hunsaker Jr. for his alleged involvement in the theft of railroad equipment, court documents allege. Officers searched Hunsaker's Douglas home in June and confiscated items related to the alleged theft as well as two laptops, according to court documents. The laptops were later turned over to the Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation for forensic analysis. When a DCI agent searched the computer in November, he allegedly found multiple pornographic images of children. A member of DCI's Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force then took over the investigation and found more than 50 videos depicting child pornography, the documents state. One of the videos showed the rape of an 8-year-old girl and included text that called the girl a variety of degrading names. The agent found that at least 22 of the videos on Hunsaker's computers depicted children that matched National Center for Missing and Exploited Children profiles of kids known to be the victims of child exploitation, according to the documents. If convicted of the possession charge, Hunsaker could face up to 20 years in federal prison and a maximum $250,000 fine. A small group of local activists met with the Casper-based staff for Wyoming Republican Sens. Mike Enzi and John Barrasso to express their concerns about Betsy DeVos, President Donald Trumps nominee to run the U.S. Department of Education. But Wyomings Senate delegation remained supportive of Trumps pick ahead of Tuesdays confirmation vote. Jane Ifland, Cindy Wells, and 10 other activists went because they dont think DeVos is qualified. Wells points out that the nominees experience in education has been entirely in the field of private and charter schools. They worried about online schooling, which DeVos has invested in, and what it might do to local communities, where schools are often the center of society. They met with the senators staffs to urge the lawmakers not to vote to confirm DeVos. That vote will likely happen Tuesday. It appears that she will likely be confirmed by one vote, a tiebreaker from Vice President Mike Pence, which prompted Democrats in the Senate to refuse to yield the floor. The close vote total is why Ifland, Wells and their fellow activists went to the offices. This was so egregious, outside of common sense, none of us felt we could just sit by, watch it happen and not have done the best we could to halt it, said Ifland, who helped organize the Womens March last month. Some lawmakers have expressed the same concerns Wells and Ifland did: DeVos spent a majority of her educational efforts and money in Michigan, pushing charter schools and school choice. But in comments last month, state superintendent Jillian Balow said DeVos lack of public school experience may be a plus. Balow said she wants the education department to operate as a fund manager rather than a policy advocate. That philosophy, she said, makes exact qualifications matter less. Wyomings senators dont seem concerned, either. Enzi said in a statement that he would vote to confirm DeVos, and Barrassos spokeswoman, Laura Mengelkamp, said that the senator will also be supporting the nomination. I voted to advance Betsy DeVoss nomination as Secretary of Education to the full Senate because I believe she will allow states and local public school districts to implement their own plans to improve the educational outcomes for all of our students without burdensome federal intrusion, Enzi wrote in the statement. Mengelkamp said much the same about Barrassos feelings on DeVos position, but she added that the two talked about the need to ensure both opportunities and protections for students with disabilities. The comment is likely related to DeVos Senate testimony, when she appeared to not know about the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, a moment that was not lost on Ifland, Wells or their fellow activists. If DeVos is confirmed, Ifland said, it would be a negative for children with disabilities. Still, education officials last month said it was too early to tell what effect DeVos would have on Wyoming should she be confirmed. While a few disagreed with her past support for charter schools and wished she had more experience in the public sector, they still were unsure. Im not sure where (Trumps) going to go with education, Kathy Vetter, the president of the Wyoming Education Association, said. But Wells and Ifland said one only needed to look at her past to know where she stood. Ifland claimed that DeVos is the poster child for big money in government. Last month, the nominee said it was possible that her family has donated $200 million to Republican Party. We tend to go down our most familiar path, Wells said. The future of Interstate 80 in Wyoming would be the subject of a major study under a bill passed out of the Wyoming Senate on Monday. Senate File 140 would require the Wyoming Department of Transportation to conduct a study of I-80 across Wyoming and create a master project plan for the highway. The study would include information on current and predicted future traffic loads, areas that are prone to crashes and frequent closures, and how self-driving vehicles could affect the road. It would also list potential construction and safety improvements including additional lanes and the reconstruction of I-80s interchange with Interstate 25 in Cheyenne as well as ways to pay for those projects. Past I-80 studies, including a late-2000s study on tolling, would be reviewed and potentially incorporated into the master plan. The bill calls for a target date of Sept. 30 for completion of the plan. Sen. Michael Von Flatern, R-Gillette, is the lead sponsor of the bill and said the goal of the study is twofold: newer and better data on I-80 and its associated issues; and planning, with the hope of getting a share of any infrastructure efforts that come from the federal government. The new administration has asked us for big infrastructure projects, bigger than weve probably ever done before, VonFlatern said. We want to be able to hand them by the September/October period something that says, Yes, wed like to do all of I-80, which is one of the biggest transportation corridors across this country. Long-term planning efforts would also ensure projects like the I-80/I-25 interchange will fit with the expected future of I-80, the senator said. The study would be funded by a $300,000 appropriation from the states Legislative Stabilization Reserve Account, known as the rainy day fund. I-80 is a major transportation corridor for the trucking industry, data from the Federal Highway Administration shows, and the amount of truck traffic is projected to increase in the coming decades. Along with the I-40 corridor, the combined Union Pacific Railroad and I-80 corridor across southern Wyoming is one of the two major east-west transportation corridors in the West, Federal Highway Administration maps show. Senators voted 29-1 to pass Senate File 140 on third reading with Sen. Wyatt Agar, R-Thermopolis, casting the lone no vote. The bill will now go to the House of Representatives for consideration. The bill is being sponsored by Von Flatern; Sen. Curt Meier, R-LaGrange; and Rep. John Eklund, R-Cheyenne. CHEYENNE Wyomings House and Senate leaders are uninterested in repairing the states prison right now, instead preferring to create a savings account to eventually rebuild the facility. The decision runs against a recommendation by Wyomings governor to use bonds to repair the prison after a task force decided that was the best option. The prison houses about 700 people and is experiencing significant structural damage. House Bill 262, which passed the House and is in the Senate, would funnel investment earnings into a savings account for a new state prison. House Speaker Steve Harshman, who is sponsoring HB262, said his bill would save a portion of investment earnings possibly $45 million a year until the account has $250 million in it. It will be up to a future Legislature and governor to decide when and how to spend it, the Casper Republican added. There is some money to keep the current prison in service, he said: The task force approved $3.5 million in emergency funding last summer to repair a crumbling wall and an electrical services building. And the Legislature last year gave the prison $7 million for repairs. If we had to go out and build a brand new prison tomorrow, I think (bonding) would be an option on the table, Harshman said. But I just dont think we have to go out right now and build a new prison. I think thats kind of the consensus. Its not that theres a need and we dont want to build it. We think we can stretch this thing out for repairs. The Task Force on State Penal Facilities toured the Rawlins prison in June, questioned a consultant and concluded the facility could become structurally sound with fixes such as drilling supports 50 feet into the ground. The repair would cost somewhere between $87 million and $125 million and save the state hundreds of millions from having to build a new prison cash the state does not have in the current energy downturn, the task force concluded. Based on the task forces recommendations, Gov. Matt Mead had asked the Legislature to leverage Wyomings AAA credit rating and borrow through bonds to pay for the repairs. The Rawins prison has buckling floors, gaping holes from walls that are separating, a leaky roof and water draining into the foundation. In December, Mead also requested lawmakers give him access to up to $19 million from the rainy day fund should there be a structural catastrophe at the prison. Lawmakers snubbed that request, too. Mead noted the budget will be amended this week and proposals for the prison could change. Mead, a Republican, said Friday that a savings account as proposed in HB262 is better than doing nothing. Its his job to worry about the day-to-day business of government, he said. If something happens at the prison in June or July, we have to have the ability to deal with it (with rainy day funds), and I think that the prison is not getting any better, he said. And what I worry about is doing Band-Aid fixes of $10 million a year. We end up paying more in the long run than if we would have addressed the situation head-on. Rep. Andy Schwartz, one of two Democrats on the Joint Appropriations Committee, the group of lawmakers who drafted the budget bill, said he agreed with the Republican majority on the committee to not allow Mead to withdraw from the $1.6 billion rainy day fund. If the prison becomes uninhabitable, the state wont pay for the ongoing expenses of running the prison. And with that money, Mead could devise a contingency plan for the prisoners, the Jackson representative said. Before constructing another building, Schwartz said the state needs to adopt criminal justice reform and decrease the prison population. Schwartz believes some people can be rehabilitated only through prison sentences. But others need shorter sentences or no incarceration at all. The state needs to boost drug and alcohol rehab and mental health counseling, he said. Thats where I want to put my money, to expand those services, he said. In an article published Jan. 29 (State leaders say social issue bills sidetrack Legislature), Gov. Matt Mead and Senate President Eli Bebout are cited as warning that social issue legislation could distract lawmakers from more pressing issues. This begs a question. Which bills, exactly, are they referring to? The article mentions five second amendment bills, three pro-life bills, two obscenity bills and a first amendment bill, among others. It makes no mention of the multiple marijuana bills. Neither does it mention HB 212, which would have stripped husband and wife out of Wyoming law, or SF 153, which would have injected SOGI language into Wyoming statute. Are these not social issues, too, and equally distracting? I understand that the $156 million general deficit and the $400 million school deficit are pressing problems. But to belittle the importance of social issues is unfortunate for several reasons. First, since last January was the biennial budget session, special rules kept social issues off the floor. Those same rules will make discussion of social issues practically off limits next year as well. Shall we now turn 2017 into another budget session, putting them off yet again? That would defer them for another two years, assuming we dont repeat the same budget mistakes in 2018. Second, we should remember that both state and federal government are constituted primarily to secure our freedoms not spend our money. The first 18 sections of Wyomings constitution are about equality, justice, religious liberty and the like. Likewise, the U.S. Constitution begins with social issues. They are the necessary topics to discuss in order to build a just and peaceful society. Especially in our time of significant social upheaval, we need to consider our states response to the federal meddling in social issues. If we cannot do this in the statehouse, where exactly can we talk about these matters, and when? Third, to drive a wedge between social issues and budget issues is to ignore to the economic implications of social engineering. If you think that gun bills are irrelevant to budget considerations, consider the cost in law enforcement dollars and in lives where gun policies fail. Likewise, ill-conceived changes to our drug laws can come at a high price, in money and in lives. Just ask the officers who respond to domestic violence calls as well as teachers who are fighting to rescue young minds from the scourge of addiction. A Fifty-State Survey of the Cost of Family Fragmentation (Regent University Law Review, December 2012) calculated that Wyoming spent $112 million from 2007-2011 as a direct result of broken families. This counts only the monetary cost. It cannot even begin to count the suffering of men, women, and children who could have been helped by stronger support for their families. Passing laws that support the family, and opposing those that undermine it, can save Wyoming millions of dollars per year. For this reason alone, it is shortsighted to dismiss social concerns in favor of budget concerns. Moreover, it is not only families that have concrete monetary value for the state of Wyoming; so also do churches and charitable agencies. These mediating institutions produce educated citizens and ethical businesses. They support families and fight substance abuse. They care for the poor and work to rebuild broken families all at zero cost to the government. Imagine what it would cost Wyoming if we had to do all this work on the government dime. Thus, it benefits the state to protect and support marriage, the family and other mediating institutions. Without protection for their First Amendment rights, many of these institutions are at serious risk. Already, we have seen states like Illinois and Massachusetts shut down church adoption agencies. Who has stepped up to fill the void? No one. As state bureaucracies move in to fill the void, they will do poorly and expensively what families and charities do easily with little money. Think about it. Is a state-run orphanage, by any stretch of the imagination, as good at raising children as the simplest and poorest of married couples? So by all means address the budgetary issues, which should have been handled last January. But lets quit pretending that budget issues trump social issues. It simply isnt true. This is a column on a subject of broad public interest but with a single reader in mind: Justice Anthony M. Kennedy. Justice Kennedy, if you're reading this, my message is simple: Please don't retire. It could put your legacy at risk; even more, it would be terrible for the country at a moment that demands healing, not another bitter fight ripping at the seams of national unity. It's natural, of course, that stepping down would be on your mind. At 80, you are the court's longest-serving justice -- 29 years this month. Appointed by a Republican president, you might decide that a Republican president should have the chance to name your successor. Please don't. Your tenure will be best remembered -- and justly celebrated -- for rulings on gay rights. Romer v. Evans (1996) struck down an amendment to the Colorado Constitution that barred the state or localities from passing anti-discrimination laws to protect gays and lesbians. Lawrence v. Texas (2003) declared unconstitutional laws criminalizing homosexual conduct. Next, U.S. v. Windsor (2013), struck down the Defense of Marriage Act and its prohibition against having the federal government recognize same-sex marriages permitted by state law. Finally, Obergefell v. Hodges (2015) established a constitutional right to same-sex marriage. Some argue that the consequences of these decisions are already so woven into the social fabric that a future court, a court without a Kennedy to protect his precedents and their underlying rationale, will be reluctant to unwind them. Let's hope so -- although a worrier might note that it was just two years ago that Chief Justice John Roberts, dissenting in Obergefell, warned against "stealing this issue from the people" and "making a dramatic social change that much more difficult to accept." That the right to abortion enshrined in Roe v. Wade remains contested 44 years later counsels against assuming that this debate is settled. But even if there is no going back in the arena of gay rights, there are issues bound to make their way to the court. Can employers discriminate against workers on the basis of sexual orientation? Can landlords refuse to rent to gay or lesbian tenants? How should the law treat transgender citizens? How should courts balance gay rights against claims of religious freedom or invasions of the right to privacy? Justice Kennedy, your voice on these issues is essential -- not simply your vote but your approach to understanding gay Americans' rights to "equal dignity in the eyes of the law," as you put it in Obergefell. Notably, Judge Neil Gorsuch, President Trump's nominee to the late Justice Antonin Scalia's vacant seat, seems disinclined to read the Constitution in that expansive way. The Constitution, he wrote in a concurring opinion last year, is not "some inkblot on which litigants may project their hopes and dreams ... but a carefully drafted text judges are charged with applying according to its original public meaning." In a 2005 column for National Review, Gorsuch wrote disapprovingly that "American liberals have become addicted to the courtroom, relying on judges and lawyers rather than elected leaders and the ballot box, as the primary means of effecting their social agenda on everything from gay marriage to assisted suicide to the use of vouchers for private-school education." In short, Justice Kennedy, Gorsuch seems more a guaranteed Scalia vote on gay rights and related cases than a Kennedy ally. If you were to leave, a Trump-selected successor would almost certainly be in that camp as well -- shifting the court dangerously away from the path of respect and justice on which you helped launch it. And you, of all people, understand the national uproar that your departure would create. Your selection came after the retirement of Justice Lewis Powell, who, like you, occupied the role of swing justice, and the failed nomination of Robert Bork. The Bork episode feels, in strange retrospect, like an artifact of a gentler era. One data point: Democrats did not filibuster his nomination; he was defeated by a vote of 42-to-58, with six Republican senators joining the opposition and two Democrats voting for him. In the current party-line environment, with a nuclear option looming if not already triggered, the fight over your successor might have a predictable end. But the intervening battle would be ugly, reviving a debate over abortion rights that you sought to settle a quarter-century ago in declining to overturn Roe. The country, in the aftermath of the 2016 election, is already so split and bruised. Please, don't put it through more. Heavy snowfall on Colorados Western Slope and Utahs Wasatch Range in December and January boosted snowpack in the five-state Upper Colorado River Basin to 157 percent of average. Increased spring runoff in the drainage area will make boat launch ramps more accessible and continue to help shore up the shrinking reservoir of downstream Lake Mead. The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation is projecting unregulated inflow to reach 126 percent of average. The snowpack report could not have come at a better time for Page, the 60-year-old city of about 7,400 near Glen Canyon Dam. Ever a boom town, Page could find itself on the cusp of another major transition as it stares down the potential closure of Navajo Generating Station. The coal-fired power plant just east of Page has been powering parts of Arizona and Nevada since 1974 and employs nearly 500 full-time workers. Operating agent Salt River Project may opt to concentrate on the much cheaper development of natural gas and walk away from NGS this year or in 2019, when a 50-year land lease expires. A decision is expected this spring. Page gained life as a boom town. The Eisenhower-era decision to build a dam at Glen Canyon flooded once-desolate Manson Mesa with 2,960 hardy souls by 1960. The dam was finished in 1964 and by 1970 only 1,439 people remained. Construction and startup of NGS in the early 1970s swelled the ranks to 4,907 by 1980 and Page rode a statewide wave of growth to reach 7,000 shortly after 2000. Tourism had gained a foothold in the area well before the first dynamite blasts over Glen Canyon in 1956. In 1950, Art Greene built the Cliff Dwellers Lodge near Marble Canyon, and with son-in-law Earl Johnson, began running tours upstream on the Colorado River through Glen Canyon to Rainbow Bridge. Cowboy Skipper Greene, eventually the eponym for the bedroom community of Greenehaven, charged customers $250 for the three-day cruise, according to Stan Jones Ramblings By Boot and Boat in Lake Powell Country. Today tourism has become an all-important cog in Pages economic engine. Partly because Page imposes no municipal property tax, the city relies on revenue from sales taxes to help sustain its general fund. City Manager Crystal Dyches projected $9 million in revenue from sales taxes for fiscal year 2016-17, and Page already collected $6.4 million in the first six months of the fiscal year. That marked a 10.6 percent increase over the first six months of 2015-16, reported Linda Watson, the citys finance director. This winter has been so robust that sales tax revenue was up 32 percent for December 2016 over the previous December. The uptick in tourism is also reflected at Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, the National Park Service unit that serves Lake Powell. The recreation areas Wahweap District nearest to Page counted nearly 3 million visitors for the first 11 months of 2016, an 18.1 percent increase over the same period in 2015, according to NPS reports. The Horseshoe Bend Overlook off Highway 89 and the Antelope Canyons on Navajo Nation land have exploded in popularity and routinely draw large crowds on a daily basis, even in winter. Antelope Point Marina east of Page has generated steady business since opening in 2004. I believe we should be promoting ourselves and our whole destiny moving forward in favor of spending money for tourism, i.e., promotions and marketing, said Mayor Bill Diak, a Page resident since 1980. Antelope Canyon brings people in. But it doesnt make us the destination, just the layover. Positive snowpack reports are a sign of relief for Page, which has been subjected to decades of environmental criticism. Emissions from NGS and jet skis along with an indictment of Glen Canyon Dam for spoiling a free-flowing Colorado River have tended to color perceptions negatively for some. The region finds itself in a 17-year drought interrupted by above-average inflow in just three years, ammunition for lake-draining advocates. But this winter started so vigorously as to rekindle memories of a full pool at Lake Powell. Before the drought, the surface elevation regularly approached 3,700 feet above sea level. At the depth of the drought, in 2005, the lake level dipped to 3,555 feet. Diak said he was absolutely flabbergasted at the series of storms that coated Utah, Wyoming, Colorado and northwestern New Mexico with snow. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration characterized the storms as starting with an atmospheric river of significant moisture transported from subtropical regions into the western U.S. December and January are in the books, but weve still got February, March and the first part of April to go, cautioned Paul Ostapuk, spokesperson for Page-based Friends of Lake Powell. To reach 3,700 feet again, the lake would need four to five years of significantly-high inflow, assuming that many other variables line up perfectly during the period, said Marlon Duke, a spokesman for the Bureau of Reclamation in Salt Lake City. The lake was measured this week at 3,595 feet. Last year it peaked at 3,621 feet in July. The average elevation for the life of the reservoir is 3,640 feet. The biggest single rise in recent years came following the 2005 low point, when the lake came up 50 feet. Ostapuk speculated that at least a 40-foot rise appears likely this spring. Even if Lake Powell doesnt rise to 3,700 feet in the near future, the reservoir is doing its job, said Ostapuk: Lake Powell was never expected to operate permanently at full pool. The reservoir has done its job quite well in dry years, BORs Duke said last week. There havent been any instances of shortages, due to its ability to store water. Complicating a movement toward full pool is the critical nature of downstream Lake Mead. The nations largest artificial lake continues to struggle during the drought to meet the needs of an increasingly thirsty population in the lower basin states of California, Nevada and Arizona. Mead has lost more than 100 feet in surface elevation since 2000 and is only 40 percent full. If Lake Powell should build to 160 to 200 percent of average inflow -- and reach 3,652 feet by August -- a higher level of equalization with Lake Mead could be triggered, requiring Glen Canyon to boost releases from its current 9 million acre feet annually, Ostapuk said. The dam could increase to perhaps 11 MAF or 11.5 MAF under that scenario, he said. The demands of Mead and its nearly 20 million water dependents and sprawling agriculture continue to rankle some Lake Powell enthusiasts. Lake Powell isnt going to come up, with how the other cities are using their water unconscionably, said Danny Vine, a Lake Powell boater and angler. Authorities caution that the progress of December and January could be neutralized by spring weather patterns. If March turns out to be dry and windy, valuable snowpack could evaporate before melting into the river systems. March can be boom or bust, Ostapuk said. We can really pile it on, or a high-pressure system can bring dry, hot and windy conditions. The 30-day outlook of the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration calls for February temperatures well above normal in the southern end of the basin. The forecast also projects precipitation near average in the northern end of the basin and slightly below average in the southern end. Lake Powell rose 30 feet last year, and Vine is hoping for a bigger boost this year: Im really hoping it goes up even more this year to improve our fisheries, recreation and family activities. All three downlake launch ramps are open, and the park service expects them to remain so through the winter and spring, according to Glen Canyon NRA spokesperson Amanda Hammond. We are hopeful for a good water year, and are ready to move docks and other infrastructure on the lake if needed to accommodate higher inflow, Hammond said last week. High water produces more tree-line cover for all wildlife and fish and that is a bonus for business related to the lake, said Judy Franz, executive director of the Page-Lake Powell Chamber of Commerce. If the El nino pattern holds for 3-5 years, both Lake Powell and Lake Mead could see full pools again. The Arizona Corporation Commission on Tuesday approved the Southline Transmission Project, which will add 240 miles of new high-voltage lines in Arizona and New Mexico and upgrade another 120 miles of lines from near Wilcox to a substation northwest of Tucson. Southline, sponsored by Dallas-based transmission provider Hunt Power, won approval from both the Western Area Power Administration and the Bureau of Land Management last year. It will connect with Tucson Electric Power Co.s substation near Vail. The Coporation Commission granted the project a certificate of environmental compatibility after amending the plan to lessen effects on Mountain View Ranch, a development along Interstate 10 east of Vail. The original route also was altered to avoid wine-growing areas near Willcox. Rate increases for Tucson Electric Power and Trico Electric Cooperative customers will be considered by the Arizona Corporation Commission at an open meeting Wednesday morning in Tucson. The commission is expected to decide how much revenue TEP and Trico can collect, including general monthly charges and basic rates. Reimbursements for solar customers will be addressed after hearings tentatively scheduled for this summer. Among the changes it is seeking, TEP wants to add optional demand rates, which are based partly on a customers period of peak usage, and it wants to raise basic monthly charges, including an increase to $15 from $10 for residential customers on the standard rate. Wednesday's hearing is at 10 a.m. in room 128 of the state building at 400 W. Congress. Some consumer advocates vehemently oppose demand rates, which are common for business-class rates but rarely used in residential rates. They contend demand rates are confusing and could cause bills to skyrocket because of one surge of unusually high demand. TEPs proposal would boost the average home customers bill by $8.41 per month in the winter and $7.79 in the summer, according to commission filings. TEP also has proposed new time-of-use rates, with a basic monthly charge of $12 and including optional, three-part rates that include a demand charge based on a period of peak monthly usage. The state Residential Utility Consumer Office and a commission hearing judge has recommended the basic monthly rate be set at $13 for the standard home rate plan and $10 for those on time-of-use rates. For business customers, TEP is proposing a new medium general service rate class, between its current small and large general-service rates, which include demand charges. The new rate would include a $40 basic monthly charge, compared with the current $15.50 for small general service, but TEP says some high-load customers could save money on the new medium-service rate. In Tricos rate case, a proposed settlement would boost basic monthly charges 60 percent for home customers to $24 from $15, but with lower usage-based energy charges it would add an estimated $2 to the average monthly bill. Trico also has proposed instituting a new three-part demand rate, with a demand charge of zero, to educate people about demand rates. A commission hearing judge has recommended against adopting the educational demand rate but has endorsed other terms of the settlement. Trico serves about 38,000 customers in northwest Tucson, Marana, Corona de Tucson, Sahuarita, Green Valley, Three Points and Arivaca. The U.S. Navy and Missile Defense Agency successfully completed the first intercept flight test of a longer-range ballistic missile interceptor made by Tucson-based Raytheon Missile Systems. In a test late Friday off Hawaii, crew members of the USS John Paul Jones launched a Standard Missile-3 Block IIA that intercepted and destroyed a land-launched target resembling an advanced ballistic missile threat in space, the company said. It was the third flight test and first intercept test for the SM-3 Block IIA, part of a joint development effort with Japan, and the longest-range ship-based ballistic missile interceptor under development by the U.S. The test keeps the program on track for sea deployment and land installation in the 2018 timeframe, Raytheon Missile Systems President Taylor Lawrence said in a news release. Bigger, faster and more powerful than other SM-3 versions, the SM-3 Block IIA is designed to intercept and destroy short- to intermediate-range ballistic missile threats. As part of the Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense system, the SM-3 Block IIA is part of the third phase of a missile-defense strategy to protect Europe. The missile is expected to provide protection against longer-range ballistic missiles aboard ships and from land-based launch sites in Romania and Poland. Besides the primary intercept objective, the recent test evaluated the missiles kinetic warhead, warhead maneuvering system, steering controls, and booster and rocket-stage performance and separation. Based on preliminary data, the test met its primary objective, the Navy and Missile Defense Agency said, adding that program officials will continue to evaluate test data. Todays test demonstrates a critical milestone in the cooperative development of the SM-3 Block IIA missile, said MDA Director Vice Adm. Jim Syring. The missile, developed jointly by a Japanese and U.S. government and industry team, is vitally important to both our nations and will ultimately improve our ability to defend against increasing ballistic missile threats around the world. A gourmet cake and pie shop opened its door in Tucson this past weekend and was greeted by a long line of fans of the Mexican delicacies. Suspiros Cakes first U.S. shop is at 5327 S. 12th Ave. A second Tucson shop is planned for Ajo Way and 12th Avenue and a third Arizona store will open in Nogales in the Loma Linda mall. The first opening was a hit, said Juan Pablo Briseno, the companys director of U.S. operations. Weve been embraced. The shop is open Mondays through Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. and from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Sundays. The Hermosillo, Sonora-based chain has 263 shops in 22 states throughout Mexico. The company hopes to expand in the U.S. A grand opening with dignitaries from both sides of the border will be held Feb. 17 at 4:30 p.m. We want more. Guera, Borderlands Theaters current offering, gives us tasty pieces of playwright and star Lisandra Tenas life, full of violence, abandonment, shame and false hopes. And we want more detail, more insights. We also want more of Tena, who is a performer full of charm and talent. Guera is the story of her New Mexico childhood. Her mother abandoned her, her brother and her father just after Tenas birth. Mom was a junkie who would return periodically to promise Tena shed never miss another birthday, or that she would buy her a beautiful blue dress with shoes to match, or to tell her she loved her only to disappear moments later. Tenas father married often and the stepmother portrayed in the play was manipulative and cruel. Her father had no problem inflicting physical violence on his daughter. Its no wonder she ran away from home when she was 15, living on the streets until she could take it no more. It was then that she found salvation through people who saw her promise and helped her realize it. Tena quickly seduces the audience with her humor and her sassiness. The conceit is she is a waitress in a restaurant ready to take our order. The program contains a menu, and the audience has a choice of one of two dishes for each of the four courses. Each dish calls for a different monologue. On the Feb. 3 opening night, the audience opted for an appetizer of El Mexicano. She quickly and silently slips out of waitress mode and transforms into her father, complete with boots and a Bud. As he sits drinking silently, he notices a small child, scared and longing to be held. He sweeps her up in his arms and dances with her until she calms down. The scene is only the Mexican music and Tena. While we never see the child, we know she is there and understand her fear. And the father wont let her go until he knows shes safe. For such a simple, wordless scene, it is shockingly poignant and heartbreaking. And then the lights come up over the audience and we have the waitress back, ready to take the order for the next course. The audience selects Ass Kickin Posole, and in it Tena slips a paper flower behind her ear and a sock puppet on her hand. The puppet is her father, the woman the stepmother from hell. What follows is a scene that will make you want to call the Department of Child Safety. There are two more courses, each darker and more disturbing than the last, and each broken up by Tenas sassy waitress bantering with the audience. Bookending each scene with such easy humor is the only way that the riveting stories can be tolerated relief is essential. Heres the thing: If you dont know some of Tenas story, this might be difficult to follow. But there is such a beauty and grace to the 90-minute play, you want to stick with it. And the other thing: We only get snippets of her story. Perhaps Tena will one day broaden it and give us more depth, more insight into what she took from that part of her life, and what it took from her. Even if she doesnt, the tasty pieces we got are enough to show us that when Tena is on stage, the audience feasts. We've collected a few front pages from newspapers.com to give you a look at some Feb. 7 papers in history. With a subscription to newspapers.com you can search the Arizona Daily Star and many other newspapers using keywords or dates, and download articles or pages. A Graham County woman who was severely burned by an item she found in the desert last week apparently set off a military aircraft flare, officials said. On Jan. 31, the Graham County Sheriffs Office responded to a call in Fort Thomas, a small community about 20 miles northwest of Safford, and found 49-year-old Diane Briscoe at home suffering from severe burns. According to the Sheriffs Office, Briscoe and her boyfriend found an unknown object in the desert north of the victims home. Briscoe apparently touched the item with a knife and it detonated, severely burning the entire front of her body. After treatment by first responders, she was flown to a hospital burn unit in Phoenix. As of Tuesday, she was in critical condition at the Arizona Burn Center at Maricopa Integrated Health System. The Sheriffs Office notified the Explosive Ordnance Disposal unit at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, but no other hazardous devices were found in the area. A team from the base visited the site Feb. 1 to gather information for an investigation, a D-M spokeswoman said. The item that was found by the Graham County Sheriffs Office Jan. 31 was confirmed to be a U.S. Air Force flare that is used on many types of military aircraft, said 2nd Lt. Sydney Smith, adding that the specific type of flare has yet to be determined. The source of the flare, how it came into the individuals possession, and how it was activated remains under investigation, Smith said. Some hot-burning flares are dropped by military aircraft to lure away heat-seeking missiles, while others are used to mark or illuminate areas on the ground. Fort Thomas is southwest of a military operating area, or MOU, used for pilot training by units including the Arizona Air National Guard 162nd Wing at Tucson International Airport. PHOENIX Astronomers from the University of Arizona and elsewhere secured changes in electronic-billboard legislation that they hope will limit light pollution. A Senate panel agreed Monday to allow electronic billboards in northwest Arizona after its chief proponent agreed to extensive limits, not only on what can be erected there but what will happen in the future throughout the state. The version of SB 1114 that cleared the Senate Committee on Commerce and Public Safety would allow just 35 such internally illuminated signs with changing messages in an arc stretching 60 miles north, east and south of Laughlin, Nevada. Sen. Sonny Borrelli, R-Lake Havasu City, also agreed to a reduced cap on the level of illumination. But the measure has potential statewide implications. It requires companies to make all commercially reasonable efforts to use modern and state of the art technology to limit light pollution from all types of billboards, not just electronic ones. And firms that already have electronic signs where they are now allowed are required, to the extent possible, to replace lights with new and advanced technology to decrease the artificial sky glow. Sabrina Vazquez, lobbyist for the University of Arizona, said that concession by lawmakers enables UA to agree not to oppose the bill. The legislative intent language is vital to establish a long-term goal to reduce artificial light in our sky, she told lawmakers, saying that light pollution has an economic effect on astronomy in general and the UA in particular. Our professional observatories attract significant financial contributions from outside the state, Vazquez said. U of A astronomy program has brought in $100 million a year for the last 12 years. And Jeffrey Hall, director of the Lowell Observatory, whose opposition helped sideline last years legislation, called that new language critical. He said major changes will be coming as lighting sources convert from current technology to things like light-emitting diodes. This is an opportunity for us to construct a model solution that is effective, efficient, works for all the constituents, Hall said. Were not against light, said astronomer Elizabeth Alvarez. But dont waste it or cause harm by how you use it, she continued. If the goal of outdoor advertising is a direct message to the audience, then both an excess of light and misdirection are damaging. Put the light where its needed, not in the sky. Potential political problems remain. The new language has the blessing of Lamar Outdoor, the company that convinced Borrelli to sponsor the legislation so it could construct electronic billboards in the area. But John Clements, lobbyist for Up Front Media, another billboard company, said he has serious concerns with the new proposed limits and may seek changes in the language. Existing law permits electronic billboards in a swath from the Phoenix metro area west to Yuma. The 2012 deal specifically made these signs off-limits in the rest of the state. PHOENIX State lawmakers are weighing Arizona's first-ever rules on when police can use technology to track your cell phone. Mia Garcia, spokeswoman for the attorney general's office, said the legislation her agency crafted will make it clear in statute that state and local police are required to get a search warrant before they use devices like a "StingRay,'' which can hone in on individual cell phones. And she said the "modernization'' of existing laws is good for the average Arizonan. "The proposed legislation would put Arizona at the forefront of protecting individual privacy while simultaneously helping police keep our community safe,'' Garcia said. Will Gaona, an attorney with the Arizona chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, called SB 1342 "a step in the right direction to increase police transparency and protect Arizonans' privacy.'' But Gaona said it does not go far enough given the capabilities of the technology. The ACLU knows something about all that technology. It fought a multi-year lawsuit with the city of Tucson to try to uncover not only how the device works, but its capability to track not just the targeted suspect but anyone else who is nearby. That legal battle ended with the state Court of Appeals concluding that Tucson and other cities with the cell-tracking technology need not tell the public how it works. The judges concluded such information could help criminals evade the law. A lot is known about the devices and how they take advantage of cell-phone technology to pinpoint a specific device. Put simply, what enables a cell phone to work is that it sends out an electronic signal searching for the nearest tower. The phone then essentially "logs in'' to that tower. That ensures that the owner not only can connect to make outgoing calls but that the system finds that specific phone when someone is trying to call the owner. Devices like the StingRay, manufactured by the Harris Corp., trick cell phones into thinking they are towers. So the phone logs in to it, the same as it would to a nearby tower. That allows police, armed with information about the specific phone, to track it. And since these devices are portable, police can take them door to door to find the person they want. But because these devices mimic cell phone towers, they also can trick other phones in the area to also log in phones that may belong to people who have nothing to do with the incident police are being investigated. In rejecting the ACLU bid for operating information, the Court of Appeals left unknown exactly what happens to all that other information. Gaona said that needs to be addressed in the proposed legislation. "A provision should be added that would require the prompt deletion of bystander data,'' he said. Garcia brushed aside concerns about sweeping up information about other cell users, including where they were and at what time. "Typically in those search warrants the judge will say (that) any other numbers must be deleted within this time frame,'' she said. But Garcia said there's no reason to put specifics into state law. "That's something that we want the judge to have a little bit of discretion over,'' she said. Gaona said it's good that police will be required to get a warrant from a judge. In fact, information developed in the lawsuit the ACLU filed against Tucson resulted in a statement from Lt. Kevin Hall that his agency not only used the device at least five times but that it had not sought or obtained a warrant in any of those cases. But Gaona said the requirement for a warrant, by itself, may be insufficient protection as judges may not be as familiar with what they are authorizing with tracking technology as they might be with a wire tap on a specific phone or "pen register'' that logs phone calls on that line. "Law enforcement should also be required to disclose the cell site simulator's capabilities to the judge who is being asked to sign the warrant,'' Gaona said. And then there's the larger question of letting the public know exactly what kinds of electronic monitoring police are doing. "Annual reporting about the use of these devices by law enforcement agencies, including how often and why they were used, is an important accountability measure that should be added as well,'' Gaona said. Garcia said the devices are an important tool for police, saying they can be used to find people involved not only in drug trafficking but also terrorism and child abduction. As crafted, the legislation requires police to provide "probable cause'' to a judge naming the person or phone to be tracked. But the proposal lists multiple reasons a warrant can be issued. For example, tracking would be permitted if the phone was used, is being used "or is about to be used as a means of committing a public offense.'' Warrants also could be issued to track individuals if police can show the phone is in the possession of someone who has committed or is about to commit a crime. And warrants also are permitted if the phone itself constitutes evidence that an offense has been or will be committed. Warrants would be good for up to 60 days, though multiple extensions are possible. The legislation does require that police or prosecutors notify the person who owns the phone being tracked to be notified within 10 days after the tracking ends, though police and prosecutors can ask judges to delay that if there is reason to believe that is necessary to protect someone's safety, prevent flight, tampering with evidence, intimidation of witnesses or jeopardizing an investigation. U.S. Rep. Martha McSally said she would not be attending a grass-roots groups town-hall meeting planned for later this month, describing the gathering as a political ambush. During a telephone call with constituents, the two-term Republican congresswoman who represents District 2 said activists primarily Democrats want an opportunity to verbally berate members of Congress in a public setting. (The forum) is about trapping people in a political ambush for political theater, she said, shortly after her local office was presented a petition with more than 1,000 signatures asking her to hold a public meeting. McSally reiterated she has met repeatedly with community members in public forums since taking office in 2015. Her staff earlier released a list showing the congresswoman has met with constituents about 30 times in town-hall settings since taking office. Also, a member of her staff said McSally could not work with a specific political group to hold a town hall, noting it would violate House ethics rules. The invitation to the forum came in the form of a protest Tuesday in front of McSallys congressional office in Tucson, with several groups joining forces to collect 1,300 signatures requesting McSally participate in a town hall. Marion Chubon, the leader of the group McSally Take a Stand, said various groups have been trying for three months to get the congresswoman to agree to a public forum. Other groups involved with the protest included Nasty Women and Bad Hombres of the East Side, Pansuit Nation Tucson, Progressives of Southern Arizona and Indivisible Tucson. The Pima County Democratic Party also encouraged Democrats to attend the event if it is held. Despite failing to set a date for a meeting with McSally, group leaders scheduled a town hall to be held at St. Francis in the Foothills Methodist Church on Feb. 23. They also put down a $500 security deposit to reserve the space. Chubon, a registered Democrat, says she got involved with the group shortly after the November election. Most of our members are not (politically) active either and we are very careful to not endorse candidates in our group. Members discuss different candidates but we are neutral, she said. She was disappointed with McSallys suggestion the town hall is a partisan ploy. We call and email and we get form letters that dont address our concerns. More often than not, they do not even mention our concerns. We all have gotten the exact same two letters, she said. If Martha McSally wants to try to paint the 125 people who showed up today out of frustration with her lack of engagement as political Democratic activists attempting to ambush her by asking for a town hall, that just shows how out of touch she is with nearly half of her constituents, Chubon said. A spokesman for McSally said previously the two-term congresswoman has met with constituents more than 30 times since taking office and that she participated Tuesday in a phone call with constituents, what her office called a tele-town hall. The list of public gatherings attended by McSally offered by her office contains mainly meetings with specific audiences, such as a business or organization. For example, a meeting at Raytheon Missile Systems in Tucson had McSally talking to company employees and members of the press. Patrick Ptak, a McSally spokesman, said she is in the process of scheduling meetings with several local groups. He said McSally has met with groups that disagree with her on certain issues, including Citizens Climate Lobby, Gun Violence Prevention AZ and Mothers Demand Action. PHOENIX The president of the Arizona Senate wants four-year terms for state senators, saying it will lead to greater continuity, more stability and less campaigning. Steve Yarbrough, R-Chandler, said the problem with forcing lawmakers to run every two years is they have to begin fundraising and campaigning almost as soon as theyre elected. He said the biennial campaigns also result in visual blight from the scads of campaign signs. Yarbrough acknowledged the same situation exists for the 60 members of the House as it does for the 30 senators. But he said there is precedent for what he wants: In Congress, senators get six-year terms while representatives have to seek office every two. Rep. Rusty Bowers, R-Mesa, said theres a big flaw to that argument: Things arent the same in Phoenix as they are in Washington. In Congress, there are just two senators from every state who are elected statewide; the number of representatives is based on population, with each one chosen by residents of only that district. By contrast, state senators and lawmakers represent exactly the same districts and are elected by exactly the same voters. The only difference is there is one senator from each district and two representatives. If youre going to go four years, make it for both of us, said Bowers, who has served in both chambers. And he said if one aim is to keep lawmakers from having to effectively start campaigning the moment theyre elected, any legislation should help us all in our misery. Rep. Eddie Farnsworth, R-Gilbert, echoed that sentiment. Theres really no difference between House and Senate in this state, he said. To bifurcate those and say for terms were going to treat one differently than the other, I probably wouldnt stand in support of that. Yarbrough said the idea of four-year terms, but only for senators, is the system in 32 other states. He called it a good government measure. If senators can serve four-year terms, obviously we have fewer people out there running for election every two years, less money out of Clean Elections (for publicly financed candidates), less clutter on the side of the road, Yarbrough said. I think it would be good for senators to have longer terms to actually, hopefully, do an even better job. And would that logic not also apply to House members? If someone wants to advance that I might be willing to support it, Yarbrough responded. But he thinks trying to provide four-year terms for all 90 lawmakers might be a bridge too far to line up the necessary votes. Rep. Anthony Kern, R-Glendale, said he likes the current system just fine for everyone. I feel like we, as two-year termers, are closest to the people, he said, giving voters a chance every even-numbered year to turn out legislators who are not representing their will. Thats their balance of power, Kern said. I understand the intent of having to pay and campaign every two years, he continued. But, you know, if thats something I dont like, then I wouldnt run. SCR 1027, which ultimately would need voter ratification in 2018, has bipartisan support, at least in the Senate, even from Senate Minority Leader Katie Hobbs, D-Phoenix. The Senate is supposed to be the upper chamber, she said. Hobbs isnt the only one to use that reference. I would assume its an intent to make the upper chamber more experienced and less prone to the emotions of the moment, said Sen. John Kavanagh, R-Fountain Hills. That self-reference of senators to theirs being the upper chamber does not impress House members. Good thing youre not on camera so I can roll my eyes, quipped Kern. Thats why Yarbrough could have a problem lining up the votes in the House. But Yarbrough said House members should see a self-interest in going along, as most state senators start out as representatives. He already has the backing of House Speaker J.D. Mesnard, R-Chandler, who represents the same district, and is elected by the same voters, as Yarbrough. You need a chamber thats going to turn over more quickly as public sentiment changes, Mesnard said. And you need another chamber thats a little bit more longer-lasting and stable and can withstand changes in public sentiment. The Pima County Board of Supervisors voted 3-2 Tuesday morning to appeal a judge's ruling that said the county broke the law in its $15 million deal with the space balloon company World View. Supervisors Ally Miller and Steve Christy voted against appealing the decision. The conservative Goldwater Institute sued the county over the deal in April, and in October asked a county judge to declare (the lease) invalid for violating state law regarding appraisals, auctions and rental rates. Last week, Pima County Superior Court Judge Catherine Woods sided with Goldwater and voided the lease deal the county made with the space firm. The ruling deals with just one of four counts in the lawsuit, another of which alleges the county violated the Arizona Constitutions gift clause in the World View deal. The other two counts deal with competitive bidding for construction of the facilities and county procurement requirements. Jim Manley, Goldwaters lead attorney, described the ruling as a win for taxpayers and said the county is free to renegotiate the lease if they want to, but theyre going to have to comply with the law. County Administrator Chuck Huckelberry said previously an appeal will not have any immediate effect on World Views operations. With that appeal, the county would ask for a stay on the ruling. Our view is that until a court of record rules, which is the appeals court, the issue is open, he said, adding that the county followed the law with the World View deal. In early 2016, the Board of Supervisors agreed to build a launch pad and headquarters worth nearly $15 million on behalf of World View, and issue debt to pay for it. Those facilities were recently completed and the company has moved in and begun operations near Tucson International Airport, according to Huckelberry. Over the course of the 20-year lease, World View would pay back to the county the principal and interest, and a little more, according to memos on the deal from Huckelberry. According to the lease terms, World View is required to employ 400 people by the 15th year of operation at an average salary of $60,000, Huckelberry has said. The facility is expected to generate $3.5 billion in economic activity over the 20 years, said a study commissioned by the county and Sun Corridor Inc. Browse volunteer opportunities on the Volunteer Center at United Way of Tucson and Southern Arizonas website, volunteer.unitedwaytucson.org, click on find needs and search for the organizations name. Iskashitaa Refugee Network Volunteers working with refugees to harvest and redistribute over 120,000 pounds of produce annually from your fruit trees. Looking for volunteers to harvest citrus fruit and looking for residents to donate citrus. St. Marks preschool and kindergarten Hosting a Fiesta de los Ninos for children and their families. Volunteers are needed to serve food, help with set-up and clean-up, man the jumping castle, collect tickets at the cardboard maze, and other volunteer duties. The event will take place on Feb. 18. Arizonas Children Association The THRIVE Mentor Program is a one-on-one mentor program that matches volunteer mentors to adolescents aging out of foster care who are in need of positive supportive relationships. Youth in this program are 17 and about to turn 18. Volunteer mentors needed. Community Food Bank of Southern Arizona Volunteer needed to assist our marketing team in evaluation of social media and website outreach, include conducting marketing research. Make recommendations to the marketing team, and assist in implementation of recommendations. VITA (Volunteer Income Tax Assistance) Program provides free tax preparation to low- and moderate-income Arizonans and helps them to leverage their tax refunds to achieve greater financial stability. Volunteers are still needed for various roles. Please contact oruiz@unitedwaytucson.org In honor of La Fiesta de los Vaqueros Tucson Rodeo, members of the Tucson Society of the Blind are offering the community an opportunity to pony up and support the visually impaired. The Second Annual TSB Rodeo Concert featuring Rusty Dutton and Band is an expanded two-day fundraiser that seeks to raise at least $3,000 for the nonprofit, which is dedicated to providing educational and social programs, resources and support for the visually impaired. The Tucson Society of the Blind makes a big difference in peoples lives. I am so thankful that I got acquainted with the organization 16 years ago when I became affected with macular degeneration, said society President Erma Seal-Seigler. Seal-Seigler, who also has glaucoma, said she is thankful to have some vision, but she struggles with a loss of independence due to her inability to drive. She becomes frustrated because she is unable to read and has difficulty performing simple tasks such as opening jars. You just cant do what you used to do. I cant pick things up, and I have a hard time pouring things and doing other things that require depth perception. You end up with big messes that you then have to try to clean up. It is very depressing to become visually impaired, she said. Seal-Seigler is not alone: According to the American Foundation for the Blind, more than 160,000 people in Arizona were impacted by loss of vision in 2015. In an effort to help, the society offers a community of support with a weekly meeting at 10 a.m. Tuesdays at Christ Presbyterian Church, 6565 E. Broadway. Drinking and cooking with tap water at Killip Elementary School in Flagstaff has been halted after state test results showed lead levels that exceeded federal standards. Tests from the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality indicated a higher level of lead in the water than recommended by the Environmental Protection Agency. Parents were notified by phone Wednesday about the lead testing results, and drinking fountains have been blocked and cafeteria food has been prepared off site since the notification, district spokeswoman Karin Eberhard said. The cafeteria has also been using disposable trays since the notification so dishes are not being washed at the school, Eberhard said. Bob Kuhn, the districts assistant superintendent for operations, said the test at Killip was part of a pilot program from ADEQ. The department tested the water in eight places at the school and one of the results tested at 17 parts per billion of lead to water, slightly higher than the recommended limit of 15 parts per billion. In the call that went out to parents, district officials said the test took place on January 21, and said the water is safe for hand-washing and for toilets. We are taking precautions to provide our students and staff with alternative drinking water, the call said. Once we have the opportunity to sit with district and state officials, we will determine exactly what the issues are and develop a long-range plan of solutions. Eberhard said bottled water has been provided for drinking at the school, and Kuhn said the district is installing in-line filters and will be testing them throughout the week to determine when the water is safe to drink. All FUSD schools will be tested by a private testing company this week, Kuhn said, and ADEQ plans to test FUSD schools later in the program. According to the Arizona Department of Health Services, lead poisoning can contribute to slowed development, learning delays, behavior problems, brain, liver and kidney problems, hearing loss and, in extreme cases, coma, seizures and death. Blanca Santos, whose son attends Killip, said she received notification from the school about the water late last week, and said she was satisfied with the schools outreach to inform parents about the issue. Her son told her the school has given the students plenty of access to bottled water, but she said she told her son to take an extra water bottle from home to make sure the water he is drinking is safe. Santos said she is not too worried about her sons exposure because she encourages him to bring his own water bottle and because the level detected was only slightly above the acceptable threshold. Caroline Oppleman, the spokeswoman for ADEQ, said the testing program is a partnership with the Arizona Department of Health Services, the Arizona School Facilities Board and the Arizona Department of Education. The program is meant to take a proactive stance, and does not necessarily determine compliance, Oppleman said. Killip was one of about 1,200 schools, which include about 7,000 buildings designated under the pilot program criteria to be tested, and test results are communicated with the districts superintendents as soon as they are verified, Oppleman said. She said the department contracts with four different laboratories that test the samples provided by schools. Oppleman said the program was designed to help eliminate childrens exposure to lead through water, which can help decrease exposure overall. Oppleman said water is generally considered a low source of lead exposure for children, listing paint, toys and imported spices and candies as higher contributors. However, by lowering exposure to lead through water, the department aims to lower lead exposure altogether. Paul Bakalis, the executive director of the Arizona School Facilities Board, said he learned about the elevated level at Killip Monday. The protocol is to have them use the School Facilities Boards financial resources to isolate the source of the lead, so then the board can work to remediate the lead in the water, Bakalis said. The district can now apply for a building renewal grant, which Bakalis is in charge of approving. If the grant is given, the organizations can work together to test the source of the contamination, which Bakalis said is usually approved in a matter of hours. The School Facilities Board has about $30 million a year allotted to sustain the life of school buildings, Bakalis said. The costs to remedy the contamination can vary widely depending on the source, which could range from water heaters to pipes to solder, Bakalis said. Before 1987, solder was allowed to contain a certain level of lead, which was later changed to allow no lead or very small amounts, meaning buildings with pipes that were installed before 1987 are at a higher risk of lead contamination, Bakalis said. While schools that use public water systems are not required to test for lead, Bakalis said FUSD tests regularly because some schools use their own wells. The board supports any efforts the districts make to help remedy the contamination, Bakalis said, including installing in-line filters or other changes. We are a capital management agency that has the best interest of the kids in our schools in our focus, Bakalis said. We will do whatever is required to make sure they are safe, secure and have access to clean drinking water. Trevor Baggiore, the director of ADEQs water quality division, said this program is the first of its kind in Arizona to examine lead levels in water at schools. The closest comparison is a 2004 study that tested 45 Arizona schools, Baggiore said. The department is dedicating $850,000 of its budget to the testing to determine any issues in schools that have been determined to be at risk for lead contamination, Baggiore said. However, Oppleman said the department is also testing newer buildings, built after 1987, to determine if the protections that were put in place are keeping water sources safer. In Afghanistan, the number of civilian casualties reached an all-time high in 2016, the United Nations reported Monday. Nearly 11,500 civilians were killed and wounded in the country last year including more than 3,500 children. It is an overall increase of 3 percent compared with 2015, which was the previous record-high since the U.N. began systematic documentation in 2009. Among children, the latest numbers represent a staggering 24 percent increase in injuries and deaths. Most of those child casualties came from fighting between different groups in heavily populated areas; however, there was also a sharp increase because of unexploded land mines, rockets and other remnants of war. "After nearly 40 years of conflict in Afghanistan, U.N. officials warn Daesh is now surfacing as another deadly element in this endless war," Schlein reported. As the U.N. report published Monday makes clear, the Afghan military and police were responsible for killing or injuring some 2,300 civilians, while NATO forces that are no longer engaged in a combat mission nonetheless were responsible for killing or injuring more than 220 civilians. The report highlighted one incident in particular, questioning whether NATO airstrikes in a densely populated part of the city of Kunduz in November 2016 complied with international humanitarian law: "The disproportionate rise in child casualties resulted mainly from an overall 66 percent increase in civilian casualties from unexploded remnants of war," explained Danielle Bell, the human rights director for the U.N. mission to Afghanistan. Bell said the vast majority 86 percent of people killed and injured by so-called unexploded ordnance were children. Because Afghanistan has suffered back-to-back conflicts for decades, there are unexploded military remnants from multiple conflicts. But Bell and her team found a direct correlation between casualties from exploded ordinance and areas with the heaviest ground fighting in recent years, and concluded that the majority of casualties were the result of military remnants from the conflict that began with the U.S.-led invasion in 2001. - OPINION: "Im sure you will see, as I have, that for all the 'God talk' that Christian nationalists throw around, their attitudes and actions are starkly antithetical to the gospel of love and inclusion for all advocated by the Jesus they claim to believe in," writes Rev. Gary Nelson, a form Hangry math is never good. Neither is food waste or playground drama. With the hope of alleviating some of those problems, many schools across Tucson have implemented "recess before lunch" or "reverse lunch" in which students hit the playground before sitting down to eat in the cafeteria. Kellond Elementary, a TUSD school on the east side, started the practice the first Friday after winter break, joining a handful of other schools in the district. Why The idea is that kids are more hungry after playing, so they'll eat more of their food which means less waste and will go to class calm and ready to learn. It also takes the rush to get to the playground away another way to reduce food waste. As a kindergarten student, Melissa Haun's son (who is now in 4th grade) went to Borton Elementary, which had recess before lunch. He moved to Kellond after earning a full time spot in the GATE program for first grade. "I noticed that he was quick to get frustrated immediately after school and it was because he was HANGRY," said Melissa Haun, mother and photographer. "He would eat very little of his lunch so he and his friends could go outside to play." Haun did some research online and found a lot of positives behind it. For example, the kids were eating more food and drinking more milk. "This was stated as especially important for schools with a high percentage of free or reduced lunch, since it may be the best nutrient packed meal of some children's day," Haun said. "There was less food waste. The kids settled back into the classroom atmosphere quicker if recess is first, and as I saw in his kinder year, my son didn't come home hangry." The concept is not brand new. It gained traction in 2002 when four Montana schools launched a pilot program, funded with a USDA Team Nutrition grant. During the pilot, they measured plate waste and feedback from students, school staff and food service staff. The results were recorded in a 2008 research survey done by the Montana Office of Public Instruction. It found that common benefits were improved classroom behavior, increased lunch consumption and decreased food waste, among other things. The most common challenges faced were revising the schedule, hand washing and staffing/supervision. By 2013, 31 percent or 275 of Montana schools had implemented recess before lunch. More info on the research can be found here. Haun first presented the information she found to Kellond's site council in 2014. After a couple years of researching, which included visiting Tucson schools that had already implemented Recess Before Lunch and lots of teacher and PTO feedback, it was a go. How it works Kellond's lunch break is the same amount of time as it was before 35 minutes but it's structured so they go to the playground for 15 minutes and the cafeteria for 20. Each grade is released at separate times to go play for 15 minutes. Then they line up with their class to go to the cafeteria for lunch. While in line, a monitor walks down the line with hand sanitizer so the kids can clean their hands. Students are released to go in the cafeteria by class. They have 20 minutes to get their lunch and eat. "We have kids who will eat in 30 seconds and throw it away just to go outside, but now its like 'no this is eating time.' This is all you have to do for the next 15 minutes," said Holly Leman Hammel, elementary and K-8 director for TUSD. If a student is still eating when their teacher is there to get them, he or she will tell the student they have a few more minutes while the teacher gets the rest of the class together and picks up some of the mess. "We want children to eat, obviously," said Brenda Meneguin, principal of Kellond. "It's important that they get this time." How it's going Aside from a few kinks in getting the lines to go smoothly outside of the cafeteria, Meneguin says it's going well. And the school is getting the results it hoped to see. "Less food gets thrown away because they're hungry after playing outside," Meneguin said. "And some of our kindergarteners have reported they have less tummy aches from running around on full stomachs." Getting that nutrition is important, since school lunch is the most important meal for some students, since they don't get much else at home, Meneguin said. Register for more free articles. Log in Sign up "So we have students coming in and eating instead of dumping half of their food because they want to go play," Meneguin said. "This is the time they get to eat. We are still having a couple kinks getting them lined up, but it is more important they're getting the time to eat because then they're having more productive afternoons." The school has also seen a reduction in playground incidents and an increase in teaching time inside the classroom. "We're in the third week..What we're finding so far is we're having less issues with behavior from the playground," Meneguin said. Before the switch, teachers had to use valuable teaching time to help solve many of the playground incidents. So, as part of the lunch changes, the school put a desk outside of the counselor's office stocked with forms for kids to fill out, saying what the problem was and how they tried to solve it if they feel it still needs resolving. Students give the form to their teacher. The teacher will then find a few minutes in class to address the students involved individually or if the teacher feels it needs more attention, she or he can send them to speak to the counselor or principal. "What would happen is, as we were trying to get the kids in line after the monitors blew the whistle, kids were coming up to us saying 'so and so did this and so and so did that,' whereas if they're having recess before lunch they've calmed down a little bit afterwards and maybe got a chance to talk to the person about it," said Geri Spears, 4th grade teacher. "What we're hoping is to empower the kids to problem solve a little bit more and if they haven't solved it, we have an avenue of bringing it to the teacher's attention...For my kids, it really empowers them to be able to do that." Teachers have noticed that students are more calm and ready to work immediately instead of needing cool down time. "Before you got kids that were sweaty and exhausted and now I have kids that are awake," said Sara Martinez who teaches a fourth and fifth grade class. Martinez teaches math right after the lunch hour, so having the students awake and ready to learn is the biggest benefit to her. Plus, she says most of them eat more of their lunches now, so they come back less cranky. "Hangry math is never good," Martinez said. Schools in other local districts are doing this too In the Vail school district, five elementary schools have implemented the practice, as well as a few schools in the Marana district. Results at Kellond mirror those seen at Senita Valley Elementary in the Vail school district when it switched to recess before lunch five years ago. "The teachers absolutely love it and would never want to go back," said Connie Erickson, the school's principal. "They feel that by eating after they play it helps them concentrate better and the kids are not hungry when they come back because they ate all their lunch." As the school principal, Erickson likes that she can chat with the kids while they're in the cafeteria without feeling like they're trying to rush out the door to go play. She also said she's noticed a difference in the noise level in the cafeteria since they have already had that time to run around and talk to their friends. "When they come in they seem more relaxed," Erickson said. Kids and parents weigh in on recess before lunch Amy Rodriguez's two kids attended Marshall Elementary another TUSD school that was doing recess before lunch. She said they had enough time to eat and they ate more of their lunch after recess than they did before recess. Haun, one of the parents who got the ball rolling on this at Kellond, is happy it's finally happening. And says her son is excited about it, too. When Rogers Elementary was still open, kids played first. Heather Scavo's children went there before attending Kellond and eventually moving out of the district. "I'm all for it," Scavo, mother of four said. "The kids get all that pent up energy out, they were calm at lunch, they had time to eat because they weren't racing to get outside for recess, they actually ate their lunch, they were relaxed after lunch and ready to learn." Two of Carmelita Kirberger's children attend Desert Willow Elementary, another Vail school that does recess before lunch and she really likes it. "I feel that my kids eat better and are not as rushed to go out and play," Kirberger said. "I believe that they are getting their energy out and time with their friends and are ready to eat when it's time. They are also allowed to take what food they don't finish, in the time allowed, back into class to finish." Spears has heard from students who feel like they have less time to eat, but it's how they perceive it, she says. "Some kids are perceiving they're not getting enough time to eat," Spears said. "I think a couple minutes can be taken off of that time lining up, but I also think they're used to going into the cafeteria and taking as much time as they want...You have the same amount of time. It's how you use that time." Nicholaus White, a nine-year-old fourth-grader, feels like he has more time to eat now because he used to be in such a rush to go outside, he would only take a few bites and leave the cafeteria. Then after playing for so long, he didn't feel like being in class. "But, now you have more brain energy and get better grades. It's awesome," Nicholaus said. "You have more time to eat and wind down from playing." Kylie Mate, an 11-year-old fifth grader says she didn't like how she'd go back to class tired and sweaty before, and that with the changes, she has more energy to learn since she's had time to wind down in the cafeteria after playing. Help India! The upcoming elections in Manipur are likely to be the most interesting one in years with Congress, historically the strongest party in the region, being challenged on a number of fronts this time. While the BJP has emerged to benefit from the state governments mistakes, Irom Sharmila, who fasted for over 20 years against AFSPA, has also joined the fray this time after joining full-time politics. Her party, the Peoples Resurgence and Justice Alliance (PRJA) is expected to give a tough battle to both the Congress and the BJP. Najima Phumdreimayum, founder of OFD (Organisation for Development), a group working on violence against women in Thoubal District, is also in the fray from PRJA for the seat in Wabgai. As the lone female Muslim candidate in these state elections, Najima has caught the attention of a lot of people, and also irked a number of conservative local Muslim leaders. In a conversation with Amit Kumar of Twocircles.net, Najima spoke on a various of issues, including why she chose to side with Sharmila. Excerpts from the interview: What were your reasons for joining the Peoples Resurgence and Justice Alliance and working with Irom Sharmila? Support TwoCircles While forming a party, most people give false hope to voters, even though we are well aware that all such fake promises remains only on paper. I have joined this party mainly because the members of this group believe in truth. We dont have any kind of discrimination, and I do firmly hope that we will be able to rise up. Of course, the other important reason of joining the party is because it is led by Irom Sharmila, who is extremely determined. I know she will stand for truth always and give the real right to our people of Manipur. What are the biggest concerns for the Muslims of Wabgai in the upcoming elections? I believe that more number of literate and like-minded people need to come forward. I am standing for this election not because I wish to be in the limelight; I am doing this because I know the life of my people, my women folk. One might feel like they are a minority (Muslim) but to be honest, religion should help people cultivate the goodness among one another. Women of Wabgai constituency are struggling hard to even earn a living. I want to bring smiles to their face by empowering them and helping them stand on their own feet. Even if I dont win, at least the women will have the courage to come up and start participating in law-making process. Its high time they should know their rights which is given by the law. And I dont feel scared to fight for their truth and our rights. Recently, there was a newspaper report which talked of you facing criticism from the clerics. Why are the clerics doing so? Is this because of the upcoming elections, or have they done so in the past too? There are sood clerics who have been good to me too; others have been hell-bent on criticising my every step. As you know, I am a vocal person and have been fighting many cases against injustice and domestic violence since 2001 and from 2003, it has become my profession too. My main objective is to give and show the right direction to our people. Some of them (clerics) have been saying my working style is totally against the society. They have been troubling me since I started my work. According to you, what were the mistakes made by the Congress government in the recent times, especially regarding their handling of the ILP issues, and the recent blockades? How do your party propose to solve the issue? I am not the right person to give a judgement on their (Congress) actions. But one thing I have realised is that the present Government lacks the power of decision making. They first promised to all that they will do a number of things in the past elections; but they failed to keep their promises. We lack good Government schools and existing schools need to be upgraded; we need good amount of Industries for our people. If people have work, they will be busy working and have no time to fight among each other. But to do all this, one needs a clear aim and objective, which the present Government lacks completely. Where does the government go wrong in their policies which try focussing on womens issues/ The female literacy rate among Muslims in Manipur is less than 60%. How do you plan on improving it in Wabgai? Our society as such doesnt want women to be powerful: they want to control women in every aspect. No man wants their wife to be more educated. The men prefer to be on top no matter what the situation is. We need to balance our domestic life and our profession. We need to know our rights, we need to be more educated. I sincerely believe that education is our tool to overcome any hurdles in our life. For this, one needs to break such barrier (wrong deeds against women); women should not be used as a tool. Regarding literacy, yes we are indeed lacking behind as compared to other districts of Manipur. We now have one female teaching in a Govt. school who is married to a Wabgai man, but it is also true that not many well-educated women have come out of Wabgai, and that needs to change, because it is not only education where the women are suffering. The state of health facilities for women is also pretty unfortunate. Most of a womans life is spent inside the four walls of her kitchen and if a women tries to go beyond these four walls, we are given a bad name. The male in our society doesnt want us to know our rights. They know if we become more educated then we will surely fight for our rights, which is given in our Indian law. Yes, there are people who are opposing me, but I am fortunate to have some like-minded people in my constituency, who have always been supportive of me. Why fear when we are standing for the truth? Help India! By Shafeeq Hudawi, Twocircles.net For the past year, campus politics in India has taken up a sizeable space in the media; but the focus has remained almost entirely on what is happening in JNU, and, to a certain extent, the University of Hyderabad. In both these places, the BJP and its student wing ABVP have been at the centre of controversies. Support TwoCircles But in Kerala, it is not the ABVP that is out to quieten all forms of dissent. Instead, the students body in question here is part of the alliance that is in charge of the JNU Students Union: SFI, the students wing of CPI (M). Over the past one month, members of SFI have been seen attacking Dalit and Muslim students for voicing their opinion on the control of the state campuses by upper-caste students, among other issues. For the past many decades, students politics in Kerala has mirrored the one at state-level. It has largely remained a two-horse race between SFI and Kerala Students Union (KSU), the students outfit of Congress. However, with the decline in the fortunes of KSU, the campuses seemed to have initially gravitated largely towards SFI. But the emergence of Dalit and Bahujan voices in the past few years is clearly worrying the SFI. The recent attacks on students belonging to such movements speak volumes about this fact. Two weeks back, a Dalit student was beaten by SFI activists at Mahatma Gandhi University in Kottayam. Vivek Kumaran, an M.Phil student at School of Gandhian Thought at the university, was admitted to Kottayam Government Medical College with ailments and injuries after he was attacked by SFI activists. SFI leaders, as it was alleged by the victim, were provoked by Vivek and his friends move to form a collective in support for marginalised groups including transgenders. They shouted at Vivek, You wouldnt be spared if you try to politically organise against SFI. Activist, and columnist, Ajithkumar AS believes that these movements have rattled SFI. No doubt. SFI is scared of the emerging trend where alternative movements are holding sway, he says. In lines with the recent happenings that followed Rohit Vemula incident, the students politics in Kerala is now in a transition mode. Unlike the public sphere where mainstream parties continue to hold ground, in campuses students are increasingly mobilising in the name of marginalised communities and identities. Like its mother organization CPM, SFI is also left with no mechanism to address caste and identity, Ajith says. Viveks case is not the only one: in Maharajas College in Ernakulam, Inquilab Maharajas unit president Fuad Muhammad was attacked by SFI activists on January 19. Fuads mistake was that he dared to organize Rohith Vemula Shahadat (martyrdom) day in the campus which is among the strong bastions of SFI. Just like Vivek Kumaran, SFI activists shouted at Fuad, who are you to raise voice for Rohith Vemula? while he was beaten. It was the third time Fuad underwent physical attack by SFI activists. For the first time, I was beaten for calling a strike following Rohith Vemulas death. SFI, which positions itself as custodian of marginalized sects, gets provoked when others try to raise voice for Dalits, Fuad said. SFIs line of defence finds no takers The SFI state general secretary M Vijin denies the allegations, saying his organization is being targeted on clear political motives. Denying the claims that identity politics was gaining ground in campuses, Vijin said SFI was addressing the woes of all sections. There is no peculiar issue for Dalits or minorities based on their identity. Issues are being faced by students irrespective their identity, Vijin said in a conversation with Twocircles.net. However, various organizations oppose this claim of Vijin, saying SFI is left with no answer to the questions, raised by the minorities and marginalised sections in the country. Caste and religious identities are reality in the country and the state. Students are facing an identity crisis in campuses. SFI doesnt determine this crisis. They resort into physical resistance while others, especially Muslims and Dalits, raise voice for their own rights, says Students Islamic Organization (SIO) state functionary Suhaib CT. He points out that Rohith Vemula was targeted as he was a Dalit. Muslims along with Dalits have started to speak themselves by replacing the default custodian SFI. The presence of Ambedkar Students Association (ASA), Muslim Students Federation (MSF) and Students Islamic Organization (SIO) in campuses has left SFI in a moral dilemma. SFI opposes these organisations with arms as they fail to extend ideological opposition, says Sreerag Poikkadan of Ambedkar Students Union. According to Muslim Students Federation (MSF) state president Misab Keezhariyur, SFI feels like losing its hold while Dalit students join hands with minorities. Dalit students are increasingly drawn towards organisations like MSF. The SFI is scared of the new trend, Misab says. Students allege that they are denied the right to distribute leaflets in campuses. In some campuses, students were beaten for distributing leaflets on World Environmental Day and even for holding a march against imperialism. SFI is vocal about democratic credentials and at the same time they physically resist opponents, Suhaib says. Though its functionaries affirm that SFI is equally approaching students from all sects, Fuad alleges that the federation has always been titled towards the upper castes. They use students, belonging to SC and ST categories for campaigns and rallies. And students from elite families enjoy the privilege of being leaders. Believe me, the organisation will struggle to survive if students belonging to SC, ST and OBC categories leave it. SFI only uses them as workforce, he says. Vijin opposes the claim, saying, Caste or class is not the criteria to become a leader of SFI. We dont ask caste or religion or class of our comrades. The MSF and SIO have decided to expose the hypocrisy of SFI by carrying statewide campaigns. SIO is looking to organize a collective of the victims of SFI attacks and publish their experiences after documenting them. If things go as planned, MSF will also form an exclusive wing in order to draw Dalit students towards the federation. Help India! By TCN News Barabanki: Continuing its journey as part of the 8th India Health Initiative and treating 2,474 people in Hyderabad, the US-based doctors volunteering for Indian Muslim Relief and Charities (IMRC) annual India Health Initiative (IHI) treated 1,020 patients at four-day free medical camp in Barabanki (Uttar Pradesh). Support TwoCircles The free medical camp started on Friday, February 3 at the Jahangirabad Institute of Technology, Barabanki. Day one of the medical camp in Barabanki saw 171 patients treated for different ailments. On day two 269 patients, while 269 and 211 patients were treated on day three and four respectively. The patients were provided with free medicines after free check-up of vital health signs. A mobile ambulance was kept for patients who were advised to go through clinical tests. All the test costs were borne by IMRC. More than one hundred patients were given spectacles to improve their vision. These camps are organised every year for free for patients who cannot afford to go to private clinics, and these people are also welcome to be diagnosed and treated further in the campus clinic if the problems persist, said Manzoor Ghori, Executive director IMRC. The eighth annual initiative sees doctors from the USA: Dr. Irfan Moin (Geriatrics), Dr. Jerome Stefenko (General Surgeon), Dr. John Rosenberg (ER Physician), Dr. Farida Ghogawala (Gynaecologist), Dr. MK Ahmed (Paediatrician), Dr MY Ahmed (Surgeon), Dr Sana Ahmed (Paediatrician), Dr Mohammad Haq (Internal Medicine), Dr Noureen M Haroon (Ophthalmologist) and one Clinical Pharmacist, Tenzin Jangchup render their services at four camps in Hyderabad, four camps in Barabanki (UP) along with three more camps in line at Dehradun (Uttarakhand). After treating patients in Hyderabad and Uttar Pradesh, theUS-basedd doctors are now traveling to Dehradun, to treat patients from February 9th to February 11th. The India Health Initiative was started by IMRC in 2010. Since its inception, IMRC has successfully conducted seven India Health Initiatives comprising of medical camps across different rural areas, poor localities and slums in India. This annual program is unique because it provides basic education in healthcare with an emphasis on preventive health care to the community and provides technical training to the local doctors and medical students. Despite controversy about the Hollywood Foreign Press nominating the A-list stars they want to appear at the event and voting for the ones who have lunch with them and that the whole thing is one big scam, the Golden Globes carry some weight in the showbiz awards world, second only to the Oscars in terms of prestige. Last nights ceremony, hosted by Tonight Show star Jimmy Fallon. Not many surprises in the film awards For starters, the Golden Globes for Best Motion Picture. Moonlight was awarded Best Motion Picture (Drama), while La La Land was awarded Best Motion Picture (Musical or Comedy). The fact they include musicals in the name of the category suggests that the Hollywood Foreign Press have spent every year begging for a Golden Age throwback like La La Land to come along. Casey Affleck beat living legend Denzel Washington to Best Actor in a Drama for Manchester by the Sea, while Best Actress in the same category went to Isabelle Huppert for foreign Film Elle in favour of big Hollywood stars like Amy Adams and Natalie Portman. La La Land is proving its awards buzz right already as Ryan Gosling was awarded the Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Musical or Comedy, beating Hugh Grant and Colin Farrell, and Emma Stone beat awards magnet Meryl Streep to Best Actress. Also for La La Land, Damien Chazelle won the double whammy of Best Director and Best Screenplay. Best Supporting Actor in a film (the Golden Globes, while separating lead acting categories into genres, incorporate all genres for supporting actors categories) went to Kick-Ass star Aaron Taylor-Johnson for Nocturnal Animals, while Best Supporting Actress went to Viola Davis for her latest racially-charged drama, Fences. TV winners addressed #OscarsSoWhite controversy The Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Comedy or Musical Series went to Donald Glover for his role as Earn in his stellar urban sitcom Atlanta, which also won Best Comedy Series, beating out highbrow shows such as Mozart in the Jungle and Veep, as well as issues-based programming like Transparent and Black-ish. Speaking of Black-ish, the wonderful Tracee Ellis Ross won Best Actress in a Comedy Series for her portrayal of Rainbow Johnson on the show, beating out the likes of TV royalty Sarah Jessica Parker and Emmy hoarder Julia Louis-Dreyfus. Billy Bob Thornton beat such popular TV talents as Rami Malek and Bob Odenkirk to the Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Drama Series for his little-known Amazon Prime original Goliath. As for Best Actress, Claire Foy won for the expensive Netflix original The Crown, coming out on top when she was up against such fantastic talents as Keri Russell from The Americans, Winona Ryder from Stranger Things, and Evan Rachel Wood from HBOs Westworld. Furthermore, The Crown also won Best Drama Series. Unlike the Emmy Awards, The People v. O.J. Simpson did not dominate the Golden Globes miniseries categories. It did win the big daddy, Best Miniseries, and then Sarah Paulson (American Horror Story) took home the Best Actress in a Miniseries award. However, the acting wins for Tom Hiddleston (Best Actor), Hugh Laurie (Best Supporting Actor), and Olivia Colman (Best Supporting Actress) made their rival miniseries, espionage drama The Night Manager the one with the most wins. Now for everything else Unsurprisingly, awards-baiting Hollywood musical La La Land won both the Golden Globes for music: Best Original Score and Best Original Song (City of Stars), beating out the likes of Iggy Pop, Justin Timberlake and Stevie Wonder. Zootopia was named Best Animated Film, and the French film Elle was named Best Foreign Language Film. Although the Labour party are divided over Brexit, they have been united in their opposition to Donald Trump's state visit to the United Kingdom later in the year. Since Theresa May announced Donald Trump had been invited to the United Kingdom, Corbyn and Labour have been highly critical of the Prime Minister's decision to invite the President whilst he was in the midst of trying to ban citizens from seven different Muslim-majority countries from entering the United States. Corbyn challenges 'demonisation' of Muslims At the weekend, Jeremy Corbyn challenged Trump's 'demonisation' of Islam, stating that sharing tea is infinitely more effective than building walls. Speaking at a mosque in Finsbury Park, London, Corbyn delivered a 'very gentle message to the President,' by his own admission. Visitors to the Finsbury Park mosques open day expressed 'support for an inclusive society and for a society which respects all faiths and all religions without stereotyping,' Corbyn stated. Continuing, he said: 'Over the past several weeks, since Trump entered the White House, there's been some hateful language used across the world against Muslims. Awful language begets awful actions. Awful actions result in deaths of innocent people. History has taught us this again and again'. The mosque in Finsbury Park is notorious for its association with radical Abu Hamza, who became its imam in the 1990s. However, the mosque underwent hierarchical changes in 2005 and is now considered a model for excellent community relations due to its work informing local citizens about Islam. Trump: 'Won't be addressing protests in the UK' Despite thousands taking to the streets to demonstrate against Trump's state visit and millions of signatures on an online petition, Theresa May is still determined to go ahead with Donald Trump's state visit, regardless of his attempted travel ban on Muslims. A spokesperson for the President of the United States said that Trump 'didn't care about the protests in the United Kingdom' and that 'the President will not be addressing the matter any time in the near future'. Prime Minister Theresa May has urged pro-European Union MPs to not obstruct the Brexit bill during its second phase in the House of Commons. May, in a speech, demanded MPs didn't use filibustering tactics to hold up the passage of the bill, which, if successful, would allow May to trigger article 50 by her self-imposed deadline of March, 31st. Rejected amendments May's warning comes after Labour and a group of cross-party MPs amendments to the Brexit bill- including consultations with the leaders of the devolved nations and Theresa May reporting back to parliament every two months with detailed reports on ongoing negotiations- were comfortably defeated by the government. Pertinent for Nicola Sturgeon's plans to potentially declare a snap referendum, an amendment called for the leaders of Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland to be consulted throughout the Brexit process and have their views taken into account. This was defeated by 333 votes to 276. Although a bad result for Nicola Sturgeon, long-term this plays into her hands as it will continue to fuel anti-Westminster sentiment in Scotland. Labour MPs hopeful of adding amendments in next couple of days MPs are more hopeful of garnering support from rebel Conservative Party members during the next two days.Today, Labour and rebel Tories will fight to guarantee the rights to the 2.8 million EU nationals that live in the United Kingdom. Further, the right for MPs to vote on Theresa May and her government's final Brexit plan before Brussels signs the deal off will be debated in parliament. Much of Labour's optimism is likely to have little impact on reality. The government is extremely confident that it will be able to absorb any potential rebellion by the Tory backbenchers in the next coming days and Prime Minister Theresa May has declared that she will not succumb to in party pressure. Such a rebellion would have to be sizable for it to have any impact on the vote. This morning, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn imposed a three line whip to back Theresa May's bill, regardless of whether amendments are added. The imposition of the whip will create further divisions withing the Labour Party. Diane Abbott and Clive Lewis, two of Corbyn's closest allies, have declared that they would find it difficult to vote in favour of Theresa May's bill without any amendments- which is the likely outcome of the next couple of days. Once more, Corbyn faces a potential exodus of front-bench MPs over his Brexit stance. Is president Trump completely out of control? Is impeachment a way to stop him? Has he actually committed war crimes in just under two weeks? Can he be impeached? What is impeachment? Article II, Section 4 of the US Constitution states in Section 4 that "The President, Vice-President, and all civil Officers of the United States shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other High Crimes and Misdemeanors." Thats intentionally vague because everyone commits misdemeanors. Impeachment was included in The Constitution so a dangerous or criminal official could be removed. Clinton, for example, was charged by the House with several crimes linked to lying about his sexual contact with a White House intern. But he was only censured, not convicted in The Senate. Impeachment is the charge equivalent to a criminal indictment, it isn't conviction. Clearly Trump could be impeached (charged) leading to a trial by the Senate but since he has to first be charged by the heavily Republican House of Representatives (impeached), his actions will have to become crazy enough or dangerous enough for a majority of Republicans to turn against him publically. Weird fights President Trump starts public fights with Hollywood stars, Saturday Night Live comedians, newspapers he doesnt like, compares German Chancellor Merkel to Putin, says he will move the US embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, bans Muslim refugees, has been accused of sex crimes, and now he has attacked Australia for an Obama administration agreement and followed up with a twitter attack showing he didnt understand the difference between an immigrant and a refugee. During a phone call with Liberal party PM, Malcolm Bligh Turnbull, President Trump accused Australia of trying to send the next Boston Bomber to the US. The rest of the call reportedly didn't go well. People in the United States are pointing out that President Trump's recent Executive Order may be in violation of The Constitution and several judges think they may have a case. Establishment of a religious test is a violation of United States law, but could this directive from President Trump go even further and violate international law? Suspension of all refugee admissions may be a war crime. Since the order targets countries which have never sent terrorists to the US and ignores three countries which have done so but also do a lot of business with The Trump Organization, many question his motives. President Trump defends his position by saying Obama singled out the same countries, ignoring the fact that all Obama did was order a return to regular screening of people coming from those countries, not suggest a ban. Saudi Arabia, where the King and royal family made a deal with radical clerics to remain in power as long as they permit the anti-American, anti-western Saudi-financed madrassas in S.A. and Pakistan. Many teach Wahhabism, a rigid form of Islam which turned out many members of the Taliban. War crime There have been calls for charging President Trump with a war crime for violating the Geneva Convention. War crimes are defined by The Geneva Convention 1949 version as causing great suffering or serious injury to body or health. It's claimed President Trump did this by stopping some refugees from seeking asylum in the US. But another part of the Geneva Convention may also apply to Trumps later ban on all refugees from Syria. War crimes arent all military actions, they also include violations of the 1949 International Humanitarian Laws. Some are classified as grave breaches of international law. A grave breach of the Geneva Conventions is a war crime. But Trumps actions may not be not technical violations because many of the international laws apply only to armed conflict between two States, in other words, they dont apply to civil wars such as the Syrian conflict. Noam Chomsky has pointed out in great detail how every US President since WWII has committed war crimes. Local pilots know Beatrice Municipal Airport is the best in the state, but the Nebraska Department of Aeronautics just made it official. On January 26, at the NDAs yearly conference, Beatrice Airport was named best general aviation airport in Nebraska. Nominated by NDA director Ronnie Mitchell, the completion of the airport restoration played into the decision. The airport recently finished reconstructing the 5600-foot-long, 100-foot-wide north-south runway and installing new LED runway lighting, airport manager Diana Smith said. That comes on top of the amenities already in the Beatrice Airport, Mitchell said at the presentation. When the award was given out, Smith said, he talked about the runway reconstruction project, he talked about us having fuelwe have self service fuel, we give good service to the customers. All of that enters into their decision in who theyre going to select. The main airport building boasts features like a flight planning room with a giant map of the United States covering one wall, a plush pilots lounge with comfy sofas and chairs and what the airport calls a snooze room where tired pilots can take a nap before heading back out. The airport also handles military traffic and training and offers flight lessons, training new pilots in the skies over Beatrice and numerous hangars for the 38 planes that are based out of the airport. The airport itself is important, not only for training, but also the business jets, Smith said. Those business jets come in to do very important business to take care of within the city. With new businesses coming to scope out Beatrices prospects, having an airport that can accommodate more than just local traffic isnt important, its a necessity. The airport is a vital part of our economic development, said Tobias Tempelmeyer, Beatrice city administrator. There are a number of businesses that come in and use our airport to bring in executives or clients. Thats huge for our community. I think it plays an important role as we move forward and look to encourage and recruit new businesses to our community. As industry in the city continues to grow, the airport is doing its best to keep up with demand. A proposal to reconstruct the second, crosswind runway was recently discussed at a City Council and will include the same fixes made to the main runway. For many visitors, Smith said, the airport is the first impression they get, and, when it comes to the future of the citys economic development, you dont get second chance to make a first impression. They walk in and they associate the airport to the whole city of Beatrice, Smith said. So if you can make those people feel comfortable and welcome in our airport, then they feel that way toward the whole city. Smith said she often remembers the words of the previous airport manager, Don Fitzwater, who told her that the Beatrice Airport was the front door to Beatrice. Keeping the airport up to date and becoming a part of the citys future is a priority. I guess Im proud to be able to say that the customers have such a good feeling about the airport and we keep seeing returning customers, she said. Thats our whole objective, to be able to keep the customers coming back. This isnt the first time Beatrice Municipal Airport has won the best airport award. Back in 1992, the airport received the first best airport in Nebraska award ever given out, and theyve worked hard to win it again, 24 years later, Smith said. The Beatrice Airport is well known amongst aviators, Tempelmeyer said. But the general public may not know what a gem we have out there. I think an award like this helps bring that information to a new audience. Mitel Brings UC to Beijing Subways Share Tweet By Alicia Young Web Editor By Alicia YoungWeb Editor Have you ever been stuck on public transportation with absolutely no service? It seems like this happens whenever you have something important to do. Theres always service when youre simply sitting, bored on a bus (which, dont get me wrong, is great because playing on your phone makes the time go much faster). But it always seems like that service goes away as soon as you have an important business phone call to make on the train. Just last week, my friend struggled to conduct his phone interview because his phone wasnt working right on sections of his train ride into NYC. So, yes, while it is annoying when you cant scroll through Facebook (News - Alert) on the subway, its even worse when youre unable to communicate with your coworkers due to a lack of connectivity on public transportation. This is a problem everywhere, but one company in Beijing is looking to remedy the situation. The Beiljing Rail Transit Control Center (TCC) just announced that it has entered into a partnership with Mitel (News - Alert), along with the Beijing Waneasy Technology Co. Ltd, for this exact reason. Due to the agreement, Mitel will be providing a unified communications solutions for the TCC. Much like the rest of the city, Beijings subway system is rapidly expanding. With plans to grow to 650 miles of track by 2020, and the mobile workforce growing stronger by the minute, its more important than ever that every inch of those tracks has connectivity options. Therefore, the TCC has chosen to deploy a Mitel communications system that helps employees communicate and collaborate more efficiently while on the go, in the hopes of better serving the 12 million daily passengers. Enabling employees to communicate and connect with colleagues instantly, anywhere across the rail network, is essential for Beijing to provide quality customer service, said Guoxu Zhang, Technical Solution Director, System Service Depart. of Beijing Rail TCC. The safety of our passengers and ensuring our rail service runs as smoothly as possible are top priorities. With Mitel, we have a partner who understands what we need and can deliver on those requirements. Thanks to this partnership, staff will be able to better assist passengers, and passengers will be able to better communicate with the outside world while on the move. The solution will provide seamless connectivity to 18 metro and light rail lines, which is a great start. Mitels Ryan Smith will be participating in a panel at ITEXPO this week, Cut the UC Hype: Which Deployment Model is Right for You? along with other industry execs to discuss the different options (virtualized, on-premises, cloud, hybrid) and the pros and cons of each, as well as how to choose which deployment method works best for your business. ? Edited by Stefania Viscusi President Bashar al-Assad of Syria has high hopes from the new trump administration in Washington, D.C. When interviewed by a Belgian news agency, the Syrian leader expressed hope that US President Donald Trump will ease tensions with Russia in an effort to defeat ISIS and works towards a new Syria. Moving forward the Obama era of hostility and inconsistency towards Assad and Russia, it is worth watching how President Trump handles the Syrian crisis. Assad's view on the Syrian crisis The Syrian leader deemed Trump; "promising regarding the priority of fighting terrorists, and mainly ISIS." As President Trump ran his campaign promising to eradicate ISIS, this is surely an issue of which the US President and Syrian leader can work together upon. Assad also attacked the European Union (EU) for arming extremist factions of rebels in Syria; since the very beginning" of the Civil War, adding that the EU cannot destroy and build (Syria) at the same time." Assad added; "The EU is supporting the terrorists in Syria from the very beginning under different titles: humanitarians, moderate, and so on. Assad cited al-Nusra Front, al-Qaeda in Syria, as one of the extremist groups supported by the EU. The United States has also supported this group, as Assad says that the Europeans dont exist politically, they only follow the master, which is the Americans. What will come of Syria? With the six year anniversary of the 2011 Syrian Civil War approaching, President Assad is desperate for peace in his war-torn nation. US policy under President Obama flip-flopped between "Assad must go" and "Assad must stay" and any leader, despite the war crimes committed by Assad against his own people. During the 2016 election Republican nominee, Donald J. Trump was criticized for stating that the US should not have ousted Saddam Hussein of Iraq and Muammar Gaddafi of Libya from power, as ousting dictators creates a void in which groups like ISIS can rise to power. Now President Trump is in the position to support the Assad regime and its hope to cling to power in Syria. With upwards of 400,000 Syrian civilians killed since 2011, one can only hope that Assad is right in that US-Russian partnership can put an end to the crisis in Syria. President Donald Trump's choice for Secretary of Education, a prolific financial backer of both Donald Trump's campaign and the Republican party, Betsy DeVos was confirmed as America's new Secretary of Education during a monumental Senate vote. Strong Democrat opposition The Democrats, who strongly opposed President Trump's choice on the grounds that she was woefully underqualified for the position, held the floor of the Senate vote for an incredible 24 hours straight forcing everyone to remain in the session overnight, in an attempt to block any attempt from the Republicans to fight back, and to potentially persuade Republican Senators to vote against party. The Democrats managed to convince two Republicans to vote against Betsy DeVos, they were Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska who, along with all 48 Democrats managed to tie the vote at 50/50 each. The deciding vote then fell to Republican Vice-President Mike Pence to make the tie-breaking vote in his new role as President of the Senate. Historic tie-breaking vote Whilst Mike Pence's vote pushing DeVos through should be so surprise given that he is the Vice-President to Donald Trump's President, what is surprising is that of the 245 tie-breaking votes from a Vice-President in the history of the United States, this is the first one to happen on a cabinet nomination. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer had the following to say on Mike Pence's historic tie-breaker via Twitter This cabinet nom is so unqualified, so divisive, that @MikePenceVP had to drive down Pennsylvania Ave to cast the deciding vote. Chuck Schumer (@SenSchumer) February 7, 2017 Who is Betsy DeVos and why the opposition? Betsy DeVos is essentially a political lobbyist and campaign backer who has been the Chairwoman of several educational boards. However there are many people who felt she was completely underqualified for the position, as evidence by her inability to answer simple questions on American educational policy during her fairly disastrous confirmation hearing. Some of the highlights from the hearing were that DeVos suggested that guns should be allowed in schools to fend off bear attacks, despite the fact that not once in historic record has a bear attack harmed a student in an American school, and her refusal to commit to anti-rape programmes in college campuses. Another criticism of Betsy is that she is, as Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers calls her, "the most ideological, anti-public education nominee." Because of this, and DeVos' strong advocation of for-profit charter schools, people are worried that public schools are going to get short thrift from the Trump administration. Kenneth B. Morris, Jr., the great-great-great grandson of celebrated abolitionist Frederick Douglas responded Wednesday to Trumps odd reference to his famous ancestor during an African-American History Month listening session at the White House. Trump said Douglass is an example of someone who has done an amazing job and is being recognized more and more, he noted. Douglass has been dead for 122 years and noticed for even longer. Even Press Secretary Sean Spicer fumbled with trying to clarify Trumps present tense, challenged acknowledgments. Spicer feebly explained that the president was highlighting the contributions Douglass made and thinks the contributions will become more and more. The family of frederick douglass released a statement Wednesday which read, in part, that Trumps comments were noted and appreciated, but if he had the time to elaborate he could have mentioned a few things such as: Even though Douglass had to endure the inhumanity of slavery , he still managed to become a force of liberty when America needed it. , he still managed to become a force of liberty when America needed it. The statesman taught himself how to read and write and went on to become one of the nations most eloquent spokespersons. Douglass was able to persuade President Abraham Lincoln that all men were created equal and deserved the right to live free. A past revisited Ironically, Frederick Douglass, who understood racism was part of a diseased imagination, argued against unfair immigration restrictions, something Donald Trump is facing now with millions of people around the world. Kenneth B. Morris Jr. said he was shocked by Trumps remarks and initially wanted to go on the attack, but decided against it. Morris added that he does believe the president truly wants to bridge the racial divide, and that he should ditch the campaign rhetoric that opened old wounds which had been lying dormant. Morris, who serves as the President of the Frederick Douglass Family Initiatives, also said unification occurs with the words you use. Black history, from a maternal and paternal perspective Kenneth Morris has an impressive family tree. His grandmother, Nettie Hancock Washington, was the granddaughter of Booker T. Washington and the wife of Dr. Frederick Douglass III (great grandson of Frederick Douglass). Over the course of the entire 2016 presidential campaign, Donald Trump didn't hold back his thoughts on the media, his political opponents, or other world leaders. However, the billionaire real estate mogul refused to criticize one leader in particular; Russian President Vladimir Putin. Trump on Putin Donald Trump was able to weather the storm of controversy and make it through the Republican primary before pulling off the Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton to become the new president. Despite this, Trump wasn't left unscathed as he was forced to deal with an endless amount of backlash, much of which had to do with his potential ties to Russia. Due to Trump keeping his tax returns hidden, reports of his financial links to the Kremlin could never be validated or completely dismissed. Since the election, news reports and government investigations have concluded that Russia hacked the election in favor of Trump, despite denial from both sides. As seen on his Twitter account on February 7, Trump continues to speak out. I don't know Putin, have no deals in Russia, and the haters are going crazy - yet Obama can make a deal with Iran, #1 in terror, no problem! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 7, 2017 "I don't know Putin, have no deals in Russia, and the haters are going crazy," Donald Trump wrote on Twitter early Tuesday morning. Not stopping there, Trump went on to conclude his tweet by directing an attack on former President Barack Obama over the deal he reached with Iran. "Obama can make a deal with Iran, #1 in terror, no problem!," Trump noted. Here's how Pres. Trump's 'Muslim ban' comments could hurt his travel ban case https://t.co/Xx9kvNd8Yi pic.twitter.com/tMwRwCs8yX CNN (@CNN) February 6, 2017 Donald Trump's tweet appears to also be in reference to the increasing criticism he's received following his "Muslim ban" executive order. Signing the order into law just over a week ago, critics have only grown in numbers, as allegations of "racism," "Islamaphobia," and "bigotry" and been thrown at the administration. In response, Trump and his team have pushed back at the negative labels, stating that the ban in question has been put in place with America security as a top priority. Next up As of press time, a federal judge temporarily blocked the executive order, which prompted Donald Trump to file an appeal. While it's unknown how long the ban will be put on hold, it's expected to be a fight that both sides won't be giving up on anytime soon. Ever since Donald Trump announced his campaign for president, he has made many political enemies due to his controversial comments and questionable policy proposals. After just two weeks on the job as the new commander in chief, Trump has been hit with serious backlash from his critics. Fox on Trump As Donald Trump held his press conference in Trump Tower to officially announce his candidacy in June 2015, he caught instant heat by referring to illegal immigrants from Mexico as "rapists" and "murderers." The former host of "The Apprentice" was then labeled a "racist" for his comments, which set off one of the most controversial campaigns in history. In the weeks and months that would follow, Trump vowed to complete the construction of a Southern border wall, while working to deport as many illegal immigrates as possible. In addition, Trump promised that American taxpayers would not be financially response for the wall in question, and that Mexico would pay for it. In response, former President Vicente Fox criticized Trump, which continued in a series of February 4 Twitter posts. I've made it clear, Mexico is not paying for that #FuckingWall. US Congress don't get fooled by @realDonaldTrump. You can stop his maddness. Vicente Fox Quesada (@VicenteFoxQue) February 3, 2017 "I've made it clear, Mexico is not paying for that #Fu**ingWall. US Congress don't get fooled by Donald Trump," Vicente Fox tweeted out, before adding, "You can stop his madness." In a follow-up tweet just an hour later, Fox continued his attack on the border wall. "America, remember who's going to pay for that #Fu**ingWall: it's you! American taxpayers, not Mexico," he wrote. America, remember who's going to pay for that #FuckingWall: it's you! American taxpayers, not Mexico. Vicente Fox Quesada (@VicenteFoxQue) February 3, 2017 After Federal Judge James Robart, a Bush-era appointee, ordered a block on Donald Trump's recent "Muslim ban" executive order, Vicente Fox was quick to add his thoughts. "Judge Robart, your actions trump hate and are as loud as all the voices of America and abroad together. @realDonaldTrump needs to listen!," Fox wrote on Twitter. Judge Robart, your actions trump hate and are as loud as all the voices of America and abroad together. @realDonaldTrump needs to listen! Vicente Fox Quesada (@VicenteFoxQue) February 4, 2017 Fox defends the Times As part of his early Saturday morning Twitter firestorm, Donald Trump once again went after The New York Times, labeling the newspaper "FAKE NEWS." In response, Vicente Fox called on Trump to stop his "child play" and to act more like a world leader. Donald, you're a president. Behave like one. These rants are child play. Quit twitter, start being presidential. https://t.co/Jv1w6ceQiM Vicente Fox Quesada (@VicenteFoxQue) February 4, 2017 "Donald, you're a president. Behave like one. These rants are child play," Fox tweeted, before adding, "Quit twitter, start being presidential." As of press time, Trump has not commented on the former Mexican president's remarks. Google and Facebook have joined together in an effort to help quell controversial fake news on their servers in France. What do we know about the CrossCheck? The initial initiative has been launched in Paris, according to reports announced this past Monday at the News Impact Summit. Titled CrossCheck, the project has reportedly been instigated to prevent hacking controversies within the upcoming French presidential election. The endeavor will employ the aid of news companies, which shall include Agence France-Presse, Buzzfeed France, L'Express, and Le Monde. Spokesmen associated with Google said in a released statement that they hope the endeavor will help users to make sense of what and who to trust, when employed on various platforms, ranging from social media to web searches. What previous actions has Facebook taken to stop 'fake news'? The initiative was inspired by controversy surrounding the recent United States election. Facebook, in particular, has previously been criticized over problematic Fake News being spread on its platform, and serving as a conflict to voters. Due to this, this is not the first time Facebook has created a campaign to stop this controversy. Reportedly, the social media giant is already taking steps that will help American user flag "fake news" content, and will be doing so by employing various news organizations, such as Snopes, ABC News, and the Associated Press. Added to that, a similar project headlined by Facebook has recently taken place within Germany that was intended to quell false news stories and hate-speech content, due in part to the country's upcoming September presidential election. In one recent event, a Syrian refugee named Anas Modamani had taken a photograph with German chancellor Angela Merkel, in August 2015. The photo reportedly had been used in false news reports, often tying Modamani to stories of terrorist attacks, leading to him seeking injunction in a German court that would require Facebook to prevent the misuse of the photograph. In a released statement, Facebook replied that they were committed to meeting our obligations under German law. The House Committee on Science, Space and Technology formally thanked an ex-NOAA scientist for exposing a 2015 climate change study that relied on altered temperature data and bogus methodology. Dr. John Bates, now an agency whistleblower, recently told the Daily Mail about egregious data mismanagement at NOAA that deceived world leaders prior to an important climate conference. Bates actions prompted renewed interest from the House Science Committee led by Rep. Lamar Smith (R-Tex.), who thanked Dr. Bates in a statement yesterday for stepping forward and telling the truth about NOAAs senior officials using data to suit political agendas. Bates is a recently retired scientist who worked at NOAAs National Climatic Data Center and left with an impeccable record. Blowing the whistle on Tom Karl and NOAA's climate data center https://t.co/HclrkzOGV1 via @curryja Judith Curry (@curryja) February 4, 2017 Background According to Bates the Karl study was used to eliminate the pause and influence climate policy decisions both nationally and internationally. By cooling the 20th centurys land and sea surface temperatures, NOAA could eliminate the lack of warming between 1998 and 2015 and instead show a steep increase in temperatures. As it turns out, the study was based on tampered data, buggy software, and altered temperatures. The Karl study also came under heavy scrutiny from leading climatologists who criticized its methodology given it was being relied on by world leaders. Even still, NOAA refused to appear before the Science committee or turn over federal records. They even ignored subpoenas issued by congress. "Rep. Lamar Smith has valid reasons for investigating NOAA" https://t.co/2pw5cDq6MV hockey schtick (@hockeyschtick1) June 8, 2016 What is NOAA hiding? In 2015, whistleblowers also told the House Science Committee the Karl paper was published to influence the upcoming Paris climate talks. Since then, it has been trying to obtain information exposing the allegations, but NOAA obstructed them at every turn. Smith repeatedly asked, What does NOAA have to hide? Smith said Dr. Bates has confirmed what he believed all along: the pause-busting paper should never have been published, was rushed, and relied on manipulated data. Smith also understands why NOAA has been stonewalling his committee. He went on to say Bates' comments prove what he already knew and underscore the importance of rigorous oversight. DELINGPOLE: NOAA Scandal Gives Trump The Perfect Excuse To Drain The Climate Swamp https://t.co/RA1WQbPJEi @3lectric5heep Trump Texas (@3lectric5heep) February 6, 2017 Congressional Kudos Chairman Darin LaHood (R-Ill.) also praised Dr. Bates for discovering and reporting what he learned about the data tampering. LaHood said NOAA must always be transparent and adhere to the scientific method. LaHood said policies should be based on science and not predetermined outcomes. And Chairman Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.) commended Dr. Bates for shining a light on these unethical actions and hopes it serves as a warning against anyone thinking of using science to suit political goals. In what climatologist Judith Curry called a great irony, it was scientists who worried that climate data would vanish under President Trump, which prompted a hackathon to save government data. NOAA has refused to comment but will be under new leadership once the new commerce secretary, Wilbur Ross, is confirmed. On Tuesday night, the campus of uc berkeley was the home of a protest turned riot when liberal students caused the cancellation of a speech by Breitbart editor and right-wing speaker Milo Yiannopoulos. Protesters set cars on fire, attacked supporters of Yiannopoulos, while fighting back against police and additional security, leading to the Donald Trump administration to speak out. Conway on Milo Milo Yiannopoulos is a British-born supporter of Donald Trump who has made a name for himself by touring the college campus circuit in his war against the politically correct American left. Often targeting what is known as the regressive left, made up of the social justice warrior movement, third-wave feminists, Black Lives Matters, and other left-leaning groups, Yiannopoulos has become one of the most controversial voices on the right. Yiannopoulos has had his speaking events canceled in the past, but the riots at Berkeley were the first to gain national attention due to violence. This issue was front and center during the February 2 edition of "Fox and "Friends" on Fox News, as Presidential Counsel Kellyanne Conway gave her thoughts. (Conway's comments on UC Berkeley start at the beginning of the above video.) "You have protesters who feel very emboldened," Kellyanne Conway told the Fox News hosts. "I don't even know if they know what theyre protesting. Really, what is it, the free speech?," Conway said, while rhetorically asking, "Having someone on your campus who has a dissenting point of view or wants to present an alternative point of view?" Violence erupted at UC Berkeley before right-wing commentator Milo Yiannopoulos was scheduled to speak https://t.co/DUr5biw1Vk pic.twitter.com/rImGOHL5Sz CNN (@CNN) February 2, 2017 Kellyanne Conway then went on to mock the liberal protesters, claiming that they will get a reality check when they enter the "real world." "In the real world, when these kids grow up and try to find jobs, which they will in the Trump economy, life doesn't work that way, folks," she added. If U.C. Berkeley does not allow free speech and practices violence on innocent people with a different point of view - NO FEDERAL FUNDS? Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 2, 2017 Trump reacts Prior to Conway's interview, Donald Trump gave his thoughts on the UC Berkeley riots during a controversial Twitter post. "If U.C. Berkeley does not allow free speech and practices violence on innocent people with a different point of view - NO FEDERAL FUNDS?," Trump tweeted, while appearing to threatened to defund the university. As of press time, no offical statement has been released by the White House on this matter. President Trumps comments on Russia and its President Vladimir Putin during the interview with Bill OReilly on Fox News that raised eyebrows and caused discomfort to his own Vice President and fellow Republicans came on the eve of a meeting of European Foreign Ministers which addressed reports of increased Russian activity around the Ukraine. The timing could not have been worse for the United States. Sanctions and worries The European Union was one of the prime movers, together with the Obama administration, to placing sanctions on Russia for its intervention in Eastern Ukraine in support of pro Russian rebels which led to its annexation of Crimea. This armed conflict has never ceased totally since then and has been a source of constant worry for Russias neighbours. One of the tragedies of this conflict was the shooting down of Malaysian flight MH17 on July 17, 2014 which killed all 283 passengers and crew aboard including 80 children and which was blamed on the Pro Russian rebels. Yesterday the British Foreign Minister Boris Johnson reiterated the European determination that the sanctions will continue until Russia has fully complied with the 2015 Minsk II Agreement. In the United States Vice President Mike Pence also addressed the issue by stating that Were watching and very troubled by the increased hostilities. These issues will be discussed in a meeting in Washington attended by the senior European diplomatic representatives including Federica Mogherini the EUs foreign policy chief. Items on discussion will also include Syria where Russia also played a prominent role. Foreign policy on the run Diplomacy is a delicate issue that is as much about perceptions and hidden messages as it is about the declarations made by its protagonists. For this reason any statement or comment made publicly by Heads of Governments are under close scrutiny by diplomatic staff around the world. As the Leader of the worlds most powerful country this then means that the declarations of the President of the United States are of particular importance and are therefore subject to even closer scrutiny by the international community, beginning with the countrys allies This makes the Presidents comments about Russia on Saturday particularly worrying as it shows that he does not weigh his words before answering. The reaction of Vice president mike pence in stating his position on Donald Trumps reply is indicative of the discomfort that these statements caused. While some candour may be appropriate under certain circumstances, it may well be a cause of trouble in major meetings with the other heads of state. President #Donald Trump had promised to become a force of change in politics and he has shown that in this he is a man of his word, but not all change is good. International politics is not a board game to be played amongst friends on a kitchen table, it is a game that has the potential of creating or destroying commercial markets, just as it can and has caused wars around the world. The new Administration must understand that foreign policy is not made on the run and is certainly not carried out on television interviews, particularly when the subject has been the countrys most powerful antagonist since then end of the Second World War. Americas allies have given proof of their loyalty and their willingness to set their own foreign policy agendas according to its directions and guidelines. In fact these Allies are the first to be wrong footed by any careless statement. It will do no good to anyone, beginning with President Trump, to put at risk these decades old alliances in a period when the world is facing major challenges not only from the new fanatics in the Middle East, but even more so from the activities of the other worlds other superpower and the subject of his comments. LINCOLN Gov. Pete Ricketts has picked an Elmwood banker to fill an open seat in the Nebraska Legislature. Ricketts announced Monday that he has chosen Robert Keith Clements to replace former state Sen. Bill Kintner of Papillion. Ricketts praised Clements for his experience as a businessman, actuary and banker at American Exchange Bank. "He's a numbers guy," Ricketts said at a news conference to reveal the appointment. Clements was not among the 35 people who applied to fill Kintner's seat. Ricketts said his staff sought other candidates for the seat representing District 2, which includes Cass and portions of Sarpy and Otoe counties. The governor said he interviewed 10 applicants in person and several others by phone. Clements, 66, will finish the rest of Kintner's term, which is set to expire in January 2019. Clements will have the opportunity to seek a full four-year term in the 2018 election. "I'm honored to have this opportunity to represent the people in my district," Clements said with his wife, Peggy, standing at his side. "I know the state is facing difficult budget decisions, but I believe my background and experience will be of service during this process." Kintner resigned in January after a pattern of behavior that included cybersex on a state computer and retweeting a comment that implied women's march protesters were too unattractive to sexually assault. Kintner's departure also created an opening on the Legislature's budget-writing Appropriations Committee. In a week dominated by legal battles opposing his order banning Moslems from seven Middle Eastern countries, President #Donald Trump once more opened the door to debate about his attitudes towards Russia and particularly his open admiration for President Vladimir Putin. His statements not only caused discomfort for Republican politicians, but were a signal of alarm for Americas long term allies. Politics and deaths In an interview with Bill Reilly on Fox News Donald Trump was asked if he admired the Russian President Donald Trump replied that he wanted to see a better relationship with Russia. In a follow up question OReilly asked whether or not Putin was a killer and the American President replied at America was just as bad and had killers of its own. The issue of the deaths of Russian opposition politicians, dissidents and journalists both in Russia and abroad has been a worry for international diplomacy for many years and this only fueled the reactions to President Trumps replies. Naturally and inevitably these comments drew criticism from Democratic politicians and much of the Press, but they caused even more discomfort for Republicans. When asked on NBC Vice President Mike Pence dodged around the issue and other politicians such as Senate Leader Mitch McConnell and Mark Rubio were open in distancing themselves from the Presidents answers. In an unusual development, the Russian government has demanded an apology from Bill OReilly and Fox News in regards to the use of the word killer in reference to Putin. There has as yet been no reaction to the demand from the News channel. Business and Allies This development has also reminded the public of the allegations of Russian interference in Trumps victorious presidential campaign which are still under investigation by the intelligence community and which caused much controversy in the aftermath from the election. The allegations also raise doubts about the levels of international debt by President Trumps businesses which were partially addressed during the Presidents first press conference. The solutions presented at the press conference were then criticized by ethics experts from both sides of politics as being inadequate and inappropriate for the situation. Inevitably President Trumps comments also drew the attention of the international press and Americas traditional allies around the world. While the American President may state his intention of wanting a better working relationship with Russia justifying his stance in the interview with the need for cooperation to fight Moslem terrorism, European countries in particular are much more worried about Russia intentions on a number of fronts and particularly of reports of increased Russian activities in the troubled Ukraine region that led to international sanctions placed on Russia led by the Obama administration. Issues to be addresses In the light of the first two stormy weeks of the Trump Presidency the interview only heightened the perception of an Administration that entered the White House with no solid plan for carrying out the announcements made during the Presidential campaign. The reactions to the Executive at home and abroad to the subsequent executive orders only added to these doubts. In the case of the repeal of Obamacare, yesterdays announcement that a wonderful replacement as defined Donald Trump will become operable in 2018 was a partial reply to the fears of many citizens that they would be left without health care and which in turn led to pressure on Republican legislators around the country. With his statements on Russia and Vladimir Putin in the interview President Trump made his difficult week even more arduous and focused attention on matters that had been partially forgotten in the reactions to the Moslem ban order. Yet the only true reply is to finally address the issues that have haunted him since he announced his run for the Presidency and to lay to rest the doubts and controversies. Donald Trump might have been elected president and sworn into office, but that hasn't stopped the opposition from speaking out. After several controversial executive orders and cabinet nominations, critics and political opponents of Trump are now calling for his impeachment. Trump backlash Almost immediately after Donald Trump announced his candidacy for president, he made enemies in the world of politics for his controversial remarks about illegal immigrants from Mexico. In the months that would follow, it seemed almost impossible for the billionaire real estate mogul to win the Republican nomination, let alone the actual presidency. Despite various scandals and allegations against him, Trump weathered the storm of criticism and pulled off the upset win over Hillary Clinton last November. Ever since Trump moved into the White House, the backlash has only increased, with top celebrities using their status to push back against the president, as seen across Twitter on February 6. Case closed! I know he's a pathological liar, but when you start lying to our troops-25th Amendment NOW. Responsible leaders STAND UP Rob Reiner (@robreiner) February 6, 2017 "Case closed! I know he's a pathological liar, but when you start lying to our troops-25th Amendment NOW," actor and director Rob Reiner wrote on Twitter on Thursday afternoon, before adding "Responsible leaders STAND UP." Former ESPN and MSNBC host, Keith Olbermann also went off on Trump, calling for his impeachment. "Pardon me, @GOP leaders. This guy is out of his fucking mind. He needs to be removed from office," Olbermann wrote, while noting, "He is a danger to YOU (and everyone). Pardon me, @GOP leaders. This guy is out of his fucking mind. He needs to be removed from office. He is a danger to YOU (and everyone) https://t.co/HFiWycvNgC Keith Olbermann (@KeithOlbermann) February 6, 2017 Horror author Stephen King sent out several tweets against Donald Trump, as he continued to pile on his message. "Trump's tweets are both malevolent and excruciatingly dumb," King tweeting, also writing, "He comes off sounding lie a pro wrestling bad guy from 1965." Trump's tweets are both malevolent and excruciatingly dumb. He comes off sounding lie a pro wrestling bad guy from 1965. Stephen King (@StephenKing) February 4, 2017 Criticism continues "The first American Trump got killed died for what? Not to mention the other troops injured & the civilians killed," filmmaker Michael Moore wrote on his Twitter feed. Moore's comments were in reference to the raid in Yemen that Trump ordered, which resulted in the death of an American solider. The first American Trump got killed died for what? Not to mention the other troops injured & the civilians killed. https://t.co/i3Nv8xYjp8 Michael Moore (@MMFlint) February 6, 2017 Actor George Takei also took to his social media account to speak out against the president's recent claim that any negative polls released about him are just "fake news." "Think about this. For Trump, any fact that doesn't fit his bizarre narrative must be wrong. How dangerous. How troubling," Takei tweeted, while adding, "Trump must go." Think about this. For Trump, any fact that doesn't fit his bizarre narrative must be wrong. How dangerous. How troubling. Trump must go. https://t.co/9YROx77fTY George Takei (@GeorgeTakei) February 6, 2017 Current status As Donald Trump continues to speak out and push his agenda, his critics, even in Hollywood, look to have had enough of the new commander in chief. With protests occurring on an almost daily basis against the new administration, it appears the friction will only increase over the next four years. Joe Giudice of "The Real Housewives of New Jersey" has been doing his Prison time. It turns out that Joe has now found a job that he can do behind bars. Us Magazine shared about the job that Joe picked up and what he is doing that pays him $100 a month. Joe isn't used to making that kind of money, but it is an income and something to do. It at least gives him something to send home to Teresa and the girls since she is the only bread winner at the moment. What is Joe Giudice doing now? joe giudice is in jail for 41 months and has been there for almost a year of his sentence now. Joe's new job is in the prison gym, and this job does only pay about $100 a month. You don't make good money in prison, but they do at least pay you for what you are doing there. It will make Joe feel good to be able to do something and not just sit around all day. Before, a source had said that Joe wasn't making friends very easy in prison and was actually spending a lot of time in the gym. Now that Joe can't drink and is working out a lot, this could make getting in shape really easy on him. The source did say that Joe has a couple of friends that he plays cards with while in prison, though. Not long ago Teresa Giudice shared that Joe had already lost 30 lbs. while in prison. The fact that he is working in the gym now has to make this all even easier on him. Teresa worked really hard on her body during her time behind bars, and she has shared that she wanted her husband to do the same. There are no details on what Joe Giudice is actually doing while in the prison gym, though. The fans would love to hear what his job is about, but ever since he went to jail, everyone has been really quiet about what is going on and how he is doing. Are you surprised to hear that Joe Giudice has a job that is only paying him $100 a month while in prison? Do you think that Joe will end up getting out early? Sound off in the comments section below on your thoughts, and don't miss "The Real Housewives of New Jersey" when it returns to Bravo. Joe won't be getting out of jail until 2019. "The Bachelor" Nick Viall heads to the Bahamas next week (Episode 7, February 13) and it will be a nerve-wracking week for the six ladies who remain. With only four roses up for grabs, the girls must take advantage of alone time with Nick the rose ceremony will reveal the four girls who will move on to the important hometown dates (February 20). According to Reality Steve, there will be one group date and three one-on-one dates in the Bahamas. One girl who has yet to get a one-on-one date this season will once again be picked for a group date so she makes a bold move and heads to his hotel room for what she's hoping will be a night of passion weeks ahead of the Fantasy Suite dates. Here are the latest spoilers for "The Bachelor" Week 7 including a look ahead at the hometown dates drama. Exotic dates and heartbreak Group date: Spoilers point to Raven, Kristina, and Corinne going on a group date in the Bahamas. Corinne has yet to have a one-on-one so she has to get crafty about scoring time with Nick. After Raven gets the group date rose, Corinne makes her move on Nick when everyone returns to the hotel. "The Bachelor" previews show this season's villain take her "platinum vageen" straight to Nick's hotel room where she tries to seduce him. Although producers will have everyone thinking that she has sex with Nick, Reality Steve says Nick declines her advances. One-on-one dates go to Vanessa, Danielle M.,and Rachel. Although Nick gives Rachel and Vanessa a rose, spoilers indicate that he will send Danielle home during their date and she is completely devastated. Who's headed to hometowns? Chances are she will be even more upset when she finds out that Corinne is one of the four girls who will score a hometown date. Reality Steve states that Nick cancels the rose ceremony and sends Kristina home, leaving Corinne, Raven, Vanessa, and Rachel as this season's final four. Fans who don't read spoilers will undoubtedly be shocked that Corinne gets a hometown date when Episode 7 airs on February 13. But her luck will run out after she introduces Nick to her family rumor has it that he will send her home at the rose ceremony and take Vanessa, Raven, and Rachel to the overnight dates in Finland (Week 9, February 20). Watch "The Bachelor" starring Nick Viall on Monday nights at 8 p.m. ET on ABC. Whats that you smell, Flash fans? I do believe its a whiff of sweet nostalgia. For the dead and buried of DCs TV universe, time travel is a mans best friend. Rick Cosnett (Eddie) and Robbie Amell (Ronnie) announced their episode 16 return last month, and, thanks to new set photos, we know a little more about how the deceased heroes will figure back into the storyline. And yes, we are counting Detective Thawne as a hero super powers or not. The Flash turns back the clock? Although we all thought Flashpoint taught Barry Allen (Grant Gustin) a lesson or two about meddling with the past, it looks like at least one speedster will hit rewind ahead of the Supergirl/Flash musical. When the STAR Labs brain trust will come in contact with Eddie Thawne and Ronnie Raymond, the duo will definitely shoulder their old roles. In the behind-the-scenes photos below, you can see Cosnett and Amell settling in with their old co-stars. While Mr. and Mrs. Raymond are clearly catching up near the cortex, Candice Pattons (Iris) snap poses a few questions. Gustin is employing The Flashs go-to trick for hiding flashbacks removing Barrys emblem. Judging by the detectives shield poking out from under Cosnetts jacket, it looks like the team will take a little trip through the speed force. There are, however, three other possible reasons for a dead friends reunion a multiverse road trip, a little Vibe (Carlos Valdes) action, or some Savitar trickery. If the speed god can control who sees him and the Philosophers Stone can pull Dante from the grave, then whats to say Ronnie and Eddie arent merely stage dressing for season 3s big bad? Next time on The Flash Iris DOD is still months away, but as much as Team Flash can change the future for the better, so can their enemies. In Untouchable, the journalist will battle her mortality sooner than expected. Barry and the team at S.T.A.R. Labs work together to bring down Clive Yorkin (guest star Matthew Kevin Anderson), a criminal meta-human who is methodically killing people by causing them to decompose at an accelerated rate, The CW teased. Joe (Jesse L. Martin) becomes his next target but its Iris (Candice Patton) who is caught in the crossfire. The Flash airs Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET on The CW. Gratitude is probably one of the most widely cherished virtues in every culture. In China, children are taught from their earliest days that "A drop of water should be returned with a gushing spring", meaning that one should return even the smallest favor with everything they have to offer. I'm not sure how many people these days still follow this commandment. But if there's one thing all of the agitation and revolt in San Francisco, Berkeley and Oakland over the election teaches us, it's that as human beings, we still need the power to heal and have hope and positive energy. I just heard about a wonderful example. On Feb 3, Australia's University of Newcastle (UON) announced the establishment of a $20 million scholarship program, its largest ever. And it comes as the result of a three-decade-long friendship that transcends ideological differences and geographic distance. The program is funded by Alibaba founder Jack Ma and is his foundation's first philanthropic donation in Australia. But the story really starts 37 years ago. In 1980, on his first trip overseas with his parents and the Australia-China Friendship Society, Newcastle teenager David Morley met a Chinese youth Ma Yun, 17, who used to hang around tourist attractions in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, hoping to hone his spoken English skills by speaking with native speakers who were visiting. After playing Frisbee in the park, the two decided to become pen pals. David's father Ken, a retired electrical engineer, took the time to correct Ma's English in the double-spaced letters he wrote to David. Little by little, Ken became an influential figure in Ma's life, instilling core values and opening his eyes to the world beyond China, which, since 1979 and Deng Xiaoping's opening up and reform policy, was coming more and more into view. The Morleys were generous enough to subsidize Ma's living expenses when he was enrolled at Hangzhou Teachers College and happened to mention that he was short of funds. Ken would send checks of a few hundred dollars now and then to help Ma complete his course. In 1985, the 21-year-old Ma, at the invitation of the Morleys, traveled outside of China for the first time on a 29-day visit to Australia. It turned out to be a defining moment for Ma. It was during that trip that his vision for his business plans solidified and he would go on to become one of the richest people in China, with an estimated worth of $33 billion. Ma and the Morleys have remained close friends, even after Ken, his "Australian dad", passed away in 2004. Decades on, the Morleys' generosity has yielded fruitful results. "I'm very thankful for Australia and the time I spent there in my youth," Ma said on Friday at a ceremony commemorating his first trip to Australia. "The culture, the landscape and, most importantly, its people had a profound positive impact on my view of the world at that time." "For an unknown reason, I was lucky enough to make it. I have been wanting to do something for UON, for Ken used to talk about it all the time," Ma said. "I want to be just like Ken, staying ready to help strangers, to help some young fellow he just happened to meet on the street." UON Vice-Chancellor Caroline McMillen said the program would have a transformational impact on the lives of students and shape the next generation of leaders. "Through this remarkable friendship spanning decades, a new generation of talented students will have the opportunity to reach their full personal and professional potential," she said. The program in its initial year will support 30 new UON scholarships - 20 to support students throughout the duration of their degree and 10 to support educational exchanges, internships or immersion activities. When the program reaches full capacity, it will support 90 students a year for at least 20 years. "This scholarship program will exemplify the shared values between Mr Ma and Mr Morley, and aims to develop the next generation of globally aware and socially conscious Australian leaders," McMillen said. Generosity can be a gift that keeps on giving. Contact the writer at junechang@chinadailyusa.com (China Daily USA 02/07/2017 page2) Elon Musk's Tesla Inc and SpaceX on Monday joined a legal brief filed by businesses opposed to US President Donald Trump's order restricting immigration from seven Muslim-majority countries, according to a court filing. Musk agreed to become part of Trump's business advisory council in December, and has advocated discussing issues directly with the president. Uber chief executive Travis Kalanick quit the council last week amid mounting pressure over Trump's immigration policies. Nearly 100 companies, including high-tech, joined a legal brief opposing President Trump's temporary travel ban, arguing that it would give companies incentives to move jobs outside the United States. The companies - including Apple, Google and Microsoft - banded together late on Sunday to file a "friend-of-the-court" brief with the 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco arguing that the ban "inflicts significant harm on American business". The companies, backing a lawsuit brought against the ban by Washington state, argued that Trump's order created uncertainty for companies depending on talent from overseas and global business travel to innovate and create jobs in the United States. The fierce battle over Trump's travel and refugee ban edged up the judicial escalator Monday, headed for a possible final face-off at the Supreme Court. Travelers, temporarily unbound, tearfully reunited with loved ones at US airports. The Justice Department filed a new defense of Trump's ban on travelers from seven predominantly Muslim nations as a federal appeals court weighs whether to restore the administration's executive order. The lawyers said the travel ban was a "lawful exercise" of the president's authority to protect national security and said a judge's order that put the policy on hold should be overruled. The filing with the San Francisco-based 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals was the latest salvo in a high-stakes legal fight surrounding Trump's order, which was halted Friday by a federal judge in Washington state. The judges are to hear arguments Tuesday. The appeals court earlier refused to immediately reinstate the ban, and lawyers for Washington and Minnesota - two states challenging it - argued anew on Monday that any resumption would "unleash chaos again", separating families and stranding university students. Trump's Jan 27 executive order temporarily barred entry into the United States of people from seven Muslim-majority nations as well as suspending the US refugee program, sparking protests and chaos at US and overseas airports. Pending the next ruling in the case, the travel ban remained suspended, and people with valid visas who had been blocked from travel were being allowed to board planes. Refugee resettlement also resumed. Facebook, Twitter, Intel, eBay, Netflix and Uber Technologies joined the brief, as well as non-tech companies such as Levi Strauss & Co and Chobani. Tusk should focus on the real threats that the EU faces Updated: 2017-02-07 07:39 By Fu Jing(China Daily) President of the European Council Donald Tusk looks on during a joint news conference at the government headquarters Rosenbad in Stockholm, Sweden, September 9, 2016. [Photo/Agencies] Following the lead of new US president, Donald Trump, who has used aggressive rhetoric against China since the start of his presidential campaign, Donald Tusk, president of the European Council, has begun to play this dangerously misleading game too. In recent days, Tusk, whose institution is responsible for the 28-member bloc's political direction, has been eager to spread alarm among Europeans by claiming that the United States, Russia and China all represent a "danger and threat" to the European Union. His chief worry over China is that the nation has been "increasingly assertive, especially at sea". Tusk has been repeatedly spreading this message to European leaders. Although he has not elaborated in what way China being assertive is harmful, he claims it is among the external dangers and threats the EU faces. Interestingly, a careful reading of his letter to EU leaders ahead of Friday's gathering in Malta shows that he is also urging Europeans to become "assertive" and fight against the disintegration of the EU. Being assertive is not a bad thing, especially at critical times when the world is confronted with various crises. In fact, we are in extreme need of confident global leadership at this time. China's actions at sea are designed to protect its maritime sovereignty, which has been affected by the increasing intervention in the region by the United States in recent years. Another purpose is to deepen regional cooperation, facilitate trade flows and generate more jobs by increasing port investment. One example that Tusk might reflect on is Piraeus port in Greece. An EU rescue plan, coupled with China's growing investment, has helped bail the Mediterranean country out of crisis. Also, labeling China as a threat and danger-possibly the first time a European leader has used such language-does not reflect the realities of bilateral relations between China and EU members. In addition to the strategic partnership signed between China and the EU, China has entered into even closer relationships with most of the EU member states, including Germany, France, and Belgium, among others. Many have become founding members of the China-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank. In 2016, China surpassed the United States to become Germany's top trading partner, according to the Association of German Chambers of Commerce and Industry. With China's massive plans to attract investment and expand its overseas business, more of these pragmatic forward-looking policies are bound to take hold in the coming years among EU member states if the bloc adopts an open-door policy. In dealing with China, Tusk must listen to the opinions of the EU member countries and reflect their will. It is dangerous and misleading that while member countries are celebrating cooperation with China, the EU leadership is taking a less welcoming view. The EU is truly at a critical moment. Its southern and eastern periphery is in chaos, the new US administration is headstrong, and the United Kingdom is going to part ways and play a vastly different global role. But as Europe celebrates the 60th anniversary of Treaty of Rome, European leaders must not forget that European integration and China's reform and opening-up have been two of the major memorable developments over the past few decades. So when Tusk is shaping the political stance of the EU at this precarious moment, he must not only endeavor to save the transatlantic bond, but also recognize what are the real positive forces that will deepen regional integration and global peace. Embracing these forces would be the right approach to tackling the real threats facing the EU. The author is deputy chief of China Daily European Bureau. fujing@chinadaily.com.cn Bashar al-Jaafari, the head of the delegation representing Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, attends a news conference following Syria peace talks in Astana, Kazakhstan January 24, 2017. [Photo/Agencies] ASTANA - A technical meeting on Syrian ceasefire monitoring opended here on Monday with representatives of Iran, Russia, Jordan, Turkey and the United Nations participating. The participants agreed that mechanism for effective monitoring the full compliance with the ceasefire was already functioning, Head of Russian delegation and Deputy Head of Main Operations Directorate of General Staff, Major-General Stanislav Gadzhimagomedov said after the meeting in Astana, the capital city of Kazakhstan. "There is Russian and Turkish center of compliance control. We share data about violations every day, analyse them, take measures to eliminate the majority of mutual attacks and relieve the tension," he said. "The delegations have confirmed their readiness to continue interaction in order to achieve the full implementation of the cessation of hostilities in Syria," he said. However, as noted by all the participants, the ceasefre efforts were often interfered by international terrorist groups, the general added. According to him, the mechanism of ensuring full compliance with the ceasefire mode was already in force and the participants of the the peace talks discussed measures of mutual trust building to ensure unhindered humanitarian access to the war-torn areas. The Joint Task Force on Syria was established in accordance with the outcome of the international agreements on peace talks on Syria, organised in Astana on Jan 23-24. Monday's meeting became the first meeting of the Joint Task Force and the participants agreed to hold the next meeting on Feb 15-16. From after school programs to career training and college readiness, Nebraska schools are striving to make a difference in the lives of every student. Five school districts and Educational Service Units (ESUs) will now receive more than $4 million dollars in grants to help achieve specific learning goals. The Nebraska State Board of Education awarded the grants based on a competitive process to help fund programs that will help students succeed in a variety of ways. The grant recipients are spread across the state and represent the different sizes and backgrounds present in Nebraska. Innovation Grant Recipients Beatrice Public Schools - $893,565 Nebraskas Expanded Learning Opportunity (ELO) Design Challenge is a partnership designed to provide a statewide coalition of districts, community partners and key education and community stakeholders with opportunities to design and test new models of ELO curriculum that support Nebraska Career Readiness Standards. Educational Service Unit Coordinating Council (ESUCC) - $1,640,839 The Data-driven Ecosystem Enhancing Teaching and Improving Learning for Students (DE2TAILS) project will enable the ESUCC to incorporate multiple online educational and data-collection systems into one statewide, secure, single sign-on portal. The goal is to develop, implement, and sustain an integrated ecosystem to allow relevant teaching and learning applications and tools to integrate, sharing data elements for the improvement of student learning and reporting. Plattsmouth Community School District - $107,089 Plattsmouth High School (PHS) will use the Wall-to-Wall Career and College Readiness project to refine its wall-to-wall academy program into a model for Nebraskas schools. The PHS model is based on student interests, learning preferences, and career goals and involves extensive partnerships with community businesses and educational programs. Scottsbluff Public School District - $827,913 Scottsbluff Public Schools Wall-to-Wall Career Academy model will include six career academies. As students progress through middle school and their freshman and sophomore years, they will be provided with instruction and experiences that will help them determine areas that interest them. Then, as juniors and seniors, they will select and refine their focus in Foundational Academies. Westside Community Schools (WCS) - $896,993 The Personalized 21st Century Learning Initiative will use instruction tailored to meet each individual students needs, skills, knowledge, and learning interests. The project includes an overarching goal of promoting the academic performance of all WCS students through personalized learning opportunities with particular emphasis on those experiences which leverage technology. The Department of Education Innovative Grant Fund and the Innovation Grant Program were created with the passage of Legislative Bill (LB) 519, effective August 30, 2015. The funds consist of: Transfers pursuant to NRS 9-812 (State Lottery Operation Trust Fund and Nebraska Education Improvement Fund); Repayments of grant funds; and Interest payments received in the course of administering the fund. Funded projects must be annually evaluated and report progress toward stated goals, measurable objectives and targeted outcomes. Based on those reports, the State Board of Education will submit an Innovation Grant Program Annual Report to the Clerk of the Legislature by December 1st of each year. The Innovation Grant program gathered 18 applications requesting a total of $17.6 million. Originally the State Board of Education planned to award $7.8 million through the grant program. However, state statute allows those funds to also be used for a college readiness assessment. Due to pending budget cuts during this years shortfall, the Department of Education did not award a portion of the funds in order to pay for the ACT exam which will be administered to every public school junior in Nebraska for free for the first time this year. Additionally, the applicants not chosen for a grant will be invited to a summit this spring with the goal of finding partners willing to invest in their innovation proposals. It's a state with the sixth-largest Chinese population in the US - 134,000 - and Chinese Americans hold just 14 of New Jersey's 5,000 public school board seats, but they are winning more seats and becoming more active in school districts. And though they are among that very small number of Chinese Americans on the state's 581 school boards, Shannon Peng, Edward Wang and George Shen see getting elected as a start to get more Asians in school leadership positions. The Asian population stands at 18.5 percent of the state's population and increased 34 percent between 2000 and 2010, according to 2010 Census data. "A lot of Chinese parents don't even know there's a school board," said Peng. "I really hope we inspire more people, especially young people, to get involved. We're setting an example for them, for the next generation." Peng is the only Asian member of the board in the township of Edison, which has a Chinese population of 7,500, and the only board member who is a parent of students in the school system, which she said is what motivated her to seek a seat. "This is a volunteer job, you don't get paid and so a lot of members are volunteers. I just think there should be some parents on the board. Not all of them [need to be], but there should be some," she said. The Edison school district's 10 public schools have 16,000 students, and for Peng the biggest priority is how to spend the school's budget of approximately $200 million. "Every year they have budgets coming for the board to approve - funds coming from taxes, and we want to make sure tax money is well spent," she said. "People argue about using the money to increase teachers' salaries, school construction or buying computers. We work with the superintendent's office, and they will bring up ideas and we as a board have to approve for those to be executed," said Peng, who is a software engineer with MetLife Inc. Her two children, ages 7 and 10, are enrolled in Edison elementary schools, and she said she wanted to motivate the next generation to participate in local politics. Peng organized her campaign on WeChat, which was built off a chat group that Chinese parents in the Edison school district use to communicate with each other. She had 100 volunteers work on her campaign, and using publicly available information, identified that there were 40,000 voters in Edison and her campaign went door-to-door to 10,000 addresses to persuade people to vote for Peng. "It was a month and a half process, with volunteers walking around door-to-door almost every weekend, many of them with children who we want to set an example for," she said. Wang is on the board in Cherry Hill where the district's 19 schools have 11,000 students, 18 percent of them Asian, the largest minority group. But there were no Asian parents or Asian members serving on the board, which is why Wang, a history professor at Rowan University, decided to run. "There's a major deficit of Asian representatives on the board and in local politics," he said. "We used to have a person who served on the City Council, a Korean American, but now there are no Asian officials. "We know that in Silicon Valley, the Chinese were not in any significant positions. In American society in general, particularly the Chinese, are not well-represented," said Wang, who has a 9-year-old attending school in Cherry Hill. The biggest issues to him include getting the school district to consider teaching Chinese, and to declare Lunar New Year a school holiday, which he said has been brought up to the school superintendent but repeatedly struck down. George Shen, a scientist with the pharmaceutical company Celgene, who won a seat on the Livingston school board, said similarly that "participating in the American democratic process is really important for Chinese. You're not just contributing to your own family's growth and even your own community but you can make not only this town - or wherever you live - prosperous." Shen, who used to be a Chinese language teacher at the Huaxia Chinese School, said he wanted to highlight the importance of education in the Chinese community to the school district.. The district has nine schools with 5,800 students and is ranked No 6 in New Jersey. "The goal isn't to do whatever it takes - spending more money and effort - into pushing the ranking up or to focus on top-performing students to make sure they become governors," said Shen, who has three children, a 15-year-old and twins aged 9, in the school system. "That's not our goal. We want to help the whole [spectrum] of students." amyhe@chinadailyusa.com (China Daily USA 02/07/2017 page2) Blog Archive Nov 2022 (11) Oct 2022 (64) Sep 2022 (60) Aug 2022 (61) Jul 2022 (55) Jun 2022 (60) May 2022 (73) Apr 2022 (60) Mar 2022 (58) Feb 2022 (65) Jan 2022 (69) Dec 2021 (106) Nov 2021 (84) Oct 2021 (58) Sep 2021 (67) Aug 2021 (62) Jul 2021 (54) Jun 2021 (50) May 2021 (58) Apr 2021 (44) Mar 2021 (57) Feb 2021 (64) Jan 2021 (93) Dec 2020 (82) Nov 2020 (62) Oct 2020 (50) Sep 2020 (45) Aug 2020 (51) Jul 2020 (56) Jun 2020 (53) May 2020 (70) Apr 2020 (66) Mar 2020 (169) Feb 2020 (211) Jan 2020 (184) Dec 2019 (54) Nov 2019 (56) Oct 2019 (55) Sep 2019 (63) Aug 2019 (54) Jul 2019 (69) Jun 2019 (56) May 2019 (65) Apr 2019 (68) Mar 2019 (72) Feb 2019 (76) Jan 2019 (62) Dec 2018 (55) Nov 2018 (69) Oct 2018 (90) Sep 2018 (82) Aug 2018 (58) Jul 2018 (36) Jun 2018 (47) May 2018 (44) Apr 2018 (64) Mar 2018 (63) Feb 2018 (68) Jan 2018 (92) Dec 2017 (85) Nov 2017 (64) Oct 2017 (82) Sep 2017 (54) Aug 2017 (89) Jul 2017 (60) Jun 2017 (86) May 2017 (84) Apr 2017 (62) Mar 2017 (86) Feb 2017 (91) Jan 2017 (113) Dec 2016 (109) Nov 2016 (100) Oct 2016 (82) Sep 2016 (95) Aug 2016 (84) Jul 2016 (84) Jun 2016 (99) May 2016 (93) Apr 2016 (106) Mar 2016 (145) Feb 2016 (125) Jan 2016 (103) Dec 2015 (83) Nov 2015 (80) Oct 2015 (100) Sep 2015 (111) Aug 2015 (94) Jul 2015 (98) Jun 2015 (151) May 2015 (125) Apr 2015 (109) Mar 2015 (122) Feb 2015 (113) Jan 2015 (135) Dec 2014 (131) Nov 2014 (115) Oct 2014 (146) Sep 2014 (112) Aug 2014 (128) Jul 2014 (94) Jun 2014 (104) May 2014 (140) Apr 2014 (132) Mar 2014 (81) Feb 2014 (89) Jan 2014 (141) Dec 2013 (100) Nov 2013 (96) Oct 2013 (99) Sep 2013 (94) Aug 2013 (95) Jul 2013 (95) Jun 2013 (91) May 2013 (139) Apr 2013 (179) Mar 2013 (73) Feb 2013 (76) Jan 2013 (85) Dec 2012 (59) Nov 2012 (71) Oct 2012 (85) Sep 2012 (70) Aug 2012 (71) Jul 2012 (53) Jun 2012 (51) May 2012 (52) Apr 2012 (52) Mar 2012 (69) Feb 2012 (76) Jan 2012 (70) Dec 2011 (60) Nov 2011 (54) Oct 2011 (57) Sep 2011 (75) Aug 2011 (72) Jul 2011 (64) Jun 2011 (76) May 2011 (56) Apr 2011 (73) Mar 2011 (114) Feb 2011 (71) Jan 2011 (80) Dec 2010 (92) Nov 2010 (82) Oct 2010 (73) Sep 2010 (95) Aug 2010 (86) Jul 2010 (81) Jun 2010 (76) May 2010 (71) Apr 2010 (74) Mar 2010 (74) Feb 2010 (82) Jan 2010 (101) Dec 2009 (108) Nov 2009 (182) Oct 2009 (136) Sep 2009 (102) Aug 2009 (120) Jul 2009 (151) Jun 2009 (136) May 2009 (180) Apr 2009 (145) Mar 2009 (113) Feb 2009 (113) Jan 2009 (124) Dec 2008 (108) Nov 2008 (69) Oct 2008 (89) Sep 2008 (76) Aug 2008 (75) Jul 2008 (87) Jun 2008 (80) May 2008 (99) Apr 2008 (93) Mar 2008 (115) Feb 2008 (147) Jan 2008 (162) Dec 2007 (124) Nov 2007 (95) Oct 2007 (67) Sep 2007 (42) Aug 2007 (78) Jul 2007 (75) Jun 2007 (123) May 2007 (110) Apr 2007 (108) Mar 2007 (92) Feb 2007 (136) Jan 2007 (119) Dec 2006 (41) Nov 2006 (34) Oct 2006 (12) Sep 2006 (13) Aug 2006 (13) Jul 2006 (16) Jun 2006 (12) May 2006 (21) Apr 2006 (38) Mar 2006 (27) Feb 2006 (25) Jan 2006 (18) Maria Slade is an accomplished journalist, editor and commentator who has worked for many major New Zealand media organisations. Most recently she wrote for Fairfax Media, covering business, entrepreneurship and Auckland issues for the groups website, stuff.co.nz, and a nationwide stable of print publications. Prior to that she was a business reporter and editor at theand, where she won a New Zealand Guild of Agricultural Journalists and Commentators award. She started her career at thebut was diverted into radio for a number of years, working at Newstalk ZB as a producer, correspondent and news editor. She now works in communications. House Bill 21 would add instructions at driver's education classes and in DMV manual on how to interact with police when pulled over An evening TV news program showing a traffic stop "that got out of hand and escalated" led Rep. Ken Goodman , D-Richmond, to introduce a bill requiring instructions of how motorists should interact with police.Goodman said.House Bill 21 would add instructions about interacting with police interaction to the Divsion of Motor Vehicles driver's manual and to state driver's education courses.Goodman said. In recent years, news reports have shown clips of interactions between people and police officers that escalated into violence, including some traffic stops. For example, last summer a police officer in Minnesota shot and killed a motorist who, a passenger said, was reaching for his driver's license after he was stopped because of a broken tail light. Goodman and other bill sponsors hope the instructions will make motorists aware of concerns police officers face in a traffic stop and will help prevent confrontations.Goodman has bipartisan support for his bill. Primary sponsors include fellow Democratic Rep. Beverly Earle of Mecklenburg County and Republican Reps. John Faircloth of Guilford County and Allen McNeill of Randolph County.Both of the GOP sponsors have law enforcement experience. Faircloth is a retired High Point police chief. McNeill is a retired colonel in the Randolph County Sheriff's Office.Faircloth said Goodman's idea is common sense, particularly for young people just learning to drive.Faircloth said.Faircloth said.Faircloth said.Faircloth continued.Faircloth said.Faircloth said that while a lot of young people have dealt with authority figures - their parents, older people, teachers - they may not have thought about how to react when stopped by a police officer.Faircloth said, suggesting that parents talk to their children about what to do in those circumstances.The bill calls for the DMV to work with the State Highway Patrol , the N.C. Sheriff's Association , and the N.C. Association of Chiefs of Police to develop the information to insert into the state driver's handbook and to teach in driver's education courses.The bill has been sent to the House Transportation Committee The Executive Order, available on the White House website, reads: On January 27, President Donald Trump issued an Executive Order titled Protecting the Nation from Foreign Terrorist Entry into the United States which provides a 90-day suspension of entry into the United States for individuals from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen on account of their status as posing a heightened risk of terrorism. It was the US Congress, under President Barack Obama, which had assigned this status to those seven countries.The Executive Order was issued after the President determined that deteriorating conditions in certain countries due to war, strife, disaster, and civil unrest increase the likelihood that terrorists will use any means possible to enter the United States, and that our Nation accordingly must take additional steps to ensure that those approved for admission do not intend to harm Americans and that they have no ties to terrorism. [see the text of the Executive Order]. Invoking his constitutional authority to control the entry of aliens into this country and congressionally-delegated authority to suspend the entry of any class of aliens whose entry would be detrimental to the interests of the United States, the President, by issuing the Executive Order, has directed a temporary 90-day suspension of entry for individuals from seven countries previously identified as posing a heightened risk of terrorism by Congress or the Executive Branch; a temporary 120-day suspension of the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program; and a suspension of entry of Syrian nationals as refugees until the President determines that measures are in place to ensure that admission of Syrian refugees is consistent with the national interest. Exec. Order 3(c), (5)(a), (c).Democrats and opposition groups have nicknamed the Executive Order "the Muslim travel ban."Two days ago, on February 4, a federal district judge in Seattle issued a ruling - a nationwide temporary restraining order (TRO), aka, an injunction - that temporarily blocks the Executive Order. The court order prevents the president's Executive Order from going into effect and allows the immigration to move forward.The State Department has agreed to abide by the ruling until it files an appeal. In the meantime, the judge's decision allows tens of thousands of aliens from terrorist nations visas to travel to our country. The ruling came after Washington State Attorney General Bob Ferguson, filed a complaint challenging the constitutionality of the Executive Order's key provisions. The TRO was issued by Seattle US District Judge James Robart pending a full review of Washington states' complaint. In response to the decision, WA Attorney General Ferguson commented: "The Constitution prevailed today. No one is above the law--not even the president."Minnesota joined the suit with Washington and since the TRO was issued, seven other states have decided to join and challenge the "travel ban." They want it overturned. These seven states include Washington, Virginia, Massachusetts, Hawaii, New York, Michigan, and California.One day, earlier, however, another district court (Massachusetts) concluded in a thorough, well-reasoned opinion, the Executive Order is a lawful exercise of the political branches' plenary control over the admission of aliens into the United States. Louhghalam v. Trump, Civ. No. 17-10154-NMG, Order 11 (D. Mass. Feb. 3, 2017)This article will explain why the Executive Order and the temporary travel ban is legal and appropriate and why I think it will ultimately be upheld. First, the travel ban is a proper exercise of the President's power to issue Executive Orders to "force the government to enforce laws already on the books." We will look at the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 US Section 12) and the Visa Waiver Program. Next, the travel ban is justified under the President's War Powers (we are currently engaged in a War on Terror, as admitted so by our very own Congress and presidents), his Foreign Policy powers, and his National Security Powers.Article II, Section 2 of the US Constitution provides the president with his powers. It reads: "The President shall be commander in chief of the Army and Navy of the United States, and of the militia of the several states, when called into the actual service of the United States; he may require the opinion, in writing, of the principal officer in each of the executive departments, upon any subject relating to the duties of their respective offices...." When the Congress vote almost unanimously to authorize military force to fight the war on terror (AMU of September 14, 2001), which is taken as a declaration of war - noting that it was a declaration of war on an ideology and a tactic of subjugation rather than on a specific country or countries - it acknowledged the United States was involved in a global war - one without boundaries. The Use of Military Force has been re-upped every year. The National Defense Authorization Act of 2014 The passage of the $1.2T infrastructure bill could be a major boon to the following 12 stocks over the next 8 years. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Deal (Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act) was passed by Congress on November 6th, 2021, and signed into law by President Biden on November 15th, 2021, with the objective of: Easing inflationary pressures and strengthening supply chains by making long-overdue improvements to U.S.s ports, airports, rail, and roads, Expanding access to clean drinking water, Ensuring every American has access to high-speed internet, Tackling the climate crisis, Advancing environmental justice, Investing in communities that have too often been left behind, Driving the creation of good-paying union jobs, and, Growing the economy sustainably and equitably so that everyone gets ahead for decades to come. FIGURE 1: U.S. Infrastructure Bill Spending Plans Its a fact that most small business owners have come to accept: banking lending to small businesses disappeared during the financial crisis and never turned. While tight lending made room for alternative lending solutions, most come with incredibly high interest rates. Small businesses in New York City do have a new option, as Roberto Barragan, chief executive of nonprofit Valley Economic Development Center, has envisioned more affordable options for entrepreneurs. VEDC announced this week it will begin lending to small businesses in Connecticut, New Jersey, and New York through its new $20 million Tri-State Business Opportunity Fund. This move is done in partnership with the USB Elevating Entrepreneurs Initiative. The fund will make loans from $50,000 to $500,000, which sets it apart from micro lenders who have filled the void banks created by lending much smaller amounts, according to Barragan. Further underlining the difference is the fact that VEDC says its interest rates will average just 6-8%. This program is just the latest expansion for VEDC, which has lent over $180 million to nonprofits and small businesses in Los Angeles since 1976. Additional initiatives have been launched in Chicago and Nevada for women- and minority-owned businesses. While this program is big news, its still a drop in the bucket, as Business Week reported. The US Small Business Administration guaranteed $30 billion in loans in the year through September 2013, while merchant cash advances account for another $1 billion in small business lending each year. Fortunately, the House Small Business Committee met last week to examine post-recession, small business lending. Witnesses before the committee included representatives from the Federal Reserve, bankers, credit unions, and private businesses involved in small business lending. The hearing brought up five possible answers to increase lending to small businesses, including ending the uncertainty thats dampening demand. According to Fred Green, president and CEO of the South Carolina Bankers Association, Businesses simply are not willing to take on additional debt with so much uncertainty about the economic future they face. He added that demand for business credit is especially low among companies with strong credit. The committee also found another, more immediate solution: ease banking regulations, particularly on community banks. This includes easing credit restrictions in the wake of the Great Recession, as well as collateral in the face of dampened real estate values. Community Development Finance Institutions like VEDC have lent $1.5 billion since 2008. According to Mark Pinsky, CEO of Opportunity Finance Network, these institutions are actually tugboat lenders, working to pull bigger lenders into the market. VEDC has an excellent track record in lending to businesses banks turn down, with a loss rate of just 2%. Barragan says many of his customers have had trouble with the real estate market, which is hurting them with banks, despite running a successful, profitable business. Barragan added, We hope that other institutions get involved in lending not just banks. BISMARCK, N.D. North Dakota House lawmakers advanced four bills Monday aimed at giving law enforcement more tools for responding to Dakota Access Pipeline protests. The package of bills, which some opponents criticized as knee-jerk legislation, would double the penalties for some riot offenses and create a new felony offense for individuals who cause economic harm while committing a misdemeanor. The legislation, which still needs to be considered by the state Senate, also would make it a misdemeanor to wear a mask while committing a crime. Rep. Terry Jones, R-New Town, said he and other members of the House Judiciary Committee carefully considered the proposals with the goal of protecting the rights of North Dakota people. The Judiciary Committee is working really hard to balance the rights of North Dakota citizens to protest and the rights of North Dakota citizens to live under rule of law and conduct their day-to-day activities, Jones said. Economic harm Legislators voted 72-19 to approve House Bill 1193, which creates a new Class C felony offense for causing $1,000 or more in economic harm while committing a misdemeanor. The new charge would apply to situations such as pipeline protesters who attach themselves to equipment to stall construction of the pipeline. This bill protects constitutional rights for those that are peacefully protesting, said Rep. Kim Koppelman, R-West Fargo, chairman of the Judiciary Committee. It just has consequences when they cross the line. Opponents questioned whether a felony offense was appropriate. I am opposed to knee-jerk legislation because its almost always bad legislation, said Rep. Rick Becker, R-Bismarck. Increased penalties Legislators voted 63-27 to increase penalties for riot offenses, going against the committees do-not-pass recommendation. House Bill 1426 would elevate offenses such as instigating a riot of 100 or more people or providing firearms or weapons for a riot from a Class C felony to a Class B felony. That would double the maximum penalties for such offenses to 10 years in prison and a $20,000 fine. Engaging in a riot would become a Class A misdemeanor under the proposal with a maximum penalty of one year in prison and a $3,000 fine. Currently the offense is a Class B misdemeanor with 30 days in jail and a $500 fine. Assistant Attorney General Jonathan Byers testified during the hearing that individuals can be guilty of engaging in a riot if they fail to disperse when ordered by law enforcement, even if they remain peaceful during the event. Trespassing Legislators voted 85-6 in support of House Bill 1293, which would allow law enforcement to issue $250 citations for trespassing and property that is posted. Jones said the proposal is modeled after how speeding tickets are issued in North Dakota and could reduce some of the cases that need to go through the court system. Masks Lawmakers voted 69-22 in favor of House Bill 1304, which makes it a Class A misdemeanor to wear a mask while committing a crime or fleeing from a crime. The bill was amended from its initial proposal to address concerns about it being unconstitutional. Loitering House members rejected House Bill 1383, which would make it a Class B misdemeanor to loiter in an unusual manner that warrants justifiable and reasonable alarm. The bill, which failed in an 11-79 vote, had language that was vague, overly broad and would not withstand constitutional challenges, said Rep. Shannon Roers Jones, R-Casselton. About 700 people have been arrested in connection with Dakota Access protest activity since Aug. 10. The bills, which legislative leaders had asked to be fast-tracked, will now be considered by the Senate. The bills carry an emergency clause, which means they would become effective immediately if approved by the Legislature and signed by the governor. Bank of America is nearing a $16 to $17 billion settlement with the Department of Justice to resolve a probe into its role in the sale of mortgage-backed securities before the financial crisis, according to a source familiar with the matter. After months of lowball offers, it took Bank of America just 24 hours to cave to the government and agree to the largest federal settlement in the history of corporate America. The tentative deal would settle investigations into the banks sale of toxic mortgage securities and it started to take shape last week after the Justice Department rejected the last settlement offer from the bank. This week, Judge Jed Rakoff of Federal District Court of Manhattan issued an unexpected ruling in another Bank of America case that eroded the banks negotiating leverage. Rakoff ordered the bank to pay almost $1.3 billion to for selling 17,600 mortgages, many of which were defective. Bank of America had previously lost the case at a jury trial. Rather than settle, the banks top lawyers chose to fight the case in Rakoffs court and have now appeared to realize that another battle would be futile and very costly. Its possible another courtroom battle could cost the lender more than the settlement with the Justice Department. On July 30, Attorney General Eric Holder spoke with the banks chief executive, Brian Moynihan, on the phone and told the bank to raise its offer or it would be sued the next day. On July 31, the bank raised its offer to to $9 billion in cash and over $7 billion in soft dollar relief to homeowners. This offer is far in excess of what Citigroup and JPMorgan Chase paid to settle similar cases recently. Bank of America has argued that it should not be harshly punished for the bad deeds of Merrill Lynch and Countrywide Financial, which is acquired during the financial crisis. The bank argued that federal regulators pressured the lender to acquire Merrill. With Countrywide, Bank of America claimed it did not assume legal liability stemming from the loans it made before acquisition. If finalized, the agreement would set a record in a civil settlement between the government and a company, eclipsing the $13 billion deal made 9 months ago between the Justice Department and JPMorgan Chase over similar allegations. 'Modi followed a prime minister whose second term was marked by such tragic passivity that Indians, it would seem, are willing to go to great pains to help this one realise his ambitions for them,' says Vikram Johri. Illustration: Dominic Xavier/Rediff.com The News Minute reported of an old woman in Kerala who learnt only in the new year, that is after the deadline to exchange them had passed, that old notes of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 were no longer legal tender. Sathi Bai, who lives all alone in Ernakulam district, told the online news outlet: 'I don't have electricity here. I don't need it. I have no idea how to use a television... never used a phone either in my life.' When Sathi reached the SBI branch she receives her pension in, she was told that the bag of old notes she had brought could not be accepted. Luckily for her, the police intervened and they are now in touch with the income tax department to help her convert her currency. Sathi's case may be extreme but her dilemma is hardly different from that faced by many in the days since November 8, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi unveiled his grand design to rid India of a host of evils. For two months, we have seen long queues outside banks, harried customers and bank staff, but perhaps most damagingly, a government and RBI unable to contain the chaos unleashed by demonetisation. ,font size=7>We have been told this is being done to rid the country of corruption and terrorism. Indeed, there are reports that hawala transactions have gone down and that terror funding -- in both Kashmir and the Naxal heartland -- has dried up. Belatedly, the government also evangelised the benefits of digital payments, of how less cash in the system will force people to adopt mobile wallets and online money transfer. But none of this takes away from the deep pain the exercise has wrought. Scores in the informal sector have been affected and the GDP is expected to go south of 7 per cent for this financial year. More worryingly, the hallowed aim of rooting out corruption may remain unrealised. Much black money has been laundered in return for stiff fees charged by some unscrupulous bankers. Even as the queues outside banks lengthened, new notes made their way to those capable of meeting the asking price. If this had been another prime minister, the gamble would have backfired badly. But Modi benefits from more than charismatic leadership. He followed a prime minister whose second term was marked by such tragic passivity that Indians, it would seem, are willing to go to great pains to help this one realise his ambitions for them. Modi is also -- and this has been proved repeatedly since his Gujarat days -- politically astute. For a while, it was believed that protests against demonetisation were not happening because there was no cash to go around (and in our society, even protests must bow to the power of pelf before they can be 'spontaneous'). But as the days went by, it became clear that there was genuine support for the move among the poor, even as they suffered hardships far greater than merely waiting in lines. Ironically, the dominant narrative in the media -- of people suffering inside and outside banks for days on end -- fed into what some commentators uncharitably called schadenfreude. These commentators failed to see that to the poor man, lines are a symbol of access. Used as he is to being denied entry, he finds it unfathomable that people should complain about being made to wait. Perhaps there was some glee, too, at the sight of others, better off than him by orders small and large, scrambling to ensure that their currency remains usable. But who can blame him? We reserve our empathy for those who face our problems. It is this poor man and his ilk that are likely to vote Modi back to power should the prime minister manage to keep the issue alive over the next two-and-a-half years. Modi has brilliantly diffused, and even at times valiantly adopted, barbs directed at him. In the popular imagination, he remains the chaiwallah, the outsider who stormed the pearly gates of Lutyens' Delhi and who will not rest till he recasts his country and society in his image. He is here for the long haul, a fact that gets lost in the heat of politics. He outgrew his blackened past to emerge the national leader. Now, he has jettisoned his 'minimum government' agenda under the guise of cleansing India. Atal Bihari Vajpayee was famously known as the man to whom no charge stuck. Modi has done one better, wrapping his idiosyncratic experiments in the gloss of change. For a long-suffering nation, his words are music. For a democratic one, they are ominous. Kindly check out More Fascinating Features in the Related Links below! Uncertainty persisted on Tuesday over All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam general secretary V K Sasikalas induction as Tamil Nadu Chief Minister. Governor Ch Vidyasagar Rao is still in Mumbai. Sources said the governor wont be going to Chennai on Tuesday. Rao had on Monday accepted the resignation of Chief Minister O Panneerselvam. This uncertainty has risen after the Supreme Court said on Monday that the verdict in the disproportionate assets case in which Saiskala is one of the accused will be delivered within a week. A Public Interest Litigation was filed on Monday by a Chennai resident in the apex court seeking a stay over Sasikalas swearing-in, claiming that she had been convicted under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, for amassing wealth disproportionate to her income. The petitioner said he filed the plea in the interest of people of Tamil Nadu and to maintain the peace in the state. After Jayalalithaa passed away on December 5, 2016, Sasikala, who was her shadow for nearly three decades, was elected AIADMK general secretary of on December 29 and elected leader of its legislature party on Sunday. 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. With the Montana Legislature in session, our representatives have the opportunity to bring suicide prevention to the forefront. Montana has dropped from first in the nation in the rate of suicide deaths to the third spot, below Alaska and Wyoming. The rankings, just released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, are based on 2015 data. Unfortunately, the numbers dont signal progress in Montana. Instead, the suicide rate increased in all three states. Montanas rate grew from 23 to 26 suicides per 100,000 people. We must collectively and comprehensively address this public health crisis. Suicide exacts a gut-wrenching emotional cost. But since legislative decision-making often involves weighing financial costs, consider these facts from the Department of Health and Human Services website: The average cost of one suicide was nearly $1.8 million in 2015. 97 percent of the cost was due to lost productivity, and 3 percent from medical treatment. Nationally, suicides and suicide attempts cost $93.5 billion. For every dollar spent on psychotherapy and other interventions by care providers, $2.50 was saved in costs associated with suicides. Bills under consideration offer a broad range of policy reforms to bolster communities and lessen the chance of an individual completing suicide. Some bills focus on building resiliency and coping skills of youths to proactively prevent crises from leading to suicide. Another proposes anti-bullying laws. Other bills help law enforcement and health care providers to recognize the signs of suicide, provide safety planning, and use de-escalation techniques. Montanas suicide rate of 26 deaths per 100,000 is twice the national average. The suicide rate is even higher among certain groups in the state. Among the elderly, Montanas suicide rate ranked second nationally with 32 deaths per 100,000. More than 120 veterans died by suicide in Montana during the 26-month period of January 2014-March 2016. Montana ranks No. 2 in the number of veterans per capita, meaning we have a proportionally higher number of veterans for our size. American Indians, especially American Indian youth in Montana, die by suicide at a rate of 27 per 100,000. While any death by suicide is one too many, these facts explain why some bills target specific demographic groups. The 2013 Legislature funded the Montana Suicide Mortality Review Team to investigate every suicide in the state and to make recommendations for lowering the suicide rate. The teams top six recommendations: Renew the MSMRT and share data with the American Indian Nations and the Montana University System. Use the PAX Good Behavior Game in every first- or second-grade classroom to teach self-management and coping skills while reducing class-time spent on disciplinary distractions (Every dollar spent on the program provides a $55 return on investment.) Add mandatory training of primary care providers in prevention and risk assessment. Add an American Indian Suicide Prevention Coordinator. Issue a Declaration of Firearm Safe Storage Standards for Children. (Sixty-three percent of Montana youth suicides involve firearms.) Add mandatory depression screening for all school children ages 11-17 and development of mental health crisis response protocols. (Depression is the highest risk factor for youth suicide.) Please let your legislators know that it is time to aggressively and comprehensively support suicide prevention policies. By increasing suicide prevention efforts and promoting resiliency skills in our children, we will strengthen our communities health and stop some of the devastating losses linked to those preventable deaths. WASHINGTON Health care advocates fear a repeal of the Affordable Care Act could blow a $3 billion hole in state and local public health funding over the next five years and cost the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention nearly $1 billion a year, or about 12 percent of its annual budget. Thats the potential forecast if the ACAs Prevention and Public Health Fund is shuttered by repeal legislation that doesnt replace the funding stream, according to the Trust for Americas Health. Supporters are bracing for the worst. In meetings that weve had with folks on Capitol Hill, the sense that we have gotten is that repeal of the Affordable Care Act will not continue the Prevention and Public Health Fund, said Peter Kyriacopoulos, senior director of public policy at the Association of Public Health Laboratories. Through grants from the CDC, the imperiled fund provides about $40 million a year to help state health labs add staff and buy testing equipment and computer systems, Kyriacopoulos said. Its going to be hard on us and our member laboratories if we lose $40 million, but its going to be impossible on CDC if they lose (nearly) $1 billion, Kyriacopoulos said. The prevention fund was created by the health law to support community-based disease-prevention programs that operate outside traditional health care settings. A study by the Trust for Americas Health found that every $10 per person per year invested in such programs could save the nation more than $16 billion a year within five years a return of $5.60 for every $1. The CDC gets more than $891 million from the fund each year, most of which goes back to states as grants to fund a variety of programs targeting obesity, suicide, stroke, diabetes, heart disease, maternal health and even prevention of falls among the elderly. The money even funded the CDCs Tips from Former Smokers ad campaign, which helped an estimated 104,000 Americans kick the smoking habit. It was an influx of money to support these programs that had not really been supported in a significant way, said Chrissie Juliano, director of the Big Cities Health Coalition, which represents health departments in the nations 28 largest cities. But as budget tightening forced cuts in federal and state support for basic public health programs like child vaccinations, testing for lead poisoning and disease tracking, dollars were taken from the prevention fund to support this work that is really core to public health, Juliano said. Now the fund helps pay for infectious-disease control and immunization programs, efforts to cut health-care-acquired infections and other varied initiatives. That expanding mission along with its generous financing and limited congressional oversight have kept the fund on the GOP hit list since the health law was enacted in 2010. Congressional Republicans who have long wanted to cut or eliminate the fund arent likely to pass on the opportunity afforded by the ACA repeal effort. Sen. Mike Enzi, R-Wyo., a member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, which will draft possible ACA repeal legislation, once called it a slush fund to build sidewalks, jungle gyms and swing sets. Rep. Mike Burgess, R-Texas, a member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee who will be heavily involved in the repeal-and-replace effort, was equally scornful, calling it a slush fund that health and human services secretaries could control with little oversight from Congress because its mandatory funding falls outside the appropriation process. This fund, the way it was set up, there were no controls that the legislative branch had over the secretary of HHS, Burgess said last week. So it was entirely skewed in whatever direction the administration wanted to go. If they had allowed us to direct it maybe we could talk about it. But I think it was abused so badly that I think it would be a hard sell. The fund originally was earmarked for $15 billion over 10 years, and Republicans quickly began calling for the programs elimination. Heeding calls to cut the federal budget deficit, then-President Barack Obama called in 2011 for cutting the fun by $3.5 billion over 10 years. In 2012, Obama sought a $4 billion cut. That same year, Congress did cut it by $5 billion over 10 years through the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act. More than 300 organizations have written to congressional leaders asking them to save the fund. Fourteen public health organizations have made the same appeal. In their letter to congressional leaders, the groups said the programs demise without replacement funding would equate to a massive reduction in state efforts to respond to food-borne outbreaks, prevent emerging infectious diseases like Ebola and Zika, and jeopardize the health response to natural and man-made disasters. The funds Preventive Health and Health Services Block Grant provides $160 million a year to help states respond to health emergencies or funding shortfalls in other programs. The fund supplied nearly 5,000 doses of measles vaccine to county health departments in California during the states 2015 outbreak. It also helped Floridas state laboratory respond quickly to the Zika virus, Kyriacopoulos said. Because they had some additional staff in the laboratory through this funding, things went much better for them, Kyriacopoulos said, adding that test results came back quicker than they would have, had those additional boots on the ground not been there. In the Seattle area, money from the fund is helping health officials respond to a measles outbreak at 32 schools, said Patty Hayes, the director of public health for Seattle and King County. In Charlotte, North Carolina, the money helped local health officials react quickly to the 2014 Ebola outbreak, which led to the quarantine of missionaries whod returned from Africa. We put quite a bit of person-power into the Ebola epidemic, said Dr. Marcus Plescia, director of the Mecklenburg County Health Department in Charlotte. When were dealing with diseases that are really high profile, that people are frightened by, its very important that we respond quickly so people feel safe and secure. North Carolina would lose $20 million a year if the fund were terminated. It would devastate our public health budget, said Peg OConnell, chair of the advocacy committee for the North Carolina Public Health Association. Texas has received more than $124 million from the fund since 2010, including more than $29 million last year. In 2015, the state got more than $4.8 million for the effort to provide a vaccine safety net for low-income adults and the uninsured. But the fund has remained on the GOP chopping block, in part because the effectiveness of its prevention programs are difficult to quantify and it can often take years before progress is shown. A store of Intimex Group in Da Nang City. After the Tet (the Lunar New Year) break, employees of Intimex Group Joint Stock Company are scrambling to fulfil export orders. Photo danang.gov.vn HCM CITY After the Tet (the Lunar New Year) break, employees of Intimex Group Joint Stock Company are scrambling to fulfil export orders. The company achieved export revenues of US$60 million last month and is expected to exceed the $100 million mark in the first two months of the year, much higher than in the same period last year. o Ha Nam, the companys chairman and general director, said: Orders to export rice to China are much higher compared to the same period last year. Meanwhile coffee export has entered the main season with many large contracts. Exports of rice and coffee may face difficulties this year, but the signals at the beginning of the year are rather positive. Pham Thai Binh, director of the Can Tho city-based Trung An Hi-Tech Farming JSC, a major rice exporter, said his company officially resumes work on February 6, but its staff began to work on the 31st to carry out export orders. His company is rushing to fulfil two orders for high-grade rice from China and Malaysia, with 6,000 tonnes to be shipped to China, he said. China and Malaysia are traditional customers, he said. Though this year rice exports are set to face more difficulties due to a global glut, Trung An has set itself a target of 30 per cent export growth this year, with focus on high-grade rice products, he said. The company has established a closed rice value chain from growing to exports and obtained certification from the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements, he added. Tran Van Linh, chairman of Thuan Phuoc Seafood and Trading Corporation, said his companys order book is full until the end of the first quarter. It resumed work on February 2 to fulfil those orders, he said. In the case of the garment and textile sector, many insiders forecast exports to be modest this year, but Garmex Sai Gon Joint Stock Company targets higher export growth than last year. Le Quang Hung, its chairman, said the company achieved export revenues of nearly $6 million last month. The US is the companys key export market, accounting for 50 per cent of exports, he said, adding that Garmex Sai Gon is actively seeking new partners to expand its markets. The US withdrawal from the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal is expected to affect Viet Nams export growth eventhough Viet Nams exports to the US climbed 15 per cent to $38.5 billion last year. According to the Ministry of Industry and Trade, Viet Nam took advantage of many free trade agreements to boost exports last year. The Viet Nam-Korea FTA, for instance, helped Viet Nams exports to South Korea rise by 29 per cent last year, it said. It added it would step up trade promotion activities to help companies expand their export markets and increase exports to countries that have FTAs with Viet Nam. VNS HA NOI A report by the Ministry of Planning and Investment has found that a number of State-owned enterprises (SOEs) failed to comply with regulations on disseminating information. Just more than 38 per cent of 620 SOEs which were required to publish information under the Governments Decree No 81/2015/N-CP made public their information, but their dissemination was not adequate as requested, the report said. Sectors with the most firms that failed to disseminate information included irrigation, forestry and lottery. Member companies of giant SOEs also failed to publish information, such as five under the Viet Nam Oil and Gas Group, two under the Viet Nam National Chemical Group, six under the Viet Nam Coal-Mineral Industries Group and four under the Viet Nam Rubber Group. The decree required firms to regularly make public nine reports, but on average, firms just announced four. Deputy Prime Minister Vuong inh Hue in October last year gave a push to the information dissemination of SOEs. Accordingly, the Ministry of Planning and Investment has been told to list companies which did not make public their reports as required and raise measures for handling. - VNS A Billings man with an extensive history of drug convictions will spend seven years in federal prison for selling methamphetamine. U.S. District Judge Susan Watters on Monday sentenced Darrel Duane Baumgartner, 44, to the term as recommended by the prosecution. Baumgartner apologized, saying he made bad decisions and let his ego get in the way of getting help. Im not a bad person. I just made bad choices, he told the judge. Baumgartner initially faced a guideline range of about 10 years to more than 13 years in prison for his guilty plea in August to possession with intent to distribute. The federal drug conviction was Baumgartners seventh felony. He has five prior state felony drug convictions and started using meth at age 15, the judge noted. Youve been in that world for a very long time, Watters said. Baumgartner admitted to dealing meth for about six months beginning in January 2014. Eastern Montana drug task force agents used a confidential informant to make a series of meth buys from Baumgartner, said Assistant U.S. Attorney Brendan McCarthy. The deals occurred at Baumgartners home and at various Billings businesses and parking lots. Agents got a search warrant on June 12, 2014, for Baumgartners house and the next day watched him meet with his source of supply. Agents approached Baumgartner, who agreed to give a statement. Law enforcement also found two ounces of meth during a search of his vehicle. Baumgartner admitted getting meth 10 times from his source and to paying $2,000 per ounce, the prosecutor said. Baumgartner got one to two ounces of meth every two weeks, he said. Baumgartner told the judge that he got into financial trouble, was about to lose his house and sold meth to make money. Defense attorney Lance Lundvall said despite Baumgartners criminal record, Baumgartner was a functioning addict who worked, made all of his appointments and took responsibility. Baumgartner also has a number of health problems, Lundvall said. Watters agreed to recommend Baumgartner be sent to a federal medical prison and ordered him into immediate custody. CAO BANG The northern province of Cao Bang has announced a decision by the Prime Minister recognising a pair of early 17th-century bronze bells at the a Quan relic complex as national treasures. The relic complex in Hung ao Commune of Cao Bang City comprises four heritage items Vien Minh Pagoda, Quan Trieu Temple and the two ancient bells made in 1611. The two bells, demonstrating the meticulous bronze-casting techniques and sculpture of the Vietnamese people in the 17th century, were classified as national historical relics in 1995. According to historical documents, Vien Minh, built under the Ly Dynasty (10101225), is one of the three oldest pagodas in Cao Bang Province. The Quan Trieu Temple is dedicated to Duong Tu Minh, a famous Tay ethnic general, and his wife, Princess Hong Lien, a daughter of King Ly Anh Tong (1138-1175). According to the Cao Bang City authority, the recognition will promote local traditions and encourage residents to contribute to the development of their hometown. It is also an opportunity for Cao Bang Province to introduce and enhance local cultural values in the process of the citys integration and development. VNS Fishermen in central Viet Nam netted a bumper catch during the first days of the Lunar Year of Rooster, earning them profits due to high market prices. Photo thuysantoancau.com HA NOI Fishermen in central Viet Nam netted a bumper catch during the first days of the Lunar Year of Rooster, earning them profits due to high market prices. This year, fish appeared in large quantities due to warm weather, according to local fishermen. With favourable weather, dozens of fishing boats in the central province of Quang Tri went out on their first trip of the new lunar year and returned laden with fish. Were surprised by the large amount of khoai (Harpadon nehereus). Everybody is happy as we hadnt caught this kind of fish since the environmental accident in April last year and its sales have returned to normal, said Hoang Van Phien, a fisherman from Gio Linh District. Ho uc Nam, another local resident, said he caught about 50kg every day and reaped a profit of VN2.5 million (US$110), adding that a kilogram of khoai was sold at between VN50,000-70,000 ($2.2-3). For local fishermen, a safe and smooth fishing trip at the start of the lunar year augurs a profitable year. Local resident Nguyen Van Hoa said that besides weather condition, choosing the date of new year fishing trips also plays a vital role. The second and fourth days of the year are most often selected by boat owners as lucky days for their first fishing trips. Many of them have caught between 400-500 kilograme of fish in the first three days fishing, enjoying a profit of about VN30 million ($1,325). Pham Van Lieu, chairman of Hai Ninh Commune Peoples Committee in central Quang Binh Provinces Quang Ninh District, said hundreds of boats had headed to the sea since the second day of Tet (January 29) and some returned to shore with catch of up to 300kg. In the central province of Ha Tinh, the Con Go fish market of Cam Nhuong Commune was crowded with fishermen and traders buying and selling seafood. Tran Quang Hoi, a local fisherman, said as the price of ruoc (a kind of shrimp or Sergestidae) increased 1.5 times to VN30,000-35,000 per kilo, each fisherman could rake in VN10 million ($442) a trip. Hoi said that he and his three brothers together made VN60 million ($2,650) in profit during the first five days of the lunar new year. The bustling atmosphere was also recorded in the fishing ports of Nghe An Province. My first fishing trips met with favourable conditions, Nguyen Van An, a fisherman told Chinhphu.vn while transporting packages of ruoc to traders. He said he fetched nearly one tonne on the fourth day of the new year and over 500kg on the following day. After deducting all expenses, his family earned over VN10 million ($442) each trip. The abundance of shrimp and fish in the sea in the first day of the year has brought optimistic outcomes for local fishermen whose lives cling to the sea, An said. VNS HCM CITY HCM City Party Secretary inh La Thang has urged local authorities to consider implementing a social housing policy that has helped attract more investors in Binh Duong Province. Thang said that HCM City wanted to provide more housing to lower-income workers, but that implementation had been difficult as investors were often reluctant to pour money into such projects. Thang asked Binh Duong Provinces authorities during a recent meeting in the province to help HCM City officials develop a better social housing policy. He said that administrative procedures on such buildings, which usually contain apartments of 25-35 square metres, could be as streamlined as those used for commercial housing. Tran Thanh Liem, vice chairman of Binh Duongs Peoples Committee, said that 25 out of 43 social housing projects in the province had been completed and put into use, with a total area of 491,000 sq m and an average price of 4 million (US$177.8) per sq metre. The Investment and Industrial Development Corporation (Becamex IDC) is the main investor of social housing projects in the province, which has 2 million people, 52 per cent of whom are migrants from other provinces and cities. Liem said the province, before providing land to property companies to build social housing, ensured that all people affected by new housing projects received compensation payments. Around 200 enterprises in the provinces industrial parks have built a total of 270,000 sq m of housing space for their workers. Liem said the province had issued regulations, as part of its industrial development plan, that require land be set aside for housing for workers. The province has also streamlined administrative procedures for investors in social housing. Nguyen Van Hung, CEO of Becamex IDC, said that regulations for social housing eligibility should be adjusted and that anyone who has job but who has never owned a house should be allowed to buy social housing. The vice chairman of HCM City Peoples Committee, Le Van Khoa, said the regulated maximum profit for investors in social housing of only 10 per cent was too low to attract investors. Hung said that Becamex IDC was not yet earning profit from its social housing projects in the province, but expected to see profits over the long term. He said that companies willing to wait for profits over the long term should work with the government to offer accommodation for workers. Most social housing projects in Binh Duong Province are near urban areas and industrial parks, which attract a large number of workers. This, in turn, helps attract investors who want to open companies and factories in urban areas and industrial parks built by Becamex IDC, the representative said. Natl housing strategy The need for low-income housing in the country is emphasised in the governments National Housing Development Strategy. Last year, an additional 0.5 million sq metres of social housing in urban areas were built, raising the total area to 3.3 million sq metres. Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc recently instructed several agencies and all local authorities to improve housing availability. He has asked provincial and city Peoples Committees to provide land and simplify administrative procedures to encourage property companies and enterprises with a large number of workers to build social housing, especially for workers at industrial parks. He said that localities must ensure the quality of social housing, as well as traffic, health care, educational and cultural conditions, near the housing projects. Phuc has also asked the Ministry of Construction to conduct research on new materials to help reduce prices of social housing. Regulations require that localities in the country allocate 20 per cent of funds received from investors in new urban zones and commercial buildings (of less than 10 hectares) for social housing projects, Phuc said. VNS HA NOI Roughly 17 million or more than 18 per cent of Viet Nams population had not entered the health insurance programme by the end of 2016. Most were labourers, poor people and students, the Viet Nam Social Insurance (VNSI) has said. A report from the agency showed that more than 81 per cent people were covered by health insurance in 2016, equivalent to 75 million people and 4.3 per cent more than 2015. Of the total, only 74,000 people from business households of agriculture, forestry, fishery and salt production have insurance, only 4.5 per cent of the total population of this group. The main reason for this, the agency said, was enterprises who evaded paying insurance premiums for workers. Meanwhile, supervision of social and health insurance regulations remained poor. Co-operation between sectors in localities in implementing health insurance was also ineffective, leading to difficulties in providing more people with insurance. Nguyen Thi Minh, VNSI General Director said that the Law on Healthcare Insurance and its benefit to insurance buyers has encouraged people to join the programme. However, Minh said, to make the Ministry of Healths 90 per cent target for health coverage by 2020 feasible, it was necessary to alter mechanisms. For example, some poor people living on islands and in coastal areas have not renewed their insurance cards after being given them two years ago, according to the official. Minh said the VNSI has opened more branches to expand health insurance nationwide. It has simplified administrative procedures for granting insurance cards to help people sign up for insurance. Currently, 62 out of 63 cities and provinces have achieved national targets for insurance coverage. About 18 localities managed to have 90 per cent of people covered by health insurance. The lowest coverage rate of 68 per cent was Binh Thuan Province. VNS HA NOI Chunks of bark were found to have been carved out of 40 xa cu trees on Lang Road in Ha Nois ong a District on Tuesday. Some botanists said this could affect the trees ability to conserve water and nutritive substances and could kill them slowly, Vnexpress.net reported. Locals said that previously small squares had been carved out of 10 trees, but this time the damage is more extensive. Residents speculate that the damage must have been inflicted on Monday night as no one would dare to do it in daytime. The 40 xa cu trees, or African mahoganies (khaya senegalensis ), have 30x40x2cm rectangles carved out of their trunks. The bark will be used to make medicines, residents suspect. Nguyen Xuan Hung, vice director of Ha Noi Park and Tree Management Company, told Vnexpress.net that the company is not responsible for carving out the tree trunks. In December 2016, the company had reported to the police that 10 xa cu trees had been carved out so that the matter could be investigated. VNS HA NOI Only 62 per cent of the 240,000 watercraft operating in the country are registered and quality verified, the Viet Nam Register Agency has reported. Additionally, only 30 to 40 per cent of the registered watercraft are re-examined regularly. This means that almost 40 per cent of watercraft are unregistered, and have no guarantee of seaworthiness, danviet.vn reported. According to o Trung Hoc, head of the riverboat department under Viet Nam Register Agency, small-sized watercraft those with capacity of less than 135 horsepower or with less than 12 seats are usually not registered as most owners are not even aware of the requirement. Many owners also dont get their boats re-examined because they have not used them much due to reduced waterway traffic. Local authorities, the waterway police and inspectors dont hand out strict punishments to unregistered watercraft, so there are a high number of boats operating without licences. Hoc said The unregistered and unverified watercrafts are a threat to waterway traffic. Colonel Tran Quoc Trung, vice-head of the public security ministrys traffic police department, said the police found it difficult to investigate unregistered vehicles as they dont have number plates. We are not even sure how many unregistered watercraft are operating across the country, he said. Tran Van Tho, deputy head of Viet Nam inland waterway department under the transport ministry, said transport departments in cities and provinces are responsible for vehicle registrations. There remain problems in managing and controlling unregistered vehicles, he said, urging local authorities to take stronger action. The transport ministry is planning to propose a national survey on watercraft to the government so that it can collect data systematically and keep better records on registrations. Management activities on inland waterway transport should be further enhanced to ensure traffic safety. This was the main point of an instruction issued by Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc last July on strengthening measures for safe traffic and security on waterways. According to the Government, the number of accidents on waterways has increased dramatically causing many deaths and high property damage. The main reason given for the increase in accidents was irresponsible management by the vehicles owners, the instruction pointed out. Many vehicles were found to not meet safety standards and boat captains were not qualified to operate the vehicles. To reduce the number of waterway accidents and protect infrastructure works on rivers and coastal areas, the PM asked the Ministry of Transport to co-operate with relevant offices and local authorities to further tighten management on the transport route. The Government also asked relevant agencies to stay in touch and share information on violations with the local inland waterways administrations and registry departments for more efficient management. Under the PMs instruction, an overall check on the quality of transport vehicles and the qualifications of crew members and conductors needed to be carried out and completed by 2017. VNS QUITO Colombia opens peace talks on Tuesday with its last active rebel group, the ELN, seeking to replicate its historic accord with the FARC guerrillas and deliver "complete peace" after 53 years of war. But experts warn the ELN will be a tougher negotiating partner than the FARC, and say no deal is likely before President Juan Manuel Santos -- the man who has staked his presidency on ending the conflict -- leaves office next year. Santos, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in October, was nevertheless full of optimism heading into the talks. "This conflict is over," he said on Thursday as he opened a summit of Nobel Peace laureates in Bogota. "The public phase of negotiations between the Colombian government and the ELN... will enable us to achieve complete peace." The Cold War-era conflict, which has killed more than 260,000 people and left 60,000 missing, is the last major armed conflict in the Americas. Colombia, South Americas third economy and the worlds biggest cocaine producer, has been torn since the 1960s by fighting that has drawn in multiple leftist rebel groups, right-wing paramilitaries, drug gangs and the army. Last Novembers landmark peace accord with the oldest and largest rebel group, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), leaves the National Liberation Army (ELN) as the last remaining guerrilla insurgency. It has an estimated 1,500 fighters, mostly in the north and west. More fundamentalist than FARC The talks in the Ecuadoran capital Quito come after three years of secret negotiations and an embarrassing false start last in October, when the ELN refused to release their most high-profile hostage: ex-lawmaker Odin Sanchez. A flurry of behind-the-scenes negotiations followed, leading to Sanchezs release on Thursday in exchange for two ELN prisoners. In a further goodwill gesture on Monday, the ELN released a soldier they had captured two weeks earlier. But there will be more bumps in the road, warned Frederic Masse, an expert on the conflict at the Universidad Externado in Bogota. "The ELN has more fundamentalist demands than the FARC," he said. "They want much deeper social change." A prominent ELN commander warned ahead of the talks that the rebels would not back down on the thorny question of land rights for the rural poor one of the main issues throughout the conflict. "As long as the necessities that were at the root of this insurgency exist, we will have to keep fighting," Danilo Hernandez, commander of the Resistencia Cimarron guerrilla front, said. Complications: kidnappings, elections The talks are due to open at 5:00 pm (2200 GMT) at the Hacienda Cashapamba, a Jesuit retreat some 30 kilometers (20 miles) outside Quito. After an opening ceremony on Tuesday, negotiators will get down to business on Wednesday. Despite Mondays hostage release, the issue of kidnappings remains a touchy subject. Authorities admit they do not know how many hostages the ELN is currently holding. Unlike the FARC, "the ELN has still not renounced kidnapping," long a source of revenue for both rebel groups, said Kyle Johnson of the International Crisis Group. "They might kidnap someone else in the future and well be back in the same difficulties." The governments chief negotiator, Juan Camilo Restrepo, has said he will insist the ELN "make a public statement renouncing kidnapping as a weapon of political struggle, as the FARC did" before their own peace negotiations opened in 2012. Elections in 2018 to decide Santoss successor also threaten to complicate matters. The peace process faces ongoing resistance from conservative opponents who accuse Santos of granting impunity to rebels guilty of war crimes. Santos had to tweak the initial FARC accord after voters narrowly rejected it in a referendum last October -- a major embarrassment for the government. The slightly revised version was ratified in Congress, where Santos enjoys a majority. AFP TEGUCIGALPA A crash between a bus and a truck just outside the Honduran capital Tegucigalpa killed 23 people and injured 34 others, officials said on Monday. The accident occurred late Sunday when the truck, carrying melons, lost control and swerved into the oncoming traffic lane. The truck collided with the bus, sending it into a wall, said Commissioner Leonel Sauceda, head of the police traffic service. The driver of the truck is in custody pending an investigation to determine if he was driving at an unsafe speed. AFP Israel legalizes settlers homes JERUSALEM (AP) Israels parliament Monday passed a contentious law meant to retroactively legalize thousands of West Bank settlement homes built unlawfully on private Palestinian land, a step that is expected to trigger international outrage and a flurry of lawsuits against the measure. The explosive law is the latest in a series of pro-settler steps taken by Israels hard-line government since the election of Donald Trump as U.S. president. He is seen as more sympathetic to Israels settlement policies than his predecessor, and the Israeli government has approved plans to build thousands of new homes on occupied territory since Trump took office. Critics say the legislation enshrines into law the theft of Palestinian land, and it is expected to be challenged in Israels Supreme Court. Man has 130-pound tumor removed BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (AP) A Mississippi man who was told he was simply fat has had a 130-pound tumor removed during an operation in Bakersfield, Calif. Roger Logan of Gulfport had the surgery on Jan. 31. Hes staying at Bakersfield Memorial Hospital for another week or so. His surgeon says the tumor probably began as an ingrown hair on his abdomen that became infected. It grew so large when he sat it reached the floor. He spent most of his time in an armchair. Ankle monitor ties man to burglary SLIDELL, La. (AP) Louisiana police say a bail bond companys ankle monitor helped make a burglary case against a New Orleans man. Police in Slidell, about 30 miles from New Orleans, say the GPS device showed 56-year-old John Davis spent 16 minutes at a house where jewelry, electronics and firearms had been stolen. Information from the monitor let detectives arrest Davis on a burglary charge. Report: 13,000 hanged in Syrian prison BEIRUT (AP) Syrian authorities have killed at least 13,000 people since the start of the 2011 uprising in mass hangings at a prison north of Damascus known to detainees as the slaughterhouse, Amnesty International said in a report today. It covers the period from 2011 to 2015, when Amnesty said 20-50 people were hanged each week at Saydnaya Prison in killings authorized by senior Syrian officials, including deputies of President Bashar Assad, and carried out by military police. The report referred to the killings as a calculated campaign of extrajudicial execution. Amnesty has recorded at least 35 different methods of torture in Syria since the late 1980s, practices that only increased since 2011, said Lynn Maalouf, deputy director for research at Amnestys regional office in Beirut. Other rights groups have found evidence of massive torture and death in Syrian prisons. Qatar Airways has longest flight DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) Qatar Airways has launched the worlds longest commercial airline route with the arrival of its flight from Doha to Auckland, New Zealand. The Gulf carrier said flight QR920 touched down in Auckland early Monday after covering a distance of 9,032 miles. That is the furthest distance between any two cities linked by direct flights. The outbound journey is scheduled to take 16 hours and 20 minutes on the Boeing 777-200LR. Thats relatively short compared to the return trip of 17 hours and 30 minutes, which is slower because of headwinds. A Mexico citizen with a record of illegal entry into the United States and drug convictions will spend 10 years in federal prison after getting caught in Stillwater County with about 10 pounds of methamphetamine. U.S. District Judge Susan Watters on Monday sentenced Angel Guzman-Banderas, 28, to 10 years in prison to be followed by deportation to Mexico. The term was the low end of a guideline range that went to more than 12 years. Watters said while Guzman-Banderas was a minimal participant in the case, having served as a driver, he also was designated a career offender because of his criminal record. Guzman-Banderas, the judge said, had been in the drug trade in the United States since he was 15 and had entered the country illegally four times, including one time when he used a fraudulent passport. I think youve finally come to the end of the line, Watters told him. Guzman-Banderas apologized and, through an interpreter, said he wanted to go back to his family and to have a better life. Guzman-Banderas and two co-defendants were arrested in April in Stillwater County after a sheriffs deputy pulled over their vehicle for speeding on Interstate 90. During a search of the vehicle, officers found about 10 pounds of meth in a cooler. During the sentencing hearing, Watters said the amount of pure meth was almost nine pounds. Co-defendants Alfonso Banderas-Martinez and Luis Felipe Lopez-Rojas both are awaiting sentencing. CEDAR FALLS -- Jewel M. Kohler, 100, of Cedar Falls, died Thursday, Feb. 2, at Elizabeth E. Martin Center of natural causes. She was born July 15, 1916, in Hawkeye, daughter of John and Mabel Smith Hennig. She married Carl A. Kohler on June 11, 1938, in Nashua. He died March 19, 1979. She graduated from high school and worked as a telephone operator. Her husband served in the U.S. Navy, so they spent the early years of their life traveling. They later made their home in Waterloo. Jewel was a homemaker, though she later worked for St. Paul Methodist Church of Waterloo as a custodian. Survived by: a son, John (Lin) of California; two daughters-in-law, Shirley Kohler of Waterloo and Lori Kohler of Oregon; four grandchildren; and 13 great-grandchildren. Preceded in death by: her parents; two sons, James (Red) and Chris; a grandson, Steve Kohler; three sisters, Beulah Hoyt, Flora Rigby and Ann Fordyce; and two brothers, Chris and Tom Hennig. Private family celebration of life: will be held in Corona Del Mar, Calif. A local public celebration of life at George Wyth Park will be announced at a later date. Parrott & Wood Chapel of Memories, an Overton Family Service, Waterloo, is assisting the family. Memorials: may be directed to the family. Condolences may be left at www.overtonservice.com. In her spare time she enjoyed bowling, fishing, sewing, reading and volunteering at St. Paul Methodist as a cook for the Thursday Fellowship Dinners. Jewel was fun-loving and adventurous. Her last great adventures were a motorized parachute ride and a luncheon with the governor. WATERLOO A driver who abandoned three small children in a truck after a police chase ended in a crash was a fugitive living in Waterloo under an assumed name, authorities say. Waterloo police arrested Delveccio Smith, 35, of 826 Beech St., around 3 p.m. Monday after he ran from his crashed pickup, leaving three children ranging in age from under a year to 3 years old unattended in the vehicle. Smith was arrested for three counts of child endangerment, reckless driving, felony eluding, interference, possession of cocaine and contraband. He was also cited for running a stop sign. During an initial court appearance Tuesday, Assistant County Attorney Brian Williams said Smith was wanted by federal authorities, had an extensive criminal history in Minnesota and had been living in Waterloo for about a year under an alias. Smith also attempted to alter his fingerprints while in the Black Hawk County Jail, Williams told the court. Judge Joel Dalrymple set bond at $35,000. Records show Smith had recently used the name Marckus McRoyal and has more than a dozen other aliases. Smith also has a robbery conviction from Hennepin County, Minn., from 2001; a contraband conviction from Carlton County, Minn., from 2003; and federal crack cocaine conspiracy and firearm convictions from Minnesota in 2007. While he was on release from the federal charges, he and another man were allegedly in possession of a .45-caliber Ruger handgun July 22, 2015, in Minnesota. That led to Smith and Jimmy Leeartis Martin being indicted for felon in possession of a firearm in October 2015. Smith apparently remained at large until Monday when local police received information on his whereabouts from the U.S. Marshals. Patrol officers pulled over a Ford F-150 with dealer plates he was driving in the area of Ravenwood Road and St. Francis Drive, and he allegedly provided identification that had an alias, court records state. When officers asked Smith to step out of the truck, he drove off, police said. He drove into the parking lot at Crossroads Square Apartments on Ridgeway Avenue where struck two parked cars. He ran on foot but was captured moments later. The children in the pickup truck werent injured, according to police. When he was searched at the Black Hawk County Jail, deputies found cocaine, court records state. DIKE Chelsie Slaba was honored recently for her work at Dike-New Hartford High School promoting science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). The science instructor received the Iowa STEM Teacher Award during a ceremony at the school last month. The award, which included $1,500 for Slaba and $1,500 for her classroom use, was sponsored by the Governors STEM Advisory Council and Kemin Industries. She was chosen by the Northeast Regional STEM hub based at the University of Northern Iowa in Cedar Falls. Slaba teaches chemistry and physical science and is a model science teacher for Dike-New Hartford Community Schools, according to information from the advisory council. In that role, she oversees and facilitates science content for the district. She started the districts FIRST robotics team and sponsors the Outdoor Adventure and Science Club, which was recently involved in a community tree planting effort. Slaba and her students host a Science Career Investigation each year, bringing in speakers to talk about all aspects of STEM careers. Real-world STEM perspectives are brought into the classroom in multiple ways by her, including through partnerships with outside organizations. Slabas science survey class partnered with the University of Kansas to tag and gather monarch butterflies for migration research. Landus Cooperative Company partnered with the advanced chemistry class to gather soil samples and test for nutrients and water sources. One teacher in each of the six regions the advisory council has divided the state into received the award. A panel of judges selected the winners after they were nominated by a colleague, school administrator, parent, student, or community member and completing an application showcasing their contributions to STEM education. It is open to kindergarten-through-12th-grade licensed teachers in public or private schools. The advisory council, also based at UNI, was created to help engage students in STEM fields, which accounts for 15 percent of occupations in the state. Currently, there are almost three jobs for every one STEM-qualified job seeker. EVANSDALE When Abby Lundy announced a quiz to one of her Bunger Middle School sixth-grade literacy classes recently, the students didnt pull out pencil and paper. They opened their Chromebooks. As students completed the timed multiple-choice test on the laptop computers, the teacher was able to quickly gather data on their knowledge of recently covered material along with input for the next book they will read. The quiz was created using the software application Google Forms, so their answers flowed into a pie chart Lundy could reference. I just need to kind of gauge where we are as a class, she said. Thats easier to do since all sixth-graders at Bunger and throughout Waterloo Community Schools were issued the Chromebooks this fall as part of a pilot program. The laptops were paid for with regular district funds to replace old computers, many of which were more expensive than the Chromebooks. Although other school systems in the Cedar Valley and Northeast Iowa already provide a computer for each student, this is the first time it has been done by the Waterloo district. Students use the computers during the school day and can take them home at night and on weekends to complete assignments. In literacy, especially, were very aware that we have to teach students to use computers, said Lundy. She noted that helps students learn how to do internet research and basic typing, since many may be more familiar with texting on a cell phone. The kids are excited about (computers), so anytime we can find a spin to using them it increases the engagement. Lundy read a section of The Lions of Little Rock, a historical novel about school integration, to the class as part of a unit on the 1960s civil rights movement. Afterwards, she had students write a comparison of how a girl in the story and her father are alike. They worked in their online Padlet accounts, where the writings of each student appeared in individual documents on all of the class computer screens. That allowed Lundy to quickly see the students thoughts. The children could also monitor their classmates ideas while composing an answer. I would do this for questions that I dont mind having the students use other peoples answers to make theirs better, she said. Even before the pilot program, middle school marked a point where students began making greater use of the internet and online tools. But older middle school students still have to share computers and cant take them home, which limits their use. Bunger sixth-grader Faith Benhoff appreciates the opportunity to have her own Chromebook. I think its more helpful, because now you cant say I forgot my page of homework. She acknowledged, too, that research was more difficult in the past with limited access to computers or needing to look up much information in books. Weve done a lot of documents and slides for projects weve been working on, said Benhoff, using the computers. Ethan Pankow, another Bunger sixth-grader, said it has opened up greater digital possibilities for class projects. I made a website about Alzheimers disease, he said. It was part of our project. I chose to do that. He built the website on the Weebly platform, filling it with facts and safety tips for people with the disease and their families. Other students created pamphlets and posters, which Pankow said is pretty much the same thing as his website except in different forms. Pankow likes using the Chromebook for online research, which he used to do on his cellphone or at the library. He had a home computer at one time, but last year it stopped working and his family didnt replace the device. Benhoff had similar accessibility issues before receiving her Chromebook. At my house, we dont have a computer, she said. Kristen Hinders, the schools technology integrationist, said the Chromebooks are used in many sixth-grade classes not just literacy. Its really, really been good for accessibility, she added. We do have a lot of kids who dont have a device at home. Families with no internet access were advised of low-cost services available. Those who qualified could also apply for wireless internet service donated by Sprint. That is done through hot spot devices that send a signal directly to the Chromebook. It allows the teachers to do a lot more online, Hinders noted. Before, it just wasnt feasible, because not everybody had access. All of that equals better prepared students, said Lundy. If we can provide that at school and allow them to take it home, thats just opening more doors for them for the future. WATERLOO Black Hawk County is considering a plan to downsize its financially struggling Country View care center. Country View Administrator Dennis Coleman presented a proposal to the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday to cut the number of nursing beds at the county-owned facility to help limit annual operating losses. The plan would reduce the 134 nursing beds spread across two floors to just 75 or 80 beds on a single floor. A separate, profitable 34-bed intermediate care facility for the intellectually disabled would remain intact. We can better care for our residents and better care for our staff if we have them on one floor, Coleman said. The plan would reduce clients over time, result in 12 to 15 fewer employees and cut down on maintenance and utilities needed for the third floor. Coleman projected it would take two or three years to fully implement the changes. County officials have been searching for ways to sustain Country View, which is projected to lose $1 million this year and deplete its reserve funds early next fiscal year. The supervisors so far have chosen not to raise property taxes to subsidize the facility but are planning to rely on the countys strong cash reserves to cover the losses while administrators and others look for a long-term solution. While the county and Iowa Department of Human Services are obligated to provide care for individuals with mental health issues, Black Hawk is one of just two counties that operate their own nursing homes. Country View, as a government employer, faces employee benefit costs well above the industry average. Unlike other nursing homes, Country View is almost entirely funded through Medicaid reimbursements. Coleman said it costs Country View $230 per day for a nursing client while Medicaid reimburses less than $172 per day. Assistant Country View Administrator Genevieve Shafer said many Country View residents also have mental health needs. We care for very vulnerable individuals, and I dont think people understand the complexities of not only their physical care but also their unique social situations, she said. Supervisors Frank Magsamen and Chris Schwartz said action is necessary at the state and federal level to boost reimbursement rates to meet the cost of the care. My issue is not with the care thats provided at Country View, Magsamen said. My frustration is that state and federal government does not reimburse at a rate that allows us to at least have a break-even point. Coleman said Country View is working on the licensing issues and other matters necessary to implement a reduction in nursing beds. Theres so many pieces of this pie that need to be safely navigated, he said. County Social Services director Bob Lincoln pitched a similar plan last month to cut the number of residents in the nursing unit and focus on providing care to a smaller number of persons with complex mental health care needs. CEDAR FALLS City government and all three groups of unionized city employees have reached tentative agreement on new multi-year labor contracts. Under the agreements slated to take effect July 1 pending ratification, some 100 city employees, including police, firefighters and parks and public works employees, would receive pay raises of 2.75 percent for each of the next two fiscal years and raises for the subsequent three years based on the federal Consumer Price Index, city and union representatives said. Those raises would be no less than 2 percent and no greater than 3 percent. Those raises would be in addition to step pay increase employees receive based on of length of service. Employees also would pay an additional $15 per month on single and family health insurance premiums. Premiums for family coverage would increase from $85 per month to $100 per month. Premiums for single coverage would increase from $30 per month to $45 per month. Its among the longest-term agreements the city and its unions have reached. And the first time weve probably been done at this point too, said Jennifer Rodenbeck, the citys director of finance and business operations. The tentative agreements would allow the city to reopen the contracts to discuss wage and insurance issues after two years if necessary, beginning Jan. 1, 2019. The city also would make available a dental coverage plan if enough employees express interest, with the employees picking up the full cost of coverage. The three employee groups have ratified the agreements, representatives said, and the City Council is anticipated to take action Feb. 20. Nonunion employees would receive similar increases, based on merit, Rodenbeck said. Police and public works and parks employees are represented by Teamsters Local 238. About 25 police employees and 45 public works/parks employees are involved. Current pay in the police unit ranges from about $49,000 in annual base pay, or about $23 an hour for a beginning police officer, to more than $64,000, or $31 per hour, for a senior officer at the top of the pay range. Pay in the public works/parks unit ranges from $17 per hour to $26 per hour. There are 18 employees in the firefighters bargaining unit Cedar Falls Firefighter Association Local 1366. Annual pay ranges from $42,588 for a beginning firefighter to top pay of $58,442. The employees and the city exchanged initial proposals less than two months ago. Agreements were reached as the city prepares its budget for the 2017-18 fiscal year, which begins July 1 The council is scheduled to vote on the agreements the same evening as a public hearing on the budget. The agreements were reached as the Legislature considers revisions to the state public employee collective bargaining law, Chapter 20 of the Code of Iowa. Im guessing a lot of that has to do with the talk at the state level about Chapter 20, Rodenbeck said. Union representatives were asked if that prompted them to conclude negotiations expeditiously. Normally, we have them settled pretty fast anyway, but obviously thats in the back of everybodys mind, not knowing whats going to happen in Des Moines, Teamsters Local 238 business agent Dan Macdonald said. Cedar Falls Firefighters Association President Jim Cook said his union presented a very fair and direct initial offer, as city representatives noted in December when initial proposals were exchanged. It was just a good-faith effort on both parties to agree to terms on the contract, Cook said. DES MOINES Republicans who hold majorities in the Iowa Legislature are moving quickly on a bill public employee unions say would gut Iowas collective bargaining law. The 68-page bill filed Tuesday in the House and Senate would change how roughly 184,000 teachers, corrections officers and other public sector union workers negotiate for wages, health insurance and benefits. Republican leaders say they intend to approve procedural votes today and Thursday. Full votes in both chambers could happen next week. The bill would allow employers to fire public workers without proper cause, limit subjects nonpublic safety workers can bring to the bargaining table, changes arbitration rules, alters how unions are certified and eliminates the longtime practice of gathering dues through payroll deductions. Sponsor and House Labor Committee Chairman Dave Deyoe, R-Nevada, called it a deliberative approach to look at some changes, but at the same time still allow unions to have some of the current rights they have now. Gov. Terry Branstad backs the legislation, which he said would accomplish changes he has been trying to make to the antiquated bargaining process for years. For too long union special interests have routinely won over the taxpayers, especially on the issue of health care, he said at a Tuesday news conference with legislative leaders. His goal is to put the taxpayers interests in a position of being treated fairly, to reward the good employees and ensure we can remove an occasional bad employee. Labor activists anger overflowed. Members of labor unions from across the state filled the Capitol to protest. I am beyond angry today. Im actually mortified (and) floored by the disrespect and animosity that drove through the authors to introduce such a punitive piece of legislation, said Tammy Wawro, a Cedar Rapids teacher and president of the Iowa State Education Association. AFSCME President Danny Homan called the bills purely a political attack on unions. In Cedar Falls, University of Northern Iowa United Faculty President Joe Gorton sent a message to colleagues shortly after Republicans unveiled the bill. This is a full-scale attack on the empowerment of UNI faculty, Gorton wrote. ... All of us who love UNI must stand together, regardless of our position, to oppose this destructive proposal. United Faculty called on new UNI President Mark Nook, Provost Jim Wohlpart and the Board of Regents to unequivocally oppose the changes. House Speaker Linda Upmeyer, R-Clear Lake, and Senate Majority Leader Bill Dix, R-Shell Rock, said House and Senate rules will be followed as the bills are fast-tracked. The legislation appears to make little change to the law as it pertains to public safety employees such as firefighters and police officers. However, for nonpublic safety workers, the proposal limits bargaining to base wages and other matters mutually agreed upon. Currently, a range of items are subject to bargaining, including wages, hours, vacations, insurance, holidays, leaves of absence, shift differentials, overtime, supplemental pay and transfer procedures. Those items are maintained in the proposal for bargaining units that represent police and firefighters. The proposal also changes the rules for arbitrators who settle disputes between labor and management. For nonpublic safety employees, arbitrators would consider wages and working conditions in the private sector when settling disputes. Currently, arbitrators choose from the last positions offered by labor and management and consider other public-sector practices. The bill prohibits an arbitrator from considering past collective bargaining agreements or from considering the ability of government to pay for benefits by raising taxes and fees. Critics of the current system say arbitrators too often favor unions and have long chafed at the idea governments ability to raise taxes is considered. Senate Labor and Business Relations Committee Chairman Sen. Jason Schultz, R-Schleswig, called the bill a major update and modernization that will restore more control to local elected officials. We want the people who are handling tax dollars to be the ones who are most answerable to the people who elected them, he said. Im excited about this. I think this is something Iowa is going to be very supportive of, and its something Im proud of. Regardless of how Republicans choose to describe their proposals, Homan called the bills a complete and total gutting of the public employees rights. Let me assure you, the fight does not stop here, Homan promised. Reporters Christinia Crippes, Rod Boshart and James Q. Lynch contributed to this article. DES MOINES Iowans could legally buy, sell and explode consumer fireworks during two holiday periods annually under a bill approved by a Senate subcommittee. Firefighters, medical organizations, veterans groups and safety advocates oppose it. The bill, approved 2-1 by a Senate State Government panel, would allow licensed retailers or community groups to sell consumer fireworks in permanent or temporary structures between May 20 and July 6 and between Dec. 10 and Jan. 3. A similar provision would apply to conforming temporary structures, such as tents, from June 13 to July 6 each year. The measure includes a fee structure for various licensure levels and allows counties or cities that do not want to legalize the expanded sale and use of fireworks to opt out of the new law. It also bars selling or purchasing by anyone younger than 18. This is about freedom, said Sen. Jake Chapman, R-Adel. The whole purpose of this is to expand personal freedom. Sen. Jason Schultz, R-Schleswig, said he was supportive of the measure, while Sen. Janet Petersen, D-Des Moines, said Im not in favor of changing our states fireworks law. Theyre fine. Chapman said Iowa is among a small number of states that have such strict fireworks restrictions. During Mondays subcommittee meeting, Bill Halleran, president of the 20,000-member Iowa Firefighters Association, expressed grave concerns over the expanded legalization of fireworks that would push up emergency responses and injuries for Iowas 840 fire departments. Des Moines fire marshal Jonathan Lund said the temporary facilities would be incredibly difficult to manage and pose safety risks. Des Moines fire chief John TeKippe said the proposed legislation envisions a massive endeavor for licensing, inspecting and overseeing facilities that will be offering a hazardous substance for public purchase and use. Most people underestimate what fireworks can do, he said. I think its unfortunate that we keep having this conversation. The measure also was opposed by hospital, emergency response officials and representatives of veterans group who worried the number of children with severe injuries would rise and soldiers struggling with post traumatic stress syndrome would be impacted by expanded fireworks use. Danial Peart of Phantom Fireworks said he unequivocally supported the expansion of the sale and use of fireworks in Iowa, but he worried the provisions would discourage economic investments in permanent brick-and-mortar facilities especially the time limits and the temporary retail outlets that do not offer the same training and safety measures. The state of Iowa is going to pass a fireworks bill that doesnt benefit the state of Iowa in anyway other than bringing in fireworks, Peart said. Youre not going to create a new industry in this state. Youre going to create jobbers that will come in and make a bunch of money and be gone within two weeks. DES MOINES Iowans with disabilities or their family members are being offered a new tax-advantaged savings account that will allow them to set aside money to pay for qualified expenses without losing eligibility for federal assistance under a plan announced Tuesday by State Treasurer Mike Fitzgerald. The savings plan, called IAble, was made possible by a 2014 federal act that authorized tax-advantaged investment accounts similar to college savings programs that allows disabled Iowans or their families to save up to $14,000 annually to cover expenses, such as assistive technology, housing, transportation, education and other costs, Fitzgerald said. In 2015, Iowas version of the federal bill was signed into law, making the savings program possible, he noted. Iowa and 14 other states have formed a consortium that allows IAble to offer low costs and high-quality investment options to eligible individuals. Iowa taxpayers may deduct up to $3,239 in contributions from their adjusted gross income for 2017 and the earnings on investments are deferred for federal and state taxes if used for qualified disability expenses, he said. Our new IAble program is a tax-advantaged plan designed to help persons with disabilities and their families save to achieve a better life experience, said Fitzgerald, who unveiled the program at a Statehouse news conference. Already five Iowans have gone to the IAble.gov web site and started savings plans. Accounts can be opened with as little as $25, the state treasurer said, and account owners can access their accounts online at any time as well as make withdrawals from the web site. To qualify for the plan that allows accounts of up to $100,000, the beneficiary must have been diagnosed with a disability before the age of 26 or be blind and qualify for a federal assistance program. Eligible individuals can open one account for themselves or have an authorized individual start one on their behalf, Fitzgerald said. WATERLOO Frustrated community members pleaded for unity following charges of inappropriate race-related comments involving the mayor and two councilmen. The comments need to stop, LaTanya Graves, president of the Waterloo chapter of the NAACP, told council members Monday during their weekly meeting. If were trying to come together and work together as a community but our City council cannot work together, what does that say? Others also called for their elected officials to focus on city business and compared the situation to the massive partisan divide that widened during the course of the last presidential election and continues today. I just thought we had gotten past that, and it seems like weve digressed and gone backwards, said the Rev. Helen Seenster. It saddens me because thats the state of the nation, period, right now. The comments related to a controversy that erupted in late January after emails between Mayor Quentin Hart and Tom Lind were leaked to the local media. Lind, unhappy about Harts decision to hire a part-time employee without council approval, told Hart: Not appropriate without council approval. You work for us. Obama is gone. Hart, the citys first African-American mayor, typed a lengthy response where he accused Lind of racist, derogatory, partisan threats. Councilman Jerome Amos Jr., also African-American, said both Lind and Councilman Steve Schmitt had made what he felt were racist comments during meetings. Lind and Schmitt denied doing anything inappropriate and suggested the reaction was politically motivated. Residents Jim Chapman and Bill Kammeyer said they believe race wasnt an issue among most Waterloo residents years ago. We didnt have all these problems, Kammeyer said. We got along and color of skin made no difference. Whats going on right now should have never been public, he added. What just went on in this community should have been resolved behind the scenes and not in front of The Courier and the state of Iowa. Others condemned the comments. We felt that it was inappropriate, and we certainly feel like it shouldnt happen any more, said Ivan Valtchev. You guys need to figure out how to work together in todays political climate. Theres already enough division in the city. Neither Hart nor any of the council members involved responded to residents during the session. At the initiative of Councilman Larry Brewster, the Billings City Council got a primer Monday on how the citys three tax increment financing districts work. With potential TIF reform by the Montana Legislature as a backdrop, Assistant City Administrator Bruce McCandless displayed a chart showing how taxing bodies eventually get a boost in funding once the TIF district has been sunsetted, typically 15 years after its formation, or up to 40 years if bonds are issued near the sunset date. Tax increment districts are identified by cities as areas slated for renewal. A base taxable value is established, with the increment the increase in taxes brought about by improvements used during the life of the district to address problems of blight and underdevelopment. Billings lobbyist, Ed Bartlett, told the council by telephone Monday that the Legislature is considering two more TIF reform bills this week, both opposed by the city. Both bills House bills 134 and 359 would reduce TIF district revenues, according to Bartlett. Theyll both receive hearings Wednesday. McCandless explained how Billings three districts Downtown, East Billings and South Billings are different. The latter two, which were formed decades after the downtown district, are focused on infrastructure development. The public projects that have been built with downtown TIF funding, such as the citys parking garages, have mainly been single-purpose projects. Higher land values downtown can also make those properties ripe for development so that people can generate some income, McCandless said. The City Council approves all expenditures for the South and East Billings districts; it approves only spending thats more than $50,000 in the Downtown district. The South district is more residential, while the other two feature mostly commercial development. In addition, the three districts all undergo different levels of review. For example, both city staff and the Billings Planning Commission typically review South and East Billings TIF projects. The fundamental TIF question that the City Council must answer, McCandless said, is whether a particular project even a large one, such as One Big Sky Center benefits the public sufficiently for you to decide to spend public tax dollars for that public benefit, McCandless said. TIF projects can benefit private parties as well as the public, he noted. Asked by Councilman Al Swanson why legislators in recent years have been working to reform TIF laws, McCandless said part of the reason is that communities, including Billings, stretch the economic development envelope as far as possible, and some legislators dont like to see that expansion. Councilman Chris Friedel said hed like the city to develop definitions for blight and public good. The former, McCandless replied, is defined in state law; its up to the council to determine the latter. Acknowledging that tax increment financing is a tool that if we continue to use it properly will continue to work for us, Friedel added that, if not, it will break or it will be taken away from us. Bartlett opened Mondays work session with a legislative update. Among the bills hes watching on behalf of the city is Senate Bill 106, which would revise the use of chemical de-icers on roadways. The city opposes the bill. Other bills got a more favorable review from city officials. Senate Bill 151, if it's signed into law, will create a new interim legislative committee for local government topics. House Bill 44 would add a district court judge in Yellowstone County, and House Bill 261 would, if the Senate approves, extend the statutory appropriation for public libraries. EDITOR'S NOTE: This story has been corrected. Due to a reporting error, the final vote on Senate File 166, which set state school aid to K-12 schools, was incorrect. The 55-40 vote was not along party lines. Republican Reps. Clel Baudler and Andy McKean voted no. DES MOINES Iowans warned lawmakers Monday a proposed $40 million increase in state school aid to K-12 schools will result in larger classes, fewer course offerings and layoffs. Its a travesty, Mark Bussel of Marion said at a public hearing before the House began floor debate on House File 136, which was identical to school funding legislation approved 55-40. Republican Reps. Clel Baudler and Andy McKean voted no. House Republicans, who have a 59-41 majority, were set to vote on the bill late Monday and send it to Gov. Terry Branstad. Party leaders support it. In news conferences and a public hearing ahead of floor debate, parents, teachers, union officials and lawmakers said a 1.11 percent increase is not enough to meet schools increased costs next year. It represents a lot of pink slips to hardworking teachers, Sioux City School Board member Perla Alarcon-Flory said at a Capitol news conference organized by Iowans for Public Education. This is not sufficient to fund my districts schools and I know many other districts are in the same position. Flory referred to a survey conducted by Democratic legislators of school superintendents who said they needed at least a 4 percent increase to break even this year. Flory blamed older lawmakers (who) dont even have grandchildren in the school system. Those who have school-aged children either home-school them or send them to private schools, she said. The 1.11 percent increase would amount to an additional $73 per student, increasing the state cost per pupil from $6,591 to $6,664, according to the Legislative Services Agency. The bill also will boost categorical funding to help reduce class sizes, boost teacher salaries and pay for early intervention programs by 1.11 percent and provide a $5.3 million boost in property tax replacement money. As a result, about 179 school districts 54 percent will be under the states budget guarantee a safeguard for schools dealing with declining enrollments that provides for 1 percent funding growth using local property taxes. The LSA estimated the total increase in property taxes, including the budget guarantee as well as the increase from the uniform levy and adjustments due to enrollment changes for all districts, will be about $55.4 million to $1.75 billion. Also in the bill, lawmakers eliminated the forward-funding law requiring the Legislature and governor to set state supplemental aid to schools more than one year in advance. Lawmakers have violated that on a regular basis in recent years. Branstad said he understands why lawmakers want to see the Revenue Estimating Conference projections in March before setting the school funding beyond the next school year. Democrats, who argued a 4 percent increase was the bare minimum needed, tried to amend the bill to raise funding to the 2 percent Branstad recommended for each of the next two years $78.8 million next year and $63.5 million in fiscal 2019. Brad Hudson of the Iowa State Education Association, which represents 34,000 educators, said the increase in school aid should be in line with K-12s share of the general fund budget. According to the Legislative Services Agency, K-12 state school aid has increased from about $1.6 billion in 1998 to slightly more than $3.1 billion in fiscal 2016. As a percent of the general fund budget, it has increased from 35.7 percent to 42.3. Hudson said the 1.11 percent hike is about 25 percent of the new money projected for the coming fiscal year. Iowa City parent and teachers spouse Karen Nichols told lawmakers continual underfunding of K-12 schools is placing stress on teachers. Like many speakers, she warned low salaries will make it hard to attract and retain good teachers. As teachers deal with large class sizes, the cost of buying their own classroom supplies and the time needed to prepare students for testing, they are unable to offer the same rigor as in the past. That impacts not only students, but Iowa as a whole, speakers said. An educated workforce is necessary to meet current needs as well as attract employers. Cupcake war Pat Taylor OELWEIN UnityPoint Health-Allen Hospital is hosting a cupcake war to promote awareness of heart disease. As the widow of a great guy who died at Allen after cardiac bypass surgery, the irony cuts like a scalpel. After all, nothing says heart health like saturated fats, bleached white flour and sugar. Bon appetit. Anti-Trump David Thomas WATERLOO In November, a solid majority voted for Hillary Clinton. Unfortunately, according to our Constitution, the president is selected by an elite group known as the Electoral College; the will of the people does not matter. Donald Trump does not respect our veterans. He has attacked John McCains military record, mocked the parents of a soldier killed in Iraq and claims to know more about ISIS than the generals. Trump wants to build a wall to keep out illegal immigrants. China spent hundreds of years building a Great Wall to keep out the Huns; it did not work. Planned Parenthood Tom Baker WAVERLY In order to send an email to Congressman Rod Blum, the would-be sender must first prove he or she is not a robot. In a recent such email, I asked the congressman to prove to me he is not a robot by breaking from the party ranks and siding against defunding Planned Parenthood. Why would he do that? Because it is through the efforts of groups like Planned Parenthood that abortions will eventually be eliminated in this country. Abortion numbers today are the lowest they have been since the adoption of Roe v. Wade in 1973. Why? Not because of pressure from right-to-life groups, but because Planned Parenthood and similar organizations realize the real key to reducing abortions to near zero is to eliminate unwanted pregnancies in the first place. This is ultimately more effective than prohibition and shaming could ever be, and it is very doable. Birth control education and support is a major emphasis of Planned Parenthood. So, Congressman Blum, I suggested in my email, show me you are not a robot, and vote against defunding Planned Parenthood. If eliminating abortions is truly your goal, it is the logical and moral thing to do. Town halls Stephanie Schwinn WAVERLY I attended Rep. Sandy Salmon and Sen. Craig Johnsons town hall Feb 4. Representative Salmon has continually claimed cuts in the budget can be partially covered by savings from Medicaid privatization. When the state of Iowa was administering Medicaid it was at a rate of 4 percent. That administration fee covers, as the name implies, administrative costs and not the cost of providing actual care. These private, for profit, out of state companies are charging the Iowa taxpayer 15 percent to administer this program. Last week a report came out stating these companies were requesting additional hundreds of millions of dollars to cover their costs. Lets be clear, its not that these companies are experiencing catastrophic losses, as they claim, but rather they are not making the profits they thought they would make. The state thus far is refusing. If those additional dollars are not provided, services will be further eroded. Also, last week a report came out stating the some legislators are paying as little as $20 per month for their taxpayer-funded health insurance. I propose, to help meet the demands of the budget, since most legislators receive health insurance from either their employers or through their spouses employers, we stop offering that benefit. WAVERLY A Greene teenager remains hospitalized following a two-vehicle crash Saturday near Waverly. Andrew Corwin, 17, was taken to Covenant Medical Center with severe injuries follow the crash, reported about 1:45 p.m. at the intersection of Iowa Highway 3 and U.S. Highway 218 in Bremer County. Bremer County sheriffs officials said his car was southbound on the Highway 218 off-ramp when he failed to yield at the stop sign and collided with a SUV driven by Ashley Ross, 36, of Clarksville, who was westbound on Highway 3. Ross sustained minor injuries in the crash. The crash remains under investigation. Driver runs after crashing pickup WATERLOO One man has been detained following a chase that ended when he crashed into two parked cars Monday. The fleeing driver had children in his pickup, but no serious injuries were reported. The pursuit started shortly after 3 p.m. when officers attempted to stop the driver for outstanding warrants, police said. The pursuit ended at Crossroads Square apartments on Ridgeway Avenue when the pickup plowed into two cars in the parking lot. The driver then ran off, leaving the children alone, and was caught a short time later. Paramedics with Waterloo Fire Rescue took the children to a hospital as a precaution. Man arrested for arson of home WATERLOO A man who fled his burning house last week has been arrested for allegedly setting the fire. Waterloo police arrested Michael David Morehouse, 46, of 1144 Glenny Ave., for second-degree arson Sunday after he was released from Covenant Medical Center. He was later released from jail. Authorities allege Morehouse made statements he set the fire in a failed suicide attempt, according to court records. Firefighters were called to his home Thursday morning after he fled through a window and sought help at a neighbors house. Fire crews discovered damage around the stairs to the basement and severe heat damage to the rest of the home, and they found a gasoline can. Officers could smell a gasoline type substance in the house, and Morehouses clothing also had a gasoline odor, court records state. Morehouse was taken to the hospital for possible smoke inhalation. The city fire marshal investigated the blaze, and samples in the home were removed for chemical testing. Man arrested at protest is named CEDAR FALLS A Cedar Falls man was arrested for allegedly charging at Trump supporters during an immigration rally Sunday. Cedar Falls police arrested Peter Joseph Foxhoven, 29, of 1403 Washington St., for disorderly conduct and public intoxication. He was later released. According to court records, Foxhoven attempted to take a loudspeaker from a woman before he was pulled back by others. He then charged across the street at a man holding a sign, court records state. That was followed by a scuffle with counter protesters that ended with Foxhoven on the ground. 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29 (1) May 11 (1) Jul 11 (1) Anton Agarkov / Strana.ru In the Chelyabinsk region Chelyabinsk region, Taganay, Weather station I look at an image like this above and realize how we in the Tiny Russian Village are blessed with Bahama weather most of the time. Life is really just how you perceive it and as always, life can always be worst But, in my case, I would love to be living in this weather station Once again, This is Russia WtR With searchable online filing, Montana's commissioner of political practices made 2016 campaign finance records more accessible to the public than ever before. Commissioner Jonathan Motl and his hardworking staff of six handled candidate and voter questions while resolving more campaign complaints more expeditiously than any other Montana COPP. Those seven public servants helped Montanans maintain free and fair elections despite the deluge of out-of-state spending and myriad entities determined to keep their election involvement secret. Now Rep. Derek Skees, R-Kalispell, has proposed "an act eliminating the office of the commissioner of political practices." At a hearing last week before the House Judiciary Committee' Skees insisted that HB 340 wouldn't eliminate the COPP, but, in fact, it would. Skees told the committee his bill originated two years ago at a Republican convention. He proposes that the duties of the COP be split between the secretary of state and the attorney general. Much of his impassioned presentation was complaints about Motl, complaints that some GOP committee members shared. But Motl's term ended Jan. 1 and, under Montana law, he cannot be reappointed ever. Gov. Steve Bullock is responsible for nominating a new COPP who must be confirmed by the Senate to serve a six-year term. Bullock should consult with legislative leaders and nominate a Montana attorney and good government advocate with significant election law experience as soon as possible, so the Senate has time to consider the candidate before April adjournment. A lawsuit filed in December created a distraction and some confusion about the appointment process. But the Montana Supreme Court set the record straight last week by ruling that Motl's term ended on Jan. 1 the day Bullock and said it would. Opponents at the HB 340 hearing included representatives of Montana League of Women Voters, Montana Public Interest Research Group and Common Cause. Skees was the only proponent. Evan Barrett of Butte, who helped draft the state's COPP statute back in 1975, testified that it was written because the old system of filing campaign finance reports with the secretary of state was broken. "We designed the law to take it out of partisan politics," Barrett said. "It doesn't make sense to go back to the same structure we were trying to correct with this law." Montana citizens need a champion dedicated to implementing and enforcing our campaign finance laws. Getting rid of the office and spreading duties among two larger departments will only dilute and obscure the focus on campaign transparency and accountability. Our COPP served average Montanans well in the 2016 campaign cycle. It's time to nominate a new well qualified COPP, so Motl can retire. But first, lawmakers should reject HB 340. Please contact your legislators and tell them Montana needs a dedicated COPP who will work as hard as Motl has for the citizens of our state. What a great day it will be when Montana is represented in the Interior Department by Rep. Ryan Zinke. Secretary-nominee Zinke knows well the issues important to the West and Indian Country, and I hope for better days ahead for all rural and Native peoples under his leadership at the Interior Department. Unfortunately, at times in the recent past, the concerns of rural communities, tribes, and those of us in fly-over country seem to have been less than important to our government in D.C., and particularly those at the Interior Department. They handed down rules not written for the West and remained unconcerned by the needs and lifestyles of Montanans. Recently Dear Tribal Leaders letters have become the norm for how the federal government communicates with Tribes on critical issues including the trust relationship the government shares with tribes on natural resource management. Rural communities shared the neglect. Late last year I and others from southeastern Montana spent considerable effort defending our coal production jobs and economy from misguided regulations enacted in the waning hours of the Obama administration. The worst of which was the so called Stream Protection Rule or SPR written within the Department of Interior. The SPR said, among many, many other things: that Montana mines had to provide 12 months of water quality samples, even on seasonal streams that dont exist most of the year or might be frozen solid all winter. These rules didnt fit Montana, where we already have an A-rated stream protection system in place that was written specifically for our local concerns, not somewhere back East. Our group from southeastern Montana met with enthusiastic support from Zinke and Sen. Steve Daines offices when we visited D.C. to show our opposition to the SPR. When we went to the White House the response was quite the opposite. In fact, the Obama White House seemed less than interested in Montanas concerns. Officials we spoke with admitted they were not aware of all the negative potential impacts on Montana and particularly the Crow Tribe that the SPR would bring. Still, our pleas fell on deaf ears as a national one-size-fits-all Stream Protection Rule was drafted without appropriate consultation and then written and published without changes requested by Montanans. Last week, Congress voted to rescind the SPR through a seldom used Congressional Review Authority of Obamas slew of last-minute environmental regulations. Montanas tribes, communities, and jobs were at risk, and Daines again showed his commitment to Montana jobs by supporting repeal of the Stream Protection Rule. Senator Daines, thank you for standing with Montanas jobs and voting to repeal the Stream Protection Rule. Loyal followers of Donald Trump tell those who disagree with the president to, essentially, like or lump it. They are told to get behind the legally elected real estate tycoon and move on, and get over it. One recent letter to the editor said the protesters should move to another country if they dont like the outcome of the election. Such a suggested approach is tragically oblivious of our American heritage. Protests have been at the very root of our nations history, and many of those who stood up against actions by government entities and its enforcers are now considered the true patriots. Consider the Boston Tea Party. Would those who now object to peaceful protests have stood with the British Red Coats and booed the men and women tossing tea into Boston Harbor? Actually there were people who supported King George and viewed his detractors as traitors, just as those who support every decision of Donald Trump and view protestors as some sort of traitorous slime. History will determine who was right, just as the historical rear view mirror looks back at the civil rights movement of the 1950s and the actions of club-wielding police in Selma, Ala. The Friends of Fox spent eight years ripping apart the legally elected president Barack Obama. And their followers loved every minute of it. They never did get over it," and never "moved on Is hypocrisy part of New World Order where alternative facts are the norm? Richard J. Wesnick Billings Feb 7, 2017 | By Tess It seems as though North Carolina is preparing to become a 3D printing hub in the near future. Last month, 3D printed prosthetics manufacturer UNYQ announced it would be opening a new office in Charlotte, NC and now Swiss company Oerlikon has announced it will be expanding its global additive manufacturing business by opening a new R&D and production facility for advanced 3D printed parts in the Charlotte metro area. The new facility will offer its clients integrated, end-to-end services for advanced additive manufacturing. Oerlikon, a globally recognized technology group, said it will be investing roughly CHF55 million (about $55 million USD) into its new facility over the next two years. The new 3D printing center is also expected to create more than 100 new jobs in the future. The company says additive manufacturing has been identified as a potential growth area, and is primed to leverage its strong materials heritage, service reputation, access to markets, and more. With its new 3D printing R&D and production facility, Oerlikon is aiming to further establish itself as a global leader in surface solutions and advanced materials. The expansion of the companys global additive manufacturing business can be owed to the simultaneously growing demand for advanced 3D printed metal parts in various industries. As we are well aware, 3D printing offers manufacturers a number of advantages over traditional manufacturing processes, such as customization, and efficiency in terms of materials, lead time, and cost. Dr. Roland Fischer, CEO of the Oerlikon Group, commented: Innovation is a strategic driver of growth at Oerlikon. We consistently work at strengthening our innovation power and staying at the forefront in developing new technologies in our fields. As we strategically transform to become a powerhouse in surface solutions and advanced materials, we are investing in high growth potential businesses such as additive manufacturing. Charlotte, NC Oerlikons announcement for a new facility comes only months after the Swiss company acquired citim, a German additive manufacturing specialist. Now, it is hoping to advance and promote the adoption of industrial 3D printing technologies on a larger scale. Specifically, it is seeking to offer its own AM technologies, such as the atomization of metal powders, additive manufacturing, and the post-processing of 3D printed parts. The new 3D printing R&D center will mark Oerlikons fourth AM network location. The other locations include former citim sites in Barleben, Germany, and Atlanta, Georgia, as well as an advanced metal powder production facility in Plymouth Township, Michigan. According to the company, its new facility will be officially opened in 2018, though it will still conduct its additive manufacturing business out of Charlotte from an interim facility. Charlotte is an important step in our plans to grow our additive manufacturing business and our investment in key technology areas. The investment underlines our intention to become a leading independent global partner in the industrialization of additive manufacturing. I would like to thank our economic development partners in North Carolina and the Charlotte region for their support in our investment, added Fischer. Posted in 3D Printer Company Maybe you also like: PACE (Property Assessed Clean Energy) is a program that will save businesses money and create local jobs in Montana, without costing our government a dime. It needs to be enabled by the Montana legislature and has already passed in 33 states across the country (including Wyoming, Colorado, Utah and Texas.) I am a small-business owner in an old building. The cheapest energy is that which you dont use, but resources are scarce for infrastructure improvements that enhance energy efficiency. PACE would allow property owners to invest in new windows, energy-efficient lighting, insulation and other retrofits, but spread out the cost over a longer period of time, and repay the financing as an assessment on their property taxes rather than taking out a loan. If I could utilize PACE and make my business more energy efficient, I would be able to use that savings to build my business and better meet the needs of my customers. I would also be supporting other local businesses that would install new windows, doors, lights and insulation. PACE is an opportunity for businesses to really invest in our communities infrastructure, when our buildings would otherwise be left to decay and blight. Our downtown is the heart of this community, and supporting PACE will keep that beating for years to come. Please call your state legislators and encourage them to pass this common-sense legislation to allow for PACE. Dale Sexton Livingston Warner thumps Harding Co.-Bison; Patriots, Wolverines to meet for title Hunter Cramer ran for 2 touchdowns, passed for 1 and returned a kick for 82 yards as the Monarchs won 63-20 in the Class 9A football semifinals. HOLLY SPRINGS, Ga. A north Georgia man has been accused of fatally shooting a Montana man who was visiting family and friends. Media outlets report that 43-year-old Bryan Overseth of Bigfork, Montana, was shot and killed along a Holly Springs subdivision road on Jan. 21. Cherokee County Sheriff's Office spokesman Lt. Jay Baker said authorities initially arrested 34-year-old Robert Gialenios, of Gainesville, on charges of loitering, prowling and stalking. On Thursday, Gialenios was charged with murder in connection to Overseth's death. Holly Springs Police Chief Michael Carswell tells the Cherokee Tribune that investigators believe the men knew each other. Authorities have not released a motive for the slaying. It is unclear whether Gialenios has an attorney. MARKET RESEARCH REPORTS AND INDUSTRY Report provides values and volumes for a number of key performance indicators in the Cards and Payments industry. Synopsis The Cards and Payments Industry in Sweden: Emerging Trends and Opportunities to 2021report also analyzes various payment card markets operating in the industry, and provides detailed information on the number of cards in circulation, and transaction values and volumes during the review period and over the forecast period (2017-2021). It also offers information on the countrys competitive landscape, including the market shares of issuers and schemes. The report brings together Radiant Insightss research, modeling, and analysis expertise to allow banks and card issuers to identify segment dynamics and competitive advantages. The report also covers details of regulatory policy and recent changes in the regulatory structure. For further inquiries, about Cards and Payments Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends and Forecast to 2021, click on this link http://www.radiantinsights.com/research/the-cards-and-payments-industry-in-sweden-emerging-trends-and-opportunities-to-2021 Summary Radiant Insightss The Cards and Payments Industry in Sweden: Emerging Trends and Opportunities to 2021 report provides top-level market analysis, information and insights into the Swedish cards and payments industry, including: Current and forecast values for each market in the Swedish cards and payments industry, including debit, credit and charge cards. Detailed insights into payment instruments including credit transfers, direct debits, check payments, cash transactions and payment cards. It also, includes an overview of the countrys key alternative payment instruments. E-commerce market analysis and payment methods. Analysis of various market drivers and regulations governing the Swedish cards and payments industry. Detailed analysis of strategies adopted by banks and other institutions to market debit, credit and charge cards. Comprehensive analysis of consumer attitudes and buying preferences for cards. The competitive landscape in the Swedish cards and payments industry. Browse All Reports of This Category @ http://www.radiantinsights.com/catalog/financial-services Scope This report provides a comprehensive analysis of the Swedish cards and payments industry. It provides current values for the Swedish cards and payments industry for 2016, and forecast figures to 2021. It details the different demographic, economic, infrastructural and business drivers affecting the Swedish cards and payments industry. It outlines the current regulatory framework in the industry. It details marketing strategies used by various banks and other institutions. Reasons To Buy Make strategic business decisions, using top-level historic and forecast market data, related to the Swedish cards and payments industry and each market within it. Understand the key market trends and growth opportunities in the Swedish cards and payments industry. Assess the competitive dynamics in the Swedish cards and payments industry. Gain insights into marketing strategies used for various card types in Sweden. Gain insights into key regulations governing the Swedish cards and payments industry. Request a Free Sample Copy of this Report @ http://www.radiantinsights.com/research/the-cards-and-payments-industry-in-sweden-emerging-trends-and-opportunities-to-2021/request-sample Key Highlights To capitalize on the growing e-commerce market, in January 2016, Swedish banks expanded Swish, a widely used mobile app for online transactions. The app was previously used only for peer-to-peer (P2P) and in-store payments. Swish is owned by a consortium of six Swedish banks Danske Bank, Handelsbanken, Lansforsakringar Bank, Nordea, SEB and Swedbank. Swish has grown in popularity since its launch, with 4.9 million users in Sweden as of November 2016. In May 2016, US$892.3 million (SEK7.5 billion) worth of transactions were performed using Swish, rising to US$994.3 million (SEK8.4 billion) in November 2016. To provide convenient and secure online payments for Swedish consumers, MasterCard launched the MasterPass digital wallet in December 2015, in association with Nordea, SEB and Swedbank, followed by ICA Banken and Resurs Bank in early 2016. In October 2016, MasterCard introduced Identity Check Mobile a biometric mobile application for secured online shopping in Sweden and 11 other markets in Europe. The app authenticates online payments by confirming the users identity through the fingerprint scanner on a smartphone, or by taking a selfie and using facial-recognition technology. Contactless technology is still at a nascent stage of development in Sweden, with only a handful of banks such as ICA Banken and Danske Bank offering contactless cards. The number of contactless cards increased threefold from 439,707 in 2015 to 1.5 million in 2016, and is anticipated to reach 15.0 million by 2021. With a rising number of small businesses and street vendors accepting payment cards for small-value transactions, the introduction of contactless technology is expected to drive payment card transaction volumes over the forecast period. Read more related reports by Radiant Insights: Personal Accident and Health Insurance Market http://www.radiantinsights.com/research/personal-accident-and-health-insurance-in-italy-key-trends-and-opportunities-to-2020 Reinsurance Market http://www.radiantinsights.com/research/reinsurance-in-italy-key-trends-and-opportunities-to-2020 About Radiant Insights, Inc Radiant Insights is a platform for companies looking to meet their market research and business intelligence requirements. We assist and facilitate organizations and individuals procure market research reports, helping them in the decision making process. We have a comprehensive collection of reports, covering over 40 key industries and a host of micro markets. In addition to over extensive database of reports, our experienced research coordinators also offer a host of ancillary services such as, research partnerships/ tie-ups and customized research solutions. Media Contact Company Name: Radiant Insights, Inc. Contact Person: Michelle Thoras, Corporate Sales Specialist USA Email: sales@radiantinsights.com Phone: (415) 349-0054, Toll Free: 1-888-202-9519 Address:28 2nd Street, Suite 3036 City: San Francisco State: California Country: United States Website: http://www.radiantinsights.com/research/the-cards-and-payments-industry-in-sweden-emerging-trends-and-opportunities-to-2021 Cape Town, South Africa Well known photographers and adventurers Johan Dempers and Joe Brooks have announced that they will be leading a return to the jungle 2017 expedition. They made headlines with their 2002 expedition to the Andes & Amazon during which they were captured by Indians. The new adventure set for August 2017 will see the two veterans lead an expedition to the Amazon Rainforest which will record and present educational material on a STEM based (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) educational project open to schools, and other institutions worldwide and free of charge. In addition to Dempers and Brooks, two new expedition members will include videographer and web designer, Muldene Holloway (32), and adventurer and ex-Police Special Task Force member Hennie Van Rooyen (47). Johan and the field team will be supported by Jeff Waters, the Educational Coordinator and Operations Assistant for Expedition Amazon. Jeff is a former US Paratrooper with more than 6 years of jungle operations experience in Panama & Colombia. Jeff is currently pursuing his Masters Degree in Education & he has spent more than 16 years abroad in various locations. Schools and teachers in several countries have already shown in terest in the Expedition Amazon project. The 2017 expedition will also test cutting edge hi-tech equipment under the harsh conditions created by the biggest tropical rainforest on planet Earth. The expeditions progress will be updated via satellite to their website, www.expeditionamazon.info Video Link: http://www.youtube.com/embed/Xzox8n-LpQE Those interested in taking part in the interactive jungle class sessions, or those interested in providing other support, donations or sponsorship, are invited to make contact with the organizers by email or telephone during office hours. The 2017 expedition will also be monitored by the Brazilian Military Police in an attempt to pre-vent an incident similar to the one in 2002 when Dempers & Brooks were captured and held prisoner in what the Sunday Times called An adventure story that would rival an Indiana Jones movie. The two explorers were captured by a tribe of Indians deep in the Amazon Rainforest, near the Peruvian border, while taking part in the sixmonth Andes to Amazon expedition. They were held captive for 6 days before Brazilian police freed them in a dramatic military raid deep inside the jungle. Sometimes you have to take a risk in life living to tell the story is what makes it worthwhile, Dempers said To learn more about Expedition Amazon 2017, please visit: www.expeditionamazon.info Media Contact Company Name: Expedition Earth Contact Person: Johan Dempers Email: info@expeditionearth.co.za Phone: +27 82 397 7452 Address:12C Malan Street City: Wellington Country: South Africa Website: www.expeditionamazon.info Report provides the reader with potential spends value on ICT within Global Financial Markets sector during the period 2016 through to 2019. This is an exhaustive research report outlaying future perspectives of ICT project spends globally. The report provides year on year spends value within the Energy markets across 30+ countries; split across BPO Services, Cloud Services, Enterprise Communications Services, IT Hardware, IT Services, and Software categories and further at segment levels for the period 2016 to 2019. Key Findings: This report is a comprehensive outlook built using an extensive market research covering spends across ICT market. The statistics within the report provides a top-level overview and detailed insights into the operating environment of the Technology and Energy sector at individual country level. Analyst has considered buying behavior / ICT spends across hardware, software, services, communications and staff. It acts as an essential tool for companies active across the ICT market and for new players considering entering the market; ensuring right business decision making. Countries covered within the report include: Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Russia, Singapore, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, United Kingdom, United States Read Complete Report With TOC: http://www.radiantinsights.com/research/global-ict-spends-in-financial-markets-sector-future-perspective-to-2019 Synopsis: Report provides the reader with potential spends value on ICT within Global Financial Markets sector during the period 2016 through to 2019. In particular, it provides information of potential spends by individual countries for the following categories at segment level: BPO Services Cloud Services Enterprise Communications Services IT Hardware IT Services Software Reasons to Buy: Understand the opportunities for ICT market in the Financial Markets sector and how it is set to change in future. Make effective business decisions by recognizing the opportunities within each of the core areas of ICT sector Realign your sales initiatives by understanding the current strategic objectives of the Global ICT Sector. Enhance your market segmentation with detailed breakdown of opportunities within selected technology categories. Request A Sample Copy Of This Report at: http://www.radiantinsights.com/research/global-ict-spends-in-financial-markets-sector-future-perspective-to-2019/request-sample Table of Contents: Introduction ICT Market Opportunity in the Financial Markets Sector: Global ICT Market Opportunity in the Financial Markets Sector: Argentina ICT Market Opportunity in the Financial Markets Sector: Australia ICT Market Opportunity in Financial Markets Sector: Austria ICT Market Opportunity in Financial Markets Sector: Belgium ICT Market Opportunity in Financial Markets Sector: Brazil ICT Market Opportunity in Financial Markets Sector: Canada ICT Market Opportunity in Financial Markets Sector: China ICT Market Opportunity in Financial Markets Sector: Denmark ICT Market Opportunity in Financial Markets Sector: Finland ICT Market Opportunity in Financial Markets Sector: France ICT Market Opportunity in Financial Markets Sector: Germany ICT Market Opportunity in Financial Markets Sector: India ICT Market Opportunity in Financial Markets Sector: Indonesia ICT Market Opportunity in Financial Markets Sector: Ireland ICT Market Opportunity in Financial Markets Sector: Japan ICT Market Opportunity in Financial Markets Sector: Malaysia Explore Other Reports By Radiant Insights,Inc at: Key Trends in Retail Banking- http://www.radiantinsights.com/research/2017-key-trends-in-retail-banking Japan Commercial Payment Cards Market- http://www.radiantinsights.com/research/japan-commercial-payment-cards-2016-market-report Trends to Watch in Global Wealth Management- http://www.radiantinsights.com/research/2017-trends-to-watch-in-global-wealth-management About Radiant Insights,Inc Radiant Insights is a platform for companies looking to meet their market research and business intelligence requirements. We assist and facilitate organizations and individuals procure market research reports, helping them in the decision making process. We have a comprehensive collection of reports, covering over 40 key industries and a host of micro markets. In addition to over extensive database of reports, our experienced research coordinators also offer a host of ancillary services such as, research partnerships/ tie-ups and customized research solutions. Media Contact Company Name: Radiant Insights, Inc. Contact Person: Michelle Thoras, Corporate Sales Specialist USA Email: sales@radiantinsights.com Phone: (415) 349-0054, Toll Free: 1-888-202-9519 Address:28 2nd Street, Suite 3036 City: San Francisco State: California Country: United States Website: http://www.radiantinsights.com/research/global-ict-spends-in-financial-markets-sector-future-perspective-to-2019 February 7, 2017 Iceland Vacation Packages has announced that they will be offering a complete travel guide and assistance to the tourists who wish to visit the beautiful country of Iceland. The company is undoubtedly the best trip planner and executer when it comes to Iceland which is a place everyone must visit at least once in their lifetime. The company offers several lucrative vacation packages in Iceland and a plethora of other trip services to its clients. In addition, the website also has an amazing and highly informative as well as updated blog that has all the information anyone needs to know before visiting Iceland. In order to make sure that everyone visiting Iceland has the best trip of their lifetime, we offer an unmatched variety in vacation packages of Icelandic tours. Said Hrannar Mar Sigurdsson, the owner of Iceland Vacation Packages. If you want to see waterfalls, mountains, lava fields, glaciers or Geysers, all is possible. He added. The Iceland hot springs and a visit to the Great Geyser are just some of the many tourist attractions where everyone desires to go. Visitor can also take a tour in 44 SUV, driving quads or dirt bikes in the wilderness around the Icelandic volcanos. Best time to visit Iceland and a list of things to do in Iceland are also available on the websites extremely informative blog. Hrannar and the team makes sure that it is always updated to the best for the visitors so that they can get the most authentic information about Iceland available online. Alongside the Great Geyser, Thingvellir (ingvellir) National Park is also one of the places people desperately want to go to. Moreover, the enigmatic Snaefellsjokull Glacier, beautiful little ponds, lovely meadows, rivers and gorgeous moorlands along with amazing stone formations alongside the black sand shores are also places everyone loves to visit. Media Contact Company Name: Iceland Vacation Packages Contact Person: Hrannar Mar Sigurdsson Email: rakindel@gmail.com Country: United States Website: www.icelandvacationpackages.is The interactive flat panel market analysis is provided for the international markets including United States, EU, China, Japan, Southeast Asia and India. eMarketOrg.com adds Global Interactive Flat Panel Market 2017-2022 research report with historic data from 2012 and forecasts to 2022 for interactive flat-panels by applications as well as major regions from across the world. This 2017 interactive flat panel market study splits the industry by applications into corporate and education sectors. In addition to end-user applications of interactive flat-panel regional market size (2012-2017) as well as market share and size by players / companies for 2015 and 2016 is provided in this research. The interactive flat panel market analysis is provided for the international markets including United States, EU, China, Japan, Southeast Asia and India. Interactive flat-panel market size in terms of value by companies is provided for 2015 and 2016 along with market concentration rate, product and service differences, new entrants information as well as technology trends in future as forecast in this research. Read more at http://emarketorg.com/pro/global-interactive-flat-panel-market-size-status-and-forecast-2022/ . Then, the report focuses on global major leading interactive flat panel industry players with information such as primary company profile, main business overview, products, services and solutions, interactive flat-panel revenue in terms of value for 2012-2017 as well as recent developments for each company. Market size by application is also studied for 2012-2017 covering potential application in future as well as mention of top consumers / end users of interactive flat panels. Finally, the interactive flat panel market dynamics are studied to cover opportunities, challenges and risks, constraints and threats as well as industry driving forces. Before concluding the research and sharing the findings, this report talks about technology progress/risks, substitutes, trends on consumer needs and customer preferences. Companies profiled and discussed in this interactive flat panel market research include BenQ, Promethean World, SMART Technologies, Vestel, Boxlight, Egan Teamboard, Hitachi, Julong Education Technology, Recordex and ViewSonic. Enquire for a discount on listed prices of this research or get your questions on the study answered via http://emarketorg.com/product-enquiry/?product-id=85693 . Partial list of data tables and figures provided this 2016 interactive flat panel market research cover: Table Top Consumer/End Users of Interactive Flat-panel Figure United States Interactive Flat-panel Market Size and Growth Rate by Regions (2012-2017) Figure United States Interactive Flat panel Market Size Share by Players in 2016 Figure EU Interactive Flat-panel Market Size and Growth Rate by Regions (2012-2017) Figure EU Interactive Flat-panel Market Size Share by Players in 2016 Figure Japan Interactive Flat-panel Market Size Share by Players in 2015 Figure Japan Interactive Flat panel Market Size Share by Players in 2016 Figure China Interactive Flat-panel Market Size and Growth Rate by Regions (2012-2017) Table China Interactive Flat-panel Market Size by Players (2012-2017) Figure China Interactive Flat-panel Market Size Share by Players in 2015 Figure China Interactive Flat-panel Market Size Share by Players in 2016 Figure India Interactive Flat-panel Market Size and Growth Rate by Regions (2012-2017) Table India Interactive Flat-panel Market Size by Players (2012-2017) Figure India Interactive Flat-panel Market Size Share by Players in 2015 Figure India Interactive Flat panel Market Size Share by Players in 2016 Figure Southeast Asia Interactive Flat-panel Market Size and Growth Rate by Regions (2012-2017) Table Southeast Asia Interactive Flat-panel Market Size by Players (2012-2017) Figure Southeast Asia Interactive Flat-panel Market Size Share by Players in 2015 Figure Southeast Asia Interactive Flat-panel Market Size Share by Players in 2016 Figure Global Interactive Flat-panel Market Size (Value) by Regions (2017-2022) Table Global Interactive Flat-panel Market Size by Regions (2017-2022) Figure Global Interactive Flat-panel Market Size Share by Regions in 2017 Figure Global Interactive Flat panel Market Size Share by Regions in 2021 Explore more reports on electric vehicles market at http://emarketorg.com/product-tag/electric-vehicle/ . On a related note, another study titled Global Interactive Whiteboard (IWB) Industry 2016 Market Research Report is spread across 159 pages and is supported by 173 data tables and figures. Companies like Smart, Plus, Promethean, Turning Technologies, Panasonic, Newell Rubbermaid , Hitevision , Julong, Returnsta, TRACEBoard, Haiya and Lihe are profiled in this research. Read more at http://emarketorg.com/pro/global-interactive-whiteboard-iwb-industry-2016-market-research-report/ . About Us: eMarketOrg.com aims to provide businesses and organizations market intelligence products and services that help in making smart, instant and crucial decisions. Our database offers access to insights from industry leaders, experts and influencers on global and regional sectors, market trends, user behaviour, for companies as well as products. With data and information from reputable and trusted private and public sources, our clients are never short of statistics and analysis that are up to date. Contact Details: Ronald Alden | sales@emarketorg.com Connect With Us: Market Research Blog: http://emarketorg.com/blog/ News on current market trends and more: http://emarketorg.com/news1/ Contact Us: http://emarketorg.com/contact-us/ Follow Us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/emarketorg Follow us on G+ https://plus.google.com/collection/w7ioaB Media Contact Company Name: EMarketOrg.com Contact Person: Ronald Alden Email: sales@emarketorg.com Phone: +91-8793334224 Country: India Website: http://emarketorg.com/pro/global-interactive-flat-panel-market-size-status-and-forecast-2022/ Get key Market Research Reports and Insightful Company Profiles Uruguay: High FTTH and LTE Penetration Levels to Drive Growing Demand for OTT and IoT Services a new Country Intelligence Report. Uruguay is the fourth most developed economy in Latin America, measured in terms of PPP-adjusted GDP per capita, just below Panama, Chile and Argentina. With an estimated revenue of $1.5bn, or 2.9% of GDP, the telecom and pay-TV services market in Uruguay is also one of the most developed in the region. The country has one of the highest 4G/LTE penetration rates in Latin America, which combined with a high FTTH adoption rate creates a fertile ground for the development of a wide range of digital services and applications in areas such as OTT and Internet of Things (IoT) solutions related to smart cities, smart metering, smart home and smart building. Browse Detail Report With TOC @ http://www.hexareports.com/report/uruguay-high-ftth-and-lte-penetration-levels-to-drive-growing-demand-for-ott-and-iot-applications Key Findings Uruguays high levels of development in the telecom segment are mostly explained by the implementation of ambitious digital development policies aimed at providing Internet access to most of its population. The distribution of telecom service revenue in the Uruguayan market has been quite stable over the past several years, and we expect it will remain relatively unchanged going forward. Antel, which holds a monopoly in several key market segments, is the largest player in the market in terms of revenue, distantly followed by mobile operators Movistar and Claro. We project that the countrys mobile subscriber base will expand at a CAGR of 1.6% during the 2016-2021 period, driven by M2M connections and the increasing adoption of mobile data services, particularly in less populated parts of the country, where the future rollout of 4G/LTE in the 700MHz band will have a greater impact. Synopsis Uruguay: High FTTH and LTE Penetration Levels to Drive Growing Demand for OTT and IoT Services a new Country Intelligence Report by GlobalData, provides an executive-level overview of the telecommunications market in Uruguay 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, mobile and pay-TV sectors, as well as a review of key regulatory trends. Request A Sample copy of This Report @ http://www.hexareports.com/report/uruguay-high-ftth-and-lte-penetration-levels-to-drive-growing-demand-for-ott-and-iot-applications/request-sample The Country Intelligence Report provides in-depth analysis of the following: 1. Regional context: telecom market size and trends in Uruguay compared with other countries in the region. 2. Economic, demographic and political context in Uruguay. 3. 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. 4. A demand profile: analysis as well as historical figures and forecasts of service revenue from the fixed telephony (including VoIP), broadband, mobile voice, mobile data and pay-TV markets. 5. Service evolution: a look at changes in the breakdown of overall revenue between the fixed/pay-TV and mobile sectors and between voice, data and video from 2016 to 2021. 6. 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. 7. In-depth sector analysis of fixed telephony, broadband, mobile voice, mobile data and pay-TV services: a quantitative analysis of service adoption trends by network technology and by operator, as well as of average revenue per line/subscription and service revenue through the end of the forecast period. 8. Main opportunities: this section details the near-term opportunities for operators, vendors and investors in Uruguays telecommunications and pay-TV markets. Browse More Telecommunications Related Market Research Reports: Equatorial Guinea: Expansion of 3G Services and Investments in Fiber to Fuel Growth http://www.hexareports.com/report/equatorial-guinea-expansion-of-3g-services-and-investments-in-fiber-to-fuel-growth Mali: Mobile Data and Value-Added Services to Support Telecom Growth http://www.hexareports.com/report/mali-mobile-data-and-value-added-services-to-support-telecom-growth Reasons To Buy 1. This Country Intelligence Report offers a thorough, forward-looking analysis of Uruguays telecommunications and pay-TV markets, service providers and key opportunities in a concise format to help executives build proactive and profitable growth strategies. 2. Accompanying GlobalDatas Forecast products, the report examines the assumptions and drivers behind ongoing and upcoming trends in Uruguays mobile communications, fixed telephony/VoIP, broadband and pay-TV markets, including the evolution of service provider market shares. 3. With more than 20 charts and tables, the report is designed for an executive-level audience, boasting presentation quality. 4. 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 Uruguays telecommunications and pay-TV markets. 5. The broad perspective of the report coupled with comprehensive, actionable detail will help operators, equipment vendors and other telecom industry players succeed in the challenging telecommunications market in Uruguay. About Us: Hexa Reports is a market research and consulting organization, offering industry reports, custom research and consulting services to a host of key industries across the globe.We offer comprehensive business intelligence in the form of industry reports which help our clients obtain clarity about their business environment and enable them to undertake strategic growth initiatives. Media Contact Company Name: Hexa Reports Contact Person: Michelle Thoras and Ryan Shaw Email: sales@hexareports.com Phone: +1-800-489-3075 Address:Felton Office Plaza, 6265 Highway 9 City: Felton State: California Country: United States Website: http://www.hexareports.com/report/uruguay-high-ftth-and-lte-penetration-levels-to-drive-growing-demand-for-ott-and-iot-applications Vocal Biomarkers Market Global Vocal Biomarkers Market, By Therapeutic Applications(Psychiatric Disorders, Respiratory Disorders, Cardiovascular Disorders), End User(Hospitals, Health Insurers, Academic Institutes, Government Organizations), and Geography Trends, Analysis and Forecast till 2028 The Global Vocal Biomarkers Market is estimated to be valued at US$ 6.4 million by 2017 and is projected to expand at an astounding CAGR of 65.7% from 2017 to 2028, as analyzed by Coherent Market Insights. Vocal biomarkers enabling early diagnosis and being a non-invasive procedure are analyzed to be major factor fueling uptake of this disruptive technology over the forecast period (20172028). Mental and physical conditions such as anxiety and Parkinsons disease can make one slur his/her words, speak in a more nasal tone, and elongate sounds. Various companies involved in sales activities across industries and call centers deploy voice analysis systems to understand the temperament of the respondent. Cogito Corporations voice analysis software is used by Humana, Inc. Blue Cross Blue Shield Associational and Smartmedical Corporations Empath voice-based technology has been used by NTT Docomo, and Philips for emotional analytic and characterizing respondents mood. Download Free PDF of Sample Report at https://www.coherentmarketinsights.com/insight/request-sample/101 Beyond Verbal, Inc., Cogito Corporation, IBM Corporation, and Sonde Health are involved in extensive R&D to establish a link between vocal biomarkers and disease condition(s). Depression is a very common disorder globally, with approximately 350 million people suffering from it (WHO, 2016). Successful identification of early signs of depression using a vocal biomarker system is anticipated to significantly help physicians to recommend specific preventive measures to the patient. Free mobile applications such as Moodies and Empath (by Beyond Verbal, Inc.) offer features that analyze emotional state of an individual, enabling users to identify their mood during their most recent phone conversation. Health insurers such as Humana, Inc., Blue Cross Blue Shield Association, and Aetna, Inc. are leveraging vocal biomarkers to detect stress and depression in callers. The U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs deploys Cogito software to detect signs of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among soldiers. Realizing the robust future revenue potential from emotional analytics, leaders across the globe (companies and universities) are conducting research in order to capitalize upon the various health benefits offered by speech and voice technology. In November 2016, Mayo Clinic released the outcome of its study on vocal biomarkers which established a correlation between certain voice features and the likelihood of a coronary artery disease. Request for Report Customization at https://www.coherentmarketinsights.com/insight/request-customization/101 Strategic collaborations among universities and existing players in order to decrease turnaround time for commercialization of the products is the recent trend observed in this industry. In June 2016, Sonde Health in-licensed the voice-based technology platform from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Lincoln Laboratory. This technology has been developed for effective diagnosis and monitoring of mental and physical health conditions. The U.S. army collaborated with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Lincoln Laboratory (MIT LL) in 2016 to develop an algorithm to identify vocal biomarkers that can diagnose traumatic brain injury. Smartmedical Corp. (Japan) and Planet Healers (India) have commercialized a voice-based platform that can diagnose health conditions based on the voice of the user. While, Smartmedicals Empath is majorly used in analyzing mood, Planet Healers Voice Analysis technology platform is intended for the diagnosis of users health condition. Such products are expected to pave way for extensive application of vocal biomarkers across various industries. Moreover, use of vocal biomarkers to diagnose health conditions in children can prove to be a high potential application area in not so distant future. Key takeaways of the market: The global vocal biomarkers market is classified on the basis of applications and end users. It provides analysis and future market potential across major geographies. Revenue contribution of depression and anxiety therapeutic application segment is expected to remain high throughout the forecast period. This is mainly attributed to high efficacy of the technology in identifying temper, happiness, sadness, depression, and anxiety, among other emotions of the subject. Mayo Clinic has introduced application of vocal biomarkers for coronary artery disease (CAD). This is analyzed to propel the use of vocal biomarker technology for diagnosis of CAD in the near future. Commercially, various military bodies are using this technology to detect/diagnose presence of any brain injury or depression among the team members Vocal biomarkers are expected to find increase in adoption among physicians; therefore hospitals end-use segment is projected to expand at a CAGR of 101.2% during the forecast period. The growth would be primarily attributed to its application for diagnosing Parkinsons disease, cognitive impairment, and respiratory disorders in the near future. Majority of users of this technology are currently based in developed economies such as the U.S., Canada, Japan, Germany, and the U.K. Adoption of Planet Healers voice-based diagnosis technology platform is projected to witness positive traction for diagnosis of mental health condition in Asia Pacific region during the forecast period. To know the market potential, latest trends, and insights prevalent in this market, click the link below: https://www.coherentmarketinsights.com/market-insight/vocal-bio-markers-market-101 About Coherent Market Insights: Coherent Market Insights is a prominent market research and consulting firm offering action-ready syndicated research reports, custom market analysis, consulting services, and competitive analysis through various recommendations related to emerging market trends, technologies, and potential absolute dollar opportunity. Media Contact Company Name: Coherent Market Insights Contact Person: Raj Shah Email: sales@coherentmarketinsights.com Phone: 12067016702 Address:1001 4th Ave, #3200 City: Seattle State: Washington Country: United States Website: https://www.coherentmarketinsights.com/ The Royal Bank of Scotland Group plc (RBS) is a holding company of The Royal Bank of Scotland plc (Royal Bank) and National Westminster Bank Plc (NatWest), which are United Kingdom-based clearing banks. The Companys activities are organized in six business divisions: Corporate Markets (comprising Global Banking and Markets and United Kingdom Corporate Banking), Retail Markets (comprising Retail and Wealth Management), Ulster Bank, Citizens, RBS Insurance and Manufacturing. On October 17, 2007, RFS Holdings B.V. (RFS Holdings), a company jointly owned by RBS, Fortis N.V., Fortis SA/NV and Banco Santander S.A. (the Consortium Banks) and controlled by RBS, completed the acquisition of ABN AMRO Holding N.V. (ABN AMRO). In July 2008, the Company disposed its entire interest in Global Voice Group Ltd. In January 2009, the Company sold its entire interest in Bank of China. BEIJING - China has lodged representations to the United States over the latest sanctions against Iran which involve Chinese companies and individuals. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lu Kang made the remarks at a routine press briefing Monday. The United States on Friday announced sanctions on multiple entities and individuals involved in Iran's ballistic missile program and in providing support to a military force in Iran, including two Chinese companies and three individuals, according to reports. "China always opposes any unilateral sanctions, especially when they harm the interests of a third party," Lu said, adding such sanctions are "not helpful" to promoting mutual trust and solving global issues. Investigators believe Evelynn Garcia died from injuries sustained from a tire iron blow to the back of her head before she was hit by a car outside Glasgow, according to charges filed Tuesday. Jay Donald Witkowski, 28, was charged with one count of deliberate homicide in the death of the 31-year-old Garcia. The woman died days after she was found on New Year's Eve on the side of the road, unconscious and left in the snow. Witkowski initially faced assault charges. After Garcia's death, Valley County Attorney Dylan Jensen moved to amend the initial assault charges with help from Assistant Montana Attorney General Brant Light. Witkowski remains in custody in Valley County, Sheriff Vernon Buerkle said. Two witnesses discovered Garcia on the evening of Dec. 31 and called the sheriff's office. They told deputies that they saw a car "hauling ass" away from the scene, according to court documents. Deputies found Garcia bleeding from her head and arms. She died on Jan. 3 from her injuries. An autopsy found stab wounds on her arm, hand, throat and chest, as well as evidence of a strong blow to the back of her head, resulting in a skull fracture, documents state. Witkowski was already in custody when Garcia died. On Dec. 31, sheriff's deputies met him at a Glasgow home with blood on his clothes and hands. Investigators found Witkowski's car with a broken windshield and blood on the front end, hood, roof, trunk and passenger side. There was "substantial" blood inside the car, as well as a bloody tire iron, charges state. Witkowski told law enforcement that he met Garcia in Billings, where his social media accounts indicate he lived. They were driving in Glasgow on New Year's Eve, and Witkowski said they stopped for a train just outside town. He said that he'd been up for a day and a half after using methamphetamine. Witkowski claimed that two men from the truck in front of him got out and held him up at knife-point, charges state. He said that he wrestled the knife away during a scuffle. While escaping in his vehicle, he claimed that he "got her out of the car," referring to Garcia. Witkowski told deputies he hit somebody with the car after Garcia got out. In the investigation, deputies obtained video footage from a train that passed through the area at the time of the incident, just before witnesses found Garcia. The footage showed a car that looked like the one Witkowski was driving, but there was no truck as Witkowski described in his story, charges state. There was no evidence of a scuffle at the train tracks, according to the charges. Witkowski was not injured that night. Investigators who examined the car determined that Garcia was stabbed inside the car and bleeding heavily, rather than outside during a scuffle. She was able to get out of the car at some point and left a blood trail on the pavement. Investigators believe Witkowski hit Garcia with a tire iron before hitting her with the car, according to court documents. Witkowski will have an initial appearance on the homicide charge in Valley County Justice Court in the coming days. An arraignment will be set at that time. Exterra Resources Limited (ASX:EXC) (FRA:P4T) is a gold exploration and development company based in Perth, Western Australia, with a focus on high grade, high margin gold projects with near term production potential to fund the future growth of the company. The Companys projects are all located in the Archaean Yilgarn Craton in WA, a world class gold province which has been a prolific producer of gold since the late 1880s and includes the Kalgoorlie Golden Mile deposit which has produced over 50 million ounces of gold since discovery in 1893. Exterras focus is on the Linden gold project in the North Eastern Goldfields region, within the Laverton Tectonic Zone, which hosts multi million ounce deposits including Sunrise Dam (Anglo Gold) and Granny Smith/Wallaby (Barrick Gold). The Second Fortune gold mine, at Linden, 220km by road, NNE of Kalgoorlie, is currently the subject of a development study, with all Regulatory approvals received to commence project development of an underground mining operation. Announces First Patient Enrolled in Pediatric Fatty-Liver Phase II Trial Sydney, Feb 7, 2017 AEST (ABN Newswire) - Immuron Limited ( ASX:IMC ) ( IMROY:OTCMKTS ), an Australian biopharmaceutical company focused on oral immunotherapy utilizing polyclonal antibody products to target inflammatory-mediated diseases, today announced that Emory University has enrolled its first patient in Immuron's IMM-124E pediatric NAFLD (Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease) Phase II trial. This NIH-funded Phase II, double blind, placebo control, randomized study, is designed to assess the safety and efficacy of IMM-124E for the treatment of Pediatric NAFLD. The principal objective of this study is to evaluate whether 12 weeks of IMM-124E treatment in children with confirmed NALFD will decrease serum ALT. The study aims to enroll 40 pediatric patients. Pediatric NAFLD (Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease) is a progressive form of liver disease associated with excessive fat storage in the liver together with inflammation, which can then lead to liver fibrosis and cirrhosis. Pediatric NAFLD is believed to affect up to 5% - 10% of the US pediatric population. A US landmark study that examined the incidence of disease in 742 autopsy children who had died of an accident, found that 17.3% of the children aged 15 to 19 years had Non-Alcoholic Fatty Live Disease (NAFLD). There are currently no treatments approved for the treatment of pediatric NAFLD. In previous studies conducted by Emory University, it was demonstrated that children with NAFLD have endotoxemia as well as systemic inflammation. Further, patients with NAFLD have a disturbed microbiome (dysbiosis) and increased gut permeability. Thus, the mechanism of NAFLD is thought to include chronic inflammation from intestinal microbiome-derived products (lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and metabolites) which pass through the "leaky gut" to the liver where they activate the innate immune response. We believe that IMM-124E, which is rich in anti-LPS antibodies, will improve insulin resistance and decrease systemic and hepatic inflammation through modulation of bacterial products and the microbiome in pediatric NAFLD. Dr Dan Peres, Immuron's Head of Medical, commented: "We would like to thank Emory University and Dr Miram Vos' team for partnering with Immuron on this very important trial. As we highlighted, there are no treatments approved for Pediatric NASH and we look forward to the results of this trials to decide on the next stage of the clinical program." About Immuron Limited Immuron Limited (ASX:IMC) (OTCMKTS:IMROY) is a microbiome company focused on developing and commercialising oral immunotherapeutics for the treatment of a many gut mediated diseases. Immuron has a unique and safe technology platform that enables a shorter development therapeutic cycle. The Company currently markets and sells Travelan(R) for the prevention of travellers' diarrhoea, whilst its lead product candidate IMM-124E is in Phase 2b clinical trials for NASH and ASH. These products together with the Company's other preclinical immunotherapy pipeline products targeting immune-related diseases currently under development, will meet a large unmet need in the market. For more information visit: Immuron Website Cowen Aerospace/Defense and Industrials Conference (New York) Sydney, Feb 7, 2017 AEST (ABN Newswire) - DroneShield Ltd ( ASX:DRO ) ( DRSHF:OTCMKTS ) ("DroneShield" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that it has been invited to, and will, present at the 38th Annual Cowen Aerospace/Defense & Industrials Conference in New York City. Cowen & Company ( CWGRP:OTCMKTS ) ( NASDAQ:COWN ) is a leading US investment bank in the aerospace and defence sector. Now in its 38th year, the conference is a premier invitation-only global investor event for leading companies in the aerospace and defence sectors. This year's speakers include the CEOs or CFOs of Raytheon ( NYSE:RTN ) (A$60bn market cap), Lockheed Martin ( NYSE:LMT ) (A$100bn market cap) , Boeing ( NYSE:BA ) (A$130bn market cap) and Northrop Grumman ( NYSE:NOC ) (A$55bn market cap), as well as the Executive Director of the United States Missile Defence Agency. The presentation will be delivered by the Company's CEO Oleg Vornik at 9.15 am on 8 February 2017, United States Eastern Time. The Company undertook limited public relations activities during the initial six months after its IPO, as it focused on product development, staffing and market development. Consequently, the Company had a limited profile in the industry. As the Company moves into the next phase of its growth, it is commencing a more active public relations program, in order to familiarise its potential customers, global defence, infrastructure, aerospace, technology and industrials institutional investors, and the other participants in its markets, with DroneShield. The presentation at the Cowen conference is consistent with the commencement of the Company's public relations program. To view DroneShield's presentation and the conference agenda, please visit: http://abnnewswire.net/lnk/23J8HH0V About DroneShield Ltd DroneShield Ltd (ASX:DRO) (OTCMKTS:DRSHF) is an Australian publicly listed company with its head office in Sydney and teams in the US and UK. We specialise in RF sensing, Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning, Sensor Fusion, Electronic Warfare, Rapid Prototyping and MIL-SPEC manufacturing. Our capabilities are used to protect Military, Government, Law Enforcement, Critical Infrastructure, Commercial and VIPs throughout the world. Through our team of primarily Australian based engineers - we offer customers bespoke solutions and off-the-shelf products designed to suit a variety of terrestrial, maritime or airborne platforms. DroneShield is proudly exporting Australian capability to customers throughout the world and supporting Australia's defence, national security and other organisations protect people, critical infrastructure and vital assets. . Significant new target at the Bald Hill deposit Exploration Drillhole BHW04 Hits Widest High Grade Intersection, Provides New Target at Yangibana Sydney, Feb 7, 2017 AEST (ABN Newswire) - The Directors of Hastings Technology Metals Limited ( ASX:HAS ) ( 5AM:FRA ) are pleased to announce that assay results received after the completion of the resource estimate reported on 17 January 2017 have identified a significant new target at the Bald Hill deposit. HIGHLIGHTS - Drillhole at Bald Hill returns the widest high grade intersection achieved since commencement of exploration at Yangibana. - The hole lies outside the recent JORC resources and returned 23m (79-102m) at 0.77% (Nd2O3+Pr2O3) within 1.87% TREO) - At 43m% TREO, this is the highest accumulation (intersection width times grade) returned from the Yangibana Project. - Indicates potential for additional higher value Eastern Belt-style mineralisation outside the current resources. - Further resource expansion drilling programme to commence early 2017. Recent Drilling Results Assay results from three holes drilled outside of the western limits of the current resources at Bald Hill have been received since the recent resource estimation. Details of these holes are provided in Appendix 1 (see the link below). Significant results and details of the intersections are provided in the link below. The intersection in hole BHW04 remains open at depth and provides the highest accumulation, at 17.7m%(Nd2O3+Pr2O3) (43m%TREO), returned from all drilling at the Yangibana Project since commencement of exploration. Mineralogy on samples from the mineralised intersection in BHW04 established that the rare earths are associated with monazite, with minor bastnaesite. With its high (Nd2O3+Pr2O3):TREO ratio of 41%, this mineralisation is expected to have similar processing characteristics to the Eastern Belt-style mineralisation. Petrology has identified the host units as being quartz-poor syenite, quartz-poor monzonite and ferrocarbonatite. This intersection lies to the west of what was considered to be the western limit to the Bald Hill South mineralisation in this area as shown in Figure 1 (in the link below). It establishes a new major target with potential to host the higher value Eastern Belt-style mineralisation to depth and along strike to the northwest and southeast. Proposed Drilling 2017 The Company is proceeding with a further drilling programme to increase Measured plus Indicated Resources prior to the completion of the Definitive Feasibility Study in Q3 2017. Targets have been identified and drilling is scheduled to commence in mid-March, weather permitting. These targets include the area around BHW04 at Bald Hill. To view tables and figures, please visit: http://abnnewswire.net/lnk/5JLI7519 About Hastings Technology Metals Ltd Hastings Technology Metals Ltd (ASX:HAS) (FRA:5AM) is advancing its Yangibana Rare Earths Project in the Upper Gascoyne Region of Western Australia towards production. The proposed beneficiation and hydro metallurgy processing plant will treat rare earths deposits, predominantly monazite, hosting high neodymium and praseodymium contents to produce a mixed rare earths carbonate that will be further refined into individual rare earth oxides at processing plants overseas. Neodymium and praseodymium are vital components in the manufacture of permanent magnets which is used in a wide and expanding range of advanced and high-tech products including electric vehicles, wind turbines, robotics, medical applications and others. Hastings aims to become the next significant producer of neodymium and praseodymium outside of China. Hastings holds 100% interest in the most significant deposits within the overall project, and 70% interest in additional deposits that will be developed at a later date, all held under Mining Leases. Numerous prospects have been identified warranting detailed exploration to further extend the life of the project. Brockman Project The Brockman deposit, near Halls Creek in Western Australia, contains JORC Indicated and Inferred Mineral Resources, estimated using the guidelines of JORC Code (2012 Edition). The Company is also progressing a Mining Lease application over the Brockman Rare Earths and Rare Metals Project. Hastings aims to capitalise on the strong demand for critical rare earths created by the expanding demand for new technology products. A Wyoming man on Monday admitted he sexually abused a 12-year-old girl in Lodge Grass two years ago. During a hearing in federal court in Billings, Peter John Jefferson, 48, of Sheridan, Wyoming, pleaded guilty to an indictment charging him with abusive sexual contact. There was no plea agreement. Assistant U.S. Attorney John Sullivan said the contact happened on Feb. 17, 2015, in a Lodge Grass residence when the victim was 12 years old. The victim was babysitting when Jefferson came to the residence and told the girl he had permission to be there, Sullivan said. Jefferson sat on a couch and called the victim over to him, the prosecutor said. Jefferson then grabbed the victim, told her not to tell anyone and then touched her breast and lower back. Jefferson eventually released the girl, he said. As the victim was gathering together the other children to leave the residence, Jefferson walked over to her, gave her a high five and said, Dont get me killed, okay? Sullivan said. One of the victims relatives arrived at the home and the victim left with the family member, he said. Jefferson denied giving the victim a high five and telling the victim to not get him killed. Jefferson faces a maximum two years in prison and a $250,000 fine. U.S. District Judge Susan Watters set sentencing for May 18. Jefferson remains in custody. 9th AF commander sets priorities Maj. Gen. Scott J. Zobrist assumed command of Ninth Air Force in May 2016. Since then, Zobrist visited the wings under Ninth AF, gained impressions and set his commanders priorities. We have absolutely top-notch Airmen who are doing the job day in and day out with some significant resource and time constraints, which is indicative of how busy they are, and how busy our nations military is, the commander said. But, our Airmen are absolutely top notch, completing the job professionally and making the mission happen. Although Zobrist said he has three priorities for Ninth AF, he considers his top two priorities to be on the same level in terms of importance. Our mission as a Numbered Air Force is to ensure the readiness of the wings for the current fight, he explained. So, thats my job -- to ensure our Airmen and the wings are ready for their current mission. However, equally important is taking care of our Airmen and their families. Im very passionate about taking care of our people, and that priority is not mutually exclusive of mission readiness, the major general said. In fact, taking care of our Airmen and their families really is an integral part of ensuring mission readiness. Zobrist said his third priority is to pave the way for Ninth AFs future as a deployable joint task force headquarters. This priority lines up with Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David L. Goldfeins strengthening joint leaders and teams focus area. Goldfein outlined the need for the Air Force to have the capability to field a deployable JTF headquarters in his October 2016 focus area paper and tapped Ninth AF to begin the process of giving the Air Force that capability. Were making a lot of progress as a team, and Im excited about what that will do not just for the Air Force but also for our joint partners and the combatant commanders, Zobrist said. Of course, theres a lot of work to be done to transform Ninth AF into the core of a joint task force headquarters. When operational, Ninth AF could be tasked to lead a JTF headquarters in a designated location, commanding operations as directed by the combatant commander. Ninth AF would provide the leadership and core functions of a JTF headquarters and personnel from other services would fill in the rest of the JTF staff. The idea is to reorganize, or remission, Ninth AF so it can continue to perform its organize, train and equip mission and be capable of deploying as the lead core organization for a JTF, said Col. Rhude Cherry III, the Ninth AF lead planner for the deployable JTF headquarters initiative. The question then is, how does the Air Force fill that lead role? By filling key billets with Airmen, providing the headquarters staffing function and then bringing in the joint force around it, you now become a JTF, Cherry said. With Ninth AF providing the operational piece of organize, train and equip for Air Combat Command, Zobrist said he likes to stay closely connected to the Ninth AF wings. The way I view that relationship is, its our job to support them -- I work for them, not the other way around, he added. Were continually looking for ways we can help the wings without slowing down their daily mission. Numbered Air Forces are the operational connectivity between Air Combat Command and its wings. Zobrist visited the eight wings in Ninth AF to meet with Airmen and see their mission firsthand as part of his duties as the commander. Weve got fantastic commanders at all levels -- squadron, group and wing -- and I have been very impressed with the leadership theyve shown, and how theyre focused on not just the mission but especially taking care of Airmen and families, Zobrist said. Commanders realize they have to enable the Airmen and their families in order for Airmen to complete their mission. Our Airmen and the wings are all extremely busy. There are a lot of challenges -- time is one of them, he continued. Theyve got a lot of different training requirements in addition to real-world missions. ... Despite all those challenges, they continue to get the mission done; that to me has been the most impressive part -- theyre finding smarter ways to do things to make the mission happen. While the wings complete their day-to-day mission exceptionally well, Zobrist said he saw room for improvement in the ability for the wings to rapidly deploy. For the last 25 years, the Air Force has been engaged continuously in multiple wars in the Southwest Asia region, and weve been routinely deploying on timelines known well in advance, he added. However, we have not honed the skills needed for no-notice deployments. Our wings can make it happen, but our processes, procedures and practicing those rapid deployments definitely need some improvement. Another area Zobrist said could use some enhancement is one that doesnt cost money -- unit sponsorship and key spouse programs. A units sponsorship program is the gateway to all the support our Airmen and families will need at their new base, and it costs zero dollars, he explained. Theres absolutely a requirement to get information to inbound Airmen and get them prepared for the new assignment. A good sponsor program, with personal involvement by the commander, can make that happen. Additionally, the key spouse program works hand in hand with the sponsorship program, as it welcomes the spouses and then ensures they have the support they need after becoming part of the squadron. A good key spouse program is vital to the family and mission because we all know we cant do our job without the families being taken care of, the Highland, Illinois, native added. In the end, both of these programs are the commanders programs -- its up to the commanders, not their teams, to set the conditions for the success of these programs. I make it clear to my commanders at all levels I expect them to be very involved in their Sponsorship and Key Spouse programs, and I hold them personally responsible for the programs success or failure. As the Air Forces mission continues to evolve, Zobrist said its important for senior leaders to understand policy and guidance should be written for todays Air Force -- one that has vastly changed from even 10 years ago. Our Air Force is organized very differently today. We have new mission sets, and it requires a change of mindset with how we issue policy and guidance, Zobrist said. The standard wing of the past, with three flying squadrons and one wing commander running the whole base, is now a rarity; non-traditional is the new standard -- multiple wings on one base, joint basing, air base wings, air-ground ops wings, remotely piloted aircraft and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance wings, total force, Air Force units on other service bases and vice versa -- very different from when I was a captain. And, todays leaders need to consider this new Air Force when we make policy and guidance. Zobrist said nothing makes this new reality clearer than seeing the Ninth AF units in person. Thats why we visit the units -- to find out, first and foremost, what the Airmen are thinking, and to understand their mission so we can advocate on their behalf, Zobrist concluded. Get AfricaFocus Bulletin by e-mail! Format for print or mobile Africa/Global: Transparency Setback, African Agendas AfricaFocus Bulletin February 7, 2017 (170207) (Reposted from sources cited below) Editor's Note In the world of large multinational corporations, secrecy is more than the rule rather than exception. Despite this reality, there have been some advances in recent years, including U.S. legislation and regulations requiring disclosure of payments by U.S. oil, gas, and mining companies to foreign governments. Last week, the U.S. Congress revoked this Security and Exchange Commission rule, a year before it was actually to be implemented. Although comparatively little noticed in comparison to the tumult around White House actions, this was an indication that the Republican Congress as well was determined to reverse even modest steps to fight corporate corruption and other similar abuses. In this context, the continuing Africa-wide campaign to curb some $70 billion in illicit financial flows from the continent becomes both more difficult and even more imperative. A timely new report just released on January 27 by six civil society organizations lays out specific steps that African governments can take to "accelerate the IFF agenda." The six include five African organizations (Trust Africa, Tax Justice Network-Africa, the Pan African Lawyers Union, CRADEC (Cameroon), CISLAC (Nigeria), and Global Financial Integrity (Washington, DC). This AfricaFocus Bulletin contains (1) a brief article on the U.S. congressional action to revoke the SEC rule on transparency for oil, gas, and mining companies, and (2) the full text of "Accelerating the IFF Agenda for African countries." For more information on the revocations of the SEC rule, visit https://thefactcoalition.org/press/news-releases/, http://www.pwypusa.org/category/press-releases/, and http://tinyurl.com/ze7rr6k For previous AfricaFocus Bulletins on illicit financial flows, corruption, and related issues, see http://www.africafocus.org/intro-iff.php ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ The Trump Election: Intersecting Explanations http://www.noeasyvictories.org/usa/trump-win-reasons.php Observations (third installment, Feb 7, 2017) Since the inauguration of President Donald Trump on January 20, the news cycle has been driven by the rapid pace of executive orders, tweets, and, most surprisingly, an unprecedented range of resistance to the assault on democratic values and rationality by the new administration. Although the debate about explanations for the Trump election have faded into the background, they remain highly relevant for the present and future, for evaluation of his questionable legitimacy, analysis of both medium-term and long-term strategies for resistance, and, at a deeper level, as x-rays or CAT scans to help piece together a deeper analysis of the history and driving forces underpinning the U.S. and global socioeconomic and political order. [Continued at http://www.noeasyvictories.org/usa/explanations.php] ++++++++++++++++++++++end editor's note+++++++++++++++++ Following House, Senate Axes SEC Oil, Mining Payments Rule Bloomberg BNA, February 6, 2017 By Rob Tricchinelli http://tinyurl.com/zxm2bs6 The Senate voted early Feb. 3 to revoke an SEC rule requiring oil, gas and mining companies to disclose more about their operations, two days after related House action. President Donald Trump can now sign the measure, which would negate the long-embattled Securities and Exchange Commission rule mandated by the 2010 Dodd-Frank Act and designed to fight overseas corruption. It was set to take effect in 2018 and force companies like Chevron Corp. to reveal payments to governments tied to resource development. Republican lawmakers are using the Congressional Review Act to kill the rule, which skirts the procedural requirement for 60 Senate votes. The vote broke along party lines, 52-47, with Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) not voting. Dodd-Frank Mandate While the CRA action negates the SEC rule, it doesn't strip away the Dodd-Frank Act provision mandating the regulation. This means the SEC is still technically required to craft the measure, even though a Republican-led commission is unlikely to act and Republican lawmakers are seeking to repeal that part of Dodd-Frank. Several Republican lawmakers said they want the SEC to craft a better rule. "It's time to go back to the drawing board and redo it," Rep. Bill Huizenga (R-Mich.), who sponsored the effort in the House, told Bloomberg BNA in a brief interview. Democrats slammed the move. "This bill puts Big Oil and its cronies ahead of transparency and accountability, and ought to be called the Kleptocrat Relief Act," Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) said in a news release. Try, Try Again The rule has a tortured history. The SEC's first attempt was struck down in a lawsuit by the American Petroleum Institute. The second attempt was prompted by a different lawsuit alleging the agency was dragging its feet in reproposing it. Oil, gas and mineral companies argue that the rule's compliance costs, which the SEC estimates to run in the tens or hundreds of millions industry-wide, outweigh its benefits. The rule's supporters counter that similar rules are already in effect in other jurisdictions without hampering the industry. They also say disclosures would reduce graft in mineralrich countries whose residents have low standards of living. "It is alarming that lawmakers would move to undermine American efforts to combat violent extremism abroad by rolling back this anti-corruption measure, which protects American companies and democratic interests around the globe," Clark Gascoigne, deputy director of the Financial Accountability and Corporate Transparency Coalition, said in a news release. To contact the reporter on this story: Rob Tricchinelli in Washington atrtricchinelli@bna.com Accelerating the IFF Agenda for African Countries January 2017 http://tinyurl.com/jf6ro5n Introduction Illicit financial flows (IFFs) are a large and growing problem for the African continent, with upwards of $70 billion in IFFs leaving the continent annually. African governments, intergovernmental organizations, industry, and civil society have come to understand the severity of the problem over the past few years. The following list of actions are meant to address some of the first steps in addressing IFFs. These actions are foundational, involving measures that can either be undertaken more quickly and easily in some countries where some of the processes and commitments may already be underway or measures that lay the groundwork for later reforms. The result is an Accelerated IFF Agenda that governments can use as a place to begin their work to tackle IFFs in their own countries, leading to greater domestic resource mobilization and growth, resources which will be critical in making progress on the Sustainable Development Goals of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and the African Union's Agenda 2063, the Addis Tax Initiative, and the Africa Mining Vision. In considering the items on the Accelerated IFF Agenda, it is important to remember two things. The first is that this should not be seen as an all-or-nothing agenda. Each of these measures is important in its own right and can be implemented independently of others, and governments may want to consider ways to phase in certain actions. For example, requiring country-by-country reporting of all multinational companies operating in the country is one option, but a government could instead require it only of companies operating in the extractive industries or in construction. Second, public involvement in helping achieve many of these aims can be of great benefit. For example, a team of computer science students at a university might be able to assist in the creation of an online registry for corporations. Civil society organizations, academics, the country's youth, and other parts of society want to help tackle IFFs for the good of their countries and their futures. Working with them can multiply the effectiveness of many of the government's efforts, as well as building confidence with donors, investors, and citizens. The Accelerated IFF Agenda Below is a list of fourteen measures governments can take in the immediate term to catalyze their efforts to combat IFFs. Brief explanations of each measure are included in the pages that follow. Create Governmental IFF Policy 1. Establish Multi-Agency Units within Governments to Address IFFs 2. Include IFF Accountability within the African Peer Review Mechanism 2.Promote Financial Transparency 3. Establish or Enhance Online Corporate Registries, Make Information Publicly Available, and Require Beneficial Ownership Information as Part of the Registration Process 4. Adopt the Open Contracting Data Standard 5. Require Disclosure of Beneficial Ownership Information from all Government Contract Bidders 6. Require Disclosure of Beneficial Ownership Information in Political Asset Declarations 7. Establish Government/Independent Measurement Mechanisms for Extracted Natural Resources Increase Enforcement Efforts and Powers 8. Adopt a Law Clearly Prohibiting Trade Misinvoicing 9. Establish Specialized Asset Forfeiture and Recovery Units and/or Advocate for the Creation of a Special Office of Asset Recovery within the African Union Tackle Tax Evasion and Avoidance 10. Join African Tax Information Sharing Networks 11. Establish Transfer Pricing Units within Tax Authorities 12. Require Public Country-by-Country Reporting by Multinationals Prevent Financial Crime 13. Mandate Rigorous Customer Due Diligence and Suspicious Activity Reporting Programs within Banks 14. Empower Strong and Effective Financial Intelligence Units (and create them if not yet established) Several of the actions identified above require that certain information be made available to the public. Countries may also want to consider adopting a more wide-ranging law, regulation or policy that provides the public with greater access to government information and data, often called freedom of information provisions. Additional Detail for Accelerating the IFF Agenda for African Countries Create Governmental IFF Policy 1. Establish Multi-Agency Units within Governments to Address IFFs IFFs affect all aspects of a country's economy, therefore approaches to curtailing IFFs must include agencies from across government, enabling agencies to come together to coordinate and to develop policy. Governments should consider establishing multi-agency units that include officials from various ministries or departments who specialize in: Financial intelligence and bank supervision Import administration Export administration Transfer pricing Income tax Natural resource exploitation National criminal investigations National criminal prosecutions Anti-corruption To ensure that these multi-agency units can function effectively, countries should ensure that laws are in place to allow officials from different agencies to share information within these multiagency units. Some African countries have begun to establish multiagency units, but they are often more narrowly focused on, for example, corruption or 'illicit finance' as described in the USAfrica Partnership on Illicit Finance. While we welcome the initiative to build on these existing multi-agency endeavors, we believe it is imperative that the scope of work for the units be broad enough to encompass the entirety of the IFF challenge. 2. Include IFF Accountability within the African Peer Review Mechanism and Open Government Partnership Commitments Countries should call on the African Union to include IFF-related questions on the African Peer Review Mechanism questionnaire. As a starting point, questions on this questionnaire could address each of the policy areas recommended in this document. In addition, African countries that are part of the Open Government Partnership (OGP) should include in their OGP National Action Plans commitments to carry out the action items identified in this document. This action would implement previous recommendations made by the UN Economic Commission for Africa's High Level Panel on Illicit Financial Flows from Africa, which were endorsed by the African Union in January 2015. The High Level Panel on Illicit Financial Flows from Africa is now a joint initiative of the African Union and the UN Economic Commission for Africa. Promote Financial Transparency 3. Establish or Enhance Online Corporate Registries, Make Information Publicly Available, and Require Beneficial Ownership Information as Part of the Registration Process Countries could look to legislation and regulation from early adopters like the United Kingdom and the Ukraine for models on how to implement these measures. In addition, a number of other countries have committed to establishing public registers or exploring their establishment and may soon have legislation that could be referenced in developing domestic measures. These countries include Bulgaria, France, Ghana, Indonesia, Jordan, Kenya, Netherlands, New Zealand, and Nigeria. This action would implement previous recommendations made by the UN Economic Commission for Africa's High Level Panel on Illicit Financial Flows from Africa, and the Human Rights Development Initiative, which was appointed by the African Union's African Commission on Human & Peoples' Rights to conduct a study on the human rights implications of IFFs. 4. Adopt the Open Contracting Data Standard The Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS) is a common data model that establishes a framework to enable governments to publish shareable, reusable, and machine-readable procurement data that is publicly accessible. While many countries have started to publish PDFs of procurement contracts, information provided in PDF form is of extremely limited utility. Adoption of a global data standard like the OCDS is not just an exercise in publishing procurement information. It enables governments to conduct assessments on the fitness of their procurement systems by examining the experiences and outcomes of other countries using the same standard. In addition, the OCDS is a mature standard, offering practical tools, expertise, and support to assist governments in adoption of the standard. The Contracting 5Colombia, France, Mexico, Ukraine, and the UKare implementing the OCDS, and Cote d'Ivoire, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, and Tunisia have included open contracting in their National Action Plans for the Open Government Partnership. Uganda developed an open contracting platform, the Government Procurement Portal (GPP), and continues to work to improve the system. This action would implement previous recommendations on open contracting and open spending made by the UN Economic Commission for Africa's High Level Panel on Illicit Financial Flows from Africa, and the Pan African Lawyers' Union. 5. Require Disclosure of Beneficial Ownership Information from all Government Contract Bidders Currently, the Open Data Contracting Standard does not collect information on beneficial ownership. To fill this gap, countries should require beneficial ownership disclosures for all bidders for and recipients of government contracts to help prevent sham bidding, bidding by persons barred from government procurement for past actions, and other forms of corruption in bidding processes. Such policies are already in place in Slovakia and could serve as a study for countries wishing to implement this recommendation. This action would implement previous recommendations made by the UN Economic Commission for Africa's High Level Panel on Illicit Financial Flows from Africa. 6. Require Disclosure of Beneficial Ownership Information in Political Asset Declarations Conflicts of interest may not be readily identifiable in asset declarations unless the beneficial owners of the entities included are known. Adding this detail to the asset declaration requirements can help identify where potential conflicts may arise in the individual's political work. The Ukraine has passed legislation requiring the inclusion of beneficial ownership of property information on its asset declarations, and Liberia has included making use of beneficial ownership information on asset declarations an element of its National Action Plan for the US-Africa Partnership on Illicit Finance. 7. Establish Government/Independent Measurement Mechanisms for Extracted Natural Resources Governments should independently determine or verify the actual volume of natural resources being extracted from the ground by mining and oil companies and not just rely on the volumes reported by the companies. Without independent verification of the volume of natural resources being extracted, it is impossible to determine if companies have in fact paid the correct amount to the government under their extraction contracts. Zambia has implemented the Mineral Value Chain Monitoring Project (MCVMP), which aims to independently monitor and facilitate the exploration and exploitation of mining and mineral value chains in the country. International support has contributed to the MCVMP effort in Zambia, including the Government of Norway, the European Union, and the Public Finance Management Reform programme. 8 Where the African Mining Vision and/or the African Mineral Governance Framework call for similar verification of the volume of minerals extracted, this action item could be implemented through those initiatives. This action builds on the strength of the OCDS and the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI), which track agreements and payments between governments and companies. Increase Enforcement Efforts and Powers 8. Adopt a Law Clearly Prohibiting Trade Misinvoicing Trade misinvoicing is the manipulation of the price, value, or quantity of a good on an international invoice in order to avoid taxes, move money, or evade capital controls. Of measurable IFFs, trade misinvoicing has historically represented and continues to represent the largest portion of IFFs. Though trade misinvoicing is a relatively simple technique to use, it is exceedingly difficult for government officials to identify. Moreover, the widespread, routine, and customary nature of its use makes enacting a law prohibiting the conduct essential in order to put business persons on notice and to empower prosecutors to prosecute the conduct when it is identified. Example of a model law criminalizing trade misinvoicing: Whoever, in relation to the importation or exportation of goods or in relation to the trade in services or intangible property, deliberately misstates, manipulates, falsifies, or omits a price, quantity, volume, grade, or other material aspect of an invoice for the purpose of (i) evading or avoiding VAT taxes, customs duties, income taxes, or any other form of tax or revenue collected by the Government; (ii) obtaining a tax benefit, export subsidy, or other benefit provided by the Government; or (iii) evading or avoiding [capital or foreign exchange controls]; shall be subject to a civil or criminal fine of up to [specific amount] [or imprisoned for up to [x] year[s], or both]. This action would implement previous recommendations made by the UN Economic Commission for Africa's High Level Panel on Illicit Financial Flows from Africa. 9. Establish Specialized Asset Forfeiture and Recovery Units and/or Advocate for the Creation of a Special Office of Asset Recovery within the African Union Asset forfeiture and recovery efforts deprive all types of criminals of the proceeds of their crime, providing powerful disincentives for crime in the first place. However, in order to be effective disincentives, these efforts must be consistent and efficient. Because they involve funds found in other jurisdictions, asset recovery efforts require specialized knowledge of foreign legal systems and mutual legal assistance treaties. Establishing units specializing in asset forfeiture and recovery ensures that all criminals face the potential for the loss of their criminal proceeds and improves the odds of a country recovering the funds because of the increased capacity and expertise that these units develop over time. Another approach would be to advocate for the creation of a special office of asset recovery within the African Union. This office could assist and facilitate asset repatriation requests among states, including the maintenance of a public list of funds requested for return and the status of such requests. Taking this approach could contribute to the implementation of the recommendation by the UN Economic Commission for Africa's High Level Panel on Illicit Financial Flows from Africa for the African Union to lead an effort to establish a global governance framework for asset freezing and repatriation. The African Development Bank has also committed to supporting a regional network on recovery of stolen assets in its recently adopted Bank Group Policy on the Prevention of Illicit Financial Flows. In addition, collaborative asset recovery approaches already exist. For example, Asset Recovery Inter-Agency Networks (ARIN) have been initiated in Southern Africa, East Africa, and West Africa. Tackle Tax Evasion and Avoidance 10. Join African Tax Information Sharing Networks Several African countries have signed up to the OECD-led Common Reporting Standard (CRS) for the international exchange of information about bank accounts held by citizens abroad in an effort to capture lost tax revenue. Access to this information is critical in identifying and pursuing cases of individual tax evasion because without the information provided by the foreign countries, the home country has no way of knowing which citizens hold taxable bank accounts abroad and must instead rely upon self-reporting by individuals. However, some African countries may have difficulty initially accessing the broader international system for automatic exchange of tax information because of how the system has been set up (with little input from developing countries). Despite this, the international framework could readily be adapted to establish exchange arrangements among developing countries, especially within regions. In fact, the African Tax Administration Forum (ATAF) is currently engaged in a pilot program facilitating automatic exchange of tax information among a number of African countries. In addition to enabling African countries to get this critical information sooner than may be available from developed countries, it offers countries the opportunity to demonstrate capacity to perform within these arrangements, making the country a more attractive potential exchange partner for developed countries down the line. 11. Establish Transfer Pricing Units within Tax Authorities Financial arrangements within corporate groups or among related entities are nearly impossible to observe from the outside and consequently are of high risk for manipulation. For this reason, transactions among these parties, referred to as transfer pricing, warrant special attention. Given the complexity of these arrangements and transactions, it has been found that forming units with highly trained officials to monitor these types of transactions yields the most consistent and effective results for tax administrations. This action would implement previous recommendations made by the UN Economic Commission for Africa's High Level Panel on Illicit Financial Flows from Africa, and the Human Rights Development Initiative. 12. Require Public Country-by-Country Reporting by Multinationals Public country-by-country reporting (CBCR) helps identify where transfer pricing investigations should focus. By requiring companies to provide basic financial information for entire corporate groups, disaggregated by country, tax administrations are better able to identify the risk of potential transfer pricing abuse and even identify jurisdictions of concern to help establish more sensitive risk management frameworks within tax administrations. African countries should require foreign multinational corporations (MNCs) operating in their country to provide their country-bycountry reports with their local tax returns and encourage those MNCs to make the information publicly available. Further, African countries should require MNCs headquartered in their country to prepare and publish country-by-country reports. This action would implement previous recommendations made by the UN Economic Commission for Africa's High Level Panel on Illicit Financial Flows from Africa. Prevent Financial Crime 13. Mandate Rigorous Customer Due Diligence and Suspicious Activity Reporting Programs within Banks The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has set the international standards for customer due diligence and suspicious activity reporting in their FATF Recommendations 2012 standard, Recommendations 10 and 20, respectively. Countries can look to their FATF-Style Regional Body (FSRB) for assistance in implementing and strengthening their laws and regulations in this area. This action would implement previous recommendations made by the UN Economic Commission for Africa's High Level Panel on Illicit Financial Flows from Africa, and the Human Rights Development Initiative. 14. Empower Strong and Effective Financial Intelligence Units (and create them if not yet established) Financial intelligence units (FIUs) are bodies that collect and, if given the power, coordinate intelligence on financial crime that results in IFFs. Creating FIUs where none exist, and giving them strong powers of coordination and information collation from different arms of government (possibly in a lead role in a MultiAgency IFF Unit (see point 1 above)), is critical to organizing and operationalizing counter-IFF measures. Additionally, connecting to the international network of FIUs, the Egmont Group, can help facilitate cooperation among FIUs of different countries. While most African countries do have FIUs, only twenty-two African countries have FIUs that are members of the Egmont Group. About This document is the result of consultations among experts on various elements of illicit financial flows, including: Raymond Baker - Global Financial Integrity, Washington, D.C., USA Jason Braganza - Tax Justice Network-Africa (TJN-A), Nairobi, Kenya Liz Confalone - Global Financial Integrity, Washington, D.C., USA Donald Deya - Pan African Lawyers' Union (PALU), Arusha, Tanzania Donald Ideh - TrustAfrica, Abuja, Nigeria Heather Lowe - Global Financial Integrity, Washington, D.C., USA Jean Mballa Mballa - Centre Regional Africain pour le Developpement Endogene et Communautaire (CRADEC), Yaounde, Cameroon Auwal Ibrahim Musa (Rafsanjani) - Civil Society Legislative Center (CISLAC), Abuja, Nigeria Crystal Simeoni - Tax Justice Network-Africa (TJN-A), Nairobi, Kenya We wish to thank the Swedish International Development Agency for their support of this project. AfricaFocus Bulletin is an independent electronic publication providing reposted commentary and analysis on African issues, with a particular focus on U.S. and international policies. AfricaFocus Bulletin is edited by William Minter. AfricaFocus Bulletin can be reached at africafocus@igc.org. Please write to this address to subscribe or unsubscribe to the bulletin, or to suggest material for inclusion. For more information about reposted material, please contact directly the original source mentioned. For a full archive and other resources, see http://www.africafocus.org Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) criticised the unlawful demolitions undertaken by the Brihanmumbai Muncipal Corporation (BMC) and eviction of licensed stall holders rendering them jobless. The Supreme Court and the Bombay High Court have protected the rights of street vendors and directed the Government of Maharashtra to make a Street Vendor Policy. Till such a policy is made and implemented no authority has the right to demolish licensed stalls, yet BMC, as well as other state authorities continue to demolish these stalls in violation of the Honourable Courts orders said AAP leader Preeti Sharma Menon. On 25th January, BMC Officer Sharad Ughade conducted an illegal demolition on Linking Road in which many stalls were demolished, materials and goods confiscated and resulted in the death of Ms Badrunissa. Bholanth Mishra lost his consciousness and Sayeed both still remain in critical condition. The Linking Road Street Vendors matter is sub judice and there is a stay on demolitions. However, in contravention of the Honourable High Courts stay on demolition, the Ward Officer along with the police of Zone IX led an assault on street vendors which has resulted in immense loss, including that of the life of a stall owner. The Mumbai Police has informed Activist Aftab Siddiqui who is leading the protest against BMC high-handedness that there are committed to providing 230 police personnel to the BMC for any demolition. AAP wants to know is the Mumbai Police a law enforcement agency or a law breaker? When there is a High Court stay on demolition how can Mumbai Police provide the muscle to the whims of any random BMC officer when he decides to break the law? Is the police meant to protect citizens or protect the illegal acts of government officers, asks Preeti Sharma Menon, AAP leader. Activist Aftab Siddiqui has also uncovered that in the last 15 months more than 4000 cases have been filed by BMC against H (W) ward. Clearly the BMC seems to be misusing its police protection to threaten and intimidate citizens. It has been alleged that the sitting MLA Ashish Shelar has warned the largely minority population of this Ward that he will teach them a lesson and this harassment by BMC and police is happening under his supervision. The BMC has a 100 crore beautification plan for Linking Road which has no approvals or sanctions, and it appears that Ward Officer Sharad Ughade and MLA Ashish Shelar are pushing this un-approved plan due to some vested interest, at the cost of citizens livelihoods and lives. Prime Minister Narendra Modi undertook a spirited defence of his governments policies including the demonetization drive in Lok Sabha on Tuesday and took a dig at Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi for his earthquake remarks saying the tremors reached Delhi finally. Without taking names, Prime Minister Narendra Modi targeted Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi punning on his December 9 threat of causing a proverbial political earthquake and his recent SCAM acronyms. Finally the tremors were felt. Mother Earth might have been upset. When they see service even in scams, Mother Earth becomes sad and tremours are felt), he said to loud cheer from Treasury benches. Both the Prime Minister and Rahul Gandhi had taken to wordplay yesterday at different political rallies in poll-bound Uttar Pradesh, trying to find suitable words for the acronym SCAM. Modi asked a crowd in Meerut to rid the state of SCAM Samajwadi Party, Congress, Akhilesh Yadav and Mayawati. Rahul Gandhi retaliated: for him SCAM meant seva, courage, ability and modesty. Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke at the Lok Sabha on Tuesday morning, replying to the Motion of Thanks to President Pranav Mukherjees address in the Parliament on January 31. In his speech, Modi attacked the Congress party, saying, We remember how democracy was under threat from 1975 to 1977, when Opposition leaders were jailed and newspaper freedom curtailed. Sharpening his attack on the Congress, he said the party glorified the role of one family in the freedom struggle and said they had neglected the contribution of others. There are many people like me who couldnt die for the nation during the freedom struggle but we are living for India and serving India, Modi said. Somewhere on the way, Jan Shakti (people power) was forgotten and we dont accept this. The Prime Minister also likened the demonetisation drive with the Swachh Bharat mission. Like Swachh Bharat, the decision of demonetisation is a movement to clean India from corruption and black money, he said. Taking a dig at the Opposition for politicising the issue of cleanliness and criticising the Swachh Bharat mission, Modi said, I was surprised that there were some who made cleanliness a political issue. Why cant we work together on ushering a Swachh Bharat, he added. [dropcap]I[/dropcap] am not surprised but wonder what must be the strength of Gujarats Hardik Patel, the leader of the Patel reservation movement and a major critic of the Narendra Modi government can lend any support to Shiv Sena in Mumbai? Uddhav Thackrey announced to media that Hardik may extend his support to Shiv Sena for the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) polls. Sena, which recently called off its alliance with the BJP and is contesting civic polls on its own, might rope in Patel to garner Gujarati votes, but that vote share is not as crucial as most of the Gujarati voters are loyal to Modi and BJP. Perhaps, this card may work for Gujarat but definitely not in Mumbai. For the first time in last twenty years, Sena and the BJP are contesting BMC polls individually and the Gujarati votes are a key factor in at least 40 of the 227 seats in areas such as Ghatkopar, Mulund, Borivali and Kalbadevi, among others. Gujaratis are the third largest community in Mumbai after Maharashtrians and north Indians. For the first time, Mumbai BJP adopted an innovative way to start its election campaign by seeking blessings of the Maratha King Shivaji Maharaj and giving a pledge to all its candidates at the fort on the outskirts of PMC. It also ensured that the party sends out a message of a united front by getting all its senior leaders, including guardian minister Girish Bapat, MP Anil Shirole and Sanjay Kakade, all legislators from the city during the launch of the election campaign. BJP also promised neat and clean roads in Mumbai. Potholed roads during monsoon season are a major issue faced by the city. The party banged on with tempting promises to Mumbaikars. There are thousands of posters across the city reminding each promise made by the chief minister. The campaign is at ground level and larger than life. Every effort is made to sustain with large majority and beat Senas dominance. The BJP is just walking their way ignoring every criticism by Shiv Sena. BJP would seek votes on performance of state and the Centre based on transparent and good governance. Actually speaking at the moment, the party has nothing much to score on the basis of merits, let it be state or centre but still there is huge hype and propaganda which can fetch good votes for it. Looking at the present scenario, BJP will not require help of any party for coming to power. The party is contesting all seats for the first time, except some allotted to alliance partner RPI (A), in the civic body. Their main rival in civic body poll is Congress and the NCP. On the allegations that BJP demanded Rs. two lakh each from all candidates, the state BJP chief said that it was a move to ensure that the candidates do not cross their expenditure limit of Rs. 10 lakh and the funds taken would be used by party for the overall election campaign. On the other hand, the NCP started its campaign by holding an election rally in central parts of city by exposing the BJP-led central government for its demonetization policy that whirled a nightmare for citizens. BJP is aiming high to grab power in the Pune on the basis of its performance in the 2014 Lok Sabha and assembly elections in which it won all the seats from the city. At the launch of NCPs election campaign, its leader Ajit Pawar slammed BJP over its performance at the state and the central-level. NCP wants public to elect its candidate on the basis of development work done by party in the last 10 years. The NCP has joined hands with the Congress to keep the communal parties away from power. The BJP and Shiv Sena are known for creating tension among different communities. Therefore, the voters should think before they cast their vote. This time BJP has inducted political leaders with criminal background and is promoting wrong practices in the elections. Congress is struggling to retain their own leaders, as many of their MLAs are joining BJP. Congress general secretary Gurudas Kamat, who had openly revolted against the partys Mumbai unit chief Sanjay Nirupam, had reconsidered the decision and was willing to campaign for the civic elections in the city. Over a thousand party workers including candidates from Mumbai North West, North East and South Central (constituencies) appealed to him to campaign for them. In view of the appeal, he has decided to withdraw the earlier decision not to campaign. Former Congress Mumbai unit chiefs Janardhan Chandurkar, Kripashankar Singh and senior leader Narayan Rane will also campaign for other municipal corporations and zilla parishads in Maharashtra but not in Mumbai. Right now, Mumbai Congress is divided between Kamat and Nirupam groups. Though, we cant ignore the fact that Congress possesses good majority and vote share in BMC elections. Lets see who rules Mumbai next. (Any suggestions, comments or dispute with regards to this article send us on feedback@afternoonvoice.com) Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis asserted that there is no threat to his government and it will complete its full term, a comment which came on a day when Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray said that its ties with BJP in the state are on a notice period. There is no danger at all to my government for (the) five years (term), the CM said replying to a query at a press conference at the city BJP office, where he released the partys manifesto for the February 21 BMC polls. This manifesto is an extension of Modijis vision, he said. Fadnavis also challenged the bickering ally in the state government, to tackle him first, before speaking about Prime Minister Modi holding a rally in Mumbai, ahead of BMC polls. (Tackling) PM is a distant thing. First (let Sena) tackle me, Fadnavis said responding to a question. Taking a dig at Modi for giving false assurances, Uddhav had yesterday said he was waiting for the PMs rally to be held in the city ahead of the BMC polls. I want to see Narendra Modi coming to Mumbai and campaign for BMC polls. I want to see Senas win after his rally here, Thackeray had said at a rally. On the meeting between Patidar agitation leader Hardik Patel and Uddhav in Mumbai, Fadnavis said, Look, whom one has to invite, after the ground slips from beneath their (Sena) feet. The manifesto, printed on a stamp paper-like document, promises to keep water tax rates stable, and also no levy of street tax on pothole-ridden roads. Roads will be washed with water, it says. Mumbai BJP president Ashish Shelar said the manifesto has been prepared after incorporating the expectations of common man in the city. Nobel laureate and child rights activist Kailash Satyarthis Greater Kailash residence was burgled on Tuesday morning with his 2014 Nobel Prize citation being stolen along with some other things. Satyarthi was not in his Alaknanda flat when the robbery took place. He is currently in the US attending the World Summit of Nobel Peace Laureates in America. According to the police, the theft was discovered by the staff of the social activist on Tuesday morning. The burglars entered the house breaking a window and a ventilator. The verification of the objects stolen is on. Among the things stolen is his Nobel prize citation, Deputy Commissioner of Police Romil Baniya said. Satyarthis original Nobel medallion is kept in Rashtrapati Bhavan since he dedicated his award to the country. Satyarthis son Bhuvan Ribhu, who is a senior Supreme Court lawyer, filed a police complaint after he found the front gates of Satyarthis house broken. An FIR under Section 380 (house theft) of the IPC has been filed. Police has initiated an investigation based on fingerprints lifted from the scene. All scrap dealers and local criminals from the area have been detained, a senior police officer said, adding, Fingerprints and other evidences have also been recorded from the spot. The burglary incident has created fear in the minds of Delhi residents as Satyarthis house is located in south Delhis posh Alaknanda area. Kailash Satyarthi, a childrens rights and education activist and the founder of the Bachpan Bachao Andolan won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2014, which he shared with Pakistans Malala Yousafzai. This is the second instance of theft of a Nobel memorabilia in India. The countrys first Nobel winner, Rabindranath Tagores medallion along with 47 other memorabilia were stolen from Rabindra Bhawan at Santiniketan in West Bengal. The theft came to light on March 25, 2004. The investigation was handed over to the Central Bureau of Investigation but the case has remained unsolved. The resentment against AIADMK Geneal Secretary Sasikala Natarajan is gathering steam every minute. Sasikala, who was elected the legislative party leader on Sunday, is facing opposition from several quarters on taking over as Tamil Nadu Chief Minister. While her swearing-in ceremony is caught in controversy, an online petition against Sasikala as Tamil Nadu chief minister on Change.org has garnered more than 1.5 lakh signatures. The petition has been titled as Dissolve TN govt and Stop Sasikala from becoming Tamilnadu CM !! The online campaign further asks O Panneerselvam to continue as Tamil Nadu CM. The massive response is sure to give jitters to Sasikala and her supporters. The petitioner Tamil Asaran PSR said Sasikala, with many money laundering cases (against her), should not be allowed to lead an Indian state. The petition Dissolve Tamil Nadu government and stop Sasikala from becoming Tamil Nadu CM has so far garnered 1,52,148 supporters. The petition will be delivered to President Pranab Mukherjee, Tamil Nadu Governor Vidyasagar Rao and the Chief Election Commissioners office. Late Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalithaas niece Deepa Jayakumar on Tuesday said she would definitely contest election. However, she said there is no need for her to contest in the same constituency where AIADMK general secretary V K Sasikala, who was elected as the leader of the legislature party, might be contesting. She said: It would be a sad day for democracy It is not fair for the people of Tamil Nadu There will be instability. She also said that moving court was not her primary objective. There are a lot of unanswered questions on Jayalalithaas treatment Doctors press conference was staged The press conference could have been conducted much earlier. We will announce future course of action on 24th February, she said. It is because of my athai, Jayalalithaa that I have come here. I want to complete the tasks left behind by her, says Deepa. I have been raising my voice against the serious circumstances that led to my aunts death. Apollo clarification was not satisfactory. The timing should be looked at, she added. Meanwhile, AIADMK leader Manoj Pandian Tuesday said Jayalalithaa never wanted Sasikala Natarajan to become the chief minister of Tamil Nadu. Jayalalithaa told me once that she didnt want Sasikala Natarajan to be the chief minister, Manoj Pandian said. He was joined by former AIADMK leader PH Pandian who strongly opposed the elevation of Sasikala Natarajan as the party chief and that she doesnt have the quality to be the chief minister of Tamil Nadu. I strongly oppose Sasikala Natarajans elevation, he said. Its because of blessings of late Tamil Nadu Chief Ministers Jayalalithaa and MGR that Sasikala Natarajans swearing-in ceremony didnt take place. He also demanded a probe on the reports that suggest Jayalalithaa was manhandled and pushed down before her hospitalisation. He also expressed that he hasnt been able to get over his sadness over the death of the former CM. Hardik Patel to be Senas chief ministerial candidate in Gujarat as the party plans to challenge BJP in its bastion. Shiv Sena has announced that Patidar reservation stir leader Hardik Patel will be the face of the party for the upcoming Gujarat assembly polls. Sena which until now had remained restricted to Mumbai and other regions of Maharashtra is keen to spread its wings in other states too for challenging BJP. Of late the relation between Sena and BJP has strained with the former giving hints of quitting the Fadnavis government in the state. By inducting Hardik Patel as Chief Ministerial candidate, Sena is trying to woo Gujarati voters who also comprise a sizeable chunk of Mumbais population. Even though Sena doesnt have a proper electoral base in Gujarat, the party is keen to make its foray into the state which has been traditionally known as BJPs bastion. After arriving in Mumbai on Monday Hardik had a meeting with Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray at his Matoshree residence. Later both of them jointly held a press conference. A tiger is a tiger and it doesnt need anybodys support. Maharashtra is a land of brave men and I have arrived here to meet amicable leaders. Shiv Sena is capable of contesting in Mumbai on its own strength and will pose a tough challenge to its rivals, said Hardik Patel. I have always been inspired by Balasahebs thoughts. His thoughts are inspiration for the youth. I am young and I have to learn a lot. I will support those parties which are keen to work for development, he added. Patel nonetheless ruled out campaigning for Shiv Sena despite supporting the party. Mr. Patel was recently in news after he vowed to make Gujarat a BJP- free state. Uddhav Thackeray said Shiv Sena will try to expand its foothold in other states. He said, After Goa and Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat could be next. If we contest in Gujarat, Hardik Patel will be our face. Politics will keep on happening but Hardik is our friend. When we make friendship we try to maintain it till the end. The Fadnavis government is on a notice period as on now. Chief Minister Fadnavis took a jibe at Sena and said, Sena has become insecure hence it is trying to woo Hardik Patel. However, Hardiks entry into Sena wont make any difference to BJP. Before challenging Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Sena should first try to tackle me. Of late Sena has been trying to shed its pro-Marathi image by wooing Gujarati and north Indian voters to counter BJP. The party also has issued tickets to many Gujarati candidates. Patel-led Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti (PAAS) has been fighting for reservation for the powerful Patel community under the Other Backward Classes (OBC) quota in government jobs and educational institutions for more than a year. A significant bid by the US in the UN for designating Pathankot attack mastermind Masood Azhar as a global terrorist has been stymied by China which has again opposed the ban against the Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) chief. The American proposal came barely weeks after Indias efforts to get Azhar banned by the United Nations were blocked by China in December last. According to senior government sources, the US, supported by the UK and France, moved a proposal at the UNs Sanctions Committee 1267 in the second-half of last month to proscribe Azhar. The proposal, which was finalised after consultations between Washington and New Delhi, said JeM is a designated terror outfit and so its leaders cannot go scot-free, sources said. However, China opposed the US move by putting a hold on the proposal, a source said, adding the Chinese action came just before the expiry of the 10-day deadline for any proposal to be adopted or blocked or to be put on hold. The hold remains for six months and can be further extended by three months. During this period, it can be anytime converted into a block, thereby, ending the life of the proposal. UN Sanction Committees listing would have forced imposition of asset freeze and travel ban on Azhar by countries including Pakistan. China has been constantly opposing efforts to get Azhar banned by the UN, which proscribed his outfit JeM in 2001. The Chinese opposition is also seen by many in New Delhi as an action taken at the behest of its all-weather ally Pakistan. After the attack on the IAF base at Pathankot in January last year, India in February wrote to the UN calling for immediate action to list Azhar under the Al-Qaeda Sanctions Committee. The efforts faced stiff opposition by China, which twice put a technical hold before finally blocking the Indian proposal in December. Reacting sharply to Chinese action, India had said that We note with concern Chinas decision to block the proposal to list Masood Azhar, asserting that its proposal, submitted to the 15-member 1267 Sanctions Committee of the UN Security Council, had received the strong backing of all other members of the Committee. External afairs sdpokesperson Vikas Swarup had also said, As a consequence of this decision, the UN Security Council has again been prevented from acting against the leader of a listed terrorist organisation. We had expected China would have been more understanding of the danger posed to all by terrorism and would join India and others in fighting the common challenge of terrorism. Aluminum, the adjuvant in most vaccines, is the largest and most powerful trigger of autoimmunity. Theres an entire book about it called, Vaccines and Autoimmunity , edited by Schoenfeld. There are hundreds of articles pointing to this issue. Thats just a small piece. A: The answer is an absolute resounding yes, [there are vulnerable kids out there]. We now know family histories and certain genetic risk factors that make you less able to deal with toxins, for example. If you have a strong family history of autoimmune issues, youre going to be more vulnerable to aluminum-containing vaccines, Q: I asked Dr. Thomas if were doing anything to protect children who may be susceptible to a vaccine reaction? I was able to interview Paul Thomas about vaccines, their link to autism, and what hes learned with his Vaccine Friendly Plan. On their website their position is clear: PIC is the first physician organization dedicated to safeguarding informed consent in vaccination. Doctors, several hundred doctors, are organized in their opposition to medical tyranny. I first heard about Dr. Thomas when I looked into a new medical organization called Physicians for Informed Consent, PIC . Just when it seems that our doctors universally back the CDCs ever-expanding vaccine schedule for every child in America, suddenly, we have a determined, courageous group of medical providers who say parents have rights over health choices for their children. By Anne Dachel It is my pleasure to introduce Age of Autism readers to Dr. Paul Thomas from Portland, Oregon . As Ive talked with Dr. Thomas and read about him, I cant help but be hopeful for the future. I have some amazing information in this article, so I invite you all to watch the Skype videos where he explains his views on vaccines safety and what has to change, and to share this with others. If you take folks, for example, who have just a real glitch in methelation pathways Some of the folks who are a little more knowledgeable have heard of the MTHFR enzyme If you are homozygous, meaning you got the C677 from each of your parents, your enzyme, your MTHFR enzyme doesnt work very well at all. And thats the enzyme that takes foliate to methelfoliateSo you have major disruption of your biochemistry if you have that genetic glitchAnd thats one of tens of thousands. Heres the complexity folks: We cant just say, Vaccine are safe and effective. because thats lumping tens of thousands of polymorphisms, those genetic glitches that make you more vulnerable to the environment. I think the misunderstanding when you start hearing GENETICS in the publics mind, when I hear that autisms genetic, Im thinking, Im hardwired; its hopeless. Oh well, I might as well vaccinate, Im going Theres nothing I can do about it. Nothing could be further from the truth. The truth is, the genetics theyre finding, ninety-five percent or more, its epi-genetics, these things like single type nuclei type polymorphisms that make you vulnerable to toxins, for example. So the first chapter in my book, The Vaccine Friendly Plan, is TOXINS, TOXINS, TOXINS, because its a lot of toxins. We know that herbicides and pesticides, and plastics, BPA, we know that flame retardants aluminum in vaccinesthese things are extremely toxic. And when youre pregnant, you have a body burden of toxins, some of which get shunted to your babyIts not your fault, moms. I always tell families in pre-natal, us guys are just as toxic, its just the world we live in. But babies are going to get a toxic hit in the womb. So when you say, oh well, they had genetics at birth, it always could have been toxin related. And it makes absolutely no sense to be injecting vaccines which contain toxins, and they all do, while youre pregnant. Talk about amplifying the toxicity! So its TOXINS, TOXINS, TOXINS, and then your babys born, and the first thing they do is give your baby a hepatitis B vaccine with a huge dose, 250 mcg. of aluminum, TEN TIMES THE MAXIMUM TOXIC DOSE, according to the FDA. [The FDA] has had an active policy up since 2000 stating not to exceed 5 micrograms/Kg/day of parenteral aluminum So yes, there are children who are more vulnerable. We need to do a better job of identifying them. Were not currently doing that, except a handful of informed families who get their own genetics screened ahead of time. And then they can come to an informed doctor, and those are few and far between, and say, Hey, am I at greater risk? And those doctors who happen to be aware, might be able to say, You know what, you have this family history, like a family history of autism, a family history of auto-immune issue, a family history Q: What should we be doing to keep our children safe? A: We need to do family histories, and then if you have the ability to do some basic genetic screening, and you have a doctor who can help you interpret that, this too would be important. I really think that the families that have a strong family history of autism, autism spectrum, other neurological issues like severe anxiety, severe bi-polar, schizophrenia, and all the auto-immune conditionsWere talking type one diabetes, were talking Hashimoto's thyroiditis, were talking rheumatoid arthritis, the inflammatory bowel diseasethe list is fairly long. If you have a lot of that in your family tree, or if you have the autism issues and other neurological things Ive talked about, you are at higher risk. I would love to see us getting away from the one-size-fits-all. And this is also where mandatory vaccine laws are just harmful. I mean youre literally forcing high-risk kids to take a tremendous risk withtheres really no need for it. I think what we have here is a huge fear: Oh my gosh, these epidemics are going to return, if we stop vaccinating. Some of that is based on this whole issue of herd immunity, and theres this concept out there that if we vaccinate enough people, and then nobody else will get sick. Well, that does possibly apply a little bit to a couple of them. I think measles and chicken pox for example, when youve had the vaccine, you usually need boosters, but you get a pretty high rate of immunity. That does cause some protection in the population. But for many of them, its a whole non-issue. You get no protection from having had hepatitis B or even the pertussis vaccine, whooping cough. People vaccinated can still transmit the disease. Its way more complicated than just do all these vaccines, and were all protected. We need to get back to real science-based decisions, and we need informed consent, and we definitely need to find ways of determining whos at high risk so that we dont put those poor kids at an even greater risk of having vaccine damage. Q: What was your reaction to the news that President-elect Trump has asked Robert Kennedy, Jr. to head a vaccine safety panel? A: I am thrilled. Now thats odd coming from a board-certified pediatricianbut it shouldnt be folks. Think about it. We have at the AAP, my Academy, the Academy of Pediatrics, and the CDC, Centers for Disease Control, whose mission is to protect the public from infectious diseases, and in the case of the Academy of Pediatrics, its to promote the well-being of children. What would be better than to actually put a commission together thats going to really dig into this? Because we know we have a problem. When I was a child, I knew nobody with autism. When I was in medical school, 1981 to 1985, I saw not one single case of autism. When I was in residency training, from 85 to 88, I saw a couple of cases of mild, what we used to call PDD-NOS, Pervasive Developmental Disorder-Not Otherwise Specified. None of these severe, rapid regression into autism, when you had had previously a normal child, lets say, at age one. And then in the 2000s, this just started exploding. So if youre paying attention CDC, AAP, you just need to open your eyes and acknowledge, first of all, we have a problem. I know theres attempts to say, Its not a real epidemic. Come on. When I give talks sometimes Ill ask a room full of peopleLets say theres 200 people, and Ill say, those of you who are sixty years and older, raise your hands if you grew up and knew someone growing up who had autism. Usually not a single hand goes up. I had one talk where one hand went up. Then Ill say, All right, for the rest of you who are under age thirty or forty, how many of you either have a child with autism or know a child with autism, and just about every hand goes up. It is not better diagnosis. Sure theres a little bit of that. We need to figure out why, and theres nothing better than putting some minds that are serious about digging into this. We just cant close our eyes, put our blinders on and say, Vaccines are safe and effective, end of story, weve looked at it, were done. You see the problem is, the IOM Report that said this has been studied, study it no further, that is the most unscientific approach Ive ever heard of, especially when you have an ongoing epidemic. Many of you may have seen the reports out of California, the kindergarteners last year, compared to the year before, there was a 17 percent increase in autism, just for the kindergarten class. This is not going away, its getting worse. So no, the science isnt settled. The time is now to look at it carefully. Whats needed is weve got to get William Thompson at the CDC to come testify. He said he would, and this group could make that happen. There are a group of researchers who are worried about the scientific integrity at the CDC. And then its time We have a million cases of autism this past decade, and it is growing at a rapid rate, and thats the tip of the iceberg. For every autistic kid, theres five or ten other kids with more subtle neurological issues: learning problems, anxiety, ADD, ADHD, and then all the autoimmune and immune system disruption that goes on. Weve got to look at this. If you dont like the idea, then youre not willing to get to the truth, because really its just the truth that were after. We all want safe vaccines, we want a safer way to protect our children. We want healthy children who are not damaged by what we are actually doing. In medical school they teach you about iatrogenic disease. If you see something new thats coming up in your population or in your patient, the first thing you think about is, Did I do something to cause this? Why is it that somehow with vaccines, we just cant look. Its like, No, were not going to look there; theyre safe. Nonsense. So this is the best thing thats ever happened, and I hope this goes forward because once the truth starts coming out, we can start unraveling this disaster that weve created. Q: What is the different approach to vaccination that youve outlined in your book, The Vaccine Friendly Plan? A: There is a schedule, I would call it a selective schedule, thats in that book, youre wondering why wont health officials or other doctors endorse that plan, or try it. Heres the problem: .a very close friend in medical school today, and they tell me that the vaccine issue is just: Theyre safe, dont listen to the anti-vaxxers out there. And of course, anybody who questions the CDC or questions the science, is categorically labeled anti-vaccine. If you question the CDC schedule, somehow youre anti-vaccine. Thats the problem. And theres this other issue. Many of you know of Wakefield. Andrew Wakefield [back in 1998] hed been publishing prolific [science]an incredibly intelligent man. Hed been publishing on issues of vaccines. Hes a pediatric gastroenterologist from England. He wrote that famous article. He was looking at the gut issues in autistic children and found that there was a much higher prevalence of vaccine strain measles in the lymph nodes of the autistic kids. So he published that literature, and wow, what a firestorm. He ended up after almost a decade of going after him, losing his license, and basically unable to practice medicine. So youll hear the term Wakefielded. Physicians are afraid. They are afraid that if they go up against the vaccine issue, theyre going to be ostracized, or potentially even lose their license. Dr. Thomas mentioned Dr. Bob Sears and his book. Hes under investigation for giving a vaccine exemption. That process that goes between physician and patient has gone under the microscope of the medical board in California. I can assure you, physicians are scared. I am a director on the board for PIC, Physicians for informed consent. One of the issues we hear over and over again, is that physician are scared to be public about their concerns with vaccines. So this a real issue. Q: Have you faced any repercussions because of you stand on vaccines? A: Its interesting. When youre in medical school, youre taught about all the safety issues, vaccines are safe and effective, and if you do anything to challenge that, youre looked upon as anti-vaccine. I am not anti-vaccine. I am pro-science, and Ive studied the science extensively over the last fifteen years. So Bob Sears came out with his book, The Vaccine Book, in about 2008, and he had several plans he had outlined in that book. He was immediately discredited by The Academy of Pediatrics. Both he and I are a member of The Academy of Pediatrics. Many people have heard of the termits now a new word probablywakefielded. In the medical community, he was ostracized and ultimately lost his license for going up against the vaccine/pharmaceutical industry. Theres real fear folks. Im one of the directors of PIC, Physicians for Informed Consent. We have over 200 members, were growing rapidly. There are lots of us who are concerned about vaccine safety with the current schedule. Were concerned about some of the ingredients in some of the vaccines. But it is very difficult to find physicians willing to be vocal and open about that. I welcome the RFK, Jr. commission that Trump is trying to put together to get at the vaccine safety issue and openness in scientific research. But back to my book, The Vaccine Friendly Plan. This is a pro-vaccine bookIts science-based. There are about 300 references, and theyre available on drpaulapproved.com. You can go to the reference link, and all the references are there, or at least most of them that I could get a hold of. You will find that there is good scientific reason to do a vaccine schedule thats different than [the one] that the CDC and the AAP are promoting. The easy examples are during pregnancy, weve never studied long-term outcomes for injecting aluminum into a pregnant mom, or giving flu shots to pregnant moms. We just dont have the long term data. The package inserts for those vaccines explicitly state that. So we shouldnt be injecting pregnant momsthats a no brainer. Another easy example is the hepatitis B. Less than one percent of moms in America have hepatitis B. Just removing that off the schedule is a no brainer. Its common sense. A layperson with a sixth grade education understands that, but somehow the CDC and the AAP, and most pediatricians are not able to. Let me explain a little bit why that might be. As a pediatrician, I am graded on the quality of the care that I give. Somebody has to decide what are the criteria by which we determine if this is a good doctor. So what are our quality measures? In pediatrics, invariably, vaccine rates are a quality measure. One of the health plans in our town for a few yearsI fought it and finally got that one removedbut for a few years, it was, how many of your two year olds were completely vaccinated? In other words, theyd had all twentyits been a while since I counted the total number, but a lot of vaccines. If youre using common sense, you dont do the hepatitis B for ninety-nine percent of the babies because theyre at zero risk. So my complete vaccination rate, its all or none, was less than one percent. So I am one of the worse doctors. So doctors are under this kind of pressure. Whether it be from the health plan or whether theyre simply afraid of their medical board coming after their license, they dont want to speak up, and thats a sad state of affairs. We should have open scientific inquiry, and Im hopeful that were going to head that direction with this new panel that Trump has suggested that RFK head up. As to The Vaccine Friendly Plan, we have data showing no new autism in the group that was studied. When I opened my new practice, Integrated Pediatrics, in June of 2008, So we did an informed consent process. Heres what youre supposed to do, which is the entire vaccine schedule, according to the CDC, heres what I would do if it was my kid and why. And you choose. I would say ninety-nine percent of the patients, once informed, for example, about the hepatitis B situation, chose to put it off. So that plan is outlined in my book. Its no Hep B at birth, youre going to do that closer to the teen years when theyre going to be at risk. In The Vaccine Friendly Plan, you dont do any vaccines if you have a strong family history of autism or autoimmune. You put off the MMR until age three. We have great data that giving the MMR at age three, just one shot, gives you ninety-nine percent chance of protection down the road. We have that data. We put off the Hep A, we wait on the chicken pox, and you only do one aluminum-containing vaccine at a time. So you still protect against pertussis, which can kill infants, The Hib and the Prenar that prevent meningitis, against these are small numbers, but we dont want to leave a child unprotected from meningitis. Those are given as well, but spaced out, so that you have the protection, but its a less toxic system. We had success with this. We closed the data set in February 2015. We had over a thousand patients who followed this plan, not a single new case of autism. You had to be at least two years and three months old to be in the study, so there was at least a chance that you would have autism have developed. The average age in the group was four years. No new autism. The second group unvaccinated, 238 children, not a single case of autism. They were hands down the healthiest kids. The third group, we had about 900 kids who were more heavily vaccinated, and we had fifteen cases of autism or autism spectrum, a rate of one in 60. Why wont people follow this other plan, The Vaccine Friendly Plan? All I can say is fear and ignorance. And honestly, we need more data anyway. Im not saying my plan is perfect. Im sure its not, but its certainly a start. Were going to have to start looking at long term studies to compare unvaccinated, that compare perhaps the vaccine-friendly approach and it compares the CDC approach. If its done with informed consent, it should be completely ethical. I have patients beating down the door to my office. We grew from 1,000 to 13,000 patients in the last seven years. Weve had waiting lists. We closed our practice for two years; we just couldnt absorb the volume. If youre a pediatrician, thinking oh, I cant do that, Im going to lose all my patients. Its the opposite. Families, as theyre waking up to this issue, want doctors who will honor informed consent and give them reasonable options. Youre going to have to educate yourself, because where I stood when I didnt know any of this information, I couldnt possibly recommend anything other than the CDC schedule. I was of that mind that those are the smartest doctors, they must know best. If you really start to think about it, and this was the last straw that broke the camels back for me, was back in the early 2000s, when they moved the hepatitis B from teenagers to newborns, and did it to everyone. It made absolutely no sense. It was sold to us maybe well develop a population thats immune to hepatitis B. We know thats not the case. Infants who get that series today are at a much higher risk for autism. We have that data in the literature. Infants who get this series as an infant have a 24 percent of being immune at age twenty. When do you need protection against hepatitis B? When youre twenty, right? We have an opportunity to do things better, and I urge you, if youre listening to this, if youre a parent, look into this. Dont just accept what youre being told to do by a pediatrician, family doctor, or a doctor who is not aware of all the studies. Read The Vaccine Friendly Plan, do your research, and were going to make a difference for America. Q: What are your views on the compensation program and the lack of liability on the part of doctors and vaccine makers? A: Heres my concerns. You just need to know that physicians have no liability for giving vaccines. In fact, theres movement going on, pressure from the pharmaceutical companiesoh, by the way, they dont have any liability either. Why? This is a product with known inherent risks, and theyre completely free of liability. Why would they make a safer product or spend the research dollars to make better vaccines? They dont have any liability, nor do the doctors, and the push across the country is for pharmacists to do vaccines. If we cant get enough doctors to prescribe them, if we just put ads on TV that scare you to go get this or that vaccine, you can just go to the pharmacy and get it. And they have no liability either. This is unprecedented that you can have a product that has, in many cases, very little efficacy. If you look at the efficacy of the flu shot, go to the CDC website and look up flu shot efficacy, and theres a table. For the last ten years, its around thirty, forty percent, sometimes lower. The Vaccine Injury Act only compensates people who qualify for certain predetermined known vaccine side effects. So you have to have literally an allergic reaction immediately after getting the vaccine generally to qualify. If vaccines trigger your child to become autistic, good luck. So youve got a lifelong damaged child, and its not recognized as a side effect of vaccines. Nor are any of the developmental delays, neurological damage Dr. Thomas then talked about the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System, known as VAERS. Ask your pediatrician, or your family practice or your doctor, How many VAERS reports have you done over the last ten years, or in your career? And whats embarrassing to me personally It could take weeks, months, or years to develop [a disruption of your autoimmune system], and you cant now go back and say, you know for sure it was this or that vaccine. The problem sometimes is the whole schedule. Dr. Thomas said that he doubts that VAERS even catches one percent of the cases of vaccine injury. He said that doctors dont even make the connection. Pediatricians, were probably the worst. Its not because were bad people We just were trained to believe that we were doing the best thing we possibly could for kids by giving them these vaccines, and we bought the story that theyre completely safe. Its just not so. Its very hard to pinpoint it to one vaccine or the other, hence the problem with our current system. Weve got to do research that looks at the whole health of the person. And thats why I say that when we compare unvaccinated to vaccinated, unvaccinated to selectively vaccinated, selectively vaccinated to fully vaccinated, well start getting answers. Until we do that, you cannot say that the research is settled, or that vaccines are safe. We need more data and were going to get it folks. The time is now. Were not turning back, were not looking back. Insist on more data, and until you have it, I urge caution when it comes to vaccines. I hope youll read The Vaccine Friendly Plan. I am very grateful to Dr. Thomas for daring to challenge the sacred dogma vaccines are safe, vaccines save lives. He knows that currently were putting millions of children at risk. Anne Dachel is Media Editor for Age of Autism. (Technical assistance, John Dachel) The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has finished its review of the Dakota Access Pipeline and will issue an easement under the Missouri River/Lake Oahe as early as Wednesday afternoon, but the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe has pledged to challenge the decision in court. The decision comes two weeks after President Donald Trump asked federal agencies to speed up their review of the crude oil pipeline that tribal and environmental activists have protested for months. In a memo called "Compliance with Presidential Memorandum" and dated Tuesday, a senior Army Civil Works official said he reviewed all the corps study of the pipeline and decided the easement was warranted. "I have determined that there is no cause for completing any additional environmental analysis," wrote Douglas Lamont, senior official performing the duties of the assistant secretary of the army (Civil Works) in a court filing. Lamont said his analysis justified reversing an earlier decision made under the Obama administration to explore alternative routes and conduct a full environmental impact statement. A notice terminating the study will be published in the Federal Register, according to filings in the federal court case between the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and the corps. Deputy Assistant Army Secretary Paul Cramer notified Congress Tuesday that the corps would grant the easement and waive its normal policy of waiting two weeks after notifying Congress to do so. The $3.8 billion crude oil pipeline, meant to carry oil from the Bakken to Illinois, has been at a standstill for months due to protests and court challenges from the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and its Native American and environmentalist allies. The tribe worries the pipeline puts its drinking water and sacred sites at risk. The company has said it is safe. On Jan. 18, the corps began collecting public comment for a full environmental impact statement regarding the pipeline easement. Shortly after assuming office, Trump signed a memorandum directing the agency to expedite its review. Lawyers for the company reportedly said in court Monday that construction would be completed in about 60 days and oil could be flowing in about 83. An spokeswoman for pipeline developer Energy Transfer Partners did not respond to an emailed request for comment on Tuesday. Following the decision, the Standing Rock said the tribe planned to sue on the grounds the EIS was wrongfully terminated. The Obama administration correctly found that the Tribes treaty rights must be respected and that the easement should not be granted without further review and consideration of alternative crossing locations," Hasselman said. "Trumps reversal of that decision continues a historic pattern of broken promises to Indian tribes and a violation of treaty rights." Standing Rock Tribal Chairman Dave Archambault II said, "The Trump administration yet again is poised to set a precedent that defies the law and the will of Americans and our allies around the world." The tribe also plans to hold a march in Washington on March 10 and will "seek to shut the pipeline operations down" if it is constructed, according to a release. Archambault is again asking supporters to advocate from home and not return to protest in North Dakota, where the state and tribe have been working to clean up the protest camps where several hundred people still live and protest the pipeline. "Please respect our people and do not come to Standing Rock and instead exercise your First Amendment rights and take this fight to your respective state capitols, to your members of Congress and to Washington, D.C.," he said. Protest organizers are calling for supporters to protest Wednesday in a "#NoDAPL Last Stand" at their local federal buildings, corps offices and banks financing the pipeline. "The granting of an easement, without any environmental review or tribal consultation, is not the end of this fight it is the new beginning," Tom Goldtooth, executive director of the Indigenous Environmental Network, said in a statement. "Expect mass resistance far beyond what Trump has seen so far." State leaders quickly applauded the Army's decision, heralding it as a win for energy infrastructure and expressing hope it would bring about the end of months-long protests in southern Morton County. "Our nation needs new energy infrastructure, which means we must have a process to build safe, efficient and environmentally sound projects like pipelines and power lines," Sen. John Hoeven, R-N.D., said in a statement. Hoeven also said he supports a review of the permitting process for future projects to ensure fairness and opportunity to be heard on all sides. "For the North Dakota families, workers and tribes who have felt the impact of the Dakota Access Pipeline conflict every day todays announcement by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers brings this issue one step closer to final resolution and delivers the certainty and clarity Ive been demanding," Sen. Heidi Heitkamp, D-N.D., said in a statement. Gov. Doug Burgum called the easement a "step toward the completion of this important infrastructure project" but said his top priority remained public safety and cleanup of the protest camps before a potential spring flood. We continue to support the Standing Rock Sioux Tribes request that protesters leave the area and go home. We also continue to ask for additional federal law enforcement to assist local and state authorities in peacekeeping and provide a safe environment for all North Dakotans until construction is completed, Burgum said. A journalist was arrested Wednesday while covering a pipeline protest for an investigative news outlet, in an incident she said was a shock that came while doing her job, but police say was the result of her disobeying multiple orders to leave private property. Jenni Monet, 40, was charged with two misdemeanors engaging in a riot and criminal trespass along with 73 others arrested as law enforcement cleared a short-lived camp on land authorities say belongs to the pipeline company but protesters claimed as treaty land. She was held in jail for about 24 hours before her editor could post $500 bond. Monet has covered the Standing Rock protests since September for the Center for Investigative Reporting, Indian Country Media Network, PBS Newshour and High Country News. A 2012 graduate of Columbia Journalism School, the Laguna Pueblo journalist rents a home about 30 minutes from the camps in order to cover the extended protests. She is a frequent fixture at the protest camps, tribal headquarters, Cannon Ball and state and police press conferences in the Bismarck-Mandan area. When Monet woke up Wednesday morning, she was not planning to go to the camps. But sources were texting her and saying police were likely to raid. "You need to be here," sources told her. She drove over and scaled the hill where dozens of people had set up a new camp with a sacred fire and a semi-circle of teepees. The protesters' idea was to move to higher ground on treaty land and stand, arms locked in resistance. After failed negotiations with protesters, police surrounded and scaled the hill in order to evict them. Monet said in an interview Monday that she met an officer, who asked her for a press pass then told her to step aside once she showed one. She hovered around the protest to take some notes and photos before turning to go back down the hill, she said. "I never felt like I overstepped my bounds there," Monet said. As she started walking down the hill, her head was full of impending deadlines and logistics. Then another officer approached her and said she had been told repeatedly to leave and was under arrest. Monet recalls telling the officer, as he fumbled with the flex-cuffs, "maybe you could just not arrest me. I'm a journalist, after all." "The minute Morton County knew I was a journalist, they should have just let me go," Monet said. "I wasn't there locking arms. I was walking away." Police put her on a school bus next to Chase Iron Eyes, charged with inciting the riot, to the Morton County Jail. There, she sat in a fenced holding cell for several hours and was met with some ridicule when she asked Capt. Dave Psyck for a phone call, she said. She was strip-searched or visually assessed, as Psyck calls it then moved upstairs to a cell with five other women. She said two of the women, both white, said they were not told to bend and cough, which raised concerns for her about racial bias within the jail. Monet's arrest has drawn the ire of national groups protecting journalists' rights and local advocates. (The) unlawful arrest of Native journalist Jenni Monet by Morton County officers is patently illegal and a blatant betrayal of our closely held American values of free speech and a free press, Bryan T. Pollard, president of the Native American Journalists Association, told Indian Country Media Network. "I could see how she could get caught up in a sweep," said Mark Trahant, a journalism professor at the University of North Dakota and friend of Monet. "What I don't see is, once it became clear who she is, the system should have kicked in." But law enforcement said they gave her a special opportunity to leave then treated her as everyone else in the jail. North Dakota Highway Patrol Lt. Tom Iverson said he met Monet on scene Wednesday and told her to leave at least five times. He said she was not able to produce a media credential when asked. Other media on scene were not arrested, because they left when told, he said. Later, he saw another officer arresting her. "I understand you're a journalist, but you're on private property and need to leave," Iverson recalls telling her. "If she's claiming she wasn't warned, that's absolutely not true." And Psyck defends her treatment at the jail as the best that can be done during a mass arrest. "Everyone is entitled to a phone call," he said. But when a 42-bed jail has dozens waiting in holding cells in garages, it's not possible to get them upstairs to a phone, he said. "One person's idea of reasonable and another person's idea of reasonable is a different thing." He also doesn't believe anyone was treated differently based on race or being a journalist: In so far as someone is in an orange uniform, they have undergone a strip search. "Like when Dave Archambault II or Chase Iron Eyes, any of these guys, when they came in," Psyck said. "Everyone else is treated the same as they are." Monet is not the first journalist to be arrested covering the Dakota Access Pipeline protests. At least seven others have been arrested in the course of their reporting. Amy Goodman, of Democracy Now, was charged with criminal trespass and rioting, but those charges were dropped. Aiken, SC (29801) Today Overcast with rain showers at times. Low 67F. Winds SSE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 50%.. Tonight Overcast with rain showers at times. Low 67F. Winds SSE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 50%. Emerson, a manufacturer of ASCO fluid automation products, plans to expand its operations in Aiken County. Hiring for the new positions is already underway. ASCO is located at 1561 Columbia Highway in Aiken. FILE - In this Jan. 31, 2017 file photo, Supreme Court Justice nominee Neil Gorsuch speaks in the East Room of the White House in Washington. In a decade as a federal appeals court judge, Gorsuch has criticized courts for giving too much power to government agencies that enforce the nations labor and employment laws. He's also backed curbs on some class-action lawsuits as lawyer in private practice. A California man was arrested on Feb. 1 after police found about three pounds of marijuana in his car during a stop at the Fort Rice checkpoint on the closed portion of the N.D. Highway 1806 in Morton County. Douglas Dias, 29, and his girlfriend, Jennifer Green, 37, also of Santa Rosa, Calif., were charged on Thursday with possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver, a felony with a maximum of 20 years in prison. According to North Dakota Highway Patrol, police found more than $7,000 cash and three high-capacity magazines for AR-15-style rifles in the car. Dias reportedly told police he was headed to the Prairie Knights Casino. In court Thursday, Dias and Green told the judge they were in North Dakota on vacation visiting friends. South Central District Judge Cynthia Feland set bond at $5,000 cash for each of them. Both have been released on bond, according to the Morton County Detention Center. They are required to stay within Burleigh and Morton counties. Family members who have just arrived from Syria embrace and are greeted by family who live in the United States upon their arrival at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York, Monday, Feb. 6, 2017. The Senate Appropriations Committee last week decreased funding for prizes at the North Dakota State Fair. The vote provided insight into the budget-making process and signaled a potential conflict over key budget issues. The executive budget proposed cutting prize funding by about $35,000. After discussion, the committee decided a $17,000 cut would suffice. The cut would be a pretty good lesson for young people, Sen. Bill Bowman, a Republican from Bowman, argued. Youth who enter their livestock, vegetables and crafts at the fair would share the pain of budget cuts along with other North Dakotans. There was a lesson about legislative process, too. Sen. Larry Robinson, a Democrat from Valley City, argued that the Senate should include the money as a kind of bargaining chip. If we take it out, well never see it again, he said, because the bill would be overlooked in the crush of legislative business. He and the committees other Democrats voted against the cut. The committees Republican members unanimously favored it -- but not without argument. Some asked: Why should the state provide money for State Fair prizes? That should come instead from local sponsors of the fair, which takes place in Minot each July. This brought a response from Sen. Karen Krebsbach, R-Minot, the State Fair city. Only about a third of funding for the fair comes from the state, she said. The rest comes from money raised by the fair, much of it through admission prices, and from Minot and Ward County. Theres a political lesson there: Protect your turf. Democrats on the committee sent a different kind of signal. They didnt object to the governors suggestion of eliminating pay raises for fair employees. There was a trade-off here. The bill did not include Gov. Doug Burgums suggestion that state employees pay 5 percent of the cost of health insurance. Instead, the bill continues state funding at 100 percent. So the bill signaled the position of the Senates Republican majority on the key issues of employee pay and benefits, and it suggested that Democrats wont resist the salary caps if benefits remain intact. This sets up a potential confrontation between budget writers in the House and Senate. House Republican leader Al Carlson of Fargo has argued in favor of shifting some costs of health care coverage to employees. Middle Eastern Christians Feel Betrayed By American Christians On January 27, President Donald Trump signed an executive order temporarily halting immigration from certain Muslim countries. Contrary to the mainstream media's narrative, these countries had previously been singled out by the Obama Administration as terrorist risks. The text of Trump's executive order provides for exceptions for those who are "religious minorities" in their country of origin. Trump said in an interview that he wants to make persecuted Christians a priority; he wants to help them. Many Christian conservatives I follow on Twitter were quick to cry out, "What about the Muslims?!" The New York Times jumped at the chance to tell the world that Christian leaders have denounced the president's plan to favor Christian immigrants. The reaction of American Christians betrays Middle Eastern Christians; they are exhibiting a simplistic understanding of loving your neighbor, and a disregard of one of God's commands. In his letter to the Galatians, the Apostle Paul encouraged the Christian brethren to bear one another's burdens; his instructions are for those in the family of God. He instructed them thus: "So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all men, and especially to those who are of the household of faith." He revisited this command in 1 Timothy 5:8: "If any one does not provide for his relatives, and especially for his own family, he has disowned the faith and is worse than an unbeliever." Scripture enjoins us to take care of not only our personal families, but the family of Christ; other Christians -- those called brethren. American Christians of all denominations are right to "love the sojourner" (Deuteronomy 10:19), but I would like to remind my fellow believers that Scripture tells us to especially care for those "who are of the household of faith." As Christians, we don't get to cherry-pick verses to push a particular agenda. Our duty is to God first -- taking his full counsel and staying away from simplistic attitudes that manipulate religion to fit a particular ideology. In less than a decade (2004--2011), the Chaldo-Assyrian Christian population in Iraq was reduced from more than a million to approximately 150,000 people. Michael Brendan Dougherty elaborated on that in his gut-wrenching article at The Week. If you have not already done so, I highly encourage you to spend some time ruminating on that piece. Dougherty quoted a Christian shopkeeper: "Tell the EU and the Americans that we sent you Saint Paul 2,000 years ago to take you from the darkness, and you sent us terrorists to kill us." In God's providence, we now have a leader in Trump, who seems to want to do something decent and good for persecuted Christians in the Arab world. But instead of celebrating and encouraging a better executed plan of action, their brothers and sisters in America shouted across social media, "What about the Muslims?!" There was a time when America showed itself fully capable of protecting its Christian brethren. The Barbary pirates used to capture Christians and sell them in the Ottoman slave market. America paid ransoms and used the new U.S. Navy to rescue the Christians. Elliott Abrams, in his Weekly Standard piece "Why Do We Not Save Christians?" recounted this early 19th-century conflict in the Barbary Wars. Today, American Christians have lost that sense of duty toward their brethren in other parts of the world. This is due partly to the comfortable individualistic culture in our country, and partly it is a subtle -- possibly even unconscious -- belief that it is more righteous to help those who are unlike us. Abrams wrote, Today, Christians are under special threat in the Middle East. The possibility that Christian refugees will be able to go home and reconstruct their communities and lead normal lives is far lower than are the chances for their Muslim neighbors. The level of continuing discrimination and physical threat against them is high, and in Syria and Iraq they will always constitute tiny and powerless groups. The argument for reaching out to rescue Christian refugees and those from other threatened religious minorities is clear: They are worse off than their Muslim neighbors. They face special circumstances, of which we should in all fairness take account. To turn away from them because they are Christian and we do not wish to be accused of favoritism toward Christians is a shameful position for Americans -- Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist, Hindu, atheist -- to take. Christians have a special duty to care for and protect their brethren. Any opposing opinion is wrong, misguided and contrary to Scripture. Furthermore, the responsibilities of private individuals and governments differ. Understood correctly, the concept of turning the other cheek is a good practice for Christian citizens, but it is a very poor and highly dangerous foreign policy. The American project began with Christian minorities' coming to this new world; the precedence of our country's history is one showing that previous generations of Christians in this land knew they had an obligation to protect those in the family of faith. There's a sickness in the Arab world. A fury so wild and deep no one knows how to stop it. It is a desire to destroy and subject everything which is other; everything that is not itself. More often than not, it is the minorities -- especially Christians -- who are the other on which this fury is unleashed. Middle Eastern Christians feel betrayed by our Christian brethren here, and are persecuted and killed there. Is there no place on earth for us to live in peace and dignity? Will no one look with pity on us? Must we be continually cast aside for expediency, greed or political correctness? People who reject their own will not survive. In the end, it doesn't have to be an either/or situation. There are good, conscientious and robust answers to the quagmire in which we find ourselves. We must also remember that there are Christians and other minorities who want to stay in their ancestral homeland. I'm in full agreement with The Philos Project Executive Director Robert Nicholson, who said, "Any executive or legislative measure designed to get minorities out of region should be paired with a companion measure to help people stay." Ideally, there should be an ongoing and thriving Christian presence in nations across the Levant and the entire Middle East, but that is not happening right now, nor perhaps will, in this generation. We can and ought to be making plans to facilitate such a world, but in the meantime, there is a trickling genocide from which our brethren need relief. But even with Trump's executive order, Christians may not get relief. Lymon Stone, in "Here's What Trump's Immigration Order Says And How It Needs To Be Fixed," offers thorough analysis of the executive order, showing that -- as the EO stands right now -- it may effectively reduce Christian refugees even further. So all of the fuss over any kind of priority for Middle Eastern Christians may be moot. Which makes American Christians' participation in this outcry even more offensive. I plead with American Christians to stop betraying their Christian brethren in the Middle East. Your stance on this does not help anyone. No one is asking you to stop having compassion for non-Christian refugees. As an Iraqi Christian, I ask that you take pity on your fellow Christians. Begin with charity for them. Work for better immigration laws and a more thorough vetting process. Part of improving the situation for all refugees means taking the time to learn about Da'Wah, the process of Islamization, so that we can all work together to ensure it doesn't happen in our country. And finally, let us all work to heal our internal discord. February 7, 2017 A new Egyptian film is combating the Islamic State's ideas and dogma with comedy. The movie El-Armoty in the Line of Fire tells the story of a group of young Egyptians who are captured by IS. The hero of the film tries to save his friends in a series of humorous events. The film, starring comedy actor Ahmed Adam, was written by Mohammad Nabawi and Alaa Zenhom and directed by Ahmed al-Badri. It was released Jan. 25 in Egyptian theaters and made 2 million Egyptian pounds ($106,383) within a week. Adam said in a Jan. 23 interview with CNN Arabic, The movie is an attempt to document what the Arab world is currently going through and tries to make new generations understand the meaning of a scheme and the true meaning of Islam. Islam for those who speak in its name is merely a tool to serve their interests. These are mercenaries who received treatment in Israel only to go back and fight in Syria. Israel has been hitting Syria and we remain silent. Before, we used to talk about Arab unity. Now we pray for God to unite us within one country. In an interview on Dream TV's "10 p.m." show Jan. 26, Adam said that he has been receiving threats from IS over Facebook, prompting him to hire a bodyguard. In another interview with the Egyptian al-Bawaba News on Jan. 20, Adam said, The movie carries many messages in a humorous context in order to be easily relayed to the different communities and people of all ages. It also reassures Egyptians not to worry about IS. The Egyptian people do not fear these groups, as the city of Port Said was able to face three major countries on its own during the Tripartite Aggression against Egypt and was ultimately victorious. Egyptians will definitely not fear a bunch of armed factions. He added, The movie also stresses an important message that terrorism does not stem from an ideology or a thought. It is created to serve interests and lead to financial profits. [Many] IS members are non-Arabs, as the film shows. Terrorism is a bloody yet profitable business for some. We noticed that most of the mercenaries are foreigners and non-Arabs. Adam criticized the American movie industry for not producing movies on IS, saying that making films about IS and other extremist groups helps reduce fears of such groups, which have committed gruesome massacres that bring to mind the atrocities of the Middle Ages. Screenwriter Nabawi said in a press statement Jan. 22, The films premise is one that interests the entire world. Young people are being brainwashed by terrorist groups and we are sounding the alarm on this issue. Many young people have fallen prey to the terrorist scheme. People who watch the movie will see how we addressed this issue in a humorous context. Film critic Tarek el-Shennawy told Al-Monitor, The movie is a satirical caricature of IS and its main objective is to expose terrorism that is using religion as a cover. Most scenes take place in Libya, where there are numerous parties that claim to be defending religion, and establishing an Islamic state. Shennawy added, The state has got to produce movies about IS and its extremism but in an artistic, deep way, targeting the notions of extremisms among young people. Cinema is the easiest way to access minds but most importantly, the artistic work should be good enough to deal on a more serious level with extremist dogmas promoted by extremist organization such as IS, which adopts methods that are even more barbaric than the ones adopted by al-Qaeda. Shennawy expects the global film industry to become interested in producing movies about IS in the near future, noting, It is an artistic material targeting a worldwide phenomenon that the entire world is concerned about. Art critic Majida Maurice told Al-Monitor, 'El-Armoty in the Line of Fire' is a satirical movie about IS. Satire attracts audience more than realism does, especially when the subject is a critical issue such as the extremist ideology of a barbaric group like IS. The audience sometimes avoids serious pieces about this group because it is hard to accept reality, so people escape it and lean toward satirical work. She added, IS and its barbaric actions concern Egyptians in light of the incidents that occurred in Egypt for which IS claimed responsibility. Terrorism is the biggest issue facing Egypt. Maurice also called on the Culture Ministry and the film industry to give more attention to producing artistic works that address extremism and terrorism and expose the reality of extremist organizations from within. Although Egypt is one of several countries suffering from IS attacks, such as the December bombing of the St. Peter and St. Paul Church in Cairo, the Egyptian film industry has never before explicitly addressed IS and its operations in Egypt. February 7, 2017 GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip In a phone interview with Al-Monitor, deputy head of Hamas political bureau Mousa Abu Marzouk revealed that some countries without specifying which ones had contacted the movement to discuss the issue of Israelis being detained in Hamas jails. According to Abu Marzouk, the movement stressed that Israel should respect the 2011 Gilad Shalit prisoner exchange deal first by releasing about 50 Palestinians it rearrested after freeing them as per the deal, before Hamas could talk to mediators about releasing new Israeli detainees. Speaking about the Hamas delegations latest visit to Cairo Jan. 23, Abu Marzouk said the topics discussed were mostly related to the Palestinian internal reconciliation, the political situation in the region, the international situation, US policy toward the Palestinian cause and the Rafah crossing. The delegation also talked about Egypt providing the Gaza Strip with its various needs, including electricity. He said that Hamas is currently on good terms with Egypt. Abu Marzouk was born on Feb. 9, 1951, in the city of Rafah in southern Gaza, and he currently resides in Qatar. He is married and has six sons. He received a doctorate in industrial engineering from Louisiana Tech University in 1992 and during his stay in the United States, he contributed in founding several institutions and committees to help the Muslim diaspora in the United States and promote the Palestinian cause, such as the Islamic Center of Fort Collins, Colorado. Abu Marzouk was one of the founders of the Hamas movement in 1987 and served as the first head of its political bureau in Jordan in 1992 after returning from the United States. He was expelled by the Jordanian authorities in 1995 after Hamas office in Amman was shut down. He returned to the United States where he was arrested by US authorities in July 1995 and detained for 22 months with no formal charges placed against him. In 1997, he was released and deported by US authorities to Jordan, after which the latter expelled him again in 1999. He then settled in Syria for a while before moving to Qatar. The text of the interview follows: Al-Monitor: How do you assess Hamas relationship with Egypt? What were the issues discussed during the Hamas delegations visit to Egypt on Jan. 23? Abu Marzouk: We are on good terms with Egypt. We have overcome most thorny issues that disrupted constructive communication between us in the past. This reflected on the political and media discourse on the Egyptian part, as well as the ever-improving policies adopted on the ground. We also discussed the [Hamas-Fatah] reconciliation, the political situation in the region, the international situation, US policy toward the Palestinian cause, the Rafah crossing and providing Gaza with its various needs, including electricity. Al-Monitor: On Jan. 26, Egyptian newspaper Gate Ahram quoted you as saying [article has been removed since] that a joint security committee had been formed between Egypt and Hamas to hand over some wanted individuals in Gaza. Is this true? Does this mean you accept security cooperation with Egypt against the Islamic State in the Sinai Peninsula? Abu Marzouk: I will tell you the same thing I told Gate Ahram. It is not in our best interest to harm the Egyptian security when we are suffering from the situation in Sinai more than Egypt is. The Egyptian security authorities gave us documents about wanted individuals in the Gaza Strip, whose number is not significant, and handing them over is [so far] out of the question. However, security officials in Gaza will meet with their Egyptian counterparts to study each case individually. On that note, we do not interfere in Egypts security affairs in any way. The Gaza Strip will not be a place of refuge or passage for individuals who aim to harm Egypt. Our weapons are only pointed at the occupation, and we have no interest in changing this policy. Al-Monitor: Has any international party contacted you regarding the bodies of Israeli soldiers and detainees held in your prisons during the 2014 war on Gaza? What are your conditions to start negotiating a prisoner exchange deal? Abu Marzouk: Indeed, a number of countries contacted us in this regard and we made it clear that Israel should respect the Gilad Shalit prisoner exchange deal first before we can start negotiating a new one with any mediator. There is no point in concluding new deals if the previous ones are not respected. Al-Monitor: Do you expect [Palestinian factions] to form a new government of national unity, which you have agreed upon with all Palestinian factions at the Beirut and Moscow meetings in January? Abu Marzouk: We hope so. We support forming a government of national unity because it is crucial for holding presidential, local, parliamentary and Palestinian National Council [PNC] elections. We need one government to oversee both the Gaza Strip and the West Bank [as Hamas considers the 2014 consensus government to be biased and controlled by President Mahmoud Abbas]. We need a unified judiciary, a unified law and unified institutions. We are well-aware that the elections are the base of reform and vitality within the PNC in its new form, which should include all the components of the Palestinian people. Al-Monitor: What do you think about Minister of Local Government Hussein al-Araj announcing that the local elections will be held in May 2017 without consulting with all factions first? Abu Marzouk: He has no right to do this and he will not succeed in doing what he intends to do. The [Ramallah] government had already started [preparing] to hold elections but did not go through with them, so why insist on failed attempts? Everyone should participate in fixing the Palestinian internal situation; we should achieve national unity and end the division first, and then we can move to other issues. Al-Monitor: How does Hamas perceive the new US administration headed by Donald Trump? Abu Marzouk: The new US administrations duties have just begun on Jan. 20 and its policies are yet to tackle the Palestinian cause. We cannot judge how its policies would be based on the electoral campaigns. President Trumps commitment during his electoral campaign to move the US Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem is now less apparent. Hamas would rather wait and see how Trump will handle the Palestinian issue before judging him and his policies. However, some recent appointments in Trumps team warn of future problems and a tendency to lean more toward [Israel], which means the United States cannot be a fair mediator. Al-Monitor: Will Khaled Meshaal, the head of Hamas political bureau, occupy a [new] position in the movement following the movements internal elections that started Feb. 3? Abu Marzouk: Hamas has always held its internal elections every four years. These elections take time, but it is only normal since we [the movements leaders] are in different countries and it is not so easy to communicate with one another. As for Meshaal, even if he is not present in person, he will always have a role. He is present at the core of the movement, its councils, leaderships and his contributions will never disappear nor will his efforts ever be in vain. Al-Monitor: How would you describe your relationship with Iran? Will [senior Hamas leader] Ismail Haniyeh or Meshaal visit Tehran anytime soon? Abu Marzouk: There are no arrangements for a visit, but our relationship with Iran is good and always improving. February 7, 2017 Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has reacted to US President Donald Trumps recent string of warnings to Tehran. On Jan. 29, Iran test fired a ballistic missile. The launch raised eyebrows in Washington, with US National Security Adviser Michael Flynn and Trump stating in response that they have officially put Iran on notice. Moreover, in a series of tweets, Trump warned Tehran not to play with fire. Iran has, however, sought to brush off the warnings by holding military exercises on Feb. 4 in which different types of missiles and radar systems were tested. On Feb. 7, for the first time, Khamenei responded to the Trump administrations warnings. Trump says fear me! No. The Iranian nation will respond to your comments with a demonstration on Feb. 10: They will show others what kind of stance the nation of Iran takes when threatened, said Khamenei. This year, the anniversary of the 1979 Islamic Revolution falls on Feb. 10. Iranians usually march on the street to mark the downfall of the shah. Noting Trumps tweet that Iran doesn't appreciate how kind President Obama was to them, Khamenei said, The new US president says thank Obama! Why?! Should we thank him for Daesh [Islamic State], the ongoing wars in Iraq and Syria, or the blatant support for the 2009 sedition? He was the president who imposed crippling sanctions on the Iranian nation; of course, he did not achieve what he desired. No enemy can ever cripple the Iranian nation." Iran faced unprecedented unrest following the 2009 presidential election, which saw Mahmoud Ahmadinejad re-elected by a landslide. Khamenei believes that foreign powers, including the United States and Britain, were behind the unrest, calling it sedition. The supreme leader, who was addressing commanders of the Islamic Republic of Iran air force, further in effect thanked Trump for making it easier for him to reveal the real face of the United States. Khamenei said, What we have been saying, for over 30 years, about political, economic, moral and social corruption within the US ruling establishment, he [Trump] came out and exposed during the election campaigns and after the elections. He added, Now, with everything he [Trump] is doing handcuffing a child as young as 5 at an airport he is showing the reality of American human rights." After Trump signed an executive order on Jan. 27 to ban the entry of citizens of seven Muslim-majority countries including Iran a news story surfaced about the handcuffing of a 5-year-old boy at Dulles Airport, who was called a security threat by the White House. Khamenei continued, If we use wisdom and prudence along with trusting the Satan [the United States], the result will be a mirage. In any matter, including diplomacy and the countrys problems, it is true that trusting demons and the materialistic power, which oppose your essence, leads to a mirage. It is noteworthy that during the nuclear talks with six world powers, which resulted in the July 2015 nuclear deal, Khamenei repeatedly stated that he was pessimistic about the outcome of the agreement and reiterated to Iranian negotiators that they shouldnt trust the United States. In other news, on Feb. 7, an extensive interview with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif was published in the moderate Ettelaat newspaper. Responding to a question about the destiny of the nuclear deal, or Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), Zarif stated, I think the Americans neither could get a better deal nor will get a better one. In this vein, he added, I believe it is possible that Trump will try to renegotiate the JCPOA. It is clear that neither Iran nor the Europeans will accept the renegotiation. The international community will also not accept this. Mentioning Trumps description of the nuclear deal as the worst deal in history, Zarif said, We have difficult days ahead, though we havent had easy days during the past year [either]. We went to the negotiation table to get each one of our rights, and we will do the same again. Referring to the US governments policies after the 9/11 attacks, Zarif warned, If Mr. Trump tries to have the same radicalism, the Americans themselves will have to pay the ultimate price. February 7, 2017 The statement by White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer put an end to the euphoria of Israels right-wing sector. Formerly, the right had thought that Donald Trumps entry to the White House would release all the brakes and barriers regarding the settlements and give Netanyahus government a blank check to build and enlarge an unlimited number of settlements to his hearts desire. Spicer released his statement Feb. 2 not as part of the White House daily briefing or as an answer to a question posed by journalists, but at the White Houses own initiative. The statement is well-written and formulated, and implies that the settlement party is over. The construction of new settlements or the expansion of existing settlements beyond their current borders may not be helpful in achieving that goal [of peace], announced Spicer in the name of the US president. Israel was caught completely by surprise. After all, only on Jan. 24, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman jointly announced the construction of 2,500 housing units in the West Bank, and, for the first time in about eight years, the United States did not censure the move. The implication was that the Trump administration supports Israels settlement enterprise. In light of the success of the test balloon that Netanyahu and Liberman released, they announced the approval of plans for the construction of an additional 3,000 housing units in the West Bank on Jan. 31. The very next day, the prime minister informed the Amona residents in particular and the settlers in general that following the forceful eviction, the government would promote the establishment of a new settlement. This new settlement would house not only the 40 families who were evicted from the illegal Amona settlement, but would accept roughly 300 other families. But then came the unexpected statement of the White House press secretary. So what led the White House, perceived as the dream come true of the Israeli right wing, to release a warning statement to the Netanyahu government? According to a high-level Palestinian source who spoke to Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity, the one responsible for the turnabout in the Trump administration is Jordanian King Abdullah II. Ever since the election of the new president, Abdullah has been playing a key role in the complex relations between the White House and the Palestinian Authority (PA). So far, Washington has ignored all efforts and feelers sent out by senior PA officials to lay the basis for communication channels with the new administration. For example, London-based newspaper Asharq al-Awsat reported Feb. 2 that Saeb Erekat, the PLO secretary-general and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas senior adviser, had tried to open a communications channel with the White House. His goal was to counterbalance the presidents pro-Israeli views with regard to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. However, these efforts were in vain. Therefore, the only choice open to the Palestinians was to make use of those Arab leaders who have Trumps ear, to act as intermediaries. According to the Palestinian source, when the Palestinians discovered that Abdullah was scheduled to meet Trump in Washington during the traditional National Prayer Breakfast event, Abbas made a special trip to Amman. There he asked the king to pass on a message of reconciliation to Trump. At the time, King Abdullah was not certain that he would meet with the president. But in any case, he was asked to pass on a message to the new US president if it became possible to do so. The message to Trump was a plea to take action as soon as possible to stop Netanyahus crazy settlement enterprise before it would be too late, the source said. On Feb. 2, Abdullah met with Trump and transmitted the message faithfully: Abbas is committed to doing everything he can to give the US administration all tools possible for opening a Palestinian dialogue with Israel, and that one-sided actions on Israels part would undermine these attempts. According to the source, In the short time he had before the Hilton event, in his pleasant manner, and with well-reasoned explanations, King Abdullah reviewed with Trump the dangers of Israels unrestrained [settlement] policy. Abdullah explained that this policy is likely to lead to unwelcome flare-ups [in the region]. Abdullah also told Trump in their short conversation that instability and violence in the territories is likely to cause the strengthening of extremist forces in the Middle East. In addition, he explained that if Israels settlement wave will continue at this rate, Abbas will not be able to conduct any kind of dialogue with Israel and that the two-state solution which the United States officially supports will never be realized. According to the source, Trump listened to Abdullah but did not explicitly commit himself to taking any action. At the conclusion of their meeting, the Jordanian news agency released a statement from the kings spokesperson. According to this statement, the leaders agreed to the importance of strategic relations between the two countries; the need for cooperation in the fight against terror; the importance of promoting peace and security for the Syrian nation; and the need for ratcheting up the efforts to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The definitive American answer arrived the day after the meeting, which was the statement by Spicer. True, the statement was carefully and cautiously worded but its message was clear: The existing settlements in the territories are not obstacles to peace, but reinforcing or expanding them may not be helpful in achieving that goal [of peace]. The Palestinians are certain that Abdullah will continue to serve as their efficacious and preferred address for transmitting messages to the Trump administration, at least temporarily. They do hope that more effective communication channels and contacts will be opened and institutionalized between the White House and the PA. So far, the PA has moved very cautiously and adopted prudent steps. They feared that any impulsive reaction on their part could anger the hot-tempered president and cause him to barricade himself behind walls that will be difficult to remove later on. This policy has borne fruit, at least with regard to one issue: the relocation of the US Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. While the relocation had, at first, seemed to be inevitable, it no longer appears (at least for the moment) on the Trump administrations agenda. And afterward, Israel received a warning message regarding the settlements. The Palestinians could not expect anything more. On Feb. 9, 1950, at a speech before the Ohio County Women's Republican Club in Wheeling, W. Va., Sen. Joe McCarthy brandished a piece of paper. "I have here in my hand a list of 205 ... known to the secretary of state as being members of the Communist Party and who nevertheless are still working and shaping the policy of the State Department." But McCarthy never released the names he supposedly had, and changed his story in the days and weeks that followed about exactly how many known communists there were in the State Department. McCarthy's irresponsible grandstanding eventually got him censured by the Senate and contributed tremendously to discrediting the whole cause of anti-communism. Though most textbooks gloss over this part in a rush to condemn the "witch hunt" era of McCarthyism, the truth is that there were communists in the U.S. government, and they were a serious threat. McCarthy didn't have the names, but thanks in part to the Venona papers (the intercepted Soviet cables declassified after the collapse of the USSR), we do. There was Harry Dexter White, a top Treasury Department official; Laurence Duggan, head of the South American desk at the State Department; Theodore Alvin Hall, who worked on the Manhattan Project; Julius Rosenberg, an Army Signal Corps civilian employee; and Alger Hiss, a high-ranking State Department official, among many others. The parallel in our times is the Islamist threat. President Donald Trump is right that we face a threat from Islamic extremists. He is right that careful vetting of immigrants, including refugees, is necessary in light of that danger. The worry is that his ham-fisted approach to a delicate problem may wind up discrediting the effort to vet immigrants, alienating our friends in the Muslim world and empowering the self-righteous left. Among the criticisms of the president's action is the assertion that none of the recent terror attacks in the United States would have been prevented by this executive order. That's too pat. The terrorists at Fort Hood, Ohio State, Chattanooga, Orlando, San Bernardino and Boston were all Muslims who had become radicalized. The Tsarnaev brothers were immigrants (albeit from Kyrgyzstan, not a nation on the list). The Chattanooga shooter was an immigrant from Kuwait (ditto). Abdul Razak Ali Artan, a Somali immigrant, drove his car into a crowd at Ohio State and then stabbed 11 people. No one died, but not for lack of effort on Artan's part. Another Somali immigrant carried out a stabbing attack at a Minnesota mall. Nine were injured, but not killed. So the left's refrain that "no life would have been saved" by the executive order is really just lawyerly misdirection. Moreover, American assessments must surely consider Europe's experience of threats from immigrants as well. Muslim immigrants and refugees present special challenges because they -- or as we saw in Orlando and Fort Hood, their children -- are possibly open to Islamic radicalization. This reality must be faced, and Daniel Pipes, who has studied radical Islam for decades (and has always stressed the distinction between the Muslim faith and Islamist extremism), has excellent recommendations for the kinds of questions aspiring immigrants and refugees should have to answer before coming to this country. Alas, instead of stressing that our goal is to separate extremist Muslims from the majority of peaceable Muslims, President Trump's slapdash executive order showed complete indifference to the distinction. Even green card holders, who have already been vetted and granted the right to live in the United States, were to be stopped at the airport with no notice. Why the rush? Would 48-hours notice have been too much to ask? Translators and military leaders from Iraq and Afghanistan, who, at great risk to themselves, had worked with U.S. forces (and had been badly treated by the Obama administration), were originally offered no dispensation from the blanket order. That's dishonorable and unwise, as it alienates all Muslims who might be inclined to side with us in a future struggle. Trump's order was not received in a vacuum. The international outrage was sparked at least in part by the context -- that is, the president's history of wild accusations (e.g., that thousands of American Muslims celebrated in the streets after 9/11), gross insensitivity (his treatment of Gold Star parents Khizr and Ghazala Khan) and sordid suggestions regarding Middle East nations (such as that the United States should have "kept the oil" after the Iraq War). The problem of Islamic extremism is serious. It requires clear-eyed assessment of the threat, wise diplomacy and the ability to distinguish friend from foe. So far, President Trump has demonstrated only the first. In that, he resembles "Tail Gunner Joe." Let's hope he acquires the latter skills as soon as possible. February 7, 2017 The White House's recent contention that the existing Israeli settlements in the occupied territories are not an impediment to peace should, it would seem, allay the concerns of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as he licks his wounds after the forcible evacuation of Israeli settlers Feb. 1-2 from the illegal West Bank outpost of Amona. After all, that is exactly what Netanyahu has been insisting for years about the settlements. Now, finally, there is a White House occupant after his own heart a real estate mogul who doesnt understand how a construction project can be a bad thing. Like Netanyahu, President Donald Trump is apparently not bothered by the reality that some 2.5 million Muslims have been living for 50 years under a discriminatory occupation. Netanyahus problem, however, is that right-wingers, especially those involved in real estate, including Trump, have a red line that must not be crossed under any circumstances: appropriation of someone elses property. This is the argument that the Israeli left can and should make in the Trump era for pursuing a diplomatic arrangement with the Palestinians. Anyone who dared encroach upon land owned by the Trump family would quickly find themselves under lock and key. That the Amona settlers lived in their homes for 20 years without paying rent to the Palestinian landowners makes their conduct even more egregious. Any American judge who would agree, as Israels justices did, to postpone the evacuation of squatters from Trumps private land would come in for a tongue lashing by the president. No sane American politician would even consider proposing an amendment to the law legalizing the use of someone elses private property, as Israeli lawmakers have done by passing the Regularization Law Feb. 6. Netanyahu would have to look high and low on Capitol Hill to find a single member of Congress who understands the reason for all the fuss over the eviction of 40 families who took over a remote hilltop that the state and the Supreme Court ruled does not belong to them. Even a master wordsmith like Netanyahu would find it hard to make excuses for legislation retroactively legalizing wildcat outposts, having himself publicly warned that the international community would not accept such an Israeli law. Thus, President Barack Obamas departure from the White House did not free Netanyahu of the need to choose between his coalition partner Naftali Bennett, head of the right-wing HaBayit HaYehudi and driver of the regularization bill, and the United States. In the short time that Trump has been ensconced in the Oval Office, he has proven that his adherence to the principles of capitalism, including the sanctity of private property, supersedes all other considerations. As senior Israeli jurists Joshua Schoffman and Malkiel Blass noted in a Feb. 4 Haaretz op-ed, it is a criminal offense under international law to take private property in occupied territory for nonsecurity-related needs, and perpetrators hold personal responsibility if they do so. Schoffman and Blass, who served as deputies to Israels attorney general, contend that Israeli constitutional law does not allow legalizing Knesset legislation encroaching on property not under state sovereignty, in this case property belonging to a nonresident who has not entered the state and has not done it harm. Even before the Supreme Courts Amona ruling and the eviction notice served on residents of nine homes in the Ofra settlement, Yesh Din and Peace Now in conjunction with Palestinian landowners had submitted a series of requests to the court to evacuate the settlers from private Palestinian land in the occupied territories. As a result, the government can expect a slew of eviction notices to be served on settlers who have built homes on such land. Last September, Bennett declared that the era had passed for cobbling together patchwork tactical solutions to various settlement problems and that he was preparing a comprehensive reform that would legalize in one fell swoop all the construction in Judea and Samaria and prevent additional evictions. Several weeks later, Bennett's party colleague and Deputy Minister of Defense Eli Ben-Dahan threatened that dismantling Amona would result in the dismantling of the coalition government. He promised, If theres no regularization [of outposts], there will be no government. What will members of HaBayit HaYehudi do if the Supreme Court is the one that overturns the Regularization Law? After the justices order the demolition of the hundreds of homes built on private Palestinian land, Knesset member Moti Yogev can reiterate his proposal to raze the Supreme Court with a bulldozer, and Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked will do what is expected of her and issue a condemnation of the ruling. Although stillborn when approved by the Knesset, the law will be an eternal stain of shame in the annals of the Knesset and in the history books of the State of Israel. The only person who can spare Israel this humiliation is Trump. Israels peace camp, instead of attacking him for saying that the settlements are not an obstacle to peace, should change its strategy and underline the damage being inflicted by the prolonged Israeli occupation on the supremacy of private ownership. They should provide him with reliable and updated data about the extent of the settlers seizure of private Palestinian lands within the settlement blocs and beyond. This is language he understands well. The evacuation of Amona gave the new president a taste of the concoction cooked up by successive Israeli governments over some 50 years. It also showed the world that when an Israeli government decides to evict Jewish squatters, it knows how to do so without a loss of life. Trump can see that even as the media blew the event in Amona out of proportion, there were no demonstrations on the streets of Jerusalem. It would appear that even the members of the Israeli public who do not identify with the peace camp understand that land theft is villainy, regardless of one's political views. All recent US presidents, Democrats and Republicans alike, have declared Israeli settlements obstacles to peace. What, however, became of all their talk? From George W. Bush's presidency to the end of Barack Obama's two terms, the number of settlers grew more than fourfold. Some of this flowering occurred on land stolen from indigent Palestinian farmers. Hence, what the current US president says about the settlements and about peace is not so important. What he does about it is far more significant. There would be no act more appropriate for Trump than to veto legislation aimed at enabling a state to take one mans property in order to hand it to another. Maybe this would also be the first step enabling the other to get a state of his own. February 6, 2017 Ali Shamkhani, the secretary of Irans Supreme National Security Council, said Jan. 16 that Iran does not want to topple the Saudi royal family because leaving an opening for the Islamic State to rise would not be any better. Shamkhanis words did not go unnoticed in the regional and Lebanese political scenes. The regional political disputes between Saudi Arabia and Iran have translated into political conflicts in Yemen, Bahrain, Iraq and Syria, affecting their allies in Lebanon. Serious confrontations broke out over the years between Lebanese political parties, specifically Iran-allied Hezbollah and the Saudi-backed Future Movement. Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif was crystal clear at the World Economic Congress in Davos on Jan. 18 when he said that Iran and Saudi Arabia must cooperate to end the conflicts in Syria and Yemen, just like they did in Lebanon when they worked to lift the obstacles for Lebanese presidential elections. Zarifs words about the Saudi-Iranian understanding that allowed for the election of a president in Lebanon sparked a variety of reactions domestically. For his part, Christian Lebanese Forces Party leader Samir Geagea tweeted Jan. 19 that rumors that regional countries were behind the agreement to end the presidential stalemate are untrue. Sadeq Nabulsi, a cleric and Lebanese University lecturer who often comments on Hezbollah, told Al-Monitor, Iran wants to strengthen ties with Saudi Arabia and reach an understanding to solve political and sectarian disputes. He added, Iran also believes that rapprochement with the kingdom would ensure a solid base for positive ties with other Muslim countries, especially with the looming security threats [to Iran] in case of a vacuum in the kingdom or chaos instead of the current Al Saud family rule, in reference to warnings by Iranian officials about the potential advent of IS in the kingdom. The positive impact of the recent Saudi-Iranian rapprochement on the Lebanese political environment was obvious in Hezbollah-backed Lebanese President Michel Aoun's first post-election visit to the kingdom Jan. 9. Domestically, relations between Hezbollah and the Lebanese Forces seem to be warming. The two parties are old opponents in Lebanese politics, and established alliances with rival parties during the Lebanese civil war (1975-1990). Assassinations that remain unresolved judicially such as that of former Prime Minister Rashid Karami on June 1, 1987, and the Ehden massacre of the Frangieh family on June 13, 1978 the abduction of Iranian diplomats on June 5, 1982, and the Lebanese Forces ties with Israel during the civil war, are also points of contention between both parties. Geagea was tried in April 1994 for the assassination of Karami, who died after a bomb that was planted in the helicopter he took from Tripoli to Beirut exploded. His assassination marked a turning point in Lebanese politics. In 1999, the Judicial Council issued an execution sentence against Geagea in the case, then reduced it to life in prison with hard labor. However, he was granted an amnesty in 2005. The Lebanese Forces and their allies, the Kataeb (Phalangists), took responsibility for the Ehden massacre, but the case was never tried. Hezbollah was Karamis ally and the ally of Sleiman Frangieh, the son of Tony Frangieh, who was killed in Ehden. The four Iranian diplomats, who were never seen again, were kidnapped by the Kataeb in northern Lebanon. These incidents have all contributed to the fragile relationship between Hezbollah and the Lebanese Forces. The two parties have not officially met yet, but Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah said for the first time Dec. 9 that the Lebanese Forces are an important component in Lebanon. Also, in mid-January, Geagea sent Social Affairs Minister Pierre Abu Assi, who is affiliated with the Lebanese Forces, to the Iranian Embassy in Beirut to pay respects over the death of Irans Expediency Council Chairman Ayatollah Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani. Another positive step in the relations between Hezbollah and the Lebanese Forces was Geageas welcoming of the potential Iranian donation for the Lebanese army to confront terrorism. Shamkhani had first mentioned the donation of military equipment when he met with former Lebanese Prime Minister Tammam Salam in Beirut on Sept. 30, 2014. Back then, the Lebanese Forces opposed and criticized the donation, which has yet to be deployed to Lebanon due to the political dispute surrounding it and the rejection of the parties opposing Iran. Nabulsi told Al-Monitor that the rapprochement between Hezbollah and the Lebanese Forces opened a new page of understanding that would increase domestic resilience and contribute to resolving all former disruptive elements. The rapprochement also aims at anticipating any possible Israeli threats through unanimous approval [among the Lebanese political parties] of the resistances [Hezbollah] work. This would save Lebanon from repeating the 2006 Israeli war scenario when the internal rift was at its worst. He added, Hezbollah and the Lebanese Forces are change-oriented parties and do not consider the Taif Accord the settlement they were waiting for after the civil war. They share Aouns vision for change and reform. Nabulsi noted, Hezbollah will not meet with the Lebanese Forces unless they are determined to make the dialogue fruitful on all levels. The two parties refuse to talk publicly about the conditions of dialogue between them, but sources close to the parties leaderships told Al-Monitor that the ministerial and parliamentary interaction between them has begun and that their escalatory rhetoric against each other has calmed down. Concessions will be implicit and will only appear in unstated political stances that would solve the thorny issues, according to the sources. Hezbollah sources told Al-Monitor that the memory of past wars and bloodshed will not impede the dialogue with the Lebanese Forces. The Hezbollah sources added that the Lebanese Forces historical relationship with Israel is another looming issue based on the latters history in the Lebanese civil war The stage is not completely set for the bilateral dialogue yet, but preparations are up and running. The stances Geagea takes in the coming days and months will determine whether a meeting will happen quickly, depending on his ability to address Hezbollahs concerns. February 6, 2017 The Palestinian Authority (PA) isn't concealing its concern over the future of its ties with the new US administration, as President Donald Trump has made inconsistent statements about his position on Israel. The PA has set up a committee to confront a worst-case scenario that might unfold under Trump. Even before Trump was sworn in Jan. 20, he talked about relocating the US Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem and at one point spoke out against UN Security Council Resolution 2334, which condemns Israeli settlements. He has since modified the settlement position more than once, at first warning Israel to stop announcing new settlements, and then softening that message somewhat to say he doesn't believe existing settlements will impede the peace process. White House spokesman Sean Spicer said Jan. 25 that Trump would be reconsidering President Barack Obamas decision to release $221 million to the PA in aid, as Trump wants to make sure US funds spent abroad serve US interests. Palestinian Minister of Finance Shukri Beshara said Jan. 26 that the US Congress has proposed several laws criminalizing the PA's financial support for families of prisoners and families of Palestinians who have been killed in fighting. If adopted, such laws would limit the PAs ability to manage Palestinian accounts in the United States and abroad. The new US administration is more biased [in favor of] Israel and less neutral when it comes to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict," Ghassan al-Khatib, the former Palestinian labor minister and former director of the Government Media Office, told Al-Monitor. "Under Trump, the road ahead will be full of challenges, as US aid to the PA will be possibly reduced," though not enough to collapse the PA "because the world dreads such a scenario," Khatib said. "Even Washington is keen on maintaining the status quo in the Palestinian territories. Also, Trump might influence the positions of international parties to halt the financial support given to the PA due to the weak Palestinian impact on the international political scene. Palestinian Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah said in late August that the United States has provided aid to the PA since the group was established in 1994 one year, he claimed, as much as $1 billion but in 2015, the United States only paid $250 million, and the payment was dedicated to projects and institutions and not paid in cash to the public treasury. According to statements issued by the Palestinian Ministry of Finance on Sept. 28, 2015, between 2007 and 2015 the average annual US support to the Palestinian budget amounted to $300 million. However, in 2012, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas visited the UN and secured nonmember-observer state status in the UN, seeking to strengthen its odds of being recognized as a state. Some in Congress opposed the move and the funding declined. Nasr Abdel Karim, an economics professor at An-Najah University in Nablus, told Al-Monitor, Trumps administration is expected to reduce the aid provided to the PA, and it will scrutinize the way the US aid to Palestinians is being spent. The administration does not want to completely stop the aid and just wants to place further pressure on the PA to resume direct negotiations with Israel." Karim added, "US support in 2016 did not exceed $200 million, most of which was channeled to nongovernmental organizations, infrastructure projects and good-governance projects and not to the PA treasury. Palestinians fear that Washington will influence other countries such as Britain, Australia, the Netherlands, Singapore and Japan to adopt its new policy. Saeb Erekat, the secretary of the PLO Executive Committee, said Jan. 31 that following the December adoption of UN Security Council Resolution 2334, which affirms that Israeli settlements are illegal, the US Congress threatened Jan. 3 to cut off aid to the PA should it pursue its case against Israel in international forums. A Palestinian minister told Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity that despite its concerns over Trumps adoption of political and economic decisions against it, the PA can cope with these policies through austerity measures and expenditure channeling." He added, "However, the PA is more reliant on clearing and tax money from Israel, and these funds amount to $180 million a month and account for 75% of the PA budget. The PA has concerns that Washington would pressure Israel into using these funds to return to the peace process under US and Israeli conditions, without stopping the settlements." The declining US support to the PA under Obama between 2008 and 2016, and its possible dramatic reduction under Trump, could be blamed on: The stalled peace process between the Israelis and the Palestinians. Political positions adopted by the PA, which include joining international organizations to legitimize the Palestinian quest for statehood. An effort to pressure the PA to reduce its negotiation demands. The Palestinian domestic situation the split between Hamas and Fatah. Palestinians expect history to repeat itself and they believe Trump will want to oust Abbas, just as former US President George W. Bush did with Yasser Arafat, when Bush called in 2002 for a change in the Palestinian leadership. "The US' partial not complete cutting off of aid to the PA is highly probable, as this would serve as a tool of pressure [on the PA] to return to the negotiations with Israel that have been stalled since April 2014," Khalil Shaheen, the director of the Research Department at the Palestinian Center for Policy Research and Strategic Studies - Masarat, told Al-Monitor. He added, Although the PAs primary financial support comes from the European Union, not the United States, the problem facing the PA is that Britains positions are converging with Washington's and that France is headed to presidential elections and may get closer to Israel. Most Palestinians believe that the four coming years under Trump will be challenging for the PA, with aid reduction being the most difficult challenge, in the absence of an Arab financial safety net to offset the declining US aid. Photos by James Acomb This story appears in Birmingham magazine's February 2017 issue. Subscribe today! Some people go to great lengths for good coffee. That's how Jeff Huey and partners wound up in a village in Huehuetenago, Guatemala, in 2012 waiting to meet a guy they'd never met who grew great coffee. It was Huey's first trip sourcing beans for Seeds, a small-batch roaster and coffee shop he co-owns in west Homewood. After an international flight and several-hours-long bus ride, Huey, a photographer, and a translator named Rainman were picked up by the grower. For five days, they lived on the Villatoro coffee farm, marveling at the meticulous care the plants received. "Our translator knew maybe 30 percent of the grower's language," Huey says. "But we all shared a passion for coffee. Coffee brings cultures together." Seeds Coffee Co. still buys beans from Aurelio Villatoro Castillo to roast, serve, and sell in its shop on Oxmoor Road. Small businesses that seek the world's best raw coffee to roast for local consumption are percolating around Birmingham. Similar to top chefs, micro-roasters find farmers with premium raw material, coax the best qualities from the product, and then serve it to a discriminating audience. Specialty coffee from national and regional roasters is in most groceries. But getting a local product means it will be fresher. "Within 3-4 days the phenomenal sweetness in just-roasted coffee fades substantially, even with the best," says Randy Adamy, co-owner of O'Henry's Coffee. "Coffee roasted on the west coast takes 5-6 days just to get here. We re-supply our stores with fresh-roasted coffee up to five days a week." Birmingham coffee giants Royal Cup and Red Diamond had been on the scene a while already--founded in 1896 and 1906, respectively, when O'Henry's opened in 1993, becoming the city's first small-batch gourmet roaster. In the early to mid-2000s, as Birmingham's food scene soared, Higher Ground, Red Cat, and Primavera began roasting specialty-grade coffee. In 2007, Royal Cup started a separate small-batch company, H.C. Valentine, which roasts premium whole beans for hotels and restaurants including Highlands Bar and Grill and Hot and Hot Fish Club. Red Diamond also has a premium label, High Altitude. The latest java wave started in 2011. New roasters--Seeds, Revelator, Red Bike, Domestique, and Atlanta-based Octane (which absorbed Primavera)--are now on the cutting edge of Birmingham's coffee culture. Revelator, which roasts beans in Birmingham for distribution in three states, leads a trend toward coffees that are more fruit-forward than nutty or chocolatey. Local roasters, cafes, and companies such as Icebox make new coffee products like cold-brew, which comes from grounds being steeped in cold water for 18-24 hours to remove acidity. Roasters Domestique and Seeds keg cold-brewed coffee to create a creamy drink dispensed with nitrogen. Roasters are innovators, says Nathan Pocus, co-owner of Domestique, which won the People's Choice Award at the 2016 Big Pitch contest. "People want to try new things." More than a Cup of Joe Coffee today is more than a cup of joe. It is an expression of sophistication, status, social conscience, and lifestyle. Brewing is ritual in some cafes. Customers select coffee based on where it was grown and sometimes even how it was processed after harvest. For the first time since Mr. Coffee's early days, standard home drip-coffee makers are out of favor in home kitchens. Instead, they've been replaced by expensive, fancy machines or low-tech manual systems. Most drinkers today seek roasters that sell organically-grown coffee, are environmentally sensitive, and ensure growers are paid a fair price, according to a 2016 National Coffee Association survey. Millennials have driven much of that change. Some 40 percent of people aged 25-39 regularly drink gourmet coffee, the NCA survey found. That doubles the rate from 2008. "People are more mindful of how coffee gets from plant to cup," says Jeff Cloar, co-founder of Irondale-based Red Bike. Micro-roasters lead efforts to improve environmental protection and socio-economic conditions in coffee-growing countries. Since 2003, Higher Ground has sold only certified organic, Fair Trade, and shade-grown coffee. The roaster donates part of its sales to local non-profits, including Black Warrior Riverkeeper. At its peak, Higher Ground distributed in several states but stagnated after founder, Glenn Smith, died in 2013. Now, new owners Emily and Blake Hamachek are rebuilding the brand. "We remain committed to the same mission," says Emily, Smith's sister-in-law. "We want to keep Glenn's vision alive." For example, the Hamacheks started sourcing some of their beans from two coffee co-ops run by women. "They spend the money they make on education and reducing abuse," Emily says. "It has created a cultural shift." Once crucial to marketing, many micro-roasters are moving away from certifications, saying it limits access to some quality beans, including heirlooms. Often, quality growers use organic practices and preserve habitats, but cannot afford the official certification. "Knowing the farm is better than a certification," says Kirk Summers, co-owner of Birmingham-based Red Cat. Middlemen who know the growers and co-ops also are vital resources to coffee roasters around town. "We rely on them to meet our standards of social consciousness," says Wael Amara, Red Bike's co-owner. Despite its reputation for largely fueling millennials and the working crowd, many athletes, especially cyclists, also enjoy the caffeine boost. Domestique was inspired by a bicycle trip through Haiti that Pocus and his younger brother Michael took. They now deliver many of the company's coffee subscriptions by bike. Michael also started the coffee program at Woodlawn Cycle Cafe, a favorite haunt for cyclists. The cafe serves Domestique's nitro brew, made with Haitian beans. As competitive cyclists, Red Bike's Amara and Cloar bonded over good coffee during long training rides. Their love for coffee led them to start home roasting and eventually go pro in 2011 when they founded Red Bike. "Out west, a lot of bike shops have coffee bars," Cloar says. "The cultures of coffee and biking are intertwined." Sourcing Coffee grows in more than 50 countries, all within 1,000 miles of the Equator. The best is farmed at higher elevations. It is a seasonal crop. Coffees from the Southern Hemisphere generally are available starting in spring; Northern Hemisphere by fall. The world's second most-traded commodity, coffee is graded for quality, which determines price. Micro-roasters use only specialty grade--less than 10 percent of the world's coffee qualifies. It fetches top dollar. "They hand-pick when it's ripe instead of stripping the whole bush," says Erin Isbell, Red Cat's co-owner. "They remove the defects. It makes such a difference." Wholesalers are the main source of raw beans. But some local roasters have opted to develop direct relationships with growers. During a 2007 tour in Colombia, O'Henry's Adamy fell in love with the coffee on Jorge and Silvia Garces' farm, El Crucerito. "They put heart and soul into it," Adamy says. "They grow plantains, which also shade the coffee. They raise chickens. It's a little farm. Not even a tractor." O'Henry's and another roaster purchased all 700 pounds Garces grew that year. They bought the next three crops, until importation problems arose. Company representatives also have visited farms in Costa Rica, Honduras, and Hawaii, where O'Henry's has sourced from the same Kona supplier for 23 years. Adamy hopes a recent trip to Colombia will rekindle the business relationship with Garces. Seeds' Huey has taken five sourcing trips to Indonesia. Red Cat's Summers made connections on farms in Panama and the Dominican Republic; Isbell in Costa Rica. "You're walking around rain forests in the mountains and there's coffee growing," she says. "It's beautiful." But buying direct is difficult for small roasters. Importing only the necessary few 150-pound sacks is cost-prohibitive. A shipping container holds 300 of those sacks, some 45,000 pounds of coffee. "That's a lot of coffee," Huey says. "We go through 50-60 sacks a year. We have to co-op to share a container." Getting raw coffee through the port can be challenging for irregular importers. Once, suspicious customs agents slashed through several sacks imported by Red Cat. As world-class beans spilled, workers scurried to sweep and re-bag them. The domestic shipper balked at the damage. "Those are the hiccups you go through," Isbell says. Roasting Once the beans finally make it stateside, the process of roasting begins. With the flip of a switch, 150 pounds of compact, sage-colored beans drop into preheated spinning drums at H.C. Valentine, Birmingham's largest gourmet coffee specialist. Stacy Hawkins, H.C. Valentine's head roaster, peers at a computer that controls the process by following a preprogrammed "recipe." He occasionally pulls a sample from the roaster and adjusts settings based on what he sees. "The roaster isn't like an oven that stays at one temperature," he says. "When you drop the beans, the temperature drops too. The beans absorb the hot air and the temperature starts to rise back up." Moisture builds and evaporates, causing beans to plump, dry, and lose weight. After a 12-minute roast, the coffee weighs 120 pounds, compared to its original 150. Hawkins releases the coffee into a round bin with tall sides. A rotating arm keeps the beans in motion as fans rapidly cool them. Other local roasters work in much smaller batches, usually 6-15 pounds, but the process is similar for all. By controlling heat and air flow, roasters manipulate how the resulting coffee tastes. Lighter roasts produce grassy and citrus flavors. As the bean gets darker, floral notes and berry fruits emerge, followed by caramel, roasted nut, and chocolate flavor. Most machines are computer-run, but tweaked as necessary by the human operator. But some people prefer to rely entirely on their senses. "With so many things during the roast affecting the flavors, I like to be in control," says Cristy McGinnis, Red Bike's roaster. "I check the smell, color, and texture as the roast progresses." At Red Cat's cafe near Lakeview, Summers is alerted by hearing a sound like popcorn popping. That's the stage roasters call "first crack." If he wants a medium roast, he stops when he hears the popping slow. "After first crack there's this gap before you get a sound like crinkling paper," Summers says. "That is second crack. The bean is releasing its oils. We usually drop our dark roasts at second crack." Cameron Heath, Revelator's head roaster, likens the process to the effect grilling has on a steak. Browning creates caramelization, building flavor. Taken too far, it tastes burnt. "You try to find the fine line of accessibility," he says. Something for Everyone Recently the line has shifted toward lighter roasts and floral flavors, especially with the fast-growing millennial market. Preferences have changed considerably since Starbucks introduced Italian-style dark roast to the masses in the mid-1980s. When Summers and Isbell started roasting in 2005, people expected darker coffee. As the pendulum swung, Red Cat responded. "Now our espresso is as light as our old medium roast," Summers says. Revelator, established in 2014, skews toward bright, fruity coffees. Heath ascribes it to the high-quality beans Revelator buys. "The main characteristics you look for are clarity and sweetness," he says. "Then you build on what it has." But some coffee fans, including a fair number of boomers, drink old-school. "We still do a dark roast," Isbell says. "We can't keep it on the shelf because people have a hard time finding dark roast now." The folks at Domestique and Red Bike say their full-bodied, well-roasted beans work best for making cold-brew coffee. Many in the new wave deemphasize labels like "medium roast." Bags of Revelator's blended and single-origin coffees list countries where the beans were grown; some include flavor profiles. Labels from Red Bike and Seeds add details such as the elevation and region where the beans were grown. O'Henry's sells 40 whole-bean coffees. It sources regularly from 15 countries, and five others for occasional specials. Recipes for staples like the African Classic never change; occasionally new blends appear. O'Henry's also produces something most micro-roasters would never consider: flavored coffees. They account for one-fourth of total sales. To each its own, Adamy says. Like cafes, local roasters satisfy all preferences. "Each has its own personality," he says. "Each will get the kind of person it caters to." How to brew the perfect cup: You've spent $10-$25 on a bag of premium, fresh-roasted coffee beans. How do you get your money's worth when you brew them? The Basics Water: Filtered water makes the best coffee. Chlorine and coffee don't get along. Grind: Grind whole beans for each use; ground coffee quickly stales. Desired grind depends on the coffee-making method, from fine for espresso to coarse for French press. Quantity: 1-2 tablespoons of ground coffee per 6 ounces of water Temperature: Water should reach 190-205 degrees to properly extract the bean's oils and flavors. Heat water 5 minutes in the microwave or bring a kettle to a boil, then let it sit off the heat for 5 minutes. For manual brewing methods, use hot water to preheat the glass or ceramic vessel. Storage: Keep whole beans in an airtight glass container. Do not store in the freezer. Extra Tips: Wet filters with warm water before adding coffee to reduce the paper taste. Use a scale to measure both coffee and water, 1 gram of ground coffee for every 17 grams of water. Put the brew vessel with measured coffee on a scale, zero it out, and add water until it reaches the desired liquid weight. If you cold-brew, the ratio of water to ground coffee is 14:1 The Methods We ground the same beans, Red Bike's Guatemala Huixoc, to test and compare three common home-brewing gadgets: a standard drip-coffee maker, a ceramic pour-over funnel, and a French press. We drank each as-made, without cream or sugar. The differences were stark. Drip Coffee Maker: Unless you shell out $300 or more for a commercial-grade model, your drip coffee maker will not get the water much above 165 degrees, which is insufficient for full flavor extraction. However, they're simple to use: grind, fill, and flip the switch. Recommendation: Use a model with at least 1,000 watts of power. Grind beans medium-coarse. Don't sneak a cup before brewing ends; what comes out at the end is weaker than when the brew starts. Result: Decent body and some oil on top from standard model. But the coffee lacks nuance and balance. Roasted flavors come through but with little sweetness. Pour-Over: More hands-on than machine-made. For best extraction, pour hot water in a slow stream over the grounds (not the filter), keeping the level slightly above the coffee. Chemex and Hario V60 are pour-over makers. Recommendation: A kettle with a tea-neck spout pours best, but Pyrex measuring cups suffice. Grind beans medium-fine. If weighing, use 20 grams of coffee grounds and 340 grams of water for a 10-ounce mug. Moisten ground coffee and let it sit 30 seconds or so before starting the pour. Result: Pronounced flavors of dried fruit, dark chocolate, and roasted nuts. Coffee has an oily sheen. The pour-over brew has much more depth and balance than coffee from the drip-coffee maker. Flavors linger longer with each sip. French Press: Paper filters used in other methods remove oils, affecting mouthfeel. French press maximizes all flavor components, mimicking the method used to make Turkish coffee while separating out some sludge. Recommendation: Coarse-grind beans. If weighing, use 32 grams of ground coffee and 544 grams of water for every 16-ounce pot. Add coffee, moisten it, and let sit 1 minute. Add water and stir. Cover then lower the plunger slightly. Wait 4 minutes before slowly lowering plunger until grounds are separated from brew. Result: The fullest flavors and nuances of fruit, nuts, spice, and cocoa are extracted. This coffee has the most oil, aroma, body, and a longer finish than the other methods. It is thick, almost chewy. Some find the sludge off-putting. Alabama is among the top U.S. states that would be most affected by a trade war with Mexico, a new study finds. President Donald Trump. (File) WalletHub looked at all 50 states and the District of Columbia to determine which states would suffer most if a trade war erupts between the U.S. and Mexico as a result of a proposed tax on Mexican imports by President Donald Trump to pay for construction of a border wall. Alabama fell at No. 9 on the list, which considers five indicators gauging the effects of a possible trade battle. Trade War with Mexico's Effect on Alabama (1=Most Affected; 25=Avg.): 11th 7th 10th 12th 23rd The top 10 states most affected by a potential trade war are: Texas - Arizona - Michigan - New Mexico - Kentucky - Tennessee - Utah - Missouri - Alabama - Iowa - The city of Decatur is seventh nationally among cities that rely on exports as a percentage of their gross domestic product, according to a study released last week by the Brookings Institution's Metropolitan Policy Program. The report found 29.1 percent of Decatur's GDP is export-based, with 7,867 jobs directly related to exports. Source: A proposal to amend the Alabama Constitution to say that the state supports the rights of unborn children, including the right to life, will be considered in a public hearing on Wednesday. The Health Committee in the Alabama House of Representatives will consider the bill, introduced today on the first day of the legislative session. The committee has scheduled public hearings on the bill and several other bills for 10:30 a.m. on Wednesday. The meeting will be in the Joint Conference Room on the eighth floor of the Alabama State House. The proposed constitutional amendment is by Rep. Matt Fridy, R-Montevallo. It is part of the House Republican Caucus agenda this year. Fridy said Alabama needs the provision in law in case the U.S. Supreme Court ever overturns Roe v. Wade and delegates decisions on abortion rights to the states. "The purpose of the bill is to ensure that the Alabama Constitution is never interpreted to provide for rights to an abortion of public funding for abortion," Fridy said. Fridy said that even though the U.S. Constitution does not mention abortion, "activist judges" have interpreted it as providing a right to an abortion. "Nothing in this constitution secures or protects a right to abortion or requires the funding of an abortion," Fridy's amendment says. The amendment would declare and affirm "that it is the public policy of this state to recognize and support the sanctity of unborn life and the rights of unborn children, including the right to life." The amendment further declares "it is the public policy of this state to ensure protection of the rights of the unborn child in all manners and measures lawful and appropriate." Constitutional amendments require approval of three-fifths of the members of the House and Senate in order to be placed on the ballot for consideration by voters. The Health Committee will also hold a public hearing on a bill by Rep. Rich Wingo, R-Tuscaloosa, that would prohibit the state from refusing to license or renew the license of a child placement agency that declines to provide a service that conflicts with its religious beliefs. The main example would be an agency that declines to place children for adoption with same-sex couples. Wingo sponsored a similar bill last year but it did not pass. Updated at 10:04 p.m. to add comment from Rep. Matt Fridy. Birmingham police are searching for suspects after they took a vehicle with a child still inside Monday night. Lt. Sean Edwards said the stole a 2009 White Saturn Vue from the 5700 block of Court I in Ensley. A 9-year-old child was still inside the car when the crime happened around 8:30 p.m. The child was dropped off unharmed at Miles College campus. The child has been reunited with the mother. Police are currently taking a statement from the mother and the child. A description of the suspects are unknown at this time. This post will be updated when more information is released. Authorities are searching for relatives of two men and a woman who died in recent weeks in Jefferson County. No foul play is suspected in any of the deaths, said Jefferson County Chief Deputy Coroner Bill Yates, but their bodies are ready to be released for burial and coroner's officials have not been able to notify their next of kin. Annie Sharon Quinn, a 64-year-old white female, was found in her home in the 800 block of Twin Lake Drive in eastern Birmingham on Jan. 25. A friend of Quinn's called Birmingham police and asked them to do a welfare check after not being able to reach her for a couple of weeks. Quinn was found dead on the couch in her living room. Yates said she died of natural causes. All efforts to locate any family members have been unsuccessful. Mikol Ali Mateen, a 64-year-old black male, was found dead on Jan. 31 in the USA Econ Lodge on Beacon Parkway West. Yates said Mateen had been living in the motel for about two years. He was found dead in his bathroom of natural causes. His cell phone records and medical records didn't turn up any immediate relatives. Motel management knew him well, but said they weren't aware of any family. Mateen is believed to have been from the Stone Mountain, Georgia area. Grady Wilson King, who also went by the name Thedford Wilson King, was found at his home in the 1200 block of 30th Street North on Feb. 1. The 63-year-old black male was known to be reclusive. Yates said the landlord sent employees to the home after King had not been seen for about a week. He was found dead in his bedroom. The cause of death has not yet been determined, but they believe he died from natural causes. King listed a man named Johnny Brown as a contact, but authorities have not been able to find Brown. Anyone with information on family members for Quinn, Mateen or King is asked to call the coroner's office at 205-930-3603. A young man jailed for 16 months after lawmen say he posed as an Atlanta rapper to lure women to a park where he raped and robbed them is back behind bars again, accused of carrying out another violent attack under similar pretenses. Aaron Lavontra Hall, 21, was arrested in Gordo on Saturday. Hall was just released from the Tuscaloosa County Jail nearly three months ago - On Nov. 10 - where he had been held since July 2015 on charges of sodomy, rape and robbery. "He is what we would call a true predator,'' said Gordo police Chief Todd Hall. Chief Hall said the latest attack happened about 1 a.m. Saturday in the back parking lot of the Gordo Post Office on Industrial Park Boulevard in the small Pickens County town. The victim, an adult female, had been talking to the suspect - who told her was an Atlanta artist - for several months via an online dating site. Hall, the chief said, told the victim he was going to be in Mississippi for the weekend and asked her to meet him halfway between there and her Tuscaloosa County home - which ended up being Gordo. Actually, the chief said, Aaron Hall was living in Gordo the whole time, and the meeting took a dangerous turn when the victim arrived. "He lured her to the back parking lot. He had on a mask and he had a knife,'' he said. "It was a very violent encounter." The victim - who is not familiar with Gordo - fled back to Tuscaloosa County after the sexual assault, and notified authorities there. They, in turn, notified Gordo police who immediately launched their investigation. She was treated at DCH Regional Medical Center. Chief Hall said the suspect had several different identities and he used another to contact the victim after the attack. She was with detectives at that time, and they were able to determine - through several things he said - that it was the man who attacked her. "With her permission, we were monitoring her calls,'' he said. The victim told the suspect she wanted to meet him again. With help from the Tuscaloosa Police Department and the U.S. Marshals, authorities sent in an undercover officer to pose as the victim. Once the suspect arrived at the scene, he was arrested and still armed. In July 2015, Aaron Hall was charged - and later indicted - after investigators in Tuscaloosa County said he lured at least three women to Kentuck Park in Northport. Investigators at the time said he used Facebook to communicate with the women, who thought he was rapper Issa Thompson. Two of those attacks happened on June 30, 2015 and July 5, 2015. An undercover operation by police prevented another assault on a third woman who had been talking with Hall, believing he was Thompson. Several others came forward after Hall's 2015 arrest. He was later indicted on seven felony crimes including rape, robbery and sodomy. His bond in those cases was set at $200,000. He was still awaiting trial when he was arrested again over the weekend. Pickens County District Attorney Chris McCool said now Aaron Hall is charged with first-degree rape, first-degree sodomy, first-degree theft of property, and first-degree kidnapping. He went before a judge Monday morning, and his bond in Pickens County is set at $1.25 million. Authorities are looking at revoking his bond in the Tuscaloosa County cases as well. Chief Hall said the weekend incident should be an eye-opener, especially for those who strike up online relationships with strangers. "Take serious precautions when you're dealing with people you don't know,'' he said. "Stay in well-lit areas and have an escape plan." He also said he's grateful for the help in catching Aaron Hall. "We do believe,'' he said, "he would have continued to do this until he was caught." The repeal of this law will be a giant step backward for North Dakota. We had joined 45 other states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands, in enacting similar no texting while driving laws. Only 4 states don't have this law. It has been well established by numerous government and insurance industry studies that texting while driving is extremely dangerous and hazardous, not only to the drivers who take their eyes off the road to text, but also to their passengers and others who share the road with them. A North Dakota Senate committee voted against a bill that officials representing North Dakota prosecutors and defense attorneys said Monday, Feb. 6 would justify the use of deadly force against people committing minor property crimes. But the West Fargo lawmaker who proposed the legislation said it would only allow property owners to use deadly force if theyre in fear of serious injury or death. Senate Bill 2315, introduced by Sen. David Clemens, R-West Fargo, was given a unanimous do not pass recommendation after a hearing in the Senate Judiciary Committee Monday morning, said committee Chairman Sen. Kelly Armstrong, R-Dickinson. Jackson Lofgren, president of the North Dakota Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, said it would give a green light to shoot somebody who is running down the street after stealing $10 worth of Christmas decorations. This would create a real hurdle to prosecution for someone who pulls a gun on somebody else because they think they might have stolen some small piece of personal property, he said. And because of that I think its just a terrible law. Clemens, a freshman lawmaker, said the bill was introduced at the request of North Dakota residents who wanted more clarity concerning the defense of themselves involving home and property. The bill provides legal justification for using deadly force if a person believes its immediately necessary to stop someone whos about to commit a crime such as arson, burglary, robbery, theft and criminal mischief. It also provides that justification to stop someone who is fleeing after committing burglary, robbery or theft. A person who reasonably believes using something other than deadly force to protect or recover the property would expose the actor or another individual to a substantial risk of death or serious bodily injury would be justified in using deadly force under Clemens bill. The legislation also removes the part of state law that says deadly force is not justified if it can be avoided by retreating. Barnes County resident John Ertelt told the committee that thieves stole $20,000 worth of property from his neighbor on Thanksgiving morning. He was also the victim of a theft four years ago, he said. Ertelt said criminals should be sent a message that there could be serious consequences for their crimes. I think we need to stiffen up the laws to protect the private property owners so that he or she knows the latitude they may have or may not have in stopping these thefts, he said. Christopher Dodson, executive director of the North Dakota Catholic Conference, used a moral argument against the bill. He said it would allow intentional killing even when it is not necessary. Aaron Birst, executive director of the North Dakota States Attorneys Association, said current self defense laws are adequate. He said if a persons life is in danger, they are authorized to use deadly force. A person would be required to leave if they could do so safely before using deadly force, but they would have no duty to retreat if theyre in their home. This is talking about small, misdemeanor offenses that you are authorized to use deadly force, Birst said of the Clemens bill. Thats terrible public policy. Confessions by Palestinians who have been tortured are regularly accepted by Israeli judges, rights groups say. A recent article published by the Israeli newspaper Haaretz has confirmed the extent to which Shin Bet interrogators subject their prisoners to torture. Methods include slapping the head to hurt sensitive organs like the nose, ears, brow and lips, forcing a handcuffed individual to squat against a wall for long periods of time, and placing the suspect bent backwards over a chair with his arms and legs cuffed. The interrogators accounts echo what Palestinians and Israeli human rights groups have long documented. Prisoners rights NGO Addameer said that such practices are known to be routinely and systematically used against Palestinian detainees. Other torture methods used against Palestinians include sleep deprivation and threats against family members, an Addameer spokesperson told Al Jazeera. READ MORE: Palestinians forever changed by Israeli torture Rachel Stroumsa, the executive director of the Public Committee Against Torture in Israel (PCATI), said that her NGO was aware of hundreds of complaints and allegations along these lines. In addition to interrogation being used to gain information about future acts, our experience is that torture is also used to obtain confessions regarding past acts, Stroumsa told Al Jazeera. In its annual report last year, Amnesty International found that Israeli forces and Shin Bet personnel had tortured and otherwise ill-treated Palestinian detainees, including children, particularly during arrest and interrogation, with methods including beating with batons, slapping, throttling, prolonged shackling, stress positions, sleep deprivation and threats. A representative of Defence for Children International Palestine told Al Jazeera that the groups research had shown that almost two-thirds of Palestinian children detained in the occupied West Bank by Israeli forces had endured physical violence after their arrest. Interrogators use position abuse, threats and isolation to coerce confessions from some children, and Israeli military court judges seldom exclude these confessions. by Ayed Abu Qtaish, accountability programme director at Defence for Children International - Palestine Palestinian children are regularly subjected to coercive and violent interrogation techniques intended to extract confessions, said Ayed Abu Qtaish, the groups accountability programme director. Interrogators use position abuse, threats and isolation to coerce confessions from some children, and Israeli military court judges seldom exclude these confessions. Torture and ill-treatment are so rife, human rights campaigners say, that convictions of Palestinians for security offences are fundamentally unreliable, not least because the abuse is part of a wider lack of due process. According to one study, as many as 91 percent of Palestinian detainees interrogated by the Shin Bet in the occupied West Bank are held incommunicado for either part or all of their interrogation. Stroumsa says this practice is an enabling element for torture. In the military court system, which has a 99 percent conviction rate, Palestinians can be held for 60 days without access to a lawyer compared with the United States, where the average length of interrogations producing false confessions is 16 hours. As Palestinian children continue to experience systematic ill-treatment and denial of due process rights, it becomes evident that military courts have no interest in justice, Abu Qtaish said. In addition to the torture and lack of access to counsel, Palestinians are asked to sign confession sheets in Hebrew, which they often do not understand. All of this creates a coercive environment which results in confessions made under duress, Addameer noted. A recent example is the case of Mohammad el-Halabi, a Gaza-based employee of World Vision who was charged by Israel with funnelling money to Hamas. Halabi, who is being tried in a Beer Sheva civilian court, has protested his innocence, saying that he was tortured by his interrogators. These claims were also made by his lawyers, who Halabi was prevented from seeing for three weeks after his arrest. The new Haaretz report draws attention to a topic that is not often in the limelight. In November 2015, a video of the interrogation of 13-year-old Ahmad Manasra sparked outrage, while Israels appearance at the United Nations Committee Against Torture last May which referred to coerced evidence being used in courts also gained coverage. But many other events fly under the radar. An academic study published in November 2015 in a peer-reviewed medical journal revealed dozens of cases of sexual torture and ill-treatment of Palestinian prisoners detained by Israel. READ MORE: Report details inhuman treatment in Israeli jail Activists on the ground say that an international spotlight on Israels torture practices is urgently needed, not least because of the institutionalised nature of the problem. Although an Israeli Supreme Court ruling in 1999 prohibited physical means of interrogation, Shin Bet agents were effectively given impunity for torture and ill-treatment by the so-called necessity defence or ticking bomb exemption. According to anti-torture campaigners, this exemption has served as a green light for torture ever since. Since 2001, hundreds of formal complaints have been made against Shin Bet interrogators, but not a single criminal investigation has been opened. I think international pressure is essential, and has on some issues proven its efficacy, Stroumsa said. It is also the duty of the international community to speak out on abuses, given the massive economic and political support for the State of Israel from abroad. Around a dozen squats provide housing for refugees and migrants in the Exarchia neighbourhood of Athens. Athens, Greece On a cold night in late December at a smoky venue in the Greek capital, Anfo takes to the stage and immediately launches into a song. A tall, thin man in a Soviet beret, guitarist Nikos stands on the edge of the stage. The vocalist, Sotiris, lowers his head and looks downward between guttural screams. Behind them, Giorgos Chloros pounds away at the drums. Anfo, a leftist punk band, is joined by a handful of other punk outfits. Everybody [in Anfo] is involved in the anti-capitalist struggle in some form, Chloros, a 45-year-old socialist, told Al Jazeera, explaining that they perform at anti-racism festivals and other pro-refugee events. Although Anfo often plays for free, on this particular evening they are charging a five euro fee to raise money for a squat where refugees and migrants live in the Exarchia neighbourhood of the Greek capital. Attended by more than 800 people, the bands have raised nearly 4,000 euros ($4,294) by the end of the night. The money has gone to cover repairs and the installation of heating in the Notara 26 squat, where more than 80 refugees and migrants live on a graffiti-blanketed street near the National Technical University of Athens, a school with historic significance that dates back to a popular student uprising against Greeces military junta in 1973. Standing around with his fellow band members and cracking open beers backstage after Anfos set, Chloros says: We go to as many demonstrations to support refugees as we can. Anfo, as a band and as individuals, are not exceptions. Punk rock musicians have always been involved in such kinds of solidarity festivals, he adds. The Notara 26 squat is located in a building taken over by anarchists and solidarity activists in September 2015 in Exarchia, a hub of refugee solidarity. The squat operates on principles of self-organisation and anti-authoritarianism, with activists and refugees making all decisions in assembly meetings that strive to reach a consensus between everyone involved. The volunteers at the squat include teachers, social workers, doctors and full-time activists, among others. READ MORE: Concern over EU plans to send refugees back to Greece Human beings and not numbers Originally operating as a transit centre for refugees and migrants en route to Western Europe, Notara became a full-time residence for more than 80 people when borders across the Balkans closed following an agreement between the European Union and Turkey to halt the flow of asylum seekers in March 2016. More than 62,000 refugees and migrants have been stranded in Greece because of that agreement, many living in decrepit and under-supplied camps across the countrys mainland and islands. Declining to provide his full name for legal reasons, Stelius, a solidarity activist who volunteers in Notara, explained that the squats current challenge is adapting the building to be suitable for full-time housing. On a brisk afternoon a few days after the fundraising show, a handful of Notara residents hammer away as they erect walls to create small rooms for individuals. Others sit around in the common space and chat while their telephones charge. The idea now is to provide housing, community and a place for people to establish a base so they can work towards what they want in their lives, he told Al Jazeera. With conditions in refugee camps becoming increasingly squalid by the day, squats fill a void where the Greek state and international refugee agencies fail. This is about individual caring about people and not by mass numbers, Stelius said. This is the biggest distinction between us and the state. We treat people like human beings and not numbers. READ MORE: Greek leftists turn deserted hotel into refugee homes With hopes that the borders will reopen now fading, and the EU relocation programme moving at a snails pace, far-right attacks on refugees have increased in recent months. Tucked away in Exarchias narrow alleyways are several operations like Notara, as well as nearly a dozen other squats that provide food and social services. Elsewhere in Athens, City Plaza, an abandoned hotel that was occupied by activists last April, has been turned into housing for hundreds of refugees and migrants. Maria Kenti Kranidioti, a PhD student at Durham University whose research focuses on Exarchias role in the refugee crisis, explained that the neighbourhoods pre-existing solidarity economy made it well prepared for the influx of refugees. Established by leftists and anarchists, self-organised soup kitchens, healthcare centres, social centres and squats had long existed in Exarchia, expanding when Greece was hit by its own economic crisis in 2008. Solidarity economy Dating back to the 1980s, the anti-fascist movement colloquially referred to as Antifa had been organising in the neighbourhood against far-right political currents. Solidarity activists were the first to support full citizenship and political rights for migrants without exception, Kranidioti told Al Jazeera, referring to displaced people arriving in Greece before the refugee crisis exploded in 2014. In Exarchia, they have an alternative economy and this multi-faceted place where they can organise these types of places, she added, explaining that the area was also an ideal centre for refugee solidarity because police rarely enter for fear of provoking clashes with activists. She argued that many Greeks were able to empathise with refugees and migrants because they saw the EU and the Greek state as the primary causes of both groups hardships. READ MORE: Refugees in Greece: We are living in a prison here Class war university Rami, a 38-year-old Palestinian refugee from Syria, lived in camps on the Chios island before coming to Athens and eventually landing in Notara. Fearing for the safety of his mother and children back in war-torn Syria, he asked Al Jazeera to withhold his surname. There are many different problems in the camps, Rami told Al Jazeera, alluding to a shortage of basic humanitarian goods, poor food and a lack of access to adequate medical treatment. Here in the squats, there is a community. You feel like its a family environment. In Notara, we feel like its a big family, like its our home. Rami fled Syrias Aleppo after being called up for mandatory military service in the Syrian army, leaving behind his mother, two children and sister. He recently obtained asylum in Greece and hopes to bring them through a family reunification programme. For him, Notara is a superior option to camps not just because of the poor conditions in state-run refugee shelters, but also because of the squats location in central Athens and proximity to work opportunities and state services. The camps are isolated. A lot of times they are outside of the city. Here you are inside the city. You feel like a human being, you can go out and communicate with people, he explained. Referring to racist attacks on refugee accommodation, he concluded: You dont feel alone here like when the fascists attacked the camps and the police did nothing. We escaped violence and we dont want to be involved in it at all any more. Back at the punk rock show, Anfos Giorgos Chloros says: Exarchia is a friendly neighbourhood. Its always been the area of intellectuals, open-minded people, leftists, anarchists, unionists. Its something like a big open class-war university. Asked whether Anfo will perform in similar gigs in the future, he concludes: We hope that a time comes when refugees no longer need solidarity. We would like to live in a world where no one needs solidarity. But of course we will stand with them in the meantime. Follow Patrick Strickland on Twitter: @P_Strickland_ Three Chinese tourists who were injured in a robbery in Johannesburg, South Africa, on Saturday have been sent to a hospital and are all in stable condition. The victims - a woman and her parents - were with a tour group organized by an agency in Liuzhou, the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region. The group arrived at the Johannesburg Airport Holiday Inn Hotel on Saturday evening and planned to fly home the next day. They were checking in when four gun-wielding assailants stormed into the hotel and robbed them of their suitcases and handbags. The mother suffered a head injury from a sandblasting gun, the father's chest and legs were scratched by bullets, and the daughter's head was slightly bruised as they tried to fight back. The Liuzhou Tourism Development Commission has asked the tourism agency to treat the injured tourists and seek help from the Chinese embassy in South Africa. So far, the agent has offered 100,000 yuan ($14,570) in advance for the treatment of their injuries. The other members of the tour returned to China on Sunday as scheduled, leaving the tour leader to take care of the injured tourists. The National Tourism Administration expressed its grave concern over the case in a statement on Sunday, saying it has urged the South African tourism department to deal with the case and take any necessary measures to guarantee the safety of Chinese tourists in the country. The Chinese consulate general in Johannesburg mentioned on Sunday that a similar robbery targeting Chinese tourists took place in Johannesburg on Thursday last week, in which the tourists were robbed of their belongings, though no one was hurt. The consulate general suggests tourists improve safety awareness while traveling in the country. Ramallah Palestinian politicians and human rights groups are warning that a new law passed by the Israeli parliament violates international laws and is a step towards Israel annexing the occupied West Bank. Quick facts According to Peace Now, law will allow for the expropriation of land in more than 50 settlements and outposts There are 16 cases where demolition orders have already been issued by Israeli authorities As a result of the new law, settlers in these illegal outposts would be allowed to remain in their homes The so-called Regulation Law, passed on Monday night, allows for the retroactive legalisation of about 4,000 homes built by Jewish settlers on privately owned Palestinian land. The law sets a new legal framework that implements the Israeli political interest and puts it above international humanitarian law, Suhad Bishara, a lawyer at the Adalah legal centre for Arab minority rights in Israel, told Al Jazeera. The law violates both the right to property and the right to dignity, Bishara said. The most obvious case here is that it violates property rights, because it basically confiscates private property for the sake of the illegal settlers, she said. But we cannot avoid the aspect of dignity here, and humiliation, and no value at all for the rights of the Palestinian owners of the land. READ MORE: Israels settlement bill big step towards annexation Before the bill was passed, Israels attorney general said that it was unconstitutional and that he would not be able to defend it. Along with other rights groups, Adalah is set to file a petition against the law to Israels Supreme Court later this week, as well as asking for a temporary order not to implement the law until Israels highest court gives a final decision. According to the Israeli rights group Peace Now, the law will allow for the expropriation of land in more than 50 settlements and outposts. There are 16 cases where demolition orders have already been issued by Israeli authorities, including land in the settlements of Ofra, Eli and Beit El, among others. As a result of the new law, the settlers in these illegal outposts would be allowed to remain in their homes. Palestinian lawmakers in the Knesset denounced the law, calling it a direct challenge to the international community in the wake of Decembers United Nations Security Council resolution that called for an end to settlement building. From the political point of view and from the legal point of view, this law should not have been legislated. This is a law that is meant to implement the creeping annexation of Palestinian occupied lands to Israel, Aida Touma-Suleiman, an MK with the Arab Joint List, told Al Jazeera. This is a law that is challenging the international community. Its arrogant behaviour by this government, who are not willing to pay attention to what the international community is [saying]. It is about time to hold them responsible for the decisions and laws they are legislating. Gilad Grossman, a spokesperson for the Israeli human rights NGO Yesh Din, said that the law has stripped Palestinian landowners of any chance to reclaim their land. What it means is that Palestinian landowners cant get their land back, whether they want to or not, he said. READ MORE: Palestinians call Israel settlement expansion a war crime As a result of the new law, Palestinian landowners only have the option of financial compensation, Grossman added to go through the system of the people who stole your land and to ask for them to give you some money, as much as they decide to give you, on the conditions they decide with the proof they demand. The ownership of the land itself will remain in the hands of the Palestinian landowners, although they will not be able to access or use it. Its a very cynical law, Grossman noted. It basically means that they own the land and can get it back in the future, if there will be some kind of political agreement and decision regarding the West Bank. It was stolen and now its being leased against their will basically, and theres nothing they can do about it. On Tuesday morning, Israels high court ruled that 17 buildings in the illegal outpost of Tapuach Maarav would have to be demolished by 2018. It is not clear how the new law will affect that ruling. No other US president has been seen so positively in a country that long challenged Washingtons post-WWII supremacy. Ryazan, Russia The name Godless Street, a legacy of Soviet-era persecution of religion, did not sound right to some residents of this ancient Russian city. So, historian and publicist Sergei Bizyukin came up with a new one. How about a Donald Trump Street, he thought in late November, days after the American billionaires unexpected presidential election victory? Bizyukins online petition whose motto Lets make Ryazan great again mimicked Trumps campaign slogan had almost 300 votes by early February. Some saw it as a joke and signed because it was fun, some stood for normalisation of US-Russia ties, and some signed because they dont like the name Godless Street, Bizyukin told Al Jazeera. WATCH: Why do Russians love Putin so much? The petition generated some media buzz amid nascent Trumpomania, an unprecedented trend in Russia where anti-Americanism has for decades been part of the political DNA. No other US president has been seen so positively in a country that challenged Washingtons post-WWII supremacy, and where many still think the United States masterminded the 1991 Soviet collapse. The Kremlins neoconservative and isolationist agenda aligned with many of Trumps anti-liberal, populist postulates, and his appreciation of Russian President Vladimir Putin revived hopes that the US will accept Russia as an equal superpower. After a 45-minute-long telephone conversation between the leaders on January 28, the Kremlin and its loyalists beamed with optimism. Putin and Trump agreed to actively work together to stabilise and develop Russian-American interaction in a constructive, equal and mutually beneficial basis, the Kremlin said in a statement. It emphasised their agreement to establish a partnership to fight the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS), help resolve crises in the Middle East and around North Korea. Words such as equal and partnership were music to the ears of many Russian politicians. After the 1991 Soviet collapse, the Kremlin complained that the White House treated it like an inferior, minor power. Russia fiercely objected to NATOs expansion in Eastern Europe, Washingtons invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq, and its meddling in the affairs of Western-leaning ex-Soviet nations. The conversation showed Putin and Trump lead the world politics now, Alexey Pushkov, an outspoken Russian senator, said in a tweet. Kiev, Vilnius, Riga, Tallinn, Warsaw, Oslo, Stockholm, NATO are horrified by the results of the Putin-Trump conversation. Getting ready for hard times,' he said in another Twitter post listing Eastern European and Scandinavian capitals whose leaders mistrust Russia after the 2014 annexation of Crimea . Western sanctions over Crimea, along with low oil prices, crippled Russias economy. Unsurprisingly, Moscow had paid attention to Trumps pre-election suggestion to recognise Crimea as part of Russia and to lift the sanctions. Obamaphobia derogatory and racist This Trumpomania contrasts starkly with the perennial squall of negative, indecent or outright racist comments that Russian leaders and public figures have made about former President Barack Obama. Initially businesslike, ties between Putin and Obama soured over an array of issues including Russias backing of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad . Obama cancelled a G-20 meeting in St Petersburg in 2013 and made unflattering remarks about Putin and Russia. He compared the Russian leader to a bored kid in the back of the classroom. Putin was reportedly infuriated by the comment. After Crimeas annexation and amid bloodshed in eastern Ukraine, Obama also called Russia a regional power and championed a series of sanctions against Moscow and selected Kremlin officials and public figures. A top Russian diplomat called Obamas policies Russophobic. Recently, [Obamas] bad manners and open Russophobia have been supplemented by anger over the election lost by its candidate and an intention to look for those guilty in their loss anywhere but home, Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said in a comment posted on his ministrys website in mid-January, referring to Hillary Clintons defeat and claims that Russia organised hacker attacks against the Democratic Party. A flamboyant nationalist leader was far less diplomatic. Obama should get a D for flunking because of his [performance] as a head of such a huge state as America, Vladimir Zhirinovsky, who heads the ultra-nationalist LDPR party, said in late December. A month earlier, Zhirinovsky told an obscene joke about Obama and German Chancellor Angela Merkel during a live show on the national Channel One. The sound of his laughter has become a popular ringtone. Such statements triggered cruel, politically incorrect jokes that focused on Obamas facial features and skin colour. In April 2016, a confectioner in the Volga region announced the launch of Obamka a chocolate-glazed ice cream with a depiction of a dark-skinned cartoon character. The factory claimed that the packaging was inspired by a Soviet film about an African boy and denied the name had anything to do with Obama. Nine days before Trumps inauguration, as Obama expanded sanctions against Russia, foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova described him and his administration as no less than ungodly. God created the world in seven days, she wrote on Facebook. The Obama administration has seven and two more days to destroy it. OPINION: The inevitable Trumputin divorce Saviour of unhappy America? As a result of this Trumpomania, many Russians have warmed up to the US. In January, 49 percent of them were negative about the US, according to the Levada Center, Russias last independent pollster. A year earlier, the number reached a staggering 81 percent, Levada said . Some Russians even see Trump as a political messiah who will rid the US of liberalism, globalisation policies, and same-sex marriages. America is an unhappy nation and Trump arrived to make it happy again was the name of an analytical show aired in late January by Czargrad TV, a neoconservative, Orthodox Christian television network whose shows often feature homophobic, anti-Western, or monarchist figures. On the day of Trumps inauguration, Czargrad TV threw a party with dozens of neoconservative political activists and heads of pro-Kremlin media outlets. One brought along a triptych of oil portraits of Trump, Putin, and French ultranationalist Marine Le Pen the pillars of a new political order in the US, Russia and the European Union, she said. We see that Barack Obama and his administration have done everything to worsen ties between Russia and the US, to dictate their will to the entire world, to topple the legally elected leaders they dont like, Maria Katasonova, a former member of the United Peoples Front, an ultraconservative nationalist group, told Al Jazeera. Trump has said that he will stop the practice of organising colour revolutions, that indeed are coups, throughout the world, and, finally, a dialogue with Russia will be normalised, she added. She missed the fact the colour revolutions that triggered the resurgence of anti-Americanism in Putins Russia took place during former President George W Bushs rule. Moscow accused Washington of organising the 2003-2004 Rose Revolution in former-Soviet Georgia and the 2004-2005 Orange Revolution in Ukraine, which brought pro-Western leaders to power and undermined Russias political clout there. Imminent letdown? But not everyone revels in Trumpomania. A top foreign affairs official in the Russian parliament suggested that Trumps political agenda, focused on his America First motto, will inevitably clash with Russias interests. We definitely should not expect a road covered with roses, Konstantin Kosachyov said in televised remarks in early February. A Moscow-based political analyst warned that the bromance between Putin and Trump may end in a bitter political divorce. I dont understand the euphoria that arose after Trumps election, Alexi Mukhin told Al Jazeera. Most likely, a harsh disappointment awaits the part of Russian society that sympathises with him. Qayyarah, Iraq Six months after ISIL fighters torched oil wells in Qayyarah, Iraqi fire crews are still battling the flames. Like a scene from a Hollywood blockbuster, a vast and pervasive darkness hangs over Qayyarah, as toxic black smoke billows from the burning wells. Oil has been a key source of income for the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS) group, making Qayyarah an important strategic town. Its recapture last August by Iraqi forces was a significant gain in their advance towards Mosul. Before fleeing, ISIL fighters used explosives to torch several oil wells, initially as a defensive measure to thwart coalition air strikes. But as the group began losing ground to Iraqi forces, they adopted a scorched-earth strategy, destroying as many oil wells as possible. The operation to extinguish the fires, now in its fifth month, is proving to be a difficult, dangerous and time-consuming task. Teams of firefighters, machine operators, mechanics, engineers and safety experts have come from across the country to join the effort but regardless of when the flames are extinguished, the human and environmental costs will probably linger for years. Davood Moradian is the director-general of the Afghan Institute for Strategic Studies. Kabul has joined Moscow, Tel Aviv and a few other capitals in welcoming Donald Trumps presidential administration. Although Trump has not yet elaborated on his policy towards Afghanistan, his harsh and blunt criticisms of Washingtons ills, of the opportunistic and duplicitous US allies and of the US failure to win wars resonate with many Afghans. Trump is the fifth US president to deal with Afghanistan as a central foreign policy issue and national security concern. For his four predecessors Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, George W Bush and Barack Obama Afghanistan was an inescapable crisis and an inherited challenge. The Soviet invasion of Afghanistan and the terrorist attacks of 9/11 made the country one of Washingtons foreign policy priorities for nearly four decades. Trump has now inherited a 16-year-old conflict with direct US military involvement and a political quagmire within a regime it helped install. Kabul is paralysed by a stalled political process, rampant corruption, a resilient terrorist group and Pakistans stubborn obsession with making Afghanistan its strategic depth. On his first day of his presidency, Trump encouraged US soldiers based in Afghanistan, saying, Keep fighting. Were going to win. Were going to win. As a hyper self-confident businessman with impeccable corporate skill, to win in Afghanistan where Obama failed, Trump needs to know that he cannot go about business as usual. Past mistakes In the coming weeks, Trump and his national security team will be reading and listening to many assessments and proposals on the way forward in Afghanistan. The new US administration must begin by critically examining Washingtons assumptions, approaches and partners in Afghanistan in a broader regional and global context. One prevailing assumption in Washington is the perception of the US misplaced priority in promoting nation-building in Afghanistan, compounded by rampant Afghan corruption. OPINION: No consensus in Afghanistan on how to deal with Taliban Both Obama and Trump have criticised US involvement in nation-building in Afghanistan and promised to end it. However, neither of them defined or clarified their understanding of nation-building. This confusion has been exacerbated by Washingtons simplistic and partial understanding of the root causes of corruption in Afghanistan and its denial of western entities having a role in it. The massive waste, incompetence, corruption, hypocrisy, and unaccountability within western entities are actually significantly under-reported. The recently released report on the massive $125bn waste in the Pentagon, or the leaked information on the monthly payment of $150,000 by Ashraf Ghanis election team to influence Washingtons view on fraud during the 2014 Afghan presidential election, show that corruption is not exclusively an oriental sin. To paraphrase former US Sectary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, the mission no longer determines the coalition in Afghanistan; instead, the many coalition members determine the mission, which results in incoherence and contradictions. by Afghanistan is the place where Trumps criticism of NATO and European performance are valid. The US has two types of European and NATO partners in Afghanistan: the reluctant partners and the dubious ones. The former are some European allies, who would literally not fight after tea time due to the restriction on their combat role; the latter are those who systematically undermine US objectives by legitimising the Taliban in the guise of peace talks and shielding Pakistans detrimental policies in Afghanistan. To paraphrase former US Sectary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, the mission no longer determines the coalition in Afghanistan; instead, the many coalition members determine the mission, which has resulted in incoherence and contradictions. Regional policy and the choice of regional partners is another area where Washington made a huge mistake. US policies have been primarily Pakistan-centric. As early as 2003, Pakistans duplicitous role was recognised by US intelligence and diplomatic stations in the region, but Washington chose to ignore their warnings. Despite growing evidence of Pakistans systematic support to various terrorist groups and its nuclear proliferation, Pakistan was recognised as US major non-NATO ally in 2004 and has received more than $30bn of military and economic assistance since 2002 (PDF). On the other hand, US natural ally in the region, India, has been constantly discouraged from assuming an active role in stabilising Afghanistan. Washingtons wrong assumptions about Afghanistan and its unreliable Afghan partners compounded its other misfortune. Washington allowed British colonial thinking, Pakistans hegemonic agenda and a number of Afghan-Americans personal and ethnic ambitions to manipulate Washingtons mindset and shape US policies and strategies in Afghanistan. These intellectual manipulations and misunderstandings resulted in three principal political and institutional errors. One is imposing one of the worlds most rigid centralised political orders on one of the worlds most diverse societies. This was followed by the institutionalisation of patronage politics and of political domination enjoyed by self-proclaimed representatives of one ethnic group at the expense of the consolidation of democratic politics. Washingtons ambiguous relations with the Taliban was the third mistake. Despite Talibans consistent actions and rhetoric confirming they are an integral part of radical Islamist movements, the US diplomats and Obama administration treated the Taliban as a misguided indigenous rural Pashtun group. The way forward Unlike Syria which has become a land of no options, the post-Taliban political structure in Afghanistan still enjoys broad domestic, regional and international support, including bipartisan backing in the US. The new US administration has to strengthen the principal foundation of this architecture: democratic and inclusive politics, regional consensus, and long-term international support, including US commitment to the Afghanistan-US Bilateral Security Agreement. This has to be reinforced by addressing the wrong assumptions of the previous administrations, confronting Afghan and regional spoilers and fixing incompetencies in Washington and within the coalition. Obamas Afghan policy was premised on the idea of peace through appeasement. But the Afghan war can only be won by peace through strength, which can only be achieved through a functioning democratic and sovereign political order in Kabul. Afghanistan is the place where Islamic radicalism was born and nurtured by the West, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and even Maoist China, in their ideological and geostrategic competition with the Soviet Union (PDF). Although the US succeeded in defeating its arch communist rival in Afghanistan in the 1980s, it has been struggling to defeat its new global enemy: terrorist groups. Its victory in Afghanistan will also affect the global struggle against this threat, both symbolically and strategically. Davood Moradian is the director-general of the Afghan Institute for Strategic Studies and former chief of programmes in President Hamid Karzais office and chief policy adviser to Afghanistans ministry of foreign affairs. The views expressed in this article are the authors own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeeras editorial policy. Romanias protests last week showed that its civic activism is mature enough to tackle severe abuses of power. On the afternoon of February 5 citizens in Bucharest marched simultaneously from several neighbourhoods across the city, converging on Piata Victoriei where the government building is located. The symbolism of this march was splendid: the grassroots coming together from the smallest corners to stand up to a central government perceived as abusive. For the past fortnight, hundreds of thousands have been demonstrating, first weekly, then daily, across all of Romania against two government proposals that would have seen those guilty of abuse in office pardoned or having their sentence reduced. Then on the night of February 4, the Social-Democratic Party (PSD) which controls the government had announced tht it would withdraw the executive decree reducing some corruption sentences which had drawn the most public criticism. While people gathered in Piata Victoriei and elsewhere celebrated this victory, they also knew that the PSD would still try to push ahead with the measures. In the most likely scenario, the proposed legal changes will be put to vote in a parliament dominated by the PSD. The continuation of protests on February 5 despite the governments announcement was meant to show the executive that it was being watched carefully. Protests may quiet down over the next days but they will most likely pick up once the laws get close to a parliamentary vote. The legal jargon around the two PSD legislative proposals was so complicated that even legal experts were struggling to figure out what was going on. But the nuances of the debate were not lost to protesters. As some in the crowd started asking for the resignation of the government, others immediately pointed out that the government had to stay until it withdrew the executive order and only then resign, otherwise the measures would have legal effect. This is evidence of the high level of sophistication among protesters, many of whom have participated in several waves of demonstrations in Romania since 2012 and become skillful at calling public institutions to account, communicating and organising. Building a protest movement The strength of the protests of the past week cannot be understood without looking back at the past years of social mobilisation in Romania. This did not come out of the blue. Protest mobilisation coalesced for the first time during anti-austerity protests in 2012 but it became really powerful during 2013 when weekly protests were staged across the country to save the village of Rosia Montana from a cyanide-based gold mining project. It defeated the PSD government then, which emboldened it. Street protests stopped for a while but returned whenever there was something at stake: fighting deforestation, protecting green spaces in cities or changing electoral laws to make space for smaller parties and independents. New independent media and local activist groups were born. Mass demonstrations happened again after the Colectiv nightclub fire that killed 64 people in Bucharest in 2015. That tragedy revived investigative journalism that revealed criminal flaws in the functioning of the Romanian medical system. A few years ago, during one of the protests, an activist held a banner with the words A quarter of century of solitude. Referring to the famous novel of Gabriel Garcia Marquez, the protester, a historian and activist who had dedicated his adult life to mobilising young people towards civic involvement, was possibly reflecting on how daunting the task was. Like other post-communist countries, Romanian society was known for its low levels of civic involvement and solidarity. Fear of the Securitate the secret police during communism followed by the aggressive individualism of capitalism had left Romanias social fabric in tatters. Those speaking about collective political action were seen as freaks. But within little more than five years this has changed. When the PSD unveiled the corruption laws, people knew what they had to do get together in the streets and protest. It had become a familiar practice. The failure of post-communist transition Last weeks protests were the biggest since the fall of communism and participation was diverse, across age groups, economic class and political values. Moral outrage against a government ready to circumvent democratic process to serve its members interests united people. At the same time small gestures of solidarity popped up such as restaurants offering free food and warm tea and hotels offering accommodation to those travelling to Bucharest to protest. Romania's street protests will not solve the country's problems. by A historical photograph from the bloody 1989 anti-communist revolution has been in circulation recently showing a young man holding a sign saying: We are here so that our children can be free. It was echoed last week by young people, the children of the 1989 demonstrators, holding banners saying: We are still in the streets protesting. The post-communist transition failed in many ways in Romania: primarily, because poverty levels are still staggering and the lives of working people still precarious. The PSDs attack on democratic practices in order to pardon the corrupt indicated another failure: even the fundamentals of democracy have been under threat. But while a decade ago, Romanians would complain that they are a passive society not responding to abuse from the rich and powerful, today it is different. On February 4 in Bucharest, a childrens protest took place in Piata Victoriei, with families bringing their youngsters out on to the streets to teach them the value of civic involvement. The Romanian state is still failing most of its citizens, but something changed. Many are ready to do their it to help. Authoritarian regimes are rising everywhere in the world, not just in post-socialist Eastern Europe where democracies were always thought to be fragile. Last week, the PSD gave a first sign that it was ready to sacrifice democratic processes for its own interests and justify it with redistributive measures that are desperately needed. OPINION: Romania Keep the corrupt in jail, where they belong The citizen response this past week has dealt a severe blow to the PSD. The party may have thought that winning elections by 45 percent allowed it to do whatever it wanted for the next four years, but protesters insisted the election result was not a blank cheque. Romanias street protests will not solve the countrys problems. Failing public institutions, poverty and inequality, racism among others are very real problems that need to be addressed by wise policies and the political will to carry them through. If they are not dealt with, parties like the PSD will always try to exploit those failures for political benefit. Romania desperately needs an alternative to the PSD on the left that could tackle these issues effectively. The demonstrations show that citizen power can check abuses by the powerful. In a world where our tolerance for such abuse seems to be increasing by the day, thats an extraordinarily hopeful development. Claudia Ciobanu is a Romanian freelance reporter based in Warsaw. Her articles have appeared in the Guardian and Reuters among others. The views expressed in this article are the authors own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeeras editorial policy. If Ukraine turns away from the Minsk Agreement, there will be no Western leverage to put pressure on Russia. The first Grad multiple launch rockets were fired from areas under Kremlin-backed militant control hit Avdiivka in eastern Ukraine only a day after US President Donald Trump held his first official phone call with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. While some viewed the timing of this attack as a chilling confirmation of the new United States administrations willingness to make deals with Moscow at Ukraines expense, neither the motives behind the sudden escalation, nor its effect on the current situation are that straightforward. There were certainly grounds for concern and the feeling of angst, only strengthened when a Kremlin spokesperson said that the recent escalation in Ukraine proved the need for dialogue between the US and Russia. It is implementation of the Minsk Agreement that is required, not dialogue. This, however, includes a ceasefire, withdrawal of all heavy weapons and, eventually, the securing of the Russian-Ukrainian border. But Russia is actively trying get the Minsk-linked sanctions lifted without fulfilling the commitments it made. The fears of some Ukrainians that the new US administration may be amenable to make deals with Russia that bypass the conditions of the Minsk Agreement are not unfounded. Even if we ignore the US intelligence report demonstrating that Russia directly interfered in the US elections to get Trump elected, Trumps own statements have given Ukraine reason to fear for the future of US support to Ukraine and its commitment to the sanctions. Since Russias invasion and annexation of Crimea, Trump has on numerous occasions praised Putin, even calling Russias aggression against Ukraine smart. During the election campaign, he stated that they would be looking into recognising Crimea as a Russian territory and lifting sanctions on Moscow. He has even dismissed Russias involvement in the downing of the Malaysian MH17 airliner over militant-controlled territory in July 2014 despite compelling evidence. It was after that disaster that hard-hitting sanctions were imposed on Russia and these sanctions were tied to Moscows compliance with the Minsk Agreement. Trumps people have been actively meeting with Russians and fuelling Moscows hopes that sanctions will be lifted. There is also an ongoing campaign to push the claim that sanctions dont work and that Ukraine may have to give up Crimea in exchange for some kind of a peace deal in Eastern Ukraine. The sanctions, including those over Crimea, are hurting Russia hard and the Kremlin needs them lifted. But if it hoped to steer dialogue on to such deals by escalating the conflict, its plan may have backfired. Russia is behind the Avdiivka attack Avdiivka, a strategically important city under Ukrainian control, came under attack on January 28. A Bellingcat report has confirmed reports and videos indicating that the intensive shelling of the city was carried out from residential parts of militant-controlled Donetsk. Moscows attempt to blame Ukraine for this escalation was largely rejected by the international community, since the scale of the attack, and the use of Grad missiles and other heavy artillery makes it inconceivable that this attack was carried out without Moscows approval. Andrei Piontkovsky, a Russian political analyst, suggested that Russian military personnel may have been in charge of the operation. Western journalists who visited Avdiivka have also reported evidence of a psychological warfare operation of a sophistication that suggested Russian involvement. Ukrainian soldiers, for example, were bombarded with text messages saying: Youre just meat to your commanders. Another reason for assuming Russian military involvement in this attack is that the the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) officials in Vienna were warned of a likely escalation on January 26. Daniel Baer, the former US ambassador to the OSCE, recently pointed out that even if fighting is on both sides, this is still a situation where Ukraine is the victim and Russia the aggressor. Baer, however, was removed on January 20, and it remains to be seen whether the new US Mission to the OSCE will continue to take a firm stand on this issue. This is, after all, the critical question. Retaining a grip on Ukraine Whether or not the order came from the Kremlin directly, Ukraine is in no doubt that Moscows primary aim remains the same to retain its grip on Ukraine through the debilitating and destabilising effect of the conflict in Eastern Ukraine. The so-called Donetsk and Luhansk Peoples Republics are entirely artificial creations, propped by Russian money, weapons and fighters. Real implementation of the Minsk Agreement would almost certainly lead to their collapse. The militants themselves have acknowledged having no interest in the Minsk Agreement working. READ MORE: Losing everything in Avdiivka Russia knows this and does not want to relinquish its control over Ukraine. The Russian-backed militants continue to delay releasing hostages and violate ceasefires. The White House was very slow in reacting to the new escalation and during his phone conversation with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, Trump only mentioned, rather oddly, that the US is willing to help restore peace along the border. Nonetheless Nikki Haley, the new US Ambassador to the UN, has come out with a clear statement indicating that there is no change in policy, either on Crimea or on the Minsk agreements. This leaves Russia with the option of trying to discredit the Minsk agreements inside Ukraine or to prove that Kiev is at fault. One motive for the carnage and suffering caused in Avdiivka may have been to convince Ukrainians and perhaps the US that the Minsk accords are not working and should be abandoned. If the Trump administration is hoping to come to some kind of arrangement with Putin, it would probably want to avoid doing so by lifting sanctions when agreement conditions have not been met, and when other countries are standing by them. Ukraine will defend itself There are certainly voices of disgruntlement inside Ukraine, but there is understanding that the removal of sanctions against Russia will encourage its aggression further. As political commentator Serhiy Taran warned, if Ukraine turns away from the Minsk Agreement, there will be no western leverage to put pressure on Russia. Moscow may, however, have made one other miscalculation. In 2014, Ukraine was in no state to defend itself properly after four years of the Viktor Yanukovych regime. During the latest offensive, the country showed its strength. There was extraordinarily efficient cooperation between the military, government agencies and civilian organisations ensuring that people in the besieged city cut off from electricity and heating had somewhere to go. In other cities, hundreds waited patiently to donate blood. Ukraine is not broken and will defend itself. The latest offensive has, nonetheless, demonstrated how cynically Moscow will use weapons of death and destruction for its own questionable gains. This is a lesson the new Trump administration would do well to heed before attempting any deals with Putin. Halya Coynash is a journalist and member of the Kharkiv Human Rights Group. The views expressed in this article are the authors own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeeras editorial policy. Justice department files brief with federal appeals court in support of President Donald Trumps travel and refugee ban. The US government has lodged papers with a federal appeals court against the suspension of President Donald Trumps controversial travel ban. The document, which argues that barring immigrants from seven mainly Muslim countries is a lawful exercise of the presidents authority, was filed on Monday with the San Francisco-based 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals. The move by the justice department comes after an appeals court over the weekend denied the Trump administrations request to immediately set aside a Seattle judges ruling that put a hold on the ban nationwide. READ MORE: Trump clashes with courts over immigration ban The federal appeals court asked lawyers for the states of Washington and Minnesota, which are legally challenging Trumps order, and the justice department to argue at 23:00 GMT on Tuesday whether the ban should remain shelved. What will be argued in court is a very narrow legal interpretation, which is, does the president have the right to issue executive orders which can stop people coming into the country, Al Jazeeras Alan Fisher, reporting from Washington, DC, said. Washington state and Minnesota sued Trump last week, saying that the ban harmed residents and effectively mandated discrimination. The justice department says that the issue is a matter of national security and Trumps executive order was well within his authority. The noise that is coming out of the White House in the last few hours is that they believe they are on very solid ground and that the executive order will soon be resumed, Al Jazeeras Fisher said. IN PICTURES: Solidarity and British humour at London anti-Trump demo Earlier on Monday, White House spokesman Sean Spicer said the Trump administration was confident it will prevail in the lawsuit. Clearly, the law is on the presidents side, Spicer told reporters on Air Force One. He has broad discretion to do whats in the nations best interest to protect our people, and we feel very confident that we will prevail in this matter, he added. Significant harm The restrictions on all refugees and travellers from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen went into effect on January 27, causing chaos at airports across the US and leaving travellers trying to reach the country in limbo. Refugees from Syria were blocked indefinitely. The political backlash for Trump has been equally severe, with the order prompting numerous mass protests. OPINION: Trumps Muslim ban is a dangerous distraction Top technology giants, including Apple, Google and Microsoft banded together with nearly 100 companies on Sunday to file a legal brief opposing Trumps immigration ban, arguing that it inflicts significant harm on American business. Noting that immigrants or their children founded more than 200 of the companies on the Fortune 500 list, the brief said Trumps order represents a significant departure from the principles of fairness and predictability that have governed the immigration system of the United States for more than 50 years. The controversial executive order also inflicts significant harm on American business, innovation, and growth as a result, the brief added. Trump, who during his campaign called for a temporary ban on Muslims entering the US, has repeatedly vowed to reinstate the ban. Pakistani cabinet decides to push back Afghan refugees legal right to stay in the country from March 31 to end of 2017. Islamabad, Pakistan Pakistans government has extended a deadline for Afghan refugees to leave the country until the end of 2017, according to state media. A meeting of the cabinet, presided over by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, on Tuesday pushed back the refugees legal right to stay from the previous deadline of March 31, state-run APP news agency reported. There are currently about 1.3 million registered Afghan refugees residing in Pakistan, according to the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR). Many fled violence in their country more than 30 years ago, during the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, with others fleeing the US-led invasion in 2001. There are also about a million unregistered Afghan refugees present in the country, Pakistani officials say. A recent crackdown by Pakistani authorities, citing security concerns, has seen a sharp rise in both deportations and voluntary repatriations of Afghan nationals from the country. READ MORE: A hard winter Afghan refugees return from Pakistan Last year, more than 600,000 Afghan refugees left Pakistan to return to their home countries, data from the UNHCR and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) shows. For registered refugees, that number represents a more than six-fold increase from the previous year, according to UNHCR. At least 22,559 Afghans were also deported by Pakistani authorities in that period, IOM says. Refugees and rights groups say increased harassment by police and stricter restrictions on crossing and returning from Pakistans northwestern border with Afghanistan have been responsible for the rising numbers. The cabinet meeting on Tuesday reaffirmed those tighter controls on the border. It was also decided that the Afghans cross-border movement would now be regulated through the visa regime and their entry passes would be linked with it, reported APP. In November 2015, US-based rights group Human Rights Watch documented a campaign of abuse and harassment of Afghan refugees by Pakistani police, involving confiscation of their registration cards, bribes and raids on their homes. READ MORE: Afghan returnee girls at risk of early marriage Report Pakistani officials deny there is any such policy or campaign. Until last year, Pakistan regularly extended the Afghan refugees legal status in the country for at least 12 months every year. In June, however, an extension of only six months was offered until December 31, 2016. The next extension lasted only three months, until March 31, 2017. Supreme leader hits back at US president over his travel ban and threats towards Iran. Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has said that he was grateful to US President Donald Trump for revealing the real face of America. We are thankful to this gentleman he showed the real face of America, Khamenei said in a speech to military officers in Tehran on Tuesday. [It was] what we have said for more than 30 years that there is political, economic, moral and social corruption in the ruling system of the US. This gentleman came and brought it out into the open in the election and after the election. He referred to the case of a young Iranian boy who was pictured in handcuffs at a US airport following Trumps ban on visas from Iran, among other countries. By what he does handcuffing a five-year-old child he shows the true meaning of American human rights, Khamenei said. Iran is one of the seven predominantly Muslim countries that the Trump administration tried to ban from entering the US. The related executive order last week was frozen by the US judiciary and an appeals court is to hear Trumps latest arguments to reinstate the ban. Khamenei also responded to Trumps tweet of February 3, when the US president said: Iran is playing with fire they dont appreciate how kind President Obama was to them. He ridiculed the idea of being grateful to former President Barack Obama, saying he was the one who placed paralysing sanctions on Iran and helped create the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS) group through his destabilising actions in Iraq and Syria. READ MORE: Donald Trump clashes with courts over immigration ban This is the first time the supreme leader, the highest authority in the republic, has directly responded to Donald Trumps comments and threats towards Iran [with] very strong words, Al Jazeeras Dorsa Jabbari, reporting from Tehran, said. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani earlier criticised Trumps statements regarding his countrys nuclear deal with Washington and other major powers. He called the nuclear agreement a win-win agreement, in response to Trump, who said it was the worst deal in history. The nuclear talks should be used as an example for other talks for stability and security in the region, he said. World powers and Iran reached a landmark deal in July 2015 to curb the countrys nuclear programme in exchange for sanctions relief. Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said that with Trump in the White House, Tehran faced difficult days ahead on the nuclear deal. I believe Trump may try to renegotiate the deal, but clearly, neither Iran, nor the Europeans or the international community will accept new negotiations, Zarif told Ettelaat newspaper in an interview published on Tuesday. Altered picture purports to show party leader Alexander Pechtold at rally with banners calling for rule of Islamic law. Dutch far-right MP Geert Wilders, known for his comments attacking Islam and Muslims, has triggered a fight over fake news, after posting a Twitter message showing a digitally altered picture of another party leader at a rally. Some five weeks before key elections in The Netherlands, Wilders on Monday posted the fake picture of D66 leader Alexander Pechtold supposedly at a rally with Muslims holding up signs reading: Islam will conquer Europe and Shariah for The Netherlands, referring to Islamic law. Wilders anti-Islam and anti-immigrant platform has helped propel his Freedom Party (PVV) to the top of the opinion polls in recent months in advance of the March 15 vote. In his tweet, he accused Pechtold, who heads the pro-European, social-liberal D66 party of demonstrating with Hamas terrorists. D66 wil Amsterdam afsplitsen als de verkiezingsuitslag tegenvalt. Pechtold demonstreert met Hamas-terroristen. Is dit de volgende stap? pic.twitter.com/U07jHfQmyh Geert Wilders (@geertwilderspvv) February 6, 2017 D66 is one of 28 parties contesting the election and is currently trailing fifth in the polls. Wilders taunt prompted an angry reaction from Pechtold. Usually, I laugh at Photoshopped pictures on the internet. But not this time, he wrote on his Facebook page. Not because I cant stand up for myself but because it gives people false impressions. Last year, Pechtold sued a PVV supporter over photos that sparked death threats against him. In these times of fake news and alternative facts, we cant just ignore the consequences that such a fake image can have, he said. I draw the line today. The AFP news agency reported that other politicians also sided with Pechtold. Jesse Klaver, leader of GroenLinks (Green Left), called Wilders Tweet low and irresponsible. Those who tweet fake news about others, tarnish their own credibility. READ MORE: Far-right MP Geert Wilders found guilty of hate speech Deputy Prime Minister Lodewijk Asscher, leader of the Labour party, simply retweeted Wilders tweet with the message delete your account. But Wilders hit back against Pechtold on Twitter, saying: Stop complaining, drama queen. You have demonstrated standing among Palestinian flags, with friends of Hamas. #hypocrite. The vote in The Netherlands will kick off a year of elections in Europe with ballots also due in France and Germany. They will be closely watched amid the rise of populist and far-right parties on the continent. North Dakota House lawmakers advanced four bills Monday aimed at giving law enforcement more tools for responding to Dakota Access Pipeline protests. The package of bills, which some opponents criticized as knee-jerk legislation, would double the penalties for some riot offenses and create a new felony offense for individuals who cause economic harm while committing a misdemeanor. The legislation, which still needs to be considered by the state Senate, also would make it a misdemeanor to wear a mask while committing a crime. Rep. Terry Jones, R-New Town, said he and other members of the House Judiciary Committee carefully considered the proposals with the goal of protecting citizens' rights. The Judiciary Committee is working really hard to balance the rights of North Dakota citizens to protest and the rights of North Dakota citizens to live under rule of law and conduct their day-to-day activities, Jones said. Legislators voted 72-19 to approve House Bill 1193, which creates a new Class C felony offense for causing $1,000 or more in economic harm while committing a misdemeanor. The new charge would apply to situations such as pipeline protesters who attach themselves to equipment to stall construction of the pipeline. This bill protects constitutional rights for those that are peacefully protesting, said Rep. Kim Koppelman, R-West Fargo, chairman of the Judiciary Committee. It just has consequences when they cross the line. Opponents questioned whether a felony offense was appropriate. I am opposed to knee-jerk legislation because its almost always bad legislation, said Rep. Rick Becker, R-Bismarck. Legislators voted 63-27 to increase penalties for riot offenses, going against the committees do-not-pass recommendation. House Bill 1426 would elevate offenses such as instigating a riot of 100 or more people or providing firearms or weapons for a riot from a Class C felony to a Class B felony. That would double the maximum penalties for such offenses to 10 years in prison and/or a $20,000 fine. Engaging in a riot would become a Class A misdemeanor under the proposal with a maximum penalty of one year in prison and/or a $3,000 fine. Currently the offense is a Class B misdemeanor with 30 days in jail and/or a $500 fine. Assistant Attorney General Jonathan Byers testified during the hearing that individuals can be guilty of engaging in a riot if they fail to disperse when ordered by law enforcement, even if they remain peaceful during the event. Legislators voted 85-6 in support of House Bill 1293, which would allow law enforcement to issue $250 citations for trespassing and property that is posted. Jones said the proposal is modeled after how speeding tickets are issued in North Dakota and could reduce some of the cases that need to go through the court system. Lawmakers voted 69-22 in favor of House Bill 1304, which makes it a Class A misdemeanor to wear a mask while committing a crime or fleeing from a crime. The bill was amended from its initial proposal to address concerns about it being unconstitutional. House members rejected House Bill 1383, which would make it a Class B misdemeanor to loiter in an unusual manner that warrants justifiable and reasonable alarm. The bill, which failed in a 11-79 vote, had language that was vague, overly broad and would not withstand constitutional challenges, said Rep. Shannon Roers Jones, R-Fargo. About 700 people have been arrested in connection with Dakota Access protest activity since Aug. 10. The bills, which legislative leaders had asked to be fast-tracked, will now be considered by the Senate. The bills carry an emergency clause, which means they would become effective immediately if approved by the Legislature and signed by the governor. Civilians killed and multi-storey buildings collapse in some of the heaviest strikes to hit rebel-held city in months. Dozens of people, including civilians, have been killed in air strikes on the rebel-held Syrian city of Idlib, according to several sources, in some of the most ferocious raids there in months. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said on Tuesday that at least 26 people were killed and casualties were expected to rise as rescue workers searched for bodies under the rubble. Ten civilians, mostly women, are among the dead, Rami Abdel Rahman, head of the UK-based monitoring group tracking developments in Syrias conflict, told AFP news agency. READ MORE: Idlibs rebel split A crossroads for Syrian opposition Abdel Rahman said the raids were probably carried out by Russian fighter jets allied with Syrias government or by a US-backed air coalition. The strikes also wounded scores of people and levelled several multi-storey buildings in residential areas of the northwestern city, according to witnesses, who told Reuters news agency that the extent of the damage and the debris bore the hallmarks of a Russian attack. But Russias defence ministry said later on Tuesday media reports that its planes had bombed Idlib were not true, Interfax news agency reported. The Civil Defence, a volunteer rescue group operating in rebel-held areas, gave a different death toll, saying 15 bodies were pulled from the rubble and that 30 wounded people were taken for treatment. READ MORE: Syria hanged 13,000 in notorious prison, says Amnesty Video footage by activists on social media showed civilians, including young children, being treated in a main city hospital where the injured had been taken for treatment. We are still pulling bodies from the rubble, Issam al Idlibi, a volunteer civil defence worker, told Reuters. Russian planes have targeted a number of towns and villages in the area since entering the Syrian conflict in September 2015 to back ally President Bashar al-Assad. Activists and residents said there had been a reduction of Russian strikes in Idlib province since a Turkish-Russian brokered cessation of hostilities late December. Planes from the US-led coalition have launched a number of attacks in the rural province, a major stronghold of fighters, many of them formerly affiliated to al-Qaeda. Idlibs population has been swollen by thousands of Syrian fighters and their families evacuated from villages and towns around Damascus and Aleppo city, which was retaken by the government in recent months. An Israeli land grab law that retroactively legalises thousands of settlement homes in the occupied West Bank legitimises theft, violates international law and ends the prospect of a two-state solution, according to politicians, legal experts and human rights groups. The so-called Regulation Bill drew immediate condemnation after it was voted in by members of the Knesset late on Monday with a 60 to 52 majority. The law applies to about 4,000 settlement homes in the West Bank for which settlers could prove ignorance that they had built on privately owned Palestinian land and had received encouragement from the Israeli state to do so. Three Israeli NGOs Peace Now, Yesh Din and the Association for Civil Rights in Israel and numerous Palestinians said they intended to petition the Supreme Court to cancel the law. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Tuesday in a statement: This bill is in contravention of international law and will have far-reaching legal consequences for Israel. The EUs foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said in a statement that the bloc condemns the law and urges against its implementation to avoid measures that further raise tensions and endanger the prospects for a peaceful solution to the conflict. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said the law was an aggression against the Palestinian people. That bill is contrary to international law, Abbas said after a meeting with French President Francois Hollande in Paris. This is an aggression against our people that we will be opposing in international organisations. What we want is peace but what Israel does is to work toward one state based on apartheid. Hollande called on Israel to go back on the law, saying it would pave the way for an annexation, de facto, of the occupied territories, which would be contrary to the two-state solution. Hours before Abbas meeting with Hollande, Saeb Erekat, secretary-general of the Palestinian Liberation Organisation, told the Associated Press news agency that the law put the last nail in the coffin of the two-state solution. Calling it theft, Erekat said the ruling showed the Israeli government trying to legalise looting Palestinian land. AL JAZEERAS SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST, MARWAN BISHARA: What you have here is a crazy number of settlers in the [Knesset]. Ten percent of the Israeli parliament are settlers; indeed the speaker of the Israeli parliament is a settler. The settler lobby within the Israeli parliament is quite strong, even when they know that what they are doing is unconstitutional and will probably not pass the Supreme Court. The idea is that the government gets in on it even if they dont get their way this time, they will be compensated if the Supreme Court rejects it. All in all, there isnt much room for international pressure on Israel. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu knows it; he knows he has a president in the White House whos going to back him. Israel is basically going on a spree to increase the settlements in the West Bank. At the end of the day, this is a moving, explosive situation that I cannot see in any shape or form in the intermediate-run is simply going to go by without real, major repercussions in Palestine or outside. Developing, over the last 50 years, is a dual system of government: one for the Jews in the West Bank and one for the Palestinians. There is only one name for that: apartheid. The Arab League accused Israel of stealing the land from Palestinians. The law in question is only a cover for stealing the land and appropriating the property of Palestinians, the head of the Cairo-based organisation, Ahmed Aboul Gheit, said. Palestinian owners will be compensated financially or with other land, but cannot negotiate their terms. The law is a continuation of Israeli policies aimed at eliminating any possibility of a two-state solution and the establishment of an independent Palestinian state, Aboul Gheit said. Jordan, one of the few Arab states to have diplomatic ties with Israel, also denounced what it called a provocative law likely to kill any hope of a two-state solution. According to the UN envoy for the Middle East peace process, Nickolay Mladenov, the law crosses a very thick red line towards annexation of the occupied West Bank, and sets a very dangerous precedent. Speaking to the AFP news agency, he said: This is the first time the Israeli Knesset legislates in the occupied Palestinian lands and particularly on property issues. He also raised the possibility the law could open Israel up to potential prosecution at the International Criminal Court, a threat Israels own top government lawyer, attorney general Avichai Mandelblit, has warned of. Mladenov called for strong international condemnation of the legislation, but declined to criticise the US after President Donald Trumps administration refused to comment on it. READ MORE: Israeli settlement law violates rights and dignity Trump is more sympathetic to Israels settlement policies than previous US presidents. The Israeli government has approved plans to build thousands of new homes on occupied territory since the new US president took office. I think that is a very preliminary statement, Mladenov said. Obviously, they do need to consult, this is a new administration that has just come into office and they should be given the time and the space to find their policies. White House spokesman Sean Spicer said the US was likely to discuss the law with Netanyahu when the Israeli prime minister visits on February 15, but did not comment further in a press briefing on Tuesday. David Harris, head of AJC, the global Jewish advocacy organisation, said that Israels High Court can and should reverse this misguided legislation before Netanyahus meeting with Trump in February. That was also the message from Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman, who said last week: The chance that it will be struck down by the Supreme Court is 100 percent. Tobias Ellwood, Britains Middle East minister, also condemned the land grab bill, saying it is of great concern that the bill paves the way for significant growth in settlements deep in the West Bank. Yuval Shany, an international law professor at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, said the law violated basic rights, interferes with property rights and is discriminatory because it regulates only the transfer of land from Palestinians to Jews Against all international laws International law considers all settlements to be illegal, but Israel distinguishes between those it sanctions and those it does not, which are dubbed outposts. A Palestinian cabinet minister also called on the international community for support. Nobody can legalise the theft of the Palestinian lands. Building settlements is a crime, building settlements is against all international laws, said Palestinian Tourism and Antiquities Minister Rula Maayaa. I think it is time now for the international community to act concretely to stop the Israelis from these crimes. READ MORE: Israels settlement bill big step towards annexation Nabil Abu Rdeneh, a spokesman for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, called the law unacceptable and urged the international community to act immediately. This is an escalation that would only lead to more instability and chaos, Rdeneh said. Palestinians want the occupied West Bank, East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip territories Israel occupied in the 1967 Middle East war for their future state. The international community views settlements as illegal and an obstacle to reaching peace. Shortly before leaving office, former US President Barack Obama allowed the UN Security Council to pass a resolution declaring settlements illegal. Former French president is to face trial for alleged illegal financing of election expenses during his 2012 campaign. Former French president Nicolas Sarkozy is to face trial on charges of illegally financing his failed 2012 re-election bid, according to prosecutors. One of the two investigating magistrates in charge of the case decided that it should go to trial, a legal source told AFP news agency on Tuesday. The prosecution claims Sarkozy spent nearly double the legal limit of $24m on his lavish campaign, using false billing from a public relations firm called Bygmalion. It is understood that 13 other individuals will also go on trial over the so-called Bygmalion Affair. Sarkozys lawyer announced plans to appeal against the decision. Bygmalion charged $16.2m in campaign events to Sarkozys party which at the time was called the UMP but has since been renamed the Republicans instead of billing the presidents campaign. Sarkozy, who failed in a presidential comeback bid last year after losing to ex-Prime Minister Francois Fillon, has previously told investigators he knew nothing about the billing and put the responsibility squarely on Bygmalion and the UMP. OPINION: Old Sarkozy does not match new Frances needs If convicted, Sarkozy, 62, faces up to a year in a prison. He could yet be spared trial, however, given that the second investigating magistrate in the case disagreed that Sarkozy be put in the dock. Only one other president Jacques Chirac has been tried in Frances Fifth Republic, which was founded in 1958. He was given a two-year suspended jail term in 2011 over a fake job scandal. Failed comeback Who is Nicolas Sarkozy? Sarkozy was born in Paris in 1955 to a French mother and a Hungarian father. He regularly points to his mixed heritage, especially when he is criticised as anti-immigrant. He joined the neo-Gaullist RPR party at a young age. After first being elected a councillor in the wealthy Paris suburb of Neuilly-sur-Seine aged 22, he became something of a protege of former president Jacques Chirac. Sarkozy was named head of the RPR in 1998 and interior minister in 2002 following Chiracs re-election, and became head of the governing UMP party in 2004. He was finally elected president in 2007. But in 2012, Sarkozy ended a five-year term mired in unpopularity. The son of a Hungarian immigrant father, Sarkozy was nicknamed the bling-bling president for his flashy displays of wealth. His trial will focus on whether he himself caused the overspending in 2012 by demanding that additional rallies be organised towards the end of his campaign, even though they were bound to blow the budget. The judicial source said he was accused of having ignored two warnings from advisers in March and April 2012 about his spending, which came to at least $45.7m. While the so-called Bygmalion case is the most pressing, Sarkozy has been fighting legal problems on several fronts. He is charged with corruption and influence peddling for allegedly offering to help a judge swing a plum retirement job in return from secret information about another case. He has also been accused by former members of Muammar Gaddafis regime of accepting millions in cash towards his first presidential campaign in 2007 from the toppled Libyan leader claims he has vehemently denied. After retiring from politics following his 2012 defeat by the Socialist Partys Francois Hollande, he returned to take the helm of the Republicans and sought the partys presidential nod in this years election. In a surprise result, he was eliminated in November in the first round of a primary contest, trailing the eventual winner, Fillon, and Alain Juppe, another ex-prime minister. News of Sarkozys trial comes as Fillon faces his own scandal over parliamentary jobs for his family. The presidential candidate apologised on Monday for employing his wife for more than 15 years as an aide which is legal but continued to deny the more serious allegations that she barely worked for her average monthly salary of around $3,950. In a symbolic move, Scottish politicians vote by 90 to 34 against a bill that would trigger Britains exit from the EU. Scotlands devolved parliament has overwhelmingly rejected Britains march towards a European Union exit, in a non-binding vote that could potentially be used as groundwork for a second referendum on Scottish independence. Tuesdays symbolic motion, which was proposed by the Scottish government led by First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, was backed by 90 votes to 34. It argued that the triggering of Article 50, which starts the two-year Brexit process, should be rejected because the UK government has left too many questions unanswered. OPINION: Scotland is trapped in a zombie union It said the Westminster parliament is not guaranteed a say in any new trade relationship once Britain has left the EU and the decision to proceed does not respect the majority vote to remain part of the EU that was returned in every council area in Scotland. Scotland was told it would be an equal partner in the British union if it rejected independence, which it did by 55 percent in a 2014 referendum. In June 2016, Scotland voted to remain in the EU by 62 percent, but it was outvoted by England which has a vastly larger population. Brexit succeeded overall with 52 percent of the vote. Key test Sturgeon has repeatedly demanded that the interests of Scottish people be taken into account during upcoming Brexit negotiations and says Scotland must have a choice on holding a new independence referendum if that is not the case. (This vote) is a key test of whether Scotlands voice is being listened to and whether our wishes can be accommodated within the UK process, Sturgeon said before the vote. OPINION: Nicola Sturgeon The new champion of liberalism The Minister for UK Negotiations on Scotlands Place in Europe, Mike Russell, said the Scottish government will never allow Scotland to be humiliated and its democratic choice rejected. We will never, ever, turn our back on Europe and the world, he said. Russell said there was still time for London to avert another independence bid by Scotland if it accepted a compromise a differentiated solution that would keep Scotland in the European single market even as the rest of Britain leaves. Britains highest court ruled last month that the launch of Brexit talks must be approved by the British parliament, but Prime Minister Theresa May has no legal obligation to consult the devolved administrations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Amendments to Mays European Union (Notification of Withdrawal) Bill currently making its way through the House of Commons, which would have given the regional governments a voice in the Brexit process, were rejected on Monday during a British parliamentary debate in London. Analysts say the Scottish parliament vote sends a clear signal to London that the Brexit process is proceeding without their support, but the UK government has no compulsion to listen. The UK government will continue our engagement with the Scottish government and with people and groups across Scotland, as we prepare to leave the EU, to secure the best deal for Scotland and the UK, a British government spokesman said. Sturgeons Scottish National Party has 63 out of seats in the 129-seat Scottish parliament, just short of the 65 seat majority Mogadishu and surrounding areas are on lockdown after increase in al-Shabab attacks in lead-up to election. Somalias capital is on lockdown a day before the parliament meets to elect a new president, with ongoing security concerns and warnings of famine expected to top the agenda for the incoming administration. Roads in Mogadishu were closed, businesses asked to shut, and schools and universities gave students a two-day break. In the run-up to the election, al-Shabab fighters have stepped up their attacks against government installations and hotels in the capital . Bishar Abshir, Mogadishu police chief, told Al Jazeera that security forces were working to ensure that the election is concluded peacefully. We appeal to the public to be patient and cooperate with us as we deter the enemies of peace from carrying out attacks, he told Al Jazeera. Al-Shabab, which aims to topple the countrys UN-backed government, has carried out hundreds of attacks in Somalia. INTERACTIVE: Al-Shabab attacks in Somalia (2006-2017) The presidential election had been due to take place in August, four years after the previous vote in which just 135 clan elders chose MPs who then voted for the countrys leader. But political infighting and insecurity, mainly due to al-Shabab, which controls swaths of countryside and strikes at will in Mogadishu, saw the plan ditched for a limited vote running months behind schedule. The troubled Horn of Africa nation, which has not had an effective central government in three decades, had been promised a one-person, one-vote election in 2016. Elections instead began in October with an electoral college system that excluded ordinary citizens and instead involved 14,025 delegates voting for candidates for both parliament and a new upper house. President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud of the conservative Peace and Development Party is seeking a second term after more than four years in office, during which he has faced criticism from the public and western donors about corruption. Prime Minister Omar Abdirashid Ali Sharmarke, a former diplomat, and former president Sharif Sheikh Ahmed are also among the 24 candidates registered for the election. About a third of MPs are loyal to the presidents party. While this gives Mohamud an advantage in the race, it is not enough to guarantee him victory. The elections have been marred by widespread allegations of vote-buying and intimidation. In a report on Tuesday, Somalia-based anti-corruption watchdog Marqaati said the elections were rife with corruption. READ MORE: Al-Shabab attack at Mogadishu hotel kills 28 While falling well short of the direct election that was promised, the process is more democratic than in the past and is seen as a step towards universal suffrage, now hoped for in 2020. Wednesdays voting will see members of the 275-seat parliament and 54 senators cast ballots inside a hangar within the heavily-guarded airport. No candidate is expected to get the two-thirds majority needed for a first-round win, with two further rounds permitted before a winner is declared. In the absence of political parties, clan remains the organising principle of Somali politics. The overthrow of president Siad Barres military regime in 1991 ushered in decades of anarchy and conflict in a country deeply divided along clan lines. The clan rivalries and lawlessness provided fertile ground for al-Shabab to take hold and seize territory, frustrating efforts to set up a central administration. Al-Shabab has been in decline since 2011, but still launches regular, deadly attacks against government, military and civilian targets in the capital Mogadishu and elsewhere. Security and overcoming Somalias adversarial and divisive politics will top the agenda for whoever wins the vote, as will dealing with a growing humanitarian crisis. The United Nations warned last week of possible famine in Somalia as a severe drought has pushed nearly three million people to the edge of starvation. After two failed rain seasons, aid workers fear a repeat of a 2010-11 drought which left more than 250,000 dead. The levels of suffering in the country, triggered by protracted conflict, seasonal shocks and outbreaks of disease, are typically hard to bear, but the impact of this drought represents a threat of a different scale and magnitude, the UNs office for humanitarian affairs said in a statement last week. At least 20 people dead after suspected suicide bomber on foot targeted employees as they were exiting the building. A suspected suicide bomber has targeted the Supreme Court building in the Afghan capital, Kabul, killing at least 20 people, according to officials. Ismail Kawasi, the public health ministry spokesman, said 41 people were also wounded in Tuesdays explosion, which hit near a side door used for court employees to leave the building at the end of the work day. The attacker was on foot and detonated his suicide vest packed with explosives near the employees and other people as they were coming out of the main court building, Najib Danish, deputy spokesman for the interior ministry, told the Associated Press news agency. INTERACTIVE: Afghanistan civilian casualties reaches record high No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack but Taliban fighters have attacked the top court and its employees in the past, as well as court buildings in the other provinces. This is not the first attack that targeted Afghan justice system, Al Jazeeras Qais Azimy, reporting from Kabul, said. In fact the exact location, the car park of the supreme court, was targeted before in June 2013 by a suicide bomber, which killed 17 people. Thats why this part of the compound is heavily guarded and the employees of this court know that they are targets for Taliban, Azimy said. The armed group has repeatedly issued statements threatening to target employees at Afghanistans justice system because they are not happy with the way they are working, our correspondent added. Farah bombing The Kabul bombing came hours after a roadside bombing killed the top government official of a district in western Farah province. Taliban spokesman Qari Yusouf Ahmadi said the group claimed responsibility for that attack. A Farah police spokesman, Iqbal Baher, told AP that Abdul Khaliq, the top official in the Khak-e-Safed district, was on his way home from the mosque when the explosion took place in the city of Farah, the provincial capital. Taliban fighters frequently use roadside bombs and suicide attacks to target government officials as well as Afghan security forces across the country. Syrian government executed thousands of prisoners in mass hangings at Saydnaya prison, says rights watchdog. As many as 13,000 people were hanged in five years at a notorious Syrian prison near Damascus, Amnesty International has said, accusing the government of a policy of extermination. Titled Human Slaughterhouse: Mass hanging and extermination at Saydnaya prison, Amnestys damning report, released on Tuesday, is based on interviews with 84 witnesses, including guards, detainees, and judges. It found that at least once a week between 2011 and 2015, groups of up to 50 people were taken out of their prison cells for arbitrary trials, beaten, then hanged in the middle of the night and in total secrecy. The report said: Throughout this process, they remain blindfolded. They do not know when or how they will die until the noose was placed around their necks. Most of the victims were civilians believed to be opposed to the government of President Bashar al-Assad. They kept them [hanging] there for 10 to 15 minutes, a former judge who witnessed the executions said. For the young ones, their weight wouldnt kill them. The officers assistants would pull them down and break their necks, he said. Amnesty said the practice amounted to war crimes and crimes against humanity, and were probaby still taking place. Thousands of prisoners are held in the military-run Saydnaya prison, one of the countrys largest detention centres located 30km north of Damascus. Amnesty accused the Syrian government of carrying out a policy of extermination, repeatedly torturing detainees and withholding food, water, and medical care. Prisoners were also raped or forced to rape each other, and guards would feed detainees by tossing meals on to the cell floor, which was often covered in dirt and blood, the report said. Hidden, monstrous campaign A twisted set of special rules governed the facility: detainees were not allowed to speak and must assume certain positions when guards entered their cells. Every day there would be two or three dead people in our wing I remember the guard would ask how many we had. He would say, Room No 1 how many? Room No 2 how many? and on and on, said Nader, a former detainee whose name has been changed. After one fierce day of beating, Nader said, 13 people died in a single wing of the prison. READ MORE: Surviving Assads prison cells One former military officer said he could hear gurgling as people were hanged in an execution room below. If you put your ears on the floor, you could hear the sound of a kind of gurgling, said Hamid, who was arrested in 2011. We were sleeping on top of the sound of people choking to death. This was normal for me then, he told Amnesty. According to the report, the bodies were taken away by the truckload to be secretly buried in mass graves. Their families were given no information about their fate. Amnesty has previously said that more than 17,700 people were estimated to have died in government custody across Syria since the countrys conflict erupted in 2011. The figure of 13,000 deaths in a single prison, therefore, is a marked increase. The horrors depicted in this report reveal a hidden, monstrous campaign, authorised at the highest levels of the Syrian government, aimed at crushing any form of dissent within the Syrian population, said Lynn Maalouf, deputy director for research at Amnestys Beirut office. The cold-blooded killing of thousands of defenceless prisoners, along with the carefully crafted and systematic programmes of psychological and physical torture that are in place inside Saydnaya prison cannot be allowed to continue, she said. An investigation by the United Nations last year accused Assads government of a policy of extermination in its jails. The UN estimates that more than 400,000 people have been killed and millions have fled their homes since the conflict began with anti-Assad protests. Amnesty said the hangings amount to war crimes and are probably still taking place [ Amnesty International video] More than six in 10 Roma families forcibly evicted as persecution against community rises, civil rights groups report. More than 10,000 Roma were forcibly evicted by French authorities last year, with most ejections taking place during the cold winter months, according to a new report. The European Roma Rights Centre and the Ligue des droits de LHomme (Human Rights League of France) said on Tuesday that at least 60 percent of Romani families in the country were forced to leave their dwellings. The majority of the recorded evictions took place without a court decision and, in most cases, adequate alternative accommodation was not offered to those made homeless, the groups said in a joint report. Frances policy of ethnically targeted evictions creates cycles of repeat evictions and forced removals, the report said. It is also a significant squandering of financial and administrative resources. It is not only a morally bankrupt strategy, but one that is not in the best interests of taxpayers, whose contributions could far better be deployed to invest in social assessments and sustainable solutions for housing. OPINION: Why are Roma blamed for Europes rejection of refugees? Almost 3,000 Roma were forced from their camps between October and December, a 17 percent increase from the previous quarter. Many Roma were evicted multiple times in 2016, the report said. This unsustainable practice only worsens deep poverty and neglects the underlying housing problems. Between 15,000 and 17,000 Roma live in poor conditions with little access to water and electricity in makeshift, illegal camps across France, according to the countrys national census and NGOs. Authorities often cite sanitary reasons for dismantling the camps. Catrinel Motoc, anti-discrimination campaigner for Amnesty International, told Al Jazeera: We have repeatedly called on the French authorities to put an end to forced evictions and take a series of measures that would enable Roma to benefit from their right to adequate housing and not to be discriminated [against], as guaranteed by numerous international and regional human rights obligations that France ratified. In June 2016, several organisations and agencies including the Council of Europe and the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights warned local authorities across the continent to provide Roma with sustainable housing, saying that children were at particular risk of trauma and social isolation because of evictions. Soraya Post, human rights activist and Member of the European Parliament, told Al Jazeera: Evictions of Roma are a clear violation of their human rights even if they are evicted from illegal settlements, as long as they are not offered any alternative. This [is] according to a decision in the European court of law. Sadly this is how Europe has always treated my people. Racist attacks In addition to being made homeless, Roma often face discrimination. Many incidents of hate speech and cases of discrimination against Romani people were reported, the groups said, which confirmed the need for policy to address the plight of a stigmatised and deeply impoverished population to ensure equal access to basic services. Tuesdays report highlighted several racist attacks, including one in December against Jewish and Roma at the Anne Frank nursery school in an eastern suburb of Paris, Montreuil. In an act of vandalism, Juden verboten (Jews forbidden) and Sales Juifs et Roms (Filthy Jewish and Romani people), were found painted on the front gate of the Anne Frank nursery, the report noted. Between 10 and 12 million Roma are estimated to live in Europe, with most in eastern parts of the continent. With ancestral roots in India, the Roma migrated to eastern Europe in the 10th century and have been persecuted throughout history. After the fall of the Soviet Union and the break-up of Yugoslavia, many travelled west, seeking to escape poverty and discrimination. In 2010, the European Union criticised France over a crackdown on illegal Roma camps launched by then-President Nicolas Sarkozy. In the same year, thousands of Roma were deported to Romania and Bulgaria from France. Follow Anealla on Twitter: @anealla New London exhibition features more than 100 objects to create worlds most significant collection of robots ever shown. Step into the latest exhibition at Londons Science Museum, and you will be instantly welcomed by an animatronic baby. With his moving arms and blinking eyes, this incredibly realistic mechanical human is a bewildering if not unsettling sight. And thats one of the goals of the museums new show looking at 500 years of humanoid robots: to chart their evolution and explore our reaction towards them throughout history. Robots trouble us, curator Ben Russell tells Al Jazeera. When you see a robot youre reading a lot into it as a human. If they are very lifelike, you dont really know what is the source of their being, he continues. It troubles us, but it fascinates us, as well. READ MORE: Robots lending a helping hand on Australias farms With more than 100 creations on display, the exhibition is the most significant collection of humanoid robots ever shown, according to the Science Museum in the UK capital. Among the highlights are a 16th-century automaton monk designed to pray the oldest object in the show and a silver swan, built in 1773 by a Belgian clockmaker who also invented roller skates. Others, such as the loom, which brought industrialised weaving to the 19th century and put thousands out of work, enable guests to discover the social and technological context of robots just as many jobs in modern factories have been replaced by machines Five hundred years of history makes you realise that there has always been uneasiness around robots, Al Jazeeras Jessica Baldwin, reporting from the show, said. Todays fear about driverless cars or mechanical nurses are nothing new. The exhibition runs until September 3. Locals say a US raid in Bayda province last month killed 16 civilians, including women and children. Residents of Yakla, an impoverished Yemeni town that was targeted last month in the first US military raid in the country authorised by President Donald Trump, have said more than a dozen civilians were killed in the botched operation. Locals told Al Jazeera that at least 16 civilians, including women and children, were killed in the raid in Bayda province that also resulted in the death of one US commando and injured three others. The Pentagon said the raid, which included helicopter gunships and armed Reaper drones, targeted al-Qaeda leaders. But local journalist Mujahid al-Selalee said Abdulraouf al-Dhahab, a tribal leader whose house was attacked in the raid, had repeatedly denied being a member of the armed group. He [Dhahab] made clear on numerous occasions that he has no ties with al-Qaeda. He denied that over and over and we know that based on those living with him, Selalee told Al Jazeera. One of his brothers was associated with al-Qaeda, but he was killed by a drone a while back. Al-Qaeda mourned Dhahabs death, calling him a holy warrior, and vowed to avenge him and other slain fighters. In an initial statement, the Pentagon said it killed 14 members of al-Qaeda, but soon released a second statement admitting that the raid likely killed civilians as well. Nora, the eight-year-old daughter of Anwar al-Awlaki, a US-born Yemeni preacher who was killed in a 2011 drone attack, was among the victims, family members said. Her grandfather, Nasser al-Awlaki, a former minister of agriculture, said: She was hit with a bullet in her neck and suffered for two hours. He told reporters that she was visiting her mother when the raid took place. READ MORE: Yemen Who controls what Residents of the town said that several children were orphaned as a result of the attack. These kids, they lost their parents for no reason, a resident who requested not to be named told Al Jazeera. Their mother was killed and now I am taking care of these boys and girls. Another resident said whole families were wiped out by the raid. Al-Qaeda has exploited Yemens two-year civil war that pits Shia Houthi fighters against the Saudi-backed government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi and has carried out assassinations and bombings, mostly in areas across the south. The US has stepped up its use of drone strikes in recent years and, while it acknowledges some of them, it generally declines to comment on specific attacks. Israeli members of parliament pass a new law which allows settlers to remain on Palestinian land. Controversial at home and condemned abroad. Israels parliament passed a new law on Monday, retroactively legalising settlements built on Palestinian land. International law says the settlements are illegal, and Israels Supreme Court is expected to overturn the newly passed law. The fact that it passed shows the strength of Israeli right-wing parties. Their opponents say the shift signals a loss of hope for a two-state solution. What are the legal consequences? Presenter: Hazem Sika Guests: Alan Baker: Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs Mustafa Barghouti: Palestinian National Initiative Ben White: Journalist and researcher specialising in Palestinian-Israeli conflict In 2007, we met then-President Yahya Jammeh, who claimed he could cure Aids. We revisit the story one decade on. In January 2017, The Gambias president, Yahya Jammeh, stepped down after briefly contesting the results of an election which had brought to an end his 22 years in power. But Jammeh was not a man who would relinquish power easily. It took international condemnation and the threat of armed forces from Senegal, backed by regional governments, before he would step aside in favour of newly elected Adama Barrow. Back in 2007, Al Jazeeras Andrew Simmons travelled to The Gambia to meet then-President Yahya Jammeh and found himself spending time with a charismatic leader who believed he could personally cure asthma and even Aids. To update the film, REWIND spoke to Al Jazeera correspondent Nicolas Haque about the curious staying in power of the countrys former dictator. Yahya Jammeh used this idea that he can cure people with HIV and Aids, that he has the superpowers to threaten people in the opposition, Haque said. This idea that he could heal HIV and Aids, this disease that affects so many people, was seen in Gambia as a way for him to re-enforce his position of power that noone could take him out of power. 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. 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. UF students may have an easier time nding jobs as consumers become more comfortable spending money. A study by the UF Bureau of Economic and Business Research shows that Floridians consumer sentiment, or how con dent people are in the economy, has steadily increased from December to January after jumping seven points from November to December, said Christopher McCarty, the bureaus director. UF economics professor Mark Rush said students should take notice of the rising numbers. If consumer sentiment continues to increase, it could mean more job opportunities. If people do indeed follow through and do indeed feel more con dent and spend more money, that might mean a few more jobs available for students at UF, both while they are students and then once they graduate, Rush said. McCarty said the study, consisting of a ve-question survey, takes data from 500 randomly selected Floridians. The nal scores range from two to 150, with higher numbers equating to consumers feeling more positive about the economy. Scores jumped from 90.3 in November to 97.3 in December, while January had a score of 97.8, he said. However, its hard to determine whether rates will continue to rise. In general, I think people are encouraged by what theyre seeing in the economy at the moment, McCarty said. The second annual Innovation Week started Monday with as many as four events planned each day. Events will be held from today to Thursday and will be centered around the theme discover, be inspired, play and connect. Innovation week, hosted by UFs Innovation Academy, connects students with businesses and entrepreneurs, said Xavier Richardson, an IA academic adviser. This week is really dedicated to Gators celebrating in the innovative spirit, Richardson said. All events are free for anyone attending, he said. Last Spring, there were 18 events, while this year there are 32 events, with 21 being held after Monday. We are really proud this year, he said. Last year we started with humble beginnings. Richardson said the week also includes four speakers every night. The speakers will talk at different places on campus from 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m, today to Thursday. On Monday, Charlotte Kesl, a coordinator for 352Creates, a UF Health community initiative combining arts and medicine, spoke with students outside of the Reitz Union. Kesl told students about the organization while they drew colorful drawings of mandalas on white paper. We are just encouraging people to have a moment of creativity, Kesl said. We have a lot of similar ideas related to the Innovation Academy and Innovation Week. So today we are supporting it. Five hours south of campus, UFs latest satellite office aims to connect prospective students in South Florida with the university. Dubbed UF Coral Gables, the center will serve as a place to hold university events, connect alumni and draw in potential students, said UF spokesperson Margot Winick. It will open ofcially today. With 20,000 alumni that hail from Miami and 4,000 students that are currently enrolled in the University of Florida, Miami Dade County seems like a great location for doing more outreach, Winick said. UF President Kent Fuchs, Provost Joe Glover and Student Body President Susan Webster gathered Monday at the ofce with alumni to dedicate the space. The center will allow students from to learn more about the university without visiting the main campus and allow alumni to support their alma mater, Winick said. This is an opportunity to rally alumni and establish more of a presence in South Florida so that people can learn more about what the University of Florida offers everyone in the state and beyond, she said. The idea for centers like this came about six or seven years ago, said Mark Trowbridge, the CEO and president of the Coral Gables Chamber of Commerce, and a UF alumnus. UF is about 297 miles away from Miami, so the 4,000-square-foot center will remind the citys residents of the universitys impact in the community, Trowbridge said. Peter Cooper, a 20-year-old UF nance and economics junior, said an admissions outlet in South Florida could have been helpful to him when he applied to the university. If I had a chance to talk to representatives from the school and learn more about the school without having to take the trip up to Gainesville, then yeah, I think that would have been super helpful, he said. Correction: This story has been updated to reflect the correct distance between UF and Miami. The two are about 297 miles apart, not 250 as the Alligator previously reported. Enjoy what you're reading? Get content from The Alligator delivered to your inbox Subscribe Now To Carey Cavanaugh, U.S.Russian relations are like a Rolling Stones song. Cavanaugh, a former U.S. Ambassador with the Department of State who worked out of Washington and Moscow, compared the relationship between the two nations to the song You Cant Always Get What You Want. On Monday night, he addressed a crowd of about 50 at UFs Grifn-Floyd Hall to discuss the countries current relationship. Cavanaugh, a UF alumnus who graduated in 1976 with a bachelors degree in Russian studies, was invited as part of the Global Challenges Speaker Series. Cavanaugh said while theres been debate about the U.S. having tumultous relations with Russia, the focus should be on compromise and pragmatic approaches. It isnt good relations or bad relations, we want to have a relationship with Russia, but what we really need is a productive relationship, Cavanaugh said. President Donald Trumps apparent praise of Russia and its president, Vladimir Putin, as well as reports of Russian hacking during the presidential election, made his talk relevant, Cavanaugh said. Ingrid Kleespies, a UF Russian studies professor, said U.S.Russian relations have been tense since 2014 with Russias annexation of Crimea, located in Ukraine. She said she doesnt condone Russias actions, but thinks its good for students to get a broader understanding of the countrys choices. I certainly think that American press and media can have a tendency to kind of paint the Russians as the bad guys, Kleespies said. It would be great to have Americans think about the motivations behind Russias actions. Christine Le Jeune, a 34-year-old UF anthropology doctoral student, said she attended the talk to hear from an expert. Though Le Jeune studied for a year in Moscow, she said she wanted more information about the topic. I really wanted to use the opportunity to catch up and hear from someone who is basically, in my opinion, living history, said Le Jeune. For Cavanaugh, being back at UF is a way to inspire students. As an undergraduate, he said he decided to pursue diplomatic relations after hearing from guest speakers in the field. Enjoy what you're reading? Get content from The Alligator delivered to your inbox Subscribe Now Now, over 40 years later, Cavanaugh said he hopes to have the same impact on students. That was part of what captured me at the University of Florida and led to a career with the government, Cavanaugh said. There are jobs that are fascinating, where you can make a real contribution, make a difference not only in the people youre working with, their lives, but even potentially the state of the nation and the world. @romyellenbogen rellenbogen@alligator.org UF alumnus and former Foreign Service Officer Carey Cavanaugh gives a speech to prospective U.S. State Department students on Monday. Alec Werthman, a 21-year-old UF biochemistry and molecular biology senior attending the talk, said he initially attended the lecture to satisfy a class requirement, but later realized it helped solidify his career choices. On Saturday, ballgowns and tuxedos will take over a downtown venue to raise money for the furriest of Gainesville residents those housed at the Alachua County Humane Society. For $25, guests to the humane societys fundraiser, to be held at the Wooly from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m., can enjoy music, appetizers, dessert and a photo booth, said Kaitlyn McGowan, the operations manager at Feathr, a local marketing startup hosting the event. So far, 200 tickets have been sold. If this winter ball goes well, this definitely opens up a new door to how we can help the community, she said. The event will be held at 20 N. Main St. Margot DeConna, the director of development for the humane society, said she is always trying to find new ways to draw attention to animals in need. Over the weekend, for instance, a photo-shoot fundraiser was hosted that catered to dogs, cats and every other kind of pet. For $100, pet owners received professional portraits of their animals. The eccentric fundraisers are not for naught. In 2017, the humane society is striving to make Gainesville a no-kill community. Diane Twitchell, a customer success manager for Feathr and volunteer at the humane society, said an event like this can make a difference, and all the money raised will go toward saving more animals. As someone who has fostered more than 25 dogs 15 dogs in 2016 Twitchell said she knows how badly Gainesville pets need to be adopted. Informing the public about their plight is just as important, she added. Its not only good to raise money but to raise awareness as well, Twitchell said. Enjoy what you're reading? Get content from The Alligator delivered to your inbox Subscribe Now Investors attending the biggest mining gathering in Africa must ask tough questions about mining companies compliance with the terms of their operating licenses, including their failure to ensure decent living conditions of communities around their mining operations, Amnesty International and the Economic Justice Network said today as the meeting opened. The Mining Indaba, is taking place between 6 and 9 February in Cape Town, with more than six thousand delegates including governments and investors gathering to discuss sustainable mining, among other things. Global mining companies are ignoring legally binding Social Labour Plans and are getting away with major human rights abuses. Irresponsible mining is not sustainable, said Muleya Mwananyanda, Amnesty Internationals Deputy Director for Southern Africa. Amnesty International will participate in the 2017 Alternative Mining Indaba (AMI), also held in Cape Town between 6 and 9 February, bringing together more than 400 activists, members of civil society and mining- affected community members. Mining without legal and human rights compliance can only mean suffering for mine workers and their communities. This gathering is an opportunity for investors to hold egregious offenders to account, said Mandla Hadebe, from the Economic Justice Network Background In August 2016, Amnesty International released a report containing evidence of how Lonmins workforce at its platinum mine in Marikana, South Africa, are still living in squalor in spite of legally binding commitments made by the company to build 5,500 new houses in 2006. The mining companys response to the organisations findings can be found as annexed in the above report or by clicking here. The AMI will be held in Cape Town between 6 and 9 February 2017 at the Double tree by the Hilton. It will be held under the theme Making natural resources work for the people: Domestication of the African Mining Vision. Democrats, liberals, progressives, socialists, the media, Hollywood, academia, and even many Republicans have been having nervous breakdowns since Trump became president. They complain that he is moving too fast, that he isn't consulting people, that he doesn't care about immigrants, that he is too authoritarian, that he is too blunt, and on and on. Why this meltdown? We think the root cause is that Trump is threatening the very core that binds them together: their moral code of altruism. Altruism holds that other people's needs, wants, and desires come first. Ayn Rand defines it: "the basic principle of altruism is that man has no right to exist for his own sake, that service to others is the only justification of his existence, and that self-sacrifice is his highest moral duty, virtue and value." Progressives know altruism by their mantra of "the common good," and they believe that wealth belongs to society and should be used for this "common good." Social justice, equalitarianism, multiculturalism, and environmentalism are all versions of altruism. The code of altruism comes into direct conflict with the moral code in the Declaration of Independence that of the pursuit of personal happiness. Altruism is incompatible with freedom and capitalism. The altruists want America to sacrifice: to allow illegal immigrants into the country regardless of any risk of terrorism, to become a multicultural country instead of a sovereign one, to take down its American flag, to apologize for its wealth, to tolerate behaviors that are intolerable, to say only what is politically acceptable, to disregard their own religion, history, etc. Americans are fed up with putting America, and themselves, last. Then along came Donald Trump. Trump wants to put America first. He wants to make it great again and restore its wealth, and he has the courage to say it. His executive order, "Protecting the Nation from Terrorist Attacks by Foreign Nationals," states: "In order to protect Americans, we must ensure that those admitted to this country do not bear hostile attitudes toward our country and its founding principles. We cannot, and should not, admit into our country those who do not support the U.S. Constitution, or those who would place violent religious edicts over American law." On January 25, 2017, he said in his speech to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), "As your president, I have no higher duty than to protect the lives of the American people." How refreshing. Of course, by stirring the morality pot, Trump is threatening the sacred cow, altruism, the moral code of the progressive movement and all the groups listed above. He is not doing this on an intellectual level with rational arguments and principles, but he is doing it through actions and statements that appeal to common sense. He is living up to his campaign promises at breakneck speed and is demonstrating that America's security and interests can and will be put first. Trump is countering altruism by example with an incredible work ethic and pride, and he is showing that success is possible and expected. He has assembled a great team of talented people, many of whom are successful and wealthy and, like Trump, are proud of it. He is pronouncing moral judgements on the Iran deal, radical Islamic terrorists, global warming, and unfair trade practices. And as he promised, he has nominated a constitutionalist to the Supreme Court. To many progressives, the greatest fear of Trump is that he is living up to his campaign promises such a novel idea. President Trump is also appealing to the sense of life of his core supporters. This "sense of life" can be characterized this way: "Trump appeals to the America that I knew growing up. Americans are optimists, they take initiative, they have a can do attitude, they can solve and create anything, and they admire achievement. Americans are independent, proud and generally happy. America is the home of the self-made man where money is made, not looted or obtained thru political favor and plunder. Americans are not blindly obedient and they are defiant and will not be pushed around. That is the attitude that Donald Trump has captured." President Trump's supporters workers, producers, and American patriots have a core egoist belief that if they produced it, they earned it, and they own it. Although they are oftentimes generous, they don't generally operate by duty or guilt. They believe that individual success is possible and that America can be made great again. The power of morality is the greatest of all intellectual powers. It is held subconsciously, developed through a lifetime of experiences, thoughts, and value judgments. It is difficult for people to act against their morality. When faced with incongruent facts or experiences, people will evade, make excuses, rationalize, and have strong emotional responses to defend their subconscious morality. It is often an automatic response; most don't even know they are doing it. These are the visceral responses and nervous breakdowns we see in the above groups in the form of bias reporting, fake news, emotional personal attacks, protests, and violence. The moral code of self-interest named in the Declaration of Independence was a new idea, and its conflict with altruism must be resolved. On this conflict, Ayn Rand said in "Philosophy: Who Needs It": "What most moralists and few of their victims realize is that reason and altruism are incompatible. And this is the basic contradiction of Western Civilization: reason versus altruism. This is the conflict that had to blow sooner or later." Whether or not you like Trump, a battle for America's heart, soul, and morality is underway, and that is the real issue. Trump is just the tipping point. Take courage from him, and join in. Your life belongs to you and no one else. It is time that individual Americans act like it. And fight for it. Craig Schwartz is a retired business director of a Fortune 100 company and has been involved in the study of Ayn Rand's philosophy of Objectivism for over 30 years. Charlotte Cushman is a Montessori educator and authored Montessori: Why It Matters for Your Child's Success and Happiness. She has been involved in the study of Ayn Rand's philosophy since 1970. The so-called "Two-State Solution" has been touted for many years by Israel's enemies as the only way to achieve peace. The fundamentals of this "solution" consist of the creation of two new countries. One would comprise the "West Bank," historically known as Judea and Samaria, and be populated and governed solely by Arabs. As in other Arab countries, Jews, Christians, and other non-Muslims would be unwelcome. The other "country" would comprise the area now known as Israel, but would be open to the return of millions of Arabs as citizens. These "returnees" would include all Arabs who could show any relation to those living in the ill-defined region known as "Palestine" prior to the establishment of the Jewish state in 1948. This, in effect, would mean Israel would have to open its borders to all Arabs in the Levant. The idea of a Jewish homeland would disappear. A nation populated and governed by Arabs would take its place. The nation of Israel came into existence after a protracted 30-year struggle, beginning with Britain's 1917 Balfour Declaration, guaranteeing a Jewish homeland within its protectorate. It culminated with a decisive vote in the United Nations in 1947, the same year Pakistan was created as a home for Indian Muslims (the size of the new Jewish State decreased over the intervening years to about 20 percent of that originally proposed in 1918.) In the 70 years following that vote, Israel has been subjected to three major conflicts, all instigated by its Arab neighbors. The first, the War of Independence, began right after its birth on May 15, 1948 with a coordinated attack by forces from Syria, Iraq, Jordan, and Egypt. Few people at that time gave the tiny Jewish nation any chance for survival. Yet thanks to financial and military aid, but not troops, from the United States, it did survive and prosper, miraculously turning a patch of desert with virtually no natural resources into a thriving, productive democracy, home not only to Jews but to Arabs and Christians as well. The second major conflict was the so-called "Six-Day War," brought on by troops from Egypt and Syria massed on Israel's border in early June, 1967. Thanks to a brilliant preemptive strike, Israel was able to survive. Further, because of Jordan's poorly thought-out attack on West Jerusalem, attempting to wrest control of the Jewish sector, Israel was able to gain control over the whole city and its environs. It also captured the Sinai Peninsula from Egypt and the Golan Heights from Syria, giving it some measure of protection from future attacks. The third and final major campaign, which occurred in the fall of 1973, became known as the "Yom Kippur War." Egypt and Syria simultan eously attacked Israel on the Jews most holy day. After significant advances in the early days, causing dreadful losses among Israelis, the Arabs were expelled by brilliant military moves by the Israeli army and air force. A few years later, peace treaties were signed between Israel and Egypt, and also Jordan. As part of the deal, the Sinai was returned to Egypt. Peace has been maintained in the years since, at least between Israel and these two major powers. On the other hand, Syria has shown no interest in any such agreement. Persons of all religion have had access to full citizenry, including the right to vote and hold office. In fact, Arabs have been members of the Knesset (Parliament) since its founding. Further, they have served in the prime minister's cabinet and even on the Supreme Court. This democratic structure would not be the case with an Arab majority population. In fact, the "new" country would most certainly be subject to the same 12th century-type government as other Arab-led nations. Jews and Christians would be personae non-gratae. The premise of such a "two-state solution" is clearly just a land grab by the Arabs, destroying a flourishing democracy created by the blood, sweat, and tears of the Israelis over the past decades. The land now known as Israel has been home to Jews continuously over the millennia. It is not merely a politically contrived Western-style democracy. To have peace in the region, the Arabs must first agree to formally recognize the State of Israel, something most of them refuse to do. Only then can negotiations begin. This is the stance Israel has always taken, and one with which the United States and our allies must comply. Jack Winnick received his M.S. and PhD. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Oklahoma and has held several prestigious positions in the field, including working as an expert consultant at the NASA Johnson Space Center and as a Professor of Chemical Engineering at several universities. He has also been a Middle East scholar for over forty years, traveling to the area for the State Department for the purpose of technology transfer to the Arab nations, and cooperation between Israel and Egypt. A strong advocate for the State of Israel, Winnick holds memberships in AIPAC, Zionists of America and American Friends of Magen David Adom. For more information, please visit www.jackwinnick.com and connect with Winnick through Facebook. Devil in False Colors is available on Amazon and Barnes & Noble. A bill that would require school districts to adopt policies on when it's appropriate for teachers to restrain a student or seclude them in a room was introduced Tuesday, but received pushback from prominent education organizations. Sen. Joan Heckaman, D-New Rockford, presented Senate Bill 2275, which would require districts adopt policies on restraint and seclusion by July 1, 2018, to the Senate Education Committee. "In a two-year span in the state of North Dakota, over 900 students have either been secluded or restrained, and that's (just) the reported number of incidents," said Heckaman, the Senate minority leader. The bill has eight parts, including developing definitions of restraint and seclusion, prohibiting the use of restraint methods in any manner that restricts the breathing of a student and ensuring all incidents of restraint and seclusion are reported to the U.S. Department of Education. It would also give $500,000 for annual training for district personnel on the proper use of restraint and seclusion. Definitions of restraint and seclusion vary widely across the state, and schools are not required by the state to document how often these methods are used nor do they report to the North Dakota Department of Public Instruction. The only data on restraint and seclusion is through the U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights, which has been collecting data from school districts since 2011. The Civil Rights Data Collection defines restraint of a student meaning to restrict students' ability to move their torso, arms, legs or head freely, and seclusion of student means the involuntary confinement of a student alone in a room or area that they are not permitted to leave. Most cases of restraint and seclusion are students with disabilities, according to data from the Education Department. In 2007, the North Dakota Protection and Advocacy Project began tracking the number of times restraint and seclusion were used on students with disabilities in public schools. There were three reported cases in 2007. Last year, P&A received 22 reports of restraint and seclusion being used on students with disabilities. P&A, an independent state agency charged with overseeing the rights of North Dakota residents with disabilities, has been pushing for schools to adopt guidelines on when it's appropriate to use restraint and seclusion. Disability advocates say shutting a student in a room or physically restraining them could cause undue harm to vulnerable students. "This bill creates a degree of uniformity with definitions and minimum standards so that there is a degree of consistency in the state," Cody Wagner, an advocate for P&A, told the committee. "This, coupled with consistent reporting, will result in a better understanding of what is occurring in our schools regarding this issue." The bill has had a long journey. Last legislative session, an interim education committee was tasked with studying seclusion and restraint in North Dakota schools. Out of the committee, a seclusion and restraint task force formed and met over five months last spring and summer to discuss restraint and seclusion and eventually provide recommendations to state lawmakers. The interim education committee, however, did not come forward with a bill draft on restraint and seclusion. On Tuesday, representatives from the North Dakota School Boards Association and the North Dakota Council of Educational Leaders told lawmakers their organizations opposed the bill, which they said was repetitive and unnecessary. Anita Thomas, general counsel for the NDSBA, said at the hearing a recent survey administered by the association showed that 112 of 170 districts have a restraint and seclusion policy in place. Thomas also pointed out that school districts are already mandated to send information on restraint and seclusion to the federal government. The bill would also require teachers undergo additional training, which those who opposed the bill said would be costly and time-intensive. Heckaman told the committee a number of schools have already trained teachers to diffuse situations with unruly students before having to seclude or restrain. She pointed out that $500,000 would not be enough to train the rest of the teachers, but it would be a good starting point. Sen. Erin Oban, D-Bismarck, said she supports the idea that all districts should have a policy in place as "the bare minimum." "I think we do have to tell every school district they do need to have a policy," Oban said after the bill's hearing. If theres a problem thats risen to the level that its coming to the Legislature, there needs to be some consideration to those issues." Oban said she also understands the concerns of teachers. This past weekend, she spoke with more than a dozen preschool and high school teachers who told her their main concerns were over the clarity of restraint and seclusion and whether they're protected in these incidents. They want to know that they are not doing anything inappropriate by removing a kid from a classroom if they need some time to cool down, said Oban, who was a middle school teacher for four years. "And certainly, that was my experience while teaching, too." Oban said she's not sure whether the bill would pass with the current fiscal note $500,000 from the Foundation Aid Stabilization Fund and whether the state could mandate training. The committee did not take action on the bill Tuesday. Contrary to assertions by useful idiots like Robert Reich that the Berkeley riots were the work of paramilitary right-wingers, it has become increasingly evident that black-clad Antifa anarchists coordinated with Bay Area community activists and UC Berkeley student groups to orchestrate the violent protests against Milo Yiannapolous. The Antifa rioters are the same mask-wearing, black-outfitted, Molotov cocktail-throwing, fire-burning, stick-carrying pugilist punks featured in The Occupation Manifesto and The Occupation Devolution videos chronicling Occupy Oakland in 2011. Although some of us sounded the alarm, too few paid attention. Antifa is short for anti-fascist and is pronounced an-TEE-fah. According to left-leaning tech magazine Wired, they are militant anti-fascist[s] and anarchists prone to property destruction and online abuse.they double down on political polarization, driving the national narrative even further from center. For a deeper explanation into its historical roots, see The Washington Post, Wired Magazine, and USA Today. Antifa is believed to have been born in 1970s Germany -- a far left, communist, anti-fascist reaction to far right, neo-Nazi fascist groups ascendant at the time. It spread throughout Europe and found its way to the US where it seems to have first appeared at the WTO riots in Seattle. Like a bad rash, they keep popping up, having been actively engaged in the Occupy Wall Street, Black Lives Matter, and anti-Trump movements. Like ISIS, independent cells exist all over the world. They are incredibly well-networked, trained in effective paramilitary tactics, and have a nuanced and sophisticated understanding, use and manipulation of the internet -- especially trolling, DDoS attacks, and their Bash the Fash and Meme Wars with the fascist alt-right. They are known for employing Black Bloc tactics at protests to achieve their ends -- forming a monolithic bloc by dressing in black and wearing black balaclavas or bandanas so as not to be identified by facial recognition software or cameras. According to the Washington Post, the hordes move in unison as one large, black-clad unidentifiable mass to achieve both violent and nonviolent ends. By putting on our masks we reveal our unity; and by raising our voices in the street together, we speak our anger at the facelessness of power, reads a popular anarchist credo that was printed on the inside of masks distributed at a violent anti-capitalist protest in London in 1999. They carry thick poles to threaten, menace, and maim. According to USA Today: In a 2015 article published in Police Magazine, author Kory Flowers said anarchists use protests such as the ones in Ferguson, Missouri, after the shooting death of Michael Brown, to launch their signature "chaos- and havoc-laden tactics." The article described Black Bloc strategy as "throngs of criminal anarchists all dress in black clothing in an effort to appear as a unified assemblage, giving the appearance of solidarity for the particular cause at hand." Robert Reich was halfway correct -- they are paramilitary -- but they are not conservative right-wingers. They are Reichs fellow travelers on the communist magical mystery tour. We tend to think of the political spectrum as a line with the far left at one end, followed by Democrats/liberals, centrists in the middle, Republicans/conservatives to the right, and the far right at the other end. But it is actually more of a circle with the far left and far right overlapping where the circle closes. The extremes share an intolerance for alternate viewpoints and a commitment to force the adoption of their viewpoints under threat of incarceration, injury, or death; they share an ease imposing martial law and tactics to gain power; and they share a proclivity to limit the freedoms of ordinary citizens once they are in power. Their shared end goal is the creation of an omnipotent State in whatever form it takes, while browbeating the masses into submission to achieve whatever ends are desired. This is the point of the smiley face with the Hitler mustache on the cover of Jonah Goldbergs Liberal Fascism. It is no coincidence that this seemingly innocuous icon of the 70s would don the mustache of historys most notorious fascist -- a creamy hippy-socialism inside, covered by a chocolately National Socialism on the outside. Sickeningly sweet. But there are some differences between how each side regards the extremes. The left embraces the far left -- in this case, the Antifa. But the average rightwing conservative, Republican, or tea partier, abhors both the far left and the far right. Fidel, Mao, Stalin, Hitler, Goebbels, David Duke, and chameleon-opportunists who fit in nowhere and anywhere like Lyndon LaRouche have no place in the conservative agenda. All are equal-opportunity despots under whose rule none of us wants to live. But the left doesnt understand that -- they think conservatives are allied with Nazis or Nazi-sympathizers. They cast mainstream conservatives in with these monsters, knowing full well that the only commonality the two share is what appears to be a random and meaningless placement on the right side of the political spectrum. Hillary Clinton was the mastermind behind this mindset: she conflated mainstream conservatives -- especially those who supported Trump -- with neo-Nazis and White Supremacists in her August 2016 Reno campaign speech. She singlehandedly primed the pump for the radical Pussy Hat March, Inauguration Day violence, and the Berkeley riots. Falsely accusing mainstream conservatives of being members of the far right is akin to saying the Jews drank the blood of Christian children. Blaming the Berkeley chaos on conservatives is like blaming the Jews for killing Jesus. Such blood libels do not end well for the victims, as charismatic rabble-rousers -- whether in the Pale of Settlement or Berkeley, CA -- rile up hysterical mobs that scapegoat their misery on the targeted group and ransack on demand. Rights become malleable or irrelevant in such situations. And, as reported in Berkeleyside.com, the freedoms to speak and assemble only apply to those who agree with the mob: Yvette Felarca, a [Berkeley Unified School District] teacher and a leader of [By Any Means Necessary], who has been captured on film engaging in violent resistance to right-wing speakers, declared the night a success. I think shutting down and forcing the cancellation of a white supremacist like Milo Yiannopoulos was a stunning achievement. It isnt a question of free speech, said Felarca. This is about our right to be free of intimidation. And thus, their hypocrisy is on full display: protesters and rioters have a right not to be intimidated but Milo, the College Republicans, and those who wanted to hear his presentation, do not enjoy the same rights. The Berkeley Socialist Students posted on Indybay that Milo is a figurehead for some of the most hateful right-wing elements in Trump's camp. We should allow no space for his message at UC Berkeley. Socialists have the unfettered freedom to express their views, but capitalists like Milo, do not. These radicals are so blinded by their Weltanschauung, that they cannot see how their quest for tolerance and equality yields quite the opposite. Conservatives, who believe we should just sit back and watch the left be hoisted by their own petard, are naive. It is wishful thinking to believe with each protest, riot and absurd comment, conservatives will look better while liberals implode. Here is the cold hard truth: with each riot and outrageous accusation, the left is emboldened. It doesnt matter that their message is chaotic, their delivery cacophonous. It is irrelevant that WE think they look ridiculous. What matters to them is that they can manipulate the political scene today to achieve long-term goals ASAP. This is the culmination of decades of liberal efforts behind the scenes. They are simply leveraging the online infrastructure they have constructed, the vast networks they have built among the schools, the culture, the media, ex-Presidents, and current politicians, and the unity they have cultivated. They have just been waiting for the right moment to pounce. The election of a guy like Trump at a time when the fate of the Supreme Court hangs in the balance, when all political power in the states and federal government has shifted right, has provided them with that Arab Spring, Cuban Revolution, Bolshevik moment that gives them a collective thrill up their legs. This is all about building momentum towards a General Strike, a Revolution, the Fundamental Transformation. UC Berkeley student organizations may claim that they didnt physically partake in the violence, that they merely pressured the university to cancel the event and, if that did not happen, they would (and did) take to the streets. Yet, when they failed to get the desired results, they were perfectly content to stand by and let Antifa throw police barricades through storefront windows, beat up Milo supporters, and start fires. This does not absolve them of responsibility. Via standing by and doing nothing while hoodlums in black shirts suppress speech and assembly, spread blood libels, batter fellow citizens, and destroy property, they incriminated themselves This is not simply leftwing hysteria we should ignore because we believe it will reflect poorly on liberals. It represents decades of rancor and resentment rising to the surface after a deliberate and systematic policy of dividing the country along gender, racial, and all manner of demographic lines. By dividing the nation into haves and have-nots instead of focusing on the possibles, the leftwing agenda has destroyed our great melting pot in all of its variety where the American Dream is achievable for all, and created instead, a cesspool of black and white between those who have achieved the American dream and others who are entitled to share in that success. Do not brush off these protests as the usual left wing rent-a-mobs. This is the stuff coups and revolutions are made of. Will our brainwashed children turn against us or worse yet, turn us in? Will our neighbors shoot us? Steal from us? Jail us? When the young and those who feel marginalized because of their color or economic circumstances are repeatedly told that conservatives are the devil, their parents are deplorable, and their neighbors are alt-right Nazis, they can actually see the horns on their parents heads and the brown shirts covering their neighbors bodies. When Democrats characterize mainstream Republicans and conservatives as members of the alt-right, they arent just on a slippery slope, but a sheer vertical drop from which there is no return. If this continues unaddressed, they will have our blood on their hands. I think the Berkeley College Republicans said it best: It is tragic that the birthplace of the Free Speech Movement is also its final resting place. Conservatives must decide if they want to prevent these self-proclaimed anti-fascist fascists from digging the grave, or stand by and watch. Hat tip: long time Bay Area resident, Lia, the inspiration for this article. The violent riots on college campuses designed to shut down free speech are simply the latest sign of the elephant in the room: modern liberals are fascist tyrants at heart who reject democracy, free speech, and pretty much everything else in the Constitution. They are not patriots with a different vision of democracy, but traitors who want to remake America into a one-party state where the government rules the people. That may sound harsh, but recall that liberals vilified Donald Trump when they thought he might reject the results of the election because of voter fraud. Yet now those same liberals are demanding that everyone resist and fantasizing about assassinating Trump, even though we now know, thanks to Jill Stein, that there was no voter fraud favoring Trump. Does anyone doubt that if the scenario were reversed not that it could be, because conservatives aren't fascists liberals would be declaring the conservative resistance to be fascists? At the moment, the biggest battle in ending the fascist aspirations of the mainstream left in America is the decision of whether or not the Supreme Court will continue to be a tyrannical institution designed to oppress the people or whether it'll return to its roots and serve as an impartial interpreter of the law. Calling judges tyrants may seem harsh, but anyone who makes up laws under the guise of interpreting the law is a tyrant imposing his personal will on the people. Such actions are a rejection of the core tenet of the Constitution that political power flows not from the barrel of a gun or from being appointed to the Supreme Court, but from the people. Liberals love tyrannical judges, because liberals have never been able get society to accept their agenda via democratic processes. Americans would not have voted to legalize abortion for any reason up until the moment of birth, for example. If you pause a moment and ponder, you'll realize that all of the sweeping changes in morality made in America have been pushed down from the Supreme Court. The "wall" that supposedly separates church and state is nowhere to be found in the Constitution. Jefferson, who coined the phrase, did so long after the Constitution was ratified, and even he didn't think the Constitution prevented states from having their own churches, nor did it prevent the federal government from funding a Catholic priest ministering to American Indians. For nearly 200 years, everyone thought the Constitution allowed support of religion in general by the federal government but prohibited only the establishment of an official government religion like the Church of England. Yet the Supreme Court has changed all that, so that while pornography is now legally protected, religious expression is directly oppressed in both public and private settings. There is absolutely no reason to believe that the people who ratified the Constitution thought it protected burning the flag or pornography, but the Supreme Court simply decided that those things are in fact "free speech." That saved liberals from having to convince Americans that the most monstrous and misogynistic pornography should be easily available to children. Coddling criminals and throwing out critical evidence because arcane bureaucratic processes weren't followed correctly was something that could never have gotten through any legislature in America. Converting the justice system into a game where the results are okay so long as the rules are followed, irrespective of whether or not the guilty are found guilty, is not something the American people supported. Yet the Supreme Court decided that the Constitution was intended to ensure that if a court clerk puts the wrong date on a search warrant, a child-raping, mass-murdering cannibal should get off scot-free. By overturning the laws of all 50 states, even the most liberal, and legalizing abortion for any reason, including because the unborn is a girl, not a boy, up until the instant of birth, the Supreme Court has subjected America to decades of conflict. Given that the people who ratified the Constitution thought abortion was an abomination, it's unlikely that they intended to declare it a fundamental right. Yet the tyrants on the court imposed their personal beliefs on America and set the stage for the greatest mass killing of innocent people since the Gulags. Never in the history of Western civilization was a sexual liaison between two men considered a marriage. But even though 55,000,000 Americans voted against same-sex "marriage," and in spite of the fact that the Constitution clearly says all things marriage-related are subject to state, not federal, control, the tyrants on the courts redefined marriage to appease the 2% of Americans who long for members of their own sex. There is not a single example of liberals getting their hedonistic and atheistic concepts approved across America using the democratic process. Without a tyrannical court, we'd be in a 1950s America except, of course, racism would be condemned, because the protection of black rights has been primarily the work of politicians, mostly Republicans. Sadly, the court is not the only place where Americans have to fight the new fascists. Liberals have never managed to change America by actually getting the majority of people to vote for their real agenda. That's why liberals always lie during election season. Barack Obama said he opposed redefining marriage and that we could keep our health care policies if we liked them. Obama ran as a conservative and led as a liberal. He is representative of liberals running for office in all but the most secure seats in the big coastal cities. Unfortunately, the tyrannical instinct is not restricted to politicians, who can be outvoted in Congress, or to judges. Sally Yates ignoring legal ethics and the law by refusing to obey a lawful order from the president is just the tip of the iceberg of fascist government workers violating their oaths and putting their tribe ahead of their obligation to the American people. When Kim Davis refused to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples, liberals condemned her even though she was opposing a tyrannical law created out of nothing by unelected rich white judges. Yet those same liberals are fine with sanctuary cities and government bureaucrats who sabotage and resist Trump. We all know the hypocrisy of the left on pretty much every issue any liberal speech is protected, but Rush Limbaugh shouldn't be allowed to broadcast; the California legislature exempting itself from gun control regulations; etc. but we don't usually acknowledge that such a double standard is typical of fascists, who believe in the rule of men rather than the rule of law. It's time to shed light on the dictatorial nature of modern liberals so that the low-information voters eventually realize that when liberals promise them the moon, they're lying through their teeth. Liberals like the thugs who rioted in Berkeley, Nancy Pelosi, Charles Schumer, and most of the media have become blatant in their repudiation of America because they've come to assume that a tyrannical Supreme Court and a government that feels unconstrained by the Constitution are their right. It's time for Americans who pay the bills and make America work to say we will not tolerate tyrants. It's one thing to disagree on what immigration policy is best. It's another to encourage illegals voting so as to undermine democracy. It's time to stop pretending that the people who are the public face of modern liberalism are the loyal opposition. Instead, we should shout from the rooftops that they are fascists who wish to put the American people in chains. Only then will we have a chance to convert the vast majority of people who vote for liberals because they've been lied to by the media. The liberals know that those people wouldn't vote for them if they knew what liberals really stood for, which is why liberal leaders run as conservatives. You can read more of Tom's rants at his blog, Conversations about the obvious, and feel free to follow him on Twitter. According to the New York Times, the Church World Service wants Muslim immigrants from the Middle East to feel welcome. And they seem to think: what better way to make them feel welcome than to put on a hijab and head over to the local mosque for feminist fun and adventure! These ladies, who likely hate Donald Trump for being "sexist," think nothing of wrapping themselves up in an outfit closely associated with some of the worst sharia law has to offer women the subservience, the second class citizenship, the beatings, the clitorectomies, the sex slavery, and so on. Now, to be fair, I cannot be 100% certain that the two very fair-skinned blonde ladies in the photo above were born as Christian Americans. Nor can I be certain that they are listening to a religious service at the mosque. Perhaps it is bingo night (though I don't see any bingo cards). Perhaps they are enjoying a local CAIR representative narrating the series premiere of 24. But from the way some of the ladies have their head bowed in obedience, it certainly looks like a religious service. Occam's razor, which posits that the simplest explanation is usually the correct one, certainly suggests that these are Christians in name only who are trying to assimilate to Islamic culture. Have they left their Christianity behind, and their religion is now the religion of social justice? They could experience social justice thrills every time a sharia-conforming Muslim is brought here from the Middle East and brings his culture right along with him, knowing that his cause is right and just. They certainly wouldn't be the first. Witness all the Vermonters rushing to learn Arabic. But it is more than a little appalling that at the same time Christians are having their heads chopped off by Muslims in the Middle East, these Christians are conforming to a culture whose laws many would interpret as subjecting them to the same fate. That doesn't worry the Church World Service (CWS); what does worry the CWS is if Donald Trump gets his way and stops immigration from high-risk Muslim countries, and if the CWS stops getting money from you, the taxpayer, to bring more Muslims to America. Yes, you are paying for all of it. Surprise! Over the years, this satellite office of the Church World Service, a nationwide nonprofit that works on contract with the State Department's resettlement program, has helped thousands of refugees find homes in Lancaster, a south-central Pennsylvania city with a reputation for tolerance. Its work has nurtured an ethnic jumble Somali, Iraqi, Syrian, Congolese, Nepalese that has diversified the local culture, provided a plentiful work force and, yes, challenged the school system. I like how our school systems get "challenged." Any idea what that euphemism means? Ms. Mastropietro explained that a halt to refugee arrivals meant a halt to some federal funding, which meant budget cuts. Some programs would continue for now employment, citizenship, counseling but she could maintain only a skeletal staff for the program around which all others revolved: resettlement. She would do her best, but, yes, layoffs. A skeletal staff? How about a zombie staff, because their mindless attentiveness to bringing sharia adherents here on a conveyor belt is harming our society? If the CWS workers are so enamored of Islamic culture, let them go to Syria to help people firsthand, as naive aid worker Kayla Mueller did, spending the remainder of her short life as a sex slave. But don't try to import that hostile, misogynist culture in to America and then tell us you're acting for the good of mankind. Ed Straker is the senior writer at NewsMachete.com. Yet another belly flop from what used to be called the paper of record. Evidently, the authors of this editorial are among the overwhelming majority of Americans who no longer bother reading the news pages of the New York Times. The opinion-mongers of the Gray Lady wrote in today's paper: In the dark world that Mr. Trump and his top adviser, Stephen Bannon, inhabit, getting "smart" means shutting down immigration from countries that have not been responsible for a single attack in the United States in more than two decades. As multiple national security experts have said, the order would, if anything, increase the terrorism threat to Americans. The countries, identified by the Obama administration and retained by the Trump executive order, are Somalia, Syria, Iran, Libya, Yemen, Iraq, and Sudan. Same paper, two months ago: Suspect Is Killed in Attack at Ohio State University That Injured 11 A student at Ohio State University intentionally rammed a car into pedestrians on a busy campus sidewalk on Monday morning and then began slashing passers-by with a butcher knife, the authorities said, injuring 11 students and faculty and staff members, and setting off panic at one of the nation's largest public universities. A university police officer fatally shot the suspect within about a minute of the attack, but the sprawling campus in Columbus, Ohio, remained on lockdown for about an hour and a half as people ran for cover and barricaded themselves in academic buildings and dorms. Investigators were looking into whether the attack was an act of terrorism and were seeking information on the student, Abdul Artan, a permanent United States resident from Somalia who was studying logistics management at Ohio State. Thomas Lifson adds: No doubt, the editorialists would claim, once their folly is pointed out to them, that there are six other "countries that have not been responsible for a single attack in the United States in more than two decades" and that therefore the editorial was correct. If they did so, they would admit to misleading, sloppy writing. And I would not believe them. Several conservative news sources, including Breitbart, have recently reported a story that the liberal media is apparently ignoring because it clearly reflects negatively on the Democrats: a lawsuit that has been filed against the DNC by one of the former candidates to lead that entity. A fellow named Vincent Tolliver, who hails from Arkansas, had recently declared his intent to be one of the ten competing candidates for the job of DNC chair. Unfortunately for Mr. Tolliver, he chose to do something that is highly risky in any Democrat power play: he spoke the truth, a bit of cheeky foolishness that got him quickly and quietly bounced from the competition by current chair, Donna Brazile, another Dem who has had her own problems with truth issues, but for the opposite reason. Whether Tolliver believed that his own minority status might offer him some freedom to point out a major problem with another minority candidate, we can't know. But point out he did when he reminded fellow Democrats that their full acceptance of and total support for the LGBT community is a bit out of sync with support for Representative Keith Ellison, a Muslim, to replace Brazile. Tolliver noted that homosexuality is not widely tolerated in Muslim countries and in many can warrant a death penalty. That Tolliver legitimately pointed out a quite logical contradiction in the current Democrat orthodoxy meant nothing to Commissar Brazile, who called for his political defenestration for his religious intolerance, and out the window he went. Tolliver's intolerable intolerance of a currently coveted religious minority earned him immediate political banishment, if not to the far reaches of Siberia, at least to the eastern reaches of Arkansas, which, for coastal, elitist liberals, is far worse. The question here is whether this heretical upstart is being banished for what is merely an audacious assault on the usual, widely practiced Democrat hypocrisy, usually a cherished, endearing trait in that party's candidates, or could it be that he made the far more serious mistake of blaspheming against the party's increasingly utilized and far more sinister doublethink that George Orwell introduced to the world in his dystopian novel, 1984? Orwell describes that concept: To know and not to know, to be conscious of complete truthfulness while telling carefully constructed lies, to hold simultaneously two opinions which cancelled out, knowing them to be contradictory and believing in both of them, to use logic against logic, to repudiate morality while laying claim to it, to believe that democracy was impossible and that the Party was the guardian of democracy, to forget whatever it was necessary to forget, then to draw it back into memory again at the moment when it was needed, and then promptly to forget it again, and above all, to apply the same process to the process itself that was the ultimate subtlety: consciously to induce unconsciousness, and then, once again, to become unconscious of the act of hypnosis you had just performed. Even to understand the word 'doublethink' involved the use of doublethink. Can you possibly read that paragraph without seeing similarities to the increasingly bizarre behaviors of Democrats in recent years? That description so describes their conduct that it should be included in their party platform. It certainly explains how Tolliver's offensive observation was so intolerable to such a militantly tolerant and inclusive organization, does it not? Or how universities are bastions of free speech unless you try to practice actual free speech on a campus? Or how Democrats can scream charges of fascism and totalitarianism at Republican politicians who are merely mimicking Democrats' previous actions? In fact, it even explains their fanatic insistence on calamitous climate change sans evidence, and globetrotting in private jets to protest the use of fossil fuels. For certain, it shows how they can empower the Muslim faith within the party leadership while simultaneously waving their gay rainbow banners. If I were Tolliver, I wouldn't file my suit in a blue state liberal insanity may be recognized there as a legitimate legal gambit. Call it the Doublethink Defense. Most conservative viewers of the Super Bowl expected Lady Gaga's performance to be infuriating at best, but much to my surprise, one of her handlers clearly had enough sense to inform her that a crowd consisting mostly of well-to-do Texans might not take so kindly to her force-feeding them her militantly leftist views. Her good behavior allowed 84 Lumber to steal the spotlight as the "irritant du jour" with a poorly conceived commercial that condones and celebrates the crime of illegal immigration. As with most everything the cultural left touches these days, the backlash has been worth more than a few chuckles. If you don't believe me, go on 84 Lumber's Facebook page and read the comments under the company's postings regarding the commercial. A vast majority of the user replies are scathingly negative and reflect the same views that produced a map with 85 percent of American counties colored red just a few months ago. Are those views xenophobic and anti-immigrant, as the left proclaims, or are they simply the views of those who recognize that there are no global human rights declaring unrestricted entry or immigration to the United States? Here are some handy population visuals to help with that decision, on top of the many reasons we already have been given to oppose unrestricted migration, legal and illegal, to America including the 113 billion taxpayer dollars spent to support the 84 Lumber-approved societal poison of illegal immigration every single year. The left does not have humanity as a driving force in their quest to hurl open America's gates to the world. Their goal is only political power, and by any means necessary. Among assimilated, working Americans, their ideas have failed. Multiplying the population of America 23-fold is of little consequence to them if the more than 3 billion people of the world considered desperately poor, making less than two dollars per day, drown the American lifeboat but keep them in power. For this reminder of why the election broke the way it did, 84 Lumber deserves our heartfelt thanks, but certainly not our business. Seth Keshel, former Army captain and Afghanistan veteran, is a grassroots coordinator for the Convention of States Project, Texas. The speaker of the House of Commons, John Bercow, has come out strongly against Donald Trump delivering an address to a joint meeting of parliament when Trump visits Great Britain later this year. This is an extraordinary intervention on the part of the non-partisan speaker, who generally steers clear of political controversy. But Bercow said because of Trump's "racism" and "sexism" and his threat to an "independent judiciary," he would strongly oppose a speech by Trump to parliament. Washington Post: British Prime Minister Theresa May announced during her visit to the White House last month that Trump had accepted an invitation on behalf of Queen Elizabeth II for a full state visit later this year. But she has come under pressure to revoke the offer after the backlash triggered by Trump's travel ban. Later this month, lawmakers will debate canceling the state visit after 1.8 million people signed a petition urging the British government to rescind the offer to avoid embarrassing the queen. The debate will not produce any binding decisions. Bercow said that he was "even more strongly opposed" to Trump addressing Parliament following the travel ban. Before the imposition of the migrant ban, I would myself have been strongly opposed to an address by President Trump in Westminster Hall. After the imposition of the migrant ban by President Trump, I am even more strongly opposed to an address by President Trump in Westminster Hall, he said. He said that an address to Parliament by a foreign leader was not an automatic right, it is an earned honor and that there was precedent for a state visit to the U.K. not to include an address to both houses of Parliament. By convention, three people come to a decision on who to invite to speak at Westminster Hall, one of whom is the speaker of the House of Commons. In relation to Westminster Hall, there are three key-holders . . . the speaker of the House of Commons, the speaker of the House of Lords and the lord great chamberlain. Ordinarily we are able to work by consensus and the hall would be used for a purpose such as an address, or another purpose, by agreement of the three key-holders, Bercow said. Bercow's intervention was greeted with cheering and applause by some opposition lawmakers. If Prime Minister May really pushed for an address to parliament by Trump, she would probably prevail. But May has her own political problems regarding her evolving plan to implement a British exit from the E.U. and wouldn't want to put her Tory M.P.s on the spot by forcing them to support a speech by the American president. There isn't much chance that a vote in parliament would result in a withdrawing of the invitation for a state visit by Trump. But British politicians are not going to miss a chance to cater to the anti-Trump feeling in Great Britain, and a measure to oppose a state visit might pass thanks in large part to the anti-Trump hysteria ginned up by the hard left. Some conservatives are pushing back against the supposedly non-partisan Bercow's unprecedented statement: Some opposition MPs applauded his comments, but senior Conservatives were highly critical. One unnamed Tory MP and former cabinet member told the BBC that Mr Bercow "must be close to standing down", while another said his remarks had gone "way beyond what is acceptable". Conservative MP Nadine Dorries told the BBC: "When he loses support for what was a very partisan moment I think his position will become more and more in jeopardy "It's about what the people want and I think if people make enough of a stink out there I think his position could be in jeopardy." Crispin Blunt, the Conservative MP who chairs the Commons Foreign Affairs Select Committee, said Mr Bercow was going to have to deal with "the consequences" of his comments. He said there were "strongly held views on both sides of the argument", but added: "Generally the Speaker, who's meant to referee all of this, should keep himself above that. I think that's to be regretted, but it is a symptom of the controversy around this visit." Former Culture Secretary John Whittingdale accused Mr Bercow of "playing to the gallery for as much publicity as possible" and suggested the Speaker could have had a "quiet word" with the prime minister instead of speaking out. There is no "quiet word" on either side of the Atlantic when it comes to opinions about Donald Trump. Across every front of the culture war, the left is planting the notion that President Trump is on the way to becoming a dictator so that by implication, all means of opposing him are legitimate, even violence and insurrection. Put that another way, they are ginning up an uprising, the romantic dream of the sixties left the demographic group that dominates the leadership of the Democratic Party. Readers are already familiar with the demonization underway, at home and abroad. But consider the insidiousness of the question posed by NBC News's Katy Tur (the former live-in lover of leftist crank Keith Olbermann). Photo credit: nycnewswomen Jay Caruso of Red State spotted the planting of a meme (emphasis Caruso's): Senator, the junior senator in your state, Senator Ben Sasse, came up strongly over the weekend condemning Donald Trump's assertion that we are just as bad as Russia. When he said that, you know, we America does bad and terrible things, too, when Bill O'Reilly asked him if Vladimir Putin was a killer. Why what is your sense of why this president is going above and beyond bending over backwards, if you will to stay away from criticizing the Russian president and to almost give him an excuse? As we know, there's, since 2000, been a couple dozen suspicious deaths of journalists in Russia who came out against the government there. Donald Trump has made no secret about going after journalists and his distaste for any news that doesn't agree with him here. Do you find that this is a dangerous path he is heading down? Her implication, of course, being, "Will President Trump attempt to take out some journalists he doesn't like?" A question like this scatters the seeds of sedition. The delicate liberal souls in the student senate at Santa Clara University have turned down a petition by a conservative group to form a campus chapter of Turning Points USA. The reason for the rejection is that the group would make them feel "unsafe." Daily Caller: A full-time school employee also primed Santa Clara student senators with a lengthy PowerPoint presentation associating Turning Points USA with vile, fringe white supremacist groups. The rejection occurred on Thursday night during a meeting of the Associated Student Government at the Jesuit bastion in the thick of Silicon Valley. The Feb. 2 student senate meeting generated a standing-room-only crowd. The petitioners gave a short presentation about their desire to form a campus chapter of Turning Point USA, a national student activist group which endorses fiscal responsibility, free markets, and limited government. Then, for roughly an hour, a group of about 50 students and also a smattering of school employees spoke about how they adamantly oppose allowing a few students to form a conservative-oriented campus organization. It was a lot of repetitive stuff, Caleb Alleva, one of the Turning Points USA petitioners, told The Daily Caller. Opponents of the group insisted that a group promoting free trade and limited government on campus would make them feel unsafe, Alleva told TheDC. They were saying they were in danger but they couldnt cite any facts, the junior explained. A lot of them are lying about being afraid or they are genuinely in fear because of this false sense of danger promulgated by the media that anyone who is vaguely conservative is a Nazi or a white supremacist, Alleva said. At a Jan. 26 meeting of the Santa Clara student senate, a university employee provided senators with a PowerPoint entitled White Nationalist, Alt-Right & Other Groups on College Campuses. David Warne, a Santa Clara student senator, described the document to TheDC. The order of the presentation goes like this: White Nationalists>Alt-Right>Identity Evropa>Richard Spencer>Milo Yiannopoulos>Turning Point USA, Warne wrote in an email. Identity Evropa, a hardcore white supremacist organization with members who sport neo-Hitler haircuts, recently targeted the Santa Clara campus with some posters. No one thinks these posters were put up by students, Warne noted. It was surprising to read a highly critical polemic about President Donald Trump in the pages of The American Conservative, the small periodical cofounded by proto-Trumpian commentator Pat Buchanan. On the outskirts of mainstream conservatism, the magazine has gotten a boost in visibility from presaging the rise of Trump, with its editorial stance closely aligned with the president's nationalist predilections. That's not to say that TAC hasn't been critical of Trump. Its writers have raised legitimate concerns over the president's decidedly un-Burkean temperament. Trump is nobody's idea of a cerebral conservative, taking in history's triumphs and failures before proposing policy. He's a visceral guy with a gut that makes decisions and a mind that justifies them afterward. That kind of personality in charge of anything, let alone the most powerful government on Earth, is alarming. But that's not the criticism leveled by one writer. Rather, the tack taken by Andrew Bacevich in "Conservatism After Trump" is one of fevered disgust at our new president. Citing H.L. Mencken, Bacevich rages against Trump's brazen defiance of political norms, his cavalier disregard of clear boundaries between public office and private treasury, and his ignorance of the office he now holds. These qualities actually won Trump the White House. But it came at the expense of coarsening and abasing political norms. For stability's stake, Bacevich argues, this isn't good, and conservatives "must view the ongoing demolition with dismay." To his credit, Bacevich acknowledges the ineptitude of Republican Party leaders as the prime weakness Trump exploited to take control of the party and, ultimately, the Oval Office. "Trump's success in hijacking the GOP has exposed the emptiness of that party's claim to uphold conservative principles or any principles whatsoever," he writes. But the failure of a party, claims Bacevich, does not justify Trump as president. Bacevich has two primary concerns for the new administration: first, the fragile state of the Constitution under a president who probably can't name the article that outlines the powers of his own office, and second, the reputation of conservatism as a philosophy, which is losing luster with every inch Trump's favorability rating ticks down. To protect both document and doctrine, Bacevich offers a radical strategy: stop Trump by any lawful means, including removal from office. These words beggar belief: "So if an establishment press that has long leaned left has now abandoned any pretense of evenhandedness, good. If the proponents of multiculturalism, diversity, and other hallmarks of ostensibly enlightened thinking fill the streets to denounce Trump as a proto-fascist, better. If opposition to Trump's clownish presidency ultimately succeeds in bringing it down, that will be best of all." This, from someone who claims the mantle of Burke. Not only does Bacevich advocate toppling a lawfully elected leader, but he cheers on the miscreants turning city streets into violent Hobbesian free-for-alls in the name of "resistance." For someone who claims to be on the side of prudent conservatism, Bacevich's proposal reeks of Sartreism. His call to arms isn't an impassioned plea to reach across the political aisle and ally against a despot. It's a pathos-driven rage to toss off an administration that has yet to commit (with one quickly rectified exception) any major errors. Plenty of traditional-minded conservatives have made well thought out arguments on why President Trump is an untrustworthy figure. Many of these writers, though they sympathized with the then-candidate's attacks on the out-of-touch Washington establishment, didn't cast a ballot for him in November. They were not concerned with the danger the billionaire posed to D.C.'s neoliberal consensus, but rather what would come after it, should he succeed in disfiguring it completely. Rod Dreher, Ross Douthat, Charles Murray, J.D. Vance, Michael Brendan Dougherty, Bill Kaufman, and others have appealed to institutional order to make a case against a president so inexperienced and mercurial as Trump. Bacevich's case is similar to theirs, his histrionics notwithstanding. There's just one problem with these arguments: the intermediary institutions that coax the democratic machinery in this country are rotting. This hollowing out of our most basic institutions has been happening for some time. The people's lack of faith in Congress, the media, the school system, corporations, and the church created an environment ripe for someone outspoken and unorthodox to rise to power. When you lack confidence in what's supposed to work, you turn to someone who promises something different. In the parlance of economics, Trump is a market correction to a system that lost its bearings. Back in 2015, when the prospect of a billionaire populist leading a hostile takeover of the government was becoming more fact than fiction, Frank Rich wrote a piece for New York magazine applauding Trump's rise. Rich is a liberal's liberal. But even he realized how sclerotic both major parties had become. Before winning a single primary, Rich argued, Trump "performed a public service by exposing, however crudely and at times inadvertently, the posturings of both the Republicans and the Democrats and the foolishness and obsolescence of much of the political culture they share." That that foolishness extended far into the general election and, improbably, handed Trump the White House was not something Rich expected, or even favored. But it proved the power of his thesis: a celebrity real estate developer hijacked the biggest political prize of all from a litany of others who were more qualified, more intellectually gifted, and more astute to the art of politics than him. What could be more indicative of a need to recalibrate our assumptions about Americans' shared life? Bacevich's worries, therefore, are misguided. The Constitution is a fragile document, but it's still law. Should Trump usurp it, it won't be because he's a tyrant. It will be because the Congress, the courts, the media, and the people have ceased to be checks on an office they've all spent a century-plus aggrandizing. Conservatives, unlike liberals, deal in truth. President Trump should have been the biggest wake-up call of all to how flawed our political priors are. Instead, commentators of all stripes have doubled down on the same tired arguments they've deployed for decades. The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission is meeting in Gatineau, Quebec between February 6th and February 9th to discuss how effective the current Wireless Code of Conduct is, where it falls short, and how to improve it. The meeting is headed up by Jean-Pierre Blais, the CRTCs current chairman. The Code of Conduct was originally created back in 2013 to promote transparency and consumer friendliness in the wireless industry, but Canadian citizen Philippe Leveille, among others, believes that the Code of Conduct in its current form does not do quite as much as it should be doing to protect and empower consumers in the modern wireless climate. Wireless complaints have reportedly decreased since the Code of Conduct was implemented, according to data from the Commissioner for Complaints for Telecommunications Services. Still, the Code in its current form may have some holes in it that bear discussing how to fix. Thus, discussion on the first day of the hearing on the matter was to revolve mostly around pain points in the wireless world, as well as potential troubles that are not adequately addressed by the current Code of Conduct. One such possible issue is the fact that the Code does not address who companies must contact in case of an overage. When an overage occurs, companies must contact somebody on the plan in order to notify them that theyve gone over their limit, and to talk about the possibility of suspending the plan. With no rule in place, such a decision may well fall to a child, according to citizen Gordon Graff. The talk centered around a similar note, with key subjects being clarity in contracts, making it easier for consumers to switch carriers if they so desire, and helping to prevent bill shock. A public discussion forum where Canadians can chime in concerning talking points and the reform of the Code of Conduct will be open at the CRTCs website until February 14th. A few good suggestions and talking points for the CRTC have already been laid out in the online forum, and even after the formal hearing ends on February 9th, they will continue monitoring the public forum to talk to the populace about possible changes to the Code of Conduct, and get input on proposals and ideas put forth by CRTC members. The United States Federal Trade Commission (FTC) fined VIZIO $2.2 million for collecting user data without their consent, the agency announced on Monday. The Office of the New Jersey Attorney General and the FTC jointly charged the Irvine, California-based TV manufacturer for not only tracking the viewing habits of its users without their knowledge but also for selling their data to third-party advertisers. Authorities believe that VIZIO used this method to spy on approximately 11 million American households. The $2.2 million fine was agreed as a part of a settlement between Vizio, the FTC, and the State of New Jersey. The FTC claims that VIZIO and one of its affiliates started implementing real-time tracking software into their TV lineup in 2014. This software was designed to analyze pixels that were displayed on television screens and cross-reference them with VIZIOs proprietary media database. Using this method, VIZIO collected approximately 100 billion data points on a daily basis for each device that was a part of its data collecting network. This solution analyzed media content from all sources, including cable TV, DVD players, and set-top boxes. After collecting massive amounts of data, VIZIO apparently sold that information to advertisers. Among other things, advertisers bought information about ages, genders, education and income levels, as well as marital statuses of VIZIOs customers. Theres currently no information on how many individual users were affected by this practice though that number is certainly north of 11 million. Apart from violating the FTC Act, VIZIOs data collecting efforts also broke several consumer protection laws of the State of New Jersey. The LeEco-owned consumer electronics manufacturer now agreed to pay a $1.5 million fine to the FTC, in addition to agreeing to a $1 million fine from the New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs which agreed to suspend $300,000 of the initial amount. The wording of the FTCs Monday announcement implies that VIZIO likely wouldnt have broken any laws if the company was upfront with its users and asked them to agree to have their data collected. Instead, the well-known TV manufacturer shipped devices which collected data by default and consumers were only able to disable that functionality after already purchasing their products from VIZIO. Five former South Korean owners of the Galaxy Note 7 are not dropping charges against Samsung Electronics even after the largest phone maker in the world has dismissed them as frauds, The Investor reports. On Tuesday, a lawyer at Harvest Law Office thats representing the group described the current situation as favorable for their clients, especially after Samsung admitted that faulty batteries are to blame for the Galaxy Note 7 fires and the South Korean government corroborated their findings. The lawyer also revealed how their plaintiffs have no intentions of settling with Samsung outside of the courtroom, especially after the companys customer service representatives told them theyre frauds who are making false claims about the Galaxy Note 7. Samsungs employees allegedly accused the plaintiffs of trying to extort money from the Seoul-based tech giant, Harvest Law Offices representative revealed. The same source also claimed that Samsung refused to sincerely apologize to the plaintiffs even before the matter was taken to court. All five plaintiffs initially filed individual lawsuits against Samsung with the Seoul Central District Court, but due to the similar natures of their disputes, theyve all ended up being represented by Harvest Law Office. In addition to monetary compensation for the damages incurred from their faulty phablets, these consumers are now also seeking compensation for the fact that Samsungs employees allegedly damaged their reputations by accusing them of lying and being frauds. The trial is expected to start by mid-2017, presumably during the second quarter of the year. In addition to this dispute, Samsung is currently facing numerous other legal battles all over the world. From class action lawsuits to individual filings made against the company, it seems that the Galaxy Note 7 fiasco still isnt over as some consumers still feel wronged by Samsung and arent willing to drop the matter. The South Korean tech giant will likely want to wrap up many of its legal battles concerning the Galaxy Note 7 as quickly as possible seeing how the company is currently preparing for the launch of the Galaxy S8 and the Galaxy S8 Plus, meaning that it must strive to avoid negative publicity at all costs. Google have chosen today, Safer Internet Day, to showcase a number of the security features of the companys Google Wifi mesh router system. In Googles blog post they detail a number of features of Googles high performance Wi-Fi mesh router technology, which the company says was built from the ground up to be focused on security, with multiple layers of protection. Google Wifi, which was released at the end of last year, has benefited from over three years of development work and Google are keen to remind customers and potential customers that the technology has been designed to be safe and secure. In short, Google have made their Wifi router difficult to compromise and even though the technology has been placed into Googles Vulnerability Reward Program, none have yet to be discovered. This program was started in 2010 and can pay a bounty of up to $20,000 to people discovering and reporting critical security bugs. The first security feature of Google Wifi is that the device uses Verified boot, which means it will not boot up unless it verifies it is running official Google Wifi software. Furthermore, Google explain that in order to make any changes to the Google Wifi router settings, customers must use the official Google Wifi mobile application for either Android or iOS devices, which uses similar security software as found with Googles other products and services, such as Gmail. The idea behind using this system is that it means the Google Wifi router will only allow changes to the settings if they have been received from an authenticated source. In common with other routers, Google Wifi receives firmware updates via the Internet, which are automatically applied to keep the device secure with the latest fixes. Googles website explains how some routers are potentially vulnerable to botnets, which it describes as being similar to viruses on computers. Botnets can be used to steal data being transferred via the network or to control the router and partake in hack attacks such as denial-of-service. In such cases, these botnets may be removed by a software update to the router. This may not be an easy process for the home user. Fortunately, the Google Wifi router has software updates and patches automatically pushed to it via the Internet, so from a user perspective the technology is maintenance free and in Googles words, is always one step ahead of vulnerabilities. Advertisement The next aspect of Google Wifi security concerns how the device uses mesh network technology to provide complete coverage of the home. The Google Wifi mesh technology allows multiple Wi-Fi points cooperate with one another in order to provide complete coverage and communicate with one another via machine generated, long and complicated passwords. For the Google Wifi router, these passwords are not permitted to leave the home network and are re-established should the home network change (for example, a Wi-Fi point is added or removed). The Google Wifi router will not use a wireless technology that isnt secure in order to communicate with a device on the network, and it will only use Wi-Fi points that it knows and trusts. WATFORD CITY Watford City police chief Arthur Walgren has stepped down following an incident that resulted in his suspension last month. Walgren submitted his resignation on Sunday, Watford City auditor Peni Peterson said on Monday. The letter was officially accepted by the city commission during the boards regular meeting on Monday evening. Walgren was suspended without pay from Jan. 27 through Feb. 10 for sending an email written from the assistant chiefs account claiming that the assistant chief was coming out of the closet as homosexual. The internal note was received by the entire police department, including the assistant chiefs wife, Peterson said. Although no further disciplinary hearings were scheduled, a meeting between the chief and city officials on Friday preceded Walgrens resignation. There was a personnel meeting and they met with him about (the email), Peterson said. The email, intended as a prank, did not generate complaints from other officers, but merited disciplinary measures from city officials who found out about it as Assistant Chief Jesse Wellen tried to find the culprit. We felt like it could have caused problems and it just wasnt going to be tolerated The city felt that it was very inappropriate, coming from someone in a leadership position, Peterson said. The final decision to suspend Walgren was made by city administrator Curt Moen. On Jan. 27, Walgren sent out an apology to police department employees, saying, in part I was thinking it was all in fun and games at the time, according to the McKenzie County Farmer. Lt. Shawn Doble will fill in as interim chief until the police department moves into the countys new law enforcement center in late March, when the position will be opened to applicants, Peterson said. Walgren, 52, was chief of Watford City police for nearly three years, and came to the department after serving as police chief in New Town. Huawei has just partnered up with Caviar, a Russia-based brand which manufactures luxury smartphones. The two companies have introduced a new variant of the Huawei P9 smartphone called the Huawei P9 Friendship Edition, and this smartphone was actually announced in separate variants for Russia and China. The source also says that the two companies have decided to manufacture only 88 units (this number is actually considered to be lucky in the Chinese culture), which means its availability is quite limited, read on. The difference between the Russian and Chinese variants of these two smartphones are their back covers, the back on the Russian model symbolizes the might, power, traditions and character of the great country, and the same can be said for the Chinese model as well. The Russian model comes with a golden frame which symbolizes ornaments and patterns traditional for Russian architecture. The center of the back of this smartphone contains a relief coat of arms of the Russian Federation and a tablet with lines from the national anthem. On top of all that, real alligator leather is also included here and gives some character to the back of the Russian model. The Chinese model is quite similar, but youll find somewhat different imagery on the back. This variant of the smartphone comes with a decorative pattern framing which symbolizes wisdom and wealth of the Chinese culture. The state Arms is made out of granite and gold, according to the source, and words from the Chinese anthem are visible on the back side of this smartphone. Both of these devices are identical on the inside, as they sport the same specs as a regular Huawei P9 smartphone. This means that youre getting a 5.2-inch fullHD (1920 x 1080) display, 4GB of RAM and 64GB of internal storage. The 3GB RAM variant had also been released by Huawei (regular variant), but this limited edition smartphones come with 4GB of RAM, both of them. Huaweis Kirin 955 64-bit octa-core processor fuels the Huawei P9 Friendship Edition, and Android 6.0 Marshmallow comes pre-installed here with the companys Emotion UI (EMUI) 4.1. Each of the two Huawei P9 Friendship Edition variants can be purchased from Caviars official site, and youll need to play 159 000 Rubles ($2,681) in order to get one. If youre interested, follow the source link down below. Advertisement Buy the Huawei P9 The Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge and the regular Galaxy S7, running on the latest version of Android 7.0 Nougat, are receiving another update which is said to be able to fix some bugs in the software. The update comes with the build number G930FXXU1DQB3 and G935FXXU1DQB3, and is around 98.11MB. However, just like the previous update which was rolled out a few days ago, it doesnt seem as if the update comes with the latest security patch for the month of February. Samsung has yet to release the full changelog for the update, but the company will likely do so once the update has been pushed out to all devices. It should also be noted that this update is currently being rolled out to the Galaxy S7 series in the United Kingdom. If you are residing in the United Kingdom and own a smartphone from the Galaxy S7 lineup, then you should check whether the latest update is available for your device. In order to do so, simply head to Settings and select About Device. Once doing so, tap on Software Update and tap on the option titled Download Updates Manually, and the update should pop up if it is ready for your device. Alternatively, you could wait for the system to prompt you to install the latest update when it is available for your device. However, for that to happen, you will need to have at least 50 percent of battery life remaining in your device or have it plugged into an outlet. If you havent received it yet, do be patient as the OTA update is rolled out in stages to avoid the possibility of the servers being overloaded. Just last week, a bug fixing update was rolled out to the Galaxy S7 series, though it was pretty small in size, coming in at only 15.13MB. Samsung began rolling out Android 7.0 Nougat to the Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 Edge a few weeks back, and the update brought many new features to both devices. This includes the Blue Light Filter, and an improved Always On Display mode which now lets users to tap notifications on the display to access them. However, the rollout is not yet complete, and a Samsung customer service agent has mentioned that the update may not hit devices in some regions by the end of the first quarter of 2017. SK Hynix is interested in acquiring a share of Toshibas flash memory unit, an industry source with alleged knowledge of the situation told The Korea Herald on Tuesday. The South Korean semiconductor manufacturer apparently made a bid for 20 percent of Toshibas flash memory business. The source claims that the bid was placed on Friday, adding that the transaction will cost between two and three trillion won, i.e. between $1.8 billion and $2.6 billion. The Icheon-based tech giant is reportedly interested in investing into Toshibas memory business to expand its own NAND flash memory operations as the demand for flash memory chips continues to rise worldwide. Given how Toshiba is the second biggest manufacturer of NAND chips in the world, acquiring a portion of its operations seemingly makes sense for SK Hynix. NAND chips are mostly used in smartphones and tablets whose global shipment volumes continue to rise, meaning SK Hynix has a huge market to cater to and is looking to invest into expanding its production capacity. The firms parent company SK Group recently announced its intentions to acquire a controlling stake in LG Siltron, a manufacturer of silicon wafers which are key components in most electronic devices. Likewise, SK Hynix recently revealed plans to build a new factory dedicated to manufacturing NAND chips in South Korea. Given those recent developments, acquiring a stake in Toshibas flash memory business would be in line with the companys strategy of expanding its manufacturing operations. Toshiba initially announced plans to sell a stake in its memory division last month, as the company is apparently struggling with covering losses incurred by its nuclear business in the United States. Due to a 2015 accounting scandal, the Japanese tech giant is unable to turn to equity markets to raise funding, meaning it has little choice but to sell some of its assets. However, as losses keep piling on, Toshiba needs to move fast, and one of the only few divisions it can realistically sell relatively quickly is its memory one seeing how that business still extremely profitable despite all of Toshibas other troubles. With that in mind, if SK Hynix really did bid to acquire a stake in Toshibas unit, more information on the matter is bound to follow sooner rather than later as the Japanese tech giant will likely prefer to complete the transaction as quickly as possible. A Crashless Course in Avoiding Bird Collisions Window collisions are a serious and often fatal problem for many of our migrant songbirds. But as Heidi Trudell explains in the most recent issue of Birders Guide to Gear, not every collision is a fait accompli. Heidis article contains a wealth of information on what are currently understood to be the best methods (and materials) for making windows visible to birds, and it includes some nice example photos so that you can see how the methods are properly implemented. It also does some myth-busting (e.g., raptor silhouettes decals are ineffective). You can read A Crashless Course in Avoiding Bird Collisions by clicking here. Online access to all issues of Birders Guide is just one of the free service provided to the birding community by the American Birding Association. The influence of Christianity in the French political sphere has been gaining ground in recent months and may be of benefit to believers and non-believers alike according to Actons Samuel Gregg. The heavy-handed secular arm is losing favor with the general public and its antagonistic stance towards Christianity is weakening. In a recent article, Gregg explains: Given French politics hitherto decidedly secular character, there was always going to be a backlash from across the political spectrum against Fillons stance. What has been truly noteworthy, however, is the sheer feebleness of this reaction. For decades, the operating assumption throughout France has been that a politicians faith is a private matter. Discussion of such issues by those involved in public life has traditionally been frowned upon. Gregg goes on to state that associations of faith and secular office as being obstacles to public duties are waning. Gregg evidences this by a Catholic bishops response to Le Pens comments on Fillons affirmation of his Catholic faith. When Fillon stated that, as a Christian, he would never let his proposed economic reforms hurt groups such as pensioners, the distinctly secular nationalist Le Pen immediately focused her attack not on Fillons policy proposals, but rather on him mentioning his Catholicism. This, she said, deeply contradicts secularism and our values. In Le Pens view, To justify a political choice with religious beliefs is shocking. Once upon a time, such attacks would have been considered near fatal to a politicians electoral prospects. Not any longer. As one French Catholic bishop recently remarked to me, whether Fillon becomes president is in one sense unimportant. Far more significant is that expectations concerning what it means to be a believing Catholic in French politics have changed in ways unimaginable only 10 years ago. Gregg is less concerned with focusing on Fillons faith and more concerned with the failures of those in office in France and their hypocrisy regarding religion. Gregg highlights the fact that citizens are less concerned with individual faith, but with having stability. Within France, however, the story is very different. There has been a discernible spread of Muslim-dominated urban areas in which the police find it increasingly difficult to maintain law and order. This wilful blindness has seriously undermined the French Lefts ability to speak with any authority about anything to do with religion among a population visibly rattled by the spread of what are effectively Muslim ghettos, and worried about future jihadist acts of terror that the government has described as inevitable. In conclusion, Gregg says that whether or not Fillon is elected to office, his candidacy alone has brought Christian dialogue to the public sphere and this is for the overall enrichment of the French people. But whatever happens to Fillons presidential candidacy, it has helped to create greater scope for lay Catholics to bring Catholic teaching into French public debate. To the extent that this creates a more genuinely pluralist France, one more attached to its roots, willing to identify real problems and less bound to ideologically secularist agendas, all of France believer and non-believer alike is likely to benefit. To read the full article at Catholic Herald, click here and to listen to a podcast by Gregg on the influence of secularism in France, click here. Image: The Conseil dEtat in the Palais Royal in Paris by David Monniaux (CC BY-SA 3.0) US President Donald Trump returns a salute as he steps from Marine One upon his return to the White House in Washington February 6, 2017. [Photo/Agencies] BRUSSELS - NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg and US President Donald Trump stressed the need for continued efforts to ensure fair burden-sharing among the ll NATO allies over phone, NATO said in a statement Monday. The two leaders discussed by telephone on Sunday evening, during which they "reconfirmed the importance of the Alliance in troubled times, reviewed progress on the fight against terrorism and on NATO defence spending", according to the statement. They also discussed "the uptick in violence in eastern Ukraine". As for Russia, NATO chief talked about NATO's policy of strong defense and dialogue with Russia during the conversation. The two leaders will discuss related issues at the upcoming NATO Summit in Brussels in late May, according to the statement. It was Stoltenberg's second phone conversation with Trump since his election, after the first phone call last November. Trump's comments over NATO had caused concern across the alliance. In a recent interview, Trump said NATO was "obsolete because it was not taking care of terror", and he complained that various members of the bloc were not paying their dues, which was "very unfair to the United States". While it took Vice President Mike Pence casting the deciding vote, Betsy DeVos was confirmed earlier today as the Secretary of Education. The opposition to DeVos was vehement, and based on a number of objections to her getting the job. But a primary reason why she was deemed by many to be unacceptable was her unwavering support for school vouchers programs. School voucherswhich are often conflated with the broader term school choiceare certificates issued by the government, which parents can apply toward tuition at a private school (or, by extension, to reimburse home schooling expenses) or to a voucher-accepting public school, rather than at the state school to which their child is assigned. There is nothing in the Bible that directly says Christians should support vouchers or any other educational arrangement. But here are seven reasons based on prudence and other biblical principles for why Christians should at least consider supporting school vouchers: Embed from Getty Images 1. Because you already support homeschooling While it took decades to convince us, most Christian in American now see the value of homeschooling. We disagree with the absurd claims made by teachers unions, such as the National Education Association, that homeschooling cannot provide the student with a comprehensive education experience. The teachers unions opposed homeschooling because, for better or worse, that form of educational choice reduced public school teachers power and control over Americas students. The same is true today, and we should reject their opposition to vouchers for the same reason we rejected their opposition to homeschooling: Because while we care about the welfare of teachers, we are much more concerned about the welfare of our children. 2. School choice students graduate at higher rates In 2004 Congress authorized the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program (DCOSP), a federally funded voucher program serving low-income students in the nations capital. A study found that voucher-using students achieved a graduation rate of 91 percent, compared to 70 percent for non-voucher students. 3. It gives parents the opportunity to choose a safer school In the same DCOSP study mentioned above, parents of voucher students were more likely to describe their childrens schools as safe and orderly. (Ive always been baffled that parents who wouldnt send their own children to a public school that was clearly unsafe, yet have no qualms about forcing low-income children to stay in such schools.) 4. It alleviates the problems of income inequality Income inequality is an overrated issue of concern. But in some areas, such as education, it is a legitimate problem. If you really care about income inequality, notes John Goodman, you need only focus on one thing the inequality of educational opportunity: The topic du jour on the left these days is inequality. But why does the left care about inequality? Do they really want to lift those at the bottom of the income ladder? Or are they just looking for one more reason to increase the power of government? If you care about those at the bottom then you are wasting your time and everyone elses time unless you focus on one and only one phenomenon: the inequality of educational opportunity. Poor kids are almost always enrolled in bad schools. Rich kids are almost always in good schools. 5. School vouchers increase college attendance for black students If you care about the disparity in education for African-American students (and if youre a Christian, you should), then you have a strong incentive to support school vouchers. Research suggests that school vouchers have a greater impact on whether black students attend college than small class sizes or effective teachers. 6. Vouchers can help alleviate segregation of public schools You dont need Jim Crow laws, or even racial animus, to cause racial segregation in housing. All it takes is for people to have a mild preference for neighbors who share their race or ethnicity. In the majority of school districts in America, children are sent to local schools based on their address. When neighborhoods are racially homogenous, we should expect to find the same lack of diversity in the schools. Attitudes toward racial diversity (whether for or against) doesnt appear to be an important factor in parents choosing private schooling for their kids. Likewise, it is unlikely to be a significant factor in the decision to use a voucher program to send a child to another public school. When parents are allowed to send their children to the school of their choice, they are more likely to base their decision on factors that are related to educational concerns. Because this reasoning is shared by parents of all races, the effect can be a mitigation of racial segregation. For example, a study on Louisiana schools found that vouchers programs improved racial integration in public schools in 34 districts under desegregation orders. 7. Parents are happier when they have options As economist Tyler Cowen says, lets not forget the single most overwhelming (yet neglected) empirical fact about vouchers: they improve parent satisfaction. Since the money for public schools is funneled through the government, the issue is often framed as if the government is the buyer of educational goods and services. If the faceless, impersonal bureaucracy is the customer then it might make sense to use metrics like standardized testingwhich lumps all students together and reduces them to a statistical metricas the criterion for school success and satisfaction. But if we believe children belong to parents, and not the state, then we should allow the true customers of public education to determine if they are satisfied with the product. Michelle Rhee, the former chancellor of Washington, D.C. public schools, one of the worst districts in the country, said she changed her mind about vouchers after when she considered a question all school officials should ask themselves: Who am I, I thought, to deny this mom and her child an opportunity for a better school, even if that meant help with a seventy-five-hundred-dollar voucher? Thats a good and one more Christians should ask themselves. Buddhist Monkey arrested with 4.6 million methamphetamine pills, a grenade and ammunition in his car In what officials are calling not a normal case, a Buddhist monk has been arrested in Myanmar with 4.6 million methamphetamine pills, a grenade and ammunition were found in his car. This is not a normal case, and when we were informed that the monk was arrested, we were all shocked, says Kyaw Mya Win, a township police officer. It is not a very common case, but not impossible to happen. What will happen to the monk is that he will have to give up his monkhood right away and face trial as an ordinary person, adds Myanmars director general of the Religious Affairs Ministry, Soe Min Tun. Its unlikely the pills were for personal use. So was he buying the pills for his mates or selling them for other mates? Myanmar has a history of persecuting the countrys Rohingya Muslim minority. In 2012, Buddhist extremists drove tens of thousands of Rohingya out of their homes, many risked their lives to escape in smugglers boats; more than 100,000 others are living in squalid internment camps. The Strait Times reported this month: The UN report issued on Friday said Myanmars security forces had committed mass killings and gang rapes of Rohingya Muslims and burned their villages since October in a campaign that very likely amounted to crimes against humanity and possibly ethnic cleansing. Myanmar has said it is conducting a lawful counterinsurgency campaign. Is the army marching on methamphetamine? Karen Strike Posted: 7th, February 2017 | In: Reviews, Strange But True Comment | TrackBack | Permalink Thick Labour voters turn Stoke Central into a call centre paradise and Islington overspill All Brexit voters are thick. So says Polly Tonybee in an article for the Guardian, ostensibly about the Stoke Central by election. Stoke Central is a safe Labour seat. Well it has been. But Labour is morally bankrupt and not fit for purpose. It has acquiesced to anti-Semitism. Labour positions itself as the immigrants friend but recent Labour governments have been very good at blowing up Muslims in their own countries and creating refugees. Labour no longer represents working-class concerns. It is no longer proletarian and clear voiced. It champions rose-tinted anti-progress eco-austerity over a rosy-fingered dawn. By way of example, Jeremy Corbyn the man democratically elected to lead the party (because its so directionless and inward looking that anyone with an assembly of supporters can lead it; just look at Tony Blair and his clique) has been talking about limits on pay and pay ratios. He told us: This is not about limiting aspiration or penalising success, its about recognising that success is a collective effort and rewards must be shared. How is that not limiting? Labour is not about people getting more; its about people getting less. Its not about aspiration; its about reducing everyone to a low level. Under Labour, socialism means less for all. Hows that inspiring? After the 2015 drubbing for Labour at the General Election, one-time leadership candidate Chuka Umunna identified what he saw as the burning issue: We spoke to our core voters but not to aspirational middle-class ones. Labour never spoke for aspirational working-class voters. It failed utterly. To Labour, the working class cannot be aspirational. They can only be patronised. Tonybee focuses on Labours rival: For Ukip the stakes could not be higher. Lose here and the party is well and truly dead: its new leader, and its candidate here, Paul Nuttall buried on his first outing. Byelections are the great hope of insurgent parties, when voters can indulge in risk-free protest. No seat could be riper than this Brexit hotspot, where almost 70% voted leave: Stoke perfectly matches this weeks BBC research showing the closest correlation between high Brexit areas and low education qualifications. Though ethnic minorities make up only 15% of Stokes population, on the doorstep I found immigration the hot button issue. First up: is 15% a notable low percentage of ethnic minority people? The Office for National statistics tells us: Whilst the majority of the population gave their ethnic group as White in the 2011 Census, results from the past 20 years show a decrease, falling from 94.1% in 1991 down to 86% in 2011. London was found to be the most ethnically diverse area, while Wales was the least diverse. So Stoke is a little above average in its ethnic make-up. But the link being assumed is that fewer ethnic voters means Stokes voters are more prone to racism. Says Tonybee: I found immigration the hot button issue. Too many here, filling up our schools and hospitals. What about EU doctors and nurses working in the NHS? They can stay, but let us choose. Yes, immigrants work hard but they send all their money back home and Im against that. Theyre not our culture, are they? One or two said Trumps got the right idea, matching YouGovs finding that 29% in Britain support Trumps migrant ban. We are invited not to engage with these voters but look down on them. They want a better life. Picking out anti-immigrant views reveals more about metropolitan prejudices than it answers the question as to how how the white working class can achieve more and better. So will represent them? As for thickos voting Brexit, well, insults will always win over the working-class demos, so keep going. She then adds: the result will matter most for the people of Stoke: for their identity, their reputation, how they want to be seen in the world. Right now, Polly sees them as thick and anti-immigrant. Who do they want to be? If Stoke became the Ukip seat that set off a far-right tremor, that would blight its image and prospects, branding it a lost zone of the despairing and angry. So vote Labour and get? Stoke should and could have a better future. Transport links are excellent, north and south, and its a good logistics base with large call centres. Rows of pleasing redbrick homes are cheap and potentially alluring for escapees from the unaffordable south. Call centres, good escape routes and a place for southerners to downsize to. Live the dream in the Guardians vision of Stoke a haven for the thick. Karen Strike Posted: 7th, February 2017 | In: Broadsheets, Politicians Comment | TrackBack | Permalink John Bercow: anti-Trump apostate or jumped-up fool? Is House of Commons Speaker John Bercow an apostate or a jumped-up pillock who overstepped his brief when he declared that Donald Trump should be banned from addressing Parliament? Maybe hes both. The Mail (front page) says Bercow sparked fury when he told MPs of his opposition to sexist and racist Trump sullying the hallowed halls of Parliament with his presence. The paper quotes a Whitehall source who calls Bercow insulting and in danger of damaging the so-called Special relationship between the UK and USA. Although the same source adds that Trump doesnt even know who Bercow is. A Mail writer says Bercow let loose a volley of self-important rudeness. The Mail quotes another source mocking Bercows ability to straddle a high horse with such short legs. The paper shows Bercow welcoming such embodiments of enlightenment and protectors of the democratic flame as the emir of Kuwait and the president of China. The Express (front page) calls it Outrageous. The Sun (buried on page 5) says Bercow was cheered by Labour and SNP MPs. And the Mirror (front pages) thunders: Racist Trump banned from speaking in Parliament. On Page 2, the Mirror says, Bercow was praised for standing up to Donald Trumpss questionable values and blocking him from Parliament. Whereas the Mail can find only people to belittle Bercow, the Mirror finds only voices to exalt him. Tory MPs sat in stoney silence as their former colleague tore into Mr Trump, says the paper. The trouble is that Bercow doesnt have the right to peak for the nation. His grandstanding was just that. If the Commons values democracy, as surely it must, the man 62 millions American chose for their leader should be respected. Bercow is the Speaker. He is not The Guard. His role is to be versed in the Commons rules and officiate during bouts. Of course, Trump a useful fool. Being anti-Trump means that you stand for something. He defines you by what you are not. But what are you? Being anti-Trump is not enough. Its easy and its lazy. Its invites bigger questions: why dont you trust the electorate? Who do you represent if not the voters? If you prefer bans over debate, why do you sit in debating chamber? Its easy to take issue with Trump. Its less simple to explain what you would do instead. Paul Sorene Posted: 7th, February 2017 | In: Key Posts, News, Politicians, Tabloids Comment | TrackBack | Permalink (ANSAmed) - ROME, FEBRUARY 7 - Egypt's immense cultural and archaeological heritage will star as guest of honor at TourismA 2017, the international exposition on archaeology scheduled at Florence's Palazzo dei Congressi on February 17-19. The initiative was presented in Rome at a press conference at the embassy of Egypt by the director of the Egyptian tourism agency in Italy, Emad Fathy: ''Egypt's participation as a guest country - commented Fathy - is an important occasion to promote the destination in cooperation with tour operators. Our purpose is to target an important segment of reference in the country, mainly archaeology connaisseurs and travelers who love the ancient world''. Several initiatives have been scheduled to relaunch Egyptian archaeological sites. One is the recreation of Tutankhamun's funerary chamber with, in a first, the wine that was discovered inside the tomb, when Howard Carter found it in 1922. The wine, called Shedeh, was meant to help the rebirth of the sovereign. A conference on February 17 will also be dedicated to the young sovereign. It will be attended, among others, by well-known Egyptian archaeologist Zahi Hawass who will talk about ''The latest news from the tomb of the child pharaoh''. Egypt, said Piero Prunetti, director of TourismA ''is a true minefield of archaeological marvels and has given a fundamental contribution to the development of archaeology worldwide. The cooperation between Italy and Egypt in this field has produced excellent results thanks to Italian archaeological missions in Egypt''. The event, which has reached its third edition, dedicated to the communication and promotion of cultural heritage in Europe, will register the participation of 240 speakers at more than 30 congresses, as well as 100 exhibitors from all over the world. Other guests will come from Algeria, Jordan, Cyprus, Croatia, Turkey and Sicily. New events this year will include a conference on archaeological tourism and opportunities for operators and destinations by the International center of studies on the economy of tourism.(ANSAmed). BRUSSELS - The European Commission has allocated 3.9 million euros as an additional emergency fund to improve reception conditions for migrants in the Greek islands. The funding is part of the Fund for domestic security, which was created to promote the implementation of the EU strategy for internal border security, the management of external borders and the fight against organized crime. The new funding is aimed at supporting actions by the Greek defense ministry aimed at providing food, accommodation and transportation to migrants who reach the islands, as well as funding emergency situations, including on ships. Overall, the EU has allocated 356.8 million euros to Athens in emergency funding to manage migration flows since 2015. In addition, it has already allocated another 509 million for Greece as part of the 2014-2020 national program. (by Massimo Lomonaco) TEL AVIV - The Israeli Parliament has approved a controversial law legalizing Israeli settlements built on private Palestinian land in the West Bank. The measure was approved by the Knesset with 60 votes in favor and 52 against. Tension in the house was very high. Labor opposition leader, Isaac Herzog, warned that the approval would lead Israel to face the International Criminal Court in The Hague and that the Israeli prime minister would be responsible for this. Naftali Bennet, leader of the Jewish Home party close to the settlers' movement, observed during the debate that ''determination pays off''. Until a few days ago, it looked like the law would not be approved and that it would be postponed to a later date but Premier Benjamin Netanyahu had announced from London, where he met with British Premier Theresa May, that the measure would be examined as scheduled and that he had informed the US administration about the law's content. The objective of the measure - following the clearing of the illegal Jewish settlement of Amona ordered by the Supreme Court - is to ''regularize the settlements of Judea and Samaria (West Bank) and allow their continued stabilization and development''. The law, which is retroactive, establishes a mechanism of compensation for Palestinian owners of land on which settlements or homes were built: they will be able to receive an annual payment worth 125% of the value of land for a period of 20 years or, as an alternative, other land they have chosen, when possible. The legislation was not just rejected by the opposition: Benny Begin was among Likud members who opposed it. Israel's Prosecutor General Avichai Mandelblit also criticized it. Italy restoring damaged art from Syria's Palmyra Busts at Rome's Institute for Restoration, to be sent back soon (ANSAmed) - ROME, FEBRUARY 7 - Two funerary busts from the 2nd-3rd century AD, both icons of the damaged art of the Syrian town of Palmyra that were saved "in extremis" in 2015 from the city's now-destroyed museum, have for the first time left their homes to be temporarily entrusted to Italy for restoration work. The busts - a male and a female - reached Italy after an adventurous journey across borders and checkpoints, thanks to an agreement between Italy's "Incontro di Civilta" (Meeting of Civilisations) Association and the Directorate for Antiquities in Damascus. The male bust has damage to the face due to hammer blows inflicted upon it by ISIS, but restorers are preparing a sophisticated 3D print with sintering of nylon powders that will give it back its delicate aristocratic features. The female bust has been restored fragment by fragment, with a veil that covers the head and jewels that hold a cape on the shoulder. The busts were on display at an exhibition at the Colosseum titled "Reborn from Destruction: Ebla, Nimrud, Palmyra" and are now in the hands of the High Institute for Conservation and Restoration (ISCR), which will return them to Syria at the end of the month. Former Rome mayor Francesco Rutelli, who also served as Italy's culture minister and deputy prime minister, heads the Incontro di Civilta Assocation, and called the restoration "a miraculous little operation". He said the exhibition would continue to other capital cities in the future.(ANSAmed). The Atlantic Stumbles on the Truth About Potential Palestinian State | Main | Igor Sadikovs Insincere Apology at McGill February 07, 2017 E.U.-Supported Palestinian University Calls to Blow Up Jews A Palestinian university with strong U.S. and E.U. ties held a militant parade graphically calling for the murder of Jews. Birzeit University, just outside of Ramallah in the West Bank (Judea and Samaria), held festivities to celebrate the 52nd anniversary of the Fatah movement on Dec. 31, 2016. Fatah is the dominant movement in the Palestinian Authority (PA) and is led by the authoritys president, Mahmoud Abbas. The Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI), an organization that translates Arab, Iranian and Russian media, recently issued a report on the event. MEMRI footage showed armed masked men in military fatigues conducting drills and chanting at Birzeit Universitys campus. The men belong to Fatahs Shabiba student movement. According to MEMRI, during the drill, the student movement members praised deceased Palestinian leader and Fatah head Yasser Arafat and shouted: Blow up the head of the settler!? We are the guardians of the borders!? Oh shabiba, this is a call to arms!? As CAMERA has noted, Palestinian officials often refer to all Israelis as settlers,? regardless of where they live. Birzeit University has frequently held events celebrating terrorism. In December 2015, students decorated a Christmas tree on the colleges campus with ornaments of prominent Palestinian terrorists and murderers. Fathi Shaqai, the founder of U.S.-designated terror group Palestinian Islamic Jihad and a Birzeit alum himself, was one of those whose image was placed by university students on the tree. Abu Ali Mustafa, the secretary-general of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), another U.S.-designated terrorist group was similarly celebrated. Perhaps referring to the Shabiba group, the website of the universitys advancement office proudly claims that Birzeit has a long history of activism, with a dedicated student movement aimed at securing national liberation and promoting human rights in Palestine [sic].? Yet, among the terrorists that Birzeit has glorified is Muhannad Halabi. As CAMERA has highlighted, Halabi murdered 2 Israeli civilians, Rabbi Nehemiah Lavi and Aharon Bennet, before stabbing and wounding Bennets wife and their 2-year-old child, in an Oct. 3, 2015 terror attack in Jerusalem (Palestinian Student Movement Uses Pictures of Murderers as Christmas Ornaments,? Dec. 28, 2015). Birzeit University has active student groups representing both Fatah and its sometime rival Hamas, also a U.S.-designated terrorist group. The university has hosted anti-Israel guest speakers, including American linguist Noam Chomsky. The college also has notable U.S. and European links. Birzeit University Fund, a self-described charitable organization based in Royal, Oak Michigan, raises money for the school. According to the schools website, Birzeit has joint ventures? with a number of European and Middle Eastern universities. Both faculty and students receive financial support from the European Union and the British Council. On Jan. 18, 2017less then a month after the Shabiba parade calling to blow up? Israelisthe French consulate in Jerusalem announced additional financial support for Palestinian students, prompting Birzeit to highlight Frances longstanding support? for the university. Birzeit is far from the only Palestinian university to celebrate terrorism. As CAMERA has noted (Palestinian University Honors Terrorist with Cultural Event,? Feb. 16, 2016), Al-Quds University in Jerusalem has an Abu Jihad Museum that honors Khalil al-Wazir (aka Abu Jihad). Al-Wazir was responsible for murdering 124 Israelis, including 11 Israeli athletes at the 1972 Munich Olympic Games. A leader in the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), he also took part in the 1978 Coastal Road massacre that killed 38 civilians, including 11 schoolchildren. Like Birzeit, Al-Quds receives grants from European governments. It currently has a partnership with Bard College, a New York-based liberal arts school. Posted by SD at February 7, 2017 10:17 AM Guidelines for posting This is a moderated blog. We will not post comments that include racism, bigotry, threats, or factually inaccurate material. Post a comment ROME - Egypt's immense cultural and archaeological heritage will star as guest of honor at TourismA 2017, the international exposition on archaeology scheduled at Florence's Palazzo dei Congressi on February 17-19. The initiative was presented in Rome at a press conference at the embassy of Egypt by the director of the Egyptian tourism agency in Italy, Emad Fathy: ''Egypt's participation as a guest country - commented Fathy - is an important occasion to promote the destination in cooperation with tour operators. Our purpose is to target an important segment of reference in the country, mainly archaeology connaisseurs and travelers who love the ancient world''. Several initiatives have been scheduled to relaunch Egyptian archaeological sites. One is the recreation of Tutankhamun's funerary chamber with, in a first, the wine that was discovered inside the tomb, when Howard Carter found it in 1922. The wine, called Shedeh, was meant to help the rebirth of the sovereign. A conference on February 17 will also be dedicated to the young sovereign. It will be attended, among others, by well-known Egyptian archaeologist Zahi Hawass who will talk about ''The latest news from the tomb of the child pharaoh''. Egypt, said Piero Prunetti, director of TourismA ''is a true minefield of archaeological marvels and has given a fundamental contribution to the development of archaeology worldwide. The cooperation between Italy and Egypt in this field has produced excellent results thanks to Italian archaeological missions in Egypt''. The event, which has reached its third edition, dedicated to the communication and promotion of cultural heritage in Europe, will register the participation of 240 speakers at more than 30 congresses, as well as 100 exhibitors from all over the world. Other guests will come from Algeria, Jordan, Cyprus, Croatia, Turkey and Sicily. New events this year will include a conference on archaeological tourism and opportunities for operators and destinations by the International center of studies on the economy of tourism. Trafficking 'affects 70,000 women, 150,000 men in Italy' Caritas report says Algeria new destination for migrants (ANSAmed) - ROME, FEBRUARY 7 - Italian Caritas said Tuesday on the eve of the International Day of Prayer and Awareness Against Human Trafficking that between 50,000 to 70,000 women in Italy are forced into prostitution and 150,000 men - the majority of whom are young migrants - are exploited in forced labour. Caritas said Italy has always been a natural access corridor into Europe for men, women and children from the African continent and elsewhere seeking a dream of peace and dignity. Caritas, which is the pastoral body of the Italian Bishops' Conference (CEI), issued a report on Algeria on the occasion of the February 8 international awareness day, calling the country "one of the many purgatories for forgotten migrants", a difficult one where a crossroads of migrant influxes from across Africa meet. "In recent years a combination of factors such as the increase of migratory movement in Sub-Saharan Africa and in western Africa, together with the fear of violence in Libya and the worsening of the Tunisian economic situation, have transformed Algeria into a very coveted destination for thousands of migrants that have the dream of Europe in their heart," Caritas said. "It's a dream that's too often shattered by the short-sighted migratory policies of European countries, in particular women, young people and babies preyed on by traffickers without scruples and increasingly reduced to conditions of actual slavery for sexual and labour exploitation". Caritas said in the report that between the years of 2000-2015, migrants paid traffickers more than 15.5 billion euros to travel to Europe, while the cost of European policy for migration control in the same time period totaled nearly 13 billion euros.(ANSAmed). BEIRUT- Syrian President Bashar al Assad said the European Union won't be able to participate in the country's reconstruction efforts because "they supported the terrorists in the country since the beginning", speaking in an interview with Belgian journalists, according to state news agency Sana. Assad said the EU had supported "the terrorists" by backing different groups, including the so-called "moderates" and also "supported the al-Nusra Front and ISIS since the beginning". "You can't destroy and rebuild at the same time," Assad said. With regard to the position of the EU in general, Assad said that EU countries don't have an independent political line but rather "they follow their owner, which is America". "The Europeans follow and apply what the Americans want. They don't exist as independent countries," he said. Assad said statements by new US President Donald Trump on the "priority of fighting terrorism" are "encouraging". As to a possible "cooperation between the US and Russia", Assad said "we think it will be positive for the rest of the world, including Syria"; however, he said it's still to early to judge. ROME - The Bahrain Center for Human Rights (BCHR) has released its annual report for 2016, calling it "a horrible year" and the worst since 2011, when revolts and protests broke out against the Al Khalifa monarchy. BCHR said there were 1,106 arbitrary arrests last year and 1,541 convictions (350 for political crimes), along with 204 citizenship revocations. It said it uncovered tens of thousands of violations, including torture; persecution of political activists, artists, and journalists; as well as Internet blackouts and laws restricting freedom of expression. Among the most prominent arrests were those of well-known activist Zainab Al Khawaja, who was stopped last March and then forced into exile in June; and the new detention (in June) of activist and BCHR president Nabeel Rajab. BCHR said there have already been 21 arbitrary arrests carried out by judicial authorities in 2017, including the arrest of a child. It said 36 people have already been convicted (both in initial trials and appeals) thus far in 2017 to an overall total of 364 years in prison, nine life sentences and one citizenship revocation. There have been 52 protests so far in 29 different villages of the kingdom in which the police intervened. It also said that religious freedom is under attack, with continuous arrests, discrimination, and persecution of religious Shiites (who represent about 70% of the 530,000 citizens of the small country), who are discriminated against by the Sunni monarchy and its government. ROME - ''Israel is not more isolated'' than before after the Knesset's decision to legalize thousands of settlements on Palestinian territory, Israel's ambassador to Italy, Ofer Sachs, said Tuesday during a forum held at the headquarters of Italian news agency ANSA. ''We have a right-wing government in Israel, their opinion is clear'', he said. ''Having said that, we have seen in the past that Israel is a country that respects laws and the legal framework'', he noted, adding that the case is still ongoing. ''There will be strong criticism - he added - but we don't agree on everything even with closest friends in the US or in Europe''. Israeli ambassador to Italy says Iran 'still biggest threat'. Says Europe needs to be strong and united Israeli Ambassador to Italy Ofer Sachs said that Iran is "still the biggest threat to Israel in the region", speaking on Tuesday during a forum at ANSA. "We're not happy about the deal with Iran, but it's there now and we have to reckon with it," he said. "But what is the reason for Iran to conduct that test? I think the world needs to do more". When asked about the risks of populism on the European project, Sachs said "the world needs a strong and united Europe". He said he believes populism is spreading because of economic challenges that Europe has had a harder time than the US in overcoming, and the tensions over mass migrant arrivals. "Probably if the EU had been able to react more forcefully in Syria or in some areas of Africa to create stability and wellbeing, it would have been able to reduce these tensions," Sachs said. "But I can say that I am a great supporter of Europe. I'm convinced that the whole world and democracy need a stronger Europe". Sachs said Italy is "an economic super power" and said the two countries must do more to increase their cooperation, inviting Italian businesspeople to "look at Israel more". "The potential is enormous. We have to start from the private sector and the large companies," he said. Israeli ambassador to Italy says Iran 'still biggest threat' Says Europe needs to be strong and united (ANSAmed) - ROME, FEBRUARY 7 - Israeli Ambassador to Italy Ofer Sachs said that Iran is "still the biggest threat to Israel in the region", speaking on Tuesday during a forum at ANSA. "We're not happy about the deal with Iran, but it's there now and we have to reckon with it," he said. "But what is the reason for Iran to conduct that test? I think the world needs to do more". When asked about the risks of populism on the European project, Sachs said "the world needs a strong and united Europe". He said he believes populism is spreading because of economic challenges that Europe has had a harder time than the US in overcoming, and the tensions over mass migrant arrivals. "Probably if the EU had been able to react more forcefully in Syria or in some areas of Africa to create stability and wellbeing, it would have been able to reduce these tensions," Sachs said. "But I can say that I am a great supporter of Europe. I'm convinced that the whole world and democracy need a stronger Europe". Sachs said Italy is "an economic super power" and said the two countries must do more to increase their cooperation, inviting Italian businesspeople to "look at Israel more". "The potential is enormous. We have to start from the private sector and the large companies," he said.(ANSAmed). Mideast: Israel approves law legalizing settler homes 60 in favor and 52 against. Netanyahu had informed Trump (by Massimo Lomonaco) (ANSAmed) - TEL AVIV, FEBRUARY 7 - The Israeli Parliament has approved a controversial law legalizing Israeli settlements built on private Palestinian land in the West Bank. The measure was approved by the Knesset with 60 votes in favor and 52 against. Tension in the house was very high. Labor opposition leader, Isaac Herzog, warned that the approval would lead Israel to face the International Criminal Court in The Hague and that the Israeli prime minister would be responsible for this. Naftali Bennet, leader of the Jewish Home party close to the settlers' movement, observed during the debate that ''determination pays off''. Until a few days ago, it looked like the law would not be approved and that it would be postponed to a later date but Premier Benjamin Netanyahu had announced from London, where he met with British Premier Theresa May, that the measure would be examined as scheduled and that he had informed the US administration about the law's content. The objective of the measure - following the clearing of the illegal Jewish settlement of Amona ordered by the Supreme Court - is to ''regularize the settlements of Judea and Samaria (West Bank) and allow their continued stabilization and development''. The law, which is retroactive, establishes a mechanism of compensation for Palestinian owners of land on which settlements or homes were built: they will be able to receive an annual payment worth 125% of the value of land for a period of 20 years or, as an alternative, other land they have chosen, when possible. The legislation was not just rejected by the opposition: Benny Begin was among Likud members who opposed it. Israel's Prosecutor General Avichai Mandelblit also criticized it. (ANSAmed). Migrants: Mogherini, accord for formal EU-Egypt dialogue Foreign minister in March. Alfano raises Regeni case (ANSAmed) - BRUSSELS, FEBRUARY 7 - Egypt is a ''key country for stability in the region'' and European foreign ministers in the council yesterday decided to ''increase cooperation'' on a number of issues including fighting terrorism (''which is kicking off and we want to intensify'') and immigration, ''on which we have added an agreement in principle to prepare a formal dialogue'' with Cairo, EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said. She added that Egypt is a key country both for Libya and for the peace process in the Middle East so is was decided to invite Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry at a meeting of the next foreign council in March. Mogherini however said a 'compact' with Egypt will not be on the agenda. Foreign Minister Angelino Alfano, during a debate at the foreign council, allegedly raised the issue of Giulio Regeni and spoke about the case with Mogherini at a closed-door lunch. Mogherini stressed that the EU stands with Italy in the search for the truth and is ready to follow up potential requests by Rome. (ANSAmed) TEL AVIV - The presidency of the National Palestinian Authority (PNA) has defined as ''unacceptable'' a law approved by Israel that legalizes Jewish settlements and homes built on private Palestinian land in the West Bank. Abu MAzen's spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeina said he is ''against the Resolution of the UN Security Council 2334''. Abu Rudeina called on the international community to intervene before things reach a level that is ''difficult to control''. PLO secretary general Saeb Erekat also condemned the law as a ''theft of land'', according to media in Ramallah. ''Israel rejects peace - he added - and kills the option of the two-State solution. It is time for the world to stop relating to Israel as a State above the law''. Hanan Ashrawi of the executive committee of the organization denounced the legislation. ''In a serious challenge, the right-wing and extremist Israeli government has approved a measure scrapping and regularizing Jewish settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem''. Sam Rice has been appointed sales and business development director of engines while Mike Swann will serve as the head of quality and safety. Rice previously served over two years as director of EMEA sales at AeroTurbine. Swann was previously compliance director at Cobham Helicopter Services. Christopher Whiteside, President and CEO, AJW, said: We are extremely excited to welcome both Mike Swann and Sam Rice to the business. Both of them bring a huge amount of experience in their respective areas of quality management and business development. This expertise will be essential as we seek to expand our global presence and constantly improve our customer service. Following the arrival of the airlines first flight to New Zealand yesterday, Al Baker took the opportunity to talk about the airlines expansion in the region and to express his pride in Qatar Airways record achievement of the worlds longest direct commercial flight. Al Baker said: We are proud to offer the people of New Zealand the best possible passenger experience when connecting to friends and family across the globe on board the worlds longest commercial flight from Auckland to Doha. The new service will give passengers from New Zealand the opportunity to travel to the more than 150 destinations on our global network where they will arrive feeling more refreshed than ever before thanks to the modern technology and high level of personalised customer service on board. Auckland Airport chief executive officer, Adrian Littlewood, said: The Qatar Airways service we welcomed to Auckland Airport yesterday will contribute around NZD $198 million to the New Zealand economy each year. The new service provides an exciting new option for visitors to New Zealand and for New Zealanders travelling overseas. Emirates operates over 3,500 departures a week, or more than 194,000 flights in 2016. In those 12 months, the airline handled more than 60 flight diversions due to medical emergencies. A single flight diversion can cost Emirates anything from US$50,000 to over US$600,000, depending on the nature of the diversion which include fuel, flight catering, landing and ground handling fees, air navigation cost, passenger rebooking costs and onward connection, as well as other associated costs to care for crew and passengers. Adel Al Redha, Emirates executive vice president and chief operating officer, said: We can never hope to recover the costs of a flight diversion, but the wellbeing of our customers is always our number one priority. Airlines handle medical emergencies differently, as there are no international regulations on this front. At Emirates, like everything else we do, the safety of our passengers comes first. If there is a medical emergency on board, our crew have the training and equipment to help them assess the situation, and deliver the best possible outcome for the affected passengers. Crew training and equipment In 2016, Emirates delivered nearly 23,000 hours of medical training for cabin crew and pilots, ensuring they are ready to assist passengers on board. All Emirates cabin crew go through a comprehensive initial training programme which is required by the UAE General Civil Aviation Authority, recurrent training to keep their skills up to date, as well as additional specific training for the use of on board medical equipment. The medical training that Emirates cabin crew undertake includes both theory and practical aspects. It prepares them to recognise and deal with common situations, but more importantly handle rare but life-threatening events when time is of essence. Topics covered include basic life support (CPR); medical conditions including asthma, heart disorders, seizures and allergic reactions; trauma related topics and even emergency childbirth amongst others. Pilots also attend training sessions covering topics such as Hypoxia, Malaria, Dengue, Trauma, CPR and choking and occupational health issues. Emirates has also invested more than US$ 7 million in the installation of its medical equipment on board, with annual maintenance costs being a further US$ 1.7 million. Equipment on every Emirates aircraft include: emergency medical kits, oxygen bottles, resuscitators, a defibrillator, a telemedicine unit, and a 24/7, satellite medical advisory service that connects crew to specialist aviation medical consultants who can help assess the passengers situation in real time. Making the right call On average, Emirates crew make about 20 calls to the medical advisory service per 100,000 passengers flown. Most calls do not result in a diversion, but the professional consultation helps the operating crew to make better decisions and offer the right support to the affected passengers, particularly when there are no volunteer medical professionals on the flight. Emirates in-house team of aviation medical specialists, flight planners and operations controllers, all work closely to conduct detailed scenario planning and regular updates to diversion protocols in keeping with the airlines growing global network, as well as advances in medical thinking, inflight medical technologies, and training techniques. Al Redha said: If we have to divert a flight, our aim is to get medical attention for the afflicted passenger as soon as possible. Via our medical advisory consultants and Emirates own operations control team, we identify the best location where the passenger may receive appropriate care, and where the airport can adequately support the passengers and aircraft. The diversion location selected may be someplace where medical costs are expensive and travellers should consider procuring the appropriate insurance before they travel. This launch sees Manchester Airport become only the third UK airport to operate flights to Casablanca with Royal Air Maroc, with the airline also currently running services from London Gatwick and London Heathrow. The new service will use Boeing 737-800 aircraft, with both business and economy class seating available. The service will operate on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. The scheduled flight time is approximately 23 and 20 minutes. As well as offering direct flights from Manchester to Casablanca, Royal Air Marocs new service opens the door for connections to 33 African destinations. Key connections through Casablanca, the second-largest hub to Africa, include Lagos, Accra, Nairobi and Banjul. There is also an opportunity for flight connections to Brazil, as well as daily connecting flights to popular tourist destinations such as Marrakech and Agadir. Royal Air Maroc serves over 90 destinations in four continents, bringing Africa closer to the rest of the world. The airlines UK & Ireland General Manager, Achraf El Hassani, said: Royal Air Maroc is delighted to launch the only non-stop service from the North of England direct to Casablanca, with thrice-weekly flights between Manchester Airport and Mohammed V International Airport. We are thrilled to be providing yet another invaluable link from the UK to Africa and look forward to welcoming passengers on board our service from 28 March. Manchester Airport is the UKs third largest with more than 25.6m annual passengers. It has more than 210 routes served by 70 plus airlines. On the announcement of the Royal Air Maroc service, Stephen Turner, Commercial Director at Manchester Airport, said: We are pleased to see Royal Air Maroc launch services from Manchester Airport. Being the only airport outside of London with this carrier firmly reinforces our position as the UKs Global Gateway for the North. I am sure the 22m people in our catchment area, which spans as far north as Scotland, south to the Midlands, east across Yorkshire and west to Wales and Merseyside, will welcome the route should they wish to access Casablanca for business or leisure. Foster + Partners competition winning scheme for a new luxury hotel and serviced apartments in the heart of Makkah has been revealed. Inspired by traditional Arab architecture, its design reinterprets the traditional dense building clusters, creating a new contemporary vernacular that respects its sacred location. Following the mountainous terrain, its cascading vertical elements form a new topography. The new mixed-use development will create a new gateway along the route to the Grand Mosque for pilgrims from the world over. Luke Fox, Head of Studio and Senior Executive Partner, Foster + Partners who attended the ceremony said: We are absolutely delighted to have won the competition. Makkah is one of the most unique cities in the world. As the home of the Holy Kaaba - the holiest site in Islam - it presents a special challenge and honour for any developer and architect. Our design sets out to create an innovative building form that will be respectful to the scale and importance of the Grand Mosque. The scheme addresses the shortage of accommodation in Makkah in response to the rapid growth in visitor numbers. Occupying a large portion of the site, the orientation of all rooms and apartments maximise and optimise views towards the Holy Kaaba the main focal point for every visitor. Generated from the inside-out, its interiors design is an antidote to the lack of identity that typical generic hotel rooms suffer from. Every room has a dedicated space for private prayer and contemplation that provides direct views to the Grand Mosque and Holy Kaaba. Located on the axis between the new Haramain High-speed Rail Station and the Grand Mosque, the site also forms a key part of the pilgrims journey towards the Holy Kaaba. A dramatic pedestrian ramp integrated with the new topography will take the pilgrims through naturally lit spaces, adding to the special experience of visiting the Grand Mosque. Fox added: Our endeavour has been to make the experience special and appropriate to its unique location. The design follows a philosophy of luxury with humility with an understated elegance throughout the development. On behalf of all the design team I would like to thank Jabal Omar Development Company for choosing to work with us. We are incredibly eager to begin work on the next stage, and look forward to a successful collaboration. Source: Foster + Partners' press release YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 7, ARMENPRESS. The premiere of Artsvabuyn dedicated to the Karabakh war will be held on February 7 in the National Academic Theater after G. Sundukyan. Armenpress talked with director of the performance Davit Harutyunyan on this occasion. -How did the idea come to stage a performance on the Karabakh events? -I have long wanted to address this topic since there are a number of movies on the Karabakh war, but there are almost no performances in the theater on this topic. The topic is very actual, it is our life: today the participants of the Karabakh war are with us. It is possible we will stay long in the trenches. We have started the rehearsals in 2015. We were planning to play it in Shushi on May 16, 2016, however, the April events started, and we temporarily suspended our work. We didnt manage to present the premiere in the 25th anniversary of the establishment of the Armenian Army on January 28. I think this topic is long-lasting: it is about our mothers, sisters, soldiers, families. We must give a spirit, a meaning to everything, worship, bow mothers, sisters who educate soldiers, like the heroines of our performance. -Will you talk about the episodes? -Main part of the events is taking place in a semi-destroyed village where a woman from Karabakh lives who, seems, became a mother for all soldiers. There are also interesting characters, such as the journalist girl who appears in the battlefield, or a wounded Kamo, who, despite the injured legs, wants to stand together with his friends. The performance reflects simple human relationships. It manages to certainly present our concerns of 25 years. -The performance is based on the dramatic play of writer, poet Hrach Beglaryan. Did the play undergo certain changes? -We have edited it. We took a very responsible topic and dont want to ignore anything. We are doing everything the performance to be true. Hrach Beglaryan included in the play stories that are real, and we have tried to properly present them. -What was the criteria for selecting the artists? -13 actors are playing in the performance. The leading actors are Julieta Stepanyan, Mariam, Davtyan, Tsovinar Martisoryan, Andranik Zakaryan. Of course, we have took into account the capabilities of actors while selecting them. All heroes are interesting and unique. The performance lacks pathos since our soldiers are ordinary people. -Are you afraid of failures? -Of course, I am. I am afraid of those people who underwent through the war. Their memories are still fresh, there are still open wounds. I am afraid of hurting the feelings of those people. I want very much everything to be maximal and to be well in the stage. Every new performance is an experiment: the most important speech belongs to the audience. Interview by Angela Hambardzumyan Photos by Felix Arustamyan YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 7, ARMENPRESS. US President Donald Trump said he likes former President Barack Obama, and, moreover, that its mutual, Trump told Fox News. We are very friendly to each other, he said, speaking about his relationship with Obama. I dont know whether or not hell admit that he likes me, I like him, Trump added. At the same time, Trump said his relationship with Obama wasnt OK at all during the campaigning period, because Obama was actively supporting Hillary Clinton. We were saying terrible things about one another, Trump said. But then, we got into the car and drove across Pennsylvania Avenue and we didnt even talk about that, Trump said. YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 7, ARMENPRESS. The EU law enforcement agencies still have not identified and arrested all militants of the Islamic State terrorist group who were sent to Paris and Brussels to carry out terror attacks, and the threat of large-scale attacks is still persistent in Europe, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in a report on threat from IS published on February 6, reports TASS. According to the assessment of the UN member states, currently the threat of large-scale attacks is still persistent: based on the information from one country, till now, not all IS militants have been identified and arrested, who were sent to Europe to carry out terror attacks in Paris and Brussels, the UN Chief said. YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 7, ARMENPRESS. The delegation of Kenneth Forslund, Chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee of Swedens Parliament, visited the Tsitsernakaberd Armenian Genocide Memorial on February 7. The Swedish delegation was accompanied by Artak Zakaryan, Chairman of the Standing Committee of Foreign Relations of Armenias Parliament. Mr. Forslunds delegation is currently on a working visit in Armenia. Members of the delegation laid flowers at the memorial of the innocent victims and honored their memory with a moment of silence. The delegation later toured the Armenian Genocide Museum-Institute, and reviewed the photos and documents on the Armenian Genocide. YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 7, ARMENPRESS. Russias President Vladimir Putin held a phone conversation with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, the Kremlin press service said, reports TASS. The situation in Donbass was discussed, a serious concern was expressed over the escalation of the armed standoff. A phone talks was held between Russian President Vladimir Putin and German Chancellor Angela Merkel. The situation in Ukraines south-east was discussed that has sharply escalated in recent days due to the provocative actions of the Ukrainian side. A serious concern was expressed over the escalation of the armed standoff as a result of which there are human victims, as well as the civil infrastructures and the housing stock in some settlements of Donbass have been seriously damaged, the statement said. During the phone talk, agreement was reached to intensify the diplomatic efforts aimed at assisting the peaceful settlement of the Ukrainian crisis. In particular, this envisages contacts in the immediate future between the foreign ministers and the aides of the Normandy format countries leaders and subsequently the continuation of the discussions at the highest level," the Kremlin press service said as quoted by TASS. YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 7, ARMENPRESS. Azerbaijans domestic food production meets only half the demand of the population, Armenpress reports azadliq.info informs, citing the Facebook page of leading Azerbaijani agricultural expert Vahid Maharamov. He stated that it can be extremely dangerous for a country in war situation and disastrous reality. According to him, Azerbaijans wheat demand (with seed 1.4 million tons) is mainly covered by Russia. In the recent years the quality of the Russian-exported seeds has worsened due to which Azerbaijans wheat production decreases year by year. The production of meat, milk, fruit, vegetables, vegetable oil, sugar, potato has significantly dropped in Azerbaijan. The exports are of low quality but they are distributed to the population with high prices. Azerbaijan does not even have serious control mechanisms for imported food. The Azerbaijani authorities are unable to provide the population with quality, affordable and foodstuff in line with norms, the expert wrote. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A total of 17 individuals were arrested and eight illegal drug cases initiated as a result of an Eddy County Sheriffs Office Detective Division, Carlsbad Police Department Detective Division, and Pecos Valley Drug Task Force investigation that unveiled a plot to harm county law enforcement officers and their families. During the Jan. 31 investigation, in which two search warrants were served in Carlsbad and one in southern Eddy County, information was discovered regarding a plot to do violence against specific Artesia and Carlsbad Police Department officers and ECSO deputies, and their families. Once that information was uncovered, an intensive multi-agency investigation was initiated to determine whether the threats were valid. Sufficient evidence was found that action had been taken by the individuals involved to advance the plan, and the investigation was subsequently expanded with the cooperation of all involved agencies. On Feb. 1, officers and agents went to 30 residential locations in Carlsbad and southern Eddy County to identify and interview 68 individuals. As a result, five illegal drug cases were initiated and 11 fugitives were arrested without incident. The operation continued Feb. 2 in Artesia, with 15 residential locations visited and 35 individuals interviewed. Three illegal drug cases were initiated as a result of that investigation and six fugitives arrested. In the course of two of those arrests, search warrants were obtained to remove the fugitives from the residences at which they were located, both of which were served by the ECSO Tactical Response Team. Both suspects were taken into custody without injury. As professional law enforcement officers, unfortunately we all know that violence can visit us at any time, said Eddy County Sheriff Mark Cage in a statement. We train and prepare for that. However, we take plots such as the one we have been dealing with for the past week very seriously. Our response was and continues to be swift, sure, decisive and necessary. It is my belief that this type of plot is extremely unacceptable and simply will not be tolerated. We will respond, as we have in this situation, to all credible threats of violence, not only to the citizens of Eddy County but also to our law enforcement professionals and their families. This pertains to all law enforcement in Eddy County. Our response shall have the goal to neutralize the violent threat without using violence and allow our criminal justice system to deal with the suspects as prescribed by law. Officials said the plot against law enforcement included details about various officers homes and vehicles, and that information indicated the individuals involved planned to utilize firearms and potentially even explosive devices. All drug cases gleaned as a result of the agencies efforts were incidental in the course of the investigation into the threats, and all charges currently levied against the arrested individuals were drug-related. Additional information on those arrests and charges will be published as it becomes available. The agencies also identified two persons of interest they were unable to locate: Michael W. Grantham, 35, of Artesia, and Robert T. Matta, 43, of Carlsbad. Anyone with information regarding their whereabouts is urged to contact the PVDTF at 575-887-5194 or through their Facebook page, facebook.com/pvdtf, or, anonymously, Crime Stoppers of Eddy County at 575-887-1888 or facebook.com/Crime-Stoppers-of-Eddy-County. No matter the threat to law enforcement, APD will continue to accomplish their published mission statement: protect and serve our citizens, said Cmdr. Lindell Smith of the APD. We do this while building relationships with them and while holding people, including ourselves, accountable for actions. The career of law enforcement can sometimes be dangerous. We each have taken that under advisement and will certainly be concerned about our own safety. However, we look forward to continuing to make Artesia a better, safer place to live in, work in, go to school in, play in, or travel through. The investigation is ongoing, and the agencies anticipate additional arrests as it continues. I want to make this very clear: We will not be intimidated nor threatened into turning away from our sworn duties, said Cage. We will continue to protect and serve the citizens of Eddy County with honor, integrity and courage. The plot identified in Eddy County that specifically targeted Eddy County law enforcement officers is of grave concern and the highest priority for investigation and prosecution, Fifth Judicial District Attorney Dianna Luce said in a statement. The goal is to remove the violent offenders from our communities in New Mexico for as long as possible. Our office stands with law enforcement and views threats to law enforcement as a high security risk, not only for officers but for the entire community. We will prosecute these cases to the fullest extent of the law. Formed by a system of negative spaces carved into the ground, the complex will house two galleries dedicated to Afghan archaeology, a performance hall and a tea-house. UNESCO experts are still debating the controversial plan to rebuild the pair of rock-cut Buddha statues demolished by the Taliban in 2001. Colby Colleges Museum of Art is already the largest in the state of Maine, thanks in large part to previous gifts by Peter and Paula Lunder of a major collection of American art (itself worth $100 million) and of 100 Picasso etchings. Now the Lunders have made another gift of 1,500 works ranging from Rembrandt to van Gogh to Whistler to Ai Weiwei. Bench noted that Aamby Valley was itself substantial enough for the recovery of the amount. New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday ordered the attachment of Saharas flagship project, Aamby valley property near Pune in Maharashtra worth Rs 39,000 crores to enable the court to auction the property to realise the dues from Sahara chief Subrata Roy. A three-judge bench of Justices Dipak Misra, Ranjan Gogoi and A.K. Sikri rejected senior counsel for Sahara, Kapil Sibals plea that attachment will result in undue hardship to the company. The Bench directed Sahara to furnish a list of properties in Aamby valley project and other similar real estate projects which are free from encumbrance so that further order on public auction could be passed. The Bench passed this order after Pratap Venugopal, counsel for Sebi informed the court that about Rs 11,000 crores had so far been paid by Sahara and over Rs 13,000 crores are pending towards principal. With interest, the amount comes to over Rs 37,000 crores. The Bench noted that Aamby Valley was itself substantial enough for the recovery of the amount. Justice Gogoi said the Supreme Court had enough of assembling every other week to collect token amounts from Sahara, and would now want to ensure that the entire amount is realised. Mr Sibal pleaded that Aamby Valley was the groups cash cow and the main source of generating revenue. He said If you take away all my resources, I will not have anything to generate money. What will I tell my banks? Don't do this. There are businesses there (Aamby Valley). There are hotel resorts. Already there is a restraint order on the property from this court. Justice Misra quipped This is not a question of banks. This is a question of obeying court orders. The only way to ensure compliance was to get the list of properties in Saharas possession which have absolutely no encumbrances whatsoever. Mistrys ouster was on expected lines; Big questions remain on his future action. Mumbai: Tata Sons on Monday ousted Cyrus Mistry, its former chairman as a director from the companys board in an extraordinary general meeting (EGM) of its shareholders held in Mumbai, which was attended by Ratan Tata and N Chandrasekaran, the newly appointed chairman of Tata Sons. The meeting of the shareholders to oust Mr Mistry from the board was convened in the wake of the bitter public spat between the group and its former chairman. Tata Sons alleged that Mr Mistry had leaked confidential information to the public and his conduct has caused enormous harm to the Tata group and its stakeholders, including employees and shareholders. The shareholders of Tata Sons Limited, at the EGM held today, passed, with the requisite majority, a resolution to remove Mr. Cyrus P. Mistry as a director of Tata Sons Limited, Tata Sons said in a statement. Mr Mistry had joined Tata Sons board as director in 2006 and became its chairman in 2012. He was removed as the chairman of Tata Sons on October 24, 2016. After allegedly engaging in a bitter battle with the Tata Sons to wrest the management control of group firms, Mr Mistry suddenly announced his exit from all listed group firms and filed a petition before the National Company Law Tribunal challenging the decision of Tata Sons to remove him as the chairman. Mr Mistry filed another petition before NCLT seeking a stay on the proposed EGM of Tata Sons shareholders. The tribunal however refused to grant an interim stay following which he filed an appeal before the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal, which too refused to grant him any relief on the matter. Tata Trusts hold 66 per cent stake in Tata Sons while Mistrys family firm Shapoorji Pallonji Group holds 18.5 per cent stake. Given the way the legal battle between Tata Sons and Mr Mistry were going, his removal from the board of Tata Sons was on expected lines. However, the biggest question now is what happens next? Instead of escalating the matter further, it would be in the interest of both the parties to come together and resolve the disputes amicably, said Amit Tandon, founder and MD of IiAS. Tata Group patriarch Ratan Tata who has funded startups in past wants to reinsert himself to startup community. Mumbai: Ratan Tata has said that the US President Donald Trumps travel ban and restrictions on work in America for identified foreigners was a challenge for India Inc. Trump has given new challenges that will make us reinvent ourselves, Tata Sons chairman emeritus told ET Now. Ratan Tata who over past few months was busy with legal battle with Cyrus Mistry over latters ouster from Tata Sons has now rediscovered his passion for funding small businesses. Look forward to reinserting myself to the startup community, Tata told the news channel. Tata believes the Indian industry has been timid given the way how it has addressed opportunities. The patriarch of $103 billion conglomerate was for the past few months not in touch with the start-up world where he injected funds into emerging businesses. Tata was hopeful that he would again make it to the start-ups by February 23 with greater vigour. Challenges over last five months have been significant, he said. 'PM using a natural calamity, like earthquake, to make a political point shows the depths to which he will descend to,' Congress said. New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi took a jibe at Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi in Parliament on Tuesday, mocking his remark two months ago that an earthquake would take place if he spoke on the note-ban issue in Parliament. "Finally the earthquake came," Narendra Modi said in Parliament in a reference to last night's moderate quake in north India, with tremors felt in Delhi. Just the day before, at two separate political rallies in poll-bound Uttar Pradesh, Rahul and Modi sparred over the acronym SCAM. Modi asked the state to get rid of SCAM in the next elections -- the Samajwadi Party, Congress, Akhilesh Yadav and Mayawati. Rahul retaliated and said he saw 'seva', 'courage', 'ability' and 'modesty' in SCAM. "I was wondering why the earthquake came. When someone sees 'seva' or any positive virtue in the word 'SCAM', then mother earth would definitely be upset," Modi said. Further cornering the Congress on the Emergency declared during the Indira Gandhi regime, the Prime Minister said: "We remember how democracy was under threat from 1975 to 1977, when Opposition leaders were jailed, newspaper freedom curtailed." The SCAM sarcasm was not lost on the Congress. The Opposition party was quick to respond to Modi's attack on Rahul and tweeted that the Prime Minister was "using a natural calamity, like earthquake, to make a political point." In December last year, Rahul had said he was not being allowed to speak in Parliament, and were he given a chance to put his point forward, it would cause an earthquake. The Prime Minister als gave abefitting reply to Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge who had told the ruling party rather harshly yesterday: People such as Gandhiji, Indiraji sacrificed their lives for the countrys unity, who was there from your side? Not even a dog. The Prime Minister was present in the House yesterday when the former Railways minister rolled out this vitriol. Modi replied on Tuesday: Hum kutton wali parampara se pale bade nahin hain. (We have not been brought up in a dog-like loyal tradiciton.) Modi added: Inkey mooh se sunne ko nahi mila hai ki koi Bhagat Singh, Azad bhi they; inko lagta hai ki aazadi sirf ek pariwaar ne dilayi hai. (The Congress has never spoken of the contribution of freedom fighters such as Bhagat Singh and Azad. They think only one family has given us freedom.) He went on to add: There are many like me who could not die for the nation but we live for and serve India. The National Investigation Agency is likely to send a team to Kathmandu soon to interrogate Hoda. Rescue and relief work in progress at the site where Ajmer-Sealdah express train derailed near Rura railway station in Kanpur Dehat district of Uttar Pradesh. (Photo: PTI/File) New Delhi: In a major breakthrough for Indian intelligence agencies, Nepalese national Shamshul Hoda, a suspected ISI agent, has been arrested in Kathmandu by local security agencies after being deported from Dubai. Hoda, who was operating from Dubai and Kathmandu, is said to be the mastermind of the November Kanpur train tragedy. Sources said Hoda was deported from Dubai after Indian intelligence agencies managed to convince their counterparts about his possible involvement in a train accident near Kanpur last November in which 150 people had died. The National Investigation Agency (NIA) is likely to send a team to Kathmandu soon to interrogate Hoda. India is likely to seek his extradition also for further investigation. Intelligence sources said Hoda was looking after funding of ISI agents both in Nepal and India and it is suspected that he organised funds for the Kanpur incident. Hodas involvement had come to light after Bihar police arrested one Moti Paswan, who disclosed that he was paid to plant explosives on the railway tracks and that the entire conspiracy was hatched by the ISI. Intelligence sources said they too had received some inputs that Pakistans ISI had paid Rs 30 lakh through Hoda for triggering blasts on rail tracks. Along with Hoda names of three more ISI operatives Brajesh Giri, Gajendra Sharma and Rakesh Yadav had also come up during the investigations and a massive hunt has now been launched to track them. While confirming Hodas arrest, a senior intelligence official said, This arrest is a result of great cooperation between intelligence agencies of different countries. We will now interrogate Hoda to unearth the entire conspiracy. Both Research & Analysis Wing (R&AW) and the Intelligence Bureau have been working closely with the home ministry and NIA on the case. Sources said Hoda was arrested along with three of his associates by a special team of the Nepal police at Tribhuvan International Airport on Monday. The three others arrested persons have been identified as Brij Kishor Giri, Ashish Singh and Umesh Kumar Kurmi, all from Kalaiya district in southern Nepal. Giris name has also figured in connection with the Kanpur incident. According to Nepal police Hoda has links with international criminal groups and he has been involved in a number of criminal activities in Nepal and India. Western UP has 140 Assembly constituencies spread over 26 districts that will go to polls in the first two phases on February 11 and 15. Lucknow: With the SP-Congress alliance going strong after initial hiccups, BSP and BJP have been forced to rework their strategies in the western belt of Uttar Pradesh where Muslim voters are a major force to reckon with. Western UP has 140 Assembly constituencies spread over 26 districts that will go to polls in the first two phases on February 11 and 15. BSP, which was expecting a cake walk in the wake of feud in the Yadav family, to provide a strong alternative to BJP, got a blow with the coming together of two young faces of Indian politics Akhilesh and Rahul who do not have any previous record of hobnobbing with the saffron party. To win over Muslims, BSP has fielded as many as 50 Muslim candidates in the first two phases as it felt that Muslim vote along with its own core Dalit vote bank would see its candidates through. However, with the coming together of SP and Congress, the community got an option to choose between the two dispensations sending BSP knocking the doors of Muslim leadership and drum up the Muzaffarnagar riots with renewed vigour. The fact that Muslims are important in the scheme of things for SP too can be seen in the party fielding Muslims on 42 of the 140 western UP seats. Interestingly on 28 seats in the first two phases, both BSP and SP have fielded Muslim candidates. If the Mayawati-led party is focussing on providing a "riot-free" and "crime-free" state on coming to power, the SP alliance is reopening the pages of BSP's history, especially its (BSP's) alliance with the saffron party. "Can the community ever pardon Mayawati for 'falsely' implicating 43 youths on terror charges during her regime which is yet to be proved," posed a Samajwadi Party leader. BSP is also out to tar Akhilesh Yadav as "anti-Muslim" with the new entrant in the party Afzal Ansari, brother of mafia-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari, recalling a statement by Mulayam Singh Yadav in this regard that Akhilesh was working against the interest of Muslims. Ansari has resolved to campaign all over the state against the "anti-Muslim" Akhilesh. Perhaps it was the importance of Muslim votes that SP showed least interest in allying with Chaudhary Ajit Singh led RLD which is primarily a party with a Jat vote bank. It was Jat versus Muslims during the Muzaffarnagar riots and Akhilesh Yadav was not interested in aligning with the perceived "oppressors" of the community, said SP insiders. BJP, on its part, hopes for polarisation of Hindus in reaction to the possible consolidation of Muslims behind the SP-Congress alliance. With the pro-Hindutva leaders of the ilk of Hukum Singh, Sangeet Som, Suresh Rana, Sanjiv Balyan, Yogi Adityanath and Ramchandra Katheria leading the campaign and the issue of Hindu migration in the western region finding mention in BJP 'Sankalp patra' (manifesto), BJP is expecting a consolidation of Hindu votes like in the 2012 elections when it won Kairana, Saharanpur Nagar, Thana Bhawan, Bijnor and Noorpur in the face of division of votes between two Muslim candidates. "BJP is clear that it will not get support among Muslims and knows that Hindus will finally come behind them...though Muzaffarnagar has long been done but migration is a recent issue and a reality highlighted by his party," a BJP leader said. The party's concern is to check any division in Hindu votes on seats where no mainstream party has fielded Muslims or there is strong Hindu candidate against a BJP nominee. There are as many as 110 seats where both BJP and the SP-Congress alliance have fielded a Hindu candidate. BSP is also banking on the Mayawati regime providing a communally safe atmosphere during which the three-judge bench of the Allahabad High Court pronounced its decision on the contentious Ram Janambhoomi-Babri Masjid title suit in 2009 when the entire country was put on high alert. It is also highlighting the condition of the community which relied on Congress for 50 years and on SP for more than two decades. In the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, BSP was relegated to the third slot in Saharanpur where Congress leader Imran Masood had emerged second because of overwhelming Muslim support as well as Kairana, Sambhal, Moradabad and Bijnor, where SP consolidated its support among Muslims. The lady from Michigan covered the swastika sign with a line from The Prisoner of Azkaban The Michigan lady came home to see that a vandal had painted the swastika sign on her door which got her really angry but she decided to not let it get to her. (Photo; Facebook) People have different ways of dealing with situations and while vandalism can be quite irritating for many, a Michigan lady decided she wouldnt be victim to it. The lady from Lapeer decided to deal with vandalism by using her a quote from the her favourite book series; the Harry Potter fan decided to speak her mind through the popular Dumbledore quote in the third book. According to a report in the Metro, Erin Zettle recently came home one day to her house and found it vandalised. Angry at the fact that the vandal had used to spray paint to deface her door, she decided to do something about it instead of not reacting. Zettle took to Facebook to speak about the incident where the vandal had actually painted a swastik sign on the front door. Being a fan of J.K. Rowlings magical character Harry Potter, she decided to use a fitting quote from the book to reply to the vandalism. Erin went ahead and wrote Dumbledores popular quote Happiness can be found, even in the darkest of times if one only remembers to turn on the light. The quote that appears in the third book of the series The Prisoner of Azbakan was written on a cardboard to and used to cover the swastika sign on the door so that she wouldnt have to spend money painting it again. She also went on to change it the next day with a quote from Martin Luther King Jr. and intends to change it every day for a long time. There are 17 languages that are critically endangered among the native tribes in the country Lima: Amadeo Garcia has no one left to talk to in his mother tongue, Taushiro. Neither does Pablo Andrade, the last living speaker of Resigaro.The two indigenous languages are among 17 that are critically endangered in Peru, where modern life's advance into the isolated Amazon basin region has wiped out many native peoples' way of life, and their languages along with it. Garcia, 67, is the last living Taushiro, an indigenous group native to northern Peru that was decimated by malaria, conflicts with rubber tappers and toxic oil spills in its rivers.Andrade, 65, has likewise watched his people and their language fade away.He lived until recently with his sister, Rosa, the other surviving speaker of Resigaro.But she was mysteriously murdered last month, leaving him with no one to talk to in their dying Amazonian language. There were 37 Resigaro speakers left a decade ago. But the others have all married into a larger ethnic group, the Ocaina, and given up speaking their mother tongue, said anthropologist Alberto Chirif.Peru, the cradle of the ancient Incan empire, is battling to protect its wealth of indigenous languages from being overpowered by Spanish, the dominant language since colonial times. The government produces a daily TV news program in Quechua for the four million people who speak it.Another is in the works in Aymara, which has nearly half a million speakers.Both of them have many dialects.Yet in this country of 30 million rising from coastal desert to towering Andes and tropical Amazon basin lowlands beyond -- not all languages have the same demographic heft as the Andean big two. "There are four endangered indigenous languages and another 17 that are critically endangered, which is about half the country's indigenous languages," said Elena Burga, head of the government's Intercultural, Bilingual and Rural Education Department. No fewer than 37 indigenous languages have already disappeared, according to official statistics.Burga said the cultural weight of Spanish -- the primary language of government, education and TV -- crushes indigenous languages, making children less likely to learn them.The problem has been exacerbated by the threats facing indigenous groups, who have been forced from their land by farming, oil drilling, illegal mining and logging, and drug cartels."Disease can also decimate an isolated population and drastically reduce its numbers," Burga told AFP. More than words Some 2,500 languages worldwide face extinction, UNESCO warned in 2009.Each one represents a treasure trove of words, poems, jokes, proverbs and legends, it said. The problem is particularly acute in Peru, where the challenging environments of the Amazon rainforest and Andes mountains harbor dozens of fragile indigenous communities.According to National Geographic, the region is one of five hotspots with the greatest number of endangered languages in the world, along with northern Australia, the northwest Pacific plateau in North America, and eastern and central Siberia. Taushiro and Resigaro are particularly threatened, with just one speaker each.But they are not alone.There are just three speakers of Munichi, four speakers of Inapari and 11 speakers of Cauqui, for example.In the case of Taushiro, the culture ministry has launched a project to create an audiovisual register of expressions and an audio dictionary. The Yanesha people, in the central province of Oxapampa, have for their part opened a series of bilingual schools with the help of US anthropologist and linguist Richard Chase Smith.One of the schools' missions is to adapt the Yanesha alphabet to modern technologies, in hopes of carving out a space online."I lived nearly 15 years in this community and managed to collect recordings of their traditional oral histories, a cornerstone of their identity," said Smith. "I have recordings of 18 epic narratives... that the Yanesha people themselves now listen to at workshops."Forty of Peru's 47 indigenous languages have bilingual schools -- "even if only a small one," says Burga -- thanks to a government project to ensure their survival.The government is also working to develop writing systems and texts, for the larger languages, or audio archives, for the smaller ones.But anthropologist Chirif urged officials to do more."We need a plan to recognize indigenous peoples' rights to their land and identity," he said. The girl's mother raised alarm when she saw the accused, allegedly in an inebriated state, running away carrying her daughter in his arms. New Delhi: A man, earlier convicted for sexually assaulting minors, was arrested on Monday for allegedly trying to kidnap a four-year-old girl in Vijay Vihar locality of Rohini in New Delhi, police said. Vijay Vihar Police was informed around 11:12 am that a man was caught by locals when he was trying to kidnap the girl. According to police, the girl's mother, who irons clothes in Rohini, raised alarm when she saw the accused, identified as Naresh, who was allegedly in an inebriated state, running away carrying her daughter in his arms. Following which locals chased and caught hold of the accused and rescued the girl. The accused was then handed over to police, they said. A case of kidnapping has been registered against the accused at Vijay Vihar police station. He has also been charged under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, police said. "We will seek his custody for further questioning as it is feared that he was involved in similar cases in the past which might have gone unreported," DCP (Rohini) MN Tiwari said. "We arrested Naresh who is a repeat offender and sex maniac from Vijay Vihar in Rohini today. During interrogation he admitted to kidnapping and sexually abusing girls," he said. Naresh was allegedly involved in bootlegging in Vijay Vihar area and was first booked for sexually assaulting a minor in 2007, they said. A similar case was registered against him in 2013. He was later convicted by the court in April 2014 and sent to jail for 3-year term. He, however, managed to get bail and come out of jail after one year, he said. The accused was booked for bootlegging in 2015 also. Two other houses in the same area as Satyarthis have also been broken into. New Delhi: A replica of the Nobel Peace Prize and citation awarded to child rights activist Kailash Satyarthi were among the valuables stolen from his southeast Delhi residence on Tuesday. Mr Satyarthi, who is currently in Panama with his wife, implored the people involved in the early morning theft to understand the significance of the award and not get carried away by its monetary value. Mr Satyarthi had presented his Nobel medal to President Pranab Mukherjee in January 2015. The original medal has been preserved, and is now on display at the Rashtrapati Bhavan Museum, his office said. The police said the matter came to light when Rakesh Sengar of Mr Satyarthis NGO Bachpan Bachao Andolan went to take his car from the activists Kalkaji residence around 9 am. I had gone there around 9 am. I saw the dhobi knocking on the door, which was surprisingly open. When I entered the flat, I found things scattered all over (in Mr Satyarthis bedroom). The locker was also broken. The replica of the Nobel, which is as good as the original, and the citation are missing along with a host of other mementos from around the world and some jewellery. A similar theft had occurred in BBAs Kalkaji office in 2010, Mr Sengar said. The police said that it appeared the burglars had come with the intention of stealing only jewellery, as other expensive items were left untouched. They must have mistook the Nobel replica as a jewellery item, a senior officer said. The Nobel Prize citation and the replica were kept in jewellery boxes, and we suspect that the burglars took them away thinking them to be jewels. Its a specific modus operandi, said a senior police officer. Mr Satyarthis son, Bhuvan Ribhu, who is also the national secretary of Bachpan Bachao Andolan, said, Sengar informed me about the incident. It appeared that they were looking for something specific. They also took some ancestral jewellery. For someone who continues to stay in a DDA flat, the news was shattering. He is returning on the 10th, he said. After the police was informed about the theft of the Nobel Prize replica, teams from forensic science laboratory teams, dog squads and district crime teams inspected the spot and collected fingerprints. The police said all the lockers of the master bedroom were broken, and that it was suspected that the burglary took place in the wee hours of Tuesday. It also said that the entry gate near Mr Satyarthis residence was unmanned. There are 17 entry gates to the residential complex that houses Satyarthis flat, which is located on the ground floor. Out of the 17 entry gates, 10 are always open. There are only three guards to man the gates. It has been found that the entry gate near his residence was unmanned, said a senior police officer. Despite the presence of CCTV cameras, the police dont have much video evidence since many cameras werent working. Five CCTV cameras werent in working condition. Around two to three cameras are in working condition and we are looking at their footage for clues, he added. The Delhi polices crime branch is also assisting the local police in the probe. Two other houses in the same area as Mr Satyarthis have also been broken into. All the houses that were broken into were locked. Someone might have given the input about the houses that have been locked for days, since only those houses have been broken into, said the officer, adding that the maximum vandalism happened in the Nobel laureates house. It is suspected that the gang involved in the burglary entered the residential area on some pretext during the day to see that the houses were locked. The police suspected that the information that there was no one at the houses might have been leaked by someone from the society, like a milkman or a newspaper delivery boy. The police has started questioning the jewellery dealers in the area. Burglars, who specifcally steal jewellery, have been rounded up for investigation. My Nobel Prize belongs to my country and its children. I appeal to the conscience of the people involved to understand its significance and not get distracted by its monetary value. A police probe has been initiated and I have complete faith in the authorities and the legal bodies of our country, Mr Satyarthi said in a statement. The child rights activist won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2014. He shared the prize with Pakistans Malala Yousafzai. Rabindranath Tagores Nobel Prize medal had also been stolen in 2004 from the Visva Bharati Universitys museum in Santiniketan, only to be never recovered again. On November 29, 2016, a theft took place at the official bungalow of Congress MP Shashi Tharoor in Delhi and six idols, an antique piece and copper spectacles were stolen from the premises. On April 27, 2016, a dagger, gifted to former prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru during one of his foreign visits, was allegedly stolen from the Nehru Museum in New Delhi. A person posted about the murder and abduction of a 4-year-old boy on Facebook. Mumbai: City police are trying to trace a person who wrote about 'abduction and murder' of a four-year-old boy on Facebook, leading to consternation among the social media users. Police suspect it to be a fake post as no such complaint has been received in the city, an officer of cyber crime cell said today. "We are trying to trace the person," said the official. A person who went by the Facebook profile name of Zain Shaikh had posted a message two days ago about abduction and murder of his 'four years old nephew'. The post went viral and thousands of people shared it. But as police did not receive any complaint about any such crime, it is suspected to be a hoax. 'We could not issue a certificate because the film portrays Islam and a particular Muslim sect in negative light.' Mumbai: Pakistani fans, who were eagerly waiting to catch SRK- Mahira Khan starrer 'Raees' on the big screens, have been left disappointed by the board as the flick will not be releasing in the country. The reason for the dismissal is its inappropriate portrayal of Muslims, as Shah Rukh Khan plays a Muslim entity, who indulges in the trade of liquor. "Owing to subtle portrayal of Muslims as criminals, violent and terrorists, the recommendations forwarded by the CBFC panel deemed the film unsuitable for public screening," a source privy to the development told Pakistan daily The Express Tribune. "We could not issue a certificate because the film portrays Islam and a particular Muslim sect in negative light," the source added. 'Raees' has been successfully playing in international shores in addition to its home country and has already surpassed Rs. 250 crore worldwide in its two weeks of release. There was heightened expectation of the film's release in Pakistan, with Mahira also expressing her excitement and anticipation. Pakistan happens to be the only Islamic country, where the film will not be permitted to a screening. It is surprising that the neighboring country found the film's content inappropriate for viewing, as the Rahul Dholakia-directorial has released to positive reception worldwide. The couple will be travelling for an entire year with their three children Young travellers have been bitten by the travel recently but money is always the issue to feed the travel bug. If many have been hoping for an easier way out, then a couple has an interesting proposition where they pay you to travel with them for free. The couple from Utah is willing to pay for food and stay and everything you want. According to a report in the Metro, the Tillotson family are preparing to travel the world in July but their only catch is they require a travel nanny. The couple are willing to pay for anybody who would be willing to take care of their three children Porter, Beckett and Wren for a whole year. The food, travel and accommodation will all be paid for along with a monthly salary of 1,200 1,500 dollars a month. However if the person wants to go back home, the family will be going back home in December for a few days during which they can take their break. The couples itinerary includes places like New York, Iceland and Scandinavia before they move on to European destinations like Poland, Hungary, Italy, Spain, Turkey and Austria among others. The couple have been planning to travel for a while but were busy setting up their business and handling the children because of which they couldnt find the time. Interestingly, the couple also wants somebody who could help teach their children among other things too. The new rules still leave scope for political parties to receive donations in cash, for which they need not make any disclosure. The recent announcement in the Union Budget bringing down the amount of donations in cash to political parties from `20,000 to `2,000 is seen as an important step towards political reforms. Earlier, the parties were required neither to pay taxes nor disclose the source of donors for cash donations below `20,000. It is largely believed that political parties received a lot of donations in cash with each contribution being less than `20,000. A recent report by the Association for Democratic Reforms regarding cash donations received by various political parties between 2004-05 and 2014-15 shows the following figures: 85 per cent for Congress, 65 per cent for BJP and 100 per cent for BSP. If parties do not disclose the source of such donations, it raises questions about who is donating and why? The bigger question is can the reform measure resolve this problem and bring about transparency in political funding? The new rules still leave scope for political parties to receive donations in cash, for which they need not make any disclosure. The new laws will only make entries more frequent. A donor would now need to donate in many more installments. Thus scrouge of black money in Indian elections remains. There are various manifestations of the use of black money in Indian elections and mere reduction of the amount of contribution in cash cannot stop the menace. It is a long tunnel and this change cannot even spread so much light by which one could even see the other end. There are many other more serious issues which need to be addressed immediately if the government is serious about electoral reforms. Look at the most obvious loophole in the law, it puts restrictions on how much a candidate can spend on his election campaign, but there is no restriction on the amount his friends or relatives or party can contribute. There is nothing which prevents political parties to bring about this simple change in election laws. The fixing of expenditure limit of the candidate is just an eyewash for ordinary people, it remains only on paper; the rules enable candidates to spend as much as they can. The problem does not end there. While there are genuine political parties which spend money on campaigns of their candidates, there are fake political parties which spend money on election campaigns of Independent candidates. The question is why would such parties spend money on the election campaign of Independents? Actually, many Independent candidates use the platform of fictitious political parties for spending their own money on their election campaigns as there is no restriction on spending by political parties. The Election Commission of India recognises 2045 political parties. The large number is not a problem as various regional political parties represent the social diversity of India. But the suspicion about many such political parties being fictitious comes to mind when we see many of them not contesting any election for as long as two decades. At least 255 political parties have not contested any election during the past one decade. After all, the main function of political parties is to contest elections. If registered political parties have not contested any election either since their inception or for decades, it raises the important question about why these parties exist. What could be the motivation for their existence? Only recently it was discovered that a political party is registered at the address of current home minister Rajnath Singh, while another one is registered at the office of Crime Investigation Department of Jammu and Kashmir. There are many such instances of political parties registered at fake, incorrect or non-functional addresses. This raises doubts in the mind why then do these parties still exist if they do not contest elections? It can be concluded that they are being used for making use of black money for electoral purposes. The laws in India are simple with regard to the registration of a political party. Any group of people can be registered as a political party by making a simple declaration under Section 29A (5). Clearly the rules regarding registration of political parties need to be made more stringent. New rules regarding deregistration of political parties are also required. The Election Commission has no powers to deregister any political party under any circumstances, the best they could do is delist it. Even the Supreme Court gave a ruling in 2002 to that effect. It observed that deregistration of a political party is a serious matter as it involves divesting the statutory status of a registered political party. So unless there are express of review powers conferred upon the ECI, it has no rights to entertain or even inquire into complaints for de-registering party for having violated the constitutional provisions. The new law as stated in the Budget is a welcome step, but it is still unclear what prevented the government from putting a complete ban on cash donations for political parties rather than only reducing the limit of such donations. It may have created the initial buzz but sooner than later we will realise that it will hardly help in bringing about the desired impact. Kabul: A suicide bomber on Tuesday targeted the Supreme Court building in the Afghan capital, Kabul, killing at least 19 people, officials said. Ismail Kawasi, the public health ministry spokesman, said 41 people were also wounded in the explosion, which hit near a side door used for court employees to leave the building at the end of the work day. Najib Danish, deputy spokesman for the Interior Ministry, said not all the victims have been identified yet but that an investigation was underway. The attacker was on foot and detonated his suicide vest packed with explosive near the employees and other people as they were coming out of the main court building, Danish added. No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack but Taliban insurgents have attacked the top court and its employees in the past, as well as court buildings in the other provinces. The Kabul bombing came hours after a roadside bombing killed the top government official of a district in western Farah province. Taliban spokesman Qari Yusouf Ahmadi said the group claimed responsibility for that attack. A Farah police spokesman, Iqbal Baher, said that Abdul Khaliq, the top official in the Khak-e-Safed district, was on his way home from the mosque when the explosion took place in the city of Farah, the provincial capital. Taliban insurgents frequently use roadside bombs and suicide attacks to target government officials as well as Afghan security forces across the country. French police have arrested the victim's parents after they found out that the boy had a broken nose and a damaged skull. The incident came to light when the victim's parents called for an ambulance after finding their kid in an unconscious state. (Representational Image) Paris: A five-year-old boy died of his injuries after he was brutally beaten up by his stepfather for wetting his bed at their home in France. Authorities said that his body was found 200 metres away from his home. According to a report in the Mirror, French police arrested the victim's parents after they found out that the boy had a broken nose and a damaged skull. Investigators also said that they found other evidence of violence and abuse on the victim's body. The incident came to light when the victim's parents called for an ambulance after finding their kid in an unconscious state. Later, they also informed the police about it. The victim's parents have been detained and will face a trial before the court at the next hearing. DG Disarmament was of the opinion that India has been given 'discriminatory waivers', which add to Pak's security concerns, the report said. Pakistan will not agree to FMCT until it gets the assurance from India, said an official. (Photo: PTI/ Representational Image) Islamabad: Pakistan wants India to bring its entire civilian nuclear programme under the safeguards laid out by the International Atomic Energy Commission, the Director-General Disarmament at the Foreign office said on Tuesday. "It is incumbent on us to stand up for our own interest. We want an assurance that India's whole three stage nuclear power programme would be under safeguards," DG Disarmament at Foreign office Kamran Akhtar was quoted as saying by Dawn. Akhtar was speaking at a round-table discussion in Islamabad on Fissile Material Cut-Off Treaty (FMCT), organised to prepare for the upcoming Conference on Disarmament (CD). Experienced FMCT experts also participated in the meeting. Pakistan will not agree to FMCT until it gets the assurance from India, he said. He said negotiating a treaty that only bans future production of fissile material without taking into account the existing stockpiles would freeze "the existing asymmetries". The DG Disarmament was of the opinion that India has been given "discriminatory waivers", which add to Pakistan's security concerns, the report said. He said eight of the Indian reactors, its fast breeder programme and approximately five tonnes of reactor-grade plutonium were included in the safeguards of dictated by the IAEA. The FMCT would put Pakistan at a permanent disadvantage and undermine its security interests, Akhtar added. There is a fear that the reactors not mandated by the safeguards might be used clandestinely for plutonium production and the existing stockpiles might be diverted to a military programme at a subsequent stage, the DG said. He further said, "Pakistan should not be asked to agree to something that is not in its strategic interest." "We have to factor into consideration possible actions by India that could undermine credibility of our nuclear deterrence," he added. As we know, our president frequently threatens defamation lawsuits, only occasionally delivers on those threats (remember the guarantee to sue the women who accused him of sexual assault?), sometimes brings SLAPPs when he does actually sue for defamation (remember when he sued a book author because it will cost him a lot of money?), and is more likely to be a defamation defendant than plaintiffthough he is defamation-resistant because, according to one judge, no one actually believes what he says. His wife Melania, in contrast, keeps a lower profile, both in the public eye and in court, so it caught my attention when Melania brought a defamation lawsuit. She sued a blogger, Webster Griffin Tarpley, for defamation. He blogged several rumors about Melania but later retracted the post (presumably under legal threats). He got sued anyway. Separately, Mail Media Inc. (MMI), which allegedly runs the MailOnline website, published an article reporting on similar rumors. They too retracted the post and got sued anyway. MMI moved to dismiss for lack of jurisdiction in Maryland, which is Tarpleys home state. MMI is based in the UK and has its US operations in New Yorkalso Melanias current residence (at a substantial extra cost to taxpayers). So New York seems like the right place for this lawsuit, not Maryland, even though it means bifurcating the case from the Tarpley case. To support Maryland jurisdiction, Melania alleged: * MailOnline gets 4,600 views/hour and 72,600 browsers/day from Maryland * MailOnline has a special US-facing page with extensive local coverage, including coverage of Maryland. The US site geotargets ads from Maryland businesses to Maryland residents These arguments fail. The court cites the general proposition: The overwhelming weight of authority holds that merely operating a website even if it is a popular website that makes money from advertising does not constitute purposeful availment.' The court then applies it to this case: MMI does not intentionally enter the Maryland market specifically, but rather the United States market as a whole.there was no evidence that the website specifically targeted residents of the forum state more than, or in a different way than, any other state. The geotargeted ads dont matter because Melania failed to establish that MMI has targeted Maryland specifically with its advertisements. MMI didnt sell any ads directly to Maryland residents, and the geotargeted ads apparently were sold and served by a third party ad network. The news stories about Maryland dont matter because 2/3 were AP wire stories that were automatically reposted on MailOnline; and the site otherwise has a national/international focus and not a specific focus on Maryland (distinguishing Mavrix and Hare v. Ritchie). In the case of the MailOnline article in question, it was initially uploaded in London and then uploaded to the US site by New York staff. No reporters traveled to Maryland, and MMI doesnt have an office in Maryland, Melania doesnt live in Maryland, and no witnesses are located in Maryland. As a result, the case can proceed in Maryland against Tarpley, but MMI is dismissed. Melania can refile in New York if she wants (and there shouldnt be any statute of limitations issues), and she has already done so. UPDATE: The new complaint suggests that the Mail Online limited Melanias kleptocracy opportunities, which is an oddbut perhaps refreshingly honestargument to make. UPDATE 2: Here is the refiled complaint in New York. Trump v. Mail Media, Inc., Index No. 650661/2017 (N.Y. Supreme Ct. complaint filed Feb. 6, 2017). Despite the express words of the complaint, Melania publicly disclaimed any intent to commit kleptocracy. Case citation: Trump v. Tarpley, Case No. 424492V (Md. Cir. Ct. Feb. 1, 2017). The complaint. See also: Was Melania Trumps Plagiarism Also Copyright Infringement? (Guest Blog Post) A special team of Nepal Police arrested Samshul Hoda along with three others. One of the key suspects in the Kanpur train derailment in November has been arrested in Nepal. (Photo:PTI) Kathmandu: Nepalese national Samshul Hoda, an alleged ISI agent and the prime suspect in the November Kanpur train tragedy, has been arrested here after being deported from Dubai, police said on Tuesday. Hoda, 48, was arrested by a special team of Nepal Police along with three others. He has been arrested at the Tribhuvan International Airport on Monday, said Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) Pashupati Upadhyaya. The police have brought Hoda and three other criminals to Nepal from Dubai in coordination with the Interpol, Upadhyaya told PTI. "We have heard that Hoda is wanted in a railway accident that took place in Kanpur last year killing 150 people," Upadhyaya said. The three others arrested persons have been identified as Brij Kishor Giri, Ashish Singh and Umesh Kumar Kurmi, all from Kalaiya district in southern Nepal. They were arrested for their alleged involvement in the December 25 murder of Indian nationals Arun Ram and Dipak Ram in Bara district. Hoda is the mastermind of the twin murder, the police said. Hoda has links with international criminal groups and he has been involved in a number of criminal activities in Nepal and India, Upadhyaya said. A case has already been registered against him in Bara District Court, he added. The role of ISI is being suspected in the incident after Bihar police in January arrested three persons claiming that they were working for the Pakistani intelligence agency to target Indian Railways. According to Bihar police, the three were paid Rs 3 lakh by a Nepali man who had connections with Hoda, who is accused of acting as an agent of Pakistan's spy agency ISI to execute the Kanpur sabotage plot on November 20 last year. by Mathias Hariyadi Local elections are set for 15 February in Jakarta, the provinces and regencies in a country where tensions are rising due to campaigns and protests promoted by extremist Muslims. The capitals Christian governor is one of their target. For Mgr Suharyo, the Church is nonpartisan, but it defends the fundamental values of the state. Jakarta (AsiaNews) As tensions rise between the leaders and supporters of opposing parties ahead of local elections on 15 February, the Archbishop of Jakarta issued a pastoral letter in which he reiterated the Churchs neutrality and non-partisanship and its support for dignity and human values. In the letter, instead of siding with any candidate in particular, Mgr Ignatius Suharyo reminded Catholics of their duty regardless of political alignment to respect the dignity and value of human life. The Indonesian Bishops Conference (KWI), which also highlights the dignity of voting and respect for the countrys founding principles, calls for voting in a peaceful and relaxed atmosphere at a time of political tensions. Voting is set to take place not only the capital, Jakarta, but also in other provinces and regencies across Indonesia. The pastoral letter follows recent political clashes that have gone beyond normal political dialectics. Tensions have increased across the country, fuelled by extremist groups and radical movements that exploit religion for political reasons, such as the recent blasphemy case involving radical groups against the Christian governor of Jakarta. Ahead of the local vote, Mgr Suharyo decided to address the faithful in person, making some specific requests. Responding to the appeal by Indonesian President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo and his administration, the Archdiocese of Jakarta "invites everyone to remain calm" and "support" the central government in ensuring a regular electoral process. Voting, the prelate notes, is one of the most important moments in the life of a citizen, who is called to exercise his or her "civic rights" and choose "the best candidate". People must exercise this right "in a fair and responsible" way, he added. In such a situation, some guidelines are needed to remind people to vote for those who "defend the spirit of unity in diversity", which is one of the founding values of the country. "The spirit of unity in diversity is crucial in the context of defending Pancasila, the founding principles of the state, and the union of the countrys various groups," the archbishop said. Finally, for Mgr Suharyo, churches are not places to campaign in favour of this or that candidate. In recent weeks, extremist groups and radical movements have organised demonstrations, ostensibly to defend Islam. In reality, they have been used to attack Jakarta Governor Basuki "Ahok" Tjahaja Purnama, a Christian and an ethnic Chinese, on political and legal grounds. Such protests can be seen in a wider context in which some want to destabilise the country by throwing it into chaos in order to undermine President Widodo. Analysts and experts point out that although protests are directed at the governor accused of blasphemy, in fact the real target is the president. Widodo does not belong to the "old regime" that ruled the country for decades. Instead, since the early days of his mandate he has been involved in a campaign against corruption, one of Indonesias endemic ills, and a major factor in its decade-long economic stagnation. For this reason, the archbishop of Jakarta writes that local elections are not only of local significance, but must breathe new life into the principles of the State and the fight against corruption and malfeasance, and prevent the return to power of those who thrived in dishonesty and graft. Vatican City (AsiaNews) - Huang Jiefu, former vice-minister of health and current head of the Committee for transplants and organ donations, will speak this afternoon in the Vatican, at a summit on organ donation and trafficking. China has often been accused of harvesting organs from executed prisoners and the presence of the Chinese delegation at the Vatican is seen as an attempt to improve the image of the country from the international point of view. The summit organized by the Pontifical Academy of Science aims to highlight the extent of organ trafficking and to lay the foundations for a moral commitment with a declaration to be signed by all participants, also opening up to the aid of government personalities and the media to combat this trade . Organ trafficking and transplant tourism is vast and widespread in Asia, Mexico, Latin America, Egypt, Pakistan, India. The receptors are sick people from Canada, the US, Western Europe, the Gulf countries, Australia who move temporarily to those countries to receive the organ they need. The sale of organs due to poverty and the kidnapping of children and adults to use their organs has become a business and a new form of slavery that exploits migrants, refugees and forced laborers. For a long time and with so many tests, China has been accused of feeding the trafficking of organs by harvesting them from the bodies of executed prisoners, even without their permission. In 2015 a law was passed that allows organ donations only from civilians and only on a voluntarily basis. This has become "the only legitimate source of organ transplants" as Huang said in an interview with the PA. But human rights groups and organizations against forced organ donation say that without independent verification it is hard to believe to China. In the past Huang acknowledged that China harvested organs from prisoners sentenced to death and in 2011 said that at least 90% of transplants that take place in the country come from the corpses of executed prisoners. Now, however, with the new law, according to Huang this practice is reaching normalcy and the majority of transplants are done with voluntary donations. Human rights organizations, however, point out the imbalance in figures. In 2015, for example, official figures speak of 2,776 citizens who donated 7758 organs. But there were 11 thousand transplants. It must be said that even today, the removal of organs from prisoners is not forbidden in China. It can be done on a voluntary basis. "If China wants to convince the world, it must pass a law that prohibits the use of organs from prisoners," said Dr. Huige Li, a professor at the University of Mainz and member of the organization Doctors Against Forced removal of organs. The Academy of Science has received a lot of criticism because of Chinese participation, but the Vatican has not withdrawn its invitation to Huang Jiefu, and to another presenter, Wang Haibo. by Card. Charles Maung Bo In a letter to the faithful, the Archbishop of Yangon reminds that the country needs care, not new wounds. The anti-Rohingya violence in Rakhine, the attacks against civilians in Kachin and Shan, the Muslim lawyer's murder are "red flags." The appeal to the government and to the international community to work together for peace. Yangon (AsiaNews) - The "positive changes" that Myanmar has experienced in recent years, defined on several occasions "as a dawn of hope," could become a "vain" hope; the "merchants of hate" are in full swing, the violence and abuses against "exponents of other races and religions are intensifying" up to touch an "alarming level" says the Burmese Cardinal Charles Bo, Archbishop of Yangon, in a pastoral letter condemning the incidents of violence that have filled the news in recent weeks in Myanmar. From the continuing violence in the western state of Rakhine Muslims Rohongya to the arrest of two Christian Kachin in the north, and the killing of a Muslim lawyer and adviser of Aung San Suu Kyi, there are many cases that bring to mind the dark decades of past. Hence the appeal to the Naypyidaw government and the international community to be highly vigilant, because "violence against persons is not acceptable." " Let us continue the pilgrimage to peace - concludes the cardinal - not return to war. Here, below, the message of Card. Bo, forwarded to AsiaNews: Myanmar passes through some of the most agonizing moments in her history. With folded arms we appeal to all : Heal Do not wound. People of Myanmar are deeply saddened by what looks like a relapse into darker days. Myanmar needs the worlds attention to strengthen its fragile journey of democracy. Three major events are disturbing the people of Myanmar. The report published by the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights on 3 February is heart-breaking and very profoundly disturbing. The United Nations reports brutality and other very grave human rights violations by Myanmars security forces in an area north of Maungdaw in northern Rakhine State. The UN High Commissioner portrays such inhumanity and barbarity that is hard to read about, and hard to believe. Over the past five years, Myanmar has experienced many positive changes and has become a more open country. My Country men and women believe - it is a dawn of hope. Opening of the economy and media, a functioning democracy, a smooth transfer of power all pointed towards a new Myanmar of hopes and dreams. We pray earnestly that this may not become a false dawn. Merchants of hatred are in full swing. Hatred against others of different races and religions has intensified to a very alarming level. What happened in Rakhine state needs to be stopped once for all. The situation in Kachin and Northern Shan states is equally of deep concern to me, particularly with the arrest of two Kachin Christian pastors, Nawng Latt and Gam Seng, in Mong Ko, following the bombing of a Catholic church. I pray for their trial tomorrow, that justice would be done and they will be released. I pray too for the thousands displaced by recent military offensives in Northern Myanmar. The tragic assassination of U Ko Ni just over a week ago was another step backwards for Myanmar and a blow to our hopes of democracy and peace in our country. I send my heartfelt condolences to his family and friends, and my prayers for his family, and for all those with whom he worked, who continue his courageous efforts to move towards the constitutional reform so needed in Myanmar. I call on the government of Myanmar to bring an end to the military offensive against civilians in Rakhine State. Peace with justice is possible and is the only way. I call on the government of Myanmar to bring an end to the military offensives in Kachin and northern Shan states. I call on the government of Myanmar to allow unhindered access to all parts of Rakhine State, Kachin State and northern Shan State, for international humanitarian aid agencies, media and human rights monitors. I call on the government of Myanmar to work with the international community to investigate the crimes reported by the United Nations, in a truly independent way that results in justice and accountability. And I appeal to the international community to be vigilant. You have welcomed positive changes. People of Myanmar seek peaceful and positive change. Merchants of hatred who lived by spilling the blood of brother against brother are active again. Myanmar needs the world community to extend all support to the present democratic government with clear understanding that violence against any population is not acceptable. I offer my prayers and solidarity to everyone in Myanmar and especially at this time in Rakhine State, Kachin State and northern Shan State who is bereaved, vulnerable, fearful, homeless, hungry, sick and to all the orphans and widows, the victims of rape and torture. Let the UNs devastating report serve as a wake-up call for us all. Let us work together to end violence and terror in our country, and to build a Myanmar where every man, woman and child of every race and religion born on Myanmar soil is recognised both as our fellow citizen and as our brother and sister in humanity. Let us build a Myanmar where hope is not an illusion, and where we can join hands, regardless of ethnicity or religion, in peace and solidarity. I pledge to renew my efforts to that end, and I extend my hand to any of my brothers and sisters of any race or religion who will join with me. Peace with Justice is possible. 2017 has been declared a year of peace by the Catholic Church. by Kamran Chaudhry Pakistans parliament passes law that punishes sectarianism, lynching and false accusations that lead to wrongful convictions. Now the bill awaits the presidents approval. Christian activist praises the effort to curb terrorism. Leader of an Islamist group defends the blasphemy law. Lahore (AsiaNews) The Pakistani National Assembly passed a law amending some criminal laws. For the first time, sectarianism, mass lynching and forced conversions will be punished. The explicit aim of the legislation is to improve the conditions of the countrys religious minorities. Speaking to AsiaNews, some activists expressed their satisfaction with the initiative, which, however, needs the final signature of the president. "These measures were crucial to save our country, said Samuel Pyara, a Christian, president of Bright Future Society. Mob justice has become a part of people's mind-set. There was a great need to make it a punishable offence and we appreciate the governments action. Parliament yesterday passed the Criminal Laws (Amendment) Act 2016 to amend some existing laws, including the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) of 1860, the Police Act 1861, the Criminal Procedure Code of 1898, and the Anti-Terrorism Act of 1997. The bills statement of objectives and reasons says that terrorism, sectarianism and extremism have gripped the entire country and these acts have become the order of the day. With respect to the persecution of religious minorities, inciting sectarian violence and ethnic hatred and "deliberately using words to hurt the religious feelings of any person, punishment has been enhanced from a year-long imprisonment and unspecified fine to imprisonment extendable to three years and not less than one year, and/or fine of Rs500,000 (US$ 4,770). The new law also imposes a sentence of up to 10 years and no less than five years and a fine of up to Rs1 million in the case of an underage girl as defined in the Child Marriage Restraint Act, 1992, or a non-Muslim woman. For the first time, lynching by " organised group or a mob by taking the law in own hands" is also illegal. Punishment against anyone giving false information to a government official that causes him to use his lawful powers to injury has been increased from a maximum of six months to up to seven years in case the offence about which information has been given is punishable with death and five years in case it is punishable with life imprisonment. In recent years, Pakistan has seen several incidents of mob violence. Christian leaders have repeatedly complained that most remain unpunished. The latest involves the acquittal of 115 people accused in connection with a fire that swept through an entire Christian neighbourhood in Lahore late last month. Pyara Samuel, who filed an appeal to the High Court in Lahore against the Joseph Colony verdict, believes that the new legislation could be a valuable tool for Christians. Sohail ahmad Raza, director of the Interfaith Relations Minhaj ul Quran international, spoke about the abduction of Christian and Hindu women to force them to marry their kidnappers. It is wrong morally, legally, socially as well as at a human level. Forced marriage is not allowed in Sharia (Islamic law) and results from illiteracy, he said, adding that Those who use mosque loudspeakers to incite hate and violence are simply insane and disturbed people". Alongside support, the new law also has its critics. Hafiz Ghulam Abbas is one of them. "It pains rulers when ulemas speak of righteousness and truth from mosque minarets, said the head of the Tehreek Labaik Ya Rasool Allah in Lahore, a group in favour of the blasphemy law. Why stop adaan (call for prayer) when a simple street hawker can use a sound amplifier. We reject this amendment and will make sacrifices" against it. There are three of the greatest gifts to man at creation. "We ask for the grace to keep this identity of children, to work on the gift he has given us and carry on with our work, and the grace to learn to love more each day." Vatican City (AsiaNews) - At the time of creation God gave three gifts to man: he made him in His own image, made him lord of creation and gave him woman to love, said Pope Francis today during the Mass celebrated this morning in Santa Marta. The Holy Fathers homily at Mass focused on the verses of Psalm 8: "Lord, what is man that you are mindful of him? Yet you have made him little less than a god, crowned him with glory and honor, and on the Book of Genesis account of the Creation of man and woman. The Pope spoke about the first of three great gifts, which God gave humanity in creation. "First of all, He gave us His 'DNA', that is, He made us children, created us in His image, in His image and likeness, like Him. And when one makes a child, he cannot take it back: the son is made, he exists. And whether or not he carries resembles the father, he is a son; he has received his identity. If the child is good, his father is proud of that son, right?, 'Look at how good he is!'. And even if he is a little ugly, the father in any case says: 'Isnt he beautiful!', because a father is like this. Always. And if the son is bad, the father justifies him, waiting for him ... Jesus taught us how a father waits for his children. He gave us the identity of a child: to 'man and woman', we must add the identity of child. We 'are like gods', because we are children of God." Gods second gift in Creation, Pope Francis said, is a task: God gave us all the earth, to dominate and subdue, as the account in Genesis narrates. God therefore has given humanity a certain royalty, he added, because God does not want a slave but a lord, a king, entrusted with a task: "As [God] worked in Creation, He has given us work, the work of advancing Creation. Not to destroy it; but to make it grow, to care for it, to keep it and make it carry on. He gave everything. Its funny, I sometimes think, He did not give us money. We have everything. Who gave us money? I dont know. Grandmothers have this saying that the devil enters through the pocket. This may be God gave humanity all of Creation to preserve it and care for it: this is the gift. And finally, 'God created mankind in His image, male and female He created them.'" Pope Francis went on to explore the third and final gift, love, beginning with the love shared between a man and a woman. Male and female He created them. It is not good for the man to be alone. And He made his partner, the Pope said. In love, God gives man love and a "dialogue of love", which, the Holy Father said, must have been the first between man and woman. The Pope concluded with a look at Creation, thanking God for these three gifts given in Creation. "Let us thank God for these three gifts He has given us: an identity, a gift/duty, and love. And let us ask for the grace to preserve this identity of a child, to work with the gift He has given us and to advance this gift with our work, and the grace to learn to love ever more each day." In the Message for Lent 2017, Francis comments on the parable of the rich man and poor Lazarus saying that it "teaches us that the other is a gift. The right relationship with people is to recognize the value of" gratitude. "The Holy Spirit will guide us to make a real journey of conversion, to rediscover the gift of the Word of God, to be cleansed of sin that blinds us and serve Christ present in the needy. Vatican City (AsiaNews) - Lent, "a favorable time to renew ourselves in the encounter with the living Christ in his Word, in the sacraments and in others", is a real journey of conversion, "to rediscover the gift of God's Word, be cleansed from sin that blinds us and serve Christ present in the needy. " This is the invitation expressed by Pope Francis in the Message for Lent 2017, published today. In it he writes: Lent is a favorable season for deepening our spiritual life through the means of sanctification offered us by the Church: fasting, prayer and almsgiving. At the basis of everything is the word of God, which during this season we are invited to hear and ponder more deeply. I would now like to consider the parable of the rich man and Lazarus (cf. Lk 16:19-31). Let us find inspiration in this meaningful story, for it provides a key to understanding what we need to do in order to attain true happiness and eternal life. It exhorts us to sincere conversion. The other person is a gift, continues Pope Francis. The parable begins by presenting its two main characters. The poor man is described in greater detail: he is wretched and lacks the strength even to stand. Lying before the door of the rich man, he fed on the crumbs falling from his table. His body is full of sores and dogs come to lick his wounds (cf. vv. 20-21). The picture is one of great misery; it portrays a man disgraced and pitiful. The scene is even more dramatic if we consider that the poor man is called Lazarus: a name full of promise, which literally means God helps. This character is not anonymous. His features are clearly delineated and he appears as an individual with his own story. While practically invisible to the rich man, we see and know him as someone familiar. He becomes a face, and as such, a gift, a priceless treasure, a human being whom God loves and cares for, despite his concrete condition as an outcast (cf. Homily, 8 January 2016). Lazarus teaches us that other persons are a gift. A right relationship with people consists in gratefully recognizing their value. Even the poor person at the door of the rich is not a nuisance, but a summons to conversion and to change. The parable first invites us to open the doors of our heart to others because each person is a gift, whether it be our neighbor or an anonymous pauper. Lent is a favorable season for opening the doors to all those in need and recognizing in them the face of Christ. Each of us meets people like this every day. Each life that we encounter is a gift deserving acceptance, respect and love. The word of God helps us to open our eyes to welcome and love life, especially when it is weak and vulnerable. But in order to do this, we have to take seriously what the Gospel tells us about the rich man. The Gospel of the rich man and Lazarus helps us to make a good preparation for the approach of Easter. The liturgy of Ash Wednesday invites us to an experience quite similar to that of the rich man. When the priest imposes the ashes on our heads, he repeats the words: Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return. As it turned out, the rich man and the poor man both died, and the greater part of the parable takes place in the afterlife. The two characters suddenly discover that we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it (1 Tim 6:7). The rich man recognizes Lazarus only amid the torments of the afterlife. He wants the poor man to alleviate his suffering with a drop of water. What he asks of Lazarus is similar to what he could have done but never did. Abraham tells him: During your life you had your fill of good things, just as Lazarus had his fill of bad. Now he is being comforted here while you are in agony (v. 25). In the afterlife, a kind of fairness is restored and lifes evils are balanced by good. The parable goes on to offer a message for all Christians. The rich man asks Abraham to send Lazarus to warn his brothers, who are still alive. But Abraham answers: They have Moses and the prophets, let them listen to them (v. 29). Countering the rich mans objections, he adds: If they will not listen either to Moses or to the prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone should rise from the dead (v. 31). The rich mans real problem thus comes to the fore. At the root of all his ills was the failure to heed Gods word. As a result, he no longer loved God and grew to despise his neighbor. The word of God is alive and powerful, capable of converting hearts and leading them back to God. When we close our heart to the gift of Gods word, we end up closing our heart to the gift of our brothers and sisters. The message concludes Dear friends, Lent is the favorable season for renewing our encounter with Christ, living in his word, in the sacraments and in our neighbor. The Lord, who overcame the deceptions of the Tempter during the forty days in the desert, shows us the path we must take. May the Holy Spirit lead us on a true journey of conversion, so that we can rediscover the gift of Gods word, be purified of the sin that blinds us, and serve Christ present in our brothers and sisters in need. I encourage all the faithful to express this spiritual renewal also by sharing in the Lenten Campaigns promoted by many Church organizations in different parts of the world, and thus to favor the culture of encounter in our one human family. Let us pray for one another so that, by sharing in the victory of Christ, we may open our doors to the weak and poor. Then we will be able to experience and share to the full the joy of Easter. San Diego (AsiaNews) - The wave of nationalism that Xi Jinping favors, leads to greater control over "foreign" religions - such as Christianity and Islam - and to an exaltation of the Han culture. All in order to "make a great new China". From this point of view the "Chinese dream" of Xi Jinping resembles that of Donald Trump ("make America great again"). In this situation the faithful of different religions have the opportunity to transform their environments, although a social revolution is unthinkable. These are the last considerations that arise in the conversation that Prof.. Richard Madsen held with Samuel Tsoi, published as a podcast (http://china.ucsd.edu/media-center/podcast.html). Prof. Madsen is a sociologist of religions at the University of San Diego (California) and is involved in a partnership with Fudan University in Shanghai and with the "China in the 21st Century" Center in San Diego. Editing by AsiaNews. Part V concludes the serial publication of the interview. Maybe we can go back to the notion of concern and anxiety mentioned earlier, the fact that although people have in general become more prosperous, they feel the need to relate to something more transcendent. Even in Western societies the people predicted that perhaps religion would become irrelevant, as society prospered and science continued to progress. But in recent years we see that religion is becoming a very important element in the global context. One of the participants at the conference this July here on campus came from a new office for religions and global affairs. That person represented the State Department and described their efforts in understanding the religious dynamics in the context of globalization, and how these religious traditions interact with different cultures and societies. So in addition to protecting religious freedom in the world as they are doing the United States, this new diplomatic office is the first type of institution that engages in contact with religious communities, diplomacy and development. Given that religious activities in China continue to be controlled by the state, what potential do you see in religious agents of change in China and how should the commitment of believers in other parts of the world be, recognizing that religion is an important part of the process of globalization? Well I think they certainly have the ability to make real social change. There are many types of religions and religious personalities in China, so I do not see the possibility of a real coordinated movement for social change, but in individual situations, the subjective interests, are pushing in different directions and are sure to change society. Now, in terms of global issues, the government is trying to control this situation, and one thing that is trying to control are the religious relations with other countries (cross-border). An interesting fact of the conference, is that, as you said, there was this person from the State Department, which is part of this new global office for religious affairs. Some people in China are disgruntled about this because what they see is that the State Department is contacting religious actors in the world and is doing it because it wants to be helped in diplomatic areas, with migrant flows, in national development etc . But this "contacting people" without going through the local government - since this office is independent - is wrong from the Chinese point of view! It is an attack on the sovereignty of the state, that is, religious groups must have contact / dialogue with the central government. This is the Chinese position ... We see these relationships between religious actors as an expression of globalized civil society, who just want to stay in touch with each other, but do not seek to undermine the government. They see it as a violation of the sovereignty of the state and in this their nationalist thrust, they feel the need to control the borders and perhaps even expand them (just look at certain scenarios)! This is part of a new nationalism: the Chinese see it as part of their hard work accomplished in the last 150-200 years in rechecking borders. From this point of view, Xi Jinping is the protagonist of a great new "Chinese dream" model that proposes a "rejuvenation" of the Chinese nation. In essence they are "making China great again " (a slogan similar to Trumps!). And part of this is done with the control of the borders, keeping the country under control, celebrating the glory, having at least a particular preference for Han Chinese culture, and this makes a great new China! I think this fanaticism-nationalism is not present only in China, but around the world. Even in the US. Israel's parliament gives the green light to the law with 60 votes in favor and 52 against. In the face of evictions, Palestinians will receive a sum of money or other land. The judiciary ready to resort to court against the norm. Harsh criticism from Peace Now and B'Tselem: A "disgrace", making "theft" a "state policy." Jerusalem (AsiaNews) - The Knesset has finally approved a controversial rule that would retroactively legalize thousands of Israeli homes in the West Bank, illegal under international law. The law also applies to the "outposts" [settlements made without official approval in the areas occupied by Israel since 1967, in the aftermath of the Six Day War], with the exception of Amona that remains subject to eviction decree. Israel's parliament ratified the entry into force of the norm with 60 deputies in favor out of a total of 120; 52 MPs against. The new law provides that the Palestinian owners of the land will no longer have any right to the land; in exchange for the expropriation, they will receive a sum of money or other land in different places. Analysts and Middle East policy experts point out that the Israeli decision confirms the expansionist policy that the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has started following the victory at the US presidential Donald Trump. The recent approval of thousands of new settlements should also be seen in this context. The executive hawks, heedless of international protests, trust in the green light of the new administration after years of criticism and (more) stringent positions of outgoing President Barack Obama. The vote of the Israeli parliament has angered the leaders of Palestinian institutions as they see the possible emergence of an autonomous state growing increasingly remote. In a note the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) stresses that it "legalizes" "theft" of Palestinian land. It shows "the will of the Israeli government to destroy all possibility of a political solution." There has also been criticism within Israel, with a part of the judiciary ready to fight the norm through the courts. Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit defines the law unconstitutional and stresses that he will not defend it in court. According to Peace Now activists with the vote it is now "clear" that "Netanyahu intends to jeopardize the future of Israelis and Palestinians to pander to a small group of settlers", with the sole aim of "ensuring their political survival". The prime minister, the statement continues, "makes the theft an official component of Israeli policy" and takes another step in the opposite direction to the "two-state solution." "In the face of this madness it concludes - we must act as responsible adults, and turn to the Supreme Court to cancel this dangerous law." Harsh criticism even from the B'Tselem movement, at the forefront of denouncing violence in the occupied territories, which says that the law shows that "Israel does not plan to loosen control over the Palestinians and theft of their lands." This law, continues the statement, only serves to give "a semblance of legality" to this expropriation policy and is a "disgrace" for the state and for its legislature and "a slap in the face to the international community" . Peace talks between Israel and Palestine broke down in 2014, triggering an escalation of violence. by Thanh Thuy In 2016 there were over 60,000 divorce cases across the country. The causes of separation are family lifestyle, followed by adultery and violence. The crisis affects mainly young couples. The Church offers prayers and meetings to rebuild the foundational unit of society. Ho Chi Minh City (AsiaNews) To meet the challenges of modernity and rebuild Vietnams increasingly fractured social fabric, the Vietnamese Church has decided to dedicate the year of 2017 to the family, the basic unit on which the country is founded. To reach this goal, Vietnams bishops decided to focus on future families, providing seminars and courses for couples preparing for marriage and family life. According to official data for 2016, there are over 60,000 divorce cases in Vietnam each year, a growing trend, experts warn. The leading cause of divorce is differences over family lifestyle and everyday problems, followed by adultery (25.9 per cent), financial problems (13 per cent), domestic violence (6.7 per cent), health (2.2 per cent) and living apart. One source of great concern is that the problem is not limited to cities and larger urban centres, but also affects rural areas. Furthermore, more than 70 per cent of divorce cases involve couples aged 22 to 30. About 60 per cent of couples have been married from one to five years and have had children together. These alarming figures have prompted the Catholic Church to mobilise catechists and religious to help families through pastoral meetings, outreach, counselling, and prayer groups. This comes in response to the call by priests and others, who stress the need for a path to marriage based on faith, the only way on which to found a relationship that can be truly permanent. Speaking to AsiaNews, Mr Thu, a social worker at the archdiocese of Saigon, now Ho Chi Minh City, said that "some young couples are not yet aware of the meaning of marriage and family life". For some, marriage is a way to get out of their original family but without understanding what living with another person entails. Often divorce is used as a "threat" during everyday quarrels. In fact, When the first difficulties appear, they are unprepared to deal with them. Ms Hien, a Catholic volunteer in a Lat, points out that if "moral education" is imparted in the family, every member is capable of "taking care" of others and the "risk" of breaking bonds is reduced. "The important thing, she notes, is that couples ought to know how to think about and take care of others, respectful of traditional Vietnamese family values." Family problems do not concern Catholics lone. Among Buddhists, the countrys main religion, leaders are equally concerned. "The parents faith will help children, said Mr Huy, a Buddhist social worker, lending them a hand to overcome difficulties. A family consists of people who love each other, who help children to have faith and hope in life." MOSS POINT, Miss. - A Moss Point man is in custody after he led Jackson County Sheriff deputies and Moss Point police on a chase by car and foot on Sunday. According to Jackson County Sheriff Mike Ezell, Jataurus Davante Carter, 23, and two passengers within the car were spotted by a deputy. He pulled over with the intent to help Carter and his passengers after they told the deputy they had ran out of gas and did not need help. Just a few short minutes later, the deputy saw Carter and passengers traveling at a high rate of speed and attempted to pull over the vehicle. According to Ezell, Carter did not yield to the deputy's authority and backup was called to assist in what had now become a chase. Investigators say Carter began speeding toward Moss Point, where he ran a red light and began to swerve around slower moving vehicles. It was at that time that Moss Point police joined the chase as he drove down Martin Luther King Drive in Moss Point. Carter lost control of the car, hitting a brick church sign which brought the car to a halt. Carter then fled the car, leaving the passengers behind while he attempted to elude police. According to Ezell, Carter allegedly threw what was thought to be a loaded handgun to the ground while he continuing to evade police. Just a short time later, Carter was caught and was taken to the hospital to be treated for a broken nose suffered when he crashed into the church sign. The two additional passengers within his vehicle were treated for unknown injuries. Carter is now in the Jackson County Adult Detention Center and has been charged with felony pursuit, driving with an expired tag, and driving without a driver's license. According to Ezell, Carter's rap sheet is lengthy as he has been charged before with burglary by the Mobile County Sheriff's Department and allegedly shoplifting from a Lucedale store, according to Lucedale police. The items in question by Lucedale police were found the Carter's trunk which the store manager later identified as their merchandise. Grit and a growth mindset may be the secret to success for the most powerful women in the legal field.A new study by the American Bar Associations (ABA) Commission on Women in the Profession reveals found a statistical link between grit and the use of a growth mindset and the overall quality of work, the point at which in-house counsel are brought into the decision-making process and seniority and tenure within an organisation, the ABA Journal reports.The study is part of the ABAs The Grit Project introduced by the organisation in 2014. It is based on research done by Milana Hogan, the chief legal recruiting and professional development officer at Sullivan & Cromwell, while she was studying for her doctorate in education at the University of Pennsylvania. An in-depth discussion of the results of the study is expected to be released in the book titled Grit, the Secret to Advancement: Stories of Successful Women Lawyers, due out in August.Grit, according to Hogan, is perseverance and passion for long-term goals. Growth mindset is when one believes in the power of effort and the idea that one can always make improvements.Lawyers who possess the trait and employ the mindset tend to persevere in the face of challenges, work harder and longer and are more likely to focus their efforts on improving their performance, according to a separate ABA release. However, its not only innate but can also be developed. Grit tends to come with experience.The researcher is advocating for women lawyers to learn from the advice of successful female colleagues. Hogans upcoming book contains 45 letters from women lawyers who come from private, in-house, government and non-profit practice who have used grit and growth to succeed.Women lawyers are generally pretty gritty, Hogan said, adding that it is already required just to go to law school. But research suggests that grit is a quality that can be taught, and nurtured.Grit is related to a number of measures of success [including] billable hours and quality of work, she said. The good news is that mindset is a very easy thing to change. Michael Holmes Gene Goodsell To fuel the firms expansion, the Nexus Law Group has acquired the Australian Lawyers Network Pty Ltd (ALN) and appointed a number of new consulting principals in Sydney.Alan Prasad, founder of ALN, becomes a partner in the central Nexus team. He brings with him 17 years commercial legal experience and experience building a network of senior consultant lawyers, which he also brings to the firm.Along with the acquisition, Nexus has also appointed three new consulting principals Michael Holmes, Gene Goodsell and Gia Ghazi.Holmes is commercial law specialist who has spent eight years in private practice and 10 years as a barrister working on complex litigation and corporate advisory matters. He holds a bachelor of laws with honours and a bachelor of arts, as well as being a graduate member of the Australian institute of Company Directors and the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators.Goodsell has 12 years of domestic and international experience from working in top law firms and corporates in Australia and the United States. He specialises in taxation and has provided advice for individuals, start-up companies, small- to medium-sized businesses and large companies. He was a principal at a boutique tax and commercial law firm before joining Nexus.Goodsell holds a bachelor of business in accounting, a bachelor of laws with honours and a graduate diploma in tax law. He is currently studying to become a Chartered Tax Advisor, as part of a graduate diploma in applied tax law.Ghazi has a diverse background which includes managing her own legal practice and serving as an in-house lawyer with a government enterprise. She has experience in property law, business and commercial law, franchising, leasing, family law and estate planning. Ghazi holds a master of law in commercial litigation, a bachelor of laws, a bachelor of policing and a graduate diploma in legal practice. Thousands of demonstrators protest against Donald Trump travel ban on Muslim's travelling to the United States in central London on Feb 4, 2017.[Photo/Xinhua] LONDON - The speaker of the House of Commons John Bercow said Monday he was strongly opposed to US President Donald Trump addressing the Houses of Parliament during his proposed state visit to Britain. Dozens of members of parliament (MPs) have already signed a motion opposing Trump from following in the footsteps of other US presidents by addressing politicians in the centuries old Westminster Hall. But Bercow's comment is the strongest message so far against the honor being granted to Trump. Political commentators in Westminster predicted that Bercow's very public declaration would enrage 10 Downing Street. It was British Prime Minister Theresa May who invited Trump to a state visit last month when she became the first national leader to meet the new president after his inauguration. Bercow's unexpected message took politicians by surprise when he outlined his opposition, which earned applause from some MPs. Under the rules in force at the Palace of Westminster, Speaker Bercow is one of three officials required to agree to any visitor addressing MPs and peers from the House of Lords. Without his agreement, it will not be possible for Trump to address parliament. Bercow told MPs that before the imposition of Trump's controversial migrant ban, he would have been strongly opposed to an address by the US president in Westminster Hall. "After the imposition of the migrant ban, I am even more strongly opposed to an address by President Trump in Westminster Hall, " Bercow said. He added that he would also not wish to issue an invitation to President Trump to speak in the Royal Gallery at the Palace of Westminster. Bercow added: "We value our relationship with the United States. If a state visit takes place, that is way beyond and above the pay grade of the Speaker." "However, as far as this place is concerned, I feel very strongly that our opposition to racism and sexism and our support for equality before the law and an independent judiciary are hugely important considerations in the House of Commons." As Speaker, Bercow is essentially the chairman of the House of Commons, one of the highest jobs in public life in Britain. He is also one of the 650 MPs elected to parliament. No date has yet been fixed for Trump's state visit. A petition opposed to him meeting Queen Elizabeth II during a state visit has been signed by almost 2 million people. JACKSON, Mississippi -- The Mississippi Senate unanimously passed a bill Tuesday which would separate BP settlement funds from the state's general fund, with the intent of distributing those funds along the Mississippi coast. "I want to personally thank my Senate colleagues for passing the BP bill and for rallying behind the Gulf Coast and our rebuilding efforts in the wake of the BP oil spill," said Sen. Brice Wiggins, the lead sponsor of Senate Bill 2285. "Sen. Sean Tindell did an outstanding job of handling the floor debate and representing our collective Gulf Coast interests. I talked to many of my colleagues individually, and they all understood the significance of this bill to us on the Gulf Coast." If approved by the House, the bill would direct $750 million in damages the state will receive over the next 17 years from the settlement with British Petroleum over the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. The bill would create the Gulf Coast Restoration Reserve Fund within the state treasury. When BP payments are received into the state's contingency fund, they would be automatically transferred into the Gulf Coast Restoration Fund "as soon as practical after payment," according to the language in the bill. "Monies deposited into the Restoration Reserve Fund shall be used for projects that will benefit the Mississippi Gulf Coast," it reads. If passed by the House and signed by Gov. Phil Bryant, the new law would take effect immediately. While Wiggins in the primary sponsor, the bill was fully backed by the coast's other five state senators, along with Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves and Bryant. "While I am honored to be the lead sponsor on this bill, this was a unified effort by the Gulf Coast Senate delegation," Wiggins said, "and would not have happened without the leadership of Senate Appropriations Chairman Buck Clarke, Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves, Gov. Phil Bryant and their respective staffs." "The Mississippians most affected by the Deepwater Horizon disaster were the fishermen, hotel owners, restaurant owners and residents of the Gulf Coast," Reeves said in a statement. "In today's polarized times, many politicians are criticized for focusing only on what is in their own best interest. "Today, the Mississippi Senate voted to do what is right. Our state senators recognize a healthy Gulf Coast economy benefits the entire state." The bill moves to the House for debate with the support of Speaker Philip Gunn, who has previously said he believes BP settlement monies should be spent along the coast. "The bill now goes to the House, and while there is still a long way to go in the legislative process, we are one step closer to providing much needed funds for economic recovery on the Gulf Coast from the BP oil spill," Wiggins said. The state has thus far received $150 million in payments from BP and roughly $50 million has already been spent. Free newsletter Subscribe to our FREE newsletter service and well keep you up-to-date with the latest breaking news, cutting edge opinion, and expert analysis affecting both your business and the industry as whole. Please enter your email address below and click on Sign Up for daily newsletters from Australasian Lawyer. Two global firms will be closing their bases in Qatar.Both Clifford Chance and Herbert Smith Freehills will both be shuttering their offices there, though they will still practice in the country, two separate reports from Legal Week say. CC is expected to officially close its Doha office this month, while HSF will close its office in the city this summer.According to both firms, the office closures will not result in any redundancy. CC office head Jason Mendens will relocate to Dubai. Meanwhile, HSF Qatar office head Joanna Addison, senior associate James Mayers, and the office staff have all been given the choice to relocate to Dubai or another office in the firms network.CC said that based on discussions with both Qatari and international clients looking to invest in Qatar, there is no longer a need to keep a presence on the ground in the country.Rather, consolidating those relationships into Dubai, and servicing clients from there and across our wider network, will be the best approach to providing them with seamless access to the wide range of advice and support they need as they expand their businesses in the region and globally, the firm said.Meanwhile, HSF said that they have been reviewing their strategy in the Middle East and have decided to run their Middle East operations from two hubs instead of three.We have a number of key clients we serve in Qatar and weve consulted with them before making this decision we are very comfortable we can service them from our Riyadh and Dubai offices. We will continue to grow in the Middle East and want to do this in a way that makes strategic sense, the firm said.CC opened its office in Qatar six years ago while HSF launched in the country four years ago. HSF also shuttered its office in Abu Dhabi in 2015. Hi, I am writing to understand what process do I need to follow to establish a private hospital in Melbourne, Australia if I am a qualified doctor from USA and have more than 10 years work experience. I hold US Citizenship. Please guide me all the steps and processes required including visa requirements. Thank you, Regards JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding. The luxury brand will offer three models initially; first dealership to be set up in Mumbai. Toyotas luxury brand, Lexus is finally coming to India, and will make its entry with three models. Official launch date for the Lexus range in India is likely to be March 24, 2017. Bookings for the cars have commenced, but deliveries will start only thereafter. The first Lexus dealership will be set up in Mumbai and will be operational before the official launch early next year. The first 'Lexus Boutique' will most likely be at the Taj Santacruz Hotel, located right next to Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport (Domestic Terminal). The first models to be launched will be the RX450h and LX450d SUVs and the ES300h sedan. Initially, all three models will be fully imported from Japan via the CBU route. The carmaker is currently gearing up for local assembly in India, but that will commence later. The Lexus line-up in India will come with all options that are available in the Japanese-spec models. However, the first batch of India-spec cars will miss out on the navigation system as India maps are difficult to configure on imports. Lexus RX450h SUV The Lexus RX-series is a popular Lexus model globally. Currently in its fourth generation, this SUV will come to India in the RX450h guise. The Lexus RX450h will be powered by a 3.5-litre, V6 petrol motor coupled to Toyotas Hybrid system, similar to the one in the Prius, mated to an e-CVT gearbox. The combined output will be 308hp. In international markets, the SUV rivals the likes of the Audi Q5 and the BMW X3. Sources tell us that this SUV will be priced above its rivals since it will be sold as a fully imported unit. India-spec models will get 18-inch alloy wheels, instead of the 20-incher available internationally, which according to sources, will help improve the ride quality when driving on our roads. Lexus ES300h sedan The ES300h is based on the Camry sedan. It will be Lexus entry-ticket model in India. Like its RX cousin, it will also come to India in a hybrid guise. The sedan is aimed at drivers and chauffeur-driven owners looking for a relaxed and comfortable commute, and not for those seeking a sporty driving experience. It shares most of its underpinnings with the Camry hybrid, including its 2.5-litre petrol engine and the electric motor assist mated to the same CVT gearbox. Sources tell us that this is likely to be one of the first models to go in for local assembly in India, thanks to its shared platform with the Camry that is locally assembled here. This also means that the locally built ES300h will see a dip in pricing thanks to the FAME scheme. Lexus LX450d/Lexus LX570 SUV The LX SUV is the brands flagship model globally. Based on the mighty Toyota Land Cruiser, the Lexus LX for international markets is available with two engine options. The petrol-powered LX570 comes with a 5.7-litre V8 engine good for 383hp and 546Nm of torque, while the diesel-powered LX450d gets a twin-turbo 4.5-litre V8 diesel engine good for 269hp and a massive 650Nm of torque. Both engines are available on the Toyota Land Cruiser meant for international markets. Company sources tell us that the Lexus LX450d will be offered as a five-seater initially, with a seven-seat petrol variant joining the line-up by October 2017. The LX series of SUVs rival the likes of the Range Rover, Audi Q7 and the Mercedes GL. Pricing Despite not being present in the Indian market, Lexus is still a relatively well-known brand amongst Indian luxury car buyers. The manufacturer aims to cash in on Lexus premium image and will price its models at the higher end of their respective segments. Tentative ex-showroom prices for the Lexus range in India are as follows: Lexus RX450h SUV: Rs 1.17 crore Lexus LX450d SUV: Rs 2 crore Lexus LX570 SUV: Rs 2.15 crore Lexus ES300h sedan: Rs 75 lakh Service centres Toyota also plans to make service and the ownership experience a strong differentiator with Lexus. The manufacturer will offer multiple service and warranty schemes to provide customers with the same peace of mind associated with the brand. Dealerships The first set of dealerships in India will be in Mumbai, Delhi, Gurgaon and Bengaluru. These will be operational by March 2017 when the brand launches in India. The second set of dealerships will be in Chandigarh, Cochin and Chennai and will be operational towards the end of 2017. Photo of 2017 Ram 1500 Laramie Limited courtesy of FCA. Fleet ordering guides provide commercial, government and rental fleets, as well as fleet management companies, with detailed information about the vehicles and option packages available to them. A closer look at these guides can unearth treasures hidden to the retail buyer. We poured through the 2017-model-year guides of the three Detroit automakers and identified options and vehicles available exclusively to fleets. A detailed list of option equipment for Fiat Chrysler's trucks and vans follows, as well as an overview of police vehicles not available to retail buyers. Future articles will highlight fleet equipment offered by Ford and General Motors for its Chevrolet brand. Fiat Chrysler offers the fleet-only equipment packages to help each fleet buyer configure the vehicle to meet the various needs of that fleet, said Frank Dankovich, director of fleet sales. "It's important for us to understand and remember that every fleet is different," Dankovich said. "Each fleet manager has a different set of requirements driven by an ever-changing combination of practical considerations such as TCO, safety, reliability, and serviceability along with the more subjective preferences and needs of their drivers, which could include ease of entry/exit, cargo accessibility, maneuverability, and adjustability of driver controls." Fleet-options and packages abound with the Ram Truck brand, especially with the truck lineup. The ProMaster full-size van and ProMaster City compact van don't offer equipment exclusive to fleets. Buyers of the Ram 1500 pickup can add exterior options such as a Class IV trailer hitch receiver as part of the Trailer-Tow Mirrors & Brake Group on SLT; under-rail bedliner on seven trims (excluding Laramie Longhorn and Limited); and fog lamps on SLT. Ram 1500 commercial buyers can also add power trailer tow black manual-folding side-view mirrors (7-by-11 inches) with courtesy lamps and supplemental turn signals. The option isn't available on the Regular Cab Tradesman model. Other exterior options include tubular, chrome side steps on SLT that are cab length or wheel to wheel the latter option is standard on the V-8 Limited model and the RamBox cargo management system that includes a box that can be locked and drained, bed rails with four adjustable cleats, bed divider/extender, and LED bed lighting system for 5-foot-7-inch and 6-foot-four-inch bed models. Ram 1500 SLT buyers can also order LT265/70R17E OWL all-season tires and two fleet-only wheel options, including 17-by-7-inch chrome-clad aluminum or 20-by-9-inch polished aluminum wheels. Interior fleet options for the Ram 1500 SLT premium instrument panel with 7-inch digital instrument display and rubber floor mats. Fleets can order bench or bucket seats. The cloth-trimmed 40/20/40 split-bench front seat package includes power lumbar, front armrest with cup holder, 10-way driver's seat, front-seat center cushion storage, and 115-volt auxiliary power outlet. The low-back bucket seat package includes a power 10-way driver's seat, power lumbar, floor console, and 115-volt-auxiliary power. Other Ram 1500 SLT options include a power sunroof, rear defroster (also available on Tradesman and Express trims), Uconnect 8.4-inch navigation with an AM/FM radio and Bluetooth. and Sirius XM satellite radio with the Popular Equipment Group (also available on Tradesman). The Ram 1500 Tradesman offers Remote Keyless Entry with AllSecure that includes two transmitters that also control the RamBox system. The Luxury Group package includes an LED bed-lighting system, switchable dome light, ashtray lamp, glove box lamp, under-hood lamp, illuminated vanity mirrors, auto day/night mirror, exterior mirrors with signal and puddle lamps, overhead console with universal garage door opener, leather-wrapped steering wheel, and color 7-inch driver information display. The final fleet-only options for the Ram 1500 SLT include the Protection Group package with tow hooks, front suspension and transfer case skid plates for 4x4 models. The Ram 2500 and 3500 large pickups also offer fleet options, including a skid-plate package for 4x4 models with a transfer case and options for protection, snowplow, snow operation, off-road, and Power Wagon uses on six trims (excluding Power Wagon and Laramie). Other 2500/3500 fleet options include an under-rail drop-in bedliner on six trims (Laramie and Limited not included); fog lamps on Tradesman; side mirrors that are powered and heated with puddle lighting and turn signals; Ram Work-Grade vinyl seats with an armrest and cup holder, floor-mounted storage tray on crew cabs (SLT trim); a rear defroster for Tradesman; SiriusXM satellite radio paired with the 5- or 8.4-inch radios (Tradesman); ParkSense rear park assist (Tradesman); Remote Keyless Entry with AllSecure (Tradesman); and the Power Accessory Group that includes vinyl door trim, a powered and heated mirror, power windows, and power locks for Regular Tradesman models. FCA offers several fleet-only options with its Ram 2500 CNG pickup, including fog lamps with Tradesman; a rear window defroster; and ParkSense rear park assist system. Lastly, fleets who purchase the Dodge Grand Caravan minivan can add 13 options not available to retail buyers, including load-leveling suspension with height control on three trim grades (excluding SE Plus); dual-zone front temperature control (on SE); an eight-way power driver's seat; the Radio 430 package that includes CD, DVD, MP3, and HDD radio with a 6.5-inch touchscreen, 28GB hard drive, and audio jack (on SE); the Radio 430N package that adds Garmin navigation to the Radio 430 package (on SE); ParkSense rear park assist (on SE and SXT); a security alarm (on SE); the Mobility Prep Group that deletes the second-row seat on three trims (excluding SE Plus); Mobility Prep Group with load leveling on three trims (excluding SE Plus); Rear Park Assist with an electronic vehicle information center, leather-wrapped steering wheel, and ParkSense rear park assist system (on SXT); and the Smoker's Group that includes a cigar lighter and front and rear ashtrays. Fiat Chrysler offers law enforcement versions of several of its most popular vehicles, including the Dodge Charger Pursuit, Dodge Durango Special Service, and Ram 1500 Special Service. These vehicles have been modified for police use and differ from the retail versions. FCA also offers a prisoner transport version of its Ram ProMaster van under a partnership with Havis. View the FCA's fleet ordering guide here. George Survant (left), the 2016 Professional Fleet Manager of the Year, presents a $5,000 scholarship check provided by AFLA to Scott Kelley (right), Ph.D., associate dean for Undergraduate Affairs at the University of Kentucky. Automotive Fleet s 2016 Professional Fleet Manager of the Year George Survant, senior fleet director at Charter Communications, recently presented a $5,000 scholarship check donated by the Automotive Fleet & Leasing Association (AFLA) to Scott Kelley, Ph.D., associate dean for Undergraduate Affairs at the University of Kentucky. The donation will be used for general scholarship support for undergraduate business students at the Gatton College of Business and Economics, according to Randy Pratt, senior director, office of Development and Alumni Relations, Gatton College of Business and Economics at the University of Kentucky. Most of our undergraduates have unmet financial need that we cant cover. This gift is critically important to filling that gap of unmet need, said Pratt. The scholarship was provided by AFLA, which co-sponsors the annual AF Fleet Manager of the Year award with Wheels Inc. As part of its co-sponsorship, AFLA provides the Fleet Manager of the Year Award winners a $5,000 scholarship to bestow upon the business school of their choice. The AF Professional Fleet Manager of the Year Award was created by Automotive Fleet to recognize an experienced and proficient fleet manager who has demonstrated special business acumen in developing and executing key management policies in all areas. Nominees of the honor must be full-time commercial fleet managers and control a company-owned or leased fleet in excess of 100 cars and light trucks combined. Photo of Cox Automotive President Sandy Schwartz and Linda Silverstein, general manager of remarketing and rental operations for Ford Motor Co. courtesy of Jennifer Sheran, Cox Automotive. Cox Automotive has awarded Linda Silverstein, general manager of remarketing and rental operations for Ford Motor Co., as this years Barbara Cox Automotive Woman of the Year. The honor is awarded to women who demonstrate business leadership and community advocacy, as well as a commitment to advancing the automotive industry, according to Cox Automotive. Cox Automotive President Sandy Schwartz presented the 12th annual award during the Northwood University Dealer Education Award annual breakfast on Jan. 28 at the National Automobile Dealers Association Convention and Expo. Linda is exactly the type of professional the automotive industry needs more of, said Schwartz. By sharing her experiences through mentoring, she is helping develop future leaders. This award is named after the late Barbara Cox, one of our owners and the mother of Jim Kennedy, our chairman. Linda shares many of the same qualities and all of the values that we admire in Mrs. Cox. Linda is open, honest and direct as well as knowledgeable and sincere, all qualities that you need to succeed in this business." Silverstein has been responsible for Ford Motor Co. vehicle remarketing since 2002. She has also been responsible rental operations since 2007. Silverstein joined the Ford Motor Co. in 1982 as an analyst in Ford Division's Detroit District Sales Office. Additionally, Linda was inducted into the National Auto Auction Association Hall of Fame in 2009, and was also recognized as 2010 Consignor of the Year and was honored as a Warren Young Fellow. Cox Automotives genuine commitment to supporting woman in a traditionally male-dominated industry both inside the company and in the industry at large is very powerful. said Silverstein. I am honored to be the recipient of The Barbara Cox Automotive Women of the Year award. I am thankful for all of my mentors along the way that gave me the advice and support to succeed in this great industry. Advantage Rent A Car (AEZ), operator of the Advantage and E-Z Rent-A-Car, and TravelTab, a provider of travel convenience products and technology, have announced the launch of a program to rent child strollers. The rental strollers will be available at Advantages locations at the Miami, Fort Lauderdale, and Orlando airports beginning Feb. 7. Advantage and TravelTab will offer families traveling with young children an alternative to the hassle of flying with their own child stroller or the inconvenience of waiting to rent one at a theme park, according to Advantage. In the coming weeks, customers can reserve a TravelTab Kids stroller when making their rental reservation on Advantage.com. Rental cost for the strollers is $12.99 per day. We are excited to partner with TravelTab and be able to offer our customers more options to enhance their rental car experience, said Scott Davido, president of AEZ. As a leader in this category, TravelTab is a clear choice and partner. "We're thrilled to partner with Advantage to launch our new TravelTab Kids product line, said Dave Schmeltz, president of TravelTab. Our strollers are customized for the family traveler offering all the safety and durability parents demand, plus the comfort their children need. We designed them to fit into the trunk of a rental car with luggage, something thats not so easy with standard strollers." An investigation of the California egg producer's facilities revealed birds locked in cramped, overcrowded cages in which they could not fully spread their wings. Decaying corpses lay in cages next to live birds laying eggs for human consumption. Photo by The HSUS 8.2K shares Eight years after voters approved the landmark ballot initiative, and two years after the law took effect, a law enforcement agency today brought criminal charges against a California egg producer, Hohberg Poultry Ranch, in southern California, with 39 counts of violating Prop 2 and 16 other counts of violating the state anti-cruelty code. Specifically, the case was brought by the San Bernardino District Attorney Michael Ramos, who has a unit devoted exclusively to animal cruelty crimes. Ramos has a proud record of pathbreaking enforcement of animal cruelty laws. In fact, he may be responsible for the most famous prosecution of animal cruelty ever. In 2008, Ramos brought charges against slaughterhouse employees after HSUS investigators documented cattle being dragged by chains and pushed by bulldozers into the kill area. Their prosecution of key parties, along with the HSUS investigation, led to the largest meat recall in American history more than 143 million pounds. It also led to President Obama barring downer cows in the American food supply. Now, more than eight years after that case, the San Bernardino district attorney has conducted the first enforcement action under the terms of Prop 2 which voters approved just months after our Hallmark/Westland investigation cast doubt on the credibility of humane assurances offered up by the meat industry. Prop 2 was the landmark measure that banned extreme confinement of veal calves, breeding sows, and laying hens. Its passage led to a re-examination of the way hens are raised in the United States, triggering a national movement that has resulted in more than 200 of the nations biggest food sellers from McDonalds to Walmart to IHOP pledging over time to sell only eggs from hens free of cages. In Massachusetts, voters in November approved a ballot measure, with a 78 percent yes vote, to ban cage confinement production in the state and to forbid by 2022 the sale of eggs that come from farms that confine animals in cages. It all started in California with Prop 2, and that electoral outcome reverberated throughout the agribusiness industry, legislatures, and the corporate food sector. But on the ground, its been frustrating to see egg producers flout the standards. As I wrote in 2009, both sides were clear during the Prop 2 debate that the outcome of the measures passage would be a cage-free egg industry. But some egg producers changed their tune after the election, claiming they could still keep their birds in cramped cages. Their litigation efforts failed time and again, but they eventually got the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) to promulgate regulations unrelated to Prop 2 that attempted to allow cage confinement, albeit with larger space requirements. The problem for them is that the egg producers must comply both with the CDFA rules and the higher standard of Prop 2. In this case, the evidence is clear that the defendant was confining hens in a manner that is nowhere near compliant with Prop 2. Other egg producers are keeping birds in larger cages, but The HSUS and other proponents of Prop 2 were quite clear that these cages also violate Prop 2. In fact, the agriculture industry long argued that Prop 2 was a de facto cage-free requirement, and new outlets covering Prop 2 did the same. Ramoss announcement of charges today should reverberate throughout the California egg industry. And its my hope it causes all farmers in the state to get all of the birds out of cages, which would both meet Prop 2s standards as well as meet market demands. Indeed, thats the way things are moving, especially so because so many major food retailers have publicly pledged to move toward cage-free. Theres also been something of a building boom for cage-free in the state, and that includes one major Arizona producer who has committed to building cage-free facilities for as many as 10 million birds in the Central Valley of California. With the marketplace moving so decisively toward cage-free, theres really no debate about the future of egg production in California or any other state. Todays action reminds egg companies that the law must speak, and with a unit of the San Bernardino District Attorneys office devoted exclusively to animal cruelty crimes, thats exactly what happened today. When two hikers recovered debris from the 1985 crash site of Eastern Airlines Flight 980 in Bolivia last year, including some recording tapes, the find raised hopes that a cause for the 727 crash might finally be identified but the NTSB said on Tuesday its investigators have determined the materials do not contain any [useful] data. Some of the metal parts that were recovered were consistent with parts related to the flight data recorder pressurized container assembly, the NTSB said, and one metal piece was identified as a cockpit voice recorder rack. However, the magnetic tapes that were recovered were not from a cockpit voice recorder or flight data recorder. The materials provided to the NTSB consisted of several metal fragments, one damaged spool of magnetic tape and two additional off-spool sections of magnetic tape. The magnetic tape on the spool was three-quarter-inch U-Matic videotape, and NTSB staffers found it contained an 18-minute recording of the Trial by Treehouse episode of the 1960s TV series I Spy, dubbed in Spanish. The tape segments were not the quarter-inch-wide tape that would have been used in a CVR or FDR at the time. The materials were examined in the NTSBs recorder laboratory at its headquarters in Washington, D.C., following a request by the General Directorate of Civil Aviation of Bolivia. 7 February 2017 10:08 (UTC+04:00) Over the past 24 hours, Armenias armed forces have 22 times violated the ceasefire in various directions along the line of contact between Azerbaijani and Armenian troops, the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry reported on February 7. The Armenian army was using large-caliber machine guns. The Azerbaijani army positions located in Gaymagli village and on nameless heights of Azerbaijans Gazakh district underwent fire from the Armenian army positions located in the Barekamavan, Shavarshavan villages of the Noyemberyan district and on nameless heights of the Ijevan district of Armenia. The Azerbaijani army positions located in the Aghbulag and Munjuglu villages of Azerbaijans Tovuz district were also shelled from the Armenian army positions located in the Chinari village and on nameless heights of the Berd district of Armenia. Moreover, the Azerbaijani army positions underwent fire from the Armenian army positions located near the Armenian-occupied Chilaburt village of the Tartar district, Mehdili village of the Jabrayil district, as well as from the positions located on nameless heights of the Goranboy, Tartar, Fuzuli and Khojavand districts of Azerbaijan. The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts. The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 7 February 2017 15:20 (UTC+04:00) By Rashid Shirinov The Armenian authorities reports about the incredible growth of the countrys exports have confused economists and ordinary citizens of this poor country. They were surprised to find out that Armenia exports goods that it did not produce. Union of Informed Citizens NGO has revealed that the export from Armenia to the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) made up approximately $392 million in 2016, thereby increasing by half as compared to 2015. The studies of the commodity structure of exports show that growth in exports has been registered due to products which Armenia itself imports and then re-exports. This was the real reason of high figures in the 2016 exports statistics. In detail, in January-September 2016, the export of tomatoes from Armenia allegedly increased by more than twenty times, the export of cheese and cottage cheese rose by 450 percent, and the export of caviar and fish increased threefold. Moreover, the export of various vegetables rose by more than 580 percent. However, in contrast to these strong figures, the production growth in food industry of Armenia grew by only 2.6 percent, and the yield even fell in 2016, by nearly 12 percent. Another surprising moment in the reports of the Armenian National Statistics Agency is $21 million-increase in exports of fabrics, materials, knit, men's and women's clothing. The export growth in some of these areas reached even 960 percent. In contrast to this, the textile production in Armenia in 2016 decreased by 4.8 percent. Moreover, the export of vaccines increased by 9.6 times, clay 8.3 times, heating systems, parts of air conditioners, remote control systems and other equipment rose in 3.6 times. However, Armenia does not manufacture such goods. Surprisingly, the country recorded decrease in traditional exports to Russia of such Armenian products as apricots, pears, fruit juices, beer, some vegetables and others. In particular, the export of apricots, cherries and pears fell by 36 percent, the export of canned vegetables declined by 23.6 percent and the export of various medicines fell by 20 percent. These data make it obvious that 70 percent increase in exports is not the result of strengthening of Armenias trade positions and development of Armenian production. Rather, it is the result of simple re-exports of the imported products. The Armenian officials just tried to create the illusion of growth, as these indicators do not have anything to do with the Armenian economy. Neither does it have anything to do with the economic development in Armenia. --- Rashid Shirinov is AzerNews staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @RashidShirinov Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 7 February 2017 14:37 (UTC+04:00) By Laman Ismayilova Azerbaijans Foreign Ministry and the State Committee for Affairs of Refugees and IDPs have jointly organized a trip for representatives of foreign media outlets to the Jojug Marjanli village of the Jabrayil region. The trip is attended by a group of nearly 30 people, including the representatives of Associated Press, Reuters news agencies, Turkish TRT channel, Anadolu news agency, Iranian media outlets operating in Azerbaijan, Russian press agencies, RIA Novosti, Interfax, Azertac reported. The media representatives will view the demining work underway in Jojug Marjanli and get information about the work done and planned activities. In late January 24, President Ilham Aliyev ordered to restore Jojug Marjanli village in Jabrayil region of Azerbaijan, which was liberated from the Armenian occupation in April 2016 as a result of a successful counter-attack of the Azerbaijani Army. Under the order, 4 million manats ($2.05 million) were allocated from the President`s 2017 Contingency Fund to the State Committee on Deals of Refugees and IDPs for the construction of 50 private houses, a school building and relevant infrastructure at the first stage. More than 190 families out of 400 families, who once lived in the village, have already expressed desire to return to their homeland. Work is underway on identification and assessment of the old property in the village, while ANAMA carries out operation on mine clearing. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 7 February 2017 10:45 (UTC+04:00) By Laman Ismayilova The launch of Azerbaijani trade representation in Russia will emphasize the strategic level of the Baku-Moscow partnership, said Eldar Tlyabichev, the Trade Representative of the Russian Federation in Azerbaijan while commenting the opening of the 1st Azerbaijani trade representation. We are very happy that Azerbaijans first trade representation will be opened in Russia, he told Azertac, noting that this fact itself is an indicator that we have steady trade and economic relations. Ruslan Aliyev, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Ateshgah Insurance Group, has been appointed a trade representative of Azerbaijan to Russia on February 6. Russia ranks the second among the countrys foreign trade partners. Tlyabichev further said that the progress of non-oil sector and increase of export in non-raw sector are one of the main priorities of Azerbaijani state. We see how Azerbaijani officials are making efforts to solve this problem. The launch of Azerbaijani representation in foreign countries will of course be a main tool for exporting Azerbaijani products and services to the international markets, he said. Tlyabichev, speaking about establishment of Russian trade offices, said that it has a history of a century.The geography of this representatives are covering all the continents. Currently Russian trade representatives are operating in 55 countries. It passed ten years since the launch of the Russian trade representation in Azerbaijan. According to the statistics for the beginning of 2016, Russian trade representations have realized projects worth nearly $3 billion, he added. The official voiced belief that the establishment of trade representations will play a significant role in increase of the exports volumes, expanding sales geography of Azerbaijani products. Azerbaijan will create conditions for improving its progress of non-raw sector, he added President Ilham Aliyev signed a relevant decree on January 26, and endorsed the economy minister to appoint trade representatives to the countrys diplomatic missions abroad. Trade representatives will take measures to expand Azerbaijan`s economic and trade relations with foreign countries, protect economic interests of Azerbaijan, increase export of Azerbaijani goods and services, promote Azerbaijans business environment and investment opportunities. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 7 February 2017 11:31 (UTC+04:00) By Nigar Abbasova Being oriented on export-led economy, Azerbaijan continues to expand its foreign trade map. An export mission of Azerbaijani entrepreneurs, comprising representatives of some nine companies is currently in Kabul, Afghanistan. The companies are engaged in such spheres as production of fruit and vegetables, mineral water, fruit juice, sugar and confectionery products, cotton, as well as chemical and other industrial products. During the visit, representatives of Export and Investment Promotion Foundation (AZPROMO) held a meeting with the members of Afghanistan Chamber of Commerce and Industries. AZPROMO Vice-President Yusif Abdullayev gave an insight into economy of Azerbaijan, ongoing reforms and development of the non-oil sector. Besides, the sides signed a MoU concerning cooperation between the two institutions. The mission to Afghanistan will last till February 8. Trade turnover between Azerbaijan and Afghanistan was $23.47 million in the first half of 2016, according to Azerbaijans State Customs Committee, and the entire amount accounted for the export of Azerbaijani goods to Afghanistan. Organizing export missions to foreign countries to explore the markets and marketing activities stands among the promotional mechanisms required for increasing awareness about the local production. Azerbaijan is sending trade missions to various countries since November 2016 to increase its exports. Only 10 export missions may be held within a year, while exporters participating in missions are freely provided with accommodation, transport and translation services. The next mission (to Pakistan) is scheduled for February 9-11. Last year Azerbaijan exported agriculture production worth $426 million, recording an increase of $73 million or 20.7 percent compared to the figure of 2015. -- Nigar Abbasova is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @nigyar_abbasova Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 7 February 2017 13:32 (UTC+04:00) By Nigar Abbasova Azerbaijan and Pakistan, the two strategic partners, are keen to expand their cooperation and achieve strong economic partnership. The two countries have many spheres for cooperation that are of mutual interest for both, while the priority areas are policy, economy, defense and security, trade, energy, tourism and humanitarian sphere. Pakistani Ambassador to Azerbaijan Saeed Khan Mohmand told reporters in Baku on February 6 that the relations between the states are developing rapidly, mentioning that successful cooperation is confirmed by the frequent high-level visits from both sides. The diplomat expressed satisfaction with the good state of relations between the two countries, especially at the political level, emphasizing that the countries will continue to strengthen cooperation in the military and technical sphere. Freight transportation The envoy said that the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, which is now being developed, can be advantageous for Azerbaijan as well, reminding that that the corridor will cut the distance of cargo transportation by 14,000 kilometers. Being funded by China the corridor is expected to allow to transport some 300-400 million tons of cargo via the corridor. The project envisages linking of the Pakistani southwestern port city of Gwadar with China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region through a wide network of roads and railways. The project will become an alternative to transportation via the Strait of Malacca. Energy Pakistan is also poised to implement oil and gas imports from Azerbaijan. Pakistani Foreign Ministry earlier gave the go-ahead to the signing of a relevant agreement with Azerbaijan, while the move is expected to lessen energy dependence of Pakistan on Middle Eastern countries. Currently, Pakistan is importing oil from Gulf Arab countries including the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, while it is purchasing gas from Qatar. Within the sixth session of Pakistan-Azerbaijan Joint Economic Commission held in April 2016, the sides agreed to promote investment opportunities in the energy sector focusing on supply of crude, refined oil products, LPG and LNG. Trade and economy The development of trade and economic cooperation between the countries stands in the attentional spotlight. Azerbaijani Ambassador to Pakistan Ali Alizada told Trend that the countries intend to develop the economic cooperation, mentioning such spheres as defense industry, agriculture, textile industry, pharmaceutical industry and the field of medical equipment, trade of tinned products, energy and tourism, use of transport corridors and infrastructure projects, and others. The envoy said that the governments of Azerbaijan and Pakistan are considering the introduction of a system of free trade. Pakistan has earlier offered Azerbaijan to sign a free trade agreement. The issue was on agenda during the visit of Pakistans Commerce Minister Khurram Dastgir Khan in Azerbaijan in October 2016. Preparation of a draft free trade agreement and its negotiation is a process that requires a lot of time. The agreement must satisfy both sides, meet trading interests and take into account the priorities, Alizade said. The diplomat also highlighted reforms in customs (improvement of the single window principle, introduction of the green corridor regime), as well as simplification of visa procedures, mentioning that these reforms encouraged Pakistans business community to cooperate with Azerbaijan. Also, Azerbaijan will send a trade mission to Pakistan in February to increase the awareness about its local production. Besides, several reciprocal visits of representatives of governments and business circles of the two countries are planned to be held in the short run. Trade turnover between Azerbaijan and Pakistan amounted to $7.3 million in 2016, according to Azerbaijans State Customs Committee. Pakistan has already developed a 5-year trade plan on the increase of the export volume to Azerbaijan up to $500 million. Attraction of investment Alizade went on to say that the main advantages of Azerbaijan for the attraction of investments is its growing economy, relevant business environment and a high level of competition. He mentioned that the Azerbaijani Embassy in Pakistan provides local businessmen as well as public and private enterprises with information about technology parks and industrial districts existing in Azerbaijan, mentioning that Pakistani businessmen consider investing such facilities. He emphasized that Pakistani businessmen have big opportunities to benefit from participation in these projects. A number of technology parks and industrial districts have already been created in Azerbaijan. They offer favorable conditions for business, tax exemption, simplified procedures for entrepreneurial activity and attracting foreign investment. Work is currently underway in Azerbaijan to create plants and enterprises in the Sumgayit Chemical Industrial Park, Balakhani, Garadagh, Mingachevir and Pirallahi industrial parks, Mingachevir High Tech Park, Sumgayit Technologies Park, as well as in Neftchala and Masalli industrial districts. Residents of Azerbaijans industrial parks are exempt from real estate, land, profit taxes, as well as value-added tax on import of equipment for a period of seven years. Tourism Alizade said that there are big prospects for the cooperation in the sphere of tourism, emphasizing the importance of the ASAN visa system, which provides for simplified visa procedures for foreign citizens. The participation of Pakistans tourism companies in exhibitions held in Baku, the exchange of information and experience, provision of more information on tourism opportunities of the two countries are under permanent attention," said Alizada. Azerbaijani embassy regularly holds presentations on the countrys tourism opportunities, acquaints travel agencies and nationals of Pakistan with tourism infrastructure, tourism products, by attracting them in every possible way to visit Azerbaijan. The envoy is confident that the promotion of Azerbaijans tourism opportunities, simplification of visa procedures via ASAN Visa system will increase tourist flow from Pakistan. Azerbaijan simplified the visa regime and starting from January 10, 2017, foreign citizens are able to register visas for entry into Azerbaijan via ASAN Visa system within three days. A unique attribute of Azerbaijan-Pakistan bilateral relations is strong support that both countries extend to each other on issues of mutual interest and international arena. Pakistan was among the first countries that recognized the independence of Azerbaijan in October 1991 -- Nigar Abbasova is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @nigyar_abbasova Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 7 February 2017 14:08 (UTC+04:00) By Nigar Abbasova The Financial Ombudsman Service is expected to appear in Azerbaijan to promote stable and constructive resolution of a dispute between customers and providers of financial services. Executive director of Azerbaijans Banks Association Yunus Abdulov said that a clause on activities of ombudsman has already been approved, while the decision was taken during the recent general meeting of the institution. Following the approval of a regulation that is expected to take place within two months, an ombudsman will get a right to consider disputes between banks and clients. The institution will be entitled to provide a quick and efficient resolution to disputes without going to court. The financial ombudsman is expected to consider issues the cost of which do not exceed some $2,000. The limit is linked to the fact that the resolution of claims worth insignificant amount by going to court is not advantageous, as court services are more expensive than the benefit from satisfaction of the lawsuit itself. However, the right of the customer or the bank to seek resolution of the dispute in court will not be restricted. Also, customers will be able to raise claims only against banks that are signatories of the declaration on the consideration of disputes by the ombudsman. The types of disputes that can not be considered by the ombudsman include matters that have already been dealt with by a court or is under consideration of a court by the time of appeal, as well as some matters which are the subjects of legal proceedings. -- Nigar Abbasova is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @nigyar_abbasova Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 7 February 2017 14:21 (UTC+04:00) By Rashid Shirinov Azerbaijan and Ukraine have agreed to prohibit the import of goods produced in the occupied territories of the two countries, without the approval of the authorities. Ukrainian Ambassador to Azerbaijan Alexander Mishchenko made the remark while talking to reporters on February 6, Report.az said. During the visit of Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko to Baku in July 2016, the two presidents gave instructions to the heads of customs agencies to meet and discuss this issue, the ambassador said. Following the initial consent, the customs authorities developed a mechanism whereby goods from the occupied territories can be supplied only if they are licensed by the central authorities. Rules and circulars came into effect immediately after the presidents gave instructions. There is no need to sign any intergovernmental agreement, the ambassador said. The ambassador further reminded that Baku and Kiev agreed on supply of 10 cargo aircraft An-178. "The assembly of the aircraft An-178 in Azerbaijan is scheduled to begin in 2018-2019," he said. Mishchenko added that the Ukrainian side prepares two aircrafts for sale, but the remaining eight planes will be assembled in Azerbaijan. There are constant consultations between Deputy Secretary of the Ukrainian National Security and Defense Council Oleg Gladkovsky and President of Azerbaijan Airlines (AZAL) Jahangir Asgarov, he added. The ambassador said that AZAL is already building modules and place where the assembly process will be held. Azerbaijan and Ukraine enjoy sustainable prospects of bilateral relations in political, economic, energy, transport and humanitarian fields. The trade turnover between Azerbaijan and Ukraine was $234.7 million in the first nine months of 2016. A total of $201.8 million of them were the imports from Ukraine to Azerbaijan, according to Azerbaijans State Customs Committee. In 2016, President Petro Poroshenko visited Azerbaijan, and a number of agreements were signed during the visit. Additionally, the presidents discussed implementation of joint projects in energy, transport and agricultural spheres. --- Rashid Shirinov is AzerNews staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @RashidShirinov Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 7 February 2017 10:01 (UTC+04:00) By Amina Nazarli Azerbaijan has accelerated the integration of open databases to the Open Government portal. The head of Internal Control and Audit Department at the Azerbaijani Communications and High Technologies Ministry, Tahir Mammadov, announced about this on February 7, Trend said. Mammadov noted that cooperation and negotiations with the state departments in this direction are carried out on a regular basis and posting of their open databases to the portal is particularly important for the development of the information society. The presence of open databases of the state structures will give impetus to the development of the ICT sector, emergence of new electronic services, increase the number of mobile applications and create facilities for electronic interaction between the government agencies and public. Thats why now the main goal is to ensure that government agencies intensify and activate work on the placement of their public databases to the "Open Government portal, he said. Through the portal data.gov.az, citizens and business structures can easily find data bases created by public authorities and use them while developing the individual directional services. The portal, which was integrated into the E -Government portal, presents a collection of governmental authorities, including data for access to information and additional resources. The state electronic government portal, www.e-gov.az, which combines all the government agencies, was launched in 2012. In accordance with the existing legislation, the presented open data will be regularly updated and refined. Currently, the portal provides 25 services of six agencies including Ministries of Communications and High Technologies, Justice, Health, Culture and Tourism as well as the State Customs Committee and Azersu OJSC, which can be transferred to the mobile platform. The key goal of the Open Government portal is to create opportunities to participate in government management through the use of information and creation of their web-based and mobile accessories. In addition, it provides for the creation of opportunities for easy access to open government information, and creation of added value, promotion of innovative ideas, simplification of analysis and research, improvement of transparency in the work of the government, as well as effectiveness and efficiency in the work of public bodies, etc. ICT is considered to be one of the crucial spheres for the further development of the economy and an integral part of the economic and political reforms which are currently implemented in Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan, which is a regional leader in the ICT sector, intends to expand its international cooperation to further develop the sector. The income obtained in the sector in Azerbaijan is projected to hit $9 billion by 2020. -- Amina Nazarli is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @amina_nazarli Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 7 February 2017 18:14 (UTC+04:00) By Nigar Abbasova The International Bank of Azerbaijan (IBA), the largest bank and financial services group in the country, plans to attract international institutions in the process of its privatization. Head of IBAs Management Board Khalid Ahadov said that the participation of such financial organizations as the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the European Bank of Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the Asian Development Bank (ADB), is deemed to be very important. We may also give preference to private foreign institutions, which are able to introduce certain changes and give a new breath to the IBA. Besides, local investors may be attracted by means of placing assets on the domestic securities market, he told Reuters on February 7. In July 2015, President Ilham Aliyev signed a decree on the measures for rehabilitation related to the preparations for privatizing the state-owned shares of the IBA. The shortcomings in the management, investment and loan policy of the IBA, as well as financing of less efficient, risky investment projects worsened the Bank's financial state, caused increase in the share of distressed assets and reduced its liquidity. Talking about measures taken for restructuring the Bank, Ahadov said that the work covers three main directions, in particular, transfer of troubled assets to Aqrarcredit (the measure provided the bank with liquidity of some 10 billion manats ($5.23 bilion)), placement of a deposit worth some $1 billion by SOFAZ, as well as increase of a state share in the authorized capital. The Finance Ministry earlier increased the state share in the Bank from 54.96 to 76.73 percent. Ahadov went on saying that one of the main tasks is to transfer a remaining part of bad assets to Aqrarcredit, mentioning that the work is currently underway on the definition of a sum of the next tranche, which will be allocated for the bank. The next tranche will amount to nearly $3 billion, according to preliminary estimates. The financial means will allow the Bank to provide for a return of reserves worth some 500 million manats ($ 261.6) to the capital. The tranche is expected to be implemented in the first quarter of 2017, he said. The International Bank of Azerbaijan was founded in January 1992. Some 40 percent of Azerbaijani banking sector's assets account for the share of the IBA. -- Nigar Abbasova is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @nigyar_abbasova Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 7 February 2017 12:25 (UTC+04:00) By Laman Ismayilova A solo exhibition by Azerbaijani artist Irina Eldarova will today open its doors at the National Art Museum. Entitled "The Male=Brand ", the expo will feature more than 40 works of the artist, Azertac reported. The extraordinary exhibition will run until February 22. Irina Eldarova is an artist, illustrator, and graduate of Saint-Petersburg State Academy named after Repin and Moscow State Institute named after V. I. Surikov. Her creative work include not only painting and graphic designs, but also the development of large-scale publishing projects in Azerbaijan, Russia, Kazakhstan, and Uzbekistan. The artist received the prize for Best Media Project, granted by the Kazakhstan Journalists Union, in 2007. Eldarova is also known as the author of the monumental marble panel fixed at Khalglar Dostlugu metro station in Baku. She also illustrated "A Proud Violin" in 2012, a children's book that received very warm feedbacks from art critics in the UK. Eldarova participated in major international projects, representing contemporary Azerbaijani art in the world. Among them is the "Fly to Baku" project, organized by the Heydar Aliyev Foundation, showcased in London, Paris, Berlin and Rome, and the "Home, Sweet Home" exhibition, held in 2013 at the Azerbaijani Culture Center in Paris. Her works can be found in the Tretyakovskaya Gallery (Moscow), Academy of Arts of the Soviet Union, the Modern Art Museum (Baku), the Arts Museum named after Mustafayev, and the Baku Arts Center, and are part of many private collections. --- Laman Ismayilova is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Lam_Ismayilova Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 7 February 2017 10:56 (UTC+04:00) By Rashid Shirinov The settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict will be discussed during the visit of Iranian President Hassan Rouhani to Moscow. This was announced by Russian Ambassador to Iran Levan Dzhagaryan in an interview with RIA Novosti on February 6. Rouhani's visit is scheduled to take place in late March. He will discuss with the Russian leadership the highlights of bilateral relations in political, trade and economic spheres. In addition, the focus of attention will cover the interaction on the most sensitive issues on the regional agenda, such as the situation in Afghanistan, Caspian issue, the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, said the ambassador. He added that the Syrian issue will also be addressed during the talks in Moscow. I think, it will take a significant place in the agenda of the talks, the diplomat said. Speaking of the date of the expected trilateral meeting between the presidents of Azerbaijan, Iran and Russia, Dzhagaryan said that it could be discussed during the visit of the leadership of Azerbaijan to Iran, which is scheduled for early March, as well as during Rouhani's visit to Moscow in late March. Armenia captured Nagorno-Karabakh and seven surrounding regions from Azerbaijan in a war that followed the Soviet breakup in 1991. More than 20,000 Azerbaijanis were killed and nearly 1 million were displaced as a result of the war. Large-scale hostilities ended with a Russia-brokered ceasefire in 1994 but Armenia continued the occupation in defiance of four UN Security Council resolutions calling for immediate and unconditional withdrawal. Peace talks mediated by Russia, France and the U.S. have produced no results so far. --- Rashid Shirinov is AzerNews staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @RashidShirinov Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 7 February 2017 15:34 (UTC+04:00) The OSCE mission has today conducted a monitoring on the line of contact of troops located in Azerbaijan`s Fuzuli region in accordance with the mandate of the Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office. Azerbaijan`s Defense Ministry reported that the monitoring ended without an incident. On the Azerbaijani side, the monitoring was held by Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office Andrzej Kasprzyk and his field assistants Ghenadie Petrica and Peter Svedberg. On the Azerbaijani territories occupied by Armenian troops, the monitoring was carried out by field assistants of the Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office Hristo Hristov, Jiri Aberle and Simon Tiller. Armenia captured Nagorno-Karabakh and seven surrounding regions from Azerbaijan in a war that followed the Soviet breakup in 1991. More than 20,000 Azerbaijanis were killed and nearly 1 million were displaced as a result of the war. Large-scale hostilities ended with a Russia-brokered ceasefire in 1994 but Armenia continued the occupation in defiance of four UN Security Council resolutions calling for immediate and unconditional withdrawal. Peace talks mediated by Russia, France and the U.S. have produced no results so far. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 7 February 2017 15:58 (UTC+04:00) By Rashid Shirinov Blogger Alexander Lapshin, who has illegally visited the occupied Azerbaijani territories and entered into criminal conspiracy with Armenians living in the occupied territories, will be extradited to Baku. The Supreme Court of Belarus has rejected the complaint filed by the bloggers defendant regarding his extradition to Azerbaijan, the Court told Trend on February 7. Lapshin, who owns multiple citizenships, was detained in Minsk on December 14 at the request of Azerbaijan. The blogger was declared an international arrest warrant on charges of illegal visit to Nagorno-Karabakh and the actions against the statehood of Azerbaijan. Deputy prosecutor general of Belarus Alexei Stuk issued a ruling on Lapshins extradition to Azerbaijan in late January 2017. Later, the Minsk City Court upheld this decision. The Supreme Court of Belarus is the last instance Lapshin could appeal to against the ruling of the General Prosecutors Office. Lapshin is accused of violating the international laws and the laws of Azerbaijan on the state border and passports in April 2011 and October 2012. To promote the illegal regime created in the Armenian-occupied Azerbaijani territories, Lapshin presented Nagorno Karabakh as an independent state on his page in the social network. Moreover, he expressed support to the independence of the unrecognized regime on April 6 and June 29, 2016, by calls aimed at violating the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan. Baku has repeatedly warned foreign officials and diplomats of unauthorized visits to its territories that are occupied by Armenia, calling them contradictory to international law. Azerbaijans Foreign Ministry and diplomatic missions pay special attention to the illegal activity in the occupied areas of Azerbaijan. The work is constantly carried out to prevent such illegal actions. Azerbaijan and Armenia for over two decades have been locked in conflict, which emerged over Armenian territorial claims. Since the 1990s war, Armenian armed forces have occupied over 20 percent of Azerbaijan's internationally recognized territory, including Nagorno-Karabakh and seven adjacent regions. The UN Security Council has adopted four resolutions on Armenian withdrawal, but they have not been enforced to this day. --- Rashid Shirinov is AzerNews staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @RashidShirinov Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 7 February 2017 17:52 (UTC+04:00) By Rashid Shirinov The Great Return of Azerbaijanis into their native lands is already underway the recently liberated Jojug Marjanli village in Jabrail region of Azerbaijan is the beginning of this glorious history. This village of Azerbaijan has awaited long for the return of its residents. Now, after 23 years, the village and its houses are destroyed because of fierce fighting. During all these years, the native residents of the village lived with the only dream to return back to this place and believed that this day will eventually come. Jojug Marjanli village is located in Jabrail region of Azerbaijan, in a valley near Araz river. A total of 283 households and 1,075 people were registered at 1,605 hectares of the village before it was occupied. Jojug Marjanli had the districts executive office, a high school, club, library, medical and obstetric post, a post office. The village also had a flour mill, cattle and sheep farms, warehouse and the administrative building of the collective farm. Residents were mainly engaged in viticulture, grain production, livestock and sericulture. It was very dangerous to live in the village before the April battles of 2016. But the situation completely changed after the successful counter-attack of the Azerbaijani Armed Forces. The Azerbaijani army valiantly prevented Armenian provocations in the front line and struck a devastating blow to the enemy for a short time. As a result, the Armenian troops were kicked back. The Azerbaijani troops released 2 hectares of territories from Armenian occupation, retook hills around the village of Talish, as well as Seysulan settlement, and also took over Leletepe hill located in the direction of Fizuli region. After the enemy was expelled from Leletepe hill, it became safe to live in Jojug Marjanli village. Now, all the residents of the liberated village can return to their native land. One of the main tasks after the April clashes was to strengthen the defense of the liberated territories, and to restore houses and households destroyed by the Armenian army. Therefore, on January 24, the President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev ordered to restore Jojug Marjanli village. Under the order, 4 million manats ($2.13 million) were allocated from the President`s 2017 Contingency Fund to the State Committee on Deals of Refugees and IDPs for the construction of 50 private houses, a school building and relevant infrastructure at the first stage. More than 190 families out of 400 families, who once lived in the village, have already expressed desire to return to their homeland. The construction work in the village will begin soon, as first 50 families out of 190 will be settled in this village at the first stage. Work is underway on identification and assessment of the old property in the village, while ANAMA carries out demining operation in the area. Moreover, the Internet Community of Azerbaijan (ICA) will provide free access to the Internet for Jojug Marjanli village, and Azerbaijan's postal operator Azerpoct will open a post office in the village. Azerbaijans state communication operator Aztelekom will restore the telecommunications infrastructure in the village. Moreover, representatives of foreign media outlets accredited in Azerbaijan were acquainted with Jojug Marjanli village on February 7. The visit was organized by the State Committee on Deals of Refugees and IDPs and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in accordance with President Aliyev's order on measures for the reconstruction of Jojug Marjanli village, which was liberated from the Armenian occupation. The group included the representatives of Reuters, Associated Press, Anadolu news agencies, Turkish TV channel TRT, Iranian media outlets functioning in Azerbaijan, Russian news agencies RIA Novosti, Interfax, and others. The group of nearly 30 people got acquainted with the operations to clean the territory of the village from mines, as well as received information on ongoing and planned work. Thus, life returns to the liberated village, and such restoration work will be carried out in every Armenia-occupied settlement after Azerbaijan returns all of them in the foreseeable future. --- Rashid Shirinov is AzerNews staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @RashidShirinov Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 7 February 2017 17:57 (UTC+04:00) By Rashid Shirinov Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev signed a decree on February 7 on posthumously awarding Azerbaijani soldier Chingiz Gurbanov with the title of National Hero of Azerbaijan. The soldier was awarded for his outstanding achievements in the protection of Azerbaijan's territorial integrity and personal bravery shown in a combat mission. On December 29, 2016, a reconnaissance group of the Armenian Armed Forces attempted to violate the Azerbaijan-Armenia state border. The Armenian group found itself in the ambush of the Azerbaijani army while violating the borders and suffered heavy losses. During the fighting, Chingiz Gurbanov went missing. Later, it was clarified that he was killed by the Armenian Armed Forces and his body remained on the territory controlled by the Armenian Armed Forces. After the incident, the Azerbaijani side officially appealed to the Azerbaijani representation of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), OSCE Minsk Group, as well as the Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office Andrzej Kasprzyk in order to return the body. Despite this, the Armenian side for over a month refused to return the body. Eventually, Gurbanovs body was transferred to Azerbaijan on February 5 as a result of the regular measures undertaken by international organizations, and relevant state agencies in accordance with the instructions of President Ilham Aliyev. Chingiz Gurbanov was buried in the Alley of Martyrs in Gusar. --- Rashid Shirinov is AzerNews staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @RashidShirinov Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 7 February 2017 11:57 (UTC+04:00) By Laman Ismayilova A mud volcano that erupted in the suburb of Baku on February 6 was the Otman Bozdag volcano, one of the world's largest mud volcanoes. The Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences (ANAS) announced that two eruptions were recorded in the territory of the Sangachal settlement, Garadagh district on February 6. The first eruption was recorded at 12:20 and the second at 14:18 local time in 31 km north from the Shirvan seismic station of the Republican Seismological Service Center at the ANAS. The first eruption lasted for 3 minutes 23 seconds, and the second eruption lasted 6 minutes. the ANAS told APA. The ANAS reported that the second eruption was of the Otman Bozdag volcano, which last erupted 13 years ago, in 2004. This is the 9th eruption of this mud volcano. "Mud volcanoes," also known as "sedimentary volcanoes" or "gas - oil volcanoes," are close cousins to magmatic volcanoes. These volcanoes can erupt powerfully and hurl flames to great heights, which can reach even several hundred of meters. They spew out millions of cubic meters of hydrocarbon gases and tons of mud, and immediately ignite. Mud volcanoes also exist on the floor of the sea and can form islands and banks that alter the topography and shape of the coastline and even trigger earthquakes. Over a thousand mud volcanoes are known to exist in the world. Fortunately mud volcanoes occur away from populated centers and don't usually result in disastrous consequences. The lava, mud, and liquid spewed by mud volcanoes are used as raw materials for chemical and construction industries, as well as pharmacology. Jeyhun Pashayev, Director of "Group of mud volcanoes of Baku and Absheron peninsula" of the Ecology and Natural Resources Ministry, noted that that the Otman Bozdag volcano is one the world's largest mud volcanoes. To date, it has erupted several times with an interval of many years. The last strong eruption was on October 1, 1965, he told Report.az. Speaking about the threat of the Otman Bozdag volcano re-eruption, Pashayev said that nothing specific can be said yet. A large number of small volcanoes are located around the volcano. We can not say anything specific about the re-eruption of Otmanbozdag, but activation of small volcanoes may happen, he said. The scientist added that there are no settlements and objects near the Otman Bozdag volcano. Azerbaijan is a world leader, not only for the number but also for the activity of its volcanoes. Roughly 350 out of over 1000 mud volcanoes in the world are located here. Azerbaijan's mud volcanoes definitely should be part of any tourist's itinerary. Most are located on Absheron, around Baku. There are 100 near the Gobustan Reserve alone. There are another 200 on the islands of the Baku archipelago and in Shamakhi and Shirvan regions, two hours drive from Baku. Mud volcanoes are one of the visible signs of the presence of oil and gas reserves hidden deep beneath land and sea in the Caspian region. Azerbaijan's rich fields of oil and gas condensate such as Lokbatan, Garadagh, Oil Rocks, and Mishovdag were discovered near mud volcanoes. PHOTO: Azertac --- Laman Ismayilova is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Lam_Ismayilova Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 7 February 2017 11:16 (UTC+04:00) By Trend Azerbaijan is the most likely source of second phase of gas transportation to Europe via the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline (TAP), Ulrike Andres, Commercial and External Affairs Director of the TAP AG told New Europe. However, in line with EU regulation, any shipper who wishes to take part in TAPs open seasons may do so as long as they comply with the requirements for participation, she added. Andres pointed out that the first phase of TAPs 10 billion-cubic-meters capacity is booked on ship or pay. However, there is a minor amount of capacity available for short-term transportation and capacity might be made available on the secondary market, should there be demand from shippers, she added. Earlier, deputy CEO of Russias Gazprom Alexander Medvedev said that the company is discussing the possibility of using Poseidon and TAP to export gas to Europe. Federico Ermoli, Vice-President of Italys Snam company, which is one of TAP shareholders, said that the pipelines capacity can be expanded and used for delivering Russian gas to Europe. Moreover, CEO of Fluxys Pascal De Buck told reporters on the sidelines of the European Gas Conference that this is a very good idea. TAP is a part of the Southern Gas Corridor which is one of the priority energy projects for the EU. TAP project envisages transportation of gas from the Stage 2 of development of Azerbaijan's Shah Deniz gas and condensate field to the EU countries. The pipeline will be connected to the Trans-Anatolian Pipeline (TANAP) on the Turkish-Greek border, run through Greece, Albania and the Adriatic Sea, before coming ashore in Italy's south. TAPs shareholders are: BP (20 percent), State Oil Company of Azerbaijan (20 percent), Snam (20 percent), Fluxys (19 percent), Enagas (16 percent) and Axpo (5 percent). --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 7 February 2017 15:50 (UTC+04:00) By Nigar Abbasova Azerbaijan and Ukraine may consider the issue of expanding the bilateral energy cooperation, said Alexander Mishenko, the Ukrainian Ambassador to Azerbaijan. Mishenko, talking to Trend, emphasized that Azerbaijan has a strategic importance for Ukraine within its plans to find an alternative to Russian gas supplies. The diplomat said that in perspective, Ukraine plans to purchase blue fuel from Azerbaijan. Diversification of energy resources is an issue of national security for Ukraine, he added. The envoy also highlighted activity of Azerbaijans state energy major SOCAR in Ukraine. The company delivered some 136,000 tons of fuel to the country in 2016, recording an increase of 7 percent compared to 2015. Besides, SOCAR Energy Ukraine works to improve the network of petrol filling stations and organize wholesale of petrol and oil products in the territory of Ukraine. The company currently operates some 60 refueling stations across the country. The filling stations are operating under the SOCAR brand in the Kyiv, Odessa, Lviv, Nikolaevsk, Rovensk, Cherkasy, Khmelnytsky and Poltava regions of Ukraine. Mishenko went on saying that a meeting of a working group on energy cooperation between the two countries is scheduled for mid February. The Ukrainian side has already submitted its proposals on date and agenda of the meeting to Azerbaijani side, he said, expressing hope for early holding of the meeting. All attention will be focused on reaching the existing potential of the two countries. Azerbaijan has resources, Ukraine is a good market, and this is important for Azerbaijan, he said. The envoy said that all aspects of deepening the cooperation will be discussed in the upcoming meeting. He mentioned that the countries are working on the implementation of different projects, including resumption of oil supplies to Ukraine, as well as participation of Azerbaijan in the modernization of Ukrainian infrastructure, in particular refineries. Ukraine received the first batch of Azerbaijani Azeri Light oil in the volume of 80,000 tons in late December 2016. The commodity was delivered to the Kremenchug refinery for processing. Ukrtatnafta, operator of the Kremenchug refinery, expects that the total volume of such supplies to reach some 1.3 million tons in 2017. The supplies are realized in line with the agreement on resumption of crude supplies to Ukrainian refineries inked between the presidents of the two countries. Azerbaijans energy giant SOCAR is a supplier of Azeri Light. -- Nigar Abbasova is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @nigyar_abbasova Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz We're coming to a very strange time in the console gaming market, with a new version of the PS4--the PS4 Pro--already on hand and the Xbox Project Scorpio poised for launch. Even Nintendo's bringing out a new console in the Switch, which will destabilize the market even further. That's prompting significant marketing efforts, and PlayStation's may have emerged with the new "Boost Mode" for PS4 Pro.The new PS4 Pro option would actually deliver on a noteworthy proposition: to improve older games' performance without the need for patching or similar measures. Currently, reports note, getting the benefits of extra PS4 Pro hardware requires a little extra programming work in the form of patches. With the new Boost Mode, meanwhile, developers won't have to add these patches any longer as the hardware will be able to augment the presentation.Boost Mode wasn't actually mentioned as part of the recent version 4.5 firmware update--which did, however, offer support for external USB drives , a point that Microsoft has had in place for quite some time--but new word is coming out from those who would know: beta testers. The beta version of Boost Mode has at last report already launched, and screenshots are starting to emerge.Featuring "...improved gameplay, including higher frame rates, for some games that were released before the introduction of PS4 Pro." However, some problems may emerge, as reports also note that users should "turn this off if you experience unexpected behavior during gameplay."This is a significant point that could give Sony a real leg up; improving the performance of games already released would improve the value of the currently-released system. Already there have been some concerns about similar performance for the upcoming Project Scorpio, though some of these have been found unfounded. With this release, meanwhile, PS4 Pro has given itself a little extra value to draw customers in and keep those who have already stepped in from switching to Microsoft.Sony must maintain its lead over Microsoft; it made huge new inroads in the last round of the console wars and it can ill afford to lose these with the Project Scorpio release. Moves like Boost Mode may go a long way to pulling that off. 7 February 2017 10:35 (UTC+04:00) By Kamila Aliyeva Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu may pay an official visit to Moscow next week, Chairman of the Committee on International Affairs of the State Duma of the Russian Federation Leonid Slutsky said. We expect to hold consultation with Mevlut Cavusoglu, whom we know very well as a former President of the PACE, he said at a meeting of the Committee on discussion of the Russian-Turkish treaty on Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Cases and Extradition on February 6, RIA Novosti reported. Slutsky said the sides will have an opportunity to exchange views on this important issue very soon in case the FM visits Moscow. President Putin submitted the agreement between the Russian Federation and Turkey on Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Cases and Extradition, signed in Ankara on December 1, 2014, to the State Duma for ratification in 2015. Earlier it was reported that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan plans to visit Russia in early spring and attend the meeting of the Russian-Turkish High-Level Cooperation Council. The previous meeting of the Council was held in December 2014. In late 2015, relations between Russia and NATO member Turkey deteriorated after Turkish forces downed a Russian warplane and Moscow imposed economic restrictions against Turkey. In June 2016, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan issued a formal apology to the leader of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin, which was accepted. Russia and Turkey have begun the process of restoration of bilateral relations. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 7 February 2017 15:48 (UTC+04:00) By Kamila Aliyeva Moscow believes that the revision of the nuclear deal with Iran would be too risky. Russia's deputy foreign minister Sergei Ryabkov said on February 6 it would be too risky for the United States to try to reopen a nuclear deal with Iran, the Interfax news agency reported. Don't try to fix what is not broken, Ryabkov was quoted as saying in an interview with the agency. Ryabkov, commenting on Washingtons statements about Iran and the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), noted that he personally doesnt believe that the new U.S. administration has an intention to completely withdraw from the agreement and offer in return something completely new, that is to offer all partners to start with a clean slate. The diplomat said that an attempt to rewrite the agreement means opening a Pandora's Box. Earlier, the Kremlin said it did not agree with U.S. President Donald Trump's assessment of Iran as the number one terrorist state and wanted to deepen what it described as already good ties with Tehran. The Kremlin was responding to comments Trump made to Fox News in an interview aired at the weekend in which he complained that Iran had total disregard for the United States. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in a conference call with reporters that Moscow saw things differently. Russia has friendly partner-like relations with Iran, we cooperate on a wide range of issues, value our trade ties, and hope to develop them further, said Peskov. During his presidential campaign, Trump said he believes that the nuclear agreement with Iran signed by the Obama administration is the worst deal ever negotiated, and in case of his election as a head of the White House, he will reconsider it. The negotiations on the Iranian nuclear issue began in 2004, as Western nations were accusing Tehran of developing a "secret military nuclear program. Since 2006, negotiations with Iran were led by the "six" of international mediators (the five permanent UN Security Council members and Germany). A number of resolutions were adopted requiring Iran to stop enriching uranium with nuclear proliferation purposes. These resolutions were progressively accompanied by restrictive measures to persuade Iran to comply. In 2006-2010 the United Nations, the United States, and the European Union implemented several packages of sanctions against Iran. Lengthy negotiations resulted in the adoption of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), the fulfillment of which could completely remove previously lifted economic and financial sanctions imposed by the UN Security Council, the United States, and the European Union. The long-anticipated deal was achieved in Vienna on July 14, 2015, that committed Iran not to produce weapons-grade plutonium for 15 years, to keep no more than 300 kg of enriched uranium to 3.67 percent, and to convert nuclear facilities and use them exclusively for peaceful purposes. Meanwhile, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has forecast that his country would have difficult days during Trumps term in office. Elaborating on concerns over Trumps approach to Irans nuclear, Zarif said the JCPOA is not a bilateral accord between Iran and the US, adding the nuclear accord has been implemented. Saying that Trump may make efforts to renegotiate the nuclear deal, he added that Iran alongside with other signatories of the accord is against reexamining the JCPOA. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 7 February 2017 16:21 (UTC+04:00) By Trend Ashgabat hosted a meeting with Bangladeshs Ambassador to Turkmenistan (with a residence in Tehran) Majibur Rahman Bhuiyan, the Turkmen Foreign Ministry reported on February 7. The sides noted their interest in development of cooperation in the areas of electricity, transportation and petrochemical sphere. The meeting participants also noted that the two countries have opportunities to intensify relations in the spheres of agriculture and textile industry. In 2017, Turkmenistan and Bangladesh mark the 25th anniversary of establishment of the two countries diplomatic relations. Bangladesh, as it was reported earlier, is studying opportunities to join the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) gas pipeline project, which is being developed by the Asian Development Bank (ADB). Turkmenistans biggest field Galkynysh will be the raw materials base for the TAPI project, the implementation of which started in December 2015. Turkmen gas will help to meet the growing energy consumption in India and Pakistan, where the demand may increase by twofold until 2030. The remaining part will help to eliminate the permanent deficit of energy resources in the transit country, Afghanistan. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 7 February 2017 14:57 (UTC+04:00) By Laman Ismayilova GoMap online navigation system has developed a map and database of mosques located in Azerbaijan. The map, which was created for the website of the Caucasian Muslims Office, shows the exact addresses of the mosques officially registered and operating in Azerbaijan. The interactive map is available on Mosques section on the CMO official website (www.qafqazislam.com). Trend.Az reported. The system of buses and subways close to these mosques is also available on the map. The link is designed for smartphones that support Android and iOS operating systems. Soon, it will also be available for Windows operating systems. Azerbaijan enjoys a tolerant atmosphere for different nations and religions. The national policy is defined on the principles of tolerance and coexistence of various nationalities, ethnic groups and religious minorities. Many religious confessions co-exist there. There are 1,834 mosques, 12 churches and 6 synagogues functioning in Azerbaijan. The government has created all conditions for religious worship in the country. --- Laman Ismayilova is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Lam_Ismayilova Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 10 THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW: Todays guide to the obscure, the possibly relevant and things in between Special thanks to Matt Hunt of Sehlke Consulting for assistance with this column. Where is the common ground shared by operations and accounting professionals? In fact, it often seems as if operations professionals and financial managers are pursuing conflicting goals. Peel back the layers and get to the core, and you quickly discover that the two communities overlap with a vibrant and vital set of shared interest. They just dont speak the same language. A military unit, in a galaxy far, far away, was working on a vehicle that wouldnt start. The maintenance mechanics launched the same processes that they were taught, because thats how theyve always done it. Ah, the danger of standardization . . . sometimes, it helps to think. Most back yard mechanics would immediately go for the battery. Alas, the vehicle would attempt to start, which meant it was getting power. Maybe its not getting enough power. Okay, order and replace the battery, but no luck. One day and a few hundred dollars down the drain. Weve all seen this movie. In fact, we might have starred in it, going down the same path ourselves in the backyard with the family sedan. If it isnt the battery, it has to be the starter, right? Fine, order and replace that. This field unit is not authorized or trained to repair starters, so the starter is pulled and sent to a maintenance center for an overhaul. Send it back, and trade it in for a rebuilt unit. More time and more money invested into getting the vehicle up and running, and again no luck. Still the vehicle is dead lined. Fast forward three months, the amount invested into finally bringing this vehicle back to life and over $13,000. It turns out that the only part that needed to be replaced was a $1.38 fuse. New fuse, and it fired right up. Now, Im a logistics knuckle dragger myself, so I completely understand the path this crew followed. In fact, I could see myself doing the exact same thing, and once the vehicle was up and running I would be proud, and Id let the budget guys worry about finding the $13,000 to pay for it. Fortunately, there are useful accountants and auditors in the world, and they really can be a friend. The starter scenario was uncovered by a team of auditors, and their discovery triggered a review and revision of training and maintenance protocols. The accountants and operators worked together, added some brain cells, and came up with a better way. Accountants and operators need to be on the same team. Find the common ground, the shared issues, and the world becomes a different place. One set of management controls properly defined, integrated, and executed advances the business along two fronts, financial oversight and operations. Management controls in the broadest sense include organization plans, methods and procedures adopted by management to meet its missions, goals and objectives. These management controls also serve as the first line of defense against fraud and violations of laws, regulatory violations, and compliance with provisions of contracts and business agreements. While logistics and financial management share many of the same objectives, the two approach them from different perspectives using different language. Both aspects of business require clean and accurate data. Both utilize internal controls to ensure that business processes are working effectively and discourage fraud, waste, and abuse. Both business practitioners want the same thing; provide the best support possible to the government. The National Defense Authorization Act of 2010s mandate requires the Department of Defense (DoD) to have audit ready financial statements by 2017. Its time to break down the wall between auditors and operators. Together, they can get the books cleaned up. By Alyson Klein and Andrew Ujifusa After a long, pitched battle, Betsy DeVos is now confirmed as secretary of education . While other education secretaries provoked plenty of passion and controversy after they had served for a timeincluding President Ronald Reagans pick William J. Bennett and President Barack Obamas choice, Arne DuncanDeVos will start out on a more divisive note than any other leader in the agencys more than 30-year history. Check out these statements from organizations across the political spectrum, some of which were released just seconds after her confirmation Tuesday. They range from the press release equivalent of woo-hooo! to the despondent. Who Is Thrilled? Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, a Republican: I congratulate Betsy DeVos on her confirmation as our nation's next Secretary of Education. The President made an excellent choice to lead the Department of Education. Millions of families share Secretary DeVos' vision for disrupting a failed status quo that has denied too many children access to a quality education. It's time to upend the entrenched special interests that put adults above genuine reforms that will raise student achievement. ... Under Secretary DeVos' leadership, I am confident the federal government will loosen its grip on our education system and return power to the states and parents where it rightfully belongs." National Alliance for Public Charter Schools: We believe that Secretary DeVos will put students and families first and we look forward to working with her to ensure each child has access to a high-quality public school and a safe and supportive environment in which to learn." Gerard Robinson, resident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and former adviser on education to President Donald Trumps transition team Congratulations @BetsyDeVos. Our new Secretary of @USDEducation. @VP Pence voted to make education greater for all. pic.twitter.com/qprFjdU6Ir Gerard Robinson (@gerard_924) February 7, 2017 Lindsey Burke, who heads up The Heritage Foundations Center for Education Policy, a conservative think tank: DeVos' confirmation could be good news for the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship program, which has been weakened during the Obama administration's tenure. More than 1,100 children in the nation's capital deserve to have choice supported and expanded." Who Is Upset? Lily Eskelsen Garcia, president of the National Education Association: No other Trump cabinet nominee garnered the level of public opposition as Betsy DeVos, and no other time in our nation's history has a Vice President of the United States stepped in to cast the deciding vote on a nomination. More to the point, no nominee has united Republicans and Democrats the way DeVos has. ... The level of energy is palpable. We are going to watch what Betsy DeVos does. And we are going to hold her accountable for the actions and decisions she makes on behalf of the more than 50 million students in our nation's public schools." Randi Weingarten, the president of the American Federation of Teachers: DeVos' confirmation battle has a major silver lining: The public in public education has never been more visible or more vocal, and it is not going back in the shadows. This same publicfrom rural towns to urban centers, from liberals to conservativeswill now serve as a check and balance, and they will be fierce fighters on behalf of children. I am honored to be a soldier in that movement for children. "It's telling that even when Trump had full control of the legislative and executive branches, he could only get DeVos confirmed by an unprecedented tiebreaking vote by his vice president. That's because DeVos shows an antipathy for public schools; a full-throttled embrace of private, for-profit alternatives; and a lack of basic understanding of what children need to succeed in school." Wade Henderson, president and CEO of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights: Betsy DeVos has never been a student, parent, supporter, or employee in a public school or school system in any capacity, and yet she is now tasked with ensuring our nation's children have equal access to a quality education. The fact that her confirmation vote was the first in American history to require a tie-breaking vote by the vice president speaks to the widespread concern about her qualifications raised by the civil rights community, concerned parents, and educators from across the country. ... Working with partners at the federal, state, and local level, we will hold this new secretary accountable to faithfully executing our nation's education and civil rights laws." John B. King Jr., incoming president and CEO of the Education Trust and President Barack Obamas second education secretary: During the confirmation process, I was encouraged by the large numbers of students, parents, educators, community leaders, and civil rights advocates insisting that the federal role in education must be to strengthen public educationnot abandon itand to protect students' civil rights. Indeed, Americans clearly care deeply about education and have real concerns about who will lead the nation's education department. "As the former secretary of education, I sincerely hope that Ms. DeVos will work hard to prove these concerns wrong and will lead the department in a manner that protects fundamental civil rights and promotes opportunity and achievement for all students." Denise Marshall, executive director for the Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates (COPAA): Today is a troubling day for our country and our children. The vote to confirm Mrs. DeVos as Secretary of Education leaves us deeply concerned about the future of our nation's children with disabilities. In January, and throughout the process, COPAA has asked that the nominee be committed to: ensuring excellence in education for all children; safeguarding protections and enforcing state compliance and accountability in all federal education laws; combatting discrimination in voucher and charter school programs; and, curtailing the overuse of exclusionary disciplinary practices, especially seclusion, restraint. "Unfortunately, the full commitment needed is not there yet. We stand ready to help the new secretary to understand and implement her responsibilities under federal law and respect the true needs of students with disabilities and their families in every action she takes. Parents and families of students with disabilities are resilient and no strangers to doing whatever it takes to protect their children." Advocates for Youth, an LGBTQ rights organization: We are gravely disappointed that so underqualified a candidate has been confirmed as secretary of education. Quality public education can make or break whether children, teenagers, and college students succeed. Our education system goes beyond academia, affecting students' safety, well-being, and physical and emotional health. We urge Betsy DeVos to take seriously the CDC's alarming findings about the risk factors faced by LGBT youth, and to work to ensure they are valued and celebrated for who they are. We urge her to maintain the 2016 Title IX guidance documents that protect transgender students. We urge her to address the appalling racial disparities in education. And we urge her to continue the work that the Department of Education has done to address sexual assault on college campuses by enforcing Title IX protections. These are serious responsibilities. We only hope Betsy DeVos is up to the task." Network for Public Education President Diane Ravitch We weep for the children of America, knowing that this woman will launch an assault on their community public schools, as she did in Michigan." Who Appears Neutral? Kris Perry, executive director of the First Five Years Fund: While the Department of Education has limited authority over early-education programs, the secretary of education is an important leader in the larger education space. The incoming secretary can prioritize the issue of early-childhood education during her tenure by raising the visibility of the issue. We look forward to working with Secretary DeVos and policymakers on all sides of the aisle to ensure families have access to high-quality early learning and care." Deb Delisle, the executive director of ASCD: We stand ready to work with Secretary DeVos and Congress as they oversee ESSA implementation with the fidelity necessary to provide an equitable, well-rounded education that ensures each student is healthy, safe, engaged, supported, and challenged. The department can be a strong partner to states and communities as they engage with students and their families." National PTA President Laura Bay: In addition to investing in public education, National PTA urges Secretary DeVos to improve the Department of Education's role in advancing family engagement as a tool to increase student achievement and transform schools and communities. We strongly encourage the administration to carefully consider how family engagement can be integrated into all appropriate policy initiatives that it advances or supports." Thomas J. Gentzel, Executive Director and CEO of the National School Boards Association, which has Republican, Democratic, and non-partisan members: We must never forget how important public education is and the impact it has. ... Public education has a role in providing solutions to every important issue facing America, and it is the path to capitalize on the opportunities before us. Public schools have lifted generations of people from lower to middle income, and from middle to higher income. It will continue to do so. ... The start of the Trump administration creates an opportunity to ensure state and local governance of education, which is essential to enhance public education. School boards are best able to develop innovative solutions and make informed decisions to meet student learning objectives because of their knowledge of their schools and resources in their community." Daniel A. Domenech, executive director of AASA, The School Superintendents Association: AASA welcomes the opportunity to continue to work with Congress and the administrationincluding recently confirmed Secretary DeVosto ensure that educational equity and opportunity are the reality for all our nation's students, and that our nation's public schools remain at the forefront of our broader conversations on education and student learning. State and local leadership is critical to the continued success and ongoing growth of our nation's schools. We will work with the superintendents we represent and the broader education communities they serve to carry the widespread focus on and discussion about education into all aspects of our federal advocacy work." Photo: Education Secretary-designate Betsy DeVos testifies at her confirmation hearing before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee in January, 2017. --Carolyn Kaster/AP-File Follow us on Twitter at @PoliticsK12 . Ninety-seven leading technology companies filed a brief Sunday night contesting the legality of President Donald Trumps controversial executive order to temporarily halt admission of refugees and ban individuals from seven majority-Muslim nations from entering the United States. Among the signatories to the amicus brief were Apple, Facebook, Google, Microsoft, Pinterest and Twittersome of the largest names in technology industry, each of whom also have a significant presence in K-12 schools and among K-12 educators. AltSchool, a San Francisco-based educational technology company that runs its own network of private schools, also signed on to the brief, as did General Assembly, a New York-based company that has provided informal education and career training to tens of thousands of participants. In the filing , the companies argue that the Trump administrations executive order violates the Constitution and U.S. immigration laws, will inhibit innovation, and will harm the competitiveness of U.S. companies. The Order makes it more difficult and expensive for U.S. companies to recruit, hire and retain some of the worlds best employees. It disrupts ongoing business operations. And it threatens companies ability to attract talent, business, and investment to the United States, the brief reads. Trump signed the executive order on January 27. Confusion, legal challenges, and mass protests immediately ensued. On Friday, a federal district court in Seattle blocked the order nationwide, and a federal appeals court on Sunday denied a request from the U.S. Justice Department to immediately restore the travel restrictions. Silicon Valley at large has begun aggressively contesting the Trump administration, with high-profile leaders saying they dont support the immigration order and thousands of employees at Google staging a walkout in protest of the administration. The involvement of ed-tech companies has varied. AltSchool was the only primarily K-12-focused company to sign the amicus brief. And some prominent figures in the ed-tech sector have been mostly quiet on the subject. For example, Sal Khan, the founder and head of the nonprofit Khan Academy, declined a request for an interview via a spokeswoman. A few CEOs, though, have spoken out. Last Monday, for example, Tyler Bosmeny, the co-founder and CEO of San Francisco-based Clever, took to Twitter to react to the travel ban: 3/ I dont recognize that America in these executive actions. -- Tyler Bosmeny (@bosmeny) January 30, 2017 Ayah Bdeir, the CEO of New York City-based LittleBits, also spoke last month with Education Week about the challenges she believes the Trump administration will present to her company. And like Bdeir, AltSchool CEO Max Ventilla signed a letter last summer denouncing then-candidate Trump. In a written statement provided to Education Week in December, Ventilla described his hopes for a renewed federal focus on innovation: My hope for any administration is that they promote significant change without getting rid of what works, especially without sufficient understanding for why its there, Ventilla wrote. Education reform should partner education domain experts with innovators who can create and implement new, but informed, advances. See also: Providing running water for 60 families in Peru 60 families in Nauta, in Perus Amazon region, have access to clean, running water thanks to a BMS World Mission water project Want to help BMS improve the quality of life of more people in Peru and around the world? You can when you give today. This article first appeared on the website of BMS World Mission and is used with permission. BMS World Mission, 07/02/2017 It was the Lords plan, and the devil really didnt want it to work, says BMS worker in Nauta, Laura-Lee Lovering. It pushed me to the end of my sanity at times. But Im so satisfied to see that it really has worked. Weve been able to fulfil our word.Providing running water for the community of La Union, where the BMS-supported Nauta Integral Mission Training Centre (NIMTC) is based, has been a plan-in-the-making for almost seven years. In 2010, a lack of water was identified as the most significant problem in the neighbourhood. Now, 60 families (approximately 360 people) are celebrating turning their taps on twice a day to receive a flow of running water.Its a real relief and Im just really happy, says Laura. Because its such a clear need, and it makes such a difference.The tap that enables water, pumped from a well at the NIMTC site, to run down to the 60 houses of families in La Union was officially turned on on 14 December 2016. It was a long process involving a few minor disasters but the water is now generally running well. Each family played their part in the project, contributing to the cost of the pipe and tap that would run water directly to their home and digging the trenches to install the pipes.Thats part of the point, says Laura. Its a community project, and they were always meant to take ownership of it and realise its a project for them, by them.Before the taps were installed, many families in La Union were getting their water from shallow wells behind their houses. Spells of diarrhoea and vomiting were common amongst the children of the community and testing the water of one of these wells showed high levels of contamination.While NIMTC exists to train pastors from rural river communities in theology and community development to equip them to pastor their churches well, share the gospel and practically help their neighbours the BMS-supported team in Nauta dont want to overlook the needs of their own community.We want to help people, Laura says. Yes the training centre exists to train pastors, but what about the people right in front of us? It makes sense that we should be here for the benefit of the local people as well.It was the desire of the community of La Union to have access to clean, running water in their homes, but they have grown used to empty promises and many of them thought this water project would never happen. They now know that the Christians at NIMTC hold true to their word. As well as meeting a vital physical need, this running water has become a powerful witness to the living water. Three years after its demise, inBloom is still exposing the wildly different ways that proponents and skeptics view education technology and educational data use. Last week, the New York City-based research center Data & Society released a new report examining the quick rise and stunning fall of the nonprofit student-data-management effort. Launched in 2013 with $100 million from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the Carnegie Corporation of New York, the initiative shut down its operations a year later, in April 2014. Based on interviews with 18 key actors, The Legacy of inBloom is a must-read for those interested in a detailed, insider account of what went wrongand why ambitious ed-tech initiatives often fail to take root. Perhaps unintentionally, the report and the early reaction it has stirredalso reveal how data-sharing believers still struggle to make sense of the vocal opposition their efforts provoke. Now, as in 2014, supporters and skeptics still look through very different lenses when analyzing an effort like inBloom. For most of the district and state administrators, technology company representatives, former inBloom and Gates employees, engineers, and privacy experts interviewed by Data & Society, the focus was inBlooms potential benefits. They cast the effort as a good idea that fell victim to ambition, poor implementation, a fundamental misunderstanding of the United States highly decentralized K-12 ecosystem, and a failure by proponents to explain why inBloom would be good for students and schools. The result, these supporters contend, is a lost opportunity that has led to a proliferation of closed, proprietary data-sharing systems that are less secure and less effective than inBloom might have been. Opponents, however, continue to take an altogether different view. First and foremost, they see inBloom and like-minded efforts through a lens of potential harm. They think the theory behind expansive sharing of student information is flawed, driven by corporate greed and philanthropic hubris rather than solid evidence. Parent activist Leonie Haimson, the driving force behind the effort to defeat inBloom, was interviewed for the Data & Society report. But she told Education Week that the researchers failed to grasp her central message, and she took umbrage to the report giving voice to those who compare inBloom opponents to the anti-vaccination movement. If you start out with the assumption that inBloom was a revolutionary tool that would transform education, be more secure than existing tools used by states and districts, and be fully transparent, then of course you come to the conclusion that the opposition of parents was irrational, Haimson said. But all of those suppositions are completely wrong. Haimson and other inBloom opponents want to see the evidence of improved student learning before moving forward with large-scale student data sharing. Supporters, meanwhile, grow exasperated that talk of potential harmsrather than evidence of actual harmshas derailed what they see as promising efforts. The Data & Society researchers mostly fall in the latter camp. Not understanding something is not a reason for not allowing it to happen, Monica Bulger, one of the reports authors, said in an interview with Education Week. When there are misunderstandings, people turn to fear-based scenarios. Its appropriate to evaluate whether those fears are accurate. Round and round it goes. On other fronts, though, the Data & Society report offers fresh insights. Among the most interesting: an argument that inBloom failed in part because it embodies contradictory business models, software development approaches, philosophies, and cultures. Those developing the actual software wanted to take an agile Silicon Valley-style approach, leaving them free to experiment and test and make changes quickly, the researchers found. But that approach mixed poorly with a business plan that was dependent on notoriously slow-moving and risk-averse state departments of education and school district bureaucracies. The report also explores the ways in which inBloom represented a threat to the established business models of other ed-tech vendors. Some of those rivals happily sat on their hands as inBloom went up in flames. And essays issued in conjunction with the report offer additional perspectives on the ongoing need for data standards in the K-12 sector, the ways in which inBloom continues to serve as a Rorschach test for those interested in education policy, and more. Ultimately, the Data & Society researchers contend, the legacy of inBloom seems evolutionary, not revolutionary. Its failures helped prompt a broad public discussion of student privacy, including the introduction of more than 400 bills in state legislatures around the country, they wrote. It also surfaced the publics low tolerance for risk and uncertainty, and the vulnerability of large-scale projects to public backlash, the researchers said. Any future U.S. education project will have to contend with the legacy of inBloom. See also: Mayor Rick Kriseman has been criticized for stating in a blog that St. Petersburg is a sanctuary from harmful federal immigration laws." The phrasing may sound like St. Petersburg is a so-called sanctuary city, but the mayor doesn't actually have that power. Mayor Kriseman used the term 'sanctuary' in reference to St. Pete The problem: the Mayor doesn't control the county jail RELATED: Mayor declares St. Petersburg a sanctuary city The reason? The city government, which the mayor oversees, does not control the jail -- a fact the mayors spokesman, Ben Kirby, acknowledged. We cant be one technically, Kirby said. But we are standing with those other (sanctuary) cities. In his blog post released Friday, Kriseman made it clear hes pushing back against President Donald Trumps executive order to cut federal funding from sanctuary cities. The term is not yet legally defined, but sanctuary cities generally do not report illegal immigrants who commit minor crimes to the federal government. According to Police Chief Tony Holloway, local authorities are already in the practice of not asking too many questions when someone comes to them for help. We're not going to go down the street checking everybody's information saying, 'Hey, are you documented, un-documented?' Chief Holloway said. Also, if a person comes into the police department and they're a victim of a crime, we're not going to ask you if you're here legally or illegally." Pinellas County Republican Party Chairman Nick DiCeglie pounced on Krisemans words, calling it a political stunt to shore up his progressive base. This is just another example of how out of touch this mayor is with the people of St. Petersburg, DiCeglie said in a press release. I am thankful the person who does control immigration reporting, Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri, is committed to upholding the rule of law. Pinellas Sheriff Bob Gualtieri said the agency will continue to support U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Pinellas County is not and will not be a 'sanctuary county' for people who commit crimes, Gualtieri said. Regardless of statements made for political purposes, we will enforce the law countywide. Kirby said St. Petersburg is a sanctuary city in spirit. We are standing with those other cities, he said. Were a welcoming city, we welcome everybody and thats the message were sending to the nation, to the world. Kriseman said if his blog post causes the city to lose millions of dollars in federal grants, hell challenge that decision in court. Betsy DeVos was narrowly confirmed for education secretary Tuesday after Vice President Mike Pence cast a historic tie-breaking vote in the Senate. Democrats are now pulling a similar all-nighter to delay the vote on Attorney General nominee Jeff Sessions. Democrats say Sessions, a senator from Alabama, and a former federal prosecutor, is too close to President Trump to be an effective, independent prosecutor for the state. They also cite his opposition to immigration laws and his stance on civil rights, including voting rights. In 1986 Sessions was rejected for an appointment as a federal judge. One of the linchpins in that rejection was a letter by Coretta Scott King, the widow of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. In it she said Sessions used his power as a federal prosecutor to "chill the free exercise of the vote by black citizens." Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Massachusetts, was banned from speaking during the Sessions confirmation Tuesday night when she tried to read King's letter on the Senate floor. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky, invoked Senate rules against impugning the motives of a senator, saying Warren had impugned Sessions. A vote on Sessions is expected Wednesday evening. DeVos confirmed, sworn in Two Republican senators had joined Democrats in voting against DeVos: Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Susan Collins of Maine. But with Vice President Mike Pence set to break the tie vote, Democrats needed one more GOP senator to break ranks. Pence's tiebreaking vote was the first-ever for a Cabinet appointment. Florida's senior Sen. Bill Nelson voted against DeVos, while junior Sen. Marco Rubio voted for her. DeVos, the daughter-in-law of Orlando Magic owner Rich DeVos, was an architect of Detroit's charter school system but has little experience with public schools. She is a conservative Christian whose family helped fund the creation of the Family Research Council. Democrats had turned to a 24-hour protest inside outside the Capitol arguing against DeVos and in a last-ditch effort to sway one more Republican lawmaker to join them in rejecting the nomination. They cited DeVos' lack of public school experience and her financial interests in organizations pushing charter schools. She has said she would divest herself from those organizations. During her confirmation hearing, she stirred criticism and anger by suggesting that a school in Wyoming might want to have guns on campus as defense against grizzly bears. In a tweet Tuesday, President Donald Trump wrote, "Betsy DeVos is a reformer, and she is going to be a great Education Sec. for our kids!" Senate committee confirms VA nominee Also Tuesday, a Senate committee unanimously approved physician David Shulkin's nomination as Veterans Affairs secretary. He has been the undersecretary of health at the VA since 2015. If approved by the full Senate, he would be the first nonveteran to lead the VA and the only Obama official serving in Trump's cabinet. The Senate is expected to vote and approve him as early as next week. Information from the Associated Press was used in this report. As state legislative sessions forge ahead, youll start to see states Every Student Succeeds Act accountability plans vetted by lawmakers as the new law requires. Unlike for waivers from ESSAs predecessor, the No Child Left Behind Act, or applications for the Race to the Top program, the federal government requires state boards of education to show that state education agencies have conducted meaningful consultation with state legislatures over their ESSA plans. In addition, governors have 30 days to review a plan before its submitted to the federal Department of Education. The meaningful consultation clause is one both the National Conference of State Legislatures and the National Governors Association pushed for after the battles over the Common Core State Standards led to many state politicians complaining that the standards were implemented without their knowledge. Other than givng ESSA plans widespread political support, there are some more-technical benefits to having ESSA plans vetted by legislators, Michelle Exstrom, NCSLs education program director told me on the phone Monday. One is monetary. Any new initiatives tucked into plans will need financial backing, and legislators control states purse strings. One of the reason many folks thought the rollout of the common core was so clumsy was that department officials had few financial resources to pay for professional development for teachers and administrators. Since states are adding new indicators to their accountability systems or sometimes rolling out new assessments for high school students and English-language learners, theyll need their legislatures to set aside money to pay for consultants, equipment, and professional development for the new programs. Another reason for legislative support is having states statutes match state school boards education policies. If, for example, a states assessment policy doesnt match state law, a school board could sue a state department or simply not at all comply with the measure, Exstrom said. Since ESSA touches on several corners of the education policy arena, any major changes may need legislative approval. Exstrom said legislators in recent weeks have been asking in-the-weeds questions about flexibility states have under ESSA and how other states are vetting state plans. Plans can be vetted in several ways. Some legislators were asked to sit on or even chair ESSA task force committees over the winter. Some states may ask department officials to testify at committee hearings. Some states, such as Oklahoma and Maine, have laws that require state educatio department officials to introduce as legislation to the House or Senate any changes to their educationn plan. Last week, Tennessees education department got a bill introduced that would, among other things, expand its accountability system, offer more flexibility to local school districts, and update statewide goals. This legislation is designed to take advantage of the opportunities ESSA provides for more local decisionmaking and flexibility for our schools, particularly in the areas of district and school accountability and improvement, Education Commissioner Candice McQueen told the Tennessean . Dont miss another State EdWatch post. Sign up here to get news alerts in your email inbox. And make sure to follow @StateEdWatch on Twitter for the latest news from state K-12 policy and politics. Florida lawmakers could take some of the first steps Tuesday to ban red-light cameras across the state. Some cities, counties say that red-light cameras help improve safety Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles study reported that crashes increased due to red-light cameras Proponents of the cameras say they reduce crashes, but opponents say they are invasive and illegal. Theres always holes to punch in these red-light tickets, its just something thats not tenable, said Ticketbusters attorney Joseph Hunchuck, who was once an Orange County deputy sheriff before becoming an attorney. As an officer, the officer must view the infraction taking place. That was basic education for a Law Enforcement Officer 101, Hunchuck said. If somebody just tells you,"Hey, this guy ran a red light,' you cant write a ticket for that, but apparently with these cameras you can. Its ridiculous. Hunchuck also said the cameras cannot prove who was behind the wheel. But cities and counties continue to use the cameras to catch red-light runners for safety reasons. The cameras appear to increase intersection safety and driver awareness to slow down on amber and stop on red, according to an Orange County fact sheet provided to News 13. But a study released less than two months ago reports the opposite. The Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles found crashes statewide have actually increased 10 percent at intersections that now have red-light cameras. It is enough evidence for lawmakers to consider a ban in committees both in the House and Senate on Tuesday. That's good and bad news for Hunchuck, who said he hasn't lost any of the 150 red light camera cases he's fought so far. Previous efforts to eliminate red-light cameras have failed in the state legislature. Cities such as Palm Bay, Cocoa Beach and Clermont have dropped red-light camera programs because of citizen complaints. Orange County gets about $7.4 million a year from its red-light camera program. Some of that money goes to the Transportation Trust Fund to improve sidewalks and pedestrian safety. Note: The amount Orange County gets from its red-light camera program has been updated to correct a previous report. Do students receive the same quality of learning when their teacher is out? One veteran teacher, frustrated with the amount of movies and busy work she saw in classes with substitute teachers, has come up with a solution that Harvard Ed. magazine refers to as Uber for substitute teachers. Her startup, Parachute Teachers , is a way to support high-quality substitutes to do more than pass out worksheets or struggle to implement a hastily prepared lesson plan. Her concept: Have professionals in the communitya computer scientist, a chef, a musician, a graduate student, and so on"parachute into the classroom and teach something theyre passionate about. The idea, founder Sarah Cherry Rice says, is to promote authentic learning in classrooms, even when the teacher is away. Parachute Teachers has been an option for Boston Public Schools since last school year, Cherry Rice, who is currently pursuing her doctoral degree at Harvard Graduate School of Education, told Harvard Ed . Here are the logistics: Parachute finds prospective substitutes, handles the background checks, and offers about three hours of basic training on common issues like classroom management and lesson planning. Principals email Cherry Rice when they need substitutes, and shell connect the substitutes. Critically, principals can reserve substitutes for as little as an hour, making it possible for professionals to teach a class on the side. This solves two problems, Cherry Rice says: It creates less work for classroom teachers, who dont have to prep a lesson and it makes sure students have an enriching experience in their teachers absence. On its website, Parachute highlights one substitute who teaches students theater techniques, Western African dance, hip-hop dance, or step. Harvard Ed. spoke to another substitute who has experience with urban community farmingshe taught 5th grade students about emulsion and polarity through making salad dressing. Another substitute brought in a 3-D printer. Another teaches yoga and mindfulness. The substitutes provide students with an opportunity to experience things they hadnt ever talked about before, Jordan Weymer, a principal at a Boston elementary school, told Harvard Ed. A June analysis by the Education Week Research Center found that 1 in 4 teachers miss 10 or more school days, making the quality of substitutes critically important. But across the country, districts have been confronting a substitute-teacher shortage, my colleague Brenda Iasevoli reported recently . Districts have been looking for creative ways to recruit substitutes, and some are showing their appreciation through initiatives like free lunches and gift bags. The Parachute model might be a real way to incentivize people to become substitutes. Right now, the startup is only in Boston, but Cherry Rice has plans to expand to Providence, R.I. She also told Harvard Ed. that she wants to bring the model to other high-needs districts. More on Substitutes: Follow @madeline_will and @EdWeekTeacher on Twitter. Francois Fillon, former French prime minister, member of The Republicans political party and 2017 presidential candidate of the French centre-right, reacts during a news conference about a "fake job" scandal at his campaign headquarters in Paris, France, February 6, 2017. [Photo/Agencies] PARIS - French conservative candidate Francois Fillon on Monday expressed "fierce determination" to stick to his presidential bid amid tumbling popularity after allegations over his wife's fake job engulfed his campaign. In a counter-attack against claims of hefty salaries paid to his wife's fictitious job, Fillon told reporters "I am the only candidate which can bring about a national recovery." "A new campaign starts this evening," he stressed. "Perhaps the violence of the attacks against me have strengthened my determination," saying he would not change his mind about his candidature. At a news conference in Paris, the 62-year-old ex-prime minister reiterated that his wife had been his parliamentary assistant for 15 years and her job had been "perfectly justified." Meanwhile, he apologized for the ethical "error" he made in hiring his wife and their two children, a practice which he said was no longer acceptable according to public opinion. "I perhaps took more time than necessary to understand the changes in French society," he said. To defend his honest conduct, Fillon is to publish all of his wife's contracts later on Monday on his campaign website. The Republican Party candidate, who pledges tough cut in public spending, had been the clear front-runner to occupy the Elysee Palace for next five years until last week. Since the scandal emerged that his wife was receiving hefty salaries for an alleged job she did not do, he lost his top spot and is now in the third place in the presidential race. An Opinionway survey released earlier in the day, showed that Fillon would not make it into the May presidential run-off. With only 20 percent of voter intentions, the former prime minister trailed in the third place behind far-right leader Marine Le Pen and independent centrist candidate Emmanuel Macron, set to collect 26 percent and 23 percent respectively. For the second round, Macron will largely beat Le Pen with 65 percent against 35 percent. Arsonist's Heart Wasn't in It; Pacemaker Data Leads to His Arrest When you tell police that you threw packed suitcases of your belongings out of your burning home, after breaking the glass out of your bedroom window with a walking stick, and also tell them you have an artificial heart, they may be a little skeptical. In fact, they might ask to see some of the data from that electronic heart monitor, you know, just to check on your heart rate before, during, and after that fire. And when a cardiologist tells cops that it was "highly improbable" that you could pull off such a feat considering the pacemaker and its data, they might go ahead and arrest you for arson. Pacemaker Snitches Ross Compton told a 911 operator that he "grabbed a bunch of stuff, threw it out the window" after a fire broke out in his Middletown, Ohio home. According to Middletown police, Compton said he was able to pack his suitcases, break the glass on his bedroom window, and throw the suitcases out to safety. Compton also told that 911 dispatcher he had an artificial heart. Police were able to collect electronic data stored in Compton's electronic heart device, giving them his heart rate, pacer demand, and cardiac rhythms before, during, and after the fire. That info didn't match Compton's story, and after running it by a cardiologist, they charged Compton with aggravated arson and insurance fraud. Heartbreak Compton, who appeared in court today to face those charges, told Judge Charles Pater, "Your honor, that fire took everything." He had also previously asserted to WLWT in Cincinnati, "I had no motive whatsoever to burn down my own house." WLWT also reports Compton has no assets, has been on disability since 2002, and police found gasoline on Compton's shirt, pants and shoes. Officers also found points of origin for the fire in his home, but the heart monitor data was essential, according to Lt. Jimmy Cunningham: "It was one of the key pieces of evidence that allowed us to charge him." Related Resources: IRS Lawyer Busted for Meth Mailing Conspiracy Last week, an attorney for the IRS, who also is a professor at Georgetown University, was arrested for his alleged involvement in a conspiracy to sell methamphetamine. According to reports, the attorney had allegedly been involved with individuals in Long Island and Arizona, and has been distributing large quantities of methamphetamine since 2012. The attorney is alleged to have used FedEx to deliver the drugs, which was how he got discovered. After police discovered the drugs in the FedEx package, the intended recipient of the FedEx'ed drugs, likely in exchange for a deal, assisted the police in gathering more evidence of the conspiracy. As part of their role, the IRS attorney was filmed smoking meth while on a video call, and also was caught sending two more packages of meth via FedEx. Mailing Drugs Is Really Illegal Despite how simple it may seem, mailing drugs just isn't a good idea. While selling or possessing illegal drugs is usually a crime under state laws, when a person uses the mail to send drugs across state lines, or just uses USPS to deliver the drugs, it becomes a federal crime. The IRS attorney may have avoided a tiny bit of liability by not using USPS, but using FedEx to mail drugs is also against federal law, and likely violates state laws as well. Even in legal weed states, mailing marijuana, or using mail couriers, is illegal. It is rather risky to mail drugs, and not just for the sender, but also for the recipient. As the IRS lawyer's case illustrates, the recipient of a package of drugs can be squeezed for information about who sent it, leading to both sender and recipient getting in trouble. Drugs get mailed more often than one might expect, and often get mailed to the most unlikely places too, such as from a mother to her incarcerated daughter. The IRS lawyer that allegedly broke bad may be facing many years behind bars, which the public will invariable believe are too few. Related Resources: Customers at an Italian restaurant near one of the wealthiest neighborhoods in San Antonio allegedly left a racist message for the restaurants owner Friday, vowing not to return because he is Mexican. The food was tasty and the service was attentive, the customers reportedly wrote on a receipt left at Di Frabo Ristorante Italiano near the Dominion development on Friday. However, the owner is Mexican. We will not return. America First, the note concluded. The customers racked up a $53 tab before leaving the racist message. The phrase America First has risen to prominence under President Donald Trump, who repeatedly used the phrase since he first launched his presidential bid in 2015. Owner Fernando Franco is from Mexico City but now lives in San Antonio. Franco said he and his wife were dining in the restaurant Friday afternoon, but he was also speaking to his manager in Spanish. Once the lunch crowd cleared out, the manager approached him with the receipt, Franco said. I hope this is not going to get worse, that my familys not going to be at risk in any way, Franco said. The restaurant took to Facebook to address an outpouring of support after a photo of the receipt circulated on social media over the weekend. One tweet has received almost 12,000 retweets as of Monday morning. Thank you to everyone who has been showing us so much love and support today, the restaurant wrote in a Facebook post Saturday, using the hashtag #strongertogether. One commenter wrote, God bless you, sir. Keep up the good work. You are employing people that otherwise would not have a job. And you are contributing to this state and nations economy by paying your taxes. That customer was an idiot and is setting a terrible example to his children. For more, go to ExpressNews.com or read Tuesdays edition of the Express-News. jfechter@express-news.net Twitter: @JFreports Orange police are investigating the alleged theft of thousands of dollars from a local non-profit that works with abused and neglected children. Representatives of Court Appointed Special Advocates, or CASA, of the Sabine Neches Region filed a police report on Jan. 31 alleging a "known white female" used a credit card from the organization without permission. Board president Johnny Trahan said the woman ran up more than $10,000 in charges. Orange police captain Robert Enmon declined to comment on the investigation. He said no arrests have been made. Trahan said the organization's executive director was terminated from her position last week. The board has named Michelle Jones, the volunteer supervisor for Jasper County, as the interm director, he said. CASA is a nationwide non-profit organization that appoints volunteers to advocate for abused and neglected children as they go through the legal system. The Sabine Neches Region CASA chapter covers Hardin, Jasper, Newton, Orange, Sabine and Tyler counties. Bel Morian, executive director of CASA Southeast Texas, said the theft would have no impact on her chapter, which is independent from Sabine Neches CASA. "We just want to extend our heart to the people in Orange. We hope they heal quickly," Morian said. This case comes two months after the former treasurer of the Lumberton Band Booster Club was arrested and charged with the embezzlement of more than $70,000 from the club. Lumberton police allege Helen Cox gambled away the club's money at casinos. nkrebs@beaumontenterprise.com twitter.com/natalie_krebs West Texas law enforcement are one step closer to finding out what happened to Zuzu Verk, a 22-year-old college student who disappeared in October. After months with no leads, human remains belonging to Verk were found near Alpine during a routine border patrol operation Friday. Alpine Police Chief Russell Scown and Brewster County Sheriff Ronny Dodson confirmed Monday the remains, which were identified through dental records, were indeed Verk's. So far two people have been arrested in relation to Verks death Robert Fabian and Christopher Estrada. RELATED: Human remains found in West Texas where 22-year-old college student went missing Scown said Estrada was arrested in Pheonix, Arizona Monday and was charged with tampering with physical evidence by concealing a human corpse, a second-degree felony punishable by a maximum 20 year sentence upon conviction. He said Estrada will be brought back to Texas to face charges. Fabian was arrested Saturday and was also charged with tampering with physical evidence by concealing a human corpse, according to an Alpine Police Department news release. His bail is set at $500,000. Verk, who attended Sul Ross State University, went on a date with Fabian, her boyfriend, on Oct. 11, 2016 and wasnt heard from again. Three days later, Fabian made a call to police-- Verk was missing. In the days before making his police report, Fabian made two calls to Estrada, and borrowed his white Ford Mustang. Estrada had his mustang cleaned three times in the days following Verks disappearance. RELATED: West Texas police arrest 25-year-old boyfriend in Zuzu Verk case Fabians family, including his mother, brother and sister, are considered persons of interest in the case, Scown said. He could not provide additional information as the case is ongoing. Scown said additional arrests would be made eventually. Sul Ross State University President William Kibler released a statement Monday saying Verk would be remembered for her smiles, energy and zest for life. She embodied characteristics that represent the best in all of us, Kobler said. Verks family requested that in lieu of flowers, donations be made to the Zuzu Verk Memorial Scholarship Fund in Natural Resource Management. Additionally, a memorial service for Verk will be held at the university Thursday at 6:30 p.m. in one of the universitys amphitheaters. Staff writer Joshua Fechter contributed to this report. kbradshaw@express-news.net Twitter: @kbrad5 U.S. District Judge Lynn Hughes awarded Aetna $51.4 million in a seven-year court battle against Humble (Texas) Surgical Hospital, according to Chron. The decision was made before the case was brought to a jury. In 2012, Aetna sued Humble Surgical Hospital for charging 10-times market rates on out-of-network procedures. The insurance company contended Humble Surgical Hospital offered discounts to out-of-network patients so their fees were similar to in-network patients, but billed Aetna higher rates as an out-of-network provider. The hospital's lawyer said Humble Surgical plans to file an appeal. Humble Surgical Hospital was involved in similar cases with Cigna, in which the court ruled in Humble Surgical's favor. Hospital executives have met with lawmakers in Washington, D.C., and expressed concerns over losing insured patients and revenue under an ACA replacement plan, reports The Wall Street Journal. Here are four things to know. 1. Hospital executives have said they do not want Americans to lose insurance under any Republican ACA replacement plan, according to the article. But if that happens, the report states, they want Congress to restore billions of dollars in federal funding they lost with the ACA. 2. This federal funding which the Congressional Budget Office estimated would total $232 billion through the first decade of the ACA includes disproportionate share payments for some hospitals to help them care for uninsured and low-income patients, according to the report. It also includes annual raises the federal government paid hospitals for treating Medicare patients. 3. The report notes hospitals lost this federal funding with the belief the ACA would make up for the cuts by providing hospitals with more insured patients. 4. "If you're going to repeal the Affordable Care Act, we need to have the cuts repealed as well," William Carpenter, CEO of Brentwood, Tenn.-based LifePoint Health, said during a San Francisco healthcare conference in January, according to the report. For more on this story, read the full WSJ report here. A replacement for the ACA may not be ready as soon as previously thought. That is what President Donald Trump indicated during an interview on Sunday, reports The New York Times. In the interview with Bill O'Reilly of Fox News, President Trump said an ACA replacement was not likely to be ready until either the end of 2017 or in 2018, according to the article. "Maybe it'll take till sometime into next year, but we're certainly going to be in the process," President Trump said during an interview with Bill O'Reilly of Fox News, after Mr. O'Reilly asked the president whether Americans could "expect a new healthcare plan rolled out by the Trump administration this year." "It statutorily takes awhile to get," President Trump said. "We're going to be putting it in fairly soon, I think that, yes, I would like to say by the end of the year at least the rudiments but we should have something within the year and the following year." President Trump has previously called for a more swift repeal and replacement of the ACA. In the recent interview, Mr. Trump acknowledged an ACA repeal is complicated, but said he is confident his administration could come up with a plan that is better than the existing law, reports The New York Times. The timeline for a repeal and replacement in Congress remains undetermined. House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) estimated an ACA replacement will be done this spring. However, some Republican lawmakers have expressed concerns about a political backlash if the ACA is repealed without an adequate replacement and have called for a more orderly approach, according to the report. The following is a roundup of recent events pertaining to hospital-union relationships, including strikes, legal battles, rallies and new contract agreements. All events were reported since Jan. 20. 1. Unions to demonstrate over Lifespan employee illness policy Members of Providence-based Rhode Island Hospital's two unions planned a march and rally over changes to Lifespan's sick policy, according to a GoLocalProv report. The unions the United Nurses & Allied Professionals and Teamsters Local 251 have claimed the changes are "unfair and draconian," according to the report. However, Lifespan, the hospital's parent company, has said the changes are meant "to better reflect industry best practices while also continuing to provide all employees generous sick time benefits." 2. Windham Community Memorial Hospital employees ratify new labor deals Nurses, technicians and healthcare workers at Windham Community Memorial Hospital in Willimantic, Conn., ratified three-year contracts with the hospital on Jan. 27. The agreements, reached after nine months of negotiations, cover approximately 350 caregivers represented by the American Federation of Teachers Locals 5099 and 5041. 3. Providence St. Peter employees to picket over new contract Unionized clinical and service employees at Providence St. Peter Hospital in Olympia, Wash., planned to picket amid bargaining efforts for a new contract, reports The Olympian. The employees, represented by SEIU Healthcare 1199NW, have worked under an expired contract. Nine bargaining sessions have taken place since July, according to hospital spokesperson Chris Thomas. 4. Huntington Hospital nurses get greenlight for new union election under NLRB settlement A recent settlement agreement approved by the National Labor Relations Board paves the way for registered nurses to hold a new union election at Pasadena, Calif.-based Huntington Hospital. Under the agreement, Huntington Hospital is required to post a notice outlining the nurses' federal labor rights for 60 consecutive days throughout the facility, according to a news release from the California Nurses Association/National Nurses United. The CNA said hospital officials must also send a copy of the settlement agreement via email to all Huntington Hospital RNs. 5. Partners HealthCare hospital, SEIU reach agreement allowing union organization Partners HealthCare's Brigham and Women's Faulkner Hospital in Boston and 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East reached an agreement allowing for a union election at the hospital, reports The Boston Globe. The union said it hopes to add approximately 500 Faulkner Hospital service workers as members. 6. Mayo Clinic, food service workers settle labor conflict Union food service workers approved a proposal from Rochester, Minn.-based Mayo Clinic, resolving a months-long labor conflict, reports the Post-Bulletin. The employees, who work at Mayo's southern Minnesota facilities and are represented by the Service Employees International Union Healthcare Minnesota, approved the proposal in January. 7. Second appeal filed by Queen of the Valley against employee unionization vote Queen of the Valley Hospital in Napa, Calif., filed a second appeal over a union vote that took place last November, according to a Napa Valley Register report. The election involved 419 service and technical workers, who voted by a 3-2 margin to join the National Union of Healthcare Workers. 8.US appeals court upholds Massachusetts hospital system's union-free hiring policy A U.S. appeals court is backing New Bedford, Mass.-based Southcoast Health System's policy giving hiring preferences to union-free employees, reports Reuters. According to the court, 1199SEIU's collective bargaining agreement for Tobey Hospital workers allows union members a hiring preference when filling union positions, and Southcoast's union-free hiring policy is "an effort to produce more even-handed hiring practices across its three hospitals." FCC Rules on Robocalls In the battle against unwanted sales calls, it's nice to know the government is on your side. The Do Not Call Registry was a good start, but in the age of cell phones, emails, and text messages, regulatory agencies can struggle to keep pace with tech-savvy telemarketers. So the Federal Communications Commission recently issued some new advice on stopping unwanted calls, texts, and even faxes. (Remember those?) The FCC also published their telemarketing rules, establishing restriction on robocalls. Here's what you need to know: Rules and Regs The FCC's telemarketing rules are pretty clear: Anyone making a telephone solicitation call to your home must provide his or her name, the name of the person or entity on whose behalf the call is being made, and a telephone number or address at which that person or entity can be contacted; Telephone solicitation calls to your home before 8 am or after 9 pm are prohibited; and Telemarketers must immediately comply with any do-not-call request you make during a call. If a caller fails to comply with these regulations, you can file a complaint with the FCC. Restricting Robocalls Along with any tech that can block robocalls, the FCC encourages those wishing to avoid sales calls to add their number to the Do Not Call registry. The registry protects both landlines and cell phones, and also applies to unsolicited text messages. And any robocall -- including political, polling, and other non-telemarketing robocalls -- requires your permission to be made to a wireless phone. Just because you have an existing relationship with a company, that doesn't give them the right to robocall you, and a company can't make consent to be called or texted a condition of a sale. Companies must honor any reasonable request to cease robocalls, and if they don't comply with FCC regulations consumers are allowed to sue them. We may not be free of unsolicited robocalls just yet, but with a little help from the FCC, we might be a step or two closer. Related Resources: A nurse filed a $6.5 million retaliation lawsuit Jan. 31 against St. Petersburg (Fla.) General Hospital and its parent company Nashville, Tenn.-based Hospital Corporation of America. The nurse, Wendi Ross, RN, alleges she slipped and fell on a wet floor while working at St. Petersburg General on May 6, 2014. Per hospital protocol, she was submitted to a urine drug screen after she filed the incident report. According to the complaint, hospital officials told Ms. Ross on May 23, 2014, that her drug test came back positive and she was immediately suspended and then terminated. Ms. Ross claims she had a prescription for the drug that caused the positive test, which the testing agency confirmed on June 3, 2014. However, the hospital refused to reconsider her termination. Although hospital officials said Ms. Ross was fired due to the positive drug test, she claims she was let go in retaliation for filing a previous discrimination complaint against the hospital with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. After filing a new EEOC complaint Aug. 10, 2016, the EEOC issued her a "right to sue" letter Nov. 3. Hospital spokeswoman Pam Yarbrough tells Becker's, "The hospital has not yet been served with a copy of the complaint and therefore has not had the opportunity to review it. However, we work very hard to maintain a healthy work environment that fosters compassion, respect and inclusion, and are confident that we have acted appropriately. We intend to defend ourselves vigorously in this matter." More articles on healthcare industry lawsuits: 8 latest healthcare industry lawsuits, settlements VA to pay DaVita $538M for allegedly underpaying for dialysis services Former Tenet executive indicted for alleged role in $400M fraud scheme TeamHealth, a physician staffing company based in Knoxville, Tenn., has agreed to pay $60 million to resolve False Claims Act allegations, according to the Department of Justice. TeamHealth acquired North Hollywood, Calif.-based IPC Healthcare in 2015. The government alleged IPC engaged in a practice known as "upcoding" that involves seeking payment for higher and more expensive levels of medical service than were actually performed. The government further alleged that IPC officials pressured and encouraged physicians to engage in the overbilling practices. The lawsuit was originally filed under the qui tam, or whistle-blower, provision of the False Claims Act by Bijan Oughatiyan, MD, who worked as a hospitalist for IPC in San Antonio from 2003 to 2008. The DOJ intervened in the lawsuit in 2013. In addition to the monetary settlement, TeamHealth entered into a five-year corporate integrity agreement with HHS' Office of Inspector General. The agreement covers the company's hospital medicine division. More articles on healthcare industry lawsuits: 8 latest healthcare industry lawsuits, settlements VA to pay DaVita $538M for allegedly underpaying for dialysis services Former Tenet executive indicted for alleged role in $400M fraud scheme Dallas-based Tenet Healthcare agreed to pay approximately $514 million last October to resolve allegations the company paid kickbacks in exchange for patient referrals. Although Tenet settled the lawsuit, the federal government attached a name to the case last week when a former Tenet executive was charged for his alleged involvement in the scheme. In an indictment filed Jan. 24, John Holland, who previously served as senior vice president of operations for Tenet's Southern States Region and as CEO of North Fulton Medical Center in Roswell, Ga., is charged with one count of healthcare fraud and two counts of major fraud against the United States. According to the Department of Justice, Mr. Holland and his co-conspirators circumvented Tenet's internal accounting controls to pay illegal kickbacks and bribes to a clinic that referred undocumented pregnant patients to Tenet hospitals for Medicaid-covered deliveries. Federal prosecutors allege the illegal scheme helped Tenet bill the Georgia and South Carolina Medicaid programs for more than $400 million. The case against Mr. Holland, who has pleaded not guilty to the charges, highlights the government's interest in holding individuals not just the organizations they work for responsible for fraud. Traditionally, healthcare companies were only expected to provide information about the underlying factual situation in a fraud investigation. However, these investigations have become more complicated, as the DOJ has taken a strong stance on pursuing healthcare executives involved in fraud cases to hold them personally responsible. In a memo issued to federal prosecutors in September 2015, the DOJ provided guidance on steps it is taking to strengthen its pursuit of individual corporate wrongdoing. The repercussions of the memo which has been dubbed the "Yates memo" after former Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates are significant. One key change is that to be eligible for any cooperation credit, companies must provide the names of individuals involved in the fraud, no matter where they sit within the company. Although it has been more than a year since the Yates memo was distributed, Linda Baumann, a partner with Arent Fox, told Bloomberg BNA there has been a recent increase in the number of healthcare fraud prosecutions against individuals. Ms. Baumann attributed the pause between the Yates memo and the ramp-up in individual fraud prosecutions to the time it takes to develop cases against those involved in healthcare fraud. She also said the recent increase may be due to the federal government's desire to finish investigations before the administration changed. More articles on legal and regulatory matters: 8 latest healthcare industry lawsuits, settlements Apology laws don't help physicians avoid malpractice suits, study finds VA to pay DaVita $538M for allegedly underpaying for dialysis services Wisconsin has penalized 22 of its hospitals for failing to comply with emergency contraception law for rape victims, according to a Wisconsin State Journal report. Here are seven things to know. 1. Under state law, Wisconsin emergency rooms must provide information about emergency contraceptive pills, also known as "morning-after pills," to sexual assault victims. Additionally, hospitals are meant to dispense the drugs upon a patient's request and educate staff about the drugs, according to the report. 2. Matt Sande, legislative director for Pro-Life Wisconsin, which fought the law, said in the report that some penalized hospitals may oppose the law for religious reasons. 3. Twelve of the 22 hospitals fined have been cited since 2013, according to the report. 4. Two of the 22 hospitals fined were fined twice: Cumberland Memorial Hospital, in 2009 and 2015, and North Central Health Care in Wausau, in 2008 and 2013, reports the Wisconsin State Journal. 5. SSM Health St. Mary's Hospital in Madison was fined $7,500 in April 2015 for failing to comply with the three main parts of the law, according to the report. 6. Memorial Hospital of Lafayette County in Darlington was fined $7,500 in 2015 for violating the three main aspects of the law, and Watertown Regional Medical Center was fined for the same reason in 2013, the report notes. 7. Monroe Clinic was fined $2,500 in 2016, for failing to notify rape victims they could receive emergency contraception, according to the report. Vernon Memorial Hospital in Viroqua was fined for the same thing in 2009. For more on this story, read David Wahlberg's full report in the Wisconsin State Journal. A man was found dead in a bathroom at UnityPoint Health-Methodist in Peoria, Ill., early Friday morning after being discharged from the hospital the day prior, according to the Journal Star. Phillip Burgess, 54, was treated for a seizure and a cut on his chin Thursday and was discharged at about 4:30 p.m. He was pronounced dead at 12:03 a.m. Friday after a hospital employee found him in a bathroom in the emergency department. The employee told officials he saw clothing sticking out from under the door of the bathroom and found Mr. Burgess' body on the other side of the door when he opened it, according to the report. In a statement to the Journal Star,Peoria County Coroner Jamie Harwood said preliminary autopsy results show a fracture in Mr. Burgess' fifth cervical vertebra likely contributed to his death. It is unclear whether Mr. Burgess suffered another seizure after he was discharged from the hospital. Mr. Harwood said a final cause of death will not be available for at least two weeks. A UnityPoint Health-Methodist spokesman, Blake Long, told the Journal Star the hospital is fully investigating the incident. "Our thoughts and prayers are with the family," he said. More articles on healthcare industry news: ACA replacement may not come until 2018, Trump says Aetna, Anthem, Cigna signal changes to 2018 ACA exchanges Pharmaceutical giants are turning to a new method to address high prices: refund some money to insurers if a treatment doesn't work as expected, reports Bloomberg. Here are five things to know. 1. While the concept of pay for performance in the drug industry isn't new, the number of these agreements between drugmakers and payers has grown in the past year amid growing scrutiny of drug prices, according to the report. 2. Cigna Corp. has entered seven outcomes-based deals since 2009, according to the report. Danish drugmaker Novo Nordisk recently signed its first pay-for-performance contract with Humana for the diabetes treatment Victoza. Novartis, Merck & Co., Amgen, Sanofi and Eli Lilly & Co., have also signed similar contracts with various insurers in the past year, according to the report. 3. Bloomberg suggests the model is a way for drugmakers to avoid President Donald Trump's threats of implementing cost-lowering strategies, such as forcing drug companies to bid for government business. 4. Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, the industry's largest lobbying group, will introduce the pay for performance idea later this month as one of its proposals to address high drug prices, reports Bloomberg. 5. While outcomes-based pricing could prove useful for drugs treating easily-measured conditions like diabetes or high cholesterol, there are many obstacles to applying the concept to diseases with subjective measurements, such as those involving the nervous system, reports Bloomberg. "Everyone likes the idea of outcomes-based contracting, but the contracts themselves are really complicated," said Mark Fendrick, director of the Center for Value-Based Insurance Design at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. More articles on supply chain: Express Scripts: Drug spending slowed in 2016 Study: Amgen's Repatha lowers risk of heart problems Government subpoenas Biogen over MS drug prices President Donald Trump has decided to keep Ronny L. Jackson, MD, Former President Barack Obama's lead White House physician in his role. Here are five things to know: 1. After serving in the White House Medical Unit for several years, President Obama tapped Dr. Jackson to be the lead White House doctor in July 2013. 2. Dr. Jackson will follow the president as he travels domestically and overseas in case his medical expertise is needed. He is also the director of the White House Medical Unite, which cares for tourists or journalists who fall ill in the building. 3. During his military career, Dr. Jackson was a diving safety officer, an emergency medicine physician in charge of resuscitative medicine among several other roles. His extensive military medicine background likens him to many past lead White House physicians who were appointed to the post after decorative military medicine careers. 4. After graduating from the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, Dr. Jackson completed his internship and one residency at the Portsmouth Naval Medical Center in Virginia, while completing the second at the Navy's Undersea Medical Officer Program in Groton, Conn. 5. Dr. Jackson is a board certified diplomat of the American Board of Emergency Medicine and a fellow of the American Academy of Emergency Medicine. More articles on practice management: Which American cities top the list for the most compassionate? Deloitte: 18 trends in global healthcare for 2017 Shenandoah Orthopedics and Sports Medicine premiers new website: 5 notes US President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Theresa May holding hands as they walk along the White House Colonnade during her visit to Washington Theresa May has poked fun at the size of Donald Trump's hands in a joke to a private fundraising party, according to reports. The Prime Minister made light of photographs of her holding hands with the US president when she spoke to the Conservative Black and White Ball in London on Monday evening. The Daily Telegraph reported that in response to applause from Tory donors, Mrs May said: "Thank you very much for that wonderful reception. "I don't think I have received such a big hand since I walked down the colonnade at the White House." Mrs May and Mr Trump were pictured holding hands as they walked from the Oval Office to a press conference during last month's visit to the White House. Downing Street explained it as a chivalrous gesture from the president, who reached out to take Mrs May's hand as they walked down a small slope. Mr Trump has faced jibes about the size of his hands since the 1980s, when Spy magazine repeatedly labelled him a "short-fingered vulgarian". The taunt even surfaced in the contest for the Republican presidential nomination, when rival Marco Rubio asked: "Have you seen his hands? And you know what they say about men with small hands." A furious Mr Trump later hit back in a TV debate, saying: "Look at those hands. Are they small hands? ... I guarantee you there's no problem." The Co-operative Group has embarked on a top-level shake-up that will see Richard Pennycook step down as group chief executive. Mr Pennycook will make way for Steve Murrells, the chief executive of the group's food business, who will join the board on March 1. In a statement, Co-op chairman Allan Leighton said the group owed Mr Pennycook a "huge debt of gratitude" for guiding the organisation on to firmer financial ground. "Richard Pennycook saved our Co-op. In three short years he has rescued and rebuilt our business and restored pride to our 70,000 colleagues and 4.5 million members." "We owe Richard a huge debt of gratitude and his place in Co-op history is secured." The move comes amid a raft of senior management changes, with group chief operating officer Pippa Wicks becoming deputy chief executive, and finance director Jo Whitfield stepping up to interim chief executive of Co-op Food. Mr Pennycook, who first joined as interim chief executive in 2013, will continue to work with the mutual as an adviser, including overseeing work to separate the group's pension scheme from the Co-op Bank. The Co-op Group said that Mr Pennycook had guided the firm through the "rescue and rebuild" phases after the mutual came close to collapse. Mr Murrells will now lead the organisation through a so-called "renewal" phase focused on growing the organisation. "Leaving the Co-op was always going to be hard, but the time is right," Mr Pennycook added. "The CEO who is to lead the Renewal phase in 2018 has to be the CEO who builds the plan in 2017. "In passing the baton to Steve, I leave safe in the knowledge that the Co-op will be taken forward by a leader who shares our vision of what can be achieved in the future." The Co-op recorded a robust end-of-year performance in January after nearly going bust in 2013 after the discovery of a 1.5 billion financial hole in its bank business. The supermarkets-to-funeral services mutual said its retail chain saw l ike-for-like food sales rise 3.4% in the final quarter of the year, boosted by a 4% increase at its core convenience stores. It comes after Mr Pennycook asked the board to slash his base salary last year from 1.25 million to 750,000 because the group had entered ''calmer waters'' following a hard-fought turnaround. The outgoing chief executive - who will be paid a 20,000-a-month consultancy fee by the Co-op - has ruled out taking up another chief executive role, opting instead to focus on a number of non-executive positions. His departure came as Mr Leighton praised the performance of the mutual's general insurance business, but said it was doubtful the group would ever own a bank again. The mutual, which holds a 20% stake in the Co-op Bank, is currently unpicking the group pension scheme from the Co-op Bank's pension scheme in a process expected to take "a number of months". The Co-op has 3,750 outlets across the UK, with more than 70,000 staff. Jackie Henry MBE with husband Ronan and sons Rory and Conor and daughter Amy A senior partner at business advisory firm Deloitte in Belfast has received an MBE at a ceremony in Buckingham Palace in London. Jackie Henry MBE, who lives in Belfast, was presented with the honour for services to the economy by the Prince of Wales. Mrs Henry said the MBE reflected her work to help the growth of Deloitte in Northern Ireland since joining the business 28 year ago - including establishing new ways of training staff from both graduate and school leaver levels. "I've helped establish a new talent model here in Northern Ireland, establishing the first Level 6 apprenticeship scheme for a business advisory firm." Mrs Henry also played a major part in establishing a Deloitte delivery centre in Belfast, where employees carry out work on data analytics and human capital for clients of the firm. Belfast won out over other international Deloitte international offices to host the centre. It now employs 600 people, but is to grow to 1,000 staff by 2020. Her main role in Deloitte is as leader of Deloitte's public sector businesses. "That involves various aspects of working in public sector, including helping the reform agenda, supporting change and bringing through new delivery models." Deloitte's work in the public sector has included prison reform and the reform of leisure centre services for Belfast City Council. The firm has also played a major role in driving private sector involvement in MIPIM, an annual conference on property investment taking place in France. SEE PAGE 15 What Is Dodd-Frank and What Would Its Rollback Mean? In response to the 2007-2008 financial crisis, the Obama Administration passed the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, aimed at regulating big banks, making their operations more transparent, and keeping them from becoming "too big to fail." Republicans at the time opposed the bill, so it's no surprise that Dodd-Frank has become one of the many financial regulations on President Donald Trump's chopping block. So what does the Dodd-Frank Act do right now, and what would it mean for consumers if its protections are rolled back? Big Banks and Big Brother After the failure of the nation's fourth-biggest bank, Lehman Brothers, the government stepped in to rescue Merrill Lynch and gave billions to JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Citigroup, and Wells Fargo. By keeping a closer eye on the operations of the biggest banks, Obama and Democratic legislators were hoping to avoid future big bailouts. The major provisions of Dodd-Frank: Increased the amount that capital that banks must hold in reserve in order to provide more cushion to absorb loan losses in the future. Required banks to keep a larger portion of assets invested in cash and government securities so they can be easily liquidated in the event of a bank run. Required every bank with more than $50 billion worth of assets on its balance sheet to submit to annual stress tests from the Federal Reserve, to see if they can survive a another crisis like 2008. Prohibited proprietary trading at universal banks. Founded the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, to protect consumers from unfair, deceptive, or abusive financial products and services. Freedom From Dodd-Frank On February 3, Trump issued an executive order regarding the Core Principles for Regulating the United States Financial System. The order doesn't mention Dodd-Frank specifically, but many observers, including the Wall Street Journal, see the order as "the first step in expunging the 2010 Dodd-Frank financial overhaul act." While the Securities and Exchange Commission (one of the agencies tasked with enforcing Dodd-Frank's regulations) can't repeal or revoke the Act itself, it can amend its own enforcement procedures by amending its rules or offering exemptions. But any rollback may face a pair of challenges from Democrats in Congress and lawsuits in the courts. And Trump's executive order merely tasks the Secretary of the Treasury to explore laws and regulations that would promote the order's principles -- it doesn't provide a plan as of yet. So at this point it is unclear what the Trump Administration would replace Dodd-Frank with, if they are even able to scale back its main provisions. Related Resources: Toymaker Hornby warned in November that annual revenues would plummet by around a quarter Toymaker Hornby said plans to shore up its flagging performance were on track as it presses ahead with a sweeping structural overhaul. The Scalextric-to-Airfix firm said underlying Christmas trading was "healthy" and January sales were "solid" despite annual group revenue slumping 25% over the festive season. Shares soared 12% in morning trading on the London Stock Exchange after the firm said it was "well-positioned" on its journey back to profitability. Hornby, best-known for its model railways, warned in November that annual revenues would plummet by around a quarter as it trims costs by shutting concession sites and shifting European staff to the UK. Chief executive Steve Cooke said the company was "in the midst of a transformational year", but the turnaround plan was "proceeding as expected". "The restructuring of our UK operations is complete and we are well-advanced with our initiatives in Europe," he said. "Our improved financial position is evidence of the success of the first stage of the turnaround. Hornby is well-positioned to continue its transition to profitability and higher cash generation." The firm said UK revenues dropped 21% during key Christmas trading, but all sales channels had met, or exceeded, expectations. Moves to reinforce relationships with independent retailers were also bearing fruit, with sales in this area lifting 4% year-on-year over the period. But the company said it expects to continue trading at a loss as it "reshapes and streamlines the business" throughout the current financial year. As part of the turnaround plan, the group said it had sold its Margate site for 2.25 million, which will deliver a profit of around 900,000. It plans to lease back part of the site for the Hornby Visitors Centre and shop. A string of profit warnings have caused Hornby's shares to plummet over the past year, with its stock price plunging around 60% since December 2015. In November, Hornby said turnover had dropped 2% to 21.9 million in the six months to September, with pre-tax losses widening to 4.7 million from 4.5 million for the half year. Jean-Christophe Novelli is to open his first and only restaurant in Ireland at Belfast Harbour's brand new hotel, AC Hotel by Marriott Belfast. Top chef Jean-Christophe Novelli is launching a new restaurant at one of Belfast's latest hotels. The chef will open up an eatery at the current under-construction 25m Marriott AC Hotel. It's part of Belfast Harbour's City Quays project. The French chef already operates a number of other restaurants in the UK. The hotel at Belfasts newest waterfront development which will feature the 104-seat restaurant, as well as bar, lounge, gym, meeting rooms and almost 190 luxury bedrooms. It's due to open its doors at the start of next year, and will be called Jean-Christophe Novelli at City Quays. Belfast Harbour said the restaurant will offer a brasserie menu with French flair. He's also due to visit Belfast next month to reveal more details about his plans. Graeme Johnston, property director of Belfast Harbour, said: "Recognised across the UK, Ireland, Europe and beyond, Jean-Christophe Novelli is a true champion of high quality, down-to-earth and innovative menu combinations and his decision to choose City Quays, and Belfast, is a testament to the success of our development plans for this key city centre site and the strong demand for great hospitality and the vibrancy of our visitor economy. "Strategically located, this exciting new restaurant is great news for the local economy and will provide a welcome addition to Belfast and Northern Irelands strong hospitality, leisure and tourism offer. "Its a real coup for Belfast and I look forward to an outstanding first year when our hotel opens its doors in 2018." Scott and Macy Alexander of Bangor Swimming Club with Jamie Mendez, operations manager of Little Wing Pizza chain Little Wing has awarded 500 in bursaries to six Northern Ireland children's clubs. Since its launch, 12 clubs from across Northern Ireland have benefited, and this year's winners are east Belfast's Ojika NI Kids Kendo Club, Malone Rugby Club Minis, Bangor Swimming Club, Fighting Words Belfast, Carryduff Colts FC and Jets Cheerleading Team from Enniskillen. Luke Wolsey, managing director of Little Wing Pizzeria, said the scheme is a way for the company to give something back to the community. "The Little Wing Little Stars bursary scheme has been running for three years now and it's been a pleasure to financially assist kids clubs in the local area," he said. Luke also encouraged groups to get involved in this year's event. The UK could become the fastest growing economy out of the G7 nations by 2050, according to new research. According to PwC, the UK could boast average annual growth of 1.9%. The UK's long-term economic growth could outpace EU countries like Germany, France and Italy, despite some medium-term drag from Brexit. That's according to PwC's The World in 2050 report. However, globally, the UK is likely to be overtaken by other nations in terms of overall growth. PwC predicts the UK will have fallen by just one place, from 9th to 10th in global economy rankings. With potential average annual growth of around 1.9%, the UK is projected to remain the fastest growing economy in the G7 between 2016 and 2050. According to PwC, the UK position is "sustained by its projected larger working-age share of the population than in most other advanced economies". But it has warned that the strong growth potential depends on the UK continuing to attract and employ talented people from around the world, following Brexit. John Hawksworth, chief economist at PwC, said: "After a year of major political shocks, including the EU referendum and the election of President Trump, it might seem brave to offer economic prospects for 2017, let alone 2050. "But a long-term view is crucial for planning for issues like pensions, healthcare, energy and climate change, housing, transport and other infrastructure investment. By looking beyond unpredictable short-term economic and political cycles and focusing on fundamentals, long-term growth projections can actually be more reliable than short-term forecasts. "Our relatively positive long-term growth projection for the UK reflects favourable demographic factors and a relatively flexible economy, even by European standards. "However, developing successful trade and investment links with faster-growing emerging economies and recruiting workforce talent wherever in the world it can be found, are essential to achieving this growth and to offset probable weaker trade links with the EU after Brexit." PwC also says that regardless of the outcome of the EU referendum, emerging economies are going to become dominant global economic forces, eclipsing many EU members. China has already overtaken the USA to become the world's largest economy, and will move further ahead by 2050. India currently sits in third place and is projected to overtake the US by 2050. PwC has also projected that the world economy will double in size by 2042, growing at an average annual rate of just over 2.5% between 2016 and 2050. Mr John Hawksworth said: "Ageing populations and climate change require forward-thinking policies, which equip the workforce to continue to make societal contributions later on in life and promote sustainable development. "Falling global trade growth, rising inequality and increasing global uncertainties are intensifying the need to create diversified economies that offer opportunities for everyone in a broad variety of industries. Emerging economies offer great opportunities for business and the forecasts in our report make it clear that failure to engage with these markets means missing out on the bulk of the economic growth we expect to see in the world economy between now and 2050." Economies such as Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, Mexico, Russia and Turkey are forecast to grow at an annual average rate of 3.5% over the next 34 years, compared to an average of just 1.6% for the advanced G7 nations. Actor Ardal O'Hanlon said he is very aware of how Irish people are represented on British TV and that he frequently amends his scripts to remove the "Irishisms". The former Father Ted star, who is replacing Death In Paradise's Kris Marshall in BBC1 series, said that people in Ireland have been "outraged" by the way they are portrayed on-screen, using the 1997 Dublin-based episodes of EastEnders as an example. O'Hanlon told the Radio Times: " From day one working in TV, I have been very conscious of the way the Irish are represented. "In every show I've been involved in I read the script, take out the Irishisms right away and say, 'I'll supply those'. "Father Ted was written by Irish people, so that was fine, but around the time we were shooting it EastEnders went to Ireland and represented it as this terribly backward society where people were going around with one eye and drunk." The BBC was forced to apologise after receiving complaints from viewers over the stereotypical overtones of the three special episodes, which focused on Pauline Fowler (Wendy Richard) travelling to Ireland to meet a long-lost relative. O'Hanlon said: "That outraged people in Ireland. But that will happen from time to time, we were brought up with that." The actor and comedian said he is "crippled with doubt" to be taking over the reigns as Detective Inspector Jack Mooney in the Caribbean-based detective series from Marshall, who has played DI Humphrey Goodman since 2014. He said: "For most of us, even the apparently very confident ones, doubt is a big part of life. But I'm of a certain age now, and those kind of things don't plague me the way they might have 10 years ago, I embrace the challenge." Marshall, 43, joked that the main difference between his departing character and O'Hanlon's is that "he's Irish, for starters". Marshall said: "His character's a lot more anecdotal, so the way he goes about things is different. He's also been recently widowed - and he has a daughter in her early 20s. So that's a whole different dynamic." Marshall revealed last week that he is standing down from the popular programme because he wants to spend more time with his children, after spending six months of the year filming the show in Guadeloupe. He said that it was always his plan to end his time on Death In Paradise within a few years, once his son had grown up and when working abroad half the year "became impractical". "It was always quite a finite thing. I certainly didn't hide it from anyone I work with," he said. :: This week's Radio Times is on sale today. The Night Manager star Elizabeth Debicki has said she had to make her character more interesting because she was "lacking in dimension" in author John le Carre's book. The Australian actress played Jed Marshall, the girlfriend of arms dealer Richard Roper (Hugh Laurie) in the BBC thriller, based on le Carre's 1993 novel of the same name. She told Radio Times: "When we set out to make The Night Manager, we were all very aware that in the book - and John le Carre doesn't mind me saying so, he's said it to me before - Jed was quite lacking in dimension. "I just don't think she was his focus." The actress, 26, said in that genre women can become just "a strange projection of male fantasy". "They don't seem to think or feel anything; if something ripples their surface, they instantly recover," she said. "And you wonder where their soul is, really. "I wouldn't know how to play a role like that, I'm more of a mining actress, trying to find what's underneath and bring it out." The actress said Susanne Bier, who directed the espionage drama, helped her bring out something deeper in the character. She said: "Watching it back now, there's this interesting strain through the story, about motherhood, maternal instinct and maternal love, what the meaning of life really is. "You need that when you're dealing with a story about the arms race and men killing men, and men looking for meaning. "We didn't sit down and say, 'We've got to make that character interesting,' she just became interesting." :: The Radio Times is on sale on Tuesday. Tracy Brabin said that "mothers and carers are under siege" in the industry The lack of women working in the cultural industries is "woeful" and more needs to be done for those with parenting and caring responsibilities in order to help sustain their careers, MP Tracy Brabin said. Ms Brabin, a former actress who became Jo Cox's successor as MP for Batley and Spen in October 2016, said that despite the UK film and TV industry growing in recent years, the number of working females, particularly expectant mothers, is diminishing, and that this trend is also apparent in politics. She said that "mothers and carers are under siege" in the industry. Delivering the keynote speech at the Raising Films Industry Summit, she said: "Freelance workers - actors, writers, film-makers - we don't have the luxury of company maternity pay, so you decide to have a baby as an actor and financially you fall off the fiscal cliff because you're on state maternity. "And once you start to show (in pregnancy) as an actor you are absolutely, totally invisible." Ms Brabin said: "It's an extraordinary industry to be in. The jobs are there, but women's participation has fallen in an industry that's growing. "Women comprised 4% of directors of the 100 top grossing films between 2007 and 2016. Listing other "galling" statistics, including that in the 2015-2016 television season, there were no female directors behind 91% of new TV series, she said that women are "being airbrushed out of the picture". Ms Brabin said "it is a wider problem" and that it is not just in the film and TV worlds that this is happening and that the number of women MPs has also "stagnated" in recent years. She said the risks of stepping out, as an actor, film-maker or politician, are huge, particularly for those with families. The ex-Coronation Street actress has supported Raising Films, a campaign and community for parents and carers in the UK film and TV industry, since its inception in 2015. The organisation is now launching the Family Support Fund in association with the Cinema and Television Benevolent Fund (CTBF), a 12-month pilot scheme offering financial support to professionals working in the UK screen sector. Ms Brabin said the Family Support Fund's initiative, which includes the enabling of financial assistance for childcare for people in the creative industries, is a "brilliant opportunity for everybody who has caring responsibilities". She said "we need to challenge the gender pay gap" that is still prevalent and that audiences need to "support the opening weekend of women's films" in order to give them a chance at creating more movies. Actress Charlotte Riley, Raising Films' first ambassador, added: " Balancing work or a career with child care or any form of caring for others is a universal challenge, we know it is not unique to the screen industries. "However, a study has shown that 14% of women in the UK film industry are mothers compared with 74% in other industries, so there is cause for concern there and the film industry is especially uncompromising in allowing people to work in more bespoke and flexible ways." Washington v. Trump: DOJ Reply Comes in, Oral Arguments Scheduled for Today The Department of Justice yesterday urged the Ninth Circuit to reinstate President Trump's executive order banning refugee resettlement in the United States and halting immigration from seven majority-Muslim nations. The move comes just days after a federal judge in Seattle issued a temporary restraining order, stopping enforcement of the EO nationwide. That TRO, the Justice Department argued in its reply filed yesterday afternoon, is unjustified and "vastly overbroad." Here is a quick look at their arguments. DOJ Argues to Reinstate EO "The Executive Order is a lawful exercise of the President's authority over the entry of aliens into the United States and the admissions of refugees," the DOJ's reply begins. As such, it "satisfies any constitutional scrutiny that applies," the government argued, citing a ruling from the U.S. District Court of Massachusetts last Friday. (That case, Louhghalam v. Trump, involved a habeas petition on behalf of two detained permanent residents. There, the court declined to extend a TRO enjoining the executive order.) But even if the district court in Washington was justified in enjoining enforcement, "the court's sweeping nationwide injunction is vastly overbroad, extending far beyond the State's legal claims to encompass numerous applications of the Order that the State does not even attempt to argue are lawful." (Side note: The DOJ refers to the lower court's order as an injunction throughout. In its response, Washington has argued that the order is a temporary restraining order, not an injunction, and thus the DOJ's action in the Ninth Circuit is procedurally improper. That argument goes largely unaddressed in the government's reply.) Will Washington Have Standing? From there, the government moves to standing, which could be one of the trickiest aspects of Washington State's challenge to the EO. Washington has relied on Massachusetts v. EPA to argue that it has Article III standing. There, the Supreme Court acknowledged a "special solicitude" for States, finding that Massachusetts and 11 other states had standing to sue to force the EPA to regulate carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gasses. Those states, the Supreme Court found, could have standing for an injury to its "quasi-sovereign interests." But that solicitude doesn't extend to this case, the DOJ argued. Whereas Massachusetts sought to "protect a loss of 'sovereign territory,'" -- the literal loss of territory due to global warming and rising sea levels -- here, Washington's "interest in protecting its own territory is not an issue." Further, where the Administrative Procedure Act gives states and individuals the right to sue over EPA rulemaking (or the lack thereof), the executive has exclusive power over immigration; there is no procedural right the states can vindicate, as there was in Mass v. EPA. And if an alien has no right to challenge the denial or revocation of a visa, the DOJ argues, it follows "a fortiori" that a state cannot challenge the revocation of those visas either. Oral Arguments Today When it came to the merits, the DOJ's brief, like Washington's before it, largely holds to its earlier arguments. Washington's constitutional claims lack merit, the government argues, because the program is religiously neutral and because aliens outside the United States have no due process rights to violate. In suspending the EO, the injunction raises "potential national-security risks and harms" by reinstating procedures the president found worthy or reexamination. The Ninth Circuit has scheduled telephonic oral arguments for 3 pm, Pacific time, today. You can listen to the live stream below as it occurs, or catch up on the arguments later via the Ninth Circuit's YouTube page. Related Resources: Steve Hewlett arranged his wedding within an hour after receiving the news his cancer was terminal A BBC presenter battling cancer has married his partner in hospital after being told he may only have weeks to live. Steve Hewlett, who is in his late 50s, said he was wedded in his hospital room "in an hour" after being told his treatment for cancer of the oesophagus could not continue. The presenter of Radio 4's The Media Show said preparations began after he was told he had "weeks, possibly months" to live by his consultant at the Royal Marsden Hospital in Chelsea, west London. "The whole thing was organised in an hour," the father-of-three told PM's Eddie Mair. "They got a Chelsea registrar, they got a Chelsea vicar hauled out of a dinner she was in with somebody. "The nurses managed to produce bunches of flowers, a wedding cake, a couple bottles of Prosecco appeared from goodness knows where and then this ceremony begins." Mr Hewlett, who has presented the show since 2008 and also writes for the Guardian, had been receiving chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Pausing for a photograph with some of the party members DUP leader Arlene Foster launches the partys election campaign at Brownlow House in Lurgan Arlene Foster has insisted she will never agree to an Irish Language Act, hinting that Polish people here have a stronger case. The DUP leader also warned that Gerry Adams is back front and centre and out for a valedictory run before he leaves the scene. In a no-holds-barred attack, she said: If you feed the crocodile they just come back for more. Mrs Foster said if there was to be an Irish language act, there should be a Polish language act because more people in Northern Ireland speak Polish than Irish. The cost that would be incurred, in terms of the Irish language would be quite incredible and all for a tiny minority of people who chose to speak the language, and of course theyre entirely entitled to do so, Mrs Foster said. But if we have an Irish language act maybe we should have a Polish language act as well because there are more people in Northern Ireland that speak Polish, than speak Irish. So this characterisation of we should have given something to Sinn Fein to keep them appeased is not the way I do business. Mrs Foster said she was not prepared to reward bad behaviour or to capitulate to manufactured demands. Formally launching the partys election campaign yesterday, Mrs Foster also admitted making mistakes in the recent past, and added: No one feels worse about what has happened than I do. She also attacked the rank hypocrisy of those who have most to say about maladministration but little to say about the murder and mayhem brought to Northern Ireland over many years. Expand Close Irish language activists dressed as crocodiles protest outside the DUP's Nelson MCausland's office on the Ballysillan Road in north Belfast. Picture by Jonathan Porter/PressEye.com / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Irish language activists dressed as crocodiles protest outside the DUP's Nelson MCausland's office on the Ballysillan Road in north Belfast. Picture by Jonathan Porter/PressEye.com Mrs Foster said she believed her former power-sharing partner, Martin McGuinness, had been genuine when he signed off on a joint newspaper article on November 21 promising there would not be a return to direct rule from Westminster. But in contrast, she said Sinn Feins new Northern Ireland leader, Michelle ONeill, had been handpicked by Mr Adams who is no longer in the shadows to do his bidding. She also denied attempting to turn the Sinn Fein president into a bogeyman for this election in the same way Mr McGuinness had featured in past warnings that he could become First Minister. Mrs Foster also claimed: Come election day, Sinn Fein could have enough seats to be the biggest party, capture the First Ministers post and push to implement Gerry Adamss agenda for Northern Ireland. Just imagine what that would mean for our way of life. The results of the March 2 election could, she argued, be very close. Almost all the partys 38 Assembly candidates turned out for the early morning launch at Brownlow House in Lurgan to hear their leader warn: Michelle ONeill was installed by Gerry Adams and she will be instructed by Gerry Adams. How do we know? Because she told us. When asked about making decisions she said she is, part of Gerrys team. She went on to say, he is still our president so we will be working with him very closely. Responding, Mrs ONeill said: We are not interested in negativity. We are fighting this campaign. Our candidates are standing on three key principles: respect, equality for all, and integrity in the political institutions. Thats our job of work, thats what we are concerned with. Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams, in response to the crocodile remark, quipped: See you later, alligator. Last night, Mrs Fosters remarks on the Irish language came under attack. POBAL, the advocacy organisation for the Irish-speaking community, said the comments were deplorable. Police are losing control of north and west Belfast amid mounting security fears and growing paramilitary activity, a PSNI insider has claimed. A concerned officer says a lack of resources, delayed response times and nervousness about future attacks on the force are driving communities to dissident gangs for protection. In the last week, one republican group is said to have chased down a stolen car and returned stolen tools to their owner. Meanwhile, a catalogue of issues relating to the PSNI in north and west Belfast has been reported to this newspaper. Following a call to police on Sunday night about a shooting in Newtownabbey, officers - believed to have been from a unit outside the area - attended the scene more than 12 hours later. Across the city on Norglen Drive in west Belfast, three cars were burnt out in the early hours of Monday morning. In an even more alarming claim, a PSNI source alleged police left a "viable device" found last month in Poleglass for 15 hours before the correct response units made it to the scene. The senior officer claimed police on the ground were told to stay out of the area, while the public - unaware of the potential danger to their lives - continued to pass the device on Brians Well Road until Army Technical Officers and Territorial Support Group units arrived. The latest concerns come after an officer in his 20s was shot at a petrol station on the Crumlin Road last month and less than a week after Chief Constable George Hamilton answered complaints from a female officer that there weren't enough personnel to police the streets of Belfast, insisting there were enough people to do the job. A worried officer said colleagues feared for their safety because of poor training and inadequate resources. According to the source not all PSNI officers have received sufficient firearms training, with many ill-equipped to use their G36 assault rifles if they were to come under attack. While some have had adequate training, the source said, not all have been taught how to respond tactically if under attack. However, the PSNI said only specific and specialist officers are trained to use G36 weapons. The source said officers are stretched too thinly across the north and west districts of the city, with concerns personnel could be left without adequate support if a large number were deployed to one place should a major incident take place. Following alleged warnings about IEDs posing a potential threat, officers are worried police vehicles are not armoured strongly enough to withstand an attack, it is claimed. According to the insider, some jeeps could not hold off an IED blast. "All these things are feeding into each other," said the source. "The police are overstretched, they're afraid of more attacks and they are being kept out of certain areas by their superiors until it's felt they are safe to go in. "That means waiting for back-up and telling undercover officers in those areas they're coming in. But that is leaving communities potentially in danger. People are being told to call the police in emergencies but in many cases when they do, they're not getting quick and efficient help. "Almost every day officers are going in to their stations to a list of jobs held over from the day before. Officers have simply driven past when they've seen bins on fire by the Divis flats. They don't feel safe getting out so communities are turning to gangs for help. "These dissidents are going out and dealing with things when the police aren't there in time. We've seen more punishment shootings, more hijackings and we all know we've had a young policeman shot in the last few weeks. The PSNI is losing control of north and west Belfast, and dissident groups are filling that space." Last night Chief Inspector Keith Jackson explained the decision not to attend the Newtownabbey shooting until yesterday morning. He said: "Police officers liaised with a community representative and were able to ascertain the identity of the home owner and the exact location of the incident. "The home owner was spoken to and confirmed neither he nor anyone else had been injured and that he had left his home to stay at another location for the evening. "A decision was made to increase patrolling in the general area overnight and to attend the scene of the incident during daylight hours on Monday morning. "This decision was based on a variety of factors including the safety of the public and police officers." A spokesperson said while they couldn't comment on whether the unit sent to deal with the shooting was local, districts can use officers from across departments and units. Responding to Sunday's shooting, Sinn Fein's Gerry Kelly said: "There can be no place for the use of guns on our streets. I would call on those responsible to stop these actions immediately." Firefighters at the scene of the blaze in Ardnaclowney House Firefighters at the scene of the blaze in Ardnaclowney House The death of a woman who sustained severe burns in a fire at her west Belfast home - despite neighbours' attempts to save her - has been described as a tragic accident. The victim, thought to have been in her early 60s and suffering ill health, has been named locally as Maura Ashton. She was critically injured in the blaze that broke out at her top floor flat in Ardnaclowney House, a sheltered housing complex off Beechmount Avenue, where she is understood to have been a long-term resident. Police and firefighters attended the scene shortly before 4pm on Sunday and the woman was taken to hospital. She was later pronounced dead. It is believed she died from burns to her lower body sustained in the fire. Three other residents were treated by paramedics at the scene for smoke inhalation. The fire service said the blaze was "accidental", and the PSNI said it wasn't being "treated as suspicious at this time". An investigation was being carried out yesterday morning and the flat was cordoned off. Sinn Fein councillor Mary McConville extended her sympathies to the victim's family and friends. "We are all very sad at her passing," she said. "From what I understand it was a very tragic accident and very sad to hear. "I think some of the neighbours tried to help her. "She was living in sheltered accommodation but she was not an elderly lady. She was only in her early 60s but she had not been well for a while." Ardnaclowney is run by Habinteg Housing Association and accommodates people aged over 60. TUV Councillor Jolene Bunting said: "It is so tragic and an awful situation and I would like to pass my condolences onto the family." The Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service (NIFRS) said the blaze was accidental and was discovered in the kitchen of the premises, where it was quickly put out with a fire extinguisher. A NIFRS spokeswoman said that an automatic alarm at the complex alerted them to the incident. "The thoughts and sympathies of NIFRS are with her family and friends," she said. Yesterday, the PSNI confirmed the woman passed away in hospital from her injuries on Sunday evening. "Police can confirm that a woman has died following a fire at a flat in the Ardnaclowney Drive area of west Belfast," she said. "The fire was reported to police just after 4pm on Sunday. "The woman was taken to hospital for treatment to her injuries but died later that evening. "The fire is not being treated as suspicious at this time." Ardnaclowney House contains around 35 flats and was built some two decades ago. Health regulators said full compliance with regulations were not yet achieved in delivering safe and effective care at Dunmurry Manor in Belfast One of the UK's large care home providers has still not met official standards at a residence in Northern Ireland. Dunmurry Manor in Belfast is owned by Essex-based Runwood Homes. Health regulators first raised concerns in October but said full compliance with regulations had not yet been achieved in delivering safe and effective care. Admissions have been frozen. The Regulation and Quality Improvement Authority (RQIA) said: "Despite having raised these matters during inspections, RQIA is concerned that the improvements necessary to ensure full compliance with the required regulations have not been made." Dunmurry Manor is a 76-bed care home for the elderly including those with dementia. The RQIA identified issues of concern last autumn surrounding governance and management of the home, the health and welfare of patients and staffing arrangements. Since then, compliance has been achieved in staffing. The report said the RQIA had taken an overview of inspection activity, including the lack of progress and sustained compliance with official regulations and standards over a period of time, together with the enforcement meetings, "and have concerns in relation to robust governance and management arrangements and the sustained delivery of safe and effective care to patients". A statement from Runwood Homes Northern Ireland said it had fully engaged with the RQIA and shared plans for implementing a model of best practice within Dunmurry Manor. "Our residents are our first concern and we will ensure that they receive safe and effective care. "We will continue to work with local health trusts in a collaborative and partnership manner. "We envisage that in a short time Dunmurry Manor will be fully compliant with all regulations and will contribute to the provision of an excellent care service to the local community." Late on Monday, the U.S. Justice Department under the Trump administration urged a federal appeals court to reinstate the so-called President's so-called "targeted travel ban." The DoJ said this evening that immediate action was required to protect America from the global menace of terrorism. Reuters: Last Friday, U.S. District Judge James Robart suspended Trump's ban, opening a window for people from the seven affected countries to enter the country. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco will hear arguments over whether to restore the ban from Justice Department lawyers and opposing attorneys for the states of Minnesota and Washington at 3 p.m. PST. In a tweet on Monday night, Trump said: "The threat from radical Islamic terrorism is very real, just look at what is happening in Europe and the Middle-East. Courts must act fast!" Until then, travelers from the seven predominantly Muslim nations banned by Trump's executive order can expect a much lower risk of detention by border agents, though at this point, who knows. From the New York Times article by Adam Liptak: The administration's brief was the last in a series of urgent pleas to the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, in San Francisco, which is now set to rule on the most ambitious and disruptive initiative of Mr. Trump's young presidency. The ruling will almost certainly be followed by an appeal to the Supreme Court. The court scheduled an hourlong oral argument for Tuesday. That gives at least another day of reprieve to foreign visitors from seven predominantly Muslim countries, as well as other immigrants, who initially were blocked from entering the United States by Mr. Trump's order. The administration's brief largely tracked its earlier arguments that dismissing the ban outright would threaten national security and disregard presidential authority. But it also asked the appeals court, at a minimum, to reinstate at least part of Mr. Trump's order appearing to acknowledge the possibility that the government's case might not be successful. On Twitter today, Donald Trump said the threat to the United States "from radical Islamic terrorism is very real." Regarding legal challenges to his so-called "Muslim Ban" that threw the legal status of countless human beings into disarray, he added, "Courts must act fast!" Trump administration spokesliar Sean Spicer told reporters the regime is ready to reinstate the ban which isn't a ban, yes it's a ban, wait no it's not, okay it's a ban. "Once we win the case, it will go right back into action," he vowed. On that, I don't believe he's lying. A Belfast man who committed an air rage incident which led to an easyJet flight from Belfast to Manchester being delayed has been fined 600. Samuel Patrick Moore (47) of Springbank Close, appeared at Antrim Magistrates' Court on Tuesday for sentencing. In January he admitted three charges of behaving in a threatening manner onboard an aircraft, failing to obey a lawful command on an aircraft and being drunk on a plane. A prosecutor said Moore was on a flight going to Manchester at 5pm on Friday, September 9 last year. Police were called after a report of a drunk and disruptive passenger after he had been asked to leave but refused. Officers escorted him off the flight at Belfast International Airport. He had been shouting and swearing and the flight was delayed after a crew member was so distressed she had to go off duty. A prosecutor said the flight was delayed for two hours and passengers were taken off the aircraft for a time. When questioned, Moore said he was taking pain relief for arthritis which mixed with one beer and a double whiskey he had in the airport bar and his recollection of the incident was hazy. District Judge Peter King told a previous hearing in January a crew member said she felt threatened when Moore said to her "I'm going to stick a f--king gun to your head". At court on Tuesday a defence lawyer said his client denied making that remark and said the claim had been uncorroborated. The lawyer said Moore was on the way to a wedding in England and had taken drink in the airport because he was a "nervous flyer". He said Moore wanted to apologise for his actions. The Pitchford inquiry was launched following scandals involving officers and women tricked into relationships. An anti-globalisation activist has won the first stage of a High Court battle to have a major inquiry into alleged wrongdoing by undercover British police officers extended to cover their activities in Northern Ireland. Jason Kirkpatrick was granted leaved to seek a judicial review of the Government's refusal to widen the probe being chaired by Lord Justice Pitchford beyond England and Wales. His lawyers argued that officers attached to the Metropolitan Police and the National Public Order Intelligence Unit secretly travelled to Belfast for spying purposes without PSNI knowledge. It was also revealed in court that the families of at least two murder victims in Northern Ireland have now been informed that undercover operatives were present at protest events surrounding the killings. Amid claims of potential miscarriages of justice due to the secret activities, counsel for Mr Kirkpatrick insisted no answer has been provided to the public interest issues raised. Ben Emmerson QC told the court: "This is a hopeless decision-making procedure, flawed from the top to bottom and frankly embarrassingly bad." Undercover officers were deployed to infiltrate alternative movements, from anarchists to environmental demonstrators. The Pitchford inquiry was launched following scandals involving officers and women tricked into relationships. One of the former operatives at the centre of the controversy, Mark Kennedy, is alleged to have operated in Northern Ireland alongside environmental campaigners and anti-globalisation demonstrators in 2005. He was said to have travelled to Belfast along with Mr Kirkpatrick. But Mr Justice Maguire was told more officers from the Met's special demonstration squad also came to Northern Ireland. Judicial review proceedings have been brought against the British Home Secretary for refusing to extend its scope. The challenge is also directed at the Northern Ireland Office for allegedly failing to take action when the issue was referred to it. As the hearing got underway in Belfast, Mr Kirkpatrick was joined by Kate Wilson, who said she was Mark Kennedy's partner for two years, and other political activists claiming the operative exploited and manipulated them. During submissions, Mr Emmerson contended that the last two Stormont Justice Ministers, David Ford and Claire Sugden, have raised concerns about the need to ensure accountability for the officers actions in Northern Ireland. He cited documents showing a number of officers from the special demonstration squad came to Northern Ireland to gather intelligence after infiltrating protest groups. There are no records that either the RUC or PSNI were aware of their actions, the barrister continued. Referring to correspondence on their alleged presence at protests over unnamed killings, he said: "It's been discovered that there's sufficient connection to two murders at least in Northern Ireland for the need to notify families of the involvement of undercover officers." Convictions have been quashed in England and Wales because of the role of operatives who encouraged serious crime and then gave evidence using false identities, the court heard. "We simply don't know whether there may be individuals in Northern Ireland serving prison sentences... as a result of agent provocateurs," Mr Emmerson insisted. He likened the government's attitude to the situation to the "brass monkey approach of see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil - it's just turning a blind eye". Tony McGleenan QC, responding for the two Secretaries of State, argued that a bespoke tribunal similar to the Historical Institutional Abuse Inquiry could be set up to deal with all Northern Ireland issues. He claimed it was within the Home Secretary's remit to refuse to extent the terms of reference of the Pitchford probe. But Mr Justice Maguire held that leave to seek a judicial review should be granted because an arguable case has been established. "The court considers there are a whole range of questions which arise and relatively few answers have been offered by either Secretary of State in respect of those questions," he said. A full hearing will now be listed for a date later this year. Outside court Mr Kirkpatrick told how he came to Belfast with Mark Kennedy after being introduced through a mutual friend. "The special demonstration squad have been responsible for dozens of overturned convictions in England," he said. "They were doing the same types of activity in Northern Ireland, so all these issues must be looked into to establish if there are any other unsafe convictions here." Mr Kirkpatrick's solicitor, Darragh Mackin of KRW Law, said: "It is clear that there remains unanswered questions which have serious and fundamental questions for the transparency and accountability of policing in this jurisdiction. "We will now eagerly await the response from the Secretary of State and Home Secretary as to the basis on which they propose to defend the application." Legitimate claimants of the Renewable Heat Incentive scheme have been left hundreds of thousands of pounds in debt by the botched venture - even before ministers have managed to thrash out a deal to change their contracts, it has been claimed. Banks have already pulled out of loan deals with dozens of recipients of the RHI programme because of uncertainty surrounding future payments, leaving many in life-changing debt. One farmer is said to be facing a bill of around 400,000. Michael Doran, from the Renewable Heat Association which is representing around 500 claimants of the scheme, said the government's handling of the programme has had devastating consequences for people - not just financially, but on the whole of their lives. "These people applied to an official, government programme and agreed in good faith to its terms and conditions," said Mr Doran, who does not have any boilers through the RHI scheme. "They made investments in their farms and businesses once their applications had been approved in the belief the government would keep its side of the contract. "They got bank loans agreed on the understanding they would receive RHI payments over 20 years. "But already, many have suffered very badly because the circumstances have changed as a result of how this has been handled." One farmer Mr Doran has spoken to is now short of around 400,000 while another has no funds to cover an investment of 100,000. "Two years ago, one farmer invested 700,000 in improvements to his business," he added. "His application to the RHI scheme had been approved and this made up part of his agreement with the bank. They agreed to a loan of 400,000. "But now, because circumstances have changed because he couldn't guarantee he would be getting the RHI money he has been told they will not pay out on this loan. "He is now facing a bill of 400,000 which he thought would be covered by a bank loan, and he doesn't know how he's going to pay it." Another man is in a similar predicament, with an outstanding bill of around 100,000. "It's exactly the same thing," Mr Doran added. "He had agreed a loan with the bank with payments from the RHI scheme taken into consideration, but now they have reneged on that deal. "When he responded to them, the bank said he should go ahead and 'sue' them. They know he is not in a position to do that with everything else going on." But, added Mr Doran, the fight was not with the banks - it still lies entirely with the government departments which designed and failed to deliver the scheme properly. "The banks have been forced into a very difficult and awkward position here too," he said. "They signed off on loans in good faith believing payments would be coming in from the scheme for 20 years. "Now ministers are throwing doubt on to this by saying they're going to go back and change the initial agreement, so of course they have to protect themselves. It's understandable that the banks won't leave themselves exposed as part of this mess. "This is a problem caused by the government, and the people who legitimately applied to this scheme - the vast majority as far as I can see - should not be punished because of their mistakes. "If there are people behaving badly, then they have to be rooted out, but most people took part in good faith. I've spoken to four or five people directly who have been affected in this way already but I believe there are dozens more out there." And, Mr Doran added, it's not just this sort of financial burden impacting on recipients. "The attitude of the public seems to be that anyone who claimed on this scheme was up to no good, but in my opinion it's probably about 98% of people who applied genuinely, hoping to do a good thing for their business under the rules," he said. "Even people who applied during the so-called 'spike' period were still applying under official rules. Why should they be criticised for that?" The RHI scandal came under renewed attack yesterday with TUV leader Jim Allister branding it an embarrassment for unionism. Battling through the wind and rain in Belfast City Centre yesterday Gale force winds in Northern Ireland saw gusts reaching over 70mph in parts of the province yesterday. A yellow warning for high winds was issued by the Met Office, with the Northern Ireland Weather & Flood Advisory Service warning the public of very rough sea conditions. It advised people to avoid beach fronts due to risks of over topping waves. By 3pm yesterday the highest recorded wind speed had reached 71mph in Magilligan Point, Limavady. The Met Office predicted isolated gusts of up to 65mph and recorded that by noon wind speeds topped 49mph in Castlederg, Co Tyrone, with Portglenone and Aldergrove recording gusts of 47mph. Despite fears the weather could knock power out in homes, Northern Ireland Electricity said they hadn't experienced any unusual cuts. A spokeswoman from the Met Office said the gusts were "not uncommon in a winter depression coming in from the Atlantic". She added she did not expect the turbulent windy weather to last, with largely dry weather for the rest of the week - but with falling temperatures. "I think Northern Ireland will be on the drier side of things with the west of the UK generally being much dryer and brighter," she explained. "It will take a little bit longer for the cold coming from the east to reach. Temperatures in the next couple of days are looking at about seven degrees on Tuesday and Wednesday, but by Friday and Saturday they're likely to drop to about four to five degrees. She added: "It will be quite dry and breezy as we head into Friday, that's when the south easterly wind kicks in. "There may be the odd flurry of snow towards the weekend but for the most part it will be dry with temperatures reaching freezing overnight at the end of the week with those clearer skies as well." Elsewhere in the UK, the chance of February snow is higher this week with colder temperatures spreading from the east expected to cause some outbreaks of wintry showers. Emma Sharples from the Met Office said that temperatures are likely to dip by at least two or three degrees by Thursday for much of England with some outbreaks of snow along the east coast. "It's difficult at the moment to say exactly where we'll see those but it's definitely turning cold enough." She added the colder weather will come as air from the freezing continent moves over the UK once the latest weather front from the Atlantic moves off. "Once we get through this spell of rain today most places will be mostly dry, so that's a good thing," she said. Security services here are dealing with a terrorist bomb alert every week Bomb disposal officers in Northern Ireland have reportedly been denied a medal for bravery by the Cabinet Office, with the snub branded an "injustice" by one soldier. A formal request by Northern Ireland's most senior Army officer, Brigadier Andrew Rowe, to award Ammunition Technical Officers In Northern Ireland a General Service Medal was rejected by the Cabinet Office. "Denying them an operational service medal is pure politics and a real injustice. "They have been told to just suck it up," a senior army source told The Sun. On Sunday, the Ministry of Defence refused to deny that the snub had taken place. "As with all of our personnel, we carefully consider every request to recognise their extraordinary accomplishments," an MoD spokesperson told the newspaper. Last year the Belfast Telegraph reported that security forces here were dealing with a terrorist bomb alert every week. Between January and August 2016, police and Army bomb disposal teams were called out to 39 bombing incidents. Of those call-outs, 19 (49%) were classified as "credible threats" with the remainder hoax calls. In March, prison officer Adrian Ismay died from his injuries after a bomb exploded under his van in east Belfast The Belfast Telegraph contacted a separate Army source who said there were technical reasons as to why the medal couldn't be awarded to bomb disposal officers here. The main issue was that EOD (Explosive Ordnance) officers were no longer classed as "on operations" after Operation Banner - the 38 year military operation started during the Troubles - ended in 2007. At present, the officers would be classified in the same category as those who attended bomb alerts in Great Britain, for which no campaign medal exists. Ulster Unionist and former soldier Doug Beattie insisted that an exception should be made for EOD officers in Northern Ireland and described the Whitehall decision as "drastically wrong". He explained that although Operation Banner had ended, the officers were still part of a live operation named Op Helvetic, which provides residual military support to the PSNI. "They still face incredible danger when they deploy," Mr Beattie said. He added: "The argument that they're doing bomb disposal, such as somebody in Wales would if they found a World War Two bomb for example, is not the same when you have an organisation like dissident republicans targeting them on a day to day basis. "It's quite clear they should get a General Service Medal, even if the label on it had to be Military Aid to a Civil Power (MACP)." Family and friends of Maureen McGinley held protests outside Altnagelvin Hospital after her body was found to have suffered 34 broken bones The family of a woman who sustained 34 broken bones after she died have left a report into the Western Trust's "wholly inadequate" investigation into her injuries in the hands of their legal team. Maureen McGinley (78), from Strabane, died in January 2007 at Altnagelvin Hospital in Londonderry. It later transpired she sustained multiple broken bones after she had passed away. Despite the family's vigorous campaign to find out what happened to their mother, the Western Trust maintained a stony silence. Just days before the 10th anniversary of Mrs McGinley's death, her family were presented with the Northern Ireland Ombudsman's report into the Trust's investigation. While the report criticises the Trust, Mrs McGinley's son Martin told the Belfast Telegraph it still leaves the family ignorant of what exactly led to her injuries. Mr McGinley said: "This report confirms what we knew all along and that was something happened to our mother's remains at Altnagelvin Hospital that caused all of these breakages. "The hospital for so long has tried to make out we were crazy for even suggesting that our mother's bones didn't break themselves. "A few days ago we received a 15-line letter from the Trust saying sorry, but we still don't know exactly what happened. "The report suggested a number of possible ways that our mother's bones could have broken but only the Trust can give us the exact cause. For that reason we have left the report in the hands of our legal team for their consideration and we will be advised by them what further options are open to us." Mr McGinley continued: "For 10 years this has been like an open wound for our family. We loved and cherished our mother while she was alive and, like any family, we would have wanted to think she was treated with respect after she died. "The Ombudsman's report was painful to read but it vindicated what we have been saying for 10 years." The report, sections of which have been covered by news website The Detail, stated that the Trust said it had been "open and honest with the family at all times and was always committed to ensuring that their concerns would be fully investigated". "This has not been borne out by the facts of this case which in my view reflect a wholly inadequate response," the report stated. Delving into how Mrs McGinley sustained the injuries, the report suggested her bones were broken accidentally, not as the result of any deliberate action. It suggested her bones could have been broken during a procedure known as "Last Orders" carried out shortly after death, when the patient's body is washed and dressed for viewing by the family. The Ombudsman noted that Mrs McGinley had osteoporosis - a condition found mostly in older females which weakens the bones and makes breakages more likely. What the new Royal Exchange project could look like The public will have the chance next week to see fresh plans for a massive 400m redevelopment of Belfast city centre. Castlebrooke Investments will begin a public consultation on February 14 as it moves forward with the Royal Exchange development plans for the city. The plans for what would become one of Belfast's biggest redevelopment projects in the last decade have been in the works for around five years. And last summer, Castlebrooke took over the 12-acre site, based around Royal Avenue. It was hoped that Royal Exchange would become a shopping village that was able to compete with Victoria Square, with hopes John Lewis could be attracted to the spot. A spokesperson for Castlebrooke Investments said: "We are pleased to launch a public consultation into the future of this significant area in Belfast. "This is the start of a process to revitalise a site which has been badly in need of regeneration for some time. While we are ready to invest in the scheme we want to make sure the whole community has a chance to have their say on the way that investment is delivered. "We intend to implement the scheme in a way that protects the important heritage of the area by starting with the refurbishment of Garfield Street and the Northern Bank on Waring Street." He added: "With Ulster University's new campus under construction, building under way on several new student housing schemes, Belfast City Council bringing forward plans for a new 'cultural hub' and work set to commence on the third phase of the Department for Communities Streets Ahead Programme, there is already substantial investment taking place to enhance the city centre. We believe our scheme will be an important part of this vibrant new vision." The team behind the plans includes Chapman Taylor, built heritage specialists Consarc Design Group, planning consultants Savills and commercial property firm Colliers. Dawson Stelfox from Consarc Conservation said: "The team working on the project are very aware of the public interest in this historically important part of the city. "The plans submitted for consultation aim to bring economic regeneration that benefits Belfast and its people, but which also recognises the area's built heritage, listed buildings and cultural significance alongside its potential as a mixed use destination." And Jonathan Millar, director at Colliers in Belfast, said: "The city centre regeneration proposals represent a fantastic opportunity for new investment in a part of the city centre which is already attracting interest from national and international funds. "This mixed use development will play a major role in joining together Belfast's two main retail locations and further increasing the overall connectivity of the city." The public consultation events will take place at The Mac in Belfast on February 14, 27 and 28. A plane crew feared there was a fire onboard after a Strabane man was caught smoking in a toilet during a flight between Glasgow and Belfast. Gary Shields (19), of Olympic Drive, committed the offence on easyJet flight EZY468 on December 1 last year. The charge stated he 'smoked in an aircraft at a time when smoking was prohibited by a notice to that effect exhibited by or on behalf of the commander of the aircraft'. The alleged offence was contrary to the Air Navigation Order. He did not appear at Antrim Magistrates Court on Tuesday but pleaded guilty by post. A prosecutor said at 8.15pm on the date in question police attended Belfast International Airport after receiving a report from the plane captain in relation to an alleged smoking incident. When spoken to by officers Shields claimed he did not smoke. The prosecutor said police spoke to the crew who said an alarm sounded in the toilet and when they knocked the door there was no response. They opened the door and Shields was leaning over the toilet bowl and had flushed the toilet. The prosecutor said cabin crew had to flush the toilet further "to ensure there was no risk of fire". President Donald Trump went full Alex Jones Infowars conspiracy theory wingnut today, saying the American news media are conspiring to cover up a vast series of Islamic terrorist attacks in which innocent God-fearin' Americans have been killed. Statements like this from authoritarian leaders are the sort of thing you hear when a regime is preparing to institute martial law. Perhaps that is where America is now headed. Hope not. Today's wackadoodle Trump camp statement was yet another nutty lie, just like Trump's long-running racist birther campaign against President Barack Obama, whom we miss terribly, please for the love of God make this descent into national insanity stop. Sorry. Deep breath. Okay. Today's freshly shocking Trump lie is probably intended to cover up something bad they're doing that would be impeachable if our other elected officials could be bothered to get off their asses and fight this unapologetic, botchy installation of fascism in America. In his speech today, Trump accused the 'very very dishonest' American free press of deliberately underplaying how scary the so-called Islamic State is, and told the assembly of "American military personnel that journalists were reluctant to report on the militant group's attacks in Europe and 'have their reasons' for failing to cover them." This new and seemingly improvised Trump fabrication follows other bold and bizarre falsehoods put forth by the President and others in his regime, including former comedian and current walking tragedy Kellyanne Conway, who referenced at least three times a 'Bowling Green Massacre' that never happened. The White House followed up Trump's conspiracy theory hallucination by papering it over with a rushed statement, all lawyerish but gibberish and full of typos. The administration published a list of purportedly under-reported terror attacks, which included incidents in San Bernardino, Brussels, and Paris, which generated nonstop wall to wall coverage for weeks, but reality doesn't matter anymore and there is no God. As journalist Sarah Jeong suggests, some of the language in the afternoon White House statement feels like a coded "tell" of sorts. It suggests that the document is based on prior work material of some United States government agency. Perhaps the NSA? From the New York Times: The president's speech was the second time in recent weeks that he has used an appearance before national security personnel usually apolitical settings in which the focus is on strategy and sacrifice to discredit journalists and exult in his election victory. "Radical Islamic terrorists are determined to strike our homeland, as they did on 9/11, as they did from Boston to Orlando to San Bernardino and all across Europe," Mr. Trump said at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Fla., home to the military's Central Command and Special Operations Command. "All over Europe it's happening. It's gotten to a point where it's not even being reported, and in many cases, the very, very dishonest press doesn't want to report it." "They have their reasons," Mr. Trump added, "and you understand that." The theory that the news media is trying to whitewash terrorist attacks to protect Islam or Muslim migrants has been pushed by several right-wing news organizations, including the conspiracy-filled site Infowars, whose founder, Alex Jones, is an ally of Mr. Trump's. Here's the list the White House sent of attacks they feel "did not receive adequate attention from Western media sources." pic.twitter.com/lj8eOZQfnY Kevin Liptak (@Kevinliptakcnn) February 7, 2017 I mean, yes, it looks like the White House got this list from a secretive group that spies on Americans and hates the constitution: the NSA sarah jeong (@sarahjeong) February 7, 2017 But either way, if "US Persons" is an artifact, then this list is adapted from somewhere else in the US federal government sarah jeong (@sarahjeong) February 7, 2017 Pants on Fire for Trump claim on terrorist attacks. https://t.co/uwqmY8Ygrb Bill Adair (@BillAdairDuke) February 7, 2017 2 questions for @PressSec tomorrow: 1) Which of these weren't covered? 2) Which of these was the result of foreigners entering US borders? https://t.co/WFPu1YW6Pi Nick Merrill (@NickMerrill) February 7, 2017 Included in the White House's list of under-reported terror attacks are the widely-covered incidents in San Bernardino, Brussels, and Paris. https://t.co/GjyiHVWegv Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) February 7, 2017 This is literally just a list of attacks and includes some of the most heavily covered events of recent years. https://t.co/c1seRutGMq Ben White (@morningmoneyben) February 7, 2017 "Western media sources" is SUCH InfoWars/RT language. https://t.co/YFu9dG0Gqc Ben Collins (@oneunderscore__) February 7, 2017 WH issues list of 78 terror attacks to back Pres Trump charge that "in many cases the very, very dishonest press doesn't want to report it." Mark Knoller (@markknoller) February 7, 2017 Inadequate attention was also paid to the Super Bowl by Western media sources. Jack Shafer (@jackshafer) February 7, 2017 hate to be a "distraction" guy but this list/rollout feels like one of those vague things where media can only lose debating semantics Gideon Resnick (@GideonResnick) February 7, 2017 here are four stories that the White House says "did not receive adequate attention from Western media sources" pic.twitter.com/8EFSDcCIme Matt Pearce (@mattdpearce) February 7, 2017 Paris is on here. Paris. Give me a break. https://t.co/0yJfnSoe3h Colin Jones (@colinjones) February 7, 2017 There are 12 pages of @latimes articles about the San Bernardino terror attack here: https://t.co/CFAAkBNbxd https://t.co/u9DS1cA0FI Deirdre Edgar-LAT (@LATreadersrep) February 7, 2017 Former Prime Minister of Sweden> https://t.co/dyJ8ETIoHX Glenn Kessler (@GlennKesslerWP) February 6, 2017 The Orlando shooting is on this list. I (and hundreds of others) worked a nonstop 12+ hours on that Sunday. https://t.co/GMdUAl25gF Joshua Chavers (@JoshuaChavers) February 7, 2017 The way terrorism is so central to this White House's mindset makes the Bush administration look almost dovish Sam Stein (@samsteinhp) February 7, 2017 Ben Emmerson QC told the hearing that national security could not be scrutinised from Belfast Undercover officers from Scotland Yard were present at a protest relating to a murder in Northern Ireland, a lawyer said. The Met has contacted the family of at least one victim to inform them. It planned to notify another family for a similar reason, the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) disclosed in legal documents revealed in court. Campaigners on Tuesday won a full hearing into the failure to include Northern Ireland in a public inquiry announced by then-Home Secretary Theresa May in March 2015 under the leadership of Sir Christopher Pitchford, following revelations about the activities of undercover officer Mark Kennedy, who admitted having "intimate relationships with a number of people while undercover". Ben Emmerson QC told Belfast's High Court: "Chief constable has advised that the Met has contacted the family of at least one murder victim in Northern Ireland to inform them that officers were present at protest activity relating to the murder and that the Met plans to contact another family for a similar reason." He added: "There is sufficient connection to two murders in Northern Ireland for there to be a need to notify the families of the involvement of undercover officers." Stormont Justice Minister Claire Sugden this summer wrote that the PSNI was now aware that officers from the Met's disbanded Special Demonstration Squad and the National Public Order Intelligence Unit were known to have used Northern Ireland as a result of their infiltration of protest groups, the barrister said. It followed a review by police of thousands of documents. Mr Emmerson said : "We now know that there was an extensive operation taking place in Northern Ireland without any supervision at all." He said the same officers operating in England and Wales had continued their activities in Northern Ireland, adding, "this is about secret police officers from London infiltrating groups without the knowledge of PSNI". He said there was a public interest in his case and the Home Office and Northern Ireland Office had failed to give adequate reasons for their decision not to expand the remit of the Pitchford Inquiry. He outlined an allegation that undercover officers had encouraged the commissioning of serious crime and then given evidence in their false identities, committing perjury in court and resulting in wrongful convictions. "This is is serious stuff," he said. "We simply don't know whether there may be individuals serving prison sentences in Northern Ireland who were the subject of false evidence or agent provocateur. "The brass monkey attitude from two Secretary of States is that it is better to see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil - just turn a blind eye." The Home Office said the public interest did not require Northern Ireland's inclusion in Pitchford, legal documents disclosed. Tony McGleenan QC, for the Government, said it was open to the devolved authorities in Belfast to create a bespoke inquiry separate from that operated by Pitchford. Mr Emmerson said national security could not be scrutinised from Belfast. Mr Justice Paul Maguire allowed the judicial review because the issues required further investigation. He said: "The way in which matters seem to have come forward is peculiar. "I accept that it is an oddity that the decision of the Home Secretary seems to come in the form of a reply to a pre-action protocol letter." Anti-globalisation campaigner Jason Kirkpatrick, who says he was a victim of abuses by the Met's undercover unit, is taking the court challenge and said the decision was a step in the right direction. He said: "The truth needs to be exposed about what these police units have done to us." DUP leader Arlene Foster launches the partys election campaign at Brownlow House in Lurgan Irish language activists dressed as crocodiles protest outside the DUP's Nelson MCausland's office on the Ballysillan Road in north Belfast. Picture by Jonathan Porter/PressEye.com Irish language activists dressed as crocodiles protest outside the DUP's Nelson MCausland's office on the Ballysillan Road in north Belfast. Picture by Jonathan Porter/PressEye.com Irish language activists dressed as crocodiles protest outside the DUP's Nelson MCausland's office on the Ballysillan Road in north Belfast. Picture by Jonathan Porter/PressEye.com It wasnt just what she said; it was at least as much about the way she said it. After all, Arlene Foster insisting she will never allow an Irish Language Act is not exactly headline news. But the former First Minister has come under fire from foes across the political spectrum over recent months for being abrasive and arrogant. And in those terms her answer to my question on Monday was textbook case-study stuff. The DUP campaign launch in Lurgan had been winding towards a close when, suddenly, Mrs Foster bared her teeth. I started out referring to her speech in which she admitted having made mistakes and lamenting no one was sorrier about how things have turned out that herself. I asked if she was referring to anything beyond the Renewable Heat Incentive Scheme and, if so, what. But that was just my part-one preamble to suggesting that, given their position of strength in the last two Assemblies - with even more seats (38) than they expected - surely the DUP could have afforded to be magnanimous to Sinn Fein through - for example - an Irish Language Act. You would have thought I had asked somebody to turn up the boilers. Mrs Foster was amazed anyone could come to that conclusion. What was I thinking? That, she said, was precisely not how she did business. To loud cheers from the partys seated candidates, she said: I will never accede to an Irish Language Act. "Since there were more people in Northern Ireland who spoke polish than Irish, perhaps there should be a Polish Language Act as well? If you feed a crocodile it will keep coming back and looking for more, she went on. Of course, the DUP leader was playing to the gallery. Naturally she knew how well her words would play in the DUP heartlands. But perhaps, just perhaps, she went slightly too far in giving her opponents the opportunity to, well, snap back. And her outburst - for that is how it came across - threatened to overshadow the other carefully constructed messages in her lengthy address. Sinn Fein couldnt have been happier when the remarks were relayed to them at their candidate launch in Belfast a few hours later. See you later, alligator, quipped Gerry Adams. And new Northern leader Michelle ONeill - whom Mrs Foster had characterised as being used by Mr Adams like a glove puppet - declined to become involved in negativity. But Sinn Fein can be expected to use this over the next few weeks. It could all end in crocodile tears. The boat believed to have been used by Cuban refugees Photo: Gordon Fallis An old boat believed to have been used by Cuban refugees has washed up on a beach in Co Sligo. The "homemade" and "improvised" boat was found by Gordon Fallis on the Cliffoney beach. "I was out for a walk on Sunday morning and I spotted this huge thing on the beach. I had no idea what it was but it looked like some kind of boat. "It was very homemade and improvised. It had a car engine and water bottles to keep it afloat," Gordon told Independent.ie. Gordon posted images of the boat to the Lost at Sea Facebook page to help identify it. "A man in Florida helped me to identify it and said it looked exactly like boats that Cubans used to use. When I checked the water bottles used to make the boat they were all Cuban mineral water bottles." Gordon said that the boat had developed goose barnacles which he says suggests it has been in the water for a long time. Expand Close The boat believed to have been used by Cuban refugees Photo: Gordon Fallis / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp The boat believed to have been used by Cuban refugees Photo: Gordon Fallis The boats, which were nicknamed "Cuban Chugs", would have been used by Cubans to escape to America. In a former US Policy called 'Wet Foot, Dry Foot', if the Cubans were caught in the water they were sent home, but if they made it to the US soil, they would be granted residency. This treatment was unique to Cuban Refugees and not available to any other migrants. This Policy was ended on Jan 12, 2017 by Barack Obama. Gordon said that he hopes the boat will be preserved. "It's still there at the moment. We're hoping it will be preserved but we'll have to wait and see." Theresa May has promised MPs and peers will be given a vote on any agreement she reaches in the talks with Brussels. The Government comfortably defeated attempts to give MPs a decisive say over the final terms of Brexit in the face of anger among Tory remain campaigners. Seven Conservative MPs, Ken Clarke, Bob Neill, Andrew Tyrie, Claire Perry, Anna Soubry, Antoinette Sandbach and Heidi Allen, defied their party whip. But their protest was virtually cancelled out by six Labour MPs, Frank Field, Ronnie Campbell, Kate Hoey, Kelvin Hopkins, Graham Stringer and Gisela Stuart, who voted with the Government. Tory rebels hit out at the Government after it appeared to make a concession to appease remain campaigners, only to later to play down suggestions it had made any compromise. Conservative former education secretary Nicky Morgan was seen having a heated exchange with the party's chief whip, Gavin Williamson, before returning to the backbenches while the vote took place. She tweeted: "Govt did make a concession but for No 10 to then brief there was no change & Minister to undermine it makes no sense." Conservative former minister Bob Neill said he had voted against the Government "for the first time ever". Tory MP Heidi Allen rebelled, tweeting: "I've just voted in support of new clause 110, along with many conservative colleagues." Former chancellor George Osborne failed to turn up for the vote. The amendment to the European Union (Notification of Withdrawal) Bill from Chris Leslie required Parliament to approve any new treaty or relationship before final agreement with the EU, but was defeated by 326 votes to 293. Brexit minister David Jones earlier told MPs there will be a vote on the deal "before it is concluded" and it is intended to take place before the European Parliament debates and votes on the agreement. Labour claimed the move as a "significant victory" in response to its repeated demands for a "meaningful" vote at the end of the two-year negotiation process. But pressure group Open Britain said it should be rejected as a "con" and many MPs hit out at the refusal to give them a veto should no Brexit deal be agreed. Downing Street played down suggestions the move amounted to a concession to potential Conservative rebels, insisting that it merely clarified the timing of the vote promised by Theresa May in her Lancaster House speech last month. Every country has the inviolable right to safeguard its security, people, economy and public safety. The US is no exception. However, banning Muslim refugees from entering the US while giving special preferences for Christians defies common sense. Not all terrorists are Muslims. Terrorism transcends geographical boundaries, colours, races, genders, creeds and religions. Many Muslim countries, such as Jordan, Egypt, Turkey, Malaysia and Indonesia are leading the battle to defeat radicalisation and terrorism through co-operation and partnership with the US. President Donald Trump must also remember that 1.5bn people are Muslims. They constitute one-quarter of humanity. Together we can build a world of peaceful coexistence and religious and social inclusion and harmony. DR MUNJED FARID AL QUTOB By email Policing, like all other critical front line public services, has had to deliver significant efficiencies which, more often than not, translates into fewer police numbers. The Chief Constable is on record as saying that police funding is a political decision. I would however like to reassure the public that we have the appropriate number of police officers available 24/7 across Belfast, and prioritise our response according to the risk posed to public safety. Over the last 12 months, the police service in Belfast, working with the community and partners, has seen crime reduce by 2,203, we have seen significant reductions in robbery down by 90 crimes, burglary down by 726 crimes and violent crime down by 518 crimes. Belfast is a safe, prosperous and vibrant place to live, work and visit. In particular, we have invested significant additional resources into our local policing teams, doubled the size of our proactive crime team and put 50% more officers into the team that manages some of our most prolific offenders across Belfast. However, on a daily basis, police officers and staff make difficult decisions about what we go to, and when. Like colleagues in health, education and local government, we must prioritise our resources against the things that harm people the most. At peak times where we see increased incidents and calls for assistance, we prioritise our response according to risk to life and vulnerability. This is a reality for all public services in 2017. The unique challenge for the Police Service of Northern Ireland is that a small number of people are determined to kill police officers and sometimes use mock calls to try and harm the men and women serving their communities. Therefore, on occasions we need to carry out some additional checks regarding the legitimacy of a call for assistance. This does sometimes have an impact on the speed of our response to certain situations but, again, I would like to reassure the public that if they contact us in an emergency, we will respond speedily and with regard to the current risk. By way of example, regarding the device left on the Brians Well Road in Poleglass, police responded to a report of a suspicious object being left in the area just after 10.20pm on January 13. Police immediately carried out a number of searches and nothing was found where the device was initially reported to have been seen. During a follow-up search in daylight, the area was secured by police, the police helicopter was deployed and a full clearance operation began on the afternoon of Saturday, January 14, which ran through into Sunday, January 15. Once found, the device was declared a viable explosive by ATO, who made it safe and removed it for further forensic examination. It's important to note that information provided to police isn't always complete, and on previous occasions it has sometimes been deliberately obscure. The blame for this lies with those criminals and no one else. We were relieved to take the explosive device out of circulation, but there is no doubt that it was designed to kill or seriously injure officers serving the local community in west Belfast. Regarding car crime, local police officers and the specialist Auto Crime Team, supported by colleagues from our Operational Support Department and the police helicopter, have and will continue to take stolen cars off the streets, arrest offenders and bring them before the courts. We are working with the community and have made significant progress - the Auto Crime Team has been instrumental in vehicle thefts being reduced in west Belfast by 42% in the last 10 years. While we do not discuss specific intelligence or operational details in public, we have said for quite some time the threat against police remains severe. The recent attempt on the lives of two of our colleagues underlines the severity of this threat. We take the security and safety of police officers and staff extremely seriously. A lawyer for Melania Trump argued in a lawsuit filed today that a since-retracted Daily Mail article claiming she once worked as an escort harmed her odds of establishing "multimillion dollar business relationships" during the years in which she would be "one of the most photographed women in the world." In a sense, the lawsuit is all about a purported right to cash in on being the First Lady. Because that's what being the First Lady is all about. The lawyer representing Melania in this case is California attorney Charles Harder, who was once called 'the rich man's favourite tool for assaulting journalism.' Mr. Harder's high-profile clients include former wrestler Terry Bollea, aka Hulk Hogan, who won a $140 million invasion of privacy verdict against Gawker last year, at the behest of Trump supporter and venture capitalist Peter Thiel. So now, Charles Harder, Gawker-killer, is representing Melania in this case against the Daily Mail. Snip from the Washington Post's coverage: The suit, filed Monday in New York State Supreme Court in Manhattan against Mail Media, the owner of the Daily Mail, said the article published by the Daily Mail and its online division last August caused Trump's brand, Melania, to lose "significant value" as well as "major business opportunities that were otherwise available to her." The suit noted that the article had damaged Trump's "unique, once in a lifetime opportunity" to "launch a broad-based commercial brand." "These product categories would have included, among other things, apparel accessories, shoes, jewelry, cosmetics, hair care, skin care and fragrance," according to the lawsuit, which was filed on Trump's behalf by California attorney Charles Harder. () The suit filed Monday did not spell out a plan by Trump to market her products during her tenure as first lady, but mentioned that her reputation had suffered just as she was experiencing a "multi-year term" of elevated publicity. The suit says the Daily Mail article "impugned her fitness to perform her duties as First Lady of the United States." Neither Harder nor the White House responded to requests for comment late Monday. From an earlier Newsweek profile of Charles Harder, and what he might be up to in the Trump era: Harder bristles at being called Thiel's peon, though one could have a worse patron than the billionaire founder of PayPal. "How is what Peter Thiel did different than what public interest organizations do?" he wonders. That's a fair comparison, though not an entirely accurate one. When, for example, the Sierra Club sues the California Coastal Commission, it does so openly and, presumably, for the public interest. Thiel's desire to sue Gawker out of existence stemmed from his need to exact revenge over a 2007 post that outed him. That post may have been of questionable journalistic value, but it passed legal muster, so Thiel waited for Gawker to make another mistake. What news organizations are they hovering over now, waiting for a mistake large enough to hang a news-killing lawsuit on? I'm sure we'll all find out soon. As Judd Legum at ThinkProgress writes, the legal strategy here is parallel with Donald Trump's apparent strategy in managing his brand during the presidency. The Kremlin demanded an apology on Monday from Fox News over what it said were "unacceptable" comments by Bill O'Reilly about Russian President Vladimir Putin in last Friday's interview with Donald Trump. In that televised "pre-SuperBowl" Trump interview, the longtime Fox News presenter described Putin as "a killer" and pressed Trump on his oddly constant praise for Putin. Snip from Reuters: O'Reilly did not say who he thought Putin had killed. "We consider such words from the Fox TV company to be unacceptable and insulting, and honestly speaking, we would prefer to get an apology from such a respected TV company," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on a conference call. O'Reilly dismissed the Kremlin's call for an apology. "I'm working on that apology but it may take a little time," he said on Fox News late on Monday. "You might want to check in with me around 2023." In related news today, the New York Times observes that Trump's comments on Russian military action in Ukraine sound identical to the Kremlin's talking points. Snip: Instead of spending his days in school studying, 16-year-old Rohingya refugee Md. Sadeq begs in the streets of Coxs Bazar district. The teen had gone to school in Myanmar before his family fled to the district in southeastern Bangladesh to escape violence in his home state of Rakhine. I used to study at the ninth grade, but I could not continue education after I came here, he told BenarNews. I am not getting to work here. [I] am ashamed of begging. He is among thousands of Rohingya children who have been barred by Bangladeshi authorities from attending public schools in the district because they are officially unregistered, compared with children of refugees living in U.N.-registered camps who are able to go to school. Thousands of Rohingya children, whose families have settled in camps and settlements for unregistered refugees in and around Coxs Bazar, instead receive a religious education where they memorize the Quran in Islamic classrooms called maktabs. The government estimates that at least 400,000 Rohingya have fled to Bangladesh from Myanmar over the past decades. That number includes an estimated 66,000 who entered Bangladesh since October 2016, when Myanmar security forces launched a crackdown following the killings of nine border guards by suspected militants in Rakhine state. As every family has at least four to five children, we can assume the number of children is half of the population, Md. Alam, a leader of the Rohingya camp in Leda in Teknaf sub-district, told BenarNews. Of the total, only children of 35,000 Rohingya who live in UN-registered camps attend classes up to grade eight. Unregistered Rohingya children are being educated in maktabs, classes instructed in the camps by imams, who, in many cases, have little education themselves. Moulvi Tayebur Rahman teaches at one of nine maktabs in an unregistered camp in Leda, in Coxs Bazar. About 450 children are receiving Arabic education. They do not get any mainstream education so they are lagging behind, he told BenarNews. Arabic education means that children memorize passages from the Quran and are not taught subjects such as language, math, science or history. A leader of the Kutupalong Rohingya camp, Md. Tayob, told BenarNews, The children of these camps study Arabic in the morning and evening. They go begging the rest of the day. Lack of support The U.N. has no permission to provide support to those in unregistered Rohingya camps, an official with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) told BenarNews on condition of anonymity. UNHCR provides education, including classes in Burmese, the official language of Myanmar, up to grade 8, for about 8,000 children of registered Rohingya refugees. Because there is hope that the children will return to Myanmar one day, Burmese is taught so they can continue their studies there. Meanwhile, the Bangladesh government does not focus on education for Rohingya refugees, according to a government official. Our target is to repatriate them as soon as possible. The government has no other plan, said the official who asked to remain anonymous. So the government will not recognize as refugees the Rohingya entering Bangladesh now. Few opportunities Educational opportunities are lacking in the country the Rohingya were forced to flee. The Rohingya are a stateless Muslim minority in predominantly Buddhist Myanmar. In Myanmar, the Rohingya children do not get education provided by the government. With payment, the children are educated, Ahmed Kabir, a resident of an unregistered refugee camp in Leda, told BenarNews. A BenarNews correspondent visited Rohingya camps in Coxs Bazar in January and spoke to children and parents about schools. Some Rohingya refugees who have lived in Bangladesh for years send their children to local schools by concealing their identity. Faruk, a grade three student, was spotted writing in a classroom in a Leda camp. He has been very passionate about education since his early years. He has been a good student. We have been living here for 18 years, so we can avail this opportunity, his mother told BenarNews on the condition of anonymity. Burden for two countries Kazi Reazul Haque, chairman of the National Human Rights Commission, outlined a major barrier for local schooling. Language is associated with education, so ensuring education for these children is difficult. This is because they are here temporarily, Haque told BenarNews. Another educator called for technical training. These uneducated children would not be able to make a skilled and productive generation even if they are repatriated to Myanmar. In that case, they may get back to Bangladesh as irregular laborers, professor C.R. Abrar, a founder of the Refugee and Migratory Movement Research Unit, a private think-tank, told BenarNews. Keeping this factor in mind, they should be provided with technical education with the support from international agencies. The wife of Indonesian Islamic State (IS) leader Bahrumsyah is among 75 people housed in a government shelter in East Jakarta, where they are to be rehabilitated after being deported from Turkey over attempts to join the militant group, a police official said Tuesday. Bahrumsyah (alias Bachrumsyah Mennor Usman) is an Indonesian citizen based in Syria who is believed to be one of the founders of Katibah Nusantara, a combat unit of IS made up of fighters from Southeast Asia. The United States recently classified Bahrumsyah as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist. Bahrumsyahs wife, identified as NK, was detained with 16 Indonesians on Jan. 21 at Jakartas international airport upon their return from Turkey, National Police Spokesman Brig. Gen. Rikwanto said. She departed [to Turkey] by herself, not accompanied by her child, to join her husband, Bahrumsyah in Syria, Rikwanto told BenarNews in Jakarta. Three days later, police arrested a former Indonesia Finance Ministry staffer, his wife and three children when they landed at Bali airport after being expelled from Turkey. The 17 deportees and the family of five were released after investigations by the national counter terror police squad Densus 88 over a lack of evidence needed to press terrorism-related charges. Instead, they were sent to the Bambu Apus social center in East Jakarta to receive guidance from the social ministry. Police said they are being educated on the countrys ideology of Pancasila and how to live in a community. The center also is housing another 53 Indonesians who were deported from Turkey, but police did not elaborate on the details surrounding their deportations. The 75 were identified as 17 men, 24 women and 34 children. Bahrumsyahs third wife NK, who is from the city of Ujung Pandang in South Sulawesi province, left for Turkey in November 2016, according to Rikwanto. The widow of a militant, she married Bahrumsyah as his third wife and had been hiding in a safe house on the Turkish side of the border, waiting to cross into Syria. The modus is they were located in a hidden place in a rented apartment in a remote area, when at that time they were arrested by Turkish police during a raid, Rikwanto said. NK was released because she has not done any terror acts. She went there only because of the instruction to join her husband. Social ministers support After visiting the center on Monday, Social Affairs Minister Khofifah Indar Parawansa said she hoped the deportees could return to society and lead normal lives. They should be embraced and given an understanding on the danger of radicalism and terrorism, she said in a news release. Exclusion by society, Khofifah said, would hinder the social integration process of those who want to distance themselves from the IS. And it is not impossible that they will return to radical groups if society does not treat them well, Kofifah said. The majority of deportees come from East Java province and many are well educated, she said. Some of them are relatives of IS members while others were invited by friends to join the group. She said the children are in good condition. Some of them said they want to be a pilot, soldier, teacher or boxer. Some want to be a doctor, including a veterinarian. These precious dreams need to be kept alive by their parents, Khofifah said. ein Google-Unternehmen Google-Dienste anzubieten und zu betreiben Ausfalle zu prufen und Manahmen gegen Spam, Betrug und Missbrauch zu ergreifen Daten zu Zielgruppeninteraktionen und Websitestatistiken zu erheben. Mit den gewonnenen Informationen mochten wir verstehen, wie unsere Dienste verwendet werden, und die Qualitat dieser Dienste verbessern. neue Dienste zu entwickeln und zu verbessern Werbung auszuliefern und ihre Wirkung zu messen personalisierte Inhalte anzuzeigen, abhangig von Ihren Einstellungen personalisierte Werbung anzuzeigen, abhangig von Ihren Einstellungen Wenn Sie Alle ablehnen auswahlen, verwenden wir Cookies nicht fur diese zusatzlichen Zwecke. Nicht personalisierte Inhalte und Werbung werden u. a. von Inhalten, die Sie sich gerade ansehen, und Ihrem Standort beeinflusst (welche Werbung Sie sehen, basiert auf Ihrem ungefahren Standort). Personalisierte Inhalte und Werbung konnen auch Videoempfehlungen, eine individuelle YouTube-Startseite und individuelle Werbung enthalten, die auf fruheren Aktivitaten wie auf YouTube angesehenen Videos und Suchanfragen auf YouTube beruhen. Sofern relevant, verwenden wir Cookies und Daten auerdem, um Inhalte und Werbung altersgerecht zu gestalten. Wir verwenden Cookies und Daten, umWenn Sie Alle akzeptieren auswahlen, verwenden wir Cookies und Daten auch, umWahlen Sie Weitere Optionen aus, um sich zusatzliche Informationen anzusehen, einschlielich Details zum Verwalten Ihrer Datenschutzeinstellungen. Sie konnen auch jederzeit g.co/privacytools besuchen. When the government of Romanian PM Sorin Grindeanu announced that they would gut the country's anticorruption statutes, removing criminal sanctions for official corruption, the country erupted into mass protests. The Romanian public saw Grindeanu protecting dozens of members of his own government who are facing a corruption investigation, changing the law so that they could escape prison for selling the country out. Hundreds of thousands of protesters flooded to the streets in 70 cities, eventually winning a reversal in the policy. Protesters are still massing, demanding Grindeanu's resignation. These are the biggest protests since the fall of the Stalinist dictator Nicolae Ceausescu in 1989, and the movement has developed a style that is familiar to anti-establishment protests around the world, from the Bulgarian and Polish MPs who sported Guy Fawkes masks during key ACTA votes to the meme-friendly signs of the Women's March to Bernie Sanders waving a giant, printed Trump-tweet on the Senate floor to all the deplorable Pepes. But as is often the case with Romanian culture, there is a unique, multicultural, polyglot character to Romanian protests, which Henry Rammelt writes well about in Euronews. The current situation is largely in line with this succession of anti-establishment protests that together are shaping, more and more, a specifically Romanian culture of protest. A culture of protest that is still developing, and that is, in many regards, different from those of most Western European countries, in that it is less conflictual and makes use of very up-to-date repertoires of dissent. One encounters here a humorous approach to protesting one that makes fun of political adversaries, notably PSD president Liviu Dragnea, with funny custom-made posters, video projections on buildings, puppets as symbolic representations of discontent. This generation's discovery of politics and protests as the preferred channel to interact with the political system coincides with current technological developments, enabling a leaderless, spontaneous, and all-inclusive movement. The protests of 2017 appear to conform very well to modern forms of engagement. Many of the slogans and signs displayed resemble Facebook status messages or Tweets, a form of mobilisation appropriate to communicate with and within "broader lifestyle publics". In brief, protests in Romania tend to have more elements of fun, and to place more of an emphasis on personal networks than on actual ideology. "Distractie placuta!" ("Have a good time") is not seldom exchanged between groups of people passing each other by on their way to and from the protests. This relational aspect of mobilisation is bolstered by a modern and active civil society, and by non-mainstream journalistic initiatives arising in response to an ever-increasing public thirst for information. At the same time, pluralism of opinion does not seem to be as highly-valued as the demand for a "civilised" country would suggest. Following minor clashes with the police by a group described as "agitators, unaffiliated" with the protests, who were throwing firecrackers and snowballs during the night of February 1, several online conflicts among protesters emerged around the best approaches to engaging with law enforcement. The current protests reveal that this new generation resonates particularly well with messages underlining the divide between the way politics have until now been done in Romania and the present expectations of belonging to a "well-mannered European society". The Romania crowd glows because people have phones in their hand. 21st century networked protest, the ever-present digital layer. pic.twitter.com/SEQOC7LAPX Zeynep Tufekci (@zeynep) February 6, 2017 How Romania is developing its own culture of protest: view [Henry Rammelt/Euronews] (Google cache) (Image: Zeynep Tufekci) It is rare to meet an actual hero, but thats exactly what happened this past week when the crew of WBGU-TVs The Journal filmed an on-site interview segment featuring Navy SEAL Edward C. Byers Jr. Byers, 37, a native of northwest Ohio, is one of a prestigious group of servicemen and servicewomen who have received the Medal of Honor, the highest recognition for military valor. He shared his story during a presentation at his alma mater, Otsego Local Schools, where he was inducted into the Hall of Fame. This weeks edition of The Journal airs at 8:30 p.m. Thursday on WBGU-TV. (Check your local cable/satellite listing for channel information.) Steve Kendall, host of The Journal, had the opportunity to talk with Byers and learn more about his actions during a rescue in the QarghahI District of Laghman Province. Byers, who now is a senior chief special warfare operator, and his unit rescued Dr. Dilip Joseph (an American hostage) from the Taliban at a remote location in the mountains of eastern Afghanistan in December 2012. Byers insists hes not a hero; however, President Barack Obama thought otherwise, presenting Byers with the Medal of Honor in 2016. Although restricted on speaking in detail about the rescue or his current military work, Byers, who is one of the youngest living recipients of the medal, does speak freely about the importance of hard work, dedication to family and community, and the responsibility of paying it forward. There are some things he cant or declines to discuss, Kendall said. But what he does talk about is fascinating. Kendall said that he could have filled two Journal episodes speaking with Byers. The Journal is WBGUs flagship weekly public affairs program covering a range of topics relating to important local issues. The guest list includes elected officials, educators and medical personnel as well as experts in a variety of fields. The program is a BGSU student-led production, with students serving as camera operators, directors and editors. To film this particular episode, the crew traveled to Tontogany, Ohio, with camera, lighting, video and sound equipment in tow. The student crew included Salvatore Melaragno, Ian Windau, Nathanial Hersh, Henry Matthews and Olivia Hupalowsky under the supervision of WBGU staffers Mark Henning, Mike Jones and Tom Cummings. 12-year old Eman Ali of Yemen (L) cries with her sister Salma Ali after seeing each other for the first time in years at San Francisco International Airport in San Francisco, California, February 5, 2017. Ali and her father were blocked entry into the United States after President Donald Trump's executive order on immigration. [Photo/Agencies] SAN FRANCISCO/WASHINGTON - A US federal appeals court will hear arguments on Tuesday over whether to restore President Donald Trump's temporary travel ban on people from seven Muslim-majority countries, the most controversial policy of his two-week old administration. In a brief filed on Monday, the Justice Department said last week's suspension of Trump's order by a federal judge was too broad and "at most" should be limited to people who were already granted entry to the country and were temporarily abroad, or to those who want to leave and return to the United States. That language did not appear in the government's opening brief filed at the 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals, and could represent a softening of its position. Last Friday's ruling by US District Judge James Robart in Seattle suspending the travel ban opened a window for people from the seven affected countries to enter.. The 9th Circuit in San Francisco on Monday asked lawyers for the states of Washington and Minnesota and the Justice Department to argue whether the ban should remain shelved. The court set oral argument for 3 p.m. PST (2300 GMT) on Tuesday. The new Republican president has said the travel measures are to protect the country against the threat of terrorism. Opponents say the 90-day ban is illegal, barring entry for citizens from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen and imposing a 120-day halt to all refugees. National security veterans, major US technology companies and law enforcement officials from more than a dozen states backed a legal effort against the ban. The case may ultimately reach the US Supreme Court. Ten former US national security and foreign policy officials, who served under both Republican and Democratic presidents, filed a declaration in the court case arguing that the travel ban served no national security purposes. It was signed by former Secretaries of State John Kerry and Madeleine Albright, former national security adviser Susan Rice and former CIA Directors Michael Hayden and Michael Morell. Over the weekend, the San Francisco court denied the administration's request for an immediate suspension of the federal judge's temporary restraining order that blocked the implementation of key parts of the travel ban while it considered the government's request in full. The court did say it would consider the government's request after receiving more information. Trump has reacted to challenges to the ban by attacking the federal judge in Seattle and then the wider court system. On a visit on Monday to the military's Central Command headquarters in Tampa, Florida, Trump defended his order. "Radical Islamic terrorists are determined to strike our homeland as they did on 9/11," he said. "We need strong programs for people who love our country," Trump said, adding he did not want to allow "people who want to destroy us and destroy our country" into the United States. STATE OFFICIALS OPPOSE BAN Attorneys general from 15 states and Washington, D.C., filed a brief on Monday in support of the lawsuit against the travel ban. "President Trump's executive order is unconstitutional, unlawful, and fundamentally un-American - and we won't stand by while it undermines our states' families, economies, and institutions," said New York Democratic Attorney General Eric Schneiderman. Top technology companies, including Apple Inc, Google Inc and Microsoft Corp were among nearly 100 corporations that filed a similar brief on Sunday with the appeals court, arguing the travel ban "inflicts significant harm on American business, innovation, and growth." Elon Musk's energy products company Tesla Inc and SpaceX joined the brief on Monday. Trump faces an uphill battle in the San Francisco court, which is dominated by liberal-leaning judges. Appeals courts are generally leery of upending the status quo, which in this case is the lower court's suspension of the ban. The appeals court was focusing on the narrow question of whether the district court had grounds to put the order on hold. The bigger legal fight over whether Trump had authority to issue the order will be addressed later in the litigation. Curbing entry to the United States as a national security measure was a central premise of Trump's campaign, originally proposed as a temporary ban on all Muslims. US presidents have in the past claimed sweeping powers to fight terrorism, but individuals, states and civil rights groups challenging the ban said his administration had offered no evidence it answered a threat. The New America think tank said all of the people who had carried out fatal attacks inspired by Islamist militancy in the United States since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks had been US citizens or legal residents. None of those attackers emigrated or came from a family that emigrated from one of the countries listed in the travel ban. A businessman who had never held public office until he assumed the presidency on Jan. 20, Trump has vented his frustration over the legal challenges with a volley of attacks on the judiciary. Trump derided Robart as a "so-called judge." On Sunday, he broadened his Twitter attacks on Robart, who was appointed by former Republican President George W. Bush, to include the "court system." "Just cannot believe a judge would put our country in such peril," Trump tweeted. "If something happens blame him and court system." It is unusual for a sitting president to attack a member of the judiciary, which the US Constitution designates as a check on the power of the presidency and Congress. Democrats seized on Trump's remarks to raise questions about how independent his Supreme Court nominee, Neil Gorsuch, might be. Another day, another grim historical first for America. The Senate just confirmed Betsy DeVos as education secretary after a 'historic tiebreaking vote' from Vice President Mike Pence. Both DeVos and Pence are fans of widely discredited LGBT 'conversion therapy,' a damaging and inhumane bullshit practice we'll probably see a lot more of now, along with guns in schools to protect kids from grizzly bears and jihadists. Just two Senate Republicans voted against DeVos: Senators Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, both of whom came out as opposed to the nominee last week. Lawmakers gave continuous speeches on the Senate floor late into the night Monday, arguing that DeVos was unqualified because she knows nothing about public schools or basic laws of our country that protect the rights of students, among many other well-documented reasons that mean nothing anymore because facts don't matter and there is no God. Senators Collins and Murkowski said their opposition was 'influenced by the thousands of messages they had received urging them to reject the nomination,' the New York Times reports. Keep calling, keep emailing, keep faxing, keep demonstrating in the streets. Your voice matters, even if this battle was lost when it began. In addition to the two Republican senators from Alaska, Democrats and two independents voted in opposition. In the end, 50 Republicans supported her in the 100-member chamber. On Twitter, Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer dissed the unprecedented move by Pence to break that Senate tie vote. "This cabinet nom is so unqualified, so divisive, that @MikePenceVP had to drive down Pennsylvania Ave to cast the deciding vote," he tweeted right after the vote. From the New York Times: The 51-to-50 vote elevates Ms. DeVos a wealthy donor from Michigan who has devoted much of her life to expanding educational choice through charter schools and vouchers, but has limited experience with the public school system to be steward of the nation's schools. Two Republicans voted against Ms. DeVos's confirmation, a sign that some members of President Trump's party are willing to go against him, possibly foreshadowing difficulty on some of the president's more contentious legislative priorities. It was the first time that a vice president has been summoned to the Capitol to break a tie on a cabinet nomination, according to the Senate historian. Taking the gavel as the vote deadlocked at 50-50, Mr. Pence, a former member of the House, declared his vote for Ms. DeVos before announcing that Mr. Trump's nominee for education secretary had been confirmed. Keep track of Trump's cabinet assembly with this regularly updated Reuters graphic. PHOTO, TOP: Betsy DeVos testifies before the Senate Health, Education and Labor Committee confirmation hearing to be next Secretary of Education on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., January 17, 2017. REUTERS/Yuri Gripas For Immediate Release, February 7, 2017 Contact: Cindy Rank, West Virginia Highlands Conservancy, (304) 924-5802, clrank2@gmail.com Jim Kotcon, West Virginia Chapter, Sierra Club, (304) 293- 822, jkotcon@gmail.com Angie Rosser, West Virginia Rivers Coalition, (304) 437-1274, arosser@wvrivers.org Lori Ann Burd, Center for Biological Diversity, (971) 717-6405, laburd@biologicaldiversity.org West Virginia to Improve Oversight of Coal-mining Pollution Federal Review of West Virginia Coal Mining Reveals Chronic Failures CHARLESTON, W.Va. A federal review of West Virginia's oversight of mountaintop-removal and surface coal mining has revealed persistent failures to enforce mandatory protections, such as water-quality standards, designed to protect people and the environment from controversial coal-mining practices. The review was conducted by the U.S. Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement following a petition by 18 state and national public-interest groups. The agency's three-year review has spurred key changes in how the state monitors and prevents storm-water runoff and reclamation of topsoil and mandates enforcement action for effluent releases that exceed Clean Water Act and Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act limits. The history of the West Virginia's mining regulatory program is rife with foot-dragging and delay when it comes to meeting its responsibilities for protecting water resources, said Cindy Rank, mining committee chair for the West Virginia Highlands Conservancy. Though it's disappointing that the program has to be spurred on by citizen lawsuits and petitions to federal mining regulators to nudge the state along, we're grateful for this new bit of prodding. We now must watch carefully to ensure the promises made in response to this petition will lead to real, on-the-ground improvements. The five areas where federal regulators agreed with petitioners that West Virginia's program was in need of substantive improvement were: Storm-water runoff analysis procedures to minimize offsite flooding potential; Topsoil handling procedures; Required issuance of Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act enforcement of Clean Water Act effluent limitations; Cumulative hydrologic impact assessment procedures; Identification and prevention of selenium pollution discharges. The main request of the petition that federal regulators assume enforcement and administration of West Virginia's program was denied after the state committed to making substantive improvements to comply with the law in each of those areas. This important report confirms that state inspectors failed to keep up with new pollution-control standards and compliance timelines, often were not sampling pollution discharges that exceed water-quality standards, and when their sampling did show illegal pollution levels, frequently failed to take enforcement action, said Jim Kotcon, chair of the West Virginia chapter of the Sierra Club. The state's chronically poor oversight has included a persistent failure to conduct inspections meant to protect people and the environment from coal companies that operate outside the law. Out-of-control mountaintop-removal coal mining is linked to epidemics of cancer, cardiovascular disease and birth defects in affected communities. West Virginia has also failed to undertake required assessments to ensure streams rivers and drinking-water wells aren't harmed by mountaintop-removal mining and other destructive surface coal-mining practices. Although long overdue, these new commitments to bring the state's mining program in compliance with laws that protect our lands, waters and communities come at an opportune moment, said Angie Rosser, executive director of West Virginia Rivers Coalition. As a new administration takes the reins it's a good time to clean up our act. The state and its people simply can't absorb any more of the costs when coal companies, and the agency charged with overseeing them, operate recklessly and outside of the law. Specific examples of actions West Virginia has promised to take in response to federal investigations resulting from the petition include: Requiring proper documentation for storm-water runoff analyses and increasing staffing to improve the quality of these analyses; Issuing comprehensive guidance and trainings to improve topsoil reclamation in addition to revisiting current permits that do not comply with existing requirements; Identifying water quality sampling protocols and increasing frequency of water sampling; committing to citing releases that exceed National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System effluent limits releases observed during Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act inspections; Nearly doubling the water-quality sampling budget to $230,000; Committing to improve cumulative hydrologic impact assessment procedures with an emphasis on better defining the cumulative impact area and requiring operators to include more accurate information needed to support the agency's review; and conducting central review of those impacts. West Virginia's on notice that we're watching them closely, said Lori Ann Burd, environmental health director at the Center for Biological Diversity. The state's chronic failure to enforce the law has resulted in terrible harm to communities and the environment. Now we have to make sure state regulators follow through with the commitments they've made in response to this petition and investigation. The groups on the original petition include Appalachian Catholic Worker; Appalachian Voices; Catholic Committee of Appalachia; the Center for Biological Diversity; Center for Health, Environment & Justice; Christians for the Mountains; Coal River Mountain Watch; Earthjustice; Keeper of the Mountains Foundation; League Of Women Voters of West Virginia; Mountain Health and Heritage Association; National Wildlife Federation; Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition; Sierra Club; West Virginia Citizen Action; West Virginia Environmental Council; West Virginia Highlands Conservancy; and West Virginia Rivers Coalition. Media Advisory, February 7, 2017 Contact: Michael Robinson, (575) 313-7017, michaelr@biologicaldiversity.org Maya Rommwatt, (503) 467-9471, maya@mexicanwolves.org Protesters to Call for End to Gov. Martinez's Blockade on Wolf Releases SANTA FE, N.M. A crowd is expected Wednesday afternoon at the state capitol to protest roadblocks Gov. Susana Martinez has erected to saving the endangered Mexican gray wolf from extinction. Under Gov. Martinez the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish sued the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in May and obtained an injunction barring the federal agency from releasing wolves into the wild in the state. The federal government and conservation organizations have appealed that injunction, but while the appeal is being decided the Mexican wolf's genetic plight is worsening. Mexican wolves don't have the luxury of more time, said Michael Robinson, a conservation advocate with the Center for Biological Diversity, one of the groups organizing tomorrow's protest. Governor Martinez should reconsider whether she wants the extinction of the Mexican wolf to be part of her legacy. What: A rally calling for Gov. Martinez to end blockade of wolf releases When: Wednesday, Feb. 8, 1 p.m. Where: State Capitol, 490 Old Santa Fe Trail, Santa Fe, N.M. Background At last count, a year ago, the wolf population in southwestern New Mexico and eastern Arizona included just six breeding pairs. Results from a new count are expected this week. The genetic problems our wild wolves are experiencing could be solved by more releases, said Maya Rommwatt of Lobos of the Southwest, which maintains the informational website mexicanwolves.org. A majority of Governor Martinez's constituents want the wolf recovery program to succeed. Because of a paucity of previous releases, as well as federal trapping and shooting of wolves on behalf of the livestock industry including two wolves trapped last week in Arizona each wolf in the population is related to every other wolf as if they were siblings. The inbreeding is resulting in smaller litters and pups that die before they mature. If this population is to survive, and the Mexican wolf as a subspecies to eventually recover, unrelated wolves from captive-breeding facilities must be released into the wild. Scientists have been urging as far back as 2001 that the pace of wolf releases increase significantly, at first to prevent and now to ameliorate inbreeding. The reintroduction program began in 1998, and in three years the Clinton administration released 50 wolves from captive-breeding facilities. The Bush administration released 42 wolves, while the Obama administration, despite the wolves' worsening genetics, released just 10, the majority of which are now dead or back in captivity. In 2015, after conducting public hearings overflowing with wolf supporters, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service gave itself the authority to release captive-bred wolves into the Gila National Forest, but Gov. Martinez's injunction has temporarily invalidated that authority. The Center for Biological Diversity is a national, nonprofit conservation organization with more than 1.2 million members and online activists dedicated to the protection of endangered species and wild places. Lobos of the Southwest is a collaborative effort of concerned citizens and local, regional, and national conservation, scientific and sportsmen's organizations conducting online organizing to help save the endangered Mexican gray wolf. It can be tough to be a vegetarian. You have to work harder than everyone else to make sure youre getting all the nutrients your body needs. So, when its time to take a The Pan-African meeting of SMEs managers, entrepreneurs, investors and government representatives convened by EMRC, Africa Finance & Investment Forum, will take place February 13-16, 2017, in Nairobi, Kenya. The conference will focus on entrepreneurship and innovation and access to finance in key sectors such as energy, water, ICT, health and agriculture. Highlights include a two day training on Scaling an Entrepreneurial Venture; panel discussions with experts in finance and commerce; B2B meetings; and the AFIF Entrepreneurship Awards. Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) are the creators of the middle class in Africa, but access to finance remains a hurdle for entrepreneurs in the region, explains Ines Bastos, AFIF manager. To strengthen the private sector in Africa, AFIF offers a platform to promote new business partnerships between entrepreneurs and investors which will contribute to a sustainable development in Africa. APO Group, the advisory firm for companies entering the African market or expanding their presence in Africa, and owner of Africa Wire and MENA Wire, the press release distribution services dedicated to Africa and the Middle East, have announced that journalist Johnson Kanamugire from Rwanda has won APO Group's competition invite to cover the Annual Investment Meeting (AIM) in Dubai. Johnson Kanamagire AIM is one of the world's largest events for Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and is being held on April 2-4, 2017 at the Dubai World Trade Centre. The 2017 edition of AIM expects to welcome more than 15,000 participants, heads of states and governments, businessmen and investors from over 140 countries across the globe. APO Group will provide one round trip ticket and accommodation in Dubai for Johnson Kanamugire to cover the Annual Investment Meeting (AIM). APO Group congratulates Johnson and is proud to offer this opportunity to an experienced journalist with a rich background. APO offers invitations each year to major African events as part of our commitment to supporting journalism in Africa, says Nicolas Pompigne-Mognard, founder and CEO of APO Group. Kanamugire is a reporter with The East African and Rwanda Today newspapers, both regional weeklies published by the Kenya-based Nation Media Group. Kanamugire is based at The East Africans Rwanda Bureau where he covers a variety of beats including business for both the main paper and Rwanda Today, a smaller weekly specific to Rwanda. During his six years of experience, the Journalism and Communication School graduate at the National University of Rwanda has developed a career in broadcast, print and online journalism. He worked for Radio Salus and Isango Star prior to joining KFMs digital desk in 2013. KARACHI - Italy's glossy style magazine Grazia will launch in Pakistan, publishers said on Monday, as the deeply conservative Muslim country's growing fashion industry seeks a place on the world stage. Zahraa Saifullah, editor and publisher of Grazia magazine's Pakistan edition, speaks at a press conference in Karachi on February 6, 2017 ( AFP Photo/Asif Hassan The first issue of Grazia Pakistan will go on sale this month, Saif Publishing said, with plans to double the initial run of 20,000 copies within six months. "Pakistan's middle class as well as the fashion industry is booming and Grazia is going to provide an amazing platform to nurture this growth," said Zahraa Saifullah, the editor and publisher of the magazine, at a press conference in financial hub Karachi. Pakistani fashion designers have been striving to develop the local market, which experts believe conservatively accounts for $200m in revenue but is largely undocumented. From an industry made up of just a handful of designers and models in the early 1,990s, fashion shows that attract foreign buyers are now held regularly in Lahore and Karachi. Its leading figures are aready gossip column and magazine staples, including in Grazia's rival Hello!, which launched a Pakistan edition in 2012. Ninety percent of Grazia's content would be local style, Saifullah said, adding: "We plan to show the fun, creative side of Pakistani fashion to the world." The Italian edition of Grazia was first published in 1938. The popular magazine now appears in more than a dozen countries, including the US, France, Germany, Spain, Britain and India. Rwanda will start exporting fortified foods, next month, thanks to a new modern factory launched last week Thursday. The Africa Improved Foods - Rwanda, based at Kigali Special Economic Zone Nyandungu, started production of fortified porridge last week. Image by Faustin Niyigena via New Times The $45-million factory is expected to produce 45,000 tonnes of fortified food annually, enough to help boost exports and prevent child malnutrition across the country. Up to 60 percent of its output is expected to be exported to regional and global markets. The facility is a consortium of Royal DSM (the global Life Sciences and Materials Sciences Company), the Dutch Development Bank, the DFID, the UK's development financing institution under the Impact Acceleration Facility (managed by CDC Group Plc), and the International Finance Corporation, the investment arm of the World Bank. 1000 Days campaign In 2013, Rwanda launched the '1000 Days' national campaign to combat malnutrition with an aim of improving maternal and child health in the country. The campaign has been scientifically proven that the 1,000-day window has a profound impact on a child's ability to grow, learn and thrive. Two years later, the government entered into a joint venture with private partners to invest in this high-tech facility to scale up production of fortified foods in the country. The objective of the venture, according to Prosper Ndayiragije, the country director of AIF Rwanda, is to improve the nutritional status of Rwandan population and help address malnutrition by manufacturing international quality fortified complementary foods for vulnerable groups. "The AIF Group produces fortified blended foods for the Government of Rwanda and the World Food Programme (WFP) to help address malnutrition and stunting in children," Ndayiragije said, adding that with the facility, Rwanda will be able to address malnutrition among vulnerable population segments such as pregnant and breastfeeding mothers, and children. Besides the government of Rwanda, we are also supplying other clients like the UN World Food Programme (WFP) to help facilitate an efficient response to food emergencies in East Africa, he added. Ndayiragije said the plant intends to reach more than one million people this year alone, creating over 300 direct jobs and working with over 9,000 local farmers in the process. The 2010 Rwanda Demographic and Health Survey results showed that chronic malnutrition affects 38 per cent of children under the age of five years, resulting in stunting. With the new production facility, the problem could be tackled faster than was earlier anticipated, he added. Reducing import bill Meanwhile, experts believe the new facility will greatly reduce the country's import bill, thus narrowing trade deficit gap. For example, besides animal feeds, Rwanda currently imports about 30,000 tonnes of edible oil estimated at $42 million. The AIF Rwanda is inspired by solid evidence that the first 1,000 days, including conception to the second birthday, are critical for a child's physical and mental development, therefore, we expect the new plant to further boost nutrition in the country, said, Bernard Banamwana, the senior relations manager of AIF Rwanda. New Times Rwanda Excitement is building for the upcoming Africa Travel Week which will see three travel industry events - WTM Africa, ibtm africa, and ILTM Africa - being held at Cape Town International Convention Centre from 19 to 23 April 2017. WTM Africa awarded Best Joint Trade Exhibition at AAXO ROAR awards WTM Africa has been awarded the title of Best Joint Trade Exhibition in the 6,001 - 12,000 sqm category at the Association of African Exhibition Organisers (AAXO) ROAR awards in Johannesburg on 26 January 2017. The AAXO ROAR awards, a showcase of excellence within the exhibitions industry, was established in 2016 with the aim of providing an inclusive and representative set of awards to recognise successful exhibition strategy incorporating marketing, public relations, operations, activation, social responsibility, and sustainability. ibtm africa announces collaboration with industry bodies Focusing on the meetings industry in Africa, ibtm africa has announced a collaboration with both the Southern African Association for the Conference Industry (SAACI), as well as Meetings magazine. The latter will aim to provide better quality information on the industry and how to improve your business dealing within it, while a new Career Progression Programme will aim to better skill those working in the meetings sector. Both partnerships strive to enhance awareness around ibtm africa as an educational programme, but also further collaboration between industry bodies to facilitate growth within the meetings industry within, and outside of, the African continent. ILTM Africa to host the finest luxury travel brands from the continent Luxury travel exhibition, ILTM Africa has confirmed it will host up to 100 of the finest luxury travel brands from the continent in pre-scheduled meetings with international agents. Buyers confirmed include US-based Brownell Travel, Silktravel from the Netherlands and Brazilian luxury specialists PHD Travel. With around 90% of buyers new to ILTM Africa, and a third completely new to the ILTM Portfolio, it promises to be an event of great new business connections and opportunities. To find out more about each of these unique events, and to make sure youve registered, visit Africa Travel Week. Pachinko machines are traditionally purely mechanical, so Ben Heck thought he'd mod one to include electronic lights and sounds. The 8-bit gaming sound program is a great option, but Ben's fart sound program may be the keeper. Ben uses a bunch of 2N4401 NPN transistors and does a test to see if he can pump 12 volts into the lights and control it with a 3.3 volt microcontroller. He uses bayonet style 44-42 bulbs rated at 6.3 Volts and duty cycles them so that they are only on half the time. This will allow them to work properly without being burnt out. Ben hooks up six transistors and six ports to the PCB to allow lots of options. He also uses a regulator to step down from 12 volts down to 3.3. The 12 volt input is the same thing that goes to the audio amplifier. There is a capacitor for filtering that. There are transistor controls for six lights. The transistors are hooked up to the microcontroller. The 5 volt regulator takes a 12 volt max and knocks it down to 5 Volts before going to the microcontroller board. The audio output jack also goes to the audio amplifier. There are also four switches hooked up to the PCB: ball load good switch, good launch switch, jackpot switch, and drain switch. Ben mounts the PCB to the plastic on the machine. He then wires up the lights and the switches. The Panchinko machine will include a system on light, a ready light, and jackpot lights. Once the lights are set and the rest of the logic is working, a selector is added for different sound effects. In understanding political and economic trends, focus groups are one tool that can be used to gauge sentiment in the public sphere and learn more about how cultural and political norms are changing. Lindy Briginshaw/CC&DW Focus groups carefully planned discussions with a small group of people on a specific topic are the ideal data collection tool for gathering information on things that are shared or have a public aspect, and we should be using them more effectively, more often. A focus group is one of many qualitative data collection tools used in applied research and social sciences. The methodology of using focus groups to gather data in evaluations is particularly useful and assists in driving purposeful development. Polls can err Shortly after the US elections, an opinion piece on The Guardians website discussed how wrong the polls and data were, saying, Focus groups are the often unfairly derided sibling of polling. What some wrongly dismiss as anecdote is fundamental; they help us understand why people behave as they do and how intensely they feel about an issue. They can enable us to know which questions are most important to ask and why people answer questions in a poll as they do. They help us to understand the emotional connection essential for mobilising voters. Discussions moderated by a skilled researcher, who controls the flow of questions and answers, to uncover information and gain insights, help us collect valuable data on group norms, cultural and political expectations and responses to adverts, social programmes, and even political campaigns. Indeed, some people who were using focus groups ahead of the tumultuous US elections were already seeing what could happen. An article in The Nation shows Clintons own focus groups found that, while electing a woman president is a very strong motivating factor among Hillary Clintons most committed supporters, overall it was the least effective positive case they tested. Voters were most interested in electing the person who would make their own lives better. Aside from helping political analysis, focus group discussions are also useful for problem solving and brainstorming ideas and concepts, through the creation of a team mentality and involving people in decision-making processes. Benefits of focus groups There are numerous benefits to using a focus group in qualitative data collection. Some of them are: They are quick to conduct as they allow multiple opinions to be heard in a short period. They are an ideal form of research in response to emerging events. They are therefore also ideal to assess a mood and support at a particular point in time. They can reach hard-to-access, or shy people who may not find it comfortable talking about certain topics individually. Contributing in a group provides a certain degree of anonymity and protection. They have some limitations too: Some individuals may dominate the discussion and quash dissenting opinions. Because of the number of individuals involved, information can be shallower than that gathered through individual, one-on-one interviewing. Training on focus groups Creative Consulting & Development Works has launched a training series to impart skills and create rich conversations about creative evaluation practices. One of the key components to evaluation methodology is focus group discussions. It will be diving deep into how to plan and conduct focus groups effectively, as one of the methods commonly used in data collection. It will also show participants how to use various other evaluation and research tools to help them in their work. The Qualitative Data Collection Tools course is being held in Cape Town on 15-16 February and in Pretoria on 22-23 February 2017. You can register here. Maize farmer Adele Prinsloo is in a panic. The entire crop on her 100ha farm has been overrun by the devastating fall armyworm. The Prinsloos live only 40km from the Pretoria CBD. Mikhail Kochiev via 123RF The department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries has activated an emergency team to help fight the plague and is advising on pesticides to be used. Today the department's minister, Senzeni Zokwana, will brief the media on the outbreak which could devastate the country's maize harvest if not contained. Armyworm larvae can defoliate entire plants, leaving behind only barren stalks as they sweep through large areas of farmland. That's what the Prinsloos and her six workers are battling after her employees sounded the alarm a week ago. They noticed the maize crop being eaten and reported the devastation to Prinsloo's son, Jacques. Faced with the unknown pest, the owners of Bon Accord farm, north of Pretoria, had no idea what they were up against. Their immediate response was to stock up on at least seven pesticides, costing about R40,000, but the pests were not eradicated. Adele Prinsloo drove to Vaalwater in Limpopo to get what she had been told might work. She will know after three days if the caterpillar poison for which she paid R4,800 for 5.4kg has any effect. But while this may kill the worms, there is nothing left to save on her farm. "We have tried every poison we know but these things just won't die. We have invested R400,000 in this crop. The entire crop is infested, the loss runs to R1-million. It is bad," Jacques said. "Last season was the drought. Now we have rain and then you get this. We are finished." Samples collected from the Prinsloos' farm by Agricultural Research Council scientists have confirmed that the fall armyworm identified in Pretoria is of the same species as that ravaging Limpopo. The pests have decimated crops in Zambia, Zimbabwe, and Malawi, and have spread to other southern African countries, including Namibia and Mozambique. So far the damage has been limited mainly to yellow maize varieties and sweetcorn. Source: The Times The US's incoming administration has a historic opportunity to extend America's global leadership by promoting the economic transformations underway in Africa. An effective US strategy would be based on the fact that Africa's development still greatly depends on the performance of its agri-food systems. Farming remains the primary source of employment for 65% of Africas population. Poverty rates are in decline. But they remain unacceptably high. Putting more money in the hands of 500 million Africans who rely on farming for their livelihoods will have a decisive influence on the pace of economic growth. Virtually no country in the world has transformed its economy from an agrarian economy to a modern one without sustained agricultural productivity growth. Why should US citizens care? Quite simply, because investing in Africas economic growth is in Americas national interest. US exports of agricultural products to sub-Saharan Africa totalled $2.6 billion in 2013. This will grow rapidly if Africa continues to develop. By 2050, sub-Saharan Africa will have 2.1 billion people 22% of the worlds population compared to 12% today. Rapidly rising populations and incomes will increase the demand for a safe, affordable and sustainable global food supply. US farmers and agribusiness can help themselves by helping Africa meet its rapidly growing food needs. This can be done through investments in agri-food systems as well as supporting a sustainable, efficient global food system. It is increasingly recognised that most African agricultural exports do not compete with US farm and agribusiness interests. In most instances, they are highly complementary. Rising farm incomes in Africa promote growth multipliers. These expand private investment and employment opportunities in African agri-food systems and in the rest of the economy. Rising incomes in Africa also promote US export interests. A vibrant agricultural sector will hasten Africas transition to a more prosperous, diversified and stable region. These are the benefits that would emerge from strong partnerships between African governments, the private sector and millions of African farmers and entrepreneurs. Enlightened US development assistance programmes are required. A changing landscape An effective US government approach will need to recognise the dramatic changes in the African landscape over the past few decades with respect to partnerships. Development models premised on 1980s conditions no longer fit 2017 realities. US development organisations can be especially effective if they understand that today there is much greater local expertise and awareness. Many more Africans have professional job expertise related to agri-food systems than they did 25 years ago. This is true in both the public and private sectors. Many are educated internationally and possess valuable technical skills. They can operate effectively given superior knowledge of local culture and connections with centres of local power. That means theyre capable of influencing government investments. An effective US strategy toward African agricultural development will engage more African professionals than in the past. But conditions have not changed much in at least one important respect. Public agricultural institutions, such as R&D and extension services, play a crucial role in supporting farm productivity growth. But many in Africa cant fulfill their mandates. Most African agricultural research systems are woefully underfunded. Asian farmers benefit from the fact that their governments annually spend over eight times more on agriculture on average than African governments. Not surprisingly, the pace of productivity growth in Asia has eclipsed Africas. A new model for development assistance US and African governments share core interests in promoting private investment in African food systems. This would be done in partnership with local firms. It would support fair agricultural trade and a sustainable global food system. Achieving mutual US-Africa interests for economic transformation in Africa will require greater support for African institutions that support the development of agri-food systems. This means supporting institutions that create the next generation of African educators, farm extension workers, research scientists, entrepreneurs and policy makers. These people will define the pace of private investment and agricultural transformation in African countries. The US has one of the worlds most dynamic and productive agricultural systems. This is greatly indebted to the US land-grant university system, the US Cooperative Extension Service, and a host of other public institutions. These bring vital practical information to agricultural producers, small business owners, consumers, families and young people. This rich history and know-how mean the US can provide much-needed leadership and expertise to support institutional capacity building in Africa. My colleagues, Isaac Minde and Chance Kabaghe, and I propose that the main thrust of a new approach to development assistance in Africa should be to shift the role of US organisations. Instead of providing the technologies, services, and answers themselves they should help African organisations to do so. The time has arrived for the US to find effective ways to support capacity building. This should include African universities, agricultural training colleges, vocational schools, crop research organisations, extension systems and policy analysis institutes. International private companies, universities, and NGOs have important but increasingly redefined roles that put African institutions in the lead. Once enacted, the proposals made here will take time to generate their full impact. This is why there is no time to waste in getting started. You can find the full policy paper on Enhancing US efforts to develop sustainable agri-food systems in Africa here. This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article. The PPC Imaginarium Awards, together with the artEC Community Art Centre in Port Elizabeth, is hosting a pop-up exhibition showcasing artworks from the Eastern Cape's emerging creatives. The exhibition is open to the public and will run until 10 February 2017. The show features a range of artworks that have been entered into the annual awards competition. Image: Basil Brady Photography A project of the innovation department of PPC, the PPC Imaginarium Awards is an art and design competition in which emerging artists and designers are challenged to demonstrate their knack for innovation by seamlessly incorporating the medium of concrete into each of their respective disciplines. Promoting and establishing young designers As part of its ethos, artEC pledges to ensure that its annual exhibition calendar includes a selection of open exhibitions in an effort to continue providing opportunities for unestablished artists to exhibit. This policy aligns with the PPC Imaginarium Awards vision of promoting and establishing young artists and designers as leaders in their fields. Image: Basil Brady Photography The exhibition in Port Elizabeth is a first for the competition. Says PPCs Daniel van der Merwe, who heads the PPC Imaginarium Awards: It is important to us that the competition has national representation, which is why we have judging stations in Port Elizabeth, Bloemfontein, Durban, Cape Town, Johannesburg and Pretoria. Expanding our exhibition calendar to include Port Elizabeth is exciting for us and we hope to continue to support and grow the creative industries in the Eastern Cape in the future! For more information on the PPC Imaginarium Awards, go to www.ppcimaginarium.co.za. For more information on artEC Community Art Centre, go to www.artecpe.co.za. The #FeesMustFall movement is running riot, and free tertiary education is the demand, but is the higher education system already producing too many graduates? Are there enough opportunities in the labour market for every new graduate every year? By examining the governments quality indicators for learning and teaching, it is possible to measure students experience, satisfaction and graduate employment outcomes. It is essential to analyse how well the higher education system is meeting labour market needs, and design innovative employer satisfaction surveys to assess the technical skills, generic skills and work readiness of graduates. Gizelle McIntyre, director at The Institute of People Development (IPD), reports that South Africa has one of the highest rates of public investment in education in the world. At about 7% of gross domestic product (GDP) and 20% of total state expenditure, the government spends more on education than on any other sector. Government spending on basic education during 2015/16 is estimated at R203,468 billion. A recent study has revealed that only 0.07% of more than a million employees permanently employed in South Africa hold a PhD, despite universities reportedly producing 14,155 PhDs in the ten-year period from 2002 to 2012. The study, which looked at the employability of PhD graduates in South Africa, indicates that graduates are struggling to find employment in the country. According to Dr Amaleya Goneos-Malka, Post-Doctoral Research Fellow at the University of Pretoria, PhD graduates are often excluded from the recruitment space because they are seen as overqualified by human resource personnel. Goneos-Malka says that the first part of the study looked at recent PhD graduates from 14 leading South African universities and considered graduates perspectives and perceptions of the employment space. 50% of PhD graduates had either experienced, or had peers who had experienced difficulties finding employment. What then, you may ask, is the point? McIntyre believes the answer lies in ensuring work readiness. Approximately 600,000 university graduates are languishing at home, unable to put into practice what they have learned, says Labour Market Analyst, Loane Sharp. The reality is that university qualifications are not the only qualities employers look for when recruiting. A lack of work experience, however, is another significant drawback, confirms McIntyre. Most graduates in search of jobs either lack work experience, practical on-the-job knowledge, and the supervisory skills they need or their degrees are irrelevant to the job market. The South African Graduates Development Association (Sagda) blames a number of factors for the countrys growing graduate unemployment crisis. One of them is successfully matching those with skills to the jobs which require them. How can this problem be solved? According to Dreyfus and Dreyfus, Constructive workplace learning is directed at shifting the individual from being merely competent to becoming proficient or expert. Various work readiness initiatives are available, including Learnerships, PIVOTAL Grants and Workplace Learning, and PIVOTAL Programmes. These initiatives should be aimed at meeting the scarce skills needs. Scarce and critical skills refer to an absolute or relative demand, current or future, for skilled, qualified and experienced people to fill particular roles, professions, occupations or specialisations in the labour market, concludes McIntyre. Africa is increasingly gaining prominence as a target destination for a more diverse group of investors, both based in Africa and elsewhere. The growing trend towards using fund structures to house African investments presents good opportunities for local and global fund managers. It is estimated that there are currently over 50 Development Finance Institutions (DFIs) actively investing in Africa-focused private equity funds. Johanna Monthe, Investment Management lawyer at Linklaters, says DFIs were the first actors in this market at a time when African investments were often considered too risky by traditional PE [Private Equity] fund investors, which has meant that they have been able to set the market standard for the legal and commercial terms of Africa-focused funds. There can be substantial variations in fund terms between African funds and their European and US counterparts. This can sometimes create opportunities for the fund managers - for instance certain DFIs are willing to take a greater risk and subordinate their return of capital to other investors in exchange for a stronger impact programme from fund managers. This ends up being a strong marketing tool for the managers and assists them with raising capital from commercial investors. 2016 has seen an increase in the creation of pools of DFIs investing in a fund. Monthe notes that pooling is most commonly carried out through joint DFI negotiations, but with each DFI making separate investments in the fund. She says: Interestingly, were also seeing DFIs pooling their investments into one vehicle to invest in funds as a single investor. Both approaches encourage dialogue between the DFIs on rules relating to ESG and governance compliance and, from the fund managers perspective, have the benefit of removing or at least reducing the burden of balancing competing sets of requirements within the fund. New investors The year has also seen the introduction of new investors in Africa-focused funds. Jonathan de-Lance Holmes, Investment Management partner at Linklaters, says: Recently, more traditional fund investors, such as domestic and foreign sovereign wealth funds, insurers and pension funds, seem to have an increased appetite for investment in Africa-focused funds. These investors are particularly attracted to investment opportunities in infrastructure, healthcare and natural resources sectors so fund managers have responded to this by establishing more sector-specific funds that have a wide African footprint. Deal activity during the year has shown that the concerns of these investors are more akin to traditional private equity investors with greater focus on issues such as financial returns on investments. Nicole Paige, Private Equity partner at law firm Webber Wentzel, says: The commercial investors find that investing into a fund with DFI investors is hugely beneficial as they can ride the coattails of the DFIs to benefit from investor-friendly fund terms and governance without having to push these points themselves. She notes that as two different types of investors in the African funds market start emerging, you see how negotiating fund terms in order to strike the right balance to attract both types of investors, can become tricky. Difficulties can emerge in reconciling investor expectations for investment terms, exit strategies or the type and scope of investments. Whilst DFIs seek to push investment into countries/sectors based on their own development agenda, fund managers often find themselves restricted by what they consider to be a narrow investment policy at the expense of being able to have a more opportunistic approach. More to come Lawyers are expecting an increase in both types of investors in the African funds market in 2017 de-Lance Holmes says, Whilst the emergence of new investors and development of higher standards of DFI-driven governance have meant that the funds and the fundraising processes have become more complex, this has also created new opportunities for managers. In order to fully maximise and seize these opportunities, fund managers need to be prepared to compromise and accommodate the concerns of historic and more traditional investors. Here is a look at some of the competition law issues that made headlines in Africa during 2016 and how they will impact competition law proceedings this year. Public interest in Africa When South Africa published its public interest guidelines in 2016, it became clear that such guidelines were needed in all the major competition law jurisdictions in Africa. Guidance on public interest issues in mergers would create a degree of certainty for investors and allow merging parties to consider these issues proactively, rather than being met with a condition imposed unexpectedly or unnecessarily. The most acute public interest factor in South Africa has been employment, where the protection of employment is paramount. Botswana, Kenya and Tanzania have focused on employment issues when considering public interest in mergers and various jurisdictions have focused on protecting local procurement. We can expect more countries in Africa to issue formal public interest guidelines in the coming years. The East African Community Competition Law With the East African Community (EAC) Competition Authority (Authority) having appointed five new commissioners in 2016, compliance with the regulations of this new regional Competition Authority will likely be required during 2017. In addition, the EAC member states that dont have competition laws in place must now draft them, meaning that we should see competition law being implemented in an additional three countries in the near future, namely Burundi, Rwanda and Uganda. As four of the five EAC member states are also COMESA Member States, it remains to be seen what mechanisms will be put in place between the Authority and COMESA to streamline the control of merger activity in East Africa, which has been a hub for private sector investment in recent years. MoUs The sharing of experiences and best practices between competition regulators across Africa is increasing, and appropriate information sharing it is to be welcomed. Multi-jurisdictional investors want competition authorities to be aligned in terms of the decisions and remedies that they implement in a transaction, so that deals can proceed smoothly and efficiently. Over the past 18 months, more than 10 memoranda of understanding (MoUs) have been signed by 25 competition regulators in Africa and BRICS, to facilitate the cooperation between competition regimes on issues of competition policy and enforcement. The test will be in the implementation of the MoUs and their philosophical outlook. In other words, whether they are used to facilitate business and the efficient regulation of market activity or to frustrate business on a regional scale. We have no reason to believe that the latter will occur and we are optimistic that the investigative efficiency of competition regulators will be enhanced through better co-operation between regulators. The days of working in national borders have long been over for both business and the public, now regulators are finally catching on and this should be cautiously welcomed. Private Equity Funds Investment in East Africa is largely driven by private equity funds so much so that there is a call by some practitioners in Kenya to treat these investments differently to normal investments in terms of how they are assessed from a competition law perspective. A different toolbox needs to be adopted by regulators when dealing with private equity funds in Africa, as they are usually new entrants in the market and their presence is also not permanent, as they will ultimately exit their investment depending on the investing funds investment horizon. In such circumstances, one must therefore wonder to what extent the vast majority of private equity deals will negatively affect competition. We look forward to the most affected jurisdictions being trailblazers in this area and putting forward specific guidelines for private equity deals in the coming year. Mozambique Mozambiques Competition Authority was supposed to become operational in 2016 but it has been delayed. It is expected to begin functioning in 2017. They are the only major jurisdiction in Southern Africa that does not yet have dedicated competition law. The country is also the only Portuguese speaking jurisdiction in Southern Africa, so it is doubtful that it will look to South African competition law for interpretation. Due to language and history, the regulator may look to Portugal or the EU to interpret its law, which will introduce an interesting mix into competition jurisprudence in Southern Africa. High Court of Kenya litigated its first competition case The High Court of Kenya handed down judgment on the first competition case in Kenya, in the matter between Mea Limited and the Competition Authority of Kenya (CAK), this year. The ruling confirmed the principle that dawn raids, provided they are based on a reasonable suspicion which is supported by facts, are legal and no prior notice that a search warrant is being sought is required to be given to the company that is to be raided. This position is consistent with international best practice. The phasing out of the FTSE/JSE South African Listed Property Index (Sapy) and the creation of three indices have been welcomed by numerous fund managers, whose investment choice has been expanded. The proposed changes will see the launch of the South African Reit index, the All Property index and the Tradable Property index as Sapy is phased out. The Sapy comprises the top 20 liquid property companies by market capitalisation with a primary listing on the JSE. They are now worth about R464bn. The sector itself has a market cap of about R750bn. The Sapy is being changed because it is no longer considered an appropriate benchmark by which to measure the performance of portfolio managers and sub-sectors. Critics say the sector is too diverse to be represented by just one index. Passive fund managers have been seeking better tailored indices, which separate incomepaying real estate groups from developers, to better suit the needs of retirement investment. Investors object to a high concentration of large, local stocks that are not weighted appropriately, with Growthpoint Properties and Redefine Properties standing out. In addition, they say the existing index is unfocused because it includes real estate investment trusts (Reits) and development companies, and inward listings are excluded. The South African Reit index will include every Reit that has a primary JSE listing, is domiciled in SA and is a constituent of the JSE's all share index. By definition, a South African Reit must pay at least 75% of its distributable profit to its investors. Chris Segar of Ivy Asset Management said the South African Reit index was especially attractive as it would allow investments in a low-cost and high-yield passive instrument. The South African Reit Index excludes foreign companies, which means local yields are not diluted by lower foreign yields. "We regularly use low-cost property index funds for our retired investors, who seek high income yields to live on," said Segar. The All Property index will include all property companies on the bourse. "This index will suit people looking for a broad performance benchmark and who are not concerned about where a property fund or its assets are based, as long as the shares are tradable in rand," said Mark Randall, the JSE's index and valuations manager. The index would weight companies based on their South African shareholder base, preventing the index from being dominated by foreign counters. The Tradable Property index, which is a variant of the All Property index, takes liquidity into account. Source: Business Day The Consumer Protection Act (CPA) was introduced to protect consumers engaged in commercial transactions with businesses to avoid the consumer being treated unfairly. Unless a property buyer is purchasing a home from a developer or speculator whose ordinary course of business is to sell properties, the CPA does not come into play and the buyer will not fall under its protection. An ordinary property sale is seen as a transaction between two consumers, the seller and the buyer. The CPA will not have an effect on the voetstoots clause used in agreements of sale in an ordinary property transaction. This is why it is so important for buyers to have property thoroughly inspected before they submit their offer to purchase. There are instances where the buyer is protected if severe defects are found after the transfer has taken place. However, it is difficult to determine whether the seller deliberately concealed the defect or genuinely wasnt aware of it. Patent vs. latent defects There are two kinds of defects. A patent defect is clearly visible on inspection of the property, such as broken window or cracks in the wall. All patent defects should be listed in the offer to purchase, along with who is responsible for fixing them. Because patent defects are visible or obvious without professional inspection, the buyer has no recourse against these types of defects. It is up to the buyer to spot patent defects and then decide whether they would still like to proceed with purchasing the property. The other type of defect is a latent defect, which is not easily picked up by a superficial inspection. Examples of latent defects include a leaking roof or faulty geyser. Common law states that the seller is responsible for all latent defects in the property for three years from the date of discovery of the defect. Most sellers are aware that they are responsible for latent defects which is why they include the voetstoots clause in the sale agreement. The clause protects the seller against all defects including latent defects that are unknown to him. However, if the seller was aware of a latent defect and deliberately concealed it from the buyer, the buyer has recourse against the seller. It is important to bear in mind that the onus will be on the buyer to prove that the seller was aware of the defect but deliberately hid it. Claiming a portion of the purchase price It will be dependent on the circumstances, but if a latent defect is found, the buyer will be able to cancel the contract or claim a portion of the purchase price. The law prescribes that the buyer will not be allowed to simply obtain a quote for the repair and then deduct it from the purchase price, paying a lesser amount. The buyer can also not refuse to pay occupational rent or a portion therefore unless the defect seriously impairs the use and occupation of the property. Any defects that are dicovered after the sale of the property but before the property is transferred into the buyers name will be for the sellers account, unless those defects are caused by the buyer during their occupation of the property. For buyers to ensure that they are fulled protected against any latent defects, they should enlist the services of a professional home inspection company to check the home thoroughly. The price of paying a professional to do the job properly will be far less than the time and hassle caused by dealing with hidden defects. According to the TripAdvisor 2017 Travelers' Choice Awards , Cape Town is home to eight hotels which have made an effort to create and maintain a world-class hotel experience, proving that the city is a place where visitors can reliably experience luxury all year round. Photo: Hillary Fox These are the places celebrities and business luminaries choose as discreet holiday accommodation, and for A-listers, privacy is of paramount importance. But theyre not just for the Denzel Washingtons and Scarlett Johanssons of this world, anyone can walk in, enjoy a high tea or an icy drink under the lazy shade of some old trees. Locals, too, can feel like A-listers, if only for a while. The Cape town winners are familiar to us: Cape Grace, Queen Victoria Hotel, The Twelve Apostles Hotel and Spa, Belmond Mount Nelson Hotel, One&Only, Taj Cape Town, Romney Park All Suite Hotel and Spa and The Table Bay. Each one recognises the need to remain relevant in this environment and has found unique ways to titillate guests by reinventing what is on offer. A large number of locals is employed in these hotels as well as other hotels and businesses that contribute to their supply chains. The staff at the hotels are as much of an asset as the buildings and interiors. Its all about differentiation, marketing, reputation and delivering on guest expectations and the hotels promises. A hotel stay must be a seamless one, from initial enquiries to check-in, and then from during the stay until check-out. Even post-stay contacts are critical when it comes to maintaining these good reviews. Should any one aspect not be deemed satisfactory, the world-class establishment will endeavor to fix the problem and keep those customers coming. With the TripAdvisor 2017 Travelers Choice Awards, the visitor gets to choose the best of the best, and we applaud these businesses for consistently flying the Cape Town flag high," says Enver Duminy, CEO, Cape Town Tourism. Sam Blakeslee, a retired Republican California state senator, worked with Cal Poly students to create Digital Democracy, a service that aggregates videos of the interminable, innumerable and vital local government hearings and meetings and then use machine-learning systems to generate automated transcripts so that activists, journalists and citizens could search and analyze them. Digital Democracy's transcripts use facial recognition to attribute remarks to politicians. The project's been running in California for two years, now it's expanding to NY. Digital Democracy generates a lot of raw data, but it relies on others to turn that data into political analysis and action. However, it is stepping in to a gap left by the collapse of local news-gathering bodies, where new reporters learned their trade by sitting through low-stakes meetings, listening attentively for high-stakes additions being slipped in at the eleventh hour or under cover of other subjects. Digital Democracy points to a future where the tedious, labor-intensive parts of newsgathering is done by software, freeing up reporters to work from much larger, cross-referenceable, crowd-sourceable, searchable archives of related (and seemingly unrelated) transcripts. That's not to say that they'll actually do it, but they could. In the past month, I've spoken with strategists for multiple public broadcasters outside of the USA who are looking for feedback on what they should do in the future. This project suggests an interesting role for public broadcasters: producing mine-able corpuses of government data that drastically reduce the cost and increase the effectiveness of hyper-local news startups, the kind of thing that one person can fund with a Patreon (the likes of which are already thriving and serving as a pointed thorn in the sides of the established powers). The non-profit is also rolling out an enhanced version that will enable other organizations to embed the videos directly on their websites. Meanwhile, Digital Democracy has plans to expand to Florida and Texas, at which point the platform will reach one-third of the country's citizens. In time, Newsom hopes that Digital Democracy will be a platform on which developers of politically minded tech build other apps. That will take time. For now, putting these videos in citizens' hands is simply a much needed step toward transparency at a time when so much policy-making is anything but. It's not a perfect system. Then again, neither is democracy. Digital Democracy A Heroic AI Will Let You Spy on Your Lawmakers' Every Word [Issie Lapowsky/Wired] Tigerair Australia has scrapped all flights to the resort island of Bali after failing to obtain regulatory approval from Indonesian authorities. Hundreds of tourists were stranded in Bali last month when the carrier's flights were grounded temporarily after the airline allegedly broke Indonesian regulations. "We have been advised by Indonesian authorities that in order to continue operating our flights to Bali, we would have to transfer to a new operating model that would take at least six months to implement," Tigerair chief executive Rob Sharp said. That "would compromise our ability to offer low-cost airfares to Australians," the statement said. "Providing a reliable, low-cost service is critical for Tigerair Australia and our customers, and therefore our only option is to withdraw from flying to Bali altogether." Working with Virgin Australia Sharp said it was working with Virgin Australia, Tigerair's parent company, to help passengers in Bali return to Australia. Customers booked to travel to the island would be offered refunds. Six flights were affected by the cancellations last Friday. Source: AFP According to the City of Cape Town's Economic Performance Indicators (EPIC) Report for the third quarter of 2016, to benefit fully from the shift toward online retail in Africa, cities need to establish themselves as seedbeds for emerging e-commerce companies. Cape Town has done well in this regard and is considered a tech and e-commerce hub within South Africa. This is not because the city boasts the largest number of online buyers, but more because of Cape Towns well-established tech landscape, which makes it an appealing destination from which to run an e-commerce business. While Gauteng contributes a much larger proportion of the countrys online buyers, Cape Town accounts for the lions share of the headquarters of the most well-known e-commerce companies in South Africa. The city is also the birthplace for the majority of new tech startups operating in the e-commerce ecosystem. The city's appeal Factors that have underpinned Cape Towns attractiveness to e-commerce companies include an appealing lifestyle; an extensive network of supporting companies and institutions, including payment gateways, software developers and tech incubators; a strong supply of ICT skills among the workforce; and better availability of venture capital than in other areas of the country. In terms of the latter, 75% of all venture capital deals in 2015 were located in the Western Cape according to the Southern African Venture Capital and Private Equity Association. The diagram below illustrates the e-commerce landscape in Cape Town. Cape-Town based companies accounted for all 10 of the most visited e-commerce websites in South Africa in 2014. The digital space is increasingly disrupting the way in which we watch and listen to content and how we keep in touch or communicate. The way we shop can no longer escape our digitally connected world. A greater number of consumers are today choosing to shop online, using one of their favourite digital devices from the comfort of their homes or at their desks. The current online purchasing numbers may be small in comparison to traditional buying habits; however, there is an increasing shift to online purchasing. A disruptive evolution in the retail industry is underway, said the Citys executive deputy mayor, Alderman Ian Neilson. Untapped potential Today, consumers are spoilt for choice. Retail store and brand loyalty may no longer be the deciding factor when contemplating where to shop. Therefore, online purchasing gives a consumer the option to choose from a much larger variety of products that are available online, when compared with a traditional retail outlet. The added benefit is being able to shop after traditional store hours at a more convenient time for the individual. There is huge untapped potential for e-commerce in Africa and South Africa in particular. Currently, only 14% of South Africans with access to the internet have shopped online (source: UNCTAD 2016). This industry provides a huge opportunity for strong future growth as internet penetration increases and consumers increasingly choose digital options over traditional shopping patterns. Alexei Toiskin via 123RF While estimates of the size of the local e-commerce industry may vary, forecasts for its future growth are quite similar. Worldwide Worx (2016) recently predicted a doubling of online purchasing between 2016 and 2020. Deloitte (2015) shares the same sentiment with estimates that the industry would more than double its share of retail sales by 2020. This is further backed up by a PWC study that polled emerging companies - 55% indicated that they are expecting to sell more than half of their goods online in the next five years. The majority believe that this upward trend will continue and in the longer-term, they will sell between 75% and 100% of their products online. The City has set itself the goal of establishing Cape Town as a forward-looking, globally competitive business city. The strides that the e-commerce sector has made in our city are helping to boost our international reputation in the tech space. I am confident that more tech companies and startups will establish a presence in Cape Town going forward, wanting to tap into the synergies of the local tech ecosystem, the high standard of local infrastructure, and the high quality of local talent, concludes Neilson. research reports and review/CCT_EPIC_16_3_web.pdf Click here to download the complete report. The experts presenting at the inaugural Business Day TV SME Summit, being held on 8 March 2017 at the Maslow Hotel Sandton, will offer the SME sector practical insight into adopting smart strategies that show a measurable return on investment. Amongst the perceived challenges for the SME sector are a lack of access to funding, a lack of mentorship and insufficient digital skills. Hongqi Zhang via 123RF Speakers The keynote speakers include: Stephen Cohen, head, Sage One Boris Urban, WBS Professor & Chair in Entrepreneurship, University of the Witwatersrand Yusuf Randera Rees, CEO & founder, Awethu Project Allon Raiz, founder & CEO, Raizcorp Martin Feinstein, MD SME-Lab Other speakers include: Jason Goldberg, founding director, EdgeGrowth, Vumela Nicola Tyler, founder & CEO, Business Results Group Charles Nortje, CEO, Credit Guarantee Insurance Corporation Vika Mpisane, CEO, ZADNA Roslyn Lavery, Business Development Manager, Payfast Velly Bosega, founder and MD, Adclick Africa Speaker comments Ahead of the conference, speakers comment on the challenges facing SMEs in South Africa. Starting a business is like trench warfare: there are bullets flying everywhere, says Goldberg. Economic uncertainty created by policy uncertainty creates a significant headwind for businesses. Tyler believes a lack of access to capital and markets, combined with a lack of sustainable systems makes the going even tougher. Capital is often the number one challenge cited by many small businesses, which often look to (inherently risk-averse) banks for support. Small businesses see banks as being their funders, much like employees tend to see employers as their educators. The best funder of a small business is another business. There is an opportunity in the market for business owners to support new business owners in an incubator type model. This is an opportunity that, perhaps, the legislators of BEE have overlooked, an alternative that has not yet been fully explored, or perhaps even considered. A lack of all-round business expertise is another central issue, says Nortje. This is one of the reasons banks will readily lend to a franchise with a winning formula, backed by the expertise and brand equity of the franchisor. This takes a great deal of risk of business failure off the table. Venture capitalists have a significant role to play in helping our local start-ups and small businesses, adds Mpisane. Another challenge that existing businesses in South Africa face is that they fail to appreciate or grasp the power of technology and digital commerce. South Africas Internet penetration is still around 60% of the population. Of this percentage, it appears that less than 50% of small businesses take full advantage of what the Internet and other digital channels provide. Online commerce goes beyond having a swanky website and social media pages, but requires having your own e-commerce platforms. It seems most South African businesses still struggle in this area. Lavery is primarily involved with the start-up and e-commerce space in South Africa. Gaining recognition, trust and loyalty from customers are particular challenges for new small businesses in South Africa and particularly when your presence is an online-only environment. In this instance, credibility is a particular challenge. There is a great lack of mentorship and business management skills at the moment, says Bosega, Many small businesses owners have great ideas but they do not have systems and structures in place to help them maintain and successfully grow their businesses. While other entrepreneurs try to push hard to make things happen they always get stuck along the way due to lack of mentorship and knowledge. The Internet has made it convenient to access information quicker and to connect with like-minded entrepreneurs, using social media platforms like LinkedIn. Technology and the internet now make it possible for the small business owner to have access to information and expertise which would have been out of reach a decade ago. Rapid change and convergence in many industries means you have to read market trends early and to respond accordingly, says Nortje. As much as possible, go digital: it allows you to reach much bigger and remote markets faster and more effectively. However, to achieve this, you need to use suitable digital experts who can empower your business to deploy effective online strategies. Gone are the days of relying on website indexing for your business or products to appear on the first page of Google, Bing, Yahoo and Baidu. More is needed and it is very useful to engage service providers who specialise in this area, advises Mpisane. Lavery emphasises the importance of testing products and ideas to ensure they are what customers actually want. Within the tech and start-up space specifically, this is particularly important. Many of these companies focus on the feature set and not nearly enough on whether or not people really need or want those features. Traditional values of self-discipline, customer focus, being value-centric before profit-centric are important. Do not sacrifice your core values to please others, maintain a sense of balance. Continually invest in your leadership and business management abilities, Goldberg advises start-ups. The entrepreneurial leader you were when you started is not good enough five years later, what got you here, wont get you there. Sponsors The BDTV SME Summit is presented in partnership with headline partners Credit Guarantee Insurance Corporation and the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants (SAICA); and corporate partners ZA Domain Name Authority (ZADNA), AdClick Africa, PayFast, Liberty Corporate, Wits Business School; Finfind, VBS Mutual Bank, and audit, advisory and tax firm, BDO South Africa. For more information, go to www.smesummit.co.za. ...as if we didn't know this already. This announcement came just as the Volvo S90 was launching in SA at the end of January 2017. Of course, Volvo is no stranger to the stars awarded by stringent EuroNCAP testing. Last year, the Volvo XC90 was the first car to score full marks in the Autonomous Emergency Braking Car to Car rear-end tests, for city and country driving. In the 2017 testing cycle, it was the S90 and V90 wagon (of which the latter is not available in SA) that reaped the accolades across all test procedures, and scoring a first-time six points in the Autonomous Emergency Braking for Pedestrians. This makes the XC90, S90, and V90 the three safest cars in the history of EuroNCAP. But how are these pedestrian safety tests performed? The AEB pedestrian tests are designed to check the accuracy and performance of the pedestrian detection systems using common scenarios: an adult or a child running into the road from the passengers side and then from the drivers. This forms part of Volvos City Safety system, which also includes Cyclist Detection, Autobrake at intersections, Run-off Road Mitigation (forcing you back into your lane if the system senses youre close to the edge), as well as the most recent addition: Large Animal Detection. Large Animal Detection In Sweden, where moose and elk roam freely, collision avoidance with these animals is crucial to Volvo. In South Africa, multiple accidents occur after dark every year involving kudu and cattle, therefore Large Animal Detection wont go amiss here. So how does the Volvo know that the large and blissfully unaware animal is near the Volvos nose? Volvos City Safety system uses radar and a camera to detect and identify objects surrounding the car - but heres where it gets clever: the car will slow or stop, based on the size of the animal, its location, and its movement. In order for this system to be effective, many hours were spent by Volvo engineers studying animal behaviour. The computers were then taught how animals move and to match the specific movement of certain animals. The system is also programmed based on where the car is sold. In the US, for example, deer cause thousands of accidents per annum, and as a result, Volvo will gear its cars for deer avoidance. Infrared-based vs radar-based system The system is not perfect, especially where smaller, faster animals (or partially obscured ones) are concerned, like cats, for instance. (If I had R10 for every time that Ive had to brake for a cat, I would have been able to afford a second-hand Volvo by now). Detecting pedestrians and/or animals is not a new concept. In BMW, Audi and Mercedes, these systems are infrared-based, while Volvo uses a radar-based system. Also, the infrared systems only work when the night vision function is utilised - more often than not its an optional feature. The radar-system, however, is always active. And to further assist the Volvo engineers in their quest for superior structural integrity, they have their very own crash test moose in the lab, by the name of Mooses. South African Bridget O'Keeffe, makeup artist, beauty blogger and entrepreneur, founded the salon Blush+Blow in London last year and commissioned South African advertising agency Creative Zoo Advertising (CZA) to design the brand and visual identity. This has been so well received that it has contributed to the salon being featured in a review by The Telegraph of the best beauty salons around the UK and has been voted as one of the 10 most Instagram-able beauty salons in the UK. Director at CZA, Bjorn Annegarn says they assisted OKeeffe in the metamorphosis of her vision from an idea into a brand with a visual identity to match the essence of the experience she wanted to create. CZA was able to create a unique brand identity in the market not only through a bright colour palette and fun playful iconography but also through the mechanisms used to create interest during the launch phase. By gaining an in-depth understanding of OKeefes business, we have been able to anticipate her marketing needs and contribute to refining the customer experience by giving her the tools she needs to create a world class experience. Technology has meant that despite the distance between CZA and Blush+Blow were still able to work closely with her and ensure her needs are met. OKeefe says that it was a pleasure dealing with fellow South Africans in the formation of her brand. The CZA team understood the vision I had for my salon from the get go and its meticulous design has been carried throughout, from the website to the signage inside the salon. I am very proud of the accolades already awarded to the salon and hope this is just the beginning of great things. According to Hassan Shaikh, founder of Revolve, a specialist corporate and retail interior design strategy agency, SA companies are getting workspace design wrong. Hassan Shaikh, founder of Revolve Office space is a tool to support business. It needs to be functional, flexible and inspiring. It is also critical that the significant investment made in workspace design produces a return on investment to the business, he says. While this seems logical, many South African companies are getting it wrong. Companies do a lot of strategic thinking around business but often when it comes to utilising their space, little thought is given to how the space needs to drive profitability. There is a direct correlation between effective workspace usage, increased productivity and profit, he says. Multifunctional, multidimensional, organic workspaces Shaikh believes South African companies have a way to go yet when it comes to understanding how workspace design can affect the bottomline. While we always need to bear in mind our unique South African complexities, global workspace trends are showing companies benefiting immensely from multifunctional, multidimensional, organic workspaces. He adds that sadly many SA companies have spent millions on workspace designs that simply arent working. We often get called in to assist companies that cant work out why their design investment is not paying off. In essence, the issue, he says, is applying a cookie-cutter design approach to workplace design and design thinking distorts the well-researched design principles that should be applied. This is normally done to either create more aesthetics or to try accommodate only basic business requirements. This is the stumbling block in many workspaces and leaves companies with beautiful spaces that are under-utilised and offer little or no value to the business. Space ideally needs to be designed in such a way that it allows employees to focus, collaborate, learn and socialise. This requires a shift away from a traditional, one-dimensional floor plans to multifunctional, multidimensional workspaces, says Shaikh. Flexible and tailor-made Creating spaces that are flexible and tailor-made to specific business needs is just as important as making the space reflect the corporate or brand culture. Each business is different and the layout, design and aesthetics need to reflect this. Having work environments that are static and unreactive in the fast-changing, economic environment that organisations operate in, does not allow businesses to be reactive enough. Interior design must be used as a tool to provide agility and create spaces that promote co-working and collaboration to enhance productivity which ultimately results in higher profitability. Critical, strategic thinking is therefore the starting point for workplace interior design. To achieve the necessary alignment and value, an audit of where the business is and where its heading as well as insights from employees are essentials to create spaces that are people-centric and give businesses the environments to lead transformation and growth internally. "Using solid researched design principles like ergonomics, proxemics, spatial layout strategies and also incorporating essential elements of design science, workplace design can be positioned as a holistic resource that benefits both employees and the business, explains Shaikh. Get a designer involved early For maximum benefit the best scenario is to get a designer involved early at the building or office space selection part of the process to maximise the value the design strategy offers. This gives the designer insights into the business strategy which feeds into the spatial accommodation strategies and also the design strategy. It also eliminates the sacrificing of both aesthetics and practicality to create designs that are within budget, on time, to specification and still meet the clients immediate needs as well as being flexible enough to accommodate business growth. Office design is changing and so is the way business functions and how people work. SA businesses that are progressive enough to start testing and experimenting with workplace environments that suit their businesses and are specially designed to accommodate a changing workforce will reap the rewards, he concludes. White-collar crime costs the South African economy a huge amount every year. One expert puts the figure at R930 million a year, and poor conviction rates are estimated to be driving a 50% rise in this kind of crime. White-collar crime is hard to detect and it can be difficult to bring perpetrators to book and recover stolen money or repair the damage caused, says David Loxton, Partner at law firm Dentons SA in Johannesburg, specialising in corporate investigations and compliance. It makes very good business sense to put measures in place to prevent employees from putting your business at risk. Based on his years of experience, Loxton suggests the following tips to stop white-collar crime before it even begins: Screen employees properly and timeously David Loxton, Partner at Dentons SA law firm I am surprised at how often I have been asked to vet a senior employees credentials long after he or she has been appointed, he says. Companies need to be sure that employees have the qualifications they have, and that they have a record of honesty. Maintain a strict segregation of duties It is critical that those approving expenditure or any sort of contract are not those who action them. In tough economic times, when retrenchments occur, it can be hard to maintain proper segregation of duties but, says Loxton, it is a vital safeguard against common types of fraud, such as payments to bogus suppliers or the granting of tenders to family members. Ensure you have a good, anonymous tip-off line Whistle-blowing by employees or customers is one of the primary sources of information about underhanded practices by an organisations employees. Prioritise an internal audit function and make sure it is effective Experience shows that internal auditors, with their inside knowledge of how the company works, are second only to whistle-blowers as identifiers of fraudulent practices. Use powerful software to perform exception monitoring in real time This software is relatively inexpensive and increasingly intelligent. It can flag anomalous activity as it happens, providing an invaluable early-warning system. Provide employees with proper training Even senior executives find it hard to define exactly what constitute fraud or unethical business practices, Loxton says. Understanding what is unacceptable is the essential first step in preventing it from happening and alerting potential whistle-blowers. Develop and manage an ethical culture throughout the company One hears about tone at the top but it is critical that the same note is struck across middle management as well. Employees see and discuss everything, and if any managers do not act ethically, their subordinates will dismiss ethics as window dressing. This may involve some difficult decisions; for example, holding a high performer to the companys ethical standards even though it might mean losing him or her. Recently, President Donald Trump successfully succeeded to withdraw the US from the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). At the back of that decision, questions have since been raised over the future of the Africa Opportunity and Growth Act (AGOA) which was meant to expire in 2015, however, after intense and robust negotiations that took place in 2014 the Obama Administration decided to extend it to 2025, allowing it to continue for 10 more years. Hamlet Hlomendlini Since President Trump fulfilled a campaign pledge to withdraw from TPP, AGOA beneficiaries like South Africa are speculating that this could be a sign of worse things to come especially also following his scourge of attacks on the US trade deals during his election campaigns. Fuelling this concern may also be attributed to the realisation that there has not been anything of substance mentioned by President Trump relating to AGOA since he took office. Ignoring the benefits of AGOA Adding to the doubts about the future of AGOA is the fact that, recently, President Trumps transition team sent the State Department four pages of questions about Africa which reveal an administration deeply skeptical of US engagement on the African continent on several issues which include trade deals. One of the questions posed by Trumps team particularly probed the AGOA, which gives some products made in Africa duty-free access to the US. The question was phrased as follows: Most of AGOA imports are petroleum products, with the benefits going to national oil companies, why do we support that massive benefit to corrupt regimes? There may be nothing wrong with the phrasing of the question, however, the tone of it is somewhat concerning. The question clearly disregards the fact that since its creation in 2000, AGOA has created more than 300,000 jobs and 120,000 in Africa and the US respectively. It also does not emphasize the positive impact AGOA has had in people lives and the platform it created for trade relations, and it paints Africa as a continent ruled by corrupt governments. Between 2001 and 2014, the total two-way trade between South Africa and the US increased from R56.7 billion to R141 billion. South African exports during the same period to the US grew from R30 billion to R69.8 billion while those from the US to South Africa grew from R26.6 billion to R71 billion. There are other noticeable mutual benefits gained between the US and oil exports countries mainly Angola, Nigeria, and to a lesser extent Chad and the Republic of Congo, but this question deliberately ignores all that. SA the most significant non-oil AGOA beneficiary AGOA is without a doubt good for Africa and South Africa, in particular, has used it reasonably well compared to other beneficiaries in Sub-Saharan Africa who all have access to AGOA but do not have the capacity to export, mainly because they produce few commodities. The oil producers have used it, but non-oil producers have used it mainly for exporting clothing and textiles, but the quantum of export has been very small. Peter Titmuss via 123RF South Africa is the most significant non-oil AGOA beneficiary because its exports are relatively diversified across extractive as well as manufacturing sectors. Motor vehicles have been the largest export in this category, which also includes steel, chemicals, and agricultural goods (primarily wine, citrus, macadamia nuts and other processed foods). If AGOA under the Trump administration is revised or scrapped out, these industries could be hurt greatly and that could lead to job losses. Creating certainty While AGOA remains very important for South Africa, the current situation of uncertainty around its future is of major concern for the country. At this stage, no one knows what is going to happen with AGOA, and trying to read or predict what is going to happen might be very risky. However, it is important to consider all the possible scenarios that the Trump administration might explore and how South Africa in response to that can better position itself in the market. Business likes certainty and predictability - anything South Africa can do to bring certainty for the market is of great importance and it will be greatly welcomed by business. With that in mind, it would be wise for South Africa to start exploring the options available, one of which is to consider going into some form of a long-term bilateral trade relationship with the US which should be built upon the strong ties that already exist between the two of them. Most importantly, when negotiating trade agreements, South Africa must clearly articulate a vision of what it is they want to see in a reciprocal trade agreement (whatever it may be). That vision must speak to the NDP i.e. it must help stimulate economic growth, which is a prerequisite for job creation. Sub-Saharan Africa remains the largest and important destination for South African exports, especially agricultural, and South Africa remains a gateway for some African countries to the US markets. Therefore, whatever South Africa brings forward must also support regional integration in line with the 2063 AU Agenda which amongst other points states that by 2063, African countries will be amongst the best performers in global quality of life measures. This will be attained through strategies for inclusive growth, job creation, increasing agricultural production, investments in science, technology, research and innovation, gender equality, youth empowerment and the provision of basic services including health, nutrition, education, shelter, water, and sanitation. The series, Come Dine With Me South Africa, initially broadcast on BBC Lifestyle for three seasons, will launch on SABC 3 in July this year and run for 13 weeks. The competition to find amateur chefs closes for entries on 26 February 2017. An ITV Studios format, Come Dine With Me has been broadcast in over 30 territories around the globe and remains one of the worlds best-loved shows. Come Dine With Me SA celebrates our countrys rich diversity and cultures. In each episode, over four nights, four enthusiastic amateur chefs, whove never previously met, will snoop around each others homes, sample each others cooking, and pass judgment on each others entertaining and cooking skills and, most importantly, score each other out of 10. At the end, the person with the highest number of points is declared the host with the most and wins a cash prize. The producers of the show, Rapid Blue, are looking for a dynamic group of individuals who believe they are a whiz in the kitchen, have loads of personality and confidence, love entertaining and have the ability to perform under pressure. Rapid Blue's other productions include Strictly Come Dancing, The X Factor, South Africas Got Talent and So You Think You Can Dance. Kee-Leen Irvine, MD of Rapid Blue, says, We are thrilled to be producing another season of Come Dine With Me, this time on SABC. The series taps into peoples fundamental domestic differences, their cooking and their tastes and what it takes to entertain others in style. With the contestants internal feuds and culinary clashes, Come Dine With Me is set to be uniquely South African and contagiously compulsive viewing. To apply to enter, go to www.sabc3.co.za. On 20 January GroundUp reported that rubbish was accumulating in NU8 and the informal settlements of Powerline and Endlovini in Motherwell, Port Elizabeth. The Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality has since cleaned the area. Before and after: a field in Motherwell covered in rubbish a few weeks ago (left), and the same field (from a different position) on 2 February (right). Photos: Joseph Chirume Municipality spokesperson Mthubanzi Mniki said: We will be launching a programme towards the end of February to focus on illegal dumping. This programme will include awareness, cleaning of illegal dumping sites and giving fines to those who are caught dumping illegally. Long-time resident of Powerline, Akhona (surname withheld), lived alongside one of the dumps that had gone uncleared. She said she was excited that there was no more rubbish around the shacks in her area. We feel safe now because there is no more the sight and smell of rubbish. People should desist from dumping here. There are designated places to dump their rubbish but they prefer this place. We will soon gather and form a committee that would guard this place and prevent people from doing so. Motherwell NU8 resident Damara Kano said he would now revert to using his usual road when going to the shops. The small road was previously blocked by overflowing rubbish posing a health threat to him and other residents. The municipality should enforce dumping laws because people are just throwing their rubbish everywhere which is not good for our health. Rubbish has been ruling the roost in this area for the past two months and its a relief that it has been cleared. Vladimir Kara-Murza works for the pro-democracy group Open Russia and is openly critical of Putin's policy of assassinating people he isn't fond of. Last week Kara-Murza hospitalized with organ failure on the day he was to travel to the United States. He has been diagnosed with "acute intoxication by unidentified substance" and is in a life-threatening coma. From the NYTimes: On the Fox program, Mr. Trump said he respected Mr. Putin and hoped Russia and the United States could join forces to defeat Islamic terrorism. The host, Mr. O'Reilly, responded: "He's a killer though. Putin's a killer." It was unclear whether the characterization referred to the unsolved assassination of dissidents, muckraking journalists and opposition politicians or allegations of war crimes in Syria, Ukraine or Chechnya. The Kremlin's spokesman, Dmitri S. Peskov, told reporters Monday that the description was "unacceptable, insulting." The Soviet Union operated a secret laboratory to research untraceable poisons that were tested on condemned gulag prisoners, security service defectors have said. Image by Leonidalekseev (Own work) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons In 2015 Kara-Murza was hospitalized for two weeks for similar symptoms. With World Cancer Day having just been marked on 4 February, the dreaded C' word is top of mind. Here's how Cancer Dojo has partnered with the Berklee College of Music and employed design thinking to turn the scary noises of MRI machines into uplifting music. Conn Bertish. Knut Otto www.visioninja.com Conn Bertish is an inspiration to many. An accomplished ad man who racked up awards and accolades throughout his career as a creative strategist, that all changed when he was diagnosed with brain cancer. Now, hes better known as founder of the Cancer Dojo as well as resilience-building content agency, HTK or Harder To Kill. The ultimate innovative thinker, he has spoken at the Business of Design conference about using design thinking to effect change. One way hes doing so himself is through a novel idea that helps patients conquer both cancer and the associated fear through trackhacking. The revolutionary results of design thinking Explaining how music ties in to the Cancer Dojo offering and an individuals overall wellbeing, Bertish says: Cancer Dojo is all about transforming patients into active warriors in their own healing. Through music, we have been able to convert something scary into something thats empowering. For those who dont know, the Magnetic resonance imaging or MRI machines used to detect cancer learn more about detected tumours decide how to treat the disease and monitor the treatments effectiveness emit brash, quite dramatic electronic bursts of sound unfamiliar and unnerving clangs buzzes hums and squeaks. Bertish says this is unnerving for patients, particularly as theyre already going through a very difficult time and have to undergo these scans regularly to find out if their cancer has come back. During Bertishs own bout with cancer, he started turning the sounds of the machines into music in his head and tried to find a beat to them. This really helped him as it let him literally dance through the treatment and now he wants to share this helpful approach with others. He says it boils down to design thinking, which is about changing the design of something in a way that has a more positive emotional connection for a person. Bertish explains they have done this using music and sound. Further, Cancer Dojo uses design to reframe the way people interact with cancer and approach their healing in a way that engenders a more favourable outcome. This has been discussed in Psychoneuroimmunology studies, which show people with a more optimistic mindset actually remain more resilient through times of crisis and stress, such as cancer treatment. From scary beeps to upbeat battle cries Bertish wanted the best musical minds to be involved in the project, so he called Professor Loudon Stearns, an associate professor at the famous Berklee College of Music in Boston. He says it was a pretty strange call, as he explained the idea of changing the sounds of MRI machines into uplifting, electronic dance tracks, using The Eye of the Tiger by Survivor as an example. He even sang the intro riff set against the sounds of an MRI machine effectively hacking the track, all while worried Stearns would think that he was a little insane. Instead, Stearns completely bought into the idea of changing the very fear-provoking sounds into something upbeat. Through 36 students collaboration they came up with Battle Call, now available for download from the SoundCloud link embedded below: The next step is to work with DJs on various radio stations to communicate how listeners can download elements of MRI machine sounds themselves and turn them into tracks. You can also get involved through partnerships, collaborations and donations of any kind, plus theyre compiling workbooks for people facing cancer, holding creative workshops and hosting an art exhibition in the next few months. Ample opportunity to join the fight. Click here for more on Bertish, here for more on Cancer Dojo and be sure to visit their website, Youtube channel, Twitter feed and SoundCloud account for their successes and more on what they need. J. Walter Thompson Innovation Group MEA released its Future 100 Trends and Change to Watch in 2017' report, which highlights the top 100 consumer trends driving change across the Middle East and North Africa today. Gene Editing, New Mental Health, Halal Tourism and The Year of Giving, are just a few of the trends that describe a region advancing social change for itself and others, through diversity and inclusion. For brands wishing to keep pace, and tune in to current consumer attitudes, the report is a must read guide about sectors and personal needs that have been ignored for way too long. Authored by Mennah Ibrahim, the 100 trends are categorised into 10 major consumer categories, including: travel and hospitality, retail, health, and food and drink. Last years report outlined how societies are embracing topics previously considered taboo. Businesses heard and reacted. This year change is centered around aspects of life that consumers have firmly reclaimed. An increasing demand for brands and lifestyle products to offer Muslim-centric options, has fueled a wave of innovative solutions from start-ups all over the world. Created by and about a diverse yet inclusive Muslim identity, they prioritise social justice and social impact within the business models. Some of the trends include: Gene Editing: The Arab world is poised to take off on the biotech frontier. Pioneering initiatives are surfacing that will fill the lack of Middle Eastern genomics data, and potentially revolutionize the diagnosis and treatment of diseases. The Saudi Human Genome Programme looks to sequence the genomes of 100,000 Saudis, to identify population-specific risk variants. This programme makes the Kingdom the regions leading centre for human genetics research. And Egypt is planning an Egyptian reference database which they will use to micro-dissect Egyptian cancers. New Mental Health: Suicide rates have skyrocketed within the last year with drivers of mental illness such as violence, injustice, inequality and the impact of modern-day living - all taking their toll on MENA societies. One suicide is reported every three days in Lebanon; and in the UAE a 2013 Dubai Health Authority study uncovered that one in five teenage students in the emirate were showing symptoms of depression. Companies are now partnering with government organisations to offer consumers support; a much needed initiative when anxiety rates for Generation Z are already through the roof. Halal Tourism: The tourism industry has woken up to the growing spending power of the Muslim traveler well beyond the Arab world. Asia and Europe already account for 87% of the entire market. Muslim business travel is expected to reach $22 billion by 2020, with Muslim travel overall expected to be worth $220 billion (MasterCard and Crescent Rating, Oct 2016). Closer to home, Mecca is gearing up as a MICE travel destination in Saudi Arabia, combining Umrah pilgrimage trips with business visits. Hospitality brands are making sure they do not miss out on the segment. The Year of Giving: Underscoring the importance of humanitarian work, HH Sheikh Khalifa has decreed a philanthropic approach to strengthening social responsibility in the private sector, with The Year of Giving. Promoting the spirit of volunteerism and instilling loyalty and commitment in the next generation, it harks back to Sheikh Zayeds legacy that measured generosity not only by donations, but by positive impact on a persons life, on society and the UAE nation. Partnerships with the private sector are expected to bring something exceptional to the community, and contribute effectively to societal development. Data the New Luxury: In an age that has become increasingly beholden to data, people are coming to consider their data as highly precious. Evolving past conventional security on devices, the psk series of jewelry have replaced diamonds and gems with something far more valuable per square millimeter personal data. Founded by Wagenknecht and Sunde, the psk series shines a harsh light on the tech industry that relies on users data, instead of direct payment, to fund their operations. Entirely in line with our SONAR data which revealed that 81% of people in MENA believe they should be compensated for their data. Mennah Ibrahim, MEA director of the Innovation Group, said, Having documented how consumers are evolving for over five years now, it is incredible to watch the pace of change accelerate so much across the region. We are experiencing technological developments and the ethical questions they bring; we are taking huge progressive societal steps across major markets; and we are embracing our polycultural, influential and forward driving momentum for hope. Its not easy living in todays constant state of uncertainty not for brands, nor consumers. Yet the trends we have identified all point towards an exciting, collaborative and compassionate future. To view a sample of the report, click here. To download the full report, click here. Subscribe to daily business and company news across 19 industries SUBSCRIBE Windhoek Beer has launched a new integrated campaign titled Don't Compromise', it's based on historical events. The integrated campaign extends to its digital platforms and includes trade activations that reinforce the message, through a BTL innovative activation called The Pure Beer Detector'. The TVC was conceptualised and created by The Jupiter Drawing Room (CT), is currently live on the SABC channels, eTV, KykNET and Mzansi. The TVC is also available digitally on Windhoek's YouTube page as well as the official Windhoek website. To view the TVC, go to www.youtube.com/watch?v=9d_hyvi1cys. Goldfish Communications has been appointed as the new marketing and PR agency for Broll Property Groups' selected properties. These selected properties are inclusive of the Park Boulevard Centre, north of Durban, the Granada Centre in Umhlanga and Springfield Retail Centre which is owned by Emira Property Fund and managed by the Broll Property Group. Marketing manager of Goldfish Communications, Karen Welgemoed, will spearhead the project with her team. Welgemoed was previously marketing manager of Gateway Theatre of Shopping, as well as brand manager of uShaka Marina World. She has a qualification in BComm (PPE) and a post-graduate in Marketing from UCT. Our journey began in the early morning at Yangon Central Railway Station, the downtown terminus for railway lines from all across the country. An Upper Class ticket from Yangon to Kyaiktiyo set us back 2400 kyat each, which got us padded seats and footrests for the nearly six-hour train ride. We sped through the small towns and green fields outside of Yangon and the neighbouring Bago Region, making a few prolonged stops along the way, before the distant hills of Mon State appeared on the horizon. Mon State lies between Bago Region to the north, Tanintharyi Region to the south, Kayin State to the east, and the Andaman Sea to the west. Named after the Mon, the predominant people group in the state and the founders of the earliest civilizations in Myanmar, the region was once dominated by large city-states that extended their influence across much of Upper and Lower Burma. The First Anglo-Burmese War in the early 19th century brought the region into the fold of the British Empire, where it remained until Burmese independence in 1948. Kyaiktiyo Pagoda is located at the northern tip of the state, close to the border with Bago Region. Once at Kyaiktiyo, we piled into the back of a small truck for 500 kyat each and settled in for the ten-minute drive into the town of Kinpun, at the base of Mt. Kyaiktiyo. The town seems to serve no other purpose than to be a gathering point for travelers heading up to the summit, and we paid another 2000 kyat each to squeeze into a retrofitted dump truck with at least 40 other passengers. For the next 30 to 40 minutes, the crowded vehicle went full bore up the hill, deftly navigating the hairpin turns and steep inclines just feet away from dropping off into the forested ridges below. There are limited hotel and guesthouse options at the top of the hill, and weended up getting a single room for the five of us at the Kyaik Hto Hotel. The room was quite modest for the price we were paying, but it was only a 15-minute walk to the pagoda, and we split the cost five ways just under 25,000 kyat each. We had to pay another 6,000 kyat for a foreigners entry pass, good for unlimited entry for the next two days. It was late afternoon by the time we began making our way towards the pagoda, joining the monks in their dark red robes, the porters carrying stretchers and woven baskets back and forth, the pilgrims of all ages, and the occasional tourist or two. Our path took us past the ramshackle stores and restaurants that lined the main thoroughfare, until we reached the main gate and a set of stone stairs, where we were instructed to remove our footwear. A wide square opened up in front of us at the top of the staircase, humming with human activity. Snack vendors called out their wares as groups of pilgrims staked out valuable floor space and set up blankets and rugs for their overnight stay. Tour guides wended their way through the crowds, chattering away at their camera-wielding clients, while kneeling worshipers burnt incense and lit candles on a narrow shelf facing the pagoda. The Kyaiktiyo Pagoda itself was a beautiful sight, the gold leaf-covered boulder gleaming in the rays of the setting sun. Kyaiktiyo is a Mon phrase meaning pagoda upon a hermits head, based on the legend of the pagodas origins. Taik Tha was a local hermit who lived contemporaneously with the Buddha. Upon meeting the hermit, the Buddha decided to give him a strand of his hair. The hermit then gifted the strand of hair to a king, who agreed to keep the hair underneath a boulder shaped like the hermits head. The legend goes on to tell how such a boulder was found at the bottom of the sea secured in its current position on Mt. Kyaiktiyo. A group of men stood on the shadowy ledge behind the pagoda that evening, touching the boulder and applying gold leaf and leaving small offerings. It should be noted that direct access to the pagoda is limited to men only, though the walkways around and beneath the boulder were filled with men and women meditating and chanting towards Golden Rock. Su Swe Zin, a university student at the Yangon Institute of Economics, was one of the many devotees that made the journey with her family from Yangon to Kyaiktiyo Pagoda earlier that day. My younger sister has a holiday today, so we decided to come, she said, adding that this was her fourth visit to the pagoda. The five of us lingered at the pagoda, taking photos and enjoying the cool mountain air until the sun had fully set behind the distant purple hills. Lamps at the base of the pagoda lit up the boulder in a blaze of artificial light, as pilgrims continued to pour into the square. In the semi-darkness, families and extended groups of travelers sat together and shared meals, while young couples held hands and took selfies in the moonlight. After a fitful night of sleep, the kind you get when you share two single beds with five people, we were back at the pagoda to watch the sunrise. It was a much different scene from the night before, as many of the pilgrims in the square had packed up and left in the early hours. After making a quick loop of the complex, we found a quiet platform away from the square, looking east towards the Dawna Hills. The morning sky was now filled with hues of rose and gold, and we watched as the sunlight slowly filled in the misty valleys below. When the sun had fully emerged from the edge of the world, we descended the mountain and began our journey back to Yangon. Transportation Train from Yangon to Kyaiktiyo: 2400 kyat for Upper Class Truck from Kyaiktiyo to Kinpun: 500 kyat Truck from Kinpun to Kyaiktiyo Pagoda: 2000 kyat Bus from Kinpun to Yangon (Aung Mingalar Highway Bus Station): 5000 kyat Accommodation 1 night at KyaikHto Hotel: 123,386 kyat (divided among 5 guests) Permit 2-day foreigner entry to Kyaiktiyo Pagoda: 6000 kyat Food Expect around 2500 kyat per dish 1. Sonam Kapoor The fashionista of Bollywood was recently seen sporting a lot of androgynous looks and we think she carries it really well. She wore a black colour Dice Kayek Couture suit at a press meet and looked impressive. She became the coolest person in the show by showing the red carpet how to wear monochrome pantsuits. Image Courtesy 2. Alia Bhatt While making her first appearance with SRK on Koffee with Karan, Alia Bhatt totally owned it wearing the white Armani pantsuit. The style she carried on the episode of Koffee with Karan was the talk of the town. Alia's Armani pantsuit was classic and it totally impressed us. The flowing hair, nude shade of lipstick and the sultry black smokey eye completed Alia's overall look. Image Courtesy 3. Kalki Koechlin If you want to learn how to rock cut-out power suits, learn it from Kalki Koechlin. The actress made a jaw-dropping appearance wearing a peach coloured Nikhil Thampi pantsuit at the London Film Festival. The actress rocked the look in this dress. Image Courtesy 4. Katrina Kaif Wearing a navy blue Prabal Gurung pantsuit, the Baar Baar Dekho actress made a jaw-dropping appearance at Phantom's trailer launch. The actress carried the pantsuit with a bossy attitude and finished off the look with black stilettos. Image Courtesy 5. Deepika Padukone The lady who is taking the Internet by storm looked absolutely amazing while walking the red carpet of IIFA 2016. The XXX actress was seen in a royal blue robed top and matching bottom set by Chloe. The actress teamed the pantsuit with pumps from Christian Louboutin. Slightly curled hair, plunging neckline and sun kissed makeup accentuated her chic quotient. Image Courtesy 6. Esha Gupta Esha Gupta looked like a dream wearing a hot and playful green pantsuit. The actress paired the pantsuit with a pair of pumps by Dune. We loved the tailored fit of the suit and how she experimented with this fresh colour. The actress wore Ritika Sachdeva tassel earrings and carried a Fendi clutch along with her. Image Courtesy 7. Parineeti Chopra The lady went for total BLACK for her appearance as the Guest Judge at the India's Got Talent show. Certainly loved this off shoulder pantsuit from Nikhil Thampi. The actress completed her look with a pair of Koovs monochrome peep toes, choker and luscious pink lips. Image Courtesy 8. Athiya Shetty The newest hot diva in town, Athiya Shetty is known for her stunning fashion statements. The actress opted to wear a white pantsuit at the HT Most Stylish Awards 2016. Her black choker was attached to dainty chains which looked just awesome. Image Courtesy 9. Anushka Sharma The Ae Dil Hai Muskhil actress looked jaw dropping in a cobalt blue jumpsuit from a famous designer, Nikhil Thampi. The actress finished off the look with studded flats, a nice hairdo and nude lips. It's the minimalism that made the look work for Miss Sharma. Image Courtesy 10. Shilpa Shetty During a promo shot for India's Super Dancer that will be aired on Sony Television, Shilpa Shetty wore a bright yellow colour pantsuit with a shoulder detailing from Manika Nanda. The actress accessorized her look with fringed heels from Aldo and jewellery from Atelier Mon and Outhouse. Well, with this outfit Shilpa showed us how to work with bright colour options. Image Courtesy 11. Nargis Fakhri Nargis Fakhri gave the trend of pantsuits a modern twist. During an event held in Mumbai, the Rockstar actress looked amazing wearing a hot icy blue plunging neckline pantsuit. The perfectly tailored pant suit was from the house of Monisha Jaising. The actress pulled off the look like a boss with strappy sandals and a sleek ponytail. Image Courtesy Canada NewsWire TORONTO, Feb. 7, 2017 TORONTO, Feb. 7, 2017 /CNW/ - The Board of Directors of Genworth MI Canada Inc. (the "Company") (TSX: MIC) are pleased to announce today that Neil Parkinson has been appointed to the Board of Directors of the Company and its main operating subsidiary. Mr. Parkinson is a chartered professional accountant and consultant with over 35 years of experience in the insurance and financial services field. From 1988 until his retirement in 2016, he was a Partner with KPMG LLP. He was the National Leader for the firm's insurance practice from 2004 to 2015. In addition, he held the role of Chair of the Insurance Auditors Advisory Committee for the Superintendent of Financial Institutions Canada until May 2016. Mr. Parkinson is a member of the Canadian Accounting Standards Board's Insurance Accounting Task Force. "We're delighted to have Neil Parkinson as a new member of the Board. Neil's expertise and depth of knowledge will be invaluable to our organization," said Stuart Levings, President and CEO, Genworth MI Canada Inc. "The Board of Directors and I are excited and look forward to working with him," added Mr. Levings. The Board of Directors also announce the resignation of John Walker as a Director of the Company. The Board of Directors wishes to thank Mr. Walker for his years of dedicated service to the Company. Mr. Walker will continue to work as a member of the Board of Directors of Genworth Financial Mortgage Insurance Company Canada, the main operating subsidiary of the Company. About Genworth MI Canada Inc. Genworth MI Canada Inc. (TSX: MIC) through its subsidiary, Genworth Financial Mortgage Insurance Company Canada (Genworth Canada), is the largest private residential mortgage insurer in Canada. The Company provides mortgage default insurance to Canadian residential mortgage lenders, making homeownership more accessible to first-time homebuyers. Genworth Canada differentiates itself through customer service excellence, innovative processing technology, and a robust risk management framework. For more than two decades, Genworth Canada has supported the housing market by providing thought leadership and a focus on the safety and soundness of the mortgage finance system. As at December 31, 2016, the Company had $6.6 billion total assets and $3.6 billion shareholders' equity. Find out more at www.genworth.ca. SOURCE Genworth MI Canada Reciba en su email: noticias de ultima hora, analisis tecnicos o el cierre de mercado Email no valido Nombre requerido Recibira las informaciones mas relevantes del dia en tiempo real Que informacion desea recibir? Noticias de Ultima hora Boletin Cierre de Mercado Boletin analisis tecnico Boletin Fundsnews Debe seleccionar un tipo de boletin Acepto la Politica de privacidad Debe aceptar la politica de privacidad Responsable EMPRESAS DEL GRUPO WEB FINANCIAL GROUP Finalidad La remision de informacion, novedades y promociones Establecimiento o mantenimiento de Relaciones Comerciales. Legitimacion Consentimiento del interesado. Interes legitimo en el desarrollo de la relacion comercial Destinatario Empresas del Grupo WEB FINANCIAL GROUP Derechos Acceso, rectificacion, supresion, limitacion, oposicion y portabilidad Informacion adicional Politica de Privacidad de nuestra pagina Web + INFORMACION BRUSSELS - Top diplomats of the 28-nation European Union (EU) on Monday wrapped up a one-day gathering in Brussels, seeking to tackle thorny regional issues ranging from Ukraine crisis to Middle East Process, in the context of a widening crack between the bloc and the new US administration. "We will have intense exchanges in the coming weeks with our US counterparts," said EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini at a press conference after the Foreign Affaris Council. "Today's discussions, on Ukraine and the Middle East Peace Process in particular, were very useful to take stock of where the EU stands, that it is united, and has very clear positions," she stressed. As to the recent resurgence of violence in eastern Ukraine, the council said in a statement that EU foreign ministers expressed their concern, "in particular with regard to the humanitarian situation." "They discussed how to increase EU support for the implementation of the Minsk agreements," the council said, hinting that the bloc will not budge on its sanctions against Russia, regardless of US President Donald Trump's pro-Russia stance. The US Treasury Department on Thursday issued a notice easing sanctions on a Russian intelligence agency that former US president Barack Obama sanctioned over Moscow's alleged hacking activities in last year's US presidential election. Trump has indicated that he could lift the sanctions against Russia if Moscow proved helpful in battling terrorists and reaching other goals important to the United States. The sanctions against Russia are not the only issues the EU at odds with the Trump administration. Highups of the EU, including Mogherini, have recently blasted a travel ban signed by Trump that bars citizens from Iran, Iraq, Syria, Sudan, Somalia, Libya and Yemen from traveling to the United States for 90 days, stops accepting refugees for 120 days and indefinitely halts refugees from Syria. Mogherini last week pledged that the EU would not turn its back on anyone who has the right to international protection, because "this is where we stand, this is where we will continue to stand." But the bloc is on the other hand seeking ways to better control the migrant inflows, especially those reaching it through the central Mediterranean route, which links Libya to Italy. The central route has attracted more attention from the EU since last year when a EU-Turkey deal led to nosedive of the number of asylum seekers via the eastern Mediterranean route. Foreign ministers at Monday's council reaffirmed the importance of helping Libya to regain stability "through an inclusive political settlement under the framework of the Libyan political agreement." "A stable and peaceful Libya is important not only for its neighbours - the EU included, but for the Libyans themselves, as well as for migrants currently in Libya," the council said, echoing an action plan adopted at the Malta summit on Friday to stem the migration flow into Europe along the central Mediterranean route. According to the plan, the EU will train and equip the Libyan national coast guard, disrupt smuggling business and support the development of local communities. Over 181,000 migrants and refugees, most of whom use Libya as a springboard, arrived in the EU in 2016 through the central Mediterranean route. As the deadliest route for migrants last year, the central Mediterranean route claimed the lives of 4,576 people, according to the International Organization for Migration. Its now official: cancer is the countrys top silent killer in HIV+ patients. Scientists gathered in Gaborone recently for the Botswana Harvard AIDS Institute Partnership (BHP) 20 years anniversary celebration, have confirmed. A doctor at the Harvard AIDS Initiative (HAI), Dr. Scott Dryden-Peterson, said that although antiretroviral therapy has extended the lives of people with HIV, cancer remains the biggest challenge and has even overtaken Tuberculosis to become the leading cause of death in HIV+ patients in Botswana. We know that HIV patients are at increased risk of developing cancer, heart attacks, and strokes, said Dr Dryden-Peterson further noting, We have found that the risk of some cancers, such as anal, colorectal and liver cancers, are increasing over time mainly because HIV patients are living longer. If they survive for longer, they have more time to develop these illnesses. Dr Dryden-Peterson has done research to explore the interaction of HIV and cancer in resource-limited settings, particularly sub-Saharan Africa, where over 20 million people are living with HIV. He is currently the Principal Investigator of a pilot study, HIV and Malignancy in Botswana. Though the study is still in progress, there have already been major findings. Of the patients with cancer in Botswana, two-thirds of them have HIV. It was surprising, said Dr Dryden-Peterson. I didnt think it would be nearly that high. In 2010, he established the Botswana Prospective Cancer Cohort, which enrolls all cancer patients at Princess Marina, Nyangabwe Hospital and Gaborone Private Hospital. The project has enrolled over 2000 participants. Over the years, Dr. Dryden-Peterson said the cancer situation has been worsening, as many patients remain unscreened and undiagnosed. He emphasised that increased capacity for early detection and treatment of HIV-associated cancer needs to be a new priority for programmes. Not only that but, also improved quality of oncology care, particularly, he noted chemotherapy medication, which he said, was not always available. Public Health Specialist and Head of National NCD Programme at the Ministry of Health and Wellness, Dr Neo Tapela concurred. While discussing the Potlako study, a two-year study designed to speed up patient diagnoses and treatment for patients with cancer related symptoms, she reiterated the urgent need to turn around the disturbing trend. She said the study, which is conducted in the Kweneng East district has so far yielded positive results. To date, 117 primary care clinicians have been trained on identifying cancer related signs and symptoms, how to evaluate patients with these and link to treatment, a process that has been taking years resulting in patients only receiving treatment when it was already too late. 200 patients have already been enrolled to date. Meanwhile on Saturday, the Cancer Association of Botswana (CAB) will join the rest of the world in commemorating World Cancer Day. This years theme is, We Can. I can. A statement from the organisation said, The main aim of commemorating this day, is to take part in the global effort to show support to all those affected by cancer and to remember those we have lost to the fight. Within Botswana, cervical cancer is the leading cause of cancer death. More than two-thirds of cases occur in HIV-infected women, with a national HIV prevalence of 1724 percent in 2013. Between 2003 and 2011, cervical cancer accounted for 14 percent of all cancers in Botswana and 26 percent of all the cancers in women. In the latest twist in the BCL saga, BG investigations have uncovered that MDCB hired auditing firm Pricewaterhouse Botswana (PwC) to probe the appointment of BCL Advisors as well as Pula Steel, a company in which BCL holds a controlling stake. BCL management appointed a South African company, Africa Finance Investment (PTY) Limited (AFI) based in Johannesburg, South Africa. This publication can reveleal that the company is owned by a Motswana, Goleele Mosinyi and his South African co-founder Siyanga Malumo. The contract agreement was signed by the BCL Managing Director Daniel Mahupela duly authorised by the board and Mosinyi on 12th March 2013. The agreement mandated AFI to advise on various transactions, including Polaris II initiatives, following the withdrawal of South African based Rand Merchant Bank as BCLs advisors. RMB had completed the life-of-mine validation, as designed by the technical consultants, TWP Consulting. Former BCL finance staff, management and board members told BG News that AFI was chosen because their principals have mining experience, international experience, particularly in large cross-border transactions and a track record in concluding significant transactions in the Botswana market. The contract stipulated that AFI was to get a retainer fee of P250, 000 per month and success fees for mergers and acquisitions transactions and debt and equity raising. Among the many deals that AFI clinched for BCL was acquiring a majority shareholder of Pula Steel at 50.5 percent with other shareholders being the original owners, the Verma family of Indian origin. The deal also involved the government investment agency CEDA. BG News investigations have established that over the term of the advisory mandate, until the BCL liquidation, no fewer than ten team members from AFI have been involved in various capacities as advisors to BCL. These included Chartered Financial Analysts and Chartered Accountants, who for certain extended periods worked on BCL transactions on a dedicated basis. It is said that the investigation on the Pula Steel deal allegedly started at the same time as the AFI appointment investigation. BG News has it on authority that the investigation is ongoing. However, none of the concerned parties were willing to shed light on the investigation as they were all hiding under the confidentiality clauses except Pula Steel Director, Depaak Verma who confirmed being aware of the PwC investigation. However, he stated that the scope of investigation is limited to BCL investment on the Pula Steel. Verma continued, they contacted us about a month ago and we gave them all that they needed. Verma clarified that his company is not under any investigation as it is a private company in which they invested their personal resources as a family. Mosinyi was cagey with information stating that they know nothing about the investigation. When pressed further, he declined, citing confidentiality issues. Responding to a questionnaire from this publication Senior Partner of PwC Botswana, Butler Phirie said, PwC Botswana complies with domestic rules and regulations for independent auditors determined by the Botswana Accountancy Oversight Authority and Botswana Institute of Chartered Accountants. These requirements include adherence to stipulations of International Auditing Standards, application of International Financial Reporting Standards and requirements of the Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants (Parts A and B) set by the International Federation of Accountants, he said addidng that these requirements, inter alia, require us to adhere to strict confidentiality with respect to information which we gather through our client relationships. Accordingly, it is impossible to discuss any specific matters relating to any of our clients unless expressly required to do so by law or if appropriately authorised to do so by the relevant clients. While Paul Smith MD of Minerals Development Company Botswana (MDCB). said, We do not comment externally on internal work processes. All I can say is that PwC as an accounting firm has been appointed to assist BCL now under the management of the Provisional liquidator) with certain accounting work. PwCs appointment is simply part of work required and is ongoing. How AFI came aboard BG News has established that the process which led to AFIs appointment began with an introduction by a government agency to BCL in 2013 after having met AFI executives at various seminars run by AFI on subjects such as project finance, corporate finance, debt capital markets and valuations. The PwC Investigation BG understands that the investigation started immediately after Smith assumed his position as MD of MDCB. It is alleged that first the BCL management was ordered to terminate the services of BCLs advisors, but management refused stating that the decision was above them since the appointment of AFI was made by the BCL Board. On being informed of this, MDCB immediately engaged PwC to launch an investigation into the appointment of AFI Corporate Advisors (AFI), and at the same time instructing PwC to investigate all aspects of the Pula Steel transaction, which again had been sanctioned by both the BCL Investment Committee and Board of Directors. BG News understands that part of PwCs investigation centres on the work that AFI did on Polaris II and the fees that AFI charged for their work. BG is in possession of the contract that was signed between BCL and AFI, following the BCL Boards decision to hire AFI. The contract stipulates a retainer fee of P250, 000 per month and success fees for mergers and acquisitions transactions and debt and equity raising. The management and finance team which worked closely with AFI confirmed that a dedicated team serviced them and devoted considerable resources to the company. This publication has confirmation that AFI was instrumental in Project Tungsten, which was the proposed purchase of Norilsk Nickels African mining assets, which included Tati and Nkomati. In the transaction, AFI was key to assembling and leading the due diligence team which included technical, legal and accounting teams from MSA South Africa, the technical mining experts, Norton Rose Fulbright, the international law firm and Deloitte Consulting. The due diligence on Nkomati allegedly involved three full time senior staff from AFI and took a period of five months. Thereafter, AFI was involved in the negotiations which led to the signature of the sale and purchase agreement between Norilsk and BCL. Some former BCL management team members confirmed that resulting from the proposed purchase of Nkomati, concentrate was directed from the Nkomati mine for smelting in Selebi-Phikwe. The direct financial benefits to BCL arising out of this arrangement have been confirmed as being over P300 million, until BCL was liquidated. AFI leaders professional experience The CVs of AFI team leader Mosinyi and the firms co-founder Malumo shows that the latters experience spans over 38 years in investment and commercial banking across Europe and Africa. He was formerly a senior person at the African Development Bank before running a network of 16 commercial banks across East and West Africa. He was one of the anchor team members in the building of Fieldstone Africa, the infrastructure Investment Banking Firm, across Africa. His biggest transaction in SADC has been as team leader of the Cahora Bassa hydro project restructuring, which was a US$3.5 billion transaction. Apart from investment banking he has been active in the ownership of power utilities (generation, transmission and distribution). Mosinyis CV states that his mining experience includes various mergers and acquisitions transactions in South Africa, in particular, with Harmony Gold Mining Company, mining debt capital markets transactions with mining companies when he worked with JP Morgan in London and being Chairman of the Audit and Risk Committee at Wesizwe Platinum and member of the Investment Committee. He resigned from the Wesizwe Platinum board in [2010]. Wesizwe is the same company that Paul Smith last worked for before joining MDCB. AFI clinch ABSA- Barclays deal In addition to the Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A), this publication has established that AFI was involved in the negotiations with the funding banks, which secured the US$200 million debt from Barclays and Nedbank for the purchase of Tati and Nkomati. The BCL team involved in negotiations with the Nedbank and ABSA/Barclays debt teams have confirmed that the work done by AFI involved extensive modelling and documentation. AFI amongst Creditors BG News has learnt that in March 2016, BCL, advised by AFI, raised US$100 million from Barclays Bank of Botswana. When BCL was placed under provisional liquidation there was backlog payments of some months owed to AFI. Sources have confirmed that to advance this loan, Barclays needed to perform an extensive assessment of BCLs operations and made it a condition of the loan that the Nkomati deal should continue as BCLs operations could only be viable if combined with those of Nkomati. BG News is in possession of the loan agreement between BCL and Barclays, detailing this condition. BG News further established that AFI was instrumental and was heavily relied upon by the banks to understand the structure of the proposed transaction, including the financial model. The BCL and AFI contract, which BG is in possession of, states that BCL should have paid AFI based on funds raised at financial close. Financial Close means that all conditions precedent to draw-down have been satisfied and all that is left is for the borrower to draw-down. It is common for advisory agreements to have such conditions. Despite BCL having fully drawn down on its loan, AFI was allegedly never paid the fees due and BCL went into liquidation. On the other hand, Barclays were paid their arrangement fees and were paid back by government the full US$100 million last December after government placed BCL under provisional liquidation. Other jobs done by Mosinyi BG News has established that amongst his major jobs in the country, Mosinyi led the capital structuring and mobilisation of funding for the Botswana Vaccine Institute. Former chairman of BVI, Dr Martin Mannathoko led the recruitment of Mosinyi as advisor to BVI. Mannathoko confirmed this and added that through Mosinyis assistance they were to produce purified vaccines and the project was completed to our satisfaction. The next significant transaction for Mosinyi was the Orange Botswana restructuring, which led to the Batswana shareholders selling a significant tranche of their shares to Orange Telecom of France, the controlling shareholder. Gobe Matenge, who chaired the team that concluded the transaction, confirms that his group engaged Mosinyi. Matenge described Mosinyi as a true professional hard worker who is decisive and very reliable. Recently, AFI was hired by Ministry of Mineral Resources, Green Technology and Energy Security to undertake a due diligence on the possible investment by the Botswana Government on Khoemacau Mining, the copper mining company. BG has also established that Mosinyi led the teams that advised the Botswana Housing Corporation regarding their commercial properties when New Africa Properties listed. The constitution of Botswana allows everyone to freely express themselves in criticising President Ian Khama and his administration, Advocate Sidney Pilane has said. Advocate Pilane says a teacher who was sacked from his employment for criticising President Khamas administration had done nothing wrong. Goitsemodimo Dintwe a former teacher at Radisele Junior Secondary School was fired in 2011. His dismissal, which he is challenging before the courts followed the publication of his opinion piece by a local newspaper on Khamas administration in May 2011. The opinion was published in 2011 following the historic public sector strike. Dintwe was summoned for a disciplinary hearing in November and was later that year fired from his employment. Advocate Pilane told a panel of five Court of Appeal Judges that the article titled Khamas administration style is questionable cannot be equated to a political statement as the employer has implied. The published opinion piece read in part, At party level after Kanye congress, BDP members went in numbers to vote for people whom they trusted to run the party. At that time the party was rigged by internal fighting and to that effect there were two warring factions (Barata-Phathi led by Daniel Kwelagobe and the A-Team led by Mompati Merafhe). The democrats gave people of their choice the mandate to run the organisation. Contrary to the will of the people Khama fingerpicked a pack of his cronies to sit in the BDP central committee to run the affairs of the party. Motswaledi the then democratically elected Secretary General for BDP Central Committee sought clarity on how things were done by the leader of his organisation, but things turned nasty for him and he was expelled from the party. Pilane argued that there is no how the author of the article could be said to have been in contradiction of Section 34 (a) of Public Service Act. He said President Ian Khama was being criticised as the central face of government and there is nothing that is contradicting the PSA. There is nothing wrong with the article because we are a democratic country. This is our government and our president and we are entitled to criticise government of the day. It is wrong to suggest that what my client stated in the article is in contradiction with Section 34 (a) of the Public Service Act just because the article in part mentions Botswana Democratic Party (BDP). My client was commenting on a matter of general interest, he stated. Section 34 (a) of PSA states that a public servant shall not, without the express written permission the Permanent Secretary to the President, act as the editor of a newspaper (not being a publication of Government), nor take part directly or indirectly in the management thereof, nor publish in any manner anything which may be reasonably regarded as advocating for or against any political party or candidate but he or she may publish in his or her own name other matter relating to subjects of general interest. Pilane argued that the client wherever he speaks about the BDP is not in favour of the BDP or against the party. He said as Batswana we can debate politics without advocating for or against a political party or a candidate. The article should not be read in part but in totality. If he criticises the President, he is not criticising the BDP. This is not the BDP government- it is my government, said Advocate Pilane. Counsel Matlhogonolo Phuthego from the Directorate of Public Prosecution said the article was advocating for BDP against Khama. A reasonable person reading the article would come to the conclusion that the person was advocating for BDP. His fall was for advocating for BDP and saying Khama is destroying the party, said Phuthego. Advocate Pilane asked the court to determine whether a public servant can make a political statement criticising the employer. He said even if Freedom of Expression is not absolute Section 34 (a) of the PSA should be deemed unconstitutional as it contradicts the Constitution of the country. The recent amendment of the Electoral Act, which has, among other things, introduced electronic voting and the cancellation of supplimentary registration, has divided the nation right in the middle. While one section seems happy with explanations that the machines will facilitate a faster voting and counting process, the other argues that the machines are intended to save the ruling Botswana Democratic Party(BDP) from losing power at the 2019 general elections. Matters are not helped by the fact that, incidentally, when electronic voting was introduced in Namibia in 2014, the ruling SWAPO improved its electoral fortunes to 77%. The party had registered 76% and 74% of the popular vote in the 2004 and 2009 parliamentary elections respectively. Stakeholders remain confused how the cancellation of supplementary registration will eliminate voter trafficking. Singing the praises of the Electronic Voting Machines (EVM), former secretary of the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC), Gabriel Seeletso, who is now doing consultancy work for the election management body, said that, besides making it possible for voters to spend less time queuing to cast their vote, the machines will eliminate spoilt ballots which sometimes bring about ties. The EVM will, therefore, improve the two key electoral processes of voting and counting, he told stakeholders at Leseding community hall in the Francistown west constituency recently. He also explained the undesirability of ties in an election as they lead to by-elections which are expensive. EVM have been used since 1960 in America before their use spread to other parts of the world. In Africa, they were used for the first time in Namibia in that countrys 2014 general elections. Unlike in Botswana, the use of EVM started after a lengthy engagement on the matter. EIS says discussions of introduction of EVMs in Namibian elections started in 2004. The need for reform was apparently given more impetus by the challenges faced by the countrys management body in the counting and tabulation process in the 2009 elections which had led to a delay in the announcement of the election results. Electoral Institute for Sustainable Democracy in Africa contends that after the Namibian elections, There is a general consensus among observer groups that electronic voting was largely successful in Namibia, with one observer mission even recommending its adoption by other Southern African countries, and their permanent adoption of electoral voting in Namibia. The raging debate currently underway on the EVMs has specifically to do with the issue of integrity. Ironically, one of the benefits of electronic voting is that, It may reduce fraud. As opponents of the EVM in Botswana have said, the problem with the new Act is that it does not provide for the use of a proper verification process. The 2014 Namibian Electoral Act introduced the requirement that the use of voting machines be subject to the simultaneous utilisation of a verifiable paper trail for every vote cast by a voter. Any vote cast could be verified by a count of paper trail. The opposition in Botswana has threatened to go to court to compel government to ensure that the envisaged EVMs have got operational specifications such as the availability of a verifiable paper trail in order to close out the possibility of fraud by the ruling party. The opposition will be emboldened in their threats to go to court to learn that, The introduction of this requirement in the Namibian Electoral Act of 2014 results from a court case in India, in which the Indian Supreme Court ruled that verifiable paper trail should be indispensable for voter confidence in the system.. To allay fears of those worried that the machines may be manipulated at the expense of the opposition, Seeletso told stakeholders that the machines are not hackable because they are not computer-based. However, Motlhaleemang Moalosi disagrees. This is preposterous. What he is saying is not true. Seeletso probably does not know what a computer is. Any electronic device, be it a pen or microwave, even if it is not networked, is computer based. In any case, the fact that the several machines from the polling stations will be connected to the tabulator at the end of polling means that the machines are not standalones at all, said the computer expert. His fear is that, the tabulator could be inserted with a malicious code that could then override what the machines that are connected to it had captured at the polling stations. This would distort the results. So, the BDP may choose not to manipulate the machines at the polling stations but the tabulator itself and win the elections, said Moalosi who does not understand what the reluctance to introduce a verifiable voter paper audit trail is all about. Seeletso should tell the stakeholders what this is. Is it a cost issue or what,? he wondered. Seeletso has however explained where the problem comes from. He blames ignorance on the part of those against the machine for which he recommends voter education. People do not easily accept new things. You will remember that when O Mang was first introduced, people objected and made a lot of insinuations about it. There is always fear of the unknown. So, this is not surprising, he said. When challenged to explain why the introduction of the EVMs was prioritised ahead of the other reforms which have been proposed over the years, the former IEC boss pleaded with the stakeholders to not kill the messenger. I have recently learnt a Kalanga proverb which says Ntumwa aana mbonje (a messenger has no wounds). The law has already been made and my job is to explain to you what it says, said Seeletso. Stakeholders, especially the opposition are also opposed to the fact that Bharat Electronics has already been chosen as the preferred supplier. They say there should have been transparency right from the onset including surrounding the choice of the supplier. Umbrella for Democratic Change and Botswana Congress Party will today (Friday) announce the outcome of their cooperation talks following a week of confusion, chaos and instability between the parties. After the two parties won the Tsabong and Palapye by-elections against Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) a fortnight ago, there was excitement among both parties rank and file that a deal would be announced. Instead the parties dropped a bombshell last week Monday that the announcement was postponed at the eleventh hour. But nothing was communicated and this annoyed some party activists who accused the leaderships of both parties of using delay tactics. It is said the deal was sealed on that Monday and it was agreed that the announcement be held today (Friday) as a roadmap to 2019. The parties want to unseat BDP which has been in power for the past 50 years. We are going to announce what has been happening at the talks. The deal is almost finished and we are very excited that the dream to unseat BDP is coming into reality now. We will be announcing what parties have agreed so far. We have learnt a lot from the talks that the time is now for opposition parties to take power, said the source. BCP spin-doctor, Dithapelo Keorapetse confirmed that there is going to be a press conference at Oasis Motel today (Friday). He did not want to shed light on the deal. Everything will be communicated at the press conference. I am sorry I cannot share further details, said Keorapetse. His counterpart, UDC spokesperson, Moeti Mohwasa said he is not aware of any developments. Botswana Guardian is reliably informed that the four presidents met early this week in Francistown to map a way forward and reconcile their differences over the unfortunate incident that led to the last-minute cancelation of the talks. The four Presidents - Motlatsi Molapisi of Botswana Peoples Party, Dumelang Saleshando (BCP) Ndaba Gaolathe of Botswana Movement for Democracy and Duma Boko (BNF) attended the Francistown meeting. However it is believed that the four presidents have agreed to create a position for Dumelang Saleshando of the BCP to become the second vice president of the UDC. The UDC will thus have two vice presidents in Gaolathe and Saleshando while Boko will remain the president. The parties have apparently agreed to ditch the UDC+ name and retain just the UDC. BCP executive committee was updated on the matter during a meeting Tuesday while the UDC leadership met on Wednesday. One of the issue that was delaying the talks was allocation of positions for parties. The negotiations between UDC and BCP have been characterised by controversy due to the not so good relationship between BCP and BMD. BMD and BCP have not been in good books since the collapse of the first negotiations dubbed Umbrella 1 in 2011. In 2015, BCP wrote to UDC declaring their readiness to commence the cooperation talks. BCP was given the green light to engage with the UDC by its 14 regions following countrywide consultations. A few months into talks in 2016 they signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on how to cooperate in by-elections in the build-up to 2019 general election. Botswana Federation of Public Sector Unions (BOFEPUSU) has been instrumental in the cooperation talks between opposition parties since 2011, which urging culminated in the formation of UDC. Some meetings were even held at the federations office in Gaborone. We cannot go into details of the letter for cooperation and the MoU. The media and public can only know the MoU proposal draft after our friends from the UDC have made their input and we both finalise the MoU. So, for now the document has to remain confidential. But what I can say is that the MoU is a much-improved version of the previous one that we had as opposition parties, Keorapetse said when the talks started. BCP expressed its interest to cooperate with the UDC during the formers Kanye congress in July 2015. The congress resolved that the party should engage the UDC for cooperation talks. The duo after the by-election for Goodhope-Mabule Constituency in August 2015 entered a gentlemans agreement for cooperation in all the by-elections that will occur before the 2019 general election. Finance and Economic Development minister, Kenneth Matambo will present perhaps his toughest budget next week Monday, two years before what promises to be a highly-contested general elections for the landlocked country. As he walks inside parliament buildings to face legislators in a televised event, Matambo, who has been minister since 2009, will be aware that the country is grappling with rising unemployment rates, a looming budget deficit, reduced growth forecast and so many other challenges which need urgent budgetary resolution such as education and agriculture. Ahead of the highly-anticipated budget, economic commentators are all in agreement, that the minister must present an increased budget which can help bring the countrys economic and social landscape under control. Our expectations are for the minister to present an expanded budget, not aggressive, commented First National Bank Botswana economist, Moatlhodi Sebabole. He is expected to be one of the speakers at the banks budget review next week Tuesday night. Sebabole, who has an Msc in Finance from Essex University, uses the word aggressive carefully. This is because he is also mindful that the treasury is under pressure to raise funds for budget when the fiscal year begins in April 2017. Revenues from SACU and minerals will be hard to come by. First and foremost, Matambo has to present an expanded budget because, the upcoming budget (2017/18) coincides with the start of the National Development Plan (NDP11). This will bring pressure for an expanded budget to kickstart direction on the plan (NDP), Sebabole told Botswana Guardian on Wednesday afternoon. The draft NDP 11, which was presented last October by Matambo stated that, the total revenues for the first year of the plan are estimated at P52,7 billion and will grow by an average 6,7 percent in 2022/23. Mathematically speaking, this means, the budget will expand by just over P4 billion. The estimates for 2016/7 budget are P48, 4 billion. Secondly, Matambo will have to present a budget which includes the cost of financing the Economic Stimulus Programme (ESP). This budget will cover the second year of the implementation of ESP projects. Forget whether the package has brought an increase in economic activity or not, it has to be funded, predicted the FNBB economist. Two years ago, government came with the ESP to jack-up the weakening economy. The budget for the three-year programme is just over P3billion. Garry Juma, head of research at Motswedi Securities also concurs with Sebabole. The minister will be under pressure to present a budget which will boost the struggling economy, said Juma. Matambo and his boss, President Ian Khama have forecast that the mineral-led economy will increase at a rate of 4, 1 and 4, 3 percent during their budget and state of the nation address speeches last year. In particular, treasury minister Matambo based his predictions on the recovery of the mining industry which had sunk the economy into a technical recession for the first half of last year. However, things have changed as the diamond recovery has not been as expected. Diamonds are the biggest foreign export revenue earner for the 50 year old country. Any fall in diamonds revenue always spells trouble, as it is the case now. At First National Bank Botswana (FNBB), we forecast a lower growth rate of 3.3 percent for 2017, slightly higher than our forecasted growth of around 2 percent in 2016 and much lower than the forecasts from the ministry of finance and economic development, said Sebabole in an earlier commentary. The reduction in growth forecast for the year, basically means there must be more funds to be spent on activities which will pick the struggling economy, added Juma. To explain his argument further, the Motswedi Securities top analyst gave an example of budgets that preceded 2008, a recessionary period in which government increased annual budgets to jack up the economy. The resultant budget deficits were financed by tapping into foreign reserves and accessing loans from crisis lending institutions such as World Bank and African Development Bank. He added that, the increase in budget somehow helped to increase economic activity. Meanwhile, Sebabole explained that, government is even in a much prettier position to finance the deficit, if expected revenues run short. Government is reported to have raised over P4billion in the debt market last year. There is also room to finance the deficits coming from the expanded budget by drawing down from reserves, said Sebabole, who has also been a lecturer at the University of Botswana. Total foreign reserves as of November 2016 stood at P80 billion. However, government is entitled to about half of that as part of them are for pensions. Against all odds, government will be forced to come with short to medium term programmes which can help cut rising unemployment rates which currently estimated at around 20 percent. The unemployment scourge has been exacerbated by the closure of BCL mine which employed over 5000 workers in Selebe Phikwe. BCL has been put under liquidation as it has become a burden to government, Vice President, Mokgweetsi Masisi has been quoted as saying previously. We will continue to experience effects of the BCL closure and other copper mines, said Juma. Some private and parastatals have also been cutting jobs to deal with reduced profitability among other factors. With limited options to deal with rising unemployment rates, government will be left with limited options but to increase budget for social safety programmes such as Ipelegeng, said Sebabole and Juma. There is also political pressure to do so. We are going for elections in two years time, said Sebabole. The local government ministry which is the parent ministry to Ipelegeng, a low paying but labour intensive programme was allocated P1, 2 billion as operational budget. The total budget for Ipelegeng is over P612million. Government will also be under distress to increase budget to cater for grants associated with old age pension, World War II veterans, community home care patients, orphans among others. More and more students are thrown into the streets as government cannot afford their tertiary education funding needs. The result has been those tertiary institutions such as Limkokwing Botswana cutting jobs. Sebabole said government might be forced to up the tertiary education ministrys recurrent budget to deal with such challenges. On the flip side, Juma feels government might cut the education budget and increase funding to deserving projects such as infrastructure development that can bring immediate jobs to the mineral-led economy. More farmers will be waiting with bated breath to hear what relief measures government has designed to mitigate their commitments to National Development Bank. In a bid to fight drought, government has provided provision for relief for farmers who have been hit by previous droughts. The relief has been in the form of reduction it total repayments for farm fertilisers and implements. Sebabole said this will also mean more budget expectations for those residing the countryside. As government runs helter-skelter to look for funds to fund the budget, Sebabole has suggested that a more diversified budget be provided in future. We cannot have a situation where more that 50 percent of revenues comes from minerals and SACU receipts, said Sebabole. He added this is not sustainable given the current global uncertainties in trade and economic and political challenges to South Africa. The former is the biggest contributor to Southern African Customs Union which Botswana is a member. This week, Standard Bank released a report that Botswana needs to diversify its economy. We will thus be looking closely for progress on the implementation of government medium term plan (NDP 11), said the report. Standard Bank is parent company to Stanbic Bank Botswana. As divisions unravel within Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) youth, the party Chairman Mokgweetsi Masisi is the latest target as the Young Turks gun for him in the coming youth elective congress. Botswana Guardian understands that as the youth descend on Tsabong this coming week one of the contestants who is allegedly close to the party chairman is being targeted with the aim of frustrating Masisi. It is alleged that the ongoing talks between various lobby groups to form one lobby group is aimed at going head to head with Simon Mavange who is said to be enjoying Masisis support.Mavange is currently the Secretary General of BDP Youth Wing National Executive Committee. He has allegedly also had a fallout with his outgoing Chairman Andy Boatile who is not supporting him. Currently there are six candidates for the chairmanship after Collen Mochotlhi formed an alliance with Thabo Autlwetse, (Autlwetse to contest as Chairman while Mochotlhi would contest as Secretary General). It is alleged that other candidates Bruce Nkgakile, Ronnie Kgathi, Vuyo Notta and Fox Segwai are also in talks among themselves. Highly placed sources have indicated that the compromise idea is a small fish as bigger things are planned for the congress to down Mavange- the fall which young democrats believe will extend to Vice President Masisi. This development is said to have been triggered by some young democrats whom on various social media platforms have indicated that those who are in the race with Mavange are anti-Masisi. Masisi is expected to defend his seat as Chairman of the BDP during the partys elective congress in July this year. Information from the BDP corridors is that he would face a challenge from Minister of Infrastructure and Housing Development, Nonofo Molefhi and former Ambassador to Japan Jacob Nkate. Outgoing Youth Chairman Boatile has since expressed concern over the youth allowing the elders to interfere in their campaigns. He said all the candidates must support the current party leadership and aspiring candidates should shun the interference of elders in their affairs. On the cards the delegates are said to be determined to ensure that from the floor there would be a call for motion of no confidence on the outgoing committee. This will mean that reports from Chairman, Treasurer and Secretary General would be rejected. This would in essence ensure that Mavange as part of the outgoing committee would have failed the BDP youth and would not be fit for office, said a source close to the development. This publication has seen communication between youth members in a closed social media group where some of the plans are being hatched. Another bullet that could catch Mavange is that of age limit. It is said that at the time of the election Mavange will be 35 years and some months, which would trigger a request for proper interpretation of the party constitution and guidelines for BDP NYEC. This could also spell doom for Mavange if his age could be used against his candidature. We are not party to such allegations you are raising. For us it is about the party. We have no problem with Masisi or any other candidate that could be interested in the leadership of the party. Our aim is to build structures that would be active even beyond the July Congress. We just hear the news that Mavange is enjoying the support of VP. We suspect VP is not with Mavange but Mavange is buying attention from VP by peddling propaganda against others saying they support Molefhi, said Molebedi Lunga Oduetse- Spokesperson for Autlwetse campaign team. He claimed that they are also in talks with Mavange to join alliance with them with the aim of uniting the youth. Oduetse stated that his camp is aware that there are communications from people purporting to be their supporters that have been circulating on social media. We distance ourselves from any communication that does not come from myself, Mochotlhi or Autlwetse. Some may be from well-wishers not directly involved with the campaign while others could be propaganda. Mavange has since distanced himself from enjoying support from Masisi. He said he is sponsoring his campaign and gets assistance from well-wishers and not the Vice President. He expressed confidence that BDP youth would express their choice through the ballot without any influence. Nkgakile who is alleged to be enjoying support from some of the constituencies said he is not aligned to anyone. There are reports that he is also a Masisi s man but Nkgakile denied saying, I am an independent candidate not aligned to anyone because I am a man of principle. I am running a clean campaign and I know what I want for youth of BDP. I have travelled around the country and the youth were impressed about my campaign message, said Ngakile. Nkgakile stated that once in office he would work with anyone who would be in the party leadership. He also claimed ignorance of any plans targeted at Mavange or Masisi. Nkgakile said he also learns of the matter from the media and social networks. Notta and Segwai who at the time of going to press could not be reached for comment, were said to be travelling across the country canvassing for votes. The congress will be officially opened by President Ian Khama on Friday next week while elections will be held the following day (Saturday). Ten former Garrick Operations employees handed a petition to the Office of the President last week, seeking its intervention on their unpaid severance benefits, leave and overtime balance that accrued from 1st January to 31st December 2014. The former employees say Garrick Operations owe them over P90 000. Garrick Operations was subcontracted by APR Energy of USA for operations and maintenance of Matshelagabedi Power Plant, 70 Mw - an emergency power rental project to bridge the supply gap through a power purchase agreement between BPC and APR Energy. Botswana Power Corporation (BPC) would in 2014 take over the management of the power plant from APR to date. After taking over BPC hired the same companies that had been engaged by APR Energy, including Garrick Operations. Things began taking a twist when the owner of Garrick Operations, Lazarous Kujenga died mid-2014 and his wife, Norma Mukono, inherited the company. Sources say Garrick Operations immediately sunk deep in debt. The companys former accountant, Joyce Poane told Botswana Guardian in an interview that in fact Garricks financial woes began long before Kujenga died. She said the company struggled to pay mortgage with Stanbic Bank; was not in good books with Botswana Unified Revenue Services (BURS) and most importantly, the employees suffered the most. That is when Patrick Seleka came into the picture and was introduced to the employees as the company advisor. A few months down the line, Garrick management informed workers that the company was getting into a Joint Venture with Mmantshetsa Holdings, a company owned by Seleka, to help run the tender, which was coming to an end.BPC confirmed to this publication that on the 4th of November 2014, it approved a tender award to Garrick Operations/ Mmantshetsa Holdings Joint Venture for a period of one year, commencing 1 January 2015 31 December 2015. Seleka then took over operations as project Manager of the joint venture. Employees signed offer letters and employment contracts under the new company and it was business as usual at Matshelagabedi power plant.However, for Poane, the transition was a sad one as she lost her job. Seleka told me he has his own people who will handle the company finances, she lamented. Moreover, before Seleka came to the rescue, the employees say they brought it to his attention that Garrick owes them severance benefits and overtime balances. He did not fight us but assured us that he will help Garrick pay us back our money in instalments, fair enough he did exactly that but pulled out halfway through the year, they said. Matters turned nasty when Seleka told the employees that Garrick has been liquidated, and that he could not continue paying the debts, as he was now director of Mmantshetsa Holdings. Meanwhile Mokuno was nowhere to be found; this meant the employees were terminated and left stranded with a significant balance of their hard-earned earnings. The complainants say in the petition to the OP that Seleka feigned ignorance about the whereabouts of Garrick, which assertion they deemed disingenuous since he had assumed the labour hire contract from Garrick Operations and inherited its former employees. The matter was brought before the Industrial Court of Botswana in Francistown where it was ruled that the former employees had sued the wrong party, Garrick/Mmantshetsa JV. The former employees then reported to law enforcement agencies and also to Francistown West and South MPs Ignatius Moswaane and Wynter Mmolotsi in an effort to help locate Garrick but to no avail.I am aware of the matter but the director who was in charge at that time was not willing to cooperate, said Moswaane. Mmolotsi on the other hand says he tabled the matter in parliament sometime back. I cannot recall vividly what the response from the minister was however I believe the complainants had issues of liabilities and unfair dismissal, said the MP. When reached for comment, Seleka said, I am not in a position to discuss anything over the phone nevertheless I think I am aware of what this is about and I know exactly the people peddling it. The former employees now want the Office of the President to help summon BPC and the management of Garrick/Mmantshetsa Joint Venture and the affected employees to resolve the issue amicably.BPC awarded Mmantshetsa Holdings the extension of contract for the provision of manpower services at Matshelagabedi 70MW power plant for two years, from Jan 2016 to Dec 2017. BPC is currently paying P510 000 into Mmantshetsa Holdings coffers until the end of contract, for the provision of human resources for operation of the facility.The ten former employees employment contracts were not renewed when they came to an end in December 2016. Member of Parliament for Francistown East Honest Buti Billy will table a motion in the first session of parliament calling for the introduction of indigenous languages as a medium of instruction in the Botswana Education system. The Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) MP told this publication that disregarding other indigenous languages by not teaching them at schools is not fair as it discriminates and side-lines such tribes. He said that when he grew up Kalanga language was a medium of instruction in various schools in Bokalaka only for the language to be scraped off by Botswanas founding President Sir Seretse Khama. Other neighbouring countries including Zimbabwe and South Africa have long introduced their indigenous languages as a medium of instruction in their education radio and television, stations when they gained independence from the whites who wanted English language to be given preference over local languages, said the MP. He further argued that if we cannot introduce Botswanas indigenous languages, the concerned languages are most likely to become extinct. The current crop of youth who speak various local languages are not able to speak their mother languages as they seem to shun such languages in preference to Setswana and English which are regarded as the only official languages, he said. According to him the introduction of indigenous languages by the Ministry of Basic Education will help those who stay far from their places of work to grasp their mother tongue thereby preserving it for the future generations. Besides the motion calling for the recognition of indigenous languages, Buti will also table a motion calling on the establishment of Community Radio and Television stations. Three years ago, Vanessa Chikazunga took a bold step and got rid of her long chemically processed hair and embraced a natural look. If you have gone through this stage of taking the natural look route, you will know that you start to question a whole lot of things in life. The same thing happened with Chikazunga. The process forced her to redefine herself as a woman, as well as review her style sense. At the time when she was going through this life changing transformation, international artists including the likes of Rihanna, Solange Knowles and Beyonce were into wearing tribal prints, head wraps, Fulani earrings and embracing the richness of African fashion. At the same time, international brands such as YSL and Valentino were using African influences in their collection, yet the same could not be said about Africans when it came to proudly wearing African inspired pieces. Eventually, she had a light bulb moment, when she realised the power of natural beauty, resources and talent within Africa, which ultimately inspired her new journey of telling the story of Africa and her beauty through a project called Tribe. She explains that in the beginning they sold neckwear due to the fact that through the many parts of Africa, neck and arm wear feature quite prominently. Under the mind blowing Tribe, you can expect to find pieces such as Maasai crowns and chokers, Ndebele ties, Xhosa ties, cuffs, head wraps, beads and rope jewellery. They are also looking into extending the product line to include home accessories. So expect pieces from all over Africa to accentuate your homes very soon, she says. Tribe boasts of some amazing pieces in their collection, with bold African accessories, that are not easily accessible. After all their clients should feel special that they are wearing something that they will not see readily available in the market. Chikazinga says that the beauty in Tribe pieces is in the simplicity of it all. Take for example, a neckpiece, head wrap or arm piece can be enough styling needed for any outfit. A plain dress can easily be brought to life with a few pieces. Surprisingly, there are people who are shy to wear these items, as they fear the attention it might bring. Another aspect we love is that as Africans it is in our nature to be bold and loud, even in our choice of wardrobe, so to anyone not sure on how to start, just do it its in your DNA, she says. Chikazunga also points out that the main aim of the business is to educate and expose the amazing raw talent and products from Africa as a whole. Time is spent on researching products, how they are made and most importantly the significance and meaning of the items in cultural terms. She tells Style that what sets Tribe apart from the rest is the time and attention to detail they put in the selection of these distinctive products sourced from countries such as South Africa, Mali, Ghana, Kenya and Lesotho. All products are handmade. We also care greatly about who made them and so we always strive to source from suppliers we know practice fair trade and enrich the communities these accessories are made in, she says. She adds that the relationships they have built with suppliers throughout the continent have gone a long way in being certain that we receive the best in terms of quality and pricing. It is hardly surprising that they have been getting international enquiries and the number of customers that they are getting range from Africans who have been living abroad and long to incorporate their roots into their wardrobes, to nationals who are curious about the beauty and crafting of some of the items. The reception has been very good, with men even wanting to embrace the spirit of being African. Another good news is the fact that more corporates are joining the party and they are now leaning towards African items when it comes to gifting their clients. Brides, she says are also becoming bolder in their choice of accessories to accompany their African attires. According to Chikazunga, professionals who wish to add life to their outfits can use tips such as a Kente scarf thrown over a shoulder of a business suit, which will make one turn into a commanding force in the boardroom. An A line or flared skirt made from African print with a plain coloured shirt is great for every day work wear. Thirdly, another option is layering a few beaded bangles on top of a plain coloured shirt. The price ranges from P100-P1000 for the intricate pieces. So for those who want to see how they can incorporate African pieces into their wardrobes, and which pieces suite their personality, can do so on Instagram @bwtribe and TribeBW on Facebook or call them on 77 661 994. What would a celebration be without a cake to complete the occasion? A delicious, fresh, beautifully decorated cake usually complements the occasion, whether a birthday, wedding, baby or bridal shower. It also has to be scrumptious enough to leave customers asking for more. Heidi Gopolangs cakes fit the profile. They are not only visually appeasing but are also delectable to taste. Gopolang, who operates under her registered company, 33 Beige Cakes, describes baking as her calling. I have found my calling. I love baking and it is also a labour of love, she says. Her company offers an array of customised cakes, scones and muffins, complete with deliveries within Gaborone. It is her customised cakes, which have garnered her a huge following. Some of the designs that she has recreated include handbags, cartoons like Spider man and Minnie mouse, as well as pretty cakes for bridal and baby showers. Gopolang is a perfectionist who is committed to offering her customers the best service; therefore she prefers that requests be made in advance. The time I take to bake a cake depends on the design and decorations. Because the fruitcake in a wedding cake needs to mature, one to needs to make their request a month in advance. Smaller cakes for birthdays and parties usually take less time, she says. Gopolang has loved baking since she was seven years old but the idea of making money from her passion did not cross her mind until last year after a disappointment with a cake order. I had ordered a cake and expected much more than what I got considering the amount that I had paid. It was that event which gave her the idea of starting her own baking business. The rest is history. She has received positive feedback so far. She only started the business in October but she is already inundated with requests and orders. Many people have shown faith in me. Social media has also been a great platform for me to advertise my business, she says. She however admits that there are day-to-day challenges that include customers cancelling their orders at the 11th hour. I usually give the cakes to my neighbours and friends but it is bad for business because I incur costs, only for someone to change their mind at the last minute. It is an occurrence I wish did not happen on a regular basis, she explains. Gopolang says that baking requires a lot of effort and time. There is so much work that goes into baking these cakes especially the customised variety because I have to pay attention to the specific details that the customer wants. She plans to start hosting baking classes in order to share her skills with other baking enthusiasts, especially children. I will teach them how to do everything, from mixing to decorating. I am currently still looking for premises from which to run the classes from, she says. An internet imagery. BEIJING (PTI): China's newly-formed Rocket Force has held an exercise with advanced DF-16 medium-range ballistic missile with a range of over 1,000 kms that could target a number countries in the neighbourhood, including India. Significantly the People's Liberation Army (PLA), which is secretive about its weapons systems, has released a video of the recent exercise of its troops employing the advanced Dongfeng-16 medium-range ballistic missile. China's Rocket Force is a special contingent to handle range of missiles in its military's arsenal. Several launch vehicles carrying the ballistic missiles were seen in the footage released to show the training of Rocket Force missile brigade soldiers around the Spring Festival holiday. The participating units handled a number of scenarios, including chemical/biological contamination, countering satellite reconnaissance and electronic jamming, state-run China Daily reported on Monday. The crews practiced in multiple manoeuvres, such as rapid loading, redeployment and launch sequence, though the video showed no missile actually being launched. Two types of DF-16 appeared in the exercise. The video represents the third time the DF-16 has been shown to the public. The missile made its debut at a military parade in Beijing in September 2015. In July, a television news programme showed General Fan Changlong, a vice-chairman of the Central Military Commission, inspecting a DF-16 unit of the Southern Theatre Command. Though the PLA has never disclosed its ballistic missiles' specifications, experts said the DF-16 poses a challenge to foreign military installations along the first island chain, which is what the Chinese military calls the series of islands that stretch from Japan in the north to Taiwan and the Philippines to the south, the Daily report said. Since the election of Donald Trump as US President, China has been striking aggressive postures against Taiwan after he spoke to Taiwanese President Tsai-Ing-wen. While criticising his moves, China has sent its first aircraft carrier to Taiwan straits, as well as the first island chain in the Pacific and stepped up naval drills in the disputed South China Sea. Washington Free Beacon, a news website in the United States that specialises in military affairs, reported on January 31 that China conducted the first flight of the DF-5C intercontinental ballistic missile in January. China has also deployed its long range missile close to the Russian border which the Russian media said is aimed at US. Reports in the official media said China is stepping up preparedness for a possible military conflict with the US as Trump signalled to follow more hardline policy to counter China's claims on the disputed South China Sea, official media reports here said. A commentary in the official website of People's Liberation Army s (PLA) said on January 20 the day Trump assumed presidency that the chances of war have become "more real" amid a more complex security situation in Asia Pacific. Xu Guangyu, a retired major general and now a strategy researcher, said that DF-16 has a strike range of more than 1,000 kms, filling the gap that previously existed with the absence of a medium-range ballistic missile in the PLA's arsenal. He said the missile also is able to reach Okinawa, a Japanese island about 400 km from China's Diaoyu Islands. Shi Hong, executive editor of Shipborne Weapons, said the DF-16 has a strike accuracy as good as that of a cruise missile, Shi said. It is also able to manoeuvre in its final stage to penetrate enemy defensive firepower, he said. Other PLA Rocket Force brigades also mobilised their DF-11, DF-15 and DF-21C ballistic missiles during training around Spring Festival, according to PLA media outlets. Already have an account? Log in here A man from Sioux Valley Dakota Nation was arrested after allegedly assaulting his ex-girlfriend. We need your support! Local journalism needs your support! As we navigate through unprecedented times, our journalists are working harder than ever to bring you the latest local updates to keep you safe and informed. Now, more than ever, we need your support. Starting at $4.99/month you can access your Brandon Sun online and full access to all content as it appears on our website. or call circulation directly at (204) 727-0527. Your pledge helps to ensure we provide the news that matters most to your community! Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 07/02/2017 (2097 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Winnipeg Centre Liberal MP Robert-Falcon Ouellette made a stop at the Brandon Friendship Centre on Monday on his journey from North Battleford, Sask., to Winnipeg mostly on foot. I was intending to (cross-country) ski most of the way, but the warm weather took my snow, Ouellette said with a laugh. I was in the military for 20 years, so walking is not that bad. Visiting 41 First Nations communities across Saskatchewan to Manitoba, Ouellette is meeting with chiefs, elders and people in the communities to discuss the idea of a Great Confederation a vision for a political union for indigenous peoples. Submitted Winnipeg Centre Liberal MP Robert-Falcon Ouellette made a stop at the Brandon Friendship Centre on Monday as part of his trek from North Battleford, Sask., to Winnipeg. He has done the majority of the journey on foot, meeting with indigenous leaders and community members to discuss the idea of a Great Confederation, a vision for a political union for indigenous peoples. The reception has been wonderful its been a pretty interesting trip, Ouellette said, adding he is spending about six or seven hours on average visiting with a community. Ive had some very good and long conversations. Ouellette said he chose to walk the majority of the distance to honour indigenous tradition. I could just sit in my office in Ottawa and come up with all sorts of theories, but what I think you need to do is get out of the office onto the ground and into the community. Its been a very valuable experience, not only for me, but its important information I can bring back to other MPs, Ouellette said. For me, theres also a spiritual aspect as well as a traditional aspect Im bringing a message to a lot of communities about the future of indigenous people in Canada and what direction we want to go in. Part of the conversation Ouellette said he hopes to invoke is one of positivity and change. We spend an awful lot of time, not only in Parliament but in society, talking about all the problems of Aboriginal Peoples, and I think its created a sense of inertia, where you cant move forward. What Ive actually learned in the communities is there is quite a bit of hope, a lot of people who are dreaming about the future, Ouellette said. Weve come to the point now though, where we have this Indian Act, which I dont think is really is allowing the people to engage with the future their trying to create it seems that were stuck on an old way of thinking with a hope for the future. Ouellette said he believes that Canadians have the capacity to work together to meet these challenges head on. At the beginning of his journey, Ouellette said he met two farmers who expressed to him the economic difficulties they were facing, but their unwillingness to abandon the family farm, one theyd worked tirelessly to maintain like their fathers and grandfathers had done for 100 years before them. Ouellette said this reminded him of an indigenous person on a First Nations reserve wanting to stay on the same land their ancestors had lived before them. It was an eye-awakening experience Theres actually this great similarity between the two, they both have this great respect for the land and where theyve come from, Ouellette said. Together we have the capacity to solve these issues and why its important right now is were actually debating this in Parliament were trying to have a discussion about what it means to have a nation to nation relationship. We know what Canada as a nation looks like but we need to understand in greater depth what this indigenous nation looks like. Ouellette is driving to Swan Lake First Nation before heading back to Portage la Prairie to continue to walk all the way to Winnipeg. He expects it will take a few days. Its been a wonderful experience walking on the lands of my ancestors, feeling the spirit of these traditional lands travelling on these traditional territories smelling the land and feeling how it feels, Ouellette said. Its a much different experience travelling on foot than it is travelling by car Its given me a much greater understand of our country. edebooy@brandonsun.com Twitter: @erindebooy Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 07/02/2017 (2097 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. As preparations are being made to move the Sobeys in Brandons south end into Shoppers Mall, new digs are being eyed for the other Sobeys in the city. A planned commercial redevelopment at the corner of 34th Street and Victoria Avenue where Sobeys West is already located proposes a partial demolition of the existing Zellers and construction of a new Sobeys building, according to a letter sent to nearby property owners last November. The current Sobeys is located on the west side of the 118,000-sq.-ft. complex that once housed Zellers as well but is now vacant. The space has been used for temporary businesses, but has not been permanently occupied since discount store Fields shuttered operations in 2010. imgur.com/a/2BYv1 A conceptual site and landscape plan for WestVic Common, indicating the possibility of a new food store on the eastern side of the building, located at the corner of Victoria Avenue and 34th Street in Brandon. In the initial plan for the redevelopment, released in 2015, the former Zellers was to be divvied up for as many as three tenants, and Sobeys would remain where it is. However, in a conceptual plan published online last November for what has been dubbed WestVic Common, the words Food Store are written on top of the eastern side of the building a unit notably larger than the current grocer, approximately 34,000 sq. ft. Kevin Olson, vice-president of the Landstar Development Corporation, which owns the property, would not state Monday whether Sobeys intends to relocate to the other end of the building. He said they are in the midst of negotiations with the company, and nothing has been finalized. He would not elaborate on the seemingly updated site plan, which suggests the main building would be subdivided into three units. Previously, the Sobeys was set to remain the anchor tenant on the west end and the former Zellers would be subdivided into three units, although owners were receptive to different size configurations. The proposed redevelopment must still be approved by the city. The letter suggesting a new Sobeys would be built was sent to property owners within a 100-metre radius of the shopping centre at 3409 Victoria Ave. In it, the owner wrote the redevelopment would, in phases, include the renovation of new building facade to existing buildings, new pad site buildings, new asphalt parking area, parking lot lighting, pedestrian connectivity and landscaping. An open house was held on Dec. 1, and the project was positively received, Olson said. Landstar, along with an affiliate company and Brandon-based real estate developer K&R Investments, are working on the project as a joint venture, The Brandon Sun wrote in 2015. Colliers International is tasked with looking for potential tenants, but John Prall, vice-president of the firm in Winnipeg, said last week the project is on the backburner. First, the owners need to work through some of their major issues with respect to their main tenant thats going to be in there, said Prall, who refused to elaborate. Tim Smith/The Brandon Sun The Sobeys West grocery store and vacant business space in WestVic Common sit behind a large pile of snow in the parking lot on Friday. Sobeys moving to a bigger home would align with a stated intention of the company: offering customers more services. That aim drove Sobeys to agree to relocate its south end location across 18th Street, into the space formerly occupied by Target. We have been opening a few larger stores in (Western Canada) and the customer response has been great, Keri Scobie, a spokeswoman for Sobeys West, told The Brandon Sun last May when confirming the relocation to Shoppers Mall. It allows us to offer a few more services and different things that we dont have in the smaller stores. At the time, Scobie explained there has been a shift in philosophy at grocery stores, where more services are being offered under one roof. On Monday, Scobie had no details to share on a possible relocation in Brandons west end because nothing has been finalized. She did not have a timeline on the Shoppers Mall opening, either. ifroese@brandonsun.com Twitter: @ianfroese Already have an account? Log in here We need your support! Local journalism needs your support! As we navigate through unprecedented times, our journalists are working harder than ever to bring you the latest local updates to keep you safe and informed. Now, more than ever, we need your support. Starting at $4.99/month you can access your Brandon Sun online and full access to all content as it appears on our website. or call circulation directly at (204) 727-0527. Your pledge helps to ensure we provide the news that matters most to your community! Opinion Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 07/02/2017 (2097 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. EDMONTON Canadas health-care system has a fundamental flaw: lack of a publicly funded pharmacare program. But there are ways to manage your prescription medication costs. Our universal health-care system provides publicly funded essential doctor and hospital care based on need rather than the ability to pay. But Canada is the only industrialized country in the world that has a universal health system without a publicly funded program to cover prescription medication costs outside of hospitals. So most Canadians pay for their prescriptions through private insurance programs or out-of-pocket. Canadians also pay some of the highest prices for prescription drugs in the developed world, thanks to a patchwork system of negotiating drug prices that undermines our collective clout. The result? As many as one in five Canadians cant afford the medications their doctors prescribe, according to a national poll and some even skip them altogether, with possible catastrophic health consequences. So saving even a few bucks per prescription could add up to a big savings over time, and ensure better health for millions of Canadians. Here are four ways you could save on your prescription medication: Ask your doctor if you should (still) be on the medication Never stop a prescribed medication without consulting your doctor. Reducing or stopping a medication could have serious health consequences. However, its worth asking your doctor if you need to be on the medication. Campaigns such as Choosing Wisely Canada, in partnership with the Canadian Medical Association, have suggestions to help avoid unnecessary medical tests and treatments that evidence shows dont enhance care. For example, taking antibiotics for a viral infection is ineffective. Other organizations, such as the Deprescribing Network, warn against overmedicalization, particularly for seniors. Often, medications that were once useful are no longer needed and may cause unnecessary harm. Review your medications regularly with your doctor to make sure youre on the lowest dosage required, to weigh the benefits and risks, and to consider if you need the medication at all. Ask your pharmacist or doctor for a generic instead of a brand-name medication Cheaper generic drugs have identical medicinal ingredients as their brand-name counterparts. This means the generic drug has the same benefits, risks and side-effects as the brand name, and has gone through the same government testing. The only differences may be in the non-medicinal ingredients and, of course, the price, which can be substantial. Newer medications typically wont have generic equivalents because of drug patent protections but most health conditions can be treated with cheaper generic drugs. Shop for less expensive dispensing fees and price-check medication costs Youre charged a professional dispensing fee each time you buy your medication at the pharmacy. The fee can vary widely between pharmacies by several dollars so it can add up quickly. Compare dispensing fees for local pharmacies. Also, in some provinces, even the price consumers pay for medications can vary by pharmacy, so price check for the best deal. If youve taken a drug for a long time and your physician indicates youll continue to take it, getting it filled less frequently can save money on repeat dispensing fees. When price checking, keep in mind that you can find pharmacies in many locations inside medical centres, grocery stores and even big box stores. Pharmacists can be good sources of information, so if you find one that takes the time to provide consultation and advice, weigh the quality of care you receive with the dispensing fee. Check for subsidized programs Each province, and some federal programs, offer subsidized or partially subsidized coverage of medicines for certain people, such as those with disabilities, those under certain income levels, seniors, indigenous people and refugees. Check to see if youre eligible. New guidelines for physicians in Ontario, Manitoba, B.C. and other provinces help connect patients with government programs, including prescription drug coverage. Ask your doctor. Non-profit organizations, such as those focusing on a specific disorder or disease, or those for seniors, can often connect patients with government programs. If youre still unsure, ask your member of Parliament or the provincial legislature for help. You may also want to ask them why Canada doesnt have a national pharmacare program while you are at it. Kathleen OGrady is the managing editor of EvidenceNetwork.ca and a research associate at the Simone de Beauvoir Institute, Concordia University. She is co-editor of Why We Need More Canadian Health Policy in the Media. 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Update: 3pm.: The Tanaiste and Justice Minister Frances Fitzgerald has confirmed that a commission of investigation into the Garda whistleblower claims will be led by Supreme Court judge Peter Charlton. Minister Fitzgerald confirmed she has accepted the recommendations and terms of reference for the inquiry in full as suggested by retired judge Iarfhlaith O'Neill, who carried out a scoping inquiry. She has refused to say whether Garda Commissioner Noirin O'Sullivan or any other senior officer will be asked to step aside while the inquiry takes place. The Tanaiste said she is restricted on what she can say by the whistleblowers legislation. These are allegations, there is no prima facie case against anyone, she said today. What I will be doing is laying before the house a draft order establishing the commission of investigation. The judge has recommended that this is the way forward. I will be accepting his recommendations in full and his terms of reference in full. I will be publishing the parts of the report that I'm in a position to publish tomorrow. Earlier: A full commission of investigation is to be set up into allegations of a smear campaign against two Garda whistleblowers. The inquiry has been agreed following a report by a retired High Court judge Iarfhlaith O'Neill (pictured) which was presented at Cabinet today. It is understood that the report - which hasn't been published - recommends further examination of the claims. Last October, the retired High Court judge was asked to investigate claims from Superintendent David Taylor that he and others had been told by senior Garda management to orchestrate a campaign to undermine whistleblower Superintendent Maurice McCabe and others. The claims, which Garda Commissioner Noirin O'Sullivan and other senior managers have rejected, relate to repeated leaks of rumours surrounding Sgt McCabes personal and professional life, an issue Sgt Taylor said he was asked to organise as then-head of the garda press office. In early December, Mr Justice O Neill provided a report on the controversy to Ms Fitzgerald which is understood to have recommended a commission of investigation be set up to examine the matter further. Fianna Fail justice spokesman Jim O'Callaghan said: "Fianna Fail has been clear in saying that such an investigation is needed. "We now look forward to Judge Peter Charleton working towards a speedy conclusion to his investigation so that we can get to the truth of these matters as soon as possible." Garda Commissioner Noirin O'Sullivan has insisted she knew nothing about the alleged smear campaign. Jonathan O'Brien, Sinn Fein justice spokesman, said Judge O'Neill's report is of "enormous public interest" and called for a timeline for the inquiry. "Given the very serious allegations made against Garda management by the whistleblowers and alleged attempts to denigrate the name and reputation of Maurice McCabe, there is a very serious sense of urgency," he said. Activists who allege a British undercover police officer operated in Ireland have branded a Garda inquiry into his activity a whitewash. Garda Commissioner Noirin O'Sullivan was tasked late last year with a second internal probe into the activities of a spy from London's Metropolitan Police after an original inquiry in 2011 found no evidence of criminality. Campaigners wrote to Justice Minister Frances Fitzgerald demanding she seek Ireland's inclusion in a public inquiry in England and Wales over undercover policing. Activist Kim Bryan, who claims she was targeted by Met spy Mark Kennedy in England and in Ireland, criticised the minister's response. "I am bitterly disappointed by the closed process Frances Fitzgerald has established, with an internal garda report into undercover policing," she said. "It makes a mockery of the justice process if this review examining undercover policing in Ireland does not take into account the evidence of those that were spied on, and as such I would seriously question its legitimacy." The Shell to Sea campaign, which opposes the Shell Corrib gas project in Mayo, and Shannonwatch, which opposes the use of Irish airports by US military also claim to have come in contact with Mr Kennedy. Ed Horgan, Shannonwatch spokesman and a United Nations elections' inspector, said: "We would be very supportive of a proper investigation into this guy's actions. Who paid? Why? Were the gardai using such an agent provocateur?" Mr Kennedy is believed to have been in Ireland between 2004 and 2006. Anti-globalisation campaigner Jason Kirkpatrick, who says he was a victim of abuses by the Met's undercover unit, is taking a High Court challenge in Belfast this week to force the public inquiry in England and Wales to be extended to the North. The inquiry was announced by then home secretary Theresa May in March 2015 under the leadership of Christopher Pitchford, following revelations about the activities of Mr Kennedy, who admitted having "intimate relationships with a number of people while undercover". Mr Kirkpatrick and Ms Bryan are among 200 core participants in the Pitchford inquiry. Forty-two cases have been found where dead children's names were used to provide cover identities for officers by the inquiry and there have been calls to extend the Pitchford inquiry to cover actions of officers in Germany and Scotland. In a reply to a series of parliamentary questions on the issue of British undercover police in Ireland, Ms Fitzgerald has repeatedly said that see would "fully consider" any findings that relate to Ireland. The Department of Justice defended its request for a second internal inquiry on the issue. "The Garda authorities are in ongoing contact with their counterparts in the London Metropolitan Police Service in the context of co-operation across a full range of policing issues," a spokesman said. "It should be noted that there is no question of a police officer from outside the jurisdiction exercising police powers here in Ireland. Any such person is subject fully to our laws and any evidence of breach of our criminal law would be fully pursued." US citizen Sarah Hampton said she has received an apology from the Met after having a year-long relationship with Mr Kennedy while in Ireland in 2005. She said she knew him as Mark Stone and that she suffered deep depression after discovering the truth. "No-one should ever be under any circumstance coerced, invaded, violated and deceived by an undercover police officer through sexual relationships," she said. "Despite the apology I have many unanswered questions. I have not received the files the police have on me. I want to know to what extent my private life has been invaded by the UK police force and what justification is there for it." President Michael D Higgins is embarking on a 12-day state visit to Latin America today. The President will visit Peru, Colombia and Cuba where he'll meet with the leaders of each country, foreign dignitaries, universities and members of the Irish community. The key themes running through the President's visit are Irish links with Latin America, peace and reconciliation and culture. This is the third visit to Latin America by President Higgins and comes shortly after the death of Cuban leader Fidel Castro. His visit to Cuba had been agreed ahead of the former communist leaders death. In Bogota, Colombia President Higgins will meet leaders of Colombia's largest rebel movement, the FARC aswell as UN observers are working together to facilitate the demobilisation and reintegration of former rebels into Colombian society. He will begin his Official Visit to Peru with a visit to the tomb of Ambrosio OHiggins, a native of Co. Sligo, and whose son Bernardo OHiggins fought for Chilean independence and was later appointed Supreme Director of Chile. Prisoners are acting as untrained carers for elderly inmates in the North as the pensioner population behind bars swells. Almost 70 are aged over 60 and the oldest is in his early 80s. A surge in the number detained and sentenced for historic sex offences means dementia inside jail is likely to become more of a challenge in the next few years, a watchdog said. The Independent Monitoring Board (IMB) for Northern Ireland warned social care had been "batted" between the prison and health authorities amid reduced staffing levels. It added: "Prisoners have been acting as carers, not, we would point out, carrying out any personal care, for some of the more severely disabled or disorientated prisoners." They clean cells, wash laundry and collect their food. A healthcare worker attends prison twice daily to attend to the personal care of one prisoner. The Board added: "While the prisoners who do these tasks carry out an at times unenviable role there will always be risks attached, a possible one being taking medication belonging to prisoner being cared for and as in the community there is always risk of abuse of a vulnerable individual. "There is also no training given to carers in working with vulnerable adults." Some life sentenced prisoners are nearing the end of their terms for crimes committed while aged in their 40s or 50s. They face the same age-related problems as in the community: dementia, mobility issues, Parkinson's Disease, incontinence, and also in many case ill-health as a result of years of chronic alcohol and/or drug abuse, chaotic lifestyles and poor diet. Some had no permanent address so missed out on even routine health checks. The IMB said prison staff were not medically trained to deal with elderly prisoners' health problems and could not deal with personal care issues. "While staff do a good job as far as they can and in one particular area of the prison which houses the most vulnerable elderly they do an excellent job, they are also trying to care for increasing numbers with reduced staffing levels and less experienced staff. "On the primary nursing care side South Eastern Trust have problems recruiting and retaining staff and the mental health team are also understaffed. "Staff can ask prisoners to wash but they do not have the power to make them wash so this can lead to serious issues around hygiene which not only affects the prisoner but other prisoners and staff." The IMB said it was very unfortunate that no provision for social care was agreed when the Trust took over the healthcare element of the Northern Ireland Prison Service. "This has now led to a position where neither the NIPS nor the Trust have budgeted for this." The Health Minister Simon Harris is to meet with the CEO of Crumlin Children's Hospital this evening, following an RTE documentary on waiting lists. Simon Harris is to seek answers as to why a 3m theatre, designed for surgeries to treat scoliosis, isn't being used. In the Dail this afternoon Enda Kenny has denied the waiting list figures are being massaged - saying they have been calculated the same way for 15 years. He said the focus of the government's efforts will be to ensure no further delays in scoliosis surgeries. The focus will be on scoliosis, so that no child will be left with the challenges and the difficulties and the pain that they are left in - its not acceptable. The problem is how do you get your theatre, which the taxpayer has paid for, open and giving relief and comfort to children who have this particular problem. Gardai have uncovered a 4.5m land and forestry fraud scheme. Two men have been arrested after the scheme was discovered by gardai from the National Economic Crime Bureau. The men in their 40s are being questioned at Bray and Dun Laoghaire Garda Stations. RTE reports that detectives have discovered over 200 people from all over Europe who have been deceived into buying the same plots of land in Roscommon and Laois. One of the victims of the scam, who thought they were buying land, brought the alleged fraud to the attention of gardai. It is reported that the investors were told the value of the land would double in around five years. Investors paid between 20,000 and 30,000 for the plots. The Garda National Economic Crime Bureau has frozen a significant amount of money held in Irish banks and gardai have said that more fraud victims may come forward. The two men arrested are being detained under alleged investment fraud offences and money laundering legislation and will either be charged or released later today. George is going to be on First Dates Ireland this week and from this clip, it doesn't look like he'll be getting a second. George's date talks about a previous job working behind a deli, and from the moment George starts talking, it starts to go wrong. Bowalley Road Rules The blogosphere tends to be a very noisy, and all-too-often a very abusive, place. I intend Bowalley Road to be a much quieter, and certainly a more respectful, place. So, if you wish your comments to survive the moderation process, you will have to follow the Bowalley Road Rules. These are based on two very simple principles: Courtesy and Respect. Comments which are defamatory, vituperative, snide or hurtful will be removed, and the commentators responsible permanently banned. Anonymous comments will not be published. Real names are preferred. If this is not possible, however, commentators are asked to use a consistent pseudonym. Comments which are thoughtful, witty, creative and stimulating will be most welcome, becoming a permanent part of the Bowalley Road discourse. However, I do add this warning. If the blog seems in danger of being over-run by the usual far-Right suspects, I reserve the right to simply disable the Comments function, and will keep it that way until the perpetrators find somewhere more appropriate to vent their collective spleen. A suicide bomber has targeted the Supreme Court building in the Afghan capital Kabul, killing at least 19 people, officials said. Ismail Kawasi, the public health ministry spokesman, said 41 people were also wounded in the explosion, which hit near a side door used for court employees to leave the building at the end of the work day. Najib Danish, deputy spokesman for the interior ministry, said not all the victims have been identified yet but that an investigation was under way. The attacker was on foot and detonated his suicide vest packed with explosives near the employees and other people as they were coming out of the main court building, Mr Danish added. No-one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack but Taliban insurgents have attacked the top court and its employees in the past, as well as court buildings in the other provinces. The Kabul bombing came hours after a roadside bombing killed the top government official of a district in western Farah province. Taliban spokesman Qari Yusouf Ahmadi said the group claimed responsibility for that attack. Abdul Khaliq, the top official in the Khak-e-Safed district, was on his way home from the mosque when the explosion took place in the city of Farah, the provincial capital, a police spokesman said. Taliban insurgents frequently use roadside bombs and suicide attacks to target government officials as well as Afghan security forces across the country. PA German police have raided homes and offices linked to a group of anti-government extremists suspected of trying to establish their own state. Some 15 premises in the states of Bavaria, Baden-Wuerttemberg and Rhineland-Palatinate are being searched, police said. A new Israeli law legalising dozens of unlawful West Bank settler outposts crossed a "very thick red line", the United Nations' Middle East envoy has said. Israeli rights groups have said they will fight to overturn the measure in the Supreme Court. The explosive law, approved by Israeli politicians late on Monday night, was the latest in a series of pro-settler steps taken by Israel's hard-line government since the election of Donald Trump as US president. It is expected to trigger a number of challenges in the Supreme Court, while members of the international community have already begun to condemn it. The law legalised dozens of outpost homes built unlawfully on private Palestinian land in the occupied West Bank. According to the law, Palestinian landowners would be compensated either with money or alternative land, even if they did not agree to give up their property. Critics say the legislation enshrines into law the theft of Palestinian land. It also marked the first time that the Israeli parliament has imposed Israeli law on Palestinian inhabitants of the West Bank. The area, captured by Israel in 1967, is not sovereign Israeli territory and Palestinians there are not Israeli citizens and do not have the right to vote. Nickolay Mladenov, the UN's co-ordinator for the Middle East peace process, said the legislation "opens the floodgates to the potential annexation of the West Bank". If Israel moves to solidify its control over the area, it would imperil the internationally backed idea of establishing a Palestinian state alongside Israel as part of a negotiated peace deal, he said. "It will have a drastic legal consequence for Israel and for the nature of its democracy," Mr Mladenov said. "It crosses a very, very thick red line." Britain's minister for the Middle East, Tobias Ellwood, condemned the law, saying it "damages Israel's standing with its international partners". He spoke a day after Israel's prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, met with British Prime Minister Theresa May in London. The law also cast a cloud over a visit to Israel by Turkey's tourism minister. Israel and Turkey recently repaired ties after a six-year rift, and the tourism minister, Nabi Avci, was visiting as part of that reconciliation. Asked about the law, Mr Avci said he hoped Israel's Supreme Court would strike it down. "I think, I hope, that on this issue, the high court will make the right decision, a decision in accordance with international law, a decision in accordance with United Nations decisions," he said. Mr Netanyahu's nationalist coalition is dominated by West Bank settlers and their allies. After repeated clashes with then US president Barack Obama, they have grown emboldened by the election of Mr Trump, who has signalled that he will take a much softer approach towards the settlements than his predecessors or the rest of the international community. The law was "a first step in a series of measures that we must take in order to make our presence in Judea and Samaria present for years, for decades, for ages", said Israeli cabinet minister Yariv Levin, using the biblical name for the West Bank. "I do believe that our right over our fatherland is something that cannot be denied." Since Mr Trump took office last month, Israel has announced plans to build more than 6,000 settler homes in the West Bank and east Jerusalem - occupied territories claimed by the Palestinians. After ignoring a string of Israeli announcements, the Trump White House last week finally said that settlements "may not be helpful" for peace. But after the law was passed late on Monday, it said only that it would wait for Israel's courts to rule on the legislation before taking a stance. Prominent Israeli human rights groups plan to ask the Supreme Court to strike it down. A number of prominent legal experts have said the law will not survive a judicial review, and even Mr Netanyahu's own attorney general has refused to defend it in court. "There's going to be a legal battle against this bill," said Lior Amihai, spokesman for Peace Now, an anti-settlement watchdog group. He said his group was already preparing its legal challenge, but that it could take about two weeks to file the case. Mr Netanyahu also expressed misgivings about the law, reportedly saying that it could invite international legal actions against Israel. But under heavy pressure from the Jewish Home party, a coalition partner linked to the settler movement, he reversed course and allowed the bill to pass. Mr Netanyahu was flying home from London late on Monday and missed the vote. Naftali Bennett, head of the Jewish Home party, told Israel's Army Radio on Tuesday that the goal of the bill was to create the same conditions in the settlements as in Israel proper. "At the end of the day, behind all the talk there is a simple question: what do we want for the future of Israel?" he said. The Palestinians, meanwhile, have also condemned the vote and urged the international community to punish Israel. "Nobody can legalise the theft of the Palestinian lands. Building settlements is a crime, building settlements is against all international laws," said Palestinian tourism and antiquities minister Rula Maayaa. "I think it is time now for the international community to act concretely to stop the Israelis from these crimes." The vote passed 60-52 in Israel's 120-member Knesset. The raucous debate saw opposition politicians shouting from their seats at governing coalition politicians speaking in favour of the vote. Some spectators in visitors' seats raised a black cloth in apparent protest. AP US President Donald Trump will host Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe at Mar-a-Lago this weekend. Mr Trump has been calling his Florida resort the "Winter White House," and Press Secretary Sean Spicer said Mr Abe's trip there is a testament to the close relationship between the US and Japan. Mr Abe will first visit the White House before travelling to Palm Beach with Mr Trump, Mr Spicer said. Mr Trump was at Mar-a-Lago last weekend, when he visited his wife Melania and attended a fundraiser for the Red Cross, among other events. AP Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has said Israeli legislation to retroactively legalise thousands of West Bank settlement homes is an aggression against the Palestinian people. "That bill is contrary to international law," Mr Abbas said following a meeting with French President Francois Hollande in Paris. "This is an aggression against our people that we will be opposing in international organisations." "What we want is peace ... but what Israel does is to work towards one state based on apartheid," Mr Abbas said. Mr Hollande called on the Israeli government to go back on the bill approved by politicians late on Monday, saying it would "pave the way for an annexation, de facto, of the occupied territories, which would be contrary to the two-state solution". Hours before Mr Abbas's meeting with Mr Hollande, Saeb Erekat, secretary general of the Palestinian Liberation Organisation, said the bill is "putting the last nail in the coffin of the two-state solution". The measure is the latest in a series of pro-settler steps taken by Israel's hard-line government since the election of Donald Trump as US president. Calling the move "theft", Mr Erekat said it was "the Israeli government trying to legalise looting Palestinian land". In his joint statement with Mr Hollande, Mr Abbas also warned against moving the US embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, one of Mr Trump's campaign promises. "Any move in that direction is an error and shouldn't be done prior to an agreement on a political solution", he said. AP A passenger on the Pakistan International Airlines flight which was intercepted by the RAF and diverted to Stansted was wanted by the Met Police, Scotland Yard said. Typhoon jets were deployed on Tuesday afternoon to escort the plane, which was on its way from Lahore to Heathrow, to the English airport. Police said a man on board had been due to be arrested at Heathrow but was detained at Stansted following the diversion. The Met would not confirm whether the disruptive passenger was the same man who was wanted by authorities. They also refused to say what offences he has been arrested for. A Pakistan International Airlines spokesman said UK authorities "received some vague security threat through an anonymous phone call". "All passengers on board are safe and being looked after at PIAs local management," the airline added in a statement. Quick Reaction Alert Typhoon aircraft from RAF Coningsby in Lincolnshire escorted the plane at around 3pm. Essex Police said the incident is "not believed to be a hijack situation or terror matter". There were reports that the diversion was due to a disruptive passenger on board. "The aircraft is likely to continue its journey onwards to Heathrow today pending inquiries that the police are making into the individual on the aircraft," a spokesman for Stansted Airport said. UK legislation to remove Britain from the European Union should not proceed, according to Scottish politicians. Holyrood voted by 90 to 34 for a motion from the Scottish Government saying the European Union (Notification of Withdrawal) Bill should not proceed. It came after a heated debate in the Scottish Parliament, in which Brexit Minister Mike Russell warned Theresa May's plans for a hard Brexit will lead to a "hard Britain". While the Supreme Court has already ruled the UK Government does not need to consult the devolved administrations before it starts the formal process of leaving the EU, Mr Russell insisted the debate in Edinburgh was ''more than symbolic''. The SNP joined together with most Labour MSPs, the Greens and the Liberal Democrats to vote against the triggering of Article 50. Tory MSPs, however, voted against the motion, along with three Labour rebels - Elaine Smith, Neil Findlay and Richard Leonard. Former Scottish Government cabinet secretary Alex Neil, who previously revealed he voted to leave the EU in the 2016 referendum, has not yet returned to Parliament after undergoing a heart procedure. With 62% of Scots voting Remain in the referendum, SNP ministers are seeking some way of keeping Scotland in the single market. First Minister Nicola Sturgeon and others have warned time is running out for the UK Government to reach an agreement which could prevent a second referendum on Scottish independence. After the vote at Holyrood, Mr Russell said: "Scotland's national Parliament has today sent a clear message to the rest of the UK and Europe - we oppose a catastrophic hard Brexit that dumps Scotland outside of the single market against its wishes. "The Prime Minister promised Scotland would be 'fully engaged' in agreeing a common UK approach to triggering Article 50. We have taken those promises at face value and developed constructive, detailed compromise proposals showing how we can keep our place in the single market, which is around eight times bigger than the UK's alone. "Yet so far the UK Government has offered nothing - not a single compromise in return, or even a view on our proposals. "We do not yet know when Article 50 will be triggered, and have not been given any information about how the UK Government will seek our involvement. The promise of a 'UK agreement' on its content looks to be an empty one. "Today's vote is therefore a key test of whether Scotland's voice is being listened to and whether our wishes can be accommodated within the UK process. "There is still time for the UK Government to recognise the existence and importance of devolution, the views of this Parliament and the clear, democratically expressed voice of the people of this country - but that time is running out." Tories blasted the Scottish Government, accusing ministers of "grievance politics" and making "weekly threats" about another vote on independence. Tory MSP John Lamont said: "The Scottish Government's default point is to try to manufacture a grievance out of nothing. "Despite the rhetoric from the Scottish Government, the reality is there is plenty of opportunity to engage in the process of the UK leaving the EU." He pointed to meetings of the Joint Ministerial Committee - which brings together the UK Government and the devolved assemblies - and to the fact that Theresa May's first visit after entering Downing Street was to see Ms Sturgeon in Edinburgh. "It is clear that the Prime Minister has tried to give the Scottish Government every opportunity to engage in this process," he said. "I can see no compromise in the SNP's positions, they are obsessed with stocking up the politics of grievance and their agenda for independence and nothing else. "Instead of constantly trying to undermine the process, the Scottish Government really should get on with the job of getting the best deal for Scotland. Their current grandstanding is putting that at risk." Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Willie Rennie said the result of the vote "is a sign that the Tories cannot be allowed to get away with a hard Brexit unchecked". But he also stressed: "It was not a vote to give the green light for the SNP to use the Brexit vote as a catalyst for their ambitions for independence. "The Conservatives' changing stance on Brexit will damage the economy, the SNP's pursual of independence will do even more damage to the economy and Labour, who have given up on Europe, are completely failing as an opposition. "Liberal Democrats remain clear that we want to give the British people a say on the terms on Brexit so we can keep both Scotland in the UK and the UK in the EU." A UK Government spokesman said: "The British people made the decision to leave the EU and the UK Government is determined to get on with the job of delivering it. "To do that we will work with the Scottish Government to ensure the best deal for Scotland and the whole of the UK. "The Scottish Parliament is free to debate any issue it chooses, and indeed has discussed Brexit on many occasions. "The First Minister herself recognises that the Scottish Parliament has no veto over Westminster's vote to trigger Article 50." French police said they have detained 26 protesters overnight during an eruption of violence against officers in the Paris suburbs in which a police car was torched. The violence overnight was a show of outrage in support of a young black man who authorities allege was sexually assaulted with a police officer's baton last week during a police operation that targeted drug traffickers. Several cars were set on fire and blazed through the night, with firefighters racing to limit the damage. Police Alliance spokesman Frederic Lagache said one police officer narrowly escaped being burned as a protester set his vehicle on fire with a Molotov cocktail. "The objective is to kill cops and this is unacceptable," Mr Lagache said in an interview with Europe-1. Anger over the sexual assault allegations has spread across Aulnay-sous-Bois, a suburb north east of Paris with a large minority population. Hundreds of people have marched in support of the 22-year-old black man arrested during an identity check. "Frankly, it's pathetic. The kid, he plays football, he's serious. He never was in any trouble with the police. They arrive and they attack him? It's not normal," said Sofiane Hajjobi, a 21-year-old local resident. "Now we're at war with the police." One officer was charged on Sunday with aggravated rape and three others were charged with aggravated assault over the allegations. AP Developer Central Equity has been granted approval for a 57-level residential tower near the corner of Lonsdale and King streets, despite opposition from residents in neighbouring apartments. Central Equity took Planning Minister Richard Wynne to the state planning tribunal over the tower, after he failed to make a decision on the project. Central Equity will build a 57-storey tower near the corner of King and Lonsdale streets. Credit:Joe Armao The developer had originally proposed a 69-level tower, which Melbourne City Council had opposed. It was to have around 800 apartments. But in a negotiated settlement with Mr Wynne and the planning department, Central Equity has been granted a permit for the 57-storey building. Shopping Centres Australasia Property Group (SCA Property), one of the largest landlords for Woolworths and Coles supermarkets, has issued a 1.4 per cent upgrade for its future earnings, saying while its tenants' sales were sluggish from the ongoing price wars, there were some signs of improvements. Overall, the retail landlord reported a statutory net profit after tax of $204.7 million for the half year to December 31, 2016, up 125 per cent but which was boosted by increasing shopping centre values and some asset sales. SCA Property was originally spun out of Woolworths and now has a portfolio valued at $2.02 billion. SCA Property Group's North Orange shopping centre is one of its 74 across the country The more accurate earnings measure for real estate investment trusts, as used by analysts, being funds from operations, rose 9.6 per cent to $53.5 million. These were in line with market expectations. The group, which owns 74 neighbourhood, sub-regional and freestanding retail shopping centres situated across Australia, said specialty stores sales were boosted by improved leasing deals, where new tenants' rents were being signed but with lower incentives. An efficient market relies on rational customers being willing to change suppliers when theres good reason to do so. But what happens when customers stay put regardless? This issue is particularly acute in the banking industry. Even when bank customers have a very good reason to switch, behavioural economics research shows theyre often reluctant to make the move. For example, big scandals that affect banks have a weak impact on consumer behaviour. However, there is a greater propensity to act among customers who are directly impacted. Behavioural economics also shows bank customers are often slow to switch to take advantage of better offers from competitors. In 2016, Britain's Competition and Markets Authority lamented that only 3 per cent of personal and 4 per cent of business customers switch to a different bank in any year in the country. In 2013, Canstar suggested the figure is slightly higher in Australia at 5 per cent. Despite the slightly higher propensity to switch banks among Australian consumers, theres much we can learn from Britains use of behavioural economics to nudge customers to act in their own best interests. In particular, financial technology companies can provide information platforms to make it easier for customers to switch. Besieged leaders of the NSW RSL will use member funds to finance a costly legal fightback against allegations they allowed financial abuses by former president Don Rowe to occur under their watch. Fairfax Media can reveal state councillors have moved to establish a $100,000 war chest to retain legal expertise in an increasingly bitter fight with the national RSL. State councillors were last month internally "charged" by the national RSL with working against the interests of members and bringing the league into disrepute amid allegations of a cover-up of Mr Rowe's financial alleged indiscretions. NSW Police have begun a fraud investigation into the matter. Fairfax Media can also reveal that a sixth state councillor, Bill Humphreys, has stood down. Lawyers for rejected asylum seekers at Australia's offshore detention centre on Manus Island will this week move to stop their imminent removal from Papua New Guinea, following reports up to 60 were slated for deportation. PNG newspaper The Post Courier on Monday reported the government had sought travel documents for 60 people whose asylum claims had been denied, with a view to deport them to their home countries within a few weeks. Australia's offshore immigration detention centre on Manus Island. Credit:Andrew Meares Separately, Ian Rintoul of the Refugee Action Coalition told Fairfax Media he had a list of about 40 asylum seekers who were targeted for removal, though he expressed doubt the PNG government would actually deport them. "At the moment I think it's largely an attempt to get people to go voluntarily," he said. "I doubt they're going to try to remove such a large number in a week. They've been ratcheting up the tension [to] coerce them into signing to go." And he has no policy justification, says Laurie Oakes. [9News] But did the move spur Malcolm Turnbull into scrapping the Gold Pass perk for retired politicians? If so, the PM was smart, says The Australian. [Editorial] If Bernardi is smart he will use his castigation in the press in his efforts to recast himself as a political outsider out of step with the chattering classes. News-wise: Luke Hartsuyker is sworn in as Minister for Vocational Education and Skills by Governor-General Sir Peter Cosgrove at Government House in Canberra on Monday 21 September 2015. Credit:Andrew Meares In many ways this behaviour almost looks worse. A low-level Nationals MP demanded a ministry or threatened to defect to the crossbench. Luke Hartsuyker, an MP in the lower house where Turnbull has just a one-seat majority, was reportedly rewarded with a promotion for this threats. [Daily Telegraph] Billionaire Gina Rinehart has not funded Bernardi's party, reports Philip Coorey. [Financial Review] Bernardi says he will disclose his donations real-time (within 24 hours) and wants to solicit smaller amounts from grassroots members. This is actually quite a big deal and at odds with Malcolm Turnbull who said he supports real-time disclosures but chose to conceal his own $1.75 million gift to the Liberal party for seven months, until it was dragged out of him. [Katharine Murphy/The Guardian] Cory Bernardi has hired a Family First staffer which could mean he will form a two-man bloc in the Senate, pending whatever ends up happening with Bob Day's position. [Simon Benson/The Australian] Attorney-General George Brandis. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen Michelle Grattan compares and contrasts the reaction from Eric Abetz (conservative) and George Brandis (moderate). [The Conversation] The only real split caused by Bernardi's jump to the crossbench is that seen amongst the right-wing commentariat, says Andrew Clark. [Financial Review] Bernardi will appeal to middle-right voters who wouldn't go near Pauline Hanson, says former Liberal federal director Brian Loughnane. [The Australian] Don't miss this lovely piece by Matthew Knott on the fractured right. [Fairfax] In truth, the right in the Liberal party has never regrouped since the departure of Senator Nick Minchin in 2011. Paul Kelly believes conservatism is "devouring itself." [The Australian] Senator Cory Bernardi sits on the crossbench for the first time during Senate Question Time. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen So now the test of the Cory experiment is whether the conservative vote is: 1. taken by existing fringe parties, notably One Nation 2. as big as the so-called silent majority conservatives like to claim 3. capable of appealing to a broad range of Liberal voters Normally I would never implore you to read the comments but I was very taken aback by the commentary on the Facebook posts of Tony Abbott and Christopher Pyne's statements regarding the resignation. Pyne is Bernardi's factional enemy and laid into him for resigning. The Minister is a progressive who supports same-sex marriage and had an active hand in toppling Abbott. His supporters should despise Bernardi but a lot of the comments criticise the leadership change during the last term and the Liberal party. Abbott was once a fellow traveller with Bernardi and a conservative. A great portion of the commentary again backs Bernardi's complaints about the party, notably the leadership change. Now these are hardly statistically representative samples and they're just two that I've chosen because of the difference in agendas from the authors, but they are a fascinating insight into the mind of the sort of voter Bernardi is targeting. Is it significant enough? Time will tell. Final word on this goes to Jacqueline Maley and her absolutely hilarious sketch on the end of Cory and Tones' bromance. My must-read in terms of LOLs for today. [The Sydney Morning Herald] In other politics news: Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull meets with Chinese Foreign Affairs Minister Wang Yi at Parliament House in Canberra, on Tuesday 7 February 2017. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen Beijing continues to keep a cool head over Donald Trump. Foreign Minister Wang Yi, in Canberra, says the US-China relationship is positive and Trump's hawkish talk/tweets over the South China Sea are "campaign rhetoric." "There cannot be conflict between China and the United States because both will lose and both sides cannot afford that," said Mr Wang. [David Wroe/Fairfax] The head of Australia Post is earning more than 10 times what the Prime Minister takes home. [Henry Belot/ABC] Senator Derryn Hinch has changed his mind and agreed to tougher conditions for the construction watchdog which the Turnbull government reinstated last year. [Paul Kelly/The Australian] 2. Syria Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, right, shakes hands with Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu in Damascus in June. Credit:AP Amnesty has issued a seriously chilling report claiming the Assad regime in Syria secretly executed up to 13,000 people in just one prison between 2011-2015. And this is my serious must-read today. [Liz Sly/Washington Post] Just a few weeks ago Boris Johnson was before a parliamentary committee musing on whether there could be some form of acceptance for al-Assad to continue, saying the he-must-go approach hadn't worked. Not today. The British Foreign Secretary says he is "sickened" by Amnesty's report and says al-Assad has "no future as leader." [Boris Johnson/Twitter] 3. Trump's false terror claims Donald Trump. Credit:AP The fallout from Donald Trump's false and truly bizarre claim that the media has ignored terrorist attacks continues. Yesterday the President told senior US commanders, of ISIS-related terrorist attacks: "It's gotten to a point where it's not even being reported and, in many cases, the very, very dishonest press doesn't want to report it." [Transcript] Sean Spicer. Credit:AP But in a later "gaggle" with the media, Trump's press secretary Sean Spicer said the press "under-reported" terrorist attacks when asked whether the President was claiming they went "unreported" or "under-reported." [Transcript] Spicer claimed there were "several instances" of this and promised to release a list. In his most recent briefing, Spicer said terror attacks did not get the "spectacular attention they deserve." Because this is the Trump administration you don't even need me to point out that obviously the claims were patently false, with the list including well-covered terrorist attacks, including Sydney's Lindt cafe siege. [Nick Ralston/The Sydney Morning Herald] Incredibly, the list spelt the word "attacker" as "attaker" 27 times. [The Washington Post] The list also included attacks that weren't related to radical Islamism, including one in Australia. The mother of a British backpacker murdered in an Australian hostel says her daughter was not the victim of terrorism and said: "My daughter's death will not be used to further this insane persecution of innocent people." [Tom Powell/Evening Standard] So what's the strategy? "This was an opportunity to get the media to run with a lengthy list of terror attacks that, he hoped, would reinforce Trump's broader message that terror attacks were a constant threat that demanded a strong response," writes Philip Bump. [Washington Post] This was underlined by Spencer in his briefing on Tuesday. 4. Al-Qaeda mocks "fool in the White House" Donald Trump's first authorised military raid, in Yemen, has really not had the attention it deserves. In that raid, one Navy SEAL was killed and three more wounded as well the 8-year old daughter of a US cleric who directed attacks against the US. Up to two dozen more civilians are believed to have been killed in what one official told NBC News was a botched raid in which "almost everything went wrong." Outrageously, the Pentagon justified the raid by releasing evidence collected - a training video. Then it was revealed that that video was nearly ten years old. It was removed from the Pentagon's website. [Idrees Ali/Reuters] The leader of al-Qaeda in the Arabian peninsula has released a video mocking "the fool in the White House" saying Trump received a "slap in the face," claiming dozens of Americans were wounded. That claim is unverified and at odds with the toll provided by the Pentagon. [CNN] 5. Putin signs law to decriminalise domestic violence Vladimir Putin, Russia's president. Credit:Bloomberg In Russia one woman dies every 40 minutes from domestic abuse but President Vladimir Putin has weakened laws governing domestic violence. It was possible, if you traipsed the grim corridors of Canberra's Parliament House, to discern a faint weeping, a gnashing of teeth; a terrible keening for a happier past, lost forever. Was that a backbencher sobbing the words of The Beatles classic "Yesterday"? "Suddenly, I'm not half the man I used to be," came that quavering, disembodied voice, possibly imagined. "There's a shadow hanging over me." There are many reasons people put off seeing the doctor. From time constraints, to cost; the stereotypical Aussie outlook ("she'll be right"), to plain embarrassment. Not feeling well? It's probably not as bad as you think. Credit:iStock Now a new report from Britain has shown that a third of people who consciously put off seeing their doctor do so for fear of finding out bad news. Australians harbour the same worry, though it's not as common here, says Dr Bastian Seidel from the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP). The New York Times' Julie Hirschfeld Davis wrote about the anguish of anonymous D.C. sources who fear the annual egg roll and other "elaborate White House events that are among the heaviest tasks for first ladies" are languishing in the deserted East Wing, as are unanswered requests for White House tours. Just as there is a gush of leaks from the resistance in the federal government about President Donald Trump's erratic and impulsive behaviour, there are whispers about Melania's elusive and sphinx-like behaviour. The East Wing is perilously behind in planning for the Easter Egg Roll . Is the White House dropping the ball or rather, the ovoid? Now, stacked on the Trump tower of petrifying things Americans have to worry about; war with Iran, war with China, war with Mexico, war with Islam, war with koalas, there is yet another looming disaster. As the elegant Melania scorns the East Wing, the grungy Bannon reigns in the West Wing, where late into the night he plots his Manichaean schemes to blow up everything with trade wars, real wars and battles against the Islamic "caliphate." He blithely sits at the centre like Jabba the Hutt as the slapdash White House sews strife, chaos and cruelty, putting out executive orders restricting immigration and rolling back financial regulations on Wall Street, a move that will hurt the very blue-collar Americans Trump pledged to protect. I'm more worried about Trump's presence in the White House than Melania's absence. Whether or not she intends it, the woman who calls herself "a full-time mum" is making a modern statement about the role of the first lady. She's saying: I'll do it on my terms. "Never since Abigail Adams has a first lady not lived in the White House from Day 1 if they were alive and well," said Kate Andersen Brower, author of First Women: The Grace and Power of America's Modern First Ladies. Melania may just be enjoying some proper rest in her golden aerie without the distracting light of Donald's devices as he taps his wee-hour tweets that set the world afire. The reason it would have been so delicious to see Bill Clinton in the first lady role is that it would have illustrated starkly just how antiquated the white satin music box is. The man who knew every detail of the Irish and Middle East peace processes would not have been expected to simply read books to schoolchildren on trips abroad or deal with flowers for state dinners. A teenage husband and wife who allegedly expressed a desire to become a "jihadi Bonnie and Clyde" have been charged with planning to carry out a terrorist act in Sydney. Sameh Bayda and his wife Alo-Bridget Namoa, both aged 19, face a maximum penalty of life in prison after their charges were upgraded on Wednesday to conspiring to carry out a stabbing attack in Sydney in late 2015. Sameh Bayda is already facing terrorism charges. Credit:Nine News The pair have been in custody since they were arrested early last year in Guildford. At that time, Mr Bayda was charged with three counts of collecting documents likely to facilitate terrorist acts. Sydney's motorways have become an even bigger money spinner for Australian toll road king Transurban, which is eagerly awaiting the chance to swoop on WestConnex if the Berejiklian government opts to sell. "Everyone is talking to everyone," Transurban chief executive Scott Charlton said of the large investor interest in buying in to Australia's largest motorway project. Mr Charlton said WestConnex would be like a mini-network, making it cheaper to operate than a single toll road. "It's more like a business in its own right as opposed to maybe just one single standalone asset," he said on Tuesday. China's top envoy to the UK said 2017 will be a year for consolidating the China-UK "Golden Era", in spite of challenges that some Chinese businesses in the UK may face from Brexit, especially those in the financial industry and companies with EU headquarters in the UK. "The China-UK relationship is now at a historic moment, and it is time to lock in what has been achieved and seek further progress," said Liu Xiaoming, China's ambassador to the United Kingdom, in an exclusive interview with China Daily. "There is huge potential to be tapped and bright prospects for cooperation." Liu made his remarks in tandem with the publication of a British government policy document on Thursday that clearly sets out the way in which the UK will be withdrawn from the 28-member European Union. The White Paper details 12 major principles, including the way the UK will control its immigration and arrangements for trade. The document is seen to be in line with British Prime Minister Theresa May's vision of building Britain into "an independent, truly global UK". Reiterating China's position on Brexit, the ambassador said: "We respect the choice of the British people. We respect Britain's independent choice of its own development path. And we hope the UK and the EU will reach an early arrangement that is acceptable to both sides." He also said he is optimistic about the Brexit negotiations. "I believe, when there is a problem, there is always a solution." Brexit will not affect China's confidence in its growing ties with the UK and the EU, Liu said. His attitude is reflected in the increasing enthusiasm of Chinese businesses to invest in Britain and the EU. China's investment in Europe increased by 76 percent last year, and its direct investment in the UK's nonfinancial sectors in 2016, from January to November, exceeded $1 billion. The value of British exports to China has skyrocketed, increasing by 108 percent between 2010 and 2016, according to British government figures. China is Britain's second-largest trading partner outside the EU, while the UK is China's largest investment destination in Europe. Commenting on the strong momentum of ties, Liam Fox, the British secretary of state for international trade, said earlier the UK was happy to see how China had positively greeted its "new place in the world". He said the UK had seen record levels of investment from China. In an article signed by the ambassador published on Thursday in the Daily Telegraph, Liu said that, instead of a U- or V-shaped rebound of the Chinese economy, which is undergoing structural and supply-side reforms, the recovery will be L-shaped. "This L-shaped curve means China's economic growth, though slower than before, will sustain a steady speed," he wrote. "That can be translated into more business opportunities for British companies," he told China Daily. "The Chinese and British economies are quite complementary." Liu noted the UK's leading role in high-end manufacturing, the services sector, pharmaceuticals and the biological and high-tech sectors. He said such advantages can help China improve its industrial structure and the quality of its GDP growth. He also said Chinese business and investment that focuses on the UK domestic market, such as the automobile industry, infrastructure development, the real estate sector and service industry, will not be affected by Brexit. "The British economy is performing better than expected, and the fundamentals in the UK are stable," he added. However, for Chinese doing business in the UKespecially those involved in the financial sector and enterprises whose European headquarters are in the UKattention should be paid to policy uncertainties hovering around Britain's relationship with the European single market, the settling of euro business and the perceived undercutting of London's role as Europe's financial center. "Chinese companies in these sectors should take precautions," said the ambassador. China and the UK are the world's second- and fifth-largest economies and have different strengths, said the ambassador. China has the edge in manpower, economic output, financing, new energy, and high-speed rail, but there is much each country can offer the other as they pursue their development strategies. Britain's Hinkley Point nuclear project is an example. It is the largest single investment China has made in Europe and will create more than 25,000 jobs locally. "The UK needs a reliable energy supply while China has the technology and capital. This makes win-win cooperation between our two countries possible," said the ambassador. The nations are working to dovetail China's Belt and Road Initiative and its Made in China 2025 strategy with Britain's Northern Powerhouse and UK Industry 2050 plans. Areas that offer the most opportunities for cooperation are green energy, high-speed rail, airport development and infrastructure building. Cooperation in these areas will elevate the relationship to a higher level, he said. Bridget Mary's Books: https://www.amazon.com/Books-Bridget-Mary-Meehan/s?rh=n%3A283155%2Cp_27%3ABrid A Promise of Presence Affirmations from the Heart of God Exploring the Feminine Face of God God Delights in You- A Four Week Journal Heart Talks with Mother God Inclusive Worship Aids Living Gospel Equality Now- Praying with a Passionate Heart Praying with Celtic Holy Women Praying with Visionary Women h Praying with Women of the Bible The Healing Power of Prayer-New Edition Dr. Bridget Mary Meehan ARCWP Long-distance commuting between place of residence and place of work has been on the rise in Australia. It occurs when workers are unable to return home after their working day (usually due to distance), so a worker resides at the place of work for a set number of days before returning home for time off. The two most common forms are fly-in fly-out and drive-in drive-out. Using the most recent census data, combined with a regions degree of remoteness, our research estimates the share of the workforce in a region that uses long-distance commuting. We then aimed to identify what type of regional characteristics influence that share. FIFO workers are often blamed for pushing air fares sky high for WA's regions. Credit:Glenn Hunt Our research shows that ensuring adequate amenities in regions is a key factor in converting long-distance commuters into migrants to that region. This, in turn, helps the region realise the associated economic benefits of the projects that employ such workers. What we found A dearth of train drivers is not Queensland Rail's only problem, with culture and communication problems to blame for issues not being solved earlier. But a public transport expert says the failings, which came to light after the opening of the Redcliffe Peninsula Line revealed there was a shortage of train drivers, could be turned into a positive for QR. Commissioner Phillip Strachan handed down his report into the QR fiasco on Monday, including 36 recommendations. Among those were measures to improve culture and communication within QR amid an environment where people did not want to share "bad news". Birdsville is an outback Queensland town used to hot weather, but the current heatwave is unusual even for them. Daily temperatures in Birdsville have hit 43 or higher since Australia Day, even reaching a high of 46 degrees on Tuesday. Bureau of Meteorology senior forecaster Brett Harrison said Birdsville's temperatures have been "well above" average for at least a couple of weeks. The town, with a population of 115 - which explodes to around 9000 with the famous Birdsville Races every September, has seen temperatures of 44 and above every day of February so far. Toll road giant Transurban is increasingly confident its proposed Western Distributor project will become a reality, despite the potential a crucial pillar of the project an extension of its CityLink concession could be blocked in Parliament. Transurban's chief executive Scott Charlton said the company was moving towards a final deal with the Victorian government and closing in on a preferred builder for the road, which will widen the West Gate Freeway and connect it to the Port of Melbourne, Transurban's own CityLink and the CBD. "We get more confidence as we move through the process," he said after handing down the company's half-year results on Tuesday. "We've got obviously a very positive working relationship with the government, and they're driving a hard bargain, and we're getting a lot of good ideas out of the construction community that we think will improve the project." Kathie John was in the middle of Bass Strait on a Tasmania-bound cruise ship to celebrate the new year when she got a Facebook message from her sister that would change her life. The message told her that a kidney an organ Ms John had waited seven years for had been donated and that she was in line to receive it but she needed to act fast. About a thousand kilometres from her Sydney home, she recalled feeling "gobsmacked" by the plan that air ambulance and cruise ship staff hatched to get her off the boat and to Westmead Hospital in Sydney where her new kidney was waiting. Before she knew it, Ms John was in the Emerald Princess' medical centre as the captain and coast guard called Air Ambulance with the plan to winch her off the ship into a hovering helcopter. A retired Anglican priest convicted of molesting five boys over three decades in WA has drawn the ire of a judge for admitting at least two of the offences after subjecting the victims to a trial. Raymond Sydney Cheek was aged 84 in November when he was found guilty by a jury of charges including indecent dealings with a child. Raymond Sydney Cheek has drawn the ire of a WA judge. Credit:ABC News He was granted bail before sentencing on Tuesday. But Cheek wrote an eight-page letter of complaint to District Court of WA judge Ronald Birmingham complaining about his lawyer Michael Perrella advising him not to give evidence at the trial, and detailing what he would have said. Paris: The most unpredictable French presidential election in decades has taken another bizarre turn after Emmanuel Macron, the leading candidate who is married to his former high school teacher, was forced to deny a gay extramarital affair. The centrist took the lead in the opinion polls two weeks ago after his conservative rival, Francois Fillon, became embroiled in a scandal centring on alleged misuse of public funds to pay his British wife for a job for which she allegedly did no work. Mr Macron unexpectedly turned up on Monday at a local Paris meeting of activists from his En Marche (On the Move) movement and laughed off the persistent rumours of a homosexual relationship with Mathieu Gallet, a Radio France chief executive. "If you're told I lead a double life with Mr Gallet it's because my hologram has escaped," he said, in a reference to a rival candidate making an appearance as a hologram at a rally last weekend. A federal appeals court will hear arguments on Tuesday at 6pm (10am AEST Wednesday) on whether to restore President Donald Trump's controversial immigration order, which a lower court judge has temporarily put on hold. The scheduling of the hearing came as Justice Department lawyers on Monday made what is likely their final pitch to a federal appeals court to immediately restore President Trump's controversial immigration order, while tech companies, law professors and former high-ranking national security officials joined a mushrooming legal campaign to keep the measure suspended. "The Executive Order is a lawful exercise of the President's authority over the entry of aliens into the United States and the admission of refugees," Justice Department lawyers wrote. The future of Trump's temporary travel ban now lies with a panel of judges at the US Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit. A lower federal judge in Seattle had ordered a halt to the ban on Friday, and the appeals court over the weekend declined to upend that ruling before hearing more arguments. London: Fox News presenter Bill O'Reilly is refusing to apologise to Russian President Vladimir Putin after describing him as "a killer". "Apparently the Putin administration in Moscow is demanding that I, your humble correspondent, apologise for saying old Vlad is a killer," said O'Reilly on his television show broadcast on Monday evening. "So I'm working on that apology but it may take a little time ... might want to check in with me around 2023," he continued. Russia has sought an apology from Fox News on Monday after O'Reilly use the word during an interview with US President Donald Trump. Jakarta: Mohammad Akbar arrived in Indonesia four years ago with two other friends but even after receiving confirmation of his refugee status a year later, he still has no idea which country he will be resettled in. "We have been waiting with the refugee card for three years and nothing, nobody even wants to talk to us, no one even values us as a human being," says the 30-year-old refugee from Afghanistan. Dozens of asylum seekers hold posters during protest in front of the UNHCR office in Jakarta on Monday. Credit:Jefri Tarigan Abdulqadir Mansour Awad Khalil and his family have been living here for the last 3 years, also waiting for news of resettlement. The 28-year-old man Sudanese has three children and for his youngest daughter Salma, aged five, life as a refugee is all she can remember. News / Africa by Ferial Haffajee Former Public Protector Thuli Madonsela should pay back the money.Here's the story; In 2012, Thuli Madonsela's son Wanda, took his mom's beautiful X6 BMW on a joy ride.He picked up a friend, then dodged a dog somewhere on the way and then lost control of the wheel and crashed into a wall. The car was an expensive write-off a R420,000.00 write-off of public money.In the broader scheme of misdemeanor, it's nothing. As South Africans, we have become inured to waste and mismanagement of our hard-earned money and we barely bat an eye when billions are lost. Most South African tax comes from individuals like you and me with corporations paying a smaller piece of the national spending pie.Madonsela was the Amazonian guard of the public rand, which she watched over with excellence and an unparalleled zeal. She is the totemic figure of what we want in public servants. She was the ideal for how public money should be spent on the public and guarded from the greedy and the careless. For this, she won national love and international acclaim.And so, I think Madonsela should pay back the money for Wanda's misdemeanor. It is clear that incumbent protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane is motivated by pique and anger, but that is all the more reason for Madonsela to take the higher road.The former public protector says she took legal advice, which said she was not responsible because her son had not taken the car with her permission. The auditor-general's office agreed with this advice.With respect, but that is a poor and technical excuse almost as poor as President Jacob Zuma saying he did not give permission for the R246-million worth of upgrades to his personal estate at Nkandla and therefore was not responsible for them. An ethical stance would see Madonsela take a different view.Her son took the car and she is responsible for the car as it was in her custodianship. Madonsela has already paid the excess on the insurance but the government insurer refused to pay the principal amount. It is a steep amount, but for her legacy as the ultimate warrior of public ethics and good governance, our best public protector ever should do the right thing and write the cheque. The Scottish Parliament overwhelmingly backed a motion opposing the start of the process for the UK to leave the European Union in a gesture against Prime Minister Theresa May's Brexit plans. Lawmakers in the semi-autonomous legislature in Edinburgh voted by 90 to 34 that Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty, which would start Britain's divorce talks with the EU, should not be triggered. The needs of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have not been properly considered, there are no guarantees for EU nationals living in Britain and there is not enough detail of the implications of policies including leaving the EU's single market, according to the motion approved on Tuesday. "This is the Scottish Parliament, the people who voted for us are Scottish people, they expect us to stand up for Scotland," Scotland's chief Brexit negotiator, Michael Russell, a member of First Minister Nicola Sturgeon's Scottish National Party, told lawmakers. Researchers from the University of Bristol are part of a major pan European 28.9 million initiative that aims to improve the prevention and management of diabetic kidney disease (DKD), which is the leading cause of kidney failure in the world. The project called BEAt-DKD (Biomarker Enterprise to Attack Diabetic Kidney Disease), will be led in Bristol by Richard Coward, Professor of Renal Medicine in the School of Clinical Sciences, who is also the European co-lead in the experimental work, which explore the molecular mechanisms underpinning DKD. The project will allow the teams in the School of Clinical Sciences, led by Professor Coward together with Professor Moin Saleem and Dr Simon Satchell, to work closely together on this issue. BEAt-DKD is a unique five-year public private partnership funded by the Innovative Medicines Initiative (IMI), member companies from the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations (EFPIA), the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) and the state of Switzerland. At the moment, there are no means to effectively prevent or cure DKD, which has reached epidemic dimensions and is the leading cause of end-stage renal disease. DKD patients are a very sick population with mortalities exceeding most cancers and who are underserved by inefficient and unsuccessful drug development. DKD remains a large unmet medical need. Professor Coward, discussing the project, said: BEAt-DKD will study thousands of patients affected with DKD across Europe. We hope to discover key factors that predict which patients will progress into kidney failure and require kidney dialysis or transplantation. The project also hopes to identify key pathways that may be manipulated to treat patients with this condition. Leading experts from 21 academic institutions, six EFPIA pharmaceutical companies, one biotech company and JDRF launched BEAt-DKD yesterday [Monday 6 February] to provide a holistic systems medicine view of the pathogenesis and heterogeneity of DKD, with the goal to identify targetable mechanisms and pathways underlying initiation and progression of DKD, as well as to identify and validate biomarkers of disease progression and treatment responses, representing first steps towards precision medicine in DKD. Maria Gomez, project co-ordinator and Professor at Lund University, said: We are very excited to have gathered so many brilliant and truly dedicated investigators, impressive materials and innovative techniques in this unprecedented joint effort to make a real difference for patients with DKD. Dennis Andress, project leader from pharmaceutical company Abbvie, added: This project represents one of the largest and most complete analysis of clinical data for identifying potential biomarkers for DKD and it will establish a new paradigm for precision medicine in the management of DKD. The BEAt-DKD team, coordinated by the University of Lund, Abbvie, University Medical Center Groningen, University of Helsinki and Sanofi, is committed to delivering better stratification of patients and more effective tools for use in innovative clinical trials, resulting in improved prevention and management of DKD, such as steps towards precision medicine. BEAt-DKD plans to build upon: access to large observational prospective cohorts with comprehensive genetic analyses and rich longitudinal clinical and biochemical data and samples from patients with DKD; vast expertise in the development and use of novel genetic, epigenetic, biochemical and physiological experimental tools and approaches, including validated animal models of DKD for translational research; extensive expertise in the development and validation of novel imaging approaches; the ability to combine existing and novel datasets through effective data federation and use of systems biology approaches towards precision medicine; and expertise in regulatory approval, health economics and patient engagement. BEAt-DKD will also capitalize from extensive and unique resources developed by previous IMI and FP7 projects. Results from this project are expected to translate into patient benefits and decreased societal costs associated with DKD. We have more newsletters Something went wrong, please try again later. Invalid email Something went wrong, please try again later. Sign up to our daily newsletter for the latest local and breaking news in Bristol. Three men who blew up cash machines in Bristol and plundered cash have been jailed for just under thirty years. The gang ignited a gas/flammable mixture to access several cash machines in the city. They included ATMs at: Tesco in Callington Road; Ikea at Eastgate, HSBC bank in Redcliffe Street, Halifax bank in Emersons Green and Lloyds bank in Shirehampton. Bristol Crown Court heard raider Matthew Parsons was arrested and was remanded in custody in HMP Bristol when, via mobile phone, he helped to orchestrate a raid by other offenders on the Co-op in Long Ashton. Parsons, 27, from Tavistock Road in Knowle, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to steal and conspiracy to cause an explosion. He also admitted conspiracy to cause an explosion when he was in prison. Cox, 27, from Knowle, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to steal and conspiracy to cause an explosion. Clouter, 33, of Padstow Road in Bristol, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to steal and conspiracy to cause an explosion. The court was told Parsons benefitted by 57,806 while Cox made 34,387 and Clouter 9,726. But each man was ordered to pay up just 1 under the Proceeds of Crime Act. Judge Michael Longman jailed Parsons for 15 years, Cox for eight years and eight months and Clouter for six years. He told the men: "It is clear that this form of offending, using explosives to attack ATMs, has increased over recent years and deterrent sentences are required." Don Tait, prosecuting, told the court: "These offences have become prevalent. "They arrived from Europe and initially they were being committed on Merseyside. "They have spread to almost every city in the country. They have spread to Bristol." Mr Tait said raiders managed to steal 13,120 from the ATM at Ikea in Eastgate. The gang managed to steal 15,980 from the ATM at HSBC in Redcliffe Street and 96,160 from the ATM at Lloyds in High Street, Shirehampton where more than 165,000 damage was caused. Mr Tait said police recovered DNA evidence linking gang members to the raids. All the men had previous convictions for burglary, the court heard. Robert Duval, defending Parsons, said: "The aim was to obtain money. The aim was not to endanger life or cause injury or fear." Robert Morgan-Jones, defending Cox, said: "He fell into criminal behaviour. It was one of the few things he was able to do with any degree of success at all." Timothy Rose, defending Clouter, said: "The enormous sadness is that in the two years since he has grown up spectacularly." We have more newsletters Something went wrong, please try again later. Invalid email Something went wrong, please try again later. Want the top crime stories from Bristol? Sign up for our new email updates on Crime & Punishment More than 137,000 women and girls in England and Wales have been affected by FGM, with hundreds of new recorded cases in Bristol alone. Figures from the NHS showed 385 new cases were recorded in Bristol in 2015/16. But so far, only 10 protection orders have been obtained in the city to protect girls from the horrific practice. Conviction is more difficult, with no successful cases in England despite the practice being made illegal in 1985. Education is key to keeping girls safe from the practice. What is FGM? It is the partial or total removal of the external female genitalia for non-medical reasons, according to the NSPCC. Also known as female circumcision in some parts of the world, there are various religious, social or cultural reasons for the practice. Make no mistake, however, FGM is a form of child abuse, and is a dangerous and criminal offence here. It is usually performed by someone with no medical training. Girls are given no anaesthetic, no antiseptic treatment and are often forcibly restrained. FGM ranges from pricking or cauterising the genital area, through partial or total removal of the clitoris, cutting the lips (the labia) and narrowing the vaginal opening. Even partial removal or 'nipping' can risk serious health problems for girls and women. The cutting is made using instruments such as a knife, pair of scissors, scalpel, glass or razor blade. Labia elongation, also referred to as labia stretching or labia pulling, involves stretching the labia minora, sometimes using sticks, harnesses or weights. Other types of FGM are also being studied at the moment. It is illegal There are no medical reasons to carry out FGM. It doesn't enhance fertility and it doesn't make childbirth safer. Those who practise it claims it controls female sexuality, but it can cause severe and long-lasting damage to the victims physical and emotional health. All types of FGM are illegal, and it has been a criminal offence since 1985. In 2003, it became a criminal offence for UK nationals or permanent residents to take their child abroad to have FGM. Anyone found guilty of the offence faces a maximum penalty of 14 years in prison. Who is at risk? Those most at risk are girls from the Somali, Kenyan, Ethiopian, Sudanese, Sierra Leonean, Egyptian, Nigerian, Eritrean, Yemeni, Kurdish and Indonesian communities, according to the Home Office. Also girls might be at risk if FGM has been carried out on their mother, sister or a member of their extended family. Long-term effects of FGM Girls and women who have had FGM have many problems, which can include intense pain when having sex, infertility, and complications during childbirth and pregnancy. There might also be difficulties urinating, menstrual problems, and long-lasting emotional and mental health problems. What you can do If you are aware or think a child might be in danger of FGM, ring the police on 999. FGM is a crime. You can also ring the NSPCC on 0800 028 3550, and should do so without delay. Latest News Mortgage stress hits Australian households Learn seven ways to ease the interest rate burden, says broker New investor strengthens Invoice Finance Group Partnership will provide funding, new products for SMEs Non-major lender Bendigo and Adelaide Bank has managed to bring in over $5bn worth of loans over the past year thanks to a strong growth in mortgages.The last six months, weve had a really strong set of results that originates from brokers. Thats been driven by aligning our processes through a number of key parties, Bruce Speirs, executive of partner connection at Bendigo and Adelaide Bank , told Australian Broker.The lender primarily brings in loans through partners and partner groups such as Aussie Home Loans, Connective Smartline , and PLAN, mortgage managers such as AFG , and individually accredited brokers across the country.Spiers said the bank runs two different bank models a community bank model through Bendigo Bank and a third party model through Adelaide Bank.The only way to get an Adelaide Bank loan is through a broker and the only way to get a Bendigo Bank loan is through a retail franchise.This means the Adelaide Bank proposition is exclusively targeted towards third parties including products, services and support, he said.The product set that we have was specifically built from the ground up with brokers and other intermediaries in mind. So its all focused around pre-existing product offerings, a high level of process efficiency, and as a result a relatively low cost of competition.The overarching theme is that service and products have been designed for the third party channel as opposed to being a retail product thats forced into the broking channel.Part of the $5 billion of loans brought into Bendigo and Adelaide Bank emerged through the Keystart acquisition in September last year. A large proportion of these loans are written by brokers, Speirs added. Latest News Mortgage stress hits Australian households Learn seven ways to ease the interest rate burden, says broker New investor strengthens Invoice Finance Group Partnership will provide funding, new products for SMEs The government has forced a number of foreign nationals to sell 15 Australian residential properties after breaching the foreign investment framework.Weve taken further action on ensuring that Australian home buyers get a fair go when it comes to buying whether its their first home or subsequent home by ensuring that our rules on foreign investment are enforced, said Treasurer Scott Morrison in a doorstop interview yesterday (6 February).In 2015, the government announced an amnesty for foreign investors who had purchased property illegally. From 2 May to 30 November, investors could notify the government and, although they would be forced to sell, would suffer no penalties as a result.Since the end of the amnesty, the total number of forced sales has reached 61 with a combined total of $107 million. The 15 most recent properties were all located in Victoria and Queensland and have a combined purchase price of over $14 million, according to the Treasurers office.Over $100 million worth of residential real estate assets, owned and illegally acquired by foreigners, have been forced to divest. Another 15 properties today. And its not just at the high end of the market, its the low end of the market as well where many Australians are trying to get into the market, Morrison said.The foreign nationals who come from countries such as China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Iran, the United Kingdom and Germany purchased their properties without approval from the Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB).In some cases, foreign nationals held multiple investment properties in breach of regulations. These breaches were uncovered through data matching programs as well as information gathered from the public.The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) has detected over 570 foreign nationals who have breached the rules, resulting in forced sales, self-disposals, amendments to previously approved FIRB applications and retrospective approvals with strict conditions.Breaches result in civil penalties or criminal prosecution with the 388 penalty notices given to foreign nationals attracting penalties of more than $2 million.Criminal penalties were increased on 1 December 2015 to $135,000 or three years imprisonment for individuals and $675,000 for companies. Additional civil penalties of up to 10% of the market value of the property can apply to foreign owners who purchased their property without FIRB approval after this date.For those who purchased their property before 1 December 2015 without FIRB approval, criminal penalties include an $85,000 fine or two years imprisonment for individuals or $425,000 for corporate entities. Civil penalties of up to 25% of the market value of the property can also apply.This new regime allows for a graduated approach to penalising foreign investors ranging from issuing infringement penalties through to civil and criminal penalties. This lets the ATO match the penalty to the behaviours found.Were trying to ensure, I think with some success, that our foreign investment rules are enforced on every occasion and for those who think they can creep in, and snatch away some property from the hands of Australian home buyers, well, we have got news for you, you will be forced to sell it and to do that forthwith, Morrison said. Sign up for our amNY Sports email newsletter to get insights and game coverage for your favorite teams Public defenders want cops to stop sweeping homeless shelters for people with open arrest warrants, because it is discouraging the indigent from seeking help especially those who are here illegally and fear deportation under President Trumps new executive order instructing cities to crack down on undocumented people according to a member of the Legal Aid Society, the citys largest public-defense group. Anybody who has a concern about an immigration issue doesnt want to see people in a uniform, said Josh Goldfein, a staff attorney for the society who also works with advocacy group Coalition for the Homeless. If they know periodically that the police sweep through shelters looking to arrest people thats going to be extremely discouraging to coming off the streets. Trumps order directs agencies to swiftly deport illegal aliens who have committed or are wanted for committing a crime, as well as people who have misrepresented themselves on government documents or who have abused public-assistance programs. Mayor DeBlasio has said he would not fully honor that request, but he is considering expanding the list of 170 felonies for which the city will work with the Feds to deport perpetrators essentially any violent or sexual crimes, as well as major drug offenses. But Hizzoner actually needs to go easier on those folks if he ever wants to reign in the citys growing homeless population, according to Goldfein, who said Legal Aid Society has been in talks with the administration. We would like them, if anything, to reduce the list of offenses that they can arrest people for, because it creates liability and unwillingness for people to come forward for services, he said. As part of that conversation well also be discouraging law enforcement from coming into shelters where some fear theyll be arrested and deported. The police did not respond to a request for comment. Sign up for our amNY Sports email newsletter to get insights and game coverage for your favorite teams Protesters heckled Rep. Dan Donovan (RBay Ridge) at a private event Downtown, because he supports President Trumps controversial immigration ban. Donovan was appearing at an aptly named Brooklyn Newsmakers breakfast on Monday, along with a buffet of borough congresspeople, to talk about Trumps potential impact on local business, but disrupters harangued him until police forced many to leave. Critics charged that the freshman lawmaker bailed on his Muslim constituents in Bay Ridge, when he defended Trumps executive order blocking immigration from seven Muslim-majority countries last week. Donovan has turned his back on thousands of his constituents, and we feel it was important that we stand and turn our backs on him, said Bay Ridgite Kayla Santosuosso, a member activist group Bay Ridge for Social Justice and a consultant at the Arab American Association of New York. I think that its unacceptable that he supports the ban when Bay Ridge has so many Muslim-Americans with ties to these countries. And we feel its particularly important now more than ever that we hold our elected officials accountable. But the private event was not the time for a political debate especially across an auditorium, said Donovan. Protests have a proper place and time. The Chamber spent a lot of time putting together a panel for their membership to hear from policy makers on taxes, regulations, and health care, said Donovan. The disrupters took away that opportunity and hijacked the Chambers event. We can disagree, but to shout down opinions because theyre different from your own contradicts the basic concept of open discourse and deprives others of an opportunity to hear from every side. Trumps order denies entry to citizens of Iraq, Iran, Syria, Yemen, Sudan, Libya, and Somalia, but a judge issued a restraining order on it last week, so it is not being enforced. The Trump administration is appealing that stay. Donovan, who sits on the Homeland Security Committee, has defended Trumps move, saying it was in the nations best security interest. Activist groups Bay Ridge for Social Justice, Fight Back Bay Ridge, Bay Ridge Democrats, and even some Staten Island groups joined in. It was a moment for locals to ban together and make their voices heard, said one demonstrator. We need him to hear us that there are a lot of us who disagree with him, said Bay Ridgite Kathy Lilleskov. This is a moment for those of us who feel like our voices havent been heard to come together and deliver that message to him. News / Local by Mary Charamba The ruling Zanu PF party has been described as a mafia organization and not a conventional political party.Zanu PF has ruled Zimbabwe since 1980 and briefly shared power with opposition MDC-T from 2008 to 2013.According to MDC-T National spokesperson Obert Gutu, President Robert Mugabe is leading a mafia group."Zanu PF is not a conventional political party. It's not. It's a Mafia organization that abuses State machinery to remain in power" Gutu posted on his offical twitter account.He added "SADC, AU & UN should monitor and administer 2018 elections coz Zanu PF regime can't be trusted to run a free & fair plebiscite".Gutu dismissed the notion that "Zimbabweans are too docile. I don't think so.We just have an unusually high tolerance threshold".Zimbabwe is already on campaign phase ahead of 2018 elections.Zanu PF has already picked aging 92 year old Mugabe as its presidential candidate. Sign up for our amNY Sports email newsletter to get insights and game coverage for your favorite teams This bowl game was on fire! Chili fanatics packed into the Lock Yard in Bay Ridge on Super Bowl Sunday for a chili cook-off. Six amateur chefs filed into the Fifth Avenue gastropub near 92nd Street and prepared vats of five-alarm chili (though some said it was more like two-alarm, two-and-a-half tops) for hungry locals. But in the end the winning cooks secret ingredient wasnt some arcane pepper grown in the jungles primeval but patience, said the winning chef. Rather than a secret ingredient its really a good process to bring the flavors together, said Bay Ridgite Phillip Hornat. You grill all the vegetables a head of time, throw the lean beef in the crock pot with the tomatoes, let that simmer and really let the flavors come together. I let it marinade for eight hours. Hornat, who hails from Wisconsin, has been perfecting his recipe for the last eight years. The recipe fuses six different chillies and simmers for eight hours before the flavor reaches its pique, according to Hornat. But a hearty chili is nothing without succulent meat, and game day wouldnt be the same without it, said Hornat. Good beef is the heart and soul of any chili, said Hornat. Chili is one of those things that just feels right for the Super Bowl. Its cold outside. It warms you up. And that spicy heat keeps you going back for more. I even add a pinch of brown sugar now, after the heat goes down so you get the hint of sweetness. Its just great to keep tweaking it until you get that final product. Six chili cooks duked it out to call themselves the pope of chili town, but in the end barflies voted Hornats chili the winner. Hornat took home a $100 gift certificate to Lock Yard and earned a place of honor on the bars wall, where a plaque with his name will immortalize the victory. But the competition wasnt about the prize for Hornat. I honestly didnt even realize there was a prize, he said. I just love to make and share great chili. Reach reporter Caroline Spivack at cspiv ack@c ngloc al.com or by calling (718) 2602523. Follow her on Twitter @carolinespivack. Sign up for our amNY Sports email newsletter to get insights and game coverage for your favorite teams Undocumented homeless are refusing to enter the citys shelter system because theyre worried President Trump will deport them, according to non-citizens living on the street in Sunset Park. I dont want to go to a shelter its not safe and Im not here legally, said Hector an undocumented homeless man who is originally from Mexico and would not give his last name because of his immigration status speaking through a translator. If I go theyll probably deport me. Id rather live on the streets than be deported. Hector is part of a booming population of undocumented men living by the train tracks on 62nd Street and 10th Avenue where at least six of the two-dozen members are refusing to go into shelters for fear theyll end up on a bus back to Mexico. Hector, who collects and recycles bottles to cash in on their deposits, says he has not committed any crimes. There have long been homeless in the area, but their numbers have ballooned since Trump signed an executive order in late January instructing agencies to remove aliens who have committed a crime, are wanted for a crime, or who have committed acts for which they could be charged, as well as non-legal residents who have misrepresented themselves to a government agency, abused public-benefit programs, or who immigration officials deem a risk to public safety or national security. New Yorks status as a so-called sanctuary city means officials will not blow the whistle on non-violent undocumented immigrants who enter the shelter system, according to a rep with the Department of Homeless Services. But the presidents order is nonetheless sowing fear, an advocate said. I think whats most likely going on is people are extremely nervous in the current climate of calling attention to themselves, said Josh Goldfein, who also works with advocacy group Coalition for the Homeless. And this creates problems in terms of public health and safety. No one would should feel hesitant to come forward for services. They wont be deported. No one should be out on the streets its not safe. Trumps order does, however, promise to punish sanctuary cities by withholding federal funding a move that could cost New York City as much as $7 billion, according to a recent report from Comptroller Scott Stringer. News / Local by Alice Dube The bail hearing of incarcerated Pastor Evan Mawarire, the #ThisFlag front-man failed to be heard at the High Court in Harare today.Instead the clergyman is now expected to appear in court on Wednesday as the State was still to file its papers.Mawarire was arrested at the Harare International Airport last week sparking condemnation locally and from as far as France.Mawarire was charged by the Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) with "subverting a constitutional government" .Mawarire was at the forefront of a string of protests last year.In April of that year, Mawarire posted a video on Facebook attacking state corruption and the government's failure to provide basic services.He wore a Zimbabwean flag in the video, which led to the naming of the campaign "ThisFlag." 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... For the second hour, 24: Legacy lives up to its predecessors track record of the hero doing incredibly stupid and risky things. This time that involves breaking into a police station to steal $2 million. 24: Legacy Premiere: Carters Day Begins>>> We also meet a few of the remaining major characters, including a CTU field agent, Senator John Donovans rich father and the terrorist mastermind behind everything happening today. Carter Gets Arrested Ben wants $2 million for the flash drive within the hour, which isnt easy. Carter calls his brother and learns the cops recently raided a drug dealer and took $4 million in cash, so Carters brilliant idea is to break into the evidence room at the police station and steal it. I guess robbing a bank would be too silly. Carter immediately gets himself arrested, which is depressingly simple for a young black man. Naturally theres one older, racist cop and one younger, more idealistic and understanding cop. Carter attacks them, attaches bombs to their chests and forces them to take him into the station. The plan works, thanks to Rebecca and Andy giving an assist by looping the security tape in the precinct. It all blows up in Carters face when Andy and Rebecca are stopped by Keith at CTU, ending the looped security feed and exposing him to the rest of the cops in the precinct. Maybe that wouldnt have happened if it didnt take Carter 11 whole minutes to find the money in that tiny evidence room. Seriously, check the ticking clock, he started his search at 1:44pm and didnt find the money until 1:55pm. Rebecca and Andy Get Caught At CTU, Rebecca tells Keith about the leak and the attacks. She explains that shes keeping him tied up until she can clear him and he seems surprisingly understanding about it. Rebecca and Andy spend the episode helping Carter get the money while also tracing the leak. However, field agent Tom Locke arrives at CTU and Mariana, the analyst who is Edgar Stiles cousin, tells him that she hasnt seen Keith for a while. Tom, who has some personal problems with Andy, gets suspicious and finds Keith, freeing him. They bust in on Rebecca and Andy, stopping their mission to help Carter and arresting them. Is Senator Donovans Campaign Manager a Terrorist? Rebeccas husband, Senator John Donovan, arrives at his fundraiser being thrown by his father Henry, played by Gerald McRaney. Johns opponent is about to air an attack ad claiming that his campaign manager, Nilaa Mizrani, is a radical Islamic terrorist. Henry and Johns uncle Luis both think he needs to immediately fire Nilaa and get ahead of this, but John is loyal and believes that shes innocent. Maybe he shouldnt be so sure because Andy discovers that the Army Ranger leak came from Nilaas computer at Johns campaign headquarters. Nicole, You in Danger Girl Isaac has a drug deal he cant miss, so he leaves Nicole with his girlfriend Aisha and one of his lieutenants, Jerome. Before leaving, Isaac makes the mistake of telling Nicole that hes going to break up with Aisha after he gets back from this deal she set up. Naturally, Aisha overhears the whole thing. Aisha seduces Jerome and convinces him that they should cut Isaac out by having him killed at the deal. On the bright side, Nicole definitely thinks Aisha is being super sketchy. Meet the Head Terrorist In this episode were introduced to the big bad, Jadalla bin Khalid. Hes the Oxford-educated son of the terrorist mastermind who was killed by Carters team. Now hes looking to avenge his fathers death by following in his footsteps and finishing his daddys sleeper cell mission. High School Drama At the terrorist high school, Amira and Mr. Harris have successfully thrown Drew off their trail so Mr. Harris can go back to making the explosive. He grows a tad uncomfortable with everything so Amira offers him a little afternoon delight to ease his mind. In a moment of terrible timing, Drew walks in on Amira and Mr. Harris in flagrante delicto, so Mr. Harris tackles him to the ground and bashes his head against the floor. Thats a nasty, bloody mess the terrorists have to clean up. 24: Legacy airs Mondays at 8/7c on FOX. (Image courtesy of FOX) News / National by Staff reporter President Donald Trump's administration has raised alarm over the deterioration of Zimbabwe's human rights situation, following the jailing of two prominent clerics critical of Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe's leadership, News24.com.Trump has not minced his words on some of the world's dictators, telling them to reform or leave office.The US embassy in Harare issued a statement condemning the arrest of evangelical pastors Evan Mawarire and Phillip Patrick Mugadza, saying that freedom of expression was now under attack in Zimbabwe.Mawarire was arrested last week at the Harare International Airport on his surprise return to the southern African country after spending six months in self-imposed exile, mostly in the United States. He was subsequently charged with attempting to subvert Mugabe's constitutionally elected government.On the other hand, Mugadza continues to be incarcerated following his prophecy that Mugabe would die on October 17 this year.Spokesperson of the US embassy in Harare, David Mcguire, described the arrest of Mawarire and Mugadza as "unwarranted"."The US government unequivocally believes in the basic right of freedom of speech and calls on the government of Zimbabwe to respect the human rights of all Zimbabweans which are enshrined in the constitution. We believe that the basic right of Zimbabweans to freedom of speech - be it in public, through print media or social media - should be protected within and outside Zimbabwe's borders," said Mcguire.For his part, Mugabe recently lambasted some citizens and top officials of his ruling Zanu-PF party for "abusing social media to further their selfish interests".The government is now planning to introduce a bill that would criminalise the abuse of the internet.Information Minister Christopher Mushohwe was not immediately available for comment. latest news October 31, 2022 Buddy TV In November, there are hundreds of new and returning TV showsit can be overwhelming to try and choose what to watch. That's why we've selected some of the best options... In this episode of Shadowhunters, titled Iron Sisters, Clary and Izzy travel together to meet the Iron Sisters, a group of women that the Shadowhunters count on to make their weapons. Elsewhere, Simon looks for Luke, with the help of a new friend, and Magnus and Alec go on their first date. Shadowhunters Recap: Can Clary Bring Her Mother Back from the Dead? >>> Meeting the Iron Sisters After Clary and Jace do a little research to figure out just what rune she used to save herself from a demon in the previous episode and turn up nothing, Izzy shows up and pulls Clary away to ask how she is and to talk about her trip to ask the Iron Sisters about the Soul Sword, a Mortal Instrument now in Valentines possession. She explains that shes been cleared for the mission, and Clary wants to go with her. She says Luke is still missing and she doesnt want to sit around moping for her mom, so what better way to take her mind off things? Izzy explains to her just who the Iron Sisters are badass warriors, in her words, who create weapons imbued with energy from the angels for the Shadowhunters and her admiration is apparent. Shes clearly very excited about the trip. Before they leave, Izzy goes back to Aldertree for more yin fen. Even though she says shes using it wisely, her hands shake and its clear that shes becoming addicted to it. She asks Aldertree about Clary going, and he agrees, on the condition that Izzy reports what Clary says and does back to him. Its implied that he wont give her the yin fen or let her go if she doesnt agree, so she does. Izzy and Clary travel to the island where the Iron Sisters live and are almost immediately set upon by them. At first, they want the girls to leave immediately when they find out who Clary is, but Clary makes her case that she too hates Valentine and explains that they need the Sisters help. The Sisters agree to let the Shadowhunters into the Citadel, but only after theyve gone through a purification ritual to be sure that they dont have any traces of demon in them. Its also revealed that one of the sisters, Cleophas, is Lukes sister. Simon Makes a Friend Elsewhere, Simon has agreed to look for Luke while Clary is gone, but hes not off to a good start when one of Lukes pack members basically tells him they feel abandoned by Luke, and the pack is no longer looking for him. He also heavily implies that Simon is no longer welcome to stay in the nearby boathouse since Luke is no longer around. Since he went to Raphael earlier in the episode to seek help regarding his mother seeing him feeding on a rat in the previous episode, and the other vampire had her memory of the situation (and, really, anything since mother and son reunited) wiped, Simon is left with nowhere to go. When hes cleaning out his canoe bed, Maia, the werewolf from Lukes pack who had previously tried to kill Jace, approaches him. She had overheard some of his talk with the other pack member and explains that she hasnt stopped looking for Luke, even if others in the pack have. She explains that their transformations can be triggered by emotions, so he might have been worried that his grief would cause him to hurt someone, which is why he would disappear without a trace. She agrees to go with Simon to an old campground Luke used to take him and Clary to as kids, and they depart together. During the drive there, Simon talks about both Clary and Jace, and Maia reveals how she has met Jace before. They commiserate over the fact that Shadowhunters just dont get what they go through as Downworlders and just generally bond with each other over shared humiliating experiences theyve each had in relation to their Downworlder statuses. Its all very cute and kinda flirty, and I am definitely Team Simon/Maia. Finding Luke They bond a little bit more over a shared love of gaming after they get to the campgrounds, before Maia shares a little about what Luke means to her, since she knows of his importance to Simon. Theres a quick flashback showing that Luke was there for her when she Changed and attacked someone, and its implied that hes been one of the few people to care for her since. After sharing this with Simon, they both smell blood nearby in the woods and soon find a deer that was clearly attacked by a wolf or werewolf. Elsewhere, Luke is wandering in the woods, sad and in pain, as he has been since the previous Shadowhunters episode. He comes upon a tent with campers at a fire outside it and is able to control himself until they go into the tent. Just when it seems hes about to attack them, Simon and Maia find him, and Simon talks him down by reminding him of memories the two share. After it seems that Luke has himself under control, he talks with Maia and Simon about how his grief over Jocelyn has affected him. Simon tells him they need him, and Clary needs him, but hes still scared he wont be able to control himself and might hurt someone. Maia tells him that he needs to fight since those who care about him will fight with him, which is exactly what he told her when she first Turned. This seems to get through to him, and he agrees to go back with them. Malec is Back Over in Magnus neck of the woods, hes checking his inventory of magical items in his apartment when Alec appears. Apparently, he had called the Shadowhunter, claiming an emergency, but it was just a ruse to get him to come over and to get his attention. Alec goes to leave when he finds Magnus okay, but the warlock says he isnt okay because Alec isnt okay. He advises the young Shadowhunter to take some time for himself, and Alec, surprisingly, agrees. They go to a bar together, basically on their first day, and Magnus proves himself a great pool hustler, while Alec proves himself to be not a great fan of alcohol. They start talking about relationships, and its revealed that Alec hasnt had any aside from Lydia, and that barely counted anyway. Alec shares that he hasnt had relationships because he knew he couldnt have what he wanted, not in the Institute anyway, until Magnus came along and changed things. When Magnus makes a comment about Alec being innocent, Alec asks him just how many partners hes had. At first, Magnus says 17, but hes rounding down a lot. Alec eventually gets out of him that he means 17,000. I mean, the guy is a centuries-old warlock, but wow. Thats certainly mom than Alec. At first, they both agree to just be who they are and not care about their pasts, but when they get back to Magnus, its clear something is still bothering Alec. Theyre too different, he says, from two different worlds different centuries, even. But just when Alec is about to leave, he says he doesnt care how many people Magnus has been with, and Magnus replies that he doesnt care how many people Alec hasnt been with. Then they kiss but are quickly interrupted by Jace who has left the Institute and needs a place to stay. Quiz: Which TV Sidekick Are You? >>> Jaces Demotion And why has Jace left the Institute? Well, after being questioned by Aldertree about why he and Clary were looking over the Gray Book, which is about runes, Aldertree doesnt believe Jaces story that he was merely educating Clary about the history of runes. He is far too suspicious of Valentines son to believe he is totally innocent. So he places the Shadowhunter on what he calls ichor duty, which, as it turns out, means clean all the swords after the other Shadowhunters use them. Jace is humiliated by his new task and goes to Aldertree after he hasnt performed it for very long at all. He asks why the other Shadowhunter is treating him so badly, and Aldertree plays back some of Jaces words from when he was questioned by the Silent Brothers, reminding him that he couldnt pledge full loyalty to the Clave. Aldertree implies that if Jace sticks around, hell let the others know that Jace couldnt give his full allegiance. Jace figures out that Aldertree cant force him to leave but rather can just make his life miserable enough so that hell want to. So Jace, unwilling to be demoted and treated badly, chooses instead to leave, which is how he ends up at Magnus. Revelations Back with the Iron Sisters, Clary and Izzy agree to go through a purification ritual before entering the Citadel, which involves going into a pool of water that will reveal whether they have traces of demon in them. At first, Izzy is reluctant to let Clary go in, and Clary realizes its because Izzy fears she may have demon blood like Jace. Clary, determined to prove herself, goes into the pool and is purified without incident. However, when Izzy gets in, the water turns black and reacts negatively, and Clary has to pull her out. The Sisters wont let Izzy enter the Citadel, but she tells Clary to go ahead without her. After the other Shadowhunter leaves, one of the Iron Sisters reveals to Izzy that the yin fen contains vampire venom, hence the waters reaction. Inside the Citadel, Lukes sister, Cleophas, reveals that the Soul Sword doesnt just compel someone to tell the truth. It also has a secondary power; it can be activated with angelic energy to be used to release a light that will destroy all demon blooded creatures, should a time come that a Shadowhunter feels it necessary if demons have taken over the world. That would include any and all Downworlders. If Valentine activates this power in the sword, Cleophas says, it cant be turned off. So they have to stop him before he can do it. As theyre talking, Clary tells Cleophas about the strange incident with the rune vision she had, and she shows her what it is and what it did, questioning if she was given a vision of it from her mother as an angel. Cleophas tells her that her mother isnt an angel, not in the sense that the Shadowhunters believe in and do the work of angels, and that no one really knows what happens to Shadowhunters after death, the same as mundanes. Nearby, Izzy has used a rune to be able to hear this whole conversation. But later, when she goes to Aldertree with her report, she doesnt tell him everything in regards to Clary, like he asks. Challenges After leaving the Citadel and the island, Clary goes to Jade Wolf, where she finds Simon and Maia chatting in a booth but doesnt approach them. Luke enters and they reunite, with him apologizing for not being there for her following her mothers death. Simon watches from the booth, and Maia, who had been clearly having fun with Simon, sees the way he looks at Clary and seems disappointed. Back at the Institute, Aldertree asks Izzy about Clarys behavior on the mission, and she imparts that she definitely doesnt have demon blood. She gets angry at him because she couldve died during the purification thanks to the yin fen he gave her. But when he asks if she doesnt want any more, she hesitates. The guy is clearly getting her hooked in order to use her, and Izzy should be smart enough to know that. However, she doesnt tell him about the rune that Clary explained, an important omission. Shes not totally under his thumb just yet. Finally, back outside the Citadel, another Iron Sister is trying to keep Cleophas from leaving. But Cleophas kills her. Just afterwards, something glows on her neck before she goes to leave again. Whats that thing on Cleophas neck? Is she also a werewolf? Is Maia into Simon? And just how long will Izzys dependence to the yin fen continue? Let us know what you think in the comments section below. Shadowhunters season 2 airs Mondays at 8/7c on Freeform. Want more news? Like BuddyTVs Facebook page. (Image courtesy of Freeform) In this episode of Timeless, titled The Lost Generation, the crew travels back to 1927 Paris to stop Flynns latest scheme: kidnapping Charles Lindbergh. However, without Wyatt having their backs, Rufus and Lucy are forced to join forces with another military man as well as a few famous faces. Agent Christopher, meanwhile, must deal with a major change at Mason Industries while trying to convince a disillusioned Wyatt to stay focused on preserving history. Can our favorite time traveling team complete their mission and guard the past from manipulation? Read on to find out. The Mission The episode begins with Lucy speaking with her father, Ben, an influential member of Rittenhouse. He tries to relate to Lucys shock at having learned that shes a part of Rittenhouse, comparing it to his own disbelief and confusion when his own father told him about their legacy. But Lucy wont have it, and she storms out of his home. Christopher speaks with Wyatt, whos being held in a secure location. She informs him that shes angry, but shes called a good defense lawyer to help him out of his situation. He declares that he doesnt want a lawyer and, whats more, that he doesnt deserve one. Timeless - The Lost Generation Watch this video on YouTube After briefly speaking with her mother about her father, Lucy meets Rufus and Christopher for a new mission. Flynns traveled back to 1927, and Lucy immediately connects the date to the landing of Charles Lindberghs flight in Paris the first transatlantic flight in history. But without Wyatt, Lucy refuses to go. She reasons that Flynn wants to destroy Rittenhouse, and they might as well let him. Rufus, however, realizes that if they dont try to stop Flynn, people may die. He convinces Lucy to go, and Christopher adds David Baumgartner to their team in Wyatts place. Baumgartner has been on call since the teams mission to the Alamo, and hes ready to go. He tells Lucy that shes in charge, and the three head into the Lifeboat. Changing Times Flynn stands and chats with Emma as his henchman sets up a tripod in a field. She wonders about the diary Flynn is always reading, but he doesnt offer any explanation. Then Flynn approaches the tripod and, finding Lindberghs airplane in the sky, shoots, hitting the tail and sending the plane to the ground in an emergency landing. Lindbergh survives the fiery landing, which Flynn anticipated due to the planes slow speed and low height, but injures his shoulder. Flynn approaches him, and the trio takes him away from the scene. Lucy, Rufus and David arrive in 1927 Paris and make their way toward the area where Lindbergh is supposed to land. She explains that Lindbergh will go on to associate himself with the Nazi party and even receive a metal from Hitler himself. Soon, the group comes across Lindberghs plane in flames, and David notices the tire marks on the ground and the shot tail that indicate Flynns involvement in the accident. He determines that Lindberghs been kidnapped. David also finds something on the ground, which a nearby reporter, famous writer Ernest Hemingway, determines to be a specific type of tobacco that can be found at only one place nearby. He promises to take the group there if he can get the scoop on the story. They agree and arrive at a bar with Hemingway, who soon introduces them to Josephine Baker, the well-known entertainer and future undercover spy. Hemingway and Baker then go off to ask patrons if theyve seen Flynn and his gang, showing them photos that Lucy, Rufus and David had brought with them. At Mason Industries, Christophers surprised to find that a group of suited men have taken over their entire operation. She speaks to the man in charge, Jake Neville (played by guest star Jim Beaver), who instructs her that the projects been taken over by the NSA. He orders her to leave her badge to the facility on the table and tells her that Homeland Security will reassign her. Following the Enemy Christopher visits Wyatt again and informs him about whats been going on at Mason Industries. He wonders how Neville could have received clearance not only for himself but also for a dozen other men in such a short amount of time, since Neville had explained that Wyatts joyride was the reason for their arrival. Wyatt concludes that it must have taken time to get that clearance and that this plan has been in the works for weeks. He decides that a takeover this organized must be a coup. At the bar, David spots Emma grabbing a bottle of absinthe from the bartender. The gang follows her outside, but theyre soon shot at. David shoots back, but to Lucys surprise, he has a gun from the 1920s not a modern weapon! He explains that he was following orders, and while shooting back at their enemies, his gun malfunctions. Hes shot in the chest, and despite their rush to his aid, Rufus and Lucy find that hes dead. Hemingway Joins the Team Lucy and Rufus speak with Baker about their friends death, and she determines that they cant go to the police. The cops will only suspect them the two Americans. Lucy worries that they cant go on without a soldier with them, which prompts a drunk Hemingway to offer his services. While Lucy initially declines, noting his intoxication, Hemingway insists. At the direction of one of Bakers friends, Lucy, Rufus and Hemingway head off to find Flynn. Once they arrive, Hemingway insists that someone accompany him outside to be sick, and Rufus reluctantly agrees to go along. However, once they return, they discover Lucy to be missing. Flynns henchman brings Lucy to his boss. Lucy and Flynn fight, arguing about why Flynn never told Lucy who her father was and about the fate of Lindbergh. Flynn claims that he wants him dead but, at the insistence of Lucy, will spare him if Lucy can convince Lindbergh to change his future and not become the horrible man they know him to be. She accepts his challenge and heads into the room where Flynns holding Lindbergh. Speaking with Lindbergh Lucy tells Lindbergh that she knows about Rittenhouse. He attempts to feign ignorance, but Lucy stops him, sharing that shes a part of the organization too. She bonds with him over their fathers claims that theyre Rittenhouse legacies even though neither wants to be a member. She encourages him to decide his own future and not listen to his fathers instructions. They drink absinthe together, and she asks him what he wants. He admits to wanting to get married and buy a small farm where he can raise a family. She informs him that everyone thinks that he died in a plane crash, and he can start a new life without anyone coming for him. He disagrees, saying that he was supposed to make a phone call once he landed to someone from Rittenhouse, who he suspects is now searching for him. Flynn, who had been using Lucy to gather information from Lindbergh, recognizes the man as the founder of Charvet Automobiles and heads off to have a chat with him. After a heated discussion about being a man, Rufus and Hemingway explore the catacombs beneath the nearby buildings. Rufus calls out for Lucy, signaling his whereabouts to Flynns henchman, who finds him and pulls a gun. But its all part of the plan, and Hemingway attacks the man, knocking him down. The pair soon finds Lucy, but Emma stands in their way. Rufus aims a gun at her, but Emma moves aside, allowing them to pass. In the present, Christopher meets with Wyatt again and tells him all about Lucys biological father. After an intense conversation regarding his wifes imminent death, he decides he wants to get out. But as guards approach, Christopher states that she doesnt know how he can and, as she gathers her papers, she leaves behind a paper clip, which Wyatt grabs. Later, Wyatt uses the paper clip to unlock his cuffs, and then he MacGyvers a way to shut off the power. When a guard comes into the room, Wyatt grabs him from behind, causing him to fall unconscious, and he grabs the mans gun and runs. Back to the Future Lucy and Rufus return to the present and find a dozen men in suits to be running Mason Industries. At first, they worry that they somehow changed the future, but they soon understand that Christopher was replaced. After answering questions about their mission, they leave. At home, Lucy studies the history books and learns that Lindbergh never changed his future. Her mom then approaches and explains that she understands that Lucy must be stressed after learning about her father. She hands her a box and encourages her to write something their family always does when theyre going through tough times. Lucy opens the gift and finds a blank journal with her initials on it, the same journal Flynn uses to navigate through history. Later, Lucy meets up with Rufus, Wyatt and Christopher. Christopher informs them that Rittenhouse is now in charge of their missions at Mason Industries, but they have to keep working. Wyatt tells them that hell protect them, and the group decides that theyre going to fight Rittenhouse. What did you think of The Lost Generation? Did you enjoy seeing Hemingway and Baker join the Timeless crew? Let us know what you think in the comments section below. Timeless season 1 airs Mondays at 10/9c on NBC. (Image courtesy of NBC) Iranian student returns to UB campus UB has announced that the student who had been delayed in Iran under the Jan. 27 immigration executive order has returned to Buffalo and will resume his studies this week. His return yesterday was made possible when a federal judge in Seattle last week temporarily blocked the week-old immigration order from being enforced nationwide. A masters degree student in the School of Architecture and Planning, he is finishing up his final semester at UB before graduation in May. He is one of 107 Iranian students enrolled at the university under the student visa program. As UB begins its second week of classes this semester, university officials have been in touch with all 112 students affected by the executive order restricting travel from seven predominantly Muslim countries. All of the students have begun classes. In addition, all 20 faculty, staff and visiting scholars affected by the immigration order are accounted for and have resumed their duties at the university. The university is hopeful that a postdoctoral researcher from Iran who is awaiting a visa will soon be granted one and will join the university community. As a federal court considers reinstating the restrictions that block travel from the seven countries cited in the Jan. 27 executive order, UB will continue to update the university community on the situation through the Immigration Update website. We are very pleased that our student was able to return from Iran in time to begin his final semester at UB and stay on track to finish his degree, said Stephen Dunnett, vice provost for international education. Making this happen was a team effort, and we are grateful to our colleagues in the School of Architecture and Planning, International Student and Scholar Services, and the Law School for their perseverance in assisting our student to return to UB, despite multiple impediments. It is gratifying to know that we now have all of the students we expected to enroll from the seven affected countries. They should know that the university welcomes them and is committed to support their success at UB. Campus News Innovative printmaker at UB for CAI residency By BERT GAMBINI Acclaimed printmaker Stella Ebner, whose work has been exhibited and collected in museums across the country, will make presentations on Feb. 18 and March 3 as part of her residency in UBs Creative Arts Initiative (CAI). Ebner will open her spring 2017 residency with a workshop from noon to 2 p.m. on Feb. 18 at the Western New York Book Arts Center, 468 Washington St., Buffalo. Titled Pressure Printing for ALL! Ebner will demonstrate a new print technique that uses low-relief collage and stencils on the press. She will explore pattern, color and texture using this deceptively simple and improvisational method for creating striking prints. Registration is required by calling 716-348-1430. Participants pay a $10 fee to cover the cost of materials for this workshop. Ebner also will hold a Japanese woodblock printing demonstration from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. March 3 in B37 and B38 in the Center for the Arts, North Campus. Guests can have lunch with the artist from 1-2 p.m., followed by a talk and exhibition of Ebners prints from 2-3 p.m. All of these events are free and open to the public, but registration is requested at 716-645-6073 or cai-ub@buffalo.edu. In her work, Ebner draws from contemporary American vernacular to create images that transform everyday happenstance into iconic images. In addition to her scheduled events, she will use her CAI residency to create a series of screen prints inspired by Western New York imagery and the themes and aesthetic of prolific printmaker Currier and Ives. Like Currier and Ives, Ebner seeks to discover and create that which defines American imagery, spaces, events and moments that may be overlooked, but in the end become places of self-recognition. Her goal is to create a series of prints around the complexity of Americas social fabric and provide a glimpse into contemporary lifestyles. Ebner is dedicated to the art and history of printmaking and demonstrating that the unique voice of the art form holds deep value and promise in contemporary art and society. With a focus on craft, she pushes todays rigid and process-driven methods of printmaking into the realm of art to create work that transcends the possibilities of the medium. She received a BFA from the University of Minnesota in 1998 and an MFA from the Rhode Island School of Design in 2006. She has exhibited her work at venues across the country, including the Bronx Museum of the Arts, the International Print Center New York, The Print Center - Philadelphia, Kala Art Institute and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. She has held residencies at the Lower East Side Printshop, Elizabeth Foundation for the Arts Studio Program and the Kala Art Institute. The CAI is a university-wide initiative dedicated to the creation and production of new work upholding the highest artistic standards of excellence and fostering a complementary atmosphere of creative investigation and engagement among students, faculty, visiting artists and the community. Through its artist-in-residence program and its innovative, interdisciplinary offerings for students, CAI is raising the profile of UB and Buffalo in the world of artistic expression and revitalizing the initiatives proud tradition as a leader in contemporary art. Daylight saving time ends soon, but will it soon be the new normal? News / Press Release by Jacob Mafume PDP Spokesperson The PDP condemns the continued incarceration of Pastors Mugadza and Evan Mawarire; we view their arrests as acts of persecution.Pastor Mugadza has been languishing in prison for a while for merely expressing a prophecy in a country where religious freedom is provided by the supreme law of the land.Mawarire on the other hand has been charged with trying to subvert a constitutional government yet another laughable accusation considering the facts that the state are mistaking for evidence.The recent arrest of the men of cloth and many other activists including Pride Mukono, Linda Masarira, Promise Mkwananzi, Fadzai Mahere and Patson Dzamara are a direct attack on free speech by a paranoid regime conscious of its omissions, commissions and is therefore afraid of its own shadows.We want to applaud the US Embassy in Zimbabwe for condemning the totalitarian, draconian and fascist acts of the ZANUPF government. We also commend all the progressive civic society organizations and individuals who have raised their voices seeking the release of the two.We however note with concern the deafening silence of most foreign government with foreign missions in Harare, we urge them to also add their voices in pressurizing the regime to ensure just prevails.We reiterate our call Zimbabweans to come together and demand a National Transitional Authority which is the only way to stop the current madness of unrelenting human rights violations.In the short term we expect the Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission to investigate the violations that the state is perpetrating on citizens especially on constitutional rights.We also expect the government to establish the an Independent Complains Mechanism of against the security forces as provided for in Section 210 of the constitution ,recently many activists have been abducted and at one point more than 400 social movement activists were in illegal detention with some assaulted during the arrests. Opinion / Columnist It is likely that the negotiations on the coalition of opposition parties in Zimbabwe to corporately face Zanu PF in 2018 national elections, will go beyond the elections date as the battles of egos and tribalism continue.The MDC-T leader, Morgan Tsvangirai wants a coalition where he will be the leader, a declaration that ZimPF used to contest before the Bikita West disaster of course. Now that ZimPF has proved itself in the recent Bikita West by-election that it does not have any support base of significance, the puzzle on who will the boss was naturally solved. ZimPF will join the coalition as the underdog, meaning its leader, Joice Mujuru will settle for the vice presidency. As is now the political tradition in Zimbabwe that every political party has a Ndebele representative in the presidium, obviously that coalition will also have a second vice president from that region.There is Thokozani Khupe, the MDC-T vice president who hails from that region. She has a chance of retaining her post in the coalition. However, it seems Tsvangirai and Welshman Ncube, the leader of the MDC, have buried the hatchet for the sake of the coalition. Thus, Ncube will come in also as principal of his own party. There has to be an incentive for Ncube to join the coalition and that can be nothing other than the vice presidency. But the coalition cannot have three vice presidents, meaning somebody will have to step down. In this case, the likely casualty is the honourable madam. This is so for two major reasons. Firstly, one party cannot have two members in the presidium. MDC-T will have Tsvangirai. Secondly, the gender element will have been catered for through Mujuru. Zimbabwe, as patriarchal as it is, cannot have two women in the presidium.Madam Khupe's thoughts have already raced ahead to these permutations. These are the possibilities that have caused Khupe to run scared of the coalition. She is emotionally against the coalition of the MDC-T with any other opposition party of significance. However, she is aware that even her leader is now supportive of the coalition and she cannot swim against the tide. Thus, she has decided to proffer a template of a coalition that she wants.This week, Khupe said the coalition is only needed in Mashonaland provinces where the MDC-T has not been performing well. She said: "As a political party, you want a coalition because you will have realised a gap in your party and as the MDC-T, where is our gap? It is clear that our gap is in Mashonaland East, West and Central where we have consistently not done well." It's quite interesting to have a coalition that will only apply in certain parts of the country. A coalition formed on regional basis will be one of its own kind. Madam Khupe has exposed her fear of the coalition, fear of Ncube in particular. She knows for sure that she will kiss good-bye to her post of senior vice president' once Ncube joins the coalition.It never rains but pours for poor Khupe. Tsvangirai recently crowded her office by appointing Elias Mudzuri and Nelson Chamisa as additional vice presidents, an appointment that clearly shows she was not managing the duties of a vice president on her own. Tsvangirai fell short of expelling her but as a modestly educated lady; she can read clearly Tsvangirai's intention. She only survived through a tribal ticket and she wants to use same to survive in the coalition.However, madam Khupe forgets quickly. The year 2013 is not very far for her to forget that her party dismally performed in Matebeleland South and North provinces. So it's not only in Mashonaland provinces that the MDC-T has "consistently not done well," to borrow her words. She only wants to use Matabeleland votes, perceived though, for power negotiations.The only sensible thing she said which deserves an accolade is her confession that her party has not been doing well in Mashonaland East, West and Central. She was not far from the truth. Her statement exonerates Zanu PF which her party has been accusing of rigging elections every time it was given a hiding. She has admitted that her party has not been doing well and that is the utmost truth. Pakistan's censor board has not cleared Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan-Mahira Khan starrer "Raees" for release in the country after finding the film's content and theme objectionable. "The portrayal of Muslims is negative and the film's content undermines Islam, and a specific religious sect, (while also) portraying Muslims as criminals, wanted persons and terrorists," an official source in the Censor Board said. The distributors of "Raees", Hum Films had last week submitted the film to the censor board for clearance to release in the Pakistani cinema halls after the government allowed screening of latest Bollywood movies last week. An official with Hum Films declined to comment and said so far they had not got any official word from the censor board about banning "Raees." The lifting of the unofficial ban followed the release of a flow of latest Bollywood movies including "Kaabil" and "Ae Dil Hai Muskhil." "'Raees' will not release in Pakistan according to a decision taken by the censor board today," the source told PTI. "It shows Muslims in very negative light and could lead to reactions from different sects and it is unsuitable for public screening." Another source said that Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) chairman Mobashir Hasan had backed the censor board members in their decision. Cinegoers were eagerly awaiting the release of "Raees" which has done great business in India and worldwide particularly as it marks the Bollywood debut of Pakistan's top actress, Mahira Khan. Exhibitors are now hoping that the Censor Board will allow the release of Aamir Khan's "Dangal" which has become the highest grossing film in India. "We are hoping to get clearance from the Censor Board once we submit prints of the film to them," an official with Geo Films which has rights to release the film in Pakistan said. Nadeem Mandviwalla said the irony was that while "Raees" had been banned for public screening its prints were easily available in different qualities in the DVD market. In yet another trouble for app-based cab-aggregators like Uber and its home-grown rival Ola, the Delhi government is reported to be planning to follow in the footsteps of Karnataka in banning the car-sharing services of these . The latest issue, allegedly over violation of a key permit, is expected to add to the troubles of like Uber and Ola, which have been making headlines for a while now -- not always for the right reasons. Founders of Infosys have flagged concerns over transparency and corporate governance at second-largest software exporter in the country. They have questioned the compensation package of Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Vishal Sikka and the severance package to its former chief compliance officer David Kennedy. Alok Mittal, Rohini Chakravarthy, Ashish Mohapatra, Anshoo Sharma, Raul Rai, Subramanya S V, Manoj Gupta and Abhishek Goyal all once venture capitalists (VCs) not so long ago have taken the plunge to become entrepreneurs. While the challenge of setting up a venture has spurred some of them, others have used their skills acquired as venture capitalists to kick-start their entities. Indian e-commerce firm expects to turn profitable in the next two years, its CEO said, as the company cuts costs and boosts efficiency in a market currently dominated by homegrown Flipkart and US internet giant Amazon. Would we knock down the pyramids or flatten the Acropolis to make way for housing estates, roads or farms? You would hope not. Such an indictment would deprive future generations of the joy and marvel we all experience when visiting or learning about such historic places. One of the key suspects in the Kanpur train derailment in November has been arrested from Tribhuvan International Airport here after being deported from Dubai. A special team of Nepal Police arrested along with three others. Hoda has been detained from the Tribhuvan International Airport yesterday, said Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) Pashupati Upadhyaya. "We have heard that Hoda is wanted in a railway accident that took place in Kanpur last year killing 150 people," Upadhyaya said. "Nepal Police will also work in close coordination with the Indian Police for Hoda's alleged involvement in criminal activities in India," he said. The three others arrested are identified as Brij Kishor Giri, Ashish Singh and Umesh Kumar Kurmi, all from Kalaiya district in southern Nepal. The police have brought Hoda and three other accused criminals to Nepal from Dubai in coordination with the Interpol, Upadhyaya told PTI. Hoda is the mastermind of a twin murder in Bara district of Nepal, the police said. Hoda has links with international criminal groups and he has been involved in a number of criminal activities in Nepal and India, Upadhyaya said. A case has already been registered against him in Bara District Court, he added. The role of ISI is being suspected in the incident after Bihar police in January arrested three persons claiming that they were working for the Pakistani intelligence agency to target Indian railways. According to Bihar police, the three were paid Rs three lakh by a Nepali man who had connections with Hoda. In a bid to ease transportation and reduce logistics cost of companies by about half, the Central government is firming up a proposal to set up warehousing zones, along with a private partner, on the outskirts of major cities. The Supreme Court on Monday ordered the attachment of properties in Aamby Valley (near Pune), estimated to be worth Rs 39,000 crore, to secure sums due to the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi). A Bench of Justice Dipak Misra, Ranjan Gogoi and A K Sikri ordered the group to give a list of properties without any encumbrance that could be auctioned to recover the principal sum due to Sebi Rs 14,000 crore. Sebi says total dues, with interest, exceed Rs 47,000 crore. Of this, the group has remitted Rs 11,477 crore, Sebi counsel Pratap Venugopal informed the court. The Bench also extended the interim parole of group chief Subrata Roy till February 27, the date of the next hearing, after Rs 600 crore was remitted in a combination of bank drafts and online transfers into the Sebi-Sahara account on Monday. Last month, the court had refused to extend the time given for this deposit and allowed a transfer of 35 million (about Rs 295 crore), raised out of the groups foreign assets. The whole amount went into Mondays deposit. Opinion / Columnist Garikai Mafirakureva is a Zimbabwean Journalist and an independent analyst. He writes in his own capacity. Feedback on garrymafirakureva09@gmail.com If the opposition thinks Zanu PF is going to lie down and play dead, then it will be up to a big surprise. In fact, the opposite is true. They (opposition) are already falling in Zanu PF's contrivance blindly.If we look back at 2016, a number of by-elections were held in Chimanimani West, Guruve and Norton, but MDC-T and Zim-PF didn't take part in all of them, and there was little violence, if any, compared to what was witnessed in Bikita West recently.However, Bikita West probably is the last by-election before the 2018 general election and we wonder if the opposition, especially MDC-T has drawn any lessons from it.For starters how did Zim-PF end up with a candidate in Bikita West, when initially they boycotted the preceding elections in 2016 citing lack of election reforms? Zim-PF spokesperson, Jealousy Mawarire, was on record saying his party subscribes to National Electoral Reform Agenda (Nera), priciples and as a signitory would not take part in any election until there are election reforms.He surprised many observers when he professed ignorance that, Zim-PF has a candidate in Bikita West, but surprisingly Kudakwashe Gopo was already campaigning on a Zim-PF ticket. So, who is fooling who here? Does MDC-T still have trust in such a party that has displayed that it is hypocritically ingenuous?Zim-PF is throwing the blame squarely on Colonel Claudias Makova 's feet, claiming that he is the one who fielded Gopo without the party's consent. Are they trying to tell us that, in Zim-PF anyone can do whatever he or she pleases and get away with it without any reprimand? If so, then MDC-T should brace for numerous instances like this in the near future. In other words it can mean that after signing the grand coalition, and before the ink even dries on the paper, Makova might wake up appointing a new Zim-PF president with no ties with MDC and other signitories at all.What my colleagues in MDC-T should remember is, Zanu-PF can employ every stratagem in the book to win the elections through hook and crook.Bikita West by election should provide lessons to all the opposition parties in Zimbabwe, yearning to jump in bed with Joice Mujuru through the so called coalition.However, that seems not the case, because every party is willing to do business with Mujuru. Recently, Mthwakazi Republic Party (MRP) executive member, Percy Siwela, claimed that the proposed grand coalition of opposition parties is bound to collapse if it does not include secessionist parties."These national parties forget that we the restorationists parties command the majority support in Matabeleland," he said. This was after Morgan Tsvangirai indicated that his party was only prepared to accomodate Welshman Ncube's MDC and Joice Mujuru's Zim-PF, and describing smaller political parties as "briefcase.Zanu-PF is quite aware that opposition leaders are victims of delusion of grandeur, so the idea of cherry picking coalition partners basing on their importance in the political arena, will not only widens their rift and hatred but will also influence 2018 outcome, so the coalition remains on its (Zanu-PF) top agenda.What these smaller parties fail to realise is that both Tsvangirai and Mujuru have been in politics for too long and they have nothing to show of it. They no longer have the political clout they used to have a few years ago. In fact, have overstayed their welcome, and are now past their sell by dates. They both have a battered political background and a dwindling support.The run up to the Bikita West by-election was characterised by intimidation, vote buying and violence that saw National Constitutional Assembly (NCA) candidate, Madock Chivasa, and his campaigning manager sustaining injuries, but Zim-PF supporters came out unscathed save for one small incident in Hozvi, where Gopo 's election agents had a skirmish with Zanu-PF youths. The question our colleagues should be asking right now is; Is Zim-PF not one of those pseudo-parties brought in by Zanu PF as decoys to hoodwink a gullible opposition?Mavambo/Kusile/ Dawn (MKD) would certainly spring to mind. Zanu-PF used the project to snatch 8% votes right under MDC-T's nose, denying them an absolute majority of the electoral votes to bury Zanu PF.This time around Zim-PF is the new MDK and Zanu-PF is behind all its operations. The violence in Bikita West was not a traditional Zanu-PF campaign strategy, but the state machinery is invisibly arm twisting the opposition into falling for a grand coalition.If violence was their long-established method of doing things, they could have unleashed it in other by-elections prior to the Bikita West by-election, but because they know it is more likely that it was the last by-election in what is regarded as a stronghold of the opposition before 2018 general elections, they wanted the opposition to make up their minds about the grand coalition.They are using their dexterity to make them feel they need each other in 2018 in order to dislodge Zanu-PF, and are sure that would bring back the 2013 euphoria that saw MDC-T falling by the way side.They know that they have no choice and will opt to coalesce because most of them are financially bankrupt, riddled by fragmentation and internal power struggles making them susceptible to infiltration.A few weeks ago the media went into overdrive describing how Tsvangirai dumped Mujuru, but before the dust settled he is asserting that he would form a coalition with Mujuru despite her party's hiding in Bikita West. He even hinted Zanu PF's to slow down on "premature celebrations."Tendai Biti, the leader of the the People' Democratic Party (PDP), whose party seemed reluctant to join the coalition quickly weighed in and said going at it alone only works to keep the "dictatorial" president in office as the opposition vote will be too fragmented to effect a change of government.He went further to say his party resolved to ensure a grand coalition agreement is put in place in the next few weeks to bring about a democratic change in 2018 and bring down the dictatorship of Robert Mugabe and Zanu PF.At this rate by the end of next month every party would be in the coalition. However, it's not a question of being in the coalition but the organisation and effectiveness of it in a bid to oust Mugabe. I bet my bottom dollar, the coalition won't last until 2018 because some will be in it with a different agenda altogether.On the other hand, I feel the exaggerated feeling of physical and mental well-being, especially when not justified by external reality, which is already creeping in the opposition, and some tomfoolery behaviour on social media should stop henceforth.Obert Chaurura Gutu, MDC-T Information & Publicity secretary, recently took to his Facebook page and posted something like this:"BREAKING NEWS !! For strategic reasons,I cannot disclose how,exactly,we have successfully managed to unravel and dismantle the Zanu PF regime rigging machinery but let me boldly announce,here and now,that the crumbling and faction - ridden Zanu PF regime won't be able to rig the 2018 elections.Let us all go and register to vote when the ZEC biometric voter registration (BVR) program kicks off in March 2017."Well, I won't force my learned brother to prematurely devulge how his party managed to do that, but I just hope they won't be crying foul come 2018. Unless, for once they leave this kindergarten behaviour and focus on feasible plans to dislodge Zanu-PF from power, I foresee them becoming the next victim of circumscribed electoral politics in 2018.I doubt if MDC-T has any strategy if it is still doing business with such a disingenuous party like Zim-PF. Can't you see that Bikita West by-election was a multi-pronged ploy by Zanu-PF, to either persuade you to join forces with Zim-PF during campaigns and have both their efforts shattered to a million smithereens thereby badly tainting your political image in the process, or making you feel you have the bargaining power during coalition negotiations basing on the results, or worse still dragging you in Bikita West campaign resulting in a resounding victory by Zim-PF and leaving you with a mammoth task to reclaim it in 2018? I was shocked to hear Zim-PF elder Didymus Mutasa saying it has been proposed that we work with our colleagues in the MDC and have VaTsvangirai address the people of Bikita along with our president Joice Mujuru in a joint rally, to help drum up support for the Zim-PF candidate Kudakwashe Gopo.Is this not the same Mutasa who once said Tsvangirai won the 2008 harmonised elections but instead of going to state house he ran away to Botswana? What is more mind boggling is that no one in Zim-PF bothered to explain to MDC-T or the public why they chose to participate in Bikita West by-election. Instead, they had the audacity to persuade MDC-T to help them drum up support for their candidate.Just less than a month in late November, last year, scores were arrested around the country and several others injured during Nera demonstrations, in which Zim-PF took part, demanding electoral reforms, but before the dust settled they had a candidate in that sham by- election. After lying to people that Makova fielded a candidate against the party's will, they are exposing themselves by fielding another candidate in Mwenezi East.Mujuru and Mutasa - can't you see you are exposing your double standards? Will I be wrong to say anyone can now safely conclude that Zim-PF is a Zanu-PF project? What had changed now that we don't know as an electorate ?Maybe it skipped me. Did Zanu-PF succumb to Nera demands and ushered a new era with absolute electoral reforms while we were snoring in the comfort of our homes which made Zim-PF feel safe to participate in these by-elections? I wonder. MDC-T should thoroughly investigate Zim-PF before making any decisions to go to bed with it. In fact, they should turn it inside out if they are a real party trying to bring change to Zimbabwe, unless they are cut from the same cloth. Otherwise, this would no doubt mean Zanu-PF, with or without President Mugabe, will be in charge after 2018. When the 61-year-old V.K. Sasikala chinnamma, as she has anointed herself is sworn in as the new chief minister of Tamil Nadu this week, she will be the third woman to hold the states top political job. But whether she will have a long innings in office, like her mentor, the late J. Jayalalithaa, or a short one like Janaki Ramachandran, will depend upon her ability to ensure the continuing loyalty of her party legislators. To boost the farm sector, Assam will soon launch a "Zero Interest Crop Loan" scheme for farmers, under which they can borrow up to Rs 1 lakh. Presenting the States 2017-18 Budget, Assam Finance Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said the proposal was aimed at encouraging farmers to avail loans against the backdrop of low credit flow in the state's rural regions. The Income Tax department has said no questions will be asked about deposits of up to Rs 2.5 lakh and only those accounts will be probed that do not match the tax returns. Digital payments were 10.2 per cent lower by volume and 7 per cent lower by value in January 2017 against December 2016, according to representative data released by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). A united Opposition in the Lok Sabha used to launch an attack on the government on Monday, as the House started debating the motion of thanks to the Presidents address to Parliament on January 31. When was Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Urjit Patel informed about the governments decision to demonetise Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 currency notes, the Public Accounts Committee of Parliament has asked the finance ministry. With the World Trade Organization (WTO) Director General Roberto Azevedo set to begin his two-day India trip from Wednesday, the government is yet to disclose the agenda of the meet. 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. Annual Maritime Power Conference 2017 National Maritime Foundation Theme: The Blue Economy: Concept, Constituents and Development The National Maritime Foundation (NMF) is conducting its Annual Maritime Power Conference-2017 at the Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (IDSA) Auditorium, Development Enclave, New Delhi, on 09-10 February 2017, with the theme The Blue Economy: Concept, Constituents and Development. The NMF was established in 2005 to provide a common platform for discourse between maritime-related institutions, organisations and disciplines, within the country and abroad. The Foundation conducts independent academic research and provides policy-relevant recommendations to advance the nations maritime goals. As a part of its charter, NMF endeavours to foster maritime awareness on contemporary issues through academic engagements and towards this end, the Foundation organises an Annual Maritime Power Conference (AMPC). During the International Fleet Review, 2016, the Honble Prime Minister recalled Indias vision for the Indian Ocean through SAGAR (meaning ocean), which stands for Security and Growth for All in the Region. Later, whilst inaugurating the Maritime India Summit 2016, the Honble Prime Minister articulated his maritime vision for the nation. These events showcased Indias growing maritime power and signalled a clear intent of a resurgent maritime nation. Taking forward the maritime vision of the Honble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, the theme for the Annual Maritime Power Conference -2017 has been chosen as The Blue Economy: Concept, Constituents and Development. The Blue Economy encompasses various traditional marine sectors such as fisheries and aquaculture, shipping, port infrastructure, ship building and repair, island development, seabed exploration, hydrocarbon extraction and marine tourism industry. There are also many emerging sectors in the such as marine renewable energy, deep seabed mining, salt water desalination, marine bio-technology and provisioning specialised Information and Communications Technologies (ICT) services for the marine industry. Innovative technologies have also created new opportunities for harnessing ocean resources and enable job creation which are vital for inclusive growth. In order to fully harness the potential of the blue economy, India needs to envision the seas and oceans as development spaces. This involves an integrated approach towards oceanic resources comprising marine spatial planning and integrated coastal zone management. This conference aims to add to the understanding of the discourse on Blue Economy and intends to discuss its constituents in an attempt to develop a common understanding of the concept. It seeks to identify the opportunities and challenges with the aim of evolving concrete recommendations towards harnessing the Blue Economy, while ensuring efficient utilization of marine resources and sustained development of the oceans. The conference will be conducted over five sessions, namely:- Session 1: Blue Economy and Sustainable Development Session 2: Habitat Protection and Ocean Ecology Session 3: Ocean Governance and Marine Resources Session 4: Maritime Security and Industry Session 5: Enablers of Blue Economy Shri Nitin Gadkari, Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways, and Shipping will inaugurate the two-day conference on 9thFebruary, and deliver the keynote address. Shri Rajiv Pratap Rudy, Union Minister for State (Independent Charge) Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, is the Guest of Honour and will make his special address during the inaugural session. Admiral Sunil Lanba, Chief of the Naval Staff and Chairman, Chiefs of Staff Committee, will deliver the opening address. Admiral RK Dhowan (Retd), Chairman National Maritime Foundation and former Chief of the Naval Staff, will deliver the welcome address for the participants and delegates. Members from academia, representatives from maritime related trade bodies and industry, stakeholders in various Governmental and non-Governmental organisations, related to the maritime domain, and members of the strategic community in India have been invited to attend this conference. In addition, experts and policy makers from India, Australia, China, Bangladesh, Seychelles, Mauritius, Sri Lanka and Singapore, will participate in this flagship event of the NMF. DKS/AC MRI scanning facilities for BPL families Health is a State subject and it is the responsibility of the State Governments to provide adequate health care facilities including MRI to the people of the State. The State Government is not required to seek approval of this Ministry for installing MRI scanning facilities in their Hospitals. As far as the health care establishments under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare are concerned, all such proposals are examined expeditiously and necessary approval of competent authority is conveyed to make the facilities functional for the use of patient care. The Minister of State (Health and Family Welfare), Sh Faggan Singh Kulaste stated this in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha here today. Specialized Healthcare Units in Rural Areas Public Health being a State subject, it is primarily the responsibility of the State Governments to provide health care to the people. However, financial and technical assistance is being provided to the States/UTs under NCD Flexipool for strengthening existing healthcare facilities including setting up of infrastructure, training of doctors and para medical staff, etc. as per State specific Programme Implementation Plans (PIPs). Government of India is implementing National Programme for Prevention and Control of Cancer, Diabetes, Cardiovascular Diseases and Stroke (NPCDCS) for interventions up to District level under the National Health Mission. It has focus on providing better healthcare services by strengthening the existing healthcare facilities. Under NPCDCS, diagnosis and treatment facilities for major NCDs are provided through different levels of healthcare by setting up of NCD Clinics and CCUs in District Hospitals and Community Health Centres (CHCs). The Government has initiated a scheme namely- Assistance for capacity building for developing trauma care facilities in Govt. Hospitals on National Highways from 11th Five Year Plan (FYP). During the 11th FYP, under the scheme, the Government identified and funded 116 Hospital in 17 States along the National Highways for setting up of Trauma Care Facilities. Out of the 116 identified, 99 have already become functional and 3 are under construction. In addition to the above, during the 12th Five year Plan, it is envisaged to establish Trauma Care Facilities in 85 Hospitals/Medical Colleges. So far 62 Hospitals/Medical Colleges have been identified and approved for establishing Trauma Care Facilities. German Chancellor Angela Merkel visits Warsaw today for talks with Poland's top leaders, taking efforts to save the European Union to a country that is keen to keep as much national power as possible and fears being marginalised in a "two-speed Europe." Her trip is "one of the most important visits in Polish-German relations since 2004," when Poland joined the EU, said Sebastian Plociennik, an expert at the Polish Institute of Affairs. The 28-nation bloc is struggling for a way forward after Britain's vote to leave. "This year, 2017, will be very important for European integration and the decisions made this year will set the path for the EU's future," Plociennik said. Poland's populist ruling party, Law and Justice, is often described as euroskeptic, but unlike right-wing populists in France and elsewhere, it does not advocate leaving the EU. EU membership remains hugely popular in Poland, whose citizens have benefited enormously from development funds and the freedom to work elsewhere in the bloc. However, Law and Justice fears that Poland's national identity has been eroded by liberal Western values and it also has made it a mission to preserve as much power for Europe's national parliaments as possible. Many criticise what they see as the EU's distant and inefficient bureaucracy. Poland is also not eager to join the 19-nation anytime soon. But Polish officials are also concerned that the EU could react to Britain's decision to leave by developing a more deeply integrated core made of up Germany, France and the Benelux nations, which could then dictate financial rules to other EU countries. Those fears of becoming marginalised have flared as Merkel speaks of a "multi-speed" Europe. "We have a Europe of different speeds every time that is said, it awakens the impression that this is something new, but my opinion is that it is nothing new," Merkel said yesterday. But Poland has also marginalised itself under its current government by taking an obstructionist position on climate change, refusing to accept Muslim refugees and refusing to give up its heavy reliance on coal. It is also in a standoff with Brussels for eroding the independence of Poland's constitutional court. Merkel is to meet with Prime Minister Beata Szydlo, President Andrzej Duda and Law and Justice chairman Jaroslaw Kaczynski, as well as opposition leaders and representatives of the ethnic German minority in Poland. The deputy foreign minister of Poland, Konrad Szymanski, said the re-election of Donald Tusk, the former Polish prime minister, as head of the European Council, might come up in the talks. Tusk had Merkel's backing for his first term and hopes to serve another term when his ends in May. Some of Silicon Valleys biggest names have joined the court fight against US President Donald Trumps immigration restrictions, as heavyweights such as Apple, Google and Facebook warned that the limits could hurt the countrys economy. Editors note: In his first week in office, President Donald Trump showed he intends to follow through on his promises. A major focus of his campaign was on removing immigrants who, he said, were increasing crime in American communities. US President vowed today that America and its allies would defeat the "forces of death" and keep radical jihadists from gaining a foothold on US soil, but did not offer details about his strategy to defeat the Islamic State group. In his first visit to US Central Command responsible for an area that includes the Middle East and Central Asia Trump did not say whether he would scrap the anti-IS mission in Iraq and Syria undertaken by his predecessor Barack Obama. "Today we deliver a message in one very unified voice to these forces of death and destruction America and its allies will defeat you. We will defeat them," he told about 300 military personnel at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Florida. "We will defeat radical Islamic terrorism. And we will not allow to it take root in our country," Trump added. "Freedom, security, and justice will prevail." He accused Islamic State fighters of leading a "campaign of genocide, committing atrocities across the world." "Radical Islamic terrorists are determined to strike our homeland as they did on 9/11, as they did from Boston to Orlando to San Bernardino, and all across Europe," added the president. He claimed that the "the very, very dishonest press doesn't want to report" on certain attacks, without offering any corroborating evidence to back up his allegation. "They have their reasons," he said, without explaining further. Trump had made fighting "radical Islamic terrorism" a central plank of his election campaign and the issue is emerging as the organising principle of his foreign and domestic policies. Centcom plays a key role in Operation Inherent Resolve - the US-led mission to "degrade and defeat" the Islamic State group which has resulted in 17,861 strikes across northern Syria and Iraq since August 2016. In late January, the president ordered generals to begin a 30-day review of the US strategy to defeat IS. Trump visited the base as he made his way back to Washington following a three-day break at his Mar-a-Lago estate in southern Florida. The Republican president, now in his third week on the job, had lunch with enlisted soldiers before making brief remarks. Apart from seizing territory and declaring a caliphate, the Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for attacks in Africa, Europe, the US, Southeast Asia and across the Middle East. has defiantly refused to drop out of the race to be France's next president despite an investigation into whether well-paid political jobs he gave his wife, son and daughter were genuine, a scandal that has knocked him from his perch as a favourite in the April-May voting. The conservative politician who served as prime minister from 2007 to 2012, the chief workhorse under then-President Nicolas Sarkozy, has long had a reputation as low-key, reliable and standing for moral rectitude, making the corruption scandal particularly shocking to his party, supporters and the French as a whole. On Sunday, two weeks after revelations first surfaced, he scrambled to save his candidacy. "I have nothing to hide," Fillon told a news conference aimed at stanching the blood-letting and conspiring within his party about who might replace him as candidate. "All acts described (in the media) are legal and transparent." Determined despite unending attacks, Fillon, stressing his 32 years in politics, vowed to stay in the race. "Nothing will turn me from my duty to be candidate in the presidential election," he said. Fillon apologised for employing his wife while noting that it is not illegal and he is not the only politician to have done so. "What was acceptable yesterday ... Is not today," Fillon said. "It was a mistake. I deeply regret it and I present my excuses to the French." French politicians are allowed to hire family members as aides as long as they actually do the jobs for which they are paid. Prosecutors are trying to determine whether Fillon's family members did the jobs of parliamentary aides. The preliminary probe involves suspicions of embezzlement and misappropriation of public funds. As prime minister and in his presidential campaign, Fillon put the accent on cutting back on government spending. A key campaign promise this year is to slash half a million public-sector jobs. Fillon's popularity has dropped in the past two weeks following allegations by the Canard Enchaine newspaper that his Welsh-born wife Penelope was paid 830,000 euros ($900,000) over 15 years without doing anything to earn the salary. The Paris prosecutor's office on Thursday expanded its investigation to include Fillon's son and daughter. Some conservative lawmakers have pressed for him to step down to improve the party's chances of winning the election. The first vote is on April 23, and the top two finishers compete in a runoff on May 7. If Fillon's bid to win confidence while wading through a legal investigation fails to work, the election could become an unusual face-off without a strong right, or no right at all. With more than half of Singapore equities trading below their net worth, some are chasing profits by buying shares in companies that may be bought out or delisted by controlling shareholders or takeover firms. US President on Monday delivered a strong message to radical Islamic jihadists that America and its allies will defeat the "forces of death" who "worship destruction", and in defence of his immigration ban said he will not allow them to get a foothold in the country. "We're up against an enemy that celebrates death and totally worships destruction. You've seen that," Trump said during his first visit to Central Command which is responsible for an area that includes the Middle East and Central Asia. "ISIS is on a campaign of genocide, committing atrocities across the world," he said, referring to Islamic State by its acronym ISIS, that has gained a foothold in Iraq and Syria. The Central Command plays an important role in the US-led mission against the Islamic State terrorist group. Trump, now in his third week as the US President, visited the command centre on his way back to the White House after a three-day break in Florida. Trump, the commander in chief of the US, made the comments after a lunch with troops from the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines. "Radical Islamic terrorists are determined to strike our homeland, as they did on 9/11, as they did from Boston to Orlando to San Bernardino and all across Europe. You've seen what happened in Paris and Nice. All over Europe it's happening. It's gotten to a point where it's not even being reported," he said. Continuing his tirade against the US media, Trump alleged that "the very, very dishonest press" doesn't want to report the incidents of terrorism. "They have their reasons and you understand that," he told his commanders. "So today we deliver a message in one very unified voice to these forces of death and destruction. America and its allies will defeat you. We will defeat them. We will defeat radical Islamic terrorism. And we will not allow it to take root in our country. Not going to allow it," Trump said. In an apparent reference to a US federal court halting his executive orders preventing people from seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the US, Trump said the country needs strong programmes so that "people that love us and want to love our country and will end up loving our country are allowed in". "Not people that want to destroy us and destroy our country," he said amidst cheers and applause. Freedom, security and justice will prevail, he asserted. "In his first State of the Union message, President George Washington wrote that 'to be prepared for war is one of the most effectual means of preserving peace.' "Almost 200 years later, as the general was also speaking about Ronald Reagan, he said that 'wisdom comes in three very, very strong words. Peace through strength'," he said. "I've said it many times during the campaign, speak it in front of tens of thousands of people at one sitting. And I'd always mention America first, a phrase that you probably never heard, 'make America great again'. Anybody ever heard that? And 'peace through strength'," he said. Trump said men and women of the US military provide the strength to bring peace to "our troubled, troubled times". "We stand behind you. We support your mission," he said. The Israeli parliament has finalised a controversial law legalising dozens of Jewish outposts built on private Palestinian land in the occupied West Bank. The law, approved by 60 members of parliament to 52 against, passed its third and final reading yesterday after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he had updated the US administration on the issue. Netanyahu did not participate in the vote since he was returning from a trip to London. The law met with fierce opposition within the parliament, with warnings that it would harm Israel, and the United Nations saying it would diminish chances for peace. Speaking after the law was finalised, Bezalel Smotrich of the far-right Jewish Home, who was one of the forces behind the legislation, thanked the American people for electing Donald Trump as president, "without whom the law would have probably not passed". Ahead of the vote, opposition chief and Labour leader Isaac Herzog lashed out against the "despicable law" that he said would undermine the country's Jewish majority. "The vote tonight isn't for or against the settlers, rather Israel's interests," Herzog said. The law would "annex millions of Palestinians into Israel", he warned, and expose Israeli soldiers and politicians to lawsuits at criminal courts. Science and Technology Minister Ofir Akunis of Netanyahu's Likud party said the argument was over the right to the Land of . "All of the Land of belongs to the Jewish people," he told Herzog, using the biblical term that included the West Bank. "This right is eternal and indisputable." The law is seen by critics as promoting at least partial annexation of the West Bank, a key demand for parts of Netanyahu's right-wing cabinet, including the hardline Jewish Home party. The bill could still be challenged, with Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman saying last week: "The chance that it will be struck down by the Supreme Court is 100 per cent." Its defenders argue the bill will allow settlers to live without fear of being driven from their homes -- many of which they have lived in for years. Last week, the few hundred residents of the Amona outpost in the West Bank were evicted after the Supreme Court ruled their homes were built on private Palestinian land. The Trump administration should "levy costs on Pakistan" for perpetuating terrorism, top US thinktanks today recommended, asserting America should no longer sacrifice its anti-terrorism principles in the region for the sake of pursuing an "even-handed" South Asia policy. "For too long, the US has given Pakistan a pass on its support for some terrorist groups based in Pakistan, including those used against India. The US squandered a valuable opportunity in the aftermath of 9/11 and the 2001-2002 India-Pakistani military crisis to alter the Pakistani military's fundamental calculations on the use of terrorism for foreign policy ends," said the report prepared by eminent South Asia experts from nearly 10 top American thinktanks. "The objective of the Trump administration's policy toward Pakistan must be to make it more and more costly for Pakistani leaders to employ a strategy of supporting terrorist proxies to achieve regional strategic goals," said the report, which would be formally released on Friday. "There should be no ambiguity that the US considers Pakistan's strategy of supporting terrorist proxies to achieve regional strategic advantage as a threat to US interests. US policy must also pay attention to non-proliferation goals while dealing with Pakistan," it said. The report, which is believed to have become part of the internal deliberations of Donald Trump's administration, on what to do with Pakistan says as a first step, the US must warn Pakistan that its status as a Major Non-NATO Ally (MNNA) is in serious jeopardy. "Unless Pakistan takes immediate steps to demonstrate that it fully shares US counterterrorism objectives, the US will revoke its MNNA status within six months," it said. "Present to Pakistan a list of calibrated actions for ending its support to the Afghan Taliban and the Haqqani Network, and make clear that failure to make substantial progress on these steps could eventually result in Pakistan's designation as a State Sponsor of Terrorism," it recommends. "If Pakistan does not make progress on the above steps, the US should consider compiling a list of Pakistani military and Inter-Services Intelligence officials, current and former, who are known to have facilitated acts of terrorism- including supporting the Afghan Taliban and the Haqqani network - and barring them from travel to the US," the report said. With India-Pakistan tensions on the rise, the report recommends that the Trump administration must formulate a new policy approach toward Pakistan quickly. Both Indian and Pakistani officials have ratcheted up their rhetoric toward the other in recent weeks, and neither shows much interest in reviving dialogue. Running into 18-pages and titled 'A New US Approach to Pakistan: Enforcing Aid Conditions without Cutting Ties,' the report was prepared by Lisa Curtis (The Heritage Foundation), Christine Fair (Georgetown University) Col (retd) John Gill (National Defense University), Anish Goel (New America), and Husain Haqqani (Hudson Institute). And Polly Nayak (Independent Consultant), Aparna Pande Hudson Institute), Bruce Riedel (Brookings Institution), David S Sedney (Center for Strategic and Studies) and Marvin Weinbaum (Middle East Institute). Another major terrorist attack in India conducted by Pakistan-based militants could precipitate a wider conflict that has the potential of going nuclear, the report warned. After years of restraint in the face of Pakistani terrorist provocations, the government of Narendra Modi has laid down a new marker that it will not stand by in the face of such attacks. India's September 28-29 cross-Line of Control strikes against terrorist bases on Pakistani territory were welcomed as a catharsis by the Indian public, whose frustration with Pakistan had reached a tipping point, it said. "The new US administration must be prepared for the possibility of an escalation in Indo-Pakistani tensions and plan ahead for how it would intervene to defuse any potential military crisis between the nuclear-armed rivals," it said. It would be helpful for Trump administration officials to examine the US role in helping to defuse past India-Pakistan crises, like the 1999 Kargil border conflict and the 2001-2002 Indo-Pakistani military stand-off, said the report. In both cases, the US took a firm stance against Pakistani support for anti-India militant groups and resisted Pakistani calls for the US to play a mediator role in Kashmir. In this way, the US sent a clear signal that it held Islamabad responsible for the escalating regional tensions, the report reminded the Trump administration. The report says with decreasing US military aid to Pakistan and Pakistani leaders will seek to strengthen ties to traditional allies like China and Saudi Arabia and also explore new partnerships as with Russia. "Fortunately, these nations share the US goal of containing terrorism in the region and preventing Indo-Pakistani hostilities and may be cooperative with the US, especially in crisis circumstances. In any case, Washington's policy should not be constrained by fear that other countries will displace the US role in Pakistan," the report observes. The report says the US should no longer settle for Pakistan's excuses for delaying a full-throttle crackdown on these terrorist groups and should instead hold Pakistan accountable for the activities of all terrorist groups on its soil. However, the report recommends against designating Pakistan a State Sponsor of terrorism. "Designating Pakistan a 'State Sponsor of Terrorism' early in the Trump administration, as some in Congress have recommended, would preclude the US from providing any kind of aid to Pakistan and would lead to an irreparable breach in the relationship," it noted. "While Pakistan frequently does not behave like an ally, it does selectively cooperate with the US If Pakistan's overall conduct does not change, however, the US should be prepared to review whether Pakistan fits the criteria for designation as a 'State Sponsor of Terrorism,' in accordance with the graduated measures proposed above," it observed. The US government has defended President Donald Trump's travel ban as a "lawful exercise" of his authority, and claimed that a federal court made a mistake in barring enforcement of the measure. With the ban suspended since Friday, the legal battle has moved to San Francisco, where Justice Department lawyers defended the executive order and said the nationwide injunction against it was "vastly overbroad." A hearing has been set in the case for Tuesday at 3:00 PM (2300 GMT). Meanwhile two new polls show that a majority of Americans now oppose the ban, which sparked chaos at US airports findings that Trump angrily dismissed as media lies. "Any negative polls are fake news, just like the CNN, ABC, NBC polls in the election," he said on Twitter. "Sorry, people want border security and extreme vetting." Trump, who paid a visit to US Central Command in Tampa, Florida, earlier in the day once again roundly condemned the media accusing them of downplaying the terror threat his administration has cited to justify its travel ban. "Radical Islamic terrorists are determined to strike our homeland as they did on 9/11, as they did from Boston to Orlando to San Bernardino, and all across Europe," the president told military personnel. "And in many cases the very, very dishonest press doesn't want to report it," he claimed. "They have their reasons, and you understand that." Asked to explain Trump's comments, White House spokesman Sean Spicer promised to "provide a list" of attacks that had been "under-reported." "Protests will get blown out of the water, and yet an attack or a foiled attack doesn't necessarily get the same coverage," he said. A federal court that temporarily rolled back Trump's directive "erred in entering an injunction barring enforcement of the order," the government told the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in asking that the ban be reinstated. "But even if some relief were appropriate, the court's sweeping nationwide injunction is vastly overbroad," it said. The president's executive order summarily denied entry to all refugees for 120 days, and travelers from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen for 90 days a move critics charge will damage US interests. Refugees from Syria were blocked indefinitely. On Holocaust Memorial Day 2017 and amid the worlds greatest refugee crisis since World War II, Donald Trump imposed a four-month suspension of all refugee admissions into the US and indefinitely banned entry to all Syrian refugees. British Prime Minister Theresa May warned pro-European members of her Conservative Party on Monday not to "obstruct" by seeking to amend a bill empowering her to begin the negotiations. MPs overwhelmingly backed the first stage on Wednesday of a bill to start Britain's withdrawal from the European Union, but opposition lawmakers were to begin debating amendments on Monday that could tie the ministers' hands. A Eurosceptic Conservative lawmaker claimed at the weekend that 27 of his fellow MPs were planning to support some of these "wrecking amendments" during three days of discussion at the House of Commons. But May warned MPs: "This House has spoken, and now is not the time to obstruct the democratically expressed wishes of the British people." The government was forced to introduce the bill after the Supreme Court ruled that only Parliament could start Brexit, and it is under pressure to get it passed quickly. May has promised EU leaders she will trigger Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty, beginning the two-year exit process, by the end of March. To speed up the passage of the bill through the Commons and the unelected upper House of Lords, the government kept it short -- just two clauses. But opposition MPs have tabled more than 140 pages of amendments covering areas such as parliamentary scrutiny of the negotiations, the government's priorities and the involvement of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Some of May's Conservative MPs have expressed particular concern about her promise to leave the EU and the single market with no new trade deal in place if she cannot agree on a satisfactory agreement within the two-year timeframe. This would mean Britain falling back on World Trade Organisation rules and tariffs, with potentially damaging effects on the economy. At least one amendment to be debated tomorrow calls for parliament to decide on whether or not the deal will be accepted, with the option of staying in the EU if it is rejected. "If there is no deal then the government will determine what happens next. I think it should come into parliament," MP Anna Soubry told the BBC on Sunday. However, this would require the other 27 EU countries agreeing to extend the negotiating period to allow for further discussions on a new deal. Only one Conservative MP, committed Europhile Ken Clarke, voted against the bill last week. President Donald Trump has followed through on his promise to ramp up immigrant detention as part of immigration enforcement. His Executive Order on border security and immigration describes a new normal that will include the detention of immigrants while they await removal hearings and removal. A significant bid by the US in the UN for designating Pathankot attack mastermind as a global terrorist has been stymied by China which has again opposed the ban against the Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) chief. The American proposal came barely weeks after India's efforts to get Azhar banned by the UN were blocked by China in December last. According to senior government sources, the US, supported by the UK and France, moved a proposal at the UN's Sanctions Committee 1267 in the second-half of last month to proscribe Azhar. The proposal, which was finalised after "consultations" between Washington and New Delhi, said JeM is a designated terror outfit and so its leaders cannot go scot-free, sources said. "However, China opposed the US move by putting a hold on the proposal," a source said, adding the Chinese action came just before the expiry of the 10-day deadline for any proposal to be adopted or blocked or to be put on hold. The "hold" remains for six months and can be further extended by three months. During this period, it can be anytime converted into a "block", thereby, ending the life of the proposal. UN Sanction Committee's listing would have forced imposition of asset freeze and travel ban on Azhar by countries including Pakistan. China has been constantly opposing efforts to get Azhar banned by the UN, which has proscribed his outfit JeM in 2001. The Chinese opposition is also seen by many here as an action taken at the behest of its "all-weather ally" Pakistan. After the attack on the IAF base at Pathankot in January last year, India in February wrote to the UN calling for immediate action to list Azhar under the Al-Qaeda Sanctions Committee. The efforts faced stiff opposition by China, which twice put a "technical hold" before finally blocking the Indian proposal in December. Reacting sharply to Chinese action, India had said that "We note with concern China's decision to block the proposal to list Masood Azhar", asserting that its proposal, submitted to the 15-member 1267 Sanctions Committee of the UN Security Council, had received the strong backing of all other members of the Committee. External Affairs Spokesperson Vikas Swarup had also said, "As a consequence of this decision, the UN Security Council has again been prevented from acting against the leader of a listed terrorist organisation. We had expected China would have been more understanding of the danger posed to all by terrorism and would join India and in fighting the common challenge of terrorism. Among Silicon Valleys top tech employers, could be the most vulnerable to US President Donald Trumps expected crackdown on guest-worker visas, according to a Reuters analysis of US Labor Department filings. The benchmark indices retreated on Tuesday from four-month highs hit in the previous session as investors stayed on the sidelines ahead of the Reserve Bank of India's policy decision due tomorrow. Weakness in other Asian also spoiled sentiment. surged 12% to Rs 169, also its 52-week high on the BSE, after the company reported more than two-fold jump in net profit at Rs 34.73 crore for the quarter ended December 2016 (Q3FY17), on back of strong operational performance. The company had profit of Rs 12.61 crore in the same quarter last year. Prices of raw are going downhill with the Union textiles ministry's plan to go for dilution of the mandatory packaging order and dwindling crop supplies triggered by the demonetization drive. Raw prices have tanked to Rs 36,650 per tonne and are likely to plunge further. The price fall is from the level of Rs 56,520 per tonne in July 2016. In 2015-16, there was an unabated rise in prices of raw jute. The downtrend in raw jute prices may dissuade farmers from growing more in the 2017-18 season, feels a leading jute mill owner. Rio Tinto Group has decided to gift the deposit in India to the government of Madhya Pradesh, where the mine is located, after the producer stopped work on it last year. The price of the M30 variety of (medium size, which is the benchmark) at a centre near Mumbai went up 9.2 per cent over early January on Tuesday to reach Rs 41.54 a kg, the highest so far, due to a lower release by stockists. Being sceptical about the elevation of Sasikala Natrajan from Party General Secretary to Tamil Nadu Chief Minister, Congress leader Karthi Chidambaram on Tuesday said even if the decision is legally correct, it is morally wrong. "While the AIADMK legislature party has a legal right to elect a leader, I think they are morally wrong. The present AIADMK government, in my opinion does not have the mandate of people," Chidambaram told ANI here. He went on to say that since the mandate was given to late former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa in the 2016 Assembly elections, the morally correct thing to do would be dissolving the assembly and a call for general election. "If AIADMK dissolves the assembly and calls for general elections, wherein the present general secretary is projected as the Chief Minister and the party gets a majority, I have no issues but this move to foist on Tamil Nadu as a leader is unacceptable on many counts",Citing three reasons for considering the move morally incorrect, the Congress leader said that till date the present General Secretary of AIADMK has not spoken on any issues and there are no track records of her voicing on public issues Second being there are some serious cases pending against her and the immediate family and the third being issues of conflict of interest. Further pointing out the fact that a potential chief minister is involved in significant commercial transactions with the government, Karthi said that this is a big issue. The name of 62-year-old Sasikala was proposed by Chief Minister O Panneerselvam at a meeting of party MLAs at the party headquarters for holding the post of Chief Minister, to which majority of MLA and MPs agreed. Ever since Jayalalithaa's death, there has been a clamour that Sasikala should follow the earlier practice of both the party General Secretary and the Chief Minister's post being vested with the same person. A PIL was moved in the Supreme Court on Monday seeking to restrain AIADMK leader V K Sasikala from being sworn in as Tamil Nadu chief minister on Tuesday on the ground that the apex court was likely to pronounce within a week the judgment in a corruption case in which she and late CM J Jayalalithaa were accused. The PIL was filed by Chennai resident Senthil Kumar, general secretary of NGO Satta Panchayat Iyakkam, hours after the apex court indicated it could deliver its judgment on the appeals challenging the acquittal of Jayalalithaa and Sasikala in a 19-year-old disproportionate assets case. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Manchester United striker Anthony Martial has put to bed all speculations about him leaving the Old Trafford club this summer. The Frenchman has been strongly linked with a big move to Paris Saint-Germain after being forced out of United playing XI by manager Jose Mourinho. However, Martial quashed any such move and called on his fans via his Twitter account not to listen to the rumours, Sport24 reported. "Don't listen (to) the papers it's wrong thanks. Come on United," Martial tweeted. The speculations came just days after Mourinho had spoken frankly about the Martial, who was United's top scorer last season with 17 goals in all competitions. Mourinho had called on the 21-year-old forward to perform better than the others if he wants to cement his position in the first team. "He has to perform better than the others who are competing for the same positions (if he wants to start). His position is one where we have lots of options. Do you want me to leave (Henrikh) Mkhitaryan out? I can't," Mourinho had said. "The players pick themselves. I am just there to analyse what they do and try to be fair with them," he had added. Martial joined the Old Trafford from Monaco in September 2015 in a deal potentially worth of up to 58 million pounds. He has struggled to cement a place in the first team under Mourinho and has not played at all in the last three Premier League games. Mourinho's men will now be looking to break into the top four when they host Watford in their next Premier League clash on Saturday. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A top Chinese diplomat told Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani that Beijing has always urged the Taliban militant group to enter into political negotiations with the Kabul administration. Chinese Special Envoy for Afghanistan Deng Xijun met Afghan President Ashraf Ghani in Kabul on Sunday, weeks after Kabul criticised the trilateral grouping of China, Pakistan and Russia for not inviting the country to the Moscow meeting, reports the Express Tribune. "We have encouraged the Taliban during our contacts with them to join the dialogue. We have also urged Pakistan to start the quadrilateral process," Ghani's office quoted the Chinese envoy as saying. "China has always conveyed to the Taliban during meetings that it recognises the Afghan government and the president and that talks are the only option for them," Xijun said, according to a statement posted online. He said the Afghan Government has always tried to resolve problems through dialogue and progress in talks with Hizb-e-Islami indicates the Afghan Government has the capacity. He said the Taliban policies have paved the way for activities of other terrorist groups who pose threats to the security of China and other regional countries. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Issuing a warning to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to get prepared for a 'real-earthquake', Congress leader Jyotiraditya Scindia on Tuesday said that the ruling dispensation should gear-up for a rude awakening in the election results on March 11. "The Prime Minister and his party should be ready for the real earthquake on March 11 that will clear all the misconceptions", he told ANI here. He further said that the people of India will show the BJP their worth in the Assembly polls. "People of the country will tell the Bharatiya Janata Party their worth on March 11," Scindia added. Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday took a jibe at Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi's 'earthquake' remark, saying that the nation finally felt the tremors on Monday night. "I was wondering why the earthquake came. When someone see 'SEVA' or any positive virtue in the word 'SCAM' then mother earth would definitely become upset," Prime Minister Modi said while speaking on motion of thanks to President's address in Lok Sabha. Further cornering the Congress Party over the emergency declared during the Indira Gandhi regime, the Prime Minister said: "We remember how democracy was under threat from 1975 to 1977, when opposition leaders were jailed, newspaper freedom curtailed." Emphasising the importance of 'Jan Shakti', the Prime Minister said that it is because of the people's power that a person, born to a poor family became the Prime Minister of India. "Let us understand and appreciate inherent strength of our people and take India to newer heights. Faith in Jan Shakti will give results," he added. Five states in the country are all set to choose their next leader. While Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls for 403 constituencies will be held on 11, 15, 19, 23, 27 February and 4 and 8 March, Uttarakhand will vote on 15 February and Manipur in two phases on 4 and 8 March. Punjab and Goa went to the polls together on 4 February. The votes will be counted on March 11. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Tuesday condemned the statement given by Leader of opposition in Lok Sabha, Mallikarjun Kharge and said that the latter does not have the right to speak against the saffron party. "Mr Kharge must know that he is speaking for the family which has abused democracy and independence which this country has got. He has no right to speak against the BJP," BJP spokesperson GVL Narasimha Rao told ANI. In a thinly veiled attack on Congress, Rao alleged that India's independence has mostly benefitted only one political family. "They have over the past several decades used their position to perpetuate the family and dynastic rule. This Congress Party and Nehru- Gandhi dynasty is associated with all the ills of this country like imposition of emergency, dictatorship and rampant corruption that this country has never seen before," he added. Rao added that the BJP is there to ensure the fundamental rights of people and 'Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas.' Earlier, Kharge hit out at the BJP regime in the Parliament and said, "For the unity of the country, Mahatma Gandhi, former pm Indira Gandhi sacrificed so much. Who came from your house? Not even a single dog came." According to Kharge, while speaking on the vote of thanks motion for President's speech, the government made many tall promises like bullet trains but have failed to live up to them. He also said that government has failed in MGNREGA. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Pakistan has pledged to oppose any attempt to undermine China's sovereignty following talks between a visiting senior Chinese official and Pakistani authorities. The Chinese State Commissioner for counter terrorism and security, Cheng Guoping, who is on a three-day visit to Pakistan met Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's Special Assistant on Foreign Affairs Syed Tariq Fatemi and National Security Adviser Lt. General (Retd.) Naseer Khan Janjua, reports the Express Tribune. According to a statement from the Foreign Office, Fatemi and the Chinese State Commissioner reviewed all aspects of bilateral relationship, with a special focus on security, economic development and China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). "Both sides noted that the all-weather friendship between the two countries has withstood the test of time, notwithstanding changes in the international, regional and domestic environments," the Foreign Office said. Noting the importance of CPEC for the economic development of Pakistan, the two sides stressed that timely completion of the corridor's projects. The Prime Minister's advisor affirmed that friendship with China was the cornerstone of Pakistan's foreign policy. He further stated that Pakistan supports China on all its core issues, while firmly opposing any attempt to undermine China's sovereignty. "Pakistan will continue to support China's efforts to combat the three evils of terrorism, extremism and separatism," he added. The Chinese State Commissioner thanked Pakistan for its consistent support to China on issues of core interest to it. The two sides expressed satisfaction at the continued progress in bilateral relations in all fields and expressed their resolve to work towards further solidifying political relations, deepening economic bonds and security cooperation to achieve the goal of China-Pakistan "Community of Shared Destiny". (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) In the wake of Sasikala Natarajan being appointed as the General Secretary of the AIADMK, speculations are rife over her elevation as the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu soon, but sources suggest that the development isn't happening anytime soon. Tamil Nadu Governor Vidyasagar Rao, who is in Mumbai at present, will not head to Chennai tomorrow and Panneerselvam is to remain interim Chief Minister until Rao examines legal implications regarding Sasikala's appointment. Earlier, a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) was filed in the apex court seeking a stay over Sasikala's swearing-in, claiming that she had been convicted under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, for amassing wealth disproportionate to her income. The petitioner said he filed the plea in the interest of people of Tamil Nadu and to maintain the peace in the state. Expelled Rajya Sabha MP Sasikala Pushpa and AIADMK leader KC Palaniswamy had complained to the Election Commission of India (ECI) that Sasikala's appointment as the party's interim general secretary was carried out in an undemocratic manner. Meanwhile, acting Tamil Nadu Chief Minister O. Panneerselvam dropped unannounced at the Marina Beach here and set tongues wagging by meditating near his predecessor Jayalalithaa's memorial. The surprise visit set speculations rife over his decision to give up his post as Chief Minister, as many pondered if he was silently protesting against the current developments in the state or simply praying before Amma. After almost 30 minutes, Panneerselvam finally broke the suspense by getting up from his meditating stance and proceeding to speak to the media. "There are some truths that I want to tell to my party cadre and to the people of this country. I have performed my duty without any shortcomings and carried forward path shown by Amma. When she (Jayalalithaa) was in the hospital, she (asked me to take over as Chief Minister. I was told that I have to save the party and the state. I was given the post but was then insulted continuously," the interim Chief Minister said. He then dropped a bombshell by proceeding to say that he was presently being forced to step down from his post and pave way for Sasikala, revealing that Revenue Minister R B Udhayakumar, has suggested Sasikala to take over his post. "The question of Sasikala becoming Chief Minister came up during a meeting at her place. At the time I asked how this was even justified. However, the party leaders said I have to take an initiative towards making her the Chief Minister, and that's how I was forced to tender resignation," Panneerselvam said. He further went on to assert that he will even take back his resignation if party workers and the people of the state want him to. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Investigation Agency (NIA) special court on Tuesday issued proclamation orders against Pathankot terror attack mastermind Jaish-e-Mohammad chief Masood Azhar and three other JeM leaders. The NIA Special Court at Mohali, Punjab has issued Proclamation Orders under section 82 of the CrPC against the four accused. Besides Masood Azhar, the orders have been issued against Mufti Abdul Rauf Asgar, Deputy Chief of JeM, Shahid Lateef and Kashif Jan. The NIA Special Court has ordered the absconding accused to appear before the Court on March 9th 2017. Earlier in the day, the United States of America moved the United Nations for banning Masood Azhar, but faced a roadblock by China yet again. The US, supported by the UK and France, moved a proposal to designate Azhar as a global terrorist at the Sanctions Committee of the UN Security Council, but it has once again been opposed by China. According to reports, the proposal, which was finalised after consultations between Washington and New Delhi, said JeM is a designated terror outfit and so its leaders cannot go scot-free. In a statement to the media today, the Ministry of External Affairs said, "Informed of this development and matter has been taken up with Chinese Government." Last month, France has also extended its support for designating Azhar as a global terrorist, saying there are very strong arguments in favour of such a move. China is the only country among the counter terrorism committee of the UN Security Council which has objected to India's request to list Azhar. Post the attack on the IAF base at Pathankot in January last year, India in February urged the UN requesting to list Azhar under the al-Qaida Sanctions Committee. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Study Finds That Men And Women Are More Interested In Partners Their Own Age Trending News: Contrary To Popular Belief, Men Dont Always Go For Younger Women Long Story Short Older men love the younger ladies, right? Well, its not that simple, a new study finds, with men and women both more likely to be interested in sexual partners around their own age throughout their lives. Long Story How do you explain the popularity of MILF porn? Its a question that has stuck to the sub-genre of adult filmmaking as its popularity has continued to grow. At last count, MILF was one of the top ten most searched porn terms in the United States, and six percent of all videos on Pornhub now include the tag (and according to this VICE story, that doesnt include adjacent genres such as, er, faux-incest). Well, a new study from the Academy of Finland and published in Evolutionary Psychology may have the answer. The difference between men and womens sexual preferences with respect to age is much smaller than earlier thought. Indeed, it showed that men become interested in older and older women as they themselves age. This is counter to earlier studies that showed even older men preferred younger women. The new research, authored by Jan Antfolk, a postdoctoral researcher in psychology, suggests that while this is partly true, most men also maintain sexual interest in partners their own age throughout life. Also, most sexual activity occurs between partners approximately the same age. In short, as men get older their range of interest widens (but their capacity to convert with younger women diminishes). Its worth pointing out that the study was conducted just in Finland, but its large sample size of 878 adult men and 1789 adult women adds weight to the findings. Other points of interest? Homosexuals and bisexuals hardly differ from their heterosexual counterparts, with the only exception being that homosexual men are somewhat more likely than bisexual and heterosexual men to have sex with younger partners. So does that explain the rise of MILF porn? After all, Western countries are slowly getting older, on average. Or could MILF porn even be a driving force in maintaining mens interest in partners who are their age (probably not, but hey)? So many questions. Own The Conversation Ask The Big Question Doesnt this just mean porn producers have been way ahead of the science community? Drop This Fact At 43-years-old, Brandi Love is currently the sixth most popular porn star on Pornhub. Taking a dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi's reply to the Motion of Thanks on President's address in the Lok Sabha, the Congress on Tuesday said the former is addicted to one-liners, acronyms and jumlas. "I am very sorry to hear this that no less than the Prime Minister of the world's second largest democracy and second most populous nation is addicted to one-liners, acronyms and jumlas. He cannot get rid of this addiction. He trivialises mild words in English language. He trivialises a natural calamity like an earthquake," Congress spokesperson Abhishek Singhvi told ANI. Escalating his attack on the Prime Minister, Singhvi said the former is frustrated and frightened especially after demonetisation. "He is obviously frustrated and frightened especially after demonetisation that he sees Rahul Gandhi in earthquake. But this is not befitting a Prime Minister,' he added. The Congress spokesperson further said that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is desperate and panicked. "Clearly, he is frightened about the impending results. Clearly, the party he represents is desperate. They are now finding a Rahul Gandhi in every tree, in every bush which I think shows the state of panic of the Prime Minister and his party," he added. The Prime Minister has said it is high time to understand and appreciate the inherent strength of India's people and take the country to newer heights. Prime Minister Modi said there is a need to repose faith in 'Jan Shakti'. He said because of democratic power of people, a person born to a poor family could become the Prime Minister of India. Coming down heavily on Congress, the Prime Minister said everyone remembers how democracy was under threat from 1975 to 1977, when opposition leaders were jailed and newspaper freedom was curtailed. The Prime Minister said, "There are many people like him those who are born post independence, who could not die for the nation during the freedom struggle, but are living for India and serving the country. The Congress feels only one family got Independence for India and the root of the problem lies there." The Prime Minister also asked the opposition party why the Benami law passed during former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi's tenure in 1988 was not notified for 26 years. He said today everyone should join hands to develop India and take the country to newer heights. On implementation of demonetisation process, the Prime Minister said the government was always ready for the discussion on the issue but the opposition was only interested in TV bytes and not debates. The Prime Minister the decision on demonetisation is a movement to clean India from corruption and black money. He said the timing for the implementation of the decision was right as the economy was doing well. He said his government do not see everything from the prism of elections and the interests of the nation are supreme for it. "Now, middlemen no longer enjoy the benefits they did and the government has stopped the corruption and loot," he added. Calling for holding simultaneous elections to lok Sabha and the State legislative assemblies, Prime Minister Modi said political parties must think over it. He said it will help in managing expenditure. The Prime Minister expressed surprise that there were some who made cleanliness also a political issue. He called upon the people to work together on ushering a Swachh Bharat. Referring to yesterday's earthquake, he said, said the Centre is monitoring the situation. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday took a jibe at Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi's 'earthquake' remark, saying that the nation finally felt the tremors yesterday. "I was wondering why the earthquake came. When someone see 'SEVA' or any positive virtue in the word 'SCAM' then mother earth would definitely become upset," Prime Minister Modi said while speaking on motion of thanks to President's address in Lok Sabha. Further cornering the Congress Party over the emergency declared during the Indira Gandhi regime, the Prime Minister said: "We remember how democracy was under threat from 1975 to 1977, when opposition leaders were jailed, newspaper freedom curtailed." Emphasising the importance of 'Jan Shakti', the Prime Minister said that it is because of the people's power that a person, born to a poor family became the Prime Minister of India. "Let us understand and appreciate inherent strength of our people and take India to newer heights. Faith in Jan Shakti will give results," he added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Minister of State in the Ministry of Finance, Santosh Kumar Gangwar, revealed in Rajya Sabha on Tuesday that Public Sector Banks (PSB) recorded a moderate decline of Rs. 2,556 Crore in recovery of Non-Performing Assets (NPA). During FY 2015 and FY 2016 PSBs made total NPA recoveries of Rs.42, 542 Crore and Rs.39,986 Crore, respectively. As on September 2016, NPAs of PSBs stands at Rs.5, 89, 502 Crore, showing a growth rate of recovery of 11.82 percent. The Government has taken sector specific measures (Infrastructure, Power, Road, textiles, Steel etc.) where incidence of NPA is high. The Insolvency and Bankruptcy code (IBC) has been enacted and Securitisation and Reconstruction of Financial Assets and Enforcement of Security Interest Act (SARFAESI) and The Recovery of Debts due to Banks and Financial Institutions (RDDBFI) Act have been amended to improve recovery of bank loans. Six new Debt Recovery Tribunals (DRTs) have been established for improving recovery. RBI has provided a number of tools in this regard, namely Corporate Debt Restructuring (CDR), Formation of Joint Lenders' Forum (JLF), Flexible Structuring for long term project loans to Infrastructure and Core industries (5/25 Scheme), Strategic Debt Restructuring Scheme (SDR) and Sustainable Structuring of Stressed Assets (S4A). (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Pakistan Supreme Court has accepted the Interior Ministry's plea to examine material on which the Quetta Commission Report is based, however, refusing to provide the confidential documents, based on intelligence reports, against which the privilege was already sought. The court observed that the miscellaneous part of documents is not related to proceedings, reports the Daily Times. The court also granted two weeks to the ministry's lawyer Makhdoom Ali Khan to file specific objections after examining the material. The SC directed Balochistan Bar Council lawyer Hamid Khan to file a reply over the ministry's 64-page objections. Hamid would also submit the data of children of deceased lawyers on next date of hearing for provision of free education, as committed by the Balochistan government after the occurrence of Quetta incident. A three-member bench headed by Justice Amir Hani Muslim resumed the hearing of suo motu case over August 8 Quetta blast, which killed at least 72 people, including 53 lawyers of Balochistan. Makhdoom told the court that the Quetta commission report made derogatory observations regarding Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan. Regarding meeting of the Interior Minister with banned outfit cleric Ahmad Ludhianvi, Makhdoom contended that the minister had called upon the delegation of Defence of Pakistan, which is not a banned outfit, adding that the list of participants was not conveyed and the minister was not aware that Ludhianvi was part of the delegation. He added that the message was given that minister accepted demands of the delegation but there was no such acceptance of demands. Makhdoom said he has no objection over the commission's authority but the objections are only raised to the extent of observations made in the commission report against the minister. "If you want us we will hear. Perhaps we, after hearing, may dilute the language subject to record. You have to draw line between ministry and person," observed Justice Hani Muslim. Makhdoom pleaded to expunge the adverse remarks. He contended that by the content of commission's report, the message is conveyed that the minister was socialising with terrorist outfits daily. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Congress Party on Tuesday termed the escalation of V K Sasikala as the next Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu as 'unfortunate', adding that this move would not send the right message for the democracy. "This is very unfortunate that a person who is not even in the cabinet and not even a primary member of the party so if people like these handle the business of the state is not a right message for the democracy and it will give wrong message to the next generation as well," Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, Mallikarjun Kharge told ANI here. Sasikala , who was recently elected as the legislative head of AIADMK, has been facing strong protests from several quarters with the opposition claiming that she was not elected by the people of the state. Former finance minister P. Chidambaram who, in a series of tweets, heaped scorn on the latest appointment to the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister's office. "It is the right of AIADMK MLAs to elect their leader," he said, adding: "It is the right of the people to ask if the leader deserves to be CM." Sasikala is expected to be sworn in as Chief Minister of the state on Tuesday. Meanwhile, a PIL was filed in the Supreme Court seeking to restrain the swearing-in of Sasikala on Tuesday. Meanwhile, opposition seems to be in "shock" over the new development in the state, DMK leader TKS Elangovan asserted, "No party can go against wishes of people. MLAs might have chosen Sasikala, whether people will accept her as Chief Minister has to be seen." Tamil Nadu has on three occasions in the past witnessed persons not elected to the assembly being sworn in as Chief Minister - C.N. Annadurai in 1967, V.N. Janaki (MGR's widow) in 1987 and Jayalalithaa in 2001. Of them Janaki had to quit office within 24 days having lost the confidence of the House. Sasikala's proposed swearing-in will be the third such event since May 2016 when Jayalalithaa retained power. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Supreme Court will on Wednesday hear the athe triple talaq case filed by Shayara Banu. Shayara Bano, 38, stirred a hornet's nest after she moved the Supreme Court to challenge the triple talaq under Muslim personal law, under which a man simply has to utter 'talaq' thrice to divorce his wife. The consent of the woman is never taken into consideration, and as opposed to what is mandated under the Quran, the woman is never given the stipulated three months' time. Shayara has also challenged in the apex court the concept of 'nikah-halal', under which a woman must consummate another marriage in order to go back to her first husband if she wants to. She also wants to outlaw polygamy within a Muslim marriage. A resident of Kashipur, Shayara got married to Allahabad-based property dealer, Rizwan Ahmed, in 2002. The problems started soon enough. In December last year, the Allahabad High Court termed the Islamic practice of divorcing a woman by uttering the word "talaq" thrice as unconstitutional. The court further observed that the triple talaq practice sanctioned under Muslim Personal Law that governs marriage, property and divorce violates the rights of Muslim women. "Triple talaq is unconstitutional, it violates the rights of Muslim women," ruled the High Court, adding that no personal law board is above the Constitution. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A security guard, deputed inside the consulate building in Pakistan's southern port city of Karachi, gunned down a senior Afghan diplomat on Monday. The Dawn quoted Deputy Inspector General (DIG) South, Azad Khan as saying that the guard opened fire on third secretary Muhammad Zaki Abduh in the lobby of the Afghan consulate. Abduh died of his wounds shortly after the shooting, according to the consulate's spokesman, Haris Khan. "We were working at our office when we heard gunshots," he said. "Everybody was running in panic." The guard was taken into custody following the incident. Afghan Ambassador to Pakistan Hazrat Omar Zakhilwal was quoted by an Afghan media outlet as saying that the "firing inside Afghan Consulate General in Karachi has been carried out by an Afghan guard." The motive behind the killing was not immediately clear. The Afghan Embassy in Islamabad said it was waiting further details. "It seems the guard had some sort of personal grudge with the diplomat," Azad Khan said. "We are collecting evidence and will obtain CCTV footage in order to investigate the incident," the DIG said. A delegation of Afghan and Pakistani officials will jointly investigate the killing of the diplomat in Karachi, as reported by Afghan media. The Afghan Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) said a delegation comprising officials from the Embassy of Afghanistan in Islamabad and Pakistani officials had been formed to probe the incident. The delegation has been sent to Karachi city to jointly probe the killing of the diplomat, the Afghan MoFA said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A day after Union Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad's comments on triple talaq made headlines in the backdrop of the Uttar Pradesh assembly elections, Janata Dal (United) (JD(U)) leader Sharad Yadav slammed the concept of trying to improve the life of only Muslim women, saying there are women of other religions as well who are suffering in equal measure. "This is a statement that's confined within one view. There are women belonging to every strata of society who are facing problems. That should also be discussed. This question is being raised because it's the time of assembly polls in the state. But, there are problems in every religion and they can be sorted out only by taking everybody in confidence and according to the constitution of the country," Yadav told ANI. "Why are we only talking about amendments in one religion? We should talk about bringing positive changes in every religion that's plagued with issues," he added. The opposition has accused the Law Minister of playing up the issue to influence voting in Uttar Pradesh. The Supreme Court is currently hearing several petitions on triple talaq. Several political personalities, including Smriti Irani, have also shown their support for the removal of the anti-constitutional tradition. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) At least two policemen were injured in a pre-dawn militant attack on a police station in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan on Tuesday, a media report said. A militant crashed an explosives-laden vehicle at the gate of Mandan Police Station in Bannu district causing an explosion, police said, Dawn news reported. As a result of the blast, two police officials performing duty at the gate were injured, while the main gate of the police station was damaged. The suspect, who was killed in the explosion, appeared to look around 21-year-old, according to police. The injured personnel were shifted to DHQ hospital. Security officials cordoned off the area and started to examine the site of the blast, for which there has been no immediate claim of responsibility. A week earlier, three security personnel and six civilians were injured in a roadside bomb blast targeting a Frontier Corps vehicle in Peshawar's Naguman area. --IANS sm/vm (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A federal appeals court in San Francisco has scheduled a hearing on whether to restore President Donald Trump's controversial travel ban, the media reported. The scheduling was announced on Monday evening, around the same time the Trump administration filed legal briefs with the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals to overturn a federal judge's decision to halt the order blocking entry to the US of refugees and citizens from seven Muslim-majority countries, The Hill Magazine reported. The appeals court will hear arguments on Tuesday evening at 6 p.m., with each side getting 30 minutes of argument time conducted over the phone. The hearing will be live audio streamed on the court's public website. Initially, the court said a recording of the call would be made public after the hearing. James L. Robart, a federal judge in Seattle, Washington, on February 3, agreed to issue a nationwide restraining order temporarily halting the travel ban. The appeals court denied a request from the Trump administration for an emergency stay on Sunday, but is expected to rule on whether to allow the immigration policy to remain on hold sometime after the hearing. If the restraining order is upheld, Trump could ask the Supreme Court to step in. The case will be heard by Judge William C. Canby Jr., appointed by President Jimmy Carter; Judge Michelle T. Friedland, appointed by President Barack Obama; and Judge Richard R. Clifton, appointed by President George W. Bush. On Monday, Sean Spicer, the White House press secretary, said the administration stood ready to reinstate the entire ban, the New York Times reported. "Once we win the case, it will go right back into action," he said. In his own remarks on Monday, Trump said the US should admit "people that love us and want to love our country and will end up loving our country" and not "people that want to destroy us and destroy our country." --IANS ksk (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Messages You have no messages A healthy baby boy has been born from an embryo frozen 16 years ago, a hospital in south China announced on Monday. A 46-year-old woman gave birth to a son at the First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University in Guangdong Province in early February, Xinhua news agency reported. Her other first son, already 16-years-old, was from the same batch of embryos frozen in 2000. "I'm just really ecstatic to have another child," said the woman. She gave birth to her first child through IVF in 2000, when the hospital froze her 18 other embryos. Last year, the mother came to the hospital asking to get pregnant again, after China lifted the one-child policy. "There were a few issues to handle when she asked to unfreeze her embryos," said Xu Yanwen, director with the reproductive centre of the hospital. "It was not easy to awaken the frozen embryos because of freezing techniques and there were also problems with her womb." Xu added that risks were also high for women of advanced maternal age. Both the baby and mother are doing well and will be discharged from hospital soon. Xu Yanwen said that embryos frozen in the hospital date back as early as 1994. "As more mothers come to have their embryos unfrozen, the record may probably be broken any time," Xu said. --IANS sku/ (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Bhopal resident Udayan Das, who allegedly killed his parents and live-in partner, was sent to eight-day police custody in West Bengal on Tuesday while locals held angry protests in the court premises. Das, brought to the Bankura district court under heavy police escort in a prison van, has been slapped with charges of murder, abduction and causing disappearance of evidence etc. Clad in a white T-shirt and sporting an unkempt beard and dishevelled hair, Das looked unruffled as police almost jostled through a large number of people who rallied at the court premises. Many shouted invectives at Das, and even hurled bricks as police managed to escort him inside the courtroom and closed its doors. The prosecution pleaded for an eight-day remand, terming the case as rare. The murders were pre-planned and carried out in cold blood, and not committed on any sudden impulse, the government lawyers argued. The defence, on the other hand, moved a bail plea, saying there was no need to take Das in custody, as the police have already collected materials and evidences they were looking for. Das' lawyer on grounds of "insanity" pleaded that his client should not be handed over to the police immediately. "My client is a psychiatric patient. He needs to go through treatment first. We cannot depend on his statements as he is not mentally stable," the lawyer said. After hearing both parties, Chief Judicial Magistrate A.K. Nandy turned down the bail application and sent Das to police custody for eight days. He will again be presented before the court on February 15. The court proceedings over, Das was taken to the Bankura police station for interrogation. "We need to interrogate him to find out the real motive for murdering his live-in partner Shweta Sharma," Bankura Superintendent of Police Sukhendu Hira told IANS over phone. "During initial questioning, Das said he killed his partner in a fit of rage," he said. Das was brought to Bankura from Kolkata airport on Monday night under police escort. His arrival was delayed as IndiGo Airlines refused to ferry Das on board its Raipur-Kolkata flight as the police escort did not possess valid security documents. Das was arrested on February 2 by the West Bengal Police on charges of murdering Shweta Sharma (28) and entombing her body in a concrete block inside his house in Saketnagar in Bhopal in Madhya Pradesh. After Das was arrested on charge of murdering his live-in partner and entombing her body in his house in Bhopal, he also confessed to his parents' murder. He told the police that he murdered both his parents in 2010 and interred their bodies in their house in Raipur in Chhattisgarh in a way similar to what he did in the case of Shweta. --IANS ssp/tsb/vt (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Centre has assured that the rate of Goods and Services Tax (GST) would be revenue neutral both for real estate developers and consumers, the Confederation of Real Estate Developers' Associations of India (CREDAI) said on Tuesday. "The government assured us (CREDAI) the GST rate will be revenue neutral. They are coming out with a model which will be revenue neutral for both developers and customers," CREDAI's National President Getamber Anand said here. "The developers are expected to pay GST equal to what they paid as Vat (value added tax) and excise and consumers will be exempted from state service tax. That is what the government assured us," Anand said. He said that the biggest concern was that GST treats real estate as a service while Stamp Act is treating it as a fixed asset. The real estate takes hits from both the sides. "From the consumers' point of view, we were arguing that either the Centre subsume stamp duty in the GST or do not levy GST. Only the stamp duty can be levied," he said. "The Centre said stamp duty is a state subject so it cannot interfere there," Anand said. The apex body of private real estate developers also advocated rationalisation of stamp duty across the country. In terms of providing skills to the construction workers, the industry body has already trained 50,000 workers and is aiming to train one lakh more workers in the next year, he said. It has opened two off-site training centres in West Bengal. --IANS bdc/lok/vt (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Army personnel were in for a surprise on Tuesday when students of Chandigarh-based schools handed over 'Thank you' cards to them for their selfless and gallant service to the nation. Around 50 'Peace Club' students and teachers of Carmel Convent School, Sector 9, and Sri Guru Harkrishan Senior Secondary School, Sector 40, presented handmade 'Thank You' greeting cards and flowers to Army troopers in the 'N' Area of Chandigarh. "The cards featured children's artwork, words and line in praise and respect of gallant soldiers of Indian Army," said Pramod Sharma, coordinator of NGO Yuvsatta, which organised the ceremony. The soldiers were happy to receive the cards and flowers from the students. Sharma said that Yuvsatta, in association with local schools, had started the 'Thanks Giving Week', which is organised in the first week of February every year. "School students present 'Thank You Greeting Cards' and bouquet of flowers to encourage the noble souls serving us like traffic policemen, fire brigade personnel, police officials, municipal staff, doctors in dispensaries or hospitals, defence and para-military personnel, postman and even school's transport drivers, sweepers and others. Their work helps sustain vibrant, healthy communities for us all," Sharma added. Appreciating the initiative and motivating students, Sister Supreeta, Principal of Carmel Convent School, said: "The world could be a better place if we start recognising the services of people who do so much for us and whose services we at times take for granted." --IANS js/sm/bg (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A court here on Tuesday granted bail to former Coal Secretary H.C. Gupta and others in a case related to alleged irregularities in allocation of a coal block in Chhattisgarh to SKS Ispat and Power Limited (SIPL). Special Judge Bharat Parashar granted bail to Gupta, senior government servant K.S. Kropha, SIPL Directors Anil Gupta and Deepak Gupta, and three others -- Amit Singh, Rakesh Singh and Jagan Nath Panda. The court directed them to furnish a personal bond of Rs one lakh each and a surety of like amount each and listed the matter for March 23 for further hearing. The accused appeared before the court in pursuance of summons issued against them. The court was hearing a case pertaining to alleged irregularities in allocation of Chhattisgarh's Fatehpur Coal Block to SIPL. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has chargesheeted them alleging that they have hatched a criminal conspiracy to cheat the screening committee and misrepresented various facts to obtain coal block. SIPL had won the contract of Fatehpur coal block in 2008. A first information report in the matter was lodged in 2014. --IANS akk/sm/vm (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Infighting in the Left-led Kerala government besides differences within the bureaucracy has hit governance, the Congress said on Tuesday. The functioning of the government has come to a standstill with all round differences of opinion, Opposition leader Ramesh Chennithala told the media. "The single biggest reason for this is on account of the serious differences between the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) and the Communist Party of India (CPI)," he said. The issues related to the disclosure through RTI Act, Maoists and student protests, he said. He said articles in the CPI's party organ released on Monday showed that things were not well between the CPI and CPI-M, which heads the Left Democratic Front (LDF) government. The CPI is the second largest group in LDF. "Also, though the CPI-M claims that factional feuds are a thing of the past, every day (CPI-M leader) V.S. Achuthanandan has a different opinion to that of his government, besides the feud between the bureaucracy and the Vigilance department," Chennithala said. This, he said, had dented the work of the government. --IANS sg/sm/mr (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) With a view to promote digital transactions, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is working to reduce the Marginal Discount Charges (MDR) for debit card transactions above Rs 2,000, Parliament was told on Tuesday. "The RBI is deciding on this... it is work in progress. I am sure as volumes (of digital transactions) are increasing, the charges will come down," the Finance Minister Arun Jaitley told the Rajya Sabha during the Question Hour. Jaitley said that under the Payments and Settlements Act, the RBI has recently fixed the MDR rate at 0.25 per cent for cash transactions upto Rs 1,000, while for transactions upto Rs 2,000 it has been fixed at 0.50 per cent. These charges have been introduced for the period from January 1, 2017, and will be applicable till March 31, 2017. As per the RBI's rate structure announced in 2012, the MDR for transactions valued above Rs 2,000 has been capped 1 per cent. In response to another question, Jaitley described how the crucial decision on demonetisation of Rs 1,000 and Rs 500 notes was taken by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) board at a day's notice. He said while the formal decision on demonetisation was taken by the RBI on November 8, this had been preceded by a series of discussions started in February 2016. Last month, RBI Governor Urjit Patel told a Parliamentary Committee that the apex bank had been "advised" by the government on November 7 to hold a board meeting on the issue. The demonetisation decision was announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on November 8 following a meeting of the RBI board and also of the Union Cabinet. To a separate question on whether it was the RBI that took the decision on its own or whether the government advised it to do so, Jaitley replied: "The RBI board met and independently applied its mind and made a recommendation to the government." "A formal proposal to the RBI to consider this matter in the Board is sent by the Finance Ministry to the RBI Board and RBI independently considers it, applies its mind and accordingly makes its recommendation to the government." --IANS bc/lok/nir (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.) Despite a dismal track record in implementing projects -- 74 of 125 MoUs have fallen through since 2005 -- Jharkhand is readying for its first Global Investors Summit on February 16-17, with the opposition Congress charging the Raghubar Das-led BJP government of spending "more than Rs 100 crore" on the event. The 74 MoUs of projects that fell through would have brought in Rs 2.93 lakh crore ($43 billion) of the approximately Rs 5 lakh crore promised, and would have catapulted Jharkhand from a tottering rural economy to a vibrant, industrialised state. Of the projects that got off the ground, only one -- that of Jindal Steel, with an investment of Rs 10,000 crore -- is actually up and running, while the others have been stalled largely due to problems relating to land acquisition or have shut down due to a variety of reasons. Most importantly, two ultra-mega power projects (UMPPs) -- Hazaribagh and Deoghar -- are hanging in balance. Between them, they would have generated slightly less than 8,000 MW of power. In sum, had all the projects fructified, urbanisation would have gathered pace as they would have seen the growth of 100 townships and the creation of 600,000 new jobs. Arcelor Mittal, owned by steel king Laxmi Niwas Mittal, had proposed an investment of Rs 40,000 crore for a 12 million tonnes per annum steel plant. However, the ambitious project has been stuck for a while now as the company managed to acquire just 10 acres of land in Petarwar block of Bokaro district. Moreover, it did not show any interest in inking the second-level MoU as the earlier agreement inked with the company was cancelled after the state government came out with the new industrial policy in 2012. The company, on its part, has merely hinted that it would look into the project after it manages to bag iron-ore mines. Mega projects of Adani, Vedanta and Tata Steel are also stuck due to land-related issues. The Adani group needs 1,600 acres for its Rs 20,000 crore power plant, and also 2,000 acres more for its coal and gas project. Jindal's proposed power plant in Pathargama of Godda district has also failed to see any progress as there is a dispute over the land needed for the project. The Tatas, too, are facing various land-related hurdles to expand their projects in the state. Others, including Vallabh Steel (Gamharia), Pawanjay Steel (Lohardaga), Adhunik Steel (Gamharia), Kanti Steel (Galudih), Neelanchal Steel (Kandra) and Abhijeet Group (Saraikela) have shut their plants due to one reason or another. Now, to make state investor-friendly, the Jharkhand government has amended two land acts to ease the acquisition process. Little wonder, then, that the opposition is not amused. "More than Rs 100 crore will be spent on the investors summit. The state government has failed to create a proper environment for investors. Many industries have been closed after the BJP government led by Raghubar Das came to power in the state," Jharkhand Congress General Secretary Kishore Sahdeo told IANS. "Instead of making efforts to avoid closure of the industries, Raghubar Das spent crores of rupees on holding road shows and touring foreign countries. Jharkhand is one of the states where criminals have a free hand. Every day rape and murder cases are reported in the state. On an average, two to three girls are raped in the state," he added, maintaining that the dismal law and order situation was showing the state in poor light. The BJP, however, is having none of this. "We have to move forward from past experience. Now Jharkhand has a stable government and the political situation has changed. Jharkhand's rating has improved. In the current political scenario, there is an environment in favour of investors," Jharkhand BJP spokesperson J.B. Tubid told IANS. It's a different thing that Jharkhand's ranking in ease of doing business and luring investors has slipped from the third to seventh position, according to an October statement by the Union Commerce and Industry's Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP). Undeterred, the state government is wholeheartedly backing the "Momentum Jharkhand" investors summit that is being promoted in a big way on TV by former India captain M.S. Dhoni, and has as its logo a pink elephant. Critics are hoping the projects its brings do not turn into white elephants. (Nityanand Shukla can be contacted at nityanand.s@ians.in) --IANS ns/vm/tb/sac (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) US Senate on Tuesday confirmed the nomination of Betsy DeVos -- President Donald Trump's choice for the post of Secretary of Education after a tie-breaking vote by Vice President Mike Pence. "The Senate being equally divided, the Vice President votes in the affirmative and the nomination is confirmed," Vice President Mike Pence said as he cast the deciding vote to make numbers 51-50 to clear DeVos for the cabinet position, becoming the first US vice president to do so. The Republican Party holds 52 seats in the 100 seat chamber, but two Republican Senators, Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska said they cannot back DeVos, who vigorously promoted charter schools and the school voucher system, Xinhua reported. Under this system federal funding would go directly the the households of students, allowing them to choose whichever school to attend. The vote is the closest yet for a cabinet nominee of US President Donald Trump, as Senators debated heatedly whether DeVos's vision is suitable for the country. "A vote for Ms. DeVos is a vote to destroy the public school system," Democratic Senator Tom Udall of New Mexico said. Other Senators questioned DeVos' competency to guide the country's education system, suggesting that her family background detached her from public realities. "For you to understand what it is like for students and families who are struggling to pay for college, have you ever taken out a student loan from the federal government?" Democrat Senator Elizabeth Warren asked DeVos during her confirmation hearing. DeVos said no and neither have her children. DeVos was nominated by Trump on November 23 for the office of Secretary of Education, she is a Michigan native who has been a long-time donor for the Republican Party. --IANS sku/ (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Egypt on Tuesday praised US President Donald Trump's criticism of Western media for what he described as their neglect in covering terrorist attacks around the world. "The Foreign Ministry hailed the US administration's stance in this regard, highlighting Egypt's repeated calls upon the international community to adopt a comprehensive, coordinated and non-selective strategy to combat terrorism at all levels: security, political, cultural, media and others," Xinhua quoted Egyptian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ahmed Abu Zeid as saying. On Monday, Trump accused news media of ignoring attacks by terrorists. "It's gotten to a point where it's not even being reported," Trump told a group of US troops in Florida. "And, in many cases, the very, very dishonest press doesn't want to report it. They have their reasons, and you understand that," Trump added. The White House released a list on Monday evening of 78 attacks around the world from September 2014 to December 2016, including nine in Egypt, which it said Western media have ignored. Abu Zeid, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry Spokesman, said a number of Western media outlets have not been reporting adequately on recent terrorist attacks, and that some of them accuse certain countries of dereliction, including Egypt. --IANS sku/ (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Speaker Of Britains House Of Commons Wont Let Trump Speak At Parliament Trending News: Uh oh. Britain Just Gave Donald Trump A Serious Stiff Arm Long Story Short The speaker of Britains House of Commons says he wont let President Trump address the country's parliament when he visits the UK for a state visit this summer, citing his perceived racism and sexism, his attacks on the judiciary and the Muslim migrant ban. Long Story John Bercow, the Speaker of the House of Commons, is no fan of Donald Trump. Never has been, and odds are he never will be. But his stinging condemnation of the President of one of Britains closest allies and the country with which is shares a much-vaunted special relationship, is still surprising. Bercows comments on Monday came shortly after Trump had accepted Queen Elizabeth IIs invitation to make a state visit this summer. And while an address to Parliament is never guaranteed in these things, there have been plenty of precedents: Barack Obama, Angela Merkel of Germany, Juan Manuel Santos of Colombia and Xi Jinping of China have all spoken before both the lower chamber, the House of Commons, and the upper, the House of Lords. Donald Trump will not. An address by a foreign leader to both House of Parliament is not an automatic right. It is an earned honor, said Bercow. In order to address both Houses in Westminster Hall, the three key holders to the Hallthe Speaker of the House of Commons, the Speaker of the House of Lords and the Lord Great Chamberlainmust be in agreement, he added. Before the imposition of the migrant ban I would myself have been strongly opposed to an address by President Trump in Westminster Hall, Bercow said, to cheers from the opposition Labour party. After the imposition of the migrant ban by President Trump, I am even more strongly opposed to an address by President Trump in Westminster Hall. Bercow then referred to the possibility of Trump speaking to both Houses from the Royal Gallery, which is in another part of the Parliament building and has also been used by state leaders for official dinners and other occasions to address both Houses. So far as the Royal Gallery is concerned, again I operate on advice, I do not perhaps have as strong a say in that matter. It is in a different part of the building, although customarily an invitation to a visiting leader to deliver an address there would be issued in the names of the two speakers, he continued. I would not wish to issue an invitation to President Trump to speak in the Royal Gallery. Bercow concluded, I feel very strongly that our opposition to racism and to sexism and our support for equality before the law and an independent judiciary are hugely important considerations in the House of Commons. Reaction was predictably partisan, with Conservatives scorning his comments and Labour praising them. Own The Conversation Ask The Big Question Was Bercow grandstanding or standing up for his principles? Drop This Fact Although elected to the House of Commons as a Conservative MP in 1997, Bercow has often been at odds with his party. He was first elected to the supposedly politically neutral speakers chair in 2009 and re-elected in 2015. Bollywood movie 'Jolly LLB 2' will be released on February 10 as production house Fox Star Studios on Tuesday informed the Supreme Court that it was cutting four scenes as directed by the Bombay High Court. Informing the bench headed by Justice Ranjan Gogoi that it would abide by the High Court direction to cut the scenes, Fox Star Studios said that it was withdrawing its plea. Fox Star Studios had moved the apex court challenging the Bombay High Court order directing that the movie be viewed by a three member committee. The order was passed by the Aurangabad bench of the Bombay High Court. Jolly LLB 2, starring Akshay Kumar and Huma Qureshi, is a sequel of 2013 Jolly LLB. The Bombay High Court's Aurangabad Bench on Monday ordered deletion of four scenes from the film, which it held were defamatory to the judiciary and could amount to contempt of court. The High Court order came following a report by the court-appointed three-member committee of experts, comprising Senior Advocates R.N. Dhorde and V.J. Dixit and medico Prakash Kanade. The Aurangabad bench set up the committee to see the film after a Nanded lawyer, Ajay Kumar Waghmare, told the court that the film was an attempt to portray the country's legal profession and the judicial system in a poor light. While keeping the plea by Fox Star Studios pending, the top court had on February 3 asked the producer of the film to go back to the High Court to raise objections to the appointment of the three member committee for pre-release viewing of the film. --IANS pk/ahm/bg (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Around 80 per cent voters cast their ballot on Tuesday in the re-poll ordered by the Election Commission at a polling booth in the Margao legislative assembly constituency in South Goa, officials said. Poll authorities here said that polling booth number 8 in Margao, located 35 km from the state capital, saw 79.89 per cent voting through Tuesday. "632 out of the eligible 791 voters in the polling booth area cast votes," a spokesperson for the Chief Electoral Officer, Goa said. Polling at polling station 8 at the government primary school in Aquem, Margao, was cancelled on February 4, after election officials posted at the booth failed to delete the sample votes, which were logged in the electronic voting machine, before the actual voting. The Election Commission had on Sunday ordered the re-polling at the booth. Former Chief Minister Digambar Kamat is contesting against the BJP's Sharmad Raiturkar and the Aam Aadmi Party's Santosh Raiturkar from the constituency. Excluding the vote tally during the re-poll, 82.23 per cent voters had exercised their franchise in the February 4 state assembly elections, the results of which will be declared on March 11. --IANS maya/lok/bg (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Following the resumed agitation by Jats, the Haryana government on Tuesday set up a five-member committee headed by Chief Secretary D.S. Dhesi "to consider the demands and resolve the problems of those agitating for reservation" in the state. Additional Chief Secretary (Home) Ram Niwas, Principal Secretary Industries Devender Singh, General Administration Secretary Vijayendra Kumar and Additional Director General of Police (Law and Order) Mohammad Akil are on the panel. "Any organisation, section of society or an individual can submit their viewpoint(s) and suggestion(s) to the committee, either in writing or orally. The committee will try its best to resolve their issues under the Constitution and different decisions and directions given by the Punjab and Haryana High Court," a Haryana government spokesman said on Tuesday. He reiterated the state government's commitment to resolve the people's problems under constitutional provisions. The BJP government's move comes in the wake of the resumed agitation by the Jats since January 29 in support of their demands and grievances. The agitation resumed by the All India Jat Aarakshan Sangharsh Samiti led by Yashpal Malik has seen protests in 19 districts of Haryana. More protesters, including women, the elderly and children, have joined the agitation in the past week. The protesters are seeking implementation of reservation for Jats, jobs for the kin of those killed during the earlier stir by the community in February last year and action against officials who ordered the use of force on Jat protesters. The Jat agitation in February 2016 left 30 people dead and over 200 injured. Haryana has been on high alert in the wake of the resumed agitation due to bitter memories of last year's large-scale violence. Rohtak, Sonipat, Panipat, Jhajjar, Jind, Fatehabad, Hisar and some other districts were the worst-affected. --IANS js/tsb/bg (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) India is interfering in Sri Lanka's affairs to stop China's growing presence in the island nation, Chinese experts feel, according to the Chinese daily. It was quite apparent that "Sri Lanka's vow not to allow Chinese military activity in the port of Hambantota is meant to pacify India," the Global Times said after speaking to experts. The assurance was "unnecessary" since the port was always meant for civilian use and India is too sensitive over China's presence in the Indian Ocean, the experts believe. Last week, Sri Lankan Ambassador to China Karunasena Kodituwakku said that no Chinese military activity will be allowed in the port of Hambantota. Hambantota is a strategic port in Sri Lanka, 80 per cent stake of which is held by a Chinese firm. "Sri Lanka's promise is unnecessary because the port is meant for civilian use, and shows that India is interfering in Sri Lanka's affairs," Chu Yin, Associate Professor at the University of International Relations, told the influential Chinese daily. "The Belt and Road initiative always focuses on civilian projects to help developing countries, and China respects these countries' security concerns when pushing infrastructure development," Chu said. "Since India remains preoccupied with China's presence in the region, Sri Lanka has to repeatedly pacify its neighbour even when this is aimed at promoting Sri Lanka's economic development." he added. Lin Minwang, Professor at the Institute of International Studies of Fudan University, said: "Sri Lanka initially wanted India to help develop Hambantota port, but it finally turned to China for help since India faces financial difficulties and concerns over future competition with its own ports in the Indian Ocean." "China has no intention to offend India, and the programme is good for Sri Lanka's economic development. But if India has a problem with the programmme and oppresses its neighbour, it only shows that it is interfering in other countries' domestic affairs," Chu said. --IANS gsh/vt (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Britain-based Indian-origin artist and human rights activist Anish Kapoor has been honoured with the 2017 Genesis Prize given by the Genesis Prize Foundation. The prize was awarded by the Genesis Prize Foundation, the Government of Israel and the Jewish Agency on February 5. Kapoor has decided to use the $1 million award money to help refugees and try to expand the Jewish community's engagement in a global effort to support the Syrian refugees, according to a statement issued by Genesis Prize Foundation. His famous work 'Turning the World Upside Down' sculpture has been placed at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem. Some of his other works which gained worldwide attention are 'Cloud Gate' placed in Chicago's Millennium Park and 'Orbit' in London. Born in Mumbai to a Baghdadi Jewish mother and Indian father, Kapoor moved to Israel at the age of 16 and is based in Britain since 1970. He has also been a public advocate and fought for the betterment of the refugees. Natan Sharansky, Head of Genesis Prize selection committee, said: "Anish Kapoor has campaigned against indifference his whole life. His message is clear, powerful, and inspiring. I am confident that Anish will use the Genesis Prize to build on the good work and his voice and energy will help to focus more people on the need to alleviate the suffering of refugees." The Israeli Embassy in the national capital also congratulated Kapoor upon receiving the 2017 Genesis Prize. "I congratulate Kapoor for winning the prestigious Genesis Prize of 2017. Kapoor's contribution to the world -- both artistic and humanitarian -- is deservedly celebrated," Israel Ambassador Daniel Carmon said in a statement. Established in 2012, the annual Genesis Prize has been dubbed by Time Magazine as the "Jewish Nobel". --IANS som/sm/vt (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Tuesday confirmed that Dubai-based Shamsul Huda, who acted as the alleged mastermind for the ISI-backed plot to cause train accidents in the country, was arrested by the police in Nepal. "Shamshul Huda has been arrested by the Nepal Police after being deported from Dubai," a senior National Investigation Agency (NIA) official told IANS on the condition of anonymity. The official also described Huda's arrest as a big breakthrough in the three cases that was handed over to the agency. The three cases comprised a failed attempt to detonate an IED (improvised explosive device) on the Ghorasahan track in East Champaran district of Bihar; the suspected sabotage behind the Indore-Patna Express train accident in Kanpur on November 20, 2016, that killed 149 people; and the derailement of Hirakhand Express in Koneru in Andhra Pradesh on January 21 which resulted in the deaths of 41 persons. The NIA official further said that the agency is in touch with the Nepalese authority to seek access for his questioning. --IANS aks/ksk/vm (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Tuesday confirmed that Dubai-based Shamshul Huda, who acted as "mastermind" for an ISI-backed plot to cause train accidents in India, was arrested by police in Nepal. "Shamshul Huda has been arrested by the Nepal Police after being deported from Dubai," a senior NIA official told IANS on the condition of anonymity. The official also described Huda's arrest as a big breakthrough in the three cases that was handed over to the agency. The three cases comprised a failed attempt to detonate an IED (Improvised Explosive Device) on the Ghorasahan track in East Champaran district of Bihar on October 1, 2016; the suspected sabotage behind the Indore-Patna Express train accident in Kanpur on November 20, 2016, that killed 149 people; and derailment of Hirakhand Express in Koneru in Andhra Pradesh on January 21 which resulted in the deaths of 41 persons. The NIA official further said that the agency was in touch with the Nepalese authority to seek access to Huda for questioning. Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agent Huda, was also a known operative of fake Indian currency and has a network in Nepal. After the Home Ministry's January 25 and 26 orders, the NIA took over the Ghorasahan, Kanpur and Koneru cases to probe ISI's role, which was first pointed out by the Bihar police. In January, Bihar police arrested three criminals from Motihari -- Moti Paswan, Uma Shankar Patel and Mukesh Yadav -- and informed central agencies about their links with ISI agent Huda and the Ghorasahan and the Kanpur incidents. "Technical evidences and the initial questioning of three arrested criminals by Bihar police have led NIA to probe ISI's role in two train accidents and a failed attempt of track blast in India on various occasions. "WhatsApp chat details and other technical evidences has indicated clear link among the arrested criminals, Nepalese handler Brajesh Giri, Dubai-based mastermind Shamshul Huda as well as a Karachi-based suspected ISI agent Shafi Shaikh. All these inputs are enough to confirm the ISI role," a Home Ministry official said. Initial investigations reveal that Giri had given Rs three lakh to the arrested criminals for planting a bomb on the rail tracks at Ghorasahan. Investigators said that Umashankar Patel, one of the accused, came in touch with Shamshul Huda and Shafi Shaikh during a telephonic conversation organised by Giri when the two masterminds were together in Dubai around seven month ago. --IANS rak/ahm/rn (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Child rights activist Kailash Satyarthi's house here was burgled and his Nobel Prize citation stolen among other things, police said on Tuesday. The burglary took place on Monday night in Alakananda in south Delhi. Satyarthi and his wife are currently attending the World Summit of Nobel Peace Laureates in Colombia. "The burglars entered the house breaking a window and a ventilator. The verification of the objects stolen is on. Among the things stolen is his Nobel prize citation," Deputy Commissioner of Police Romil Baniya said. The police are also examining CCTV footage from Satyarthi's apartment as well as of the neighbours. "The Crime Branch is associated with South East district police in the Greater Kailash burglary at Kailash Satyarthi's house. All out effort is on," Joint Commissioner of Police (JCP) Deependra Pathak said. The officer said some local criminals, security guards, vendors and scrap dealers have been detained for interrogation to get some positive leads about the accused burglars in the case. The theft came to notice on Tuesday morning and Satyarthi's son Bhuvan Ribhu filed a police complaint. According to a spokesperson for Satyarthi's Foundation, the burglars also took away jewellery, cash and electronic items. Satyarthi was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2014. He is the founder of the Bachpan Bachao Andolan (BBA), which is dedicated to battling child labour and rehabilitating rescued former child workers. This is the second instance of theft of a Nobel memorabilia in India. The country's first Nobel winner, Rabindranath Tagore's medallion along with 47 other memorabilia were stolen from Rabindra Bhawan at Santiniketan in West Bengal. The theft came to light on March 25, 2004. The investigation was handed over to the Central Bureau of Investigation but the case has remained unsolved. --IANS sp/rn (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) As indefinite protests by the students of the Kerala Law Academy entered the 28th day on Tuesday, the Congress party said it is mulling legal recourse over the strike, a party leader said. Addressing reporters here, Leader of Opposition Ramesh Chennithala said: "We are waiting to get proper advice on how to take forward the ongoing students protest in a legal way. When the protests began they were a unified one but recently the CPI-M-backed Students Federation of India withdrew from the strike. The action was termed "cheating" by all the other students organisations, including that of the ruling CPI's AISF. The law academy students are on an indefinite protest, demanding the resignation of its Principal Lekshmi Nair for her mismanagement and rude behaviour. The five-decade-old academy is a privately run institution by Narayanan Nair, who is the director and father of Lekshmi Nair. It is also the alma mater of hundreds of present day politicians, police officers and government servants. Nair has over the years been able to douse any student protest with ease, as it never had the support of frontline political parties owing to their soft corner for the director. But ever since his daughter took over, things took a turn for the worse. "We are waiting for the state government to come out with a report on the ownership of the land...," said Chennithala. Barring the CPI-M, all other leading political parties including the Left ally-CPI has demanded that the state government take over the academy. "I met Governor P. Sathasivam, early in the day and requested him to intervene as the Pinarayi Vijayan government has done nothing to end the protests," Chennithala said. Kerala Education Minister C. Raveendranath who called for a conciliation meeting, himself walked out of the meet, he said . Meanwhile, the condition of Congress legislator K. Muraleedharan whose indefinite fast entered the sixth day, supporting the demands of the students worsened on Tuesday with doctors asking for him to be shifted to a hospital. V.V. Rajesh, state BJP spokesperson, is also on an indefinite fast. Revenue Secretary P.H. Kurian has been asked to submit a detailed report on the ownership of the land by Revenue Minister E.Chandrashekeran. The academy was closed indefinitely with politicians demanding the intervention of the Chief Minister. --IANS sg/in/bg (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaite has proposed that the country's parliament urgently ratify the defence cooperation agreement with the US, the president's office said. Recently, Lithuanian and the US signed agreement defining conditions for the construction of military objects and movement of US aircraft, ships, and other military vehicles in this Baltic country, Xinhua news reported on Tuesday. Grybauskaite said the agreement would help allied troops "implement deterrence measures and strengthen the defence of NATO eastern flank." Latvia and Estonia, Lithuania's neighbouring countries, have also signed parallel cooperation agreements with the US, according to the president's office. The agreement on the status of US forces in Lithuania comes more than two years since the first US forces arrived to Lithuania. Since early 2014, rotational US forces have been attending joint military training in Lithuania. --IANS in/vm (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A meteor briefly lit up the night sky over Chicago and then landed in Lake Michigan, a media report said on Tuesday. The meteor streaked across the sky around 1.25 a.m., and then landed in Lake Michigan, according to American Meteor Society (AMS). It said the rock likely was the size of a minivan, CBS Chicago reported. Lisle Police Officer James Dexter spotted the meteor while on patrol, and his squad car's dashboard camera recorded the fireball lighting up the night sky. "It looked like the beginning and then the end of a firework that does not explode. It was just a large, green orb that suddenly appeared with a trail, and then it flashed out, and disappeared in a streak across the sky," he said. Unlike predictable meteor showers like the Perseids or the Taurids, the AMS said this was a spontaneous one-time event. Those kinds of meteors fall to earth virtually every day, but there is no way to know where or when to see one. The meteor would have exploded about 10 miles above the ground, and was travelling at least 20 km per second, or about 45,000 miles per hour, according to AMS. The meteor was spotted in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Wisconsin, and Canada. Some who saw it in Wisconsin also reported hearing a sonic boom. It also showed up on weather radars. Because this meteor fell in the lake, it is unlikely any fragments will be recovered, AMS added. --IANS sm/vm (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Supermodel-actor Milind Soman on Tuesday spoke out against the attack on veteran filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali on the sets of "Padmavati" by members of a fringe group. "I can't appreciate it. Nobody can take law into their own hands," said Milind, whose last film "Bajirao Mastani" was directed by Bhansali. Milind spoke on the sidelines of Pinkathon, a women's run programme taking place for the first time in the city. Bhansali was roughed up by members of a Rajput community group, who also stopped the shooting of the film by damaging the set at Jaigarh Fort, alleging that the director was "distorting facts" in the movie which is about Alauddin Khilji and Rani Padmavati. Milind, a fitness freak himself and creator of the initiative, said the March 26 Pinkathon will also focus on spreading awareness about breast cancer. "Any issue can only be resolved if you talk about it. People are apprehensive about breast cancer because the word 'breast' in there. People need to understand what they need to do, and make that choice. "There is information available. There has to be enough awareness about it. Any issue which is suppressed, should be talked about not on just one day... Everyday," said the 52-year old, known for his stellar performance in 2002 movie "16 December". The Pinkathon will see 50 visually impaired girls and 20 hearing impaired girls participate in different running categories. Milind, whose next movie is with Saif Ali Khan in the Indian remake of hit Hollywood film 'Chef', added that more than promoting exercise, it is about changing the mentality of people and changing their lifestyles. "It's not a question of hitting the gym, or running or lifting weights. It's about making the choices that are right for you." --IANS dm/ssp/rb/bg (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 the decision on cross-LoC surgical strikes was a "big decision" of his government, but the opposition parties were "unable" to speak about it to the people as it was causing them "pain inside". Replying to the debate on the Motion of Thanks to the President's address in the Lok Sabha, Modi said while opposition parties were talking a lot about demonetisation, they were not talking about the surgical strikes. "It was a big decision. (You) are talking about demonetisation but no one is talking about surgical strikes. "Surgical strikes is causing you trouble. You are unable to speak among people (about it). You are feeling pain inside," he said. The surgical strikes were carried out by the Indian Army in September on terror launch pads across the Line of Control following a terror attack on an Army camp in Uri in Jammu and Kashmir. The opposition parties have accused the government of "politicising" the surgical strikes. Modi said the September 29 cross-LoC surgical strikes was a big decision and the Army carried these out successfully. Referring to allegations of opposition parties that he had not acted tough against Pakistan-sponsored terrorism despite tall claims, Modi said that the leaders of these parties were not able to repeat their allegations among the people. Modi said some opposition parties were forced to change their statements on surgical strikes within the first 24 hours after seeing the mood of the people. He said the defence forces were fully capable of meeting all challenges to the country's security. --IANS ps/rn (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Nepali police on Tuesday presented before the media in the southern city of Birgunj five alleged ISI agents, who had been involved in various terror activities in Nepal and India. They were operating their ring from Pakistan, Malaysia, Dubai and the UAE, the police said. The main accused -- Samshul Hoda, 43, from Bara district of Nepal -- is suspected to have planted a bomb on the Indore-Patna Express train on November 21, which claimed nearly 150 lives. The Nepali police secured the extradition of Hoda from Dubai on Sunday and took him to his home district Bara for further investigation. Bara Superintendent of Police (SP) Narenda Prasad Upreti, after parading the five accused men before the media, said: "We have established that Hoda and his friends were involved in terrorist activities in India. He executed his plans with support from his cronies based in Pakistan, Malaysia and Dubai." Upreti said Hoda got involved in terror and other criminal activities after he lost an election in 2013 that incurred him a loss of Nepali Rs 20 million (1 Nepali rupee=0.63 Indian rupee, approximately). After failing to pay his debts, he first started circulating fake Indian currency notes. But he could not make enough money to pay back his debts, so he contacted the ISI, the Pakistani intelligence agency, and started hiring people to carry out various terror activities in India for it, Upreti said. According to a police statement, Hoda admitted that he had paid Rs 8 lakh in advance to Umashankar Patel from Raxual in India through a Nepali citizen, Brij Kishore Giri, to plant the bomb in a train. Giri and his accomplices were to be paid Rs 30 million more if the plan succeeded. Umashanakar later handed the money over to two Indian nationals -- Arun and Dipak -- from East Champaran district for planting the bomb. As per the plan, Arun and Dipak planted the bomb on the railway track but due to technical reasons, it did not go off. As the plan had failed, Giri demanded the money back, but Dipak and Arun refused to return the money. Then Giri called them to a jungle area in Bara district and killed them on December 25 last year, the police statement said. When the bodies of the two Indian nationals were found, the Bihar police launched a massive operation and arrested one Mujahir Ansari, who later disclosed Hoda and Giri's link with those killed in the jungle. After Ansari's sensational revelation, the Nepali police arrested Giri from Parsa district. During the interrogation, Giri revealed that the same gang was also involved in the train blast. After this, the police sent a team to Dubai to bring Hoda back to Nepal, according to the police statment. Along with Hoda and Giri, the police also paraded Ashish Singh, Ansari and Umesh Kasmar Kurmi, who all worked for Hoda and helped carry out various cross-border crimes. (Anil Giri can be contacted at girianil@gmail.com) --IANS giri/nir/vt (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The proposed merger of the Indian state-run oil and gas companies would face significant execution challenges in managing integration of employees, addressing overcapacity in the merged entity and getting support for the merger from private shareholders, US rating agency Fitch Ratings said on Tuesday. "A merger would face significant execution challenges, particularly in terms of managing the integration of employees, addressing overcapacity in the merged entity, and winning the backing for the merger from private shareholders," Fitch said in a statement from Singapore. "Proposals to consolidate India's oil and gas sector have been floated before, but last week the idea was presented in a Budget speech for the first time. No details have yet been provided on which companies would be involved, but the aim is to create an integrated public sector 'oil major'," Fitch said. Reviving a proposal first mooted more than a decade ago by then Petroleum Minister Mani Shankar Aiyar during the first UPA government, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in his Budget 2017-18 said: "We propose to create an integrated public sector oil major which will be able to match the performance of international and domestic private sector oil and gas companies." The American agency said that a merged entity would have opportunities to save on costs and improve operational efficiency. "Transport costs could be reduced by retailers sourcing from the nearest refinery, rather than the ones they own as is currently the common practice. A merged entity would also be able to share expertise for exploration and acquisition of resources," it said. "The integration of upstream, refining and retail companies would have the additional benefit of spreading the impact of oil prices movements across the various parts of the value chain, which would reduce volatility in cash generation," it added. Fitch, however, said there would be considerable difficulties involved in merging a number of entities "with differing structures, operational systems, and cultures." "Political sensitivities are likely to limit job cuts, and personnel-related issues are likely to arise from the need to manage hierarchies and potential overcapacity in the integrated entity." Among the 13 state-run oil companies being considered for merger are the explorers Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) and Oil India, oil marketers Indian Oil Corp, Bharat Petroleum, Hindustan Petroleum, Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals, Chennai Petroleum and Numaligarh Refinery, and gas import and transportation utilities GAIL and Petronet LNG. Analysts have been guarded in their reaction, in view of the fact that the official committee that studied the matter in 2005 had advised against a merger at the time as it felt the process could be lengthy and problematic. "I think the motivation is right but the government has to be very careful in going ahead with the merger as that can take a lot of time in integrating cultures of various companies and the market conditions could also change," said Anish De, Partner at KPMG in India. Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan has clarified that Budget 2017-18's bare announcement of the government intent to merge state-run oil companies into a single entity will actually mean creation of multiple entities. "It will not be one company. It will not be wise to put all eggs in one basket. There will be multiple companies...but all these will be integrated," Pradhan told reporters here following the Budget presentation. He elaborated that each new company would deal with aspects of the entire value chain such as exploration and production, refining and marketing. --IANS bc/vt (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Photojournalist Rabin Sengupta, one of the few Indian journalists who extensively covered the 1971 Bangladesh war, died here on Tuesday after a protracted illness, his family said. He was 87. Sengupta is survived by his wife, a son and a daughter. Chief Minister Manik Sarkar, leaders of political parties and Bangladesh Assistant High Commission officials here visited Sengupta's house here and expressed shock over his demise. His body was cremated later in the day. Sengupta was honoured with the Liberation War Award in 2012 for his contribution to the war. Sengupta, whose photographs were published in Indian and international newspapers, was born in Agartala in 1930. His ancestors from Dhaka settled in Agartala in 1840. Sengupta was also an author of many books. He travelled to the former Soviet Union and Brazil. An avid Marxist, he knew Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi personally and was an admirer of Leftist leaders including Jyoti Basu and E.M.S. Namboodiripad. --IANS sc/ruwa/mr (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A Spanish public prosecutor has asked for a seven month jail term for Atletico Madrid's 20-year-old defender Lucas Hernandez for domestic abuse. Hernandez was arrested here following an incident with his girlfriend Amelia Lorente, reports Xinhua news agency. Lorente was taken to hospital for treatment for several minor injuries while Hernandez spent the night in a police cell. Lorente will also face domestic abuse charges, with the prosecutor asking for her to be given a seven-month jail term and to pay a fine of 10 euros a day (around $11 dollars) for a two-month jail term. The couple were also given a mutual restraining order forbidding them from being within 500 meters of each other and from establishing contact by any means for the next two years. --IANS gau/mr (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Amit Roy's Bollywood film "RunningShaadi.com", starring Taapsee Pannu and Amit Sadh, will hit the screens in Pakistan on February 17, the same day as its release in India. The news comes right after the release of much-anticipated Bollywood film "Raees", starring Shah Rukh Khan and Pakistani actress Mahira Khan, was on Monday banned in Pakistan due to its "objectionable" content. Director Roy said in a statement: "I think it's a good way forward because just banning all things that the two nations enjoy about each other is not going to move our relationship forward." "We enjoy many of the same things and the people of both our nations are made from the same grain. So why let the politics chosen by the select few determine the common man's desire on either side to communicate and enjoy each other's cultures. I completely welcome this decision by our friends in Pakistan to release our film and I hope they enjoy it." After the self-imposed ban on Bollywood films in Pakistan ended on February 1, Karachi's Atrium Cinemas screened Hrithik Roshan-starrer "Kaabil". And now, "RunningShaadi.com" is set to release in Pakistan. Vikram Malhotra, co-producer of "RunningShaadi.com", said: "We are delighted that 'RunningShaadi.com' will release in Pakistan. The film is an endearing entertainer, especially for the youth and I am sure that audience across the world will enjoy this quirky yet meaningful story." Last week, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif gave a thumbs up to the Information and Broadcasting Ministry to lift the "ban" by issuing No Objection Certificate to Indian films, subject to clearance by the Censor Board. According to an official handout issued by the Information Ministry, the government was "pleased to continue the existing open policy to display all international movies (including Indian films) in Pakistani cinemas". The statement, however, pointed out that the cinema houses would be allowed to screen movies only after approval from relevant censor boards. Following the tensions over an attack on an Indian army base in Uri, Jammu and Kashmir, and surgical strikes across the Line of Control in September last year, Pakistani cinema owners had decided not to screen Indian movies until the atmosphere became better. The decision was taken after the Indian Motion Picture Producers' Association banned all Pakistani artistes from working in films in India. --IANS nn/vm (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Saudi Arabian nationals under the age of 40 will not be permitted to travel alone to Iraq, the media reported on Tuesday. But they will be allowed to travel with elder family members, according to new rules by the Saudi Arabian passport directorate, Xinhua news agency reports. The directorate did not give any reason for the new rules. --IANS ksk/mr (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) UK-based Fiona Mackeown, whose daughter Scarlett Keeling was found dead on Goa's Anjuna beach in 2008, on Tuesday welcomed the CBI's decision to move the Bombay High Court against the acquittal of two beach shack workers in the case. Vikram Varma, legal counsel for Fiona Mackeown, however, said that the unwillingness of the Central Bureau of Investigation's officials to pursue the drug peddling angle in the sensational 2008 sexual assault and culpable homicide case, had raised doubts about the role of the investigation agency. "She (Mackeown) has said that she cannot understand when there is so much evidence of narcotics, like traces on the beach and in the bar, where it was being sold, why did the investigation officers not take action under the NDPS (Narcotics, Drugs and Psychotropic Substances) Act," Varma said. He added that Mackeown articulated her concerns about the CBI probe in a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, soon after a local trial court acquitted two beach workers Samson D'Souza and Placido Carvalho in September last year. The CBI moved the Bombay High Court bench in Panaji on February 3 against the Goa children's court order acquittal of the accused. Welcoming the decision, Varma said that "adequate energy is put in the appeal to bring fact on record". "What one wants to see is a state of affairs where women can walk without fear and criminals fear law. As of now it is the reverse," he said. Scarlett's barely clothed body was found at Anjuna beach in February 2008. While the police initially tried to pass off the incident as a suicide, a second autopsy revealed 52 injury marks on her body as well as traces of a cocktail of drugs in her system. A CBI probe was ordered in the case by the state government. --IANS maya/lok/vt (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Rome, Feb 7 (IANS/AKI) Over 9,200 boat migrants have reached Italy this year after 64 Iraqis were rescued off the coast of the southern Puglia region overnight, including 19 children. A Spanish navy vessel and several merchant ships rescued over 900 migrants aboard six boats in the Mediterranean on Sunday, Italian coastguard said. A total 5,932 migrants and refugees entered Europe by sea this year through February 2, about 80 percent arriving in Italy and the rest in Greece, according to figures issued on Friday by the Organisation for Migration. The IOM figures exclude the 900 people rescued in the Mediterranean on Sunday, as well as 1,300 people saved on Friday and 1,340 migrants picked up in the Strait of Sicily on February 1. European Union leaders meeting in Malta on Friday agreed to a plan aimed at stemming the influx of migrants to Italy from Libya, including 200 million euros to help strengthen its coastguard. --IANS/AKI sku/ (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) South Sudan President Salva Kiir has ordered his Defence Minister and army chief to publicly execute members of the armed forces if they raped women and girls, a media report said on Tuesday. "If a soldier rapes a woman or a girl, the punishment is to shoot him in the head and in public," Kiir said in a speech broadcast live on state-owned radio and television stations. The South Sudanese leader admitted that the move may attract criticism from human rights defenders, but it was meant to restore stability in the East African nation. "People have ears and eyes to see. If they see or hear that rapists or criminals are being killed, they will stop committing these acts," Kiir said. He urged the community of Yei to end violence and support his national dialogue initiative declared late in 2016, which was intended to end the on-going mass displacement and violence in the Greater Equatoria region. The UN has on several occasions accused the South Sudanese government troops and opposition forces of committing sexual violence and rapes. The UN Mission in the South Sudan (Unmiss) reported in 2016 that it documented at least 172 cases of sexual violence in Juba since renewed fighting erupted in July 2016. --IANS in/sac (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) More Indian visitors are expected in this year's edition of Taiwan's leading information and communication technology (ICT) show, Computex, one of its organisers said here on Tuesday. "For now, we're expecting to have over 1,600 companies with 5,010 booths in Computex 2017," Thomas Huang, Deputy Executive Director of Taiwan External Trade Development Council (Taitra), one of the two organisers of the annual event, said at a press conference here. "We saw a great turnout at Computex 2016 which attracted more than 40,000 international visitors," he said. "Indian visitors who are the 12th most number of international visitors, saw a substantial increase of 14 per cent from the previous year. With our extensive campaign this year in India and the growing interest of start-ups and ICT brands in our event, we are hopeful to see an exponential growth in the number of visitors from here for Computex 2017." This year's edition will focus on new themes on artificial intelligence and robotics, innovations and startups, business solutions, internet of things (IoT) applications, and gaming and virtual reality (VR). Taiwan's Representative in India Chung Kwang Tien said that bilateral trade between Taiwan and India increased by five times from the year 2000 to reach $7 billion in 2014, and added that his country was adopting a new trade liberalisation policy. Tien said that Taiwan has also adopted a new foreign policy called New Southbound Policy and as part of it, would promote trade, education, and cultural tourism among other things with India. He said that Taiwan's rapid turnaround from an agriculture-based economy to that based on high technology was not a miracle as the world dubbed it. "We transformed very rapidly in the last 60 years going from heavy industries to high technology," Tien said. "But it was not an economic miracle. We worked very hard for it," he added. --IANS ab/bg (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Shiv Sena President Uddhav Thackeray on Tuesday extended a warm welcome to Gujarat Patidar leader Hardik Patel, a staunch opponent of the Bharatiya Janata Party. Patel, 24, who arrived in Mumbai late on Monday night, claimed there was no political agenda and he had come to pay homage to the late Shiv Sena patriarch Bal Thackeray and seek Thackeray's blessings as an 'elder'. "Maharashtra is a land of valiant people and I have come to meet some of the good people here... Presently, the country is being run by undesirable people," Patel said, interacting with the crowded media contingent jointly with Thackeray at the latter's residence, Matoshree, Bandra. To a question, Patel said he would support the 11 Gujarati candidates nominated by the Shiv Sena for the ensuing BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections but would not directly campaign for the party. "I am still young and learning... Why should the Shiv Sena need me? It's a tiger and a tiger needs no one," said Patel, sidestepping any suggestions of a possible tie-up with Shiv Sena after his first meeting with the party leaders on Tuesday. On his part, lauding Patel's campaign for the uplift of the people of Gujarat, Thackeray said he (Patel) would be the face of the Shiv Sena in the next assembly elections in the neighbouring state. "We always maintain our friendships firmly, and never break them till the opposite person snaps it," Thackeray remarked in what was perceived to be a mild warning to Patel. Reacting to the meeting, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis remarked: "The ground is slipping under them, so they have to call anybody and take such steps." Patel is to take part in a road-show for his friend Biren Limbachaya and Shiv Sena candidate in the BMC polls, and campaign for him in Goregaon area of north-west Mumbai. Around 15 percent of voters in Mumbai comprise affluent Gujaratis who are mostly into businesses, trading and entrepreneurship and are wooed by all political parties for the BMC elections. --IANS qn/rn (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Tuesday he was grateful to US President Donald Trump for revealing "the real face of America". "We are thankful to this gentleman... he showed the real face of America," Khamenei was quoted by state-owned Press TV in a speech to military officers in Tehran. "What we have said for more than 30 years -- that there is political, economic, moral and social corruption in the ruling system of the US -- this gentleman came and brought it out into the open in the election and after the election." Khamenei said the Iranian people will be responding to the US President's recent anti-Iran threats on the upcoming anniversary of the 1979 Islamic Revolution. "Trump says, 'Fear me!' No. The (Iranian) people will respond to these remarks on Bahman 22 and will show what position the Iranian people assume vis-a-vis threats," he said. Ayatollah Khamenei was referring to the date on the Persian calendar coinciding with the anniversary of the February 11, 1979, Islamic Revolution, when the Iranian nation staged countrywide rallies celebrating the Revolution's victory. Trump tweeted earlier this month that "Iran is playing with fire -- they don't appreciate how 'kind' President Obama was to them. Not me!" "Iranians are not afraid of threats," Ayatollah Khamenei said. Khamenei said: "The new US President says, 'You should be grateful to (former US President Barack) Obama! Why? Should we be thankful for the creation of Daesh (IS), the flames (of violence) in Iraq and Syria, and open support for the 2009 sedition (in Iran)?" "It was him (Obama) who brought the crippling sanctions to the Iranian people," Ayatollah Khamenei said. "Of course, he fell short of his goal, and no enemy can cripple the Iranian people." Ayatollah Khamenei made the remarks in a meeting with a number of commanders, officers, pilots, and staff members from Iran's Air Force and the country's Khatam al-Anbiya Air Defence Base. The meeting took place on the anniversary of a historical development before the 1979 Revolution that saw Homafaran, air force officers in the monarchical Pahlavi regime, meeting with and pledging allegiance to Imam Khomeni, the founder of Iran. --INAS ahm/vt (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Rana Daggubati who will be seen in upcoming flick 'The Ghazi Attack', said the film was a tribute to the Indian Navy. The film is based on true events from the 1971 war, when Pakistani submarine Ghazi attempted to destroy the Indian aircraft carrier, INS Vikrant. At the promotional event on Tuesday, the actor who bought a Bajaj V Bike made from the metal of indigenous aircraft carrier INS Vikrant as a memorabilia from the film, said: "The first reason why I did this film is it is a very important story to tell." "We've always seen films that glorified army or police. It is important that India should have first naval film. This is somewhere a tribute to the Navy." The film will see him playing Naval officer Lt. Commander Arjun Varma, who was said to have remained underwater for 18 days during the war. "Besides my love for the bike, I am a deep sea diver. In this film, there are a lot of underwater stunts," he added. "For the last one year of my life, I've been researching how the incident took place and what India went through when actually the war had taken place. INS Vikrant was one of the most celebrated warships in the Indian naval fleet. I know the importance of it that time. It's lovely to be part of the entire thing," he said. Also starring Taapsee Pannu, Kay Kay Menon and Atul Kulkarni, 'The Ghazi Attack' releases on February 17. Apart from "The Ghazi Attack", Rana awaits the April 28 release of "Baahubali: The Conclusion" starring Prabhas, Tamannaah, Anushka Shetty and Sathyaraj. The 32-year-old actor, who gave a splendid performance as Bhallal Dev in the much appreciated film "Baahubali", thanked the Hindi audience for making the film a huge hit. --IANS iv/ahm/vt (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) US President Donald Trump will not be welcome to address the British Parliament on his state visit to the UK because of its opposition to racism and to sexism, the Speaker of the House of Commons said. John Bercow, the Speaker, said late Monday that he "strongly opposed" Trump speaking in the Commons as he stressed that being invited to address Parliament was "not an automatic right" but "an earned honour", the Independent daily reported. "Before the imposition of the migrant ban, I would myself have been strongly opposed to an address by President Trump in Westminster Hall," Bercow told MPs. "After the imposition...I am even more strongly opposed to an address by President Trump in Westminster Hall." Parts of the Commons erupted into rare spontaneous applause in support of Bercow's statement, the daily said. The Speaker said: "We value our relationship with the United States. If a state visit takes place, that is way beyond and above the pay grade of the Speaker." "However, as far as this place is concerned I feel very strongly that our opposition to racism and to sexism and our support for equality before the law and an independent judiciary are hugely important considerations in the House of Commons." British Prime Minister Theresa May invited Trump to make a state visit to the UK on her recent trip to the US last month. Last week, nearly two million people signed a petition calling for Trump's state visit to be cancelled in just days after it was announced. MPs are to debate the issue in Westminster Hall. --IANS ksk (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The UN on Tuesday questioned the credibility of a government-led investigation into allegations of abuses against the Muslim minority Rohingya community in Myanmar. "The existing Commission is not a credible option to undertake the new investigation," UN Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide Adama Dieng said. His comments follow an announcement by the Myanmar government to launch a fresh investigation into the allegations after the High Commissioner of Human Rights in a report last week refuted the clean chit given to the army by a government committee, headed by Vice president Myint Swe. The report had blamed the army, deployed in the state of Rakhine after an alleged armed assault by Rohingya rebels in October, of carrying out ethnic cleansing in the region. "I urge that any investigation be conducted by a truly independent and impartial body that includes international observers," said Dieng, adding that the differences between the reports published by the government body and the UN were disturbing. The army offensive has, meanwhile, blocked access to humanitarian aid - on which thousands of people in the region depend - and has also barred observers and independent media from accessing the northern part of the state. The Human Rights Watch also reported fresh violence against the Rohingyas such as rape of women, including minors, by soldiers. "These horrific attacks on Rohingya women and girls by security forces add a new and brutal chapter to the Burmese military's long and sickening history of sexual violence against women," said HRW's Senior Emergencies Researcher Priyanka Motaparthy. Motaparthy also denounced the Myanmar government for its lopsided investigation, and demanded an international and independent probe. "The government should stop contesting these rape allegations and instead provide survivors with access to necessary support, health care, and other services," Motaparthy added. More than a million Rohingyas live in Rakhine, where they face increasing discrimination from the country's authorities, who do not recognise them as Burmese citizens. --IANS ksk/bg (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Former assembly Speaker P.H. Pandian and the late J. Jayalalithaa's niece Deepa Jayakumar on Tuesday came out strongly against the elevation of AIADMK General Secretary V.K. Sasikala as Tamil Nadu's Chief Minister. Hours after Pandian, who is still with the AIADMK, demanded a probe into the circumstances leading to Jayalalithaa's hospitalisation, Jayakumar said Tamil people were against Sasikala becoming the Chief Minister. In a dramatic turn of events in the night, Chief Minister O. Panneerselvam meditated at the memorial of the late Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa. Panneerselvam visited the memorial on Marina beach and sat on the floor cross legged and meditated with closed eyes for more than 30 minutes. His face seemed to be grim. He was watched by a large number of his supporters and AIADMK activists. With moist eyes he ended his meditation. However, party officials were clueless as to Panneerselvam's sudden meditation. The AIADMK leader, who became the Chief Minister after Jayalalithaa died on December 5, quit on Sunday to make way for V.K. Sasikala to take charge of the government. While Sasikala claimed that it was Panneerselvam who wanted her to become the party chief and the Chief Minister, he has not spoken on the subject publicly. Pandian, who was the Speaker when the iconic AIADMK founder M.G. Ramachandran was the Chief Minister, spoke to the media at his residence along with his son Manoj Pandian, a former Rajya Sabha member. Manoj Pandian also claimed that Jayalalithaa had once told him that she may be poisoned to death. "When 'Thuglaq' editor Cho Ramaswamy and I were Directors of Jaya TV, she (Jayalalithaa) told us she fears this group would poison her to death," Manoj Pandian said. Cho Ramaswamy died on December 6. "I told her she does not belong to one family but belongs to over 1.5 crore members of AIADMK. The people of Tamil Nadu will protect you," the junior Pandian claimed. Sasikala, a long-time confidante of Jayalalithaa who died on December 5, is set to head the Tamil Nadu government after the AIADMK elected her as its legislature party leader. Jayakumar made known her dislike of Sasikala by saying that "being with someone for 33 years is not a qualification to become the Chief Minister". "A lot of people are unhappy over the happenings in the AIADMK," she told the media at her house. "The people of Tamil Nadu are not happy with Sasikala becoming the Chief Minister." She said Monday's press conference by doctors who said there was no "conspiracy" behind Jayalalithaa's death was "stage-managed" and that she was determined to fight elections. Jayakumar also said she would announce her plan of action on February 24 -- whether to join the AIADMK or to form a new party. On the death threats she is reportedly getting ever since she stepped into the public limelight, she said: "I won't be cowed down by threats." Jayakumar accused the police of trying to put hurdles in the way of her public programmes. The Pandians earlier questioned the legality of the AIADMK General Council's election of Sasikala as its General Secretary. Hinting at foul play, the senior Pandian said there should be a probe to find out what led to the hospitalisation of Jayalalithaa in September. Citing news reports that Jayalalithaa had fallen at her residence on the day she was admitted to Apollo Hospitals, former Speaker Pandian said this must be probed. He also termed Jayalalithaa's death as "unnatural". Pandian said Jayalalithaa once said that all her assets should go to the people after her death and he (Pandian) should see to that. According to Manoj Pandian, there is no provision in the party's rules for an interim General Secretary and all actions taken by Sasikala were void in law. The DMK has also come out against Sasikala's attempts to become the Chief Minister on the strength of her long association with Jayalalithaa. --IANS vj/ahm/vt (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.) A 37-year-old yoga teacher was arrested on Tuesday for allegedly raping a 32-year-old US national from California on the pretext of giving her a tantrik massage. A Goa Police spokesperson said Pratick Agarwal runs a yoga institute at Pernem in north Goa. He has been remanded to eight days in police custody. Agarwal is from Allahabad in Uttar Pradesh. "In her complaint, the victim accused him of raping her while teaching her tantrik massage on Monday. The accused was her yoga teacher," the police spokesperson said. The victim had alleged that Agarwal also raped her Canadian friend who was in Goa on a vacation. In 2015 too Agarwal was booked for allegedly raping a foreign national. --IANS maya/mr (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Apropos the editorial, Lifting rural productivity (February 6), despite the crucial role that agriculture and allied activities can play in the development of the economy, their importance tends to be either undermined or neglected. This Budget is no exception. Poor availability of drinking water, motorable roads in need of repair, not enough power connections, inadequate banking and communication facilities, health care systems, education are accelerating the distress of the rural population. Maharashtra Governor C Vidyasagar Rao, who also holds the charge of Tamil Nadu, is likely to fly to Chennai either on Tuesday or Wednesday, amid political developments in the southern state where O Panneerselvam has been replaced by VK Sasikala as leader of the ruling AIADMK legislature party. "Governor may leave for Chennai today or tomorrow," Raj Bhavan sources said. The prospects of Sasikala's immediate swearing-in as chief minister faded with Rao heading to Mumbai on Monday night from New Delhi, instead of flying to Chennai, amid reports that he was seeking legal advice before administering the oath of office to Sasikala. The Supreme Court had on Monday indicated it could deliver a judgement soon in a disproportionate assets case against Sasikala, who became general secretary of AIADMK after the death of Jayalalithaa. A conviction after being sworn in could result in Sasikala having to step down as chief minister. A PIL was also filed in the apex on Monday seeking to restrain Sasikala from being sworn-in as chief minister claiming in the event of her having to resign if she is convicted in the disproportionate assets case there could be law and order problem in the state. Rao had travelled from Coimbatore to the national capital on Monday night. Sasikala was elected leader of the AIADMK legislature party on Sunday clearing the decks for her elevation as the chief minister. Panneerselvam had on Monday tendered his resignation as chief minister to Governor Rao, which was accepted. According to Chennai reports, the Madras University Auditorium, which had earlier hosted the swearing-in of Jayalalithaa, was being spruced up for the swearing-in of Sasikala. Former Tamil Nadu Assembly Speaker and senior All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) leader P H Pandian has demanded a probe into the circumstances that led to late chief minister J Jayalalithaa's hospitalisation. He also questioned the elevation of as the party general secretary and the legislature party leader. With gearing up to take over as chief minister of Tamil Nadu, members of the team of administrative experts, which had been advising and assisting late chief minister J Jayalalithaa, have stepped down from their positions. DMK Working President is likely to visit New Delhi to meet President Pranab Mukherjee, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Rajnath Singh to appraise them of the political situation in Tamil Nadu. However, party spokesperson and MP TKS Elangovan said there was no official confirmation about the visit. "I am in Delhi and so are the other party MPs. We haven't got any information about Stalin's Delhi visit. He may come tonight (Tuesday)," Elangovan said. According to reports, Stalin will appeal to President Mukherjee not to allow AIADMK General Secretary VK Sasikala to be sworn as the chief minister till the apex court delivers its judgement in the corruption case in which she is one of the accused. Tamil Nadu's ruling AIADMK legislators elected Sasikala as the leader of the legislature party. Following that, Chief Minister O Panneerselvam submitted his resignation and the Governor Ch Vidyasagar Rao has asked him to continue in office till an alternate arrangement is made. The swearing-in date is yet to be finalised. Prime Minister on Tuesday took a dig at Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi saying "finally earthquake has hit". The remarks came as Gandhi had threatened to expose Modi and said there will be an earthquake. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav and Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday held a joint rally at the Nauchandi grounds here and appealed to the people to bring the alliance to power "to check communal forces". In his address, Rahul Gandhi accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of handing over 60 per cent of India's wealth to only 50 families in the country. He also said that through his ill-planned drive, the Prime Minister made people stand in long queues outside banks and ATMs to get their own hard-earned money. The Gandhi scion also reminded the gathering that of the people standing in the queues, no one was a rich man or a suited-booted person. "It was the poor who had to suffer." Buoyed by the impressive gathering, Samajwadi Party (SP) President Akhilesh Yadav took potshots at Modi's acronym "SCAM", spelt out during a speech a few days back in Meerut. The Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister said the Prime Minister should not have included the name of the BSP supremo. "He did a wrong thing by including the name of Mayawati in acronym SCAM," he quipped. "I guess he forgot the festival of 'Raksha Bandhan'," Akhilesh Yadav said in an apparent reference to the coming together of the BSP and the BJP to form a government in the past in Uttar Pradesh. "He probably missed out on this past," the Chief Minister said with a chuckle. Prime Minister Narendra Modi took a dig at Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi, referring to an earlier statement made by the latter that if he would speak in Parliament about the premiers personal corruption, there would be an earthquake. Shiv Sena President Uddhav Thackeray on Tuesday indicated that his party may walk out of the government in Maharashtra due to strong differences with BJP. "There are matbhed and manbhed too (disagreement)," Uddhav said but declined to divulge further details. Uddhav's comment comes a day after party spokesman Sanjay Raut at an election rally said that the state government is on notice period and that after the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections, Shiv Sena may withdraw support. As many as 16 US attorney generals have joined the bandwagon opposing President Donald Trump's controversial travel ban on citizens from seven Muslim- majority nations, saying the "discriminatory" order is "unconstitutional and un-American". The executive order signed by Trump banning countries that include Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen has been halted by a federal court in Seattle. The Trump Administration has challenged this stay order before the US Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, before whom attorney generals from as many as 16 states have filed amici curiae brief against the executive order. "This filing is about keeping our communities safe, protecting our economy, and upholding the rule of law. Pennsylvania was founded on the promise of liberty and we're proud to help lead this effort in support of Washington State's lawsuit," Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro said. "No President or administration is more powerful than our laws and our Constitution. As state attorney generals, it is our job to hold this administration accountable and stand for the interests of our states and our residents. We are united in this effort," said Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey. New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman said the ban is unconstitutional, unlawful and fundamentally un-American. "We won't stand by while it undermines our states' families, economies, and institutions," he said. "From filing our own federal lawsuit last week, to partnering with fellow attorneys general on this amicus brief today, we will use every tool at our disposal to fight President Trump's discriminatory order and help ensure the rule of law prevails," he added. The administration's reckless dismissal of the Constitution threatens to rip apart California families, risks their economic well-being and defies centuries of our American tradition alleged California Attorney General Xavier Becerra. "Immigrants are the life-blood of our nation who work hard to build our country, especially in California. Our universities, medical institutions, businesses, and our tax base are all harmed by President Donald Trump's unconstitutional and un-American order," he said. The amicus brief calls to uphold the federal district court's ruling and deny the federal government's emergency motion for stay, as it would return the country to the confusion and chaos created by the executive order in its implementation last weekend. In its court papers, the attorney generals said on Monday that the executive order has inflicted and continues to inflict harm on state colleges and universities across the country, including in the amici States, which rely on faculty and students from across the world. "First, the executive order has disrupted our state educational institutions' ability to meet their staffing needs. The order is already preventing and dissuading scholars from coming to our institutions-including scholars who had already committed to filling positions," it said. The country was built by immigrants and refugees who came here in search of a better life, said Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan. "Illinois is home to nearly 2 million immigrants who contribute to our state in invaluable ways. I will fight to ensure Illinois remains a safe and welcome home for immigrants and refugees," she said. The amicus brief alleges that the order undermines the states' abilities to enforce their own anti-discrimination laws, ensure the benefits of existing federal laws and regulations such as the Immigration and National Act are not denied to individuals arriving in these states, and protect residents, businesses and communities. "As the states have made clear in other filings, the executive order represents an egregious violation of the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment and this 'erosion of religious liberties cannot be deterred by awarding damages to the victims of such erosion'," it said. A total of 2,276 candidates are left in the fray for the 227 seats of Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) which goes to the polls on February 21. Today was the last day for withdrawal of nominations, after which 2,276 candidates are left in the poll ring to battle it out to get elected to the country's richest civic body, BMC sources said tonight. The last day of filing nomination papers was February 3 after which the scrutiny of documents submitted by the candidates was taken up. There are 91.80 lakh registered voters in Mumbai. Shiv Sena, which has ruled the BMC for over two decades, and its one-time ally in the civic body BJP are fighting the high-stakes elections separately this time. The counting of votes will be taken up on February 23. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Two police officers were today injured in a suicide car attack claimed by Taliban militants at a police station in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, officials said. The attack happened in the northwestern city of Bannu. The suicide bomber, in his early 20s, rammed his explosive-laden vehicle into Mundan police station building. He hit the main gate of the police station, the district police officer said. A Pakistani Taliban spokesman later claimed the attack. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) At least 20 students of a Sainik School in nearby Tirupur district were today hospitalised with symptoms of fever, in a precautionary measure in view of cases of swine flu and dengue being reported in the region. The school authorities decided to examine all the students, in view of the spread of swine flu and dengue, official sources said. The test results showed that 20 students had normal fever and there was no need for worry, they said. The authorities did not want to take any chances and took immediate steps to examine the students, who have been admitted to the Government hospital, where they were said to be in a "good" condition, they added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A court here has declared dead three fishermen onboard Kuber boat who were presumed to have been killed by Pakistani terrorists who carried out the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack. The court of additional civil judge R G Yadav on January 21 pronounced dead three of the five fishermen who were onboard Kuber fishing trawler when it was hijacked by terrorists from Pakistan in Arabian Sea off Gujarat coast near Porbandar. Only the body of captain Amarsinh Solanki was found from the boat while bodies of Balwant Tandel, Natwar Rathod, Mukesh Rathod, and Ramesh Solanki were missing. Relatives of three of them -- Tandel, Natwar Rathod, and Mukesh Rathod -- who hail from Jalalpore taluka in Navsari district, had approached the court in January 2016 seeking death certificate so they could be provided compensation which was denied on the ground that they were not being considered dead by the state government. The kin of the fishermen were deprived of Rs 3 lakh compensation by the Gujarat government and other benefits given to the victims of Mumbai terror attack because the government was not declaring them dead. As a legal process, a person can approach the court to declare his relative dead seven years after he remains missing. The relatives of the fishermen similarly approached the court on January 15, 2016, said government pleader of Navsari, Tushar Sule. The state government had earlier given compensation of Rs 50,000 to the relatives of each of them by way of compensation, but they were still not given actual compensation amount in the absence of death certificate from authorities. Kuber, a fishing trawler with five fishermen had set sail three to four days prior to the 26/11 attacks. Their boat was forcefully occupied in high seas by Pakistani terrorists. The body of its captain Solanki was found by security agencies from the boat when they seized it after the attack off the Mumbai coast. It is believed that the captain was kept alive by the terrorists to guide them to Mumbai. While it was speculated till now that, other four fishermen on board Kuber were killed and thrown in high seas by the terrorists. Their bodies were never found. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Four persons have been apprehended for allegedly jumping over the perimeter wall of the highly secure and sensitive National Security Guard camp here, putting the security apparatus into a tizzy which led to firing of a few rounds. Officials said the incident occurred at about 8:30 PM yesterday when about four suspected cattle smugglers jumped over the perimeter wall of the National Security Guard (NSG) garrison and were confronted by a sentry on duty. The NSG sentry fired a round in the air to challenge the intruders, even as they were being chased by local police and civilians after they broke a police barrier while trying to smuggle out some cattle from the Manesar area here. An exchange of fire also took place between the suspected smugglers and local police before they entered the commando forces' camp, they said. The NSG, the sources said, has filed an FIR with the police with regard to the incident, even as they said the intruders who entered the garrison were rounded up and apprehended by police. The NSG garrison here is base to the crack commando teams of counter-terror and counter-hijack operations, and also hosts the elite forces' training centre. (REOPENS DES55) ACP-PRO Manish Sehgal said, "During a routine checking of vehicles after barricading Manesar road near NSG campus, police stopped a mini-truck. The team found two cows being smuggled in it. The four accused started to run after being questioned and jumped inside the campus after scaling a wall." The NSG sentry on duty heard three rounds of firing, police said. Eight foreign students, out of the 11 arrested in connection with a clash at a private university here, were today sent to judicial custody by a court while three Indian students were released on bail. The eight foreign students, who belong to Afghanistan, Uganda, Congo and Cameroon, were arrested yesterday in connection with the clash, in which nine people were injured. The clash broke out following an altercation over some issue between students from abroad and India, who stay in the hostels on the campus of the university. The incident took place late Sunday night, in which the students also pelted each other with stones. One of the injured students was admitted to a hospital run by the university. "Eight foreign students and three Indians, who were arrested yesterday in connection with the clash and booked under different IPC sections, including 307 (attempt to murder), were produced in the court of Judicial Magistrate in Waghodia town today as their one day police remand came to an end," a police officer told PTI. While three Indian students were given bail, the eight foreign students were sent to the central jail in Vadodara, as they could not furnish bail bonds. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas today called a new Israeli law legalising dozens of Jewish outposts built on private Palestinian land an "attack against our people". Israel has faced broad international criticism over the law its parliament passed yesterday, including from Britain, France, the United Nations and neighbouring Jordan. The United States has not commented. Abbas said the law was illegal and was "obviously against the wishes of the international community." Speaking alongside Abbas at a press conference in Paris, French President Francois Hollande said: "I want to believe that Israel and its government will reconsider this law." The legislation would legalise dozens of wildcat Jewish outposts and thousands of settler homes in the occupied West Bank and prompted a call by the Palestinians for the international community to punish Israel. Pro-Palestinian Israeli NGOs said they would ask the Supreme Court to strike down the law. Israeli opposition leader Isaac Herzog warned the legislation could result in officials being hauled before the International Criminal Court. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) With the Samajwadi Party-Congress alliance going strong after initial hiccups, Bahujan Samaj Party and Bharatiya Janata Party have been forced to rework their strategies in the western belt of Uttar Pradesh where Muslim voters are a major force to reckon with. Western UP has 140 Assembly constituencies spread over 26 districts which will go to polls in the first two phases on February 11 and 15. BSP, which was expecting a cake walk in the wake of feud in the Yadav family, to provide a strong alternative to BJP, got a blow with the coming together of two young faces of Indian politics - Akhilesh and Rahul - who do not have any previous record of hobnobbing with the saffron party. To win over Muslims, BSP fielded has fielded as many as 50 Muslim candidates in the first two phases as it felt that Muslim vote along with its own core Dalit vote bank would see its candidates through. However, with the coming together of SP and Congress, the community got an option to choose between the two dispensations sending BSP knocking the doors of Muslim leadership and drum up the Muzaffarnagar riots with renewed vigour. The fact that Muslims are important in the scheme of things for SP too can be seen in the party fielding Muslims on 42 of the 140 western UP seats. Interestingly on 28 seats in the first two phases, both BSP and SP have fielded Muslim candidates. If the Mayawati-led party is focussing on providing a "riot-free" and "crime-free" state on coming to power, the SP alliance is reopening the pages of BSP's history, especially its (BSP's) alliance with the saffron party. "Can the community ever pardon Mayawati for 'falsely' implicating 43 youths on terror charges during her regime which is yet to be proved," posed a Samajwadi Party leader. BSP is also out to tar Akhilesh Yadav as "anti-Muslim" with the new entrant in the party Afzal Ansari, brother of mafia-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari, recalling a statement by Mulayam Singh Yadav in this regard that Akhilesh was working against the interest of Muslims. Ansari has resolved to campaign all over the state against the "anti-Muslim" Akhilesh. Perhaps it was the importance of Muslim votes that SP showed least interest in allying with Chaudhary Ajit Singh led RLD which is primarily a party with a Jat vote bank. It was Jat versus Muslims during the Muzaffarnagar riots and Akhilesh Yadav was not interested in aligning with the perceived "oppressors" of the community, said SP insiders. BJP, on its part, hopes for polarisation of Hindus in reaction to the possible consolidation of Muslims behind the SP-Congress alliance. With the pro-Hindutva leaders of the ilk of Hukum Singh, Sangeet Som, Suresh Rana, Sanjiv Balyan, Yogi Adityanath and Ramchandra Katheria leading the campaign and the issue of Hindu migration in the western region finding mention in BJP 'Sankalp patra' (manifesto), BJP is expecting a consolidation of Hindu votes like in the 2012 elections when it won Kairana, Saharanpur Nagar, Thana Bhawan, Bijnor and Noorpur in the face of division of votes between two Muslim candidates. "BJP is clear that it will not get support among Muslims and knows that Hindus will finally come behind them...Though Muzaffarnagar has long been done but migration is a recent issue and a reality highlighted by his party," a BJP leader said. The party's concern is to check any division in Hindu votes on seats where no mainstream party has fielded Muslims or there is strong Hindu candidate against a BJP nominee. There are as many as 110 seats where both BJP and the SP-Congress alliance have fielded a Hindu candidate. BSP is also banking on the Mayawati regime providing a communally safe atmosphere during which the three-judge bench of the Allahabad High Court pronounced its decision on the contentious Ram Janambhoomi-Babri Masjid title suit in 2009 when the entire country was put on high alert. It is also highlighting the condition of the community which relied on Congress for 50 years and on SP for more than two decades. In the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, BSP was relegated to the third slot in Saharanpur - where Congress leader Imran Masood had emerged second because of overwhelming Muslim support - as well as Kairana, Sambhal, Moradabad and Bijnor, where SP consolidated its support among Muslims. Air strikes on Syria's former al-Qaeda affiliate in the country's northwest today killed 26 people, including civilians, a monitoring group said. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights told AFP at least 10 air strikes battered the headquarters of Fateh al-Sham Front and the surrounding neighbourhood in Idlib city at dawn today. "Ten civilians, mostly women, are among the dead," Observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman told AFP. "The toll could rise because some people are trapped under the rubble and unaccounted for," he added. Abdel Rahman said the raids were likely carried out by Russian warplanes -- allied with Syria's government -- or by a US-backed air coalition. Fateh al-Sham has come under increasing pressure in recent weeks in Idlib province, the only remaining opposition-held province in war-ravaged Syria. Bombing raids against the group have escalated, including one US strike in January that killed more than 100 fighters at a training camp in Idlib province. The US-led coalition has mostly focused on Fateh al-Sham's jihadist rival, the Islamic State group, but it has also hit operatives from other groups. Rebel groups have held Idlib province since the spring of 2015, four years after conflict first broke out in March 2011. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Amid concerns over sudden spike in airfares in some sectors, Government today said in the Rajya Sabha that there has been no anti-competitive or predatory pricing behaviour by the airlines. Responding to queries with regard to recent surge in air ticket prices to and fro Srinagar due to inclement weather, Minister of State for Civil Aviation Jayant Sinha said air ticket prices are competitive and based on market economy. "Airline market is based on market economy and there is lot of competition," he said. Citing analysis of available data, Sinha said the prices being set in the airline market are competitive and "no violation" has been observed which can be called as anti- competitive behaviour. He said research and analysis of airfares are done to to check predatory pricing. Further, Sinha said whether it is the Civil Aviation Ministry or Competition Commission of India (CCI), they aim to ensure that there is no anti-competitive behaviour. About regional air connectivity scheme, Sinha said the bidding in this regard has been completed and the successful bidders would be announced in the next few days. Under the scheme, also known as UDAN (Ude Desh Ke Aam Naagrik), the Ministry is looking to connect unserved and under-served airports whereby the participating airlines would be extended various incentives. For one-hour flights under this scheme, the fare would be capped at Rs 2,500. To a question on whether airports would have facilities for people from all communities to pray, Sinha said the instruction from the Ministry is that there should be a "quite room" where people from every community can pray. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The 337-year-old heritage building near the seashore at Tarangambadi in the district, which once served as the official residence of Danish military commanders, has been renovated and converted into a Danish-Indian cultural centre and archaeological museum. Danish Tranquebar Association, a voluntary organisation in Denmark comprising prominent Danish citizens, which has undertaken a project to renovate ancient Danish monuments at Tarangambadi, has established the cultural centre. Speaking to PTI at Tarangambadi after inaugurating the cultural centre today, Karin Knudsen, president of Danish Tranquebar Association, said the Commander's bungalow was renovated with financial support offered y the Queen of Denmark and East Asiatic Company Fund. Karin said the bungalow was built in 1680 and served as the official residence of successive Danish military commanders before becoming a private property in 1750. In 1900, it became the property of Tamil Evangelical Lutheran Church (TELC). "The bungalow is so big that it has served as a hospital during the early 1900s," she said. Until recent decades, the Tarangambadi Teacher's Training Institute was functioning in the building and it fell into disuse thereafter. Danish Tranquebar Association entered into an agreement with TELC last year to renovate the bungalow and establish the cultural centre, Karin said. The bungalow has now been completely renovated without affecting its original structure, Prof. Helsch, member of the Danish Tranquebar Association, said. The Tranquebar Maritime Museum and the Queen's Library, which were functioning in nearby buildings have now been shifted to the cultural centre. Poul Petersen, vice-president of the association, said the cultural centre will periodically host exhibitions, cultural events, lectures and other events to preserve the cultural ties between Denmark and India. Thirty students from various schools and colleges in Denmark have arrived at Tarangambadi to participate in the inaugural ceremony of the cultural centre and understand Indian culture, he said. More than 500 students from nearby schools visited the centre and interacted with the Danish students, Petersen said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Bihar faces an "alarming" 84 per cent shortage in the estimated requirement for the needy, senior BJP leader Sushil Kumar Modi said Tuesday and urged elected representatives to donate regularly. "Only 16 per cent of the requirement is available in banks in Bihar. The shortfall of 84 per cent is alarming," he said at an event to mark the foundation day of the Bihar Assembly. Modi and other legislators donated blood at a blood donation camp organised on the occasion. Citing the data compiled by the Union government, he said Delhi's stock is three times its blood requirement. Maharashtra has 146 per cent more blood than it requires, Gujarat and Kerala 135 per cent and West Bengal 105 per cent, he said. The former deputy chief minister said Bihar needs 10.3 lakh blood units every year and a meagre 1.10 lakh units are available. Six districts, including Araria and Jamui, lack blood banks, he said. The senior BJP leader said that in 2015-16, 550 blood donation camps were organised in Bihar as compared to 12,000 in West Bengal and 2,000 in Odisha. Modi used the occasion, which saw the presence of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, to highlight the "poor handling" of donated blood due to non-availability of Component Separation Unit that segregates blood into plasma, platelets and RBCs. "At present 6 component separation units are available at IGIMS, Patna, and one each in Muzaffarpur and Darbhanga," he said and demanded that the apparatus be made available in every medical college and hospital in the state. The BJP leader also exhorted legislators to donate eyes and organs after death. As per the figures of the Union government, Bihar contributed just 30 eyes to 58,810 donated in 2015-16, which Tamil Nadu gave 11,000, Telangana 6,171 and Gujarat 8,436. He rued that there was only one eye bank at IGIMS in Bihar. Gujarat BJP today launched "Adivasi Vikas Gaurav Yatra" from Unai village in tribal-dominated Navsari district of southern Gujarat, a move viewed as a bid to woo tribals ahead of Assembly polls due later this year. The yatra will culminate at Ambaji town in Banaskantha district on February 18 after covering a distance of around 1,450 kms. BJP president Amit Shah would attend the concluding ceremony. The yatra was flagged off by Chief Minister Vijay Rupani and state unit BJP president Jitubhai Vaghani, who will lead it till Ambaji, in presence of several party leaders including Union minister Jaswantsinh Bhabhor. In his address, Vaghani said the BJP's objective was "to win hearts and not votes of people." Rupani said his government has taken many steps towards uplift and welfare of tribal community, including implementation of Panchayats (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act. The yatra would cover 50 talukas across 15 districts in eastern Gujarat, mainly dominated by tribals, which consists of 33 Assembly seats. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A BJP MP today urged the government to build a martyrs' gate in the national capital in the honour of freedom fighters who laid down their lives between 1857 and 1947. Sharad Tripathi, the Lok Sabha MP from Sant Kabir Nagar, said a list containing the names of such freedom fighters should be released by the government as currently, there no such authentic record. While the names of Indian soldiers who fought the second World War were inscribed by the British on the India Gate, there is no such commemoration for the Indians who died for the country's freedom from 1857 to 1947, the lawmaker told reporters. "A martyrs' gate in their memory should be erected in Delhi with their names inscribed on it," Tripathi said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The CBI has moved the Bombay High Court challenging the Goa Children's Court order acquitting the two persons charged with sexually abusing British teenager Scarlett Eden Keeling and leaving her to die on state's Anjuna beach in 2008. The petition was filed with the Goa bench of HC on February 3 by Central Bureau of Investigation claiming that Special Judge Vandana Tendulkar did not apply her mind while delivering the judgement due to which both the accused went scot-free. "CBI has filed petition before Goa Bench of Bombay High Court challenging the order of Goa Children's Court wherein both the accused in Scarlett Eden Keeling death case were acquitted," a senior CBI official told PTI. Scarlett's bruised, semi-nude corpse was found on the famous Anjuna beach on February 18, 2008. Two locals - Samson D'Souza and Placido Carvalho -- were accused of leaving the girl to die on the beach after drugging and sexually abusing her. The case, which was initially investigated by Goa police, was later handed over to CBI by the state government after Scarlett's mother, Fiona Mackeown, raised doubts on the investigations. Goa Children's Court after examining several witnesses, on September 23 last year acquitted both the accused, eight years after the death of the 15-year-old girl. The court ruled that the prosecution could not establish offence against both the accused. The CBI which was unhappy with the judgement has said in its petition that "Special Judge had not applied her judicial mind, both on the points of law and on facts of the case." "The judge has wrongly came to the conclusion that there was a delay in recording statement of the witnesses," the CBI has said in their petition. Meanwhile, Vikram Varma, lawyer representing Scarlett's mother, said that the autopsy confirmed that she was raped and murdered. "Substantial evidence was destroyed and there was conscious delay in handing over the investigation to the CBI. The criminal justice system consists of many cogs and wheels, anyone of which can subvert the entire system. This has been such a case so far," he added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Tyre maker Ceat today reported a 25.30 per cent decline in its consolidated net profit at Rs 83.83 crore for the third quarter ended December 31, 2016. The company had posted a net profit of Rs 112.23 crore for the same period of previous fiscal. Its total income from operations, however, rose to Rs 1,557.21 crore from Rs 1,483.83 crore in the year-ago period, Ceat Ltd said in a BSE regulatory. Shares of the company were trading 0.95 per cent down at Rs 1,165.50 apiece on BSE. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The University Grants Commission (UGC) have approved a proposal for conferring Deemed University status on Chinmaya Vishwavidyapeeth, Ernakulam and its off-campus Chinmaya Nadu Bindu, Pune. Follwing the UGC's approval, the HRD ministry has issued a notification granting the Deemed-to-be-University status to the Chinmaya Vishwavidyapeeth. The Deemed University status has been conferred for a period of five years and would be reviewed after that. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Colombia opens peace talks today with its last active rebel group, the ELN, seeking to replicate its historic accord with the FARC guerrillas and deliver "complete peace" after 53 years of war. But experts warn the ELN will be a tougher negotiating partner than the FARC, and say no deal is likely before President Juan Manuel Santos -- the man who has staked his presidency on ending the conflict -- leaves office next year. Santos, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in October, was nevertheless full of optimism heading into the talks. "This conflict is over," he said Thursday. "The public phase of negotiations between the Colombian government and the ELN... Will enable us to achieve complete peace." The Cold War-era conflict, which has killed more than 260,000 people and left 60,000 missing, is the last major armed conflict in the Americas. Colombia, South America's third economy and the world's biggest cocaine producer, has been torn since the 1960s by fighting that has drawn in multiple leftist rebel groups, right-wing paramilitaries, drug gangs and the army. Last November's landmark peace accord with the oldest and largest rebel group, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), after four years of talks leaves the National Liberation Army (ELN) as the last active guerrilla insurgency. It has an estimated 1,500 fighters, mostly in the north and west. The talks in the Ecuadoran capital Quito come after three years of secret negotiations and an embarrassing false start last in October, when the ELN refused to release their most high-profile hostage: ex-lawmaker Odin Sanchez. A flurry of behind-the-scenes negotiations followed, leading to Sanchez's release on Thursday in exchange for two ELN prisoners. In a further goodwill gesture yesterday, the ELN released a soldier they had captured two weeks earlier. But there will be more bumps in the road, warned Frederic Masse, an expert on the conflict at the Universidad Externado in Bogota. "The ELN has more fundamentalist demands than the FARC," he said. "They want much deeper social change." A prominent ELN commander warned ahead of the talks that the rebels would not back down on the thorny question of land rights for the rural poor -- one of the main issues in the conflict. "As long as the necessities that were at the root of this insurgency exist, we will have to keep fighting," Danilo Hernandez, commander of the Resistencia Cimarron guerrilla front said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Bastar's controversial Inspector- General SRP Kalluri, who was allowed by the Chhattisgarh government to proceed on long leave, was attached with the Police Headquarters (PHQ) here without being given any charge, senior officials said. The government has attached the senior IPS officer with the PHQ, but he has not been given any charge as yet, they said. The 1994-batch officer had last week applied for 90-day leave and received consent for the same from the government. However, instead of availing leave, he requested the DGP for a fresh posting and was subsequently sent to PHQ, the officials said. Last week, 2003-batch IPS officer Sundarraj P was appointed Deputy Inspector General of Police in Bastar amid speculation that Kalluri is being shifted out of the tribal- dominated region, which is a Naxal hotbed. Kalluri, who has often run into controversies as part of his anti-Naxal operations and style of functioning in the insurgency-hit region, yesterday sent messages on social media about his request for a new assignment. In his messages, the IPS officer said he has come to Bastar district headquarters Jagdalpur and requested Director General of Police A N Upadhyaya for a fresh posting. Talking to PTI, Kalluri had earlier said he is in good health and will discharge his duties in all earnest wherever he is posted. Kalluri has been facing criticism for alleged fake encounters and targeting local journalists, social and human rights activists. The district police also faced heat recently over the alleged threat to social activist Bela Bhatia, who was asked by a group of men to leave Bastar. The government was under pressure from human rights group and Opposition Congress to shift the controversial IPS officer out of Bastar. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Jharkhand Chief Minister Raghubar Das today called for completion of detailed progress report of the proposed two blocks of state secretariats here by March and stressed on use of solar technology in upcoming government offices and residences. Construction work should begin by June first week after completing the process of tender and the two blocks of the secretariats would be completed in two year time, Das told a meeting here. Asking to use state-of-the-art technology in development of core capital area, Das called for using solar energy to maximum, an official release said. Power transmission and drainage system should also be of modern standards, he said, pointing out modern technology could help save water and electricity. He also asked the engineers to visit Putrajya, the capital of Malaysia and study the infrastructure before building other infrastructure in the core area capital. The meeting also discussed on the building of residences of Ministers, MLAS and senior officers. Chief Secretary Rajbala Verma, Development Commissioner Amit Khare, CM's Principal Secretary Sanjay Kumar, Forest and Environment department's Principal Secretary Sukhdeo Singh and other officials were present in the meeting. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Telangana government today ordered an inquiry by Hyderabad district collector Rahul Bojja into the deaths of five women during the delivery procedures at the state-run Niloufer hospital here in the last about 10 days. Inquiry by the collector will be in addition to three-member panel already formed to ascertain the cause of deaths, a state government release said. The decision of inquiry by Hyderabad district collector was taken at a meeting held by state health minister C Laxma Reddy. The collector has been asked to submit report in a week. A three-member committee of senior doctors was formed yesterday to ascertain the cause of deaths of five women during C-section delivery procedures in the last about ten days at the state-run Niloufer Hospital here. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Delhi Lt Governor Anil Baijal has cleared the AAP government's ambitious proposal of setting up around 300 mohalla clinics on the premises of government-run schools in the national capital. The LG office said that the proposal has been cleared but with certain riders relating to the safety and security of the school children. Some other conditions are also there. According to an official, as the proposal has been okayed by the LG, work on setting up mohalla clinics will begin soon. In November, Baijal's predecessor Najeeb Jung had sent back the file related to the proposal, citing certain clauses of the Delhi School Education Act under which school premises can only be used for academic purposes. Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had urged Jung to invite him and power minister Satyendra Jain for a discussion to resolve the issue. The aim of opening mohalla clinics on school premises is to provide free primary healthcare to students as well as general public. "Lt Governor Anil Baijal has cleared the proposal to open around 300 mohalla clincs on premises of Delhi government's schools. Health Department will now start working on setting up such clinics," said a senior government official. The official also said that these clinics will have an entry point for general public from outside, restricting unauthorised entry to the school. The government had earlier announced that 1,000 mohalla clinics would be established by December 31 but the deadline was pushed to March this year. Mohalla clinics are run by the Delhi government that aim to provide free primary healthcare to all. Currently, around 109 mohalla clinics are operational in the national Capital, treating almost 2,500 patients every day. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A 22-year-old man has been arrested for allegedly kidnapping a one-and-a-half-year-old boy for ransom in northeast Delhi's Nand Nagri area, police said today. Satyaveer Yadav said he had kidnapped the child for ransom to make a quick buck as he was unemployed, said Deputy Commissioner of Police (northeast) A K Singla. On February 6, a woman told police that her grandson, who was playing in front of the house, went missing. When she came out of her house, she found him missing, the officer said. "During investigation, efforts were made to trace the child at bus terminals, railway stations, metro stations, night shelters, taxi stand, hotels in Delhi. A message was also sent on social media platforms like Whatsapp, Facebook," said Singla. The kidnapped boy was recovered within four hours by the patrolling staff who found him with the accused who was arrested at Mitti Park ground in Sunder Nagri. The accused, a resident of Bareilly, has been living in Delhi for four to five years. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Giving a new turn to his demonetisation decision, Prime Minister Narendra Modi today asserted that the timing for it was the "best" as the economy was doing well and needled Congress by questioning its record with regard to various issues. Modi, who has been under sustained attack from Congress and other opposition parties, gave reasons for the first time for the timing of the decision to scrap old notes of Rs 500 and Rs 1000 in November last year. Replying to a debate in Lok Sabha on the Motion of Thanks on the President's Address which was adopted by the House later amid walkout by Congress, he replied point-by-point to the issues raised by the Opposition, including surgical strikes and allocations for MNREGA, agriculture sector and for Scheduled Castes. Opposition had moved 189 amendments to the Motion which were negated. In his 90-minute speech, which was punctuated by protests by some Opposition members at certain points, Modi also raised pitch for simultaneous elections to Lok Sabha and Assemblies, asking all parties to consider the proposal, rising above political considerations as "everybody will face some difficulty" if it is implemented. He took swipes at Congress and particularly targeted Rahul Gandhi for his "earthquake" remark, saying it has finally occurred as he referred to last night's tremors in north India. On demonetisation, the Prime Minister said, "Some people have said why was this (demonetisation) decision taken when the economy was doing well...It was the best time for demonetisation as the economy was strong. Had the economy been weak, then we could not have done it successfully." In this regard, he gave the example of a patient who has to undergo a surgery. "Before subjecting a patient to surgery, a doctor checks all the parameters of the patient and only when those parameters are fine, is the operation done," he said. He emphasised that the decision was not taken in a haste as contended by some sections. "Don't assume that Modi does anything in a haste. For that you will need to study Modi." Acknowledging that demonetisation had brought "difficulties" to the people, he said, however, that the decision was not taken for any political mileage but for the benefit of the poor. "We had to take it and took it," he said. Modi listed out the steps taken by his government to curb black money, including setting up of SIT, tightening the law on benami, Real Estate Bill, making PAN requirement mandatory for cash transactions of Rs 2 lakh and above and revision of tax treaties with countries like Mauritius, Singapore and USA. "Had it been for political benefit, you would have done it," he told the Congress. Explaining why November 8 was chosen for the demonetisation decision, the Prime Minister said post-Diwali is usually a period when the business cycle subsides after peaking during the festival season. He said he was aware that there would be some problems for 15-20 days and things would move towards normalcy in 50 days. "Today I can see that whatever I had analysed, we are moving in that direction," he added. To questions regarding change of rules 150 times after demonetisation announcement, Modi said it was done to find ways to ease problems of people. "On the other side, there were people who were trying to find ways to adjust their black money," he said and narrated a Hindi couplet to say that the government wanted to be a step ahead of those indulging in frauds. Hitting out at Congress for raising the issue of change of rules 150 times on demonetisation, Modi said the previous UPA government had changed rules regarding MNREGA 1035 times during its implementation over six years. Spelling out benefits of demonetisation, he said it has brought everything on the record, including details regarding who has deposited money, where he has deposited and how much has been deposited. "There was a time when Income Tax officials used to operate arbitrarily. But that is history.... Now by use of technology and data mining, top names would be culled out without an I-T officer needing to go anywhere. They can just send SMS," he said. "I urge everyone to come to mainstream and contribute to nation building and help the poor," he said. "Whoever wants to come into mainstream, he can do that and I believe it will make India clean and like the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, the economy will be cleansed," Modi said. He countered the Opposition attack over his push for cash-less society and singularly targeted Congress for saying that not enough people have mobile phones to carry out digital transactions. On the one hand, the Congress keeps saying that Rajiv Gandhi had brought about digitalisation in the country but on the other hand, they say there are not enough people having phones, he said. To questions by the opposition whether black money had been curtailed because of demonetisation, he hit out at Congress, saying it had done nothing to fight this menace. In this regard, he cited the Supreme Court order of March 2014 which said "since 1947, nobody in last 65 years thought of bringing back black money stashed in foreign bank accounts. The government has failed in its role for 65 years. You have failed in your duty, therefore we order setting up of SIT. Three years have passed you have done nothing." Modi agreed with Congress Leader Mallikarjun Kharge that much of black money is parked in real estate and benami properties besides jewellery but questioned why his party did nothing all these years. "Tell us, in 1988, when Rajiv Gandhi was PM, who had got a bigger mandate than even Nehru. From Panchayat to Parliament, everything was under your control....The Benami Law was enacted in 1988 but it was never notified... What is the reason that for 26 years, the law was not notified? "Had it been notified at that time, 26 years back, it would have been a step towards cleaning the country and situation would have been better," Modi told the Congress leader who had attacked him yesterday. Posing further questions to Congress, he said, "Who were those people who felt, after making the law, that it is better to suppress this law? You will have to answer this." He asserted that this government has taken steps against black money holders. However, with regard to development of the country, Modi said, "I am not one who says that nobody before me made an effort. I have said it from Red Fort, all previous governments have made attempts in their own way. (Reopen PAR46) While attacking Congress for opposing cash-less society initiative, the Prime Minister said, "you are asking if people have mobile phones. But since 2007, you have been saying that Rajiv Gandhi brought connectivity. However, when I say cashless, you say there are no mobile phones..... When I add something good, you question." He said even if 40 per cent of the country's population possesses mobile phones, "let us start, we will see 60 per cent." "You want to oppose Modi, do it, that is your job. But support good things, if you can," he told the opposition. Targeting the opposition, the Prime Minister said, "sometimes you should look into a mirror. Suggesting that Congress was cut off from the public, he said when the 2014 Lok Sabha polls were being contested, the issue was whether the number of subsidised LPG cylinders should be 9 or 12 per year. "We changed that. I made a simple appeal that those who can afford, should give up LPG subsidy and more than 20 lakh came forward to give up subsidy. This shows the strength of democracy," Modi said. "I appeal to all, let us recognise the power of people. We all are working to take the country to greater heights. There is nobody who wants to see bad for the country," he said. Targeting Congress for claiming credit for independence, he quipped the party has "never heard about Savarkar, Bhagat Singh etc. They think that only one family got freedom for the country. The problem lies there." Talking about his Swachh Bharat programme, Modi said it was a tribute to Mahatma Gandhi who also pitched for cleanliness in all aspects of life. He added, "There have been so many Lok Sabhas earlier but was cleanliness ever discussed? Will we make even this a political issue? Nobody wants to live in dirt but can't we together work for cleanliness? who is stopping us?" On questions with regard to advancement of the Budget, the Prime Minister said the tradition of presenting Budget in February-end was colonial and it left only a few months for spending of money allocated for the financial year. "Earlier, the Budgetary exercise would be completed by May and the rainy season would follow from July. So three months of the financial year are wasted and we are left with little time to spend," he said. He asked the opposition to take advantage of the advancement of budget instead of questioning it. He said the opposition also wanted betterment of the country but their "priority is different". Answering criticism over merger of Railways Budget with the General Budget, he said it won't affect the autonomy of the railways but only help in development of transportation comprehensively. "I realise it (merger) hurts politically but somebody has to take responsibility. For the country, need to take good decisions. We are moving in this direction," Modi said. While listing achievements in various sectors like road construction and electrification, he said, "these results were not sudden but achieved through careful planning using the same laws, same officers, same files and ... We moving ahead. The European Union today said it "condemns" a new Israeli law legalising dozens of Jewish settler outposts in the occupied West Bank and urged the country not to implement it. "The European Union condemns the recent adoption of the 'Regularisation Law'", foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said, arguing it "crosses a new and dangerous threshold by legalising under Israeli law the seizure of Palestinian property rights". The 28-nation EU "urges the Israeli leadership to refrain from implementing the law and to avoid measures that further raise tensions and endanger the prospects for a peaceful solution to the conflict", she said in a statement. The Israeli law passed yesterday allows for the appropriation of private Palestinian land for Jewish settler outposts, meaning legalisation for dozens of wildcat outposts and thousands of settler homes. Settlements in both the West Bank and east Jerusalem are viewed as illegal under international law and major stumbling blocks to peace as they are built on land the Palestinians want for their own state. International criticism to the new law has mounted swiftly, with UN chief Antonio Guterres saying it is "contravention of international law", but the United States has been notably silent. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The EU said today it had failed to agree on long-delayed plans for a public prosecutor's office to combat fraud. The 28-nation bloc may now have to settle for a smaller group of countries agreeing on closer cooperation, in another sign of a divided, two-speed Europe. Plans for a European prosecutor first emerged in 2009 to combat fraud that costs the bloc nearly 900 million euros a year. But they have met resistance from some states who fear a loss of sovereignty as the proposed office would have powers to operate directly in member states. The European Council said it "registered the absence of unanimity in support of the proposal for a regulation creating a European Public Prosecutor's office." Under EU rules, a group of at least nine member states can now ask for EU leaders to decide at their next summit to find a way to push through the plans. "If this does not prove possible, enhanced cooperation can be considered," it added, meaning the group could push ahead with the prosecutor plans on their own. The plan for a common prosecutor was designed to target fraud that has helped fuel populist anti-EU sentiment in Britain and other countries. Seventeen countries including powerful Germany and France are willing to cooperate, while 11 including Britain and the Netherlands are not, according to the European Commission. "This is one example where the (EU) treaty would allow for different speeds," Commission spokesman Margaritis Schinas told a daily media briefing. European Commission head Jean-Claude Juncker has said Britain's shock decision to leave the EU showed it could be time to develop a two-speed Europe, divided between countries that want more integration and those that want less. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Expelled AIADMK Rajya Sabha MP Sasikala Puspha, who has opposed party chief V K Sasikala's elevation as Tamil Nadu Chief Minister, today demanded that she be prevented from occupying the post and sought immediate intervention of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to "give hope" to people of the state. "The Prime Minister should take immediate action and give hope to the people. Tamil Nadu people are very sensitive. You might have seen that in the Jallikattu issue," Sasikala told reporters here. Pushpa, who had filed a suit in the Madras High Court seeking an order to restrain AIADMK from electing Sasikala as party general secretary, said the youth and women in the state were "boiling inside" due to the recent developments. She said she had written to Modi and Tamil Nadu Governor C Vidyasagar Rao to not allow Sasikala to become the Chief Minister as she had a "criminal background" and people did not like her. "How can people accept V K Sasikala as CM? An educated (person) should rule the state," she said, adding the state's image will take a beating if she became the Chief Minister. The Rajya Sabha member alleged that V K Sasikala was a "criminal" as she has been convicted in a disproportionate assets case by the trial court. "In the higher court, most of the trial (sic) is over and a judgement will be out in one week. Let's wait." Amid indications that Sasikala may not be immediately sworn-in as Chief Minister by Governor Rao, who is said to be taking legal opinion on the issue, Pushpa said, "I would like to thank Governor, who has taken good decision on this issue. He has not given up. He is standing by truth, I hope." Asked if O Panneerselvam was forced to resign as CM, she said, "It might have been done. For past two months, (those) who are opposing (Sasikala's elevation) are being attacked brutally. Their autocratic and arrogant behaviour...Everybody is watching in the state." If Jayalalithaa had wanted her long-time friend V K Sasikala to succeed her, she would not have made O Panneerselvam interim Chief Minister. "When Madam (Jayalalithaa) was in hospital, had she preferred, she should have made Sasikala the CM. Why O Pannerselvam was made interim CM? She could have selected her at that time itself? She has not been allowed to become an MLA in the past 20 years," she said. "If she really liked this lady, Madam would have given a small party or government post to her," she said, claiming Jayalalithaa had in 2011 openely alleged that Sasikala and her family had planned to kill her. Maintaining that people had doubts about the circumstances of Jayalalithaa death, Pushpa said, "We don't know what happened for 75 days in Apollo Hospital? Public is complaining to the Prime Minister that there should be a judicial probe. Why it has not been done we don't know." A representation has been made to the Union Home Minister regarding this matter, she said, adding "I hope they will continue the process. But people feel that it is an assassination. It is a murder. They are doubting the death." Pushpa also said she had recently filed a complaint with the Election Commission contending that the election of Sasikala as AIADMK general secretary was not conducted as per procedure. "I gave my representation to EC that it should not accept her as interim general secretary. It has not been done democratically," she said, demanding that the EC cancel Sasikala's election to the post. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) France and Britain said the US-led coalition battling the Islamic State group must press on and re-take Raqa as President Donald Trump mulled a new strategy to defeat the radical militants. France, the second largest contributor to the 68-country coalition fighting in Syria and Iraq, considers the fight against IS the "number one priority," said Ambassador Francois Delattre yesterday. "We helped the Iraqi forces to retake Mosul. The battle to retake Raqa in Syria is also critical," Delattre told reporters ahead of a Security Council meeting on the threat posed by IS. Britain also said the coalition, set up by former president Barack Obama in 2014, must stay the course. "The next step for us is to attack Daesh in Raqa and in Mosul, and to keep up the momentum that we have managed to maintain," said British Deputy Ambassador Peter Wilson, using the Arabic acronym for IS. Trump on Monday visited US Central Command and vowed to defeat "radical Islamic terrorism," but he did not offer details about his strategy, currently under a 30-day review by the US military leadership. During the closed-door council session, US Ambassador Nikki Haley said that "while ISIS is losing ground, the United States intends to maintain pressure on its safe havens, continue to restrict its finances, and work with our partners to take aggressive action wherever possible and adapt accordingly to defeat the group and its global threat," a US mission official said. Trump has reportedly shelved Obama's plans for taking Raqa, the IS group's de facto capital in Syria, and is considering cooperation with Russia, the Syrian regime's ally. France launched a wave of air strikes on Raqa in late 2015, in retaliation for the Paris attacks that left scores dead and shocked the world. The Security Council met to discuss a new UN report showing that Islamic State jihadists were losing territory, their revenues were dropping and recruitment was waning. "Daesh is on the backfoot, their finances have been crippled, many of their leaders have been killed and the flow of foreign fighters to Daesh is drying up," said Wilson. "The key thing is to keep the focus on Daesh -- to attack Daesh rather than to attack innocent civilians," he added. UN political affairs chief Jeffrey Feltman told the council that while IS was "on the defensive militarily in several regions", it still appears to have sufficient funds to continue fighting. A report sent to the council last week said that IS revenue from illicit oil sales, mainly from oil fields in Syria's Deir Ezzor province, had dropped from a peak of USD 500 million in 2015 to USD 260 million last year. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) February 5, 2017 Statements by Iranian officials on Tehrans intentions to enter the European gas market still remain part of the political game played by Islamic Republic authorities to make the West more inclined to lift sanctions and restore its economic ties with Iran. To date, however, these statements seem to have had more effect on the behavior of the Russian government and its hydrocarbon companies than on European companies. Since the late 1990s, Iranian authorities have been promising to help European countries decrease their dependence on gas supplies from Russia. Between 2006 and 2015, at the least, international sanctions were a major obstacle blocking implementation of projects that were supposed to ensure Irans access to the European gas market. European corporations, fearing being hit by Western sanctions, did not dare to develop a presence in the Iranian oil and gas sector beyond mere talks and discussions. Nevertheless, the adoption of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action and the beginnings of a gradual lifting of limits on cooperation with Iran clearly demonstrated that the core of the issue was not rooted exclusively in the sanctions but rather also involved Iran's energy infrastructure. Iranian natural gas still will not reach the European Union market in the medium term. Although Iran possesses the largest reserves of natural gas in the world, its extraction capacities and gas transport infrastructure are still underdeveloped. Consequently, Iran is unable to immediately increase its exports abroad. The output of Irans gas sector is about 251 billion cubic meters per year, of which it exports only about 6 billion cubic meters. At the same time, Iran also needs to import relatively the same amount from Turkmenistan to meet export obligations (which are reportedly twice as big as Irans export capacities) and satisfy the needs of its northern provinces during winter. Iranian sources told Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity that the estimated investment needed to develop Irans capacities to extract the natural gas and deliver it to external markets is immense dozens of billions of dollars making it difficult to accumulate the necessary funds and implement planned projects in a short period of time. Even in the best-case scenario, it will take Iran three to five years to reach an output of 307 billion cubic meters. Nevertheless, such an increase in output does not mean that the export capacities of Tehran will rise adequately. This is largely determined by the structure of domestic energy consumption in Iran, which is dominated by gas. While promising to supply European countries with gas, the Iranian authorities set the satisfaction of domestic gas needs as their real priority. And these needs are high and still growing. For the last several decades, the Iranian government has been actively promoting the idea of the substitution of other energy resources with natural gas. Consequently, the share of natural gas in the countrys energy consumption basket is about 60%, while oils share is below 40%. The government also continues to subsidize natural gas prices to its population, which also leads to a high level of consumption of this resource. Given that the Iranian authorities are determined to continue the implementation of their programs aimed at decreasing the share of oil in the countrys energy consumption by substituting natural gas for petroleum, by 2020 the giant's share of Irans gas will be still consumed domestically. As predicted by some experts, even if Tehran is able to increase its gas production within the next three years, only 27 billion cubic meters will be available for export. The Iranian authorities also keep pursuing their diversification strategy, where the development of the petrochemical industry would likely heavily rely on the gas feed. Apart from that, it is necessary to remember that Tehran is implementing the enhanced oil recovery program, whose goal is to sustain a stable level of oil output at old oilfields by injecting them with gas. This program is also officially given priority over the gas exports. There is also a difference between statements by Iranian officials about the prospects of natural gas exports and Tehrans real plans. Iranian analysts told Al-Monitor that their government considers any projects aimed at the export of natural gas to distant countries (especially to Europe) as risky and too complicated to implement at the current stage. Instead, Tehran is interested in increasing its gas exports to its direct neighbors. Apart from the obvious economic dividends this would bring, Iranian authorities also want to create an economic leverage of influence on their not-always-friendly neighbors. Under these circumstances, from a mid-term perspective, the European gas market is not a top priority for Iran. Finally, sanctions have never been completely lifted. US authorities are still reluctant to abolish the restraints put on financial transactions with Tehran. Consequently, European majors are only tiptoeing around potential projects in Irans oil and gas sector, and are still waiting for the time when they will be sure that there is no risk to work with Tehran. Under these circumstances, some local analysts close to the Iranian government told Al-Monitor, Iran scrounged up funding for small infrastructure projects of secondary importance. However, the main gas projects still remain without necessary funds and foreign contractors. It is often not reality but rather our perception of it that determines our actions. Thus, Russian authorities do not consider the challenge of Irans natural gas to their interests in the European market as negligible, even though Tehran over the next decade will hardly be able to represent a threat to the Russian presence there. However, Moscow tries to see the situation in the long term. Under these circumstances, the Kremlin does not exclude a scenario where, in the long run, Tehran finally carries out its promises to reach the European market. However, even seeing Iran as a potential rival in this field, Russia still prefers cooperation to confrontation. Moscow follows the judo principle of staying in full contact with your opponent and keeping him close. Consequently, wherever possible, Moscow tries to ensure that hydrocarbons flow in the direction it wants them to, and at the least tries to make sure that it has a stake in the energy projects of Iran. As a result, Gazprom and other Russian energy corporations demonstrate open interest in the development of Irans gas production and gas infrastructure. This strategy of involvement in Irans gas sector is supported and promoted at the top level of the Russian political elite. During the Baku summit of the Azerbaijani, Russian and Iranian presidents in August 2016, Putin called for the necessity of closer cooperation and coordination in the oil and gas sphere, particularly over the shared use of existing pipeline infrastructure and joint development of Caspian hydrocarbon resources. He formulated a plan to supply the northern provinces of Iran with natural gas via Azerbaijan in exchange for Iranian liquefied natural gas that Russian companies will receive in the Persian Gulf. The implementation of this project would allow Iran to decrease its dependency on Turkmenistan as its sole supplier of natural gas to the northern districts, while Russian authorities would be able to ensure that at least some Iranian gas will not reach Europe but instead will be channeled by Russian companies to other regions. Technology giant Google is in discussions with 4-5 states across the country for including Internet safety as part of the curriculum for schools. The US-based company is already working with Goa government for educating students on being safe on Internet. "We are trying to get into curriculum. Goa was one, we are trying to work with many more governments and central boards to make sure this becomes a part of regular discussion. There are 4-5 states (that are part of discussion)," Google India Director Trust and Safety Sunita Mohanty told PTI. She, however, did not disclose the names of the states. About 460 teachers were trained in Goa, who will reach out to 80,000 students. Apart from creating the curriculum for students, Google is also working on educating women and consumers as well on the importance of staying safe while browsing and transacting on the web. Globally, tech giants are undertaking efforts to propagate the idea of secure online experience. In fact, February 7 is being celebrated as Safer Internet Day. According to a Microsoft survey conducted across 14 countries through its Digital Civility Index (DCI), 63 per cent of Indian respondents reported having been exposed to an online risk. About 44 per cent of the Indian respondents said they had experienced their most recent online risk within the past month, indicating higher frequency. Interestingly, males in the country reported more risks across categories -- 64 per cent compared to 61 per cent for females. Also, more females tightened privacy controls (61 per cent) compared to males (50 per cent) after experiencing online risk. "Microsoft is using the Index to amplify awareness and demonstrate the need to further educate young adults, parents, educators, and policymakers about the real-world consequences of negative online interactions, which can have serious consequences," Microsoft India Associate General Counsel Madhu Khatri said. On intrusive behaviour like hate speech, discrimination, unwanted contact or terrorism recruiting, 79 per cent Indian respondents reported concern levels. About 77 per cent Indian respondents reported behavioural concerns like cyberbullying, trolling or online harassment. "Concerns on unwanted sexual solicitation, sexting, revenge porn, or sextortion was reported by 77 per cent Indians. Concerns on unwanted reputational behaviour such as doxing and damage to personal or workplace reputation was reported by 77 per cent Indians," it said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Having returned to academia after a controversy-ridden stint at the RBI, former Governor feels "great to be back" riding his bike in Chicago and hopes to "do it as long as" he can. "Taking my bike out and riding the bike path along Lake Shore Drive, that's one of the great experiences in my life. And I hope to do it as long as I can. It's great to be back," Rajan said in an interview with the media team of the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. Lake Shore Drive is an expressway running along the shoreline of Lake Michigan through Chicago, Illinois. "This (Booth School of Business) has been my home for 25 years. It's a great city. I have great colleagues. And it's a wonderful school. "It's different every time you come back. If it wasn't different, it wouldn't be doing its job," Rajan said. Rajan was governor of the Reserve Bank of India from 2013 to September 2016. His tenure was marked by both bouquets and brickbats but saw severe criticism from some political quarters towards the end, including personal attacks. He was accused of refusing to lower rates to boost growth, though Rajan often cited data to the contrary. Previously, he served as the chief economist and director of research at the International Monetary Fund (from 2003 to 2006). He is currently Katherine Dusak Miller Distinguished Service Professor of Finance at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, which he joined in 1991. Asked what he is looking forward to most after returning to academic life, the former RBI Governor noted that one of the difficulties of a job in the "real world" is that one does not really get time to shut oneself off in a room and think. "Now in academia,...If you are careful, you can spend four days in a room, sit looking at a piece of paper and struggling with a thought that refuses to come out. "At the end of those four days, sometimes, you say, 'Oh my God, how did I miss this?' and it dawns on you. And that's as close to bliss as you can get," Rajan said. Talking about focus of his research, he said, "Research never really leaves you... While I was at the Reserve Bank, I published some papers, but you don't get time to really reflect." Referring to the global financial crisis, Rajan pointed out that the crisis essentially gave us research topics for the next 30 years. "If you look at what happened, there are about 15 to 20 different stories now emerging," he observed. He also argued that more liquidity means more leverage, which in turn means more financial fragility. The Delhi High Court today asked the AAP government to reconsider the proposal of Delhi Public School Society to hike student fees, a move that was earlier halted by the Directorate of Education (DoE). Justice V Kameswar Rao asked the society to make a representation to DoE of the Delhi government which has been directed to consider it and take a decision within 30 days. With the direction, the court disposed of DPS Society's plea challenging DoE's December 27, 2016 decision to reject its proposal to hike fees by 16.95 per cent for the academic session 2016-17. The society had also challenged DoE's circular of January 6, 2017, which prohibited the society from holding a meeting of its managing committee to hike its fees for the academic year 2017-18 to implement the Seventh Pay Commission recommendations. The society had contended that it wanted to hike fees in order to implement the pay commission recommendations and the resolution to do so was passed by its management on February 4, 2016. Thereafter, on February 19, 2016, DoE had passed an order saying that the high court has held that private unaided schools on DDA land need prior sanction of the government before hiking fees and the management of such institutions was not competent to increase the fees, the petition had said. The society had claimed that an auditor appointed by DoE to look into the reasons for the fee hike had said in its report that the increase was justified, but despite this the government did not permit it. Additional standing counsel Santosh Kumar Tripathi, appearing for DoE, said the plea was premature as the society could have approached the department within 30 days of the order if it felt there was some deficiency on the government's part as DoE was open to looking into it. DoE also said the external auditor was not competent to decide the issue of fee hike and this power was vested only in the Director of Education. In view of the DoE's submission, the court asked the society to make a representation to it and directed the department to decide it within 30 days. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Delhi High Court today sought the Centre's response on a plea by Jindal Steel and Power Ltd (JSPL) challenging a single judge order dismissing its petition seeking to retain 298.913 hectares of land of a Chhattisgarh coal block for dumping fly ash generated at its captive power plant there. The coal block in Chhattisgarh, which was earlier allotted to JSPL, was later cancelled by the Supreme Court in 2014. A bench of Chief Justice G Rohini and Justice Sangita Dhingra Sehgal issued notice to the Centre and asked it to file response on JSPL's appeal by February 20, the next date of hearing. At the outset of the hearing, the bench observed that the matter "needs consideration" and it will hear the matter after a week. Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, who was representing JSPL, told the bench that the matter should be heard as soon as possible. During the brief hearing, the Centre contended before the court that the company cannot dump fly ash generated at the Dongamahua Captive Power Plant (DCPP) at Raigarh at the site. To this, the bench said, "If they (JSPL) don't succeed (in the appeal), consequences will follow." The division bench also said that the interim order passed by the single judge on April 13, 2015 in the matter would continue till further order. In its April 13, 2015 interim order, the single judge had asked the Centre to permit JSPL to dump the fly ash generated in the course of operation of its power plant, in the same manner as they were doing till then. A single judge of the high court had on January 24 dismissed the plea of the firm, saying once the apex court has cancelled the allotment of the coal block, including the 298.913 hectares in favour of JSPL, it has no right on the land which stood transferred to the Centre or a company owned by it. The court in its verdict had also rejected JSPL's challenge to the government's order of March 26, 2015, asking it to remove its coal stock from the site by April 8, 2015, and the April 2, 2015 letter of the South Eastern Coalfields Ltd (SECL) -- the designated custodian of the block -- rejecting the company's request to retain the 298 hectares. It has also imposed Rs one lakh cost on JSPL to be paid to Coal India Ltd (CIL). The high court had ruled that dumping of fly ash generated at the DCPP at Raigarh at the site on the basis of an interim order, "was in violation of the rights of the respondents (CIL and SECL)". The single judge had noted that JSPL benefited from the dumping as they were not required to dispose of fly ash by some other means. "The parties have to be restituted. There is however no material before this court to assess the advantage/benefit drawn by the petitioner No.1 JSPL from the interim orders and the loss if any caused to CIL and SECL therefrom," the single judge had said in its verdict. "Liberty is thus granted to CIL/SECL to, if so desired and have suffered any loss, within three months here from, make a claim therefore by way of application and which application, if filed, shall be considered on its own merits," the court had said. Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti today asserted that promotion and development of local industry is the thrust area for her government. She said during the last two years many incentives were provided by the government to make local industry self-reliant and competitive. Chairing the 6th Industrial Advisory Council meeting here, the chief minister said her government during the last two years incentivised many of the industry segments and much more would be done in coming years also to let the local industry grow and become more competitive and self-reliant. Minister for finance & labour, Haseeb Drabu, minister for industries & commerce, Chander Prakash Ganga, minister of state for industries & commerce, Syed Farooq Andrabi were also present in the meeting. Mehbooba impressed upon the players of local industry to ensure maximum engagement of local youth in their ventures so as to address the problem of unemployment in the state. She said the industrial policy has been already formulated and very soon trade policy of the state would also be framed. The chief minister said the J&K Trade Promotion Organisation has been conceived on the pattern of India Trade Promotion Organisation to boost trade and commerce in the state and provide a business-friendly environment to industrialists. She hoped members of the business fraternity would take benefit of all the incentives provided to them and play their role in the socio-economic transformation of the state. The meeting was informed that under the MSME sector while an investment of Rs 250 crore per year was made during earlier years, investment projects worth Rs 2,500 crore were cleared during 2016 alone. The meeting was also informed that Wuyn cement factory plant spread over 400 kanals of land would be developed as an industrial estate even as two new industrial estates would be developed in the state. The meeting was also told that Rs 10 crore each are being spent on upgradation of infrastructure at Trade Facilitation Centres at Salamabad and Chakkan Da Bagh where the trade valuation has touched Rs 900 crore and Rs 450 crore each. Similarly, Kashmir Haat-II would be developed at Pampore on the Srinagar-Jammu National Highway at a cost of Rs 40 crore while skills will be imparted to 45,000 youth in the state in the coming three years, the meeting was told. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Migrants in Jammu and Kashmir will soon get medical insurance cover for hassle-free access to modern healthcare facilities in the state. "The Department of Relief and Rehabilitation is going to launch a medical insurance scheme for registered migrants of the state, including Kashmiri and Jammu migrants," Minister for Relief, Rehabilitation and Reconstruction, Basharat Bukhari said. "The insurance will cover migrants registered under relief and pension category within and outside the state in order to provide hassle-free access to modern healthcare facilities which are beyond the reach of most migrants," he added. The scheme shall provide cover for hospitalisation to the insured migrants along with the dependent family members on a floater basis, minister said. There are a total of 41,462 Kashmiri migrant families. 1,054 Jammu migrant families, who were forced to leave Poonch, Rajouri, Reasi, Ramban and other areas, are at present residing in different areas of Jammu province. At present 37,347 Hindu migrant families, 2,252 Muslim migrant families, 1,758 Sikh families and five others are registered in Jammu. Out of these, 18,589 Kashmiri migrant families are entitled to a cash assistance at Rs 2500 per subject with maximum ceiling of Rs 10,000 per family of four persons. They are entitled to free ration as per the scale 9 kg flour, 2 kg rice and 1 kg sugar per family per month and 10 litre of kerosene oil per family per month. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) US Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly today said that judges who blocked the White House's immigration ban were living in an academic "vacuum" and did not see the real threat to the country. "In their world it is very academic, almost in a vacuum. In their courtrooms, they are protected by people like me," Kelly told a hearing of the House Homeland Security Committee. "If something happens bad from letting people in, they don't come and ask the judge about his ruling, they come to me." Kelly was speaking after a federal judge in Seattle ordered the Homeland Security Department to halt enforcement of the ban on immigration by refugees and citizens of seven predominantly Muslim countries. The judge found for two states - Washington and Minnesota - which contended that the ban would cause "irreparable injury," and granted a nationwide temporary restraining order suspending it. A US appeals court will hold a hearing today on the order, which President Donald Trump's government is defending as a "lawful exercise" of presidential power and necessary to protect the country from terror attacks. Kelly told the hearing that the order "is lawful and constitutional." "It is my belief that we will prevail and will be able to take the steps needed to protect our nation." He said there was no particular increase in the perceived threat level precipitating the ban, but that immigration procedures needed to be reviewed especially from the seven countries: Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen. "The ban was based on countries that we don't have any real confidence in right now that they can help us vet people coming to the United States," he said. "They are countries in chaos, countries in collapse," he said. But he added that the government is particularly worried about the threat that fighters for the Islamic State group in Syria and Iraq could find their way to the United States. "It is based on the fact that we know that there are thousands of fighters coming out of the caliphate fight that have papers that could get them into Europe and then the United States," he said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Actress Kangana Ranaut today reached out to BSF jawans in Jammu and said she was fortunate to meet them, who are guarding the country's borders in difficult situation. "I am fortunate to come here and meet you (BSF jawans) and your families. It is an honour for me," she said at a gathering here. Ranaut is featuring in the lead role in 'Rangoon' being directed by Vishal Bhardwaj and produced by Sajid Nadiadwala. The actress has Saif Ali Khan and Shahid Kapoor as her co-stars. The film is slated to release on February 24. The Bollywood star visited the BSF headquarter at Paloura here and paid tribute at the Martyrs' Memorial to Bordermen. Ranaut also met school children and took pictures with jawans and their families. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Considering the uptick in inbound tourism, Kerala is eyeing 7.5 per cent growth in tourist arrivals from overseas markets in this financial year, with special focus on adventure, culture and Ayurveda. "In 2016, January-September, we received 9,24,125 domestic tourists and 7,38,515 foreign tourists, which is 6.01 per cent and 5.61 per cent growth, respectively, over the same period of 2015. Overall the growth was 5.98 per cent till September, with 1.19 lakh tourists visiting the 'Gods Own Country'," Kerala Tourism Department Tourist Information Officer Shine KS told PTI here. Overall in the financial year 2016-17, looking at the trend the state is expecting 7.5 per cent growth in foreign tourists arrival, while 6.5 per cent in domestic footfalls, he said. "Looking at the numbers from January-September, we are confident to achieve our target in FY17," Shine said. In the financial year 2018, he said, Kerala is looking at a rise of 7 per cent overseas travellers and 6 per cent domestic tourists. He said, the percentage might look small, but is significant, as the Kerala government is promoting the state as a destination of responsible tourism. He said with Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra being the two top source markets of the state, Kerala Tourism is now exploring new markets like Gujarat and the eastern parts of the country. "We are now exploring new markets within the country as we see a lot of potential in the domestic market. We are doing road shows in tier II and III cities, besides the metro cities," Shine added. Similarly, among the overseas market UK, Germany and France are the top source markets of the state. "Besides strengthening the current overseas markets, we are also exploring other European countries and international markets," he added. To promote tourism, Kerala has launched 'Green Carpet Initiative' that focuses on a 10-point agenda intended to give a face lift to select tourist destinations in the state. "We are focusing on infrastructure development of tourist destination to offer better holiday experiences. The 'Green Carpet Initiative' adds to it by emphasising on the need for community involvement in tourism development and ensuring security, cleanliness, hygiene and scientific waste management methods," Shine said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) First lady Melania Trump has re-filed a libel lawsuit against the corporation that publishes the Daily Mail's website, this time in New York, for reporting rumors that she worked as an escort. In the new filing yesterday, the first lady's attorneys argue the report damaged her ability to profit off her high profile. Trump, the filing states, "had the unique, one-in-a-lifetime opportunity, as an extremely famous and well-known person, as well as a former professional model, brand spokesperson and successful businesswoman, to launch a broad-based commercial brand in multiple product categories, each of which could have garnered multi-million dollar business relationships for a multi-year term during which Plaintiff is one of the most photographed women in the world." Those product categories, it goes on to say, could have included apparel, accessories, jewelry, cosmetics, hair care and fragrance, among others. Trump had previously filed the lawsuit against Mail Media Inc. In Maryland, but a judge earlier this month ruled the case shouldn't be filed in Maryland and dismissed it. The lawsuit now filed in New York, where the corporation has offices, seeks compensatory and punitive damages of at least USD 150 million. Trump had sued Mail Media Inc. Along with blogger Webster Tarpley for reporting the rumors. Trump filed the lawsuit in Maryland after both Tarpley and the Daily Mail issued retractions. The lawsuit against Tarpley has been allowed to move ahead in Maryland. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Several Union ministers today hit out at the Opposition for attempts to disrupt Prime Minister Narendra Modi's speech in the Lok Sabha accusing them of being "petty minded", and targeted Congress saying it was unbecoming of a party which has "ruled and ruined" the country for years. "They (Congress) behaved in an immature manner. They have been in power for long. They must have the patience to hear the truth. When the truth is unpalatable to them, the way they were making personal remarks, the way they were trying to heckle the Prime Minister, it was unbecoming of a party which has ruled and ruined the country for this many number of years," Urban Development Minister M Venkaiah Naidu said. Naidu said that he felt sorry for "these people" who reacted the way they did in the Lok Sabha after they were heard patiently and peacefully. "The Prime Minister, who is the leader of the nation, when he is intervening in a debate, there is a decorum, there is a decency, there is a system, there are precedents, that the leader of the House is given a peaceful hearing. "But unfortunately these Congress people, they are not able to digest the fact that people have rejected them, they (people) have selected and elected Narendra Modi as the PM. It all shows their (Congress') petty mindedness," he told reporters outside Parliament. Replying to a debate on the Motion of Thanks on the President's Address which was adopted by the Lok Sabha later amid walkout by Congress, Modi answered criticism over demonetisation while asserting that the timing for the decision was perfect as the economy was doing well while hitting out at Congress whose record he questioned with regard to various issues. Modi also replied point-by-point to the issues raised by the Opposition, including surgical strikes and allocations for MNREGA, agriculture sector and for Scheduled Castes. In his 90-minute speech, which was punctuated by protests by some Opposition members at certain points, Modi also raised pitch for simultaneous elections to Lok Sabha and Assemblies. Referring to the Prime Minister's "earthquake" dig to hit out at the Opposition, Minister of State for Home Kiren Rijiju said, "...They (Opposition) presented things in front of the people as if the Parliament will be shaken. But nothing of that sort happened. Minister of State for Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises Babul Supriyo said there was an earthquake in the opposition after the Prime Minister's remark. "The Prime Minister said that he will start playing from their (opposition) arena. They take credit for starting many (schemes) but could not do much. Be it Benami Property Act or MNREGA, Prime Minister told them about it. "The earthquake had come in Delhi yesterday, we were lucky that there was not much damage, but the earthquake that has hit their (Opposition's) hearts today, its impact will stay on for sometime," he said. Referring to the Prime Minister's remark on Trinamool Congress MP Kalyan Banerjee, Supriyo said that since his name is 'Kalyan', his welfare will definitely happen. "He (PM) only said that his 'Kalyan' will happen. What is wrong in that?" he asked. Union minister Rajiv Pratap Rudy said that the central point in the Prime Minister's remarks and thoughts have been for the poor and also reflected the pain he felt for them. "The central point of the Prime Minister in all his remarks and thought process is for the poor. It reflects his pain for the poor. His priority is always that a system should be created for the poor," Rudy said after the speech. Nagaland Chief Minister T R Zeliang today said that border fencing by Myanmar government at Pangsha in Tuensang district of the state has been stopped with the intervention of the central government. The External Affairs Ministry had taken up the issue with the Myanmar government that has agreed and already stopped the border fencing in the area, Zeliang told a press conference here. He said though official communication has not yet been received, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval rang him up yesterday and informed him about this development. Detailed discussion on border fencing between the two countries would be held later, the chief minister said. Naga organisations like the Naga Students Federation, recently appealed to the Prime Minister to stop the works on the border fencing between India and Myanmar, saying that the people there are peace loving and have been rendering much effort to maintain peace and tranquillity along the area. The Nagas have a sizable population in Myanmar. Zeliang also revealed that a Naga summit of all the Naga people bordering Myanmar will be held soon. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the alleged gangrape of a married woman in Naliya town of the district has arrested three persons involved in the crime, police said. Those who were arrested include Vinod Thakkar (67), his son Chetan (35) and one Ashwin Thakkar (44), said police inspector of Kutch Local Crime Branch, J M Aal, who is heading the SIT formed by Gujarat government to investigate the case. "Vinod and his son Chetan were nabbed from Mulund in Mumbai while Ashwin was held from Vadodara-Ahmedabad Highway. All of them are accused of raping the victim, who is now in Mumbai with her husband. Efforts are on to nab at least 6 others who are involved in the crime," said Aal at a press conference. The arrest came a day after Gujarat BJP suspended four party members after their names cropped up in the complaint of gangrape filed by the 24-year-old married woman on January 25 at Naliya police station. Those who were suspended include Shantilal Solanki, Govind Parumalani, Ajit Ramvani and Vasant Bhanushali. Among these, Ramvani and Bhanushali are BJP's sitting councillors of Gandhidham municipality. All of them are still at large. In her FIR, the victim alleged that she was raped by these men when she used to work as a clerk at Solanki's gas agency in Naliya around one year back. She alleged that Solanki and three others first raped her after giving her a spiked cold drink which made her unconscious when she had gone to his house to take salary advance. The accused made a video of the act and raped her later on several occasions by threatening to circulate it, she said in her FIR. "Those who were arrested today are not associated with any party. Our efforts are on to nab other accused. We have also issued a look-out notice to airports in order to stop them from fleeing the country," Aal said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A New Israeli law legalising dozens of Jewish settler outposts in the Palestinian West Bank is in violation of international law, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said today. "This bill is in contravention of international law and will have far reaching legal consequences for Israel," Guterres said in a statement. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar today lamented the absence of legislators in both Houses of the state assembly, particularly during the post-lunch sessions. On the Foundation Day programme of Bihar Assembly, Kumar, also the JD(U) president, pointed towards depleted strength of MLAs and MLCs, and urged them to participate more actively for fulfilment of duties. "Despite shortfall of attendance in Bihar Assembly and Legislative Council, quorum is achieved. But the situation is worse in Parliament where quorum has not been achieved on several occasion in the second half," said Kumar, who has vast experience as an MP. With budget session of Bihar Legislature starting from February 23, Kumar laid emphasis on more orientation sessions for members so that the two Houses see less disruptions and discharge legislative duty more efficiently. The programme was taking place in the sprawling new Assembly building, which was built up on the design of Parliament following the suggestion of Kumar. In his address, Speaker Vijay Kumar Chaudhary reminded the audience about the history of the state Assembly. While exhorting Legislators to spend more time taking part in proceedings of the two Houses, the CM said debate and discussion are important tools of a healthy democracy. Bihar and Odisha were carved away from Bengal Presidency in 1912 to form a new province. Lord Satyendra Prasanna Sinha, the first Governor of Bihar and Odisha province, inaugurated the old building of Bihar legislature on February 7, 1921. On the same day, the first meeting of legislators of the new province was held. As part of the foundation day celebration, the Speaker and other Legislators donated blood. (REOPEN CES8) Chaudhary too expressed concern over low attendance of legislators in Houses mainly in the second half. "Second half is supposed to be the most important time for Legislators to fulfil their legislative duty by participating in debates of different departments and passing of budget. But, unfortunately low attendance of members and even empty media gallery is enough to prove that not much interest is given to this time," he said. Chaudhary hailed holding a blood donation camp for Legislators on foundation day, which he said was first of its kind in the country. Leader of Opposition in Legislative Council Sushil Kumar Modi stressed on holding more blood donation camps by legislators to inspire masses for doing the same. He also asked the legislators to pledge their body after death which could provide new life to others. His counterpart in the Assembly Prem Kumar, who too donated blood, also hailed the initiative. Congress Legislature Party leader Sadanand Singh and senior RJD leader Abdul Bari Siddiqui echoed similar views and also stressed on better conduct from members in the House. Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis today asserted that there is no threat to his government and it will complete its full term, a comment which came on a day when Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray said that its ties with BJP in the state are on a "notice period". "There is no danger at all to my government for (the) five years (term)," the CM said here replying to a query at a press conference at the city BJP office, where he released the party's manifesto for the February 21 BMC polls. "This manifesto is an extension of Modiji's vision," he said. Fadnavis also challenged the bickering ally in the state government, to tackle him first, before speaking about Prime Minister Modi holding a rally in Mumbai, ahead of BMC polls. "(Tackling) PM is a distant thing. First (let Sena) tackle me," Fadnavis said responding to a question. Taking a dig at Modi for giving "false" assurances, Uddhav had yesterday said he was waiting for the PM's rally to be held in the city ahead of the BMC polls. "I want to see Narendra Modi coming to Mumbai and campaign for BMC polls. I want to see Sena's win after his rally here," Thackeray had said at a rally here. On the meeting between Patidar agitation leader Hardik Patel and Uddhav in Mumbai today, Fadnavis said, "Look, whom one has to invite, after the ground slips from beneath their (Sena) feet." The manifesto, printed on a stamp paper-like document, promises to keep water tax rates stable, and also no levy of street tax on pothole-ridden roads. Roads will be washed with water, it says. Mumbai BJP president Ashish Shelar said the manifesto has been prepared after incorporating the expectations of common man in the city. Earlier, giving indications that the Sena is ready to pull out of the Maharashtra government, in which it is a partner of the BJP, Uddhav today said the government is on a "notice period" as on now. "Like the Code of Conduct is for a certain period, the government too is on a notice period and when the period ends will be known by all soon," he said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Nobel Laureate Kailash Satyarthi's house in southeast Delhi's Kalkaji was burgled and the replica of the Nobel Prize awarded to him was allegedly stolen among other valuable items, police said today. Police said the matter came to light when Satyarthi's PA went to take his car from the activist's Kalkaji residence around 9 AM. Police was informed about the alleged theft of the Nobel Prize replica and teams are collecting fingerprints and analysing the spot to get details of the items stolen. Police said all the lockers have been broken and it is suspected that the burglary took place in the wee hours today. Satyarathi is currently in the US. "The Nobel Prize replica has been stolen among other things. His daughter's wedding jewellery is also missing. They haven't yet shared the full list of the items that are missing and currently the inspection is being done," said a senior police officer. Cops suspect that the information that there was no one atthe house might have been leaked by someone from the society like a milkman or a newspaper delivery boy, etc. Police is questioning local criminals of the area to gain leads to the burglary. They are also looking at the CCTV footage to gain clues to the accused. The child rights activist won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2014. He shared the prize with Pakistan's Malala Yousafzai. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A Pakistani court today dismissed a petition challenging the detention of Jamaat-ud-Dawah chief and Mumbai attack mastermind Hafiz MohammadSaeed. Lahore High Court Justice Erum Sajjad Gull dismissed the petition filed by a senior lawyer on 'technical' ground after hearing the arguments. The court observed the petitioner had not furnished the impugned notification of Saeed's detention. Interestingly, during the hearing, Saeed's counsel advocate A K Dogar appeared before the judge and requested not to give any 'adverse judgement' in this case. He said Saeed is filing a separate petition this week to challenge his "illegal" detention. The habeas corpus petition filed by senior advocate Sarfraz Hussain contendedthe JuD chief has been put under "illegal" detention by manoeuvring the anti-terrorism law. "The government has detained Saeed citing a resolution of the United Nations Security Council. But the UNSC's resolution for plebiscite in the Indian-held Kashmir has not yet been implemented. The government has detained him at the behest of the foreign masters," he said. Hussain said there has been no nexus with the anti-terrorism laws which are manoeuvred by the respondent (federal and provincial governments) to curtail the liberty of a Pakistani citizen (Saeed) on the behest of the foreign mission and UNSC resolution. He said Saeed has made the Kashmir issue alive. The petitioner prayed to the court to accept the petition instantly and "set Saeed at liberty in the larger interest of justice, equity and fair play to meet the ends of justice". The government on January 30 placed Saeed and four other members of JuD and Falah-e-Insanyat under house arrest for a period of three months invoking Section 11EEE of Anti-Terrorism Act 1997. The names ofSaeed and 37 other JuD and FIF leaders have also been placed on the Exit Control List (ECL) barring them from leaving the country. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Pakistan's military continues to support terrorist groups that attack India to keep it "off balance" and draws international mediation into dispute over Kashmir, according to a report by a group of eminent South Asian experts from 10 major American think tanks. As per the report titled 'A New US Approach to Pakistan: Enforcing Aid Conditions without Cutting Ties' which will be released here on Friday, Pakistan's military has often disrupted nascent peace efforts pursued by Indian and Pakistani civilian rulers, most notably in 1999 during the Kargil war. "Pakistani military leaders continue to support terrorist groups that attack India in an effort to keep it off balance and to draw international mediation into the dispute with India over Kashmir," said the report. "Pakistan's use of terrorist groups as part of its security and foreign policy is a function of its obsession with India, which it perceives as an existential threat. From an outside perspective, Pakistan's paranoia regarding India is unfounded," it said. The report said while India may be unwilling to renegotiate Kashmir's territorial status, numerous Indian leaders have tried to reach a modus vivendi with Pakistan. Pakistan never changed its policy of supporting certain militant groups that fight Afghan and coalition forces, making it impossible for the US to achieve its objective of keeping Afghanistan from reverting to a safe haven for international terrorism, it said. "Pakistan's seemingly unconstrained expansion of its nuclear arsenal, particularly the development of tactical nuclear weapons and extended-range missile systems, also remains a cause for concern, especially with regard to India," said the report co-authored by Lisa Curtis from The Heritage Foundation and Husain Haqqani, the former Pakistan Ambassador to the US, who is now with The Hudson Institute. Among other members of the report are Col (retd) John Gill, Professor from National Defense University; Anish Goel, from New America; Bruce Riedel from Brookings Institution; David S Sedney, Center for Strategic and International Studies; and Marvin Weinbaum from, Middle East Institute. The US clearly recognises that Pakistan's support for the Afghan Taliban, the Haqqani network and other terrorist groups is not the sole reason for Afghanistan's security challenges. However, the other problems become insurmountable when the principal insurgent groups enjoy safe havens in Pakistan, the report said. Pakistan's tolerance for terror groups also undermines the country itself, corroding its stability and civilian governance and damaging its investment climate, as well as inflicting death and injury on thousands of its own innocent citizens, it said. The objective of the Trump administration's policy toward Pakistan must be to make it more and more costly for Pakistani leaders to employ a strategy of supporting terrorist proxies to achieve regional strategic goals, it said. "There should be no ambiguity that the US considers Pakistan's strategy of supporting terrorist proxies to achieve regional strategic advantage as a threat to US interests. US policy must also pay attention to non-proliferation goals while dealing with Pakistan," the report said. The US continues to provide economic and military assistance to Pakistan without having secured its objective of convincing Islamabad to end its policy of using terrorist proxies to achieve regional strategic objectives. However, there have been some positive developments with regard to Pakistan's fight against terrorists that attack the Pakistani state, it noted. "The Pakistan military has been accused of facilitating the attack against India's Pathankot air base last January that derailed the goodwill created by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's surprise visit to Lahore to meet with PM Sharif six days earlier. And Pakistan-backed militants have acted as spoilers numerous times when bilateral ties seemed to be warming," it said. American interests in the region are not served by Pakistan's strategic thinking, which is fuelled by the belief that India seeks to weaken and then dismantle Pakistan. "Nor are American interests fully compatible with Pakistan's desire to steer events in Afghanistan and counter any Indian role there. Continued US assistance, offered in the hope of a gradual change in Pakistan's terrorism policies, only provides Pakistan an economic cushion and better quality military equipment to persist with those policies," the report said. Pakistan today decided to build at least 50 bunkers for civilians along the Working Boundary with India in the Punjab province to provide protection during cross-border firing incidents. During a cabinet meeting, three federal ministers, including defence minister Khawaja Asif who belong to Sialkot and Narowal districts of Punjab, urged the Nawaz Sharif government to take measures to avoid civilians' casualties along the border. "The cabinet decided to build 50 bunkers along the Working Boundary to provide refuge to villagers living in the area during cross-border firing from India," Information minister Maryam Aurangzeb said. The government also announced to enhance compensation for those killed and injured in cross-border firing incidents. The information minister said that the families of those killed will be given Rs 500,000 as compensation and those injured will get Rs 150,000. The villagers from Sialkot and Narowal were badly hit due to firing last year and dozens of them were killed and injured due to border clashes between Pakistan and India at the height of tension. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A Palestinian Cabinet minister today called on the international community to punish Israel for a contentious new law, just hours after the Israeli parliament adopted the bill to retroactively legalise thousands of West Bank settlement homes built unlawfully on private Palestinian land. The explosive law, approved by lawmakers late on Monday, is the latest in a series of pro-settler steps taken by Israel's hard-line government since the election of Donald Trump as US president. It is expected to trigger international outrage and a flurry of lawsuits against the measure. "Nobody can legalize the theft of the Palestinian lands. Building settlements is a crime, building settlements is against all international laws," said Palestinian Tourism and Antiquities Minister Rula Maayaa. "I think it is time now for the international community to act concretely to stop the Israelis from these crimes." Trump is seen as more sympathetic to Israel's settlement policies than his fiercely critical predecessor Barack Obama, and the Israeli government has approved plans to build thousands of new homes on occupied territory since Trump took office. Israeli Cabinet minister Ofir Akunis said during a stormy debate ahead of the vote that the lawmakers were voting "on the connection between the Jewish people and its land." "This whole land is ours. All of it," he said. Critics say the legislation enshrines into law the theft of Palestinian land, and it is expected to be challenged in Israel's Supreme Court. According to the law, Palestinian landowners would be compensated either with money or alternative land, even if they did not agree to give up their property. The vote passed 60-52 in Israel's 120-member Knesset. The raucous debate saw opposition lawmakers shouting from their seats at governing coalition lawmakers speaking in favor of the vote. Some spectators in visitors' seats raised a black cloth in apparent protest. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had voiced misgivings about the law in the lead-up to the vote, reportedly expressing concern that it could trigger international censure and saying he wanted to coordinate with the Trump administration before moving ahead on a vote. He told reporters on a trip to London that he had updated Washington and was ready to move ahead with the law. Netanyahu was on his way back from the trip and was not present for the vote. The White House's immediate response was to refer to its statement last week that said the construction of new settlements "may not be helpful" in achieving an Israeli-Palestinian peace. The State Department later said "the Trump administration will withhold comment on the legislation until the relevant court ruling. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Defence Minister on Tuesday came under the Opposition attack in the Rajya Sabha for his statements on the surgical strike, India's nuclear doctrine and other issues and sought his explanation on the issue. The issue was raised during the Zero Hour by senior Congress member Shantaram Naik, which got support from some other members including Janata Dal (United) (JD(U)) leader Sharad Yadav. Parrikar was present in the House but did not respond. Naik said Parrikar, in one statement, had given credit to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) ideology for the surgical strikes instead of the brave soldiers, while in another statement he had said that India had never carried out before the one conducted last year. Expressing concern over these statements by Parrikar in various platforms, Naik suggested that he should not make policy statements outside Parliament. Citing certain examples, Naik said the Defence Minister "falsely claims that India never conducted surgical strikes in the past". Parrikar never mentioned the strike that India had carried out in erstwhile East Pakistan under the occupation of Pakistan dividing that country into two during Prime Minister Indira Gandhi's tenure, the Congress MP said. Naik also alleged that "the Defence Minister gives credit to RSS ideology for surgical strikes rather than giving credit to our brave soldiers" and suggested that Parrikar should not "ridicule" the country by making statements which can be construed to be "in bad taste". Referring to the Minister's statement on nuclear doctrine at a recent book launch, Naik said Parrikar had then "articulated a personal view which is contrary to India's 'no first use' of nuclear weapons. This doctrine has come for adverse comments from many strategists." "If Defence Minister is making an aggressive posture, then how is that the government had failed to ensure reciprocal visit (to Pakistan) after it permitted a Pakistani delegation to visit sensitive areas in Pathankot," he asked. He said, "Pakistan attacks our military camps on several occasions, but we are asked to remain content with one surgical strike." Associating with his party colleague, Anand Sharma (Cong) said the Defence Minister should not have made policy statements on India's nuclear doctrine outside Parliament. "The Defence Minister must respect Parliament. He should be advised not to make policy statements when Parliament is in session. He should come to the House and respond," he added. Satyavrat Chaturvedi (Congress) and Sharad Yadav (JD(U)) also wanted to air their concerns, with the latter saying "these are not ordinary statements. They are of serious nature. He (Parrikar) should respond." As Opposition members sought the Defence Minister's reply, Deputy Chairman P J Kurien said he cannot ask him to respond. Members from the Treasury Bench said "flimsy issues" are being raised and urged the Chair not to allow Opposition members to take others' time. Ahead of the crucial Uttar Pradesh Assembly election, bandit queen-turned-parliamentarian Phoolan Devi's husband Umed Singh today joined Congress in the presence of party leader Oscar Fernandes. Welcoming him into the party-fold, Fernandes said his induction would benefit the party in uttar pradesh. "After Congress President Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi approved his joining, Umed Singh has joined the Congress party. We welcome him into the party-fold. I am sure the party will benefit from him in Uttar Pradesh," he said. Singh has come back into the Congress from Bahujan Samaj Party, which he had joined after quitting the Congress. He enjoys support in the Bundelkhand region of Uttar Pradesh where Phoolan Devi hailed from. Singh has contested the Lok Sabha election thrice. In 2014, he contested from Shahjahanpur on a BSP ticket after he joined it in 2012. In 2003, Singh was formally inducted into the Haryana Congress. The then Haryana Congress president Dharampal Singh was also present along with him today. "I was in Congress earlier and I have realised that all sections can progress only under the Congress," Umed Singh said, adding that "we want a Congress party government to be formed at the Centre in 2019". Asked if he would contest Assembly elections in UP, he said he would abide by the directions of party leaders. Two years after her release from prison, Phoolan Devi was elected as MP from the Mirzapur Lok Sabha seat in 1996. She served as an MP in the 11th Lok Sabha (1996-98), but lost her seat in 1998 election. She was re-elected in 1999 election and was the sitting member of Parliament for Mirzapur when she was killed. A Pakistan International Airlines flight en route to London from Lahore was today diverted away from landing at Heathrow airport after reports of a "suspicious item" on board. Two Royal Air Force (RAF) jets were scrambled to escort flight PK-757 to Stansted Airport, north-east of London. The plane landed at a remote passenger bay at Stansted, where police were on alert ready to meet the aircraft. Details of the incident are still unravelling as authorities at the airport scan passengers and their luggage. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The PIL moved in the Supreme Court seeking to restrain AIADMK leader V K Sasikala from being sworn in as Tamil Nadu chief minister could not be listed for hearing today as certain "defects" in it need to be cured. Sources said the petitioner has now engaged a lawyer and efforts were on to cure the defects cited by the court registry. The petition filed by Chennai-resident Senthil Kumar, General Secretary of NGO Satta Panchayat Iyakkam, is not there in the mentioning list for tomorrow and there is all likelihood that his advocate would make a mention of it before an appropriate bench for urgent hearing tomorrow. The petition was hurriedly filed yesterday seeking a stay on swearing-in of Sasikala as Tamil Nadu chief minister as there was speculation that she would be taking the oath today itself. The petitioner has sought a restrain on her swearing-in after a bench had yesterday said that it would pronounce within a week the judgement in a 19-year-old disproportionate assets case in which she and late CM J Jayalalithaa were accused. Kumar sought a stay on Sasikala's swearing-in contending that if she was convicted and forced to resign, there could be a "possibility of riots erupting all over Tamil Nadu". He said the law and order situation may worsen in such an eventuality as the state was already facing a "desperate situation" due to cyclone, demonetisation and death of Jayalalithaa. The petitioner claimed in case the appeal against her acquittal results in conviction, the AIADMK workers may once again protest and disturb the normal life in Tamil Nadu. He said he filed the plea in the interest of the people of Tamil Nadu and to maintain peace in the state. After Jayalalithaa passed away on December 5, 2016, Sasikala, who was her shadow for nearly three decades, was made General Secretary of AIADMK on December 29 and elected as the Leader of the Legislature Party on February 5. (Reopens LGD45) Jayalalitha, along with her aides Sasikala, V N Sudhakaran and J Elavarasi were booked under various sections of Prevention of Corruption Act and IPC for allegedly amassing wealth disproportionate to their known sources of income in 1997. The trial of the case was shifted by the Supreme Court to Bengaluru on a petition filed by a DMK leader and the court there had convicted them on September 27, 2014. However, the Karnataka High Court had reversed the special court's judgment on May 11, 2015. The Karnataka government had filed an appeal against it in the Supreme Court. The apex court had last year, before the demise of Jayalalithaa, reserved its verdict on a batch of petitions challenging the Karnataka HC order. Delhi High Court today sought response of the city police on a woman's plea alleging that cops colluded with the man who allegedly raped her by getting her married to the accused when she went to lodge the FIR. While issuing notice to Delhi Police and asking it to file a status report, Justice Vipin Sanghi asked "How was the investigating officer (IO) allowed to continue the probe after the allegations made by her in her statement under section 164 of CrPC?" While allowing the fast track court to go ahead with the trial and recording of evidence, the high court asked it not to pronounce the verdict while the woman's plea for a fresh investigation was pending here. The high court listed the matter for further hearing on May 5. Meanwhile, Delhi Police said it will provide protection to the woman as she has alleged that she and her family was being threatened by the accused. As per the plea filed through advocate Nikhil Borwankar, the woman was raped in September 2014 and she had initially gone for lodging FIR on September 21-22, 2014. However, she was detained overnight at a home run by an NGO and on the next day she was married off to the accused at a temple and the wedding was video recorded by police, the woman has alleged in her plea. She claimed that she escaped from the venue and then along with her father she went to the office of Deputy Commissioner of Police who sent them back to the same police station where the FIR was lodged on September 23, 2014. It was also alleged in her plea that before taking the woman for medical examination, to ascertain rape, she was made to have a bath and at the hospital she was not even taken before the doctor. On September 24, 2014, in her statement before the magistrate under section 164 she had categorically accused several officers, including station house officer and IO of the police station, of colluding with the accused. During the hearing in the high court, Borwankar alleged that police in its charge sheet filed in January last year has opposed the woman's allegations against the accused by relying on the video recording. Borwankar contended that there was "potential for manifest injustice" if the high court did not intervene and sought a fresh probe in the case by an independent agency apart from quashing of the charge sheet. The woman has also sought expediting of the hearing in her complaint lodged against the police officers for not carrying out the probe properly. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) "The earthquake finally occurred," Prime Minister Narendra Modi today said while referring to last night's tremors in north India which he used to take a dig at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for his comments made earlier. Gandhi had in December last said that he possessed certain material against the Prime Minister and if he spoke in Parliament, there would be an "earthquake". "The earthquake finally occurred. I was wondering how it happened. I had heard of the threat long back," Modi said in Lok Sabha, in an apparent reference to Rahul's comments. Last night, earthquake, epicentred in Uttarakhand, struck many parts of north India. Modi said he was monitoring the situation in the aftermath of the earthquake in north India. "There must be some reason that Mother Earth is so angry. When somebody sees a sense of service and humility even in scams, then not only the mother but even the Mother Earth gets upset, and earthquake happens," Modi said as he began replying to the Motion of Thanks on the President's Address. As Modi spoke, Congress members and Kalyan Banerjee (TMC) kept protesting. In his 90-minute speech, the Prime Minister took several jibes at Congress and accused it of curbing democracy for the sake of one family, a reference to the Nehru-Gandhi family. Modi also hit out at Congress, saying for it the "entire credit" for the country's independence goes to only "one family", an apparent reference to Nehru-Gandhi clan. He said the freedom struggle had started even before Congress was born and lakhs of people had laid down their lives for the purpose. In this regard, he mentioned the mutiny of 1857 and sacrifices of freedom fighters like Savarkar. Everybody gave their lives irrespective of any communal divide, he said. "The lotus flowered then and the lotus flowers now," he said. To Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge's contention that nobody linked to BJP and RSS had made sacrifices for freedom, Modi said his party leaders were not brought up in a culture of dogs. Noting that several members of the House were born after independence, Modi, who was also born in 1950, said they did get an opportunity to sacrifice their give our lives for the country but have a chance to live for it. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Centre has told the Delhi High Court it is considering electoral reforms recommended by Law Commission and "some action" is certain after a plea sought removal of a provision restricting the period of disqualification from contesting polls for a candidate to six years on being sentenced to two years or more. The submission was made before a bench of Chief Justice G Rohini and Justice Sangita Dhingra Sehgal which was hearing a plea seeking a slew of electoral reform measures. The Centre informed the bench that the Law Commission, in two of its reports, has recommended "electoral reforms/ regulation of political parties and inner party democracy". "Ministry of Law and Justice constituted a task force comprising senior officers to examine the recommendation and form a roadmap for its implementation," the Centre said in its affidavit. "The subject matter of the 244th and 255th report of the Law Commission is already under consideration of the Government of India at an appropriate level, it is humbly prayed that this court dispose of the writ petition at the admission stage since it is certain that some action would be taken by the government on the subject matter," the affidavit states. The government was responding to a plea by advocate Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay, who has claimed that the restriction of six years on the period of disqualification of a legislator was ultra vires of the Constitution. He has sought that two sections of Representation of the People Act (RPA) be declared "void, as they restrict disqualification period up to six years" only and allow convicted person to contest Parliament and state assembly elections. The government, however, urged the court to dismiss the plea on the ground that the petitioner has "not espoused any cause of greater public importance". "The petition does not provide conclusive material and factual proof to substitute that section 8 & 9 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951 are unconstitutional and void. "These section are intra views and have been in the statute book for long time and serve the purpose for which these are enacted," the Centre government's standing counsel Monika Arora said. The court has now fixed the matter for further consideration on May 17. The plea has suggested implementation of electoral reforms proposed by the Election Commission and Law Commission which also favour disqualifying a lawmaker even prior to his conviction, at the stage when charges are framed against him for offences which carry a punishment of imprisonment for five or more years. Besides, it seeks directions to the government to set minimum educational qualifications and maximum age limit for contesting candidates. It suggests that political parties should have the responsibility to maintain proper accounts of their income and expenditure and get them annually audited by agencies specified by the ECI. The petitioner has sought enhancement of punishment from fine or one year imprisonment to two year jail term for electoral offences like undue influence and bribery at polls and publishing a false statement in connection with an election. The petitioner has also said in his plea that "candidates violating provisions of the Act should be disqualified and political parties putting up such a candidate should be derecognised and deregistered". The other issues raised in the plea include, proliferation of non-serious parties, process of recognition and de-recognition of political parties, as well as disclosure of assets and liabilities of parties. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Chief Minister V Narayanasamy paid floral tributes at the statue of former Health Minister and veteran CPI leader V Subbiah, on the occasion of his 106th birth anniversary today. Welfare Minister M Kandasamy, Agriculture Minister R Kamalakannan, Special representative of Puducherry in New Delhi, A John Kumar, the former Minister from Kerala and member of CPI's Central Committee,Binoy Viswam and the Secretary of Puducherry unit of theCPI,R Viswanathan were among those who garlanded the statue. Subbiah was a veteran labour leader and was among the leaders ofthe liberation movement in Puducherry. He founded the party's mouthpiece 'Swathanthiram' (Independence) and spearheaded the labour movement in 1930s to bring in eight hour work schedule in industrial and other establishments here. The CPI leader bequeathed his house in the heart of the town through a will to Puducherry government and a centre for promotion of art, culture and research is housed in the building. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Senior advocate Prashant Bhushan today launched the Citizens' Whistleblowers Forum as he criticised the Centre for its "failure" to notify and implement the law on protecting whistleblowers and "seeking to dilute it" through an amendment in Parliament. "The forum will serve as a platform where whistleblowers can make disclosures which will then be investigated and acted upon," Bhushan said. "In the absence of a credible authority and the effectuation of the Whistleblowers Protection Act, 2011 (WBPA), we need atleast a citizens' forum consisting of credible people of this country to whom the whistleblowers can take their complaints," he said. The senior advocate said the forum will be headed by former Delhi High Court Chief Justice A P Shah. Ex-Navy chief Admiral L Ramdas, Aruna Roy, Wajahat Habibullah, EAS Sarma, Jagdeep S Chhokar and Prashant Bhushan will also be a part of the body. Bhushan said while the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) was authorised in 2004 to handle complaints made by whistleblowers and also ensure their protection, "the Commission's track record has been anything but satisfactory". He attributed this to "weak appointments" and "lack of independent investigative machinery". Bhushan also appealed the MPs not to pass the amendment to the Whistleblowers Protection Act, 2011. "We hope members of Rajya Sabha will not pass such a retrograde amendment which will destroy the whistleblowers law," the senior lawyer said. According to the amendment, a whistleblower is deemed to be a person who provides an information which a citizen can access under RTI. If the whistleblower provides any other information, he will lose protection and will be liable to be prosecuted under Official Secrets Act, 1923. Another clause of the amendment also bars whistleblowers from seeking information on national security. The amendment bill was introduced in the Lok Sabha in May 2015 and has been passed in the Lower House but is pending before Rajya Sabha. Bhushan demanded that the government notify the Whistleblowers Protection Act, 2011 and frame rules under the Act to pave way for its implementation. "This Act has been passed by both the Houses of Parliament and has received the assent of the President. There is no reason for not notifying and effectuating it," he asserted. The Swaraj India leader also demanded appointment of the Lokpal under the Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act, 2013, and that CBI be placed under the administrative control of the Lokpal. Justice A P Shah, Chairperson of Citizens' Whistleblowers Forum, said, "We are clearly disappointed with the current government on the corruption front. One of the important ingredients of good governance is to have an effective anti-corruption mechanism. "If a robust anti-graft mechanism is not put in place, the forum will have no choice but to approach the court demanding enforcement of the Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act, 2013," he said. The Citizens' Whistleblowers Forum also pressed for a law to deal with corruption in the private sector as well as wrong-doings by foreign public servants in India. The Supreme Court had last month refused to intervene in the legislative process on the amendments to WBPA stating, "It is not for the court to interfere when the Parliament is seized of the matter. Nepalese national Samshul Hoda, an alleged ISI agent and the prime suspect in the November Kanpur train tragedy, has been arrested here after being deported from Dubai, police said today. Hoda, 48, was arrested by a special team of Nepal Police along with three others. He has been arrested at the Tribhuvan International Airport yesterday, said Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) Pashupati Upadhyaya. The police have brought Hoda and three other criminals to Nepal from Dubai in coordination with the Interpol, Upadhyaya told PTI. "We have heard that Hoda is wanted in a railway accident that took place in Kanpur last year killing 150 people," Upadhyaya said. The three others arrested persons have been identified as Brij Kishor Giri, Ashish Singh and Umesh Kumar Kurmi, all from Kalaiya district in southern Nepal. They were arrested for their alleged involvement in the December 25 murder of Indian nationals Arun Ram and Dipak Ram in Bara district. Hoda is the mastermind of the twin murder, the police said. Hoda has links with international criminal groups and he has been involved in a number of criminal activities in Nepal and India, Upadhyaya said. A case has already been registered against him in Bara District Court, he added. The role of ISI is being suspected in the incident after Bihar police in January arrested three persons claiming that they were working for the Pakistani intelligence agency to target Indian Railways. According to Bihar police, the three were paid Rs 3 lakh by a Nepali man who had connections with Hoda, who is accused of acting as an agent of Pakistan's spy agency ISI to execute the Kanpur sabotage plot on November 20 last year. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Government today said that enquiries into the reasons of recent accidents/ derailment of trains are in progress. The Minister for Civil Aviation Ashok Gajapathi Raju in a written reply in Rajya Sabha also said that Commissioner of Railway safety (CRS) is mandated to inspect and report to the central government for sanctioning new Railway lines in the country. CRS comes under the administrative control of Civil Aviation Ministry. "Enquiries into the reasons of recent accidents/ derailment of trains are in progress," Raju said in a written reply to a question whether CRS is responsible for recent accidents/ derailment of trains and also whether these tracks were given necessary clearance by the CRS or not. Commissioner of Railway Safety (CRS) is mandated to inspect and report to the Center for sanctioning of new Railway lines in the country as per provision under Indian Railways Act of 1989 based on which the government issues sanctions for opening of new lines for public carriage, Raju said. "Periodical inspections of old lines are also undertaken by the CRS," the minister said. Faced with a series of derailments, Railways has been allocated in the 2017-18 Union Budget separate fund for safety upgradation of the rail network as the budget proposed an outlay of Rs 1 lakh crore for the purpose. According to a safety report submitted to the Railway Ministry late last month, failure of Railway staff is the biggest cause behind train accidents and derailments that have led to maximum deaths and injuries to passengers. Railway has constituted a task force on safety on December 6 last year after the derailment near Kanpur, killing 151 people. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Britain must pay to leave the EU in the same way as friends going to the pub must pay for their round of drinks, the European Commission said today. Margaritis Schinas, a spokesman for Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker, said the divorce bill is an "essential element" of an orderly Brexit. "It is like going to the pub with 27 friends," Schinas told a daily briefing. "You order a round of beer but then you cannot leave while the party continues, you still have to pay for the round you ordered." Britain's former ambassador to the EU said last week that the EU is set to demand up to 60 billion euros ($64 billion) from Britain to settle outstanding budget commitments. EU sources confirmed the figure to AFP. Britain estimates the figure at closer to 20 billion, they added. Schinas would not confirm the figure, saying that "technical work was ongoing". But he added: "During the time of its membership the UK has taken and probably will take financial commitments. These commitments should be fulfilled in full. "This will be an essential element of the negotiations on the orderly separation." Senior EU negotiators met on Monday to discuss their preparations ahead of Britain's expected triggering of the two -year divorce process in March. They discussed Britain's financial services industry and the rights of EU citizens in Britain and vice versa, Schinas said. French Prime Minister Bernard Cazeneuve became the latest senior European figure on Monday to declare that Britain must agree to pay the bill before negotiations on a future trade deal can start. Cazeneuve and Juncker, who met in Brussels, agreed that the terms of any eventual deal cannot be better than those of membership of the EU, they said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Rahul Gandhi today hit back at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, accusing him of mocking the tragedy of Uttarakhand earthquake and insulting the freedom struggle, but not answering opposition's questions on demonetisation. The Congress vice president also took a dig at Modi over his surgery remarks on economy, saying "a quack endangers life". "The Prime Minister mocks the tragedy of Uttarakhand and insults the freedom struggle but has no answers to the opposition's questions," he tweeted. Gandhi said this after the Prime Minister took a jibe at him in Parliament, saying "the earthquake has finally occurred" while referring to last night's tremors in Uttarakhand. The Congress vice president had in December last said he possessed certain material against the Prime Minister, and if he spoke in Parliament, there would be an "earthquake". "The earthquake finally occurred. I was wondering how it happened. I had heard of the threat long back," Modi said in the Lok Sabha, in an apparent reference to Rahul's comments. Gandhi's quackery endangers life remarks came after the Prime Minister, while defending demonetisation in his speech in the Lok Sabha said, "When can you have an operation? When the body is healthy. The economy was doing well and thus our decision was taken at the right time." The Prime Minister was replying to the debate on Motion of Thanks to President's address to the joint sitting of Parliament at the beginning of the budget session. Congress also attacked the Prime Minister for his speech, accusing him of hurting the dignity of Uttarakhand by mocking the tragedy. "Our thoughts and prayers are with the people of Uttarakhand. When PM's tone took a tone of humour and mockery on the earthquake, many MPs present felt that PM has hurt the dignity of Uttarakhand. "Many of those still recovering from the trauma of the previous earthquake would have felt humiliated after listening to the Prime Minister," party spokesperson Gaurav Gogoi told journalists at the AICC briefing. Gandhi had earlier posed several questions to the Prime Minister about the fallout of demonetisation, regarding the amount of black money recovered after the exercise, the alleged economic loss to the nation, the number of jobs lost, people who died standing in queues at banks and ATMs and whether compensation was paid to them. He had also asked who the Prime Minister consulted on demonetisation and why were experts, economists and RBI not taken into confidence. Gandhi had also asked as to who all deposited more than Rs 25 lakh in bank accounts in 6 months preceding November 8 when the note ban was announced. Modi had attacked Congress for "claiming entire credit" for the country's independence and objected to certain comments made by Congress' leader in the Lok Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge yesterday regarding sacrifices made for attaining freedom. "Hum kutton ki paramapara se pale bhade nahi hain (we have not grown in a culture of dogs)," he said. Modi said even before Congress party was born, lakhs of countrymen had made sacrifice for independence and referred to the 1857 sepoy revolt. "Everybody gave their lives, unitedly, without any communal colour to it," he said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Tata Group patriarch Ratan Tata today launched TeamIndus Foundation's 'Moonshot Wheels' - a bus which will traverse the country with an aim to inspire the next generation about India's first private moon mission. TeamIndus Foundation is the CSR arm of TeamIndus, the only Indian team competing for the Google Lunar XPRIZE of USD 25 million that requires privately funded teams to land their spacecraft on the surface of the moon, travel 500 metres and broadcast high definition video,images and data back to Earth. Moonshot Wheels is a bus which will traverse nine states, 12,500 kms in 12 months, across India impacting 36,000+ students in government schools, the foundation officials said. They said the bus will carry 16 science experiments, live satellite tracking, moon rover, spacecraft-scaled model and an experience zone. This programme is curated and administered by TeamIndus Foundation with on ground implementation by Agastya International Foundation, which has been dedicated to bring STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) alive for children. Tata, Nandan Nilekani (Infosys), Sachin Bansal and Binny Bansal (Flipkart) and Venu Srinivasan (TVS Group), K Kasturirangan (former ISRO chief) among others are supporting TeamIndus as its advisers. Tata, who unveiled the bus, did not make any comments on the initiative to the media. However, Kasturirangan lauded the efforts, calling it "great work" and a fantastic initiative". "They are up to a big experiment, a very ambitious experiment-carrying out a lunar mission." "What is interesting about these youngsters is besides being adventurous and excited about that mission, they are using the opportunity to spread the message among the still younger generation so that there is no disconnect," he told reporters here. Asked about the landing mission coming ahead of ISRO's second moon mission (Chandrayaan-2) he said " I'm a neutral man, I'm an Indian and proud of any good things that happen in the country. Don't make distinction between ISRO or non-ISRO efforts, to me ultimately what succeeds is good for the country and we are all proud of it." Giving details on 'Moonshot Wheels' initiative, Priyanka Narayan, chief functionary of the foundation, said each child will get an opportunity to experience and understand the making of a Space Mission and its underlying technologies. They will interact with rocket scientists as well as the rest of the team behind India's first private Moon Mission, she said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Human remains found in a shallow West Texas grave last week have been identified conclusively as those of a missing college student, investigators have confirmed. Dental records helped confirm the identity of Zuzu Verk, a 22-year-old Sul Ross State University student from Keller, a Fort Worth suburb, Brewster County Sheriff Ronny Dodson said yesterday during a conference. Verk had been reported as missing since Oct. 12, when she failed to show up for work and a school exam. She was last seen alive the night before, when she and boyfriend Robert Fabian attended the movies together. Neighbors reported hearing the pair arguing that night. Fabian, 26, of Alpine, was jailed on a charge of tampering with evidence by concealing a human corpse but other charges were expected, Dodson said. Bond was set at USD 500,000. His attorney did not return messages yesterday from The Associated Press. Verk's remains were found Friday scattered near a shallow grave near the remote West Texas college town of Alpine, about 200 miles southeast of El Paso. "It's a disgrace. And to think that in such a shallow grave, that the animals wouldn't have eventually dug the body out they weren't thinking. I guess they aren't as smart as they think they are," Dodson said of those who buried the body. "Why was she killed? And exactly how? Those are the big questions now," Dodson said. The report Monday from forensic pathologists performing the autopsy in Dallas merely confirmed what investigators were confident they already knew from what they found around the shallow grave, Dodson said. "Knowing what we knew about the case, which we can't reveal, when I walked up there, I just knew," Dodson said. "I had to call the chief and said, 'I think we got her here.'" Chris Estrada, 28, a friend of Fabian, was jailed yesterday in Phoenix on a corpse concealment warrant from Texas, awaiting return. Investigators said Fabian called Estrada the night Verk disappeared. Members of Fabian's family also remain under investigation, Dodson said. It was unclear if Estrada has an attorney. In a statement, Sul Ross State University officials said a memorial service has been scheduled for Thursday evening at the Alpine campus. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Armed men looted Rs 50 lakh from two nationalised bank branches in Hazaribagh and Giridih districts of Jharkhand in separate incidents today. Five men, flaunting sophisticated fire-arms, entered the Bengabad branch of Union Bank of India under Bengabad police station of Giridih distirct and looted Rs 28.12 lakh, police said. Assistant Manager of the bank, Shiv Kumar said the robbers assaulted the bank staff and forced them to open the locker at gunpoint. Superintendent of Police Akhilesh B Beriar said intensive search was launched to track the looters. Earlier in the day, four armed men looted around Rs 22 lakh from the Ichak branch of Allahabad Bank after threatning the Deputy Manager and cashier at gun point, said Hazaribagh Superintendent of Police, Anoop Birthare. The gang escaped towards NH 33 on two-wheelers, Birthare said adding that a massive search of vehicles have been launched following the incident. Meanwhile the SP formed a four-member special team headed by the Deputy SP Dinesh Kumar Gopta to apprehend the culprits. The SP also checked the CCTV footages and alerted the adjoining police stations of the district, he said. This was the third incident of bank robbery in Ichak during the last one year. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Russia today said it was convening a conference of leading regional powers on Afghanistan and pushed again for talks with the Taliban. Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov confirmed Moscow would host a meeting in mid-February with representatives from Afghanistan, Pakistan, China, Iran and India during a press conference with his counterpart from Kabul Salahuddin Rabbani. "We are expecting that our partners will be represented at a high level. Most have confirmed their participation," Lavrov said. Lavrov reiterated Moscow's stance that "the Taliban must be included in a constructive dialogue" to help find a solution to halt worsening violence in the war-ravaged nation at a time the Islamic State group has expanded its presence. Russia's meeting does not include Western powers who have had troops in the country since the American-led invasion in 2001, but Lavrov said Moscow was hoping better ties with US President Donald Trump could jump-start cooperation over Afghanistan. Moscow -- which fought a disastrous military campaign in Afghanistan during the Soviet period -- has been increasingly flexing its muscles as a key broker on the world stage since intervening in the Syrian war in 2015. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) ISRO will recover half of the total cost incurred for next week's launch of 104 satellites from the foreign capsules mounted on its workhorse rocket PSLV-C37. Of the 104 satellites to be launched on February 15, only three are Indian. "We want to make optimum use of our capacity. We are launching our three satellites. One is of 730 kgs while other two are 19 kgs each. We had additional space of 600 kgs. So we decided to accommodate 101 satellites," ISRO chairman A S Kiran Kumar said. "Roughly half of our cost will be covered by the foreign satellites we are launching," he said, without revealing the exact amount ISRO will earn from foreign customers. The space agency has earned more than USD 100 millions by launching foreign satellites. It also has achieved mastery on launching smaller satellites. ISRO will launch a record 104 satellites through its workhorse rocket PSLV-C37 on February 15 from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh. These 101 satellites are nano-satellites and belong to foreign nations, including the US and Germany. The Indian satellites are from the Castrosat series. Last year, ISRO launched record 20 satellites at one go. The highest number of satellites launched in a single mission is 37, a record that Russia set in 2014. The US space agency NASA launched 29. Kumar said ISRO is at present doing tests on its lander for Chandrayaan 2 at its facility in Mahendragiri in Tamil Nadu and Challakere in Karnataka. "It is an indigenous development and tests are on. It's a control descend. So it has engines that allow a control descend," Kumar said. Chandryaan 2 mission seeks to make a landing on the moon. The ISRO said that all SAARC countries, except Pakistan, have given their consent for the South Asian satellites project envisioned by Prime Minister Narendra Modi as "India's gift to its neighbours". Kumar said that the manned mission project is "not a top priority" for the ISRO, as he emphasised on enhancing space infrastructure. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Ivorian troops repeatedly fired into the air today in the barracks town of Adiake, east of the commercial capital Abidjan, residents said, weeks after troops and security forces mutinied. "There is shooting all over the place. I closed my shop," Mariame Coulibaly told AFP by telephone. An Ivorian defence ministry source said a high-ranking officer was on his way to the town which lies around 100 kilometres from Abidjan. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena today assured full support to his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping's ambitious Maritime Silk Road project, saying it will open new era of relations between the two countries. In his message to Xi on the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between the two countries, Sirisena said Sri Lanka is firmly dedicated to promoting its relations with China. He said that he believed on the basis of the ancient Maritime Silk Road (MSR), the Belt and Road Initiative will open up a new era for bilateral ties. MSR has evoked serious concerns in India as it facilitates active presence of China in the strategic Indian Ocean with security implications in India's backyard. The project is part of One Belt, One Road (OBOR) initiative which also incorporates USD 46 billion China, Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and the Bangladesh, China, India, Myanmar (BCIM) Economic corridor. Sirisena's pro-China predecessor Mahinda Rajapaksa was one of the first leaders in the region to come out in full support of MSR. After his election, Sirisena who took a critical view of Chinese investments and ordered review of various China-aided projects. With over USD eight billion debt to China, Sirisena government recently allotted 80 per cent share in the Hambantota project to a state-run Chinese firm for 99 years lease on debt swap basis. His government's plans to allot 15000 acres of land in Hambantota for a Chinese industrial park has evoked strong protests from locals. Sirisena has also deputed Prime Minister Ranil Wickramasingheto attend the OBOR Summit being organised by Xi in May here. In his message to Xi, Sirisena said the friendship between Sri Lanka and China dates back to long time. He said since the two countries established diplomatic relations 60 years ago, their ties have gained constant and sound development, which were later upgraded to a strategic partnership, state-run Xinhua agency reported. On the occasion, Xi said that since China and Sri Lanka established diplomatic relations 60 years ago, the bilateral ties, to which he attaches great importance, have stood the test of an ever-changing international situation and achieved a healthy and smooth development. Xi said he appreciates Sri Lanka for its active participation in the Belt and Road Initiative. "I am willing to work with you to consolidate political mutual trust, expand mutually beneficial cooperation and deepen people-to-people friendship between the two countries, so as to inject new vigour and vitality into the China-Sri Lanka strategic cooperative partnership featuring sincere mutual assistance and enduring friendship," Xi said. Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and his Sri Lankan counterpart Ranil Wickremesinghe also exchanged greetings on the occasion. (REOPENS FGN 22) Li in his message said that since the two countries set up formal ties in 1957, they have witnessed the sound and stable development of their relations, which have become increasingly stronger. "In recent years, the two countries, taking the Belt and Road Initiative as an opportunity, have broadened cooperation and their relations enjoy good prospects," Li said. China is willing to work with Sri Lanka to carry forward the traditional friendship and "deepen win-win cooperation" so that the China-Sri Lanka strategic cooperative partnership can achieve more accomplishments, Li said. Wickremesinghe said Sri Lanka-China friendship, which has continued for centuries through the ancient maritime silk road, has been further strengthened under the Belt and Road Initiative. The initiative has also provided opportunities for the two countries to explore new areas of cooperation, the prime minister added. Sri Lanka will work with China to continuously deepen bilateral ties and broaden cooperation for the benefit of the two peoples, Wickremesinghe said. The Belt and Road Initiative, proposed by China in 2013, aims to build a trade and infrastructure network connecting Asia with Europe and Africa along ancient land and maritime trade routes. The Speaker of the House of Commons has created a stir by strongly opposing a plan to allow US President Donald Trump to address the UK Parliament during his planned state visit to the country later this year. John Bercow, who is known as an outspoken Speaker, said it was not an "automatic right" but an "earned honour" for world leaders to address both Houses of British Parliament from Westminster Hall. "After the imposition of the migrant ban by President Trump I am even more strongly opposed to an address by President Trump in Westminster Hall. I would not wish to issue an invitation to President Trump," said Bercow, who is one of three traditional "key holders" to the Westminster Hall. "I feel very strongly that our opposition to racism and sexism and our support for equality before the law and an independent judiciary are hugely important considerations in the House of Commons," he said in the Commons yesterday. The unusually strong statement from a Speaker, who is expected to remain politically neutral, triggered much opposition from ruling Conservative party members. "Anyone who knows the Speaker will know that he speaks his mind. But he doesn't speak for the government," said UK communities minister Sajid Javid. "The government is very clear: President Trump is the leader of our most important ally, he's elected fairly and squarely, and it's manifestly in our national interests that we reach out to him and we work with him, and he visits us in the UK," he added, reflecting the official government stance. British Prime Minister Theresa May had extended an invitation to Trump for a state visit on behalf of Queen Elizabeth II during her US visit last month. A petition opposing such an honour for him in the wake of his executive order against nationals of seven Muslim majority countries attracted over 1.5 million signatures and is set to be debated in the Commons on February 20. Addressing both houses of Parliament is often, but not always, part of the many rituals involved in a state visit. Barack Obama was the last US President who was invited for such an honour in 2012. While Bercow does not have the power to block an invite to address Parliament, his intervention has been widely seen as unprecedented. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Four activists of Bhumata Ranragini Brigade including its president Trupti Desai today allegedly assaulted Bhaben Saikia, arrested for the murder of a woman software professional at building, when he was being taken out of Shivajinagar court here. Police said the incident took place when Saikia (26), accused of killing 23-year-old Rasila Raju OP, was being taken out of court building this afternoon after the court remanded him in judicial custody till February 21. "Desai and three other activists suddenly came and tried to assault him, however, the policemen took him away swiftly," said an officer with Shivajinagar police station. "We have detained Desai and other three women. They will be released upon an admonition," the officer said. Speaking to PTI on phone while she was detained, Desai, a women's rights activist, said, "The incident has raised concerns about security of female employees. To punish elements like Saikia, we today assaulted him." Desai had last year successfully campaigned for permission for women to enter the inner sanctum of Shani Shingnapur temple in Maharashtra. Meanwhile, Saikia's lawyer Tousif Shaikh said the court refused to extend his police custody despite the prosecution's request. Saikia, who worked at as a security guard, allegedly murdered Rasila on the ninth floor of the company's building at Hinjawadi here on January 29 because she had earlier scolded him for staring at her. Four activists of Bhumata Ranragini Brigade including its president Trupti Desai today allegedly assaulted Bhaben Saikia, arrested for the murder of a woman software professional at Infosys building, when he was being taken out of Shivajinagar court here. Police said the incident took place when Saikia (26), accused of killing 23-year-old Rasila Raju OP, was being taken out of court building this afternoon after the court remanded him in judicial custody till February 21. "Desai and three other activists suddenly came and tried to assault him, however, the policemen took him away swiftly," said an officer with Shivajinagar police station. "We have detained Desai and other three women. They will be released upon an admonition," the officer said. Speaking to PTI on phone while she was detained, Desai, a women's rights activist, said, "The Infosys incident has raised concerns about security of female employees. To punish elements like Saikia, we today assaulted him." Desai had last year successfully campaigned for permission for women to enter the inner sanctum of Shani Shingnapur temple in Maharashtra. Meanwhile, Saikia's lawyer Tousif Shaikh said the court refused to extend his police custody despite the prosecution's request. Saikia, who worked at Infosys as a security guard, allegedly murdered Rasila on the ninth floor of the company's building at Hinjawadi here on January 29 because she had earlier scolded him for staring at her. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Noting a six per cent rise in the tiger population in the country, experts today suggested a need for greater flexibility to increase habitat for the feline for their protection. Speaking at the national workshop on monitoring systems for tigers intensive patrolling and ecological status, Y V Jhalla, a principal scientist of the Wildlife Institute of India (WII), said the six per cent increase in the population of big cates was due to several measures taken to protect them. The recent count of the big cat has revealed that around 2,200 Royal Bengal Tigers and 7,910 leopards are present in 13 tiger reserves in the country, he said, adding it was determined through camera trap method now in use. Experts from all the 13 tiger reserves of the country stressed on greater flexibility to increase tiger habitat and other favourable measures that could boost the population of the big cat. The workshop, organised by National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA), was mainly held for interaction on preservation of Royal Bengal Tigers considering the challenges faced by different tiger reserve authorities. Principal Chief Conservator of Forests, Odisha, Siddhanta Das said the preservation of the big cat family was necessary for the existence of mankind as without the presence of the tigers in the forest, air, moisture, perennial water sources would vanish, causing ecological disaster. "If the family of the big cat were not protected Similipal sanctuary would also turn into a desert," he pointed out citing that the conflict between man and animal had caused a lot of difficulties to the balance of ecology in Similipal. India, he said, topped the list in the world for maximum funding for the preservation of tigers. In order to make the sanctuary area free from human interference, the Similipal tiger reserve authority had chalked out programmes to relocate the villages from the core and buffer area. Those areas would be converted to meadows for wildlife fodder, he said. Apart from Similipal reserve, villages located inside the protected forests in Odisha would be relocated without using any force against the villagers as per a policy decision by the Odisha Government, the PCCF said. A total of 169 villages and 11,188 families had been relocated across the nation from forest areas to pave away for smoother movement of wildlife, Jhalla said. Shifting of human interference from core areas of the sanctuary, growth of prey population and limited conservation area of 800-1000 sq km are necessary to foster and preserve the tigers, he said. Unless the tiger conservation in Similipal sanctuary was properly taken up, the animal would perish like at Sariska tiger reserve, he added. TMC MPs today staged protest on Parliament premises, pitching for state funding of polls to combat corruption and also asked national political parties to come clean on their funding sources. "Our leader Mamata Banerjee has been insisting on holding state-funded polls. It is required to stop corruption," party MP Kalyan Banerjee told reporters during the protest near the Mahatma Gandhi statue. Referring to the electoral reform announced by the Centre in the budget about capping cash donation from a source to Rs 2000, Banerjee asked national parties to come clear from where and how much funds they received over the past decade. Without naming the BJP, Banerjee alleged it had deposited Rs three crore in a bank in West Bengal and had allegedly purchased land parcels in Bihar, both "just ahead" of Prime Minister Narendra Modi announcing demonetisation on November 8 last year. "To stop such corruption, you need state-funded polls," he said. The TMC MPs, from both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, indulged in sloganeering during the protest, insisting that the government take the initiative to bring such reforms. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Turkey today condemned a new Israeli law legalising dozens of Jewish settlements built on private Palestinian land in the occupied West Bank, as a senior government minister was visiting Tel Aviv in the first such trip in seven years. "We strongly condemn Israeli Parliament's adoption of a law that gives approval to various settlements consisting of 4,000 units built on the private property of the Palestinians," the Turkish foreign ministry said in a statement. The ministry said the "unacceptable" Israeli policy contradicted UN Security Council resolutions and was "destroying the basis for the two-state solution". The new law will allow Israel to legally seize Palestinian private land on which Israelis built without knowing it was private property or because the state allowed them to do so. Critics say it will legalise the "theft" of the land even Israeli law has accepted as Palestinian. Ankara's reaction comes as Tourism Minister Nabi Avci was due to meet with his Israeli counterpart in Tel Aviv -- in the first visit by a top government official from Turkey since the two countries last year patched up ties that were badly damaged over the 2010 raid of a Gaza-bound Turkish ship by Israeli commandoes. Following the raid, which killed 10 Turkish activists, the two countries pulled their envoys out from their respective capitals as relations fell to an all-time low. The rift came to an end in June last year after long-running secret talks in third countries. Israel paid compensation, offered an apology and granted Turkey permission to send aid to Gaza through Israeli ports. Turkey is a top tourist destination for Israelis, with tens of thousands visiting each year. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A local court today extended the judicial custody of United Naga Council (UNC) president Gaidon Kamei and Information Secretary Sangkhel Stephen by 15 days. They were produced before the Chief Judicial Magistrate Imphal East who remanded them to 15 days judicial custody, a report from the court said. Kamei and Stephen have been in judicial custody in Imphal Central Jail since January after Manipur police arrested them on November 25 last for leading the indefinite blockade. Representatives of the Manipur government and agitating UNC had gone to New Delhi to take part in tripartite talks called by the Centre on February 3 for a solution to the three-month indefinite economic blockade by UNC in the state. Kamei and Stephen were also permitted by the court to take part in the talks in New Delhi. The economic blockade has led to extreme shortage of essential commodities including food items, life-saving drugs and motor fuel. Indian Oil Corporation had airlifted diesel to Manipur to mitigate the impact of the fuel crisis triggered by the blockade. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) 25 companies of paramilitary forces will deployed to ensure free and fair conduct of polls in three Assembly constituencies of Kairana, Shamli and Thana Bhawan. District Magistrate of Shamli, Surjit Kumar told PTI here today that there is no issue of Kairana migration and every elector is fully secure to cast vote in the coming elections. He said that people who are registered in voter list would be secure to exercise there franchise. "Security arrangement has been made in the district and 25 companies of paramilitary forces would be deployed in polling booths for free and fair conduct of polls," he said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A prominent panel of China specialists says the Trump administration shouldn't abandon long-standing US policy on the status of Taiwan, calling such a move "exceedingly dangerous." Before taking office, President Donald Trump questioned Washington's "one China policy" that shifted diplomatic recognition from self-governing Taiwan to China in 1979. He said it was open to negotiation. But former US officials and scholars said in a report today that such an approach could destabilize the Asia-Pacific and leave Taiwan more vulnerable. The report says US-China relations are at a "precarious crossroads" and the two world powers could be on "collision course." The panel was convened by the Asia Society and the University of California San Diego. It includes former officials who have served both Democratic and Republican administrations. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A police sub-inspector was arrested by vigilance sleuths for allegedly accepting a bribe in Bihar's Arwal district. A Vigilance Investigation Bureau team caught Mohammad Salauddin, a police Sub-Inspector with Kurtha police station of Arwal Khagaria district, while he was accepting a gold chain and a ring worth Rs 20,000 each as bribe, a Vigilance release said today. One Manoj Kumar, a resident of New Mubarakpur village in Araria district, had lodged a complaint with the Vigilance department that Mohammad Salauddin, an SI with Kurtha police station, was demanding a gold chain for himself and a gold ring for the Station House Officer (SHO) for submitting a favourable report in a criminal case filed by the wife of his (complainant's) brother-in-law, the release said. The allegations of demand for a gold chain and a gold ring were found to be correct during the verification carried out by the Bureau in this regard, it said. A flying squad team was constituted under Deputy Superintendent of Police Maharaj Kanishk Kumar who raided and caught Mohammad Salauddin red-handed while accepting a gold chain and a ring worth Rs 40,004 as bribe from Kurtha police station premises in Arwal district, the release said. The accused would be produced before a Special Vigilance Court (I) at Patna after interrogation, it said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Election Commission (EC) on Tuesday ordered repolling in 48 polling stations falling in Majitha, Muktsar and Sangrur assembly segments in Punjab following malfunctioning in the Voter-Verified Audit Paper Trail (VVPAT) EVMs on February 4. The repolling will take place on February 9. Besides, the repolling will also take place at polling stations in Moga and Sardulgarh segments where EVMs displayed the votes polled during mock polls. "The repolling will take place at 48 polling stations because of the malfunctioning in VVPAT on polling day. The repolling will take place on February 9," Punjab Chief Electoral Officer V K Singh said in Chandigarh on Tuesday. He said polling stations where the repolling shall take place are in Majitha, Muktsar and Sangrur assembly segments where VVPAT developed snag. Singh further said that repolling would also be held at polling stations in Moga and Sardulgarh assembly segments. The repolling has been ordered at 32 polling stations of Majitha (12), Muktsar (9), Sangrur (6), Moga (1) and Sardulgarh (4)and 16 polling stations of Amritsar Lok Sabha bye-election, an official said. EC had used VVPAT for the first time in Punjab at 6,668 polling stations in 33 assembly segments and two segments in Amritsar Lok Sabha seats. During the trial, 538 VVPATs were replaced while during polling 187 VVPATs were replaced. Polling was affected at 25 polling stations in Majitha and ten each in Sangrur and Muktsar. The Election Commission had even sought a report from the state election authorities about the malfunctioning of VVPATs which caused delayed in voting. After VVPATs developed snag, AAP national convener and Delhi Chief Minister had attacked the Election Commission and tweeted, "Never has any election seen malfunctioning EVMs on such a largescale. Was it mischief done deliberately by or in collusion with EC." AAP leader Sanjay Singh had even raised the matter with Punjab CEO, demanding an extension in time where polling was affected because of VVPAT problem. VVPAT generates a receipt and allows people to verify if the vote went in favour of the candidate against whose name the button was pressed on the EVM. In New Delhi, a Commission spokesperson said the decision was taken "in order to uphold the integrity of the electoral process", without specifying. The poll panel said in some places VVPAT machines and EVMs were replaced due to malfunctioning, resulting in interruption of polling. Out of 24697 Ballot Units and 24256 Control units used in Punjab 180 BUs and 184 CUs failed during the poll. This works out to 0.73 percent BUs and 0.76 percent failures during an actual poll. In the case of VVPATs which were first time used in 33ACs, out of the total of 6293 VVPAT, 255 (4.05 per cent) failed during the actual poll. By Manoj Kumar NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday defended his decision to abolish high denomination bank notes that has left the economy reeling, calling it a "fight" for the poor. Modi's comments came days before the start of a regional assembly election in Uttar Pradesh, a battleground state that is home to one in six Indians and will help in determining his chances of winning a second term in 2019. While the decision to outlaw 500- and 1,000-rupee bank notes late last year was part of a broader crackdown on corruption, the sudden withdrawal of 86 percent of currency in circulation had left businesses, farmers and households all suffering. The chaos caused by the cash crackdown led Modi's predecessor, Manmohan Singh, to describe it as "organised loot and legalised plunder" of the country. In his first comments on the bank-note ban at a rowdy session of parliament, Modi shot back at his critics. "The decision on demonetisation is a movement to clean India," Modi told lawmakers. "My fight is for the poor and giving the poor their due. This fight will continue." Asia's third-largest economy is limping back to health after the cash crackdown. The Nikkei/Markit manufacturing purchasing managers' index for January showed expansion though the services gauge showed a third month of contraction. The economic disruption has also put India's ranking as the world's fastest-growing big economy under threat. The International Monetary Fund last month cut its 2016/17 forecast by one percentage point to 6.6 percent - lagging China. Still, Modi justified his decision, which he said had created a money trail for tax officials to pursue. He urged tax evaders to come clean, or risk the confiscation of their property and time in jail. With opposition parties making the note ban an election issue and mocking the government for its poor implementation, Modi has unleashed a slew of measures to ease the pain. In its annual budget last week, his government increased spending on rural areas, infrastructure and fighting poverty. It also halved the basic personal income tax rate and cut taxes on small firms that account for 96 percent of India's businesses. Analysts describe the Uttar Pradesh state election as a mid-term "referendum" on Modi as the cash crunch has inflicted the most pain on the poor. But Modi said he was championing their cause. "We do not see everything from the prism of elections," he said in a speech during which he was repeatedly heckled from the opposition benches. "The interests of the nation are supreme for us." (Additional reporting by Rajesh Kumar Singh; Editing by Douglas Busvine, Robert Birsel) (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.) 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 INDIA has sealed the dubious distinction of being the world's top destination for spam, at a time when cyber criminals are again resorting to mediums such as adware and email spam for hacking, according to a study by American tech giant Cisco. Eighty five per cent of emails in India are spam, the annual cyber security report said. Brazil comes in at the second spot with 57 per cent, followed by Mexico with 54 per cent spam. Global spam volume has also surged to levels not seen since 2010. Spam accounts for 65 per cent of email, with eight to 10 per cent cited as malicious, the report said. Adware or software that downloads advertising without user permission infected 75 per cent of business organisations that were investigated. The Cisco report assumes significance as it highlights vulnerabilities at a time when India is going in for a big push to digital transactions. In October 2016, 32 lakh ATM cards in India belonging to major banks such as ICICI Bank and SBI were suspected to be hacked and had to be recalled. Several victims reported unauthorised usage from China. Reports said the breach could have been because of a malware generated in Hitachi Payment Services, one of the largest providers of Point of Sale services, ATM machines and mobile transactions in India. Highlighting the potential financial impact of attacks on businesses, the global report said, "After a security breach, over 50 per cent of organisations faced public scrutiny. Operations and finance systems were the most affected, followed by brand reputation and customer retention." Over one-third of organizations that experienced a breach in 2016 reported substantial customer, opportunity and revenue loss of over 20 per cent. In 2016, hacking became more "corporate", with digitisation creating opportunities for cybercriminals. "Though attackers continue to leverage time-tested techniques, they also employ new approaches that mirror the "middle management" structure of their corporate targets. Certain malvertising campaigns employed brokers (or gates) that act as middle managers, masking malicious activity," it said. Adversaries can then move with greater speed, maintain their operational space, and evade detection. Among employee introduced, thirdparty cloud applications, intended to open up new business opportunities and increase efficiencies, 27 per cent were identified as high risk and created significant security concerns. The report said just 56 per cent of security alerts are investigated and less than half of legitimate alerts remediated. The Cisco report surveyed nearly 3,000 chief security officers and security operations leaders from 13 countries as part of the study. They attributed budget constraints, poor compatibility of systems, and a lack of trained talent as the biggest barriers to advancing their security postures. Leaders also reveal that their security departments are increasingly complex environments with 65 percent of organizations using from six to more than 50 security products, increasing the potential for security effectiveness gaps. The shortcomings leave gaps of time and space for attackers to utilise to their advantage, the report said. A bright spot was the drop in the use of large exploit kits or malware such as Angler, Nuclear and Neutrino, whose owners were brought down in 2016. But smaller players rushed in to fill the gap, it said. Several central government agencies and financial institutions, including the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), received complaints against Anubhav Mittal, the alleged mastermind of Rs 3,700-crore online ponzi scam, in 2016 itself but failed to act against it. Documents in possession with Mail Today show the RBI, Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), Delhi's Economic Offences Wing (EOW) and eventhe district administration of Gautam Budh Nagar, were approached by the complainants but they failed to act on time, allowing the "dubious" business to grow. Even the officials of Uttar Pradesh Police STF, which arrested Mittal last week, admitted that they took legal and financial advices before deciding to approach the company which has about 6.5 lakh investors. Interestingly, now the officials have sought legal opinion before they can call several celebrities and beneficiaries to join investigation. The list includes Bollywood actresses Sunny Leone and Ameesha Patel, who attended the launch of Mittal's new business venture, IntMaart at Crown Plaza Hotel in Greater Noida on November 29, 2016. "These celebrities attended the inaugural programme of Mittal's new venture and their names were used to promote a fake scheme to dupe investors so they are party to crime under Money Circulation Schemes Act. If needed, a notice will be sent to them for questioning," said a senior STF officer investigating the case. The officer said the inaugural programme was clubbed with Mittal's birthday celebration but the invite did not mention about any personal event. "The company spent over a crore of rupees for the launchcum-birthday celebration as they paid Rs25 lakh to the hotel and a hefty amount was paid to the celebrities apart from their travel and lodging to attend the launch," said the officer, who did not wish to be named. Leone, according to a media report, has declined comment when asked if her visit to Mittal's birthday bash was a personal one or a professional. Police said the celebrities should be cautious about the product they endorse and events attended by them as they are followed and admired by millions, and at times, they can be misused to cheat people as done in this case. All the payments were made from the company's account which had the money of the investors. Police claimed that the company got a majority of money from June 2015, which exponentially grew during the last quarters. Anubhav Mittal is accused of running multi-level marketing and ponzi schemes under the banners of Ms Ablaze Info Solutions Private Ltd, Ms Social Trade India Pvt Ltd, Ms 3W Digital Pvt Ltd and Ms Intmaart India Pvt Ltd. The RBI had initiated some groundwork against the company in October 2016, but could not find anyone at registered address of two offices owned by Mittal in Delhi. A senior official confirmed that an online complaint was made to them on October 3 which was closed on November 8, 2016. "Visit to Ablaze Info at Chandni Chowk revealed that the company was not present at the registered address. Registrars of Companies (ROC) Delhi have been informed on October 28, 2016. "Visit to Rbiz.com private limited gathered that no board containing the name of the company was found at the registered address of the company at Vasudhara Enclave in Delhi. The flat was found locked," an RBI official wrote as a remark to the complaint filed with them. "It was around the same time when the company realised that the agencies have started coming after them and they shifted their base to Noida Sector 63," said the STF officer. Police also found that a team of service tax department from Delhi visited their office and fined them but it is yet to find that how did the agency fail to check the services offered by the company as there was no service being offered by them. Police have also found several presentations where Mittal's companies had used names of several government institutions, like Delhi government, MCD, Uttar Pradesh transport department, apart from other leading private companies and educational institutions as its partners. On verification, they have denied to be linked with any of his company. In a path-breaking move that could serve as an example to be emulated by other ministries, the information and broadcasting ministry not just earned nearly Rs 15 lakh by selling old junk and trash that had accumulated over the years, but also freed 60,000 square feet space across several media units. As part of a 'cleanliness fortnight', the ministry gave a thrust to the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan with the message that charity begins at home. The ministry expanded the concept of swachhta to bring out innovative ideas not only of importance to office cleanliness, but also to weed out old files, furniture, clear old court cases, pending files, service records, inter-ministerial and government communication, apart from identifying old, unused items that can be auctioned. I&B minister Venkaiah Naidu highlighted steps taken by the ministry to retrieve space after disposal of old furniture, fixtures, electronic and electrical waste. He said the ministry had been successful in retrieving 60,624 square feet space after the special campaign was launched from September to November 2016. A sum of Rs 14, 21,484 was realised after auctioning the disposed goods. On redressal of grievances, Naidu said a total of 4,132 grievances had been addressed during the last one year. The ministry had proactively planned a theme-based 'swachhta calendar' for a period from August 2016 to July 2017. "Reliability, dependability and credibility of information is the hallmark of this government," Naidu said, while launching the 'India Year Book 2017'. It is essential to bring out books, journals, magazines in all national languages in order to reach out to the new generation, he added. Pakistan's censor board has not cleared Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan-Mahira Khan starrer "Raees" for release in the country after finding the film's content and theme objectionable. "The portrayal of Muslims is negative and the film's content undermines Islam, and a specific religious sect, (while also) portraying Muslims as criminals, wanted persons and terrorists," an official source in the censor board said. The distributors of "Raees", Hum Films had submitted the film to the censor board last week, for clearance to screen it in Pakistani cinema halls. An official with Hum Films declined to comment and said, so far they had not got any official word from the censor board about banning "Raees." "Raees will not release in Pakistan according to a decision taken by the censor board today," the source told PTI. "It shows Muslims in very negative light and could lead to reactions from different sects and it is unsuitable for public screening." Another source said that CBFC chairman Mobashir Hasan had backed the censor board members in their decision. Cinegoers were eagerly awaiting the release of "Raees" which has done great business in India and worldwide particularly, as it marks the Bollywood debut of Pakistans top actress, Mahira Khan. Exhibitors are now hoping that the Censor Board will allow the release of Aamir Khans "Dangal" which has become the highest grossing film in India. "We are hoping to get clearance from the Censor Board once we submit prints of the film to them," an official with Geo Films, which has rights to release the film in Pakistan said. Nadeem Mandviwalla said the irony was that while "Raees" had been banned for public screening, its prints were easily available in different qualities in the DVD market. Be it #SelfiewithModi or #MufflerMan, political campaigns on social media have always managed to stir up a storm. The latter started as a mud-slinging campaign against Arvind Kejriwal, and was turned into a meme by Aam Aadmi Party's social media team to announce his 'return' to end corruption. This was in November 2014, before the impending re-election next year, his abrupt exit as the Chief Minister of Delhi after a 49-day stint still afresh in people's minds. Twitter was abuzz with pictures of #MufflerMan dressed as Spider Man, Bat Man, and Super Man, with the trademark scarf and broom in tow. It became the top political hashtag on Twitter in 2014. AAP managed a sweeping victory. And social media, too, emerged as a winning platform for political campaigns. Much more than brands could hope for. It helps that politics is the most talked about topic on social media. That BJP's Facebook account has over 10 million followers, Congress's over four million and AAP's nearly three million is proof. Hashtag wars between political parties set the trend on Twitter almost every day. WhatsApp, too, is flooded with political memes. However, brands, despite the investments they make, have not been able to harness the power of social media to a great extent. What gives? According to experts, politics has an emotional connect with the audience, which a brand evidently lacks. "The brand is trying to sell you a product or a service, but a political campaign connects on an emotional level. So the kind of traction you get is always much more," says Hareesh Tibrewala, Joint CEO of Mirum India. A political campaign also has more hands on deck in the form of 'volunteers'. Consider AAP's three-tier social media team, for instance. Ankit Lal, the party's IT head, who headed its social media team from 2013 to 2015, informs that a core team of 30 is responsible for strategising. "The next layer, a team of 200 volunteers, supports the core team and executes the strategy, while the last layer of 5,000 volunteers ensures that the message is disseminated far and wide." Brands, too, need to build such a cohort of advocates, says Tibrewala. "The power of social media is in identifying people who really believe in the brand, create an army advocates, and keep engaging with them," he adds. Lal chides brands for "not having any vision at all", and merely looking at short-term benefits. "Brands see people not as audience but as customers, and fail to humanise stories. Only when people are attached to a brand emotionally, will they talk about it as passionately as they do about politics," he says. Another aspect that brands can learn from political campaigns is responding in real time - leveraging the moment and engaging with the audience. Topical, tactful advertising can grab the audience's attention far better than direct marketing methods. In fact, some of the most effective marketing campaigns on social media are either engagement-driven or revolve around a real-time event. Ahmed Naqvi, CEO & Co-founder of digital marketing agency Gozoop, has been involved in the campaign for a major political party for the upcoming Uttar Pradesh elections. He says that there is a world of difference between a political campaign and a brand campaign. "Political campaigns are more action-packed. It changes with the pulse of the audience. So you have to craft the campaign on a very real-time basis." Naqvi believes that apart from being on their toes and focusing on the moment, marketers need to encourage user generated content, and have an opinion or a stand on matters, like political parties, to forge a connect with their audience on social media. Perhaps, it's time brands stopped playing it safe. ~ @dsingh_devika DIGITAL DASHBOARD Average number of hours spent using the internet per day, split by computer use and mobile phone use (survey based) LISTENING POST Live Stories Image sharing and social networking app Instagram has commenced a live streaming feature for the US and UK; and will launch it in other countries, including I ndia, soon. To go live on Instagram, users need to swipe right on their feed and choose Start Live Video. However, unlike on Facebook, the story will disappear from the app after the live streaming ends. Facebook archives the live streaming videos and users can watch them later. To watch someone else's live stream, users need to go to Top Live option on Explore, and choose from the list. To use this feature, users have to upgrade their apps to Instagram version 10.0 and above. Talk, Share YouTube has introduced an in-app messaging feature on its app for Android and iOS versions. The feature, which the company has been testing since last year, is currently only available in Canada. Google's Product Manager Shimrit Ben-Yair told technology website TechCrunch that Canadians share 15 per cent more videos than an average user. It will eventually be rolled out globally, too. The feature is quite similar to Facebook Messenger, and allows a user to share links of videos besides messages. YouTube has introduced the feature to encourage people to talk about and share videos on its platform, instead of on social networks such as Twitter and Facebook. Though YouTube has a huge community, the absence of the sharing feature makes people move to social media networks. State-run telecom operator BSNL today halved the monthly rental for unlimited calling from landline to any network on Sundays and night hours to Rs 49 from Rs 99. "...to attract new customers to experience wireline services, BSNL launched a very cost effective and affordable promotional landline voice plan 'Experience LL 49'," BSNL said in a statement. Under this plan, fixed monthly charges of Rs 49 is being charged for first six months and after that, the customer shall be charged as per the general plan of the respective area. BSNL customers can make unlimited calls to any network every Sunday and during night hours (9 pm to 7 am). BSNL is the only operator which is offering such a low cost landline voice plan in the country, said N K Gupta, Director (CFA), BSNL Board. Frontline Ventures, a leading early-stage venture capital firm with offices in Dublin and London, have announced today the closing of Fund II at 60 million. The firm invests in B2B software companies at the pre-seed and seed stages with investments ranging from 200,000 to 3 million. Notable investments in the Frontline portfolio include Qstream (total funds raised $22m), Dublin-based money transfer company, CurrencyFair (total funds raised $25m) and London-based, StreetTeam (raised $10m in October 2016). Frontline raised its first fund of 50 million in 2013 and to date has invested in 27 software companies across Europe. The firm is led by partners Shay Garvey, Will Prendergast, William McQuillan and Stephen McIntyre. Investors in Frontline Fund II include Ireland Strategic Investment Fund, Enterprise Ireland, European Investment Fund and a number of pension funds and family offices. This transaction also benefits from the support of the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI). Commenting on the new fund, European Commission Vice-President for Jobs, Growth, Investment and Competitiveness, Jyrki Katainen said, "Theres no shortage of ambitious ideas in Europe. I am glad that the Investment Plan can play an important role in backing those who back the startups that bring these ideas to life." Executive Director of Investment and Finance at Enterprise Ireland, Walter Hobbs added, "Ireland is fast becoming an international leader in business and a world-class innovator in some of the technology sectors most exciting and disruptive new fields. We are delighted to support Frontline, whose portfolio is a testament to the calibre of high-quality entrepreneurs coming out of Ireland." Source: www.businessworld.ie About us Social Innovation Fund Ireland is today making a final call for submissions to its new Education Fund, which is endorsed by the Department of Education and Skills. The closing date for applications is 24th February 2017. The initiative aims to improve educational attainment and access to higher education for students affected by mental health issues, disability, or poverty and disadvantage. Successful applicants could, for example, have innovative programmes that include student-centred learning opportunities, blended learning, 21st century skills - digital and other skills, or programmes that provide intensive personalised supports to students to enable them to succeed educationally. All applications will be reviewed by Social Innovation Fund Irelands Education Advisory Committee which is chaired by Professor Aine Hyland, Emeritus Professor of Education at University College Cork. The committee also includes Bernard Kirk (Director of Galway Education Centre), Maura Grant (Former advisor to former President of Ireland, Mary McAleese) and Dr Brian Fleming (A retired school principal with over twenty-five years experience and author of Irish Education 1922-2007) and Martina Von Richter (Co-Founder of BiBo Life Skills). According to the Department of Education and Skills Action Plan for Education, the retention rate for secondary school students from deprived areas is 82.7%, which is below the national norm of 90.2%. Currently, the number of students from disadvantaged backgrounds progressing to Quality and Qualification Ireland (QQI) level six courses is remarkably low. Post-leaving certificate, the number of travellers in higher education is just 35. Only approximately 6% of students in higher education have disabilities. Social Innovation Fund Ireland CEO, Deirdre Mortell says, "Education is a great equaliser, it is proven to offer a route out of poverty and perhaps, more importantly, a way to empower us in our lives. As a country, we can do more, and with this is mind, Social Innovation Fund Ireland is delighted to run its first ever Education Fund. We believe this new initiative will enable students who are struggling to finish second level school to improve their grades, and enter and stay in third level education or apprenticeships." Source: www.businessworld.ie President Donald Trump's review of post-crisis banking rules could sound the death knell for new global standards now being finalised and rip apart a common approach to regulating international lenders, bankers and regulators said. Central banks and watchdogs around the world have spent the past eight years drawing up regulation aimed at preventing a repeat of the 2007-2009 financial crisis, but there are fears that project could unravel after Trump said he wants the U.S. to row back on capital rules. Trump's order for a regulatory review to overcome what he sees as obstacles to lending came as banking watchdogs were trying to complete the final piece of global capital requirements, known as Basel III. Given that the United States wants to shrink the banking rule book, there are doubts over whether the Basel rules can make it over the finishing line next month if they don't have backing from the United States. Without support from the world's biggest capital market, other countries would be less willing to commit too. The core aim of the outstanding part of Basel III that regulators are working on - dubbed Basel IV by critical banks who worry about more stringent capital requirements - is to impose more consistency into how banks calculate the amount of capital they hold against risky assets like loans. JPMorgan chief executive Jamie Dimon said in the aftermath of the financial crisis that European rivals had been "a lot more aggressive" than American banks in calculating capital, meaning they were holding less. European policymakers have rejected that criticism, but their region's banks have been lobbying against the remaining Basel rules, saying they would force them to increase significantly the amount of capital they need to hold. If the United States fails to approve the completion of Basel III, the perceived problem that European banks get away with holding less capital than U.S. lenders may not be properly tackled, a source involved in the negotiations said. "It's in the interests of American banks to get this done," the source said. Others are less optimistic that a deal can now be done after Trump's intervention. "It's going to delay completing Basel III, and perhaps lead to it not being concluded," an adviser to banks said on condition of anonymity. "I do fear that Basel IV is doomed," a banking industry official added. There are headwinds from elsewhere, too. Patrick McHenry, Republican vice chairman of the House financial services committee, fired a warning shot at Federal Reserve Governor Janet Yellen about the Basel talks in a letter dated Jan. 31, ahead of Trump's executive order. The Fed must "cease" all attempts to negotiate binding standards "burdening American business" until the Trump Administration has had the opportunity to nominate officials that prioritize "America's best interests", McHenry said. While lawmakers often call on regulators to ease pressure on firms, regulators said Trump's intervention in banking rules gives more clout to McHenry's warning. The Basel Committee declined to comment. Trump's decision to review existing, post-crisis banking rules has rung alarm bells among regulators outside the country. Mario Draghi, president of the European Central Bank, which regulates the euro zone's main lenders, said on Monday that easing banking rules could threaten financial stability. Draghi was chairman of the Group of 20 Economies' (G20) regulatory task force, the Financial Stability Board, which during the financial crisis was instrumental in building up a global approach to reinforcing banking standards. A former regulator said the United States would be scoring an own goal by withdrawing from multilateral bodies like Basel as it would no longer be shaping rules that impinge on U.S. banking competitiveness globally. "It's early days, but what we have seen in language and rhetoric from Washington is worrying," said David Wright, a former top EU official who was part of crisis-era efforts to create the global regulatory consensus. "If you break international consensus, you are effectively opening up a regulatory race and heaven knows where it will end," said Wright, now at Flint Global, which advises companies on regulatory matters. Wright was referring to what was seen in the run-up to the financial crisis, when countries like Britain resorted to a "light touch" approach to banks to make London a more attractive financial centre. Valdis Dombrovskis, the EU's financial services chief, said last week that international regulatory cooperation had been vital in tackling the financial crisis and must continue. Much will hinge on how much regulatory change Trump can actually push through. Former Democratic Congressman Barney Frank, who jointly sponsored the Dodd Frank Act that Trump wants to review, told the BBC last week he does not expect Congress to approve the wholesale rolling back of rules, but the Trump administration could pressure U.S. regulators to ease up on applying existing requirements. Anil Kashyap, a Bank of England policymaker, said last month that Trump's nomination for the powerful role of Fed Vice Chair in charge of banking supervision would shape the U.S. approach to international rule-making. It will have a "huge impact", a regulatory source added. The fear among global regulators is that multilateral bodies like the Basel Committee and the Financial Stability Board could be abandoned by the United States under Trump. Jose Ignacio Goirigolzarri, chairman of Spain's Bankia, told Spanish television on Tuesday he would be concerned if Trump was questioning the usefulness of international banking rules. "It would worry me very much because I think it's very important, very relevant that there have been advances in the homogenization of regulation amongst developed countries," he said. (Reuters) Source: www.businessworld.ie Sign up for our amNY Sports email newsletter to get insights and game coverage for your favorite teams A celebration of Irish-American heritage is coming back to Throggs Neck this March. The 19th Throggs Neck St. Patricks Day Parade, an annual display of ethnic and civic pride, is scheduled to step off at noon on Sunday, March 12, marching along East Tremont Avenue from Lafayette Avenue. There will be a reviewing stand at Harding and East Tremont avenues. For 2017, the parade committee selected videographer Derek Woods as grand marshal, and three honored religious: Sr. Peggy Gannon, Sr. Joan Marie OLeary and Sr. Betty McLaughlin, all members of Dominican Sisters of Sparkill who are active in the borough. Additionally, the families of 17 community people who have passed away during the 2016 and who are honorary grand marshals will be marching in remembrance of their loved ones. Woods described himself on the website of his videographer company, DWI Productions, as one of the most prolific videographers to cover people, places, and events related to the Bronx. The videographer and journalists work began at BronxNet public access television at the inception of the network in 1993, and he covered and filmed the Throggs Neck St. Patricks Day parade for its first 17 years. I cannot tell you how honored I am that the parade committee is asking me to be the grand marshal, said Woods, who added that a parade committee member told him he was a big cheerleader for the parade over the years. The grand marshal honor has greater significance, indicated Woods, because both his parents were born in Ireland, he said. Woods said he grew up near East 204th Street and now lives in Riverdale. He co-founded a non-profit called the Riverdale Childrens Theater, which performs at Lehman College and Pelham Parkways Bronx House, he said. The parade shows the strong Irish-American tradition in Throggs Neck, said Woods, but it is about even more than ethnic pride and the rich Irish history in the borough. It is a celebration of the community itself, said Woods of the parade. It is a day when everyone is Irish; its also a day for everyone to appreciate all the hardworking families that make Throggs Neck an incredible place to live and work. Gannon, OLeary and McLaughlin all serve St. Benedicts Parish. Gannon and OLeary volunteer at Jeanne Jugan Residence, stated OLeary. According to parade committee information, the sisters have spent decades ministering to Bronx residents in hospitals, parishes and schools, as well as working with the elderly and homebound. Honorary grand marshals for this years parade are Margaret Albin, Patrick Boyle, Veronica Christensen, Mary Fitzsimons, Teresa Fitzsimons, Eleanor Kelly, Arleen Knapp, Mary McEnery, Jack Mullane, Jack OConnor, Kathy OSullivan, John Quinn, Sal Randazzo, Dennis Raftery Jr., Daniel Smith, John Steel and Barbara Wynne. Reach Reporter Patrick Rocchio at (718) 2604597. E-mail him at procc hio@c ngloc al.com . Follow him on Twitter @patrickfrocchio. LOGAN A judge has set a new jury trial for a 22-year-old Logan man, Dakota Q. Knight, who is accused of sexually assaulting a woman in 2014. Attorneys for both sides met with Judge Thomas Willmore in chambers before Knight appeared in 1st District Court Monday afternoon for a pretrial conference. A previous four-day trial was cancelled last year, after a private investigator, hired by the defense, retired suddenly and moved out of state. Knight is alleged to have assaulted the woman in October 2014. The defendant and victim were reportedly acquaintances at the time. He was later charged with forcible sodomy, a first-degree felony. During Mondays hearing, Judge Willmore said he was aware of the difficulties defense attorney Wayne Caldwell has had, investigating the case. He set a new trial date for June 28 through the 30. State attorney Jacob Gordon had opposed continuing the trial previously, saying the victim wanted to move the case forward. Knight could be sentenced to up to life in prison if found guilty.

will@cvradio.com UHP Sgt. Cade Brenchley telling a motorist that UDOT has closed Logan Canyon after two avalanches occurred near the Dugway. LOGAN Logan Canyon, US-89 has been closed again after multiple avalanches and mud slides occurred Tuesday afternoon. Utah Highway Patrol Sgt. Cade Brenchley said the first slide was reported by a UDOT snow plow driver just after 12:30 p.m. He actually called it in to dispatch and asked for a trooper to close the canyon at the mouth, due to an avalanche that occurred at the Dugway, explained Brenchley. He also contacted Rich County and requested a closure on their side. A second slide occurred an hour later in the same area. A trooper is also being stationed near the Beaver Mountain Ski Resort to make sure skiers and boarders do not attempt to drive down through the avalanche area. They are instead, being detoured to Garden City and through Strawberry Canyon. The resort has also cancelled skiing for Tuesday night. Brenchley said UDOT officials are telling him, the canyon will likely remain closed through the night. It is the biggest avalanche they have had this year, according to one of the UDOT employees. It is also a matter that theyre worried about more avalanches, is what it boils down to right now. The Utah Avalanche Center has issued a warning, saying that heavy snowfall, rain and strong winds are creating areas of unstable snow at all elevations. This is the third time this year UDOT has closed the canyon due to an avalanche or avalanche danger.

will@cvradio.com The Family Place is partnering with Logan Regional Hospital to host the Annual Superhero Training Academy on Saturday, Feb. 11, from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Britney Bird, events manager for the Family Place, said the popular event will be held at Playgrounz, which is located at 395 W. 1400 North. Playgrounz is donating the facility and staff for the event. At the Superhero Training Academy, we offer experiences to kids to meet everyday heroes, such as police officers and firefighters and doctors, as well as being able to meet superheroes like Superman and Batman, Hulk, Wonder Woman and so many more, said Bird. We offer different crafts and activities that the kids get to do. We have a Kryptonite dodge, Hulk tug-of-war, villain Bane, a Spider Man dodge. The event will also include a parkour course. The entry fee for the Superhero Training Academy is $30 per child, and each child admission includes one adult admission. All of the event proceeds will benefit The Family Place, a nonprofit organization with a mission to strengthen families and protect children. For more information, call (435) 752-8880. Registration is available online at www.thefamilyplaceutah.org/events. Israels Prime Minister Binjamin Netanyahu made a landmark visit to Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan in December 2016. The Israeli Prime Minister's visit reflects Israels growing interest in Central Asia and the Caucasus, a region that is part of Israel's greater strategic environment. Israel's interest in Kazakhstan focuses on its trade potential, its regional and international status, and its position as a vital link in the Chinese Belt and Road Initiative. Azerbaijan's geographical location, its role as a significant energy exporter, and its security approach have been foci of the close relations that have developed between Baku and Jerusalem over the years. The Prime Minister's visit reflects the continued deepening of ties with Azerbaijan. BACKGROUND: In December, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu conducted a three-day visit to Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan from December 13-15, 2016. This was the first visit by an Israeli Prime Minister to Kazakhstan and the second visit to Azerbaijan. The visit to these two countries is a direct continuation of an ongoing Israeli process to strengthen relations with Astana and Baku since their establishment as independent states. With the large bulk of Jewish immigration into Israel behind it towards the end of the 1990s, and especially after the construction of infrastructure for energy exports from the Caspian Sea in the mid-2000s, Israeli policymakers began to understand the importance of the countries bordering the Caspian Sea, while creating a distinction between Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan. Interest in Kazakhstan focused on trade and economic interests, as well as its role in convening international political fora. As for Azerbaijan, its geostrategic location, which includes a common border with Iran, as well as the existence of a large ethnic Azerbaijani community in Iran (a third of the population) made Azerbaijan especially attractive for developing relations. A heritage of coexistence and tolerance for the Jewish minority in Azerbaijan and the existence of an active community of Azerbaijani Jews in Israel facilitated strong ties between the countries, especially trade. During Netanyahu's visit to Kazakhstan, a series of agreements were signed in the fields of research and development, as well as aviation and travel. An agreement was also made to exchange teams focused on high-tech, technology and security development. The leaders of Azerbaijan viewed Israel as a successful model for a small state located in a hostile environment which manages to deal with security challenges while still thriving in all aspects of development. Israel, on its part, viewed the strengthening of ties with Azerbaijan as an opportunity to foster strong ties with a Muslim-majority country. In addition, Azerbaijan became a major exporter of oil to Israel by way of the BTC pipeline transferring oil from the Caspian Sea to the Mediterranean Sea became operational in 2005. Approximately 40 percent of Israel's total oil imports come from Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan's desire to create a military option to regain control over its territories occupied by Armenia during the war in and around Nagorno-Karabakh has also contributed to the strengthening of relations between Azerbaijan and Israel, especially in the field of arms trade. During the PM's visit, a cooperation agreement in the field of agriculture was signed. The sides also agreed on the establishment of a joint commission to promote economic cooperation in the fields of science, technology, health, agriculture and trade. IMPLICATIONS: Prime Minister Netanyahus visit to Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan is an expression of Israel's growing political momentum in Central Asia and the Caucasus region. Netanyahu's visit is designed to promote Israel's relations with Kazakhstan in several aspects. Kazakhstan took the lead among the Central Asian states in both the political and economic spheres. Kazakhstan took a role in establishing CICA (Conference on Interaction and Confidence-building in Asia) as well as positions within the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and OSCE, and is since the beginning of this year also a member of the UN Security Council. Israel's interest to strengthen ties with Kazakhstan in the political sphere should therefore be viewed against the backdrop of its regional and international status. Kazakhstan has use for the technology and knowledge that Israel can offer it, and the two countries have a mutual interest in developing trade relations between them. Kazakhstan is also a major link in Central Asia for China's vision of a Belt and Road Initiative. Israel has an interest in integrating with the project in its Central Asian section as part of its deepening of relations with China in recent years. Kazakhstan is an appropriate arena for such Israeli-Chinese cooperation to occur. Together with the security challenges and the need to combat terrorism in the region, such cooperation and use of Israeli knowledge and experience is of mutual interest to both China and Kazakhstan, and the strengthening of ties between Israel and Kazakhstan can be used to promote that trilateral cooperation. The Israeli Prime Minister's visit to Baku marks an important milestone in the relations between Israel and Azerbaijan. The Azerbaijani President was especially forthcoming in discussing the scope of the defense export contracts signed between the two countries which come close to five billion dollars, an unprecedented statement of acknowledgment. This demonstrative show of friendship on the part of the Azerbaijani President was very different from the nature of the bilateral relations that existed before. Since the April 2016 battles between Azerbaijan and Armenia (commonly referred to as the Four Day War) and the contribution of Israeli origin arms, Israel has become extremely popular in Azerbaijan. The establishment of the Southern Gas Corridor, which provides a route for gas export from the Shah Deniz offshore field in Azerbaijan to Europe, potentially may be used by Israel to export its own gas to Turkey and potentially European markets, adds to the mutual interests of the countries. Azerbaijan's historical heritage of tolerance towards the Jewish community in Azerbaijan forms another significant contribution to the close relations between the two countries, as openly expressed during PM Netanyahu's current visit. CONCLUSIONS: Israel is intensifying its activity in its expanded strategic circle which includes Central Asia and the Caucasus, and Netanyahu's visit is an expression of this trend. The visit helped consolidate and strengthen the close relationship it enjoys with Azerbaijan, and promoted economic and political ties with Kazakhstan all the while increasing its presence in an area where China has a special interest, and creating conditions for future cooperation with China in Central Asia. Close relations with Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan, two Muslim-majority countries with no hostility toward Israel and that manage their foreign policy based on bilateral interests and a legacy of coexistence and tolerance between Islam and Judaism, helps Israel break the cycle of hostility it has with the Muslim world in the international system. This visit of the Israeli Prime Minister promoted both Israel's presence in a vital region as well as common interests shared by Israel and the two host countries, and has the potential to promote Israel's relations with other countries in the region. AUTHOR'S BIO: Dr. Avinoam Idan is a political geographer and a Senior Fellow with the Central Asia-Caucasus Institute & Silk Road Studies Program, based in Washington DC. Prior to his academic career, he served in the Israeli Embassy in Moscow during the break-up of the Soviet Union. Image source: Wikimedia Commons, accessed on February 3, 2017 Have we really had enough of experts and intellectuals? Published on February 7, 2017 Story by Sergio Mat en es it fr pl de Michael Gove, former UK Secretary of State for Justice, famously asserted that "people in this country have had enough of experts" in the run-up to the Brexit referendum. This strain of anti-intellectualism, which can be easily detected in Goves discharge of pundits, turned the spotlight on politicians and intellectuals alike. "In the UK in order to win the referendum vote, there were elements of the government who tried to downplay the importance of experts. Now that we are in a post-fact world we need experts more than ever; we need people that know facts more than ever," Nikesh Shukla, one of the Leading Global Thinkers in 2016 according to Foreign Policy, said during the British Council Literature Seminar last month; one of the main events looking to engage with UK writers in continental Europe. At a first glance, Gove and Shukla seem to have diametrically different views on the role of experts and intellectuals. But why is that? And who is "right"? Open the dictionary! The term intellectual comes from the Latin word intellectus, which means understanding. Just looking at the etymological root, this article could stop here: people arent sick of countries with precise words and a clear understanding of the situation. They are sick and tired of quite the opposite. According to the Chapman University 2016 Survey of American Fears, American citizens are mainly scared by corrupt government officials (60.6%), terroristic attack (41%) and not having enough money for the future (39.9%). Intellectuals were not on the list. Conversely, intellectuals can rather come in handy in order to understand who the corrupt government officials are, whats a terroristic attack and how to avoid additional economic disparities and inequalities. Why are intellectuals necessary? Artists and intellectuals are shedding light not only on current societal identity crises, but also on seemingly less important problems that will develop into full-blown societal identity crises in the future. Nikesh Shukla is one of them. He edited the essay collection The Good Immigrant, in which 21 writers of colour discussed immigration in the UK. The book was published in September 2016, anticipating the current focus on migration in the Anglo-Saxon world. Malika Booker, writer and Douglas Caster Cultural Fellow at the University of Leeds, commented on the sidelines of the seminar: "This artistic problem that he saw, and that he tried to solve, produced a book that seems ahead of its time The book came out and it is now giving voice to what it means to be an immigrant in Europe at this moment, with Brexit. It wasnt reactive I believe artists are ahead of their time, because there is something you can feel, that you can sense." What do intellectuals feel? What are they saying? In the space of a week, the Guardian wrote two articles with provocative and unambiguous titles: "Its not all bad news weve got Venus, Serena, Roger and Rafael", and "Beyonce's pregnancy: our distraction from the dumpster fire that is reality." If the British newspapers perspective seems a bit doom and gloom, the situation doesnt seem any better across the pond. Heather Richardson, Professor of History at Boston College, wrote on Sunday: "What Trump's Chief Strategist Steve Bannon is doing, most dramatically with the ban on immigration from seven predominantly Muslim countries, is creating what is known as a 'shock event'. Such an event is unexpected and confusing, and throws a society into chaos." What could intellectuals do? This is probably the most complicated question. The future role of intellectuals will much depend on their way of coping with current events. Booker and Shukla, for example, have quite different intentions: the former intends to resort to her "bubble strategy", while the latter sees good reasons for intellectuals to speak up. "Maybe it's not the time to host another panel, and write another essay. We are beyond debating whats going on in the world People have been beaten up I feel like its time to organise some form of resistance," Shukla said, adding that a "multitude of voices is needed." On the other hand, Booker says the best reponse is for people to calm down, take their time, and come up with some more creative contributions: "If you respond into it now, and you dont have that space to germinate, you will just be polemic. I decided to hibernate and put myself in a bubble. No news for six months to concentrate on my writing, so that the creative outcome is not a response to. As an artist I need space in order to create." What choice do we have? If Michael Goves statement was just a political move, the proper question now is whether the aforementioned combination of "speak-up" and "bubble" strategies will be able to make a difference, or whether the promoters of shock events will be effective in turning the intellectuals sensitivity into dryness. In other words, shocking statements be enough to silence these voices that are trying to build bridges between communities? Story by Sergio Mat This is a key distressed market to follow since Las Vegas has seen the largest price decline of any of the Case-Shiller composite 20 cities. The Greater Las Vegas Association of Realtors reported Southern Nevada Home Prices Rise to Start 2017, GLVAR Housing Statistics for January 2017 The Greater Las Vegas Association of REALTORS (GLVAR) reported Tuesday that Southern Nevada home prices started 2017 with a relatively rare January jump while the number of homes available for sale continued to shrink. ... The total number of existing local homes, condos and townhomes sold in January was 2,675, up from 2,348 in January 2016. Compared to one year ago, sales were up 14.1 percent for homes and up 13.2 percent for condos and townhomes. According to GLVAR, a total of 41,720 such properties were sold in 2016. That was more than the 38,577 properties sold during 2015. It was also more than in 2014, but fewer than during each of the previous five years. ... By the end of January, GLVAR reported 5,852 single-family homes listed for sale without any sort of offer. Thats down 21.2 percent from one year ago. For condos and townhomes, the 811 properties listed without offers in January represented a 63.4 percent decrease from one year ago. ... In recent years, GLVAR has been reporting fewer distressed sales and more traditional home sales, where lenders are not controlling the transaction. That trend continued in January, when 4.2 percent of all local sales were short sales which occur when lenders allow borrowers to sell a home for less than what they owe on the mortgage. Thats down from 7.0 percent of all sales in January 2016. Another 6.8 percent of all January sales were bank-owned, down from 7.9 percent one year ago. emphasis added 1) Overall sales were up 13.9% year-over-year.2) Active inventory (single-family and condos) is down sharply from a year ago (A very sharp decline in condo inventory).3) Fewer distressed sales. Yaounde, Cameroun - Le marche central Archives Jubilant Cameroonians took to the streets late Sunday to celebrate the victory of the Indomitable Lions of Cameroon. Major streets were jammed with celebrants dancing, singing and chanting songs Dans La Sauce. The long night of celebration was frenzy but same time unfortunate to some persons who lost their lives and several others sustained injuries. One death was recorded at the Deido District Hospital where report says he was killed by his friend following a quarrel before the match. Emergency wards in Lanquintini and Deido District Hospitals were jammed with patients with wounded legs, hands, mouths and heads. According to medics in the different hospitals, the accidents occurred as a result of excess drinking, excess celebration and the chaotic nature in which the celebrations were ongoing with some youths blocking roads making circulation impassable. The National Electricity Distributing Company, ENEO was forced to switch lights off to calm down the celebrations, the blackouts forced some persons to go back home. Paul Biya and Wife To Receive The Lions A Release form the Director of Civil Cabinet at the Presidency, Martin Belinga Eboutu indicates that President Paul Biya and Wife Chantal will this Wednesday February 8, 2017 receive players and officials of the Indomitable Lions of Cameroon at the Unity Palace at Midday local time. By Wilson MUSA February 2, 2017 Most of western Libya, home to 6.5 million people and site of the capital Tripoli, experienced an electrical blackout on Jan. 14 that extended from the Tunisian border in the west to the city of Ajdabiya, some 560 miles to the east. It lasted for up to 30 hours in some cities and towns, leaving multitudes in the dark and compounding the misery of the coldest winter in recent years. A few days earlier, southern Libya had suffered a complete blackout as well. In the past, Libya generated surplus electricity, which it exported to Tunisia and Egypt. Today, it has a power generation deficit of about 75% of its domestic needs, according to some officials. It also has no central government to protect the provision of power it does generate from various aggrieved parties. The Jan. 14 blackout appears to have been triggered by the most trivial of reasons: a quarrel between tribal militias from Zawiya and one from nearby Warshefana, in the west toward the border with Tunisia. Disagreements between the two tribes in the past have led to the closure of the only highway connecting Zawiya and Tripoli farther east. As long as tribes and gangs can take the law into their own hands, it is nearly impossible for Libya to be safe and stable again. The quarrel that triggered the massive blackout took root in mid-December. On Dec. 17, a group of young men from Zawiya were taken hostage by Warshefana militias because a cargo of shisha smoking tobacco belonging to a Warshefana trader was confiscated. To pressure the government and local authorities into helping free the men, another local militia from Zawiya shut down the pipeline supplying gas to almost every power station in western and southern Libya. Members of the Zawiya militia later appeared in a video explaining what had happened. This episode is not unusual in lawless Libya, where local authority does not exist and what central government there is cannot enforce law and order. In November, an incident involving the antics of a pet monkey and a girl's headscarf sparked one of the worst rounds of violence in Sabha, in southern Libya, leaving some 20 people dead and scores injured. It took the mediation of numerous officials and local tribal leaders to secure the release of the hostages, ensure the return of the tobacco shipment and restore electricity generation to its previous capacity, thus reinstating the regular blackout hours prior to the incident between five and nine hours a day. The national power company estimates that the average power deficit over the last five years has been 500-1,000 megawatts, which is the difference between the actual generation of about 5,000 MW and actual demand at peak times of about 6,500 MW. According to the General Electricity Company of Libya (GECOL), the national electricity grid is collapsing under the high demand for power and the refusal of some cities to abide by the quotas established by GECOL, the state-owned monopoly power producer, for sharing the available power in alternating intervals. Blackouts in Libya have not been uncommon since the toppling of Moammar Gadhafi's regime in October 2011 during the Arab Spring. Every Libyan city, big and small, is by now accustomed to blackouts during certain hours almost every day of the week. The situation in recent months, however, has become unbearable, with the blackouts becoming longer and less predictable, making it difficult for hospitals and individuals with special needs to cope and carry out their daily routines. Some people have bought generators for personal use during blackouts, but the majority of people cannot afford them and access to cash through the banking system is severely restricted due to the banks' chronic liquidity problems. Officials have alternatively blamed power cuts on technical problems, militias diverting scarce power to their neighborhoods, damage to the national network and the theft of cables to mine their raw copper, which is then sold on the black market. Meanwhile, GECOL has a huge financial deficit, as power is heavily subsidized and people tend not to pay their bills because there is no authority to force them to do so. In a country with armed militias roaming freely and with no central government, it is to be expected that the majority will become the hostages of the few, which is the situation in Libya today. Power cuts coupled with economic difficulties are exacerbating the fragility of the UN-backed Government of National Accord, which has little authority over the country, including Tripoli, where it is seated. It has been little more than a year since the Libyan Political Agreement was signed in Morocco on December 15, 2015, and nearly a year since the government it established installed itself in Tripoli. Little, however, has changed for the better in terms of daily life. In fact, the security situation and economic situation, including rising prices and lack of access to cash, are getting worse. | BY Ricki Green | The recently released Berlei brand campaign #DoItForYourself starring Australian Open winner Serena Williams dancing with abandon to The Donnas cover of Billy Idols iconic 80s track Dancing with Myself, has highlighted the power of emotional social video. The content-led campaign, developed in partnership with content agency Emotive and Parlour Creative, has amassed over 10 million views, with a social engagement rate of 4.47%, including 24,000 shares and over 50 pieces of PR locally and around the globe. The success of the hero piece #DoItForYourself has by no means come down to luck. Emotive, through its strategic partnership with Unruly, used the video ad tech companys content evaluation tool Unruly EQ to predict the impact of the content ahead of launch. The content testing tool uses a combination of methods to evaluate, highlight potential improvements and predict the emotional impact and brand effectiveness of video ads, and has been trained using more than 1 million consumer responses. For this campaign, key emotions identified included happiness, inspiration and exhilaration, all considered positive high arousal emotions that drive sharing behavior. Says Simon Joyce, CEO and founder, Emotive: Being able to measure our campaigns on this level provides a new depth of insight in understanding effective social video. In this Berlei Serena Williams piece, the Unruly EQ test allowed us to hone in on the key emotions targeted and optimize the edit accordingly. The proof is in the results with an engagement rate in excess of 4% setting a new Emotive benchmark. Says Zoe Hayes, marketing lead, Berlei: Unrulys content evaluation was critical to our success. It removed subjectivity and informed us clearly how we edit content to elicit the most positive emotional connection with our audience. It also challenged our launch and amplification process and as a result the campaign has earned global reach and love. Says Lance Traore, managing director, Unruly Australia & New Zealand: Unruly EQ gives marketers peace of mind, removing any doubt ahead of a campaigns launch. Marketers who test their content using EQ know exactly what the impact will be on their target audiences. By bringing together data and emotions, EQ helps advertisers measure the metrics that move the needle. Client: Berlei Content & Production Agency: Emotive Creative Agency Do It For Yourself Dance video: Parlour Creative Agency Behind the Dance video and social edits: Emotive Digital Amplification: Emotive Talent: Serena Williams Choreographer: Mecca Andrews Director: Paola Morabito, Exit Films Creative Director: Andrew Cameron, Emotive Senior Producer: Hayley-Ritz Pelling, Emotive Producer: Trevor Paperny, Bastard Production Manager: Shawn Dougherty, Bastard Director of Photography: Sharone Meir Additional Photography: Harrison Schaaf Editors: Uthayan Selvaraj & Sam Gadsden, Emotive VFX: Mike Lomas Audio Post: Nat Joyce, Rumble studios Colourist: Tristian La Fontain, White Chocolate Stills Photographer: Jez Smith | BY Lynchy | Ad Age reports that the ad industrys largest annual event and awards program, the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, has agreed to caution jurors not to recognize work that reflects gender bias. Work that objectifies, perpetuates negative and harmful inequalities and gender bias hurts all of us, the festival will now tell all jurors in their briefings before judging. | BY Ricki Green | 2017 is the 30th anniversary of a teenage David Droga, founder and creative chairman of renowned agency Droga5, winning Top Student at AWARD School. To mark the occasion, this years Award School top student selected from the winners of all the Schools in Melbourne, Sydney, Perth, Adelaide, Brisbane, Hobart and Auckland will win an amazing opportunity to meet David Droga himself. The meeting will take place at Drogas HQ on Wall Street in New York City. Incredibly, David Droga also still has his original AWARD School entry submission and winning book from 1987. [Thats an 18 year old Droga ~ pictured right and below in the daggy jumper ~ featured in our AWARD School 87 graduation story in Campaign Brief magazine 30 years ago, the year we started. The CB office was just down the road from OMON in Balmain, the red hot agency Droga joined in early 1988. OMON, thanks in part to Droga, was awarded CB Agency of the Year in 1989 and 1993.] The winner of this years AWARD School will be the only person in the last 29 years to see the winning portfolio that landed Droga his big break at OMON. And as they say, the rest is history. Maybe your book will launch a global empire, change the face of advertising and catapult you on to the stage at Cannes more often than any other human. Says Droga (left): AWARD School was without question a crucial onramp for my career. Its hard to fathom that it has been so long since I was just a scruffy student dreaming of nothing more than being paid for my imagination but its something you never lose an appreciation of. Which is why Im looking forward to meeting this years top student and being inspired. Says Wilf Sweetland, AWARD chair and managing partner of The Sweet Shop, co-sponsor of the trip: AWARD School has been the foundation of almost every successful creatives career since it began in 1983. But David Drogas unparalleled success is a beacon for our entire industry. We are thrilled to celebrate the 30 years since he got his start as AWARD Schools top Student. We were delighted and amazed to discover that he has kept his student portfolio and has generously agreed to share its content with this years top student. Its a unique and special honour and a once in a lifetime opportunity. AWARD School 2017 applications open this Friday, 10 February 2017. In the meantime, attend a free AWARD School Information Night: Information Nights: NSW Wednesday 8 February, 6:30-7:30pm NSW Teachers Federation Conference Centre (Auditorium) 37 Reservoir Street, Surry Hills, Sydney VIC Wednesday 8 February, 6:30-7:30pm CAE Melbourne 253 Flinders Lane, Melbourne WA Wednesday 8 February, 6:00-7:00pm Rockefeller Deli 448 Beaufort Street, Highgate, Perth QLD Wednesday 8 February, 6:30-7:30pm Khemistry 23 Kyabra St, Newstead, Brisbane SA Wednesday 8 February, 6:30-7:30pm KWP! 6 Solomon St, Adelaide, South Australia AWARD School key dates: Applications open online Friday 10 February Applications close Friday 24 February AWARD School start dates: NSW Monday 3 April VIC Monday 3 April QLD Monday 10 April SA Monday 10 April | BY Lynchy | CB Exclusive Sunsuper has launched a new brand campaign via new agency Rumble, Brisbane inviting people to take a little action now to ensure an effortless ride into and through retirement. The 45 sec brand tvc uses a perfect wave as an analogy for superannuation the sooner you get on top of it, the better life feels. It features 68yo surfer Margie Bryant and 30-something goofy-footer Dan Vardy surfing together with a cast of more than 40 longboarders, captured in-camera by Taxi Films Justin McMillan. Outdoor and print features portraits of the group, captured straight out of the surf and completely at ease, by photographer Kenny Smith. Says Rumble creative partner James Burchill: It was great that Justin could capture the idea of this diverse group of Australians sharing this one beautiful, infinite wave. Superannuation advertising can often feel earnest and daunting, with one foot in the grave. Thats not Sunsupers attitude at all. We wanted to portray how great it feels to have your future on track at any age, and make it easy to take action. Says Catherine Hughes, Sunsuper Head of Brand Marketing and Communications: The new campaign evolves our core brand positioning of dreams, melding the pragmatic with the aspirational. The new theme is supported by a strong call to action which sums up our award-winning customer service ethic: One call and the sun comes out. Agency: Rumble Creative & Media Brisbane Managing Partner: Remy Brassac Creative Partners: Nancy Hartley & James Burchill Business Director: Anne-Maree Jenyns Agency Producer: Katrine Bowman Production: Taxi Film Executive Producer: Andrew Wareham Director: Justin McMillan Producer: Mark Bishop Underwater DoP: Rick Rifici DoP: Tim Tregoning Editor: Simon Njoo Post Production: Cutting Edge Sound design: Mike Lange Stills photography: Kenny Smith Music Rights: Karl Richter, Level Two Client: Sunsuper Monday, February 6, 2017 at 10:47PM Lenovo has been hosting hackathons to help develop more useful Mods for its Moto line. At the recently concluded hackathon in San Francisco there were a lot of great and practical ideas wed actually want to see as actual products on the market. The winning Mod was a solar-powered battery charger. But aside from that, there was a baby monitor with real-time notifications for things like room temperature, a mod for allowing diabetics to check their blood sugar, and even a breathalyzer Mod from a group of high school kids. Called ModCoholic, itll ask you if you want to grab a cab if youre over the legal limit. The winning teams at these events get to present their ideas at Motorolas headquarters in Chicago to industry leaders like Lenovo Capital, who could invest and fund promising ideas. These hackathons are being held around the globe with the next one happening in Shenzhen, China by mid-March. Source: Engadget 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. Ministry of External affairs [MEA] scraps medical test exception for refugees from Pakistan, Bangladesh as a measure to be more heedful to religious social groups. Why? Because Supreme Court made National Eligibility-cum-Entrance test mandatory 2017 and to curb the commercialisation of medical education. There is a list of 26 colleges from where MEA assist admission of such students on self - financing basis. They include institutes such as AIIMS and Safdarjung Hospital. The sudden change in the norm is based on last year 's Supreme court 's ruling that made a common entrance test mandatory for medical and dental courses. Both state-run and aided or unaided private institutions were not covered by a common eligibility or entrance test in the past few years. The court's decision to reinstate National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test and declare that it would be the sole means of admission from the current academic year itself came as a stunning blow to both the authorities and students. The NDA government last year has allowed migrants from Pakistan and Bangladesh to pursue medical courses through self-financing scheme based on their Class 12 marks. The criteria required is to score 60% in science subjects and 50% in English. However, excused from appearing in any entrance examination. "The Central Board of Secondary Education had issued a notification in the previous year that from the academic year 2017-18 onwards, admission in all dental and medical colleges are based on NEET in India, including foreign nationals," sources said. This includes religious minority migrants from Pakistan and Bangladesh, mostly Hindus, appearing for entrance test to pursue medical courses on a self-financing basis in the country has been discarded. The rule came into existence after the government changed admission process for foreign nationals to pursue medical courses adhere to Supreme Court order on the issue last year. Thanks to the ordinance, this year's MBBS admission is out of the way. A workshop on Innovation through Design Thinking during the One Globe Forum 2017 will be hosted in New Delhi on Friday, February 10 in the Emily Eden Hall of New Delhi's Hotel Imperial on between 2:00pm and 4:00pm. Dr. Makarand Chips Chipalkatti, Managing Director at Boston-based Dr. Chips Consulting LLC and a founder board member of Global Innovation Management Institute, USA, will conduct the workshop. About the workshop This collaborative workshop will provide a stimulating and hands on approach to design thinking methods for public service innovation. The workshop will be held. It will cover the basic tenets of Design Thinking, emerging tools & applications to public sector illustrated through examples & activities to optimize the learning. About Design Thinking Design thinking is fast emerging as a globally-popular holistic method for innovation that comprises ethnographic-inspired user research, creative ideation processes, visualization and rapid modeling of service prototypes to develop new products and services through a systematic, step-by-step user-centric process. Countries like Denmark, UK, Germany, USA, Finland, Singapore and Australia are leveraging design thinking in a wide range of applications in public sector settings from rethinking waste management, crafting new policies, transforming services for special needs, and public services. About Dr Chips Chipalkatti An expert in enabling industry-wide transformation through innovation, Dr. Chips Chipalkatti is recognized as a global pioneer in LED lighting and a leading advisor on lighting and energy policy. His global executive consulting practice focuses on enterprise innovation management and entrepreneurship through product, service, and market strategy with special emphasis on the commercialization of innovation in the technology intensive verticals mainly focusing on energy and environmental efficiency. Dr. Chips earlier led the Strategic Innovation Management function for OSRAM Americas. He holds a Ph.D. from University of Massachusetts and a B. Tech from IIT Bombay and mentors early-stage companies and students of entrepreneurship and innovation. The workshop will be co-led by Manoj Kothari, MD & Principal Strategist at Turian Labs, a Design Thinking and Business Innovation consulting company in Pune founded by alumni of IIT (Indian Institute of Technology, Mumbai) and NID (National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad). About One Globe Forum The annual One Globe Forum brings together global thought leaders to discuss how we can build a 21st century knowledge economy in India and South Asia. It is India's leading Forum exploring the intersection of technology, innovation, smart cities, skills, regional collaboration and education and their role in building a 21st century knowledge economy. Connect with us on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn. One Globe Forum 2017 will be held on February 10 and 11 at Hotel Imperial, New Delhi. For a full list of speakers, updated agenda and to register, visit: http://www.oneglobeforum.com/ Teach For India Invites Applications For 2017-19 Fellowship Program Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance Company is tapping veteran executives from Allied World, Travelers and AIG to help oversee expanded operations in the United Kingdom and Southern Europe. A new office in London will help field the broader effort, with a focus on serving brokers and customers in the UK and Ireland, as well as Southern European countries such as Spain, France and Italy, BHSI said in an announcement. The new hires will be based there. They are: Richard Nathan, as head of Property Lines. Nathan is a 25-year insurance industry veteran who was most recently corporate property manager, UK and Europe, at Allied World, underwriting on both Lloyds and company market platforms. Before that, he was head of Corporate Property at Mitsui Sumitomo at Lloyds and underwriter, Property & Packages, at Chubb Insurance Company of Europe. Patrick Brown, as head of Executive & Professional Liability. Brown, a 15-year insurance industry veteran, was most recently head of Management Liability & Financial Institutions at Travelers Europe Ltd., underwriting on both Lloyds and company market platforms. Before that, he was product manager, FINPRO Placement Facilities, SVP, and international D&O placement broker at Marsh UK Ltd. He also had various underwriting positions at AIG UK. Andrew Walker, as head of Claims in the UK and Southern Europe. Walker, a 30-year commercial lines claims vet, was most recently head of Casualty Claims in Europe for AIG Europe Ltd. Before that, he was head of Liabilities claims for AIG in the UK. Tom Bolt, president, UK and Southern Europe for BHSI, said in prepared remarks that the expanded executive roster reflects a growing team of professionals with excellent capabilities and character. Source: BHSI Audi is expected to unveil the hotly-anticipated RS Q5 at the Geneva Motor Show 2017 early next month. Although the German automaker hasnt officially confirmed Geneva as hosting the debut of the RS Q5, Audi Sport boss Stephan Winkelmann recently told Motoring that a Q5-sized RS model would debut at the Swiss show. Geneva is in front of us. Well have a launch there which is going to be very important for us because itll set a new era of the B-segment [Q5 size] of Audi Sport for us. You will see very shortly what is going to happen, he said. The RS Q5 will take a leaf out of the SQ5s book but benefit from even greater performance. Theres a possibility it will use a tweaked version of the SQ5s 3.0-liter V6 petrol engine or a Porsche-developed 2.9-liter V6. Whatever the case is, power may exceed the 450 hp mark which could see the RS Q5 accelerating from a standstill to 100 km/h (62 mph) in less than 5 seconds. Once the RS Q5 launches, a number of other Audi SUVs will benefit from improved performance. Future models in the works include an RS Q2, RS Q4 and RS Q6. Rendering via X-Tomi Design PHOTO GALLERY With sales and deliveries of the Alfa Romeo Giulia recently commencing in the United States, the official online configuration tool for the sexy Italian sedan has just gone live on Alfas website, giving us mere mortals the chance to create our dream Alfa. For starters, the configurator offers three different Giulia variations starting with the base model, including the Giulia Ti and rounded out by the Quadrifoglio. The first two feature a 280 hp and 306 lb-ft of torque 2.0-liter turbocharged engine joined to either a rear-wheel drive setup or all-wheel drive. As for the range-topping Giulia Quadrifoglio, the model youll inevitable customize with the tool, seven different exterior paint options are available including Rosso Competizione Tri-Coat (the launch color) and our personal favorite, Montecarlo Blue Metallic. Inside, leather an alcantara seats are available in eight different color finishes while a set of carbon fiber racing seats from Sparco are also offered for an additional $2, 750. In terms of options, there arent many. In fact, all you can select is the Driver Assistance Dynamic Package ($1,500) that includes adaptive cruise control, adaptive high beams, forward collision warning, lane departure warning and an infrared windshield. There are also two different wheel designs in four unique finishes and the availability of carbon ceramic brakes. In the U.S., prices for the Giulia start at $37,995 for the base model. They rise to $39,995 for the Giulia Ti and $72,000 for the Giulia Quadrifoglio. PHOTO GALLERY One of the things you dont want to find when digging a hole in the ground is a massive 250kg / 550-lbs unexploded bomb from WW2, especially if youre digging next to a gas station. This unbelievable discovery happened in Greece, when construction workers were digging to install a new tank for the gas station and according to local Voria they were able to stop the works just 4mm shy from hitting the bomb. The local authorities had to stop the original deactivation procedure as the bomb was much larger than initially anticipated, weighing 250kg in total (550lbs), and now are planning a massive evacuation in a 1.2-mile radius before they attempt one more time. The bomb was found at Thessaloniki in a densely populated area and the evacuation plan involves moving more than 50,000 people away from their homes this Sunday, February 12th. Its been reported that the explosive weapon is an aerial bomb dropped from a plane during WW2 that didnt explode when employed. VIDEO If the Morgan Three Wheeler strikes you as more of a toy than a proper automobile, you should check this one out. Its called the Morgan EV3 Junior, and its essentially a scaled-down version of the electric British trike. You know, for the kids! Far more than your usual Power Wheels toy, the EV3 Junior is hand-made at the old-school Morgan workshop in Malvern Link, England. And the attention to detail is quite simply breathtaking. Like the full-size EV3, the Junior is motivated by an all-electric powertrain that (in this compact case) will propel it up to 10 mph, and can travel for about ten miles on a single charge. If you do the math, that works out to about an hours use before needing to be plugged in again, with a full charge taking about four hours. It even has working lights, full suspension, and a reverse gear. Its speed is limited going backwards, which (as Jeremy Clarkson demonstrated in the Reliant Robin) is a good thing considering the inherent instability of a 1+2-wheel setup. The EV3 Junior is priced (pre-tax) at 6,662.50 (or 7,995 with VAT), which works out to about $8,250 (or nearly $10k if youre stuck paying the tax), and is designed for kids ages six and up. Customers can order one up in red, green, or ivory, with a black or tan leather interior. But those looking for something extra special can custom-order one in any of the 40,000 colors Morgan offers on its full-size vehicles. Photo Gallery Four BMWs and a silver Porsche were stolen from a Chicago car dealership in the early hours of Friday morning last week. CBS reports that a group of at least 10 broke into the Autobarn dealer in Evanston at approximately 12:15 am. Police say that the group of thieves then broke into the office where the car keys were kept and made off with four BMWs, including an M3, X3 and Z4 as well as a 2003 Porsche 911 Turbo. Using GPS trackers affixed to the vehicles, two of the BMWs were swiftly found abandoned on Lake Shore Drive. Shortly after, another BMW and the 911 Turbo were located but as of late Friday morning, the white X3 was still missing. This isnt the first time the dealership has been targeted by thieves. In fact, two high-end cars were stolen from the dealer last month when the keys had been left in them during business hours. Last week, two dealerships in Naperville, Chicago were also targeted by a group of brazened thieves who made off with six luxury vehicles. Back in November, a further nine cars from Mike Anderson Chevrolet nearby were stolen. Speaking with reporters after this most recent theft, Evanston Police Cmdr. Joe Dugan said authorities were investigating if the robberies are related. Thats something that the detectives will be looking at; whether theyre related, as far as the same crew doing it, or whether its just a new method that individuals are using, he said. VIDEO Last week, our spies captured Hyundai evaluating the Chinese Celesta sedan in Europe, and now, one of our readers scooped what we believe to be another car we first saw in China, this time, testing on U.S. soil. Spotted in San Francisco last Sunday. Hard to tell what it is, from the front it looked like it had a Hyundai grille, eagle-eyed reader, Jean-Philippe, told Carscoops. Upon further investigation, we found Jean-Philippes brand assessment to be spot on, as the camouflaged cars lines match those of the Chinese market, 2017 Hyundai Verna Yuena small sedan, the local production and sales of which started at the end of last year. During its presentation in China in October, Hyundai said it was developed specifically for the Chinese market describing it as a smart urban family sedan that competes successfully in this price-sensitive sector. For those of you who dont know, Verna is Hyundais alternative name for the Accent in international markets. Put those together and its almost certain that were looking at the new North American Accent sedan that is scheduled to arrive later this year as a 2018 model. In China, buyers can choose between two naturally aspirated gasoline engines, a 120 PS (118 HP) 1.6-liter and a 100 PS (99 HP) 1.4-liter, with the former also offered with the option of an automatic transmission. In the USA and Canada, the 2018 Accent should continue using the same 137hp 1.6L four paired to either a 6speed manual or automatic as the current car. Thanks to Jean-Philippe for the scoop! Photo Gallery Chinas 2017 Hyundai Verna Yuena Whats smaller than F? Why, E, of course! Jaguar already told us that much when it rolled out the XE to slot in below the XF sedan. And now its about to do it again with the crossover you see here, however disguised though it may still be. Spotted out in the wild by our de-facto Colorado spy, Brett Borgard, is a camouflaged prototype for the forthcoming Jaguar E-Pace the smaller brother to the F-Pace that took Leaping Cat marque into the crossover market for the first time. Tipped to launch this summer, the E-Pace will be Jaguars assault on the likes of the Audi Q3, BMW X1, and Mercedes GLA in the increasingly competitive market for compact luxury crossovers. Its a market so vital, in fact, that this will essentially be the third distinct model that JLR will launch into the segment, joining the new Land Rover Discovery Sport and Range Rover Evoque. Long content to let its sister brand handle the off-roaders, Jaguar has evidently found much like Bentley, Maserati, and Alfa Romeo that it cant stay out of the crossover any longer. The F-Pace and E-Pace are expected to be followed by the electric-powered I-Pace, and we wont be at all surprised to see a J-Pace cap the range as well to take on the big boys further up the market in the coming years. Thanks to Brett for the scoop! Photo Gallery Uber has hired a veteran engineer from NASA to lead the ride-hailing companys flying car program dubbed Uber Elevate. Mark Moore is an advanced aircraft engineer with 30 years of experience at NASA and in 2010, made waves after publishing a paper about the feasibility of electric aircraft. This paper inspired Google chief executive Larry Page to invest in two aircraft startups in Silicon Valley and now, Moore has been appointed as the director of engineering for aviation at Uber. The company imagines that in the future, road-going Ubers could be used to transport users from their homes to so-called vertiports. At these vertiports would be a number of VTOL (vertical take-off and landing aircraft) that can transport passengers to their desired location. In a statement, Ubers head of product for advanced programs Nikhail Goel said Uber continues to see its role as an accelerant-catalyst to the entire ecosystem, and we are excited to have Mark joining us to work with manufacturers and stakeholders as we continue to explore the use case described in our whitepaper. Uber believes that the solution to urban gridlock is to turn towards the sky. Unlike trains, buses and cars which are forced to use fixed routes, Ubers VTOL can travel independently of a specific path to maximize efficiency. The company says that when traveling from San Franciscos marina to downtown San Jose, a drive can take up to 2 hours. By comparison, a VTOL trip could take just 15 minutes. Uber has published a 98-page white paper about the future of air mobility which can be viewed here. Note: Joby S2 Concept pictured in images 2-6 PHOTO GALLERY The new Lighthouse partnership, supported by Irelands Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, will develop childrens and family animated content and provide end-to-end production services, from script writing, design, storyboard, animation and compositing to post production services. The studios 2D production pipeline, which will include some CGI intergration, will mirror Mercurys Canadian operation, which means that it will rely primarily on Toon Boom Harmony. Celebrating @Lighthouse_STU with our @mercuryfilmwrks friends and the team @IDAIRELAND. Thank you all! pic.twitter.com/aNSTZwHkbN P A U L Y O U N G (@PaulYoung99) February 6, 2017 Lighthouse will operate autonomously with its own management team, and report to a board of directors comprised of executives from both Mercury and Cartoon Saloon. We have enormous respect for Cartoon Saloon and could not be happier to announce this collaboration, Mercury Filmworks CEO Clint Eland said today in a statement. They are one of todays most creative and well respected animation companies with goals, perspectives, and philosophies that complement our own. Conceived as a studio with its own unique identity, Lighthouse Studios is neither wholly Mercury Filmworks nor Cartoon Saloon, but rather the best parts of each, transplanted in the rich Irish soil and nurtured by its own talented team of artists into a studio with its own unique and distinct creative perspective. Lighthouse will soon announce development and production projects, as well as launch a hiring initiative to bring aboard production management, as well as designers, animators, compositors, technical directors, 3D modelers, riggers, lighting, and texture artists, among other roles. One of the goals, explained Cartoon Saloon CEO Paul Young, is to help bring Irish animation talent back to the country. The Irish talent pool has been spilling over into other parts of Europe and North America for years and we look forward to welcoming a lot of that talent home, Young said. Photo: AirBnB There were 222 AirBnB listings during September in the Penticton area, but just one per cent of owners rent them for more than half of the year. Those numbers come from AirBnB itself, and will be delivered in a report to council Tuesday afternoon. Another 333 listings were found on the similar Vacation Rentals By Owner website by city staff in August, although it's unclear how many of those listings overlap. Staff estimate about two thirds of the postings on both sites are within Penticton city limits. Council ordered staff to look at vacation rentals in August, with the intention of looking at potential bylaws for those rentals. Councillors expressed concerns that a relatively unregulated market could pose safety issues for renters. "Although our community of roughly 200 hosts is not large in the context of Penticton's more than 33,000 residents, home sharing is making a real difference in the lives of our hosts and the well-being of their families," AirBnB wrote in a letter to council. "The vast majority of our hosts are everyday people and families, friends and neighbours." For those "family, friends and neighbours," the average yearly earnings from their rentals are roughly $3,000, and just over half of the listings rent for under 30 days. The letter notes that vacation rentals bring people to the city about 4,300 from AirBnB alone last year. But the staff report also outlines some concerns over the growing market of shared-economy renters. That includes their ability to bypass a hotel room tax that contributes to marketing the city to potential tourists, nuisance complaints like parking and noise and a potential loss of long-term rental space to vacation rentals. But, if the city were to demand the estimated 150 vacation rentals that don't already have a business licence with the city to get one, that could give a significant bump to revenues generated for the city and tourism. Currently, the 72 licensed vacation rentals bring about $12,000 to the city and $14,000 to tourism annually, while the remaining units could bring in an additional $25,000 and $30,000 respectively. The staff report outlines proposed amendments to existing bylaws governing vacation rentals in the city, including tiered licences for the units depending on how many days a year they are rented out. Proposed fees up to $250 annually would be attached to high-occupant major rentals. "We also believe in paying our fair share of occupancy taxes, and have more than 200 partnerships across North America to collect and remit these taxes to city government on behalf of our hosts and guests," the AirBnB letter reads. The new bylaws would also impose a $250 fine for running a vacation rental without a licence and a $500 fine for running a vacation rental without the proper zoning. Watch these girls freediving with giant manta rays, which often reach up to 23 feet in width. Photo: The Canadian Press RCMP Commissioner Bob Paulson RCMP Commissioner Bob Paulson referenced the Mounties' decision to give rifles to more frontline officers as he expressed fears Monday about the increasing militarization of Canadian police forces. Appearing before the Senate national security committee, Paulson said he wants his officers to have the best equipment possible to uphold the law as well as protect the public and themselves. But he said he is "afraid of the trend in policing for escalating military-style tools being used by law enforcement to conduct police operations." The result is a focus on enforcement and an increased reliance on force, Paulson said, "rather than the problem-solving, community-oriented, prevention approach that is better suited to the Canadian context." The commissioner admitted the Mounties have no shortage of heavy weaponry, including armoured vehicles, drones and machine-guns. More frontline officers are also being armed with carbine rifles, which was one of a number of recommendations that came out after the shooting deaths of three Mounties in Moncton, N.B., in 2014. But Paulson said the decision to distribute the carbines, which he described as "very electric," must be matched with greater perception among frontline officers on the issues surrounding use of force. "Are we going to be going (after) shoplifters with a carbine?" he asked. "Our policies have been refined to sort of think that through." Police forces need to spend more time thinking about how they present themselves to and engage with the public, Paulson added, right down to the choice of uniform. The greatest risk is creating an "us-versus-them" mentality among police officers, which creates distance from and a potentially adversarial attitude toward the communities they are supposed to serve. "We need to be thoughtful, consultative and deliberate in these areas," he said. The Senate committee also heard that the Mounties are struggling with a shortage of hundreds of personnel, with the average detachment understaffed by around five per cent. Part of the problem is that many officers end up leaving for better-paid jobs with other police forces, Paulson said. A request to increase officers' salaries, which the committee heard are among the lowest in the country, is currently being considered by the federal government. The RCMP is also preparing to make a case to the government for more resources to help with recruiting, the commissioner said, though he wouldn't say when such a request would be made. Photo: The Canadian Press About 200 Canadian people have been unable to use their Nexus cards to cross the American border since U.S. President Donald Trump ordered a temporary halt to immigration from certain countries, the federal public safety minister said Monday. "None of them are Canadian citizens," Ralph Goodale said during question period. "We are working with our American counterparts to make sure that all Canadians are treated fairly." The Nexus program allows citizens and permanent residents in both Canada and the U.S. to be pre-screened for clearance in a bid to speed up border crossings. In the days since a sweeping ban on immigration to the U.S. from seven Muslim-majority countries was instituted by Trump, the Liberal government has repeatedly insisted no one travelling on a Canadian passport should have trouble at the U.S. border. But how permanent residents who hold passports from any of the seven countries in question will be treated has been less clear, highlighted by the recent furor over the revocation of Nexus cards. "This order is just over a week old. It is now subject to extensive court proceedings. There is a good deal of uncertainty around this whole situation," Goodale told reporters ahead of question period Monday. "We are doing our very best to obtain clarity and to obtain fairness for Canadians in their encounters at the border." Opposition immigration critic Michelle Rempel said that should include standing up for permanent residents. "The Nexus vetting process is very strict, it is very stringent, there are agreements which govern how those approvals are both given and revoked. Why isn't the government standing up for Canadian interests on this?" she said. Immigration Minister Ahmed Hussen has said Canada will issue temporary residency to anyone stuck in Canada because of Trump's ban, but his department has yet to release statistics on how many have applied for that relief. The seven countries targeted by Trump's travel ban are: Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen. Photo: Colin Dacre UPDATE 4:10 p.m. A spokesperson with the Penticton Fire Department said the crash "wasn't as bad as it looks" The Department says the driver caught the snowbank with the back end of his truck and lost control, rolling into the ditch. Nobody was injured in the incident. ORGINAL 3:50 p.m. Traffic was snarled at Highway 97 and West Bench Hill Road Monday afternoon due to a motor vehicle incident. Crews were called to a one vehicle crash shortly after 3 p.m. A full size Dodge pickup truck suffered rollover damage. Its not clear if anyone was injured. Castanet News will post more information as it becomes available. Photo: The Canadian Press Britain's Prince William Prince William is speaking out about ending the stigma surrounding mental health treatment. William told a gathering of health writers in London on Monday that treating mental health with the same respect as physical health "should be the norm." He calls the United Kingdom's suicide rate among men under the age of 40 "an appalling stain on our society." William says telling someone when you can't cope "is a positive step and a sign of strength, not weakness." Mental health is the focus of Heads Together, a charity William leads with his wife, Kate, the duchess of Cambridge, and his brother, Prince Harry. The trio competed against each other in a 50-meter race on Sunday to promote the charity. Photo: The Canadian Press President-elect Donald Trump and Kanye West Kanye West's friendly relationship with President Donald Trump may have been short-lived. A Twitter defence of West's meeting with Trump has been deleted from the rapper's account. After meeting with the then president-elect at Trump Tower on Dec. 13, West explained in a series of tweets that he discussed "multicultural issues" with Trump, including violence in West's hometown of Chicago. Those tweets have been deleted. Also, rapper King Myers says West produced his anti-Trump track , "Propaganda." King Myers calls for Trump's impeachment in the song. The rapper is signed to West's G.O.O.D. Music label. In November, West told a crowd during a concert that he didn't vote in the presidential election, but he would have voted for Trump. West's representatives didn't immediately return a request for comment Tuesday. Photo: The Canadian Press President Donald Trump's travel ban faced its biggest legal test yet Tuesday as a panel of federal judges prepared to hear arguments from the administration and its opponents about two fundamentally divergent views of the executive branch and the court system. The government will ask a federal appeals court to restore the administration's executive order, contending that the president alone has the power to decide who can enter or stay in the United States. But several states have challenged the ban and insisted that Trump's executive order is unconstitutional. Tuesday's hearing was to unfold before a randomly selected panel of judges from the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Whatever the appeals court decides, either side could ask the Supreme Court to intervene. Seattle U.S. District Judge James Robart, who on Friday temporarily blocked Trump's order, has said a judge's job is to ensure that an action taken by the government "comports with our country's laws." Trump said Tuesday that he can't believe his administration has to fight in the courts to uphold his refugee and immigration ban, a policy he says will protect the country. "And a lot of people agree with us, believe me," Trump said at a roundtable discussion with members of the National Sheriff's Association. "If those people ever protested, you'd see a real protest. But they want to see our borders secure and our country secure." On Monday, the Justice Department filed a new defence of the ban on travellers from seven predominantly Muslim nations. Lawyers said the ban was a "lawful exercise" of the president's authority to protect national security and said Robart's order should be overruled. The filing with the appeals court was the latest salvo in a high-stakes legal fight surrounding Trump's order. Washington state, Minnesota and other states say the appellate court should allow a temporary restraining order blocking the travel ban to stand as their lawsuit moves through the legal system. The panel hearing the arguments includes two Democrat-appointed judges and one Republican appointee. The appeals court over the weekend refused to immediately reinstate the ban, and lawyers for Washington and Minnesota argued anew on Monday that any resumption would "unleash chaos again," separating families and stranding university students. Photo: Contributed More than 300 spectators cheered on 165 Scout members on Sunday for their annual vehicle races at the Concordia Lutheran Church and School. Youth raced their wooden creations down a ramp timed to within a thousandth of a second. Beaver buggies, Cub Cars and scout trucks were awarded prizes for best design, most realistic, fastest time, most unusual and best paint job. Photo: Telemundo Police say a toddler has died after being left for more than an hour in a hot car outside a South Florida home. Miami-Dade police said in a news release on Tuesday that Samuel J. Schnall, who turned 1 on Jan. 20, died at a hospital after he was found inside the car on Monday afternoon. News outlets quote investigators as saying a family member was watching the child and had been "out and about" on Monday. When the family member came home, the child was left inside the car. The child didn't live at the home in Pinecrest, which is south of Miami. Temperatures were in the low 80s on Monday afternoon in Miami. Photo: BCFGA The B.C. Forest Safety Council is urging sawmill workers not to become complacent on the job following the death of a man in Lumby on Jan. 27th. The man was fatally injured while doing maintenance at a sawmill in the village. Our condolences go out to the family and co-workers of the deceased, said the council in a release. The council said it has not been confirmed if the incident was a direct manufacturing fatality and the details are still unknown. However, it issued the following safety information for workers: Locking out equipment prior to maintenance activities is critical. Develop lock out procedures and train all workers on how to implement them. Guarding must be in place where there is potential for a worker to get injured by moving machinery. Inspect your operations regularly to ensure guarding is in place and install guarding upgrades where needed. Be aware that loose clothing, jewellery, hair or other items can be caught and drawn into moving equipment. Provide workers with standards for acceptable clothing, hair and jewellery. Work conditions change constantly; do a hazard assessment before starting any job. Ask yourself What could go wrong here? and take corrective action when required. Dont become complacent. WorkSafeBC, the RCMP and the Coroners Service are investigating the worker's death. Photo: Contributed UPDATE 2:00 p.m. The family that owns the recovered hot rod is super relieved to have it back in their possession. Im 28 years old, my dad has had that car for more than my whole life, Vanessa Pfannenschmidt said. Hes been rebuilding it for 15 years now and he just got it running for the first time this summer. Pfannenschmidt added that its still unsettling that they dont have any idea who took the vehicle, along with the mysterious way it was recovered. I just got a phone call from someone saying, we got the car I think we are going to leave it at that and be happy. ORIGINAL 12:45 p.m. A vintage hot rod stolen from an Osoyoos home last month has been recovered, safe and sound. The 1939 Willys was taken from Peter Pfannenschmidts garage on Jan. 27 while he and his wife vacationed in Mexico. The heartbreaking theft set off a social media frenzy, with posts about the theft being shared thousands of times. Pfannenschmidt also offered a reward online for the recovery of his labour of love. Sgt. Jason Bayda with the Osoyoos RCMP says they received a call from the family last night, informing them that the car had been recovered. It wasnt us that found it, it was the family and friends on social media, he said, referring to the widespread attention the crime received. At that point the car is worthless to anyone. Bayda said the car was delivered to the family at an undisclosed location in Oliver, with the person who made the delivery of the car unknown to both parties. The car is in "pretty good shape, all things considered," said Bayda, with some small damage to the passenger side quarter-panel. He says they have taken possession of the vehicle for forensic investigation. The Pfannenschmidt household is also being combed over for clues of who carried out theft. Photo: Handout A Canadian-American man who fled from Ohio to Quebec after strangling his high school sweetheart with a belt has pleaded guilty to murder and been sentenced to life behind bars. Kyle Sheppard, 33, of Toledo, Ohio, who'd been scheduled to go on trial next month, will have to serve at least 15 years in prison before being eligible for parole. The case arose when Katie Sheppard, 29, who worked for a dry-cleaning business, failed to report to work on Friday, Nov. 2, 2012. A friend, concerned for her safety, went with her boss to her home and found the house locked. That evening, an officer found her body, which police said had been "posed" with the hands folded across each other, on the front porch of her home. She had been strangled with a belt and wrapped in a blanket. Court documents show the couple had been married for four years and had been together since high school. The relationship had soured and Kyle Sheppard discovered his wife was having an affair with a co-worker. On the morning of the murder, Kyle Sheppard a former U.S. marine sent an angry text message with sexually explicit language to her lover. Sheppard, who was originally from Windsor, Ont., and worked at an auto-parts supplier in Toledo, had called that morning to say he would not be at work. The dual citizen drove into Canada via Windsor after the killing, prompting authorities in the province to issue an alert for his vehicle. Two days later, he called police from a motel in Saguenay, Que., north of Quebec City and surrendered. He also confessed to them. Sheppard then spent several years in custody in Montreal fighting extradition to the United States. In part, he argued his statements to police should have been excluded and that he could face the death penalty. The extradition judge ultimately did find police had violated his constitutional rights by interrogating him, and excluded the confession evidence. However, the Superior Court judge ruled in October 2013 that there was still enough reason to extradite him on murder charges. Canada agreed to the extradition in April 2014. He was finally handed over to American authorities after the Quebec Court of Appeal refused in June last year to overturn the extradition order. Photo: Contributed The B.C. Court of Appeal has ordered a new trial for an Oliver man convicted of sexual offences against a minor. A three judge panel made the decision based on the grounds that the accused should not have been cross examined on his sexual orientation. The man is identified only by his initials, T.J.B., in the ruling. A call to the B.C. Court of Appeal registry confirmed a publication ban on his identity is now in effect to protect the underage victim. Appeal Justice Willcock said the trial judge had no right to question T.J.B.s sexual orientation, who testified he was heterosexual. By describing the appellants testimony with respect to his sexual orientation to be disingenuous and contrived, I can only conclude she found it to be deliberately untruthful. I do not know how she came to that conclusion, there being no evidence to contradict the appellants description of his sexual orientation other than the allegation that he engaged in homosexual acts with the complainant, Willcock states. The appeal decision goes on to state, based on precedence, inappropriate cross-examination destroys the necessary appearance of fairness in a trial and results in a miscarriage of justice. Willcock writes that it is impossible to know the extent to which the errors identified, influenced the trial judge's findings. I would allow the appeal, set aside the conviction and order a new trial, the judgement states. February 6, 2017 A new Russian Consulate opened in the Red Sea resort town of Hurghada with the aim of reinvigorating Egyptian tourism. Tourism declined when Russian flights were suspended after a Russian plane crashed over the Sinai Peninsula in October 2015. Experts say that the opening of the new consulate may facilitate the return of Russian tourism to Egypt after more than a year hiatus, which has put much pressure on the countrys tourism industry. The opening of the consulate is a positive step toward the recovery of a tourist industry that has been hit hard by the deadly crash of a Russian plane in Sinai in October 2015 and the suspension of all Russian flights to Egyptian airports, Hossam Akawy, a tourism expert and a member of the Tourism Investors Association in the Red Sea, told Al-Monitor. Akawy said that Hurghada has long been a popular tourist destination for Russians. Establishing a consulate there will help serve the large number of Russian civilians who reside in Hurghada, and it will also draw in many Russian tourists. In November 2015, the Russian government announced its decision to open the new consulate, which is the third in Egypt, joining two others located in Cairo and Alexandria. The consulate was partially functional, but now it is fully operational. The opening of the consulate [in Hurghada] sends an image about its importance with it hosting foreign consulates. In Egypt, there are foreign consulates in Cairo and Alexandria, and a foreign consulate in Hurghada will add prestige and weight to the Red Sea resort, Akawy said. The consulate will provide consular services for more than 20,000 Russian civilians who live permanently in Hurghada. A statement released by Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova on Jan. 19 said that the consulate has already been offering consultations to Russians on citizenship matters, notary certification, legislation and other issues. I am very optimistic about the return of Russian tourism within a month, as all tourist facilities are ready to serve our tourists, Russian Ambassador in Cairo Sergey Kirpichenko said at the opening ceremony of the consulate. The statement came after Russian security delegations carried out a five-day inspection tour at Hurghada airport. For us, this is a very important event, as about 20,000 Russian civilians live in Hurghada and we hope to offer to them consular, legal support and protection of their interests, Russias Consul General Dzhamshed Boltayev said. Tourism expert Adel Salah Nagi said that the Egyptian tourism industry will not get back on its feet with the opening of a new consulate. It is not about the opening of any consulate. It is more about introducing reforms to the countrys tourism industry by offering incentive tourism programs, intensifying promotional campaigns of the countrys tourist attractions, upgrading tourist sites and beefing up security measures, Nagi told Al-Monitor. Nagi said that the Egyptian government should also take into more consideration other markets like the Far East, Africa and the Arab world. The country should have more tourists from those areas. Egypts tourism sector should not be dominated by one market, he added. Egyptian officials have paid several visits to Russia in an attempt to highlight the safety of Egyptian airports and discuss the return of flights. The suspension has had a devastating effect on Egypts struggling tourism sector. According to data released by the Ministry of Tourism, Egypt incurred monthly losses of 3.2 billion Egyptian pounds ($173 million) directly and indirectly after the downing of the Russian plane. Following the deadly incident, several foreign countries, including Russia, the United Kingdom and Germany, have imposed travel bans on flights to the Red Sea resort town of Sharm el-Sheikh. Tourism has long been a main source of the national income. Before the January 25 Revolution in 2011, tourism employed more than one in 10 of the workforce and generated approximately $12.5 billion in revenue. Before the revolution, the country received nearly 15 million tourists a year. By 2013, tourism numbers had fallen by one-third to under 10 million a year and has undoubtedly slumped further since then. However, Minister of Tourism Yehiya Rashed said that the year 2017 will see a massive recovery in the Egyptian tourism sector as foreign airlines from the major markets, including Russia, the United Kingdom and Germany, are expected to resume flights to Egypts tourist attractions soon. Tourism revenues from those three markets, the minister added, represent more than 40% of the total tourism flow to Egypt in the past seasons. According to Tourism Ministry data, Egypt attracted about 5.3 million tourists by the end of 2016 despite ongoing challenges. CBSE to offer psychological counselling to exam-weary students IANS, New Delhi | Published : 6th February, 2017 The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) will provide counselling to de-stress students during exams, the Board announced on Monday. The counselling will be provided over the phone to students of all CBSE affiliated government and private schools. The service will be available to CBSE affiliated schools located abroad as well. The helpline will start functioning on February 9 and will continue till April 29. Counselling is open to parents of the students too. A total of 90 Principals, trained counsellors from CBSE affiliated government and private schools, a few psychologists and special educators will participate in tele-counselling and address exam related psychological problems of the students. Of these, 68 will be available in India, and 22 abroad in Nepal, Japan, Saudi Arabia (Al-Khobar, Jeddah), Oman, the UAE (Dubai, Sharjah, Ras Al-Khaimah), Kuwait, Singapore and Qatar. This will be the 20th consecutive year when the CBSE will be giving tele-counselling to students during exams. The students can dial a toll-free number 1800 11 8004 from any part of the country to connect to the counsellors between 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. Four special educators will help the differently-abled students. Online counselling will also be available at counselling.cecbse@gmail.com Find it Useful ? Help Others by Sharing Online Comments and Discussions Pakistan: exports to Afghanistan decline 07 February 2017 APCMA data revealed that domestic dispatches in January 2017 were 2.722Mt, while exports amounted to 0.376Mt, reflecting YoY growth of 0.78 and -2.71 per cent, respectively. Total cement dispatches in January 2017 amounted to 3.087Mt. According to data released by the APCMA, during the first seven months of current fiscal year, the cement industry posted a growth of 9.52 per cent in local dispatches compared with the same period of last fiscal year. Export dispatches in the same period fell by 3.44 per cent YoY. The overall situation during first seven months of current fiscal year showed a 7.45 per cent growth YoY. Capacity utilisation for the period was 85 per cent. Pakistans cement exports to Afghanistan declined by 10.88 per cent over the seven-month period from July 2016-January 2017, manufacturers say. On a YoY basis, exports slumped from 0.174Mt in January 2016 to 0.166Mt in January 2017, representing a drop of 4.5 per cent. The APCMA linked the fall in exports to an increase in fuel prices, other input costs and barriers like the anti-dumping duty imposed by importers. Meanwhile, dispatches to India rose from 0.049Mt to 0.861Mt in the same period, a 77 per cent growth. A spokesman for the APCMA said exports of cement to India, however, grew by 79.34 per cent during the period. India has imposed a tariff of around 19 per cent on cement imports. An APCMA spokesman said that cement industry has opted for a 26.25Mta expansion to meet the massive demand in the country due to several government and CPEC projects. Published under India: residents protest about Dawar Cement's NOC 07 February 2017 Residents of Khrew in South Kashmirs Pulwama district staged a protest on Monday in Srinagar, alleging that Dawar Cements has secured No Objection Certificate (NOC) for limestone mining without public support. A large number of people gathered under the banner of local Auqaf Committee assembled in Srinagar to express their opposition. Carrying placards and banners, the protesters claimed that Dawar Cements has misled authorities and has secured NOC for limestone mining with a capacity of 53,000tpa, reports Brighter Kashmir. "We dont know who provided NOC to the said company and why general public was not consulted before issuing NOC to the said company. This is injustice and a probe should be ordered to look into the matter and action should be initiated against the officials," the protester ssaid. "The residents of Khrew, Babapora, Shaar, Zantrag, Pokhribal, Bathen, Nagender and Wuyen area have been suffering immensely for last many years due to the pollution by the cement factories. But no one is listening to us," the protesters said and added that they have lost all hopes on the government. Published under The Boys and Girls Club of Chattanooga will announce the club member who will receive the most coveted award at the Great Futures Luncheon on Friday. As part of the leadership program at the BGCC, two teen members are picked each month by staff for their leadership within the club. Those participants are interviewed by community volunteers and one is selected to be the leader of the month. Each January the 12 monthly winners participate in a day long interview process, again with community volunteers. At the end of the day, the volunteers pick one participant to receive the David Fussell Outstanding Leadership Award. The award was named in honor and memory of a long-standing board member, David Fussell, who spent over 30 years of service on the board to better the lives of teen members. The winner will be announced at the luncheon and will receive a $2,500 college scholarship. The recipient of the award will go on to compete at the state level with other Boys and Girls Club leadership recipients. From there they could have the opportunity to continue at the regional level and ultimately compete at the national level were the winner will be announced by the President of the United States at the Congressional Breakfast and win a $25,000 college scholarship. Husch Blackwell announces two attorneys, Stephanie Hall and Jake Brown have joined its Chattanooga office. Ms. Hall joined the firm's Chattanooga office in January as senior counsel in the firms Real Estate, Development & Construction group and Corporate, Mergers and Acquisitions, and Securities and Corporate Governance practice groups. Ms. Halls practice is concentrated in the areas of general corporate, finance and lending, real estate and transactional representation.She has more than 14 years of experience in legal services for facility management, and returns to Husch Blackwell after serving as assistant general counsel and then vice president of the legal department of a national facility management and services company.Ms. Hall is a member of the Tennessee Bar Association and was selected for Leadership Chattanoogas Class of 2012. She serves on the Financial Review Committee of Erlanger Hospital. Ms. Hall earned her L.L.M. from the University of Denver (2002), her J.D. from University of Cincinnati College of Law (2001), and her B.S. from the University of Tennessee (1998).Mr. Brown joined the Chattanooga office in December as an associate in the firms Corporate practice group. Mr. Brown served as a judicial intern for the Court of Appeal in Uganda in 2014. He earned his J.D. from Pepperdine University School of Law cum laude (2016) and his B.B.A magna cum laude from Harding University (2012). [] : 20170207 16:16:15 Stock Code: 000530, 200530 Notice No: 2017-002 Short Form of the Stock: Daleng Gufen; Daleng B Dalian Refrigeration Co., Ltd. Announcement of Director Resign Dalian Refrigeration Co., Ltd. (the Company) and its whole members of Board of Directors ensure that the public notice is real, accurate and complete, and there are no any important omissions, fictitious statements or serious misleading carried in this notice. Board of Directors of Dalian Refrigeration Co., Ltd. (the Company) received the resignation in written from Director Mr. Kijima Tadatoshi on 6 February 2017. Due to retire, Mr. Kijima Tadatoshi asked to step down Director of the 7th session of the Board. Mr. Kijima Tadatoshi is expected to stand down in the Company after resign. In line with relevant regulation of Company Law and Article of Association, members of the Board are not less than the statutory minimum due to resignation of Mr. Kijima Tadatoshi and the resignation goes into effect from the date of such resignation delivers to the Board. Board of the Company sincerely thanks for Mr. Kijima Tadatoshi in his term of office, and by-election for the director will complete as soon as possible under the legal procedure. Up to the date for this notice released, Mr. Kijima Tadatoshi held no share of the Company. Hereby notify. Board of Directors of Dalian Refrigeration Co., Ltd. 8 February 2017 Stock Code: 000530, 200530 Notice No: 2017-002Short Form of the Stock: Daleng Gufen; Daleng BDalian Refrigeration Co., Ltd.Announcement of Director ResignDalian Refrigeration Co., Ltd. (the Company) and its whole members of Board ofDirectors ensure that the public notice is real, accurate and complete, and there areno any important omissions, fictitious statements or serious misleading carried in thisnotice.Board of Directors of Dalian Refrigeration Co., Ltd. (the Company) received theresignation in written from Director Mr. Kijima Tadatoshi on 6 February 2017.Due to retire, Mr. Kijima Tadatoshi asked to step down Director of the 7th session ofthe Board. Mr. Kijima Tadatoshi is expected to stand down in the Company afterresign.In line with relevant regulation of Company Law and Article of Association,members of the Board are not less than the statutory minimum due to resignation ofMr. Kijima Tadatoshi and the resignation goes into effect from the date of suchresignation delivers to the Board.Board of the Company sincerely thanks for Mr. Kijima Tadatoshi in his term of office,and by-election for the director will complete as soon as possible under the legalprocedure.Up to the date for this notice released, Mr. Kijima Tadatoshi held no share of theCompany.Hereby notify.Board of Directors ofDalian Refrigeration Co., Ltd.8 February 2017 Senator Lamar Alexander said Monday he backs a plan for Congress to have a two-year budget process. He said, Two-year, or biennial budgeting, would require Congress to use the first year to pass a two-year budget and the appropriations bills and use the second year to conduct oversight and take a good look at what federal programs are working and what ones are not. If we spent every other year drawing up a budget and our appropriations bills, and then, in the second year, going back through rules, laws, and regulations already on the books, I think we would have a strong force for fewer rules, fewer regulations, and fewer laws. And also more effective spending. Senators Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., and Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., reintroduced legislation that they said would shake up the way Congress budgets federal tax dollars and allow for greater oversight of government spending. The legislation would convert Congress annual appropriations process to a two-year budget cycle. The Biennial Budgeting and Appropriations Act, S.306, would force Congress to become a better steward of the taxpayers money by moving the federal government to a two-year budget cycle, with one year for appropriating federal dollars and the other year devoted to oversight of federal programs, it was stated. Senator Shaheen and I are joining together again to change the way Washington handles its broken budget system, said Senator Isakson. Voters spoke out in November and they want a change in the way Washington does business. They want Congress to get a handle on the national debt. Its time that Washington does what every American family has to do: Sit down and figure out whats working and what isnt and set spending priorities. This system would increase oversight and reduce wasteful spending, making our federal government more efficient and more accountable to taxpayers. In a world where just about everything runs on electricity, TVAs Vice President of Enterprise Relations and Innovation Dr. Joe Hoagland, is tasked with ensuring the largest public power utility in America is ready to deliver low-cost, clean energy to the nine million people of the Tennessee Valley. We sat down with Dr. Hoagland to capture his thoughts about the future of the utility industry. Where do you see the utility industry in the future? The good news for consumers is that generation trends are moving toward a more resilient and flexible energy supply. While we [utilities] are experts at predicting and modeling consumer demand, we need to create generating resources that can turn on and off quickly to take into account the increased penetration of both intermittent sourceswind, solar and so onand distributed resources that may not have been installed or managed by the utility. Doing so will help keep costs as low as possible. To get there we will need more sensors and improved communication/control networks to optimize grid performance. Overall Im optimistic for the utility industry. At TVA we have a diverse, cleaner energy mix than we had just five years ago and are evolving into a more dynamic system of resources that can provide flexible loads to meet needs of a more informed consumer. Technology is a key driver of this evolution. To take full advantage of the technology evolution, we need to put more emphasis on data collection and analysis to capture all of the benefits and reliability of our power system, whatever form that system may take in the future. How are renewables empowering consumers? Renewablesand I would include energy efficiency in that mixare disruptive technology for the industry. With almost 20 percent of our energy capacity in renewables and energy efficiency, we look that this disruption as a positive. The fact is, renewables represent a large portion of the total installed power supply nationwide. This is because some consumers want clean energy, the cost for solar panels continues to decline and improvements in wind turbine design make that resource more competitive. To meet the need, we recently commissioned a 75 megawatt solar facility in Florence, Ala., that can power 15,000 homes and eliminate about 105,000 tons of CO2. Unlike ever before, consumers have the power to reduce their carbon footprint and lower their monthly bill. With a swipe on my smart phone I can turn on or off the lights and appliances at my house. If I forget to turn down my thermostat, no problem, I just pull out my phone. Consumers are looking to utilities to help them become more energy efficient. How are renewables affecting the utility industry? To give consumers what they want, we are making investments for a greener future. Over the next 20 years we are investing approximately $8 billion to enhance our cleaner, efficient, low cost, renewable energy portfolioincluding solar, wind, hydro and bio gas. As consumers demand renewable energy to meet sustainability goals, offering carbon-free energy sources, including nuclear, provides tremendous health benefits and economic development opportunities for the Tennessee Valley. Right now 55 percent of the electricity TVA produces is carbon-free. By 2026 that number will jump to over 60 percent. For TVA, we are seeing load growth that is essentially flat for the foreseeable future, despite tremendous economic growth across the Tennessee Valley. Therefore, new renewable generation additions must be carefully implemented to maintain our low cost, 99.999 percent reliability requirement as we replace capacity for facility retirements or contract terminations. Bottom line: renewables and energy efficiency offer opportunities to continue our trend toward a cleaner, more flexible generation mix and offer consumers the clean energy they want. How will energy storage affect the power system? In terms of battery storage, Volta invented the first true battery in 1800. Its only in the last few years that battery technology advancements have made them a staple of everyday life. We are seeing energy storage prices continue to decline, especially battery storage (lithium ion chemistry). As costs decline, utilities can use energy storage devices to help manage and smooth renewable production, address frequency regulation and voltage support needs and provide fast ramping services to businesses. TVA and our local power companies are exploring storage projects on both the distribution system and the transmission grid to better understand operating characteristics and to be able to more fully quantify the benefits of energy storage. On the individual consumer level, smaller scale storage devices like the Tesla Power Wall will continue to improve in terms of cost and performance, making this type of storage a growing preference for customers who want to manage their energy supply and minimize their power bill. At TVA we cant stand still. We must think beyond the battery. In the 70s we built the Raccoon Mountain Pump Storage Facilityessentially a 1600 megawatt, 1 billion gallon water battery outside of Chattanooga. Today, inventors are creating new storage technologies, like flywheels and grid-connected water heaters. To balance load at night, we are testing water heaters that superheat water at night and turn off during the day to conserve energy during peak demand periods. Looking forward, we must stay abreast of the expanding energy storage technologies to capture the opportunities in order to bring more value to our consumers. Were confident we can do that. An FBI agent testified on Tuesday that a large cache of weapons was found in the home of a Signal Mountain man who planned to lead a small militia unit against groups he considered enemies of the U.S. The agent said there were two large assault-type weapons in the living room, and agents also found several thousand rounds of ammunition throughout the house that is just across the county line in Sequatchie County. The assault guns, including a Sig Sauer M400 and a Mossberg rifle, were displayed to the jury along with some of the ammunition. The agent said the ammunition "was in suitcases, duffel bags, plastic bags in the closet - all over the place." It included tracer ammunition for illuminating targets at night. Robert Doggart wound up targeting Muslims in the town of Islamburg, N.Y., prosecutor Perry Piper told the jury in the case being heard by Judge Curtis Collier. An FBI agent said Doggart's phone was tapped and a confidential source was used by the government to infiltrate the group. The jury heard a number of calls between the source and Doggart as well as being shown Facebook posts between Doggart and members of his militia on private accounts. Doggart said the militia members would use powerful weapons, including those "battle size that don't miss." He said it would carry out "carefully considered attacks and make a statement in behalf of American patriotism." Doggart said he wanted to see "high casualty rates." He said, "They will not be capable of dealing with our level of violence." Doggart, who at one point referred to himself as Dr. Doggart and another as Rev. Doggart, said the target "must be utterly destroyed to get the attention of other Americans" who might join his effort. He said he wanted to line up 20 "expert gunners who can do a lot of damage." Doggart was in contact with about five individuals, including several in Texas and one in Oregon who expressed interest in his mission. The agent said these individuals were questioned by the FBI and some of their residences were searched. According to the testimony, Doggart was planning a trip to Hancock, N.Y., near Islamburg and hoped to enlist its mayor and City Council in his cause. The confidential source did fly to Nashville on March 17, 2015, where he was picked up by Doggart at the airport. They had lunch at Ruby Tuesday's where they discussed the planned attack. The source was wired and an FBI agent was having lunch in a nearby booth. Agents had tagged along behind Doggart all the way from his home to the airport and then to the restaurant. A tracker was on his car. Doggart said that the objective was "to set things right so this world can live in peace." He said the gunmen will "be cruel to them" and the raid would result in "bullet-riddled bodies." Doggart said the targets to take out included a mosque, a school and a cafeteria. He said the raid "could be the flash point where we finally say no more. It will be the shot heard round the world the second time." Over lunch at the restaurant, Doggart said, "We will be warriors and they will fear us. We will be cruel." Doggart said officials at Hancock should be cooperative because he said the nearby Muslims were a threat to poison the town's water supply. He said it could be done "with one 500-gallon drum." With agents listening in nearby, Doggart mused, "I can see this whole thing falling apart. Loose lips sink ships. One person starts talking to another person and pretty soon the FBI is on to it." He said he had called the home of one of the men in Texas who was supposed to take part. He said his wife answered and asked what he wanted, then hung up. The agent, under cross-examination from attorney Garth Best, acknowledged that the confidential source used in the case worked for the government for some 20 years and was paid over $250,000, including expenses. He said the agent, during the time the Doggart case was open, had one heart attack, then died from a second attack. He said some word had gotten out that he might be working for the government within other patriotic militant groups and threats had been made against his family. He said his widow was given a $10,000 lump sum after his death for his work on the Doggart case. He said the source came to Chattanooga at one point and met with Doggart at the City Cafe downtown. Monday night to honor their own. With Mayor Andy Berke and Fire Chief Chris Adams presiding, more than 100 firefighters were recognized for outstanding efforts at emergencies throughout the year in 2016. Among the top awards, Firefighter Preston Benegar was honored as the department's Firefighter of the Year. Captain David Tallent was honored as the department's Fire Officer of the Year. Captain Tallent was recognized as the fire officer who has made the most significant contribution to the department throughout the course of the year. Chattanooga firefighters and their families gathered at the Chattanooga Choo Choonight to honor their own. With Mayor Andy Berke and Fire Chief Chris Adams presiding, more than 100 firefighters were recognized for outstanding efforts at emergencies throughout the year in 2016. Among the top awards, Dozens of firefighters were recognized with commendation ribbons for their outstanding efforts in response to the Woodmore bus crash on Nov. 21, 2016. At that horrific scene that killed six young students and garnered national attention, Chattanooga firefighters worked for hours to secure the wreckage and render assistance to all of the students on that bus. Some of the students were trapped by the twisted metal, so a complicated extrication operation was needed. The firefighters relied on their training and professionalism, and worked as fast as they could until every patient was removed from the wreckage. Though lives were tragically lost, more lives were saved, thanks to the the heroic actions of those firefighters. Life saving medals were awarded to the following firefighters involved in the Woodmore bus crash: Captain David Tallent, Captain Keith Liles, Captain Al Walker, Lt. Ronnie Goss, FFE Keith Edgemon, FF Brandon Fryar, FF Charles Zinzer and FF Jeffery Bonner. Four civilians were also recognized in connection with the bus wreck. Claudia Sears, Kori Hahn, Mary Smith and Ed Wilson live in the neighborhood where the crash occurred. They were actually the first on the scene and they rendered assistance to the students until first responders arrived. The following firefighters received life saving medals for incidents they were involved in last year: Residential Structure Fire Save FFE Andrew Thomas and FF David Ruffin Off-duty CPR Save FFE Edgar Patton CPR Save FFS Jack Thompson and FFE Keith Edgmon CPR Save Captain Vance Woodward, Lt. Terry Jones and FFS Gabe Thrash Off-duty Vehicle Crash Save Fire Chief Chris Adams CPR Save FFS Darrell Hinton and FF Daaron Espey Special awards were given to employees with the city's fleet maintenance, including Titus Jackson, Jacob Picklesimer, Ray Rheal, John Eric Watkins and George Wilson. Captain Kelly Simmons was recognized for his tireless efforts as president of the Forgotten Child Fund. 11/4/2022 Chattanooga Mocs junior Paul Conroy is the Southern Conference Golfer of the Month for October the league office announced Friday afternoon. It is the first such honor for Conroy. The native ... more Sometimes I find prayers lodged deep within me, crammed tight like a bulging closet, ready to tumble out if only a little space is given. They clamor and whine within, pestering like a kennel full of caged puppies.If only they can be heard. If only they can be let out. Oh, if only the door were opened but a crack, they would take off, never to return, hitting their stride quickly out of the gate of my mouth and ascending, bounding through the air to their heavenward yellow ribbon.Galloping toward God these prayers would be.But they are confined until released.And I frequently don't release them, because I don't realize them.I don't realize what is there and who I am and what I was made for.So I putter and race and talk and read and fix and carry and listen, but I do not pray.Because I don't realize or else, won't realize.At some point though, as if God himself has tapped me on the shoulder to remind me I have but seconds of held breath left, like a skin-diver frantic to get to the surface for fresh air, I start to the place of prayer.At first, like a diver who has lingered long underwater, I am frenzied and disoriented. I want to say everything all at once as quickly as I can.As my mind seeks to control the traffic of rude commuters within, inevitably a jam occurs. A fear, a praise, a request, an anxiety, a matter of special importance. Each tries to make its way to the front and confusion ensues.Before long, the mangled mess of my unquiet mind makes rush hour on 1-75 in Atlanta seem like a well-choreographed marching formation; seamless, orderly, and gliding.Fortunately though, there is a traffic cop on the scene, God himself, present as Spirit, who begins to pry apart the gridlock so the traffic can flow. Soon, there is a rhythm, especially as the Scriptures are consulted. They serve as a GPS of sorts which mystifyingly locates the coordinates in my soul that need the most attention, and therefore serve, as my starting address with God.Eventually, as the Scriptures re-introduce me to God and myself, Ill encounter a startling jolt of spiritual caffeine calling my inner-man to heightened attention. Electricity for my dead-batteried heart will pulse and dance within. Suddenly, rocket blasters of prayer will ignite within and out of me will fly what most craved to be uttered.As the words come out, the cabin pressure begins to regulate in my heart. The pent-up prayers have been released and handed over to their rightful Owner.Then, like an armored truck driver after safely securing the days transported funds from the bank, there is relief.The Savior has received what demanded to be said. He has ushered me into the reprieve of a man who suddenly realizes after years of restless sleep, dull headaches and fatigued mornings that he simply had apnea, and the ailment can be corrected. Vitality can be restored.I realize, after engaged prayer like this, so frequently, that soothing restoration.Then I understand why our Adversary concludes in The Screwtape Letters that, the best thing, where it is possible, is to keep the patient (us) from the serious intention of praying altogether.----- Eric Youngblood is the senior pastor at Rock Creek Fellowship (PCA) on Lookout Mountain. Please feel free to contact him at eric@rockcreekfellowship.org or follow him on Twitter @GEricYoungblood. Airbnb, the worlds leading community driven hospitality company, announced that its Chattanooga host community earned a combined $2.5 million in supplemental income and welcomed approximately 24,600 people to the city in 2016, while Lookout Mountain and Signal Mountain also emerged as strong home sharing markets. Those 24,600 guest arrivals to Chattanooga via Airbnb represent a 213 percent year-over-year growth. Airbnbs Chattanooga host community tripled in size in 2016 to 300 people. The overwhelming majority share their primary residences, while 32 percent are simply renting an extra, unused room in their homes. Often these are empty nesters left with extra rooms that have now emerged as economic opportunities thanks to home sharing. The typical Chattanooga host earns $5,300 in annual supplemental income through Airbnb despite renting sparingly - less than one day a week on average. Chattanooga is now the #3 home sharing market in Tennessee, behind only Nashville and Memphis. In 2016, Lookout Mountain emerged as the #9 home sharing market in the state while Signal Mountain came in at #18. What follows is an overview of 2016 guest arrivals and total host income, broken down by Chattanooga-area cities. City Total 2016 Guest Arrivals Total 2016 Host Income Chattanooga 24,600 $2.5 Million Lookout Mountain 2,700 $250,000 Signal Mountain 1,100 $121,000 About Airbnb Founded in 2008, Airbnbs mission is to create a world where people can belong when they travel by being connected to local cultures and having unique travel experiences. Its community marketplace provides access to millions of unique accommodations from apartments and villas to castles and treehouses in more than 34,000 cities and 191 countries. A Rossville woman is facing homicide charges in the traffic death of her four-year-old daughter last Oct. 21. Alisha Taylor was also charged by the Georgia State Patrol with DUI, possession of controlled substances, driving on the wrong side of the roadway, failing to exercise due careful, failing to properly restrain a child, and failing to maintain lane. Nakylie Taylor was taken to the hospital after the crash on Georgia Highway 2. She later died. Ms. Taylor was driving a 2010 Toyota Corolla that crossed the center line and hit another vehicle I host a weekly radio show on 96.1 here in Chattanooga Marketing Mix Radio. It is a show designed for entrepreneurs, business owners, and sales types. We have business owners, managers, community leaders, and politicians on the air and ask them questions that other business-like minded folks might want to ask. Recently I reached out to a few of our guests with some basic questions. Not everyone answered every question some answers are short and to the point. However, I thought all their answers were helpful and hopefully you will too. The one thing I took away The basics are the basics. In a world of short attention spans, quick fixes, immediate gratification, trends and buzz wordsthe foundation of success is still pretty much the same. I thought hearing from other folks would be good for us all. What is the best advice you have been GIVEN about leadership? o Mike Costa (General Manager News Channel 9 and Fox TV) Quote from St. Francis, Go preach the Gospel and if necessary use words. It is not what you say, it is what you do. Be an example through your actions. o Pryor Bacon (Owner of Pryor Bacon Realty) - Always be honest with yourself and others! o Janet Dunn (President/CEO YMCA of Metropolitan Chattanooga) There are two reasons people follow leaders. 1) Because of the position they hold in the company. 2) Because they admire them and WANT to follow them. Which kind are you? o Jeremie Price (Owner of JB Millworks) Dont give up and NEVER stop learning! What advice would you give a business owner about marketing? o Mike Costa (General Manager News Channel 9 and Fox TV) Do not make decisions based on what you like! Its about what your target customer likes! o Pryor Bacon (Owner of Pryor Bacon Realty) - It starts with good operations! o Lisa McCluskey (VP of Marketing & Communications at CHI Memorial Healthcare System) - Great campaigns begin with research know your audience, who is buying your product or services. Know their influencers. Who influences your audience to make a purchase? Is it a 20-something influencing a 55 year old female? If it is for a service, do experience mapping to understand each customer touch point. Segment your audience by age cohort and then go through the process of identifying where are their eyes?, where are their ears?, and what is their experience?. This can be a simple white paper project that walks through what newspapers are they reading, magazines, what shows are they watching and listening to what stations via what method. A campaign can then be developed that has truly customized messaging that resonates with each cohort and is placed in a channel that will reach the audience. o Jeremie Price (Owner of JB Millworks) - Just when you think you have it figured out, it changes. Always be open to changes BUT go with facts only. Don't take hearsay to heart! What is advice you have been given or have given concerning time management? o Pryor Bacon (Owner of Pryor Bacon Realty) - Make a plan, execute the plan, account for your time, and review the results. o Lisa McCluskey (VP of Marketing & Communications at CHI Memorial Healthcare System) -To be in tune with your best time of day that golden hour when you are hitting on all cylinders - and schedule your toughest task during that time. I had a great leader once say, eat your frog first, which means if you tackle your ugliest, hardest task during your peak hour, not only do you have a sense of relief and accomplishment, but you are at your sharpest when taking it on. Seems like common sense, doesnt it. Most of us procrastinate until the absolute last minute something is due, which may be our weakest part of our day when energy is flagging and were too tired to think straight, making the task twice as difficult. Eat your frog first. o Jeremie Price (Owner of JB Millworks) - Without it you are a lead weight on the fishing pole. Take time to create a plan of action and exit strategy. One is useless without the other! They are equally important. What advice would you give or have you received about management (sales/people)? o Mike Costa (General Manager News Channel 9 and Fox TV) No one approaches their job saying Im going to see how bad a job I can do today. Everyone wants success. It is our job as leaders to help them find success. It may not be the job they are in, but we have to help individual find their success. o Pryor Bacon (Owner of Pryor Bacon Realty) - Set goals and when possible monitor results. o Jeremie Price (Owner of JB Millworks) - If you wear your feelings on your shoulder youre in the wrong business. Get up every morning and put your Big Boy or Girl Pants on. Advice to a new sales person? o Mike Costa (General Manager News Channel 9 and Fox TV) Commit to at least one year. If you cannot give it your all for a year, you should not take the job. It takes a year to learn the cycle. It takes a year for you to establish your credibility. It takes a year for the customer base to learn to trust you. It takes a year for the cynics to know you will be there each and every day. o Pryor Bacon (Owner of Pryor Bacon Realty) - Always try to under promise/over deliver to people. o Jeremie Price (Owner of JB Millworks) - Study and know you products inside and out, never get caught lack of knowledge due to lack of effort. If you do get caught short handed on knowledge, learn from the provider and thank them for the education. Do your best to return the favor. Relationships are everything but they must be real! A well-known gang leader and an associate were apparently shot by a back-seat passenger as they drove down E. 12th Street on the night of Jan. 20, according to the Medical Examiner's Office report. It was first thought that another car was chasing the vehicle occupied by Jumoke Johnson and Christopher Woodard. The gunman apparently climbed out and ran off. No one has been arrested in the case. The autopsy says Johnson was shot three times in the back of the head as well as once in the top of his head. Woodard was shot twice in the back of the head. He was also hit twice in the side of the head and three times in his back and neck. There was another wound to his hand. An earlier edition of this article said the report stated there was no evidence of external bullets. However, that was not in the report. That information was taken from a Chattanooga Times article. The Chattanoogan.com apologizes to the Chattanooga Times profusely as requested by the Times editor. Families of deployed servicemembers understand only too well the challenge that communication can pose. From bad phone and internet connections to night and day time differences, keeping up communication can be difficult. Sgt. 1st Class Noel Hunter, medical operations noncommissioned officer, CJFLCC OIR, and Sgt. 1st Class John Bryan Hunter, strike cell noncommissioned officer in charge, CJFLCC-OIR, who is from Chattanooga, are currently on their third deployment since being married and know these difficulties all too well. But there is something different about this deployment. For the first time in the Hunters combined nine deployments, they are in the same country, in the same place, at the same time. With the Married Army Couples Program, which helps place married service members in proximal units, some couples have the chance to spend their time overseas together. For their two previous deployments, one to Iraq and one to Afghanistan, the couple was in different parts of the respective country. While this meant they spent more time home together because of deployment cycles, it made communication difficult. In that situation, not only do soldiers have to deal with the communication difficulty of bad service, like between Iraq and the states, but they are also dealing with calling bad connection to bad connection. There were times that you just couldnt communicate and you didnt know if the other one was OK, Mr. Hunter said. So youd have that added worry as well. This deployment is a lot easier because we can actually talk face to face, Ms. Hunter said, unlike when he was on one end of the country and I was on the other. Another bonus of the dual deployment is being able to both be there when calling home to their 4-year-old daughter, Chloe. If one of us calls and the other isnt there, shes asking, Wheres mommy? Wheres daddy? Ms. Hunter said. She knows we are supposed to be together, so that is a security blanket for her. Knowing that were taken care of. The Hunters were able to take several months before their deployment to prepare their daughter for when they were gone. Wed tell her every day that we were leaving to help fight the bad guys, Ms. Hunter said. Because of deployment cycles, deploying together also means that instead of only having one parent home alternating for two years in a row, the whole family can be in one place together for twice as long. So rather than high-fiving in the sky when we get back from a deployment, were on the same cycle, Noel said. So even if we werent together in the same place, we could know that in a year we are going to go home and be together again. Being deployed together also helps the Hunters survive the day-to-day stressors that come with serving long hours in a war zone. You can share things and talk about things that you probably wouldnt be able to with somebody else, Mr. Hunter said. And youre able to get things off your chest without having to worry about anything else. Senate education committee Chairman Lamar Alexander on Tuesday, said that Betsy DeVos, confirmed by the Senate on Tuesday as Education Secretary, will restore Tennessee classrooms to Tennessee communitiesadding that her confirmation swaps a national school board for a local school board. He said, I championed Betsy DeVos because she will implement the new law fixing No Child Left Behind the way Congress wrote it: to reverse the trend toward a national school board and restore local control of Tennessees public schools. Under her leadership, there will be no Washington mandates for Common Core, for teacher evaluation, or for vouchers. She has been a leader in the movement for public charter schools the most successful reform of public education during the last thirty years. And she has worked tirelessly to help low-income children have more choices of better schools. Tony Niknejad, state director for the Tennessee Federation for Children, said, As the new Secretary of Education, Betsy DeVos will be a champion for great schools for all children across this country. We are proud of the fact that the federal government is in a stronger position to support state and local education leaders. We commend the leadership of Tennessee's U.S. senators during the confirmation process, and we look forward to seeing our state leaders follow their approach in rejecting the dues-funded union attempt to re-litigate last year's election. It is time to leave union-controlled monopolies behind and embrace a new era of hope and opportunity in education. Senator David Perdue voted to confirm President Donald J. Trumps nominee for Secretary of Education, Betsy DeVos and joined educators and parents applauding her commitment to improving access to education and returning education control to states and local school boards. Both of my parents were school teachers and education is something very dear to me. Parents, teachers, administrators, and students all know that one-size-fits-all Washington education standards are not working and it is time to return control back to states and communities. Betsy DeVos shares these same beliefs. She has championed school choice and, as evidenced by her years of involvement, will work tirelessly to improve our education system. I was proud to support Betsy DeVos nomination and look forward to working with her to help all students succeed. (U.S. Senator David Perdue statement in support, 02/03/2017) Georgia Charter Schools Association Betsy DeVos embraces innovation, endorses accountability andmost especiallytrusts parents to choose what is in their unique child's best interests. She also believes in providing every parent with the resources and choices to pursue those decisions. (Georgia Charter Schools Association letter of support, 01/27/2017) National Alliance for Public Charter Schools Mrs. DeVos has been a dedicated champion for improving education for all students. As a result of her work with organizations dedicated to education reform, countless children throughout America are now able to access a higher quality education. As Secretary of Education we expect that her leadership will guide the Administrations budget and policies toward increased academic outcomes for all of our nations students. (Nina Rees, President And CEO, National Alliance For Public Charter Schools, Letter To Sens. Alexander And Murray, 01/04/2017) American Association for Christian Schools We, the undersigned, endorse this champion of choice and the education reforms needed to improve the future of every child in America. And we strongly advocate for [Betsy DeVos] confirmation as our next U.S. Secretary of Education. (American Association for Christian Schools letter in support, 01/27/17) Parents for Choice in Education Betsy DeVos is an undisputed champion of families and students. For nearly 30 years she has devoted time and resources to improving education options for our nations children. Yet millions still languish in failing schools in an education system more than a century old. Its time for a new vision. (Parents for Choice in Education letter of support, 01/27/2017) Home School Legal Defense Association Betsy DeVos is dedicated to building an education system that will effectively support and facilitate the education of all students everywhere, no matter their background, interests, or personal needs. More than this, she has a vision to build a system in which those in the drivers seat are the ones most capable of determining what will be effective; namely every childs parents. (J. Michael Smith, Home School Legal Defense Association, Letter To The Senate, 12/12/2016) Hispanics for School Choice The most effective way to earn the respect of Latinos is to find them where they are and to tell them the truth. Mrs. DeVos has a track record of reaching out with straight talk and real dollars. Our community is worth the investmentShould Betsy DeVos be confirmed as Secretary of Education, she will earn the trust of Latino families by making sure parents are in control of their childrens future instead of Washington bureaucrats. (Zeus Rodriguez, Founder of Hispanics for School Choice in Op-Ed, Betsy DeVos Will Empower Latino Families, Not Bureaucrats, The Hill, 01/17/2017) When youre getting married, youll quickly realize there are many options for every kind of couple and every sort of budget. Do you want to head to city hall? Planning to elope with nobody but your photographer in tow? Is it more your style to have a tiny ceremony and reception? How about a moderate-sized party where you can celebrate with your friends and family? Or do you want to go all out with a big and beautiful wedding? Youll see the same kind of variety when you start to plan your honeymoon. You can plan a modestly-priced trip somewhere close to home. Or you can pull out all the stops and book a getaway to the most luxurious destination on your bucket list. There are great options for every couple and every budget. But weve rounded up some destinations that are perfect if youre dreaming of an especially luxurious honeymoon. Each place that made the list of the most lavish honeymoon destinations will help you indulge, whether you want luxurious accommodations, world-class food, historic sites to explore, or Instagram-worthy beach views. Read on to check out our favorites. Not only will you avoid the locales where a romantic getaway is likely to go wrong, but you might just find the perfect destination for starting your marriage to your new spouse. 1. Cote dAzur Samantha Sutton reports for Coveteur that one of the dreamiest honeymoon locations featured in Lonely Planets new book, The Honeymoon Handbook, is Cote dAzur. Between the French Riviera views and Michelin-starred restaurants, its possible youll never want to leave, Sutton explains. Erin Walters reports for The Knot that the French Riviera is a great destination if youd like to see both coastline and mountains. And Cote dAzur also gives you easy access to Cannes, St. Tropez, and Monaco. A flight takes about eight hours from New York City or 14 hours from Los Angeles. June through August are the warmest, driest, and most popular months to travel. So you can score a great deal on even a lavish honeymoon by booking in May, June, September, or October. 2. Seychelles Another Lonely Planet-endorsed honeymoon location for those looking for a luxurious getaway? The Seychelles, an archipelago nation off the eastern coast of Africa thats comprised of a cluster of 115 islands. Some of the islands are made of granite, and others are of coral. There, you can explore coves, see coral reefs, visit nature reserves, and enjoy mountain rain forests. And once youre tired of exploring (and Instagramming), you can head back to your luxurious accommodations. Celeste Perron reports for The Knot that you can use one of the main islands Mahe, Praslin, or La Digue as a base from which you can explore the more remote ones. Youll need to take three or four flights to get to the Seychelles, usually to a European city, then to a Middle Eastern hub, and then to Mahe. (From Europe, you can expect flight time of about 12 hours.) There isnt a true off season in the Seychelles. But June, July, and August are reliably cool and dry. Perron advises booking for June because youll likely encounter fewer other tourists than in the later summer months. And you can find some great deals in May and October. 3. Sweden If you arent big on tropical destinations, youre in luck. Sutton reports that Lonely Planet also recommends Sweden. If the country has been on your bucket list for a while, your honeymoon might be the perfect time to visit. Its another place where youll probably feel the need to snap your meals, but aside from that, youll leave with tons of stylish, sustainable decor inspiration, Sutton notes. Routes North explains that Sweden is a great honeymoon destination if you want something out of the ordinary. A honeymoon in the country offers a good mix of outdoor adventure and gorgeous scenery, all topped off by long, romantic evenings snuggled by the fire. Need some specific spots to consider? Consider Harads, the village thats the location of the world-famous Treehotel. Or visit Stockholm, especially if youll be traveling in the summer, when the parks and gardens will be in full bloom. Alternately, choose the Swedish Lapland if you want to see snowy forests and fairy-tale scenery, or stay in the Icehotel (anytime from December to April). Choose the Baltic island of Gotland if you want historic villages, gorgeous beaches, and beautiful caves. Or choose Swedens western coast if you want islands, sailing, and seafood. 4. India And if you want another Lonely Planet-recommended location that departs from the stereotypical beach getaway? Consider India. Forget being a princess only on your wedding day, Sutton writes. In Rajasthan, you can spend your honeymoon in a freakin palace (one that has been converted into a hotel, of course). India is the perfect place to experience a diversity of scenery and an array of different cultures. Shabnam Ahamed reports for The Knot that the key to a successful honeymoon in India is to focus on a region (we recommend either the north or the south) and explore it fully. If you opt for the north, fly in to New Delhi and plan your itinerary around the desert state of Rajasthan, and enjoy the fort palaces of Jaipur, Jodhpur, Jaisalmer, and Udaipur. Or go for a trip to the south and fly in to Chennai. From there, you can see colonial port cities and backwater lagoons, and also see ornate Hindu temples like the Madurai Meenakshi Amman temple and the Mahabalipuram caves and seashore temple. Youll see the best weather in October to March, or April to June in the Himalayas. And youll get the best prices in February to March in the North or March to September in the south. A flight to New Delhi takes about 14 hours from New York or 20 hours from Los Angeles. 5. Shanghai China might not be the first place you think of when you think honeymoon. But Lonely Planet thinks Shanghai should make the short list if youre looking for something different than the typical beach resort. Sutton advises you can get a good mix of past, present, and future by exploring ancient temples during the day, then grabbing a drink at the futuristic Cloud 9 bar at night. Sara Naumann reports for About Travel that Shanghai is divided by the Huang Pu River and has two main sections. Puxi, west of the river, is bigger and home to the older districts of Shanghai. Pudong, east of the river, stretches to the sea and is the site of new developments and skyscrapers. Naumann advises autumn is the best time of the year to visit Shanghai because late September through early November brings the driest weather. And if you need a list of great Shanghai spots to spark your imagination, Our Honeymoon Destinations recommends the Bund promenade, Yu Garden, Jade Buddha Temple, Shanghai Museum, Longhua Temple and Pagoda, Oriental Pearl Tower, and shopping on Nanjing Road. 6. Maldives Another great source when youre trying to find ideas for honeymoon destinations? The U.S. News & World Report Best Vacations Rankings. The publication compiled its list of the most luxurious honeymoon destinations for couples to consider. And the Maldives topped that list. There are more than 1,000 islands to choose among if you head to this destination in the Indian Ocean. And the islands are famous for enabling visitors to stay in a private villa built over the water or has its own stretch of beach. Whats not to love about a place with turquoise lagoons, white sand beaches, and world-class scuba diving and snorkeling opportunities? The Knot reports the Maldives are sunny, warm, and humid year-round. April is the hottest month, and December the coldest. Monsoon season runs May to September, so the high season is December through April. (You can get the best deals by booking between May and November.) Also, 99% of the Maldives is covered in water, so its the perfect place to scuba dive, go snorkeling, take a whale-watching cruise, or take a submarine tour of coral reefs and historic shipwrecks. And the Maldives are perfect if your idea of luxury is some alone time at a gorgeous resort. 7. Bora Bora Second on the U.S. News list is Bora Bora, a tiny island that definitely deserves the love it gets from newlyweds. The islands beaches are famously gorgeous. And, as in the Maldives, you can stay in a villa built over the water. You can go scuba diving, or take a Jeep tour of the volcanic islands. It might just be the perfect destination if you anticipate wanting to relax on your honeymoon. As U.S. News explains, Nothing cures post-wedding fatigue like a seafood dinner along the shores of the South Pacific. The Knot describes Bora Bora as a majestic island with three verdant volcanic peaks and offshore islets inside a protective necklace of coral. The dry season runs from May to October, but if youre looking for the best prices, consider booking between November and April. Over-water bungalows are a honeymoon must in Bora Bora, according to the Knot. Its also a great idea to explore the lagoons and to enjoy fresh seafood at Bloody Marys, plus fresh sushi on your terrace. A flight will take about 19 hours from New York or 11 hours from Los Angeles. 8. Tahiti Tahiti is another perennial favorite among honeymooners looking for a luxurious getaway. And it comes in third in the U.S. News inventory of the most luxurious honeymoon spots. As the publication explains, This famed post-nuptial getaway will leave you feeling pampered. Tahiti boasts deluxe all-inclusive resorts and expansive shorelines set against spectacular tropical scenery. As the largest island in French Polynesia, the South Pacific archipelago, its divided into Tahiti Nui, the western section, and Tahiti Iti, the eastern peninsula. Its the perfect destination if you want to see black sand beaches, lagoons, waterfalls, and extinct volcanoes. The Knot reports Tahiti boasts scenery filled with palms, coconut plantations, fragrant vanilla farms, colorful blooms, citrus trees, and relatively few tourists. The islands dry season runs from May to October, and prices are pretty consistent year-round. The Knot advises touring the capital city of Papeete, where you can see Le Marche (the market) and catch a Polynesian show at night. Popular surf spots include Papeno, Teahupoo, and Taharaa, and some less-crowded spots are Huahine and Moorea. Dont miss the opportunity to swim with dolphins in the lagoons. A flight will take about 16 hours from New York, 8.5 hours from Los Angeles, or 15 hours from Chicago. 9. Fiji Fiji is a pretty famous honeymoon destination. And nothing attests more strongly to the luxury you can experience there than the numerous celebrity couples who have honeymooned somewhere in the string of 333 islands. Fiji, which made the U.S. News list of the most luxurious honeymoon destinations, is known for its rugged landscapes, coral reefs, clear lagoons, and gorgeous beaches. Its major islands are Viti Levu and Vanua Levu. U.S. News notes the Turtle Island Resort, thanks to its remote location and lavish offerings, is often named the most romantic destination on Earth. The Knot reports Fijis more than 300 islands are the perfect place to experience many distinct cultures. Fiji is the ideal destination for couples seeking castaway tranquility, an exotic culture, unspoiled beaches and dreamy thatched-roof bures, The Knot states. The dry season runs from May to October, and you can get the best prices in May, June, and October. Some must-see spots while youre there? Visit the garden island of Taveuni, the Bouma National Heritage Park, the Sigatoka sand dunes, and Mount Korobaba. A flight will take about 20 hours from New York or 11.5 hours from Los Angeles. 10. Bali U.S. News notes if you book a honeymoon in Bali, this luxurious destination will likely exceed your expectations. Gorgeous beaches, secluded jungle bungalows, and beautiful temples are just a few things you can look forward to on this Indonesian island. You also can see forested volcanic mountains and beautiful rice paddies. You can enjoy beaches and coral reefs. And you can visit religious sites, such as the cliffside Uluwatu Temple, enjoy lively nightlife in Kuta, or relax in resort towns, including Nusa Dua, Seminyak, and Sanur. Lori Seto and Dan Klinglesmith report for The Knot that if you make the journey to Bali, youll arrive jetlagged, and depart transformed. The flight time is more than 24 hours from most U.S. cities. But the trek is well worth it (especially if you go in April, May, September, or October, when youll enjoy the best weather). Bali is called the land of 10,000 temples. A couple you should check out? Pura Luhur Uluwatu and Pura Besakih. Head to Ubud to check out art galleries, craft villages, and the Puri Lukisan Museum. Enjoy a festival, and plan to experience the nightlife in the Kuta/Legian beach area. 11. Tuscany If vineyards are more your style than beaches and youd rather fly to Europe than the tropics, U.S. News recommends you consider Tuscany as a honeymoon destination. Tuscany is located in central Italy. Its home to Florence, where you can see world-famous Renaissance art and architecture. And its also where you can find the Apennine Mountains, beaches on the island of Elba in the Tyrrhenian Sea, and olive groves and vineyards in Chianti. Lori Seto reports for The Knot that Tuscany is a luxurious place to unwind. The region inspires contemplation, exploration, and lingering picnics featuring some of Europes best food and wine. You can visit Siena, which is one of Italys best-preserved medieval towns, as well as nearby San Gimignano. See the leaning tower and the Campo dei Miracoli in Pisa. And consider visiting other gorgeous cities, including Volterra, Lucca, Arezzo, and Cortona. A flight will take 11 hours from New York or 14 hours from Los Angeles. 12. British Virgin Islands The British Virgin Islands might just be the perfect destination if youre looking for the quintessential Caribbean honeymoon. As the U.S. News list notes, This particular spot boasts the sugary sands and turquoise waters of your dreams. The British Virgin Islands are part of a volcanic archipelago in the Caribbean. Theyre composed of four main islands and an array of smaller islands. And theyre known for coral reef-lined beaches, as well as being a great yachting destination. That probably gives you an idea of why they make the list of the most luxurious honeymoon destinations. Lori Seto reports for The Knot that two perfect honeymoon destinations in the British Virgin Islands are Tortola and Virgin Gorda. Or if you want a more secluded honeymoon spot, check out the small retreats and resort islands. Go to Tortola for the shipwrecks, the city strolls, the panoramic vistas, the island dining, and the live music. Pick Virgin Gorda for the beach, the national parks, and the sailing. The British Virgin Islands dont get much rain, though hurricane season is from June to November. You can expect the best prices from mid-April to mid-December. 13. Maui Want to book your honeymoon without worrying about your passport? Then, consider Maui. Youll get five-star resorts and gorgeous beaches. Plus, you can hike up volcanoes, and enjoy natural pools and waterfalls. Thats all without even braving the international terminal of your local airport. Maui has 30 miles of beautiful beaches. And the Haleakala National Park, including the Haleakala volcanic peak and the Oheo Gulch, is a must-see. The Knot reports some favorite activities on Maui are taking scenic drives on the Hana Highway, exploring the worlds largest dormant volcano in the Haleakala National Park, and strolling through picturesque towns, such as Lahaina. The weather is mild year-round, and prices stay pretty consistent no matter what time of the year you travel. A flight to Honolulu will take six hours from Los Angeles or 11 hours from New York City. Then, the flight from Honolulu to Maui is about 30 minutes. 14. The Cyclades Jane Reynolds reports for Oyster.com that if you want to splurge on a luxurious honeymoon, you should know the Maldives are the most expensive honeymoon destination in the world. But a close second? The Greek Cyclades. The Cyclades are composed of more than 2,000 islands in the Aegean Sea. Theyre the site of classic white and blue villages, with gorgeous ocean views. Santorini is a particularly beloved destination in the Cyclades, and you can look forward to lively night life and great restaurants if you choose it as your honeymoon destination. Trip Advisor has a great list of the best honeymoon resorts in the Cyclades, which is especially useful if you like checking out reviews by fellow travelers. Santorini isnt your only option when considering the Cyclades, but Anja Winikka reports for The Knot that its a stunning destination on its own. Santorini is a small, circular group of volcanic islands, with a lagoon running through its middle. Steep cliffs surround it on three sides, and the Mediterranean sea is the fourth. Some cant-miss sites are the volcano on Nea Kameni, the Greek Orthodox church of Panayia Ypapantis, and the monastery of Profitis Ilias. The United States is a nation of immigrants, but new arrivals to the country are more likely to flock to some states than others. The majority of the nations 42 million foreign-born residents live in California, Texas, New York, Florida, and New Jersey. But as the immigrant population grows 1.4 million new immigrants arrived in the U.S. in 2014, an 11% increase over 2013 states, such as North Dakota, Wyoming, and West Virginia, also are seeing the number of foreign-born residents rise, often by double-digit percentages. Not everyone is happy about the growing immigrant population. Although close to of adults Gallup surveyed in 2016 believe immigration is generally good for the country, 38% also believe fewer immigrants should be allowed into the U.S. Many are worried about the effect immigrants have on employment. Forty-five percent of people Pew Research surveyed said immigration hurts American workers, while 42% said it helps. Fears of job-stealing immigrants might be misplaced. Immigrants dont take jobs away from native-born workers or depress wages for most groups, a report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine found. Although immigration can be costly to local governments in the short-term, immigrants tend to pay back that investment, as their children grow up to contribute more in taxes than either their parents or the rest of the native-born population, according to the report. Like it or not, immigrants are changing the face of the U.S. While the following 10 states have relatively few immigrants compared to New York or Texas, theyve experienced the greatest percentage change in their immigrant population* between 2010 and 2015, according to the Migration Policy Institute. The No. 1 state saw their immigration population surge 72%. *This includes naturalized citizens, lawful permanent residents, people in the country on work or student visas, refugees and asylees, and those in country without legal status. 10. Tennessee Change in immigrant population since 2010: +14.7% Current immigrant population: 332,000 Tennessees foreign-born population increased 14.7% from 2010 to 2015, going from 289,000 to 332,000. Immigrants now make up 5% of the states total population. Thats a significant increase from 1990, when the states 59,000 immigrants made up just 1.2% of the population. Immigration is a divisive issue in Tennessee, as it is in many other parts of the country. Following the November 2015 terrorist attacks in Paris, the number of Tennesseans who said immigration should be the countrys top priority nearly doubled from 7% to 13%, according to Vanderbilt Poll-Tennessee. Those who identified with the tea party were much more likely to say dealing with immigration should be the number-one priority for the U.S. 9. District of Columbia Change in immigrant population since 2010: +16.4% Current immigrant population: 95,000 The District of Columbias 95,000 immigrants make up 14.1% of the areas total population. In 2011, 41% of all immigrants in D.C. were naturalized citizens, more than half of whom had a bachelors degree or higher. One-third of all business owners in the greater D.C. metro area were foreign born as of 2013, according to the American Immigration Council. Immigrants make up 17% of the workforce in the District of Columbia. 8. Mississippi Change in immigrant population since 2010: +17.6% Current immigrant population: 72,000 Mississippis foreign-born population grew nearly 18% in the past few years. Immigrants now make up 2.4% of the states total population. More than a third are from Mexico, according to the MPI, while Vietnam, India, and China are also common countries of origin. An estimated 25,000 undocumented immigrants live in Tennessee, according to Pew Hispanic. Since the start of 2017, lawmakers in Mississippi have introduced bills barring cities from declaring themselves sanctuary cities for undocumented residents and requiring companies to only hire U.S. citizens or legal immigrants, Mississippi Public Broadcasting reported. 7. Alaska Change in immigrant population since 2010: +18.7% Current immigrant population: 59,000 Alaskas immigrant population was 59,000 in 2015, roughly a 19% increase from 2010, when 49,000 immigrants lived in the state. As of 2013, just under 30% were from the Philippines, which has a long history of sending immigrants to the state. Many others come from Mexico, Korea, and Canada. In Anchorage, the largest city in Alaska, immigrants make up a significant minority of the workforce in several industries. Nineteen percent of people working in the recreation and accommodation industry are foreign-born, according to the Partnership for New American Economy, along with 14% of health care workers and 14% of retail employees. 6. Minnesota Change in immigrant population since 2010: +20.8% Current immigrant population: 457,000 Minnesota has nearly half a million foreign-born residents who make up 8.3% of the total population. The number of immigrants in the state has increased nearly 21% since 2010. Mexico, Laos, India, and Vietnam are the top countries of origin. Roughly 6% of business owners in Minnesota are foreign born, according to Project for a New American Economy. Minnesota is home to largest Somali population in the United States and the second-largest Hmong population. Undocumented immigrants, who make up 23% of the states immigrant population, are eligible for in-state tuition at Minnesotas public colleges and state financial aid, provided they meet certain requirements. 5. Delaware Change in immigrant population since 2010: +21.8% Current immigrant population: 88,000 Delawares immigrant population jumped from 72,000 in 2010 to 88,000 in 2015, an increase of roughly 22%. People born in other countries make up 9.3% of the states total population. Mexico, India, China, and Guatemala are the most common countries of origin. Delaware is one of 12 states that grant drivers licenses to people regardless of their immigration status. About 45% of immigrants in Delaware are naturalized citizens, just under the 47% of immigrants nationwide who have become U.S. citizens. 4. South Dakota Change in immigrant population since 2010: +25.2% Current immigrant population: 28,000 South Dakota doesnt have a lot of immigrants. Only two states Montana and Wyoming have fewer than the states 28,000 foreign-born residents. But the immigrant community is growing, and it now makes up 3.2% of South Dakotas population. Mexico, Guatemala, and China are the most common countries of origin. Of the 28,000 immigrants living in the state, about 5,000 are undocumented, according to Pew Hispanic, and they make up less than 1% of the states total population. Yet South Dakota is the only state where the majority of people dont support a path to citizenship for those in the U.S. without legal status. Only 46% support legalizing undocumented immigrants, compared to 62% of people nationwide, a survey by PRRI found. 3. West Virginia Change in immigrant population since 2010: +31.1% Current immigrant population: 30,000 West Virginias immigrant population grew 31% between 2010 and 2015, as the state added 7,000 foreign-born residents. Despite the increase, immigrants still make up just 1.6% of the total population of West Virginia, the smallest share of any U.S. state. Many West Virginians are skeptical about the cultural impact of immigrants. Only 35% say immigrants strengthen American society, the lowest share of any state, according to PRRI. Nationwide, people are evenly split on the question of whether welcoming people from other countries is good for U.S. society. 2. Wyoming Change in immigrant population since 2010: +38.9% Current immigrant population: 22,000 The number of immigrants in Wyoming increased from 16,000 in 2010 to 22,000 in 2015, a 38.9% increase. As of 2013, close to half of immigrants in the state were from Mexico, with smaller numbers coming from Canada, the Philippines, China, and the United Kingdom. People living in Wyoming are more likely than those in any other state to have a negative view of immigrants. Forty-eight percent say immigrants pose a threat to American culture, and just 38% say people from other countries make U.S. society stronger, PRRI found. 1. North Dakota Change in immigrant population since 2010: +72.2% Current immigrant population: 29,000 North Dakota has fewer immigrants than all but four other states. Yet its immigrant population increased more dramatically than anywhere else in the country between 2010 and 2015, rising by 12,000, from 17,000 to 29,000, a 72% increase. Immigrants make up 3.8% of the states population overall. Canada, Mexico, and India are the top countries of origin for North Dakotas immigrants. In 2014, immigrants added $542.8 million to the GDP of Fargo, the states largest city, according to estimates from the Partnership for a New American Economy. And they helped preserve or create 490 local manufacturing jobs. Fifty-nine percent of North Dakotans supports a path to citizenship for at least some illegal immigrants. Follow Megan on Facebook and Twitter More from Culture Cheat Sheet: A team of scientists from the Nanoelectronic Materials Laboratory (NaMLab gGmbH) and the Cluster of Excellence Center for Advancing Electronics Dresden (cfaed) at the Dresden University of Technology have demonstrated the world-wide first transistor based on germanium that can be programmed between electron- (n) and hole- (p) conduction. Transistors based on germanium can be operated at low supply voltages and reduced power consumption, due to the low band gap compared to silicon. Additionally, the realized germanium based transistors can be reconfigured between electron and hole conduction based on the voltage applied to one of the gate electrodes. This enables to realize circuits with lower transistor count compared to state-of-the-art CMOS technologies. Todays digital electronics are dominated by integrated circuits built by transistors. For more than four decades transistors have been miniaturized to enhance computational power and speed. Recent developments aim to maintain this trend by employing materials having higher mobility than silicon in the transistor channel, like germanium and indium-arsenide. One of the limitations in using those materials is the higher static power loss in the transistors off-state, also originating from their small band gaps. The scientist team around Jens Trommer and Dr. Walter Weber from NaMLab in cooperation with cfaed succeeded in solving this issue by conceiving the germanium-nanowire transistor with independent gating regions. Dr. Weber who leads cfaeds Nanowire Research Group points out: For the first time the results demonstrate the combination of low operation voltages with reduced off-state leakage. The results are a key enabler for novel energy efficient circuits. The work has been supported by the German Research Foundation (DFG) in the project ReproNano and has been performed in close cooperation with the DFG Cluster of Excellence Center for Advancing Electronics Dresden (cfaed). NaMLab will strive for further implementation in future products as well as further advancement in R&D with its industrial partners. Evonik opened a new Coating Additives laboratory at its Tuzla (Istanbul) site on January 31, 2017. The laboratory, which also includes a customer service center, will support customers with the development of innovative surface coatings in Turkey and throughout the Middle East. The application technology laboratory features top-of-the-line equipment for processing customer requests for a wide range of coatings and printing ink applications. This allows the lab staff to effectively formulate, apply, and test a variety of coatings and printing inks in water-based, solvent-based, or radiation-curing formats. "The new laboratory strengthens our presence in the region," emphasizes Gaetano Blanda, the head of the Coating Additives business line. "It enhances our market proximity and enables us to provide our customers with technical service and product solutions for the development of new formulations even faster." The new laboratory and the adjacent customer service center has created two new jobs and is staffed by five employees total. From its Tuzla site east of Istanbul, Evonik Ticaret Ltd. manages the distribution for the Turkish domestic market and exports to adjacent growth markets with a staff of fifty employees. Evonik Ticaret will celebrate its 30th anniversary in Turkey in August 2017. The opening of the new laboratory is just another milestone of the Evonik growth strategy for Turkey. Tattoos are part of our cultural heritage and during the last few decades, we have seen a renaissance of tattooing. In this third part, we look at the tattooing process itself. 6. The Tattooing Process Tattooing with modern instruments appears to be nothing but a simple mechanical process. One or more needles, dipped in dye solutions, penetrate ca. 4 mm into the skin and thereby transport selected colors into the dermis. Only upon closer examination does it become clear how the developing chemical/physical masterpiece is accomplished: through the addition of tailor-made thickening agents, the flow properties of modern tattoo colors are adjusted so that maximum color discharge per pinprick is achieved. A viscous dye preparation, in the course of dipping, is induced to cling firmly to the injection needle. It then becomes subject, during injection, to intense shear forces within the gap created between skin tissue and needle. These shear forces, in turn, result in a very abrupt decrease in the viscosity of the dye mixture. This is an example of thixotropy, an effect perhaps most familiar from the behavior of tomato ketchup: a substance that at rest is highly viscous, but when vigorously shaken (high shear forces!) becomes quite fluid, only to again become viscous upon standing. That is precisely what also happens here: a viscous tattoo dye preparation becomes very fluid during injection, causing it to flow readily into the lower skin layers, and during removal of the needle nearly all the residue is cleanly stripped off. Settling into the dermis, the injected color now in its intended home in the skin tissue once again becomes viscous, preventing it from straying away from its place. Only a flow behavior like this, carefully adjusted using a thickening agent, will produce a tattoo with sharp contours and a rich color saturation, based on a minimum number of injections. 7. After the Tattooing Process Meticulous and proper wound treatment is crucial in the interest of a complication-free outcome, regardless of the tattooing procedure employed. Above all, it is necessary that penetration by bacteria, fungi, or viruses be prevented to facilitate the healing process. Optimal care starts with the application of a breathable bandage so that no dirt will make its way into the open wound. The next day the wound should be uncovered, and only covered again if it becomes necessary (e.g., to prevent friction due to clothing). A salve based on a protective grease containing a substance like pantothenol or bisabolol might be applied to help keep the skin supple and to accelerate the healing process. Pantothenol minimizes itching and the likelihood of inflammation and encourages healing. It is a polyol amide which is a precursor to pantothenic acid (vitamin B 5 ). Bisabolol is an isomeric mixture of a monocyclic sesquiterpene alcohol and is the principal active ingredient of camomile oil. It has antimicrobial properties, and aids in the healing of wounds. Incidentally, one should always avoid unnecessary irritation due to sunlight, saltwater, or frequent washing. 8. Complications 8.1. Inflammation and Infections [16,17] Even optimal care cannot guarantee healing without complications. Stabbing with a tattooing needle amounts to creating a deep tissue wound with bleeding, typically resulting in inflammation after an hour or two, which may persist for up to two weeks. Based on a Danish study [18,19], 15 % of freshly tattooed subjects report subsequent skin problems like itching, ulcers, and redness, all of which usually heal spontaneously within a few weeks. Also, the occurrence of bacterial and viral wound infection has frequently been described in the medical literature. In 2006, multiple cases of a Staphylococcus aureus infection were documented, proving stubbornly resistant to several penicillin preparations (Methicillin). A total of 44 people were affected, mainly students, 34 of whom had been tattooed, with the other ten being infected classmates. This outbreak was eventually traced to an amateur working under unhygienic conditions [20]. This illustrates the fact that every potential client must accept responsibility for personally conducting a critical and sober examination of the surroundings during a preliminary briefing, as protection against grave danger, particularly when on vacation in a sunny clime. Getting tattooed in a dark tavern near the harbor, or in an exotic beach hut, may seem romantic, but a resulting infection surely will not be! 8.2. Palpable Swelling of the Skin The introduction of excessive pigment may lead to a knotty or flat elevation of the skin, which may be temporary, or it could prove to be chronic. If a purely superficial pigment excess is introduced into the epidermis, natural cell regeneration will usually transport it to the skin surface, there to be released. After the wound heals, however, this could still result in pale, pigment-free blotches. For a pigment excess delivered more deeply within the dermis, such an elimination is not possible, since the pigment would be unable to pass the boundary to the epidermis. This, in turn, could lead to chronic tumefaction (swelling), a frequent occurrence following the creation of heavy black lines, bars, or surfaces. 8.3. Contact Allergies The most common complications arise from intolerance with respect to individual substances present in the tattoo dyes. The specific trigger may be an inorganic metallic pigment (a chromium, cobalt, mercury, or especially nickel compound), a specific organic pigment, or a preservative added to ensure sterility. Many hypersensibilities appear only slowly, perhaps even after months. In general, complete lists of pigment ingredients are unavailable, and this may make it impossible to positively establish the identity of an allergen. Clinical experience shows that the popular red pigments are particularly prone to produce allergic reactions. This points in the direction of azopigments, the category into which most red pigments fall. Which red pigment or associated degradation product might be the actual culprit usually remains unknown, however [16,17]. 9. What Eventually Happens to Pigments Introduced into Ones Skin? After the introduction of a pigment, the immune system usually recognizes the presence of a foreign material and proceeds to fight it, using a repertoire of defense mechanisms. Macrophages (scavenger cells) play a special role here. Normally their task is to recognize biological intruders, which they bind to their surfaces before initiating a digestion process (phagocytosis) [21]. Pigment material is also recognized as foreign to the body, but it is not subject to digestion. After first enveloping such a particle, a macrophage may well die, in which case the ultimate outcome is likely simply to be encapsulation. Thus, encapsulated pigment might remain permanently enclosed within the dermis: an ideal consequence from the standpoint of the person who was tattooed. 9.2. Some Might Go Wandering Around It is possible that macrophages will cause such pigment particles to be transported to the nearest lymph node. After a tattoo has been applied, a transfer like this might take months, leading ultimately to an accumulation of pigment in the lymph node. However, there has so far been no indication of further transport to other organs in the body. 9.3. Some are Chemically Degraded The examples of pigments provided in Fig. 7 (see Part 2) clearly demonstrate a great wealth of potential diversity with respect to both structure and reactivity. The class of azo dye compounds has been subject to especially critical consideration, since many such compounds are well known to constitute health risks. Certain azo dyes have, however, been used for decades to color plastic toys and nail polishes, and there are many cases in which verified toxicological risk assessments exist. Especially problematic here are nonpolar compounds, which due to their water-insolubility are not rapidly eliminated via the kidneys, instead perhaps being subjected to reductive cleavage in various organs and tissues [22]. This may, in turn, lead to nonpolar aryl amines, which could be converted into carcinogenic N-nitroso substances [2325]. All azo pigments are in general prohibited in tattoo dyes if their reductive azo cleavage could lead to primary arylamines with carcinogenic, mutagenic, or reprotoxic characteristics (see Fig. 10). Moreover, the German Tattooing-Agent Regulations consistent with EU rules ban certain other pigments as well, including a few cytotoxic triphenylmethane dyes. Figure 10. Toxicity of arylazo compounds. Reductive cleavage of the N=N double bond in an aromatic azo compound leads to two aniline derivatives. Often, tattoos fade if they have been applied in exposed locations. This points to photochemical decomposition due to visible and/or UV light. Indeed, many dye pigments are decomposed by sunlight, with azo dyes decaying into primary aromatic amines [26]. Surprisingly, irradiation of the popular red-violet 2,9-dichloroquinacridone (3) has been shown to produce, among other things, 4-chloroaniline (see Fig. 11), itself a suspected carcinogen [27]. So far, however, there is no final verdict regarding the corresponding health risk, due to an absence of quantitative data. Figure 11. Photothermal decomposition of 2,9-dichloroquinacridone (3, Pigment Red 202; CI 739076). Prohibitions on certain specific dyes are well founded, but such action alone makes sense only if the rules are obeyed. And from this perspective the situation is sad. It is sobering, for example, that the Bavarian State Ministry for Health and Food Safety determined in 2013 that of 28 investigated, commonly utilized tattooing and make-up colors, nearly half produce carcinogenic aryl amines upon reductive cleavage. Every fourth sample examined was in fact contaminated with primary aryl amines in concentrations above 5 mg/kg (and as high as 206 mg/kg!). Such samples should not even have been marketable [28]. Extensive investigations by Urs Hauri at the Cantonal Laboratory of the Health Department for the city of Basel, Switzerland, further confirm the picture suggested above [29, 30]. Because of missing or even deliberately falsified data, many dye manufacturers including those providing tattoo products cannot assure that their products meet legal standards, nor are they competent to advise customers regarding the compositions and levels of health risk of such dyes [31]. In the forthcoming Part 4, we consider the removal of tattoos, permanent make-up, and henna. References [16] P. Laux et al., A medical-toxicological view of tattooing, Lancet 2016, 387, 395402. DOI: 10.1016/S0140-6736(15)60215-X [17] Tattoo safety (Audio Interview), Lancet, July 24, 2015. [18] T. Hgsberg et al., High prevalence of minor symptoms in tattoos among a young population tattooed with carbon black and organic pigments, J. Eur. Acad. Derm. Venerol. 2012, 27, 846. DOI: 10.1111/j.1468-3083.2012.04590.x [19] I. Klugl et al., Incidence of Health Problems Associated with Tattooed Skin: A Nation-Wide Survey in German-Speaking Countries, Dermatology 2010, 221, 4350. DOI: 10.1159/000292627 [20] C. Betz, To Tattoo or Not: That is the Question, J. Pediat. Nursing 2009, 24, 241. DOI: 10.1016/j.pedn.2009.03.001 [21] S. Kurle et al., Akkumulation von Tatoo-Pigment im Sentinellymphknoten (in German), Hautarzt 2009, 60, 781. DOI: 10.1007/s00105-009-1843-9 [22] E. Fassold et al., Azofarbstoffe in Leder und Textilien (in German), Umweltbundesamt, Vienna, Austria, 1999. [23] Couincil of Europe, Resolution ResAP(2008)1 on requirements and criteria for the safety of tattoos and permanent make-up, 2008. [24] German Ordinance Regarding Tattooing Agents (Verordnung uber Mittel zum Tatowieren einschlielich bestimmter vergleichbarer Stoffe und Zubereitungen aus Stoffen, in German), 2008. [25] EU Cosmetics Ordinance (Verordnung uber kosmetische Mittel, in German), 2009. [26] Tattooed Skin and Health (Eds: J. Serup, N. Kluger, W. Baumler), Karger, Basel, Switzerland, 2015. ISBN: 978-3-318-02776-1 [27] K. Wezel, Dissertation, Universitat Gieen, Germany, 2013. [28] C. Walther, I. Neudorfer-Schwarz, Primare aromatische Amine / Azofarbstoffe in bunten Tattoofarben Untersuchungsergebnisse 2013 (in German), 2014. [29] Bundesamt fur Lebensmittelsicherheit und Veterinarwesen BLV, Switzerland, Kontrollkampagne 2014 Tatowier- und PMU-Farben (in German), 2014. [30] Gesundheitsdepartement des Kantons Basel-Stadt, Switzerland, Leitlinie zur Beurteilung von Tatowier- und Permanent Make up-Farben fur Betreiber von Tattoo- und PMU-Studios (in German), 2015. [31] Bundesamt fur Lebensmittelsicherheit und Veterinarwesen BLV, Switzerland, Richtlinie fur eine Gute Arbeitspraxis im Bereich Tatowieren, Permanent-Make-up, Piercen und verwandte Praktiken (in German), 2016. The article has been published in German as: and was translated by W. E. Russey. Tattooing from a chemical point of view Coloring materials employed in tattooing The process of tattooing Tattoo removal, permanent make-up, and henna See all articles by Klaus Roth published in ChemistryViews Magazine MADISON, Wis. Republican lawmakers voted Thursday to hire two law firms to represent legislators in a legal fight over redistricting, a potentially expensive move on an issue that has already cost taxpayers millions. The Assembly and Senates organization committees both voted to hire Chicago-based Kirkland and Ellis LLP and Madison-based Bell Giftos St. John LLC. The hiring was approved on party-line votes, with majority Republicans brushing aside Democrats complaints that the hires are a waste of taxpayer money. Democrats also complained about a vote that took place behind closed doors by paper ballot. Its unclear how much hiring the law firms might cost. The committee ballots made no mention of costs or limiting the firms expenses. A dozen voters filed a federal lawsuit in 2015 challenging the Republican-drawn maps, contending they unconstitutionally consolidated GOP power and discriminated against Democrats. A three-judge panel agreed with the voters in November and last month ordered the legislature to redraw the maps. Wisconsin Attorney General Brad Schimel, a Republican, is preparing to appeal the ruling to the U.S. Supreme Court. Hes representing the state Elections Commission, but not the legislators. Myranda Tanck, a spokeswoman for Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald, said Republicans want their own lawyers so theyll have a say in the appeal. She said the firms will be asked to draft a friend-of-the-court brief urging the justices to overturn the three-judge panels decision. The long-running legal battle over redistricting has cost the state at least $2.1 million so far. Those costs stem from a separate lawsuit Democrats and immigrant rights group Voces de la Frontera filed in 2011. That lawsuit resulted in a panel of federal judges ordering two Assembly districts in Milwaukee be adjusted because the lines unfairly weakened Hispanics voting rights. Senate Minority Leader Jennifer Shilling and Assembly Minority Leader Peter Barca, both Democrats, said hiring outside attorneys is a waste of money. Republicans have already wasted too much time and taxpayer money trying to justify their unconstitutional election rigging efforts, Shilling said. Rather than throwing more money at high-priced Republican lawyers, we should be investing our scarce taxpayer resources in Wisconsin classrooms, roads and communities. Assembly Speaker Robin Vos defended the hiring decision in a statement, saying Republicans have the right to retain outside attorneys. We must ensure that every essential argument is heard before the court to make clear that Wisconsin has legislative maps that are constitutional, he said. Barca sent a letter to Vos complaining about voting in secret rather than in an open meeting. He accused Republicans of trying to duck public scrutiny in his statement to reporters. Barca challenged Assembly Majority Leader Jim Steineke during an Assembly rules committee meeting Thursday afternoon to hold a public meeting on hiring the firms. Steineke said the Assembly organizational panel has run by paper ballot for the last two legislative sessions. Steineke declined to answer reporters questions as he left the meeting. Sachin Chheda, director of the Fair Elections Project that launched the lawsuit challenging the boundaries, said Republicans should stop trying to seek partisan advantage and redraw the maps in a process thats open to the public. Former deputy attorney general Kevin St. John, who served under Republican Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen, works at Bell Giftos St. John. LuminAIDis aiming to raise $15,000 in about four weeks to offset production costs for the first run of the newPackLite Max Phone Charger. (LuminAID photo) LuminAID, the Chicago company that found success on "Shark Tank" two years ago, is turning to Kickstarter to fund the launch of its latest product. Co-founders Anna Stork and Andrea Sreshta created their first inflatable solar-powered lamps in the aftermath of the 2010 Haiti earthquake. With the Kickstarter campaign, which launched Tuesday morning, they are introducing a design that incorporates phone charging into the lantern. Advertisement Reports say there are more mobile phones now in use around the world than there are humans, so Stork said LuminAID wants to offer users a two-in-one gadget that will be as useful for outdoor recreation as in disaster scenarios. "There's a real need for people to recharge their phones off the grid when they don't have access to power, and they also do need light still," she said. Advertisement The company is aiming to raise $15,000 in about four weeks to offset production costs for the first run of the new PackLite Max Phone Charger, Stork said. The campaign surpassed that goal by early Tuesday afternoon and kept climbing. LuminAID launched its first lantern, a pillow-shaped design, with a 2011 Indiegogo campaign that raised more than five times the $10,000 goal. "We don't necessarily need to raise a lot of money for this product," Stork said. "We really want to focus on pre-selling it and raising awareness." The Kickstarter campaign is an extension of LuminAID's strategy of publicly seeking capital in a way that brings in both money and eyeballs. Stork and Sreshta got an offer of $200,000 for 15 percent of the company from investor Mark Cuban when they appeared on "Shark Tank," and that has helped them get into retailers including L.L. Bean and the Container Store, Stork said. She said revenue has grown significantly since the show aired but would not provide details. Since then, other inflatable, solar-powered lanterns have appeared on the market. Stork, who said LuminAID has a patent and access to Cuban's patent attorneys, said her products continue to sell well but that she plans to defend her company's intellectual property. She referred to other lantern makers as "copycats." "The added benefit of having copycats is they do bite at your heels," she said. "It's definitely pushing us to stay ahead on innovation and quality." That pressure, at least in part, led Stork and her team to create the new phone-charging lantern. It provides 50 hours of light on the low setting and can fully recharge a smartphone or top up a tablet battery using a Micro USB cord, LuminAID said. The 6-inch cube packs flat to 1-inch thick, weighs 8.5 ounces, is waterproof and can float. Like its predecessor, the PackLite Max USB, it can be charged by sunlight in 12 to 14 hours or in 1 to 2 hours using USB charging. Advertisement Stork said the company, which has five full-time employees, is profitable and could afford to produce a small run of the phone-charging lanterns on its own. But the Kickstarter campaign will let it gauge customer interest and feedback on aspects of the product including its price, which is currently set at $39.95. Its other lanterns range from $14.99 to $29.99 apiece. Early-bird backers who put in $30 are promised the new lantern and a charging cable, which the company expects to ship by late March or early April by working with its existing Chinese manufacturer. There are also higher pledge tiers through which backers can get lanterns of their own and also send one or more to Syrian refugees through SCM Medical Missions, one of LuminAID's charitable partners. On the Kickstarter campaign page, Stork wrote that the goal is to send 500 lights to refugees in camps in Jordan. LuminAID sells its lanterns to non-governmental organizations as well as to consumers. ShelterBox USA, which delivers emergency tents and relief supplies to communities after disasters strike, is a repeat customer. Kerri Murray, the organization's president, said ShelterBox USA has procured tens of thousands of LuminAID lanterns since 2012. She said the group purchases them at a lower price and sometimes receives them as donations. Her organization responds to a lot of flooded disaster areas, and LuminAID lamps are waterproof as well as lightweight and reliable, she said. Stork said disaster relief aid purchases used to make up the bulk of LuminAID's revenue, but consumer purchases from retail stores, Amazon.com and the company's website have become a larger part of the business in the past year and a half. aelahi@chicagotribune.com Twitter @aminamania Mark Zuckerberg should give up some of his control over Facebook by relinquishing his position as chairman of the board, according to a new proposal by a consumer watchdog group and a few shareholders. The proposal, led by SumOfUs, claims that Facebook's future success requires "a balance of power between the CEO and the board," and that without a chairman who is independent of the company, Facebook could act without repercussions against investors. Advertisement "An independent board chair is a necessary first step to put Facebook's board on the path to effective representation of the interests of all shareholders," reads the proposal, which goes on to highlight the need for greater accountability amid controversies over fake news, harassment and hate speech. The proposal was received by Facebook on Friday, according to SumOfUs; Facebook declined to comment. About 1,500 shareholders have signed SumOfUs's previous petitions concerning Facebook's leadership and decisions, said Lisa Lindsley, capital markets adviser for the watchdog group. Of those 1,500 shareholders, SumOfUs contacted 1,300 to determine their interest in filing the shareholder proposal. Four investors agreed to help. Advertisement SumOfUs points to Facebook's major decision last year to issue new, nonvoting stock as an example of the kind of potentially problematic behavior enabled by having a single chairman and chief executive. Under the decision, every stockholder in Facebook including Zuckerberg will receive two new shares of what it called Class C stock for every existing share. This doesn't increase the value of investors' holdings; it simply splits the stock so that one share worth, say, $100 would now become three shares, each worth about $33. The point of all this is to create a large bunch of new shares that Zuckerberg could sell off in order to fulfill his promise of giving away 99 percent of his Facebook shares to charity. Ordinarily, selling off so much stock would result in decreasing Zuckerberg's ownership stake in Facebook. But because the new Class C shares were specially and explicitly designed not to have any voting rights, Zuckerberg would not be giving up any of his voting power in the company. As the New York Times put it: At face value it appears that everyone is being treated equally, but the deal really benefits Mr. Zuckerberg. With a dividend of over 900 million Class C shares, he can now sell his Class C shares and not reduce his voting control. It ensures that Mr. Zuckerberg will have lifetime control over Facebook. For investors who have faith in Zuckerberg to continue steering Facebook in the right direction, lifetime control may not be a bad thing. But it also means that, should shareholders turn against Zuckerberg, they will have few ways of opposing his decisions, according to the Motley Fool. Zuckerberg's dual role as chief executive and chairman also indirectly contributes to a corporate culture where members of the board tend to defer to his decisions, said Lindsley. During the decision-making process to create the Class C shares, Zuckerberg formed a special committee made up of three board members to consider the move. The directors on the committee Marc Andreessen, Erskine Bowles and Susan Desmond-Hellman were supposed to represent shareholders. But court documents from a later shareholder lawsuit allegedly showed Andreessen sending text messages to Zuckerberg during conference calls in an effort to aid the chief executive's attempt at persuading investors to go along with the plan. "It's a symptom of a board that has capitulated to the CEO," said Lindsley. "Clearly, in this case, you have the directors looking to Zuckerberg as the only authority figure on the board." Advertisement Five of Facebook's eight board members are independent of the company; Desmond-Hellman is its lead independent director. Appointing a lead director is viewed in business as an alternative to splitting the roles of chairman and chief executive. It is growing increasingly common among U.S. firms, according to a 2010 report by PricewaterhouseCoopers, and most lead directors are appointed by other board members who are themselves independent of the company. Still, 67 percent of companies in the PwC report that have lead directors still combine the chairman and chief executive into a single person. The United States largely stands out in that respect, according to corporate governance experts. In other developed countries, including Australia, Canada, New Zealand and much of Europe, the chief executive of a company rarely serves as chairman of the board simultaneously. But research has not proven conclusively that one model is necessarily better than the other. In 2005, researchers from Harvard Business School and the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School of Business interviewed the boards of major companies in the United States and Britain. What they found may be surprising: Dividing up the roles of chairman and chief executive did not necessarily result in "more effective leadership" or "better governance." "The same person acting as chairman and CEO looks suspiciously like the proverbial fox guarding the chicken coop," the researchers wrote in "MIT Sloan Management Review." But, they added, "splitting the two positions has its own characteristic problems, and this arrangement is not necessarily a clear improvement over the U.S. model." In particular, they wrote, a lack of clarity surrounding a dedicated chairman's responsibility and roles can lead to mixed loyalties or power struggles that undermine good governance at a company. While it may be easy to delineate running a board from running a company on paper, that can quickly grow murky in practice, wrote Jay Lorsch and Andy Zelleke, now both at Harvard. For Facebook's shareholders, those considerations may still be months away; the company is expected to include the shareholder proposal (along with others the company receives) in its proxy filing ahead of its annual shareholder meeting later this year. Advertisement This is not the first time SumOfUs has filed a shareholder proposal on split management; in 2015 and 2016, it pushed for a similar vote at the agriculture conglomerate Monsanto. Roughly 20 percent of shareholders supported the measure. Scenic City Womens Networks February Marketplace Luncheon will feature speaker Ashley Baldwin, CEO of Choices. The meeting will be held Thursday, Feb. 23, at the Mountain City Club. Networking will be from 11:30 a.m.-noon and the luncheon will be from 12-1 p.m. Ms. Baldwin is a passionate young leader with a love for life and people. She serves as the CEO of Choices, a nonprofit dedicated to creating a culture of life in Chattanooga. She graduated from Covenant College where she studied philosophy and religion and met her husband Ben. Together they use their home to create opportunities where people can experience unconditional love, even sharing their home as a place to live for those in need. They enjoy bringing people together by hosting weekly community dinners in their home. Ms. Baldwin feels the most alive when she is passing along her experiences, strength and hope through mentoring other women. Ms. Baldwin will speak on the power of prayer. The reservation deadline for the luncheon is Tuesday, Feb. 21, at noon. To make reservations visit www.scwn.org or call 698-6262. Parking may not be available in the MCC parking lot. If directed by signage to park elsewhere, other parking options include Republic parking (approx. $4) and/or street metered parking on Pine, Chestnut, Broad and 8th Street. The luncheon cost is $20, or $15 for the non-profit rate--for paid employee of a 501c3 organization. Take a look at some of the equipment Caterpillar produces. The company is planning on moving its headquarters from Peoria to the Chicago area. (Phil Geib/Chicago Tribune) It's on: Suburbs versus the city. That's among the area's oldest economic development matchups and, right now, an interesting contest is shaping up over who is going to win the headquarters of massive manufacturer Caterpillar, which last week said it was leaving longtime home Peoria for the "Chicago area." Advertisement Even as the company's brain trust made its startling relocation proclamation, some observers considered it a fait accompli that the HQ would end up in or around the West Loop. As such, Cat would join fellow blue chippers, including Google and McDonald's, in a quest to raise (or find) its "cool" factor and lure a more digitally savvy and multicultural workforce. But real estate and economic development sources say Cat, which sells big machinery and construction products worldwide, is also pretty serious about being near O'Hare International Airport. That doesn't rule Chicago out, but it does open up opportunities for DuPage County and Cook County's Rosemont, which border the airport from opposite directions, and crave such a high-profile company. Advertisement "The marquee value is very, very valuable," says John Carpenter, CEO of the Choose DuPage Economic Development Alliance. Already, DuPage County Board Chairman Dan Cronin has sent a letter to Caterpillar CEO James Umpleby touting his west suburban area and stressing a willingness to work with Cat's relocation team. Although no tax breaks or deals are mentioned, Cronin's letter stresses DuPage's business base and that the ongoing Western Access O'Hare Project will provide "convenient, hassle-free access" to the airport. That's true, but it won't be for a while. The estimated $3.4 billion roadway project is being constructed in stages until 2025 with a ramp into O'Hare as soon as 2019, according to the Illinois Tollway. On the eastern side of the airport, Rosemont Mayor Bradley Stephens is mulling ways to entice the company brass. Right now, the catnip on the table includes using a tax increment financing district, property or other types of tax breaks, helping with office build-outs and other sweeteners, says Gary Mack, a village spokesman. Since Cat seems intent on renting office space for its estimated 300 employees, the village is also open to working with a landlord on a package that would help land Cat, he added. Advertisement Mayor Stephens hasn't spoken to Cat's CEO but hopes to soon have a conversation. "We'd love to have them here and you can't get any closer to O'Hare than Rosemont," Mack said. While the suburbs are openly teeing up their sales pitches, the city of Chicago is being shall we say more circumspect. City Hall isn't saying if it is in talks with Caterpillar but Mayor Rahm Emanuel has cheered the company's relocation decision. Anything can happen, but realistically it seems unlikely the city will offer Cat any major public tax breaks or big relocation incentives, even if the suburbs go that way. This is a much different era than before. In 2001, for example, the city and state combined to give Boeing about $58 million in various incentives over an estimated 25-year span to relocate its HQ to Chicago from Seattle beating out Dallas and Denver. Advertisement Now, Chicago and Illinois' heavy burden of public debt, which amounts to hundreds of billions of dollars in unpaid bills, growing operating costs and underfunded pension liabilities makes such corporate largesse unseemly and unaffordable. Right now, City Hall's message is more like: "Other major corporations have made the move to Chicago. Why not you?" Caterpillar isn't saying too much either. In an email to me, Caterpillar spokesperson Corrie Scott said the company has "been in touch with several different community leaders in the Chicago area since our announcement," but didn't expand on that reply. However, Caterpillar did add it wasn't slamming the door on any opportunity that offered to discuss public perks. "Incentives were not the driver in our announcement. However, we are considering all options as we select a site," Scott said in the email. Advertisement That's an intriguing comment. To me, it says taxpayers may help pave the way for Cat's big Chicago-area move. roreed@chicagotribune.com Twitter @reedtribbiz In a decade as a federal appeals court judge, Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch has criticized courts for giving too much power to government agencies that enforce the nation's labor and employment laws. As a lawyer in private practice, he also backed curbs on some class-action lawsuits. His conservative approach could tip the balance in labor rights cases and other clashes that have split the high court. I think employers have a supporter with this particular nominee who is unwilling to go along with agencies just because they interpret the law in a certain way, said Gerald Maatman, a labor lawyer based in Chicago who represents employers. In a closely watched case the Supreme Court is expected to hear later this year, the justices will decide whether companies can require workers to sign away their right to pursue class-action lawsuits. The National Labor Relations Board says such waiver agreements violate the rights of millions of workers who want to sue over wage disputes and other workplace clashes. Labor union critics also hope the court will revisit a case that could threaten the financial viability of unions that represent government workers. The Supreme Court split 4-4 on the issue after Justice Antonin Scalia's death. And the justices may eventually take up a dispute working its way through lower courts over whether federal law banning sex discrimination in the workplace also covers bias against gay people. The legal and public policy worlds are scouring Gorsuch's writings and record for clues to his posture toward these and other issues. What they're finding is a lawyer, and then a judge, who has lashed out against securities class-action lawsuits and frowned on agencies that, in his opinion, overreach. In a 2005 article written when he was in private practice, Gorsuch urged the Supreme Court to curb frivolous class-action securities lawsuits. He called such cases a free ride to fast riches for plaintiff lawyers. On the appeals court in Colorado, Gorsuch's opinions have taken aim at federal labor and employment agencies for going beyond their congressionally mandated missions. He has suggested that the Supreme Court should overturn a 1984 ruling that says courts must defer to government agencies when it comes to interpreting laws that define their mission. Gorsuch dissented in a 2011 case in which Department of Labor officials wanted to fine an excavating company for violating federal standards after one of its workers died in a Colorado electrocution accident. The federal appeals court upheld the $5,500 penalty, but Gorsuch wrote that the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission did not interpret the rules correctly. Administrative agencies enjoy remarkable powers in our legal order, Gorsuch wrote in dissent. Still, there remains one thing even federal administrative agencies cannot do. Even they cannot penalize private persons and companies without some evidence the law has been violated. He also chastised his fellow judges for siding with the Labor Department in a 2016 case in which a driver for TransAm Trucking Co. left his broken-down trailer on the side of the road. The company fired the driver for defying a supervisor's orders to stay with the vehicle despite freezing temperatures. The Labor Department ruled that the driver's actions were protected under federal law and he was to be reinstated, and the appeals court concurred. But Gorsuch wrote in his dissent: It might be fair to ask whether TransAm's decision was a wise or kind one. But it's not our job to answer questions like that. Our only task is to decide whether the decision was an illegal one. In another case last year, Gorsuch said in a dissent that the National Labor Relations Board had overreached when it ordered back pay for hospital employees whose hours had been unlawfully reduced. Some labor leaders have held their fire on Gorsuch's nomination. But AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka said Gorsuch doesn't seem like a friend to employees. He's been a very, very strong advocate for corporations at the expense of working people, Trumka said in an interview. You think corporations need more help? And that they're not strong enough and that they should be stronger, then he's probably your guy. If you think that workers need more protection and corporations need less protection, then he's probably not your guy. Gorsuch's conservative legal philosophy has won praise from business groups that want to rein in government regulation and limit the rights of labor unions. Judge Gorsuch has been very firm on confining regulatory agencies to the text of the law, said Juanita Duggan, president of the National Federation of Independent Business. ALSO: Californians are paying billions for power they dont need Pelosi calls Trump's plan to dismantle financial regulations a 'massive con' Trump and Congress may make it easier to get drugs approved even if they dont work Attorneys Kim Beis, left, and Iman Boundaoui, center, confer Feb. 4, 2017, at a makeshift office for volunteer attorneys inside the international terminal at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport. The lawyers came to support travelers attempting to enter the country from seven countries identified in President Donald Trump's travel ban. (Erin Hooley / Chicago Tribune) While President Donald Trump 's suspended travel ban may be up in the air, one thing is certain: His executive order has put the field of immigration law front and center. "It's extremely busy. I'm fielding a lot more calls than I normally would, not only from new clients, but also from clients who have pretty settled legal status," said Michael Jarecki, a Chicago immigration attorney. "I even have Canadian citizens who have status in the United States call me and say, 'Can I go back to Canada? What's the likelihood that the borders are going to be shut?'" The executive order, issued Jan. 27 with the intention of protecting the U.S. from foreign terrorists, temporarily barred entry for people from seven predominantly Muslim countries: Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen. It also suspended resettlement in the U.S. of refugees from around the world. Advertisement Abdusebur Jemal, a refugee from Ethiopia, greets his wife, Haifa Abdulwahab Hussein Mohammed, of Yemen, and daughter Rudaynah Jemal, 3, at O'Hare International Airport on Feb. 5, 2017. Jemal's wife and daughter were due to arrive last week but were kept from coming because of the Trump administration's travel ban. (Nancy Stone / Chicago Tribune) (Nancy Stone / Chicago Tribune/Chicago Tribune) The order precipitated chaotic scenes at airports across the U.S. that weekend, including Chicago's O'Hare International Airport. Responding to calls from the International Refugee Assistance Project, lawyers flocked to airports, offering assistance to the families of stranded travelers. On Friday, a Seattle federal judge temporarily blocked the immigration order. A federal appeals court was scheduled to hear arguments Tuesday on whether to reinstate the ban. Advertisement Despite the uncertainty of the travel ban, lawyers with immigration know-how are in high demand, both by companies with deep pockets and families of modest means. Marketa Lindt, a Chicago business immigration lawyer and a vice president of the 14,000-member American Immigration Lawyers Association, said confusion is the order of the day for many companies seeking to recruit and maintain foreign talent. Signs for volunteer attorneys are stacked Feb. 4, 2017, in a makeshift office inside the international terminal at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport. Lawyers came to the airport to support travelers attempting to enter the country from seven countries named in President Donald Trump's executive order. (Erin Hooley / Chicago Tribune) "We've had many calls from both the companies we work with as well as their foreign national employees, asking how the travel ban affects employees, and whether they need to cancel their own family or business travel even if they're from countries other than the seven named in the executive order," Lindt said. For family-based immigration issues, the legal aspects of the travel ban are complicated by the limited financial resources available for many of those affected. Attorneys are stepping up. On Thursday, a seminar to train corporate attorneys from Chicago law firms on immigration law drew a record 130 attendees, said Tara Tidwell Cullen, a spokeswoman for the National Immigrant Justice Center, a Chicago-based nonprofit that provides pro bono legal services for low-income immigrants, refugees and asylum seekers. "About 100 of them registered after the travel ban went into place," Cullen said. "They realized they can play an really important role in helping immigrants who are going to be targeted by the Trump administration." Sioban Albiol heads the Asylum & Immigration Law Clinic at the DePaul University College of Law, which works directly with thousands of refugees and immigrants each year and conducts training for immigration attorneys. Expand Autoplay Image 1 of 6 Haifa Abdulwahab Hussein Mohammed, of Yemen, and her daughter, Rudaynah Jemal, 3, walk through O'Hare International Airport on Feb. 5, 2017. The two had been set to arrive the previous Saturday but were delayed because of President Donald Trump's travel ban. (Nancy Stone / Chicago Tribune) Albiol said demand for training has extended beyond lawyers as more restrictive immigration policies take shape under the Trump administration. "Since the election, I have seen interest not just from attorneys but from other professionals who wish to get information and training in order to serve immigrant and refugee communities," Albiol said in an email Tuesday. Advertisement Beyond the travel ban, Trump's oft-repeated campaign pledge to deport up to 3 million undocumented immigrants has created an acute need for removal defense attorneys, according to Shira Scheindlin, a former federal judge from New York who co-founded the American Immigrant Representation Project after the November election. The project sent out a solicitation letter Friday to more than 300 lawyers, asking for financial donations and volunteers to provide legal representation. "We asked for money and we asked for volunteers we're getting both," Scheindlin said Tuesday. "We already have more than 50 volunteers and more than $300,000." While the deportation issue may be flying under the radar somewhat as opposition forces focus on the more immediate travel ban, Scheindlin said Trump's executive order has "energized" the legal community to support her project. For immigrants who can afford to hire legal representation, the phone calls have been fast and furious since the travel ban was enacted, according to Erin Cobb, 39, a Chicago immigration attorney. "I'm seeing phone calls from some clients who received citizenship years ago, who aren't from any of the seven countries, who are now afraid to travel out of the country to visit their family, because they don't know what's going to happen," Cobb said. Advertisement The ramifications of the travel ban are far-reaching. Nearly 100 U.S. technology companies filed a brief with the appeals court Sunday opposing the ban and arguing the order "disrupts ongoing business operations" and "threatens companies' ability to attract talent, business, and investment to the United States." Amy McCormack, a Chicago-based legal recruiter, expects employment opportunities for immigration lawyers to increase during the Trump administration. "I suspect everyone in the immigration space has been gearing up since the election," McCormack said in an email Monday. "We have not seen a real uptick in law firm hiring of immigration lawyers yet, but it would not surprise me if it happens." McCormack said business immigration attorneys in particular should be in high demand in the coming months as larger corporations navigate the ramifications of potential travel restrictions on their workforce. While business may be booming, Jarecki said "there are enough immigration attorneys out there" to handle the paid workload, citing pro bono services as the most pressing need. It's a demand he expects to keep rising if the travel ban is upheld. rchannick@chicagotribune.com Advertisement Twitter @RobertChannick The Acme Hotel will soon house Bunny Slope, a new ski-lodge-themed bar with a hot tub. (Think Leigh Photography) RIVER NORTH The Fifty/50 Group is bringing quite the concept to the Acme Hotel for its next downtown bar project. The crew behind the Berkshire Room and Bodega is planning Bunny Slope, a ski-lodge-themed bar with an indoor hot tub and ski-lift cars for seating. With just 18 seats and a reservations-only policy, the bar will cater to smaller crowds and private events. There's no opening date yet. Acme Hotel, 15 E. Ohio St., 312-894-0800, no website THE LOOP The power of poke refuses to relent, as another option is coming for Loop lunchers in early April, Eater reports. High Tide Poke will serve a selection of signature and build-your-own poke bowls. 203 N. Lasalle St., no phone number, www.hightidepoke.com WEST LOOP Slightly Toasted, a new bar and restaurant serving toast in the mornings and whiskey in the evenings, opened Monday. Toasted comes from Art and Tyler Mendoza, the father-son team that had been behind Oak + Char. 22 N. Clinton St., 312-967-2830, www.slightlytoastedchicago.com LINCOLN PARK Is there room for another wine bar in Lincoln Park? The neighborhoods collection is set to expand when Ignoble Wine Bar opens in March. Eater reports Ignoble also plans to serve lunch, dinner and local spirits and beer. 2417 N. Clybourn Ave., 773-394-4153, www.ignoblewinebar.com LINCOLN PARK The owners of Millie's Supper Club opened a taqueria near DePaul this week. Holy Taco! brings a fast-casual Mexican spot to the area. 953 W. Webster St., 773-857-0844, no website LAKEVIEW Ella Elli, the new "Cal-Ital" restaurant from the guys behind Smoke Daddy, has an official March 7 opening date. 1349 W. Cornelia St., www.ellaellichicago.com FULTON MARKET According to its Facebook page, The Polenta Bar seems to be readying its kitchen for an opening. The Italian bar just welcomed chef Camillo Villa from Italy. 1002 W. Lake St., 773-999-1721, www.thepolentabar.com RAVENSWOOD Vidalia, a new gourmet sandwich and pizza spot from the people behind Dantes Pizza, opened Wednesday. According to Eater, the counter-service restaurant aims to feel like a deli. 1964 W. Lawrence Ave., 773-293-7608, www.vidaliachicago.com WICKER PARK/BUCKTOWN Breakfast chain Yolk has plans to open a pair of locations in the two adjacent neighborhoods, one near the intersection of Division and Honore streets and another further north on Milwaukee Avenue, according to Crains. 1819 W. Division St. and 1767 N. Milwaukee Ave., no phone number, www.eatyolk.com WICKER PARK Le Duck, an Asian-French fusion restaurant we first mentioned in October, opened its doors in late January, owner/chef Ong Satangmongkol wrote in an email. The restaurant serves an intriguing mashup of the two cuisines and occupies the former Columbus Curry location. 1359 N. Milwaukee Ave., 773-661-2542, no website WICKER PARK The former Kokopelli space finally has a new tenant: Komorebi Sushi has moved in, Eater reports. 1324 N. Milwaukee Ave., 773-661-1243, www.komorebisushi.com LOGAN SQUARE The PYOB (pour your own beer) bar trend continues, with another self-serve spot under construction, this one called Navigator Taproom. Eater reports the bar has a 2,500-square-foot space with 50 taps for beer, cider and wine. It should open in June. 2211 N. Milwaukee Ave., 708-932-3682, www.navigatortaproom.com NORTH CENTER Tuscan Hen Market is in its soft-opening phase, DNA Info writes. The new storefront from owner Lorraine Orbon is the next step in her culinary journey, as she has been selling handmade pastas and sauces at Green City Market for a while. 4019 N. Damen Ave., 773-466-2380, www.tuscanhenmarket.com NORWOOD PARK There's a new tenant bound for the space that held Sallys Waffle Shoppe for 40-plus years. DNA Info reports that former owner Dimitrios Tingas sold the space to Cozy Corner Restaurant and Pancake House, which will open its fourth city location there in June. Tingas told the publication he expects the new space will offer the same menu ... same kind of ideas as Sallys. 5454 N. Harlem Ave., no phone number, www.cozycornerrestaurant.net SKOKIE Lucky diners out in Skokie can now get their Culvers fix close to home. The Wisconsin fast food chain opened Jan. 16 with its Butterburgers and frozen custard. 9455 N. Skokie Blvd., Skokie, 847-983-8860, www.culvers.com HARWOOD HEIGHTS Another Midwestern fast food empire is expanding, as Chicago's own Portillo's has opened its 47th location in the area. 7308 W. Lawrence Ave., 872-484-1919 ELMHURST A self-serve beer bar is already open in the suburbs, where Red Arrow Tap Room has four dozen taps to serve your own suds and also serves barbecue, according to Eater. 111 E. First St., 630-501-1322, www.redarrowtaproom.com ROLLING MEADOWS Nic's Organic Fast Food, a drive-through chain that promises fast-food treats without the chemicals or unsustainable sourcing, will open its first restaurant this spring. 2101 Plum Grove Road, www.nicsorganicfastfood.com ICYMI: Advertisement WICKER PARK After a month of renovations, the former Trenchermen space, now called Trench, has reopened, with a menu from Longman & Eagle founding chef Jared Wentworth. LAKEVIEW A pair of the citys most popular local chains are gearing up for a combination location this year. FireFin Poke and Furious Spoon in which chef Shin Thompson and restaurateur Anshul Mangal are both involved will share an address on Halsted Street. LINCOLN PARK Pizzeria Bebu, a new pizza joint from alumni of RPM Italian and Nico Osteria, opened last week, bringing crispy thin-crust pizza to the neighborhood. THE LOOP The Art Institutes Terzo Piano recently finished its remodel. We have photos. WEST LOOP Sepias upcoming sister restaurant finally has a name: Proxi. It should open by late spring. LOGAN SQUARE Mexican breakfast pastries, tacos, regional dishes and mezcal are all on the linup at Quiote, now open in Logan Square CICERO Hooters is bringing Hoots, a new, fast-casual version of its chain to the suburbs. BEVERLY Original Rainbow Cone has set its opening date for the 2017 season. Summer is coming, guys! Closings: Advertisement Swedish Bakery ANDERSONVILLE Sad news for a Chicago staple: plans to close at the end of the month after 88 years. Swedish Bakery, a staple in Andersonville for 88 years, will close its doors Feb. 28, 2017. (Phil Velasquez / Chicago Tribune) (Phil Velasquez / Chicago Tribune/Chicago Tribune) WICKER PARK Wicker Basket Cafe, a small deli along Division Avenue, has closed, DNA Info reports, but for a good reason: The restaurant wants to focus on what it says is a growing catering business. adlukach@chicagotribune.com Twitter @lucheezy Amargo De Chile uses seven varieties of chile pepper to bring heat and complexity to the amaro style. (Michael Tercha / Chicago Tribune) The cocktail renaissance shows no signs of letting up. Restaurants and bars are driven to serve more than just old standbys like Manhattans and martinis and those who tend bar constantly work to find new ways to craft beverages you just can't get anywhere else. Which is how a chile-infused Amargo de Chile was created. "We wanted an amaro that wasn't already in the marketplace," says Clint Rogers of The Dogma Group, the Chicago-based hospitality and beverage consulting firm. Dogma handles local clients, including The Gage and Presidio, as well as national spirit brands including Compass Box Whisky and Diplomatico Rum. Advertisement An amaro is a bitter liqueur enjoyed straight as an after-dinner digestif or mixed into cocktails. You've probably enjoyed amari like Fernet-Branca, and there are many similar herb-forward liqueurs that offer lightly bitter spice to drinks. "People love spicy cocktails," says Tremaine Atkinson of Chicago's CH Distillery. "And we love the bitter profile." Still, when CH first opened, Atkinson was sharply focused on traditional clear spirits like vodka and gin. However, as Atkinson explains, "You start hanging out with bartenders professionally and personally, and there are always ideas coming around." Advertisement "Tremaine has unbelievable scientific know-how," says Rogers. "He's very passionate about spirits and always wants to do new things. We provide the taste buds; he creates infusions. And every time we meet, there are beakers and jars; we're working with pipettes, measuring by weight and coming up with new spirits. We might say to Atkinson, 'there's too much of this,' or 'that's too spicy.' Then he executes against those ideas and finalizes a formula." Dogma and CH decided to create a spicy Latin-influenced bitter, an amargo (Spanish for amaro) with a flavor profile that was really missing in the market, fiery hot as well as bitter. Recalls Atkinson, "Dogma wanted something they could stir into cocktails, and millennials love spicy." So together, they brainstormed at the bar, traded ideas, mixed different blends and tasted and tasted. "It was a very cool, open partnership; we'd meet every Wednesday for an hour or so," Rogers recalls. "Then when our palates became fatigued, we'd take a bottle away with us to try later. At first, we thought the product was lacking a burn. So we added fresh habanero." Going back and forth, the team eventually ended up using seven types of chiles. "We really layered it on," says Atkinson, "with four different dried and three fresh chiles, for deep flavor. We went through a lot of iterations; it was a build, changing around ingredients to find the right balance." Using 19 ingredients in all and vodka as the base liquor, Amargo de Chile was born. It contains the seven chiles (mulato, pasilla, morita, cascabel, ancho, habanero and Fresno), as well as vanilla, cocoa, gentian, wormwood, orange peel and fennel. Try it: Amargo de Chile is available at Chicago bars and liquor stores, and with limited distribution nationally. David Hammond is a freelance writer. Cliff Jumper Advertisement Makes: 1 drink Created by Clint Rogers of Dogma Group. Traditional mole flavors of Mexico mingle with two well-known Mexican spirits for this complex, spicy concoction. 3/4 ounce Amargo de Chile 1/2 ounce reposado tequila 1/2 ounce reposado mezcal 1 ounce cream sherry Advertisement 3 drops saltwater 1 dash orange bitters Stir and serve in a chilled glass. Suggestion: Spray the finished drink with a cinnamon tincture in an atomizer. To make it, soak 2 cinnamon sticks in 8 ounces of high-proof grain alcohol or vodka for 1 to 2 weeks. El Razon Makes: 1 drink Advertisement Eat. Watch. Do. Weekly What to eat. What to watch. What you need to live your best life ... now. > Described as "a hot riff on hot chocolate," by creator Clint Rogers of Dogma Group, this drink is a way to bring Mexican warmth on a chilly winter night. The recipe is modified slightly for the home bartender. 1 ounce Amargo de Chile 1 ounce bourbon 2 tablespoons hot cocoa mix Ancho chile powder to taste 3 ounces hot water Advertisement Mix ingredients and serve in mug or cup; top with whipped cream and sprinkle with cinnamon. In response to a lawsuit filed by a Winnetka-raised comedy writer, Conan O'Brien's legal team last week revealed how the late-night host prepares his monologue. Alex Kaseberg sued O'Brien and employees of his TBS network show "Conan" for copyright infringement in 2015 after noticing similarities between five jokes he posted online and jokes in O'Brien's monologue. Advertisement Kaseberg, a longtime comedy contributor to TV and print publications who now lives in California, said he posted this joke on his blog on Jan. 14, 2015: "A Delta flight this week took off from Cleveland to New York with just two passengers. And they fought over control of the armrest the entire flight." MOST READ ENTERTAINMENT NEWS THIS HOUR Advertisement That same day, O'Brien said in his monologue: "On Monday, a Delta flight from Cleveland to New York took off with just two passengers. Two passengers on the whole plane. Yet somehow, they spent the whole flight fighting over the armrest. As if they wouldn't sit together, but they did. Everyone's OK." In a court filing last week, O'Brien's attorneys said a "Conan" writer submitted that joke via email for monologue consideration nearly five hours before Kaseberg posted his joke online. The attorneys also argued that Kaseberg failed to register a copyright for some of the other jokes included in his lawsuit and other social media users posted similar jokes online before Kaseberg published them. O'Brien's attorneys said "Conan" writers visit a "short list of specific, online news websites" to source their material for monologues, but do not research social media profiles, conduct general Google searches or review content on other comedians' blogs, social media or personal websites. They create an initial batch of monologue jokes that are edited for grammar and style and sent to O'Brien for review. O'Brien edits and approves jokes and identifies topics he wants the writers to focus on. Multiple batches of jokes are created. After rehearsal, approved jokes are sent to the "Conan" research department to vet factual accuracy and producers to vet sponsorship issues. Forty-five minutes before taping begins, O'Brien and members of his staff, including his Yorkville-raised sidekick Andy Richter, meet to finalize the monologue, according to O'Brien's attorneys. His legal team asked the judge on the case for a decision without trial. Kaseberg, whose attorney did not return a request for comment, is seeking at least $600,000 plus attorneys fees. RELATED STORIES: Conan O'Brien's late-night show could go to a weekly format Advertisement Watch Conan O'Brien try to coin the nickname 'No Hit' for Ben Zobrist Conan goes to Mexico City for more 'Conan Without Borders' Kathy Griffin recalls Mr. T helping her out of a jam before Chicago gig Watch the latest movie trailers. Cars pass by the entrance of the Double Door in Wicker Park on Feb. 6, 2017. The music venue was evicted from its longtime location. (Armando L. Sanchez / Chicago Tribune) A day after they were evicted by the Cook County sheriff's office, Double Door co-owners said Tuesday they will continue to appeal a judge's decision requiring them to vacate their longtime Wicker Park space. "This is merely another chapter for Double Door -- it is not the end of its iconic presence as a music venue and arts incubator in Chicago," co-owner Joe Shanahan said in an emailed statement. "Double Door will continue to commit itself to protecting its staff, bands, residencies and partners in its current location for as possible." Advertisement Double Door was evicted Monday after a long legal battle with Brian Strauss, owner of the building at 1572 N. Milwaukee Ave. A Cook County judge ruled in August that Double Door had until the end of 2016 to vacate that location because management failed to properly notify Strauss it wished to extend its lease. Club attorneys filed a notice of appeal of the decision in September and an appeal bond was set at $468,000. Strauss' attorney, James P. McKay Jr., said club management did not pay the bond. Advertisement In its statement, Double Door club co-owner Sean Mulroney said Strauss refused to accept payments for January and February to use the space. McKay dismissed the overtures as disingenuous Tuesday and said "accepting the payment would be in contradiction to the eviction process." "He should have paid the appeal bond to keep them in there," McKay said. The club's statement made no mention of the appeal bond or an idea club management has floated that would involve moving operations to the Logan Square State and Savings Bank building, at 2551 N. Milwaukee Ave. Club co-owners and McKay said both sides negotiated Friday. Mulroney said a potential deal would have allowed Double Door to operate in its space through June. Mulroney and Shanahan said in the statement that the deal would have required Double Door to turn over its license, assets and intellectual property and face a "substantial" security deposit and a "severely hiked" monthly rent. Double Door co-owners were already making higher monthly payments to Strauss during court proceedings. "While the negotiations did take a pause, there was no good faith explanation for the sheriff arriving first thing Monday morning. I can only conclude that was the plan all along," club attorney Cary Schiff said in the statement. McKay said Strauss wanted club management to agree to a security deposit, "reasonable" monthly payments and "several conditions to avoid this from happening again," though McKay did not detail the conditions. McKay said Double Door canceled a meeting set for Saturday and said Schiff and club management were "on notice" of the eviction since Jan. 3, when paperwork was filed with the sheriff's office. Advertisement The club, which opened in 1994, has shows booked into April, according to its online calendar. The "Tuesday Night Turn-Up" event scheduled for Tuesday was moved to the Emporium Arcade Bar in Wicker Park, one of the event's performers announced on Facebook. RELATED STORIES: Double Door evicted from longtime Wicker Park space Double Door considering move to Logan Square as legal appeal continues Judge rules Double Door may stay in Wicker Park spot until end of year Judge postpones decision on deadline for Double Door to vacate space Advertisement Double Door must vacate Wicker Park space, judge rules Watch the latest movie trailers. Expand Autoplay Image 1 of 122 Sophie Turner as Jean Grey, anger management student, in "Dark Phoenix." The film, the latest in the "X-Men" franchise, costars James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender and Jessica Chastain. Read the review. (Twentieth Century Fox) When Billy Branch and Lurrie Bell take the stage of SPACE in Evanston on Thursday night, listeners will hear something increasingly hard to come by these days: traditional Chicago blues. In an era when all manner of pop- and rock-driven sounds get labeled as such, Branch and Bell will be carrying a banner for the fundamentals of the music. Advertisement They've played together in various contexts for 40 years, and their personal histories are bound up with the roots of the genre. Branch early in life toured with Willie Dixon and went on to record with Honeyboy Edwards, Eddy "The Chief" Clearwater and Koko Taylor, among others. Bell, son of harmonica legend Carey Bell, emerged a blues-guitar prodigy in his own right, eventually touring with Taylor and recording several admired albums. The opportunity to hear them together in a superb listening room such as SPACE is not easily passed up. Advertisement "We're basically performing traditional Chicago blues songs, and sometimes we're telling a few stories in between about our experience and tenure together," says Branch, 65. MOST READ ENTERTAINMENT NEWS THIS HOUR "But you're getting a very good representation of traditional Chicago blues. And as remarkable as that might seem, it's becoming rarer and rare, because the trend now is everything has become kind of a hybrid. "Which I have to admit, I find myself in that category as well." Times, tastes and audience expectations change, of course, and no one can succeed artistically by producing the same work through the decades. Yet there's something to be said for championing the eternal verities of an art form, especially when you're as closely linked to its identity as Branch and Bell. "We're going to do some of the old stuff that we usually do together when we do a duo," says Bell, 58. "Basically, we do the 12-bar blues. We keep it simple, and we stick to the foundations of the music." In 1977, Branch and Bell founded the Sons of Blues, a band that's still the centerpiece of Branch's work and keeps him busily touring the globe. And though it's true, as Branch says, that various musical influences now course through his art, his duets with Bell enable him to burrow into the sound, performance practices and repertoire that launched his career. Advertisement "We're exemplifying the styles and the songs that define Chicago blues, which of course had its heyday in the 1950s, when the blues was responsible for most of the African-American hit music during that era," Branch says. "It was the blues that you were listening to on the radio. So you were hearing Muddy Waters and Little Walter and Sonny Boy Williamson and Bo Diddley and on and on. "We are playing those songs in those original styles." Yet when you hear Branch or Bell performing this repertoire, there's nothing nostalgic or retrospective about their approach. The fervency of their vocals, the fearsome power of Branch's harmonica and the fluidity of Bell's guitar work reaffirm the notion that great musical languages never really go out of date. If Gregorian chant well sung can convey austere beauty even today, then mid-20th century Chicago blues can express profundities that transcend ever-changing musical fashion. Thus when Branch and Bell take on songs of Little Walter, Dixon and Williamson as they plan to do in their SPACE show we'll be getting about as close to the original meanings of this music as is possible in live performance at this late date. Partly this owes not only to these musicians' long careers in the blues but also the distinct chemistry they share. Advertisement "It's hard to explain," says Bell, who's up for a Grammy Award for best traditional blues album for "Can't Shake This Feeling" (Delmark Records). "When I play, I play by ear. When I listen to Billy, he inspires me, and I get creative. And I imagine he does too. "What I'm trying to say is when I'm doing my set, and we're trading licks and everything, everything comes together for some reason. It's hard to explain how it happens. That's the bond that you get with each other." Branch credits the felicity of their musical partnership to the nature of Bell's gifts. When they began working together, "Lurrie was 19 years old," recalls Branch. "He was a prodigy. "His skill was far beyond his age. He played with the dexterity and depth of someone much older than he was. Advertisement "I used to say that Lurrie made me play things that I didn't know I could play. Because his skill, his musicianship was at such a high level, and it just inspired." You can hear as much on one of their early collaborations, "Billy Branch, Lurrie Bell & The Sons of Blues: Chicago's Young Blues Generation," a critically applauded album cut in the early 1980s, each musician taking flight during solos. "We recorded this album probably in less than eight hours, and we didn't think much about it," says Branch. "We just did what we did all traditional songs. "Looking back on the musicianship, it's one of my favorite albums of all time. It was so magical. It attested to the chemistry, as well as the skill level of Lurrie. He just has almost a magical ability." So does Branch, as anyone who has heard perform him can attest. As for the state of the blues today, the two men hold slightly different perspectives. Advertisement "A lot of people think that the blues is so much bigger in Europe," says Branch. "It's not necessarily that it's so much bigger, but it's promoted on a much higher level." So far as Bell is concerned, "Man, everywhere around the world people appreciate the blues." Though the heyday of the 1950s is long past, the classic sound endures, at least when Branch and Bell are at work. The Billy Branch & Lurrie Bell Duo play at 8 p.m. Thursday at SPACE, 1245 Chicago Ave., Evanston; $15-$23; 847-492-8860 or www.evanstonspace.com. Howard Reich is a Tribune critic. hreich@chicagotribune.com Advertisement Twitter @howardreich RELATED STORIES: Renee Fleming's 'Chicago Voices' transforms the Civic Opera House with soaring melody Jazz in 'La La Land' nearly redeems Damien Chazelle's 'Whiplash' excesses Watch the latest movie trailers. Expand Autoplay Image 1 of 122 Sophie Turner as Jean Grey, anger management student, in "Dark Phoenix." The film, the latest in the "X-Men" franchise, costars James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender and Jessica Chastain. Read the review. (Twentieth Century Fox) CPS Announces Another Wave Of Cuts, Blames Rauner & Budget Impasse By aaroncynic in News on Feb 6, 2017 11:43PM Demonstrators in front of Chicago Public Schools headquarters on Madison Street during the Chicago Teachers Union "day of action" on April 1, 2016. Photo by Aaron Cynic. As if Chicagos already cash-strapped public schools could handle any more cuts, Chicago Public Schools announced Monday it is freezing $46 million in discretionary funds, blaming Gov. Bruce Rauner and the state budget impasse for the cuts. Governor Rauners actions cement a racially biased funding system that is also the worst in the country for children living in poverty, CPS CEO Forrest Claypool said in a statement published on the Districts website. Governor Rauner did not create this unjust system, but he has chosen to perpetuate it, violating the civil rights of hundreds of thousands of Chicago schoolchildren and threatening their futures. The move comes days after teachers took their first of four unpaid furlough days, which the District claims will save $35 million. The financially beleaguered school system has been struggling to shore up a $215 million gap in funding stemming from a measure Rauner vetoed in November that would have provided the funding. Despite having 20 percent of the states school children, CPS receives just 15 percent of total state education funding, District officials said in a statement. On a per-pupil basis, CPS students receive merely three quarters of the per pupil funding all other Illinois school districts, on average. According to CPS, the majority of schools will see freezes between 0 and 2 percent of their budgets, and none will see more than 5 percent. The move freezes spending on things like new textbooks, field trips, non-salaried staff and investments in technology. A spokesperson for the governor fired back at the District, telling the Sun-Times 20 years of financial mismanagement by the city cannot be blamed on someone trying to put Illinois on the right fiscal path. The Chicago Teachers Union slammed the governor, the District and Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel for the latest in whats been a mountain of cuts the union says schools have had to absorb to the tune of $2 billion since 2011. CTU teachers, paraprofessionals and clinicians already work with understaffed and under-resourced schools, frequently supplementing their meager supplies out of their own pockets, union President Karen Lewis said in a statement emailed to Chicagoist. Rahm and Rauner are both to blame. There is no separation between their intention to destroy publicly funded, public education in Chicago. Since Rahm has failed in lobbying the governor for help in securing the finances of our school communities, we demand that he and the city council figure out how to save our school communities and provide revenue until our state is rid of his mentor. President Donald Trump's recent executive order on immigration spawned countless media stories on desperate families fleeing unspeakable horrors. Most of these stories have focused on the families' endless waits overseas. But less has been said in recent days about the lives of refugees once they find their ways here. For this, we have, serendipitously, the arrival of a terrific new book of short stories, "The Refugees," by Viet Thanh Nguyen, whose debut novel, "The Sympathizer," won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 2016. In "The Refugees," Nguyen explores the ways catastrophic events reverberate around the world, sending floods of terrified refugees to more peaceable nations, ultimately changing the fabric of those nations in small, intimate ways. In Nguyen's short stories, the precipitating catastrophes are the Vietnamese War and the Communist takeover of the country, which led to the migration of 600,000 refugees to the United States after 1978. Advertisement Nguyen focuses on the refugees, their first-generation children and non-refugees who also participated in the tragedy of the Vietnam War. In one story, a Vietnamese refugee bemoans the weakness of his American-born son. In another, a refugee sees the ghost of his dead brother. In another, an American Vietnam vet, still haunted by his memories of the war, returns to the country to visit his twenty-something daughter, who insists she has a "Vietnamese soul." Nguyen is an exceptional storyteller who packs an enormous amount of information and images into a short work. Take, for instance, "The Other Man," a story of a refugee who is taken in by two gay men in San Francisco in the mid-1970s. In this remarkable story, we come to know Liem, the refugee, the couple who take him in, the relationships between the two men and between Liem and each of the men. We come to learn the story of Liem's flight from Vietnam, both the short version of the story and the long one, how he discovered he was gay and how his family feels about that. We also, in just a few paragraphs, come to understand the oppression his family back in Vietnam is experiencing. We see Liem start to settle into the United States and become comfortable with his sexuality. All of this happens in about 25 pages. Advertisement Nguyen is able to show us so much so quickly because he is an efficient writer giving us not a word more than we need to fully grasp what he is saying. Here's his compact and yet vividly real description of Parrish Coyne, one of the men who takes Liem in. Author Viet Thanh Nguyen. (BeBe Jacobs) Parrish Coyne was middle-aged and, except for his gray ponytail, distinguished-looking, his deep-set green eyes resting above a thin, straight nose. He wore a brown fedora and a black leather jacket, unbuttoned over a generous belly. After Liem shyly approached him, but before Liem could say a word, he said Liem's name twice. "Li-am, I presume?" Parrish spoke with an English accent as he clasped Liem's hand and mispronounced his name, using two syllables instead of one. In "War Years," Nyugen vividly paints a picture of a store in San Jose, Calif., the New Saigon Market, owned by the Vietnamese refugee parents of the story's young narrator. The year is 1983. Customers always crowded the market, one of the few places in San Jose where the Vietnamese could buy the staples and the spices of home, jasmine rice and star anise, fish sauce and fire-engine red chilies. People haggled endlessly with my mother over everything, beginning with the rock sugar, which I pretended was yellow kryptonite, and ending with the varieties of meat in the freezer, from pork chops and catfish with a glint of light in their eyes to shoestrings of chewy tripe and packets of chicken hearts, small and tender as button mushrooms. "War Years" hinges on divisions between refugees. In this case, between the narrator's parents, successful store owners, and Mrs. Hoa, a refugee who asks them for money to help fight the Communists back in Vietnam. The narrator's parents refuse, leading to a climactic confrontation. "Mrs. Hoa's face had turned as white as her outfit, and red lipstick smeared her ochre teeth, bared in fury. She glared at the customers and said, 'You heard her, didn't you? She doesn't support the cause. If she's not a Communist, she's just as bad as a Communist.'" Nguyen's vision of the Vietnamese migration to the United States and its impact on the nation is complex. His message is not Pollyannaish or demonizing, as some of the most simplistic of writing about them can be. Nguyen's message, instead, is that they are people, like all of us, with complicated lives and histories. When they come to the U.S., they weave themselves into our story, changing it a little bit, as we all do. Refugees' stories are, in a fundamental way, American stories, of immigrants joining a nation of immigrants and immigrants' children. Trine Tsouderos is a freelancer. 'The Refugees' Advertisement By Viet Thanh Nguyen, Grove, 224 pages, $25 The Greater Illinois Chapter of The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation presented the 20th annual Grand Chefs Gala on Feb. 3 at Navy Pier. Over 900 guests enjoyed fare from Chicago's rich culinary scene and honored restaurateur Rich Melman, founder and chairman of Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises. Hosted by The Food Network's Jeff Mauro, the event began with a chef's tasting of small bites, followed by a three-course meal and then a nightcap of pastries and craft cocktails. Some of the 55 featured chefs and mixologists were recipients of the Jean Banchet Award. Advertisement Participating chefs included Fabio Viviani (Siena Tavern), Ryan Pfeiffer (Blackbird), Doug Psaltis (RPM Steak), Ryan Burns (The Blanchard), Mark Sabbe (Marchesa), Bill Montagne and Jennifer Kim (Snaggletooth), Adrienne Lo and Abraham Conlon (Fat Rice), and Sarah Grueneberg (Monteverde). Chef Chris Pandel (The Bristol, Balena) conceptualized the themed three-course dinner menu "An Evening at Le Francais" as a tribute to the legendary, late chef Jean Banchet. Attendees enjoyed dilled Scottish smoked salmon maki rolls and fried leeks. And, in a departure from typical gala fare, venison was served with a chestnut confit for the main course. Advertisement Rich Melman, founder and chairman of Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises, receives Chicago Classic Award from last year's winners, Michelle and Tony Durpetti (Gene & Georgetti restaurant). (Chicago Tribune) Mauro presented a video that featured Diane Flood who, at age 2, was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis. In the film, she and her family shared what life is like living with the disease. "Part of having CF is that it gets worse with age. I often worry what my quality of life will be like. Is it going to be harder to breathe? Will it be harder to just walk my kids to school? Will I be able to play with my grandkids, or will I even be around to see them? I thank the foundation for helping me to live life to the fullest," she said. Another video highlighted winners from the Jean Banchet Awards, held Jan. 15, that Mauro called the "Oscars of food." The Chicago Classic Award was presented to Rich Melman by last year's winners, Michelle and Tony Durpetti (Gene & Georgetti). In his acceptance speech, Melman acknowledged Banchet and his love for his restaurant, Le Francais. "I met him in 1973 after an introduction from Arnie Morton, who called him 'possibly the greatest chef in the country.' I couldn't get enough of his amazing restaurant. He, along with Le Perroquet chef Gabino Sotelino, would always tease me, talking about how great the food was in France. I told them I didn't think they knew how to make a great tuna sandwich or hamburger. I smile when I think of Jean." The People's Choice Award was presented to Saint Lou's Assembly, a West Loop, cafeteria-style restaurant manned by executive chef Carlos Cruz. His winning dish was a chestnut foie gras soup with candied walnuts and pomegranate. Co-chaired by Rose and Jim Kallas, the gala raised more than $670,000 to help find a cure for cystic fibrosis, a genetic disease affecting over 30,000 people in the U.S. Freelance writer Candace Jordan is involved with many local organizations, including some whose events she covers. More coverage Find more photos and events at www.chicagotribune.com/candidcandace. Visit Candid Candace's website at www.candidcandace.com, or follow her on Twitter @CandidCandace. RELATED STORIES: Eisenopoly: A playful benefit to fund cancer research Advertisement Top design stars open doors for Chicago House Chicago Blackhawks hit the ice for Ronald McDonald House Charities Organizers of the Women's March on Washington want to build on the momentum of the protest. (Amanda Voisard / Washington Post) In a tweet heard round the world Monday, organizers behind last month's massive Women's March on Washington floated the idea for "a day without a woman" strike date to be determined. What would that even look like? Advertisement For some context, we can look to history. On Oct. 24, 1975, an estimated 90 percent of Iceland's women refused to work inside or outside the home, hoping to raise awareness about wage inequity and the low value placed on their contributions to society. Around 25,000 women hit the streets in Iceland that day, leaving their paid jobs vacant and leaving their unpaid jobs child care to the men. Advertisement "Most employers did not make a fuss of the women disappearing but rather tried to prepare for the influx of overexcited youngsters who would have to accompany their fathers to work," the Guardian writes about that day. "Schools, shops, nurseries, fish factories and other institutions had to shut down or run at half-capacity." The will of the people will stand. pic.twitter.com/SKJCRLhRKn Women's March (@womensmarch) February 6, 2017 The day is widely credited with elevating Vigdis Finnbogadottir, a divorced single mother, to Iceland's presidency in 1980. (She was the first woman in the world to be elected head of state in a national election.) "What happened that day was the first step for women's emancipation in Iceland," Finnbogadottir told the BBC in 2015. "It completely paralyzed the country and opened the eyes of many men." Last October, Polish women went on strike to protest a proposed ban on all abortions, even in the cases of rape, incest, danger to the mother's life or irreparable damage to a fetus. That strike "caused widespread disruption to businesses, traffic and to government offices," NPR reported at the time. "In addition to the strike and marches, there were blood-donation drives and book readings, and some teachers taught classes while wearing all black." Polish legislators rejected the ban. Strikes pop up in the arts, as well. In "Lysistrata," the ancient Greek comedy by Aristophanes, the women swear an oath to withhold sex from their husbands until a treaty to end the Peloponnesian War has been signed. In Spike Lee's 2015 "Chi-Raq," the women withhold sex in hopes of ending the street violence that plagues their neighborhoods. I'm not a fan of the no-sex narrative, as it sets up sexual intimacy as something that women engage in begrudgingly and out of duty, rather than something that women crave and enjoy in their own right. Advertisement Then again, Broadly writes about a 2011 sex strike in Barbacoas, Colombia, where the women refused to have sex until the government paved the main road, which was in such disrepair that food and medical care were barely accessible. Protesters march Jan. 21 down Pennsylvania Avenue during the Women's March on Washington. (Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune) "The protesters from Barbacoas connected sex with procreation and the lives of their future children," Broadly writes, "explaining that it was irresponsible to bring a child into an unsafe world." Makes sense. We have no indication what exactly the Women's March organizers have in mind for their upcoming strike, but I'm encouraged that they listened to the 3 million voices raised at women's marches around the country Jan. 21 and are working to amplify them further. Off the Sidelines Chicago, an organization that encourages activism among girls and women, held a luncheon the week after Chicago's march where Cook County Commissioner Bridget Gainer led a discussion about how to build on the march energy. "We don't want to be like the gym on New Year's Day," Gainer told the group. Advertisement Fired up and filled with intention one day, complacent and back on the couch the next. The Women's March organizers' strike tweet was liked 42,000 times and retweeted 21,000 within 24 hours. Complacency is a relic. People are ready and waiting for their marching orders. hstevens@chicagotribune.com Twitter @heidistevens13 RELATED STORIES: Honoring women doctors, 170 years after medical school 'joke' Some friendly pointers for President Trump's Women's History Month speech Advertisement Dear Women encourages us to write letters to those who inspire Antwon Golatte shows off the bullet wounds and injuries he suffered from a police shooting in 2015, with help from his attorney L. Chris Stewart, during a newsconference to announce a pending lawsuit against the Chicago PoliceDepartment. (Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune) A man who was shot by police in 2015 filed a lawsuit against the city of Chicago and a number of police officers, saying they not only used excessive force but falsely arrested and prosecuted him and conspired to deprive him of his constitutional rights. At a news conference Tuesday, Antwon Golatte, 35, took off his black jacket and lifted up his cream-colored silk shirt to show the scars left from bullets that had pierced his abdomen. Advertisement "I think I have a purpose to tell my story for those who can't tell it right now because the officers, they got too much power when they can do whatever they want to do to people," Golatte said. "But they forget they are human just like we are human. Everybody is the same, we all are human, you can't just keep abusing your power and doing things to people." The lawsuit filed Friday accuses the city of Chicago and five police officers of excessive force, false arrest, failure to intervene, conspiracy to deprive Golatte of his constitutional rights, continuing practices and policies that would lead to misconduct, and malicious prosecution. The officers named in the lawsuit are Jaime Gaeta, Harry Matheos, Matt Dercola, James Whigham and Kathleen Schmidt. Golatte's lawyers said they would potentially add more defendants as the case moves along. Advertisement Golatte was shot Feb. 7, 2015, by Matheos and Gaeta, according to the lawsuit and city records. The Independent Police Review Authority in July ruled the shooting unjustified. Golatte was jailed for 44 days and charged with five felonies, all of which he was acquitted of Jan. 20, said Chris Stewart, one of Golatte's lawyers. Stewart also has represented the family of Alton Sterling, who was killed by police in Louisiana, and Walter Scott, who was killed by police in South Carolina. Stewart said they have not received a response from the city. Daywatch Weekdays Start each day with Chicago Tribune editors' top story picks, delivered to your inbox. > "We understand that the city and the police department are doing what it takes to fix future problems. But what about the past victims?" Stewart said. "What about the people like Mr. Golatte who were victims of that broken system beforehand? What are they doing to resolve those issues? We already had to fight the criminal case, now we're going to have to fight a civil case that everybody knows what the officers did was wrong, both in court and out of court." Danielle Pinkston, Golatte's lawyer who represented him during the criminal trial, said Golatte's case is unusual in that he was unarmed and that evidence clearly showed Golatte's version of events was the correct one. Stewart said Golatte is a rare case involving a victim of police brutality who lived through the experience and could speak out about the incident. Golatte has permanent nerve damage and still has bullet fragments in his body. "He wasn't supposed to live. End of story," Stewart said. "There would be nobody to speak out for him. We would be representing a body, and not a talking human being who ... has a permanent impairment for the rest of his life." Bill McCaffery, Law Department spokesman, said the city has not yet been served with the case and therefore could not comment. Advertisement gwong@chicagotribune.com Twitter @GraceWong630 Illinois Senators Durbin & Duckworth To Vote No On Trump Cabinet Picks By aaroncynic in News on Feb 6, 2017 10:21PM Illinois Senator Dick Durbin greets supporters at a rally opposing the repeal of the Affordable Care Act in January. Photo by Aaron Cynic. In a series of tweets from a press conference with the Sierra Club Monday morning, Durbin said he would oppose the appointment of Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt to head the Environmental Protection Agency. Duckworth has previously indicated her opposition to the appointment. I will vote against nomination of Scott Pruitt to lead @EPA. EPA has to protect people, not the oil industry pic.twitter.com/4NOmyXwhhU Senator Dick Durbin (@SenatorDurbin) February 6, 2017 He is a climate [change] denier, said Durbin, according to the Sun-Times . He is one who even questions the premise as to whether human activity is causing a change in the world we live in and this is the man chosen by President Trump to run the number-one environmental protection agency in the world? Pruitt is opposed not only for his...sketchy at best views on climate change, but his connections to the oil and gas industries. On Monday, 447 EPA employees sent a letter to Senators urging opposition. Different administrators have come to different conclusions about how best to apply the law in view of the science, and many of their decisions have been challenged in court, sometimes successfully, for either going too far or not far enough, the group wrote, according to The Hill. But in the large majority of cases it was evident to us that they put the publics welfare ahead of private interests. Scott Pruitt has not demonstrated this same commitment. Over the weekend, Durbin, the Assistant Minority Leader in the Senate, said he would oppose Trumps nominee for Secretary of Education, Besty Devos. "Not only does she have no government experience, little or no educational experience, she really brings to this job a philosophy which I think is too extreme," Durbin told reporters, the State Journal-Register reports. Devos has faced criticism from politicians, educators, unions representing teachers, and a host of other advocates for education for her support of rampant education privatization. In a statement last week, Duckworth criticized Devos for her zealous advocacy for laws that redirect money from public schools towards private schools without adequate accountability. Additionally, the newly elected Senator, who handily beat Mark Kirk in the November 2016 election, said she was troubled by statements Devos made regarding the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. I was also stunned by her apparent lack of knowledge of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) - a federal law that requires schools across the nation to equitably educate students with disabilities, said Duckworth. While unlikely to happen soon, legal recreational cannabis use is closer than ever to becoming reality in New Mexico. Fat lady who fell in comical fashion while riding a scooter and shopping for gallons of soda pop in a Walmart is speaking out about how everyone is laughing at her and it isn't funny. President Trump wants you to know that there are thousands of terrorist attacks killing innocent midwest farmers and average Euro Svens news of which is being suppressed by evil media companies. Like Weekly Alibi, for instance. We could have reported on the briefcase nuke that destroyed UNM's Valencia campus, but rah rah terrorism (raspberry sound). There isn't any actual skateboarding but still, this Russian skater is pretty damn high up in the air on the edge of a skyscraper, uh ... with his skateboard. A spectacular meteor zoomed across a pile of states and part of Canada Monday morning. Finally we may rest assured that huge amounts of LSD will not "fry" your brain and turn it into swiss cheese on a stale Trisket. You might develop a mental problem tho but that's different. Let us allall of us adultsenjoy Alistair Crowley's completely obscene 666 word poem about his girlfriend, who, in a tamer moment, he once compared to a hoover vacuum. Here for your further enjoyment or, maybe, just to induce uncontrollable rage, is every tweet Trump has tweeted in the time he has had the POTUS Twitter account! The Chicagoist will be launching later but in the meantime please enjoy our archives. Illinois Reps Want To Make Barack Obama's Birthday A Legal State Holiday By Stephen Gossett in News on Feb 7, 2017 5:25PM Photo: Tyler LaRiviere While Barack Obama lives it up in the sun in his post-POTUS life, some Illinois state lawmakers are trying to honor the work he did while in office with a special designation: make Obamas birthday a state holiday in Illinois. The proposal has been submitted in three separate bills, in fact. Two House bills both seek to designate Aug. 4 a legal holiday. That means, if passed, state government offices would be closed that day, and schools and businesses could make the choice to follow suit. The bill introduced in the state Senate, however, would only mark a commemorative holiday for Barack Obama Day, meaning government agencies would remain open on Aug. 4. Rep. Sonya Harper, a Democrat from Chicago, sponsored one of the House bills under consideration and singled out Obama as one of the best commanders-in-chief. "He is from our great state, served in the Illinois General Assembly as a senator, and lists Chicago as his hometown," Harper said, via the State Journal-Register. "In my lifetime, he's one of the greatest examples of an American president. Just like President (George) Washington and President (Abraham) Lincoln, I believe President Obama should be right up there and we need to celebrate his birthday." The sponsor of the second House bill, Rep. Andre Thapedi, also a Chicago-area Democrat, floated the idea a year ago but Gov. Bruce Rauners office pushed back, claiming it would cost Illinois $3 million in workers salary and the state would lose an additional $16 million in productivity loss. Thapedi says those numbers are very much inflated, but he agreed he would back off the proposal until a later date if a better estimate also proved too costly, according to SJ-R. If passed into law, Barack Obama Day would be the first state holiday in Illinois since 1977's Casimir Pulaski Day was ushered in to the delight of Big Black and Sufjan Stevens. You are here: Home Phoenixes and Dragons, a calligraphic piece by Wei Ligang, is among the works at an ongoing exhibition in Beijing. [Photo provided to China Daily] The centerpiece of experimental calligrapher Wei Ligang's ongoing Beijing exhibition is a 45-meter-long scroll titled Phoenixes and Dragons that the Beijing-based artist completed in 2012. In the work, Wei repeats classical poetry and original verses. He cycles through various writing styles, including the cursive script (caoshu) and clerical script (lishu). The brushstrokes transform in a symphonic way "abruptly from calmness to a manic touch", says Wei. The piece is installed on the wall and in a spiral on the second floor of Ink Studio Beijing, where Wei's exhibition Songs of Phoenix Mirror is running. The characters are like mythical birds in ancient Chinese tales, taking viewers on a journey through time to the origin of Chinese aesthetics. The 53-year-old grew up in Datong, a city in North China's Shanxi province that boasts rich historical and cultural heritage. Once a capital of the Northern Wei Dynasty (386-534), Datong is celebrated for its ancient Buddhist sites, including the Yungang grotto shrines and the Huayan Temple, and many precious steles bearing calligraphic inscriptions from centuries ago. The environment implanted in him a deep admiration for the grandeur and power of classical art. Wei, who began practicing calligraphy as a child, is inspired by such masters as Fu Shan (1607-84), a famed calligrapher, thinker and doctor from Taiyuan, Shanxi's provincial capital. Wei's calligraphic pieces show the influence of Fu's writing philosophyseeking a state that is a bit out of control. Wei, who majored in mathematics at Nankai University in Tianjin, has been passionate about calligraphy since college. He immersed himself in the research of Fu and Chinese epigraphy. Wei, who moved to Beijing in 1995 to become a professional artist, has since sought to engage in contemporary art to renew Chinese calligraphy. His works explored Fu's ideas in a modern context. "Fu personifies the characters of calligraphy. He is opposed to a showcase of skillful cleverness and sophistication, as well as compositions that cater to mainstream tastes," he says. "If one seeks security and remains in his comfort zone, he cannot create a good piece of work. "A master loves the uncontrolled feeling. Even when he makes mistakes by going too far, he knows how to fix the imperfections with a perfect finish." The works on show feature Wei's signature "magic square" characters. He exaggerates the structures of the characters, making them look like ballooned squares pressed against each other. His characters are inspired by inscriptions on oracle bones and Northern Dynasty (386-581) steles. Between the characters he adds images of flowers, birds, towers and gates. By doing so, he distracts viewers from the characters so they can see the beautiful variations of their lines. Weiwho writes on a golden acrylic background or uses golden acrylic pigments on black papermakes the characters pop up. The visual effect reminds viewers of the artistic splendor of the Han (206 BC-AD 220) and Tang (618-907) dynasties. "When I write, I can see the characters rise and fly in the sky like free birds." If you go 10 am-6 pm, closed on Mondays, through Feb 12. Red No 1-B1, Caochangdi, Chaoyang district, Beijing. 010-5127-3143. You are here: Home Beijing Mayor Cai Qi addresses a symposium with state media on Sunday. Beijing Mayor Cai Qi vowed to remove Beijings non-capital functions at a symposium with state media on Sunday. Cai said that to remove non-capital functions of Beijing is to do the supply-side structural reform, to make structural adjustments and transform the economical growth pattern, as well as to clear out outdated industries and fill in advanced industries. The task also entails improving the quality of urban development and living environment as well as the ease of tensions between population, resources and environment, Cai added. He said Beijing will perform better as the capital and make headway in development through the move. Beijing will remove non-capital functions for optimization of economic and spatial structure, stepping on a new path featuring sound structure, high quality and efficiency. For the next step, Beijing will focus on scientific and technological innovation and boost sophisticated industries. A man has confessed to killing his wife and storing her body in a freezer at their home for three months, according to media reports in Shanghai. The story was first published on Feb 3 on the WeChat feed of Xuan Kejiong, deputy head of the breaking news department at Shanghai Radio and TV Station News Center. However, a municipal police spokesperson was unable to confirm the details of the story. According to Xuan's post, a woman called the police on Feb 1, saying that her son, surnamed Zhu, had killed someone, before turning him in. Zhu confessed to killing of his wife, surnamed Yang, on Oct 18 last year and storing her body in a freezer at their home ever since, Xuan's post said. Police discovered the dead body of Yang in a freezer at a residential apartment on Guangzhong Road in Hongkou district, according to Shanghai-based news portal The Paper. Zhu and Yang, both 29, were married on Dec 31, 2015, and moved into the Guangzhong Road apartment in May last yearYang was a primary school teacher, while Zhu was a display designer at a department store, reports said. Neighbors had seen Zhu walking his dog and acting in a normal manner over the past three months, according to reports. Yang's parents are said to have last seen their daughter on Oct 1, when they dined with the young couple and Zhu's divorced parents, adding that they and other family members had kept in contact with Yang via text messages on various digital platforms, such as WeChat and QQ. Yang's parents reportedly requested to meet her on numerous occasions at a nearby relative's home, but their daughter never showed up. According to text conversations on Xuan's WeChat post, Zhu made up various excuses to avoid Yang's parents, such as that they were sightseeing in Wuxi; in Hong Kong for Spring Festival; and that Zhu was suffering with an ailment. On Nov 22, Zhu reportedly even faked his wife's birthday celebrations, posting a picture on her WeChat feed, inviting friends to send their blessings. On Jan 26, Yang's mother is said to have received messages from her "daughter" on WeChat, saying she would spend the Spring Festival in Hong Kong with friends, and would not be back in Shanghai until Jan 29. According to Xuan's post, Yang's mother didn't see her daughter that day, but she asked Yang to visit her on Feb 1, her father's 60th birthday, which is the day Zhu is reported to have confessed to the police. It is said that Yang's family and friends described Zhu as unreliable, dishonest and irritable after drinking, while a note handwritten by Zhu was reportedly found among the remains of the victim, promising he would not contact other women. It is reported that Yang quit her job because her husband had been promoted, and on Oct 14, the couple are said to have visited Yang's school to complete her resignation process, where students and colleagues described Yang as a "beautiful, gentle and kindhearted teacher". An investigation into the case is said to be ongoing, with law enforcement authorities yet to confirm details of the case. You are here: Home European Central Bank (ECB) President Mario Draghi on Monday rejected Washington's accusation of currency manipulating. "We are not currency manipulators," said Draghi at the European Parliament's economic and monetary affairs committee. The remarks came after Peter Navarro, head of the U.S. National Trade Council, reportedly said the euro was like an "implicit Deutsche Mark" whose low valuation gave Germany an advantage over its main partners. Navarro, as well, said Germany used a "grossly undervalued" euro to exploit the United States and its European Union (EU) partners. The ECB president said the EU's monetary policies reflected the diverse state of the economic cycle of the eurozone and the United States. "The single market would not survive with continuous competitive devaluations," the president told parliamentarians. Draghi also slammed U.S. President Donald Trump's policy of loosening bank regulations which were introduced after the 2008 financial crisis, saying Washington's idea was "very worrisome." He said financial regulations and legislative actions taken in the aftermath of the financial crisis helped curb the development of significant financial stability risk. "The last thing we need at this point is a relaxation of regulation," Draghi said. Trump last week signed an executive order to overhaul the country's financial regulatory system, including scaling back the 2010 Dodd-Frank Act that was introduced after the financial crisis and imposed strict capital standards on banks. Chinese judges on Monday strongly condemned the murder of a retired judge in south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. Fu Mingsheng, who worked at a court of Luchuan County in Guangxi, was reportedly killed with a knife at his residence on Jan. 26. by suspect Long Jiancai, a defendant in a divorce case that Fu heard in 1994, according to a statement released by the committee in charge of protecting judges' rights and interests under the China Association of Judges. Details of the case are not yet available. There have been frequent cases of assaults and insults of judges in recent years. Some have been followed, harassed and threatened. Such incidents have diminished the authority and credibility of the judiciary, according to the statement. A young woman in Zhuzhou, central China's Hunan Province had her cellphone stolen on Feb. 3 while shopping with her friend, whose candid photos happened to record the theft taking place. [Photo: zznew.gov.cn] Victim Xiaojia said she and her friend Yueyue loved taking candid photos of each other during funny occasions. While they were shopping that day, Xiaojia chucked her iPhone 6s into her coat pocket in order to eat grilled chicken wings. Yueyue then started to photograph her secretly. Yueyue did not review the photos for fear of being caught, nor did Xiaojia realize that her phone was gone until two minutes later. They hurriedly examined the candid photos. In the first photo, a middle-aged man was lurking behind Xiaojia, ready to stretch his hand into her pocket; and in the second photo, the iPhone was already in his hand. They reported the crime to police and the candid images were treated as critical evidence in catching the suspect. Demand for new employees in south China's Guangdong Province increased after the Spring Festival vacation, when migrant workers return to their hometowns for the holiday. The first job fair in Guangzhou, capital of the industrial province of Guangdong, started Monday with nearly 4,000 posts on offer from more than 180 companies in the Pearl River delta region. Of the total, nearly 20 percent were opportunities in the wholesale and retail industry, evidence of a sound market environment for retail trade, an official with the job fair said. It was followed by vacancies offered by traditional manufacturing industries. The general demand for labor in the sector has fallen in recent years as manufacturing industries move inland areas to reduce costs. Jobs in the emerging industries, such as computer and software, accounted for 11 percent of all the opportunities on offer, double the same period last year. "It is not easy to hire after the Spring Festival because people are scattered," said Zou Daosheng, chairman of a Hunan-based health product firm that plans to establish a marketing team in Guangzhou. Guangzhou will hold more job fairs in the following two months, offering more than 100,000 posts from about 5,000 companies. Companies in Guangdong often face a labor shortage after Spring Festival when people move cities or stay in their hometown. The province needed more than 8 million workers in the first three quarters of 2016. Does anti-smog war in China have a silver lining? This is the biggest question hovering into the minds of every Chinese and even people living in different parts of the world. If analyzed with various perspectives figuring out rational logics and magnitude of pragmatic efforts to take the space back encroached by smog (a toxic air pollutant posing health hazards), answer is quite affirmative. No wonder smog has topped in the list of stressful worries for China. Everyone seems nervy on creeping hazy wrap. Cities especially Beijing and 21 others like Tianjin, Shijiazhuang, Taiyuan and Zhengzhou across north and central China wear thick sheet of smog. Mask-wearing people are spotted everywhere. Various alerts (red, yellow and orange) among 4-tiers of warning system are enough to give sleepless nights in winter. Educational institutions, for some days, are shut down. Moratorium is often imposed on numbers of cars plying on roads. Those violating environmental standards face heavy fines. Even plug is pulled from some coal-fired industries. Undoubtedly, smog crises run high setting livewire tension soaring with every passing day. However, on the flip side, scenario is very upbeat. In order to take sting out of smog pollution, government has rolled out practical initiative with full throttle. Restructuring of coal power, one of the leading contributors in contaminating air quality and blackening cities with smog, is now positioned among main priorities laid down in 13th five year plan (2016 to 2020).a blueprint for China's economic and social development approved by the 12th National People Congress (NPC) to keep innovating green development and meeting other tangible growth targets. Reacting sensibly, government has chalked out a plan to cut coal consumption up to 60 percent during the current year. Nur Bekri, director of National Energy Administration (NEA), revealed in a national energy work conference that efforts are in full swing to switch from fossil fuel (coal power) to non-fossil fuel (renewable energy sources like wind, solar, hydro and nuclear). "China plans to foster clean energy and emission reductions at all costs," he added Premier Li Keqiang's landmark speech also set the mood to wriggle out of smog crises when he hinted at controlling factory emissions of tiny detrimental Particulate Matter (PM2.5) a major source of smog pollution to 25 percent. The height of seriousness is easily gauged with fact that it is first time in the history of China that a specific PM2.5 target has been incorporated in a FYP. According to NEA report, China is all set to reinvest 2.5 trillion yuan ($361 billion) into renewable power generation by 2020 in a bid to shift power consumption culture from coal energy to renewable energy. "Installed capacity of non-fossil fuel takes up 36.1 percent of China's total installed capacity. World's biggest energy user set the target to ramp up the ratio of non-fossil fuel consumption to 14.3 percent and that of natural gas consumption to 6.8 percent by the end of year," report said. Since plans are up and running to provide smog-free environment to people, china has been expanding its infrastructure of wind power, one of the best means of renewable energy. China has been building two wind turbines every hour, the International Energy Agency (IEA) disclosed. This is the world's biggest programme of turbine installation, double that of the US. The Global Wind Report published by the Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC) said that wind is leading the transformation of the global power system, long overdue and very essential to meet the climate objectives agreed by 186 nations in Paris 2015. It appreciated China for announcing install more than 100 GW of wind energy capacity by 2020 and that renewable energy will supply 40 percent of the energy market by 2050. In another unprecedented development to limit greenhouse gas emission triggering heavy clouds of smog, solar energy programmes have picked up momentum. In recent years, plan is in place to achieve more than triple solar power capacity by 2020 to as much as 143 gigawatts to help reduce carbon emissions. China generated 43 gigawatts of solar panels last year, equal to 70 percent of global output, Liang Zhipeng, deputy director at the renewable energy division of the National Energy Administration, said in a media talk. Following other cities, finally Beijing has also marked officially smog as "Metrological disaster" showcasing its intensity in fight against the pollutant. According to the World Health Organization, yearly averages of PM2.5 levels should not exceed 10 micrograms per cubic meter. However the Chinese government terms annual average PM2.5 level of 35 micrograms per cubic meter as normal. In its 13th Five-Year Plan, which kicked off in 2016, the government has vowed to reduce levels by 18 percent by 2020. It is matter of satisfaction that Beijing plans to install air purification equipment in schools and kindergartens, said by Beijing Municipal Education Commission. Meanwhile annual average density of PM 2.5 to around 60 micrograms will be achieved during current year in the Capital, Lu Yan, head of the Beijing Municipal Reform and Development Commission said. 20 million Beijingers are also likely to witness environmental police to punish violators of regulations to curb pollution. As part of its war on pollution, China's government has revised environmental laws to make them more effective and efficient. It is described as China's toughest ever because of massive fines and sharper jaws of courts. According to reports, the Ministry of Environmental Protection (MEP) has slapped heavy fines to more than 500 Chinese companies and around 10,000 car-owners for environmental related violations. More than 2,682 officials have been brought to book due to their negligence in enforcing anti-pollution law. Wang Shuxiao, an environmental science professor with Tsinghua University, is of the view that public have to be more patient with anti-smog steps taken by government. China may win the war against smog problem only if the whole of society put the act together to reduce the emission of air pollutants, Wang said. Setting aside China, lethality of smog has been taking heavy tolls on Pakistan and other neighbouring countries. Punjab (thickly populated and urbanized province of Pakistan) particularly its eastern side bordering stretch to India, which is den of coal-charged industries, is hotbed of deadly pollutants. Loose check on factory emission and ever-increasing density of car in urban sprawl, is adding fuel to fire. In countering smog spillover, China is truly a best example to follow by Pakistan, said by Dr. Javed Iqbal, former Director General of Environment department and Phd in Environmental sciences. "Pakistan has to declare war against the pollution seeking inspiration to China, time-tested friend, as latter has never dragged its feet when it comes to help out Pakistan from any problem." "Lahore (capital of Punjab), along with New Delhi (important city of India), has recently been listed amongst the top 10 worst cities for Smog Meanwhile India's next most polluted city, coal and industry-heavy Chandrapur, sees air quality level at 824, according to the World Air Quality Index. Eco-green society of Pakistan head Dr. Naveed Akhtar valuing China short term and long term policies of renewable energy, has proposed Sharif administration to ask China in making Pakistan's first ever policy against smog There is dire need of hour, he says, to amend environmental laws with strict enforcement by government of Pakistan in lines with the Chinese footsteps to deal with smothering climatic challenges In an effort to fight against poisonous pollutants through launching renewable energy projects, China has already been collaborating with Pakistan. Under CPEC, Quaid-e-Azam solar power park equipped with 400,000 solar panels in Cholistan, one of famous desert of Pakistan, will displace about 57,500 tonnes of coal burn and reducing emissions by 90,750 tonnes every year. Similarly wind power and hydro power projects are on an anvil. Pakistan high-ups desperately need to put its head together with their Chinese counterparts to garner the similar spirit as shown by Beijing and other cities and take advantage of recent measures and policies to minimize the smog severity. Former federal minister for Climate Change, Pakistan Mushahid Ullah Khan also vows to improve environment capitalizing rich experience of China in the field. (The author is a senior investigative journalist working for The News International, Daily Times, Pakistan Today and Centerline Magazine in Pakistan.) Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi (R) shakes hands with his Australian counterpart Julie Bishop prior to the two countries' fourth round of diplomatic and strategic dialogue in Canberra, Australia, Feb. 7, 2017. Foreign ministers of China and Australia called for further strengthening of bilateral ties here on Tuesday. (Xinhua/Zhu Hongye) China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi is visiting Australia and New Zealand from February 7 to 10, and will meet the Australian FM Julie Bishop. "Visiting Australia and New Zealand at the beginning of the Chinese New Year highlights the importance China gives to growing relations with these two countries," China foreign ministry spokesman Lu Kang was quoted to say on Saturday. The trip comes at a time of heightened tensions, and uncertainty in Asia, particularly in the South China Sea and around the Korean peninsula. It also comes amidst the relative uncertainty with regards to American intentions and relations with allies in the Pacific region. The importance of this trip can be understood from the official communique of the Chinese administration, as it is marked as a trip to solidify the full commitment and demonstration of the Chinese side for Australia. This is clearly an interesting development. Trump's ascendance to power opened up new developments and contingencies which no one, much less no regional powers anticipated. Trump has openly threatened a trade war with China, which to put it simply, will be devastating for Asia and the global economy. It will also ultimately persuade other powers to join a new economic order, which I explained in a column earlier. After Chinese President Xi's Davos speech , it is increasingly clear the choice around the world is between protectionism and free markets. While it is still unclear as to how much Trump actually can or is willing to continue with protectionism, and even if he does how much will he be able to continue when the losses start pouring in for American companies and consumers, other powers are already keeping the eventualities in consideration. For example, recently after the U.S. cancelled TPP, Australia hinted that it is open to China and Indonesia joining. While stating that it is a big loss, and being optimistic that the U.S. would join in the future, Australia said that they are having talks with Canada, Mexico, Japan, New Zealand, Singapore, Malaysia, Chile and Peru to go through with the deal, without the U.S. Australia also hinted that major economic muscle is needed, and the original treaty allows other countries to join in, which is a major hint to China . There's something else fundamentally at play. Australian closeness and dependence on Asian trading partners is precisely the reason, it has a mining boom, and it didn't face the global financial crisis as devastatingly as the West, which was crippled in 2008. Statistics reveal that in 2011, China accounted for almost one-quarter of all Australian goods trade. Around the same time according to a poll, over 75 percent of the people in Australia were satisfied with Chinese trade. But there's a new fundamentally different debate that has started down under, one that encompasses a radically changing scenario in the Pacific. Australia has been a steadfast ally of the U.S. since the Second World War, going to wars in Vietnam and Iraq for example. But how far is Australia willing to take sides when it comes to a great power conflict or confrontation in Asia? A proxy war, trade war, or even an outright war in Asia will be devastating, but most importantly it will force regional powers to choose sides. For example, in a given trade war, between the U.S. and China, China will understandably retaliate. Given the lack of imports from the U.S., it will then be on Australia to provide the deficit in meat and dairy for example. Will Australia do it and choose Chinese trade over an American alliance? The second debate is about security. If there's a conflict or proxy war in Asia, especially in the Korean peninsula or the South China Sea, will Australia and New Zealand take sides? With the recent hostile Trump's phone call with the Australian PM Turnbull, these debates are even more prominent. Apparently it was extremely rude and undiplomatic , which is classic Trump. Unfortunately the question in Australian strategic circles is how much does an alliance benefit Australia -- if after rock solid support of over 45 years is rewarded with humiliation. And what are the costs of jeopardizing trade with China in a changing world. These are the questions which will be at the forefront. Ultimately, the choice might just be simple, between trade and peace or destabilization and proxy war. Sumantra Maitra is a columnist with China.org.cn. For more information please visit: http://www.china.org.cn/opinion/SumantraMaitra.htm Opinion articles reflect the views of their authors only, not necessarily those of China.org.cn. US President Donald Trump speaks while signing executive orders at the White House in Washington January 24, 2017. [Photo/Agencies] Since being sworn into power, US President Donald Trump has been quickly and firmly implementing his campaign promises. He has not only ordered an immediate withdrawal of the United States from the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement, but also issued a travel ban against the citizens of seven Muslim countries, and signed an executive order for a wall to be built along the US-Mexico border. During a phone call with Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, he even ridiculed a refugee agreement reached between the US and Australia under the Barack Obama administration, and reportedly ended the call abruptly. While Trump has promised a "new deal" in the first 100 days of presidency, he has already caused much damage in his first 10 days, threatening the core checks-and-balances of US democracy. To retaliate against his travel ban, Americans nationwide are protesting against Trump's radical move. The Senate minority leader Charles Schumer has called such a travel ban very "un-American" and San Francisco and Washington State have launched lawsuits against the president. More than 900US diplomats have officially lodged their dissent, saying that "such a ban will bring more harm to the US than otherwise." The United Nations has also expressed its concern over such a ban. Breaking American tradition not to comment on the present president, former president Obama has just spoken out to defend America's "core value". Trump has not only hurt US relations with the Muslim world, he has also upset the US' friends and allies. His disrespect of Australia has invited dissatisfaction from Canberra. His claim that Germany has been "tapping the weak euro" so as to exploit its trade partners, and his comment on Japan's currency manipulation, have upset these major allies. And more than a million people in the United Kingdom have voiced their opposition to the UK government inviting Trump to visit, and Mexican President Enrique PenaNieto has decided to cancel his visit to the US. Even in his own country, Trump has shown no interest in mending the rifts he is creating. Millions of women have already staged demonstrations throughout America. Trump's tolerance of the extreme alt-right, the new white supremacy movement, has ignited students' open opposition at UC Berkeley. The Democrats are opposed to Trump's pick for Supreme Court Judge to NeilM. Gorsuch and are pushing for his nomination to be refused. Actually in eight days, Trump has managed to make his public approval rating lower than his disapproval rating, setting a record. He may still think all he has done is to put "America first", but to attain greatness by denying people and the US partners' legitimate rights will hardly generate sustainable acceptance of American leadership. In the face of the counter pressure, Trump's team is reluctantly making adjustments. Thus far the White House has allowed some 900 of green-card holders from the aforementioned seven Muslim countries to return to the US. It has watered down its enforcement of the travel ban, and argued that such a ban is not targeted at all Muslims. No one would reject Trump's professed purpose of preventing terrorists from entering the US, but most disagree with his simplistic, disruptive and discriminative immigration policy. Until now, Trump has refrained from pushing the envelope on China. But in light of his actions over the past two weeks, it is better for Beijing to take Trump's campaign threats seriously. However, just as his impulsive self-isolationist approach is distancing the US from its allies, any unfair handling of China-US relations will only alienate the US even more from the world. Remembering that the travel ban has been so unreasonable for the US permanent residents of those Muslim countries from returning, the Trump administration should be mindful that any unilateral, non-cooperative approach to China would only make it "ride a tiger but find it difficult to get off". Trump has, time and again, professed he wants to conduct fair deals. China welcomes fair business, but it is also against unfair deals. The author is professor and associate dean of Institute of International Studies, Fudan University. Flash Cambodian police have arrested a Japanese man and two Cambodians on the suspicion of persuading 10 Cambodian women into sex trade in Japan, according to the National Police website on Monday. Fukui Susumu, 52, manager of a Japanese restaurant in Phnom Penh, and his 28-year-old Cambodian wife as well as a 34-year-old male employee were arrested last week at the restaurant on the western outskirts of Phnom Penh, the website said. Police said Susumu and his wife lured 10 Cambodian women in August last year to work in a restaurant in Japan, lying to them that they could make between 3,000 U.S. dollars and 5,000 U.S. dollars per month. However, when the women arrived in Japan in November, another Japanese man Kabasawa Nakare, 50, took them to work as waitresses in a restaurant in Gunma prefecture and forced them to have sex with Japanese clients, the police said. Police added that the arrest came after seven of the women secretly contacted the Cambodian Embassy in Tokyo in December and filed a complaint to Japanese authorities for an intervention. The victims were repatriated to Cambodia last month. Ly Sophana, a spokesman for the Phnom Penh Municipal Court, said that a court prosecutor questioned the three suspects on Monday and a formal charge against them was expected on Tuesday. You are here: Home Flash Moscow regrets the imposition of new sanctions by the United States on Iran after the latter's missile test, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov said Monday. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani (R) meets with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin after the third summit of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum in Tehran, Iran, on Nov. 23, 2015. [Photo/Xinhua] Iran's recent missile test did not violate the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action or the UN Security Council resolution urging the Islamic Republic to drop nuclear-capable missile activities, Ryabkov was quoted as saying by the RIA Novosti news agency. He added that the existing mechanism ensuring the peaceful nature of Iran's nuclear program is implemented without "specific problems." The United States on Friday announced sanctions on multiple entities and individuals involved in Iran's missile development after Tehran carried out its latest medium-range ballistic missile test on late last month. Iran is one of Russia's major supporters on Middle East issues. The two countries, together with Turkey, are jointly mediating a political settlement of the Syrian civil war. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told a news briefing on Monday that Iran has no ties with the Islamic State, Nusra Front or other militant groups, adding that Tehran should be part of the joint efforts to fight terrorism. Also on Monday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia has "partner-like" relations with Iran and looks forward to trade and economic cooperation. Flash Syrian army backed by the Lebanese Hezbollah group have besieged the Islamic State (IS) group's bastion city of al-Bab in northern province of Aleppo, near the Turkish borders, a monitor group reported on Monday. After 20 days of a wide-scale military operation in the northeastern countryside of Aleppo, the Syrian army succeeded to lay a siege on the city of al-Bab, the largest IS stronghold in the countryside of Aleppo, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. The military operation has succeeded in isolating al-Bab from other IS-held areas in the northern city of al-Raqqa, which is the de facto capital of the terror-designated group, and the eastern province of Deir al-Zour, where the IS enjoys a significant control. The Observatory, which says it relies on a network of activists on ground, said the progress of the Syrian army came after the failure of the Turkish-backed rebels fighting under the umbrella of Euphrates Shield to control areas east of al-Bab, as Turkey was also eyeing the takeover of the city, to defeat the IS and cut the road in front of the growing Kurdish influence in northern Syria near the Turkish frontier. This comes as the general command of the Syrian army announced recently that the Syrian forces made important progress against the IS in the countryside of Aleppo, capturing over 250 sq. km of towns, and controlling the road connecting al-Bab with Aleppo. For the army, securing the southern rim of al-Bab will protect the southeastern edge of Aleppo city, against either the advance of IS, or the Turkish-backed rebels. The Syrian army wrested full control over the entire city of Aleppo in December last year, poising for further military operations in the sprawling countryside of the province, with the help of Russian air force and ground fighters of Hezbollah and other Shiite groups. Flash South Sudanese army (SPLA) said on Monday it carried out last week's air raid operations against rebels without alleged involvement of Egyptian forces. Army spokesman Brigadier Lul Ruai Koang told Xinhua in an interview in Juba that the bombardment on rebel positions in Upper Nile, Jonglei and Unity states was solely carried out by the SPLA airforce. "That was correct the aerial bombardment was carried out by the SPLA air force. The rebels were surprised because they were not aware the SPLA was developing its air force," he said. However, rebel (SPLA-IO) spokesman Colonel William Gatjiath Deng insisted that the Egyptian air force was involved in the operations against them in Upper Nile state. "It bombed Kaka West of Palouge at 1:00 pm, dropped 9 explosive shells on January 3. Wau Shulluk North West of Malakal dropped 6 explosive shells on January 1 and Owach dropped 6 explosive shells West of Malakal at around 8:00 pm. And this was an Egyptian Antenov. South Sudan has no Antenov since her independence," he told Xinhua. "The Juba regime must be reminded that since the establishment of the South Sudan Air Force (SSAF) on June 24, 2008, South Sudan has only acquired one Beech 1900 transport aircraft, 2 Aero L-39 Albatross, 9 Mil Mi-17 Hip utility helicopters, 1 Mil Mi-172 Hip VIP passenger helicopter and 2 attack helicopter gunships," Gatjiath added. Meanwhile, media reports quoted Egyptian foreign ministry spokesman Ahmed Abu Zeid denying the alleged air strikes, saying "Egypt does not interfere in the internal affairs of other countries." The South Sudan conflict since its outbreak in December 2013 has tended to drag in several foreign forces with different strategic interests in the world's youngest nation. The Ugandan army intervened at the height of the conflict in 2013, fighting against SPLA-IO rebels led by now exiled former first vice president Riek Machar before the UN and regional body Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD) piled pressure on Ugandan troops to pull out. And also South Sudan's northern neighbor Sudan has for long been accusing Juba of harboring insurgents like the Justice, Equality Movement (JEM) and SPLM -- northern sector fighting to topple the Sudanese regime. South Sudan has been shattered by civil war that broke out in 2013 after President Kiir accused his former deputy Machar of plotting a coup. Machar denied the accusation but then mobilized a rebel force. A peace deal signed in August 2015 led to the formation of a transitional unity government in April, but was again devastated by fresh violence in July 2016. Tens of thousands of South Sudanese have been killed, with over 2 million displaced and another 4.6 million left severely food insecure since the civil war. Flash Over 2000 people, including Cubans and foreigners, pay tribute to the late Cuban revolutionary leader Fidel Castro in his burial place every day, an official daily newspaper Granma reported on Monday. The newspaper quoted Yudy Garcia, administrator of the Santa Ifigenia cemetery in the eastern Santiago de Cuba city, as saying that it has been visited by more than 150,000 people after the monolith holding the ashes of the former President was open to the public. Garcia said people from both home and abroad come to offer their respect to the deceased leader, which is a "sample of the extraordinary validity of the ideas and example of the Commander-in-Chief." Fidel Castro died on November 25, 2016 at the age of 90. He headed Cuba for nearly half a century before stepping down in 2006 due to health reasons. Flash Israel's parliament passed Monday a controversial law to retroactively legalize wildcat Jewish outposts built on private Palestinian lands, despite international condemnations and warnings that the law is unconstitutional. In a late-night session, the Knesset (parliament) approved the so-called "Regulation Bill" in a 60-52 vote. Under the new legislation, about 3,850 housing units in dozens of outposts built illegally on privately owned Palestinian lands would be retroactively legalized. The State of Israel would seize the lands, offering compensations or alternative land to the landowners, even if they do not agree to waive their property. The outposts were erected by ultra-right settlers without permits from the Israeli authorities but the governments often have turned a blind eye to their construction. There are additional 120 settlements that Israel considered as legal. Both outposts and settlements are illegal under international law as they were built on lands occupied by Israel in the 1967 Mideast War, where the Palestinians wish to build their future state. Earlier on Monday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told reporters in London that he will vote in favor of the law immediately upon landing in Israel after meeting British Prime Minister Theresa May. But his flight was postponed due to late meetings with British officials, according to his spokesperson, and the vote was held in his absence. The act was approved a week after the White House issued a statement with a reserved criticism of a recent surge of construction permits to thousands of housing units in the settlements. The vote was held although the White House has reportedly asked Netanyahu to delay it. According to a report on Israel's Channel 2 TV news, the administration told Netanyahu to postpone the move until after he met U.S. President Donald Trump in Washington on Feb. 15. The Prime Minister's Office would not confirm the report but Netanyahu told reporters in London that he has "updated" Trump about the expected vote. Netanyahu's nationalist coalition partners, predominantly the pro-settler faction of the Jewish Home, pressured hard to move forwards with the legislation in the wake of the court-ordered evacuation of the illegal outpost of Amona last week. Betzalel Smotrich, a lawmaker with the Jewish Home, hailed the "historic" vote. "Today, the State of Israel determined that the development of the settlement is an Israeli interest," he said in a statement. He stated that the next step would be to "declare Israeli sovereignty over" the entire West Bank. The opposition leader, Isaac Herzog, addressed the Knesset plenum ahead of the vote, calling on the lawmakers to reject the bill. "This bill is de-facto annexation," he said. "We have just a few more moments to stop this terrible train before it leaves here and stops at The Hague," he said. Also before the vote, United Nations Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Nickolay Mladenov warned that the law "will have far-reaching legal consequences for Israel and greatly diminish the prospects for Arab-Israeli peace." Immediately after the vote, Peace Now and Yesh Din, two Israel-based human rights organizations, said they intend to petition the Supreme Court to cancel the law. Yesh Din said in a statement that the law is "an unlawful, immoral law sanctioning landgrab and rewarding thievery," adding that it constitutes a "fundamental violation of the right to property." "Given the Knesset's lack of authority to legislate upon the West Bank, the landowners' struggle will continue in court," the group said. Last week, the government's Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit, said that the law might be unconstitutional and he would not be able to defend it in the Supreme Court. He warned the new legislation might expose Israeli officials to prosecutions in the International Criminal Court. In a highly unusual move, Ayelet Shaked, minister of justice and a lawmaker with the Jewish Home, announced that the government would hire a private lawyer to represent it in the Supreme Court. Flash The governor of Iraq's northern central province of Salahudin warned on Monday of a possible security setback with increasing attacks from Islamic State (IS) militants in the province. "The towns of Dour, Alam and Samarra have witnessed almost daily attacks by the militants of Daesh (IS), leaving many civilians and security members killed and wounded, in addition to burning houses and destroying power transmission lines," Governor Ahmed al-Jubouri said in a statement issued by his office. The ground forces in Salahudin are not capable of repulsing the attacks of the IS militants given the large number of extremist militants moving in the vast rugged area of the eastern part of the province, Jubouri said. He also said Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, who is also the commander-in-chief of the Iraqi forces, must take "fast and decisive action" to retake control of the eastern areas of the province. In Oct. 2016, security forces and allied paramilitary Hashd Shaabi units carried out an operation to take control of the main IS redoubt in Mteibijah area, some 100 km southeast of Salahudin's provincial capital of Tikrit. The operation in Mteibijah was designed to take control of the whole area, where hundreds of IS militants were hiding, to prevent them from attacking civilian and military targets in Salahudin and neighboring Diyala provinces. However, security forces only retook control of part of the rugged sprawling areas in eastern Salahudin. Also in the day, a member of the Hashd Shaabi unit was killed and three others wounded in a roadside bomb attack near their vehicle at a village near the town of Baiji, some 170 km north of the Iraqi capital of Baghdad, a provincial security source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity. The predominately Sunni Arab province of Salahudin has been the scene of a major offensive by Iraqi security forces and allied Hashd Shaabi units, which managed to retake control of the province from the hands of IS militants who seized large part of it in June 2014. Jubouri's warning came as the Iraqi security forces, backed by an anti-IS international coalition, are carrying out a major offensive to push out IS militants from its last major stronghold in and around Mosul, some 400 km north of Bagdad. U.S. President Donald Trump gestures to media before boarding Marine One departing for Andrews Air Force Base en route to West Palm Beach, Florida, at White House in Washington D.C.,the United States, Feb. 3, 2017. (Xinhua/Yin Bogu) President Donald Trump started his third week in office leaving the whole world in absolutely no doubt about his impulsive eagerness to threaten and bully his way, anytime and anywhere: He fired the Acting U.S. Attorney General for refusing to implement a presidential order she found to be illegal; and he attacked a U.S. judge who ruled against his discriminatory ban on travel to the U.S. from seven Muslim-majority nations, promising to overturn the "ridiculous ruling" by the "so-called judge." He also entered into a bitter war of telephone words with the Australian Prime Minister, announced new sanctions against Iran and dispatched his new Defense Secretary, retired General James "Mad Dog" Mattis, to Japan and South Korea, from where he pointed at North Korea and threatened to block China's access to the South China Sea. In his first fortnight at the White House, President Trump took more steps to anger American citizens than any of his predecessors, period: He ordered the dismantling of a health system depended on by tens of millions of Americans; revived the prospect of an oil pipeline being forced through sacred Native American lands and rivers; decreed the building of his "big, fat, strong and long" Mexican border wall (and gave notice that a border tax will be imposed to force Mexico to pay for it); appointed a Climate Change denier to head the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and nominated a conservative judge to tilt the balance to the right in the U.S. Supreme Court. Indeed, from Day One after the billionaire property tycoon took over the Oval Office, Americans have been hitting the pavements and streets to protest his presence, starting with women on January 21 leading the largest mass protest since the Vietnam War in 1967. Three short weeks later, states and cities, governors and mayors and some leading Republicans have loudly disagreed with their president on points of law and justice. Washington and Minnesota state offices won a court case jointly filed against Trump's violation of U.S. law by resorting to religious discrimination in the implementation of his anti-Muslim immigration restrictions. Not only did the President pummel the judge concerned, but he also ordered the State Department to launch an "emergency appeal" to reverse the judicial order against his political order. The protests against Trump have also multiplied abroad, especially in the countries affected by his immigration ban, but also in the U.K., where there are strong calls on Prime Minister Theresa May to rescind her invitation for him to visit London. Simultaneous with the January 21 mass protests, millions more in 60 other countries also took to the streets to protest his manifest sexism and demand that he respect women's rights. No other U.S. president has been greeted at home with such protest and hostility, or become the subject of such public sarcasm and parody, the butt of so many serious jokes. Similarly, no other has caused so much panic and concern abroad about his policy implications for other nations. And no other has been openly endorsed by the Ku Klux Klan. Meanwhile, President Trump continues to use his tongue and his Twitter account as his two main weapons of mass distraction, to mask the reality of the growing opposition to him at home and abroad. He accuses "every country in the world" of "taking advantage of the United States," describes every bilateral foreign policy commitment he inherited from Barack Obama as "dumb deals," and even accuses Australia of wanting to export "the next Boston bomber" to the U.S. But the U.S. president's continuing and relentless assault on universal rights has not escaped everyone. A week ahead of his inauguration, Human Rights Watch (on January 12) released its Annual Report on Threats to Human Rights around the World -- and for the first time in the report's 27-year history, the USA was named as one of the biggest threats. Citing Trump's path to power, the report declared his campaign was marked by "misogynistic, xenophobic and racist rhetoric." It also said his promises, if implemented, "could cause tremendous harm to vulnerable communities, contravene the United States' core human rights obligations, or both." But neither this report, nor facts from studies have deterred Trump from pursuing his declared path. He's building the Mexican border wall despite being publicly advised by his selected Homeland Security Secretary, John F. Kelly, that "A physical barrier, in and of itself, will not do the job." He proceeded with his promised entry ban on Muslims despite his Secretary of State Rex Tillerson publicly saying: "I do not support a blanket type rejection of any particular group of people." And despite being advised by Defense Secretary Mattis that "waterboarding" is an "ineffective" torture tactic, he insists he will consider ordering its use "if that's what the American people want." The "Black Lives Matter" and other African American civil rights protest movements, national coalitions for women's rights, Native American advocates, the defenders of immigrants' rights and even American-born sons and daughters of immigrants have started bracing for a long and hard fight. As minorities with a clearly brash and threatening leader, they have good reason to fear. From all they have seen and heard from their new president in his first two weeks, far from "Making America Great Again" as promised, he seems instead hell bent on making America hate again! Earl Bousquet is a contributor to china.org.cn, editor-at-large of The Diplomatic Courier and author of an online regional newspaper column entitled Chronicles of a Chronic Caribbean Chronicler. Opinion articles reflect the views of their authors, not necessarily those of China.org.cn. Flash A technical meeting on Syrian ceasefire monitoring opended on Monday with representatives of Iran, Russia, Jordan, Turkey and the United Nations participating. The participants agreed that mechanism for effective monitoring the full compliance with the ceasefire was already functioning, Head of Russian delegation and Deputy Head of Main Operations Directorate of General Staff, Major-General Stanislav Gadzhimagomedov said after the meeting in Astana, the capital city of Kazakhstan. "There is Russian and Turkish center of compliance control. We share data about violations every day, analyse them, take measures to eliminate the majority of mutual attacks and relieve the tension," he said. "The delegations have confirmed their readiness to continue interaction in order to achieve the full implementation of the cessation of hostilities in Syria," he said. However, as noted by all the participants, the ceasefre efforts were often interfered by international terrorist groups, the general added. According to him, the mechanism of ensuring full compliance with the ceasefire mode was already in force and the participants of the the peace talks discussed measures of mutual trust building to ensure unhindered humanitarian access to the war-torn areas. The Joint Task Force on Syria was established in accordance with the outcome of the international agreements on peace talks on Syria, organised in Astana on Jan. 23-24. Monday's meeting became the first meeting of the Joint Task Force and the participants agreed to hold the next meeting on Feb. 15-16. Flash Albanian rescue teams on Tuesday continued their search for three Chinese miners trapped in a chrome mine in the northern Albanian town of Bulqiza. Two Albanian rescue teams have been sent in for the search operation, together with Albanian and Chinese mining experts, after a hydrogen gas explosion in the chrome mine on Saturday, said Mehmet Hasalami, head of the Albanian Mining Rescue Unit. "The underground explosion has destroyed the ventilation system in the mine. We are rebuilding the airing system and clearing the rocks that block the entrance to the well," said Hasalami. "Rescuers have managed to reach some 200 meters away from the spot where the Chinese miners are believed to be trapped," he said, adding that situation down the well is crucial because hydrogen may cause the second explosion. There has been no contact of any kind with the three Chinese miners since Saturday afternoon, reports said. The Albanian government and the Chinese Embassy in Tirana have dispatched a working group to the mine, respectively. The Chinese Embassy confirmed on Sunday that three other Chinese miners inflicted minor injuries in the accident. Putuo Mountain, sitting on a small island of Zhoushan Archipelago, is one of the greatest Buddhist mountains in China. As it is a sacred place of Avalokitesvara, or Bodhisattva Guanyin, travelers can easily absorb the unique culture through the sculpture, books, drawings, stone carvings and architecture style which can be found there. There are more than 200 temples on the mountain, with Puji, Fayu and Huiji being the largest and most famous. Every year on the 19th day of the second, sixth and ninth months (believed to be the Birthday, Bodhi Day and Leaving Home Day of Guanyin) in the traditional Chinese calendar, thousands of believers and visitors go to Putuo to celebrate and pray.[China.org.cn/vcg] 1 2 3 4 5 Next Some petty-minded people ruin their own opportunities by viewing their potential partners as being as mercantilistic as themselves. This is the way in which some trade war warriors in the United States see their country's trade relations with China. They see China, by selling more to the US, as being cunning or pursuing the strategic goal of eventually undoing the US. They say the US, which sells less merchandise to China, is being robbed of its jobs, and claim its economy is being raped. They refuse to see that every year China is buying a lot more services from the US, Chinese parents pay huge amounts to educate their children in US colleges, and that in more recent years, Chinese companies have begun investing more and more in US companies. In 2016, according to law firm Baker & McKenzie and research company Rhodium, China's direct investment into the US and Europe more than doubled, to a record $94.2 billion, even after almost $75 billion worth of deals were canceled for reasons that included US government objections. They also point out that in 2015, when China's total outbound investments hit a record high of $145 billion and the country overtook Japan to be the world's second-biggest cross-border investor after the US, China's investment was $15 billion in the US and $23 billion in Europe. A mere decade ago, when China was the world champion for receiving foreign direct investment, Chinese companies' outbound investments were only minimal. Facts speak louder than words and money speaks for itself. No one can reasonably think, as the US trade war fanatics claim, that by committing its hard-earned dollar bills back to the US as capital investment, what China wants is only the latter's demise. In fact, the broader picture of China's outbound direct (non-financial) investment is that, according to Chinese sources, Chinese investors made a total commitment of $170 billion to some 8,000 companies in 160 countries and regions in 2016, showing a year-on-year growth of more than 40 percent. Rational people can't call any of the above small numbers, or think they are of only a small use in creating new jobs. Should the US trade war warriors want to remain blind and continue to discriminate against China, they may ruin their own country's business opportunities, in trade, in services, as well as in investment. Doing so won't help them deliver on their promise to create US jobs. A Michigan-based subsidiary of China's biggest plastics maker will invest $60 million and create 150 jobs over the next three years with an expansion of its suburban Detroit plant. Kingfa Science and Technology (USA) Inc in Canton Township is also the recipient of a $1 million performance-based grant from the Michigan Economic Development Corp that will be used in the expansion. "We are not solely focused on the automotive industry, but that is the largest part of our business," Christina Zamenski, Kingfa USA's human resources manager, said in an interview. Zamenski said Kingfa supplies raw materials to plastic-injection molding companies that produce door panels and other automotive products. "Currently we have 27 employees and over the next three years we will add 150 employees, including 20 to 30 this year," said Zamenski. She said Kingfa moved into the Canton facility last March. "We have a very diverse work force including employees from China," Zamenski said. Kingfa also is expected to seek tax abatements from Canton. Canton was selected as the company's US headquarters following a 2015 trade mission to China by Michigan Governor Rick Snyder. Kingfa USA is a unit of Guangzhou-based Kingfa Science and Technology Ltd, a global leader in the engineered plastic resin industry. Products include advanced engineered plastics, biodegradable plastics, cellulose-based materials, carbon fiber and composites. Workers clean a molten steel holder at Dalian Special Steel Co Ltd in Dalian, Liaoning province. [Photo by Liu Debin / For China Daily] China will complete ownership reforms at more than 100 central government-run enterprises by the end of the year through introducing more private capital to State sectors, Economic Information Daily quoted the State-Owned Asset Supervision and Administration Commission as saying on Monday. The commission has formulated the schedule for the mixed ownership reform, according to the newspaper run by the Xinhua News Agency. Mixed ownership reform aims at boosting the efficiency of the SOEs. Mixed ownership reform will be a critical pillar of SOE reform efforts in 2017, according to a statement published at the annual Central Economic Work Conference in mid-December. The electricity, petroleum, natural gas, railways, civil aviation, telecommunications and defense industries will be the focus of the mixed ownership reforms. "China will take more substantial steps to encourage private investors to participate in the restructuring of SOEs this year," said Li Jin, chief researcher at the China Enterprise Research Institute. Li said that the mixed ownership reform will be the priority among all measures for SOE reform because it can lead to a market-oriented system. The National Development and Reform Commission has designated six SOEs directly under central government's supervision, including China Eastern Air Holding Co, China United Network Communications Group Co Ltd and China Southern Power Grid Co Ltd, as pilot programs for mixed ownership reform. So far, four of the reform schemes have been approved. According to a report from GF Securities Co Ltd in Guangzhou, mixed ownership reform sped up as the central government showed its determination to push through after October by announcing the pilot programs. The report analyzed opportunities in different industries. For instance, in the power industry, power generation and sales will be more open while distribution will remain within the control of SOEs. "The government will continue push forward with the reform through trial programs. The basic approach is going to be more aggressive than last year, but prudent in general," said Li. A UnionPay employee introduces new bank card services to a visitor at a show in Beijing. [Photo/Xinhua] SYDNEY - The Australian grocery giant Woolworths said on Tuesday that it will now accept UnionPay cards at its stores; China's leading debit and credit cards. Woolworths will offer all forms of UnionPay payment, including the contactless mobile based transactions at its terminals. According to UnionPay, Australia has the largest number of terminals that accept their cards, outside of China. The grocery chain will initially only have the terminals set up at their Woolworths outlets, but plans a full rollout to their other brands, such as Big W and liquor retailer Dan Murphy's in the foreseeable future. Paul Monnington, head of digital payments at Woolworths, said the changes are long overdue, with the high number of Chinese tourists visiting Australia each year. "Last year the number of Chinese visitors to Australia surpassed 1 million for the first time," Monnington said. The sentiment was shared by UnionPay International South Pacific general manager James Yang, who said the need for more access to UnionPay would increase in the future. "This is a great win for our customers visiting, studying or living in Australia. As tourism from China grows, we know we will see more and more people using UnionPay cards across Australian stores." UnionPay cards are accepted in over 160 countries and regions around the world. Wang and his colleague work at an express station in Beijing, Jan 23 , 2017. [Photo/Xinhua] While almost everyone else in China enjoyed time off during Spring Festival, Wang Meng decided to keep working as a supervisor in charge of 18 express stations in Beijing for the second year in a row. Wang's hometown is a village in Henan province, about 950 kilometers from Beijing. In order to earn more money to support his family, this man has worked more than 10 hours a day for the past three years. He earns good pay in return for his busy job. Wang was quickly promoted from a delivery man to a supervisor at JD.com Inc, China's second-largest e-commerce player. But that's meant he's had little time to spend with his family, who stayed behind in their hometown. He misses them especially during the Spring Festival holiday. But this year, Wang's wife and two children travelled to Beijing thanks to a subsidy from the company to employees who have to work during Spring Festival. Although the time to spend with each other is short, Wang and his family are happy to be reunited. Wang said he believes his life will be better as long as he works hard. The external view of Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Ltd (HKEX). [Parker Zheng/China Daily] Despite offshore investors now having more access to A-shares through trading links with Hong Kong, analysts said the trend of uneven "heat" between the markets is set to continue, Securities Daily reported on Tuesday. Southbound flow through the trading links recorded a net buying of 21.69 billion yuan ($3.16 billion) in Hong Kong-listed stocks over the past month, while northbound flow was 16.57 billion yuan in comparison following the launch of Shenzhen-Hong Kong Stock Connect in December. Together with the previously launched Shanghai-Hong Kong Stock Connect, both schemes allow individual overseas investors to directly invest in mainland-listed stocks. Kweichow Moutai, Ping An Insurance, Shanghai International Airport and SAIC Motor are so far among the most actively traded stocks by overseas investors under the schemes, according to statistics from Hong Kong Stock Exchange. The launch of the trading link between Shenzhen and Hong Kong has a more strategic footing than the eventual substantial index movement, independent analyst Guo Shiliang told the newspaper. Given the different market and liquidity conditions, the link is unlikely to generate the same level boost compared to two years ago following the Shanghai-Hong Kong Stock Connect, he added. Despite a slow start, analysts expect the trading volume through the links could pick up once A-shares get closer to being included in the MSCI Emerging Markets index. A Toyota logo is seen on media day at the Mondial de l'Automobile, the Paris auto show, in Paris, France, September 29, 2016. [Photo/Agencies] Toyota Motor Corp and Suzuki Motor Corp signed an agreement to start "concrete examination" of a business partnership, after beginning exploratory talks in October. The two companies will work toward an "early realization" of an alliance in areas including technology and the mutual supply of products and components, according to a joint statement to the Tokyo Stock Exchange on Monday. There is no deadline for making a decision on a capital tie-up, said Suzuki Vice-Chairman Yasuhito Harayama. Carmakers are forging partnerships as the industry comes under pressure from regulators after several major self-inflicted scandals and amid rising costs of developing cleaner cars to meet stringent environmental standards. Toyota and Suzuki have said they plan to explore collaboration to keep up with technological advances in areas such as electrification and autonomous driving. The two companies also said they were going to take their time to decide on the merits of a capital alliance. For Suzuki, the partnership would mark another attempt at working with a larger carmaker, after an acrimonious split with Volkswagen AG. Toyota has budgeted to spend more than seven times as much on research and development this fiscal year as Suzuki, which has pointed to the unprecedented costs of developing competitive cars as one of the reasons behind its seeking a partnership. Joining with Suzuki would add to the multitude of tie-ups that Toyota has forged with Japanese car and truck makers. Toyota in 2015 agreed to broaden technology-sharing with Mazda Motor Corp. It's the majority owner of Hino Motors Ltd, the largest shareholder in Subaru maker Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd and has a stake in Isuzu Motors Ltd. Bloomberg Alibaba's Executive Chairman Jack Ma delivers a speech at an investor conference at the company's headquarters in Hangzhou, East China's Zhejiang province, June 14, 2016. [Photo/Xinhua] Chinese technology giants' brand value gained momentum and financial service companies are in pole position in the global brand league table, according to a report. Fifty-five Chinese companies made to the list of the world's 500 most valuable brands this year, with the technology sector soaring in value. Three tech powerhousesAlibaba Group Holding Ltd, Huawei Technologies Co Ltd and Tencent Holdings Ltdwere in the top 50 and realized double-digit growth in their brand value, according to a study conducted by United Kingdom-based consulting firm Brand Finance. Brand Finance CEO David Haigh said: "Chinese tech brands are even more embedded in the daily lives of their users than Western brands are, while the diversity of services offered by brands such as WeChat maximizes the commercial potential of their brands." Alibaba reached a peak brand value of $34.8 billion, up 94 percent year-on-year, making it the world's 23rd most valuable brand and China's most valuable internet company brand. Huawei and Tencent also grew impressively in brand value, rising 27.8 percent and 123 percent, respectively. In terms of financial brands, the study showed that Chinese banks' brand value growth has been rapidly outpacing that of European and North American competitors. Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, now ranks 10th, ousting US bank Wells Fargo as the most valuable bank in the world. The consulting firm attributed the industry's growth to "vast population, organic expansion, foreign M& A activity and positive relationships with Chinese consumers". Likewise, Ping An Insurance held sway as the world's most valuable insurance brand, increasing 11 percent in value to $6.2 billion. This year Google overtook Apple as the most valuable brand across all industries, with a value of $109 billion. Casa San Ysidro celebrates Founders' Day on Saturday, Feb. 11, 2017. The public is invited and admission is free between 1 and 4pm. "Today, Casa is one of only four public museums in the state with collections exhibited against a distinctly New Mexican architectural backdrop," said Deb Slaney, curator of history at Albuquerque Museum. Visitors are invited to this exciting public event and to view the Minge collection of early New Mexican furnishings and tools. -Celebrate the special people who make Casa San Ysidro special -Hear about how Casa San Ysidro was built and how it became part of the Historic Heart of Corrales -View newly remastered movies with images and interviews from our Museum's beginning -Tour the house and property with experienced docents -See our remarkable collection of historic New Mexican domestic art and architecture -Meet our partner organizations, our neighbors, and many people who have contributed to the success of Casa San Ysidro -Share your experiences with Casa San Ysidro Casa San Ysidro is located at 973 Old Church Rd. in the historic Village of Corrales. For more information call (505) 898-3915. You can also visit cabq. gov/ casasanysidro or find Casa on Facebook (facebook. com/ casasanysidro). Flash Moroccan police arrested Monday three people with suspected links to the Islamic State (IS) group, the interior ministry said in a statement. According to the ministry, the suspects were arrested in the northern city of Martil and El Jadida following investigations with the members of a recently-busted terror cell that was operating in several Moroccan cities. On Jan. 27, Morocco's interior ministry announced that security forces foiled an (IS) terror attack during a large-scale anti-terrorism operation. The operation led to the bust of the seven-member cell in five cities, and the seizure of arms, suspicious products used in manufacturing explosives, and other material used in detonating explosive belts hided in a safe house in the coastal city of El Jadida, some 190 km south of the capital Rabat. The ministry said initial investigations confirmed the arrested suspects' involvement in the plans of the busted-cell to set up an IS-linked base under the name of "Islamic State Branch in Morocco" and carry out terror projects. The cell members intended to meet with an explosive expert from IS branch in Libya to learn about mining and distant detonation techniques, it added. According to official figures, Morocco busted 19 terrorist cells and arrested 273 suspects in 2016, most of them linked to the group, which control large swaths in Syria and Iraq. Li Haiming was called back home two months early before Chinese New Year, and not only because of preparations for the traditional family gathering. In Li's village in Nanxiong, a city of about 450,000 people in northern Guangdong province, agricultural and land resources officials were busy verifying farmland usage rights for rural families, a nationwide mission started in 2013. Li's 0.2 hectares of farmland in Liren, a village with 80 households, was formerly rented to families for growing rice and other crops while he and his wife worked in a furniture factory in the prosperous Pearl River Delta. "I was afraid the farmland would eventually become the property of other families," Li said. After the verification of farmland usage and contract rights, Li was guaranteed a certificate of land-use rights, which specify the ownership, contract and operating rights of the land. "I will probably transfer the land-use rights to others who are interested in growing large-scale agricultural products," he said. In Li's village, a growing number of families are interested in transferring their land-use rights to individuals and business groups. "After verifying land-use rights, we are able to make more money by allowing the planting of more cash crops by agricultural companies or individual investors," Li said. According to a document issued by the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council in 2013, China will finish verification of rural land ownership and land-use rights by 2018. "Verifying land ownership rights and land-use rights is of great importance to the protection of farmers' interests," said Liu Zhifu, deputy director of the agricultural bureau in Shaoguan city, which administers Nanxiong. The "No 1 central document", a name traditionally given to the first policy statement released by the central authorities in the year, which was issued on Sunday, reiterated calls for the implementation of rural land reform, which separates farmland ownership rights, contract rights and operating rights. According to the document, farmers are allowed to earn more by transferring their land rights to individuals or agricultural business groups. "New industries and new types of businesses will become engines of rural development and help increase the income of farmers," Liu said. According to Liu, land-use rights for more than 40,000 hectares of farmland in Shaoguan, which administrates Nanxiong, were verified by the end of this year. College students attend a job fair in Beijing on Monday. There are expected to be nearly 8 million new graduates in China this year.[Zou Hong/China Daily] Retirement is estimated to create up to 4.8 million vacancies per year China will provide preferential policies and job training programs to targeted groups in order to hit a goal of producing 50 million new jobs by the end of 2020. As part of efforts to keep the unemployment rate below 5 percent each year, the government will help targeted groups land jobs, especially college graduates and workers laid off due to overcapacity, according to guidelines released by the State Council on Monday. Preferential policies for graduates include tax cuts and tuition fee reductions, if they are willing to work in distant rural areas. The central government will launch special programs to help resource-intensive areas to relocate laid-off workers, according to the guidelines. China will lay off 1.8 million workers in the coal and steel industries, according to the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security. Producing 50 million new jobs is not an easy task amid economic downward pressure and Beijing's strong commitment to cutting overcapacity, according to a senior official with the National Development and Reform Commission's Employment Department, who declined to be named because he is not authorized to speak publicly. A total of 7.95 million new college graduates and 1 million laid-off workers in industries with overcapacity generated each year "are key challenges" to achieving the goal as new job opportunities are hardly plentiful, according to the official. An estimated 4.8 million job openings will be created by retirement each year during the 13th Five-Year Plan period (2016-20). "Although there are no easy answers to filling the gap, there should be hopes in new emerging industries," said the official, adding that local governments need to help the young adapt to industrial transformation. A report released by Boston Consulting Group in January shows that by the end of 2035, China's digital economy will reach about $16 trillion, with a total employment capacity of 415 million, almost double that of 2020. That means job candidates need to improve specialized skills, with strong capabilities in interpersonal communications, creativity, flexibility and fast learning, the report said. A man has confessed to killing his wife and storing her body in a freezer at their home for three months, according to media reports in Shanghai. The story was first published on Feb 3 on the WeChat feed of Xuan Kejiong, deputy head of the breaking news department at Shanghai Radio and TV Station News Center. However, a municipal police spokesperson was unable to confirm the details of the story. According to Xuan's post, a woman called the police on Feb 1, saying that her son, surnamed Zhu, had killed someone, before turning him in. Zhu confessed to killing of his wife, surnamed Yang, on Oct 18 last year and storing her body in a freezer at their home ever since, Xuan's post said. Police discovered the dead body of Yang in a freezer at a residential apartment on Guangzhong Road in Hongkou district, according to Shanghai-based news portal The Paper. Zhu and Yang, both 29, were married on Dec 31, 2015, and moved into the Guangzhong Road apartment in May last yearYang was a primary schoolteacher, while Zhu was a display designer at a department store, reports said. Neighbors had seen Zhu walking his dog and acting in a normal manner over the past three months, according to reports. Yang's parents are said to have last seen their daughter on Oct 1, when they dined with the young couple and Zhu's divorced parents, adding that they and other family members had kept in contact with Yang via text messages on various digital platforms, such as WeChat and QQ. Yang's parents reportedly requested to meet her on numerous occasions at a nearby relative's home, but their daughter never showed up. According to text conversations on Xuan's WeChat post, Zhu made up various excuses to avoid Yang's parents, such as that they were sightseeing in Wuxi; in Hong Kong for Spring Festival; and that Zhu was suffering with an ailment. On Nov 22, Zhu reportedly even faked his wife's birthday celebrations, posting a picture on her WeChat feed, inviting friends to send their blessings. On Jan 26, Yang's mother is said to have received messages from her "daughter" on WeChat, saying she would spend the Spring Festival in Hong Kong with friends, and would not be back in Shanghai until Jan 29. According to Xuan's post, Yang's mother didn't see her daughter that day, but she asked Yang to visit her on Feb 1, her father's 60th birthday, which is the day Zhu is reported to have confessed to the police. It is said that Yang's family and friends described Zhu as unreliable, dishonest and irritable after drinking, while a note handwritten by Zhu was reportedly found among the remains of the victim, promising he would not contact other women. It is reported that Yang quit her job because her husband had been promoted, and on Oct 14, the couple are said to have visited Yang's school to complete her resignation process, where students and colleagues described Yang as a "beautiful, gentle and kindhearted teacher". An investigation into the case is said to be ongoing, with law enforcement authorities yet to confirm details of the case. BEIJING - Chinese judges on Monday strongly condemned the murder of a retired judge in South China's Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region. Fu Mingsheng, who worked at a court of Luchuan county in Guangxi, was reportedly killed with a knife at his residence on Jan. 26 by suspect Long Jiancai, a defendant in a divorce case that Fu heard in 1994, according to a statement released by the committee in charge of protecting judges' rights and interests under the China Association of Judges. Details of the case are not yet available. There have been frequent cases of assaults and insults of judges in recent years. Some have been followed, harassed and threatened. Such incidents have diminished the authority and credibility of the judiciary, according to the statement. WASHINGTON - Giant Panda Bao Bao will be making the journey back to China on Feb 21, the Smithsonian National Zoo said Monday in a statement. Bao Bao was born on Aug 23, 2013 at the Washington Zoo, and is nearing her fourth birthday. According to arrangements between China and the United States, giant pandas born here must move back to China at around four. Tai Shan, another giant panda born in the Washington zoo in 2005, was shipped by in 2010. One keeper and one veterinarian will fly with Bao Bao to China's Chengdu, where the China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda is located. Bao Bao will travel with a supply of her favorite treats, including bamboo, apples, pears, cooked sweet potatoes and water, the statement said. The Washington zoo now has three other giant pandas, an adult female Mei Xiang, 18, an adult male Tian Tian, 19, and a male cub Bei Bei, 1. Tao Ruqin gives a paper crown to a senior resident at the "leprosy recovery village" in Zhuzhou, Hunan province. [Photo/China Daily] Leprosy, though curable using modern medication, has cast a long shadow over China. Thousands of former patients have been left disfigured by the disease, while enduring social stigma means hundreds still live in colonies, isolated from the rest of society. Tao Ruqin, a student at the Hunan University of Commerce in Changsha, Hunan province, has spent much of her spare time over the past two years volunteering in these colonies. She began as a freshman in July 2014, after being inspired by a presentation given by a volunteer association called "Home Working Camp". The association took her and her fellow volunteers to Longjing Hill in Zhuzhou, Hunan - a designated "leprosy recovery village" that is six hours away from Changsha by train and bus, followed by a 40-minute hike through the mountains. The village consists of three buildings, housing more than 20 people afflicted with leprosy. They are all age 60 or older and are no longer contagious, yet most live with some sort of disfigurement. Aside from the nurses who care for them, they have no one else for company. "I felt like the village was very quiet and lacked vitality. Some of the sufferers, such as those who are paralyzed, rely entirely on the village head," Tao said. "I was concerned that because we are able-bodied we might upset them, but it turned out that they were actually afraid of scaring us. They would quickly pull their deformed hands away after we shook them, but eventually we became acquainted and any unpleasantness went away." Working with her fellow volunteers, Tao laid cement to make the village's road less slippery on rainy days. The villagers were thankful, but did not believe her when she said she would return to volunteer again during Spring Festival. "One grandmother surnamed Zeng was very doubtful, she assumed we were another bunch of college students just looking for life experiences," Tao said. "She found it hard to believe that anyone would voluntarily spend time with them, because they have suffered so much discrimination and misunderstanding in the past." Some of the villagers even wept when she spoke with them, overwhelmed at the unfairness of their predicament. "We felt for them and are working with neighboring villages to reduce the stigma associated with the disease," Tao said. According to the China Leprosy Association, there are about 210,000 people in China who have recovered from leprosy, but nearly half are disabled due to the disease. New cases are still being reported, though at a rate that is only 2 percent of the peak 60 years ago. Those who contract the disease are no longer sent to colonies and the majority are now treated at home. "These 'recovery villages' will eventually disappear, but until then we are trying to eliminate the discrimination," said Tao, who has risen through the ranks of the association over the years. "Volunteering with the association has shown me how little I know about the world. My New Year's resolution is to internalize these experiences - graduation from university certainly won't be the end of my volunteering days." Contact the writers at liangshuang@chinadaily.com.cn "These 'recovery villages' will eventually disappear, but until then we are trying to eliminate the discrimination," said Tao, who has risen through the ranks of the association over the years. "Volunteering with the association has shown me how little I know about the world. My New Year's resolution is to internalize these experiences - graduation from university certainly won't be the end of my volunteering days." Contact the writers at liangshuang@chinadaily.com.cn A patient receives treatment at a hospital in Tiantai county, Zhejiang province, on Monday.[Hu Yuanyong/China Daily] The owner of a foot massage parlor has been detained after a deadly fire at the location in Zhejiang province killed 18 people, local authorities confirmed on Monday. Eight people were found dead at the scene and 10 others died later in hospital. The cause of the fire is still under investigation, according to local media. The parlor, named "Zuxintang", was on the first and second floors of a six-story building in Taizhou's Tiantai county. The sudden fire rapidly engulfed the parlor and left those inside with no time to escape. Li Zengtao, a university student who had returned to his hometown for the Spring Festival holiday, witnessed the tragedy. "I was visiting my grandma. I heard someone shout 'Fire! Fire!', so I ran out to see the building was ablaze. I was shocked to see people jumping from a second-floor window as smoke billowed out," Li told China Daily. Li Weimin, a 64-year-old retired general practitioner living in the next community 50 meters away, arrived at the scene before Li Zengtao. "Only one room on the second floor was on fire then. Several girls huddled at the window crying for help," Li Weimin said. "I opened my arms and told them to jump." Three women and one man jumped from the window, with some suffering broken bones, but all of them surviving. Mao Yonglao, a young masseur who had been working at the parlor for just 10 days with his wife and sister-in-law, saved six people from the fire. "When I heard someone shouting 'Fire!', I opened the door to see the corridor and stairway were full of black smoke," Mao said. Mao smashed a glass window with his fist before turning back to search for his wife. "I could barely open my eyes. When I ran into someone, I pulled them toward the window and told them to jump," he said. Mao found that his wife and sister-in-law were among the people who he helped. Those who jumped from the 6-meter-high window survived the incident, but most suffered injuries such as a broken heel, pelvis, backbone or lumbar, said Zhu Danjie, a doctor at Zhejiang Provincial People's Hospital's department of orthopedics. One of the 18 injured is in a severe condition, having suffered burns to 99 percent of his body, including third-degree burns to 95 percent of his body. The 26-year-old patient, surnamed Zhu, was transferred to the Second Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University at noon on Monday, according to Han Chunmao, director of the hospital's burns department. "The patient will be in a critical condition for at least 100 days due to the dangers of shock and infection. We will do our best to save his life," Han said. The publicity department in Nanning, capital of the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, said on Monday it would investigate a WeChat post containing pictures of a banquet hosted by senior officials where a course including pangolin meat was served. The WeChat post containing four pictures went viral on Monday, raising questions about the authenticity of the dish and triggering public criticism of the WeChat user who flaunted close ties with senior local government officials. According to a report by Legal Evening News, a publicity department official said they were aware of the incident, which took place in 2015. The report quoted the unnamed official as saying the department would investigate the incident and announce the results of its investigation at a later date. The State Forestry Administration's department of animal protection responded to a request for information by Legal Evening News on Monday, saying that eating wild pangolin is an act that violates government regulations, and adding that it welcomes more detailed information regarding the post. Legal Evening News said other pictures suggested the banquet was held for a business delegation from Hong Kong in 2015 and was likely reported by Wen Wei Po, a Hong Kong-based Chinese language newspaper, on page A17 of its July 15, 2015, edition. (China Daily 02/07/2017 page4) Four Chinese tourists who were rescued after their boat sank off Malaysia's Sabah state left for China on Monday, China's consulate general said. The consulate general said the remaining rescued tourists were in stable condition and would return home soon. The boat carrying 28 Chinese tourists capsized on Jan 28 en route from Kota Kinabalu to Mengalum island, about 50 kilometers to the west. Three of the tourists have been confirmed dead, while another five and a crew member remain missing. The search and rescue operations covered 2,000 square nautical miles on Sunday. A body was found near the last location of the sunken boat on Friday, but authorities have yet to confirm whether it was one of the missing. A suspect who allegedly offered student loans in exchange for nude photos was arrested by police in Gansu province in January. Authorities said the man, surnamed Yang, had been preying on young women who were in need of money for college and other expenses, seeking his victims through social media, and that he had been doing this activity for many years. Female students were ordered to disrobe and hold up their personal identification cards for photos before they were provided with high-interest student loans. The young women were told the photos would be published if they failed to pay off their debts. Yang also allegedly asked for sexual services from women who were unable to pay their loans. Yang was arrested after a victim reported her case to the police. JD Capital's Jiedaibao, a platform for individuals to loan and lend, especially between friends and acquaintances, was apparently used several times to set up transactions between perpetrators and victims in similar cases. Jiedaibao said the company has no control over demands for collateral as such practices are made by a lender as part of "a private trade deal." Users who were asked for nude photos in exchange of loans are encouraged to contact the police. To better protect the interests of its users, Jiedaibao's customer service department established a one-million-yuan fund to combat the "naked loans" issue. The company also said it would work with the police on any investigation of such practices. Flash The National Liberation Army (ELN) guerrilla movement on Monday freed a Colombian soldier who was taken hostage a week ago in the northern department of Arauca. The 39-year-old soldier, Fredy Ernesto Moreno, was handed over to delegates from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Saravena, Arauca, and he was in good health, the ICRC said in a statement. The ICRC reiterated its readiness to help humanitarian operations in the South American country. The release came a day before the peace talks between the Colombian government and the ELN scheduled to begin in Quito, Ecuador on Tuesday. The family of Moreno had asked President Juan Manuel Santos not to begin the peace process until their relative was released. Last week, the ELN freed former lawmaker, Odin Sanchez, who had been taken hostage 10 months ago. His release was set by President Santos as a precondition for the peace talks in Quito. In exchange for Sanchez's liberation, the government released two ELN members, Nixon Cobos and Leivis Valero, who were seriously ill in prison. They were taken to medical centers later. Carrie Lam [File photo/Agencies] HONG KONG - One of the citys most influential business chambers announced on Monday that it will support Chief Executive hopeful Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor for her blueprint on economic development, social care and her vision to promote Hong Kongs role in the countrys Belt and Road Initiative. President of the Chinese General Chamber of Commerce (CGCC) Jonathan Choi Koon-shum said at a media luncheon that the chamber has reached a consensus to nominate and vote for Lam in the coming CE election in March. According to an official document, the chamber has 18 members in the 1,200-strong Election Committee Hong Kongs electoral college to choose the citys head of government. The top priority for the next CE lies in boosting economic development and improving peoples livelihood, Choi said, adding the CGCC thought that Lam had showed her will and capability in answering both calls. Lam outlined that housing, economic development and education are the priorities in her political vision last Friday. And the former chief secretary of administration was known for her dedication in enhancing social welfare, Choi said. Meanwhile, to be an eligible candidate, a person has to earn the trust of both the central government and Hong Kong people, Choi said. "Lam fits into the standard well," Choi noted. The chamber has maintained regular exchanges with the central government and reflected the social situation in Hong Kong to Beijing, according to Choi. On the same day, Lam launched her Facebook page. The move was to facilitate direct communication with the citys people, especially the youth, according to Lam. She hopes to earn more trust from Hong Kong people with her foray into social media. In a separate development, legislator and Chairwoman of the New Peoples Party Regina Ip Lau Suk-yee, who has also joined the race, attended a meeting with members of the citys largest political party the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong (DAB) to lobby for support. DAB Chairwoman Starry Lee Wai-king expressed solidarity with the education policies outlined in Ips election platform. The party holds more than 100 votes in the Election Committee. Another CE contender, former finance secretary John Tsang Chun-wah, has released his political platform pledging, if elected, to restore unity in society and create a favorable environment for people to develop, making Hong Kong a "quality city" with "quality life". yinzeli@chinadailyhk.com File photo shows an embryo. [Photo/VCG] A 46-year-old woman has recently given birth to her second child after getting pregnant with an awakened embryo that had been frozen for 16 years at a hospital in Guangzhou, South China's Guangdong province. The woman surnamed Yang is infertile due to ovarian disease and she had her first son through assisted reproductive technology in 2000, said Xu Yanwen, director of the reproductive department at the First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University. In May, Yang expected her second baby, Xu said, and doctors had awakened nine of 18 embryos that were frozen 16 years ago, four of which developed into blastulas. Doctors chose one for transplant and the other three blastulas were frozen. Yang gave birth to her second son early this month, Guangdong-based newspaper New Express reported. Usually, more than one egg will be used for in vitro fertilization and develop into embryos for transplant. Not all the embryos will be used, and the surplus embryos that are preserved for future use will be frozen in liquid nitrogen. Xu said it was the second case the hospital used embryos frozen about 16 years ago to help a patient get pregnant and give birth last year. However, these were the oldest frozen embryos that the hospital has used for patients. The hospital has stored more than 100,000 frozen embryos. Wang Zilian, director of the obstetrics and gynecology department, said that due to Yang's age, she experienced a few obstacles during the pregnancy, such as slight thalassemia and hyperglycemia. Fortunately, Yang safely gave birth to a more than four-kilogram infant, and they have returned home with the baby, Wang said. The adoption of the universal second-child policy in China has attracted some older, possibly infertile couples to have a second child through this assisted reproductive technology. About 1,000 women over 40 years old applied for the assisted reproductive technology, but "we have persuaded most of them to drop the idea," Wang said. She said it is difficult for older women to get pregnant, and the pregnancy as well as giving birth is more dangerous for them. The opera Jianzhen's Journey to Japan is staged at the National Center for Performing Arts in Beijing on Feb 6, 2017. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn] Beijing - An opera which is based on the story of a Chinese monk's expedition to Japan to promote Buddhism in the eighth century made its premier at home this week. Jianzhen's Journey to Japan, a production by Jiangsu Performing Arts Group, made the full-house National Center for the Performing Arts in Beijing roar on Monday. The leading actor shed tears over the excitement when answering the curtain call. "I am heartened by his magnificent spirit and willpower," said Tian Haojiang, who plays Jianzhen in the opera. Jianzhen, an eminent monk in the Tang Dynasty (618-907), made six attempts to visit Japan from 743 to 753 at the invitation of the Japanese monk and emissary Yoei. He failed to make it the first five times, the last attempt leaving him blind from an infection. However, Jianzhen's resolve to go to Japan did not die and in 753, the strong-minded monk finally made it to Kagoshima, the southwestern tip of Kyushu Island. During his 10-year stay in Japan, Jianzhen not only introduced Buddhism to the country, he also brought China's calligraphy, architecture, music and medicine to the island country. To get a better understanding of the great monk, the main cast made several trips to Japan, retracing the route Jianzhen travelled. Their efforts struck a chord with the audience. "This show is meaningful. It helps promote traditional Chinese culture in the fashion of the western opera," spectator Lin Long said. The opera made its debut in Japan in December. The return of Jianzhen, or Ganji as he is known in Japan, caused a stir in the island nation where he is a household name. Former Japanese prime minister Yukio Hatoyama, who attended the show's premiere, hailed the opera as "phenomenal". Jianzhen died in Japan in 763, and a statue of him stands in Nara. The opera was staged in Beijing on Feb 5 and 6, and is expected to be put on in Japan again later this year to celebrate the 45th anniversary of the normalization of China-Japan diplomatic relations. Job vacancy boom in S China after Spring Festival Xinhua | Updated: 2017-02-07 14:04 GUANGZHOU - Demand for new employees in south China's Guangdong Province increased after the Spring Festival vacation, when migrant workers return to their hometowns for the holiday. The first job fair in Guangzhou, capital of the industrial province of Guangdong, started Monday with nearly 4,000 posts on offer from more than 180 companies in the Pearl River delta region. Of the total, nearly 20 percent were opportunities in the wholesale and retail industry, evidence of a sound market environment for retail trade, an official with the job fair said. It was followed by vacancies offered by traditional manufacturing industries. The general demand for labor in the sector has fallen in recent years as manufacturing industries move inland areas to reduce costs. Jobs in the emerging industries, such as computer and software, accounted for 11 percent of all the opportunities on offer, double the same period last year. "It is not easy to hire after the Spring Festival because people are scattered," said Zou Daosheng, chairman of a Hunan-based health product firm that plans to establish a marketing team in Guangzhou. Guangzhou will hold more job fairs in the following two months, offering more than 100,000 posts from about 5,000 companies. Companies in Guangdong often face a labor shortage after Spring Festival when people move cities or stay in their hometown. The province needed more than 8 million workers in the first three quarters of 2016. The Beijing-proposed Belt and Road Initiative will open up a new era for Sri Lanka-China cooperation, Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena said on Tuesday. He made the remarks in congratulatory messages he exchanged with President Xi Jinping on Tuesday to mark the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties. In his message to Sirisena, Xi pointed out that since China and Sri Lanka established diplomatic relations 60 years ago, the bilateral ties, to which he attaches great importance, have stood the test of an ever-changing international situation and achieved a healthy and smooth development. Xi said that he appreciates Sri Lanka for its active participation in the Belt and Road Initiative. "I am willing to work with you to consolidate political mutual trust, expand mutually beneficial cooperation and deepen people-to-people friendship" between the two countries, so as to inject new vigor and vitality into the China-Sri Lanka strategic cooperative partnership featuring sincere mutual assistance and enduring friendship," Xi said. Sirisena said since the two countries established diplomatic relations 60 years ago, their ties have gained constant and sound development, which were later upgraded to a strategic partnership. The Sri Lankan president noted that his country is firmly dedicated to promoting its relations with China and that he believed on the basis of the ancient Maritime Silk Road, the Belt and Road Initiative will open up a new era for Sri Lanka-China cooperation. A 10-year reform that has shaken off China's dependence on executed inmates as the primary source for transplant organs has brought the country to the Vatican to share on the world stage its experience in combating organ commercialism. Huang Jiefu, a former vice-minister of health and now director of the National Human Organ Donation and Transplant Committee, was invited by the Vatican's Pontifical Academy of Science to speak about the "China model" of organ donation and transplant management at the two-day Summit on Organ Trafficking and Transplant Tourism that opened on Tuesday. "This is the first time that China has been invited to a summit on organ transplanting held by an authoritative international organization," Huang was quoted by the Global Times as saying on Monday. He could not be reached for comment on Tuesday. Chen Jingyu, deputy director of Wuxi People's Hospital in Jiangsu province and a leading lung transplant specialist, said such an invitation is "a New Year gift for us Chinese transplant surgeons who have been gradually recognized by international peers". In response to speculation on whether the invitation marks an improvement in China-Vatican relations, Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang said on Tuesday at a regular media briefing that Huang's participation "has nothing to do with the development of the bilateral relationship". China first performed a transplant in the 1970s, and Huang acknowledged in 2005 that a majority of the organs transplanted were harvested from executed prisoners. To conform with international practice, China launched a public organ donation system and announced in 2015 that the use of organs from executed inmates had ceased. By the end of last year, about 28,000 major organs such as livers, kidneys and lungs were harvested from nearly 10,000 donors who had died, according to data from the National Health and Family Planning Commission. More than 140,000 people have registered under the organ donation system, according to the China Organ Transplantation Development Foundation, an organization under the commission. "That demonstrates the great benevolence of the Chinese and an ever-increasing voluntarism," Huang said earlier. That helps China gain international acclaim and, more important, "sustain the development of organ transplantation here", said Guo Zhiyong, a leading liver transplant surgeon at the First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University in Guangzhou, Guangdong province. "I consider the invitation by the Vatican a recognition and huge encouragement for China's organ transplantation field," he said. "An increasing Chinese involvement in global academic exchanges in transplants also benefits the world, since China ranks second in the world in the number of transplants, second only to the United States," Guo added. Chen, from Wuxi People's Hospital, urged more Chinese surgeons to participate in international academic communications and "inform the world of China's changes". However, there is still a long way to go before China's organ donations fully satisfy the demand, said Huang, the former vice-minister of health. Although China performs about 10,000 transplants a year, 300,000 patients are waiting for organs, previous reports said. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs Julie Bishop meet on Tuesday at Parliament House in Australia's capital, Canberra. MICK TSIKAS/AUSTRALIAN ASSOCIATED PRESS China and Australia agreed on Tuesday to upgrade economic cooperation and diversify trade amid the turmoil and fears raised by growing protectionist sentiment, especially in the United States and the European Union. In a meeting with Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Tuesday evening in Australia's capital, Canberra, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull assured Wang that, as a country that has benefited from free trade, Australia will make joint efforts with China to resolutely oppose protectionism. Wang noted that Australia is an important member of the China-US "joint friends circle", and that Australia can continue to be an ally of the US while also being a comprehensive strategic partner of China. Earlier Tuesday, Wang told reporters that he and his Australian counterpart Julie Bishop agreed to boost free trade and make bilateral trade more diverse and sustainable than its current heavy reliance on minerals. Tuesday's meetings took place in the shadow of growing protectionist sentiment, symbolized by US President Donald Trump's "America First" policy and similar political sentiments in Europe. Citing the benefits of the China-Australia free trade agreement signed a year ago, Wang vowed to take a "firm stand" against protectionism. "At a time when we face an international situation that is full of uncertainties, we agree to send a clear message that it is important to firmly commit to an open world economy," he said. He added that it is also important to steer economic globalization toward greater inclusiveness and broader shared benefits in a more sustainable way. Bishop said Australia is committed to ensuring the free trade agreement with China continues to grow. She said the countries plan to cooperate more on tourism, regional infrastructure, innovation and energy. Despite the "economic transition and uncertainty around the world", Bishop said, "Australia reassures China that we are a reliable partner and that we will continue to place a strong trade and economic relationship as one of our highest priorities." Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang said at a regular news conference on Tuesday that China and Australia have the "strong political will" to advance bilateral ties. On Sunday, Premier Li Keqiang and Turnbull sent their congratulations to the China-Australia Year of Tourism 2017, which was officially launched in Sydney, Xinhua News Agency reported. Li said he was happy to see that China and Australia have become popular tourism destinations for each other, with the total number of two-way arrivals between the two countries reaching nearly 2 million last year. Turnbull added that China has become Australia's most valuable source of tourism, with 1.2 million Chinese tourists visiting Australia last year. In a related development, Alibaba Group, the Chinese e-commerce giant, launched its headquarters for Australia and New Zealand operations on Saturday. Jack Ma, the group's founder and executive chairman, told 300 of the country's business and political elite that Australia's clean environment was its next "gold mine". Ma also emphasized the dangers of protectionism. "If trade stops, war starts," he said at the launch ceremony. The company's headquarters for the region in Melbourne is intended to help businesses based in Australia and New Zealand share their products with global customers, the Australian Associated Press reported. Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe will attend the Belt and Road Initiative summit planned for May, according to the country's ambassador to China, Karunasena Kodituwakku. The Beijing forum is expected to involve additional discussions on the scope of the international cooperation proposed by President Xi Jinping. When asked about the initiative's role in his nation's infrastructure development, Kodituwakku said, "It will be complementary for Sri Lanka." He spoke with reporters at a national day reception at the Sri Lankan embassy in Beijing on Saturday. Events and stories coming up in the next few days Uber suspending Taiwan operation amid crackdown Uber will suspend its ride-hailing operation in Taiwan from Friday as it faces mounting fines and regulatory pressure on the island. The US-based company was fined $7.4 million for what local officials and the taxi industry consider to be illegal operations. Uber also said Taiwan had "moved further and further away from embracing innovation" by implementing a new regulation that increases fines for illegal passenger services. 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 Flash The Islamic State (IS) group blew up gas pipelines of the Hayan gas field in the central province of Homs on Monday, causing huge fire, state TV said. The IS militants blew the pipelines to the north, east and western flanks of the gas field, said the report, telling no further details. Hayan gas field is the largest production facility of gas feeding electricity station in central and southern Syria. Its production is estimated at three million cubic meters of gas daily. The facility's establishment cost the government over 280 million Euros. IS stormed the facility when it overran, for the second time, the ancient city of Palmyra in the eastern countryside of Homs in last December. In January, IS' Amaq news agency posted photos in what it said was bombing of Hayan field, as sources in the Oil Ministry in Syria said then that the photos seemed real, but the bombing had not yet been confirmed. Visitors tour around the Paperworld show. [Photo/Chinaculture.org] Samples from the collections held by 10 major Chinese museums have been showcased at Frankfurt's Paperworld fair in Germany, in the first Chinese group show at the internationally-famed exhibition. The exhibits were collected from museums across China including the Palace Museum in Beijing, the Shaanxi History Museum and the Nanjing Museum Administration. It's part of the lunar New Year celebrations organized by Art Exhibitions China under the Chinese Culture Ministry's "Happy Chinese New Year" program, which is also aimed at promoting exchanges between museums. Since 2001, the Ministry of Culture has presented various activities around the world under the "Happy Chinese New Year" program in an attempt to promote the Spring Festival culture. Pedro Almodovar poses on the red carpet at the Spanish Film Academy's Goya Awards ceremony in Madrid, Spain, February 4, 2017. [Photo/Agencies] Pedro Almodovar, renowned Spanish film maker director and producer, will preside the jury of the 70th Festival de Cannes due to take place from May 17-28, the organizers announced on Tuesday. "For its 70th edition, the Festival de Cannes is delighted to welcome a unique and hugely popular artist. His works have already carved out an eternal niche in the history of film. A long and loyal friendship binds Pedro Almodovar to the Festival," the organizers said in a statement. Almodovar, has been seen an icon of Spanish cinema, as he won the best foreign film Oscar in 1999 for his All About My Mother drama, which also won him best director at Cannes festival. His four other films, namely Volver (2006), Broken Embraces (2009), The Skin I live in (2011) and Julieta (2016), have also been selected in Cannes festival's official competition. But, the Spanish director has never taken its top prize, the Palme d'Or. Born to a farming family in a small, dusty town south of Madrid, Almodovar bought his first camera at 22 when he started making his short first films. "I am very happy to be able to celebrate the Festival de Cannes 70th anniversary from such a privileged position. I am grateful, honoured and a bit overwhelmed," said the 67-year-old film director. "I am aware of the responsibility that entails being the president of the jury and I hope to be up to the job. I can only tell that I'll devote myself, body and soul, to this task, that it is both a privilege and a pleasure," he added. This year's edition of Cannes festival will raise its curtain on May 17. The rest of the jury and the films that will make up its official selection will be announced mid-April, organizers said. Related: Britain's I, Daniel Blake wins Palme d'Or US President Donald Trump speaks while signing executive orders at the White House in Washington January 24, 2017. [Photo/Agencies] Less than two weeks into his presidency Donald Trump seems to have proved in an ominous sense for many people in the United States and abroad that his campaign rhetoric was not just empty promises. Despite mounting opposition, Trump has signed executive orders to overturn his predecessor's healthcare reform law, withdraw the US from the Trans-Pacific Partnership, build an anti-migrant wall along the border with Mexico, and temporarily ban entry into the US by nationals from seven Muslim-majority countries. Even though it has so far been spared a direct provocation from the world's sole superpower, China has no reason to be complacent, given what Trump has previously said about it and the hostile views expressed by some of those who make up his team, especially former ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson, who was confirmed as US secretary of state on Wednesday. Prior to his election victory, Trump vowed to levy massive tariffs on China's exports, label the country a currency manipulator and take a tougher stance against it on the South China Sea. Trade moves seem already underway. US regulators on Tuesday imposed hefty tariffs on certain washing machines that it said were imported from China at below fair value. Such tariffs are a double-edged sword though, as they will surely affect US consumers and incur retaliatory countermeasures that will hurt the interests of US businesses. The same can be said of labeling China a currency manipulator, which is patently false since Beijing has been working to prop up, not depreciate, the yuan's value over the last year. How seriously the fallout will be, in jobs and investment, will probably determine how far Trump is prepared to go on a confrontational course. But with its exports now accounting for 13.8 percent of the world's total, compared with 9 percent for the US, China is better positioned for trade frictions. More worrying though is the possibility of a clash in the South China Sea. Although US oil companies have long coveted exploiting oil and gas reserves in the region, and of course the US navy seeks to maintain its dominance, trying to block China from its own territory as was mentioned by Tillerson at his confirmation hearing would be a recipe for disaster. China needs to cast aside any illusions it may have had that Trump was just mouthing off to attract votes and instead be prepared for the worst. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg speaks on stage during the Facebook F8 conference in San Francisco, California April 12, 2016. [Photo/Agencies] Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, along with executives of other successful US enterprises such as Apple, Google, Microsoft and Uber, has voiced concern about and opposition to the executive orders issued by US President Donald Trump since taking office. In a Facebook post, Zuckerberg said that he is "concerned about the impact of the recent executive orders", adding that "we should also keep our doors open to refugees and those who need help". Zuckerberg's remarks are the first time he has openly criticized government policy. Trump's policy of employing US citizens is superficially helpful to expanding US employment, but it is of no help to innovative enterprises who utilize talent from all over the world, which has been a source of endless vitality for them. So Trump's ban on immigrants, if implemented, will fundamentally shake the foundation for the continued prosperity of these US behemoths. Shortly after the ban was issued, Apple voiced opposition and took measures to help affected Apple employees. For high-tech companies such as Apple, their deep-rooted corporate cultures of openness and inclusiveness are incompatible with Trump's "closed-door" moves made on the pretext of "national safety". They well know that the building of any border wall with Mexico will make the United States neither safer nor great again, but only isolate it from the rest of the world. The US itself is a country of immigrants and its prosperity and powerfulness are largely attributed to its receptive mind and its incorporation of diversified and advanced cultures and talents. For such high-tech companies as Facebook and Apple that set no boundaries for staff employment, how can they sustain their past glory under Trump's new policy? Compared with Zuckerberg and his peers, Trump has a narrow and limited vision. Without global talents and markets, US enterprises will not be great, and this is also true of the US. ON SATURDAY, Yang Shaolei, the former head of the mental health department at Guihang Guiyang Hospital in the city of Guiyang, Southwest China's Guizhou province, reportedly brought 64 inpatients to his new employer, Guiyang No 6 People's Hospital, without notifying the former. Thepaper.cn comments: The incident in Guiyang highlights some of the problems in the medical sector: the competition among hospitals, the tense relationships between doctors and the hospitals they serve, as well as between doctors and patients. The medical reform over the past several years has placed an emphasis on allowing doctors to freely move from one hospital to another and promoting fair competition among hospitals. Yet how to ensure fairness in the process remains a question to be answered. What if hospitals refuse to let doctors leave? What if doctors are trained in a hospital and then leave for another? That's where disputes often occur. Reports say Yang submitted a resignation letter to his old hospital but did not get any answer until he took the patients away. For the specific case, it is too early to blame either the doctor or the hospital, because we do not know what happened during their interaction with each other. But only by deepening medical reform can these problems be solved and the legal rights of both doctors and hospitals be better protected. One thing is clear: Doctors are not salespersons and the patients are not their customers. The 64 inpatients that were "transferred" by Yang did not sign any written consent to be moved. Local supervisors should investigate whether the doctor forced any of them to change hospitals with him. Obviously, Yang brought the patients together with him because their treatment costs are a big cake for his new employer. Did he play them as cards during his bargaining? Did the new hospital encourage him to do so? If yes, the doctor and the new hospital might have broken the law on fair competition. The medical industry does have problems and the ongoing reform drive aims to solve them. But whatever the problems are, the law and professional ethics should be observed and patients' safety should come first. US President Donald Trump shows the Executive Order withdrawing the US from the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) after signing it in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, USA, January 23, 2017. [Photo/IC] The implications for China of US President Donald Trump's decision to withdraw the United States from the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement has drawn much attention, with many arguing it will enable China to play a bigger role in trade governance in the Asia-Pacific. While this might indeed be so, it also presents China with new challenges. In his last few months as president, Barack Obama repeatedly emphasized the importance of the US ratifying the TPP in order to "contain" China. He and his administration argued that the failure to ratify the TPP would mean China, rather than the US, would write the trade rules for the Asia-Pacific. This narrative, supported by a large number of analysts and experts, strengthened the impression of the TPP being essentially an instrument for strengthening the US' strategic influence in the region: The TPP would have brought together regional allies of the US into a common trade framework led by the US. This surely would have been an uncomfortable proposition for China. So the withdrawal of the US from the TPP, aborting the US' efforts to lead the regional order, has for the time being reduced China's apprehension of being strategically cornered by unfavorable trade agreements. Yet while many seem to think China can now automatically assume leadership of the regional trade order, in reality much depends on how the rest of the region responds to that possibility. It is important to note that the rest of the TPP members might not be as comfortable with China's leadership of regional trade integration as they were with that of the US. Some TPP members such as Japan have difficult political relations with China, and are unlikely to accept China's leadership on Asia-Pacific trade. This is evident from Japan indicating that the TPP without the US is "meaningless". Indeed, these countries might explore the possibility of having bilateral trade deals with the US. That would give them the coveted access to the US market and at the same time assure them of security and strategic support from the US. Unless the rest of the TPP members remain committed to the TPP, it will die a natural death. If the TPP gets going without the US, it might be able to bring in a new a modern system of trade governance in the Asia-Pacific, since without the US it would not be viewed as a US-led initiative for capturing strategic influence. The new US administration is expected to play a less active role in the region. The Trump administration has backed out from the TPP and might also withdraw from the Obama administration's "pivot to Asia" strategy. But various statements by Trump and his team at different points in time have pointed to their hostile attitude towards China. Any effort on part of China to assume a leadership role in regional trade matters might provoke the Trump administration to retaliate. That would complicate the strategic dynamics in the Asia-Pacific. While China doesn't face the threat of being strategically marginalized by the US-led TPP, it still faces a challenge in deciding its next steps. The Trump administration is very much in its early days. Over time, its China policy will become clearer. A prominently hostile US attitude towards China including tough actions on trade might lead to regional trade confrontation. Such a situation will mean other countries in the region will be forced to make a difficult choice between the US and China. While US allies like Australia and New Zealand might be willing to work with China on reviving the TPP and promoting the proposed Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific, other US allies in the region might not. So the US withdrawal from the TPP may have raised more questions for China than providing answers. The author is senior research fellow and research lead (trade and economic policy) at the Institute of South Asian Studies, National University of Singapore. President of the European Council Donald Tusk looks on during a joint news conference at the government headquarters Rosenbad in Stockholm, Sweden, September 9, 2016. [Photo/Agencies] Following the lead of new US president, Donald Trump, who has used aggressive rhetoric against China since the start of his presidential campaign, Donald Tusk, president of the European Council, has begun to play this dangerously misleading game too. In recent days, Tusk, whose institution is responsible for the 28-member bloc's political direction, has been eager to spread alarm among Europeans by claiming that the United States, Russia and China all represent a "danger and threat" to the European Union. His chief worry over China is that the nation has been "increasingly assertive, especially at sea". Tusk has been repeatedly spreading this message to European leaders. Although he has not elaborated in what way China being assertive is harmful, he claims it is among the external dangers and threats the EU faces. Interestingly, a careful reading of his letter to EU leaders ahead of Friday's gathering in Malta shows that he is also urging Europeans to become "assertive" and fight against the disintegration of the EU. Being assertive is not a bad thing, especially at critical times when the world is confronted with various crises. In fact, we are in extreme need of confident global leadership at this time. China's actions at sea are designed to protect its maritime sovereignty, which has been affected by the increasing intervention in the region by the United States in recent years. Another purpose is to deepen regional cooperation, facilitate trade flows and generate more jobs by increasing port investment. One example that Tusk might reflect on is Piraeus port in Greece. An EU rescue plan, coupled with China's growing investment, has helped bail the Mediterranean country out of crisis. Also, labeling China as a threat and danger-possibly the first time a European leader has used such language-does not reflect the realities of bilateral relations between China and EU members. In addition to the strategic partnership signed between China and the EU, China has entered into even closer relationships with most of the EU member states, including Germany, France, and Belgium, among others. Many have become founding members of the China-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank. In 2016, China surpassed the United States to become Germany's top trading partner, according to the Association of German Chambers of Commerce and Industry. With China's massive plans to attract investment and expand its overseas business, more of these pragmatic forward-looking policies are bound to take hold in the coming years among EU member states if the bloc adopts an open-door policy. In dealing with China, Tusk must listen to the opinions of the EU member countries and reflect their will. It is dangerous and misleading that while member countries are celebrating cooperation with China, the EU leadership is taking a less welcoming view. The EU is truly at a critical moment. Its southern and eastern periphery is in chaos, the new US administration is headstrong, and the United Kingdom is going to part ways and play a vastly different global role. But as Europe celebrates the 60th anniversary of Treaty of Rome, European leaders must not forget that European integration and China's reform and opening-up have been two of the major memorable developments over the past few decades. So when Tusk is shaping the political stance of the EU at this precarious moment, he must not only endeavor to save the transatlantic bond, but also recognize what are the real positive forces that will deepen regional integration and global peace. Embracing these forces would be the right approach to tackling the real threats facing the EU. The author is deputy chief of China Daily European Bureau. fujing@chinadaily.com.cn US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis speaks before meeting with South Korean Defense Minister Han Min-Koo at the headquarters of the Defense Ministry in Seoul, South Korea, February 3, 2017. [Photo/Agencies] In Seoul, he defended the United States' commitment to deploying the Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense system in the Republic of Korea. In Tokyo, he restated that the US-Japan security treaty applies to the Diaoyu Islands. Almost equally provocative, he blamed China for shredding the trust between nations in the region by attempting to dictate the "diplomatic and security and economic conditions of neighboring states". Which, not surprisingly, prompted immediate protests from Beijing. But, despite the diplomatic feathers he ruffled during his trip, US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis' maiden visit to Asia has also prompted sighs of relief. For, at the very least, it dispersed the clouds of war that many feared were gathering over the South China Sea. If the new US president's precedent-breaking call with Taiwan leader Tsai Ing-wen and his claim of readiness to reconsider the "one China" principle were broadly interpreted as signs that the new administration wanted to reset China-US relations, Rex Tillerson's proposal to deny China access to its own islands in the South China Sea, and more recent remarks by administration officials about "defending international waters" and possible military conflict with China, only lent additional credibility to speculation about an upcoming showdown between the two countries, sparked by US actions with regard to Taiwan or the South China Sea. Although Beijing has appeared patient and restrained, and so far consigned the task of responding to its diplomats, it would be impossible for those wielding the ultimate decision-making power not to be affected by Trump's vow to get tough and domestic calls for Beijing to reciprocate. Mattis' Saturday statement on the South China Sea, therefore, offered them a "mind-soothing pill". By clarifying Washington does "not see any need for dramatic military moves at all," defining the issue as "something that's best solved by the diplomats", and highlighting the Trump administration's willingness to maintain "open lines of communication", Mattis has inspired optimism here that things may not be as bad as previously portrayed. By and large, Trump's China policy as seen from Mattis' words is hence being read as "basically in conformity with that of Obama's". Trump's demonstrated enthusiasm for erasing his predecessor's legacies notwithstanding, the no-nonsense style Mattis debuted thus far did provide the dose of predictability the bilateral relationship badly needs. Yet it is too early for Chinese decision-makers to sit back and relax, because this may not remain the case as Trump has already shown he is no fan of predictability. US Defense Secretary James Mattis (L) attends a press conference with his Japanese counterpart Tomomi Inada in Tokyo, Japan, Feb. 4, 2017. [Xinhua/Ma Ping] US Defense Secretary James Mattis' reiteration of America's defense commitments to its allies in Asia during his maiden visit to the region over the weekend has added uncertainty to regional stability. By reaffirming US engagement, the new Pentagon chief's visit to South Korea and Japan seems to have raised more uncertainties in the Asia-Pacific instead of bringing stability as he claimed. STABILIZER OR STIMULATOR? During his three-day visit ending Saturday, Mattis offered most key security reassurances that Tokyo and Seoul, the two key US allies in Asia, have long been eager to hear after remarks made by US President Donald Trump in his campaign trail. In a series of meetings with senior Japanese officials, Mattis reiterated his country's mutual defense commitment to Japan, saying that their alliance remained a "cornerstone" of regional stability. Mattis's praise of Japan as "a model" of burden-sharing downplayed the accusation of "free-rider" on security that Trump made in his presidential campaign. The hawkish former four-star general also claimed that the Diaoyu Islands, an inherent part of the Chinese territory, fell under Article 5 of the US-Japan security treaty, a statement sparking criticism from China. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang said later that the so-called US-Japan treaty was a product of the Cold War, and should not impair China's territorial sovereignty and legitimate rights. Talking to his South Korean counterpart earlier last week, Mattis reaffirmed the Trump administration's commitment to deploy the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD), a high-end US missile defense system nominally aiming at countering missile attack from the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. Despite Trump's vowing days ago to take fresh look at the country's foreign policy, Mattis's remarks have been interpreted as an extension of the Obama administration's pivot-to-Asia strategy. The main purpose of Mattis's visit is to reassure its allies about the UScontinuous engagement in the region, said Diao Daming, a researcher on American studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. "More US military presence in the region could be expected," added Diao. Far-left firebrand Jean-Luc Melenchon gives a statement during his meeting for the French Presidential elections in Lyon on February 5, 2017.[Photo/VCG] PARIS - Far-left firebrand Jean-Luc Melenchon embraced technology during the launch of his presidential campaign at a rally in Lyon on Sunday, with a 3D hologram of him making his speech appearing at the same time at another rally in Paris. Melenchon, wearing a Nehru-style jacket, tried to use the hologram technology give a modern look to his launch, which coincided with that of the far-right leader Marine Le Pen. Melenchon is certainly not the first politician to employ such technology - in 2014, then-Turkish prime minister Tayyip Erdogan used a huge hologram of himself to attract wider support, while India's Narendra Modi trounced the opposition with a campaign that included holograms of his speeches in villages across the country. Melenchon tried to position himself on Sunday as a key adversary of Marine Le Pen, choosing Lyon - and almost the same timing - for the launch of his campaign. Le Pen, speaking in Lyon on Sunday, told thousands of flag-waving supporters chanting "This is our country!" that she alone would protect them against Islamic fundamentalism and globalisation if elected president in May. There are some similarities between Melenchon's platform and Le Pen's, as both are sceptical of the EU and globalisation, but they differ sharply on other issues including migration. During his speech, Melenchon mentioned the Socialist party's presidential candidate Benoit Hamon, who has called on left-wing forces to unite. "Everyone wants to abolish El Khomri (a labour law), including the Socialist candidate. I wonder what holds him back?" said Melanchon, who has between 11 and 11.5 percent support, according to Friday's BVA poll. The Socialists, weakened after the deeply unpopular presidency of Francois Hollande, have no chance of getting beyond the first round of the election in April, according to the latest polls. The poll by BVA of voting intentions on Friday gave Hamon between 16 and 17 percent in the April 23 first round, behind far-right leader Marine Le Pen on 25 percent, independent centrist Emmanuel Macron on 21-22 percent and conservative Francois Fillon on 20 percent. Flash The speaker of the House of Commons John Bercow said Monday he was strongly opposed to U.S. President Donald Trump addressing the Houses of Parliament during his proposed state visit to Britain. Thousands of demonstrators protest against Donald Trump travel ban on Muslim's travelling to the United States in central London on Feb. 4, 2017. [Photo/Xinhua] Dozens of members of parliament (MPs) have already signed a motion opposing Trump from following in the footsteps of other U.S. presidents by addressing politicians in the centuries old Westminster Hall. But Bercow's comment is the strongest message so far against the honor being granted to Trump. Political commentators in Westminster predicted that Bercow's very public declaration would enrage 10 Downing Street. It was British Prime Minister Theresa May who invited Trump to a state visit last month when she became the first national leader to meet the new president after his inauguration. Bercow's unexpected message took politicians by surprise when he outlined his opposition, which earned applause from some MPs. Under the rules in force at the Palace of Westminster, Speaker Bercow is one of three officials required to agree to any visitor addressing MPs and peers from the House of Lords. Without his agreement, it will not be possible for Trump to address parliament. Bercow told MPs that before the imposition of Trump's controversial migrant ban, he would have been strongly opposed to an address by the U.S. president in Westminster Hall. "After the imposition of the migrant ban, I am even more strongly opposed to an address by President Trump in Westminster Hall, " Bercow said. He added that he would also not wish to issue an invitation to President Trump to speak in the Royal Gallery at the Palace of Westminster. Bercow added: "We value our relationship with the United States. If a state visit takes place, that is way beyond and above the pay grade of the Speaker." "However, as far as this place is concerned, I feel very strongly that our opposition to racism and sexism and our support for equality before the law and an independent judiciary are hugely important considerations in the House of Commons." As Speaker, Bercow is essentially the chairman of the House of Commons, one of the highest jobs in public life in Britain. He is also one of the 650 MPs elected to parliament. No date has yet been fixed for Trump's state visit. A petition opposed to him meeting Queen Elizabeth II during a state visit has been signed by almost 2 million people. A Palestinian woman holding her baby stands behind a fence as she waits for a travel permit to cross into Egypt through the Rafah border crossing after it was opened by Egyptian authorities for humanitarian cases, in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip January 29, 2017. [Photo/Agencies] JERUSALEM - Israel's parliament passed Monday a controversial law to retroactively legalize wildcat Jewish outposts built on private Palestinian lands, despite international condemnations and warnings that the law is unconstitutional. In a late-night session, the Knesset (parliament) approved the so-called "Regulation Bill" in a 60-52 vote. Under the new legislation, about 3,850 housing units in dozens of outposts built illegally on privately owned Palestinian lands would be retroactively legalized. The State of Israel would seize the lands, offering compensations or alternative land to the landowners, even if they do not agree to waive their property. The outposts were erected by ultra-right settlers without permits from the Israeli authorities but the governments often have turned a blind eye to their construction. There are additional 120 settlements that Israel considered as legal. Both outposts and settlements are illegal under international law as they were built on lands occupied by Israel in the 1967 Mideast War, where the Palestinians wish to build their future state. Earlier on Monday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told reporters in London that he will vote in favor of the law immediately upon landing in Israel after meeting British Prime Minister Theresa May. But his flight was postponed due to late meetings with British officials, according to his spokesperson, and the vote was held in his absence. The act was approved a week after the White House issued a statement with a reserved criticism of a recent surge of construction permits to thousands of housing units in the settlements. The vote was held although the White House has reportedly asked Netanyahu to delay it. According to a report on Israel's Channel 2 TV news, the administration told Netanyahu to postpone the move until after he met US President Donald Trump in Washington on Feb 15. The Prime Minister's Office would not confirm the report but Netanyahu told reporters in London that he has "updated" Trump about the expected vote. Netanyahu's nationalist coalition partners, predominantly the pro-settler faction of the Jewish Home, pressured hard to move forwards with the legislation in the wake of the court-ordered evacuation of the illegal outpost of Amona last week. Betzalel Smotrich, a lawmaker with the Jewish Home, hailed the "historic" vote. "Today, the State of Israel determined that the development of the settlement is an Israeli interest," he said in a statement. He stated that the next step would be to "declare Israeli sovereignty over" the entire West Bank. The opposition leader, Isaac Herzog, addressed the Knesset plenum ahead of the vote, calling on the lawmakers to reject the bill. "This bill is de-facto annexation," he said. "We have just a few more moments to stop this terrible train before it leaves here and stops at The Hague," he said. Also before the vote, United Nations Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Nickolay Mladenov warned that the law "will have far-reaching legal consequences for Israel and greatly diminish the prospects for Arab-Israeli peace." Immediately after the vote, Peace Now and Yesh Din, two Israel-based human rights organizations, said they intend to petition the Supreme Court to cancel the law. Yesh Din said in a statement that the law is "an unlawful, immoral law sanctioning landgrab and rewarding thievery," adding that it constitutes a "fundamental violation of the right to property." "Given the Knesset's lack of authority to legislate upon the West Bank, the landowners' struggle will continue in court," the group said. Last week, the government's Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit, said that the law might be unconstitutional and he would not be able to defend it in the Supreme Court. He warned the new legislation might expose Israeli officials to prosecutions in the International Criminal Court. In a highly unusual move, Ayelet Shaked, minister of justice and a lawmaker with the Jewish Home, announced that the government would hire a private lawyer to represent it in the Supreme Court. South Sudan President Salva Kiir addresses members of the media after taking a tour around the capital Juba, South Sudan, October 12, 2016. [Photo/Agencies] JUBA - South Sudan President Salva Kiir ordered Monday his defence minister and the army chief to publicly execute members of the armed forces if found of raping women and girls. Speaking on a religious occasion in the town of Yei, southwest of the capital Juba, Kiir said members of the security forces who were convicted of rape would be severely punished. "If a soldier rapes a woman or a girl, the punishment is to shoot him in the head and in public," Kiir said in a speech broadcast live on state-owned radio and television stations. The South Sudanese leader admitted that the move may attract criticism from human rights defenders, but it is meant to restore stability in the East African nation. "People have ears and eyes to see. If they see or hear that rapists or criminals are being killed, they will stop committing these acts," Kiir said. He urged the community of Yei to end violence and support his national dialogue initiative declared late last year, which was intended to end the on-going mass displacement and violence in the previously peaceful Greater Equatoria region. The United Nations has on several occasions accused the South Sudanese government troops and opposition forces of committing sexual violence and rapes against women and girls. The UN Mission in the South Sudan (UNMISS) reported last year that it documented at least 172 cases of sexual violence in Juba since renewed fighting erupted in July 2016. Shannon Peng (in pink), is the only Chinese American on the board of the Edison school board, having just been elected to the seat. New Jersey has the sixth biggest Chinese population in the US and while Chinese representation on school boards is still low, more Chinese parents like Peng are being elected to the boards. [Photo provided to China Daily] It's a state with the sixth-largest Chinese population in the US 134,000 and Chinese Americans hold just 14 of New Jersey's 5,000 public school board seats, butthey are winning moreseats and becoming more active in school districts. And though they are among that very small number of Chinese Americans on the state's 581 school boards, Shannon Peng, Edward Wang and George Shen see getting elected as a start to get more Asians in school leadership positions. The Asian population stands at 18.5 percent of the state's population and increased 34 percent between 2000 and 2010, according to 2010 Census data. "A lot of Chinese parents don't even know there's a school board, and even I just found out maybe a year or two years ago. I want to see Chinese people go vote. They don't even want to vote, but you need to vote to have a voice," said Peng. "I really hope we inspire more people, especially young people, to get involved. We're setting an example for them, for the next generation." Peng is the only Asian member of the board in the township of Edison, which has a Chinese population of 7,500, and the only board member who is a parent of students in the school system, which she said is what motivated her to seek a seat. "This is a volunteer job, you don't get paid and so a lot of members are volunteers. I just think there should be some parents on the board. Not all of them [need to be], but there should be some," she said. The Edison school district's 10 public schools have 16,000 students, and for Peng the biggest priority is how to spend the school's budget of approximately $200 million. "Every year they have budgets coming for the board to approve funds coming from taxes, and we want to make sure tax money is well spent," she said. "People argue about using the money to increase teachers' salaries, school construction or buying computers. We work with the superintendent's office, and they will bring up ideas and we as a board have to approve for those to be executed," said Peng, who is a software engineer with MetLife Inc. Her two children, ages 7 and 10, are enrolled in Edison elementary schools, and she said she wanted to motivate the next generation to participate in local politics. Peng organized her campaign on WeChat, which was built off a chat group that Chinese parents in the Edison school district used to communicate with each other. She had 100 volunteers work on her campaign, and using publicly-available information, identified that there were 40,000 voters in Edison and her campaign went door-to-door to 10,000 addresses to persuade people to vote for Peng. "It was a month and a half process, with volunteers walking around door-to-door almost every weekend, many of them with children who we want to set an example for," she said. Wang is on the board in Cherry Hill where the district's 19 schools have 11,000 students, 18 percent of them Asian, the largest minority group. But there were no Asian parents or Asian members serving on the board, which is why Wang, a history professor at Rowan University, decided to run. "There's a major deficit of Asian representatives on the board and in local politics," he said. "We used to have a person who served on the City Council, a Korean American, but now there are no Asian officials. "We know that in Silicon Valley, the Chinese were not in any significant positions. In American society in general, particularly the Chinese, are not well-represented," said Wang, who has a 9-year-old attending school in Cherry Hill. The biggest issues to him include getting the school district to consider teaching Chinese, and to declare Lunar New Year a school holiday, which he said has been brought up to the school superintendent but repeatedly struck down. George Shen, a scientist with the pharmaceutical company Celgene who won a seat on the Livingston school board, said similarly that "participating in the American democratic process is really important for Chinese. You're not just contributing to your own family's growth and even your own community but you can make not only this town or wherever you live prosperous." Shen, who used to be a Chinese language teacher at the Huaxia Chinese School, said he wanted to highlight the importance of education in the Chinese community to the school district, and he also wanted all students attending Livingston schools to improve their school performance, not just the top students. The district has nine schools with 5,800 students, and is ranked No 6 in New Jersey. "The goal isn't to do whatever it takes spending more money and effort into pushing the ranking up or to focus on top-performing students to make sure they become governors," said Shen, who has three children, a 15-year-old and twins aged9,in the school system. "That's not our goal. We want to help the whole [spectrum] of students." Contact the writer at amyhe@chinadailyusa.com Gratitude is probably one of the most widely cherished virtues in every culture. In China, children are taught from their earliest days that "A drop of water should be returned with a gushing spring", meaning that one should return even the smallest favor with everything they have to offer. I'm not sure how many people these days still follow this commandment. But if there's one thing all of the agitation and revolt in San Francisco, Berkeley and Oakland over the election teaches us, it's that as human beings, we still need the power to heal and have hope and positive energy. I just heard about a wonderful example. On Feb 3, Australia's University of Newcastle (UON) announced the establishment of a $20 million scholarship program, its largest ever. And it comes as the result of a three-decade-long friendship that transcends ideological differences and geographic distance. The program is funded by Alibaba founder Jack Ma and is his foundation's first philanthropic donation in Australia. But the story really starts 37 years ago. In 1980, on his first trip overseas with his parents and the Australia-China Friendship Society, Newcastle teenager David Morley met a Chinese youth Ma Yun, 17, who used to hang around tourist attractions in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, hoping to hone his spoken English skills by speaking with native speakers who were visiting. After playing Frisbee in the park, the two decided to become pen pals. David's father Ken, a retired electrical engineer, took the time to correct Ma's English in the double-spaced letters he wrote to David. Little by little, Ken became an influential figure in Ma's life, instilling core values and opening his eyes to the world beyond China, which, since 1979 and Deng Xiaoping's opening up and reform policy, was coming more and more into view. The Morleys were generous enough to subsidize Ma's living expenses when he was enrolled at Hangzhou Teachers College and happened to mention that he was short of funds. Ken would send checks of a few hundred dollars now and then to help Ma complete his course. In 1985, the 21-year-old Ma, at the invitation of the Morleys, traveled outside of China for the first time on a 29-day visit to Australia. It turned out to be a defining moment for Ma. It was during that trip that his vision for his business plans solidified and he would go on to become one of the richest people in China, with an estimated worth of $33 billion. Ma and the Morleys have remained close friends, even after Ken, his "Australian dad", passed away in 2004. Decades on, the Morleys' generosity has yielded fruitful results. "I'm very thankful for Australia and the time I spent there in my youth," Ma said on Friday at a ceremony commemorating his first trip to Australia. "The culture, the landscape and, most importantly, its people had a profound positive impact on my view of the world at that time." "For an unknown reason, I was lucky enough to make it. I have been wanting to do something for UON, for Ken used to talk about it all the time," Ma said. "I want to be just like Ken, staying ready to help strangers, to help some young fellow he just happened to meet on the street." UON Vice-Chancellor Caroline McMillen said the program would have a transformational impact on the lives of students and shape the next generation of leaders. "Through this remarkable friendship spanning decades, a new generation of talented students will have the opportunity to reach their full personal and professional potential," she said. The program in its initial year will support 30 new UON scholarships 20 to support students throughout the duration of their degree and 10 to support educational exchanges, internships or immersion activities. When the program reaches full capacity, it will support 90 students a year for at least 20 years. "This scholarship program will exemplify the shared values between Mr Ma and Mr Morley, and aims to develop the next generation of globally aware and socially conscious Australian leaders," McMillen said. Generosity can be a gift that keeps on giving. Contact the writer at junechang@chinadailyusa.com Flash Top diplomats of the 28-nation European Union (EU) on Monday wrapped up a one-day gathering in Brussels, seeking to tackle thorny regional issues ranging from Ukraine crisis to Middle East Process, in the context of a widening crack between the bloc and the new U.S. administration. "We will have intense exchanges in the coming weeks with our U.S. counterparts," said EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini at a press conference after the Foreign Affaris Council. "Today's discussions, on Ukraine and the Middle East Peace Process in particular, were very useful to take stock of where the EU stands, that it is united, and has very clear positions," she stressed. As to the recent resurgence of violence in eastern Ukraine, the council said in a statement that EU foreign ministers expressed their concern, "in particular with regard to the humanitarian situation." "They discussed how to increase EU support for the implementation of the Minsk agreements," the council said, hinting that the bloc will not budge on its sanctions against Russia, regardless of U.S. President Donald Trump's pro-Russia stance. The U.S. Treasury Department on Thursday issued a notice easing sanctions on a Russian intelligence agency that former U.S. president Barack Obama sanctioned over Moscow's alleged hacking activities in last year's U.S. presidential election. Trump has indicated that he could lift the sanctions against Russia if Moscow proved helpful in battling terrorists and reaching other goals important to the United States. The sanctions against Russia are not the only issues the EU at odds with the Trump administration. Highups of the EU, including Mogherini, have recently blasted a travel ban signed by Trump that bars citizens from Iran, Iraq, Syria, Sudan, Somalia, Libya and Yemen from traveling to the United States for 90 days, stops accepting refugees for 120 days and indefinitely halts refugees from Syria. Mogherini last week pledged that the EU would not turn its back on anyone who has the right to international protection, because "this is where we stand, this is where we will continue to stand." But the bloc is on the other hand seeking ways to better control the migrant inflows, especially those reaching it through the central Mediterranean route, which links Libya to Italy. The central route has attracted more attention from the EU since last year when a EU-Turkey deal led to nosedive of the number of asylum seekers via the eastern Mediterranean route. Foreign ministers at Monday's council reaffirmed the importance of helping Libya to regain stability "through an inclusive political settlement under the framework of the Libyan political agreement." "A stable and peaceful Libya is important not only for its neighbours - the EU included, but for the Libyans themselves, as well as for migrants currently in Libya," the council said, echoing an action plan adopted at the Malta summit on Friday to stem the migration flow into Europe along the central Mediterranean route. According to the plan, the EU will train and equip the Libyan national coast guard, disrupt smuggling business and support the development of local communities. Over 181,000 migrants and refugees, most of whom use Libya as a springboard, arrived in the EU in 2016 through the central Mediterranean route. As the deadliest route for migrants last year, the central Mediterranean route claimed the lives of 4,576 people, according to the International Organization for Migration. NEW YORK - The tightly corseted Playboy Bunnies, with rabbit tails and ears, will soon be back in business in New York City. Three decades after the original Playboy Club closed in Manhattan, an apparent victim of changing American tastes and views on women, a new one will debut later this year in a hotel a few blocks from Times Square. The club on West 42nd Street "will be one of the most chic and sophisticated venues in the world," promises Playboy Enterprises spokesman John Vlautin. It will have a lounge, a restaurant, a game room and, of course, the Bunnies, though with updated outfits. Other Playboy clubs are already operating in London, the Vietnamese capital of Hanoi and several places in India. Another is set to open in the spring in Shanghai. New York's club will be in the Cachet Boutique New York Hotel, replacing the gay-themed Out Hotel, which closed last year. If the club opens as scheduled, it will be in a city that began the year with hundreds of thousands of women taking to the streets to protest the presidency of Donald Trump, in part because of remarks he made that were perceived as chauvinistic. The timing may be off, says travel guidebook publisher Pauline Frommer. "Retro is in, but I'm not sure this type of retro," she says. "We live in this era when thousands of women are gathering in marches to protest. I'm not sure the zeitgeist is right for Playboy now."Industry observers said the key to success is how the brand will be presented to prospective guests. Will it be seen as a luxurious enclave, a nostalgic throwback, or a place where "75-year-old guys walk around in silk pajamas?" travel guru Peter Greenberg asks. "As a concept, Playboy has the word anachronism written all over it outdated, irrelevant so I don't know what the cachet is today," Greenberg says. Playboy founder Hugh Hefner opened the first club in Chicago in 1960. He quickly expanded the operation to 30 clubs around the world. A chance to leer at the Bunnies wasn't the only attraction. The clubs also featured top musicians and other entertainers. New York's version opened on East 59th Street between Fifth and Madison avenues in 1962. The next year, feminist Gloria Steinem worked as an undercover Bunny and wrote an expose for Show Magazine entitled "A Bunny's Tale."Among her revelations: The pay was lousy, the male customers propositioned the female staff, and she was forced to get a gynecological exam and take a test for venereal disease before she was hired. China is firmly opposed to activities of countries if they interfere with China's security interests, Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang said on Tuesday, after the United States proposed to send its newest and most technologically advanced warship to waters off the Korean Peninsula. The Republic of Korea said on Monday that Admiral Harry Harris, commander of the US Pacific Command, had proposed that the destroyer USS Zumwalt be stationed at Jeju island or Jinhae, homes to ROK naval bases just off the southern tip of the peninsula, the Korean Herald newspaper reported. The naval base on Jeju is one of the nearest large-scale foreign naval bases to China. "If the US officially makes a suggestion, we will conduct a review," ROK Defense Ministry spokesman Moon Sang-gyun told a media briefing. According to Moon, the proposal came in response to ROK lawmakers' request for a permanent stationing of US strategic assets during a meeting last month in Hawaii. "We've noticed related reports," Lu said at a daily press conference in Beijing, "We will pay close attention to the interaction between any other countries, if it impacts on regional peace, security and stability." He noted that the military cooperation of related countries should help to maintain regional peace and stability, instead of stimulating tensions in the region. "If the interaction affects China's security interests, of course, we are firmly opposed to it," he said. China reiterated its opposition to the deployment of a US advanced anti-missile system in the Republic of Korea on Tuesday, after top diplomats of the US and the ROK reaffirmed their plan to deploy it by the end of this year. ROK Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se and new US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson vowed to continue efforts to bolster the ROK-US relationship under the Trump administration in their first phone conversation on Tuesday, the Yonhap News Agency reported. They also reaffirmed the proposed deployment of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) anti-missile system. This poses a strategic security threat to China as its radar can swoop into parts of the country. "China is opposed to the deployment of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system. Our firm position does not change, and will not change in the future," Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang said at a daily press conference. As for the reported retaliation on ROK products and companies in China due to the THAAD deployment, Lu said he was unaware of any such moves. "However, we do urge related parties to stop the deployment process, to prevent the China-ROK relationship from being further harmed," he added. Barron Trump arrives on the West Front of the US Capitol for Donald Trump's inauguration ceremony, in Washington, DC, on Jan 20, 2017. [Photo/VCG] WASHINGTON If it's tough being a kid, try being a "first kid" the child of an American president. Just ask President Bill Clinton's daughter, Chelsea. Or President George W. Bush's twins, Jenna and Barbara. And now, President Donald Trump's youngest child, Barron, is finding out. Ten-year-old Barron was the target of a poorly received joke tweeted by a "Saturday Night Live" writer on Jan. 20 as the new first family reveled in Inauguration Day events. Separately in Chicago, comedian Shannon Noll played the title character in "Barron Trump: Up Past Bedtime," which had a recent run at a theater in Hyde Park. Both instances have revived age-old questions about the sometimes less-than-kid-glove treatment of presidential kids. "I think the children are off-limits," said Lisa Caputo, who was White House press secretary when "Saturday Night Live" made fun of then-13-year-old Chelsea Clinton. "They didn't run for public office, they don't hold an official role.""SNL" cast member Mike Meyers sent the Clintons a letter of apology after the incident. The teenage Chelsea Clinton also was mocked by talk radio host Rush Limbaugh, who called her a dog. Katie Rich, the "SNL" writer who tweeted about Barron, was suspended indefinitely. After deleting the tweet and deactivating her Twitter account, she reactivated the account, saying she wanted to "sincerely apologize" for the "insensitive" tweet and that she deeply regretted her actions. "It was inexcusable & I'm so sorry," Rich said. Fellow comedians have risen to her defense, but Noll told the Chicago Reader that she has been the subject of a social media backlash, including death threats, as well as homophobic, transphobic, anti-Semitic and racist comments directed at her. The theater also has been harassed. Japan suffers "a credibility issue" if it seeks to improve ties with China while attacking and tarnishing China's image, Beijing said on Tuesday. The Japanese embassy in London was paying the think tank Henry Jackson Society (HJS) a reported 10,000 pounds a month to run an anti-China propaganda campaign and label China as a threat, the London-based Sunday Times newspaper reported recently. Beijing has noted the report and has not seen Tokyo making any clarifications, Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang told a regular media conference in Beijing on Tuesday. "If what the report says is true, I would like to say this (the Japanese attempt) will be of no avail," Lu said. Beijing urges Tokyo to correct its view on China and do more to facilitate the improvement of the two-way ties, not the opposite, Lu added. According to the report by the Sunday Times, Admiral Lord West, former first sea lord and chief of Royal Navy staff, was asked by HJS to put his name to an article published on a political website last July which attacked China's maritime claims over the South China Sea. Commenting on the British individuals involved in the reported campaign, Lu said Beijing "has no interests in an in-depth probe" of the motives behind their serving as a mouthpiece for Tokyo. As ties between China and Britain are in good shape currently, their behavior "does not represent the mainstream of the China-UK relationship and runs against the expectations of the public in both countries", Lu added. Tokyo seeking external support over the Diaoyu Islands will be in vain, Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang said on Tuesday. Lu was responding to US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson reaffirming the US security commitment to come to Japan's aid if the islands come under attack. Japan's Kyodo news agency reported on Tuesday that during a telephone talk earlier in the day, Tillerson told Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida that the islands fall within the scope of Article 5 of the US-Japan Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security, a military pact signed in 1951. A similar position was adopted by US Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis when he visited Japan and talked with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Friday. Lu told a Tuesday media conference in Beijing that the treaty, formulated in the Cold War era, should not damage China's territorial sovereignty as well as its rightful interests. "We have urged the US to take a dutiful attitude and not to make erroneous remarks regarding the sovereignty of the Diaoyu Islands in order to prevent the relevant issue from being further complicated and thus introducing instability to the regional situation," Lu said. Lu added that Japan's several recent attempts to seek external support and rely upon foreign backing will be in vain. Article 5 of the Treaty states that either country "declares that it would act to meet the common danger" in case of "an armed attack against either Party in the territories under the administration of Japan". The senior US officials reaffirmed the security guarantees as Abe prepares to start his trip to the US on Friday. Washington has long stated that it takes no position over the ultimate sovereignty of the islands. However, during Abe's trip to Washington in April, 2014, Barack Obama became the first US President to clearly assure Japan that the islands are covered by the article. China is committed to further opening up for foreign investment, Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang said on Tuesday, responding to a European Union official's recent comments on protectionism. China will continue to provide more opportunities to foreign companies and create an environment that is relaxed, orderly and fair for foreign investment, Lu said in a daily news conference in Beijing. The EU Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom said on Monday that the EU is ready to join China in fighting protectionism worldwide but Beijing also needs to show it can play fair on trade and investment, Reuters reported. Malmstrom praised President Xi Jinping's speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos in January, saying she agreed with Xi that a trade war would be catastrophic for all parties. In his speech at the opening ceremony of the forum, Xi called on countries to "remain committed to developing global free trade and investment, promote trade and investment liberalization and facilitation through opening-up and say no to protectionism". "No one will emerge as a winner in a trade war," the president said. Lu said on Tuesday that China-EU trade cooperation "has gained a rich harvest", and China, through pushing forward reform and opening up over the past four decades, has provided an important driving force for the development of an open world economy. "China-EU trade cooperation has a solid foundation and broad prospects. China has always been proposing tapping into potentials of cooperation and actively deepening all-round pragmatic cooperation," the spokesman said. "China hopes to work with the EU to maintain a free and open multilateral trade system." The spokesman quoted the statistics issued by the Ministry of Commerce, saying that the EU members' investment in China last year witnessed a year-on-year increase of 41.3 percent. He also quoted the World Investment Report 2016 issued by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development and said China remains the second most popular investment destination in the world. According to the report, Hong Kong and China ranked the second and third-largest host economies for foreign direct investment inflows in 2014 and 2015, following the United States. RAMALLAH/GAZA - The Israeli parliament's vote to legalize settlement posts in the West Bank outraged the Palestinians on Tuesday, who warned that the vote would bring a global wrath against Israel. On Monday night, the Israeli parliament voted in favor of legalizing 4,000 Jewish settlements that will be built on Palestinian-owned lands in the West Bank. 60 Israeli parliament members voted in favor and 52 voted against the bill, which drove the Palestinians furious. Nabil Abu Rdineh, a spokesman for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said in an official press statement that "this is an escalation that would only lead to more instability and chaos in the entire region." He called the Israeli Knesset vote "unacceptable." He said that the Israeli decision violates the recent United Nations Security Council resolution 2,334, which condemned the Israeli settlement and called on Israel to halt it, adding that "Israel continues settlement expansion and building and neglects the international laws and resolutions." The Israeli settlement expansion and building in the West Bank and east Jerusalem is the thorniest issue which obstructs the resumption of the bilateral peace negotiations. Saeb Erekat, Secretary General of Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), said in an emailed statement that legalizing settlement "is dangerous and a legalized theft of the Palestinian land properties, even if the bill contains provisions to compensate the Palestinians or give them other land in exchange." China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Tuesday urged the US to look back at the history of World War II while handling the South China Sea disputes. China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi and his Australian counterpart Julie Bishop meet the press in Canberra, Australian, on February 7, 2017. [Photo/Xinhua] The Cairo Declaration - the outline of the Allied position against Japan during World War II - and the Proclamation Defining Terms for Japanese Surrender Issued at Potsdam, ruled that Japan must return the Chinese territory it took during the war, including the Nansha Islands, to the Chinese people, Wang said. He made the remarks at a news conference after meeting with his Australian counterpart Julie Bishop on Tuesday in Canberra, the Australian capital. He was asked to comment on whether China and US are heading toward military conflict in the South China Sea. Wang said that after World War II, with the assistance from the US government, China restored its sovereignty over the Nansha Islands which used to be occupied by Japan. Some of China's neighbors illegally occupied some of the islands and reefs of the Nansha Islands afterward, which led to the so-called South China Sea disputes, he added. The minister pointed out that China has insisted that the disputes should be resolved through dialogue on the basis of historical facts and international law. With the efforts of China and ASEAN countries, the South China Sea issue has been brought back on track with peaceful dialogue, Wang said. He added that outsiders should support the countries efforts to safeguard the peace and stability of the South China Sea. US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis's comment of stressing a diplomatic push in the South China Sea dispute is "the right choice for outside countries", Wang said, adding that it is also in line with the stance of China and ASEAN nations. More than 100 talented young Britons took part in the final of the UK's only national Mandarin-speaking competition for students at the British Museum in London on Tuesday. Colorfully dressed students on stage in the contest. Mark Hakansson / For China Daily Now in its 14th year, the HSBC and British Council Mandarin Speaking Competition aims to encourage interest in the Chinese language and China's culture. This year, students from at least 38 schools nationwide competed in either the Individual or Group Performance sections, vying to win a weeklong trip to Beijing. In the end, James Hollingsworth from St Mary Magdalene Academy, Mary Oboh from Dartford Grammar School, and Kamran Sharifi, from Manchester Grammar School, nudged ahead of the competition, displaying outstanding language skills and snatching first prize ahead of entrants in the Beginners, Intermediates, and Advanced categories. Students from Fortismere School impressed the judges with imaginative performances and costumes to win in the Group Performance category. Speaking at the competition, School Standards Minister Nick Gibb said: "Studying Mandarin Chinese is both personally enriching for students and a useful means of boosting future career prospects in our globally competitive economy." Last September, the British government launched a 10 million pound ($12.96 million) Mandarin Excellence Programme. The program will see at least 5,000 young people in England get on track to achieve a high level of fluency in Mandarin Chinese by 2020, according to recent research commissioned by the Department for Education. With the uptake of Mandarin in UK schools growing, the number of entrants sitting Mandarin exams as part of the General Certificate of Secondary Education increased by 75 percent during the past five years, to nearly 3,500. Mark Herbert, head of schools programs at the British Council, said: "Mandarin Chinese matters both to the UK's future prosperity and to the personal career opportunities of those who speak it. Without more people in our workforce who can understand and communicate effectively with one of the world's biggest economies, there's a real risk that the UK will struggle to remain competitive on the world stage." Since 2003, more than 2,500 young people have entered the speaking competition, helping to inspire hundreds of others to further their language studies. 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. 0108263 License for publishing multimedia online Registration Number: 130349 Registration Number: 130349 (Photo : USAF) USAF F-35As. Advertisement China will be "utterly defeated" in a war against the United States over the South China Sea, a loss that might ignite a civil war in China and destroy the Communist Party of China (CPC). American experts are unanimous in their agreement the U.S. will emerge victorious in a war against China fought within the next decade given the immense military, technological and numerical superiority of the United States Armed Forces, and the unrivalled combat experience of its commanders and officers. Like Us on Facebook Advertisement A U.S. victory in these circumstances is a given. What is left open to debate are the consequences of a military defeat on the CPC, which rules China only through the terror instilled in its opposition by the People's Liberation Army (PLA). An inevitable consequence will be social unrest that might trigger a civil war. PLA is the armed forces of the CPC and not the Chinese state. It owes its first allegiance to the CPC and is pledged to protect the 83 million members of the CPC ahead of the rest of China's total population of 1.36 billion. This inherent weakness is the main reason the Trump administration is beating louder the drums of war. Steve Bannon, a close Trump adviser, said in 2016 a war with China is inevitable within the next five to 10 years. The U.S. will lose thousands of men in this war but China will be "utterly defeated." "America would take military losses. They would lose thousands and thousands (of men)," said Dr. Peter Roberts, director of military sciences at the Royal United Services Institute. "But China would be utterly defeated. If America goes to war, it wages war in its totality. They would go to this with unparalleled violence and energy." He noted the U.S. has an "overall competitive edge" partly due to technological superiority. Dr. Roberts also noted the four branches of the U.S. armed forces -- Army, Navy, Marine Corps and Air Force -- are trained to work closely together. "It's demonstrated how it can use all those arms to deliver military victory," he said. On the other hand, the four armed services of the PLA operate "individually" and also have less, and less recent, combat experience compared to the Americans. "There's a huge difference between someone who's been in combat before, and someone who hasn't," said Dr. Roberts. He compared the potential confrontation to one between the mythical Greek hero and professional soldier, Achilles, and Greek farmers recruited from the fields to become part-time soldiers. The PLA armed services are the People's Liberation Army Ground Force; People's Liberation Army Navy; People's Liberation Army Air Force and People's Liberation Army Rocket Force. U.S. numerical superiority is also a deciding factor in a U.S. victory in the coming war. "US naval superiority is massive," said Kerry Brown, professor of Chinese studies and director of King's College London's Lau China Institute. "And if we are talking just military, then for sure, a conflict right beside China would hurt China more than the US." Advertisement Tagschina, United States, South China Sea, Communist Party of China, United States Armed Forces, People's Liberation Army, war, Dr. Peter Roberts (Photo : Getty Images) China and Iran conducted several military exercises after US President Donald Trump imposed sanctions to 25 groups and people after Iran carried out a ballistic missile test. Advertisement China and Iran repelled on US President Donald Trump's tough talks and conducted provocative military drills instead. The move came after the chief executive imposed US sanctions against Iran, of which China formally complained against as it will severely affect Chinese businesses. Like Us on Facebook Advertisement Iran carried out military exercises and launched new arms including a guided missile, a grenade launcher, a rifle, and a pistol. According to Brig. Gen. Hossein Dehgan, Iran's defense minister, the new weapons will enhance its military's capabilities on individual combat and air defense, the Tasnim News Agency reported. China also showcased a highly accurate ballistic missile that could threaten the US and Japan's bases following Trump's Twitter tirade on Beijing's South China Sea expansion. During the recent Rocket Force drills, the mainland featured the medium-range DF-16 in a video published in the official website of the Defense Ministry. For a quick lowdown, the DF-16 portrays a particular role in extending the country's reach over waters, the Fox News reported. It is suggested that it boasts a range of 620 miles, making Okinawa, the Japanese home islands, Taiwan, and the Philippines within striking distance. Meanwhile, Iran warned the US on Saturday about carrying out hostile actions. "If the enemy makes a mistake, our roaring missiles will hit their targets," Brig. Gen. Amir Ali Hajizadeh, commander of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps' Aerospace Force, said, stressing that its missiles will target the US 5th Fleet in Bahrain, the US installations in the Indian Ocean, and Israel's Tel Aviv, according to USA Today. "These points are all within the range of Iran's missile systems, and they will be razed to the ground if the enemy makes a mistake," Mojtaba Zonour, a member of the Iran's National Security and Foreign Policy Commission. The threats came after US imposed sanctions against 25 groups and people on Friday after Iran conducted a ballistic missile test on Jan. 29 that violated a United Nations Security Council resolution that restricts launching missiles capable of carrying nuclear weapons. Advertisement Tagschina, Iran, donald trump, Ballistic missile, DF-16 (Photo : Getty Images) The shattered Syrian city of Aleppo. Advertisement Russia might have helped Bashar al-Assad gain a military edge in the Syrian Civil War, but the peace will be won by China, which is eagerly waiting to pour billions of dollars to rebuild Syria's war ravaged economy and immensely boost its political and economic influence in the process. Like Us on Facebook Advertisement Russia doesn't have the money to rebuild the Syrian economy thanks to three years of punishing economic sanctions imposed by the West following Russia's invasion of the Ukraine in March 2014, and its subsequent invasion of eastern Ukraine, which has stalled. But Russia does have money for the missiles and bombs that continue to destroy Syrian cities, towns and vital infrastructure. Without money to assist Syria rebuild, however, Russia will have no role to play in a post-civil war economy. That's where China comes in. China's quiet military involvement in the Syrian Civil War has been limited to providing military advisers and simple weapons such as Chinese-made machine guns, assault rifles, anti-tank guided missiles and armed aerial drones plus their missiles and smart bombs. It's been estimated Syria will need a staggering $1 trillion to recover and reconstruct -- money it certainly doesn't have, and neither does Russia. Oil-rich Gulf countries -- most of whom are part of a coalition determined to overthrow Assad -- won't pay for the reconstruction if Assad stays in power, and neither will economically-challenged Iran. And, of course, the United States won't lift an economic finger to help Assad and Vladimir Putin despite an autocratic Donald Trump's affections for his kindred autocrat, Vladimir Putin. That leaves China as the only power with pockets deep enough to restart Syria's shattered economy. China, however, will want a quid pro quo for its multi-billion dollar investments. China will demand economic incentives advantageous for Chinese investments; more lenient laws favorable to China; more access to Syrian markets; a naval base for its navy along the Mediterranean Sea and more political and military influence over Assad. China and Assad are old friends with a friendship dating back to the start of this century. In 2004, Assad was the first Syrian leader to make a state visit to China. Before the start of the Syria Civil War in 2010, China was Syria's top trading partner, ahead of Russia. In 1988, China sold M-9 missiles to Syria, and in 1996, started selling military technology. In turn, Syria was the first Arab country to recognize the People's Republic of China and send an ambassador to Beijing in 1956. Advertisement TagsRussia, Bashar al-Assad, Syrian Civil War, china, donald trump, Vladimir Putin (Photo : Getty Images. ) China has once again top the list of countries bringing maximum FDI (Foreign Direct Investment) into Nepal for second successive year. Advertisement China's economic influence in Nepal continues to grow at a healthy pace. China topped the list of countries bringing maximum FDI (Foreign Direct Investment) into the Himalayan kingdom for the second successive year, according to the latest data released by Nepal's Department of Industry. Like Us on Facebook Advertisement As per the data, China contributed a whopping 68 percent to the total FDI it pledged for the Himalayan country during the financial year. This is approximately $51.77 million out of a total of $76.39 million pledged as FDI, accounting for an impressive 40 percent jump in the Chinese investment. Chinese state media Xinhua said on Sunday that the total FDI pledged for Nepal in the same period during the previous financial year was merely $59,93 million, when the country was facing hardship due to economic blockade imposed by neighbouring India. Nonetheless, China managed to top the list with a commitment of $57 million, while India came in third with $18 million. Nepal managed to garner approximately $140 million as FDI for the full 2015-16 financial year. Apart from India and China, the Nepalese government counts the US, UK, Japan, and Switzerland among the top foreign investors in the country. Beijing, over the years, has increased its focus on Nepal, as it seeks to take advantage of recent strains developed between Kathmandu and New Delhi. The Himalayan kingdom poses yet another opportunity for China to cement its influence further in the South Asian region. However, an alert India is keeping a tab on the Sino-Nepal relationship. In a major setback for Chinese government, Nepal's new Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal chose India over China for his first foreign visit in September last year. The move immediately resulted in Chinese President Xi Jinping cancelling his high-profile visit to Nepal in the following month. For India, Nepal is its closest ally in South Asian region and conceding such a close ally to its regional rival would be a huge diplomatic loss. Beijing is solely reliant on its traditional ally Pakistan to create an economic footprint in the South Asian region. The Asian giant has announced big investments in other South Asian countries like Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, but these Chinese investment has come under attack from political groups and social organization. Advertisement Tagschina, Nepal, China and India, China and Nepal, Nepal and India (Photo : Getty Images. ) Chinese warships sailed within Japan's territorial waters some 12 nautical miles off the Senkaku islands Advertisement In an apparent response to Japan and the U.S., China sailed three warships through Senkaku Islands in the disputed East China Sea on Monday. The highly proactive action comes barely two days after U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis vowed to protect the contested island during his maiden visit to Japan. Like Us on Facebook Advertisement Chinese warships sailed within Japan's territorial waters some 12 nautical miles off the Senkaku islands Senkaku Islands is one of the many contested islands in the East China Sea, which is entirely claimed by both Asian countries. China's oceanic administration, which is responsible for supervising the country's coast guard, posted a statement on its official website announcing that three ships "cruised within China's Diaoyu Islands (Senkaku Islands) territorial sea." China's defence ministry quickly confirmed the news of the coast guard ship movement in East China Sea. According to Japanese coast guard, Chinese vessels spent nearly two hours in their territorial waters. This was fourth time that Chinese ships breached into Japanese waters this year, while 36 such incidents took place in 2016. Japan has reportedly lodged protest with Chinese embassy in Tokyo and Beijing. The Senkaku Islands has evolved into a major flash point between China and Japan, as both countries have been engaged in a series of face-offs near the contested island over the past couple of years. US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis's Visit to Japan Meanwhile, US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis made his first foreign visit of his tenure by visiting Tokyo barely two days back. As was expected, he launched series of tirade against China over its growing assertiveness in East China Sea and South China Sea. Mattis, however, was especially critical about China's constantly making sovereign claim over Senkaku Islands. "I made clear that our long-standing policy on the Senkaku Islands stands. The US will continue to recognize Japanese administration of the islands," Mattis said as he evoked US-Japan Security Treaty that obliges "US to defend Japan or its territories if attacked." China immediately took note of U.S Defense Secretary's controversial statement as it urged the US government not to destabilize the regional security. "We urge the US side to adopt a responsible attitude and stop making wrong remarks on the issue of the sovereignty of Diaoyu Islands," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang said. Advertisement Tagschina, China and Japan, East China Sea, Japan (Photo : PLAN) CNS Liaoning escorted by her J-15 fighters. Advertisement China needs more heavily protected home ports along the shores of the South China Sea where its only operational aircraft carrier, CNS Liaoning (CV-16), and its under construction second carrier, CNS Shandong (CV-17), can seek refuge should a war against the United States erupt. One of the greatest disadvantages of the People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) is that it has not a single overseas base in Asia and within the First Island Chain. Like Us on Facebook Advertisement All its bases are along the eastern and north eastern shores of China facing the East China Sea, the Yellow Sea and the South China Sea. Outside of China there is nothing for the PLAN and this omission means its warships are confined to operating close to the Chinese mainland in case of a war. This restriction means PLAN warships are within the kill zone of anti-ship missiles such as the DF-41 based on the mainland. The maximum range of China's anti-ship missiles is 1,500 km. This restriction also means the U.S. Navy won't have a difficult time finding and attacking the few major naval bases operated by PLAN. The Liaoning is home ported to Qingdao along the Yellow Sea, which is also the headquarters for the North Sea Fleet. Strangely, Liaoning is the flagship of the South Sea Fleet with headquarters at the Yulin Naval Base on Hainan Island on the South China Sea. Qingdao is some 2,500 km from Hainan. Chinese military pundits are now openly speculating on the need for PLAN to build more home ports for its two carriers (one more to be built) and the expanding PLAN Surface Fleet. But because of the shallowness of the southern parts of the South China Sea, these bases will have to be located close to Hainan Island, which is also the home base for PLAN's ballistic missile submarines. One expert said any new naval base for China's aircraft carriers should facilitate berthing and maintenance for these valuable warships. And security, of course. It is almost certain, Shandong will also be home ported to Qingdao, which is the only major PLAN base close to the South China Sea. Having two carriers at one naval base, however, will be a godsend for the U.S. Navy. Hence, the need for at least one home port for each of PLAN's three carriers. Advertisement Tagschina, home ports, South China Sea, CNS Liaoning, CNS Shandong, People's Liberation Army Navy Surface Force, Yellow Sea, Qingdao Former megachurch pastor Perry Noble recently returned to the pulpit at the invitation of megachurch pastor Steven Furtick, reports Relevant Magazine. In July, NewSpring Church in South Carolina announced that Noble had been fired from his position as senior pastor due to his abuse of alcohol and his failure to listen to counsel and seek help. After being fired, Noble did seek counsel and has been working to overcome his addiction and restore the relationships it negatively affected. Noble hadnt delivered a sermon in months, but he was recently invited to deliver a message at Elevation Church in Charlotte, North Carolina, led by Pastor Steven Furtick. Although some noted that Noble shouldnt be returning to ministry so soon after being fired, in a Facebook video, he explained his reasoning for doing so: Peter denied Christ, and 50 days later he preached the Gospel to Jerusalem. Paul, who was murdering Christians, comes to Christ and in Acts 9 immediately starts preaching the Gospel. If God has put something in your heart, don't sit around and wait for the approval of people who don't believe in you in the first place. You stay up too late, and you do what God called you to do, he said. Publication date: February 7, 2017 The Trump administration is condemning Robert Mugabes government for its human rights abuses, particularly for arresting two pastors who spoke out against the Zimbabwean presidents regime. Pastor Evan Mawarire, who spearheaded the #ThisFlag civil rights movement in Zimbabwe, and Pastor Phillip Patrick Mugadza, were both arrested for stirring up anti-government sentiment. Mawarire had been living in a self-imposed exile and was arrested when he returned to Zimbabwe, according to Christian Today. David Mcguire, a spokesperson for the U.S. Embassy in Harare, Zimbabwe, spoke out against President Mugabes authoritarian regime and called the arrests of the two pastors unwarranted. "The US government unequivocally believes in the basic right of freedom of speech and calls on the government of Zimbabwe to respect the human rights of all Zimbabweans which are enshrined in the constitution. We believe that the basic right of Zimbabweans to freedom of speech be it in public, through print media or social media should be protected within and outside Zimbabwe's borders, said Mcguire. For his part, Mugabe condemned the pastors and used their biblical rhetoric against them. "A man of religion will speak the biblical truth. 1 Corinthians what does it say? Love one another," said Mugabe. "So beware these men of cloth, not all of them are true preachers of the Bible. I don't know whether they are serving God. They spell God in reverse. The Mawarires and those who believe in that way of living in our country, well, they are not part of us in thinking. They are not part of us as we try to live together." Photo courtesy: Flickr.com Publication date: February 7, 2017 The position for which Betsy DeVos has been confirmed secretary of education is one of the least powerful in the Cabinet, in terms of its budget and position in the line of succession to the presidency. And yet, after a confirmation hearing in which she struggled to answer questions, some Senate offices had received more calls opposing DeVos than any other Cabinet nominee. As president of the Senate, Vice President Mike Pence cast the tie-breaking vote Tuesday (Feb. 7) to confirm the businesswoman and philanthropist as education secretary. It is the first time a vice president has cast the deciding vote on a Cabinet nominee. DeVos is the chair of Michigan-based investment and management firm The Windquest Group. She has been active in politics for more than 35 years, according to her website; most recently, her focus has been on school choice. Here are five faith facts about DeVos. 1. DeVos has roots in the Christian Reformed tradition. DeVos grew up in the Christian Reformed Church and graduated from schools affiliated with the tradition: Holland Christian Schools in Holland, Mich., and Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Mich. The Christian Reformed Church, formed by Dutch immigrants settling the Midwest in the 1800s, grew out of Dutch Calvinism splitting from the older Reformed Church in America in the 1850s. One of the churches disagreements was about education: The Reformed Church in America viewed schooling as the responsibility of the government, while the Christian Reformed Church viewed it as the responsibility of the family. But, Abram Van Engen pointed out at Religion & Politics, the Christian Reformed Church says nothing about vouchers or charter schools, and it never has threatened public education. Most recently, DeVos has been a member and elder at Mars Hill Bible Church, the nondenominational, evangelical Christian church founded by popular author Rob Bell in Grandville, Mich. 2. DeVos supports school vouchers the use of public money to send children to private schools, including religious schools. DeVos has supported expanding charter schools and school vouchers, both as an advocate and as a philanthropist. Vouchers allow students to take taxpayer dollars with them to private schools. That includes religious schools. Vouchers are popular with conservative Christians, and Pence had expanded taxpayer-funded vouchers, as well as charter schools, when he was governor of Indiana. Laura Turner explained that support in Politico: Her support for charter schools has roots in the cozy relationship among Republicans, Christianity and the business world, which have been aligned for decades in support of individualism and, by extension, industry deregulation." 3. DeVos also has financially supported Christian schools. A Mother Jones analysis found the Dick and Betsy DeVos Family Foundation had given nearly half of its donations between 1999 and 2014 out of a total $100 million to Christian organizations. That includes $8.6 million to religious schools such as Holland Christian Schools, the Grand Rapids Christian High School Association and the Ada Christian School. 4. DeVos has said she wants to advance Gods kingdom through education. In an oft-quoted audio recording of a 2001 gathering of Christian philanthropists obtained by Politico, DeVos and her husband, Dick DeVos, the former CEO of multilevel marketing company Amway, confirmed they share a Christian worldview that comes from the Calvinist tradition. Our desire is to confront the culture in which we all live today in ways which will continue to advance Gods kingdom, not to stay in our own safe territories, Betsy DeVos said. Van Engen suggested this is less about theocracy and more about a service-oriented vision of vocation. As Dick DeVos immediately added in the interview, it would be easier only to work within Christian schools those safe territories. But the couple is motivated by their worldview to be part of the world, not separate from it; to take a more systemic approach; to drive better performance across all education, he said. 5. Evangelical support for DeVos as secretary of education was mixed. Some Calvin College alumni spoke out in support of DeVos nomination, as did the Illinois Family Institute. And in an op-ed for Fox News, Faith & Freedom Coalition chairman Ralph Reed chalked up opposition to her nomination as a liberal smear campaign against Mrs. DeVos religious faith, a tactic he called despicable. But fellow Christians also had opposed her nomination. More than 2,700 Calvin alumni signed a petition saying they oppose DeVos nomination because they did not believe she was qualified: She has never worked as an educator and does not have a strong commitment to public education, among other reasons. DeVos has said she is not opposed to public education, but that all of the schools would become better as a result of more competition from other schools. Courtesy: Religion News Service Photo: Betsy DeVos testifies Jan. 17, 2017, before the Senate Health, Education and Labor Committee confirmation hearing to be the next secretary of education. Photo courtesy: Reuters/Yuri Gripas Publication date: February 7, 2017 Members of the Congress introduced legislation on Wednesday that would change the Internal Revenue Service (IRS)s tax code to allow non-profit entities to endorse or oppose political candidates without having their tax-exempt statuses revoked. Under the Johnson Amendment of 1954, non-profit groups including houses of worship, charities, and universities are not allowed to participate in, or intervene in (including the publishing or distributing of statements), any political campaign on behalf of (or in opposition to) any candidate for public office, according to the IRS tax code. Hence, churches are allowed to have non-partisan voter drives, for example, but they aren't allowed to endorse or oppose a candidate. The law came into the limelight recently as Trump made it one of his main talking points during his presidential campaign, and at the National Prayer Breakfast on Thursday, Trump reiterated that he would get rid of and totally destroy the Johnson Amendment and allow our representatives of faith to speak freely and without fear of retribution. The recently introduced legislation, called The Free Speech Fairness Act, would allow non-profits to make statements in support of or in opposition to political campaigns if they are made in the ordinary course of the organizations regular and customary activities in carrying out its exempt purpose. This means that churches and other non-profits would still not be allowed to actively participate in political campaigning, but their tax-exempt status wouldnt be revoked if they simply made political statements in the course of their regular activities. Those political statements must also not incur more than de minimis expenses, meaning, the minimal amount of expenses. This portion of the legislation would thus prohibit non-profits from publishing or broadcasting ads, or any other expensive endeavors, on behalf of political campaigns. Any nonprofit institution shouldnt have to worry about the IRS watching and monitoring what they say, said Senator James Lankford (R-Okla.), who introduced the act in Senate, along with Steve Scalise (R-La.) and Jody Hice (R-Ga.) who introduced the act in the House of Representatives. When you work for a nonprofit organization, you dont lose your right to assembly, you dont lose your right to free press, you dont lose your Second Amendment rights, you dont lose your right to privacy. But for whatever reason, we have said that if you work for a nonprofit organization, you do lose your right to free speech. Thats absurd, Lankford said. Though Trump has focused on pastors being unable to endorse political candidates from the pulpit when discussing the Johnson Amendment, and though all of those who introduced the act are Republican, this legislation would allow endorsements and opposition for all non-profit entities across the board. Its not obvious that the Free Speech Fairness Act would favor Republicans, wrote Daniel Hemel, an assistant professor of law at the University of Chicago. It would allow Planned Parenthood the same freedom to endorse candidates that it would give to, say, Samaritans Purse. Some who are religious also say that they wouldnt want pastors to take political sides on the pulpit. Amanda Tyler, the executive director of the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty, was quoted by the New York Times as saying that doing so would usher our partisan divisions into the pews. In a September 2016 LifeWay Research survey, 79 percent of Americans said they do not believe it appropriate for pastors to endorse candidates during church services. Meanwhile, 52 percent also said that churches should not lose their tax-exempt status for publicly taking a political stance. Federal protections will only go so far in the complicated tussle between faith and LGBT rights. | Evangelicals are anticipating President Donald Trumps next move to protect religious liberty, after he nominated a supportive judge to the Supreme Court and defended the cause at the National Prayer Breakfast last week. Reports circulated over a draft of an executive order designed to expand protections for individuals, organizations, and corporations religious convictionsincluding traditional beliefs on gender, sexuality, and marriage. Last Thursday, both Trump and White House press secretary Sean Spicer reiterated the new administrations commitment to ensuring religious liberty and defending the right for Americans to express areas of their faith without reprisal. Spicer did not confirm Trumps plans for the four-page leaked draft, titled Establishing a Government-Wide Initiative to Respect Religious Freedom. Over the weekend, Vice President Mike Pence dodged a question about the administrations plans for an executive order on religious liberty (instead focusing on the Presidents pledge to repeal the Johnson Amendment). Its unclear whether or when Trump plans to act on such an order. But advocates for both religious and LGBT rights continue to weigh in on the proposal. According to experts, Trumps executive order would strengthen religious exemptions under federal laws and programs, but it wouldnt have the reach to quell debates over Christian-owned businesses refusing to serve same-sex weddings. Yet the draft describes wide-ranging protections, saying, Persons and organizations do not forfeit their religious freedom when providing social services, education, or healthcare; earning a living, seeking a job, or employing others; receiving government grants or contracts; or otherwise participating in the marketplace, the public square, or interfacing with federal, state, or local governments. Under the order, organizations fighting the Affordable Care Acts contraceptive mandate on religious grounds, including the Little Sisters of the Poor, would be granted accommodations. Social services organizations receiving federal dollarssuch as adoption agenciescould operate according to their beliefs on marriage. Faith-based institutions such as schools and nonprofits would not risk losing tax exemptions over their policies or politics. It protects the religious liberty rights of all Americans in very tailored ways that address problems of today, wrote Heritage Foundation researcher Ryan Anderson, listing and defending the provisions of Trumps draft order from criticism by LGBT advocates that the order is discriminatory and overreaching. Overall, evangelicals and Catholicstwo groups concerned that their beliefs against same-sex marriage and abortion are increasingly becoming counter-cultural and unwelcome in public lifesee the protections as helpful measures. Freedom of conscience and religious liberty are of utmost importance to us, and to millions of other religious people in the United States, said Russell Moore, president of the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention. We support an executive order making clear that people of religious conviction will not be pushed aside by the federal government as we seek to serve our neighbors, including those who disagree with us. The Family Research Council, Alliance Defending Freedom, and National Organization for Marriage have also affirmed the draft of the order. A member of the Little Sisters group called the leaked document a very hopeful sign that things could be coming to an end. State-level clashes would continue Church-state experts told CT that any White House executive order would be limited to federal actions. Therefore, it could not extend to every marketplace or public square interaction over religious liberty. So far, most of the high-profile cases involve state or local actions that would not be covered by the federal protections, said John Inazu, a professor at Washington University School of Law who has written several times about such cases for CT. The executive order does notand could notextend protections to most of the bakers, florists, and photographers, he said. Most of the high-profile clashes will continue to play out at the state and local level. An exceptional case could be a corporation under a federal contract; the US government couldnt end an agreement with Chick-fil-A, for example, over its owners faith statements, he said. While a presidential order could regulate areas including employment, education, and federal contracts, the suggestion that religious groups could also be guaranteed protections in the marketplace may just be feel-good wording, according to Robin Fretwell Wilson, a University of Illinois professor who researches law and religion. If this is about bakers and bathrooms in the public accommodations sphere that weve seen rattling around in the states, it just doesnt do anything, she said. And it cant do anything. Wilson referenced the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA), which was determined by a Supreme Court decision to apply only to the federal government, and not to state or local municipalities (which must pass their own). It doesnt supersede RFRA. These federal statutes cannot be made to apply to groups in those states. Trump keeps Obamas LGBT order Last Tuesday, just days before the draft of the religious freedom executive order began circulating, the White House announced that Trump would enforce, and not overturn, an Obama administration order protecting LGBT individuals from discrimination in federal and government contract employment. Trumps proposed executive order would carve out religious accommodations and exemptions to the federal LGBT protections secured under Obama, said Wilson. Family Research Council president Tony Perkins and other evangelical leaders who oppose recognizing sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI) as protected classes spoke out against Trumps decision to keep the controversial Obama order. President Trump might issue an executive order providing for religious liberty protections. I hope and pray that happens, wrote Denny Burk, president of the Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood and a biblical studies professor at Boyce College. But it is already a significant loss that he is willing to speak of LGBT as a protected classa legal category inherent in [SOGI] laws that have caused problems for religious liberty all over the country. Wilson is known for her work advocating for Fairness for All, a compromise to balance LGBT and religious rights similar to a successful effort in Utah. She worries that Trumps orderas draftedwill have negative fallout on both sides. Were going to harden against concessions with each other in reaching a detente, Im afraid, she said. The funny thing is I dont see this as being so supportive of religious believers, in the sense of a great big payout for them that they didnt have already. Its more of a signal. Trumps executive orderpart of a wave of changes signed into place during his first few weeks in the White Housealso falls short of some of the legislative protections that religious liberty advocates were hoping for with the proposed First Amendment Defense Act. The ERLCs Moore stated that executive action is not enoughwe also need strong legislative action. Concerns over the sustainability of Trumps proposed order are valid. Executive orders can be undone, even later in Trumps presidency; and Congress could withdraw the protections in the future, according to Inazu. My sense is that the polarization from the Trump era will inspire progressives to crack down even harder when theyre next in power, he said. The kind of compromise efforts that may have been on the table a decade ago are unlikely to return. A new administrations nominee for Secretary of Education doesnt usually steal the show. Betsy DeVos made headlines during her prolonged and contentious nomination process which ended in approval today. While some evangelical supporters of homeschooling, private school, and charter school options are celebrating a school choice advocates appointment to this all-important role (and a graduate of the evangelical liberal arts school, Calvin College, at that), other conservative Christian public school parents and advocates are disheartened by DeVoss limited personal history with our nations public schools (she has mentored in public schools but not attended, taught, or sent children to public schools). In light of varying perspectives about this appointment, Christian leaders will need to think afresh about their relationship to local public schools, where more than 90 percent of Americas children are educated. What comes next for these students will dramatically influence the future of our nation and our nations global impact. Christians are already involved in our public schools. Indeed, nearly half of the nations public school educators are practicing Christians and 95 percent of Protestant pastors believe Christians should get involved in helping public schools (Barna). Although Christian interest and representation seem to be present, tremendous gaps exist with 50 million public school students not guaranteed access to a high-quality education. Even as high-school graduation rates rise for ethnic minority groups, students of color are still most likely to be funneled into remediation courses. Only one in four Hispanic students were college ready in 2015. The numbers ... 1 As the founder of a social enterprise supporting vulnerable women, Michelle Pride sees how enthusiastic American Christians have become about ending traffickingand unfortunately, how that enthusiasm can unwittingly lead to harmful outcomes instead. Last year, a customer boasted about her churchs $20,000 campaign to purchase women out of the sex trade. Pride was horrified. If you buy a girl out of the sex trade, you now have given that trafficker more money to go and buy somebody probably younger, the Hazel and Deene president said. With an issue as complicated as sex trafficking, companies like hers set out to design business models that benefit survivors without exploiting them furtherwhile still paying attention to the bottom line. Since the sex trade is often driven by financial gain, she believes sustainable business is an effective tool at fighting back and giving women at risk of sexual exploitation a way to live. Entrepreneurs seeking to help this population may have a noble cause, but the reality brings additional barriers. Employees may bring the aftermath of their trauma with them and often lack marketable skills. How do you catch them up in a way that is efficient for the company and helpful for the individual? Beyond that: How does a business meet its bottom line if it is solely relying on the trendiness of anti-sex trafficking to sell its products? And worst of all, where will employed survivors go if the business fails? Pride and other founders have wrestled with these questions alone before coming together to create the Freedom Business Alliance (FBA). Freedom businesses, which employ women who have been rescued out of trafficking, work to create sustainable strategies to benefit ... 1 home US New York Times snubs book about Kermit Gosnell from Bestsellers List? The New York Times has been criticized for not including a book about Kermit Gosnell in its bestseller list despite its high sales. The book "Gosnell: The Untold Story of America's Most Prolific Serial Killer," by Ann McElhinney and Phelim McAleer, became the third best-selling book on Amazon and grabbed the top spot on Amazon's "Hot New Release" list after it debuted on Jan. 24. According to a report from The Christian Post, it was sold out on Amazon, Barnes and Noble and Books A Million in just a few days. The book reportedly became the fourth top-selling hardcover non-fiction title in the U.S. this week, but it has not been acknowledged by The New York Times yet. Regnery Publishing contended that Gosnell, which has sold 7,644 copies, should be on the nonfiction list behind "The Magnolia Story," which has sold 10,000. "This is shocking that the cover-up of the Gosnell story is continuing even after the mainstream media were so criticized for failing to cover the trial," said McElhinney, according to the Washington Examiner. "It's clear that this is a blatant fake list in a fake news newspaper. It's not only an insult to the people who have bought this book, but an insult to the readers of the New York Times who buy the newspaper and think they are getting the truth about book sales across America but instead get false facts disguised as a neutral list," she added. McElhinney and her husband wrote the book after they made a movie about the shocking case of Gosnell, who received three life sentences for murdering newborn babies. Some accounts were so brutal that they could not be shown in the movie. According to court testimony, Gosnell would perform abortions by inducing live-births and then stabbing the babies in the back of their necks with scissors. He is said to have killed thousands of babies, but investigators have said that he had destroyed most of the evidence that could have led to further convictions. Gosnell was convicted of murdering three newborn babies and contributing to the death of a female patient in 2013. He is currently serving his sentence in the Huntington Correctional Institution in Pennsylvania. home World Church apologizes after trainee priests conduct service in gay slang A Church of England theological college has issued an apology after trainee priests conducted a service in gay slang to commemorate LGBT history month. The student priests at Westcott House in Cambridge held the service in Polari, an outdated colloquial language used by homosexuals, as an attempt to "queer the liturgy of evening prayer," the BBC reported. The Rev Canon Chris Chivers, the principal of Westcott House, said that the language used has not been authorized, and it was inconsistent with the doctrine and teachings of the church. One of the attendees confirmed that the service was led by a trainee priest rather than a licensed minister. While the trainees were given permission to commemorate LGBT history month, the college chaplain had not seen the wording of the service, according to a Church of England source. The service was based on the Polari Bible, which was compiled in 2003 by the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence. A passage from the Book of Joel in the Old Testament which reads: "Rend your heart and not your garments, return to the Lord your God," was translated into Polari to say: "Rend your thumping chest and not your frocks a and turn unto the Duchess your Gloria: for she is bona and merciful." The phrase "Glory be to the father, and to the son, and the Holy Spirit," was changed to "Fabeness be to the Auntie, and to the Homie Chavvie, and to the Fantabulosa Fairy." Chivers described the incident as "hugely regrettable" and said that he has spoken with those involved with the service. "I will be reviewing and tightening the internal mechanisms of the house to ensure this never happens again," he said. Polari dates back to the 19th century, and it was used by gay men to communicate with each other back when homosexuality was still considered a crime. The language became part of the mainstream culture in the 1960s when it was used on the BBC radio show "Round the Horne," which starred two Polari speaking characters. It slowly fell out of use when homosexuality was decriminalized in the Sexual Offences Act 1967. According to student newspaper Varsity, Westcott House is closely linked to the University of Cambridge. The college is not formally a part of the university, but some of its graduates have been given degrees by Cambridge. home World Court grants bail for Pakistani Christian charged with blasphemy The Supreme Court in Lahore had granted bail to a Pakistani Christian who has been imprisoned for three years and almost faced the death penalty due to allegations of blasphemy. Adnan Prince, who was accused by his colleague of insulting Islam, has been released on a bail bond worth Rs300,000 (around $3,000), World Watch Monitor reported. Prince's lead counsel, Asma Jahangir, contended that the case against her client should have been decided within two years, but it had been put on hold due to lawyers' strikes and the prosecution's delaying tactics. Jahangir also stated that legal formalities could not be fulfilled when the investigation was conducted. She cited the guidelines passed by the Supreme Court, which stated that a police officer, not below the rank of a superintendent, should have conducted the investigation. She also noted that there were no direct eyewitnesses and that there were no links between the forensic evidence and the accused. Jahangir said that there is a strong possibility that Prince will be released, but there is little chance that a decision will be made the near future. Earlier applications for bail has been denied by both a district judge and the Lahore High Court. Prince, who holds a Master's degree in English literature, has been imprisoned in Lahore's district jail since November 2013. The accusations against him started after he was seen reading a controversial book titled "I asked the Bible why the Qur'ans were set on fire." The book was written by Maulana Ameer Hamza, who is reportedly the leader of Jamat-ud-Dawa, a political arm of Lashkar-e-Taiba, a jihadi group that claimed responsibility for the Mumbai bombings. Prince's Muslim colleague, Abid Mehmood, alleged that he had marked several pages of the book "with abusive words against the Prophet of Islam." Prince said he wrote some comments in the book, but he denied using any abusive language in his notes. "I found the book quite erroneous, giving incorrect information about Christianity," he said. "So I wrote comments with Biblical references in several places, but no abusive language was used," he further noted. Prince fled following the accusations against him, but he was forced to return home when the police arrested his family members. "The police were on the verge of killing me after I surrendered to them, but God kept me safe by His grace," Prince told World Watch Monitor at the time. home US Donald Trump's travel ban arguments to be heard by Appeals Court The U.S. Justice Department will face off with opponents in a federal appeals court on Tuesday over the fate of President Donald Trump's temporary travel ban on people from seven Muslim-majority countries, his most controversial act since taking office last month. Last Friday, U.S. District Judge James Robart suspended Trump's ban, opening a window for people from the seven affected countries to enter the country. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco will hear arguments over whether to restore the ban from Justice Department lawyers and opposing attorneys for the states of Minnesota and Washington at 3 p.m. PST (6.00 p.m. ET). In a tweet on Monday night, Trump said: "The threat from radical Islamic terrorism is very real, just look at what is happening in Europe and the Middle-East. Courts must act fast!" Trump has said the travel measures are designed to protect the country against the threat of terrorism. He has derided Robart, appointed by Republican President George W. Bush, as a "so-called judge." In a brief filed on Monday, the Justice Department said the suspension of Trump's order was too broad and "at most" should be limited to people who were already granted entry to the country and were temporarily abroad, or to those who want to leave and return to the United States. Opponents say the 90-day ban barring entry for citizens from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen and imposing a 120-day halt to all refugees, is illegal. The state of Washington argues it has suffered harm, saying some students and faculty at state universities had been stranded overseas because of the ban. The Republican president's Jan. 27 executive order sparked protests and chaos at U.S. and overseas airports in the weekend that followed. All the people who had carried out fatal attacks inspired by Islamist militancy in the United States since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks had been U.S. citizens or legal residents, the New America think tank said. None came to the United States or were from a family that emigrated from one of the countries listed in the travel ban, it said. (http://bit.ly/2keSmUO) UPHILL FIGHT? Trump faces an uphill battle in the liberal-leaning San Francisco court. Two members of three-judge panel that will hear the arguments were appointed by former Democratic Presidents Jimmy Carter and Barack Obama, and one was appointed by Bush. Appeals courts are generally leery of upending the status quo, which in this case is the lower court's suspension of the ban. Opponents of the ban received far more filings in support of their position than the Department of Justice. Washington state's challenge was backed by about a dozen friends-of-the- court briefs submitted by at least 17 state attorneys general, more than 100 companies, and about a dozen labor and civil rights groups. About a dozen conservative groups supported the government in three such briefs. The appeals court was focusing on the narrow question of whether the district court had grounds to put the order on hold. The bigger legal fight over whether Trump had authority to issue the order will be addressed later in the litigation. A vivid picture of the life of Jewish lawyers in the Dusseldorf area with their differing commitments to the political, religious and social movements of the time. Talk by Professor Sherri Burr. The Holocaust & Intolerance Museum of New Mexico and UNM School of Law are hosting the highly acclaimed international traveling exhibition, Lawyers Without Rights: Jewish Lawyers in Germany under the Third Reich, on display from February 6 - March 11, 2017 in the Forum @ the Law School, 1117 Stanford N.E. Opening Reception, sponsored by Aleli & Brian Colon, Tuesday, February 7 from 5 - 6:30 P.M. Talk by Regents Professor Sherri Burr @ 5:30: Defining Others to Justify Abolishing Legal and Human Rights: Parallels between Jews in Nazi Germany and Free Blacks in Colonial Virginia. (Program approved for 1.0 general hour of credit.) Free parking after 4 P.M. RSVPs required: (505) 277-2146 or online: goto.unm.edu/withoutrights The American Bar Association and the German Federal Bar are responsible for bringing this compelling exhibition to North America. The ABA says that the exhibition's message "resonates with all persons who understand and appreciate a just rule of law, and it is a commentary and a lesson for all people everywhere about the dangers when lawyers or minorities are attacked or the law itself is unjustly applied." The exhibition gives a vivid picture of the life of Jewish lawyers in the Dusseldorf area with their differing commitments to the political, religious, and social movements of the time. Ultimately, it restores the names, faces, and individual fates to the area's history so that these persons can be remembered. home US Facebook's Sheryl Sandberg makes $1 million contribution to Planned Parenthood Facebook's Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sanberg has made a $1 million contribution to Planned Parenthood in response to federal lawmakers' plans to cut taxpayer funding to the abortion organization. According to CNN Tech, Sandberg has been a regular donor of Planned Parenthood, and she has expressed her opposition to Trump's reinstatement of the Mexico policy, which blocks foreign aid for abortion providers. Planned Parenthood President Cecile Richards confirmed Sheryl Sandberg's donation in a statement to CNNTech. "On behalf of the more than two million patients who come to Planned Parenthood each year, we are so grateful to Sheryl Sandberg for her longstanding, and now increased, support for our health care," Richards wrote. "It's especially important right now as extreme politicians want to defund and shut down Planned Parenthood, which would deny millions of people -- nearly half of whom are people of color, and many people who live in rural areas -- the health care they rely on," she continued. Last month, Tennessee Rep. Diane Black reintroduced the Defund Planned Parenthood Act of 2017, which will redirect taxpayer funding away from the abortion company and reallocate the money to health community centers that do not perform abortions. Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg has also made contributions to charities that fund Planned Parenthood, according to Life News. In 2013, Zuckerberg and his wife donated 18 million Facebook shares valued at $992.2 million to the Silicon Valley Community Foundation (SVCF) in Mountain View, which reportedly collaborates with Planned Parenthood. The couple contributed 19 million shares to the foundation in 2012. SVCF reportedly donated $480,000 to the abortion provider that same year. Last week, pro-life lawmakers renewed their call to defund Planned Parenthood after the release of new undercover videos showing its employees turning away women seeking ultrasound and prenatal care. The voicemails and website of Planned Parenthood stated that it provides prenatal care, but the undercover journalist who inquired about the service was turned away by the abortion provider's employees. Live Action, the pro-life group that released the videos, said that only five out of 97 Planned Parenthood clinics were willing to check on the health of the baby in the womb. When the investigators inquired about ultrasounds, only three out of 68 clinics were willing to provide the service separately from abortions. Planned Parenthood receives about 500 million federal tax dollars annually, and it performs around 320,000 abortions each year, according to Life News. home World ISIS amputates hands of two children for refusing to kill captives The Islamic State punished two children who refused to carry out an order to execute civilians by cutting off their hands. "The Islamic State's leaders issued orders to train a group of children on fighting in the group's camps in Nables neighborhood, in the western side of Nineveh," one source said, as reported by Iraqi News. "Meanwhile, members of the Islamic State terrorist group amputated the hands of two children, for refusing to carry out the execution sentence on two civilians in front of their families," the source continued, adding that the children were between the ages of 10 and 12. ISIS has published several videos showing children carrying out executions of captives. A video released last month featured a toddler shooting a prisoner dead in a ball pit at an abandoned children's playground. In another segment, a boy was seen sawing off the head of a man and proceeds to wipe off the knife on the victim's shirt. Last December, the terror group released a video showing child jihadists hunting down "apostates" in a live-fire training exercise. The prisoners, whose hands were tied behind their backs, tried to elude the children in an abandoned building. ISIS has also been known to show no mercy towards children. Last year, a Syrian woman recounted how the terror group killed hundreds of children in her village. Alice Assaf, whose son was killed by the militants, said that she and other villagers witnessed the execution of people from 200 different families. She later heard that the terror group killed at least six men and around 250 children at a nearby bakery. "Later on, we heard that the militants grabbed six strong men working at the bakery and burned them inside the oven," Assaf said. "After that, they caught some 250 kids and kneaded them like dough in the bakery dough machine," she added. She noted that the children that were killed in the bakery were no older than four. She also said that the jihadis started throwing children off the balcony in order to deter the army from entering the town. A recent report published by the Quilliam Foundation revealed that ISIS is able to recruit refugee children by providing money or food. home World ISIS warns supporters against downloading fake Islamic State magazines The Islamic State has issued a warning to its supporters that fake versions of its publication are being circulated online. ISIS announced that someone has published a fake 6th edition of Rumiyah online magazine and told its supporters to be careful where they download their copies, according to Heavy. The terror group described the perpetrators of the fake publication as "the kuffar," a broad, pejorative Islamic term meaning "disbeliever." The latest edition of the magazine was issue #5, which was released in early January. The issue discussed the terroristic possibilities of arson and it specifically named First Baptist Dallas church in Texas as a target. In the November 2016 edition, ISIS described Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade as "an excellent target" for a lone wolf attack. While it is not known who is responsible for the fake publication, chatter on ISIS channels indicates suspicion towards intelligence agencies such as the CIA or the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation (FSB). This was not the first time ISIS warned its followers against fake publications. Last June, the terror group announced that there were fake versions of its official magazine, Dabiq, as well as the app for one its news agencies, Amaq. "Brothers and sisters, We noticed that dubious attempts were made to spread a fake Dabiq magazine issue (claimed to be 'Issue 15', with two varying covers)," ISIS announced at the time. "We would like to clarify that Al-Hayat Media Center has not yet released any new Dabiq issues. We advise you not to download this fake magazine for your own safety," it continued. ISIS also warned its supporters against downloading the group's news app, Amaq Agency on Android, from unofficial channels, saying there is a fake version that is aimed at breaching security and spying. Analysts have speculated that the fake versions were circulated by either government agencies or vigilante hackers as part of an effort to lure and track ISIS supporters online. Amarnath Amarasingam, a fellow at the George Washington University Program on Extremism, noted that fake press releases and issues of Dabiq have been published in the past. "Some people think it's a honeypot strategy by governments, maybe to learn about who clicks, who shares, who authenticates it as fake or real," Amarasingam said. home World Palestinian aid worker pleads not guilty to funding Hamas A Palestinian charity worker who was accused of diverting aid money to Islamic militant group Hamas has pleaded not guilty in an Israeli court on Thursday. Mohammed al-Halabi, head of Gaza operations for the Christian charity World Vision, was accused of funneling millions of dollars in aid money to Hamas. He was arrested by Israel in June while he was crossing the border into the enclave, which was under the de facto rule of the militant group. Halabi pleaded not guilty to all charges at a district court in Beersheba in southern Israel. Following Halabi's arrest, World Vision announced that its humanitarian work in Gaza has been suspended, and it is conducting a "thorough and wide-ranging review" of its operations. "World Vision has not seen any credible evidence supporting the charges," the group said in a statement, according to AFP. Halabi's lawyers complained that they were not allowed access to much of the evidence against him and objected to two additional charges that were piled on seven months after his arrest. An Israeli official claimed in August that Halabi had confessed to diverting about $7.2 million a year to Hamas to pay for its weapons and other activities. The official also claimed that $80,000 of the funds were used by the militant group to build a military base. World Vision released a statement afterward to dispute the claims. "World Vision's cumulative operating budget in Gaza for the past ten years was approximately US$22.5 million, which makes the alleged amount of up to US$50 million being diverted hard to reconcile," the charity stated. "Mohammad El Halabi was the manager of our Gaza operations only since October 2014; before that time he managed only portions of the Gaza budget. World Vision's accountability processes cap the amount individuals in management positions at his level to a signing authority of US$15,000," it continued. In an interview with Australian Broadcasting Corporation three weeks ago, Halabi said that he was tortured during his interrogation. Israeli prison authorities said that Halabi was placed in solitary confinement for giving that interview without approval. The Australian government, which has sent around $4.35 million to World Vision over the past three years, immediately suspended the funding for the charity organization following the news of allegations against Halabi. home World Pastor in India attacked after praying for sick church member A pastor was suddenly attacked by Hindu extremists in Medipally village in the state of Telangana on Jan. 27 after he prayed for the healing of an elderly church member. Rev. Gandham Padma Rao, 49, had just left the home of an elderly church member who was just released from the hospital when young men blocked his way with their motorcycles, Morning Star News reported. When Rao tried to avoid the men and began walking on the other side of the road, one of the attackers asked him, "Why are you coming to our village? Why are you praying here?" "They spoke to me in vulgar language: 'You must never come to our village to pray. You should never enter our village,'" the pastor told Morning Star News. He said that two men held him while the other punched and kicked him. He narrated that he tried to run, but the men caught up to him and kept on beating and kicking him. Rao recounted that one of the extremists tried to pick up a large stone and throw it at him. Some residents, including a member of Rao's church, eventually heard his cries and came out of their homes. The church member said that the assailants were members of a nationalist group known as the Vishwa Hindu Vahini. According to Rao's son, the authorities removed references to the nationalist group from his father's statement and described the attackers only as drunken wage workers. Sub-Inspector P. Chandra Kumar declined to reveal the identity of the suspects, but some sources have identified the primary suspect to be Chandragiri Shiva Prasad. Rao performed a baptism at his church the next day and conducted the Sunday service the following day, but he was taken to the hospital after he felt light-headed that afternoon. The pastor was admitted to the Intensive Care Unit at Medilife Hospital, Mancherial after it was revealed that his blood pressure had risen to 200 over 140 mmHg. Family members and visiting pastors believe that the attack against the pastor was planned as the assailants knew where to hit him so that there will be no bleeding but multiple contusions. The attack on Rao came a week after an Indian evangelist suffered a brain hemorrhage after he was harassed by Hindu extremists in the same state. K.A. Swamy, 47, fell into a coma just hours after the extremists threatened him with highly offensive language for distributing Bibles near a Hindu temple. He was also accused of trying to convert people in the temple area. home World Pro-choice activists announce plan to distribute abortion pills across Ireland A pro-choice organization, which advocates for the repeal of a law banning abortions in Ireland, has expressed plans to distribute abortion pills to cities across the region. The Reproductive Rights against Oppression, Sexism and Austerity (ROSA) is set to launch its "Bus 4 Repeal" tour in Dublin on March 6, and it will be traveling to several cities and universities across Ireland, The Journal reported. The group stated that the purpose of the tour is "both to provide direct assistance to those in need of safe abortion pills and to campaign for the repeal of the Eighth Amendment to legalise abortion in Ireland." The bus would put women in touch with Women on Web, a doctor-run group from the Netherlands that claims to be able to provide abortion pills, which are illegal in Ireland. "We won't just be giving information, we will be directly assisting women," said ROSA spokesperson Rita Harrold, according to Evening Echo. "We are not just going to give the pills there and then on the day, they'll be given to the women the next day because we wouldn't want any woman who needs an abortion, or just information, to be targeted by the police," she added. Harrold claimed that about three women a day order pills from Women on Web, and she contends that the Eighth Amendment, which gives equal status to the unborn and the mother, is not preventing women in Ireland from acquiring abortions. She noted that ROSA is not made up of medical professionals, so the distribution of pills would be left to Women on Web. She has not provided details on how the pills would be handed out, but she confirmed that they would be delivered shortly after the consultation on the bus. Pro Life Campaign spokesperson Cora Sherlock described the plan as a "cheap stunt" that shows "disregard for health and safety." In an article for Life News, Sherlock noted that Women on Web is affiliated with Women on Waves, a group which sailed an "abortion boat" into Ireland in 2002. Women on Waves caught media attention when it announced its intention to bring pregnant women aboard in the high seas to perform abortions. According to Sherlock, ROSA and Women on Web teamed up last May to fly a drone into Northern Ireland with the intention of dropping abortion pills. The Citizens' Assembly, which is made up of a chairperson and 99 citizens, is expected to deliver a report in the next few months on whether Northern Ireland should have a referendum to repeal the Eight Amendment. The assembly has received over 13,000 submissions on the issue of abortions between October and December 2016. home World Seven percent of Australian Catholic priests have been accused of child sexual abuse, report reveals The findings of an inquiry into child abuse have revealed that seven percent of Australian Catholic priests were accused of being involved in sexual abuse between 1950 and 2010. The figures were released during the opening address of a hearing of Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, which began its investigation into the Catholic Church and other institutions in 2013. The survey indicated that there were 4,444 reported incidents of abuse at Catholic institutions between 1980 and 2015. Gail Furness, the lead lawyer assisting the commission, said that 60 percent of survivors attending private royal commission reported abuse at faith-based organizations and nearly two-thirds of the abuses occurred in Catholic institutions, according to the Daily Mail. The report also indicated that the average age of the abuse victims was 10 for girls and 11 for boys. Over 40 percent of the members of St. John of God Brothers and 22 percent of Christian Brothers were accused of being abusers, the Herald Sun reported. Francis Sullivan, chief executive of the Truth Justice and Healing Council, said that the figures reflect the Chruch's "massive failure" to protect the children. "These numbers are shocking, they are tragic and they are indefensible," Sullivan told the commission. "As Catholics, we hang our heads in shame," he added. Six of seven Australian Catholic bishops, as well as the leaders of religious orders, have been ordered to appear before the commission. The statistics only cover incidents that were reported to the church, and the figures still do not cover the full extent of the abuse as many victims have not come forward. Provincial leaders of the Christian Brothers, Marist Brothers, Jesuits, Salesian and St John of God orders will be giving their testimony about the issue, along with bishops, Catholic education officials, academics and experts. Melbourne Archbishop Denis Hart said that Catholic leaders will explain the actions taken by the church to change the culture that allowed the abuse to continue. They will also discuss what the church has been doing to put in place new policies and structures that will protect children. In the U.S., as many as 5.6 percent of the clergy have been accused of molesting children, according to the reports by American bishops analyzed by BishopAccountability.org, a website that tracks data on abusive priests. home US Visa holders hurry to board flights to U.S. as Trump's travel ban remains blocked Visa holders from the seven Muslim-majority countries who were turned away due to President Donald Trump's travel ban are now scrambling to board planes to the U.S. while the ban remains suspended. On Friday, U.S. District Judge James Robart in Seattle suspended Trump's executive order while the court hears a case brought by the states of Washington and Minnesota. On Sunday, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals denied the request from the Department of Justice to reinstate the ban. Civil rights advocates are now advising people who could travel to get on the earliest flights they could find while the travel ban is suspended, Associated Press reported. "We're telling them to get on the quickest flight ASAP," said Rula Aoun, director of the Arab-American Civil Rights League in Dearborn, Michigan. The group has filed a lawsuit in federal court in Detroit, stating that Trump's executive order is unconstitutional. Several volunteer lawyers and interpreters waited inside John F. Kennedy's Terminal 4 in New York carrying handmade signs in Arabic and Farsi saying, "we're lawyers, we're here to help. We're not from the government." One Yemeni family had to leave two of four children behind because they did not have the proper documents. The father and two children are U.S. citizens while the mother has an immigrant visa. "They just don't want to take a chance of waiting," said Renee Paradis, who is one of the volunteer lawyers at JFK airport. U.S. officials have reported that about 60,000 visas had been "provisionally revoked" as a result of Trump's order. There was initially some confusion whether green card holders were affected by the ban until the White House clarified last Wednesday that they can enter or leave the U.S. as they pleased. Despite the clarification from the White House, green card holder Ammar Alnajjar cut short his three-month visit to Turkey and returned immediately to the U.S. when the ban was lifted. "I got to study. I got to do some work," said Alnajjar, who fled the civil war in Yemen and moved to the U.S. from Turkey in 2015. Airport officials in Cairo said that there were 33 migrants from Yemen, Syria and Iraq on their way to the U.S. The migrants have not been previously turned away, but they were rushing to take advantage of the suspension of the travel ban. Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby: 'The Most Important Thing I've Ever Done Is Become A Follower Of Jesus.' The Archbishop of Canterbury has described how Jesus has walked beside him for more than 40 years - even when he has not wanted him there. Justin Welby says the most important thing he's ever done in his life is become a follower of Jesus. In a new #Pledge2Pray video launched today as part of the global prayer movement Thy Kingdom Come, he says following Jesus has been the core point of his entire life. "Through the hardest and most painful times, and in the best and most joyful times in my life, Jesus has walked alongside me,' he says. "He's never left, even when I've wanted him to. When I felt ready to give up hope, he picked me up, and it's his love that has healed me and strengthened me." Welby admits there's a lot about his job that stops him getting too self-important. "I remember being at some event, one of my colleagues heard someone in the crowd whisper, 'Isn't that the Archbishop of Canterbury over there?' And the person's friend hissed back, 'Nah, too short.' "When I meet Jesus Christ at the judgment, I know one thing. He isn't going to care what size of Archbishop I was. Or, I think, whether I was an Archbishop. What matters is that I loved him, and sought to follow him, and above all that I trusted in him alone for my life and my future. "Because the most important thing I've ever done is to become a follower of Jesus. I took my first steps with him about 42 years ago. Over those years, he's been a faithful friend, a sovereign Lord, compassionate, forgiving, my ever-present saviour, everything in my life, the heart and foundation of all I am." This is why he wants everyone to hear his voice calling to them, and to learn what it is to find his love, his call, his direction, his purpose. "That's why I'm pledging to pray for more people to know the life-transforming love of Jesus Christ. That's why I'm asking you, along with every Christian community around the world, to join me in pledging to pray as part of Thy Kingdom Come." Thy Kingdom Come aims to get Christians praying between Ascension and Pentecost - 25 May to 4 June 2017 - that more people come to know Jesus Christ. Last year more than 100,000 people joined with the Archbishops of Canterbury and York in the #Pledge2Pray initiative. Welby said: "It's not a Church of England thing, it's not an Anglican thing, it's a Christian thing." Emma Buchan, project leader for the Archbishop's evangelism taskforce, and who heads up Thy Kingdom Come, said: "The global response to the campaign this year has been overwhelming. We've heard from churches across the world, including different denominations and traditions, who are all pledging to get involved from South Africa to Canada and from the Brazil to Hong Kong. "Each place is organising the time in their own way, for example in Hong Kong they are planning big celebrations in the cathedrals and establishing a network of 'prayer warriors'. "We're hoping people will be inspired to take part and be catalysts for setting up prayer events in their local area." Evangelical Leaders Attack Vladimir Putin Just As Trump Praises 'Killer' Russian Leader Evangelical leaders Russell Morre and Kay Warren launched a scathing attack President Vladimir Putin just as US President Donald Trump praised the "killer" Russian leader. In a series of tweets on Sunday, Moore, who is president of the Southern Baptist Convention's ethics and religious liberty commission, heavily criticised Putin's ban on adoption of Russian children by American citizens. The evangelical ethicist has two adopted Russian-born orphans in his family and said the issue caused him "deep personal ache". Moore has been a longtime critique of Russia and in particular its attempt to portray itself as a "champion of traditional values". In his tweets on Sunday he wrote: "I think every day of the kids, just like my sons, left behind in those orphanages as well as those blown apart in Aleppo." "Those two ex-orphans now usher and take up the offering in our Gospel church. Many of their peers are living in horror. Lord have mercy." With the discussion about Putin-the violence, the religious persecution, the criminality- also remember the orphans his regime oppresses. Russell Moore (@drmoore) February 5, 2017 These kids age out of the system, to a life most often of despair, drugs, or suicide. Russell Moore (@drmoore) February 5, 2017 As the father of two Russian immigrants, who spent their first year in those orphanages, this is a place of deep personal ache. Russell Moore (@drmoore) February 5, 2017 Linking to his remarks Kay Warren, the wife of Saddleback Church pastor Rick Warren, spoke of her own experience in Russian orphanages and said she was praying the ban was lifted. Been in some of the Russian orphanages - held HIV babies destined to live their lives in an institution. Praying adoption ban is lifted! https://t.co/IMUFs6soLG Kay Warren (@KayWarren1) February 5, 2017 It comes after Donald Trump placed the US and Russia on the same moral playing field, admitting he respected Putin even though he was a "killer". He told Fox News: "There are a lot of killers. We've got a lot of killers. What, do you think our country's so innocent?" Exclusive: Prime Minister To Meet Pope Francis 'Sooner Rather Than Later' Theresa May is planning to meet Pope Francis in the coming weeks, Christian Today has learned. The Prime Minister is likely to discuss a range of issues with the Pope in Rome, including human trafficking. No date has yet been set for the meeting. But according to well placed sources, it will be "sooner rather than later". May, a practising Anglican, enjoys relatively close relations with the Catholic Church. She attended a Vatican conference on human trafficking in May 2014, when she was Home Secretary, with Cardinal Vincent Nichols. May met the Pope on that occasion and they are said to have had a "warm" discussion. Cardinal Nichols wrote to her when she became prime minister in July last year, saying: "I thank you for the remarkable work you have accomplished for the victims of human trafficking...demonstrated through your presence at its first meeting in Rome. This is a clear indication...of your determination to use high political office for the protection of some of the world's most vulnerable people..." The following month, May wrote an article emphasising that tackling modern slavery was a key priority of her premiership in the Sunday Telegraph. Asked about the planned visit, Downing Street neither confirmed nor denied it, telling Christian Today: "If that were true, it would be confirmed closer to the date." Last year, May appointed a special adviser on faith, Jonathan Hellewell, to work in Downing Street. David Cameron, May's predecessor as prime minister, did not meet with Pope Francis, who was elected on March 13, 2013. In Egypt, Christians Can Now Take Leave From Work To Go On Pilgrimage Christians in Egypt have now been granted right to take leave from work to go on pilgrimage, according to a high court ruling at the weekend. Egyptian Muslims are granted paid leave to go on the Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca. Now, the High Constitutional Court of Egypt has ruled that Christian civil servants should have the same same right, RT News reports. "The ruling is a major step towards full citizenship rights for Egyptian Christians," said Naguib Gabriel, a lawyer who has fought for the ruling for three years. The Muslim right to visit Mecca is available through an allowance in Egyptian law made in 1978 which applied only to Muslims. The court ruled that the exclusion of Christians was unconstitutional. Egypt's present constitution was established by referendum in 2014, and advocates equal rights for all religions. Christians represent about ten per cent of Egypt's 93 million population. Most Christians are Orthodox Coptic Christians, who have an established holy site at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, which tradition holds to be the location of Jesus' tomb. Another obstacle to Christian pilgrimage is from the Coptic church's Pope Shenouda in 1980. Shenouda forbade Coptic Christians from visiting Jerusalem in an attempt to protect Israel's occupation of Palestinian territory. The 'ban' has been informally loosened over time, with some attempting pilgrimage in secret. Al Bawaba quoted online praise for the ruling from social media. One commenter posted on Facebook: "Enlightened approaches [moving us closer] to gaining equality...between all citizens." Another said: "This is justice." Italian Priest Faces The Sack After Allegations Of Filmed Orgies On Church Property The Catholic bishop of Padua in Italy has said a Catholic priest is likely to be defrocked over claims that he organised orgies on church property, had over 30 lovers and took some to French nudist retreats. Police have been investigating Father Andrea Contin, 48, since December and have received a statement by one accuser saying Contin beat her and "always carried a briefcase full of vibrators, sex toys, masks and bondage equipment". Contin, of San Lazzaro church, at first denied charges by three women who said they were his lovers, but the Italian newspaper Il Gazzettino reported that he confessed to some of the charges after a search of his residence found video evidence of orgies. According to The Independent, Contin is also accused of supplying some of his alleged lovers to men found on wife-swapping websites. Another priest, identified as Father Cavazzana, admitted to involvement in the orgies, sometimes filming them. Bishop Claudio Cipolla said that Contin will be relieved of his priestly duties, regardless of what the police investigation concludes, describing Contin's actions as "unacceptable for a priest, for a Christian and even for a man". He added: "I am incredulous and pained by the accusations. Even if, at the end of this affair, there are no legal consequences, we have a duty by canon law to take disciplinary action." Bishop Cipolla emphasised that his decision was not based on the media coverage of the allegations, but came after "direct investigation and verification that these events mean...Contin is not fit to carry out his [priestly] mission". Cipolla said that he consulted the Pope about the investigation, who told him to "be strong" in discipline. LGBT Campaigners Plot Shock Defeat Of Church's Gay Marriage Stance LGBT campaigners are plotting an unprecedented defeat of the Church of England's resistance to change teaching that marriage is exclusively between one man and one woman. Top bishops have refused to alter their views in a report that will be put before the Church's parliament, general synod, next week in a "take note" debate. But lobbyists on the Church's liberal wing are hoping to pull off an extraordinary overthrowal and persuade synod not to take note of the report. Campaigners are writing to members of synod, the Church equivalent of MPs, in every diocese across the UK to try and persuade them to reject the report. The Lesbian and Gay Christian Movement (LGCM) has issued an "urgent call" on people inside and outside the CofE to write, saying the report marks "a very significant betrayal of trust". A statement from LGCM announcing the campaign said they were "concerned that the established church, in which the country as a whole has a stake, is proposing to retain unchanged a theology and pastoral practice and discipline that is significantly out of kilter with the nation's understanding of equality and justice in matters of sexuality and gender." One LGBT advocate, Tina Beardsley, said there is "huge disappointment" from LGBTI Christians "not only about the report, but the whole manner in which the Church of England has discussed human sexuality, particularly homosexuality, during the past four decades." The bishops announced there "are no proposals" to change teaching but promised "maximum freedom" within existing laws and called for "a fresh tone and culture of welcome and support for lesbian and gay people". But in reality the report was another example of "institutional bias" and encouraged a "continuing culture of exclusion of LGBTI+ people by the Church, linked directly to its current teaching and resistance to change", Beardsley said. "Take note" debates are typically passed on the nod and do not serve as a method of decision-making. They do not mark an endorsement and a defeat would not block the report but it would be a sharp rebuttal of the bishops' authority. It is thought unlikely that the campaign would win support from more than half of synod with the motion needing a simple majority to pass. But well-placed sources inside the movement suggest it may be defeated if the synod is split into its three "houses" the bishops, the clergy and the laity. Church procedure dictates the synod can be divided into houses to vote if a request to do so is supported by just 25 synod members. All three houses would then have to accept the report by a simple majority for it to pass. Sources spearheading the campaign claim that if the synod is split, the house of clergy would be the most likely to defeat the motion. The sources told Christian Today that even conservative evangelicals, who tend to oppose any change on teaching to marriage, have vowed not to take note of the report because they don't think the bishops have listened. The sources point to a groundswell of anger at not only the refusal to change but the tone of the report, which does not mention bisexual, transgender or intersex people. It is highly unusual for a take note debate to be defeated. If the campaign succeeds it would mark a largely unprecedented stand against the bishops and be a shock indicator of the scale of opposition to the report. The Bishop of Willesden, Pete Broadbent, announcing the debate said it was a "neutral motion". At a pre-synod press conference he said: "It allows Synod to discuss the content and recommendations contained in the report, but a vote in favour of the motion does not commit the Synod to the acceptance of any matter in the report. "The House of Bishops will listen carefully to the debate, and to any subsequent matters raised by members in correspondence, to inform their further work." Religious Liberty Campaigners Want Donald Trump To Speak To Turkey About Imprisonment Of American Pastor This message has been sent to U.S. President Donald Trump: Help free a detained pastor in Turkey. The family of Pastor Andrew Brunson and other religious liberty campaigners are asking President Trump to speak to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and push for the release of the North Carolina Presbyterian pastor, ABC 11 reported. Brunson has been languishing in a Turkish prison for four months now. An appeal was issued last December for Brunson's release, but the appeal was denied by Turkish authorities, according to Mission Network News (MNN). Brunson is accused of "membership in an armed terrorist organisation," a charge that his family says has no basis whatsoever. His family believes that Brunson is being persecuted for his Christian belief. The American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ) has created an online petition for Brunson's release. It currently has over 192,700 signatures. The pastor has spent 23 years building churches and spreading the gospel in Turkey until he applied for residency last October only to be arrested. Brunson was initially detained together with his wife Norine, who was subsequently released. Court documents showed that an anonymous source was the basis for Brunson's arrest, according to MNN. Todd Nettleton with The Voice of the Martyrs, USA said the arrest appears to be a political move. He cited two possibilities. "One is the Islamic leader [Fethullah] Gulen who is in the United States, the Turks have asked the U.S. to extradite him back to Turkey, and the U.S. has said no. It is possible that Andrew Brunson is, in some ways, a pawn in that game to try to encourage the United States to extradite Fethullah Gulen," Nettleton said. "The other possibility is just that [Brunson] was caught up in the crackdown that is going on across Turkey since the coup attempt last year. The numbers are staggering, more than 40,000 people have been arrested since the coup attempt political party members, military personnel, journalists, teachers, judges, lawyers," he added. Brunson's daughter Jacqueline said it's "outrageous to think that this is happening to an American citizen." ACLJ executive counsel Cece Heil said Brunson's family is now putting their faith in the hands of Trump and other U.S. politicians. "We are hopeful that President Trump, if he has the chance to speak with President Erdogan, he'll raise this issue with them," Heil said. Thomas More: Torturer Or Saint? Thomas More, born on this day, has developed into one of the most controversial figures in Reformation history. Traditionally seen as a man of principle and integrity a "saint for our time" even he has recently been recast as a ruthless schemer and bloodthirsty die hard. Born on 7 February 1478, More was once Henry VIII's most trusted adviser and confidant. He became speaker in the House of Commons and later Lord Chancellor. But within six years of his appointment, the Catholic scholar went from top diplomat to being executed for treason. Here are five facts you didn't know about Thomas More: 1. He qualified as a lawyer After spending time under the Archbishop of Canterbury, John Morton, More studied at Oxford and became a lawyer. He served under-sheriff of London before entering the King's company and becoming one of most trusted civil servants. 2. A Catholic scholar, he wrote diatribes against Martin Luther Entering the King's service in 1517 the same year Luther is thought to have pinned his 95 theses to the cathedral door in Wittenburg More became a fierce opponent of the German monk. As a close friend of the radical Catholic thinker Erasmus, he wrote polemics against Luther and the Protestant reformation as a whole. 3. Man of principle? More strongly opposed Henry VIII's attempts at divorce from Catherine of Aragon in his desperate hunt for a son. So when Henry declared himself "supreme head of the Church in England", establishing the Anglican church and splitting from Rome, More quit as chancellor. Despite the evident risks he continued to oppose the split and was eventually arrested in 1534 for refusing to sign an oath of supremacy to Henry. He was tried for treason and executed on Tower Hill on 6 July 1535. 4. Or Torturer? As part of his vociferous campaign against anything he saw as heretical, several contemporary and modern historians claimed he tortured victims with erroneous theology. The popular anti-Catholic polemicist John Foxe published the claims at the time but More denied them vehemently. That has not prevented current historians like David Starkey holding that More "believed in the idea of enforcing ideas on others by persecution and execution". 5. Immediately canonised In a sign of the tension between Rome and London, Pope Pius XI canonised More within months of his death in 1935 as a martyr. Hundreds of years later in 1980 the Church of England chose to remember More in its liturgy as a Reformation martyr. Trump Administration Condemns Mugabe Regime For Arresting Christian Pastors Donald Trump's administration has called on Robert Mugabe to respect human rights within and outside Zimbabwe's borders following the arrest of the campaigning pastor Evan Mawarire. The US embassy in Harare issued a statement condemning the arrest of Mawarire and that of fellow pastor Phillip Patrick Mugadza whose prophecy that Mugabe would die on October 17 this year was met with fury by the Zimbabwean president. Mawarire, the figurehead of the #ThisFlag civil rights movement, was arrested last week at the Harare International Airport on his return to the southern African country after spending six months in self-imposed exile, mostly in the US. A spokesperson for the US embassy in Harare, David Mcguire, described the arrest of Mawarire and Mugadza as "unwarranted". He said: "The US government unequivocally believes in the basic right of freedom of speech and calls on the government of Zimbabwe to respect the human rights of all Zimbabweans which are enshrined in the constitution. We believe that the basic right of Zimbabweans to freedom of speech be it in public, through print media or social media should be protected within and outside Zimbabwe's borders." Mawarire faces up to 20 years in prison under the charge of subverting the government. He is yet to appear in court. Mawarire was initially arrested in July and charged with inciting public violence and subverting the state. It came after he accidentally sparked a protest movement that led to two days of mass strikes against Robert Mugabe's handling of the economy. He achieved cult status for his message shared on Facebook and it led to a social media-led campaign against the regime. His latest arrest comes after a series of threats from government officials and President Mugabe himself. He accused him of being sponsored by foreign governments and of being a false preacher. "A man of religion will speak the biblical truth. 1 Corinthians what does it say? Love one another," said Mugabe. "So beware these men of cloth, not all of them are true preachers of the Bible. I don't know whether they are serving God. They spell God in reverse," the president said. "The Mawarires and those who believe in that way of living in our country, well, they are not part of us in thinking. They are not part of us as we try to live together." 'Trump Is Right': Syrian Christians, Muslims In U.S. Express Support For President's Immigration Ban Strident voices continue to fill the airwaves against U.S. President Donald Trump's immigration ban on seven Muslim-majority countries. But there are also voices, fewer and less strident but nonetheless as compelling, that show the other side of the controversy. Syria is one of the countries where the travel ban has been imposed. Hence, it's surprising to find some Syrian Christians living in the U.S. actually supporting Trump's executive order. The Washington Post recently heard the views of these resettled Syrians in Allentown, Pennsylvania. "Trump is right, in a way, to do what he's doing," said Elias Shetayh, a Christian from Syria who immigrated to the U.S. 46 years ago and is now an American citizen. Aziz Wehbey, a fellow Syrian Christian, also expressed backing for Trump's decision, saying it's hard to check the backgrounds of the refugees wanting to come to America. "We're concerned about, if God forbid a terrorist attack happened here ... that we're all labeled as bad people. I hate to say it," he said. Wehbey also pointed out that the majority of the refugees in Allentown are Christian Syrians, hinting that bringing in Muslim refugees there would not be a good idea. "We don't want to see a religious conflict over here," he said. Some Muslim residents in the U.S. have also made it clear that they support Trump's 90-day moratorium on travel to the U.S. from citizens of seven terror hot spots, including Iraq, Syria, Somalia and Sudan. "It's not a ban on Islam, or any religion," Raheel Raza, a Pakistani-born Muslim human rights activist, told Fox News. "There is so much hysteria surrounding this order that it's unfortunately barring reason and logic." Raza said border security is the right of every country and that it's only right for the Trump administration to secure America's borders while they work on a more effective solution to stop terrorists from sneaking in. Dr. Zuhudi Jasser, founder and president of the American Islamic Forum for Democracy, also backed Trump's move. In a Fox News interview, Jasser noted that during "the cold war, we vetted against communism, for communist theory and ideology. That was part of the immigration process." This time, the threat comes from Islamist extremists. Hence, the need to check refugees who could later pose such threat, he said. "There is nothing more pro-Muslim than vetting jihadists," Jasser quipped. Violence, John Smyth And The Gospel When a story as horrifying as John Smyth's begins to be told, it's only natural to ask the question "Why?" Smyth's behaviour his alleged grooming and savage, repeated beatings of young Christians over many years was exposed in Channel 4 news reports. But why did it take so long to come out? Why did he get away with it for so long? Why did those affected say nothing? And what drove him to it in the first place? It's natural to ask the questions, but a rush to answer them is unhelpful, to say the least. Even in this age of instancy, it's best to take a while to think things through. However, even after a few days, some questions at least begin to take on more definition, and they are around whether there were particular factors in play that facilitated Smyth's abusive behaviour. For the avoidance of doubt, asking these questions isn't about explaining what he did, or God forbid excusing it. This behaviour is wicked, full stop. But if we don't ask the right questions, we don't learn anything. One question is around whether there's something about abusive behaviour in religious circles that makes it harder to deal with. I suspect the answer is that there is. We've seen it also in the shocking revelations from Australia about Catholic clergy and in many similar stories. The sense of group identity can be very strong and the appeal to an omnipotent authority by his representatives on earth is very hard to defy. Furthermore, the Church has more to lose, because it's all about goodness: you mustn't compromise the "witness", so you end up trying to preserve a reputation at the expense of justice. The tendency to close ranks is undeniable though inexcusable. When Smyth's behaviour came to light in the early '80s it was not reported to police, a course of action no one now defends. The reasons for this are no longer clear were the Iwerne Trust and Winchester College trying to protect the victims? But the general principle applies: groups protect themselves. Christians, with their profound sense of human insufficiency and the grace of God, ought to be predisposed to challenge this groupthink. We are not. Another question is around theology. Bishop Alan Wilson blamed the abuse on the "violent theology" espoused at the so-called "Bash Camps" at the Iwerne summer schools he didn't say so precisely, but he clearly has in mind the penal substitutionary theory of the atonement, in which God punishes Jesus instead of punishing us. Another bishop, Guildford's Andrew Watson, revealed he had himself been a victim of Smyth, but said: "I would also like to express the concern of myself and some of my fellow survivors that we are seen as people and not used as pawns in some political or religious game. "Abusers espouse all theologies and none; and absolutely nothing that happened in the Smyth shed was the natural fruit of any Christian theology that I've come across before or since. It was abuse perpetrated by a misguided, manipulative and dangerous man, tragically playing on the longing of his young victims to live godly lives." This is clearly true, and as David Robertson has said, evangelical theology is not to blame for sadistic abuse: "the violence of the cross negates and destroys the violence of the world". I'm not sure, though, that this lets theology entirely off the hook. I am of exactly the age and evangelical background though I am neither Anglican nor public school educated, so wouldn't have been at Iwerne to recognise the sort of theological language that was around in the late '70s. Some of it was indeed spiritually unhealthy, with an undue focus on punishment and the wrath of God and a luxuriating in the graphic physical details of the scourging and crucifixion. When blood and excruciating pain are just part of your religious language, there may be consequences. Acknowledging this is not the same as saying it's "responsible" for what happened (and it doesn't amount to a critique of penal substitution, either) but it ought to be part of some institutional soul-searching. However, I was not there (and neither was Alan Wilson). Still another question is around elitism. Those who attended the Iwerne Trust's Bash Camps were from Britain's public schools there's an irony about the term, as they were, and to a large extent are, reserved for those with a lot of money. These young men and it was definitely male, as Anne Atkins made clear in her comment piece for the Telegraph were a class apart, groomed for leadership in Church and state. They were the future evangelical officer class. One of them was the future Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby. (Attempts to imply he knew about it are silly mischief-making if not worse.) At one level, this is a troubling reminder of that old class system we are gradually leaving behind. But it also reminds us of what happens when people feel they're part of an elite, of whatever kind: being special means being set apart, and once you set people apart it's easier to persuade them that different rules apply. That's a routine tactic for abusers, because it's so effective, and the response to it should be a holy democracy: no one is special, because everyone is. In his heartfelt statement, the Bishop of Guildford pleads for he and his fellow sufferers to be "seen as people and not used as pawns in some political or religious game". This is very important, and nothing that's written about them, or Smyth, should deny their individuality. Many of them have carried heavy burdens all their lives. They cannot be judged by those who haven't been through what they went through; we should have nothing but compassion and respect. At the same time the wider Church has to learn from what happened to them, because it might happen again. We should not close ranks to protect our reputation. We should not allow anyone to portray God as violent and wrathful. We should not connive at the creation of a spiritual elite, in whatever context. We are all children of God, and the ground is level at the foot of the cross. Follow Mark Woods on Twitter: @RevMarkWoods. Why Being On Donald Trump's Travel Ban Is The Least Of Somalia's Worries Seven countries came under Donald Trump's travel ban. Perhaps the least well known the one that has attracted the least attention is also facing a famine for the second time in six years, according to the United Nations. Somalia is in a state of "pre-famine", the UN's food and agriculture organisation (FAO) said last week. The majority of the population now need emergency aid and the number of people needing urgent humanitarian assistance has shot up by more than a million in the past month alone. There is also a "milestone" election happening this week after the east African country has drifted for more than 25 years without a functional central government. But despite all this Somalia languishes beneath the radar as it trudges towards disaster. "People's livestock are dying and they worry they will be next," says Stefanie Glinksi, field manager for the Christian charity World Vision. In an interview with Christian Today, Glinksi, who has just returned to the UK from the country, describes one farmer, Said, who has seen his herd of goats deplete from more than 200 to less than 50. "When I met him he was very depressed," says Glinksi. "He was outside burning his dead goats. He said this is something he has been doing every day for the last two months." Along with thousands of others Said, who has 14 children, packed his family, their empty water buckets and his entire life onto a camel and went in search of water and more fertile land. They walked about 80 miles but every day more of his goats died. So eventually he stopped at a small, diminishing waterhole. "He told me he was worried his children would be next," says Glinski. Now after two seasons without rainfall Somalians have nothing to plant. So even if the rains do come they will have nothing to eat. And so millions are on the move too consumed with a battle to survive to pay attention to the battle for power that wages among the country's elite. "It usually starts with people migrating to different areas of the country," says Glinski. "They go to different places to find more fertile lands. "The second step is for people migrate to the cities. "People are trying to get away from rural areas and go to the cities and live in slums where they hope they could find more water, more food and potentially work. "And after that the tendency is for people to potentially leave their country." But all that is thrown in jeopardy now. Somalians are not only victims of Trump's wholesale ban on refugees after he has stopped the US Refugee Programme. They also come under the travel ban along with citizens of Iran, Iraq, Libya, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen. Without the option of joining family members or migrating to the US, Somalians are left to face the famine. "If you look at this purely from a Christian perspective, everyone matters to God," says Glinski. "I think if you look at churches and Christians generally they have played quite an important role n welcoming and resettling refugees from various parts of the world." But although World Vision says it is "concerned" and "troubled" by the refugee ban, it insists its focus is helping those left behind. It is appealing for 15.1 million ($18.5 million) to provide emergency care for more than half a million of the most severely affected. Why We Need To Support Our Queen In Her Meeting With Donald Trump Queen Elizabeth II made history today as she became the first Queen in history to reach her Sapphire Jubilee. It is typical of our Queen that she marks this incredible 65-year milestone, not by celebrating her many achievements, but quietly at home in Sandringham, Norfolk, reflecting on the day her father, King George VI, died on February 6, 1952. In fact, the Sapphire Jubilee celebrations are remarkably low key and most are intimately linked to her devout religious faith. Gregory Cameron, Bishop of St Asaph in the Church in Wales, a well-known coin collector and artist, designed a beautiful but also modest Royal Mint Jubilee coin. Cameron told Christian Today: "I can understand that that for The Queen it is a day of mixed emotion: bereavement and responsibility, potential and celebration. I wanted to design a coin which celebrated the Queen's service, with the olive branch of fruitfulness, and the oak branch of loyalty. It is this record of sixty five years of unremitting service which is so staggering - and sustained by Christian faith of course." I was honoured myself to attend, last night, the Anglican-Catholic parish of St Mary's in Rotherhithe, east London. St Mary's was among those that discreetly marked this Jubilee with an accession service of thanksgiving and prayer. This church was perhaps a little unusual however in using a liturgy from the 1789 edition of the Book of Common Prayer, a service actually drawn up to mark the accession of King George III. The London Gallery Quire, which performs West Gallery music from the era of Thomas Hardy, sang all five verses of the National Anthem to Thomas Clark's 'Northcourt' setting. This is preferred by many - including me - to the anonymous dirge in popular use today. The Queen herself attended church yesterday in St Peter and St Paul in West Newton, Norfolk. A book published by the Bible Society to mark her 90th birthday last year is testament to her strong Christian faith. So how can we, her subjects and her admirers, best honour our Queen on her Jubilee in this newly-troubled world? I well remember her Silver Jubilee celebrations in 1977, two years before the 1979 elections. Being among those who had just turned 18, I used my first ever chance at the ballot box to vote Conservative and help usher in the era of Margaret Thatcher. Those years in the late 1970s had been years of terrible privations. So many people suffered so much. I voted for Maggie, along with so many others in rural Britain, because never again did I want to be so hungry and cold. Never again did I want to be forced to revise for exams or do close book work by candlelight. Never again did I want to have to walk eight miles a day there and back again, to school or later work. Although I have of course recently done exactly that in London, many times, thanks to the tube strikes. We in rural Britain in the 1970s were perhaps the UK "rust belt" of our time. But in 1977, when we danced in the streets and church halls and bought commemorative mugs and coins that I have to this day, of course we had no concept of the massive changes in British society that were only just around the corner. It is astonishing to reflect that only two years earlier, in 1975, Britain had voted in a referendum to "stay" in what was then the European Economic Community. Like many young people I knew at that time, contemplating the European wine lakes and butter mountains from the remote Staffordshire countryside acres of farmland, towns and villages that had changed little since the 1950s I was not entitled to vote in the 1975 Referendum. I was rendered anxious and furious by the outcome. In Luke 19, we read of how Zacchaeus was trying to see Jesus. The King James Bible renders this as: "And he sought to see Jesus who he was; and could not for the press, because he was little of stature." Christian journalists sometimes like to joke that this is the only mention of the "Press" in the Bible. Zacchaeus was a tax collector, as reviled then by the educated elite as Donald Trump is today. Zacchaeus climbed a sycamore tree to escape the "press" of people around him. When Jesus saw him up there, he invited him down and then went off to dine with him. Many were shocked. Yet in the end it became one of the most powerful stories of Christian witness in the Bible. This story, alongside the Beatitudes, shows to many of us the despised and marginalised, the estate agents and journalists such as myself, all those who feel sometimes we are the modern equivalents of tax collectors of Jesus' time that we are not beyond redemption. In that sense, George Carey, former Archbishop of Canterbury, is quite right in what he said to James Macintyre, Christian Today reporter, when he criticised the "staggering" hostility to Trump. As a State Visit approaches, we must make sure that Donald Trump is not denied access to our Queen in any way by the loud "press" of the noise against him, and that the tone of that access is not compromised in any way. The Queen is Supreme Governor of the Church of England. But far, far more than this, in her own daily life she bears witness to the life of Jesus Christ in a manner that is truly humbling and exemplary. In spite of a life of apparent ease and privilege, she carries immense burdens in her willingly-borne duties. We should reflect on her example. She does not need protecting in some strange way from Donald Trump. He needs to meet her, and she needs to be supported in this meeting. As this Sapphire Jubilee Year kicks off, so different in every way to the Silver Jubilee of 1977, perhaps it's time to sing the less familar words of the National Anthem, and sing them to a different tune: "O'er her thine arm extend, for Britain's sake defend, Our mother, Queen and friend, God save the Queen." This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Fitzgerald's has kicked up a social media storm after a heated email and Twitter exchange with a respected Houston producer and DJ. It started when Garrett Brown, known as Trakksounds, emailed the venue about a possible March 31 booking for Billboard-charting Tennessee rappers Starlito and Don Trip. Owner Sara Fitzgerald responded with an "I'm gonna pass on this" but immediately went into an expletive-filled rant. SHUTTERED: Hot Houston restaurant closes down after Super Bowl See the full email above, which includes expletives and racial stereotypes. "It was extremely shocking. We sent them a couple of music links. A simple, 'No' would have sufficed," Brown said Tuesday afternoon. Brown, who is white, blasted the response on Twitter. The venue doubled down on the comments, claiming they were quoting his song lyrics back to him. "Boycott away," reads a second tweet. "We do not host misogynistic music that worships rape culture and harbors hatred." Though the emails came from Fitzgerald, she says the tweets came from one of her assistants. Fitzgerald says she was just repeating words she heard in the lyrics. "It flew in my face. I said, 'I don't want to book this.' I put in quotes all the words. I used the n-word because that was used frequently in the song. I don't want to book that kind of music. I was saying it because I find it sexist and racist. That's just my opinion," she says. "It came across as I was making a general, sweeping statement about their music, which is kind of interesting. Are they racist because they used the racial slur 20 times? "The feminist in me just came out. It's not right to say anything bad about black men, but you can say bad things about women? I'm tired of being called 'bitch' and 'ho.' Why is every woman in their song called that?" Fitzgerald also took aim at hip-hop fans in the email, a point which angered many: "300 fans that buy little, tip little and create big disharmony no thanks." "They blatantly stereotype a whole group of music fans. I've been to so many hip-hop shows there with no problem," Brown said. CONCERT: John Legend sets Woodlands show Brown, as Trakksounds is an in-demand producer and DJ who has worked with, among others, Bun B, 2 Chainz, Wiz Khalifa, A$AP Rocky, Jhene Aiko, Chamillionaire, Devin The Dude, Kirko Bangz, Scarface, Cam'Ron and Nipsey Hussle. His latest project, featuring Scarface, Starlito and The Suffers' Kam Franklin, premiered Monday on XXL. Fall out from Fitzgerald's response has been swift, with the emails and tweets drawing condemnation from many Houston musicians, including Fat Tony, Franklin, Roosh Williams and Kyle Hubbard. Comedian and actor Hannibal Buress, who performed Friday at Fitzgerald's, tweeted, "Yeesh. Just worked at this spot on Friday. Never again though." Former wrestler and Houston mayor hopeful Booker T. Huffman also weighed in on Twitter: "Comments made by @FitzgeraldsLive were totally inappropriate. Stereotyping a group of people based on their choice of music is WRONG!" Margin Walker and The Secret Group, a pair of live-music promotion companies, tweeted that they would no longer be booking shows at Fitzgerald's. Fitzgerald maintains that her venue has "probably had more international diversity than any club in Houston" and has welcomed many rap and hip-hop acts. "I shouldn't have said it. I should have just said, 'No thanks. I'll pass.' I'm probably one of the few clubs that even books the music. I get lots of calls because I do allow it to play here. But I don't know how to reconcile that," she said. "I was told not to say those words, and then they get up and say the words, and if you say something about it, then you're a racist. The whole genre is racist. Fitzgerald said she was still reeling from an earlier rap show. The most recent at the venue was a Jan. 27 bill featuring rappers Kay Jay and Devin the Dude. "I asked them to turn it down. They threatened me. They called me a racist bitch because I asked them to turn it down for the neighbors. It's 1:30 in the morning on a weekday and they were yelling at me. I felt kind of threatened," Fitzgerald said. "I would say the same to anybody else. You just can't say it to the black kids or they're going to be mad at you. One of them lit up a joint at the damn bar. My manager told him to take it outside. He told her he was going to shoot her. "I'm 70. I want them to pull their pants up and quit grabbing their crotch while they sing. I would say the same to my son. It's not a color issue. White kids do it, too." A second, previously unseen email from Fitzgerald to Brown sent after the emails went viral did little to minimize the damage. ADORABLE: DJ Khaled Snapchats with cute kid after Super Bowl "Why not have your artist play at your church? See if your mother likes that language. I see you started a blast against me on the net. Now who's aggressive?" it reads. "I get insulted when men submit music to me that refers to women as bitches and hoes, just like you would get insulted if a white man sent you music calling black men racial slurs. Your music plays into all stereotypes...gangsters, drugs, women hating, racial slurs, etc." Despite the backlash, Fitzgerald did not back down from her original statements. And also took aim at the genre as a whole. "I made the mistake of saying something. I never dreamed the guy would do that. Ultimately, he's going to sell a lot of records. Maybe I should book him now. Now he's going to get a lot of publicity out of this. He should thank me," she said. "Unfortunately, a lot of kids are doing rap because you don't have to learn an instrument and you don't have to learn to sing. You can just get up and say the same 15 nasty words over and over to the same tune, and there it is. "Ten (songs) in a row, that makes you want to shoot yourself." >>>Scroll through the gallery above to see the tweets and emails exchanged about Fitzgerald's An Arizona man will spend more than three years behind bars after his conviction in federal court for trafficking in pet products with counterfeit labels. On Monday, U.S. District Judge David Hittner sentenced Allen Smith, 50, to 37 months in federal prison in the counterfeit case. Smith also must pay $867,150 in restitution and forfeit $42,269 worth of illicit proceeds, officials with the U.S. Attorney's Office in Houston said. Smith admitted his role in a scheme that trafficked more than $1 million in pet health products that weren't made in the U.S. but were brought into the country with false product labels. Some of the veterinary items bore bogus labels identifying them as Frontline, Frontline Plus and K9 Advantix, officials said. Federal prosecutors said Smith deceived retails stores and consumers into believing the products had been manufactured in the U.S. and were approved for sale, officials said. Aetna Life Insurance Co. was awarded $51.4 million to recover excessive health care fees it said it paid to Humble Surgical Hospital during the past seven years. The judgment, which includes nearly $10 million in interest, was signed last week by U.S. District Judge Lynn Hughes. Aetna sued Humble Surgical Hospital in 2012, contending that the five-bed surgical center in Humble charged the giant health insurance company for procedures up to 10 times more than typical market rates. An out-patient fee for ear wax removal, for example, was nearly $100,000, according to the lawsuit, and bunion removal ranged between $46,000 and $74,000. Johnny Hanson/Houston Chronicle Houston-based salad bar restaurant Salata has inked a deal to open several new locations in metro Atlanta -- the chain's first locations in Georgia. The company has signed an area development agreement with Unbeleafable Holdings, which is a subsidiary of Henry Investment Group. The deal is to open 20 restaurants within the next few years. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate British actor Dan Stevens drew from disparate sources to develop his approach to playing the lead in the new series "Legion." In addition to the original Marvel comic, an Anderson Cooper news report and conversations with show creator Noah Hawley about shared musical tastes, Wes Anderson, Louie Anderson, Jorge Luis Borges and British New Wave cinema figured into what viewers will see when the series premieres at 9 p.m. Wednesday on FX. "When I met Noah, we both wanted to try something that was successful but also (make it) a playground for writers, actors and even directors to come and try something fun," said Stevens, who plays David Haller. "There's a little bit of mischief going on about how playful the show is." That "mischief" begins with Haller's character, who, as Stevens observes, has a deadpan sense of humor that adds an unexpected element to the fact he's been diagnosed as paranoid schizophrenic and sent to a mental institution called Clockwork. More Information 'Legion' Series premiere When: 9 p.m. Wednesday Network: FX See More Collapse "(H)e hasn't (yet) gotten to the point of Haller as comic-book fans know him," said Stevens, who might be best known for his work in "Dowton Abbey." "In the first chapter, there's a lot of deep questions going on and a lot of crazy things happening." Eventually, Haller will become Legion, who, as created in 1985 by Chris Claremont and Bill Sienkiewicz, made his first appearance in the "New Mutants" comic. There are only a few hints of Haller's future identity in the first three episodes of "Legion," and Stevens would only allow that "I think we're going to work up to that." Stevens' performance is intense and layered with nuance and physicality, making it impossible for viewers to detach themselves from what he is dealing with in his head and the even more screwed up "real world." Stevens is grateful to Anderson Cooper for helping him convey the exhaustion Haller feels from just trying to stay alive. A few years ago, Cooper did a news report on paranoid schizophrenia and participated in an experiment designed to replicate what someone with the condition experiences every day. With voices pumping into his brain through headphones, he tried to walk around New York and participate in normal activities but found it impossible to concentrate and overall, unnervingly alienating and ultimately depressing. This is Haller's state of mind when a new patient arrives at Clockwork, a beautiful young woman named Syd Barrett (a nod to the former Pink Floyd member), played by Rachel Keller. Haller is immediately smitten, asks her to be his girlfriend, and she agrees. For the first time, he is displaying hints of hope. The only hitch is that she is terrified of being touched in any way. "They have to find a way to pursue their relationship without physical contact," Stevens said, but that's the least of their challenges. "They're driven apart by what's going on in David's head, and he learns to navigate that, and she learns to navigate that, and there are darker forces at play that are kind of using and abusing his attraction to her and her attraction to him." Those forces begin to emerge when David begins treatment with Melanie Bird (Jean Smart), who wants to help him but perhaps not for altruistic purposes. The relationship between Haller and Barrett becomes the key to Haller beginning to find his way out of his own nightmare. Stevens and Keller were forced to break the ice early in the production schedule as they joined other cast members and professional dancers for the Bollywood musical number. Wait, what? Yes, the big musical number, which takes place in Clockwork, is more proof of the "playground" Hawley envisioned "Legion" to be. As much of an odd fit as a Bollywood number may seem, the series' costume and set designs are equally loopy but perhaps even more important to Hawley's crafty manipulation of the show's viewers. The set seems either to have been inspired by the ancient series "Lost in Space," or perhaps a '70s musical variety show. Are we witnessing the story playing out in real time, in the past or in the future? The audience is intentionally left as untethered as Haller. The actors didn't really know when the story was happening, Stevens said, and Hawley didn't care. "It didn't seem to matter to him," he said. "As weird and playful and kind of mischievous as the script (by Hawley) was, it matched the show," Stevens said. "Things that kind of look retro, but there's this kind of retro future thing going on. That's kind of the way comic books exist." How did he react when he saw the set for the first time? "The real world is far, far weirder right now than any 'Legion' set," Stevens sighed. The Lone Star Flight Museum named four new members to its Texas Aviation Hall of Fame Tuesday - including a former president and a 100-year-old Air Force squadron. At the same time, the museum offered a hard-hat tour of its new 130,000-square-foot building, which is scheduled to open later this year. The new hall-of-famers are: President George W. Bush Bush trained as an Air Force pilot in 1968 and '69 at Moody Air Force Base in Georgia, then was stationed at Houston's Ellington Field, where he flew F-102 fighters with the 111th Fighter Interceptor Squadron. He went on to become governor of Texas and, in 2001, president of the United States. He joins his father, George H.W. Bush, and Dwight D. Eisenhower in the hall of fame. Major General Benjamin D. Foulois (1879-1967) Foulois learned to fly in 1910 when he was stationed at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio, then established one of the first military airfields nearby, at what is now Kelly Field Annex. He helped evaluate the first military planes that were purchased from the Wright brothers, and in 1911 he was the first to fly 100 miles nonstop - one of several firsts in his career. Foulois was Chief of the Air Service during World War I and retired as a Major General in 1935. Albert W. "Al" Mooney (1906-1986) A self-taught aircraft designer, Mooney founded Kerrville's Mooney Aircraft Company in 1929. The company exists today, and current Mooney aircraft, famous for their speed, owe a lot to Mooney's original designs. Later, as chief engineer for the Alexander Company, he designed the Bullet, a high-speed aircraft with patented retractable landing gear. Mooney ended his career at Lockheed, where his designs eventually became the Lockheed JetStar, a business jet. The 111th Aero Squadron Now known as the 111th Reconnaissance Squadron, this is a unit of the Texas Air National Guard 147th Reconnaissance Wing based at Ellington Field. It was established in 1917 at San Antonio's Kelly Field, then reformed in 1923 as the 111th Observation Squadron. During World War II, the unit went to North Africa, Sicily and France as the 111th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron, then was deployed to Japan during the Korean War. After the Korean War, the unit returned to Ellington Field as the 111th Fighter Interceptor Squadron. But its glory days kept coming: After Operation Iraqi Freedom, the unit was renamed the 111th Reconnaissance Squadron. The second oldest squadron in the U.S. Air Force, it celebrates its centennial this year. The Texas Aviation Hall of Fame was established in 1997; every year, it honors famous aviators who are Texans and famous Texans who are aviators. Hall-of-famers include Howard Hughes, astronauts Alan Bean and Gene Cernan, Lloyd Bentsen, Tom Landry and the Doolittle Raiders from World War II. This year's four hall-of-famers were selected from more than 60 nominees by a panel of aviation historians and experts. They'll be inducted May 20 at the museum's "Taking Flight" gala. Also Tuesday, the museum offered a tour of its new $38 million facility at Ellington Airport, which is still under construction but is scheduled to open Labor Day weekend. The new museum will house the Hall of Fame, the museum's aviation history displays, and a slate of new interactive exhibits that explore the science of flight. Andrew Jackson, who was born in 1767 and died in 1845, was the seventh president of the United States, serving from 1829 to 1837. He has been likened to Donald Trump, and both have had the label "populist" attached to them. Trump has also moved an 1835 portrait of Jackson into the Oval Office. GALVESTON A passenger died and the pilot and another passenger were rescued after a helicopter crashed into West Galveston Bay, Galveston County Sheriff Henry Trochesset said Tuesday. The names of the pilot and passengers were not immediately available. The helicopter, a Bell 206B manufactured in 1990 and owned by Republic Helicopter Inc. of Santa Fe, made its last radio contact with the company at 7:05 p.m. Monday, said Andy Kendrick, U.S. Coast Guard petty officer. Sgt. Richard Standifer, Texas Department of Public Safety spokesman, said, "It was foggy, so that may have played a role in the ability to navigate the helicopter." National Transportation Safety Board spokesman Eric Weiss said the helicopter crashed about 8 miles west of Scholes International Airport in Galveston. Trochesset said the crash site near the middle of the bay. The Coast Guard also failed to make radio contact and began a rescue operation, dispatching a helicopter and a search boat, Kendrick said. The helicopter was either returning from a survey of the the Eagle Vancouver, a 1,092-foot oil tanker in the Gulf of Mexico. Trochesset said the search operations were initially hampered by fog and that wreckage was discovered about 9:40 p.m. by Sean Welsh, 52, the county building inspector, and his son, Micky Welsh, 17, who were on the bay in their private boat. Welsh said he got a phone call at his home in Spanish Grant, a Galveston subdivision on West Galveston Bay where many homes are equipped with docks. Welsh and his son took their 21-foot boat into the bay and began a search pattern. He sighted the two crash survivors clinging to a fragment of the wreckage poking above the water. Welsh pulled the two survivors into his boat. "They were cold and wet and beat up," Welsh said. He phoned a friend, who called the sheriff's office. When they arrived at the dock an ambulance was waiting to take the survivors to the University of Texas Medical Branch. Sgt. Louie Trochesset, the head of the sheriff's marine division, was also waiting for Welsh. Louie Trochesset returned to the wreck with Welsh, where they received a call from a Coast Guard helicopter that the crew had spotted a body floating near the wreckage. They retrieved the body about 500 yards from the crash site, Henry Trochesset said. Republic Helicopters released a statement Tuesday acknowledging the accident and saying, "We are cooperating fully with the (National Transportation Safety Board) and the (Federal Aviation Administration), whose investigation is ongoing. Please keep our crew and customers in your prayers." Weiss said an NTSB investigator was en route to the crash site early Tuesday and typically would be joined by representatives from the manufacturer, the maker of the engine and the FAA. The investigator will be preserving perishable evidence and searching for electrronicl devices, known as "non-volatile memory units," such as iPads, computer tablets or GPS devices, he said. "Sometimes they can be used to paint an electronic portrait of the last minutes of the flight," Weiss said. Investigators also will be checking radar data, air control data and interviewing witnesses, he said. Normally the initial phase of the investigation takes two to five days, Weiss said. Submitted It's time for some Pirate fun! How I Became a Pirate, adapted from the much-loved book by Melinda Long will have performances in Feb., March, and April at Main Street Theater's Midtown location at the MATCH. Performances are Feb. 11, March 4 and April 22 at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m; and two spring break performances on March 13 and 14 at 10:30 a.m. Main Street Theater offers accommodations performances. The March 4 performance has an audio description opportunity available. Just ask for a headset at Will Call. April 22 at 11 a.m. is the sensory-friendly performance. April 22 at 2 p.m. is the ASL Shadow-Interpreted performance. Harris County Commissioners Court last week awarded a $161,674 contract to a firm that will build sidewalks and pedestrian ramps near seven schools selected in Precinct One's Safe Routes to School Program. Precinct One started the program last year to provide safety to students and parents walking to school in four districts Houston, Spring, Aldine and Pasadena. J. Michael Trevino, a highly accomplished, self-effacing leader clearly remembers his mother writing her first check every month to St. Jude the Catholic patron saint of impossible causes. It is from these stalwart solution-oriented roots, that his legacy has been built. Ileana Trevino, his wife, also a leader in her own right, implores, "I am who I am today because of my mother. I remember my mother writing checks to mission priests in Africa. I also remember going with her to collect donations from neighbors for the American Cancer Society and the Heart Association. She always volunteered and had a true sense of community and giving back." Both leaders are alumni of the American Leadership Forum, an organization committed to joining and strengthening diverse leaders to serve the common good. To acknowledge their service to the community, Ileana and Michael will be recognized with the Public Service Award at the upcoming ALF Joseph Jaworski Leadership Award Dinner on April 26, 2017 at the Houstonian Hotel, Club and Spa. Joining them as honorees are Ann and J. Kent Friedman who will be receiving the Joseph Jaworski Leadership Award. For more information, visit www.alfhouston.org. Ileana and Michael serve the community through countless organizations, including board service with Holocaust Museum Houston, the Mexican Institute of Greater Houston, and Cristo Rey Jesuit High School among many others. In addition, both have served as either chairs or co-chairs of numerous local charity galas including the Holocaust Museum Houston's LBJ Moral Courage Award, Discovery Green, Cristo Rey Jesuit High School, Girls Inc., and SER Jobs for Progress 50th Anniversary, to name a few. Ileana and Michael know that their values of public service are shared by their children Margot, Mari and Miguel. Ileana said, "We are extremely proud that our children share this commitment. Our daughters are cochairing The Living Bank dinner with me. Margot is also involved with Habitat for Humanity and the Bar Association. Our other daughter, Mari was recently elected to the Latin Women's Initiative board. All three kids are members of Heroes in Health, a young professional's organization affiliated with Memorial Hermann, and Mari is Vice Chair of the organization." The three children hope to contribute to building a family legacy of creating possibilities for others. About the American Leadership Forum Celebrating its 35th anniversary, more than 1,200 leaders have participated in a Fellows Program through the American Leadership Forum. ALF brings together leaders whose professional and community commitments are significant. We do this through a yearlong Fellows Program in which leaders can engage in dialogue, explore differences, and build relationships. ALF strengthens Fellows' capacity to address public issues collaboratively and builds a strong leadership network to work for positive change in our community. In addition to the Fellows Program, the American Leadership Forum offers programs to join and strengthen leaders in Houston's medical, public education, criminal justice, workforce development and community development sectors. For more information, please visit alfhouston.org. The ALF Public Service Award is presented annually to honorees who exemplify the American Leadership Forum's (ALF) values of serving the common good. The American Leadership Forum Public Service Award is presented to leaders from the nonprofit or public sector who exemplify the ALF mission. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate A Houston Police Department officer accused in August of intoxicated manslaughter has been allowed to remove his ankle monitor, but not to carry weapons, while he remains out on bail. He must also now comply with alcohol monitoring. Authorities arrested James Combs, of Richmond, on Aug. 16 in connection with the death days prior of 36-year-old Brian Manring, a father of an 8-year-old girl. Combs was allegedly driving his Chevrolet Tahoe on Beechnut drunk when he collided with Manring's vehicle. Combs, who was off-duty at the time of the incident, was placed on paid leave. He left jail on a $100,000 bail a day after his arrest. The conditions of his bond initially included having no firearms, surrendering his passport and not communicating with the victim's family, in addition to the satellite monitoring. Martha Montalvo, who was serving as acting police chief at the time, further indicated an intention to fire him. He had previously been suspended for 60 days in 2012 for failing a random drug test. In subsequent court filings, Combs had requested access to a firearm because it was required for his employment. It stated he was still on paid leave and noted that he had no prior arrests. But a judge on Friday in a Fort Bend County state district court allowed his request to remove the monitor, while modifying the conditions to require the alcohol monitoring, online court records show. Combs's case is set for a hearing at 9 a.m. March 20. Rise Communities, developer of the Katy master-planned community of Cane Island and the Texas 288 master-planned community of Meridiana, has been named Developer of the Year by the Asian American Real Estate Association. Rise Communities was recognized for the quality of its two new communities and for hosting community events which draw families to both Cane Island and Meridiana, according to Dorothy Yee, president of the Asian American Real Estate Association. "The efforts of Rise Communities, including the build out of the Cane Island and Meridiana Amenity Villages ahead of their new homes, certainly caught the attention of our Realtor members," says Yee. Concerts, festivals and other public events in both Cane Island and Meridiana also played a role in selecting Rise Communities for the award, she adds. "We greatly appreciate this award as acknowledgment of our efforts to develop two unique, highly amenitized communities," says Dan Naef, president of Rise Communities. In addition to recognition from the Asian American Real Estate Association, Rise Communities' Cane Island was named 2016 Community of the Year by the Greater Houston Home Builders Association, one of the top honors presented annually by the GHBA. Cane Island also received GHBA PRISM awards for Community Entrance of the Year, Recreation Center of the Year and Landscape Design of the Year. Meridiana is Houston's first master-planned community to incorporate a collection of outdoor learning labs, suitable for all ages, focusing on the earth's movement, the solar system, principles of gravity and velocity, wildlife habitats and more in an unprecedented setting of new homes. Like Cane Island, Meridiana's Amenity Village, complete with several resort-quality features, opened ahead of its new homes. The Asian American Real Estate Association was established in 2003 to educate and promote knowledge of real estate transactions in the Asian American community, establish collaboration between and among Asian American-owned businesses, strengthen the image of Asian American real estate agents, promote the business of real estate through cooperation with every business enterprise and small business owner, proactively protect the rights of its members and all other Asian American real estate agents, provide continuing education through seminars, training sessions and bi-monthly events, and establish global and local networking opportunities for Asian American real estate companies within the U.S. and countries in Asia. FBC ESD No. 2 Fort Bend County Emergency Services District No. 2 and the Willowfork Fire Department announce the start of the construction phase of the district's third fire station at 2700 Spring Green Blvd., Katy, Texas. The new facility will be approximately 13,000 square feet, containing three apparatus bays, firefighter sleeping quarters, an exercise gym and office space for administrative matters of the district and department. A third station is necessary for the district in order to keep pace with growth in the northern part of the district's service area and due to the increase in the number of service calls throughout the district's entire territory. Station No. 3 will primarily serve the surrounding subdivisions of Cardiff Ranch, Cinco Ranch Northwest, Grayson Lakes, Hawk's Landing, Pinemill Ranch, Silver Ranch and Westlake. Fort Bend County Emergency Services District No. 2, which operates the Willowfork Fire Department, recently solicited sealed competitive proposals for the construction project. On Sept. 28, 2016, the district's board approved a $3.9 million construction contract with Teal Construction Co. as the general contractor for the project. Construction funding is being managed through the district's cash reserves and no borrowed funds will be necessary to complete this project which will save the taxpayers having to incur additional interest expense. Katy school board trustee Charles Griffin will not run for re-election when his second term expires in May 2018. Griffin, who has served on the board since 2012, is planning to voluntarily vacate his seat because he might not be eligible to run for another term and also because he doesn't desire to continue serving past 2018. "I don't think anybody should be on a school board past six years," Griffin said. "I think you should have six years to make your mark and then let somebody else try." Griffin said that when his term expires, he and his wife could move to a house in Sealy that the couple is having built on a family farm. About a year and a half ago, the couple sold their house in south Katy, and Griffin said they have been permanently living at his father's house three miles north. It's possible that they could buy another house in Katy or move somewhere else in Houston and only use the Sealy house as a "weekend house," Griffin said, or they could be in Sealy permanently. Either way, Griffin's permanent move outside of Katy would mean that he could no longer serve as a KISD trustee, even if he wanted to. The Texas Education Code says trustees must live within the school districts they serve in order to be eligible to run for an election, and that they must continue living in the school district they represent. "It's a qualification to hold the office," said Leslie Story, senior attorney at the Texas Association of School Boards, which represents school boards statewide and gives them counsel. "The law says that a board member that ceases to reside in the district vacates their office." Despite eligibility, Griffin said he is not interested in serving another term partially because his four children have now all graduated from Katy ISD, with the youngest having begun college at the University of Houston last fall. "When you have kids in the school district, you have your finger on the pulse a lot," Griffin said. "Once my kids are all gone, I have other things to do. Your focus now is not as heavy as it was when they're at school. I'm still working hard (as a trustee), but my finger is not nearly on the pulse as much as when they were at the schools." Griffin said he has known since 2012 that he would only likely serve two terms. He also believes his plans to leave the board does not make his role there insignificant. He also said he would consider resigning before his term is over if "someone that's really strong wanted to be on the board for the right reasons." If a trustee has one or more years left in his/her term, then the vacancy is required to be filled within six months by an appointment or special election, according to Story. If the vacancy happens within the year of the expiring term, the seat can be filled by an appointed successor who could then run in the next election. This year, trustees Ashley Vann, Courtney Doyle and Henry Dibrell all have terms that are expiring. All three have filed for a May re-election. Along with Griffin, trustee Brian Michalsky's term expires in 2018, while trustees Rebecca Fox and George Scott's terms expire in 2019. Fox, who is the board president, said Griffin is still important to the board's mission even if it's known now that he'll voluntarily step down in 2018. "It doesn't change how I feel about it, and he's still a vital board member," Fox said. "He's valued and his input is valued. That's one and a half years away. "I believe that you should serve as long as you continue to serve to the best of your ability - as long as the board member is deeply engaged and involved and contributing at a high level." Schlotzsky's opens new location in Sugar Land Schlotzsky's opened its newest location in Houston at 12230 West Lake Houston Parkway Suite 275 on Feb. 2. The Houston location is owned by Nik Bhakta. This is his first Schlotzsky's location with plans to open additional locations in the Houston area in the coming years. Schlotzsky's offers more than 15 different signature sandwiches, as well as gourmet pizzas, made-to-order tossed salads, a variety of soups and desserts. The new restaurant's hours will be 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. every day of the week. To reach the restaurant, call (832) 233-1223. Chamber Welcomes Stripes Convenient Stores Stripes Convenient Stores recently held the grand opening of its new location in Missouri City at 3818 Cartwright Road, which added 30 new jobs to the community. The Stripe Store features food offered by Laredo Taco Co. with a dining area that seats 28, and an outdoor patio that seats 20. The store also includes 16 Sunoco Branded Fuel dispensers. Stripes Convenient Stores presented a $1,000 check to Fort Bend ISD as an investment to the community, allowing Stripes Convenient Stores to continue with its "giving" tradition when a new store opens. The grand opening concluded with a ribbon-cutting certificate given to Eddie Rowe, general manager of the Stripes Convenient Store, by Central Fort Bend Chamber Ambassador, Mark Smith, who said, "On behalf of the Central Fort Bend Chamber, we wish you the best and we are excited for the success that is to come". Visit www.stripesstores.com for information. Learn to market with videos The Fort Bend Chamber of Commerce's Business & Professional Division is hosting "Use Video to Dominate Your Market: Learn the 12 Steps to Dominate Your Market By Using Videos" with Christina Hawkins at the Fort Bend Chamber of Commerce, 445 Commerce Green Blvd., Sugar Land on Wednesday, Feb. 8, from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Member reservation is $25. Prospective member is $35. Presenting sponsor is $300. Lunch is included. Details of upcoming events can be found at www.FortBendChamber.com or contact Dewan Clayborn at Dewan@fortbendcc.org or 281-566-2163. Selena Gomez revisits her Texas neighborhood in documentary Gomez is shown spending time with a childhood friend in her hometown. World Academics to Debate the Ethics of Fur at Oxford Contact: Dr. Sam Calvert, SC Marketing Communications, +44 (0)1782 505430, +44 (0)7967 042050, sam@samcalvert.plus.com OXFORD, Feb. 6, 2017 / Christian Newswire / -- Top academics from around the world will debate the ethics of the international fur trade at a Summer School at St. Stephen's House, Oxford , from 23-26 July, 2017. Philosophers, theologians, and ethicists will be among academics from more than 12 countries, including the US, India, Croatia, China, Brazil, Spain, Austria, Canada, Ireland, Estonia, Finland, and Italy. The fur industry is a multi-million pound, multinational business, responsible for the deaths of tens of million animals, especially mink and fox every year. The task of the Summer School will be to interrogate and analyse the ethical claims of the fur industry. The Summer School on the Ethics of Fur is being organised by the Oxford Centre for Animal Ethics in partnership with Respect for Animals Educational Trust . The Centre pioneers ethical perspectives on animals through academic research, teaching, and publication. "We are making history," said Centre Director the Revd Professor Andrew Linzey, "since this is the first academic gathering worldwide on this issue." Speakers include: Dr. Natalie Thomas, The Seal Hunt in Canada (University of Guelph-Humber); Laura Donnellan, Cat and Dog Fur Regulation (University of Limerick); Pei F. Su and Yuan-Chih, Lung, The Chinese Fur Industry and its Global Position (ACTAsia, and Tsinghua University); Dr. Darren Calley, An Analysis of the WTO Fur Seals Ruling (University of Essex); Professor Boris Bakota, Croatian Legislation Ends the Breeding of Chinchillas for Fur (University of Osijek, Croatia); Kumud Kant Awasthi, Fur Farming in India (National Institute of Animal Welfare, India); Dr. Margarita Carretero-Gonzalez, And Some We Wear: The Sexual Politics of Fur (University of Granada, Spain); Simon Brooman, Fur, Law, and Politics (Liverpool John Moores University), and Dr. Leticia Albuquerque, Dr. Paula Brugger, and Gabriela Franziska, The Fur Trade in Brazil: Changing Legislation (Federal University of Santa Catarina, Brazil). To help facilitate international attendees, the call for papers has been extended until 15 March, 2017. Information about the call for papers and registration is available at www.oxfordanimalethics.com/what-we-do/summer-school-2017 , or email Clair Linzey at depdirector@oxfordanimalethics.com For more press information, please contact: Dr. Sam Calvert SC Marketing Communications sam@samcalvert.plus.com +44 (0)1782 505430 +44 (0)7967 042050 Notes to editors The Oxford Centre for Animal Ethics is an independent centre, founded in 2006. Its Director, Professor Andrew Linzey is a member of the Faculty of Theology in the University of Oxford. The Centre has more than 100 Fellows drawn from a variety of academic disciplines from throughout the world. See The Oxford Centre for Animal Ethics is an independent centre, founded in 2006. Its Director, Professor Andrew Linzey is a member of the Faculty of Theology in the University of Oxford. The Centre has more than 100 Fellows drawn from a variety of academic disciplines from throughout the world. See www.oxfordanimalethics.com Respect for Animals Educational Trust works internationally to raise consciousness of the suffering inherent in the fur trade. Its Director, Mark Glover is the recipient of the Lord Erskine award from the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. For more information about Respect for Animals, please contact Mark Glover on +44 (0)115 952 5440 or see Respect for Animals Educational Trust works internationally to raise consciousness of the suffering inherent in the fur trade. Its Director, Mark Glover is the recipient of the Lord Erskine award from the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. For more information about Respect for Animals, please contact Mark Glover on +44 (0)115 952 5440 or see www.respectforanimals.co.uk/home St Stephen's House is an Anglican Theological College and Hall of the University of Oxford. See St Stephen's House is an Anglican Theological College and Hall of the University of Oxford. See www.ssho.ox.ac.uk Share Tweet Thanks to a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts, Fort Bend Symphony Orchestra continues its 25th season with a performance both composed and performed by living composers and artists from Texas. This concert celebrates the range of Texas' contemporary classical composers, from seasoned to student, with two new works honoring "Texas, Our Texas." The 2 p.m. concert will be Sunday, Feb. 19, at the Stafford Centre, 10505 Cash Road in Stafford. The first new orchestral work, "Rumba Transfigurada," is a student commission by Alejandro Basulto, who studies at the Moores School of Music at the University of Houston, where he is the assistant director of the ensemble AURA. Originally from Mexico, he holds a degree in composition from the Conservatorio de las Rosas and graduated in film scoring and orchestra conducting from the Escola Superior de Musica de Catalunya in Spain. He is the winner of national and international awards for composition. The second new work, "A Letter from a Mother to Her Son," an art song for soprano and orchestra, is a commission from John Grimmett. Just 28 years old, Grimmett is an accomplished composer-lyricist, librettist, playwright and poet who divides his time between Pearland and New York City. In Pearland, he directs the junior high school's theater group and two other area theatre/arts groups. In New York City, Grimmett is an accomplished and award-winning composer of musical theater and art songs as well as solo instrumental, chamber and choral works. Grimmett comments on his new work, "In A Letter from a Mother to Her Son, my collaborator Jason Carlson has given me a text where words have staying power. Dismayed over a recent statistic that 40 percent of homeless youth are LGBTQ (and the leading cause of their homelessness is "familial rejection"), Jason and I sought to write a piece about hope, tolerance and acceptance, three aspects of the human condition needed desperately in today's trying times. Jason's text is sparse but emotionally charged, and his text inspires my musical imagination to take flight. I hope 'A Letter from a Mother to Her Son' unites many different experiences and perspectives. Relationships are hard work: any mother, father, sister, brother, in-law, or second husband can tell you that." Completing the "Texas, Our Texas" homage is FBSO's performance of the award-winning "Push" by Rob Smith, associate professor of music composition at the University of Houston Moores School of Music, and the director of the AURA Contemporary Ensemble. Originally scored for wind ensemble, this orchestral version of "Push" was commissioned by the Syracuse University Symphony Orchestra, and won the Minneapolis Pops Orchestra's New Repertoire Award in 2011. Both of the Houston Music Teacher Association concerto competition winners, Bethany Bobbs on cello and Daniel Cheng on piano, along with Nicholas Perkyns on cello, winner of the 2017 Fort Bend Symphony Orchestra Marielle Ogletree Concerto Competition, will perform during the program. The concert will wrap up with a small group concerto to complete the "artists" part of the celebration. Tickets begin at $15 for adults. Children 12 and under are $5 each, and teens are $10 per ticket. Discounts are available for college students, seniors 55 and over, military personnel, and groups of 10 or more. Tickets are available at www.fbso.org or by calling 281-276-9642. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate SAN ANTONIO A former Austin-area teacher will not have to register as a sex offender after pleading guilty last week to two counts of improper relationship between an educator and a student, officials said. Haeli Wey, 29, agreed to a plea bargain Friday where she will serve 10 years of deferred adjudication probation and must complete 200 hours of community service. She must also have no contact with the two 17-year-old victims, said Nancy Williams with the Travis County District Attorneys Office. The probation office is conducting a pre-sentencing investigation to verify she qualifies for probation. Her official sentencing is set for March 10, Williams said. RELATED: Police: High school teacher had sex with 2 students she met on missionary trip, Austin summer camp Williams said the defendant will not have to register as a sex offender. According to previous reports, one of the victims told police he had sex with Wey about 10 times, with the encounters occurring after the two met in a ministry program in Africa. When they returned from the trip, the student would sneak out of his house to go to Weys home, where they would have sex. The two would also have sex in her car. She also sent him nude and suggestive photos of herself in her underwear, according to previous reports. This relationship ended after the student learned Wey went on a hike with another student she had met at summer camp. She allegedly had sexual contact with the second student during that hike, the previous reports said. RELATED: Gov. Abbott, new bill target growing teacher-student sex trend in Texas The second student did not know Wey was a teacher until he saw her at Westlake High School. Rumors of the two began swirling around Westlake High School that they had been having sex, the report said. She also allegedly told the student to delete messages on his phone and to not let anyone take his phone, according to the arrest affidavit. A spokesperson for Eanes Independent School District in Austin confirmed that Wey surrendered her teaching certification following her arrest. Text "Breaking" to 48421 for breaking news alerts from mySA.com twhite@mysa.com Twitter: @tylerlwhite This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate FBISD Parents invited to attend Care to Chat Speakers Series on Friday, Feb. 10 Fort Bend ISD's Parent and Community Engagement Department will partner with Memorial Hermann Hospital, Sugar Land and the Fort Bend YMCA to present its second Care to Chat Speaker Series. The adults-only event will be held Friday, February 10, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., at the Fort Bend YMCA, 4433 Cartwright Road, Missouri City. The lunch-time event will focus on the theme, "Stress and Your Child's Health," and will feature the following presentations: Stress Less, Live More, presented Dr. Shelena Lalji Anxiety, Stress and Stomachaches, by Kalpesh Thakkar, M.D. Yoga and Breathing Exercises, presented by the Fort Bend YMCA Seating for the event is limited and registration is required. To register, call 713-222-2273 (CARE). Lunch will be provided and all attendees will receive a free gift. Have hair cut to benefit cancer patients "Go Light for Those Who Fight" makes it easy to donate hair for community members fighting illnesses that have led to hair loss. Organized by the staff of Needville Elementary, the event takes place from 7 to 8 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 9, at the high school auditorium. Several hairstylists will be on hand to cut the hair, but will not style donors' hair. The hair will be donated to Pantene Beautiful Lengths, a program which creates human-hair wigs for women undergoing cancer treatments, and Wigs for Kids, which provides free hair replacement systems and support for children who have lost their hair due to various medical issues. Hair must be at least 8 inches for Pantene donations or at least 12 inches for Wigs for Kids donations. Donors need to bring a ponytail holder for the hair that's being donated. "We want to support those who have fought, are fighting, or who have been there to support a loved one during their fight," said Stacey Stavinoha, elementary school principal. "They are all invited to attend. At 8 o'clock we will take a group picture with these heroes, family members and donating individuals. Anyone who has donated in the past can be there as well for the picture. Basically, it's open to anyone in our community." Cancer survivor Wendy Jordan will package the donations and send them to Pantene and Wigs for Kids. Stavinoha said individuals who want to join in the effort, but are unable to attend the event and have their hair cut earlier in the day will be responsible for sending off their own donations. The idea for "Go Light" was born when two years ago, when elementary school teacher Angela Naik was diagnosed with cancer. She has since been declared cancer-free. "We, at Needville Elementary, watched her go through her fight and remain positive and strong through it all," Stavinoha said. "Even though she endured many treatments, she still was at school when she could be, and gave 100 percent when she was there for her students. She was such a role model for all as she faced this chapter in her life." At the time, Stavinoha, who has had waist-length hair since high school, and other staff members discussed donating their tresses for those she said they consider heroes: individuals in the community who have fought illnesses that have led to hair loss. The idea was put on hold for a while, but Stavinoha said that's a good thing because it has evolved to include everyone. "It has grown into a bigger idea, to invite the community to participate by donating their hair and/or having the heroes in our community honored at 'Go Light for Those Who Fight'," Stavinoha said. "We wanted to open it up to everyone, instead of just doing it at our school." Needville Middle School students remember soldiers Thirty-four soldiers returning from deployment felt a little more loved and appreciated thanks to the students at Needville Middle School. The entire campus participated in the Single Soldier Project after learning about it from math teacher Deidra Stewart, whose cousin spearheaded the effort at Fort Drum, N.Y. "My cousin's husband, Adam, was on his fourth or fifth deployment and when they were coming back, she realized those soldiers with families would have people there to greet them with signs and hugs, and take them home, but 146 of them would be alone," Stewart said. "Those single soldiers are taken to empty barracks where they have only the bare necessities." So, Stewart's cousin, Valerie Hodges, decided to do something to let those soldiers know they are not alone, and the project came to life just as Needville Middle School students were learning about and preparing for Veteran's Day. Hodges and her fellow volunteers at Fort Drum filled a laundry basket for each single soldier with assorted snacks, water and soft drinks, a pillow, sheets, a blanket, a USO personal toiletry kit, laundry detergent, toilet paper, a towel and washcloth, paper towels, paper plates, plastic utensils, and a welcome-home card. "It's everything they need to get them through the first 48 hours after returning home," Stewart said. The cost of each basket was $30, and the students at Needville Middle School donated enough money for 34 baskets. "We had enough for a basket from every homeroom teacher's class, and the extras were sent from the middle school in general," Stewart said. "To me, it was amazing that we raised that much money. The kids were really excited about it." Stewart said the students wanted to make sure the soldiers had the necessities that most people take for granted every day. "These kids' patriotism and good citizenship really shone through. They really care about the people who risk their lives for us every day," said Stewart. "I'm really, really proud of our kids; they stepped up and delivered." Highlands celebrates 30th anniversary Highlands Elementary will celebrate its 30th anniversary on Thursday, Feb. 9, at 6 p.m. All former teachers, students, and the community are invited to help commemorate the occasion. The event will include a time for former teachers, students and parents to connect followed by a public program. The celebration will be held at the school 2022 Colonist Park Drive, Sugar Land. Highlands opened in 1986, under the leadership of Rodney E. LeBoeuf, then-superintendent of Fort Bend ISD. For more information on the Highlands Elementary 30th anniversary event, contact the school at 281-634-4160. FBISD sends 4 teams to Texas Academic Decathlon Fort Bend ISD will be well-represented at state competition for the Texas Academic Decathlon. Four teams advanced out of district competition - Clements, Dulles and Ridge Point high schools from the "Large Schools" group, and Elkins High School from the "Medium Schools" group. State competition will be held from Feb. 24-26 in San Antonio for large schools and El Paso for medium schools. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate An elderly couple in San Angelo, Texas are accused of setting their house on fire Friday to draw in police so that they could kill them. Gary Ray Wright, 67, and his wife, Brenda Joyce Wright, 60, reportedly had an ongoing feud with the San Angelo Police Department and plotted to shoot any officers who came by. "Brenda Joyce Wright detailed how she and her husband had become frustrated with life," an affidavit obtained by Standard-Times reports. "The couple was dissatisfied over how a recent traffic accident had been investigated with the San Angelo Police Department. The couple viewed this as the 'last straw' and decided to put into motion a plan the couple had been planning for several weeks." ON FIRE: Brothers accused of setting fire to Porter home in retaliation Brenda Joyce Wright hid in the bathroom, armed with a shotgun, but the smoke from the fire became suffocating and she was unable to carry out the plan. Her husband, Gary Ray Wright, called 911 and told an operator they intended to cause a standoff with police. A day earlier he also called San Angelo TV station KLST to communicate his plans so they could send reporters to the scene. When police arrived at the scene, Gary Ray Wright approached them, armed with a rifle. When he ignored police requests to drop the firearm, police shot him. TRAFFIC: Truck crash, fire snarls North Loop in NW Houston The two were taken to a nearby hospital, although no details on his condition have been released. Breand Joyce Wright is currently at Tom Green County Jail facing first-degree felony charges. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Christopher Duntsch, the former neurosurgeon known for saying he wanted to "leave the love and kindness and goodness and patience" and "become a cold-blooded serial killer," is on trial in Dallas. Monday, jurors saw video of his former roommate, Jerry Summers, describe how his life has been impacted as a result of a botched 2012 neck surgery, which Duntsch, 45, performed at Baylor RegionalMedical Center of Plano. Duntsch is accused of intentionally mishandling several surgeries, including Summers', which led to serious injuries and the death of two patients. Summers had to be interviewed at his Memphis home in January because he wasn't fit to travel to Dallas for the trial. The Dallas Morning News reported that Summers can "shrug his shoulders" but still "can't move his legs or arms." He reportedly needs a harness tied around his neck "used like a joystick to turn his wheelchair." LAWSUIT: Texas dentist facing child indecency charges sues son for calling him an 'abusive pedophile' online "I don't remember feeling any pain," Summers testified in the video. "I just couldn't move. It just feels like your body weighs about 10,000 pounds and you can't pick it up." Summers has had other complications arise since he's been confined to the wheelchair, including a crash that left him with a broken leg. web site The two had been friends since junior high but fell out of touch after high school. The two reunited years later, when Summers offered to be the doctor's driver and roommate. TEACHER HUSH MONEY: Texas student accused of blackmailing teacher for $28,000 after alleged sexual relationship The anesthesiologist who monitored Summers during the 2012 surgery, Dr. Joy Gathe-Ghermay, testified that Summers lost an abnormal amount of blood. Other dangerously botched surgeries This is far from the only distressing case to emerge from Duntsch's professional history in Texas. One of his patients, Kellie Martin, died in July 2012, after he performed spinal surgery on her. Emotional testimony revealed she'd been in intense pain, and that Duntsch had told her husband she would be fine. Floella Brown, another of his former patients, was found unresponsive in her hospital room in 2012, the Texas Observer reported. She reportedly died of severe blood loss and a stroke after a cervical fusion surgery. That outlet obtained Texas Medical Board records that stated: "(Duntsch) removed a bone from an area that was not required by any clinical or anatomical standards, resulting in injury to the vertebral artery." RELIEF: Doctor removes 130-pound tumor from Mississippi man He's also accused of intentionally harming "up to 15 patients who underwent spinal surgery from 2011 to 2013, when the Texas Medical Board revoked his medical license." Duntsch moved to Dallas to start a neurosurgery practice in 2010, the Texas Observer reported. According to that outlet, physicians complained to the Texas Medical Board and hospital staff: "They used phrases like 'the worst surgeon I've ever seen.'" He was also reportedly called a "sociopath" who had "no recognition of the proper anatomy." One doctor reportedly told the outlet that "it seemed Duntsch had learned everything perfectly just so he could do the opposite. Another doctor compared Duntsch to Hannibal Lecter three times in eight minutes." COMING UP: Medistar, Bay Area Regional Medical Center to build new surgery center In 2015, a court hearing about his bail revealed unsettling evidence against the once-promising doctor. A disturbing email sent in December 2011, reads, in part: "I am ready to leave the love and kindness and goodness and patience that I mix with everything else that I am and become a cold blooded killer." He sent the four-page email to one of his former employees, with whom he allegedly had a "personal relationship." He faces five counts of aggravated assault causing serious bodily injury, as well as one count of injury to a child, elderly or disabled person. See video above for a look at new practices that could help stroke patients. Two men are in custody after police say they were caught trying to burglarize a Houston bank early Tuesday. Shortly after midnight, Houston police responded to a burglar alarm at a Chase bank in west Houston in the 9800 block of Westheimer, Lt. Larry Crowson said. Though the burglars had left, officers found a broken window and signs of an attempt to pry open the ATM. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate After weeks of debate and an outpouring of public opinion, the U.S. Senate voted Tuesday 51-50 to confirm Betsy DeVos as the nation's new education secretary. The vote was the first time in history a vice president had broken a tie vote for a cabinet position. Many voters expressed outrage at DeVos' potential appointment in the weeks leading up to the confirmation vote. They cited her work in Michigan to expand voucher programs, which see tax-payer money follow typically lower-income students to private schools, as well as her statements lambasting public education. During a 2015 speech she gave at Austin's SXSW education convention, she said the traditional American public school system, as it exists now, is a "dead end." WHO IS SHE: Things to know about Betsy DeVos, the Secretary of Education She, her family and her foundations have also contributed millions to senators who ended up voting to confirm her, including Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL), Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) and Sen. Bill Cassidey (R-LA). Neither of Texas' senators received money directly from DeVos or her family. But Texas Sen. John Cornyn was among the elected officials to get an earful from those opposed to DeVos. POWER BROKER: Details about presidential adviser Steve Bannon's life, career Of more than 31,000 reactions on a Facebook status Cornyn posted Monday evening announcing he would vote to confirm DeVos, more than 25,000 Facebook users reacted with anger as of Tuesday morning. The most liked comment to his post read: "Lifelong Republican and more importantly, true conservative no longer voting for you. Very disappointed." Erika Klein, a mother of four children ranging from ages 8 to 15 who all attend Conroe ISD schools, said she called Cornyn, Sen. Ted Cruz and U.S. Rep. Kevin Brady at least 10 times a week leading up to DeVos' confirmation. She said she's an independent voter who leans Democratic and did not vote for Trump. "There are actually proven models for public education in other countries, and Betsy DeVos doesn't know any of that and has no experience in public education," Klein said. "To hand over the future of my four children and 59 million public school children is appalling." DESTRUCTIVE OFFER: Trump offers to end Texas state senator's career Klein said it was difficult - if not impossible - to speak to anyone in the senators' offices. Sometimes their voice-mailboxes would be full. Another time she waited on hold for more than an hour. The only way she could get through to an answering machine for Ted Cruz was by calling his Houston office. Linda McSpadden McNeil, a professor of education and director of Rice University's Center for Education, said the public outcry is greater than it has been for past education secretaries but is not surprising due to DeVos' controversial stances. She said the danger of DeVos leading the U.S. Department of Education is a combination of potential neglect and damage. "She has no knowledge or interest in many of the official functions of the office, but then we know she has also - through her dollars and efforts in Michigan - done everything she can to fund legislators who will defund public education and shift public tax dollars to private schools," McSpadden McNeil said. "I think the danger is, some people are just looking wholesale at all things she doesn't know. I'm looking at it as there's the potential, not just potential, but she said she will neglect and fail to enforce and fail to implement things her office is in charge of." But John Kirtley, vice-chairman of American Federation for Children and the founder of the nonprofit that distributes Florida tax-credit scholarships, which essentially work as vouchers, said fears about DeVos are over-blown. He said her detractors are wrong about her commitment to accountability, especially when it comes to vouchers and private schools. "I worked with Betsy Devos for 20 years on this very subject, and I'll tell you she's not popular with people in the choice movement because she believes strongly in accountability," Kirtley said. "Kids (who receive vouchers) have to take a state assessment or a nationally-normed reference test." U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz said the DeVos confirmation is welcome news for students and parents in Texas and across our great nation. "DeVos brings decades of remarkable experience advocating for policies and programs that empower families and remove barriers to academic choice," Cruz said in a statement. "Most importantly, she will fight to take power away from the bureaucrats in Washington D.C. and return it to where it belongs to parents and teachers back home in our local school districts." >>>Scroll through the above gallery to see a listing of things to know about new Education Secretary Betsy Devos Come March, those looking to float the Guadalupe River will have a new outlet to fill their floating needs Seguin Tubes. The tubing outfitter, owned by Kris Bolstad and located at 2006 Stockdale Highway, is slated to open next month, just in time for Spring Break around March 16. This will be Bolstad's second tubing outlet, his first is Comal Tubes in New Braunfels, which he's owned for six years, he told mySA.com. Foundry Tobacco Company is once again bringing new life to an old brand. Today the subsidiary under General Cigar announced it is bringing back a re-imaged version of the legendary Jamaican brand, the Temple Hall Estates Collection. The new Temple Hall Estates Collection becomes the third major installment of the FTC Heritage Series a series of re-imaged legendary brands. The Temple Hall Collection pays homage to the Temple Hall Factory. It was during World War II when England wanted to keep its currency within the commonwealth to support the war effort. Given the British were one of the largest buyers of Cuban Cigars, many Cuban cigar masters went to Jamaica (a part of the British Commonwealth) to support this market. As a result the Temple Hall Factory grew substantially. After Castro nationalized the Cuban cigar business, Ramon Cifuentes, the father of Partagas, assumed the day-to-day operation of the Jamaican factory. Eventually, Temple Hall was acquired by General Cigar in the 1960s. Seeing the potential in Cifuentes, General Cigar Chairman Edgar Cullman brought him to the Dominican Republic where he played key role in cigar making there. According to Justin Andrews, sales manager for Foundry Tobacco Company, Temple Hall Estates pays homage to the factory in Jamaica, and the people who shared Ramon Cifuentes love for the art of cigar making. This new line is made in Santiago, DR, according to the techniques set forth at Temple Hall by Ramon. The cigar features a Connecticut Shade wrapper over a Mexican San Andres binder, and a filler consisting proprietary Dominican Piloto Cubano leaves grown in Mao, DR and harvested from all three grades (volado, seco and ligero) as well Mexican San Andrean tobacco. The cigar adds a mild / smooth smoke into the FTC Heritage Series which includes the reimaged Ramon Allones and Bolivar lines. Following the lead of the FTC Ramon Allones and Bolivar releases, the packaging and banding for Temple Hall Estates Collection is an updated version that was inspired from the original Temple Hall Estates is now shipping to retailers. Plans are to support the rollout with a series of in-store educational events starting in March. At a glance, here is a look at the Foundry Temple Hall Estates Collection: Blend Profile Wrapper: Connecticut Shade Binder: Mexican San Andres Filler: Proprietary Dominican Piloto Cubano from Mao (Volado, Seco, and Ligero), Mexican San Andres Country of Origin: Dominican Republic (General Cigar Dominicana) Vitolas Available 5 1/2 x 49 (SRP $6.99) 6 x 50 (SRP $7.49) 5 1/4 x 54 (SRP $7.99) 7 1/2 x 49 (SRP $8.49) Photo Credits: General Cigar Company Eric Gay/STF AUSTIN A dozen Republicans in the Texas House want the states biggest business lobby to retract a report it published last year warning of dire economic consequences if lawmakers passed the so-called bathroom bill. They took issue with a Texas Association of Business report, released in December, which estimated that the state could lose $8.5 billion in economic activity and shed 185,000 jobs if legislators approved Senate Bill 6 or something like it. 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. Those who follow Kafie 1901 Cigars know the passion of its owner and founder Dr. Gaby Kafie when it comes to both his brand and the cigar industry. Now Kafie is ready to take that passion to the next level with the opening of his new premium cigar factory Tabacalera G. Kafie y Cia. The factory is located in Danli, Honduras, the country Kafies family has a history dating back to 1901. It was Kafies passion for cigars that led him in 2013 to launch Kafie Trading Company LLC and his handmade premium cigar brand, Kafie 1901 Cigars. Not only did he want a brand to reflect his own passion, but he wanted a brand to represent his familys heritage. Therefore, it was an easy decision to select Honduras as the place to produce his cigar. To accomplish his goals, Kafie made a decision to partner with one of the oldest cigar factories in Honduras, Tabacalera Puros Aliados. This is the factory founded by the late Rolando Reyes Sr. According to Kafie, Working with this factory allowed me to dive in and begin to create blends from a factory that already had infrastructure in place for over 25 years. The process, methods, and materials used at this factory are as traditional as it gets in the cigar making process. The family, Dona Oneida, Don Enrique, and their sons really treated me like family. We enjoyed working with one another, and I enjoyed learning everything I could from them. As he grew his portfolio to four lines, Kafie established a strong partnership with the Reyes family. Concurrently, Kafie continued to grow as a cigar maker. His passion for the industry fueled his desire to become more creative and innovative while producing high quality premium cigars. This lead to the decision to open Tabacalera G. Kafie y Cia. Tabacalera G. Kafie y Cia is an intimate facility and its perfect for Kafie to remain hands on for the cigars he produces. He purchased a 2000 square foot building to be the home for the factory. While an intimate setting, it includes modern amenities such as air-conditioning and a draw test machine. At the same time, he also went through an extensive process to acquire some of the best experienced cigar workers in Honduras. This process not only allows Kafie to staff his factory with the best talent, but also a way to create and keep jobs in Honduras. Heading up the day to day operations of the factory is Oscar Orlando Ferrera. Ferrera has his own cigar brand known as Tabacos San Jeronimo, a brand Kafie Trading Company LLC will handle distribution beginning in 2017. The factory will have a staff of twenty which will include 12 rollers (or 6 parejas a.k.a. pairs) two master blenders, one leaf buyer, and a maestro to handle fermentation activities. Kafie is targeting production out of the factory to be about 150,000 cigars a year. The new facility will also feature a 100% Spanish cedar aging room that will be a core component to the operations. All Kafie 1901 Cigars will be aged a minimum of three to six months prior to packaging and shipping. Kafies goal will be to stay ahead of production at all times and keep about 30,000 to 40,000 cigars in the aging room. Tabacalera G. Kafie y Cia is now up and running. Tobaccos used for his blends are fermenting and he is ready to move full steam ahead. Production of the Kafie 1901 Don Fernando Maduro, Kafie 1901 Connecticut, Kafie 1901 Sumatra, and the recently launched Kafie 1901 San Andres will transition to the factory. Each of the four blends were created using tobaccos personally selected by Kafie and this will continue as production transitions to the new factory. At this point, we will not be involved in growing tobacco. We feel there is an abundance of quality tobacco to choose from in Central America, commented Kafie. In terms of distribution, Kafie 1901 Cigars will continue to follow his strict philosophy of selling only to brick and mortar retailers. Our success as a company has come from supporting Brick and Mortar cigar shops, our loyalty lies with them, and we hope to continue to grow in a manner where quality is at the forefront, commented Kafie. Kafie and his company have also been staunch supporters of Cigar Rights of America. Each box produced out the factory will not only have the Tabacalera G. Kafie y Cia name on it, but will now feature the new CRA stamp. This stamp will demonstrate the companys commitment to the grassroots organization. In addition Kafie Trading Company LLC produces a specialty grade organic coffee from Honduras called Kafie 1901 Coffee. A portion of the proceeds from the sale of that company is also being donated to Cigar Rights of America. Kafie is quite grateful for reaching this point as a cigar maker. Concurrently, he is excited about the future. He commented, We would like to take the time to thank the Reyes family, our loyal Brick & Mortar tobacconists, all cigar media, and all of our customers, for the support and love they have all demonstrated to us. We are focused and determined to stay true to the craft, and to continue to support all of you that have helped us along the way. Photo / Image Credit: Kafie Trading Company LLC 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. If the best journalistic design reflects its subject, then newspaper and magazine designers in the Trump era are appropriately thinking in bold strokes, multi-column headlines, and tons of yellow and orange hues. But one of their biggest challenges is telegraphing which story takes priority, since all of them do. Everything is must-see and must-know: The Trump presidencywith its unorthodox approach to how official news is presented (often on Twitter), the speed with which events develop, and the chaos surrounding the whole circusputs us in an unprecedented time in history. For designers, its an opportunity to showcase our crafts role in signaling the significance of news, presenting it in an easy-to-find and easy-to-understand manner, and yet allowing for readers to feel the impact of each new development. A CJR review of newspapers, magazines, and websites around the world suggests news designers are embracing the challenge. Here are a few highlights of our global tour: Big, bigger, biggest headlines Even traditional publications such as The New York Times and The Washington Post, which tend to save multi-column headlines for stories of major significance, have displayed larger headlines more oftenin print and onlinesince the inauguration of President Trump. Its tough to see the one-column headlines when the news agenda is packed with stories that compete for top billing. Take a look at these multi-column headlines from WashingtonPost.com. Sign up for CJR 's daily email Meantime, The New York Times carried a six-column headline in all capsJudge Blocks Trump Order on Refugeeson the cover of its late print edition on January 29, a treatment we dont see too often and which alerts us to a story of major significance. The Times used the same template two days later for a headline about Trump firing the acting attorney general. RELATED: Donald and Melania Trumps relationship through a lens Is it possible that newspaper editors and designers are too fast out of the gate with their boldest, biggest, and widest treatments for stories? What will happen as more major developments continue to fill the news agenda? One wonders how often this strategy can be utilized before it loses its impactanother major challenge on the mind of news designers. Design in the era of Trump What is the visual storyteller to do? How does one apply the essential rules of design: Make it easy to read, make it easy to find, and make it easy on the eyes? Since the same stories are going to appear in a variety of outlets, the designer has the ultimate challenge: to seduce visually with a story that may already be known. Good designers answer the call. Take, for example, the Spanish daily ABC and its front-page story about the elimination of Spanish-language material from the White House website. Designers used the most unique letter in the Spanish alphabet to show the significance of the story in a fashion that contrasted starkly with other newspapers that day. For news designers, the color palette is the easy part. Everything about Trump relies on two powerful huesorange and yellow. Caricatures have never been more popular. I think newspapers have seen caricature as an obvious response to Trump because he is such a caricature of a man, says Matt Kelly, editor of the UKs The New European, in an email. We also see a lot red, white, and blue, and American flags, as in these pages from The New European, Aftenposten (Norway) and The Telegraph (UK). The Washington Post commissioned Ben Kirchner to draw a full-body Donald Trump, with a cropped version serving as a social media card for Election Night. The image depicts a pleasant, if not flattering, image of President Trump, including a half smile. The Posts illustrations of the candidates gave it a distinctive look that attracted attention and created familiarity for the audience. Separately, the Post commissioned Chris Buzelli to do a illustration poster for its inauguration section. The same section featured on its cover a portrait of Trump by Post photographer Matt McClain that emphasized President Trumps eyes and his much-discussed hands. I wonder whether the president would consider that portrait as an official one to hang in the White House? The Wall inspires designers in Mexico President Trumps promised Wall along the Mexican border has in particular inspired news designers and journalists south of the US border. This front page from Mexicos am carries only type on the cover for a headline that reads: Lets Make Mexico Great Again. Another section uses the headline: The Threat is Real. The Mexico City daily Indigo deals with Trump and the economy in this powerful front page comparing US currency to the Mexican peso. On Inauguration Day, Indigo carried a somber image of Trump with the headline that translates to D Day. And a double page spread from El Zocalo (Saltillo) carries a headline that reads (translated): Getting near, from the US, the perfect storm. For Mexicans, the construction of a wall is not the only concern under a Trump White House. The trade agreement NAFTA, another piece of the Trump agenda that would greatly affect the Mexican economy, inspired this spread in the daily El Universal. The cartoons Cartoonists, too, are bringing sharp commentary and fun visuals to the pages of newspapers and magazines. Here we see two from Canada. One from Le Devoir (Montreal), about the negotiations between Americans and Mexicans over the proposed wall, and the other one from La Presse (also Montreal) making a reference to Trumps first press conference with journalists. Infographics and Trump Infographics artists have also kept busy with the numbers that are such an important part of the story. Here is a fun, but informative, pre-election treatment with a graphic and page designed by Jeff Goertzen, art director of The Orange County Register. I spoke with him about his inspiration: The Dumpty Trumpty page took a satirical look at the process that would have to unfold for the RNC to effectively dump Trump. The building of a wall and the words Dump Trump suddenly gave me the idea to illustrate Donald Trump as Humpty Dumpty and use it in this context to explain the complicated process of what it would take for the RNC to Dump Trump, he says. I received a few phone calls from angry readers for this one for publishing it in our news section with such political overtones. Related: 12 images that capture the new reality show at Trump Tower On the covers Behold the magazine cover. Editors and designers have long recognized that nothing makes for a better cover image than a person. When that person is Donald J. Trump, it usually is more than just his photograph, as seen in these examples from Letras Libres (Mexico and Spain), Ad Busters, and Der Spiegel (Germany). Meantime, The Village Voice zeroes in on Trumps signature. The Saturday Night Live writers arent the only ones having a bit of fun with President Trump and his team. The following covers show how some art directors, too, have decided to explore humor and satire in print. The type attacks Sometimes magazine cover artists go for what I call a type attack, as we see in these examples from New York and The Real Deal. A face made for photo editing Using dramatic photo crops of President Trumps head is how some art directors solve the issue of showing more than just the familiar face that appears in so many publications at the same time. Here we see such treatments in Brazils Veja, The Stranger (US), Le Nouvel Observateur (France), and the San Antonio Express-News. Todays visual storytelling is key to how getting us into stories. We live in the midst of the journalism of interruption, and the role of design has never been more essential. It is satisfying to see, in all these examples, that there is a great connection between editorial and design thinking. The fusion of writing/editing/design, which I refer to as WED, has never been more important. It does not hurt to have a story that gets more intriguing by the day. Correction: An earlier version of this story misidentified a Washington Post photo. Has America ever needed a media watchdog more than now? Help us by joining CJR today Mario Garcia is CEO of Garcia Media and senior adviser on news design at Columbia Journalism School. Your humble correspondenta man young enough he can still be persuadedsolicited thoughts from CJR members last week on whether journalists notion of objectivity should change in the face of immoral or arguably un-American acts, even if those acts have popular support. Please keep your questions, comments, and bad jokes coming in: duberti@cjr.org. Include your dateline and any relevant media affiliations. I take liberty to edit your feedback for clarity, length, and, yes, misspellings. In answer to the question about injecting ones opinions into reporting: The place for personal opinion is in the opinion columns and editorials. For the most part, news should be reported objectively and as truthfully as possible. That being said, when a lie has been saida provable liethat should also reported. After all, thats objective. Cary G. Herwig Edmond, Oklahoma DU: Cary, I think youve been caught! Absent solid evidence that a subject intentionally misleda raritytheres no such thing as a provable lie. We dont know that President Donald Trump was lying when he spewed falsehoods about Barack Obamas birthplace ad nauseum; he could have convinced himself of this delusion. The same can be said for the fake terrorist attacks he and his aides misspeak about when pushing their refugee order, and his administrations tendency toward alternative facts. Sign up for CJR 's daily email Calling these out as lies, which I have, requires a leap of opinion. Team Trump habitually spreads falsehoods, without evidence, while not responding to credible evidence that contradicts their claims. It is a pattern of behavior that insults journalists intelligenceto say nothing of the publicsin a way that forces them to push back. Whether that opinionated response helps or hurts the medias long-term credibility remains an open question. What do you think? Email me! Terms such as the Acela corridor might be part of the daily vernacular around the [Washington] environs, but not so much here in the Rust Belt. I could go on and on about how their use without explanation reinforces the concern that there are massive disconnects between those supposedly in the know and others of us many who voted for Trump. Tom Herre Fond du Lac, Wisconsin DU: Im writing this dispatch far outside the Washington environs, from CJRs Brooklyn bureau (my couch). But the point is well taken. For the uninitiated: The Acela Express is a train that runs from Boston to Washington, charging double the normal Amtrak price for cushier seats and a few minutes slashed off total travel time. Perhaps my choice of the term came from a subconscious desire to talk like elites from the East Coast. Or perhaps it came from my personal infatuation with regional transportation systems, which my homeland of Michigan sorely lacks. As someone who speaks the language of both places, Id argue that cultural differences between the two arent as great as my word choices or our national political climate might suggest. With my eightieth birthday coming up on February 1, Im feeling something Ive never felt in my life: fear for our democracys existence. All of my working days, more than 40 years as a reporter and editor at newspapersthe Oakland Tribune, Contra Costa Times (California), El Paso Herald Post, UPI (Manhattan), Newsday, The New York Times, Albuquerque Journal, and the New York Postkept me in touch with the thoughts and emotions of my countrymen. And I loved them all and told their stories, even when they were Republicans. Now there is something new and very troubling coming into beingI call it the Third Reich comes to America. How superior and blessed I felt growing up in Texas back in the 1950s, when I was reading William L. Shirers The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich. Nothing like that could ever occur in our beloved country. Well, its not only here, its in our very presidency. My God, how did this happen? The only thing I know for certain is that we have to fight it with every fibre of our beingall of useven if we are just decrepit old farts like yours truly. Come on, Texans, come on Ohioans, come on everybody. This is the big one! Howard H. Crook New York, NY DU: Let the record show that I try to shy away from Nazi analogies. But having spoken to numerous journalists on this topic since the election, I can report that many share Howards feeling that this is the big one. So, how to respond? My general take is that Trumps cartoonish behavior, proclivity for misinformation, and governance by chaosshould it continuewill be made woefully apparent through straightforward, hard-edged news coverage. No need to scream from the rooftops, much as Trump supporters disregard for the press makes us want to. Courage, Hemingway once said, is grace under pressure. And in a time of unprecedented pressure on the pressboth political and financialtheres as great a need as ever for clear eyes and cool heads. A couple of past events more horrific than Mr. Trumps decree that Muslims from certain countries may not enter the United States beg comparison: the sequestration of Japanese and Japanese-Americans [during World War II], and the refusal to accept Jewish refugees, even children, fleeing Nazi persecution. Both historical events had broad popular support, but now we realizein shamethat they blemished our national character. We must report what has been done and how all parts of our society react. In interpretative pieces and on our editorial pages we must reflect on our values and on the lessons from our past to understand current actions and beliefs. Tom Hester Silver City, New Mexico DU: Beautifully put. Where it gets tricky is with attempts to convey moral stains of the past to those who currently hold morally questionable beliefs. Ive yet to see many examples of news organizations doing so without sounding paternalistic. Pointing out that the seven countries targeted in Trumps order havent yielded a fatal terrorist attack on US soil over the past 15 yearsa factcan likewise be received as arrogance. Fear is irrational, of course, making this needle all the more difficult to thread. Journalists will keep trying, and Ill keep fielding your suggestions on how theywecan do better. Has America ever needed a media watchdog more than now? Help us by joining CJR today David Uberti is a writer in New York. He was previously a media reporter for Gizmodo Media Group and a staff writer for CJR. Follow him on Twitter @DavidUberti. A jury has awarded more than $28 million to a woman paralyzed in a crash with school bus in northern Minnesota, but it remains to be seen whether shell ever receive the entire award. Paige Anderson was 16 years old when the bus from the Ely School District crashed into a car in which she was a passenger in Coleraine. The 2009 crash left Anderson a quadriplegic. Another passenger, Emmy Foss of Bovey, died in the accident. The Star Tribune reports jurors in Itasca County recently assigned 10 percent fault to the bus driver and the rest to the teen driving the car. Stephanie Ball, an attorney representing Anderson, said both drivers are insured against such claims, but the coverage is substantially less than the verdict. Awards this large are very rare in greater Minnesota, but this was a unique and heartbreaking case, Ball said, adding that the jurors verdict recognizes the tragic injuries suffered by a young woman whose life was just getting started. The amount the jury decided upon is meant to cover past and future medical expenses, pain, suffering, disability, disfigurement, emotional distress and loss of earning capacity, Ball said. Lawyers representing the bus driver, the school district and the cars driver werent immediately available to comment Thursday about the verdict. They could appeal the verdict. Ball said a State Patrol reconstruction of the crash found both drivers lacked sufficient attention to the road. The car driving westbound pulled out in front of the bus onto Hwy. 169. Ball said the patrol also cited excessive bus speed as another contributing factor. The bus broadsided the car and dragged it about 100 feet before coming to a stop. The teen driving the car survived her injuries, and the bus driver was slightly hurt. Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Two Republican lawmakers have reintroduced three bills in the Wisconsin Legislature that would impose stiffer penalties and ignition interlock requirements for drunken drivers. Rep. Jim Ott of Mequon and Sen. Alberta Darling of River Hills introduced the bills Thursday. One would create a five-year minimum prison sentence for homicide by intoxicated use of a vehicle. There is currently no minimum sentence for the crime. The second would raise the minimum incarceration period for fifth and sixth offenses from six months to 18 months. The third would prohibit all repeat offenders as well as first-timers with a blood-alcohol percentage of .15 or greater from driving any vehicle without an ignition interlock. The device measures a drivers blood alcohol content like a breathalyzer and prevents the car from starting if the driver is over the limit. Wisconsin law already requires all offenders to place an interlock device on their vehicles when their license is reinstated. Ott and Darling said in a joint news release that drunken drivers who drive someone elses car before they regain their license can be ticketed for driving without a license but not for violating the interlock requirement. The bills are part of an ongoing effort to make penalties for impaired driving more in line with the seriousness of the crime, Ott said in the release. Wisconsins drunken driving laws are relatively lax. Its the only state that treats a first offense as a civil violation rather than a crime. Opposition from the powerful Tavern League lobby and exorbitant cost estimates have dampened past attempts to toughen the statutes. Spokeswomen for Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald and Assembly Speaker Robin Vos both said their officers were reviewing the proposals. Ott has been working for years to tighten the rules and fulfill a promise to constituent Judy Jenkins, whose pregnant daughter and 10-year-old granddaughter died in a crash with a drunken driver in 2008. But he has struggled to gain traction. He introduced the interlock bill in 2013 and shepherded it through the Assembly, but it never made it out of the Senates judiciary committee. The panels chairman then was Republican Glenn Grothman, who is now a congressman. His spokeswoman didnt immediately respond to an email asking about why Grothman didnt advance the bill. He and Darling introduced the minimum sentence bills last session and the measures went to the Assemblys criminal justice committee but never got a hearing. The committees chairman last session, Republican Rep. Joel Kleefisch, didnt immediately return a message Friday inquiring about why the bills stalled. Fiscal estimates attached to last sessions homicide bill projected the measure would cost district attorneys an additional $273,500 annually, the Department of Corrections $1.4 million and public defenders $50,600. That bill would have set up a seven-year minimum sentence, however. The new bill calls for five years. Last sessions bill to raise fifth and sixth offense minimum incarcerations included only a fiscal estimate from the Department of Transportation, which projected no financial impact on that agency. Ott said by phone that hes more optimistic this time, because he can build on the momentum of a bill that Gov. Scott Walker signed last year making all fourth drunken driving offenses a felony and increasing maximum sentences for seventh, eighth and ninth offenses. Whats more, the Tavern League supports all three bills. Pete Madland, the leagues executive director, said in Ott and Darlings release that their bills complement our efforts by going after the worst offenders who give everyone else a bad name. Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. According to the National Insurance Crime Bureau, the Mississippi legislature recently considered two bills that would create a specific offense for cargo theft. House Bill 722, introduced by Representative Steve Massengill (R-District 13), and Senate Bill 2184, introduced by Senator Dennis DeBar, Jr. (R-District 43), recognize the impact that cargo theft has across the entire socio-economic spectrum. The proposed legislation creates law specific to cargo theft from a railcar, commercial trailer, semitrailer, fifth wheel or container and includes substantial penalties upon conviction. Cargo theft is a major national crime problem which adds to the cost of merchandise, food and transportation, the NICB stated in a press release notifying the industry of the new legislation. Stolen food and pharmaceuticals pose a health hazard, and along with electronics, continue to be favored targets among cargo thieves. While House Bill 722 continues to pend, Senate Bill 2184 was killed in committee. Source: NICB A 2002 law enacted to protect consumers after fly-by-night pool contractors ripped off homeowners across metro Phoenix is on the fast-track for repeal under a change pushed as part of Arizona Gov. Doug Duceys effort to streamline business regulations. The measure backed by Duceys contractor regulation agency also removes a requirement that the license of a remodeling and repair contractor who doesnt carry workers compensation insurance must be suspended. And it shields those contractors from having their home or email addresses publicly available, a move that could make it harder for consumers to locate a contractor who walked out on a job and works out of his or her home. Senate Bill 1116 unanimously passed the Senate Thursday and now heads to the House. It got little attention in a Senate committee and no floor debate because it had no formal opposition and was on a consent agenda. The 2002 pool contracting law and the 2008 license suspension law were pushed by then-Sen. Barbara Leff, who was responding to constituent complaints. The Paradise Valley Republican retired from the Senate in 2010 because of term limits. She said in a recent interview that she doesnt understand why Duceys agency is targeting the laws, other than a lack of understanding of why they were originally enacted. If people dont know what was happening I guess they would say I dont know what the issue is, Leff said of the pool contracting law. The good companies werent doing it. The main companies were the ones that wanted this done because they were getting a bad name from the fly-by-night companies that came in and then just walked out. It was really a scam, a complete scam. The pool contracting law came after rogue contractors demanded full payments for building a new pool and then never lifted a shovel of dirt, leaving consumers out tens of thousands of dollars. Legitimate pool contractors pushed for the new law, which requires pool contractors to take payments in stages as they complete work. The workers compensation provision was part of a broader 2008 law targeting unscrupulous home remodeling contractors preying on homeowners in the Arcadia area of Phoenix, Leff said. Sen. Steve Smith, R-Maricopa, is sponsoring the bill being pushed by the Registrar of Contractors, the state licensing agency. I think weve heard from a lot of people, especially trying to start a business, that there were too many onerous regulations and burdens put on them, Smith said. This came back as one of them. The ROC asked for and welcomed this change and so I think they are responding to what theyre hearing from their contractors. Jim Knupp, the spokesman for the Registrar of Contractors, said the legislation targets laws the agency considers redundant or an over-regulation, and removes rules specific to one contracting class. The third part is designed to protect a contractors private information and mirror what is provided for real estate agents. Knupp said only pool contractors are subject to the payment schedule for a job, something normally worked out between a buyer and seller. He also said the agency will still have the option to suspend the license of a contractor that fails to insure its workers, and could release the home address of a contractor if there is a complaint. He defended the proposed changes, saying they wont lessen consumer protections. I dont believe that any of the moves within Sen. Smiths bill put the public at risk or question their safety, Knupp said. Leff said shes just doesnt understand why addresses would be shielded, nor the reason for pulling the pool contracting law, although it might now be outdated. The workers compensation law change, however, completely baffles her. I dont know why anybody would object to that, she said. You have to have workers comp, its the law. Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. With more crude oil expected to move through Washington state, Democratic lawmakers want to toughen rules around oil transportation and raise more money for spill prevention and response efforts. Companion bills in the House and Senate aim to reduce the risk of oil spills with provisions that target oil carried by vessels, pipelines and trains. Supporters say the legislation is needed to address the growing risks of oil shipped through state waters. In November, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau approved Kinder Morgans Trans Mountain pipeline expansion project, which will increase from five to 34 the monthly number of oil tankers and barges plying the shared waters of Washington state and Canada. The pipeline will carry oil from Alberta to the Vancouver area where it will be loaded on to barges and tankers for Asian and U.S. markets. Indigenous leaders and environmentalists object to the project over environmental, health and other risks. Were really trying to stay on top of the changing landscape of oil transportation, said Rep. Jessyn Farrell, D-Seattle, sponsor of House Bill 1611, which is scheduled to be heard Monday in the environment committee. The companion Senate Bill 5462 is sponsored by Sen. Reuven Carlyle, D-Seattle. Both measures would require the Department of Ecology to write rules that may require tug escorts and other safety measures for certain vessels such as barges and articulated tug barges through the San Juan Islands and Puget Sound. Tug escorts are currently required for oil tank ships that transit parts of northern Puget Sound. But vessels such as barges and articulated tug and barges ships where the tug and barge are combined arent subject to those requirements. The use of tug escorts for oil-carrying vessels such as articulated tug and barges was identified as the top priority during a recent Salish Sea spills risk workshop hosted by Ecology. Cliff Webster with The American Waterways Operators testified against SB 5462 at a hearing Thursday. The state has one of the best oil spill prevention and response programs in the country and there has not been a major cargo spill in waters for years, he said. But it only takes one incident to deal a major blow to Puget Sound, said Rebecca Ponzio with the Washington Environmental Council. She said its a critical year to act, because of the Trans Mountain project and the federal government has lifted a 40-year ban on crude exports, opening the way for oil to be exported through the states refineries. Under the bills, oil refineries proposing to handle crude oil for export update their spill response and prevention plans. Railroads would have to show they have the ability to pay for cleanup and damage caused in the event of a major oil spill something vessels and pipelines are required to do. Johan Hellman with BNSF Railway told lawmakers the provision was redundant, unnecessary and conflicts with federal government rules governing railroads. He said the state law passed in 2015 required railroads to submit financial reports to state regulators to demonstrate fiscal solvency. Supporters say its needed to ensure that railroads can pay the costs of a major spill. The state currently levies two taxes for a total of 5 cents on every barrel of oil received by train or vessels to pay for spill response and prevention measures. The bills would extend that tax to pipelines. It would also eliminate a cap on the 4-cent tax that currently takes effect when the account balance hits a certain amount. Jessica Spiegel, a spokeswoman with the Western States Petroleum Association, said state figures show that only 3 percent of spills are related to the petroleum industry, such as pipelines, trains or fuel barges. We believe its time to identify the sources of actual spills and place a share of the funding burden on those who are causing the problems, she said. Separately, another bill sponsored by Farrell and requested by Ecology, seeks to raise the oil spill administration tax from by 2.5 cents a barrel, from 4 cents to 6.5 cents. Ecology says it is facing a $4 million shortfall in the next biennium because it only received a one-time transfer of money for work related to the oil transportation law passed in 2015. Weve been successful in the state because weve taken a proactive approach, Farrell said. We cant rest on our laurels. Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. AKRON, Ohio - The Akron Community Foundation will invite 1,000 Summit County residents to share dozens of meals and discuss how to make their neighborhoods stronger and safer, as part of the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation's national On the Table initiative. Knight, which funnels money to all sorts of creative endeavors in Akron, is investing $1.15 million in 10 cities: Charlotte, North Carolina; Columbus, Georgia; Detroit; Gary, Indiana; Lexington, Kentucky; Long Beach, California; Miami; Philadelphia; and San Jose, California. The Akron Community Foundation will receive $79,500 for its On the Table program. In Akron, meals will take place throughout Summit Count on Oct. 3, and discussions will focus on challenges, including affordable housing, public space improvements and race relations. "This will elevate our civic conversation," John Garofalo, vice president of community investment for Akron Community Foundation, said in a release. "We also hope this event will spark more collaborations and relationships among residents here in Summit County, which will benefit us all." On the Table, which began in 2013 as a way for Chicago residents to come together and tackle community issues, is part of the Knight Foundation's mission to help cities attract and retain talented people, expand economic opportunity and create a culture of civic engagement. "The expansion of On the Table will help create a connected network of people across our nation who are working to make our communities stronger and more successful, while sharing lessons about how local residents can collaborate to begin working on pressing challenges," Lilly Weinberg, Knight Foundation director for community foundations, said in a release. "With community foundations like Akron Community Foundation leading the effort, the information gathered through this initiative will tap into local residents' interests and aspirations, informing decisions about new investments and engaging local policy and decision-makers." To learn more about Akron's On the Table initiative or to get involved, contact John Garofalo at 330-436-5624 or jgarofalo@akroncf.org. Akron police car.png An Akron man was shot during an attempted robbery Friday on East Market Street, police said. (File photo) AKRON, Ohio -- An unidentified man shot a 45-year-old man in the leg during an attempted robbery late Friday in Akron, police said. The victim suffered non-life-threatening injuries in the shooting that happened just before midnight on East Market Street near Innovation Way, according to a police report. The victim was walking to a friend's house when a man approached him and asked for a cigarette lighter. The man then pulled out a handgun and demanded the victim's wallet, the report says. The victim refused to hand over his wallet and ran off. The man fired a shot that hit the victim's right leg, the report says. Paramedics took the victim to Summa Akron City Hospital for treatment. Anyone with information is being asked to contact the Akron Police Department's detective bureau at 330-375-2490. If you'd like to comment on this story, visit Monday's crime and courts comments section. AKRON, Ohio - Akron Snow Angels, which started as a one-off act of kindness before a snowstorm two years ago, is now an ongoing mission to provide homeless Akronites with food, supplies and warm clothing. Erin Victor started the group with an impromptu decision in February 2015 to provide warmth for Akron's homeless. She hung scarves, hats, socks and long underwear from trees and fences around Akron with a note letting the homeless know the items were for them. Cleveland.com reported on the act, and the charity was launched. "It was a total fluke; it was going to be a one-time thing," Victor said. "But the story was the catalyst. My phone was blown up with emails and calls. The community wanted to keep it going." Here's how it works: Now, with its mission to "Spread the Warmth," Akron Snow Angels is a well-oiled machine with an active board and a growing social media network. It gets donations of goods and cash from residents and groups around Akron to support missions that run from November through April, each serving about 200 homeless residents. Goodwill of Akron provides hundreds of hats, scarves and gloves, while knitters across Akron make more. Jill Bacon Madden of Jilly's Music Room provides warehouse space to house the group's supplies and serve as a starting point for missions. Some items are bagged and tied to fences and trees around town, affixed with a Snow Angels message of caring and support. In its first year, the group raised $27,000 and was awarded $14,000 from the Akron Halloween Charity Ball, which gives two Akron nonprofits the proceeds from each year's masquerade party. Akron Snow Angels also takes requests, for sleeping bags, shoes or clothing for jobs. If the items aren't picked up, Snow Angels holds onto to them and brings them back on a subsequent mission. "We get a lot of requests for boots," said Josh Troche, a Snow Angels board member who blogs about the group's missions on Learning by Helping. What a mission looks like: On Sunday, under a bright blue sky, about 50 Akron Snow Angels volunteers met at the warehouse and received assignments. About a dozen vehicles bearing large Akron Snow Angels magnets then headed up Market Street to Grace Park. With many homeless awaiting the groups' arrival, the vehicles lined both sides of Park Street and set up stations, organized by cargo type, for attendees to browse. One vehicle handled men's shirts and jackets, another carried kids' clothes and one had pants. One station had scarves, hats and gloves. Socks, shoes and belts, underwear, shopping bags, backpacks and sleeping bags were also available. An SUV held bins of toiletries, while another hauled hand-made brown-bag meals decorated with hand-drawn hearts. A table was set up with hot coffee, water and food to go. In addition to twice monthly missions to take food and supplies to Akron's homeless, Akron Snow Angels stays true to its roots, bagging hats, scarves and gloves and hanging them from fences and trees with notes of caring and support for the homeless to find. "It's a Godsend," said Kenneth England who heard about Snow Angels through a friend and came to get shoes, socks, underwear and toiletries. "It's really helpful and I'm appreciative." Nearby, volunteers from the Peter Maurin Center for the homeless manned a table, and In One Piece Ministries served hot food donated every Sunday by the Holiday Inn of Fairlawn. Who's volunteering: Volunteers range from couples and college students to families with middle-school and high school kids. Volunteer Gina Hornacek, who's been on about 15 Snow Angels missions, regularly brings her teenage daughter, Kamryn. Hornacek said she believes kids need exposure to less fortunate populations to better understand the real world. "Living in the suburbs, they don't see this," she said. The group keeps track of many of its regulars, knowing where they sleep and looking for check-ins via text or Facebook. The group works two group missions per month and hosts Christmas in July, which provides free haircuts and medical trucks. "My complete life has changed and I'm a better person because of it," Victor said. "The community is so warm and caring and there's so much good in people. My volunteers feel the same way." In fact, the group recently benefited from birthday parties for two children and a 100-year-old woman who each asked that donations be made to Akron Snow Angels in lieu of gifts. To donate cash or goods to Akron Snow Angels, or volunteer, visit its website. You can also follow Snow Angels events on its Facebook page. A GoFundMe campaign is also underway to help the group fund daily operations and expand its reach. Save Save Save Save Save Akron homeless men charged in kidnapping Samuel Crespo (left), Anton Jeffries (center) and Tyrone Matthews (right) are all charged in connection with the Friday night kidnapping of a man at his Akron home, police said. (Summit County Jail) AKRON, Ohio - Three homeless men have been arrested and charged after they were accused of holding an Akron man against his will inside his house Friday. Samuel Crespo, 38, is charged with obstructing official business and misrepresenting identity in Akron Municipal Court. Anton Jeffries, 22, and Tyrone Matthews, 39, are both charged with kidnapping and assault. The three men are being held in Summit County Jail. The men are charged in connection with a late Friday incident during which a 50-year-old man said the trio held him against his will. Akron police were alerted about midnight by the victim's nephew. The incident took place at a house on the 100 block of Jesse Avenue in Akron's North Hill neighborhood. The victim's nephew also told police that one of the men would have a silver handgun. When officers arrived at the Jesse Avenue house, an officer looked through the windows and saw a man with the handgun in his waistband, police said. Officers used the loudspeaker on their cruiser to order the trio to come out of the house after they refused to answer knocks at the door, police said. When that did not work, the Akron SWAT team was called. The SWAT team negotiated with the men and got them to come outside without further trouble, police said. Officers spoke with the victim once the three homeless men were out of the house. He did not say why the men were at his house, but he did say they punched him in the face several times and would not allow him to answer the door when police arrived. The victim was taken to Summa Akron City Hospital for treatment. Crespo, Jeffries and Matthews are slated to appear in front of a judge Tuesday morning, court records show. If you'd like to comment on this post, please visit the cleveland.com crime and courts comments section. Drug abuse.jpg Students from Summit County schools created and starred in PSAs designed to increase awareness and education about addiction, opiates and drug-abuse warning signs. The student-created PSAs will be unveiled at a red-carpet event Feb. 16. from 7-8 p.m. at Professional Center South, 55 Arch St., Akron. (File photo) AKRON, Ohio - Students at Summit County schools created public service announcements to increase awareness and education about addiction, opiates and drug-abuse warning signs, a grant from Leadership Akron Class 32. Now, the student-created PSAs will be unveiled at a red-carpet event Feb. 16, 7-8 p.m. at Professional Center South, 55 Arch St., Akron. "This project showcases the heartbeat of Crew 32, incorporating things they came to care deeply about during their year together," Mark Scheffler, president of Leadership Akron, said in a release. "In focusing their investment through a lens of collaboration, they fostered a partnership to reduce the impact of the opiate epidemic, a human tragedy that stirred their leadership during their year together in Leadership Akron." The United Way of Summit County funded the project, which was a collaborative effort with the Community Health Center - Project PANDA; the County of Summit ADM Board; Ohio Guidestone; and Summit County Community Partnership for the Healthy Rx for Youth campaign. The project was based on evidenced-based research practices suggesting youth-led prevention activities are effective at helping to curb undesirable behavior, such as drug use, because youth tend to respect their peers more than adults. "We are grateful to Leadership Akron for recognizing the value of youth led prevention," Darryl Brake, executive director of Summit County Community Partnership, said in a release. "It is a sound investment through establishing meaningful youth involvement in a community prevention effort. These talented students stretched their imagination and creativity for this project and deserve our appreciation. I encourage the public to join us at the red-carpet premiere to recognize their exceptional work." The red-carpet event, sponsored by Summa Health System, will feature 10 PSAs from 16 students. Attendees can vote for their favorite PSA for the Viewer's Choice award. Cocktail attire is preferred for the free event. Register here. The PSAs will also air in local Cinemark theaters this spring. SHAKER HEIGHTS, Ohio - This architecturally distinguished East Side suburb may look as if it's completely built out, with no room left for new homes. But that's not the case. To underscore the fact and draw attention to the community's willingness to entertain styles never contemplated by the Van Sweringen brothers, who founded the community in the early 20th century, the city sponsored a design competition for new homes on three open lots. Winners will receive cash prizes at a free public awards ceremony on Friday from 6 to 8 p.m. at The Dealership, 3558 Lee Road. The competition challenged architect-builder teams to design innovative, energy-efficient, middle-income housing for three specific lots in the southern Moreland neighborhood. The neighborhood was hit hard by the 2008-09 recession and the mortgage foreclosure crisis. Using federal, state and county grants, the city cleared 50-plus vacant lots at a cost of $10,000 to $15,000 apiece, said Kamla Lewis, director of Neighborhood Revitalization. In all, 85 lots are available in the neighborhood, where the city also established a tax-abated reinvestment area and innovation zone. The competition attracted a dozen entries from the United States and Britain, which were ranked last month by a design jury that included Jennifer Coleman, senior program officer for the arts at the George Gund Foundation; urban finance expert Marc Norman of Syracuse, New York; Philadelphia architect Brian Phillips; Terry Schwarz, director of Kent State University's Cleveland Urban Design Collaborative; and Claire Weisz, principal-in-charge at the New York architecture firm of WXY. Prizes and winners are: - 1st Prize, $5,000, to Donnelly Eber Architects of New York and Simcon Homes of Cleveland. - 2nd Prize, $3,000, to Decent Goodfellow Architects LTD of London, U.K., and Blossom Homes LLC of Cleveland. - 3rd Prize, of $1,000, to Moreland Collaborative -- a team comprising builder and Shaker Heights resident Michael Peters; architects Matthew Wolf, Irwin Lowenstein and Christopher Maurer; designer Kenneth Hejduk; Case Western Reserve University Strategic Innovation Lab Co-Directors Patrick Doherty and Mark "Puck" Mykleby; and marketing professional Sara Gilbertson. The winners are qualified to enter into development and use agreements for construction in in Shaker Heights, and the city considers the winning designs as concepts that will inform the final housing product, the city said in a press release. The statement, posted on the city's website, quotes Mayor Earl M. Leiken as saying that "the submissions demonstrated the feasibility for energy-efficient, flexible housing. "We look forward to incorporating these progressive designs into the Moreland neighborhood." Haba swearing in.JPG Shaker Heights Municipal Court Judge K.J. Montgomery swears in Gary Haba as the new Beachwood police chief at Monday's Beachwood City Council meeting. Haba replaces the retired Keith Winebrenner. (Jeff Piorkowski/Special to cleveland.com) BEACHWOOD, Ohio -- Beachwood City Council wants the world to know that it is a welcoming community and that it doesn't agree with President Donald Trump's executive order temporarily prohibiting citizens from seven countries from entering the United States. On Jan. 27, Trump issued an executive order restricting access to the U.S. for 120 days immigrants from the countries of Iraq, Iran, Sudan, Somalia, Syria, Libya and Yemen. Trump's stated goal for the action was to better protect U.S. citizens from possible homeland terrorist actions. The executive order has led to protests and questions of legality around the United States, and two Beachwood councilmen believed it was important that the city have its voice heard. Council President Martin Horwitz teamed with Councilman James Pasch to formulate an emergency resolution that was placed on Monday's City Council agenda. The local legislation's language states that Beachwood Council is "strongly objecting" to Trump's executive order and that the city is "joining with all Americans who believe that the executive order is unlawful and un-American." It further declares that Beachwood is a "Welcoming City" and calls upon residents to "join together to build a stronger, united community." Pasch received applause from those in the council chambers after reading a statement detailing why he believes the resolution was necessary. "The executive order signed by the President preys on our worst fears," Pasch read. "It scapegoats families fleeing war-torn countries, from religious and ethnic persecution, and it does so without any basis in fact. No one from the seven different nations named in the ban has committed an act of terror here in our country. "We have already seen the effects of the ban in Beachwood through our families and friends with relatives that live, or are from Iraq, Iran Sudan, Somalia, Syria, Libya and Yemen. We know students, doctors, engineers and families who have been caught up in this ban." Pasch said the President's action was taken in accordance with his slogan, "America First." "That phrase has been used to justify despicable acts in our history," Pasch said. "Before World War II, our Congress denied a proposal to let in 20,000 Jewish children. Members of Congress said it was important to take, and I quote, 'An America first approach.' We turned away ships that had literally arrived on our shores and sent them back to Nazi Germany." He said that refugees who are in America have been vetted for 18 months to two years. Pasch concluded by noting that Beachwood is a majority Jewish city and its council members are all Jewish. "We have a moral obligation to extend our hand and say, 'We are glad you are here. Welcome to America.' The resolution passed by a 5-0 margin as Councilmen Justin Berns and Melvin Jacobs abstained from voting. Berns said he neither agreed or disagreed with Trump's executive order but, he added, "This isn't something Beachwood City Council should be (venturing) into. I don't know why we're wading into this." Jacobs said he agreed with the resolution's sentiments. But, he said, council received a copy of the resolution on Friday afternoon and was asked to pass it three days later. He said that the vote should be put off until the next meeting so all of council had more time to consider the resolution. Berns and Jacobs both stated that with Trump in the White House there could be many things with which council members may feel compelled to disagree. Pasch said that to have true impact, the resolution had to be passed immediately because things in today's world take place so fast. Horwitz, also in a written statement, said passing the resolution was important because of its relevance to residents. "This (resolution) we are voting on tonight concerns an issue that is of direct importance to dozens of families in our community," Horwitz said. "There are immigrants who have come to northeast Ohio to work and be trained in our major medical facilities, and who also come to work at our major banking and business institutions. "Many of them choose Beachwood to make their home because of the outstanding reputation of our schools, the closeness of their work, and the support they receive from other members of their immigrant community who already live here. "This ban will impact potential employees and students who were scheduled to come to the Cleveland area and would logically choose Beachwood as their temporary, and possibly permanent, residence." Speaking to immigrants, Horwitz finished by stating, "We want you to tell your families and countrymen that Beachwood stands as a welcoming city to all who want to come to northeast Ohio to work, study and make a better life for themselves." In other news from Monday's council meeting: -- Council passed by a 6-1 vote legislation that will reduce the salary for the next mayoral term. The mayor elected in November of this year will receive a salary of $155,000 per year for 2018 and '19, and $157,500 in 2020 and 2021. The mayor of Beachwood also serves as the city's safety director. Currently, Mayor Merle Gorden receives $106,658 to serve as mayor, and $68,962 to perform his duties as safety director. Combined, the salary is $175,620. Council spent the last year considering the reduction. A survey of the five mayors in northeast Ohio who earn the most was taken to determine the new Beachwood salary, which will become the area's second-highest behind Middleburg Heights Mayor Gary Starr. Starr earned $161,894, plus benefits, in 2015. Jacobs opposed the reduction in salary, believing the Beachwood mayor should remain the most highly paid. "I think it should be frozen at this same amount," he said of the $175,620 figure. -- Council decided to put off for two weeks a vote on whether it will spend $92,000 this year to support the city's convention and visitors bureau. The Beachwood CVB promotes the city's businesses and, particularly, its hotels. The CVB received $150,000 from the city two years ago. It has since reduced its staff from one full-time and one part-time member, to one part-time person. BEREA, Ohio -- This afternoon the Catholic Community Foundation, through the Office of Catechetical Formation and Education, awarded $1,162,637 in grants to 74 Catholic schools and parishes throughout the Diocese of Cleveland. Checks were distributed at the conclusion of a celebration held at the Academy of St. Adalbert in Berea. The money was raised through the Rooted in Faith - Forward in Hope fundraising campaign to benefit diocesan and parish ministries in eight counties in Northeast Ohio. It will fund technology programs, capital improvements, school curriculum and sacramental preparation programs. "The projects and programs that are being funded today are incredibly diverse but share a common trait," said Diocesan Superintendent of Catholic Schools Christopher Knight. "They are each designed to enhance learning components to make a Catholic education in Northeast Ohio incredibly impactful." He said the awards will allow schools to develop and enhance STEM programs, including virtual reality and critical thinking, as well as professional development. Technology upgrades and robotics will also get a financial boost. Curriculum enhancements include new textbooks and bibles, development of entrepreneurship skills, and additional resources for the visual and performing arts. Grants also will be used to enhance building safety, security and energy efficiencies. "All of these enhancements improve the learning experience for our students and our teachers," Knight said. Academy of St. Adalbert students sang for attendees at a ceremony where grants were awarded and a new student inclusion program, "Better Together," was announced. The diocese also announced its new "Better Together" inclusion initiative to educate challenged learners. Approximately 40 Catholic schools comprise the pilot group that will develop the program. "The overall goal of this program is to ensure that all children have access to a Catholic education in Northeast Ohio," Knight explained. "Many of our communities' Catholic schools lack the resources necessary to educate students who are exceptional learners. The benefits of including these students are far reaching and impactful. All students thrive and grow when they are together." Fundraising for the new initiative will commence Oct. 14 with the Alleluia Ball, which is the Catholic Community Foundation's key gala event. It will be held in the Cleveland Convention Center. Since 2000, the event has raised more than $6 million to support Catholic education. Fake News-Creative Countermeasures In this 2012 file photo, a girl looks at Facebook on her computer in Palo Alto, Calif. "Fake news," which has gotten a lot of attention for its potential role in swaying the 2016 presidential election, has fascinated researchers for some time. Their studies have yielded tools that help track how "alternative facts" spread, and others that let you identify fake stories or block them altogether. Some of these are still baby steps in dealing with the phenomenon, but they're part of a larger effort that now involves Facebook, Google and big media companies actively trying to tamp down the spread of fake stories. (Paul Sakuma/AP File Photo) NEW YORK (AP) -- The fight against fake news is not just being waged by Google, Facebook and big media companies. They are joined in the battle by academics and data scientists who started work on the subject years before bogus news stories were suspected of helping sway the 2016 presidential election. Their work has yielded tools that help track how "alternative facts" spread, and others that let you identify fake stories or block them altogether. Some of these are still baby steps, but they're a key, if largely unsung, part of the effort to tamp down the spread of fake stories. And the researchers were there first. For Giovanni Luca Ciampaglia, a research scientist at Indiana University, the phenomenon first caught his eye during the Ebola crisis in 2014. "We started seeing a lot of content that was spreading, completely fabricated claims about importations of Ebola, (such as) entire towns in Texas being under quarantine," he says. "What caught our attention was that these claims were created using names of publications that sounded like newspapers. And they were getting a lot of traction on social media." So he helped create a tool tracking how unsubstantiated claims spread online. DECIPHERING TWITTER RUMORS Tanushree Mitra, a doctoral student at the Georgia Institute of Technology, began a project three years ago to see how misinformation and fake news spread through Twitter. At the time, she says, "companies like Facebook and Twitter were not paying much attention." What attracted her to the project was the prevalence of fake news that spread online following natural disasters such as Superstorm Sandy in 2012. When she saw that people were sharing a lot of incorrect or misleading information about the events, Mitra decided to track both big stories and smaller rumors with the goal of creating an app that could help ordinary people sort fact from fiction so they can make decisions that could be crucial to their well-being. Mitra and her fellow researchers scanned 66 million tweets linked to nearly 1,400 real-world events to identify words and phrases linked to perceived levels of credibility. Looking at tweets surrounding news events in 2014 and 2015 -- including the Ebola crisis, the Charlie Hebdo attack in Paris and the death of Eric Garner in a confrontation of police officers in New York City -- they asked people to judge tweets based on how credible they thought the posts were. Words such as "eager," ''terrific" and "undeniable" were linked to more credible posts, while words such as "ha," ''grins" and "suspects" were the opposite. A computer matched the humans' opinions 68 percent of the time. The next step, an app, could help people rate the credibility of tweets and other social media posts. TRACKING HOAXES A group of researchers at Indiana University have created an online tool called Hoaxy that seeks to visualize "the spread of claims and related fact checking online." Although it's still a work in progress, Hoaxy can trace the origin of, for instance, the false claim that millions of votes in the 2016 presidential election were cast by "illegal aliens." Type in your search terms and Hoaxy will report back with stories that spread the claims, as well as fact-checking articles that debunked it. In this instance, the claim goes back to a November article from Infowars.com that was shared 17,961 times on Twitter and 52,200 times on Facebook, according to Hoaxy. The site only tracks actual links people shared, so it misses anything that's paraphrased or posted without a link. A data visualization tool shows the intertwined web of Twitter users who spread both the claims and the fact checks, and how they are connected to one another. The researchers focused on Twitter because the service makes more data available to the public, which makes it easier to use in data-tracking tools than Facebook. LEAD A HORSE TO WATER Tools like Hoaxy or rumor-identification apps are only helpful if people use them. The same goes for another approach -- using a web browser plug-in to identify or block fake-news stories. For instance, the Chrome extension "Fake News Alert," created last year, says it will tell you when you are visiting a site "known for spreading fake news." But there are a few drawbacks. Many people aren't willing to go to the trouble of adding new extensions to their browser. And such extensions only work on the desktop version of Chrome, not its mobile counterpart. "Fake News Alert" also uses a widely circulated but oft-criticized list of fake and misleading news sites assembled by a Merrimack College professor. The list casts a very broad net and includes some established, but highly partisan sites such as the right-wing Breitbart News and the left-wing Occupy Democrats. A final obstacle: While fake news has been in the real news a lot, many people simply aren't that aware of it. "A lot of consumers are not savvy about it," says Larry Chiagouris, a marketing professor at Pace University who follows the fake news phenomenon. "And of those that are -- and it's a small number-- not a lot of them add plug-ins to browsers." EDUCATE THE PEOPLE Chiagouris believes we are at the "beginning of the beginning" when it comes to defining just what fake news is and how to combat it. But he and other experts say technological solutions like apps and plug-ins are unlikely to get to the root of the problem. The real solution, he says, will start in school: "not college, grammar school." The better educated and informed the public is, the more likely they are going to be "asking questions and exploring alternative sources of information," says Mike Posner, co-founder and co-director of the NYU Stern Center for Business and Human Rights. "What you really want is people saying they want to see different sides of an issue, looking at things by people who don't agree with me, so one (part of the solution) is public education." --- * This story has been corrected to fix the year of the election. Dr. Suha Abushamma CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The Cleveland Clinic will hold a news conference this afternoon to discuss a Sudanese internal medicine resident who was denied entry into the U.S. per President Donald Trump's executive order on immigration. The news conference will be held at 1 p.m. Exactly what the Clinic will be addressing was not immediately clear. An email from a spokeswoman only said that the Clinic would provide an update on the status of Dr. Suha Abushamma. (Cleveland.com will stream the news conference on Facebook Live. Check back here for the livestream.) Abushamma, 26, was detained at an airport in New York on Jan. 28 when she arrived in the U.S. after a trip to Saudi Arabia. She is from Sudan, one of seven Muslim majority countries named in Trump's order limiting travel, and worked in the U.S. since July on a work visa. Abushamma claimed in a lawsuit that she was "misled and coerced" by U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents into signing forms that withdrew her work visa when she arrived at John F. Kennedy International Airport on Saturday after returning from a vacation to Saudi Arabia. Abushamma, who lives in Cleveland Heights, was put on a plane back to Saudi Arabia, where her family lives, after signing the forms. Her story is one of several that surfaced over the weekend in the wake of President Donald Trump's executive order banning travel to the U.S. from seven majority Muslim countries, including Sudan. Several federal judges have halted parts of Trump's immigration ban. A federal appeals court in California will hear oral arguments Tuesday afternoon on whether a Washington judge's decision to stay parts of the ban should remain in place. The Clinic has said it is putting its weight behind having Abushamma return to the U.S. Nevertheless, it has been criticized because of a previously-scheduled fundraiser at the Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida, which is owned by Trump. Watch the press conference here: CLEVELAND, Ohio - Gov. John Kasich's plan to reduce Ohio's income tax by raising other taxes likely would boost the overall tax bill for many smokers while providing the biggest savings for higher-income people. Plus, some low income people who don't smoke could get a tax break. Cleveland.com found those trends after creating a calculator to gauge the impact of key provisions of the proposal Kasich introduced last week. Use the calculator to estimate what your tax bill could look like if state lawmakers approve Kasich's plan to change income, tobacco and sales taxes, including a new sales on cable bills. Continue story A tax cut for you? Find out how you could be impacted by a series of Ohio tax changes proposed by Gov. John Kasich. Enter your: Enter whole dollars; no decimals. Personal income: Business income: Family size: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Two working spouses? No Yes Cigarette packs weekly: Monthly cable bill: Total bill for these taxes Current Proposed Change $ $ $ These taxes as a percent of income Current Proposed % % Income tax Current Proposed Change $ $ $ Ohio sales tax Current Proposed Change $ $ $ New sales tax on cable TV Current: None Proposed: $ Ohio cigarette tax Current Proposed Change $ $ $ Note: The income tax estimates are basic calculations, without special deductions. Some users may need to use this link instead. Among the changes: Some of the biggest winners could be lower-income families, who no longer would have any state income tax bill. Currently, a family of four with income up to $19,000 is exempt from state income taxes. The income threshold for a family of four would change to $27,000 under the governor's proposal, freeing an additional 300,000 Ohio households from state income taxes. But the lowest income people - those who don't now pay income taxes - would pay more overall because of the increase in the sales tax. The governor's tax plan is designed to raise essentially the same amount of money by increasing other taxes, and by adding a fracking tax. For individuals under this plan, the surest way to keep taxes down is to not smoke. A 65-cent per pack increase in the cigarette tax could amount to hundreds of dollars a year. Here's how four scenarios would play out, assuming a basic tax form ( .): * A single person making $35,000 would save $116 a year in income and sales taxes combined. But that savings would be reduced if the person has cable TV and could be wiped out if the person is a smoker. Beginning to tax cable TV would cost $53 a year (based on a monthly cable bill of $70), and the cigarette tax hike would cost a pack-a-day smoker another $237 a year. Add it all up, and this person would pay $174 a year more in taxes. * A family of four making $65,000 would save $114 a year in income and sales taxes combined. But again that savings could we wiped out by the new tax on cable TV ($53) and the increase in the cigarette tax ($237 for one pack-a-day smoker). Overall, this family's overall tax bill could be $176 a year higher. * A family of four making $125,000 would save $218 a year in income and sales taxes combined. But if this family has a $70 monthly cable bill (resulting in $53 in taxes) and consumes a pack of cigarettes per day ($237 in increased taxes), this family's overall tax bill would be $71 higher. * A couple making $250,000 a year would save $561 a year in income and sales taxes combined, enough cushion to offset the other tax increases. After $53 in cable taxes and $237 in increased cigarette taxes, this couple would still save $271 under these changes. Here's how the taxes would change if the governor's plan is approved by the state legislature. Income taxes The governor is proposing to reduce income taxes 17 percent, cutting rates for each tax bracket. His proposal also increases from $10,000 to $15,000 the taxable income threshold - after subtracting for personal exemptions - below which Ohioans have no income tax liability. This could free 300,000 additional households from the state income tax, raising the total to 1.5 million - just over one-fourth of all tax filers. The cleveland.com calculator uses a basic tax form, without most special deductions. It does, however, include credits for low-income people and for families with two working spouses. Sales taxes Kasich is proposing an increase in the state sales tax from 5.75 percent to 6.25 percent. (Counties have additional add-ons to the tax. Cuyahoga County's current sales tax is 8 percent.) To estimate the impact of these changes, cleveland.com used IRS estimates for how much Ohioans now pay in sales taxes, depending on family size and income. Lower income people tend to pay a higher share of their income in sales taxes. These estimates do not take into account large purchases that typically don't occur every year. So if you plan to buy a $20,000 car, add $100 for the increase of a half-percentage point. Expanded sales tax The governor wants to expand what is subject to Ohio's sales tax to raise more money. Newly taxed things would include cable TV, travel services, cosmetic surgery, lobbying, repossession services, interior design and landscape services. A spokesman for the Ohio Department of Taxation said that among the changes, the cable tax would impact the most households. But this tax is for only cable TV. Satellite TV is already subject to the sales tax. And internet and phone charges often combined on single bills would not be taxed; just the cable portion. Cigarette tax The cigarette tax in Ohio would increase from $1.65 per pack to $2.25 per pack. Cuyahoga County has a separate local tax on sales taxes. Rich Exner, data analysis editor for cleveland.com, writes about numbers on a variety of topics. Follow on Twitter @RichExner. CLEVELAND, Ohio -- While White House press secretary Sean Spicer initially seemed to be a good sport about Melissa McCarthy's scathing impression of him on "Saturday Night Live" over the weekend, his boss reportedly had a different reaction. President Donald Trump has been known to fire an angry tweet or two about "SNL" after it pokes fun at him or his administration, but he's been conspicuously silent about the skit in which McCarthy portrayed Spicer as a gum-swallowing, name-taking lackey who angrily shouts falsehoods and fires a squirt gun at reporters. According to a report on Politico, the president's silence was seen in the White House as an indication of just how irked he was by the sketch. Trump's biggest issue? It's that Spicer was played by a woman in drag, the report said. From Politico: "More than being lampooned as a press secretary who makes up facts, it was Spicer's portrayal by a woman that was most problematic in the president's eyes, according to sources close to him. And the unflattering send-up by a female comedian was not considered helpful for Spicer's longevity in the grueling, high-profile job in which he has struggled to strike the right balance between representing an administration that considers the media the "opposition party," and developing a functional relationship with the press "Trump doesn't like his people to look weak," added a top Trump donor. When first asked about the skit on Sunday, Spicer laughed it off, called it funny and even offered McCarthy a note on her performance. "[She] needs to slow down on the gum chewing; way too many pieces in there," he told Extra. The next day on Fox News, Spicer called the impression "cute." But when Politico brought it up it again later, he refused to say anything more. "It doesn't really matter what I think." Spicer will probably be asked about it again at his daily White House press briefing this afternoon. LAKEWOOD, Ohio -- A man faces murder charges after he shot and killed his wife Tuesday at their Lakewood home, police said. The 38-year-old man surrendered to police after the shooting that happened in the 12900 block of Plover Street near Madison and Halstead avenues, Lakewood police Capt. Ed Hassing said. He was taken to Lakewood City Jail where he will be held at least until he makes his initial appearance in municipal court. A hearing has not yet been scheduled. Police received a call shortly before 9 a.m. from a man who told the dispatcher that his son shot his wife. Officers went inside the home and found the 36-year-old woman on a bed in the basement, the release said. No other information was available and charges have not been brought to the man as of Tuesday morning. If you'd like to comment on this story, visit Tuesday's crime and courts comments section. CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The Cleveland Clinic said Tuesday that its foundation still expects to hold a fundraiser at a Florida resort owned by President Donald Trump later this month, despite calls for its cancellation after the president's immigration ban ensnared a medical resident from Sudan. Eileen Sheil said at a news conference that the event at Trump's posh Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach was scheduled long before Trump was elected president. "At this time, we have no further commitments to hold any events at that facility, but we will hold our event there at the end of this month which is very difficult to change at this time," Sheil said. Sheil's comment came after the Clinic announced the return of Dr. Suha Abushamma, a first-year internal medicine resident who was detained at an airport in New York on Jan. 28 after arriving from Saudi Arabia. Abushamma, who holds a passport from Sudan, was sent back to Saudi Arabia, where she was there visiting family. She was held a day after Trump signed an executive order banning travel from people from seven Muslim-majority countries, including Sudan. Federal judges have since blocked key parts of the order. Abushamma arrived in Cleveland Monday but the Clinic withheld the information to announce it at their news conference. The Clinic's website says the "Reflections of Versailles: The Hall of Mirrors" fundraiser is scheduled for 7 p.m. on Feb. 25 at Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida. The fundraiser will benefit the Cleveland Clinic Florida. Sheil said the Clinic held the event there at Mar-a-Lago for the past eight years. Sheil was also asked during the news conference whether the Clinic had any comment on Trump's executive order. Sheil said it was a "really complicated time" but that the Clinic embraces diversity. "We're trying to stay out of the politics of this and really focus on making sure that we're doing the right thing for our folks. Our employees, our caregivers, our researchers, our residents and our fellows who are very important to getting advanced patient care," Sheil said. "So we're not taking a political stance at this point but we are doing a lot of work behind the scenes to try to influence change." News of the fundraiser was controversial for many in the medical community who viewed Trump's actions on immigration to be overbearing. Many of those critics work at the Clinic and signed a letter urging the Clinic to denounce its perceived ties to the Trump administration. Clinic CEO Toby Cosgrove also sits on a group that advises Trump on economic issues. Sheil said, when asked if he would resign in the wake of the executive order, that it would be shortsighted to give up a way to have the president's ear. "And I think that's an important opportunity for us to have and to walk away from that, I don't know if that's going to do us any good," she said. She later added that, "a lot of things that we're not saying publicly, you can be assured that things are happening behind the scenes and conversations are definitely happening." Cosgrove was interviewed for a role in Trump's administration for the position of secretary of the Department of Veterans' Affairs. He turned down the possible offer, the same one made by President Barack Obama in 2014. MENTOR, Ohio -- Eleven local cities hold Democracy Days to explore the clout of corporate cash in politics. The cities hold hearings for residents to testify about the influence of corporate donations since the 2010 Citizens United case when the U.S. Supreme Court voted 5 to 4 to wipe out the McCain-Feingold restrictions on campaign donations. Mentor's Democracy Day hearing is at 7 p.m. Wednesday in City Council chambers on the third floor of the Mentor Civic Center, 8500 Civic Center Blvd. Brecksville's hearing will take place from 6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. on Feb. 27 at the Human Services Center, 2 Community Dr. The municipal councils of Cleveland, Bedford Heights and Oakwood have opposed the ruling, and so have voters of Mentor, Kent, Brecksville, Chagrin Falls, Newburgh Heights, Cleveland Heights, Shaker Heights, South Euclid, Toledo and Defiance. Cleveland and the 10 cities with voter initiatives require annual or biennial Democracy Day hearings. Cleveland Heights held its hearing in January. The schedules of other hearings later this year will be posted at municipal websites and at movetoamend.org/ohio. Writing for the majority in Citizens United, the late Justice Antonin Scalia said corporations have the same right of free speech as private individuals. But all corporations are publicly chartered, even if privately held, and given special privileges, such as personal immunity from business liabilities. So Greg Coleridge says they don't deserve every private right. "If money is speech, those who have the most money have the most speech. That's not anything approaching a real democracy," says Coleridge, who leads the Northeast Ohio branch of the American Friends Service Committee and the Ohio branch of Move to Amend, an advocacy group trying to overcome Citizens United by amending the U.S. Constitution. David Bossie, president of the Citizens United group that challenged McCain-Feingold, says on the group's website that the victory "will preserve all Americans' right to free speech... The American people must be free to participate in the political process, and have the freedom to debate the most pressing issues of our time without government restrictions." But Councilman Marty Gelfand of South Euclid says, "It perverts logic and the rights of people in a free society when corporations get all those rights, and they're not really people. When money can be spent at unlimited levels, it pretty much silences everyone else." Trump President Donald Trump speaks to members of military Monday during his first visit to the headquarters of the U.S. Central Command at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Fla. (James Borchuck, Tampa Bay Times via AP) TAMPA, Florida -- Donald Trump continued his assault on media coverage Monday, accusing news agencies of intentionally not reporting terrorist attacks. Trump made the claim while speaking to the U.S. Central Command at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, according to multiple reports. The president offered no specifics on what attacks were not reported. "All over Europe, it's happening. It's gotten to a point where it's not even being reported," Trump said, according to Reuters. "And, in many cases, the very, very dishonest press doesn't want to report it. They have their reasons and you understand that." The White House issued a list Monday evening of 78 attacks it says were inspired or carried out by ISIS, the Associated Press reports. The list includes the truck attack in Nice, France, which received worldwide coverage, and attacks in which there were no fatalities. The AP was unable to confirm if every attack on the list was associated with ISIS. The knife attack at Ohio State University in November and a machete attack at a Columbus restaurant are on the list, nbc4i.com reports. White House press secretary Sean Spicer said Trump actually meant that attacks don't receive enough coverage, the AP reports. "He felt that members of media don't always cover some of those events to the extent that other events might get covered," Spicer said. "Like a protest gets blown out of the water, and yet an attack or a foiled attack doesn't necessarily get the same coverage." Politifact.com reviewed Trump's claim and noted that terrorist attacks occur everyday around the world. Benjamin H. Friedman, a research fellow in security studies at the libertarian Cato Institute, tells Politifact that attacks in the West receive far more coverage than those in other parts of the world. Recent attacks on U.S. soil received extensive coverage, including in San Bernandino, Calif., Orlando, Fla., and at Ohio State University. Ted Bromund, a foreign policy specialist with the conservative Heritage Foundation, tells Politifact that there is evidence that the nature of some attacks has been downplayed. He said some politicians have been hesitant to blame some attacks on radical Islamists. Still, Politifact rated Trump's statement "Pants on Fire." maryland state house ken lund.jpg Bail bond industry donations to Maryland lawmakers totaled $87,000 in 2016, significantly more than in previous years, Common Cause Maryland revealed in a January analysis on lobbying. Maryland is one of dozens of states and jurisdictions that is considering or has reformed its bail system to be more fair to all defendants. (Ken Lund, Creative Commons, licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0) As Maryland weighs options for reforming the state's bail system, the bail bond industry is boosting campaign contributions to politicians who could mandate changes that would abolish commercial bail, a new report found. Industry donations to lawmakers totaled $87,000 in 2016, significantly more than in previous years, Common Cause Maryland revealed in a January analysis on lobbying. Read more about those findings and other bail reform news below. Cleveland.com is examining bail systems locally and across the country in a series, Justice For All, as Cuyahoga County leaders consider ways to make their bail systems fairer. Maryland: The bail bond industry has already donated $135,250 in the first two years of the current election cycle, putting it on track to surpass the $153,300 donated in the last cycle. Maryland ranks third behind California and Florida for campaign donations by the bail bonds industry. The chairs of committees that oversee industry-related legislation were the largest recipients of the donations. Sen. Bobby Zirkin brought in $78,200 from 2011-2017 and $37,000 in 2014 alone, 11 percent of all the money raised by his campaign that election cycle. House Delegate Joseph Vallario collected $45,500 in six years, and $33,500 in 2014, 13 percent of what he raised that cycle. "Our research on the bail industry demonstrates how private industry spending buys influence," Common Cause wrote. "The bail industry and its key members, use strategic campaign spending to build strategic relationships in Annapolis." The industry has not made the same political investment in Ohio, according to the National Institute on Money in State Politics, which provided the data for the Common Cause study. It has donated less than $27,000 to politicians here since 1998. Texas: State Supreme Court Chief Justice Nathan Hecht is calling on the legislature to overhaul a bail system that discriminates against poor defendants and limits judges' abilities to jail risky suspects. "High-risk defendants, a threat to society, are freed," Hecht said in his State of the Judiciary address Wednesday, according to Houston Public Media. "Low-risk defendants sit in jail, a burden on taxpayers. It makes no sense." Hecht's comments come as the state's largest county, Harris, faces a federal lawsuit that alleges inequitable bail practices. Courts in five Texas counties have begun to implement reforms, and now use validated assessment systems to help determine which defendants can safely be released. The Texas Judicial Council recommends the rest of the state follow suit, Hecht said. California: The California insurance commissioner, whose department regulates the bail bond industry, plans to introduce bail reform legislation to the California State Assembly within the next 60 to 90 days, according to CBS San Francisco. "We shouldn't have a system where your detention is based on your income," Commissioner Dave Jones said last week at a hearing on the state's bail system, CBS reports. "There are allegations that's the system we have." Representatives from an advocacy group that is suing San Francisco and Sacramento, alleging unconstitutional bail practices, also testified at the insurance commission hearing. "California operates two systems of justice. One for the rich and one for the poor," said Phil Telfeyan, of Equal Justice Under Law. Hawaii: The American Civil Liberties Union of Hawaii filed a complaint with the U.S. Department of Justice last month requesting the federal government force the state to address the unconstitutionality of bail and other criminal justice practices. More than 1,000 people, almost 20 percent of the state's total inmate population, sit in Hawaii's jails for months every year awaiting trial, the ACLU reports. The organization calls for reforms that would compel judges to determine release based on defendants' risk of flight or of committing crimes, rather than ability to pay. "Such reforms are not only more just and equitable, but they also reduce overcrowding and the cost of incarceration without endangering public safety," the ACLU wrote in a news release. COLUMBUS, Ohio -- A prisoner who used a cinderblock to kill his cellmate last year is now accused of killing another inmate while riding on a prison bus last week, reports say. Ross County Prosecutor Matthew Schmidt tells the Columbus Dispatch that Casey Pigge, 28, "absolutely" is the suspect in the death of David L. Johnson, 61, who was strangled. Just two days earlier, Pigge had pleaded guilty to killing his cellmate, Luther Wade, 26, in February while serving a 30-years-to-life sentence at Lebanon Correctional Institution. There were other prisoners and guards on the bus when the incident occurred, reports say. The prisoners are kept in a gated section of the bus and guards can't see all of the inmates, the Associated Press reports. Other inmates did not notify guards of what was happening, reports say. Schmidt was critical of state prison officials in how it handled Pigge. Although the prisoners reportedly were handcuffed, they were not prevented from moving around. "The fact that he was left alone with access to other inmates is beyond me. I'm completely amazed this was allowed to happen," Schmidt tells the Dayton Daily News. No charges have been filed against Pigge in the most recent slaying, the Daily News reports. State prison officials have declined to comment on the incident, reports say. If you'd like to comment on this post, please visit the cleveland.com crime and courts comments section. Martin Schellentrager Martin Schellentrager, 65, was convicted Tuesday of a felony abduction charge after police said he wrapped his arms around a 10-year-old boy at a Strongsville ice rink and tried to take him outside the building in July. Schellentrager was not wearing pants or shoes during the incident, police said. (Cuyahoga County Sheriff's Department) CLEVELAND, Ohio -- A Cuyahoga County judge found a 65-year-old man guilty of abducting a boy at a Strongsville ice rink last summer. Common Pleas Judge Michael E. Jackson handed down the conviction against Martin Schellentrager at a bench trial that ended Tuesday. The judge acquitted Schellentrager of a felony kidnapping charge that would have carried a possible 11-year prison sentence for the incident that happened July 10 incident at Iceland USA. Jackson will sentence Schellentrager on March 10. He faces a maximum of three years in prison. Schellentrager was indicted on a single kidnapping charge after Strongsville police arrested him in his boxers outside the Holiday Inn on Ohio 82. Witnesses called police after they said a man with no pants or shoes wrapped his arms around a 10-year-old boy in the lobby of the building and started pulling him toward the front doors. The two made it about 20 feet before the boy's father intervened and grabbed his son, prosecutors say. Schellentrager walked outside where police arrested him. Employees of the ice rink, a witness, the boy and his father all told the officers that Schellentrager tried to drag the boy out of the rink, according to court records. The boy, his father, a witness and two officers testified at the two-day trial last week. Prosecutors last week asked Jackson to consider lesser-included charges of abduction, a third-degree felony, and criminal child enticement, a first-degree misdemeanor, when Jackson began deliberating on the kidnapping charge. Jackson said Tuesday that prosecutors did not prove that Schellentrager's actions caused the boy serious physical harm, a key element of the kidnapping statute. Schellentrager committed the enticement, Jackson said, but his actions amounted to more than just the soliciting or luring of a child and involved physical restraint, so he applied the abduction charge. To comment on this story, please visit Tuesday's crime and courts comments page. East Cleveland Three A judge on Monday heard arguments over whether prosecutors should be able to reserve the right to file new charges in the dismissed murder case against three East Cleveland men, Eugene Johnson, Derrick Wheatt and Laurese Glover. The men spent 20 years in prisons before their convictions were overturned in August 2016. (John Harper, cleveland.com) CLEVELAND, Ohio -- A judge on Monday heard arguments over whether prosecutors should be able to reserve the right to retry three East Cleveland men whose 1996 murder convictions were overturned. Lawyers for Eugene Johnson, Laurese Glover and Derrick Wheatt argue that Judge Nancy Margaret Russo should dismiss the case with prejudice, which would leave prosecutors no chance to ever bring fresh charges against them men in the 1995 murder of Clifton Hudson Prosecutors violated the men's constitutional rights to a fair trial in 1996 when they did not turn over evidence that could have exonerated them in the killing, a team of lawyers argued in court documents filed in December. Prosecutors countered that they can't rule out the possibility of ever bringing new charges against the trio, and asked Russo in August not to alter an agreement between prosecutors and defense attorneys to have the charges dismissed without prejudice. This, despite the fact that prosecutors have made no indication that they would bring new charges against the three men any time soon. Judge Russo took the arguments under advisement and made no decision on Monday. She's expected to issue a written ruling at a later date. Johnson, Glover and Wheatt were convicted and sentenced to life in prison in 1996 for Hudson's murder on Strathmore Avenue. Prosecutors at the time said the men were in an SUV when they killed Hudson. After spending nearly 20 years in prison, Russo in 2015 ordered a new trial after lawyers working for the Ohio Innocence Project found evidence was suppressed at the original trial that threw into question the state's theory. Two brothers, who were 8 and 10 years old at the time, told investigators that they saw the shooter run from a nearby U.S. Post Office, not an SUV. And another eyewitness, who was 14 years old at the time of the shooting, recanted her identification of Johnson after the three were convicted. The lawyers also found a 1996 letter from then-assistant prosecutor Carmen Marino to East Cleveland police instructing them not to give defense attorneys the police reports containing the boys' statements. The Ohio 8th District Court of Appeals upheld Russo's 2015 decision to overturn the convictions. The next month, prosecutors reached an agreement with the men's lawyers to ask Russo to dismiss the original charges without prejudice. In the written request for dismissal, prosecutors argued that they wanted to investigate the case further and potentially interview other eyewitnesses who did not testify, including a man who lived next door to the shooting scene who identified Johnson, the court filing said. Russo granted the motion in August, and all charges against the men were dropped. To comment on this story, please visit Monday's crime and courts comments page. "Common household goods, apparel, things that people count on every day, pajamas, will cost more and really just so a certain, select group of corporations can avoid paying taxes forever. We think that's bad policy," he added. "It will force consumers to pay as much as 20 percent more for the products they need. Gasoline is estimated to go up as much as 35 cents a gallon," said "Americans for Affordable Products" advisor Brian Dodge in an interview with "Power Lunch." The measure is part of the House GOP's corporate tax plan and would tax imports and exempt exports. The Republicans' plan to enact a border adjustment tax will leave consumers digging deeper into their pockets, an advisor to a coalition of major retailers told CNBC on Monday. The coalition is made up of retailers like Wal-Mart , Macy's and Nike . However, other corporations in the U.S. are cheering the move. Names like General Electric , Boeing and Pfizer are members of the "American Made Coalition," which supports the border adjustment tax. Brian Reardon, an advisor to "American Made Coalition," told "Power Lunch" the Republicans' tax reform bill will keep jobs and money in the United States and the border adjustment tax is the "glue" that keeps the whole thing together. "The point is to ensure that when Americans are investing in the United States and creating products here that they are not at a tax disadvantage," he said. "The whole point is to cut taxes so that we have more investment, more jobs, higher wages and at the end of the day, the consumer is going to be benefited, not hurt." In fact, the consumer will not be paying more for goods, he argued, pointing out that almost every country the U.S. competes with has this type of tax. "What we found when countries move to a border adjusted tax is that currencies adjust, markets work and the consumers are protected," said Reardon. However, Dodge called the notion that this type of border adjustment tax is common around the globe "grossly misleading." Instead of being a component of a corporate tax package, it is actually a proponent of a value-added tax and that is different, he said. "The argument that currencies will adjust will be cold comfort and probably not fly with Middle American consumers who are concerned about having to pay more for products," he said. CNBC's Gino Siniscalchi contributed to this report. watch now When it comes to President Donald Trump's agenda to deregulate banks, Jim Cramer says investors are fixated on that everything has to go through Congress. "That is the conventional wisdom, and it is just plain wrong," the "Mad Money" host said. The president has freedom when it comes to how hard he wants to enforce rules, and Cramer interprets Trump's actions so far as signaling that he wants regulators to have a lighter touch. In the past, regulators have used the Dodd-Frank Act to come down hard on banks. Those days are over. So, while many investors think a big, bad Trump-related correction in the stock market is coming, Cramer said to count him out. Trump's recent executive orders will slow the economic agenda of corporate tax reform and maybe repatriation of foreign assets, but Cramer thinks a big correction is less likely than others have suggested. About 82 percent of millennials said they actually prefer brick-and-mortar shopping, according to consulting firm Accenture. Paul J. Richards | AFP | Getty Images The repercussions of the dramatic decline in department stores have reverberated deeply into the retail sector, and Cramer says this cannot be dismissed as a one-time-only incident. "The implications here are horrendous for a host of different companies," Cramer said. Perfume and make-up have stood strong as the best segments for stores like Macy's . When Cramer listened to the conference call for Estee Lauder , he realized the struggles of the department store have cut into the company's growth. The conference call made Cramer want to recommend Ulta Beauty , which was cited by Estee Lauder as one of its best venues. However, he couldn't ignore that department stores were mentioned repeatedly as a source of weakness for Estee Lauder. North Face is a department-store brand that Cramer attributed as the chief reason for VF Corp 's tumble. PVH has been hurt from Tommy Hilfiger and Calvin Klein's holiday sales, while Newell Brands cited declining mall traffic as the reason for moderate sales growth. Hasbro seemed to be the only company that could fight the trend, as shares skyrocketed 14 percent on Monday, the company's CEO Brian Goldner explained that the success could be seen right in the brand blueprint. "It's all about engaging the consumer across storytelling and innovation, a lot of digital engagement. We do it all around the world," Goldner said. "Our international business, category for category and region for region, we are up considerably." Hasbro has the exclusive rights to make toys, games and action figures, thanks to a valuable partnership with Disney . It covers well-known franchises movies such as "Star Wars", "Frozen" and the older brands such as Nerf and My Little Pony. Brian Goldner, CEO of Hasbro. Ashlee Espinal | CNBC The repercussions of the dramatic decline in department stores have reverberated deeply into the retail sector, and Jim Cramer says this cannot be dismissed as a one-time-only incident. "The implications here are horrendous for a host of different companies," the "Mad Money" host said. Perfume and make-up have stood strong as the best segments for stores like Macy's . When Cramer listened to the conference call for Estee Lauder , he realized the struggles of the department store have cut into the company's growth. The conference call made Cramer want to recommend Ulta Beauty , which was cited by Estee Lauder as one of its best venues. However, he couldn't ignore that department stores were mentioned repeatedly as a source of weakness for Estee Lauder. Two companies led by Elon Musk are among now 127 companies that have filed a case opposing an executive travel ban. SpaceX and Tesla have joined a legal brief opposing an executive order opposing Donald Trump's executive order that imposes a ban affecting refugees and travelers from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen. Filed to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, which is expected to hear oral arguments on Tuesday, the brief argues that the travel ban is not constitutional and harms U.S. businesses. Musk has drawn considerable criticism for agreeing to meet with the president to discuss various issues. The Verge even called him a "crony capitalist" for continuing to advise the president. Musk had already come out opposing the temporary ban, which the Trump administration says will keep America safe from countries that harbor terrorists. The ban was blocked by a federal judge in Seattle on Saturday, and the Department of Homeland Security has stopped enforcing it for the time being. But Musk also tweeted on Monday that "[m]any in America don't realize how proud they should be of the legal system. Not perfect, but no where is the cause of justice better served." Tweet: " At my request, the agenda for yesterday's White House meeting went from not mentioning the travel ban to having it be first and foremost" Other technology companies joining the brief on Monday afternoon include Adobe , HP , and Slack. Behnam Partopour, a Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) student from Iran, is greeted by his sister Bahar (L) at Logan Airport after he cleared U.S. customs and immigration on an F1 student visa in Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. February 3, 2017. Partopour was originally turned away from a flight to the U.S. following U.S. President Donald Trump's executive order travel ban. President Donald Trump's executive order temporarily restricting travel for citizens of seven majority-Muslim countries was a "lawful exercise of the President's authority," the Justice Department said in a Monday filing arguing the reinstatement of the action. "The district court therefore erred in entering an injunction barring enforcement of the order," the department argued. A federal judge approved a nationwide temporary restraining order against the executive action Friday, saying that the restrictions were unconstitutional. The Department of Homeland Security subsequently said it would no longer force airlines to prevent blocked travelers from boarding their flights. The State Department also reversed its cancellations of visas. Trump's Jan. 27 order sparked nationwide protests as travelers were detained amid initial confusion about interpretation of the executive order. A number of lawsuits were filed following the chaos, including one submitted by the American Civil Liberties Union and other advocacy groups on behalf of those affected by the restrictions. The Monday filing repeats many of the points the government made in a brief it filed over the weekend appealing the injunction. It argued that the Friday injunction reinstated "procedures that the President determined should be temporarily suspended in the interest of national security." Trump tweeted as much, following news of the stay. @realDonaldTrump: The judge opens up our country to potential terrorists and others that do not have our best interests at heart. Bad people are very happy! @realDonaldTrump: Just cannot believe a judge would put our country in such peril. If something happens blame him and court system. People pouring in. Bad! The Justice Department said Monday the ruling in Washington state was "vastly overbroad, extending far beyond the State's legal claims to encompass numerous applications of the Order that the State does not even attempt to argue are unlawful." It contended that the ruling in Washington state sought to protect lawful permanent residents and foreign nationals who have been previously admitted to the U.S. and not those attempting to enter for the first time. "That makes sense because the latter class of aliens have no constitutional rights with respect to entry into the countrya point the State largely conceded below," the filing said. "At most, the injunction should be limited to the class of individuals on whom the State's claims restpreviously admitted aliens who are temporarily abroad now or who wish to travel and return to the United States in the future," the filing said. The jet, a Bombardier Global 5000 with the registration number N689WM, is parked in the city state's Seletar Airport, according to Malaysia's Sarawak Report and Singapore's TODAY newspaper . A private jet belonging to Malaysian tycoon Low Taek Jho who is under investigation for his involvement in the scandal-hit Malaysian sovereign wealth fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) has been seized by Singapore authorities, media in both Singapore and Malaysia reported. Signage for 1Malaysia Development Bhd. (1MDB) is displayed at the site of the Tun Razak Exchange (TRX) project in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. That jet registration information had been listed by the U.S. Department of Justice in a court document last July about assets of Low's that it was looking to seize. The filing, connected to recent developments by Sarawak Report, was part of investigations into alleged corruption and money laundering involving 1MDB funds. In response to an enquiry from CNBC, the Singapore Police Force declined to comment, noting that investigations are ongoing. For more on the grounded jet, see the story from the Sarawak Report. Questions about movement of funds from 1MDB came to widespread attention when the Wall Street Journal reported that in 2013 nearly $700 million had flowed from the debt-ridden fund to Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak's personal bank account. Najib has repeatedly denied wrongdoing and, under pressure from the outcry caused by the report, said the funds were a private donation from a Middle Eastern country he declined to name. He has denied benefiting personally from the funds. In January, Malaysia's Attorney General Mohamed Apandi Ali said that Saudi Arabia's royal family gave Najib a $681 million gift, of which Apandi said about $600 million was later returned. Apandi said that no criminal offense had been committed. But globally, investigations continued into 1MDB in locales as varied as U.S., Switzerland, Singapore and the Seychelles. Follow CNBC International on Twitter and Facebook. CNBC staff contributed to this report. The German stock market closed today at its lowest level of the year. That may sound surprising, given that that the European economy is showing clear signs of improvement. ECB Chief Mario Draghi said the European recovery was "resilient." The Eurozone PMI rose to its highest level in 69 months. Yet there it was: The German DAX down 1.2% to a new low for the year, with the rest of Europe down as well. What gives? It's obvious that political fears are trumping economic optimism. Why? Because the trading community knows they were wrong on Brexit, they know they were wrong on Donald Trump winning the . Now they are beginning to realize that they could be wrong on the direction of European politics, and they are trying not to get surprised again. No one is laughing anymore at the populist candidates who have been making provocative statements for years. No one is laughing anymore when Marine Le Pen, the leader of France's populist National Front party and one of the front-runners in the upcoming French election, says she will pull France out of the eurozone. If they leave, what does it do to the eurozone experiment? That is a clear negative for bond prices. Right now, sovereign debt is priced with an implicit backstop from the ECB. But under Le Pen's plan, the French government would be the sole backstop, with a bunch of Socialists in charge! How would you price the credit spread? I bet you'd cut the price of French bonds. If regulators allow banks to return more capital to shareholders in the form of buybacks and dividends, then Cramer doesn't care how much of Dodd-Frank gets repealed or how long it takes. The president has freedom when it comes to how hard he wants to enforce rules, and Cramer interprets Trump's actions so far as signaling that he wants regulators to have a lighter touch. In the past, regulators have used the Dodd-Frank Act to come down hard on banks. "That is the conventional wisdom, and it is just plain wrong," the " Mad Money " host said. When it comes to President Donald Trump 's agenda to deregulate banks, Jim Cramer says investors are fixated on that everything has to go through Congress. Former Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA) (L) and former Sen. Chris Dodd (D-CT) talk about their hallmark and namesake legislation, the Dodd-Frank reform law, on the fifth anniversary of the law at the Newseum July 20, 2015 in Washington. Cramer attributed the recent rally in bank stocks to this notion of deregulation. If the economy accelerates, he expects the stocks to skyrocket higher because the Federal Reserve will raise rates. The same deregulation has also occurred in the oil and gas industry, as the Federal government has given the green light to both the Dakota Access and the Atlanta Sunrise pipelines. This is good news for stocks such as Energy Transfer Partners and Cabot Oil and Gas . Cramer could only imagine what Trump can do in the National Labor Relations Board, EPA, FTC and FDA. "Just about every regulator in Washington is about to get more business friendly, and these will ultimately be estimate-raising events for so many companies," Cramer said. So, while many investors think a big, bad Trump-related correction in the stock market is coming, Cramer said to count him out. While Trump's recent executive orders will slow the economic agenda of corporate tax reform and maybe repatriation of foreign assets, Cramer thinks a big correction is less likely than others have suggested. It seemed to Cramer that Congress will notbe able to move as quickly as Trump wants them to, and no one can figure out which executive order to move on first. First it was Obamacare, then it was instituting a travel ban, then it was corporate tax reform, then infrastructure, then tariffs. "Way too many firsts, far too little planning," Cramer said. With so many companies like McDonald's , Alphabet and Facebook reporting what appeared to be weak quarters at first that turned out to be strong, Cramer sees many buying opportunities out there. Thus, regardless of political affiliations, the true stars of earnings season have been the companies themselves, not the president. "You should indeed sell what you don't like. But only so you can buy what you do like if we actually get the kind of political sell-off that so many expect but maybe, just maybe, won't happen," Cramer said. Questions for Cramer? Call Cramer: 1-800-743-CNBC Want to take a deep dive into Cramer's world? Hit him up! Mad Money Twitter - Jim Cramer Twitter - Facebook - Instagram - Vine Questions, comments, suggestions for the "Mad Money" website? madcap@cnbc.com ESPN's subscription rates will be a key indicator for investors as they parse Disney's earnings report, to be released after Tuesday's closing bell, analyst Michael Morris told CNBC. The company is expected to post earnings of $1.50 a share on revenue of roughly $15 billion. The Street will be watching ESPN's subscriber growth rate, which continues to be threatened by cord cutters as people lose interest in subscribing to cable. "ESPN is absolutely the big number at the company," Morris said Tuedsay on "Squawk Box," noting that 40 percent of Disney's profits come from its cable networks, and ESPN brings in the largest portion in that segment. "It is significant, and investors will continue to look at the subscriber trends [in] that business for an indication of the future value of the company," said Morris, a media analyst at Guggenheim Securities. CEO Bob Iger told investors last quarter that ESPN would succeed over the long term, and that Disney would target its near-term growth issues. Investors will want to see progress. Morris said a subscription revenue growth rate above 4 percent would be seen positively on Wall Street. Analysts and investors will also be waiting to hear about Iger's next move. With only 16 months left until his planned retirement and no successor in sight, investors hope he'll announce a contract extension. Shareholders hope Iger, who has been at Disney's helm for over a decade, will stay to find a long term solution to ESPN's growing pains and help the company adapt to the digital era. On Monday, The Wall Street Journal reported that Iger may delay his departure again. "If Mr. Iger, who by all measures has been a tremendous leader of the company, were to stay on for perhaps an additional two years, giving the company the opportunity to find a more qualified successor, I think that would be well received," Morris said. "But his shoes are incredibly big and will be difficult to fill." Analysts and shareholders are also eyeing Disney's films and parks for growth opportunities. Four Marvel and two "Star Wars" films from the mouse house's 2018 lineup could offset ESPN's sluggish growth. The opening of the "World of Avatar" in Florida's Walt Disney World, based on James Cameron's hit science fiction film, should help boost East Coast park attendance. Morris said Disney is coming off a major growth cycle for its parks, during which volume and price were expanding rapidly. Now, as the parks move closer to their capacity, Disney's focus has landed squarely on handling the growing number of guests, he said. "They really have been focused on price, I think, to ... mitigate some of the challenges that come with attendance growth," Morris said. "But the intellectual property of the company is so strong, it continues to drive people into the parks. It's a capital-intensive business, but it's a tremendous business." Shares of Disney were trading at $109.89 at market close on Monday, down just over 0.6 percent. Over the last three months, shares rose 16 percent. "Without naming names, I can attest that several employees have come to me in the past month questioning this exact point and I've stopped them from leaving the company," one employee wrote on an email chain of worried Amazon employees. According to internal emails and documents obtained by BuzzFeed News, employees have begun voicing concerns about the company's advertising relationship with the provocative far-right website. Some piled on to a complaint ticket in Amazon's internal issue escalation system urging the company to sever its relationship with Breitbart, the site that former editor and nowSenior White House Advisor Steve Bannon once called "the platform for the alt-right." Others are taking even stronger stands. As Amazon positions itself as an outspoken critic of President Donald Trump's immigration policies, inside the company, dozens of employees are voicing deep concern about another political issue: Amazon's choice to advertise on Breitbart.com. Despite this internal unrest, Amazon has given no indication that it is changing its advertising relationship with Breitbart. Responding to the complaint ticket, Amazon's ad team said it would not block the site from its program and closed the ticket from further responses. "As per guidance from PR/Policy/Legal, the DA team are not blocking breitbart.com," Amazon's ad team wrote. "As per prior guidance 'our customers are choosing to go there. It is not our place to assume why they're going there, or impose our own standards.'" The ad team did specify that it was looking into a "longer term solution to use a 3rd party brand safety which may block amazon ads from showing up on certain pages on sites like Breitbart in the future." Amazon's human resources department then closed the complaint ticket. Amazon declined to comment for this story. More on BuzzFeed: Even good-guy student loan startups favor the rich Twitter tackles trolls with three new anti-harassment features Here's what Facebook's Live video filter bubble looks like Currently, Amazon advertisements that appear on Breitbart are placed there programmatically, meaning they are algorithmically and automatically purchased from third party advertising exchange inventory. The ads are calibrated in such a way that Amazon customers see them on websites they choose to visit. In other words, if no Amazon customers visited Breitbart, no Amazon ads would appear on Breitbart. While Amazon doesn't have a direct relationship with Breitbart, it does choose which exchanges through which it buys and sells ads, and could potentially earn revenue from Breitbart's audience. Amazon's Associates program's rules explicitly state that publishers using its advertising API may not "promote discrimination," a line item that a number of Amazon employees feel Breitbart violates. "I actually do believe Amazon does have the right to follow its customers to wherever they may spend their time online, but I also believe that amazon employees have the right to reject profiting from and funding any website they personally disagree with," one employee wrote in an email. "It seems evident now that for some current Amazonians, Breitbart is one of those sites." Amazon's decision to abruptly close the Breitbart complaint ticket caused confusion among employees advocating for the company to end its advertising relationship with the site. "Maybe I'm misreading this but it sounds like we've made a very conscious decision to keep advertising on Breitbart," one employee wrote. Said another, "I'm deeply, deeply disappointed in Amazon if that's actually the policy (Amazon would not confirm or deny any policies)." In a different email on the thread, an employee worried that the decision not to distance itself from Breitbart could hurt the company in the future. "While I understand the business concerns and the current climate make talking about this kind of thing a minefield, we're rapidly approaching the point where not talking about it will only foment bad blood, and at best we'll start silently losing customers and employees," the employee wrote on the internal email chain. "That's not the Amazon I know." Since Trump's election, a grassroots online protest movement has emerged that's attempting to cut off advertising revenue to sites it feels promote racism, misogyny, and xenophobia. One anonymous organization that goes by the name of Sleeping Giants has taken to Twitter to exert pressure on advertisers, including Amazon. So far, nearly 400 advertisers, including some prominent brands like Kellogg's, have pledged to stop ad buys on Breitbart. Externally, frustrations over Amazon's decision to advertise on Breitbart continue to mount. A quick search of Twitter returnshundreds of tweets urging the company to "join 750+ corporations & stop advertising w/ Breitbart." A viral petition on the activism site SumOfUs.org titled"Amazon: Stop Investing in Hate" has collected over 311,000 signatures. This outcry comes despite Amazon's pointed criticism of President Trump's refugee ban. On Sunday, CEO Jeff Bezos denounced it in an all-hands message to employees. "This executive order is one we do not support," he wrote. "Our public policy team in D.C. has reached out to senior administration officials to make our opposition clear. To our employees in the U.S. and around the world who may be directly affected by this order, I want you to know that the full extent of Amazon's resources are behind you." On Tuesday, Amazon joined Expedia to file a sworn statement in Washington state court to aid in the state attorney general's lawsuit against President Trump's order. But Amazon's aggressive stance toward the Trump administration's refugee order has left concerned employees mystified as to its relationship with Breitbart. "Given HR's and Jeff's latest statements on immigration executive order, keeping Amazon ads on Breitbart, a white nationalist website which has been promoting the same hateful rhetoric behind the EO, for years, is directly contradictory to the principles HR and Jeff claim Amazon stands for," an employee wrote in an internal email. "The current stance (from the [complaint ticket]) doesn't make me feel safe as an Amazon employee." According to one employee, Bezos's stance this week on the refugee ban has "empowered more employees to speak up and ask leadership to put their foot down." A number of employees have asked that the Breitbart complaint ticket be reopened; meanwhile, they are encouraging further participation from employees to "chime in" and voice their opinions about the company's advertising relationship with Breitbart. A recent internal email obtained by BuzzFeed News suggests that Amazon's leadership is revisiting the issue. The last update on the closed ticket notes that it was being "converted to a secure ticket as we want to avoid confidential business details on a public internal forum. We are working with colleagues to determine next steps." Meanwhile, employees are continuing to pressure leadership with impassioned emails. "We hope for the best, but prepare for the worst," one employee wrote on an internal email chain this week. Another chimed in: "Rest assured our children's children are watching us, in this moment, from the future (assuming we get there)." Famed short-seller Andrew Left revealed his latest target Tuesday Motorola Solutions, which he said is about to see a big decline in its core business of selling "overpriced handsets." In an appearance on CNBC, Left said the company is "completely, viciously, egregiously ripping off the government." Motorola Solutions shares were down about 3.5 percent after news of the short bet broke in the morning, then fell to as much as 5.5 percent in the red after the CNBC interview. The company defended its business in a statement and called Left's comments inaccurate. Left, of Citron Research, said in a report that Motorola Solutions has been relying on sales to government first responders in a noncompetitive market. With President Donald Trump emphasizing the importance of competition for government contracts, Left believes Motorola is in trouble. "Motorola Solutions has been coasting on a simple formula: Dote on police, fire and sheriff's departments, woo contracting officials, pursue every angle to gain a sole-source deal or an inside track, and where possible, embed equipment with proprietary features so it can't interact with competitors' products," he said. The company would be a ripe target for Trump's views on government waste, Left added during the broadcast interview. "It's extremely relevant right now because we have a president who is also very law enforcement friendly," he said. Left set a price target of $45 for the stock, which would represent a 45 percent decline from the Monday close. He said the company charges customers in the U.K. substantially less than its government clients in the U.S., due largely to a more competitive market. That situation is critical for a company that derives 76.7 percent of its sales domestically, he said. Bitcoin jumped more than 2 percent Tuesday to its highest since Jan. 4 amid a surge in speculative activity in Chinese exchanges after a drop in China's foreign exchange reserves. "The volume in the Chinese exchanges is starting to pick up again," said Brian Kelly, founder of Brian Kelly Capital and a CNBC contributor. He is long bitcoin and also noted the move comes as the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission reviews an exchange-traded fund (ETF) that tracks bitcoin's price. On Tuesday, trade volume in Chinese bitcoin exchanges such as OKCoin was 14,500, a level not seen since the end of January, according to market data site TradeBlock.com. The rise in the digital currency followed overnight news that China's closely watched foreign exchange reserves fell by $12.3 billion in January to $2.998 trillion. Although the pace of decline slowed, the drop below the psychologically key $3 trillion level renewed attention on how much Beijing is struggling to support the yuan and prevent capital outflows. Invited guests sign segments of railroad track during a groundbreaking ceremony for a bullet train station in Fresno on Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2015. Republicans in California's House of Representatives are trying to stop a federal grant for a high-speed rail project, according to a Los Angeles Times report. All 14 GOP members in the state's lower house signed a letter addressed to Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao, asking the Trump administration to wait until an audit of the project's finances is complete before sending $650 million in federal funding. Though President Donald Trump has promised to increase U.S. infrastructure spending, the LA Times reports both Trump's and Chao's views on the high-speed rail project are unknown. The railway is planned to run from San Diego to Sacramento and was once estimated to cost $33 billion, according to the letter, but costs have now increased to $64 billion. The representatives who signed the letter, dated Jan. 24, are hoping to stop the $650 million grant from the Transportation Department that could come as early as next week. In the letter, the lawmakers said they are concerned with increasing expenses and the lack of private investors attached to the railway system. Read more about the story on theLA Times website. China's first homegrown passenger plane is to take to the skies before July this year, according to state media. A China state-owned manufacturer first unveiled the C919 in November 2015, leaving analysts wondering whether it can compete with major manufacturers such as Airbus and Boeing. The single-aisle aircraft, which can seat 168 passengers, has now installed its on-board system and undertaken a series of load tests. The People's Daily Online said Tuesday that test results confirm "that the framework of the jetliner is strong enough to support future navigation." The plane, produced by the state-owned Commercial Aircraft Corp of China (COMAC), was originally scheduled to make its debut journey in 2015, but the date was pushed back to satisfy additional testing. Where has all the alpha gone? One of the biggest factors that investors have to deal with when turning their philosophy into a strategy is trying to figure out where their opportunity set lies. Competition in the markets has never been stronger, making it harder than ever to earn the elusive market outperformance that so many institutional investors actively seek. In their book, "The Incredible Shrinking Alpha," authors and investors Larry Swedroe and Andrew Berkin lay out the case backed up with loads of academic research that risk-adjusted outperformance, or alpha in industry-speak, is becoming harder than ever to come by these days. But the reason has nothing to do with the old theory that a dart-throwing monkey can beat the investment professionals because they're all really emperors with no clothes. In fact, it's the opposite. Professional investors are more informed, more highly educated and more competitive than ever before. Yet they are all competing for a shrinking slice of the alpha pie. This is what author Michael Mauboussin calls the paradox of skill. Mauboussin says, "It's not that managers have gotten dumber. It's precisely the opposite. The average manager is more skillful than in past years. The paradox of skill says that when the outcome of an activity combines skill and luck, as skill improves, luck becomes more important in shaping results." How many institutional investors bother to ask themselves if the investment managers they are investing with are lucky or truly exhibit skill? Swedroe and Berkin go on to cite the work of David Hsieh, a finance professor at Duke University's business school, who concluded that there is roughly $30 billion of available alpha for the entire hedge fund industry. It's impossible to know if this number is correct or not, but let's assume it is for the sake of argument. In 1990, there were roughly 600 hedge funds managing close to $40 billion in assets. Today there are well over 10,000 hedge funds collectively managing close to $3 trillion. That $30 billion in alpha is much easier to share when there are fewer funds. The opportunities that were once available to these funds just aren't quite there anymore. This perfectly captured the consensus view that is shared by many money managers and members of the mainstream media, Cramer said. Cramer referred to the New York Times column from Andrew Ross Sorkin that highlighted respected hedge fund manager Seth Klarman entitled "A Quiet Investing Giant's View on Trump." Klarman wrote a private letter to his investors two weeks ago, stating that the euphoria since the election has created "perilously high valuations." "There is a lot of raw emotion when it comes to Trump and when people get emotional, even really smart professional money managers, they stop being able to analyze the situation objectively," the " Mad Money " host said. Instead, it is based on earnings and the belief that companies can do even better. As the criticisms of President Donald Trump 's approach continue to pile up, Jim Cramer reminded investors that the recent strength in the stock market is not because of Trump. While Cramer does agree that Trump's method of tweeting his perspective is "the most thoughtless way to communicate since two cups attached on a string," he doesn't think the president is unpredictable. His approach may not be presidential, but it may not be a reason to sell stocks. "It's been a pretty awful bet to sell since he got elected, and what you saw on the campaign trail is what you are getting right now, pretty much to a T," Cramer said. As for the "perilously high valuations," the market continues to hit new highs, signaling to Cramer that stocks aren't roaring higher for no reason like they did in 1999. It is based on real earnings, and the market has had plenty of time since the election for a sell-off. Ultimately, a pro-business president is good for business, Cramer said. A pro-capital president is good for capital. Investors may hate that agenda, but they aren't investing in Trump-per-share. They are measuring earnings-per-share, and when it comes to Trump, he is always predictable when it comes to American business he loves it. "The new highs we keep hitting are real, they are based on earnings, even if the gains could be erased if Trump truly goes off the reservation," Cramer said. There may be a correction one day, and Cramer recommended maybe investors should raise cash for that event. Maybe the president will tell the Chinese he is done tomorrow and they can't sell in the U.S. anymore. That could cause a crash, Cramer said. Or maybe Trump calls for a Chinese boycott. That would bring down earnings. "As far as I'm concerned, things are better and that, not Trump, might be the real secret sauce behind this extraordinary and very real rally," Cramer said. Questions for Cramer? Call Cramer: 1-800-743-CNBC Want to take a deep dive into Cramer's world? Hit him up! Mad Money Twitter - Jim Cramer Twitter - Facebook - Instagram - Vine Questions, comments, suggestions for the "Mad Money" website? madcap@cnbc.com In the latest episode of the CNBC Conversation, CNBC's Carolin Roth sits down with the chief executive of , Tidjane Thiam, to discuss how his business is faring and what he thinks of key issues affecting his company. Speaking to CNBC's Carolin Roth at the World Economic Forum in , Thiam talks about how it feels to have finalized the bank's $5.3 billion settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice, while looking back at his overall career. The chief executive also goes on to give his views on hot topics such as Brexit and the inequality gap, and whether he believes the company has access to the right talent, when facing competition. "From Brexit, frankly, we are effectively cautious," said Thiam when discussing Brexit. "There are still a lot of open questions. One of them is the transition period. Certainly as an industry, and as a bank, we are in favor of a significant transition period, at least two to three years." "I think that's in the interest of everybody. In the interest of the UK, in the interest of Europe, in the interest of the banking sector. So I hope that we can reach a reasonable agreement on that." Follow CNBC International on Twitter and Facebook. Nikola Tesla "It is paradoxical, yet true, to say, that the more we know, the more ignorant we become in the absolute sense, for it is only through enlightenment that we become conscious of our limitations. Precisely one of the most gratifying results of intellectual evolution is the continuous opening up of new and greater prospects." Tesla was a Serbian-American inventor, electrical engineer, mechanical engineer, physicist, and futurist who is best known for his contributions to the design of the modern alternating current (AC) electricity supply system. Tesla gained experience in telephony and electrical engineering before emigrating to the United States in 1884 to work for Thomas Edison in New York City. In his autobiography, Tesla describes how he works: My method is different. I do not rush into actual work. When I get an idea I start at once building it up in my imagination. I change the construction, make improvements and operate the device in my mind. It is absolutely immaterial to me whether I run my turbine in thought or test it in my shop. I even note if it is out of balance. There is no difference whatever, the results are the same. In this way I am able to rapidly develop and perfect a conception without touching anything. When I have gone so far as to embody in the invention every possible improvement I can think of and see no fault anywhere, I put into concrete form this final product of my brain. Invariably my device works as I conceived that it should, and the experiment comes out exactly as I planned it. In twenty years there has not been a single exception. Why should it be otherwise? Engineering, electrical and mechanical, is positive in results. There is scarcely a subject that cannot be mathematically treated and the effects calculated or the results determined beforehand from the available theoretical and practical data. The carrying out into practice of a crude idea as is being generally done is, I hold, nothing but a waste of energy, money and time. He further talks about his brain training exercises as a child: Although I must trace to my mother's influence whatever inventiveness I possess, the training he gave me must have been helpful. It comprised all sorts of exercises as, guessing one another's thoughts, discovering the defects of some form or expression, repeating long sentences or performing mental calculations. These daily lessons were intended to strengthen memory and reason and especially to develop the critical sense, and were undoubtedly very beneficial. Trump, in a pre-Super Bowl interview that aired Sunday, told Fox News' Bill O'Reilly, that he's "very much opposed to sanctuary cities. They breed crime, there's a lot of problems. If we have to we'll defund; we give tremendous amounts of money to California. California in many ways is out of control ." "You can't just take money away from California," said Davis, a Democrat who led the state from 1999 to 2003. "It would be a fight. And he couldn't do it by himself. He'd have to have the support of the Congress." Gray Davis, the former California governor, on Tuesday blasted President Donald Trump's attack on the state and called his threats to take away federal funds counterproductive and something that will be challenged in the courts. Even so, Davis concedes Trump might be able to withhold law enforcement money from California. However, he said such action would need to be able to stand up in the courts. Davis disputed the president's claim sanctuary cities are crime hotbeds. He countered that the FBI looked at the sanctuary cities and "actually found less crime." Los Angeles and San Francisco are among the major cities in California that limit cooperation with immigration authorities. California lawmakers are considering passing a bill making it unlawful to use state and local law enforcement resources to detain, investigate or arrest persons for federal immigration purposes. Another bill protects people from having their immigration status disclosed by landlords. The former California governor said Trump also should want the Golden State to do well since it benefits the rest of the nation too. "We are the sixth largest economy in the world. We're bigger than Russia. Only the United States, Japan, China, the U.K., and Germany have a larger economy." Also, Davis said California gives more to the U.S. Treasury than it gets back. "If he were smart he would look to the future and try to find a way to get along with California, make sure we prosper even more so we could redistribute money to states that he seems to be more fond of," said Davis. "You don't want a bite the golden hand that feeds you." Last month, California's Democratic state leadership hired former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder as a legal advisor to the legislature as it prepared to wage battle with the Trump administration. Holder was scheduled to attend a summit in Sacramento on Tuesday where state Senate leaders are looking at ways to respond to policy changes by the Trump administration. Holder declined a request for an interview. The governor's office also had no comment. As for the secession talk in California, Davis said: "That's always an option for Californians if [the] executive [branch] gets out of control. We'll just keep our money and the United States can keep theirs." Davis, though, indicated he's "not inclined to sign" the secession petition currently circulating in the state. He also implied that Trump is acting more like a king than a president. "When America revolted against the U.K., we did so because we were upset with the arbitrary decisions of the king," said Davis. "Our founding fathers created a system where things can't get done unless there's widespread consensus in the legislature, in the executive and the courts go along with it. He can't get things done without the Congress going along and the courts supporting his action as constitutional." Meanwhile, Davis also took issue with Trump's characterization of California as "out of control." "I think things are going pretty good in California," Davis said. "Under Jerry Brown, the budget is back in the black. The last two years we've led the country in job creation. Arguably we're the home of innovation in America." Davis continued, "Things aren't perfect. But if we're out of control, I'd hate to see people who are in control." Prior to serving as California governor, Davis was a chief of staff to Governor Jerry Brown and held other state elected posts, including controller and lieutenant governor. Davis lost the governorship in 2003 after a statewide recall; he was replaced by Arnold Schwarzenegger. He has been affiliated with the national law firm of Loeb & Loeb for the past 11 years. President Donald Trump waves to supporters as he walks the parade route with first lady Melania Trump after being sworn in at the 58th Presidential Inauguration January 20, 2017 in Washington, D.C. A little humor from our friends at Racked. On Monday, news broke that Melania Trump planned to use her position as First Lady to launch a lifestyle brand. Today, shoppers everywhere are dying to know what the President's wife might want to give us in exchange for our money. As Mrs. Trump's lawyers point out in her third defamation suit against the Mail Online, the former model had "the unique, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, as an extremely famous and well-known person to launch a broad-based commercial brand in multiple product categories, each of which could have garnered multi-million dollar business relationships for a multi-year term during which plaintiff is one of the most photographed women in the world." When would that multi-year term be? Oh right, when she's First Lady of the United States of America, a position once held by Eleanor Roosevelt! The brand would reportedly include ("among other things") products like "apparel, accessories, shoes, jewelry, cosmetics, hair care, skin care, and fragrance." That sounds great! If only we had specifics! My credit cards can't max out themselves! Wonder no more. Leaked, definitely real documents (and not jokes I made up) from the White House outline an exciting array of products that the brand, obviously called Youlania, hopes to offer. More from Racked: Why it's so hard to find a bra that actually fits You've cleaned out your closet now where should all that unwanted stuff go? Crying-proff makeup you probably need right now Double-Breasted Trench: Pair this chic, Jackie O-inspired coat (DID EVERYONE GET THAT?) with a pair of extra yuge sunglasses, and you'll be able to maintain the air of mystery that keeps all eyes glued to your magnetically dour stare. Are you a victim of an unexpected/unwanted circumstance? Are you a cold-hearted, self-interested enabler? No one will know if you're bundled up in this sophisticated silhouette! Pewter Teapot (Painted Gold): Practice pouring tea for the Queen of England with this exquisite, new-antique tea set. Hold the gleaming neck steady as you picture her asking for another spot of English Breakfast. Let the leaves steep as you imagine her oh, I'm not Iv Ivanka's got it? Okay. Fun Slogan T-Shirt: This sassy shirt which reads "Turn That Frown Upsi He's Not Looking, You Can Frown Again" says everything you want to say to your husband but never, ever can. This 100 percent cotton baby tee would be great for a coffee date with your girlfriends, if you were allowed to have them. Instead, wear it in the closet where you keep your tampons. He'll never look in there. Caviar: Smear it on your face! It's fine to do, just do it. No one is starving anywhere, nothing is wrong, great again, great again, shh, shhh, shhhh. (Disclaimer: There is no scientific proof caviar is particularly beneficial to human dermis.) "Sevnica" Eau de Parfum: One thing is for sure, this luxurious scent is not named after and more importantly does not smell like the small town in which you grew up in Slovenia. It doesn't have notes of the Sava River, rushing by in its glory on a sunny day, or hints of prekmurska gibanica, the traditional dessert with walnuts and apples that your grandmother made for you as a girl. It does not smell like freedom or agency or hope. None of that, it's a great smell, very expensive, hugely the best smell, everyone knows. Just like Channel 5, but better. Throw Pillows: These charming cashmere and silk pillows can absorb any husband's rage, no matter what Jake Tapper says about him. Their lightweight design and lack of hard buttons or zippers means they can be tossed at Morning Joe, or even Chris Wallace, without destroying another TV! And at only $12,000 a pillow, they're easily replaceable! Available in: gold, no other colors. Eyeshadow Palette: Smoky eye makeup: It's still a look! This eight-shade palette, ranging from Dishwater to Raincloud, is made from the purest real smoke. First, the smog chugs naturally from the Chinese factories where President Trump's ties were made but that's not where the process ends! The exhaust is then breathed in by area children, where their little lungs work to purify the toxic emissions into a perfect matte finish. Finally, the highest quality distilled smoke is personally choked from the body of each child, Bart Simpson-style, by Steve Bannon himself! It relaxes him. High Platform Stiletto Heel, Office Wear Collection: These eight-inch heels are a must-have for any business lady. Yes, "dressing like a woman" is key to success, and nothing says professional mobility like anatomy-defying stilts strapped to your ankles. You'll be toppling up the corporate ladder in no time! Gilded Cage: Whether you're punishing a bald eagle that scared your husband or just looking for alone time away from tiny pawing hands, this enclosure will really open up your space. This gorgeous, surprisingly roomy retreat is made of 240-carat gold (that's ten unnecessary layers of 24K gold) and lined with real human hair (no matter what anyone says!). With a hanging perch made of real Howard Stern's Recycled Sex Swing, you'll want to lock yourself away and never come out! Diamond iPhone Case: Like a regular iPhone case, but covered in diamonds. Use with gloves, as this iPhone case is extremely sharp. Only available for iPhone 6. Note: This is a humor article the products mentioned were made up. They are not actual products affiliated with the First Lady. General Motors posted fourth-quarter earnings yesterday that beat Street expectations, however the automaker still saw its shares tanking more than 5 percent today because of border tax concerns and disappointing sales abroad. While investors may be concerned about international trading policies, Seaport Global Securities analyst Michael Ward believes the 5 percent sell-off is unwarranted because of GM's solid quarterly results. "When you look at it from a financial standpoint, GM delivered what they needed to do," Ward told CNBC's "Power Lunch" on Tuesday. "They had record results in 2016. They ended the year with 11 billion of net cash on the automotive side. So I think from all aspects of it, GM's financial results were solid and don't justify a 5 percent sell-off in the stock." And even though Ward understands the border tax proposal is an issue, Ward believes the focus and concern of automakers should shift toward autonomous driving. "I think when you look at the grand scheme of it, there were a lot of questions about the border tax and so certainly that's an issue. But there was about $200 million or so of costs of autonomous driving," Ward said. "Everybody's caught up in the buzz about autonomous driving, but at the end of the day that's about safety and so from my perspective, GM should be investing about a billion dollars a year trying to improve the safety of the vehicles, and if that comes through autonomous driving, that's a plus." Investors have also been concerned about GM's performance in other companies, specifically with China, the largest auto market in the world. However, Ward clarified that GM does not operate as an American company because of a joint venture with Shanghai Automotive, the largest automobile maker in China. "GM is in China with self-funded joint ventures, so GM is a Chinese company," Ward said. "Also, GM imports very few vehicles in China and so it's irrelevant. They made $2 billion in 2016 after tax from the Chinese self-funded joint ventures, so GM's financial risk is minimal." When it comes time to move to a new city, you have to weigh the pros and cons to ensure living there will be a pleasant experience. Does the ease of getting around the city make a difference? Or the pay at a new job? What about the area's reputation as a cool place to visit? More from U.S. News & World Report: The 25 most desirable places to live in the U.S. in 2017 Are the best places to live the best markets to buy a home? 3 up-and-coming places to live To rank the Best Places to Live, U.S. News assesses statistics for the country's 100 largest metro areas, including each location's job market, cost of living, crime rates, educational quality, availability of top-notch health care and more. Each category is weighted based on a survey of 2,000 people across the country and what they said matters most to them when picking their next place to live. Read on for the 25 Best Places to Live in the U.S. in 2017. 25. Omaha, Nebraska Nebraska's largest metro area scored highest for its value. Omaha is the second-most affordable place to live on the Best Places list, behind Des Moines, Iowa. Metro Population: 895,919 Median Home Price: $152,450 Median Annual Salary: $44,920 A view of E. Main St. and downtown Richmond. The Washington Post | Getty Images 24. Richmond, Virginia Located about 100 miles south of the District of Columbia, Richmond attracts visitors every year for its role in American history, and more people are moving to the area thanks to its growing job market. Top employers in the area include Capital One Financial Corp., VCU Health System Authority and the HCA Virginia Health System. [See: The 25 Most Desirable Places to Live in the U.S. in 2017.] Metro Population: 1,246,215 Median Home Price: $216,580 Median Annual Salary: $47,880 23. San Antonio, Texas San Antonio is seeing similar growth in its job market and population as nearby Austin, Texas. Between 2011 and 2015, San Antonio grew by 6.6 percent due to net migration alone. Metro Population: 2,286,702 Median Home Price: $178,408 Median Annual Salary: $43,740 22. San Diego, California What San Diego lacks in affordability it's one of the most expensive metro areas on the list it makes up for in desirability. San Diego's beautiful beaches and laid-back vibe make many Americans wish they lived there. Metro Population: 3,223,096 Median Home Price: $484,625 Median Annual Salary: $54,210 21. Sarasota, Florida Sarasota is another metro area with a reputation for being pricey to live compared to the typical annual income, but its recent rapid growth shows that plenty of people are willing to take on the extra costs. The Sarasota metro area grew by 10.7 percent from 2011 to 2015 due to net migration, the second-greatest population growth in that time period after only Fort Myers, Florida. Metro Population: 735,767 Median Home Price: $224,613 Median Annual Salary: $40,600 20. Houston, Texas Houston rounds out the top 20 with high marks for its cost of living compared to the median annual salary, as well as for its growth due to net migration. Houston is the second of four Texas metro areas in the list of top 25 Best Places to Live in 2017. Metro Population: 6,346,653 Median Home Price: $197,628 Median Annual Salary: $51,830 Bell Outside Van Andel Museum in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Education Images | Getty Images 19. Grand Rapids, Michigan Falling a few spots after finishing at No. 13 on last year's list, Grand Rapids is hailed for its low cost of living, low crime, short commutes and high rate of college readiness among area high school students, as scored by the U.S. News Best High Schools rankings. Metro Population: 1,017,877 Median Home Price: $155,256 Median Annual Salary: $42,950 18. Madison, Wisconsin Madison receives its highest score for having a solid job market. With a median annual salary of $47,490, unemployment is just 3.2 percent, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Metro Population: 627,618 Median Home Price: $219,429 Median Annual Salary: $49,030 17. Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota Minneapolis is hailed for its low cost of living, as residents typically spend just over 25 percent of their income on housing expenses, including utilities. Minneapolis also has an unemployment rate of just over 3.5 percent. Metro Population: 3,458,790 Median Home Price: $223,995 Median Annual Salary: $53,450 16. San Francisco, California San Francisco receives high scores for its desirability among residents, job market and its population growth due to net migration, but it's also one of the most expensive places to live in the country. Residents of the San Francisco metro area spend more than 31 percent of their income on housing expenses. Metro Population: 4,528,894 Median Home Price: $700,875 Median Annual Salary: $66,900 15. Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas The Dallas-Fort Worth metro area comes in at No. 15 for its large growth, thanks primarily to relocation to the area, a solid job market and relatively low cost of living compared to similar-sized cities. Ranked No. 21 on the 2016 Best Places to Live list, Dallas-Fort Worth moves up six spots this year. Metro Population: 6,833,420 Median Home Price: $210,181 Median Annual Salary: $49,030 An aerial view of Uptown Charlotte North Carolina. Streeter Lecka | Getty Images 14. Charlotte, North Carolina Charlotte saw its population grow just over 6 percent between 2011 and 2015. And many people appear to be moving to the area out of simple desire, as Charlotte is the 15th most desirable place to live in the U.S. in 2017. Metro Population: 2,338,792 Median Home Price: $189,508 Median Annual Salary: $48,370 13. Nashville, Tennessee Nashville receives high scores for net migration and desirability, along with the area's relatively low cost of living. Another plus: Music City residents spend just over 27 percent of their income on housing. Metro Population: 1,761,848 Median Home Price: $200,590 Median Annual Salary: $44,700 12. Boise, Idaho Idaho's capital city receives its highest score due to population growth, with Boise growing by 5.8 percent between 2011 and 2015 due to net migration. And with an unemployment rate of 3.7 percent, Boise's job market continues to attract new residents to the area. Metro Population: 651,402 Median Home Price: $228,567 Median Annual Salary: $42,180 11. Colorado Springs, Colorado As the No. 2 most desirable place to live this year, Colorado Springs also scores well for its low cost of living. The median home price is nearly $25,000 less than nearby Denver. Metro Population: 678,364 Median Home Price: $228,431 Median Annual Salary: $47,600 10. Salt Lake City, Utah Salt Lake City rounds out the top 10 in 2017 after ranking No. 27 last year particularly for the area's high value score. Salt Lake City residents spend less than 26 percent of their income on housing expenses. Metro Population: 2,235,531 Median Home Price: $247,052 Median Annual Salary: $44,752 A view of the Iowa State Capitol building in downtown Des Moines, Iowa. Stephen Maturen | Getty Images 9. Des Moines, Iowa Iowa's capital city is the most affordable place to live of the 100 largest metro areas in the country. Des Moines residents spend just 23.8 percent of their income on housing. Metro Population: 601,187 Median Home Price: $168,629 Median Annual Salary: $47,170 8. Boston, Massachusettes With an unemployment rate of just 3.5 percent and a median salary over $60,000, Boston has the strongest job market of the 100 largest metro areas in the U.S. Boston also receives high scores for its desirability. Americans surveyed placed the New England city high on their list of places they'd like to live, given its reputation for being a big city with the friendliness of a small town. Metro Population: 4,694,565 Median Home Price: $321,436 Median Annual Salary: $62,070 7. Raleigh and Durham, North Carolina The metro area best known for boasting three renowned colleges Duke University, University of North CarolinaChapel Hill and North Carolina State University scores highest for its low cost of living and steady growth. Raleigh and Durham grew by 6.4 percent due to net migration from 2011 to 2015. Metro Population: 1,750,865 Median Home Price: $219,466 Median Annual Salary: $51,150 6. Seattle, Washington Whether it's the presence of major corporations such as Microsoft, Amazon and Starbucks or the rainy-but-mild weather, Seattle ranks high on the list of desirable places to live in the U.S. This Pacific Northwest city's lowest score stems from its average commute time, as area residents spend an average of 29 minutes heading to work in the morning. Metro Population: 3,614,361 Median Home Price: $359,693 Median Annual Salary: $59,060 5. Fayetteville, Arkansas Fayetteville is the fastest-growing metro area in Arkansas, having grown more than 6 percent from 2011 to 2015 due to net migration. Fayetteville also has the lowest unemployment rate (2.95 percent) out of the 100 metro areas ranked. Metro Population: 493,095 Median Home Price: $182,508 Median Annual Salary: $43,570 The skyline of Washington, DC, including the Lincoln Memorial, Washington Monument, US Capitol and National Mall. Saul Loeb | Getty Images 4. Washington, District of Columbia The District of Columbia offers ample employment opportunities, both in the public and private sectors. And with a high median annual salary, the area's pricey cost of living is more affordable for the typical resident. Metro Population: 5,949,403 Median Home Price: $371,772 Median Annual Salary: $65,910 3. San Jose, California As the heart of Silicon Valley, it's no secret San Jose has a strong job market, a high desirability score and impressive population growth due to net migration. It also ranked the No. 1 metro area for college readiness among high school students. Metro Population: 1,925,706 Median Home Price: $829,792 Median Annual Salary: $78,620 2. Denver, Colorado The No. 1 Best Place to Live in 2016 slides to No. 2 this year. Denver's highest score comes from U.S. residents' desire to live in the Mile High City, followed closely by its population growth 6.3 percent due to net migration from 2011 to 2015 and strong job market, with just 3.2 percent of area residents unemployed. Metro Population: 2,703,972 Median Home Price: $301,300 Median Annual Salary: $54,450 Kayaking in Austin, Texas. David Kozlowski | Getty Images 1. Austin, Texas With high scores across the board, Austin takes the top spot in the 2017 Best Places to Live in the U.S. list. As an increasingly popular alternative for tech companies to the more expensive San Jose and Seattle, Austin has a strong and growing job market that's also able to meet the needs of the area's growing population. From 2011 to 2015, the Austin area grew by nearly 10.5 percent due to net migration alone, making it the third fastest-growing metro area after Sarasota and Fort Myers. Metro Population: 1,889,094 Median Home Price: $262,182 Median Annual Salary: $49,560 This story originally appeared on U.S. News & World Report. Be Bold. Step up. Speak Out. Lead. These are just a handful of actions the former Democratic Presidential candidate, Hillary Clinton wants women to do or keep on doing. In her first online video statement since President Donald Trump's inauguration, Clinton stated that, even with the number of hurdles women face, she is confident of what lies ahead. "Despite all the challenges we face, I remain convinced that yes, the future is female," said Hillary Clinton, the former U.S. secretary of state. "Just look at the amazing energy we saw last month as women organized a march that galvanized millions of people all over our country and across the world." A day after Trump was sworn in as the 45th president of the United States, women and men across the world congregated in major cities to highlight that women's rights are human rights. On the day of the Women's March, Clinton took to Twitter to thank those who had participated, saying she believes that "we're always stronger together." Shammas Oliyath has spent every lunch break for the last six months telling strangers all over India that a Gujarati woman didn't really give birth to 11 babies at once, malicious Indian grocers aren't really selling AIDS-laced fruits, Guinness hasn't really declared Kannada the world's oldest language, and the UNESCO certainly hasn't named Narendra Modi as the world's best Prime minister. "It's a social service," he said. "I feel really good about clearing people's misconceptions." More from BuzzFeed: Snap's head of creative strategy leaves company ahead of IPO House Democrats highlight the risks to US tech in letter opposing Trump's travel ban A takeover in Silicon Valley: Founders out, private equity in Oliyath, a software engineer at IBM in Bengaluru, is the co-founder ofCheck4Spam.com, a website that focuses on fact-checking and busting viral hoaxes, urban myths, and political propaganda that are spreading on WhatsApp and rapidly becoming India's own fake news crisis. "We are hoping to become the Snopes of India," Oliyath told BuzzFeed News, referring to the San Diego-based website that, in its 20-year history, has evolved from busting urban legends (Does a colony of alligators make its home in the New York City sewer system?) to fact-checking America's 45th President himself. "We want to take the work Snopes has done and apply it in a very Indian context." We want to take the work Snopes has done and apply it in a very Indian context. Doing that not only means debunking Indian hoaxes but also doing it on the very platform where they originate: WhatsApp. The Facebook-owned instant messenger is used by more than 160 million Indians and is by far the fastest way that misinformation spreads in the country. Last year, the Indian state turned off internet access in large swaths of the country to prevent WhatsApp rumor-mongering from inciting tensions. Check4Spam provides a dedicated phone number for people to forward any hoaxes they receive directly over WhatsApp. On a typical day, this hoax-busting hotline gets between 60 and 70 forwards to fact-check. Oliyath works methodically through each forward he gets, sending back links if the rumor in question has already been busted on his website, and trawling the web to verify new ones. He usually skips the first few dozen pages of search results and starts searching from the back "because that's often where the original real post or image on which something fake is based on exists." Often, he relies on what India's mainstream press has already reported, but says that he will frequently double and triple check even traditional sources to prevent any inherent media biases from tainting his debunking. "Sometimes, we'll get a lot of a certain piece of fake news or a hoax, so we can actually tell which hoax is trending on WhatsApp on that day," Oliyath said. "WhatsApp is a good barometer." We can actually tell which hoax is trending on WhatsApp on that day. This ability to spot patterns in hoaxes is particularly useful. In the last few months, for instance, Oliyath has noticed a particular kind of hoax gaining popularity: fake promotional messages that promise free cellular data and voice minutes (includingthis gem where President Trump gives every Indian free mobile minutes) in exchange for clicking on a link or installing an app that inevitably turns out to be malware. "I'm an English-speaking software engineer and I'm fairly savvy, so I can tell that things like these are fake," said Oliyath. "But a lot of older people, early smartphone adopters, and people who don't read or speak English in India are often unable to tell that these promotions are fake and end up installing malware on their phones." Worse, Oliyath discovered that a significant number of his non English-speaking users often ended up mistaking his English debunk itself for a genuine promotion and ended up falling for it anyway. So now he writes "fake" in half a dozen Indian languages on these posts to make sure that users who don't understand English know it's a hoax. Some rumors, like a recent one about buffalo-headed fish found in an Indian river, are fairly easy to bust: Oliyath ran the picture through a reverse image search and instantly found the original one (a regular fish, in case you're wondering). "Most of these guys are pretty bad at Photoshop!" he laughs. Others are harder. Last year, when a WhatsApp forward about 275 job openings in Indian IT giant Wipro started doing the rounds, Oliyath had a Check4Spam volunteer call and email Wipro's HR department to check if the news was true (it wasn't). "It's a lot of legwork," said Oliyath. "It's tough to do it at scale." That's the reason why Check4Spam recently started accepting debunks from volunteers over WhatsApp. "We allow anyone to volunteer," said Oliyath. "But I do scrutinize volunteer-submitted debunks before posting them on the website." Oliyath said that the site currently receives half a million pageviews a month, driven largely by word of mouth (Snopes can get 2.5 million in a single day). Before Bal Krishn Birla, the site's other co-founder came on board in July, Oliyath had been struggling to figure out a way to grow it. Birla, a serial entrepreneur and an SEO expert decided that staying topical was the key to growth. When J Jayalalithaa, a prominent Indian politician, was admitted to a hospital in a critical condition in December, for instance, the duo stayed focused on debunking hoax messages and photographs about her death days before she actually passed away. "Once people receive a WhatsApp forward, they want to know whether it is true or not and they invariably end up looking it up on Google," Birla told BuzzFeed News. "So SEO is important for us to grow." Birla lets Oliyath focus on the actual debunking and calls himself Check4Spam's tech guy, focusing on keeping the website up and running. But he's also drawing up a roadmap: he would eventually like to build a browser plugin to detect Indian fake news on the internet. And if WhatsApp ever lets third-party bots hook into it like Facebook Messenger, he thinks that building a fact-checking bot for India's most popular instant messenger would be a terrific use case. A fact-checking bot for India's most popular instant messenger would be a terrific use case For now, Check4Spam remains a labor of love. Both Birla and Oliyath said that they're not looking for funding or revenue yet, mostly because their real jobs keep them busy, but might think about hiring one or two more fact-checkers to ease their load. The real motivation, they say, comes from the feedback they get. "People are really overwhelmed when they actually send something over WhatsApp to our hotline and promptly receive a response," said Oliyath. "I've had elderly strangers who are obviously new to WhatsApp thank me profusely for our service. Even if the website doesn't grow or turn into anything significant, I'll still bust hoaxes on WhatsApp for them." Want to verify a WhatsApp forward? Send it over to Check4Spam's WhatsApp hotline at +919035067726. Justin Trudeau, Donald Trump's neighbour to the north, has a $500bn problem how to keep Canada's most important economic relationship on track when he is at odds on so many issues with the new occupant of the White House. There are many contrasts between the Canadian prime minister a 45-year old self-declared feminist who campaigned an optimistic message of "sunny ways" and the 70-year US president who won power on a platform of protectionism and immigration curbs. In policy terms, potential flashpoints include the North American Free Trade Agreement, which Mr Trump blames for the loss of US jobs and which he has pledged to overhaul; immigration, with Canada pledging to admit 25,000 Syrian refugees this year; and climate change as Mr Trudeau looks to push through a carbon tax plan while Mr Trump reverses course in the US. More from Financial Times: Nafta: First shots in a trade war Quebec mosque attack suspect charged with murder Biotech industry leaders lambast Trump travel ban "Although Trump's actions in the past few weeks are what he said he would do, they still come as a shock," said Roland Paris, one of Mr Trudeau's top foreign policy advisers during his 2015 election campaign and first months in office. The challenge for Mr Trudeau is to keep faith with Canadians who largely disapprove of Mr Trump, according to recent polls while preserving his country's $500bn annual trade relationship with the US. "It is common sense" not to endanger the relationship, said Paul Frazer, former Canadian ambassador to the US. The prime minister could only watch as Mr Trump fired off a barrage of executive orders, including a travel ban barring people from seven predominantly Muslim countries from entering the US. The ban, currently suspended pending litigation in the US courts, even raised questions about whether Ahmed Hussen, Ottawa's own immigration minister and a former Somali refugee, could still cross the two nations' shared 9,000km border. On ABC's hit show "The Bachelor," young women from across the country compete for the attention, and maybe love, of a hunky single man. Among them are lawyers who don't fear aging, plastic surgery office managers who do, an aspiring dolphin trainer and, notably, several small business owners. Nick Viall from ABC's "The Bachelor" poses in the Getty Images Portrait Studio at the 2017 Winter Television Critics Association press tour. Maarten de Boer | Getty Images This season's Bachelor is Nick Viall, who graduated from the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, with a double major in accounting and supply chain management. ABC describes him as "one of the most accomplished and successful Bachelors. He seems to have it all except for his one true love." Nick, currently an Account Executive at Salesforce, is looking for a strong, confident and similarly accomplished companion. This season, three small business owners already seem to have a claim on Nick Viall's heart: Raven Gates, Danielle Lombard and Corinne Olympios. (A fourth small business owner was eliminated early on.) Their prominence on the show is relatively surprising considering Sarah Brice is the only small business owner to have won, although even she is also a nurse. Over 20 seasons, the Bachelors have most often given their roses to nurses and real estate agents. What is it about this season's small business owners that make them such strong contenders? Raven and Nick. Rick Rowell | Getty Images Raven Gates, 25, is the owner of women's fashion boutique Grey Suede in Hoxie, Arkansas. Her company offers Bachelor-themed clothing and has incorporated Raven's time on the show into savvy social media campaigns that tap into a devoted consumer base. According to the company's website, however, Raven's journey has not been without its hardships: "At the age of 24, after a year of Law School, and the devastating news of her dad being diagnosed with lung cancer, Raven had a 'come to Jesus' moment. Life's too short not to do what you love, and she loved two things: Fashion and being a Girl Boss. "With less than $1,000, Raven single-handedly created Grey Suede, one of Northeast Arkansas most successful businesses. With less than a year of being open, Raven now employees 10 women, and has made young girls all over Arkansas believe that you should never be limited by where you come from, what you've been through, or how much money you don't have. You can make your dreams become a reality." Raven's story reminds us of the determination and perspective needed to be a small business owner. Perhaps these are qualities that Nick appreciates and is looking for in a future wife. Danielle and Nick. Rick Rowell | Getty Images Danielle Lombard is a 27-year-old entrepreneur living in Los Angeles, California. At 23, she opened her first business, the nitrogen ice cream shop Crafts Creamery. On her profile, she calls that her greatest achievement to date. Since then, Danielle has opened multiple nail salons. According to her LinkedIn profile, she continues "looking for opportunities to use retail management skills, creativity, and passion to deliver meaningful results within a large established corporation." Lombard describes herself as a "true relationship builder, self-starter, and team player with exceptional communication skills." Corinne and Nick. Rick Rowell | Getty Images This undated picture released from North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on June 23, 2016 shows a test launch of the surface-to-surface medium long-range strategic ballistic missile Hwasong-10 at an undisclosed location in North Korea. KCNA | AFP | Getty Images The nuclear threat from North Korea looks greater than ever. Even as the new U.S. defense secretary warned North Korea on Friday of an "effective and overwhelming" response if the rogue state uses nuclear weapons, images indicate that Pyongyang continues to rapidly build out its missile program research, development and facilities for storing, launching and testing missiles. "There's a lot going on. It's not looking good," said David Schmerler, research associate at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies. Schmerler is part of a team that analyzes pictures from Google Earth and private satellite imaging firm Planet Labs over time, using propaganda videos and other sources to tip them off on where and how to scrutinize most closely. watch now In his analysis of several North Korean missile development and launch areas, Schmerler has in recent weeks identified a new missile facility that he said is "significantly larger" than comparable facilities in the country. Video still of satellite launch vehicle Sanum-dong facility aerial shot in 2016 Sanum-dong in 2011 Sanum-dong in 2009 Source for all 4 images: James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies. Footage from a North Korean network showed dictator Kim Jong Un inspecting a large satellite launch vehicle at the building last February, Schmerler said. His research put the building at Sanum-dong in the northern part of the capital, Pyongyang. Details on the structure have previously not been released. Satellite launch vehicles big rockets, essentially are not weapons, but their development shows how quickly North Korea's ballistics technology has advanced. Tests of the projectiles can provide valuable data for further weapons development. "The reality is that if North Korea doesn't test those missiles, its program doesn't advance. One thing the U.S. has to think about is, how do you prevent them from testing?" said Bruce Bennett, senior defense analyst at research organization Rand Corp. The findings come as North Korea held two nuclear tests in 2016 and has greatly advanced its technological capabilities. The northeast Asian nation has conducted more than 20 missile tests, fired missiles from submarines, tested a rocket nose cone for its ability to withstand the heat of re-entry, and claimed its first hydrogen bomb test all in the last year. Schmerler's team had an informal set of criteria they believed the rouge state had to achieve before the researchers got worried. "Last year," Schmerler said, "North Korea kind of checked off that entire list." North Korea ballistic missile and weapons sites Source: Google, James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies. When Schmerler looked at satellite images of Sanum-dong this year, he found a building with a unique skylight and 12-beam structure that matched the interior footage. Prior to 2009, Schmerler had seen only a small, non-military related structure in that location, but new construction began by 2012, satellite images reveal. He estimates the main hall is about 66-by-30 meters large, or more than 21,000 square feet. That's plenty of room to hold what he believes is a 30-meter Kwangmyongsong rocket. Using satellite images from Planet Labs, Schmerler has seen increased activity at other North Korea missile-related locations, including paving work near the Sohae Satellite Launching station. More weapons tests to come? Kim said in a New Year's Day speech that his country is close to a test launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile. Such a test could come in the next few months. North Korea celebrates the birthdays of Kim's father and grandfather in February and April, and state commemoration of the former dictators could prompt Kim to test weapons in a show of strength. The U.S. and South Korea will hold military exercises in the coming weeks. South Korea is also expected to hold a presidential election this year. "I think you're right to suspect things are a lot more combustible in Asia now," said Isaac Stone Fish, senior fellow at Asia Society's Center on U.S.-China Relations. He likened the tensions to those around the Vietnam War, Tiananmen Square and the collapse of the Soviet Union. However, weapons tests have calmed in the last several weeks. Experts say Kim is waiting to see how South Korea's elections unfold. President Donald Trump also remains an uncertainty. An increasing priority for the US Trump has called the North Korean dictator a "bad dude" and a "maniac," but also once suggested that the two could meet over hamburgers to discuss improving the countries' relationship. North Korea appears to be a top U.S. foreign policy concern, given that James Mattis made his first overseas trip as the new U.S. secretary of defense to South Korea. During his two-day trip, Mattis reiterated the U.S. commitment to deploying an anti-ballistic missile system in South Korea this year. "Secretary Mattis was very effective in reassuring this important U.S. ally, and also strengthening deterrence against North Korea, without being unnecessarily provocative," Bennett said. "This is a very positive outcome from his visit to South Korea." WATCH: Why Trump's foreign policy is on a collision course in the South China Sea People sit with insurance agents as they discuss plans available under the Affordable Care Act. Getty Images The "state" of Obamacare depends on where you look. Obamacare enrollment on marketplaces run by individual states is on track to rise this year, in contrast to the decrease seen in sign-ups on the federally run exchange, data shows. That data suggests that sign-ups on the 12 exchanges operated by states and the District of Columbia will increase by at least 2 percent compared with last year, according to the leading Obamacare tracking site ACASignups.net. In contrast, the federal HealthCare.gov marketplace, which serves residents of 39 states, had about 4 percent fewer sign-ups, as of the close of open enrollment Jan. 31. The uptick in enrollment on the state-run exchanges provides evidence that the Trump administration's last-minute decision to gut advertising and outreach efforts for the federal marketplace HealthCare.gov dampened sign-ups there. State-run marketplaces, which do their own marketing, were not apt to be affected by that pullback for HealthCare.gov. watch now And despite the fact that enrollment nationally will decrease as a result of HealthCare.gov's decline, the increase on state marketplaces also could provide ammunition to supporters of Obamacare as they pressure lawmakers to retain all or most of the Affordable Care Act. "Absolutely," said ACASignups.net operator Charles Gaba when asked if enrollment growth on so-called state-based marketplaces complicates Republican plans to repeal and replace Obamacare. Republicans already have hedged on when those plans would go into effect as individual members of Congress have voiced fears about changes that could lead to losses in coverage for millions of people. "The fact that enrollment in the state-based marketplaces does appear to have increased a little bit ... suggests that there may not be huge room for growth, but it appears [the market is] fairly stable on the SBM side, at least," Gaba said. "I think it's a good thing," he said. Since they began being generated in late 2013, when the government-run exchanges opened for business, Obamacare enrollment numbers have been used by both proponents and opponents of the ACA to make their respective arguments. Obamacare supporters have pointed to the millions of people who have signed up for coverage on the exchanges, particularly when enrollment exceeded the prior year's tally, as evidence the law is a success. But Obamacare foes have pointed to the millions of Americans who remain uninsured, as well as shortfalls in enrollment compared with initial predictions, as evidence that the law is not working. Right before President Barack Obama left office in January, federal health officials were expecting national enrollment in Obamacare plans to top 13 million, which would represent an increase, albeit a slight one, from 2016's sign-up tally of 12.7 million. Those expectations were dashed in the final week of enrollment when the Trump administration canceled ads and outreach programs for HealthCare.gov. Although the administration soon afterward allowed email and Twitter reminders about HealthCare.gov to resume, former Obama administration officials called the pullback "sabotage" that was expressly designed to depress enrollment. watch now Last Friday, federal health officials revealed that total sign-ups on HealthCare.gov were at 9.2 million 400,000 or so fewer than last year's tally. It was the first time a drop was seen in enrollment on HealthCare.gov, and the first time that a dip will be seen nationally for Obamacare sign-ups. Because of HealthCare.gov's drop, national enrollment, after factoring in the 3 million or so state-based exchange enrollees, likely will be around 12.2 million or so. The decline on the federal exchange was cited by a spokesman for the U.S. Health and Human Services Department as evidence that Obamacare isn't working. HHS runs HealthCare.gov. "Obamacare has failed the American people, with one broken promise after another," that spokesman said as the numbers were released. But state-run marketplaces have released numbers that could tell a different story, at least when looked at cumulatively. Washington state reported that enrollment was up more than 12 percent over last year. Colorado's tally jumped by more than 14 percent. And enrollment in Massachusetts surged by nearly a whopping 24 percent. That rise is stunning, particularly because Massachusetts for years has had a relatively high percentage of residents covered by health insurance. New York's exchange reported a nearly 11 percent drop in sign-ups. But that decline was more than offset by a 75 percent increase in the number of residents enrolled in basic health plans, which are not counted toward Obamacare enrollment. Maryland's site dropped 2.8 percent. Connecticut on Tuesday reported that enrollment on its exchange was down by almost 4 percent. But the District of Columbia's exchange, which covers far fewer people than Connecticut's, grew by more than 4 percent, DC announced Tuesday. On Monday, California's exchange released a statement sayings sign-ups would be more than 1.5 million. On Tuesday, the exchange told CNBC that the actual tally was 1.56 million a 1.2 percent drop in sign-ups compared to last year. An exchange spokesman said the number was "no surprise" given that the head of the marketplace last spring said it had reached "a cruising altitude." Other states have yet to report their final tallies, although Minnesota's exchange three weeks ago already was nearly 28 percent ahead of last year's sign-up tally. ACASignup.net's tracking of previously disclosed numbers and newly disclosed numbers by the 12 state-based markets shows that enrollment is already up 2 percent over last year, with 3.02 million sign-ups. Larry Levitt, an Obamacare expert with the Kaiser Family Foundation, said the difference in outcomes on HealthCare.gov and the state marketplaces likely reflect the effects of messaging around enrollment. "While the Trump administration pulled outreach ads as the open-enrollment period ended, state marketplaces were continuing to market to potential new enrollees," Levitt said. "With so much churn in the insurance market as people's circumstances change, constant outreach is necessary to keep enrollment up." Levitt also said, "There has been enormous uncertainty about the future of the ACA following the election. The messages out of Washington were that the law will be repealed quickly and replaced." "State-based marketplaces were able to communicate with potential enrollees in a clearer and more nuanced way about their options with the law's benefits and requirements still in place." Timothy Jost, a health law professor at the Washington & Lee School of Law, also believes the differences in outreach strategies in the final days of enrollment made a difference. But, "A larger factor might be the overall environment," Jost said. "The states tend to be favorable to the ACA generally. My impression is that the largest enrollment drops were in very red states such as Texas where hostility to the ACA is more widespread," he said. Jost also that the executive order signed by President Donald Trump on his first day in office, which authorized federal officials to scale back Obamacare rules, might have played a role. "The executive order was interpreted, incorrectly, by some to mean that the individual mandate would no longer be enforced," Jost said, referring to the Obamacare requirement that most Americans have some form of health coverage or pay a tax penalty. "I wonder if these reports were more widespread, or more widely believed in more conservative states?" Jost said. "Indeed, repeal, either by the Trump administration or Congress, may well have seemed more of a certainty, and more likely to occur quickly, in redder states. Why enroll if there was no legal requirement and the law would disappear quickly in any event?" Watch: Novartis CEO seeks details on Obamacare replacement Here are some of the key stories CNBC is following this hour: House Speaker Paul Ryan announced at his press briefing on Tuesday that the legislation to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act will be completed this year, though a potential rollout may take until 2018. President Donald Trump had said earlier in an interview with Fox News that people may not see the replacement until next year. Here are some of the key stories CNBC is following this hour: In an historic vote, the Senate confirmed Betsy DeVos as Education secretary after Vice President Mike Pence's unprecedented tie-breaking vote. Two Republicans joined 48 Democrats to vote against Devos. Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly said before the House Homeland Security Committee that he expects a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border to be well under way within the next two years. A cheese snack that looks like slain gorilla Harambe sold on eBay for nearly $100,000. Last year, the gorilla was shot by handlers at the Cincinnati Zoo after dragging a small boy who fell into its enclosure. The seller said he found the snack that resembles Harambe in a bag of Flamin' Hot Cheetos. The bid began at $11.99. Royal Dutch Shell may have seen its profits slammed thanks to low oil prices, but its CEO told CNBC on Tuesday that the company's strategy isn't reliant on a certain oil price outcome. "We have to be competitive, rather, at every oil price level, and that means that we have to continue to work on reducing our breakeven price of the company, making sure that we have a competitive sense of projects with a low breakeven price per project so that every point in the price cycle we are competitive," Ben van Beurden said in an interview with "Closing Bell." The oil giant recently delivered its worst annual profit in more than a decade as low crude prices continued to weigh on the industry. On the earnings conference call last week, van Beurden said that while the earnings didn't "look good" for investors, he was pleased with the company's performance as it completed its merger with gas utility BG. "2016 was the transition year, 2017 needs to be the delivery year," he said on the call. Van Beurden told CNBC on Tuesday the company is working to pay down its debt, which will not impact its dividend. "We have been, for two consecutive quarters, generating a free cash flow that can not only pay the cash dividend but in the last quarter also started to make headway with our debt reduction. $4.5 billion it's a start, but it's in the right direction," he said. He also wants the company to reclaim its status as industry leader. "For two decades we have been struggling a little bit but we are getting back to that point and I want us to be, again, back in terms of total shareholder return to the No. 1 spot." CNBC's Silvia Amaro contributed to this report. Solar jobs in America increased at an "historic" pace in 2016 on "unprecedented" consumer demand as the cost of solar panels declined, according to The Solar Foundation's National Solar Jobs Census 2016. The report now in its seventh edition found that the solar industry accounted for two percent of all jobs created in the U.S. over the past year, with solar jobs increasing in 44 of the 50 states. As of November 2016, 260,077 solar workers were employed by the industry, "representing a growth rate of 24.5 percent since November 2015." Over the 12 month period, the solar industry was responsible for more than one in every 50 new jobs created in the U.S. "With a near tripling of solar jobs since 2010, the solar industry is an American success story that has created hundreds of thousands of well-paying jobs," Andrea Luecke, president and executive director of The Solar Foundation, said in a statement. "In 2016, we saw a dramatic increase in the solar workforce across the nation, thanks to a rapid decrease in the cost of solar panels and unprecedented consumer demand for solar installations," Luecke added. "More than ever, it's clear that solar energy is a low-cost, reliable, super-abundant American energy source that is driving economic growth, strengthening businesses, and making our cities smarter and more resilient." California had the highest number of jobs in solar, with Massachusetts, Texas, Nevada and Florida following behind. "Solar is an important part of our ever expanding clean energy economy in Massachusetts, supporting thousands of high-skilled careers across the Commonwealth," Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker said. "Through the continued development of solar incentive programs, Massachusetts is positioned to double the amount of solar for half the cost to ratepayers and maintain our position as one of the best states in the country for energy diversity." The Solar Foundation's results are based on what it described as "rigorous survey efforts." This included over 500,000 phone calls and more than 60,000 emails to both "known and potential energy establishments" across the U.S. More than a thousand Google employees marched in protest on Jan. 30, 2017, against the Trump administration's immigration ban. More than 1,200 Silicon Valley technology workers in the Bay Area are planning to walk off the job on March 14, turning a special day for math geeks into a protest against President Trump. Among those taking part in the Pi day protest put on by Tech Stands Up To Trump are employees from Facebook, Apple and Google. Similar anti-Trump rallies are being organized in Los Angeles and Austin, pointing to growing grassroots activism among the rank-and-file in the tech industry. "Are you a tech worker or tech user that is upset that our leaders are mysteriously quiet about Donald Trump? On March 14th, Pi day, let's show our tech leaders that they can not have their cake and eat it too," the Facebook page reads. "We are calling for all workers of companies that have either supported Trump, sat back and said nothing, or have been too worried about their stock price to say anything to walk out at 12 p.m. on March 14th. We have to force the hand of these extremely powerful individuals to stand up publicly for what is right." More from USA Today: The 127 companies on the immigration amicus brief Musk dialogs with Trump, but his companies want to fight Who wins from Trump immigration policy? Robotic berry pickers, for a start Software engineer Brad Taylor told Axios he created Tech Stands Up after the tech industry's muted response to Trump's immigration ban. Nearly 100 tech companies on Sunday night filed a legal brief opposing the ban. Tech leaders are being pressured by employees to use their platforms to speak out against Trump administration policies. Last week, about 2,000 Google employees walked off the job to protest Trump.Comcast employees also walked out last week in Philadelphia. Catherine Bracy, co-founder of techequity.us, last week launched techresistance.org "to help provide some scaffolding for all this new civic consciousness among techies." A handful of Facebook employees have committed to fly less or stop flying altogether for the next 90 days to protest the Trump executive order, according to Business Insider. The protest was organized by Facebook vice president of engineering Regina Dugan, who posted about it on her Facebook page. Pedestrians walk past a Tata Consultancy Services Ltd. (TCS) building in the Electronics City area of Bengaluru, India. Dhiraj Singh | Bloomberg | Getty Images As the world grapples with the implications of President Donald Trump's order temporarily banning immigration from seven Muslim-majority nations, a leaked draft of another executive order is raising concerns in Silicon Valley that tech industry immigrants could be the administration's next target. The draft proposal is vague, and it's unclear how heavily the Trump administration is considering the proposal or whether or not the president will even sign it. "It didn't have a lot of teeth," said Graham Adair immigration lawyer Sam Adair, who pointed out that the order hasn't been signed despite being leaked almost two weeks ago. But it does make one definitive point: "Visa programs for foreign workers should be administered in a manner that prioritizes the protection of American workers." watch now An Infosys employee sports a t-shirt featuring a U.S. flag as he buys coupons for lunch while others wait for their turn at companys headquarters in Bangalore, India. Aijaz Rahi | AP With Capitol Hill in the background a crowd fills the streets on Washington, during the Women's March on January 21, 2017. Americans have been purchasing political merchandise for decades. At the very first presidential inauguration, citizens wore metal pins bearing the phrases "Long live the president" and "GW" for George Washington. Abraham Lincoln was the first president to have his image on a pin. In the 1960's and 70's protestors made their own buttons at home in support of the civil rights movement. Today, political merchandising is even more vital to a movement's success, and the potential for profit is far greater. The "Make America Great Again" Hat Perhaps the most recognizable piece of political swag in recent history is President Donald Trump's 'Make America Great Again' hat. The iconic red cap, which retails for $25, has sold out multiple times and won symbol of the year from the Stanford Symbolic Systems Program. Richard Theriault of Bangor, right, and his father Paul Thriault of Fort Kent wearing Make America Great Again hats. Portland Press Herald | Getty Images Trump submitted his application to trademark the phrase "Make America Great Again" back in November of 2012. He has profited from the decision politically and financially ever since. The phrase is not original. Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush both said, "Let's make America great again" in the presidential election of 1980. Bill Clinton used the phrase in his 1991 presidential announcement speech but more recently referred to it as a "racist dog whistle." In the 2016 primaries, candidates Senator Ted Cruz and Governor Scott Walker used the phrase until the Trump operation sent cease-and-desist letters. His trademark allowed him to control his opponents and develop exclusive merchandise, most notably in hat form. A cutout of US President Donald Trump wearing a 'Make America Great Again' hat is seen at a souvenir shop in the airport terminal at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. Saul Loeb | Getty Images The majority of the MAGA caps are made in the Cali-Fame factory in Southern California by immigrant labor. The Washington Post estimates that Trump makes about $8 in profit for every hat sold (84,000 of them by June of 2016 for a total of $672,000). Knock-off hats are made in factories in countries like Bangladesh, Vietnam and China. These manufacturers benefit greatly from demand, while Trump benefits from their reproduction because they help foster political support. And, since Trump's election, political merchandise has played a central role in protest culture. Demonstrators attend the rally at the Women's March on Washington on January 21, 2017. Kevin Mazur | Getty Images At the Women's March on January 21st, thousands of woman wore pink knit hats with distinctive ears as a way for "women, whether transgender or cisgender," to "come together to support women's rights in a creative and impactful way." The hats were controversial in certain circles but undeniably popular. One major difference between the pink and red hats is who they benefit. Unlike Trumps' red hats, the pink hats are usually handmade. No one company or individual profits. However, a rise in pink yarn sales has benefited companies like Michael's as well as local knitting stores. Furthermore, the careers of founders Krista Suh and Jayne Zweiman are likely to benefit from their idea taking off. Casey Ryder of Portland Fiber knits a pink pussy hat Thursday, January 12, 2017. Portland Press Herald | Getty Images Safety pins The safety pin trend began after the Brexit referendum: Wearing a safety pin came to symbolize solidarity with those who are victims of hate crimes. After the election, the trend crossed the pond. Celebrities like Kerry Washington are still wearing them. While a regular old safety pin can seem easy to find, many craft stores started selling out after the election, and some entrepreneurial types have chosen to capitalize on the demand for them as statement jewelry. Etsy artist Rebecca Cullen achieved notoriety for marketing a $335 safety pin necklace. Other artists have created their own more affordable versions and pledged to donate proceeds to charity. The runners up Not all political merch becomes a viral success. Bill Clark | Getty Images President Donald Trump asked a Texas sheriff Tuesday if he should "destroy" the career of a state senator who introduced legislation the sheriff opposes. During a White House listening session with law enforcement, Rockwall County Sheriff Harold Eavenson brought up a state senator who introduced a bill requiring that a suspect be convicted before their assets can be seized, an action he opposed. Efforts to stop the practice of seizing assets before conviction have received bipartisan support in the state. Trump responded by asking for the senator's name. "Who is the state senator? Do you want to give his name? We'll destroy his career," Trump said, prompting laughter among those gathered at the meeting. Eavenson did not give the lawmaker's name. It was not immediately clear to whom he referred. Republican Texas Sen. Konni Burton and Democratic Sen. Juan Hinojosa have pushed for the asset forfeiture changes, according to The Dallas Morning News. Law enforcement officials have largely been supportive of Trump and his pledges to empower police. The White House declined to comment on this story. President Donald Trump said Tuesday he is not backing down on an executive order halting travel from seven Muslim-majority countries, vowing to fight legal challenges to his most divisive action so far as president all the way through the courts. A federal appeals court in San Francisco will hear arguments Tuesday over whether the United States should restore the order. Federal Judge James Robart, who serves in the state of Washington, previously suspended it, prompting personal attacks from Trump. Trump suggested that his administration will keep pressing the fight if the appeal fails. "We're going to take it through the system," Trump told reporters at the White House. "It's very important, it's very important for the country regardless of me or whoever succeeds at a later date. We have to have security in our country." Asked if he thinks the case will go to the Supreme Court, Trump said "we will see." He added that "hopefully, it doesn't have to." Trump's order signed late last month sparked confusion at airports and protests around the country. Key leaders in corporate America also slammed the move. On Monday, 97 companies filed an amicus brief with the appeals court, saying Trump's move inflicts "substantial harm." Justice Department lawyers will argue the case against opposing attorneys from the states of Minnesota and Washington. The appeals court will focus on whether the lower court had the grounds to suspend the order, not the legality of issuing the order itself. Trump's order temporarily barred travelers from seven Muslim-majority countries with visas from entering the United States amid what the White House called a need to vet immigrants properly to prevent terrorism. It also temporarily halted refugee admissions and barred Syrian refugees indefinitely. The White House has defended it as necessary to properly vet people who could attempt terrorist attacks on American soil. Trump on Tuesday urged courts to "act fast" and has repeatedly contended that people are "pouring in" because of the judge's action, without evidence to back that claim. A provision tucked into the 2010 Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform law requiring companies to release a ratio of CEO compensation versus median worker pay has nothing to do with preventing the next financial crisis, said Paul Atkins, former SEC commissioner and President Donald Trump's leading advisor on financial regulations. In a continuation of actions aimed at reducing business regulations, Trump on Friday signed an executive order directing the Treasury Department and other regulators to review actions taken under the post-2008 crisis Dodd-Frank framework, including the Volcker rule, and deliver a report on which ones work and which ones don't work, within 120 days. The CEO-worker pay ratio "was thrown in there at the behest of special interests," Atkins told CNBC's "Squawk on the Street" on Tuesday. "To have social aspects come into SEC disclosure policy is not the best way to run that agency or the disclosure system." After long delays and opposition from corporate America, the Securities and Exchange Commission in August 2015 approved the rule in a 3-to-2 vote. "The SEC chose one of the most burdensome ways of implementing that provision. So it's very costly for companies, especially international ones with lots of different employees to comply with," said Atkins, who served as SEC commissioner from 2002 to 2008 during George W. Bush's presidency. Atkins is currently CEO of compliance consulting firm Patomak Global Partners. As a member, Atkins attended Friday's White House meeting of the President's Strategic and Policy Forum, chaired by Blackstone Chairman and CEO Steve Schwarzman. JPMorgan Chairman and CEO Jamie Dimon and BlackRock Chairman and CEO Larry Fink, also forum members, were in attendance as well. In a second financial-related action on Friday, in the form of a presidential memo, Trump directed the Labor Department to delay implementation for the next 90 days and conduct a review of the so-called fiduciary rule, designed to prevent conflicts of interest when financial advisors give retirement advice. In CNBC interview Friday, White House National Economic Council Director Gary Cohn said the fiduciary rule, set to go into effect this spring, was "completely misintended." Cohn, formerly the No. 2 executive at Goldman Sachs , told "Squawk on the Street" that the rule does not protect investors, and in fact, limits their choices. Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly took the blame Tuesday for confusion over President Donald Trump's executive order halting travel from seven Muslim-majority countries, telling lawmakers that he will better inform them about the administration's plans moving forward. "In retrospect I should have this is all on me by the way I should have delayed it just a bit," Kelly said during testimony to the House Homeland Security Committee. "Going forward I would have certainly taken some time to inform the Congress and that's something I'll certainly do in the future." Later Tuesday, a federal appeals court in San Francisco will hear arguments over whether the United States should restore the order. Federal Judge James Robart, who serves in the state of Washington, previously suspended it, prompting personal attacks from Trump. Trump suggested that his administration will keep pressing the legal fight if the appeal fails. When crippling back pain forced Robin Henderson to leave her job last year, Medicaid was a godsend. "If I didn't have the coverage, I would be in trouble. I would be in pain, without money, and health," said Henderson, who worked as a bus driver in Indianapolis before pain forced her to quit. She gained coverage through the Healthy Indiana Plan nicknamed HIP 2.0 the state's version of Obamacare's Medicaid Expansion. Indiana got a waiver from the Obama administration to launch the program in 2015. The key architect behind HIP was consultant Seema Verma, the president and founder of Indianapolis, Indiana-based health policy consulting firm SVC. She was hired by then-Governor Mike Pence, and after helping launch the Indian program would go on to help design Medicaid expansion plans in several states headed by Republican governors who had opposed the Affordable Care Act, including Ohio and Iowa. Now, Verma has been nominated by President Donald Trump to head the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid, or CMS, where she will be deeply involved in implementing the Trump administration's plans to repeal and replace the ACA. "I've never seen somebody in the job come to this with really only Medicaid experience," said Joan Alker, the executive director of Georgetown University's Center for Children and Families and research professor at the McCourt School of Public Policy. "I think that speaks to how important the Medicaid system has become in our health-care system," Alker said. Back home in Indianapolis, Verma gets high marks for working across the aisle to help secure buy in to the plan from state legislators, the Obama administration, and local health-care leaders. "You find her to be a collaborator," said Jonathan Nalli, senior vice president at Ascension Health, the state's largest health system. "She is somebody that every time you encounter her, it is 'what is our ability to solve the problem?' and 'how do we obtain that solution?'" President Donald Trump's promises to rip up free trade agreements and start over are "dangerous" and "counterproductive," former Clinton Treasury Secretary Larry Summers told CNBC on Tuesday. "If our policy is to try to wall off the U.S. market and try to hope that other countries fail, 'that could be a policy.' I think it's a policy that will be catastrophic in terms of our long-term security interests," Summers said on "Squawk Box." If Trump's promise to rework NAFTA, the North American Free Trade Agreement, were to end up scrapping the deal, Mexico's trade barriers would go up more than those in the U.S., said Summers, who also was economic advisor President Barack Obama. Since Trump's trade policies have come closer to going into effect, the Mexican peso has dropped about 15 percent. "That means anybody thinking about locating in Mexico now has a 15 percent cost advantage," Summers said. "That 15 percent is huge relative to what he's accomplished yelling at a few CEOs." "It actually works out in a counterproductive way," he added. Summers also criticized the House GOP's border adjustment tax on imports. "If we do the border adjustment, my guess is that the dollar will rise substantially," he said. "The dollar will rise but it won't rise enough to fully protect the importers." President Donald Trump's rapid overhaul of rules and regulations is not an unusual pace for business, so the nation's capital better get used to his modus operandi, ex-Chrysler chief Bob Nardelli said Tuesday. "Washington better catch up to this business-oriented, business-minded president," Nardelli told "Squawk Alley." "We have a lot of gnashing of teeth right now about the rate with which the president is moving. That's not fast in the business world." Nardelli touted the speed at which Trump has set the stage for delivering on key campaign promises, but acknowledged that two major promises corporate tax reform and repatriation have not yet been addressed. Nardelli, who also served as CEO of Home Depot, has been widely criticized for his management of both companies. "There's still a lot of initiatives out there that I think are going to be very business-oriented and very supportive of growing business and creating jobs and a stronger GDP," Nardelli said. "When he finally gets a full Cabinet in place, hopefully we see the activation of those executive orders come to fruition," he continued. But care and attention are required when passing some of the more complex legislation like repatriation of overseas corporate cash, Nardelli insisted. "It's easier ... to bring some of the componentry back to the U.S. It is a major undertaking to re-establish a factory," Nardelli said, adding that permit processes for organizations like the Environmental Protection Agency are long and arduous for big manufacturers. The former Chrysler CEO also noted that global demand is a key factor in how companies decide where to build their operations. "In the case of General Motors , they produce more cars in China than in the U.S. because that's where the market is," Nardelli said. "So I think we have to be reasonable in our policies, and we have to be thoughtful about the execution of those ... as we move forward." [This livestream has ended.] A contentious confirmation for Betsy DeVos, President Donald Trump's pick for Education secretary, will get resolved Tuesday, potentially through the first-ever tiebreaking vote by a vice president for a Cabinet choice. The Senate vote on DeVos at noon ET could end in a 50-50 tie, and Vice President Mike Pence is expected to use his role to break the stalemate in that case. Republicans hold 52 seats in the chamber, but two moderate GOP senators said they would vote against DeVos amid a flurry of constituent complaints, putting her confirmation in doubt. Democrats protested DeVos on the Senate floor all night long in a last-minute bid to win at least one more GOP vote, following demonstrations from teachers around the country. Republicans Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska are the only ones in their party to oppose DeVos. DeVos, a 59-year-old charter school advocate, philanthropist and longtime Republican donor, has faced the most resistance in the Senate of all Trump's nominees. Trump and her supporters have hailed her as a reformist who will give students more choice in their education, but concerns about her qualifications mounted after her confirmation hearing. Education advocates have seized on the fact that DeVos neither attended public school nor worked in education. General John Kelly, nominee for Department of Homeland Security secretary for President-elect Donald Trump, testifies during a confirmation hearing before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Tuesday, Jan. 10, 2017. [This livestream has ended.] Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly testified before a House committee Tuesday about border security amid legal wrangling over President Donald Trump's executive order on immigration and refugees. Trump's order temporarily barred travelers from seven Muslim-majority countries with visas from entering the United States amid what the White House called a need to vet immigrants properly to prevent terrorism. It also paused refugee admissions and barred Syrian refugees indefinitely. A federal district judge in Washington previously suspended the order, and the Trump administration has appealed. An appeals court has already rejected one request to reinstate it. Kelly also addressed Trump's plan to construct a physical wall along the U.S.-Mexico border, which could cost an estimated $15 billion. Kelly testified before the House Homeland Security Committee for the first time Tuesday. A Yemeni police wanted poster shows on October 11, 2010, two different images of Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) military chief in Yemen Qassim al-Rimi. The Navy SEAL raid in Yemen last week had a secret objective the head of al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, who survived and is now taunting President Donald Trump in an audio message. Military and intelligence officials told NBC News the goal of the massive operation was to capture or kill Qassim al-Rimi, considered the third most dangerous terrorist in the world and a master recruiter. But while one SEAL, 14 al Qaeda fighters and some civilians, including an 8-year-old girl, were killed during a firefight, al-Rimi is still alive and in Yemen, multiple military officials said. On Sunday, al-Rimi who landed on the United States' most-wanted terrorist list after taking over al Qaeda's Yemen affiliate in 2015 released an audio recording that military sources said is authentic. "The fool of the White House got slapped at the beginning of his road in your lands," he said in an apparent reference to the Jan. 29 raid. More from NBC News: AQAP leader Qassim al-Rimi Is key terrorist recruiter Hackers take down thousands of 'dark web' sites, post private data Hillary Clinton draws cheers and criticism for 'future is female' line It's not clear whether al-Rimi was at the al Qaeda camp but escaped when SEAL Team 6 and United Arab Emirates commandos descended, whether he happened to be elsewhere, or whether he was even tipped off. The White House which had declared the raid "a successful operation by all standards" had no comment Monday. The Pentagon also declined to comment on Monday. But on Tuesday, its chief spokesman, Navy Capt. Jeff Davis disputed that al-Rimi was the target of the raid. "I can tell you it's not true," he said, adding that the military "never had any hope, intention or plan" of killing or capturing the AQAP leader in the operation. Also on Tuesday, a spokesman for U.S. Central Command, which is responsible for operations in the Middle East, said they had not expected to find al-Rimi at the encampment. "There was no discussion of al-Rimi potentially being at that objective. We didn't expect to see him there. We didn't plan for him to be there, and this was not a raid that had anything to do with targeting that individual," Col. John Thomas said. "The objective was site exploitation to find out more about how AQAP operates, functions, and how they communicate with each other." A senior White House official, however, said it was more complicated than that. "Al-Rimi had been at the target in the past. The possibility of any capture drove the highest level deliberations," the official said. U.S. Central Command which received a visit from Trump on Monday was not the only player involved. The Special Operations Command, which oversees global counter-terrorism military operations, and the CIA also had key roles in the mission, according to multiple military sources. The CIA declined comment. "These types of missions have many tracks and are part of many worlds outside of the Pentagon," the senior White House official said. "This was a high-risk mission demanding the president's approval." NBC News analyst Juan Zarate, a national security adviser in the administration of former President George W. Bush, said that even though the raid did not neutralize al-Rimi, it could still yield smaller victories. "Certainly, if the goal is to capture the leader of al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, that didn't happen. It wasn't successful in that regard," he said. "On the other hand, a number of al Qaeda leaders were killed and al Qaeda was disrupted, at least in terms of that cell. They understand that the U.S. is willing to lean forward, and perhaps they're being deterred or disrupted in their activities. "And we may have collected incredibly valuable intelligence that will lead to further disruptions and further counterterrorism activities down the road," Zarate said. COLUMBUS One of two Omaha men accused of passing more than $14,000 in fraudulent checks at three separate branches of a Columbus bank is headed for jury trial in Platte County District Court. Leonard Stearns Jr., 61, waived his preliminary hearing in county court and was bound over on charges of second-degree forgery-$5,000 or more and theft by deception-over $5,000 stemming from the passing of bogus checks Nov. 22 at three Cornerstone Bank locations. Platte County Court Judge Frank Skorupa scheduled Stearns for arraignment Feb. 24 in district court. The charges are both Class 2A felonies, each punishable by up to 20 years imprisonment. The case of a second Omahan, 65-year-old Sid Madlock Jr., remains pending in county court. Madlock faces charges of second-degree forgery $1,500-$5,000 and theft by deception $1,500-$5,000. Those charges are both Class IV felonies, each carrying a maximum penalty of two years in prison, 12 months of post-release supervision and a $10,000 fine. Madlock is set for a Feb. 22 status hearing in county court. The four checks were passed within a one-hour blitz just before noon at Cornerstone Bank locations at 1727 23rd St., 3304 16th St. and 818 E. 23rd St. The checks were written on the accounts of two of the banks clients, Barton Development Inc. and K-2 Real Estate Development, both of Lincoln. Stearns and Madlock, who were both arrested in Omaha within days of each other in mid-January, are accused of cashing the four forged checks totaling $14,263.68, with each transaction recorded by bank surveillance video. Columbus Police Officer Jorge Magdaleno wrote in his statement supporting Madlocks arrest that three of the checks were made out to Stearns, while a fourth was made out to Madlock. COLUMBUS A Columbus-area man was sentenced to up to 15 years in prison for a 15-month relationship with a 14-year-old girl that resulted in her pregnancy. Platte County District Court Judge Robert Steinke sentenced Francisco Batz-Chicaj to six to 12 years behind bars for first-degree sexual assault and a mandatory minimum of three years for possessing explicit photos of the teen during the relationship that ended last spring when the teen learned she was pregnant. If the 24-year-old Batz-Chicaj maintains his "good time" while in prison, Steinke said he could be released in as few as six years. The defendant, who had been free on bond for 10 months, was given credit for one day served in jail. The judge made his statement after pointing out the defendant is the single father of one child, has a second-grade education and is an undocumented immigrant from Guatemala. The defendant was also ranked as a low risk for reoffending in a presentence investigation report. There will be immigration consequences after you have served this sentence, Steinke told the defendant. Before sentencing, Platte County Attorney Car Hart told the judge Batz-Chicajs second-grade education and cultural background were contributing factors in bringing the defendant before the court for sentencing on the charges. Defense attorney Chinedu Igbokwe of Omaha said his client admitted he made mistakes, accepted responsibility for his crimes and has no criminal history prior to the current case. The sexual assault and possession of explicit photos charges each carried maximum sentences of 50 years imprisonment. Batz-Chicaj was using fraudulent documents to work illegally for several years as a welder at a local manufacturing plant. In exchange for the defendants pleas, the Platte County Attorneys Office dismissed a charge of identity theft. Court documents in the case describe a Columbus Police investigation that got underway March 25 with the report of the girls pregnancy. Investigator Jaymee Levander wrote in her probable cause arrest statement that the teenage girl reported having sex with the defendant in a city park about two months earlier. During an interview with police, the defendant admitted the sexual contact and said he had been dating the girl for about 15 months, the investigator wrote in her statement. Levander said the defendant was aware the victim was pregnant and said he planned to marry her when she turned 18. The victim believed the defendant was 20 years old, the investigator said. Batz-Chicaj was in possession of several pieces of false identification when arrested, including a Missouri ID card, Visa debit card, work ID card at a local manufacturing plant, Pinnacle Bank Visa card, Guatemala Department of Transit card and Consular ID card. Levander said the defendant reported he got the identification cards from a friend who died and the cards were for the purposes of employment and banking. Types of obituaries The Missourian publishes two types of obituaries family obituaries and life stories. A family obituary is the version submitted by a funeral home or family. Please see the submission form for details on cost and deadlines. Family obituaries A life story is a closer look at a person's life and involves a reporter contacting family and friends. Life stories are based on newsworthiness and consent of the family. Life stories. What to know about daylight saving time 2022 in Missouri missouri PLATTE CENTER Platte Center Elementary School students received a warm welcome on a chilly Monday morning. Bank of the Valleys Dee Hanson and Jamie Meyer were opening doors and handing out high-fives and hugs to start the day. Afterward, Hanson and Meyer spoke during the schools morning assembly about what they do at Bank of the Valley and how they got there. I was excited to have a chance to come talk to the kids, said Hanson, Bank of the Valleys marketing director. They were the first business representatives to take part in the Adopt-a-Door program at Platte Center and Shell Creek elementary schools, where officials from area businesses and organizations are asked to greet children and talk about their careers. During the presentation, Hanson and Meyer asked how many students liked math, then told them banking might be a good fit. As a marketing director, Hanson also gets to tap into her creative side by making advertisements. Platte Center Elementary Principal Quentin Witt said the new program was started to plant seeds in students' minds about potential jobs as adults. Its never too early for kids to start thinking about their career path, said Witt. Its a chance to have more experience with different professions. Some kids might know their parent's profession, but no other professions. Shell Creek Principal Josh Graves said another goal is for kids to see how their hard work in school can pay off in the future. We're really excited just to get positive people in the school to encourage the students to work hard and talk about the value of education, said Graves. That helps build the culture of learning, when people who have been through it and know how important it is come in and talk to the kids. Its not surprising Bank of the Valley was the first business to sign up for Adopt-a-Door. Meyer, a branch manager and vice president, works with Lakeview Community Schools to provide a banking program that encourages students to save money. On Fridays, sixth-graders collect deposits from other students that go into a savings account. Kids receive awards based on either the amount they save or frequency deposits are made. If one kid saves only a quarter but they do it consistently, we should reward them for that, said Hanson. That may be all they have to save. Witt said deposit day also happens to be candy day, so he gets to watch kids struggle to decide whether to buy a candy bar or put that money toward their savings. At the end of elementary school, students get a check for all the money they saved. Other organizations that have signed up for Adopt-a-Door are the Nebraska State Patrol, Tessendorf & Tessendorf, Master Service Cleaning and Columbus Family YMCA. In addition to getting students thinking about the future, Witt said they want a chance to show the community whats going on in the schools. Were proud of our schools here at Lakeview, he said, "so we want to show them to the community. Plus, its a nice way to kick off the school week. Its important for kids to be greeted with a smiling face and a high-five, said Graves. And when you bring community members in to do that, as well, I think thats a great way of starting their day. Have you ever seen a solar panel float? Probably not yet. But that's one of the ways solar tech is advancing, as companies hoping to collect the sun's rays find ever more esoteric places for photovoltaic (PV) panels. Computerworld Senior Reporter Lucas Mearian has the latest on "floating solar," as the emerging energy tech is called. Why floating? With space limited in some parts of the world -- and real estate getting pricey -- companies are looking to install PV panels on lakes, canals, bays and perhaps some day even out on the ocean. (Cue the Jaws theme music and/or an image of Namu the killer whale breaching in just the wrong place.) What could go wrong? That said, the trend is gaining ground in places like China, the UK and Japan. (The world's largest floating solar panel farm is currently the Yamakura Dam reservoir in Japan. Completed in 2016, it has a generating capacity of 13.7MW and can power more than 5,000 households.) From there, Computerworld Executive News Editor Ken Mingis turns the conversation over to Multimedia Editor Keith Shaw for an update on the state of virtual and augmented reality. Both were hyped a lot in 2016 and then...not much happened. Yes, there was that VR-augmented rollercoaster -- leading to questions about the need for virtual barf bags -- but the question remains: Is there a real-world use for VR or is it destined to wind up like 3D TVs -- a nifty bit of technology that never really finds a place in the world. [ To comment on this story, visit Computerworld's Facebook page. ] One possibility? Immersive movies, like the ones Shaw has checked out on the Royole Moon 3D Virtual Mobile Theater. His verdict: The Moon mobile theater is , but the headpiece isn't always comfortable to wear. For an audio podcast only, click play (or catch up on all episodes) below. Happy listening, and please, send feedback or suggestions for future topics to us. We'd love to hear from you. A global cyberthreat report released Tuesday found that 2016 was a mixed bag: malware was down slightly, but ransomware attacks soared, up 167 times the number recorded in 2015. In addition to that huge increase in ransomware, 2016 saw a new line of cybercrime from a large-scale DDoS attack through internet of things devices. The principal case occurred in October when the Mirai botnet attacked unprotected IoT devices, such as internet-ready cameras, resulting in a DDoS attack on Dyn servers. The 2016 report, by cybersecurity company SonicWall, looked at data from daily network feeds sent from more than 1 million sensors in nearly 200 countries. During all of 2016, SonicWall found that unique samples of malware fell to 60 million samples, down from 64 million in 2015, a 6.25 percent decrease. Total malware attempts also fell to 7.87 billion from 8.19 billion, a 4 percent decrease. However, ransomware-as-a-service (RaaS), where ransomware is provided by cybercriminals to other bad guys as a service, rose, offering quick payoffs to cybercrooks, SonicWall found. Ransomware is malicious software designed to block access to a computer system until a ransom is paid to the attacker. Ransomware attacks rose from 3.8 million in 2015 to 638 million in 2016, an increase of 167 times year over year. SonicWall theorized that ransomware was easier to obtain in 2016 and that criminals faced a low risk of getting caught or punished. [ To comment on this story, visit Computerworld's Facebook page. ] Ransomware was the "payload of choice for malicious email campaigns and exploits," SonicWall said. In 2016, the most popular malicious email campaigns were based on ransomware, typically Locky, which was deployed in more than 500 million total attacks throughout the year. No industry was spared: the mechanical and industrial engineering industry got 15% of the ransomware hits, while pharmaceuticals and financial services companies each got 13%, while real estate companies got 12%. During the Mirai botnet surge in November, SonicWall found that the U.S. got 70 percent of the DDoS attacks, followed by Brazil with 14 percent and India with 10 percent. SonicWall CEO Bill Conner said that for all of 2016, the cyberthreat landscape evolved and shifted. "Cybersecurity is not a battle of attrition. It's an arms race and both sides are proving exceptionally capable and innovative," he said in a statement. For example, with chip cards used for in-store payments, malware attacks at physical stores declined by 93% from 2014 to 2016, SonicWall said. Chip cards went into wider use in the U.S. in October 2015. However, online card fraud in the U.S. surged more than 42% since late 2015, given the shift of attackers to online, according to some security experts. SonicWall's full threat report can be found on its website. Hey Google: Has it really been three full months since Google Home came into the world? I'll answer that (since Google Home couldn't -- I tried): Yes! Yes, it has. That funny little air-freshener-shaped doohickey first entered our lives this past November. And while I had plenty of doubts about the need for and effectiveness of such an apparatus, I decided it was my professional obligation to pick one up and put it in our house. (Side note: That's more or less exactly what I told my wife when justifying the purchase. Take note, my fellow tech enthusiasts.) The truth is that you can ponder this stuff endlessly from a theoretical perspective, but until you've used it in the real world -- over an extended period of time -- it's impossible to understand how it actually fits into your day-to-day life. [ To comment on this story, visit JR's Google+ page. ] So here we are -- my family, three months into being a Google Home, erm, home. And here's what I've learned about Google's ambitious artificial-intelligence-for-everyone effort: First: Google Home is definitely fun. Sure, you can accomplish most of the same things by speaking to your smartphone, but there's something almost -- dare I say -- magical about calling out a command into thin air and having a voice from beyond respond with results (regardless of who's doing the talking or where your phone might be tucked away). Pretty much without exception, every visitor to our home who's witnessed me say something like "Hey Google, play the Beatles upstairs" or "Hey Google, turn the lights on bright" has been wowed. "Whoa!" "Cool!" "That's awesome!" "What else can it do?" These are all phrases we've heard many, many times now. Even old Android tricks like asking the answer to some random trivia question (remember, anything Google knows, Home knows) are somehow more impressive when anyone can speak them out into the open and get a friendly-sounding answer booming right back. Google Home is also often frustrating. For all of its wonder, Google Home can be a real pain in the arse. These sorts of systems never seem to work as well in the real world as they do in closely controlled demos, and Home is no exception. To wit: A fair amount of the time, Google Home doesn't understand what we want it to do -- even with basic commands like music playback. The other day, for instance, I told it to play a jazz album in my personal Google Play Music collection called "Duo." Telling Home to play a particular album usually works without a hitch. But in this case, it started to play some random other music (I still haven't figured out what, exactly, but I'm pretty sure it involved at least four bagpipes and the voice of Gilbert Gottfried). I told it to stop and tried getting more specific: "Play Charlie Hunter Duo." No problem, it responded -- and then started playing a mix of random songs by Charlie Hunter from Google Play Music. You'd think the fact that there's an album in my personal music collection called "Duo," by Charlie Hunter, would clue it into the fact that that's what I wanted -- especially since that's the only album in my library with that name. But after three or four failed attempts at trying to get it to recognize that, I gave up, found my phone, and just started streaming the damn thing manually on my own. This is but one example of the infuriating side of using Google Home. For all of its alleged conversational prowess, there are still plenty of times when it just doesn't recognize what you want -- either because it's unable to do what you're asking or because you aren't asking in the right way (which often comes down to a guessing game on your behalf). Even with something as simple as inquiring about the weather, we've run into instances where we haven't phrased our questions quite right and Google Home has told us it doesn't know how to help. The fact that the Google Assistant -- the heart of Home -- is wildly inconsistent across different Google products doesn't make things any easier. Communication challenges aside, Google Home presents some irksome technical challenges. Sometimes, the device will activate itself and start talking either as the result of something said on the TV or for no apparent reason whatsoever. (Unintended side effect: Our toddler has learned the phrase "Hey Google, hush!" and occasionally walks around saying that with a fair amount of sass.) Sometimes, one or more Android phones will activate themselves and start listening when you're trying to talk to Google Home. We've started using "Hey Google" instead of "OK, Google" when we're talking to Home as a result -- since the latter also works on phones, while the former does not -- but even with that, the phrases are similar enough that a phone will occasionally pick up on what's being said and chime in. Sometimes, Google Home itself will get confused and start doing weird things. We ended up getting a second Home device and now have one in our kitchen as well as in our dining room/living room area. In theory, the two are supposed to work together and avoid responding at the same time. (The same is true for Home and Android phones.) And most of the time, that works. But -- just like with the phones -- here and there, the devices get disoriented. One will respond to a query while the other says something strange about not knowing how to help or not being able to connect at the moment. I've had to restart one or both of the devices on multiple occasions to get them back in sync, which is an annoying added bit of complexity to have in our house. Home is actually useful -- for some things. More than anything, my wife and I have both come to rely on Google Home for music playback. (Based on what I've heard from other Home owners, that seems to be a common top-use scenario.) We have a handful of Chromecast Audio-enabled speakers around our house, so it's really handy to be able to play practically any music in any room -- or skip a song, adjust the volume, and so on -- simply by speaking a command. Similarly, when we have family members over watching our toddler, they know they can put on music without having to mess with a phone or figure out anything complicated. (Our audio setup makes perfect sense to me, but I realize it's pretty complex and unordinary to most normal people.) Outside of music control, I'd say our biggest use of Home is -- prepare yourselves -- checking the weather. It sounds trivial, I know, but as we're grabbing jackets and rounding up the little one, there's something nice about calling out "Hey Google, what's the temperature outside right now?" and getting a quick update. We have a few Philips Hue lights in our living room, too, and being able to control those by speaking is also pretty useful. That aside, we'll use Home for the occasional on-the-fly info-check -- like asking if a particular store is open yet when our little girl decides to get up at 6 a.m. and we're scrambling to find something to do -- or for setting a hands-free, phone-independent timer to remind us of something going on in the kitchen. Google Home is great for kids -- as well as us children at heart. Okay -- I've been holding back a little. If I'm being fully honest, the commands our Home devices probably hear more than any others are "Hey Google, what does a kitty say?" and "Hey Google, what does a train sound like?" I'm well aware of how insanely silly that must sound to any non-parent. But our daughter is just delighted by having access to those sounds on such a simple and on-demand basis. She walks around saying "Hey guh-gull twain" or "Guh-gul kitty meow" (which is somehow both adorable and disconcerting at the same time). She dances whenever the train sound comes on. She's even managed to activate Home by herself a few times, though it doesn't usually understand her whole command. As for me? I may be slightly older than two, but Home's potential for silliness is not above my maturity level. For a while, I programmed Home to respond to questions like "Who's the smelliest person here right now?" with my wife's name. (As you can imagine, that went over incredibly well.) I also bewildered my brother by having Home respond with the full name of everyone in the house, including him, when I asked it "Who's in the house right now?" one afternoon. ("Wait -- what? Is it because our phones are here? Or does it somehow recognize our voices?!") And to my daughter's delight, asking Home "Who the best little girl in the world?" now results in her name being said back three times. (Here's the trick to that sort of custom Home programming, by the way, in case you're similarly child-minded and want to give it a whirl.) Silly? Sure. But the young and immature among us get a real kick out of it. Google Home is very much a multiperson gadget that revolves around a single person's data. Remember those concerns I raised a while back about Home's single-account conundrum? As it turns out, some of them are spot-on. Home doesn't have the ability to identify different users in any way, so everything said to our Home device is connected to my own personal Google account and becomes part of my own personal Google history. That could have some interesting implications down the line, to say the least. Beyond that, unless I turn off the "personal results" permission entirely, anyone talking to our Home can pretty easily pull up info like my recent purchases and upcoming calendar appointments. Some of the more advanced functions we were expecting to see in Home -- like being able to read emails and add new calendar events or reminders -- are not yet present. Right now, Home responds to such requests by saying it can't handle those items yet, though, so we'll have to see how things progress over time. All in all, Home is more of a neat toy than a necessity. You know what? Skeptical as I was going in, we've really come to appreciate and enjoy having Google Home in our home. It's fun, it's useful, and it feels fantastically futuristic -- at least, when it actually works and doesn't make us mad. I could see Home being even more useful if you had more connected hardware in your house, like a Nest thermostat (which we presently do not). It's the epitome of laziness, I know, but it'd be pretty darn cool -- both literally and figuratively -- to be able to call out "Hey Google, turn the thermostat down a few degrees" without raising a finger or getting up from the couch. And that gets at the core reality of Home: It's hard to argue that it's something most people truly need. Depending on your habits and the specifics of your house, it probably falls somewhere between being a novelty and being a neat toy. But it isn't a necessity, nor is it something I'd say will change your life in any dramatic or particularly meaningful way. For us, I think it lands right smack dab in the middle of the "novelty" and "neat toy" line. We definitely use Home less now than we did early on, when everything about it just seemed so irresistibly futuristic. It's still fun to see visitors react in that awestruck way -- but for us, it's evolved into a tool that's sometimes useful for making certain tasks a teensy bit more convenient (in a very "First World problem" sort of way). Beyond that, the Home device is also a surprisingly good speaker. We ended up taking an old standalone speaker (repurposed with Chromecast Audio) out of our kitchen and moving it into another room because music played through the Home actually sounded better. If you need a Cast-enabled wireless speaker somewhere in your house, $129 for this is a no-brainer. As for the Assistant part of the equation, I'd say it's the kind of thing that'd make a fun present (whether from someone else or just a present to yourself). You'll enjoy using it, and you'll probably get some genuine value out of having it. You'll probably also find yourself annoyed with it from time to time. And if you had to give it up, you might miss it for a little while -- but you'd probably have no trouble adjusting back to your old standalone-assistant-free lifestyle. Right now, artificial intelligence isn't quite the revolution we've been promised. Google Home is, however, a neat toy and a nice added convenience -- not to mention a sensible addition to any wireless Cast-based music setup -- as long as you don't mind dealing with its sometimes not-so-smart-seeming quirks. The page may have moved, you may have mistyped the address, or followed a bad link. Visit our homepage, or search for whatever you were looking for Just because youre using a Mac doesnt mean youre safe from hackers. Thats what two security researchers are warning, after finding a Mac-based malware that may be an attempt by Iranian hackers to target the U.S. defense industry. The malware, called MacDownloader, was found on a website impersonating the U.S. aerospace firm United Technologies, according to a report from Claudio Guarnieri and Collin Anderson, who are researching Iranian cyberespionage threats. The fake site was previously used in a spear phishing email attack to spread Windows malware and is believed to be maintained by Iranian hackers, the researchers claimed. Visitors to the site are greeted with a page about free programs and courses for employees of U.S. defense companies Lockheed Martin, Raytheon, and Boeing. The malware itself can be downloaded from an Adobe Flash installer for a video embedded in the site. The website will provide either Windows or Mac-based malware, depending on the detected operating system. Iran Threats A screenshot of the fake site. The MacDownloader malware was designed to profile the victim's computer, and then steal credentials by generating fake system login boxes and harvesting them from Apple's password management system, Keychain. However, the malware is of shoddy quality and is "potentially a first attempt from an amateur developer," the researchers said. For instance, once the malware is installed, it'll generate a fake Adobe Flash Player dialog box, only to then announce adware was discovered on the computer that it'll attempt to clean up. "These dialogues are also rife with basic typos and grammatical errors, indicating that the developer paid little attention to quality control," the researchers said. In addition, the malware failed to run a script to download additional malicious coding onto the infected Mac. But despite the shoddy quality, the malware still managed to evade detection on VirusTotal, which aggregates antivirus scanning engines. The researchers found other circumstantial evidence that the malware is linked to Iran. An exposed server that the MacDownloader agent uploaded to showed wireless networks called "Jok3r" and "mb_1986." Both of these names have ties to previous Iranian hacking groups, including one known as Flying Kitten, which is suspected of targeting U.S. defense contractors and political dissidents. In an email, Anderson said a colleague of theirs also observed MacDownloader targeting a human rights activist. The danger is that many human rights supporters, especially in Iran, are dependent on Apple devices, the researchers said. "While this [malware] is neither sophisticated nor full-featured, its sudden appearance is concerning given the popularity of Apple computers," they wrote in their report. Mac malware is fairly rare, according to security researchers. That's because hackers tend to attack Windows-based devices, because of their popularity. However, Mac-based malware is still popping up here and there. Last month, researchers found another kind designed to spy on biomedical research centers. A separate Mac-based Trojan was found months earlier, targeting the aerospace industry. Who is doing what to whom? Has Sir Keir Starmer, leading for Labour on the Brexit Bill, forced the Government to give ground? Or have ministers cleverly drawn Sir Keir into their architecture of power, where he will find he has become a valued pillar of the regime, unable to move because of the sheer weight of masonry resting on his shoulders? David Jones, leading for the Government on Day Two of the Bills Committee stage, opened his remarks to Sir Keir by saying, Im grateful to the Secretary of State. This was flattering, for it suggested Sir Keir is already a member of the Government. And in his slow, measured, unpartisan tone, Sir Keir does indeed sound like a man who can be relied on to run things in a sensible way, not some agitator who wants to stir up a revolution. Mr Jones proceeded to give Sir Keir what Sir Keir has been asking for, namely the promise of a vote on the Brexit deal before the European Parliament gets a vote. Some us have trouble keeping up with the Joneses, and realised we had not listened carefully enough to the start of the sentence, so were not sure exactly what the minister had given away. But Sir Keir knew what was going on.This is a huge and very important concession, he said, but in such an authoritative and untriumphalist way that he did not seem to be crowing. Anna Soubry, who was sitting beside Ken Clarke on the Nottinghamshire Tories for Remain bench, addressed Sir Keir as my Right Honourable and Learned Gentleman I nearly said Friend. The late, great Frank Johnson used sometimes to write about the Dinner Party, a body whose influence and membership transcend the trivial distinctions suggested by the words Conservative, Labour and Liberal. The Dinner Party, to which not only Sir Keir, Miss Soubry and Mr Clarke belong, but also such luminaries as Nick Clegg and Ben Bradshaw, is just now feeling particularly energised. As Sir Keir put it, We all have an obligation to bring the country back together. It is therefore doubtful whether members of the Scottish National Party can join the Dinner Party, as they still want to lever the country apart. Alex Salmond, for the Nats, made some grudging remarks about wanting to see Mr Joness concession in writing. The Dinner Party regarded this as unsporting: what a member of it has said, he has said. Sir Keir did, however, warn that the timing is critical the timing of the vote, that is. Mr Jones rose to clarify matters. To our relief, various eminent people, including Hilary Benn, had been unable to keep with with the Jones, and wished him to repeat himself. Mr Jones declared: This will be a meaningful vote. So thats all clear, though Dominic Grieve did point out that a vote taken at one minute to midnight would be different from one taken when there were still months to sort things out. The truth is that even the Dinner Party, though clever, fashionable and well-informed, does not know exactly how things are going to turn out. But its members all agree there has got to be maximum parliamentary scrutiny of the proposed deal on Brexit, and that Westminster should vote on it before the European Parliament does. The Dinner Party has, in fact, become mad keen on parliamentary sovereignty, which it used to regard as a barbaric and outdated concept, of interest only to people like Enoch Powell and Nigel Farage, whom one took great care never to invite to dinner. 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. CORNWALL, Ontario The Agora Centre was abuzz with feminine energy this Sat. Feb. 4, as women gathered in droves to enjoy the fourth annual Girls Night Out in support of Maison Baldwin House. With event attendance growing steadily each year, organizer, Naomi Lamarche says that its come a long way from its humble beginnings in her pantry. It just started out as something Id always wanted to do, said Lamarche. About 10 years ago, we heard Maison Baldwin Houses budget was really low for Christmas, and their house was full. So, we decided to have a pantry party where we filled the house with women. Now, the event has grown well beyond the pantry, and was held at the Agora Centre this year their largest venue to date. The event, which promised something for everyone, featured tribal dancers, pole fitness demonstrations, a large assortment of vendors, and the chance to break bread with fellow women. It just seems to get bigger, and more beautiful, with more women coming out each year, said Maison Baldwin Houses Executive Director, Debbie Fortier. Its a win-win for us. Fortier says that shes always impressed with the event, and the crowd its able to draw. Its great that other women in the community are so creative, in terms of getting together and organizing an event, said Fortier. Particularly, to this magnitude, that benefits women in their community. Lamarche says that theres always the pressure to compete with the previous years event, but shell be taking some time off before mapping out the plans for next year. This is our baby, said Lamarch. But were willing to branch out and let it grow a little bit. The event has more than doubled since its first year with no plans of slowing down soon. With an anticipated $7,000 in funds raised throughout the evening, Lamarche says that the event is important to women on multiple levels. Its getting the women out in the community, its not just about abuse tonight, its more about being women, said Lamarche. Get out there, be proud of who you are, and dont let anybody put you down. Its a nice reason to grab your best friend, your sister, your mom, and just enjoy an evening out. CORNWALL, Ontario In a press release sent to the media on Tuesday, Feb. 7, the City of Cornwall announced that due to a re-assessment by MPAC of a property at 1330 Optimum Drive, the City was required to reimburse the property owner, Shoppers Realty Inc. nearly $275, 000 in collected taxes. The Municipal Property Assessment Corporation (MPAC), which provides the property assessment values that municipalities must use to formulate their tax rolls, originally assessed the Shoppers Realty property at a value of a little over $55 million for the taxation years of 2013-2016. Through an appeal process, Shoppers Realtys assessment has been lowered to an even $44 million. This means that the City of Cornwall owes Shoppers Realty nearly $275, 000 in collected taxes for those years. The City of Cornwall anticipated that there would be adjustments to assessment values within this sector and has made contributions to a tax stabilization reserve. This refund will be funded through this reserve, said Tracey Bailey, General Manager, Financial Services and Treasurer. Bailey told the Seaway News that this amount would be paid out in one lump sum. She also said that it cannot be assumed that the other MPAC re-assessments that the City is waiting on will end in the same result as this one. Both Materus and Walmart Canada Corp. are appealing MPACs assessment of their property values for 2013-2016 as well. Shoppers is an important corporate citizen that supports our community through employment, property taxes and numerous other economic spin-offs, added Mark Boileau, General Manager, Planning, Development and Recreation The Citys press release went on to state that all property owners have the right to appeal their assessed value if they feel it is not accurate. Close Five dogs were reported to have been sick and one has died after eating Evanger's Hunk of Beed canned dog food. Pentobarbital contamination has been confirmed in the dog food. The substance was detected in a single lot, but the company has ordered a complete recall as they are concerned that some people may still have unused cans in their homes. The company from Wheeling, IL that manufactures the Evanger's Dog & Cat Food has posted a recall notice on the Food and Drug Administration website. Five lots of 12-ounce cans of Hunk of Beed dog food should be returned immediately. Food Safety News reported the recalled dog food was manufacture the week of June 6-13, 2016 and distributed to retailers in 15 states. States include Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Wisconsin, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Washington, California, Minnesota, New York, Massachusetts, Maryland, South Carolina, Georgia and Florida. The recalled products can be identified by looking for 12-ounce cans that have lot numbers beginning with 1816E03HB, 1816E04HB, 1816E06HB, 1816E07HB, and 1816E13HB. Only cans with expiration date of June 2020, and barcodes that have 20109 in the second half are recalled. The barcodes can be found on the back of the product labels. According to CBS Local five dogs became ill and the one dog that died consumed the product with lot number 1816E06HB13. Pentobarbital is a sedative and if consumed by animals can cause drowsiness, dizziness, excitement, loss of balance, nausea and, in extreme cases, death. The company said the implicated beef was not used in any other Evanger's products. The recall notice stated that all Evanger's meat suppliers are USDA approved. Investigation is ongoing on how the substance entered the raw material supply. It has been verified that the product are no longer on store shelves. Consumers with the lot numbers included in the recall should return to the store where they purchase it for a full refund. For questions, consumers may contact the company at 847-537-0102. See Now: What Republicans Don't Want You To Know About Obamacare Close Israel's legislature is now looking to legalize the export of medical marijuana after decriminalization of small-scale personal use in January. The Ministerial Committee for Legislation gave its initial nod on Sunday. The bill that was initiated by Knesset member Yoav Kisch of the Likud Party, is said to benefit Israel's agricultural sector. The government statement however said that it could take months before the legislation reached parliament. Kisch said "My bill defines for the first time the whole field of medical cannabis and allows regulating its export." Last year, Canada and Australia approved exporting medical cannabis and have gained large profits. Kisch expects Israel to gain over a billion NIS from its taxation. According to Reuters, Israel is one of the leading countries in medical marijuana research. It has a market of $15 million to $20 million at most. The United States with its move toward legalization of medical marijuana in more states has an expected market of $50 billion in 10 years. There are currently 28 states in the US that have legalized medical marijuana. The Jerusalem Post reported a private cannabis research clinic in Israel, iCAN, has about 50 medical cannabis companies active in many aspects of the industry. Saul Kaye, CEO, have developed delivery devices such as inhalers that are used to treat asthma and other chronic illnesses. Cannabis inhalers are known to be more effective as it allows a patient to get more cannabinoids per puff. This allows patients to medicate without exposing others to significant second hand aerosol. It helps patients harness the medicinal value of cannabis without stigma and with complete discretion. Scientific organizations in Israel have been working together with cannabis growers to facilitate clinical trials and develop strains to target a number of medical conditions. Health minister Yakov Litzman has supported the use of medical marijuana and has moved to make it more accessible and available easier. See Now: What Republicans Don't Want You To Know About Obamacare Close Getting fit is one of the most common goals for people. Recent studies indicate that going to the gym instead of staying at home or doing other physical activities makes a person more active. Gym members were also reported to be 14 times more aerobically active compared to people who are not members of health clubs. Latest studies reveal that hitting the gym may help you achieve your health goals faster, The Guardian reports. Gym members were observed to exercise more compared to non-members. They spend less time sitting, have lower heart-rates, smaller waists and have stronger hearts. Their lungs also function better and have stronger muscle mass compared to those who do not go to the gym. Both men and women gym members showed similar results. Lead author of the study, Elizabeth C. Schroeder of the Department of Kinesiology and Nutrition of the University of Illinois, conducted the study to 405 subjects between ages 30 to 64, a common demographic among gym members. Non-gym members were also included in the research. Her findings also showed that gym members who do a lot of resistant training have stronger muscles, reduced blood pressure and has increased metabolic rates. Meanwhile, WebMD claims that building muscles and burning calories can be done without the aid of gym machines and other equipment. Going out in the sun helps build stronger muscles, thanks to the natural Vitamin D available in sunlight. Brisk walking, abdominal exercises, and push-ups can also be conveniently done at home or even outdoors. To have an effective fitness program at home, including a warmup, cardiovascular workouts, resistance and strength training, flexibility moves and a cooldown in a home exercise routine is necessary. The study is conducted not only to show a link between gym membership and exercise. This also shows that more active people will most likely join gyms. See Now: What Republicans Don't Want You To Know About Obamacare Close A new case of female genital mutilation (FGM) has been discovered and treated every hour. Plan International UK statistics showed there were 8,656 cases of FGM that was identified or FGM was undertaken between April 2015 and March 2016. This showed 23.7 cases of FGM daily or one in every 60.7 minutes. Between April 2015 and March 2016, there were 5,702 newly recorded cases reported. It showed an average of 15.6 cases per day, one case every 92.1 minutes. An estimated 200 million women and girls are affected worldwide. OnMedica reported, chief executive Tanya Barron of the Plan International UK said that International Day of Zero tolerance served as a reminder of global prevalence of FGM. There has been more awareness across UK and around the world of the dangers of the practice. A recent project in Mali had a ten percent reduction where four villages banned the practice entirely. According to BBC the World Health Organization described the practice of FGM as the partial or total removal of the female external gentalia. Hibo Wardere, 46, an FGM survivor who was mutilated when she was six years old said "An open wound rubbed with salt or hot chilli - it felt like that." Avon and the Somerset Police have led the use of FGM protection orders (FDMPO) nationally to protect potential victims. Since the legislation was brought in July 2015, 10 FGMPOs have already been applied. There have been 97 applications and 79 orders made in England and Wales up to the end of September 2016. Since 1985, carrying out FGM has been illegal in the UK, but there has not been a single successful prosecution. A series of FGM awareness posters have been made by the National Police Chiefs Council and the Freedom Charity to highlight the problem. It aims to encourage people to use the #EndFGM hashtag. See Now: What Republicans Don't Want You To Know About Obamacare Close A new pill has been found to cut the risk of heart attacks, strokes and dementia. The groundbreaking pill is made entirely out of chocolate and is now available in the UK. Flavanols are extracted from cocoa. It can help tackle cholesterol levels and blood flow. A total of 400g of dark chocolate can give an effective dose. However, experts have advised not to chow down mountains of chocolates as it contains 2,429 calories. Daily Mail reported that scientists have managed to condense the anti-oxidant nutrients in their purest form into one pill. Bloodflow+ is the first ever chocolate pill in the UK that aimed to help treat those suffering from heart problems. Researchers at the Royal Society of Chemistry, has proven that flavanols assist production of nitric oxide. It triggers the arterial wall muscles to relax. The pill has been approved by the European Food Safety Authority as they saw how it improved blood flow and transference of oxygen and nutrient to the body according to Daily Star. "We support the huge amount of research has gone into Blood Flow+ and we are delighted that it is the first cocoa flavanol product officially allowed to claim it benefits heart health," said Dr. Alf Lindberg, advisor of Cambridge Nutraceuticals. The research showed that natural nutrients can have a powerful positive effect to help maintain the health in everyone. Even a slight increase in blood pressure in most adults can increase the risk of heart attacks, strokes and dementia. According to World Health Organization heart disease and stroke are the top causes of death in the world.Each year 17.5 million die from cardiovascular diseases which makes 31 percent of all deaths in a globally. US government scientists are currently studying the benefits of cocoa flavanols as well. Flavanols are believed to improve blood vessel elasticity by 23 percent. Mars Symboscience has been tracking 18,000 people over 60 years old for a five-year study and are set to release their findings in 2020. See Now: What Republicans Don't Want You To Know About Obamacare Close Cancer is a very deadly disease. Statistics show that the number of cancer deaths is 171.2 per 100,000 people per year. And approximately 39.6 percent of people will be diagnosed with cancer throughout their lifetimes. Because of this, many researchers are doing the best that they can to find a better cure for cancer. As of today, common treatments for cancer are surgery, radiation therapy, chemotherapy, targeted therapy, palliative therapy and hormonal therapy. And according to BBC, a new technique called SRS microscopy is now being tested that could help in analyzing brain cancers and decide how much tissue to remove. This technique has been tried to more than 360 patients in Harvard University and University of Michigan Medical School, as further discussed by BBC. Karen Wischmeyer could have been benefited from this new technology. She is a pre-school teacher in Michigan that needed two successive operations to remove her brain tumor. Two years ago, Karen had a massive seizure and doctors found out that she has a growing tumor in her brain. Surgeons removed some of her cancer cells, but not all. Karen said that if they used that technique on her, it would have spared her a lot of anxiety and pain. She still needs to have regular scans to ensure that no growing tumor left in her brain. SRS microscopy is a technique wherein sections of brain tissues are to be frozen and analyzed in a lab. The analysis usually takes around 30 to 40 minutes. After the brain tissue is analyzed, it fires a beam of light at the tissues. And the different chemical elements of normal brain tissues and cancerous cells means that the laser help surgeons in finding the tumor's outer edge. The next step is for SRS microscopy to be tested in full clinical trials. However, it is still not clear whether this new discovery will increase the survival rate of brain cancer patients. It will not be known until it will be tested to a long term clinical trials. Aside from SRS microscopy, a new experimental vaccine is also being tested which targets cancer cells that chemotherapy and radiation therapy missed, as per CBS Philly. This vaccine is for glioblastoma patients, a deadly type of brain cancer. However, this vaccine is still going through some more tests and trials for FDA approval. See Now: What Republicans Don't Want You To Know About Obamacare Close Statistics shows one in every eight women (12 percent) in the U.S. will develop invasive breast cancer throughout her lifetime. Men, on the other hand, have 1 in 1,000 chance of developing breast cancer. Women will double her risk of developing breast cancer if she has a first degree relative diagnosed with breast cancer. There are a lot of screenings to detect if a person has a breast cancer. Some of those procedures include mammogram, breast MRI and biopsy. And chemotherapy is use after surgery to prevent cancer from returning. But there is a test that might detect if a breast cancer will occur once again. According to Daily Mail, a test called Oncotype DX test will help a lot in identifying whether breast cancer will come back. It is genetic test which would identify high-risk women who should be taking preventive procedures and medicine to stop the development of breast cancer once again. By using this test, doctors could tell which women need some treatment and which ones are safe. By analyzing the genetic make-up of a tumor, scientist could tell which patients have the high risk of developing breast cancer once again. A trial conducted at the University Hospital of South Manchester suggests that 63 percent of women with the most common type of breast cancer could avoid undergoing chemotherapy by using Oncotype DX. In Britain, up to 6,000 a year could avoid chemotherapy every year using this genetic test if widely used, as further discussed by Daily Mail. Researchers underwent a test for 201 women at the Wythenshawe and Christie Hospitals in Manchester. These women had been diagnosed with early detections of ER positive HER2 negative breast cancer, which is the most common type. Each patient had surgery to eliminate the tumor and was considered to undergo chemotherapy. The researchers analyzed the tumor taken during the surgery. After using the Oncotype DX test, 63% of those women were advised not to push through with the chemotherapy. 98% of them accepted the advice. According to Medical Daily, more than 318,000 people are expected to be diagnosed by breast cancer. 40,000 of these cases will be fatal. If these diagnosed people will undergo chemotherapy, using Oncotype DX test might help these patients in deciding whether to have chemotherapy once again or not. See Now: What Republicans Don't Want You To Know About Obamacare Sennheiser Releases New Conferencing Solutions Ahead of ITEXPO Share Tweet By Alicia Young Web Editor By Alicia YoungWeb Editor Sennheiser is known for providing innovative new conferencing solutions. Whether its bettering the conferencing experience through improved headsets or working to make the clearest microphones possible, the company is dedicated to good audio. So it should come as no surprise that Sennheiser is expanding on its Sennheiser for Business portfolio with two new conferencing solutions at ISE 2017. The first addition to the portfolio is the TeamConnect Wireless Set Tray M, which offers Sennheisers wireless conferencing solutions, but in a smaller configuration. This offering is for up to 12 participants. Meanwhile, the second conferencing solution is the new SL Boundary 114-S DW microphone. The microphone is meant to bring more flexibility and ease of use to the SpeechLine family of speech-dedicated microphones. The microphone will provide more flexibility because it is wireless, which not only allows for easy room setup before a conference, but also enables cable-free charging. Fewer wires mean an overall easier conferencing experience for everyone, and thats never a bad thing. Andy Neimann, director of business communication at Sennheiser, reflected on Sennheisers mission by saying, Audio excellence has always been at the heart of our business at Sennheiser, but today, high quality sound is moving to the heart of every business. Globally, the way we work is being transformed by digital and mobile technologies that are accelerating the increase in remote working and the ubiquity of flexible open plan offices. These cultural shifts are driving demand for quality audio that can enable effective communication. With our 360 portfolio we are bringing even greater focus to our efforts to meet and exceed the needs and expectations of this fast growing market. Those planning on attending ISE 2017 in Amsterdam are bound to be in for some valuable insights if they stop by to talk to Sennheiser. However, those of us in the U.S. dont have to feel disappointed or like were missing out. Lucky for us, Sennheiser will also be exhibiting at ITEXPO this week, from Feb. 8-10 at the Broward County Convention Center in Fort Lauderdale, FL. There, it will demonstrate its portfolio of unified communications headsets, speakerphones and conferencing solutions that support SMB and enterprise-level telephony deployments. The company will be located at booth 813, and will be showcasing its new wireless MB 660 headset series for open-office settings, along with its PRESENCE mobile headset. According to the announcement, This model is part of a broad portfolio of headset solutions for a range of working environments and individual user needs that Sennheiser will exhibit at the event, such as the D 10, DW, SD wireless, Century, Circle, Culture, and MB Pro headset series. Additionally, those attending ITEXPO (News - Alert) will get a closer look at a variety of Sennheisers conferencing solutions, spanning from plug-and-play speakerphones for huddle-rooms, the SP 10 and SP 20 series, to the Team Connect wireless audio conferencing solution for bigger meeting rooms Attendees who stop by will have the opportunity to ask representatives about these two exciting new conferencing solutions, as well as the several other solutions featured at the booth. So, make sure to head on down to ITEXPO later this week to catch up with Sennheiser and learn some more about the company and its solutions. Please enable JavaScript to view the comments powered by Disqus. Article comments powered by Disqus Edited by Stefania Viscusi Its Your ABC Silencing the watchdog The former Howard Coalition government attempted to suppress the ABC by stacking its board and senior management with hand-picked government cronies to try and silence the independent watchdog but staff resistance defeated that move. Current readers are unlikely to tune in to a digital version of commercial newspapers when they can tune in to ABC news, which is available free of charge and advertising on ABC iView. Later, after a heated episode of Q&A, former PM Tony Abbott attempted to bully the ABC into silence with verbal attacks. However, the then ABC director Mark Scott responded with an angry and very sharp public defence of the national broadcaster. Abbott was forced into retreat. Since then the Turnbull government has persisted with major cuts to ABC funding, forcing the national broadcaster to sack staff and limit its activities in some areas. The government is also relying on current ABC director Michelle Guthrie, appointed 10 months ago, to fulfil its objectives. Guthrie is a former executive of Google, but for most of her career worked for Rupert Murdochs broadcasting companies. She has now appointed Jim Rudder, who once ran Channel 9 and was a consultant to Murdoch, with a view to restructuring the national broadcaster and transforming work cultures. Another recent appointee is Debra Frances, described as a business transformation expert. An adjunct fellow of the extreme right Institute of Public Affairs also got an ABC broadcasting job. The IPA, a bitter critic of the ABC, has campaigned for its privatisation. The ABC is also to have a new chief content officer, to oversee the content of news, TV and radio broadcasts and if necessary override the decisions of the managers of those divisions, answering directly to the board. In January the ABCs director of television and its chief operating officer resigned in protest over senior management decisions. Four senior members of the ABCs executive have now resigned since Guthrie took over, and she is said to be planning the effective demotion of the remaining ten members. One of her first actions was to cut science, religion and music programming. Hundreds of musicians signed a letter of protest at Guthries decision to axe live music broadcasting on ABC National radio. She also terminated Catalyst, the top-rating science show. Veteran science broadcaster Robyn Williams described the new ABC management team as morally and spiritually bankrupt. The Four Corners program about asylum seeker children detained on Nauru prompted international protests, but also led to savage criticism of the ABC by the federal government. Guthrie later declared the national broadcaster should be sympathetic to businesses, and should make programs about successful corporate leaders. The new ABC management has now ceased transmitting short-wave news broadcasts on the pretext that shortwave is old technology. However, this will leave parts of rural areas, the Northern Territory, Papua New Guinea and some Pacific Islands without news broadcasts, because AM and FM broadcasts are not powerful enough to reach those areas. People in Pacific Islands have in the past relied on ABC short-wave broadcasts for warnings about Tsunamis and other big weather events. Last week an ABC journalist was the first to reveal that US President Trump was only considering an arrangement to resettle in the US 1,250 asylum seekers currently detained offshore by the Turnbull government. Turnbull dismissed the report as unsubstantiated, but we now know the agreement could fall apart on the whim of Trump, the super-brat of US imperialism. The report demonstrated how Trump and Turnbull cynically manipulate the asylum seeker issue. Both appeal to religious or racial intolerance, and neither will risk losing a perceived political advantage or consider the interests of the asylum seekers themselves, some of whom have now been imprisoned for three years. But the story also has implications for the ABC, which carries Australias most detailed and reliable news and current events coverage. The commercial TV networks ignored the ABC report on Trumps statement until it was verified by other sources. Their programs are superficial, and all too often focus on sensational or salacious reports rather than in-depth coverage. Unlike the ABC, their journalists rarely cover overseas news and current events first hand. One notorious exception was Channel Nines appalling organisation of an attempted child kidnapping in Beirut last year. Big business and conservative governments detest the ABCs courageous revelations about corruption and the corporate worlds ruthless drive for power and influence. The commercial press has a particular axe to grind. It has never had a rival in the form of a newspaper version of the ABC. As far as hard copy news was concerned, it has had the field to itself. However, the demand for newspapers has now fallen sharply and sales no longer cover production costs, so the press barons rely on the sale of advertising space to make profits. They now look to digital broadcasting of news and current events coverage to restore their once-mighty profit levels. However, their current readers are unlikely to tune in to a digital version of their newspapers if they have to pay for the service or put up with the ads when they can tune in to ABC news, which is readily available free of charge or advertising at any time on ABC iView. The commercial media would therefore like to see the national broadcaster withdraw from digital broadcasting altogether, or at least charge viewers for their broadcasts, at a price that favours commercial broadcasters. Suppression The governments attacks on the ABC continue unabated. Before Christmas federal coalition MP Matt Canavan described as fake news an ABC radio report that the Indian mining company Adani is under investigation by the Indian government for siphoning money offshore and inflating power prices. This week the ABC is broadcasting its top current events program, Four Corners, its vital public discussion program Q&A, and Mediawatch, its miniscule but fascinating scrutiny of the mass media. All these programs have been the subject of bitter attack by the government and big business. Its crucial to watch closely the pressures that will be placed on ABC staff this year to force them to conform to the dictates of the media barons and their parliamentary representatives, the coalition governments. And its equally important to protest as loudly as possible at any such move, because the government is now intent on changing this vitally important national institution into a timid servant of the corporate world. Editorial The Kill em all doctrine In 2002, Professor Martin Van Creveld, a Zionist military historian expressed in words the policy that the Israeli army put into practice during its destruction and dispossession of Palestinians. The Professor argued that the Israeli army would have to kill tens of thousands of Palestinian civilians in order to restore the balance of deterrence between us and them. Asked if he was in favour of bombarding Palestinian cities and causing thousands of deaths among civilians, Creveld answered: Yes, as much as is needed in order that there will not be a need to repeat it, so that they wont tail us during the time of the withdrawal. We have to strike so hard that there wont be a need for a second strike. Perhaps 5,000 or 10,000 killed wont be enough and then we will have to kill more. He said that the mass killing would have to be done so quickly and so strongly that before the world understood what was happening the matter would be over. What is involved is a massive crime, but whoever isnt willing to commit crimes in order to save his country shouldnt engage in statesmanship, it is better that there be one massive crime after which we will exist and lock the gate behind us. Here we have not just the preferred policy of the government of Benjamin Netanyahu but the policy and ideology of a dying capitalist system. The leaders and governments of the leading capitalist countries have no answer to the worlds problems, except to use force to impose their policy aims and the slaughter of tens of thousands of people who oppose their inhumane policies and refuse to submit. Capitalism is incapable of finding a solution to poverty and unemployment. It has no policy by which different nations with a variety of social systems, ideologies, national groups and religions can live together in one world. Refusing to accept the solution embodied in the resolutions of the United Nations, the Israelis opt for war and the mass murder of Palestinians and the imprisonment of thousands more. They bulldoze homes, they destroy the infrastructure required by any modern community food, water and medical supplies, housing, schools, hospitals. The situation is pitched as between us and them reflecting the racist attitude of the capitalist world. Having carried out the recommended mass killing, the Israelis would lock the gate behind us. The Israeli army is now overseeing the mass uprooting and dispossession of those Palestinians who remain in occupied territories. Contradictions abound Donald Trumps recent provocation suddenly issuing an order banning the admission into the United States of refugees and immigrants from seven predominantly Muslim countries created chaos and fury that had to be expected. Airports across the world were engulfed with demonstrators. Judges issued emergency orders staying enforcement of parts of the order. Families found their children studying abroad unable to return home, or their loved ones attending a funeral stranded in an airport. Translators who had risked their lives for US soldiers in Iraq suddenly found their green cards useless and their lives at great risk. Both intelligence professionals and State Department diplomats have protested against the order. Trump clearly revels in this chaos. He proves that he will fulfil his campaign promises, despite opposition. He shows that hes getting things done. He postures strong on securing US citizens against foreign terrorists. He defines his opponents as bleeding heart liberals, more concerned about rights than security, more internationalist than nationalist. He views this all as a win. Trump has also mocked his own argument that US allies should bear a fair share of the defence burden: he has made it clear the US will not do its part in offering refuge to the displaced, now more than 65 million, globalisation made flesh many of them driven from their homes by wars that the US and its allies started or have continued. Book Review by Rob Gowland Desert Australia My father was born in Broken Hill in 1907. At that time it was a hot, dusty and extremely isolated community, with none of the electrically-driven modern conveniences we take for granted today. His father, my grandfather, was a blacksmith, and when Dad left school he started work as a timber-getter and boundary rider in the White Cliffs and Wilcannia area. After that he became a stockman and a drover and eventually humped his swag around inland NSW as a shearer. Many years later, when he heard that my wife and I were planning a trip by car out west, he told us how splendid it would be: Sunsets youve never seen sunsets like them! And he was right: the uninterrupted expanse of sky went rose pink from horizon to horizon, an amazing and beautiful sight. And then the stars came out. The absence of ambient city light meant the sky was absolutely full of stars. By day, we drove down broad, deserted stock routes that Henry Lawson would have recognised, across red-soil plains. Most of these stock routes (the long paddock in traditional bush parlance) are now padlocked and appropriated by the local graziers, after Frank Packer put pressure on the ALP to permit this bout of blatant modern-day enclosures. On our next trip we went to South Australia and drove around the Flinders Ranges and out towards (but well short of) Lake Eyre. What struck us most forcibly about this region, apart from the magnificent colours in the rocks and the bush, was the enormous number of ruins, the remains of stone or wattle and daub farmhouses, sad reminders of would-be settlers who were fooled by a good season into thinking they could eke a living out of a farm in what was essentially a desert. A desert is defined as a region that receives less than 250 millimetres of rain per year. Eighteen percent of the Australian mainland meets that definition. A further 17 percent receives so little rain that it is on the brink of being a desert. Australia is in fact the driest continent on Earth, which foredoomed many of the efforts of early European settlers, like those whose ruins we saw in South Australia, to introduce into this new land the agricultural practices of Europe, the wettest continent on Earth. But while they may be hostile to life and especially to settlement, Australias desert regions are full of flora and fauna that have adapted to the arid conditions. Combined with the intense light of inland Australia, the nations desert regions have striking beauty. Photographer Nick Rains has captured that beauty staggeringly well in his book Desert Australia, published by Explore Australia, a division of Hardie Grant Books. A large format hardcover, Desert Australia is informative as well as beautiful. As the author says in his introduction: To 19th century European eyes, the land was there for the taking, but ... massive areas were needed to support viable populations of livestock. ... Even today, Anna Creek Station, near Lake Eyre, is the worlds largest operating cattle station: at over 23,000 square kilometres, its bigger than Israel and more than seven times the size of the largest ranch in the United States. Australias great realist writer, Henry Lawson, knew how harsh the outback could be, especially for rural workers stockmen, itinerant shearers, station hands, etc and selectors, small farmers and their hardworking wives, whose holding werent measured in square kilometres. As the various reminders photographed by Nick Rains show, the desert areas are doubly harsh. Life for the poor souls attempting to farm there must have been hell. Nick Rains has been a professional photographer for 30 years, shooting assignments around Australia and the rest of the world. In 2002 Nick was awarded Australian Geographic magazines Photographer of the Year and continues to shoot assignments for the magazine all around Australia. Nick writes of the subject of Desert Australia: Having spent many months over many years travelling in these arid regions, I find it hard to imagine what it must have been like to live in the desert even 40 or 50 years ago, let alone in Victorian times. The heat is unrelenting, the remoteness can easily be life threatening and the vast, treeless horizons can wear you down. The photographs in his book certainly dont wear you down. There is tremendous variety, from a double-page spread of the huge stone woolshed on Cordillo Downs Station in SA, a display of desert flowers in the eastern Simpson Desert, another double-page spread of goanna tracks crossing a sand dune in western Queensland, an aerial shot of an isolated homestead near Broken Hill surrounded by the vast and featureless Mundi Mundi plains, a startled flock of corellas in the Diamantina National Park, and spectacular wildflowers in the Gibson Desert, to the remains of a car that failed to complete the traversing of the Birdsville Track, and many more. Despite the connotations inherent in the harsh environment, all of the photographs are breathtakingly beautifully presented. The book would make a splendid gift for anyone interested in Australia or photography, or for anyone who enjoys the beauty of the natural world. Nick Rains has written 12 books over the course of his career, beginning with Kimberley Journey Through an Ancient Land in 1997. Desert Australia and its companion Tropical Australia are his latest. His next book will be Aerial Australia, in production now and due out next August, and frankly I cant wait. Israels shadowy role in Guatemalas dirty war Last year was a busy one for Guatemalas criminal justice system. January 2016 saw the arrests of 18 former military officers for their alleged part in the countrys dirty war of the 1980s. In February last year, two ex-soldiers were convicted in an unprecedented wartime sexual slavery case from the same era. Mayans were repeatedly targeted during the period of repression that lasted from 1954 when the US engineered a military coup to 1996. Such legal proceedings represent further openings in the judicial system following the 2013 trial and conviction of former head of state General Efrain Rios Montt for genocide and crimes against humanity. Although the Guatemalan Constitutional Court very quickly annulled the trial (finally restarted in March after fitful stops and starts, but currently stalled again), a global precedent has been set for holding national leaders accountable in the country where their crimes took place. And in November, a Guatemalan judge allowed a separate case against Rios Montt to proceed. The case relates to the 1982 massacre in the village of Dos Erres. Rios Montt was president from 1982 to 1983, a period marked by intense state violence against the Indigenous Mayan peoples. The violence included the destruction of entire villages, resulting in mass displacement. Mayans were repeatedly targeted during the period of repression that lasted from 1954 when the US engineered a military coup to 1996. More than 200,000 people were killed in Guatemala during that period, 83 percent of whom were Mayans. The crimes committed by the Guatemalan state were carried out with foreign particularly US assistance. One key party to these crimes has so far eluded any mention inside the courts: Israel. Proxy for US From the 1980s to today, Israels extensive military role in Guatemala remains an open secret that is well-documented but receives scant criticism. Discussing the military coup which installed him as president in 1982, Rios Montt told an ABC News reporter that his regime takeover went so smoothly because many of our soldiers were trained by Israelis. In Israel, the press reported that 300 Israeli advisers were on the ground training Rios Montts soldiers. One Israeli adviser in Guatemala at the time, Lieutenant Colonel Amatzia Shuali, said: I dont care what the Gentiles do with the arms. The main thing is that the Jews profit, as recounted in Dangerous Liaison by Andrew and Leslie Cockburn. Some years earlier, when Congressional restrictions under the Carter administration limited US military aid to Guatemala due to human rights violations, Israeli economic and military technology leaders saw a golden opportunity to enter the market. Yaakov Meridor, then an Israeli minister of economy, indicated in the early 1980s that Israel wished to be a proxy for the US in countries where it had decided not to openly sell weapons. Meridor said: We will say to the Americans: Dont compete with us in Taiwan; dont compete with us in South Africa; dont compete with us in the Caribbean or in other places where you cannot sell arms directly. Let us do it Israel will be your intermediary. The CBS Evening News with Dan Rather program attempted to explain the source of Israels global expertise by noting in 1983 that the advanced weaponry and methods Israel peddled in Guatemala had been successfully tried and tested on the West Bank and Gaza, designed simply to beat the guerrilla. Israels selling points for its weapons relied not only on their use in the occupied West Bank and Gaza but also in the wider region. Journalist George Black reported that Guatemalan military circles admired the Israeli armys performance during the 1982 invasion of Lebanon. Their overseas admiration was so unabashed that rightists in Guatemala spoke openly of the Palestinianisation of the nations rebellious Mayan Indians, according to Black. Military cooperation between Israel and Guatemala has been traced back to the 1960s. By the time of Rios Montts rule, Israel had become Guatemalas main provider of weapons, military training, surveillance technology and other vital assistance in the states war on urban leftists and rural Indigenous Mayans. In turn, many Guatemalans suffered the results of this special relationship and have connected Israel to their national tragedy. Man of integrity? One of the most haunting massacres committed during this period was the destruction of the El Peten district village named Dos Erres. Rios Montts Israeli-trained soldiers burned Dos Erres to the ground. First, however, its inhabitants were shot. Those who survived the initial attack on the village had their skulls smashed with sledgehammers. The bodies of the dead were stuffed down the village well. During a court-ordered exhumation in the village, investigators working for the 1999 UN Truth Commission cited the following in their forensics report: All the ballistic evidence recovered corresponded to bullet fragments from firearms and pods of Galil rifles, made in Israel. Then US President Ronald Reagan whose administration would later be implicated in the Iran-Contra scandal for running guns to Iran through Israel, in part to fund a paramilitary force aiming to topple Nicaraguas Marxist government visited Rios Montt just days before the massacre. Reagan praised Rios Montt as a man of great personal integrity who wants to improve the quality of life for all Guatemalans and to promote social justice. Reagan also assured the Guatemalan president that the United States is committed to support his efforts to restore democracy and to address the root causes of this violent insurgency. At one point in their conversation, Reagan is reported to have embraced Rios Montt and told the Guatemalan president he was getting a bum rap on human rights. Innovator of torture In November 2016, however, Judge Claudette Dominguez accepted the Guatemalan attorney generals request to prosecute Rios Montt as intellectual author of the Dos Erres massacre, pressing him with charges of aggravated homicide, crimes against humanity and genocide. Among the 18 arrested this year was Benedicto Lucas Garcia, former army chief of staff under his brother Romeo Lucas Garcias military presidency. Benedicto, who was seen by some of his soldiers as an innovator of torture techniques for use on children, described the Israeli soldier [as] a model and an example to us. In 1981, Benedicto headed the inauguration ceremony of an Israeli-designed and financed electronics school in Guatemala. Its purpose was to train the Guatemalan military on using so-called counterinsurgency technologies. Benedicto lauded the schools establishment as a positive step in advancing the Guatemalan regime to world-class military efficiency thanks to [Israels] advice and transfer of electronic technology. In its inaugural year alone, the school enabled the regimes secret police, known as the G-2, to raid some 30 safe houses of the Revolutionary Organisation of People in Arms (ORPA). The G-2 coordinated the assassination, disappearance and torture of opponents to the Guatemalan government. While Guatemalan governments frequently changed hands through both coups and elections during the 1980s, Israel remained Guatemalas main source of weapons and military advice. Belligerence at the border The Israeli military-security complex casts a long, intercontinental shadow over Guatemalans who are still fleeing the consequences of the dirty war. In some areas along the US-Mexico border, such as in Texas, the numbers of migrants hailing today from Central America (but only from the countries combusted by US intervention Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras) has begun to outpace the number coming from Mexico. According to information provided to this author by the Pima County Medical Examiners office in Arizona, many Guatemalans who have perished while crossing these desert borderlands originated from among the Indigenous Mayan areas hit hardest by the 1980s genocide: El Quiche, Huehuetenango, Chimaltenango. Southern Arizona has also seen a spike in undocumented Guatemalan migration. US firms and institutions have been collaborating with Israeli security companies to up-armour Southern Arizonas border zone. The Israeli weapons firm Elbit won a major government contract to provide 52 surveillance towers in Southern Arizonas desert borderlands, beginning with the pilot program of seven towers currently placed among the hills and valleys surrounding Nogales, a border town split by the wall. More towers are slated to surround the Tohono Oodham Nation, the second largest Native American reservation in the US. Already the number of federal forces occupying permanent positions on Tohono Oodham lands is the largest in US history. Alan Bersin, a senior figure in the US Department of Homeland Security, described Guatemalas border with Chiapas, Mexico, as now our southern border in 2012. That southern border was heavily militarised during Barack Obamas eight years as US president. We can safely expect that militarisation to continue during Donald Trumps presidency. Trumps anti-migrant rhetoric during the presidential election campaign suggests it is likely to be intensified. During the dirty war, tens of thousands of Guatemalans fled over this border into Southern Mexico. Today, Israel assists the Mexican authorities in Chiapas with counterinsurgency activities largely targeting the indigenous Maya community. Though media reporting on Guatemalas connection with Israel has dissipated, Israels enterprising efforts in the country have never diminished. Today, Israels presence in Guatemala is especially pronounced in the private security industry, which proliferated in the years following the so-called Guatemalan peace process of the mid-1990s. Ohad Steinhart, an Israeli, relocated to Guatemala at this opportune moment, originally working as a weapons instructor. Roughly two years after his 1994 move to Guatemala, he founded his own security firm, Decision Ejecutiva. Steinharts modest 300-employee company is small compared with the colossal Golan Group, Israels largest and oldest private security conglomerate in Guatemala. Founded by ex-Israeli special forces officers, the Golan Group has also trained Department of Homeland Security immigration agents along the US-Mexico border. The Golan Group has employed thousands of agents in Guatemala, some of whom have been involved in repressing environmental and land rights protests against mining operations by Canadian firms. The company was named in a 2014 lawsuit by six Guatemalan farmers and a student who were all shot at close range by security agents during a protest the previous year. Guatemalas use of Israeli military trainers and advisers, just as in the 1980s, continues. Israeli advisers have, in recent years, been assisting the current remilitarisation of Guatemala. Journalist Dawn Paley has reported that Israeli military trainers have shown up once again at an active military base in Coban, which is the site of mass graves from the 1980s. The remains of several hundred people have so far been uncovered there. The mass graves at Coban serve as the legal basis for the January arrests of 14 former military officers. This past June a Guatemalan judge ruled that the evidence is sufficient for eight of those arrested to stand trial. Future arrests and trials are likely to follow. Scholars Milton H. Jamail and Margo Gutierrez documented the Israeli arms trade in Central America, notably in Guatemala, in their 1986 book Its No Secret: Israels Military Involvement in Latin America. They worded the title that way because the bulk of the information in the book came from mainstream media sources. For now, Israels well-documented role in Guatemalas dirty wars passes largely without comment. But Guatemalans know better than most that the long road to accountability begins with acknowledgment. Yet it is unclear how long it will be before we hear of Israeli officials being called to Guatemala to be tried for the shadowy part they played in the countrys darkest hours. The Electronic Intifada Guatemalan farmers legal battle The British Columbia Court of Appeal last month rejected efforts by Tahoe Resources Inc to dismiss a lawsuit brought by seven Guatemalan men for injuries they suffered during the violent suppression of a peaceful protest at Tahoes mine in Guatemala. On April 27, 2013, private security guards indiscriminately shot at community members who were peacefully protesting. Seven were injured. Here Luis Fernando Garcia (left) and his father Adolfo Augustin Garcia show their injuries. The ruling represents the first time that a Canadian appellate court has permitted a lawsuit to advance against a Canadian company for alleged human rights violations committed abroad. In the judgment, the Court of Appeal overturned a lower court decision that had found Guatemala was the more appropriate venue for the case. The Court of Appeal ruled that several factors, including evidence of systemic corruption in the Guatemalan judiciary, pointed away from Guatemala as a preferable forum, thereby keeping the case in British Columbia. The court concluded that there is some measurable risk that the appellants will encounter difficulty in receiving a fair trial against a powerful international company whose mining interests in Guatemala align with the political interests of the Guatemalan state. The plaintiffs are supported in Canada by a legal team comprised of Vancouver law firm Camp Fiorante Matthews Mogerman (CFM) and the Canadian Centre for International Justice (CCIJ). In Guatemala, they are represented by lawyers at the Guatemalan Centre for Legal, Environmental and Social Action (CALAS). Until recently, the legal doctrine of forum non-conveniens had been an obstacle for foreign victims of corporate abuse seeking redress in Canadian courts. The doctrine gives courts discretion to dismiss a case in favour of a foreign jurisdiction in certain circumstances and had previously shielded Canadian companies, particularly in the extractive sector, from judicial scrutiny of their overseas operations. Last October, Eritrean plaintiffs overcame a forum non-conveniens challenge in their slave labour lawsuit against Vancouver-based Nevsun Resources Ltd. That lower court ruling is now on appeal and will also be heard by the BC Court of Appeal, in September 2017. With the reinstatement of the lawsuit against Tahoe, there are now multiple cases advancing in Canadian jurisdictions against companies accused of responsibility for severe human rights abuses. Three Ontario lawsuits alleging that Hudbay Minerals is liable for killing and gang rapes in Guatemala are also moving toward trial. Todays landmark ruling shows that Canadian courts are open to victims of abuses linked to Canadian companies operating abroad, said Matt Eisenbrandt, Legal Director of CCIJ. Despite a lack of regulation by the Canadian government, we hope these recent developments in the courts signal an end to corporate impunity for human rights violations, Eisenbrandt said. In their submissions to the Court of Appeal, the plaintiffs had emphasised that their claims against Tahoe were centred in Canada where Tahoe is incorporated and where most of Tahoes Board of Directors, which the plaintiffs say has ultimate oversight for security and community relations in Guatemala, resided at the time of the shooting. The plaintiffs also submitted extensive evidence showing systemic problems with Guatemalas judicial system. We are very satisfied that the court understood the remote chance of the plaintiffs receiving a fair trial in Guatemala due to a lack of judicial independence and widespread impunity, said Rafael Maldonado, Legal Director of CALAS. This is especially relevant given recent corruption scandals at all levels of the Guatemalan government, and particularly at the Supreme Court of Justice. In the Vancouver lawsuit, Tahoe faces claims of battery and negligence for the actions of its Guatemala Security Manager, Alberto Rotondo, and other security personnel in the April 2013 shooting, something the plaintiffs allege was a planned show of force to intimidate the local community and eliminate opposition to the Escobal mine. Rotondo was criminally charged in Guatemala, based in part on wiretap evidence from his phone. However, less than two months before he was scheduled to go on trial, Rotondo escaped from house arrest and fled to Peru, his home country. The Guatemalan case, in which some of the victims were participating as civil parties, was suspended. Rotondos escape from Guatemala was an important factor in the judgment from the BC Court of Appeal. The court agreed with our submissions that there are no longer any active legal proceedings in Guatemala, which pointed to British Columbia as the appropriate forum for the case said Joe Fiorante, QC, a partner with CFM. We are pleased with the result and look forward to litigating this case in British Columbia. Responding to the decision, plaintiff Luis Fernando Garcia Monroy, who suffered multiple gunshot wounds, including one to his face, said, We are very happy to have the opportunity to pursue justice in Canada, something we cannot do successfully in a Guatemalan court. In the face of corruption and repression by Guatemalas government, including a campaign to bring false criminal charges against peaceful protesters in our community, there is no guarantee of accountability here. Canadian Centre for International Justice Mumbai-based global asset management firm, ArthVedas Affordable Housing Fund, the first to get off the block after affordable housing was declared infrastructure category by India on Feb 1 2017 Arthveda Fund Management Pvt Ltd (AVFM) is part of the Wadhawan Global Capital which includes the flagship Dewan Housing Finance Corporation ltd (DHFL) Mumbai/Dubai/Qatar, February 6, 2017: Close on the heels of the Indian Government declaring affordable housing as infrastructure category, Mumbai-based ArthVeda Fund Management Pvt. Ltd. (AVFM) today announced that Qatar Holding(QH) has committed to invest US$250 million in its affordable low and middle income (LMI) fund, which projects an IRR in excess of 18 21%. In a statement, Bikram Sen, CEO of Arthveda said that the subscription of the entire corpus of its FDI-compliant affordable housing fund byQatar Holding (QH),was the first substantial foreign inward investment into Indias affordable housing segment spanning LMIresidences, immediately after Indias Union Budget on Feb 1, 2017.Bikram Sen was previously the CEO of DHFL. The sweet spot of LMI residential real estate in India offers a significant opportunity to grow investments and AVFM will continue to build on this success by conceiving more of such vehicles. AVFM has built a robust track record and are uniquely positioned to successfully manage such investments.. According to ArthVeda, it is estimated that India needs to build 19 million urban housing units in the low and mid-income category by 2022 across Tier 1, 2 and 3 cities which requires a capital of US$1 trillion. AVFM is part of Wadhawan Global Capital, a financial services conglomerate, withDewan Housing Finance Corp. Ltd (DHFL) as the flagship entity. DHFL has over three decades of track record in lending to LMI segment in India. It has lent over US$25 billion to this segment and overall, DHFL along with its associate housing finance company, Aadhar Housing Finance, lends on an average US$350 million in a month to home buyers at more than 500 locationsin India. AVFMs Affordable Housing Fund leverages our entire groups leadership in the LMI lending segment and applies that to investments in affordable housing. I am very proud that a prestigious institution from Qatar has invested in this fund through Arthveda, said Mr. Kapil Wadhawan, Chairman and Managing Director of DHFL and ArthVeda. Apart from the Affordable Housing Fund, which is AVFMs first offshore fund raising, other domestic real estate funds of the asset management company have been extremely successful. AVFMs domestic US$17 million Dream Fund, which exited in 2015 gave a gross IRR of 17 per cent (net to investors). A mid-income US$22 million domestic Star Fund I, which is due to achieve exits from all its investments in the next couple of months, will give equally high returns. A domestic low-income housing fund, Asha, is currently in deployment phase. According to AVFM, the great push by India to make affordable housing a centre piece of the countrys growth agenda will trigger more foreign investments into this sector. The positive FDI policy changes that have happened in this segment will also continue to give a boost to inward investments. The Government of India has gradually removed minimum project and investment ticket size restrictions in this segment, which should significantly catalyse development and investment. There ishuge emerging and latent demand for affordable housing in this LMI segment and the quick absorption rate, low cyclicity and low average investment ticket size makes it a very attractive investment proposition, according to AVFM. Investments into the AVFM fund were raised in collaboration with the Dubai-based CI Holding Global, founded and run by Mr. OmarFarooqui. About ArthVeda Fund Management Pvt. ArthVeda Fund Management Pvt. Ltd. (AVFM) is in the business of asset management, with a focus on alternative investment funds covering Indian real estate. AVFM is a part of the BSE &NSE-listed Dewan Housing Finance Limited (DHFL) group, Indias second largest private mortgage finance company, managing mortgage assets of over US$12 billion. The objective of ArthVeda is to manage funds (designed by in-house research team) that offer ample opportunities for extracting alpha i.e. high risk-adjusted returns. The company believes in Value Investing and predominantly follows this principle in all its investment decisions. ArthVedas investor-focused approach is guided by its belief in transparency and high standards of corporate governance. ArthVeda Fund Management Pvt. Ltd. (AVFM) is in the business of asset management, with a focus on alternative investment funds covering Indian real estate. AVFM is a part of the BSE &NSE-listed Dewan Housing Finance Limited (DHFL) group, Indias second largest private mortgage finance company, managing mortgage assets of over US$12 billion. The objective of ArthVeda is to manage funds (designed by in-house research team) that offer ample opportunities for extracting alpha i.e. high risk-adjusted returns. The company believes in Value Investing and predominantly follows this principle in all its investment decisions. ArthVedas investor-focused approach is guided by its belief in transparency and high standards of corporate governance. About CI Holding Global CI holding Global is a Dubai based cross-border equity investment and consultancy firm, with a deep relationship and understanding of regional institutional investors. A war with China? In his January 13 testimony before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Secretary of State nominee Rex Tillerson made an extraordinary comment concerning Chinas activities in the South China Sea. The US, he said, must send a clear signal that, first, the island-building stops, adding that Beijings access to those islands is not going to be allowed. Chinas commander of the Peoples Liberation Army Navy, Wu Shengli, told US Admiral John Richardson that we will never stop our construction on the Nansha Islands halfway. President Trumps Press Secretary, Sean Spicer, repeated the threat on January 24. Sometimes it is hard to sift the real from the magical in the Trump administration, and bombast appears to be the default strategy of the day. But people should be clear about what would happen if the US actually tries to blockade China from supplying its forces constructing airfields and radar facilities on the Spratly and Paracel islands. It would be an act of war. Last summer, Chinas commander of the Peoples Liberation Army Navy, Wu Shengli, told US Admiral John Richardson that we will never stop our construction on the Nansha Islands halfway. Nansha is Chinas name for the Spratlys. Two weeks later, Chang Wanquan, Chinas Defence Minister, said Beijing is preparing for a peoples war at sea. In fact, the US is in the middle of a major military build-up, the Obama administrations Asia Pivot in the Pacific. American bases in Okinawa, Japan, and Guam have been beefed up, and for the first time since World War II, US Marines have been deployed in Australia. Last March, the US sent B-2 nuclear-capable strategic stealth bombers to join them. Roots of current tensions The current crisis has its roots in a tense standoff between Beijing and Taiwan in late 1996. The Peoples Republic of China (PRC) was angered that Washington had granted a visa to Taiwans president, Lee Teng-hui, calling it a violation of the 1979 US One China policy that recognised the PRC and downgraded relations with Taiwan to unofficial. Beijing responded to the visa uproar by firing missiles near a small Taiwan-controlled island and moving some military forces up to the mainland coast facing the island. However, there was never any danger that China would actually attack Taiwan. The Straits crisis led to a radical remaking of Chinas military, which had long relied on massive land forces. Instead, China adopted a strategy called Area Denial that would allow Beijing to control the waters surrounding its coast, in particular the East and South China seas. China is particularly vulnerable to a naval blockade. Some 80 percent of its energy supplies traverse the Indian Ocean and South China Sea, moving through narrow choke points like the Malacca Straits between Indonesia and Malaysia, the Bab al Mandab Straits controlling the Red Sea, and the Straits of Hormuz into the Persian Gulf. All of those passages are controlled by the US or countries like India and Indonesia with close ties to Washington. In 2013, China claimed it had historic rights to the region and issued its now famous nine-dash line map that embraced the Paracels and Spratly island chains and 85 percent of the South China Sea. It was this nine-dash line that the Hague tribunal rejected, because it found no historical basis for Chinas claim, and because there were overlapping assertions by Taiwan, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei, and the Philippines. There are, of course, economic considerations. The region is rich in oil, gas, and fish, but the primary concern for China is security. The Chinese have not interfered with commercial ship traffic, although they have applied on-again, off-again restrictions on fishing and energy explorations. China initially prevented Filipino fishermen from exploiting some reefs, and then allowed it. It has been more aggressive with Vietnam in the Paracels. The US has some 400 military bases surrounding China and is deploying anti-ballistic missiles in South Korea and Japan, ostensibly to guard against North Korean nuclear weapons. But the interceptors could also down Chinese missiles, posing a threat to Beijings nuclear deterrence. Enter Trump The Trump administration has opened a broad front on China, questioning the One China policy, accusing Beijing of being in cahoots with Islamic terrorists, and threatening a trade war. The first would upend more than 30 years of diplomacy, the second is bizarre if anything, China is overly aggressive in suppressing terrorism in its western Xinjiang Province and the third makes no sense. China is the USs major trading partner and holds US$1.24 trillion in US Treasury Bonds. While Trump charges that the Chinese have hollowed out the American economy by undermining its industrial base with cheap labour and goods, China did not force Apple or General Motors to pull up stakes and decamp elsewhere. Capital goes where wages are low and unions are weak. A trade war would hurt China, but it would also hurt the US and the global economy as well. When President Trump says he wants to Make America Great Again, what he really means is that he wants to go back to that post-World War II period when the US dominated much of the globe with a combination of economic strength and military power. But that era is gone, and dreams of a unipolar world run by Washington are a hallucination. According to the CIA, by 2030 Asia will have surpassed North America and Europe combined in terms of global power based on GDP, population size, military spending and technological investments. By 2025, two-thirds of the world will live in Asia, 7 percent in Europe and 5 percent in the US. Those are the demographics of eclipse. If Trump starts a trade war, he will find little support among Americas allies. China is the number one trading partner for Japan, Australia, South Korea, Vietnam, and India, and the third largest for Indonesia and the Philippines. Over the past year, a number of countries like Thailand, Malaysia, and the Philippines have also distanced themselves from Washington and moved closer to China. When President Obama tried to get US allies not to sign on to Chinas new Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, they ignored him. But the decline of US influence has a dangerous side. Washington may not be able to dictate the worlds economy, but it has immense military power. Chinese military expert Yang Chengjun says China does not stir up troubles, but we are not afraid of them when they come. Information Clearing House Alt-news and hate speech For many people, headlines such as Birth control makes women unattractive and crazy and Political correctness protects Muslim rape culture, would be considered hateful, insidious and factually incorrect. But for millions in the US, its headlines like these, and the agenda theyre pushing, that have kept them coming back to US conservative, alt-right website Breitbart News. Established as an aggregating site in 2005, its founder Andrew Breitbart launched the news website shortly after, with the aim of being the Huffington Post of the right. Breitbart News went on to gain considerable traction for its pro-Israel, anti-establishment and populist agenda, targeting Washingtons elite and the US mainstream media. The site was taken over by one of its board members Stephen Bannon after Breitbarts death in 2012. Under Bannon, the site turned further to the right, embracing white nationalism and the alt-right movement an alternative ideology that rejects mainstream conservatism and media. During the US election Breitbart News was unashamedly pro-Trump and its readership kept growing. Between May and June 2016, it overtook major news outlets like CNN, the UK Guardian and the Wall Street Journal for levels of social media interaction with political content. Bannon was rewarded for his efforts, with Trump later naming him chief strategist in his administration. But Breitbart News may find it difficult to replicate this success when it launches its German language edition later this year. Following the defeat of the Nazis, Germany implemented tough regulations that made hate speech a criminal act. German law includes the concept of Volksverhetzung or the incitement of popular hatred, capable of disturbing public peace, including racist agitation exactly the type of content Breitbart News is accused of publishing. Despite its growing popularity, the site has courted much controversy and criticism. The New York Times described it as an organisation with ideologically driven journalists, producing material labelled misogynist, xenophobic and racist. The site has also been accused of homophobia, with one of its star columnists, a gay man named Milo Yiannopoulos, openly denouncing gay rights and calling for gay people to go back into the closet. Yiannopoulos has been permanently banned from Twitter for leading a racist campaign against actor Leslie Jones. Rejection of hate speech Recent developments in Germany suggest that Breitbart News is entering the German market at a time when the pushback against online hate speech is getting stronger. Late in 2016, a Munich-based lawyer Chan-jo Jun lodged a complaint against Facebook, accusing it of violating German hate speech laws, supporting terrorist organisations and sedition, in a case that German prosecutors are still considering. Jun said, We are pushing for this because Facebook must comply with German law. While its not clear yet if Breitbart News will be based here, in which case they will be subject to German jurisdiction, they may learn from whats currently happening with Facebook. Two years ago, Justice Minister Heiko Maas set up a task force that included representatives from Google, Facebook and Twitter to address the issue of hate speech and fake news. The government is now looking at specific laws that would force the social media sites to play a bigger role in policing the hateful and illegal content thats shared on their sites. Towards the end of last year, police in Berlin raided the homes of 10 people suspected of publishing offensive and hateful images and posts, directed towards refugees and immigrants. At the time, Berlins top security official Frank Henkel said authorities wont turn away if racism or incitement is being spread on the Internet. Theres also a movement among left-wing activists in Germany, who have been targeting far-right groups online and transforming their activities into donations for their causes. Tense times But Breitbart News, which also has plans to launch a French site, enters the European market at a tense time. The continent is currently facing a refugee crisis that has been unprecedented in the number of people fleeing war and poverty in search of a better life. Britain is preparing to divorce from the European Union after a referendum campaign dominated by fear and far right parties from France to the Netherlands are gaining in popularity. One of the leaders of the far right movement in Germany is Alternative fur Deutschland (Alternative for Germany) or AfD. The party, which has called for tighter controls on immigration and has adopted an anti-Islam policy, missed the five percent mark needed to enter parliament in the last federal elections in 2013, but made gains in regional elections last year and is set to be a big political force in Septembers elections. Director of the European Journalism Observatory Stephan Russ-Mohl said, The right wing populist movement is getting stronger and it could endanger democracies across Europe. And what we are seeing is a market for half-truths and misinformation. Breitbart News may be able to get a good market share because of its experience. The AfD is openly hostile towards the mainstream media, banning journalists from its events most recently from a conference it hosted for other European far right leaders in Germany. It often accuses journalists of bias and misreporting. Its a sentiment shared by nearly half of the countrys population: a recent poll found that 44 percent of Germans distrusted the mainstream media. Robert Mudge, a planning editor at broadcaster and news website Deutsche Welle, said: The timing is obviously no coincidence, with several crucial elections coming up this year in Europe that could see a significant political shift towards the far-right. Breitbart News is tapping into a sentiment felt very keenly that the mainstream media is out of touch with the problems of ordinary Germans and do not reflect their aspirations and anxieties hence the term Lugenpresse (lying press) and are seen as part of a larger conspiracy along with the mainstream political parties. While the hate speech laws are in place, it doesnt mean they are being implemented to their fullest potential. The obvious problem is that while we have these wonderful laws, we dont have the police force or the justice system to follow through, said Russ-Mohl. The challenge will be how to ensure that young people arent influenced by a site like Breitbart News. As Breitbart News prepares to spread its brand of journalism across Europe, all eyes will be on the reaction of Germany, a country so determined not to repeat past mistakes. New Internationalist Culture & Life Science and nonsense Marxism-Leninism is not only a political theory (albeit a very significant one), it is also a science. Its alternative name in fact is scientific socialism. Communists are committed to science and the scientific method, which is why we take such a dim view of creationists and other anti-science crackpots. Donald Trump shamelessly uses lying as a tactic. Religion dominated and seriously inhibited intellectual life in Europe for hundreds of years, until the pressure for material development combined with the sudden influx of riches from the newly discovered lands of the East and the Americas brought about a realignment of class forces. The previously all-powerful feudal landowners and their ecclesiastical allies found themselves having to make room for merchants and traders, people who measured their wealth not in land but in capital itself. This new class, soon to be the ruling class, encouraged innovation and scientific research, for it expanded the possibilities for improving their financial position even further. The doctrines and practices of the Church came under intense scrutiny as inventions and discoveries multiplied and the sum of human knowledge expanded exponentially. At the same time this new ruling class recognised that religion can be a valuable tool in promoting and defending the principles and values on which capitalism depends and encouraged its continued existence. Ideally, however, capitalism needed a different religion, one that did not (hypocritically) preach against accumulating riches, and Protestantism was born. As Christianity diversified into different trends, capitalism reached an accommodation with all of them. Jumping ahead a couple of hundred years and capitalism has become dominant. The workers and peasants on whom it depends for the continued creation of its wealth have become aware of their rights and have launched revolts and full scale revolutions with varying degrees of success in an attempt to remove the capitalist foot from their proletarian neck. In the leading capitalist country, the USA, religion flourishes despite the country having been founded as a secular state with careful separation of church and state embedded in its Constitution. The class interests of capitalism have overridden the intentions of the USAs founding fathers and their institutions and mass media assiduously promote religious beliefs as an essential part of modern life. A consequence of this is the formation of bizarre pseudo-scientific establishments like the Institute for Creation Research. Creationism is an attempt to dress anti-scientific religion in the clothes of science. So powerful is the religious lobby in the USA that this attack on science is actually taught in schools on par with science itself in some US states! A favourite target of this scientific church lobby is advocates of evolution within the (genuine) scientific community. Evolution is not a theory, as they invariably assert, but a proven, scientific fact. But, incredible as it seems, in the heartland of capitalism evolution is still vigorously attacked. William Rivers Pitt, writing recently in Truthout, noted the dishonest tactic used by one of creationisms most ardent defenders, the late Duane Tolbert Gish, neuroscientist and hardcore creationist. Gish apparently enjoyed engaging in public debates with scientists advocating evolution, but significantly Mr Gishs chief tactic, known in debate terminology as spreading, was to fire off as many points as possible in a short span of time. Nearly every point delivered is either partially or completely false, but the opponent faces a daunting task when confronted with so many issues to refute at once. Like as not, they are overwhelmed, and the spreader emerges victorious while seeming to be a master of voluminous data ... Nowhere is the tactic more evidently used than within the confines of the corporate news media. ... It is a marvellous way to fill precious air time with the nitrous oxide of nonsense that comes from a bunch of people shouting lies simultaneously at the top of their voices. And why does the corporate news media give these people airtime? Because, as Pitt observes, its good television. Pitt raises another, related point: who uses this tactic notably now? US President Donald Trump. Trump modelled his entire presidential campaign on the tactic outrageous tweets, bizarre proclamations, an ocean of lies deployed on the hour at all hours of day and night. Far from relinquishing the tactic after he was elected to the Oval Office, Trump has stepped up its use. Says Pitt: Consider Trumps recent remarks at CIA headquarters: When I was young and I think were all sort of young. When I was young, we were always winning things in this country. Wed win with trade. Wed win with wars. At a certain age, I remember hearing from one of my instructors, The United States has never lost a war. And then, after that, its like we havent won anything. We dont win anymore. The old expression, to the victor belong the spoils you remember. I always used to say, keep the oil. I wasnt a fan of Iraq. I didnt want to go into Iraq. But I will tell you, when we were in, we got out wrong. And I always said, in addition to that, keep the oil. Now, I said it for economic reasons. But if you think about it, if we kept the oil you probably wouldnt have ISIS because thats where they made their money in the first place. So we should have kept the oil. But okay. Maybe youll have another chance. But the fact is, should have kept the oil. Pitt skewers this farrago for the dishonest nonsense it is: No, we were not always winning. No, we cant keep the oil. No, he actually was a fan of the Iraq invasion. No, we dont have ISIS because of the oil. No, they shouldnt get another chance. Five dollops of galactic nonsense delivered in an avalanche of jumbled verbiage, all of which is abandoned without correction or refutation as the next avalanche comes sliding down the hill. Pitt makes the comparison: That was how he campaigned, and that is how he is governing. So the next time Trump spews a seeming load of rubbish, remember hes not a fool, its deliberate! Channel programs News Arrow Snags $350M of Channel Business From Competitors, Lands Dell Enterprise Portfolio Michael Novinson Share this Arrow Electronics has closed on more than $350 million of annual business coming from other IT distributors, and has been authorized to carry Dell's enterprise offerings. "In all my years at Arrow, I've never seen greater opportunities for our business than coming into 2017," said Chairman, President and CEO Mike Long, a 26-year Arrow veteran. "It's not an exaggeration, but a fact." Long said the Centennial, Colo.-based distributor learned very recently that, effective this month, Arrow has been authorized to distribute Dell's enterprise offerings in all of the same markets where they carry EMC today. Arrow has worked closely with Dell around reverse logistics in North America, but the company has only historically been a distributor of EMC products in the region. [Related: Arrow CEO: Avnet-Tech Data Deal Is Bringing More Partners To Us] "Given the footprint we have with EMC, we certainly think that we have a good shot at some growth with that [Dell enterprise] line," Sean Kerins, president of Arrow's Enterprise Computing Solutions (ECS) business, told Wall Street analysts on Tuesday. Kerins, however, said it's too early to predict how much revenue Arrow will generate from the new Dell distribution relationship given that it's still new and a few unknowns remain. Tech Data had been the only IT distributor authorized to carry both Dell and EMC products in North America, but distribution relationships are changing as Dell EMC rolls out its new, post-acquisition partner program. Arrow also has agreements in place to grab more than $350 million in annual business from other distributors in the coming quarters, Long said. The new channel business wins won't have much of an impact in the first quarter, Kerins said, with intake ramping in middle and late 2017. "We're bringing new VARs and MSPs in house, and doing more business with our existing customers," Long said. The distribution landscape has experienced lots of upheaval in the past year, with core competitor Avnet agreeing to sell its Technology Solutions (TS) business to Tech Data in September for $2.6 billion and the closing of Ingram Micro's $6 billion sale to Chinese logistics firm Tianjin Tianhai in December. Additionally, Datatec Ltd. announced late last month that it's negotiating a material transaction, and sources told CRN the most likely outcome is the sale of $4.9 billion distributor Westcon-Comstor. Kerins believes there are still more opportunities for the company to bring over sizable business from competitors thanks to the appeal of Arrow's differentiated approach, though he cautioned that it often takes a while to onboard newly-won business. "We're having a lot of great conversations with a lot of interesting channel partners these days, so we'll see how it plays out," Kerins said. "But we're confident [we'll win more business]." Long said in November that the company had seen a big uptick in VARs and MSPs trying to figure out how they could do more business with Arrow since they will be the only pure-play value distributor left once volume distributor Tech Data closes its purchase of Avnet TS in the first half of 2017. The Tech Data-Avnet TS deal will give Arrow a big edge around the internet of things, Long said in November, since they will be the only distributor with both an IT and components practice under the same roof. The combined Tech Data-Avnet TS plans to continue partnering with Avnet's legacy Electronics Marketing (EM) business to leverage EM's IoT capabilities. Revenue for Arrow in the quarter ended Dec. 31 was $6.44 billion, down 4.6 percent from $6.75 billion a year ago. That missed Seeking Alpha's projection of $6.53 billion. Net income jumped to $164.5 million, or $1.81 per diluted share, up 3.8 percent from $158.5 million, or $1.69 per diluted share, last year. On a non-GAAP basis, net income dipped to $181.7 million, or $2 per diluted share, down 0.3 percent from $182.1 million, or $1.94 per diluted share, the year prior. That was in-line with Seeking Alpha's estimate of $2 a share. On a full-year basis, revenue climbed to $23.83 billion, up 2.3 percent from $23.82 billion last year. Net income, meanwhile, jumped to $522.8 million, or $5.68 per diluted share, up 5 percent from $497.7 million, or $5.20 per diluted share, a year ago. Arrow shares sunk $5.09 (-6.82%) to $69.49 in trading Tuesday afternoon. Earnings were released before the market opened Tuesday. Fourth quarter sales for Arrow's global ECS business plummeted to $2.45 billion, down 20.6 percent from $3.08 billion last year due to a 10 percent decline in hardware sales and very weak year-end budget flush. Arrow's Americas ECS business sales fell to $1.63 billion, down 19.7 percent from $2.03 billion the year prior. The picture was even gloomier in Europe, where Arrow's ECS sales sunk to $818.4 million, down 22.4 percent from $1.05 billion last year. Software and services now account for 65 percent of Arrow's total ECS revenue thanks to continued growth in the space, Long said. Within hardware, newer technologies such as solid-state storage and hyper-converged infrastructure are enjoying year-over-year growth rates of 50 percent, Long said. Arrow is projecting total sales of between $5.38 billion and $5.78 billion in its next quarter, with ECS contributing revenue of between $1.6 billion and $1.8 billion. Diluted earnings per share excluding any charges are expected to come in at between $1.37 per share and $1.49 per share, the company said. That projection is in line with what investors were expecting. Thomson Reuters predicted Arrow would earn $1.46 per share on overall sales of $5.57 billion. Components & Peripherals News Intel COO Stevenson Leaves Company In Latest Executive Shift Lindsey O'Donnell Share this Kim Stevenson, Intel's chief operating officer for its Client and Internet of Things Businesses and Systems Architecture Group, is leaving the company, she recently said in a Tweet. Stevenson had just transitioned into her new role in August, reporting to the group's president, Murthy Renduchintala, according to Intel. In a note to employees obtained by The Oregonian, Renduchintala said he is looking for options to fill Stevenson's role. "I am excited for Kim as she embarks on her next journey, but find it difficult to see a strong leader leave," he said in the note. [Related: 5 Ways Intel Unite Just Became A Boon To Partners In Vertical Markets] Intel, Santa Clara, Calif., did not respond to a request for comment before publication. Stevenson served as CIO at Intel before her latest role with the company. Before that, she worked at EDS, a Hewlett-Packard company, as vice president until 2009. In a tweet, Stevenson said she was "on to new adventures." Today was my last day at Intel. It's been a great 7 1/2 yrs...on to new adventures /**/ /**/ Stevenson's departure is the latest in an array of executive shifts after CEO Brian Krzanich in April unveiled of an overarching restructuring initiative. As part of the restructuring, aimed at refocusing the company on cloud and connected technologies, Intel said it would cut 12,000 jobs globally. Over the past year, high-ranking executives including Kirk Skaugen, who was senior vice president in the Client Computing Group, have left the company. Others have moved to other areas of the company. Most recently, Intel hired a new vice president of channel sales, Ricardo Moreno, to help invest further in worldwide channel sales, training and resources. In the fall, Americas channel head CJ Bruno passed the channel torch to Vice President Greg Baur. Partners, for their part, say the executive changes reflect Intel's restructuring efforts around new lucrative markets including the Internet of Things and cloud technologies. "There's been a lot of executive transition some of the people we work with have changed roles and so there is still a few things in transition," said one partner, who wished to remain anonymous. "Intel's trying to understand their channel base with new initiatives for IoT and education." Security News Palo Alto Networks Rolls Out Major PAN-OS 8.0 Update, New Hardware And Virtual Appliances Sarah Kuranda Share this Palo Alto Networks is making major updates to its PAN-OS, the company announced Tuesday, adding new features across its entire technology platform. The new PAN-OS 8.0 launch adds upgrades across cloud security, multi-method threat prevention, management at scale, credential threat prevention and new hardware. All in all, Palo Alto Networks added more than 70 new features across those platform categories with the operating system update. "This is the biggest launch in the history of the company," Frank Mong, senior vice president of product, industry and solutions marketing, said in an interview with CRN. [Related: Palo Alto Networks Steps Up Endpoint Security Game With Certification Of Traps As AV Replacement] Palo Alto Networks updated its cloud security portfolio with three new VM-Series firewall models: the VM-50, VM-500 and VM-700. The company also made enhancements to its VM-300 and VM-1000 products to make them faster. Palo Alto Networks also extended its capabilities around the public cloud, adding gateway and load balancer integrations for Microsoft Azure, native AWS Cloudwatch support, and more. The VM-Series offerings are available on both the Azure marketplace and the AWS marketplace. Palo Alto Networks also added cloud security capabilities around software-as-a-service applications, giving customers additional visibility and control with an expansion of Aperture. The company added extended application support for Office 365, Dropbox, and Salesforce, as well as initiating support for Slack and Secure Data Space, added new German and APAC data centers to support German and Japanese languages for DLP and machine learning. The company also boosted its multi-method threat prevention capabilities, adding a fully custom-built evasion environment for dynamic analysis to counteract sandbox-aware malware; bare metal analysis to detonate malware on real hardware; and aggregated threat intelligence through an integration of MineMeld and AutoFocus. Palo Alto Networks also added particular capabilities around command-and-control, automating inspection, analysis and signature generation through WildFire. Palo Alto Networks also looked to address the growing problem around credential theft and abuse with the launch of new features to identify and block phishing sites, prevent users from submitting credentials to phishing sites and prevent an attacker from traversing the network using stolen credentials with multi-factor authentication. Mong said the new anti-phishing and multi-factor authentication features are a win for partners because it eases implementations by putting multi-factor authentication at the gateway and comes at no extra cost. The new PAN-OS 8.0 also updated its management capabilities through Panorama, integrating Traps endpoint security logs into the management console for correlation across firewall, endpoint and third-party threat intelligence feeds. The company also boosted search speed in the management console by 30 times, Mong said. Finally, Palo Alto Networks announced new hardware appliances to help meet increasing performance needs from data center consolidation, Mong said. The company launched the PA-800 Series for remote offices and branch offices, the PA-5200 Series for data centers with small compact form factors and high SSL traffic, and the PA-220 for remote users. Mong said the new appliances have higher performance, capacity, and decryption performance. Jeff Lefkowitz, director of engineering at Fivesky, a New York-based Palo Alto Networks partner, said the software updates around client-less VPN connection, Traps integration and NetFlow monitoring for the PA-7000 Series, in particular, are enhancements that stand out in the PAN-OS 8.0 update. He said those updates would all help him better manage and correlate threat data, as well as direct traffic through web access gateways and firewalls for better security. Lefkowitz also highlighted what Palo Alto Networks was launching around command and control inspection as a key addition for his customers. He said integrating those services together with the WildFire platform is going to be "really attractive" because it will provide more in-depth analysis of malware and network traffic. Finally, Lefkowitz said the new hardware updates for both on-premises and virtual appliances would be key as customers demand higher-performance solutions to keep pace with increasing amounts of data and traffic. "Its a fantastic situation to be able to sell these devices into more customers because customers want to do this type of segmentation to enhance security. They need these devices to perform The hardware improvements are really going to be nice," Lefkowitz said. Mong said the launches across the entire portfolio is an essential piece of Palo Alto Networks' strategy, as it looks to build on its security platform across the board. He said a platform that can provide best-of-breed visibility, attack surface reduction and known and unknown threat prevention is critical for success in today's security landscape. "We believe that you have to have a platform approach to doing [security] well and you have to be the best in every single [category]. That's what we're doing at Palo Alto Networks," Mong said. Fivesky Managing Member Luanne Tierney said this platform approach is key for partners like Fivesky to position solutions to clients. She said a platform approach allows Fivesky to be more valuable to its clients. "We're excited to be Palo Alto Networks partner because this makes us a better partner to our customers," Tierney said. "We do like how they are allowing us to position a true platform, a true security solution, instead of having all these disparate pieces." Aruba Networks Leader Talks Cisco, Niara Acquisition Following Aruba Networks' acquisition of security startup Niara this week, Aruba leader Keerti Melkote spoke to CRN about the importance of the purchase and why it will give the vendor an advantage over networking rival Cisco. "We go further than Cisco or any other vendor in security at the edge, even without the Niara acquisition. What Niara does is enhances that with the latest and greatest machine learning capabilities," said Melkote, senior vice president and General Manager of Aruba Networks, a subsidiary of HPE. Melkote also dives into the current state of the integration process between Niara technology and its ClearPass platform, and explains why channel partners need to expand their HPE-Aruba security practice. Page Content Around 400 citizens and representatives of local and regional administrations, civil society and businesses attended the first Polish Town Hall debate organised by the European Committee of the Regions (CoR) and the Podkarpackie region on 4 February. The event was organised as part of the CoR's "Reflecting on Europe" an initiative which offers space for citizens to present their ideas, thoughts and opinions on the future of the European Union. "Poland is Europe's flagship example that Europe matters by showing that through dedication and hard work, the EU can benefit communities. But the question is: do the citizens, their families, friends and communities also feel or see those benefits the EU brings in their daily lives? We are here to listen to everyone about his or her concerns, local challenges and vision for Europe. So though Brussels may seem distant, through the Committee's members your voice in the EU is heard ", said CoR President Markku Markkula. Beata Szydo , Prime Minister of Poland, said: "Thanks to the presence of the President of the CoR, we are here today talking about Europe and its future. For Poland there is no doubt that the European Union needs to reform. Europeans must have the feeling that the EU is for them and deals with issues that are close to their hearts. We need to debate our different views, because this is the essence of democracy. At the same time we need to look for the best solutions, taking into account the development potential of individual regions and individual countries. Finally, we have to focus on issues that matter most to the people." "The voice of local government cannot be left out in the ongoing debate about the future of the EU's cohesion policy. We want the cohesion policy and the use of the Funds to continue. However, we need to improve and better plan this policy area so as to give sub-national government at all levels a better chance at achieving economic development. The Exhibition and Congress G2A Arena Center, where we met today as well as the Science and Technology Park, the Special Economic Zone and the airport in Jasionka show that we are able to use EU funds effectively and skillfully and the result serves not only Podkarpackie region but the whole country", stated Wadysaw Ortyl (ECR/PL), Marshal of the Podkarpackie Region and co-organiser of the event. Olgierd Geblewicz (EPP/PL) , and Marshal of the West-Pomerania, replacing the Head of the CoR's Polish Delegation stated: "A strong Europe is based on the principle of subsidiarity, established in the Maastricht Treaty in 1992, whose 25th anniversary will be celebrated on 7 February. That is why Polish regions will defend this principle, proving that the most effective governments are those closest to citizens. " The CoR is committed to making citizens' voices heard in shaping the on-going political debate on the future of Europe and to bring their concerns and concrete proposals to the EU level debate. Statements and conclusions of this debate as well as an online survey carried out during the event will feed into the CoR contribution to the Reflection on the EU. Note to editors The European Committee of the Regions is organising a series of open debates in towns , cities and regions. Citizens views will be formally fed back in a report to be submitted to the European Council's President. The Committee is also encouraging regional and local councils to hold their own debates, including in their own institutional bodies, on the future of Europe to ensure that citizens' are heard during this time of reflection. Letter of the President of the European Council to the European Committee of the Regions. Contact: Wioletta Wojewodzka Tel. +32 (0)2 282 2289 wioletta.wojewodzka@cor.europa.eu Last week I sat with the guys around the bonfire eating barbecue and having a conversation about ambition and humility. We shared our stories and our struggles. We ate smoked pork and brisket. We heard songs from a hopeful country music list playing in the background on a not-so-wintry Georgia night. Our conversation touched on issues relating to how we can best live out our calling. Real people, real lives. And none of us not even one of us claimed that they somehow had it. All of us (best I can tell, every single one of us) chipped in to make it a night where iron sharpens iron. Since we were talking about ambition, a few Scripture verses surfaced relating to heart motivations: Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ. Colossians 3:23 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. Matthew 6:33 As I heard these verses, I thought back to how often God has used Scripture as a lamp unto my path and a light unto my feet. Scripture can transform your heart and mind. Turn the clock back several years. As a recent college graduate, I wanted so badly to make a strong vocational hit and was at the time considering a few different career options; each path meant graduate school. Which way should I go? During this time of heavy logic, reasoning, and decision-making, I enrolled in a discipleship class at our local church and received exceptional advice from a couple far older and wiser than me: Read and memorize these verses in Ephesians, they said. For by grace you have been saved, through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. Ephesians 2:8-10 Its safe to say this Scripture passage helped adjust my thinking. Its not my story, its Gods story. He already knows the best direction for me. If I seek Him, Hell be more than glad to share it with me. Scripture is at the center of your search. All of this prompted me to schedule an appointment with our pastor, to seek more spiritual wisdom. I entered his office and he was dressed in a navy suit; he had gray hair. Gray hair, good...wisdom. After I shared my dilemma, he picked up his weathered Bible and clutched it in both hands, and he gave me an interesting assignment. I want you to read the calling of the people in the Old Testament. Go back and read the calling of Abraham and Noah, Moses, and David. Read them and see what God teaches you. So, I did. Hmmm...God caught Mosess attention with the flashing sign of a flaming bush. Abraham, he didnt even know where he was going until he got there. Interesting. Noah, wow he really faced the critics; everyone thought he was crazy. David, he learned how to fight out in the fields tending sheep. And I remembered thinking: God worked with each of them differently. Hes personal. And he guided each of them in a unique way. Through prayer, reading the Word, life circumstances and multiple conversations, it became clear to me that God was indeed calling me to graduate school: to Divinity school at Baylor University. At Baylor I first learned that I could use my artistic and writing gifts for Gods glory. He placed me in the perfect environment to explore theology and literature, along with a healthy influence of theater. Scripture offers enlightenment for every new season of your life. Years later (in fact, many times since then) when uncertainty hit and I had no clear path laid before me, Id return to Scripture trusting that Holy Spirit the worlds best author would illuminate passages and help draw me closer to Jesus. He would always come through. The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want Psalm 23:1 A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you. Psalm 91:7 For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother's womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. Psalm 139: 13:14 When it came time to write the novel Heaven Breaks In, I decided to set it on a college campus where identity struggles tend to be high. The main character Davis Lewis Chandler, a first-year college student has typical struggles of someone recently severed from his family and church youth group. Theres a scene in the book where one of the angels receives a message that he should Make sure Davis gets a haircut this week from a Mr. Robert Phillips, who happens to be a local barber in town. A very wise barber, we learn. Once Davis sits in the chair, he and Roberts conversations get real right quick, and Davis shares how hes struggling to find his place. Robert leans in and gives him the following advice: "Don't just do what's popular or take the quickest path to making money. Jesus might call you there, but He might not. What do you love? What are you good at? What are you gifted in? Most important, where does He want you? With what student groups? And who can be your real friends, ones who can really sharpen you in the Lord?" Keep returning to the Word. After the haircut, Davis returns to his dorm room and reads this verse from the book of Isaiah: ... but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength, they will mount up with wings like eagles; they will run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint. Isaiah 40:31 Its a scene that I hope shows the power of pointing someone to God and reminding them of his calling on your life, an experience Ive had countless times. Perhaps even more importantly, it offers a fictional example of how Jesus our Risen King can work through circumstances, events, and conversations to draw us closer to him. Since a writers treasure is often found in words, Id like to end this article by returning to Scripture. Heres a passage from Proverbs, a book written to help younger men walk in the way of wisdom and find true treasure. Its a great reminder of how awesome is the God we serve. I have counsel and sound wisdom; I have insight; I have strength. By me kings reign, and rulers decree what is just; by me princes rule, and nobles, all who govern justly. I love those who love me, and those who seek me diligently find me. Proverbs 8:14-17 Related Resource: Listen to our FREE podcast, Reframed: The Power of Perspective. In each episode, Carley provides practical techniques for identifying and reframing negative thinking patterns. Listen to an episode below, and check out all of our episodes on LifeAudio.com. Nicholas Cappas is the author of Amazon best seller Heaven Breaks In, a novel Literary Classics honored with the 2017 Seal of Approval and described as a modern spin on C.S. Lewis Screwtape Letters." He has Master's Degrees in English from Wake Forest University and the University of Birmingham (England), and in Divinity from Baylor University. He lives in Atlanta, Georgia. Photo Credit: GettyImages/Rawpixle The U.S. House of Representatives approved on Monday the Email Privacy Act, which would require law enforcement agencies to get court-ordered warrants to search email and other data stored with third parties for longer than six months. The House approved the bill by voice vote, and it now goes the Senate for consideration. The Email Privacy Act would update a 31-year-old law called the Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA). Some privacy advocates and tech companies have pushed Congress to update ECPA since 2011. Lax protections for stored data raise doubts about U.S. cloud services among consumers and enterprises, supporters of the bill say. Under ECPA, the protections are different for older or more recent data. Law enforcement agencies need warrants to search paper files in a suspect's home or office and to search electronic files stored on the suspect's computer or in the cloud for less than 180 days. But files stored for longer have less protection. Police agencies need only a subpoena, not reviewed by a judge, to demand files stored in the cloud or with other third-party providers for longer than 180 days. That difference in the way the law treats stored data is a "glaring loophole in our privacy protection laws," said Representative Jared Polis, a Colorado Democrat and co-sponsor of the bill. The Email Privacy Act will bring U.S. digital privacy laws into the 21st century, said Representative Kevin Yoder, a Kansas Republican and co-sponsor of the bill. Supporters of the bill argue internet users' privacy expectations have changed since ECPA passed in 1986. Storage was expensive back then, and only about 10 million people had email accounts, Yoder said. Now internet users are more likely to store sensitive communications with cloud providers and other internet-based companies. Under former President Barack Obama, the Department of Justice was cool to the idea of changing ECPA. The changes will make it tougher for law enforcement agencies to investigate crimes and terrorism, some critics say. A similar bill passed the House by a 419-0 vote in April 2016, but the Senate failed to act and the legislation died after a new Congress was elected in November. The new version of the Email Privacy Act, introduced Jan. 9, has already collected 108 cosponsors, about a quarter of the membership of the House. The bill would not protect internet companies from searches of their overseas servers by U.S. law enforcement agencies. Microsoft and Google have been fighting warrants for user data located outside the U.S. Before the vote, the Consumer Technology Association urged the House to pass the bill. ECPA which was "written before Congress could imagine U.S. citizens sharing and storing personal information on third-party servers, is woefully out of date," Gary Shapiro, president and CEO of the CTA, said in a statement. What side of the aisle do you sit? Add your comments on our Facebook page. If this year is anything like last we are in the midst of phishers attempts to trick taxpayers, employers and tax preparers into giving up information that will allow attackers to file bogus tax returns and collect IRS refunds, according to PhishLabs annual phishing report. The latest Phishing Trends and Intelligence Report, which has data about January 2016, says that the IRS phishing sites spotted in that one month totaled more than the IRS phishing attempts seen during all of the previous year. While the numbers for this January arent in yet, PhishLabs researchers expect yet another spike. Thats because last year, 40 businesses that phishers asked for their employees W2 forms actually sent them to the scammers, says Crane Hassold, a senior security threat researcher at PhishLabs. Thats compounded by other phishing attempts that ask tax professionals to update their accounts, then direct them to fake Web sites that steal their credentials. And individuals received emails purportedly from tax preparers, tax software companies or banks, asking them to update their information in order to receive their returns. They included links to malicious Web sites. The IRS posted a warning page including these and other scams criminals are using to collect someone elses refunds or to file bogus returns. The report is based on data gathered by PhishLabs researchers of about 1 million confirmed malicious phishing sites on more than 170,000 domains and including more than 66,000 IP addresses. The phishing trends report found that by yearend, cloud storage services will be the most frequently targeted businesses, and almost all those attacks will be aimed at just two providers, Google and Dropbox, according to the report. In 2016, it was nearly a dead heat for whether the financial industry or cloud storage services would be the top victim, with financial edging storage 23% to 22.6%, and there is a strong likelihood that cloud storage services will overtake financial institutions as the most targeted industry in 2017, the report says. Those providers are being targeted, PhishLabs says, because they use email addresses as usernames. By launching phishing attacks targeting popular online services that use this authentication practice, phishers are mass harvesting email address/password credential combinations that can be used to attack secondary targets, the report says. These secondary targets are vulnerable because it is known they use email addresses as usernames and because many people use the same usernames and passwords across different sites. + ALSO: How to avoid phishing attacks + Financial industries are targets because once attackers compromise customers credentials, the attackers can directly steal from their accounts. Even though cloud storage services are edging out financial services as targets, the total number of attacks against each is rising. The number is just rising faster against the cloud storage services. Besides financial and cloud storage, the remaining three among the top five targeted industries are webmail/online services, payment services and ecommerce sites. Those five accounted for 91% of all phishing attacks in 2016, the report says. Attacks against software-as-a-service businesses is increasing rapidly, targeting mainly two companies, Adobe (Adobe ID) and DocuSigh. Again, attackers are attracted to them because they use email addresses as usernames. This practice of using email addresses as account credentials is a primary vulnerability in the phishing ecosystem, the report says. By targeting these websites, cybercriminals can easily harvest credentials for users of all email services. This is far more efficient than targeting each of those email providers individually and it allows cybercriminals to effectively sidestep potential anti-phishing measures those email providers have in place to prevent the theft of account credentials. This story, "Report: IRS-related phishing scams seen running rampant" was originally published by Network World . Cybercriminals have been producing fewer new kinds of malware last year -- but that's because they're so busy raking in the money from their ransomware attacks. The number of unique malware samples discovered last year was 60 million, down 6.25 percent from last year's 64 million, according to a report released this morning by SonicWall. "This is the first time I've seen that the number of unique malware samples actually decreased," said Dmitriy Ayrapetov, director of product management at SonicWall, which produced the report, based on data collections from more than a million sensors. The total number of malware attack attempts also fell, from 8.2 billion to 7.9 billion. This was also the first year that the company has seen attack attempts fall. Part of the reason could have been law enforcement. Last year saw the disappearance of three major exploit kits from the market -- Angler, Neutrino, and Nuclear. In addition, the use of encryption such as SSL and TLS for online communications increased, which also helped improve security, according to SonicWall. One of the biggest drops was in the number of variants of point-of-sale malware, which fell by 88 percent last year. The number of signature families dropped from 14 in 2014, 9 in 2015 and just one in 2016. Part of the reason in the decline in POS malware was better security in the retail industry. After the high-profile attacks in 2014, companies improved their security, he said. Then, in 2015, merchants began replacing their old magnetic stripe card readers with the more secure chip card machines. "It's just not lucrative any more to attack point-of-sale systems," he said. Instead, they focused on something much more lucrative -- ransomware. The number of attacks increased 167 times. Not 167 percent -- 167 times, from 3.8 million ransomware attack attempts in 2015 to 638 million in 2016. "That's where the money is," he said. Plus, it's become easier than ever to go into the ransomware business because of the rise of ransomware-as-a-service vendors. "You can just go to one of these vendors on the dark web, select your features, and pay a cut of the proceeds," said Ayrapetov. According to some reports, ransomware took in more than $1 billion last year worldwide. The ransomware was typically delivered via phishing emails, and hidden in encrypted traffic -- one of the unintended consequences of using SSL. "It protects applications and websites," Ayrapetov said. "But on the flip side, cybercriminals are using that to get malware on the network." Many organizations don't inspect the encrypted traffic that passes through their firewalls, he said, which provides a back door for the criminals. "It is something that all organizations will have to start paying attention to," he said. Want to comment? Head to our Facebook page. Prediksi AS Roma vs Lazio 07 November 2022 Selamat datang di situs Prediksi Bola jitu terpercaya. Berikut Bocoran prediksi pertandingan sepak bola antara AS Roma vs Lazio. Prediksi AS Roma vs Lazio 07 November 2022 Prediksi AS Roma vs Lazio Laga pertandingan Italian Serie A antara AS Roma melawan Lazio akan dilaksanakan segera pada [] WASHINGTON Senate Democrats, including Connecticut Sens. Chris Murphy and Richard Blumenthal, got as close as possible to defeating one of President Donald Trumps cabinet picks, but lost by one vote when the Senate confirmed Betsy DeVos as education secretary on Tuesday. Vice President Mike Pence traveled to Capitol Hill to cast a historic and decisive vote to break a 50-50 tie on DeVos, who stoked controversy over her advocacy for vouchers and school choice, and her investments that Democrats characterize as conflicts of interest. If Fairfield County public schools and the state of Connecticut are cut off from federal support, it will put additional burdens on our taxpayers, Blumenthal said. Our schools will continue their tradition of excellence, but her very mistaken approach will cost Connecticut, not only elementary and secondary schools, but higher education as well. Blumenthal and Murphy both contributed to the Democrats all-nighter Monday night and Tuesday morning, holding the Senate floor for speeches condemning DeVos. Murphy took the floor at 4:10 a.m. and was a bit bleary eyed when he cast his vote against her confirmation around noon. But even though two Republicans Sens. Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska voted against DeVos, Democrats came up short. Today, the Senate voted to confirm a woman who called public schools a dead end, Murphy said after the vote. Public schools werent a dead end for me, my parents, my wife, or my kids. Murphy also said he responded to constituents who called or emailed his office in opposition. I voted against Betsy DeVos because people in Connecticut couldnt understand why a person who has fought so hard to undermine public schools would be put in charge of them, he said. As a member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, Murphy got to question DeVos at her confirmation hearing. In answer to a Murphy question about guns in schools, DeVos said schools in Wyoming might need weapons to ward off grizzly bears. The answer drew ridicule from Democrats and gun-violence-prevention advocates. In Washington, White House spokesman Sean Spicer praised DeVos as an advocate-turned-official who will ensure that every student has access to a good school, whether it's public, private, parochial or charter. In Connecticut, education leaders on both sides weighed in on DeVos. We are certainly disappointed with the outcome, said Sheila Cohen, a teacher and president of the Connecticut Education Association. (But) we are stronger than we were when we started this fight. Shawn Mitchell, a high school English teacher in Bridgeport and a runner-up for Connecticut Teacher of the Year in 2016, said the DeVos decision went beyond party politics. I fear for my students and I fear for my job, Mitchell said. She is the definition of `pay-for-play politics and today's decision will go down as one of the biggest mistakes of the Trump administration. Po Murray, head of Newtown Action Alliance, criticized DeVos for not opposing guns in schools. Its a sad day for all school children, educators, and parents in America, she said in a statement. The majority of Republican members of the Senate confirmed an unqualified billionaire who supports the NRAs `guns in schools agenda. But not everyone was against the confirmation. Bruce Ravage, director of Park City Prep Charter School in Bridgeport, said too many minority students languish in under-performing schools because their parents dont have any choice but to send them there. DeVos, he said, will fight for a parents right and students entitlement to an equitable, high-quality education. That is something Betsy DeVos understands and supports. dan@hearstdc.com Page Content The high-level conference and debate " Investing in Europe: Building A Coalition of Smart Cities & Regions ", was organised by the two EU institutions and attended by the economist Jeremy Rifkin. The event has held shortly after the release of the EU's Second Report on the State of the Energy Union which confirmed that the EU is well on track to reach its 2020 energy and climate objectives. European Commission Vice-President Maros Sefcovic responsible for the Energy Union said: "Cities and regions face many challenges, from air pollution to traffic congestion. But every time I talk to a mayor or a regional leader, it strikes me how creative and innovative our cities and regions are in finding solutions for these challenges. Solutions that are tailor-made, but can nevertheless inspire other cities across Europe to come up with their own solutions. How to become a smart city or region? How to design a good project? How to attract the necessary investments? Very practical, but at the same time very real questions for many local authorities. I am confident that today's conference will bring additional answers". Several pioneering cities and regions presented their own strategies demonstrating the benefits of reducing energy consumption, investing in innovation and digitalising their economy which has brought jobs and environmental benefits to their communities. Referring to growing criticism directed at the European Union, President Markku Markkula argued that rolling-out the Energy Union and creating smarter cities and regions would demonstrate the benefits the EU brings to its citizens. President Markkula said: "The EU has set down the right path to deliver a more sustainable future but it relies on regions and cities to deliver. The progress in energy efficiency, cutting CO2 emissions and using renewables is encouraging but far more needs to be done. We need to plug the 250bn investment gap by directing EU funds and private investment towards innovation, new technologies and new industries. Every EU region and city must share the responsibility by developing their own smart strategies, cooperating together, working with the private sector and using all funds available to build a better future". The President of EU's assembly of local and regional authorities is to present his opinion on 'Bridging the Investment Gap ' during CoR's plenary session on 8 February 2017. Economist and social theorist Jeremy Rifkin said: "The Third Industrial Revolution Smart Europe narrative and economic road map is currently being implemented across the regions of Hauts-de-France, the 23 municipalities that comprise the Metropolitan Region of Rotterdam to The Hague and the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. The Smart Europe initiative marks the next stage of the European journey to create a single, integrated, continental market ". Additional Information For more information on this event click here. This event is web live streamed. Smart Cities and Communities are supported at large scale through H2020 where high impact Smart City-Lighthouse projects have been funded so far with 250 Million Euro, involving close to 60 cities and leveraging an expected 1000 Million Euro. These projects are focused on bankable smart city solutions with high replication potential and development of innovative business model is at their core. The European Innovation Partnership on Smart Cities and Communities (EIP-SCC) gathers over 6.000 stakeholders from cities, industry, business and the financing sector to facilitate and to actively develop roll-out actions in the areas of Energy, Transport and Information & Communication Technologies (ICT). Targeted initiatives have been launched from within the respective Thematic Action Clusters to gather the most committed actors to come to tangible and reproducible results and to trigger investment at scale. For the Second Report on the State of Energy Union, click here . 2017 is to be the year of implementation of the Energy Union as 2016 delivered its Framework Strategy and concrete legislative and non-legislative initiatives, above all with the " Clean Energy for all Europeans " package presented on 30 November 2016. Contacts: Jakub Adamowicz +32 460 750 595 Jakub.Adamowicz@ec.europa.eu David Crous +32 470 881 037 David.Crous@cor.europa.eu This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate 3 1 of 3 Michael Cummo / Hearst Connecticut Media Show More Show Less 2 of 3 Saul Loeb / AFP /Getty Images Show More Show Less 3 of 3 WASHINGTON U.S. Rep. Jim Himes, D-Conn., is urging the Trump administration to revise the Dodd-Frank law with the nations best interest, and not the best interest of Mr. Trumps friends the very people being regulated by Dodd-Frank in mind. Himes said he wondered if President Trump had reviewed Dodd-Frank before signing his executive order, saying that many elements of the presidents executive order last week were already in the law. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Dressers recalled for tipping Bolton Furniture has recalled its Two Over Two four-drawer dressers due to serious tipping and entrapment hazards. The furniture could be particularly dangerous for families with small children, who may be seriously hurt or even killed if the dresser falls. Consumers may call Bolton Furniture at 800-545-8982 between 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday for a free retrofit kit that will allow the consumer to secure the dresser safely to the wall. Nightlight carries fire risk Walt Disney Parks and Resorts U.S. is recalling Happy Holidays! Mickey Mouse Nightlights because of concerns that it could cause fires. According to an alert from U.S. Consumer Products Safety Commission, liquid from the nightlight can leak onto the electrical outlet, posing a fire hazard. The nightlights have a Mickey Mouse face and contain a red and white Santa hat filled with liquid and glitter. The UPC code, 400009489637, is printed on a sticker on the bottom of the product packaging. Walt Disney Parks and Resorts have received two reports of incidents, including one electrical fire. No injuries have been reported. For a refund, call Walt Disney Parks and Resorts US, Inc. toll-free at 844-722-1444 from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, or visit www.disneyparks.com and click on Safety Recall at the bottom of the page. Swivel chairs pose falling hazard Casual Living Worldwide is recalling swivel chairs sold at Home Depot. According to an alert from the U.S. Consumer Products Safety Commission, the base of the chairs can break during normal use, posing a fall hazard to the user. This recall involves Hampton Bay Anselmo, Calabria, and Dana Point chairs as well as Martha Stewart Living branded Cardona, Grand Bank and Wellington swivel patio chairs. The chairs are made of aluminum and steel with a round swivel base and arm rests. The chairs were sold as a pair and as part of a seven-piece patio set with accompanying tables. The company has received 25 reports of the chairs breaking, resulting in bruising and scrapes from falls. The company recommends that those who purchased the chairs contact Casual Living Worldwide for a free repair kit. The company can be reached at 855-899-2127 between 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Monday through Friday or online at www.casuallivingoutdoors.com. Click on Recall Information for more information. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate A Facebook page that parodies the Connecticut State Police is being investigated by the state police. The page has a profile photo of what at first appears to be a state police shoulder patch, but which reads, Connecticut Police State, and We cover our (butt). The page falsely reported on Tuesday that former Trooper Aaron Huntsman, convicted of stealing cash and jewelry from a dying motorcyclist after a 2013 crash, would be reinstated with full back pay and benefits. Trooper First Class Kelly Grant, the state police spokeswoman, was not amused. This is not an official CSP page. Facebook has been notified, Grant said in an e-mail. Word that Huntsman, who was actually caught on video and sentenced to a year in prison, was being reinstated would be startling, if it were true. The fake page claimed that the Professional Standards Division of the state police had completed its internal investigation, and found Huntsman had acted within department policy. There are other posts, too, that continue the parody, including a photo of boxes of doughnuts with the caption, this is a great way to get out of a speeding ticket. Another photo, of a trooper with a radar gun checking for speeders, is captioned, Meeting my quota. A message advises callers: For emergencies, dial 911 and leave a message. Well get back to you when we can. Fake news is an increasingly common phenomenon, encompassing everything from obvious parody sites to outlets that publish what what they purport to be the truth. Kellyanne Conway, one of President Donald Trumps chief advisers, has been criticized for referring several times to the Bowling Green Massacre as justification for a ban on Muslim immigrants. No credible documentation of such a massacre has been presented. Update: The parodied Facebook page was taken down, and could not be viewed Wednesday afternoon through the URL or search. A Bridgeport man has been arrested in connection with an elaborate identity-theft scheme, apparently for the third time, according to a statement from the Westport Police Department. Police say that Leeroy Maragh, 26, of Fairview Avenue in Bridgeport, approached a UPS driver in Westport last October and convinced him to hand over packages after presenting a fake Connecticut drivers license. When revenue is down, cut spending On page 1 of the Sunday Connecticut Post was an article about providing free college to students in Connecticut. On page 3 of the same Post was an article about the potential mileage tax to help the state pay its bills as there is a possible $1 billion deficit. While reading the paper, I listened to Governor Malloy on Face The State explain how tolls may be needed to help pay for the highways as the gasoline tax isnt getting it done. So my question is simple: Where the heck is the money coming from for the free tuition? Whos going to pay for it? Are the state legislators spinning straw into gold in Hartford? Do we need to vote out some more of the spenders? Heres a crazy idea we use in business: when revenue is down you cut spending. Lets have government run like a business, cut out the programs that reward laziness and non-productivity. Its not a secret formula, everyone who has a household budget knows the secret. Dont spend more than you take in. Ed Marczyszak Seymour We must rethink the U.S. response to infectious disease. Here's why. A woman from New York has helped rescue 700 dogs and cats by performing make-overs on unwanted animals to help them find new owners. Kristin Livan, 35, who co-founded nonprofit Unwanted NYC Pets with Betina Wassermann, 52, trains, treats and styles pets at her home to make them more appealing to their potential carers. Livan - who lives between Brooklyn and Melbourne, Florida, with her fiance Ryan Mayer - rescues homeless animals from the streets of New York and from the city's shelters where they face being put down. Charitable organization: Kristin Livan, 35, pictured, co-founded New York-based nonprofit Unwanted NYC Pets with Betina Wassermann, 52 Transformation: So far they have helped save 700 unwanted cats and dogs, such as the dog pictured left before being helped and right after, at risk of death Cared for: They train, treat and style animals, such as Princess, pictured, to make them more 'adoptable' to new owners 'Basically our motto is just one at a time and one at a time became two or three. Then we would get litters of puppies or kittens with moms that were thrown out and it snowballed,' she told Daily Mail Online. Animal Care Centers of NYC figures show that 5,355 dogs and cats were euthanized across its New York bases in 2015. 'We go in and try little by little to take whoever is facing the highest risk, do what we need to do to make them look and feel adoptable,' Livan said. The organization was founded in 2011 and since then they have rescued hundreds of pets. Savior: Livan, a dog groomer and former optician, rescues homeless animals from the streets of New York and shelters where they face being put down Treatment: The organization funds surgery, vaccination and neutering of the animals Livan said: 'At the end of the day when you bring that dog that you adopt home it's not just a companion, you know in your heart of hearts that you saved this animal's life.' But she said it takes time for animals to recover from their negative experiences. 'See with your heart, not with your eyes. Initially they smell, are matted, are dirtied, probably covered in their own feces. 'But it just takes a little bit of heart, a little bit of attention. To watch it happen is hard to describe. Appearance: They also help animals look more appealing to potential owners Process: Livan, who lives between Brooklyn and Melbourne, Florida, said it takes time for animals to recover from their negative experiences 'No matter what the animal when you see them in the worst state you do have to make them look better, to become adoptable,' she added. Among the animals that Unwanted NYC Pets has rescued are Puppy, a three-year-old dog with hair so matted that he was thought to be 14 years old, and Keta, a cat with a huge tumor on her face that Livan raised nearly $4,000 to have removed. On average she said each animal costs around $900 to save. As well as any necessary surgery - which can amount to thousands - every animal needs to be vaccinated and neutered or spayed before they leave Livan's home. Danger: Animal Care Centers of NYC figures show that 5,355 dogs and cats were euthanized across its New York bases in 2015 Abandoned: Often Livan said animals are left in parks or at shelters because their owners have underestimated the impact the dog will have on their lives Livan, who is a former optician and is also a dog groomer, said she has always wanted to work with animals. Often she said animals are abandoned because their owners have underestimated the impact the pet will have on their lives. She added: 'Right now we're going to see a surge of Christmas puppies and people can't take care of now so those animals get thrown into a shelter or put in a park. 'The long term is that these animals need house breaking, they go into their adolescent phase, they can be too energetic...People are over it by the end of vacation.' Royal love token? Prince Harrys girl Meghan Markle buying flowers in Kensington yesterday wearing a new ring (inset) With this ring do I espy a fresh declaration of love in the Prince Harry and Meghan Markle romance stakes? The American actress was spotted shopping in London, wearing what many suspect to be a new gold ring bearing Harrys initial. Others suggest that it is the crenellated top of a castle, which again would be freighted with intent were it to be a gift from a lovesick prince. The pictures of Harrys love buying flowers in Kensington were not the only ones to emerge yesterday the brunette beauty has given fans an insight into the way she lives back at home in Canada. So we now know that she likes a statement mirror all the better for staring into while taking another selfie. Mwah! She insists on a neutral palette, with room after room decorated in a whip of cream and white shades. She obviously wont be doing the cleaning! She loves fresh flowers, is partial to a glass of wine or two and she lets her dogs sit on the snowy linen sofa in her elegant drawing room. At the moment, the actress is ensconced in a Kensington Palace love-nest, snuggled up with her blue-blooded beau, 32, behind the walls of the royal estate. But usually, she lives with her dogs, Guy and Bogart, in Toronto, where she is based when filming TV drama Suits. And, like many of her generation, 35-year-old Megan shares much of her life on her social media accounts. In these pictures from Instagram, its almost as though she has invited us all round for wine oclock, to bond over a glass of Merlot and seethe with silent envy as she shows off her Cinderella shoe cupboard which is marginally smaller than an aircraft carrier and crammed with a bunion-inducing collection of high heels. Uggs, orange juice and a cowhide rug on the floor. Meghan snaps a selfie in the distressed mirror displayed in her dining room You shall go to the (royal) ball. Note the ordered, organised shoe collection and not a pair of flats in sight Within these walls, clues abound as to the kind of person she is, what she holds dear and why she is never more than 3 ft away from a cashmere throw or an expensive candle. As her romance with Prince Harry grows more serious by the day, is this how Meghan would decorate a royal abode if she were given the chance? Certainly, her style is very high-maintenance princessy; chic, luxe, romantic and achingly fashionable. Through the fug created by her fig-scented Dyptique candles, one can make out modern furnishings, a white marble dining table, clouds of peonies in maxi vases, lots of cosy fur blankets and a nude watercolour, which the saucebox has hung above the bed in the spare room. This is how I roll. A casually dressed Meghan relaxes on the sofa at home with her pets and a glass of wine Hello, is it me youre looking for? Her pooch poses behind the artfully stacked books in the bedroom Bbedroom, perhaps missing her prince, Meghan whiles away the lonely hours by taking another selfie She has colour co-ordinated stacks of books to make little tables, while her coffee table books always a window into the soul all seem to be by fashion writers on Vogue. One cookbook is prominently on display: the self-consciously stylish Kinfolk Table, which features recipes from cool people you have never heard of for dishes you dont really want to eat. Grim-faced hipsters wearing rough linens show you how to make tea-smoked eggs, grilled prawns and Nanny Frannies Apple Strudel. Poor Harry! Chic, featuring a vase of Meghans favourite peonies, plus candles, a room scent diffuser and books about fashion Speaking of which, who is that shy, gingery creature snuggled under her armpit as Meghan poses in a menage a trois? Relax, everyone, it is only her pet dog Guy, with pooch Bogart on the other side. Sweet! Elsewhere, our girl seems to spend an inordinate amount of time staring into elaborate mirrors and taking selfies. All this seems to suggest that Meghan is the kind of mellow-living, friendly homemaker who would thrive in the Royal Family and adore living in a royal palace so long as she could paint everything white. Meghans beloved pet dogs Bogart and Guy climb aboard the sofa, making sure their muddy paws stay firmly on the Turkish woven throw She is as famous for her flawless porcelain complexion as she is for her huge acting talent. So it's little wonder that skin care has become a top priority for Oscar-winning actress Nicole Kidman, who is busier than ever as she makes the rounds on the Hollywood awards circuit for her film Lion. Kidman has long been a proponent of sun protection, a lesson that was taught to her early during her childhood in Australia. 'From the time I was a little girl, my mum taught me to protect my skin from the sun,' Kidman revealed, as she was named the newest global brand ambassador for Neutrogena. 'So looking after the health of my skin is something I've grown up understanding.' Nicole Kidman's flawless skin has been famous for years, and now the Academy Award-winning actress is Neutrogena's newest global brand ambassador It's a lesson that Kidman is passing down to her own daughters, eight-year-old Sunday Rose and six-year-old Faith Margaret. Although actresses are known for having great skin, few have rivaled Kidman's. The Academy Award-winner's skin has shown little change from the start of her career on Australian television in the 1980s, to her highly-publicised divorce with Tom Cruise and superstardom she found in the mid-1990s to early 2000s. Kidman's porcelain complexion and fiery red hair helped launch her to Hollywood stardom in the early 1990s (pictured left in 1993, right with former husband Tom Cruise in 1991) Kidman continues to earn praise today with a string of independent films and television series that have brought a steady stream of award nominations. But long gone are the days when the 49-year-old actress could just rely on cleanser and moisturiser to keep her own skin looking fresh. 'Now, of course, I'm looking to keep my skin as young as it can be, I mean we all are,' the Big Little Lies star revealed in a preview of her upcoming Neutrogena commercial. 'As time passes, I've realised that sun protection has become just part of the story,' she added. As Kidman went through a divorce with Cruise in 2001 before a whirlwind romance with country star Keith Urban in 2005, her skin stayed clear (pictured left 2003, right 2008) 'I've learned that your skin needs a lot of attention and support, just like the rest of your body, to keep it its healthiest.' Kidman has used the brand's SPF 50 sunscreen for years to protect her iconic complexion, but is now adding another product to her makeup bag. The mother-of-two touted Neutogena's Rapid Wrinkle Repair Regenerating Cream, telling People Magazine she loves its 'hydrating' abilities. 'We all know choosing the right anti-aging product is a trial and error, hit or miss, some things work and some don't,' she said in Neutrogena's statement. Kidman's makeup routine and hair styles underwent numerous changes throughout her career, but her skin always stayed perfectly flawless (pictured left in 2012, right in 2013) Kidman said husband Urban (pictured together 2015) has been a supportive spouse when it comes to teaching their two daughters how to properly protect their skin from the sun Kidman's career remains prolific as ever with an Academy Award nomination for Lion and a slew of independent films and miniseries set to premiere (left on Monday, right in 2016) 'But at this point in my life, I am looking for something that simply works.' Kidman added that she was especially excited to join a team of ambassadors that includes actresses Kerry Washington, Jennifer Garner and Hayden Panettiere. The actress, whose first commercial for Neutrogena will premiere during the Academy Awards on February 25, is clearly not slowing down. But when it comes to her skin, it seems Kidman has discovered how to halt time. For five weeks every time Amy Purling left the hospital, she cried. The first-time mum gave birth to her son, James, prematurely, and her precious baby boy spent the first weeks of his life in the neonatal intensive care unit. 'Leaving the hospital without your baby is something I wouldn't wish on anyone,' Mrs Purling told Daily Mail Australia. 'You feel empty, you feel guilty, like you've failed your baby somehow.' Her own experience having a premature baby prompted Mrs Purling, 28, to launch Miracle Mumma cards that celebrate each milestone a baby makes. Here she shares her story. Amy Purling's son James (pictured together) was born at 30 weeks, weighing just 1.5 kilos James was born with a platelet condition that required urgent transfusions, and spent the first five weeks of his life in the NICU When he was first born, little James (pictured) was small enough to fit in to his father's hand Little James Purling was born in February 2016 at just 30 weeks, weighing 1.5 kilos and 40cm long, small enough to fit in his father's hand. Mrs Purling and her husband, Scott, 30, from Adelaide knew their son was to be born early, but nothing could have prepared them for the heartache that comes with having a premature baby. 'I was warned that he was going to come early, I have a misshaped uterus which was restricting his growth,' Mrs Purling said. 'I was high risk, but he wasn't expected to come that early, I was told we could make it to between 36 and 37 weeks.' Mrs Purling, pictured with her husband Scott and son James, went in to labour at 30 weeks and her son was born via emergency caesarean The experience prompted her to launch milestone cards for premature babies, including ones that read: 'First snuggle with my twin' (pictured) But 10 weeks before her son's due date, Mrs Purling lost her mucus plug. Her obstetrician ran tests, and after confirming her waters had not broken, planned to send her home from hospital. But five minutes before she was due to leave, Mrs Purling's son's heartbeat started to drop. She was admitted to hospital to stay overnight, and at 7pm, her waters broke. Mrs Purling's cards are made especially for premature babies, as they reach milestones such as breathing on their own (pictured) 'I had my first suck of my dummy today' is one of the many milestones parents of premature babies celebrate 'I laboured for 19 hours overnight knowing the whole time I was going to have a caesarean, I couldn't give birth naturally because of my uterus' she said. Little James was put on oxygen support and placed in a Humidicrib, but his birth was not without complications. 'He was born with a life threatening platelet disorder, his blood wasn't clotting,' Mrs Purling said. 'He was born bruised and swollen, he looked like he'd been through a war.' 'He's my little miracle baby, he saved his own life basically,' Mrs Purling said of her son James (pictured) Had little James been born a week later the platelet disorder could have killed him, but as it was he was able to undergo three platelet transfusions, rectifying the condition. 'He's my little miracle baby, he saved his own life basically,' Mrs Purling said. Seeing her baby in the NICU and not being able to take him home was tough on Mrs Purling. The first time her son was placed on her chest a nurse took a photo and printed it out, each milestone a major achievement for her growing boy. 'I started writing a journal anytime he did anything new, the first time he opened his eyes, the first suck of his dummy,' Mrs Purling said. This milestone card celebrates a baby's first time they wore an outfit 'His first bath was something we were able to do in the hospital, and it was the first thing we were able to do independently as parents.' Mrs Purling used weekly milestone cards to document James' growth, but wished she had something more to mark each special moment. She came up with the idea for Miracle Mumma cards for premature babies that celebrated milestones such as breathing unassisted, reaching a kilo in weight and having feeding tubes removed. The cards have resonated with other parents of premature babies, and her business has turned in to a support network for mothers who have experienced the same thing. The Purlings were able to take their son home after five weeks in hospital Today little James, pictured, is happy and healthy and is already crawling and saying a few words The Purlings were able to bring their son home after five weeks, and today the 11-month-old is doing well. Mrs Purling said going through this experience with her son has made her realise just how important life is. 'I have made it my mission to help others who will go through the same, and I believe these milestone cards are helping to make this frightening time just a little bit brighter for these families,' she said. You can visit the Miracle Mumma website here. Two billboards that were taken down in New Zealand after complaints are now on sale online. The billboards, for perfume and sunglasses store Designer Direct, were previously displayed on the main street in the town of Bulls, on the North Island. The first billboard featured a close up of women's bare breasts with a Tom Ford branded perfume bottle between them. Controversy! In 2016, a billboard for Designer Direct (pictured) a store in New Zealand, was taken down after complaints Fingers covered each nipple, so it complied with advertising rules, but it was too saucy for some residents of the town, which has a population of 1,600. At least one local resident complained that the billboard could be clearly seen in the background of photos taken at the town's Bull statue, a local tourist attraction. The owner of Designer Direct, Michael Adams, told Daily Mail Australia that he was just 'having a bit of fun'. Parody: Founder of the story, Michael Adams, then created another billboard using his own chest 'There was quite a lot of controversy,' he explained. 'A lot of people thought it was shocking.' One resident at the time commented: 'I am no prude, but I find in this case as a local [the] placement of this sign is totally inappropriate.' Another said it was 'distasteful' to have the image on the main highway into Bulls. After the original billboard was taken down, Mr Adams created another in the same style, only showcasing his own assets. The second billboard show his own chest, hands in the same position as the original billboard, with a perfume bottle with the word 'equality' on it in between. Now the owner of the store is selling both the billboards on TradeMe, after a customer asked if they could be purchased. For a good cause: Now Mr Adams is selling both the billboards and donating half the profits to the RSPCA Mr Adams gave the TradeMe listing the title 'Bodacious Breasts Billboard' and bids are up to NZD$60 already. 'OWN A PIECE OF SCANDAL!' the ad declares. 'DESIGNER DIRECT's infamous billboard is for sale, due to popular demand.' Mr Adams is donating half the profits from the sign to the RSPCA, and revealed that he has another scandalous billboard coming to the town soon. He said the controversy has also helped sales, with a 'surge' after the publicity. Some might say the best things in life are free, but that obviously doesn't apply if you live in Sydney on Valentine's Day. An online florist researched the cost of the perfect Valentine's across the globe, and found Sydney to be the most expensive city in which to buy a dozen red roses. While in Cape Town you can snap up a dozen for just AUD $22.21, in Sydney the average price of twelve red roses is an eye-watering $91.74. Pricey: Online florist, BLOOMY DAYS, researched the cost of the perfect Valentine's across the globe, and found Sydney to be the most expensive city in which to buy a dozen red roses Floral feelings: While in Cape Town you can snap up a dozen for just AUD $22.21, in Sydney the average price of twelve red roses is an eye-watering $91.74 Sydney also rated expensively when it came to the overall Valentine's experience. After taking into account the average costs for a dozen red roses, a day ticket for two to a spa, a meal and wine for two in a Michelin-starred restaurant, an evening for two to the cinema and a night in a luxury hotel, the harbourside city ranked cheaper than only three other cities. These cities were New York, Venice and Los Angeles respectively. The cheapest cities in which to spend Valentine's Day are Prague, Cork, Madrid, Belfast and Cardiff. Researchers for the online florist, BLOOMY DAYS, even worked out that for the cost of a romantic day in LA, two people could afford all of the romantic activities in Prague and still have enough money left over for return flights from Los Angeles to Prague over the Valentine's period. MOST EXPENSIVE CITIES 1. Los Angeles, USA - $1316.26 2. Venice, Italy - $1076.44 3. New York, USA - $1056.66 4. Sydney, Australia - $1042.01 5. Zurich, Switzerland - $1038.96 Advertisement LEAST EXPENSIVE CITIES 1. Prague, Czech Republic - $458.28 2. Cork, Ireland - $485.92 3. Madrid, Spain - $529.88 4. Belfast, UK - $565.08 5. Cardiff, UK - $569.06 Advertisement Love don't cost a thing: Sydney also rated expensively when it came to the overall Valentine's experience, ranking cheaper than just New York, Venice and Los Angeles This latest study all points towards the fact that Valentine's Day is big business in Australia. Just last year it was revealed that Australians spend nearly a billion dollars on February 14. 'In terms of roses, prices would be extremely high, at least one and a half to two times more than they would usually be,' the president of the NSW Flower Association, Amira Zaia, said. Big business: Just last year it was revealed that Australians spend nearly a billion dollars on February 14 as a whole 'It depends on the length as well. A lot of the Colombian roses would be four or five times more expensive. 'At the same time, it's the one time of year we can make a little bit more profit than usual and it covers us in the months that are maybe a bit slower.' However, the CEO of Pearson's Florist, Barbara Pollak, previously said that the perception that there is a huge mark-up on red roses in February isn't fair or right. 'It's only marginal. Also, for many people this is the one day of the year that they buy flowers so they're not familiar with how much flowers normally cost.' Anyone who watched Monday night's episode of Married At First Sight Australia will have been eager to find out whether sparks flew between Perth-born twins, Michelle and Sharon Marsh, and their respective husbands. And so when the 31-year-old twins and Jesse and Nick sat down on the sofa to appear on the Today Show on Tuesday, FEMAIL couldn't wait to decipher what was going on. With the help of relationship and body language expert, Katia Loisel, here's what the couples' non-verbal signs were suggesting. Scroll down for video Love? Anyone who watched Monday night's episode of MAFS will have been eager to find out whether sparks flew between Perth-born twins, Michelle and Sharon, and their husbands Sparks flying: While older twin, Sharon and Nick, appeared to get on famously at the wedding and reception (pictured), her later body language doesn't intimate the same thing Nonverbal signs: Relationship and body language expert, Katia Loisel (pictured) speaks to FEMAIL about what the twins' non-verbal signs meant Appearance: The twins and Nick and Jesse appeared on the Today show sofa (pictured) on Tuesday, and Ms Loisel said that neither twins' body language was good According to Ms Loisel, while Sharon and Nick appeared to play happy families at their wedding and reception, it's clear that she isn't necessarily happy with her partnered groom right now: 'While it was obvious to everyone that Michelle wasn't happy with Jesse from the beginning, I can also see from both twins' smiles that neither of them is smitten,' Ms Loisel told Daily Mail Australia. 'In the Today Show interview, both twins are strategically leaning in towards one another rather than their partners. 'They've both got their hands in their knees, which is like the equivalent of giving yourself a virtual hug when you're uncomfortable.' Truth: 'While it was obvious to everyone that Michelle wasn't happy with Jesse from the beginning, it's also obvious from both twins' smiles that neither is smitten,' Ms Loisel said Signals: She said that both twins were strategically leaning in towards each other during the interview (pictured), as if looking for support from one another Reading: Ms Loisel explained that: 'They've both got their hands in their knees, which is like the equivalent of giving yourself a virtual hug when you're uncomfortable' Surprise: At the wedding, grooms Nick and Jesse were surprised to find out that they were having a double wedding with the twins (pictured) During the Today show interview with Sylvia Jeffreys, both twins were asked how surreal it was having a double wedding: 'Overwhelming, but overwhelmed with so much joy, especially having all of our loved ones there for us and having someone next to us that will hopefully be there for the rest of our lives,' Sharon said. 'Michelle's reaction to Sharon's comment was very telling,' Ms Loisel told FEMAIL. 'She threw her hands up - which is something we do in disbelief - and touched her neck, which is a non-verbal sign of stress. 'Both twins looked uncomfortable throughout the interview, and while being on the Today show can possibly create that atmosphere, if you were in love, you wouldn't care.' Change: 'There was a lot more positive body language from Sharon at her wedding. Something looks like it's happened as they're not on the same page now,' Ms Loisel siad Loyalty: 'Their hearts lie with each other clearly, rather than with their beaus,' Ms Loisel said of both twins Ms Loisel said that all of the signs point towards the fact that the twins are still very uncomfortable around their grooms: 'Our legs give away more about us than we think - they're the last thing we think about and so a great indicator of what we really think. Both of the twins' legs are angled inwards rather than towards their husbands. 'Their hearts lie with each other clearly, rather than with their beaus.' There was a lot more positive body language from Sharon at her wedding. Something looks like it's happened as they're not definitely on the same page now Ms Loisel explained that this could mean that the twins were trying to draw security from one another: 'There was a lot more positive body language from Sharon at her wedding than on the Today show. Something looks like it's happened as they're not definitely on the same page now.' However, Ms Loisel added that there were moments when it looked like the older twin did connect with her Melbourne-based husband, Nick: 'When she looked at him for a few seconds or there was some synchronisation in their body movements, there were little glimpses of their relationship - with Jesse and Michelle, I'm not sure they have that.' Married At First Sight Australia continues on Tuesday evening at 7.30pm. A mother who spent her life singing karaoke discovered she had throat cancer when she could no longer hit the notes of her favourite Tina Turner track Simply the Best. Lucy Lodge, 31, from from Telford, Shrops, says her voice suddenly became huskier in 2010 - meaning she could no longer stay in tune with the songs - but she ignored it, thinking she had simply overdone the singing. But in 2011, Lucy, who was just 25, was diagnosed with aggressive laryngeal cancer - and the following year she was forced to undergo a gruelling six-hour operation to completely remove her voice box and larynx. Lucy Lodge, 31, from from Telford, Shrops, (pictured with her aunt Zoe Jones) had always been passionate about karaoke The mother-of-one got her first karaoke set as a six-year-old and enjoyed belting out the hits by Tina Turner, Gabrielle and M People several times a week. The insurance company admin worker, who had to learn to speak again in a new deep, gravelly voice by pressing a tracheotomy 'button' in her neck, can no longer sing but feels lucky to be alive. Lucy said: 'I used to do karaoke most weekends and sometimes in the week too with my own karaoke machine at home. 'I had a good singing voice and had loved singing ever since I was a little girl, I got my first karaoke machine aged six. She says her voice suddenly became huskier in 2010 but she ignored it, thinking she had simply overdone the singing (pictured above after her tracheotomy) 'People always used to compliment me and tell me I should sing professionally. 'I always had a husky voice, but suddenly it changed quite a bit and went really deep. I first noticed the problem in September 2010 and in November that year I was singing Tina Turner's Simply The Best to my mum and I couldn't hit the notes. 'I suddenly realised I couldn't hit certain notes I used to be able to sing.. I thought I was going mad, but you can damage your voice through overuse and I just thought it was that. 'It was like I had a permanent frog in my throat, but it was cancer. 'Since my operation to remove my voice box I have a valve in my neck which is how I talk - I wouldn't be able to speak without it. Lucy, then 26, was diagnosed with aggressive stage four laryngeal cancer and underwent a gruelling six-hour operation to completely remove her voice box and larynx 'I had to learn to speak again from my stomach rather than my lungs. It was very difficult and I hated it at first because I felt like I sounded like a gremlin. 'Every time I spoke I just wanted to cry and I didn't look in the mirror for 10 days after my operation. 'Singing was such a big part of my identity before this but I can't sing anymore which breaks my heart. I have one video of me singing before I was ill and I watch it all the time. 'But I do feel incredibly lucky - not everyone is as lucky as I was.' Lucy, who last year had son Keagan, one, with scaffolder partner Dave Preece, first visited her GP in August 2011 but alleges she was initially diagnosed with laryngitis and told to rest her voice for two weeks. She returned and confessed her cancer fears to doctors - who she claims told her there was 'not a chance' she had throat cancer due to her age but agreed to do the tests to put her mind at ease. The mother-of-one got her first karaoke set as a six-year-old and enjoyed belting out the hits by Tina Turner, Gabrielle and M People several times a week (pictured aged seven) The insurance company admin worker, who had to learn to speak again in a new deep, gravelly voice by pressing a tracheotomy 'button' in her neck, can no longer sing Later the same month Lucy was diagnosed with stage one laryngeal cancer and underwent a six-week course of daily radiotherapy before being given the all clear in October 2011. But the following month she began feeling ill again and in January 2012 returned to hospital for more tests - which revealed the cancer was back and had become stage four, the most aggressive. At her initial diagnosis a tumour had covered a quarter of Lucy's vocal chords but now both were completely covered by the cancer. On Feb 1, 2012 she underwent a six-hour laryngectomy operation to surgically remove the whole of her larynx, or voice box, and create a permanent tracheotomy hole in her throat. Lucy, who last year had son Keagan, one, with scaffolder partner Dave Preece (above), first visited her GP in August 2011 but alleges she was initially diagnosed with laryngitis She confessed her cancer fears to doctors - who she claims told her there was 'not a chance' she had throat cancer due to her age Lucy was left with a huge U-shaped scar which runs from one side of her throat to the other and needed 72 staples and now has no tissue or fat in her neck. She spent 17 days in hospital and had to learn to talk again, using her stomach rather than her lungs and pressing down on her valve to make sounds by cutting off the air. LARYNGEAL CANCER - Hoarseness or a change in the voice for more than three weeks can be a sign of laryngeal cancer. - Other symptoms include difficulty swallowing, weight loss, a cough or shortness of breath, a feeling there is a lump in the throat, bad breath and earache which doesnt go away. - Laryngeal cancer is rare with about 2,400 people in the UK diagnosed each year. - It is diagnosed in more than four times as many men as women and there are very few cases in people under 40 years of age. Source: Cancer Research UK Advertisement Lucy said: 'When I was first diagnosed I was offered laser surgery but I decided to have radiotherapy instead because of my love of singing as doctors said the laser surgery could change my voice. 'When the cancer came back I begged doctors to do the laser surgery instead, but it was too aggressive so they had to do the laryngectomy. 'I was devastated. I knew deep down I would have to have the operation but it disgusted me. It made me feel sick. 'Doctors cut all round my neck from one side of my throat to the other, it was very gruesome. 'I felt like I had gone through all of that pain for nothing. I was so sad about not being able to sing and about how people would react to my new appearance. I hated my new voice and thought everyone else would too. 'If I had realised when my voice first changed how serious it was, I would not have waited so long. Lucy, pictured aged seven, says she'd loved singing since she was very young 'If it had been caught earlier, maybe it wouldn't have been so aggressive and my advice to anyone would be if anything seems different get it checked straight away.' A spokesman for laryngectomy rehabilitation charity Shout at Cancer, who Lucy worked with to create a documentary about her experiences, said: 'We use singing and acting techniques in our workshops and we are very proud of our laryngectomy choir. 'We are in the process of expanding the UK cancer centres we are collaborating with. If you want to find out more about our activities or help to support our cause as a volunteer or with a donation, please visit our website: www.shoutatcancer.org.' Married At First Sight bride Deborah had a bizarre meltdown on Tuesday night's episode and shamed her new husband because he is not Polynesian. After her latest disagreement with her newlywed John, a father-of-two from Melbourne, it all became too much for Deborah, a 53-year-old former model. She stormed off in tears and said the reality show has given her nothing she had hoped for - including a Polynesian groom. Speaking of her wedding ceremony, she said: 'Why did we have to do that Polynesian theme if there was no Polynesian?' Married At First Sight bride Deborah had a bizarre meltdown on Tuesday night's episode 'I got nothing I wanted': After her latest disagreement with new husband John, it all became too much for the former model 'All they had to do was put an ad out and they would have got them - interviewed about 100 of them and they would have found one. 'I got nothing I wanted. I got orange cake. It wasn't even gluten free. Everyone knows what I wanted.' Fans on social media widely criticised Deborah and jumped to John's defence. 'I'm starting to realise now why Deb has been single all this time... Not by choice,' one Twitter user wrote. 'Deb lived alone with a dog and was a spinster for a reason. We are now finding out why,' another commented. Deborah and John wed in a beautiful beach ceremony, with the bride making a dramatic entrance atop a throne carried by a number of Polynesian men. Fans took to social media to vent their frustration and jump to John's defence Deborah dreamed of marrying a Polynesian man, and arrived at her wedding on a flower throne carried by men in floral shirts John suggested the pair should give themselves space and live in separate apartments But when she laid eyes on her husband for the first time, he was not what she had in mind. Deborah had asked the shows matchmakers for a Polynesian man from the islands, and was initially confused by John, a single father-of-two from Melbourne. I didnt know whether he was my husband or not, she said. I was expecting a Polynesian person from the islands and so I was sort of a bit taken back that it wasnt that. I didnt know whether he was my husband or not, she said When she laid eyes on her husband for the first time, he was not what she had in mind John, who has been married before and has two daughters, did his best to put his new wife at ease. But after admitting he is a smoker, a hesitant Deborah refused to kiss her husband on her lips both at the altar and for their photo shoot. I smelt cigarette smoke, and thats going to be hard for me, she said. The Queen has made the journey by train back to London from Sandringham Advertisement The Queen has made the journey back to London after her traditional winter break came to an end. The 90-year-old monarch appeared in high spirits as she boarded a train at King's Lynn station in Norfolk. She donned a lime green coat and dress for the occasion, accessorising with a brightly patterned headscarf - and teaming the outfit with a black patent handbag and matching shoes. The Queen donned bright colours as she made the trip home after her festive break to Sandringham She teamed her vibrant outfit with a black patent handbag and matching shoes The monarch appeared in high spirits as she boarded a train at King's Lynn station in Norfolk The Queen traditionally spends the Christmas and New Year period at her private Sandringham estate in Norfolk. Yesterday, the head of state made history by becoming the first British monarch to reach their Sapphire Jubilee. It was 65 years to the day since the Queen acceded to the throne following the death of her father, George VI, on February 6 1952. As she has in previous years, the Queen spent Accession Day privately at Sandringham. Yesterday, Queen Elizabeth II made history by becoming the first British monarch to reach their Sapphire Jubilee The Queen appeared to have fully recovered from the heavy cold that blighted the start of her break The Queen traditionally spends the Christmas and New Year period at her private Sandringham estate in Norfolk At King's Lynn station, the Queen appeared to have fully recovered from the heavy cold that blighted the start of her break and forced her to miss church over Christmas. She chatted amiably with her companions in the first-class carriage as she began her journey home. During the festive period, the Queen was still working on her famous red box of official papers. The red boxes, sent to her by her private secretaries, contain policy papers, cabinet documents, telegrams, letters and other state papers from government ministers and representatives in Commonwealth and foreign countries. The Queen looked in good spirits in the first-class carriage as her companion read about the future of trains A woman from Argentina has shared a heart-breaking tale of how she was forced to give herself an abortion at the age of 18, because the procedure is still illegal in her home country. The anonymous woman shared her story with Humans Of New York photographer Brandon Stanton in a post published on Friday. Unlike many of the images featured by the popular website, this woman's photo only shows her arms and legs, keeping her identity hidden and giving her the freedom to share her harrowing story. '[Abortion] is not legal [in Argentina]. So I researched it on the Internet. I did it myself. In my room,' the woman said. Heartbreaking: An Argentinian woman (pictured) shared a harrowing tale with Humans of New York of how she gave herself an abortion aged 18, because it is still illegal in her country She called performing the procedure 'the hardest decision of her life' but said that she knew she didn't want to be a mother, because she wasn't in love with her baby's father and had goals she wanted to achieve. But her desperate measure was certainly not without serious risk; those who perform an abortion in Argentina face one to four years in prison, even if the woman consents to the procedure. If she does not consent, the person responsible faces three to 10 years in jail. Women who willingly get an abortion or perform one on themselves also risk one to four years behind bars. Doctors, surgeons, midwives and pharmacists who perform an abortion also risk being barred from practicing their profession for twice the length of their sentence. Photographer Brandon, the man behind Humans Of New York, discussed the woman's heart-breaking story with her while photographing her in her home country, showing just her sneakers, her legs, her arms and her hands - one of which is clutching cigarette. 'I didn't want to be a mother. I was eighteen. We weren't in love. I had goals I wanted to accomplish,' the anonymous woman added. 'If things had gone wrong, I could have died. Seeing it come out of me was the worst moment of my life.' The woman said she couldn't tell anyone about her abortion, including her parents. 'So I carried the secret with me,' she added. 'I felt like this thing was always in my chest, but it was stuck there. All day I'd act normal. Then at night I'd go to my room and cry.' Caring: Facebook users emphasized with the woman's story, with one of them writing in the comments section: 'Making abortion illegal only stops safe abortions. You have my sympathy' Speaking out: Another Facebook user said that even though she was pro-life, she wished the Argentinian woman had received more support Exceptions in Argentinian law exist for abortions performed to preserve the woman's life or health, or when the pregnancy results from the rape of a mentally disabled woman. Some viewed the woman's story as an example of why abortion should remain legal in the United States. President Donald Trump has described himself as 'pro-life' and has pledged to appoint pro-life Supreme Court justices. The president predicted in an interview that Roe v Wade, the 1973 Supreme Court decision that recognized women's rights to have an abortion across the US, would be overturned, leaving each state to rule on the matter individually. But the Argentinian woman's story seemed to resonate with several people, who saw it as an example of what would happen if abortion rights were repealed in the US. Several people said cases like hers were one of the reasons they had joined women's marches recently. 'This is why we march,' one of them wrote in an Instagram comment. Others said the story showed why abortion funding shouldn't be revoked and pointed to Planned Parenthood. Trump has vowed to cut the organization's funding as long as it performs abortions. He signed an executive order last month blocking federal funding for the International Planned Parenthood Federation, of which the US Planned Parenthood is a member. 'This is why we have organizations like Planned Parenthood,' one woman wrote in a Facebook comment. 'So women don't have to do these things alone, and in such a traumatic way.' Hitting close to home: Some viewed the woman's story as an example of why abortion should remain legal in the United States Marching on: Several people wrote in the comments that the Argentinian woman's story was one of the reasons they had joined women's marches recently Argentinian President Mauricio Macri told BuzzFeed News in August that 'denying women the right to have an abortion, is not gender violence.' 'Clandestine abortion is a dramatic issue,' he added. 'No woman under any circumstances must go through an abortion. It is a terrible experience before, during and after.' More than 40 per cent of all pregnancies end in a clandestine abortion each year in Argentina, according to Human Rights Watch. An estimated half a million procedures take place every year in the country. Facebook users empathized with the woman's story, with one of them writing in the comments section: 'Making abortion illegal only stops safe abortions. You have my sympathy.' Another reader, named Chris Mathis, wrote: 'As a man, I will never be able to appreciate the significance of having to make such a decision, nor should I be able to decide what options are available to you.' One comment read: 'No one should ever have to go through this because of laws.' Another Facebook user said that even though she was pro-life, she wished the Argentinian woman had received more support. 'We may not agree on this heated subject, but I hope you hear my loving and caring heart,' she wrote. 'Hopefully healing and peace have come to you.' A mother has penned a touching open letter to her five-month-old daughter who had Down's syndrome to reassure her she is loved unconditionally. Rhona Cullinan, 44, from Dublin admits that she struggled with her pregnancy after she was told that her daughter could develop the genetic condition confessing she spent much of her gestation period 'worrying'. But in her touching tribute which she has shared with FEMAIL Rhona wants to encourage her daughter Molly who was born on September 20th to follow her dreams and never to let her disability hold her back. Rhona Cullinan has penned an open letter to her daughter Molly who was born with Down's syndrome Dear Molly, I still remember the first day I saw you. I remember lying up on the bed while the midwife started our first scan you were only 9 weeks old. Your dad and I held hands as we watched a very little you wiggle and jiggle on the screen. We fell instantly in love with you. We were laughing with the nurse about how amazing you were and talking about how we had planned a night away that night to celebrate seeing you when suddenly her face dropped! With that our hearts dropped. She went quiet, painfully quiet, and then she left. Rhona and her partner Martin were told there was a possibility Molly might have Down's at their nine week scan but declined to have tests to have it confirmed She went to get another specialist to have a look at you those few minutes that she was gone were the worst few minutes of our lives we looked at each other in complete silence and we instantly knew there was something wrong. Every parent's worst nightmare. The two nurses arrived back and they scanned you again and with a saddened look they said yes, they confirmed they could see fluid on the back of your neck a strong marker for Down syndrome and possibly a heart defect. Our hearts were wrenched but we didn't cry. Instead, we just sat in shock. Yes, we knew we were older parents, but no, we didn't think this would happen to us. They asked us to come back to see the main consultant the next day as she would confirm all. We decided then and there that we loved you and no matter what we had to face we would take it one day at a time and stay positive We told no one and decided to head away for the night anyway just so we could take it all in. That night wasn't like the night we planned we sat mostly in silence, shocked, and with a few tears running Down our cheeks every now and then. As I looked at the floor beside me I found a little white feather just randomly sitting there, so I put it between your scan photos where it stayed and is still there- we knew you were being watched over and that you were our little angel. We decided then and there that we loved you and no matter what we had to face we would take it one day at a time and stay positive. When the consultant confirmed all the next day she asked us if we would like an amniocentesis test to confirm if you had Down syndrome or not we both agreed it would make no difference so we said no. It was hard to get excited during the pregnancy, to be honest, we didn't tell anyone about the findings and continued on as normal as we could. We had regular scans and you did great up until around 25 weeks where you decided to stop growing and we nearly lost you they gave you some steroids which now I think gave you your superpowers because you fought back hard and went into a major growth spurt surprising everyone. In her letter Rhona apologises to Molly for not enjoying her pregnancy more and being 'selfish' about her future. Pictured: Molly who is now five months old Molly, who also has a heart condition, was born in September and Rhona says she was 'instantly madly in love' We had scans twice a week after that so we got to see you more and more. You were officially diagnosed with the heart condition 'Tetralogy of Fallot' and they told us you would need open heart surgery at around five months and they sent us to meet the team at Our Ladies Hospital who prepared us for what was ahead.possible feeding problems, nose or peg feeds possible hospital stays and who knows what else. It was a lot to take in but the support and education was amazing so we felt reassured (but a little scared). We then found out that you were going to be a little girl and we were thrilled! Tears ran down my cheek - firstly with joy but then with sadness. Maybe if you have Down Syndrome it would be the end of my dreams of mummy-daughter shopping days with you, seeing you falling in love, doing your makeup when you're getting married and even seeing you getting the job of your dreams. Would that all be lost? I knew I'd have my little girl but she wouldn't be able to do any of these things. I know now it was selfish and naive but that was the truth of how I felt. WHAT IS DOWN'S SYNDROME? Down syndrome is a genetic condition that occurs when a person inherits an extra copy of chromosome 21. It occurs at conception and affects one in 700 - 900 babies worldwide. Signs and symptoms of Down syndrome include mild to moderate intellectual disability, developmental delays, short stature and reduced muscle tone. Those with Down syndrome frequently have reduced fertility and there is a 50 per cent chance their children will also inherit the condition. Source: Down Syndrome Australia Advertisement You arrived into the world in full dramatic style with a rush down the corridor with nurses and doctors screaming as they performed an emergency section. We thought we had lost you they thought they had lost me! But no you arrived determined as ever to prove us wrongOur Princess Warrior! Your dad was the first to see you he just looked at me and smiled and said she's beautiful. Straight away he could see you had Down syndrome. But you were alive and didn't need any help with your breathing so we were just so relieved. Suddenly Down syndrome seemed to be the least thing we were concerned about. You had it, so what, we were instantly madly in love with you! The first thing that shocked me was the reaction of the nurses - I expected sympathy and sad pitiful looks but what I got was hugs and cries of 'OMG Congratulations, she's so beautiful' and 'You're so lucky' Our families welcomed you and also fell madly in love with you. Gone were the fears I had of people feeling sorry for us everyone treated you as they would any other new baby except you were exceptionally cute and everyone was drawn to you. You went to ICU for two days and then special care for three then I got you back to my ward where I could cuddle you nonstop as you gazed up at me constantly. Your eye contact was and is something else! You're so special. Only home about a week and I got a call from the community Down syndrome nurse Congratulating us on what was about to be the best journey of our lives! She came out to us and explained all about Molly's upcoming appointments for early intervention physiotherapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy etc. When she left I have to say we were flabbergasted, not from all the appointments that I'd nearly need a secretary to keep, but on how positive she was and how she made us feel so special. As things settled I decided to do a bit of research about Down Syndrome now that we knew it was there it was time to see how hard of a journey we had ahead how limited would you be. But how wrong we were! I realised you could do everything I imagined you can go shopping and probably fleece me you can have a boyfriend and probably obsess over him you can go to school and do as well as you can you can get a job might not be president but you'll love whatever you do! You can do anything that you want except you'll do it at your own pace maybe a bit slower than other kids but you'll do it. I also learnt that Down syndrome is simply a learning disability nothing else you will feel, you will desire, you will want the same as every typical child but you'll just do your way! So Molly I want to apologise for not enjoying your pregnancy more for doubting you - for worrying about your future for trying to limit you before you even start and we promise from this day forward we will push you to be the best you can be we will show you off to the world, we will treat you the same as your siblings and love you with unconditional love because that's what you deserve! Rhona has set up a Facebook page named after Molly where she offers help and support to other parents expecting and raising Down's syndrome children. A Utah mother and data scientist had a very clever idea when she couldn't get through to her senator's office about an important issue this week and it was pretty cheesy, too. Julia Silge, 38, was trying to get in touch with Senator Orrin Hatch to ask him not to vote to confirm Betsy DeVos for Education Secretary, but found that the phone lines were consistently busy. Instead of giving up on an issue she felt strongly about, the mother-of-three whose children all attend public school tried a different tactic, ordering a pizza to be delivered to the Senator with her note inside. Scroll down for video Creative: Julia Silge from Utah wanted to ask her senator not to confirm Betsy DeVos, but had to resort to ordering him a pizza to get her message through The message: DeVos was confirmed at Education Secretary today despite being a controversial pick; critics say she has no education experience Constituents are encouraged to reach out to local lawmakers with concerns. But leading up to the DeVos vote, Sen. Hatch's office was overwhelmed with phone calls, and Julia couldn't get through. 'It seemed as if all the avenues of communication were shut down or unavailable,' she explained to The Salt Lake Tribune. Inspired by a tweet by a man named Cory Snearowski, who encouraged followers to send Senators with busy phone lines '$15 worth of ham along with a note' via a delivery service like Seamless, Julia logged onto her GrubHub account. She ordered a 12" ham and pineapple pizza for $12.99 toppings she calls a 'controversial choice, much like Betsy DeVos' and left a message for the restaurant under 'special instructions'. Her representaive: Julia, 38, was trying to call Senator Orrin Hatch Clver: The phones were busy, so she ordered him a pizza and asked the restaurant to include a message DeVos is considered a controversial choice because she has no background in education, and neither she nor her children ever attended public school. 'Please deliver to Orrin Hatch's office, #8402, and attach the following note,' she wrote int he instructions. '"From a Salt Lake constituent in [zip code] 84105: Please vote NO on Betsy DeVos. She is an inappropriate choice to lead our public schools."' She went on to update her Twitter followers on the pizza's progress. 'I just got a phone call from the delivery person asking me where in the federal office building to go; she is actually delivering it!' she wrote minutes later, adding, 'I sent a $10 tip with this, in the hopes of it actually happening.' Then, she waited. Unfortunately, despite her clever idea, things didn't go as smoothly as planned. Nice try: She documented the saga on Twitter, including her call from security explaining that the pizza was 'suspicious' 'I am sad to report that my Senator's office refused delivery of the pizza,' she wrote, explaining that she later received a phone call from security at the Salt Lake City federal office building. 'The federal security person was pretty chill with me, and he did literally say, "I have gotten a call about a suspicious pizza."' The Senator's office had refused the delivery probably due to safety precautions and then referred Julia's name and number, which had been printed on the receipt, to the security desk. She got the idea from Cory Snearowski, who tried to send food to his own rep 'We appreciate all creative efforts to reach Senator Hatch, particularly as we deal with a large volume of out-of-state callers that are preventing Utah constituents from reaching us,' Hatch's staff later said in a public statement. 'Unfortunately, the pizza did not make it through security screening because the office had not ordered it. 'In the future, if constituents would like to tag us with a message when they send food to their local homeless shelter, we will be certain to share those thoughts with the Senator as well.' The Senator's office has since reached out to arrange lunch with Julia, though the lawmaker did end up voting to confirm DeVos. Taylor Hill may be a famous model, but when it comes to love and romance, she'd be more than happy to spend Valentine's Day seeing a movie with her beau. The 20-year-old joined fellow Victoria's Secret Angels Josephine Skriver and Sara Sampaio at the lingerie brand's flagship store in New York City Tuesday to dish about their ideal Valentine's Day dates and gifts and Taylor's boyfriend Michael Stephen Shank will happy to know that the model likes to keep things simple. 'I love going to the movies and seeing a movie in the theater and getting pizza or something and having the popcorn,' she told Daily Mail Online. 'For me, that is so chill because you are having a good time together and you can see some fun movie. Casual as can be! Victoria's Secret Angel Taylor Hill says her dream Valentine's Day date would be going to the movies and getting a $1 slice of New York pizza after Ladies in red: The 20-year-old joined fellow Victoria's Secret Angels Sara Sampaio (center) and Josephine Skriver (right) at the Victoria's Secret flagship in New York City on Tuesday 'It is a fun experience and you can get a New York slice,' she added. 'It is like icing on a cake.' Although Taylor looked stunning in a red halter frock at the event, she noted that in her down time she likes to relax in jeans, T-shirts, and sneakers because getting dressed up is already an amazing part of her job. Taylor pointed out that she can't even remember the last time she was able to go see a movie in the theater, and it is genuinely something she would like to do. Model off duty: Taylor looked stunning in a red halter dress at the event, but she noted that she likes to wear jeans, T-shirts, and sneakers in her down time True romantic: Sara said she would rather have her boyfriend Oliver Ripley with her more than any gift in the world And for anyone who fears they are too broke to spoil his or her loved one this holiday, Taylor said she is happy just walking around New York City and having a 99-cent slice of pizza. 'It should be about who you are with, not what you are doing or where you are going,' she explained, and Josephine and Sara agree. 'Girls, yeah we love gifts. We love everything, but all we want is your undivided attention that day,' Josephine, 23, explained. 'Shut off your phone. Give me you for one day because there is so much in life that is distracting. What women want: Josephine stressed that people should give their partners their undivided attention on Valentine's Day Go it alone! All three women agreed that you can have just as much fun celebrating Valentine's Day with your friends 'There is so much going on. We are constantly on our phones, constantly thinking about tomorrow. Just be there in the now with her. I think that is the best you can do.' Valentine's Day falls in the middle of New York Fashion Week this year, and Sara just hopes she will be able to have dinner with her boyfriend Oliver Ripley. 'Love is free, so I feel as long as you make your loved one feel loved there is no other gift that can even top that,' she said. 'I would rather have my boyfriend with me than any gift in the world. I think that is the most important thing.' Say cheese: Sara took to Instagram on Tuesday to share a photo of herself posing in lingerie with Taylor and Josephine at the flagship store Stunning couple: Taylor is in a relationship with model and actor Michael Stephen Shank 'Best Valentine's Day ever!' Taylor was thrilled when her dog Tate tore into the roses Michael go her last year because the pooch looked so cute When it comes to their ideal Valentine's Day celebrations, both Josephine and Sara said they would love to wake up to breakfast in bed, but that is where their dream dates differ. While Sara imagined an island vacation where she could spend some quality time with her boyfriend on the beach, Josephine said she'd love her beau Alexander Deleon, lead singer of The Cab, to take her bungee jumping or something 'really adventurous'. 'I have been trying to remember what I did for Valentine's last year, and I can't remember, so my boyfriend probably did not do a good job last year,' Sara joked. Sibling love: The model said she and her sisters Logan Rae and Mackinley always give their little brother Chase relationship advice (from left to right) Doting sister: Josephine told her 17-year-old brother Oliver that he should always make his girlfriend feel special 'I never really had a boyfriend for Valentine's Day, but my boyfriend once not on Valentine's sent me a bouquet of 200 roses and that was pretty incredible.' Meanwhile, Taylor said she was thrilled when her boyfriend sweetly put three roses on her pillow one year. Her dog Tate started tearing into them, leaving rose petals flying everywhere. At first her boyfriend thought the surprise had turned into a mess, but Taylor was so happy she had tears of joy because of how cute her dog looked. Rest and relaxation: Sara recently shared this photo of her and her boyfriend Oliver wearing matching white while vacationing in Tulum, Mexico Dream date: Sara said she would love to spend Valentine's Day on an island where she can sleep in late and have breakfast in bed 'I took so many pictures of him with the roses,' she said. 'Best Valentine's ever!' Although the models are all coupled up now, the trio said they would have no problem spending the romantic holiday with their girlfriends. 'For me, Valentine's has always been about celebrating love and your girlfriends,' Josephine explained. 'I make sure to send my girlfriends small gifts because I think everybody should have a Valentine. 'I send my mom flowers,' she added. 'For me, it is almost more of a bigger day for me and my girlfriends than it is for me and my boyfriend because you gotta celebrate each other; you gotta celebrate girl power and love.' Strike a pose: Josephine said she would love to go bungee jumping or do something adventurous on Valentine's Day Paris romance: Josephine and her boyfriend Alexander Deleon, lead singer of The Cab, celebrated their three-year anniversary in December 2016 And when it comes to dating, the Danish beauty has already given her 17-year-old brother Oliver some solid advice after he entered his first real relationship. 'I was like, "Make sure she feels special." There are so many things, but you gotta go that extra mile for your girl,' she said. Josephine pointed out that the small things are what count, and she encouraged him to write her notes telling her how he feels. 'We gotta get reminded all the time,' she said. 'You are like, "Yeah, they know." No, we don't! So keep telling us.' She is well known for making a statement when it comes to her fashion choices and today was no different for Queen Maxima. The Queen of the Netherlands turned heads in a mustard coloured jump suit as she arrived at Wartburg castle in Germany with her husband King Willem-Alexander. Never afraid to colour clash the Argentinian-born royal paired her eye-catching ensemble with a tear coat complete with a pussy bow neckline. Queen Maxima was in high spirits this evening as she joined her husband King Willem-Alexander for a tour Wartburg castle in Germany Always a stickler for coordination she added a matching sea green clutch and complementary gloves to her outfit. The King looked smart in a navy pea coat and he could be seen offering his arm to his wife in a bid to keep her warm after dark. Today marks the Dutch couple's first day of their four day tour of Germany with their visit to the castle their first engagement The royal couple joined the deputy prime minister of the Thuringia Heike Taubert and the major of Eisenach Katja Wolf in Eisenach, state of Thuringia During their tour of the castle the couple looked on in awe at the impressive mosaics that can be seen on the interior of the monument The royal couple joined the deputy prime minister of the Thuringia Heike Taubert and the major of Eisenach Katja Wolf in Eisenach, state of Thuringia on Tuesday. Famous for her enthusiastic approach to her engagements Maxima appeared to be in high spirits on Tuesday evening sharing a laugh with her husband as they explored the inner courtyard of the castle. During their tour of the castle the couple looked on in awe at the impressive mosaics that can be seen on the interior of the monument. The Queen of the Netherlands turned heads in a mustard coloured jump suit and teal combination paired with matching accessories The King looked smart in a navy pea coat and he could be seen offering his arm to his wife in a bid to keep her warm after dark They finished their tour this evening by each signing the golden book of the city as is tradition with a royal visit. The Wartburg is known for being the place where Martin Luther translated the New Testament of the Bible into German. The Dutch Royal couple is on an official four-day visit to Germany with today marking the first day of their visit. The King and Queen finished their tour this evening by each signing the golden book of the city as is tradition with a royal visit Hazel Leighfield and her husband David Bates photographed at their home in Milton Keynes There was never any question that Hazel Leighfield would be the breadwinner in her marriage. After all, which wife would relinquish a job with a six-figure salary and a 33,000 company BMW when her husband struggled to earn a third of her package? Hazel admits discussion of the matter was a formality: her career would inevitably take priority. It was just obvious that if she and her husband David Bates wanted to remain in their five-bedroom detached home in Buckinghamshire and enjoy family trips to Disneyland Florida, Cyprus, Greece, Spain and France, then it would be Hazel who would be paying to sustain their lifestyle by working 12-hour days in her managerial job. When I was a child, there was a show on TV called Wait Till Your Father Gets Home and I suppose our family illustrates just how much society has changed since the Seventies because in our house Dave will often tell our daughter: Wait until your mother gets home, says Hazel. So Hazel, 51, is the high-flying career wife while David, 50, is the low-flying house husband. It is he who has done most of the childcare the couple have a daughter, Madeleine, 14 since Hazel went back to work full-time after her maternity leave. Its an arrangement that seems to be working for other high-achieving women, too. City superwoman Helena Morrissey, Legal & Generals head of personal investing, has admitted that the only way she manages to juggle her extremely lucrative career with being a mother to nine children is thanks to a really good house husband. With Richard, a former financial journalist, at home keeping the plates of family life spinning, the 50-year-old has also managed to maintain an enviable figure, as revealed in a picture posted on Instagram this week. But Hazel Leighfield admits her own arrangement is not without its frictions and resentments. David often feels constrained by household drudgery. Hazel, meanwhile, can get irritated by what she perceives as his inefficiency with housework and parenting and annoyed by his failure to recognise how pressured her job is. Hazel Leighfield admits her own arrangement is not without its frictions and resentments. Pictured (right) is their daughter Madeleine David thinks I swan off in the mornings, leaving the family chaos behind not having to worry about getting our daughter to school or picking her up, making dinner or supervising homework, says Hazel, who gets home from work as late as 8pm. I regularly attend client events, which look glamorous from where Davids sitting, but rarely are. I sometimes have a lot to say about how poorly he is administering his domestic tasks. David, who was made redundant last March from his job in credit control, is studying to be a personal trainer, while hoping to pursue a long-held ambition to be an actor. For a long time David was doing a job he hated and would say to me: Youre so lucky to love your job and be paid a lot of money to do it, says Hazel. My response would always be: Do you realise the pressure Im under? I absolutely have to keep earning at this level to keep our family afloat. This division of labour between the sexes is becoming widespread. Moreover, well-paid career women are drawn to men who take subsidiary roles as wage earners: high-powered Alpha wives seem to prefer rather less ambitious men, who will nurture and support them. New figures show that the number of men in part-time work has quadrupled over the past two decades. In the mid-Nineties, just one in 20 men worked part-time, compared with a significant one in five today. This increase in part-time roles for men also coincides with a rise in the number of women working full-time a third of mothers do so according to the results of the survey by the Institute of Fiscal Studies (IFS). Inevitably, perhaps, conflicts arise from this reversal of centuries of social conditioning. Ill come home, all fired up from work, and ask Madeleine why she hasnt taken her uniform off and if she has any homework, says Hazel. When she admits she has, I cant help turning to David and demanding: Why didnt you get her to do her homework? And if I question why he didnt give her any vegetables with her tea, hell say: If you want her to have vegetables, then come home and cook them. Hazel admits that she and David might have had more than one child had he been in a different position. She also concedes that David sometimes feels diminished by his lack of career success. On a subtle level, it has affected Davids confidence, not specifically with me, but in general, she says. He questions whether hes the man he wants to be, as hes not earning his living as an actor, while I have a good job that I love. For Barbara Cunningham, 58, a senior assistant principal in a sixth form, who earns a salary of 70,000 a year, the arrangement with her husband George feels more equitable For Barbara Cunningham, 58, a senior assistant principal in a sixth form, who earns a salary of 70,000 a year, the arrangement with her husband George feels more equitable. George, 73, has embraced the role of low-flying husband since their children were young, when it became obvious that Barbaras career was soaring while his, as a musician, had stalled. We didnt plan it, but thanks to a series of promotions I just became the breadwinner in our marriage, says Barbara from South-East London. My long working hours, and the fact that I was soon earning at least three times as much as George, who worked part-time, meant it made total sense for him to take responsibility for the lions share of the domestic and childcare duties. I have a vivid memory of watching the BBC TV series The Good Life back in the Seventies and seeing Margo handing Gerry a relaxing gin and tonic after a tough day at the office. Some 20 years later, the same went on in our house only the genders were reversed. Barbaras day begins at 6am with an hours commute to work and ends at 7.30pm when she walks back through the door of their four-bedroom, semi-detached home. The couples son and daughter, aged 25 and 27, are both temporarily back in the fold, and Barbara appreciates greatly the work that George has done in keeping the home fires burning over the years. However, she admits she has felt the pressure of being the familys main breadwinner. George is 15 years my senior and, though hes hale and hearty, it was important to me to be mortgage-free as soon as we could. My income meant we managed to pay it off eight years early, which was a weight off my mind. George, too, admits he would feel ill at ease if asked to attend work-related events with Barbara Meanwhile, Barbara, a keen cook, admits her husbands culinary shortcomings have been a cause of contention. George has a small repertoire of dishes, so, in the early years, I would have to bite my tongue to stop myself saying: Does it have to be macaroni cheese again? I made a conscious decision not to interfere with the way he ran our home and to just be grateful that hed made a meal which was hard for me because Im naturally controlling. Its doubtful those issues would have arisen if George had been the one with the demanding career and Id been at home. Like most women, Im definitely the more domesticated of the two. George, too, admits he would feel ill at ease if asked to attend work-related events with Barbara. He wouldnt enjoy it because hed feel out of place and I wouldnt want to put him through that, she says. I realise, however, that a husband in my position would very probably turn up with a supportive wife on his arm. But George insists he feels no resentment or shame about playing second fiddle to his wife. She is an extremely smart and very caring person. Ive never had a problem with her earning more than me, he says. In fact, I wouldnt have sympathy with any man who struggled with an arrangement like ours. However, while more and more women are securing their roles as family breadwinners, their husbands are generally finding the transition into domesticity trickier. Fine artist Heidi Farrar became the family breadwinner when her partner, Jon Hannah, took voluntary redundancy from his highly paid job as an NHS senior manager last year Relate counsellor Arabella Russell urges couples to address the disparity in their roles. Couples need to remember that they cant just shrug off thousands of years of conditioning. They probably talked their way into this role reversal by deciding which partner was better placed to earn more money and who could do most of the childcare. Now they need to talk about problems whether its guilt or resentment arising from it. Fine artist Heidi Farrar became the family breadwinner when her partner, Jon Hannah, took voluntary redundancy from his highly paid job as an NHS senior manager last year. She struggles to contain her annoyance at his inadequate housekeeping skills. Since Jon took over, Ive had to lower my expectations on the domestic front considerably, as it seems hes only able to do one job at a time, says Heidi. Ill come home to a tip, tripping over coats and school bags. Im like a sergeant major saying: Who does this belong to?, Who made this mess?, Put that away, Throw that in the bin!. I cant help but get cross and remind them all: I wasnt put on this earth to clean up after you lot! Jon usually jumps right into action once I point it out, but it annoys me that I have to do so, because he never had to put in a second shift cleaning when he did a long day at the office. He reminds me that hes the one at home now and he runs things the way he wants to run things. Heidi, 36, who commands upwards of 2,000 per painting, works full-time at her Leeds studio, taking on extra commissions to fulfil her role as sole provider for the family. Meanwhile, Jon takes care of their one-year-old daughter, Heidis five-year-old son from a previous marriage and his 11-year-old twins. Heidis eldest son, whos 12, lives with his father. Jons job was one of many affected by changes in the NHS, so it was his suggestion I start investing all my time and energy in my career, says Heidi. Im lucky that people are prepared to pay good money for my work and Jon has total belief in my skills he hopes he wont ever have to go back to work as Ill always be able to support us all. Its good finally having the chance to follow my passion all day, but it also scares the hell out of me thinking I have to generate the kind of income Jon did to maintain our lifestyle. Heidi Farrar and partner Jon Hannah, from Leeds, West Yorkshire, with their children Katja Hannah (1) and Theo Farrar (5). Heidi admits that shes also worried about their arrangement affecting the early bond with her daughter, Katja, but tries to make up for it when shes home and by nipping back from work when the baby has a GPs appointment or an inoculation Heidi admits that shes also worried about their arrangement affecting the early bond with her daughter, Katja, but tries to make up for it when shes home and by nipping back from work when the baby has a GPs appointment or an inoculation. Meanwhile, Jon, 39, though relishing the time he has to spend with the children, confesses he is finding it hard adjusting to his lack of professional status. People dont hang on my every word as they did when I had a huge team of staff, says Jon. That feels a bit strange, but I have no problem with Heidi being the breadwinner. She has the potential to go really far in the art world, but needs me supporting her at home to be able to do that. Not so long ago, it was said that behind every great man theres a great woman. However, now that high-flying career women are no longer exceptional, it seems that a growing band of husbands have, perhaps inevitably, been relegated to the position of co-pilot. A burns survivor branded a 'monster' by bullies after scorching butter melted her face is rejecting surgery because she loves her scars. Alyssa McDonald, 25, was just two years old when she tipped a scolding liquid onto her face. Family members said her skin was 'melting off' after the accident, which left her with third-degree burns on 75 per cent of her face and blinded in one eye. After slipping into a coma her parents were told to start planning her funeral, as there was 'no chance' she would wake-up. But she defied doctors and went onto have over 100 surgeries - including skin grafts, fitting a prosthetic eye and reconstructing her lips and eyebrow. After stopping all surgery at 16, she's slowly learned to love herself and now uses the motto 'I wear my flaws like diamonds' to describe her pride in how she looks. Alyssa McDonald was just two-years-old when she tipped a the scolding liquid onto her face Miss McDonald, from Cincinnati in Ohio, said: 'It was Memorial Day, my grandmother was making something that caused her to melt butter on the stove. 'Me being a curious child, I climbed up to have a look and accidentally pulled the pot of hot butter down onto myself. 'The butter fell directly onto my face, it missed my head but covered my face, I was burned very badly. 'My uncle found me and desperately tried to wipe off the butter over the sink, but my skin was so badly burned it was melting off of my face. 'After being rushed to hospital I slipped into a coma, where my mom said my head swelled ten times its normal size. 'The doctors told her the best thing to do was to call the pastor and start getting funeral arrangements together as there was no way I was going to make it.' Before and after: Miss McDonald pictured shortly before the accident, left, and afterwards Family members said her skin was 'melting off' after the accident, which left her with third-degree burns on 75 per cent of her face and blinded in one eye After awakening from the coma, she spent over a year in hospital receiving treatments and had to wear a mask to shield her skin from further damage and infection. Over 85 per cent of her face was left with scars because of skin grafts over the years. It's taken me a very long time to get time to get to this point but I've realised they make me who I am. People either will or won't accept me - [but] that's not my problem Alyssa McDonald At school she was called a 'monster' and suffered the humiliation of kids running away from her crying. Miss McDonald, a daycare teacher, added: 'I have a lot of bad memories of people pointing at me when but I've never allowed myself to be the victim. 'I had kids run away from me scared of how I looked and call me "monster", I've even had kids cry when they saw me. 'At Halloween, we went to the store for candy, there were loads of kids in costumes and the cashier thought I had a Halloween mask on. 'She told me, "It's the most realistic mask I've seen all day", when I told her it was my real face she was mortified.' After slipping into a coma her parents were told to start planning her funeral, as there was 'no chance' she would wake-up She went on to have over 100 surgeries - including skin grafts, fitting a prosthetic eye and reconstructing her lips and eyebrow Miss McDonald said: 'It's taken me a very long time to get time to get to this point but I've realised they make me who I am. 'There is nothing I can do about it, what's happened to me or how I look, people either will or won't accept me - either way that's not my problem. WHAT ARE THIRD-DEGREE BURNS? A third-degree burn is referred to as a full thickness burn. This type of trauma destroys the outer layer of skin (epidermis) and the entire layer beneath (the dermis). Large, full thickness, third-degree burns heal slowly and poorly without medical attention. Because the epidermis and hair follicles are destroyed, new skin will not grow. Source: Children's Hospital of Philadelphia Advertisement 'My scars are my most important accessory and bring out my personality. If I have a beautiful dress on they bring that out and are like diamonds to me. 'I would not change my scars, I'm in love with them, even if there was a magical surgery to give me whole new skin I would turn it down.' She believes her strength comes from not allowing herself to become a 'victim' and now channels her positivity to encourage others to feel proud of their scars too. She added: 'I'm helping people to get over their burns, because the longer you dwell on it the more valuable time you're wasting on something you can't change. 'I've had plenty of times where I've cried because I didn't want to be different anymore and wanted to be anyone else other than myself. 'Once you realise there's nothing you can do about it, it just becomes life. 'It's not your problem how people perceive you or how they think about you, once you accept that you can live life for yourself and not everyone else.' The HPV vaccine will now be administered in two doses instead of three, new guidelines declare. The new rules, published on Monday, come after years of campaigns from cancer experts insisting an easier schedule would encourage more people to protect themselves from the sexually-transmitted infection. Human papillomavirus (or, HPV) is the most common STI in the United States, affecting around 79 million people. It has been linked to numerous cancers - including prostate, throat, head and neck, rectum and cervical cancer. Experts claim more widespread vaccine coverage of middle school children could prevent 28,000 cancer diagnoses a year. Currently, fewer than half the children eligible for the vaccine - given out as three doses over six months - are covered. Experts blame the lengthy, arduous schedule. New guidelines from the ACIP for the HPV vaccine state that the injection will now be administered over two doses instead of three WHAT IS HUMAN PAPILLOMAVIRUS? HPV is the most common sexually-transmitted infection. In fact, almost every sexually active man or woman will get it during their lifetime. It is spread through sex and oral sex with someone who has the virus, regardless of whether they show symptoms. Many people never show symptoms, and the majority of cases go away without treatment. However, it can sometimes cause genital warts and/or cancer. Symptoms can arise years after infection. Around 99 per cent of cervical cancer diagnoses are related to infections like HPV. HPV can also cause cancers of the throat, neck, tongue, tonsils, vulva, vagina, penis or anus. Often, the cancer does not develop until years after a patient was infected with HPV. Source: CDC Advertisement The American Cancer Society today endorsed the updated recommendations, which were released by the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP). Dr Debbie Saslow, Senior Director, HPV Related and Women's Cancers for the American Cancer Society, said: 'In the past several years, studies have shown the vaccine is even more effective than expected. 'This new two-dose regimen is easier to follow, and we now know is very effective in preventing HPV, which is linked to a half dozen types of cancer.' Each year, about 14 million people become newly infected with HPV. According to the CDC, each year about 19,000 cancers caused by HPV occur in women in the US, with cervical cancer being the most common. And about 8,000 cancers caused by HPV occur each year in men in the US and oropharyngeal (throat) cancers are the most common. Besides cervical cancer, HPV has been linked to vaginal, vulvar, oropharyngeal, anal, and penile cancers. Despite strong evidence of safety and effectiveness, vaccination rates in the US remains very low compared to other countries. Only 28 percent of boys and 42 percent of girls aged 13 to 17 years receiving the recommended three doses in 2015. The skewed figures between genders are largely attributable to the fact that the jab was only offered to boys as a standard vaccine as of last year. Previously, it was believed HPV was most strongly linked with cervical cancer in women. Research since has shown links with penile, anal, mouth, throat and other cancers in men. However, the gender divide does not fully account for the staggeringly low levels of coverage overall. Despite the three vaccines that are widely available, the number who choose to be vaccinated remains low, and the age they wait to do so has increased. Only Rhode Island, Virginia and the District of Columbia require the vaccine for students. In response to these figures last year, the ACIP, along with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), conducted a thorough review of clinical trial data on HPV vaccines. They found that the vaccine in younger adolescents (aged nine to 14 years) produced an immune response similar or higher than the response in young adults (aged 16 to 26 years) who received three doses. Generally, preteens receive the HPV vaccine at the same time as whooping cough and meningitis vaccines and it is administered before the likely chance of sexual contact. The new schedule, approved by the FDA in October 2016, states that two doses of HPV vaccine given at least six months apart at ages 11 and 12 will provide 'safe, effective, and long-lasting protection against HPV cancers'. Even adolescents between ages 13 and 14 are able to receive the HPV vaccination on the new two-dose schedule. For patients who did not receive HPV vaccination before age 15, three doses are still required and may be given to females up to age 26 and males up to age 21. In another major change, the ACIP said patients should not use the live attenuated influenza vaccine (LAIV), or nasal spray vaccine, for protection against the flu because of concerns about low effectiveness A 2012 review found that LAIV prevents influenza in about one out of six children under six it is given to. Medicinal marijuana is supposed to cure symptoms of nausea, fatigue, and mood swings in cancer patients. But for one young man, it cost him his life. The patient, from northern California, died from a rare fungal infection believed to have come from a contaminated batch of medical marijuana. Two doctors began noticing that patients were becoming very sick after smoking the drug and decided to investigate why. A California cancer patient died from a rare fungal infection believed to have come from a contaminated batch of medical marijuana. Most states don't require quality control testing Dr George Thompson, a fungal infection expert with UC Davis Medical Center, said the patients at the time were undergoing very intensive chemotherapy and because of that had compromised immune systems. About five patients came down with a relatively rare but particularly lethal fungal infection. The doctors said that these patients were relatively young and in winnable cancer battles. But for one man, the infection killed him. 'We thought it was strange to have cases of such a bad fungal disease in such a short amount of time, in a span of two to three months,' Dr Thompson told Daily Mail Online. Dr Thompson teamed up with Dr Joseph Tuscano, of the University of California Davis Cancer Center, to investigate further. But they had a problem: federal law prohibited them from doing that research at UC Davis, so they joined forces with Steep Hill Laboratories in Berkeley. Dr Donald Land, who has been analyzing contaminated marijuana for over a decade with plenty of experience finding mold and fungus strains, became their partner. He told KPIX 5: 'We sometimes see 20 or 30 percent of our samples coming through the lab significantly contaminated with molds.' The team gathered 20 samples of medical marijuana from across California and took them apart. They pulled out a range of dangerous bacteria and fungi which they analyzed down to their DNA. Dr Thompson said 100 percent of the samples came back with mold and 90 percent had bacteria and fungi - similar to what he had seen in the sick patients. 'The main ones were Klebsiella, E.coli, Pseudomonas, Acinetobacter. All of these are very serious infections for anybody in the hospital. But particularly in the very vulnerable cancer population,' he said. One of questions this raises is whether the risk is made worse by smoking, which could send pathogens directly into the lungs, which are particularly vulnerable. Although there isn't a great deal of research on this issue, the doctors believe the infection to be self-inflicted from cannabis use. WHAT IS MEDICINAL MARIJUANA? Medicinal marijuana refers to using the whole unprocessed marijuana plant or its basic extracts to treat a disease or symptom. The FDA has yet to recognize or approve the marijuana plant as medicine. Currently, the two main chemicals - called cannabinoids - from the marijuana plant that are of medical interest are THC and CBD. THC increases appetite and reduces nausea. The FDA-approved THC-based medications are used for these purposes. THC may also decrease pain, inflammation (swelling and redness), and muscle control problems. CBD is a cannabinoid that does not affect the mind or behavior. It may be useful in reducing pain and inflammation, controlling epileptic seizures, and possibly even treating mental illness and addictions. Advertisement A common misconception is that the medicine acquired at dispensaries is safer than recreational marijuana but, according to Dr Thompson, 'it doesn't matter where you get, it's all the same and all has a chance of potentially being infected'. Research has shown Colorado - ground zero of marijuana legalization in the US -has cannabis lining store shelves that is much more potent than the weed of 30 years ago. But this potency boost comes at a costmodern marijuana lacks many of the components touted as beneficial and is contaminated with fungi, pesticides, and heavy metals. Colorado does not yet require testing of marijuana for contaminants. Washington, the second state to legalize recreational marijuana, does require testing for microbial agents. Testing for E.coli, salmonella, and yeast mold conducted in 2014 resulted in a rejection of about 13 percent of the marijuana products offered for sale. Andy LaFrate, founder of Charas Scientific - one of eight Colorado labs certified to test cannabis - told Smithsonian Magazine that his team tested more than 600 strains of marijuana from dozens of producers in 2015. The team conducted potency tests - the only ones Colorado currently requires - and looked at tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the psychoactive compound that produces the plant's famous high. They found that modern weed contains THC levels between 18 and 30 percentdouble to triple the levels that were common in buds from the 1980s. The team also commonly found fungi and bacteria in the products. 'It's pretty startling just how dirty a lot of this stuff is,' LaFrate said. 'Like ourselves, this plant is living with bacteria that are essential to its survival. In terms of microbial contamination, it's kind of hard to say what's harmful and what's not. 'So the questions become: What's a safe threshold, and which contaminants do we need to be concerned about?' One in five Americans face preventable blindness and don't know it, experts warn. Glaucoma, the second leading cause of blindness according to the World Health Organization, is one of the perilous disease that will affect around 61 millions Americans in their lifetime. That figure is set to double in the next 30 years, costing the US $100 billion in direct and indirect health costs. However, the tell-tale symptoms are not as simple as losing the ability to read a registration plate - and can come on months before you lose your sight. Though there is no cure, early detection can catch it in time to administer eye drops or laser eye surgery that delay vision loss. And yet, figures show fewer than a 10th of Americans get their eyes checked. Around 61 million Americans are at risk of developing disease like glaucoma - a leading cause of blindness that carries barely no symptoms until it is too late to take preventative action WHAT IS GLAUCOMA? AND HOW TO SPOT IT Glaucoma strips sufferers of eyesight by damaging the optic nerve. There is no known cause. There are two main types of glaucoma: OPEN-ANGLE GLAUCOMA The drain structure in your eye (the trabecular meshwork) looks normal. But fluid doesn't drain as it should. Symptoms: There are no real symptoms until very late. Occasionally patients will lose some peripheral vision. However, that comes shortly before total vision loss. ACUTE ANGLE-CLOSURE GLAUCOMA The angle is closed in most areas of the eye, causing increased pressure. This leads to optic nerve damage and vision loss. The pressure can come on suddenly or gradually. Symptoms: Hazy or blurred vision The appearance of rainbow-colored circles around bright lights Severe eye and head pain Nausea or vomiting (accompanying severe eye pain) Sudden sight loss Advertisement The bombshell data, which emerged in a CDC-sponsored report late last year, sent shockwaves through the medical industry. 'I was amazed by the report,' admits board certified ophthalmologist Elizabeth Yeu. 'Sixty-one millions Americans - that is a lot.' She explained: 'We just don't realize how delicate eyesight is. 'You don't have a sign like redness or pain. Eye disease can be asymptomatic. 'The only way to be sure is to get an eye exam.' There is no known cause for glaucoma; rising rates are not driven by increased screen use, which causes chronic dry eye. Symptoms may not appear until months before patients suffer crippling vision loss. In many cases, it starts with blurring of peripheral vision. Glaucoma is a condition which can peripheral sight, usually due to build up of pressure damaging the optic nerve, the vital link between the eye and brain. It often affects both eyes, usually to varying degrees. One eye may develop glaucoma quicker than the other. The eyeball contains a fluid called aqueous humor which is constantly produced by the eye, with any excess drained though tubes. The condition develops when the fluid cannot drain properly and pressure builds up, known as the intraocular pressure. Eye drops can't repair the damage but they can stop it from getting worse. This can damage the optic nerve (which connects the eye to the brain) and the nerve fibers from the retina (the light-sensitive nerve tissue that lines the back of the eye). Glaucoma can be treated with eye drops, laser treatment or surgery. But early diagnosis is important because any damage to the eyes cannot be reversed. Treatment aims to control the condition and minimize future damage. If left untreated, glaucoma can cause visual impairment. But if it's diagnosed and treated early enough, further damage to vision can be prevented. For years, experts have been warning health officials that glaucoma is an imminent threat to public health. But even leading ophthalmologists were stunned by last year's report, by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM), presenting unprecedented data. It was the first paper to table the figure that 61 million Americans are at risk of eye diseases that can cause blindness. The authors wrote: 'Avoidable vision impairment occurs too frequently in the United States and is the logical result of a series of outdated assumptions, missed opportunities, and manifold shortfalls in public health policy and health care delivery.' In response, Allergan - a pharmaceutical giant with 70 years' experience in eye care - has launched a multimillion-dollar campaign to crush preventable blindness by 2030. See America - involving charities, yet-to-be-revealed celebrity endorsers, and some of America's leading vision experts - is slated to offer free eye screenings and vision education nationwide. Notably, the company will profit considerably from more prevalent eye care. Dr Yeu insists the campaign is a necessary stepping stone to target a disease that has robbed so many of her patients of their vision. 'Be proactive. Get that annual comprehensive eye exam because the earlier the treatment, the better the chances are that youre going to be able to save your sight.' Delhi's Red Fort was cordoned off and the army drafted in after archaeologists discovered a huge cache of live rounds and explosives inside an old well at the popular tourist destination. Workers from the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) made the 'remarkable chance discovery' on Saturday night. The government agency responsible for archaeological research had been carrying out a cleaning drive at Delhi's largest monument, which was the main residence of the emperors of the Mughal dynasty for nearly 200 years, until 1857. The Red Fort Complex was built as the palace fort of Shahjahanabad the new capital of the fifth Mughal Emperor of India, Shah Jahan. It is named after its imposing walls of red sandstone As live mortars were also found, special forces from the National Security Guard (NSG) and Army were called in, and the whole area was immediately cordoned off. The dog and bomb squads of Delhi Police also rushed to the spot and searched the entire premises. An official from the NSH said that five mortars and 44 live rounds were recovered from a box inside the well pit, located behind the publication building, at around 5pm. Another 87 fired rounds were also found. The Red Fort Complex is considered to represent the zenith of Mughal creativity. Each pavilion reveals architectural elements typical of Mughal building, reflecting a fusion of Persian, Timurid and Hindu traditions The ammunition and explosives were diffused in a six-hour operation, and taken away for scientific analysis. Forensic analysis of the explosives is ongoing to ascertain their nature and the period they belong to, but sources said they could have been manufactured in the pre-Independence or Mugal era. TR Sharma, regional director of the ASI's north zone said it was a 'remarkable find'. He added: 'The Red Fort complex has several old wells, which were restored in the British era. 'Recently, ASI dug up trial trenches for excavation and found evidence of the Mughal-era Mehtab Bagh.' Five mortars and 44 live rounds were recovered from a box inside a well pit at the Red Fort Complex (pictured), and diffused in a six-hour operation. They have been taken away for scientific analysis. The Red Fort, is located in central Delhi and houses several museums. As well as accommodating the emperors and their households, it was the ceremonial and political centre of the Mughal state. Jatin Narwal, DCP (North), said: 'We have searched the entire premises to make sure no more explosives left behind. The situation is under control. 'We have safely recovered the explosives that were placed in a box with layers of clay on it. Prima facie, the explosives look quite old. However, we have sent them to the lab to ascertain their date of manufacturing and nature. When the live mortars were found, special forces from the National Security Guard (NSG) and Army were called in, and the whole area was immediately cordoned off. The dog and bomb squads of Delhi Police also rushed to the spot and searched the entire premises An official from the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), which is responsible for providing security inside the Red Fort, said the stockpile looked more than 200 years old. Daljeet Singh, ASI superintendent of north Delhi, said: 'During a cleaning drive of the walls, we discovered explosive shells placed in a box inside the pit. ASI officials present at the spot immediately informed Delhi police. 'We informed the army and NSG after the incident. A team of NSG personnel inspected the site and diffused the explosives in a six-hour operation. 'Later, they took away all the materials with them for a scientific analysis.' Though the matter of triple talaq is sub judice, senior BJP leader and law minister Ravi Shankar Prasad promised that the Centre may take a major step to ban it after the UP elections. But the Congress on Monday said the saffron party was only making political capital out of the issue at the time of polls, as it could do pretty little. While the BJP has always held that the practice of triple talaq needed to be done away with as it was anti-women and against the spirit of equality, the statement from Prasad comes at a time when the Centre has already filed an affidavit in the Supreme Court, opposing triple talaq and polygamy, and is awaiting the apex court's verdict. Prasad promised that the Centre may take a major step to ban triple talaq after the UP polls Prasad had also said the Centre would raise the issue in the Supreme Court on three points - justice, equality and dignity of women. Congress said the Union minister had raised the matter only for political motives. Ravi Shankar Prasad said BJP is the only party which respects women The BJP wanted to corner brownie points in the upcoming UP Assembly elections, it said. Even as Prasad tried to push the opposition parties on the backfoot, asking the Congress, SP and BSP to clarify their respective positions on the matter, Maharashtra Congress secretary Shehzad Poonawalla lashed out at the prime minister over his marital life. Poonawalla tried to embarrass Prasad instead, as he went on to ask: 'My simple question to Ravi Shankar Prasad is that what about the cases of women being abandoned without divorce which is very high. 'Why doesn't he ask the RSS about it and about asking the question to the right person,' he said, clearly referring to the PM, though avoiding naming him. Muslim men and women gather in Kolkata last year to protest at changes to Muslim law 'India's strength lies in its diversity, which is under attack from the BJP-led NDA government at the Centre. During elections, BJP leaders come out with statements that can aggravate communal polarisation,' said Congress leader A K Antony. Earlier, Prasad has said the issue was not related to religion, but involved respect and dignity of women. He had said the government respected faith, but worship and social evil could not coexist. He said the tradition of triple talaq denied respect for women and the central government was committed to end the evil social practice. WHAT IS TRIPLE TALAQ? Using an ancient and controversial Islamic practice, Muslim husbands can say 'talaq, talaq, talaq' or 'I divorce you' three times in Arabic, to instantly end a marriage. Advertisement The government might take a major step to ban it after the UP Assembly polls, he had added. It had made its stand clear in a batch of petitions filed by aggrieved Muslim women led by Shayra Bano, who have challenged the practice as 'illegal, discriminatory and unconstitutional'. The then chief justice of India T S Thakur had said since Constitutional issues involved a larger bench they will be constituted to hear the matter. So there was no way the Centre will take a decision regarding triple talaq when the matter is sub judice. The government's affidavit said there is no reason that women in India should be denied their Constitutional rights when 'Muslim countries where Islam is the state religion have undergone extensive reform' in this sphere. 'The fact that Muslim countries where Islam is the state religion have undergone extensive reform goes to establish that the practices in question cannot be regarded as integral to the practice of Islam or essential religious practices. 'Secularism being a hallmark of Indian democracy, no part of its citizenry ought to be denied access to fundamental rights, much less can any section of a secular society be worse off than its counterparts in theocratic countries, many of which have undergone reform,' said the government's affidavit. The Centre argued that triple talaq is 'misplaced' in a secular country like India. The Centre told the SC in its affidavit that validity of triple talaq and polygamy should be seen in light of gender justice. It said triple talaq goes against the principle of gender equality, calling it 'unfair, unreasonable and discriminatory'. The Tamil Nadu government's protocol division went into fast forward mode on Monday to enable VK Sasikala to be sworn in as the state's third woman chief minister on Tuesday evening. Sasikala and her team is hoping that the Supreme Court would not respond to a petition moved by Satta Panchayat, an NGO, on Monday that sought a stay on her becoming Chief Minister until the Supreme Court pronounced its verdict in the wealth case involving her predecessor, Jayalalithaa. The court had earlier in the day informed Karnataka's counsel Dushyant Dave that it will deliver the verdict in the corruption case in one week. AIADMK General Secretary V K Sasikala flashes a victory sign after attending the party MLA's meeting in which she was elected as a AIADMK Legislative party leader, set to become Tamil Nadu CM, at Party's Headquarters in Chennai The preparations for the swearing in were preceded by a press conference by three doctors who had treated Jayalalithaa during her 75 day admission there from Sept 22 to Dec 5 before she died of cardiac arrest. Apollo Hospitals and the state government that had been fighting shy of coming out in public with any details about the nature of illness and the treatment given to Jayalalithaa, chose the day after Sasikala is elected Chief Minister to break its two month silence. Led by Dr Richard Beale, the intensive care and sepsis specialist from London, the team ruled out any conspiracy in her death. Former Tamil Nadu state Chief Minister Jayaram Jayalalithaa died in December, and on Monday the doctors involved in her care said everything possible was done to save her 'There was nothing unusual about Jayalalithaa's death. It happens to many sepsis patients in spite of the best treatment. The treatment was perfectly straight forward,' Dr Beale asserted. He explained that Jayalalithaa was diagnosed with sepsis, which had spread to her blood and had also infected her heart. He said that Jayalalithaa was conscious intermittently and was able to communicate through signs and lip reading. Regarding claims that no doctor was present when Jayalalithaa suffered the cardiac arrest on Dec 4, Dr Babu Abraham of Apollo pointed out that Dr Ramesh was very much present and he had put her back on ventilator after she had complained of breathing difficulties. Sasikala and her team is hoping that the Supreme Court will not respond to a petition moved by Satta Panchayat, an NGO, seeking to delay her official appointment 'When he discovered her heart rate was down, he immediately gave CPR and when she did not respond he asked the ECMO team to rush. It was a witnessed cardiac arrest and only more than 24 hours after being on ECMO and her heart had stopped responding, we took the decision to pronounce her death,' Dr Abraham explained. On his part, Dr P Balaji of the Rajiv Gandhi Government Hospital also disclosed that Jayalalithaa was very much conscious when she put the imprint of her thumb impression on the Election Commission form (for three byelection candidates). Dr Sudha Seshaiyan, professor of Anatomy at the Madras Medical College disclosed that Jayalalithaa's body was embalmed on the midnight of Dec 5-6. British Doctor Richard Beale on Monday ruled out any 'conspiracy' in Jaya's death Dr Beale also denied that any body part of Jayalalithaa was amputated or transplanted. More importantly, the London specialist insisted that he was not holding the press meet under any political pressure, though he admitted that it was arranged by the state government. 'I was available now and agreed to meet the media,' he stated. However the timing of the press conference, sandwiched between Sasikala's election as legislature party leader and her swearing in, only sparked speculation that it was aimed at damage control. 'The public is angry that Sasikala did not take care of Jayalalithaa's health and now that she is not around, she is in a tearing hurry to take control of the party and the government. All this has only double the anger amongst the people of the state especially AIADMK cadres,' said a former MLA. Against a backdrop of complaints by soldiers of being misused as sahayaks, an Army formation has asked officers to ensure that the dignity of jawans is maintained. The instructions have been issued to personnel after a number of soldiers came out on social media complaining against the practice of deploying soldiers as buddies. It had been claimed that jawans had been used for for chores such as looking after pets and children of officers and washing private cars. The order comes after a number of high profile claims that soldiers are being used for chores such as washing cars when appointed as 'buddies' 'Please refer to social media outburst by serving soldier and media statement issued by the Chief of Army Staff thereto. All formations and unit are requested to ensure that dignity of serving soldier be maintained and employment of buddies should be restricted to entitled duties only,' an instruction letter from a formation in Eastern Command said. The letter issued by the formation and accessed by Mail Today says that units and officers have been asked to follow the instructions and lower formations to sensitise officers and JCOs about the issue. The instructions make it clear that 'buddies would not be detailed for looking after pets and they would also not be used for looking after toddlers or children of superiors.' Lance Naik Yagya Pratap Singh had earlier claimed that 'buddies' were being used for chores like cleaning In view of a video circulating on social media of four men allegedly washing the car of an officer, the officers and JCOs were instructed that buddies 'should not be detailed for washing their vehicles'. In addition to the instructions, 'it will be ensured that buddies are not detailed for any other menial jobs and are treated with utmost dignity.' The army will also issue detailed guidelines on the subject in a few days and has instructed formations to put up details to the commanders and commanding units for issuing necessary orders. The formations have also been asked to convey action taken by them to implement the orders regarding the misuse of sahayaks and prepare detailed reports in this regard. A senior army officer in Delhi said there would be very few cases of misuse of sahayaks in the Army as most of the officers treat the soldiers with dignity and utmost respect. Along with an army jawan, troopers from BSF and CRPF have also posted online videos on social media apps depicting their poor quality of life and alleged they were being misused for personal work. The buddy system is a colonial system where combat soldiers are used as orderlies to polish boots and maintain the uniform of the officers and junior commissioned officers. Social media went berserk last month after one Lance Naik Yagya Pratap Singh, posted in 42 Infantry Brigade in Dehradun, alleged that he was tortured by his superiors for writing to the Prime Minister, defence minister, President and Supreme Court on mistreatment of jawans. Singh said that on receiving an instruction to investigate the issue, his superiors began harassing him and also initiated an inquiry that could result in his sacking. The United States has moved a resolution in the United Nations to impose sanctions on Maulana Masood Azhar, the founder of Pakistan-based jihadi group Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM). Tuesday's move was co-sponsored by the United Kingdom and France but China - as it has done in the past - put a technical hold on the resolution at the 1267 ISIS/Al Qaeda sanctions committee. The bid demonstrates the new US administration's intent to continue with a state policy of acting tough on terrorist networks across the globe, as well as close cooperation and coordination with New Delhi in combating terror. India had previously tried to get Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Maulana Masood Azhar designated as a global terrorist by the UN New US president Donald Trump's administration moved a new resolution for sanctions on Tuesday, co-sponsored by the UK and France 'This is not just about India but US, UK and France coming together seeking sanctions against a known terrorist,' top officials in the Indian government, who did not wish to be named, told Mail Today. 'It is strange that the group Azhar leads, JeM is proscribed by the UN but its leaders roam around freely and exporting terror. 'We are seeking sanctions against Azhar, his brothers [Abdul] Rauf Azhar [Asghar] and Mohammed Ibrahim Athar Alvi so that they do not have the freedom to spread terror, raise funds and mastermind attacks,' officials said. Masood Azhar is wanted in India for a series of terror attacks including the 2001 attack on Parliament and the 2016 attack on the Indian Air Force base at Pathankot in Punjab. PM Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping - the countries have previously clashed over the issue Officials said the focus will now be on how the Trump Administration and Ambassador Nikki Haley deals with China blocking the US-sponsored resolution at the UN, and India is monitoring the situation closely. Both India and the US are concerned by the growing footprint of Pakistan-based terror groups in the US and in Europe. The arrest of Pakistan-born terrorists Tahawwur Hussain Rana (an ex-Pakistan Army officer holding a Canadian passport) and David Coleman Headley (Pakistani-origin terrorist holding a US passport) in Chicago immediately after the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks show the deep inroads the group Lashkar-e-Taiba had made in the US. 'The fact that FBI investigations revealed Headley had carried out video reconnaissance missions in Copenhagen, Denmark and was in touch with secret LeT sleeper cells in UK show the spread of Pakistan-based terror groups in Europe. Four gunmen stormed the Pathankot airbase in Punjab in January last year in a hijacked car which reportedly belonged to a police superintendent 'Subsequent investigations have indicated that LeT and JeM are not just India-centric terror groups but seek their presence across the globe,' top sources, who have been working on the campaign told Mail Today. Apart from NSA Ajit Doval and Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar, India's permanent representative at the UN Syed Akbaruddin has been engaged with both the outgoing Obama administration and the new Trump Administration. China blocking India's Resolution in the sanctions committee last year and putting a technical hold this year is a setback in the effort to tackle Pakistan-sponsored terror, but sources say China is being very myopic. India did not give up after China's veto of the Indian Resolution - diplomats, apart from extensively engaging with the US, UK and France on the issue, also spoke with Kazakhstan, Bolivia, Sweden and Ethiopia among other countries, sources added. Of the 15 countries at the UNSC, only China has blocked the efforts to impose sanctions on Masood Azhar. While China stands isolated globally on backing Pakistan on Masood Azhar, its investment of billions of dollars in the China-Pak economic corridor and Pakistani assurance to check Uighur freedom fighters is seen as the main reason. India will also deepen engagement with Russia on the issue of Pakistan sponsored terror. US President Donald Trump has repeatedly hit out at Pakistan-sponsored terror. In 2012 he wanted Pakistan to apologise for providing sanctuary to Osama bin Laden for six years. He questioned Obama for calling Pakistan an ally. The Supreme Court promised to explore the possibility of a banning order Offensive jokes about the Sardar community may be blocked on the internet after the Supreme Court promised to look into the problem. On Tuesday, the court assured Sikh bodies, including the Shiromani Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee and Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee, that it will explore the possibility of an order to block derogatory jokes portraying the community to be of 'low intellect, stupid and foolish'. Experts, however, say it is impracticable - and claim any move to ban the jokes would fail and instead act as a catalyst for a surge in viewing such sites. A bench headed by justice Dipak Misra, while hearing a PIL seeking a ban on Sardar jokes, asked lawyers representing Sikh bodies to discuss with solicitor general Ranjit Kumar any possibility of an order like the one issued to Google, Yahoo and Microsoft to delete all pre-natal sex determination advertisements. 'Please hold discussions with the solicitor general who was part of the case wherein we issued orders to search engines to delete all pre-natal sex determination advertisements. In another case, we issued direction to the Centre to remove all child pornography from the internet,' Justice Misra told advocate RS Suri, adding the bench will pass detailed orders on March 27. But experts warned that it was impossible to ban all Sadar jokes on the internet Cyber experts, however, claim it is practically impossible to completely remove the content once it becomes available on the internet. 'If there is demand, it will keep resurfacing in the virtual world. Despite pornography being banned, it is easily accessible. Similarly, all banned videos and new movie releases are available on the web easily. It would be impossible to implement any such ban on the virtual world,' cyber expert Kislay Choudhary told Mail Today. He added that nowhere in the world can a 100 per cent ban be executed. 'If someone is serious about banning content on the internet and social media, then a massive content monitoring and surveillance programme needs to be launched. 'But the contents will be uploaded again and again on new platforms as soon as they are deleted. India is facing an acute problem of cyber terrorism and internet crime, but security agencies cannot even carry out keyword-based monitoring,' he explained. Other experts claim that at a time when WhatsApp content monitoring is a challenge, it would be impractical to call for complete ban on controversial or community-specific jokes on the internet. A classic example is Anurag Kashyap's movies Paanch and Black Friday that faced bans before release, but were freely available on the internet. Despite a ban on the controversial BBC documentary India's Daughter based on the 2012 fatal gang-rape of a woman in the Capital, as well as a show by stand-up comedy group AIB, these videos were also reportedly available on YouTube. The court, however, said categorically that it cannot issue any guideline to impose a general ban on Sardar jokes. It said: 'Anyone can take recourse to section 67A of the IT Act (punishment for publishing or transmitting obscene material in electronic form) or sections 499 and 500 of IPC (defamation). How can we lay down guidelines? What kind of guidelines can we issue pertaining to a particular community?' SGPC had demanded that such jokes amounting to 'racial slur' and 'racial profiling' be included within the definition of 'ragging' in educational institutions. Supposing Boots the Chemist could bottle and patent the secret elixir that keeps its billionaire boss Stefano Pessina in the pink, then it would be mobbed with customers wanting some of what hes having. When I meet the 75-year-old Italian in a modest modern office tucked down an alley behind the Boots store on Londons Oxford Street, he has struck two major corporate deals in as many days and is thriving on it. So, does a deal a day keep the doctor away? He laughs. Pessina says he doesnt use any of his companys anti-ageing creams, such as Protect & Perfect serum for men. Maybe I need it. He doesnt. Hes wrinkle-free. Millionaire Stefano Pessina and his wife Ornella Barra One reason for his unfurrowed brow, he claims, is that he never feels stressed. Thats despite being at the helm of Walgreens Boots Alliance, the multi-billion-pound global pharmacy empire he built with his long-term partner, Ornella Barra, at his side. I am always calm, he says. I dont know what stress is. He met Barra, 63, now a senior executive at the company herself, back in the 1980s. Love blossomed over the spreadsheets when he took over her regional distribution company. They live in Monaco. Pessina controls more than 13,000 stores in the UK, the US and around the world. He took over Boots in 2006 and then pulled off a 16bn merger with Walgreens in 2014. Hes now chief executive and the single biggest shareholder, with a 13.3 per cent stake. Stefano Pessina, 75 Significant other: Ornella Barra (both pictured above) Lives: Monaco, in hotel rooms, or on planes. Education: Politecnico di Milano, degree in nuclear engineering. Italian aides still call him Ingegnere. Day in the life: I dont have breakfast, only coffee, and I only have lunch if I have a meeting or guests. After work, I like to have a real dinner, an hour, an hour and a half, talking, watching the news, drinking a bit of wine, not a whole bottle, though. Inspiration: Many people have been an inspiration to me at school and at university, more than later on. There have been people I admired in my working life, but I am not sure I have learned a lot [from them]. I have learned from myself, from my mistakes. I have made a lot of mistakes, particularly at the beginning, but that is fine. Advice: Persevere, be persistent. And be straightforward. It is easier to be yourself. Some people might not like it, but it is easier. It is a simpler life. In the past few days he and Barra have signed a global partnership with billionaire Sir Martin Sorrell, founder of advertising agency WPP, to handle all their communications and marketing. Just 24 hours earlier Pessina cut the price on a 11.3bn deal to merge with rival chain Rite Aid Pharmacy in the US, which could bring him up to 2,000 more stores over there. Closer to home, he believes Boots can help take the strain off the creaking National Health Service. A mole-screening trial will launch in March in 50 stores in partnerships with Screen Cancer UK. It costs 42 for up to two moles. They will take a picture, send it off for analysis and then in a day or two tell the patient whether further checks are needed. The company is also trying out tests in a handful of stores that would normally be carried out by GPs on sore throats to find out whether an infection is viral or bacterial. If its the latter, the pharmacist will contact the customers GP and get a prescription for antibiotics. The test costs 7.50 and another 10 if antibiotics are needed. Pharmacies could do much more than what they do today, he says. Think of how much they could do as, lets say, a port of first call. Although Boots needs to cover its costs, Pessina doesnt want to squeeze the maximum profits out of this sort of service, which he sees as good for the community. The NHS is a big cost and the system is really inefficient, so things will have to change. We are very willing to co-operate, to work with them, we are open to do whatever we can to make the life of patients easier, if possible. Loyalty: The advantage card is 20- years old and customers will continue to enjoy its benefits for many more years Pessinas business is, of course, much more than Boots. If the Rite Aid deal goes through it will end up with about 11,000 pharmacies in the US, where it is already the biggest chain. He is trying to bring a bit of the Boots ta dah factor to America, where the beauty counters are mostly bargain basement, self-service affairs. Boots products are now in 1,800 stores in the States, where the company has trained 2,000 beauty advisers in the past 18 months. Our most popular products in the US from Boots are No 7 and the Soap & Glory Skin Care range. They are quite well known now, he says with pride. There is scope for more deals in the US. It will take time, we have to digest this deal, but there are more things we can do in the US. China is the next big market in his sights. We are very active in China but it is very slow, he says. So as just one cog in this vast global operation, will Boots keep its identity, and just as important, its three-for-two offers and the Advantage card? We will always keep the Boots name, he says, adding that research and development will continue to be done in its labs in Beeston, Nottingham, where ibuprofen headache pills were invented and cosmetics such as No 7 and Seventeen were developed. As for the Advantage Card, he says it is celebrating its 20th birthday this year and that customers will continue to enjoy its benefits for many more years. Global: Boots products are now in 1,800 stores in the States, where the company has trained 2,000 beauty advisers in the past 18 months Pessina originally wanted to be an academic or a nuclear engineer, not a businessman. At the age of 30, however, his life changed when his father Oreste asked Stefano to help turn around his struggling pharmaceutical wholesale firm in Naples. After making a success of it, Orestes friends began asking for his help with their companies. Stefano was happy to oblige in return for a stake. In 1984, he met Barra and their long business and personal partnership seems to be founded on their mutual workaholism. Insiders say she is a powerful businesswoman who would have made it to the top in her own right, and Pessina is manifestly very proud of her. She is always there, every year, on these rankings, he beams, referring to the lists of the worlds top female executives. Are they the most powerful business couple in the world? I dont know, I dont care about these statistics, he harrumphs, though the answer is almost certainly yes. I have heard that the pair of them are always working, even when they are supposed to be on holiday, which he doesnt deny. There are always issues around the world and you have to step in, he says. He loves art, and has an enviable collection of Old Masters. He used to love sailing in his yacht, but says he is now becoming lazier and lazier so is taking to the water less frequently. I hardly dare mention the R word. He laughs: What does it mean, retirement? If I woke up without knowing that I have to call someone, do something, well, I would be so bored I would die of it. I could step down and do something else, but I am sure I will work until my last day. Strong bond Premium bond jackpot winners will continue to get financial advice from Matrix Capital after National Savings & Investments extended its contact. Matrix helps winners of the 1m prize use their money sensibly. It was awarded a three-year contract which started in 2014, and has been given a 12 month extension until March 31 next year. NS&I has extended the contract with IFA Matrix until April 2018 Brexit boost M&G Investments is ploughing 85m into property in a fresh vote of confidence for the UKs post-Brexit fortunes. The firm has agreed a 35-year deal to build 1,450 homes in London with developer One Housing. It suggests money managers are increasingly hopeful the country will avoid a downturn. Beer break The Government is being urged to continue cutting the duty on beer to encourage investment in the industry and protect jobs. The Campaign for Real Ale called on Chancellor Philip Hammond to consider reducing beer duty by 1p in next months Budget. Camra said the UK still had one of the highest rates of beer duty in Europe at 52.2p on a pint. CAMRA has asked for beer duty to be reduced by 1p in next months Budget. Bank woe Shares in struggling Italian bank UniCredit crashed more than 5 per cent yesterday as it launched an 11.2bn fund-raising drive. Trading was suspended at one point as the bank sought fresh investment in a turnaround plan which also involves axing 14,000 jobs and shutting 944 branches. Festive magic Hasbro bucked the glum US Christmas trend and reported better than expected sales. The US company, which makes dolls for Disney, including Cinderella and Snow White, said revenue rose 11.2 per cent to 4bn in 2016, while sales leapt 13 per cent in the last quarter to 1.3bn. Better than expected: Hasbro's revenue climbed 11.2%to 4bn Tata tantrums Tata Sons has removed ousted chairman Cyrus Mistry from its board. Mistry was dismissed as chairman of Tata Group on October 24. Mistrys family controls 18 per cent of Tata Sons. Loans offloaded The Government is selling 4bn of student loans issued between 2002 and 2006 to private firms. Its sale is being managed by Barclays, Lloyds, Credit Suisse and JP Morgan. Data deal Lloyds is said to be on the brink of outsourcing responsibility for its data centres to IBM. It could see hundreds of staff transferred to IBM. Lloyds Trade Union has warned it could pensions. Eyeing Africa Casual Dining Group, which owns Cafe Rouge and Bella Italia, has teamed up with Pretorias Gold Brands Investments to open at least 20 restaurants over the next five years in South Africa. Canada plan Commercial insurer Beazley has bought Canadian firm Creechurch Underwriters in a bid to expand in the country. The Toronto-based firm generated 22m of premiums last year. Tiffany has ousted its boss after disappointing sales at the luxury jeweller failed to make Christmas sparkle. Frederic Cumenal, who was tasked with turning around the struggling brand when he took on the top post in 2015, is leaving his role as chief executive. The Frenchman will be replaced by chairman Michael Kowalski until a successor is found. Sparkling: Hollywood actress Naomie Harris wears Tiffany earrings Waning sales at Tiffany have been hit by challenges in its established markets, including the US, and emerging markets such as China. A strong dollar and a crack-down on corruption in China affecting gifting have dragged on sales. Donald Trumps presidential campaign has served the latest blow after protesters and tourists gathered outside his Trump Tower in New York. The Fifth Avenue building is close to Tiffanys store, and increased security has affected traffic and left a dent in sales. The departure of Cumenal, 57, comes just three weeks after Tiffanys top designer left. If follows falling sales which have inspired the jeweller to up its spending on marketing. A high-profile advertising campaign starring US pop star Lady Gaga was launched ahead of the Super Bowl on Sunday. Waning sales at Tiffany have been hit by challenges in its established markets, including the US, and emerging markets such as China. Kowalski, 64, the companys former chief executive, said: The board is committed to our current core business strategies, but has been disappointed by recent financial results. Cumenal joined Tiffany six years ago from luxury design house LVMH. He was paid 7.5m in salary, bonus, benefits and stock options in 2015. Tiffany would not yet reveal details of any exit pay, but said it would honour its contractual obligations. Rolls-Royce secured government backing for corrupt deals around the world, it has emerged. Last month the British engineering giant agreed to pay 671m to authorities in the UK, US and Brazil over claims it bribed officials to win contracts. Three of the corrupt contracts with Russias Gazprom, Thai Airways and Brazilian oil firm Petrobras were obtained with backing from UK Export Finance (UKEF), the Government agency that underwrites export deals. Rolls-Royce is one of the biggest customers of UKEF Rolls told UKEF those deals were not corrupt when applying for the backing, it is understood. UKEF has launched a review into the deals and its historic financial backing of Rolls, which has apologised for behaviour under previous management. Three UK has reached an agreement to buy UK Broadband Limited for 250m. The mobile firm, which regulators last year blocked from buying rival O2 for 10.2bn, will snap up the business, which operates as Relish and provides broadband for 15,000 customers in the UK. There is already a link between the firms. Three UK is part of Li Ka-shings CK Hutchison empire, while UK Broadband is part of his son Richard Lis PCCW telecoms business. Three UK has reached an agreement to acquire UK Broadband Limited The company has been around since 2004. In 2014 it launched a fast broadband service in London. A number of conditions have to be fulfilled before the takeover by Three can be completed. Boss Dave Dyson said the deal boosts their ambition to provide great value internet connectivity for consumers. For most people, feeling the pinch means cutting back on meals out, skipping your morning cappuccino and taking a packed lunch to the office. But there easier ways to give your bank balance a boost with just a few clicks of a mouse or a swipes of a card - without becoming a social hermit. We have rounded up This is Money's five top tips to help you earn money back on your spending or everyday bills to earn you a little extra. Weekly shop: Make the most of your grocery shopping and make 113 1) Make money from the weekly shop There are several ways you can make the most of your spending to earn extra cash, using supermarket rewards, cashback apps and even supermarket credit cards. First try downloading a cashback app, there are a handful of options out there which pay when you buy particular products at supermarkets, and all you have to do is snap a picture of your receipt using your smartphone. How much you make will depend on whether you buy anything on offer at the time, but the ClickSnap app, for example, claims the average user could earn 74.57 over a year. When This is Money looked, for example, you could get 1.25 back for buying a pack of eight Richmond sausages or 50p back on 1kg of plain flour from Homepride. The average family can easily spend 80 a week on their grocery shopping thats much as 3,840 a year. You should also make sure youre clocking up rewards points at your local supermarket These quickly add up, a 320 monthly spend in Tesco for example would earn you 38 in Clubcard points over the course of a year. Also consider switching your bank or credit card. Most supermarkets have their own banking services now, with bank accounts and cards which will pay you extra points for both spending in the supermarket and everywhere else. Average earnings: 112.57 HOW DO CASHBACK SITES WORK? Signing up is free and only requires an email address. All you need to do is search and compare products to buy online as normal. But instead of buying through the merchant automatically you need to visit your cashback site first and search the site to see if they have any cashback deals in place with the merchant. If you're in luck, you'll find a deal. This is usually a percentage, in cashback, on whatever you spend. When you click through cashback website to the merchant's page it then records and tracks your purchase. It will then pay a portion of the commission or advertising fee it earns by referring you on to the company to you. The money will take a few weeks typically to be processed and deposited into your online cashback account. You can then transfer the cash to a bank account or swap it for vouchers. 2) Use a cashback site to fix your bills and earn a bundle Most energy companies offer the best deals to new customers. This means switching regularly is the best way to ensure you are getting the top deal. Once you have found the cheapest tariff using a price comparison tool, check whether you can get money back from your switch using a specialist cashback website. When This is Money checked Quidco you could earn as much as 75 back by switching to an npower gas and electricity tariff, 46.40 for an M&S Energy tariff or 50 for taking out an EDF dual-fuel contract. You can use the same tactic with your broadband, tv and phone deal. Providers reel you in with attractive deals for the first year or 18 months, but you will likely always be better off negotiating a better deal or switching provider after that. You could earn as much a 155 by switching to a BT Broadband deal or Sky Digital TV and Broadband contract, EE Home broadband switches earn up to 137.50 and those moving to Virgin Media could earn up to 250. Remember, the contract should be your number one priority, make sure you find the best deal for you first before considering any cashback promotions. Average earnings: 237.96 Sunnier climes: Booking online to get a cheaper deal and earn cashback 3) Book early to get a summer-holiday boost While not exactly making money from essential spending, if you are planning a trip, you may as well try to get something back. Bagging the best deal on your summer holiday typically means booking in advance. Add the grey weather into the mix and it is unsurprising that most of us rush to book our summer getaways early in the year. Most of us will use a comparison site automatically to make sure we pay the cheapest price for hotel stays, car hire and flights but adding in a couple of extra steps can you help get a little bit back on top of any online discounts. When This is Money looked, clicking through Quidco to book your hotel stay through lastminute.com or ebookers will earn as much as 10 per cent - 50 boost on a 500 spend. You can also earn up to 13 per cent back with Hotel.com, STA Travel and Expedia, 6.45 per cent with Travelzoo and 41 with British Airways. It's worth remembering that you can use the same method to earn a few extra pounds when buying your currency (up to 8) or booking a hire car (up to 10 per cent). Don't Forget: You can boost your earnings even further by making the most of frequent flyer schemes such Avios and Virgin Flying Club. Average earnings: 50 on a 500 spend 4) Switch to a cashback credit card If you are looking to spring clean your finances in the coming months you could consider a specialist credit card that will pay you cashback or rewards on all your spending. Remember these cards are only worth it if you clear your balance each month, otherwise your earnings are quickly wiped out by interest. Another bonus, cashback websites typically offer extra cash incentives to sign up to these cards. When This is Money checked Quidco, we found offers of up to 29 back for taking out a Tesco Bank credit card, up to 45 back when you take out a British Airways American Express credit card and 10 for an Asda cashback credit card or 20 for an American Express Platinum Cashback credit card. The American Express deal pays 5 per cent back (up to 125) in the first three months and up to 1.25 per cent thereafter if you spend more than 10,000 on the card a year. The card comes with a 25 annual fee and 28.2 per cent APR interest but a 1,000 monthly spend could earn 237.50 in the first year, or 212.50 after the annual fee. The bonus 20 Quidco cashback makes a grand total of 232.50. Average earnings: 232.50 Points at the pump: Clock up rewards when you pay for your petrol 5) Cut your motoring costs Prices at pumps have been steadily rising over the past couple of years, thanks to the falling pound and rising oil prices. But there are a few clever tricks drivers can use to cut their costs. First make sure you are not over-paying at the pump, there are apps you can download which use your location to show the cheapest prices at petrol stations nearby. Next make the most of your spending on fuel with any rewards schemes. You can collect Nectar points with Sainsbury's and BP, Clubcard points at Esso and Tesco and Drivers Club points at Shell. The the average 55-litre car costs 65 to fill up at current petrol prices. For a family driving 8,000 miles a year at an average 35mpg that means an average spend of 1,241.52 on fuel. Standard Nectar cards earn one point per litre of fuel you buy, meaning roughly an extra 1,100 points-a-year (worth 5.50). Nectar credit card holders earn an extra two points for every 1 spent on petrol clocking up an extra 12.41 in rewards. Next step is to tackle your car insurance premium. Chances are if you have accepted a renewal quote in the past you could pay less if you shop around. The most lucrative discounts are found online plus some companies will even pay you cash or offer to beat any like-for-like quotes you can find. Again a cashback website can come in handy at this point - once you have found the cheapest deal and the best promotions, make sure to check whether there are any money back offers available. When This is Money checked, Quidco was offering an extra 60 balance boost for switching your car insurance to Aviva, 70 for Admiral policies or 50 plus a 15 per cent online discount for John Lewis protection. Plus you can earn between 110 - 132 if you take out new breakdown cover with the RAC or AA. Average earnings: 198.91 It is almost three years since we first looked at venture capitalist TMT Investments and it is fair to say things are panning out as almost exactly as outlined in back in May 2014. Thats quite an extraordinary achievement set against the success rates on AIM and the fact the venture capitalist invests in early-stage firms (based in the US, Israel and Europe). Interesting for would-be investors is the fact that the shares now trade at a discount to net asset value, offering a potential entry point (this shouldnt be construed as investment advice, it is merely an observation). TMT Investments invests in early-stage firms based in the US, Israel and Europe Founded by Alexander Morgulchik, German Kaplun and Artyom Inyutin, the trio behind the success of Russian media conglomerate RBC, it floated on AIM in 2010. It has serial entrepreneur Igor Shoifot on board as a US-based investment partner who provides Silicon Valley introductions usually reserved for billion dollar funds. To date, TMT has made 44 investments; there have been nine profitable full and partial exits and 22 other portfolio companies had financing rounds at higher valuations. It invests in pre-series-A funding, meaning it tends to be one of the first into a company. Subsequent rounds tend to see a revaluation of the initial investment as well as bringing in the big guns of venture capital and private equity. So, TMT has been a pathfinder for the likes of Bain Capital, Google Ventures and T-Venture (part of Deutsche Telekom). Backing companies at the formative stage of commercial development isnt always a one-way ticket to Successville. There have been failures too - though not as many as one might first imagine. TMT at a Glance AIM ticker: TMT Valuation: 47million Share price: 1.85p Year high: 2.12p Low: 1.5p Executive director Alexander Selegenev reckons there have been two occasions where the value of an investment has been written down to zero, as well as six partial write-downs/impairments. If something is successful we are absolutely happy for it to keep growing, he says. If it keeps growing why would you sell it? If something doesnt work it normally happens quickly. In those cases weve invested maybe $300-400,000. Subscription-based e-commerce, marketplaces, big data and software as a service are the four areas in which TMT invests. The rise and sale of Dollar Shave Club reveals how scalable the subscription model can be (it was sold for $1billion to consumer products giant Unilever). It also explains why TMT invested in ScentBird (a perfume subscription business) and Le Tote, which has been dubbed the Netflix of fashion. This alternative distribution model appeals to the millennials. They hate owning stuff. They like the rental sharing economy and want to try everything, says Selegenev. Companies like Unilever arent spending huge amounts on developing these new channels. But they are buying up the success stories. This is just the start of the M&A activity in this space. TMT puts its success down to careful screening and the fact it never invests in pre-revenue businesses. It only looks at companies generating at least $50,000 a month. That shows the initial idea is commercial - whether it is scalable is an entirely different question. We have six companies with annualised revenues of over $15million already. Once they have $50,000 [of sales] a month that is a real business and the risk level falls, says Selegenev. The biggest challenge then becomes scaling that business - that is a huge challenge. The other big challenge is valuing TMT. At the end of June its net asset value (NAV) was 191 cents a share. Since then it has seen a revaluation of Pipedrive, the sales pipeline management tool, which is worth an additional 14.7 cents on the NAV. There could be some downward adjustments too, factoring in write-downs and operating costs. The companys broker Hybridan estimates TMTs NAV to be 196 cents, which given the number and scalability of the investments in the portfolio, and the likelihood of other up-rounds, seems very good value. Those revaluations tend to happen in two to three year cycles, according to Selegenev, and 2015 was a big year for the venture capitalist. Hopefully there should be some developments this year, he says. But we are exactly where we planned to be. Whats happening now is what we planned. The Government has finally unveiled its plans to fix the 'broken housing market' in a white paper spanning 104 pages. Among lengthy reiterations of existing housing policy schemes including Help to Buy were proposals to stop developers land banking, try to speed up planning approvals and support the delivery of more homes to rent. But some experts have already dubbed the plans a 'damp squib' with little hope of fixing anything. Secretary of State Sajid Javid presented the Housing White Paper in Westminster today Secretary of State Sajid Javid told the BBC Radio 4 Today programme before revealing the bill: 'People want a decent home to buy or a decent home to rent, it's a choice for them, we should be helping both types of tenancies.' But Shadow Secretary of State for Housing John Healey called the paper 'feeble' and added: 'We were promised a white paper; weve got a white flag.' He was not alone in his disappointment. Simon Gerrard, past president of the National Association of Estate Agents, summed up how most pundits in the industry felt about this long-awaited paper. 'Todays announcement shows that the Government is good at producing soundbites, but not realistic solutions. It demonstrates a lack of understanding of the market and what is required to fix it. 'The schemes outlined will be discussed and debated for longer than they are implemented, with nothing new being offered. We need to simplify the system and make it easier to build homes that people want, quickly, and I am disappointed this has not yet been achieved.' So what has the Government proposed in the paper? Cutting red tape on planning The Government wants to build the 'right homes in the right places'. To do that, they've told local authorities in England (where they have jurisdiction to control housing policy - Scotland, Wales, London and Northern Ireland have their own) to come up with a plan by April 2018. These plans will have to be based on meeting local demand for housing - including making sure that enough houses are built for older people and disabled people. Then local authorities will have to stick to the plan and meet their target number of homes every year - unless, they don't. In which case, the Government will get involved and ask them why they haven't. Jonathan Manns, head of regeneration and director of planning at Colliers International, said: 'Dig into the (*cough*) detail and, beyond the hollow and misguiding rhetoric, there are odd tweaks to the status quo. 'Councils, were told, should continue to review the targets in their local plans and ensure theyre up-to-date. Hardly ground-breaking but reassuringly familiar.' The Government is also proposing to cut the time local authorities have to approve planning applications from three years to two. The Government should instead focus on encouraging more land to come to market through a capital gains tax moratorium - Simon Gerrard, former estate agent president Will it help? Gerrard doesn't think so: 'The introduction of capping the time between obtaining planning permission and starting construction to two years is misguided. It is not the timescale that hinders building across the UK, but the planning system itself. 'All too often, permission is granted that is simply impossible to implement because local government departments do not communicate effectively with each other.' What would he do instead? 'The Government should instead focus on encouraging more land to come to market through a capital gains tax moratorium.' Government wants to move away from relying on traditional building methods Encouraging smaller builders Government analysis suggests that nearly 60 per cent of all new homes are built by just 10 big builders. They want to change this by encouraging smaller developers who they hope will use modern methods of construction to speed up how quickly homes are built. The Government also wants 'higher density' building in the form of high rise flats, mansion blocks and lots more homes in areas around transport links. To do this, they're offering local authorities a carrot: up to 20 per cent more money if they commit to spending it on planning departments. Brian Berry, chief executive of the Federation of Master Builders, said: 'This is one of the biggest game changers to come from todays 100-page Housing White Paper. If this can be shown to deliver real improvements in planning, then it would make a good case for further increases along the lines the white paper suggests.' There is some question around whether lenders are prepared to offer mortgages on homes built in new and non-traditional ways. The Government claims to be expecting lenders to get on with it though. From Nimby to Yimby Housing targets were abandoned under David Cameron After a serious backlash from Tory MPs emerged last month over rumoured proposals to build on the green belt, if the Housing White Paper had contained plans to this effect, they were ditched before publication. The Government instead affirmed its commitment not to build on green belt land, and promised to discourage builders from land banking as well as confirming it would release more publicly owned brownfield land for development. Part of its plans to stop firms land banking - where land is bought but not developed for years as house prices and land values rise - include the proposal that personal ownership details will be made publicly available on the Land Registry. This would allow those sitting on empty homes and undeveloped land to be named and shamed. Housing targets, abandoned under David Cameron, will also be reinstated from next year with local authorities responsible for setting these. Not everyone was impressed by this promise however. Russell Gardner, head of real estate at Ernst & Young, said: 'Despite raised hopes of truly radical reform, todays white paper represents a timid response to a universally recognised housing crisis. Housing targets may appear admirable but it is vital that the necessary reforms and mechanisms are put in place to allow those targets to become a reality.' What does the white paper mean for you? I want to downsize After all the front pages screaming about incentives for older home owners to downsize yesterday, the word downsize didn't appear once in the white paper. In fact no mention was made about the potential that cutting stamp duty or providing other incentives for last-time movers could have on freeing up family homes. The word downsize didn't appear once in the white paper despite rumours there would be incentives for those looking to move The Government acknowledged the 'many barriers to people moving out of family homes that they may have lived in for decades' and then said they were 'committed to exploring these issues further and finding sustainable solutions to any problems that come to light'. They're not sure how yet. Slightly more tangible support for older home owners instead came in the form of encouragement for builders to build homes appropriate for older people. The International Longevity Centre has published research suggesting that there could be a retirement housing gap of 160,000 retirement homes by 2030. If current trends continue, the gap could grow to 376,000 homes by 2050. Baroness Sally Greengross, chief executive of the ILC, said: 'Local authorities must have a duty to assess the needs of their older population when making housing plans, and ensure that these needs are met before plans are put in place.' But Trevor Clark, of financial planning firm Rutherford Wilkinson, called the paper 'a damp squib for the older generation'. He added: 'The white paper did say that custom built houses are to be encouraged and the Government noted its support for sheltered, step down and extra care housing, which offers older people more confidence to move into a new home where their needs will be met.' Stamp duty is a barrier to buyers: Yorkshire Building Society thinks stamp duty should be paid by sellers to help people climb the housing ladder I want to buy my first home There wasn't a lot new for first-time buyers in the white paper - the Government just reiterated what it's already doing for them in the shape of Help to Buy equity loans, Isas, shared ownership and Rent to Buy schemes. 'The Government will help people save for a deposit, buy with a smaller deposit, buy at 20 per cent below the market price, buy the home they are renting from a social landlord, buy a share of a home or save a deposit while paying a below market rent. We will also target more investment into homes for Affordable Rent,' said the white paper. It did give a little bit more detail on Starter Homes for the first time though. This scheme is designed to let first-time buyers with an income of less than 80,000 (90,000 for London) buy a new-build home with a 20 per cent discount on the price. The new details included confirmation that these homes will have to be bought with a mortgage to avoid cash buyers speculating for profit and there will also be a 15 year repayment period for a starter home - so when the property is sold on to a new owner within this period, some or all of the discount is repaid. Andrew McPhillips, chief economist at Yorkshire Building Society,said: 'Financial obstacles are a real difficulty faced by first-time buyers and those moving up the property ladder. We hope Government outlines further policy proposals in the forthcoming Budget, such as considering making stamp duty a sellers tax rather than a buyers tax, that have an immediate impact and long-term benefits.' Im a renter More than four million households rent their home from a private landlord, nearly twice as many as 10 years ago, according to the housing white paper. Some of these households have to put up with below standard accommodation, but things are improving the Government suggests. It claims 28 per cent of homes are non-decent, compared to 37 per cent in 2010. But the real issues for tenants, it argues, focus on affordability and security. The white paper highlighted how an average couple who are tenants 'send roughly half their salary' to their landlord each month, making it 'nigh on impossible' for them to save for a deposit to buy their own property. It said building more homes will help with affordability, but renters often face upfront costs including fees charged by letting agents. The Government has already announced in the Budget that it would ban letting agent fees to tenants, and the white paper has gone further saying it will look to bring forward that legislation. Former Chancellor George Osborne announced tough new tax treatment of landlords which don't look likely to be reversed Im a landlord Landlords have been on the Governments radar for several years and there appears to be no let-up in the white paper. Already having to contend with tax relief reductions and stamp duty rises, landlords may soon have to add extra layers of red tape to their list of woes. For the Government is considering mandatory electrical checks for rented properties and client money protection for letting agents. James Davis, chief executive of online lettings agency Upad, said: 'The Governments continued clamp down on landlords is only going to emphasise the issue that there is too much demand to meet supply, as people live longer in rented accommodation. Buy-to-let landlords should be enticed through tax incentives, rather than hiking stamp duty, to bring the rental market back into equilibrium - James Davis uPad 'Buy-to-let landlords should be enticed through tax incentives, rather than hiking stamp duty, to bring the rental market back into equilibrium.' Perhaps the most important aspect of the white paper for landlords, however, is the Governments desire to make tenancies more family-friendly by introducing longer-term tenancies. While some landlords may appreciate the security of knowing that they have guaranteed rental incomes for longer, it also introduces a potentially limiting layer of inflexibility for landlords. At this stage, the white paper suggested longer term tenancies could be applied only among homes delivered by housing associations and institutional investors. It said: 'The predominant use of six and 12 month contracts mean that families who are renting need to move home before they had planned to, which can mean children moving school, alongside the uncertainty and costs associated with taking on a new rental property. 'We are working [] to encourage longer-term tenancies in private rental homes delivered by housing associations and institutional investors. We will be speaking to the Local Government Housing Association about local authorities appetite to do the same, where they are delivering market private rented housing through local housing companies.' It added: 'Further to this we will consider what more we can do to support families already renting privately, while encouraging continued investment in the sector.' Patrick Littlemore, director of lettings at Marsh & Parsons, said: 'Extra protections and safeguards are welcome news for renters, especially those whove experienced dishonest landlords, but it is important to note this works both ways. Three-year family tenancy agreements are a good move to provide greater security and stability - Patrick Littlemore, Marsh & Parsons 'Legitimate landlords must also have protection against rogue tenants, retaining the right to lawfully evict and any restrictions on this could spell disaster. Three-year family tenancy agreements are a good move to provide greater security and stability for renters that want it, so long as the tenant abides by the Housing Act. 'The Government should make sure that measures announced do not dent enthusiasm in the private rental sector among landlords. The buy-to-let sector took a substantial hit with the increase of stamp duty in April last year and additional burdens could make this unattractive, reducing investment and the supply of stock in the much needed private rental sector. 'Greater stock levels are required to meet the ever-growing demand were witnessing and discouraging investment would have huge ramifications for the many young professionals that rely on renting. 'Renting gets a bad name but in reality, many appreciate the flexibility, freedom and choice that comes with it.' The Government will act to 'promote fairness and transparency' for the growing number of leasehold property owners in England Im a leaseholder The Government also announced in the white paper that it will act to promote fairness and transparency for the growing number of leaseholders, claiming there are currently around four million leasehold homes in England. It said: 'Leasehold has been a traditional part of the housing market in this country but there are areas where urgent reform may be needed, particularly when buying a house on a leasehold basis. New leasehold houses can be marketed at a reduced price compared to freehold. 'But some purchasers are not aware at the point of sale that the associated costs of buying a new leasehold house can make it more expensive in the long run. Some freeholds and ground rents of leasehold houses are sold on and traded, with leaseholders left in the dark, and facing increasing and onerous payments. This is not in consumers best interests.' It added: 'In particular, ground rents with short review periods and the potential to increase significantly throughout the lease period may not be offering a fair deal. We are absolutely determined to address this.' Paula Higgins, chief executive of HomeOwners Alliance, said: 'The focus on leasehold houses is not before time, but we also need to turn our attention to those who have bought them already. 'Those who were encouraged to purchase through the Help to Buy scheme and the latest wave of new homes, for example, find themselves caught in a leasehold trap - leaving them with the choice of shelling out thousands for their freehold, or living in homes which are unsaleable. 'The entire system is broken and in desperate need of reform if we are to create a stable housing system that truly works for everyone.' The entrepreneurs whose livelihoods were destroyed by fraud at HBOS should be compensated by the lenders current owners, MPs said. Small firms had assets stripped by banker Lynden Scourfield, 54, and his cronies, who spent the proceeds on luxury holidays, prostitutes and designer watches. Scourfield who ran HBOSs turnaround unit in Reading and his accomplices have been sentenced to almost 50 years in prison. MPs have written to the bosses of Lloyds Bank demanding compensation for businesses defrauded in a scam But the firms they ruined between 2003 and 2007 suffered losses of around 1bn and have got nothing back as the bank reportedly prepares to pay staff 390m in bonuses. Writing to HBOS owner Lloyds on behalf of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Fair Business Banking, George Kerevan accused it of ignoring complaints and refusing to make matters right. A Lloyds spokesman said: While we have fully reviewed customer concerns raised previously, we will review any new concerns on a case-by-case basis taking into account any relevant new information from the trial. Ryanairs chief operating officer Neil Sorahan, 44, says the budget carrier is considering reducing its cabin bag allowance of two bags per person as customers have begun bringing aboard oversized luggage. Were victims of our own niceness, he muses. Niceness? Im sure youll agree that comment would be superfluous. Whither Dominic Chappell, the serial bankrupt who bought BHS from Sir Philip Green for a 1? Last we heard, hed been arrested over alleged unpaid tax. Too nice: Ryanair is reviewing its free carry-on allowance A Dorset neighbour informs me: I see him drinking in our local pub The Crown every Friday night. Considering the enemies hes made lately, he still seems remarkably chipper. Dusty ex-HSBC boss Lord (Stephen) Green has been appointed President of the Institute of Export & International Trade. He says: I am proud to be a champion of this much needed resource for UK businesses. Meeting: Jamie Dimon already has visited the White House twice Hasnt his Lordships profile recovered nicely? Two years ago, leaked reports revealed that while chairman of HSBC the bank had helped wealthy clients evade paying huge sums in tax. JP Morgan boss Jamie Dimon has already visited the White House twice since Donald Trump became President. Two more visits than his Goldman Sachs rival Lloyd Blankfein is likely to get anytime soon. Bearded Lloyd was the first Wall Street boss to attack Trumps recent travel ban in a message sent to Goldman staff. In case you hadnt noticed, Donald doesnt do criticism. French politician Valerie Pecresse was in London yesterday on a charm offensive to lure British bankers over the Channel post-Brexit. Blonde Valerie, 49, mocked Frankfurts prospects as a rival destination, scoffing: When was last time you took your partner to Frankfurt? A fair point, albeit harshly made. A Danish politics student who trained as a sniper to fight Isis in Syria has told how she has 'lost everything' after being labelled a terrorist - and now faces assassination by Isis. Joanna Palani, 23, dropped out of college to join the battle against jihadis in Syria, spending nine-day stretches alone on the frontline with her Russian sniper rifle trained on Isis targets. Now she has been forced into hiding and is facing jail in her adopted country for defying authorities who banned her from fighting jihadis. But she is also under threat from the fanatics who want to capture her and use her as a sex slave or convert her to their branch of Islam. In an exclusive interview, she told MailOnline why she risked her freedom to fight Isis in Syria, her gruelling regime as a crack-shot sniper, and the devastating toll of war on her life. She said: 'I was willing to give up my life and my freedom to stop Isis advancing, so that everyone in Europe can be safe. This was my choice. 'But I am seen as a terrorist by my own country.' Sniper: Joanna Palani, 23, dropped out of college to fight Isis and trained as a crack-shot sniper with the Syrian People's Protection Units, the YPG, spending nine days at a time on the frontline and wielding a Russian-made Dragunov sniper gun Frontline: Joanna, 23, told MailOnline how she secretly returned to Syria last summer in defiance of a ban on international travel because she was desperate to return to the team she had trained to fight. 'I was wanting to be back with my girls in Syria...I did this for the safety of Europe' Fighter: Joanna Palani defied Danish authorities to travel to the Syrian frontline last year, above, and is now facing jail in Copenhagen. She claimed to MailOnline: 'I did this for the safety of Europe. I don't want ISIS to get control of any European countries' Crack-shot: Joanna has revealed sensational details of her life as a sniper with the Syrian People's Protection Units, the YPG last summer, pictured above, telling MailOnline: 'I like using my brain and my body to focus on the mission' Joanna also admitted for the first time to MailOnline how she broke strict anti-terror laws to return to Syria last summer. She said: 'I am sorry I had to break the travel ban [imposed on me], but I felt I had no choice. I did not expect to lose almost everything for fighting for the safety of the same country which is now trying to take my freedom. I am a sniper. I like using my brain and my body to focus on the mission. You have to be very patient. You have to be very calm, you have to focus. Joanna Palani 'I live in one of the best countries in the world but I am hungry and homeless and freezing cold in bed at night, even though I am working full time. I don't trust anyone.' Joanna insisted: 'I don't want ISIS to threaten European countries or people in the same way they have done in Kurdistan.' The politics student was issued with a travel ban in September 2015. But she defied authorities to rejoin comrades in her battle-hardened Kurdish unit fighting ISIS in northern Syria from June to October 2016 because she says she couldn't bear to leave the women she had trained. Now Joanna, who arrived in Denmark aged three with her family as refugees from Iraq, faces up two years behind bars for breaching the travel ban, intended to stop Danes from joining terror groups in the Middle East. Fighting 'for freedom': 'I would have a headscarf over my head to cover my blonde hair and blankets over me. In the daylight we defend, at night hunt and shoot' Hunted: Since returning from Isis the first time Joanna Palani suffered threats from Isis and claims she has a $1million 'kill or capture' bounty on her head. But now also facing jail after breaching a travel ban issued by the Danish government, she has lost weight, above right in Syria last year and above left as a student before her Syria trips Dangerous game: When asked why she returned to Manbijj, Syria, in defiance of a travel ban, she told MailOnline: 'I had trained the female fighters, they got injured and they got killed, the fighters I had trained the year before. But no one knew they had died for freedom.' Pictured: Joanna Palani in Iraq with the Iraqi Peshmerga 'I AM NOT CRIMINAL': FACING JAIL FOR FIGHTING ISIS Joanna was taken into custody in Copenhagen last December after she flew abroad in defiance of a travel ban. The move to jail her for fighting against Isis prompted accusations of hypocrisy in Denmark - because of the way the liberal nation treats returning jihadis who have fought with Isis. It runs a rehabilitation programme for returning Isis 'soldiers. A 12-month travel ban was imposed on Joanna to prevent her from travelling back to the conflict in September 2015, but in a closed court hearing in December she admitted travelling as far as Doha, Qatar, on 6 June this year and was taken into custody. She has now told MailOnline she travelled to Syria. She is now facing a new court hearing and the prospect of jail. Joanna's lawyer, Erbil Kaya, said: 'It's a shame. We are the first country in the world to punish a person who has been fighting on the same side as the international coalition. It's hypocritical to punish her.' Advertisement Speaking exclusively to MailOnline the sniper told how she feels hunted by the Danish authorities while also living under the shadow of an Isis $1m 'kill or capture' bounty. Forced to move from location to location every three days, she says she is struggling financially and lacking all home comforts. 'I am freezing cold every night and I go to bed hungry. 'The Danish government is trying to set an example of me in court so they can say publicly that I am just the same as ISIS, but I am not a criminal. 'I would take ten years in jail with pride to save people but I wouldn't accept one day in jail for being a danger to Denmark. I don't understand why they [the Danish intelligence service] would view me as a threat when I was fighting for Europe and for females everywhere.' Joanna was arrested on December 7th last year by Denmark's PET intelligence service under tough new anti-terrorism legislation intended to stop citizens taking part in the devastating conflict in Syria and Iraq. She was held in prison for three weeks before being released on the orders of a judge before Christmas on December 23. But while she was in jail she learned of a threat from another angle. Joanna was told that ISIS had now put a $1 million-bounty on her head. Looking tired but defiant, Joanna says: 'ISIS want to kill me, and capture me to convert me into a radical Islamist or turn me into a sex slave. 'But I love my independence and freedom as a woman more than I fear being captured or turned into a sex slave by ISIS or for ISIS. My worries about being captured and killed are not as great as my love of freedom. That is what keeps me going. 'My response is to keep moving, to keep going to class, to keep working. I will keep trying to show them that I am a liberated and independent woman. This is how I will defeat them.' Defiant: Danish authorities issued Joanna with a travel ban in September 2015, but in June last year she returned to northern Iraq. She told MailOnline: 'Something happened inside me that made me go [back to Syria]' Alone: While in Syria for the third time, Joanna spent nine days at a time on the frontline taking aim at Isis fighters. She revealed: 'You have to be very patient. You have to be very calm. And you have to focus. You cannot lose concentration for one moment. You are covered in blankets and camouflage.You have to remember to bring a bag for hygiene because you never know how long you will have to wait.' Heroine: Joanna is unusually candid about realising her teenage ambition to follow in the tradition of other female snipers. 'I like using my brain and my body to focus on the mission. I loved my training.' On the run: Since returning from Syria last year Joanna has felt hunted by Isis and persecuted by the Danish authorities. She is effectively homeless and and moves every three days to ensure her safety. Pictured above left before her trips to Syria, and above right in Copenhagen last week Haven: Joanna bitterly resents the level of support offered to returning ISIS fighters by the Danish state, as she believes it makes the country a more attractive destination to those instructed to attack Europe. 'I would take ten years in jail with pride to save people but I wouldn't accept one day in jail for being a danger to Denmark.' Pictured: Joanna in Syria where she spent 12 months on her first trip 'ISIS WANTS TO KILL ME BUT I REFUSE TO GIVE THEM MY FEAR' Joanna bitterly resents the 'liberal' policy that means Denmark offers rehabilitation to the people she believes are trying to kill her. It has the highest rate of returning ISIS fighters in Europe, with 135 warriors currently fighting for ISIS according to the latest study made by International Centre for Counter Terrorism (ICCT). ICCT estimates that 50% of the jihadis then returning to Denmark. Denmark's second city of Aarhus runs a mentoring programme where youth workers and psychologists work with young men who have fled Isis. But the approach has been criticised as 'soft' within Denmark, where more than 100 young jihadists have been discovered since 2012, which is more fighters per head of its population than any other western European country bar Belgium. A study published by the Danish paper Ekstrabladet in December last year said a total of 36 people who left Denmark to participate in the brutal and bloody conflict in Syria continued to receive cash from their municipality or received unemployment benefits whilst fighting. Advertisement But she says she has also been targeted in the street, and even warned she could be captured by Isis and abused. Sitting in a closed room at a secret location in the heart of Copenhagen, she told MailOnline: 'I was threatened in the street last month by a Danish Muslim convert who I know has fought in Syria and last year I was attacked by four Islamist men. 'There's a $1 million reward on my head. It is possible for me to be captured and killed in these circumstances that I find myself in here in Denmark.' The 23-year-old is keen to stay 'on message' with her YPG battalion, and refuses to accept she has reason to be scared. 'I will never give them the victory of my fear. When we were preparing to liberate houses of ISIS sex slaves, we had this saying - one fighter goes to rescue but many fighters will come back out. 'That is because the survivors often join us. Many of the girls we rescue join us and train to become fighters. So if they captured me, I would still fight them, for all of those girls as well as for myself. I will never submit, or let them win.' It was as the battle for the strategically important town of Manbij, north-east of Aleppo, raged last summer that Joanna felt compelled to re-join her YPG, People's Protection Unit, a brigade battling to break ISIS' grip on northern Syria. 'I was wanting to be back with my girls in Syria, as we were going to be going more forward and by that stage Special Forces had joined us on the ground so I knew it would be better. I wanted to be there. 'It's not so easy for me to be in Denmark when my friends are in Rojava and girls I had trained, who were younger than me, were in Manbij and I was not. I felt ashamed and guilty that I was not there. 'They were trying to say there were no women in Manbij, but I knew they were there and that they were fighting forward.' So on 6 June last year - still in possession of her passport despite the travel ban - she calmly flew back to northern Iraq. She walked for seven hours through the night to cross the border into northern Syria, where she was then driven to the front-line to be reunited with the young women she had trained to fight. 'Something happened inside me that made me go [back to Syria],' Joanna explained to MailOnline. 'At that time in my life it was so much easier to be there [in Syria]. 'I had trained the female fighters, they got injured and they got killed, the fighters I had trained the year before. But no one knew they had died for freedom.' Memories: Joanna's eyes light up when she describes her experiences fighting Isis. 'At night we would get close to the enemy. We would joke that we were 'hunting' Price to pay: But after spending many months with the YPJ Joanna is now forced to live in hiding in Denmark and fears for her safety. Isis have reportedly issued a $1m reward for her kill or capture and she is fearful of going to prison for revealing her role fighting the vicious terror group. Lonely: Forced to live in a different location every three days, Joanna has slowly become estranged from her family and is facing ten years in jail for breaking the travel ban imposed on her by Danish authorities. She says she felt compelled to return to Syria to fight with the women she had trained 'IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF LADY DEATH' - THE RUSSIAN RED ARMY SNIPER WHO KILLED 300 NAZIS Best female sniper: Lyudmila Pavlichenko Joanna says her idol as a young teenager was Lyudmila Pavlichenko , the female sniper from the Russian Red Army dubbed 'Lady Death'. Trained as a sharpshooter and sent to fight on the frontline in 1941, aged 25, Pavlichenko was said to have killed 309 Nazis in less than a year during battles in Odessa and the strategic city of Sevastopol on Ukraine's Crimea peninsula. She is regarded as one of the top military snipers of all time and the most successful female sniper in history, according to Time magazine. It is said she once lambasted a fellow sniper for firing a shot than ended the agony of a dying Nazi, saying: 'They don't deserve an easy death.' Pavlichenko was evacuated from Sevastopol after getting injured, soon before the Nazis captured the strategic city in 1942. Sensing her propaganda value, the Soviet Union then sent her to tour Canada and the United States, where she called for the opening of a new front in the war. Dressed in an army tunic and cap, she became an object of fascination, nicknamed 'Lady Death' by journalists. She met American First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt and was invited to stay at the White House as a personal guest. The women stayed in touch and Roosevelt met her again years later in Moscow. Advertisement Over several hours, this idealistic young woman told MailOnline how she fears for her life from the dozens of foreign fighters who have sought sanctuary in Denmark after fleeing ISIS. The progressive Scandinavian country has the highest rate of returning jihadis in Europe, according to the International Centre for Counter Terrorism (ICC), due to their benevolent de-radicalisation programme. Joanna bitterly resents the level of support offered to returning ISIS fighters by the Danish state, as she believes it makes the country a more attractive destination to those instructed to kill her. An ISIS sniper from Saudi Arabia is 'after her' following news articles about her military exploits, she claims. The threat from this sniper made her commander send her to Manbij instead of towards Raqqa, where this Saudi sniper for ISIS is said to be located. Although apparently an acclaimed marksman Joanna refuses to discuss how many 'kills' she has achieved insisting there is no honour in crowing about taking someone else's life. But she admits that as a teenager she idolised the female World War 2 Red Army sniper known as the Lady of Death - who shot over 309 Nazis. 'I am a sniper,' Joanna told MailOnline proudly, her eyes lighting up as she recalls the excitement of a mission. 'I like using my brain and my body to focus on the mission. I loved my training. It was like Lyudmila [Pavlichenko] the Lady Death from the Russian Red Army.' Joanna's YPG battalion claim she has killed 100 ISIS fanatics in morale-boosting propaganda. Describing the intensity of a sniper's skills she added: 'You have to be very patient. You have to be very calm. And you have to focus. You cannot lose concentration for one moment. You are covered in blankets and camouflage. I use a Russian SVD Dragunov sniper rifle.' On the front-line at Manbij she spent days in the same position, apparently defending civilians fleeing the conflict zone, Kurdish comrades as they advanced and shooting ISIS fighters dead at night. 'As a sniper I could be on the front line for nine days at a time,' Joanna told MailOnline. 'I would get up at 4-5am and get my SVD rifle and AK rifle my bag and two hand grenades. 'I would take up a position away from the window, find a space where it would be comfortable, lay down with only my finger on the trigger. 'I would have a headscarf over my head to cover my blonde hair and blankets over me. You have to remember to bring a bag for hygiene because you never know how long you will have to wait. 'In the daylight we defend, at night hunt and shoot. 'At night we would get close to the enemy. We would say we were 'hunting', going after ISIS, using our thermal scopes.' Frightened: Joanna cannot understand why she is facing while people who have fought with Isis are rehabilitated. Describing her current plight, she says: 'I live in one of the best countries in the world but I am hungry and homeless and freezing cold in bed at night, even though I am working full time.. I don't trust anyone' since the law also has affected my social life. I just started to work again, but my bills from the court has been very harsh for me.' However she only escaped death by inches when an ISIS fighter locked his sight on her during her last tour of Syria. A friend bringing her a cup of tea took the bullet intended for Joanna. His dying body sent her falling through the derelict building on the front line where she had been hiding. She fell almost ten feet, fracturing her skull. 'I took up a gun again after four days,' she told MailOnline matter-of-factly. I live in one of the best countries in the world but I am hungry and homeless and freezing cold in bed at night, even though I am working full time. I don't trust anyone. Joanna Palani Now back in Denmark Joanna is constantly concerned about her security and never spends more than three nights in one place. She says she was offered protection by Denmark's PET intelligence service after ISIS put the $1 million bounty on her head, but says she refused because the agency is trying to lock her up under terror laws, and she does not trust them. Now she sleeps on friends' sofas, in shops and store-rooms, takes showers at friends' homes, relies on charities for clothes and struggles financially. 'I have given up some many things for greater justice in the Middle East and Denmark,' Joanna told MailOnline. 'I live in one of the best countries in the world but I am hungry and homeless and freezing cold in bed at night, even though I am working full time. I don't trust anyone. 'But it was all worth it. 'A look from a little girl after we have helped liberate her and her family from ISIS, those are the experiences but make it all worthwhile.' Stunning: Facebook pictures of Joanna Palani show how the toll of fighting abroad then facing a court ordeal at home has affected the smiley, happy student, who moved to Denmark with her family when she was three Plea: A thin and exhausted Joanna posted a video from jail when she was held initially over breaching her travel ban, top left, a complete contrast with the smiling, groomed student who posted selfies on her Facebook page, top right Committed: Joanna was still a teenager when she dropped out of college where she was studying politics, philosophy and biology, she went to Syria to join the uprising. 'I could see the uprising in Syria was much more complicated than elsewhere in the Middle East,' she told MailOnline. Pictured: Joanna in Iraq in 2015 'STANDING IN FRONT OF DEATH': BORN IN REFUGEE CAMP INTO PESHMERGA FAMILY Born at a United Nations refugee camp in Ramadi, in the scorching deserts of Iraq in 1993, Joanna was the second daughter of a Kurdish family who had fled their home in Kermanshah in mountains of western Iran following the 1979 Islamic revolution. They found themselves on the wrong side of Ayatollah's Khomeini's regime for religious and political reasons. Her father, grandfather and uncles were members of the famed Kurdish army of fighters known as the Peshmerga 'one who stands in front of death'. Iran's Revolutionary Guards jailed and executed members of her family. Saddam Hussein's forces killed other relatives in the murderous chemical gas attack on Halabja, Iraq. Among Joanna's earliest memories are digging for water in sun-baked desert ground and her brothers and sisters walking to school in single file to avoid landmines. She remembers seeing the child's body split in half in a mortar bomb attack on the refugee camp. When she was three years old the Palani family offered given asylum in Denmark. 'We got a plane to Denmark,' Joanna told MailOnline. 'I remember sitting next to the window and eating yoghurt. 'Suddenly I was above the refugee camp and I was in a plane going to Europe. 'I was with mum, dad, two big brothers, one big sister and one little sister. I remember all the other Kurdish families. One of which I still know. 'We got in a bus and I remember my aunt crying because they were not going. 'I remember my father in his long Kurdish clothes and my mother in her Islamic clothes. 'I remember getting out of the plane and holding my big sisters hand and a big sign, saying 'Welcome'. 'My father took a picture of us outside the UN sign saying Welcome. 'This was our first picture in Denmark.' Bright and quick witted, Joanna learned Danish easily and settled into life in a small town in northern Denmark, although the family spoke Kurdish at home and kept close links with relatives back in Iraq. 'I remember growing up with one foot in Kurdistan and one foot in Denmark,' she recalls. 'My family kept their Kurdish traditions. I was not allowed to do things as my Danish friends. I was not allowed to have boyfriends, or have any contact with boys. ' Sadly, she has slowly become estranged from her parents who accused her of being 'too Danish, too western'. 'My parents took their Kurdish traditions with us when we moved, and they were always telling me to stop acting like a boy and to behave like a traditional Muslim Kurdish female.' Advertisement Fit and adventurous, Joanna loved the outdoors as a child and first picked up a rifle aged nine, at a shooting range, while on holiday in Finland. 'I remember pulling the trigger and feeling the power,' she told MailOnline. 'I wasn't any good, but I liked it a lot. I loved it in fact. I liked the power in the weapon, and the fact that the power was not even within the weapon, but in the person behind the weapon. I wanted to get better.' She explained: 'After we came home from Finland, I begged my dad to let me begin shooting. I said; 'Baba, Baba [father, father] I want to be like you and train to be a Peshmerga fighter.' Joanna continued to spend time with her relatives in Kurdistan, where she would spend her summer holidays from high school in Copenhagen. So when still a teenager the winds of the Arab spring began blowing Syria Joanna was ready, she says. Dropping out of college where she was studying politics, philosophy and biology, she went to Syria to join the uprising. 'I could see the uprising in Syria was much more complicated than elsewhere in the Middle East,' she told MailOnline. 'Millions of people were fighting for democracy I wanted to be part of it. I was 17 or 18 when I first went to see it. The females battalion wasn't created back then - that came later. After first taking up arms against the Assad regime in Aleppo Joanna began a series of trips to Syria increasingly turning her fire on ISIS as they mounted their rapid charge across the region. She says she fought the fanatics at Kobane, liberated Yazidi girls imprisoned as sex slaves and switched units to fight ISIS in Iraq. Her military career came to the attention of the Danish authorities and in September 2015, soon after she returned to Denmark on 'leave', a court issued her with a travel ban preventing her from going abroad created to stop Danes joining terror groups. Her case also attracted a lot of attention on social media. The stress of fighting in Syria's seemingly endless conflict has certainly taken its toll. Joanna says she suffers from frequent and debilitating headaches, has lost a lot of weight and cannot sleep, she told MailOnline. She is exhausted and her clothes are donated from a local church where she sometimes sleeps. Estranged from her family, Joanna is effectively homeless. She told MailOnline: 'I am not looking for sympathy. I want people to understand that I don't want a thank you note [for fighting ISIS]. 'I am sorry for breaking the law but I had no choice in my mind at the time. Those I risked my life for, are now taking away my freedom. I did not expect to lose almost everything for fighting for our freedom and our safety.' China sent three ships into Japanese waters that have long been the source of diplomatic tensions between the two nations, Tokyo has claimed. The guard vessels were seen cruising off the coast of the Japanese-controlled Senkakus, which have also been claimed by China as the Diaoyus, at around 2pm (5am GMT) on Monday. It comes days after the new US Defence Secretary James Mattis vowed to defend the island chain from any Chinese incursions, honouring the long-standing Tokyo-Washington treaty. The islets known as the Senkaku islands in Japan and Diaoyu islands in China are a source of dispute between the two countries China was quick to accuse the United States of stirring up trouble in Asia with the comments by Mattis. Its foreign ministry spokesman said Washington should 'stop making wrong remarks...and avoid making the issue more complicated and bringing instability' to the region. China and Japan have repeatedly clashed diplomatically over ownership of the islands, and both sides regularly send ships to nearby waters to assert their claims. The islets are at the centre of a festering row between Tokyo and Beijing, which is also involved in a widening dispute with several Southeast Asian countries over islands in the South China Sea. Mattis also had strong words over the South China Sea, saying Beijing 'has shredded the trust' of regional countries with the military fortification of islands it controls. China and Japan have repeatedly clashed diplomatically over ownership of Senkaku islands and both sides regularly send ships to nearby waters to assert their claims He balanced that message, however, with a call for disputes to be settled through arbitration and diplomacy and ruling out any immediate military response. China, Taiwan and a handful of Southeast Asian states have claims in the area. Besides Japan, Mattis also visited South Korea last week as he sought to assure the key allies of continued US commitment to their security. Trump rattled them last year while he was a candidate, with calls for them to pay more for defence support. A mutilated German Shepherd had her leg hacked off, teeth removed and tail snapped off by a brutal attacker, who sexually abused her before leaving her for dead on the streets of Bucharest. Horrified animal campaigners uncovered the catalogue of cruelty in the Romanian capital, where they also found three puppies had been brutally killed in the same street days earlier. One had been cut in half, one had its skull caved in and the other had been disemboweled. TV presenter Anneka Svenska, who joined a team from charity the International Aid for the Protection and Welfare of Animals (IAPWA), told MailOnline: 'It was awful, it was very hard to see that. Emotional: When the German Shepherd, named Spirit, was found, she'd had a leg hacked off, her teeth removed and her tail was gone Despite Spirit's horrific injuries, she survived lifesaving surgery and is now set for a new life in Britain. She is pictured with Nicky Stevens and Amanda Leask from IAPWA, and Anneka Svenska The group of animal lovers were horrified at the abuse Spirit had endured 'To have that in front of you was harrowing, we were all in shock. I couldn't believe someone could do that, especially the way she had been sexually violated.' She said she had been reduced to tears by the abuse suffered by the German Shepherd, who has been named Spirit. The cruel Bucharest Butcher sexually assaulted the eight-year-old stray with a knife, before leaving her alone in the snow. Spirit was discovered the following morning by a woman who thought she was being targeted because she regularly feeds strays in her neighbourhood. Seriously injured: Spirit needed lifesaving surgery after being brutally savaged by the Bucharest Butcher Spirit had been savagely abused, but Anneka fears that the psychopath responsible will go unpunished There are believed to be more than 60,000 stray dogs in Bucharest, with many dying in the cold and dying cruel deaths Anneka holds a tiny black puppy, who was found by the team after its mother was discovered at the side of a busy road The group spent two hours searching for young puppies belonging to a black dog found at the side of a busy road Anneka said authorities are powerless to act in cases of extreme cruelty, and voiced fears that Spirit's attacker will go unpunished. It's important he's caught, he's obviously a psychopath. People who do things like this are dangerous, he's obviously incredibly unstable. Anneka Svenska 'It's important he's caught, he's obviously a psychopath. People who do things like this are dangerous, he's obviously incredibly unstable. 'It's really important that the Romanian police take this seriously.' Incredibly the animal, who is eight years old, survived her ordeal after lifesaving emergency surgery at vet centre Dog Rescue Romania. And she is set for a new life in Britain once she has recovered enough to travel. Anneka said: 'She's a lovely dog, even after what's happened she's very trusting around humans.' The woman who found her bleeding in the street thought Spirit had been 'carefully placed' in order to warn her to stop feeding strays. It is estimated that there are more than 60,000 feral dogs in Bucharest alone The team saw the huge number of dogs looked after at vet centre Dog Rescue Romania in Bucharest The centre looks after hundreds of dogs as Romania faces a stray dogs crisis Spirit was operated on at the centre after being brought in by a woman who discovered her in the freezing cold Anneka, 43, said she spoke to the woman who found Spirit. In the days before, she had found the three killed dogs, and was shocked at the barbarity she had seen. 'She was shaking, there were tears running down her face,' Anneka said. Anneka joined IAPWA founder Nicky Stevens, 41, and author Amanda Leask, 46, to find out out the stray animal crisis facing Romania. Sadly the abuse they discovered is not isolated. Anneka stated: 'The vet said they see this kind of thing all the time, it's not a one off. They get horrific victims of abuse and they can't do anything about it.' Anneka holding a tiny black dog which was discovered in the freezing cold after a long search The puppies were found in a shed belonging to an old man, where a number of dog skulls were also discovered Campaigners have called for better protection for strays in Romania, where thousands roam the streets in often freezing conditions It is estimated that there are more than 60,000 feral dogs in Bucharest alone, a hangover from the Communist years, when people were forced to move into apartment blocks. When this happened, they would often abandon their pets. RESCUE IN ROMANIA: THE FAITH PROJECT Animal charity International Aid for the Protection and Welfare of Animals (IAPWA) established 'The Faith Project' last year. It was named after a Romanian dog which supporter Amanda Leask had adopted after she was rescued. The project sees IAPWA working with animal campaigners in Romania to offer new neutering and education programmes across the country. The charity said: 'Although she is no longer with us, she was lucky to have experienced so many things that thousands of dogs in Romania are denied. 'Through this project we aim to help many dogs so as they can receive the care they need with plans developed for creating a better long term future.' Advertisement During their time visiting the vets, they saw a dog die in front of them after it was run over, and she saw the team helping a dog who had been left paralysed. When this happened, many families abandoned their pets. 'These dogs have been breeding since the 1970s,' Anneka said. One dog she adopted after a previous visit to Romania turned out to be a mixture of at least eight different breeds. Most of the thousands of strays take on the appearance of 'brown moggies', she said. Until September 2013, euthanasia of unclaimed street dogs was illegal, but the law changed after the death of a four-year-old boy, named Ionut Anghel. Within a fortnight of his fatal mauling, Romania's parliament approved the Stray Dogs Euthanasia Law with an absolute majority, and it was signed into law by the country's president, Traian Basescu, the end of that month. It later transpired that the dogs who killed him were security dogs, and not strays. Critics say the new laws have prompted cruel treatment of dogs, with 'inhumane' methods used to control the stray population. Anneka said privately-hired dog catchers often round up groups of strays, but there is no legislation to ensure they are treated humanely. In many cases, strays are treated with disdain. She described an instance four years ago when she saw a garage owner spraying a group of dogs - some of whom were young pups - with a hose, forcing them to run out into oncoming traffic on a busy motorway. The team holding rescued dogs at the Dog Rescue Romania centre, where thousands of animals are treated each year A young black puppy who was brought to the centre after being found in the snow after being separated from its mother Charity chief Nicky Stevens holds one of the dogs which was rescued in Bucharest TV presenter Anneka meets one of the dogs being looked after at the vet centre in the Romanian capital Anneka stands over one of the dogs being treated at the vets centre, which looks after a huge number of strays in Bucharest 'In Romania the police are powerless to do anything,' she said. Thousands of dogs are currently trying to survive outdoors in temperatures which can drop as low as minus 20C. They discovered a black dog in the freezing snow close to a motorway, but realised she should have had puppies with her. This prompted a franctic two-hour search for the tiny animals, who were eventually found alive in an old man's shed - where, tragically, there were a number of dog skulls. The dogs are thought to have frozen to death while seeking sanctuary from the cold. On Friday the charity will be holding a fundraising fashion show at 55 Exhibition Road in Knightsbridge between 7.30pm and 10pm, with money raised going to fight the dog meat and leather trades. Actor Peter Egan will be among the speakers. For tickets, email nicky.stevens@iapwa.org A full video of the horrific ordeal, which contains very graphic images, has been loaded onto YouTube. To support the charity, visit its Facebook page. Stray dogs in Romania now have to endure temperatures as low as minus 25C Nicky Stevens pictured in Romanian capital Bucharest, which she visited to find out about the animal crisis facing Romania Loveable: The stray dogs of Bucharest face huge dangers each day The Israeli parliament has finalised a controversial law legalising dozens of Jewish outposts built on private Palestinian land in the occupied West Bank. The law - approved by 60 members of parliament to 52 against - was criticised by the Palestinians as a means to 'legalise theft' of land. The new law will allow Israel to legally seize Palestinian private land on which Israelis built outposts without knowing it was private property or because the state allowed them to do so. Palestinian owners will be compensated financially or with other land. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who did not participate in the law's final votes as he was returning from a trip to Britain, said he had 'updated' the US administration so as not to surprise 'our friends'. Israel recently unveiled plans to build 3,000 new homes for Jewish settlers in the occupied West Bank Ahead of the vote, opposition chief and Labour leader Isaac Herzog voiced his opposition to the 'despicable law', which he said would undermine the country's Jewish majority. 'The vote tonight isn't for or against the settlers, rather Israel's interests,' Herzog said. The law would 'annex millions of Palestinians into Israel', he warned, and expose Israeli soldiers and politicians to lawsuits at international criminal courts. Speaking after the law was finalised, Bezalel Smotrich of the far-right Jewish Home party, who was one of the forces behind the legislation, thanked the American people for electing Donald Trump as president, 'without whom the law would have probably not passed'. The Palestine Liberation Organisation said the law was a means to 'legalise theft' and demonstrated 'the Israeli government's will to destroy any chances for a political solution'. A PLO statement stressed that the 'Israeli settlement enterprise negates peace and the possibility of the two-state solution'. This map shows the locations of Jewish settlements in the West Bank Science and Technology Minister Ofir Akunis of Netanyahu's Likud party said the argument was over the right to the Land of Israel. 'All of the Land of Israel belongs to the Jewish people,' he told Herzog, using the biblical term that included the West Bank. 'This right is eternal and indisputable.' The law is seen by critics as promoting at least partial annexation of the West Bank, a key demand for parts of Netanyahu's right-wing cabinet, including Jewish Home. Human Rights Watch said the law 'reflects Israel's manifest disregard of international law' and deepens the 'de facto permanent occupation' of the West Bank, warning that 'the Trump administration cannot shield them from the scrutiny of the International Criminal Court'. Israeli rights group B'Tselem said the law proved Israel 'has no intention of ending its control over the Palestinians or its theft of their land'. The bill could still be challenged, with Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman saying last week: 'The chance that it will be struck down by the Supreme Court is 100 percent.' Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was visiting London for talks with leading British officials earlier this week Last week, the few hundred residents of the Amona outpost in the West Bank were evicted after the Supreme Court ruled their homes were built on private Palestinian land. In parliament on Monday, Shuli Mualem of Jewish Home dedicated the law to those evicted from Amona. International law considers all settlements to be illegal, but Israel distinguishes between those it sanctions and those it does not, dubbed outposts. The lengthy Amona saga - including the evictions broadcast live on Israeli television -directly inspired the bill. Demolitions and removal of the buildings there began on Monday. The law applies to 53 other outposts and homes within existing settlements recognised by Israel built on Palestinian land, according to the anti-settlement organisation Peace Now. More than 3,800 homes would be 'legalised', the NGO said ahead of the vote. Prefabricated houses were removed from the Israeli Amona wildcat outpost, northeast of Ramallah, in the occupied West Bank, on Monday UN envoy for the Middle East peace process Nickolay Mladenov said he was 'concerned' by the law, which could 'greatly diminish the prospects for Arab-Israeli peace'. Since Trump's inauguration, Israel has announced more than 6,000 new homes in the West Bank and east Jerusalem, seen as key parts of any future Palestinian state. For the first time last week Trump's administration said settlement expansion 'may not be helpful' for peace prospects, but also broke with previous administrations by saying settlements were not an obstacle to peace. The White House statement was interpreted as a message to Netanyahu and his government that the US administration intended to reserve its options. Washington has refused to comment on the new law. 'At this point, indications are that this legislation is likely to be reviewed by the relevant Israeli courts, and the Trump administration will withhold comment on the legislation until the relevant court ruling,' a State Department official told AFP. Advertisement When Breana Cincotta was seven, she asked to see her own birth certificate. She was convinced she was adopted and wanted to see the proof. Her mother Marilyn showed it to her and convinced her it wasn't the case. At school, Breana had been struggling to make friends and was even bullied. Her classmates would ask if Marilyn was her real mom or if Breana was actually adopted. Eventually she had started to believe it. Why? Breana looks white but her twin sister Brittney looks black. As a child of a black mom and a white dad, Breana was called albino and was even told she had to choose a side between black and white. Breana and Brittney Cincotta are fraternal twins with different skin colors. Breana (left) looks white like their dad and Brittney (right) looks black like their mother When the girls were growing up in Fayetteville, North Carolina, Breana (left at 4) had a hard time making friends. She was bullied by her classmates who asked her if she was albino or adopted and who told her she had to 'choose a side' between white and black. For Brittney (right at 4) it was hard to watch her sister get teased for no reason Children at her elementary and middle schools in Fayetteville, North Carolina, would tease her while her sister made friends with ease. Now 21, Breana isn't bullied anymore, but she and Brittney still face constant disbelief that they are even related. Much like two biracial twins from Illinois who had their picture go viral in January. Kalani and Jarani Dean were born last April and also have different skin tones. Kalani has lighter skin and Jarani has darker skin. Their mother, Whitney Meyer, said that no one believes her daughters are twins. No one believes that Brittney and Breana are twins either. Its the normal routine for me now,' Brittney told DailyMail.com. Theyre never going to believe it just on my word. Even when they see my mom and dad, theyre like, ooh, thats your real dad? Or thats your real mom? Or are one of yall adopted? We get that a lot, too. Its the normal routine for me now. Theyre never going to believe it just on my word. Even when they see my mom and dad, theyre like, ooh, thats your real dad? Or thats your real mom? Or are one of yall adopted? We get that a lot Brittney Cincotta Breana added: We have to convince them. But at this point were just pretty much like, okay, either you believe it or dont. Fraternal twins can look as similar or different as any other siblings, so having different skin tones is not unusual. Mixed-race couples in Europe who are expecting twins have a one in 500 chance their twins will have different skin tones, UK geneticist Dr Jim Wilson told the BBC. And as interracial marriages and relationships in the US increase, the likeliness of twins like Brittney and Breana are increasing as well. One academic hopes that more children like Brittney and Breana will help change the way the US views race. Francis Wardle is a professor in Denver, Colorado, and has been studying and writing about multiracial families since 1976. He teaches courses on diversity, education and multiracial children and families at the online University of Phoenix and at Red Rocks Community College. He has also written countless articles and three books on the subject of multiracial families. 'Race is determined by the society and how they create categories,' Francis said. 'In this country, until 2000, we wouldnt even entertain the idea of mixed race, so race is nothing to do with biology, it has to do with the society and politics of that society.' In America, Wardle said, the problem comes down to a rule called the one-drop rule. 'The one-drop rule says that if you have a drop of black heritage somewhere in your lineage, you are black - which is stupid. 'We all have genetic background from different places and the fact that theyre put into different categories is simply an artifact of a racist society. And theres no logic to it at all. It doesnt many any sense... Regardless of race, were all one species. Theres no biological discussion at all. It doesnt make any sense. The Cincottas (pictured) have been through a lot but are still a gracious Southern family. The twins' dad Joseph (center right) suffered a stroke in September and is still recovering. But through everything, their mom Marilyn (center left) said the girls have really stepped up: 'They have been here 100%. Theyve showed me they are mature young ladies' Because Brittney (pictured left at 10) has a darker complexion, people almost never ask about her race, but Breana (pictured right at 10) gets questions about her race all the time. Sometimes people even tell her to choose sides. She said: 'Theyre like, either youre black or youre white. You cant be both. But we are both. Were biracial' The girls' parents, Joseph, now 52, (pictured at 24) and Marilyn, now 50, (pictured at 22), tried to raise their daughters to stand up for each other and to be their own people 'You have to continually deconstruct the stupid idea that there are somehow fundamental racial groups. There are not. They're inventions of society initially to keep people down and it's time to begin to deconstruct that.' BIRACIAL TWINS AND SKIN COMPLEXION Skin color is believed to be determined by up to seven different genes working together. When twins are fraternal, or non-identical, they each inherit different genes because they come from separate eggs, each fertilized by separate sperm cells. Because they inherit different genes, there is no guarantee they will share traits, just like other siblings. However, mixed-race couples in Europe who are expecting twins have a one in 500 chance their twins will have different skin tones, according to UK geneticist Dr Jim Wilson. Advertisement Even though Wardle hopes racial groups will be deconstructed, being put into categories and disbelief are still a part of daily life for Brittney and Breana. They've learned they have to prove themselves in order to be believed - but sometimes even proof doesnt work. People never believed we were even sisters, Breana said. Maybe cousins, but not even sisters. So constantly we would have to show people our IDs or even call my mom on the phone to tell them yes, were really twins. And even now when we go out, the bouncers always think we have fake IDs. Brittney added: Nobody ever believing were even related at all - I think its a very frustrating thing. Even with their constant frustration, the twins from come from a strong and polite Southern family who have been through a lot. The girls older brother Christopher passed away in 2009 at the age of 19, and since September their dad, Joseph, has been recovering from a stroke. Despite the challenges, the Cincottas are courteous with their yes maam, no sirs. Their parents Marilyn, 50, and Joseph, 52, made sure to teach their daughters to stick together, but to also remember that theyre individuals. And theyve stuck to that. Breana said: Another thing that people dont realize about twins - we are our own person. Even my friends still now, think we have to have the same group of friends, have to like the same things. Were just born on the same day. Were completely opposite. Brittney (left) and Breana (right) had an older brother Christopher (center). He passed away in 2009 when he was 19. The siblings are pictured in 1999. Brittney and Breana are three and Christopher is nine Even though the girls are twins, they're almost like opposites in taste. Breana (left) is more of a tomboy and plans on going into the Air Force and Brittney (right) is more girly and is studying to become a teacher. Breana said: Were just born on the same day. Were completely opposite Breana is about to go into the Air Force and Brittney is studying to become a teacher. Breana is a bit of a tomboy and she loves riding motorcycles. Brittney is more of a girly-girl, getting her nails and hair done. Those difference never stopped them from sticking up for each other as they went through school. In their primarily African American elementary and middle schools, Breana was often teased and bullied when their classmates found out she and Brittney were twins. We didnt grow up thinking anything different. We just accepted it because we knew we looked like both of our parents, which in our home was just different. But we knew we were twins. We knew we had the same mom and dad Brittney Cincotta Breana said: They would tell me, oh, youre albino, like theres no way youre twins. But the teasing affected Brittney, too. It really bothered me because thats my twin. Why would you act like shes a problem just because shes white? Like whats the problem? Brittney said. In general, Brittney had it a bit easier because people rarely asked her about her race. I look like Im black But Im black and white at the same time. I feel like they just go off the color of my skin, not the race, Brittney said. Thats what bothers me. Theyre just always guessing instead of asking. But Breanas race seems more ambiguous, so when people ask about it she explains that her mother is black and her father is white. I never really choose a side, Breana said. [But] theyre like, either youre black or youre white. You cant be both. But we are both. Were biracial. But in North Carolina, it goes by your mother, so technically on state tests and anything like that we are black. Even though Breana looks white. This frustrated Marilyn, who wanted to teach her daughters to embrace both sides of their family. Marilyn said: On their birth certificates, here in North Carolina when they were born, it was the race of their mother, which they consider black. I wanted biracial, because I think theyre more - theyre not just black. Theyre black and theyre white. And so thats one thing that I really was disappointed in, that I could not put [biracial] on their birth certificate. But I would try to tell them, embrace both your cultures. Breana (right, at 17) said that the bullying has stopped, but people still refuse to believe that she and Brittney (left) are sisters. Breana said: Even now when we go out, the bouncers always think we have fake IDs That wasnt always easy when they were out in public. When the girls were young, running errands caused confusion for other people. Breana said: I remember going into the store with my mother and people were like, who are you? Do you know this lady? Because my mothers black and I was white, they stopped me all the time. Brittney got the same questions whenever she was out with their dad. Their parents got comments and questions like 'who are you babysitting?' Marilyn said: Sometimes, Id be out with them and my husband and people would think they werent ours. Even after an explanation, people were - and are still - rarely convinced. Thankfully at home, Breana and Brittney don't thought about their differing appearances. Even though the teasing and constant questions are hard to navigate, the girls never thought anything was strange when they were at home. Brittney (left) said: We didnt grow up thinking anything different. We just accepted it because we knew we looked like both of our parents, which in our home was just different' Brittney said: We didnt grow up thinking anything different. We just accepted it because we knew we looked like both of our parents, which in our home was just different. But we knew we were twins. We knew we had the same mom and dad.' Breana added: We didnt see anything - I guess you could say wrong - with the picture. We didnt think anything was different until everyone from the outside was like hey, why are you white and shes black?... But it was never an issue in the family. You know, my dad was white, I look like dad. And my mom is black, my sister looks like her. We never really looked at skin to tell if we were related or not. And that was something that Joseph, who has retired from the military and Marilyn, an educational aide, tried to teach their children as they grew up. We tried not to raise them differently, Marilyn said. She would always tell her girls: Youre sisters, youre the same. You come from the same family. Joseph added: We taught them not to even think about race. Racism is something taught. Marilyn explained: We dont teach them oh youre black, oh youre white. They used to say my black friend or my white friend and I dont know if they got that from coming from a multiracial family, but we always said, no, whats your friends name?... We try not to teach them to look at color You have to treat your friends the same. Though Brittney (left) and Breana (right) are biracial, the way North Carolina recognizes race is by the mother. So even though Breana looks white, her birth certificate says she is black. Their mom, Marilyn, was frustrated by that. She said: Theyre black and theyre white. And so thats one thing that I really was disappointed in, that I could not put [multi-racial] on their birth certificate. But I would try to tell them, embrace both your cultures And I try not to teach them, oh, youre better because youre this or this. No. Youre an individual. Youre an American. You just happen to be biracial. After hearing the story about the babies born in Illinois, Kalani and Jarani Dean, Brittney and Breana showed their mom. Marilyn told them: Its no big thing. Thats you guys. She added, later: I never thought about it. I always said, youre different people. Thats it. But the girls had some advice for the babies as they grow up. Brittney said: Just be yourself and just be there for one another because its gonna come a lot of times where people dont believe - theyre not going to believe you. But dont let it affect you, because you know the truth and dont let it bother you. 'The rarity of it is something to use, something to teach the kids to be an example to show that skin color is just that, skin color': Mom talks about challenges of raising twins with completely different complexions When Arnesha Douglas, 27, was pregnant with twins, she and her mom wondered if they would have different skin tones. They had just seen a story in the news about a British family with twins who had different complexions and they wondered if that would happen to Arnesha. She doubted it would, but when her twins were born and she saw them, Arnesha was in shock. 'It was like one of the most memorable moments Ive ever had in my life. It was amazing,' she said. Caleb, like his dad Eduardo Sanchez, has lighter skin, while his twin Chloe has darker skin like Arnesha. The three-year-old twins are her pride and joy and together their existence say a lot about race. Its something to actually be very proud of, Arnesha said. The rarity of it is something to use, something to teach the kids to be an example to show that skin color is just that, skin color. We can be brothers, sisters, aunties, uncles. We can be one with different skin tones. Chloe (left) and Caleb (right) Sanchez are three-year-old biracial twins from Hollywood, Florida. Chloe has a darker complexion like their mom, Arnesha Douglas, and Caleb has a lighter complexion like their dad, Eduardo Sanchez Arnesha Douglas, 27, (left) is the loving mother of Chloe (left) and Caleb (right). In a time where race is a sensitive topic, Arnesha wants people to show love through her twins. She said: I have no discrimination, she said. I mean, I cant. Look at my kids. One is white and one is black'. Eduardo Sanchez, 27, (right) is Caleb and Chloe's dad. He is from Venezuela and has a light complexion, which Caleb inherited In a time where race is such a sensitive topic, Arnesha, a proofreader from Hollywood, Florida, said she tries to keep her opinions to herself and show love to others instead. I have no discrimination, she said. I mean, I cant. Look at my kids. One is white and one is black. But even though that comes easily for the devoted mother, other people dont know how to respond. They cant believe it, she said. At first it was tough because as a new mommy, you dont want to hear people saying oh, well they look nothing alike and he looks nothing like you. Before I used to be very protective and ready to get in arguments, but now Ive accepted it. Even running errands would raise questions from people she didn't know. People would stare at her and people would question if she was Caleb's mom. I used to think everyone would stare at me when I had my son, just me and him because its a harder situation to explain. And then when daddys around its like oh, well, I see what happened. You guys have a mini me of each of you. It makes sense, but some people cant put two and two together. While Chloe (left) and Caleb (right) are still young, their mom Arnesha is worried about what people will say to them when they get older. She said: 'I get it now... and if I'm experiencing that, I just know when they get in school, kids are going to ask' When Caleb and Chloe get older, Arnesha said she plans to have a conversation with them to prepare them for people's comments and questions. For now, she constantly reminds them that they are family and they shouldn't ever be separated As a young mother with toddlers, Arnesha is worried about the comments that people will make to her children as they get older, questioning if theyre related or trying to cause tension. But for now, theyre still too young to recognize that they look different from each other. They will only know it if they were taught it and I dont teach them that, Arnesha said. I just tell them: you guys are the same. Thats your brother, thats your sister. When the time is right and theyre old enough, then that would be a different story and maybe a different discussion to explain it Someones going to ask them and thats where we come in as parents to tell them how to respond to it. But Arnesha sees a bright future for her children. What I hope for them for the future is just to be a leading example to not let anybody ever separate them, come in between them, try to tell them that theyre not twins or whichever the case may be. I just want nothing but the best for them and for them to be safe and hopefully not experience what our generation is going through.' Advertisement The deafening rattle of AK47s tore through Mosul as an overjoyed bride and groom drove through empty streets which have known nothing but war and bloodshed for almost three years. Iraqi soldier guests fired into the air in celebration as newlyweds Jassem, 20, and Rana, 18, made their way to his family home in the eastern half of the city, finally liberated from the cruel grip of ISIS. In a fanfare of car horns and euphoric shouting, men from the wedding party danced in the streets and even an Iraqi Army officer stationed nearby abandoned his post to join the convoy. The beautiful bride wore an elaborate Cinderella-style dress decorated with sequins and many of the female guests could be seen without headscarves - a crime punishable by arrest or worse under ISIS. Once a common sight in Mosul, this was the first such wedding witnessed by locals since June 2014 when ISIS seized control of their city, banning music and dancing and forcing residents to adhere to its strict rules - on pain of public lashings or execution. 'They have been planning the wedding for over a year but waiting for ISIS to leave so they could have a big party,' said neighbour Mohammed. Celebration: After putting their wedding off for almost a year, Jassem, 20, and Rana, 18, finally tied the knot in Mosul in the first wedding since the fall of ISIS in the eastern half of the city. Pictured: Jassem and Rana surrounded by their family on their wedding day Hail of bullets: Iraqi officers and guests wielding AK47s fired into the air in celebration as the wedding convoy, pictured, drove through the city in a fanfair of car horns and euphoric cheering. Pictured: A soldier stands next to the wedding convoy with an assault rifle Joyous: 'They [the newlyweds] have been planning the wedding for over a year but waiting for ISIS to leave so they could have a big party,' said their neighbour Mohammed. Such a joyous ceremony, pictured, would have been impossible under ISIS, who banned music and forced Mosul's residents to adhere to its twisted version of Islamic law 'Double celebration': Mohammed told of how, just two months ago, Mosul's residents were too scared to leave their homes. One of the groom's friends added: 'This is a double celebration for us... We are celebrating our friend's wedding and also the liberation of our city from Daesh' 'This is a wonderful day. Two months ago we were too scared even to come out of our homes and today we are celebrating a wedding.' 'This is a double celebration for us,' said friend of the groom Ahmed, 18. 'We are celebrating our friend's wedding and also the liberation of our city from Daesh.' Inside cars draped in tinsel and Iraqi national flags taped across bonnets, women wearing colourful dresses and headscarves shouted and sang. For two-and-a-half years, they had only been allowed to leave the house dressed from head to toe in black, with their faces covered with a full-faced veil called niqab. This was a taste of the freedom for which they had waited so long. Mosul residents say life under ISIS was unbearable, and music and dancing were forbidden, so the then newly-engaged couple decided to wait to tie the knot until Iraqi armed forces came to liberate them from ISIS. But they did not expect they would have to wait a whole year. Tension mounted when the Mosul Offensive began in October. Heavy fighting, daily bombardments by airstrikes and mortars, and the terrifying threat of ISIS snipers saw many forced to flee their homes and hundreds of civilians killed and injured. Within a few weeks of ISIS being kicked out of eastern Mosul in late January, the couple prepared to finally tie the knot. Party time: Inside the groom's family home, above, partygoers were heavily made-up, covered in glitter and wearing their most flamboyant attire despite the freezing winter temperatures Freedom: Some women attending the wedding party were not even wearing headscarves, a crime punishable by arrest or worse under ISIS Oppressed: Since ISIS took control of the city in June 2014, women had only been allowed to leave their homes dressed head to toe in black, with their faces covered with a full-faced veil called a niqab Desperate measures: Despite the joyous affair, many guests kept their coats on and young children dressed in woolly hats to shield themselves from the freezing temperatures. Fuel for heating has become overpriced and in short supply in post-conflict eastern Mosul Scarce resources: Dozens of people and their children crammed into the main room of the groom's family home to celebrate as long as the electricity lasted. Much of the eastern half of the city has been without power after heavy fighting left infrastructure destroyed Happy times: There were times when the music stopped abruptly and the lights went off when the power generator outside cut out. But the guests continued to dance and sing undeterred, led by the groom's father, above, who was 'playing the spoons' No wasting time: Jassem and Rana were ready to tie the knot withing just a few weeks of ISIS being driven out of the city by Iraqi soldiers, who were backed up by US-led coalition airstrikes. Pictured: The newlyweds' family and friends celebrate in the groom's home Hellish: Those who survived ISIS's two-and-a-half occupation of Mosul say life under the terror group unbearable. Jassem and Rana decided to delay their wedding after the engagement because the militants had banned dancing and singing, waiting instead for Iraqi forces to come liberate them Inside the groom's family home, partygoers were dressed up to the nines, heavily made-up, covered in glitter and wearing their best and most flamboyant attire and high-heeled shoes, despite the freezing winter temperatures. Some women were not even wearing headscarves because, in conservative Iraqi society, most weddings are still partially segregated - with only the groom's male family members allowed to attend the house party. Many guests had to keep their coats on inside because fuel for heating is overpriced and in short supply in post-conflict eastern Mosul, where shops stand in ruins. The ISIS police had a special section for women called 'The Watchers' and they would check our clothes Fatma, 23, Mosul resident Across liberated eastern Mosul, residents are enjoying being able to wear their own clothes and move freely around the streets without fear of arrest or retribution for the smallest misdemeanour of dress they suffered during ISIS's reign of terror. 'The ISIS police had a special section for women called 'The Watchers' and they would check our clothes,' former medical student Fatma, 23, told Mailonline. 'They stopped me several times, once because they said my shoes were too high and another time because I had forgotten to wear gloves.' Even in Iraq's soaring summer temperatures, women had to be completely covered, wearing socks and black gloves. Even at family picnics - a popular summer pastime in Iraq - if a woman was spotted exposing her face whilst lifting up her niqab to eat a mouthful of food or take a sip of tea, she risked arrest. Privilege: For the first time since ISIS was driven out of the city, Mosul's residents, above, are enjoying being able to wear their own clothes and move freely around the streets without fear of arrest or retribution Delighted: As part of the wedding convoy which drove freely through the city, women wearing colourful dresses shouted and sang from cars draped in tinsel and draped in Iraqi national flags. Pictured: The bride and groom's wedding car Simple but happy: The newlyweds' family could not afford to provide lavish meals for their guests, so opted to hand out sweets in colourful wrappers. Pictured: Jassem and Rana recline on a sofa at their wedding party Shining light: The typical and cheerful family occasion would have been viewed by ISIS as the very epitome of immorality. And although the wedding was a humble affair, it was one of the happiest events the beleaguered city had seen in years Looking forward: 'It's a very happy day for us,' exclaimed one guest Mariam, 45. She added: 'ISIS have been kicked out and finally these young people can start their new lives together' One teenage girl spoke with anger about having to wear the long black ISIS-approved outfits while the wives of ISIS fighters were allowed to dress how they pleased. 'They forced us to wear niqab but the families of ISIS didn't wear it,' said Samira, 16. 'They went around in t-shirts, trousers and sometimes even skirts, with a normal hijab [headscarf] while we had to wear niqab. It was so unfair.' Even men had to follow strict dress-codes, wearing their hair and beards long - ISIS shut down all the city's barbershops - and keeping their trousers slightly short. Jeans were forbidden. They [ISIS] forced us to wear niqab but the families of ISIS didn't wear it... They [ISIS fighters' wives] went around in t-shirts, trousers and sometimes even skirts, with a normal hijab [headscarf] while we had to wear niqab. It was so unfair Samira, 16, Mosul resident The first outlets to open in newly-liberated districts of eastern Mosul were barbers and stalls selling cigarettes. At the wedding party, tens of people, mostly women, crammed into the main room of the house to dance and sing while the electricity lasted. Much of eastern Mosul remains without power after heavy fighting left infrastructure destroyed. When the music stopped or the lights went off as the weak power supply from a generator outside cut out, the wedding party remained undaunted and continued to cheer and sing, and the father of the groom played the spoons. Under ISIS, the few jobs on offer were badly paid and Mosul residents were plunged into a state of poverty. The happy couple's family could not afford to put on a lavish spread but had bought sweets in colourful wrappers, which were handed around. In the type of normal family occasion that ISIS viewed as the very epitome of immorality, the wedding was a humble and simple affair, but one of the happiest occasions the beleaguered city had seen in years. Worse fate: Although newly-weds Jassem and Rana have finally tied the knot in the battle-ravaged city's first public wedding since liberation, other couples have not been so lucky. A 20-year-old named Mustafa told of how he had not seen his fiancee in more than a year. Pictured: A soldier poses on a bridge in Mosul Kept apart: Mustafa said he got used to spotting his fiancee among the other girls, all covered head to toe in black Islamic dresses, but even the most platonic relationships between unmarried men and women were prohibited under ISIS - and sexual relations punishable by death. Pictured: Iraqi soldiers celebrate the city's liberation from ISIS Lost love: Mustafa's love fled to another city and now that eastern Mosul has been liberated, he hopes to eventually be reunited with her - even though his family cannot even afford the simplest of weddings. Pictured: Iraqi Special Forces soldier with fuel which is in such short supply it is sold in two-litre drinks bottles 'I watched ISIS stone a woman to death, after being accused of having sexual relations with a man without being married to him,' said 15 year-old Mohammed. Pictured: A man sells item on a stall beside a building demolished by an airstrike 'We are so happy,' said one guest Mariam, 45. 'ISIS have been kicked out and finally these young people can start their new lives together. It's a very happy day for us.' Although newly-weds Jassem and Rana have finally tied the knot in the city's first public wedding since liberation, other couples have not been so lucky. Amongst a group of men from the neighbourhood celebrating the wedding outside, 20 year-old Mustafa stood quietly, thinking about his fiancee who he has not seen for over a year. We got engaged when Daesh first came to Mosul but everything was forbidden under them... We sold everything we had, just to buy food and my mother even had to sell her wedding ring Mustafa, Mosul resident 'We got engaged when Daesh first came to Mosul but everything was forbidden under them and we wanted a proper wedding, so we decided to wait a bit,' he recalled. Under ISIS's strict regulations of segregating women and men in their daily lives, it became too difficult and dangerous for the couple to even speak to one another. Mustafa said he became adept at spotting his fiance amongst the girls in the area, who all had to be fully covered in uniform black abayas and niqab. But, fearing persecution, her family fled to another city. Now eastern Mosul has been liberated, Mustafa hopes to eventually be reunited with his lost love but says his family now has no money left to pay for even the simplest wedding. 'We sold everything we had, just to buy food and my mother even had to sell her wedding ring,' he said. Even the most platonic relationships between unmarried men and women were prohibited under ISIS, and any sexual relations punishable by death. Twisted: Children at Jassem and Rana's wedding party revealed the horrors of life under ISIS rule in Mosul, and how the wives of the terror group's depraved fighters were given special treatment Punishment: 'I watched ISIS stone a woman to death after being accused of having sexual relations with a man without being married to him,' said 15 year-old Mohammed. A teenage girl spoke with anger at having to wear long, black ISIS-approved outfits while ISIS fighters's wives dressed how they pleased> Pictured: The remains of bombed out Mosul University Enslaved: A former medical student named Fatma told MailOnline how ISIS had a special all-female police known as 'The Watchers' who would check what clothes women were wearing. She said: 'They stopped me several times, once because they said my shoes were too high and another time because I had forgotten to wear gloves' Cruel laws: Even in Iraq's soaring summer temperatures, women had to be completely covered, wearing socks and black gloves. A woman even risked arrest if she was spotted exposing her face by lifting her niqab to eat some food. Pictured: Faces on billboards were censored under ISIS who painted propaganda heavy graffiti on the city's walls Stranded: Eastern Mosul was liberated from ISIS in late January by Iraqi armed forces, supported by coalition airstrikes, but as many as 750,000 are believed to still be trapped under the terror group's control in the western half of the city 'I watched ISIS stone a woman to death, after being accused of having sexual relations with a man without being married to him,' said 15 year-old Mohammed. 'They brought her to a public place near my house. I was walking past so I stopped and watched the whole thing. It was horrible.' He said some 30 militants surrounded the accused woman in a circle and started stoning her. 'It was only Daesh men, no normal people joined in, and they threw stones at her for ages until she died,' he said. 'Some friends told me they saw other women being stoned in Mosul and sometimes, if the woman didn't die fast enough, the Deash men would get bored and just shoot her.' Eastern Mosul was liberated from ISIS in late January by Iraqi armed forces, supported by coalition airstrikes. IS remains in full control of Western Mosul, on the other side of the Tigris River, and the Iraqi military are now preparing to launch a new offensive on western Mosul. Refugees in the United States fearing a worsening climate of xenophobia in the wake of a divisive U.S. presidential campaign are flocking to Canada in growing numbers. Manitoba's Welcome Place refugee agency helped 91 claimants between Nov. 1 and Jan. 25 - more than the agency normally sees in a year. Most braved the freezing prairie winter to walk into Canada. 'We haven't had something before like this,' said Maggie Yeboah, president of the Ghanaian Union of Manitoba, which has helped refugees get medical attention and housing. 'We don't know what to do.' A temporary restraining order by a U.S. judge of President Donald Trump's executive order that blocked nationwide the implementation of key parts of the travel ban has provided a reprieve for refugees trying to come to the United States. Scroll down for video On their way: Dolma and Tenzin, whose last names were withheld, are originally from Tibet. They are on their way to applying for refugee status at the Canadian border but were photographed in Vive La Casa shelter in Buffalo, New York Frozen: Since late summer, 27 men from Ghana walked to Manitoba from the United States. Two lost all their fingers to frostbite in December and nearly froze to death. But Canadian advocacy organizations are bracing for a greater influx of asylum-seekers, driven in part by the contrast between the ruling Liberal government's acceptance of Syrian refugees in Canada with Trump's anti-foreigner rhetoric. 'They will make a dash for Canada, whether they are going to go through cold weather to die or not,' said Abdikheir Ahmed, a Somali immigrant in Manitoba's capital Winnipeg who helps refugees make claims. Since late summer, 27 men from Ghana walked to Manitoba from the United States, Yeboah said. Two lost all their fingers to frostbite in December and nearly froze to death. More than 7,000 refugee applicants entered Canada in 2016 through land ports of entry from the United States, up 63 percent from the previous year, according to Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA). Over 2,000 more entered 'irregularly' during a similar time period, without official authorization, such as across unmonitored fields. Four hundred and thirty asylum seekers crossed Manitoba's border irregularly in the first nine months of 2016-17, up from 340 the entire previous year, CBSA said. 'The U.S. presidential campaign, putting undocumented immigrants and refugees in the spotlight, terrified them,' said Ghezae Hagos, counselor at Welcome Place. 'The election and inauguration of Mr. Trump appears to be the final reason for those who came mostly last month.' In Quebec, 1,280 refugee claimants irregularly entered between April 2016 and January 2017, triple the previous year's total. Seeking sanctuary: Two unnamed Ghanians are interviewed at the Welcome Place, a center for refugees in Winnipeg, Manitoba, having quit the U.S. to seek refugee status in Canada Irregular entry: Emerson, in the Canadian province of Manitoba, is one of the places where refugees have been stopping In British Columbia and Yukon, 652 people entered Canada irregularly in 2016, more than double the previous year. More of these people would enter at border crossings, advocates say, if Canada didn't have a policy of turning many of them away when they do. The 2004 Canada-U.S. Safe Third Country Agreement requires people to apply for asylum in the first of the two countries they arrive in. Advocates argue the agreement inadvertently encourages people to dangerously sneak into Canada and make a claim rather than be rebuffed at the border. If the government doesn't abandon this agreement, they say, it could find itself in court. The number of refugee applicants crossing the land border under exceptions to the Safe Third Country Agreement has risen by 16 percent in the first nine months of 2016 compared to the same time period the year before. In Buffalo, New York, hundreds of people are streaming through Vive, a shelter that helps refugee applicants to Canada. Vive's client numbers, including long-time U.S. residents and refugees, spiked last summer and have stayed consistently high since - two or three times what they'd normally see a year or two ago. Vive's Canadian service manager Mariah Walker expects to see even more. 'Clients are definitely spooked by (Trump's) executive orders,' said Walker. Prime Minister Trudeau took office in 2015 on a commitment to admit tens of thousands of Syrian refugees. All welcome: Liberal Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau's public statements are said to be driving asylum-seekers to cross from the U.S. 'While the majority of the world is turning their backs and building walls, the fact that Trudeau took this bold humanitarian goal put on the map,' said Chris Friesen, director of settlement services at Immigrant Services Society of British Columbia. But this year, Canada plans to take only 7,500 government-assisted refugees - less than half last year's number. People eager to sponsor refugees find themselves waiting years to do so. Anisa Hussein, 20, and Lyaan Mohammed, 19, hired a smuggler to take them from Somalia to Minneapolis in August, where they planned to settle in a large Somali community. But Trump's anti-refugee rhetoric frightened them into traveling to Manitoba days later. '(Trump) said he would turn away the refugees and we would go back to Somalia,' said Mohammed, peeking timidly from behind the hood of a thick parka she received in Canada for winter. 'We were so scared. We just wanted to be a safe place.' They rode a bus and taxi to North Dakota, then walked for hours into Emerson, Manitoba and filed refugee claims. They might have been able to cross at a port of entry if Canada's policies were different, says Canadian Council for Refugees executive director Janet Dench. Her organization, as well as Amnesty International and the Canadian Civil Liberties Association, are demanding Canada abandon the Safe Third Country Agreement: Trump's United States is no safe haven, they argue. The government is standing by the agreement, Immigration Minister Ahmed Hussen told the House of Commons last week. If the government doesn't act, Dench said, her group will sue. An Australian lungfish that entranced visitors to Chicago's Shedd Aquarium for more than 80 years has been euthanized due to old age, the popular tourist attraction announced Monday. Granddad, who was 4ft long and weighed 25lb, had stopped eating and started showing signs of organ failure. He was euthanized on Sunday. A necropsy - or animal autopsy - found conditions consistent with old age, aquarium officials said. 'For a fish who spent much of his time imitating a fallen log, he sparked curiosity, excitement and wonder among guests of all ages who would hear his story,' said Bridget C. Coughlin, Shedd Aquarium's president and CEO. Scroll down for video Granddad, an Australian lungfish who was four feet long and weighed 25 pounds, was euthanized on Sunday at Shedd Aquarium in Chicago, Illinois Granddad had stopped eating and started showing signs of organ failure. A necropsy - or animal autopsy - found conditions consistent with old age, aquarium officials said A Shedd spokesman said Granddad's exact age was unknown but that he was believed to be in his mid-90s. The aquarium acquired him from the Sydney Aquarium in Australia during a 1933 collecting expedition in preparation for the 1933-34 Chicago World's Fair. Granddad was one of two lungfish that attracted visitors during that year's A Century of Progress International Exposition in Chicago. Aquarium officials estimate more than 104 million people saw Granddad over eight decades. Rob Vernon, a spokesman for the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, said the nonprofit group is unaware of any older fish kept by a zoo or aquarium that it accredits in the United States or eight other countries. A Shedd spokeswoman said Granddad's exact age was unknown but that he was believed to be in his mid-90s Aquarium officials estimate more than 104 million people visited Granddad over eight decades The aquarium acquired Granddad (pictured in his younger years) from the Sydney Aquarium in Australia during a 1933 collecting expedition in preparation for the 1933-34 Chicago World's Fair 'Granddad lived a pretty relaxed life, enjoyed interactions with us, including gentle pats along his back, and loved to eat his leafy greens,' said Michelle Sattler, who was Granddad's caretaker for more than 30 years. Lungfish, which are native to the Mary and Burnett rivers in Queensland, Australia, can live up to 100 years and are a protected species in Australia. The lungfish has a sin gle primitive lung and are among the few fish that can breathe air. The species has existed for more than 380million years and has not changed for 100million years, according to the aquarium. High ranking police are pushing for permission to shoot terrorists sooner during hostage scenarios, amid a rumoured shake-up of security following the Lindt Cafe siege inquest. There is talk of moving from a 'contain and negotiate' model to 'immediate assault' for terrorists or 'active shooter scenarios', reported the Daily Telegraph. A coroner's report into the deadly 2014 attack and creation of a federal home affairs department will reportedly overhaul how security is run and managed in Australia. Police are pushing for permission to shoot terrorists sooner during hostage scenarios, amid a rumoured shake up of security following the Lindt cafe siege inquest. Pictured is a scene during the hostage standoff in Sydney in 2014 The report could be finalised in the next eight weeks. Under the proposed new national security portfolio, the Australian Federal Police, ASIO, Border Force, AUSTRAC and Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission would be headed by one minister. Immigration minister Peter Dutton is believed to be the frontrunner for the top position. Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, Cabinet Secretary Martin Parkinson, Treasurer Scott Morrison and several law enforcement agencies are said to have contributed to the new model. A coroner's report into the deadly 2014 attack and the creation of a federal Home Affairs department will reportedly overhaul how security is run and managed in Australia. Immigration minister Peter Dutton (pictured) is rumoured to be the frontrunner for the top job Under the proposed new national security portfolio, the Australian Federal Police, ASIO, Border Force, AUSTRAC and Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission would be headed by one minister. Pictured is the 2014 hostage standoff in Sydney Under the new proposal the Attorney-General portfolio would lose responsibility for issues relating to counter-terrorism. NSW coroner Michael Barnes will reportedly recommend changes in how police train, use weapons and interact with other agencies. He will also advise law-enforcement agencies to cautiously move in step with other countries that no longer always 'contain and negotiate' with terrorists. In the report NSW coroner Michael Barnes is believed to be recommending changes in how police train, use weapons and interact with other agencies. Pictured is Sydney siege hostage Elly Chen running from the Lindt Cafe during the 2014 attack Currently in Australia, senior federal politicians must give approval if state police want to relinquish control of a serious, unfolding security operation to the Australian Federal Police. Sources told the Daily Telegraph a move was needed towards a more aggressive strategy because some terrorists did not want to negotiate with police and instead inflict maximum harm. Another issues set to be considered will be how situations or suspects are categorised, for example if a situation is classified as domestic violence or a terrorist scenario. The US and Japan have successfully carried out the first test of a defense system designed to shoot down ballistic missiles. The US Missile Defense Agency revealed the USS John Paul Jones was able to track, locate and ultimately destroy a missile by using its onboard Aegis Missile Defense System and a Standard Missile-3 Block IIA interceptor. The test took place off Kauai in Hawaii on Friday about 10:30pm, and saw the defense missile hit its target in space, officials said. Scroll down for video The US and Japan have successfully carried out the first test of a defense system designed to shoot down ballistic missiles. Pictured is the defense missile being launched on February 3 The defense missile is seen being launched from the US Navy vessel in Hawaii on Friday as part of the first successful test of the new system 'Today's test demonstrates a critical milestone in the cooperative development of the SM-3 Block IIA missile,' MDA Director Vice Admiral Jim Syring said in a statement. 'The missile, developed jointly by a Japanese and U.S. government and industry team, is vitally important to both our nations and will ultimately improve our ability to defend against increasing ballistic missile threats around the world.' Japan and the US have been working together since 2006 to develop a variant of the Standard Missile-3, which is a ship-launched missile that operates as part of the Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense System. According to the MDA, America has so far spent about $2.2 billion on the system and Japan about $1 billion. The missile was launched from the USS John Paul Jones (pictured in July 2015) on Friday night WHAT IS THE AEGIS SYSTEM? AEGIS is a: 'centralized, automated, command-and-control system designed as a total weapon, from detection to kill'. It uses an AN/SPY-1 radar, which can track 100 missiles simultaneously, and is aboard 84 cruisers and destroyers. Japan and South Korea also use AEGIS-equipped destroyers. (Source: US Navy) Advertisement Officials said on Monday the joint development was in response to fears about North Korea's potential military technology. 'We are both deeply concerned about North Korea's capabilities, and we are constantly working to improve our defense capabilities,' MDA spokesman Chris Johnson said Monday. 'It makes sense for the US and Japan to share some of that burden.' Mitsubishi and Raytheon both make parts of the missiles, which are assembled in the United States, and which are designed to defeat medium and intermediate-range missiles. The joint test took place on the same day as US Secretary of Defense James Mattis (left) held a press conference with Japanese Defense Minister Tomomi Inada (right) The test occurred as Pentagon chief Jim Mattis was in East Asia on his first overseas trip as defense secretary. He said Friday any nuclear attack by North Korea would trigger an 'effective and overwhelming' response, as he sought to reassure Asian allies rattled by President Donald Trump's isolationist rhetoric. A Texas felon who was pardoned by Obama is back behind bars after he was caught 'fleeing police with two pounds of cocaine worth $26,000'. Robert M. Gill is getting reacquainted with his jail cell after he crashed into another vehicle when fleeing from police following an alleged drug deal in San Antonio on Thursday. The 68-year-old's original life sentence was pardoned by President Obama but now he could face up to 40 years in prison for possession with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of cocaine, according to Bexar County police. Robert M. Gill, 68, was arrested after he crashed into another vehicle when fleeing from police following an alleged drug deal in San Antonio, on Thursday. The convicted drug dealer had his original life sentence pardoned by Obama in 2015 Gill was jailed on charges of cocaine and heroin distribution conspiracy in 1990, until Obama commuted the 'nonviolent offender' in 2015, the San Antonio Express News reported. After his release Gill seemingly made an effort to stay away from a life of crime and he became a paralegal for local criminal defense law firm. But on Thursday he met an unidentified person in the parking lot of a grocery store to pick up a 'black backpack containing a kilo of cocaine worth $26,000', the affidavit said. Gill made the alleged pick up of the cocaine at this food mart in San Antonio, Texas. When police tried to pull him over, he fled at a high speed and crashed into another vehicle When a Bexas County Sheriff police car tried to pull the Vietnam War veteran over, he took off and led officials on a high-speed pursuit before he crashed into another car. Gill tried to flee again but agents were able to stop him and retrieve the backpack inside his car, the affidavit continued. Obama pardoned 1,700 federal prisoners in an effort to free nonviolent inmates who were serving lengthy sentences. The former president signed Gill's release and said 'you have demonstrated the potential to turn your life around. Now it is up to you to make the most of this opportunity.' Ronald Schmidt, a lawyer who helped Gill appeal his life sentence in the courts, said to the San Antonio newspaper: 'Im so disappointed to hear that he got arrested again.' Oprah Winfrey surrounded herself with her closest friends and favorite foods for a quiet birthday dinner last week. The legendary talk show host celebrated turning 63 at a small soiree with longtime boyfriend Stedman Graham, best friend Gayle King and her daughter Kirby, and did not hold back when it came to planning her celebratory dinner. For the big night, Oprah and her guests enjoyed truffle fries, a cake and pasta made from one of the recipes in her new book, Food, Health, and Happiness: 115 On-Point Recipes for Great Meals and a Better Life. Gayle posted photos of the fete to Instagram over the weekend, writing: 'From better late than never file! Forgot to post @Oprah happy bd dinner!' She wrote in another post: 'Fav daughter "gots" jokes play-doh gift! @Oprah never had it! That's her thanx a lot face-Bd cake & truffle fries =happiness !!!!' Scroll down for video Happy birthday: Oprah Winfrey turned 63 last weekend and celebrated with friends (l to r: Kirby, Gayle King, friend, Stedman and Oprah) Dessert: The legendary talk show host was presented with a large cake after her meal (above) Oprah's big celebration came a month after she revealed the incredible success she has had since joining Weight Watchers. Since Ive started Weight Watchers, Ive lost over 40lbs,' said Winfrey in a TV spot that aired just after Christmas. 'I can honestly tell you, I struggle no more.' She then went on to say that she 'lives well while eating great' and enjoys a 'fantastic and full life' before listing off the wide array of foods she has been enjoying since she joined the weight-loss plan including pasta, tacos, and, of course, bread. 'Ive never felt deprived,' said Winfrey. The pasta came from Oprah's new cookbook In addition to being a fan of the program and its spokesperson, Winfrey is also a board member for the company. She secured that position in 2015 after purchasing a 10 per cent stake in the company ahead of the release of her first TV spot. That purchase paid off, with Weight Watchers immediately rocketing up 10 percent in premarket trading after Winfrey shared her success story in December. Winfrey has always been very frank and open about her own struggles with her weight. In 1988 she famously rolled out a wagon full of fat on her much-loved talk show to celebrate her 67lb weight loss, but soon after began putting on the pounds again. She was at her biggest just a few years later in 1992, at which point she began working with personal trainer Bob Greene. Ta-da: Gayle's daughter Kirby also attended the fete, and bought Oprah some Play-Doh as a gift Good friends and food: Gayle King's daughter Kirby (left() was one of the few guests who got to enjoy truffle fries (right) Six years after that she landed the cover of Vogue - and was asked to lose some more weight. The magazine's editor Anna Wintour revealed in a 2009 interview with 60 Minutes: 'It was a very gentle suggestion. I went to Chicago to visit Oprah, and I suggested that it might be an idea that she lose a little bit of weight. I said simply that you might feel more comfortable.' In a 2009 issue of O Magazine, Winfrey wrote: 'My goal isn't to be thin. My goal is for my body to be... strong and healthy and fit, to be itself. My goal is to learn to embrace this body and to be grateful every day for what it has given me. A food delivery driver allegedly indecently assaulted a two-year-old boy after taking food to the youngster's home. The accused Zhi Huang, 62, was delivering food to a house in Greystanes, west Sydney, when he allegedly touched a two-year-old on the head, shoulder and crotch, after the father left the room. Mr Huang told detectives that his alleged behaviour 'was not frowned upon in Chinese culture,' Nine News reported. The father of the young boy that was indecently assaulted has spoken The young boy was not wearing clothing because he had just exited the swimming pool. The alleged incident was reported after two other children witnessed the indecent assault. The man was confronted by the boy's father before he drove from the scene. A delivery driver allegedly assaulted a three-year-old boy after taking food to the youngsters home (stock image) Police from Holroyd Local Area Command later arrested the man at a restaurant on Old Prospect Road, Greystanes. He was taken to Merrylands Police Station and charged with indecent assault of a person under the age of 16. Mr Huang pleaded not guilty in Fairfield Court and could not raise the funds for bail. Britain's foreign aid budget is being offered to the Chinese to help look after their elderly. Our embassy in Beijing is inviting groups to apply for cash from a 1.3billion fund. One project it suggests for backing is improving care in the community for elderly people in China. Elderly residents in the city of Pingyao in northern China. Britain's foreign aid budget will include funds for Chinese pensioners, despite China having a bigger economy than Britain (stock photo) UK diplomats have even held a workshop to encourage applications. Details of the scheme emerged yesterday following the release of a scathing report into the running of the Prosperity Fund. The scheme is supposed to alleviate poverty and boost business opportunities in middle-income nations. But the foreign aid watchdog warned of a serious risk of money being misspent because bids were being approved so quickly. The Government is committed to directing 0.7 percent of national income overseas a target under intense criticism when the social care system is in crisis. Yesterday an NHS trust launched a formal inquiry into the treatment of 89-year-old Iris Sibley, who was stuck on a hospital ward for six months because a nursing home place could not be found. Officials contacted 24 homes over six months and 11 said they were full, 11 felt they could not meet her needs and two were too far away for her 90-year-old husband to visit. A place was finally found for the former legal executive last month. China has poured billions into its space programme and wants to put astronauts on the Moon by 2036. But we are helping them to look after their elderly people Officials are trying to increase spending on the Prosperity Fund from 55million this year to 350million annually by 2019. Last night Oxfam joined a chorus of criticism of the scheme. We are very concerned it is failing to put poverty reduction front and centre of its work, said Tim Livesey, the charitys head of UK policy. He said: The British public expects the UKs aid budget to be spent reducing poverty, and the fund should work harder to achieve this goal. Channeling aid through departments which currently lack the expertise and capacity to fight poverty risks depriving the worlds poorest of desperately needed help. The Government should work quickly to improve transparency and ensure the funds attention is first and foremost on supporting the worlds poor. Doing otherwise risks undermining the publics trust in the UKs world-leading aid work. Liberal Democrat MP Greg Mulholland said: Im proud of our commitment to aid but when we give cash to countries with space programmes we arent helping the poorest and we cut peoples confidence in aid. We have a social care crisis here; we cant fund care in the community yet we can pay for elderly care in China. Its a joke. Tory MP Peter Bone said: Im gob-smacked. This sounds straight out of Alice In Wonderland. We are not supposed to be sending additional aid money to China, so this should not be happening at all. The Prosperity Fund, which is run by several Government departments, including the Foreign Office and the Department for International Development, forms part of the 0.7 per cent foreign aid commitment. Launched in 2015, it is supposed to reduce poverty in recipient countries as well as create opportunities for international business including British companies. But a report yesterday from the Independent Commission for Aid Impact warned it did not have full confidence either goal will be met. Tory MP Peter Bone, left, described the news as like something 'straight out of Alice In Wonderland' while Liberal Democrat MP Greg Mulholland said: 'It's a joke' It said officials were approving applications for funding in under six months, with few details of where the money will go or the scrutiny around it. The commission called on the Government to look again at the planned rate of expenditure. On its website the UK embassy in Beijing has advertised the availability of aid money on a section entitled China Prosperity Fund. It details how the Government is offering 1.3billion over five years and has links to documents that set out examples of how Chinese organisations could spend the money. One document lists suggested projects including care in the community, television production training and fashion marketing. Ministers have issued repeated assurances that aid to China has stopped, saying in 2010 that it was not justifiable to send millions to an economic superpower. China has poured billions into its space programme and wants to put astronauts on the Moon by 2036. The Department for International Development officially closed its funding programme for China in 2011. But 44.6million in Overseas Development Assistance was spent on the country in 2015 by the rest of Whitehall to help meet the 0.7 per cent target. A UK Government spokesman said last night: In a post-Brexit world a more outward looking, global Britain investing and trading with the fastest growing markets is good for the UK and good for the world. Helping to build well-regulated, competitive markets is the right thing to do to deliver global prosperity, stability and security and help the poorest 60 per cent of whom live in middle income countries to stand on their own two feet and become our trading partners of the future. As ICAI acknowledges, the fund has made significant progress in a short time. Channel Nine newsreader Amber Sherlock baked cakes and brought in chocolate to win over her co-workers in the days after the 'jacketgate' video surfaced. On January 5, the clip was leaked by a colleague of Ms Sherlock berating her co-presenter Julie Snook for wearing a matching white top moments before going live, causing an extremely awkward row. Multiple people familiar with the situation told Daily Mail Australia Ms Sherlock has since been bringing in treats, including white chocolate, to the Sydney office for her co-workers. This comes just months after, Ms Sherlock sat down with her Nine bosses and was told she had a 'PR problem' in the office because she was unpopular among her colleagues, according to a source. Channel Nine newsreader Amber Sherlock has been baking cakes and bringing in chocolate to win over her co-workers after 'jacketgate' video On January 5, the shocking clip was leaked by a colleague of Ms Sherlock berating her co-presenter Julie Snook for wearing a matching white top A Channel Nine spokesperson declined to comment on Ms Sherlock bringing in treats to the office. After the footage was leaked last month, an internal investigation was launched to find out who distributed it to the public. The investigation uncovered the mystery mole, but they will reportedly avoid being sacked because they are 'on-air talent,' the Daily Telegraph reported. As the person is on air, they are limited in what they [Nine] can do,' the source said. The insider claimed the footage was originally sent around the office internally by an internal editor, but said they were not to blame and would not be punished either. The leaked footage garnered international attention and even made audiences in the US laugh after talk show host Jimmy Kimmel labelled it the 'clip of the year'. The footage was emailed around the Sydney newsroom before it popped up on media website Mumbrella. 'If you work on any of the big shows you see it live,' an industry insider said. A Nine source told Daily Mail Australia Ms Sherlock has since been bringing in treats, including white chocolate, to the Sydney office for her co-workers. She is pictured here with Ken Sutcliffe and Peter Overton After the footage of Ms Snook (left) and Ms Sherlock (right) was leaked last month, an internal investigation was launched to find out who distributed it to the public The footage shows Ms Sherlock exploding with rage after spotting Ms Snook and psychologist Sandy Rea sporting similar dresses to her moments before going live on Wednesday. Directing her anger at her colleague, Ms Sherlock demanded Ms Snook put on a different coloured jacket, creating an extremely awkward situation for their guest. Speaking to her producer, the presenter said: 'I need Julie to put a jacket on because we're all in white. I asked her before we came on Julie you need to put a jacket on.' Ms Snook defended herself, insisting she had not had time to change out of her outfit. But Ms Sherlock refused to back down, replying: 'Come on I told you two hours ago.' Her fellow 9 News reporter apologised and said she had been 'flat out' and had not had time to switch into a different colour. But a furious Ms Sherlock had no time for her apology and continued to demand she get changed before going live. Ms Snook tried to claim her dress was actually blue, but she then agreed to put on a black jacket that was lying around in the newsroom This year was supposed to be the best of Josh Young's life - he was about to become a father and build his dream house with his girlfriend. But instead the 25-year-old is enduring months of grueling therapy and likely will never walk again after damaging his spinal cord in a mountain bike crash. It was the last run of a three-hour trip with his girlfriend Kati Stone's brother down the Buxton bike train near Melbourne two weeks ago. Josh Young (pictured with girlfrined Kati Stone), 25, will likely never walk again after he crushed his spinal cord in a mountain bike accident It was just months before his girlfriend Katie Stone was due to give birth in June and the couple began to build their dream home in Melbourne with Ms Stone's two children (pictured) The keen rider hit a jump too fast and flew over the handlebars, landing hard five metres off the track. He thought he was winded and maybe broken his collar bone, but it wasn't long before he realised there was no feeling below his hips. 'As soon as we got to him he said "I can't feel my legs, I can't feel them, I can't move them",' Ms Stone's brother Benn Gaylor told the Sunshine Coast Daily. Mr Young had dislocated his L1 vertebrae, which crushed his spinal cord in an area that doesn't heal well - making his odds of walking again 'very slim'. It took a dozen paramedics 45 minutes to reach him in the rough terrain, even though he was just a kilometre from the car park, and an hour to get him to an ambulance helicopter. The boilermaker dislocated his L1 vertebrae when he hit a jump on the bike trail near Melbourne too fast and flew over the handlebars, landing hard five metres off the track The boilermaker is now getting used to the prospect of raising his new baby, due in June, and Ms Stones children, Isla, 6, and Noah, 7, without being able to walk. 'We know the chances of having a normal life are very, very slim, so were focused on having the best life possible,' he told Herald Sun. 'Ive thought about how well crawl on the floor together. That will be fun.' Ms Stone told her two small children he will be their 'cool dad on wheels', and described him as being 'very tough'. It took a dozen paramedics 45 minutes to reach him in the rough terrain, even though he was just a kilometre from the car park, and an hour to get him to an ambulance helicopter Mr Gaylor set up a crowdfunding effort to raise money for Mr Young's rehabilitation, which has raised more than $40,000. 'We all know Josh and what an amazing soul he has, and that he would not hesitate to do anything for the people he loves,' he said. 'Lets all hope and pray for a full and speedy recovery for him because he and Kati deserve all the happiness in the world.' His mother Megan paid tribute to her son and thanked family and friends for their support in the week after the accident. 'Kati you are an angel, you bring nothing but love and happiness to Josh. Thank you, you are the kind of women every mother wishes for her son,' she said. 'Josh, what can I say about you, the first things that comes to mind are that you are a loving, caring, inspirational, strong, legendary, amazing man.' Maternity services are on the brink of a crisis because so many midwives are approaching retirement, healthcare leaders warn. A third of midwives in England are over the age of 50, around 7,200 in total, including 1,000 who are over 60. The Royal College of Midwives also says the country needs an extra 3,500 professionals to cope with the rising birthrate. A third of midwives are over the age of 50, including 1,000 who are over 60. The Royal College of Midwives says the country needs an extra 3,500 professionals to cope with the rising birthrate Births are becoming more complex, due to factors such as the rising number of older mothers and those who are obese. There are around 21,600 full-time midwives in England but the RCM believes at least 25,100 are needed to ensure wards are run safely. It is worried that the retiring staff will not be replaced by younger students coming up from university. Some applicants have been put off by the Governments scrapping of grants worth up to 20,000 for trainees and replacing them with loans. HOSPITALS 'TO GET ADVANCED WARNINGS OF HYGIENE CHECKS' Hospitals get advance warning of random hygiene spot checks, academics claim. They are meant to get no more than 48 hours notice that inspectors are coming. Research by experts at Oxford University and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine suggests they know weeks in advance. The scientists, whose work is published in the Health Affairs journal, compared patient surveys from 205 NHS hospitals in England from 2011 to 2014 to inspection dates. Patients were up to 11 per cent more likely to report excellent cleanliness in the month before a spot-check. NHS Improvement said checks complement patient-led assessments to help ensure quality. Advertisement Cathy Warwick, chief executive of the RCM, said: A vast proportion of our midwives are close to retirement. They are doing great work every day. But it is an inescapable fact that they will soon take their well-deserved retirement. That will challenge our maternity units and put the whole system potentially on the brink of collapse. One in three midwives in England are now in their fifties or sixties and the RCM remains most concerned that there are not enough newly-qualified midwives coming in to staff an already understaffed maternity service. Right across the UK we are not seeing enough midwives being taken on. Older midwives will be lost to retirement soon and with this we lose their experience and their ability to train and guide younger midwives. This situation cannot be ignored any longer. If we wait there will not be enough time for us to train new midwives and get them into the service. Last month the National Childbirth Trust warned that women were being treated like cattle or like products on a conveyor belt in overstretched units. Freedom of Information requests in 2015 found that half of hospitals had to close their doors to women giving birth at least once as they were too busy. Health minister Philip Dunne said: Patients should be reassured that we are actively ensuring we continue to have enough midwives in the NHS. The RCM worry that applicants are put off by the government's scrapping of grants of up to 20,000. Freedom of Information requests in 2015 found that half of hospitals had to close their doors to women giving birth at least once as they were too busy Already there are over 2,100 more since 2010, with 6,300 more in training. The way we model midwife training places takes into account projected retirement rates. We have also invested millions of pounds in staff training and new equipment to help the NHS become one of the safest places in the world to have a baby. Andrew Marr says that his relationship with his wife has become warmer following his stroke. The BBC broadcasters marriage to journalist Jackie Ashley has been rocked by scandals, including a long-running affair which he sought to conceal via a court gagging order. In a separate incident, he was photographed kissing a colleague outside a bar in 2012. But following his stroke a year later, Marr, 57, said his relationship with Miss Ashley is better and warmer than ever. Marr took out a gagging order when news surfaced about him having a long-running-affair I was very lucky with Jackie because she had grown up from when she was young with a father who was deaf, Marr told the Radio Times, referring to Miss Ashleys father, the Labour MP Jack Ashley. You might think she has had the worst luck of all, having looked after her father, and then this happens to me. But she has been very good about shepherding me through the process. Marr, then 53, nearly died following his stroke in 2013 and was admitted to Charing Cross Hospital in the middle of the night. He said: I tore the carotid artery and that blocked the blood supply to the bit of the brain that happens to control motor function on the left side of the body. Miss Ashley, who has three children with Marr, took nine months' leave to care for her stricken husband and said it 'wouldn't matter' if he was disabled from his stroke On the mend, thanks to 'miracle' drug A controversial miracle stroke treatment has helped Andrew Marr regain movement in his ankle, arm and fingers that were paralysed. The BBC presenter went to Florida to have two injections into his spine of the anti-inflammatory drug etanercept. Marr said he has seen remarkable improvements since he was filmed having the treatment for Andrew Marr: My Brain And Me. He says he now hopes to dispose of his leg brace and perhaps even cycle again. The drug, which costs about 350 a time and is thought to neutralise a protein that disrupts brain function in stroke victims, is yet to receive official US approval but there are claims those given it show improvement within ten minutes. Marr was also filmed having functional electrical stimulation small shocks to the leg and stem-cell injections into the brain. Advertisement Miss Ashley, 62, took nine months leave to care for him after the stoke left him partly paralysed. She tells a BBC2 documentary that once she learnt her husband would survive, it wouldnt matter that he was disabled. The documentary, Andrew Marr: My Brain And Me, to be shown on February 14, follows Marr while he has various experimental stroke treatments, including one using the controversial drug etanercept. Miss Ashleys show of devotion came despite Marrs confession that he had taken out a High Court injunction to hush up an extramarital affair. The relationship, which ended in 2003, was common knowledge at Westminster and within the BBC, where he was political editor. At the time, he believed he had fathered a child with the woman but a DNA test confirmed he was not the father. He eventually came clean about the affair in a 2011 interview in the Daily Mail where he said he was embarrassed about the injunction, adding: I did not come into journalism to go around gagging journalists. In 2013 Marr tore his carotid artery, which blocked blood to the part of the brain which controls the motor function for the left side of his body Miss Ashley, with whom Marr has three children, stuck by him. She was said to be very cross when he was photographed kissing a colleague a year later. Marr met Miss Ashley the daughter of Lord Ashley of Stoke, the first deaf MP and a Labour peer until his death in 2012 in 1986 when he worked for the Independent and she was with ITN. Until recently they lived in East Sheen, South West London, but have moved to Primrose Hill, North London, to allow Marr to walk to work. John Henry, 50, was washing a window in Park City, Utah on Friday when he was struck by an approx 300-pound slab of ice and snow that fell from a roof A Utah man died after being struck by an approximately 300-pound slab of ice and snow that fell from a roof. Jon Henry, 50, was a window washer working in ski town Park City living in nearby Midway. He was working in the Old Town area Friday afternoon at a client's house when he was struck, authorities said. 'Were not sure how long he was there before he was found. It was probably about 45 minutes,' Police Chief Bob Zanetti said, KSL reported. Park City spokeswoman Linda Jager said Henry was washing windows on the first floor of a building in the 900 block of Woodside Avenue when he was hit, the Salt Lake Tribune reported. Henry suffered critical head trauma and was flown by helicopter to University Hospital in Salt Lake City. He was pronounced dead on Saturday A neighbor later said they heard the crash, but it wasn't until another neighbor found him 45 minutes later and alerted the authorities, KPCW reported. The slab was so heavy that four firefighters couldn't lift it and had to break it up with a sledgehammer to free him, Fire Chief Paul Hewitt said. Henry had suffered critical head trauma and was flown by helicopter to University Hospital in Salt Lake City, about 25 miles southeast of Park City. He died there Saturday morning. He was working in the 900 block of Woodside Avenue in Park City. The slab was so heavy that could firefighters couldn't lift it and had to break it up to free him He is survived by his wife, Cheryl, and two children. Henry moved to Park City in 1998 and lived there off and on until permanently settling in the region in 2005. He owned Panorama Window Cleaning. A GoFundMe page to help with the family's expenses said: 'John Henry was composed, kind, thoughtful, intelligent, compassionate with people, and he possessed a quality that is so rare these days. He listened.' Police Chief Zanetti spoke of the dangers of falling ice. He said: 'We have seen things like this before, not with those consequences, but it's extremely dangerous right now. There's a lot of buildings in Park City that have similar situations,' KPCW reported. Robert Fabian, 25, was arrested on Saturday in connection with the disappearance of his 22-year-old girlfriend, Zuzu Renee Verk, who disappeared near Alpine, Texas, in October Human remains found in Alpine, Texas, have been confirmed as belonging to a Fort Worth woman who went missing in October. Zuzu Verk's body was identified through dental records, according to Brewster County Sheriff Ronny Dodson, reported the Star Telegram. Verk's 26-year-old boyfriend, Robert Fabian was taken into custody on Saturday morning in connection with the disappearance of his 22-year-old girlfriend. Now, as second arrest has been made in the case, Fabian's friend Chris Estrada. He was arrested on charges of tampering with evidence and has been accused of concealing a corpse. Estrada was arrested in Phoenix, Arizona, where he has been living since a DWI arrest in Alpine, according to Dodson. Scroll down for video Human remains found in a shallow grave in West Texas on Friday morning may be 22-year-old Sul Ross State University student Zuzu Renee Verk (above) who disappeared in October Fabian and his friend, Chris Estrada (above), were acting strange in the days following Verk's disappearance. Both men testified in front of a grand jury in January but no indictments have been handed down Fabian has been charged with tampering or fabricating physical evidence by concealing a human corpse, though Police Chief Russell Scown said that they anticipate additional charges soon, reported the Telegram. Zuzu Verk went missing in October after going on a date to the movies. Fabian was named a primary suspect by police two weeks after the Sul Ross State University student's disappearance. A US Border Patrol agent found unidentified human remains Friday morning in a shallow grave off Wagon Road in the Sunny Glen area northwest of Alpine, the town where Verk was last seen in October, The Dallas Morning-News reports. The skeletal remains are being sent to the medical examiner's office for identification. Verk's family has been notified, although police are not sure if the remains belong to her. The Brewster County Sheriff's Office said the results may come back next week. No arrests have been made, but police said Verk's on-again, off-again boyfriend, Robert Fabian, is their primary suspect. The remains were found during a routine border patrol operation northwest of Alpine, Texas Police have not yet identified the remains and are continuing to investigate Verk was reported missing by Fabian on October 14, who told police he had last seen her leaving his home at 3am two days prior. He has since refused to answer questions about the last time Verk was seen, and he and a friend, Chris Estrada, were acting strange in the days following her disappearance. 'Unfortunately we have one individual who has refused to come in and talk to us, he has retained an attorney,' said a police spokesman at an October press conference. 'This individual happens to know her better than anyone else. Investigators are waiting to talk to him.' John Franco, who lives in the apartment directly below Fabian, told The Dallas Morning-News that the couple made dinner around 9pm on October 11. 'You could smell their food, and you can hear their conversation and then laugh a little bit. 'Then, it got quiet like after 11pm', Franco said. Franco and his girlfriend heard 'shut the 'f' up' and then nothing else. The couple often fought, but Franco said that night Fabian kept pacing across his apartment. Then, Franco's girlfriend heard a loud thump around 3am. 'She wanted me to go check, so I went to go check, and it was just Robert', Franco said. He saw Fabian get into his car alone, with Verk's car still parked outside until October 14. Search warrants found that Fabian called Estrada twice during the early morning of October 12 and later borrowed a Ford F-150 pickup for an unknown reason. Verk, a student at Sul Ross State University (file above) in Alpine, was last heard from during the early morning hours of October 12, Alpine Police say Estrada tried to get his Ford Mustang cleaned three times at a local auto shop in the days following Verk's disappearance. Both men testified in front of a grand jury in January but no indictments have been handed down. Verk, who is originally from the Fort Worth area, studied conservation biology at Sul Ross State University in Alpine. Her father, Glenn Verk, said she was absent from school, where she is studying conservation biology, and also missed work later that day. The Alpine Police Department is looking for two vehicles possibly related to her disappearance: a grey 2006 Jeep Liberty (left) and a 2004 Mazda Miata (right) convertible with a beige colored top 'We're all special but there's something exceptional about this young woman. She's vibrant and she's full of excitement and life,' Glenn Verk told CBS11. 'I'm just very proud of her and I want to see her again,' her father said while choking back tears. Zuzu Verk left her parents' home in Keller to go on a date to the movies back in Alpine with Fabian on the night of October 11, Fox News reported. In addition, Verk had planned to go on a camping trip with friends that Friday. Verk's family is still hoping for her safe return and is asking anyone who may have information to call police. 'The community has reached out to an amazing degree putting together huge search parties,' her father said. Verk's on-again, off-again boyfriend, Robert Fabian, is the primary suspect in her disappearance. He has refused to answer questions about the last time he saw her 'If they have any connection to anything that might've happened her in Alpine, the smallest inclining of a suspicion. Nothing is being overlooked.' The Alpine Police Department is looking for two vehicles possibly related to her disappearance: a grey 2006 Jeep Liberty and a 2004 Mazda Miata convertible with a beige colored top. Both of those vehicles were spotted in the area between 12am and 10am on October 12, police said. Verk is described as 5 feet tall, weighing 110 pounds with blonde hair and hazel eyes. The reward for her return reached $200,000 in October as authorities continued to search nearby counties and the US-Mexico border near the Big Bend state and national parks. Anyone with information is urged to call the Alpine Police Department at 432-837-3486. Cory Bernardi has warned Malcolm Turnbull politicians from own his party want to dump him. The South Australian senator told the prime minister he would be replaced as he formally quit the Liberal Party on Tuesday morning. 'There's talk about doing it again and I want no part of it,' Senator Bernardi reportedly told Mr Turnbull. Scroll down for video South Australian senator Cory Bernardi (pictured) has told Malcolm Turnbull the Liberal Party was likely to dump him Former prime minister Tony Abbott at a joint Coalition party room meeting in Canberra Former prime minister Tony Abbott has told his Facebook followers more effort should have been made to stop Cory Bernardi from leaving the Liberal Party The prime minister's poor performance in the opinion polls, after less than 18 months in the top job, was cited by Senator Bernardi, The Sydney Morning Herald said. His predecessor Tony Abbott was photographed looking smug as he met with other coalition MPs in Canberra on Tuesday. He later took his Facebook followers the Liberal Party should have tried to keep Senator Bernardi, a right-wing conservative who fiercely opposes gay marriage. 'While Cory and I have sometimes disagreed Im disappointed that more effort has not been made to keep our party united,' Mr Abbott said. 'The Liberal Party needs more people, like Cory, who believe that freer citizens will make a fairer society and a stronger country and who are prepared to speak out and make a difference.' Senator Bernardi's defection from the Liberal Party comes only days after a Newspoll showed Labor leading the Coalition 54 to 46, after preferences. Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull is pictured at the ecumenical church service to mark the start of the parliamentary year at St Christopher's cathedral in Canberra Mr Turnbull had used Mr Abbott's poor Newspoll ratings in September 2015 as justification for challenging the first-term prime minister. Senator Bernardi played a key role in helping Mr Abbott to knife Mr Turnbull as opposition leader in December 2009. Federal MPs marked the start of parliament at the traditional ecumenical church service on Tuesday morning, where the prime minister stared at the ceiling. Senator Bernardi will sit on the crossbench as an independent, and will form a breakaway party called Australian Conservatives, the Nine Network's veteran political editor Laurie Oakes told the Today Show. Mr Turnbull, his wife Lucy and Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce are pictured on Tuesday Mr Bernardi appears to be getting bankrolled by mining magnate Gina Rinehart. He is expected to address the Senate about 12.30pm on Tuesday. Mr Oakes said the senator had timed his resignation 'to inflict maximum damage' on the prime minister, on the first day of the parliamentary year. Mr Turnbull was tight lipped about the future of renegade senator Mr Bernardi as he arrived at the ecumenical service at St Christopher's cathedral in Canberra with his wife Lucy. Cory Bernardi shared this selfie posing in a Donald Trump 'Make Australia Great Again' hat last year Mr Turnbull is pictured delivering a reading during the ecumenical church service to mark the start of the parliamentary year at St Christopher's cathedral in Canberra He refused to answer questions as he arrived for the service in suburban Canberra. Inside, he read from Psalm 15: 'Lord, who may dwell in your sacred tent? Who may live on your holy mountain. 'The one whose walk is blameless, who does what is righteous, who speaks the truth from their heart.' Opposition Leader Bill Shorten and wife Chloe also attended the Tuesday gathering, which traditionally marks the start of the parliamentary year. Immigration Minister Peter Dutton, regarded as the leading conservative inside Mr Turnbull's cabinet, didn't hold back on criticising Mr Bernardi. 'People will be angry about any defection, angry about the betrayal of the Liberal Party values,' he told ABC radio. Mr Dutton said he didn't believe other coalition MPs would follow Mr Bernardi who is tipped to announce the formation of the Australian Conservatives party when he publicly reveals his future to the Senate later on Tuesday. Cory Bernardi has called Malcolm Turnbull to confirm he will defect from the Liberal Party (Mr Bernardi pictured in August last year) On Twitter, Defence Minister Christopher Pyne said the 'honourable course' was for Mr Bernardi to resign and recontest as an independent because he was elected as a Liberal. 'Those most hurt by Cory Bernardi are the hundreds of thousands of SA voters who voted Liberal in the Senate only to be let down by him,' Mr Pyne wrote on Twitter. 'The Liberal Party's values are not limited to conservatism. We are Liberals because we are open to new ideas; tolerant of difference; ... modern and forward looking; we believe in reward for effort and sharing Australia's good fortune with those in need.' Liberal MP Craig Kelly wants Mr Bernardi to think again. 'You can do a lot more inside the Liberal party, working for, arguing those things that you believe in, than actually outside the tent,' he told the ABC. Mr Bernardi's decision is set to dominate the first day of federal parliament for the year. But cabinet minister Arthur Sinodinos denies it will be a distraction. 'Not if we and the press focus on what's important to our fellow Australians,' he said. Fellow coalition MPs, who are usually not willing to talk politics on sacred grounds, were happy to give their two cents worth on Mr Bernardi at the service on Tuesday. Mr Turnbull refused to answer questions as he arrived for the service in suburban Canberra 'He should be honourable and he should resign from the Senate and run as an independent,' Liberal backbencher Jane Prentice said. Ken Wyatt offered a more charitable view. 'On principle I'd like to see Cory remain with us but if he's made that decision then I'm not going to begrudge him making that decision,' the minister told reporters. Treasurer Scott Morrison was in a reflective mood as he went to pray for the year ahead, turning his mind to South Australian Liberal party members who supported Senator Bernardi at the 2016 election. 'They're the ones he made the promise to, to be a Liberal,' Mr Morrison said. The traditional display of political unity across the aisle was short-lived, as Labor leader Bill Shorten sought to remind everyone that a government that could not govern itself could not govern the nation. 'It is long overdue for the government to focus on the jobs of other Australians,' he said as he left the service alongside his wife, Chloe. Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce did not appear too fussed by the distraction. On Twitter, Defence Minister Christopher Pyne said the 'honourable course' was for Mr Bernardi to resign and recontest as an independent because he was elected as a Liberal 'Everything is always interesting in this job, eh,' he said. And his advice for Senator Bernardi? 'Pray. Pray hard.' Conservative Queensland government backbencher George Christensen said Mr Bernardi had never asked him to leave the Liberal National Party. 'At this point in time I'm very loyal to Barnaby Joyce - I sit within the National Party - it's a party I've been a member of for more than two decades,' he told ABC radio. 'I'm going to continue here for as long as the party - and I believe the National Party always will be - in tune with conservative values and in tune with regional electorates.' Sean Edwards has more reason than most to be angry with his fellow South Australian. 'It would be a gross departure as to - certainly six months into a six-year term - what people would have expected,' said the former senator who lost his seat at the 2016 election. Mr Edwards, who was number five on the SA Senate ticket behind Mr Bernardi running as number two, said he would be disappointed if he left. 'I would prefer to see Mr Bernardi stay within the Liberal party and do the work that all the members that preselected him in preference to members like myself (expect),' he said. Changes to way senators are elected would make it harder for Liberal renegade Cory Bernardi to retain his Senate seat, one crossbencher warned. Cory Bernardi has been told by one his of soon-to-be fellow crossbenchers he risks losing his Senate seat if he quits the Liberal Party to sit as an independent conservative. Liberal Democrat David Leyonhjlem told reporters in Canberra on Tuesday he had a simple message for the renegade government senator: 'Don't do it.' Mr Bernardi will sit on the crossbench as an independent conservative (pictured in August 2016) Changes to way senators are elected would make his South Australian seat much harder to retain, he warned. But Mr Bernardi would make a good replacement on small-L liberal economic issues after Family First senator Bob Day quit parliament. Government senator James Paterson said his thoughts were with Liberal voters in South Australia who would be feeling disappointed. 'I hope if Cory does go to the cross bench that ... he bears in mind he was elected on a Liberal Party platform,' he told reporters. Support for the federal government is at its lowest point since Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull ousted Tony Abbott, Newspoll revealed on monday. There's no shame in sleeping with someone before a first date but having an Android or cracked phone screen is definitely not okay, according to America's singles. The rules of dating are always shifting and the annual Singles in America survey set out to find what people really thought about when they were searching for love. Gone are the days where singles feel pressured to wait, with almost half of millennials and 34 per cent of all people admitting they are likely to have sex before a first date. But in order to get to that stage, cell phone etiquette can be a deal breaker. Dates will negatively judge potential partners for having an Android and 86 per cent of women think seeing a cracked phone screen is a turn off. There's no shame in sleeping with someone before a first date, with almost half of millennials and 34 per cent of all people admitting they are likely to have sex before any set plans, according to the annual Single in America survey The research was funded by dating service Match and conducted by Research Now who interviewed more than 5,000 single people ages ranging from 18 to 70. In its seventh year, the survey is dedicated to finding out what today's singles think about looking for relationships and love. Surprise findings include that men are three times more likely to use a one-night stand to initiate a relationship, and that flirting at a laundry mat is just as successful as grabbing a number at the bar or gym. Dr. Helen Fisher, a biological anthropologist, said to Yahoo: 'Millennials are diligently using technology to find loveand building new dating rules and taboos along the way. 'Moreover, if you want to spur a budding relationship forward, skip the flowers: leave your cell phone in your pocket. 'And how do you know when a friendship is turning into a romance? Singles still express true love in ancestral ways -- it's not about revealing your passwords.' Here's what the study found: Cell phone etiquette can be a deal breaker. Dates will negatively judge potential partners for having an Android and 86 per cent of women think seeing a cracked phone screen is a turn off Millennials Around 57 per cent of this generation admit they are lonely and are 30 per cent more likely than any other age group to want a relationship in 2017. As many as 66 per cent don't enjoy oral sex but 40 per cent believe that a strong emotional connection will lead to better sex. Millennials are dedicated to finding love with 125 per cent addicted to making a connection, more than any other generation, but 177 per cent feel an overwhelming pressure to get married. Men Ladies aren't the only ones looking to find love, 68 per cent of men are trying to find it in 2017 too, and it's easier for them. Males fall in love an average of 3.3 times more than women. Men also believe sex helps determine if they are in love, 73 per cent more likely than women. And 38 per cent of men think the biggest turn on is a female entrepreneur. The study found 68 per cent of men are trying to love this year and it's easier for them too. Males fall in love an average of 3.3 times more than women Technology and dating In the world of smartphone dating, potential partners aren't just judging on looks. Almost 50 per cent of people agreed that other aspects of online profiles can create a negative impression. Social media posts are weighted heavily at 42 per cent, followed by 42 per cent care about quality of pictures, 39 per cent care about grammar usage, 37 per cent inspect oral hygiene and 35 per cent judge based on outfit choice. When out on dates, leave the phone alone. Three-fourths of singles think answering a call is a huge mistake and 58 per cent think even seeing a phone on the table is wrong. Android users are 15 times more likely to judge someone negatively for having an iPhone, while Apple users are 21 times more likely to turn their noses up at an Android user. Don't forget to fix a cracked phone screen before agreeing to a date, 86 per cent of women are more likely to judge a man for having a shattered screen. Almost 50 per cent of people agreed online profiles can create a negative impression and are judging potential partners on social media posts, quality of pictures, grammar usage, oral hygiene and outfit choice Sex A majority of both genders agreed they want more adventure in the bedroom but one-night stands aren't viewed too favorably. However, men are three times more likely to use these one-night stands as a way to start a relationship with someone. Love Most wouldn't be surprised that 64 per cent of singles meet partners at a bar, but other successful flirting venues include the laundromat at 43 per cent and the gym at 42 per cent. Singles said a sure sign of a committed relationship is tending to them while they are sick , at 87 per cent, and attending a family event as a couple is serious too, at 83 per cent. The East Coast seems to attract more love birds with San Jose, California, singles claiming to be in love the most times at 6.5 times more than other cities. Dating Advice Around 37 per cent of singles do not want to hear they need to put themselves out there, 36 per cent hate when they are told not to be so picky and 65 per cent agree that they don't find dating advice useful. Women and men both turn to friends for dating advice but men are more likely to turn to an ex for pointers. Uber drivers are a lucky charm for a dry spell, people are three times more likely to have sex after talking to a driver about their love lives. A disgraced lawyer who hounded troops for more than a decade over actions during the Iraq war could lose his honorary doctorate after he was struck off. Professor Phil Shiner could be stripped of the award after a disciplinary tribunal last week found he acted dishonestly in bringing murder claims against British troops. Shiner, 60, who made his name suing the Government at taxpayers expense, received an honorary Doctor of Law from the University of Kent in 2012. Disgraced lawyer Phil Shiner, 60, could be stripped of his honourary doctorate after he was struck off. He has spent the last decade hounding troops over actions during the Iraq war. Last week, a disciplinary tribunal found he acted dishonestly in bringing murder claims against British troops A university spokesman said yesterday: In light of the recent decision by the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal, the university can confirm that it has initiated a review of Phil Shiners award. Shiners now defunct firm Public Interest Lawyers brought the vast majority of 3,380 allegations of wrongdoing to the Iraq Historic Allegations Team, which was established in 2010 to investigate claims of abuses by British troops on the battlefield. In five of the charges faced by Shiner, the 60-year-old was found to have acted dishonestly, including agreeing to pay sweeteners to a fixer to persuade him to change his evidence to the 31 million Al-Sweady Inquiry. Mr Shiner previously admitted nine allegations of acting without integrity and recklessly, including that he made unsolicited direct approaches to potential clients. He was ordered to pay interim costs of 250,000, with a full means test to determine further costs to follow. The case is thought to be one of the most expensive ever brought by the SRA, with costs expected to exceed the 475,000 reached before the trial. The review comes as a photograph emerged of Mr Shiner and Labours Baroness Chakrabarti, the shadow attorney general. Shiner was made a honourary Doctor of Law from Kent University in 2012. The case is thought to be one of the most expensive ever brought by the SRA, with costs expected to exceed the 475,000 reached before the trial The pair were said to have collaborated extensively while she was director at Liberty as they worked together on cases of Iraq abuse allegations. In 2008, Shami Chakrabarti lavished praised on Mr Shiner, saying: His relentless work on behalf of the families of British soldiers and Iraqi civilians demonstrates the even-handedness of human rights. In 2011, at the conclusion of the Baha Mousa inquiry, Shami said that Shiner and his team of lawyers had brought honour to their profession. In 2015, she suggested Shiner was the victim of a witch hunt by the government. She said: I know the dangers of governments threatening human rights lawyers for their work. It happens in dark parts of the world and is not good for the rule of law. Her office did not respond for comment last night. A shocking 13,000 prisoners have been executed by the Syrian regime pursuing a deliberate policy of extermination. A chilling new report by Amnesty International has exposed mass hangings of up to 50 detainees at a time by President Bashar al-Assads brutal henchmen. Civilians opposed to the dictator were executed secretly at Saydnaya military prison near Damascus between 2011 and 2015 usually in the dead of night. An Amnesty International report has exposed how 13,000 prisoners were executed at the Saydnaya military prison near Damascus between 2011 and 2015 Death sentences were pronounced after sham trials lasting no longer than two minutes, without lawyers and using so-called confessions extracted through torture, said the study. Survivors of Saydnaya prison have also provided spine-chilling and shocking testimonies about life inside the prison, describing a regime designed to humiliate, degrade, sicken, starve and kill those trapped inside. The report found that President Bashar al-Assads henchmen are deliberately inflicting brutally inhuman conditions on detainees, including torture Amnestys 48-page report, called Human Slaughterhouse, reveals that on top of the extrajudicial executions the Syrian authorities are deliberately inflicting brutally inhuman conditions on detainees, including systematic torture and deprivation of food, water and medicine. It said the practices amounted to war crimes and crimes against humanity and were authorised at the highest levels of the Syrian government. The human rights organisation published the findings of its year-long study which involved interviews with 84 witnesses, including former detainees, guards and officials. Amnesty establish that twice a week the doomed detainees names are called out and they are told they are be transferred to civilian prisons only to be moved to basement cell and severely beaten for up to three hours. Then they are blindfolded and moved to another part of the facility where they are informed they have been sentenced to death. Minutes later, a noose is placed around their necks and they are hanged. Omar Alshogre, 21, who was a detainee in Saydnaya prison, described how he heard men escorted to be hanged and had himself been called for 'execution' but was spared One witness, a former military officer arrested in 2011 called Hamid, said: If you put your ears on the floor, you could hear the sound of a kind of gurgling. This would last around ten minutes We were sleeping on top of the sound of people choking to death. Amnesty International's Lynn Maalouf said those responsible for the heinous crimes must be brought to justice After execution, the prisoners bodies are taken away by the truckload to be secretly buried in mass graves, said the report. Their families are given no information about their fate. Lynn Maalouf, deputy director for research at Amnesty Internationals office in Beirut, said: The horrors depicted in this report reveal a hidden, monstrous campaign, authorised at the highest levels of the Syrian government, aimed at crushing any form of dissent within the Syrian population. The cold-blooded killing of thousands of defenceless prisoners, along with the carefully crafted and systematic programmes of psychological and physical torture they cannot be allowed to continue. Those responsible for these heinous crimes must be brought to justice. The report was published ahead of upcoming talks in Geneva to find an end to the bloody civil war. There are calls for the speed limit on major Australian roads to be reduced to cut the commuting time for drivers, and to make traffic flow more smoothly. Professor Peter Rayner, an atmospheric scientist at the University of Melbourne, told News Corp travelling at a lower speed and being a tolerant driver had its benefits. 'By being patient and sitting in one lane travelling at 80 you may surprise yourself by getting home quicker,' he said. Prof Rayner said travelling slower on roads could stop 'shocks' in the traffic flow. There are calls for the speed limit on major Australian roads to be reduced to make traffic flow more smoothly, decrease accidents and reduce air pollution (stock image) Although he said the idea seemed 'counter-intuitive', having variable speed limits for different volumes of traffic can mean the overall speed improves. 'If you have an upper limit of 100km/h, some people will be doing 90km/h, so drivers will be slowing down to stop bumping into each other and there will be the temptation to change lanes (which) makes flows less efficient,' he said. Prof Rayner said it could also reduce accidents caused by drivers constantly changing lanes, because they think the other lanes are travelling faster. Professor Zoran Ristovski, a road pollution expert at Queensland University of Technology, said resolving traffic jams was the key issue and more public transport was needed. 'The solution to pollution is dont use private cars,' he said. Climate scientist Professor Rayner said lowers speeds 'seems counter intuitive but having variable speed limits for different volumes of traffic can mean the (overall) top speed actually improves' (stock image) He said cars burn the most fuel during acceleration, and are at their dirtiest when they slow down and then speed up again. 'The key to reducing these harmful emissions, especially ultrafine nanoparticles, is to minimise the start-stop of traffic jams. 'When vehicles are cruising at a constant speed, the emissions are much smaller.' Under the proposal motorists would be fined for exceeding the new speed limits, even if other highways and freeways allowed drivers to travel at a faster speed. Under the proposal motorists would be fined for exceeding the new speed limits, even if other motorways and freeways allowed drivers to travel at a faster speed (stock image) However, previous plans to cut speed limits have been met with criticism, including a 2015 proposal to reduce the speed limit on Melbourne's Tullamarine Freeway, which links the airport to the city. The plan to reduce the limit from to 80km/h from 100km/h was met with such strong opposition it was dropped within 24 hours. A spokesperson from NRMA said they supported better public transport in Sydney and had reservations about cutting top speeds. A NSW Roads and Maritime spokesperson said variable speed limits were being considered as part of a motorway improvement program on Sydney's M4 in 2017. A homeless couple pleaded guilty Monday to murder in the shooting deaths of a Canadian backpacker who was camping in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park during a music festival and a yoga instructor walking his dog. As part of plea deals, Morrison Lampley, 24, agreed to a 100-year prison sentence and Lila Scott Alligood, 19, accepted a 50-year term after each pleaded guilty to two counts of first-degree murder, prosecutors said. During a preliminary hearing in September 2016, prosecutors told the court how Lampley, Alligood and a third drifter, 25-year-old Sean Angold, killed Audrey Carey and robbed the tourist of her possessions after befriending her while she was camping in Golden Gate Park to attend the annual Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival in October 2015. Scroll down for video Killer drifters: Morrison Lampley, 24 (left) and his girlfriend Lila Scott Alligood, 19 (right), have pleaded guilty to first-degree murder charges in connection to two deadly shootings in 2015 Two days after Carey's murder, the trio shot dead yoga teacher Steve Carter, 67, after running into him, on a popular hiking trail in Marin County, where the victim was walking his dog. Carter's pet was also shot and has recovered. Lampley will be handed the harsher sentence because he pulled the trigger in both of the 2015 killings that occurred just two days apart, the Marin County district attorney's office explained. Both defendants had faced a possible sentence of life in prison without parole. But under the plea agreements, they will become eligible to go before the parole board after serving about 85 per cent of their sentences, which in Lampley's case would be 2102. Both agreed not to appeal their convictions. 'This plea agreement puts finality in the tragic losses that were endured,' District Attorney Edward Berberian said. 'A specter of what could be an endless appeals process is abated and the families will be relieved from having to revisit these events.' The pair are scheduled to be formally sentenced on April 18. Canadian tourist Audrey Carey, 23 (left), was shot dead and robbed of her possessions on October 3, 2015. Two days later, yoga teacher Steve Carter, 67 (right), was gunned down while walking his dgo Carey's body was discovered in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park, where she had been camping while attending a Bluegrass festival Marin County Sheriff's Detective Scott Buer marks the location of the homicide site of Steve Carter on a map during the preliminary hearing in September 2016 Sean Angold previously pleaded guilty to second-degree murder charges and is expected to be sentenced to 15 years in prison after agreeing to testify against his co-defendants. The 25-year-old told the court during the preliminary hearing that he met Lampley and Alligood in late September after the pair had hitchhiked to San Francisco from San Diego, and all three of them came up with a plan to relocate to Oregon to farm marijuana. Authorities say the trio were living around San Francisco's Haight Asbury neighborhood near Buena Vista Park when they killed and robbed Audrey Carey, who was visiting from Quebec, and stole her camping gear. Her body was found in the park on October 3, 2015. Accomplices: A third drifter, 25-year-old Sean Angold (left), pleaded guilty to second-degree murder after agreeing to testify against Lampley (center) and Alligood (right) On October 5, Steve Carter was walking his pet Doberman pinscher i n the Loma Alta Open Space Preserve near Fairfax, about 20 miles from San Francisco, when the trio of drifters accosted and repeatedly shot him in the head, abdomen and leg for the purpose of stealing his car. The man's dog was shot in the eye but survived. Prosecutors said Lampley shot both victims with a Smith & Wesson handgun stolen from an unlocked vehicle parked in San Francisco's Fisherman's Wharf area. The defendants were arrested outside a soup kitchen in Portland, Oregon, after police tracked the GPS in the station wagon they had stolen from Carter. Taliban target: Shaffy, his face obscured, with David Cameron Senior MPs have launched an inquiry into Britain's treatment of Afghan interpreters. The Commons' defence select committee will today hear how translators who risked their lives to protect British forces have been 'abandoned' in the war-torn country. The inquiry a breakthrough for the Daily Mail's Betrayal of the Brave campaign will hear from interpreter Rafi Hottak, who was critically injured while on patrol with UK troops in 2007 and fled to Britain after facing Taliban threats. Mr Hottak will tell the committee Afghan interpreters could be killed if they are not given sanctuary in Britain. He will say Afghanistan is 'more dangerous than ever' for interpreters, who live in fear of revenge attacks as a result of their work for UK troops. The two-hour hearing today which around a dozen Afghan interpreters will attend follows a Daily Mail campaign highlighting how interpreters who risked their lives for British troops have been branded 'spies' by the Taliban and have been targeted as a result. Last night Lib Dem peer Lord Ashdown, who has championed the cause of Afghan war interpreters, said: 'The announcement of an inquiry is a welcome start It is dishonourable that our nation refuses to pay the debt it owes to these Afghans. 'The Government's policy towards Afghan interpreters has been inexplicable, inhumane and a matter of shame for all of us. These people have risked their lives.' More than 178,000 former generals, military commanders, MPs, soldiers and members of the public have signed a petition calling for interpreters to be given sanctuary in the UK. BRITAIN HAS DESERTED ME David Cameron's former translator says he is forced to live in hiding in Afghanistan because he is being targeted by the Taliban. The 28-year-old, known to UK forces as Shaffy, said he 'lives in the shadows constantly fearing revenge attacks' four years after his six-year role ended. He believes he has been 'deserted' by the UK to 'our common enemy' after being told he did not qualify to come to Britain despite providing details of death threats. 'It is now more dangerous than when the British left Afghanistan two years ago,' he said. 'The Taliban is stronger and Daesh [Islamic State] is here I cannot even live with my wife and family because it puts them in danger.' Shaffy said he was told he would 'die like a dog' days after being seen on British and Afghan TV with Mr Cameron in 2011. He added: 'The British authorities know all about my case. I have asked to be allowed to come to the UK But they just say, 'sorry, no' I saved British lives.' Advertisement Currently, there are two policies under which this can happen. But the first scheme has an arbitrary cut-off point which means hundreds of interpreters are not allowed to apply for it. No one has been admitted under a second intimidation scheme because the Ministry of Defence claims interpreters have to prove they are under threat. The committee will hear from Armed Forces minister Mike Penning and Colonel Simon Diggins OBE, former British defence attache in Kabul. Mr Hottak, 30, worked for two years on the front line in Afghanistan with UK troops, including special forces. On patrol in Helmand Province in November 2007, he was hit by a Taliban bomb that killed a British Army captain. Mr Hottak was saved by British doctors at Camp Bastion. He had 160 stitches. He was later tasked with running an expanded translator scheme for UK forces, which included recruiting. As a result he and his family were targeted by the Taliban and received death threats. He was forced to flee with the help of people smugglers and claimed asylum in the UK. Mr Hottak studies accountancy and helps translators who have fled to Europe or are still in Afghanistan. He said: 'There is considerable evidence that the policy towards translators is not fair. There was no logic to the cut-off point imposed for who would qualify to come to the UK. 'Many of those who did not qualify under the scheme took the greatest risks for the British and faced the greatest threat of revenge as a result. The sacrifice and risks they took to keep British lives safe many, many lives, has not been recognised.' He will tell the inquiry the UK has a 'moral duty' to look after those who looked after them. Rosa Curling, of law firm Leigh Day which represents Mr Hottak, said former interpreters were owed a 'great debt of honour'. She added: 'The British Forces operating in Afghanistan could not have functioned without the assistance of locally employed staff who exposed themselves to considerable personal risk.' A young woman has been diagnosed with skin cancer after noticing changes in a mole that doctors had told her not to worry about. Elly Bradshaw was preparing for an upcoming holiday when her partner noticed differences in a mole on her back in December, 7 News reported. A doctor confirmed the 24-year-old from Perth had had stage-three melanoma which had spread to her lymph nodes. Elly Bradshaw (right) was preparing for an upcoming holiday when her partner (left) noticed differences in a mole on her back in December A young woman has been diagnosed with skin cancer after noticing changes in a mole (pictured) that doctors had told her not to worry about Ms Bradshaw had all the lymph nodes under her arms taken out and an incision cut from her neck to the middle of her back (pictured) to get rid of the cancer Ms Bradshaw had previously expressed concerns about the mole during regular skin check-ups. 'Each time I had it checked out doctors would say it was OK and they didn't want to cut it and scar me unnecessarily,' she told 7 News. 'I'm really unlucky. Doctors said I was not a high-risk patient. I don't have fair skin or spend a lot of time in the sun, and melanoma is not in my family.' Soon after she was diagnosed, Ms Bradshaw underwent surgery. She had all the lymph nodes under her arms taken out and an incision cut from her neck to the middle of her back to get rid of the cancer. Ms Bradshaw has encouraged people to get regular skin check-ups and avoid large amounts of sun. A string of retired senior officers will join hundreds of ex-Marines today as Sergeant Alexander Blackman's appeal begins A string of retired senior officers will join hundreds of ex-Marines today as Sergeant Alexander Blackman's appeal begins. Some 500 supporters were expected to throng The Strand in London in solidarity with the jailed Royal Marine. An even greater number is expected tomorrow. His bid for justice begins in Court 4 of the Royal Courts of Justice, where a special bench has been reserved in the public gallery for former top brass. A retired brigadier, one vice-admiral, a general, two major-generals and three lieutenant-colonels were among those planning to show their support. Falklands veteran Lieutenant Colonel Ewen Southby-Tailyour OBE said: 'They all feel very strongly about this case. Blackman has huge support among the officer class. 'Not all officers back him, it is true, but large numbers feel he has not been treated well. Not all of them will be able to turn up, because some are infirm, but there is a tremendous feeling that this appeal is a watershed moment. 'In the field, Blackman was let down by some of his officers. We feel strongly he should know that we're not all like that.' Outside court, London's black cab drivers have pledged to perform a 'go slow' on The Strand to support the jailed sergeant. Sgt Blackman, 42, was sentenced to life in prison for shooting a mortally wounded Taliban fighter in Afghanistan in 2011. But many felt he had been made a scapegoat for failings by senior officers, and a campaign was launched to get him a fresh appeal. Thanks to generous Daily Mail readers who funded a new legal team, he presented fresh evidence to the Criminal Cases Review Commission which investigated and concluded there was a 'real possibility' the Appeal Court could quash his murder conviction. The public gallery is expected to be packed for the three-day hearing, presided over by five senior judges led by the Lord Chief Justice. Stills of footage captured by a camera mounted on the helmet of a Royal Marine showing Sgt Alexander Wayne Blackman during a patrol in Afghanistan Sgt Blackman will appear by video link from HMP Erlestoke in Wiltshire. His wife Claire will be in court. The judges will hear how three eminent psychiatrists now agree Sgt Blackman was suffering from 'combat stress disorder' at the time he pulled the trigger. The Appeal Court could commute his sentence from murder to manslaughter with diminished responsibility, order a retrial, or decide to uphold his murder conviction. Last night John Davies, a former Marine who has run the campaign for justice, said: 'We have been campaigning for nearly three and a half years and this week we will hopefully see justice prevail and lessons learned. 'We have a strong case and are all feeling extremely positive of a good outcome this week. Al and Claire are holding up well, all things considered, and the legal team just don't seem to sleep. It really has been great to see so much positivity.' A woman was on a cruise ship heading to Tasmania when she got a message that her seven-year kidney transplant was over - but she had to get to a Sydney hospital before it was too late. Kathie John was on a holiday with her mum in the middle of the Bass Strait in January when she was alerted that doctors at Sydney's Westmead Hospital had found her a kidney match. Ms John rushed to tell the cruise ship's medical staff, who organised for an Ambulance Victoria helicopter to pick her up from the liner as soon as possible. The 40-year-old, who undergoes 18 hours of dialysis a week, was winched to the helicopter as it hovered over the ship and a large crowd gathered below to watch. Scroll down for video Kathie John was winched to an Ambulance Victoria helicopter in January after she found out in the middle of a Tasmania-bound cruise her seven-year wait for a kidney transplant was over (pictured) The 40-year-old (pictured) was on a holiday with her mum in the middle of the Bass Strait when she was alerted that doctors at Sydney's Westmead Hospital had found her a kidney match The excited patient was flown to Bairnsdale, Victoria, before taking a plane to NSW and then an ambulance from the airport to the hospital. Ms John, who underwent the operation within hours of being notified, says the ordeal was 'gobsmacking'. 'I felt like I was on a TV episode of a special operation,' she told Ambulance Victoria. 'It was so awesome. I was really excited about it, I wasn't scared. It was exciting to know that I was getting a kidney and to see all the work behind it to make this happen for me. Ms John rushed to tell the cruise ship's medical staff, who organised for an Ambulance Victoria helicopter to pick her up from the liner as soon as possible The 40-year-old, who undergoes 18 hours of dialysis a week, was winched to the helicopter as it hovered over the ship and a large crowd gathered below to watch (pictured) The helicopter landed in Victoria before Ms John boarded a plane for Sydney 'I was just waiting, you know I've been waiting for seven years. I couldn't believe that the time had actually come.' Video footage taken from the helicopter shows paramedic Toby St Clair drop down onto the cruise ship deck before winching Ms John and holding on to her as they ascended. Mr St Clair said he is happy to have helped Ms John get her new kidney. Ms John, who underwent the operation within hours of being notified, is recovering well and said she can now 'live a normal life' 'It was exciting that it was a very successful job and ended up having a wonderful outcome. The crew felt very privileged to be involved.' 'We hoped that we could reach her in a viable timeframe and we know that the cruise ship even turned around towards us to help us get to Kathie as quickly as possible,' he said. Ms John is recovering well from the transplant and said she can now 'live a normal life.' As David Beckham learned this week, a lot of damage can be done if computer hackers get hold of your emails. After the contents of the former England captains private messages were leaked including foul-mouthed rants when he missed out on a knighthood police are investigating how 18.6 million emails were apparently hacked from the servers of the firm run by Beckhams PR chief. But before you think such cyber attacks only happen to celebrities, dont forget the hackers are after us mere mortals as well. Police are investigating how 18.6 million emails were apparently hacked from the servers of the firm run by David Beckhams PR chief Email accounts are typically hacked by exploiting weaknesses in peoples passwords, via viruses that then track or log keystrokes as you type (and so reveal your passwords) or by phishing sending emails that purport to be from a legitimate source in order to trick you into giving away personal information. This is sometimes done on a massive scale. Last December, Yahoo! finally disclosed how one billion of its user accounts had been compromised back in 2013 in what is regarded as the biggest hack in history. And, in January, it was reported how hackers accessed emails between charity worker Howard Mollett and his conveyancing solicitor, and stole his 67,000 life savings which was to be a deposit on his first house. But its not only the contents of emails that hackers are after. Rather than stealing private information such as bank details or documents, increasingly hackers attack by simply stopping you from accessing them and demanding cash in return. The ransom demand issued to Christoph Brandstaetter, manager of the Austrian hotel, the Romantik Seehotel Jaegerwirt, started politely and innocuously enough with the words: Good morning? The email, sent on January 22, went on to explain to Mr Brandstaetter that the electronic key system at his hotel had been hacked and taken down, which meant no key cards could be issued to guests wishing to check in. If the manager wished to regain control, he had to pay the hackers around 1,500 an amount that would double if he didnt pay by the end of the day. Then, in its infuriating tone of false politeness, the criminals email ended with: Have a nice day! It was a busy Sunday morning, and Mr Brandstaetter was all too aware the lobby was thronging with well-heeled guests who were impatient to gain access to their rooms which cost up to 400 per night and then to hit the ski slopes. Mollifying bottles of complimentary champagne were issued, but the manager knew he had little choice but to pay the ransom if he and his guests were indeed going to have a nice day. We were at maximum capacity with 180 guests and decided that it was better to give in, he said. The hackers were very pushy. Shortly after paying, Mr Brandstaetter and his staff regained access to the hotels computer systems. Contrary to some reports, no guests had actually been locked into their rooms, but the inconvenience to new guests, and the potential damage to the hotels bottom line during its busiest season, meant the manager felt he had no choice but to pay up. What made it particularly galling, was that this was the fourth time the hotel had been targeted. On previous occasions, Mr Brandstaetter had kept the demands quiet, but sufficiently enraged, he decided to issue a press release not only to draw attention to his hotels plight, but also to show that such attacks are growing increasingly common. Weve seen that many, many Austrian hotels have been hacked, said Mr Brandstaetter. The police told us: Youre in good company. Last week, it was reported by The Times that the computer systems at two unnamed luxury hotels in Cornwall had been hacked into, with the criminals demanding payments in order to restore the systems. It is understood the hotels complied. And it is not just hotels that are falling victim, but countless firms, hospitals, banks and even police stations, all over the world. The number of such attacks is hard to establish, as many firms are unwilling to report the problem for fear that the hackers will maliciously strike again. However, according to the Governments new National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) an offshoot of the GCHQ intelligence-gathering agency the issue is escalating. The NCSC states that the first half of 2016 saw three times as many such attacks compared to the whole of 2015. The costs to victims run into millions of pounds every year, not only in the form of the ransom payments, but also the costs incurred in having to overhaul IT systems. So what is this disturbingly effective form of cyber extortion actually called? How does it happen? And, more importantly, how can firms and institutions protect themselves against it? This comparatively new cyber-crime is known as a ransomware attack. Ransomware is a virus-like form of software that is downloaded onto a victims computer, and then searches through the computer as well as other computers on the same network for files to encrypt. Typically, it encrypts the type of files the hackers know will be indispensable, such as spreadsheets, word-processing documents and image files such as PDFs. If the victim tries to open the files, all they will be able to see is an indecipherable jumble of nonsense. The only way to restore them to their legible form is to use a key that can unlock the encryption. This key is, of course, only known to the hacker and, naturally, it comes at a price anywhere between a few hundred pounds to hundreds of thousands. The payments are made over what is known as the dark web, an encrypted corner of the internet habituated by criminals, and the usual currency is the bitcoin, a virtually untraceable form of digital cash. The relative ease and lack of risk involved in making a ransomware attack makes it very popular for cyber-criminals. Ransomware has undoubtedly been one of the favoured crime campaigns of 2016, a trend showing no signs of slowing in 2017, says James Lyne, global head of security research at the security firm Sophos. Its brilliance for the cyber criminals resides in them not having to worry about stealing your specific valuable data, such as bank details or credit card information, but instead gambles almost always correctly that you value your data and will pay to get it back. More worrying, its not just data that is at risk in a ransomware attack, but potentially peoples lives. What if the ransomware hits a hospital system keeping a patient alive? asks James Lyne. Although no attacks on critical hospital infrastructure have been reported, other parts of hospitals IT systems have been targeted. In January, thousands of files held by the Barts Health Trust the largest NHS hospital trust in England were subjected to a ransomware attack. In October last year, Northern Lincolnshire and Goole Foundation Trust was similarly hit, and 2,800 appointments had to be cancelled. Although it is understood both trusts refused to pay the ransom demands, this was not the case with the Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center in California, which paid 30,000 to hackers who had infected its medical records database. For the time being, it looks like the most likely victims are small businesses. Any IT consultant will tell you stories of clients who have been preyed upon. I know of at least six cases, says Steve Rice, the owner of Computer Troubleshooters, in Tonbridge, Kent. Theres no doubt that its on the rise, and the hackers are indiscriminate about who they target. So how exactly do the hackers manage to install ransomware on a firms computer system? The normal way is through an employee clicking on an innocent-looking email attachment that looks to come from someone reputable, says Mr Rice. However, the attachment contains the ransomware software, and as soon as it is clicked on, it starts to burrow through all the computers on the network and encrypting the files. Ransomware encrypts the type of files the hackers know will be indispensable, such as spreadsheets, word-processing documents and image files such as PDFs Depending on the number of files, an attack can take place in well under half-an-hour. Users only discover they have been targeted when a ransom demand appears, or when they find that all their documents have turned into alphabet soup. Another way ransomware can be installed is for hackers to break into the companys servers, often by exploiting weak passwords. So what can firms and institutions do to protect themselves? The first thing that all firms need to do is to install and keep updating anti-virus software. In addition, backing up data (saving computer files somewhere else such as on an external hard-drive) as regularly as possible is also essential. In addition, emails should be thoroughly filtered for malicious attachments. One of the best forms of email filtering is to power your email using Googles Gmail service. This filters out most of the bad stuff, says Will Wynne, who runs the online florist ArenaFlowers.com. As we are approaching our busiest time of year in the run-up to Valentines Day, we have a lot of customer data we want to protect, so we also make sure we use a two-step verification process that employees have to follow in order to access any data. Its free on most services and adds a whole load of protection. But what can you do if you have been held to ransom? Worryingly, it appears calling the police is not much of an option. There are so many attacks, Im not really sure what the police can do, says Steve Rice, of Computer Troubleshooters. Perhaps they can investigate the bigger cases, but most firms just want to pay the ransom and get back to business. If the police cannot help, then it may be worth contacting the NCSC. We work with firms to provide guidance and support if needed on any cyber-attacks, says a spokesman. The NCSC serves as a bridge between industry and government to promote the highest standard of information security, including offering help managing incidents. As a relatively new agency, it remains to be seen how effective it will be. In the meantime, prevention is better than cure or indeed paying a ransom. The money you pay the criminals will invariably be used to finance other criminal activities, and so there is also a civic duty in doing ones best to avoid falling victim. For more information, visit ncsc.gov.uk/guidance Putting on just half a stone over a decade can raise your risk of type 2 diabetes by more than half, research has found. Those who are a healthy weight run the risk of becoming diabetic simply by allowing the weight to creep on over the years. Scientists at Cambridge University say that if everyone aged 30 to 60 maintained their weight, one in five cases of type 2 diabetes could be prevented. Putting on just half a stone over a decade can raise your risk of type 2 diabetes by more than half, research has found Their study found a weight gain of less than seven pounds over ten years increased someones chances of getting this form of diabetes by 52 per cent. Storing excess fat is thought to make the body resistant to insulin the hormone that controls your blood sugar levels which causes the condition. The growing diabetes crisis costs the NHS 10 billion a year. Around 3.5million Britons have the illness, with the number soaring over the last decade. This has been fuelled by rising rates of type 2 diabetes, which is often caused by being overweight, unlike type 1, where the immune system attacks insulin-producing cells and which is not linked to lifestyle. Doctors usually focus on those at particular risk who are obese or have high blood sugar levels. But the latest study which analysed data from more than 33,000 Swedish people given medical examinations a decade apart between 1990 and 2013 concludes that focusing on creeping weight gain in the population at large could be twice as effective. The 52 per cent increased risk of type 2 diabetes was found in those who added just one point to their body mass index. For a person of average height, this worked out at just 3kg over a decade just under half a stone, or 6.6lb. While the risk of type 2 diabetes leaps for those who put on this much weight, their chance of being diagnosed is still much lower than for those who are obese. However the study suggests if everyone kept to the same weight, one in five diabetes diagnoses could be avoided, compared to just one in ten by focusing on sending obese, high-risk people for help to lose weight. Publishing their findings in the journal BMC Public Health, the researchers said that while sticking to the same weight can be challenging, it should be seen as an important goal. Those who are a healthy weight run the risk of becoming diabetic simply by allowing the weight to creep on over the years Health officials could consider encouraging people to walk and cycle or eat more fruit and vegetables to avoid middle age spread. Lead author Dr Adina Feldman, from Cambridges epidemiology unit, said: It is important to support people in maintaining a healthy weight and healthy lifestyle behaviour and not to wait until people show signs of disease or are at a high risk. We need to consider strategies for diabetes prevention that work on the population level to support healthy lifestyles which can reduce weight gain and improve health in the longer term. There is not likely to be a simple solution, but we need more research to develop strategies that work. Insulin normally tells the body to absorb and break down sugar in the blood, so not producing enough of the hormone or becoming resistant to it causes blood sugar levels to rise. Diabetes can then cause complications, including kidney failure, stroke and blindness. The research was conducted in conjunction with the Department of Public Health and Clinical Medicine at Umea University in Sweden, with the findings taking into account sex, age and family history of diabetes. Ministers have begun the process for selling off part of the student loan book to private companies in a move branded ugly by campaigners. Under the proposals, the Government plans to sell of loans issued before 2012 that are worth 12billion to the public purse in total. First to be sold will be the 2002/06 loan book, which had a face value of 4billion at the end of the 2014/15 financial year. The Government insisted that the move will not impact on former students who hold the loans STOCK PHOTO The Government insisted that the move will not impact on former students who hold the loans, with controls put in place to ensure that terms are not changed. Universities Minister Jo Johnson said: This Government is committed to bringing public finances under control. As part of this we will look to sell assets where value for money to the UK taxpayer is assured. This sale will have no impact on people with student loans and will only proceed once we are satisfied that it represents value for money for the taxpayer. A string of factors - including the likelihood that some student loans will not be repaid in full - means the money recouped from the sales will be lower than the face value. Plans to privatise the vast debt pile were previously called off by then business secretary Vince Cable in 2014, after deciding that it would not reduce public sector debt by as much as originally thought. The Department for Education said yesterday that an initial value for money assessment has been carried out and that now was a good time to restart the sale. But Sorana Vieru, vice president for higher education at the National Union of Students (NUS), said it could lead to unforeseen consequences. She said: The government are pulling yet another ugly move on students. Selling the loan book to investors is privatisation through the back door. If it becomes the norm for student loans to be sold to private investors, rather than held by government, it will be all the more tempting for governments to subject future students to extortionate interest, commercial terms and conditions and the raising of the repayment threshold, making loans even more attractive to private interests, but all the harder for new graduates to economically contribute to society. UK Government Investments has begun searching for buyers to snap up the pre-2012 English student loan book through a series of sales before the end of the 2020/21 financial year. Chancellor Philip Hammond is searching for ways to shore up the public finances in the face of ballooning public sector debt, which reached 86.2 per cent of gross domestic product in December. Sale of the student loan book would be structured through a securitisation to attract an array of different investor groups, including pension funds, insurers and asset managers. It is expected to take several months to complete and would depend on market conditions, the Government added. Martin Lewis, founder of MoneySavingExpert.com, said previous sales of student debt had led to administrative problems for graduates. He said: Ive had meetings with the Department for Education on this and, while I do have concerns over the sale of the next loan book, they are at least making the right signals that the same mistakes wont be made again. Maverick backbencher Cory Bernardi has told the Senate he has defected from the Liberal Party after earlier calling Malcolm Turnbull to inform him of his intentions. The conservative South Australian said he resigned from the party because of 'public disenchantment with the major parties'. Mr Bernardi criticised the 'political class' for being out of touch in his address to the Senate at Parliament House in Canberra on Tuesday afternoon. Scroll down for video Conservative backbencher Cory Bernardi has informed the Senate he has quit the Liberal Party Mr Bernardi is pictured being greeted by One Nation's Pauline Hanson on Tuesday afternoon Mr Bernardi addressed the Senate about defecting from the Liberal Party 'I stand here today, both reluctant and relieved,' he told the senate. 'Reluctant because this decision has weighed heavy on my heart, but relieved because whilst it is difficult, I believe it is the right thing to do.' Mr Bernardi said it was perhaps the most difficult decision of his political career but has decided it's how best he can best serve the national interests. 'The level of public disenchantment with the major parties, the lack of confidence in our political process and the concern about the direction of our nation is very, very strong,' he told the Senate. 'It is not in the interests of our nation to yield to the temptation of personality politics which shrink the debate to the opinion of a few, whilst compromising the good sense and values of the many,' Mr Bernardi told the Senate At a press conference shortly afterwards, Mr Bernardi said he wanted to be a credible and sensible alternative to major parties Mr Bernardi told a press conference afterwards the Liberal Party was 'foolish' to have a revolving door of prime minister 'This is a direct product of us, the political class, being out of touch with the hopes and aspirations of the Australian people.' Mr Bernardi could be seen shaking hands with One Nation leader Pauline Hanson after delivering the speech. George Brandis then told the Senate it was 'a sad day for the Liberal Party'. 'It is a sad day when someone leaves the family. Senator Bernardi will have to account to the Australian people and to his own conscience about how he can continue to sit in this Parliament having been elected as a Liberal, but that is a matter for him,' Mr Brandis said. 'The level of public disenchantment with the major parties, the lack of confidence in our political process and the concern about the direction of our nation is very, very strong,' Mr Bernardi told the Senate 'This is a direct product of us, the political class, being out of touch with the hopes and aspirations of the Australian people,' he said (pictured with Mathias Cormann) Mr Brandis said the government expected Mr Bernardi to continue supporting government policies given they were the policies he stood for when elected. The government will now need the support of nine of the 10 independent cross benchers to ensure any of its legislation clears the Senate against opposition from Labor and the Greens. Labor's Penny Wong said the government was 'bitterly divided' and 'coming apart at the seams'. 'This resignation is a consequence of the failure of leadership by the prime minister,' she said. Greens leader Richard Di Natale then said if Mr Bernardi was serious about standing up for his beliefs, he would have left the Liberal Party before the election instead of securing six years in the senate. Mr Bernardi is pictured waiting to announce his defection from the Liberal Party Pauline Hanson of One Nation is pictured listening to Cory Bernardi announce his defection Greens leader Richard Di Natale was scathing of the new independent. 'In Senator Bernardi we have 6.5 foot of ego but not an inch of integrity. Not an inch,' he said. At a press conference shortly afterwards, Mr Bernardi said he wanted to be a credible and sensible alternative to major parties. He said there was a growing disconnect between politicians and the public, and it was 'foolish' of the Liberal Party to oust prime minister Tony Abbott in 2015. 'I did warn my party that what we condemned in Labor in a revolting door of prime ministers was foolish to repeat in our own circumstances,' he told reporters on Tuesday. Liberal Democratic Senator David Leyonhjelm listens to Mr Bernardi announce his defection Labor's Penny Wong said the government was 'bitterly divided' and 'coming apart at the seams' Minister for Employment Michaelia Cash listens to her former colleague defect 'And there are those amongst us who say that was some kind of virtue to change leadership. 'The transaction cost of that is still being felt today. 'We want politics to be a force for good rather than mocked and ridiculed by most Australians. 'After the last election I said there was a problem. We need to fix it,' he told reporters. 'When the pollster says the base doesn't matter, when the election campaign is lacklustre and we hang on by one seat and trumped it as a great victory and no-one is investigating it, we have got a problem.' Senator Bernardi insists he hasn't approached any other MPs about joining his party. He denied betraying Liberal voters, arguing his principles had remained consistent. Earlier in the morning, Mr Bernardi formally called Mr Turnbull to state his intention to resign from the Liberal Party. The South Australian will sit on the crossbench as an independent, and will form a breakaway party called Australian Conservatives, Laurie Oakes told the Today Show. Mr Bernardi appears to be getting bankrolled by mining magnate Gina Rinehart. WHAT SENATOR CORY BERNARDI TOLD PARLIAMENT 'I stand here today, both reluctant and relieved. Reluctant because this decision has weighed heavy on my heart, but relieved because whilst it is difficult, I believe it is the right thing to do. 'When as a younger man I joined the ship of state, I was in awe of its traditions and the great captains that it guided us on our way, but now as the seas through which we sail become ever more challenging, the respect for the values and principles that have served us well seem to have been set aside for expedient, self-serving, short-term ends. 'That approach has not served our nation well. 'There are few in this place or anywhere that can claim the respect for politicians and politics is stronger today than it was 10 years ago. In short, the body public is failing the people of Australia. It is clear that we need to find a better way. 'The level of public disenchantment with the major parties, the lack of confidence in our political process and the concern about the direction of our nation is very, very strong. 'This is a direct product of us, the political class, being out of touch with the hopes and aspirations of the Australian people. 'Politics at its best has always been the shared contribution of men and women of conscience who bring their skills to bare for the benefit of the nation. 'It is not in the interests of our nation to yield to the temptation of personality politics which shrink the debate to the opinion of a few, whilst compromising the good sense and values of the many. 'For many years, I have warned of the consequences of ignoring the clear signs. I have spoken of the need to restore faith in our political system and to put principle back into politics. 'I regret that too often these warnings have been ignored by those who perhaps needed to hear them most. It really is time for a better way. For a conservative way. 'The enduring beauty of the conservative tradition is it looks to the past, to all that is good and great, to inform the future. It is a rich paradox where the established equips up for the new. 'So today I begin something new, built on enduring values and principles that have served our nation so well for so long. 'It is a political movement of Australian Conservatives. A community of individual Australians who will share their unique gifts and talents to chart a better way for our nation. 'We will be united by the desire to create stronger families, to foster freedom of speech, to limit the size and scope and reach of government while seeking to rebuild confidence in civil society. 'We will give hope to those who despair at the current state of Australian politics and who demand a better way for themselves, for their children and for the nation. 'The journey ahead will not be for the feign of heart, but worth while ventures rarely are and every journey begins with a first step.' Advertisement Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull is pictured at the ecumenical church service to mark the start of the parliamentary year at St Christopher's cathedral in Canberra Mr Turnbull, his wife Lucy and Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce are pictured on Tuesday In the phone call, Mr Bernardi told Mr Turnbull the 2015 leadership coup against Tony Abbott was a key driving force behind his resignation from the party, Sydney Morning Herald reported. He told the prime minister there were talks to challenge his leadership. 'There's talk about doing it again and I want no part of it,' Mr Bernardi told Mr Turnbull, colleagues told Fairfax. Mr Abbott, backbencher and former prime minister, could be seen smiling at a Coalition joint partyroom meeting at Parliament House on Tuesday. Mr Oakes said the senator had timed his resignation 'to inflict maximum damage' on the prime minister, on the first day of the parliamentary year. Cory Bernardi shared this selfie posing in a Donald Trump 'Make Australia Great Again' hat last year Mr Turnbull is pictured delivering a reading during the ecumenical church service to mark the start of the parliamentary year at St Christopher's cathedral in Canberra Mr Turnbull arrived at the ecumenical service at St Christopher's cathedral in Canberra with his wife Lucy on Tuesday morning and refused to answer questions as he arrived for the service in suburban Canberra. Inside, he read from Psalm 15: 'Lord, who may dwell in your sacred tent? Who may live on your holy mountain. 'The one whose walk is blameless, who does what is righteous, who speaks the truth from their heart.' Peter Dutton - regarded as the leading conservative inside Mr Turnbull's cabinet - didn't hold back on criticising Mr Bernardi. 'I think people will be angry about any defection, angry about the betrayal of the Liberal Party values,' the immigration minister told ABC radio. Mr Abbott, backbencher and former prime minister, could be seen smiling at a Coalition joint partyroom meeting at Parliament House on Tuesday In the phone call, Mr Bernardi told Mr Turnbull the 2015 leadership coup against Tony Abbott (pictured on Tuesday) was a key driving force behind his resignation from the party Mr Dutton said he didn't believe other coalition MPs would follow Mr Bernardi who is tipped to announce the formation of the Australian Conservatives party when he publicly reveals his future to the Senate later on Tuesday. On Twitter, Defence Minister Christopher Pyne said the 'honourable course' was for Mr Bernardi to resign and recontest as an independent because he was elected as a Liberal. 'Those most hurt by Cory Bernardi are the hundreds of thousands of SA voters who voted Liberal in the Senate only to be let down by him,' Mr Pyne wrote on Twitter. 'The Liberal Party's values are not limited to conservatism. We are Liberals because we are open to new ideas; tolerant of difference; ... modern and forward looking; we believe in reward for effort and sharing Australia's good fortune with those in need.' Liberal MP Craig Kelly wants Mr Bernardi to think again. 'You can do a lot more inside the Liberal party, working for, arguing those things that you believe in, than actually outside the tent,' he told the ABC. Mr Turnbull refused to answer questions as he arrived for the service in suburban Canberra Mr Bernardi's decision is set to dominate the first day of federal parliament for the year. But cabinet minister Arthur Sinodinos denies it will be a distraction. 'Not if we and the press focus on what's important to our fellow Australians,' he said. Fellow coalition MPs, who are usually not willing to talk politics on sacred grounds, were happy to give their two cents worth on Mr Bernardi at the service on Tuesday. 'He should be honourable and he should resign from the Senate and run as an independent,' Liberal backbencher Jane Prentice said. Ken Wyatt offered a more charitable view. 'On principle I'd like to see Cory remain with us but if he's made that decision then I'm not going to begrudge him making that decision,' the minister told reporters. Mr Turnbull is pictured with a portrait of former prime minister Tony Abbott at a Coalition joint partyroom meeting on Tuesday Mr Abbott and Immigration Minister Peter Dutton are pictured at the meeting at the Parliament House in Canberra on Tuesday Treasurer Scott Morrison was in a reflective mood as he went to pray for the year ahead, turning his mind to South Australian Liberal party members who supported Senator Bernardi at the 2016 election. 'They're the ones he made the promise to, to be a Liberal,' Mr Morrison said. The traditional display of political unity across the aisle was short-lived, as Labor leader Bill Shorten sought to remind everyone that a government that could not govern itself could not govern the nation. 'It is long overdue for the government to focus on the jobs of other Australians,' he said as he left the service alongside his wife, Chloe. Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce did not appear too fussed by the distraction. Cory Bernardi has called Malcolm Turnbull to confirm he will defect from the Liberal Party (Mr Bernardi pictured in August last year) 'Everything is always interesting in this job, eh,' he said. And his advice for Senator Bernardi? 'Pray. Pray hard.' Conservative Queensland government backbencher George Christensen said Mr Bernardi had never asked him to leave the Liberal National Party. 'At this point in time I'm very loyal to Barnaby Joyce - I sit within the National Party - it's a party I've been a member of for more than two decades,' he told ABC radio. 'I'm going to continue here for as long as the party - and I believe the National Party always will be - in tune with conservative values and in tune with regional electorates.' Sean Edwards has more reason than most to be angry with his fellow South Australian. On Twitter, Defence Minister Christopher Pyne said the 'honourable course' was for Mr Bernardi to resign and recontest as an independent because he was elected as a Liberal 'It would be a gross departure as to - certainly six months into a six-year term - what people would have expected,' said the former senator who lost his seat at the 2016 election. Mr Edwards, who was number five on the SA Senate ticket behind Mr Bernardi running as number two, said he would be disappointed if he left. 'I would prefer to see Mr Bernardi stay within the Liberal party and do the work that all the members that preselected him in preference to members like myself (expect),' he said. Changes to way senators are elected would make it harder for Liberal renegade Cory Bernardi to retain his Senate seat, one crossbencher warned. Cory Bernardi has been told by one his of soon-to-be fellow crossbenchers he risks losing his Senate seat if he quits the Liberal Party to sit as an independent conservative. Liberal Democrat David Leyonhjlem told reporters in Canberra on Tuesday he had a simple message for the renegade government senator: 'Don't do it.' Changes to way senators are elected would make his South Australian seat much harder to retain, he warned. But Mr Bernardi would make a good replacement on small-L liberal economic issues after Family First senator Bob Day quit parliament. Government senator James Paterson said his thoughts were with Liberal voters in South Australia who would be feeling disappointed. 'I hope if Cory does go to the cross bench that ... he bears in mind he was elected on a Liberal Party platform,' he told reporters. Support for the federal government is at its lowest point since Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull ousted Tony Abbott, Newspoll revealed on monday. Labor leads 54 to 46 per cent on a two-party preferred basis, according to the poll published in The Australian newspaper. The survey of more than 1700 people showed the Liberal party's primary vote slipped four points to 35 per cent over the holidays. The Justice Department filed a brief on Monday evening urging a federal appeals court to reinstate President Donald Trump's travel ban, saying that a judge's order blocking it endangers national security and violated the separation of powers. The brief from the Justice Department comes after the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco had already turned down a request to immediately set aside a Seattle judge's ruling that put a temporary hold on the executive order. Three federal judges with the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals are set to hear oral arguments on Tuesday via telephone in an hour-long hearing scheduled to be conducted at 9pm (ET) in regards to the issue, as audio of the hearing to the public will be released promptly after it is over. The judges are tasked with determining the fate of the temporary restraining order against the president's executive order, which bans refugees and travelers from seven predominantly Muslim countries from entering the United States. On Monday evening, Trump tweeted that the 'courts must act fast' on the issue. 'The threat from radical Islamic terrorism is very real, just look at what is happening in Europe and the Middle-East. Courts must act fast!' Trump tweeted. Three federal judges are set to hear oral arguments on Tuesday in the challenge to President Donald Trumps' (pictured above on Monday) controversial executive order on immigration The president took to Twitter on Monday evening to say the 'threat from radical Islamic terrorism is very real' and said the 'courts must act fast!' The president is forced to wait for a decision from the 9th Circuit panel to see if the ban will remain suspended, as the ruling is expected by many to be appealed to the Supreme Court. In addition, l awyers for Washington state and Minnesota told the federal appellate court in a filing that restoring Trump's ban on refugees and travelers from seven predominantly Muslim countries would 'unleash chaos again.' The filing with the 9th Circuit came early Monday after the White House said it expected the federal courts to reinstate the ban. Washington and Minnesota said their underlying lawsuit was strong and a nationwide temporary restraining order was appropriate. White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer argued the White House's position on board Air Force One on Monday with reporters. 'The law is on the president's side,' Spicer said on the trip between Tampa and D.C. 'The Constitution is on the president's side.' 'We feel very confident that we will prevail in this matter,' he said. 'Once we prevail, it will go right back into action.' However, if the appellate court reinstated Trump's ban the states said the 'ruling would re-institute those harms, separating families, stranding our university students and faculty, and barring travel.' The rapid-fire legal maneuvers by the two states were accompanied by a declaration filed by John Kerry and Madeleine Albright, former secretaries of state, along with former national security officials under President Barack Obama. Just hours after an appeals court blocked an attempt to re-impose the travel ban, Iranian researcher Nima Enayati checked in on an Emirates Airline flight direct from Milan Members of International Migrants Alliance in Hong Kong hold placards during a protest against President Donald Trump's selective country travel ban outside of the U.S. Consulate in Hong Kong They said Trump's ban would disrupt lives and cripple U.S. counter-terrorism partnerships around the world without making the nation safer. 'It will aid ISIL's propaganda effort and serve its recruitment message by feeding into the narrative that the United States is at war with Islam,' according to the six-page declaration filed in court. 'Blanket bans of certain countries or classes of people are beneath the dignity of the nation and Constitution that we each took oaths to protect,' the declaration later added. The technology industry also argued against the ban, contending it would harm their companies by making it more difficult to recruit employees. Tech giants like Apple and Google, along with Uber, filed their arguments with the court late Sunday. The ruling last Friday from U.S. District Court Judge James Robart prompted an ongoing Twitter rant by Trump, who dismissed Robart as a 'so-called judge' and called his decision 'ridiculous.' And on Sunday, Trump renewed his Twitter attacks against Robart. 'Just cannot believe a judge would put our country in such peril. If something happens blame him and court system. People pouring in. Bad!' Members of International Migrants Alliance in Hong Kong hold placards during a protest against President Donald Trump's selective country travel ban outside of the U.S. Consulate in Hong Kong He followed with another tweet saying he had instructed the Homeland Security Department to check people coming into the country but that 'the courts are making the job very difficult!' The government had told the appeals court that the president alone has the power to decide who can enter or stay in the United States, an assertion that appeared to invoke the wider battle to come over illegal immigration. Congress 'vests complete discretion' in the president to impose conditions on entry of foreigners to the United States, and that power is 'largely immune from judicial control,' according to the court filing. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, the top Democrat on the Judiciary Committee, predicted the appeals court would not have the last word. 'I have no doubt that it will go to the Supreme Court, and probably some judgments will be made whether this president has exceed his authority or not,' she said. In his ruling, Robart said it was not the court's job to 'create policy or judge the wisdom of any particular policy promoted by the other two branches,' but to make sure that an action taken by the government 'comports with our country's laws.' The Twitter attacks on Robart appointed by President George W. Bush prompted scolding from fellow Republicans as well as Democrats. 'We don't have so-called judges,' said Sen. Ben Sasse, R-Neb. 'We don't have so-called senators. We don't have so-called presidents. We have people from three different branches of government who take an oath to uphold and defend the Constitution.' Trump's order applied to Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia and Yemen Muslim-majority countries that the administration said raise terrorism concerns. The State Department said last week that as many as 60,000 foreigners from those seven countries had had their visas canceled. After Robart's decision, the department reversed course and said they could travel to the U.S. if they had a valid visa. The department also advised refugee aid agencies that refugees set to travel before Trump signed his order would now be allowed in. The Homeland Security Department no longer was directing airlines to prevent visa-holders affected by Trump's order from boarding U.S.-bound planes. The agency said it had 'suspended any and all actions' related to putting in place Trump's order. Hungary will detain all migrants into the EU until their asylum applications have been processed to stop them heading to countries such as Britain, it emerged last night. They will not be allowed to leave makeshift camps across the country unless they either return home or have been granted leave to remain, a government spokesman said yesterday. Donald Trumps hardline stance on migrants entering the US has emboldened Hungary to implement the plan within weeks, it was suggested. A policy of automatic detention could lead to clashes with the European Union which the Hungarian prime ministers spokesman accused of lagging behind reality when it came to tackling the migrant crisis. A spokesman for prime minister Viktor Orban said: 'Liberty comes only after security' At a briefing in London, Mr Kovacs, spokesman for the prime minister of Hungary Viktor Orban, said: Liberty comes only after security. If you are not able to provide security for your own country, how can you guarantee liberties? He said under the new plans, migrants would be free to go back home but they would not be allowed to travel around Hungary or the EU. The migrants would be provided with shelter, food and education, he said, and the country would abide by international rules when implementing the scheme. This was to stop the systematic abuse of the Schengen agreement, in which migrants have been allowed to travel freely between EU member states without border checks though not into the UK. He said: Everybody who comes to the EU as a migrant is basically coming illegally. We are going to introduce a new measure and that is no migrants can move freely up until there is a final legal decision, whether they are entitled for political asylum or refugee status. They will not be allowed to move freely within the country. Mr Kovacs said that under the existing framework and European law, they are free to move around instead of waiting for the final decision. He added that before they get a decision on their asylum application they basically go to Europe, Germany, Britain. Within Schengen it is impossible to stop this, you have to reinforce the borders and establish the rules., he added. He said reducing the numbers is only possible through introducing these measures. They will be able to leave the camps once their asylum application has been dealt with - a process which could take months. Within two weeks the Hungarians will have a new regulation formulated on the freedom of movement, Mr Kovacs said. It was not clear if that referred to the shelters being in place by that point. He added: If you dont put physical barriers on the borders, human traffickers are going to carry on their business. Asked if the election of Mr Trump made such policies easier to implement, he added: We believe that a change of perspective in the United States helped others to respect the Hungarian position. Mr Orban was the only EU leader to publicly back Mr Trump in the race for the White House, saying his policies would be the best choice for Europe and for Hungary. The Hungarian government said the European Union was 'lagging behind reality' on the crisis In searing comments, the spokesman said the EU measures to tackle the migrant crisis were lagging behind reality and hard evidence on the ground. He added: The world has changed around Europe. It is not only the migration crisis that has shown Europe is not up for challenge. It is slow to react, it is lagging behind in competitiveness, there are problems with demography, population, serious problems with security, internal security and military capabilities. He suggested a more effective way forward would be for member states to have more independence to implement their own plans. The election of Donald Trump has emboldened Hungary's hardline stance on migrants He added: We believe that the future for a more effective, more efficient way of approaching the challenges Europe is facing is going to be more properly and more effectively handled and seen through the member states. It is not about theories it is about pragmatism. The faster we do the faster we act, the better it is for Europe. Mr Kovacs also admitted that Hungary and other Nato countries had been sleeping when it came to their own defence. He said the country would be stepping up its contribution to the alliance, and hitting the 2 per cent target by 2026. In response to calls by President Trump for EU nations to increase defence spending, he said: We have recognised we have been kind of sleeping. We were very comfortable about others defending us. We have to step up in terms of finances. He also said the inability of the EU to provide Hungary with oil and gas, had pushed Hungary towards Vladimir Putin. He added: We need security for ourselves, especially in terms of energy. We need gas and oil and since the European Union has not provided so far any alternatives to supply Hungary we have to take our own interests and own needs. Fewer than five foreign prisoners a month are being booted out of Britain under controversial transfer deals, it has been revealed. Despite ministers repeatedly pledging to intervene to end the scandal of EU convicts clogging up our jails, only 275 have been sent home in the past five years Last night critics denounced the prisoner transfer agreements (PTAs) as farcical and claimed they were not worth the paper they are written on. There are currently 9,749 foreign criminals locked up in prisons like Belmarsh (pictured) in south-east London The figures, obtained using Parliamentary questions, will heap new pressure on the Government to fix the shambles. There are currently 9,749 foreign criminals locked up in this country, which costs the taxpayer an estimated 389million every year, with each prison space costing around 40,000. Overseas offenders make up around 1 in 9 of the 84,307 men and women behind bars in England and Wales. The Government has signed a series of agreements under which Britain is supposed to be able to deport foreign nationals who are imprisoned by the UK courts. The idea is that they will serve their sentences back home - with the UK taxpayer no longer picking up the bill. Ministers have signed compulsory transfer deals with the EU and 15 other countries. It has also signed bilateral voluntary prisoner transfer agreements with a string of nations. But the system has been beset by problems, with some countries refusing to take back prisoners who have committed serious crimes while the EU deal was only last year ratified by all 28 EU countries. It means that only 275 have been returned under the agreements - around one every week. Since December 2011, only 154 EU prisoners have been sent home as part of the deal. A total of 18 foreign national offenders have been deported under compulsory agreements while 103 have been transferred on a voluntary basis. Labour MP Keith Vaz, a member of the Commons Justice Select Committee, said: These extraordinary figures prove that prisoner transfer agreements are not worth the paper they are written on. Murderer Stefano Brizzi (pictured) who killed himself in prison yesterday, may have been eligible for transfer back to his native Italy Hours of ministerial time and diplomatic efforts have been wasted on concluding agreements with countries who have simply refused to take back their prisoners who have committed serious crimes and sit in British prisons at the taxpayers expense. The number who have been sent back to most countries can be counted on one hand. What is hugely disappointing is the failure of European countries to honour EU commitments. It is essential that the Prime Minister ensures the transfer of prisoners to their countries of origin is a priority of any Brexit deal. New figures sneaked out to Parliament show that since a deal was signed with Albania in 2013, only 17 prisoners have been deported yet there are 572 still languishing in our jails. Since the UK and India struck a prisoner accord in 2005, just seven have volunteered to go home, while 373 are behind bars in England and Wales. Four Pakistani inmates were transferred voluntarily in 2010, but that deal was suspended by the government in Karachi when a string of prisoners were unlawfully released once they got home. There are currently more citizens from Poland in British prisons than from any other overseas country close to 1,000 followed by offenders from Ireland, Romania and Jamaica. The UKs ability to deport them is constrained by human rights laws and the European Unions free movement rules, which give an EU citizen the right to live where they like in the bloc. Before the referendum, Eurosceptics repeatedly pointed to ministers inability to deport convicted murders, rapists and other serious criminals as proof that Britain would be safer outside the EU. Justice Secretary Liz Truss is launching a major drive to reduce the prison population by sending foreign criminals home. She has expressed concern about the number of foreign national offenders in Britain, saying: I think its wrong that other countries are free-riding on our prisons and justice system. Im looking at ways to deal with this. The Ministry of Justice and Department for International Development are working together to improve Britains success at removing foreign criminals. They hope the UKs generous aid budget will entice countries to take back their offenders with nations that fail to improve the quality of their own prisons threatened with future cuts. Ministers have pointed out that in 2015-16, 2,071 foreign criminals were sent home before they had completed their sentences under the Early Removal Scheme. This frees overseas inmates nine months before the halfway point of their jail terms - as long as they agreed to board a plane home. The MoJ also said that in the year to the end of March last year, the UK removed 5,810 foreign national offenders after finishing their sentences the highest number ever. It said 33,000 had been sent home since 2010. Justice Minister Philip Lee said: We are committed to increasing the number of Foreign National Offenders removed from our prisons. Prisoners should serve their sentences in their home countries wherever possible, reducing the burden on the taxpayer. British holidaymakers hitting the slopes this February half term could be spending more on airport parking than their flight. Swingeing parking charges and falling air fares means have made it more expensive for many people to leave their car at the airport, than fly hundreds of miles to their holiday destination. Thousands of families are set to head off for a winter break this weekend as schools break up for half term. Holidaymakers heading for Geneva en-route to the slopes of Mont Blanc will pay more for parking at London, Liverpool and Aberdeen airports than the cost of their flights. London City Airport costs an astonishing 300 a week to park in - three times the cost of a return flight to Geneva The research shows London City is the UKs most expensive airport car park. The price for a weeks parking there is nearly 300 - over three times the cost of a return flight to Geneva (96). Elsewhere, and even this close to half term, a return flight from Liverpool to Geneva costs around 50. Meanwhile, a week-long stay in the Liverpool airport car park costs 71. Passengers flying from Gatwick will have to pay 220 to park for a week, compared with 186 to buy three return tickets to Geneva with British Airways. Southampton is the third most expensive for car parking, with a weeks stay costing 154.50, followed by Aberdeen at 149.90, London Heathrow at 145.90, Edinburgh at 104.98 and Bristol at 99.99 The cheapest airport is Luton, costing 51.99, followed by Manchester at 52.99. Stansted, which charges 65.99, is much cheaper than its bigger rivals Heathrow and Gatwick. But it is still hugely expensive compared with the cost of many flights. Passengers at Gatwick airport will have to pay 220 to park their car there for a week The airport is the biggest base for budget airline Ryanair, which said yesterday that its average air fare has fallen by 17 per cent to 28 per passenger. The findings come from peer-to-peer parking service spacehopper, which connects homeowners and businesses who have empty driveways with drivers who are looking for a place to park. The report will infuriate motorists, which have complained bitterly as local councils across the country have hiked parking charges for both residents and visitors. Recent figures showed NHS hospitals are making more than ever before from parking charges, with NHS trusts raking in more than 120million in 2015/16. Luke Bosdet, a spokesman for motoring group the AA said many families heading off on holiday would be better off taking a taxi, or public transport. He said: Holidaymakers flying abroad will spend hours on their computers and tablets trying to slash the cost of their trips, only to lose much of the saving with the cost of parking. 'Once you weigh up the cost of public transport for three or four people to and from the airport, taking the car and parking it long-term becomes attractive. 'However, with scare stories of damage and storage, many travellers have trust issues with leaving their cars somewhere they dont really know. 'Many grit their teeth and do it, others reason that paying more gives them security. Donald Trump said in an interview airing Monday night that Democrats' reluctance to approve harsher punishments for criminal aliens is an indication that they believe illegal immigrants will one day become a major voting constituency. The president was discussing with Fox News Channel host Bill O'Reilly a piece of legislation known as 'Kate's Law,' named for California shooting victim Kate Steinle. The legislation would impose a five-year mandatory minimum prison sentence on foreign nationals who, like Steinle's killer, re-enter the U.S. after being deported from the country. 'Why do the Democrats oppose oppose that, protecting Americans from violent foreign criminals?' O'Reilly asked. Trump shot back: 'Because they think that's their voter.' Donald Trump claimed in an interview airing Monday that Democrats don't want to clamp down on illegal-immigrant criminals because 'they think that's their voter' The president told Fox news Channel host Bill O'Reilly that he supports a law requiring a 5-year minimum prison term for illegal immigrants who return to the U.S. following their deportations Juan Francisco Lopez-Sanchez (right), an illegal immigrant who had been deported from the U.S. five times, killed Kate Steinle (left) in 2015 after the 'sanctuary city' of San Francisco let him out of jail without notifiying federal immigration authorities Steinle's murderer, Juan Francisco Lopez-Sanchez, had been deported five times. Kate's Law passed in the U.S. House last year but Senate Democrats stalled it indefinitely through a filibuster. Iowa Republican Rep. Steve King and Texas Republican Sen. Ted Cruz re-filed the bill last month, just days after the new Congress convened. Trump cited Steinle's death in dozens of campaign speeches, and included her name in a list of crime victims he read during his nomination acceptance speech at least year's Republican National Convention. More recently, the president has raised eyebrows by claiming millions of votes were cast illegally in the election he won in November, and by insisting that ineligible voters invariably sided with Hillary Clinton. Clinton out-polled Trump in California alone by more than 4.2 million votes in the presidential contest, a margin that exceeded her nationwide popular vote edge. California is one of 12 states where illegal immigrants can legally obtain driver's licenses. Because of the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 commonly called the 'motor-voter' law they can register to vote in the Golden State at the same time. A 2015 poll from Rasmussen Reports found that 53 per cent of registered Democrats support giving illegals the right to vote. Only 21 per cent of Republicans agreed. Steinle was featured in a 2015 Senate hearing about Americans killed by illegal immigrants; one result was 'Kate's Law,' which will get another hearing in Congress this year Three weeks after the November election, O'Reilly interviewed Claude Arnold, a retired Immigration and Customs Enforcement 'special agent in charge.' Arnold said he 'probably arrested more than 1,000 illegal aliens in my career, and I routinely encountered people who were in possession of voter registration cards.' 'And as a part of my interview of them when they were arrested, I would ask them, "Do you or have you voted?" And often, I would get the answer "yes",' he continued. A federal judge ruled last month that Steinle's family can't sue the city of San Francisco for letting Lopez-Sanchez out of jail without notifying ICE that he was a candidate for his sixth deportation order. His release date came less than three months before he shot Steinle to death. San Francisco, like more than 200 other U.S. cities and counties, offer 'sanctuary' to illegal immigrants by refusing to tell federal immigration authorities when they enter or leave local criminal justice systems. In the Fox News interview with O'Reilly, Trump called it 'ridiculous.' 'I'm very much opposed to sanctuary cities. They breed crime, there's a lot of problems,' he said. A judge dismissed a lawsuit Steinle's surviving parents filed against the city of San Francisco and a former sheriff; they had argued the 'sanctuary city' should have told ICE her murderer was released instead of allowing him to roam the city despite five deportations 'California in many ways is out of control, as you know, and from an economic standpoint people are leaving California and going to Texas and other places that run in a different manner,' Trump added. Asked about reports that the entire state of California might adopt San Francisco's posture, the president declared: 'We will certainly not stand for sanctuary even cities let alone states.' He also said that while 'Kate's Law' seems logical, that alone has seldom been enough to pass a law. 'There are many things that are very logical,' Trump sniffed. 'Tax cuts are logical, but the Democrats want to raise taxes instead of lowering taxes.' Cory Bernardi says Tony Abbott's overthrow as prime minister in 2015 made him quit the Liberal Party. The right-wing senator blamed the installation of Malcolm Turnbull, just two years into Mr Abbott's first term as PM, for his decision to leave the party he joined almost 30 years ago. 'I did warn my party that what we condemned in Labor in a revolving door of prime ministers was foolish to repeat in our own circumstances,' he told reporters in Canberra on Tuesday. Scroll down for video Former prime minister Tony Abbott's (pictured) overthrow as prime minister in 2015 made Cory Bernardi quit the Liberal Party Cory Bernardi has a sombre expression as he addresses the media at Parliament House 'And there are those amongst us who say that was some sort of virtue to change leadership. 'The transaction cost of that is still being felt today.' No first-term Australian prime minister had been removed by their own party until Julia Gillard replaced Kevin Rudd in June 2010. The Liberal Party followed the same strategy in September 2015 after Mr Abbott had struggled in the polls. Mr Abbott had a look of delight on his face on Tuesday morning as he was photographed at Parliament House, ahead of Senator Bernardi's speech about quitting the Liberal Party. Employment Michaelia Cash (pictured) smiles as Cory Bernardi tells the Senate about why he was quitting the Liberal Party Liberal Democrats senator covers his face as his Senate colleague makes a statement Australia has now had six prime ministers during the past 10 years. Senator Bernardi, 47, said the close election result showed voters were disillusioned with the major parties. 'After the last election I said there was a problem. We need to fix it,' he said. 'When the pollster says the base doesn't matter, when the election campaign is lacklustre and we hang on by one seat and trumpeted it as a great victory and no-one is investigating it, we have got a problem.' Mr Turnbull's coalition government was narrowly re-elected with a bare one-seat majority at the July 2016 election. Liberal Employment Minister Michaelia Cash had a gleeful expression on her face as Senator Bernardi announced his decision to leave the Liberal Party, after 10 years as a South Australian senator. Liberal Democrat senator David Leyonhjelm was seen putting his left hand over his face. Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has axed the life Gold Travel Pass which allows former politicians to fly business class for free. The pass, which is one of the most generous retirement perks for federals MPs, was immediately axed on Tuesday morning instead of allowing a phase-out period. Only former prime ministers will be entitled to the pass but Mr Turnbull announced he would not use it, reported The Australian. Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull (pictured) has axed the Life Gold Travel Pass which allows retired federal MPs to have taxpayer-funded travel The lifelong pass, which includes free business class travel, was axed on Tuesday morning instead of being phased out over a period of time (stock image) Mr Turnbull reportedly informed coalition MPs of the decision during a meeting of the Liberal and National parties in Canberra on Tuesday. The decision comes in the wake of public backlash over MPs and their expenses and the forced resignation of former health minister Sussan Ley. Ms Ley was forced to resign after she claimed taxpayer funded-travel to the Gold Coast where she had purchased a property. The Prime Minister promised an overhaul of the compliance for MP's expenses. He also pledged to introduce an independent agency to report on MP's spending in monthly increments, which is expected to be fully implemented by July 1, 2017. A report from Business Insider said since 2012, the Life Gold Pass had capped the number of domestic return flights per each MP to 10. The decision comes in the wake of the MP expenses scandal and the forced resignation for former health minister Sussan Ley (pictured) who used taxpayer money to fly to the Gold Coast where she purchased a property The pass also included benefits for the spouse or def facto partner of a former federal MP or prime minister. Some former MPs were reportedly receiving free travel for up to 40 years after they had retired, travelling between capital cities or using the pass to travel to charity and community groups. However, a considerable number of trips were for ex-MPs and family members to travel to holiday destinations including Cairns, Broome, Lord Howe Island and Hamilton Island. Advertisement Several residents were forced to evacuate their homes after heavy rain and severe thunderstorm lashed Sydney, as flash flooding caused chaos on the roads. The sudden storm hit the city and surrounding suburbs on Tuesday leaving thousands of homes without power, a dozen of people trapped in their cars in floodwaters after a month's worth of rain hit in an hour. Light rail lines were suspended, flights were delayed and murder trials were interrupted when the Supreme Court building in the CBD was evacuated as water streamed down internal stairs. Up to 100 people were evacuated from an apartment building in the inner-west suburb of Marrickville that was under threat of collapsing following a landslide at the back of the complex. A weatherboard house at Tennyson Point in Sydney's northwest was destroyed in the deluge, but no-one was home at the time. The city was drenched with 35mm of rain in just one hour between 10 and 11am as the storm cell hit. Scroll down for video Property has been destroyed, roads turned into rivers and residents evacuated from an apartment building amid fears it would collapse following torrential rain in Sydney on Tuesday morning (pictured) Drivers had to be rescued as their cars became trapped in flash floods as a month's rain fell on the city in an hour More wild weather on the way tonight as another round of thunderstorms are predicted to hit at rush hour Several trees and a large chunk of soil fell into an old brick pit behind one of four unit blocks at 38 Ewart Street because of heavy rainfall in the area The nearby suburb of Canterbury copped 45mm of rain. In the west, Penrith, Parramatta and Campbelltown also experienced the force of the storm, as did Wollongong and Port Kembla south of Sydney. The SES responded to 126 calls for help, including at least 13 people trapped in their cars who had to be rescued in Leichhardt, Marrickville, Zetland and Alexandria. Sydney's city streets were awash with pedestrians battling to walk through flooded crossings in ankle-deep water. Light rail services were cancelled between Dulwich Hill and Central due to flooding, leaving commuters such as Andrea Plawutsky forced to alight in floodwater as rubbish bins floated down the street. Ms Plawutsky, who had been travelling towards Central Station when her journey came to an abrupt halt at Chinatown, ended up running through the rain barefoot. 'The water was halfway up my shins when I got off,' Ms Plawutsky said. Flash flooding caused chaos in Sydney after a month's worth of rain lashed the city on Tuesday, leaving a trail of destruction Cars parked along the streets of Sydney were drowning in a flash flooding on Tuesday following torrential rain and storm The intense flood waters appeared to meet the bottom of a red sedan in parked outside the building's door Torrential rain and flash flooding is turning Sydney streets into rivers, bursting pipes (pictured) and throwing traffic into chaos After sweating through days of extreme heatwave, Sydneysiders were treated with heavy rain on Tuesday There were delays at Sydney Airport for both arrivals and departures and a small number of flights were cancelled while others were diverted. More than 5100 properties were without power across Sydney. A blackout in Redfern and parts of Surry Hills affected more than 700 homes and businesses, while 1400 properties were without power in Lane Cove, Ausgrid said. Power provider Endeavour Energy said 1000 properties lost power in Ambarvale, with a further 2000 cut off throughout Sydney in suburbs including Kemps Creek and Riverstone. Motorists travelling across the Anzac Bridge had to grapple with just one westbound lane for hours before the others were reopened in the afternoon. A cyclist struggles to pedal through flooded Elizabeth Street near St James station The sudden storm hit the city and surrounding suburbs leaving a dozen of people trapped in their cars in floodwaters While the worst of the storm has passed, Sydneysiders are being advised to keep their brollies in their bags with light to moderate rain forecast for the rest of Tuesday and Wednesday morning. Up to another 50 millimetres of rain is expected to fall between 5pm on Tuesday and 9am Wednesday, with flash flooding already turning roads into rivers. Weatherzone's Sam Terry said the second wave of torrential rain would likely include at least one thunderstorm and more flash flooding was a major concern. The three-storey building in Marrickville appeared to be on the verge of falling down around 2pm on Tuesday, according to NSW State Emergency Services. Several trees and a large chunk of soil fell into an old brick pit behind one of the four unit blocks at 38 Ewart Street, after the suburb was smashed by 48 millimetres of rain in an hour on Tuesday, Fire and Rescue NSW officials told Daily Mail Australia. People living in the block closest to the pit were evacuated as a precaution, but up to 83 residents remain in the surrounding three buildings. Four people appeared to be drenched from the wet weather in Sydney on Tuesday as they cover themselves in blue raincoats A white sedan had its tyre trapped in a drain, causing traffic chaos along Crown Street in Surry Hills on Tuesday Sydneysiders were drenched in heavy rain on Tuesday after a month's worth of rain lashed the city in an hour Officials said the building in question, and others in the complex, are sound but will be monitored overnight by emergency officials and engineers as heavy storms bring more rainfall. 'A couple of trees have lost their footing at the back of this building and they've fallen into an old brick pit and taken some of the ground with them,' officials told witnesses at the scene. 'That's left only a couple metres of ground between the brick pit and the actual footings of the building and there was a concern the building may collapse.' Footage taken by a resident shows water rushing into the first floor of one of the buildings in the complex and the car park. The intense flood waters appeared to meet the bottom of a red sedan in parked outside the building's door. A apartment building with 100 people inside in Marrickville, inner-west Sydney, appeared to be on the brink of collapse on Tuesday (pictured) People living in the block closest to the pit were evacuated as a precaution, but 83 residents remain trapped in the surrounding two buildings Marrickville received 48 millimetres of rain in one hour on Tuesday during a torrential storm Police, firefighters and State Emergency Service officials were seen in front of the complex Officials said they investigating the threat of the heavy rainfall and flood waters on the building Some residents were seen leaving in their vehicles while officials were at the scene Firetrucks can be seen lining the rain-drenched street The weather bureau issued a severe thunderstorm warning for much of Sydney on Tuesday morning and the rain lasted for hours due to the slow-moving cell. In just one hour 48 millimetres of rain fell in Marrickville, 45 millimetres in Canterbury, and 35 millimetres in Sydney's inner city. This was as much as the 48 millimetres that fell in the whole of last month, with 32 millimetres falling between 10.30 and 11am. The 50 millimetres that have fallen since 9am make it the wettest day since August 4 last year. The weather bureau issued a severe thunderstorm warning for much of Sydney on Tuesday with the rain to continue for hours as the storm is slow-moving The SES was warning people to stay out of affected areas and not drive through floodwaters, as many cars are already stuck Flooding was reported in Penrith, Parramatta, Wollongong, Campbelltown and Port Kembla, Marrickville, Zetland, Woollahra and the Sydney CBD. The State Emergency Service rescued people trapped by floodwaters in Marrickville and Zetland. It was inundated with reports of roofs falling in, homes flooded and cars trapped. SES warned people to stay out of affected areas and not drive through floodwaters, as many cars are already stuck. In just one hour 48 millimetres of rain fell in Marrickville The CBD was blanketed by a heavy torrent of rain on Tuesday morning Flooding is reported in Penrith, Parramatta, Wollongong, Campbelltown and Port Kembla, Marrickville, Zetland, Woollahra and the Sydney CBD A woman struggles with her umbrella which has been battered by high winds A pipe bursts next to a street next to an inner-west street Sydney Airport said there were almost 2,500 lightning strikes within 10 nautical miles of the airport so far. Light rail services were cancelled between Dulwich Hill and Central were quickly due to flooding along the line and trees fell across the tracks near Rooty Hill and Wolli Creek. Traffic is on a standstill on major bridges not only from delays but from flooding on the bridge themselves, with the Anzac bridge reportedly worst affected. A Maserati sports car suck in a Redfern street transformed into a river A woman runs through the rain to avoid getting too wet A woman doused by a passing bus ploughing through flooded street Sydney Airport said it was operating normally but there could be delays as the day went on, and was later reportedly shut. Several flights were forced to circle the airport until it was safe to land and others were diverted to Melbourne and Canberra. Some passengers on a flight from Adelaide could miss their cruise setting sail for New Caledonia, as could others who won tickets to Ed Sheeran's concert at the Sydney Opera House in the evening. Virgin said 'a number' of its flights were delayed by the weather. More to come. Scooters submerged up to their wheels in flooded a CBD street Pedestrians huddle under collapsing umbrellas in the brutal storm The January 29 Navy SEAL raid on Yemen was supposed to result in killing or capturing al Qaeda's head operative in the Arabian Peninsula, military officials said. But Qassim al-Rimi is still alive following the raid - and is taunting Donald Trump via an audio message released Sunday. Al-Rimi said: 'The White House's new fool has received a painful blow at your hands in his first outing on your land.' Scroll down for video The secret target of last week's Navy SEAL raid was al-Qaeda's head operative in the Arabian Peninsula, Qassim al-Rimi. But he is still alive and has taunted Donald Trump in an audio recording released Sunday Al-Rimi said: 'The White House's new fool has received a painful blow at your hands in his first outing on your land.' Pictured: Debris following the raid Military sources said the audio is authentic, NBC News reported. Al-Rimi, who is considered the world's third most dangerous terrorist, identifies all 25 purported victims of the January 29 raid and claims that scores of U.S. soldiers were killed or wounded in the audio. It is not clear where he was during the raid. Yemeni security and tribal officials said the assault in central al-Bayda province killed three senior al-Qaeda leaders. The dawn attack killed Abdul-Raouf al-Dhahab, Sultan al-Dhahab, and Seif al-Nims. Al-Rimi, who is considered the world's third most dangerous terrorist, identifies all 25 purported victims of the January 29 raid and claims that scores of U.S. soldiers were killed or wounded in the audio The al-Dhahab family is considered an ally of al-Qaeda, which security forces say is concentrated in al-Bayda. Plans to increase U.S. counter-terrorism measures in Yemen began during Obama's second term, and plans were passed on to Trump's administration. Trump was told by Defense Secretary James Mattis that the capture of al-Rimi would be a 'game changer,' and that the Obama administration had not had confidence to do it, a White House official said. Neither the White House nor the Pentagon have commented on the matter of al-Rimi. Trump previously said that the operation was 'a successful raid against al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula' Trump previously said that the operation was 'a successful raid against al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula,' CNN reported. Sean Spicer said it had been 'a successful operation by all standards.' Approximately 60 American troops were deployed for the operation, along with about 20 combined Yemeni and Emirati forces. The forces' cover was blown - cause unknown - and gun fighting began near homes where there were women and children. Chief Special Warfare Officer William 'Ryan' Owens was killed in the raid. The 36-year-old Illinois native is survived by his wife, Karen, and their three children. Chief Special Warfare Officer William 'Ryan' Owens and Nawar al-Awlaki, 8, were two of those killed in the raid Owens was killed in a pre-dawn raid, in which officials have said 'almost everything went wrong,' on Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula last Sunday. It was Trump's first clandestine strike, and it was not one that had previously been ordered by former President Barack Obama. Owens's death, Trump said in a statement, 'will assist the U.S. in preventing terrorism against its citizens and people around the world.' But 'Americans are saddened this morning with news that a life of a heroic service member has been taken in our fight against the evil of radical Islamic terrorism.' Eight-year-old Nawar al-Awlaki, known as Nora, was also among the non-combats killed in the raid, which resulted in the death of several Yemeni women. Customers at an Italian restaurant left a shockingly racist message for the owner, saying they would not return because he was Mexican. Fernando Franco said he received the note at his restaurant Di Frabo, located in one of the wealthiest neighborhoods in San Antonio on Friday. Franco is originally from Mexico City and said it was the first time he felt unwelcome in the United States after the racist remark was signed off with 'America first'. Scroll down for video Customers left a shocking message on their receipt after dining at an Italian restaurant in San Antonio, Texas on Friday. The note said that although the food and service were good, they would not be returning because the owner was Mexican Owner Fernando Franco said it was the first time he felt unwelcome in the United States after coming from Mexico City. The racist remark was signed off with 'America first' Video courtesy of KSAT: The entire message reads: 'The food was tasty and the service was attentive. However, the owner is "Mexican." We will not return. "America first"'. That concluding remark of 'America First' became popular once Donald Trump began using the phrase when he started campaigning in 2015. Franco has been working in the United States since 2012 and said he doesn't know who left the message or how they could have known he was the owner, reported News 4. At the time he was dining with his wife but happened to speak in Spanish to the restaurant's manager, citing this as the possible reason for the cruel note. The receipt has been shared on social media and was met with an outpouring of support for Franco. He said he plans to frame the note as a reminder for what happened Franco has been working in the United States since 2012 and opened up the Italian restaurant Di Frabo in 2014 The receipt has been shared on social media and met with an outpouring of support for Franco. He said to Kens 5: 'Its a feeling that you hear this every day in the news and you see whats going on. 'So at the end you start feeling that its affecting the people.' He now is trying to obtain citizenship and plans to frame the note as a reminder of the changing politics and attitude of people in America. However, Franco said he would still welcome the unknown customers who left the message back into the restaurant, the San Antonio outlet reported. A man accused of advocating terrorism after allegedly posting videos online instructing people how to kill Jews was 'acutely psychotic' at the time, a court has heard. The 50-year-old man, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, is alleged to have posted videos on the internet encouraging people to commit terrorist attacks. He appeared in Adelaide Magistrates Court via video link on Tuesday, where his lawyer said he was mentally unwell. A man accused of advocating terrorism after allegedly posting videos online instructing people how to kill Jews was 'acutely psychotic' at the time, a court has heard 'He is deemed to have a defence of mental impairment,' defence counsel Stacey Carter said. 'It is the view of the psychologist that he was acutely psychotic at the time of these offences.' One of the videos the man is accused of posting online allegedly shows him wielding a chainsaw. Police will reportedly allege that that the videos were filmed at the man's home between July 28 and November 4, 2015, the Mercury reported. Four separate videos allegedly show him 'advocating with other persons to engage in acts of terrorism'. They are alleged to give 'explicit verbal instructions as well as physical demonstrations with weapons as to how to kill Jewish people'. The man appeared in Adelaide Magistrates Court (file picture) via video link on Tuesday, where his lawyer said he was mentally unwell The man, from western Adelaide, was arrested in December on four counts of advocating terror. It is the first time someone has been charged with the offence in Australia. Ms Carter requested his identity be suppressed because people could use his name to find the videos he posted online. The fact that the videos are still online shocked magistrate Ian White. Prosecutor John Clover said it was difficult to remove things from the internet. The charged man will remain in custody with the case adjourned until March 21. The man is yet to enter a plea. If he is found guilty, he could face up to 20 years in prison. The case continues. A young woman who was rushed to hospital by her mother in excruciating pain spent hours in the waiting room before being moved to a storeroom. Chloe Wilson, 20, had severe abdominal pain when her mum, Kelly Toogood, took her to Blacktown Hospital earlier this year. However, once she arrived she was forced to wait for hours, before being put on a table in a plaster room and then moved to a ward where it was flooding. Chloe Wilson, 20, spent hours in a hospital waiting room in excruciating pain before being moved to a storeroom She had severe abdominal pain when her mum, Kelly Toogood (L), took her to Blacktown Hospital earlier this year Ms Toogood said her daughter woke up on the 5th of January with 'excruciating pain' in her abdomen, and was laying in the foetal position. 'I knew she needed a doctor straight away because she never gets sick,' she told Daily Mail Australia. The pair arrived at Blacktown Hospital just before midday and waited about 15 minutes before a nurse took her blood pressure, temperature, and pulse. Two hours passed and Ms Toogood said they were approached by a male ER doctor who took them into a storeroom for plaster. 'He instructed Chloe to lay down on the treatment table, I say table because that's what it was, a hard table,' the mother said. 'Luckily, she had her own pillow and I managed to find her a blanket. He again asked her a few questions about where her pain was how long she had had it for', she added. Ms Wilson after she was finally moved to a hospital bed later on Two hours passed after they arrived before Ms Toogood said they were approached by a male ER doctor who took them into a storeroom (pictured) for plaster The doctor then told them he would organise an ultrasound and blood test. Ms Toogood said ten minutes later a female doctor came back into the room, to insert a cannula and take a blood test before leaving the room. 'Another 5 or so minutes went by and she [the doctor] was back with a piece of paper that had saline 1000mls written on it,' Ms Toogood said 'She plonked it down on top of Chloe's legs and said 'leave that there I've ordered her some fluids and I can't find your file Chloe and someone will be in to hang it for you in a minute'.' By this time Chloe and her mum had been in hospital for over two hours, and Ms Toogood said her daughter had not been offered any pain relief despite asking a number of doctors. At one stage Chloe was laying on a row of benches when there were no beds available Another two hours later and Ms Toogood said no one had been back to give Chloe her saline solution, and she was extremely dehydrated. '[The female doctor] came back with a doctor sometime later who explained to Chloe that he was calling her name two hours ago, in the waiting room and because she hadn't answered him he assumed she had left the department so he removed her from the system, all the while she was waiting in the 'Plaster Room'.' Later that evening Chloe was moved to a bed in the Women's Health unit, but the next day the room she was in began to flood after heavy rain outside. 'Around 11am it started to rain heavily against the windows in Chloe's room, I jokingly said to Chloe sounds like its coming through the window sure enough it was and it flooded the room,' Ms Toogood said. After being moved, the 20-year-old was discharged from hospital that afternoon, without any answers. Later that evening Chloe was moved to a bed in the Women's Health unit, but the next day the room she was in began to flood after heavy rain outside 'When they discharged Chloe, they told her to follow up with her GP in 3-5 days, sent her home with no pain relief no antibiotics, still in chronic pain with no answers,' Ms Toogood said. The worried mother said her daughter is still undiagnosed, but shaken by her experience at the hospital. Blacktown Hospital general manager Sue-Anne Redmond told Daily Mail Australia the matter was being reviewed. 'I sincerely apologise for any delay and discomfort experienced,' she said in a statement. 'At the time Blacktown Hospital was experiencing a surge in demand. 'During busy periods, treatment locations can be subject to change utilising existing resources but patient safety will always be our priority. 'The hospital is reviewing the matter to identify any opportunities for improvement.' A 12-year-old Iranian girl in need of emergency eye surgery that's only available in the Unites States arrived safely at a New York airport on Monday after a court halted the travel restrictions put in place by President Donald Trump that threatened to delay her treatment. Alma Kashkooli, 12, had been scheduled to arrive in the U.S. on January 31 with her father from Tehran, Iran - two days after the restrictions took effect - for a planned eye surgery at a Pittsburgh children's hospital. The surgery she needs is to save her eyes and treat her rare and severe medical condition, congenital disorder of glycosylation. The disorder impairs the cells' ability to communicate with each other and as a result severely complicates vision, development and coordination. The little girl can barely walk or talk and is also prone to seizures. Her 33-year-old mother, Fahimeh Kashkool, said her daughter was likely to go blind if barred from entering the country for her treatment. For years, the young girl had been traveling to the United States to see her mother and get advanced medical treatment, including a previous surgery in San Diego, for the extremely rare condition that took several years to even be diagnosed. Iranian Alma Kashkooli, 12, arrived at JFK airport on Monday to get emergency eye surgery that's only available in the United States. She is pictured above being wheeled out of customs by her mother Farimeh Kashkooli The young girl had been scheduled to arrive in the U.S. on January 31 - two days after the travel restrictions took effect - for a planned surgery at a Pittsburgh children's hospital The surgery she needs is to treat her condition known as congenital disorder of glycosylation, which severely complicates vision, development and coordination Her mother is living in the United States on a student visa while she earns a master's degree at New York's Fordham University School of Law. She shed tears and smiled as she took her daughter out of the airport through a crowd of well-wishers and reporters on Monday evening John F. Kennedy International Airport. 'I cannot express my feelings in words,' Kashkooli said softly as she waited at the arrival gate on Monday evening. 'I was in pain every single moment, but now I feel so much better.' When the travel restrictions were issued two days before her daughter's flight, Kashkooli was rendered nearly speechless. For years, the young girl had been traveling to the U.S. to get treatment and see her mother who is living in the United States on a student visa while in law school. The girl's current visa allows her to remain in the country as long as her mother's student visa remains valid But the child's visa became useless when the restrictions went into effect. It has since been revalidated under a court order temporarily halting enforcement of the restrictions 'I couldn't tell her, my little angel, that you're considered as a threat for this country,' she said. Kashkooli was in an impossible position when Trump signed the controversial executive order last month restricting travel from seven Muslim-majority countries. She could not go and bring her daughter back from Iran because she might not get back in herself, and she could not get her child to the United States for urgent surgery. 'This little girl has a valid visa, and got caught up in a conflict with which she has no connection,' said attorney Gordon Caplan, whose New York law firm Willkie Farr & Gallagher is representing the family pro bono. Alma's current visa allows her to remain in the United States as long as her mother's student visa remains valid. In addition to the 12-year-old girl arriving on Monday, Iranian citizen and U.S. green card holder Cyrus Khosravi was on hand at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (above) to meet his brother, Hamidreza Khosravi, along with his niece, Dena, for the first time The father-daughter duo traveled to the U.S. while Trump's ban is halted so that Cyrus could meet the little girl The child's visa became useless when the restrictions went into effect, but has since been revalidated under a court order temporarily halting enforcement of the restrictions. In addition to the 12-year-old girl arriving on Monday evening at JFK, Iranian citizen and U.S. green card holder Cyrus Khosravi was on hand at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport to meet his brother, Hamidreza Khosravi along with his niece, Dena, for the first time. The father-daughter duo traveled to the U.S. while Trump's ban is halted so that Cyrus could meet the little girl. They were detained for an additional screening at the airport before being released. Photos from the airport show Cyrus beaming as he crouched down to pick up his niece when she and Hamidreza got off an escalator to the baggage claim area at the airport. The emotional moment that followed shortly after showed the two brothers embracing for a period of time before other family members joined in to greet Hamidreza and Dena. Dena and her father were detained for an additional screening at the airport before being released The Justice Department filed a brief on Monday evening urging a federal appeals court to reinstate President Donald Trump's travel ban, saying that a judge's order blocking it endangers national security and violated the separation of powers. The brief from the Justice Department comes after the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco had already turned down a request to immediately set aside a Seattle judge's ruling that put a temporary hold on the executive order. Three federal judges with the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals are set to hear oral arguments on Tuesday via telephone in an hour-long hearing scheduled to be conducted at 9pm (ET) in regards to the issue, as audio of the hearing to the public will be released promptly after it is over. The judges are tasked with determining the fate of the temporary restraining order against the president's executive order, which bans refugees and travelers from seven predominantly Muslim countries from entering the United States. Three federal judges are set to hear oral arguments on Tuesday in the challenge to President Donald Trumps' (pictured above on Monday) controversial executive order on immigration The president took to Twitter on Monday evening to say the 'threat from radical Islamic terrorism is very real' and said the 'courts must act fast!' On Monday evening, Trump tweeted that the 'courts must act fast' on the issue. 'The threat from radical Islamic terrorism is very real, just look at what is happening in Europe and the Middle-East. Courts must act fast!' Trump tweeted. The president is forced to wait for a decision from the 9th Circuit panel to see if the ban will remain suspended, as the ruling is expected by many to be appealed to the Supreme Court. In addition, l awyers for Washington state and Minnesota told the federal appellate court in a filing that restoring Trump's ban on refugees and travelers from seven predominantly Muslim countries would 'unleash chaos again.' The filing with the 9th Circuit came early Monday after the White House said it expected the federal courts to reinstate the ban. An Australian man has been sentenced to death in Thailand after being found guilty of kidnapping and murdering a member of the Sydney Hell's Angels biker gang. Antonio Bagnato, 28, was charged with abducting and killing Wayne Rodney Schneider at a luxury villa in the seaside resort of Pattaya in 2015. Mr Schneider's body was later found naked and with a broken neck after being buried in a shallow grave by the side of a road. Antonio Bagnato, 28, was charged with abducting and killing Wayne Rodney Schneider at a luxury villa in the seaside resort of Pattaya in 2015 Bagnato (left) has been sentenced to death in Thailand after being found guilty of kidnapping and murdering Sydney Hell's Angels biker gang member Mr Schneider (right) Thai police alleged Bagnato, who was a kickboxer, was the mastermind behind the abduction and killing of Schneider Bagnato, Mr Schneider's former body guard and business associate, was arrested in Cambodia's capital city Pnomh Penh. Tyler Gerard, a 22-year-old American, was arrested as he tried to cross the border into Cambodia. Judge Sirichai Polkarn, at the Pattaya criminal court, read the verdict on Tuesday to a packed court room. 'The first defendant [Bagnato] is found guilty of all charges and according to the criminal code, the penalty is execution for the murder and deprivation of liberty, plus a year in prison for hiding the body,' the judge said. Bagnato, who appeared before the court in prison clothes and leg irons, had pleaded not guilty, claiming he was at a night club on the evening of the killing and then slept at a woman's apartment. Gerard was sentenced to three years in prison for deprivation of liberty but his sentence was reduced for helping the police with the investigation. He could be released by the end of the year because of time already served. Bagnato was arrested in a hotel in Phnom Penh, Cambodia's capital city in December last year Bagnato is seen after his arrest in Cambodia in December over the kidnapping and murder of Mr Schneider Mr Schneider's body was later found naked and with a broken neck after being buried in a shallow grave (pictured) by the side of a road Bagnato had pleaded not guilty, claiming he was at a night club on the evening of the killing. Pictured, authorities at the site where Mr Schneider was found Luke Hunt has already been convicted of aiding and abetting Bagnato (pictured) Australian Luke Hunt has already been convicted of aiding and abetting Bagnato by driving him and his family to the Cambodian border as he allegedly tried to flee. A member of Bagnato's family branded the verdict 'ridiculous' and said: 'We've got hearts and they're hurting right now.' Thai police alleged Bagnato, who was a kickboxer, was the mastermind behind the abduction and killing of Schneider. Schneider's naked body was found in a shallow sandy grave in Sattahip province in Chonburi, 30 kilometres from the villa. Thai police said conflicts over a multi-million dollar drug network extending from Europe to Asia lay behind the killing. Bagnato is seen being taken away by police following his arrest Bagnato, who appeared before the court in prison clothes and leg irons, had pleaded not guilty Bagnato's family branded verdict 'ridiculous', saying their hearts were hurting Donald Trump's pick for secretary of labor Andrew Puzder admitted that he had an undocumented immigrant on his payroll for years. Puzder was announced as Trump's man for the job two months ago but still has not been confirmed, as it emerged on Monday that he had once employed an undocumented immigrant. The 66-year-old had hired an undocumented worker as household help and this could prove a problem in his confirmation process as the confession has sunk other nominees in the past. Donald Trump's (right) pick for secretory of labor Andrew Puzder (left) admitted that he had an undocumented immigrant on his payroll for years on Monday Despite the revelation Senator Lamar Alexander said this will not immediately disqualify the CEO for the position because he 'reported his mistake and voluntarily corrected it', reported USA Today. Puzder said in a statement to CNN: 'My wife and I employed a housekeeper for a few years, during which I was unaware that she was not legally permitted to work in the U.S. 'When I learned of her status, we immediately ended her employment and offered her assistance in getting legal status. 'We have fully paid back taxes to the IRS and the state of California and submitted all required paperwork.' The 66-year-old had hired an undocumented worker as household help. Trump nominated the CEO two months ago and this could be a roadblock in his confirmation process Puzder heads CKE Restaurants Holdings, the parent company of Carl's Jr., Hardee's and other chains. In 2010, he published a book called 'Job Creation: How it Really Works and Why Government Doesn't Understand It. Announcing his pick back in December Trump said in a release: ' Andy Puzder has created and boosted the careers of thousands of Americans, and his extensive record fighting for workers makes him the ideal candidate to lead the Department of Labor. 'Andy will fight to make American workers safer and more prosperous by enforcing fair occupational safety standards and ensuring workers receive the benefits they deserve, and he will save small businesses from the crushing burdens of unnecessary regulations that are stunting job growth and suppressing wages. Donald Trump's choice of Andrew Puzder signifies the administration will favor management over labor. Puzder is against a $15 minimum wage The Californian was one of Trump's earliest campaign financiers, serving as a co-chairman of his California finance team and organizing fundraisers well before most major donors got on board with the eventual Republican nominee. Puzder said of his nomination: 'I am honored to be nominated by President-elect Trump for Secretary of Labor. 'I look forward to the opportunity to help President-elect Trump restore America's global economic leadership.'to be offered the chance to serve in his administration.' Together with his wife, Puzder contributed $150,000 in late May to Trump's campaign and Republican Party partners, fundraising records show. A Florida public defender was filmed begging a trooper not to arrest him on his birthday after he was found driving with a blood alcohol level more than twice the legal limit. Derreck Quarles was arrested after he was pulled over for driving through a road closure on January 28. He was given a sobriety test once the Florida trooper smelled alcohol and vomit on him. The 37-year-old public defender for Orange County blew nearly three times the legal limit and was filmed on the dash cam footage asking the official not to arrest him. Scroll down for video Derreck Quarles, 37, was arrested after he was pulled for driving through a road closure outside of Orlando on January 28. He was filmed begging a trooper not to arrest him after he was found driving with a blood alcohol level more than twice the legal limit Quarles had only been a member of the Florida Bar since September, reported the Orlando Sentinel. He blew a 0.21, almost three times the legal limit of 0.08, when breathalyzed and then told the officer: 'Im one of the good ones. I am a good person. 'Im a public defender. Im sorry. I was going out tonight because one of my friends, its her last day, and Ive done everything right. I was just trying to get home.' The attorney, of Longwood, Florida, then appealed to the trooper and repeatedly asked her to take him home, promising he wouldn't drive drunk in the future and that he was a good person. The public defender for Orange County blew nearly three times the legal limit at 0.21 and was filmed on the dash cam complaining that he was being arrested on his '27th' birthday Quarles posted his $500 bail and is back at work at the the Public Defenders Office in the Ninth Judicial Circuit Quarles said: 'I'm truing to help everyone else. I'm trying to help kids.' He was arrested on his birthday and from the the back of the squad car he angrily complains about his luck. In his 'intoxicated' state he knocked off ten years and claimed he was only 27 years old. He said: 'On my f****** birthday you send me here? Unbelievable.' Quarles posted his $500 bail at the John E. Polk Correctional Facility in Seminole County and is back at work at the the Public Defenders Office in the Ninth Judicial Circuit, WFTV reported. A New Zealand chef based in New York City has weighed in the strict immigration policies in the US, by adding a note to the bottom of each customer receipt. Kiwi woman Mary Emily O'Hara, who ate at Kiwiana cafe in Brooklyn, uploaded a photograph of her receipt with the caption 'Breakfast in Brooklyn'. At the bottom of the receipt a note says: 'Immigrants make American great (they also cooked your food and served you today)'. Kiwiana cafe in Brooklyn has weighed in the strict immigration policies in the US with a politically-charged message on their receipts The post has since gone viral on Twitter - shared more than 80,000 times and liked more than 220,000 times. According to the NZ Herald, waitstaff told Ms O'Hara the idea for the note came from the chef, Mark Simmons. Simmons, who competed in the US version of Top Chef, printed the following message on the receipt. 'Immigrants make America great (they also cooked your food and served you today)' The message, a reference to Trump's 'make America great again' campaign slogan, comes amid heightened immigration tensions across the US. President Trump signed executive order banning immigrants from seven predominantly Muslim nations, sparking outrage and protests the world over. The note came from the cafe's chef, Mark Simmons, who competed in the US version of Top Chef A naked man carjacked a taxi and drove recklessly through a crowded park in Philadelphia before he crashed into a curb, police said. Cab driver Michael Emanuel said he was dropping off a customer when a man approached the passenger side and dragged the woman out of the car on Monday afternoon. When Emanuel stepped out to help her, the man took off all his clothes, jumped into the cab and drove off, hitting three parked cars before he crashed, police said. Scroll down for video A naked man carjacked a taxi and drove recklessly through a crowded park in Philadelphia before he crashed into a curb Cab driver Michael Emanuel got out from the car when a man approached the passenger side and started attacking his customer. The man then took off his clothes and stole the taxi Video by BLT Films Emanuel was dropping a woman off on the 2000 block of Locust Street when a man approached the car, grabbed her by the hair and dragged her out, he told NBC. When he rushed to help the woman, the assailant stripped off his clothes and carjacked the taxi, police said. The man sped through Rittenhouse Square hitting three parked cars while pedestrians ran out of the way. Video footage of the incident captured the sound of the cab tires squealing and pedestrian Kyra Howell made a run for it, telling ABC: 'I honestly saw my life flash before my eyes.' Video footage of the incident captured the sound of the cab tires squealing (above) and pedestrian Kyra Howell made a run for it, saying: 'I honestly saw my life flash before my eyes.' Brandon Thompson, who saw the cab weaving through the park, heroically chased the vehicle down on his bike, NBC reported. When the cab finally crashed into the curb near the intersection of 18th and Walnut Streets, Thompson tried to yank the car keys out of the ignition while other Good Samaritans pulled the man from the car. Video footage showed the man pinned the ground as a large crowd gathered around him. Thompson said: ' He was completely nude. He had nothing on him but what God gave him.' The man, who may suffer from mental illnesss, was arrested and taken to the hospital, ABC reported. The woman who he attacked is expected to be okay. No other injuries were reported. A Las Vegas psychologist who 'poisoned his wife by giving her anti-freeze to pocket her $2million inheritance' has had his bail set at $250,000. Gregory Dennis, 54, was arrested on charges of killing his wife, Susan Winters, in an alleged suicide-murder plot where the psychologist would gain a hefty inheritance. Dennis, who runs a mental health clinic in Boulder City, Nevada, posted his bail quarter of a million dollars after his first court appearance in Henderson on Monday morning. Scroll down for video Gregory Dennis, 54, posted his bail of $250,000 on Monday. The Las Vegas psychologist was arrested on charges for 'poisoning his wife by giving her anti-freeze to pocket her $2million inheritance' on Thursday Dennis (left) runs a mental health clinic in Boulder City, Nevada, was booked at the Henderson Detention Center on Thursday for the slaying of his wife, Susan Winters (right) He was booked at the Henderson Detention Center on Thursday for the slaying of his wife, who was a lawyer, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal. Police apprehended Dennis during a traffic stop on Thursday morning following a 'lengthy' homicide investigation. On January 3, 2015, Winters, 48, died in the couple's Henderson, Nevada, home after she had consumed a deadly combination of prescription painkillers and antifreeze. Initially, the Clark County coroner's office ruled that Winters committed suicide. Dennis called 911 on the morning of his wife's death and told police that he found her unresponsive in the couple's bed. He said that Winters had been upset and was taking a combination of Xanax, anti-depressant medication, and alcohol in the hours leading to her death. Winters' parents, however, rejected the coroner's findings and filed a lawsuit alleging that Dennis killed their daughter. On January 3, 2015, Winters (left), 48, died in the couple's Henderson, Nevada, home after she had consumed a deadly combination of prescription painkillers and antifreeze Their attorneys, Anthony Sgro and David Roger, began to present evidence suggesting that Dennis had a strong motive to kill his wife. They said they conducted an investigation which showed that Dennis did research on the computer about the effects of consuming anti-freeze hours before Winters' death. They also noted that Dennis stood to benefit financially from his wife's death. He inherited about $2million following her death - $1million from a life insurance policy and $650,000 from her share of the family's restaurant franchise business in Oklahoma. Dennis called 911 on the morning of his wife's death and told police that he found her unresponsive in the couple's bed Dennis also took out $180,000 from his wife's bank account. In light of the new information, authorities began to shift the focus of their investigation to Dennis after the Review-Journal ran a story last year that cast doubt on the corner's conclusions. In December 2016, Henderson police reopened the investigation and prosecutors convened a grand jury. In testimony under oath, Dennis acknowledged seeking treatment for an addiction and buying drugs from a street dealer. Roger and a former FBI agent found evidence that Dennis was in contact with the dealer in the hours before and after his wife's death. The dealer in question, Jeffrey Paul Crosby, was convicted of dealing drugs in 2011. He was arrested this past July on a cocaine trafficking charge. He pleaded not guilty and is free on bail. An upset father is searching for answers after his 10-year-old daughter was held down by two bullies who wrote 'loser' on her forehead using a black Sharpie marker during a school bus ride last Tuesday. Raeann Dabney says she was held down by two Titan Hill Intermediate School girls who wrote on her face using a permanent marker in Council Bluffs, Iowa, WOWT reported. 'They asked if they could and I said 'no' and then they just grabbed me and held me down and colored on my face,' Raeann told the television station. 'I was crying and trying to move but they kept holding me down. 'It hurt my feelings for someone to write 'loser' on my head.' Scroll down for video Raeann Dabney (bove), 10, says she was held down by two Titan Hill School girls who wrote on her face using a permanent marker in Council Bluffs. She claims the two girls grabbed her after she told them 'no' to asking if they could color on her The little girl said: 'I was crying and trying to move but they kept holding me down. It hurt my feelings for someone to write 'loser' on my head' When she returned home from school, she continued crying as she told her parents what happened to her on the bus. Her father, Zach Dabney, took photos of his 10-year-old daughter showing 'loser' written across her forehead along with a mustache drawn above her lip and a beard scribbled on her chin as evidence. 'All I keep saying is I'm pissed. I'm mad. I feel bad. She's she's a great student, smart, intelligent. She's in sports, cheerleading, gymnastics. You name it, she is in it,' the father said. 'She is far from a loser. I seen her cry before but not nothing like that. Her father, Zach Dabney (above) said he's 'mad' and that his daughter is a 'great student, smart, and intelligent'. He said: 'She is far from a loser. I seen her cry before but not nothing like that' Her father immediately reported the incident to Titan Hill Intermediate School officials and the principal met with Raeann (above) and her father over the incident 'She was literally shook, heart broken, anything in that category you seen it in her face that day.' Zach told The Des Moines Register that the girls asked his daughter to sit by them and she only did so because 'she's a people person' and 'thought everything was going to be OK'. He immediately reported the incident to Titan Hill Intermediate School officials. Titan Hill Principal Kent Stopak said he met with the girl and her parents on February 1st in relation to the incident. Stopak said the individuals involved in the incident were disciplined after an investigation was completed. Titan Hill Principal Kent Stopak said the individuals involved in the incident were disciplined after an investigation was completed. File above of Titan Hill Intermediate School 'I will continue to work with our student body to ensure that everyone is treated with dignity and respect,' Stopak said. But the Dabneys say the two girls involved in the incident were only banned from the bus for just one day. Zach says he and his wife are not satisfied with the response from the school and they've opened an investigation with Council Bluffs Police. A police spokesman confirmed the case is under investigation. In addition, he said the are planning to file a civil lawsuit against the school and the school bus company. This is not the first incident involving bullying against his children in Council Bluffs and Zach believes the attacks are racially motivated. Police have arrested two men after a cannabis farm was uncovered at Legoland. Up to 50 marijuana plants were found by workmen searching for asbestos on the site just three miles away from Windsor Castle. They were being grown in a bungalow in a setup which included lights and watering equipment. Workmen uncovered the 3ft-high cannabis plants in a derelict cottage within the Legoland estate but outside the theme park's walls The cottage is inaccessible to the public but close to where visitors leave pets for the day (one of the entrances to the Lego complex pictured) The derelict property is outside the Berkshire theme park's walls but within the 215-acre Legoland estate. Police searched the area and closed off the building after the workmen uncovered the 3ft-high cannabis plants. Theme park bosses said the vacant building, which is close to where visitors leave pets, is inaccessible to the public and 'appears to have been accessed via the Crown Estate' - land belonging to the Queen. A police spokesman said: 'Thames Valley Police officers were called at about 11.15am today following reports that cannabis had been found at a property in the Legoland grounds in Windsor. 'Officers are currently at the site where cannabis plants and equipment used in the production of cannabis has been located.' 'A 40-year-old man from Windsor and a 34-year-old man from Burnham have been arrested on suspicion of producing a class B drug (cannabis). 'They have been bailed until 28 February. A Legoland spokesman told MailOnline: 'Following routine checks, we can confirm that illegal substances were found in a derelict cottage outside of the Legoland Park boundary. 'The building in question is inaccessible to the public and appears to have been accessed via the Crown Estate. We have notified Thames Valley Police and we will continue to support their ongoing investigation.' Up to 50 marijuana plants were found by workmen searching for asbestos on the site just three miles away from Windsor Castle (pictured) The White House has claimed that Western media largely 'ignored' the Sydney Siege, Parramatta shooting and North Queensland backpacker stabbing. President Donald Trump's office released a list of 78 acts of terrorism - including five Australian examples - it believed 'did not receive adequate attention from Western media sources.' The Orlando nightclub massacre, the Paris attacks and the Brussels airport bombing were not covered appropriately by Western media, according to the White House. News outlets have voiced their confusion over the list, as a handful of instances named were the subject of international coverage that lasted 'days on end'. The White House has claimed that 78 acts of terrorism (including five Australian examples, Sydney Siege pictured) were largely 'ignored' by Western media President Donald Trump's list of 'underreported' terror attacks included the Sydney Siege, during which Islamic extremist Man Haron-Monis held hostages at a Lindt Cafe for 17 hours. The story made headlines across the world and was trending globally on Twitter The biggest Australian example on the list was the 2014 Sydney Siege. during which Islamic extremist Man Haron-Monis held hostages at a Lindt Cafe for 17 hours. After hours of unsuccessful negotiation and hostage escapes, police stormed the building and shot him dead just after 2am. Tragically, store manager Tori Johnson and mother-of-three Katrina Dawson were also killed in the bloody climax. The story made headlines across the world - with the New York Times, the Telegraph UK, the Times and al-Jazeera all running lead stories about the incident. The hashtag #sydneysiege was trending globally and within Australia at the time. Parramatta shooting: The White House believes the shooting of NSW Police accountant Curtis Cheng by a radicalised teenager was not 'adequately reported by Western media' Mr Cheng (left) was unarmed when he was gunned down by 15-year-old Farhad Khalil Mohammad Jabar. Jabar was later killed in a shootout with three special constables British backpackers Tom Jackson and Mia Ayliffe-Chung (pictured) were allegedly stabbed to death by Algerian-French backpacker Smail Ayad. The incident was included in the list The White House has released a list of 78 terror attacks that the press had 'ignored' following President Trump's claims that the media was 'very, very dishonest' on Monday night Second on the list was the Parramatta shooting murder of NSW Police accountant Curtis Chang, who was shot dead by a radicalised 15-year-old boy. Similarly, the story was covered across the globe - with BBC, The Wall Street Journal, Reuters and The Guardian all writing extensive reports on the ruthless murder. Included on President Trump's list of 'ignored' terrorist attacks was 'Queensland, August 2016' - believed to be a reference to the alleged stabbing murders of two backpackers in a hostel in Home Hill, south of Townsville. British backpackers Tom Jackson and Mia Ayliffe-Chung were allegedly stabbed to death by Algerian-French backpacker Smail Ayad. The story was front page news across much of the United Kingdom. The other two Australian examples on the list were the arrest of 16-year-olds on terror-related charges in October, and the death of teen Abdul Numan Haider, who was shot by police after stabbing two counter-terrorism officers. The attacks dated from September 2014 to December 2016, all of which President Trump believed were 'underreported' as he put the blame on the media Monday. Victims: Tom Jackson and Mia Ayliffe-Chung were staying at a hostel in Home Hill, Queensland, when they were butchered by an Algerian-French backpacker. The story was front page news across much of the United Kingdom and greater Europe The death of teen Abdul Numan Haider (pictured), who was shot by police after stabbing two counter-terrorism officers, was also included on the list of 'underreported' terror acts CNN reporter Jim Acosta said it was a 'head scratcher as his news organization was reportedly one of the first to see the list after it was labeled 'fake news' by Trump in December. President Donald Trump claimed Monday that terror attacks are happening 'all over Europe' but they're not being covered by the 'very, very dishonest press.' Before the list was published the president did not provide any examples as he made the claim in front of troops stationed at MacDill Air Force base in Tampa, Florida. His press secretary, Sean Spicer, told reporters aboard Air Force One, 'Theres a lot of instances where I dont think theyve gotten the coverage it deserved.' He did not name one, either. 'Well provide a list later,' he asserted, indicating in the gaggle that the president may have been thinking of foiled' attacks, in addition to murderous assaults. The report, several pages long and seemingly hastily thrown together, is littered with spelling errors such as 'ATTAKER', 'ATTAKERS' and incorrectly spelling the California city as 'San Bernadino'. The report, several pages long and seemingly hastily thrown together, is littered with spelling errors such as 'ATTAKER', 'ATTAKERS' and incorrectly spelling the California city as 'San Bernadino' (pictured) Beneath metropolitan Detroit lies a treasure trove of historical artifacts: war cannons and ships are only some of the unique items that have been found. The Detroit River, which winds for 28 miles from Lake St Clair to Lake Erie, is home to objects which have been dumped in the water since the city's founding. Because visibility along the river is poor, divers often feel along the riverbed's bottom to discover fascinating artifacts. The river acts as the U.S-Canada border between Detroit and Windsor, Ontario, a transnational metropolitan region with 5.7m people. The Detroit River, which winds for 28 miles from Lake St Clair to Lake Erie, is home to objects which have been dumped in the water since the city's founding. Pictured: a war memorial statue found in 2009 Because visibility along the river is poor, divers often feel along the riverbed's bottom to discover fascinating artifacts. Pictured: Detroit officer Donnie Espinoza holding a MAC 10 style gun Hundreds of guns including a mid-20th century Carbine rifle, cars including a Jeep Cherokee and 1980s DeLorean, a stolen war memorial statue and a 6,000 pound anchor from historic steamship 'Greater Detroit' reflect only some of the diverse objects found And that's not even mentioning the six 1700s-era cannons that have been found since the 1980s. The most recent one found was more than six feet long and weighed 1,300 pounds Hundreds of guns including a mid-20th century Carbine rifle, cars including a Jeep Cherokee and 1980s DeLorean, a stolen war memorial statue and a 6,000 pound anchor from historic steamship 'Greater Detroit' reflect only some of the diverse objects found, the Detroit Free Press reported. And that's not even mentioning the six 1700s-era cannons that have been found since the 1980s. The most recent one was more than six feet long and weighed 1,300 pounds. Librarian Dan Harrison said the cannons were likely used by the British military before the War of 1812. He believes they were brought out on the frozen river during the winter of 1796, to fall into the river upon its thaw. Pictured: A cannon found in 2011 The cannons were most likely 'too-worn-out or small to do the job.' There may be up to three more lying in the river. Pictured: A Detroit PD diver with a cannon in 2009 Beneath metropolitan Detroit lies a treasure trove of historical artifacts, such as hundreds of guns including a mid-20th century Carbine rifle. Pictured: Detroit officer Donald Oehmke with a historic rifle The public isn't allowed to dive within Detroit's city limits in part due to the amount of crime scene evidence believed to be lurking beneath the riverbed Librarian Dan Harrison said the cannons were likely used by the British military before the War of 1812. He believes they were brought out on the frozen river during the winter of 1796, to fall into the river upon its thaw. The cannons were most likely 'too-worn-out or small to do the job,' he told the Press. Harrison added that he thought there might be up to three more cannons in the river. Cars found include a Jeep Grand Cherokee and a 1980s DeLorean. Pictured: A sonar image showing a car detected in the Detroit River A vehicle was recovered from the Detroit River in July 2009 A police dive team worked to remove 15 vehicles from their watery graveyard Officials say the vehicles were spotted last month while members of the department's Underwater Recovery Team were involved in a separate investigation Historical documents show that the British had 17 cannons of the type found, of which 14 have been accounted for. On the Canadian side, there is talk of a Model T car buried near the shore. Windsor Harbour Master Petery Berry told the Press: 'I think there's a world of heritage that no one yet has discovered.' On the Canadian side, there is talk of a Model T car buried near the shore. Pictured: old glass bottles found on the American side On the American side, the public is not allowed to dive within Detroit's city limits. Pictured: Members of the police dept dive team with a wagon wheel found in 2012 Diver Donnie Espinoza is pictured again, this time unearthing a Derringer style pistol On the American side, the public is not allowed to dive within Detroit's city limits - 10 miles of the 28-mile river. Part of the reason the public isn't allowed to dive within city limits is the amount of crime scene evidence believed to be lurking beneath the riverbed. On the Canadian side, even police divers aren't allowed to search the area. On the Canadian side, even police divers aren't allowed to search the area. Pictured, the Detroit River with Windsor, Ontario at left and Detroit, Michigan at right Pictured: Large quantities of Canadian beer and whisky being transported from Ontario to Michigan. One can imagine how the British might have brought cannons out on the frozen river which, when thawed, would plop them in The Detroit River acts as the U.S-Canada border between Detroit and Windsor, Ontario, a transnational metropolitan region with 5.7m people Shrouded in history: The D and C lines freighter, William F. Fitch, is shown leaving Detroit River bound for Cleveland with the season's first automobile shipment in 1939 Three Buddhist monks have been arrested in Burma after authorities found more than 4million methamphetamine pills in one of their cars and in their monastery, police said on Tuesday. One of the monks, named Arsara, was stopped on Sunday as he drove in northern Rakhine state, which borders Bangladesh, Officer Maung Maung Yin said. Authorities had been tipped off that the monk was carrying an illegal haul. Maung Maung Yin said an anti-drug task force found 400,000 pills in the monk's Toyota Kluger. A subsequent search of his monastery turned up 4.2 million pills along with a grenade and ammunition. Buddhist monks Khone Na La also known as Thein Shwe (left), Pyin Nyar Nanda also known as Aye Lwin (center), and Arsara also known as Min Naing (right) were arrested in Burma after an anti-drug task force found 400,000 pills in Arsara's car In total, three Buddhist monks were arrested: Arsara also known as Min Naing, Pyin Nyar Nanda also known as Aye Lwin, and Khone Na La also known as Thein Shwe. Arsara was part of the Shwe Baho monastery, according to Irrawaddy.com. A statement from the office of Burma's leader, State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi, said that one million kyats ($769) in cash was also found in the vehicle. Burma is a major producer of methamphetamine, usually smuggled from the northeast to neighboring countries. It is also the world's second biggest producer of opium, from which heroin is derived. In 2015, drug prosecutions in Burma have jumped about 50 per cent from the year before to 13,500, which police say reflects the growing drug trade. Last year, a record 98million stimulant tablets were confiscated by police across Asia. A subsequent search of his monastery turned up 4.2 million pills along with a grenade and ammunition 'This is not a normal case, and when we were informed that the monk was arrested, we were all shocked,' said Kyaw Mya Win, a township police officer. Asked about the case, the director general of the Religious Affairs Ministry, Soe Min Tun, acknowledged some surprise. 'It is not a very common case, but not impossible to happen. What will happen to the monk is that he will have to give up his monkhood right away and face trial as an ordinary person,' he said. Police said they were still questioning the monk Tuesday. State and federal lawyers will argue before a panel of federal appellate court judges Tuesday in the pitched fight over President Donald Trump's travel and refugee ban that could reach the Supreme Court. The legal dispute involves two divergent views of the role of the executive branch and the court system. The federal government maintains the president alone has the power to decide who can enter or stay in the United States, while states suing Trump say his executive order is unconstitutional. Seattle U.S. District Judge James Robart, who on Friday temporarily blocked Trump's order, has said a judge's job is to ensure that an action taken by the government 'comports with our country's laws.' Jayne Novak, left, smiles as she stands with her husband, Allen Novak, newly-arrived from Iran; he is among people who would be blocked from entering the U.S. under President Trump's executive order Trump, shown Monday arriving at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, argues that he has the authority to determine who comes into the U.S. and can use it for national security reasons The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco is hearing arguments on Tuesday about whether to reinstate Trump's immigration travel ban The Justice Department filed a new defense of Trump's ban on travelers from seven predominantly Muslim nations as a federal appeals court weighs whether to restore the administration's executive order. The lawyers said Monday the travel ban was a 'lawful exercise' of the president's authority to protect national security and said Robart's order that put the policy on hold should be overruled. The filing with the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals was the latest salvo in a high-stakes legal fight surrounding Trump's order. Washington state, Minnesota and other states say the appellate court should allow a temporary restraining order blocking the travel ban to stand as their lawsuit moves through the legal system. The judges hearing the arguments two Democrat-appointed judges and one Republican appointee are from a randomly assigned panel. The appeals court over the weekend refused to immediately reinstate the ban, and lawyers for Washington and Minnesota argued anew on Monday that any resumption would 'unleash chaos again,' separating families and stranding university students. Nazanin Zinouri, 29, was prohibited from coming to America, but made it to South Carolina on Monday after the court injunction U.S. District Judge James Robart, left, ruled on Friday to suspend the travel and refugee ban The Justice Department responded that the president has clear authority to 'suspend the entry of any class of aliens' to the U.S. in the name of national security. It said the travel ban, which temporarily suspends the country's refugee program and immigration from seven countries with terrorism concerns, was intended 'to permit an orderly review and revision of screening procedures to ensure that adequate standards are in place to protect against terrorist attacks.' The challengers of the ban were asking 'courts to take the extraordinary step of second-guessing a formal national security judgment made by the president himself pursuant to broad grants of statutory authority,' the Justice Department wrote. The Seattle judge's ruling triggered a Twitter rant by the president. On Sunday, Trump tweeted, 'Just cannot believe a judge would put our country in such peril. If something happens blame him and court system. People pouring in. Bad!' Whatever the appeals court decides, either side could ask the Supreme Court to intervene. It could prove difficult, though, to find the necessary five votes at the high court to undo a lower court order; the Supreme Court has been at less than full strength since Justice Antonin Scalia's death a year ago. The last immigration case that reached the justices ended in a 4-4 tie. How and when a case might get to the Supreme Court is unclear. The travel ban itself is to expire in 90 days, meaning it could run its course before a higher court takes up the issue. Or the administration could change it in any number of ways that would keep the issue alive. After Robart's ruling, the State Department quickly said people from the seven countries Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen could travel to the U.S. if they had valid visas. On Monday, a graduate student who had traveled to Libya with her 1-year-old son to visit her sick mother and attend her father's funeral was back in Fort Collins, Colorado, after having been stopped in Jordan on her return trip. She was welcomed with flowers and balloons by her husband and other children. Syrian immigrant Mathyo Asali said he thought his life was 'ruined' when he landed at Philadelphia International Airport on Jan. 28 only to be denied entry to the United States. Asali, who returned to Damascus, said he figured he'd be inducted into the Syrian military. He was back on U.S. soil Monday. 'It's really nice to know that there's a lot of people supporting us,' Asali told Gov. Tom Wolf, who greeted the family at a relative's house in Allentown. Riot police made 24 arrests following a third night of violence on a troubled French housing estate today (wed) as it erupted in violence following a sexual assault on a black youth worker. The victim, named on local media as Theo, claimed he was assaulted by police last Thursday at the 3000 estate in Aulnay-sous-Bois, in the north east suburbs of Paris. One officer has been charged with 'rape' after allegedly sticking a telescopic baton into the young man ripping a four-inch tear along his rectum. Scroll down for video A third night of rioting has taken place on the 3000 estate in Aulnay-sous-Bois north east Paris after video emerged of a 22-year-old youth worker being 'sexually assaulted by police' Cars were burned and shops were attacked as violence spread across the grim estate A police officer has been charged with rape after a man was allegedly sodomised with a baton The three other officers involved have in turn been charged with 'deliberate violence', and all face trial. Theo, 22, required emergency surgery to repair the four-inch gash in his rectum caused by the expandable baton. A doctor has since signed him unfit for work for 60 days. 'Cars and dustbins were set on fire, and there were attacks on police patrols,' said the officer, who said two helicopters with searchlights were used to pick out rampaging gangs. In an interview with BFM television, Theo outlined what happened to him on Thursday. He said: 'I saw him with his baton. He rammed it into my buttocks on purpose. I fell onto my stomach, I had no strength left.' The police initially insisted that the injuries were accidental and the baton entered Theo's body after his tracksuit bottoms fell down as he resisted arrest. In horrific scenes that have been edited out of the film, a telescopic baton was allegedly inserted into the man. The man was so badly injured that he required surgery on his injuries. Locals wrote an obscene message to the local constabulary on a wall in the area Rioters threw a metal pole through the window of this shop in Aulnay-sous-Bois in Paris Hundreds of people took to the streets following the alleged attack on the man known as Theo The three other officers involved have in turn been charged with 'deliberate violence'. All face trial. Today bloodstains were still visible where the attack happened, and the alleged victim was still 'traumatised' with a 'severe wound' in hospital. Hundreds of people took to the streets again yesterday to protest about the young man's degrading treatment. As well as the internal injuries, it is alleged the man suffered extensive head wounds and has led to considerable anger on the streets. The severity of his injuries led a doctor to declare him unfit to work for 60 days. Speaking to French television station BFM on Monday, Theo described being ordered to stand against a wall by police, who deny the allegations and say they were targeting lookouts for drug dealers. 'I saw him with his baton. He rammed it into my buttocks on purpose. I fell onto my stomach, I had no strength left. He claimed he was also racially abused in the squad car following the assault. Youth worker Theo claimed the officer inserted the baton deliberately CCTV appears to show Theo being attacked with a baton by an officer Furious protests have been held on the estate where the incident allegedly occurred Large demonstrations have been held by a community shocked by the allegations Interior Minister Bruno Le Roux confirmed late Sunday that all four officers had been suspended during the investigation, adding that exemplary conduct and respect 'must guide the behaviour of security forces at all times'. There were minor clashes and arson attacks on the vast housing estate, called '3,000', on Saturday and Sunday evening where the arrest took place. At least five people were detained, police sources said. With tensions high, further incidents occurred Monday for a third consecutive evening. Three vehicles were set on fire and 'several' arrests made, according to a police source. A helicopter and police reinforcements had been deployed. The latest incident comes in the middle of a presidential election campaign and follows the death of 24-year-old Adama Traore in police custody in another Parisian suburb last year. A window of the local police station was smashed by rioters angry over the alleged rape of 22-year-old Theo who was arrested last Thursday That incident led to several nights of clashes in Beaumont-sur-Oise against the police, with cars and public property also set alight. Two autopsies were unable to determine the cause of Traore's death. A group calling itself Black Lives Matter France, an offshoot of the movement against police brutality in the United States, seized on the case and helped organise protests. Police say they are frequently targeted by delinquents as they play a game of cat-and-mouse with gangs and drug dealers in tough parts of French suburbs. Officers staged nationwide protests in October to denounce their ever-increasing workload, bureaucracy, outdated equipment and what is seen as lenient sentencing for those found guilty of violence against officers. Hundreds of people incensed by the alleged treatment of Theo, a youth worker, marched Monday through Aulnay-sous-Bois. Some carried banners reading 'Justice for Theo', while nearby someone had scrawled 'Police, rapists' on a wall. Theo's brother-in-law Johann told BFM television: 'He was there at the wrong time and came across some crooks.' Theo's sister Aurelie called for calm but said justice must be served. 'My brother is someone who's very kind, very helpful. He works with young people, he's always bringing people together,' she said. The Socialist politician in charge of the Seine-Saint-Denis region where Aulnay-sous-Bois is located, Stephane Troussel, said Sunday that the incident raised 'numerous questions'. 'Although thousands of police are doing their work properly... too many arrests end in nightmares for some young people. The image of the Republic is being tarnished. We have to urgently find a solution,' he said in a statement. In 2005, the death of two teenagers who were electrocuted while hiding from police in an electricity substation sparked weeks of riots. Around 10,000 cars were burned and 6,000 people were arrested. The far-right National Front (FN), which is riding high in the polls ahead of presidential and parliamentary elections from April, urged people not to judge all of France's security forces. Police and officials have called for calm while an investigation into the allegations takes place Riot officers attempted to keep calm as they tried to cope with angry locals The FN's anti-immigration leader Marine Le Pen rails frequently against 'lawlessness' and promises 'zero tolerance' of crime in the rundown suburbs which are home to many newcomers to France. The FN's general secretary general Nicolas Bay told France 2: If the facts are confirmed, then it's serious and reprehensible. '(But) one shouldn't take advantage to heap criticism on the police who do admirable work in very difficult conditions.' Rioting has taken place every night since, with Socialist presidential candidate Benoit Hamon saying: 'Police represent the republic that they protect. There is an urgent need to reestablish confidence.' 'We are doing everything possible to maintain public order,' said a local police source. 'Gangs of youths have been attacking us, and setting property on fire every night. The fear is that this violence will escalate.' Graffiti brands police 'rapists' in Aulnay-sous-Bois following the alleged attack At one stage over the weekend all street lightening went out on the 3000 which is named after the approximate number of people who live there because of an act of vandalism. Police argue that Theo's injuries are consistent with an accident, in which his tracksuit bottoms fell down and the baton penetrated him. It was not until the patrol brought the man back to their station that they noticed he was bleeding, and called paramedics. 'He was there at the wrong time and came across some crooks,' his brother-in-law Johann told BFM television, explaining the arrest. His sister Aurelie called for calm as supporters gathered outside her brother's home on Monday holding banners reading 'Justice for Theo'. The local prosecutor's office said the police had stopped a group of around a dozen people 'after hearing calls characteristic of lookouts at drug dealing sites'. During the operation they 'attempted to arrest a 22-year-old man'. When he resisted, they used tear gas, and 'one of them used an expandable baton,' the prosecutor's office said, without giving further details. Charles Joy, 65, from Stockton in Country Durham, thought he was messaging a teenager called Jess when he flirted with her and sent explicit messages online A former RAF veteran was snared by internet vigilantes after he sent sexual messages on Facebook to men posing to be a 14-year-old girl. Charles Joy, 65, from Stockton in Country Durham, thought he was messaging a teenager called Jess when he flirted with her and sent explicit messages online. But the Senior Aircraftsman, who had served his country in the Persian Gulf, Belfast and Cyprus, was actually being entrapped by the Internet Interceptors. The group, which aims to detect child sex offenders, had created the profile of the fictitious girl, who was told by Joy: 'I'm not bothered if you're 14 or 20.' Joy also sent the non-existent girl sexually explicit pictures of himself and suggested she sent him pictures of her body. He also encouraged her to log on to pornography sites, Teesside Crown Court heard. Prosecutor Rupert Doswell said Joy was confronted by members of Internet Interceptors at his home and police were informed. He confessed he acted out of stupidity, posing as a 16-year-old boy online. Joy admitted attempting to incite a child to engage in sexual activity and attempting to cause a child to watch sexual activity. Damian Sabino, defending, said: 'He says he can't justify it to himself. 'He's lost most of those things one would hold dear in his life. 'His job as a fork lift truck driver, his family home, his wife, his children, his grandchildren and his good character and standing in the community. 'It's hard to imagine his regret.' He added his client abandoned the 'fantasy' himself, never arranged to meet anyone, stopped his behaviour and was never obsessed with it. Joy, accompanied by a representative of the mental health charity Mind in court, had health and mobility problems and was assessed as a low risk of re-offending. Joy was handed a three-year community order with 30 days rehabilitation activity, at Teesside Crown Court (pictured) Judge Stephen Ashurst told Joy: 'Although no real child was involved, you genuinely believed that a child was on the other end of the computer. 'This is a case where your fall from grace has been very dramatic indeed. 'You've worked throughout your life. You were married for 40 years with two grown-up children. You had a good reputation. You served seven years in the armed forces. 'Since the discovery of your activity you've lost virtually everything. 'You've gone into a cycle of depression and you find yourself here in a criminal court utterly disgraced. 'The public humiliation and disgrace counts a great deal towards the necessary punishment.' He gave Joy a three-year community order with 30 days' rehabilitation activity, saying this would protect the public better than a short jail term. Joy was given a sexual harm prevention order and will be on the sex offenders' register for five years. 'It's effectively a first and only warning,' added the judge. Nigel Farage has publicly spoken for the first time about his marriage crisis, saying he 'regrets' the situation and that 'we all go through ups and downs.' The MEP, who has split from his wife Kirsten and is now living with a politician 15 years his junior, admitted he was going through 'a few personal difficulties' with his 'marriage, family and relationships'. Speaking on his LBC show last night, the 52-year-old said: Some of you will have seen press coverage over the last few days - and no doubt therell be more of it - about a few personal difficulties that Ive had with my marriage and my family and my relationships. And I would just say this - all of us in our lives go through ups and downs and I regret the down that Im in at the moment.' Scroll down for video Nigel Farage has publicly spoken for the first time about his marriage crisis, telling LBC listeners (pictured) that he 'regrets' the situation and that 'we all go through ups and downs' The MEP, who has split from his wife Kirsten and is now living with a politician 15 years his junior, admitted he was going through 'a few personal difficulties' German-born Kirsten Farage confirmed yesterday that she and her husband, who married in 1999 after his divorce from his first wife, had been living 'separate lives' for years. The 50-year-old, who no longer wears a wedding ring, said he moved out of their family home in Kent - where they brought up their two children - 'a while ago' and 'this is a situation that suits everyone'. The former Ukip leader is now sharing a Chelsea mansion with attractive French politician Laure Ferrari, 37. Mrs Farage told PA: 'My husband and I have lived separate lives for some years and he moved out of the family home a while ago'. She added: 'This is a situation that suits everyone and is not news to any of the people involved.' Mr Farage is currently living in a grand Georgian house in west London and former Strasbourg waitress Ms Ferrari - who is at centre of a probe into illegal funding of his party - has moved in too. All over: Mr Farage's wife Kirsten (both pictured yesterday) said she and her husband have been living 'separate lives' for years Laure Ferrari (pictured), who is 15 years younger than the married Brexit campaigner, has moved in with Mr Farage at a West London property The former Ukip leader confirmed Ms Ferrari was living at his home but denied they were having an affair, calling the idea 'crackers'. He told The Mail on Sunday this weekend that he 'knew her well' but was just helping her out with somewhere to stay. He declined to make any response to his wife's comments. Yesterday Mr Farage was pictured getting out of his car wearing a dark green tweed jacket and a chequered shirt and briefly talking to reporters. Mr Farage was on the campaign trail in Stoke supporting Paul Nuttall's by-eleciton bid when they were pelted by a protester Ukip leader Paul Nuttall (right) and Mr Farage MEP dodge an egg thrown by a youth as they arrive in Stoke-On-Trent for a public meeting Hours later, he was pelted with eggs by a protester while he was on the campaign trail for Ukip leader Paul Nuttall in Stoke. Meanwhile, last week in Chelsea, Ms Ferrari was photographed outside Mr Farage's home - dressed in tracksuit bottoms and putting out the bins - shortly before Mr Farage left in his chauffeur-driven Land Rover. Miss Ferrari and Mr Farage first met a decade ago when she was a waitress and he got her a job in the European Parliament. She is now the head of a think-tank accused of breaking rules by diverting public money to Ukip when Mr Farage was its leader. Mr Farage is living in a grand Georgian house in west London (pictured yesterday) and Ms Ferrari has moved in too A solemn looking Mrs Farage today walked out onto the driveway from the couple's Kent home The 50-year-old, pictured yesterday, walked onto the driveway before getting into a car and driving off Ukip is under investigation by the Electoral Commission watchdog for allegedly taking a total of 400,000 in dodgy donations from the think-tank and an affiliated political alliance, ahead of the General Election and the EU referendum. Mr Farage said he was giving Miss Ferrari 'short-term help' with her accommodation because she had nowhere else to go and needed money. THE (SEVERAL) WOMEN IN NIGEL FARAGE'S LIFE Claire Hayes: Mr Farage's first wife was a nurse who cared for him when he was hit by a car in 1985. The couple had two sons before their divorce in 1997 Kirsten Farage: The politician's second wife is a German interpreter whom he met on a business trip in Frankfurt in 1996. They have two daughters together but are said to have lived separate lives for many years. Liga Howells: Latvian TV reporter claimed in 1006 that she and Mr Farage had sex seven times. He later admitted they had an affair. Annabelle Fuller: The former Ukip press officer was revealed to be Mr Farage's mistress in 2014. Laure Ferrari: Ms Ferrari, who he met ten years ago in Strasbourg, is currently living with Mr Farage in west London but he denies an affair. Advertisement Asked if he had slept with her, he said: 'I'm not answering ludicrous questions, like have you ever held her hand, ever had dinner with her. 'She is someone I have worked with and known well for a long time who wanted somewhere to stay for a week that wouldn't cost her any money. It's a working relationship. You can inflate it however you want to.' Last month Miss Ferrari was also by Mr Farage's side at a glitzy Washington DC party to celebrate the election of his new friend, US President Donald Trump. She runs the Eurosceptic think-tank the Institute for Direct Democracy in Europe (IDDE). That, and a related political grouping known as the Alliance for Direct Democracy in Europe (ADDE), have received more than 1 million a year from the EU. But they have already been ordered to pay back hundreds of thousands of pounds by the European Parliament, while Ukip faces a fine of up to 20,000 if it is found to have broken British election law. Mr Farage told the Mail On Sunday that he 'absolutely denied' claims of wrongdoing concerning any financial link, adding: 'We are fighting it very hard.' Miss Ferrari said she had been forced to move out of her own flat after the European Parliament stopped the IDDE's funding and said: 'I have no trustworthy friends in London who could have hosted me. I asked and he accepted. He is just trying to be helpful.' She, too, denied any affair, saying: 'You are putting two and two together, but it is not as simple as that. I cannot stop people from fantasising. I am not pleased to be in this situation and I am so sorry it is bringing awful things on Nigel's life and on my life.' Mr Farage, wearing a green tweed jacket and chequered shirt, speaking to reporters outside his home in Kent yesterday Kirsten Farage, 50, pictured outside her Kent home without a wedding ring on her finger (circled) yesterday This newspaper told last month how Mr Farage was staying in a 'bachelor pad' in London on weeknights, but he refused to say where it was and denied that he had split from his German-born second wife, Kirsten, with whom he has two daughters. When asked about the state of his marriage at the time, he replied: 'We get by and bumble along, like most people.' The bolthole is a three-bedroom Georgian house, worth an estimated 4 million and owned by a businessman, in a quiet Chelsea side street. Mr Farage has been sharing it with Ms Ferrari for a week. Miss Ferrari has previously spoken of how she began working for Mr Farage and fellow Ukip MEP Godfrey Bloom after meeting them in the Strasbourg restaurant where she waited tables in 2007. She once told an interviewer: 'I met these two MEPs and we started talking about politics. She was photographed outside the property early on Friday morning, dressed in tracksuit bottoms and putting out the bins Minutes later, Mr Farage was pictured leaving the house in his chauffeur-driven Land Rover His bolthole is a three-bedroom Georgian house, worth an estimated 4 million and owned by a businessman, in a quiet Chelsea side street Mr Farage, 52, was pictured going into the property at 10.40am on Thursday morning 'The two Brits have no hierarchy and neither of them comes from a political background.' In June 2013, Miss Ferrari posted on Twitter a link to a newspaper feature asking 'Why do more women want to bed Nigel Farage over David Cameron?' She was originally Mr Bloom's parliamentary assistant then head of public relations to a European Parliament grouping led by Mr Farage, and was a candidate for a small Right-wing party known as Debout la Republique (Arise The Republic) at European elections in 2014. The party, since renamed Debout la France, is one of ten nationalist parties that make up the ADDE group, which was set up in 2014 by Ukip and funded by the European Parliament. In March 2015, she was elected as executive director for the ADDE's think tank, the IDDE. The two organisations share an office in Brussels but Miss Ferrari moved to London, setting up a consultancy firm from an address in Clapham. Miss Ferrari spoke alongside Ukip politicians and other Brexit campaigners at public events in Dorset and Norfolk ahead of last June's referendum. Mr Farage (pictured) said he was giving Miss Ferrari 'short-term help' with her accommodation because she had nowhere else to go and needed money IN HER OWN WORDS, HOW LAURE THE WAITRESS SERVED NIGEL... WHO THEN GAVE HER UKIP JOB Attractive and vivacious Laure Ferrari first met Nigel Farage when she was working as a waitress in Strasbourg. It was 2007 and Mr Farage was dining with his friend Godfrey Bloom, then also a Ukip MEP, when the 27-year-old brunette caught his eye. 'I met these two MEPs and we started talking about politics,' she later gushed. 'The two Brits have no hierarchy and neither of them comes from a political background.' Within months, Miss Ferrari had been elevated to Mr Farage's inner circle as head of PR for the British delegation to the Europe of Freedom and Democracy Group, led by Ukip. It was quite a dramatic rise for someone who admitted: 'Before 2005, I hadn't a clue about politics. For me, it was old men who sat around talking.' Born in 1979 and raised in Epinal in North-East France, Miss Ferrari moved 90 miles to study English at the University of Strasbourg, and then spent two more years there doing a master's in communications. After her studies, she took out a bank loan and opened a clothes shop in Strasbourg called Urban Flavor, as 'I couldn't see myself working for someone else'. But the business did not flourish and financial difficulties led her to work as a waitress in the evenings. The European Parliament holds meetings in Strasbourg once a month. It was thus that Miss Ferrari met Mr Farage and entered the world of politics. According to a close friend, the pair became almost inseparable and regularly attended political events and parties together in Brussels and Strasbourg. 'Everyone says that I am Nigel Farage's parliamentary assistant, but this is not true,' she told the EurActiv news website in 2014. 'I was head of public relations.' There are subtle clues to her affection for Mr Farage on her social media accounts. In June 2013, she teasingly tweeted a link to a newspaper article headlined: 'Why do more women want to bed Nigel Farage over David Cameron?' Her stock continued to rise among Eurosceptic circles and in 2014 she joined the Alliance for Direct Democracy Europe (ADDE), a coalition of anti-EU parties. In March 2015, she was appointed executive director for the ADDE's think tank, the Institute for Direct Democracy Europe. It was around this time she set up an IDDE office in Westminster, London, and moved to Britain. Advertisement Late last year Miss Ferrari became caught up in the scandal involving Ukip funding ahead of the Brexit poll and the 2015 General Election, in which Mr Farage unsuccessfully tried to become an MP. The European Parliament announced that, following an audit, it discovered that the ADDE and IDDE had mis-spent 534,478 (461,658) of taxpayers' cash on political parties and election campaigns, much of it benefiting Ukip. European Union money is only meant to be spent on activities at a European level, not on domestic campaigning. The ADDE carried out nine opinion polls in the UK, published a report and carried out consultancy services connected to the polling, which 'breached the rules for European party financing'. It was told to pay back 172,655 and had another 248,345 grant withheld. It has been claimed that ADDE cash was given to Ukip staff to canvass voters in seats where the party hoped to do well. And the IDDE paid for a poll 'related to the EU referendum in the UK'. It was said to have wrongly spent 33,863 in total, including paying for a Dutch referendum advert arranged by Mr Farage. The Electoral Commission then announced in November that it would investigate Ukip to see if 'the party accepted impermissible donations' from the two groups, following the European Parliament ruling. It said that after 'these expenses were declared as non-eligible for the financing' by Brussels, 'the Commission has opened its own investigation into Ukip to look at whether there has been any breach of UK election law. This includes whether any impermissible donations have been accepted.' Political parties are meant to record all donations and check they come from permissible sources. If they are found to have committed offences, parties can be ordered to pay back donations and hit by fines of up to 20,000. The Electoral Commission said last night that its investigation was ongoing. Nights spent working on his campaign dressed in her nightie while her husband went down the pub: How Nigel Farages wife has batted away regular affair claims Nigel Farage's wife Kirsten remained steadfastly loyal to him even as claims of affairs surfaced and she saw more of him on TV than at home. Mrs Farage spent the day caring for their children and doing the housework before often long evenings as his secretary toiling away on a computer in her nightie. Kirsten, 50, a German-born translator, said she accepted her workaholic husband's lifestyle but had also encouraged him to change his 'bad' habits in recent years. She said once he 'drinks and smokes too much' and feared for his health because he skipped meals and often lived on adrenalin. While she was at home in Kent there have been repeated claims Mr Farage had liaisons with other women but he has again written off affair rumours as 'bonkers'. All over: Nigel Farge and his wife Kirsten, pictured at the Ukip spring conference at the Margate Winter Gardens, are now living separate lives Denial: There have been repeated claims Mr Farage had liaisons with other women but he has again written off affair rumours as 'bonkers' Former Ukip MEP Godfrey Bloom, once Mr Farage's Brussels flatmate, even said publicly that his friend's one weakness, above booze and cigarettes, is women. Today it was revealed that Mr and Mrs Farage have walked away from their marriage. She admitted they have been living separate lives 'for years' and 'that suits everyone' - her husband has not yet made a comment but last month when asked about the state of his marriage, he replied: 'We get by and bumble along, like most people.' Over the years her husband has broken all the political rules to boast about his smoking, drinking and even visiting lapdancing clubs. In 2014 he was accused of having had an affair with Annabelle Fuller, then 32, one of his spin doctors. But in her typically circumspect manner Mrs Farage told reporters outside their home: 'We will be discussing it tonight.' Privately she was said to be more upset, and it was claimed later she was involved in an astonishing public bust-up with Annabelle. She was a stunning government bond broker whose brisk efficiency at first sight belied her ethereal appearance. She could have stepped into a pre-Raphaelite painting no questions asked Nigel Farage on the moment he met Kirsten after first marriage break-up According to the Mirror Mrs Farage confronted her at a UKIP election party and allegedly told her: 'I will have security drag you out by your hair if you don't leave'. Both Farage and Fuller have vehemently denied any affair. In the same year he was seen walking into a hotel with a mystery blonde woman at 3.42am after a boozy night out in Malta. As he returned from the trip, Mr Farage angrily dismissed allegations of inappropriate behaviour as 'fluff and nonsense', saying: 'I didn't go to bed with her.' On one occasion she was drawn on claims that her husband was unfaithful. She said: 'I have heard it before and it always comes from the same sort of people who wouldnt possibly know'. Honest: Mrs Farage (left today and right in 2015) has admitted they have been living separate lives 'for years' and 'that suits everyone' Mrs Farage admitted that while he was on the campaign trail, working or down the pub she was often sitting at a computer in her nightie 'dutifully' working as his secretary. She and Mr Farage met in Frankfurt in 1996, while he was travelling on business shortly after his divorce from his first wife, Grainne, the mother of his eldest two children. Later, he explained the reasons for his divorce in typically flamboyant style: 'My marriage, which had been on ice and torpid with its claws bound for so long we had both forgotten it was alive at all, finally expired.' Of the moment he met Kirsten, he once said: 'She was a stunning government bond broker whose brisk efficiency at first sight belied her ethereal appearance. 'She could have stepped into a pre-Raphaelite painting no questions asked.' The couple married in 1999 and have two children. She gave up her career in the City, where she worked as an interpreter for a German bank, to look after the children and do her husband's correspondence. When she worked for Mr Farage she wrote all his emails because he dislikes using computers. She also worked from home and rarely visited Ukip's HQ in London's Mayfair, which she described as a 'freak show'. Low key: Kirsten is rarely seen in public and at Ukip conferences, she would sit anonymously in the audience or sell merchandise on a stall with other volunteers Party sources say Mrs Farage is 'brilliantly intelligent' and was a key figure behind the scenes. 'I work from home and Nigel is never there, so I am a single mother in many ways,' the mother-of-two joked previously. 'Someone has to be there and take the children to school.' In a clue to their domestic arrangements, Mrs Farage revealed that her husband did not even know where basic household equipment was kept. 'He just called me and asked where do we keep the ironing board as he needed to iron his shirt,' she said. 'I'm not that surprised. It is a bit worrying.' She is rarely seen in public and at Ukip conferences, she would sit anonymously in the audience or sell merchandise on a stall with other volunteers. Mrs Farage is in many ways the complete opposite of her husband, rarely speaking in public and shunning the 'sad' role of politician's wife. The former Ukip leader was often so busy that she and their two children only saw him on television and were unable to holiday in the UK or go out for a meal together because of the attention her husband attracts. His gruelling schedule as party leader meant that he was up by 5am and works seven days a week, travelling on average eight hours a day to speak at meetings across the country. Mr Farage has previously admitted that he has not spent enough time with his children. He said: 'In an ideal world children benefit from having some sense of stability with preferably two parents and not one. 'And that really, for more than the last decade, has not been the case with me. 'Men tend to be more single-minded and selfish in terms of the choices they make and the effect it has on their families.' Mrs Farage also rarely gives interviews but has on occasion lifted the lid on their life together. She told the Telegraph previously she was very worried that his drinking, smoking and long working hours could make him ill. She: 'I do I think it is a very hectic lifestyle. 'He doesn't get a lot of sleep, he doesn't get a lot of rest, he lives on adrenaline a lot, he doesn't eat regular meals, now I am beginning to sound like his mother, and he smokes and he drinks too much. 'But if you have that sort of lifestyle I think it is what keeps him going, it keeps the adrenaline going.' In another rare interview German-born Kirsten also denied the Ukip leader is racist, insisting he does not have a 'bad bone in his body' and the accusation 'hurts him'. 'If he was a racist I wouldn't be with him. I don't think he has got a nasty bone in his body he is not a bully, he likes things done properly,' she said. Mrs Farage added: 'It hurts him being personally attacked but it doesn't make me feel uncomfortable because I know he is not a racist.' She also revealed the stark impact on their lives of his party's successes saying the couple, who have been married for 15 years, are now unable to holiday in the UK or go out for a meal together because of the attention her husband attracts. Mrs Farage, who is notoriously publicity shy, broke her silence to paint the father of four as a dutiful family man who enjoys watching Dad's Army. As she made a rare appearance at the party's spring conference in Kent yesterday, German-born Mrs Farage said she keeps a deliberately low profile. Asked if she would be joining her husband on stage to embrace and kiss him after his speech, she replied: 'No. Definitely not. That's really quite sad.' Asked about the contradiction of having a German wife while railing against immigration, Mr Farage has previously deflected the question by joking that their marriage is proof he loves Europe. Do you know the egg thrower? Call 0203 615 1875 or email anthony.joseph@mailonline.co.uk Defiant John Bercow has dismissed MP fury over his attack on 'racist' Donald Trump as his Lords counterpart suggested the Speaker should be stripped of control over Westminster Hall speeches. Mr Bercow said he was just being 'honest' by making an extraordinary intervention in which he said he would not authorise the use of the historic venue during the US president's impending state visit. The comments last night were cheered by many MPs in the chamber, who have been heavily critical of the travel ban imposed by the White House on nationals from seven mainly-Muslim countries. But Tories have broken ranks to condemn Mr Bercow for abandoning his role's traditional neutrality and wading into international politics - suggesting his position is 'untenable'. The Lords Speaker also laid into Mr Bercow this afternoon for failing to consult him before delivering the excoriating statement. Lord Fowler - who also has to sign off on Westminster Hall speeches - said he had received an apology from his opposite number today. The peer added that it might be 'better' if neither of them had the power to veto such prestigious addresses. British Speaker John Bercow, pictured in the House of Commons today, said he had been 'honestly and honourably' discharging his duties when he attacked Donald Trump Speaker Bercow was applauded by MPs after his intervention, prompted by a point of order from Labour MP Stephen Doughty US President Donald Trump speaking to troops at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Florida Former minister Sir Gerald Howarth raised the row as a point of order in the Commons this afternoon, urging Mr Bercow to 'reassure' the House that they could have 'full confidence in the impartiality of the chair'. But Mr Bercow shot back that the decision to bar the US commander-in-chief was 'within the remit' of the Speaker. 'I was honestly and honourably seeking to discharge my responsibilities to the House,' he added. Earlier, Tory backbencher Alec Shelbrooke said Mr Bercow's position was 'untenable' after he engaged in 'grandstanding' and 'student politics of the worst kind'. He told MailOnline that the Speaker had effectively validated human rights abuses in other countries such as China - because they had been welcomed to Parliament. Mr Bercow has also entertained dignitaries from North Korea and Vietnam at Westminster in the past. Fellow Conservative Nadhim Zahawi - another opponent of the US travel ban - said Mr Bercow should 'think about his position'. Ministerial aide David Morris insisted: 'The Speaker does not speak for me.' Former Culture Secretary John Whittingdale said the remarks had been 'regrettable'. At least one MP approached Clerks last night asking about the process for calling a vote of no confidence in the Speaker, and soundings were being taken on support. Officials were said to have been 'open mouthed' at the vehemence of Mr Bercow's comments. THREE KEY HOLDERS: THE POWERFUL PEOPLE IN CHARGE OF WESTMINSTER HALL The use of Westminster Hall is closely guarded by three powerful keyholders. The ancient hall - the oldest part of the Parliamentary estate that dates back around 1,000 years - has played a pivotal role in UK history. It is protected by the Speakers of the Commons and Lords and the Great Lord Chamberlain, on behalf of the Queen. Currently they are John Bercow for the Commons, Lord Fowler for the Lords and David Cholmondeley, 7th Marquess of Cholmondeley for the Queen. Speeches in the hall are rare. US President Barack Obama, South African President Nelson Mandela and Burma freedom fighter Aung San Suu Kyi are among the select few. Events cannot take place without the agreement of the key holders. Advertisement He is likely to be challenged on the issue when the House sits later. The fact that MPs are willing to take the unusual step of going on the record to condemn the Speaker - who has power over whether they are called in debates - is evidence of the extent of anger against him. Cabinet minister Sajid Javid made clear this morning that Mr Bercow did not 'speak for the government'. He insisted Mr Trump would be made 'very welcome' when the state visit takes place later this year, after Theresa May extended an invitation during her visit to the White House last month. A government source told the Telegraph: 'Maybe the Speaker should think twice before making heavy political interventions like this. John Bercow can preach. 'It has no ramifications for him but it has ramifications for Britain. It's armchair politics. It's an important job he's doing, it's not Gogglebox.' Lord Fowler told the Upper House today: 'There will be other leaders coming to this country who may also be controversial. 'The procedure as it stands means that either Mr Speaker or myself can effectively veto any proposal for a visiting leader to address parliament, at least as far as Westminster Hall is concerned. 'I think it is for parliament to consider whether there is a better way in which such decisions can be made. 'For the time being there may be a situation where one of the Speakers decides he cannot agree. 'Before we reach this point there should be, at the very least, some effort to reach consensus and a serious discussion on what the decision should be. I hope that we can now return to that previous practice.' Since the President's executive order on immigration was imposed there have been mass protests in many cities, and more than 160 MPs have signed a motion calling for him to be denied the honour of speaking to both Houses of Parliament. Mr Bercow told MPs: 'What I will say is this: an address by a foreign leader to both Houses of Parliament is not an automatic right, it is an earned honour. 'Moreover, there are many precedents for state visits to take place to our country which do not include an address to both Houses of Parliament. 'Before the imposition of the migrant ban, I would myself have been strongly opposed to an address by President Trump in Westminster Hall. The Lords Speaker, Lord Fowler, laid into Mr Bercow this afternoon for failing to consult him before delivering the excoriating statement Former minister Sir Gerald Howarth raised the row as a point of order in the Commons this afternoon, urging Mr Bercow to 'reassure' the House it could have 'full confidence in the impartiality of the chair' 'After the imposition of the migrant ban by President Trump I am even more strongly opposed to an address by President Trump in Westminster Hall.' Mr Bercow said he has less influence over whether a speech could be made by President Trump in the Royal Gallery because it is in a different part of the building. WHO IS LORD FOWLER? Lord Fowler, pictured, played a prominent role in Margaret Thatcher's government Along with Commons Speaker John Bercow, Lords Speaker Lord Fowler also has to sign off Westminster Hall speeches. After Mr Bercow's outburst yesterday, Lord Fowler suggested it might be 'better' if neither of them had the power to veto such prestigious addresses. He took up his current role last September, replacing Baroness D'Souza. He was appointed a Tory peer in 2001 after stepping down as an MP following more than three decades in the lower chamber. Lord Fowler played a prominent role in Margaret Thatcher's Cabinet, serving as Transport Secretary, Health Secretary and lastly as Employment Secretary. He quit the Cabinet in 1990, becoming the first politician to explain his resignation on his desire 'to spend more time with my family'. The expression has become a smokescreen for politicians who quit high-profile roles for more controversial reasons. Lord Fowler later returned to the Cabinet as Tory chairman in Sir John Major's government in the 1990s. Advertisement But he told MPs it was customary for an invitation to be sent in the names of both speakers of Parliament - himself and Lord Fowler. 'I would not wish to issue an invitation to President Trump to speak in the Royal Gallery,' he told MPs. Mr Bercow concluded: 'We value our relationship with the United States; if a state visit takes place that is way beyond and above the pay grade of the Speaker. 'However, as far as this place is concerned I feel very strongly that our opposition to racism and to sexism and our support for equality before the law and an independent judiciary are hugely important considerations in the House of Commons.' The unexpected speech, which is said to have annoyed Lords counterpart Lord Fowler, was in response to a point of order raised by Labour MP Stephen Doughty. He spoke to highlight a Commons motion opposing Mr Trump's speech. It has been signed by 163 MPs - mostly from Labour and the SNP. No 10 sources played down the intervention, insisting the itinerary for the visit had not been set and would be discussed 'in due course'. Mr Shelbrooke told MailOnline: 'I do not support the attitude or some of the policies of Donald Trump but the Speaker must remain independent. 'I am concerned and upset that by declaring that Parliament is barring the democratically elected leader of our closest ally due to his 'racism and sexism' that we have said that the human rights abuses in countries such as China and Kuwait are OK as he welcomed them to parliament. 'It is student politics of the worst kind interested more in grandstanding than a consistent approach of dealing with world leaders with whom there are many national policies in their own countries that go against our principles and values.' Mr Zahawi said Mr Bercow must 'think about' his position and explain his remarks to Parliament. President Donald Trump and British Prime Minister Theresa May met at the White House last month where they attempted to rekindle the Special Relationship John Bercow with the Emir of Kuwait - a country which bans Israelis and uses Sharia Law in family disputes Speaker Bercow raised no public objection to Chinese President Xi Jinping speaking to MPs and peers in the Royal Gallery in 2015. He watched on from the platform (pictured) He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: 'I think it is, in my book, unwise and he opens himself up to the accusation of hypocrisy, that's my point. 'I just think it's unwise on the Queen's Sapphire Jubilee to take a political position so blatantly against the elected leader of our closest ally when we are urging them, as I was last week - I am against the travel ban, especially for banning refugees from Syria who are desperate, who have been vetted - but it's unwise to ban the legitimately elected president of the United States of America, our closest ally when we're trying to urge them not to shoot from the hip, not to ban people, to exercise restraint, look at evidence. 'Yet we are now, or at least the Speaker of Parliament, who has a big, big responsibility, is now sort of talking the language of bans.' ROLE OF HOUSE OF COMMONS SPEAKER IS MEANT TO BE POLITICALLY NEUTRAL For hundreds of years the Speaker has presided over the House of Commons. The holder of the post traditionally maintains neutrality between parties, not least to avoid suggestions of bias when he or she chairs parliamentary debates. But John Bercow, who has been Speaker since 2009, has come under fire during his tenure for what some see as a lack of impartiality. His insistence that Donald Trump should not be allowed to address Parliament during his state visit has reignited the controversy over the invitation to the US President. In 2013, Mr Bercow was condemned as "a disgrace to the office of Speaker" after he suggested that Eastern European immigrants have more "aptitude and commitment" to work than British people. Mr Bercow succeeded Michael Martin - now Lord Martin of Springburn - who was Speaker from 2000 to 2009. When he was Speaker Lord Martin was criticised for leading efforts to block the publication of MPs' expenses, and for his handling of the affair once the revelations began. He was the first Commons Speaker to be forced to resign in 300 years, and his removal signalled a significant change in the role. Advertisement Mr Morris, PPS to Scottish Secretary David Mundell, told MailOnline: 'The Speaker does not "Speak" for me on this matter. 'Should President Trump wish to visit I would welcome the opportunity along with many other MPs from across all benches.' Foreign Affairs Committee chairman Crispin Blunt, a Tory MP, said: 'He has no idea whether he will be speaking for a majority of the House of Commons, and this is why Speakers do not express their opinion. 'That's the entire point, otherwise they can't remain neutral and above the political fray.' There was also an angry response from the US, with Republic congressman Joe Wilson telling Newsnight: 'That's very disappointing, because if ever in recent years there's been a more pro-British President of the United States, it's Donald Trump.' Critics privately put the chances of a confidence vote at '40 per cent', pointing out that the government would probably abstain - meaning Mr Bercow would probably survive with support from Labour MPs. He has pledged to stand down by next year regardless - when he will have served nine years in the chair. A growing number of Tories have been infuriated by the way Mr Bercow conducts business in the chamber, slapping them down for minor breaches of protocol and staging his own lengthy interventions in debates. Yesterday he was openly criticised by traditionalists for scrapping wigs for clerks. Westminster Hall is the oldest and most hallowed of the British Parliament's buildings, dating back to 1097, and has been at the center of the country's history. Only five foreign leaders since World War II have been invited to speak there - with Barack Obama one of them and the first US president to be afforded the honor. Amid mass protests over the travel ban - which has been suspended by US courts - the Commons is set to debate whether to cancel the visit later in the year. However, the result would only be symbolic. As Commons Speaker, Bercow is one of three individuals who control access to speaking rights at the hall. Speaker Bercow made his extraordinary intervention in the House of Commons last night in response to a point of order The Trump Organization owns property in Scotland. Donald Trump gives a press conference on the 9th tee at his Trump Turnberry Resort on June 24, 2016 in Ayr, Scotland Lord Rickets, former permanent secretary to the British Foreign Office, previously raised doubts that Mr Trump was 'specially deserving of this exceptional honor' He wrote that there is 'no precedent for a US president paying a state visit to this country in their first year. Most have had to wait till their third,' and added, 'now the Queen is put in a very difficult position.' Speeches in the hall are rare. Besides Obama, South African President Nelson Mandela and Burma freedom fighter Aung San Suu Kyi are among those who have been given the honor. TEN PREVIOUS STATE VISITS THAT ATTRACTED CONTROVERSY From protesters toppling an effigy of George W Bush to demos against China's human rights record, state visits to the UK have had their fair share of controversy. Leaders of countries, seen as having backward laws - including Sharia Law - and issues with human rights, have been welcomed by the British governments in the past. And at least three controversial figures were allowed to address parliament by Mr Bercow himself. 2012 - Kuwait's Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, gave an address to members of both Houses of Parliament on Thursday, November 29 in the Queen's Robing Room, as part of his state visit to the UK Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, gave an address to members of both Houses of Parliament on Thursday, November 29 in the Queen's Robing Room, as part of his state visit to the UK. Following his arrival at Sovereign's Entrance, The Emir of Kuwait was received by Black Rod, Lieutenant General David Leakey and was taken to the Queen's Robing Room. Commons Speaker, John Bercow MP, gave a welcome address introducing The Emir of Kuwait's speech. Kuwait has banned its citizens from entering 'into an agreement, personally or indirectly, with entities or persons residing in Israel, or with Israeli citizenship'. The country also uses Sharia Law for family disputes - where a woman's testimony is not valued as highly as a man's. 2015 - China's President Xi Jinping Protesters attempting to highlight human rights violations clashed with pro-China supporters during a procession welcoming Chinese president Xi to the UK. Scuffles broke out between the two groups after the police perimeter set up for protesters was ignored by both sides. But thousands of supporters also lined The Mall to welcome Xi Jinping with flags, T-shirts and hats - provided by the Chinese embassy. 1971 - Japan's Emperor Hirohito Emperor Hirohito, Japan's wartime head of state, made his first state visit to Britain in 1971 Emperor Hirohito, Japan's wartime head of state, made his first state visit to Britain in 1971. Former prisoners of war - angry at Japan's brutal militaristic past - protested by standing in silence as his carriage drove past. Some turned their back on the emperor and wore red gloves to symbolise war deaths while others whistled the popular Second World War march, Colonel Bogey. They called on Japan to offer them compensation and a full apology for their treatment during the war. 1978 Romania's Nicolae Ceausescu The President of Rumania, Nicolae Ceausescu, rides through London with the Queen in an open carriage, at the start of his state visit It was the first state visit by a Communist head of state to the UK and Romania was already well-known as one of the most corrupt and oppressive of the Soviet Union's Cold War satellite states. The Queen took drastic steps to avoid meeting Romanian dictator Nicolae Ceausescu any more than necessary, according to royal author Robert Hardman. 'While walking her dogs in the Palace gardens, she spotted Ceausescu and his wife Elena heading in her direction. 'As the Queen told a lunch guest some years later, she decided the best course of action was to hide behind a bush rather than conduct polite conversation,' he wrote. 1998 Japan's Emperor Akihito Just like his father did in 1971, Akihito met obvious hostility on London's streets from British prisoners of war. Former PoWs symbolically turned their backs on him, while others jeered him. Addressing the state banquet, Akihito spoke of his 'deep sorrow and pain' over the suffering inflicted by his country during the war, but did not apologise for the treatment of prisoners in work camps. 2003 - Russia's Vladimir Putin Her Majesty invited Russian President Vladimir Putin for a state visit in June 2003 Mr Putin's historic trip was the first by a Russian head of state since Tsar Nicholas I in 1843. Amnesty International and other human rights groups used the visit to highlight ongoing reports of killings, rape and torture by Russian forces in Chechnya. 2003 - US president George W Bush Tens of thousands of people came out to protest against George W Bush over the war in Iraq when the Queen hosted him in 2003. Pictured, the Queen and the President at Windsor Castle President George Bush's state visit, while Tony Blair was prime minister, was highly controversial. Tens of thousands of people came out to protest against the American leader and the war in Iraq, amid unprecedented security for a state visit. Demonstrations throughout Mr Bush's stay were mostly peaceful, and peaked with the toppling of an effigy of Mr Bush in Trafalgar Square, which parodied scenes of the capture of Baghdad. Stop The War Coalition said some 200,000 joined the demonstration. One protester threw an egg at the presidential cavalcade, but missed. 2005 - Chinese president Hu Jintao Tony Blair, Prime Minister, sees off President Hu Jintao of China (waving) from 10 Downing Street, London Noisy protests against Chinese rule in Tibet targeted Hu Jintao's state carriage procession. The Metropolitan Police was criticised for its hardline handling of the peaceful demonstrations, and admitted following a High Court case its officers acted unlawfully when they removed protesters' banners and flags. The Prince of Wales, a supporter of the Dalai Lama, had been accused of boycotting a Chinese state visit to the UK in 1999 by failing to attend the return banquet held for then-president Jiang Zemin. This time, during Hu Jintao's stay, Charles carefully side-stepped the issue by being out of the country on a tour of the US on the night of the official dinner. He did not meet Mr Hu on the remaining two days of his visit. 2007 - Saudi Arabia's king Abdullah Saudi Arabia's king Abdullah's state visit in 2007 revived controversy over his regime's abuse of human rights The first state visit by a Saudi king to the UK for 20 years revived controversy over the regime's abuse of human rights and the government's halting of a Serious Fraud Office bribery inquiry into the al-Yamamah arms deal. Tensions surrounding the trip were heightened when the king insisted in an interview Britain was not doing enough to tackle terrorism. Around 100 human rights and anti-arms trade activists jeered and shouted 'shame on you' as the royal procession passed along The Mall in central London. 2010 - Qatar's Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani Prince Philip, Sheikha Mozah Bint Nasser Al Missned, Queen Elizabeth II and Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani Queen Elizabeth II and Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani The Emir of Qatar - a country which practices Sharia Law, involving lashes as punishments - was welcomed by Mr Bercow on October 26, 2010. Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani was welcomed by the Commons Speaker, John Bercow and thanked by the Lord Speaker, Baroness Hayman. The Sheikh also met the Queen with his second of three wives, Sheikha Mozah Bint Nasser Al Missned. Advertisement How Speaker John Bercow has infuriated MPs by living the high life at taxpayers' expense John Bercow has infuriated MPs for years with his extravagant spending - including 4,000 lunches, chauffeur driven cars and 100 on Sky Sports in his grace-and-favour home. The Speaker was embroiled in controversy within months of taking the chair in 2009 when it emerged he and wife Sally had ordered a 20,000 refurbishment of his official residence. They also moved a nanny into a self-contained flat on the estate - raising questions about whether the taxpayer was subsidising the family's childcare. The Speaker recently use public funds to purchase a 1,000 morning suit. A few years ago he bought another one for 3,200 Whereas the PM pays a tax charge for her apartment in Downing St, Mr Bercow is not thought to contribute a penny in rent or running costs. He purchased a 3,200 morning suit for formal occasions, and recently bought another for 1,060. In 2015 Mr Bercow pledged to rein in his use of official cars last year after an FOI request revealed his travel to an event less than a mile from parliament had cost 172. In February this year it emerged he had charged the taxpayer almost 2,000 for hand finished beeswax candles, and bought postcard pictures of himself to send to fans. SPEAKER'S OPULENT RESIDENCE FUNDED BY THE TAXPAYER Speaker's House, which contains Mr Bercow's official residence John Bercow has lived in the grace-and-favour residence in Speaker's House with wife Sally and their three children since 2009. Whereas the PM pays a tax charge for her apartment in Downing St, Mr Bercow is not thought to contribute a penny in rent or running costs. Soon after they moved in the Bercows ordered a refurbishment of the residence that cost some 20,000. They were also allowed to move a nanny into a self-contained flat on the estate - raising questions about whether the taxpayer was subsidising the family's childcare. Advertisement Last week MailOnline revealed that the Speaker had blown 2,400 on lunch with a Burmese priest and 175 on wine for MP cronies. Mr Bercow's official House account was also used for a 4,000 'Kosher' lunch with his Israeli counterpart, a 1,500 meal with the Italian speaker and a dinner with the German Speaker that cost nearly 1,300. The taxpayer forked out 5,000 on 'retirement' parties for three senior staff - including Andrew Walker, who was in charge of the MPs' expenses system in the run-up to the 2009 scandal. A trip to Japan for a conference last summer cost 20,000 - a year after he made another 10,000 visit to the country. A visit to Burma in October came in at 6,500. Extraordinarily, the public has also been paying more than 100 a month for Mr Bercow's Sky subscription at his opulent grace-and-favour apartment. The tennis-mad Arsenal fan has a sports package. Defending the Speaker's spending, a spokeswoman said last week: 'The Speaker fulfils all the obligations expected of both him and his predecessors, and has added to these obligations an extensive outreach and civic engagement element to the role.' 'In spite of the fact that his responsibilities and commitments have increased as a result, the Speakers Office costs nearly 25 percent less to run than it did when he was elected in 2009.' Hillary Clinton said female leaders need to 'step up and speak out' in a video statement urging women across the United States to 'be bold'. In footage from the 2017 MAKERS conference, Clinton talked about breaking glass ceilings and the Women's Marches that took place last month. 'Despite all the challenges we face, I remain convinced that, yes, the future is female,' she said. This was Clinton's first on-camera statement since President Donald Trump was inaugurated last month. In footage from the 2017 MAKERS conference released on Monday, Hillary Clinton spoke out about breaking glass ceilings and the Women's Marches that took place last month She added: 'Just look at the amazing energy we saw last month as women organized a march that galvanized millions of people all over our country and across the world. 'Now more than ever we need to stay focused on this year's conference: Be bold. We need strong women to step up and speak out. We need you to dare greatly and lead boldly. 'So please, set an example for every woman and girl out there who's worried about what the future holds and wonders whether our rights, opportunities and values will endure. 'And remember, you are the heroes and history makers, the glass ceiling breakers of the future. As I've said before, I'll say again, never doubt that you are valuable and powerful and deserving of every chance and opportunity in the world.' MAKERS is a platform that gives women the opportunity to share their stories. Their annual conference, with the theme 'Be Bold', is being held this week at the Terranea Resort in Rancho Palos Verdes, California. Other female leaders who have spoken out through the site are Oprah Winfrey, YouTuber Lilly Singh, Gloria Steinem, Carli Lloyd and Ruth Bader Ginsburg. In January, the former secretary of state and first lady praised the 'awe-inspiring' women and men who took to the streets of Washington, DC, and other cities around the world to protest the newly installed Trump Administration. Clinton, who lost the electoral college vote despite winning the popular vote, said that she had attended Trump's inauguration in Washington the day before 'to honor democracy and its enduring values.' She said that the massive demonstrations should be just the beginning. 'We watched women and men across this country and the globe stand up, speak out, and peacefully march for those values with one voice,' Clinton told PEOPLE. 'It was awe-inspiring. We have to keep up the momentum. I will never stop believing in this country and our collective future. We are still, and will always be, stronger together.' It was Clinton's first video statement since attending Donald Trump's inauguration in Washington, DC, last month. The former secretary of state is pictured at the ceremony with her husband Bill Despite losing the presidential election to Trump last year, Clinton still has big plans for 2017. She is working on a collection of personal essays that will touch on the 2016 presidential campaign, Simon & Schuster told The Associated Press last week. The book, currently untitled, is scheduled for this fall and will be inspired by favorite quotations she has drawn upon. Clinton also will reissue her best-selling It Takes a Village in an illustrated edition for young people. This spring, Clinton will return to her old stomping grounds at Wellesley College to give the commencement address. When Clinton graduated from the university in 1969, most of the Ivy League schools still only admitted men. Wellesley was part of the 'Seven Sisters' - the women-only schools that were associated with the Ivy Leagues - and therefore one of the best in the country. She will also resume her relationship with the Harry Walker Agency, the speakers bureau through which she made the paid talks that were criticized by Sen Bernie Sanders and others during the election race. Although the fees for none of the items were disclosed, Hillary and her husband Bill made themselves multi-millionaires on the back of their previous speaking and writing contracts. Clinton has also has received near-record advances for her previous books. In 2003, Simon & Schuster paid her an $8million advance for her book Living History. On the speaking circuit, Clinton made about $200,000 to $225,000 per speech. Records show that she earned over $11million for the fifteen months ending in March 2015. She is also estimated to be worth $30milllion on her own, and $45 to $53million with her husband. A 15-year-old girl who disappeared on her way to school five years ago used to smoke marijuana and take ecstasy, her friends told her accused killer's murder trial. High school cheerleader Sierra LaMar vanished in Morgan Hill, California, on March 16, 2012, as she headed to a bus stop. The murder trial against her accused killer Antolin Garcia-Torres is now underway. During the search, Sierra was portrayed as clean cut and as 'Everyone's Daughter'. But at Garcia-Torres' trial, her friends from Fremont testified that she had used marijuana and ecstasy, was unhappy about moving to a different neighborhood, and had links to the 'drug underworld', the Mercury News reports. Scroll down for video Friends of missing cheerleader Sierra LaMar have told her accused killer's murder trial that the 15-year-old took drugs and had links to the criminal underworld. During the search, Sierra was portrayed as clean cut and as 'Everyone's Daughter' Her friend Shannon Foreman reluctantly told the court that Sierra had texted that she was 'excited about going to Freemont and popping pills,' the day she disappeared. Foreman also said she had seen Sierra take ecstasy one or two times before. Garcia-Torres' defense team claim the teenager had contact with people in the criminal underworld and could have either run away or been abducted by drug dealers. But her friends dismissed the suggestion, and agreed with the prosecution that her behavior was just 'normal teenage stuff'. Antolin Garcia-Torres (pictured left in his mugshot and right in court in 2012) is standing trial for the teenager's murder, despite the fact her body has never been found. His car was seen near LaMar's home on the day she went missing Friends reluctantly told the court that Sierra (pictured) had texted that she was 'excited about going to Freemont and popping pills,' the day she disappeared. Foreman also said she had seen Sierra take ecstasy one or two times before. Garcia-Torres is from San Martin, California, just a few miles from Sierra's home in Morgan Hill. The 25-year-old has pleaded not guilty. If he is convicted, he faces either the death penalty or life in prison without parole. However, if he is acquitted by Santa Clara County Superior Court, he cannot be tried again for the murder, even if Sierras body is found or other incriminating evidence surfaces. Garcia-Torres is the owner of a red car caught on surveillance camera near her home on March 16, the day of her disappearance, which was seized by police before his arrest. Sierra hasn't been seen or heard from since she left her home in Morgan Hill to go to school on March 16, 2012. Authorities believe she was kidnapped while walking to a bus stop. Authorities arrested Garcia-Torres two months after her disappearance at the convenience store where he worked. The first breakthrough in the case came in the discovery of Garcia-Torres' red Volkswagen Jetta. Sierra's cellphone was found near the side of the road the day after she vanished. Her Juicy brand black and pink purse with clothes folded neatly inside was found the day after that A search for the car began after it was captured on several surveillance videos close to the missing teen's home and the area where authorities recovered some of her belongings. Sierra's cellphone was found near the side of the road the day after she vanished. Her Juicy brand black and pink purse with clothes folded neatly inside was found the day after that. There is also evidence linking his DNA to clothing found in Sierra's abandoned backpack, which was tossed in a shed not far from her home. The reveal dirt stains and reflective beads from the road were found on her jeans, indicating she was dragged, according to Fox 5. Legal Analyst Steven Clark said prosecutors are relying heavily on forensic DNA evidence to prove Garcia-Torres' guilt. He said: 'What the DA needs to do is establish through anecdotal evidence by calling Sierra's mother and her friends is that this is not a girl who would run away. This is not a girl who would not communicate with her mom.' Following the incident, Santa Clara County Sheriff Laurie Smith said it appeared to be a random act of violence. According to Fox, Garcia Torres sat through the opening statements looking clean shaven and emotionless. A bride-to-be accidentally invited a Swedish man to her Hen Night because of a mistakenly addressed email - and he decided to travel to Dublin for the big night. Charly Meechan passed on an email list of the people she wanted to attend her celebration in the Irish capital to her maid of honour. Unusually, Ms Meechan's list included men as well as women - including her Irish friend Daniel Dudek. Charly Meechan, pictured centre, waned both her male and female friends at her Hen Night Ms Meechan intended inviting Daniel Dudek, right, who lives in Dublin to the party, but the email got sent to Daniel Dudek, left, who lives in Sweden instead However, Irish Daniel Dudek shares a very similar email address as Daniel Dudek from Sweden and the pair have often received correspondence intended for the other. Almost inevitably, the invitation to Irish Daniel made its way to Sweden. Ms Meechan described what happened to Dublin Live: 'My very good friend here is called Daniel Dudek, he is originally from Poland but lives and works in Dublin. 'As I am no ordinary hen, I decided that I would like both men and ladies at my party. I had given the Maid of Honour a list of everyone's emails and unknown to me at the time I had misspelled Daniel's email address. 'Skip ahead a few weeks, I asked my Daniel if he had received the email invite to my Hen. He said he had but from his namesake in Sweden not from Kathy. After hearing about the long-running email saga, Ms Meechan, left, decided to invite Swedish Daniel, right, to the 1920s-themed party which took place last weekend in Dublin 'Irish Daniel said it happens all the time and for the last 10 years they have exchanged multiple misdirected emails to each other.' It was later discovered that Swedish Daniel was still on the Hen Night mailing list, so it was decided over a few pints in the Long Stone pub to invite Swedish Daniel over to the party so the two Dudek's could finally meet. Swedish Daniel then posted on Facebook to ask his friends whether he should travel over for the night. Ms Meechan said: 'I didn't know if he would accept. I thought he would politely decline as he didn't know me but I am very glad he did say yes! I had an excellent day/night at my hen party.' The conditions which Sgt Blackman (pictured) faced when he shot an injured Afghan fighter were a 'breeding ground' for mental health problems, his appeal heard Poignant footage from the frontline illustrating the 'unimaginable stress' faced by Sergeant Blackman when he killed an injured Afghan fighter was today shown at the soldier's appeal. The footage, from the same 2011 tour Sgt Blackman was serving on, was shown as his legal team told the court that the Royal Marine had been exposed to an environment that was a 'breeding ground' for mental illness. It was shot by acclaimed documentary maker Chris Terrill who was embedded at an outpost in Nad e Ali district, only three miles from Blackman's own. The marines could not tell the locals apart from the Taliban and the area was described as 'the most dangerous square mile on Earth.' The court saw soldiers living in primitive conditions and patrolling in fifty degree heat, while being engaged in furious gun battles with Taliban insurgents. Outside their base they were also constantly threatened by death or life changing injury by IEDs. One likened the experience of patrols to five men driving in a car down a road, knowing they were heading for an accident in which one of them would be killed, another maimed and the rest slightly wounded. 'Eventually we will set patterns and as sure as s*** they (the Taliban) will get lucky,' another young marine said in interview with Terrill. Three weeks later the same soldier stepped on an IED which left 300 pieces of shrapnel in his body. He had to have a leg amputated and is now living with brain damage and a heart condition. The district was descibed as 'IED central' with a device being discovered or detonated every 16 hours on average for the entire six months of the tour. A marine recalled being on patrol 15 metres behind a friend when the friend stepped on an IED. 'It was a difficult day.' He then had to 'get over it and and go back on patrol.' In the end, one said, they were only '10 per cent' concerned with stabilising Afghanistan. The most important issue was looking after each other. The court heard how Blackman was a 'superb soldier' but had a harrowing brush with death, was living in an 'austere' environment and had 'endured' the loss of a close colleague when he came across the bloodied insurgent in Helmand province in 2011. Scroll down for video Footage of the kind of 'unimaginable stress' faced by Sergeant Blackman was today shown in court on the first day of his appeal The footage, from the same 2011 tour Sgt Blackman was serving on, was shown as his legal team told the court that the environment that was a 'breeding ground' for mental illness The video, hot by acclaimed documentary maker Chris Terrill, shows how the soldiers have no way of knowing if people are Taliban insurgents of ordinary villagers The court saw soldiers living in primitive conditions and patrolling in fifty degree heat (pictured), while being engaged in furious gun battles with Taliban insurgents During the first day of his appeal today, Jonathan Goldberg QC said the near-death incident with a grenade before he came across the bloodied Taliban soldier had left the Royal Marine with 'mental scars'. Explaining how the 'impact' of fresh psychiatric evidence lay at the heart of the appeal, Mr Goldberg added: 'Only those who have been on the front line can know what it is really like.' One medical expert later told the court how 'everyone has their breaking point' and there was 'no such thing as a Rambo type or an Arnold Schwarzenegger soldier'. The court heard that the stress of isolation, poor leadership and daily attacks from the Taliban had turned the sergeant into a 'husk' of his former self. As Blackman's QC outlined the case to five judges in the packed courtroom, the 42-year-old, from Taunton, Somerset, watched proceedings via video link from prison. Blackman's wife Claire and dozens of veterans sat in the public gallery, while several supporters thronged The Strand in London, holding flags with the words 'Justice for Marine A' in solidarity with the jailed Royal Marine. 'Eventually we will set patterns and as sure as s*** they (the Taliban) will get lucky,' a young marine (pictured) said in interview. Three weeks later he stepped on an IED which left 300 pieces of shrapnel in his body Sergeant Alexander Blackman was facing 'unimaginable' stress when he killed an injured Afghan fighter after being exposed to an environment which was a 'breeding ground' for mental illness, his appeal has heard. He is pictured in a court sketch appearing via video link Meanwhile, a special bench was reserved in the public gallery of Court 4 for former top brass, including a retired brigadier, one vice-admiral, a general, two major-generals and three lieutenant-colonels. The hearing was told how, at the time of the 2011 incident, Blackman - who was known as Marine A throughout his original Court Martial - was serving in Afghanistan's Helmand province with Plymouth-based 42 Commando. Mr Goldberg told the Court Martial Appeal Court that the conditions were 'austere' and a 'breeding ground' for mental health problems. Describing the Taliban as 'ruthless and cunning', he said there were shooting incidents on a regular basis, sometimes daily. At the time, Blackman was living in a 122F (50C) heat with no running water or basic toilet facilities and had become 'burnt out' due to 'stressors' such as poor leadership and isolation. He said Blackman had also suffered after the death of a young company officer 'with whom he had been on very close terms' and had mentored. The QC added that it was a many people suffering with mental illness do not 'recognise symptoms in themselves'. Blackman's wife Claire (pictured) arrives at court today to support her husband's appeal on the first day of the three-day hearing at the Court Martial Appeal Court in London Frederick Forsyth is pictured arriving today (left) ahead of Sgt Blackman's appeal. Campaigners with flags saying 'Justice for Marine A' were also outside court Mr Goldberg added that there were three experts who agreed that Blackman was suffering from a recognised mental illness - an adjustment disorder - at the time of the killing due to operating 'under chronic unrelenting stress'. Blackman's lawyers say the disorder substantially impaired his ability to form a rational judgment or exercise self-control at the relevant time which would have affected his ability to know whether the insurgent was alive or not. Blackman has always said he believed the fighter was already dead when he shot him. Mr Goldberg told the court: 'This was a superb soldier. He had been described so in report after report. 'The doctors are saying that if a man like that behaves in a way like this, you have to wonder if something wrong was going on in his head, and here the evidence indicates it was.' This afternoon, Professor Neil Greenberg, of King's College London - who has been deployed in Afghanistan as a doctor and psychiatrist - said every member of the armed forces could at some point 'break' in such an environment. 'It is fair to say that everybody has their breaking point,' he told the court. 'There is no such thing as a Rambo type, an Arnold Schwarzenegger soldier, who can face all sorts of stresses and appear to be invulnerable. That sort of person only exists in the cinema.' several supporters thronged The Strand in London , holding flags with the words 'Justice for Marine A' in solidarity with the jailed Royal Marine (pictured) He said that, in 2012, adjustment disorder was the most common diagnosis seen by military mental health professionals and it was common for people to 'mask' their symptoms and carry on. Prof Greenberg said resilience came from the bonds between an individual and their immediate leadership. But those who perceived they were poorly supported suffered more mental health problems, he added. 'THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS RAMBO': DOCTOR TELLS COURT THAT 'EVERYBODY' HAS A 'BREAKING POINT' A medical expert today told the court that 'everybody' has a 'breaking point' and 'invulnerable' characters such as Rambo 'only exist in the cinema'. Professor Neil Greenberg of King's College London said it was unrealistic to expect military personnel to face 'all sorts of stresses' without it affecting them. He made the comments as he described how he believed Blackman was suffering from an adjustment disorder when he killed the Afghan fighter in Helmand province in 2011. He told the court: 'It is fair to say that everybody has their breaking point. 'There is no such thing as a Rambo type, an Arnold Schwarzenegger soldier, who can face all sorts of stresses and appear to be invulnerable. 'That sort of person only exists in the cinema.' Advertisement The medical expert said that, when Sgt Blackman was on a period of rest and recuperation, he was described by a friend as a 'husk' of his former self. After the grenade incident, a colleague noticed a marked change in his behaviour, he said while Blackman's wife described him looking at the ground a lot as though he was checking for explosive devices. The court heard how, on previous deployments, Blackman was part of a much larger unit where he could have spoken freely to a padre or a medical officer. But, at the time of the killing, he did not have such access. Blackman had also reported drinking heavily after returning from an earlier tour in Iraq in 2003 and later revealed he had thought about suicide. Today, the court was shown two videos of the insurgent being dragged from the middle of the field to an area of corn where he was shot. In the first clip, Blackman is heard asking: 'Anyone want to do first aid on this idiot?' before telling a fellow marine he shouldn't shoot him in the head because it would be 'f****** obvious'. In the second clip, Sgt Blackman is heard asking where the helicopter is, before being told it 'went south'. The insurgent is then seen being shot in the chest and convulsing. Giving evidence on the video, Prof Greenberg said the footage - captured on a camera mounted on another Royal Marine's helmet - demonstrated how Blackman was suffering from a disorder which 'substantially impaired his ability to exercise self-control'. He said an adjustment disorder could exhibit no symptoms to the outsider but could still 'end in lethal consequences'. He told the court that Commandos were trained to enter combat situation 'thinking they could save the world and come back a hero', but that he did not demonstrate that leadership or qualities in the footage. 'It is clear to me that the symptoms of his adjustment disorder had led him to the point where he was in survival - he had to get his team through the next few weeks and get home,' he said. 'He didn't care, he was numb to the kind of emotions and difficulties he encountered.' Stills of footage captured by a camera mounted on the helmet of a Royal Marine showing Sgt Alexander Wayne Blackman during a patrol in Afghanistan Mr Goldberg added: 'The doctors are saying that if a man like that behaves in a way like this, you have to wonder if something wrong was going on in his head. 'Here the evidence indicates it was.' The judges also heard from Richard Whittam QC, for the Crown, who told the court that the appeal was confined to the question of diminished responsibility. He said that, even if there was evidence to show that a mental condition must have caused or been a significant contributing factor in the killing, the court would have to consider the video evidence. Prof Greenberg, during questioning by Mr Whittam, said Blackman told him the insurgent was moved from the middle of the field because they 'thought there was a threat on them from other insurgents'. But Mr Whittam suggested Blackman had waited until the helicopter had gone before shooting him. FOOTAGE PLAYED IN COURT SHOWS INSURGENT'S FINAL MOMENTS Two video clips were played in court which showed the bloodied insurgent being dragged across a field to an area of corn, and later being shot. In the first clip, Blackman is heard asking: 'Anyone want to do first aid on this idiot?' Another marine says: 'I'll put one in his head if you want.' Blackman replies: 'No, not in his head 'cause that'll be f****** obvious.' In the second clip, Blackman is heard asking where the helicopter is. He is told by another soldier that it 'went south, mate'. The insurgent is then seen being shot in the chest and convulsing. Advertisement Prof Greenberg replied: 'This was a man with a mental health problem. That mental health problem had been increasing in intensity. 'He was suffering with an adjustment disorder which substantially impaired his ability to exercise self-control.' Blackman's case has been referred to the court by the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC), the independent body that investigates possible miscarriages of justice. The CCRC announced it had concluded that a number of new issues, including fresh evidence relating to Blackman's mental state, 'raise a real possibility' that the Court Martial Appeal Court 'will now quash Mr Blackman's murder conviction'. The conviction challenge is being heard by Lord Chief Justice Lord Thomas, Sir Brian Leveson, Lady Justice Hallett, Mr Justice Openshaw and Mr Justice Sweeney. Blackman was convicted in November 2013 by a court martial in Bulford, Wiltshire, and sentenced to life with a minimum term of 10 years. In May 2014, the Court Martial Appeal Court rejected a conviction challenge, but reduced the minimum term to eight years because of the combat stress disorder he was suffering from at the time of the shooting. Blackman shot the insurgent, who had been seriously injured in an attack by an Apache helicopter, in the chest at close range with a 9mm pistol before quoting a phrase from Shakespeare as the man convulsed and died in front of him. He told him: 'There you are. Shuffle off this mortal coil, you c***. It's nothing you wouldn't do to us.' He then turned to his comrades and said: 'Obviously this doesn't go anywhere, fellas. I just broke the Geneva Convention.' The shooting was captured on a camera mounted on the helmet of another Royal Marine. During his trial, Blackman, who denied murder, said he believed the victim was already dead and he was taking out his anger on a corpse. He was 'dismissed with disgrace' from the Royal Marines after serving with distinction for 15 years, including tours of Iraq, Afghanistan and Northern Ireland. At the start of the proceedings the judges lifted reporting restrictions which had previously been in place. Yesterday, Falklands veteran Lieutenant Colonel Ewen Southby-Tailyour OBE sad there were several people who felt 'very strongly' about the case. He said: 'Blackman has huge support among the officer class. 'Not all officers back him, it is true, but large numbers feel he has not been treated well. Not all of them will be able to turn up, because some are infirm, but there is a tremendous feeling that this appeal is a watershed moment. 'In the field, Blackman was let down by some of his officers. We feel strongly he should know that we're not all like that.' Blackman, was originally sentenced to life in prison but many felt he had been made a scapegoat for failings by senior officers, and a campaign was launched to get him a fresh appeal. Thanks to generous Daily Mail readers who funded a new legal team, he presented fresh evidence to the Criminal Cases Review Commission which investigated and concluded there was a 'real possibility' the Appeal Court could quash his murder conviction. The judges will hear how three eminent psychiatrists now agree Sgt Blackman was suffering from 'combat stress disorder' at the time he pulled the trigger. The Appeal Court could commute his sentence from murder to manslaughter with diminished responsibility, order a retrial, or decide to uphold his murder conviction. Last night John Davies, a former Marine who has run the campaign for justice, said: 'We have been campaigning for nearly three and a half years and this week we will hopefully see justice prevail and lessons learned. 'We have a strong case and are all feeling extremely positive of a good outcome this week. Al and Claire are holding up well, all things considered, and the legal team just don't seem to sleep. It really has been great to see so much positivity.' 'No, not in his head 'cause that'll be f****** obvious': Sgt Blackman's appeal hearing watches clips of marine discussing where to shoot a bloodied Afghan insurgent before he is dragged to a corn field and shot Sergeant Alexander Blackman discussed with a colleague where to shoot an injured Afghan fighter, saying they should not aim for his head because it would be 'f******' obvious', his appeal heard today. Footage played in court showed the bloodied insurgent - who was later killed by Blackman - being dragged across a field in Helmand province to a secluded area of corn. There, in graphic scenes played to the court, the fighter was seen being shot in the chest with a 9mm pistol. As he convulsed and died in front of him, Blackman recited a passage from Shakespeare's Hamlet, saying: 'There you are. Shuffle off this mortal coil, you c***.' The scene came just moments after Blackman was captured on camera asking his colleagues if 'anyone wanted to do first aid on this idiot'. The 42-year-old was then recorded asking where the helicopter was, before pulling the trigger when a colleague replied that it had 'gone south'. He later told his colleagues: 'Obviously this doesn't go anywhere, fellas. I just broke the Geneva Convention.' The family of a woman who was murdered by her jealous ex-husband after she called police for help 38 times in the weeks before her death will sue the state. Kelly Thompson, 43, was sleeping in her Point Cook home, south-west of Melbourne, when her former partner, Wayne Wood, stabbed her to death with a hunting knife in a murder-suicide in February 2014. Now, her grieving family are suing the police force and the State of Victoria for compensation, alleging that the family violence system let her down. The family of Kelly Thompson (pictured) - who was murdered by her jealous ex-husband - are suing the police force and the State of Victoria for compensation Ms Thompson was sleeping in her Point Cook home, south-west of Melbourne, when her ex-partner Wayne Wood stabbed her to death with a hunting knife in a murder-suicide in 2014 'Given the findings of the Coroner that there were numerous deficiencies in the management of Kelly's safety, I think there's cause for the family to seek compensation,' the family's lawyer Paula Shelton said. Ms Thompson's death was the subject of a coronial inquest in 2015 and Coroner Ian Gray delivered his findings in April last year. Judge Gray found Wood had been considering murder-suicide since October 2013, had always been controlling, possessive and jealous, and had no intention of complying with an intervention order Ms Thompson had taken against him. During the inquest, the court was told a neighbour called police with concerns the night Ms Thompson was murdered, but no patrol was sent. Ms Thompson had also called police 38 times in the weeks before her death to report breaches of the order by Wood. Ms Thompson's family (pictured, left and second from left are her parents Wendy and John) allege that the family violence system let her down Ms Thompson called police 38 times in the weeks before her death to report breaches of an intervention order by Wood Judge Gray found failings by police to properly record violent incidents and order breaches by Wood. Police also failed to properly investigate whether charges could be laid against Wood and failed to adequately act on a call by her neighbour. 'Ms Thompson took all the right steps,' Judge Gray wrote in his findings. 'The family violence system, as it operated at the time of Mr Thompson's death, failed to recognise that the risks were escalating.' However, he found that despite failings in the system, it was Wood alone who was responsible for her murder and even if police had acted on the neighbour's call, it probably would not have saved Ms Thompson. Annette Gillespie, CEO at Women's Domestic Violence Crisis Service Victoria, holds a picture of Kelly Thompson Outside the court, Ms Thompson's mother Wendy said she hoped the findings lead to change so her daughter's death would not be in vain. 'It should never have happened, it was preventable, like so many other women it was preventable,' she said. Thompson family solicitor Paula Shelton said it was important that Judge Gray had found Ms Thompson had done everything she could to put an end to the violence she was being subjected to. 'She did everything she could and the system let her down,' she said. Ms Shelton said with Judge Gray's findings and the Victorian Royal Commission into Family Violence, there was now a political will to fix the sector. Judge Gray made six recommendations, including that front line workers provide all family violence risk assessments to applicants, applicant legal representatives, family violence services, magistrates and police. He also recommended better information sharing between police and courts. A superfan has seen Bruce Springsteen in concert for the 100th time, after travelling the globe to see The Boss since 1985. And he has the tattoos to prove it. Mark Ryder travelled from Yorkshire, England to Australia in January after he bought a ticket for all 14 performances in Australia and New Zealand. The Englishman has been a faithful follower for 32 years, after Springsteen first captured his attention with his Born in the USA tour. Mark Ryder has spent more than 70 hours in the tattoo parlour to create his back tattoo of all things Bruce Springsteen 'I bought the t-shirt that night and I've worn in to every concert since,' he told ABC News. Mr Ryder's obsession did not start and end with the concerts, he also boasted a full back tattoo in celebration of the star. A self-described follower of the Springsteen church of rock and roll, Mr Ryder's back tattoo features all things Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band. Mr Ryder said he spent more than 70 hours in the tattoo parlour for the artwork, but was eager to have more work done. 'I keep adding to it. It's like, as Bruce blossoms, so does my tattoo.' He said the creation lacked just one thing; Springsteen's signature. Mr Ryder was not the only fanatic to travel half way across the world to catch Springsteen's Australia and New Zealand tour. Mark Ryder (pictured) travelled from Yorkshire, England to Australia to see the musician's February tour Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band perform at AAMI Park on February 2, 2017 in Melbourne Mark Ryder and Brian Burke both flew from the UK to Australia to see Bruce Springsteen (pictured) and the E Street Band perform Bruce Springsteen performs onstage with the The E Street Band at Qudos Bank Arena on February 7 in Sydney Mark Ryder and Brian Burke bought tickets to all 14 Bruce Springsteen shows in January and February in Australia and New Zealand (Springsteen pictured at his Sydney concert on February 7) Springsteen at his Melbourne concert Fellow Englishman Brian Burke also flew from the UK to Australia to see Springsteen in concert for the 63rd time. Mr Burke recalled the moment he booked the tickets online, during a camping trip in rural Romania. 'It was about 4 o'clock in the morning and I was frantically trying to find wi-fi and a light enough area to see the buttons to order the tickets,' he said. Mr Burke said he even woke his wife up to help buy the tickets so he would not miss out. He said his wife was a patient woman for dealing with his Springsteen obsession. Mr Burke admitted his obsession with the star was fanatical, but had no plan to give it up. Billionaire Mark Zuckerberg's charity has pledged $3million to tackle the Silicon Valley housing crisis - after he spent more than $30million buying five homes in the area to stop neighbors from moving in. The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, set up in 2015 by the Facebook CEO and his wife, will give $3.1million to Community Legal Services in East Palo Alto to help families who have been evicted from their homes. The announcement was made by David Plouffe, Barack Obama's former 2008 campaign manager, who is now president of policy and advocacy for the Chan Zuckerberg foundation. He said CLSEPA will be able to serve an additional 2,500 families in East Palo Alto, Belle Haven and North Fair Oaks with the $3million grant. The organization is also giving $500,000 to the Terner Center for Housing & Innovation at UC Berkeley, which aims to increase the supply and lower the cost of housing in high cost regions. Billionaire Mark Zuckerberg's charity has pledged $3million to tackle the Silicon Valley housing crisis The foundation will pledge $3m to the Community Legal Services in East Palo Alto, which provides legal services to people overwhelmed by spiraling rent payments The news comes after Zuckerberg, who has a fortune of $54.8billion, and his wife Priscilla Chan bought four homes surrounding his mansion in Palo Alto, California in 2013 to prevent neighbors occupying them. The $5.2million five bedroom property has heated floors and a marble deep soaking tub and was his first major purchase since becoming a billionaire. He planned to rip down the four homes around the mansion and rebuild them as smaller homes where family and friends could stay. However his plans were rejected by an architectural review board last September as they claimed one family using all four properties violated the city's efforts to protect single-family homes. The news comes after Zuckerberg, who has a fortune of $54.8billion, bought four homes surrounding his mansion in Palo Alto, California in 2013 Separately, last month Zuckerberg sued owners of land on his $100million beachfront estate in Hawaii to force them to sell - so he could have more privacy. The legal action by the Facebook founder raised eyebrows because his social networking site has frequently been accused of making it difficult for users to keep control of their own privacy online. The 32-year-old tried to get the owners of 12 parcels of land to auction them to the highest bidder. However he later dropped his lawsuits against hundreds of Hawaiians, admitting he 'made a mistake'. He said: 'Upon reflection, I regret that I did not take the time to fully understand the quiet title process and its history before we moved ahead. Now that I understand the issues better, it's clear we made a mistake.' Above, a view of the four properties surrounding Zuckerberg's primary residence that he purchased and planned to demolish - his plans were rejected by an architectural review board last September Zuckerberg wanted to demolish the four homes surrounding and rebuild them as smaller single-family properties Zuckerberg had already outraged his neighbours on the Hawaii island of Kauai by building a 'monstrous' wall round the estate. Locals said the 6ft construction was 'oppressive' as it cut off the view of the road from the ocean and showed Zuckerberg felt that 'money could pay for anything'. Zuckerberg completed the purchase of his 750-acre estate in Hawaii in 2014. It consists of the the Kahu'aina Plantation, a 357-acre former sugarcane plantation, and Pila'a Beach, a 393-acre property with a white-sand beach. There is also a working organic farm with crops like ginger, turmeric, and papaya. Zuckerberg also owns another property in San Francisco worth $7.5million and residents there have been angered by his security team parking outside and blocking the street. Zuckerberg started Facebook in 2004 whilst still a computing student at Harvard and has seen it grow to become the largest social networking site in the world with more than 1.6billion users. He is married to his college sweetheart Priscilla and they have one child, one-year-old Maxima. The billionaire has dismissed recent reports suggesting he is planning to run for president. Zuckerberg fueled rumors he could run for President - possibly in 2024 - after he announced a tour spanning 30 states in the US, as part of a bid to better understand the impact of globalization and technology on communities far from Silicon Valley. He also employed professional photographers - including White House snapper Charles Ommanney - to capture him as he travels the world, takes part in community events and meets with budding computer technology students. Last week it emerged Zuckerberg did not run his Facebook page himself and had up to 12 people to help him write his posts and speeches. They also are tasked with deleting harassing or offensive comments and clearing spam from his page, according to Bloomberg. It is part of a strategy to protect Zuckerberg's brand and observers claimed it may be part of his presidential push. A charity faces a watchdog examination after its married boss had an affair with a migrant in the Calais 'Jungle' camp. Clare Moseley, 46, who runs Care4Calais, had a year-long relationship with Mohamed 'Kimo' Bajjar, a Tunisian who has posed as a Syrian fleeing ISIS. The Charity Commission has now said it will examine the affair as part of an assessment it is carrying out of the charity. Charity boss Clare Moseley (left) had an affair with Tunisian migrant Mohamed 'Kimo' Bajjar (right). It emerged today that the Charity Commission will examine her behaviour The Calais Jungle, where the pair had the affair, has since been torn down and migrants moved A Charity Commission spokesman said: 'The Commission proactively monitors a sample of newly registered charities each year for a number of reasons. The charity was identified for further monitoring as part of this work. 'As part of our monitoring case into Care4Calais, we will also assess concerns raised in any complaints made against the charity to the Commission, as well as issues reported by the media, to determine whether they present regulatory concerns for us.' Mrs Moseley could struggle to continue in her role if she is judged to have committed any sort of misconduct, The Sun reported today. The former accountant set up Care4Calais in 2015 after being shocked by the plight of migrants living in the Calais Jungle. The organisation later gained charity status. Last September, volunteers in the Jungle claimed on social media that the migrant camp was awash with prostitution, underage sex and volunteers who had migrant partners. Mrs Moseley spoke out at the time to condemn volunteers who had sex with migrants and said that Care4Calais had a zero-tolerance policy towards such relationships. Mrs Moseley, who once showed popstar Will.i.am around Calais (right), had previously spoken out against charity workers having relationships with those they were helping Bajjar's relationship with the charity boss has ended and he is said to be living above a bar It later emerged that Mrs Moseley's own affair was widely known among volunteers. The relationship later ended, reportedly over a row about money. A friend of Mr Bajjar later told MailOnline he was living above a bar in Calais and was determined to get to Britain. Authorities ordered the Jungle be torn down three months ago, with up to 8,000 migrants moved to other towns and cities in France. A spokesperson for Care4Calais said: 'This monitoring check is common procedure for newly-registered charities. We have been happy to work with the Charity Commission, and will continue to do so. 'Our priority remains to support the thousands of refugees, including vulnerable unaccompanied minors, in France who continue to travel to Calais.' A 'Good Samaritan' raped an intoxicated university student after driving off with her asleep in the back of his car, a court heard. Lukas Piatek gave the mother and daughter a lift home from the Casino Rooms in Rochester after the girl collapsed in the street having drunk vodka, cocktails and shots. But when the girl's mother got out the car Piatek reversed away at speed, drove to an Indian restaurant car park and allegedly raped her on the backseat, Maidstone Crown Court in Kent was told yesterday. Lukas Piatek gave the mother and daughter a lift home from the Casino Rooms in Rochester (pictured) before the alleged attack The court was told Piatek drove them to their home in Rochester, Kent at around 4am in February 2015. The mother got out of the car, intending to walk around to the other side to wake her sleeping daughter. 'As she got out, she shut her door. To her horror, the car reversed at speed back along the road and with her daughter still in the back,' the prosecution told the court. 'The car didn't have its headlights on and drove away. She stood there in shock.' The horrified mother called police and officers found the car, her daughter and Piatek, about two hours later. Prosecutor Paul Valder said the young woman had very little memory of what had happened to her, other than waking up to find herself on the back seat, squashed against a rear window with a man pressed up against her. She was unable to tell police who she was with or what she had done in the car, and admitted being 'out of it'. Piatek is on trial at Maidstone Crown Court (pictured) where he denies kidnap and rape in February 2015 But Piatek, who had not met the woman before that night, claimed she was a 'sexaholic' and had 'left footprints' on the interior roof of his car. The 33-year-old claimed he had suggested going to his flat above the restaurant but said she wanted to stay in the car, where she 'performed a sex act on him before asking him to have sex with her'. Mr Valder told the jury, however, that the Polish national had taken advantage of the undergraduate's drunken state. 'She was obviously very drunk and vulnerable. According to her mother, she was asleep, leaning on her shoulder in the back of the car,' Mr Valder said at the start of the trial. 'The defendant waited until the mother had got out, then reversed at speed with her daughter still in the car. He drove off intending to have sex with her whether she wanted to or not. 'She didn't have the capacity to give any consent to having any sexual activity. And the defendant knew that full well.' The court heard the woman's mother had also been drinking heavily and her memory was 'hazy'. But she recalled having to 'keep men away' from her daughter in the Casino Rooms which they left in the early hours. CCTV footage of the student staggering along and lying in the street was played to the jury. Mr Valder said she was helped to her feet by several passers-by before sitting slumped against a shop window for up to 10 minutes. 'The defendant was one of a number standing around,' he added. 'He helps her to her feet and then walks off with his arm around her, together with her mother.' Piatek said he was on his way to a bar when he came across the two women in the street and the mother asked him for help. But he claimed on reaching their home, the young woman laughed when her mum repeatedly told her to get out of his car. She then told him to drive off, he alleged. The court heard an alcohol reading taken within a few hours of the woman being found by police showed her alcohol level to be 245 milligrammes in 100 millilitres of urine. The legal drink-drive limit is 107. Piatek, of High Street, Strood in Kent, denies kidnap and rape in February 2015. The trial continues. The mother of a murdered British backpacker has slammed President Donald Trump for falsely calling her daughters death a 'terror attack'. The president referred to the killing of 21-year-old Mia Ayliffe-Chung as a 'terror attack' ignored by the media - even though police have ruled out links to terrorism. Mia, from Derbyshire, was stabbed to death at a hostel in Queensland, Australia, last August. Tom Jackson, 30, also died after trying to save Ayliffe-Chung's life and 29-year-old Frenchman Smail Ayad has been charged with their murders. Heartbroken Rosie Ayliffe - Mia's mother - said 'any fool can shout "Allahu Akbar" [God is great] as they commit a crime' and blasted Trump for his comments. Scroll down for video British backpacker Mia Ayliffe-Chung, 21, was stabbed to death at a hostel in Queensland, Australia, last August. Rosie Ayliffe - Mia's mum - blasted Donald Trump for calling it terrorism Police are looking into whether Frenchman Smail Ayad - who has been charged with murder and reportedly shouted Allah Akbah as he attacked her - was obsessed with Ayliffe-Chung (pictured) Ayliffe-Chung reportedly met Ayad when they were working on a farm near Townsville, Queensland. Her mother is now launching a campaign to protect 'exploited' backpackers working for their visa in Australia Ayliffe, 53, said: 'My daughter's death will not be used to further this insane persecution of innocent people. 'The circumstances of Mia and Tom's deaths prove that those with the strength of character to travel the world and learn about other cultures should be cherished as brave, resilient characters who have so much to offer if they are nurtured, rather than feated by adverse circumstances as they were.' Trump listed the incident as one of 78 'terror attacks' since 2014 which 'did not receive adequate attention from Western media sources'. The list of 78 occurrences spanned the globe and included who was the subject of the attack and named the persons involved. Ayliffe said: 'The possibility of Mia and Tom's deaths being consequent to an Islamic terror attack was discounted in the early stages of the police investigation through international collaboration on the parts of Queensland police department and the French anti-terrorist force. 'I have spoken to friends of Mia's and other backpackers who worked for long days in the fields with Ayad, and none of them ever saw him put down a prayer mat. 'Salat or prayer is the second of five pillars of Islam, and calls for five daily rituals of ablution, prayer and prostration. 'An Islamic fundamentalist by definition must respect the five pillars of Islam. 'It would be very hard to imagine someone managing to perform this ritual five times a day in the close confines of Home Hill Hostel without witnesses.' She added: 'I want to discount this myth of a connection between my daughter's death and Islamic fundamentalism. Any fool can shout "Allahu Akbar" as they commit a crime. Donald Trump referred to the killing of 21-year-old Mia Ayliffe-Chung as a 'terror attack' ignored by the media - even though police have ruled out links to terrorism. Ayliffe-Chung (left), from Wirksworth, Derbyshire, died in August 2016 after being stabbed in front of dozens of backpackers. Ayliffe (left in right-hand photo) - Mia's mother - said 'any fool can shout Allahu Akbar as they commit a crime' and blasted Trump for his throwaway comments 'This vilification of whole nation states and their people based on religion is a terrifying reminder of the horror that can ensue when we allow ourselves to be led by ignorant people into darkness and hatred.' Ayliffe-Chung, from Wirksworth, Derbyshire, died in August 2016 after being stabbed in front of dozens of backpackers at a hostel. The 21-year-old reportedly met Ayad when they were working on a farm near Townsville, Queensland. Police are looking into whether Ayad - who reportedly shouted Allah Akbah as he attacked her - was obsessed with Ayliffe-Chung. Jackson, a 30-year-old from Cheshire, tried to save Mia and died from stab wounds six days after the attack. Ayliffe is now launching a campaign to protect 'exploited' backpackers working for their visa in Australia. She is currently running a charity auction to raise money to travel to Australia in spring, which concludes on February 11 in Wirksworth. She said: 'The plan is to go out to Australia in spring to highlight some of the issues around the 88 days of farm work linked to visa applications. 'I am campaigning because of the exploitation of backpackers and the fact their safety is often compromised because of a lack of regulation. 'The auction concludes with a masquerade ball - it's very Mia.' Trump's administration said attacks such as those in Orlando, San Bernardino, Brussels, Nice and the Bataclan in Paris 'have not received the media attention they deserved' and released a list of 78 terrorist attacks on Monday as proof. Several members of the press have voiced their confusion over the list, as a handful of instances named were the subject of news coverage that lasted 'days on end'. Tom Jackson, 30, also died after trying to save Ayliffe-Chung's life during the attack last year The report, several pages long and seemingly hastily thrown together, is littered with spelling errors such as 'ATTAKER', 'ATTAKERS' and incorrectly spelling the California city as 'San Bernadino'. One of the biggest terror attacks over the past two years took place in France, with the Bataclan theatre attack in Paris and the Nice truck massacre, both of which were on the list. The Orlando, Florida nightclub shooting was widely covered in the news for being a terror attack and a hate crime in June 2016. It left 49 people dead and wounded 53 more. The mass shooting and attempted bombing in San Bernardino, California was also included on the roster, the December 2015 attack ended with 14 dead and 22 wounded. President Donald Trump claimed Monday that terror attacks are happening 'all over Europe' but they're not being covered by the 'very, very dishonest press.' Before the list was published the president did not provide any examples as he made the claim in front of troops stationed at MacDill Air Force base in Tampa, Florida. Speaking to US Special Forces and US Central Command soldiers, he said, 'We're up against an enemy that celebrates death and totally worships destruction. You've seen that. ISIS is on a campaign of genocide, committing atrocities across the world. Frenchman Smail Ayad, 29, has been charged with Ayliffe-Chung and Jackson's murders 'Radical Islamic terrorists are determined to strike our homeland as they did on 9/11, as they did from Boston to Orlando to San Bernardino, and all across Europe,' he said. 'You've seen what happened in Paris and Nice. All over Europe, it's happening.' He at that point added: 'It's gotten to a point where it's not even being reported. And in many cases the very, very dishonest press doesn't want to report it. They have their reasons, and you understand that.' The president moved on without calling attention to any specific terrorist attack he believes the media is covering up. Spicer insisted later that there are 'a lot of instances,' however, that are being 'underreported.' His press secretary, Sean Spicer, told reporters aboard Air Force One, 'Theres a lot of instances where I dont think theyve gotten the coverage it deserved.' He did not name one, either. 'Well provide a list later,' he asserted, indicating in the gaggle that the president may have been thinking of foiled' attacks, in addition to murderous assaults. The president's spokesman went on to claim that the press was unfairly covering Trump's travel ban, something the president had brought up earlier in a tweet. 'Any negative polls are fake news, just like the CNN, ABC, NBC polls in the election. Sorry, people want border security and extreme vetting,' Trump had said. Spicer invoked Trump's gripe in his session with reporters riding Air Force One later. 'I think sometimes the polls dont reflect what you see on the media,' he said. 'You see a wide degree of support for the presidents policies to protect this country, to create jobs, to grow the economy. 'And yet a lot of those stories and success that hes had in a mere two and a half weeks in office arent exactly covered to the degree to which they should be.' A CNN/ORC poll released Friday showed that 53 per cent of Americans oppose the president's plan, which also suspended America's refugee program for 120 days, however. Hours earlier a CBS News poll found 51 per cent don't like Trump's approach. The CNN and CBS polls surveyed Americans in phone calls, as did a Gallup poll. All three showed majorities opposing the policy. But four online polls have found majorities or pluralities of Americans support the President. Those include surveys from Reuters/Ipsos, Rasmussen Reports, Public Policy Polling and YouGov/Huffington Post. The Rasmussen poll, which was limited to likely voters, showed a 52-43 gap in Trump's favor. Advertisement These sinister pictures offer a glimpse inside a derelict boys' school with a gruesome past, where pupils were said to have been murdered by staff. The eerie photographs show the site where 55 of the dead were buried, and abandoned classrooms, laden with towering piles of plastic school chairs. In one room, rusting metal bunk-beds are flooded with daylight from a hole in the wall, which appears to once have been a fire exit. The empty beds are now inter-twined with vines from the surrounding grounds. Other images show decrepit bathrooms, where the wooden roof has rotted away and rubble now scatters the floor. The creepy images were taken at the now-abandoned Arthur G. Dozier School for Boys in Marianna, Florida Nobody has ever been held accountable for abuses at the school, which opened in 1900 and closed in 2011 Researchers exhumed 55 children's bodies, which began yielding the shocking secrets of the reform school The haunting images show abandoned classrooms, laden with towering piles of plastic school chairs The creepy images were taken at Arthur G. Dozier School for Boys in Marianna, Florida, by a 28-year-old photographer known as Bullet, using a Nikon D7000. 'I started exploring abandoned buildings in 2009 and soon picked up a camera so I can share where I have been with other people who are interested, but too scared to venture into them. 'Most people are amazed that places like these exist, especially so close to where they live,' he said. The school, which opened in 1900 and closed for good in 2011, has a reputation for a murderous past, with numerous children mysteriously dying and being swiftly cremated while under state care. Other photographs show decrepit bathrooms, where the wooden roof has rotted away and rubble now scatters the floor Decades of violence and abuse have now been exposed at the school, which had a horrific 'rape dungeon' At its peak in the 1960s, 500 boys were housed at the Dozier school, most of them for minor offenses such as petty theft, truancy or running away from home Past students claim that they were beaten with a three-foot-long belt until they passed out, while others swear that there was a 'rape room' where some students were sexually abused. Despite numerous investigations, no-one has been held accountable for the deaths. At its peak in the 1960s, 500 boys were housed at the Dozier school, most of them for minor offenses such as petty theft, truancy or running away from home. In 1968, when corporal punishment was outlawed at state-run institutions, then-Governor Claude Kirk visited and found the institution in disrepair with leaky ceilings, holes in walls, cramped sleeping quarters, no heating for the winters and buckets used as toilets. Rusting metal bunk-beds are flooded with daylight from a hole in the wall, which appears to once have been a fire exit. The empty beds are now inter-twined with vines from the surrounding grounds The reform school opened in 1900 and was operational until its 2011 closure for budget reasons. Some of the classrooms still contain modern teaching equipment, revealing that only a few years ago the school was filled with pupils As early as 1968 an inspection revealed the institution in disrepair with leaky ceilings, holes in walls, cramped sleeping quarters, no heating for the winters and buckets used as toilets The dark past of the school was exposed when researches exhumed 55 children's bodies from old graves after it closed Researchers exhumed 55 bodies from old graves, which began yielding the shocking secrets of a shuttered Florida reform school, shedding light on decades of abuse, rape and deadly violence. Official records showed 31 burials at the Marianna school between its opening in 1900 and its 2011 closure for budget reasons, but researchers found the remains of 24 additional people between September and December 2013. Some of the bodies were found under roads or overgrown trees, well away from the white, metal crosses marking the 31 officially recorded graves. There was the six-year-old boy who ended up dead after being sent to work as a house boy. And another boy who escaped but was later found shot to death with a blanket pulled over his body and a shotgun across his legs. Then there was the 'rape dungeon' where students attending the Arthur G. Dozier School were taken and sexually abused. Numerous children mysteriously dyed at the school being swiftly cremated while under state care Past students claim that they were beaten with a three-foot-long belt until they passed out, while others swear that there was a 'rape room' where some students were sexually abused Despite numerous investigations, no-one has been held accountable for the deaths of the children in state care 'There was a lot of violence which occurred here, either by the students themselves or by the guards,' Bullet added. 'I'm sure there are people who knew of the abuse, but kept quiet about it. 'I want people to see what happens when nothing is said, when people turn a blind eye to abuse and violence, especially to those who can't defend themselves.' Anita Szucs, 30, (pictured) from Enfield, is believed to be the first cyclist to be killed on London's roads this year A newlywed woman has been killed in a hit and run as she cycled home from a late shift in work. Anita Szucs, 30, from Enfield, is believed to be the first cyclist to be killed on London's roads this year, after her bike was 'sliced in two' as she cycled home from work at 1.45am yesterday morning. She suffered critical injuries and was pronounced dead in hospital. Police are hunting for the driver of a small white car who is believed to have fled the scene. A Metropolitan Police spokesman said: 'The car which failed to stop was described a small white car, which will have extensive frontal damage and a broken windscreen. 'Detectives from the Serious Collision Investigation Unit based at Chadwell Heath are investigating and are appealing to anyone who witnessed the collision, is aware of the location of the car or has any information, to contact them.' The London Evening Standard reports that Mrs Szucs moved to the capital from Hungary several years ago and married Tamas Mezo last year. A colleague told the Standard: 'I've never met anyone so positive, she always had a smile on her face. Everyone knew her at work, we're all feeling shocked and numb. 'She had just got married in the summer. They saved up for a honeymoon in Japan. She was only 30. 'I can't get my head around the fact she was just left in the road. What was the driver thinking leaving the scene?' Ten cyclists died on London's road last year. Mark Manning vanished from his home after telling relatives he was going to meet his son A missing bomb disposal expert was bludgeoned to death with an industrial wrench by a friend in a row over a 150,000 debt before his body was dumped. Mark Manning vanished from his home after telling relatives he was going to meet his teenage son and had been planning to visit his daughter in Angola. The 54-year-old from in Lancing, West Sussex, was last seen alive in April 2014 and a murder investigation was launched after an anonymous tip-off. And police officers trawled CCTV footage taken at a railway station where Mr Manning's friend Colin Gale claimed to have dropped him off - and found nothing to suggest he had been there. Mr Manning had worked in the Armed Forces before moving into the charitable sector - and had begun buying and selling second hand cars to garages close to his home, including one run by his friend of five years. Gale had told his wife that Mr Manning had lent him 150,000 which he could not afford to pay back, and later admitted that the pair had had a fight. Colin Gale (left) claimed he had bludgeoned Mr Manning to death after he came at him with 'something' at his garage. The 40-year-old was convicted of manslaughter. Co-defendant Stewart Robertson denied preventing lawful burial but was convicted by a jury yesterday Gale claimed he had bludgeoned Mr Manning to death after he came at him with 'something' at his garage in Sompting. The 40-year-old denied murder but admitted preventing lawful burial and was convicted of manslaughter. Co-defendant Stewart Robertson denied preventing lawful burial but was convicted by a jury at Lewes Crown Court yesterday. Gale said: 'Mark was alive but I thought to myself he is the sort of bloke who would come back and get me. 'I had to finish him off or he would come back and get me. I hit him a couple more times. It was disgusting. Stewart Robertson was there and he was screaming.' Gale told the jury he used a 3ft industrial wrench to kill Mr Manning in self-defence after he attacked him with an axe over a 17,000 debt for the sale of two vehicles. This is believed to have formed part of the 150,000 total debt. Mr Manning (pictured) had worked in the Armed Forces before moving into the charitable sector - and had begun buying and selling second hand cars to garages close to his home He said Mr Manning kept swinging the axe at him so he hit him two or three times and he collapsed on the floor, but did not tell police when he was charged. Gale, of Worthing, was arrested on suspicion of murder in May 2015 and released on bail, before being charged with murder in January 2016. Robertson, of Portslade, who had also been arrested in relation to the murder at the same time, had been released without charge. But when he was rearrested in May 2016, the 50-year-old took police officers to where Mr Manning's body had been dumped, in Hampshire Hill near Slaugham, and was charged with preventing a lawful burial. Robertson had been at the garage when the confrontation took place and the two men disposed of the body together, in a leafy part of rural Sussex the day after the father-of-two was killed. The court heard that Gale had been acting out of character the day after Mark's disappearance. He had left the house early and could not be contacted for several hours. Robertson prevented a lawful burial by helping to dump the body in woodland (pictured) He also had lied to police about his whereabouts that day. Later he also told his wife: 'I know what happened. I did it. I went back and removed a towel in case it had DNA on it. I burned the clothes.' No murder weapon was ever recovered but Mr Manning's remains were discovered with severe facial injuries, and identified by dental records. His brother Russell and sister Anna said: 'No words can convey the pain and horror endured physically and mentally by us and Mark's children during the past 32 months. 'Mark's loss is also felt around the world, where he diligently, professionally and with a cheerfulness cleared unmarked minefields and provided humanitarian aid, at times within active war zones. 'Mark's father died with a broken heart, not knowing of his son's demise. We buried our father 12 weeks before Mark was found. They now lay together.' His son Kane Manning, 18, said: 'My father was a hero, he saved many people's lives around the world with his mine clearance work. 'I had an amazing bond with my father and I find it hard knowing my dad will never be around to see me grow up.' The victim of a brutal bashing says his female friend saved his life after she acted as a human shield and ended the savage beating. Paul Taufa'ao is lucky to be alive after he was set upon in the early hours of Sunday morning after a night out with his friend, Emma, in Parramatta in Sydney's west. The 32-year-old suffered horrific facial injuries and doctors told him he was lucky he wasn't left permanently blind. 'They just kept hitting my face - stomping on my face,' Mr Taufa'ao told Nine News. 'I was crying, I know that much. I was upset, I was scared.' Paul Taufa'ao is lucky to be alive after he was set upon in the early hours of Sunday morning in Parramatta in Sydney's west Mr Taufa'a, 32, had been enjoying a night out with his friend, Emma, 25 Mr Taufa'ao's friend Emma, 25, bravely intervened and stopped the attack He said two men and a woman began screaming at him from a black Chrysler and when he yelled back, he was ambushed. 'All I remember was someone came from the side and hit me and then one from the back,' he said. Fearing he would be killed, Mr Taufa'ao's friend Emma, 25, bravely intervened and stopped the attack. 'I was lying face up and she used her whole body to cover my face. She saved my life,' he said. The assailants returned to their vehicle and fled, leaving Mr Taufa'ao with a broken eye socket, while Emma also suffered facial bruising. She told Daily Mail Australia: 'Unfortunately these things happen. I am just thankful we got out of it still breathing.' Mr Taufa'a said: 'All I remember was someone came from the side and hit me and then one from the back' No arrests have been made and police are appealing for witnesses to come forward. 'Officers from Parramatta Local Area Command attended and commenced an investigation,' a police spokesperson said. 'Detectives would like to speak to anyone with information about the vehicle, described only as a sedan, or the occupants.' The killer of teenage schoolgirl Paige Doherty was battered behind bars by a serial rapist. John Leatham was attacked by James Gellately, 29, just two days after switching to a new jail in a bid to save him from being killed by lags. The 32-year-old, who was caged last year for the murder of Paige, 15, had his head and face repeatedly pounded as he ate his dinner, a report revealed. Documents show how Leathem was attacked shortly after arriving at HM Prison Dumfries in November, where he was put into the general population of prisoners. John Leatham (left) was attacked by James Gellately just two days after switching to a new jail in a bid to save him from being killed by lags after the murder of Paige (shown right) Guards separated the two before moving Leathem to Barlinnie Jail in Glasgow, Scotland, the Sun reported. An insider told the newspaper: 'Gellately said to him he wasn't some little girl he could terrorise and Leathem said he didn't know what he was talking about that's what lit the fuse. 'Gellately's a volatile character and Leathem goes about the place like he's done nothing wrong. 'Every time he reads something in the paper about his crime he hides behind his door like a recluse because he's too scared to come out.' James Gellately repeatedly pounded the head and face of Leathem as he ate his dinner Leatham had only just been moved to Dumfries from Low Moss Prison in Bishopbriggs, near Glasgow, where lags were plotting an attempt on his life. He was given a life sentence in October after he admitted repeatedly stabbing 15-year-old Paige at his deli in Clydebank, West Dunbartonshire. After killing Paige in March last year, Leathem stored her body in a shed at his nearby home before dumping her remains in bushes two days later. She had a total of nearly 150 wounds following the 'frenzied' attack at Leathem's deli in Clydebank, including 61 stab wounds, 43 of which were to her head and neck. Leathem's attacker Gellately was himself jailed for 10 years back in 2015, after he was found guilty of four charges of rape, an indecent assault and three assaults. The serial rapist carried out his crimes from 2006 to 2013 in Kilmarnock, Dumfriesshire and East Kilbride. This is the moment a busy Sydney beach was brought to a standstill by a deadly two-metre bull shark lurking near the shore line. Footage shows crowds of beachgoers gathering just metres from the man-eater in shallow waters at La Perouse, in the city's south. The frightening scenes unfolded in 35 degrees temperatures on Monday, as crowds flocked to beaches to beat the heat. Footage shows crowds of beachgoers gathering just metres from the bull shark in shallow waters The clip was captured by Aymen Elrashid, who described the shark as being 'on the sand literally'. The sighting came after two spearfishers spotted another shark two kilometres away at Port Botany on Monday morning. Beach-goers are being urged to stay vigilant as sharks are drawn to unmeshed swimming spots in the warmer months. 'Roughly 500m offshore and 5m off the breakwall and in roughly 5m depth when a bull came right by really fast,' one of the fisherman reported on Facebook. The clip was captured by Aymen Elrashid, who described the shark as being 'on the sand literally' A murder investigation was today launched after a mother-of-two staggered into a doctor's surgery with serious stab wounds. Witnesses said a man drove a Ford Transit up to the GP's practice in Rowley Regis, West Midlands, and dragged Tina Billingham, 50, into the reception. She was treated by staff at the surgery after arriving at 3.50pm on Monday and was transferred to hospital, but desperate attempts to save her were unsuccessful. A 54-year-old man has been arrested in connection with the crime after police launched a murder investigation. Floral tributes have been left near the scene, telling of their shock at Tina Billingham's death Police at the scene where Ms Billingham was found with stab wounds yesterday. This van, which is understood to have been driven by the man arrested, was removed by police The surgery was shut today and will reopen tomorrow as investigations continue - but officers are not looking for anyone else in connection with the crime. One of Mrs Billingham's closest friends, cook Janice Barch, 50, described her as being 'the most gentle soul'. She said: 'Tina was the best friend you could ever wish for. 'She was the most gentle soul. She would never, ever raise or voice, would never start an argument. 'She was a nursery nurse for years, so she knew all of the children and all of the parents. No one had a bad worse to say about her'. Sonia Simkins, the practice owner, said: 'Police officers were called to our surgery yesterday afternoon after a woman arrived with a stab wound. 'A murder investigation has been launched and a man has been arrested after the woman sadly died. 'Enquiries are on-going but police are not looking for anyone else in connection with the murder'. Ms Billingham, 50, was treated by staff at the surgery before being transferred to a hospital A notice was put up on the surgery door after the victim staggered into reception with stab wounds One resident, who saw the incident, said: 'A white van pulled up just before 4pm yesterday. 'There was a big commotion. He rushed and pulled the lady out of the car and into the surgery. 'There was a helicopter circling round the golf course too. It was quite the scene'. After moving on from the nursery Mrs Billingham, who lived in her house in Old Hill for more than 17 years, went on to be a cleaner at a house in Stowbridge. She had two children during her marriage, which split up before she met her long term partner. Her friend, Ms Barch, added: 'They loved her at the house she cleaned at. Everybody loved her, wherever she went.' 'Every day when I came home from work there'd be a mug of coffee waiting for me from Tina. She was so generous. The surgery also put a notice online warning patients not to attend after a 'major incident' The surgery remained closed today after detectives launched a murder probe over the death 'She would always offer to give people clothes, even though she was by far the shortest. 'I can't believe she's gone. I keep expecting somebody to tell me that it wasn't her and that she survived. I keep wanting to talk to her, to see her at the bottom of the road.' A spokesman for the force said: 'Officers were called to Rowley Healthcare on Hawes Lane, at around 3.50pm following reports that a woman had arrived at the doctors surgery with a stab wound.' 'The woman was treated by medical staff and taken to hospital but despite their best efforts it became apparent that there was nothing that could be done to save her life and she sadly died a short time later. 'A 54-year-old man was arrested at the surgery on suspicion of murder and is currently helping police with their enquiries. 'Enquiries are on-going but police are not looking for anyone else in connection with the murder.' A Cheeto that resembles Harambe has sold for $100,000 after a frenzied bidding war. There were 132 bids for the rare 'one of a kind' Cheeto - and the starting price had been at $11.99 before it skyrocketed during the week. Harambe gained worldwide attention last year when zookeepers at the Cincinnati Zoo shot him to protect a three-year-old child who fell in the enclosure. A Cheeto that resembles Harambe has sold for $100,000 after a bidding war on eBay The bidding for the Harambe-shaped chip ended on Tuesday morning. The description posted on eBay read: 'I opened up a bag of flamin' hot Cheetos and as soon as I looked inside I came across this unique Cheetos that looks like Harambe the gorilla. 'This item is one of a kind. It measures up to about one-and-a-half inches in length. 'This item up for bid is only for this unique Cheetos, bag not included.' eBay have insisted any bid made will go ahead. A spokesman said: 'Where we believe there is unhelpful bidding activity we will take an active role in monitoring the sale for the seller.' The death of Harambe, a male western lowland gorilla, led to mourning around the globe A three-year-old boy managed to slip inside the gorilla enclosure on May 28 and was dragged along by the leg by the 17-year-old male western lowland gorilla The death of the 17-year-old male western lowland gorilla led to mourning around the globe and a storm of criticism and unending social media attention. The boy, who had slipped away from his mother, recovered without major injury. Animal welfare activists and other gorilla fans expressed anger at Harambe's death, and it became the subject of countless internet memes, jokes on social media and popular culture references An innocent pensioner was killed when the car was hit in a 'crash for cash' plot organised by four men, a court heard. Betty Laird, 88, suffered fatal spinal injuries when the Renault Kangoo she was a passenger in was struck in Beeston, Leeds, West Yorks., on September 10, 2014. The prosecution at Leeds Crown Court allege four men in a VW Passat who drove into the side of the Kangoo did so in order to make fraudulent injury compensation claims from insurance companies. The alleged driver of the Passat, Sabbir Hussain, 25, and two alleged passengers, Raja Hussain, 30, and Sharear Islam-Miah, 26, are on trial at Leeds Crown Court accused of manslaughter and conspiracy to commit fraud. Betty Laird, 88, suffered fatal spinal injuries when the Renault Kangoo she was a passenger in was struck in Old Lane, Beeston (pictured) on September 10, 2014. The jury has been told a fourth man, Muhammed Ubaidullah, has already pleaded guilty to manslaughter, conspiracy to commit fraud and attempting to pervert the court of justice. Peter Moulson, QC, prosecuting, said: 'All were involved, we say, in what has come to be known as a cash for crash collision. 'Their collective plan was to deliberately collide with another vehicle and then follow that vehicle with claims for financial compensation for injuries allegedly sustained in that collision.' The jury was told Mrs Laird was in the vehicle with her friend Geoff Grimshaw, 77, at the time of the incident. Mr Moulson said Mrs Laird suffered multiple injuries in the collision and died later that evening. The court heard Mr Grimshaw died later of causes unrelated to the collision. The prosecution at Leeds Crown Court (shown) allege four men who drove into the side of Ms Laird did so in order to make fraudulent injury compensation claims from insurance companies The prosecutor said Ubaidullah was interviewed by police on the day of the incident and claimed that he had been the driver, blaming Mr Grimshaw for the collision. Mr Moulson said Ubaidullah later changed his account and said Sabbir Hussain was the driver and the collision had been caused deliberately. He said: 'Ubaidullah said that the plan of the team was to drive around waiting for an opportunity to cause a collision.' Jurors were told Ubaidullah would give evidence at the trial. Raja Hussain, from Beeston, Leeds, Sabbir Hussain, of no fixed address, and Shareer Islam Miah, of Oldham, plead not guilty to manslaughter and conspiracy to commit fraud. The trial continues. A British DJ screamed 'Get off her, you f***ing c***' moments before killing a police officer in Bali, a court has been told. Today a witness said she heard David Taylor shout obscenities before the law enforcer died on Bali Beach. The bloodied body of Wayan Sudarsa was found in the tourist hotspot of Kuta Beach in the early hours of August 17 last year. Changing face: David Taylor pictured before his arrest (left) and during an earlier hearing after he was charged with murder (right) Taylor, 34, claims he acted in self-defence after a row broke out over a missing handbag belonging to his Australian girlfriend, Sara Connor, 46. Both deny murder. Tourist Kim Watson, who was staying in the nearby Pullman Hotel, told his trial at Denpasar Court today: 'I could hear a lady screaming very loudly and hysterically and she also yelled "leave him alone and get off of him."' She also heard a man scream and say 'Get off her, you f***ing c***', 9 News reports. Police officer Wayan Sudarsa's (left) bloodied body was discovered on August 17 last year. David Taylor and Sara Connor (right) were arrested after the body of police officer Wayan Sudarsa was discovered on the beach in Bali Ms Watson said she was too scared to go outside and investigate, but awoke the following morning to see police tape around the scene of the killing. Her sister, Coleen Bowen, also heard the screaming, and contacted police when they returned to their native Australia. Connor said she attempted to separate Taylor and the police officer. The couple deny murder, with Taylor saying he acted in self defence Sara Connor said she was attempting to separate her boyfriend from the police officer Accused: Taylor and Connor both deny murdering the police officer in Bali last year Mr Sudarsa's wounds are believed to have been caused by a beer bottle. Taylor, from Stoke Newington in London, and Connor are facing charges of charges of unpremeditated murder, violence causing death, and assault causing death. Taylor, whose father is a vicar, fled the scene with Connor. The fight allegedly began when Taylor 'frisked' the officer in search of Connor's lost purse. Taylor has previously written to the police officer's wideo, Ketut Arsini, to apologise for his death. Iran's leader has said Donald Trump has shown the real face of America and has warned his people will respond to his threats on the upcoming anniversary of the Islamic revolution. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei dismissed Donald Trump's warning to Iran to stop its missile tests, saying the new US President had shown the 'real face' of American corruption. In his first speech since Trump's inauguration, Iran's supreme leader called on Iranians to respond to Trump's 'threats' on February 10, the anniversary of Iran's 1979 Islamic revolution. Trump had tried but failed to frighten Iranians, Khamenei said. Donald Trump, pictured during the race to the White House, has stoked anger in Iran Ayatollah Ali Khamenei dismissed his American counterpart's warning to Iran to stop its missile tests, saying the new US President had shown the 'real face' of US corruption 'We are thankful to Trump for making our life easy as he showed the real face of America,' Khamenei told a meeting of military commanders in Tehran, according to his website. He followed it up with a tweet, which read: 'Trump says be scared of me! 'No, Iranians will respond to such words with February 10 rallies and will show what is their position toward threats.' Earlier, he had tweeted: 'The new President of the United States says Iran should've appreciated Obama! How come? 'Appreciate him for Daesh, war in Iraq and Syria or public support for 2009 unrest?' The heated exchanges reached a crescendo yesterday when Iran boasted it only needs seven minutes to hit a US airbase in Tel Aviv with a ballistic missile. It came just days after Donald Trump put the country on notice over its missile testing and issued a banning order against Iranians. Mojtaba Zonour, a former advisor to the Iranian Supreme Leader's Representative at the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC), threatened the President by saying any mistake made by the US would result in action. 'The US army's fifth fleet has occupied a part of Bahrain, and the enemy's farthest military base is in the Indian Ocean but these points are all within the range of Iran's missile systems and they will be razed to the ground if the enemy makes a mistake,' he said. 'And only seven minutes is needed for the Iranian missile to hit Tel Aviv.' Russian-made Sam-6 surface-to-air missiles are seen in front of a portrait of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei Last week, a top adviser to the Iranian supreme leader said the country will not yield to 'useless' US threats from 'an inexperienced person' over its ballistic missile programme. Donald Trump said it was putting Iran 'on notice' over its 'destabilising activity' after it test-fired a cruise missile. But Ali Akbar Velayati, who is a senior counsel to Iran's most powerful man Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, hit back. 'This is not the first time that an inexperienced person has threatened Iran,' he said. 'The American government will understand that threatening Iran is useless.' Trump had said in a tweet 'Iran has been formally put on notice' after his administration said it was reviewing how to respond to the launch that Iran said was solely for defensive purposes. Iran claimed on Wednesday it had tested the new ballistic missile but said it did not breach a nuclear deal reached with six major powers in 2015 or a UN Security Council resolution that endorsed the accord. Velayati responded by saying: 'Iran does not need permission from any country to defend itself.' The exchange led Trump to take to Twitter once again on Friday to say, 'Iran is playing with fire - they don't appreciate how "kind" President Obama was to them. Not me!' Commander of the IRGC Aerospace Force Brigadier General Amir Ali Hajizadeh echoed Zonour's threats. He told Fars News: 'If the enemy makes a mistake our roaring missiles will hit their targets.' A US official said Iran had test-launched the medium-range Sumar ballistic missile last Sunday and it exploded after travelling 630 miles (1,010 km). Iran said it had been a successful launch. A series of tests conducted by Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) in 2016 caused international concern, with some powers saying any launch of nuclear-capable ballistic missiles would violate UN Security Council resolution 2231. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Monday that all 'responsible nations' should back new sanctions against Iran, speaking during a meeting with his British counterpart Theresa May in London. He said he welcomed US President Donald Trump's 'insistence on new sanctions against Iran'. 'I think other nations should follow suit, certainly responsible nation,' he said as he accused Iran of 'provocation after provocation'. He said: 'Iran seeks to annihilate Israel, it says so openly, it seeks to conquer the Middle East, it threatens Europe, it threatens the West, it threatens the world. 'I'd like to talk to you on how we can ensure that Iran's aggression does not go unanswered.' Theresa May and Benjamin Netanyahu Netanyahu is a fierce opponent of the deal with world powers, including Britain, in which Iran pledged to curb its nuclear programme in return for sanctions relief. A spokeswoman for May said the two leaders would 'talk about a range of security and international issues, including the Middle East peace process'. She said May would raise Britain's concern about how the 'continued increase of settlements activity undermines trust'. There has been a sharp acceleration in Israeli settlement expansion plans since Trump took office last month, with more than 6,000 new homes announced in less than a fortnight. British Minister for the Middle East Tobias Ellwood warned on Wednesday that the plans made the two-state solution 'much harder to achieve'. Britain voted in favour of a UN Security Council resolution passed in December demanding a halt to settlement construction. The vote prompted Israel to temporarily scale back relations. But Britain refused to sign the final statement of a Middle East peace conference held in Paris last month that was strongly opposed by Israel. Under the nuclear agreement, most UN sanctions were lifted a year ago. But Iran is still subject to an UN arms embargo and other restrictions, which are not technically part of the deal. Trump has frequently criticised the Iran nuclear deal, which restricts Tehran's nuclear activities in exchange for the lifting of the sanctions, calling the agreement weak and ineffective. Theresa May headed off a rebellion over the Brexit Bill tonight as MPs rejected demands for Parliament to approve her final EU divorce deal. Despite seven Remain-supporting Tory MPs rebelling against the Government, the Prime Minister won a clear majority of 33 in favour of her plans to keep the final Commons showdown a 'take it or leave it' vote. She saw off what could have been a much larger rebellion by clarifying that her final Brexit package would be put to the Commons before it is ratified by the European Parliament. Seven Tory MPs - including former Chancellor Ken Clarke and arch-Remainer Anna Soubry - rebelled against the Government to vote in favour of an amendment tabled by Labour MP Chris Leslie to grant Parliament a final say on Brexit. But there were several Tory MPs absent from tonight's crucial vote, including George Osborne, who broke the three-line whip because he was delivering a speech in Antwerp tonight. Despite seven Remain-supporting Tory MPs rebelling against the Government, the Prime Minister won a clear majority of 33 in favour of her plans to keep the final Commons showdown a 'take it or leave it' vote The Government later defeated another opposition demand that would have required it to carry out an assessment on the financial liability of the UK departure from the EU. MPs voted against the amendment by 333 to 79. Ironically, the subject of Mr Osborne's address in the Belgian city tonight was Brexit. He could now be hauled in to the whips office for breaking a three-line whip. While the ex-Chancellor - who gambled his ministerial career as the architect of Project Fear during last year's EU referendum - was speaking in Antwerp, his Tory colleague Nick Boles left his hospital bed to vote with the Government. He interrupted his chemotherapy treatment to ensure the Government saw off the rebellion. As well as Mr Clarke and Ms Soubry, the other five Tory rebels tonight were: Heidi Allen, Bob Neill, Claire Perry, Antoinette Sandbach and Andrew Tyrie. Minutes before rebelling against the Government, Ms Perry, a former rail minister, branded her hardline Brexit-supporting MPs as 'jihadis'. Remarkably, in the same speech she also urged colleagues to end the 'hysterical' language in the Brexit debate. The Government's move to quell the Tory rebellion was initially hailed as a 'huge concession' by shadow Brexit secretary Sir Keir Starmer. THE SEVEN TORY REBELS Seven Tory MPs rebelled against the Government tonight and voted in favour of Labour MP Chris Leslie's amendment that demanded Parliament be given a vote on Theresa May's final Brexit deal. They were: Ken Clarke, former chancellor and MP for Rushcliffe. Bob Neill, chairman of the Justice Select Committee and MP for Bromley and Chislehurst. Andrew Tyrie, chairman of the Treasury Select Committee and MP for Chichester. Claire Perry, former rail minister and MP for Devizes. Anna Soubry, former business minister and MP for Broxtowe. Antoinette Sandbach, MP for Eddisbury Heidi Allen, MP for South Cambridgeshire. There were also several Tory abstentions, including former Chancellor George Osborne. He broke the three-line whip to deliver a speech on Brexit in Antwerp, Belgium. Ben Howlett, MP for Bath, also abstained. Advertisement But ministers have pointed out that it will still be a 'take it or leave it' vote - meaning Britain would merely quit the bloc without new terms if MPs reject them. The Government was helped to victory by six Labour MPs who voted to defeat demands for a final showdown in Parliament over the final Brexit deal. They were chairman of the Work and Pensions Select Committee Frank Field, Ronnie Campbell, Kate Hoey, Kelvin Hopkins , Graham Stringer and Gisela Stuart. All six backed the Brexit campaign last year. Some 312 Tory MPs voted against the amendment along with seven DUP MPs. Ukip's Douglas Carswell also voted against the move. The developments came on another day of hand-to-hand combat in the House of Commons the government pushes through legislation to trigger Article 50. After a first round of trouble-making amendments was seen off last night, the debate focused on calls for a 'meaningful' vote on whatever Mrs May agrees with Brussels. There were fears that would raise the prospect of MPs sending the premier back to renegotiate a new package - weakening her hand in the talks - and potentially triggering a second referendum. As the second day of the committee stage of the Bill got under way, Mr Jones told the Commons: 'We intend the vote will cover not only the withdrawal arrangements but also the future relationship with the European Union. 'Furthermore, I can confirm that the Government will bring forward a motion on the final agreement to be approved by both houses of Parliament before it is concluded and we expect and intend that this will happen before the European Parliament debates and votes on the final agreement.' But he then insisted the Commons vote would still be 'take it or leave it'. George Osborne broke the three-line whip to deliver a speech in Antwerp tonight, pictured While George Osborne - who gambled his ministerial career as the architect of Project Fear during last year's EU referendum - was speaking in Antwerp, his Tory colleague Nick Boles, pictured in the wheelchair, left his hospital bed to vote with the Government Meanwhile, the premier was given a major boost today when Jeremy Corbyn announced he will order Labour MPs to vote in favour of the Bill tomorrow even if none of the party's amendments are passed. The decision by the Opposition leader to impose a three line whip on the third reading tomorrow night is likely to fuel deep divisions in the party. Senior figures including shadow business secretary Clive Lewis have threatened to quit rather than back the legislation. HOW THE ACTION WILL UNFOLD IN THE HOUSE OF COMMONS Around 6pm tomorrow: Votes on whether the UK should unilaterally guarantee rights for EU citizens. Around 7.30pm tomorrow: Vote on giving the Bill its third reading. Advertisement Some 47 Labour MPs rebelled against the leader last week, and he has yet to decide whether to sack 13 frontbenchers who were among their number. Brexit minister Davis Jones made clear last night that the Government had no intention of accepting any of the hundreds of pages of amendments that have been tabled to the two clause Article 50 bill. Prime Minister Theresa May had earlier told MPs 'let's get on with it' as MPs braced for three days of rearguard fighting by Remain supporting MPs. The first amendments dismissed by the Commons included demands from Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn for regular formal updates on the Brexit negotiations. In the first vote on the amendments tonight, the Government won comfortably by 49 votes. In the Commons yesterday Mrs May pointed out that the legislation had been passed at second reading stage last week by a huge majority. The seven Tory rebels included Heidi Allen, MP for South Cambridgeshire (left) and Anna Soubry, a former business minister and MP for Broxtowe (right) Tory MPs Antoinette Sandbach, MP for Eddisbury (left) and Claire Perry, former rail minister and MP for Devizes (right) also rebelled against the Government The Tory rebels included Ken Clarke, former chancellor and MP for Rushcliffe (left), Bob Neill, chairman of the Justice Select Committee and MP for Bromley and Chislehurst (middle) and Andrew Tyrie, chairman of the Treasury Select Committee and MP for Chichester (right) The Government won a clear majority of 33 in the latest Commons showdown on Brexit tonight In the Commons today, Brexit minister David Jones said MPs would get a vote on any deal with the EU before it was ratified by the European parliament 'Our European partners now want to get on with the negotiations, so do I, and so does this House, which last week voted by a majority of 384 in support of the Government triggering Article 50,' she said. 'But the message is clear to all - this House has spoken and now is not the time to obstruct the democratically expressed wishes of the British people. 'It is time to get on with leaving the European Union and building an independent, self-governing, global Britain.' CORBYN ORDERS HIS MPs TO BACK BREXIT BILL IN FINAL VOTE Jeremy Corbyn is facing a tense showdown with his own MPs after confirming he will order them to back the Brexit Bill. The Labour leader is imposing a three-line whip to support the crucial legislation tomorrow night. The decision - made at a meeting of the shadow cabinet this morning - comes despite threats from senior figures including shadow business secretary Clive Lewis to quit. Mr Corbyn was defied by 47 of his own MPs when he ordered them to back the Bill last week. He has been ridiculed for failing to sack 13 frontbenchers who voted against, saying at the weekend that he was a 'lenient person'. Mr Corbyn's key ally Diane Abbott failed to take part in the vote, claiming that she had developed a headache hours before it took place. There had been mounting speculation that Mr Corbyn would allow his MPs to abstain on the third reading of the Bill tomorrow in a bid to stop the party's divisions becoming even more catastrophic. Advertisement Dismissing Mr Corbyn's amendments, and a slew of others tabled by pro Remain backbenchers, Mr Jones said they were unnecessary. During the debate, former shadow chancellor Chris Leslie claimed that doubts over post-Brexit arrangements for Britain's financial services mean there is a 'clear and present danger' to the economy. Among Mr Leslie's many amendments to the European Union (Notification of Withdrawal) Bill are demands for more information on how the UK wants to work with EU agencies and bodies, including Europol. He also wants two reports published each year to explain how the Government is aiming to 'defend and promote' access to European markets for the UK financial services sector. Speaking during the Bill's committee stage, Mr Leslie said of the sector: 'You could say merely a small corner of Britain's GDP but it provides 67 billion of revenue for all of our schools, for all of our hospitals. 'If we mess around with that particular sector in the wrong way, we're all going to be poorer and our public services will be poorer as a result.' In other debates tonight, MPs demanded a unilateral commitment to allow EU nationals currently living in Britain to stay after Brexit. Mrs May has insisted she wants this to be final outcome but has refused to do so without similar guarantees for British expats on the continent. Votes are not due to be held on the subject until Wednesday night. Andrew Tyrie, chairman of the Treasury Select Committee, said EU nationals living in Britain should not be used as 'bargaining chips' in the Brexit negotiations. Labour MP Harriet Harman and Vote Leave co-chair Gisela Stuart also called on Theresa May to 'set the tone' by giving the guarantee before formal talks with Brussels kick off. The Opposition is seeking to amend the Bill allowing the Prime Minister to start formal Brexit talks by including the pledge. Boris Johnson has urged MPs not to try to undermine the legislation going through the House Cabinet ministers including Justine Greening (left) and Liz Truss (right) gathered for a meeting in Downing Street today ahead of more hand-to-hand combat in the Commons Chancellor Philip Hammond and Brexit Secretary David Davis were among those at the Cabinet meeting in No10 today Intervening on Conservative MP Mark Harper in the Commons during discussion on the Bill, Mr Tyrie said: 'Other nationals should not be treated as bargaining chips. 'And he would also, I'm sure, be aware that the Treasury Committee has heard a good deal of evidence to suggest that the failure to guarantee the rights of EU nationals is now beginning to damage the economy.. 'Given that, and the overwhelming ethical case, doesn't he agree, on reflection, the time has come now, just to protect these citizens' rights? But Mr Harper warned giving the guarantee risks 'throwing overboard the interests and concerns of UK citizens living elsewhere in the European Union' who have not received the same promise from the 27 EU member states. Debates and votes on the fine details of the bill - which was agreed by a landslide last week - are due to be held until Wednesday evening. The most dangerous moment for the Government is expected to be tomorrow evening when Tory rebels could back a Labour amendment on the need for a 'meaningful' final vote on Brexit. Two western New York brothers in their 60s have died after their snowmobiles went through thin ice on an Adirondacks lake. State police say the bodies of 67-year-old Stephen Sattler and 64-year-old Edward Sattler were found around 10:30 a.m. Monday in the Raquette Pond section of Tupper Lake. Police and forest rangers started searching for them after a family member reported them missing 6:30 p.m Sunday evening, however it was several hours after the accident occurred. Scroll down for video... Rescuers went out onto the lake using air boats in an attempt to find the two brother's bodies New York State Police have recovered the bodies of two missing snowmobiles in Tupper Lake. The brothers were travelling across a section of Tupper Lake when the ice gave way Officials said the men were reported missing by their wives about 6 p.m. Saturday. A search for them began almost immediately The brothers lived in Blasdell, just outside Buffalo, and had been staying at a family camp in Piercefield for a snowmobiling weekend and had not been heard from since Saturday evening. They were heading off to the weekend's ice fishing derby when the accident occurred. State Police Troop B Bureau of Criminal Investigation Capt. Robert LaFountain said that spotters aboard a State Police Aviation helicopter reported 'what they felt was a probable location.' The men were found in about 5-10 feet of water, although neither snowmobile was recovered. The bodies were taken to Adirondack Medical Center in Saranac Lake, where autopsies found the pair died from drowning. On Tuesday, autopsies conducted by Dr. C. Francis Varga at Adirondack Medical Center in Saranac Lake determined the cause of death for both men to be asphyxiation due to fresh water drowning. Franklin County Coroner Shawn Stuart ruled the manner of death to be accidental. Earlier in the weekend, three other men went through the ice of the Raquette River on their snowmobiles Saturday and were saved by a fellow rider. Here their snowmobiles were found Members of a snowmobile club did an initial search of trails Saturday and Sunday, but did not find the men so search and rescue teams along with a helicopter were brought in Rescue workers search for the missing snowmobiles from an earlier accident on Saturday Tupper Lake Mayor Paul Maroun tells the Plattsburgh Press-Republican three other men went through the ice of the Raquette River on their snowmobiles Saturday and were saved by a fellow rider. Footage was captured by the Adirondack Daily Eenterprise. 'They were headed for the fishing village,' Mayor Maroun said, referencing the temporary collection of shanties on nearby Simon Pond for the weekend's Northern Challenge Ice Fishing Derby. The fishing contest, hosted by the Tupper Lake Rod & Gun Club, was the biggest in its history, Maroun said. A British shoe shop which sent Donald Trump a pair of 100 brogues along with a condom and a note calling him a 'lad with swagger' claims the president replied to their gift - but refused them because he 'distances himself from black'. Goodwin Smith, based in Lancashire, sent the size 12 Barely Blacks shoes to the newly-elected president to wish him luck in the first week of his job. Now the company claim Mr Trump has written a response to the gift, returning the shoes, but keeping the condom. A British shoe shop which sent Donald Trump a pair of 100 brogues along with a condom and a note calling him a 'lad with swagger' claims the president refused the gift because he 'distances himself from black' (pictured) Posting on Twitter, the company - which uses Sam Reece to model its collection - said they were sent a letter from the White House, in which Mr Trump offers his 'deepest apologies' for returning the package. He then praises the shop's 'winning mindset', adding that the condom offered a 'unique touch to the brand'. Despite claims that the letter is a publicity stunt, the firm insists it is genuine and said they were 'open-mouthed' when they read the response. Mr Trump's alleged reply said: 'Thank you for thinking of me and your kind gesture. It means a lot. Goodwin Smith, based in Lancashire, sent the shoes to the newly-elected president to wish him luck in the first week of his job (pictured) Posting on Twitter, the company said they were sent a letter from the White House, in which Mr Trump offers his 'deepest apologies' for returning the package (pictured) The shoes (pictured above, next to a picture of model Sam Reece) were Goodwin Smith's Barely Blacks brogues in size 12 'By daring to send your product, you have shown a winning mindset. The included condom gives a unique touch to your brand. 'You were correct. I am a size 12 and I'm confident the Barley Black would have suited me as my first term begins. In the alleged response, Mr Trump (pictured) said: 'I tend to distance myself from black as a rule' 'As you are aware I am half British and I would have been so proud to wear a British product. 'Unfortunately, due to White House policy, I am unable to accept unsolicited goods. Please see enclosed the shoes and accept my deepest apology.' It adds: 'For future reference I tend to distance myself from black as a rule.' The letter sent by the shoe firm congratulated Mr Trump on his victory. It read: 'You are truly one of the lads with swagger. As a sign of admiration we have provided you with a pair of our finest British Oxford brogues the Barely Black. 'It's a shoe to help anybody through their first week at work. We know it can be tough. We've gone with a size 12 (because we Googled it).' The firm insisted the letter, which they say they received on January 27, was genuine. They said they often send goods to high-profile names in the hope of a good response. Jeremy Corbyn (pictured on a visit to Finsbury Park Mosque) is imposing a three-line whip to support the EU Bill Jeremy Corbyn is facing a tense showdown with his own MPs after confirming he will order them to back the Brexit Bill. The Labour leader is imposing a three-line whip to support the crucial legislation tomorrow night. The decision - made at a meeting of the shadow cabinet this morning - comes despite threats from senior figures including shadow business secretary Clive Lewis to quit. Mr Corbyn was defied by 47 of his own MPs when he ordered them to back the Bill last week. He has been ridiculed for failing to sack 13 frontbenchers who voted against, saying at the weekend that he was a 'lenient person'. Mr Corbyn's key ally Diane Abbott failed to take part in the vote, claiming that she had developed a headache hours before it took place. The grim internal politics of Labour comes as yet another poll revealed the depth of the party's troubles in the country. The latest ICM survey for the Guardian revealed Labour is 15 points behind the Tories on just 27 per cent - enough to hand the Tories a landslide victory. Ahead of today's meeting, there had been mounting speculation that Mr Corbyn would allow his MPs to abstain on the third reading of the Bill tomorrow in a bid to stop the party's divisions becoming even more catastrophic. Over the weekend shadow foreign secretary Emily Thornberry did not deny that abstaining was on the table - pointing out that the shadow cabinet would meet to consider the issue on Tuesday. HOW THE ACTION WILL UNFOLD IN THE HOUSE OF COMMONS Around 6pm tonight: Votes on amendments that would force a 'meaningful' vote for MPs on any Brexit deal that Theresa May strikes. Around 6pm tomorrow: Votes on whether the UK should unilaterally guarantee rights for EU citizens. Around 7.30pm tomorrow: Vote on giving the Bill its third reading. Advertisement The issue caused heated debate at a meeting of the Parliamentary Labour Party (PLP) on Monday after 47 MPs defied Mr Corbyn and voted against the Bill at its first Commons stage last week. The party's chief whip Nick Brown is understood to have wanted 'consistency' in dealing with the passage of the Bill, which Labour is currently trying to amend at committee stage. The imposition of a three-line whip before knowing if safeguards demanded by Labour are successfully added to the Bill risks forcing the resignation of Mr Lewis. The shadow business secretary has vowed to oppose the Bill unless Labour amendments, including a move to ensure a 'meaningful' parliamentary vote on the final exit deal the Prime Minister achieves, are passed in the Commons. Remain-backing Tory MPs have indicated they could be willing to support amendments seeking to ensure Parliament gets a say on the 'endgame' if Brexit negotiations collapse without a deal. The latest ICM survey for the Guardian revealed Labour is 15 points behind the Tories on just 27 per cent - enough to hand the Tories a landslide victory But Mr Corbyn's order will also pile pressure on shadow home secretary Ms Abbott, who did not vote on the Bill last week after a migraine forced her to leave Parliament early. Critics have accused Ms Abbott of falling victim to 'Brexit flu' because her constituency voted overwhelmingly to Remain in the referendum. Meanwhile, Theresa May is facing a fresh battle with pro-EU MPs today over demands to give them a veto on any Brexit deal. The Prime Minister is facing another day of hand-to-hand combat in the Commons as she pushes through legislation to trigger Article 50. After the government saw off the first round of trouble-making amendments last night, the debate will focus on calls for a 'meaningful' vote on whatever Mrs May agrees with Brussels. That could raise the prospect of MPs sending the premier back to renegotiate a new package - weakening her hand in the talks - and potentially triggering a second referendum. Shadow business secretary Clive Lewis has indicated he does not want to vote for the Brexit Bill at third reading tomorrow Bill O'Reilly has refused to apologize to Russian President Vladimir Putin after calling him 'a killer' during an interview with Donald Trump. The Fox News host said last night that the Putin Administration in Moscow demanded an apology after O'Reilly questioned Trump over why he respected the Russian leader in an interview aired before Sunday'sSuper Bowl. O'Reilly said he's working on the apology, but it might not come for another six years. 'Apparently the Putin administration in Moscow demanded that I, your humble correspondent, apologize for saying ol' Vlad is a killer,' O'Reilly said. 'So I'm working on that apology. Might want to check in around 2023.' Bill O'Reilly said on Tuesday that he's 'working on an apology' for Russian President Vladimir Putin after calling him 'a killer', but suggested that the apology wouldn't come for many years O'Reilly, right, branded Putin 'a killer' during an interview on Sunday with President Donald Trump, left, which has caused anger among officials in the Kremlin Putin has the option to run for a second presidential term in 2018. If he wins, he will be in office until 2024. Following O'Reilly's comments in the original interview, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov criticized the TV host yesterday. He said: 'We consider such words from the Fox TV company to be unacceptable and insulting, and honestly speaking, we would prefer to get an apology from such a respected TV company.' During the interview, O'Reilly asked Trump about his future relationship with Putin. Trump in response asked how 'innocent' the United States had been in its dealings abroad Putin has been accused of ordering the death of political opponents but the Kremlin has strongly denied the allegations describing them as 'false' and 'politically motivated' Trump replied: 'I do respect him, but I respect a lot of people. That doesn't mean I'm going to get along with him.' The president continued that he would 'appreciate' assistance from Russia in dealing with ISIS.' Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov, pictured, demanded an apology from O'Reilly and Fox News O'Reilly responded that Putin 'is a killer'. Trump defended Putin claiming: 'There are a lot of killers. We've got a lot of killers. What do you think? Our country's so innocent?' US intelligence agencies have accused Moscow of having sponsored computer hacking to help Trump win office, and critics say he is too complimentary about the Russian leader. Trump, when commenting on the allegations against Putin in the same interview, questioned how 'innocent' the United States itself was, saying it had made a lot of its own mistakes. That irritated some Congressional Republicans who said there was no comparison between how Russian and US politicians behaved. Putin, in his 17th year of dominating the Russian political landscape, is accused by some Kremlin critics of ordering the killing of opponents. Putin and the Kremlin have repeatedly rejected those allegations as politically motivated and false. Trump, who has said he wants to try to mend battered US-Russia ties and hopes he can get along with Putin, was asked a question about some of those allegations by Fox Business before he won the White House. In January last year, after a British judge ruled that Putin had 'probably' authorized the murder of former KGB agent Alexander Litvinenko in London, Trump said he saw 'no evidence' the Russian president was guilty. He said: 'First of all, he says he didn't do it. Many people say it wasn't him. So who knows who did it?' A man suspected of killing three women and attacking a mother in her own home in a cross-state rampage has has shot himself dead during a standoff in a Georgia motel. Police had cornered William 'Billy' Boyette, 44, and Mary Rice, 37, in the West Point motel after a week-long manhunt that began with the death of Boyette's ex-girlfriend, Alicia Greer. Rice - whose relationship with Boyette is not yet clear - was taken into custody by police after the siege. Scroll down for video William 'Billy' Boyettte (left) shot himself after he and alleged accomplice Mary Rice (right) were holed up in a Georgia hotel. He faced capital murder charges after four women were shot The pair were tracked down to this motel in West Point, Georgia, where a stand-off took place. That stand-off ended with Rice in handcuffs and Boyette dead Boyette was suspected of murdering his ex-girlfriend and another woman on Jan 31, killing a woman for her car on Friday, and hurting a fourth woman in a home invasion on Monday The hunt for the suspects spanned Florida, Alabama and Georgia, ending with Boyette's death and Rice's capture on Friday The couple were tracked down to the motel by police on Tuesday after the stolen car they were driving was spotted outside. Rice also used her own name when they checked in. Police surrounded the motel at around 6pm. By 6.20pm the standoff was over and Boyette was dead. It is believed that Boyette's murder spree began after police issued five charges against him for attacking Greer, putting her in the hospital in need of scalp stitches and an MRI. Greer, 30, was found shot dead on January 31 along with the body of another woman, 39-year-old Jacqueline Jeanette Moore. Police say Boyette and Rice also killed hospital worker Peggy Broz, stole her car and later abandoned it. Their final victim was a young mother, Kayla Crocker, who was shot Monday morning during a home invasion. Her vehicle was also stolen and she is now in hospital in critical condition. The bodies of the first victims, Greer and Moore, were found at the Emerald Sands Inn in Milton, Florida, on January 31. Greer's family told WEAR-TV that she had been in a relationship with Boyette since Thanksgiving, but that it had grown increasingly violent. Her father, Wayne Lane, said that two weeks before her death, Boyette 'choked her down to the ground, kicked her in the face, hit her in the head with an unopened two liter bottle of soda, so bad she had to have stitches in the top of her head, had to have an MRI of her skull'. The first victim, Alicia Greer (pictured right with Boyette) had been in a relationship with him since Thanksgiving. He had previously put her in the hospital after savagely beating her The pair are believed to have split up and five warrants were issued for Boyette's arrest after that incident, which Mr Lane believes sparked the start of the murder spree. He explained the charges, saying: 'Assault, kidnapping because he kept her in a hotel room against her wishes, wouldn't let her leave over in Milton at the Blackwater Inn for two days, crushed her phone so she had no contact with the outside.' Mr Lane said the last contact he had with his daughter was a text message conversation in which he asked her if she was back together with Boyette - to which she never responded. Mother of three Greer, was discovered dead with another woman, Jeannette Moore, at the Emerald Sands Inn in Milton, Florida on January 31. It's believed he knew Moore as well It is not known what Greer's relationship was with Moore - but authorities believe that Boyette knew her as well. Greer, 30, was a mother of three children under ten, and had been staying with a relative two days before her death to evade Boyette, though despite please from family members to stay away from him - she agreed to see him. Her mother, Kim Lane, told Fox 10: 'This man murdered my daughter so bad, and shot her so bad, that we cannot have an open casket for her. 'I can't even see my daughter one more time ever again.' This Cobalt car was being tracked by police after Boyette and Rice were believed to have stolen it, but it has since been recovered in Escambia County The next alleged victim of Boyette's spree was 52-year-old Peggy Broz, a respiratory therapist, who was found dead by a family member in her front yard in Lillian, Alabama on February 3. Authorities believe Boyette stole Broz's car, a 2003 Chrysler Concord, and later abandoned it in Escambia County, Florida near the intersection of I-10 and Nine Mile Road. The most recent victim Kayla Crocker, 28, was discovered by a family member around 8am on Monday morning suffering from gunshot wounds. Her two-year-old son was unharmed. The next alleged victim of Boyette's spree was Peggy Broz, left, who was found dead outside her home, followed by Kayla Crocker, right, who is currently in critical condition The most recent victim Kayla Crocker, 28, was discovered by a family member around 8am on Monday morning suffering from gunshot wounds inside her home, pictured here Crocker's white Chevrolet Cobalt was stolen, but she and her two-year-old son survived the attack Video surveillance confirmed Boyette and Rice took Crocker's car to a nearby Shell station and ate at a Hardee's restaurant a short time after the attack Agencies across the Panhandle and southern Alabama were searching for Boyette and Rice until the fatal stand-off Crocker's white Chevrolet Cobalt was stolen and Sheriff David Morgan told local news outlets that video surveillance confirmed Boyette and Rice took the car to a nearby Shell station and ate at a Hardee's restaurant a short time after the attack. The Cobalt has also since been recovered in Escambia County, and a GoFundMe page has been set up to help support her and her son. A Florida Panhandle sheriff's office has doubled the number of deputies on patrol as the search for the two enters its second week. Agencies across the Panhandle and southern Alabama are searching for Boyette and Rice, who had previously been considered a person of interest in the attacks. On Monday she was upgraded to an official suspect. Case: BBC East public affairs correspondent Sally Chidzoy (pictured yesterday) alleges she was called a 'c**p journalist' A BBC investigation into a charity with links to the Chinese secret police was axed because its head of PR was an editor at the Corporation, a tribunal heard yesterday. The alleged conflict of interest was uncovered by one of the BBC's own journalists, Sally Chidzoy, who claims she was forced to drop the story to 'protect' the Corporation. But rather than rewarding her loyalty, BBC bosses are then accused of branding Miss Chidzoy a 'dangerous dog' and putting her under surveillance in a campaign of abuse and isolation. The award-winning reporter a familiar face on the BBC's regional current affairs programme Look East was described as a 'Shitsu' in an apparent play on words of the dog breed shih tzu, the employment tribunal in Cambridge heard. Bosses who had previously praised her rigour and determination allegedly branded her a 'c*** journalist' as part of a two-year bullying campaign. Former police officers at the broadcaster's investigations unit, which probes criminal activity and other wrongdoing by staff, are said to have compiled evidence against her. Miss Chidzoy, who still works at the BBC, said: 'I was subject to a covert investigation by ex-Metropolitan Police officers who populate the BBC investigations unit. In documentation I was repeatedly referred to as a 'suspect'. I was being treated as if I was a criminal. 'The forms used by the investigators included boxes to be completed, relating to gender [and] eye colour.' At one point, bosses are alleged to have falsely imprisoned the reporter and 'ambushed' her so they could check her phone records. Miss Chidzoy, 56, refused to hand over her phone because it would breach her duty to her journalistic sources. Miss Chidzoy claims a personal vendetta was launched against her after she raised concerns over her line manager's involvement with the Centre for Business and Public Sector Ethics Senior Corporation figures are also accused of collecting emails she sent to colleagues, including jokes and responses to social invitations. Miss Chidzoy, who has worked at the BBC for nearly 30 years, said her troubles began when she found out her boss Nikki O'Donnell an editor on Look East was also working for the Centre for Business and Public Sector Ethics charity. The Cambridge charity's website says it researches 'complex, ethical, social and environmental issues'. Miss Chidzoy said she started looking into the charity in 2013, when it was targeted by human rights protesters for supporting a visit to Cambridge University by Chinese secret police. She said: 'During a telephone conversation that I had with the [charity's] director Dr Rosamund Thomas, I was taken aback when told to speak to the organisation's press spokesman, Nikki O'Donnell. The journalist raised her concerns with senior BBC managers, but she was forced to drop her story altogether to 'protect' the BBC 'I replied that the only person I knew of that name was my editor at the BBC. Dr Thomas said that was correct and put the phone down on me.' The journalist raised concerns with managers, but said she was forced to drop her story to 'protect' the BBC. She said: 'I had to spike [scrap] the story so as not to embarrass my employer. 'I clearly could not seek a comment on the story from my own news editor. But without the comment from the organisation, I could not run the story at all.' According to court documents, Miss O'Donnell said she had made a formal declaration about her unpaid charity position. When Miss Chidzoy tried to see the documents, the BBC said it could not find them. It later changed its story, and said the declaration was 'not required in these circumstances'. Disciplinary procedures against Miss Chidzoy ended in August 2015, when she was issued with a written warning that would be held against her for two years Miss Chidzoy said she also raised the alarm over an apparent attempt by Lib Dem MP Norman Lamb to influence coverage while he was a health minister. Mr Lamb sent an email about a story she was working on to an editor, from his personal email address. The email was later leaked to a newspaper and the BBC suspected Miss Chidzoy was responsible, but could not find any evidence. In August 2015, she was given a written warning. She claims she was the victim of discrimination, victimisation and sexual harassment by BBC management. The BBC said it was contesting the tribunal. The hearing continues. Vladimir Putin has ordered his air force to prepare for 'a time of war', Russia's defence minister has revealed. The Russian president has launched a spot check on the country's aerospace forces, in order to 'evaluate readiness' for combat. Air defence systems are set to be deployed, minister Sergey Shoigu revealed. The Russian President has ordered air forces in Russia to prepare for 'a time of war' He stated, TASS news agency reports: 'In accordance with the decision by the Armed Forces Supreme Commander, a snap check of the Aerospace Forces began to evaluate readiness of the control agencies and troops to carry out combat training tasks.' He continued: 'Special attention should be paid to combat alertness, deployment of air defense systems for a time of war and air groupings readiness to repel the aggression.' It comes during heightened tensions with Nato countries, and Putin has been publicly increasing his military strength in recent months. The defence minister said battalion task groups and tactical teams of ground troops had started to 'take steps in order to improve their interaction'. Fighter pilots have been practicing solitary excercises as well, he stated. The disgraced lawyer who hounded British Iraq War veterans for a decade was part of a group of conspiracy theorists, including a Holocaust denier, which plotted legal action even before the Iraq war started, MailOnline can reveal. Phil Shiner, 60, was a member of the Legal Inquiry Steering Group (LISG), which was set up in August 2002 to plan court cases and threaten the Government. British troops went into action in March 2003. The group produced a legal dossier edited by Holocaust denier Nicholas Kollerstrom, 70, who was expelled from UCL in 2008 after publishing 'The Auschwitz Gas Chamber Illusion. He has also claimed the murder of Jo Cox was a hoax, and that her grieving family 'could hardly keep a straight face'. MailOnlines disclosures raise fresh concerns about how Shiner, backed by a team of known radical activists, was given 1.6m of legal aid money for his spurious cases. Government needs to take a long, hard look at itself to work out how these people got away with it,' said Johnny Mercer MP, chair of the Parliamentary inquiry into historic allegations of abuse in Iraq. Tired: Disgraced human rights lawyer Phil Shiner arrives home in Birmingham last week Plot: Holocaust denier Nicholas Kollerstrom, left, and conspiracy theorist James Thring, right, who were both part of the group that plotted legal action with disgraced lawyer Phil Shiner Campaigner: Shiner arrives at the Royal Courts of Justice in London supported by activists Radical: Thring demonstrates in an offensive T-shirt comparing Israel to the Nazis In a further revelation, MailOnline can disclose that Shiner's firm, Public Interest Lawyers (PIL), warned the Government of its plan to bring extensive legal action two months before British troops went into action. The purpose of this letter is to put the UK Government on notice,' PIL threatened in a chilling letter to Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon in January 2003, which was included in the LISG dossier. From the outset of the use of force, various NGOs working in the field will be collecting evidence as to whether the use of force against Iraq adheres to the fundamental requirements of the international humanitarian law. In due course, either before the end of the use of force or shortly after its end, NGOs written and oral evidence will be presented to a tribunal. SHINER: LAWYER WHO TARGETED TROOPS Philip Joseph Shiner was born in a semi-detached home in Coventry on Christmas Day 1956. He was the second of four children of Peter Shiner, a draughtsman, and his wife, Patricia, a teacher. He started work for a firm dealing with insurance claims but found it dull. He joined a practice focusing on environmental law. For a time, he worked for the Birkenhead Labour MP Frank Field. In 1999, shortly before the Human Rights Act came into force, he set up PIL in Birmingham. He has fought many battles for the Left's celebrated causes, including acting for the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament. Shiner forged strong links with Matrix Chambers, the legal home of Cherie Booth QC, the wife of Tony Blair. In 2004, he was awarded Human Rights Lawyer of the Year by Liberty. Mr Shiner, who has been married twice and has five children, says Catholicism remains an essential part of his life and most years he attends a religious retreat on Iona. Advertisement Shiners firm brought the vast majority of 3,380 allegations of wrongdoing by British troops to the Iraq Historic Allegations Team (IHAT). It received millions of pounds of public money but failed to secure a single conviction yet caused misery to hundreds of veterans. The lawyer had 12 charges of misconduct found proved against him by the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal last week, including cold-calling to find potential complainants in Iraq and making payments to alter evidence. Its clear these individuals were up to something before a shot was fired, yet they still accessed 1.6m of legal aid to facilitate the whole thing, said Johnny Mercer MP. Described as an ad hoc collection of legal experts and peace activists, LISG was in fact a mobilisation of 11 Left-wing academics and radicals, and two practising solicitors, Shiner and his employee, Nicola Freedman. The group also included 9/11 conspiracy theorist James Thring, who has links to a former Ku Klux Klan grand wizard and claims that Jewish elders control financial markets and who gave a speech at a Parliament event hosted by Jeremy Corbyn. A representative of the controversial Stop The War Coalition, which Labour MPs have branded 'disreputable' and more 'more anti-West than anti-war', was also part of the group. Its no surprise that Shiner is associated with these people,' Johnny Mercer MP said. 'There are more like him, I have no doubt. I look forward to pursuing them in the same manner in which they pursued the soldiers over all these years. Shiner and Kollerstrom whose career in mainstream academia ended in 2008 when he published an article entitled 'The Auschwitz Gas Chamber Illusion were two prominent figures in the LISG, according to Professor Andrew Williams, an academic who was also a member. The driving force behind the project was the late George Farebrother, Shiners business partner and a prominent CND activist, who knew Kollerstrom personally. The two men co-edited a book questioning the Falklands War in 1988, as well as working together editing the LISG dossier. Support: Shiner poses with Shami Chakrabarti, who lavished praise on him in 2008 Denial: Books by Holocaust denier Nicholas Kollerstrom, left, and the author lectures, right Inflammatory: Thring gives a lecture at a Parliamentary event hosted by Jeremy Corbyn. The Labour leader claimed he didn't know Thring, and said he only took the floor when the scheduled speaker, a notorious anti-Israel activist, was late Kollerstrom has become increasingly controversial in recent years. He has claimed that 9/11 and 7/7 were staged, and that the murder of Jo Cox MP was a Government hoax to influence the Brexit vote. He told a radio programme in November: The family of Jo Cox, the mother and sisters, at the memorial service, they could hardly keep a straight face. There was no grief at all on their faces, absolutely none. Professor Williams said that Shiner and Kollerstrom were associates. Phil Shiner knew everyone [in LISG], he said. He was in the thick of it. He was instrumental in getting the legal side of things together. Whatever letters were written, he did them. Shiner was struck off the roll of solicitors after the string of misconduct and dishonesty charges against him were proved in one of the most expensive ever brought by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA), with costs expected to exceed the 475,000 reached before the trial. He was ordered to pay interim costs of 250,000, with a full means test to determine further costs to follow. Yesterday, it was announced that Shiner could be stripped of an honorary Doctorate of Law that he received from the University of Kent in 2012. There is no suggestion that any of the members of LISG, including Shiner and Freedman, knew about the views of Kollerstrom or Thring at the time. The ultra-right mayor of a Hungarian village has banned Muslims from wearing traditional dress and issuing a call to prayer in what he describes as a 'war against Muslim culture'. In doing so, Laszlo Toroczkai said he hopes to attract other Christian Europeans who object to multiculturalism in their own countries to migrate to Asotthalom on the Hungarian border with Serbia. 'We primarily welcome people from western Europe - people who wouldn't like to live in a multicultural society,' Toroczkai told the BBC. 'We wouldn't like to attract Muslims to the village.' Scroll down for video At the height of the refugee crisis, as many as 10,000 people crossed the border from Serbia into Hungary every day - with the crossing point just minutes fromAsotthalom Toroczkai, pictured centre, previously hit the headlines when he issued a chilling video discouraging refugees from entering the country The village is in a remote location in the southern Hungarian plains, about two hours from capital Budapest. 'It's very important for the village to preserve its traditions. If large numbers of Muslims arrived here, they would not be able to integrate into the Christian community. 'We can see large Muslim communities in western Europe that haven't been able to integrate - and we don't want to have the same experience here,' he says. 'I'd like Europe to belong to Europeans, Asia to belong to Asians and Africa to belong to Africans. Simple as that.' He has banned prayer calls and face veils as part of what he describes as 'the war against Muslim culture' (file picture) He has issued the ban saying 'we wouldn't like to attract Muslims to the village' (file picture) Recent migration has stoked anti-immigrant feeling in Hungary, and across eastern Europe. At the height of the refugee crisis, as many as 10,000 people crossed the border from Serbia into Hungary every day - with the crossing point just minutes from Asotthalom. Toroczkai previously hit the headlines when he issued a chilling video discouraging refugees from entering the country. The village is in a remote location in the southern Hungarian plains, about two hours from capital Budapest In the intimidating film, the mayor begins by speaking directly into the camera with his warning message. Action-movie style music is then played in the background as a simulated chase sequence filmed from the air - featuring a motorbike, a helicopter and two thick-set men on horseback - takes place. Migrants are told they will be arrested and could face prison if they are caught trying to enter the country illegally. The slick footage explained how the Hungarian border is now manned by thousands of policemen and the army The 'action movie' also has an aerial shot of a car and motorbike travelling along the border The bizarre footage closes with Toroczkai standing in a field wearing Terminator-style shades, surrounded by burly border guards in camouflage as the music ends. He then uses Google Maps to show how the land route from Serbia to Germany is longer through Hungary than Croatia and Slovenia. A heated shouting match broke out in the Commons chamber last night after Alex Salmond accused deputy speaker Lindsay Hoyle of cutting off a female colleague. Shortly before midnight - after seven hours of debate on the Government's Brexit plans - Mr Hoyle tried to move the debate to an end, cutting SNP MP Joanna Cherry off by saying: 'I think the honourable member has come to an end.' She used her speech to accuse the Government of 'hubris and contempt' in rejecting SNP demands for Scotland to be given full consultation on Brexit negotiations. A heated shouting match broke out in the Commons chamber last night after Alex Salmond accused deputy speaker Lindsay Hoyle of cutting off a female colleague Shortly before midnight - after seven hours of debate on the Government's Brexit plans - Mr Hoyle tried to move the debate to an end, cutting SNP MP Joanna Cherry off by saying: 'I think the honourable member has come to an end.' A furious Mr Salmond stood up to raise a point of order, telling Mr Hoyle: 'It's quite clear that the honourable member had not resumed her seat, Sir. Being in the chair accords you many privileges but you cannot reinterpret the wishes of an honourable member who is on her feet' A furious Mr Salmond stood up to raise a point of order, telling Mr Hoyle: 'It's quite clear that the honourable member had not resumed her seat, Sir. Being in the chair accords you many privileges but you cannot reinterpret the wishes of an honourable member who is on her feet.' The SNP and opposition MPs jeered as they complained of a lack of time to debate the amendments. Ms Cherry stormed out of the chamber in protest, before Mr Hoyle responded: 'As the chair I have the right to make decisions on this House. What I would say is quite rightly when I wanted to bring her in, which I did ... I certainly don't expect advantages to be taken of the chair on the agreements that I make.' Referring to the Brexit Bill, he said: 'It is a very serious matter, it is so serious that I want to hear what the minister has to say.' Earlier, Mr Salmond claimed the debate on legislation to allow Theresa May to start formal Brexit talks was being rushed through the Commons. SNP and Labour MPs had reacted angrily after just one vote was held on the first group of amendments to the European Union (Notification of Withdrawal) Bill. SNP MP Joanna Cherry used her speech to accuse the Government of 'hubris and contempt' in rejecting SNP demands for Scotland to be given full consultation on Brexit negotiations The SNP and opposition MPs jeered as they complained of a lack of time to debate the amendments Former shadow chancellor Chris Leslie said there had been a 'knife in proceedings' to curtail debate and the opportunity for MPs to vote. Deputy speaker Natascha Engel replied: 'The deputy chairs and clerks spent a very, very long time looking at every single amendment in detail, looking at every single group in detail over a period of three days, and we came to the decision that we would put the lead amendment to a division and then we would move on to the second group.' Mr Salmond, also raising a point of order, said: 'There is no challenge to the chair in any of these points of order but honourable members are entitled to point out that this programme motion is railroading debate on the biggest constitutional decision facing this country for 50 years.' It was a feisty day in the Commons chamber as MPs debated the Brexit bill. Earlier in the night Michael Gove accused Mr Salmond of being 'sexist' in the Commons. The former cabinet minister claimed SNP MP Mr Salmond prevented a woman colleague from intervening on a speech by Tory MP Charlie Elphicke. This was done so Mr Salmond could then intervene himself during the debate on the European Union (Notification of Withdrawal) Bill, Mr Gove claimed. Raising a point of order, Tory Mr Gove said: 'Immediately preceding the right honourable gentleman for Gordon intervening, his neighbour sought to intervene and then he moved to tell her to sit down so that he might intervene. 'Is such sexist behaviour in order in this House?' Sir Roger Gale, the Tory MP chairing proceedings in the chamber, replied: 'Happily, as you know, that is not a matter for the chair.' Wendy Littlefield, from Nevada, has sued Homeland Housewares, who manufacture and distribute the kitchen gadget after she sliced her right hand A woman has sued a fashionable blender company, claiming the device exploded which led to the spinning blades chopping her right hand. Wendy Littlefield, from Henderson in Nevada, had used her Magic Bullet NutriBullet 900 series machine to blend canned tomatoes and beans. However, in a lawsuit, she claims the device 'suddenly malfunctioned', causing severe injuries to her right hand which left her with severe nerve damage and cuts. She claimed her injuries were caused by the negligence of Homeland Housewares, who manufacture and distribute the kitchen gadget. She said they should have known the machines were 'unreasonably dangerous and defective when used for its intended use'. She claims she is entitled to compensation - for an amount yet to be determined - as well as general damages for pain, suffering, emotional distress and disfigurement. In her lawsuit, her attorneys at Abir Cohen Treyzon Salo, LLP, said she had incurred medical and hospital bills and will require further medical care for the injuries she sustained. Her husband Darryl also alleges that, as a result of his wife's injuries, their 'marital association has been altered'. He also claimed to have suffered 'mental anguish' from seeing his wife sustain the horrific injuries to her hand. Wendy, pictured with daughter Cambrie, who described how 'she rides a roller coaster of never-ending pain' Mrs Littlefield claimed the device exploded and tore out chunks of her hand leaving her unable to feel Darryl and Wendy Littlefield are suing Homeland Housewares, who manufacture and distribute the kitchen gadget Writing on Facebook, her daughter, Cambrie said: 'My mother's life will never be the same, considering she will likely never be able to use her dominant hand again and she rides a roller coaster of never-ending pain and constant surgeries. This is a tragedy I hope no one else has to endure.' The kitchen gadget, which can smash and blend fruit, vegetables and nuts into nutritious drinks, is at the center of many people's New Year health regime. It is favored by celebrities and even the Duchess of Cambridge is rumored to have one. MailOnline have contacted NutriBullet for a response. A young Apex gang member is facing deportation after he was jailed for terrorising a family of four during a home invasion in Melbourne. Bill Tang, 19, was sentenced to two years in youth detention after he bashed a father with rocks and an umbrella before stealing his luxury BMW in Brighton East in April 2016. Tang, together with a group of young men, broke into the Melbourne home while the family slept. A young Apex gang member is facing deportation after he was jailed for terrorising a family of four during a home invasion in Melbourne (unidentified alleged gang members pictured) A fight broke out when the father tried to defend his family. Tang was on bail at the time for terrorising an elderly couple in Rosanna, Melbourne's north, in December the previous year. 'To wake from a deep sleep to find a man standing over me ... was just terrifying,' the grandmother said in a victim impact statement. Tang faces deportation on his release from youth detention after his visa was cancelled, the Herald Sun report. He is the fifth person allegedly linked to the violent Apex gang to face deportation. Three are from New Zealand and the fourth is Sudanese. The first to be deported was New Zealand man Henry Robati, 19, who was sent back to his home country in April 2016. The remaining three men remain in Australian jails for assaults, armed robberies, car theft and home invasions. They are appealing their visa cancellations. Sudanese man Issac Gatkuoth, 19, was sentenced to youth detention for an armed and ice-fuelled carjacking in November 2015. New Zealand man Henry Robati, 19, (pictured) was sent back to his home country in April 2016 Sudanese man Issac Gatkuoth, 19, was sentenced to youth detention for an armed and ice-fuelled carjacking in November 2015 Gatkuoth (pictured) denied he was a member of the notorious Apex gang and is appealing his visa cancellation Gatkuoth was in a stolen BMW with four others when they rammed another car from behind in Frankston, the court heard. Gatkuoth, wearing a smiley mask, walked up to the car, pointed a sawn-off shotgun at the driver's head and ordered the man to hand over his keys. He pleaded guilty to armed robbery and being a prohibited person carrying a firearm. He denied he was a member of the notorious Apex gang and is appealing his visa cancellation. Bill Tang is the fifth man with alleged links to the notorious Apex Gang to face deportation (unidentified gang member pictured) Immigration minister Peter Dutton (pictured) said he was still focused on revoking non-citizens' visas if they committed crimes against Australians Immigration minister Peter Dutton said he was still focused on revoking non-citizens' visas if they committed crimes against Australians. He said in January he would not rule out deporting children as young as 16 from Australia for serious crimes. 'I think this should send a very clear message to these people that if they cherish the life that they lead here in Australia they need to start respecting Australians,' Mr Dutton said. Mr Dutton has had the power to revoke visas of non-citizens who fail a character test or who have been convicted of an offence punishable by more than a year in jail since 2014. Classmates of Nyah James (pictured) were told that she had died after many had taken part in their school concert The mother of a 14-year-old girl who allegedly killed herself because she was being bullied claims her tormentors must 'pay for what they've done'. Nyah James was found dead at a house in Blaenymaes, Swansea, by her 45-year-old mother Dominique Williams as she tried to wake her for school on Monday. And Ms Williams claims her 'beautiful daughter' took an overdose after being bullied over Facebook and Snapchat. She told Mirror Online reporter Scarlet Howes: 'I only found out she was being bullied after her death. One of my step-daughter's cousins was told by another girl Nyah had been bullied. 'I'm aware messages were being sent on Snapchat and Facebook. Since then, a few people have come forward to say she had been targeted at school. 'Her phone has been seized by police who are investigating. Whoever is at the end of it need to realise what they've done - we need justice.' Nyah's death is being investigated by police after the teenager was found dead at a house in Blaenymaes, Swansea Parents and pupils at Bishop Gore School in Swansea were told of the news that Nyah had died after a production of High School Musical on Monday night. Yesterday, her mother posted a photograph online of Nyah - also known as Nyah Williams - along with the tagline 'Together Against Bullying'. A family statement released by police said: 'Nyah was a beautiful vibrant 14 year old child that had her whole life ahead of her. 'Due to circumstances that were beyond our control we lost our little girl. 'She had so much ahead of her and wanted to travel and see the world. She loved her friends, her family and we loved her with all of our hearts. Our life will never be the same again.' A JustGiving page has been set up in order to help the family pay for funeral costs Speaking at the family home yesterday afternoon, a woman living at the house said: 'We have spoken to the police and given a full statement to them.' 'We've paid tribute in that and there is a crowd funding page set up to raise money.' The woman at the three bedroom end of terrace property in Blaenymaes added: 'We don't want to say any more, we're too upset.' A JustGiving page set up in order to help the family pay for funeral costs said: 'Nyah Williams was taken away from her family too soon. 'And what makes this awful story - a loving mother finding her vibrant and beautiful young daughter passed away even more heartwrenching? 'Nyah was being bullied. These bullies tormented her and pushed her so far that in the end, she decided that only option [sic] was left open to her. 'Her self esteem brought so low by the carelessness of bullies that she told no one of her situation. Parents and pupils at Bishop Gore School in Swansea were broken the news that Nyah had died after a production of High School Musical on Monday night 'No one of the heartache and the anguish that became so consuming, that she took her own life. Her family are devastated. 'Faced with the shock of such a sudden and unexpected loss, they now also have to think about the reality of a funeral, and saying their final goodbyes. 'We are making this effort to ease the burden of cost. We want to support not only a local family, but a family by extension.' Shocked friends paid tribute to Nyah, describing her as a 'gorgeous princess'. One school friend said: 'Rest in peace gorgeous girl, we're all trying to stay as strong as we can we all miss you so much.' Another added: 'RIP you will be missed by everyone we all love and miss you. Fly high beautiful angel.' A spokesman for the school said: 'Everyone at Bishop Gore Comprehensive School has been deeply saddened to hear about the passing of a pupil. 'Trained staff are on hand to help with students and staff and our thoughts are with the family.' A South Wales Police spokesman said: 'We are investigating the sudden death of a 14 year-old female at an address in the Blaenymaes area of Swansea.' For confidential support call the Samaritans on 116123 or visit a local Samaritans branch. See www.samaritans.org for details India will overtake the United States as the world's second-largest economy by 2050 according to a newly published report. Experts at PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) claimed emerging economies such as India, China, Brazil and Russia will boom at the expense of the advanced G7 nations such as the United States, Britain, France and Germany. The report, 'The long view: how will the global economic order change by 2050?', compares 32 countries by ranking their GDP and Purchasing Power Parity, which assesses the standard of living in each country and what people can buy on an average wage. Scroll down for video India's economy is set to overtake the United States as the world's second largest by 2050 according to a new report prepared by experts at PricewaterhouseCooper. Pictured is the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) in Mumbai, India Emerging economies are set to boom while areas in the US rust belt, pictured, will stagnate Experts claimed the world's economy could double in size by 2042. According to PwC: 'China has already overtaken the US to be largest economy based on GDP in PPP terms, and could be the largest valued at market exchange rates before 2030. 'India could overtake the US by 2050 to go into 2nd place and Indonesia could move into 4th place by 2050, overtaking advanced economies like Japan and Germany. 'By 2050, six of the seven largest economies in the world could be emerging markets.' Russia will be the largest economy in Europe by 2050 according to the report. Researchers believe Vietnam could be the world's fastest growing economy in the period until 2050, pushing it to 20th in the world. The UK could improve its standing in the world if it continues to allow in talented migrants and remain open to trade following Brexit. Countries such as Mexico and Indonesia will improve dramatically over the next 30 years In Europe, Turkey could overtake Italy by 2030 depending on the future political direction of the country under President Erdogan. Many countries, according to the authors of the report, are being held back by corruption or what is euphemistically called 'governance standards'. Nigeria and Colombia are seen to have potential. Poland is set to be the fastest growing country in the EU. John Hawksworth, PwC's chief economist and co-author of the report said: 'We will continue to see the shift in global economic power away from established advanced economies towards emerging economies in Asia and elsewhere. 'The E7 could comprise almost 50 per cent of world GDP by 2050, while the G7s share declines to only just over 20 per cent.' Researchers claim Vietnam, India and Bangladesh could see growth rates averaging around five per cent per year for the next three decades. Hawksworth added: 'Growth in many emerging economies will be supported by relatively fast-growing populations, boosting domestic demand and the size of the workforce. 'This will need, however, to be complemented with investments in education and improvement in macroeconomic fundamentals to ensure there are sufficient jobs for the growing number of young people in these countries.' Workers in developed countries are likely to have higher average incomes, unless they live in Italy which facing long-term economic decline. The report claims that over the next 30 years Vietnam will jump 12 places in the rankings Wage levels in emerging countries will improve but they will not reach advanced country levels until well after 2050. Hawksworth said: 'Average income gaps between countries will reduce over time, but this process will still be far from complete by 2050. In 2016, US GDP per capita was almost four times that of Chinas and almost nine times that of Indias. 'By 2050, these gaps are projected to narrow so that average US income levels may be around double Chinas and around three times Indias but it is also possible that income inequality within countries will continue to rise, driven in particular by technological change that favours higher skilled workers and the owners of capital.' PwC said trade between emerging nations and established economies will benefit both sides. Hawksworth added: 'Businesses need to be patient enough to ride out the short-term economic and political storms that will inevitably occur from time to time in these emerging markets as they move towards maturity. 'But the numbers in our report make clear that failure to engage with these emerging markets means missing out on the bulk of the economic growth we expect to see in the world economy between now and 2050.' Two samples of mould Sir Alexander Fleming used to produce penicillin are set to go under the hammer as part of an incredible archive of the scientist's belongings. Both specimens of the yellow-green Penicillium Notatum fungus are contained on a glass disc and date back to the 1930s when Fleming was pioneering the life-saving discovery. Also included in the collection - estimated at some 15,000 - is a poignant letter from a father thanking the world-renowned scientist for saving his daughter's life. Both specimens of the yellow-green Penicillium Notatum fungus are contained on a glass disc and date back to the 1930s Also included in the collection - estimated at some 15,000 - is a poignant letter from a father thanking the world-renowned scientist (pictured) for saving his daughter's life The samples helped pave the way for the development of antibiotics which went on to save millions of lives across the world. Also among the archive is a letter written from Fleming to a relative in which he says he in good health 'thanks to penicillin.' The collection also contains the scientist's speech marking the 50th anniversary of the death of his own role model, French chemist Louis Pasteur. It was assembled by Fleming's niece Mary Anne Johnston and now belongs to a direct descendant. The archive of one of the moulds as well as letters, photographs and a journal is now set to sell for 8,000 at auction. The second mould, on which Fleming inscribed, 'The mould that first made Penicillin,' is expected to sell for 6,000. This self portrait by Fleming is also set to go under the hammer at Bonhams in March Left, One of the two moulds Fleming gave to his niece and right, a Nobel prize bronze medal. In 1945 Fleming, Florey and Chain shared the Nobel Prize in Medicine The letter of thanks in the archive was written by Norman Lake, a surgeon and father of a 10-year-old girl. He wrote in the 1950s: 'My little daughter, aged 10, and very dear to her mother and myself, is just recovering from a sharp attack of loba pneumonia and I am convinced as one can be that her recovery can be attributed to penicillin. 'I should be an ungrateful wretch if I did not write to express my gratitude. 'As a clinician I know much of the gratitude and thanks which I receive from patients and their relatives should properly go to you. 'There are daily large numbers of people who feel a personal gratitude to you for your great work.' The archive was assembled by Fleming's niece Mary Anne Johnston (pictured with her uncle) and now belongs to a direct descendant SIR ALEXANDER FLEMING Sir Alexander wrote numerous papers on bacteriology, immunology and chemotherapy, including original descriptions of lysozyme and penicillin Sir Alexander Fleming was born at Lochfield near Darvel in Ayrshire, Scotland on August 6th, 1881. He spent four years in a shipping office before entering St. Mary's Medical School, London University. He qualified with distinction in 1906 and began research at St. Mary's under Sir Almroth Wright, a pioneer in vaccine therapy. He served throughout World War I as a captain in the Army Medical Corps, being mentioned in dispatches, and in 1918 he returned to St.Mary's. He was elected Professor of the School in 1928 and Emeritus Professor of Bacteriology, University of London in 1948. He was elected Fellow of the Royal Society in 1943 and knighted in 1944. Sir Alexander wrote numerous papers on bacteriology, immunology and chemotherapy, including original descriptions of lysozyme and penicillin. Dr Fleming died on March 11th in 1955 and is buried in St. Paul's Cathedral. Advertisement In 1945 Fleming, Florey and Chain shared the Nobel Prize in Medicine and this Nobel prize bronze medal will be part of the sale Fleming with his second wife Amalia. The scientist wrote numerous papers on bacteriology, immunology and chemotherapy and died on 11 March 1955 Mathew Haley, of the books and manuscripts department at Bonhams, said: 'It is unusual for us as fine art and antique auctioneers to be selling mould but one of them is rather pretty in a funny sort of way. THE PENICILLIN BREAKTHROUGH In 1928, while working on influenza virus, Alexander Fleming observed that mould had developed accidently on a staphylococcus culture plate and that the mould had created a bacteria-free circle around itself. He was inspired to further experiment and he found that a mould culture prevented growth of staphylococci, even when diluted 800 times. He named the active substance penicillin. Advertisement 'They might not be much to look at now but they are of humongous significance in the world of medicine. 'These samples were used by Alexander Fleming to develop penicillin and bring us to where we are today in terms in curing people from bacterial infections and saving lives. 'Fleming was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1945 and actually gave a few samples like these to celebrities. 'What is nice about these two is that they were given to a member of his family and so they are much more personal and intimate. 'Because it is an archive, it gives you much more context to these samples, such as the nice letter from a father saying his daughter survived thanks to penicillin.' The sale takes place on March 1 at London auctioneers Bonhams. A young mother has opened up about the moment she discovered she was pregnant just a week after her partner was killed trying to save his best friend's life. Melissa Mitchell, from Melbourne, welcomed her little bundle of joy Elliann James Hall on Saturday - a daughter she describes as her 'miracle baby'. Her birth announcement comes after Callum Hall, 21, died when he was struck by a train travelling 65km/h as he tried to stop Jason Kahukiwa from taking his own life last May. Speaking to Daily Mail Australia, the 22-year-old widow said she felt she had fulfilled her high school sweetheart's dream of having a big family. Young mother Melissa Mitchell welcomed her 'miracle baby' Elliann James Hall on Saturday The mother-of-two (pictured with her partner Callum Hall and their daughters Valerie and Lilliana) has opened up about the moment she found out she was pregnant with her third baby Her birth announcement comes after her partner (centre) died when he was struck by a train as he tried to stop his best friend Jason Kahukiwa (far right) from taking his own life last May 'It sounds strange but I felt like my body was trying to tell me I was giving him what he always wanted - a big family,' she said. 'Callum grew up with a half-sister so he always wanted to have five kids. So when he died, I was freaking out, thinking I had wasted everything. 'But just a week before his funeral, I found out I was having another one on the way. It felt like a miracle. 'As horrible as it felt at the time, it was the only good thing that was coming into my life after he died.' The mother-of-three gave birth to a beautiful healthy daughter over the weekend. 'I see her dad when I look at her,' she said. 'She looks just like him, she has his eyes.. His brows. Just a splitting image of her father. 'Callum always thought it was amazing that our two older daughters - Valerie, aged four, and Lilliana, two, were born on February 2 and 3. Our miracle baby was born on February 4.' The 22-year-old widow said she felt she had fulfilled her partner's dream of having a big family Her daughters Valerie, aged four, and Lilliana, two, playing with their new sister Elliann The three sisters bonding over the weekend after the loving family welcomed a new addition Ms Mitchell described the doting father as a 'selfless' man who once pulled over so he could help an elderly woman cross a road. 'He was the most selfless person I've ever met,' she said. 'I can't even explain. Everything about him was just perfect.' Ms Mitchell said she's looking forward to telling her three daughters stories when they're older, especially about their 'hero' father. 'I will tell them about the kind of person he was and how much he loved playing with them and taking Valerie to ballet and swimming lessons,' she said. 'The girls are still young but my eldest has been amazing. She always says sweet things like "daddy is watching us from heaven".' She described her heartbreak of losing her partner of five years. 'I was an emotional wreck' Ms Mitchell said as she revealed the incredible support she received from the midwives at Sunshine Hospital who helped her through the ordeal. The couple share two daughters Valerie and Lilliana - and now a third daughter Elliann The pair met in high school and were together for five years before Mr Hall tragically died Ms Mitchell described her partner as a doting father who always wanted a big family Ms Mitchell said she and the two men met in high school - and Mr Kahukiwa, who lived just down the road from the couple, was close to them. But Mr Kahukiwa was secretly tackling a mental illness after the deaths of his two unborn children took a toll on his life. The two men decided to go for a drive one evening after Mr Kahukiwa broke down in tears when he showed up at their doorstep in Werribee. As Mr Mitchell tried to stop Mr Kahukiwa jumping in front of the city-bound Laverton train, their pair were struck, about 300 metres from the car just before midnight. The train driver used his emergency brakes, but was unable to save the men. 'After having children of my own, I can understand the place he was in,' Ms Mitchell told Daily Mail Australia. 'Jason was closed to me. I could never be mad at him because I don't know how I would have coped if it happened to me. 'He was bottling everything up inside. When he lost his first child, he tried to act like he was okay. Every time we mentioned it, he would brush it off. I don't think he wanted to look weak.' The pair met in high school and were together for five years before Mr Hall tragically died When the mother fell pregnant for the third time, she knew she was expecting a miracle baby The train driver used his emergency brakes, but was unable to save the men. The scene in Laverton just after the men were killed is pictured Ms Mitchell (left) said she and the two men met in high school - and Mr Kahukiwa (right), who lived just down the road from the couple, was close to them A tearful Ms Mitchell said she hopes by speaking out about her story, she could encourage others suffering from mental illness to seek professional help. 'I wish people would talk about depression more and seek professional help before it's too late,' she said. 'None of us knew the stigma around male needing help. We think men are supposed to be strong but everyone has feelings. 'I think there could've been a different outcome if Jason sought help earlier. Hopefully by sharing my story, I could help one person stop another family from going through this. 'Given what happened made me proud and heartbroken at the same time.' For confidential support, call the Lifeline 24-hour crisis support on 13 11 14. Oozing walls, swarms of tens of thousands bees; it all sounds like something from a B horror movie. But for one Texas homeowner, that nightmare was a reality. Latanja Levine returned to her Houston home to find honey pouring down her walls, ruining her carpets, drapes and furniture. Video footage captures the moment the sticky substance began dripping from the roof onto the floors below. Scroll down for video Latanja Levine returned to her Houston home to find honey pouring down her walls, ruining her carpets, drapes and furniture Video footage captures the moment the sticky substance began dripping from the roof onto the floors below 'It's coming in from the ceiling,' Levine, 74, told CW39. 'I'm mopping it up, mopping ... the walls. It's all over the curtains here just honey.' 'You can see it's coming through cracks and crevices in the crown molding,' Levine said. And after four days, the bizarre problem shows no sign of stopping. Pest control estimate that the four-bed home, worth an estimated $227,000 according to Zillow, was infested with as many as 50,000 of the stinging insects. Pest control estimate that the home was infested with as many as 50,000 of the stinging insects (a member of pest control removes a handful of bees from the home) Levine's ordeal had begun when she called in roofers for her two-story Houston home, Texas Workers were able to humanely smoke out the honey bees - an endangered species in the United States - but Levine (pictured_ says they have not yet been able to capture the Queen Levine's ordeal had begun when she called in roofers for some repairs, who then alerted her to the bee problem. She had called in the professionals to remove the hive and prevent bees from accessing her home. But when she returned home that evening, she had found her property covered in honey. Workers were able to humanely smoke out the honey bees - an endangered species in the United States - but Levine says that so far, they have not been able to capture the Queen. Until the Queen is evicted, Levine will have to put up with the pests. A pregnant mother lost her unborn daughter and her husband after a DUI motorist with two previous convictions for driving drunk smashed into their family car. Barbara Barranco, 23, is recovering in hospital after the collision which took place in Victorville, California, in the early hours of Saturday morning. Her 35-year-old truck driver husband Angel died in the crash along with their unborn daughter who she was due to give birth to in two months. They were traveling in their black Honda Accord when Alexander Delapaz Perez, 56, hurtled past a stop sign in his grey Hyundai and plowed in to the driver's side of the family's car. Mrs Barranco's mother, Monica Alarcon, was in the back seat and was also injured in the crash. Angel Barranco, 35, died and his wife pregnant wife Barbara, 23, lost their unborn baby when a drunk driver plowed in their family car on Saturday. Their older children (pictured with the couple above) were not with them at the time and are unharmed All three were taken to hospital with major injuries where Mr Barranco was later pronounced dead. San Bernardino County Sheriff's Office confirmed Perez had two previous convictions for driving under the influence. He was charged with Gross Vehicular Manslaughter While Intoxicated and Driving Under the Influence Causing Great Bodily Injury after being treated in hospital for minor injuries. Delapaz-Perez was booked in to the Highest Desert Detention Center, a sheriff's office spokesman said. Mr and Mrs Barranco have a young son and daughter. Ms Alarcon, 42, said she was devastated by her son-in-law's death. Friends described Mr Barranco (left with his wife and right with their daughter when she was a baby) as a 'remarkable' father and husband 'My son-in-law didn't deserve this. He was a great person, and my little granddaughter that's not with us. Monica Alarcon, 42, is recovering in hospital from major injuries 'They should've been here,' she told KTLA. Of their accused killer, she said: 'He should have never been able to get in that car and drive.' It was not clear on Tuesday morning how serious Delapaz-Perez's previous convictions are or whether anyone was harmed in either incident. Family and friends are now fundraising to help Mrs Barrasco manage medical bills and funeral expenses. Mr Barranco is described as a 'remarkable' husband and father in a GoFundMe page dedicated to the family. It has so far raised $2,400 of its $20,000 goal. Antonio Bagnato, 28, was charged with abducting and killing Wayne Schneider at a luxury villa in the seaside resort of Pattaya in 2015. He will likely never face the firing squad Antonio Bagnato has been found guilty of murdering a bikie associate and sentenced to death in Thailand - but will likely never face the firing squad or be given the lethal injection. On Tuesday, the 28-year-old Australian was charged with abducting and killing Wayne Rodney Schneider at a luxury villa in the seaside resort of Pattaya in 2015. The mangled body of the Hell's Angels biker gang member was later found naked and with a broken neck after being buried in a shallow grave by the side of a road. Thailand rarely carries out the death penalty, with the latest figures indicating there were 649 prisoners under sentence of death at the beginning of 2015. In 2003 the country changed its official method of execution from the firing squad to lethal injection, and its last execution was carried out on two convicted meth traffickers almost a decade ago in 2009. Bagnato, Mr Schneider's former body guard and business associate, was arrested in Cambodia's capital city Pnomh Penh in December 2015. He was flown to a military base where he was interrogated and charged. It's unclear whether he was flown back to the same military base, or escorted to one of Thailand's many jails. Thailand's notorious Bang Kwang Central Prison is usually where prisoners on death row are sent. It's unclear whether Bagnato was sent back to a military base or to Bang Kwang Bang Kwang is notorious for its cruel treatment towards inmates and is nicknamed 'Big Tiger' because it 'eats those on the inside'. Pictured is the prison's execution chamber, although Thailand rarely carries out the death penalty. The last execution in the country was in 2009 Bagnato (left) has been sentenced to death in Thailand after being found guilty of kidnapping and murdering Sydney Hell's Angels biker gang member Mr Schneider (right) Thailand's notorious Bang Kwang Central Prison is usually where prisoners on death row are sent. Roughly a quarter of the inmates are awaiting execution. The maximum-security men's jail, just north of Bangkok, was designed for prisoners with life or death row sentences and has an execution chamber. Bang Kwang is notorious for its cruel treatment towards inmates and is nicknamed 'Big Tiger' because it 'eats those on the inside'. Inmates at the squalid jail wear chains for their first three months and get just one bowl of rice to eat a day - and it is more than likely be rotten. If Bagnato is sent to Bang Kwang he will join Australian DJ Jake Mastroianni, who was recently transferred to the prison and is currently serving out two life-sentences in Thailand for drug possession. Inmates at the squalid Bang Kwang Central Jail wear chains for their first three months and get just one bowl of rice to eat a day - and it is more than likely be rotten. Thai police alleged Bagnato, who was a kickboxer, was the mastermind behind the abduction and killing of Schneider Bagnato was arrested in a hotel in Phnom Penh, Cambodia's capital city in December last year Judge Sirichai Polkarn, at the Pattaya criminal court, read Bagnato's guilty verdict on Tuesday to a packed court room. 'The first defendant [Bagnato] is found guilty of all charges and according to the criminal code, the penalty is execution for the murder and deprivation of liberty, plus a year in prison for hiding the body,' the judge said. Bagnato, who appeared before the court in prison clothes and leg irons, had pleaded not guilty, claiming he was at a night club on the evening of the killing and then slept at a woman's apartment. It was uncertain whether Bagnato's lawyers would lodge an appeal. Tyler Gerard, a 22-year-old American, was arrested as he tried to cross the border into Cambodia for his role in the murder. Gerard was sentenced to three years in prison for deprivation of liberty but his sentence was reduced for helping the police with the investigation. He could be released by the end of the year because of time already served. Bagnato is seen after his arrest in Cambodia in December over the kidnapping and murder of Mr Schneider Mr Schneider's body was later found naked and with a broken neck after being buried in a shallow grave (pictured) by the side of a road Bagnato had pleaded not guilty, claiming he was at a night club on the evening of the killing. Pictured, authorities at the site where Mr Schneider was found Australian Luke Hunt has already been convicted of aiding and abetting Bagnato by driving him and his family to the Cambodian border as he allegedly tried to flee. A member of Bagnato's family branded the verdict 'ridiculous' and said: 'We've got hearts and they're hurting right now.' Thai police alleged Bagnato, who was a kickboxer, was the mastermind behind the abduction and killing of Schneider. Schneider's naked body was found in a shallow sandy grave in Sattahip province in Chonburi, 30 kilometres from the villa. Thai police said conflicts over a multi-million dollar drug network extending from Europe to Asia lay behind the killing. Luke Hunt has already been convicted of aiding and abetting Bagnato (pictured) Bagnato is seen being taken away by police following his arrest Bagnato, who appeared before the court in prison clothes and leg irons, had pleaded not guilty Bagnato's family branded verdict 'ridiculous', saying their hearts were hurting Two strippers who tried to blackmail former England rugby star Danny Cipriani have been spared jail because he failed to pay one of them 1,500 he promised her if she aborted his child, a judge said. Lisa Murphy, 39, began bombarding the sportsman with requests with the help of her friend Violet Smith, 29, after she fell pregnant with Ciprianis child following a fling. The exotic dancers, who worked at gentlemans club Junction Nine in St Albans, Hertforshire, threatened to expose the rugby star in the newspapers unless he gave Ms Murphy money, demanding 15,000 from his publicist. Two dancers have avoided jail for blackmailing former England rugby star Danny Cipriani (pictured outside court) for thousands of pounds after one of them aborted his child Lisa Murphy (left), 39, from Wootton, Northampton, and Violet Smith (right), 29, of Slough, Berkshire, were handed a 22-month sentence suspended for two years Both defendants admitted blackmailing the 29-year-old Wasps fly-half when they appeared at Kingston Crown Court but were spared jail time by Judge Peter Lodder QC. The judge described it as an 'exceptional case' and added that 'no one came out of the episode well', also criticising Cipriani for failing to honour a pledge of 1,500 to help the pregnant young woman. Sentencing them to 22 months imprisonment suspended for two years, he said: Danny Cipriani repeatedly offered to help but nothing was forthcoming. He said he would pay for the abortion. Danny Cipriani did not act according to his early promises. Whether this was his own choice or in accordance with advice from a PR agency or something else is not for me to judge.' He added that Cipriani 'did not appear to have fully appreciated the extent' of Murphy's 'difficulties'. Im satisfied by that time Lisa Murphy was feeling increasingly desperate and continued to suffer from the emotional consequences of her condition,' he said. Im satisfied that Violet Smith was motivated by concern for your well being. It is against that background the threat to go to the newspapers was made. This is a very unusual case, both of you have suffered, you now have a criminal conviction, and each of you have lost your jobs. This is such an exceptional case, I will suspend the sentence. He added: It is an understatement to say nobody comes out of this episode very well.' During the hearing, Wendy Hewitt, prosecuting, described how Murphy and Cipriani had a 'casual relationship'. They met a couple of occasion where they had sexual relations. They did not want a committed relationship,' she said. Ms Murphy (pictured) had aborted Cipriani's baby in the summer of 2015 after a casual relationship with the rugby star Its clear from all the messages there was a certain degree of affection between them. Ms Hewitt told the court Murphy then got pregnant and informed Mr Cipriani by Whatsapp. Cipriani responded: Hey baby thats a shock to me too. Miss Hewitt said: She said he did not have to worry and she wanted him to know she was not going to keep the baby. Hes not in a position to keep the baby either. He repeatedly offers her his support. It is Mr Cipriani who first brings up the subject of money and asks how much it would cost on the basis he would pay for it all. Ms Murphy tells him as far she understands its all free and on the NHS. The pair continued to message about other matters, including Ciprianis failure to be selected for the England squad. Cipriani now plays for Wasps as fly-half. He is pictured evading the tackle of Chris Robshaw of Harlequins But after terminating the baby, Murphy suffered complications and was unable to work. Miss Hewitt said things 'started to sour' in the middle of September 2015 and Murphy began struggling financially. Murphy told Cipriani she earned 1,000 a week and had spent five weeks off work. She texted him: I didnt want to ask because Im so independent. Is there anyway you can help me because Im self-employed and not getting paid. Miss Hewitt said it was at this stage that Cipriani seemed to 'have a change of heart'. When Murphy asked him Are you going funny with me?, Cipriani replied: 'Not being funny, I didnt expect you to ask me to pay your salary, thats quite different. Murphy continued to message asking for the money and repeatedly texted the rugby star, often without reply. Miss Hewitt said: Shes clearly upset, and text messages repeatedly refer to the procedure shes undergone and refers to losing the child on a number of occasions. Former England rugby star Danny Cipriani was blackmailed for 15,000 by two strippers In October, Murphy recruited her fellow colleague Smith, who messaged Mr Cipriani using Murphys phone to accuse him of shirking his duty. She said: My name is Violet Smith and Im a friend of Lisas. Shes just been taken to hospital because the abortion of your baby she had has caused her life threatening problems, I just thought you would like to know Mr Cipriani. Cipriani responded: I would like to help her out but I cant physically be there. Miss Hewitt added that Smith then told Cipriani that she worked as a stripper. The court was told how, on 11 October, Murphy demanded 1,500 to cover the costs of the abortion and also asked for the number of his publicist to negotiate a deal. The pair then began to negotiate with the publicist for more money, while also contacting the Sun newspaper to sell the story. Miss Hewitt said: There was then a discussion about how much they can get. Smith then messaged him saying just wanted you to know Ive told Lisa to go to the papers with all of this". It is Violet who deals entirely with the publicist. Murphy believed she could get The Sun to pay 12,000 for the story, while Smith was trying to get over 15,000 from Ciprianis publicist. The pair also discussed getting more money because of a cancer scare which led to Murphy undergoing chemotherapy. When the pair continued to ask for more money, Mr Cipriani contacted his agent, who alerted the police. Hannah Duncan, for Murphy, said she had been prescribed anti-depressants after the abortion, and had been reluctant to ask for the money. She said: She had no idea that what she was doing towards the end of this case was illegal. She was entitled to go to the papers, whatever one thinks about the morality of it she was allowed to go. The Sun offered considerably more money, a lot more than what she was asking for from Mr Cipriani. She didnt want to cause embarrassment to Mr Cipriani. She did end up meeting Mr Reilly (Sun reporter Jon Reilly), but that was very much under the chaperone of her co-defendant. She was increasingly frustrated, increasingly desperate, and increasingly upset. After she had the abortion his interest fell off a cliff. Ms Duncan added that Murphy had struggled with depression, and wasnt a shameless cold and calculating schemer, as some have portrayed her. Nigel Mitchell, defending Smith, told the court she too did not realise what she was doing was illegal, and just wanted to help her friend. He said: She has never met Mr Cipriani. She had heard that her friend was pregnant by him, he had offered to pay towards the abortion which she accepted. She was told by Ms Murphy that she had not received any. Her intention throughout was to support her friend, there was nothing in this for her to gain. Mr Mitchell told the court Smith had three children, and had to give one of them back to the father after reports of the blackmail emerged in the press last year. He added: Shes not by nature a criminal, stupid maybe. In June, the rugby ace was convicted of drink-driving after getting behind the wheel having spent the night drinking cocktails and champagne. He was found guilty of the offence following a trial at Westminster Magistrates Court and ordered to pay a total of 7,620 in fines and costs. He was also banned from driving for 18 months. The rugby union player claimed he was shocked that the breathalyser was positive, despite admitting he had drunk two espresso martinis and a glass of champagne less than an hour earlier. Smith, of Slough, and Murphy, of Wootton, Northampton, both admitted blackmail and were both sentenced to 22 months imprisonment suspended for two years. 'Sobering' new figures reveal that more than half of Europeans favour banning immigration from predominately Muslim countries. A survey carried out by London-based think-tank The Royal Institute of International Affairs found that 55 per cent of Europeans across 10 countries think further immigration from mostly-Muslim countries should stop. The research by the institute, based at Chatham House, was carried out before Donald Trump introduced his controversial immigration ban in the US. The Royal Institute of International Affairs found overall that 55 per cent of Europeans who responded think immigration from Muslim-majority countries should stop According to research by the Royal Institute of International Affairs, 47 per cent of people in the UK support a ban on immigration from Muslim-majority countries Trump signed an executive order immediately banning migrants arriving from seven nations - Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen - for 90 days. The move sparked widespread protests across the world. Researchers quizzed more than 10,000 people from 10 European states, asking them if they agree with the statement: 'All further migration from mainly Muslim countries should be stopped.' Opposition to future migration is largest in Poland, where 71 per cent said they oppose more migrants arriving from mostly Muslim countries. In Austria this number was 65 per cent, in Germany it was 53 per cent and nearly half of Britons, 47 per cent, said they were in favour of a ban. Debate has raged over Donald Trump's controversial 'Muslim ban' after he signed an executive order suspending immigration from seven countries An estimated 40,000 marched in London at the weekend to show their opposition to Donald Trump's controversial immigration laws A statement from Chatham House said: 'Our results are striking and sobering. They suggest that public opposition to any further migration from predominantly Muslim states is by no means confined to Trumps electorate in the US but is fairly widespread.' A quarter of respondents said they had no opinion, while 20 per cent disagreed with stopping immigration. Opposition to Trump's policy has been widespread, with German Chancellor Angela Merkel saying it is 'not justified to put people from a specific background or faith under general suspicion'. An anti-Trump protester in front of the Eiffel Tower as thousands joined a rally in the heart of Paris at the weekend And yesterday House of Commons speaker John Bercow told MPs he did not want to invite Trump to speak, stating: 'I feel very strongly that our opposition to racism and to sexism and our support for equality before the law and an independent judiciary are hugely important considerations in the House of Commons.' But populist right-wing figures such as Geert Wilders, Nigel Farage and Matteo Salvini have praised the US President. Wilders last week attempted to plaster trams in the Netherlands with 'Stop Islam' posters. Far-right Dutch politician Geert Wilders last week tried to cover trams in the Netherlands with adverts that stated 'Stop Islam' A statement from Chatham House said: 'There is evidence to suggest that both Trump and these radical right-wing parties reflect an underlying reservoir of public support.' The study showed that opposition is especially high among those over 60, with 63 per cent backing a ban. By contrast, 44 per cent of 18 to 29 year olds favoured a curb on immigration from Muslim countries, and less than half of degree holders would support the measure. China is establishing a channel to manage President Donald Trump's aggressive posture by establishing links to the president through his daughter Ivanka and son-in-law Jared Kushner. Ivanka Trump won positive reviews in state-run Chinese media after she visited the Chinese embassy in Washington in celebration of the Chinese New Year. During the visit, she shook hands with the Chinese ambassador, Cui Tiankai. Daughter Arabella wore red, payed with puppets, and participated in the event. Later, she won admirers across the Pacific after her mother released a video of her singing a Chinese a song in Mandarin. Ivanka Trump surprises guests at the Chinese Embassy by turning up for Lunar New Year celebration with her daughter Arabbela, where she spent time with Chinese Ambassador Cui Tiankai 'Happy New Year' Ivanka wrote on Instagram in Mandarin. 'Arabella singing a song she learned for #ChineseNewYear,' Ivanka Trump wrote. 'Wishing everyone an amazing year to come during these days of celebration. ' Ivanka Trump, a former Trump Organization executive who gave up her post to move to Washington with her family, posted the video of Arabella singing while dressed in traditional Chinese clothing. The video was viewed millions of times in China. Her husband, Jared Kushner, has been providing a direct link for the Chinese ambassador outside of official State Department channels from his post as a White House counselor. They are also neighbors, residing in the same tony Kalorama neighborhood in Washington where the Chinese embassy is located. Kushner and Cui 'have had an extensive ongoing dialogue that has been positive,' a White House official told Bloomberg News. China is using the direct lines to try to stave off a potential trade war or even a military confrontation, the publication reported. It noted that President Trump has yet to connect by phone with Chinese President Xi Jinping. Heading home: Ivanka dashed off with her daughter after making the rounds at the event, during which she never removed her $2,500 coat Welcome: She attended the event with her daughter Arabella as the guest of China's ambassador to the United States, Cui Tiankai (Ivanka above shaking hands with her host after arriving at the event) President Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner has an 'extensive ongoing dialogue' with the Chinese ambassador, according to a White House official Making the rounds: Ivanka warmly greeted guests as she worked the room at the event Secretary of State Rex Tillerson during his confirmation hearing said China's construction of military bases on islands in the South China sea would not be recognized. 'We're going to have to send China a clear signal that, first, the island-building stops and, second, your access to those islands also is not going to be allowed,' he said, in remarks that were affirmed by the White House. ''It's a question of if those islands are in fact in international waters and not part of China proper, then yeah, we're going to make sure that we defend international territories from being taken over by one country,' said White House spokesman Sean Spicer last month. Powerful voices within the White House, including Stephen Bannon and trade advisor Peter Navarro are deeply skeptical of China's role. Speaking at the event, Ambassador Tiankai spoke of her desire for 'win-win cooperation' between US and China instead of a 'zero-sum or cold war mentality' A video clip of President Donald Trump's granddaughter singing in Mandarin to celebrate Lunar New Year have gone viral in China The little girl was also filmed saying happy new year in Mandarin in 2015 Arabella, who has been learning the language since she was 18 months old, donned a red embroidered dress as she sang a poem in Mandarin to celebrate the Chinese New Year in 2016 Year of the Rooster: Ivanka Trump attended a party celebrating the lunar new year on Wednesday night at the Chinese Embassy in Washington DC (Ivanka above with daughter Arabella) There are other channels as well. Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi spoke recently with Trump national security advisor Michael Flynn. Ivanka Trump's visit won approving words in the state-run Global Times, which remarked that Trump did not send a written greeting but did dispatch his acting secretary of state and his daughter. 'Trump's lack of a new year greeting has been interpreted as maintaining a hard-line stance toward China,' the paper wrote. 'Ivanka Trump's attendance at the Chinese new year celebration sent an opposing message, which was seen as balancing Trump's harsh posture.' The op-ed continued: 'Among the recent first families of the US, Ivanka Trump is regarded as the most influential first daughter, whose words and deeds are also believed to carry more weight. Her appearance at the Chinese Embassy, with a certain political and diplomatic significance, could be invigorating to the China-US relationship.' The article continued: 'Since his official swearing-in on January 20, Trump has hit out on different fronts, lashing out at Germany, Japan and Mexico and issuing a ban on travelers from seven predominantly Muslim countries. However, despite his stern rhetoric about China, Trump hasn't taken any action so far, preferring to remain in a seemingly psychological war with Beijing.' The clip posted by Trump's daughter Ivanka, after their visit to the Chinese Embassy in Washington D.C., shows 5-year-old Arabella Kushner wishing a happy new year while playing with a traditional Chinese puppet. Arabella started learning Mandarin when she was only 18 months old, and the video has been viewed over 18 million times alone on Chinese social media website Weibo since being uploaded to Ivanka's Instagram page on Thursday. Donald's granddaughter has a history of celebrating the Chinese New Year, and this is the third year in a row that Ivanka has shared videos of her little girl performing a song or poem in honor of the holiday. Last year, Arabella donned a red Chinese-embroidered dress as she sang a poem in Mandarin. The businesswoman's only daughter was filmed saying happy new year in Mandarin in 2015 as well. Sydney has been warned to prepare for more wet weather with up to 40mm of rain expected to fall on Wednesday before the heatwave returns on Thursday. One day after Sydney was battered by torrential downpours and flash flooding, Weatherzone has again warned the city to brace for heavy rain. Weatherzone forecasters predict up to 40mm of rain will fall on Wednesday, welcomed by a morning thunderstorm. Scroll down for video One day after Sydney was battered by torrential downpours and flash flooding, Weatherzone has again warned the city will be hit with heavy falls Heavy rain and strong winds are predicted for the New South Wales coastline. Temperatures are also expected to remain in the low to mid 20s on Wednesday. While temperatures plummeted to the low 20s during Tuesday's torrential rain episode, Sydney's reprieve from the heat is expected to come to an end on Thursday. Wet weather predicted to saturate Sydney on Wednesday, one day after torrential rains on Tuesday Group of women protect themselves from the rain under colourful ponchos during Sydney's wet weather on Tuesday Cars are pictured engulfed in flood waters during Tuesday's unprecedented rain episode A white and black car are seen sitting in floodwaters which engulfed parts of Sydney on Tuesday Weatherzone predicts temperatures will soar back up to the high 30s this week, reaching a top of 39 degrees on Saturday. The scorching temperatures are expected to remain in the mid to high 30s on Sunday before dropping back down to the mid-20s on Monday. The high temperatures predicted for the weekend follow a sweltering summer which saw people flock to Sydney's beaches in search for a cool reprieve. Two female revellers are seen escaping the scorching heat at Sydney's Nielsn Park Beach 'Heatwave' and 'heaving' one man captioned this photo of a group of swimmers at Bronte beach, Sydney The wet weather warning follows torrential rain and flash flooding on Tuesday which threw the city into chaos. In just one hour 48mm of rain fell in Sydney's inner-west suburb of Marrickwille, 45mm in Canterbury, and 35mm in Sydney's centre. Flooding was also reported in Penrith, Parramatta, Wollongong, Campbelltown, Port Kembla and inner-city suburbs. Cars were engulfed in the floodwaters and homes were damaged after the heavy downpour collapsed roofs. The State Emergency Service were forced to rescue people trapped in floodwaters at Marrickville and Zetland. 'Flash flooding in Ultimo' this woman captioned this photo of her wading through the water on Tuesday This young woman is seen grimacing as she stands in knee-deep flood waters as heavy rain continues to pour down Cars are pictured stuck in the deep floodwaters after torrential rain hit parts of Sydney on Tuesday morning Bartholomeo Joly de Lotbiniere has gone on trial accused of raping a woman at York University in June 2014 A 19-year-old student found the courage to tell police about being allegedly raped by a man after discovering he had appeared on University Challenge, a jury heard. Bartholomeo Joly de Lotbiniere appeared on the programme as part of the York University team in 2015 - more than a year after the alleged incident occurred in June 2014. During police interview the alleged victim said she wanted to do something about the incident a year later following the defendant's appearance on the BBC2 quiz programme. The complainant said a tweet by Richard Osmond had brought attention to Joly de Lotbiniere - granting him immediate social media fame due to his unique name and posh voice. She told the court via a police interview that she 'wanted to do something' about the alleged rape at the hands of the defendant after seeing his 'quite different' name on Twitter - which is when she knew 'something was up'. In a video interview played to a jury at York Crown Court, the woman described how she and the defendant had been out drinking as part of a group. When she returned to the hall of residence, she said, Joly de Lotbiniere tried to kiss her and said to her: 'We should have sex.' The woman said she did not take him seriously and went to the toilet. After she came out and went into her room, she said, the defendant followed her in. She said he kissed her before taking off her top and bra, picking her up and putting her on the bed. The woman told the police officer interviewing her that she tried to push Joly de Lotbiniere off as he lay on top of her and raped her. Bartholomeo Joly de Lotbiniere appeared on the programme as part of the York University team in 2015 - more than a year after the alleged incident occurred in June 2014 Prosecutor Gerald Hendron told the jury how, after the alleged attack, the defendant told the woman 'pretend this never happened' and then 'tell no one about this'. Two days after the incident, the woman texted Joly de Lotbiniere and said: 'I thought I'd let you know I wasn't overly comfortable with what happened on Thursday night.' The prosecutor said that Joly de Lotbiniere replied: 'Neither am I. I was a disgrace, I did a very stupid thing and I am very sorry for what I did. 'I just hope you can forgive me at some point. I'll try not to act like a bloody 14-year-old again and start acting my age. Sorry.' Bartholomeo Joly de Lotbiniere (centre) leaves York Crown Court following his hearing Mr Hendron told the jury that in October 2014, the defendant texted the woman again, saying: 'I wanted to apologise to you in person tonight. 'I wanted you to know I'm very sorry for what I did and that there's no enmity between us. And that we can move on as mutual friends.' The prosecutor said that in a police interview, Joly de Lotbiniere told officers his apologies related to him being unable to get properly aroused during the sexual encounter. Judge Paul Batty QC told the jury the issue in the case is one of consent. Joly de Lotbiniere, of Kensal Rise, London, denies rape and assault by penetration. The trial continues. A sheriff's officer kept bloody evidence from a decade-old murder case hidden in his storage shed for years. Rick Ratzlaff, of Canon City, Colorado, made the grisly discovery after he purchased the storage unit in an auction in December. When he opened it up, he discovered a bloody rope, an ax and two blood-stained socks inside a manila envelope labelled 'Evidence,' the Denver Post reports. The storage unit had belonged to Fremont County Sheriff's Office Lt. Det. Robert Dodd but was put up for auction when Dodd fell behind with his payments. Meanwhile the evidence, came from the 2006 murder case of Candace Hiltz. Hiltz was just 17 when she was found shot dead in her family home in Copper Gulch on August 15. Her brother James Hiltz was a person of interest in the murder but never was charged. Now the Colorado Bureau of Investigations, CBI, has launched a probe into why evidence of her case was removed from police records and kept in a sheriff's personal storage. Rick Ratzlaff (left) of Canon City, Colorado, discovered evidence pertaining to the decade-old murder case of Candace Hiltz (right) Detective Dodd has been placed on administrative leave during the investigation. Hiltz's furious family claim the hidden evidence is proof of a cover-up as they called for justice for the murdered teen. '(Dodd) had to steal the evidence from the basement of the sheriff's office. He did that either to protect himself or someone else,' added Dolores Hiltz, the murder victim's mother. 'It just seems like something was covered up by somebody,' said Heather Hiltz, Candace's sister-in-law. 'My family is hoping whoever was involved in this, whoever did it, they need to pay for what they've done.' Ratzlaff, who purchased the storage locker in Fremont County for $50 last month, said he'd been horrified to discover the murder case evidence. 'I couldn't believe it was in the locker and after seeing the items in there it was just kind of horrific, you know? To see blood covered items and know somebody was murdered,' he said. Ratzlaff, who purchased the storage locker (pictured) in Fremont County last month, said he'd been horrified to discover the murder case evidence When he opened it up, he discovered a bloody rope, an ax and two blood-stained socks inside a manila envelope labelled 'Evidence' He reached out to local law enforcement and claims that Dodd and fellow Fremont County Sheriff Jim Beicker swiftly contacted him and warned him not to tell anyone else about what he'd found in the storage shed. But he said he felt uneasy about the whole situation. 'Why would they have all of this old murder evidence?,' he said. When Beicker and FCSO Commander Jeff Worley came to inspect the shed, Ratzlaff decided to make a secret audio recording of their meeting. 'This is odd, this is really, really odd. It's a mess, it's a frickin' mess,' Beicker is heard saying. 'A cop is not supposed to take evidence home. That's not right,' Ratzlaff said to Beicker. Beicker told him that he will have someone from the CBI investigate, unaware that Ratzlaff had already contacted them. A spokesperson from the CBI confirmed an investigation was underway but would not comment further. The discovery has reopened old wounds for Hiltz's family who have long had suspicions about their daughter's death. Dolores says that days before her daughter's murder, a cop had visited their family home over accusations that her son James, who has mental issues, had trespassed. Ratzlaff claims that Dodd and Fremont County Sheriff Jim Beicker (pictured) contacted him and warned him not to tell anyone else about what he'd found in the storage shed Police arrived at the scene after Ratzlaff reported the murder case evidence in his new storage lock up She says that her daughter had become upset over the deputy's tone and ended up losing her temper and shouting at him. When he threatened to arrest her, she responded by saying she'd seen the officer accepting envelopes from drug dealers. The officer stormed out the house, Dolores Hiltz said. Three days later, the family dog was found murdered with an ax and tied to a tree with a blood stained rope - both of which were found in the storage unit. Two days after that, on August 15, Candace - a teen mom - was found almost decapitated and stuffed under her bed. Blood was splattered all over the house. Candace's 11-month-old daughter Paige was unharmed. Dolores Hiltz says the investigation quickly focused on her son James as a suspect. But she has always insisted that it is impossible. An autopsy and blood spatter report revealed the vicitm had been shot almost simultaneously from the front and back. Hiltz was just 17 when she was found shot dead in her family home in Copper Gulch on August 15, 2006 Candace Hiltz, with her cousin Kathleen Paiva as a child, was found almost decapitated and stuffed under her bed 'How could one man shoot at the same time from two different directions? How could a totally broken man not leave any evidence?' Hiltz asked. Hiltz says that her son had a phobia of people - including his nine siblings - which had forced him to live in the woods and spend time in Colorado Mental Health Institute. She says there is no way he could have worked with someone else to plot and kill his sister. She claims that the investigation was bungled and made basic mistakes such as failing to secure the crime scene. But the family is hopeful that with the involvement of the CBI, the case will be reopened, their son's name will be cleared, and they will finally get justice for their murdered daughter. Fremont County Sheriff's Office declined to comment to reporters. Individuals who were arrested in Washington, DC, during protests over the inauguration of Donald Trump have been targeted as part of a social media investigation into their Facebook activity by police. At least two individuals, who have not been identified, were part of the more than 230 people arrested on January 20 - inauguration day - and charged with felony rioting, which is punishable by up to ten years in prison. Those who have been charged had their phones seized by DC Police, who have been holding on to the devices since the arrests. A subpoena issued by the US Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia on January 27, shows police asking Facebook for subscriber information for an arrestee. Another arrestee received an email from Facebook's 'Law Enforcement Response Team' telling the individual that he or she is part of a social media investigation. Scroll down for video At least two people who were arrested in Washington, DC, during protests over the inauguration of Donald Trump (pictured above) are now part of a social media investigation UPDATE: US Dist Attorney of DC & DC police subpoenaed Facebook for account data on numerous inauguration protestershttps://t.co/kpCPEwxLde pic.twitter.com/Nei9RKH089 George Joseph (@georgejoseph94) February 6, 2017 Rachel Reid, a spokesperson for the DC Metropolitan Police Department, told CityLab that it 'does not comment on investigative tactics' after the site obtained copies of the emails. Meanwhile, Facebook told CityLab: 'We don't comment on individual requests.' Depending on which legal process Facebook chose to use for the arrestees depends in terms of how much data they can seize for investigation. A search warrant would allow Facebook to give away information including 'messages, photos, videos, timeline posts, and location information', according to Facebook's guidlines. A subpoena, which is what at least one arrestee faces, or a court order would give authorities less information about an individual's account. It would still, however, include the person's 'name, length of service, credit card information, email address(es), and a recent login/logout IP address(es)'. IP data points could show where the arrestees were the day of the protests. Freddy Martinez, director of the Chicago-based police accountability group Lucy Parsons Labs told CityLab that it could even further the prosecution process. A subpoena could give authorities person's 'name, length of service, credit card information, email address(es), and a recent login/logout IP address(es)'. IP data points could show where the arrestees were the day of the protests 'Asking for IP data could point toward a physical locationi.e. an apartmentthat people stayed in and could widen the net for further prosecution of other protesters,' he said. DC officials have been criticized for the arrests that took place on inauguration day. Prosecutors have dropped cases against nine individuals since January 20, including four journalists who were arrested while chronicling the actions of a group of self-described anarchists. Last week, one arrestee's Gmail account showed activity from his or her mobile phone, which is still in police possession. It's not unusual for authorities to ask social media sites like Facebook and WhatsApp for data about users. Law Enforcement officials in the United State requested information on the Facebook accounts of 38,951 users between January and June 2016 - the latest data available. The majority of the requests were through search warrants and subpoenas, according to Facebook's government requests report. Officials received data information in 80 per cent of cases. This is the touching moment five-year-old Walker Myrick was pictured telling his identical twin brother all about his first day of kindergarten. The little boy never got a chance to meet his brother Willis who tragically died in their mother's womb from a rare condition before they were born. So when Walker started school in Alabama - a milestone they should have reached together - he was eager to share the moment with his twin. Five-year-old Walker Myrick was pictured resting against his identical twin brother's grave in Alabama in 2012 so he could tell him all about his first day of school His mother Brooke Myrick told Dailymail.com she took the photo in 2012 knowing she was capturing an important moment that showed their amazing connection. Ms Myrick said Walker had run ahead as she was getting her baby out of the car and she found him resting against his brother's grave telling him all about his day. 'He told us he just wanted to tell Willis about school,' she said. 'It is special for me and that photo meant so much to me. When we lost him I just always wanted Walker to never forget Willis.' Willis died in Ms Myrick's womb at 24 weeks from twin to twin transfusion syndrome (TTTS), a condition that occurs when identical twins share a placenta but one is getting more blood flow than the other. Even though they never met, Walker, now aged nine, regularly asks to visit his twin brother's grave so he can speak to him and leave presents. Walker, now aged nine, visited his brother's grave with his mother Brooke in December 2016 to leave a Christmas present Brooke and her husband Michael found out they were pregnant with the twins in October 2006. Willis died in her womb at 24 weeks from twin to twin transfusion syndrome Even though they never met, Walker, now aged nine, regularly asks to visit his twin brother's grave so he can speak to him and leave presents 'I do think they share a special bond. They were identical twins so I think it will always be there,' Ms Myrick said. WHAT IS TWIN-TO-TWIN TRANSFUSION SYNDROME? Twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome (TTTS) is when two identical twins share the same placenta, but one is getting more blood flow than the other. This means that one twin is growing faster, and puts pressure on the body of the baby that isn't getting enough blood. TTTS occurs about 15% of the time in identical twins. Fraternal twins are not at risk for this syndrome because they do not share a placenta. It can be potentially fatal to both foetuses Advertisement 'I think he feels a sense of peace at the grave site. Even though years have passed, he has told us he believes his brother is always with him. He does speak of him often and shares his brother with his friends.' Ms Myrick and her husband Michael found out they were pregnant with the twins in October 2006. Twins ran in her family with her mother having a twin sister. It wasn't until she reached 24 weeks that they were told Willis had passed away during a routine ultrasound checkup. Doctors told the couple Willis had been dead for about a week before they found out. 'They were my first born and it was heartbreaking thinking that we were bringing home twins,' Ms Myrick said. 'They were born at 11.22pm on March 6 and it was the most bittersweet moment. It was so hard. I wasn't ready to see Willis yet, I wanted to wait until the drugs had wore off. While Walker (pictured) survived, his brother Willis died at 24 weeks. The condition that killed Willis occurs when the blood vessels of the babies' shared placenta are connected - meaning one maybe receives more blood flow that the other Walker always speaks about his twin Willis and often asks to go to his grave for special occasions like their birthday 'I saw him two days later. My mind was finally prepared at that time. I held him and kissed him and sang to him. Walker was two pounds fifteen ounces and he went straight to the NICU.' The twin to twin transfusion syndrome that killed Willis occurs when the blood vessels of the babies' shared placenta are connected. It results in one baby (referred to as the recipient) receiving more blood flow, while the other baby (referred to as the donor) receives too little. The Myrick family now work to raise awareness of TTTS given they didn't know it existed before Willis' death. They hold an annual fundraiser on the boys' birthday on March 6 - the Walker and Willis Birthday Walk - to raise funds for the TTTS Foundation. For more information about the fundraiser, visit the Walker and Willis Birthday Walk Facebook page. Brooke said Walker always wanted to bring football or baseballs to leave at the grave or just to 'show Willis' Five Northwestern students were drugged and three of them sexually assaulted at on-campus fraternity houses, frightening reports at the university allege. Some of the alleged attacks took place at Sigma Alpha Epsilon's chapter on January 21 and were reported to the university's Sexual Harassment Prevention Office last Thursday. Four girls fear they were date raped at the event and two say they were sexually assaulted after being given drugs. Another anonymous report alleges that a fifth girl was drugged and sexually assaulted at another fraternity house on February 2. Northwestern issued a security alert in light of the allegations on Tuesday. It's not clear who reported the claims to university officials. Five female Northwestern students are feared to have been drugged and some sexually assaulted at fraternity houses including Sigma Alpha Epsilon's (above 'On January 21, 2017, four female students attending an event at the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity house in Evanston were possibly given a date-rape drug. 'The report alleges that two of the students believe they were also sexually assaulted. 'In addition, on February 3, 2017, the University received an anonymous report alleging that on February 2, 2017, a female student was sexually assaulted, possibly involving use of a date-rape drug, after attending an event at another fraternity house. 'The report is unclear as to where the assault may have occurred. 'The University's Sexual Harassment Prevention Office is conducting an inquiry into these reports, and anyone with knowledge of these alleged incidents is urged to contact the Title IX Coordinator,' a statement released on Tuesday said. No one from the university would comment further as the investigation continued on Tuesday morning. It's not clear how old any of the students involved are. Sigma Alpha Epsilon's national chapter said it was investigating the allegations. 'The Sigma Alpha Epsilon headquarters has launched an investigation into a sexual-assault allegation regarding our chapter at Northwestern University. 'In addition, we will be working with university administrators and chapter leaders to gain more information on the incident, and our staff member specifically assigned to Title IX matters will be working with our investigative team. 'Any form of assault or sexual misconduct by anyone, brother or not, college man or not, is completely unacceptable, and we do not tolerate actions that are inconsistent with our mission,' spokesman Brandon Weghorst told DailyMail.com. Its Northwestern chapter president did not immediately responded to the allegations. S.A.E. was re-named ''sexual assault expected' by female students across the country in The Hunting Ground, a widely acclaimed 2015 documentary which shed light on the epidemic of campus rape and attacks in the US. A fifth girl was drugged and may have been sexually assaulted at another fraternity house on the university's campus (pictured), according to officials Northwestern University issued a security alert on its website on Tuesday in light of the allegations The fraternity's headquarters said the label was 'an unfortunate stereotype'. 'Our members pride themselves on being gentlemen and leaders in their community... when we have individuals who deviate from our values, we take disciplinary action,' Mr Weghorst added. S.A.E.'s Yale chapter was forced to admit it had violated the university's sexual misconduct policy during a 2014 initiation ceremony. It was temporarily banned from taking part in university events as a result of the breach, details of which were never fully made public. Northwestern University president Morton Schaepiro has not commented on the allegations The Yale chapter was also once accused of turning black female students away from parties where brothers were falsely accused of telling them: 'White girls only'. No evidence of such treatment was found in a university investigation. The fraternity also had its housing privileges revoked by Stanford University in 2014 after a scathing report found it had created a 'hostile' environment for female students which breached the school's sexual harassment code. Its brothers have also been caught up in racism scandals at other schools. Students at the University of Oklahoma were expelled in 2015 after being filmed singing a racist chant en route to a party. The fraternity was permanently excluded by Oklahoma University as a result. An investigation later revealed that the song, which referenced lynching and taunted black students as to why they would never be accepted in to its fold, was used at five other chapters. Other members have died while taking part in booze-fueled initiation rituals. The hazing was eventually banned by the fraternity's national chapter. Millennial Australians are the most unhappiest people in the world because they fear of never owning a home, a new survey has found. A global study by accounting firm Deloitte of people born between 1982 and 1999 found that the housing crisis has produced a generation of pessimists. Those aged between 18 and 35 are concerned the property affordability could hamper their desire of owning their dream home. Millennial Australians are the most unhappiest people in the world because they fear of never owning a home, a new survey has found (stock image) Those aged between 18 and 35 are concerned the property affordability could hamper their desire of owning their dream home (stock image) Deloitte Australia chief operating officer David Hill said a large number of Generation Y believed skyrocketing prices were preventing them from entering the market. 'In Melbourne and Sydney, around the issue of housing affordability, you think of Australia as the lucky country but there are Millennials out there saying maybe it's not so lucky anymore and that's because of housing,' he told The Daily Telegraph. 'There is the Australian dream that everyone can own their own home but there are a big number of Millennials who don't see that as an objective for them.' He said the pressure of purchasing their first home was being influenced from their parents - Generation X - because they were able to afford their properties. 'In an ideal world they would like to [purchase a home], and they saw their parents did and they can't even afford an apartment,' Mr Hill said. The study found just 28 per cent of Gen Y expected the economic situation to improve while just eight per cent thought they were better off than their parents. A five-bedroom home in Melbourne's Prahan has been listed on the market from $2.5 million Romanian Alin Apopei, 27, dialled was allegedly recorded on a voicemail telling 25-year-old Denisa Silman (pictured) Im going to kill you now' during the incident in London A boyfriend who attacked his prostitute girlfriend so viciously she was nearly beheaded accidentally recorded her dying moments on a voicemail, a court heard. Romanian Alin Apopei, 27, dialled his sisters number and was recorded on her voicemail telling 25-year-old Denisa Silman Im going to kill you now' after he discovered she planned to leave him. In the short voice message Miss Silman can be heard crying Oh my god' before he struck her repeatedly. Police arrived at the house they shared in East Ham, east London, to find the couples bedroom covered in blood and a packed Union Jack flag suitcase on the bed. Miss Silman's body was found lying half-inside a wardrobe covered with a large red towel. Prosecutor Zoe Johnson QC told a jury at the Old Bailey: The police officer pulled back the towel to reveal what he described as horrendous injuries. Her head was almost entirely severed from her neck and her chest cavity was cut open to reveal something of her insides. Apopei had sex with her seconds before the murderous attack, the court heard. He was arrested early the following morning and began acting erratically at the station, laughing hysterically and talking about devil worship. He denies murder on the grounds of diminished responsibility, but was accused of faking mental illness to avoid prison. Ms Johnson said: It is the prosecution case that the defendant deliberately and viciously stabbed Denisa to death because he was enraged and jealous at the prospect of Denisa finally leaving him. It was, we suggest, no coincidence that she was packing her suitcase when she was stabbed to death. Jurors were told Apopei and Miss Silman, who are both originally from Romania, met in June or July 2014 and lived together in a room in a shared house in Eversleigh Road. The court heard Apopei fled the scene after the attack. Miss Silman's body was discovered when the owner of the house on this street (pictured) was persuaded to check on her The prosecutor said: 'Denisa worked as a sex worker. There is evidence that the defendant knew this and benefited from the money which she earned as a result. He drove Denisa to her appointments with men and he designed her adult website page. It would appear theirs was a highly volatile relationship. Denisa loved the defendant, he was a jealous man. He was on occasion violent to Denisa during their relationship and threatened to kill her on many occasions. They would split up regularly and get back together again and there was a history of abuse and violence. Jurors heard that a friend of Miss Silman's witnessed one row on 23 August 2015 as the three of them discussed the lyrics of a song playing on the radio as they travelled by car. Ms Johnson explained: Denisa asked the defendant, what will you do if I leave you? He replied, If you will leave me, I shall kill you. Denisa told him he would go to prison and his life would be ruined. He replied, if I go to prison, I will pretend Im mad. They will put me in hospital and I will get free from there. On another occasion, Apopei allegedly crashed his car into Denisas car before dragging her out and repeatedly threatening to kill her. He also attacked her when she was on holiday with a friend in Italy after making a surprise visit to Milan on Valentines Day, the court heard. On the day of the killing the couple were heard arguing in their bedroom by one of their housemates, who saw Denisa go upstairs with a suitcase decorated with a Union flag. The Old Bailey heard Apopei fled the scene after the attack. Miss Silman's body was discovered when the owner of the house was persuaded to check on her Prosecutors believe Apopei killed his girlfriend between 2.05pm and 2.20pm. During the attack by the defendant on Denisa, it appears that the defendants phone was activated - whether accidentally or deliberately is not known, Miss Johnson said. It appears that the defendant dialled his half sister and that call went to her voicemail facility and was subsequently recovered. On that recording you can hear some of the violence before the fatal attack and indeed, we suggest, some of the murderous attack itself is recorded on that phone. Jurors were told the recording contains the sound of knocking, heavy breathing and possible sexual activity before a male voice says: Im going to kill you now. Shall I give you the first one? There is then slapping sounds and a woman screaming: Oh, my god. The court heard Apopei fled the scene after the attack. Miss Silman's body was discovered when the owner of the house was persuaded to check on her. He was confronted with the shocking sight of Denisa lying dead in her room, said Ms Johnson. Police arrived at 8.15pm but did not attempt resuscitation because of the seriousness of her injuries. The cause of death was given as multiple incised wounds to the neck and chest. Ms Johnson said: The evidence is overwhelming that the defendant is responsible for killing his girlfriend. We anticipate that the critical issue for you to decide in this case is whether the defendants responsibility for the killing is diminished because of a mental illness from which he was suffering at the time. She said psychiatrists disagree over the issue, but added: The prosecution case is that there is no defence available to the defendant. This was a killing committed in anger and jealousy. Apopei denies murder. The trial continues. The mayor of Ankara has blamed an outlawed US-based cleric is trying to wipe out the Turkish economy by using a 'seismic vessel' to trigger earthquakes. Melih Gokcek accused the 'Gulenist Terrorist Organisation' led by Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen of attempting to topple president Recep Erdogan. Gokcek made the comments after two minor earthquakes measuring 5.3 and 5.4 struck the eastern Canakkale province on Monday and Tuesday. Scroll down for video Melih Gokcek, pictured, has accused outlawed US-based cleric Fethulla Gulen of deploying an earth quake machine off the Turkish coast in order to severely damage the economy The US Geological Survey recovered the eathquake, which wa s described loathe. US-based cleric Fethullah Gulen has been blamed for the earthquakes earlier this week He said an investigation needed to be carried out on a 'seismic vessel' which had been seen near the town's port before the latest series of tremors. He wrote on Twitter: 'No matter what they say, I'm still worried about the possibility of an artificial earthquake.' He said the 'Gulenist Terrorist Organisation' [FETO] had plans to attack the country using an earthquake machine. He said: 'Their plan was failed after the strategy was disclosed to the public on that time. But currently they are trying to originate an economic crisis with the help of the major earthquake (artificial).' Turkey blames the network of Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen for last July's failed coup, in which almost 250 people were killed as soldiers commandeered tanks and fighter jets in a bid to seize power. Gulen denies involvement. Conspiracy theories have spiced up Turkish crises for decades, with the United States and its Western allies often accused of being the hidden hand. President Erdogan has cast recent economic weakness as part of a foreign plot. Turkey is criss-crossed by geological fault lines and frequently suffers tremors and earthquakes. Pro-government commentator Omer Turan said FETO and 'deep NATO' - which he defined as the United States and Britain - may have been behind the recent earthquakes as part of what he called a 'multi-dimensional' coup plot. He said: 'Look at the earthquake activity in the Aegean in the last month and analyse it with an honest seismologist. You will see that it is definitely not.' He added: 'Deep NATO and its chief pawn FETO has the option of an artificial earthquake in the multi-dimensional and gradual chaos coup process which they have planned for Turkey.' Gokcek, who has been mayor of the Turkish capital since 1994, made the outlandish claims on Twitter where he regularly updates his more than 3.7 million followers, often writing in capital letters. His comments were made after two quakes hit the western Canakkale province on Monday and Tuesday morning, measuring 5.3 and 5.2 magnitude respectively, the Turkish Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD) said. In these tweets, Gokcek shared a video which claimed there were tools for causing manmade quakes, and he called all submarines and ships with large equipment to be taken under control of the authorities. Gokcek said he had 'researched' the two quakes and suggested they could have been caused by possible foreign interference. 'There was a ship conducting seismic research nearby. What this ship was researching and what country it belongs to must be solved,' he wrote. The ultimate aim, he suggested, was to trigger an earthquake near Istanbul in a bid to stage an economic 'coup'. 'At this moment, the coup aimed at Turkey is an earthquake near Istanbul to cause Turkey's economic collapse,' he claimed. - A hospital worker has been arrested after shocking footage emerged appearing to show a man breaking the leg of a three-year-old boy. The distressing video was taken in a private hospital in New Delhi, where the child was being treated in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) for respiratory problems. Reports from India claim the man became 'annoyed' by the boy's crying. The horrifying footage appears to show the man twisting the boy's leg around, making it break It appears to show the man turn the child onto his stomach before twisting his leg in a manner which would have been excruciatingly painful. It was only after the patient was transferred to another hospital after his condition deteriorated that the broken bone was discovered. Police were called after the CCTV images showed the culprit, Times Now reports. A police spokesman told ABP News: 'As per the complaint filed by the family, an attendant manhandled the child. 'We have also been handed over the footage of the whole incident; and have initiated a probe to find out the truth.' A Muslim father-of-three claims to be the most-stopped man in Britain after being pulled aside by airport security staff 42 times in three years. Ahmed Ali, 40, was most recently stopped at Bordeaux-Merignac Airport in France on February 2 after immigration officials pulled him out of the queue of over 100 people to board the Ryanair flight to London Stansted. The building developer, from Derby, was taken aside as officials wanted to check his passport but then would not accept it and asked for another form of identification. Ahmed Ali is a dedicated charity worker and has carried out aid missions around the world. Pictured, he poses alongside boxes of food while working with the Unite 4 Humanity organisation Mr Ali showed staff his driving license and was eventually allowed to return to board. The immigration desk is next to his gate but Ryanair refused to let him board. He decided to document his frustration by posting a live video on his Facebook page, where it was viewed by over 25,000 times, as staff at the airport refused to talk to him unless he spoke in French. Mr Ali, who was forced to pay for another ticket the following day, said: 'The most annoying part was the fact I could still see people walking past and getting let on the plane. 'I have no problems with the immigration as they were trying to be quick as possible but Ryanair were told that I was taken to one side yet still would not let me board. 'They would not even give me a reason unless I spoke French. I am English. I don't speak French so how do I talk to them. Pictured, Mr Ali poses with some local children during one of his projects for Unite 4 Humanity 'I think I am actually use to being stopped at airports. My solicitor thinks I am the most stopped man in the country. In under three years, I have been stopped 42 times. He believes it is profiling but I don't understand why it always seem to be me.' Mr Ali, who has also been helping feed the homeless people of Derby for many years, is a regular traveller due to his work and charity commitments for Unite 4 Humanity. His latest stoppage by immigration happened abroad but he has been stopped numerous times at airports across England. He has not only been stopped but also removed from flights on occasion, including on one occasion when his wife was pregnant. The annoying situation has now even become routine with Mr Ali actively showing up early at airports as he has been questioned before for up to five hours. Mr Ali (pictured, on an aid mission with Unite 4 Charity) claims to have been stopped at London Heathrow and Stansted as well as Luton, Manchester and Birmingham Mr Ali said: 'I have been stopped in Birmingham, Manchester, Luton, London Heathrow and Stansted. Some are worse than others. I was stopped at one of those airports twice just weeks apart and I told them they had done the exact same thing to me. 'The same questions and I give the exact same answers. It was only when I told them about the officer who saw me the last time that they found him and let me go. 'There must be no log of who they are stopping as these airports don't even know how many times they have stopped me. 'I once travelled to Bangladesh, to Morocco, to Malaysia, to Thailand and finally to Burma. The only time I was stopped when I arrived back to the England, my country of birth. STOPPED AT AIRPORTS IN HIS OWN COUNTRY Ahmed Ali has been pulled aside at the following UK airports: Heathrow Stansted Luton Manchester Birmingham Advertisement 'I have trouble getting people to pick me up from airports now as they never know how long I will actually be. Also my kids don't wait for me at the airport now either.' Mr Ali also runs several youth centres in his local community and has been working with young people and helping promote community cohesion. Whenever he has stopped, he has fully co-operated when questioned. Mr Ali says officers have ask him the same questions every time, for his views on ISIS, Israel and if he considers himself a threat to Britain. He said: 'I think the biggest concern is the fact that I will not be the only one this happens to. At first I thought it was targeted discrimination against me but having been stopped so many times by different people and at different airports, I can only assume it is because they are profiling. 'I believe I have always handled this in a good way. I have cooperated with them, answered every question and handed over everything they wanted to see. 'If I refuse then I will be charged but maybe this will continue until I finally refuse and this will then go to court. In all the times I have been stopped, not once have I been charged. Thank you for your cooperation and you are free to go.' Ryanair have been contacted for comment on the incident on February 2 and we are awaiting a response. A new 478million Christian-themed park in China has allegedly sparked outrage among the country's largely atheist population. The Xingsha Ecological Park in Changsha, the capital of central Chinas Hunan province, features a 260ft tall Christian church inspired by Noah's Ark and a bible institute. But many citizens are apparently worried that the religious attraction - set to open in June 2017 - will undermine widespread secular beliefs. The Xingsha Ecological Park in Changsha, the capital of central Chinas Hunan province, features a 260ft tall Christian church inspired by Noah's Ark and a bible institute According to the Hindustan Times, some local residents were angered after learning that the local government subsidised the pricey project. This move appears to contradict the main government, which is atheist. One commentator highlighted that Hunan is the birthplace of the late communist leader Chairman Mao Zedong and would 'never tolerate the overflowing of religion'. A representative of the park's construction team said on local news that recreation facility wasn't intended to be controversial and it was designed as a romantic spot for couples to shoot wedding photos. The park in covers 1.6 million square feet (150,000 square metres) in total. It was reported that the park had a soft launch during the Chinese New Year, welcoming a limited number of families to give it a test run. According to a 2015 study, 90 per cent of all Chinese consider themselves to be atheists or not to be religious. Controversial: According to the Hindustan Times , some local residents were angered after learning that the local government subsidized the pricey project Although the country has deep religious traditions, decades of Communist rule have installed a leaning towards atheism. However, after Chairman Mao's death in 1976 many churches started reopening and over recent years a trend towards religion has flourished. Indeed, Fenggang Yang, a professor of sociology at Purdue University in Indiana, previously forecast that China was on track to become the 'largest Christian country in the world' due to the tidal change. Many Christian churches were demolished in the mid-20th century but recently their has been a leaning towards restoring and rebuilding houses of worship. Professor Yang, a leading expert on religion in China, also predicted the country would boast the largest Christian congregation in the world by 2030, with more than 247 million worshipers, placing it above Mexico, Brazil and the U.S. 'Mao thought he could eliminate religion. He thought he had accomplished this,' Prof Yang told The Telegraph. 'It's ironic - they didn't. They actually failed completely.' There is no word on if the new Xingsha Ecological Park carries an entrance fee and if construction work is running to schedule. The boyfriend of Towie star Cara Kilbey made 'vast profits' as the boss of a criminal gang that posed as taxi drivers while dealing in millions of pounds of cocaine, a court has heard. Daniel Harris, 33, from Theydon Bois, Essex, was allegedly behind a three-and-a-half year plot to deal the Class A drugs around London on specially adapted mopeds. Jurors were told today how the vehicles were 'mocked up' to make the couriers look 'inconspicuous' by disguising them as trainee black cab drivers learning 'the knowledge'. Daniel Harris (left with Cara), 33, from Theydon Bois, Essex, was allegedly behind a three-and-a-half year plot to deal the Class A drugs around London on specially adapted mopeds The boyfriend of Towie star Cara Kilbey (pictured together) made 'vast profits' as the boss of a criminal gang that posed as taxi drivers while dealing in millions of pounds of cocaine, a court has heard Pictured is Towie star Cara Kilbey (right) leaving Wandsworth Prison after visiting her partner A 'snapshot' of the operation provided by decrypted messages showed a turnover of 45kg of cocaine worth more than 1,400,000 in just three weeks, the court heard. The alleged conspiracy ran from September 2012 until March 2016 when police swooped to arrest the gang after bugging their lock-up, jurors were told. Opening the Old Bailey trial, prosecutor Peter Clement described Harris as the 'gang leader of the sophisticated and long-running criminal operation' which supplied cocaine 'top to bottom'. He told jurors there was no dispute the conspiracy to supply cocaine existed as others had already pleaded guilty to their part. Mr Clement said: 'The prosecution say that this defendant was the principal of that organised crime gang. An organiser. A leader. 'Their motive was simple - money. Of course by keeping it in-house they stood to maximise their profits, cutting out third parties, middle men. 'You shall hear something of the vast profits, the vast potential in money in supply of cocaine.' Ms Kilbey is pictured outside Southwark Crown Court He was implicated through police surveillance, phone data and electronic devices, including encrypted BlackBerrys fitted with PGP - Pretty Good Privacy, the court heard. The unemployed defendant's 'lifestyle' also pointed to his involvement as well as the fact that 'cash and lots of it' was stashed at his home, Mr Clement said. The court heard Harris never got his 'hands dirty' and kept the supply of cocaine at 'arms length'. The plot allegedly involved 'bulking up' consignments of cocaine with cutting agent benzocaine and putting it into the gang's own bags with a Union flag logo. They used a flat in Clerkenwell, east London, and a lock-up garage four miles away where bags of cocaine were stored along with the specially 'mocked up' mopeds. Police secretly searched the lock-up in the dead of night and took samples of powder for testing. They also planted a bugging device to eavesdrop on gang members, the court heard. The fleet of mopeds were specially fitted with 'knowledge boards' so no-one would notice them as they made deliveries of drugs across the capital, jurors heard. Mr Clement said: 'Plainly the gang needed transport with which to distribute drugs around London. It needs to be inconspicuous. 'Each had a top box fitted. And a knowledge board was fitted - commonly used by those learning the knowledge of the streets of London for the black taxi. 'Checks were made with Transport for London as to whether any of these named persons had registered to learn the knowledge and the answer was no. They were all mocked up. They had one reason - to supply cocaine.' The prosecutor told jurors that Ms Kilbey was Harris's girlfriend and that they lived together The court heard Harris (pictured with Cara) was implicated through police surveillance, phone data and electronic devices, including encrypted BlackBerrys The prosecutor added: 'There was no legitimate purpose for those mopeds. Given it takes time to set up a supply chain, gain the trust of one's custom, by the time the police disrupted it in March last year, such was its scale it had been running for some long time.' The gang's specially encrypted BlackBerry mobile phones normally cost 1,000 for a six-month contract, jurors were told. Mr Clement went on: 'The gang had their own bags with a Union Jack logo all for the supply of street deals. It was run as a business, all be it illegal from beginning to end.' The prosecutor told jurors that Ms Kilbey was Harris's girlfriend and that they lived together. Harris denies conspiracy to supply cocaine as well as a separate plot to supply heroin in May 2015 and having criminal property in the form of bank notes. The trial continues. Keith Preddie, 48, has been working as a support worker for domestic violence victims A man who was convicted of attacking his wife has been working as a support worker for domestic violence victims. Keith Preddie, 48, who was crowned Britain's Best Dad by GMTV in 2010, hurled a washing frame at his wife Emma before pinning her to the ground in 2013. One domestic violence victim said she feels 'unsafe' after Preddie - Britain's first professional Michael Jackson impersonator - was sent to help look after her children. Single mother Chamayne Watkins, 27, was sent a care worker by Greenwich council to help with her son Kian, six, who has behavioural difficulties. But when the mother-of-five from Abbey Wood, south east London, Googled Preddie's name, she discovered his assault conviction, as well as his past as a Michael Jackson impersonator. Ms Watkins said: 'I suffered from domestic violence during a previous relationship. 'This man was sent into my home to help with my son's challenging behaviour and to provide support so we can get ready in the morning. 'He was there to help manage the situation and help me when we struggle.' Single mother Chamayne Watkins, 27, with her son Kian, six, who has behavioural difficulties Ms Watkins says she was shocked Mr Preddie was sent to care help her. She added: 'I was shocked, I can't believe the local authorities are paying someone like this. 'How can they expect me to have a support worker after this? 'I can't trust them now, there are so many children in the hands of the local authorities but you just can't trust the system. 'I'm speaking out as a mother, because there are so many loopholes in the system.' Keith Preddie said at the time of his conviction that he planned to campaign against domestic violence. He is thought to have become Britain's first professional Michael Jackson impersonator in 1986. Keith Preddie (pictured leaving court in 2013) was crowned Britain's Best Dad by GMTV in 2010, hurled a washing frame at his wife Emma before pinning her to the ground in 2013 Ms Watkins said: 'I'm speaking out as a mother, because there are so many loopholes in the system' He also appeared on Come Dine With Me in 2011 before releasing a charity single in aid of Cruse Bereavement Care, who supported the father-of-four after his nephew's suicide. Preddie admitted one count of assault at Croydon Magistrates' Court in south London in April 2013. He was given a conditional discharge. A Greenwich council spokesperson said: 'While the person concerned is not directly employed by the Royal Borough of Greenwich we take all safeguarding concerns seriously and have referred this matter to Children's Safeguarding and Social Care Services. 'This therefore means we're unable to comment any further at this stage but want to reassure that we are giving this matter our full attention.' Dame Vivienne Westwood's firm is fighting a bitter legal row over a 232,500 rent hike at her Mayfair shop Vivienne Westwood's fashion firm is locked in a legal row over rent hikes to 232,500-a-year at her exclusive Mayfair boutique. The famous fashion designer's company rebelled after landlords in Conduit Street, Mayfair, proposed a 'revised yearly rent of 300,000 per year'. Her firm has now taken a contract dispute to the High Court, insisting the terms of its lease makes clear that its annual rent until November 2019 has been fixed at 125,000 per year. Vivienne Westwood Ltd's store in Conduit Street is the fashion empire's flagship shop, with over 60 retail outlets globally. The fashion brand has a reputation for shock and radical innovation in terms of design - which originated in Dame Vivienne Westwood's heyday as the Godmother of Punk chic in the 1970s. The 75-year-old made a name designing the clothes for Malcolm McClaren's Chelsea Punk boutique SEX back in the '70's. But one of her flagship stores in central London has now become the centre of the bitter legal dispute. The row centres on this boutique fashion store in Conduit Street, Mayfair Julian Greenhill, QC for landlords Conduit Street Development Ltd, said their rent review surveyor had initially written to Vivienne Westwood Ltd in July 2015, suggesting the rent hike. Both sides then entered protracted negotiations to hammer out the terms of a new lease, claimed the barrister, finally settling on a figure of 232,000per year. 'It is the agreed figure of 232,500 that the landlords claims is the rent now due,' he told Judge Timothy Fancourt QC. But Vivienne Westwood Ltd's legal team are relying on the terms of a 'side letter', attached to the original 2009 lease, which they say included a 'personal concession' effectively capping the rent to 125,000 until November 2019. Westwood is listed as an active director of the company. The landlords, by contrast, argue that these terms are no longer applicable as it 'validly terminated' the side letter with effect from July 2015. The hearing continues. Kellyanne Conway, counselor to the president, applauded CNN this afternoon for its 'amazing coverage' of 'high-profile and high-casualty' terror attacks in Paris, Brussels, Nice and San Bernardino. The networks covered those assaults 'extensively,' she admitted on The Lead with Jake Tapper. President Donald Trump was referring to the 'dozens and dozens of others' that occurred over the last two years when he accused the media of ignoring terror attacks yesterday, Conway said. 'What the president is saying there, Jake, is that there are other attacks that don't get as much coverage,' the White House official told the CNN host after he aired a clip of Trump making the Monday claim. Kellyanne Conway, counselor to the president, applauded CNN this afternoon for it's 'amazing coverage' of high-profile terror attacks in Paris, Brussels, Nice and San Bernardino. The networks covered those assaults 'extensively,' she admitted on The Lead with Jake Tapper The White House released a list of 78 terror attacks that they believe were 'underreported' on Monday evening, dating from September 2014 to December 2016. Trump's administration said attacks in Orlando, San Bernardino, Brussels, Nice and the Bataclan in Paris 'have not received the media attention they deserved.' Tapper confronted Conway on Tuesday with video of his network's reporters covering terror on the ground in France, Belgium and the USA. 'Obviously the very sad incidents that you related were, frankly, CNN did amazing coverage for weeks at a time...The other ones on the list, not so much.' Trump's intent, she said, was to make sure Americans are aware of all the attacks taking place around the world. 'We want people to realize then that's what leads him to want extreme vetting from seven narrowly-prescribed countries in a very temporary way.' Conway also claimed in the interview with Tapper that networks gave Trump five times as much coverage on the campaign trail as they did terrorism and spent more time covering Prince's death than attacks, based on data from Tyndall, Tapper noted that Tyndall only includes the three cable evening news shows in its assessment and the data is therefore not reflective of the 'media' as an industry. He also accused Conway of trying to 'spin' Trump's phrasing to distract from his 'offensive' assault on the press, particularly those risking their lives in war zones. 'I don't intend it as spin. I'm crediting the coverage of CNN and your colleagues across the media gave to these high-profile and high-casualty, very sad, very vicious attacks,' she said. Baffled, Tapper again noted that massacres in Paris, Brussels, Nice and San Bernardino were on the White House's list of underreported terror attacks. 'As were dozens and dozens of others,' she rebutted. 'There seems to be some coverage these days, maybe not here, but definitely elsewhere, that somehow terrorism is not a big problem, or somehow national security is all taken care of - and that's just not true.' DISHONEST MEDIA: President Donald Trump accused the media of 'tremendous dishonesty' on Tuesday as he was questioned in the Roosevelt Room of the White House about his claim that news agencies routinely ignore terror attacks Trump accused the media of 'tremendous dishonesty' on Tuesday as he was questioned about his claim that news agencies routinely downplay terror attacks. The president said Monday that onslaughts are happening 'all over Europe' but they're not being covered by the 'very, very dishonest press' for reasons that he did not specify. He declined Tuesday, as he attended a listening session with county sheriffs, to shed light on his statement. Trump instead told a reporter asking about the Fourth Estate's motivations for covering up terror attacks that he understands 'the total dishonesty of the media better than anybody' as he renewed his blitz on the unfair press. 'The media is a very, very dishonest arm,' he stated, interrupting himself to say that 'not everybody' in the press is of ill repute. 'But there's tremendous dishonesty. Pure outright dishonesty from the media,' he added. As some reporters pointed out, a handful of instances the White House had named as underreported terror attacks were the subject of news coverage that lasted 'days on end.' The hastily thrown together report that was several pages long was also littered with spelling errors such as 'ATTAKER' and ATTAKERS' and incorrectly cited the California city that had a terrorist ambush 'San Bernadino' instead of San Bernardino. Conway later said Trump was referring to the 'dozens and dozens of others' that occurred over the last two years when he accused the media of ignoring terror attacks yesterday. 'What the president is saying there, Jake, is that there are other attacks that don't get as much coverage' The White House released a list of 78 terror attacks that the press had 'ignored' following President Donald Trump's claims that the media was 'very, very dishonest' on Monday night (pictured) The report, several pages long and seemingly hastily thrown together, is littered with spelling errors such as 'ATTAKER', 'ATTAKERS' and incorrectly spelling the California city as 'San Bernadino' (pictured) Trump's administration said the attacks in Orlando, San Bernardino, Brussels, Nice and Paris 'have not received the media attention they deserved'. Pulse nightclub was subject to a mass shooting in June 2016 and left 49 people dead and wounded 53 Among the attacks named was the Nice, France, truck massacre (pictured) which killed 84 civilians and injuring more than 300 people on July 2016 One of the biggest terror attacks over the past two years took place in France, with the Bataclan theater attack in Paris and the Nice truck massacre, both of which were on the list. The Orlando, Florida, nightclub shooting was widely covered in the news for being a terror attack and a hate crime in June 2016. It left 49 people dead and wounded 53 more. The mass shooting and attempted bombing in San Bernardino, California, was also included on the roster. The December 2015 attack ended with 14 dead and 22 wounded. The list of 78 occurrences of terror attacks were worldwide and included who was the subject of the attack and named the persons involved. CNN reporter Jim Acosta said it was a 'head scratcher.' His news organization was reportedly one of the first to see the list after being labeled 'fake news' by Trump in December. The White House suggested Tuesday that the document distributed to the media was a list of terror attacks that happened between 2014 and 2016, not just those that were unreported or underreported, in the administration's opinion. 'Many of them haven't got the attention they have deserved,' Spicer said. 'It's becoming too often that we're seeing these attacks not get the spectacular attention they deserve. And I think it undermines the understanding of the threat that we face around the country.' President Donald Trump claimed Monday that terror attacks are happening 'all over Europe' but they're not being covered by the 'very, very dishonest press' The Bataclan concert hall was attacked in Paris, France. In the fatal attack 130 people lost their lives and many more were injured on November 13, 2015 The president did not provide any examples as he made the claim in front of troops stationed at MacDill Air Force base in Tampa, Florida. His press secretary, Sean Spicer, told reporters aboard Air Force One after the remarks, 'Theres a lot of instances where I dont think theyve gotten the coverage it deserved.' He did not name one, either. 'Well provide a list later,' he asserted, indicating in the gaggle that the president may have been thinking of foiled' attacks, in addition to murderous assaults. On it's face, it wasn't obvious what attacks Trump was referring to when he hit the media with the broadside at MacDill. His senior counselor, Kellyanne Conway, had accused the press last week, on MSNBC, of ignoring a terrorism-driven massacre that was found to never have occurred. 'President Obama had a six-month ban on the Iraqi refugee program after two Iraqis came here to this country, were radicalized, and they were the masterminds behind the Bowling Green massacre. Most people don't know that because it didn't get covered,' Conway said. The White House official says she 'misspoke' and meant to say 'terrorists.' Cosmo revealed Monday, however, that she made the mistake in an interview with their magazine, too. She claimed two Iraqi nationals were the 'masterminds behind the Bowling Green massacre' in a Jan. 29 interview. The refugees she was referring to were Iraqi, and they were living in Bowling Green, Kentucky, when they were arrested. They did not commit any acts of terror on America soil. Instead, they were taken into custody for trying to send weapons back to Iraq for use against American soldiers. The mass shooting and attempted bombing in San Bernardino, California, killed 14 people in December 2015 Trump on Monday similarly claimed that there are terror plots that are going unnoticed. Speaking to U.S. Special Forces and U.S. Central Command soldiers, he said, 'We're up against an enemy that celebrates death and totally worships destruction. You've seen that. ISIS is on a campaign of genocide, committing atrocities across the world. 'Radical Islamic terrorists are determined to strike our homeland as they did on 9/11, as they did from Boston to Orlando to San Bernardino, and all across Europe,' he said. 'You've seen what happened in Paris and Nice. All over Europe, it's happening.' He at that point added: 'It's gotten to a point where it's not even being reported. And in many cases the very, very dishonest press doesn't want to report it. They have their reasons, and you understand that.' The president moved on without calling attention to any specific terrorist attack he believes the media is covering up. Spicer insisted later that there are 'a lot of instances,' however, that are being 'underreported.' 'I think the president's comments were very clear at the time,' he told a reporter asking about the president's claim that the media has its 'reasons' for burying terror-related news. Continuing, Spicer said, 'He felt members of the media dont always cover some of those events to the extent that other events might get covered,' he explained. 'Protests will get blown out of the water, and yet an attack or a foiled attack doesnt necessarily get the same coverage.' The president's spokesman went on to claim that the press was unfairly covering Trump's travel ban, something the president had brought up earlier in a tweet. 'Any negative polls are fake news, just like the CNN, ABC, NBC polls in the election. Sorry, people want border security and extreme vetting,' Trump had said. His senior counselor, Kellyanne Conway, had accused the press last week of ignoring a terrorism-driven massacre that was found to never have occurred. She told Fox she 'misspoke' and meant to say 'terrorists' Spicer invoked Trump's gripe in his session with reporters riding Air Force One later. 'I think sometimes the polls dont reflect what you see on the media,' he said. 'You see a wide degree of support for the presidents policies to protect this country, to create jobs, to grow the economy. And yet a lot of those stories and success that hes had in a mere two and a half weeks in office arent exactly covered to the degree to which they should be.' A CNN/ORC poll released Friday showed that 53 percent of Americans oppose the president's plan, which also suspended America's refugee program for 120 days, however. Hours earlier a CBS News poll found 51 percent don't like Trump's approach. The CNN and CBS polls surveyed Americans in phone calls, as did a Gallup poll. All three showed majorities opposing the policy. But four online polls have found majorities or pluralities of Americans support the president. Those include surveys from Reuters/Ipsos, Rasmussen Reports, Public Policy Polling and YouGov/Huffington Post. The Rasmussen poll, which was limited to likely voters, showed a 52-43 gap in Trump's favor. This is the second page of the terror attack list the White House claims that the media had 'ignored' This page of the report includes the Nice, France, massacre where at least 129 people were killed when a truck drove through a crowd Some of the incidents on the list included attacks where no causalities happened The dates of the attack are from September 2014 to December 2016 The most recent attack named was in Berlin where a terrorist drove a truck into a Christmas market The younger brother of Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch has dismissed the 'Fascism Forever' club he was named as setting up in high school as a 'goof' - and said the judge is the intellectual heir to Justice Scalia. JJ Gorsuch is the closest relation of President Trump's pick for the Supreme Court bench to speak out and said the family were concerned at the bruising nature of the confirmation process. JJ, 43, of Denver, Colorado, told DailyMail.com that 'in intellect' his brother 'probably is the heir to Scalia' - although he said the two men were different in temperament. He also said that any suggestion that Gorsuch is a fascist, based on the disclosure of his high-school yearbook entry by DailyMail.com last week, would be 'ludicrous'. In two separate entries, the yearbook at Georgetown Preparatory, an all-boys Jesuit school in Washington D.C., described Gorsuch as the 'founder' of 'Fascism Forever' and said the 'forum happily jerked its knees against the increasingly 'left-wing' tendencies of faculty'. Family man: Federal judge Neil Gorsuch is Trump's Supreme Court nominee. He enjoys the outdoors - and is seen in a picture shared by his brother hiking with his daughters Belinda (left) and Emma (right), who are now teenagers Younger days: Neil Gorsuch is the oldest of three children and posed when he was around three with his sister Stephanie. All the siblings now live in their native Colorado Family time: Supreme court nominee Neil Gorsuch with his grandmother and his younger sister - and their toy stuffed rabbits 'Ludicrous': The high school yearbook entry which described Gorsuch as 'founder and president' of the 'Fascism Forever Club'. His brother says it was a 'goof' Lobbying: The federal judge has embarked on a round of meetings with senators and on Tuesday met with Chuck Schumer, the leader of the Democrats in the Upper House. He needs at least some Democratic support to avoid a filibuster of the conformation process But JJ told DailyMail.com: 'I think there was a correction of the record by his high school history teacher who happened to be my high school history teacher as well. 'Those senior pages [in the school yearbook] are a bit of a spoof and a goof and clearly there was no such club. 'It was a joke alluding to his interactions with the faculty there.' Asked if suggestions that the club's name is in line with his brother's views are true, he said: 'I wouldn't say I think it is stupid I think it is totally ludicrous.' JJ is the youngest of the three children born to Anne Gorsuch Burford, who headed the Environmental Protection Agency under President Reagan, and her first husband David. Along with his 49-year-old brother and sister Stephanie, 45, he moved from Denver to Washington DC as a teenager with his mother and stepfather, and attended the same Catholic school as Gorsuch. JJ, who now lives in Denver with his wife Elizabeth and their daughter and two sons, spent a total of seven years living in DC with his mother and stepfather three more than his brother, who went off to Columbia four years after the family arrived. Love for the outdoors: Judge Gorsuch takes his daughters Emma and Belinda, who are now teenagers, hiking Fishing runs in the family: JJ Gorsuch shared this picture of his brother and his daughter Belinda fishing Heir to Scalia: JJ Gorsuch was the Supreme Court justice's 'fishing guide' when he spent time in Colorado with both the Gorsuch brothers. JJ says his brother is his intellectual, but not temperamental, heir 'I spent I think about six years, seven years there,' said JJ. 'He [Gorsuch] spent four years plus holidays on some occasions while he was away at college and law school. 'My sister I think spent about the same amount of time as I did.' JJ attended Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, graduating with a bachelor's degree in International Studies, then took a master's in business administration, Spanish, marketing and economics at the University of South Carolina before going on to become a product manager. Like his sister Stephanie, who now lives in Colorado Springs, JJ returned to Colorado after finishing college and was joined there in 2007 by Judge Gorsuch after his elevation to the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit. Following his appointment, Judge Gorsuch moved into a comfortable home in a gated community just outside Boulder with his British wife Louise and their two daughters. The judge and his family attend St John's Episcopal Church in Boulder, although he was brought up as a Catholic. He is understood to have converted to Episcopalianism while studying at Oxford University in England. JJ remains a Catholic. The rural location allowed the 49-year-old to indulge in his favorite hobby, fishing a sport also loved by the late Justice Scalia and JJ. On one occasion, the three men spent the day fishing together, which JJ, who says he acted as 'a fishing guide' for Scalia, describes as 'a great honor'. 'I only knew Scalia in passing,' JJ told DailyMail.com. 'I had the honor of serving as his fishing guide for a day and quite enjoyed it but didn't get to know the man too well because he was just passing through. 'That said, I think there is definitely a difference in temperament from what I observed but I think in intellect, although I know my brother would never say so, I think he probably is the heir of the great Justice Scalia.' Family: Ann Burford Gorsuch, who was Ronald Reagan's EPA administrator, raised her three children - Neil, Stephanie and JJ - in Washington D.C. after moving there for her job. Both Neil and JJ were educated at elite Georgetown Prep, an all-boys Catholic school Close: The Gorsuchs' parents divorced and their father David remarried, to Margaret who earlier this week told DailyMail.com of her pride at his nomination to the Supreme Court We are family: Neil and Stephanie Gorsuch, who like her brother JJ lives in Colorado. Scalia, who died aged 79 during a quail hunting trip to Marfa, Texas, in February 2016, was famously a staunch defender of religious rights and JJ says his brother is unlikely to differ in that respect. Along with religious rights, Gorsuch's previous rulings suggest that he would limit executive powers and see the Constitution in the same originalist terms as Scalia. He is yet to rule on gun control, abortion or gay rights, although the first two could well come in front of the court if he is confirmed. Giving an unprecedented insight into Gorsuch's personal positions, JJ said his brother's defense of religious freedom was unbending. 'I would suggest [Gorsuch's defense of religious rights] is likely to continue,' he said. 'Our country was founded on religious freedom, it is a protected right and I would say that it is likely to continue within the construct of the law.' JJ, who describes his brother as 'a very kind, thoughtful, deliberate kind of person', says he had an idea that his brother was in the frame for the Supreme Court but believes President Trump kept everyone guessing, including Judge Gorsuch, until the very last moment. He said: 'I speculate that President Trump played it close to the last and probably played it so he could have changed his mind at the very last minute if he had wanted to - but that's pure speculation.' Official confirmation of his brother's nomination came on TV last week, with JJ watching the announcement in a hotel room in New York, which he was visiting on a business trip. 'Of course my phone erupted, my email erupted, my text messages erupted but I tried to just absorb the news and watch some of the commentary,' said JJ. 'I was a bit emotionally overwhelmed; reflecting that it was the eve of my father's birthday had he been alive still and how proud he would have been to watch and see that [Gorsuch's nomination]. 'I did go out, unplug and just go for a walk around New York City. I found myself at the 9/11 Memorial which is not the remedy for emotional overwhelming. It was an interesting night.' Now he says he hopes his brother will make it through the confirmation process and take up his seat on the Supreme Court where Judge Gorsuch will, according to JJ, 'perform brilliantly'. 'Well obviously, I think he's going to perform brilliantly,' he said. 'But I do [worry about the confirmation process] to a degree. 'It's obvious that the confirmation process is going to be controversial. I hope it does not get too ugly and I hope common sense will prevail, that there will be no need for filibustering, nuclear options or any of the above. Nomination: The president announced Neil Gorsuch's nomination to the Supreme Court in the White House while his brother JJ was in New York. He told DailyMail.com: 'I was a bit emotionally overwhelmed; reflecting that it was the eve of my father's birthday had he been alive still and how proud he would have been to watch and see that.' Religious freedom: Trump Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch and his wife Louise prayed after being nominated with the president, Vice-President Mike Pence and his wife Karen and (right) Fr Paul Scalia, son of Justice Scalia, and the judge's widow Maureen (second from right) 'I hope that it will go more smoothly than people are predicting but hope is not a strategy as they say. 'I do worry a little bit about that but I do feel that when he is confirmed, his life will change in dramatic ways. I do worry about that too. 'But I think he's fairly well prepared for those changes and his family, although from a selfish point of view we'd all like to see him stay here [in Colorado], will support him wholeheartedly.' JJ, who also said he thinks his sister-in-law Louise will 'adapt quite brilliantly' to her new life in D.C., finally spoke to his brother on Sunday night and says the newly-minted Supreme Court Justice has been 'busy' in the week since his nomination. 'I have exchanged a few texts and a few voicemails [with him], and we got a chance to finally connect last night over a very poor phone connection,' he revealed. 'We didn't get to talk for too long but he's busy. He's busy. He has a whole dance card as they say so he's been very busy. 'He sounded like he was holding up and holding up well but he was a bit tired. It was late in the evening so I can't blame him.' Now JJ is planning a trip to DC for Judge Gorsuch's investiture once he is confirmed and says the whole family is proud of what the 49-year-old has achieved. 'We're very proud and hoping for the best in getting through the [confirmation] process,' he said. 'We wish we could do more to help him in these times but we're very proud. 'We know he'll handle and manage it excellently as he always does.' An Icelandic woman whose mysterious disappearance and death last month shocked the tranquil island nation was reportedly strangled before being thrown into the ocean where she drowned, media reported. Birna Brjansdottir, 20, was found dead on a beach on January 22, eight days after she vanished. Her disappearance saw more than 725 volunteers take part largest ever search and rescue in Iceland, where homicides are extremely rare. Sources close to the investigation told Icelandic public broadcaster RUV late Monday that preliminary conclusions from the autopsy showed Brjansdottir was still alive when she was thrown into the ocean and that she had water in her lungs, indicating drowning as the cause of death. Police on Tuesday refused to comment on the information, pending the final autopsy report. Birna Brjansdottir, 20, was found dead on a beach south of Reykjavik on Sunday, more than a week after her disappearance on January 14 after a night of drinking in Reykjavik's bars Sources close to the investigation said the autopsy showed Brjansdottir was strangled but was still alive when she was thrown into the ocean to drown. Ssurveillance footage around 5am showed her stumbling through streets by herself just hours before her death A sailor from Greenland whose trawler was in Iceland the day Brjansdottir went missing is being held in connection with her disappearance. Iceland's Supreme Court on Tuesday rejected a request for the man's release. Two Greenlandic sailors, aged 25 and 30, had been brought in for questioning shortly after Brjansdottirs body was found in January. The 30-year-old was released last week, while the 25-year-old is the man who remains in custody. Video surveillance footage from January 14 showed Brjansdottir stumbling through snowy and foggy streets by herself around 5.00amam as she bought a kebab after a night out in Reykjavik's bars. Two Greenlandic sailors aged 25 and 30 were taken in for questioning after Brjansdottir's disappearance. The 25-year-old is still in custody. Brjansdottir is pictured above just before her disappearance Iceland enjoys one of the world's lowest crime rates and homicides are extremely rare - police even patrol the streets unarmed. Pictured above is a grab from surveillance footage showing some of Brjansdottir's last moments Her shoes were later found in the port of Hafnarfjordur, south of Reykjavik, not far from the dock where the Polar Nanoq trawler was moored. Video surveillance cameras also showed a small red car, a Kia Rio, parked near the vessel around 6.30am - identical to a vehicle observed near the spot where Brjansdottir was last seen. Traces of Bransdottir's blood were later found in the red car, which had been rented by sailors from the trawler. Signals from her mobile phone indicated she was taken to Hafnarfjordur in the same vehicle. Brjansdottir's shoes were later found in the port of Hafnarfjordur (pictured above), south of Reykjavik, not far from the dock where a Greenlandic trawler, the Polar Nanoq, was moored A country of just 330,000 people, Iceland has registered an average of just 1.8 murders per year since 2001, according to police statistics. Pictured above is a grab from surveillance footage showing some of Brjansdottir's last moments The Polar Nanoq had weighed anchor just hours after the girl went missing but members of Iceland's elite police force, known as the Viking Squad, flew out to the ship by helicopter to question the crew. The ship returned to Reykjavik and two sailors were taken into custody. Iceland enjoys one of the world's lowest crime rates and homicides are extremely rare - police even patrol the streets unarmed. With a population of 330,000, Iceland has registered an average of just 1.8 murders per year since 2001, according to police statistics. The killers are often under the influence of alcohol, or mentally unstable. A funeral was held for Brjansdottir on Friday. People living in seaside towns are resorting to shooting seagulls as they take more and more extreme measures to fight the increasing menace of the birds, MPs warned today. Ministers were urged to introduce a cull on seagulls and take other measures such as contraception to control the population of the bird. Tory MP Anne-Marie Trevelyan said the failure to act against the menace had led people in her Berwick upon Tweed constituency to take to the streets with firearms to kill seagulls themselves. And her colleague Oliver Colvile, who represents towns in Devon, warned: 'As we head into the summer, we could very well see gull wars on our high streets.' Ministers were urged to introduce a cull on seagulls and take other measures such as contraception to control the population of the bird He urged the Government to bring back the 250,000 study announced by George Osborne two years ago into the life cycle of urban seagulls, which was later ditched by the Government. Mr Colvile called for the Government to provide funds to build more bird nets and spikes as deterrents in order to protect buildings. He also suggested contraception to be introduced to stem the population growth and cited suggestions from some local authorities to paint eggs red so gulls think they're on fire subsequently don't incubate them. Barrow and Furness MP John Woodcock recalled how Brian Griffin, a 72-year-old pensioner in his Cumbria constituency, was hospitalised after being attacked by a gull. Oliver Colvile, pictured, who represents towns in Devon, warned: 'As we head into the summer, we could very well see gull wars on our high streets' SNP MP Kirsty Blackman, pictured, said seagulls in her Aberdeen constituency were 'bigger than large dogs' as she demonstrated the size of the birds threatening her constituents In a debate on the threat posed by seagulls to seaside towns, Ms Trevelyan warned: In Berwick upon Tweeed the most northerly town in my constituency - we are plagued with the seagull problem, to the point that last summer someone took it upon themselves to institute their own cull - which whilst appreciated in some quarters - brought the risk that people are having to the law into their own hands to deal with these really difficult and aggressive birds, which means there are people wondering the streets of Berwick with firearms who really shouldnt be doing so. So the impact of that frustration is very, very real. SNP MP Kirsty Blackman said seagulls in her Aberdeen constituency were 'bigger than large dogs' as she stressed the threat facing her constituents. Lunch: Pamela Anderson (pictured yesterday) visited the Ecuadorean Embassy in London for at least the sixth time in five months Pamela Anderson yesterday visited julian assange in London for at least the sixth time in five months, as rumours build that they are in a relationship. The 49-year-old Baywatch actress and model is said to be dating the Wikileaks founder while he is stuck inside the Ecuadorean Embassy in Knightsbridge. Assange, 44, is wanted for questioning in Sweden over a rape allegation from 2010, and has avoided extradition by living in the embassy since June 2012. Anderson was yesterday seen bringing vegan cheeseburgers from the Mildreds chain to Assange, who has been holed up in the embassy for five years. Anderson was first spotted at Assange's residence in September 2014. The meeting was set up for Anderson to try to persuade Assange to back her new foundation, which supports women who are victims of sexual abuse. Most recently she was seen at Assange's residence on January 21, a little over a month from the last time she saw him. Arriving to see Julian Assange: The 49-year-old Baywatch actress and model is said to be dating the Wikileaks founder while he is stuck inside the embassy in Knightsbridge Ringing the bell: Anderson was yesterday seen bringing vegan cheeseburgers from the Mildreds chain to Assange, who has been holed up in the embassy for five years Wikileaks founder: Assange, 44, is wanted for questioning in Sweden over a rape allegation from 2010, and has avoided extradition by living in the embassy since June 2012 Anderson was seen bringing her rumoured beau dinner in December a few weeks before the Christmas holidays. She walked into the Ecuadorean Embassy with a bag full of Whole Foods groceries. Anderson was seen visiting Assange on December 7 and December 12. On November 13, Anderson was spotted bringing a tray of goodies into the Embassy as well. Less than a month before that on October 15, she saw him again. This time, she brought him food from Pret A Manger. For a while, bizarre rumours swirled that Anderson had poisoned Assange. Though it might seem like the actress and the hacker may not have much in common, they share a mutual appreciation for Russia. In December, Anderson said she would love to become a Russian citizen. Anderson is seen visiting Assange at the embassy on January 21 (left) and December 12 (right) Other recent visits by Anderson to Assange were on December 7 (left) and November 13 (right) She reportedly said: 'I have a Canadian passport and an American passport. I would gladly have a Russian passport. It would be easier to get here.' Six times in five months: Anderson brought food from Pret A Manger on October 15 On Monday, Assange made a fresh appeal to the UK and Swedish authorities to 'restore' his liberty. He has been living in self-imposed exile at the Ecuadorian Embassy, believing he will be extradited to the United States for questioning over the activities of WikiLeaks if he leaves. He is also subject to a European Arrest Warrant over allegations he raped a woman in Sweden which could be enforced as soon as he steps out on to the street. Assange has been living a cramped room at the diplomatic mission in Knightsbridge since June 19, 2012, after claiming asylum to avoid extradition over the allegations in Sweden. The taxpayer-funded bill for police posted outside the building around the clock topped 12.5million before it came to an end last year. Assange has refused to leave, saying he also fears extradition to the US to be quizzed for leaking secret military documents. Assange denies claims he raped a woman at her home in August 2010 and believes the allegations are politically-motivated after WikiLeaks released covert files on the Afghanistan and Iraq wars. A representative for Anderson declined to comment when contacted by MailOnline yesterday. A woman called 911 to report that she shot her ex-husband in the head during an argument, police said. Dawn Shearer, 46, sobbed and pleaded with the dispatcher after she shot her ex-husband Anthony Shearer at their home in Middletown, Ohio, around 8.30pm on Monday. He died at the Miami Valley Hospital while the 46-year-old was charged with murder and booked into the Middletown City Jail, WCPO reported. Dawn Shearer, 46, (right) called 911 to report that she shot her ex-husband Anthony 'Tony' Shearer (left) in the head during an argument, police said. Dawn Shearer called 911 from her home on the 3600 block of Ellis Way on Monday night and said, 'I just shot my ex-husband.' When the dispatcher asked what happened, Dawn Shearer explained that the two had been married for more than two decades. The couple had divorced, but she moved back in with him to 'work things out' before they got into an argument that led to the shooting on Monday, Dawn Shearer said. Anthony Shearer was taken to the Atrium Medical Center before he was flown out to Miami Valley Hospital where he later died. Dawn Shearer (above) has been arrested Police say no one else was at the home when the shooting occurred. A handgun and other evidence was found at the scene, and Dawn Shearer was taken into custody. She is held without bond at the Middletown City Jail and is due to appear in court on Wednesday. Police said they were still trying to determine the couple's marital status. Few people claim to despise 'fake news' more than President Donald Trump. He has angrily tweeted the phrase 17 times accusing the media of spreading lies. But on Thursday, the commander and chief shared a fictitious Albawaba story saying Kuwait issued its own 'Trump-esque' visa ban. It has not yet been removed from Trump's official Facebook page though it has been proven fake. Almost 70,000 people have shared the post from his page. Scroll down for video Smart!: President Trump's official Facebook page shared this false Albawaba story Thursday Th Kuwait visa story Trump shared has been denounced as false by multiple governments The false report says Kuwait will ban citizens from five Muslim majority countries from obtaining visas. Specifically, it claims: Syrians, Iraqis, Iranians, Pakistanis and Afghans will not be able to obtain visit or trade Kuwaiti visas. Kuwait News Agency KUNA said the foreign ministry 'categorically denied media reports that is planned to stop entry visas for some nationalities.' It also said the ministry does not believe person's nationality or faith is linked to terrorism or violence. The story has also been denounced by multiple governments. Also, Albawaba story uses anonymous sources, which is something Trump abhors. Kuwait News Agency said the article Trump shared on Facebook was fake news Are we living in Nazi Germany?: Trump compared the spreading of fake news to Hitler's regime Trump has tweeted the phrase 'fake news' 17 times. He has accused major media outlets such as CNN and the New York Times of spreading false information Trump shared a story that only cited fake sourced on Thursday. It was proven to be fake news President Trump has criticized negative articles about him using unnamed sources. In September, he tweeted: 'Remember, don't believe "sources said" by the VERY dishonest media. If they don't name the sources, the sources don't exist.' When Trump first shared the article, Russia state media Sputnik News posted the information writing 'Kuwait has ripped a page from the playbook of U.S. President Donald Trump.' But later, CNN reports the website corrected the article saying: 'The following news article proved to be untrue.' One of Trump's favorite news outlets reported on the fake news as well. Breitbart ran the story with the lede: 'Radical Islamic terrorism concerns have reportedly prompted Kuwait to suspend the issuance of visas for citizens of five fellow Muslim-majority countries.' However, the reporter notes later in article that the Kuwait foreign ministry denied the news. The Albawaba article has yet to be flagged by Facebook with a warning label to say that it is 'disputed by 3rd Party Fact-Checkers.' Facebook cracked down on fake news stories because of the numerous salaciously false stories spread before the election. It is not clear if the president shared the article himself or if it was posted by someone on his staff. Trump supporters continue to like and share the disproven information on his Facebook page. The top comment on his post is: 'Donald Trump is already one of the best Presidents in US History!' Vice President Mike Pence has sworn in Betsy DeVos as education secretary - at the end of a bitter confirmation process which saw Republicans join the vote against her. Pence had made an unprecedented tie-breaking vote in the U.S. Senate to confirm Donald Trump's education secretary nominee. Democrats pulled an all-nighter on Capitol Hill, hoping the efforts would lead to one more Republican coming to their side and voting against the nomination of Education Secretary Betsy DeVos. But as noon approached Tuesday it looked like the 24-hour speech-a-thon was all for naught, as Pence arrived on the Hill to cast his affirming vote. SCROLL DOWN FOR VIDEO Swearing-in: Mike Pence swore in Betsy DeVos in his White House office hours after voting for her - the first time a casting vote had been needed for in a confirmation. Her husband Dick DeVos held the Bible Controversial: Betsy DeVos's confirmation saw a Republican rebellion which tipped the Senate into a 50-50 splot forcing Pence to use his casting vote. 'On this vote the yeas are 50, the nays are 50, the Senate being equally divided, the vice president votes in the affirmative and the nomination is confirmed,' Pence said, chairing the session. This would mark the first time in history a vice president's vote in the Senate would be needed to get a cabinet nominee over the line. After he swore in DeVos in his White House office, with her husband Dick DeVos holding the Bible, Pence endorsed her strongly for the role. 'I wasn't just voting for you,' he said. 'Having seen your devotion to improving the quality of education for some of our most vulnerable children across the nation for so many years, I was also casting a vote for America's children. 'I can tell you, my vote for Betsy DeVos was the easiest vote I ever cast.' President Donald Trump expressed support for his nominee via Twitter this morning, before she was voted in. 'Senate Dems protest to keep the failed status quo. Betsy DeVos is a reformer, and she is going to be a great Education Sec. for our kids!' Trump tweeted from his @POTUS account. Two GOP senators, Maine's Susan Collins and Alaska's Lisa Murkowski, already committed to breaking rank, but the rest of the GOP caucus looked poised to vote in favor for the controversial nominee. DeVos, a top Republican donor from Michigan, has drawn particularly fierce opposition. Vice President Mike Pence cast the tie-breaking vote to confirm President Donald Trump's education secretary nominee Betsy DeVos The final vote for Education Secretary Betsy DeVos stood at 51 yeas and 50 nays, as Vice President Mike Pence made the tie-breaking vote Vice President Mike Pence arrived this morning on Capitol Hill to cast a tie-breaking vote in the U.S. Senate over the controversial nomination of Betsy DeVos for education secretary Vice President Mike Pence gives a waves as he walks up the Capitol steps on his way to cast a vote for President Donald Trump's Education Secretary Betsy DeVos President Donald Trump's nominee Betsy DeVos testified before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee on January 17 President Donald Trump used his official POTUS Twitter account this morning to show support for his education secretary nominee, Betsy DeVos Sen. Al Franken suggested that Betsy DeVos' Senate committee testimony 'may have been one of the most embarrassing performances in the history of the United States Senate' An advocate for school choice, meaning giving taxpayer-funded vouchers to students so they can attend charter or private schools over their local public schools, her testimony before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee committee was widely panned. Sen. Al Franken, speaking late Monday night, suggested, 'It may have been one of the most embarrassing performances in the history of the United States Senate.' Testifying before the HELP committee on January 17, DeVos struggled with education policy concepts, such as if teachers should be measured on whether students gain proficiency or demonstrate growth. She also engaged in a memorable back-and-forth with Connecticut Democrat, Sen. Chris Murphy, who represented the Newtown families in Congress. Murphy wanted to know if DeVos thought guns belonged in schools, as Trump has proposed to rid the nation of gun-free school zones. She replied that that decision should be left up to local municipalities and states to decide. 'I will refer back to Sen. Enzi and the school he was talking about in Wapiti, Wyoming. I think probably there, I would imagine that there is probably a gun in the school to protect from potential grizzlies,' DeVos replied. DeVos was also criticized for never attending public school, nor teaching in a public school. She also never held public office. Born the daughter of billionaire Edgar Prince, she married into the billionaire DeVos family, with her husband Dick an heir to the Amway fortune. Her brother Erik Prince founded the private security company Blackwater, which was caught up in allegations of civilian deaths in Iraq as a result of its contractors' lack of restraint. As Democrats spent speech after speech calling DeVos unfit to run the education department Monday, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell shamed them for holding Trump's nominations up. 'This is the slowest time for a new cabinet to be up and running since George Washington,' he noted after the DeVos vote today, which marked the seventh nominee of Trump's to get through the Senate. Yesterday, the GOP Senate leader noted how by this time in previous administration, 12 nominations had been given the Senate's seal of approval for President Barack Obama, all 14 were confirmed for President George W. Bush and President Bill Clinton had 13 of his choices. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell needled Democrats for dragging their feet on getting President Donald Trump's nominee confirmed Democrats - and the occasional Republican - spoke on the Senate floor all Monday night into Tuesday, hoping their efforts would convince one more GOP vote to switch sides 'Well, Mr. President, it seems this gridlock and opposition has far less to do with the nominees actually before us than the man who nominated them,' McConnell said, speaking to the chair. He suggested Democrats 'simply cannot cannot accept the results of a democratic election.' And he tsk-tsked groups on the left who are pressuring Democratic senators to 'continue to resist.' 'Democrats don't have to like that decision but they do have a responsibility to our country,' McConnell said. Texas Republican Sen. John Cornyn echoed McConnell several minutes later when he spoke on the Senate floor. 'This behavior is really juvenile if you ask me and it can't really accomplish anything,' Cornyn said. 'It's a strategy in search of a goal.' Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren railed against the nomination of Betsy DeVos for education secretary and suggested the likely outgoing Sen. Jeff Sessions shouldn't get to vote for her But Democrats spent hours reading letters from their constituents, trying to convince one more Republican all that would be needed to kill DeVos' chances to join them tomorrow. Speaking for about 57 minutes on the floor, Massachusetts Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren said 'it was difficult to imagine a worse choice' for education secretary. 'I rise today to call on my colleagues to reject the nomination of Betsy DeVos,' Warren said on the Senate floor, according to The Hill. 'The Republicans have made it clear no matter her experience, no matter her radical views ... they will ram this nomination down the throats of the American people sideways,' Warren didn't believe Sessions, about to be confirmed as attorney general, should be about to vote for DeVos in the Senate first, calling it a 'massive conflict of interest.' The Senate majority delayed cloture on Sessions' nomination so he was able to vote for DeVos on Tuesday. 'Now with at least 50 senators ... publicly opposed to this nomination, the Republican leadership has rigged the vote so that Sen. Sessions can drag her across the finish line just before he is confirmed as attorney general,' Warren said. Sen. Debbie Stabenow, Democrat from DeVos' home state of Michigan, talked about how the Republican fundraiser's educational efforts have harmed education in the state. 'Her vision of education and her actions have, unfortunately, played a major role in undermining our pubic schools,' Stabenow said on the Senate floor. Stabenow accused of not only negatively impacting public education, but making charter schools less accountable and transparent. Of her fellow Michiganders the Democratic senator said, 'overwhelmingly they've told me that Betsy DeVos should not be our secretary of education.' Yoko Ono has been spotted arriving in New York in a wheelchair just weeks after she joined thousands of protesters marching the streets of NYC for women's rights. The 83-year-old wife of the late Beatle John Lennon arrived at New York's JFK airport on Monday where she was helped through the terminal by an assistant. Wearing a grey fedora and shielding her face with round sunglasses, the artist and peace activist clutched her bag on her lap and she was pushed out of the terminal. Ono was spotted wearing a black jacket and trousers, paired with a pair of Nike sneakers and a grey scarf. Yoko Ono was spotted arriving at New York's JFK airport on Monday where the 83-year-old was helped through the terminal by an assistant pushing her wheelchair It is not clear if Yoko is ill or has trouble walking. She is one of the number of celebrities who has been vocal in their opposition to Donald Trump. Ono joined the rally in New York last month where thousands marched through the streets for women's rights and against the president. She was pictured smiling and holding hands with Whoopi Goldberg as they rallied. The 83-year-old, who was in her wheelchair, later tweeted a photo of herself with fellow protesters holding signs reading 'woman power' and 'imagine peace'. Wearing a grey fedora and shielding her face with round sunglasses, the artist and peace activist clutched her bag on her lap and she was pushed out of the terminal The 83-year-old was spotted wearing a black jacket and trousers, paired with a pair of Nike sneakers and a grey scarf It follows revelations there could be a biopic movie being made on Yoko and Lennon's love story. Producer Michael De Luca is said to be working with Ono to track her relationship with her late Beatle husband and their anti-war efforts, according to Hollywood Reporter. 'The story will focus on ripe and relevant themes of love, courage and activism in the U.S. - with the intention of inspiring today's youth to stand up for and have a clear vision for the world they want,' De Luca said last week. 'I am also honored and privileged to be working with Yoko Ono, Anthony McCarten and Josh Bratman to tell the story of two amazing global icons.' Plans are underway for a biopic about Yoko Ono and John Lennon's love story Yoko was joined by Whoopi Goldberg in New York last month where they marched through the streets with thousands of women's rights protesters Dalya Saeed (pictured) allegedly stabbed her ex-husband after they argued about the custody of their daughter A mother tried to stab her ex-husband and disembowel him with a carving knife just minutes after they had a four-hour sex session, a court heard today. Dalya Saeed, 35, is accused of stabbing Bilal Miah, 31, and trying to pull out his intestines after the pair had romped. A court was told part of Mr Miah's small bowel was cut from his body and thrown onto the bedroom carpet. The taxi driver, who had remarried, told a jury he desperately tried to push his entrails back into his stomach after being attacked by his estranged wife at her home. He suffered 30 separate wounds and spent ten days in hospital and made a full recovery after undergoing two operations. Saeed denied charges of attempted murder and wounding with intent when she went on trial at Birmingham Crown Court on Monday. And today Mr Miah told the jury he was attacked by Saeed at around 10pm on October 19, 2015 after going to her flat in Moseley, Birmingham. He said the pair had argued about custody of their daughter before they ended up back on the bed. Giving evidence, Mr Miah added: 'Suddenly in the blink of an eye, and I didn't see the knife, she stabbed me twice in the belly. 'I can only assume the knife came from either under the bed or the pocket of her dressing gown. 'My intestines were out, everything was out and she was grabbing hold of them, trying to pull them. 'She broke one of them and threw it onto the floor but I managed to put the rest of them back in my belly.' Saeed, 35, is accused of stabbing Bilal Miah, 31, (pictured) after the pair had a four-hour sex session, Birmingham Crown Court heard The court heard Mr Miah tried to flee the flat but Saeed pursued him into the street where she attacked him with a wooden bat and a meat cleaver. He was only discovered in a nearby doorway at 3am when neighbours heard his screams and called police. Prosecutor Adam Western told the jury: 'The cuts were so severe part of his small bowel ended up on the carpet. 'She caused his injuries. Her intention was nothing less than to kill him.' The court heard Saeed told police she attacked her ex-husband in self-defence after he raped her. Birmingham Crown Court (heard) that her former husband suffered 30 separate wounds During cross-examination by her barrister Patrick Upward QC Mr Miah accepted he had been physically and verbally abusive towards her during their two-year Islamic marriage. The jury also heard both he and Saeed had been at risk of being deported as illegal immigrants. Mr Miah came to the UK in 2010 on a student visa but was classed as illegal because he had dropped out of college and Iraqi Kurd Saeed was only granted asylum in 2012. The court heard Mr Miah spent four months in a detention centre in 2012 but was allowed to stay because he has a child in the UK. The trial continues. A Western couple who were kidnapped by the Taliban could have been freed if their family had been allowed to pay a $150,000, it has been reported. Joshua Boyle, 33, from Toronto, and his wife Caitlan Coleman, 31, from Pennsylvania, were taken hostage while travelling in northern Afghanistan in 2012. In December last year they appeared in a chilling new video alongside their two children, believed to be aged four and two, who were born in captivity. According to a report by Vox, a Taliban representative told US military negotiators they would free the Coleman family in exchange for a ransom of $150,000. The military handed the details to the FBI - which oversees foreign kidnapping cases involving US citizens - but the agency never followed it up. The Western couple who were kidnapped by the Taliban in 2012 appeared in a chilling video alongside their two children who were born in captivity last December In the latest video, the couple begged for their governments to intervene on their behalf. Coleman - sitting with her two young children - urged them to reach a deal to secure the family's freedom. She said: 'We can only ask and pray that someone will recognize the atrocities these men carry out against us. From left, Patrick Boyle, Linda Boyle, Lyn Coleman and Jim Coleman hold photo of their kidnapped children, Joshua Boyle and Caitlan Coleman in June 2014 How different countries react to ransoms Britain has a rigid policy of not paying ransoms. This applies both to international terrorist groups and to domestic kidnappers. The reasoning is that to give in is to encourage more kidnappings The United States followed the same policy until 2015 when President Obama removed the threat of prosecutions from families of kidnap victims France has paid $58million in ransom payments since 2008, according to a New York Times investigation, leading to the release of ISIS hostages such as Nicholas Henin. But a French government spokesman said: 'France does not pay ransoms' Switzerland has paid $12.4million to release hostages Spain has paid $5.9million in ransoms Russia is believed to have a policy of not paying ransoms, which was forged after a series of hostage crises involving Chechen rebels Israel declines to pay ransoms but has on occasion swapped prisoners for captured soldiers and airmen Advertisement 'My children have seen their mother defiled,' she added in the video. Sounding resigned and weary, Boyle addressed 'whatever Secretary of State will see', adding: 'It's been more than four years so I please with you to be quick.' That was only the second hostage video in three years the Taliban had released of the couple. Since the latest video emerged, Coleman's father Jim said he was still desperately trying to remain optimistic about his daughter's plight. He and his wife, Lyn Coleman, who live in Pennsylvania, last heard from their daughter and son-in-law in October 2012. Speaking to Vox, he said: 'I like to imagine Caity sitting around knitting with the other women while all of the different kids are playing together. That's my hope - that my grandchildren have other kids around.' Discussing his grandchildren he has never met, he added: 'I thought they looked like a couple of normal, healthy little American boys whose faces were dirty because they were messing around like little boys do.' He went on: 'This is criminal for them, not political, so they have every incentive to keep the family alive and safe. 'There should be a way to strike a deal, but think of all of the time that's been wasted. That's the part that eats at me: It didn't need to drag on this long. This family should have come home years ago.' Boyle and Coleman were traveling through the Warduk region of Afghanistan in October 2012 when they were taken hostage by the Taliban. The couple pictured above in happier days Boyle's parents, Patrick and Linda Boyle, had also discussed the agony of seeing their grandchildren for the first time. In a statement released after the video emerged, they said: 'It is an indescribable emotional sense one has watching a grandson making faces at the camera, while hearing our son's leg chains clanging up and down on the floor as he tries to settle his son. 'It is unbelievable that they have had to shield their sons from their horrible reality for four years.' The parents said their son told them in a letter they have tried to protect the children by pretending their signs of captivity are part of a game being played with guards. A video released in August showed Coleman and Boyle warning that their captors would kill them and their children unless the government in Kabul ends its execution of Taliban prisoners Relatives have described the couple, who wed in 2011 after meeting online due to their shared interest in Star Wars, as well-intentioned but naive adventure seekers. They once spent months traveling through Latin America, where they lived among indigenous Guatemalans and where Boyle grew a long beard that led some children to call him 'Santa Claus'. The couple set off again in the summer of 2012 for a journey that took them to Russia, the central Asian countries of Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan, and then finally to Afghanistan. With plans to return home in December ahead of Coleman's due date, they checked in regularly via email during their travels - expressing in their writings an awareness of the perils they faced - and toured the region, staying in hostels and their tent. The communication abruptly ended on October 8, 2012, after Boyle emailed from an internet cafe in what he called an 'unsafe' part of Afghanistan. The last withdrawals from the couple's bank account were made October 8 and 9 in Kabul. In 2013, the couple appeared in two videos asking the US government to free them from the Taliban. The Colemans received a letter last November in which their daughter said she had given birth to a second child in captivity. A video released in August showed Coleman and Boyle warning that their captors would kill them and their children unless the government in Kabul ends its execution of Taliban prisoners. Alan Butcher's sat nav directed him across the Channel for a trip from one part of Kent to another An engineer could have ended up taking a very scenic route to work when his satnav directed him across the English Channel on a 35-mile journey to work. Alan Butcher almost made a 45-mile diversion across the Channel on Tuesday morning when the navigation device in his Citroen C4 Picasso suggested he was in the middle of the Channel, so should use the tunnel to get from Folkestone to Rochester, in Kent. The 37-year-old said he has contacted the manufacturer to find out about the glitch, and claims the mapping system doesn't know where his car is. The avionics engineer, who bought the car last summer, also claims the solution from the local dealership doesn't work. He said: 'It is a general fault with the system, there is an ongoing issue with it, the car cannot establish where it is in the world and this morning was a unique case that had me crossing the English Channel. 'It's been a problem since I have had the car and what makes it even more frustrating is that the vehicle went in for its MOT and the only advice I was given is to update the mapping system and that's not going to correct the problem. His satnav appears to believe he is in the middle of the English Channel to begin with, and so takes him into France to make his journey to work 'I contacted my local dealership too and they offered the same advice, that's not going to sort the problem out.' On Tuesday morning Mr Butcher was trying to get to work in Rochester, Kent, when the satnav tried to take him across the Channel and back again, a detour of more than 45 miles. In the car on the way to work he tweeted Citroen and said: 'When are nav issues going to be fixed on the C4 Picasso, I needn't use the English Channel to get to work from Folkestone.' The diversion would have meant the father of two would have needed his passport just to get from one part of Kent to another The father-of-two, from Folkestone, Kent, said: 'I got to work okay this morning however should I be on an unrecognised route or if I'm driving with the family or my wife is using the car when it is useless. 'I needn't use the English Channel to get to work from Folkestone.' Citroen have been contacted for a comment. A Gone in 60 Seconds gang of hi-tech car thieves used sophisticated software to steal keyless 60,000 Range Rovers in a 2.5m crime spree, a court heard today. Manjit Sandhu, 32, allegedly ran a criminal enterprise that targeted around 100 cars and sold them on the black market in the UK and overseas between March 1, 2015 and August 17, 2016. Heena Bux, 21, identified cars to break into and arranged for Khuram Zaman, 19, Mohammed Islam, 20, and Geoffrey Cairns, 55, to do the dirty work and drive away, it is claimed. A gang of 'hi-tech car thieves' targeted keyless 60,000 Range Rovers in a 'black market' deal, a court heard today The gang bought specialist equipment used by locksmiths to bypass keyless cars security systems in seconds, it is said. They also 'burgled car keys from homes in east and west London' and drove the owners vehicles away from their driveways within minutes, jurors were told. Southwark Crown Court heard the vehicles were then fitted with false number plates and either sold in the UK or shipped overseas for sale on the black market. Sandhu, Bux, Zaman, and Islam deny one count of conspiracy to commit burglary, one count of conspiracy to steal, and one count of conspiracy to convert criminal property. Cairns admits one count of conspiracy to steal but denies the other two charges. Jurors were told that Sufiyan Mahmood, 19, Faisal Khan, 23, and Humza Bhariwala, 23, have pleaded guilty to related offences including conspiracy to burgle and conspiracy to steal. Prosecutor Jane Osborne said: In this case the prosecution say that there are 122 offences which involved the theft or attempted theft of many vehicles that are worth a combined total of over 2.5million. She continued: The first way in which they were being stolen was simply by breaking into the owners address, normally through a front door that wasnt double-locked and simply taking the car keys from wherever that person may have left them overnight. The court heard the thieves would get in and out of the houses in less than three minutes. Jurors heard that crooks purchased specialist devices normally reserved for devices to circumvent the cars security services. Miss Osborne said: In the wrong hands, such as the hands of these defendants, they allow them to simply start and drive away vehicles when they dont have the actual key. The court heard the gang used 'specialist equipment' to break into the keyless vehicles and 'stole 100 to sell in the UK and abroad' She added: In the hands of someone who knows what they are doing that entire process can take, really, seconds. Miss Osborne said one of the cars was found hidden among furniture in a shipping crate bound for Uganda, Africa. She said: There is some evidence that the vehicles being stolen were being shipped overseas. One of the higher-value cars was recovered from a shipping crate in Felixstowe. Those exporting the vehicle knew that it was stolen, it was on false plates at the time and it wasnt listed in the shipping manifest. The defendants were arrested in August 2016 after an investigation by the polices Organised Vehicle Crime Unit. Miss Osborne said: The cars that these defendants were dealing with were frequently worth, on the legitimate market, more than 30,000. They often targeted Range Rovers and Land Rovers that were worth as much as 60,000 - they would still have yielded a significant amount even as stolen vehicles. All of the money they got would have been profit. Southwark Crown Court, pictured, heard the defendants were arrested in August 2016 after an investigation by the polices Organised Vehicle Crime Unit Cairns, of Romford, admits one count of conspiracy to steal but denies conspiracy to burgle and conspiracy to convert criminal property. Islam, of Forest Gate, Zaman of Walthamstow, Bux, of Leytonstone, and Sandhu, of Hornchurch, deny one count of conspiracy to burgle, one count of conspiracy to steal, and one count of conspiracy to convert criminal property. Bhariwala, of Wood Green, north London, has admitted one count of conspiracy to burgle. Khan, of Manor Park, and Mahmood, of Forest Gate, east London, have admitted conspiracy to steal and conspiracy to burgle. The trial continues. Failing to pay a Brexit divorce bill would be like leaving the pub without settling the tab for a round of drinks, the European Commission warned Britain today. Brussels chiefs have suggested the UK could face an 'exit bill' of up to 52billion to cover pensions, debts and budget commitments. It sets Theresa May up for a showdown with her EU counterparts over Britain's divorce bill. Failing to pay a Brexit divorce bill would be like leaving the pub without settling the tab for a round of drinks, the European Commission warned Britain today And today Margaritis Schinas, chief spokesman to European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker, confirmed that talks were underway behind the scenes on the size of the bill. Warning that Britain will not be allowed off the hook by Brussels, he said: 'During the time of its membership, the UK has taken - and probably will take - financial commitments. 'Those commitments should be honoured in full. This will be an essential element of the negotiations on the orderly separation. 'As all commitments are taken jointly with the other member states, if they are not paid by the UK, the other 27 member states will have to foot the bill. 'It is like going to the pub with 27 friends. You order a round of beer, but then you can't leave while the party continues. You still need to pay for the round you ordered.' Michael Gove, left, and Boris Johnson, right, led the Vote Leave campaign in the referendum last summer Responding to reports that the EU's chief Brexit negotiator Michael Barnier is drawing up plans to charge Britain between 35billion and 52billion, Mr Schinas said: 'Technical work is ongoing and is based on objective and verifiable data. 'We are not discussing figures in this context. Whatever figures are flying around are not our figures.' International Trade Secretary Liam Fox last week dismissed the suggestion that Britain would have to pay an exit bill as 'absurd'. Britain's former ambassador to the EU, Sir Ivan Rogers, last week warned MPs that the exit bill would be a top priority for the Brussels in Article 50 negotiations. The bill will cover the cost of programmes agreed by the UK stretching years into the future, as well as liabilities for staff pensions. Responding to Mr Schinas's comments, a Downing Street spokesman said: 'People have set out various positions. We will deal with issues that arise during the negotiations when they arise.' A key player in the botched rollout of President Trump's problematic travel ban took responsibility on Tuesday for rushing the decision instead of waiting for Congress to get comfortable with the idea. Gen. John Kelly, the secretary of Homeland Security, told a U.S. House committee that 'this is all on me.' But he maintained that the plan to temporarily prevent people from seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the country made 'an awful lot of sense' and will make the U.S. safer 'for all our citizens.' Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly testified Tuesday on Capitol Hill that the botched rollout of President Donald Trump's travel-ban executive order was largely his own fault The Trump administration and the Department of Justice appealed a court ruling that suspended Trump's controversial immigration ban; Judge James Robart (right) temporarily halted Trump's order barring immigrants from seven Muslim-majority countries Kelly's moment of falling on his sword was the most high-profile admission that the executive order, now the subject of federal litigation, wasn't handled correctly from the start. 'In retrospect, I should have this is all on me, by the way I should have delayed it just a bit so that I could talk to members of Congress, particularly the leadership of committees like this, to prepare them for what was coming,' he said. Kelly tossed the ultimate responsibility for the measure's concept to Trump's transition team, saying that it was 'developed before I ever became secretary of Homeland Security, before my confirmation.' Gen. Kelly said Trump's travel ban was help keep 'all our citizens' safe and made 'an awful lot of sense' Trump tweeted over the weekend that very bad and dangerous people' including 'potential terrorists' were free to enter the U.S. while the matter is litigated But he conceded that he knew Trump would sign his executive order on January 27, and hurried ahead out of concern for public safety. 'We knew it was going to be released that day. The desire was to get it out,' Kelly said. 'The thinking was to get it out quick so that, potentially, people who might be coming here to harm us would not take advantage of some period of time that they could jump on an airplane and get here, or get here in other ways.' A Seattle judge halted enforcement of the executive order last week, and the Trump administration quickly took that decision to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, the nation's most famously liberal senior court. Pictured: The seven countries that were previously subjects of temporary travel bans in Trump's executive order; travelers from those nations are currently free to enter the U.S. A three-judge panel from that bench is set to hear oral arguments during a telephone conference on Tuesday. Trump has tweeted that the court order stopping him is likely to mean that 'many very bad and dangerous people may be pouring into our country.' When ranking Democratic Rep. Bennie Thompson asked Kelly to assess that claim, he responded that there is no way to know if the president is correct'until the boom.' 'We won't know until then,' Kelly said, referring to a possible attack. The Trump White House has wavered between calling the order a 'ban' and a 'pause.' Two police officers who stole a stash of cannabis for themselves are being hunted after going on the run. Argentine authorities say they are searching for the two women after a video of them boasting about how they had taken advantage of their police badges to steal the drugs went viral. The incident happened in the city of Rosario, in the province of Santa Fe and was caught on camera, with the officers filming themselves laughing and joking while holding the giant plant. In the footage the two officers, named as Ivana Bogado and Fiorela Olobardi, can be seen driving around and filming themselves laughing as they tell the story of how they got their own stash of the illegal drug. The boasted they had taken it from a man after threatening to report him to the station. Bogado says: 'We saw a man running in front of a construction site and we stopped him and asked him "why were you running so quickly?" and then we seized him. The officers, Ivana Bogado and Fiorela Olobardi, are seen driving around and laughing as they describe how they got the stash 'Who wants to smoke now? Look at what we have, we took everything he had.' Bogado then recalls how they threatened the man that if he went 'running to his house' or if he told anyone they would call the police. She adds: 'He said "no, please, take everything" and so we took everything.' The police officers are now being hunted by their former colleagues after the video went viral. The Security Ministry has said they will be punished when caught. A one-year-old boy has died after being left in a hot car parked outside his grandparents' home. Temperatures in Miami were in the low 80s on Monday afternoon - meaning that it was more like 100 degrees F inside the car where Samuel J. Schnall was left for more than an hour yesterday. When authorities arrived at the scene at 3.15pm Monday, they found the little boy was still responsive and breathing. But Samuel died the following day in hospital. A one-year-old boy has died after being left in a hot car (pictured) parked outside his grandparents' home It is illegal in Florida to leave a child unattended in a vehicle. However, no charges have yet been filed over the tragic death. Police say Samuel had spent the day with an unnamed relative on Monday, who was not one of his parents. But when the family returned to their house in the affluent Miami suburb of Pinecrest, he was left in the car. 'This child had been out and about with a family member throughout the day, upon returning here the child was left in the vehicle,' said Miami-Dade Police Det. Jennifer Capote. 'This is a horrific situation for the family members involved, for the parents of this child, as well as the police department and the officers who found the child,' Det. Capote told Local 10. Police say Samuel spent the day with a relative but when the family returned to their house (pictured) in the affluent Miami suburb of Pinecrest, he was left in the car Nearly 40 toddlers died in 2016 as a result of being left inside sweltering cars after being forgotten about by their parents. It was the highest number of deaths in three years. A boy from Texas has invented a device which he hopes will save the lives of babies and young children if they become locked in a hot car. Ten-year-old Bishop Curry V's invention would attach to a car seat and it would detect if a child were left inside. It would then begin blowing cool air until parents and authorities are notified. The fifth grader has a patent pending on his idea and his dad, who works as an engineer for Toyota, has even alerted company bosses of the invention. The family have set up a GoFundMe page to help further Bishop's invention. Donald and Sandra Lee Cragin had been inseparable for more than three decades, and neither terminal illness nor death were going to change that. Just three weeks shy of the couple's 31st anniversary, which they would have celebrated on Valentine's Day next week, Donald 65, and Sandra, 55, were discovered dead in their Maine home after taking their own lives a few minutes minutes apart. On the afternoon of January 24, police were called to the Cragins' residence on Shaws Mill Road in Standish and found the husband and wife lying side by side on their bed. Both were pronounced dead at the scene. Inseparable: Just three weeks shy of their 31st wedding anniversary, Donald Cragin, 65, and his Huntington's disease-stricken wife, Sandra Lee Cragin, 55, were found dead in their Maine home from an apparent suicide Devastating discovery: Sandra's brother went to check up on the couple at their home in Standish (pictured) on January 24 and found both unresponsive in their bed Detectives were quick to point out that the deaths were not considered suspicious and that there was no risk to the public. Police are still awaiting the results of toxicology tests to determine the cause and manner of death, by the couple's relatives say they most likely overdosed on unspecified pills. News of the Cragins' self-inflicted deaths, albeit heart-breaking, did not come as a surprise to their family members. HUNTINGTON'S: THE SILENT KILLER Huntington's disease was originally called Huntington's chorea (Greek for dancing) due to the involuntary movements associated with the condition. It is a hereditary genetic disease that attacks the nerve cells in the brain. Victims can start to show symptoms at almost any age, but most will develop problems between the ages of 35 and 55. Huntington's usually worsens over ten to 25 years. Early symptoms include slight, uncontrollable movements of the face, jerky movements and slurred speech, which become more extreme. Sufferers increasingly lose co-ordination and tend to find eating tiring as the throat and mouth muscles stop working properly, leading to choking and recurrent chest infections. Hope for a treatment lies in developing medication that can slow or halt the condition by 'switching off' the faulty gene that causes the disease. Advertisement Gail Rich, Sandra's mother, told the Portland Press Herald her daughter was suffering from Huntington's disease - an incurable hereditary illness in which nerve cells in the brain break down over time, causing involuntary movements and muscle spasms, slurred speech, dramatic weight loss, amnesia and paranoia. In the final stages of the fatal disease, the sufferer requires round-the-clock care, being unable to move, speak or eat without assistance. Sandra Cragin, a mother-of-two and a grandmother, was diagnosed with the terminal genetic disorder a decade ago after having watched her own father die in agony from the same illness. Rich said her daughter was well aware of the kind of pain, both physical and psychological, that Huntingtons disease inflicts on the patients and those around them, and she was determined to spare herself and her family the anguish associated with the last stages of her affliction. One time, she asked if I would be awfully angry if she left this life, and I said, No, Sandy, you have to do what you want to do, Rich said. At around 12.30pm on January 24, Sandra Cragins brother, Michael Sullivan, stopped by her house to check up on her and Donald, as was his custom. He found the front door unlocked and there was a note taped to it instructing him to come inside. He proceeded into the couples bedroom, where he found his sister lying in bed under the covers. Her husband was lying beside her on top of the bed. Both were unresponsive. Relatives believe Sandra, pictured left with daughter Savannah, took her own life by overdosing on pills. She likely did not know her husband, pictured right with their daughter, was planning to follow her in death The woman left final notes for all of her her relatives, including her husband, suggesting that she did not know that Donald had been planning to take his life as well that day. He couldnt live without her, Rich said of her son-in-law. According to their joint obituary, Donald Cragin worked in the construction industry, traveling the country building and maintaining communications towers. The husband and father-of-two loved traveling, coin collecting and SCUBA diving. Mom's grief: Gail Rich, Sandra's mother, said her son-in-law could not live without his life partner of more than three decade His wife Sandra graduated from Bonny Eagle High School and worked as a dental technician before becoming a stay-at-home mom. Later in life, she also took up breeding Havanese terriers. The couple were introduced to each other by Sandras brother in 1985 at a summer camp in Maine. The two fell in love and got married a year later on Valentine's Day. The Cragins' 30-year union produced two children, daughter Savannah and son Derek, both now grown. Savannah and her husband, Chad Wilkes, live in Missouri with their young son, Landon, while Derek Cragin lives in Utah with his daughter Alexia. About 10 years ago, while Sandra and Donald were living in North Carolina, the wife began experiencing memory loss, facial tics and trouble climbing the stairs. Before long came the devastating diagnosis: Huntingtons disease. Although Sandra Cragin knew that her condition was incurable and would get progressively worse, she continued fighting and stayed active to the best of her abilities, even managing to ride a bike. A couple of months before their deaths, Donald and Sandra had gone on a trip out west to visit their children and grandchildren one last time. Killer within: Sandra (right) was diagnosed with Huntington's disease a decade ago after having watched her father die in agony from the same condition After her parents tragic passing, their daughter Savannah left touching tributes on her Facebook page. Last night I slept in my dad's clothes and they still smell like him. As weird as that sounds it gave me such peace, she wrote. Of her mother, Wilkes wrote in a separate post: 'She was beautiful, vibrant, and so full of life. My mom never met a stranger and loved her friends and family fiercely. She was strong and brave and made everyone around her feel special. She added: 'No child should have to bury both of their parents in a day.' President Donald Trump had some tough language for a state senator who a local Texas sheriff believed was helping the Mexican drug cartels. 'Who is the state senator? Do you want to give his name? We'll destroy his career,' the president offered today in the Roosevelt Room at the White House. Amid laughter, Rockwall County, Texas, Sheriff Harold Eavenson stayed mum and didn't give up the senator's name, nor did he accept Trump's offer. Scroll down for video President Donald Trump entertained county sheriffs in the White House's Roosevelt Room earlier today During the meeting, Sheriff Harold Eavenson (right) brought up a Texas lawmaker who was offering legislation that the sheriff believed would help Mexican drug cartels In response, President Trump (left) asked 'what's his name?' Before offering, 'We'll destroy his career.' Eavenson (right) did not give Trump the name of the lawmaker The Republican president was entertaining county sheriffs today at the White House when the exchange occurred. 'The sheriffs are good people,' the president said when reporters were allowed briefly into the room. Trump also took the opportunity to note to reporters that the sheriffs didn't get enough media coverage. The president also repeated one of his most well-known campaign promises, that he would secure the country's southern border. 'We're committed to securing the border,' Trump said. 'We're going to be building a wall.' When it was his turn to speak, Eavenson, who is next in line to become president of the National Sheriff's Association, spoke of a bill that he believed would aid Mexican drug cartels. Sheriff Harold Eavenson (far right) was against a piece of legislation that would require a conviction before asset forfeiture would be allowed 'There's a state senator in Texas that was talking about legislation to require conviction before we could receive that forfeiture money,' Eavenson explained. 'Do you believe that?' Trump responded. 'And I told him that the cartel would build a monument to him in Mexico if he would get that legislation passed,' Eavenson said. Afterward, talking to the Dallas Morning News, Eavenson characterized Trump's quip about destroying the lawmaker's career as the president 'just being emphatic that he did not agree with that senator's position.' Speaking of his own role of bringing the issue up, but not identifying the senator in question, the sheriff said, 'I'm not into assassinating his character.' But now, Austin is talking and trying to figure out which lawmaker was the subject of the back-and-forth. Speaking on CNN, Todd Gillman of the Dallas Morning News said his paper's reporters had narrowed it down to two people. Both Republicans, Gillman explained that the two men were civil libertarians and thus were against the idea that the government could seize one's property. Eavenson told the Dallas Morning News that he appreciated Trump's position on the issue. 'He was making a point about how much he opposed that kind of philosophy,' he said. 'I appreciated what the president said. I can assure you that he is on our side.' Law enforcement officials in Panama on Tuesday carried out a series of raids as part of an ongoing investigation into the death of a 23-year-old Columba University graduate from New York. Officers with Panama's National Police raided unspecified locations on Bastimentos Island hoping to gather additional information that would help them piece together what happened to backpacker Catherine Johannet, whose body was discovered Sunday in a wooded area near a popular beach. The results of Johannet's autopsy were expected to be released sometime Tuesday, reported the Panamanian newspaper La Prensa. Scroll down for video Tourist found dead: Catherine Johannet, 23 (left and right), was found dead on a Panama island Sunday afternoon, three days after she had left on a trip to the beach Adventurer: Johannet had been staying at a hostel in the village of Bocas del Toro on Colon Island (pictured in file photo) during a backpacking trip Final destination: Johannet had been planning to spend half the day Thursday on Red Frog Beach on Bastimentos Island (pictured), a popular travel destination in Panama Investigators have been tight-lipped about the circumstances of Johannets death and would not say if foul play was suspected. The US Embassy in Panama City confirmed Johannet's passing but so far no cause of death was provided. Johannet had been staying in a hostel in Bocas del Toro village on Colon Island, part of the same archipelago popular among tourists for its clear water, coral reefs and wildlife. The US Embassy said that Panamanian authorities and the FBI had searched for Johannet throughout the weekend and will continue investigating the case. Johannet was last seen alive at around 10am on Thursday on Colon Island, where she had been staying during a backpacking vacation, reported LoHud.com. That morning, she traveled to the nearby Bastimentos Island, a popular travel destination off the northern cast of Panama, where she had been planning to spend the day on Red Frog Beach. Staff at Johannet's hostel on Colon Island reported her missing after she failed to return from her day trip, according to Newsroom Panama. Gone: Staff at Johannet's hostel reported her missing after she failed to return from her beach excursion This map shows locations off the coast on Panama where Catherine Johannet had visited and where her body was found on Sunday Police and volunteers scoured the islands in search of the missing tourist until her body was discovered by an officer on a hiking trail near the beach on Bastimentos at 2.11pm on Sunday. Adrienne Bory, press attache at the US Embassy in Panama offered condolences to Catherine Johannet's family in New York. Catherines older sister, Laura, took to Facebook Sunday to thank friends for their support during this trying time. My family is thinking of all our beautiful memories with our laughing, adventurous, warm little girl, she wrote in a status update. According to her LinkedIn profile, Catherine graduated from Columbia University in 2015 with a Bachelors degree in comparative literature. From July 2015 to October 2016, she was employed as a teacher with the organization IvyPrerp based out of Hanoi, Vietnam. Her family were on their way to Panama on Monday to bring her body home. Johannet is survived by her parents, sister Laura and brother Paul. Two teenagers will be charged with planning to carry out a terrorist act when they face a Sydney court this week. Alo-Bridget Namoa and Sameh Bayda, both aged 19, were arrested on terror charges early last year by the NSW Joint Counter Terrorism Team. On Wednesday the married couple - who once said they wanted to 'do a Muslim Bonnie and Clyde' - will front Central Local Court charged with 'conspiracy to do an act, or acts in preparation for, or planning, a terrorist act or acts'. Alo-Bridget Namoa and Sameh Bayda, both aged 19, are facing life in prison for planning a terrorist attack on Sydney Namoa (left) and Bayda (right) are already facing a number of other terror-related charges Bayda is already facing three counts of collecting documents likely to facilitate terrorist acts. Namoa is also charged with 'recklessly possessing a thing' connected to a terrorist act and recklessly collecting documents connected to a terrorist act. 'Today's charges follows an extensive investigation by officers from the NSW Joint Counter Terrorism Team and on-going consultation with the Commonwealth DPP,' NSW Police said on Wednesday. The charge carries a penalty of life imprisonment. Last February at a Crime Commission hearing, the court heard that Namoa had previously boasted about wanting to 'do a Muslim Bonnie and Clyde'. The couple will face Central Local Court in Sydney on Wednesday (file photo) According to court documents, among the questions Namoa was asked by the commission were, 'What do you mean by "I want to do an Islamic Bonnie and Clyde on the kaffir"?' and 'Were you planning to sacrifice your life alongside your husband?' Senior police prosecutor Clint Nasr said Namoa had allegedly earlier been caught with a knife wrapped in a Shahada flag in her handbag and graphic images of beheadings, explosions and executions stored on her mobile phone. She married her husband in December 2015 after converting to Islam from Christianity. Sandy Chauvin, 60, was charged with five counts of aggravated cruelty to animals A drug bust in Houma, Louisiana led to the discovery of 133 cats living inside a squalid home covered in feces. Every surviving cat discovered had to be put to sleep upon arrival at the animal shelter. It took days for the police to remove the cats from the property. Lafourche Parish Drug Task Force raided the home of Sandy Chauvin and her sons Nicholas and Christian Chauvin on January 13. There they discovered a lab used for producing methamphetamine and an unsanitary number of cats. The drug task force also found seven dead cats hidden in the squalid environment. Christian Chauvin (left) and Nicholas Chauvin (right) were arrested for drug charges There were also five cats which appeared to have 'serious health issues and injuries.' The kitties were transported to Lafourche Parish Animal Shelter but all had to be euthanized because of their condition. The Lafourche Parish Sheriff's Office reports the was a: 'large amount of fecal matter was discovered throughout the residence' at 160 Sandy Lane. All three were arrested for creation or operation of a clandestine lab for a controlled, dangerous substance. Police say they found a 'large amount of fecal matter was discovered throughout the residence' at 160 Sandy Lane Sandy, 60, was charged with five counts of aggravated cruelty to animals. She was charged on February 1 and was released from jail Wednesday after posting a $40,000 bond. Nicholas, 35, was charged with distribution of methamphetamine. Police originally went to the home because there were two active warrants out for his arrest. Christian Chauvin, 43, was released four days later after posting $50,000 bond and his brother was released the day after on a $85,000 bond. A police officer who was fired after hitting two teenage pedestrians while going 97 mph now faces a vehicular homicide charge after one of the victims died. Jose Coreas-Mejia, 16, died from his injuries on Monday after he was hit by Scott York, 24, outside of Atlanta, Georgia, on January 29. York, the rookie Gwinnett County cop who was fired after the collision, had lost control of his police cruiser and jumped the curb while he was en route to another traffic accident. Former Gwinnett County police officer Scott York was charged with vehicular homicide after one of the two teens he hit with his police cruiser going 97 mph died from his injuries on Monday. The accident took place outside of Atlanta, on January 29 York told investigators he was on a four-lane road when he traveled to the center lane to pass another car, according to WSB-TV. While he was doing so, another car started merging into the center lane too. Police spokeswoman Cpl. Michele Pihera in Gwinnett County, Georgia, says the 16-year-old died from his injuries following the accident two weeks ago. The dead boy's cousin, 18-year-old Joel Melendez-Coreas, suffered minor injuries, and was released from the hospital back in January. The boy who died was 16-year-old Jose Coreas-Mejia. He was hit by York's squad car along with his cousin Joel Melendez-Coreas, 18, (pictured) who had minor injuries An investigation found York broke police rules by traveling at 97 mph, more than twice the speed limit. He had violated department policy by going more than 60 mph over the 40 mph speed limit before the accident. Video courtesy of 11 Alive/WXIA The policy states during a Code 2 response, which York was responding to, officers can have 'intermittent use of emergency lights and siren is authorized to proceed through intersections and congested areas ... at no time shall the posted speed limit be exceeded,' the Atlanta Journal Constitution reported. York turned himself over to police accompanied by his parents and was booked into jail on Tuesday. This lucky horse was airlifted off a 7700ft mountain after it was stuck in deep snow for five days. The horse was spotted by a group of people on snowmobiles who walked up and down Boulder Mountain in Idaho to bring it food for five days until the rescue. When the weather was calm enough for a helicopter, the good Samaritans strapped the tranquilised horse into a winch and it was taken away to safety. The horse was spotted by a group of people on snowmobiles who walked up and down Boulder Mountain in Idaho to bring it food for five days until the rescue Rescuer Ryan Miller posted footage of the rescue on his Facebook page where it has been viewed 1.6 million times. Idaho Horse Rescue, which helped with the evacuation, is now caring for the rescued horse. Its president, Robert Bruno, told KTVB: 'He's is poor condition, he definitely wouldn't have lasted another week or even a few days. 'We pulled a rabbit out of our hats on this one. It was a miracle.' When the weather was calm enough for a helicopter, rescuers strapped the tranquilised horse into a winch and it was taken away to safety Idaho Horse Rescue, which helped with the evacuation, is now caring for the rescued horse Mr Miller recently posted a photo of the animal gazing at the mountains from a paddock. 'After all that he won't even look at me!' he wrote. Another horse that was on the mountain is still unaccounted for. Valley County Sheriff's Office said: 'Unfortunately, there is no sign of the white horse.' An elderly woman who has lived in Sydney public housing for 30 years was forced to move this week to a public housing apartment with water views. Flo Seckold has spent her entire life in Millers Point, but on Tuesday the 83-year-old said goodbye to her three-storey house in the inner-city suburb and moved into a two bedroom apartment in Pyrmont. She is one of 600 residents who have been ordered to move from Miller's Point state-owned property, which has been sold off over the past two years to pay for 1,500 new public homes, according to A Current Affair. Scroll down for video Flo Seckold (pictured) has lived in a state-owned home in Sydney's Millers Point for 30 years, but on Tuesday the 83-year-old begrudgingly moved into a new apartment with harbour views She is one of 600 residents who have been ordered to move from public housing units in Miller's Point (pictured) Ms Seckold has actively protested the move since she was told she had to go. 'I didn't want to leave here, I didn't think we should have to go,' she told A Current Affair. 'I was born here 83 years ago. As far as I'm concerned, all that can be seen is the might dollar for this area.' Ms Seckold said she believes the older residents should have been allowed to see out their final days at their current homes. Miller's Point properties have been sold to pay for 1,500 new public homes (pictured) NSW Social Housing Minister Pru Goward told ACA the move will be better for Ms Seckold. 'When you're facing a waiting list of 60,000 people and you're looking at people with children living in cars in the eyes and telling them you have got nowhere to go, and you can now say we can expand the number of social housing properties because we've been able to sell Millers Point - I think that's better for everybody and it's a great outcome for those families,' she said. 'It's better for Flo. She will be moving to a two-bedroom unit with balconies, with water views and she'll be pleased with people from Millers Point also living in that complex,' Ms Goward said. This is the moment some of the planet's biggest mammals came together off the California coast. The incredible footage was shot off Newport Beach in the Pacific Ocean and shows three whales procreating. Mark Girardeau captured the rare footage using a drone as he sailed nearby in boat. Drone footage caught a rare moment as three gray whales yes, they mate in threes were caught in the act during their annual migration down to the warm-water lagoons in Baja The video shows gray whales mating and at one point you can actually see the whales penis which is nicknamed 'Pink Floyd' by many whale watchers. It was previously thought that it takes three whales to mate and that the third whale actually helps push the active male and almost be used as a headboard, but recent studies have proven that to be incorrect and that it only takes one male and one female to mate. However, when there is a third whale in the mix, the whale is possibly waiting to get a chance if something doesn't work out between the other two or possibly flush out the other competition as they have large testes and it can be a sperm competition. Never mind that a drone was hovering above, the footage managed to capture the intimate act between the whales With Valentine's Day just a week away, love is in the waters Giradeau and his team were six miles away from the the shore as he sent his drone soaring into the skies above to capture the intimate moments. 'It felt kind of weird flying on them while they were doing their thing,' said photographer and drone operator Mark Girardeau, who was aboard a Davey's Locker charter boat to Mercury News. 'I figured I'd keep filming. It's something not a lot of people get to see unless you watch National Geographic or an animal wildlife documentary. It was pretty special. 'The whales almost came close to the boat because they were flipping and turning around,' Girardeau said. 'The whales didn't seem to be distracted at all by our presence.' The creatures aren't taking the same migration path most gray whales travel on their way south The whales were caught in the act during their annual migration down to the warm-water lagoons in Baja, where most of the mating usually occurs Girardeau had fun with a video posted to social media of the whales, complete with the deep and sultry voice of Barry White singing along to the lovemaking Also swimming alongside the gray whales were bottlenose dolphins and a rare leucistic dolphin known as Patches as well. It is unusual to see courtship and mating outside of the lagoons of Mexico, further down the coast. The species tend to mate further down on their migration path, near Baja California. This time of year is the gray whale migration when all the gray whales are moving from Alaska to Mexico. They will be going back up to Alaska in a few months which is one of the longest migrations of any mammal as they travel from the northern reaches of Alaska to the warmer waters of Mexico. The Moroccan kickboxer friend who Cristiano Ronaldo was once accused of having a gay relationship with has been sentenced to two years in jail for assault. Badr Hari, 32, was not present in court and will now have to fly from his homeland to Amsterdam to serve his sentence. He is expected to serve around six months of the sentence, which his lawyer called 'incomprehensible', and has no chance of appeal. The conviction relates to a series of violent incident in Amsterdam Hari made in 2011 and 2012. In October 2015 he took the opportunity to visit Morocco with friends where he and Hari shared pictures of their time together, including the fighter holding up Ronaldo by the pool with the caption: 'Just married. Hahahaha. Always there to pick you up bro' The Moroccan kickboxer friend who Cristiano Ronaldo was once accused of having a gay relationship with has been sentenced to two years in jail for assault The fighter was convicted on two counts of aggravated assault after one attack at the Amsterdam Arena in 2012 and another in a nightclub owned by businessman Jimmy Woo using a broken glass. Hari will now fly from his homeland to serve his sentence. Real Madrid star Cristiano Ronaldo is extremely close to Hari and it sparked rumours that they were in a gay relationship. In October 2015 he took the opportunity to visit Morocco with friends where he and Hari shared pictures of their time together, including the fighter holding up Ronaldo by the pool with the caption: 'Just married. Hahahaha. Always there to pick you up bro'. Hari is considered one of the best kickboxers in the world - having previously been crowned K1 heavyweight champion (2007-08) and the It's Showtime heavyweight champion (2009-10) - although he has courted controversy for some violent outbursts outside of the ring. A psychologist reportedly diagnosed him as having 'narcissistic personality traits' during one of his trials in the Netherlands - where he fights out of Mike's Gym in Oostzaan. Early morning commuters were left terrified after seeing a homeless man stab another with a box cutter outside a Woolworths in Melbourne's city centre. A man came out of the supermarket at 6.30am on Wednesday and lunged at another man with the weapon, 9News reported. One man suffered a cut to the head during the fight, police said. Both have been arrested for drunkenness and possessing a weapon. A homeless man reportedly stabbed another outside a Woolworths in Melbourne's CBD A witness said he thought the two men were friends at first before one attacked the other with what he believes was a box cutter. 'I thought they were friends but then all the customers went back inside and I just called the police straight away,' he told 9News. Police said they were called to the area, at the intersection of Elizabeth and Finders Street, to reports of an altercation between two men. The incident comes shortly after Melbourne City councillors supported a local law that bans camping in public places. One of the men suffered a cut to the head during the fight on Wednesday morning, police said Both of the men involved have been arrested for drunkenness and possessing a weapon Councillors agreed to pass amendments to the definition of camping on Tuesday, giving more powers to police officers to remove rough sleepers and move people on. The public will have 28 days to make submissions on the new law before a final decision is made. But a group of crisis support agencies have warned the new local law would not reduce the numbers of people sleeping rough and could mean they end up in more dangerous places. 'This will expose them to greater risk of assault, and will make it more difficult for homeless services to locate and engage people to support them into housing,' the group said earlier this week. The incident comes after Melbourne City councillors supported a local law that bans camping in public places During the council meeting on Tuesday, Lord Mayor Robert Doyle was reportedly heckled and sworn at by activists. Camping was previously defined as being contacted to a car, tent, caravan or structure, but is now broadened without the structural parameters. 'Unless in accordance with a permit, a person must not camp in or on any public place,' the amended law says. The council also moved to ban people leaving any item in a public place without a permit, giving officers the ability to confiscate the items. Health Minister Greg Hunt almost landed himself in a medical emergency of his own this morning after taking a tumble off a stage. Mr Hunt, who recently took over the role after shamed Sussan Ley's resignation, was giving a speech at a fundraiser on Wednesday morning when he tripped. There were audible gasps from the crowd as he missed a step and fell to his knees, but the MP quickly dusted himself off and returned to his seat next to Opposition Leader Bill Shorten. Health Minister Greg Hunt almost landed himself in hospital this morning after taking a tumble off a stage Mr Hunt, who recently took over the role after shamed Sussan Ley's resignation, was giving a speech at a fundraiser on Wednesday morning when he tripped Mr Hunt, who was not injured in the fall, had been speaking as part of a Teal Ribbon breakfast event at Parliament House in Canberra, which was raising awareness about ovarian cancer. Twitter users were quick to notice the slip, with some making jokes at the minister's expense. 'The dive was 6/10 but 10/10 for the rebound recovery,' Matthew Schmidt tweeted. Andrew Litschner praised Mr Hunt for his 'smooth recovery'. There were audible gasps from the crowd as he missed a step and fell to his knees Whoops: The MP quickly dusted himself off and returned to his seat next to Opposition Leader Bill Shorten And another Twitter user wrote: 'Oh, there's a compo claim coming from that.' Mr Hunt, MP for Flinders in Victoria, is also Minister for Sport and has previously been the minister for the environment and science minister. He took over the reins of the health department in January after Sussan Ley resigned following allegations about expenses claims she had made while buying property on the Gold Coast. The Iranian military has reportedly removed a missile from a launchpad under surveillance by the US since the country's recent launch of a ballistic missile. Satellite images taken from above the Semnan launch site about 140 miles east of Tehran and where a ballistic missile was tested on January 29 - showed another rocket being prepared for launch on February 3. The aerial image was taken on the same day the White House sanctioned 13 Iranian nationals and 12 companies with ties to the country's missile program. Scroll down for video US officials are reportedly concerned Iran could be preparing to launch a Safir missile. Pictured is one of the missiles being fired into space in June 2011 But, according to Fox News, the missile was swiftly removed from the launchpad on Tuesday morning. It is not clear why the missile has been removed. However, that hasn't stopped US officials from being concerned about the vanishing act, the network claims. Pentagon officials are worried because the missile allegedly seen being prepared is a Safir - which has many of the same components needed by the gulf country to fire an intercontinental ballistic missile, according to the network. The Safir missile has previously been launched into space by Iran, with the most recent incident coming in February 2015. The image from Fox News shows the launchpad in January prior to the previous launch, and then earlier this month - before the missile was reportedly removed Watch the latest video at video.foxnews.com Other satellite photos taken on February 3 show, the network claims, another launcher and Iranian vehicles. Fox claims the images were taken by ImageSat International. Experts say the Safir missile closely resembles the Shahab3 ballistic missile, which is based on North Koreas Nodong missile. Iran and the Trump administration have been at odds in recent days since the missile launch, and the language from the White House that followed it. Trump tweeted on February 3 about how he would not be 'nice' to the country, as he accused President Obama of being, which drew a response from his Iranian counterparts on Tuesday. Another satellite image allegedly showed a secondary launcher and other Iranian vehicles near the site Experts say the Safir missile closely resembles the Shahab3 ballistic missile, which is based on North Koreas Nodong missile. A Shahab-3 missile is seen being launched in November 2006 Fox News claims this satellite image shows a missile being prepared for launch on February 3, before it was mysteriously removed on Tuesday morning In his first speech since Trump's inauguration, Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, called Iranians to take part in demonstrations on Friday, the anniversary of Iran's 1979 Islamic revolution, to show they were not frightened of American 'threats.' 'We are thankful to (Trump) for making our life easy as he showed the real face of America,' Khamenei told a meeting of military commanders in Tehran. When asked about Khamenei's comments on Tuesday, White House spokesman Sean Spicer said Iran must recognize that the United States is under new leadership. 'This president is not going to sit by and let Iran flout its violations or apparent violations to the joint agreement,' Spicer said at a briefing. 'I think Iran is kidding itself if they don't realize there's a new president in town.' Iran and the Trump administration have been at odds in recent days since the missile launch, and the language from the White House that followed it. A dead body has been spotted floating in the water off a popular Sydney beach, according to unconfirmed reports. Lifeguards, police and paramedics were called to Maroubra Beach in the city's east just after 8am on Wednesday after swimmers said they had seen a body. Surf Life Saving NSW confirmed to Daily Mail Australia the ocean was being scanned by emergency services, but the reports are unconfirmed at this stage. A dead body has been spotted floating in the water off a popular Sydney beach, according to unconfirmed reports, and a helicopter was seen scouring the shoreline (pictured) Two helicopters were seen scouring the shoreline at the north end of the beach before 9am. The conditions at Maroubra Beach for Wednesday morning were described as 'pretty ugly' in Coastal Watch's regional surf report. More than 30mm of rain is expected to hit Sydney in a morning thunderstorm. A helicopter was seen scouring the shoreline on Wednesday after the body was reportedly spotted Australia Post managing director Ahmed Fahour was paid $5.6 million last year as the staggering salaries of senior executives at the company are released. A parliamentary committee has revealed the salaries of top Australia Post executives, insisting there are no compelling reasons for them to be hidden from public scrutiny. Documents published on Tuesday showed Mr Fahour received a $4.4 million salary and a $1.2 million bonus last financial year, committee chairman James Paterson said. Australia Post managing director Ahmed Fahour (pictured) was paid $5.6 million last year A parliamentary committee has revealed the salaries of top Australia Post executives, insisting there are no compelling reasons for them to be hidden from public scrutiny (stock image) Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said Mr Fahour's renumeration was too high The documents - which do not include names - show another five executives earned between $1.8 million and $1.3 million. Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull called the chairman of Australia Post after Mr Fahour's pay-packet was revealed. Mr Turnbull said while pay was a decision for the board, he did speak to chairman John Stanhope on Wednesday morning about Mr Fahour's package. 'I think that renumeration is too high,' the Prime Minister told reporters in Canberra. Mr Turnbull acknowledged Mr Fahour had a big job overseeing a large government-owned entity, which had improved its operating business. 'In my view, I say this as someone who spent most of his life in the business world before I came into politics, I think it is a very big salary for that job,' Mr Turnbull said. In a chain of correspondence since a Senate estimates hearing in October, Australia Post argued the individuals may become targets for unwarranted media attention and it may lead to brand damage for the government-owned business. It was happy to release the information confidentially, but did not want it to be released publicly. But Senator Paterson wrote to the company on Tuesday informing them the documents would be publicly released. Australia Post was urged to consider ways to increase transparency about its operations and expenditure (stock image) Documents published on Tuesday showed managing director Ahmed Fahour (pictured) received a $4.4 million salary and a $1.2 million bonus last financial year 'Any potential issues of personal safety and security do not appear to be compelling reasons to withhold publication,' he said. The committee also urged Australia Post to consider ways to increase transparency about its operations and expenditure. It noted NBN Co, another wholly-government owned business enterprise, publishes detailed information about the renumeration paid to senior executives as part of its annual report. Senator Paterson said Mr Fahour's salary makes him effectively the nation's highest paid public servant. 'We think that's not information that should be withheld from taxpayers,' he told ABC radio. Crossbench senator Nick Xenophon praised Senator Paterson for insisting the salaries be disclosed. He noted his package was more than 10 times the $507,338 salary paid to Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull. 'I think a lot of people will scratch their heads on that one,' he told ABC TV. German police have warned refugee groups against visiting carnival celebrations because of the risk of 'undesirable interactions' with local people. The North Rhine-Westphalia state police said they feared what would happen if there were 'mass appearances of refugees and asylum seekers' at traditional festivals. Carnival celebrations in Germany, known as Fasching, last from November through until Rose Monday, the day before Shrove Tuesday, which this year is on 27 February. Last year Cologne saw large demonstrations by Far-Right groups after several women were sexually assaulted on New Year's Eve by men of North African origin Crowds will pack the centre of Cologne, Dusseldorf and Mainz, for parades and traditional performances of folk music and dance. But the memo, obtained by the Kolner Stadt-Anzeiger newspaper and reported in The Independent, said: 'We are aware that last year, carers of refugees and asylum seekers organised visits to carnival events.' 'In light of the ongoing security situation in Germany, due to the events of the past couple of years, it could lead to undesirable interactions with the population and we advise against it.' The police lost control of the centre of Cologne on New Year's Eve 2015 and the authorities are obviously keen not to have a repeat of such a situation but they have been accused of racial profiling Petra Jennen, who runs a refugee centre in Leverkusen, told the Kolner Stadt-Anzeiger the letter made her 'embarrassed' to be German. She said: 'I will not tell our families that they should not go to the parade. Even in an internal email, the district government and state police cannot communicate in this way.' The memo goes on to advise anyone attending the carnivals to expect high security and a heavy police presence and ordered them not to carry 'large bags, rucksacks or dangerous objects'. Tension remains high in Germany after a Christmas market in Berlin was attacked by Anis Amri, a Tunisian refugee and ISIS sympathiser, who mowed down and killed 11 pedestrians. Cologne was the scene of a series of sexual assaults on young women by men of North African origin on New Year's Eve 2015, which was followed by large demonstrations by Far-Right groups. A driver pulled his dog along a motorway using a lead strapped to the wing mirror. The bizarre scene was filmed on a smartphone by another motorist who was following the vehicle in the city of Afyonkarahisar, western Turkey. Footage shows the red saloon car moving slowly through traffic, with its hazard lights on, as the tired-looking dog runs alongside it. Footage shows the red saloon car moving slowly through traffic, with its hazard lights on, as the tired-looking dog runs alongside it The driver is seen gesturing at the cameraman as he overtakes the car, near the Konya Koprulu intersection of the Afyonkarahisar-Konya motorway. When challenged by the cameraman, the motorist claimed he was taking the dog home after finding it running wild. 'We couldn't put it in the car, it bites,' he said. Police launched an investigation after the footage went viral on video-sharing websites, appalling animal lovers. When challenged by the cameraman, the motorist claimed he was taking the dog home after finding it running wild However, officers have so far been unable to identify the pair - despite having the car's registration number from the video. Afyonkarahisar, the capital of Afyon Province, is the world's biggest producer of pharmaceutical opium and is also globally renowned for its marble. William Charles Thomas, 58, faces five counts of child rape and 46 related charges has plead to a court that he's 'not evil' and has 'never inflicted any pain on a child' An accused child rapist with over 1,000 pairs of children's underwear strung around his mobile home told a court that he's 'not evil'. Investigators arrested William Charles Thomas, 58, on Thursday and found the sickening shrine in his Morrisville, Pennsylvania trailer. He was arraigned Friday on 51 charges including five counts of child rape and 46 additional charges including involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, aggravated indecent assault and other offenses. 'I just need somebody to believe that I'm not the evil, disgusting person that people are making me out to be,' he said on Tuesday. Cops also say they found over 1,000 pieces of child porn, the majority depicting 'prepubescent' kids in his home, which is riddled with children's toys, located right on the New Jersey border. Investigators arrested William Charles Thomas, 58, on Thursday and found the sickening shrine in his Morrisville, Pennsylvania trailer He added: 'I'm getting treated very awfully and I'm just scared to death. I never inflicted any kind of pain that I'm receiving right now on a kid, never inflicted any pain on a child, nor would I want to.' He does not have an attorney, but was informed by a judge on how to obtain a public defender, to which he responded: 'There's no guard that's going to help me here,' according to LeHigh Valley Live. Police say he admitted to abusing two children in an interview on Saturday. 'The human race hasn't come up with words to describe what we saw in that trailer,' Falls Township Police Lieutenant Henry Ward said Monday. The Midway Village Trailer Park, where Thomas lived and worked as a handyman. Cops say they found thousands of pairs of children's underwear when they raided Thomas' trailer Thomas will remain in jail after failing to pay his bond of $150,000. The arraignment he faced on Tuesday was related to alleged victims under the age of 13, all dating from since the 1990s. Prosecutors fear the tally of Thomas' victims may grow unthinkably longer before their investigation is done. The investigation into Thomas began in November, on a fluke tip. Thomas was working as a handyman in the Midway Village Trailer Park, where he also lived, and was making renovations on another trailer. This is a real life boogeyman. This is your parents' worst nightmare District Attorney Matt Weintraub The home's new owner noticed something sickening in the construction material though: plywood that had 'handwritten graphic details about someone sexually assaulting two very young girls' scrawled on it, according to court records. The writings described a specific assault on Christmas of 2014, and referred to the author's penis as one-eyed Willie, police said. The homeowner contacted cops, and the two young girls described in the sick note were identified as children who used to live in the trailer park. District Attorney Matt Weintraub said: 'To be blunt about it, this is a real life boogeyman. This is your parents' worst nightmare,' Police tied the sick writings to Thomas by comparing the handwriting to work orders written by the handyman, cops said. Disturbingly, a similar note written on drywall was also reportedly discovered in Thomas' previous home in 2010, along with a homemade child sex doll. It's unclear whether any charges or further investigation stemmed from the discovery. But a search executed on Thursday revealed a trove of incriminating evidence, including children's underwear, porn, and graphic writings, police say. Mugshots: Accused child rapist William Charles Thomas in 2012, 2008 and 2004 (left to right) Mugshots: Accused child rapist William Charles Thomas in 2000, 1998 and 1996 (left to right) 'This was a perverse shrine to his criminal conquests, and we are merely scratching the surface of those conquests today,' said District Attorney Matt Weintraub. 'To be blunt about it, this is a real life boogeyman. This is your parents' worst nightmare,' Weintraub said. In an interview with cops, Thomas allegedly admitted he had been sexually attracted to children for decades, and described sex acts he'd committed with children, including a relative and children he babysat, Philly.com reported. Writings found in Thomas' trailer suggest that he may have been subjecting kids to sickening abuse for nearly four decades. 'Some of these writings documented Thomas 'molesting' children as young as three years old, when Thomas was in his twenties, which would be during the nineteen seventies,' court documents obtained by the New York Post said. 'Thomas also wrote that he was aware some of the children were either asleep or so young that they wouldn't be able to disclose the abuse.' Anyone with information about potential victims of Thomas is urged to contact the Falls Township Police Department at (215) 302-3315. Advertisement Boris Johnson yesterday said he was 'sickened' by reports that Bashar al-Assad's regime tortured and hanged 13,000 political prisoners in four years. Amid compelling evidence that the Syrian president's henchmen carried out an unprecedented 'policy of extermination', the Foreign Secretary said the dictator had 'no future as leader'. Civilians perceived to be opposed to the brutal regime including doctors and aid workers were executed in mass hangings of up to 50 detainees at a time, according to a chilling Amnesty International dossier. Victims were given death sentences after sham trials lasting less than three minutes, often on the basis of confessions extracted through torture, the human rights charity said. Many thousands of others held at the notorious 20,000-capacity Saydnaya military prison, north of Damascus, died from starvation and disease. Up to 50 at a time were collected from Saydnaya Prison (pictured) and taken to a cell in the basement of the red building (top right) The charity's year-long investigation drew on graphic accounts from witnesses, including judges, officials and former guards at the prison. One source, a former military officer known only as Hamid who was arrested in 2011, described hearing the killings taking place from the floor above. He said: 'If you put your ears on the floor, you could hear the sound of a kind of gurgling. This would last around ten minutes ... We were sleeping on top of the sound of people choking to death.' The bodies of those hanged are believed to have been dumped in mass graves on military land on the outskirts of the war-ravaged capital. The report said it was 'inconceivable that these large-scale practices have not been authorised at the highest levels of the Syrian government'. Many thousands of others held at the notorious 20,000-capacity Saydnaya military prison (pictured), north of Damascus, died from starvation and disease, according to Amnesty International Boris Johnson said Bashar al-Assad had 'no future as leader' after compelling evidence showed he carried out an unprecedented 'policy of extermination It is the first evidence said to prove that Assad, 51, has authorised torture to punish opponents and crush dissent. He has long been suspected of such action. Individual death sentences are supposed to be approved by either the Syrian minister of defence or the chief of staff of the army, both of whom are authorised to act on behalf of Assad. Following publication of the study, Mr Johnson tweeted: 'Sickened by reports from Amnesty International on executions in Syria. Assad responsible for so many deaths and has no future as leader.' His comments appeared to back away from his suggestion last month that Assad could be allowed to run for re-election in a bid to end Syria's civil war, which has left nearly 400,000 dead and half the population displaced. But at yesterday's Cabinet meeting, Mr Johnson made clear the dictator could not remain in power. A spokesman for the Prime Minister said: 'The Foreign Secretary stressed that Britain [doesn't] believe that Assad can govern the country or take control of its democratically elected government.' Lynn Maalouf, (pictured) deputy research director at Amnesty International in Beirut, said: 'The horrors depicted in this report reveal a hidden, monstrous campaign' Amnesty's report, titled Human Slaughterhouse, reveals that as well as extrajudicial executions, the Syrian authorities are deliberately inflicting horrific conditions on detainees, including torture and denial of food, water and medicine. Since the uprising began in 2011, the prison has been filled with those accused of opposing Assad or taking part in anti-government protests, as well as military personnel said to be working against the regime or plotting to defect. Upon arriving at Saydnaya, they undergo a brutal session of beating referred to as the 'welcome party'. Witnesses described a methodical routine to the killings, in which the doomed detainees were collected from their cell blocks in the afternoon and told they were being transferred to civilian prisons. Instead, they were moved to a facility in the grounds known as the 'red building', where they were beaten for several hours. Between midnight and 3am, they were then blindfolded and moved in delivery trucks and minibuses to another part of the jail called the 'white building'. There, they were taken into a basement room, nooses were placed around their necks and they were hanged. Following the executions, the prisoners' bodies were taken to Tishreen military hospital where they were registered as having died of natural causes. The corpses were then loaded on to trucks to be secretly buried in mass graves, the report said. Families of the dead were never informed. Amnesty said the evidence, from between 2011 and 2015, amounted to crimes against humanity and called on the UN to investigate. This is a floor plan of the 'execution room' inside the Saydnaya Prison, which is north of the capital Damascus, Syria Lynn Maalouf, deputy research director at the charity's office in Beirut, said: 'The horrors depicted in this report reveal a hidden, monstrous campaign, authorised at the highest levels of the Syrian government, aimed at crushing any form of dissent within the Syrian population. 'The cold-blooded killing of thousands of defenceless prisoners, along with the carefully crafted and systematic programmes of psychological and physical torture that are in place inside Saydnaya prison cannot be allowed to continue. Those responsible for these heinous crimes must be brought to justice.' The report adds to previous evidence of abuses, which could result in Assad and key figures in his regime being hauled before international courts charged with crimes against humanity. In August 2013, a defector known only as Caesar fled Syria with files containing photographs of the bodies of more than 28,000 victims who had died under torture in prison. The state of the bodies which were covered in horrific wounds and their sheer number revealed the scale of the abuse. Amnesty's report was published ahead of talks in Geneva aiming to end the bloody civil war. Assad's representatives are preparing to meet officials from Turkey, who have backed the rebels, later this month. Russia and Iran, both Assad's allies, will join the talks. President Donald Trump claimed Tuesday the U.S. murder rate climbed to the highest level in half a century and that the media won't 'tell it like it is' although government statistics reveal murders are half what they were in the 1980s. Trump made his inaccurate claim during a meeting with sheriffs at the White House, where he also railed against the 'very dishonest' press for failing to cover terrorist attacks. 'And yet the murder rate in our country is the highest it's been in 47 years,' Trump said, while members of the media record his comments. 'I used to use that, I'd say that in a speech and everybody was surprised,' he continued. 'Because the press doesn't tell it like it is,' he vented, while surrounded by the sheriffs and scribes. 'It wasn't to their advantage to say that. But the murder rate is the highest it's been in, I guess, 45 to 47 years.' IT'S NO CAPITOL CRIME: President Donald Trump claimed during an appearance with county sheriffs that the murder rate was at a 47 year high, but FBI stats show it to be half what it was in the 1980s His statement isn't borne out by crime statistics compiled by the FBI. That rate climbed from 4.0 murders per 100,000 residents in 1957 to 10.2 in 1980, as the Washington Post noted. Following what was considered a crack cocaine epidemic in major american cities, there were steady drops in the murder rate through the 1990s. The rate is 4.9 for 2015 a spike from the prior year, when it was 4.4 per 100,000. Some commentators have suggested Trump, who campaigned on restoring 'law and order' may have been referring to the spike, an 11 per cent increase which was the largest increase in 50 years. But a year-over-year increase is not the same as the overall rate being at a 50-year high. 'We have had an increase from 2014 to 2015 in rapes, in murders and assaults. I'm probably looking at the same data you are. And so he may have heard ... a particular city,' White House advisor Kellyanne Conway said Per capita murders, based on FBI statistics compiled by the Washington Post White House advisor Kellyanne Conway defended Trump's crime statement during a contentious interview with CNN's Jake Tapper White House advisor Kellyanne Conway defended Trump's crime statement during a contentious interview with CNN's Jake Tapper, where she suggested Trump might have been referring to the year-over-year spike in the violent crime rate or to a 'particular city.' 'How about the president's statements that are false? Like "the murder rate is the highest it's been in almost half a century"? False! How about "the media doesn't report on terrorist attacks"? False!' Tapper said, calling the claims 'demonstrably not true.' 'Well, are they more important than the many things he says that are true that are making a difference in people's lives? I just think we want coverage of that as well,' Conway said. She continued: 'I think I was handed a fact sheet that perhaps the president was referring to when he talked about that today with the sheriffs ... When he talks about the 47 years and the rate, I'm handed the information I think you referred to it as well that we have had an increase from 2014 to 2015 in rapes, in murders and assaults. I'm probably looking at the same data you are. And so he may have heard ... a particular city,' she tried to explain. 'It's FBI reports,' Tapper said, continuing to press her. 'To say there was a spike in murder rates in between 2014 and 2015 is true. ... He said it's the highest murder rate in 47 years and the media doesn't report it. And again, Kellyanne, the media doesn't report it because it's a lie. Because it's not true. and for the president to say that is I can't even wrap my head around it,' he said, as the conversation continued. The FBI's 2015 statistics show the estimated rate of violent crime to be 373 offenses per 100,000 inhabitants. The violent crime rate jumped 3.1 percent from 2014. Trump accused the media of 'tremendous dishonesty' on Tuesday as he was questioned about his claim that news agencies routinely ignore terror attacks. President Donald Trump made his claims about the murder rate while speaking with county sheriffs at the White House President Donald Trump, center left, speaks as he meets with county sheriffs during a listening session in the Roosevelt Room of the White House The president said Monday that attacks are happening 'all over Europe' but they're not being covered by the 'very, very dishonest press' for reasons that he did not specify. He declined Tuesday, as he attended a listening session with county sheriffs, to shed light on his statement. Trump told a reporter asking about the Fourth Estate's motivations for covering up terror attacks that he understands 'the total dishonesty of the media better than anybody.' 'The media is a very, very dishonest arm,' he said, interrupting himself to say that 'not everybody' in the press falls into that category. 'But there's tremendous dishonesty. Pure outright dishonesty from the media.' His White House released a list of 78 terror attacks that they believe were 'underreported' on Monday evening, dating from September 2014 to December 2016. Trump's administration said the attacks in Orlando, San Bernardino, Brussels, Nice and the Bataclan in Paris 'have not received the media attention they deserved.' SCROLL DOWN FOR THE FULL LIST OF 78 The White House released a list of 78 terror attacks that the press had 'ignored' following President Donald Trump's claims that the media was 'very, very dishonest' on Monday night (pictured) The report, several pages long and seemingly hastily thrown together, is littered with spelling errors such as 'ATTAKER', 'ATTAKERS' and incorrectly spelling the California city as 'San Bernadino' (pictured) Trump's administration said the attacks in Orlando, San Bernardino, Brussels, Nice and Paris 'have not received the media attention they deserved'. Pulse nightclub was subject to a mass shooting in June 2016 and left 49 people dead and wounded 53 Among the attacks named was the Nice, France, truck massacre (pictured) which killed 84 civilians and injuring more than 300 people on July 2016 As some reporters pointed out, a handful of instances named were the subject of news coverage that lasted 'days on end.' The report, several pages long and seemingly hastily thrown together, is littered with spelling errors such as 'ATTAKER', 'ATTAKERS' and incorrectly spelling the California city as 'San Bernadino'. One of the biggest terror attacks over the past two years took place in France, with the Bataclan theater attack in Paris and the Nice truck massacre, both of which were on the list. The Orlando, Florida, nightclub shooting was widely covered in the news for being a terror attack and a hate crime in June 2016. It left 49 people dead and wounded 53 more. The mass shooting and attempted bombing in San Bernardino, California, was also included on the roster. The December 2015 attack ended with 14 dead and 22 wounded. The list of 78 occurrences of terror attacks were worldwide and included who was the subject of the attack and named the persons involved. CNN reporter Jim Acosta said it was a 'head scratcher.' His news organization was reportedly one of the first to see the list after being labeled 'fake news' by Trump in December. The White House suggested Tuesday that the document distributed to the media was a list of terror attacks that happened between 2014 and 2016, not just those that were unreported or underreported, in the administration's opinion. 'Many of them haven't got the attention they have deserved,' Spicer said. 'It's becoming too often that we're seeing these attacks not get the spectacular attention they deserve. And I think it undermines the understanding of the threat that we face around the country.' President Donald Trump claimed Monday that terror attacks are happening 'all over Europe' but they're not being covered by the 'very, very dishonest press' The Bataclan concert hall was attacked in Paris, France. In the fatal attack 130 people lost their lives and many more were injured on November 13, 2015 The president did not provide any examples as he made the claim in front of troops stationed at MacDill Air Force base in Tampa, Florida. His press secretary, Sean Spicer, told reporters aboard Air Force One after the remarks, 'Theres a lot of instances where I dont think theyve gotten the coverage it deserved.' He did not name one, either. 'Well provide a list later,' he asserted, indicating in the gaggle that the president may have been thinking of foiled' attacks, in addition to murderous assaults. On it's face, it wasn't obvious what attacks Trump was referring to when he hit the media with the broadside at MacDill. His senior counselor, Kellyanne Conway, had accused the press last week, on MSNBC, of ignoring a terrorism-driven massacre that was found to never have occurred. 'President Obama had a six-month ban on the Iraqi refugee program after two Iraqis came here to this country, were radicalized, and they were the masterminds behind the Bowling Green massacre. Most people don't know that because it didn't get covered,' Conway said. The White House official says she 'misspoke' and meant to say 'terrorists.' Cosmo revealed Monday, however, that she made the mistake in an interview with their magazine, too. She claimed two Iraqi nationals were the 'masterminds behind the Bowling Green massacre' in a Jan. 29 interview. The refugees she was referring to were Iraqi, and they were living in Bowling Green, Kentucky, when they were arrested. They did not commit any acts of terror on America soil. Instead, they were taken into custody for trying to send weapons back to Iraq for use against American soldiers. The mass shooting and attempted bombing in San Bernardino, California, killed 14 people in December 2015 Trump on Monday similarly claimed that there are terror plots that are going unnoticed. Speaking to U.S. Special Forces and U.S. Central Command soldiers, he said, 'We're up against an enemy that celebrates death and totally worships destruction. You've seen that. ISIS is on a campaign of genocide, committing atrocities across the world. 'Radical Islamic terrorists are determined to strike our homeland as they did on 9/11, as they did from Boston to Orlando to San Bernardino, and all across Europe,' he said. 'You've seen what happened in Paris and Nice. All over Europe, it's happening.' He at that point added: 'It's gotten to a point where it's not even being reported. And in many cases the very, very dishonest press doesn't want to report it. They have their reasons, and you understand that.' The president moved on without calling attention to any specific terrorist attack he believes the media is covering up. Spicer insisted later that there are 'a lot of instances,' however, that are being 'underreported.' 'I think the president's comments were very clear at the time,' he told a reporter asking about the president's claim that the media has its 'reasons' for burying terror-related news. Continuing, Spicer said, 'He felt members of the media dont always cover some of those events to the extent that other events might get covered,' he explained. 'Protests will get blown out of the water, and yet an attack or a foiled attack doesnt necessarily get the same coverage.' The president's spokesman went on to claim that the press was unfairly covering Trump's travel ban, something the president had brought up earlier in a tweet. 'Any negative polls are fake news, just like the CNN, ABC, NBC polls in the election. Sorry, people want border security and extreme vetting,' Trump had said. His senior counselor, Kellyanne Conway, had accused the press last week of ignoring a terrorism-driven massacre that was found to never have occurred. She told Fox she 'misspoke' and meant to say 'terrorists' Spicer invoked Trump's gripe in his session with reporters riding Air Force One later. 'I think sometimes the polls dont reflect what you see on the media,' he said. 'You see a wide degree of support for the presidents policies to protect this country, to create jobs, to grow the economy. And yet a lot of those stories and success that hes had in a mere two and a half weeks in office arent exactly covered to the degree to which they should be.' A CNN/ORC poll released Friday showed that 53 percent of Americans oppose the president's plan, which also suspended America's refugee program for 120 days, however. Hours earlier a CBS News poll found 51 percent don't like Trump's approach. The CNN and CBS polls surveyed Americans in phone calls, as did a Gallup poll. All three showed majorities opposing the policy. But four online polls have found majorities or pluralities of Americans support the president. Those include surveys from Reuters/Ipsos, Rasmussen Reports, Public Policy Polling and YouGov/Huffington Post. The Rasmussen poll, which was limited to likely voters, showed a 52-43 gap in Trump's favor. This is the second page of the terror attack list the White House claims that the media had 'ignored' This page of the report includes the Nice, France, massacre where at least 129 people were killed when a truck drove through a crowd Some of the incidents on the list included attacks where no causalities happened The dates of the attack are from September 2014 to December 2016 The most recent attack named was in Berlin where a terrorist drove a truck into a Christmas market A massive sinkhole has opened up in a street near Malcolm Turnbull's lavish Sydney mansion. The 10m long crater opened up on Wentworth Street in Sydney, just 500m from the Prime Minister's $50million harbourside home in affluent Point Piper. The street collapsed outside a six-bedroom house that is currently on the market for $11.5million following wild weather on Tuesday. A Fire & Rescue NSW spokesman told Daily Mail Australia that emergency services were called to the scene at 7.10am on Wednesday to reports of a gas leak. A massive sinkhole has opened up on a street near Malcolm Turnbull's Point Piper mansion She said a gas line and water pipe ruptured due to a collapsed footpath and driveway. Aerial footage of the sinkhole showed a large portion of the footpath and the grass next to a driveway had fallen into the hole. The gas line was shut off by a firefighter who was lowered into the sinkhole, which was 4m wide and 4m deep. 'Fire & Rescue NSW were called to a gas leak that was caused by the collapse of a footpath and driveway,' she said. 'The collapse ruptured a gas line as well as a water pipe and exposed electrical cables. The hole opened up on Wentworth Street in Sydney after a gas line ruptured on Wednesday A video, posted by 7 News Sydney , shows an aerial shot of the huge crater in the leafy suburb 'A firefighter was lowered below ground level to clamp off the gas.' The spokesman added: 'We have now left the scene and handed the site over to the council.' Wentworth Street is closed between Wentworth Place and Wolseley Road while emergency services work at the scene. Police ordered four nearby properties, two of which were occupied, to be evacuated, the Daily Telegraph reports. The ruptured gas line has been shut off by a firefighter who was lowered into the pit The sinkhole opened up outside a property (pictured) that is on the market for $11.5million The six-bedroom mansion belongs to Ke Gui and has two pools and six bedrooms The sinkhole opened up outside the home of Ke Gui, the son of Hong Kong-listed Nanjing Sinolife United chairman Gui Pinghu. The vast property, which Mr Gui put on the market last year in order to upgrade to the waterfront, has two pools and eight bathrooms. Meanwhile, Mr Turnbull's home, which he shares with his wife Lucy, is the most expensive owned by an Australian prime minister by far. Malcolm Turnbull's waterfront home in Point Piper (pictured) in Sydney is worth $50million The sinkhole opened up near the home the Prime Minister (pictured) shares with his wife Top Trump adviser Kellyanne Conway has returned to CNN following a 24-hour spat over claims that the network considered her too untrustworthy to book for its Sunday 'State of the Union' program. Late on Tuesday afternoon, anchor Jake Tapper offered her a 25-minute blistering condemnation of the White House as a fast-and-loose operation that treats facts with casual disregard. The president has rhetorically body-slammed CNN as 'fake news,' enraging some of its executives and on-air journalists. A 'Saturday Night Live' skit three days ago depicted one of its reporters as a diapered baby in a prison-barred playpen. Tapper shoved back, saying Tuesday that while reporters make mistakes, 'it is very difficult to hear those criticisms from a White House that has such little regard day-in, day-out for facts, for truth, and who calls us "fake news" for stories that they don't like.' Smackdown: White House chief counselor Kellyanne Conway (right) returned to CNN on Tuesday, only to be on the receiving end of blistering attacks from anchor Jake Tapper (left) Ready to rumble: Tapper shoved back on the Trump White House's critique of the media, saying Tuesday that while reporters make mistakes, 'it is very difficult to hear those criticisms from a White House that has such little regard day-in, day-out for facts, for truth, and who calls us "fake news" for stories that they don't like.' Donald Trump has called CNN a 'fake news' network, rankling network personnel and Tapper got their revenge Tuesday with claims that the president is running 'a White House that has such little regard day-in, day-out for facts, for truth' Conway was on her back foot during her interview on 'The Lead,' an unusual posture for those representing Trump, who is known for demanding his staff never play defense. 'Let me just say: We have a very high respect for the truth. ... We have a high regard for facts,' she protested. Tapper railed against Trump's claims about America's violent crime rate, and his contention that journalists haven't sufficiently covered Islamist terror attacks. 'How about the president's statements that are false?' he asked. 'Like "The murder rate is the highest it's been in almost half a century"? False! How about "The media doesn't report on terrorist attacks"? False!' 'I'm talking about the President of the United States saying things that are not true,' Tapper said. 'Demonstrably not true.' Conway declared that reporters should pay equal attention to 'the many things he says that are true that are making a difference in people's lives.' Trump's missteps 'distract from things he says,' Tapper responded. Spin cycle: Conway declared that reporters should pay equal attention to things Trump says 'that are true that are making a difference in people's lives' The president told a group of sheriffs on Tuesday that the U.S. murder rates stands at a high water mark in the past 47 years. 'To say there was a spike in murder rates in between 2014 and 2015 is true,' Tapper allowed. But 'he said it's the highest murder rate in 47 years and the media doesn't report it. And again, Kellyanne, the media doesn't report it because it's a lie.' 'For the president to say that is I can't even wrap my head around it,' Tapper concluded. White House press secretary Sean Spicer mistakenly claimed Tuesday that CNN never intended to keep Conway at arm's length. The network was quick to push back, insisting its bookers chose not to invite her. A mini Twitter war erupted Tuesday after Conway claimed she took herself out of contention for a CNN slot on Sunday, and the network pointedly disagreed with backing from an MSNBC morning co-host A New York Times media columnist wrote Sunday that 'CNN declined to have her as a guest on Sunday,' in part 'because of what the network told me were "serious questions about her credibility".' 'False,' Conway tweeted. 'I could do no live Sunday shows this week BC [because] of family.' CNN's public relations department fired back on Twitter, saying she '@was offered to SOTU [State of the Union] on Sunday by the White House. We passed. Those are the facts.' MSNBC 'Morning Joe' co-host Mika Brzezinski chimed in, also on Twitter: '[Y]ou are not the first.' Spicer insisted Tuesday in his press briefing that CNN had 'retracted' its position about Conway's credibility. 'They've walked that back, or denied it.' Not so, CNN's PR team said in another tweeted statement: 'CNN was clear, on the record, about our concerns about Kellyanne Conway's credibility, to the New York Times and others. We have not "retracted" nor "walked back" those comments. Those are the facts.' Spicer told reporters that 'Kellyanne is a very trusted aide of the president' and 'any characterization otherwise is insulting.' 'If they [CNN] choose not to work with someone, that's up to them. But I think we're going to continue to put out key leaders in this administration, including Kellyanne, that can articulate the president's policies and agenda.' Conway's brand took a hit last Thursday when she misspoke about a pair of would-be terror masterminds who were arrested six years ago in Bowling Green, Kentucky. She was defending Trump's country-specific travel ban by noting that former president Barack Obama called for a 6-month pause admitting refugees from Iraq 'after two Iraqis came here to this country, were radicalized, and they were the masterminds behind the Bowling Green massacre.' Conway offered her latest in a series of mea culpas on Tuesday, telling Tapper she 'regretted it tremendously, because I used a wrong word to describe something several times.' But she boasted in her next breath that ABC News had seen a resurgence of interest in the terrorists' story: 'I'm very happy to have raised awareness.' 'You cited a massacre that didn't happen,' Tapper retorted. 'You said the media didn't cover it. The media did cover the masterminds.' Victims of an inferno that engulfed a Chinese foot massage parlour have been filmed jumping out of the building's windows in a desperate bid to escape the blaze. At least 18 people died after the fierce fire spread through Zuxintang beauty spa in China's eastern Zhejiang province on Sunday afternoon, with another 18 injured. People were seen jumping out of second-floor windows, fleeing the six-storey building as it filled with smoke. Victims of an inferno that engulfed a Chinese foot massage parlour have been filmed jumping out of the building's windows in a desperate bid to escape the blaze People were seen jumping out of second-floor windows, fleeing the six-storey building as it filled with smoke At least 18 people died after the fierce fire spread through Zuxintang beauty spa in China's eastern Zhejiang province on Sunday afternoon, with another 18 injured A dramatic video shows a woman slamming to the pavement after plunging from the window. The footage later shows a person with seriously injured feet being stretchered from the scene, but it is not clear if it was the same woman. Eight people were found dead inside the building, while 10 more died in hospital. The managers of the massage parlour have been arrested, according to China's Xinhua news agency. Detained: The owners of the massage parlour have been arrested, according to China's Xinhua news agency Eight people were found dead inside the building, while 10 more died in hospital It took about two hours for firefighters to extinguish the flames. Pictured, the fire-ravaged building on Monday The cause of the blaze is under investigation. It took about two hours for firefighters to extinguish the flames, which are believed to have spread at 5.26pm. The spotlight has been on China to improve workplace safety. Other recent disasters include an explosion at a hazardous material warehouse in the eastern city of Tianjin in August 2015 that killed at least 114 people. Seven people also died in a fire in an elderly care facility last month. These photos give a whole new meaning to the term 'fat cat'. The images on People's Daily Online show some rather tubby Siberian tigers lolling around at a zoo in northeast Chinas Harbin province. While many commenters have raised concerns about the large size of the animals, it is natural for the tigers to overeat over the winter months in a bid to survive the harsh Siberian winters. Piling on the pounds: The images show some rather tubby Siberian Tigers lolling around at a zoo in northeast Chinas Harbin province While many commenters have raised concerns about the large size of the animals, it is natural for the tigers to overeat over the winter months in a bid to survive the harsh Siberian winters Winter coats: Similar temperatures are witnessed in Harbin, which is nicknamed Ice City - the area often experiences lows of minus 18 degrees Celsius in January Similar temperatures are witnessed in Harbin, which is nicknamed Ice City. The area often experiences lows of minus 18 degrees Celsius in January. February and March can prove to be equally as bitter. Some social media users have joked that the cats were a little over-indulgent over China's Spring Festival, which revolves around a run of excessive family feasts. However, Siberian tigers - also known as Amur tigers - are famed for being the biggest cat species on the planet. Going viral: Some social media users have joked that the cats were a little over-indulgent over China's Spring Festival, which revolves around a run of indulgent family feasts Ruling the roost: Siberian tigers are famed for being the biggest cat species on the planet Slim down: The tigers recently photographed in Harbin should return to their regular weight during the summer months There was one unconfirmed report of a wild male tiger weighing 847lbs back in 1950 and a record-breaking captive Siberian tiger named Jaipur tipped the scales at a colossal 1,025lbs. The tigers recently photographed in Harbin should return to their regular weight during the summer months. Temperatures in the area are a little less frosty from June to August, averaging around 21 degrees Celsius. Siberian Tiger Park is the largest natural park for wild Siberian tigers in the world at present, occupying an area of 1,440,000 square meters. It has stabilized the population of Siberian tigers for decades due to intensive conservation efforts and than 90 big cats were born in 2016. Conservation efforts: Siberian Tiger Park is the largest natural park for wild Siberian tigers in the world at present, occupying an area of 1,440,000 square meters Forget turbulence. What a frequent flyer should really be concerned about is a 'radiation cloud'. Researchers have discovered that these mysterious clouds, if exposed to for long enough, could damage passenger health. The regions of high radioactivity expose travellers to up to 7.4 micrograys of radiation while travelling through them - double the dose rates normally absorbed. High exposure to ionising radiation can cause a range of health problems, including cancer and reproductive issues. Scroll down for video Researchers have discovered 'radiation clouds' which they believe expose air travellers to double the amount of cosmic radiation than normal (stock image) RISKS OF RADIATION The World Health Organization (WHO) International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) says that ionizing radiation causes cancer in humans. Ionizing radiation is also known to cause reproductive problems. The Centre for Diseas Control and Prevention says it is currently 'looking more specifically at whether cosmic ionizing radiation is linked to cancer and reproductive problems.' It warns: 'We dont know what causes most health problems that could be linked to radiation, including forms of cancer and reproductive health issues like miscarriage and birth defects. 'If you are exposed to cosmic ionizing radiation and have these health problems, we cant tell if it was caused by your work conditions or something else.' Advertisement But researchers say that while we should avoid these clouds where possible, there is no need to panic. The overall risk of high-altitude radiation for regular travellers is low. A flight across the US is equivalent to getting one chest X-ray. Flying through a radiation cloud would double the exposure but only for a brief period of time. A chest X-ray is estimated to increase the risk of a fatal cancer by one in a million. 'If you think about getting a chest X-ray worth of exposure over a 10 hour flight, say from London to San Francisco, and there are radiation clouds on the North Atlantic Traffic (NAT) route you would be flying, then for every radiation cloud you would pass through which may exist along the way, you would get approximately 1/20 of a chest X-ray,' Kent Tobiska, lead author of the study and President, Space Environment Technologies told MailOnline. 'This assumes that there would be an average of a half hour flight through the cloud.' 'if there are five clouds along the way, you would get an addition 1/4 of a chest X-ray in just that one flight. 'It turns out that the space weather conditions that create the radiation clouds are relatively common so the net effect for air crew or frequent flyers is that they are likely getting more radiation exposure for the North Pacific and North Atlantic routes than one would expect from just the exposure due to background Galactic Cosmic Rays. The bizarre clouds were discovered by researchers from the Nasa-supported programme, Automated Radiation Measurements for Aerospace Safety (ARMAS), based in Los Angeles. Researchers have long known that air travellers absorb radiation during flights. Cosmic rays crashing into the Earth's atmosphere create a range of particles, including protons, electrons, X-rays and gamma-rays that can penetrate aircraft. One thousand-mile frequent flyers can absorb as much radiation as 20 chest X-rays. The researchers from ARMAS expected to see dose rates varying gradually with latitude and longitutde, and the height of the aircraft. But contrary to this, they found that dose rates skyrocketed with height. Mr Tobiska said: 'We were quite surprised to see this.' In a flight from southern Chile to the Antarctic, the ARMAS flight module recorded a two times increase in ionizing radiation. Pictured on the right is a scale showing how the radiation levels peaked at around 14uSv/hour (yellow) for about 30 minutes while the plane flew at an altitude of about 11 km (36,000 feet) Cosmic rays crashing into the Earth's atmosphere create a range of particles, including protons, electrons, X-rays and gamma-rays that can penetrate aircraft The researchers took readings at a range of sites around the world, and found that spikes in radiation occurred at high latitudes above 50 degrees in both hemispheres. In a 2015 flight from southern Chile to the Antarctic, the ARMAS flight module recorded a two times increase in ionizing radiation for about 30 minutes while the plane flew 11 km (36,000 feet) over the Antarctic Peninsula. No solar storm was occurring at the time, and the plane did not make any abrupt movements of direction, but despite this, the ambient radiation changed dramatically. Similar findings were seen during flights off the coast of Washington state. The researchers are unsure what is causing these surges, but have suggested 'radiation clouds' may be trapping cosmic rays. Earth's magnetic field traps many cosmic rays and solar energetic particles in structures called 'magnetic bottles'. But these bottles can be leaky, and even small gusts of solar wind can cause the trapped praticles to leak out, sending beams of radiation towards Earth. Mr Tobiska said: 'Basically, we think we might be flying through some of these leaky particle beams.' WHAT ARE COSMIC RAYS? A long-standing puzzle in astrophysics is the source of ultra-high-energy particles from space that hit Earth. Called cosmic rays, they're up to a billion times more energetic than particles at Cern's Large Hadron Collider. They strike the atmosphere and cause an enormous shower of other particles, mostly muons, electrons and photons, over a wide area. Travelers flying polar routes to Asia or Europe can receive radiation doses that are up to three-times higher than near the equator Though they were discovered decades ago, cosmic rays at these high energies are very rare, making it difficult to pinpoint where in the universe they originated. It's thought that some come from supernovae, but it's likely there are other sources of cosmic rays in the universe as well. Advertisement A team of researchers from South Korea has found similar variations in radiation near the border between North and South Korea, which could backup the ARMAS team's predictions. The researchers now hope to undertake further flights to test radiation levels. Mr Tobiska added: 'We'll be looking carefully for more 'clouds' as we continue to characterize the radiation environment at aviation altitudes.' 1 Irish War Cry Graham Motion CurlinIrish Sovereign, by Polish Numbers Well, someone has to be No. 1, so why not the horse with the most impressive maiden victory I saw last year and the most impressive stakes victory Ive seen this year. I just needed to see if he would rate going two turns after being surprisingly rank in last, and he did, even if it was on the lead. After his last start, Motion said he too was surprised he was so rank because hes actually pretty laid back, and thought, maybe it was just being his second race with a long time between starts. I still believe hell rate off the pace when conditions warrant it. There was no speed in the Holy Bull and it looks as if he just wound up there, being sharp and much the best, and it was basically all over after he was allowed to get an opening quarter in :24. He just poured it on from there with :23 3/5, :23 4/5, and :24 2/5 quarters and a rapid final sixteenth in :06 flat. He has come home in fast fractions in all his starts, and that is so important. He was always on cruise control, but did run a bit greenly in the stretch, as Rosario had to throw a cross on him and help him change leads. After drifting a little, with his head a bit high, he leveled off nicely and was striding out beautifully at the wire, galloping out strongly. It must be noted he is a May 2 foal, with his birthday falling four days before the Kentucky Derby, so he still has a lot of room for improvement. He looked a picture before the race; not a drop of sweat and perfectly composed, and was still high energy coming back after the race. Hes just a gorgeous horse to look at, both in the post parade and in action. The key may have been Motion running him here against the champ instead of sticking to his original plan of running in the Sam F. Davis Stakes. Thats confidence. Hes bred to run all day, and just looks like a top-class colt. But I still would like to see him rate behind horses and explode like he did in his maiden race to complete the package. Dont want him getting in the habit of going to the front when you know he doesnt have to. 2 McCraken Ian Wilkes GhostzapperIvory Empress, by by Seeking the Gold He has a chance to go after the top spot when he debuts this week in the Sam F. Davis Stakes (G3). A huge effort over that track could bump him up, especially being undefeated like Irish War Cry. Ill be featuring some Thoro-Graph analysis this week, and as impressive as hes looked in his three Churchill Downs victories, his speed figures suggest he needs to improve several points after pairing up only fair numbers in his last two races. From a Thoro-Graph standpoint, Id like to see him improve at least 2 to 3 points off his last two. He seems to have a lot of improvement in him, as his pedigree suggests. We know he has an excellent turn of foot, and its all about what kind of transition he makes from 2 to 3. Hes been progressing in the morning, with a 5-furlong breeze in 1:01 at Palm Meadows, followed by a half-mile breeze in :49 3/5. Wilkes has had success using Tampa Bay to prep a 3-year-old, and he should get a test in Sam F. Davis, which has drawn much better fields in recent years and where hell face No Dozing, who has been unlucky with wide trips and is training brilliantly over the track. Also, Fact finding and Wild Shot look to be legitimate contenders. If McCraken can demonstrate the same turn of foot he displayed at Churchill Downs and continue his unbeaten streak, he will make his case as the leading Derby contender. Even a very good second will serve him well and help move him forward. 3 Mo Town Tony Dutrow Uncle MoGrazi Mille, by Bernardini He continues to show excellent progress training over the deeper surface at Payson Park, where he breezed 5 furlongs in a bullet 1:02 2/5 for the grade 3 Gotham Stakes March 4. The inner track stakes have not had much of a success rate, but it should set him up well for the Wood Memorial. Looking at his Thoro-Graph figures from last year, he has shown noticeable improvement with each start and his Remsen Stakes number puts him just about where he needs to be to rank among the fastest 3-year-olds. He has left plenty of room for improvement, has an impressive mile and an eighth victory under him already, and Dutrow just has to make sure he has him sharp for his return, as a nine-furlong race at 2 can dull a horse, especially when you go three-quarters in 1:14 and a mile in 1:38 4/5. I would love to have seen him with three preps, starting off in a sprint, but more on that below. His maiden score last year was right up there with Irish War Crys as most impressive, so perhaps that trend will continue. He appears to have a ton of class, along with a smooth, efficient stride, and the right running style. Although Dutrow doesnt have much experience on the Derby trail, he is a terrific trainer who knows his horses as well as anyone. 4 Mastery Bob Baffert Candy RideSteady Course, by Old Trieste Remains sharp, breezing 5 furlongs in 1:00 1/5, second fastest of 90 works at the distance. Baffert, as he usually does with two top 3-year-olds, likely will send either Mastery or American Anthem to Oaklawn for the Rebel and point the other for the San Felipe, and rather than ship twice, he will run the Rebel starter in the Santa Anita Derby and the San Felipe starter in the Arkansas Derby. Mastery is a colt who appears to have a good deal of raw talent, but will be in limbo until mid-March, so we really wont have any idea how good this horse is until then and where he fits on the Derby trail, as he has not faced any quality competition, despite winning a grade 1 and grade 3 stakes and romping by 7 1/4 lengths in the Los Alamitos Futurity, in which a maiden finished second. But that maiden did come back to run second in the Robert Lewis Stakes. He appears to have beautiful action and a long, fluid stride, and has the look of a distance horse, so well just have to sit and wait until March, as we did with American Pharoah two years ago. 5 Practical Joke Chad Brown Into MischiefHalo Humor, by Distorted Humor He turned in a bullet half-mile breeze in :48 flat at Palm Meadows, fastest of 30 works at the distance and followed that up with a half-mile breeze in :49. Im really looking forward to seeing him get a true shot at a two-turn race, feeling he was at a disadvantage in the Breeders Cup Juvenile, regressing slightly off his gut-wrencher in the Champagne Stakes. Hes on an excellent Thoro-Graph pattern, running fast figures in his first two career starts, jumping up three points in the Champagne to put him right up there with the fastest 2-year-olds, and then bouncing just slightly in the BC Juvenile, in which he didnt have the cleanest of trips, losing some momentum on two occasions, especially when Not This Time came in and forced him to alter course at the three-sixteenths pole. Im not sure how far he wants to go, with several speed influences in his pedigree, and that is why his 3-year-old debut is so important. We do know hes as steady as they come and has proven his courage under fire. The Champagne also received a boost when the well-beaten third-place finisher, stablemate Favorable Outcome, rallied to win Saturdays seven-furlong Swale Stakes. 6 Gunnevera Antonio Sano Dialed InUnbridled Rage, by Unbridled There was nothing not to like about his second-place finish in the Holy Bull Stakes. He was pretty much up against it once Irish War Cry got an uncontested lead in :24, and he had to keep up down on the inside, while racing closer to the pace than usual. Despite having to steady nearing the quarter pole while trying to come through on the rail, he still closed with good energy, finishing well clear of Classic Empire, and was running on strongly through a very fast final sixteenth. The short stretch didnt help him either, and it was obvious that he needed more ground and will be more effective with a contentious pace and a longer run to the wire. Despite selling for a bargain basement $16,000 as a yearling at Keeneland, he has a pedigree inundated with class and stamina on top and bottom. His third dam, Minstrel Princess, a son of English and Irish Derby winner The Minstrel, is a half-brother to Lucys Axe, winner of the Rebel Stakes and second in the Peter Pan and Remsen Stakes. But it is names like grandsires Mineshaft and Unbridled and great-grandsires A.P. Indy, Storm Cat. Fappiano, and Graustark, not to mention Ribot, Le Fabuleux, The Minstrel, Seattle Slew, and inbreeding to Secretariat and Mr. Prospector that makes this such an outstanding pedigree. We know Gunnevera has an explosive turn of foot going two turns and the speed to win a grade 2 sprint stakes at Saratoga. Its just a question whether hes fast enough, if you go by his Beyers. But he did jump up nearly six points on Thoro-Graph in the Delta Jackpot to put himself right there with the top contenders. And you had to love the explosive move he made on the turn at Delta, inhaling the leaders and drawing off to win by nearly 6 lengths. 7 Classic Empire Mark Casse Pioneerof the NileSambuca Classica, by Cat Thief The Holy Bull was extremely disappointing. It wasnt that he finished a lackluster third at 1-2, beaten nearly 9 lengths. Any one race can be forgiven. Its a question of whether he can be trusted as a horse who will be able to handle the Derby mayhem. This time it was a fretful van ride the morning of the race that did him in. Casse said the colt fretted very badly on the van ride from Palm Meadows. Because it was the first time hes ever vanned to a track on race day he is done with Gulfstream and will ship to a racetrack out of town for his next prep that is still to be determined and will train up to the race there. We all were convinced his meltdown at the start of the Hopeful Stakes was an aberration and that blinkers and maturity had cured him of any flighty behavior, especially with the professionalism he showed in his final two starts. But when he sweated up badly going to the post in the Holy Bull and got progressively worse by the time he got to the gate, where he became noticeably agitated, that sent up major warning signs. Then to come up as empty as he did was cause for concern. Casse was happy with the way hed been training, but it must be noted he had only four works at Palm Meadows, including a final 5-furlong work in company in 1:03 4/5. He still is the champ and capable of bouncing back, as weve seen in the past, and this wasnt nearly as alarming as what he did in the Hopeful. But as I mentioned, can we trust him at Churchill Downs to be as calm and collected as he will need to be and not do anything to severely hurt his chances? And we saw Saturday how fretting and sweating can affect his performance. Casse said he handled the crowd at the Breeders Cup fine. Frankly, I have no idea what to expect from him. I still feel he is immensely talented, as he demonstrated last year, but his unpredictability has to be a concern regarding the Derby. His next race will be very important. 8 No Dozing Arnaud Delacour Union RagsStay Awake, by Pulpit He is another who is on an excellent Thoro-Graph pattern, and I love the kind of improvement hes made since starting off his career with a very solid figure, much like Practical Joke. One of the reasons for his excellent Thoro-Graph numbers is the ground loss hes suffered. He continues to train sharply, breezing 5f in 1:01 1/5 at Tampa Bay. The reason his Beyer figures are slow is that it doesnt take ground loss into consideration. Well see if he can use his home track advantage to knock off leading Derby contender McCraken in Saturdays Sam F. Davis Stakes. It should be interesting to see what he can do with a decent trip for a change. We know he has a good turn of foot, an excellent middle move, and can motor around the turn. He always puts in a good run. Hes been able to sustain his move, but just not quite strong enough to seriously threaten the winner, and that most likely is due to the ground loss and the fact hes lost to Classic empire and Mo Town. We know he has sprint speed, winning his first two career starts impressively at Delaware Park and Laurel. Right now, we just want to see what hes capable of with a good trip and a well-timed move. 9 Uncontested Wayne Catalano Tiz WonderfulGalileos Star, by by Lil E. Tee He continues to train sharply, breezing 5 furlongs in a bullet 1:00 3/5 at Oaklawn, fastest of 55 works at the distance, as he prepares for the Southwest Stakes. As impressive as he was in the Smarty Jones Stakes, I believe hes going to improve a great deal off that effort, as indicated by his Thoro-Graph jump, in which he still left a lot of room to move forward. As mentioned, it was impressive the way he took control of the Smarty Jones and left a lot in the tank at the end. He just looks like a natural runner who can bound along and carry his speed a long way. And his pedigree would seem to validate that, with all the class and stamina influences close up and a number of horses who proved to be extremely durable. It is said his mile time of 1:36 1/5 in the Smarty Jones was the fastest since they began running the distance in 1988, which resulted in a whopping 96 beyer figure. Hes a laid back horse who always looks like hes running much slower than he actually is, and that bodes well for his ability to rate behind horses. We just need to see it. You would rather see him use his speed tactically if hes going to fit the profile of a Kentucky Derby winner, as front-running Derby winners are very rare. He still has several preps to learn to settle off the pace, but you also dont want to take a free-running horse like this out of his comfort zone if this is the way he wants to run. It will just make things more difficult on the first Saturday in May. If he can harness some of his speed theres no telling how good he may be. 10 Gormley John Shirreffs Malibu MoonRace to Urga, by Bernstein Shirreffs gave him a nice easy half-mile breeze in :49 3/5, as he prepares for a likely start in the March 11 San Felipe Stakes, where he will tackle either Mastery or American Anthem from the Bob Baffert barn. Right now, these three, along with his stablemate Royal Mo, appear to be the standouts among the Southern California group, which is not very deep this year. It looks to be Shirreffs pair vs. Bafferts pair, but it is still early. Doug ONeill may have a decent pair as well. There are several who might be lurking in the wings, but well just have to wait until the San Felipe to see if he can continue to rate off the pace and continue to stretch out in distance. The Sham was a big bounce back effort after the Breeders Cup Juvenile and showed his tour-de-force in the grade I FrontRunner Stakes was no fluke. Despite his natural speed, there is a ton of stamina in his female family. 11 American Anthem Bob Baffert BodemeisterIndys Windy, by A.P. Indy I dont know if Baffert is trying to slow him down and curtail his speed, but his 5-furlong breeze in 1:02 3/5 is not your typical Baffert work. Although hes had only two lifetime starts, his Thoro-Graph numbers are impressive, while still leaving room for improvement. As mentioned earlier, he likely will run next in either the San Felipe Stakes or Rebel Stakes. He is another who needs to harness some of that early speed, especially having had only the two career starts. He is on schedule to have only two more Derby preps, which means hed be going to Louisville with only four career starts, and history is against horses with so few races, especially one who, at this point, has been one dimensional. His sire nearly pulled it off with only four career starts, but it remains to be seen if American Anthem is anywhere near as gifted as Bodemeister, whose Arkansas Derby romp was as brilliant and dominating a Derby prep as weve seen in years. 12 El Areeb Cathal Lynch Exchange RateFeathered Diamond, by A.P. Indy Hes on quite a roll, winning his last four starts in impressive fashion, and there is no faulting his handy score in the Withers Stakes, in which he again manhandled the local horses, who proved no match for him. But it must be noted that runner-up True Timber finished 7 1/2 lengths closer to him than he did in the Jerome. Part of that can be attributed to the improvement of True Timber, who is bred to be more of a late developing distance horse, and is in the capable hands of Kiaran McLaughlin. But for now, El Areeb has been a dominant force in New York. Well have to see how he fares against better company when the pace will be faster than 1:14 and 1:38 1/5. And as mentioned several times already, Exchange Rate will have to prove he can sire a horse who can win major stakes at 1 1/4 miles, although El Areebs female family is loaded with top-class Canadian distance horses, as reported last week. Whether hes a Derby-type horse or not, there is no doubt he is a talented colt who any trainer would love to have in his barn. KNOCKING ON THE DOOR I hated having to take GUEST SUITE off the Top 12, but with El Areeb winning so convincingly and Irish War Cry bursting on the scene, there simply was no room for him. But that doesnt mean he still isnt one of the leading Derby contenders, and hell have plenty of opportunities to get back on the list. He breezed a solid half this week in :48 4/5. There also wasnt any room to fit in the Robert Lewis Stakes winner ROYAL MO, which would have given John Shirreffs two horses in the Dozen. As good as Royal Mo looked, the Lewis was a weak field, so we really have no gauge to tell us just how good he is. I will say this, from a purely physical and visual standpoint he looks like a horse loaded with class, who has a commanding presence, a beautiful, elegant head, and a smooth, fluid stride that made him stand out from the others. There is also a good deal of American stamina and English blood in his female family to go with his sire Uncle Mo. Having two horses on the Derby trail trained by John Shirreffs who are both frontrunners is pretty unusual to say the least. Its too early to tell just how good this horse is, but he is one handsome individual who is only going to get better. Shirreffs said hes still a boy whos a little bit on the shy side, but hes definitely eligible to improve. Speaking of Santa Anita and the Lewis field, whether its been the weather setting many horses back or the Santa Anita-based 3-year-olds simply are thin this year, it was disappointing seeing a major prep like the Lewis come up with only five entries, none of whom had showed much. Two were coming out of unspectacular maiden victories, one was a maiden, despite finishing a distant second to Mastery in the Los Alamitos Futurity, one was coming off a 17 1/2-length defeat in the Sham Stakes, and one was beaten 13 lengths in the Los Alamitos Futurity and 9 3/4 lengths in the Delta Jackpot in his last two starts. Santa Anita racing secretary Rick Hammerle admits its been frustrating trying to find 3-year-olds, especially with two of the best, Gormley and American Anthem, running in the Sham Stakes instead of the Lewis. He had been hoping to see Mastery make his 3-year-old debut in the Lewis, and has no idea if hell stay there or ship to Oaklawn Park. Mastery is one of those who has lost time because of the weather. Its been kind of wild out here, Hammerle said. Were light and its February already. Where are they? When the rains came everyone stopped on their horses. On top of all that, Bob Baffert scratched his talented colt BIG GRAY ROCKET, fourth in the Champagne Stakes, from a one-mile second level allowance race last Thursday, and then a 1 1/16-mile maiden race on Saturday drew only six horses. But Baffert did unveil another possible Derby contender in that maiden race in REACH THE WORLD, a Tapit colt making his second start who led all the way to win by 3 1/4 lengths. His time of 1:44 2/5 was a full second slower than the time of the Lewis. Reach the World was coming off a third-place finish behind DABSTER, another Baffert colt, who won in a four-horse blanket finish. In January of 2016 I wrote a column about something I felt strongly about. Well, I still feel strongly about it and am reprinting a few graphs from it to get the point across again. See how long it takes you to answer this question. Going back to the 1960s and 1970s, and even the majority of the 1980s, what do these 2-year-old and 3-year-old champions and classic winners have in common? In the 1970s, Triple Crown winners Secretariat, Seattle Slew, and Affirmed, Spectacular Bid, Riva Ridge, Foolish Pleasure, Hoist the Flag, Little Current, Key to the Mint, Honest Pleasure, Bold Forbes, Rockhill Native, and well include Alydar on the list. In the 1960s, Damascus, Buckpasser, Arts and Letters, Majestic Prince, Kelso, Northern Dancer, Bold Lad, Top Knight, Chateaugay, Successor, and Vitriolic. And well add in the 1980s, Easy Goer, Sunday Silence, Swale, Spend a Buck, Devils Bag, Chiefs Crown, Conquistador Cielo, Forty Niner, Gulch, and Plugged Nickle. You will agree that many of these are all-time greats. Well, the answer is every one of these horses made their 3-year-old debut in a sprint race. A total of 19 of them were in allowance races, and the rest were in the Hutcheson, Bahamas, Bay Shore, Swale, Swift, Hibiscus, Los Feliz, San Miguel, and Key West Stakes. The only problem is, no sprint stakes are awarded any Derby points, forcing many trainers to just ignore these all-important races that, as the great horsemen from the past would tell you, get horses sharp before stretching back out to distance races. Continuous two-turn racing at 2 and 3 can dull a horse, and they need to be sharp in the Kentucky Derby, where early positioning is so important, as is tactical speed. As if on cue, Nyquist and Exaggerator went on to debut in the seven-furlong San Vicente Stakes, finishing one-two, respectively, and then finished one-two again in the Kentucky Derby and then one-three in the Preakness, with Exaggerator reversing the order of finish. So, did trainers learn from all this? Hardly. This year the seven-furlong Hutcheson Stakes didnt even fill and the seven-furlong Swale Stakes drew only six horses, with the only major stakes horse from last year being the Champagne Stakes third-place finisher FAVORABLE OUTCOME, and well throw in THREE RULES, even though his big wins were in the Florida Stallion stakes and he did compete in the Breeders Cup Juvenile, tiring after going four-wide into the first turn. These two horses finished one-two in the Swale, with the victorious Favorable Outcome being the one horse in the field who looks as if he could be Derby material. Of course we dont know how far he wants to go, having a sort of an offbeat female family. But he is grade 1-placed behind two very talented colts, was nothing more than an experiment, being thrown to the wolves in the Breeders Cup Juvenile Turf, and was fast enough to win his debut by 6 lengths in 1:09 4/5 at Saratoga. If he does want to go long, the Swale could prove an excellent starting off point, as it did for Nyquist and Exaggerator last year. But at this point it looks as if Chad Brown is going to keep him one turn. Three Rules is a talented horse, but he has to show he can come home going two turns against quality competition. We'll see if he can stretch out effectively off the Swale. The bottom line is, if you have a major stakes-winning 2-year-old who has earned points or you feel you have a serious Derby contender, you dont really need to be chasing points in early February, with two big preps still on your schedule. I realize this is old school thinking, but there is something to that list of sensational horses mentioned above. We dont know yet who will be in next Sundays San Vicente, but you might want to keep an eye on ILIAD, who doesnt fit the above profile, having only run in two sprints and breaking his maiden impressively in a blistering 1:08 1/5. But his pedigree suggests he should be able to stretch out in distance, so well see what were dealing with next week. We know hes sitting on a big race after working a half in a bullet :47 3/5, fastest of 71 works at the distance. If there is a filly who looks like shed be a good fit on the Derby trail, it is UNIQUE BELLA, especially considering there are no real standouts at this time in Southern California. The daughter of Tapit looks more and more like the proverbial freak, but unlike her fellow freak, Songbird, she has great tactical speed, can sit back off the pace, and can explode whenever jockey Mike Smith pulls the trigger. The way she won the Las Virgenes Stakes under wraps after powering away from her foes with ridiculous ease, there is no telling just what she is capable of. But she hasnt been farther than a mile, is still lightly raced, and trainer Jerry Hollendorfer said there are no plans to run her against the boys, despite her being nominated to the Triple Crown. Her owner, Don Alberto, also owns Saturdays maiden winner Reach the World. Can anyone remember a trainer having two such brilliant young fillies in the barn at the same time? One race that drew a good deal of attention was the two-turn debut of the exciting maiden winner BATTALION RUNNER, who had a good chance of jumping into the Top 12 with a repeat performance. While the son of Unbridleds Song looked good in his workmanlike victory over BEASLEY, its still a bit too early to rank him among the proven stakes horses. Both colts ran very gamely, as they drew well clear of third-place finisher PAINTERS RAGS, with Beasley giving up ground grudgingly after setting a relatively soft pace. It wasnt until the last few yards that Battalion Runner began to assert himself and inch away to a 1 1/4-length score. He then jumped over to his left lead just as he crossed the wire. Both colts look to have bright futures, and well definitely know more about Battalion Runner when he steps up in class, likely in the Fountain of Youth Stakes. In addition to Battalion Runner and the rest of his army of 3-year-olds, Pletcher also has a colt with great promise in ONE LINER, who is way behind, breaking his maiden first time out last July, and then off a 6-month layoff, won a six-furlong allowance race by 2 1/2 lengths in 1:10 flat. Distance is a question mark, but he looked very impressive the way he moves over the track. As if Pletcher needs any more 3-year-olds, Saturdays activity began at Gulfstream with the newly blinkered HEDGE FUND breaking his maiden with authority in his two-turn debut after being hustled out of the gate from the outside, stalking the pace, and drawing away on his own. The son of Super Saver is just another in the long list of Pletcher-trained 3-year-olds to dominate racing at Gulfstream. The undefeated Pletcher colt FACT FINDING, who scratched out of the Holy Bull to run next week in the Sam F. Davis Stakes, breezed a half in :50 2/5 at Palm Beach Downs. Last years game Champagne runner-up SYNDERGAARD returned to the work tab, breezing 3 furlongs in :38 4/5 at the Stonestreet training center. The speedy MALAGACY, runaway winner of his debut at 5 1/2 furlongs, breezed a bullet half in :48 flat, fastest of 14 works at the distance. Last week, we reported on the amazing maiden victory at Oaklawn by HENCE. Well, the horse who allowed him to come back and beat him, HORSE FLY, was in action again, breaking his maiden by a nose in slow time for Wayne Lukas. Hence, meanwhile, was on the work tab, breezing 5 furlongs in 1:02 2/5. Normally, no one takes the Golden Gate preps too seriously, as they are run over the Tapeta surface and rarely produce a serious Derby contender. But it looks as if Paul Reddam and Doug ONeill might have a live one in California Derby winner SO CONFLATED, who has shown good dirt form and was a solid third behind American Anthem in his career debut. In the California Derby, he settled well along the inside under a nice long rein, but when they turned for home, he ran into a wall of horses while in tight quarters, and, after taking a solid bump from the horse outside him, had to keep easing to the outside looking for room. When he finally found clear sailing, he rallied, but switched back to his left lead when the jock tried to angle him farther out. He closed in on the leaders and switched back to his right lead before drawing clear at the finish. This week at Santa Anita, he tore up the track with a bullet half-mile work in :46 4/5, fastest of 68 works at the distance. By Eskendereya, his broodmare sire, Tiger Ridge, is a half-brother to A.P. Indy and Summer Squall, and his third dam is a half-sister to Ladys Secret. He is also inbred to Triple Crown winners Secretariat and Seattle Slew. In other works of interest, Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes runner-up WILD SHOT, breezed a quick 5 furlongs in 1:01 at Payson Park for Saturdays Sam F. Davis Stakes. The fast-closing Breeders Futurity runner-up and BC Juvenile fourth-place finisher LOOKIN AT LEE, turned in a solid 5-furlong breeze in 1:01 flat at Fair Grounds for his likely debut in the Risen Star Stakes. STATE OF HONOR, who was beaten a head in the Mucho Macho Man Stakes in his dirt debut, breezed a bullet half in :47 flat at Palm Meadows, fastest of 28 works at the distance.. PETROV, second to Uncontested in the Smarty Jones, continues to work well, breezing a half in :48 1/5 at Oaklawn for the Southwest Stakes, with clockers getting his final quarter in a snappy :22 3/5, going out a strong 5 panels in 1:00 2/5. This could be a real dark horse for the Oaklawn Derby preps if there is enough pace to keep Uncontested busy. Following their 1-2 finish in a one-mile allowance race at Oaklawn, CHIEF KNOW IT ALL and runner-up JERRID appear ready to move up to stakes competition in the Southwest Stakes, although Jerrid, with only two lifetime starts, more likely will be targeted for an allowance race two days earlier on February 18, according to trainer Scott Young. ROWDY WARRIOR, who breezed 5 furlongs in 1:01 is another who could go in the Southwest or the allowance race. Although hes still a maiden, Donegal Racings ARKLOW could be one to watch in the Risen Star Stakes after his fast-closing fourth in the LeComte Stakes, beaten only 1 3/4 lengths by Guest Suite. Also scheduled to face Guest Suite in the Risen Star is TAKEOFF, a strong third in the LeComte, who breezed 5 furlongs in a sharp 1:01, and LeComte runner-up UNTRAPPED, who breezed 5 furlongs in 1:02 2/5. An engineer has created a machine that holds a hot dog in front of a dog to direct it. The device sits on the dog's back and rotates the hot dog in different directions with the aid of a remote control. The engineer had all the construction and tests filmed, which yielded mixed but funny results. The device sits on the dog's back and rotates the hot dog in different directions with the aid of a remote control. Demonstrated here by Barclay the bulldog, the device Engineer William Osman, based in Ventura, California, has worked on other projects including a remote controlled pumpkin combat robot and a gingerbread house made with a laser cutter. At the beginning of his hot dog device video, Osman explains the basics of how it works, saying: 'A motor will reorient the wiener depending on the data coming from the gyroscope sitting on this little platform, so with a remote control you can change the position of the wiener and when the dog turns it will try to hold the wiener in the same position and hopefully in the end we can use our wiener to steer the dog.' William Osman created the machine that holds a hot dog in front of a dog to direct it. The device rotates the hotdog in different directions with a remote control. In the video, Osman uses a home-built laser cutter to construct the parts for his device. He assembles the wooden, laser cut parts with the help of a power drill to create a rotating platform. Questioning whether the device will work or not, Osman says: 'Do we want to take bets that this is just going to totally fail?' 'Who wants to bet against this? I bet for it working.' HOW DOES IT WORK? The hot dog baiting device works with a spinning gyropscope that sits on the dogs back like a backpack. It spins and has two limit switches which hit screws so that it doesn't rip off the back of the device. It keep the hot dog dangling right in front of the angle you want to make the dog drive. So if the dog moves left, it moves the hot dog right. If the dog moves right, it moves the hot dog left. When you adjust the real control it changes the angle you want the hot dog to be at or the direction you want the dog to turn. Advertisement Once he's finished making it, Osman explains the final product, saying: 'Currently, we have a little doggie bio backpack that spins, has two limit switches which hit this screw right here, it's screwed in place so that when the bait arm is on there it's not going to rip the back - it might rip the back out but we'll see how that goes. 'All we need to do now is 90 per cent of the project which is software.' After the device and all its software is ready for testing, Osman goes to a hospital parking lot at night to test the device on his dog. A white car appears, dropping off his bulldog called Barclay, and Osman picks him up and hugs him. When strapping the device on the dog's back, Osman jokingly says: 'What do we do with your degree you got in expensive school - I make wiener flinging robots.' But when Osman tests the device on his bulldog, he (the dog) just reaches up and tries to grab the hot dog instead of moving forwards. After the device and all its software is ready for testing, William Osman (pictured) goes to a hospital parking lot at night to test the device on his dog While Osman says the device show's promise, he also says: 'He's going to impale somebody with that thing,' referring to the rod holding the hot dog in front of him. After making some adjustments to the device, Osman tests the device again. 'Day two of testing and I realize this video is kind of a hot mess.' The modifications he makes include a longer stick to get the hot dog further in front of the dog, and a lowered angle as much as possible so that the hot dog doesn't hang up was high in front of him to get the dog to move forward instead of up. When Osman tests the device on his bulldog, he (the dog) just reaches up and tries to grab the hot dog instead of moving forwards During the first attempt at testing the device, the dog flung the hot dog off the string it was attached to When he tests the modified device, the dog does follow the direction of the hot dog for a short amount of time - but eventually gives up and stops moving forward after it. I tried well I'm not sure if that was success or failure Im leaning more towards failure so cameraman John won whatever we had bet which I dont think we actually clarified so you won the bet you dont win anything now, Osman said. Maybe we need a better dog maybe we need a better robot. 'The good news is he got a bunch of hot dogs. The video ends with aerial drone footage of Osman doing a grass angel' in a park and he says: Im gonna be all itchy, this is a bad idea. After a failed first attempt, the modifications Osman makes include a longer stick to get the hot dog further in front of the dog, and a lowered angle as much as possible so that the hot dog doesn't hang up was high in front of him to get the dog to move forward instead of up We are in the grip of a nationwide hysteria. All over the country, people are arguing about leaf and romaine and thats just the tip of the iceberg. Yes, its the Great British Lettuce Crisis of 2017, with supermarket salad shelves looking as denuded as those of a Soviet bloc deli counter in the 1970s. As happens with all shortages, a black or green market has quickly sprouted. The modern equivalent of the pencil-moustached spiv on the street corner is the internet seller, the type found on sites such as eBay and Gumtree like a rapacious slug. Supermarket salad shelves are looking as denuded as those of a Soviet bloc deli counter in the 1970s. Spain has been blighted by drought, floods and a series of hard frosts, which has badly affected growing conditions for lettuce It has been reported that a man in Birmingham was flogging a box of 12 lettuces for 50. Thats ten times the usual price, making each lettuce worth 4.16, the same price per pound as a joint of silverside or a decent slab of brie. And even if you are fortunate enough to find lettuces at your local greengrocer, the chances are theyll be rationed as if it were the dark days of the Blitz. Tesco and Morrisons have clamped down on any salad hoarders by stipulating that nobody may buy more than three iceberg lettuces at a time. The reason for the shortage is the weather. Many of the lettuces we buy are grown in Spain, which has been blighted by a triple whammy of drought, floods and a series of particularly hard frosts. In fact, its hard to imagine less conducive conditions for growing lettuce. What makes things worse is that it looks as if the shelves will remain bare for a while yet. The largest Spanish growers association, Fepex, has warned the shortages will remain until at least early April for leafy vegetables grown in the open air, like lettuces, endives and spinach. Contrary to the received wisdom that we Brits eschew anything healthy on our plates, we get through 800 million bags and heads of lettuce every year. Admittedly, that may only represent about one lettuce per person per month, but if we discount the millions of cholesterol-clogged tubbies who only eat fast food, then those who do like to eat salad get through about one lettuce per week. It has been reported that a man in Birmingham was flogging a box of 12 lettuces for 50, ten times the usual price. It's the wrong time of year to think about growing lettuce as seeds cannot germinate in freezing temperatures So whats the solution? Its no good being told to sit it out and wait we need action this day! And the best sort of action is to do what our parents and grandparents did in the war and grow our own. However, that is not realistic. For a start, its the wrong time of year to think about growing tender plants. Most parts of the country are just a few degrees above freezing and temperatures wont rise for weeks to allow seeds to germinate. In any case, most lettuces take two to three months to mature, by which time all being well with the cos-growers on the Costas we should have lorry-loads of lettuce back on the vegetable aisles. But there is another method that can get you from seed to salad in just 30 days. Its called hydroponics, a method by which plants are grown in water loaded with nutrients, without so much as a grain of soil involved. Typically, growing salad leaves using hydroponics is carried out on an industrial scale. Indeed, many of the vegetables exported to Britain from Spain are grown using this technique. Farmers say they can almost double their production while saving energy, fertiliser and water costs, while significantly preventing the pollution caused by agricultural machinery. Of course, few if any people grow lettuce domestically in this way because, under normal conditions, the economics make no sense. The only plants that people typically grow at home with hydroponics are ones that are expensive and hard to obtain such as cannabis, which is, of course, illegal. However, with lettuce fast approaching the cost of good beef, hydroponics is a method that may just make sense. Usually, lettuce takes two to three months to fully grow. But by using a hypodronic system, where the plant is grown in water loaded with nutrients, you can grow lettuce in a month Nevertheless, be aware that hydroponic horticulture requires skills more akin to aquarium aficionados than allotmenteers. There are two ways to get started. You can either build your own system from scratch or buy a DIY kit. The former may be a little cheaper, but not by much, and inevitably involves much more hassle sourcing components. Once youve made that decision, choose which method of hydroponics to go for. A local hydroponics dealer can steer you through the options of the Deep Water Culture (DWC) system versus the Nutrient Film Technique (NFT), plus all sorts of other methods too numerous to mention here. As a very rough rule of thumb, if youre going it alone, plump for DWC. If youre buying off the shelf, the chances are it will be NFT. Deep Water Culture means roots are submerged in a deep water nutrient solution while an air pump adds oxygen to the mixture of water and fertiliser. Without vigorous aeration, submerged roots would rot and die. If you are handy and patient, building a DWC kit is relatively straightforward. The internet is awash with how-to guides, and youll soon notice that the key components are an opaque tub, air pump, an airstone (which helps oxygenate the water), a bottle of nutrients, chemicals to keep the water mildly alkaline, some nest baskets, a 200-watt lamp to keep up the temperature and a reflector. If you shop around, you can buy all these bits for just under 100. You can buy a hypodronic kit for around 150. As a home kit will only allow you to grow four heads at a time, your first lettuce will cost you in the region of 30. But, after a month things start to get more economical However, if you want to get started as quickly as possible and lets face it, there is a crisis on! opt for a kit from your local hydroponics shop or an online retailer. At my local shop, Salisbury Hydroponics (hydroponics-uk.uk), you can buy a complete NFT system for around 150. Alternatively, GroWell (growell.co.uk) sells a Hobby Kit NFT 250 for 149.95. However, there is a difference with all these systems, as they will only allow enough room to grow four plants at a time. This means, factoring in the cost of running the lamp for a month, that each initial lettuce will cost you in the region of 30 to 42.50. Of course, if you carry on growing, after a month or so things start to get more economical, but never as economical as buying a lettuce from a shop if you can find one, that is. Yes, you can buy bigger kits, but they still cost 250 to 350. So youd have to be seriously in love with lettuce to go for it. However, there is another option foraging. Even at this time of year, there can be plenty of wild plants available that would make great salad material. Wild garlic (ramsons), dandelions, sweet violet, nettles, wood avens, ground elder, bittercress and alexanders are all coming into leaf. Theyre a lot tastier and have more vitamins than a Spanish iceberg lettuce and, better still, theyre free. Elon Musk's rocket firm has revealed plans to launch its Falcon 9 rockets every two to three weeks, its fastest rate since starting launches in 2010, once it begins using the historic launch pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center next week. The ambitious plan comes only five months after a SpaceX rocket burst into flames on the launch pad at the company's original launch site in Florida. SpaceX, controlled by billionaire Elon Musk, has only launched one rocket since then, in mid-January. Scroll down for video Launch Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida has been undergoes modifications by SpaceX to adapt it to the needs of the company's Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy rockets, which are slated to lift off from the historic pad in the near future. A horizontal integration facility at the lower right has been constructed near the perimeter of the pad where rockets will be processed for launch prior of rolling out to the top of the pad structure for liftoff. SpaceX anticipates using the launch pad for its Crew Dragon spacecraft for missions to the International Space Station in partnership with NASA's Commercial Crew Program. 'We should be launching every two to three weeks,' SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell told Reuters in an interview on Monday. SpaceX was approaching that pace last autumn, before the Sept. 1 accident, which happened during a routine preflight test. The explosion destroyed a $200 million Israeli satellite and heavily damaged the launch pad. Shotwell said repairs to the launch pad at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, which are still underway, should cost 'far less than half' of a new launch pad, which she said runs about $100 million. The new launch pad is at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, just north of the Cape Canaveral site. SpaceX is also modifying the rocket's engines to increase performance and resolve potential safety concerns, said Shotwell. The company plans to change the design of the Falcon 9's turbopump - which provides propellants to the rocket's engines - to eliminate cracks that have prompted concern from NASA and the U.S. Air Force. NASA has hired SpaceX to taxi astronauts to and from the International Space Station starting in late 2018. Shotwell said the new turbopumps will be installed before the first unmanned test flights of the commercial space taxi, scheduled for November. THE HISTORIC LAUNCH PADS The space shuttle Discovery lifts off from launch pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center October 11, 2000. The pad has now been taken over Elon Musk's SpaceX, which hopes to begin launching its Dragon rockets every two weeks. Since the late 1960s, Pads A and B at Kennedy Space Center's Launch Complex 39 have served as backdrops for America's most significant manned space flight endeavors - Apollo, Skylab, Apollo-Soyuz and space shuttle. Located on Merritt Island, Fla., just north of Cape Canaveral, the pads were originally built for the huge Apollo/Saturn V rockets that launched American astronauts on their historic journeys to the moon and back. An aerial view of Launch Pad 39A during the Apollo/Saturn era, taken in 1976. During the Apollo era, key pad service structures were mobile. Looking like a giant erector set, is the construction of the payload changeout room for the Space Shuttle Program at Launch Pad 39A in 1976. It allows the capability of loading the shuttle vertically, and making installation or removal of payloads at the launch pad possible. Following the joint U.S.-Soviet Apollo-Soyuz Test Project mission of July 1975, the pads were modified to support space shuttle operations. Both pads were designed to support the concept of mobile launch operations, in which space vehicles are checked out and assembled in the protected environment of the Orbiter Processing Facility and the Vehicle Assembly Building, then transported by large, tracked crawlers to the launch pad for final processing and launch. During the Apollo era, key pad service structures were mobile. For the space shuttle, two permanent service towers were installed at each pad for the first time, the fixed service structure and the rotating service structure. On April 12, 1981, shuttle operations commenced at Pad A with the launch of Columbia on STS-1. After 23 more successful launches from A, the first space shuttle to lift off from Pad B was the ill-fated Challenger in January 1986. Pad B was designated for the resumption of shuttle flights in September 1988, followed by the reactivation of Pad A in January 1990. Advertisement SpaceX is one of two companies certified to fly military and national security satellites for the Air Force, the other being United Launch Alliance, a partnership of Boeing Co and Lockheed Martin Corp. 'For us, the concern was not the cracks, but do they grow over time? Would these cracks cause a flight failure?' Shotwell said. 'I think NASA is used to engines that aren't quite as robust, so they just don't want any cracks at all in the turbo machinery.' SpaceX discovered two types of cracks during ground tests of its Merlin engines in 2015, Shotwell said. The cracks were not related to the Sept. 1 launch pad explosion. To fix the more serious cracking issue, the company devised a software fix and then redesigned the turbine wheel, Shotwell said. The first of the redesigned turbine wheels flew in July 2016. A second set of cracks in welds and shrouds are not a concern for flight, but NASA and the Air Force have asked for a redesign, Shotwell said. SpaceX has a backlog of more than 70 missions, worth more than $10 billion. It has successfully flown 27 out of 29 times since the Falcon 9's debut in 2010. The company flew eight missions in 2016 before the launch pad accident in September grounded the fleet. The rocket returned to flight last month, flying from a second launch site in California, which is only used for satellites heading into polar or high inclination orbits. When a portion of cliff collapsed at the Kilauea volcanos Kamokuna ocean entry last week, it at first appeared to have taken the remarkable lava firehose with it. But, new footage captured during boat tours this weekend reveals the phenomenon has started up again. A steady stream of lava can be seen gushing from a hole in the side of the cliff, striking up bursts of debris as it collides with the water. Scroll down for video KILAUEA VOLCANO It's thought that the Kilauea volcano in Hawaii formed anywhere from 300,000-600,000 years ago. And, it has been active ever since, according to the US Geological Survey. It erupts from three main areas, the summit and two rift zones, and most of these events are 'relatively gentle.' But, not always. 'Every few decades to centuries, however, powerful explosions spread ejecta across the landscape,' according to the USGS's Hawaiian Volcano Observatory. 'Such explosions can be lethal, as the one in 1790 that killed scores of people in a war party near the summit of Kilauea.' Advertisement Killer show this afternoon for our 3:30pm 2/4/17 Lava Boat Tour, Kalapana Cultural-Tours wrote on Facebook on Saturday. Light variable winds made lava viewing pretty epic from the southern vantage point. Guests were surprised to see the lava fire hose lava still active. Just before the dramatic collapse last Thursday, the firehose was no longer visible, according to the USGSs Hawaiian Volcano Observatory. And, subsequent visits to the site led to the same conclusion, although lava appeared to be entering the ocean, the researchers explained. In the past few days, however, the firehose has returned to action. A second video from Kalapana Cultural Tours revealed it persisted through the weekend. The stunning footage captured in the early morning hours of Sunday shows the bright stream pouring into the ocean once again. Southwest winds made viewing from the south perfect, the group wrote on Facebook. Pele is still pouring into the Pacific Ocean. Fire hose lava entry is still visible. The video ends with what appears to be a large explosion. When the molten lava hits the cool seawater, it reacts and causes explosions that can throw large chunks of hot rock and debris inland, where tourists hike in to see the lava, and seaward, where tour boats cruise the shoreline. Killer show this afternoon for our 3:30pm 2/4/17 Lava Boat Tour, Kalapana Cultural-Tours wrote on Facebook on Saturday. Light variable winds made lava viewing pretty epic from the southern vantage point. Guests were surprised to see the lava fire hose lava still active The gasses released from the reaction are also dangerous to breathe, and shards of volcanic glass can be thrown into the air when the hot lava meets the cool seawater. On Thursday, a section of sea cliff above the massive 'firehose' lava flow on Hawaii's Kilauea Volcano collapsed and splashed into the ocean as tourists and geologists watched. A large crack in the section of cliff above the gushing molten lava stream gave way as scientists stood just yards away. Geologists with Hawaii Volcano Observatory were at the site to monitor the crack when it collapsed, and managed to capture the scene on video. Just before the dramatic collapse last Thursday, the firehose was no longer visible, according to the USGSs Hawaiian Volcano Observatory. In the past few days, however, the firehose has returned to action Later in the day, a tour boat was cruising by when another section of the cliff collapsed. Video shows guests gasping and screaming as the huge piece of land splashes down in front of them, sending debris high into the air. The collapse stopped the heavy stream of lava that had been arching out from near the top of the cliffs for weeks. The lava stream, dubbed a 'firehose' flow because it shoots lava outward from the source like water from a hose, had recently increased in intensity. In this combination of Feb. 2, 2017 images provided by the U.S. Geological Survey, a section of sea cliff, top, falls into the ocean above a 'firehose' lava stream in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. Another portion of cracked, unstable land is shown after the collapse, bottom. The massive Kilauea flow came from a lava tube at the Kamokuna ocean entry on the southeast side of the Big Island. The lava was gushing from a tube that was exposed when a huge, 26-acre lava rock delta collapsed into the ocean at the site on New Year's Eve. That collapse triggered massive explosions and giant waves in the area. The USGS warned that a portion of unstable cliff may still be attached and could break off at any time. 'This collapse yesterday did not diminish the hazards,' said USGS geologist Janet Babb on Friday. A large crack in the section of cliff above the gushing molten lava stream gave way Thursday afternoon as scientists stood just yards away. 'As long as lava continues to flow into the ocean, that area is still quite hazardous... there's still potential for collapses of the sea cliff there.' The National Park Service has set up a designated viewing area far from the flow where visitors can safely view the lava. But some people cross lines and venture into closed, dangerous areas, officials said. The Kilauea volcano is spewing molten lava into the Pacific Ocean, spurring explosions that launch debris to twice the height of the sea cliff. Researchers have been tracking the giant tracks in the volcanic area for weeks, and saw cracks getting wider this week Upon a careful examination of the 'unstable sea cliff' this past weekend, researchers discovered a hot crack just above the site where the lava is flowing out, with temperatures as high as 428 degrees Fahrenheit Footage captured by the USGS's Hawaiian Volcano Observatory before the collapse reveals the remarkable volcanic 'firehose' in action as it produces dangerous blasts, creating 'hazardous conditions on land and at sea.' Upon a careful examination of the 'unstable sea cliff', researchers discovered a hot crack just above the site where the lava is flowing out, with temperatures as high as 428 degrees Fahrenheit. The massive lava stream is roughly 1-2 meters wide and has been continuously pouring molten lava directly into the water at the Kamokuna ocean entry, according to the US Geological Survey. It's recently begin to flow from the lava tube as a 'single large spout,' causing pulsating blasts of molten fragments. 'Some of these incandescent clasts fell on top of the sea cliff behind the ocean entry, forming a small spatter cone,' the USGS wrote. 'During one exceptionally large burst, spatter as thrown about twice the height of the sea cliff.' Footage captured by the USGS's Hawaiian Volcano Observatory reveals the remarkable volcanic 'firehose' in action as it produces dangerous blasts, creating 'hazardous conditions on land and at sea' 'At Kilauea's ocean entry on Jan 28 and 29, the interaction of molten lava flowing into cool seawater caused pulsating littoral explosions that threw spatter (fragments of molten lava) high into the air,' the USGS HVO explains. 'Some of these incandescent clasts fell on top of the sea cliff behind the ocean entry, forming a small spatter cone. During one exceptionally large burst, spatter as thrown about twice the height of the sea cliff. 'These ocean entry littoral explosions, both large and small create hazardous conditions on land and at sea.' The massive lava stream is roughly 1-2 meters wide and has been continuously pouring molten lava directly into the water at the Kamokuna ocean entry, according to the US Geological Survey With the discovery of a hot ground crack in the sea cliff overhead, the site is considered to be extremely unstable. But, geologists set out for a closer investigation on foot January 28 wearing protective gear. The team found that the eastern end of the crack is roughly 11.8 inches (30 cm) wide, and 'deeply cut into recent lava atop the older sea cliff.' They were unable to access the western end as a result of numerous safety concerns, including poor air quality and the unstable ground. 'At Kilauea's ocean entry on Jan 28 and 29, the interaction of molten lava flowing into cool seawater caused pulsating littoral explosions that threw spatter (fragments of molten lava) high into the air,' the USGS HVO explains 'This crack could be a precursor to collapse of an unstable section for the sea cliff, making the site extremely dangerous for anyone who ventures too closely to the ocean entry by land or by sea,' the USGS predicted at the time. Thermal imaging has revealed that the hot crack reaches 428 degrees Fahrenheit (220 degrees Celsius) in the eastern end. The lava flow streaming below continued on at a somewhat steady rate across last week, occasionally appearing wider and with holes in the sheet. Advertisement I have grappled with the question many times when planning my next getaway hotel or Airbnb rental? Especially for the thrifty traveller, renting a room often at a fraction of the price can be a sensible option. But nothing beats that hotel feeling: freshly laid white sheets, soft pillows, a stack of fluffy towels and a comfy pair of slippers waiting in your wardrobe. Scroll down for video Watery vistas: Take a dip in the hotel's rooftop pool while lapping up 360 degree views of the vast lagoon Hotel rooms are classically furnished with authentic Venetian touches including Murano glass chandeliers. Pictured is a king executive room Historic: The striking building was a former flour mill dating back to 1884 and has become a landmark in its own right So when it came to booking a minibreak to Venice, I decided I wasnt prepared to sacrifice luxury and opted for the creme de la creme of Venetian digs, the Hilton Molino Stucky. Venices largest hotel and a city landmark in its own right, the Molino Stucky sits on the Giudecca Canal, just a short boat ride away from the bustle of St Marks Square. The buildings rich history dates back to 1884 when it started out as a flourmill owned by Italian entrepreneur Giovanni Stucky. At its peak, the mill employed 1,500 people and produced 50 tons of flour per day. Competition from the mainland eventually saw the mill fall into decline and it was abandoned in 1955 until 2007, when it re-opened as a 379-room hotel. Stretched across eight floors, bedrooms boast original wood beam ceilings, neo-Gothic windows, marble en-suite bathrooms and are elegantly furnished with fine fabrics and Murano glass chandeliers. Relax and re-fuel: Enjoy a glass of wine and feast on bread and olive as aperitivo hour strikes Bacaromi is one of two restaurants located on site and serves traditional Venetian cuisine Romantic: Bacaromi has a cluster of tables set up in the hotels pretty courtyard for guests in search of the ultimate waterfront dining experience Standard rooms enjoy views of the pretty courtyard area, while rooms on the executive floor face out onto the canal and imposing city skyline. To wake up to a water view is certainly worth the extra pennies, however, Venice looks equally mesmerising from the hotels rooftop pool, which provides 360 degree views of the entire lagoon. I visited the city in August so this was the ideal place to lap up the hot weather and take a lazy afternoon siesta. It is also a much-lauded spot as aperitivo hour approaches, with the bar serving all the favourite Italian cocktails an Aperol Spritz for me (a combination of prosecco, bitter liquor and soda water) and a Bellini for my travel companion. When we werent admiring the views or drinking cocktails, we were eating. Breakfast at Molino Stucky is a feast of pastries, cereal, fresh fruit, eggs, meat, fish and salads. The views from the The Hilton Molino Stucky's rooftop bar (Skyline) are some of the best in the city Hold on to your hat: Samantha (left) enjoys a stroll along the Giudecca Canal and (right) sips traditional Italian cocktails with her travel companion Dinner is a more refined affair, with two top-notch restaurants located on site. Restaurant Bacaromi offers traditional Venetian dishes including stewed lamb shank and risotto with clams and prosecco, in a bistro-style setting. Next door, Aromi opens seasonally and serves fine Mediterranean cuisine. For a quiet evening away from the hotel, stroll down the canal path in the direction of the Palanca Vaporetto water bus stop where youll find a row of reasonably priced family-run restaurants. Alternatively hop on the hotels shuttle boat to Zattere, a quaint waterfront promenade with easy access to Accademia Bridge. While you may not be able to stumble out of the Molino Stucky straight onto the banks of the Grand Canal, the hotels boat service fills this void. It runs regularly to Zattere and Piazzo San Marco throughout the day until around midnight, costing just 4.50 euros per person, per stay. Piazzo San Marco is widely known as Venices tourist epicenter and if you own a selfie stick you will fit right in here. The piazza is home to the famous St Marks Church (San Marco Basilica), Bridge of Sighs and Doges Palace among other must-see sights. Samantha explored Venices Grand Canal by water bus but tourists can also take a scenic cruise in a private water taxi or gondola Tourist hotspot: Venice's famous Bridge of Sighs was designed in the 16th century to connect the interrogation rooms with a prison on the other side It is also one of the main pick up points for gondola rides, which will set you back around 80 euros for a 40-minute tour. We decided our money was better spent elsewhere, so instead headed to get lost in the citys labyrinth of streets, which is as mandatory as riding a gondola when you visit Venice. From the pastel-hued houses to the countless bridges that crisscross the narrow canals, there really is a picture opportunity around every corner. I know that I left Venice with some very beautiful looking social media feeds and in fact, Id be willing to take a punt and say it's the most Instagrammable city in the world. Advertisement The last Concorde made its final journey to a new home on Tuesday - just a quarter of a mile and at a walking pace. After 13 years languishing at the side of an airfield in Bristol, the iconic supersonic plane was towed across an airfield to an indoor hangar in preparation for it becoming the centrepiece of a new 19million aerospace museum. Aerospace Bristol, which will celebrate the citys aviation history, is due to open this summer. Scroll down for video After 13 years of languishing at the side of an airfield in Bristol, the supersonic Concorde plane was towed across an airfield to an indoor hangar in preparation for it becoming the centrepiece of a new 19million aerospace museum The iconic plane, which was so far ahead of its time, had been exposed to the elements since its final flight in 2003 The last Concorde made its final journey to a new home on Tuesday - just a quarter of a mile and at a walking pace The jetliner famously touched down at Filton Airfield in 2003, marking the end of an era for the legendary brand. After entering commercial passenger service in 1976, the fleet of aircraft carried celebrities and affluent travellers on transatlantic crossings at a cruising speed of 1,350mph - more than twice the speed of sound. A typical London to New York crossing would take a little less than three-and-a-half hours, as opposed to the normal eight hours. After 13 years languishing at the side of the runway at Filton Airfield, Bristol, the last Concorde to ever fly finally made its move into its new home - a custom built museum Concorde 216 (pictured) was the last to be built and the last to fly. It will now be the centrepiece of a new 19million aerospace museum This particular Concorde - registration G-BOAF - was the last of 20 to be built and flew at twice the speed of sound Thousands turned out to watch her land at Filton on her final flight on 26 November 2003, when she famously flew over the Clifton Suspension Bridge Still a source of fascination, plane fans gathered to watch the aircraft being towed into the indoor hangar WHAT IS SUPERSONIC FLIGHT? Supersonic flight is anything faster than the speed of sound or 768mph (1,236km/h). The Concorde's maximum speed was much faster than this at around twice the speed of sound. It could fly people from London to New York in less than 3.5 hours. Supersonic flight can create sonic booms. These booms are formed because air reacts like a fluid to supersonic objects. As objects travel through the air, the air molecules are pushed aside with great force. This force forms a shock wave, like the wave created by the front, or bow, of a boat moving in water. The shock wave forms a cone of pressurized air. A sharp release of pressure after the buildup of a shock wave is heard as a sonic boom. Source: Nasa Advertisement However, after a fatal plane crash in 2000 Concorde fleets were grounded for a year and then retired in 2003. This particular Concorde - number 216, registration G-BOAF - was the last of 20 to be built. It made its final flight on 26 November 2003, with thousands turning out to watch her land at Filton Airfield after flying over the Clifton Suspension Bridge. Since then the aircraft has stood at the airstrip exposed to the elements. Locals and fans had campaigned for a proper home for the aircraft and were delighted when plans were announced for the museum, a short distance across the airfield Aerospace Bristol, which will celebrate the city's aviation history, is due to open this summer, taking visitors under the wings of the last Concorde The aircraft will be the star attraction at the centre, which is being built at the side of the airfield near Cribbs Causeway. Fans will be able to see the legendary plane up close An artist's impression of the new museum suggests it will feature new technology and interactive screens detailing the iconic aircraft's history Locals and fans had campaigned for a proper home for the aircraft and were delighted when plans were announced for the museum a short distance across the airfield. Crowds watched as the plane was tugged into the building, which is still under development. Artists impressions of what the new museum, destined to be a top Bristol tourist attraction, may look like have been released. THE HISTORY OF THE ICONIC CONCORDE Concorde was jointly developed and produced by British and French engineers as part of an Anglo-French treaty. It had a take off speed of 220 knots (250mph) and a cruising speed of 1,350mph - more than twice the speed of sound. A typical London to New York crossing would take a little less than three-and-a-half hours, as opposed to the normal eight hours. A total of 20 aircraft were built in France and the United Kingdom. Six of these were prototypes and development aircraft. The remaining 14 were split between Air France and British Airways. Concorde was the most tested aircraft, having undergone 5,000 hours before it was allowed to carry passengers. It was first flown in 1969, and first entered service in 1976. It carried commercial passengers for 27 years. The aircraft's four Rolls Royce engines used 'reheat' technology, which gave it the extra power for take-off and supersonic flight. According to British Airways, Concorde's fastest transatlantic crossing took place on February 7, 1996, when it travelled from New York to London in just two hours, 52 minutes and 59 seconds. Both Air France and British Airways grounded their fleets for more than a year after 113 people were killed when one of the jets crashed minutes after take off from Paris in July 2000. It was completely retired from service in 2003. Advertisement Staff at Italian airline Alitalia are set to strike on February 23 after a series of negotiations broke down over widespread cost-saving measures. Union sources reported that cabin crew and ground personnel have objected to salary cuts, changes in shift patterns and demands for teams to tidy aircraft bathrooms on long-haul flights. The measures are part of an initiative to ensure the loss-making airline provides a more productive turnaround. Union sources reported that Alitalia staff have objected to salary cuts, changes in shift patterns and demands for teams to tidy aircraft bathrooms on long-haul flights (file image) At the talks in Rome, representatives from the airline stressed the importance of achieving savings from labour costs, according to Italian daily newspaper La Republicca. For ground staff the airline wants to adjust working hours and for cabin crew to cut their summer holidays and reduce annual leave. To make the airline more productive a proposal has been put forward for air hostesses and stewards to tidy up the cabin's toilets, stocking up soap, toilet paper and paper towels in the cubicles. These duties would take place on long-haul flights. To make the airline more productive a proposal has been put forward for air hostesses and stewards to tidy up the cabin's toilets, stocking up soap, toilet paper and paper towels in the cubicles (file image) Last December, Alitalia's board of directors gave the green light for the second phase of the airline's business plan and began 60-day negotiations with key stakeholders. At the time, Cramer Ball, Alitalia's Chief Executive Officer, said: 'The next two months are critical for Alitalia. 'It is vitally important that the airline's workforce and major stakeholders, such as corporate partners, suppliers and unions, embrace and accept the radical changes we need in order to gain the next round of significant funding from our shareholders, which will be crucial for our future. 'Everyone has to pull in the same direction to make Alitalia a viable, sustainable success story and help the airline achieve its ambition of long-term growth and profitability.' The airline revealed that no final decisions on staff reductions had yet been taken and that a consultation would begin. Mr Ball added: 'We are committed to work positively with the unions and reach consensus on a new collective labour agreement. Their backing on the implementation of the next phase of the business plan is vital. 'We have achieved great progress in the last two years but the commercial aviation market is brutally unforgiving so we need to go further with our programme of change. We need a business that is the right size, the right shape and with the right productivity and cost base. If we can deliver those, Alitalia will succeed.' MailOnline Travel has approached Alitalia for comment. He recently revealed he's packing his bags and swapping life in Paradise for the UK. Now, Death In Paradise actor Kris Marshall has revealed he can no longer expect his young family to follow him to the Caribbean for six months at a time as his son begins school. The 43-year-old - who spends half the year filming in Guadeloupe as DI Humphrey Goodman - admitted that some friends and family think he is 'mad' to give up the hit role. Scroll down for video Spilling the beans: Kris Marshall has revealed he can no longer expect his young family to follow him to the Caribbean for six months at a time as his son begins school Kris - who is father to son Thomas and daughter Elsie - opened up to the Radio Times about leaving the much-loved detective series, admitting that family comes first. He said: 'Every year except last year we took Thomas out with us. The only reason they didnt come out last year was because my daughter was born and she was only three months old when filming started. 'Thomas has basically spent half his life in the Caribbean. Every year he went to the same nursery in Guadeloupe. But now its time for him to put on scholastic shackles and toe the line. He added the decision to leave the popular series did not come out of the blue for show bosses, who have known his plans for some time to eventually stay at home in Somerset. Candid: The 43-year-old - who spends half the year filming in Guadeloupe as DI Humphrey Goodman - admitted that some friends and family think he is 'mad' to give up the hit role Open: Kris - who is father to son Thomas and daughter Elsie - opened up to the Radio Times about leaving the much-loved detective series, admitting that family comes first He continued: 'Its something my wife and I discussed three or four years ago. When I was first offered the job, my son was six months old and my wife wasnt working, so it was a very easy decision. Read the full interview in Radio Times out today 'We decided I would do Death in Paradise for a few years until it became impractical. It was always quite a finite thing. I certainly didnt hide it from anyone I work with.' The 43-year-old - who will hand over the leading role to Father Ted star Ardal O'Hanlon - added that friends think he's 'mad' to give up the dream role, which see's him filming on some of the world's most idyllic beaches. He explained: 'Yes, some people think I'm mad, obviously. And there is an old adage, "Dont quit a hit", which is very true. I'm going to miss it terribly. 'There have already been times when Ive thought to myself, "Have I made the right decision?" Kris isn't the first actor to depart Saint Marie's police station, as Ben Miller previously fronted the series when it hit the air in 2011, playing DI Richard Poole for two series. Now passing the baton to Irish comic O'Hanlon, the Love Actually star gave some sage advice to the actor - who will play DI Jack Mooney - about working in the heat, insisting to know your lines 'backwards. Elizabeth Debicki has opened up about acting alongside British drama heavyweights Tom Hiddleston, Olivia Colman and Hugh Laurie in The Night Manager - and how she had to instruct herself not to let herself feel intimidated by them. Speaking to the Radio Times, Debicki branded the cast of the hit BBC series 'a pretty epic line-up of your nearest and dearest national treasures'. The 26-year-old starlet admitted to the magazine that she felt glad not to have seen Broadchurch before filming of the spy drama commenced. Scroll down for video Rising star: The Night Manager's Elizabeth Debicki brands Tom Hiddleston 'basically perfect' and admits she was 'glad not to have seen Broadchurch' before acting alongside Olivia Colman Given that co-star Colman has one of the lead roles in the ITV crime series - which returns for a third season soon - Debicki said that she'd have been more intimidated than she already was by the BAFTA and Golden Globe-winning Colman had she watched it first. Debocki also revealed that she thinks 'Hiddleston is basically perfect'. The star - who notably performed in a series of intimate and steamy sex scenes with the hunky actor on the series - explained that the success of the show took the cast and crew by surprise, despite it's stellar line up of performers. 'We were a bit flummoxed, as well as delighted,' she said. 'It's an interesting thing with film and TV, you can never judge what the climate is, what the world is doing at that moment, for the show to make that kind of impact.' On-screen romance: Speaking to the Radio Times, Debicki branded the cast of the hit BBC series 'a pretty epic line-up of your nearest and dearest national treasures' Getting intimate: The star - who notably performed in a series of steamy sex scenes with the hunky Tom Hiddleston on the series - says she finds him to be 'perfect' Referring to the progression the story took from book to TV, the actress went on: 'When we set out to make The Night Manager, we were all very aware that in the book and John le Carre [the author] doesn't mind me saying so Jed [her character] was quite lacking in dimension. 'I just don't think she was his focus. Also, in that genre, women just become a strange projection of male fantasy, they don't seem to think or feel anything; if something ripples their surface, they instantly recover. And you wonder where their soul is, really. 'I wouldn't know how to play a role like that, I'm more of a mining actress, trying to find what's underneath and bring it out.' Idol: Given that co-star Colman has one of the lead roles in Broadchurch - which returns for a third season soon - Debicki said that she'd have been more intimidated than she already was by the BAFTA and Golden Globe-winning Colman had she watched it first Creme de la creme: Debicki explained that the success of the show took the cast and crew by surprise, despite it's stellar line up of performers Referring back to Colman, Debicki explained to the publication how it wasn't simply her determination as an actor to give the character of Jed some depth - much like Colman did with her role as Angela Burr. 'Susanne [Bier, the director] would never have put a female role in a spy show who wasn't multi-dimensional, who didn't have an inner life. It worked with Olivia and it felt quite organic while we were doing it. 'But watching it back now, there's this interesting strain through the story, about motherhood, maternal instinct and maternal love, what the meaning of life really is. You need that when you're dealing with a story about the arms race and men killing men, and men looking for meaning. Blonde ambition: The stunning star's next role is in The Kettering Incident, an Australian television drama series that will air on Channel 4 this year 'We didn't sit down and say, 'We've got to make that character interesting,' she just became interesting. It's partly Susanne herself, a woman so full of love and her own secrets, and deeply intelligent.' Each episode of The Night Manager, which was reported to have cost 20 million, drew more than 6 million viewers when it aired last year. The full interview can be read in this week's Radio Times, out now The stunning star's next role is in The Kettering Incident, an Australian television drama series that will air on Sky Atlantic on February 15. Playing the role of Anna Macy, a doctor from London, the eight-episode run was shot in Tasmania and actually incorporates elements of the supernatural. 'It's sort of like The Killing or The Bridge,' she teased. 'The characters are interesting enough that you understand it chunk by chunk, peeling until you get to the core.' Much like her avoidance of Broadchurch, Debicki purposely steered clear from the aforementioned foreign series before shooting The Kettering Incident too. And, she says, for the same reasons. 'I probably would have been heavily influenced by them I'm obsessed with The Bridge. Instead, I did my own version of what Anna was, she's quite raw in a way, and she unravels really interestingly.' She finished by adding: 'I'm always late for every party, but I'm actually glad this time!' The full interview can be read in this week's Radio Times, out now. The former Bachelor contestant isn't shy of flaunting her killer curves in skimpy bikini-clad snaps on social media. And Noni Janur took to Instagram on Monday with a cheeky image of her pert derriere in barely-there bikini bottoms. The 26-year-old showed off her bottom in the revealing black g-string bikini after an intense workout session in her native Bali. Scroll Down For Video That's cheeky! The Bachelor's Noni Janur flaunts her barely-clad posterior in a black g-string bikini after finishing an intense workout in Bali on Monday Noni didn't leave much to the imagination in the skimpy swimsuit, which also provided a glimpse of her side boob. The former reality TV star poked her tongue out at the camera as she displayed her bronzed complexion in a pom-pom triangle bikini top and matching side-tie bottoms. She captioned the photo, in part: 'My bum is feeling the burn today. No I don't have spitty bum (bali belly). I just finished Brazil boom class at @motionfitnessbali.' What a view! The tanned beauty also posted an image of her lying face down on a sunbed in Bali, where her fitness efforts were clearly visible in a nude g-string bikini Proving she works hard to keep her booty in shape, she added: 'Seriously the best booty workout In Bali Now time for a swim.' The tanned beauty also posted an image of her lying face down on a sunbed, where her fitness efforts were clearly visible in another g-string bikini. Originally from Bali, Noni headed back to her 'island home' last week, where former co-stars and newly dating couple Megan Marx and Tiffany Scanlon now reside. Reunited! The first Bachelor lesbian couple Megan Marx (Middle) and Tiffany Scanlon (L) reunited with fellow cast mate Noni (R) in Bali on Friday The trio announced their catch-up on Instagram on Friday, sharing a beaming, summery snap as they enjoyed lunch in a luxurious tent. Megan sat in the middle of the trio as they huddled together for the photo, resting her hand on girlfriend Tiffany's exposed leg. Noni sat cross-legged on the right in a low-cut white T-shirt that exposed her cavernous cleavage. 'With these two love birds': While Noni has been enjoying her return to Bali to visit her former Bachelor co-stars it's unclear whether she is considering returning permanently herself 'The Bachelor relocation has begun! Then there were three!' Megan wrote in her Instagram post. The unique lunch setting was back-dropped by a typical Balinese tent, where Megan and Tiffany have reportedly moved. It is unclear whether Noni intends to return to Bali permanently. Moved in together: Megan and Tiffany have relocated to the Balinese town of Canggu, and have been seen putting on loved-up displays at surrounding beaches and bars Speaking out: Former cast-mate Keira Macguire called the pair's relationship a 'publicity stunt' Earlier in the week, the authenticity of Megan and Tiffany's same-sex relationship had been questioned by other Bachelor cast-mates, with Noni distancing herself from the non-believers with her supportive post. The blonde stars are the first lesbian Bachelor couple globally, but in the past few weeks their former Bachelor co-stars Keria Maguire and Rachael Gouvignon have casted doubt over the authenticity of the relationship. In particular, Keira claimed that the pair's union was nothing more than a 'publicity stunt' and that 'they are faking their relationship.' She received a nod from the Academy for her role in the adoption tale Lion. And Nicole Kidman stunned as she attended the Nominees Luncheon in Beverly Hills on Monday, turning heads in a Chanel frock. The 49-year-old actress gave the classic designer dress a modern twist with a metallic silver belt and strappy heels to match. Scroll down for video Shining bright! Nicole Kidman looked gorgeous as she stepped out in Beverly Hills for the Oscar Nominees Luncheon on Monday Nominated for Actress In A Supporting Role in the tear-jerking movie, Nicole dazzled as she walked the red carpet in a pair of silver Jimmy Choo shoes. The Australian stunner looked flawless in the vintage-inspired ensemble, styling her hair in a low side ponytail. The glamorous star was dripping in jewels, sporting an Omega watch and a Fred Leighton ring. Classic: The 49-year-old oozed elegance in a Chanel suit dress, embellished with silver buttons and a metallic belt Dazzling: Nominated for Actress In A Supporting Role this year, the Lion star accessorised with a diamond ring from Fred Leighton and an Omega watch Her makeup was kept soft and romantic to enhance her youthful complexion. Peach blush was swept across her cheeks, while lashings of mascara and smokey brown eyeshadow brought intensity to the eyes. A touch of pink lipgloss highlighted the mother-of-two's pout for the star-studded event. Romantic: The Australian stunner added a modern twist to her vintage-inspired look with a pair of silver Jimmy Choo heels Unlike previous events this awards season, Nicole's country music star husband Keith Urban did not join her on the red carpet. Inside the gala, Nicole was reunited with her co-star Dev Patel, who is also up for an award for Actor In A Supporting Role. The pair were seated alongside Mel Gibson, whose WWII drama Hacksaw Ridge is up for Best Picture, Directing, Film Editing, Sound Editing and Sound Mixing. Reunited: Inside the gala, Nicole was reunited with her Lion co-star Dev Patel, who is also nominated for an award Pals: The pair were seen standing alongside Mel Gibson, whose WWII drama Hacksaw Ridge is up for several awards, including Best Picture Nicole's role as real-life character Sue Brierley in Lion has earned her plenty of recognition this season. In January, the Eyes Wide Shut star was nominated for Best Supporting Actress at the Golden Globe Awards, but lost out to Fences star Viola Davis. Nicole did, however pick up the AACTA International Award in December. They say it's not about the winning, but the taking part. That certainly seemed to be true for the guests at the Academy's annual Oscars luncheon on Monday, which included nominated Brit Naomie Harris. The James Bond actress seemed delighted to be rubbing shoulders with Hollywood's elite at the Beverly Hilton Hotel and as such, pulled out all the stops to keep up on the red carpet with her sartorial flair. Scroll down for video Soaking it up: Naomie Harris was soaking up her Oscars nomination on Monday as the Academy held its annual luncheon to honour nominees Naomie was the ultimate English rose in lace and pleats, contrasting black with camel tones in a smart day dress. She kept the look as classic as possible with simple stilettos and the addition of a barrel clutch bag. Naomie, known best for her role as Moneypenny since 2012's Skyfall, has been honoured for her role in Moonlight, this awards season. English lace: She was embracing lace on the day, contrasting camel tones with black Exquisite: She kept the image simple with black heels and a barrel clutch bag She has been recognised in the Best Supporting Actress category, for which she will face strong competition. Fellow actresses nominated include Viola Davis for Fences, Octavia Spencer in Hidden Figures, Nicole Kidman for Lion and Michelle Williams for her part in Manchester By The Sea. Despite the Academy's high praise for recognising 10 black actors and filmmakers in 2017, Naomie has been outspoken on the suggestion that there was an effort to avoid a repeat of the 'Oscars So White' campaign in 2016. A big event: Naomie was joined by fellow nominee Mahershala Ali 'I know that everyone thinks this year is a response to that whole campaign,' she told New York magazine this week. 'When, in fact, these films were in production or preproduction for years before all of this. So they aren't actually a response to that whole argument. So I don't like the way that they're used as a response to that.' And, on her chances of winning, 'It's not going to happen. It's Viola [Davis]'s year, you know?' Jessica Gomes is world-renowned for her breathtaking looks and catwalk domination. But when the 32-year-old decided she wanted to be an actress, it was never fear of failure that was going to stop her. The Australian beauty recently spoke to Women's Health about overcoming her doubts to work with stars like Owen Wilson and Bruce Willis. Scroll Down For Video I will overcome! In a recent interview, Australian model Jess Gomes opened up about overcoming doubts to put her successful modelling career on the backburner in pursuit of an acting career It's common for models who take a turn into more intellectually respected fields to cop criticism and doubts from individuals who perceive the extent of their skills to be 'wearing clothes and walking.' In fact, that was the exact summary of the profession that Today host Lisa Wilkinson expressed to Jess' fellow-model pal Jesinta Franklin (nee campbell) on her show last week. When speaking to Women's Health, Jess defied such stereotypes with an open and honest discussion about her burgeoning acting career. 'I've always loved film and acting, so I took a leap of faith to put modelling on the backburner in the States and spend more time on acting,' she said of her big decision. Star! The 32-year-old (middle) had the opportunity to work with Owen Wilson (L) on a recent film, describing the experience as: 'A learning experience I couldn't have gotten in acting class' Doubters! Many models have to overcome doubters who don't respect their modeling career. Recently Today Host Lisa Wilkinson appeared to diminish Jess' fellow-model and good friend Jesinta Franklin (pictured) by describing what she does as 'wearing clothes and walking' She described her recent experience working alongside Owen Wilson for upcoming comedy Bastards as a crucial step in the development of her skills. 'It was a learning experience I couldn't have gotten in acting class,' she said. The self-confident model wasn't completely devoid of nerves though, explaining there's definitely moments she questions her ability. More than just a pretty face! The David Jones Ambassador did admitshe questioned if people were going to realise she was 'not capable' of acting, before rationalising 'you've just got to dive into things that scare you' 'Is someone going to figure out I'm not capable of this?' The star admitted to thinking. Jess revealed that when shooting a film with the likes of Owen Wilson or Bruce Willis, she 'can't believe' that she's even on set with the megastars. 'But my motto in life is "What can't break you will only make you stronger." You've just got to dive into things that scare you,' she justified. No doubts! The beauty admitted her biggest priority in the next decade is to 'definitely a family,' admitting she believed in working harder now to have more time to enjoy the benefits later One thing the David Jones ambassador has no doubts about are her plans for the next ten years - especially when it comes to settling down and having a family. Jess rationalised her decision to work harder now, implying it will give her more time to enjoy the windfalls later. 'In 10 years I'll be [42], so by then I want to be a mum and have a stress-free, balanced lifestyle.' Man most likely! It would appear the man-most-likely to star a family with the star is her Twilight-star boyfriend Xavier Samuels (pictured) It would appear the man-most-likely to help the star achieve that goal is her Twilight-star boyfriend Xavier Samuels. Since announcing the relationship mid last year, the model revealed on The Today Show that her hunky beau frequently gets asked when he's going to propose. 'He's getting the phone calls as well. He was getting asked all of that,' she said. Marriage? On the Today Show, the model revealed her hunky beau frequently gets interviews and phone calls asking when he's going to propose (Pictured with Jason Dundas) Jessica Biel nailed the effortlessly chic look as she walked around Los Angeles on Monday. The 34-year-old actress strolled solo around the city wearing a cream trench coat and cute brown leather booties. The Total Recall star added a pair of dark denim skinny jeans and a brown handbag to complete her look. Meanwhile, her husband Justin Timberlake was busy at the Oscar nominees' luncheon at the Beverly Hills Hilton hotel. Beautiful: Jessica Biel nailed the effortlessly chic look as she walked around Los Angeles on Monday Her golden brunette locks were styled in a wavy fashion as she let her bangs fall naturally in front of her face. The talented beauty was seen checking her phone as she walked along the street. Her mood appeared to be rather serious. Effortless: The 34-year-old actress strolled solo around the city wearing a cream trench coat and cute brown leather booties The world renowned musician and actor joined the 2017 Oscar nominees as they gathered for the annual luncheon to celebrate their career-defining moment. Timberlake got his first Oscar nomination for his song Cant Stop The Feeling! from the soundtrack of the DreamWorks Animation picture Trolls. Biel has her own career to worry about as she is currently filming a movie with a very impressive cast of individuals. Lovely: Her golden brunette locks were styled in a wavy fashion as she let her bangs fall naturally in front of her face Riding solo: The New Year's Eve actress was seen out and about on her own as her husband, Justin Timberlake, was busy at the Oscars luncheon at the Beverly Hills Hilton She is due to star in the 2017 drama Shock And Awe alongside Resident Evil's Milla Jovovich, Westworld's James Marsden, Woody Harrelson and Tommy Lee Jones. The film follows the story of a group of journalists who cover George Bush's planned invasion of Iraq in 2003. They are skeptical of the presidents claim that Saddam Hussein has weapons of mass destruction. The French are known for having a flair for romance. But TV chef Manu Feildel admits he was still nervous on his first date with fiancee Clarissa Weerasena. The 42-year-old My Kitchen Rules judge recently spoke to TV Week about how the couple's romance blossomed. Love story: The French are known for having a flair for romance, but chef Manu Feildel (L) admits he was still nervous on his first date with fiancee Clarissa Weerasena (R) 'We met in a lift going to a nightclub in Sydney. She didn't know who I was. We didn't see each other for three months after that, then we caught up for a drink,' he began. 'I was nervous, because three months had passed. We didn't see each other for another three months, then had some lunch. The rest is history,' he added. Manu proposed in 2013 and the couple also share daughter Charlee, who turns two-years-old this month. 'I was nervous': Manu first laid eyes on his now-fiancee Clarissa in a lift going to a nightclub in Sydney, but they didn't go on a date until months later Like father, like daughter! Manu proposed in 2013 and the couple also share daughter Charlee, who turns two-years-old this month Manu also spoke to the publication about the ultimate romantic three-course dinner ahead of Valentines Day. 'Japanese food is good, because you can start with sashimi and feed each other and (drink) a bit of sake to get the romance ticking along,' he said. The French chef recommended Australian seafood such as a piece of fish for a simple main. To finish off a romantic evening he suggested a glass of champagne and, of course, a chocolate dessert. 'Japanese food is good': Manu also spoke to the publication about the ultimate romantic three-course dinner ahead of Valentines Day Manu recently told Who magazine that the couple had no immediate plans to get married. 'The marriage is not happening because our lives are just too busy - I've got too much bloody work and I need to take the work,' he said. 'Marriage would be nice for Mum and Dad - For me? I love her, she loves me and that's where it stops.' She's used to being the center of attention. But after over 30 years in the spotlight, Vanessa Paradis made an incognito arrival into Los Angeles on Monday. The 44-year-old was spotted arriving at the LAX airport with a large knit gray beanie pulled low over her face. Going undercover: Vanessa Paradis made an incognito arrival into Los Angeles on Monday She completed the undercover look with a pair of chunky sunglasses. Vanessa, however, could not hide her gorgeous complexion from shining through as she went makeup free for the day of travel. Keeping warm, the French star who got her big break at 14 with the single Joe le taxi, wore a grey coat, jeans, and booties. Beanie babe: The 44-year-old was spotted arriving at the LAX airport with a large knit gray beanie pulled low over her face So trendy: She completed the undercover look with a pair of chunky sunglasses Meanwhile, her ex Johnny Depp's spending habits have become the talk of the town. In addition to owning multiple homes and a luxury yacht, he spends $30,000 a month on wine, travels by private jet and maintains 12 storage facilities housing his fine art and memorabilia collections. That's according to a lawsuit filed last Tuesday by his former managers who are asking a judge to rule that the actor has no-one but himself to blame for his financial troubles. The Pirates Of The Caribbean star filed suit against The Management Group earlier this month alleging mishandling of his finances and seeking compensation of at least $25 million. Vibrant: Vanessa, however, could not hide her gorgeous complexion from shining through as she went makeup free for the day of travel Casual chic: Keeping warm, the French star who got her big break at 14 with the single Joe le taxi, wore a grey coat, jeans, and booties But on Tuesday those managers countersued, opening up a window into the extravagant lifestyle of one of Hollywood's biggest stars whose divorce from actress Amber Heard was finalized just two weeks ago. In documents filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court, Joel and Robert Mandel claim they repeatedly warned Depp that he was overspending, according to The Hollywood Reporter. 'Depp lived an ultra-extravagant lifestyle that often knowingly cost Depp in excess of $2 million per month to maintain, which he simply could not afford,' attorney Michael Kump wrote in the cross-complaint. 'Depp, and Depp alone, is fully responsible for any financial turmoil he finds himself in today.' In her stride: The model and singer followed an attendant to her waiting car In you go madam: Vanessa got into her waiting vehicle TMG claims the Black Mass actor spent $75 million on the purchase of 14 residences including a chateau in France, splashed out $18 million on a luxury yacht and paid more than $3 million to blast the ashes of author Hunter Thompson over Aspen, Colorado, from a specially-made cannon. TMG is currently pursuing foreclosure actions against Depp to recover $4.2 million it claims he still owes the company. Low key: The star looked to be ready for some RnR after her flight Meanwhile, Depp has accused his former managers of 'gross misconduct' that led to him losing 'tens of millions of dollars', Variety reported on January 13. He alleged the company had failed to file or pay his federal taxes on time costing him millions in fees and fines and lent $10 million of his money to a third party without his knowledge. Depp has been selling off some of his properties in the past year. He also settled his divorce from Heard for $7 million which she stated she would donate to charity. Mila Kunis went make-up free and braved Studio City's 56F-degree rainfall on Monday while clad in a grey turtleneck sweatshirt. The 33-year-old Golden Globe nominee - who was with her two-year-old daughter Wyatt - paired her cozy top with blue ripped skinny jeans and white Converse low-tops. It's hard to believe the slim Jim Beam spokesmodel welcomed her second child - baby boy Dimitri - a little more than two months ago. Scroll down for video Damp day: Mila Kunis went make-up free and braved Studio City's 56F-degree rainfall on Monday while clad in a grey turtleneck sweatshirt Casual: The 33-year-old Golden Globe nominee - who was with her two-year-old daughter Wyatt - paired her cozy top with blue ripped skinny jeans and white Converse low-tops Mother-of-two: It's hard to believe the slim Jim Beam spokesmodel welcomed her second child - baby boy Dimitri - a little more than two months ago Meanwhile, Kunis' husband of 19 months Ashton Kutcher shared his two favorite Super Bowl spots with his captive combined 37.2M social media followers. 'I prefer ads that make a statement,' the 38-year-old SAG Award nominee gushed about Audi's feminist #DriveProgress commercial. The successful venture capitalist - who was an early investor in AirBnB - also praised the popular homestay company's multiracial #WeAccept commercial during the big game. Kutcher - who spoke out against President Trump's since-halted travel ban last week - freely admits he's become 'left wing' since voting for George W. Bush way back in 2001. 'I am in': Meanwhile, Kunis' husband of 19 months Ashton Kutcher shared his two favorite Super Bowl spots with his captive combined 37.2M social media followers 'We welcome you': The 38-year-old venture capitalist - who spoke out against President Trump's since-halted travel ban (pictured January 29) - freely admits he's become 'left wing' since voting for George W. Bush way back in 2001 Transformed: Much of Kutcher's new liberal influence was thanks to marrying his exotic co-star from That '70s Show, who emigrated to LA from the Ukrainian city of Chernivtsi in 1991 Ashton - born Christopher - tweeted on January 29: 'My wife came to this country on a refugee visa in the middle of the Cold War! My blood is boiling right now!' Much of this new liberal influence was thanks, in part, to marrying his exotic co-star from That '70s Show - who emigrated to Los Angeles from the Ukrainian city of Chernivtsi in 1991. 'My wife came to this country on a refugee visa in the middle of the Cold War! My blood is boiling right now!' Ashton - born Christopher - tweeted on January 29. Mila - born Milena - continues voicing angsty teenage daughter Meg Griffin in the 15th season of Family Guy, which airs Sundays on Fox. Kunis will also reprise her role as Amy Mitchell alongside castmates Kathryn Hahn and Kristen Bell in the R-rated moms-gone-wild sequel Bad Mom's Christmas, which hits US theaters November 3. 'Peter's Def Jam': Mila - born Milena - continues voicing angsty teenage daughter Meg Griffin (2-R) in the 15th season of Family Guy, which airs Sundays on Fox In The Accused on Channel Five, Kenzey, 22, faced charges of failing to protect her seven-week-old baby. Her child suffered a fractured skull and was left brain-damaged and blind The Accused Rating: Judgment. Its a dirty word for an entire generation. Social media rings with the words: You aint got no right to judge me! Twenty-two-year-old Kenzey said it repeatedly in The Accused (C5). The young mother was aggrieved beyond all endurance that complete strangers thought they had the right to judge her. Kenzeys slight difficulty was that these complete strangers were a crown court jury, and she was facing serious charges of failing to protect her own seven-week-old baby. The infant suffered a fractured skull and was left brain-damaged and blind, apparently from being shaken vigorously. Both Kenzey and her boyfriend, Kyle, professed total ignorance of how the injuries were inflicted. Cameras observed Kenzey (whose last name was withheld for legal reasons) minutely during the months leading up to the trial. The footage gave us an unprecedented opportunity to judge for ourselves. Heroes of the night What the WWII documentary SAS: Rogue Warriors (BBC2) really needed was the full movie treatment, ideally with David Niven as SAS founder Colonel Sir David Stirling and John Mills as his second-in-command, the dashing Jock Lewes. But thats more than any budget could supply. Advertisement Not that she ever accepted that anyone had any right to form an opinion. Resplendent in Fifties retro fashions, wearing more make-up than Cleopatra, Kenzey considered herself above criticism. When she heard her charge, she was foul-mouthed and indignant: Im not f****** having that! She refused to admit that police, doctors or social workers had anything valid to say. The only person who can make a judgment here, she insisted, pointing skywards, is God. And when her trial finally began and the prosecution started to outline its case, she stood up and tried to shout the barrister down until the judge warned that one more outburst would see her thrown straight into a cell. This was a sad, sordid case. Social services had been called to the couples flat shortly after the baby was born, because Kenzey called the police and claimed Kyle had slapped her. She later denied her boyfriend was physically abusive, and the social workers decided the 23-year-old father posed no threat to the child a strong point in Kenzeys defence. The fascination in this programme was not merely experiencing a serious criminal case first-hand, through the safe filter of TV. It was in trying to decode the real facts from watching an impassioned, sometimes articulate young woman who was, we gradually realised, in complete denial. She knew her baby had suffered appalling injuries, and that if she had not inflicted them then her partner must have done. The jury found her guilty and she was sentenced to three-and-a-half years in prison. Her boyfriend Kyle was jailed for 18 years for grievous bodily harm But she could not accept it. She became furiously defensive when anyone suggested he was violent. And even when Kyle published an unprompted confession on Facebook, branding himself a child abuser, Kenzey would not believe it. By then, incredibly, she had already had another baby with him a girl who was taken straight into care. By Kenzeys logic, if she refused to judge her boyfriend, then nobody else should presume to judge her. Slowly we began to see her as a clever manipulator with a short fuse. The jury certainly did, and found her guilty. She was sentenced to three-and-a-half years in prison. Kyle got 18 years for GBH. The beauty of this one-off documentary was that it enabled us to form our own judgment before the verdict was revealed. The frustration was that so much detail had to be condensed to fit it into a 90-minute episode. Apple Tree Yard Rating: Apple Tree Yard (BBC1) also built to a court case, though it was drawn out to an excruciating degree. The long silences, the repetitions, the dreary, self-pitying voiceover... and just when you thought it couldnt become any more of a slog, there were moments of slow motion. The big twist in the final scene was that scientist Yvonne (Emily Watson) had actually told her lover Costley (Ben Chaplin) to kill the man who raped her but she hadnt meant it really. It wasnt murder, just a miscommunication, so thats all right then. Apple Tree Yard was deeply pretentious and painfully slow, but worst of all were its characters. It was impossible to like anything about any of them. And so guilty, not guilty, grey area in between... I just couldnt care. They were set up by none other than Kimberley Walsh during her stint on the stage with Shrek, in 2012. Now the popstar's little sister Amy and her actor boyfriend Bradley Jaden have happily announced their engagement. Speaking to OK! magazine this week, Emmerdale star Amy revealed the romantic proposal, which happened on a recent trip to Phuket, Thailand. Scroll down for video Engaged: Emmerdale actress Amy Walsh announced her engagement to boyfriend of five years Bradley Jaden in this week's OK magazine 'I genuinely didn't know what was happening until he got down on one knee,' the excited actress explained of their August 2016 trip. 'I just thought, no, this can't be that! Then I burst into tears,' she said, adding: 'We were both crying and then he said some lovely things, but I can't remember what they were!' Amy and Jaden met through Girls Aloud star Kimberley when she starred alongside him in London's West End. Happy news: Bradley popped the question in August 2016 during a romantic holiday to Thailand See the resemblance? Amy was set up by her popstar sister Kimberley Walsh Read all about it: Amy and Bradley speak about the future in the new issue of OK! magazine, out now While Kimberley took on the part of Princess Fiona, Jaden was serving as the understudy for the lead role of Shrek. 'She got friendly with him and invited him along to her 30th birthday party,' Amy previously told The Mirror newspaper, in 2014. 'She did some expert matchmaking. She is always very protective with me, especially when it comes to boys, so to have her approval of him early on helped him out in a big way. 'Before the party she told me, "There is someone going along tonight who might be interested in you", so she planted the seed and it happened. We just hit it off, so it was thanks to her.' Now that they're engaged, Amy says that 'everything feels more solidified between us.' On deciding to propose, Bradley added: 'If I'm honest, I've known she's The One since I met her. I feel very lucky. She's the best thing that's ever happened to me.' Happy families: Amy has recently become an auntie for the second time after sister Kimberley Walsh welcomed son Cole in late 2016 He admits: 'I started saving for a ring about two years ago and I bought it about seven months before we went to Thailand.' With Bradley, 29, currently starring in the international tour of Wicked, Amy reveals that they would like to start a family 'at some point after [the wedding] and when we're in the same country, preferably!' Bradley says: 'I've always wanted a big family.' While Amy adds: 'I have as well, but I'm aware we're starting a bit late, so we'll see how we go with the first one!' Read the full interview in this week's OK! magazine, out now Kelsey Grammer treated his family to lunch Monday at a Mexican restaurant in West Hollywood, California. The 61-year-old actor opted for an urbane yet sporty outfit for lunch with wife Kayte Walsh, 35, and their four-year-old daughter Faith and two-year-old son Kelsey. Kelsey and Kayte left their 12-week-old baby boy Auden at home. Urbane yet sporty: Kelsey Grammer treated his family to lunch on Monday at a Mexican restaurant in West Hollywood, California Kelsey wore a tan sweater over a white shirt along with grey slacks. The Frasier star added a pop of color with bright orange Asics trainers. Kayte looked stylish in a multi-colored striped sweater, black skinny trousers and black ankle boots. Kelsey carried his namesake son who also looked sharp in a grey sweater and tan pants. Family outing: The actor carried his son Kelsey while wife Kayte Walsh held hands with their daughter Faith Father of seven: Kelsey has been married four times and has seven children Good times: The Frasier star beamed while carrying his namesake son Faith wore a white floral print dress and a bright light blue hoodie while holding on to Kayte's hand. Kelsey also held open a door for Faith as she bounded into the restaurant. The former Cheers star has been married four times and has seven children. On the move: Kelsey and his family headed to their vehicle after a Mexican lunch Doting father: The former Cheers star held his son as his daughter looked on Pop of color: Kelsey added a pop of color with bright orange trainers Kelsey recently had a starring guest role in the hit ABC sitcom Modern Family. He portrayed former circus ringmaster Keifth in the episode that aired January 4. Kelsey also recently voiced the role of Blinky in the Guillermo del Toro animated fantasy series Trollhunters. Trollhunters has received widespread acclaim from critics since its debut December 23 on the streaming service. She's one of the most stylish actresses in Hollywood and even on her more low key days Kate Bosworth proved she's still a fashionista. The 34-year-old Still Alice actress headed to Mexican vegan restaurant Gracias Madre in West Hollywood on Monday. The blonde beauty wore a pair of rolled up FRAME boyfriend jeans, a pastel pink FRAME sweater and a pair of black loafers for her day out. Scroll for video Pretty as a picture: Kate Bosworth headed to Gracias Madre in West Hollywood on Monday She accessorized with a pair of black RayBan sunglasses as she whipped her blonde tresses into a stylish updo. Bosworth showed off her natural radiant beauty opting to wear minimal make-up and a nude coloured lipstick. She added a chic nude handbag to complete her effortlessly chic look. Effortless: The blonde beauty wore a pair of rolled up boyfriend jeans, a pastel pink sweater and a pair of black loafers for her day out The talented actress is due to star in a new BBC One series titled SS-GB. The show is set in 1941 war-time where in another world London has been successfully occupied by marauding Nazi Germany. A British homicide detective investigates a murder that takes place in this parallel universe. Easy day: She accessorized with a pair of black RayBan sunglasses as she whipped her blonde tresses into a stylish updo Au naturel: Bosworth showed off her natural radiant beauty opting to wear minimal make-up and a nude coloured lipstick Bosworth takes on the role as New York Times reporter Barbara Barga. She appeared on The One Show to talk about the upcoming mini series. You dont really know what side of the line anyone stands, she told hosts Matt Baker and Michelle Ackerley. Its a great psychological thriller for all the characters. I play a journalist who has come over from America to relay the story of whats happening in the UK. 'Shes mysterious and a femme fatale, which is what I really loved about the character. Shes really great. His latest TV project Taboo has so far struggled to recoup its 10.4million budget, falling 2million shy of breaking even. And Tom Hardy's financial woes look to have spread to his company 33 1/3rd, with its reserves plunging from 2.8million in 2015 to 696,980 in 2016, according to The Sun's Dan Wootton A source told the publication: 'Tom is a big spender and these figures prove that. It takes some serious investment to give away more than 2 million in 12 months. Scroll down for video 'He can take the hit': Tom Hardy's financial woes look to have spread to his company 33 1/3rd, with its reserves plunging from 2.8million in 2015 to 696,980 in 2016, according to reports 'Toms career is riding high and he isnt short of offers so he can afford the hit. 'He has enough cash to keep himself comfortable, and of course there is a chance he may have simply shifted the money from one account to another.' MailOnline has contacted a representative for Tom and is awaiting comment. Taboo is a sumptuously rich eight-part period drama set predominantly in early 19th century London. Created by Hardy and his father Edward, the actor plays the leading role of James Keziah Delaney - a tormented soul with a mysterious past who returns to London following a 10 year stay in Africa. Compelling: Taboo is a sumptuously rich eight-part period drama set predominantly in early 19th century London As he battles the powerful East India Company, the Prince Regent and the American government for ownership of a small trading post on the American/Canadian border all sorts of violence and treachery unfold. Speaking to the Mail On Sunday's Chris Hastings, Hardy said he was delighted to be playing a complete ba***rd.' He described Delaney as mercurial, intuitive, shamanistic, traumatised, noble, immoral, ethical, opportunistic, brazen, primal, mercenary, calculating and brilliant. He means business: Created by Hardy and his father Edward, the actor plays the leading role of James Keziah Delaney We wanted to create a period drama that felt like an event. We hoped to do this not only with the writing, but visually as well', the handsome actor added. With the series produced by Ridley Scott's Scott Free Productions there is, unsurprisingly, a cinematic feel to the drama. And with the likes of Jonathan Pryce and Michael Kelly among the cast there is plenty of top supporting talent to accompany Hardy's Hollywood might. She's been with Kyle Sandilands since the very beginning. But it seems radio host Jackie 'O' Henderson has shown her jealous streak after her he gifted his girlfriend an extravagant birthday present. Imogen Anthony has been busy celebrating her 26th birthday weekend away on Hamilton Island with her friends and shock jock boyfriend. Jealous: Jackie 'O' Henderson jealous streak after her he gifted his girlfriend a Rolex Yacht-Master II, priced at $55,250 The blonde glamour model took to Instagram to share a picture of her 18 carat gold Rolex Yacht-Master II, priced at $55,250 (as confirmed by a Rolex representative). Her initial post of just the box received hundreds of likes and comments about complimenting it and speculating on the type of watch inside. Imogen captioned her post: 'I prefer men's watches#birthdaygirl #spoiltrotten #goldrolex #yachtmaster.' Luxurious: The blonde glamour model took to Instagram to share a picture of her 18 carat gold watch on her social media Birthday girl! Imogen Anthony has been busy celebrating her 26th birthday away on Hamilton Island with her friends and shock jock boyfriend Jackie 'O' commented on the post, jokingly hinting she was green with envy at her luxurious present. She wrote: 'Babe that's amazing!!! What did you get? Kyle knows I've been wanting a Rolex watch for like a million years.' 'So jealous. Happy birthday. Can't wait to see which one you got,' she added. Envy: Jackie commented on Imogen's post, 'Kyle knows I've been wanting a Rolex watch for like a million years. So jealous' Meanwhile, a fan wrote: 'Lucky girl Hope it's encrusted with diamonds.' 'He's literally the master of gift-giving,' another follower wrote. Kyle recently asked R&B star John Legend, who is married to model Chrissy Teigan, tips for proposing to his girlfriend of five years. The couple recently sparked engagement rumors with when Imogen posted an Instagram video of a huge ring with an aquamarine jewel. She later clarified that the ring was actually replacing a different jewellry that she had lost or was stolen from her. Eva Longoria Baston and Olivia Culpo both went braless beneath their Rachel Zoe pantsuits at the designer's FW/17 runway presentation in West Hollywood on Monday. The Golden Globe nominee - who turns 42 next month - fittingly opted for a glittering gold creation featuring flared legs at the Sunset Tower Hotel. As usual, the Telenovela actress sported full contoured make-up applied by Elan Bongiorno and her hair extensions were coiffed by Ken Paves. Scroll down for video Double take: Eva Longoria Baston and Olivia Culpo both went braless beneath their Rachel Zoe pantsuits at the designer's FW/17 runway presentation in West Hollywood on Monday Zoe's first LA-based Fashion Week show brought many of the designer's best friends and muses together for an intimate cocktail reception filled with light bites paired with Ruffino Wines. Following the reception, guests sat down for dinner where Zoe's evening-focused collection was the main course. Zoe's models cat-walked around the dinner tables in the glittering new collection while onlookers snapped photos and praised Zoe for her latest work. Eva made sure to pose with the woman of the hour, Rachel Zoe, who matched Longoria in a shoulder-baring, gold halter gown. The 'Texican' stunner also Snapchatted a video from her VIP seat at the fashionable festivities. Missing from the Lip Sync Battle champ's side was her third husband, Televisa president Jose 'Pepe' Baston - who has three children from a previous marriage. Sparkly: The Golden Globe nominee - who turns 42 next month - fittingly opted for a glittering gold creation featuring flared legs at the Sunset Tower Hotel Glam squad: As usual, the Telenovela actress sported full contoured make-up applied by Elan Bongiorno and her hair extensions were coiffed by Ken Paves Golden girls: Eva made sure to pose with the woman of the hour, Rachel Zoe, who matched Longoria in a shoulder-baring, gold halter gown Gorgeous in gold: Eva and Rachel dazzled in their stunning metallic ensembles She wears the trousers: Eva was a vision of beauty in her wide cut trouser suit Sitting pretty: Eva listened intently as she took her seat at the table Brunette beauty: Eva was a vision of beauty on the evening According to TV Line, Longoria will next play villainous state gaming commission director Charlotte Frost in the third season of Empire, which resumes March 22 on Fox. Meanwhile, 24-year-old Olivia took the plunge in a white, ornately-embroidered suit featuring belled sleeves. The Miss Universe 2012 - who was born in Rhode Island - had her shiny, wavy hair extensions styled by Eduardo Ponce, while her outfit was accessorized with Ileana Makri jewels. 'Congrats Rachel!' The 'Texican' stunner also Snapchatted a video from her VIP seat at the fashionable festivities Newlyweds of nine months: Missing from the Lip Sync Battle champ's side was her third husband, Televisa president Jose 'Pepe' Baston Multi-episode arc: Longoria will next play villainous state gaming commission director Charlotte Frost in the third season of Empire, which resumes March 22 on Fox And heavy-handed make-up artist Liz Castellanos made sure the Byrdie blogger was camera ready with long lashes and a pink pout. Culpo also posed with the 45-year-old designer, who's mother to sons Skyler, 5; and Kaius, 3; with husband Rodger Berman. Olivia wrote of the evening on Snapchat: 'Celebrating @rachelzoe new collection tonight!' White hot! Meanwhile, 24-year-old Olivia took the plunge in a white, ornately-embroidered suit featuring belled sleeves 'Long hair don't care!' The Miss Universe 2012 - who was born in Rhode Island - had her shiny, wavy hair extensions styled by Eduardo Ponce Touch up: And heavy-handed make-up artist Liz Castellanos made sure the Byrdie blogger was camera ready with long lashes and a pink pout Mother-of-two: Culpo also posed with the 45-year-old designer, who's mother to sons Skyler, 5; and Kaius, 3; with husband Rodger Berman Olivia wrote of the evening on Snapchat: 'Celebrating @rachelzoe new collection tonight!' On Super Bowl Sunday, the Hollywood Medium guest star was on the NRG Stadium field cheering her boyfriend, New England Patriots wide receiver Danny Amendola, on to victory against the Atlanta Falcons. 'When your man turns the entire #Superbowl around..... #PROUD ... what a game!' Culpo boasted to her 1.7M followers. The Other Woman actress will next play Gretchen in Ash Avildsen's thriller American Satan alongside Denise Richards and Malcolm McDowell. 'When your man turns the entire #Superbowl around': On Sunday, the Hollywood Medium guest star was on the field cheering her boyfriend, New England Patriots wide receiver Danny Amendola, on to victory against the Atlanta Falcons Due out this year: The Other Woman actress will next play Gretchen in Ash Avildsen's thriller American Satan alongside Denise Richards (L) and Malcolm McDowell Nicole Richie selected a silver-fringed frock for the chic soiree and gave her 5ft1in frame a boost with matching platform pumps. The 35-year-old reality TV icon - who's growing out her damaged locks - scored her first scripted series regular gig on Tina Fey's sitcom Great News, which premieres April 25 on NBC. The House of Harlow 1960 creative director has clearly patched things up with Zoe, whom she famously called a 'raisin face' on her MySpace blog in 2006. Cocktail attire: Nicole Richie selected a silver-fringed frock for the chic soiree and gave her 5ft1in frame a boost with matching platform pumps Sleek updo: The 35-year-old reality star - who's growing out her damaged locks - scored her first scripted series regular gig on NBC sitcom Great News, which premieres April 25 Former frenemies: The House of Harlow 1960 creative director has clearly patched things up with Zoe, whom she famously called a 'raisin face' on her MySpace blog in 2006 Metallic moment: The blonde beauties complemented each other with their metallic gowns Shining bright: The pretty stars illuminated the room with their gorgeous gowns Wild thing! Nicole layered up with a leopard print coat as she cuddled up to Derek Blasberg and Kelly Sawyer for snaps Hug it out: Nicole grasped Kelly Sawyer for a cuddle Lovely in leopard print: Shiva Rose donned a printed vest whilst her long legs were accentuated with a pair of black trousers and crimson heels Former child star Soleil Moon Frye, American Crime Story's Selma Blair, and Grey Lady's Rebecca Gayheart Dane all opted for not-so-basic black attire. The 45-year-old G.B.F. actress captioned a selfie with Soleil and Rachel: 'So much love for you tonight! Incredible collection! Good times @moonfrye #mommysnightout #rachelzoecollection #proudfriend.' The Mistletoe Promise's Jaime King donned Zoe's silver sparkly culottes jumpsuit and she had her make-up done by Aly Barr. Trio: Former child star Soleil Moon Frye, American Crime Story's Selma Blair, and Grey Lady's Rebecca Gayheart Dane all opted for not-so-basic black attire The 45-year-old G.B.F. actress captioned a selfie with Soleil and Rachel: 'So much love for you tonight! Incredible collection! Good times @moonfrye #mommysnightout' Fur-clad: The Mistletoe Promise's Jaime King donned Zoe's silver sparkly culottes jumpsuit and she had her make-up done by Aly Barr Both Iranian-American beauty Shiva Rose and Andie McDowell's daughter Rainey Qualley chose to rock boudoir-inspired ensembles. Barely Famous sisters Erin & Sara Foster bared their backs in sultry floral and black gowns. Other stylish attendees included Storm Model Poppy Delevingne, newly single jewelry designer Jennifer Meyer, and Viva Luxury blogger Annabelle Fleur. Slip and slide: Both Iranian-American beauty Shiva Rose and Andie McDowell's daughter Rainey Qualley chose to rock boudoir-inspired ensembles Back it up! Barely Famous sisters Erin & Sara Foster bared their backs in sultry floral and black gowns Lovely ladies: Other stylish attendees included Storm Model Poppy Delevingne, newly single jewelry designer Jennifer Meyer, and Viva Luxury blogger Annabelle Fleur Couple: CSI: Cyber star James Van Der Beek brought and his business consultant wife Kimberly left their four children at home to have a hot date night Glittering gal pals: Rachel joined Jaime King on the evening Dazzling: The designer looked stunning as she posed for snaps CSI: Cyber star James Van Der Beek brought and his business consultant wife Kimberly left their four children at home to have a hot date night. Also supporting the skinny stylist-turned-designer on her big night were Baby2Baby president Kelly Sawyer and Vogue contributor Erica Pelosini. Rachel later gushed on Instagram: 'A truly incredible moment showing my latest @shoprachelzoe collection in Los Angeles. So grateful to be sharing this special day with family and friends!' Group shot: Also supporting the skinny stylist-turned-designer on her big night were Baby2Baby president Kelly Sawyer (L) and Vogue contributor Erica Pelosini (R) Jax Taylor and Tom Sandoval gave Lisa Vanderpump a private drag show as she let them raid her luxurious closet on Monday's episode of Vanderpump Rules. The pair stripped off on and tried on her clothes as they prepared to go on a cross-dressing bachelor weekend in New Orleans with groom-to-be Tom Schwartz. 'Since I have known her she is always put together and dressed to the nines. I am curious and I want to see that closet,' said Tom Sandoval. Cross dresser: Tom Sandoval tried on some of Lisa Vanderpump's clothing on Monday's episode of Vanderpump Rules And they were not let down as Lisa dug out gowns, hats and jewelry. 'Don't tell me this is the first time he has tried on a dress,' laughed Lisa as Jax put on one of her black numbers. 'I think it looks good on you, it's not quite your size,' she said as Jax and Tom posed. 'If the guys are going to be women then they are going to need to step it up. This is the kind of gift that blackmails are made off,' Lisa joked. Closet opened: Lisa opened up her closet to Tom Sandoval and Jax Taylor And she was taken with Tom's outfit of a pink bra, hat and necklaces. 'I might fancy you myself,' laughed Lisa. And when she offered Jax - who was once arrested for theft in Hawaii - some glasses, he joked: 'I won't steal them.' Picking outfits: Tom and Jax picked out outfits for Tom Schwartz's upcoming bachelor weekend Black dress: Jax tried on a little black dress Good times: Lisa was getting a kick out of the guys trying on her clothes Earlier in the show Tom Sandoval tried to restart his modeling career with a photo shoot at the home of Jessica Simpson's dad, Joe Simpson. Joe encouraged him to keep 'his stomach in and d**K out' as he shot pictures of Tom, with Tom Schwartz looking on. 'When I get my photos taken I feel it is giving my soul life,' said Tom. Photo shoot: Tom Sandoval was stoked about Jessica Simpson's father shooting him Soul life: The male model energetically posed for Simpson Katie Maloney and Tom Schwartz at their apartment also dealt with wedding RSVP's that were returned without names. Kristen Doute came over and they gossiped about the gang and Katie told them that members of the wedding party 'needed to start falling in line', particularly Ariana Madix and Scheana Marie. Gossip time: Kristen Doute arrived at Tom and Katie Maloney's apartment to gossip At Sur restaurant, Ariana, Jax and Scheana talked about Tom Sandoval getting back in male modeling. Jax told Lisa about the issues at James's DJ set and Scheana said that she and Jax should admit it was wrong to have turned up. 'Of course it's wrong and it's mean but I'm going to do it anyway, I just don't like him,' said Jax. Not sorry: Jax knew it was wrong to crash James Kennedy's DJ gig but was not sorry for it James Kennedy and girlfriend Raquel went out for drinks and went over the drama from the DJ set gone wrong. Raquel told James she did not understand how Gigi had items of his clothes and he assured her he had 'just been an idiot.' James then blamed the amount of whiskey he had been drinking and assured Raquel that he was faithful to her. Trust issues: James assured Raquel that he was faithful to her her despite Gigi's evidence to the contrary She then questioned whether he could be faithful to her when she was not in town. 'I mean I am telling you I can be,' he told her but she was not reassured. Jax agreed to attend church with Brittany as a favor to her mother, as the show flashed up a picture of him as a seven-year-old. In church: Jax went to church as a favor to Brittany's mother 'Hopefully this can get Brittany and her mother back on team Jax, off my back and back in that kitchen where she belongs, just kidding,' said Jax. Stassi then visited her mother, Dayna, at her home outside of Los Angeles to help her after surgery. Her younger brother, Nikolai, gave her advice about her break-up with Patrick and told her he missed him. Cool brother: Stassi Schroeder got some advice from her cool little brother Nikolai 'I don't hate him. I still have all the same feelings but I can't keep doing this to myself,' she said wiping away tears as her brother comforted her. 'I want to be in a steady situation. I really do need to be alone for a little while,' Stassi said. James and Tom Sandoval met for tea and James told the cameras that it was not easy being a sober DJ in Los Angeles. Giving support: Nikolai wrapped an arm around her sister as she struggled after a breakup 'This is going to be a good new stage in my life and a new road to walk down,' said James. Tom told him he was going to have a small part in Peter's short sci-fi movie. James told Tom that he could not believe Gigi was still trying to tell people they slept together, and Tom was not impressed at the denial. Sci-fi movie: Peter was working on a short sci-fi movie 'If you want me to be completely honest with you, it seems like it did happen,' said Tom. He then told the cameras he did not need to be there to know it happened. 'I just can't admit to something that did not happen,' James told him with a straight face. Not believing: Tom admitted that he didn't believe James and his denial about Gigi On the movie set Tom spoke to Ariana about her behavior and asked her to be less blunt toward Katie. Members of the bachelor party met up and decided they were going to New Orleans in full drag. 'I am willing to dress like a transvestite for one night as it is Tom's bachelor party but I am not shaving my beard as I will be an ugly woman,' said Jax. Great idea: Jax endorsed the cross-dressing idea as Ariana Madix looked on He then spoke to Lisa about borrowing some of her old gowns and jewelry for the trip. 'I just don't think I can resist missing this,' she said as she invited the guys over to her house. Lisa's daughter Pandora collected wine from Lisa's house as they threw a spa day and bridal party for Katie. Nice gesture: Pandora Vanderpump opened up her home for a bridal party for Katie Maloney Scheana tried to make peace between Ariana and Stassi and Ariana agreed to have 'a more open mind' and the pair agreed to try and have fun together. 'I think moving forward Ariana and I are going to be fine. We are not going to be great or best friends but we are going to be fine and that is good enough for me,' said Stassi. Over lunch Katie brought up 'negativity' in the group, which left Scheana upset and accusing Katie of being 'mean and aggressive and irrational' when she drinks and texts. Blonde beauties: Stassi and Ariana agreed to behave better for Katie's sake Katie called the accusation 'despicable' and told her that a lot of people thought she was 'fake' and Scheana stormed away from the table. 'I don't know how I have got to this place where my friends are constantly disappointed in me,' said Scheana. The pair then sat down and discussed their issues and temporarily buried the hatchet. Holding a grudge: Katie was still holding stuff against Scheana and Ariana Fed up: Scheana confronted Katie and was ready to leave the party Tom Schwartz and Katie went out for drinks and she became angry at him for defending Ariana. She eventually grew angry and emotional and got up and stormed out of the restaurant. 'I can't believe you are doing this to me right now. She definitely drank today,' said Tom as Katie left. In early 2017 she was slammed for saying she wanted to look like a 'naturally tanned Aboriginal'. But it seems Skye Wheatley is dedicated to the cause despite the controversy her comments caused. The 22-year-old former Big Brother star showed off her sunkissed body and bikini tan line on Tuesday, outside her luxurious holiday villa in Bali wearing an unmissable orange swimsuit. Scroll down for video Total tan: It seems Skye Wheatley is dedicated to getting an incredible tan despite earlier this year being slammed for saying she wanted to look like a 'naturally tanned Aboriginal' With her wet hair pushed back behind her ears, the blonde beauty pouted as she posed for the camera and showed off her enhanced assets. However it wasn't her doubled-D breasts that caught the attention of her 286,000 fans, but rather her striking bikini tan line. Having clearly spent plenty of time in the sun on her tropical getaway, Skye's tan was almost as unmissable as her orange bathers. Stunner: The 22-year-old showed off her sunkissed body and crazy bikini tan line on Tuesday 'I don't even tan like that in the first place. That tan line is insane,' one follower wrote. But the professional make up artist wasn't done putting her dedicated tan line on display, sharing two more photos from the final day of her Asian escape. 'Sad to leave @thecolonyhotelbali it was so breathtaking,' Skye captioned the image. In one image the buxom blonde showed off her pert derriere as she sat poolside outside her luxurious hotel. Bombshell: Former Big Brother contestant Skye Wheatley shared racy photos of herself on Monday, posing in lingerie in one image on Instagram Belfie queen: The 22-year-old also shared a bikini clad shot of her pert derriere while posing on a swinging lounge Racy: The racy holiday snaps were well received by fans, who complimented her on her figure Later, this time wearing a black bikini, Skye leaned back over her hotel balcony and pushed out her double-D breasts as she posed for the camera. Skye made headlines last year after her botched 'Bangkok boob job' that saw her breast implants fail to stay in shape. But having since had the problem rectified with further surgery, she seemed keen to use Instagram to show off her body on her trip. Posting a number of other photos over the past week, she flaunted her curves in a wide variety of lingerie and swimwear. Holiday: Skye is on currently on a Bali getaway with her friend Brooklyn Kelly Transformation: 'I feel like there is a bit of pressure to be perfect on Instagram cause you look at all these models on Instagram and their life is perfect' Pert derriere: Since arriving, the pair have been busy sharing snaps of their delicious meals and racy pictures by the pool Her often busty posts received plenty of likes and comments that complimented her on her good looks and impressive display. From kneeling on top of a swinging lounge to taking selfies in the mirror, Skye put her recently slimmed down figure on display on dozens of occasions. The blonde bombshell traveled to Bali a week ago with her friend Brooklyn Kelly for a little rest and relaxation. He was the focus of intense media scrutiny last year as he took two months off breakfast TV to negotiate a split from his wife Cassandra Thorburn. Now Karl Stefanovic, 42, has said he is in a good frame of mind to start the year, saying of the breakup 'these things happen' as he focuses on his children and the future. The Today co-host has returned to work at Nine's Sydney studios, but he has acknowledged the support he received from prominent Melbourne identities during the break up, particularly Eddie McGuire. Stoic Stefanovic: Karl Stefanovic, 42, has said he is in a good frame of mind to start the year, saying of the breakup 'these things happen' as he focuses on his children and the future. As he looks ahead to a complicated year of disassembling his marriage, Karl told the Herald Sun that he is in a good place mentally. 'These things happen, we gave it our best shot, and now it's all about the future,' he said. 'I hope we can move through the best we can.' Moving on: Karl said of his breakup with wife Cassandra Thorburn 'we gave it our best shot, and now it's all about the future, I hope we can move through the best we can' The network identity praised his children's attitudes and strength over the recent months, and carefully gave his ex-wife the credit for that aspect of their personalities. He was also keen to acknowledge to the Melbourne newspaper the support he had received from various high-profile Victorians last year as he struggled with his separation from Cassandra. Lloyd Williams received mention as one supporter but he paid particular tribute to former Nine CEO Eddie McGuire and his wife Carla. Cracking kids: The network identity praised his children's attitudes and strength over the recent months, and carefully gave his ex-wife the credit for that aspect of their personalities Steady Eddie: Karl received support from various high-profile Victorians last year especially former Nine CEO Eddie McGuire and his wife Carla 'During the worst of it, Eddie and Carla McGuire, I could not fault them as people or as friends,' he told the paper. 'For me they were rocks and their advice was incredible.' He said that the Millionaire Hot Seat host had been his mentor for a decade, tracking back to Eddie's few years spent running Nine from Sydney. Mentor McGuire: He said that the Millionaire Hot Seat host had been his mentor for a decade, tracking back to Eddie's few years spent running Nine from Sydney Strong work bonds: Karl said that 'during the worst of it, Eddie and Carla McGuire, I could not fault them as people or as friends' With the McGuires now firmly entrenched back in Melbourne, he is drawn to the city. Karl said he plans to spend more time in Melbourne in the coming year as he finds the people 'rock solid'. They starred together in the movie Red and there's clearly plenty of affection between the two major Hollywood stars. Helen Mirren, 71, gave Morgan Freeman, 79, a full kiss on the lips as she presented him with a career Achievement award at the 16th annual Movies For Grownups Awards on Monday night in Beverly Hills. The British Oscar winner cradled the actor's head in her hands as she planted the gentle smooch on the star who has also won an Academy Award, for Million Dollar Baby. Love you! Helen Mirren awarded Morgan Freeman a kiss on the lips in addition to his Career Achievement Award at the AARP Movies For Grownups Awards in Beverly Hills Monday night For her special presentation, Mirren wore a bold black long-sleeved number with large white flowers on green stems on the front of it. She wore her short blonde hair simply styled in gentle waves swept away from her forehead and added bright red lip color and a touch of rosy blush. The star of The Queen added a pair of floral-themed gold and diamond earrings to complete her look. She and Freeman have reunited to star together in a big screen adaptation of The Nutcracker filming in London with Keira Knightley and Matthew Macfadyen. She's a Dame: Mirren, 71, wore a black long-sleeved number with large white flowers on green stems on the front of it and matching floral-themed gold and diamond earrings Career achievement: The two stars greeted each other with a kiss on the stage Each year the organization for Americans 50 and older honors those movies that 'appeal to audiences with a grownup state of mind.' In an interview with the AARP's magazine in December, she spoke about being a septuagenarian star. 'The best thing about being over 70 is being over 70. Certainly when I was 45, the idea of being 70 was like, Arghhh!' she said. 'But you only have two options in life: Die young or get old. There is nothing else.' Big pals! Mirren and Freeman, 79, worked together on the movie Red. They are currently filming a big screen adaptation of The Nutcracker together in London Mutual respect: Freeman smiled as Mirren embraced him She's up for her second Oscar nomination after winning in 2012 for Best Supporting Actress for The Help. And Debra Messing appeared to have a fan girl moment as she snapped a selfie with Octavia Spencer on Monday evening. The actresses were attending the third annual Makers Conference in Rancho Palos Verdes, California. Scroll down for video Debra Messing appeared to have a fan girl moment as she snapped a selfie with Octavia Spencer on Monday evening; The actresses were attending the third annual Makers Conference in Rancho Palos Verdes, California Debra, 48, was dressed in a chic pantsuit as she took out her phone for the snap. Octavia, who is up for another Oscar due to her turn in Hidden Figures, looked elegant in her own pantsuit. Fresh off her second Oscar nomination, Octavia, 46, signed up to talk with Gloria Steinem about the progress of women of color in Hollywood and the recent Women's March at an upcoming conference. Chic: Debra, 48, was dressed in a chic pantsuit as she took out her phone for the snap Octavia, who is up for another Oscar due to her turn in Hidden Figures, looked elegant in her own pantsuit Spencer joined Steinem for the keynote discussion at the third Makers conference. Others slated to attend the event, which was livestreamed on the site, include Sheryl Sandberg, Diane Von Furstenberg, Gabby Douglas, Debra Messing, Rosie Perez and Eva Longoria. Spencer, already an Oscar winner for best supporting actress for her role in The Help, received another nod in the same category for her depiction of a groundbreaking computer scientist working for NASA in the hit film Hidden Figures. Fresh off her second Oscar nomination, Octavia, 46, signed up to talk with Gloria Steinem about the progress of women of color in Hollywood and the recent Women's March at an upcoming conference 'With the global energy cell of Women's Marches in this country and six continents to push us forward, I'm especially glad for the reality and timing of the Makers Conference this year,' Steinem said in a statement. 'I look forward to listening, talking, learning, and making change together.' She is expecting her second child with husband Benjamin Millepied while having to navigate the demands of awards season. And Academy Award-nominated Natalie Portman appeared to be balancing the two things rather well as she stepped out at the Oscar Nominees Luncheon on Monday afternoon in Beverly Hills. The 35-year-old actress looked polished and vibrant in a draped black frock, cinched just above her baby belly with a piece of matching fabric tied in a boat knot. Scroll down for video Blooming lovely: Natalie Portman sported a draped black dress teamed with flat black shoes as she stepped out at the Oscar Nominees Luncheon at the Beverly Hills Hilton on Monday The sensible actress and producer wore simple, sling-back pointed-toe flats while her brown hair was worn loose around her shoulders. A glossy dusky pink lipstick and bright crimson manicure completed the look. Natalie joined a slew of A-listers at the Beverly Hills Hilton at the annual event held to celebrate this year's Oscar nominees in all 24 categories. Ready to pop! Natalie has joked about the size of her blooming baby bump Comfort dressing: The sensible actress and producer wore simple, sling-back pointed-toe flats while her brown hair was worn loose around her shoulders Expecting! Natalie will soon welcome a little brother or sister for five-year-old Aleph The majority of the acting nominees were on hand to celebrate their nomination with Natalie embracing fellow Best Actress Emma Stone. Natalie has been nominated for the 2017 Academy Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role for her portrayal of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis in Pablo Larrain's biographical drama, Jackie. She is up against Isabelle Hupert for her role in Elle, Loving's Ruth Negga, La La Land's Emma and Florence Foster Jenkins' Meryl Streep. Fancy seeing you here! The majority of the acting nominees were on hand to celebrate their nomination with Natalie embracing fellow Best Actress Emma Stone Group photo: She sensibly took a seat, perching alongside Matt Damon - who has a producing nomination for Manchester By The Sea which is up for Best Picture Baby belly: Natalie, who stands at a diminutive 5"3 inches tall, has previously joked about the size of her baby bump High spirits: Natalie looked in cheery mood as she attended the annual event Natalie also took part in the famous annual photograph which sees all nominees pose for a group shot. She sensibly took a seat, perching alongside Matt Damon - who has a producing nomination for Manchester By The Sea which is up for Best Picture at the awards which takes place in Hollywood on February 26. Natalie, who stands at a diminutive 5"3 inches tall, has previously joked about the size of her baby bump. Role of a lifetime: Natalie has won critical acclaim for her role as Jackie Kennedy Previous victor: Natalie scooped a Best Actress Oscar for her role in Black Swan back in 2011 Group shot: All the attendees posed for the iconic annual group picture 'It's weird because I'm like a small person in general so you show a lot faster and a lot more when you're small. 'Everyone thinks I'm about to like pop and about to give birth any minute and I have like months to go!' the actress laughed as she told Jimmy. 'I went to this store the other day to buy water and the guy at the checkout counter was like, "Almost huh?" And I was like no, not at all!' she continued. She had her heart broken on national television when her Bachelor love interest Richie Strahan chose Alex Nation as his winner, over her. And blonde beauty Nikki Gogan has opened up about life after her reality TV stint, and her recent trip to India. In a Contiki blog post, the Perth-based real estate agent listed the things she's learned since both experiences, writing: 'Never settle for something less then you deserve.' Scroll down for video 'Never settle': The Bachelor's Nikki Gogan (seen here on the show with Richie Strahan) has opened up about life after her reality TV stint, and her recent trip to India 'If someone doesnt love you the way that you want them to, it doesnt mean you or they are bad people, simply, it wasnt meant to be at this time and thats ok,' Nikki added. She said people should feel comfortable being single. The stunner also added that traveling is good for the soul and makes you look at life differently. Well-deserved break: Seen here in India, the stunner also added that traveling is good for the soul and makes you look at life differently A good experience: Nikki said travel shouldn't be used to runaway from 'feelings or fears' Nikki said travel shouldn't be used to runaway from 'feelings or fears'. She added: 'It definitely has the power to heal a heartbreak, but thats not all its there for.' Nikki also said she appreciates her chance to find love with Richie on the show, despite it not working out. The TV star travelled to India with Contiki shortly after Christmas, and shared a number of envy-inducing snaps to her more than 113,000 Instagram followers. Taking it all in: The TV star travelled to India with Contiki shortly after Christmas, and shared a number of envy-inducing snaps to her more than 113,000 Instagram followers While there, she visited the Taj Mahal, explored spice and flower markets and did a safari. After returning to Australia, she reflected on her trip, saying she was 'relaxed,' 'grateful' and 'excited.' 'I've returned feeling relaxed, grateful and excited for the year ahead. Without any doubt, the coming year will be the best ever because as time passes by there is one thing that is certain, that life is a gift and it gets better and better every single year,' part of her lengthy post read. Last year, fan favourite Nikki was left heartbroken when Richie didn't chose her as his winner on The Bachelor. During the show's finale, Nikki admitted the rejection would take her some time to heal. Sad: Last year, fan favourite Nikki was left heartbroken when Richie didn't chose her as his winner on The Bachelor (seen during the finale) 'I still love Rich. This one will take a while to get over. I will be going home to my amazing family and they will look after me,' she said through tears. 'I don't have any hard feelings towards Richie. He's been awesome. Richie's made the right decision for him and for his heart, so that's what this journey was all about for him. 'I don't have his heart - that's all. I wouldn't change anything. I don't regret anything. And what he has with Alex must be really, really special and I know that they'll be incredibly happy together.' The beauty is also rumoured to be the next Bachelorette, but she previously told Studio 10 that she wasn't interested in the gig. 'No way. Not at this moment. It's too raw,' Nikki said. She added: 'I feel like I'm not in the right head or heart space to be able to truly answer that question.' 'And on top of that, I know that's a year from now and I feel like if I focused so far ahead that I might not be open to finding my person before then.' They were rumoured to be giving their tumultuous relationship one last try after months of separation. But after Scott Disick was seen gallivanting with a seemingly never-ending of stream of younger models during their Costa Rica vacation, it seems Kourtney has finally turned their on/off strictly off. The reality star, 37, hit the town with sister Kim, 36, her best friend Larsa Pippen, and bizarrely, Larsa's estranged husband, backetball star Scottie. Scroll down for video Loud and clear! After Scott Disick's recent gallavanting, t seems Kourtney Kardashian has finally turned their on/off strictly off if her necklace was anything to go by on Monday night The foursome went out for dinner at The Nice Guy - and Kourtney made a statement with her necklace: a simple silver chain with the words 'off' attached. This could be seen as a clear sign to the father of her three children, who reportedly fled Costa Rica after a ferocious row with Kim and her mum Kris Jenner after sneaking a woman into their hotel. Kourtney looked unfazed as usual and showed off her jumper with cuts in the side alongside skinny spray on jeans. She rounded off the outfit with heels, and of course, that necklace. He's been partying and cuddling with two different women in Miami these last few days. Statement necklace: The simple silver chain held an 'off' design, a clear sign to her gallivanting ex, perhaps Four's a crew: The reality star, 37, hit the town with sister Kim, 36, her best friend Larsa Pippen, and bizarrely, Larsa's estranged husband, backetball star Scottie Mr Nice Guy: The foursome went out for dinner at The Nice Guy Snip at the side: Kourtney looked unfazed as usual and showed off her jumper with cuts in the side alongside skinny spray on jeans. She rounded off the outfit with heels, and of course, that necklace Despite his ongoing issues with partying and responsibility, Scott has insisted that he would never be able to move on from the love of his life. 'I would never be over her,' Scott, 33, admitted in a new trailer for the upcoming episode of E!'s Keeping Up With The Kardashians. 'She's the love of my life.' As Scott professed his love for his ex and the mother of their three children over a voice over, the reality star could be seen affectionately rubbing Kourtney's arm. Khloe Kardashian, meanwhile, was determined to get to the bottom of their ambiguous relationship. 'Did you and Kourt, like, kiss?' Khloe asked teasingly. 'We didn't kiss!' Scott quickly rebuffed as he blushes. 'She's the love of my life': Despite his ongoing issues with partying and responsibility, Scott has insisted that he would never be able to move on from the love of his life Just like the good old days? As Scott professed his love for his ex and the mother of their three children over a voice over, the reality star could be seen affectionately rubbing Kourtney's arm 'You told me you kissed!' Khloe replied as Scott shook his head and smiled. Recently, Kourtney was at the center of reports that she was serious about giving her ex Scott another chance. The couple, who share three children, were together for years until they called it quits in 2015 after photos of Scott getting close with stylist Chloe Bartoli emerged. Getting the scoop: Khloe Kardashian, meanwhile, was determined to get to the bottom of their ambiguous relationship Lately, however, Scott has been pictured partying and cuddling with a couple of beauties in Miami. His Miami fun comes after a quick trip to Costa Rica was their three kids, Mason, seven, Penelope, four and Reign, two. The family brought E! cameras on their tropical trip to film scenes for the new Keeping Up With The Kardashians. 'You told me you kissed!' Khloe replied as Scott shook his head and smiled Also along for the getaway was matriarch Kris Jenner, her boyfriend Corey Gamble, Kim, Khloe, Kylie Jenner and her boyfriend Tyga. Kourtney apparently had mixed feelings about Scott joining on the luxury trip, and at one point uninvited him following some wild behaviour at the Sundance Film Festival. 'Scott is still in the dog house from partying at Sundance,' a source told People.com last week. 'Kourtney disinvited him.' Keeping Up With The Kardashians returns March 5. Available in the UK & Ireland on hayu from 6th March and E! 12th March Getting close: Lately, however, Scott has been pictured partying and cuddling with a couple of beauties in Miami It was recently revealed that she's planning to start a new life in Los Angeles with her partner Paul Knightley and their son Paul Jr., as she expands her business empire. But on Tuesday, Sam Faiers focus was on earning success in the English capital, as she stepped out with her pregnant sister Billie for the launch of their new beauty range for their brand Minnie's. Former TOWIE star Sam looked stylish for the occasion, arriving at London's South Bank wearing a bronze long cardigan, cinched at the waist with a sah belt, and matching fitted trousers. Scroll down for video My Faiers ladies: (L-R) Billie and Sam Faiers attended a photocall to promote their new beauty range for their brand Minnie's in London's South Bank on Tuesday afternoon She teamed the two-piece with a nude low-cut top, which perfectly matched her vertiginous nude heels. Her golden tresses were treated to a sleek blowout, while a generous application of makeup enhanced her naturally good looks. Not to be outdone, her sister Billie - who is pregnant with her second child -stepped out in a patterned pink button-down mini-dress, teamed with thigh-high taupe suede boots. Bumping along nicely: Pregnant Billie embraced her baby bump as she posed for snapshots Bronze: Sam took stylish in a long bronze cardigan, which she teamed with matching trousers Nude: Sam teamed her two-piece with a nude low-cut top and nude vertiginous heels Selfie time: The sisters posed for an obligatory selfie outside their branded beauty bus Radiant: Reality TV star Billie looked radiant as she strolled through the riverside location Her matching sash belt rested just above her growing baby bump as she posed for photographs with her sister outside their branded 'beauty bus'. Billie's blonde locks rested on her shoulders in glamorous waves, while a pop of deep pink lipstick polished off her look. The sisters are scheduled to tour the country throughout the week on their bus, as they promote their new beauty range. Not short on style: Not to be outdone, Billie wowed in a patterned pink button-down mini-dress The thigh's the limit! Billie teamed her dress with a pair of thigh-high taupe suede boots Proud auntie: Sam was also seen caressing her sister's growing baby bump at the event Hitting the road: They plan to tour the country this week as a part of their promotional duties The big picture: The Minnies branded bus featured large images of the sisters It was recently claimed that Sam will rake in over a million pounds in sales from her cosmetic ranges this year, and is hoping to branch out her business in America. A source told MailOnline: 'Samantha is extremely business minded and knows the power of her brand, she's been working hard to develop her own organic skincare range which she plans on launching later this year. 'With her past successes, Samantha's hopeful that she can turn the business into a multi-million pound operation.' Empire: Since leaving TOWIE, the sisters have established themselves in the fashion world Oh baby! Radiant Billie's baby bump was on clear display as she arrived at the event Tressed to impress: The sisters also sported immaculately styled tresses at the outdoor event Waves: Billie's blonde hair was styled into a series of waves, which rested on her shoulders Proud mother: The sisters posed with their proud mother Suzanne Wells, right, at the event Oops: Sam, Billie and Suzanne looked on as a photographer and security staff got into a row When push comes to shove: The pair caused a bump in proceedings as they exchanged words A spokesman for the star confirmed that Sam will be launching her own organic skincare range later in the year. Sam first fragrance became the bestselling celebrity fragrance of 2014, beating the likes of Britney Spears and One Direction. Since then, she's gone on to launch her second fragrance Pure, an eyelash range, as well as a self tan line. Preened to perfection: The sisters looked incredibly polished as they posed for the cameras Having a whale of a time! The blonde beauty appeared to be in great spirits on the day Legs for days: The mother-of-one showcased her lean limbs in thigh-high boots Inseparable: The siblings are not only close but spend lots of time together thanks to their clothing and make-up brand Working her angles: Sam showcased her lean figure in the skintight co-ords This comes after it was claimed the former reality star, 25, has lined up a series of viewings Stateside and in England as she decides where to settle with her family. A source close to the star told MailOnline: 'Samantha is set on moving out of Essex and has sold her Essex Home. 'Herself and Paul are currently looking at properties in Berkshire and Hertfordshire. Making millions: Sam will reportedly rake in a staggering amount of money from her cosmetic ranges this year, and is hoping to branch out her business in the US Where to go? Sam and partner Paul Knightley along with their one-year-old son, also called Paul, could end up moving across the world to Los Angeles, but are also looking at properties in Berkshire and Hertfordshire Not taken well: The move comes after Sam was left shocked by her family's reaction to her suggestion of moving to leafy Surrey last year 'They also have a trip booked to LA next month where they are planning to view properties and decide whether they should make the move Stateside.' Sam was left shocked by her family's reaction to her suggestion of moving to leafy Surrey last year. During her hit show The Mummy Diaries, she told her mum Sue and sister Billie that she and Paul were looking for a new house in the county, over an hour away from her native Essex. Sam said: 'We're looking for a house for our first family home. We want land. I want chickens, a goat, donkeys, probably a horse at some stage.' Sam tenuously broached the subject to her mum and sister while on holiday, saying: 'The other day we started ringing estate agents and for some reason I like Surrey... (off camera) It gets frosty quite quick.' The two mums: Sam's mum Sue (left) and Paul's mum Gaynor (right) had very different ideas about whether their children should leave Essex Mother dearest: Gaynor revealed she would move wherever her son and Sam choice - but does that mean LA? Girls on tour: Sam desperately tried to find the time to announce her moving plans to her tight-knit family A stunned Billie asked her sister: 'What's making you wanna move out of the area? I was shocked because why would you want to live there? I think you'd feel isolated. You have no friends and family. I think it's quite selfish. You wouldn't be able to just pop to the office. Defiant Sam put forward a financial argument: 'You get more for your money than Brentwood or Shenfield' - although her family protested, insisting Surrey is pricey. Billie then pulled the Gaynor card as she insisted Paul could not be separated from his mum, yet was evidently unaware of Gaynor's plans to follow the family. She said: 'You wont move away. Paul won't be as far away from his mum. They're too close.' A teaser clip showed the Surrey conversation continuing into next week's episode. She is a poster girl for body confidence. And Iskra Lawrence proved that more than ever when she boldly opted to display her lingerie while living it up at the Aerie Celebrates the All Woman Campaign, of which she is the face, at the Aerie Spring Street Pop Up Shop in New York last week. The 26-year-old Brit looked sensational in a nude body worn under jeans, with her eye-popping bust and flawless curves helping her grab the attention at the bash - making her the perfect frontwoman for the job. Scroll down for video Pretty in pink: Iskra Lawrence proved that more than ever when she boldly opted to display her lingerie while living it up at the Aerie Celebrates the All Woman Campaign, of which she is the face, at the Aerie Spring Street Pop Up Shop in New York last week Iskra is currently collaborating with American Eagle's Aerie lingerie label for their 'REAL' campaign, which aims to encourage body positivity - a cause for which she is a relentless campaigner. As they celebrated the launch of the Aerie campaign, the Worcester-born beauty was the perfect advertisement for the brand thanks to her flawless curves. Rocking the body, the lacy material flashed even more flesh as her skin was directly visible underneath while she also went braless beneath the body. She pulled on loose-fitting jeans to dress down the look slightly, while the tattered detail on the trousers made her look super edgy. Smoking hot! The 26-year-old Brit looked sensational in a nude body worn under jeans, with her eye-popping bust and flawless curves helping her grab the attention at the bash - making her the perfect frontwoman for the job Sizzler: Iskra is currently collaborating with American Eagle's Aerie lingerie label for their 'REAL' campaign, which aims to encourage body positivity - a cause for which she is a relentless campaigner Iskra once again gave her own cool addition to proceedings with stone-coloured suede ankle boots, with a pointed toe. In the spirit of the natural beauty movement, she kept her make-up totally pared back and neutral to make the most of her stunning good looks. Her blonde tresses were worn in beachy loose waves, permitting a surfer girl feel, while she pinned a light pink rose behind her ear for the party. Iskra appeared to come over shy as she later pulled on a jumper to mask her incredible curves. Hot stuff! Iskra once again gave her own cool addition to proceedings with the addition of stone-coloured suede ankle boots, by adding in a pointed toe Busty babe: Her blonde tresses were worn in beachy loose waves, permitting a surfer girl feel, while she pinned a light pink rose behind her ear for the party The blonde beauty's figure-flaunting display comes after she shared an unedited, natural snapshot of her stomach. The runway star could be seen modelling a lilac bralet with a diamond shaped cut-out and a pair of patterned knickers. On the left hand side of the image, Iskra is relaxed and leaning forward, her stomach naturally rounded, while on the right she is posing and sucking it in. The blonde beauty commented: 'Your fat rolls are beautiful. I made a video about them (link in my bio) And the reason we have been lead to believe they aren't is because we don't see them in the media unless someone's being shamed for weight gain or ridiculed for their body. 'This is NOT the truth and not OK. Having rolls of skin / fat that are soft / squidgy or big / small does not define your beauty. Here come the girls! Iskra was the star attraction at the bash Her pals: She posed with Peyton List and Daya at the bash 'I wanted to show you how my body looks when I'm relaxed and when I'm posing right next to each other so you can see how easy it is to manipulate how a body looks. (I filmed myself doing this for you on my YouTube. 'As a model in the industry 13years I've seen nearly all the pics chosen of me for lingerie & swimwear shoots are the ones where my stomach looks flattest. Which for a long time lead me to believe that's how I should look. 'Because even if I did happen to have a few shots where I'm in a position you can see back fat or rolls someone had decided it's more "beautiful" "aspirational" or will inspire more customers to buy the product if those so called "flaws" don't exist.' Hot stuff! The girls looked sensational at the bash Flaunting it: Iskra went on to praise Aerie lingerie's 'REAL' campaign, which aims to encourage body positivity. The blonde beauty was the poster girl for the innovate Photoshop-free campaign in 2014, which helped boost sales for Aerie Iskra went on to praise Aerie lingerie's 'REAL' campaign, which aims to encourage body positivity. The blonde beauty was the poster girl for the innovate Photoshop-free campaign in 2014, which helped boost sales for Aerie. She continuted: 'Things are changing I remember the first time I saw curvier models in editorials with their rolls and back fat and I remember the first time I shot with @aerie and they wanted me to not pose but be real and just myself. Then when I saw my first campaign with them and I could see my unretouched body - pics with rolls / back fat I'm not gonna lie I was shocked. 'That quickly turned into joy because they made me feel good enough and knew that those "flaws" didn't mean I wasn't beautiful in fact showing that their models didn't have to be "flawless" was incredibly empowering.' Reality TV star and former penthouse model Suzi Taylor has been pictured looking visibly upset outside court on Tuesday. Taylor, 44, appeared distressed as she walked out of a Brisbane Court with two women who were seemingly members of her legal team. Wearing dark sunglasses, the former Block contestant bowed her head and often held a hand up to her face as she left court after a hearing for an unknown matter. Court date: Reality TV star Suzi Taylor has been pictured looking visibly upset outside a Brisbane court on Tuesday The former model had a solemn look on her face as she emerged from court alongside the two women. Wearing a navy formal suit, the controversial TV star was clearly taking her court day seriously. The mother-of-three moved quickly once outside court and appeared to be trying to hide from the cameras next behind the two women. Leaving: The former model appeared distressed as she walked out of court Out of the limelight: The mother-of-three moved quickly once outside court and appeared to be trying to hide from the cameras next behind the two women Known for her revealing outfits, Taylor looked stylish in a pair of cream stilettos and accessorising with a brown leather bag. Her day in court is just the latest headline Taylor has made since returning to the public eye with her position on The Block. In December last year Taylor was again in the news when rumours surfaced about a relationship with Geoffrey Edelsten. The controversial 73-year-old socialite made the claims after meeting the brunette beauty at a Melbourne restaurant. Downcast: Wearing dark sunglasses, the former Block contestant bowed her head and often held a hand up to her face as she left court Not alone: The busty former model had a solemn look on her face as she emerged from court alongside the two women Unknown: It is not known exactly why Taylor was forced to appear in the Brisbane court Dressing up: Known for her revealing outfits, Taylor looked stylish in a pair of cream stilettos and accessorising with a brown leather bag Enquiry: Daily Mail Australia has reached out to Suzi for comment on her court appearance However Taylor set the record straight days later, telling Daily Mail Australia: 'No we're not dating'. Unfortunately for Dr Edelsten, who used to own AFL club the Sydney Swans, Taylor has since reportedly begun dating real estate entrepreneur Drew Davison. Daily Mail Australia has reached out to Suzi for comment on her court appearance. She tragically lost her baby son Sebastian from Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) at the age of four and a half months back in 1991. But Anne Diamond said on Tuesday's Loose Women that she believed she may have been able to save him - had she remained in Bristol where she began her journalistic career. 'If I'd stayed in Bristol, made my career in Bristol, brought up my family in Bristol, my little boy would be alive today because I would have been there for when they made all the pioneering discoveries,' she said on the programme. Scroll down for video Emotional: Anne Diamond said she may have been able to save her baby if she had remained in Bristol during a 'what if' discussion on Tuesday's Loose Women Getting upset: Stacey Solomon looked tearful as Anne discussed the loss of her baby At the time, the city of Bristol formed part of a control group testing out new theories including putting babies to sleep on their backs - something which helps prevent SIDS. The 62-year-old TV presenter's remarks came as she joined a discussion on 'sliding doors' or 'what if' moments on the show. 'I don't want to put a downer on it but I was in Bristol yesterday doing a special report about cot death,' Anne told the panel. 'Because that's where they did all this huge pioneering work, and Bristol is also where I started off my journalistic career as a young reporter.' Started off: Anne discussed her early life as a journalist back in Bristol Her story reduced fellow panellist Stacey Solomon to tears, with Anne reassuring her: 'Don't get upset.' Sebastian, Anne's third child, tragically passed in 1991 at the age of four and a half months from Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) - the unexplained death of a child less than one year of age. After his untimely death, Anne began the Back To Sleep campaign which increased awareness that babies should be put to sleep on their backs. Reassurance: Anne comforted fellow panellist Stacey who got upset by her story Making a difference: After his untimely death, Anne began the Back To Sleep campaign which increased awareness that babies should be put to sleep on their backs The Lullaby Trust says putting babies to sleep on their back and people not smoking around them are the single most significant factors in preventing cot death. It said in 1989 there were 1,545 SIDS cases in the UK. This fell to 647 in 1992, the year after the Back to Sleep campaign launched in 1991. 'I've met so many cot death parents over the years who lost their babies and weren't able to achieve what I managed to achieve, because their babies died at the wrong time,' she told the BBC. 'When you look at it my baby died at a time a breakthrough was being made.' The Apprentice UK star Dillon St Paul was forced to undergo emergency surgery last month after doctors discovered he had a brain tumour. The Irish contestant - who took part in the business show last autumn - was rushed to hospital two weeks ago after he suffered a seizure at work. Recalling the drama in a lengthy blog post, the businessman admitted he was stunned when doctors told him he had a non-cancerous mass wedge in his brain. Scroll down for video Drama: The Apprentice UK star Dillon St Paul was forced to undergo emergency surgery last month after doctors discovered he had a brain tumour 'After the seizure I was rushed to emergency where they found a tumor in my brain,' he wrote. 'Before I knew it I was in hospital prepping for surgery to have it removed; what followed was a whirlwind of pain, emotion and disappointment. 'I was about to write that this blog post is the hardest thing Ive ever done because, believe me, writing this while in recovery is no easy feat (it took me a week and two failed attempts to navigate my way through this keyboard). 'But in actuality, the hardest thing was obviously surviving the brain surgery a journey of pain and sorrow unlike anything Ive ever experienced.' Painful: Recalling the drama in a lengthy blog post, the businessman admitted he was stunned when doctors told him he had a non-cancerous mass wedge in his brain Dillon experienced his first seizure while he was working on a new project with his friend Vicki - with whom he co-created magazine Stellar - and admits he was grateful that she supported him during the episode because he had no idea what was going on. He explained: 'My left hand felt like it was moving in thick jelly and my speech froze. I say speech rather than mouth because it felt like the power to communicate deserted me not just the mechanism, if that makes sense. 'This was the moment my first seizure began. The single most terrifying thing you can ever imagine. Emergency: The Irish contestant was rushed to hospital two weeks ago after he suffered a seizure at work 'I desperately tried to tell Vicki what was happening but my mouth wouldnt work and the left side of my face felt like it was melting and being pulled to the floor like gooey molasses. 'I fixed on Vickis face but with no way to share what was happening I felt completely trapped. Reality vanished and time stopped.' He added: 'Fast forward to the emergency room where they tried to get to the bottom of what exactly was going on within my brain with callous candour. After being poked and prodded they ran a CT scan which showed up a small dark area- so a more detailed MRI was required. Previously: Dillon took part on business related reality show The Apprentice UK last autumn 'When you get an MRI they run a line into youre arm and inject you with dye that shows up everything in more detail- this ran into my unusually narrow blood vessels too quickly and hurt like hell and so marked the first of many small necessary evils which would plague me for the following weeks. I seemed to be constantly prodded, poked and injected until reduced to tears on several occasions ... 'What they found was something called a low-grade glioma tumour. It had caused my seizure and was located on the right side of my brain in an area I was was told was easily operable."' Dillon underwent the surgery and, although he couldn't see in front of him for the first week afterwards, he's now got his sense of smell back and has been recuperating by watching back-to-back episodes of Absolutely Fabulous. She is known for her comedy. But Amy Schumer showed that she could be a convincing action star as well. The 35-year-old actress wielded a gun alongside legendary actress Goldie Hawn in the trailer for Snatched released on Tuesday. Scroll down for video Dynamic duo: Amy Schumer wielded a gun alongside legendary actress Goldie Hawn in the trailer for Snatched released on Tuesday As the two play a mother-daughter duo kidnapped while on holiday they did all they could to escape their captors in the two-and-a-half minute long clip. It all comes to a head when Amy points a gun at one of the imprisoner as she yells at him: 'You messed with the wrong b****es!' With the encouragement from 71-year-old Goldie, she tries to keep a steady hand as she tells the beaten man: 'I'm going to count down, I'm going to do it.' Lighting it up: The 3clip began with the 35-year-old hitting the bar while on holiday Handsome: The comedienne gets romanced by a dashing English man (Tom Bateman) Over-cautious: Her mother - played by 71-year-old Goldie - was shown for the first time completely covered up as she said the sun was dangerous Helping hand: Goldie began putting sunblock on Amy 'Mom it feels like you're putting on a lot': Amy said as she was covered in sunblock Foreshadowing: The two are then warned about being kidnapped by Wanda Sykes Amy then begins counting from 100 making for one last laugh before the clip ends. The film is centred around Amy who persuades her over-cautious mother to take a holiday in Ecuador. It is there where the comedienne gets romanced by a dashing English man (Tom Bateman) before telling him she is there with her mother. Partying it up: Despite the warning Amy decides to enjoy the vacation It was all good: She went on an expedition Worried: She convinced her mother to join her Uh oh: Their vehicle crashes into a van and they are taken hostage by masked men That's when Goldie is introduced as she hits the pool while completely covered up as she claim the sun is 'very dangerous'. The mother of Kate Hudson then decides to completely cover Amy in sunblock as she says: 'Mom it feels like you're putting on a lot.' The two are then warned about being kidnapped by Wanda Sykes but Amy does manage to convince Goldie to go on an expedition with her new found love-interest. In formation: The captors ask for Amy's pin number to which she replies slowly: '1-2-3-4' Funny: Goldie reacts with obvious disappointment as Amy replies. 'I was going to change it' Touching: Amy tells Goldie that he loves her before they plan their escape Pleading: Amy's brother (Ike Barinholtz) calls for help However things go completely wrong as their vehicle is crashed into and they are taken hostage by masked men. One of the funniest parts from the trailer comes when the captors ask for Amy's pin number to which she replies slowly: '1-2-3-4.' Goldie reacts with obvious disappointment as Amy replies. 'I was going to change it.' The rest of the trailer shows the two doing all that they can to escape as Goldie even makes a jump from a balcony to a wall which Amy is impressed by. Figuring it out: The rest of the clip features the two stars trying to escape Action woman: Amy hits an enemy in the head Mom strength: Goldie impressively carries one of the incapacitated captors Going for it: Goldie even makes a jump from a balcony to a wall which Amy is impressed by Hawn hasn't been in a feature film in almost 14 years - since she filmed The Banger Sisters in 2002. Schumer revealed she had to convince the Overboard star to do a film with her. 'That's a wrap,' Schumer wrote to nearly 5 million followers in August, adding, 'Can't express how grateful I am that @officialgoldiehawn said yes.' Snatched is slated to be released on May 11 in the US and will open on May 12 in the United Kingdom. Reunited: Amy was later joined by Wanda again She has been ostensibly single since divorcing her third husband in 2015. So Pamela Anderson no doubt related to the anti-Valentine's Day message in her latest video, which sees her writhing around in skimpy yellow lace lingerie as she pleasures herself. Promoting erotic brand Coco De Mer, the Baywatch babe, 49, chooses to indulge in a solo sex act rather than be conventionally wined and dined in the seriously raunchy clip. Scroll down for video Steamy: Pamela Anderson, 49, writhed around in skimpy yellow lace lingerie as she pleasured herself for an anti-Valentine's Day video for the erotic brand Coco De Mer The clip, shot by photographer Rankin, starts with Pamela sauntering to her house, clad in a belted trench coat and towering heels. Clearly set on Valentine's Day, it sees the blonde beauty setting the romantic mood for herself as she lights candles and puts a record on. Then, showcasing her sensational toned figure, she strips completely naked before slipping into luxurious lemon-yellow lingerie. After picking up a sex toy, Pamela heads to her bed in the increasingly steamy advert and begins moaning in pleasure. Atmospheric: Clearly set on Valentine's Day, it sees the blonde beauty setting the romantic mood for herself as she lights candles and puts a record on Racy: Then, showcasing her sensational toned figure, she strips completely naked before slipping into luxurious lemon-yellow lingerie Empowerment: The raunchy video ends with the meaningful words: 'No-one knows you better than you. Take your breath away this Valentine's Day' Pamela, who is set to become brand ambassador for the lingerie brand, looked as youthful as ever in the clip, wearing her blonde hair in a glossy blowdry and framing her features with glamorous make-up. The raunchy video ends with the meaningful words: 'No-one knows you better than you. Take your breath away this Valentine's Day.' The video was made by creative agency The Full Service, founded by photographer Rankin. The campaign starring Pamela is to be released on Wednesday. Working out of a London studio, it focuses on impact storytelling, creating entire campaigns under one roof - from creative development and brand strategy to the in-house studio, production and post-production facilities. Mysterious: Pamela proved she didn't need a man to celebrate Valentine's Day in the empowering video Her sexiest video yet?Pamela showcased her infamous curves in the skimpy lingerie The actress shot to fame on Baywatch in the Ninties, in which she showcased her enviable curves in a barely-there red swimsuit. Speaking about body confidence during shooting, she told Harper's Bazaar last year: 'I was really comfortable in my skin and I didn't care so much. 'I thought, nobody's perfect and imperfections are sexy. And you know, I would've been on the beach anyway, so I was shocked that they hired me and paid me. 'I never thought I was a great-looking person or a great-looking woman.' Glam: She looked as youthful as ever in the clip, wearing her blonde hair in a glossy blowdry Stunning: She plumped her pout with nude lipgloss and added a subtle sweep of mascara Illicit: The clip, shot by Rankin, starts with Pamela sauntering to her house, clad in a belted trench coat and towering heels The model has two sons, Dylan, 19, and Brandon, 20, with her first husband Tommy Lee, drummer of Motley Crue. Meanwhile, Pamela has sparked rumours that she is dating WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange after being spotted visiting him for for at least the sixth time in five months. The Baywatch actress is rumoured to have struck up a romance with him while he is stuck inside the Ecuadorean Embassy in Knightsbridge. Humble: The actress claimed she shocked that Baywatch bosses hired her, and admitted that she never thought of herself as 'great looking' (pictured in 1993) New flame? Pamela has sparked rumours that she is dating WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange after being spotted visiting him for for at least the sixth time in five months Assange, 44, is wanted for questioning in Sweden over a rape allegation from 2010, and has avoided extradition by living in the embassy since June 2012. Anderson was today seen bringing vegan cheeseburgers from the Mildreds chain to Assange, who has been holed up in the embassy for five years. Anderson was first spotted at Assange's residence in September 2014. The meeting was set up for Anderson to try to persuade Assange to back her new foundation, which supports women who are victims of sexual abuse. Rumour has it: The Baywatch actress is rumoured to have struck up a romance with him while he is stuck inside the Ecuadorean Embassy in Knightsbridge James Corden has always been more London wide boy than international playboy, but in his latest magazine shoot he resembles a young Hugh Hefner. The chat show king, 38, sipped from a teacup while wearing a 1,995 New & Lingwood dressing gown and a pair of black and gold slippers for the March edition of Esquire. Standing with his legs crossed beside an outdoor pool, he raised his pinky as he drank and wore a pair of shades, looking worlds apart from his much-loved role as Smithy in Gavin and Stacey. Scroll down for video Living the high life: James Corden has always been more London wide boy than international playboy, but in his latest magazine shoot he resembles a young Hugh Hefner in a 1,995 New & Lingwood dressing gown In another image, the funny man is sat atop a small penny-farthing wearing an eye-catching red suit with extravagant embroidery. Rather than showcasing a dramatic lifestyle change, the images are clearly tongue in cheek, with James doing his best to convey a false sense of seriousness. In his interview, James addresses rumours that his Late Late Show is set to replace CBS's Colbert in the 11.30pm slot. Big time: In another image, the funny man is sat atop a small penny-farthing wearing an eye-catching red suit with extravagant embroidery He said: 'It just seems sort of silly to me. I really love him (Stephen Colbert). So I always find it slightly embarrassing. I really dont think theres any substantial evidence at all. I really dont think it exists.' Mouthful: The British chat show host is Esquire's March cover star While James's competition in the ratings war is NBCs Late Night with Seth Meyers and ABCs Nightline, there's another under the radar rival that all three are up against. James said: 'Our competition is people choosing to be asleep.' Having made a massive impact since making his The Late Late Show debut in March 2015, James has big plans for the show in the year ahead. Discussing how the show will improve, he said: 'Visually better. More ambitious. And also sillier. Those three things. Im always keen to try new things visually, with openings and sketches. Id like to film the show somewhere else for a week.' And when it comes to his sources of inspiration, he listed an array of familiar names in the UK. 'The people who influenced me were Chris Evans, Jonathan Ross, Graham Norton, and Wogan and Parkinson. Names that will mean almost nothing to most of the people in this restaurant. In the same way that if you went into a pub in Bradford and talked about Carson, no one would have a clue about who you were talking about.' Jessica Biel is not usually one to act like a Hollywood diva. She is actually considered one of the more down-to-earth actresses around. But on Tuesday the 34-year-old Seventh Heaven vet came off as very movie star-ish as she wore black sunglasses during a dark and rainy day. Either that, or her eyes may have just been sensitive from the glare of the white clouds. The wife of Justin Timberlake was seen taking son Silas to a shop on busy Wilshire Boulevard in Los Angeles. Not ready for her closeup: Jessica Biel acted like a movie star when she wore her black sunglasses when out in the rain on Tuesday Good mommy: But the 34-year-old actress may have just been sensitive to the glare from the clouds as she took her son Silas to a shop on Wilshire Boulevard Biel was covered up with a black rain jacket and red sweater with super tight jeans and brown short boots. She had a brown purse over her shoulder. The Total Recall star wore her long brown locks down and her heavy bangs hiding her forehead. Little Silas looked more sporty in a grey sweatshirt with a roaring black panther on it and black slacks with tiny black sneakers. It also appears as if the child has not yet had his first haircut as he had long, curly locks. Three generations? Also with Jessica and Silas was an older woman who could have been the actress' mother Kimberly His big day: Timberlake at the Oscar nominees' luncheon on Monday Also with Jessica and Silas was an older woman who could have been the actress' mother Kimberly. She held onto a turquoise and red owl lunch bag for Silas. And the blonde lady wore a teal sweater with jeans and brown boots with chains around the bottom. This comes the day after her husband Justin was seen working the room during the Oscar nominees luncheon at the Beverly Hills Hilton hotel. Timberlake got his first Oscar nomination for his song Cant Stop The Feeling! from the soundtrack of the DreamWorks Animation picture Trolls. Also at the lunch were Nicole Kidman, Natalie Portman and Michelle Williams. Buddies: Justin got his first Oscar nomination for his song Cant Stop The Feeling! from the soundtrack of the DreamWorks Animation pic Trolls. Here he is seen with Matt Damon He's in good company: Also at the lunch were Nicole Kidman, Natalie Portman and Michelle Williams The ex of Britney Spears was also seen posing with Manchester By The Sea actor Casey Affleck. Later he was seen with Manchester producer Matt Damon. On Monday Jessica was also seen out in the rain, this time in a beige trench coat and wit no sunglasses on. Her golden brunette locks were styled in a wavy fashion as she let her bangs fall naturally in front of her face. The talented beauty was seen checking her phone as she walked along the street. Her mood appeared to be rather serious. Beautiful: Biel nailed the effortlessly chic look as she walked around Los Angeles on Monday Biel has her own career to worry about as she is currently filming a movie with a very impressive cast of individuals. She is due to star in the 2017 drama Shock And Awe alongside Resident Evil's Milla Jovovich, Westworld's James Marsden, Woody Harrelson and Tommy Lee Jones. The film follows the story of a group of journalists who cover George Bush's planned invasion of Iraq in 2003. They are skeptical of the presidents claim that Saddam Hussein has weapons of mass destruction. She no doubt has a romantic Valentine's Day date lined up with her Made In Chelsea boyfriend. And Frankie Gaff gave a little teaser of what Jamie Laing can expect on the big day, sharing a steamy snap of her posing in very skimpy lingerie on Tuesday. The 22-year-old reality star flaunted her enviably toned figure in the plunging red lace bra and semi-sheer knickers from Boux Avenue as she knelt seductively on her bed. Scroll down for video Steamy: Frankie Gaff, 22, gave a little teaser of what Jamie Laing can expect on the big day, sharing a steamy snap of her posing in sexy Boux Avenue lingerie on Instagram on Tuesday Adding to the come-hither vibe of the snap, Frankie wore her blonde hair in tousled bedhead waves and boasted a deep golden tan. Sharing the shot with her 194,000 Instagram followers, she captioned it: 'Tehehe #norty I mean cause it's nearly valentines...' It comes as Frankie shared some racy throwback snaps to her time in the United Arab Emirates over the festive period. One image shows Frankie thigh-deep in the sea gazing out to the horizon with blue sky above. Out of this world: She also posed in a star-print jumper for another cheeky shot Eye candy: Frankie Gaff, 22, is clearly hankering for a return to sun-drenched Dubai, as she's shared some racy throwback snaps to her time in the United Arab Emirates over the festive period With the gentle breeze blowing through her hair, she raised her hand up and ran her fingers through her tresses. Frankie recently enjoyed a weekend break with her Made In Chelsea beau Jamie, 28, at a luxury hotel in Kent. The reality star shared a steamy snap from their romantic stay on Instagram, as she posed coquettishly in a white bathrobe that dangled off her shoulders to expose her back. Looking away from the camera, she captioned the shot simply: 'Welcome to my room'. Cooling off: Clad in a white bikini and skimpy black thong, the blonde beauty showcased her toned figure as she washed herself But Frankie still seemed to be pining for the warmer climes of Dubai as she also posted a wistful throwback snap to her enjoying an outdoor shower in a skimpy bikini. Clad in a white bikini and skimpy black thong, the blonde beauty showcased her toned figure as she washed herself. 'Wishing on this outdoor shower': she told her 189,000 Instagram followers. What a tease: Frankie shared a steamy snap in a white bathrobe that dangled off her shoulders to expose her back during a weekend break in Kent Busty: Frankie Gaff, 22, slipped into a stylish black halter-neck bikini as she went for a dip with her attractive gal pals in an indoor swimming pool in Surrey Continuing her flesh-baring streak, Frankie slipped into a stylish black halter-neck two-piece as she went for a dip with her attractive gal pals in an indoor swimming pool in Surrey. She showed off her tanned, slender frame as she posed beside her friends waist deep in the water. As her pals traded laughs, Frankie raised her hand to adjust her updo and gazed intently towards the camera. The beauty then found herself a comfortable, multi-coloured lilo which she reclined on and floated across the water. She let her blonde locks down, smiled and ran her fingers through the water as she drifted around the pool. Drifter: The beauty then found herself comfortable, multi-coloured lilo which she reclined on and floated across the water She spent the festive period topping up her tan in Dubai with boyfriend Jamie Laing. And the reality star appeared to be missing the blazing sunshine on Friday, as she shared a sizzling throwback bikini photo on Instagram. Frankie displayed her sensationally slender figure and ample cleavage as she posed in a barely-there bikini for the candid snap. Beach babe: Frankie appeared to be missing the blazing sunshine of Dubai on Friday, as she shared a sizzling throwback bikini photo on her Instagram Sun worshipper: Frankie is clearly beginning to miss her sun-soaked getaway with boyfriend Jamie Laing - which she heavily documented on her social media pages (above) Kneeling on the bed in their luxurious accommodation, Frankie's enviably flat stomach and womanly curves was clear to see as she cooled off from the sun. Her skimpy black bikini top plunged deep at her tanned chest to leave her plentiful cleavage on show - which she further teased with a long necklace falling at her bust. Pairing it with nothing but the matching bottoms, the Made in Chelsea star also displayed her toned and taut tum as she took a break from tanning. Sweeping her blonde hair into a loose ponytail, Frankie drew attention to her enviably clear and glowing complexion as she went make-up free for the day. However the star looked far from relaxed in the snap as she held her hands up in confusion - the cause of which she explained in the caption. Bikini babe: Frankie previously showed off her top tan and perfect beach body on Thursday, as she sipped from a coconut Writing in her usual witty style to fans, the TV star wrote beside the shot: 'Confuzzled, burnt and my bikini tops a little on the small side. Wear sun cream kids.' Frankie is clearly beginning to miss her sun-soaked getaway with boyfriend Jamie Laing - which she heavily documented on her social media pages. Looking trim in a pretty patterned bikini, the Made In Chelsea star had kicked off her trip sipping from coconuts and inducing serious envy among those with January blues. She shared one sun-soaked snap where she knelt on a sunbed, showing off her incredible physique. Later, she appeared to hint at where it came from as she put on energetic display on the beach. Throwing her hands in the air, one picture showed Frankie pre-cartwheel, and a second cheeky snap caught her in full rotation with her bum turned to the camera. Jump for joy: Frankie rotated into a cartwheel to show off her athleticism on the beach Might as well jump! Frankie was caught pre-cartwheel, looking lean and excitable It was perhaps thanks to obedient other half Jamie that Frankie had photo evidence of the fun moment. The duo have certainly been enjoying a blissful break, catching some winter sun in-between seasons of their E4 reality show. Yet more pictures taken of the break show Frankie getting extremely flirtatious with the camera on the couple's hotel bed. She seemed keen to show off her sunbathing efforts in a colourful bikini, which showed off her glowing tan - and tan lines - against the white bed linen. 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. Cheeky! Made In Chelsea's Frankie Gaff, 22, paraded her peachy posterior in a cheeky belfie posted to Instagram on Tuesday Saucy: The Made In Chelsea star later displayed her tan lines as she flipped onto her front Poking fun at herself, she wrote: 'I mean who wears sunglasses inside #lol #notme #dubai'. Jamie and Frankie have been doing everything to prove that their relationship is back on track, this week. 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' She is an actress, producer, philanthropist and businesswoman. Eva Longoria Baston attended the 2017 Makers Conference at Terranea Resort and Spa in Rancho Palos Verdes, California, on Tuesday. The 41-year-old looked business chic as she took the stage for her speech during the live three-day conference which is a 'storytelling platform for the trailblazing women of today and tomorrow.' Storming the stage! Eva Longoria Baston attended the 2017 Makers Conference at Terranea Resort and Spa in Rancho Palos Verdes, California, on Tuesday High honor: The 41-year-old actress and producer spoke during the live three-day conference which is a 'storytelling platform for the trailblazing women of today and tomorrow' Eva looked fabulous for her speaking engagement. The petite-five-foot-two star donned a muted checkered grey dress which fell below the knee. The conservative frock featured black lace details around her trim midsection as well as around the capped sleeves. The Texas native teamed the stylish sheath with a pair of strappy black stilettos. Business chic: Eva looked fabulous for her speaking engagement. The petite-five-foot-two star donned a muted checkered grey dress which fell below the knee Stylish star: The conservative frock featured black lace details around her trim midsection as well as around the capped sleeves. She teamed the sheath with strappy black stilettos Beaming beauty! The brunette bombshell wore her lengthy locks in perfect waves which were left down to cascade past her shoulders The brunette beauty wore her lengthy locks in perfect waves which were left down to cascade past her shoulders. Eva was positively beaming as she took the stage with CAA agent Christy Haubegger. According to TV Line, Eva will next play villainous state gaming commission director Charlotte Frost in the third season of Empire, which resumes March 22 on Fox. All smiles: Eva was positively beaming as she took the stage with CAA agent Christy Haubegger Center stage: Eva spoke animatedly and passionately with her arms up showing off her toned biceps Next project: According to TV Line, Eva will next play villainous state gaming commission director Charlotte Frost in the third season of Empire, which resumes March 22 on Fox The former Desperate Housewives star was joined by a bevy of other talent at the conference. Patricia Arquette and journalist Gloria Steinem chatted closely throughout the evening while Olympians Gabby Douglas, champion fencer Ibtihaj Muhammad, and fashion designer Diane Von Furstenberg also joined the event. MAKERS Conference, which launched in 2012, hopes to 'shine a light on issues ranging from violence against women to inclusion of men ultimately creating a bold agenda that flips the script and creates lasting impact.' Gold medal talent: Olympic athletes Gabby Douglas and fencer Ibtihaj Muhammad joined the celebration of innovation Industry leader: Fashion designer and Council of Fashion Designers of America president Diane Von Furstenberg also spoke at the event She was discovered by a model scout at a New York airport at the tender age of 14. And Kate Moss has opened up about starting out in the industry, as more photos from her racy W Magazine photoshoot emerge. The legendary supermodel, 43, who despite her thirty years ruling the model spotlight is a surprisingly private person, reminisced about her first kiss and celebrity crush. Scroll down for video 'I just had to get comfortable with being naked': Kate Moss (posing alongside model Luka Isaac) has opened up about starting out in the model industry, as more photos from her racy W Magazine photoshoot emerge Showing off her stunning figure in a plunging coral dress , Kate posed alongside model Luka Isaac, who rocked suspenders and a corset. Speaking to W magazine, the British mother-of-one admitted she had to snap out of being self conscious when she started out in the industry as a young teenager. 'From the beginning, photographers always got me to take my clothes off, even though I don't like my body at all. I just had to get comfortable with being naked,' she admitted. And speaking about her teenage crush she revealed it was actor Johnny Depp- who she dated for four years. Opening up: The legendary supermodel, 43, who despite her thirty years ruling the model spotlight is a surprisingly private person, reminisced about her first kiss and celebrity crush 'No. No. When I was growing up, I had a crush on Rob Lowe. I had a poster of him on my wall,' she added. Vogue Editor Anna Wintour previously attributed the success Kate, who remains off social media, enjoyed partly down to her mysterious persona, allowing photographers to project their own images onto her. But despite being private, Kate gave a little glimpse into her childhood, saying of her first kiss: At a school disco, with a guy called Liam. It was good; we were slow-dancing to 'Careless Whisper.' Classic beauty: Kate flaunted her chiselled bone strucutre as she rocked a vintage style leopard print coat and black bob Taraji P Henson, Jennifer Lopez, Jessica Chastain and Donatella Versace have joined Kate in gracing the March cover of W magazinefor the Powerful Women issue. All five of them were photographed by Mert Alas & Marcus Piggott, and gave their input on how to stay on top in male-dominated professions. Kate's interview features in W magazines March issue, in a 10-page fashion shoot released this week. Titled Belle De Nuit, the British supermodel also stars alongside model Luka Isaac, styled by Edward Enninful and photographed by Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott. See the full shoot online in the W magazine gallery He met his girlfriend Cherry Seaborn when they were in high school. And Ed Sheeran told Today's Richard Wilkins on Wednesday their longtime friendship turned relationship was 'going well'. The 25-year-old described how being 'loved up' with his high school sweetheart was a calming force in his hectic life. Scroll down for video Happy: Ed Sheeran told Today's Richard Wilkins on Wednesday his longtime friendship turned relationship with Cherry Seaborn was 'going well' 'This is actually the first time I've been away and I'm just chilled, and nothing's going wrong and everything's great,' he enthused. 'What does that do for you, when you've met the one?' asked Richard. 'Everything's just a lot easier,' the Yorkshire-born Grammy winner replied. 'That side of my life is meant to be the part that chills you out, and it definitely is.' 'She sends me videos of our cats, and I'll finish interviews and go and watch videos of our cats playing with a bit of paper or something,' he said of his relationship with Cherry He revealed his relationship with the blonde beauty was a down to earth one. 'She sends me videos of our cats, and I'll finish interviews and go and watch videos of our cats playing with a bit of paper or something,' he said He also described his father John Sheeran as being his most influential supporter. 'When everyone else was like, "It's a bad idea to drop out of high school", he was like, "No, you need to go and do gigs and work hard. You can't learn how to do gigs in school",' he recalled. Lovebirds: He described how being 'loved up' with his high school sweetheart was a calming force in his life. Pictured: Ed Sheeran, Cherry Seaborn, Emil Nava and Calvin Harris He paused the interview when asked how 'proud' his parents were of him. 'Pride is the wrong word, because I think it means you want to show off a bit,' he explained. 'They're happy that me and my brother are doing what we love, and we're happy in our jobs,' he continued. 'They're happy that me and my brother are doing what we love, and we're happy in our jobs,' he said of his parents John and Imogen A day earlier he made an appearance on NOVA 96.9FM's Fitzy & Wippa show, where the hosts surprised him with a cake version of himself for his upcoming birthday. 'It looks like you've had a facelift, with maybe your lips done,' joked Wippa. Ed jumped off his seat and bit off the cake's nose, remarking: 'That's quite good.' Her curves made her a household name in Nineties hit series Baywatch. And Pamela Anderson made yet another showcase of her famous figure as she hit Annabel's private members club in Mayfair wearing little more than sheer lace. Celebrating her new partnership with Coco de Mer on Tuesday, the 49-year-old blonde beauty wore the perfect eye-catching ensemble to their fashion show. Scroll down for video Turning heads! Pamela Anderson continued to turn heads as she showed off her famous assets in a lace corset and frock ensemble at Annabel's on Tuesday night, while celebrating her partnership with Coco de Mer Showcasing her ample cleavage perfectly, Pamela drew attention to her curves in tightly-fitting knickers, with just a lace overlay on top. Covering the Gothic-inspired ensemble with a semi-sheer lace robe, she cinched in her enviable waist with a belt on arrival at the venue. And adding a quirky touch, the American actress teamed it with an extravagant hat and fascinator. Still got it: The bombshell looked impossibly youthful in her ensemble Teasing: She put on a provocative display, posing inside the famous venue Glamorous; Despite it being all-black, the outfit was certainly turning heads Looking impossibly youthful, Pamela made the most of her glowing dewy complexion, adding a touch of highlighter and blusher. Accentuating her bright blue peepers with lashings of mascara, she added a dab of nude lipstick to her bee-stung lips. And wearing her trademark golden tresses loose and sleek, her look was complete. Pamela says she has grown more confident throughout her life as she feels 'much more in control' nowadays. She told Refinery29: 'Im fairly comfortable in my skin. I love being a woman, soft, feminine, open. I do the best I can. I like to change the way I look. I feel much more in control these days. I rely less on what others tell me. No matter what we look like, sexy comes from within ... 'Nobody's perfect - imperfections are sexy. Our vulnerabilities are what makes us attractive and unique. I feel the same fears, pangs, questions, I just may have learned to enjoy those feelings. 'If you dont try, you never know. I think some boundaries have been placed on us by society, by other people. To enjoy life is to live as ones true self without interference or judgements. As long as we are safe, respectful and loving, we cannot make mistakes.' Making an entrance; Pamela layered on a sheer coat for her arrival Night on the town: Stepping out in London on Tuesday, the 49-year-old blonde beauty arrived at Annabel's private members club in Mayfair for an evening out Best foot forward! Showcasing her ample cleavage perfectly, Pamela drew attention to her curves in a lace plunging corset, teaming it with a coordinating skirt The actress shot to fame on Baywatch in the nineties, in which she showcased her enviable curves in a barely-there red swimsuit. Speaking about body confidence during shooting, she told Harper's Bazaar last year: 'I was really comfortable in my skin and I didn't care so much. 'I thought, nobody's perfect and imperfections are sexy. And you know, I would've been on the beach anyway, so I was shocked that they hired me and paid me. Standing out: And adding a quirky touch, the American actress teamed it with an extravagant hat and fascinator Natural beauty: Looking impossibly youthful, Pamela made the most of her glowing dewy complexion, adding a touch of highlighter and blusher 'I never thought I was a great-looking person or a great-looking woman.' The model has two sons, Dylan, 19, and Brandon, 20, with her first husband Tommy Lee, drummer of Motley Crue. Pamela is currently the face of erotic brand Coco De Mer, and stars in a very raunchy video for their upcoming Valentine's advert. The Baywatch babe is seen indulging in a solo sex act for the romantic day, rather than be conventionally wined and dined in the seriously raunchy clip. After picking up a sex toy, Pamela heads to her bed in the increasingly steamy advert and begins moaning in pleasure. The raunchy video ends with the meaningful words: 'No-one knows you better than you. Take your breath away this Valentine's Day.' Subtle: Accentuating her bright blue peepers with lashings of mascara, she added a dab of nude lipstick to her bee-stung lips Red bottoms! Pamela accentuated her stature in black patent Louboutin heels Meanwhile, Pamela has sparked rumours that she is dating WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange after being spotted visiting him for for at least the sixth time in five months. The Baywatch actress is rumoured to have struck up a romance with him while he is stuck inside the Ecuadorean Embassy in Knightsbridge. Assange, 44, is wanted for questioning in Sweden over a rape allegation from 2010, and has avoided extradition by living in the embassy since June 2012. Detail: She continued her Gothic look with a vampy burgundy manicure Anderson was today seen bringing vegan cheeseburgers from the Mildreds chain to Assange, who has been holed up in the embassy for five years. Anderson was first spotted at Assange's residence in September 2014. The meeting was set up for Anderson to try to persuade Assange to back her new foundation, which supports women who are victims of sexual abuse. Still going strong: The actress shot to fame on Baywatch in the nineties, in which she showcased her enviable curves in a barely-there red swimsuit It's the infamous I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here! challenge that last year brought Laurina Fleure to tears. And now, Ash Pollard has also broken down as she prepares to undertake the 'Viper Room' contest on the reality show, alongside fellow contestant Tzipporah Malkah (formerly known as Kate Fischer). Crew members had to rush in to stop Ash from hyperventilating as the challenge was outlined and safety precautions were detailed. Scroll down for video Terrified: Ash Pollard broke down in tears, and crew members rushed in to calm her, as she prepared for the infamous 'Viper Room' challenge, which will screen on Wednesday night's episode of I'm A Celebrity The challenge, which will screen on Wednesday night, requires Ash and Tziporah to enter a small underground chamber, and lie still in complete darkness as 100 snakes are unleashed into the confined space to slither around. 'Are you okay Ash?' the show's host Dr Chris Brown asked. 'No,' the star replied as she wiped away tears from her eyes. 'I'm just trying to keep it together.' Not okay: Ash responded 'No' when asked if she was okay, as she broke down in tears as the terrifying challenge was outlined Crew called in: Crew had to prevent Ash from hyperventilating as she panicked before the start of the task According to The Daily Telegraph, I'm A Celebrity producers have slightly revamped the challenge, adding water to make it 'bigger, better and scarier than ever before'. Water will slowly fill around Tziporah and Ash for twelve terrifying minutes. The longer the pair last inside the chamber, the more meals they will earn for their fellow contestants. Terrifying task: Ash Pollard (left) and Tziporah Malkah (right) looked less than impressed when it was initially revealed they were chosen to complete in the infamous I'm A Celebrity challenge known as the Viper Room Snakes released into the coffin-like chamber include red tailed boa constrictors, Burmese pythons and carpet pythons. Last year, model Laurina- who rose to fame on The Bachelor- survived the entire twelve minutes, as she endured the challenge solo. However, she was confronted with just 45 snakes, and no running water. Twelve minutes of terror: Laurina managed to last the entire time in the snake-filled chamber Intense: Last year, Laurina Fleure was chosen to enter the 'Viper Room' The new 'Viper Room' challenge will no doubt make for explosive television with Ash and Tziporah, who clashed on Tuesday night's episode of the show over the cooking of kosher meals. Ash, who prides herself on her culinary skills and is a former My Kitchen Rules contestant, was tasked with cooking kosher for Tziporah- who is an Orthodox Jew. However, when Tziporah complained that Ash would give her 'cold greasy meat' rather than something palatable, Ash stormed off and told the camera: 'We're not in a bloody 6-star restaurant. She should put a bra on too.' Jungle allies: Tziporah has kept close with shock jock Steve Price, after Tuesday night's episode saw her clash with Ash over kosher meals, before a disagreement with Nazeem and Tom Making headlines: Tziporah broke down in tears after clashing with Nazeem and Tom over geopolitics Meanwhile, Tziporah has made for captivating television, with the candid star opening up about her failed engagement to James Packer, her estrangement from her politician mother Pru Goward, and revelations that she has suffered an eating disorder and has not had sex for six years. Last night, Tziporah broke down after clashing with fellow stars Tom Arnold and Nazeem Hussain over the Israel/Palestine conflict. Kyle Sandilands is probably not best known as a shoulder to cry on in the wake of a marriage split. But it seems he's been just that for Karl Stefanovic, in the wake of the Today Show co-host's split from his wife of 21 years, Cassandra Thorburn. According to the KIIS FM host, the pair have been texting. 'You ain't gonna get laid wearing those shoes': Kyle Sandilands revealed he and Karl Stefanovic text each other with the shock jock's last message being a mix of fashion advice and getting back in the sack Comic relief? Kyle told co-host Jackie 'O' Henderson (right) his messages were more about fun than emotional Speaking on Wednesday morning's show, the shock jock claimed: 'He begs to hang out with me, it's almost embarrassing', before detailing his last text to Karl was a mix of fashion advice and getting back in the sack. 'He was wearing those ugly sandals and getting around town in those Birkenstocks,' Kyle explained to his co-host Jackie 'O' Henderson to give context to his message. 'I wrote: "Yo Bro, you ain't gonna get laid wearing those lesbian chef shoes, lose those asap". Apparently, the TV host's reply was: 'I'm trying to keep a low profile.' 'He came up with the lamest excuse ever for wearing the ugliest shoes on earth,' Kyle retorted. When Jackie pointed out that Eddie McGuire has been a more supportive friend to the Gold Logie winner, Kyle said his messages were more about fun. Split: Kyle says he's been helping Karl through his split from wife of 21-years, Cassandra Thorburn and says the TV host is 'begging' to hang out with him 'They were my rocks': Karl revealed Eddie McGuire and his wife Carla have been his support system in the tough times It comes after Karl praised Eddie and his wife Carla for their support, telling the Herald Sun: 'During the worst of it, Eddie and Carla McGuire, I could not fault them as people or as friends. 'For me they were rocks and their advice was incredible. 'They were tremendous.' Refreshed: Karl has recently returned to TV following a long break over the summer, where he spent time overseas and 'just slept for two months' Karl and Cassandra ended their marriage secretly last year, with the father-of-three believed to have moved into friend James Packer's Bondi bachelor pad. He recently broke his silence on the split, saying he hopes to 'rectify my failures' over the coming year and spend plenty of time with his children. Karl has recently returned to TV following a long break over the summer, where he spent time overseas and 'just slept for two months'. Amnesty accuses Syria of mass hangings in infamous jail Amnesty International on Tuesday accused Syria's government of hanging up to 13,000 people at a notorious prison over five years in a "policy of extermination", two weeks before planned peace talks. The damning report, titled "Human Slaughterhouse: Mass hanging and extermination at Saydnaya prison" near Damascus, details the gruesome ritual of mass hangings between 2011 and 2015. At least once a week, up to 50 prisoners were taken from their cells for arbitrary trials, beaten, then hanged "in the middle of the night and in total secrecy", the report said. Amnesty International found that at least once a week between 2011 and 2015, groups of up to 50 people at the Saydnaya prison near Damascus were taken out of their prison cells for arbitrary trials, beaten, then hanged Yoav LEMMER (AFP/File) "Throughout this process, they remain blindfolded. They do not know when or how they will die until the noose was placed around their necks." Most victims were civilians believed to be opposed to President Bashar al-Assad's government. "They kept them (hanging) there for 10 to 15 minutes," a former judge who witnessed the executions said. "For the young ones, their weight wouldn't kill them. The officers' assistants would pull them down and break their necks." Amnesty said the mass executions amounted to war crimes and crimes against humanity, but were probably still taking place. Hamid, a former army officer jailed in 2012, told Amnesty he was simultaneously horrified and relieved when he saw prisoners being taken to be hanged. "I felt happy that their suffering would come to an end." In comments published Tuesday, Assad insisted that "defending" his country in a time of war was more important than a potential case against his government at the highest UN court in The Hague. - 'We don't care' - "We have to defend our country by every mean, and when we have to defend it by every mean, we don't care about this court, or any other international institution," he said. Amnesty's report comes just two weeks before a new round of talks due to take place in Switzerland aimed at ending nearly six years of civil war. "The upcoming Syria peace talks in Geneva cannot ignore these findings. Ending these atrocities in Syrian government prisons must be put on the agenda," said Lynn Maalouf, deputy director for research at Amnesty's Beirut office. The High Negotiations Committee, set to represent Syria's opposition at the talks, said the investigation "leaves no doubts that the regime has carried out war crimes and crimes against humanity". The National Coalition, a leading opposition group based in Istanbul, demanded international observers be allowed "unobstructed access" to regime-run jails. Thousands of prisoners are held at the military-run Saydnaya prison, 30 kilometres (18 miles) north of Damascus and one of Syria's largest detention centres. Amnesty accused Syria's government of carrying out a "policy of extermination" there by repeatedly torturing detainees and withholding food, water and medical care. "All you see is blood: your own blood, the blood of others," Salam, a lawyer from Aleppo who was held there from 2012 to 2014, was quoted as saying. Prisoners were raped or forced to rape each other, and guards would feed detainees by tossing food onto cell floors which were often covered in dirt and blood, Amnesty said. - 'Hidden, monstrous campaign' - The watchdog has previously said that more than 17,700 people were estimated to have died in government custody in Syria since the conflict erupted in March 2011. That figure did not include the up to 13,000 people executed in Saydnaya. "The horrors depicted in this report reveal a hidden, monstrous campaign, authorised at the highest levels of the Syrian government, aimed at crushing any form of dissent within the Syrian population," said Maalouf. "The cold-blooded killing of thousands of defenceless prisoners, along with the carefully crafted and systematic programmes of psychological and physical torture that are in place inside Saydnaya prison cannot be allowed to continue." Amnesty said it gave the names of 87 prison officials and guards responsible for atrocities to unspecified "bodies capable of conducting credible investigations" into the killings. A UN investigation last year accused Assad's government of carrying out a policy of "extermination" in its jails. More than 310,000 people have been killed in Syria since the war began. Elsewhere, bombing raids early Tuesday against Syria's former Al-Qaeda affiliate killed 37 people, mostly civilians, a monitor said. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said nearly a dozen strikes hit Fateh al-Sham Front's headquarters in Idlib city, and that 24 civilians were among the dead. The Britain-based monitor said the raids were either carried out by a US-led coalition or by regime ally Russia, but Moscow denied involvement. A Pentagon spokesman later said US forces were behind "two precision airstrikes" on February 3 and 4 that targeted Abu Hani al-Masri, "a legacy Al-Qaeda terrorist". Results of those strikes were still being assessed. Amnesty International reports up to 13,000 hangings at Syrian prison John SAEKI (AFP) Satellite image of the Saydnaya prison -- one of Syria's largest detention centres -- one taken in 2010 (left) and the other taken in 2016 Trump administration defends travel ban in court The US Justice Department faced tough questioning as it urged a court of appeals to reinstate President Donald Trump's travel ban targeting citizens of seven Muslim-majority countries, put on hold in a legal challenge last week. The latest twist in the showdown comes four days after a federal judge suspended Trump's decree, re-opening US borders to the thousands of refugees and travelers who had been suddenly barred from the country. Three judges from an appellate court in San Francisco chaired an hour-long telephone hearing followed online by more than 130,000 people -- a record, the court said -- and broadcast live to millions more on television. US President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with county sheriffs in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington, DC, February 7, 2017 SAUL LOEB (AFP) During the high-stakes hearing, an attorney for the government argued that Trump's immigration curbs were motivated by national security concerns and that the federal judge had overstepped his authority in suspending them. "This is a traditional national security judgment that is assigned to the political branches and the president," Justice Department lawyer August Flentje argued. He said Trump had acted within his constitutional powers and those delegated to him by Congress in issuing the January 27 executive order in the interest of the United States. Tuesday's hearing was focused on whether to lift the suspension of the ban, not on the constitutionality of the decree itself -- a broader battle that looks likely to go all the way to the Supreme Court. The appeals court would probably rule later this week, a court spokesman said. The three-judge panel often appeared skeptical during the hearing, with Judge Richard Clifton at one point calling the government's argument "pretty abstract." The judges questioned Flentje about the evidence connecting the seven targeted countries to terrorism, and pressed him on whether the ban amounts to religious discrimination, as its opponents claim. - Is it a Muslim ban? - The White House insists the decree is in the interest of national security, giving the new administration time to beef up vetting procedures to keep potential terrorists out of the country. Its detractors claim it violates the constitution by discriminating against people on the basis of their religion. An attorney representing the states of Washington and Minnesota -- which brought the federal lawsuit against Trump's ban with support from numerous advocacy groups -- urged the judges to keep the decree on hold while the case runs its course. "It has always been the judicial branch's role to say what the law is and to serve as a check on abuses by the executive branch," Solicitor General Noah Purcell said. "That judicial rule has never been more important in recent memory than it is today, but the president is asking... to reinstate the executive order without full judicial review and throw this country back into chaos," he added. The states' counsel also came under sustained questioning, with Judge Clifton, a George W. Bush nominee, appearing unconvinced by his arguments that the ban amounted to religious discrimination. "I have trouble understanding why we're supposed to infer religious animus when in fact the vast majority of Muslims would not be affected," he said, pointing out that less than 15 percent of the world's Muslims were affected. Purcell argued that the states were not required to show that all Muslims would be affected but only that the ban was "motivated in part by a desire to harm Muslims." Experts believe the argument to reinstate the ban is facing an uphill struggle. Arthur Hellman, a law professor at the University of Pittsburgh, said although it is uncertain which way the judges are leaning in the case, he would be surprised if they side with the government. "He (Flentje) really had trouble with many of the questions and I don't think his answers satisfied the judges who were asking them," he said. "He just didn't seem as well prepared as I would expect a lawyer for the US government to be," he added. Trump's executive order barred entry to all refugees for 120 days, and to travelers from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen for 90 days, triggering chaos at US airports and worldwide condemnation. Refugees from Syria were barred indefinitely. - 'We feel confident' - Appearing to lay the groundwork in case of a setback, the White House earlier on Tuesday sought to play down the significance of the upcoming ruling. "All that's at issue tonight is the hearing is an interim decision on whether the president's order is enforced or not until the case is heard on the actual merits of the order," White House spokesman Sean Spicer told reporters. "That's why I think we feel confident." Hosting a group of American sheriffs at the White House on Tuesday, Trump hammered home the rationale for his decree as "common sense." He has lashed out at the Seattle judge who suspended his order, James Robart, as a "so-called" judge -- a slur that drew criticism from his own Republican camp -- and sought to pin blame on him, and courts in general, for potential future attacks on US soil. "Just cannot believe a judge would put our country in such peril," he tweeted on Sunday "If something happens blame him and court system. People pouring in. Bad!" The battle over Trump's immigration order Gillian HANDYSIDE, Kun TIAN, Vincent LEFAI (AFP) The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in San Francisco, California, where on February 7, 2017, three federal judges will hear oral arguments in the challenge to US President Donald Trump's travel ban Josh EDELSON (AFP) HARRISBURG Legislation began advancing in Pennsylvania on Monday to impose new restrictions on elective abortions as backers resumed a push that stalled last year amid a veto threat from the governor and opposition by the states largest doctors organization. A party-line committee vote Monday sent the bill to the full Senate. Even though it still requires floor votes in the House and Senate, the bill is expected to eventually reach Democratic Gov. Tom Wolfs desk. Clear majorities in Pennsylvanias GOP-controlled House and Senate oppose abortion rights, but it is not clear that supporters are numerous enough to override a veto. Wolf, who supports abortion rights, called the bill radical and unconstitutional and vowed to veto it. Last year, a nearly identical version passed the House, 132-65, but it stalled just short of a Senate vote and died. The primary feature of the bill would ban elective abortions after 20 weeks from a pregnant womans last menstrual period, compared with 24 weeks in current law. As many as 16 states have a similar ban, not including an Ohio law that will take effect in March, according to the nonprofit Guttmacher Institute, a research group that supports abortion rights. Supporters said the 20-week limit reflected medical advances that make fetuses viable at earlier stages of pregnancy. In a charged Judiciary Committee debate, Democrats accused Republicans of bypassing hearings on the bill and muscling through confusing legislation that could have consequences for families that are dealing with complicated medical circumstances. The bill also would ban a procedure it calls a dismemberment abortion before 20 weeks and make it a felony to violate it. Supporters said the ban does not apply to a procedure commonly called a dilation-and-evacuation procedure, the most common method of second-trimester abortion. The term dismemberment abortion is not used by medical professionals or groups, such as the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, and opponents suggested the bill would have the effect of banning the dilation-and-evacuation procedure after 20 weeks. Seven states ban the dilation-and-evacuation procedure, according to the Guttmacher Institute. The bill would leave in place exceptions for when a physician believes the procedure would save the mothers life or prevent the impairment of a major bodily function of a pregnant woman. It does not offer exceptions for pregnancies caused by rape and incest. It also would add a requirement that a medical consultation with a physician be in person before an abortion. The Pennsylvania Medical Society opposes the bill. In a letter sent to lawmakers last year, the doctors group said the proposed changes would interfere with the relationship between physicians and patients and set a dangerous precedent by legislating specific treatment protocols. China likely to build on reef near Philippines: minister Manila expects China to try to build on a reef off the coast of the Philippines, the country's defence secretary said Tuesday, adding this would be "unacceptable" in the flashpoint waterway. In an interview with AFP, Delfin Lorenzana said he believed China would eventually reclaim Scarborough Shoal, just 230 kilometres (143 miles) from the main Philippine island of Luzon. Beijing has already built up a number of islets and reefs in the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea, installing military facilities on several of them. Members of China's South Sea Fleet taking part in a drill in the Xisha Islands, or the Paracel Islands in the South China Sea in May 2016 Analysts say similar installations on nearby Scarborough Shoal could give China effective military control over the disputed Sea -- something the US has said it is not prepared to accept. "They encroached," Lorenzana said of a 2012 confrontation that saw Philippine vessels displaced from the shoal. "They occupied three islands there (in the Spratlys) plus they are trying to get Scarborough. So to us that is unacceptable". "If we allow them, they will build. That's very, very disturbing. Very much (more) disturbing than Fiery Cross because this is so close to us," Lorenzana added, referring to one of the Philippine-claimed reefs China has built on. Because of its position, another military outpost at Scarborough Shoal is seen as the last major physical step required to secure control of the sea. An outpost there would also put Chinese fighter jets and missiles within easy striking distance of US forces stationed in the Philippines. The shoal also commands the northeast exit of the sea, so a Chinese military outpost there could stop other countries' navies from using the waterway. A UN-backed tribunal -- in a case brought by Manila under then-president Benigno Aquino -- ruled last year that the so-called "nine-dash-line" which underpins Beijing's claim to most of the South China Sea had no legal basis. But his successor Rodrigo Duterte has courted China and backed away from his country's close relationship with the United States. Lorenzana said the Chinese island reclamation was intended to secure control of the South China Sea. "That could be their strategy to counter any superpower that would encroach on South China Sea because they believe South China Sea is -- that's like their lake to them -- theirs," he added. - 'Red line' - The administration of new US President Donald Trump has indicated it will push back against any Chinese attempt to bolster control of the sea. During confirmation hearings, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said the US would block Chinese access to reclaimed islands, although analysts have pointed out that this would require a military blockade -- an act of war. Lorenzana called Tillerson's remark "very troubling", adding the Philippines would become the battleground if conflict broke out between the two superpowers. He added that China tried to build on Scarborough last year but American warnings stopped them. "The Americans, that's their red line. Red line meaning you can't do that there, so they (China) did not do it." "If we had a strong military presence (in the South China Sea), we can stop them (China) but we don't. I am still hoping in the future some reasonable guy there in Beijing will come to see the light that this is ours." "That is shooting for the moon but who knows?" Lorenzana added. He said the Philippines would soon repair a runway on Thitu island, one of its garrisoned features in the Spratlys which he planned to visit, and put up "additional barracks for the marines there". Landmark EU-US data privacy court case opens in Dublin A campaign by Austrian privacy lawyer Max Schrems against Facebook's transfer of personal data from Europe to the US is being heard in an Irish court from Tuesday, the latest twist in a long legal battle. The landmark case in Ireland, where the US tech giant has its European headquarters, will have serious repercussions for personal privacy policies and trans-Atlantic business. The US government will be allowed to make representations to the court, underlining the importance of the case. Austrian privacy campaigner Max Schrems wants to stop Facebook's transfer of personal data from Europe to the US JOE KLAMAR (AFP/File) Ireland's Data Protection Commissioner (DPC) is asking the country's High Court to refer the mechanisms used to transfer data between the EU and the US to the European Court of Justice, saying that such issues cannot be decided at national level. The legal action follows a complaint to the DPC by Schrems about Facebook's use of so-called standard contractual clauses (SCCs) to transfer personal data from Europe to the US. In a provisional finding, the watchdog last year said Schrems's argument against the tech giant was "well founded". SCCs are now widely used by data exporters and are intended to allow for the legal transfer of data from EU citizens as long as "adequate protection" is in place. Mason Hayes & Curran, the Dublin-based legal team acting for Facebook, earlier warned in a briefing note of the negative impact a defeat would have on its client and other multinationals. "The widespread interest in this case arises, in part, from the potential economic and commercial consequences that could flow from a ruling that the SCC decisions are invalid," it said. The lawyers quoted estimates saying that if services and cross-border data flows were to be disrupted, the European Union's gross domestic product (GDP) could be hit by as much as 1.3 percentage points. - No redress? - Facebook argues there is nothing wrong with the current system and that there is no need for a referral. It was forced to switch to SCCs last year after the European Court of Justice ruled in 2015 that the Safe Harbour framework, which had governed the EU-US flow of personal data, contravened EU law because the privacy of European citizens could not be guaranteed in the US. The SCCs are considered as something of a stopgap measure designed to allow the transfer of data, pending agreement on a more comprehensive regime. Schrems, whose complaints eventually led to the demise of Safe Harbour, is a party to the proceedings alongside Facebook. He argues that the Irish watchdog already has the power to stop data transfers from Facebook and should use it. He also says that the SCCs offer no redress for European citizens in the US in the event of their data being accessed by a third party, such as US intelligence services, or compromised in some other way. Catholic Church beatifies Japanese samurai A Japanese Christian samurai who died in exile about 400 years ago after refusing to renounce his faith was beatified by the Catholic Church in an elaborate mass on Tuesday. About 12,000 people attended the ceremony for Takayama Ukon in Osaka which was conducted by Cardinal Angelo Amato, representing Pope Francis, and is a step on the path to possible sainthood. Christianity came to Japan in 1549, introduced by Jesuit missionary Francis Xavier and for decades the faith made dramatic inroads before coming under official persecution in the late 16th and 17th centuries that forced it underground. An illustration of Christian Samurai Takayama Ukon (1553-1615) -- as depicted by Japanese artist Kazuko Mimaki -- is projected onto a screen during a beatification ceremony in Osaka, on February 7, 2017 Takayama, born in 1552, was a renowned feudal warlord who protected Christians at a time when authorities attempted to stamp out all vestiges of the religion. He died in Manila in 1615 in exile after refusing to renounce the faith as demanded by the shogun, or military ruler of Japan, who viewed Christianity as a threat to national security and independence as Western colonialism made inroads in Asia. In the ceremony Tuesday, hundreds sang in a choir, while red-robed clergy read from the Bible. Amato, reading an Apostolic Letter from Francis, "proclaimed as Blessed" Takayama, lauded as a man who chose faith over worldly success and material comfort. His beatification coincides with renewed attention on the history of Christianity in Japan with the release of the Martin Scorsese movie "Silence". The film, a pet project of the renowned American director, chronicles the plight of Jesuit missionaries in Japan when Christians were tortured to force them to renounce their faith. The movie was adapted from Japanese author Shusaku Endo's 1966 novel of the same name. Christianity was initially met with a mix of curiosity and acceptance among members of the Japanese public. Its popularity spread and there were an estimated 220,000 to 300,000 followers in Japan in the early 1600s out of a population of 15-20 million. But powerful warlords with national influence, cognisant of the Spanish takeover of the Philippines, began to fear the foreign faith and efforts to erase it began in 1587. Missionaries were expelled, while Japanese adherents were ordered to publicly renounce their faith, sometimes by stepping on a likeness of Jesus or the Virgin Mary. In 1614, the government banned Christianity completely. Takayama, who was acclaimed as a master of Japanese tea ceremony, was not subject to abuse when he refused to renounce his faith unlike many of his fellow believers. US tight-lipped as Israel settler law sparks world outrage The United States was conspicuously tight-lipped Tuesday amid a world outcry over a new Israeli law allowing the appropriation of private Palestinian land for Jewish settler outposts. The United Nations, the European Union and the Arab League were just some of those coming out against the legislation passed in parliament late Monday. "This bill is in contravention of international law and will have far reaching legal consequences for Israel," UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said in a statement. Israel recently unveiled plans for 3,000 new homes for Jewish settlers in the occupied West Bank AHMAD GHARABLI (AFP/File) "The European Union condemns the recent adoption of the 'Regularisation Law'," foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said, arguing it "crosses a new and dangerous threshold by legalising under Israeli law the seizure of Palestinian property rights". The law legalises dozens of wildcat outposts and thousands of settler homes in the occupied West Bank, and prompted a Palestinian call for the international community to punish Israel. Pro-Palestinian Israeli NGOs said they would ask the Supreme Court to strike down the law, and opposition leader Isaac Herzog warned the legislation could result in Israeli officials facing the International Criminal Court. Washington refused direct comment, in stark contrast to the settlement criticism repeatedly voiced under Barack Obama. "Prime Minister (Benjamin) Netanyahu will be here on February 15. I don't want to get ahead of that now," White House spokesman Sean Spicer said. The US State Department said President Donald Trump's new administration "needs to have the chance to fully consult with all parties on the way forward". - 'Stealing Palestinian land' - France called the bill a "new attack on the two-state solution", while Britain said it "damages Israel's standing with its international partners". Turkey "strongly condemned" the law and Israel's "unacceptable" settlement policy, and the Arab League accused Israel of "stealing the land and appropriating the property of Palestinians". Britain and Israel's Arab neighbour Jordan also expressed concern. Separately to the new law, Israel has approved more than 6,000 settler homes since Trump took office on January 20 having signalled a softer stance on the issue than his predecessor. The law, which passed 60 to 52 in its final reading, will allow Israel to legally seize Palestinian private land on which Israelis built outposts without knowing it was private property or because the state allowed them to do so. Palestinian owners will be compensated financially or with other land. It would apply to around 53 outposts as well as some houses within existing settlements, potentially legalising more than 3,800 homes, according to anti-settlement NGO Peace Now, which called the law "another step towards annexation and away from a two-state solution". The law could still be challenged, with Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman saying last week it was likely to be struck down by the Supreme Court. International law considers all settlements illegal, but Israel distinguishes between those it sanctions and those it does not, which are known as outposts. - Protection for settlers - The new law would protect settlers against eviction from outposts discovered to have been built on private Palestinian lands such as in the case of Amona, where 42 families were evicted and their homes demolished in recent days by order of Israel's Supreme Court. To some Israelis, the law reflects their God-given right over the territory, regardless of the courts, the Palestinians and the international community. "All of the Land of Israel belongs to the Jewish people," said Science Minister Ofir Akunis of Netanyahu's Likud party, using the biblical term that includes the West Bank. "This right is eternal and indisputable." Palestinian official Hanan Ashrawi called for the international community to assume its "moral, human and legal responsibilities and put an end to Israel's lawlessness". The act marked the first time Israel applied its civil law to land in the West Bank recognised as Palestinian, law professor Amichai Cohen told AFP. UN Middle East peace envoy Nickolay Mladenov also raised the possibility of potential court cases in the International Criminal Court against Israeli officials. Israeli Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit has also warned the government that the law may be unconstitutional and risks exposing Israel to international prosecution for war crimes. Human Rights Watch said the legislation "reflects Israel's manifest disregard of international law". "The Trump administration cannot shield them from the scrutiny of the International Criminal Court," HRW warned. Bezalel Smotrich of the far-right Jewish Home party, one of the forces behind the legislation, thanked the American people for electing Trump as president, "without whom the law would have probably not passed". Jewish settlements in the West Bank AFP (AFP) Israel's Labour Party leader and opposition head Isaac Herzog warned new legislation on West Bank settlements could result in officials facing the International Criminal Court MENAHEM KAHANA (AFP/File) Air strikes on Syrian ex-Qaeda branch kill 37: monitor Air strikes on Al-Qaeda's former affiliate in Syria on Tuesday killed 37 people in the country's northwest, most of them civilians, a monitoring group said. The headquarters of Fateh al-Sham Front and the surrounding neighbourhood in Idlib city were battered by at least 10 strikes at dawn, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. The Observatory, which relies on a network of sources in Syria for its reports, said the death toll included 24 civilians, mostly women and children. Local men and Civil Defence volunteers search for survivors amid the rubble of a building in the northwestern Syrian city of Idlib on February 7, 2017, following a reported air strike the previous night Mohamed AL-BAKOUR (AFP) Observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman said the raids were probably carried out by Russian warplanes -- allied with Syria's government -- or by a US-backed air coalition. But Russia quickly denied it had struck Idlib. "Russian military planes did not carry out a single strike in Idlib yesterday, or this week, or even since the beginning of 2017," the defence ministry in Moscow said. "Any information on these strikes are well-known lies." Russia has waged a fierce bombing campaign in support of the Damascus regime since September 2015, a year after the US-led coalition began its own strikes against jihadist groups. Fateh al-Sham has come under increasing pressure in recent weeks in Idlib province, the only remaining opposition-held province in war-ravaged Syria. Bombing raids against the group have escalated, including one US strike in January that killed more than 100 fighters at a training camp in Idlib province. On Tuesday, a Pentagon spokesman said US forces targeted Al-Qaeda operatives "in two precision strikes" on February 3 and 4. "The February 4 strike targeted Abu Hani al-Masri, a legacy Al-Qaeda terrorist with ties to the group's senior leaders, including Ayman al-Zawahiri and Osama bin Laden," Eric Pahon said. "We are assessing the results of those strikes and will announce definitive results as soon as practicable." The US-led coalition has mostly focused on Fateh al-Sham's jihadist rival, the Islamic State group, but it has also hit operatives from other factions. Rebel groups have held Idlib province since the spring of 2015, four years after the Syria conflict first broke out. Russia calls regional conference on Afghanistan Russia on Tuesday said it was convening a conference of leading regional powers on Afghanistan and pushed again for talks with the Taliban. Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov confirmed Moscow would host a meeting in mid-February with representatives from Afghanistan, Pakistan, China, Iran and India during a press conference with his counterpart from Kabul Salahuddin Rabbani. "We are expecting that our partners will be represented at a high level. Most have confirmed their participation," Lavrov said. Afghan soldiers patrol the scene of a clash with Taliban militants in Helmand province on May 13, 2015 NOOR MOHAMMAD (AFP/File) Lavrov reiterated Moscow's stance that "the Taliban must be included in a constructive dialogue" to help find a solution to halt worsening violence in the war-ravaged nation at a time the Islamic State group has expanded its presence. Russia's meeting does not include Western powers who have had troops in the country since the American-led invasion in 2001, but Lavrov said Moscow was hoping better ties with US President Donald Trump could jump-start cooperation over Afghanistan. US 2016 trade deficit highest in four years The US trade deficit in 2016 expanded to its highest level in four years as exports fell faster than imports, the Commerce Department reported Tuesday, a fact likely to play into President Donald Trump's anti-trade narrative. But in December the deficit narrowed slightly, with services exports rising to their highest monthly level on record. The annual deficit for goods and services stood at $502.3 billion, up 0.4 percent compared to 2015 but 6.4 percent below the 2012 trade gap. US annual deficit for goods and services stood at $502.3 billion, up 0.4 percent compared to 2015 but 6.4 percent below the 2012 trade gap DAVID MCNEW (AFP/File) The deficit for December fell just over three percent from November to $44.3 billion, slightly below an analyst consensus forecast, partly due to robust growth in some US export sectors. Services exports rose to a record $63.8 billion in the final month of the year, and exports of advance technology goods hit $32.2 billion, also the highest on record. Auto-related exports to China, Canada and Mexico fell in the month. However, the deficit in goods trade narrowed with several major trading partners in 2016, an issue that has been repeatedly flagged by Trump. Americans imported fewer Chinese goods, lowering the trade deficit with that country by 5.4 percent to $347 billion last year despite falling auto exports. The US deficit in goods with Germany also shrank 13 percent to $64.9 billion for the year. However the imbalance with Mexico rose by more than four percent to $63.2 billion. Ian Shepherdson, chief economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics, noted that the December deficit decrease was offset by a one percent upward revision to November's deficit. "A $1.2 rebound in the civilian aircraft surplus accounted for most of the decline in the headline deficit, but core trade -- ex-oil and aircraft -- improved slightly too," he said in a client note. Italy's 'anti-Trump' bid to integrate migrants As US President Donald Trump's anti-Muslim decree fuels a tumultuous global debate, Italy is quietly experimenting with an integration project to better the lives of both asylum seekers and locals. Snow falls thick and fast in Belluno, a town at the foot of the Dolomites, but a group of young men from across Africa works cheerfully to clean up the grounds of a military barrack that is to become a new cultural centre. "It's the first time I've seen the snow; I love it and I love this project," Nawaz Tashawar, a 35-year-old from Pakistan, told AFP with a shy grin last week. Immigrants from Africa and Asia clean an unused military base in Belluno, northern Italy, part of a programme for integrating the thousands of migrants in the country MIGUEL MEDINA (AFP) From Cameroon, the Ivory Coast, Niger, Nigeria and Senegal, they have been posted to this industrial heartland of 35,000 inhabitants near Venice, earning their keep by working without pay in parks, kitchens and schools. The government has been watching, and is expected to unveil plans Wednesday to take the project nationwide, making it compulsory for those waiting for the verdict on their asylum requests to work as volunteers. "We'd be at home doing nothing, we have no work, we'd simply eat, sleep," said Paul Adjei from the Ivory Coast. "So we decided together to help the town, so it can move forwards." The question of what to do with the thousands of people arriving in Italy each year has proved divisive. There are over 175,000 asylum seekers languishing in reception centres as they wait for their applications to be processed, which can take up to two years. "Many cannot bear not doing anything," Carlotta Sami, a spokeswoman for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), told AFP. "So making themselves useful for a few hours a day for the community that is welcoming them can be a good thing for them psychologically," she said. Migrants in Italy are allowed to start working two months after they lodge their application for asylum, but jobs are thin on the ground. - 'Need to invest' - The government is expected to pledge next week to speed up the repatriation of those refused permission to stay, but has had difficulties sealing deals with many countries. It will also warn regional councils across Italy that asylum seekers will be spread more evenly, with 2.5 migrants to every 1,000 residents -- a plan that has been denounced by some mayors who say they have neither the resources nor the will to host outsiders. Belluno, which has a left-wing mayor but sits in the middle of anti-immigrant Northern League territory, is not complaining. The 100 or so migrants here have painted the town's railings and school gates and mowed lawns in parks under the supervision of local associations. The project, launched in 2014, is based on the idea that autonomy can facilitate lasting integration. Instead of forcing asylum seekers to live in tent camps or large centres, they are given small apartments to share, and do their own shopping and cooking. Mayor Jacopo Massaro laughs off the suggestion that he is the antithesis of Trump and other advocates of walls to keep migrants out. "I don't feel like an anti-Trump, no! To put it simply, we thought that what with the difficulties Italy and Europe are experiencing, we all need to invest a little to resolve a problem that is bigger than us", he said. - A helping hand - The flow of people from the coasts of northern Africa to Italy -- 170,000 in 2014, 150,000 in 2015 and 181,000 last year -- has resulted in the biggest migrant crisis since World War Two. But as Italy groans under the pressure, the idea of making asylum seekers work for free has angered those who say the country should be tackling its unemployment problem. Youth unemployment in the country stood at 40 percent in December. Massaro says that the migrants are doing jobs the town cannot afford, and that "we have not taken away work from anyone". Not everyone, however, is keen to work without pay. "We cannot be left with nothing in our pockets, we need more. We need a job," Adjei said. The programme houses migrants in apartments, instead of leaving them in tent camps or reception centres MIGUEL MEDINA (AFP) "We all need to invest a little to resolve a problem that is bigger than us," said Jacopo Massaro, Belluno's mayor MIGUEL MEDINA (AFP) The 100 or so migrants in Belluno have been painting the town's railings and school gates and mowing lawns in parks MIGUEL MEDINA (AFP) Elite I. Coast troops fire protest shots at two bases Ivorian special forces troops fired in the air in towns in the north and south of the country on Tuesday, weeks after soldiers and security forces mutinied over pay in the west African nation. The gunfire follows deadly protests across the country last month that left four dead, shut down Abidjan port -- one of Africa's biggest -- and disrupted business in the world's top cocoa producer. The angry troops appeared to be angling for a deal with the government along the lines of one struck with mutinous soldiers in January that offered some of them large one-off lump sum payments. Ivorian soldiers, part of a group sent from Bouake as reinforcements, drive down a road in Yamoussoukro on January 17, 2017 Sia KAMBOU (AFP/File) The first reports of protest action by the elite special forces on Tuesday came from the barracks town of Adiake, east of the commercial capital Abidjan. There were similar scenes at Tengrela, some 850 kilometres (530 miles) north of Abidjan, near the Mali border, where the special forces have been deployed to counter the jihadist threat. "There is shooting all over the place. I closed my shop," Adiake resident Mariame Coulibaly told AFP by telephone. "There are soldiers in the streets" another resident said. "The town is paralysed. The schools have closed, sending all the pupils home". Adiake is home to a maritime base that trains marine commandos and provides coastal surveillance in an area that shares a border with Ghana. The special forces also have a base in the area. Special forces commander Lassina Doumbia was heading to the town to investigate the situation, a defence ministry source told AFP. - Firing outside school - In Tengrela, a resident said special forces troops opened fire Tuesday morning in front of a high school. "My children were scared and came home," one resident called Bemba told AFP. "We don't know why this happened." The school's headmaster said that the firing had later stopped and that he was asking pupils to return. Troops first launched a mutiny over pay on January 5. The initial protests were quelled when the government reached a deal with 8,500 mutineers, agreeing to give them 12 million CFA francs (18,000 euros, $19,000) each. However more soldiers have since taken to the streets demanding similar bonuses. Last year Ivory Coast approved an ambitious military planning budget seeking to modernise the army and buy new equipment. But even that 1.2 billion euros pot would not be enough to offer similar payments to all the country's 23,000 member of the security forces. The revolt has seen President Alassane Ouattara order major changes in the top security ranks -- the armed forces' chief of staff, the senior commander of the national gendarmerie and the director-general of the police. The International Monetary Fund said in December that Ivory Coast was on track towards becoming the continent's fastest-growing economy. The mutinies, however, raised fears the country might slip back into deadly unrest. A rebellion which erupted in 2002 was a failed attempt to oust then-president Laurent Gbagbo. The revolt sliced the former French colony into the rebel-held north and the government-controlled south and triggered years of unrest. Adiake is home to a maritime base that trains Ivorian marine commandos and provides coastal surveillance in this area that shares a maritime border with Ghana Sia KAMBOU (AFP/File) Saydnaya prison: Syria's 'human slaughterhouse' The Saydnaya prison, where Syria's regime has been accused of executing thousands of people in mass hangings, is a notorious detention facility near Damascus known as the "human slaughterhouse". The military-run facility, located 30 kilometres (18 miles) north of the capital, is one of Syria's largest detention centres. The building, whose shape resembles a three-bladed ceiling fan, was reportedly constructed in 1987 to accommodate 5,000 inmates. Satellite image of the Saydnaya prison, one of Syria's largest detention centres, one taken in 2010 (left) and the other taken in 2016 But since the war erupted in March 2011 it has been used to house between 10,000 and 20,000 people, according to Amnesty International, which says most are activists, Islamists and opponents of the government. In a chilling report released Tuesday, Amnesty calls Saydnaya a "human slaughterhouse" where the government executed by hanging up to 13,000 people between 2011 and 2015. The damning account cites survivors who witnessed what Amnesty called "a policy of extermination" during which prisoners were tortured and raped while being systematically denied food, water and medicine. "The bodies of Saydnaya's victims are taken away by the truckload and buried in mass graves" on military land near Damascus, according to Amnesty. No international observer has ever set foot inside the Syrian prison, according to Amnesty International. But last year a team of London-based designers managed to create a 3D model of it in harrowing detail, based on Amnesty's interviews with former detainees. A former prisoner told the human rights watchdog that there are 48 solitary confinement cells in one ward measuring just 1.80 metres by two metres or two metres by 2.5 metres. They were allegedly often used to lock up 15 people, with light being filtered through tiny holes and only for a few hours a day. Group cells were even more cramped, with 28 prisoners packed inside, and they had to kneel, their backs to the door, and their hands covering their eyes each time a guard came in, recalled the witness. "The majority of survivors told Amnesty International that the abuse would begin instantly upon their arrest and during transfers, even before they set foot in a detention centre," said last year's report. "Upon arrival at a detention facility detainees described a 'welcome party' ritual involving severe beatings, often using silicone or metal bars or electric cables," it added. Amnesty also gave a horrendous account of the methods used by prison officials to interrogate prisoners, in its 2016 report. "Common methods included dulab (forcibly contorting the victim's body into a rubber tyre) and falaqa (flogging on the soles of the feet)," it said. "Detainees also faced electric shocks, or rape and sexual violence, had their fingernails or toenails pulled out, were scalded with hot water or burned with cigarettes." Amnesty says it has been tracking abuse at Saydnaya for years, including a two-day riot in 2008 during which at least 17 prisoners and five military police died. More than 50 prisoners disappeared following the riot, said the London-based watchdog. Amnesty International reports up to 13,000 hangings at Syrian prison John SAEKI (AFP) GETTYSBURG A bald eagle flying around the Gettysburg area is getting a lot of attention for a steel animal trap hooked onto its talons. Codorus State Park volunteer Karen Lippy says shes been searching for the bird the past three days. Lippy says Monday she and volunteer Wendy Looker drove around for five hours trying to find the bird. She believes they found the birds nest on private property in Bonneauville, Pennsylvania. Tuesday morning, the volunteers set up a scope and took pictures. There are two birds in the nest, and they believe the male has the trap on his talons. The volunteers say one of the birds toes is turning black, which means it is dying and could lead to an infection in the birds body that may lead to the birds death. If the bird is in good condition, it will go into the Rehabitat Inc., program until it can be well enough to be released. Lippy says a volunteer has already reached out willing to pay for the birds foot surgery bill. Pence breaks tie to confirm US education pick DeVos President Donald Trump's administration claimed a victory over Democrats Tuesday with the US Senate's confirmation of Betsy DeVos as education secretary, after Vice President Mike Pence cast a historic tie-breaking vote. The chamber deadlocked at 50-50, with two Republicans breaking ranks to oppose Trump's hotly contested nominee, a billionaire who champions using taxpayer monies to help fund privately run schools. Pence was needed to break the tie, the first time a sitting vice president has ever cast a deciding vote for a cabinet pick. Newly confirmed Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, is seen testifying January 17, 2017, during her confirmation hearing before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee CHIP SOMODEVILLA (GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/AFP/File) The White House applauded the confirmation, with spokesman Sean Spicer saying DeVos "will ensure that every student has access to a good school, whether it's public, private or charter." But Pence trooping up to the Capitol to salvage DeVos's nomination was lousy optics for the administration as Trump struggles to get his cabinet in place. Just five of 15 cabinet members have now been confirmed, in addition to the cabinet-rank positions of CIA director and US ambassador to the United Nations. By the same time in 2008, all but three members of president Barack Obama's cabinet were in place. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell blasted Democrats for slow-walking nominees, saying they ought to "get over the election (and) let this administration get up and get running." McConnell has placed the nominations for attorney general, health secretary and head of US Treasury on the calendar. "All should be confirmed this week," he said. - Contentious pick - DeVos, the 59-year-old political scion from Michigan, had triggered an outpouring of frustration and anger late last year, as critics blasted Trump's education pick as someone who had never attended public schools or worked in the public school system. Two moderate Republicans, Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski, bucked Trump and opposed his choice, citing DeVos's lack of qualifications for the post that oversees thousands of schools, millions of students and curriculum standards. Democrats were unable to convince another Republican to defect, despite intense lobbying that culminated with an all-night Democratic talk-a-thon late Monday into Tuesday on the Senate floor. "I thought we had some chance," said top Senate Democrat Chuck Schumer. "We realized even if we didn't, to make the point that DeVos was so anti-public education was an important point to make." Several Democrats highlighted lingering questions about DeVos's financial entanglements and her apparent lack of understanding about basic education issues. Supporters praise the politically-connected businesswoman and philanthropist as a fierce advocate of school choice, a US movement that seeks to use tax credits and vouchers to allow parents to opt out of the public school system in favor of privately managed charter schools for their children. - 'Local control' - Republican Senator Rob Portman said DeVos would not rule with a heavy hand from Washington. "She strongly supports local control of education and has pledged not to impose her own views on states and local school districts, but rather to allow them -- along with parents -- to make the decisions that best fit the needs of their children," Portman said. The president has strongly criticized Democrats for opposing his cabinet nominations, tweeting that they should be "ashamed of themselves" for obstructing the process. One nominee that Democrats have pushed back sharply against is one of the Senate's own, US attorney general nominee Senator Jeff Sessions, an early Trump backer during the presidential campaign. Sessions endured a contentious hearing, during which Democrats questioned his civil rights record and his opposition to immigration. His colleagues voted to advance his nomination, setting up a confirmation vote for this week. DeVos is less well known than Sessions. But she is a fixture in the education world, having served on the boards of non-profit groups that support school choice. "Parents no longer believe that a one-size-fits-all model of learning meets the needs of every child, and they know other options exist -- whether magnet, virtual, charter, home, religious or any combination thereof," she said at her confirmation hearing. Until her nomination, she chaired the American Federation for Children, a DeVos family umbrella organization that supports advancement of school choice outside of Michigan. "Our work in Michigan was so successful that some of our friends in the movement began to say, 'We really need to do this nationally,'" DeVos said in a 2013 interview with the Philanthropy Roundtable. "And I said, 'Yes, I think we do.'" Betsy DeVos Jean Michel CORNU, Vincent LEFAI (AFP) US Vice President Mike Pence (C) arrives on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, February 7, 2017 JIM WATSON (AFP) Air Force general urges caution in accelerating IS air war The head of the US Air Force urged caution Tuesday in increasing the pace of the air war against the Islamic State group in Iraq and Syria. President Donald Trump made accelerating the fight against IS a central plank of his campaign and has pledged to intensify bombing of the jihadist group. General David Goldfein told journalists that air strikes must remain synchronized with the progress of coalition-backed local ground forces, as well as with political and diplomatic efforts. US Gen. David Goldfein, seen in 2016, told journalists that anti-IS air strikes must remain synchronized with the progress of coalition-backed local ground forces, as well as with political and diplomatic efforts CHIP SOMODEVILLA (GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/AFP/File) And he warned against loosening rules of engagement that could result in greater numbers of civilian casualties. "One of the things I am very proud of is that we have never lost sight of the fact that we go to war with our values," he said. "Short-terms gains that may be accomplished by rapid increases in the number of weapons or numbers of sorties pale in comparison to long-term costs if we were to step away from how we fight, which is as a nation of values," he added. Trump has given top military brass until the end of February to come up with a revised plan to defeat IS. The US-led coalition has already carried out more than 18,000 air strikes since the beginning of the campaign in late summer 2014. Syrian prisons: accusations of torture and executions The Syrian regime, accused by Amnesty International of large-scale hangings, had already been criticised for torture and summary executions in its prisons and intelligence services headquarters. Amnesty said on Tuesday as many as 13,000 people were hanged in five years at the notorious Saydnaya military-run prison near Damascus, accusing the regime of a "policy of extermination". Here are some of the accusations that have been made against the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Amnesty International reports up to 13,000 hangings at Syrian prison John SAEKI (AFP) - 'Torture archipelago' - On July 3, 2012, US-based rights group Human Rights Watch said Syria was holding tens of thousands of detainees in a "torture archipelago". It documented 27 detention facilities across Syria it said were used to hold people swept up in the government's crackdown on protesters and carried out more than 200 interviews with former detainees, military and intelligence defectors. "Almost all" described experiencing or witnessing torture, including "prolonged beatings, often with objects such as batons and wires", said HRW. Other methods included "holding the detainees in painful stress positions for prolonged periods of time, often with the use of specially devised equipment, the use of electricity, burning with car battery acid, sexual assault and humiliation, the pulling of fingernails, and mock execution." The New York-based watchdog said detainees were also being held in stadiums, military bases, schools and hospitals. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says at least 60,000 people have died over five years from torture or harsh conditions in regime prisons. The Britain-based monitor says half a million people have passed through regime jails since the start of the conflict in March 2011. - Photographer reveals abuses - In 2014, a former Syrian military photographer codenamed "Caesar" who defected, revealed 55,000 photos which gave a glimpse of some of the abuses being committed in Syrian jails. The digital images of 11,000 dead detainees showed emaciated bodies and "Caesar" described seeing corpses with "deep wounds and burns and strangulations". On September 15, 2015, France launched an inquiry into alleged crimes against humanity carried out by Syria's regime, largely based on those pictures. And the UN General Assembly in December agreed to begin gathering evidence on war crimes in Syria as a first step towards prosecuting those responsible for atrocities there. - 'Extermination' - On February 8, 2016, a UN investigator told media in Geneva that "the mass scale of deaths of detainees suggests that the government of Syria is responsible for acts that amount to extermination as a crime against humanity." The deaths were the result of state policies that targeted the civilian population, the investigator said. - 'Human slaughterhouse' - On August 18, 2016, Amnesty estimated that 17,700 people had died in regime prisons since the start of Syria's war. It cited prisoners who described "appalling abuse and inhuman conditions" in intelligence agency detention centres and in Saydnaya prison. Electrocution, scalding with boiling water and rape were among the forms of torture practised on a "large scale", the watchdog said. In a February report titled "Human Slaughterhouse: Mass hanging and extermination at Saydnaya prison", Amnesty said another 13,000 people had died in group executions there. It said the gruesome mass hanging rituals amounted to war crimes and crimes against humanity and were likely still taking place. US could ask visa applicants for social media passwords US embassies could ask visa applicants for passwords to their own social media accounts in future background checks, Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly said Tuesday. Kelly said the move could come as part of the effort to toughen vetting of visitors to screen out people who could pose a security threat. He said it was one of the things under consideration especially for visitors from seven Muslim majority countries with very weak background screening of their own -- Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen. A Facebook logo is pictured on a screen ahead of a press conference to announce the launch of it's latest product "Workplace", in central London on October 10, 2016 Justin TALLIS (AFP/File) "We're looking at some enhanced or some additional screening," Kelly told a hearing of the House Homeland Security Committee. "We may want to get on their social media, with passwords," he said. "It's very hard to truly vet these people in these countries, the seven countries... But if they come in, we want to say, what websites do they visit, and give us your passwords. So we can see what they do on the internet." "If they don't want to cooperate, then they don't come in" to the United States, he said. Kelly stressed that no decision had been made on this, but said tighter screening was definitely in the future, even if it means longer delays for awarding US visas to visitors. "These are the things we are thinking about," he said. "But over there we can ask them for this kind of information and if they truly want to come to America, then they will cooperate. If not, next in line." More than 52,000 flee South Sudan fighting in one month: UN More than 52,000 South Sudanese fled to Uganda in January alone as continued fighting risks creating a situation of mass atrocities, the UN's special adviser on genocide prevention said Tuesday. The displaced, primarily from towns south of the capital Juba in Central Equatoria state, have given accounts of the killing of civilians, homes destroyed and sexual violence, said Adama Dieng. "President Salva Kiir has made a commitment to end the violence and bring about peace, yet we still see ongoing clashes, and the risk that mass atrocities will be committed remains ever-present," said the special adviser in a statement. After gaining independence from Sudan in 2011, South Sudan descended into war in December 2013, leaving tens of thousands dead and more than three million people displaced Peter MARTELL (AFP/File) Dieng said he was particularly alarmed at the situation in Kajo-Keji where fleeing civilians have said they fear mass violence. After several delays, a team from the UN peacekeeping mission arrived in Kajo-Keji on Sunday to report on the situation. After gaining independence from Sudan in 2011, South Sudan descended into war in December 2013, leaving tens of thousands dead and more than three million people displaced. Human remains found in bags in eastern Mexican state XALAPA, Mexico (AP) Mexican authorities are investigating several bags of human remains discovered when police stopped a vehicle in the eastern Gulf coast state of Veracruz. Gov. Miguel Angel Yunes confirmed the discovery Monday, but said investigating agencies would have to release additional details. Officials in the state prosecutor's office said Federal Police officers had found the bags in a vehicle stopped in the southern part of the state. The officials agreed to give that information only if not quoted by name, because they were not authorized to discuss the matter. No other information, including about the identity of the bagged remains, was provided. Remains confirmed as those of missing Texas college student ALPINE, Texas (AP) Human remains found in a shallow West Texas grave last week have been identified conclusively as those of a missing college student, investigators confirmed Monday. Dental records helped confirm the identity of Zuzu Verk, a 22-year-old Sul Ross State University student from Keller, a Fort Worth suburb, Brewster County Sheriff Ronny Dodson said during a Monday news conference. Verk had been reported as missing since Oct. 12, when she failed to show up for work and a school exam. She was last seen alive the night before, when she and boyfriend Robert Fabian attended the movies together. Neighbors reported hearing the pair arguing that night. FILE - This photo provided by Alpine Police Department shows Robert Fabian. Human remains found in a shallow West Texas grave last week have been identified conclusively as those of missing college student Zuzu Verk, investigators confirmed Monday, Feb. 6, 2017. Fabian, Verk's boyfriend, was jailed on a charge of tampering with evidence by concealing a human corpse but other charges were expected, Brewster County Sheriff Ronny Dodson said. (Alpine Police Department via AP, File) Fabian, 26, of Alpine, was jailed on a charge of tampering with evidence by concealing a human corpse but other charges were expected, Dodson said. Bond was set at $500,000. His attorney did not return messages Monday from The Associated Press. Verk's remains were found Friday scattered near a shallow grave near the remote West Texas college town of Alpine, about 200 miles southeast of El Paso. "It's a disgrace. And to think that in such a shallow grave, that the animals wouldn't have eventually dug the body out they weren't thinking. I guess they aren't as smart as they think they are," Dodson said of whoever buried the body. "Why was she killed? And exactly how? Those are the big questions now," the sheriff said. The report Monday from forensic pathologists performing the autopsy in Dallas merely confirmed what investigators were confident they already knew from what they found around the shallow grave, Dodson said. "Knowing what we knew about the case, which we can't reveal, when I walked up there, I just knew," Dodson said. "I had to call the chief and said, 'I think we got her here.'" Chris Estrada, 28, a friend of Fabian, was jailed Monday in Phoenix on a corpse concealment warrant from Texas, awaiting return. Investigators said Fabian called Estrada the night Verk disappeared. Members of Fabian's family also remain under investigation, Dodson said. It was unclear if Estrada has an attorney. In a statement, Sul Ross State University officials said a memorial service has been scheduled for Thursday evening at the Alpine campus. Monday's disclosures shattered the fondest hopes and confirmed the grimmest fears of the Verk family. Citizens United lawyer targets Texas campaign finance laws AUSTIN, Texas (AP) A case involving political "dark money" and the founder of an organization tied to President Donald Trump's accusations of voter fraud could lead to a crush of anonymous cash infiltrating elections in the country's second-largest state, a Democratic lawyer warned the Texas Supreme Court on Tuesday. The nine Republican justices on Texas' highest civil court heard arguments involving the legality of the state's ban on corporate contributions, disclosure requirements for political action committees and the question of when a politically active nonprofit should have to disclose its donors like a traditional PAC. Some believe that the case ultimately could wind up before the U.S. Supreme Court and potentially reshape campaign finance regulations nationwide. Houston tea party group King Street Patriots, started by Catherine Engelbrecht, has been the focus of a longstanding lawsuit by the Texas Democratic Party accusing the organization of violating state campaign finance laws by engaging in political behavior when it dispatched poll watchers on behalf of the Texas Republican Party during the 2010 election. FILE - In this Feb. 6, 2014 file photo, Catherine Engelbrecht, founder of King Street Patriots, testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington. Political "dark money" and Engelbrecht the founder of an organization tied to Donald Trump's accusations of voter fraud, will be at the center of a Texas Supreme Court case Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2017 that could reshape campaign finance laws in the country's second-largest state. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais, File) But the nonprofit, represented by Indiana attorney James Bopp Jr. architect of the landmark Citizens United case that opened the door for corporations and unions to make unlimited independent expenditures in U.S. elections has fired back with a counterclaim challenging numerous provisions of Texas campaign finance law. Twenty-two states currently prohibit corporations from contributing money to campaigns and candidates, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Texas has no limit on what individuals or political committees can donate to candidates. Corporations statewide, however, are barred from giving money directly to a campaign, though they are allowed to contribute to a political committee set up for a ballot measure or to a state-level Super PAC, which is only allowed to make expenditures independent of candidates. Two state courts so far have upheld the Texas campaign finance laws at issue. But if the Texas Supreme Court decides to toss those laws, the public will be hard pressed to know who is funding campaigns, said Chad Dunn, a lawyer for the Texas Democratic Party. "What's at stake today is opening the floodgates to secret funding of elections," Dunn said. The court isn't expected to rule for months. Engelbrecht's King Street Patriots drew national attention in 2010 for sending hundreds of observers to assist the state Republican party with poll watching efforts. She said the group exists only on paper now and an offshoot called True the Vote has taken the lead on looking into voter rolls in numerous states. Trump has made widely debunked claims that the presidential election was marred by 3 million illegal voters. He has also encouraged the work of True the Vote, which says it is conducting a state-by-state voter roll analysis that Engelbrecht says could substantiate Trump's accusations. Tuesday's hearing comes amid debate in Texas and elsewhere over so-called "dark money." The term arose from nonprofit advocacy groups that spend on political purposes but are not subject to campaign finance disclosures. Its rise is one of the effects of the U.S. Supreme Court's 2010 Citizens United ruling. Democrats have alleged in their lawsuit that the King Street Patriots, which is not required to disclose donors under federal and state campaign finance laws, made unlawful political contributions to the Texas GOP and have used the case to press for disclosure of the group's donors, arguing the nonprofit is a "sham corporation" that has acted more like a PAC. Texas Solicitor General Scott Keller argued Tuesday that the group doesn't qualify as a PAC under state law. Supreme Court Chief Justice Nathan Hecht seemed to agree, saying: "It's hard to see how training poll watchers expressly advocates for the outcome in an election." Bopp said current Texas campaign finance laws infringe on the Houston group's free speech. He said the state's PAC provisions are vague and overbearing. Asked by Hecht if he thinks the group is a PAC, Bopp said he wasn't sure because the law is so muddy. Philippines: US military can build barracks in local camps MANILA, Philippines (AP) Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has given the go-ahead for the U.S. military to build barracks and fuel depots in designated local camps where American forces are allowed to temporarily station under a 2014 defense pact, Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said Tuesday. Duterte last month threatened to abrogate the agreement if the United States stores weapons in local camps, saying his country may get entangled if fighting erupts between China and the U.S. He identified three areas where U.S. forces were supposedly bringing in their armaments, including the western Philippine province of Palawan, which faces the disputed South China Sea. He had said if the U.S. builds an arms depot "I will consider a review and maybe ultimately abrogate" the pact all together. "I don't know where the president got his information but I corrected it," Lorenzana told reporters Tuesday. He said he also told Duterte that construction in the camps has not started and was scheduled later this year or next year. "I actually asked his decision if we will continue with the EDCA construction or not," Lorenzana added. "He said OK, let's proceed, but make sure that there is no stockpiling of ammunition there." The defense chief said he explained to Duterte that the stockpiling of weapons is not allowed by the agreement. The pact allows the U.S. military to build big barracks that can be jointly used by American and Filipino troops, and to put up fuel tanks for their planes and vehicles. Lorenzana said most of the equipment that the Americans will be bringing to the country will be for humanitarian assistance and disaster response, including rubber boats. When U.S. troops come to the Philippines for exercises, they will bring their rifles and their ammunition but will take the weapons back with them when they return to the United States, he added. Cumberland Valley School District officials recognized seven people on Monday night for reaching their silver anniversary as district employees. Superintendent Frederick Withum II awarded red-apple trophies to 25-year employees Joanne Beaver, Geraldine Black, Patricia Mattes, Dianne Morrow and Cindy Murray at a school board workshop meeting. Not in attendance were awardees Marian McGraw and George Kirchner. Withum said its not unusual for Cumberland Valley staff to stay for more than 25 years, with some staff members even passing the 40-year mark. This district is a wonderful environment to work and learn. That really attracts quality applicants who become dedicated employees. Plus, our kids here are wonderful, Withum said. Beaver has taught in the high school social studies department during her entire tenure at the district, Withum said. She teachers economics, AP economics and AP government. Black is an elementary school special education utility aide who has remained at Sporting Hill Elementary School for her entire career at Cumberland Valley. She also has served as a playground aide, special education paraprofessional and utility aide. Administrative aide Mattes has served in a total of seven positions during her time in the district, Withum said. She began as a cafeteria aide at Shaull Elementary School, then worked as a part-time guidance secretary, then principals secretary. After that, Mattes became a secretary for the districts transportation manager, then for the director of pupil services and, finally, for the assistant superintendent for elementary education. She now serves as administrative assistant for special education. Morrow has held three food service positions with the district: food service aide, food service supervisor at Eagle Middle School, and now food service department administrative assistant in the districts support facility. Murray has worked as a math teacher at Eagle View Middle School for all but one of her 25 years in the district. She began as a long-term substitute teacher in 1991, becoming a full-time teacher in 1993. McGraw is secretary to 10th-grade Principal David Gilbert at the high school. She previously worked as the aquatics and physical education department secretary and the high school building secretary. Kirchner has worked as a member of the high schools custodial staff for 24 years. Before that, he spent a year as a custodian at Good Hope Middle School. Other news Michael Willis, the districts director of business and support services, provided an update on Monday night about the districts ongoing middle school and elementary construction project at Bali Hai and Lambs Gap roads in Hampden and Silver Spring townships. The district has been granted a conditional highway occupancy permit for the project from the state Department of Transportation and has submitted applications for municipal building permits. The district also is in the process of obtaining demolition permits for two existing houses and barns and 10 outbuildings on an acquired property. Since a border for Hampden and Silver Spring townships runs through the property, the district must acquire demolition permits from both municipalities, Willis said. The district also plans to begin soil excavation for the project this week, Willis said. The district is able to do so because it has acquired necessary permits from both townships. The district also was granted a permit for necessary road detours during construction from Hamden Township and plans to acquire the same from Silver Spring Township this week. The district plans to close a portion of Bali Hai Road between Lambs Gap Road and West Hill Road from March to June due to ongoing construction, Willis said. Detour routes for this will involve Wertzville and Sample Bridge roads. Also, motorists can expect to encounter temporary one-lane road closures on Lambs Gap and Creekview roads for a brief period this year. Israeli allies condemn settlement law as lawsuits loom JERUSALEM (AP) A new Israeli law legalizing dozens of unlawfully built West Bank settlement outposts came under heavy criticism on Tuesday from some of Israel's closest allies, as local rights groups prepared to ask the Supreme Court to overturn the measure. Amid the uproar, the Trump administration remained quiet about the law paving the way for further possible action by emboldened Israeli hard-liners ahead of a trip to the White House by Israel's prime minister next week. The law was "a first step in a series of measures that we must take in order to make our presence in Judea and Samaria present for years, for decades, for ages," Israeli Cabinet Minister Yariv Levin said, using the biblical name for the West Bank. "I do believe that our right over our fatherland is something that cannot be denied." Palestinian laborers work at a construction site in a new housing project in the Israeli settlement of Maale Adumim, near Jerusalem, Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2017. A Palestinian Cabinet minister on Tuesday called on the international community to punish Israel for a contentious new law, just hours after the Israeli parliament adopted the bill to retroactively legalize thousands of West Bank settlement homes built unlawfully on private Palestinian land.(AP Photo/Oded Balilty) The law, passed late Monday, sets out to legalize dozens of West Bank settler outposts built on privately owned Palestinian land. Proponents claimed the communities, home to thousands of people and in some cases decades old, were built in "good faith" and quietly backed by a string of Israeli governments. But critics said the law amounts to legalized land theft. They also said it is legally problematic by imposing Israeli law on occupied land that is not sovereign Israeli territory and where its Palestinian residents do not have citizenship or the right to vote. The Palestinians seek the West Bank and east Jerusalem, captured by Israel in the 1967 Mideast war, as parts of a future independent state. Most of the international community considers Israeli settlements illegal and counterproductive to peace. Some 600,000 Israelis now live in the two areas. In Paris, Palestinian official Saeb Erekat said the law puts "the last nail in the coffin of the two-state solution" and accused the Israeli government of "trying to legalize looting Palestinian land." Secretary-General Antonio Guterres expressed "deep regret" over the bill, saying it was "in contravention of international law and will have far-reaching legal consequences for Israel." "The secretary-general insists on the need to avoid any action that would derail the two-state solution," spokesman Stephane Dujarric said. Some of Israel's closest allies, including Germany, Britain and the Czech Republic, also condemned the legislation. Germany's Foreign Ministry said its faith in Israel's commitment to a two-state solution was "deeply shaken." Britain's minister for the Middle East, Tobias Ellwood, said the law "damages Israel's standing with its international partners." Jordan, a key Arab ally, said such "provocative acts" could "fuel the anger of Muslims and drag the region to more violence and extremism." Turkey's tourism minister, Nabi Avci, visiting Israel as part of a reconciliation process, said he hoped Israel's Supreme Court would make the "right decision" and strike down the law. Prominent Israeli advocacy groups, including Peace Now, the Arab rights group Adalah, and the Association for Civil Rights in Israel, all announced plans to file legal challenges. "There's going to be a legal battle against this bill," said Lior Amihai, spokesman for Peace Now. Legal experts say the law is problematic and Israel's attorney general has said he will not defend it in court. Netanyahu has also expressed misgivings, reportedly saying it could drag Israel into international legal prosecution, though in the end he agreed to support it. In December, the U.N. Security Council passed a resolution declaring settlements illegal. Netanyahu missed Monday's vote because he was flying back from a visit to Britain. The International Criminal Court in the Hague already is conducting a preliminary investigation into Israeli settlement policy. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, in Paris for talks with French President Francois Hollande, said he would seek to fight the new law in international organizations. "What we want is peace ... but what Israel does is to work toward one state based on apartheid," Abbas said. Yuval Shany, a law professor at Israel's Hebrew University, said the Supreme Court will "most likely" strike down the law. He said it generates "considerable problems," including likely violations of property rights, infringement of human dignity and the attorney general's opposition. But he said the legal challenges could drag on, in part because the law lays out a gradual process for confiscating lands. He said it would take years for the outposts to be fully legalized, alongside the roughly 130 existing Israeli settlements that dot the West Bank. In all, the law would legalize some 3,900 homes built on private Palestinian land about 800 in unauthorized outposts and the remainder in recognized settlements. The original landowners would be eligible for financial compensation of 125 percent of the land's value, as determined by Israel, or a comparable piece of alternative property. It is hard to find a comparable international precedent for the Israeli action. In breakaway northern Cyprus, attempts by Turkish Cypriot authorities to issue ownership certificates for property seized from displaced Greek Cypriots have been struck down in European courts. Netanyahu's governing coalition is dominated by West Bank settlers and their political allies. The Jewish Home party, which has ties to the settler movement, put heavy pressure on Netanyahu to allow Monday's vote after the court-ordered demolition last week of the illegal outpost of Amona. Jewish Home came under fierce criticism for failing to prevent the demolition and has vowed to prevent further court-ordered evacuations. After repeated clashes with President Barack Obama over settlements, Netanyahu and his settler allies have become emboldened by Trump's election. The new U.S. president has signaled a much softer approach than any of his predecessors. Trump's campaign platform made no mention of a Palestinian state, departing from two decades of American policy, his designated ambassador to Israel is a settler ally, and a delegation of settler leaders was invited to his inauguration. Encouraged by these signs, Israel has announced plans to build more than 6,000 settler homes. Jewish Home has also called on Israel to annex the 60 percent of the West Bank where settlements are located. According to Peace Now, which closely monitors settlement activity, officials are scheduled to meet Wednesday to push for an additional 1,200 settlement homes. Israel's future settlement plans could hinge on Netanyahu's Feb. 15 visit to the White House. Trump has not condemned any of the latest Israeli settlement plans. But last week, he signaled that he too may have his limits, saying that settlements "may not be helpful" to promoting peace. Netanyahu is expected to try to reach understandings with Trump on how much settlement construction might be tolerated. Naftali Bennett, head of the Jewish Home party, told Israel's Army Radio that the goal of the bill was to create the same conditions in the settlements as in Israel proper. "At the end of the day, behind all the talk there is a simple question: What do we want for the future of Israel?" he said. ___ Associated Press writers Ian Deitch and Nebi Qena in Jerusalem, Frank Jordans in Berlin, Jill Lawless in London, Menelaos Hadjicostas in Nicosia and Edith M. Lederer at the United Nations contributed to this report. Sheep graze near Israeli settlement of Maale Adumim, near Jerusalem, Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2017. A Palestinian Cabinet minister on Tuesday called on the international community to punish Israel for a contentious new law, just hours after the Israeli parliament adopted the bill to retroactively legalize thousands of West Bank settlement homes built unlawfully on private Palestinian land.(AP Photo/Oded Balilty) FILE - In this Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2017, file photo, heavy machinery work at a construction site in the West Bank Jewish settlement of Ariel. Israels prime minister is moving ahead with a contentious law that would legalize dozens of settlement outposts in the West Bank, despite questions about the bills legality and a warning from the White House that settlement construction may not be helpful. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit, File) A Palestinian laborer works at a construction site in a new housing project in the Israeli settlement of Maale Adumim, near Jerusalem, Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2017. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty) Palestinian laborers work at a construction site in a new housing project in the Israeli settlement of Maale Adumim, near Jerusalem, Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2017. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty) Taiwan seeks to revive aerospace fortunes with jet trainers TAICHUNG, Taiwan (AP) Seeking to revive its long-dormant aerospace industry, Taiwan on Tuesday launched a $2.1 billion investment in the production of air force jet trainers to be designed and manufactured on the island to counter Chinese military and diplomatic pressure. President Tsai Ing-wen presided over a ceremony in the central city of Taichung to inaugurate the project, which she hopes will aid Taiwan's security and stem the flow of engineering talent overseas. The push to develop new homemade equipment is seen as growing more urgent against the backdrop of rival China's increasingly rigid approach to Tsai's independence-leaning government. "Building fighters locally is not a dream, it is an action. We not only want the fighter to take off, but also want the industry to upgrade and take off as well," Tsai told participants. Taiwan has largely abandoned the aircraft industry since it developed its Indigenous Defense Fighter, or IDF, in the 1980s following difficulties in obtaining military hardware abroad as a result of pressure from China. Although Taiwan has since bought fighter jets from the U.S. and France, Tsai said failure to develop the domestic industry would be a "major disaster" for the island democracy's security. She said the project would also help upgrade the high-tech island's precision industries. "Taiwan's locally made fighter industry has been stagnating for almost 30 years. Not only has our aerospace industry been outperformed by other countries that had lagged behind us, but we also suffered serious brain-drain," Tsai said. "We do not have another 30 years to waste. Now, the government is adamant in leading its people to regain the prestige of its defense industry." To aid the development, the Taiwanese military's main research base, the National Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology, has received a 21 percent budget increase in the past year alone, Tsai said. Domestic manufacturer Aerospace Industrial Development Corp. will also participate in the project, which aims to deliver its first aircraft by 2020. The new planes, 66 of which are on order, will replace the locally-made AT-3 Tzu Chung trainers built in the 1980s, along with even older U.S.-made Northrop F-5s. Prior to Tsai's election last year, the former ruling Nationalist Party government had been considering broad cooperation in the project with foreign companies, which might have helped counter pressure from China, which considers the island its own territory to be unified with by force if necessary. That approach was abandoned amid calls by Tsai and others to revive and nurture the local industry. Firms bumped as finalists for pot licenses fight for answers ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) Two Maryland companies say the state is wrongly refusing to explain why they were abruptly bumped off a list of 15 finalists to be licensed to grow medical marijuana in the state. Green Thumb Industries and Maryland Cultivation and Processing have asked a Baltimore judge to decide whether the state is abusing the "deliberative process privilege," which allows internal deliberations among members of a state commission to be kept secret. Assistant Attorney General Heather Nelson cited that rule in more than 80 objections to attorneys' questions during the January deposition of Deborah Miran the only person on a Maryland Medical Cannabis Commission subcommittee who voted against replacing the two companies with others ranked lower. Raquel Guillory, a spokeswoman with the attorney general's office, said the office doesn't comment on ongoing litigation. "The appropriate forum to litigate this is in the courtroom, not in the press," she said. Jennifer Bevan-Dangel, executive director of Common Cause Maryland, said the case reinforces the government watchdog group's concerns about abuse of such exemptions. "We are hopeful that the judge will take a close look at the overuse of privilege here and hopefully open the door to more transparency in the case," Bevan-Dangel said. Last summer, Maryland selected 15 finalists from 145 applicants to grow and process medical marijuana, but none has received final approval. Maryland is one of 28 states that allow medical marijuana. The initiative has attracted intense interest in a market that stands to be lucrative because the law allows wide patient access. Green Thumb applied to grow marijuana for medical use in Washington County and initially was ranked 12th in an evaluation of qualifications. Maryland Cultivation and Processing applied for a license in Frederick County and was ranked eighth. The sudden rise of Holistic Industries from the 20th ranking to 14th to grow marijuana in Prince George's County has drawn attention, partly because of its political ties. The company's team includes former Maryland health secretary Nelson Sabatini and Ismael "Vince" Canales, who heads the state's Fraternal Order of Police. Holistic also had Gerard Evans, the highest-paid lobbyist in Annapolis, advocating for it. Shore Naturals Rx of Worcester County had been ranked 21st and was moved up to 15th. One of the most vigorously contested lines of questioning in Miran's deposition focused on the accuracy of an affidavit submitted by Harry Robshaw, the commission's vice chairman. He has said the companies were switched to comply with the need for geographic diversity. In Robshaw's November affidavit, he wrote that the commission's subcommittee met July 27 to receive a presentation on the rankings by Towson University's Research Economics Statistics Institute. Robshaw, who is police chief in Cheverly in Prince George's County, wrote that the subcommittee initially deliberated and adjourned because it had incomplete information about where the applicants would operate. It got that information two days later, when it voted on the proposed ranking to present to the full commission Aug. 5. But Miran contradicted that. When asked by Philip Andrews, an attorney for Green Thumb, whether it was accurate to say the subcommittee had incomplete information during its July 27 meeting, Miran said: "No." She was not allowed to answer why that wasn't true because Nelson objected, citing the deliberative privilege. "I don't think the government, as a defendant, is permitted to drop facts in a purportedly sworn affidavit and then prohibit someone with knowledge from responding to whether those facts are true," Andrews said. Miran testified that the subcommittee vote July 29 was taken to overturn the initial vote July 27, which was 5-0. She said she voted against the switch July 29 because she believed "we did not have a substantial reason to do so." Miran also testified that she explained her July 29 dissenting vote in writing, but that her dissent was edited twice, once by Robshaw and again, she believed, by Nelson. Nelson objected to requests by company attorneys for Miran to describe her dissent. Vanessa Lyon, a commission spokeswoman, said the panel can't comment on current litigation or legal strategy, but she noted the full commission voted unanimously for the rankings of 15 companies in August. "Additionally, former commissioner Miran was given unfettered access to a public platform to voice her support or opposition before and during the final vote," Lyon wrote in an email. Lanny Davis, an attorney for GTI, said he is asking Democratic Attorney General Brian Frosh to release all versions of Miran's original dissent. ___ Spain: 2 alleged IS recruiters detained near Barcelona MADRID (AP) Spain's Interior Ministry says two Moroccan men who are accused of indoctrination in Islamist extremism and recruiting others have been detained in Barcelona. The ministry said in a statement that the men, aged 25 and 27, allegedly raised money through drug trafficking and theft to support the Islamic State group. Agents of Spain's Guardia Civil were searching the men's apartment on Tuesday morning in Badalona, bordering Barcelona. Rio Tinto to hand over diamond mine to central Indian state NEW DELHI (AP) The Rio Tinto group has decided to hand over a diamond mine to the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh where the project is located, the company said Tuesday. Work at the mining giant's Bunder diamond mine stopped last year when the company announced that it would end the project to cut costs and conserve cash. Development of the mine would have cost the company around $330 million. Handing over the mine and equipment to the Madhya Pradesh government will help the state package the assets if it decides to auction the mineral rights, Rio Tinto said in a statement. "Our exit from Bunder is the latest example of Rio Tinto streamlining its asset portfolio. It simplifies our business, allowing us to focus on our world-class assets," Arnaud Soirat, Rio Tinto Copper & Diamonds chief executive, said in the statement. "Rio Tinto has long and enduring ties with India and we continue to see the nation as an important market for our metals and minerals and as a key hub for Rio Tinto's business services," he said. The company said the Madhya Pradesh government signed an order in January accepting ownership of the mine and taking responsibility for its assets. Australia-based Rio Tinto discovered the diamond deposits in 2004 and signed an agreement to develop the mine in 2010. Danes want EU to support groups affected by Trump ban COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) Denmark's development aid minister says "an alliance of like-minded European countries" is calling on the European Union to find funds to support international groups that perform abortions or provide information about abortion. Ulla Toernaes says Denmark would give an extra 75 million kroner ($11 million) to organizations affected by a recent executive order by U.S. President Donald Trump. Toernaes said Tuesday "we can hopefully reduce the number of unwanted pregnancies, unsafe abortions and deaths due to pregnancy and childbirth." Sparks fly as Vatican conference challenges China on organs VATICAN CITY (AP) Participants at a Vatican conference on organ trafficking challenged China on Tuesday to allow independent scrutiny to ensure it is no longer using organs from executed prisoners, saying Chinese assurances aren't enough to prove the transplant program has been reformed. Sparks flew in the afternoon session of the meeting as China's former vice health minister, Dr. Huang Jiefu, sought to assure the international medical community that China was "mending its ways" after declaring an end to the prisoner harvesting program in 2015. "I am fully aware of the speculation about my participation in the summit," Huang told the conference, citing "continuing concerns about the transplant activities." Msgr. Marcelo Sanchez Sorondo, head of the Pontificial Academy of Sciences, delivers his message at a conference on 'Organ Traffiking and Transplant Tourism', held at the Vatican, Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2017. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini) He provided scant data to rebut critics, however, showing only two slides indicating an increased number of living and deceased donors in recent years and China's recent efforts to crack down on black market transplant activities. Huang first publicly acknowledged the inmate harvesting organ program in 2005 and later said as many as 90 percent of Chinese transplant surgeries using organs from dead people came from executed prisoners. He has spearheaded a reform effort and pledged that China put an end to the program in 2015. But doubts persist that China is meeting its pledge, given its lack of transparency, the severe shortage of organ donors and China's longstanding black-market organ trade. Huang's colleague, Dr. Haibo Wang, stressed the sheer impossibility of trying to fully control China's transplant activity since there are 1 million medical centers and 3 million licensed doctors operating in the country. As a result, China proposed at the Vatican meeting that the World Health Organization form a global task force to help crack down on illicit organ trafficking. Dr. Jacob Lavee, president of Israel's transplant society, insisted in response that WHO be allowed to conduct surprise inspections and interview donor relatives in China. "As long as there is no accountability for what took place ... there can be no guarantee for ethical reform," he told the conference in a heated exchange. He was joined by Dr. Gabriel Danilovitch, from the UCLA Medical Center, who challenged the Chinese delegation to declare straight out if prisoner organs were no longer used. Wang countered that he and Huang spent the past 12 years battling critics inside China and out to reform the sector, and said China shouldn't be singled out for spot WHO inspections. The back-and-forth underscored the controversy over China's participation in the conference, after critics sent letter to organizers and Pope Francis warning that Chinese attendance amounted to a Vatican whitewash of its past practices. Organizers, however, stood firm in their invitation and even came to China's defense in trying to prevent TV cameras from covering the Chinese presentation. "Are they doing any illegal transplantation of organs in China? We can't say," said Monsignor Marcelo Sanchez Sorondo, chancellor of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences. "But we want to strengthen the movement for change." The Vatican conference is part of Pope Francis' efforts to crack down on trafficking in humans and organs. China's participation also conveniently corresponded with his efforts to engage Beijing in hopes of improving diplomatic relations. China's foreign ministry, however, played down the diplomatic significance of Huang's presence. It's unclear how effective a WHO organ trafficking task force would be, given that the U.N. agency is completely reliant on countries to provide health information and statistics and rarely collects or independently verifies data provided by governments. China has long been criticized for its lack of transparency in public health. During the global outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome more than a decade ago, for example, China initially covered up the epidemic. By the time China began to acknowledge the true scale of the outbreak, SARS had spilled across Asia and to North America. More recently, China has been criticized for not quickly sharing details of its expanding bird flu outbreak. WHO, now run by China's Dr. Margaret Chan, has largely refrained from criticizing the country's efforts and has endorsed its organ transplant reform process. China aside, WHO is typically loath to criticize member countries. During the 2014 Ebola outbreak, for example, it delayed for months declaring the biggest-ever epidemic of the lethal disease to be a global emergency, fearing it would offend the affected countries. It also refrained from publicly slamming Brazil last year when the country initially refused to share virus samples from its Zika outbreak. ___ AP Medical Writer Maria Cheng in London contributed to this report. Professor Huang Jiefu, Chairman of the Chinese National Organ Donation and Transplantation Committee, left, attends a conference on 'Organ Traffiking and Transplant Tourism', held at the Vatican, Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2017. China is stepping up its efforts to convince the international medical community that it has stopped using executed prisoners as organ donors. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini) Delegates attend the opening session of a conference on 'Organ Traffiking and Transplant Tourism', held at the Vatican, Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2017. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini) Qatar official: Gulf value-added tax could begin in 2018 DOHA, Qatar (AP) Qatar's finance minister says a new unified value-added tax across the Gulf Arab countries could come into effect as early as next year as the oil-rich region searches for new sources of revenue. Ali Sherif al-Emadi told reporters Tuesday that all six members of the Gulf Cooperation Council had signed onto the agreement. The bloc includes Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Al-Emadi says a Jan. 1 implementation date could be delayed a year if countries need more time to prepare. He gave few details, but an earlier framework agreement calls for a 5 percent levy on some goods. Australian sentenced to death in Thailand for drug killing PATTAYA, Thailand (AP) A Thai court on Tuesday sentenced an Australian man to death for the murder of a countryman who was an alleged confederate in a drug smuggling gang. The Pattaya Provincial Court on found Antonio Bagnato, 28, guilty of killing former Hells Angels member Wayne Schneider in November 2015 after he and accomplices beat and kidnapped the victim from his luxury villa in the resort area. Bagnato fled to Cambodia where he was arrested soon after the crime. Eyewitness accounts and DNA evidence from bloodstains and weapons linked Bagnato to the crime. American Tyler Gerard, 22, who confessed to involvement in the abduction and aided police, was sentenced to three years imprisonment. Other accomplices who were seen by guards at the housing estate where the attack took place were not apprehended. Thai police say Bagnato murdered Schneider because of a dispute over their drug trafficking network, which was said to stretch from Europe to Asia and net millions of dollars. Thailand rarely carries out the death penalty. Police had an early break in their investigation because the guards who witnessed the abduction helped police identify the getaway vehicle, which was rented and had a GPS system. Tracking the route of the vehicle led police to Schneider's buried body. UK Marine seeks to quash murder sentence for Taliban killing LONDON (AP) Lawyers for a British Royal Marine commando on Tuesday asked a court to overturn his murder conviction for killing a wounded Taliban fighter in Afghanistan, arguing that mental health problems mean he wasn't fully responsible for his actions. Sgt. Alexander Blackman was sentenced to a minimum of 10 years by a military court in 2013 for the September 2011 killing in Helmand Province. Footage from another marine's helmet camera showed Blackman shooting the militant in the chest at close range, then saying: "Obviously this doesn't go anywhere, fellas. I just broke the Geneva Convention." Last year, a review commission granted Blackman an appeal, citing new evidence about his mental health. Blackman's lawyer, Jonathan Goldberg, told the Courts Martial Appeal Court that conditions in Helmand in 2011, with British troops coming under frequent insurgent attack, were a "breeding ground" for mental health problems. As Blackman watched proceedings by video-link from prison, Goldberg said that three experts agreed that Blackman had been suffering from a recognized mental illness an adjustment disorder, which impaired his ability to form a rational judgment or exercise self-control. Goldberg said that Blackman was a reserved "John Wayne character" who had "mental scars" after narrowly escaping death in a grenade attack and suffering the loss of a close comrade. Carlisle Police (243-5252) Levone Kamar Moore, 39, of Carlisle, was charged with simple assault and harassment after a domestic assault in the 200 block of North Pitt Street about 9:30 p.m. Feb. 4. Police said Moore dragged a woman down the stairs, punched her and grabbed her around the base of her neck. The woman suffered minor injuries but refused treatment. A bicycle was stolen from the 100 block of North Bedford Street on Feb. 5. The blue Huffy bicycle with white rims had been outside of the residence and was not secured. The value is estimated at $825. West Shore Regional Police (238-9676) Porche Antonio Cooper, 27, of Camp Hill, was charged with simple assault after a domestic incident in the 1000 block of West Foxcroft Drive, Wormleysburg, about 9:50 p.m. Feb. 5. Police said Cooper had assaulted a woman at the residence. He was arraigned, with bail set at $10,000 cash, which he was unable to post. State Police at Carlisle (249-2121) Corey James Wilson, 18, of Carlisle, was charged with fleeing police, resisting arrest and summary traffic offenses after a traffic stop at 2:09 a.m. Feb. 4 on Burnthouse Road at Ritner Highway, Dickinson Township. Police said troopers conducted the traffic stop for speeding, but after providing troopers with identification, Wilson shifted the vehicle into gear and accelerated away from the stop. Troopers initiated a pursuit but lost sight of the vehicle. A second patrol unit saw the vehicle on Walnut Bottom Road near Shippensburg and initiated a pursuit, successfully ending it using a PIT maneuver. Wilson then fled on foot and was not immediately located. Police obtained an arrest warrant, and Wilson turned himself in later on Feb. 4. He posted $29,000 bail and was released. A firearm was removed from a property in the first block of Big Spring Terrace, West Pennsboro Township, between Nov. 1 and Nov. 30, police reported Feb. 6. Someone struck a mailbox, damaging it, in the 400 block of Springfield Road, North Newton Township, between 4:30 p.m. and 11:30 p.m. Feb. 4. A South Middleton Township woman was scammed out of $500 of iTunes cards by a caller reporting to be from Microsoft at 1:30 p.m. Jan. 26. Police said the caller directed the woman onto her computer, causing it to malfunction, and had her pay with iTunes cards to fix it. A United States Postal Service package containing a Jurgen massage pillow was taken from a residence in the 200 block of North Prince Street, Shippensburg Township, between 2:41 p.m. and 4:15 p.m. Feb. 1. State Police at Newport (567-3110) A Carlisle woman was shoved to the ground from behind and had money stolen from her about 1:55 p.m. Feb. 3 on Beers Alley at Bitting Avenue, Marysville. Police seek information. Police are investigating an attempted burglary at New Bloomfield Mart in the 200 block of South Carlisle Street, New Bloomfield, at 1:19 a.m. Jan. 13, police reported Feb. 5. Juan A. Ortiz, 23, of Duncannon, was injured after a single-vehicle crash on South Carlisle Street near West Main Street, New Bloomfield, at 12:11 a.m. Feb. 3. Police said Ortiz was traveling south on South Carlisle Street when his 2014 Mazda 3 went off the road and struck a utility pole. Ortiz suffered head injuries and was transported to West Shore Hospital via New Bloomfield EMS. PPL was notified of the damaged utility pole, and Ortiz was cited for failing to drive on roadways laned for traffic. Putin scrambles Russian air forces to check readiness MOSCOW (AP) President Vladimir Putin has put the Russian air force on high alert, the latest in a series of drills amid tensions with the West. Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said that the drills launched Tuesday will check the air force's readiness and its ability to repel an enemy aggression. Shoigu told military officials that special emphasis will be given to practicing the deployment of air defense systems. Lebanese man arrested in Iowa-based gun smuggling scheme CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) A man from Lebanon has been arrested in connection with a scheme to smuggle guns purchased in Iowa to his country. Federal authorities arrested 42-year-old Fadi Yassine this week as he got off a flight in New York City. He made a court appearance Monday in Brooklyn, New York and will be transferred to Cedar Rapids, Iowa to face charges of conspiring to violate the Arms Export Control act. Four Cedar Rapids residents with ties to Lebanon were sentenced to prison for their role in the conspiracy last year. 19 int'l judges named for Kosovo special court PRISTINA, Kosovo (AP) The European Union has appointed 19 international judges to a special court that will prosecute ethnic Albanian rebels for crimes during and immediately after Kosovo's war for independence. A statement Tuesday said the Kosovo Specialist Chambers judges come from 12 EU countries and the United States and Canada. The court based in The Hague has jurisdiction over crimes against humanity, war crimes and other crimes under Kosovo law which allegedly occurred between Jan. 1, 1998 and Dec. 31 2000. The court, which was created last year, has not yet begun processing any cases. Some 10,000 people died and 1,700 went missing during the 1998-1999 Kosovo war that ended after NATO intervened on behalf of the Albanian majority. Music Review: Chuck Prophet at his best on 'Bobby Fuller' Chuck Prophet, "Bobby Fuller Died for Your Sins" (Yep Roc) The song titles suggest this is an album worth hearing. They're Prophetic. Along with the title cut, there's "Bad Year for Rock and Roll," ''Jesus Was a Social Drinker," ''If I Was Connie Britton" and "Post-War Cinematic Dead Man Blues," among others. As usual, Chuck Prophet's sing-speak vocals framed by garage band fury sound alternately angry and amused, and sometimes both at once. He's a throwback who believes two guitars, bass, drums and a sense of humor make for great music, and he's right. This cover image released by Yep Roc shows "Bobby Fuller Died For Your Sins," the latest release by Chuck Prophet. (Yep Roc via AP) San Francisco-based Chuck Prophet sings about the price of love, the rewards of lust, flushing the past and American carnage, and even in the darkest moments he keeps toes tapping. "In the Mausoleum" is a dance tune and guitar workout. Speaking of dancing, every song in "Bobby Fuller Died for Your Sins" comes with a twist. "Bad Year for Rock and Roll" mercifully spares us a laundry list of the recently deceased but does mention Peter Sellers. "Jesus Was a Social Drinker" credits the messiah with "a best-selling novel." Rosie O'Donnell: 'Available' to play Steve Bannon on SNL NEW YORK (AP) On the heels of actress Melissa McCarthy's caustic portrayal of White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer on "Saturday Night Live," comedienne Rosie O'Donnell says she's available to play President Donald Trump's controversial adviser Steve Bannon. On her Twitter feed Monday night, O'Donnell responded to suggestions that she play Bannon by saying "available if called I will serve." McCarthy lampooned Spicer last weekend in a "Saturday Night Live" sketch where she taunted reporters as "losers," fired a water gun at the press corps and used the lectern to ram a Wall Street Journal journalist. FILE - In this Jan. 31, 2014, file photo, poses television personality Rosie O'Donnell attends "Howard Stern's Birthday Bash," presented by SiriusXM in New York. On the heels of actress Melissa McCarthys portrayal of White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer on Saturday Night Live, comedienne ODonnell said shes available to play President Donald Trumps adviser Steve Bannon. On her Twitter feed Monday, Feb. 6, 2017, ODonnell responded to suggestions that she play Bannon by saying available - if called I will serve. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP, File) Longtime Autodesk CEO stepping down NEW YORK (AP) The longtime CEO of the design software company Autodesk is stepping down after reaching an agreement with activist investors. The company said Tuesday that the hedge fund Sachem Head Capital Management will vacate two board seats when a new chief executive is named. Bass will step down Wednesday, but still holds a seat on board of directors and will be nominated for re-election at the company's annual meeting. Crawford W. Beveridge will remain non-executive chairman of the board. In the Sachem Head agreement, Scott Ferguson and Jeff Clarke will resign from the board of directors. Jovenel Moise sworn in as Haiti's new president PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) Jovenel Moise was sworn in Tuesday as Haiti's president for the next five years after a bruising two-year election cycle, inheriting a chronically struggling economy and a deeply divided society. The 48-year-old entrepreneur took the oath of office in a Parliament chamber packed with Haitian lawmakers and foreign dignitaries from countries including the U.S., Venezuela and France. He smiled slightly as the Senate leader slipped Haiti's red and blue presidential sash over his left shoulder. In his inaugural address during the day of prayer and platitudes, Moise gave a rough outline of his government's priorities and pledged to bring "real improvements" to the economically strapped nation, particularly the long-neglected countryside. Haiti's President Jovenel Moise walks with Police chief Michel-Ange Gedeon past National Police at the National Palace after being sworn-in at Parliament in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Tuesday Feb. 7, 2017. Moise was sworn as president for the next five years after a bruising two-year election cycle, inheriting a struggling economy and a deeply divided society. (AP Photo/Dieu Nalio Chery) He urged unity and promised to strengthen institutions, fight corruption and bring more investments and jobs to one of the least developed nations in the world. "We can change Haiti if we work together," Moise said to applause on the grounds of what used to be the national palace, which was one of many buildings obliterated during a devastating earthquake that hit outside the capital in January 2010. There's little expectation among citizens that Moise's new government can overcome Haiti's deep problems of poverty and economic malaise in the next five years, but he does have a majority in Parliament and some are hopeful the businessman-turned-politician will make steady advances. "What we still really need in this country are the basics: working hospitals, better schools and security. I think it can be done," said Maxime Cantave, owner of a car wash and propane business in the Port-au-Prince district of Delmas 48. Nearby, Charles Bichotte agreed but said he'd wait and see if Moise was sincere with his various vows. "We've heard so many pledges from our presidents but here we are, still struggling," said the houseplant vendor. Robert Fatton, a Haitian-born politics professor at the University of Virginia, described the many challenges facing Moise as "herculean." "He has to revive domestic production, increase foreign and local investments, rebuild the moribund agricultural sector, create a sense of national solidarity, and generate a sorely lacking political stability," he said, adding that all this will have to be achieved amid diminishing international assistance. But Fatton suggested that Moise might actually benefit from citizens' low expectations of political leaders following many years of broken promises and failed policies. "If he manages to deliver a modicum of change he may restore a sense of hope for the future," he said. The Tuesday inauguration was the concluding step in Haiti's return to constitutional rule a year after ex-President Michel Martelly left office without an elected successor in place amid waves of opposition protests and a political stalemate suspending elections. A caretaker government was quickly created to fill the void and pave the way for elections. While Moise won a Nov. 20 election redo with a dominating 55 percent of the votes cast, his critics suggest he did not gain a mandate as barely 20 percent of the electorate bothered to go to the polls. The results withstood challenges by three of his closest rivals. That election victory came more than a year after Moise topped an initial vote in 2015 that was eventually thrown out amid suspicions of fraud. Senate leader Youri Latortue, who led the swearing-in ceremony Tuesday and leads a party allied with Moise's Tet Kale faction, told the new president that lawmakers were "ready to cooperate with you for the benefit of the country." A businessman from northern Haiti, Moise had never run for office until he was hand-picked in 2015 to be the Tet Kale party candidate by Martelly. Some critics viewed Moise's ascent with suspicion, suggesting Martelly was using him as a proxy. Moise dismissed the criticism in an interview last year with The Associated Press, saying Martelly will still be a valued adviser but he is his own man. During his Tuesday speech, he thanked Martelly for choosing him as the Tet Kale candidate. Moise comes to office with an unresolved judicial investigation hanging over him. Late last month, a Haitian judge questioned Moise about a confidential report leaked during campaigning that suggests he might have laundered money and received special treatment to get loans in years before he ran for the country's highest political office. Moise asserts all of his business dealings have been above board. He has blamed rivals for trying to "create instability" in the deeply divided nation with a long history of political tumult and damage his reputation before his swearing-in ceremony. The judicial examination into Moise is ongoing and it is unclear when it will be resolved. Moise asserted Tuesday that the "justice system will never be used for political persecution" under his administration. ___ David McFadden on Twitter: www.twitter.com/dmcfadd Haiti's President Jovenel Moise hugs his wife Martine after being sworn-in at Parliament in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Tuesday Feb. 7, 2017. Moise was sworn as president for the next five years after a bruising two-year election cycle, inheriting a struggling economy and a deeply divided society. (AP Photo/Dieu Nalio Chery) Haiti's President Jovenel Moise sits with his wife Martine during his swearing-in ceremony at Parliament in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Tuesday Feb. 7, 2017. Moise was sworn-in as president for the next five years after a bruising two-year election cycle, inheriting a struggling economy and a deeply divided society. (AP Photo/Dieu Nalio Chery) A supporter of Haiti's new President Jovenel Moise holds up his image with Haiti's map and the National Palace, before the earthquake, during his inauguration ceremony in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Tuesday Feb. 7, 2017. Moise was sworn as president for the next five years after a bruising two-year election cycle, inheriting a struggling economy and a deeply divided society. (AP Photo/Dieu Nalio Chery) A supporter of Haiti's President Jovenel Moise impersonates the new president, with a sign behind him that reads in Creole "Energy plus encouragement plus movement plus work" during Moise's inauguration in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2017. Moise was sworn-in as president for the next five years after a bruising two-year election cycle, inheriting a struggling economy and a deeply divided society. (AP Photo/Dieu Nalio Chery) An altar boy carries a cross after a Mass held during the inauguration of of Haiti's new President Jovenel Moise at the National Palace in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Tuesday Feb. 7, 2017. Moise was sworn as president for the next five years after a bruising two-year election cycle, inheriting a struggling economy and a deeply divided society. (AP Photo/Dieu Nalio Chery) UN says 30,000 have returned to Iraq's Mosul KHAZER, Iraq (AP) Some 30,000 people have returned to Mosul since Iraqi forces launched a massive operation in October to retake the country's second largest city from the Islamic State group, the U.N. said Tuesday. The number of returnees has increased since Iraqi forces drove the militants from the eastern half of the city last month, according to U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Aid. IS still holds western Mosul, home to an estimated 750,000 people. At times, the crowds have overwhelmed checkpoints outside the city, where security forces are screening those who want to return. Men wait around a truck to receive permission from Kurdish officials to cross the Khazer checkpoint on the road to Mosul on Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2017. The United Nations says some 30,000 people have returned to neighborhoods in Mosul retaken from the Islamic State group since the operation to push the militants from the city was officially launched in October. (AP Photo/Bram Janssen) Norman Mohammed, who fled the city three years ago, said he had waited at the Khazer checkpoint all day Monday, hoping to enter, but was turned back by Kurdish security forces, who told him to return to the Kurdish regional capital, Irbil. "We want to see our families and they are useless. I went back to Irbil and I came back today, early morning at 6 a.m.," he said. After waiting at the checkpoint for a second day, he was again sent back. Kurdish officials at the checkpoint said they could not process the thousands of civilians hoping to return home as well as hundreds of others ferrying aid and commercial goods into recently retaken territory. IS militants captured Mosul in a matter of days in the summer of 2014, when they swept across northern and central Iraq. Since then, Iraqi forces have slowly clawed back territory, leaving western Mosul as the last major urban area held by IS in Iraq. Some 190,000 people have been displaced in Iraq since 2014, either by the militants or military operations against them, according to the U.N. In this Tuesday Feb. 7, 2017 photo cars are lined up outside the Khazer checkpoint on the road from Irbil to Mosul. The United Nations says some 30,000 people have returned to neighborhoods in Mosul retaken from the Islamic State group since the operation to push the militants from the city was officially launched in October. (AP Photo/Bram Janssen) Children wait on the back of a pick up truck outside the Khazer checkpoint on the road to Mosul, Tuesday Feb. 7, 2017. The United Nations says some 30,000 people have returned to neighborhoods in Mosul retaken from the Islamic State group since the operation to push the militants from the city was officially launched in October. (AP Photo/Bram Janssen) Men and women wait in a crowd for permission from Kurdish officials to cross the Khazer checkpoint on their way to Mosul, Tuesday Feb. 7, 2017. The United Nations says some 30,000 people have returned to neighborhoods in Mosul retaken from the Islamic State group since the operation to push the militants from the city was officially launched in October. (AP Photo/Bram Janssen) A man reaches out with his ID card to receive a permission from Kurdish officials to cross the Khazer checkpoint on their way to Mosul, Tuesday Feb. 7, 2017. The United Nations says some 30,000 people have returned to neighborhoods in Mosul retaken from the Islamic State group since the operation to push the militants from the city was officially launched in October. (AP Photo/Bram Janssen) Prince William calls for end to stigma on mental illness LONDON (AP) Prince William is speaking out about ending the stigma surrounding mental health treatment. William told a gathering of health writers in London on Monday that treating mental health with the same respect as physical health "should be the norm." He calls the United Kingdom's suicide rate among men under the age of 40 "an appalling stain on our society." Britain's Prince William speaks to pupils as he and Kate, The Duchess of Cambridge, arrive to attend "The Big Assembly" by Place2Be hosted at Mitchell Brook Primary School in London, Monday, Feb. 6, 2017. The Big Assembly, on the theme of kindness, is one of many being held at primary schools across the UK to mark Children's Mental Health Week (Feb. 6-12). (AP Photo/Frank Augstein) William says telling someone when you can't cope "is a positive step and a sign of strength, not weakness." Mental health is the focus of Heads Together, a charity William leads with his wife, Kate, the duchess of Cambridge, and his brother, Prince Harry. The trio competed against each other in a 50-meter race on Sunday to promote the charity. Liga president meets Ukrainian ambassador about Zozulya MADRID (AP) The Spanish league says its president has met with Ukraine's ambassador to Spain to discuss Roman Zozulya, a Ukrainian player at the center of a fan protest that could leave him without a team. The league says in a statement that Javier Tebas and ambassador Anatoliy Scherba agreed that "the Spanish government must support the player" and he has a "right to work." Zozulya's recent transfer from Real Betis to Rayo Vallecano was called off after some of Rayo's fans vehemently protested what they claimed were his links to radical right-wing groups. Zozulya responded in an open letter to Rayo fans dismissing he had connections to "any paramilitary or neo-Nazi groups." As Carlisle prepares to welcome its new police chief, the former head of the Carlisle Police Department is preparing to lead another Pennsylvania municipal police force. Former Carlisle Police Chief Stephen Margeson has been hired as the police chief for Dickson City in Lackawanna County, north of Scranton. I still have a deep interest in law enforcement and policing, Margeson said. Im not ready to hang it up and get out of that field. I think its a good job opportunity, certainly for somebody like me who has a deep interest in law enforcement. On Jan. 30, the Dickson City Borough Council voted 5-2 to name Margeson as the new police chief, the Scranton Times Tribune reported. The dissenting votes came from borough council members who preferred promoting from within the department, according to the news report. Margeson retired from Carlisle in March after more than 25 years as the police chief. It felt like the right time, Margeson told The Sentinel in 2016. Ive been doing this for a good while, and Im eligible for retirement now. Twenty-five years in one place, in one position, in one location, in this field, is a pretty good run. At the time, Margeson said he would likely get back into law enforcement or work in the private sector at some point after his retirement. Since I retired from Carlisle, Ive explored several law enforcement jobs since then, Margeson said. This one, I actually talked to them up in Dickson City last year. Finalist Margeson was a finalist for the Dickson City job within a few months of leaving Carlisle, but the position ultimately went to another candidate Michael Resetar, 52, of Toms River, New Jersey, according to the Times Tribune. When Resetar resigned six months into his tenure, Margeson was tapped for the job, the Times Tribune reported. Margeson is expected to be sworn in on March 14 and will earn a salary of $74,000 per year, according to the Times Tribune. Im looking to do some good things up there, Margeson said. I think they have good people both on their board and the police department. Im very impressed with the dedication and professionalism Ive seen so far. I look forward to working with them. At his time of retirement, Margeson was earning $108,400 per year, according to Borough Manager Matthew Candland. Carlisles new police chief, Taro Landis, is expected to be sworn in on March 1 and will earn $105,000 per year, according to Candland. Landis has nearly 30 years of law enforcement experience and most recently served as the senior lieutenant with the Tredyffrin Township Police Department in Chester County. Student dead after frat fall; help not called for 12 hours STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) Police say a Penn State University fraternity did not summon paramedics for a student who fell down a stairwell until about 12 hours after the incident. He later died. Authorities say 19-year-old Timothy Piazza of Lebanon, New Jersey, died Saturday at Hershey Medical Center. State College police found Piazza unconscious on a couch on the main floor when they were called to the Beta Theta Pi fraternity house at 11 a.m. Friday. Police say frat members told them the sophomore was intoxicated when he fell down the basement stairs about 11 p.m. the night before during a party. Details on Piazza's condition immediately after the fall have not yet been made public, and autopsy results have not yet been released. The fraternity has been suspended, but police say its members are cooperating. ___ House GOP advises members on handling anti-Trump protests WASHINGTON (AP) President Donald Trump dismisses polls showing low approval ratings as "fake news." But House leaders are actively discussing how to handle the protesters swamping their town halls, district offices and phone lines, urging their Republican members to be polite and if necessary offer "milk and cookies." From corporate boardrooms to the halls of Congress, Trump is facing an unprecedented effort to disrupt even the most basic of his presidential functions. It's an evolving, largely grass-roots effort that aims to follow Trump and his supporters everywhere they go and there are early signs that it's having an impact. The Trump name alone is enough to spark outrage. There are plans for a mass "mooning" of Trump Tower in Chicago. Boycotts are underway of companies that sell Ivanka Trump's clothing line or advertise on NBC's "Celebrity Apprentice," where Trump has remained an executive producer. President Donald Trump walks down the steps of Air Force One upon his arrival at Andrews Air Force Base, Md., Monday, Feb. 6, 2017, returning from a weekend trip to Florida. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana) Congressional offices are being flooded with emails, social media messages and calls jamming phone lines. Hundreds of protesters are flocking to town halls and local congressional offices, some in strongly Republican districts, to voice their opposition to Trump's Cabinet picks, health care plans and refugee restrictions. "I don't know what the desired outcome is but they all seem to be united in purpose to just basically complain about the Trump presidency," said Rep. Steve Womack, who had protesters show up at his office in his staunchly Republican district in Arkansas. "This is kind of some new territory for us." The goal, say organizers of some of the efforts, is nothing short of complete resistance. It's a strategy Democrats say they learned from the success of the tea party movement, which stymied President Barack Obama's agenda through protests, door-to-door political action campaigns and online activism. "The lesson from the last eight years is, sadly, that implacable resistance works," said Rep. Gerry Connolly, D-Va. "Because it's all about your base, and I will simply point out that our base is bigger than theirs, and it's riled up." Trump and some Republicans shrug it off as sore losers unwilling to accept the results of the election. The president's core supporters, in states like Iowa and Wisconsin, applaud him as a man of action, delivering on his campaign promises to move quickly and shake up Washington. Although recent polls show his approval ratings in the 40s, a historic low for a new president, Trump rejects the surveys as false. "Any negative polls are fake news, just like the CNN, ABC, NBC polls in the election. Sorry, people want border security and extreme vetting," he tweeted on Monday. "I call my own shots, largely based on an accumulation of data, and everyone knows it." But recent presidents never faced the kind of multi-front opposition that Trump is now experiencing so early in their terms. Last week, he canceled a trip to the Harley-Davidson factory in Milwaukee, where local groups planned to protest his event. The White House said the protests weren't the cause. And on Saturday, thousands of protesters beat drums, sang and chanted outside the gates of Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, where the president was attending a Red Cross benefit. The displays of public outrage have been aimed not only at Trump but at lawmakers, world leaders and corporate executives who might be tempted to work with him to pass key parts of his agenda, like replacing the health care law or rewriting trade agreements. The White House and some Republicans claim to be unimpressed by the protests. In fact, a lot of the demonstrators are simply paid to show up and shout, says Trump Press Secretary Sean Spicer. So far, there's little evidence to support that claim. "The level of mobilization against Trump is almost like nothing I've ever seen before," said Joe Dinkin, spokesman for the Working Families Party, which coordinates weekly anti-Trump events across the country. "Collaboration with Trump is a path that will bring well-deserved ire." Already, there are some signs that the early efforts may be having an impact on his ability to promote his agenda across the globe. On Monday, the speaker of Britain's House of Commons said he strongly opposes Trump addressing Parliament, making it unlikely he'll be given the honor during a state visit later this year. Republican lawmakers are bracing themselves for an onslaught of rowdy town hall meetings, after congressmen in California and Florida faced raucous crowds last weekend. "The personal stories are genuine," said Rep. Gus Bilirakis, R-Fla., who faced hundreds of Obamacare supporters at a weekend town hall. "They're American citizens and we're U.S representatives, and it's our duty to hear them out." On Saturday, California Rep. Tom McClintock had to be extracted by police after angry protesters took over his town event in downtown Roseville. "The situation was rapidly escalating into a riot," he said. "One thing came through loud and clear: They were not angry at President Trump for breaking any of his promises - they were angry at him for keeping them." ___ Associated Press writer Alan Fram contributed to this report. President Donald Trump supporter Peter Chianchiano, right, clashes with Donna Davis, co-founder of the Tampa chapter of Black Lives Matter, at a "Trump Not Welcome" protest near the corner of Interbay Boulevard and South Dale Mabry Highway in Tampa, Fla., on Monday, Feb. 6, 2017. A Trump visit to MacDill Air Force Base prompted the protest. (Loren Elliott/Tampa Bay Times via AP) The Latest: Authorities say man shot self during standoff WEST POINT, Ga. (AP) The Latest on the search for suspects in the deaths of three women in Florida's Panhandle and Alabama. (all times local): 6:55 p.m. Authorities say a man suspected in the killings of two women in Florida and one in Alabama died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, putting an end to a standoff with police at a Georgia motel. In this arrest photo made available by the Escambia County Sheriff's Office, Fla., shows William "Billy" Boyette, under arrest in June 2015. Authorities in Alabama issued capital murder warrants Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2017, as the search continued across two states for Boyette and Mary Rice. They are wanted in the deaths of three women and the attempted killing of another. (Escambia County Sheriff's Office via AP) Escambia County Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Amber Southard in Florida confirmed that 44-year-old William "Billy" Boyette fatally shot himself Tuesday evening at the motel. Boyette and 37-year-old Mary Rice into custody had holed up inside a room at the motel, and Rice was taken into custody. Dominic Guadagnoli of the U.S. Marshals Service earlier told the Pensacola News Journal that the stolen vehicle the couple had been driving was seen at the motel, and that Rice checked into the motel using her real name. Officials say the bodies of 30-year-old Alicia Greer and 39-year-old Jacqueline Jeanette Moore were found Jan. 31. On Friday, 52-year-old Peggy Broz was fatally shot and her car was stolen. ___ 6:20 p.m. The U.S. Marshals say a man suspected in the killings of three women is dead after a standoff with police at a Georgia motel, and a female suspect has been arrested. Jim Joyner, a spokesman for the U.S. Marshals, said Tuesday that 44-year-old William "Billy" Boyette was dead after the standoff in West Point, Georgia. Authorities had taken 37-year-old Mary Rice into custody. The pair had holed up inside a room at the motel. Dominic Guadagnoli of the U.S. Marshals Service earlier told the Pensacola News Journal that the stolen vehicle the couple had been driving was seen at the motel, and that Rice checked into the motel using her real name. Officials say the bodies of 30-year-old Alicia Greer and 39-year-old Jacqueline Jeanette Moore were found Jan. 31. On Friday, 52-year-old Peggy Broz was fatally shot and her car was stolen. ___ 6 p.m. Authorities say they believe a man and a woman wanted in the deaths of three women and the attempted killing of another are holed up in a west Georgia motel. Warrants were signed Tuesday as officials in Alabama and Florida continued their search for 44-year-old William "Billy" Boyette and 37-year-old Mary Rice. They are suspected in the slayings of two women in Florida and one in Alabama. Dominic Guadagnoli of the U.S. Marshals Service told the Pensacola News Journal that the stolen vehicle the couple had been driving was seen at the motel in West Point, Georgia, and that Rice checked into the motel using her real name. Troup County Sheriff's Office Sgt. Stewart Smith told WTVM-TV that authorities believe Boyette and Rice are in a room in the motel but that they had not been in contact with them yet. Officials say the bodies of 30-year-old Alicia Greer and 39-year-old Jacqueline Jeanette Moore were found Jan. 31. On Friday, 52-year-old Peggy Broz was fatally shot and her car was stolen. The car was later found near Pensacola. ____ 12:25 p.m. Investigators in Alabama have named a man and a woman on the run in capital murder warrants in the death of a woman in Baldwin County. The warrants were signed Tuesday as officials in Alabama and Florida continued their search for 44-year-old William "Billy" Boyette and 37-year-old Mary Rice. They also are suspected in the deaths of two women in Milton, Florida, and the attempted killing of a young mother near Pensacola. Escambia County (Florida) Sheriff David Morgan says the pair shot Kayla Crocker on Monday. She's in critical condition and her 2-year-old child wasn't injured. Her car also was stolen. ____________ 6 a.m. A Florida Panhandle sheriff's office has doubled the number of deputies on patrol as a multistate search enters its second week for a man suspected in the deaths of three women and the attempted death of a fourth. On Monday afternoon, Escambia County Sheriff's Office Chief Deputy Chip Simmons warned the public to be on the lookout for William "Billy" Boyette, 44, and Mary Rice, 37, who are suspected of shooting a young mother during a home invasion near Pensacola on Monday, and taking her car. Boyette and Rice are also suspected in the deaths of Alicia Greer, 30, and Jacqueline Jeanette Moore, 39, whose bodies were found at the Emerald Sands Inn in nearby Milton on Jan. 31, and the death of Peggy Broz in Lillian, Alabama, on Friday. Investigators said the two also stole Broz' car. Sen. Warren book on middle class coming in April NEW YORK (AP) U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren has a new book coming out this spring, one that continues her battle for progressive economics. Warren's "This Fight Is Our Fight: The Battle to Save America's Middle Class" will be published April 18, Henry Holt and Co. told The Associated Press on Tuesday. "This Fight Is Our Fight" will be released through Holt's Metropolitan Books imprint. It will offer a mini-history of the American middle class, from the New Deal of the 1930s to what the publisher calls President Donald Trump's "phony promises" that endanger it now. It will also include "candid accounts of her battles in the Senate, vivid stories about her life and work, and powerful descriptions of the experiences of working Americans," along with a plan for advancing progressive goals. This book cover image released by Metropolitan Books shows, "This Fight Is Our Fight: The Battle to Save Americas Middle Class," by Sen. Elizabeth Warren. The book will be published on April 18. Warren, a Democrat from Massachusetts, has written previous 10 books. Her 2014 release A Fighting Chance was a best-seller. (Metropolitan Books via AP) "Washington works great for the rich and powerful who can hire armies of lawyers and lobbyists, but it is not working very well for everyone else," Warren, who began the book well before Trump's election, said in a statement. "America's once-solid middle class is on the ropes, and now Donald Trump and his administration seem determined to deliver the knockout punch. At this perilous moment in our country's history, it's time to fight back and I'm looking for more people to join me." Warren, a Democrat from Massachusetts and prominent liberal voice in the Senate, has written 10 previous books. Her 2014 release, "A Fighting Chance," was a best-seller. For her new book, she was represented by Washington attorney Robert Barnett, whose other clients include former President Barack Obama and Warren's colleague Sen. Al Franken, who has a memoir coming out in May. Warren will donate a portion of her author proceeds to a handful of food banks based in Massachusetts, including The Greater Boston Food Bank and the Merrimack Valley Food Bank. UN chief 'horrified' at alleged abuses by Myanmar forces UNITED NATIONS (AP) The United Nations says Secretary-General Antonio Guterres "was horrified" at the recent report on alleged sexual abuses by security forces in Myanmar against the Muslim Rohingya ethnic minority. U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric gave the U.N. chief's reaction Tuesday to the report by U.S.-based Human Rights Watch. The rights group alleged that soldiers and Border Guard Police took part in rape, gang rape, invasive body searches and sexual assaults while conducting counter-insurgency operations in western Rakhine state from October through mid-December. Human Rights Watch urged Myanmar's government on Monday to back an independent international investigation. Jordan frees 8 prominent government critics from detention AMMAN, Jordan (AP) Relatives and a defense lawyer say eight prominent government critics are free on bail after a month in detention. The men were jailed on charges of incitement, after they protested on social media against tax hikes and the government's purported failure to punish corruption. The case highlights Jordan's "red lines" in public debate, at a time when the U.S.-allied kingdom faces growing security threats and an economic downturn. Mohammed Otoom, 63, a retired major general in Jordan's domestic security service, said Tuesday that he was held with 28 others in a small cell. He believes he was targeted for his anti-corruption stance. Arkansas breaks from other red states on sanctuary campuses LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) Arkansas lawmakers rejected a proposal Tuesday to block funding to colleges and universities that don't cooperate with federal immigration authorities, a stance that differs with other Republican states targeting campuses and cities offering sanctuary to immigrants in the country illegally. The House Education Committee rejected the proposal by voice vote. It would have required public higher education institutions to certify annually that they don't have any "sanctuary" policies in place. Republican Rep. Brandt Smith, who proposed the measure, said he didn't expect to bring it back up during this year's session. None of Arkansas' campuses have adopted any policies refusing to cooperate with immigration authorities, but Smith said the bill was needed to discourage any efforts to do so. Arkansas State University, which is in Smith's district, last week rebuffed a petition requesting the school declare itself a sanctuary campus. Children hold signs protesting an anti-sanctuary bill outside the House Education Committee meeting at the state Capitol in Little Rock, Ark., on Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2017. The panel rejected an effort to cut off state funding to colleges and universities that don't cooperate with federal immigration authorities. No state colleges have such a policy, but Republican Rep. Brandt Smith said he was trying to be proactive. Opponents said it could lead to profiling some students. (AP Photo/Kelly P. Kissel) "We need to help our administrators, our presidents of these colleges and universities as well as our chancellors, so they can actually push back and say we will not be encouraged to break federal laws," Smith told the panel. The issue of sanctuary cities and campuses has taken on national importance following a series of immigration measures from President Donald Trump. It comes as advocates are concerned about the future of a program created under former President Barack Obama that allows young people brought into the country illegally as children to stay and obtain work permits. Trump said during the presidential campaign that he would eliminate it but has since said his administration "will work something out" and hasn't taken any action against the program during his first days in office. Republican Gov. Asa Hutchinson, a former federal Homeland Security official who oversaw border security efforts, told reporters earlier Tuesday that he was concerned about the impact Smith's bill would have on some college students. "They're paying tuition, out-of-state tuition I believe, and they are getting their education and while they are doing that we don't want to create a climate of fear for them," Hutchinson said. The bill also faced skepticism from Republican lawmakers who noted that they already have the authority to block funding for schools through the regular budget process. "Why should I pass a bill to grant myself a power I already have to fix a problem that does not exist?" Republican Rep. Jana Della Rosa asked. Opponents of the bill who had filled the committee room and the hallway cheered when the panel rejected Smith's proposal. The head of an immigrant advocacy group said she was worried it would have led to profiling of some students. "There's no denying this targets our immigrant community here in Arkansas," Mireya Reith, executive director of the Arkansas United Community Coalition, told the committee. Republican Sen. Gary Stubblefield said he's still pushing for a separate measure cutting off state funding for cities that adopt sanctuary policies for immigrants in the country illegally, despite the failure of Smith's proposal. Stubblefield's bill is pending before a Senate committee. "This is more or less a pre-emptive thing, to ward it off ahead of time," Stubblefield said. ___ Associated Press Writer Kelly P. Kissel contributed to this report ___ Follow Andrew DeMillo on Twitter at www.twitter.com/ademillo Arkansas state Rep. Brandt Smith, appearing before the House Education Committee at the state Capitol in Little Rock on Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2017, asks the panel to approve a bill that would cut funding for Arkansas colleges and universities that don't cooperate with federal immigration authorities. Panel members rejected the idea in a voice vote. Smith said later he didn't expect to revisit the matter this session. (AP Photo/Andrew DeMillo) Oregon school district bans Confederate flag after fight NORTH BEND, Ore. (AP) An Oregon school district banned the Confederate flag from school property following a fight between two girls, one of whom was wearing a hat that included the symbol. North Bend Superintendent Bill Yester says the punches were thrown last week at the high school campus. Neither student has been disciplined as of yet and there were no serious injuries. Yester contends the ban doesn't violate free expression because schools have the legal authority to provide an environment free of harassment, and district policy allows principals to prohibit clothing that distracts from the educational process. The World newspaper of Coos Bay reports (https://is.gd/6fXIlt) protesters unhappy with the new policy were outside North Bend High on Monday, holding up Confederate flags, a Gadsden flag and the flag of the United States. Rumors that the school district banned the American flag were incorrect. ___ The Latest: Leader says tribe 'undaunted' by pipeline notice BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) The Latest on the Dakota Access pipeline being built to carry oil from North Dakota to Illinois (all times local): 5:10 p.m. The chairman of the Standing Rock Sioux says the tribe is "undaunted" by an Army decision to allow completion of the Dakota Access oil pipeline. Dave Archambault (AHR'-sham-boh) said Tuesday that the tribe will challenge in court the Army's decision to halt further study on the pipeline's crossing of the Missouri River in North Dakota. Archambault says even if the pipeline is finished, the tribe will push to get it shut down. The tribe fears a pipeline leak would contaminate drinking water for the reservation and millions downstream. The Dallas-based pipeline developer says it's safe. Archambault says a "Native Nation's March" is planned in Washington, D.C., on March 10, and he asked the tribe's allies to take part in calling for Congress to demand "a fair and accurate process." ___ 4:55 p.m. North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum is applauding the Army's decision to allow completion of the Dakota Access oil pipeline. But Burgum says his "top priority" remains public safety and the cleanup of an area near the pipeline route where hundreds and sometimes thousands of pipeline opponents have camped since last summer. The Standing Rock Sioux have led the protests. The tribe through a contractor is cleaning up tons of garbage before spring flooding can wash debris into area rivers. The Army Corps of Engineers has notified remaining protesters that the government-owned land will be closed Feb. 22. Burgum says if the area isn't cleaned up, it could be "an ecological disaster." The Army notified Congress Tuesday it will end study of the pipeline's disputed Missouri River crossing in North Dakota, and allow construction to proceed. ___ 4:20 p.m. A leader of Dakota Access pipeline opponents says protests will continue, despite an Army decision clearing the way for the $3.8 billion project's completion. Phyllis Young is a leader at the encampment near Lake Oahe (oh-AH'-hee) where hundreds and sometimes thousands of opponents have gathered since last summer. She says the Army decision to end study and allow the pipeline to cross under the Missouri River reservoir is disappointing but expected. Young is a member of the Standing Rock Sioux tribe, which worries a pipeline leak could pollute its drinking water. She calls the anti-pipeline effort "our life struggle," and says it will continue "however we have to do it." The tribe has promised to fight completion of the project in court. Dallas-based pipeline developer Energy Transfer Partners says the pipeline is safe. ___ 4 p.m. Environmental groups are criticizing an Army decision to end study of a disputed Dakota Access pipeline river crossing and clear the way for completion of the $3.8 billion project to move North Dakota oil to Illinois. The Army notified Congress on Tuesday that it will allow the pipeline to cross under the Missouri River in North Dakota, the last big chunk of construction. Approval could come as early as Wednesday. The Sierra Club, Greenpeace and the Center for Biological Diversity issued statements saying President Donald Trump's administration is putting corporate profits ahead of Native Americans and the environment. The Standing Rock Sioux tribe worries a pipeline leak could pollute its drinking water and has promised to fight completion of the project in court. Dallas-based pipeline developer Energy Transfer Partners says the pipeline is safe. ___ 3:45 p.m. North Dakota's congressional delegation is welcoming the Army's announcement that it will clear the way for completion of the Dakota Access oil pipeline. The Army said Tuesday that it will allow the pipeline to cross under a Missouri River reservoir in North Dakota, the final big chunk of work on the project. Republican Rep. Kevin Cramer says the move comes after months of unnecessary delay. Republican Sen. John Hoeven says the pipeline will serve the nation's need for new energy infrastructure and is being built with "the latest safeguards." Democratic Sen. Heidi Heitkamp says the Army's announcement brings the pipeline conflict one step closer to resolution. She says it "delivers the certainty and clarity" she's been demanding. The pipeline has been the target of months of protests by the Standing Rock Sioux, who say it threatens drinking water. ___ 3:20 p.m. The Standing Rock Sioux tribe is promising a legal battle after the Army said it's clearing the way for completion of the Dakota Access oil pipeline. Tribal attorney Jan (yahn) Hasselman says the government "will be held accountable in court." He says the specifics of the tribe's challenge are being worked out. The Army said Tuesday that it will allow the $3.8 billion pipeline to cross under a Missouri River reservoir in North Dakota. That's the final big chunk of work on the pipeline that will move oil from North Dakota through the Dakotas and Iowa to a shipping point in Illinois. The Standing Rock Sioux worries a pipeline leak could pollute its drinking water. Hasselman says other routes should be considered. Dallas-based developer Energy Transfer Partners says the pipeline is safe. ___ 2:51 p.m. The Army has notified Congress that it will allow the $3.8 billion Dakota Access pipeline to cross under a Missouri River reservoir in North Dakota, completing the four-state project to move North Dakota oil to Illinois. The Justice Department filed court documents Tuesday including letters to members of Congress from Deputy Assistant Army Secretary Paul Cramer. The Army intends to allow the crossing under Lake Oahe (oh-AH'-hee) as early as Wednesday. The crossing is the final big chunk of work on the pipeline. The Standing Rock Sioux tribe worries a pipeline leak could pollute drinking water. It's promised to continue legal challenges. A copy of Gov. Tom Wolf's budget address released by the governor's office this morning: Tuesday, February 7, 2017 I. Introduction Lieutenant Governor Stack, Speaker Turzai, President Scarnati. . . Leader Corman, Leader Costa, Leader Reed, Leader Dermody. . . Members of the General Assembly, invited guests, friends and family. . . And, most importantly, my fellow Pennsylvanians: I have always believed in the potential of our great Commonwealth. Pennsylvania is where I grew up. Its where Frances and I raised two wonderful daughters. Its where I signed the backs of paychecks as a forklift operator and where I signed the fronts of paychecks after I bought the family business. Pennsylvania should be a place where anyone who wants a good job can find one. . . a place where businesses large and small can grow and thrive. . . a place where every family can pass on greater opportunities to the next generation. When I first ran for Governor, I met so many Pennsylvanians who believed in our potential, too. Even if they, themselves, were hurting, struggling to get back on their feet in the wake of the Great Recession, they loved our Commonwealth, and they believed that a brighter future was possible here. But they felt like Harrisburg wasnt doing its part to help build that brighter future. And they were right. Thats why I promised to be a different kind of governor who would bring a different approach because I knew that we couldnt keep doing things the same old way here in Harrisburg and expect different results. Over the last two years, weve begun to make progress. And, even better, weve been able to make progress together. We came together to pass a historic liquor reform bill. I didnt do that. We did that. We came together to bring relief to suffering children by passing medical marijuana, something people in this building have been fighting for since long before I got here. I didnt do that. We did that. Today, Pennsylvanias schools are beginning to recover from years of chronic underfunding. Weve taken a new, more aggressive, more effective approach to fighting back against the heroin and opioid epidemic ravaging our communities. And, Im proud to say, there are 82,000 more Pennsylvanians working than there were two years ago. I didnt do that. We did that. But theres still work to be done to help Pennsylvanians build a brighter future. And, yes, theres still work to be done when it comes to making Harrisburg work better for the people it serves. And theres no better example than the issue at hand today: our state budget. II. This years budget Our Commonwealth has been operating with a structural deficit for a long time. That means Harrisburg has been living beyond its means. Households cant do that, and neither can we. Harrisburgs past failure to address that deficit led to devastating cuts in education, made our senior citizens more vulnerable, and prevented our economy from reaching its full potential. To Pennsylvanians, it seemed like the budget always brought out the worst in Harrisburg. Politicians always found a way to avoid making the tough decisions. Special interests always found a way to avoid giving up their special privileges. And taxpayers always wound-up holding the bag, forced to choose between paying higher taxes or settling for worse services. Harrisburgs inability to solve these problems responsibly put our education system, our economy, and our families at risk. Pennsylvanians deserve betterand we must continue to deliver for them. As Governor, Ive pushed for a different approach, one that puts schools and seniors first, because I believe that, if were going to help Pennsylvania fulfill its potential, we cant go back to forcing our children and our parents to pay the price for Harrisburgs failures. Nor can we go back to the practices that created this problem in the first place. Nor, for that matter, can we go back to saddling Pennsylvania families working hard to get by with the bill for a mess they didnt make. So, Im offering a budget proposal that represents a responsible solution to our deficit challenge and a different approach from the way things have been done in Harrisburg for almost a generation. Lets start here: In my proposed budget, there are no broad-based tax increases. At the same time, my budget protects the investments weve made in education, in senior services, in fighting the scourge of opioids, and in growing Pennsylvanias economy. And it sets our Commonwealth on a sustainable fiscal course that will grow our paltry rainy day fund from $245,000 today to almost $500 million by 2022. How? By reforming our state government and by making Harrisburg work smarter. One of my first acts as Governor two years ago was to identify $150 million we could save by making our state government more efficient everything from negotiating for lower prices from vendors to putting voter registration online to streamlining the process for outgoing mail. This budget goes even further. In fact, it contains the largest cuts to, and consolidations of, government bureaucracy in our history. Some of these reforms are simply long overdue common sense measures like centralizing shared services like human resources and information technology, selling property the state owns but doesnt use, or consolidating pension funds to save millions that used to flow into the pockets of too many Wall Street financial managers. Some of these reforms reflect new thinking on how we can cut costs without reducing the level of service we provide to Pennsylvanians like merging departments under one roof, or offering a new early retirement program to modernize our state workforce. And, yes, some of these reforms involve gritting our teeth and tightening our belts like eliminating funding for bureaucratic positions that are currently vacant. But streamlining our state government doesnt mean reducing the services it provides. In fact, it can improve services. For example, my proposal streamlines the various programs designed to help small businesses get off the ground by creating a single point of contact to help small business owners cut through red tape and start creating jobs. By identifying specific programs that could be working more efficiently and others that are no longer working at all this budget proposes reforms that, altogether, will save taxpayers more than $2 billion. Thats right, $2 billion. Thats money we can use not only to protect the funding weve restored for education, but to provide more options for seniors so they can stay in their homes while receiving the care they need, make new job-creating investments in manufacturing and workforce development, and help communities ravaged by heroin and opioid abuse. This proposal also closes corporate loopholes that have helped big companies avoid paying their fair share. Look, I have nothing against successful businesses. I used to run one. But Pennsylvania families are already paying too much to help fund our government. And when big corporations get special treatment, Pennsylvania families and small businesses wind up shouldering more of a burden than they can bear. Thats why Ive fought to close these loopholes from the beginning. III. Education Today, and in the days and weeks to come, well have a chance to sit down and discuss this budget in depth. But I believe that any debate about budgets is, at its core, really a debate about priorities. And the budget Ive proposed reflects my belief that there should be no greater priority for our government than educating our children. After all, if you ask Pennsylvanians about their top priority, the odds are that, if theyre parents or grandparents, theyll start by telling you about their kids, or their grandkids. Im honored beyond words to serve as Pennsylvanias Governor, but the most important job I have ever had is being Sarah and Katies father. And I know the same is true for everyone in this chamber who has had the incredible fortune to be a parent. There isnt a single one of you not one Republican, not one Democrat who wouldnt do anything for your kids. Frances and I sent our girls to public schools in York County. There, we watched them grow and learn and discover who they were, thanks in no small part to some incredible teachers. We watched them earn the opportunity to go off to college. We watched them build careers of their own Sarah as an architect, and Katie as a geologist. So when, five years ago, our state government cut a billion dollars from public education, we like so many parents all across Pennsylvania were horrified. Teachers were being laid off by the thousands, schools were pushed to the brink of closing, and the same education system that had given my kids so much opportunity was being set up by Harrisburg to fail. As I traveled the state, I found that I wasnt alone in that fear. I met brilliant students who were being held back because their schools didnt have enough textbooks heck, some schools I visited couldnt even afford enough toilet paper. I met parents who worried that the school buildings they sent their kids off to every day werent safe. I met teachers who were being asked to do more and more with less and less and then being told they were overpaid. Over the past two years, weve taken a different approach. Instead of allowing schools to become the first casualty of our budget deficit, weve made them our first priority. Weve undone nearly two-thirds of those short-sighted cuts to our public school system. In fact, weve made the largest investment in schools in the history of the Commonwealth. Struggling schools across the commonwealth are getting back on stable financial footing. Parents and teachers no longer have to spend their summers worrying about whether the school doors will open at summers end. And when I travel the state now, I visit more and more school districts where, instead of scrambling to make ends meet, theyre expanding the programs available to students and expanding the opportunities these students will have once they graduate. For example, in the Dover Area School District, theyve created more Career and Technical Education programs ranging from Agriculture to Accounting to Geospatial Technology. More than 200 students are now enrolled in these programs, many of them earning college credits while still in high school thanks to partnerships with post-secondary institutions. And theyve done it without raising local taxes one dime. And in the Jersey Shore Area School District, theyve used new funding to further develop their Learning Pathways Curriculum, which helps prepare high school students for careers in business, human services, and industrial technology. Next up will be an expanded Health Science program. Meanwhile, in Mifflintown, the Juniata County School District was just named to the College Boards AP District Honor Roll for expanding access to advanced placement courses and tests while maintaining student achievement. Its one of 44 districts across the Commonwealth to earn that distinction. Our renewed commitment to Pennsylvania schools has included $465 million in restored funding for K-12 education, $14.6 million for early intervention, and $81.4 million for higher education. Weve restored $60 million in funding for early childhood education, and now nearly 200 school districts across the Commonwealth are planning to make new investments in pre-K or kindergarten, giving thousands of our youngest Pennsylvanians a boost as they embark on a lifetime of learning. We havent solved every problem in our education system. But Im proud to say that the investment weve worked together to make in Pennsylvanias future is already beginning to pay off. And so in this budget, Im proposing an additional $125 million for K through 12 classrooms, $75 million to expand high-quality early childhood education, and $8.9 million for our state system of higher education. IV. Seniors Just as Pennsylvanians make their children a top priority, so, too, are aging parents, aunts and uncles a top priority for all of us. When I was running for this office, I listened to seniors all across our Commonwealth. They told me that they very much appreciated how often politicians came to see them, but that theyd prefer real action on improving senior services. Thats why one of the first initiatives I announced as Governor was to improve home-based and community-based care services, so that more seniors could have more options for getting the care they needed without having to move out of their homes. And its why, when health insurers threatened to kick 180,000 seniors off their health plans, we stepped in and took those insurance companies to court to make sure that their coverage stayed in place. Just this past year, we distributed more than $2 million in lottery proceeds to 43 senior community centers across our Commonwealth. And we made it easier for struggling seniors to get assistance purchasing nutritious food. Theres more to be done. Next January, another new program called Community HealthChoices will come online to help more seniors receive the care they need within their community instead of at facilities. But innovations like these are only possible if we continue to move past the budget battles that have paralyzed Harrisburg for far too long and take a different approach. V. Opioids And theres no better illustration of that different approach than the steps weve taken together to address the public health crisis of heroin and opioid abuse. This epidemic has stolen the futures of far too many of our fellow Pennsylvanians. The numbers are simply staggering. But, for me, and I suspect for many of you, the numbers arent what compelled us to act. It was the stories. It was the people. Like, the woman who had been through eight treatment facilities by the age of 20 but who still struggles with addiction every day. The dad who broke down in tears begging for help for his daughter. The police officer who arrived on the scene too late to help the latest victim. I was in a doctors office just a short time ago when the physicians assistant came in and closed the door. Youve got to do something, she told me. Shed seen too many people suffering the effects of an opioid addiction. And then she told me her own brother had died of a heroin overdose just a few weeks earlier, at the age of 39. Theres not one of us in this chamber who hasnt been shaken to our core after hearing from a constituent who had to identify a loved one at the morgue or bury a childhood friend. And so, we worked together to take action. We armed law enforcement with the tools they need to crack down on those who profit from this crisis by preying on our most vulnerable citizens. And we equipped police and first responders with naloxone, a life-saving opioid overdose antidote, allowing them to reverse more than 2,300 opioid overdoses so far. We destroyed more than 100,000 pounds of unused and unwanted prescription drugs before they could fall into the wrong hands, and we redesigned the Prescription Drug Monitoring Program so that medical professionals can monitor patients and identify those who may be at risk. Weve taken our campaign against opioids from classrooms to emergency rooms to correctional facilities and weve devoted more than $20 million to expanding treatment options, creating 45 Centers of Excellence throughout the state and giving nearly 11,000 Pennsylvanians a chance to escape addiction. And when we took action to expand Medicaid, providing more than 700,000 Pennsylvanians with access to health care, we empowered more than 120,000 people currently battling addiction to get the help they need which is why Im going to fight to keep those protections in place. I pledge to continue doing everything in my power to keep protecting our communities from the scourge of heroin and opioid abuse. And I know that I, and all of Pennsylvania, can count on everyone in this chamber to stand together. VI. Conclusion I still believe in the potential of our Commonwealth. And Im proud of the progress weve begun to make to fulfill that potential. The kind of change Im trying to bring to Harrisburg wont come easy. If reforming our state government and putting Pennsylvania back on a path to fiscal stability were easy, these things would have been done long ago. And I cant do it alone. Thats why weve reached out to legislators on both sides of the aisle and incorporated their ideas for cutting spending and eliminating wasteful inefficiencies. And its why Im ready to work with anyone in this chamber to pass a budget that addresses this challenge responsibly and protects the priorities that matter to Pennsylvanians. The truth is, the people of the Commonwealth have elected a Democratic Governor and the most Republican legislature in modern history. I think its safe to say that they dont expect us to agree on everything. But no Pennsylvanian is interested in more of the same here in Harrisburg. Nobody wants to see us argue over who should get the credit for solving problems and if we dont solve problems, no Pennsylvanian will be interested in watching us argue over who should get the blame. The people who put us here want to see progress. They deserve to see progress. And when weve worked together, weve been able to deliver that progress. Sure, over the two years Ive been in this job, weve had our share of disagreements, some of them fierce. But weve also proven that, when Pennsylvanians demand action, we are capable of coming together to answer the call. Over the last two years, weve decreased our prison population, weve begun to rebuild our crumbling roads and bridges, and weve brought some much-needed transparency and accountability to Harrisburg, just to name a few. And there are more Pennsylvanians working today than there were just two years ago. Yes, weve seen what Harrisburg looks like at its worst. But weve also seen whats possible when we set aside those tired old fights and make Pennsylvanians priorities our priorities. I believe that we can leave the frustrating politics of old behind us and work together to build a brighter future for all Pennsylvanians. And it is in that spirit that I invite this legislature to join me in continuing to turn the page on the broken politics that have held our Commonwealth back, and choose a different path forward, one in which Democrats and Republicans work together to re-imagine and re-invent our state government. . . re-commit to our schools, to our seniors, and to our most vulnerable citizens. . . and rebuild our middle class. Im ready to get to work. And I hope you are, too. Thank you. God bless you. And God bless the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Analysis: Trump paints dark picture in defense of travel ban WASHINGTON (AP) The more Donald Trump tries to build support for his refugee and immigration ban, the darker the world seems to get. In defending his policies barring refugees and curbing immigration, the president is painting an increasingly ominous picture of the danger posed by Islamic extremists. In his speeches, tweets and an imposing new tally of what Trump calls an unreported "genocide" by the Islamic State group, he has raised the prospect of imminent attacks on the United States and cast the debate over safety as a clash between radical Islam and the West. To Trump's supporters, the president's dark warnings show that he has a clear-eyed view of the terror threat facing the U.S. a threat they believe Barack Obama downplayed. Trump's critics fear he is hyping one threat at the expense of others. FIEL - In this Monday, Dec. 15, 2014 file photo, a hostage runs to armed tactical response police officers for safety after she escaped from a cafe under siege at Martin Place in the central business district of Sydney, Australia. Gunman Man Haron Monis, a self-styled cleric with a long criminal history, fatally shot one of his captives, prompting police to storm the cafe. Monis was then shot dead by police and another hostage was killed in the crossfire. (AP Photo/Rob Griffith) Islamic extremism is "an enemy that celebrates death and totally worships destruction," Trump said Monday while visiting the headquarters of the military's Central Command. The list his administration is circulating highlights the debate. The White House points to the 78 incidents as evidence that the news media are intentionally downplaying the dangers of the Islamic State group. "Most" incidents on the list haven't received sufficient attention, the White House says. Trump's terror list, however, focuses only on attacks the White House says were "executed or inspired by" the Islamic State. Terrorism carried out in the name of other causes didn't make the list. For example, Trump's list does not include violence by Boko Haram, an Islamist insurgent group operating in West Africa that pledged allegiance to the Islamic State in 2015. It is responsible for far more deaths than IS, including suicide bombings, mass shootings and massacres of civilians in Nigeria and neighboring countries. The White House list also leaves off last month's attack on a mosque in Quebec, where six Muslim men were shot and killed. A French Canadian man known for far-right, nationalist views has been charged and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has called it an act of terrorism against Muslims. The White House says Trump did call Trudeau to express condolences. But his failing to mention it now appears to reflect his narrow focus on the Islamic State. Although he has been vague about his plans for countering the Islamic State in its strongholds in Iraq and Syria, he has moved swiftly to try to keep the group's followers out of the United States, signing an executive order in his first week in office that banned all entries from seven Muslim-majority countries with terror ties. Trump's directive also halted the entire U.S. refugee program for four months and banned Syrians from the U.S. indefinitely. The ban is now held up in the courts, prompting a fierce response from the president. In a strikingly personal attack on the judiciary, Trump said the judge should bear the blame if an attack occurs while his ban is paused. He's warned that the court order has allowed people to start "pouring in" to the United States, despite the fact that those who do not currently hold legal visas must go through lengthy vetting procedures before entering the country. "ISIS said we are going to infiltrate the United States and other countries through the migration," Trump said during a White House meeting with sheriffs Tuesday. "And then we're not allowed to be tough on the people coming in? Explain that one." Evelyn Farkas, who served as deputy assistant defense secretary during the Obama administration, argues that the president's warnings are creating "a level of concern that probably isn't warranted by the threats assessment." In recent years, federal law enforcement agencies have focused more on the threat posed by homegrown extremists people, usually men, who are already in the U.S. and who find themselves attracted to Islamic State propaganda of violence and mayhem. Still, officials concede that it's impossible to guarantee a mistake-free screening process for people seeking to come to the U.S., particularly given the paucity of information sometimes available on people entering from Syria. White House spokesman Sean Spicer says the president isn't trying to scare Americans. Still, he said forebodingly on Tuesday, "The earth is a very dangerous place." The president's intense focus on Islamic terrorism is shared by some of his top aides, including National Security Adviser Michael Flynn and chief strategist Steve Bannon, who was one of the architects of the refugee ban. Flynn has called Islam a "political ideology" and said it "hides behind being a religion." Trump's rhetoric marks a sharp shift from his most recent predecessors. In the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, President George W. Bush emphasized that the U.S. was not at war with Muslims. Obama refused to use the term "radical Islamic extremism," arguing that it validated terrorists who claimed they were acting on behalf of their faith. The contrast between Trump and Obama is particularly striking. While Obama insisted the Islamic State did not pose an existential threat to the U.S., Trump says the group is "on a campaign of genocide" and is "determined to strike our homeland." Obama warned about overstating the Islamic State's capabilities, while Trump says the group's scope has not been reported widely enough. Beyond the refugee ban, Trump officials are looking at whether to revamp a U.S. program aimed at countering violent extremism to target only Islamic-inspired terrorists, not white supremacists or other groups. They've also discussed an executive order that would label the Muslim Brotherhood, an Egyptian-based group, a terrorist organization. The White House has also discussed dropping sanctions on Russia that were levied in retaliation for provocations in Ukraine if Moscow would work alongside the U.S. in fighting the Islamic State. Vice President Mike Pence appeared to raise that prospect over the weekend, saying the continuation of the sanctions depends on "the opportunity perhaps to work on common interests." "The president's made it clear the top priority of this administration is to hunt down and destroy ISIS at its source," Pence said on ABC's "This Week." ___ Associated Press writer Eric Tucker contributed to this report. ___ Follow Julie Pace at http://twitter.com/jpaceDC FILE - In this Friday, June 26, 2015 file photo, covered bodies lie on a beach in Sousse, Tunisia. An armed gunman attacked the resort, killing 38 people, most of them British tourists, in one the deadliest terrorist attacks in the modern history of Tunisia. The Islamic State group claimed responsibility. (Jawhara FM via AP) FILE - In this Sunday, May 3, 2015 file photo, an armed police officer stands guard on a road near the Curtis Culwell Center where a provocative contest for cartoon depictions of the Prophet Muhammad was held in Garland, Texas. Two Phoenix men wearing body armor and carrying rifles drove to the center, exited a vehicle and began shooting at the entrance. An off-duty police officer providing security for the event fatally shot both men before they could get inside. An unarmed security guard was shot in the ankle. (AP Photo/LM Otero) FILE - In this Sunday, Dec. 7, 2014 file photo, Nancy Ray, a U.S. expatriate, takes part in a candlelight vigil at a beach in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, in memory of American schoolteacher Ibolya Ryan who was killed in a stabbing attack in the restroom of the Boutik Mall on the upscale Reem Island in Abu Dhabi, on Dec. 1, 2014. (AP Photo/Kamran Jebreili) FILE - In this Tuesday, March 22, 2016 photo provided by Ralph Usbeck, an unidentified woman lies on the ground in a smoke-filled terminal at Brussels Airport after explosions in the Belgian capital. The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the deadly attacks at the city's airport and subway. (Ralph Usbeck via AP) FILE - In this Wednesday, June 29, 2016 file photo, passengers embrace each other as they wait outside Istanbul's Ataturk airport, following their evacuation after a blast. Dozens were killed in the attack. Turkish authorities have banned distribution of images relating to the Ataturk airport attack within Turkey. (AP Photo/Emrah Gurel) FILE - In this Sept. 17, 2016 file photo, first responders work near the scene of an explosion in Manhattan's Chelsea neighborhood, in New York. Although the pressure cooker bomb that wounded over two dozen people on the street went off in front of an apartment building for the blind, none of the building's residents were hurt in the blast. (AP Photo/Andres Kudacki, File) FILE - In this Sept 17, 2016 file photo, people stand near the entrance on the north side of Crossroads Center mall in St. Cloud, Minn., as officials investigate a reported multiple stabbing incident. Wearing a security guard uniform, 20-year-old Dahir Ahmed Adan stabbed and wounded 10 people before an off-duty officer fatally shot him. After the attacks, an Islamic State-run news agency claimed Adan, who was Somali-American, was a "soldier of the Islamic State." (Dave Schwarz/The St. Cloud Times via AP, File) FILE - In this Friday Jan. 9, 2015 file photo, police officers work at the scene of a Kosher market in Paris after attacker Amedy Coulibaly took hostages. He was killed when police raided the store. (AP Photo/Francois Mori) FILE - In this Thursday, Jan. 14, 2016 file photo, an armored police vehicle is parked outside a Starbucks cafe after an explosion in Jakarta, Indonesia. Attackers set off explosions at a Starbucks cafe in a bustling shopping area in Indonesia's capital and waged gunbattles with police, leaving bodies in the streets as office workers watched in terror from high-rise buildings. (AP Photo/Achmad Ibrahim) FILE - In this Sunday, Feb. 15, 2015 file photo, a police investigator works at the scene of a shooting at a free speech event in Copenhagen. The head of Denmark's intelligence agency announced his resignation on Wednesday May 6, 2015, hours before a government report was released criticizing some parts of the police response to the two fatal shooting attacks in Copenhagen in February. (Jens Dresling/Polfoto via AP) DENMARK OUT FILE - In this Monday, April 27, 2015 file photo, police officers secure the perimeter of a police station in the eastern Bosnian town of Zvornik, 200 kilometers (124 miles) east of Sarajevo. Bosnian authorities say a man stormed into the police station, killing a police officer and wounding two others; the attacker was killed. (AP Photo/Amel Emric) FILE - In this Thursday Oct. 23, 2014 file photo, a Royal Canadian Mounted Police vehicle is seen through broken glass in the rotunda of the Parliament complex in Ottawa. The shooting rampage by a lone gunman left Cpl. Nathan Cirillo dead and came two days after a man, described by authorities as an Islamic State group-inspired terrorist, ran over two soldiers in a parking lot in Quebec, killing one and injuring the other before being shot to death by police. That attacker had been under surveillance by Canadian authorities. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Adrian Wyld) FILE - In this July 14, 2016 file photo, authorities inspect a truck after it plowed through Bastille Day revelers in the French resort city of Nice, France. The attack, which killed over 80 people during a beach-side fireworks party, was carried out by a Tunisian who claimed allegiance to Islamic State extremists and was killed by police. (Sasha Goldsmith via AP, File) FILE - In this Saturday, Oct. 31, 2015 file photo, a relative of a victim of a Russian airliner with over 200 passengers and crew aboard which crashed, reacts at Pulkovo airport in St. Petersburg, Russia. The passenger plane was blown up over the Sinai Peninsula in an attack claimed by the Islamic State group. (AP Photo/Dmitry Lovetsky) FILE - In this Monday, Dec. 19, 2016 file photo, firefighters stand next to a toppled Christmas tree after a truck ran into a crowded market and killed several people in Berlin, Germany. Though Tunisian Anis Amri had been under surveillance, he was able to hijack a truck and kill 12 people and wound dozens of others the first mass-casualty Islamic extremist attack in Germany. (AP Photo/Michael Sohn) FILE - In this Thursday, March 19, 2015 file photo, a man pays his respects to victims near a bloodstain during a rally in front of the National Bardo Museum in Tunis, Tunisia, a day after gunmen attacked the site and killed scores of people. The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the deadly attack on the national museum that mostly tourists. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena) Nigel Farage has said the Stoke-on-Trent by-election will mark an anti-establishment triple after the Brexit vote and the election of Donald Trump. The former Ukip leader said voters going to the polls in the Potteries constituency on February 23 could trigger a sea change in British politics. In a speech backing party leader Paul Nuttalls bid to win the parliamentary seat, Mr Farage said Stoke had defied the establishment in backing Brexit and could do so again. On the theme of Britains divorce from the European Union, he said: We won the war, but weve yet to win the peace. I still do not trust the majority of our political class in Westminster. You think about it its over seven months since we voted to leave the European Union and what has happened so far? Sweet nothing. Mr Farage emerged to raucous cheers from a 600-strong Ukip-supporting crowd at Victoria Hall in Hanley on Monday. Minutes before going on stage, he had admitted his marriage was going through ups and downs as he broke his silence over speculation about his private life. His wife Kirsten Farage revealed they have been living separate lives for some years after unconfirmed press reports that her husband was sharing a house in London with a female French politician. Ukip party leader and candidate Paul Nuttall with Nigel Farage Speaking on his LBC Radio show, Mr Farage said he had been aware of recent press coverage about a few personal difficulties that Ive had with my marriage and my family and my relationships. He said: All of us in our lives go through ups and downs and I regret the down that I am in at the moment. On stage in Stoke, he appeared unfazed in front of the friendly audience. As the last notes of Yazzs The Only Way Is Up faded away, he quipped: I thought for a moment it was an audition for Strictly Come Dancing. He said it had been cities like Stoke that led us to the greatest political revolution of our times by backing Brexit. The city voted by a clear majority to leave the EU in last years in-out referendum. Mr Farage said: Come the day 70% of you went out you defied the Labour Party, you defied the Conservative Party, you defied the Liberal Democrats, much of the media and the establishment. After spotting a banner in the crowd that read Hes NOT lying to you he asked for it to be brought forward, before posing for photos. Nigel Farage holds up a banner during a Ukip public meeting at Victoria Hall in Stoke while on the campaign trail for the Stoke-on-Trent Central by-election Earlier on Monday, about 40 demonstrators dubbed a motley crew of left-wing protesters by Ukip MEP Patrick OFlynn heckled Ukip supporters arriving at the hall. Backing Mr Nuttall, Mr Farage said: This is one of the most important by-elections weve seen in modern political times. I want him to win. Not just for the cause, not just for him, but because Ive put 1,000 quid on him on evens to do so. I backed Brexit, I backed the chap to win in America, and Stokes going to be the triple, all right? Mr Farage added that Mr Nuttall would hold government to account and expose the fact that the Labour Party is now not the Labour Party that it was for much of the last 100 years. He said: Maybe Paul Nuttall winning this by-election will spark a big and genuine sea change in British politics. President Bashar Assads regime has killed up to 13,000 people in secrecy in a Syrian jail, according to Amnesty International. In a new report covering the period from 2011 to 2015, Amnesty said 20-50 people were hanged each week at Saydnaya Prison, north of Damascus, which is known to detainees as the slaughterhouse. The report says the killings were authorised by senior Syrian officials, including deputies of President Bashar Assad, and carried out by military police. Lynn Maalouf, deputy director of research at Amnesty International Middle East and North Africa. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein) The report referred to the killings as a calculated campaign of extrajudicial execution. Amnesty has recorded at least 35 different methods of torture in Syria since the late 1980s, practices that only increased since 2011, said Lynn Maalouf, deputy director for research at Amnestys regional office in Beirut. Other human rights groups have found evidence of massive torture leading to death in Syrian detention facilities. In a report last year, Amnesty found that more than 17,000 people had died of torture and ill-treatment in custody across Syria since 2011, an average rate of more than 300 deaths a month. Amnesty: Assad regime executed 13,000 detainees, mainly civilians, in Sadnaya Prison 2011 - 2015. And that's just those verified in Sadnaya! Hadi (@HadiAlabdallah) February 7, 2017 Those figures are comparable to battlefield deaths in Aleppo, one of the fiercest war zones in Syria, where 21,000 were killed across the province since 2011. The horrors depicted in this report reveal a hidden, monstrous campaign, authorised at the highest levels of the Syrian government, aimed at crushing any form of dissent within the Syrian population, Ms Maalouf said. While the most recent data is from 2015, Ms Maalouf said there was no reason to believe the practice has stopped since then, with thousands more probably killed. These executions take place after a sham trial that lasts over a minute or two minutes, but they are authorised by the highest levels of authority, including the Grand Mufti, a top religious authority in Syria, and the defence minister, she said. Ms Maalouf says the report exposes a "monstrous campaign, authorised at the highest levels of the Syrian government". Syrian government officials rarely comment on allegations of torture and mass killings. In the past, they have denied reports of massacres documented by international human rights groups, describing them as propaganda. The chilling accounts in the Amnesty report came from interviews with 31 former detainees and more than 50 other officials and experts, including former guards and judges. According to the findings, detainees were told they would be transferred to civilian detention centres but were taken instead to another building in the facility and hanged. They walked in the train, so they had their heads down and were trying to catch the shirt of the person in front of them, Hamid, a former detainee, told Amnesty. The first time I saw them I was horrified. They were being taken to the slaughterhouse. Omar Alshogre, left, in 2017 in Stockholm, Sweden and right, in July 2015 in Antakya, Turkey, a month after he got out of Syria's Saydnaya prison. Another former detainee, Omar Alshogre, told The Associated Press the guards would come to his cell, sometimes three times a week, and call out detainees by name. He said a torture session would begin before midnight in nearby chambers that he could hear. Then the sound would stop, and we would hear a big vehicle come and take them away, said Mr Alshogre, who spent nine months in Saydnaya. A suicide bomber has targeted the Supreme Court building in the Afghan capital Kabul, killing at least 19 people, officials said. Ismail Kawasi, the public health ministry spokesman, said 41 people were also wounded in the explosion, which hit near a side door used for court employees to leave the building at the end of the work day. Najib Danish, deputy spokesman for the interior ministry, said not all the victims have been identified yet but that an investigation was under way. Security personnel outside the court (Massoud Hossaini/AP) The attacker was on foot and detonated his suicide vest packed with explosives near the employees and other people as they were coming out of the main court building, Mr Danish added. No-one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack but Taliban insurgents have attacked the top court and its employees in the past, as well as court buildings in the other provinces. The Kabul bombing came hours after a roadside bombing killed the top government official of a district in western Farah province. (Massoud Hossaini/AP) Taliban spokesman Qari Yusouf Ahmadi said the group claimed responsibility for that attack. Abdul Khaliq, the top official in the Khak-e-Safed district, was on his way home from the mosque when the explosion took place in the city of Farah, the provincial capital, a police spokesman said. Taliban insurgents frequently use roadside bombs and suicide attacks to target government officials as well as Afghan security forces across the country. A teenager who killed an American tourist and injured five other people when he ran amok with a knife in Londons Russell Square has been locked up indefinitely. Zakaria Bulhan, 19, plunged a large kitchen knife into the back of 64-year-old retired special needs teacher Darlene Horton, and then skipped away with a crazed smile on his face, leaving carnage in his wake. Zakaria Bulhan admitted killing an American tourist and injuring five others (Metropolitan Police/PA) On August 3 last year, Mrs Horton was among many tourists on their way back to their hotels after enjoying an evening meal or shows in Londons theatreland. Initially, police feared that reports of indiscriminate violence at the scene of one of the 7/7 bombings could be a terror attack. It was only later that it emerged that Bulhan, who is of Somali origin, was suffering from paranoid schizophrenia and was hearing voices. Bulhan admitted manslaughter by diminished responsibility and five charges of wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm. Sentencing at the Old Bailey, Mr Justice Spencer handed him a hospital order with a restriction order without limit of time. The judge described the killing as a tragic waste of life and said the psychological effects on the survivors would never leave them. He told Bulhan: It is quite clear that when you committed these dreadful crimes you were not in your right mind. You were in the grip of mental illness, paranoid schizophrenia. These were crimes which caused enormous public concern because, from their timing, it was feared initially that they might be the work of a terrorist fanatic. As it turned out they were not, although that is no consolation to your victims. Months before the killing, Bulhan, a Norwegian national, had dropped out of college and in March last year he had been referred for treatment for his mental health due to his odd behaviour. Darlene Horton died on her last evening in London (Metropolitan Police/PA Mother-of-two Mrs Horton was visiting London with her husband, Richard Wagner, a university professor from Florida who was teaching summer classes. She had been out for a last meal with her husband before they were due to return to their home in Tallahassee the following day. As they headed back to their hotel, she came across Bulhan moving around in an erratic fashion and wielding a large knife. Bulhan plunged the knife so deeply into Mrs Hortons body that it went right up to the hilt. She died at the scene. Five more random strangers were injured, but went on to make full recoveries, the court heard. One of the firearms officers who took Bulhan down said he came very close to shooting Bulhan before he could hurt anyone else. The officer said he was overcome with relief at not having to use lethal force, only to have the wind knocked out of his sails at finding out that someone had died. Bulhan made no reaction as he was led from the dock to return to Broadmoor secure mental hospital. Theresa May will visit China later this year as she continues her effort to build trade links around the world ahead of Brexit. The Prime Minister, who met president Xi Jinping at the G20 summit in Hangzhou in September, will return to the country for talks this year, a Number 10 source confirmed. The visit marks the latest effort to strengthen the relationship with Beijing, which suffered a setback shortly after Mrs May took office when she delayed a decision on the Chinese-backed Hinkley Point power plant. Theresa May holds a state meeting with Xi Jinping Mrs May gave the green light to the Hinkley Point plant last September and has vowed to continue the golden era in Sino-UK relations, following on from the close ties developed by David Cameron and George Osborne. A trade deal with China would represent a major prize for the UK as it leaves the European Union. Chinas top diplomat Yang Jiechi visited Downing Street in December and the two governments agreed that work this year would include enhanced trade and investment as well as security co-operation and efforts to tackle climate change, Downing Street said at the time. Kanye Wests friendly relationship with US President Donald Trump may have been short-lived. A Twitter defence of Wests meeting with Mr Trump has been deleted from the rappers account. After meeting with the then president-elect at Trump Tower on December 13, West explained in a series of tweets that he discussed multicultural issues with Mr Trump, including violence in the rappers home city, Chicago. President-elect Donald Trump and Kanye West (Seth Wenig/AP) Those tweets have been deleted. Meanwhile, rapper King Myers said West produced his anti-Trump track, Propaganda. King Myers calls for Mr Trumps impeachment in the song. The rapper is signed to Wests Good Music label. In November, West told a crowd during a concert that he did not vote in the presidential election but he would have voted for Mr Trump. Wests representatives did not immediately return a request for comment. A billionaire American art collector has declined to sell a masterpiece painting to the National Gallery because the post-Brexit sterling slump would cost him millions. James Tomilson Hill, a New York hedge fund manager, spent 30.7 million in 2015 to export the Portrait Of A Young Man In A Red Cap (1530) by Jacopo Pontormo. Desperate to keep the portrait in Britain, a matching offer was made by the London gallery in late 2016 with the help of a 19 million Treasury grant. But since the sale was set in pounds, the subsequent fall in sterling means Mr Hill would be around 8.5 million (10.7 million US dollars) out of pocket if he sold now. He wants the gallery to make up the difference so he can break even. The 16th century portrait had been part of the private collection of the Earl of Caledon since 1825 (DCMS/PA) Important cultural objects bought by overseas collectors are typically issued with temporary export bans to give UK institutions a chance to raise the funds. Under export system rules, buyers must agree to accept matching offers from UK galleries or museums. Mr Hills spokeswoman said: Mr Hill has declined to accept the National Gallerys offer to purchase the Pontormo, given the offer would have resulted in a material loss. She added he is willing to lend the work for display in the UK, Europe and the US. When export licences are refused, owners must wait 10 years before applying for a new one. Culture Minister @edvaizey has placed temporary export bar on Pontormo painting previously thought lost https://t.co/sUxcsKYOdR Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (@DCMS) December 23, 2015 The 16th century portrait had been part of the private collection of the Earl of Caledon since 1825 and depicts a young aristocrat, Carlo Neroni, painted during the siege of Florence in 1530. The Heritage Lottery Fund and the Art Fund also contributed to keep the painting in the UK. The National Gallery said it would not be commenting on the painting at this time. Statistics show 41 national treasures with a total value of 278 million have been issued with export licences in the past five years. Among the exodus of treasures was a 50 million Picasso, Child With A Dove, now thought to be in Qatar. A man has died after a train ploughed into his car on a rural level crossing in the Cotswolds. The vehicle, thought to be a Land Rover, was hit by the Great Western Railway (GWR) train at Frampton Mansell in Gloucestershire at around 3pm as it travelled from London Paddington to Cheltenham Spa. The driver is thought to have been thrown from the car before it was dragged along the railway tracks for half a mile. The scene after a vehicle was hit by a Great Western Railway (Gavin Garthwaite/PA) Police said he died at the scene and no-one else was injured in the crash. The Frampton crossing is a metal gate at the end of a grass track, a public footpath crossing operated by those using it. Network Rail (NR), which manages Britains rail infrastructure, said people must use a phone at the site and get permission from a signaller to cross the tracks. A safety assessment of the crossing in May last year highlighted deliberate misuse or user error, a low sighting time and the number of people using it as being key risks to train drivers. It is unclear whether the man requested clearance to cross the line, but residents told a passenger on the train the car had broken down on the track. Gavin Garthwaite/PA Gavin Garthwaite, a customer relations manager, was on board the train when it stopped suddenly after a massive thud. Mr Garthwaite, 30, told the Press Association: We didnt really know what happened until about 15 or 20 minutes after it actually happened. We felt this massive thud but it was an instant stop as well. We felt the impact and the train came to a sudden halt a second or two afterwards. Then there was a tannoy announcement just to ask if there were any train drivers or members of staff on the train if they could come forward. The initial reaction was maybe the driver had had some sort of heart attack or something to cause him to stop. Sadly, a man has died after a car was struck by a train on a level crossing near Frampton Mansell, Gloucestershire. https://t.co/aJ9JgchkAl pic.twitter.com/nRlRwT7fWZ British Transport Police (@BTP) February 7, 2017 But after looking out of a window Mr Garthwaite spotted the car, thought to be an old-style Land Rover, partially trapped under the front of the train. Police and GWR staff helped passengers from the train before they took refuge at a local pub. Mr Garthwaite said residents estimated the car was dragged 800m and that the driver, thought to be a local landowner, had broken down on the track. A dog is also thought to have been killed in the incident. Line between Cheltenham Spa and Swindon is blocked while officers make enquiries Check @nationalrailenq & @GWRHelp before travelling British Transport Police (@BTP) February 7, 2017 The Rail Accident Investigation Branch has sent inspectors to the scene and police are investigating. GWR said the crash forced the closure of the line between Swindon and Gloucester, with replacement buses in operation. A British Transport Police spokesman said: At 3.10pm today we were called to a level crossing close to Frampton Mansell, Gloucestershire, following reports that a car had been struck by a train. Officers from BTP attended alongside paramedics from the South Western Ambulance Service. However, a man, believed to be the driver of the car, was sadly pronounced dead at the scene. Officers are now working to identify the man and inform his family. United States disburses $98 million to El Salvador SAN SALVADOR, Feb 6 (Reuters) - The United States granted El Salvador $98 million on Monday, as part of a plan to combat lawlessness and corruption and diminish the flow of migrants heading north. The funds, which were approved by the U.S. Congress in 2015, will be used to prioritize security and development strategies in 50 impoverished areas of the Central American country, which is plagued by drug gangs. The money will also be earmarked to strengthen government institutions such as the attorney general's office, which leads the country's fight against corruption, Salvadoran Foreign Minister Hugo Martinez told a news conference. "These additional funds support the country in addressing the root causes of irregular migration, such as insecurity, lack of economic and educational opportunities, and family disintegration," said U.S. ambassador Jean Manes. In 2016, El Salvador reported 5,278 homicides, or 81.7 homicides per 100,000 inhabitants, one of the highest murder rates in the world. HARRISBURG The top-ranking Republican in the Pennsylvania House says he's encouraged by aspects of Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf's budget proposal, but says there's a lot in the details that needs to be closely examined. House Speaker Mike Turzai said Tuesday that Wolf took a few pages from the GOP playbook in crafting a $32.3 billion spending plan that does not raise income or sales tax rates. Still, Turzai says he'd like to see more emphasis on privatizing government functions, encouraging school choice and reducing state debt. Republicans who hold large majorities in both legislative chambers put up strong opposition to Wolf's first two budget plans. Trump: militant attacks 'all over Europe,' some not reported By Steve Holland TAMPA, Fla., Feb 6 (Reuters) - President Donald Trump on Monday accused the news media of ignoring attacks by Islamist militants in Europe. Trump, who has made defeating Islamic State a core goal of his presidency, did not specify which attacks were going unreported, which news media organizations were ignoring them, or offer any details to support his claims. "All over Europe, it's happening. It's gotten to a point where it's not even being reported," he told a group of about 300 U.S. troops at MacDill Air Force Base in Florida. "And, in many cases, the very, very dishonest press doesn't want to report it. They have their reasons, and you understand that," he added, without saying what those reasons were. The White House later released a list of 78 attacks around the world from September 2014 to December 2016. "Networks are not devoting to each of them the same level of coverage they once did," a White House official said. "This cannot be allowed to become the 'new normal.'" It was Trump's latest salvo against the news media, a favorite target for derision that he says broadly underestimated his chances during the presidential campaign. He has kept up the attacks since his Jan. 20 inauguration. Trump at one point cited attacks in the French cities of Paris and Nice, which were widely covered. More than 230 people have died in France alone in the past two years at the hands of attackers allied to Islamic State. Al Tompkins at The Poynter Institute, a Florida-based journalism school, dismissed Trump's criticism. German defence minister to meet U.S.'s Mattis on Friday KAUNUS, Lithuania, Feb 7 (Reuters) - German Defence Minister Ursula von der Leyen will meet U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis in Washington on Friday, a ministry spokesman said. Her visit comes ahead of a meeting of NATO defence ministers next week and the Munich Security Conference a week later. AngloGold says illegal miners largely cleared out of Ghana mine CAPE TOWN, Feb 7 (Reuters) - Illegal miners have "largely been cleared" from AngloGold Ashanti's Obuasi mine in Ghana and the company can now explore a number of options for the asset including its possible sale or redevelopment, its chief executive said on Tuesday. The invasion of the loss-making, mothballed operation by thousands of illegal miners made the asset a toxic one that underscored the social and political risks of mining in west Africa. "The military have done it without any injury or loss of life," Srinivasan Venkatakrishnan, who goes by the name Venkat, told Reuters on the sidelines of an African mining conference. Venkat said he had a constructive meeting in January with Ghana's new President Nana Akufo-Addo and the company was in early talks with the government about the future of the loss-making mine, where operations were closed over two years ago. Venkat said the company was now looking at three options: selling the mine or redeveloping it as a mechanised operation, with or without partners. Thailand's king appoints new Buddhist patriarch By Aukkarapon Niyomyat and Patpicha Tanakasempipat BANGKOK, Feb 7 (Reuters) - Thailand's king has appointed a new Buddhist supreme patriarch, the prime minister said on Tuesday, ending more than a year of tussling over the position that had been fuelled by politics and allegations of corruption. Somdet Phra Maha Muniwong, 89, the abbot of Wat Rajabopit, will be the head of more than 300,000 monks in the Southeast Asian country, where 95 percent of people are Buddhist. The country's last supreme patriarch, Somdet Phra Nyanasamvara, died in 2013 aged 100. The Sangha Supreme Council of monks had proposed their favoured candidate last year. But the junta vetoed him and the military-appointed parliament granted new King Maha Vajiralongkorn the power to pick a chief monk himself instead of relying on the council. Somdet Phra Maha Muniwong was among five senior monks nominated by Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha for royal consideration. "This went according to the King's wishes and consideration," the prime minister told reporters. The Sangha council of monks had originally nominated Somdet Phra Maha Ratchamangalacharn, also known as Somdet Chuang, for the patriarchy, but the appointment was blocked by the government. Somdet Chuang has been under investigation since 2013 for a tax scam involving luxury cars. He also has ties with the wealthy Dhammakaya Temple, which faces money laundering and land encroachment cases against its influential former abbot and is accused by traditionalists of being too materialistic - an accusation it rejects. The Sangha Supreme Council made no immediate comment on the appointment of Somdet Phra Maha Muniwong. A political analyst said it was a compromise between the two major camps in Thai Buddhism, traditionalists and modernisers as represented by the Dhammakaya sect. "He is a neutral candidate and doesn't seem tipped to any one side," Kan Yuenyong, executive director of Siam Intelligence Unit think-tank, told Reuters. Thai Buddhism has for years been tainted by reports of misbehaving monks and mishandling of temple donations, allegations some worshippers say have eroded its relevance in the deeply spiritual country. The king will attend the inauguration ceremony for the new supreme patriarch in Bangkok on Feb. 12. Disgruntled troops seize town in southeastern Ivory Coast By Ange Aboa ADIAKE, Ivory Coast, Feb 7 (Reuters) - Special forces troops poured out of their camp firing weapons in the air and seized control of a town in southeast Ivory Coast on Tuesday in another show of discontent within the military. The revolt in Adiake, about 95 km (60 miles) east of the commercial capital Abidjan, comes on the heels of a series of mutinies across the country last month that dealt a blow to Ivory Coast's post-war success story. "Gunfire began earlier in the special forces' camp and then the town began panicking as armed soldiers left the barracks," said a high school teacher, who asked not to be named out of fear of reprisal. Military sources said Tuesday's mutineers were demanding the payment of bonuses. The streets cleared as town residents fled indoors and soldiers took up positions around Adiake. Mutinying soldiers, some wearing balaclavas, manned a roadblock leading into the town, turning away cars and firing their rifles in the air. "We're not here to play games. We want our money, and we'll have it," one soldier yelled at a team of Reuters journalists attempting to enter the Adiake. A Defence Ministry official told Reuters that General Lassina Doumbia, commander of the special forces, travelled to Adiake to meet the soldiers in an attempt to end the uprising. Under the stewardship of President Alassane Ouattara, Ivory Coast has emerged from a decade-long political crisis as one of the world's fastest growing economies and a favourite for investors eyeing frontier market opportunities. Unrest within the military ranks since last month, however, has led some companies rethink their investment strategies. in the country, the world's top cocoa producer. The government agreed to a payment demand by a group of mainly former rebel fighters last month who claimed they were owed money for fighting against ex-president Laurent Gbagbo. Ivorian authorities have not released details but mutiny leaders said the deal included a promise to pay 12 million CFA francs ($19,476.73) to some 8,400 troops. The payout angered other segments of the military, leading to a wave of copycat mutinies and exposing the deep divisions that still plague the army six years after the 2011 civil war capped a decade of unrest. While those revolts have eased in recent weeks, one regional security official said that Tuesday's mutiny by the special forces - among the best trained and equipped troops in the army - was worrying. China, United States cannot afford conflict - Chinese foreign minister By Colin Packham SYDNEY, Feb 7 (Reuters) - There would be no winner from conflict between China and the United States, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi warned on Tuesday, seeking to dampen tension between the two nations that flared after the election of U.S. President Donald Trump. Relations between China and United States have soured after Trump upset Beijing in December by taking a telephone call from Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen and threatened to impose tariffs on Chinese imports. China considers Taiwan a wayward province, with no right to formal diplomatic relations with any other country. But China is committed to peace, Wang said, after meeting Australia's Foreign Minister Julia Bishop. "There cannot be conflict between China and the United States, as both sides will lose and both sides cannot afford that," he told reporters in the Australian capital of Canberra. While seeking to reduce tension, Wang called on global leaders to reject protectionism, which Trump has backed with his "America First" economic plans. "It is important to firmly commit to an open world economy," Wang added. "It is important to steer economic globalisation towards greater inclusiveness, broader shared benefit in a more sustainable way." Just days ahead of Trump taking office, Chinese President Xi Jinping was in Switzerland as the keynote speaker at the World Economic Forum in Davos, offering a vigorous defence of globalisation and signalling Beijing's desire to play a bigger role on the world stage. Wang said that China does not want to lead or replace anyone, and that as its national strength is still limited it must focus on its own development, according to comments carried on the Chinese Foreign Ministry's website. "We must remain clear headed about the various comments demanding China play a 'leadership role'," Wang said. While Trump's trade policies have spurred concern the United States is entering a period of economic protectionism, China has previously accused Australia of adopting a similar practice by blocking the sale of major assets to Chinese interests. Bishop urged China to consider joining a pan-Pacific trade pact abandoned last month by Trump, who has said he prefers bilateral deals. "I want to encourage China to consider the agreement," Bishop said, referring to the Trans-Pacific Partnership. As China called on nations to be open to offshore investment, Wang said Beijing would link its "One Belt, One Road" (OBOR) policy with Australia's plan to develop its remote northern region. The programme announced by Xi in 2013 envisages investments by China in infrastructure projects, including railways and power grids in central, west and southern Asia, as well as Africa and Europe. Qatar committed to Volkswagen, Qatari representative says DOHA, Feb 7 (Reuters) - Qatar is committed to its investment in Volkswagen, Hessa al-Jaber, Qatar's representative on the carmaker's supervisory board, said on Tuesday. "I believe VW is a great company. When we invested in VW, that was the right decision. We are really committed to VW," Jaber told reporters in her first public statement on the company since she joined the board last year. On the diesel emissions test-cheating scandal that has hit Volkswagen, she said: "They are taking steps to mitigate any future risks on emissions." German police raid far-right group that wants new Reich BERLIN, Feb 7 (Reuters) - German police on Tuesday raided 15 locations in three different states where members of a far-right group that maintains the World War Two German Reich continues to exist were engaged in forging documents such as identification cards and driver's licences. Police said the raids were ordered after an investigation into 16 people suspected of membership in the Reichsbuerger (Reich citizens) movement which renounces the existence of the federal republic. Seven of the 16 suspects were representatives of the self-declared "Federal State of Bavaria" who issued followers with citizenship documents, police said in a statement. Their goal is to establish a German Reich where the existence of the Federal State of Germany would not be recognised. Police searched 15 apartments and business location in the southern states of Bavaria, Baden Wuerttemberg and Rhineland-Palatinate. Police did not say if the suspects, aged 40 to 62 and including two women, had been arrested in the raids or beforehand. Some members of the group refused to pay fines and taxes, writing to civil servants in correspondences that they do not recognise their jurisdiction. A Reichsbuerger member opened fire on police in Bavaria in October, injuring four policemen, including one officer who later died of his wounds. Deutsche Boerse, LSE merger costs top $375 million FRANKFURT, Feb 7 (Reuters) - Deutsche Boerse and London Stock Exchange expect their planned merger to cost more than 350 million euros ($375 million) in fees for bankers, lawyers, accountants and public relations, according to a regulatory filing made while doubts swirl about the 25 billion euro deal. LSE is facing a bill of 175 million pounds ($216 million), while Deutsche Boerse will incur costs of about 150 million euros, plus taxes for each -- both figures above original estimates. The two exchanges have also offered concessions to allay competition concerns about their planned merger, the European Commission said on Tuesday. Although widely trailed by the exchanges, the pledge to spin off the French arm of clearing house LCH Clearnet is the first concrete offer to appease EU antitrust authorities. The groups had said last month they would sell the unit, LCH.Clearnet SA, to Euronext for 510 million euros. Whether more follows will depend on how the European Commission, rivals and customers respond. However, the exchanges are positive that the remedies they offered will suffice, two people close to the deal said. The European Commission has expressed antitrust concerns about the merger and the impact on the clearing of derivatives contracts in particular. The Commission has said it will decide whether to approve the deal by April 3. The exchanges also need green light from German state of Hesse, which has called for the combined headquarters to be located in Frankfurt rather than London. While regulatory approval is still pending, allegations concerning Deutsche Boerse Chief Executive Carsten Kengeter are also weighing on the future of the deal. Deutsche Boerse said on Tuesday that its supervisory board backed Kengeter, who is the focus of an insider trading investigation for allegedly buying Deutsche Boerse stock in anticipation of a deal with LSE. Deutsche Boerse stock had spiked once the merger plans became public. German police and prosecutors have searched Kengeter's office and apartment as they investigate whether secret merger talks with LSE were under way when Kengeter bought shares in his company in December 2015. Deutsche Boerse's supervisory board said it had no indication of wrongdoing on Kengeter's part as talks with the London Stock Exchange had not yet started in 2015, adding the board unanimously expressed its full confidence in him. NATO troops deploy in Lithuania, underscoring commitment to defence By Andrius Sytas and Andrea Shalal RUKLA, Lithuania Feb 7 (Reuters) - Germany and NATO on Tuesday underscored their commitment to beefing up the defence of eastern Europe's border with Russia as the first of four new batallions under the North Atlantic alliance's banner arrived in Lithuania. In moves agreed last year under former U.S. President Barack Obama, NATO is expanding its presence in the region to levels unprecedented since the Cold War, prompted by Russia's annexation of Crimea and accusations - denied by Moscow - that it is supporting a separatist conflict in eastern Ukraine. The German-led battle group of 1,000 troops in Lithuania will be joined this year by a U.S-led deployment in Poland, British-led troops in Estonia and Canadian-led troops in Latvia. They will add to smaller rotating contingents of U.S troops. Doubts about the U.S. commitment to NATO have surfaced since the election of President Donald Trump, who has described NATO allies as "very unfair" for not contributing more financially to the alliance. German Defence Minister Ursula von der Leyen said Europe realised it needed to strengthen defence cooperation and was doing more to solve its own problems. She also said U.S. Secretary of Defence James Mattis reassured her about Washington's commitment to NATO in a recent telephone call. "After what we discussed, I have no doubt about his deep conviction in the importance of NATO and the commitment of the Americans within NATO to what we have agreed," she said at a welcoming ceremony at Lithuania's Rukla military base, 100 kilometers (62 miles) from the Russian border. Von der Leyen is due to hold her first meeting with Mattis in Washington on Friday. In a phone call on Sunday with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, Trump agreed to meet alliance leaders in Europe in May. Lithuanian president Dalia Grybauskaite said the German battalion was arriving "(at) the right place and at the right time," adding she hoped the troops' stay would be peaceful. A NATO official said the NATO forces would participate in a major exercise in eastern Europe in June. A second official said it would include a simulated nuclear attack. There are no end dates for stay of the new contingents, which will rotate every six months partly to comply with NATO's 1997 promise to Russia to avoid "permanent stationing of substantial combat forces" in Central and Eastern Europe. German officials said the battalion in Lithuania, which includes over 200 tanks and other ground vehicles, will be fully formed by June 2017, including troops from Belgium, the Netherlands, Norway and Luxembourg. If Gov. Tom Wolfs proposed budget for the Pennsylvania State Police stays untouched, some municipalities may be looking at paying a little more for police coverage. Wolf Tuesday unveiled his proposed state budget. Though he did not address the change in his statement, his budget does call for a $25 per capita fee in municipalities that do not have local police coverage. According to the executive budget, a $25 fee would be assessed for every person residing in a municipality without local police coverage. Its a budgetary move that has often been proposed by governors, but one that has never been included in the final budget. According to Tom Faley, supervisor of South Middleton Township, which relies only on state police coverage, the issue of paying for protection arose in 1999 with then-Gov. Tom Ridge, as well as in the 2008 state budget proposal and 2010 state budget proposal. The proposed budgets in 1999 and 2008 sought a $100 per resident fee for municipalities without local police coverage. The 2010 proposed budget sought $156 per resident fee, depending on population, Faley said. Those never got passed, and neither did some pieces of legislation that also aimed to provide more funding for state police, including a 2012 bill that would have charged as much as $100 per capita for every municipality with a population greater than 9,000 residents, according to the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Faley said its too early for the South Middleton Township board to make a statement given that the proposed budget was just unveiled, but he noted that in previous discussions, some residents did not want to pay what they saw as a tax. Paying for state police is an issue that has come up numerous times in my 21-year tenure as a supervisor, he said, and when it happened, a number of residents were (upset) because they believed they were already paying state taxes that included state police. They believed the addition to be double taxation. The governors office argued otherwise, saying in its proposed budget that This (state police) coverage comes at no cost to the municipality and is borne by taxpayers statewide, who in many cases support their own local police coverage through local taxes. Faley said the township is grateful to have state police coverage and to have the barracks for Cumberland County located in its municipality. We have found state police professionalism to be top notch and very responsive to come to our safety needs, he said. Police coverage In Cumberland County, State Police provides coverage to municipalities west and south of Carlisle Borough, except for Shippensburg Borough, Newville Borough and Mount Holly Springs Borough, which has a part-time police force. Municipalities that would be affected by the proposal are Monroe Township, South Middleton Township, Dickinson Township, West Pennsboro Township, Lower and Upper Frankford townships, Lower and Upper Mifflin townships, Penn Township, Cooke Township, North and South Newton townships, Hopewell Township, Newburg Borough and Southampton Township. According to an analysis of court records conducted by The Sentinel, State Police was listed as the arresting agency on 1,390 of the 5,002 criminal cases (28 percent) started in Cumberland County in 2016. That number is much higher elsewhere in the Midstate. About 50 percent of 2016 cases in Franklin County involved State Police, and about 82 percent of the 2016 cases in Perry County involved State Police. In Perry County, Marysville is the only municipality with its own police force. The governors office said 67 percent of municipalities in Pennsylvania do not have local police coverage. By instituting the fee, it estimates State Police could collect $63.124 million, which would free up funds for three cadet classes to grow the number of troopers. Though State Police would receive about $63 million from this proposal, Wolf has also proposed that the department make $24.3 million adjustments in cost savings through controls and attrition. There is also an added budgeted cost of $4.75 million to supplement gun check fees to cover Pennsylvania Instant Check System costs. Syrian government, rebels swap 112 prisoners in Hama province - monitor BEIRUT, Feb 7 (Reuters) - The Syrian government and rebel groups swapped dozens of women prisoners and hostages, some of them with their children, in Hama province on Tuesday evening, a monitor said. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a British-based war monitoring group, said government representatives and rebel officials exchanged 112 women in the rebel-held Qalaat al-Madiq town in rural Hama. Many had been detained for years. About half were released from government prisons and then taken to opposition-held areas, the Observatory said. In return, the others were set free by various rebel groups and shuttled to government-controlled areas along the coast. Such exchanges were rare in the nearly six-year-old war, but had been occuring more often in recent months, the Observatory said. The war pits President Bashar al-Assad's government, backed by Russia and Iran, against an array of mostly Sunni rebel groups, including some backed by Turkey, the United States and Gulf monarchies. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will grant the final permit needed to finish the Dakota Access Pipeline, a controversial project to move oil quickly to the U.S. Gulf Coast that sparked protests by Native American tribes and climate activists. In a Tuesday court filing in U.S. District Court in Washington D.C., the U.S. Army said it would grant an easement to tunnel under Lake Oahe, a reservoir that is part of the Missouri River, allowing completion of the last remaining unfinished stretch of the line. Reversing the position of predecessor President Obama, President Trump issued an executive order days after being sworn in on Jan. 20 that directed the Corps to smooth the path to finishing the line. The 1,170-mile line will bring crude oil from North Dakota's Bakken shale region to Patoka, Illinois, and from there connect to the Gulf of Mexico, where many U.S. refineries are located. Scroll down for video Protests are back: The demonstrations at Standing Rock will resume on an even larger scale, anti-pipeline protesters said, after the U.S. Army of Corps of Engineers said it is letting it be built Shovel-ready: Work under way in October before Obama put the project on ice will resume once the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers formally grants permission for a tunnel 'It's great to see this new administration following through on their promises and letting projects go forward to the benefit of American consumers and workers,' said John Stoody, spokesman for the Association of Oil Pipe Lines. The $3.8 billion line is being built by Energy Transfer Partners and is expected to be operational by midyear. The Standing Rock Sioux tribe, whose reservation is adjacent to the line's route, has said it would fight the decision but was not available for comment on Tuesday. The tribe fears contamination of drinking water and damage to sacred sites on its land. Numerous activists who have been protesting in North Dakota have vowed to stay, although the primary protest camp is on a flood plain on Army Corps land and is being cleared. 'The granting of an easement, without any environmental review or tribal consultation, is not the end of this fight. 'It is the new beginning. Expect mass resistance far beyond what Trump has seen so far,' said Tom Goldtooth, executive director of the Indigenous Environmental Network, one of the primary groups protesting the line. Meanwhile, the Seattle City Council unanimously voted to sever ties with Wells Fargo because the bank has lent funds to the DAP project Councilmember Kshama Sawant said: 'Take our government back from the billionaires, back from Trump and from the oil companies' Meanwhile, the Seattle City Council unanimously voted to sever ties with Wells Fargo because the bank has lent funds to the DAP project, theSeattle Times reported. The nine council members voted to not renew Seattle's contract with Wells Fargo upon its expiration at the end of 2018. About $3bn in city funds moves through the bank each year. Councilmember Kshama Sawant said: 'Take our government back from the billionaires, back from Trump and from the oil companies.' The protests resulted in the Obama administration's decision in early December to delay a final permit that would allow construction under the Missouri River. That victory was a short-lived one, however, as Trump, then president-elect, voiced support for the pipeline. The Obama administration later also ordered an additional environmental assessment, but that will not be conducted following Tuesday's decision. Douglas Lamont, a senior official with the Army's Civil Works department, said in a memo on Tuesday that he believes there is 'no cause for completing any additional environmental analysis,' in part because of previous assessments by the Corps in 2016. Senator Heidi Heitkamp, Democrat of North Dakota, praised the decision. 'Throughout continued delays and stalling tactics during the last administration, I've been pushing for the certainty our communities need, and as the Army Corps delivers the finality they deserve today, it's crucial that all parties double down in their resolve to listening and working together,' she said. Law enforcement and protesters clashed violently at the site on several occasions throughout the fall. More than 600 people were arrested, and police were criticized for using water cannons in 25-degree Fahrenheit (minus 4-degree Celsius) weather against activists in late November. In October, protesters burned several vehicles, forcing the closure of a bridge leading into the main protest camp. Paul Wagner, center, of the Saanich Nation on Vancouver Island, bangs a drum and sings as he takes part in a protest against the Dakota Access Pipeline and the City of Seattle's use of Wells Fargo Bank a week before the city council's decision to divest Trump held a big stake in Energy Transfer Partners prior to running for president. His mid-2015 financial disclosure form showed he had between $500,000 and $1 million in shares of the company. By mid-2016, that stake had declined to $15,000 and $50,000, according to last year's disclosure form. Shares of Energy Transfer Partners were down before the news. The stock finished up 20 cents to $39.60 a share. Meanwhile as workers begin clearing the camp, sheriff's deputies are searching hundreds of dumpster loads of garbage for possible bodies. Every truck load of frozen trash that has been arriving at the Bismarck Landfill is being broken up with heavy machinery so that law enforcement agents can search through the heaps for remains or dangerous items. 'We are looking for, as I said, anything illegal, anything that might be used to, I guess, harm our officers during a protest,' Jay Gruebele, Morton County Sheriff's Office Captain, told KFYR-TV. He added: 'As bad as it sounds, we're looking for people that may have died and could be wrapped up in a canvas or a tarp or tent.' Argentina to contact Brazil, Switzerland on alleged spy chief bribes BUENOS AIRES, Feb 7 (Reuters) - A federal judge in Argentina has moved to request information from Brazil and Switzerland to determine if President Mauricio Macri's spy chief received bribe money from builder Odebrecht in 2013, state-run news agency Telam reported on Tuesday. While corruption charges have swirled around former President Cristina Fernandez in Argentina, the investigation of National Intelligence Agency Director Gustavo Arribas raises questions about a top official in Macri's year-old administration. Prosecutors are investigating whether a transfer of $600,000 from a Brazilian money changer to a Swiss bank account in Arribas' name was a bribe from Odebrecht, the Brazil-based conglomerate at the center of a global graft scandal. Arribas denies taking bribes or having any link to Odebrecht. He said in a statement he was living in Sao Paulo in 2013 and had declared all of his bank accounts to Argentine authorities. The events under investigation took place well before Macri was elected in November 2015. The formal requests for information will be sent after Feb. 21, Telam said. The Argentine judge overseeing the case, Canicoba Corral, was not immediately available for comment. Odebrecht did not immediately respond to request for comment. Argentina wants access to movements in Arribas's Credit Suisse account from Switzerland and plea bargain testimony from the money changer in Brazil, according to Telam. Odebrecht settled with Brazilian, U.S. and Swiss authorities in December, agreeing with affiliated petrochemical company Braskem SA to a record fine of $3.5 billion. The company admitted to paying bribes in 12 mostly Latin American countries including $35 million in Argentina. REUTERS, 06th FEBRUARY, 2017-An Afghan diplomat was shot dead on Monday in the Afghan consulate in Pakistans southern city of Karachi in what was described as a personal dispute, Pakistani officials said. The consulates third secretary was killed by a private guard, who had been arrested, police official Saqib Ismail told Reuters. The guard used his automatic weapon, firing multiple bullets, Ismail said, adding that the guard was also an Afghan national. Another police official, Deputy Inspector General Azad Khan, told reporters the shooting appeared to be the result of a personal dispute. Afghan ambassador to Pakistan Omar Zakhilwal confirmed the shooting on his official Facebook account. Firing inside Afg Consulate General in Karachi at around 12:30 pm today ... has been carried out by an Afghan guard inside the compound resulting in fatality of one of our diplomats, Zakhilwal wrote. It seems to be a personal dispute related criminal act. Students belonging to eight medical faculties have decided to boycott studies from today as a protest against the Court ruling, which permits the Sri Lanka Medical Council (SLMC) to provisionally register SAITMs MBBS graduates, the Medical Faculty Students Action Committee (MFSAC) said today. Video by Indika Sri Aravinda Some 232,000 Rohingya Muslims were already living in Bangladesh before more than 65,000 others began arriving in October 2016, fleeing violence in Myanmar. DAILY MAIL, 06th FEBRUARY, 2017-Bangladeshi authorities urged the international community Sunday to back a controversial plan to relocate tens of thousands of Rohingya refugees from Myanmar to a remote island despite warnings it is uninhabitable. Foreign Minister A.H. Mahmood Ali called on representatives from 60 diplomatic missions and several United Nations agencies to take meaningful measures to relocate the refugees. The scheme would see the Rohingya resettled on Thengar Char island in the Bay of Bengal, where Ali said the displaced would have better access to humanitarian assistance. Some 232,000 Rohingya Muslims -- both registered and unregistered -- were already living in Bangladesh before more than 65,000 others began arriving in October, fleeing violence in Myanmars western state of Rakhine. Most of those who fled to Bangladesh live in squalid conditions in refugee camps in Coxs Bazar district, which borders Rakhine state and is home to the countrys biggest tourist resort. Last week, Bangladesh established a committee comprised of state officials in coastal districts to oversee the plan, and ordered authorities to help identify and relocate undocumented Myanmar nationals to the island. Sri Lankas largest condominium developer Blue Ocean Group of Companies on Thursday (February 2) unveiled its twenty first and newest flagship project Blue Ocean at Layards Road, Colombo 04 heralding in a new era to Sri Lankas vibrant construction industry. The prestigious Blue Ocean Group broke new ground in the heart of the city in Bambalapitiya in a bid to add a 14 storey luxury condominium complex complete with 50 well-appointed apartments at 15A, Layards Road, into its extensive portfolio of iconic real estate development projects in support of the governments drive towards transforming the city into the investment nerve-center and economic hub of South Asia. The gala foundation stone laying ceremony was held with the patronage of Minister of Finance, Hon. Ravi Karunanayake, Minister of Plantation Industries, Hon. Naveen Dissanayake and Former Minister Athauda Seneviratne. Welcoming the distinguished guests, Chairman of Blue Ocean Group S Thumilan, pointed out that Sri Lanka was perfectly poised upon the threshold of an exciting era. Overall, optimism reigns high in Sri Lanka in particular and in Asia Pacific in general, with capital inflows into our economy expected to increase during 2017, providing a much-needed boost to the countrys burgeoning property industry. The Government has mooted so many positive and encouraging changes that would undoubtedly boost the property, construction and infrastructure sectors of the country creating a trickling down effect on all segments of the economy. Finance Minister in his 2017 Budget Speech has reemphasized the huge potential for the construction and property industry anticipating it to grow into a fully-fledged Rs. 6,500 billion or nearly US$ 43.3 billion high-value sector in the next five years. So this is indeed an immensely exciting era not only for us industrialists but all Sri Lankans, said a confident Thumilan. It is pertinent to note that the burgeoning condominium industry has been identified as a sector with significant potential for foreign investment. We laud policy reforms initiated by Finance Minister and the government, to further incentivize such foreign investments, by announcing to issue temporary resident visas for foreigners who invest US$ 300,000 or more, encouraging foreign investors with freehold right to purchase condos from the ground floor. All these farsighted policy reforms will indeed ensure more foreign exchange inflows into the economy during 2017 and beyond, he explained. Blue Ocean Group possesses a wealth of local and global experience as the Group has already completed numerous innovative international and local projects. More information could be obtained from www.blueocean.lk. 15A, Layards Road Project therefore indicates our natural progression stemming from these successes. It is one of the landmarks in the real estate development and construction projects that we have undertaken in Colombo and the suburbs including in Colombo 3, 4, 5, 6, 7. 8 Mount Lavinia and Nugegoda. With Blue Ocean Group's involvement in engineering, trading, education and consultancy, expansion of the Group to key markets in the Asia Pacific, Europe, the Middle East and East Asia has already begun. Speaking to Chairman, an increasing number of purchases are through repeat customers or referrals channeled through existing customers. There seems to be a growing perception in the market that Blue Ocean Condominiums offer a distinctive value proposition over time. Using renowned European and Sri Lanka architects to ensure compliance to international standards, he alluded to the fact that Blue Ocean Group's success is in the multiplicity of competencies, experience and knowledge within its team, a highly professional collation of chartered architects, chartered accountants, chartered engineers and industry professionals. The Special Presidential Commission probing the allegations of malpractices in the bond issue of the Central Bank, met for the first time yesterday to map out the procedure into the controversial Bond issue, Commissions Secretary Attorney-at-law Sumathipala Udugamasuriya had said. The commission met for the first time yesterday in a building belonging to the Justice Ministry at the Colombo High Court premises. President Maithripala Sirisena on January 27, appointed a three-member Special Presidential Commission to probe the controversial Bond issue. After allegations by former President Chandrika Kumaratunga that the Chinese authorities gave President Mahinda Rajapaksa Rs.15 billion, the Chinese Embassy had reportedly told the Joint Opposition, that it did not meet with her for the last one-and half-years, the Daily Mirror learns. On behalf of the Joint Opposition led by Mr. Rajapaksa, former External Affairs Minister Prof. G.L. Peiris contacted the Embassy in this regard. Prof. Peiris told the Daily Mirror that the embassy confirmed that it did not have any meeting with Ms. Kumaratunga for more than a year. For more than a year, the Embassy has not met her. This story is malicious falsehood, he said. He said that the Embassy communicated this to Mr. Rajapaksas Secretary Udith Lokubandara. (Kelum Bandara) When avarice takes the lead in a State, it is commonly the forerunner of its fall. ~ Alexander Hamilton Mahinda Rajapaksa along with the national media, the so-called free media, which was nowhere to be seen during Rajapaksas regime, the media that was under siege time after time under the cruel determinations of the regimes virtual second-in-command, Secretary of Defence, has assumed dimensions disproportionate to the actual, now seems to be controlling the national conversation. Not the government. The so-called joint opposition, the dregs of the last regime, the group of opposition MPs, some of whose financial and social integrity have come under a barrage of accusations, allegations and investigations and whose integrity is very much under scrutiny and question have taken the fight to the governments front door. They have managed to set the government on the defensive and each and every time, in the parlance of sports, the ball has belonged to the opposition. It is certainly not a very pleasant situation for those who replaced the Rajapaksas. On the other hand, the platform that the present government, Maithri/Ranil combo and party carried out the campaign on, seems to be crumbling down. The very charge of the then opposition, corruption and nepotism, has crept into the new personalities of the new government. It is time that the government of Maithripala Sirisena and Ranil Wickremesinghe strapped their boots and took the ball into their own hands, so to speak. Addressing the Progressive Congress Annual Strategy Summit on Saturday, Massachusettss Senator Elizabeth Warren began thus: we are all gathered here in a moment of crisis; a crisis for progressives, a moment of crisis for Democrats and a moment of crisis for America. There is an eternal truth about politics and people. People like Mahinda Rajapaksa dont come to power when things are going right. The voters, the victims, who put them in power must hold themselves accountable as much as the culprits. The voters simply cannot let themselves off the hook. The Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP), the Common Mans Party, which embraced bigotry and extremism, which embraced the uncommon rich man and his ugly avarice, was hijacked by the Rajapaksas and their loyal henchmen. The Bandaranaikes and Kobbekaduwas are forgotten. The Rajapaksas treated them like yesterdays trash. S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike, with all his political weaknesses and expedient tendencies, kept the party at least away from the political imposters and charlatans. What happened to the SLFP after S.W.R.D.s demise is another story altogether, yet the Rajapaksas have to be taken into account for the destruction of the image of the Common Mans Party. At least for the time being, Maithripala Sirisena appears to have wrested the party away from these political hooligans. But if President Sirisena continues to dilly-dally taking stern disciplinary action against those SLFPers who continue to disregard the party line and go astray, the dissolution of the Common Mans Party is imminent. This crisis in the SLFP has indeed slowed down Maithripala Sirisena. But he must not allow that predicament to be built up to the level of a national crisis by abdicating his obligations to his voters in particular and his country at large. Failure of the current government will be seen as a landmark failure of the current system of governance. Yahapalanaya or whatever one might call it, it should not be allowed to fail. Accountability and transparency on the part of those who are vested with governmental power cannot be sacrificed for political expediency and administrative convenience. The corrupt practices that have been entrenched in a system for the last three to four decades, particularly the last twenty years will take over the system and overwhelm the national character. It may have already happened and if not, it is on the threshold of happening. History is our witness. Time after time it has been proven beyond a shadow of doubt that a lethargic, apathetic public is the first cause of national decay. In this regard, the responsibility of the United National Party (UNP), the main coalition partner of the current political administration, cannot be overstated. As a political party which has been maligned and disparaged by its opponents, especially the traditional SLFP, after coming to a historic partnership with the SLFP, today willy-nilly is feeding the urban gossipmongers with enough material to keep its own head above the water level. The ugly image that is being attributed to the UNP and the resulting ill-effects of a politically-explosive financial swindle, such as the so-called Bond-Scam could be devastating both in the short and midterm runs. Making tactical adjustments, changing talking points, while embracing the same old barren policies and stinking principles would not help the UNP. Ranil and his cohorts must realise that when the gauntlet tightens, it does not differentiate between the UNPers and SLFPers. Racial extremism stirred up by the Rajapaksas was tolerated by the UNP because they feared the backlash from the Buddhist clergy. It tightens all and sundry - it includes anyone close to the current coalition. The voters will not show any mercy. At the same time, the voters must be continuously reminded of what they are enjoying today and the negatives of the past regime that they would gladly miss. Following is a catalogue of such alleged misdeeds: Nearly a year after it lost one of its most dedicated supporters, the Cumberland County Republican Committee honored a volunteer in his memory. JoAnna Cameron was honored with the Jason Kutulakis Memorial Award Jan. 28 during the Cumberland County Republican Committees Endorsement Meeting. Jason Kutulakis, a Carlisle attorney known for his work with child advocacy, died unexpectedly on Jan. 31, 2016, at his home of an apparent heart attack. He was 47. County GOP Chairman Greg Rothman said Kutulakis was a long-time dedicated supporter and leader of the party, who served as deputy chairman of the Cumberland County Republican Committee. His death shocked us all, as we had been together for the annual meeting all day on the night he died, Rothman wrote in an email. We wanted to honor him with an award recognizing the work of a volunteer who is living up to his example. JoAnna Cameron was a friend of Jasons and he admired her dedication to the county Republican committee. Cameron is vice-chair of the Cumberland County Republican Committee and the elected committeewoman in Silver Springs third precinct. She also serves as regional director for the Pennsylvania Federation of Republican Women, as well as secretary of that statewide organization. She spent more than 10 years working in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, most recently for Mike Turzai, who was majority leader at the time. She also served as the Agriculture Marketing Division chief at the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture. JoAnna holds a B.A. in history and political science. She is a lifelong Republican and the married mother of three children, ages 16, 5 and 4. Q. How have you volunteered with the Cumberland County Republican Party and in the community? A. I have been a Republican County committeewoman since 1998, and have held that position in Cumberland County since 2009. Im one of many volunteers who work every election cycle to support our candidates. We circulate nominating petitions, take candidates literature door-to-door, deliver and place yard signs, make phone calls, plan and execute fundraising events, and work all day at our respective polling places on primary and general election days. Im in no way unique in this involvement; Im one of 166 Cumberland County Republicans who volunteer in this capacity. I have had the honor of managing countywide campaigns and organizing many events through the county party, our Republican womens groups and individual campaigns. As vice-chair, I assist our chairman and the executive committee with communication both internal and external as well as with planning and organization. Q. Did you know Jason Kutulakis? If so, can you share a story about him? A. I consider myself incredibly fortunate to have known Jason and to have been one of his friends and he had many. He was a respected leader in a number of different realms from the legal community, to his statewide work in child advocacy and, of course, the political world. I met him through politics and was immediately impressed by his passionate advocacy for candidates, causes and our Grand Old Party. Most of the time, Jason and I were working alongside each other for the same candidates. However, there was one primary election where we found ourselves at odds, running campaigns for dear friends who were vying for a single seat. Of course, Jason lobbied hard and repeatedly tried his very best to talk me (and my candidate) out of the race, but he never stopped being my friend. One week prior to this hotly contested election, Jason saw a frantic post on my Facebook timeline about my elderly dog running away. He called me almost immediately and offered to come help look for her. The compassion and sincerity he demonstrated in my time of need was beyond all expectation. He had a million other things to do, both professionally and politically, but he was willing to drop everything to help me. Q. What does winning this award mean to you? A. It means the world to me. Its certainly the honor of a lifetime because of who Jason was and what he meant to so many people. He was an outstanding litigator, a tireless advocate, a savvy strategist, a selfless giver and a formidable opponent, but he was truly a great man and the most loyal friend anyone could hope to have. Im incredibly humbled and feel entirely unworthy. Q. What role do you see yourself playing in politics in the future? A. On many occasions, Jason interceded for me and others in what could have been unpleasant or uncomfortable situations. He was quick to come to our defense or put himself in the line of fire. He would say I have a strong back. I can take it. Jason once paid me a tremendous compliment by telling me I was the female version of himself because I wouldnt back down on a particular issue. We would jokingly argue about which one of us was more stubborn, each making our own case. We shared a mutual respect in this area as we knew neither of us would waiver on the things we firmly believed in. Jason had so many qualities that I dont possess, but Ive come to the conclusion that I can honor Jason by being a strong-backed intercedent and by continuing to hold firm on things I truly believe in. I plan to keep working behind the scenes for Republican candidates and the party itself, as Jason did. Q. As divisive as politics can be, what draws you to it? A. The political process doesnt have to be divisive. Disagreements on issues or candidates are inevitable but should be handled with civility and respect for the people and the process involved. Thats the way Jason operated. He wouldnt let even the most competitive political campaign threaten a friendship. My first political mentor was Pennsylvania state Rep. Fred McIlhattan. I spent eight years working for him in Clarion County. He was the nominee of both political parties three times, which is a testament to his ability to reject divisiveness and unite a very diverse constituency. He was fair, respectful and kind to absolutely everyone whether they agreed with him or not and sincerely valued everyones point of view. He was a consensus builder and a problem solver like Jason in a lot of ways. Both Jason and Fred demonstrated time and again that politics can be unifying when the focus is on service, rather than ego. Im incredibly fortunate to have had such great mentors. Ive always loved politics because its how change is affected. Its how good government is achieved. Over the course of my 20 years in the field, however, I have to say its the amazing people who keep me coming back for more. Sri Lanka's vow not to allow Chinese military activity in the port of Hambantota is meant to pacify India, but is "unnecessary" since the port has always been meant for civilian use and India is too sensitive over China's presence in the Indian Ocean, Chinese experts have told the Global Times. Sri Lankan Ambassador to China Karunasena Kodituwakku said in Beijing on Saturday that no Chinese military activity will be allowed in the port of Hambantota. Sri Lanka's promise is unnecessary because the port is meant for civilian use, and shows that India is interfering in Sri Lanka's affairs, Chu Yin, an associate professor at the University of International Relations, has told the Global Times on Monday. "The Belt and Road initiative always focuses on civilian projects to help developing countries, and China respects these countries' security concerns when pushing infrastructure development," Chu said. He added that "since India remains preoccupied with China's presence in the region, Sri Lanka has to repeatedly pacify its neighbor even when this is aimed at promoting Sri Lanka's economic development." "China has no intention to offend India, and the program is good for Sri Lanka's economic development. But if India has a problem with the program and oppresses its neighbor, it only shows that it is interfering in other countries' domestic affairs," Chu said. Lin Minwang, a professor at the Institute of International Studies of Fudan University, told the Global Times that "Sri Lanka initially wanted India to help develop Hambantota port, but it finally turned to China for help since India faces financial difficulties and concerns over future competition with its own ports in the Indian Ocean." Former Director General at the New Delhi-based autonomous think-tank Research and Information System for Developing Countries, Senior Indian trade economist and Professor of Economics at the Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, Dr. Biswajit Dhar in an interview with the Daily Mirror on the proposed Indo-Lanka Economic and Technical Cooperation Agreement (ETCA) said that Sri Lanka should find ways of neutralising the opposition of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa whose administration had earlier succeeded in jeopardising attempts to take the 1999 Indo-Sri Lanka Free Trade Agreement (FTA) to the next level through Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) by including investment and services. He shared the following: What is the current stage of the ETCA? The proposed ETCA seems to have hit yet another hurdle with both governments playing hard ball, essentially to make the proposed agreement acceptable to the special interest groups in their respective countries. There is a strong opposition to the ETCA from professional entities, business community and also some political parties in Sri Lanka. Isnt their opposition valid? Trade deals, in general, have often faced these kind of opposition that you are alluding to. But, it is also important to understand that the governments on the two sides are expected to address genuine domestic sensitivities in consultation with the special interest groups. For, instance, movement of people can be restricted to the categories where the apprehensions of job losses do not exist. Meanwhile, I think that Sri Lanka should find ways of neutralising the opposition of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa whose administration had succeeded in jeopardising attempts to take the India-Sri Lanka Free Trade Agreement (FTA) which was signed in 1999 to the next level through CEPA by including investment and services. How exactly did the Mahinda Rajapaksa administration jeopardise the attempts of CEPA? Well, I am not going far with my answer to that question. But, in my view, the former President was anyway not keen and he was against any trade agreement with India. Despite a plenty of negotiation rounds were held between two countries, the SL Government did not sign the agreement at the last moment. Is ETCA basically CEPA by another name? It is right that ETCA is CEPA by a different name and is an attempt to deflect the opposition to CEPA that the earlier government had raked up. The two agreements are basically identical. What should be done by both governments to clear the doubts of the public on the ETCA in order to build their confidence? The two governments could first reach a common ground for addressing each others domestic sensitivities. Domestic constituencies in Sri Lanka have to be spoken to by their government, based on the understanding it has reached with the Indian government. Further, I dont think the Indian Government should make any attempt to assuage the apprehensions of special interest groups in Sri Lanka. Why are both the countries hurrying to get ETCA finalised? India would certainly want its relationship with Sri Lanka put on a firmer footing, and that too in as short a time frame as possible. Then the CEPA and now the ETCA have been on the anvil for a fairly long time. It has resulted to a sense of anxiety in both India and Sri Lanka until the ETCA gets finalised. Indo - Lanka FTA was not that beneficial to Sri Lanka on the long run. Shouldnt the old issues pertaining to the earlier trade agreement be discussed before entering into a new agreement? Yes, of course, I firmly believe that there needs to be thorough reviews and studies of the FTA which was signed in 1999 so that India would be able to understand the issues that Sri Lanka is raising. Moreover, I am in the view that India also needs to explore the ways in which Sri Lankan products could penetrate into Indian markets more than it has happened thus far. Are there any studies or reviews on the FTA being carried out by the Indian government? I am not aware of any recent official studies on either the ETCA or FTA. How is it cooperatively beneficial for a smaller country like Sri Lanka to open its market to a larger country like India? I would say that a smaller country could benefit if it imports raw materials or semi-processed material from the larger country. The larger country is then provided the opportunities to export the finished products. In the early years of the FTA implementation, vegetable oil manufacturers relocated themselves in Sri Lanka and were exporting the final products to India. When they found that their operations were no longer profitable, they stopped producing in Sri Lanka. What are the political, strategic and economic benefits which India targets to gain through the ETCA? For India, ETCA would be politically significant for it could count on Sri Lanka as a reliable partner, especially in light of the dynamics in South Asia. The economic partnership through which the two countries seek to provide a much needed boost to their economies, would, in due course bring greater prosperity to their peoples. A growing India, which is now the fastest growing economy in the world, has plenty of room for Sri Lankan products now. What are the regulations that India would put forward in the ETCA? India is not spelling out the regulations that it wants to bring in through the ETCA. However, what would be interesting to see how issues relating to temporary movement of people, which is an integral component of trade in services, is handled by India. We know Sri Lanka is opposed to Indian nationals going and working in Sri Lanka. China has already gotten into Sri Lanka in a big way. Where does India stand in this issue? India is certainly worried about the increasing Chinese footprint in Sri Lanka. Now that China has emerged as the main votary of globalisation. India is viewing its partners intent with some degree of circumspection. Is India contemplating on ways to counter Chinese influence in Sri Lanka? India could only extend its hand of friendship which it has been doing for decades. Sri Lankas relationship with India and China are independent of one another and India understands this well enough. How do you see the difference in economic relationship between SL and India during previous government and after the establishment of the incumbent regime? Basically, Indias relations with Sri Lanka have improved manifold since the present government took office. The confidence-building that has taken place in recent years is really the reason why the discussions on ETCA are taking place. DAILY MAIL, 06th FEBRUARY, 2017-Turkey has now detained nearly 750 suspects in a police operation against the Islamic State group, authorities said Monday. Anti-terrorism police launched the security operation against people with alleged links to IS early Sunday, conducting simultaneous raids in 29 provinces, including Istanbul, Ankara and the border provinces of Gaziantep and Sanliurfa. The Interior Ministry released a statement Monday saying that 748 people have been detained in the police sweep, but did not give their nationalities. In addition, 72 other suspects were detained last week, it said.The state-run Anadolu Agency said police seized IS documents, digital material and six firearms during the raids. Anadolu, citing police sources, said the IS was searching for ways to carry out a sensational attack in Turkey, and was actively engaged in propaganda in order to recruit fighters. It said the raids targeted suspects believed to be in contact with IS operatives in conflict zones. Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmus said Turkey was determined to bring to their knees IS and other terror organizations active in the country by blocking them from recruiting new fighters. How do you collaborate the spirituality of meditation with corporate management? Deepal Sooriyaarachchis latest book Inward Bound explores how the currently military-sounding business environment saturated with ideas such as war room, penetrate, take over and obliterate can be balanced with spiritual attributes through mindfulness. First published in the UK in 2012, the second print now titled Inward Bound for Mindful Living will be launched as a Sarasavi Publication on the 16th of February at 5.30 at JAIC HILTON, alongside a knowledge sharing discussion titled Mindfulness for Corporate Success and Happiness According to Smarth Bali, Global Communication Specialist, Deepal takes on an odious and seemingly irresolvable issue: the practice of management and the practice of mindfulness (read meditation). If we were to draw comparative columns, we will see, clearly, the incongruity of such an enterprise: avariceversuscontentment, competitiveness versus equanimity, ambition versus satisfaction, and aggression versus empathy Can they blend? If not blend, can they at least complement each other? Is not mindfulness an immediate and pressing contradiction to the skills (demanded) of business? The crux of the issue is captured in the book as follows;In this highly demanding (business) environment, to be effective you need to be in control. To be in control you need to know what goes on here and now. To know what goes on you need to be aware. To be aware you need to be mindful. When you are mindful you have a state of mind that is alert. Inward Bound is timely and critical if we have to work and maintain equilibrium in our world. It is perhaps the harbinger of return to basics in a business world that is way too mercenary. The flowering of the individual is a direct outcome of a thought about slowing down and being completely aware of the present moment, indeed, being in the present moment. In the book the writer takes simple, everyday routine tasks driving, brushing, walking, etc. and converts them to mindfulness activities. Reading the book makes one wonder, Is that it? We are so conditioned to regarding meditation as a highly esoteric practice that we are almost stumped incredulous by simplicity. The launch event will comprise of talks by leading persons such as Dr. Tara De Mel on A scientific approach to Mindfulness, and Prof. AjanthaDharmasiri on A business case for Mindfulness .The book will be reviewed by Presidents Council PrasanthaLal de Alwis and the event will conclude with Deepals presentation on How to integrate mindfulness to corporate life. Passes for the event can be obtained by contacting Deepal through deepalsmiles@gmail.com While referring to a review report of internal audit department, the Joint Opposition yesterday reiterated that former Central Bank Governor Arjuna Mahendran had misused Rs. 66 mn of Central Bank funds on 163 acts during a span of 17 months for his personal purpose. Joint Opposition member MP Bandula Gunawardane told a media briefing that Mr. Mahendran had engaged in these financial impropriations with regard to the foreign travel and other expenses between February 1, 2015 and June 30, 2016. Mr. Mahendran has violated the Schedule III of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) Travelling Allowance Rules as he had approved some officials including a Secretary to the Governor to travel in Business Class on their travel abroad, he said. He said as per the rules the officials, except the Governor, Deputy Governors, Assistant Governors and the Heads and Additional Heads of Departments were selected by the Monetary Board to travel on duty abroad to be provided with the passage facility in Economy Class. He said according to the report, Mr. Mahendran has made multiple hotel accommodations during same period during his visit to India for conference between India and IMF. He said that Mahendran stayed in the following : ITC Maurya in Gurgaon, Imperial Hotel in New Delhi and Taj Palace F01 in New Delhi on March 10 13, 2016. However, the conference was held in Taj Palace, New Delhi. It was observed that there were hotel reservations for extra guests for which audit evidences are not able to ensure whether they were official guests. There were also frequent cancellations of foreign travel by him, he said. He said the report denoted that the monthly average expenses incurred through credit card by Mr. Mahendran was exceeding Rs. 2.1 million even though the monthly average official expenses incurred by him were Rs. 1.5 million. Meanwhile, he requested the authorities to provide the Joint Opposition with an opportunity to reveal those facts to the Special Presidential Commission which has been appointed by President Maithripala Sirisena. (Kalathma Jayawardhane) Former Central Bank Governor Arjuna Mahendran said a group of disgruntled Central Bank employees closely allied with a former Governor lobbied for his removal because he cancelled all the tamashas and excessive foreign travel enjoyed by a few of his select cronies. During my period as Governor, I cancelled all the tamashas and excessive foreign travel enjoyed by a few select cronies of a former Governor. This is why these persons lobbied for my removal. They have effectively scuttled investigations into their shady practices from the past. These include buying Gold at very high prices, buying highly risky Greek bonds, advising the government to undertake a highly risky hedging strategy for petroleum imports and incurring huge losses for the Central Bank for three consecutive years by undertaking dubious foreign bank borrowings guaranteed by the Central bank, he said in a statement to the Daily Mirror yesterday. Following is the full statement sent to the Daily Mirror: "A news item has appeared in the edition of your newspaper dated 6 Feb 2017 which carries the statements of various interested parties alleging various unsubstantiated issues against me. These statements are libellous in the extreme. They are based on extremely dubious and unverified sources. Nor has anyone in your newspaper approached me to find out my version of the story. The allegation that an internal audit report from the Central Bank of Sri Lanka has made comments that are unfavourable has never been brought to my attention. Such audit reports cannot be finalised until the accused party is given a fair hearing for his or her explanation of events. This is standard procedure in any government or private institution. Hence your story has no basis in fact. It has been stated by the Hon Minister of Finance that a group of disgruntled employees in the Central Bank of Sri Lanka who were closely allied with a former Governor are attempting to bring the current governments policies into disrepute. This news item is an example of such activity. We have seen several previous instances in the past two years where confidential reports of the Central Bank have been disseminated to the press and social media to discredit the current government. It is clear that these disgruntled staff of the Central bank are trying to deflect attention away from their own wrong-doings of the past. The doctoring of GDP data, the expenditure of vast amounts of money on futile international media campaigns, the loss of over Rs.6 billion of state funds that were handed over by these same Central Bank officials to a now-bankrupt primary dealer are issues that these unscrupulous officials are attempting to hide. During my period as Governor I cancelled all the tamashas and excessive foreign travel enjoyed by a few select cronies of a former Governor. This is why these persons lobbied for my removal. They have effectively scuttled investigations into their shady practices from the past. These include buying Gold at very high prices, buying highly risky Greek bonds, advising the government to undertake a highly risky hedging strategy for petroleum imports and incurring huge losses for the Central bank for 3 consecutive years by undertaking dubious foreign bank borrowings guaranteed by the Central bank. The officials responsible for all these actions which resulted in several billions of dollars of losses to the country are still in very senior positions in the Central bank. If the Central Bank rules and procedures were subverted in any way as a consequence of my actions, there are ample fora to seek remedial action. His Excellency the President has set up a Commission of Inquiry with a broad mandate to investigate such matters. It is therefore highly unbecoming of your newspaper to take it upon itself to give vent to rumour-mongers and others whose ulterior motive is to bring disrepute to my erstwhile superiors, the Honourable Prime Minister and the Honourable Minister of Finance, by attacking my conduct and pre-judging the outcome of the deliberations of the Commission of Inquiry. For the record, all expenses incurred by me while serving as Governor of the Central Bank were made according to proper procedures and audited by the Auditor Generals department. A new citizens participatory audit system to assess the services provided by local government bodies to their constituents would be implemented before long, the Auditor Generals Department said yesterday. An audit report will be released based on the feedback received from the residents and other individuals who seek the services of local government authorities in addition to financial reports and management standards of the entity. Speaking at an event organised by the Colombo Municipality to discuss the responsibilities of working towards a better audit report, Auditor General Gamini Wijesinghe warned local government entities that they would no longer be audited on their financial reports alone. One of the main concepts of good governance is how an individual receives the service he or she seeks. It is of no use having good reports if they are unhappy with the service provided, he said. Speaking of the Colombo Municipality's somewhat positive audit report after more than four decades, the AG explained that many of the issues on the audit report was connected to arrears in rates the municipality had to receive. Many public sector employees fall into the vicious circle of blaming, they dont take measures to change and update the system, he said. Speaking of auditing in recent times, Mr. Wijesinghe said the 19th Amendment to the Constitution had widened the scope of auditing to include not merely financial reports but also management structures and even the green initiatives by government institutions. The focus on the environment would make it near impossible for the CMC to receive similar positive reports in the future as it had to take concrete measures to resolve the garbage issue in Meethotamulla. Meanwhile, Commissioner V. K. A. Anura who spoke to the media after the event said the municipality had arrived at a short-term solution to the garbage issue. Refusing to provide specifics of the project, Mr. Anura said groundwork of the venture was complete and that it would be initiated in two months time. Meanwhile, Assistant Auditor General (Western Province) T. Premalatha who also addressed the gathering said the CMC had the potential to multiply its revenue. She pointed out that 188 government organisations were yet to pay Rs. 528.4 million to the CMC as rates, and that they were just 17 per cent of the total number of properties that had dues in rate payments. However, the municipality was to receive a staggering Rs. 2,566 million in arrears as of December 31, 2015, with Rs. 852 million from properties which were over the Rs. 500,000 benchmark. Furthermore, the municipality did not charge arrears from all properties within its city limits. (Nabeela Hussain) Video by Buddhi Former Minister Wimal Weerawansa is seen being taken to the prison today after he was ordered to be re-remanded till February 20 by Colombo Fort Magistrate on charges of misusing 40 State vehicles. Pix by Pradeep Dilrukshana The Power and Renewable Energy Ministry today said the Finnish Ambassador to Sri Lanka Rauli Suikkanen had agreed to provide the latest technology to generate electricity from sea waves to the country. He expressed this at a special discussion with Minister Ranjith Siyambalapitiya at the Ministry. Our country is surrounded with sea and therefore we can generate electricity using sea waves easily. We can determine the capacity of electricity which can be generated. The projects can be launched with the latest technology with minimal cost. Therefore the electricity can be used during the dry seasons, the minister said. (Chaturanga Pradeep) US, (Daily Mail), 05.02.2017 - Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell broke ranks with President Donald Trump on Sunday, criticizing his fellow Republican for lashing out at a federal judge on Twitter. I think it is best not to single out judges for criticism, McConnell told CNNs Jake Tapper on State of the Union. We all get disappointed from time to time at the outcome in courts on things that we care about. But I think it is best to avoid criticizing judges individually. The President took to Twitter yesterday and knocked Judge James Robart, who temporarily blocked Trumps seven country travel ban. Robart, who was appointed to the bench by George W. Bush in 2004, was attacked by Trump in five different tweets throughout the day yesterday. Donald Trump remains haunted by the fact that more people opposed him in November, about 54 percent, than voted for him. The mandate he cites repeatedly while making executive orders and rash pronouncements doesnt exist. But Trump has a bigger problem, one that has provoked early chaos in his administration and could lead to widespread difficulties down the road. Its that even among the 46 percent who did vote for him, most are divided on key issues. Trump finds himself on a limb, without consensus among the public, elected officials and big business. Almost every piece of his jury rigged agenda has more opponents than supporters. Immediately following his inauguration, as millions of protesters took to the streets, Trump issued a telling tweet: Watched the protests yesterday but was under the impression that we just had an election! Why didnt these people vote? Of course, many of the protesters did vote for Hillary Clinton. Others, who marched in cities across the nation, actually voted for Trump, yet oppose him on matters relating to womens rights. Indeed, abortion is a perfect example of Trumps dilemma. Hes against it, but 59 percent of Americans, according to the Pew Research Center, believe abortion should be legal. In fact, support for legalized abortion in the U.S. has grown steadily over the last two decades. Trump might have a mandate among his own supporters to change the system, but theres little agreement on what form that change should take. More jobs? Sure. Lower taxes? Always a crowd pleaser. Greater border security? Fine. But even within those linchpin issues there is widespread disagreement. In the latest Gallup poll, 60 percent of Americans said they opposed Trumps plan to build a wall on the border with Mexico. On Trumps temporary immigration ban, Gallup finds the nation split at about 50-50. Even repealing Obamacare perhaps the most sharply focused issue in Trumps agenda is losing favor. According to a recent NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll, more people now approve of Obamacare than dislike it. Faced with a shriveling mandate on a host of issues, its not surprising that the administration is lashing out. Trumps far-right adviser Stephen Bannon told The New York Times that media still dont understand this country. They still do not understand why Donald Trump is the president of the United States. Trump himself issued an even more direct shot at journalists and independent polls that underscore disagreement on his pet issues. He tweeted, Any negative polls are fake news, just like the CNN, ABC, NBC polls in the election. Of course, all during the campaign Trump eagerly cited those polls that showed him leading. As he continues on-the-job training in the Oval Office, President Trump is finding that Americans are prone to disagreement on a wide variety of issues. There are no one-size-fits-all solutions. Thats why most presidents go slowly while carefully vetting proposals, articulating positions for media and the public, and seeking compromise where possible in Congress. Trumps only mandate at this point is to conduct himself with the understanding that he doesnt really have one. Peter Funt is a writer and speaker. His columns are distributed exclusively by Cagle Cartoons, Inc., newspaper syndicate. Readers can reach him at www.CandidCamera.com Mr. Saman Herath, Managing Director - Siyapatha Finance PLC, lighting the Traditional Oil Lamp at the ceremonial relocating of the Negombo branch Sampath Banks largest fully owned subsidiary , Siyapatha Finance ceremonially relocated their Negombo branch ; located at No. 187 Thaladuwa Road , Negombo; to a more convenient fully fledged branch at No. 287 Main Street, Negombo on 25th January 2017. The ceremonial opening of the relocated branch was attended by Mr. Saman Herath, the Managing Director of Siyapatha Finance. Mr. Rajeev de Silva, Chief Operating Officer of Siyapatha Finance was also present at the event. The branch in Negombo is one of the key locations in our network, the primary purpose of the relocation is to provide customers with a fully fledged branch, which is located in a more convenient and accessible location, where they can enjoy all the benefits and products that Siyapath Finance has to offer, since we at Siyapatha Finance firmly believe that the success of our organization is rooted in our customers stated Mr. Saman Herath, the Managing Director, Siyapatha Finance. Mr. Saman Herath, Managing Director - Siyapatha Finance PLC, offering the first Fixed Deposit facility to a customer As the largest fully owned subsidiary of the Sampath Bank Group, Siyapatha Finance PLC is one of the leading finance companies in Sri Lanka, with a strong network of branches throughout the country. The organization has structured its services to ensure that their customers receive nothing but the best that the company has to offer including Leasing , Business Loans, Personal Loans, Property Mortgage Loans, Gold Loans, Factoring and Fixed Deposits . Over the past eleven years, the company has contributed extensively to the development of small and medium entrepreneurial efforts as well as to the fulfillment of individual financial needs of customers across the island. The organizations dedication to continuously expand their services is fuelled by the drive to help communities to achieve their business objectives. The details of the new Siyapatha Finance branch in Negombo is as follows: No.287, Main Street, Negombo-ContactNo:0317 605 605. For further information on Siyapatha Finance PLC,login to http://www.siyapatha.lk/. Most of the Government institutions did not look prepared to implement the Right to Information Act though it came into force on February 3, two civil movements said yesterday. The Transparency International and the Sarvodaya Movement said even the information officers appointed to some Government institutions were not properly educated on the Act. Transparency International used the Act to request certain information from several public authorities, Transparency International Ms. Sankhitha Gunaratne said. Requests were made for assets and liabilities declarations of President Maithripala Sirisena, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, information on investments made by the Employee Provident Fund (EPF) and the number of investigations conducted by the on its own motion. We also made requests from Sri Lanka Customs. Though most of the public authorities welcomed us and acknowledged the information requests, what was witnessed was that that the State was unprepared to implement the Act, as the officials were ill informed on what they are supposed to do when people requested information, Ms Gunaratne said. We were wondering how an ordinary citizen of the country could obtain information when even a civil movement found it difficult to get information, she added. Transparency International Executive Director Asoka Obeyesekere said another key observation had been that even the public was not adequately aware of the legislation in order to make use of it. Sarvodaya National Organizer Nishantha Pritiraj said his organization, together with Transparency International had begun working on a programme to ensure that it was properly made use of by the people. He said a programme to create awareness on the RTI would be carried out by both organisations in the districts of Colombo, Matara, Trincomalee, Anuradhapura, Ratnapura and Vavuniya. The work was started from Colombo yesterday under which leaflets were distributed to people in Colombo Fort though a special Right to Information branded bus. (Yohan Perera) The Police saying there is a threat to Sumanthiran's life is a ploy to station the army permanently, the Northern Province Chief Minister C.V.Wigneswaran said. He said so when queried about the death threat on TNA Parliamentarian, Sumanthiran, and the arrest of former combatants. H said that the Police had taken steps regarding it. But they had not informed Courts about the death threat to the parliamentarian. "The Police had told Courts that those arrested had drugs in their possession. However they had not notified Courts about the death threat. If there were any truth in the allegation , they should have notified so," the CM said. "We have to find out to what extent it is true. Following the Police investigations something will be said.One thing we must remember is that from time to time there were death threats or some tension were created. They did this in the case of Kilinochchi Jeyakumari as well," he said. "I wonder whether the circulation of this kind of rumour is a ruse to station the army permanently in Jaffna,"Mr.Wigneswaran said. (S.Nitharsan) Donald Trump is set to be banned from giving a historic address in the British Parliament's grandest and most prestigious hall. The House of Commons Speaker today announced he did not want to invite the US President to speak in the 11th Century Westminster Hall when he makes a state visit later this year. John Bercow slammed Trump for "racism and sexism", his undermining of judges and his migrant ban. He added that although he does not have as much say over a speech in the glittering Royal Gallery in the House of Lords, "I would not wish to issue an invitation". Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn tweeted: "Well said John Bercow. We must stand up for our country's values. Trump's State Visit should not go ahead." It comes after 163 MPs signed an internal petition demandin g Trump be refused the honour due to his migrant ban and comments on torture and women. As the oldest part of Parliament, Westminster Hall is where Kings and Queens have lain in state for centuries. It is where ex-President Barack Obama addressed both houses of Parliament in 2011 and is a venue previously used by Nelson Mandela. Speaker Bercow said he is one of three "keyholders" that would agree to any address in the historic hall. The other two are the Lord Speaker and Lord Great Chamberlain. Today he told MPs a Westminster Hall address "is not an automatic right - it is an earned honour." He added: "Ordinarily we are able to work by consensus that the hall would be able to be used for an address by agreement of the the three keyholders. "Before the imposition of the migrant ban I would myself have been strongly opposed to an address by President Trump to Westminster Hall. "After the imposition of the migrant ban by President Trump I am even more strongly opposed to an address by President Trump to Westminster Hall." There was cheering and applause by MPs as he made the announcement in the parliamentary chamber. It is a blow to Prime Minister Theresa May, who helped make the earlier-than-usual offer of a full state visit and has cosied up to Trump's White House in hope of a UK-US trade deal. Nearly 2million people signed a petition to prevent the state visit and no plans for a Parliamentary address had yet been drawn up. A Downing Street spokesman said: "We look forward to welcoming the President to the UK later this year. The dates and arrangements for the state visit will be worked out in due course. The Speaker added: "We value our relationship with the United States. If a state visit takes place, that is way beyond and above the pay grade of the Speaker. "However, as far as this place is concerned I feel very strongly that our opposition to racism and to sexism and our support for equality before the law and an independent judiciary are hugely important considerations in the House of Commons." Former Deputy Labour leader Harriet Harman, who had vowed to boycott any speech, said: "Speaker Bercow just cancelled Trump visit to parliament. A proud moment for Commons. Racism and sexism not welcome here." Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron said: "This is the right decision by the Speaker. The Prime Minister might wish to kowtow to the nasty misogynist that now sits in the Oval Office but no-one else does. We do not want him to speak to us. He is not welcome. "Trump should be under no illusion. We are snubbing him." But a source said the House of Lords' Speaker Lord Fowler - another keyholder for Westminster Hall - was "irritated by the lack of consultation" over John Bercow's speech. Later a House of Lords spokesman said: "The Lord Speaker was not consulted by Mr Bercow on his statement. "The Lord Speaker will make his own statement tomorrow to the Lords." Mr Bercow also opposed Mr Trump speaking in the House of Lords' Royal Gallery - despite raising no objections when Chinese President Xi Jinping did just that in 2015.(mirror.co.uk) US president Donald Trump ramped up criticism on the judge who blocked his travel ban, saying Americans should blame the courts if something happens. The US presidents criticism was aimed at US District Judge James Robart, who last week blocked Trumps executive order barring citizens of seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the US for 90 days, all refugees for 120 days and indefinitely halts refugees from Syria. The early-morning ruling from a federal appeals court was the latest chapter in a saga which began on January 27, when Trump issued a blanket ban on all refugees, and travellers from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen. On Sunday Trump tweeted Just cannot believe a judge would put our country in such peril. If something happens blame him and court system. People pouring in. Bad! The ban, affecting people from seven mainly-Muslim countries, was blocked by Seattles federal judge on Friday, which means Mr Trumps directive remains suspended and visa holders from Iraq, Syria, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen will be allowed to enter the US until the full case has been heard. On Sunday, dozens of Trump supporters rallied in front of Trump Tower in New York, urging Americans to give him a chance --but they ended up in a face-off with a dozen counter-protesters. PALM BEACH Compiled from AFP/BBC/CNN reports), The chairman of the South Asian Institute of Technology and Medicine (SAITM), Dr. Neville Fernando said today that they had the backing of the government and would continue SAITM operations without fear. We have the backing of the government. We have no fear. We will continue the operation of SAITM. I must thank President Maithripala Sirisena, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, Higher Education Minister Lakshman Kiriella, Health Minister Rajitha Senaratne and Minister S.B. Dissanayake for their support. Minister Rajitha Senaratne has asserted that SAITM would not be shut down, he said. He said at a media briefing that they were not under a great threat until an extremist leftist party joined the GMOA recently. If I wanted to make money I would have opened a casino. I would not have given a 30% student scholarship. I gave scholarships to 10 students at the request of former president Mahinda Rajapaksa and they are in the final batch now. If it was not done, they would have missed out on a career in medicine, he said Responding to a question on whether they would agree to regulating private universities, if more universities like SAITM were opened in the future, Dr. Fernando said a common MCQ paper should be set for all the state universities, SAITM and students coming from foreign universities to check their standards. Let's hold a common MCQ for all the state universities, SAITM and students coming from foreign universities and see. I am sure our students will come on top. Only such a test can measure the standard. We have no faith in the Sri Lanka Medical Council (SLMC). If they were to hold the test, they are sure to fail our students, he said. (Ajith Siriwardana) Video by Sanjeewa Chinese President Xi Jinping on Tuesday said that he was willing to work to consolidate political trust, expand mutually beneficial cooperation and deepen people-to-people friendship with Sri Lanka. In a congratulatory message to mark the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between the two nations, President Xi has told President Maithripala Sirisena that he appreciates Sri Lanka for its active participation in the Belt and Road Initiative. According to Xinhua news agency, President Xi had pointed out that bilateral ties have stood the test of an ever-changing international situation and achieved a healthy and smooth development since China and Sri Lanka established diplomatic relations. Meanwhile, in his message, President Sirisena has said that the friendship between Sri Lanka and China dates back to a long time ago. He noted that Sri Lanka is firmly dedicated to promoting its relations with China and that he believed on the basis of the ancient Maritime Silk Road, the Belt and Road Initiative will open up a new era for Sri Lanka-China cooperation. In the ski resort of Davos in Switzerland, President Xi Jinping of China surprisingly defended globalisation and free trade. In his address to the World Economic Forum, Xi asserted: Countries should view their own interest in the broader context and refrain from pursuing their own interests at the expense of others. We should not retreat into the harbour whenever we encounter a storm or we will never reach the opposite shore. He was obviously targeting Donald Trump. Two faces An analyst in Forbes wrote: It is China sounding reasonable, conciliatory, patient, ready to assume the mantle of leadership that so many are so eager to thrust upon it. In India, many lovers of the Middle Kingdom feel so, but it does not mean that China has become a normal state. The Middle Kingdom still has too many double standards, not only in the field of globalisation but also in the religious domain. China, today, has two faces: while projecting a mild face abroad, China has not been so "normal" at home, especially when it deals with religious issues and its "minorities". In the ski resort of Davos in Switzerland, President Xi Jinping of China surprisingly defended globalisation and free trade. Take the recent Kalachakra empowerment presided over by the Dalai Lama in Bodh Gaya during the first two weeks of January. The Communist authorities were quick to denounce the Bodh Gaya event as "illegal" and the Tibetans (from Tibet), who would attend it, were threatened with dire punishment. Radio Free Asia (RFA) reported: Thousands of pilgrims from Tibetan populated areas of western China who had hoped to attend have been forced to return home though, while others have been blocked from leaving China. RFA got hold of an official notification which was circulated in Dechen prefecture of Yunnan province: Anyone engaging in these acts will be in violation of Article 55 (pertaining to national security) of the Public Security Law and will face severe consequences, the notice said. But the same authorities forced a Kalachakra on the Tibetans in July 2016. Gyalsten Norbu, the boy selected by Beijing as the Eleventh Panchen Lama Party, officiated in Shigatse, the second largest town in Tibet. The atheist Party, apparently knowledgeable in religious affairs, said that more than 1,00,000 Buddhist followers, some 100 "high" lamas and 5,000 monks and nuns attended the function. Monks and lay people were said to have come from remote provinces of Sichuan, Gansu, Qinghai and Yunnan. But the truth is that many of these "devotees" were coerced to attend the rituals. While Tibetans in China were forced to attend the Shigatse Kalachakra, they are forbidden to participate in the Indian one. Isnt it a double standard? But Beijing has other objectives in mind; it prepares the "reincarnation" of the next Dalai Lama. A series of old photos showing how Beijings Panchen Lama was recognised, recently appeared in the Chinese media. The fraud is not mentioned, a particular capsule (in which the name of the candidates were) lot used in the Golden Urn was longer than the others. It allowed the Party officials to select the candidate of their choice and discard the boy selected by the Dalai Lama. Globalisation No question of "globalising" the search of the next Dalai Lama, Beijing is currently promoting another boy, "identified" by the Party as the Seventh Reting Rinpoche. The 20-year kid was made the youngest member of the Tibet Regional Committee of the Chinese Peoples Political Consultative Conference. This move should be seen as a preparation to the post-Dalai Lama era, because the Fifth Reting had been one of the regents of Tibet during the minority of the Dalai Lama in the 1940s. The Chinese media already said that Reting was eligible to be the regent of Tibet before the Dalai Lama takes over the reins of government upon coming of age. While Xi speaks big about globalisation and his pet One Belt, One Road project, most of the Himalayan passes which for centuries witnessed trade and cultural contacts between India and Tibet, remain hermetically closed. Instead of opening the borders, Beijing has recently reinforced its frontiers with India. Badro, deputy head of the Tibet border police, explained: 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. Regulation New regulation including a compulsory "Border Resident New Identity Card", issued for border residents, have been introduced (the real purpose was probably to stop Tibetans to attend the "illegal" Kalachakra). Ironically, only the border between China and Pakistan is today open; it could be called "globalisation" with Chinese characteristics. After Davos, many Indian "experts" dream of the new dawn in Indias relations with Beijing; they are advising the government against using the "Tibet Card". But whether Delhi wants it or not, Tibet remains a "core" emotional issue, if not a "card", in India. The Dalai Lama has still a tremendous influence on Tibetan and Indian crowds. In a letter to Nitish Kumar, the chief minister of Bihar who attended the concluding ceremony of the Kalachakra, the Tibetan leader expressed his gratitude: The organisational support including the extensive and thorough security arrangements contributed to the efficient and smooth running of this large event. Officials of your various departments have spent a great deal of time and effort in ensuring the success of this Kalachakra Empowerment. This need not be called a Tibetan "card", but ignoring it and accepting the double standards of China would be definitively be a mistake. Let us get it straight: As long as Beijing has double standards, China will not be a "normal state". (Courtesy of Mail Today.) MG Ramachandran (MGR) was a modern-day Karna. They say the fire in his hearth was never allowed to die out; some 50-60 people would be fed at his home, at each meal, every day. "Have you eaten?" was one of his signature greetings, one which he used unfailingly, not just with visitors but even with his driver and staff. It, perhaps, had to do with the abject poverty and hardship he had to endure in his young years. MGR reached hero status at the age of 30, after 14 films. He came to have a shamanic influence over his fans thanks to the roles he essayed. A self-taught genius, his yardstick for governance was whether a public scheme would ultimately benefit the poor. Which is how the nutritious noon meal scheme came to be in the avant garde of Tamil Nadu's welfare trajectory. In March 1981, he severed ties with his only sibling, a brother, and his family, fearing their interference in government. After Anna's death in 1969, MGR tipped the balance in Kalaignar M Karunanidhi's favour in the race for succession. Photo: Vikatan In June 1987, he publicly directed civil servants not to oblige his wife for the same reason. His was a chequered public and political career. At the 1967 DMK election conference, party founder Anna (CN Annadurai) famously rejected then matinee star MGR's offer of financial assistance. Instead, Anna asked that he "show his face", as each appearance "would get 30,000 votes". Indeed, MGR's face helped bring down the mighty Congress and propel the DMK to power in what was still Madras state in 1967. After Anna's death in 1969, MGR tipped the balance in Kalaignar M Karunanidhi's favour in the race for succession. Kalaignar then became chief minister and party leader. In 1972, MGR left the the DMK, after accusing the party leadership of not looking after the interests of the people. He spurned the entreaties of the likes of Devaraj Urs to join the Congress, for he never wished to be a vassal of Delhi. In 1982, MGR took Jayalalithaa, the heroine he had been paired with the most, into the party. His own party, the AIADMK, was catapulted to power in 1977 and MGR became chief minister not once but thrice. He never lost an Assembly election and, more significantly, never felt the need to buy votes. He never depended on caste, religion or language to get him votes either. His political appeal transcended such electoral considerations. And although he ran a personalised style of governance, he permitted a degree of inner party democracy. His ministers did not have to prostrate or genuflect before him and he surrounded himself with some of the best available talent instead of political midgets or minions. He also adopted a cooperative attitude towards the mighty Centre, but he was not a pushover. As he memorably said in 1971 while still in the DMK: "Tamil Nadu will meet the army itself." This was when there were rumours that Delhi was trying to topple the DMK administration. Despite the Ray Commission, other probes and scandals, no one could point fingers at him. Till the end, he was considered selfless. A self-taught genius, his yardstick for governance was whether a public scheme would ultimately benefit the poor. Photo: Twitter In his centennial year, the party that was built with his charisma and the sacrifice of his fans and cadre has been dealt a serious blow with the demise of his equally charismatic successor, his protege the late J Jayalalithaa. In 1982, MGR took Jayalalithaa, the heroine he had been paired with the most, into the party. In her words, "he wanted someone whom he could trust one hundred per cent". MGR's epiphany over Jayalalithaa would come quickly when she tried to upstage him after he took ill. However, he condoned her transgressions and despite their equivocal relationship, the cadre accepted her as his heir. He and his disciple had many things in common. The most important was that they had no successors and therefore no self-interest. In 1991, when she became chief minister she turned into a pharaoh. Despite MGR being a "great influence" on her and she emulating his welfare politics, she let go of the major opportunity to transform Tamil Nadu otherwise. Instead of bringing in investments and industries, she sadly became the subject of investigations and court battles. MGR was a grossly underestimated politician. He and his disciple had many things in common. The most important was that they had no successors and therefore no self-interest. Ironically, the leader who might be able to continue both his father's legacy as well as MGR's - with 40 years of political work and a pragmatic approach to Dravidian ideals behind him - could be MK Stalin. While whipping up passion on communal lines, the BJP government not just seems to be turning a blind eye to a health campaign, but also playing a sly game of dividing Bollywood. According to a report in The Indian Express, the National Film Development Corporation (NFDC) is awaiting approval from the health ministry for videos it shot in December with Shah Rukh Khan to promote awareness about eye ailments "Eye Hear You" campaign. Union health minister JP Nadda is reportedly unhappy that he had not been consulted at an earlier stage when it could have been shot with someone else. And this someone else is none other than Hrithik Roshan. The ministry's "first choice", Roshan, played the role of a blind man in the recently released Kaabil. Officials also say that the ministry had originally planned to associate the campaign with the release of the movie. Sadly it's a campaign for awareness about eye ailments that has become a casualty. (Photo for representational purpose) "However, procedural delays meant the campaign plan could not be finalised in time for it to be released along with Kaabil. So the ministry chose to do the campaign with Shah Rukh instead," a health ministry official was quoted as saying by The Indian Express. So, is it true that the Raees versus Kaabil frenzy was not merely a box-office battle but an attempted Hindu versus Muslim hysteria by the BJP? Because that kind of explains why BJP national general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya entered the pre-release campaign (of the two movies), and tweeted: Jo Raees desh ka nahi, wo kisi kaam ka nahi. Aur ekj Kaabil deshbhakt ka saath, toh hum sabhi ko dena hi chahiye (The rich who dont belong to the country are of no use. The able patriot is the one we should all support). The not-so-subtle swipe was not the only instance. He later went on to compare Shah Rukh Khan with India's most-wanted fugitive Dawood Ibrahim. Is the BJP's stance motivated not by the quality of movies, but only actors and their religion? Muslim actors like Shah Rukh Khan and Aamir Khan have been attacked as "anti-nationalist" in the past as well because of their religion. The BJP general secretary had asked his supporters to boycott Dangal because Aamir Khan had spoken about Kiran Raos fears of growing religious intolerance in India. What started as a "national patriotism campaign" (against the Islamic Republic of Pakistan), fired over the shoulders of "anti-nationalists", is now threatening to become a serious health hazard. From party policy, the agenda to prop up Hindutva now seems to have officially entered ministry corridors and being used as a government tool to gather momentum for the Hindu supremacy movement. Amid all this, sadly it's a campaign for awareness about eye ailments on conditions like glaucoma and diabetic retinopathy that lead to loss of vision that has become a casualty. Netziv (Shemos 34:10) We need to explicate the manner of Divine Providence. There are two types which four. 1) there are two by means of ... My sefer Yad Moshe has been unavailable in seforim stores. However it was recently reprinted and shipped to New York There are two distrubu... In the last few days I have encountered learned and frum Litvaks who claimed it was essential to be happy and smiling all the time An... Rashbam (Shemos 4:10): It is inconceivable that a prophet who spoke with G d face to face and received the Torah from Him should have a sp... Important!! email - yadmoshe@gmail.com A Mineral Point man was moderately injured in a one-vehicle crash early Sunday off Brazil Road in Washington County. According to the Missouri State Highway Patrol report, at at 6:15 a.m. Jerry Cluck, 22, was driving his 2001 Chevrolet S10 truck westbound on Brazil Road just west of Route Z when the vehicle went off the right side of the roadway and struck a tree. Cluck was wearing his seat belt and was taken to Washington County Memorial Hospital by private conveyance with moderate injuries. In an unrelated accident at St. Joe State Park a Farmington woman was injured in an ATV accident Sunday at 11 a.m. According to the report, Breanna Crump, 22, was riding a 2005 Honda Rancher ATV in the off-road area in St. Joe State Park when she attempted to make an abrupt turn and was thrown from her ATV. Crump was wearing safety gear and was taken by private conveyance to Parkland Health Center in Farmington with minor injuries. Later that afternoon at 12:40 p.m. a Festus man was also injured at St. Joe State Park while riding his dirt bike. Noah Medley, 17, was riding a 2016 Kawasaki 250 in the off-road area of St. Joe State Park when he struck several embankments and was ejected from his bike. Medley was wearing safety gear and was taken to Mercy Hospital Jefferson by private conveyance with minor injuries. Habitat For Humanity of St. Francois County held its 21st house dedication last week in Park Hills. What made this house different than the 20 that came before is a new financing program that will allow the charity to better use their resources to build decent and affordable housing for families. "We've been selected to take part in a pilot program through Habitat International where we can now use third-party financing," said HFHSFC Executive Director Linda Dickerson. "Rather than us taking care of the loan for the next 20 years, it'll now be handled through a bank. We're real excited to be working with First State Community Bank. "Now we won't have to manage the loan. That means we won't have to worry about delinquent notices and we'll be able to get all our money at closing. Like, on Friday, we walked away from the closing with $100,000, which goes into our general account to pay for the next house to be built. That way we're able to keep moving forward." According to Dickerson, the program is a good thing for both HFHSFC and the bank as they work together to help provide quality housing in the community. "We have an agreement with FSCB that, since it's a trial program, we will put back 50 percent of what we get for the loan in a non-interest-bearing reserve account," she said. "We'll maintain that account there, and if one of the loans were to go bad, HFHSFC would be able to step in and repurchase that loan or replace it with another loan that's in good standing." Dickerson said that it's always a wonderful feeling when a family finally moves into their new home that they and Habitat volunteers built together. "On Friday we had an open house and dedication for our latest home at 307 Adams St. in Park Hills," she said. "We welcomed the family Clayton and Melissa Golden and their son, Mason and they were very excited to be in their new home. It's the first home that they've had together. They worked very, very hard for this and they've been extremely patient. "We opened up Friday's dedication with a prayer, welcomed people and took them on a tour of the house. The family was really happy to show off the house and answer any questions that they had. At the end of the dedication the family had a little surprise of their own to share. They presented their son with a bag a welcoming gift and when he opened it up there was a shirt inside that said he was going to be a big brother." Dickerson believes the new financing program will help make HFHSFC an even more efficient organization. "We're hoping to build two to three houses a year and this program should help us be able to do that," she said. "This has taken the pressure off of us having to do the fundraisers such as the barbecues, the trivia nights and those kinds of things. We've taken a step back and decided we're going to do one fundraiser a year and that's our wine tasting fundraiser on the first Friday in November. "We also operate the Habitat ReStore, located at the corner of East Main Street and Fourth Street in Park Hills. We average about $6,000 a year there. It's good for fundraising, but it's also good for giving back to the community. They can donate items that can then be reused. We're going to continue with the trial program, hoping that we can focus more on building houses instead of having to do the day-to-day fundraisers." Looking ahead, Dickerson said HFHSFC doesn't have a waiting list for people wanting a home. "We've already broken ground for our 24th house at 208 Emerson St. The basement is already in and we'll start framing up the back wall and the floor joists," she said. "Then we'll take a little break because there's a group of 22 kids coming in from Wisconsin that will be staying with me for a week and we are planning to build that house then." The HFHSFC office is located inside the Farmington Presbyterian Church at 403 W Columbia St. Hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. Those wanting to fill out an application need to set up an appointment by calling 573-760-1702. The ReStore is open 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday. The number is 573-431-5045. I don't know about you, but I'm all Trumped-out. The whole country is learning how exhausting it can be to live with a seriously mentally ill person: The constant feeling of apprehension and unease over what kind of manipulative, delusional nonsense is coming next. The uncertainty about how to react. Definitely remove all weapons and secure potentially dangerous drugs. Will calling the police make things better, or worse? Is it too early to seek order of commitment? Or too late? If the judge denies it, then what? If the analogy makes you angry, tough. You and that scrofulous twit Steve Bannon can both take a hike. He's the Trump apparatchik who says the press should keep its mouth shut. I've been hearing from knuckleheads like him as long as I've written this column. Fat chance. Because crazy people tend to be cunning and tireless, it's important to take reality breaks. So this is a column about my 6-year-old orange tabby, Albert, the most unusual cat I've known. Albert's had major life adjustments to make over the past year, and he's handled them with creativity and aplomb. A little background: Albert came to us at age 12 weeks. He'd spent his infancy on a farmhouse porch surrounded by dogs and free-range chickens. So when our aggressive 110-pound Great Pyrenees, Maggie, stuck her muzzle in his face, he jumped on her head. She thought it was the best thing that ever happened, and adopted the kitten for life. Hence Albert's first nickname: The Orange Dog. Besides spending most of his time among dogs, he appointed himself my personal companion, following me everywhere on our farm. He'd sit on fence posts and let Mount Nebo, the Tennessee walking horse, nuzzle him. He treated adult cows like furniture, but sniffed noses with curious calves under the fence. One time he climbed in with the chickens and got into a standoff with the rooster -- glaring at each other like Mexican prizefighters. He showed no interest in birds after that. Most doglike of all, Albert normally obeyed when called. I'd put the big dogs up every night, holler his name, and pick out his orange eyes with a flashlight as he came hustling for bedtime duty. As long as it was covered by a blanket, he'd lie on my chest purring. If not, no way. Did I think he was a pervert? After we adopted another tiny orange tabby abandoned along our road, Albert learned to let himself into the bathroom towel closet for kitten-free napping. You'd hear the soft thump of the spring-loaded door as he came and went. Otherwise, he and young Martin tussled playfully like the Pink Panther and Kato, the martial arts houseboy. His second nickname: Inspector Clouseau. Another time, he took my side in a fight with his adoptive mother. I was furious with Maggie for bullying Diane's elderly basset hound. Albert arched his back, pinned his ears and stalked the dog with a clear intent to thrash her -- all 10 pounds of him. She slunk away until I nailed her with a weathered cow's thighbone she carried around. Message delivered; crisis averted. Soon enough, Albert had eradicated mice from the feed room. He began traveling to the neighbor's hay barn about a half mile away in search of rodents to kill. He'd sometimes stay gone overnight, which worried me for fear of coyotes. Sometimes the dogs and I would walk over there to fetch him. He'd run to us, rub-a-dub on everybody's legs and then follow us home. We must have made a comical sight: three guard dogs, two basset hounds, and a creamsicle-colored tomcat parading across a cow pasture. Then last spring I took a pratfall from a horse, breaking three ribs and buggering up my hip. I was in serious pain for six weeks. Albert dramatically changed his habits. No more cross-country expeditions. He stayed indoors day and night comforting me. He even appeared to recognize the theme music to Boston Red Sox broadcasts. After I became mobile again, he resumed prowling. Last October, we moved back to Little Rock. I worried about how Albert would adapt, although our back gate opens on the Arkansas School for the Blind campus, and there's a steep, wooded ravine behind it. I needn't have worried. Like many older neighborhoods -- our "new" house is 100 years old -- Hillcrest has a lot of rats. These smug city rodents have never met an experienced country cat. There's a new sheriff in town. He carries their freshly slain corpses over a rock wall like a small leopard, leaving them for the dogs to admire. Hence Albert's new nickname: The Sheriff. As rat-hunting's best at night, homebody Martin (aka The Deputy) has pretty much inherited sleep aide duties. His own specialty is burrowing under the covers like a groundhog, and snuggling between us all night. Arkansas Times columnist Gene Lyons is a National Magazine Award winner and co-author of "The Hunting of the President" (St. Martin's Press, 2000). 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Bhd., NOV - Oil Services Angola LDA., NOV APL Limited, NOV Africa Pty Ltd, NOV Australia Pty Ltd, NOV Azerbaijan LLC, NOV Brandt Europe France, NOV Brandt Oilfield Services Middle East LLC, NOV CAPS Pte. Ltd., NOV CV1 GP LLC, NOV CV2 GP LLC, NOV Canada ULC, NOV Completion Tools LLC, NOV Completion and Production Solutions Korea Ltd., NOV Denmark Cooperatief U.A., NOV Downhole Argentina LLC, NOV Downhole Bolivia S.R.L., NOV Downhole Colombia LLC, NOV Downhole Comercializacao de Equipamentos para Petroleo Ltda., NOV Downhole Congo LLC, NOV Downhole Eurasia Limited, NOV Downhole Italia S.R.L., NOV Downhole Kazakhstan LLC, NOV Downhole Malaysia Sdn. Bhd., NOV Downhole Pty Ltd, NOV Downhole Thailand LLC, NOV EU Acquisition SNC, NOV Elmar (Middle East) Limited, NOV Eurasia Holding LLC, NOV Expatriate Services Inc., NOV FGS Malaysia Sdn Bhd, NOV FGS Singapore (Pte.) Ltd, NOV Flexibles Equipamentos E Servicos Ltda., NOV Flexibles Holding ApS, NOV Fluid Control B.V., NOV GEO GP LLC, NOV GEO LP1 C.V., NOV GEO LP1 LLC, NOV GEO LP2 C.V., NOV GEO LP2 LLC, NOV Gabon SARL, NOV Germany GmbH, NOV Germany Holding GmbH, NOV Ghana Limited, NOV Grant Prideco Drilling Equipment Manufacturing LLC, NOV Grant Prideco Drilling Products Middle East FZE, NOV Grant Prideco L.L.C., NOV Holding Danmark ApS, NOV Holding Sub UK 1 Limited, NOV Holding UK 1 Limited, NOV Holding UK 2 Limited, NOV Holdings B.V., NOV India Private Limited, NOV Intelliserv UK Limited, NOV International Holdings C.V., NOV International Holdings GP LLC, NOV International Holdings LLC, NOV Intervention & Stimulation Equipment US LLC, NOV Intervention and Stimulation Equipment Aftermarket Comercio de Equipamentos e Servicos Ltda., NOV Kenya Limited, NOV Kostroma LLC, NOV Kuwait Light & Heavy Equipment Repairing & Maintenance Co., NOV LP (Trading) LLC, NOV MFG India Private Limited, NOV Mexico Holding LLC, NOV Middle East FZCO, NOV Mozambique Limitada, NOV NL Mexico Holding B.V., NOV Oil & Gas Services Egypt (S.A.E), NOV Oil & Gas Services Senegal S.A.R.L., NOV Oil & Gas Services Uganda Limited, NOV Oil and Gas Services Ghana Limited, NOV Oil and Gas Services Namibia (Proprietary) Limited, NOV Oil and Gas Services Nigeria Limited, NOV Oil and Gas Services South Africa (Pty) Limited, NOV Oilfield Services Tanzania Limited, NOV Oilfield Services Vostok LLC, NOV Oilfield Solutions Ltd., NOV Park II B.V., NOV Process & Flow Technologies AS, NOV Process & Flow Technologies Malaysia Sdn. Bhd., NOV Process & Flow Technologies Pte. Ltd., NOV Process & Flow Technologies UK Limited, NOV QFZ LLC, NOV Rig Solutions Pte. Ltd., NOV Romania LLC, NOV Saudi Arabia Co. Ltd., NOV Saudi Arabia Trading Co., NOV Services Ltd., NOV Servicios de Personal Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., NOV Tanajib Kuwait for Services and Maintenance of Oil Rigs Refineries and Petrochemicals W.L.L., NOV Tuboscope Italia S.R.L., NOV Tuboscope Middle East LLC, NOV Tuboscope NL B.V., NOV Tubulars and Connectors Ltd., NOV UK (Angola Acquisitions) Limited, NOV UK Finance Limited, NOV UK Holdings LLC, NOV UK Holdings Limited, NOV UK Korea LP, NOV Wellbore Technologies Norway LLC, NOV Wellbore Technologies do Brasil Equipamentos E Servicos Ltda., NOV Wellsite Services Germany GmbH, NOV Worldwide B.V., NOV-BLM SAS, NOVM Holding LLC, NOW International LLC, NOW Nova Scotia Holdings LLC, NOW Oilfield Services LLC, NQL Holland B.V., National Oilwell (U.K.) Limited, National Oilwell Algerie, National Oilwell Varco (Beijing) Investment Management Co. Ltd., National Oilwell Varco (Thailand) Ltd., National Oilwell Varco Algeria, National Oilwell Varco Almansoori Services, National Oilwell Varco Bahrain WLL, National Oilwell Varco Belgium SA, National Oilwell Varco Denmark I/S, National Oilwell Varco Egypt LLC, National Oilwell Varco Eurasia LLC, National Oilwell Varco Guatemala Limitada, National Oilwell Varco Guyana Inc., National Oilwell Varco Hungary Limited Liability Company, National Oilwell Varco Korea Co. Ltd., National Oilwell Varco L.P., National Oilwell Varco MSW S.A., National Oilwell Varco Mexico S.A. de C.V., National Oilwell Varco Muscat L.L.C., National Oilwell Varco Norway AS, National Oilwell Varco Peru S.R.L., National Oilwell Varco Petroleum Equipment (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., National Oilwell Varco Poland Sp.z.o.o., National Oilwell Varco Pte. Ltd., National Oilwell Varco Rig Equipment Trading (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., National Oilwell Varco Romania S.R.L., National Oilwell Varco Solutions S.A. de C.V., National Oilwell Varco UK Limited, National Oilwell Varco Ukraine LLC, National Oilwell Varco de Bolivia S.R.L., National Oilwell Varco de Chile - Servicios Limitada, National Oilwell Varco do Brasil Ltda., National Oilwell de Venezuela C.A., National-Oilwell Pte. Ltd., National-Oilwell Pty. Ltd., PT Fjords Processing Indonesia, PT H-Tech Oilfield Equipment, PT NOV Oilfield Services, PT National Oilwell Varco, PT PROFAB INDONESIA, Pesaka Inspection Services SDN.BHD., Pipex Limited, Pipex PX Limited, Pridecomex Holding S. de R.L. de C.V., R&M Energy Systems Australia Pty Ltd, R&M Energy Systems de Argentina S.A., R&M Energy Systems de Venezuela C.A., R&M Singapore Holding LLC, RE.MAC.UT. S.r.l., RHI Holding LLC, ReedHycalog International Holding LLC, ReedHycalog L.P., ReedHycalog LLC, ReedHycalog UK Limited, Robannic Overseas Finance A.V.V., Robbins & Myers B.V., Robbins & Myers Foundation, Robbins & Myers GP LLC, Robbins & Myers Holdings LLC, Robbins & Myers Holdings UK Limited, Robbins & Myers Inc, Robbins & Myers Inc., Robbins & Myers Italia S.R.L., Robbins & Myers N.V., Rodic S.A. de C.V., Romaco S.a.r.l., STAR Sudamtex Tubulares S.A., STSA, Screen Manufacturing Company Unlimited, Slip Clutch Systems Limited, South Seas Inspection, Subseaflex Holding ApS, T-3 Energy Preferred Industries Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., T-3 Energy Services Cayman Holdings Ltd., T-3 Energy Services Cayman Ltd., T-3 Energy Services LLC, T-3 Energy Services Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., T-3 Investment Corporation IV, T-3 Mexican Holdings Inc., Telluride Insurance Limited, Tianjin Grant TPCO Drilling Tools Company Limited, Tuboscope & Co. LLC, Tuboscope (Holding U.S.) LLC, Tuboscope Brandt de Venezuela S.A., Tuboscope Norge AS, Tuboscope Vetco (France) SAS, Tuboscope Vetco (Osterreich) GmbH, Tuboscope Vetco Capital Limited, Tuboscope Vetco Moscow CJSC, Tuboscope Vetco de Argentina S.A., Tubular Coatings Solutions Ltd., Tucom Composites Polyester Sanayi Ticaret Ltd., Urban WLY LP, Varco BJ B.V., Varco CIS LLC, Varco International de Venezuela C.A., Varco L.P., Varco US Holdings LLC, Vetco Enterprise GmbH, Vetco Saudi Arabia Ltd., Visible Assets Inc., Wilson International, Woolley Inc., XL Systems Antilles N.V., XL Systems Europe B.V., XL Systems International Inc., voestalpine Tubulars Corporation, voestalpine Tubulars GmbH, and voestalpine Tubulars GmbH & Co KG. Read More Equifax Inc. provides information solutions and human resources business process automation outsourcing services for businesses, governments, and consumers. The company operates through three segments: Workforce Solutions, U.S. Information Solutions (USIS), and International. The Workforce Solutions segment offers employment, income, criminal history, and social security number verification services, as well as payroll-based transaction, employment tax management, and identity theft protection products. The USIS segment provides consumer and commercial information services, such as credit information and credit scoring, credit modeling and portfolio analytics, locate, fraud detection and prevention, identity verification, and other consulting; mortgage services; financial marketing services; identity management services; credit monitoring products; and online information, decisioning technology solutions, as well as portfolio management, mortgage reporting, and consumer credit information services. The International segment offers information service products, which include consumer and commercial services, such as credit and financial information, and credit scoring and modeling; and credit and other marketing products and services, as well as offers information, technology, and other services to support debt collections and recovery management. The company serves customers in financial services, mortgage, employers, consumer, commercial, telecommunication, retail, automotive, utility, brokerage, healthcare, and insurance industries, as well as state, federal, and local governments. It operates in the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, India, the United Kingdom, Spain, Portugal, Argentina, Chile, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Honduras, Mexico, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay, Brazil, the Republic of Ireland, Russia, Cambodia, Malaysia, Singapore, and the United Arab Emirates. The company was founded in 1899 and is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. S&P Global Inc., together with its subsidiaries, provides credit ratings, benchmarks, analytics, and workflow solutions in the global capital, commodity, and automotive markets. It operates in six divisions: S&P Global Ratings, S&P Dow Jones Indices, S&P Global Commodity Insights, S&P Global Market Intelligence, S&P Global Mobility, and S&P Global Engineering Solutions. The S&P Global Ratings division operates as an independent provider of credit ratings, research, and analytics, offering investors and other market participants information, ratings, and benchmarks. The S&P Dow Jones Indices division is an index provider that maintains various valuation and index benchmarks for investment advisors, wealth managers, and institutional investors. The S&P Global Commodity Insights division offers data and insights for global energy and commodity markets and enable its customers to make decisions. The S&P Global Market Intelligence division delivers data and technology solutions for customers to provide insights for making decisions. It offers data and services that bring end-to-end workflow solutions, including capital formation, data and distribution, ESG and sustainability, leveraged loans, private markets, sector coverage, supply chain, and issuer solutions, as well as credit, risk, and regulatory solutions. The S&P Global Mobility division provides insights derived from unmatched automotive data, enabling its customers to anticipate change and make decisions. The S&P Global Engineering Solutions division offers engineering expertise and solutions in industries, such as aerospace and defense, energy, architecture, construction, and transportation. Its solutions empower business and technical leaders to transform workflows and make decisions. S&P Global Inc. was founded in 1860 and is headquartered in New York, New York. A Charlottesville judge on Monday ordered a man accused of peering into homes near the University of Virginia and masturbating in public to complete a mental-health evaluation. On Jan. 4, city police responded to the 1800 block of Jefferson Park Avenue for a report of a man masturbating in front of people. Officers found 55-year-old Richard V. Curnish, of Charlottesville, and took him into custody. On Monday, prosecutors in Charlottesville General District Court agreed to drop the indecent exposure charge to a lesser misdemeanor if Curnish completes a mental-health evaluation and follows through with any doctor-recommended counseling and treatment. Curnish is scheduled for a review hearing Oct. 13. LOVINGSTON More than a year after lawsuits were filed, a judge on Monday ruled Atlantic Coast Pipeline LLC will be allowed to survey land belonging to 29 Nelson County landowners without their permission. After hours of arguments Monday afternoon, Nelson Circuit Judge Michael Garrett ruled Virginia law allows ACP to enter the defendants properties for surveying purposes. Were pleased with the courts ruling. The judge today reached the same conclusion that every other state and federal court thats looked at this issue has reached, and that is that we have the right to perform these surveys and that they are necessary to choose the best route with the least possible impact on landowners and the environment, said Aaron Ruby, a spokesman for Dominion, which is heading the $5 billion, 600-mile project that would cut through West Virginia, Virginia and North Carolina. We appreciate the tremendous thought and consideration the judge gave to these cases. He was very thorough and gave all sides the opportunity to present their case. Garretts ruling was based on his interpretation of the word and in the section of the that reads in part: Any firm, corporation, company, or partnership, organized for the bona fide purpose of operating as a natural gas company may make such surveys for its proposed line or location of its works as are necessary (i) to satisfy any regulatory requirements and (ii) for the selection of the most advantageous location or route, the improvement or straightening of its line or works, changes of location or construction, or providing additional facilities Lawyers for the 29 landowners argued and should be strictly interpreted as conjunctive, meaning ACP would be required to comply with both the satisfy any regulatory requirements and the selection of the most advantageous location or route portions of the code. Garrett, however, said he believes the code says natural gas companies can survey without landowners permission as long as they do so for at least one of the two purposes. We thought thats what it would come down to, said Chuck Lollar, a defense attorney representing several Nelson landowners, and we were hoping he would read and to mean a-n-d, just like you learned in elementary school. ACP lawyers argued Monday the surveys were important in finding the best route with the least impact on the environment and landowners. Mike Derdeyn, an attorney representing several of the defendants, argued if Garrett ruled both portions of the code had to be satisfied, ACP would have had to do more to prove surveys are needed to satisfy requirements of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission review process. Garrett also denied a motion by Lollar and defense attorney Ben Perdue that sought to keep Atlantic Coast Pipeline surveyors from entering their clients properties until the Virginia Supreme Court hands down its rulings in other ACP surveying appeals, which have not been scheduled yet. Surveys of the 29 properties should take place in February, Ruby said. The 29 landowners already were sent notices with dates on which surveyors intend to enter the properties, so they know were going to be there, Ruby said. In another pipeline case heard separately Monday, Garrett ruled again in favor of the Atlantic Coast Pipeline, allowing the company to survey land belonging to Wintergreen Country Store off Route 151 in Nellysford. Several more Atlantic Coast Pipeline surveying lawsuits involving Nelson landowners have yet to be heard. Pipeline opponents rallied Monday outside the courthouse. About 50 people displayed handmade, anti-pipeline signs ahead of the hearing as a show of support for the landowners involved in the surveying lawsuits. Wisteria Johnson, another of the 29 defendants, said after the hearing the ruling dealt a blow to her familys history. Were way back in the mountain. My ancestors chose to stay back in the mountain so they could stay out of all this, and the pipeline is now coming through our property, Johnson said. My family for generations has been struggling to hold onto a little piece of mountain. These people with their suits and their ties are coming in, and theyre invading it. The ACP currently is being reviewed by FERC, which has said it will make a final decision on whether to authorize the pipeline by late September. WAYNESBORO A state trooper shot a knife-wielding man who ran across Interstate 81 from one rest stop to another late Sunday, state police said. The state polices Appomattox Field Division received a call about two individuals at the rest area at the 232 mile marker on I-81 south, near the Weyers Cave and Grottoes exit in Augusta County. The two men were said to be making comments about another motorist, but its unclear what exactly they were talking about, police said. When a state trooper approached the men at their car at about 9:45 p.m., one fled on foot while the trooper was talking to them. The man ran across the southbound lanes, through the median and across to the northbound rest area. The trooper pursued the man and encountered him at the fence line behind the rest area. The man then pulled a knife and came toward the trooper, who then shot the man, according to police. The wounded man was flown to the University of Virginia Medical Center for treatment of serious injuries. The second man in the car was detained by police for questioning. The trooper involved in the shooting was not injured in the incident. He was placed on administrative leave, as is standard protocol in such incidents. The Virginia State Police Bureau of Criminal Investigations Appomattox Field Office is investigating the incident. When Najwa Elyazgi's flight touched down in Turkey, she checked the news on her phone and was shocked to see that President Donald Trump had announced an executive order temporarily banning people from seven countries - including her own, Libya - from entering the United States. Trump said the measure, which also included a temporary ban on refugees, would make the United States safer by keeping radical Islamic terrorists out of the country. He said as he signed it that the country should not welcome the very enemies that our soldiers are fighting overseas. To his supporters, it sent a powerful signal that border security would be finally be tightened. To Elyazgi, it raised the question: Would the United States no longer welcome the top students from overseas? Ever since she was a little girl she had wanted to go to college in the United States. She had worked so hard in school that she had the highest grade-point average in her major of economics and political science in the country that year, an achievement that guaranteed her a full scholarship. She had survived a dictatorship, a revolution and a civil war, and she had completed all but the last two semesters of an undergraduate degree in international relations at George Mason University. Suddenly, it all hinged on her connecting flight to Dulles. When she was stopped as others boarded, and asked to wait, she knew. "I was destroyed," she said. "My whole future . . ." In shock, she checked into a hotel near the airport, tried to reassure her parents, contacted her academic adviser and got in touch with a lawyer, Kevin George, who had volunteered to help Libyans affected by the ban. She went from tears to anger to forced composure, telling herself she couldn't solve anything unless she stayed positive. And she kept checking the news, which was changing quickly, with lawsuits and injunctions. After two days in her hotel room, she realized she was hungry, and ordered some food. After four days, a hotel employee knocked on the door and asked if she was all right; he saw the sign on her door requesting privacy hadn't been removed and they hadn't see her leave the room in that time. "I was kind of like dead," she said. "I was not really alive that week." One day, she woke up at 6 a.m., checked the news, read that visas would be considered suspended for anyone from the seven countries who was outside of the country, drew the blinds and went back to sleep for the entire day. But most of the time, she was frantically trying to find a solution. She knew that people from the attorney general of Virginia to the president of George Mason were trying to help. George said he knew she was lonely and dejected but he kept urging her not to leave Istanbul. On Friday he told her to book a flight to Boston on Lufthansa; some travelers were getting in. She rushed to book a ticket - $3,800, which one of her brothers, who is a medical resident in the United States, told her he would help her pay for. But by the time she finished entering information, the last seat had been sold. It was nearly 4 a.m. in Istanbul, and she wanted to scream. But she said to her brother an Arabic saying which she roughly translated as, "There is no good in doing that, so God took that away from you - it's better not doing that." She thought, "I will just leave," and go home to Libya. She turned out the light, and tried to go to sleep. When she was in elementary school in Tripoli, Elyazgi told people she wanted to go to college in the United States, which she believed offered the best education in the world. She wanted to study international relations and return to Libya to make her country better, safer, less isolated. Her family opposed the Moammar Gadhafi regime, and she said they lived uneasily at times under the unpredictable rules of the dictatorship. They weren't allowed passports, their car might be stopped for questioning, or a knock would sound at the door and her father would be escorted somewhere. She said close family members were imprisoned and killed. Education was important to her family, but as she was finishing high school in 2011, civil war erupted. She fled with her mother and siblings to Tunisia for safety, and after Gadhafi was overthrown and violence subsided she began to try to resume her education. With chaotic conditions, though, it was not until 2013 that she learned that the scholarship she had been awarded, covering the cost of any university she chose, would be honored, and she began the slow process of gaining approval to study in the United States on a student visa. She had not taken all the standardized tests needed for applications to the most prestigious universities, but she found that George Mason did not require them and would allow her to apply long after the traditional deadline. She enjoyed her studies there, earned a 3.9 grade point average, and planned to apply to universities such as Harvard and Yale for graduate school - which is also covered by her scholarship - before returning to Libya permanently. In the hotel in Istanbul, she thought it had all been wiped out with a single order. "I would be expecting this from Libya," she said. "We had it in different ways through all my childhood. . . . But I did not expect this from the United States - the number one place in the world, very liberal, with freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom, freedom, freedom." Her cellphone rang not 10 minutes after she had given up in Istanbul. It was her brother again. He had just seen a news alert: A federal judge had temporarily blocked enforcement of the ban. She asked George, who told her: Get on the next flight. In the U.S., President Trump warned on social media that the judge had made the country was less safe by hindering his executive order. Elyazgi called the airline, which said seats were available but she must buy them at the airport. She took a shower, her first in a week, grabbed her bags and rushed to the airport, where she asked security officials if she would be allowed to board a flight. One said no, but when she asked a supervisor and was told yes, she ran, lugging her bags, to the airline ticket counter. Even once seated on the plane, she was nervous. For 45 minutes it did not move, she said, and no announcement was made; she expected any minute that someone would walk to her seat and tell her she had to get off the airplane. The plane took off. Her heart lifted. She was still nervous, unable to sleep as she normally would on a 12-hour flight, knowing she might be detained at the airport in Virginia. "But inside me I knew, if I got to the United States, the Constitution will protect me." She expected many extra layers of security at the airport. The agent, she said, only asked her one question. When she answered that she was a student at George Mason, he stamped her passport and said, "'Welcome back. We missed you.'" When she saw all protesters - many of them white Americans, she said, people who didn't seem to be directly impacted by the executive order - joining the lawyers and politicians and reporters and family members in a crowd at the airport, she had to blink away tears in her eyes. "I felt alive again," she said Monday. She had just talked with the president of George Mason and others on campus, and been assured that she can resume the semester despite missing so many classes. She will be back in the classroom Tuesday. "I felt loved," she said. "Before I didn't feel the United States is my home; it's not. It's a place I go to school, and when I am done, I will leave." Seeing all the people protesting the immigration order, she said, "Now I feel these people love me, as if this is my home." Thank you for reading! To read this article and more, subscribe now for as little as $1.99. Shouting no ban; no wall, hundreds of protesters marched from the Northside Library to the Albemarle County office of Rep. Tom Garrett, R-5th, on Tuesday to protest the presidents recent immigration ban. Members of Indivisible Charlottesville and Indivisible Nelson County came together to share their stories in support of immigrants, refugees and the Affordable Care Act. Dozens of people filed up the stairs to speak to Garretts office staff and pass on their ire with the Trump administration. We are not at all happy with Tom Garretts actions I would describe them as Trump-like actions, said Larry Stopper with Indivisible Nelson. We dont agree with the idea of a wall. We dont agree with tearing down the Affordable Care Act. We dont agree with banning Muslims from the country. We feel that this is the wrong agenda and wrong direction for the country, he said. We are here to resist it. Andrew Griffin, a spokesman for Garrett, along with other staff members, spent time in the office listening to and recording the protesters stories. Many of the testimonials were in support of the Affordable Care Act and the desire to keep the country open to immigrants and refugees. In his speech to the crowd, Stopper said the people in the 5th District of Virginia will work together to oppose President Donald Trump, chief strategist Steve Bannon and Garrett. I hear Trump is accusing us of being paid agitators and protesters, so if anybody out there is in touch with George Soros, let him know Im not getting my paycheck, joked Stopper. Its pretty ironic, isnt it, that the most corrupt president in history is accusing us of corruption. 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. Georgia Clore Culpeper County High School Junior, 16 Parents: Duane and Marie Clore Subjects currently taking AP Language and Composition, Honors Chemistry, Basic Design, Concert Band, AP U.S. History, AP Calculus AB, Guitar Honors and awards Varsity swim letter; Varsity track and field letter; awarded 3rd place in the American Mathematics Competition; National Honor Society Member; Spanish Honor Society Member 9th-10th: Academic letter for A honor roll , Academic Excellence award Extracurricular activities Marching band (auxiliary); weekly piano lessons 10th-11th: Developed routines and instructed flag squad Sports CCHS and Summer Swim Team; CCHS Track and Field Community involvement Piano performances at church; Performances at Culpeper National Cemetery with the CCHS Band Memorial day and Veterans Day each year; Community Concert assistance; Uniform Manager for the CCHS Bands Hobbies Piano, hair styling, swimming and crafting Hopes, dreams and ambitions I hope to own a business in cosmetology. I have done several girls hair for prom and other special occasions. I plan to attend UVa or The College of William and Mary to learn business management. I enjoy the Spanish language as well as math and the sciences. I would be happy with a career that incorporates these skills.Eastern View High School Ashley E. Egertson Junior, 16 Parents: Janet and John Egertson Subjects currently taking AP US History, AP English, calculus, sociology, honors chemistry, studio art I, economics & finance, French III Honors and awards 9th-11th: A/ B honor roll/ EVHS Silver Club 10th: Winter track- Cyclone Spirit Award Extracurricular activities 11th: Leo Club 9th: Improv Club Sports 10th-11th: Winter track, spring track 11th: Cross country Community involvement Culpeper County Library volunteer- Summer Reading Program, pet sitting Hobbies Drawing, reading, watching movies, singing, hiking, kayaking, spending time with family and friends, cooking vegan food and going to concerts Hopes, dreams and ambitions In the near future, I am hoping to attend James Madison University, with a major in either sociology or history. I hope to continue running 5Ks and possibly longer distances throughout my life. I would also like to travel and experience different cultures in different areas of the world. Eventually, I want to get married and start a family. TUESDAY Blue Ridge Art League Meets every Tuesday at 9:30 a.m. at St. Stephens Episcopal Church on East St. in Culpeper offering Plein Air painting and other art related classes, demos, field trips to galleries and more. 540/321-4245 or blueridgeartleague@gmail.com. Culpeper County Board of Supervisors Holds its regular monthly meetings at 10 a.m. and 7 p.m. Feb. 7 in the county boardroom, 302 N. Main St. The board will also meet at 2 p.m. Tuesday for a budget work session. Tuesday Morning Story Times At the Culpeper County Library for Pre-School (ages 3-5) at 10:30 a.m. and Toddlers (age 2) at 10:30 and 11:00 a.m. Stories, songs, rhymes, puppets, activities, and tips for helping children develop pre-literacy skills are shared. Pre-registration required. 540/825-8691. Pajama Story Time At 6:30 p.m. at the Culpeper County Library. Join Miss Walda for stories, rocking music, and other activities. Children in pajamas who are able to remain seated for stories and their caregivers are invited. No registration required. WEDNESDAY Culpeper County Airport Advisory Committee Meets at 8 a.m. Feb. 8 at Culpeper Regional Airport, 12517 Beverly Ford Rd in Elkwood. Silver Citizens Club Meet 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Wednesdays at the Culpeper County Library. 540/645-7189. Manna Ministry Offers free lunch for anyone 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Wednesdays in the Culpeper Presbyterian Fellowship Hall, 215 S. Main St. 540/825-8616. Centering Prayer Group At St. Stephens Episcopal Church at 11 a.m. every Wednesday, offering an hour of reflection and prayer followed by Healing and Holy Communion service at noon. Memory Cafe A social gathering for individuals with early stage dementia and their caregivers. The group will meet at County Cookin in Culpeper at 2:30 p.m. Call Jessica Nolan at 434/973-6122, ext. 123, for information. Friends of the Library Board Meets at 5 p.m. Feb. 8 in the Culpeper Library. Culpeper Chess Club Meets Wednesdays from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at the Culpeper County Library. 540/825-8691. All ages and skill levels welcome. Culpeper County Planning Commission Meets at 7 p.m. Feb. 8 in the county boardroom, 302 N. Main St. Call-In Bible Study Every Wednesday from 7 to 7:30 p.m. with Pastor Kenneth Pitts of Beulah Baptist Church in Rixeyville. Call-in number 302/202-1118;access code 862090. THURSDAY AARP Tax Aide At the Culpeper County Library from noon to 5 p.m. Feb. 9 at the Culpeper County Library for low to middle income taxpayers and seniors. 540/748-8712 or crdavis51@comcast.net. Culpeper Museum Board Meets at 5 p.m. Feb. 9 in the museum, 113 Commerce St. Free gentle yoga classes Are held each Thursday at 1:30 p.m. at St. Lukes Lutheran Church in Culpeper. All ages and abilities are welcome. Live music at Grass Rootes Starting around 6:30 p.m. Thursday featuring Nashville superstar Kate Hohman. No cover. Grass Rootes restaurant is located at 195 E. Davis St. in downtown Culpeper. 540/764-4229. American Blues Masters Take a peek at some of the greatest blues performances from 1945 to 2005 in this special program compiled by the Library of Congress. Screens at 7:30 p.m. at the Packard Campus Theater in Culpeper, 19053 Mt. Pony Road. Free. No reservations required. 202/707-9994. FRIDAY Fun Friday Story Time At 10:30 a.m. Feb. 10 at the Culpeper County Library. This program is geared towards children who can sit while stories read. No registration needed. Manna Ministry Offers free lunch for anyone 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Fridays in the Culpeper Presbyterian Fellowship Hall, 215 S. Main St. 540/825-8616. VFW Friday Night Bingo At the Culpeper Post on Sperryville Pike. Doors open at 5 p.m., play starts at 6:45 p.m. Guaranteed $1,000 jackpot, regular games pay $100 if more than 90 players. Only upstairs seating available in non-smoking facility. Live music at Grass Rootes Starting around 6:30 p.m. Friday featuring bluegrass by David Bradley Bishop. No cover. Grass Rootes restaurant is located at 195 E. Davis St. in downtown Culpeper. 540/764-4229. The Round Up This 1920 silent film starring Fatty Arbuckle as a sheriff screens at 7:30 p.m. Feb. 10 at the Library of Congress Packard Theater in Culpeper, 19053 Mt. Pony Road with live musical accompaniment by Andrew Simspson. Free. No reservations required. 202/707-9994. Bel Canto choral ensemble Presents All Works of Love, at 7:30 p.m. Feb. 10 at Trinity United Methodist Church, 143 W. Main St. in Orange. The free concert will feature works by by Finzi, Szymko and more. 540/962-5885. SATURDAY Drop In Craft & Poetry Anytime between 10:30 a.m. and noon Feb. 11 at the Culpeper Library for children 4 and older who get to make something beautiful while parents read a short poem related to the artwork. Wine and chocolate Gray Ghost Vineyards presents in Amissville presents its Annual Irresistible Chocolates and Cabernet event 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Feb. 11. Admission includes unlimited buffet of chocolate desserts, white and red wine tastings, glass of wine of your choice, collectible Valentine glass. $25, no reservations necessary. Picnics welcome. 540/937-4869. grayghostvineyards.com Scrabble School Black History event Will take place from 2 to 5 p.m. Feb. 11 at the historic school in Rappahannock County with exhibits. honoring local African Americans who served during the Civil War. This display was designed by a local artist/researcher, Terry Miller, and is presented in cooperation with the George Washington Carver Alumni Association. Refreshments will be served. Donations will be accepted. 540/661-2013 or email contact@scrabbleschool.org One-man play in Castleton Award-winning actor John Hardy performs Rattlesnake at 4 p.m. Feb. 11 in the Theatre House as part of Castleton in Performance in Rappahannock County. An associate artist with the Barter Theatre in Abingdon, Hardy has toured nationwide as a playwright, actor and director for more than 30 years. In Ratttlesnake, he portrays 16 different roles, taking the audience from Texas to Paris and back again over three decades. Tickets $20-$40. 703/489-8704 or castletonfestival.org. Mitchells Presbyterian Church Pancake & Sausage Dinner From 5 to 7 p.m. Feb. 11 featuring all you can eat homemade sausage, apples, and more. $8 for adults, $5 for children 11 and younger and younger than 4 eats free. Extra sausage will be for sale. With proceeds to benefit local missions and youth programs. 540/825-1079. Live music at Grass Rootes Starting around 6:30 p.m. Saturday featuring blues legend Mississippi Tom Robbins. No cover. Grass Rootes restaurant is located at 195 E. Davis St. in downtown Culpeper. 540/764-4229. Valentines Gala At 6:30 p.m. Feb. 11 at Good Hope Baptist Church in Norman. Everyone is invited. Tickets can be purchased in advance or at the door for $15. 540/825-8670. Sweetheart Dance Will be held 7 to 9:30 p.m. Feb. 11 at the Marshall Community Center in Marshall featuring the Silver Tones Swing Band playing Big Band favorites. $10 admission includes a free dance lesson. 540/422-8580. SUNDAY Christ Episcopal Church Meets at 9 a.m. on Sundays in Brandy Station. 540/321-4301 Wine and chocolate Gray Ghost Vineyards presents in Amissville presents its Annual Irresistible Chocolates and Cabernet event 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Feb. 12. Admission includes unlimited buffet of chocolate desserts, white and red wine tastings, glass of wine of your choice, collectible Valentine glass. $25, no reservations necessary. Picnics welcome. 540/937-4869. grayghostvineyards.com Play Pokemon From 2 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. Feb. 12 at the Culpeper Library. Children and teens are invited to play the character card game with decks available to borrow on site. Children 9 and younger must be with an adult. No registration necessary. Scrabble School Black History event Takes place from 2 to 5 p.m. Feb. 12 at the historic school in Rappahannock County with exhibits. honoring local African Americans who served during the Civil War. This display was designed by a local artist/researcher, Terry Miller, and is presented in cooperation with the George Washington Carver Alumni Association. Refreshments will be served. Donations will be accepted. Pianist at Little Washington Theatre Joel Fan, recognized for his work with cellist Yo-Yo Ma, plays at 3 p.m. Feb. 12 in the theater on Gay Street in Washington, Virginia in Rappahannock County. Fan will play selections from Chopin, Brahms and Liszt. $25 for adults, $10 17 and younger. 540/675-1253 or info@littlewashingtontheatre.com. Bel Canto choral ensemble Presents All Works of Love, at 4 p.m. Feb. 12 at Piedmont Episcopal Church, 214 Church St. in Madison. The free concert will feature works by by Finzi, Szymko and more. 540/962-5885. Mid-Day Lions Bingo Held at Peppers Grill every Sunday, doors open at 6:30 p.m. Three progressives each night, $1,000 jackpot. 540/937-1730. Spotsylvania County resident Gina Terry discovered a white supremacist flier on the way to her childrens school bus stop Monday morning. The printout had been placed at the end of her driveway, inside a plastic bag held down by two rocks. She said it appeared that the entire neighborhood received copies. I thankfully didnt open it up until the kids were on the bus, said Terry, 42, who lives in the Creekside subdivision off State Route 3 near Chancellorsville Battlefield. The flier, which touts a neo-Nazi group called New Order and depicts an image of a swastika, proclaims: Make America WHITE again-and greatness will follow. It refers to President Donald Trumps promise to construct a wall along the U.S. border with Mexico, and states the purpose of the wall is to keep the non-White invaders out. The flier says it is not a bad idea, but militarizing the US/Mexico border would be faster, cheaper and more effective. The Spotsylvania Sheriffs Office had received four reports of the fliers as of Monday afternoon, Maj. Troy Skebo said. Three Creekside residents called authorities, as did a homeowner on Willow Woods Drive. In addition, a resident of the Smoketree neighborhood near Harrison Crossing told The Free LanceStar that the leaflets had been distributed there. We are currently investigating the situation, Skebo wrote in an email. The Fredericksburg Police Department and the Stafford County Sheriffs Office had not received reports of similar fliers. Terry said a neighbor has organized a town hall-style meeting with the Spotsylvania Sheriffs Office Thursday to discuss the incident. She and Kate Stafford, 38, who also got the flier, told The Free LanceStar that the Sheriffs Office advised them to simply throw away the leaflets. Terry said a deputy also told her the department would increase patrols in the area. Im appalled, Terry said. We have a wonderfully diverse neighborhood full of people with different backgrounds and different beliefs. This is a hateful thing to wake up to. Mark Potok, a senior fellow for the Southern Poverty Law Center, said his organizationwhich tracks hate groupsis seeing more and more of what he called cowardly leafleting by white supremacists. He said there is not much authorities can do because the First Amendment protects such content. The fliers reflect the energy that these groups feel after the Trump victory, Potok said, but added that they also show weakness. The great saviors of the white race are basically courageous enough to anonymously throw a pamphlet on someones lawn and run away with their tails between their legs, he said. The fliers delivered in Spotsylvania include a number for a Post Office box in Milwaukee. They came with a card featuring a link to New Orders website. Stafford, whose home is near Chancellor Elementary School, said her husband found the flier at the end of their driveway as he left for work Monday morning. Her neighbors got them, too. I hope it is just a few racists, but Im worried that its not, she said. Im worried that its much more than that. Its not the first time controversial fliers have been distributed in Spotsylvania. Residents received anonymous, anti-Islam handouts in 2015, after an uproar over a proposed mosque in the county. Terry, a professor at Germanna Community College, discussed the latest flier Monday with her students in a Controversies in Contemporary American Culture class. The students, she said, mulled over strategies to combat racism. Their advicedont pretend its not there. It needs to be tackled head-on. An early test of President Donald Trump administrations capacity for malice, or for constructive compassion, is its stance on dreamersundocumented young immigrants who were brought to the United States as children and who were granted a temporary reprieve from the threat of deportation by President Barack Obama. On that score, in his earliest days in office, Trump is tilting, maybe, toward compassion. Having spent most of the presidential campaign vowing to revoke what he called an unconstitutional amnesty (which it isnt, since dreamers have been granted what amounts to a stay, not legal status), Trump switched gears after the election, saying he would work something out that would make people happy and proud. Now his spokesman, Sean Spicer, says the new presidents priority for deportation is people who have done harm to our country, not dreamers, whom Trump would approach in a very humane way. In other words, the focus will be on undocumented criminals, the same sub-group of illegal immigrants targeted by Obamas deportation policy. Deporting 750,000 dreamers who registered with the government and received Social Security numbers and two-year work permits would not just be cruel; it would be economically self-defeating and politically foolish. After all, this is a population that grew up and attended school in this country; they are as promising, hopeful and culturally American as their neighbors. It is encouraging that the administration is edging toward acknowledging this. Ending talk of deportation is a good start. But that alone will not bring a sense of security to dreamers and an estimated 1 million others eligible for the same statusthose who arrived in the United States by 2007 and before their 16th birthday and are now no older than 35. Trumps promise to work something out would have to include renewing their two-year work permits and registering others who meet the criteria. Removing those protections, or allowing them to lapse, would force some 1.7 million people back into limbo, with no confidence they could continue to work, study or travel. The best path forward remains an overhaul of the immigration system that would provide long-term protections not only for dreamers but also for most of the 11 million undocumented immigrants, the majority of whom have been in this country for more than 15 years. Without offering details, Reince Priebus, Trumps White House chief of staff, allowed that he would also welcome what he called a long-term solution worked out with Congress. That sounds like something very different from threats of mass deportation, with which Trump whipped up his campaign rallies. It holds out a glimmer of hope that the new presidents election-year hyperbole on immigration, at least as it pertained to dreamers, may yield to something more resembling pragmatism. These have not been kind times for Virginias coalfields. The schools there face an unprecedented exodus of students and the state funding that is tied to enrollment. As the coal economy collapses, people are simply leaving in search of work elsewhere. However, the cost of operating those schools remains the same, leaving school systems there struggling in ways that would be considered intolerable in Virginias urban crescent. Before the General Assembly session began, the Democratic leader in the state Senate famously vowed coal is not going to save that region were going to have to get involved. Unfortunately, state Sen. Richard Saslaw hasnt been heard from since, at least not on that issue. Gov. Terry McAuliffe went before the Virginia Association of School Superintendents and said nothing. Technically, he said that Southwest Virginia needed more economic development which is sort of like a doctor telling a man with a bleeding head wound that he needs to exercise more. That may be true, but not particularly helpful at the moment. This is the kind of political lip service we've seen from the Democratic Party in recent years, particularly when it comes to the state and nation's less populated areas. And Democrats wonder why they dont win in rural Virginia anymore? Fortunately, there are two parties in the General Assembly and the Republican leaders of both houses have made more favorable noises about finding at least a temporary solution to the school funding crisis in the coalfields. As to a long-term solution to the plight of the coalfields, there is one ray of sunshine or, to be more precise, perhaps several thousand megawatts of sunshine. Theres a fascinating bill moving through the General Assembly that could lay the groundwork for building a new economy there. We refer to HB 1760, sponsored by Del. Terry Kilgore, R-Scott County. It would add just 26 words to a mind-numbingly long section of the state code that deals with state-regulated utilities. Anytime legislators re-write the laws dealing with utilities its always wise to be, umm, skeptical. This, though, is a change thats both innocuous and important which is why its sailed through the House of Delegates without a single no vote and ideally should do the same in the Senate. The law currently allows utilities to build coal-fired plants; these 26 words would add to that or one or more pumped hydroelectricity generation and storage facilities that utilize renewable energy as all or a portion of their power source and are located in Virginias coalfields. In plain language, it would allow a utility to build whats commonly called a pumped storage project meaning one where water is pumped from a lower pond up into a higher pond, and then allowed to flow down through turbines to generate electricity. What makes a prospective pumped storage project in the coalfields different is two things. One, it could use underground water in coal mines as its water supply; no need to dam up a creek. Two, it could use solar energy or wind energy to generate power for the pumping thats really the key part of Kilgores bill. When was the last time you saw a legislator from the coalfields introducing a bill in favor of renewables? This is historic. Dominion is keenly interested in what Kilgores bill would allow. So, too, are those interested in building a new economy in southwestern Virginia an economy that would no doubt reap dividends for the Shenandoah Valley and the rest of the commonwealth. LONDON - England - News from Westminster suggests that the current House Speaker, John Bercow is on the way out after his impartial intervention for the Trump visit. Let us read from the official website www.parliament.uk where it states quite clearly: Politically impartial Speakers must be politically impartial. Therefore, on election the new Speaker must resign from their political party and remain separate from political issues even in retirement. However, the Speaker will deal with their constituents problems like a normal MP. And from here, let us go to the current House Speaker, John Bercows little tirade against the newly elected president of the United States, Donald J. Trump. Before the imposition of the migrant ban I would myself have been strongly opposed to an address by President Trump in Westminster Hall, Mr Bercow told MPs. After the imposition of the migrant ban by President Trump I am even more strongly opposed to an address by President Trump in Westminster Hall. Parliamentary insiders have revealed some wonderful news, that this impartial imposition on Britains greatest ally could mean the end of Bercow as House Speaker. Rumours have it that his extreme left wing whore wife is the author of this mess, and has pushed her impartial husband to deny Trump his day in parliament. If this is the case, the House Speaker has crossed a line from which he cannot recover. Bercow, has of course many enemies in the Commons, particularly within the Tories, and they are now waiting for the moment to stick their daggers into Bercows back and finish him once and for all. Blog Hinangai While there is much discussion in Guam about the economic benefits of increasing the islands military presence, the damages/dangers that they represent are rarely mentioned. This blog, a supplement to the Peace and Justice for Guam Petition, is meant to counter that by providing information about the US military in Guam, with the hopes of steering policy away from a dangerous unilateralist course to more sustainable notions of regional development and a strengthening international solidarity. I wouldn't say that President Donald J Trump loves President Vladimir Putin. He respects him. Putin is a strong leader. No one every questions who is in charge in Russia. That doesn't mean that I agree with everything that Putin does, but it means that I recognize that he is a strong leader. That is something that President Obama was not. Posted by Joseph Laney | Feb 6, 2017 | National SecurityTurkeys anti-terrorism police have detained more than 440 people for alleged links to ISIS, the state-run Anadolu Agency reported Sunday. Anadolu said 60 ISIS suspects, the vast majority of them foreigners, were taken into custody early Sunday in the capital, Ankara. It said a total of 445 people were detained in simultaneous pre-dawn police operations that spanned several cities, including Istanbul and Gaziantep, near the border with Syria.The largest operation was in the southeast province of Sanliurfa, where police took into custody more than 100 suspects from multiple addresses and found materials relating to ISIS militants. Security forces also apprehended nine suspects who were allegedly preparing an attack in the northwestern city of Izmir. Anadolu said most of all those detained were Syrian refugees but there were 10 minors among the foreigners detained in Istanbul and the northwestern province of Kocaeli.Turkey, which last year endured a failed coup attempt and dozens of bloody attacks linked to ISIS or Kurdish militants, has been stepping up its anti-terrorism efforts. ISIS claimed responsibility for a New Years Eve mass shooting at an Istanbul nightclub that killed 39 people. It claims to have multiple cells in Turkey.Turkey is a member of the NATO alliance and the U.S-led coalition against ISIS. It shares borders with Syria and Iraq, two war-torn nations at the heart of the fight against ISIS militants. Turkish forces have been deployed in Syria since August with the aim of clearing a border patch of ISIS militants and Syrian Kurdish fighters that Ankara considers related to its own Kurdish insurgency. Some of those taken into custody Sunday reportedly were active in conflict zones and engaged in recruitment efforts for ISIS, relaying its propaganda over social media. lslamic Extremists have infiltrated the refugee population worldwide. Their goal is global domination and any nation that accepts them is vulnerable to attack. Worldwide open border policies have come home to roost.The failed open border policy of German Chancellor Angela Merkel has caused an onslaught of terror attacks in that country. Unlike Germany, most of the U.S. borders are protected by oceans. Thats no longer a secure barrier with the courts allowing in refugees as fast as they can get off the boat. Our southern border with Mexico is so porous that its no problem for terrorists to enter the country that way as well.Mexican drug cartels, Hezbollah (Party of God) and other Islamic terrorist groups like ISIS are joining forces in Mexico. Hezbollah is synonymous with terror, suicide attacks bombings, kidnappings, and beheadings. Other tactics include assassination, hijacking and human trafficking.Global Islamic terrorists have moved into Mexico and other Latin American countries, opening the door for Mexican cartels to have access to Afghan opium at bargain basement prices. The profits from those sales are being passed on to Hezbollah and other terrorist organizations worldwide to attack the states from within. Hezbollah is known to be raising money for their cause in the U.S and are waiting for further instructions to attack.This comes in the face of a ridiculous federal court ruling that halted President Trumps travel restrictions on persons from known terrorist countries. 104 people have been killed and 473 wounded on American soil in the last eight years. The families of those victims are outraged.There are known ISIS cells in all fifty states waiting for orders to attack. The number of Syrian refugees in this country stands at over 100,000. They were accepted with little or no vetting. Apparently, liberals believe that unless you walk off the boat wearing a suicide vest, you dont qualify as a foreign terrorist. Even though theyre all Muslim, they wont even call them Islamic terrorists. Their strategy is clear.Seventy-five percent of the Guantanamo Bay detainees have been released. Among them was the mastermind bomb maker behind the 9/11 attacks. All the detainees have been returned to their country of origin, where theyll be free to rejoin their respective terror groups, or come to the U.S.Left-wing liberals will do anything, even jeopardize American lives, to expand the voting base for the Democratic Party. They tried to rush through voting rights for illegal Mexican immigrants and have abandoned any attempt to secure our borders. Were a sitting duck.Donald Trump knows how to deal with this. In any conflict, enemy combatants are identified and killed or captured. They must first be separated from the rest of the population. This vetting process must take place before any of them can step foot on American soil.The old saying of closing the barn door after the horse gets out is very applicable. It makes no sense allow anyone to come into our country without attempting to investigate their intentions. We already have too many horses out and the barn door is still wide open. Trump will close it.Drugs pour across our southern border and human trafficking is at an all-time high. Open gun battles between cartels and our Border Patrol Agents are frequent. The Agents hands were tied by the Obama administration. Barack Obama left office with blood on his hands with the death of Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry. He was killed in a gunfight with cartel members with a gun sold to them by the A.T.F in the Fast and Furious scandal.Donald Trump has correctly identified the Mexican drug cartels as terrorists. Theyve committed as many, if not more, horrific acts than the Islamic terrorists. They behead, dismember, and commit other unspeakable acts to further their interests.President Trump is fighting for the security of all Americans. Therere isnt a more urgent facet to protecting our citizens than securing our borders and vetting all refugees. Senior Spotlight on Claire Koile of Elkhorn brought to you by United Republic Bank Free Access To read the Senior Spotlight Claire Koile of Elkhorn brought to you by United Republic Bank click the PDF link below. dc_split_014.pdf Antlers rally past Wolves 10-9 ELKHORN The seventh-ranked Elkhorn Antler softball team capped its regular season with a heart-stopping 10-9 home win over Elkhorn North on Sept. 29. The two teams combined for 19... Antlers use big plays to pull away from Wolves ELKHORN The fourth-ranked Elkhorn Antlers were able to outlast rival Elkhorn North in a wild shootout held at Elkhorn High School on Friday night. The two teams combined for... Top-ranked Badgers roll to a 45-7 victory BLAIR The top-ranked Bennington football team stretched its win streak to 19-straight games with a dominating 45-7 road win on Friday night over conference foe Blair. Junior punt returner... South duo hand Wolves first loss ELKHORN The Elkhorn South tennis team was defeated by the top-ranked team in Class B, the Elkhorn North Wolves on a breezy and mild Friday afternoon. The highlight of... In 1948, when 20-year-old Mae Yih then known as Chih Feng Dunn left Shanghai, China, to attend college in New York City, she planned to study accounting and then return home to work with her successful businessman father. But plans have a way of changing. Yih was told by a professor that Barnard College did not offer vocational classes like accounting, forcing her to change her major to economics. And then, in 1949, communist forces led by Mao Zedong took control of China and she became, for a time, a person without a country. And Yih never dreamed she would marry Stephen Yih, the founder of rare metals giant Wah Chang in Millersburg, and become the first Chinese-American woman elected to a state Legislature, serving a total of 26 years in the Oregon House and Senate. Now 88, Yih wanted to share some of those adventures and others with her four grandsons. Five years ago she began another adventure by capturing her lifes many stories in a book, East Meets West A Bridge to Understanding, Friendship, Trust, Peace and Prosperity Between My Mother and Adopted Countries. This book is about the value of discipline, hard work and the love of learning, Yih said from the living room of her home overlooking the South Santiam River northeast of Albany. Although her two brothers and mother were able to emigrate to the U.S., she did not reunite with her father for 25 years. Her father had worked his way out of rural poverty and owned textile mills, a night club, a hotel and automobile dealership. But the Communists took over his businesses and he was imprisoned for five years. Yihs father believed women should be married and have children not go to college but he had allowed his daughter to come to the United States with the understanding she would return home to work with him. She had started her education at St. Johns University in Shanghai. It was at Barnard College that school president Millicent McIntosh piqued her interest in helping others. She gave a weekly talk to students and urged us to use our education by becoming involved in the community for the benefit of others, Yih said. The Yihs who married in 1953 moved to Albany in 1956 after spending a year in Boulder City, Nevada, where Stephen worked on a research project for Wah Chang Corporation, based in New York City. Boulder City was very hot, 110 degrees at times. We had to look up Albany on a map, Yih said with a laugh about their adventure. Stephen Yih worked on a project at what was then called the Bureau of Mines, now the Department of Energy, and then was tapped to found the Wah Chang plant in Millersburg. They gave him six months to build the plant and produce zirconium, Yih said. He did it in four months because he worked day and night. Under his direction, the plant grew from 80 employees to more than 1,400 employees. Stephen Yih died in 2009 at the age of 89. He held masters degrees in electrical engineering from the Brooklyn Polytechnical Institute and mechanical engineering from New York University. He proposed on their first date, although they had known each other for several years. He was very thoughtful and generous, Yih said of her husband. He was generous to the extreme, I think, because as a student he had been so poor. The couple had two sons: Donald, a physician, and Daniel, an attorney. Yih dipped her toe into local politics by serving on the Clover Ridge Elementary school board in 1969, then the Albany school board in 1975. I had learned to operate an abacus in China, and I took one to my first meeting of the Clover Ridge board. That was before calculators and computers, Yih said. In 1976, Roger Reid urged Yih to run for the Oregon House of Representatives. He also advised her to campaign door-to-door and listen to the needs of the people of Linn County. Yih told him she couldnt possibly shake hands with so many strangers. Reids advice was that she had better learn fast and she did. Throughout her three terms in the House and five terms in the Senate, Yih would often drive her husbands Rolls Royce or her Mercedes Benz to every corner of her district, at first turning heads, but in time, becoming a common sight. I never said no, Yih said of meeting her constituents needs whether it was trying to save the Weddle Covered Bridge near Scio or promoting international relations with her homeland, especially promoting sales of grass seed and forestry products. She led four trade trips to China 1992, 1997, 2000 and 2002 and said that opening trade and cultural relationships with the nation of 1.4 billion citizens may have been the highlight of her time in office. I am concerned about protectionism, Yih said of a current political theme. It can lead to higher prices and lower quality for consumers. Trade is a two-way street. She said Oregon is perfectly located to create successful long-term partnerships with Pacific rim countries. Although she has been out of office since 2003, Yih can still rattle off the benefits of selling grass seed and forest products to China. She said Oregon grass seed can develop much-needed cover between crop rows on tiered hillsides and on desert lands that had been turned into agricultural plots, cutting down on heavy dust storms in cities like Beijing. The grass seed can develop pastures on those lands to protect the soils and to provide food for livestock, Yih said. Yih said that during one trip to China she brought along some fast growing, hybrid fir tree seedlings. Jack Barringer of Barringer Associates in Sweet Home said I should tell the Chinese foresters to stand back when they plant them because the seedlings would grow so quickly, Yih said. Although Yih is a registered Democrat, she toed the Republican line on many issues, especially when it came to the states finances. Stephen and I registered as Democrats because we believed that meant Democracy, Yih said. Yih said the states current $1.8 billion projected budget shortfall represents the continued failure of the state to live within its means. She was so serious about the issue that she once held up the entire legislative process for five days to make her point about a proposed $1.2 billion shortfall. Every session we talk about a budget deficit, Yih said. The problem is not a lack of money it is a lack of spending control. The Legislature has to set its priorities and be accountable for spending. We need greater fiscal efficiency. Yih added, Bureaucrats cannot continue to borrow money to buy things we dont need. She said that is true of the national debt as well. We owe $19 trillion and we are now paying interest on interest, Yih said. That cannot continue. It is affecting the future of our grandchildren. Yih served during a time when Oregonians were living through great changes in the timber industry. It was a very difficult time, Yih said. I believe our state can be a very good steward of our lands, not the federal government. We can manage our forest resources to create jobs, stable communities, economics and environmental benefits. Yih said a troop should be sent to Washington, D.C., to make sure Donald Trump understands we need a healthy, multi-use forest management plan. Yih is also proud that she spearheaded efforts to provide statewide funding for Oregons covered bridges. She said that in 1937 there were more than 300 covered bridges in the state, and that had dropped to just 49 by 1987. Due to her efforts, counties can apply for state matching grants to maintain the historic covered bridges. Yih will attend a book signing from 1 to 3 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 15, at the Albany Regional Museum, 136 Lyon St. S.W., in the community room. Books are $19.99 each and Yih is donating proceeds from all sales to charities and programs that are hosting her signings. Yih dedicates her book to several people, including her father, who taught me the importance of hard work, discipline, thrift and education, and her mother, who stressed the value of a good education and who instilled in me an appreciation of modern and ancient Chinese calligraphy and art. The company did not provide financial terms of the deal, but one analyst estimates that BlackBerry is collecting $1 per handset from around 7 million third-party sales a quarter. BlackBerry Ltd has signed a hardware licensing agreement covering India and nearby countries, the Canadian company said on Monday, filling in the last markets where a third-party will manufacture its once-ubiquitous devices as it turns fully to software. The Waterloo, Ontario-based company said the long-term licensing deal with Optiemus Infracom Ltd covers India, one of BlackBerry's biggest handset markets, as well as Sri Lanka, Nepal and Bangladesh. The company did not provide financial terms of the deal, but one analyst estimates that BlackBerry is collecting $1 per handset from around 7 million third-party sales a quarter. "Visibility to the success of its partners to drive new and upgrade sales remains limited," Wells Fargo analyst Maynard Um wrote in a note to clients, adding that existing deals have not driven hardware sales. The news follows a similar according covering Indonesia that was announced last September and a global deal - excluding Indonesia and some South Asian countries - signed with China's TCL Communication Technology Holdings Ltd in December. You might have noticed President Donald Trump, in a Sunday interview with Fox News host Bill O'Reilly, threatening to withhold federal funds from California if it declares itself a sanctuary state. In the interview, Trump called California "out of control" and added: If we have to, well defund. We give tremendous amounts of money to California, California in many ways is out of control, as you know. Trump was responding to a question about efforts by Democratic state legislators to make California a de facto sanctuary state that would restrict state and local law enforcement, including school police and security departments, from using their resources to aid federal authorities in immigration enforcement. I think its ridiculous. Sanctuary cities, as you know, Im very much opposed to sanctuary cities. They breed crime, theres a lot of problems, Trump said. If Trump wanted to see another example of an "out-of-control" state, he could have turned his attention just a little bit to the north, where Oregon operates under a state law quite similar to the California proposal. In fact, Gov. Kate Brown last week issued an executive order that prohibits all state agencies and employees from helping federal immigration officials locate or apprehend undocumented immigrants. Oregon state law already forbids state and local law enforcement agencies to use public resources to find or arrest people whose only crime is being in the country without proper documentation. Brown's order expands the law to all agencies. Not only that, but Gov. Brown is emerging, according to a recent profile in The New Yorker magazine, as a leader of the resistance to the Trump administration. Resistance also is coming from Brown's West Coast counterparts, Jerry Brown in California and Jay Inslee in Washington. (The New Yorker piece, by writer Daniel Wenger, is headlined "Advice for Progressives from America's Radical Feminist Governor." The online version of this editorial includes a link to the story.) Wenger, who interviewed Brown while she was in New York City, apparently for meetings regarding her 2018 re-election campaign, does make some interesting points: He notes, for example, that, as the governor of a strongly Democratic-leaning state, "Brown may well have the broadest mandate of any progressive politician in the country, and, like a left-wing Scott Walker, she will try to push through a radical agenda in her case, one that could include everything from cap-and-trade to universal health care." And Brown cheerfully makes the case for consistent activism against Trump, in addition to your regular job: "Its going to require more than youre bargaining for," she told Wenger. "Activism will change your life. Fair enough and probably true enough. And, certainly, Brown carries little political risk in Oregon in doing battle against Trump. But a couple of points here might be worth making: First, the governor does have a regular job, and it requires leadership involving more mundane but still vital matters things like reforming public pensions, plugging a budget shortfall that's approaching $2 billion and coming up with a plan to help pay for badly needed work on the state's roads and highways. In her spare time, Brown is welcome to pick up the fight against Trump, but there is a risk there: Although Brown has said she doesn't think any federal money is at risk in Oregon, Trump's comments to O'Reilly suggest he's serious about punishing sanctuary cities (and, by extension, states). That sort of broad-based defunding seems like a long shot now, and any attempt to do so certainly would spark a new wave of long-running legal challenges. But Trump doesn't seem like the sort of person who backs down from a fight. Of course, neither does Kate Brown. (mm) The received complaints were dealt with as per consumer grievance redressal procedure. New Delhi: Government has received over 1,300 complaints against direct selling and e-commerce companies till December 2016, Parliament was informed today. It also made clear that there is no proposal to bring in a separate law to regulate e-commerce platforms. Placing the details of complaints received by its National Consumer Helpline against direct selling and e-commerce companies in the Lok Sabha, Minister of State for Consumer Affairs C R Chaudhary said: "The received complaints were dealt with as per consumer grievance redressal procedure." A consumer can file a complaint relating to e-commerce transactions in the appropriate consumer forum established under the provisions of the Consumer Protection Act, he said in his written reply to the Lower House. As per the data, 1,386 complaints have been received up to December 2016. A maximum of 449 complaints were against bookmyoffer.com, followed by e-bay (135), snapdeal.com (120), amazon.in (114), flipkart.com (92), whaaky.com (79), shopclues.com (47), and paytm.com (46). Around 15 complaints were received against Homeshop 18, followed by jabong.com (15), naaptol.com (13), Shop CJ Network India (10), askmebazar.com (6) and myntra.com (2) during this period, the data showed. The minister also said there is no proposal for setting up of National Consumer Safety Authority. However, the Consumer Protection Bill, 2015, already introduced in Parliament, seeks to provide setting up of a central consumer protection authority to look into, inter alia, unfair trade practices, he added. New Delhi: Representatives of Indian industry, including online retail and technology firms, will discuss issues pertaining to trade and e-commerce with WTO chief Roberto Azevedo here tomorrow. The roundtable meeting is happening under the aegis of International Chamber of Commerce (ICC). Indian corporate leaders who would attend the meeting include Bharti Enterprises Chairman Sunil Mittal and Paytm CEO Vijay Shekhar Sharma, among others. The issues which will figure in the deliberations are -- standards for e-commerce sector; problems of businesses dealing with differences in national or regional regulations; facilitating trade in services and future of the global trading system, an industry source said. The meeting assumes significance as developed countries are pushing WTO to start negotiating a agreement on e-commerce in the World Trade Organisation (WTO). They are pushing for ecommerce-related disciplines to be included in the ministerial meeting of the WTO in December at Argentina. According to the WTO, since 1998, WTO members have agreed not to impose customs duties on electronic transmissions and a work programme was set up at the same time to clarify the concepts and impacts of this new area in trade. As per a report, e-commerce market in India may touch USD 100 billion by 2020. The sector is likely to grow ten-fold in the coming years. New Delhi: Jet Airways, which saw a steep fall in its third quarter net profit, today said demand has been slowing in the Gulf sector amid a fall in oil prices. In the three months ended December 2016, the full-service carrier recorded a nearly 70 per cent plunge in net profit at Rs 142.38 crore as higher fuel expenses and other costs took a toll on its bottom line. The airline logged a net profit of Rs 467.11 crore in the year-ago period. During a conference call to discuss the latest quarterly results, Jet Airways Acting CEO Amit Agarwal said the Gulf sector is witnessing slow demand due to the slump in oil prices. Lower oil prices have adversely impacted many Gulf economies, squeezing their spending power. In the third quarter, the Gulf region had a muted performance for the airline while the international RASK came down to 11.2 per cent, he added. RASK (Revenue per Available Seat Kilometre) is an indicator of profitability for an airline. The Gulf sector is a key revenue source for the airline whose strategic partner is Etihad Airways. According to Agarwal, demand is being stimulated by discounts as there is increased capacity and weak demand. Jet Airways' total income from operations stood at Rs 5,478.07 crore in the October-December quarter of the current fiscal, according to a filing to the BSE. The same was at Rs 5,443.97 crore in the corresponding period a year ago. In the 2016 December quarter, the airline carried more number of passengers at 6.79 million compared to 6.52 million in the same period a year ago. While announcing the quarterly results on February 3, Jet Airways Chairman Naresh Goyal had said that in spite of the continuing downward pressure on yields caused by aggressive capacity addition in the industry as well as weaker international aviation markets, the carrier achieved positive results. "We have deepened our code-share relationships with our strategic partner, Etihad Airways, and also with other airlines in the Far-East, the Asia-Pacific and Africa," he had said. New Delhi: Government is in the process of introducing a Bill to amend the Airports Authority of India (AAI) Act that would allow for optimal utilisation of land, the Rajya Sabha was informed today. The national civil aviation policy envisages unlocking the potential of commercial usage of the airport land by liberalising the end-use restrictions, Minister of State for Civil Aviation Jayant Sinha told the Rajya Sabha. AAI manages 125 aerodromes, including civil enclaves. "The Ministry of Civil Aviation is in the process of introducing a Bill in Parliament for amending the relevant provisions of the Airports Authority of India Act, 1994," Sinha said in a written reply. The national airports operator owns around 55,000 hectares in urban areas across the country. Under the current norms, airport land could be used only for limited purposes. While presenting the Union Budget for 2017-18 last week, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said the AAI Act will be amended to provide for effective monetisation of land assets. "The resources so raised will be utilised for airport upgradation," he had said. AAI's non-aeronautical revenue currently accounts for around 19 per cent of its annual top line. In 2015-16, the national airport operator saw its profit after tax jump nearly 30 per cent to Rs 2,537.36 crore. As per the scheme, taxes will have to be paid first and then the scheme can be availed of on production of tax receipt. New Delhi: The government has allowed people declaring unaccounted cash under the new black money amnesty scheme PMGKY to deposit in parts the mandatory 25 per cent of the total in a 4-year fund by March 31. Offering one last chance to black money holders, the government has given them time until March end to come clean by paying 50 per cent tax on bank deposits of junk currencies made post demonetisation. Under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana (PMGKY), declarants also have to park a quarter of the total sum in a non-interest bearing deposit scheme (PMGKDS) for four years. "The Government has decided to allow declarants to make deposits on one or more occasions in the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Deposit Scheme (PMGKDS), 2016," said a statement by the Finance Ministry. As per the scheme, taxes will have to be paid first and then the scheme can be availed of on production of tax receipt, unlike the recent Income Disclosure Scheme and other such plans wherein disclosures were made first and taxes were recovered later. The PMGKY scheme commenced on December 17 and will remain open for declarations up to March 31. The scheme is part of The Taxation Laws (Second Amendment) Act, 2016, which was approved by the Lok Sabha on November 29. Also, as the disclosures will be kept confidential, the holder of unaccounted cash need not disclose it in Income Tax Returns forms. After the shock November 8 demonetisation announcement, the government allowed the junked Rs 500 and Rs 1000 notes to be deposited in bank accounts. For those depositing unaccounted cash, the government offered the tax evasion amnesty scheme wherein 50 per cent tax will be charged on declarations and quarter of the total sum be parked in a non-interest bearing deposit for four years. Under the Companies Act, 2013, certain class of profitable entities are required to shell out at least two per cent of their three-year annual average net profit. New Delhi: Government today said show cause notices have been issued to 536 firms for non-compliance with CSR norms under the companies law. Under the Companies Act, 2013, certain class of profitable entities are required to shell out at least two per cent of their three-year annual average net profit towards Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) activities in a particular fiscal. In case of non-spending, the company concerned has to provide explanation to the Ministry. "Show cause notices have been issued by Registrars of Companies to 536 companies for non-compliance of Section 135 read with Section 134 (3) of the Companies Act, 2013," Minister of State for Corporate Affairs Arjun Ram Meghwal said in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha. Section 135 pertains to CSR works and the norm came into effect from April 1, 2014. In the last financial year, a total of 5,097 companies incurred a CSR expenditure of Rs 9,822.30 crore. As many as 12,431 firms together have shelled out over Rs 18,625 crore CSR activities in the last two financial years. These figures are based on the number of companies for which data has been compiled by the Ministry. To a query on whether there has been any structured study about the impact of the CSR norms, the Minister replied in the negative. Companies having a net worth of at least Rs 500 crore, turnover of Rs 1,000 crore or more as well as those with a minimum net profit of Rs 5 crore in a financial year are required to comply with CSR norm. Such companies have to spend "in every financial year, at least two per cent of the average net profits of the company made during the three immediately preceding financial years," towards CSR works, as per Section 135 of the Companies Act. They also have to constitute a CSR committee of the respective board of directors and this panel would formulate and recommend to the board CSR activities that can be taken up by the company. New Delhi: The Bombay High Court had ordered that Akshay Kumar-starrer 'Jolly LLB 2' can be screened only after four controversial shots are removed from the movie and the actor says he respects the decision made by the court. Advocate Ajay Kumar Waghmare had filed a petition before the bench and demanded removal of the word 'LLB' from the film and cut certain shots which portrayed lawyers in bad light. Waghmare contended that the content shown in the trailer of the film or available on social media seems to be an attempt to "mock" the existing judicial system of India. "I respect High Court's decision. They must have made the decision keeping everything in mind. It's the High Court, you have to abide by their rules and I always believe in abiding by the rules and we have made the changes. There is no argument about it. "There will be four cuts in one scene and that whole thing has been done. The movie is releasing on February 10," Akshay told PTI. The 49-year-old star said it is disheartening that people end up filing cases on movies just few days before the scheduled release. "These days anyone keeps filing cases on every second film, but still the court never stalls the release of any film. Because the court also understands that sometimes people file these cases deliberately. "I think it was a good decision. They wanted some three- four cuts. And we did it which is fine," he added. After watching the movie, Justices S S Shinde and K K Sonawane of a Bombay High Court bench passed the order yesterday, after going through a report presented by a committee headed by Justice Prakash Kanade and two others. Directed by Subhash Kapoor, 'Jolly LLB 2' is a sequel to the 2012 comedy. Akshay plays a lawyer in the film. The movie also stars Huma Qureshi and Annu Kapoor. Mumbai: Pakistani fans, who were eagerly waiting to catch SRK- Mahira Khan starrer 'Raees' on the big screens, have been left disappointed by the board as the flick will not be releasing in the country. The reason for the dismissal is its inappropriate portrayal of Muslims, as Shah Rukh Khan plays a Muslim entity, who indulges in the trade of liquor. "Owing to subtle portrayal of Muslims as criminals, violent and terrorists, the recommendations forwarded by the CBFC panel deemed the film unsuitable for public screening," a source privy to the development told Pakistan daily The Express Tribune. "We could not issue a certificate because the film portrays Islam and a particular Muslim sect in negative light," the source added. 'Raees' has been successfully playing in international shores in addition to its home country and has already surpassed Rs. 250 crore worldwide in its two weeks of release. There was heightened expectation of the film's release in Pakistan, with Mahira also expressing her excitement and anticipation. Pakistan happens to be the only Islamic country, where the film will not be permitted to a screening. It is surprising that the neighboring country found the film's content inappropriate for viewing, as the Rahul Dholakia-directorial has released to positive reception worldwide. Mumbai: R Madhavan is the new entrant in Sanjay Puran Singh Chauhan's science fiction flick, 'Chanda Mama Door Ke'. The makers of the movie announced the exciting news on social media. The lead actor Sushant Singh Rajput and producer, Viki Rajani took to Twitter to congratulate Madhavan. Madhavan will be essaying the role of a pilot. Speaking about his character to a daily, the actor said, "I myself have a defense background as I have trained for the NCC (National Cadet Corps). And, having done Rang De Basanti and the serial Sea Hawks, I know the basics." He continued, "This role will definitely require much prepping as we are doing it with a lot of authenticity." When asked whether hell take flying lessons just like co-star, Sushant, the actor replied, "Not really, we will be working on the simulators." Itll be interesting to see Sushant and Madhavan sharing screen space. 'Chanda Mama Door Ke' will also star Nawazuddin Siddiqui in a pivotal role. The movie is also said to have south superstar Mohanlal in a cameo. Mumbai: Govinda may have been away from the limelight for a little too long but he has not buried the actor in him yet. The larger-than-life persona, the glitz and glamour of the industry, the aura that surrounds a star - all of it will again belong to him like it once had. The hilarious superstar, who had lost his glow pursuing the dreams he had never seen in the first place, hopes on returning to silver screen and reaffirm his spot as a superstar. One day I told her I needed to restart my career again and I needed her support. I pointed out that all the other heroes have launched home productions so they can do the kind of work they want to and pleaded with her to give me a chance too. She was apprehensive, asking who'd support me and write scripts for me. I promised her that I'd work hard and with God's support, I'd be fine. I've cut ribbons to finance my production, written the songs myself and even supervised the action. I'm confident I still have it in me to entertain people, Govinda told a daily. A self-proclaimed commercial entertainer, Govinda takes pride in the fact that younger boys like Ranveer Singh and Varun Dhawan seek inspiration from him but also rues having gone missing for all these years. It makes me happy. People are constantly talking about me, copying some of my mannerisms, you can see flashes of Govinda everywhere while the original has gone missing. It's time to bring him to the forefront again, laments the comic actor. While he has faced his share of financial crunch, the actor could not bring him to sign films offered by good friend Salman Khan just because the pay cheque was handsome. Salman is like a brother but one of the subjects was slightly arty, our understanding and interpretation of the script was different. He brought a huge signing amount but I wasn't comfortable taking it because I was not convinced about the project. I needed the money but my heart wouldn't allow me to take it. I told the director Mahesh Manjrekar that offbeat cinema is for an actor with a terrific and deep understanding of the medium, explains Govinda. Well-aware of the ways of this bizarre industry and the eccentric personas that constitute it, the actor asserts that there are no permanent friends here. But Govinda is not the one to turn his back on people who had showered love on him. He just wouldnt beg for something he doesnt deserve, he would rather earn it. There are no permanent friends here. And while I'm craving, I'm not crying, while I'm wanting, I'm not dying, while I'm expecting, I don't expect anyone to just support me unless they truly believe in me. Right now I'm the one who believes in me. My good times were the result of several people's prayers and wishes. You need to thank the Universe when things are good and stand your ground when things are not. It's a karmic cycle, concludes the aspiring superstar. After a four-year break, filmmaker Priyadarshan is all set to return to Bollywood with a remake of his 2016 Malayalam hit, Oppam. Actor Ajay Devgn will be taking over the role of a blind liftman, who befriends a retired judge. Says Priyan, I am not allowed to talk about it right now, but I look forward to working with Ajay again. The two films that I did with him in the past Aakrosh and Tezz were disasters. I was in a terrible state of mind while making them. But we got along really well. And I owe him a big success. The thriller is set to be produced by Viacom 18 Motion Pictures, who have earlier worked with Ajay in the remake of another Malayalam film Drishyam, which also featured actor Mohanlal. Vishnu Vishals Maaveeran Kittu was critically acclaimed and the actor is currently shooting for director Ramkumars untitled project with Amala Paul. He has also commenced his second directorial, Kathanayagan, which will be helmed by Muruganandam. The recent update is that the actor has announced the third project, that will be bankrolled by his home banner Vishnu Vishal Studioz. Talking to us, Vishnu says, I play a police constable in this out-and-out comedy entertainer, while Regina Cassandra plays my pair. She was our first choice and was really kicked about joining the team. She has done quality films like Rajathanthiram and we wanted a person who has a strong foothold in Tamil and Telugu. My director Chella also thought that she was perfect for the role. Vishnu assures that the film will be a laugh riot. The film boasts a stellar cast including Karunakaran, Yogi Babu, Anandhraj, Mansoor Ali Khan, Livingston and Singamuthu. Telugu actor Sai Ravi plays the villain and there is also a special cameo appearance by one of the heroines I had already worked with. Music director Leon James and lyricist Madhan Karky have already started their work. We have completed a song as well. Shooting of this film will go on floors on March 20 and currently, the team is scouting for locations for the project. Popular actress Bhumika Chawla is all set for a comeback to Telugu, but not as the female lead. According to a source, the actress is all set to play a key role in a film that stars Nani, directed by Venu Sree Raam. She is playing an important role as sister to Nanis character in the film, says the source. Initially, the actress wasnt keen on the role, but when the director narrated the script to her, she liked it and agreed to do it. The makers are also planning to rope in a popular actor to play her husband, added the source. Bhumika was last seen in the film Laddu Babu with Allari Naresh, which was a disaster. Post that, though she had not signed any Telugu films, she did work on a couple of Hindi films. This is like a comeback for the actress and she is open to do more character roles, added the source. Actor Naga Chaitanyas next film with debutant director Krishna Marimuthu that was launched in Hyderabad on Tuesday will star Lavanya Tripathi as the female lead. Interestingly, the actress has earlier played the wife of Chaitanyas father, Nagarjuna, in Soggade Chinni Nayana, adding her to the list of actresses whove got the rare opportunity to play romantic interests of both father and son. Lavanya has always been keen to be a part of refreshing films where she has a lot more to do than just dance around trees. Shes happy with how her role was narrated and decided to give it a go ahead, shares a source. This will be Naga Chaitanyas 14th film and is touted to be a complete entertainer. The rest of the cast will be finalised soon. Naga Chaitanya is also busy shooting for an untitled project with director Kalyan Krishna. The latest single from Winner Suya Suya that released on Tuesday has been sung by popular television show host and anchor Suma Kanakala. Launched by Tamil music composer Anirudh Ravichander, the song is apparently a peppy number and Thaman felt it would be refreshing for her to sing it. When she was approached, she immediately gave her nod. This is not the first time she has sung though. Suma had earlier given vocals for the theme song for a show of hers. She was quite excited to be doing it again, reveals a source. The song, shot in Ukraine, is a special number canned with Anasuya Bharadwaj and Sai Dharam Tej in the songs video. Mahmoud Al-Adam has become a father again at the age of 92. (Photo: Facebook) Mahmoud Al-Adam and his wife Abeer from Palestine got an unexpected surprise when they were blessed with a baby despite Al-Adams ripe age of 92. The new addition to the family has now made the nonagenarian a father of eight daughters and five sons. Al-Adam married his second wife, 42-year-old Abeer, after his first wife died. His other children are from his previous marriage. The baby has been named Tamara, reports Al Arabiya. Abeer, who is deaf and mute, was especially thrilled to become a mother as she wasnt expecting to have any children from her elderly husband. This is a cost-effective treatment that can be used in low-income countries in Africa where equine production facilities are already in operation for producing snake-bite antivenin. (Photo: Pixabay) Melbourne: In a first, scientists have developed an effective, rapid and economical treatment for the deadly Ebola virus using antibodies from horses. The post-exposure treatment made with antibodies from horses could be used in the next Ebola outbreak, researchers said. "This is a cost-effective treatment that can be used in low-income countries in Africa where equine production facilities are already in operation for producing snake-bite antivenin," said Alexander Khromykh, Professor at University of Queensland (UQ) in Australia. "It's the first time that equine antibodies have been shown to work effectively against Ebola infection," Khromykh said. The largest recorded outbreak of Ebola virus occurred primarily in West Africa from 2014 to 2016, infecting 30,000 people and killing more than 11,000, with exported cases in Europe and North America. Khromykh said this led to the development of monoclonal antibodies that were used in the UK to treat infected health workers returning from Africa. "The down side is that monoclonal antibodies require considerable investment for scale-up and manufacture, and are expensive," Khromykh said. "Equine antibodies are a considerably cheaper alternative, with manufacturing capacity already in place in Africa. "Antibodies from vaccinated horses provide a low-cost alternative, and are already in use for rabies, botulism and diphtheria," he said. Professor Paul Young, who was part of the UQ research team, said the finding offered great hope as a rapid treatment option for Ebola patients. "It's a significant advance on the way we think about responding to urgent disease threats, and could be applied to the treatment of other infectious diseases," Young said. "It is also a far more appropriate option for resource-poor settings," he said. Khromykh's team has previously developed an experimental Ebola vaccine made using an Australian virus called Kunjin, that might also help in the fight against the deadly Ebola virus. The research was published in the journal Scientific Reports. Divorces are still frowned upon and can prove to be particularly difficult for women to handle in deeply patriarchal societies. But one Pakistani woman overcame her personal struggles like a boss by celebrating the end of her unhappy marriage in style. (Photo: Facebook) A woman named Javeria Virk shared photos of the fun celebration she had with her friend, Maham Asif, on a food group on Facebook last weekend. The pictures show the two friends beaming in front of a chocolate cake laid on the table. The words on the cake read: Happy Divorce. (Photo: Facebook) Many people online gave words of support and encouraged Maham to start a new chapter in her life with even more positivity. (Photo: Twitter) (Photo: Twitter) "Only the students of the university can enter the campus after entering their names in the register kept with the security officials. Puducherry: A few girl students of Pondicherry University were reportedly abused by a group of four people in a car, of whom two were said to be students of the university. The incident occurred at a time when students have been demanding that security be enhanced on the premises. It took place near the girl's hostel on Sunday night around 8 pm. A complaint letter sent out by a first year post graduate student says that unknown persons (later it came to be known that two of them were students of the university), came in a car and were roaming around the campus orally abusing the girl students. A student alleged that while she was sitting in front of Cauvery hostel with her friend, the intruders got down from the car and orally abused her. "They teased another girl who was sitting in front of the hostel and later drove off the car in such high speed that it almost hit a girl on the way," the complaint letter said. "They were seen roaming inside the campus, abusing the girls. They were drunk we suspect," said a student, who declined to be named. The girls alleged that despite lodging a complaint with the security personnel immediately about the mischief makers, no action was taken and instead the security officials tried to save the abusers. "Only the students of the university can enter the campus after entering their names in the register kept with the security officials. After heated arguments, the security officers gave the details of the two students who were involved in this," the student said. The university authorities should take immediate action against the students involved in the issue and should forward the complaint to police station. "A sexual assault case should be registered against the mischief makers and the university should take immediate action against the security official who abused the complainants,", the complaint letter said. This is not the first time students are raising concerns about security arrangements at the university campus. "The main problem here is that the security officials are biased. Some people enter the university premises without any checking," said Muhammad Zuhrabi, Secretary, Students Council. M Ramachandran, Registrar in Charge of the university said strict action would be taken against the students involved in the issue after enquiry. "We have already convened a meeting and the university has directed the security wing to take actions against the officer who abused the girls. Strict actions should be taken against the students also," he told Deccan Chronicle. "The university is ready to file a police complaint. In case of any security lapses found, the security wing should also be penalized. Security of the students is our prime concern," he said. Vadodara: A man allegedly killed his wifeand threw her body into a well at Mota Navta village in Dahod district, holding her responsible for the death of their 4-year-old son, police said on Tuesday. The accused, identified as Mukesh Ditabhai Charpot, is being interrogated by police for the alleged murder of his 32-year-old wife Pushpa. The victim's body was recovered on February 3 from the well located in Mota Navta village in Fatehpura tehsil, police said. According to police, the couple used to frequently quarrel over the death of their son Nitin. The minor had died of electrocution around six months back. After Pushpa's sudden disappearance, her mother lodged a missing person complaint with police two days back, PK Jadeja, police sub inspector at Sukhsar said. After the recovery of Pushpa's body, her brother Hakubhai Bhurya lodged another police complaint stating that Mukesh had executed the murder and tried to destroy the evidence by way of dumping the body into a well. "Police recovered Pushpa's body from the well last week and sent it to a hospital in Sukhsar town for post mortem, which revealed that she was strangulated to death before being thrown into the well," Jadeja added. Further investigation is on. Mumbai: City police are trying to trace a person who wrote about 'abduction and murder' of a four-year-old boy on Facebook, leading to consternation among the social media users. Police suspect it to be a fake post as no such complaint has been received in the city, an officer of cyber crime cell said today. "We are trying to trace the person," said the official. A person who went by the Facebook profile name of Zain Shaikh had posted a message two days ago about abduction and murder of his 'four years old nephew'. The post went viral and thousands of people shared it. But as police did not receive any complaint about any such crime, it is suspected to be a hoax. A 12-year-old girl working in Akshay Old Age Home in Nagole was allegedly raped by her employers on multiple occasions. Hyderabad: A 12-year-old girl working in Akshay Old Age Home in Nagole was allegedly raped by her employers on multiple occasions. The girl lodged a complaint with police who registered a case against Srinivas Reddy, Manik Rao and Venugopal. According to police, the girl, hailing from Rajahmundry, was trafficked to Hyderabad and was employed as a helper in the Home for a salary of `3,000. According to the girl, the suspects sexually assaulted her on multiple occasions separately for the past one year. But she could not lodge complaint as she was confined in the Home, said LB Nagar sub-inspector G. Sudershan. The complainant has claimed Agarwal had also raped a Canadian girl who had visited him for a massage. (Photo: Representational Image) Panaji: A 32-year-old American woman was allegedly raped by a 38-year-old yoga teacher under the pretext of giving her a "tantrik massage" in Pernem taluka in the coastal state, police said today. Following the complaint lodged by the woman, Pernem Police on Tuesday arrested the accused, identified as Pratik Agarwal. "According to the woman, currently on working visa in Goa, the incident occurred on February 2 at Agarwal's School of Holistic Yoga and Ayurveda at Korgao village, where she had gone for a yogic massage," said police inspector Rahul Parab. He said the complainant has claimed Agarwal had also raped a Canadian girl who had visited him for a massage. "The accused has been arrested and produced before a local court which has remanded him in police custody for eight days," Parab said. New Delhi: India will host a key meet on nuclear security here on Wednesday which will be attended by delegates from over 100 countries, including Pakistan. India is of the view that possible use of weapons of mass destruction and related material by terrorists is no longer a theoretical concern. Officials said Pakistan would be represented by its High Commission officials. The MEA, in coordination with the Department of Atomic Energy, is hosting the Implementation and Assessment Group Meeting of the Global Initiative to Combat Nuclear Terrorism (GICNT) on February 8-10. Approximately 150 delegates from various GICNT partner countries and international organisations will participate in the event. The development was pursuant to the announcement made by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the Nuclear Security Summit last year. According to the Ministry of External Affairs, the event highlights India's commitment to global nuclear non-proliferation and peaceful use of nuclear energy and is part of its overall engagement with the international community on nuclear security issues. It noted that the possible use of weapons of mass destruction and related material by terrorists is no longer a theoretical concern. "A breach of nuclear security may lead to unimaginable consequences. Such an event would have a global impact. It is imperative to strengthen international efforts to combat such threats. This meeting is therefore timely and important and would further enhance our vigil," MEA had said. GICNT was launched in 2006 jointly by the Russian Federation and the United States. In the past 10 years, it has grown to include 86 partner nations and five official observer organisations and has held several multilateral activities in support of its Statement of Principles. New Delhi: Keeping up with its pro-poor pitch, Bharatiya Janata Party on Tuesday said the government's overall policy has been driven by its concerns for the poor and asked its Parliamentarians to project Prime Minister Narendra Modi as a "messiah of the poor" among the masses. Union Minister M Venkaiah Naidu asked party MPs at the parliamentary party meeting to take to the common man the government's achievements and its vision as enunciated in President Pranab Mukherjee's address to Parliament. With Modi and top party leaders on the dais, he underlined that the Budget and the government's overall policy has been driven by its concerns for the poor and weaker sections of the society and said, "Prime Minister Narendra Modi is the messiah of the poor. You should take this message to every household." Briefing reporters after the meeting, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar also expressed satisfaction over the functioning of Parliament as both Houses on Monday functioned with the Lok Sabha devoting over nine hours to the debate on the President's Address. He expressed confidence that three Bills, related to payment of wages, enemy properties and demonetisation, will be passed in Parliament as he noted that they are meant to replace ordinances issued by the government. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley spoke in the meeting at length about the government's ongoing exercise for the last 45 days to push digital payment, noting that a 'digi-dhan' fair was being held on Tuesday in Shillong. He said over 6.5 lakh people, including traders, have been awarded by the government in a lucky draw for those using digital mode of payments. Over 10 lakh people have visited these 'digi-dhan melas', he said. Chennai: The captain of the B W Maple, the merchant vessel leaving the Kamarajar Port on the fateful day of the collision, did not pay heed to the warning that it was on a collision course with M T Dawn Kanchipuram, which apparently led to the accident during the early hours of January 28, the Chairman of the only corporatised major port in the country admitted on Monday. MA Bhaskarachar, Chairman of the Kamarajar Port, attributed the error to the negligence on the part of the captain of the outbound vessel, B W Maple, which was leaving the port premises after emptying Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG). Six to seven minutes prior to the accident, the Port pilot of B W Maple, who disembarked at breakwaters had warned (from the signal station) of a collision. The captain of B W Maple paid no heed, Mr Bhaskarachar told the media. Though he said there was no significant damage to B W Maple, he refused to elaborate on the extent of damage further. Taking hints from the Vessel Traffic Management System (VTMS), we forewarned both the vessels. They failed to hear it. It was the liability of both the vessels to change the navigation course, a senior official from the port told Deccan Chronicle. The Chairman's revelation is just a tip of an iceberg to many questions that are being asked by environmentalists and others who have been worried about the subsequent oil spill that has affected the entire coast from Ennore to Injambakkam. The answers to questions like why the two vessels navigated in the same channel and whether they followed the prescribed speed limits are yet to be known. The Kamarajar Port and Director General of Shipping are conducting separate inquiries into the incident. insurance claims desk set up for oil spill victims: DG shipping Instituting a quick procedure for computing the loss, the Director General (DG) of Shipping on Monday said that the enquiry on the collision of two vessels, Dawn Kanchipuram and B T Maple, is likely to be completed in two months. She held discussions with the claims desk established by the two vessels in the city and said that the fishing societies would be guided in the compensation procedure. Under Civil Liability chapter of the Merchant shipping act, the vessels would pay adequate compensation to fishermen, following an assessment, DG Shipping, Malini V Shankar told the media on Monday. The claims desk has been authorised to receive claims from affected parties who have suffered economic loss or have incurred expenditure in cleaning the oil pollution, she said. Notices to ship owners have been issued under Section 356 (J) and 356 (K) of the Merchant Shipping Act 1958 to clear the oil spill and to provide access to the vessels for the investigation. A specialist on oil spill response from International Tanker Owners Pollution Federation has already reached Chennai and is inspecting the accident spot. The vessels insurers would reimburse the expenditure spent by various departments including Coast Guard, district administration and Kamarajar Port for shoreline cleaning and disposal operations, she mentioned. The damaged vessel, Dawn Kanchipuram has been moved from commercial berth area and safely berthed inside the Port Premises. Both the ships are restrained from leaving the port premises, she said. Detailing the incident, which occurred on January 28, she said, The mishap resulted in the rupture to the left side of the tanker ship. The water tight integrity of the other adjacent tanks was also breached. The ships cargo -- 26,806 metric tonne of motor spirit and 6,008 metric tonne of high speed diesel - were safely discharged to tanks present in the port, she said, adding the oil spillage that occurred was the fuel from the Dawn Kanchipuram. New Delhi: Former Coal Secretary H C Gupta was today granted bail by a special court here in connection with a case related to alleged irregularities in allocation of a Chhattisgarh-based coal block to SKS Ispat and Power Ltd (SIPL). Besides Gupta, who is already facing prosecution in over seven cases related to the coal scam, the court also granted the relief to senior public servant K S Kropha, firm's two directors Anil Gupta and Deepak Gupta, and three others -- Amit Singh, Rakesh Singh and Jagan Nath Panda -- in the case All the seven accused persons were granted the bail on a personal bond of Rs one lakh and one surety of like amount. The accused persons and the firm were summoned by the court for allegedly misrepresenting the facts before the Screening Committee in relation to the land and net worth of company. The court has now put up the matter for further proceedings on March 23. It had summoned the accused after taking cognisance of the CBI charge sheet in which it had claimed that the accused hatched a criminal conspiracy to cheat the Screening Committee, in order to bag mining contract for Fatehpur Coal Block in Chhattisgarh. The probe agency has charged the accused with forgery, cheating, criminal conspiracy and criminal misconduct. According to the CBI, SIPL had got Fatehpur coal block in Chhattisgarh in 2008. It said that the company misrepresented on aspects of preparedness and was ineligible on the issue of net worth. The CBI had registered FIR in the matter in 2014. In a surprising move, the former Coal Secretary had on August 16 last year, told the court that he intended to "face trial from inside the jail" and withdraw his personal bond to secure bail due to financial difficulties. However, he later withdrew his plea. Around eight different charge sheets have already been filed against Gupta and proceedings are going on individually. The Supreme Court had recently dismissed his plea seeking joint trial in all these cases. Some of the cases in which Gupta was summoned as accused by the court include those relating to alleged irregularities in allocation of Thesgora-B Rudrapuri coal block to Kamal Sponge Steel and Power Ltd (KSSPL) and allocation of Moira and Madhujore (North and South) coal blocks in West Bengal's Raniganj area to Vikash Metal and Power Ltd. He is also accused in a case of alleged irregularities in the allotment of the Amarkonda Murgadangal coal block to two companies of Jindal Group and allocation of Brahmapuri coal block in Madhya Pradesh to Pushp Steels and Mining Pvt Limited. Police carrying out resuce work at the site of the under-construction building which collapsed killing at least seven labourers, in Jajmau in Kanpur. (Photo: PTI) Kanpur: The death toll in the under-construction building collapse in Kanpur climbed to 10 to Tuesday with the recovery of two bodies from the debris during the rescue operations which continued for the seventh day even as police failed to nab the accused including an SP leader who owned the structure. "Bodies of two construction workers were recovered this morning during rescue operations being conducted by personnel from the district administration and the Kanpur Development Authority (KDA)," IG (Kanpur Range) Zaki Ahmad said. Rescue operations will end tomorrow with the clearing of the debris, he said, adding the bodies have been sent for post mortem. "A manhunt is underway to nab Mehtab Alam, the owner of the building, and the contractor," the IG said. Meanwhile the KDA has launched a drive to identify and seal illegal building constructions in the city. "The KDA has sealed around 20 under-construction buildings following the February 1 incident. A total of 150 such buildings were sealed last year," KDA vice-chairperson Jaishree Bhoj said. Since the incident nine officers, including three engineers, have been suspended for negligence and ten workers have died. Bhoj said two-member team probing the incident, in which top floors of the seven-storey under-construction building at KDA colony Jajmua collapsed, will submit its report soon. New Delhi: Four persons have been apprehended for allegedly jumping over the perimeter wall of the highly secure and sensitive National Security Guard camp here, putting the security apparatus into a tizzy which led to firing of a few rounds. Officials said the incident occurred at about 8:30 pm on Monday when about four suspected cattle smugglers jumped over the perimeter wall of the National Security Guard (NSG) garrison and were confronted by a sentry on duty. The NSG sentry fired a round in the air to challenge the intruders, even as they were being chased by local police and civilians after they broke a police barrier while trying to smuggle out some cattle from the Manesar area here. An exchange of fire also took place between the suspected smugglers and local police before they entered the commando forces' camp, they said. The NSG, the sources said, has filed an FIR with the police with regard to the incident, even as they said the intruders who entered the garrison were rounded up and apprehended by police. The NSG garrison here is base to the crack commando teams of counter-terror and counter-hijack operations, and also hosts the elite forces' training centre. New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi took a swipe at Congress President Rahul Gandhi in Parliament on Tuesday, telling lawmakers that an earthquake had finally come -- "the earth was likely angered". Modi combined two events to drive in his point -- last night's moderate earthquake in Delhi and Rahul Gandhi's two months ago that there would be an earthquake in Parliament if he spoke on the note-ban issue. Modi said: "I was wondering why the earthquake came. When someone sees 'seva' or any positive virtue in the word 'SCAM', then mother earth would definitely be upset," Prime Minister Modi said. Both the Prime Minister and Rahul Gandhi had taken to wordplay yesterday at different political rallies in poll-bound Uttar Pradesh, trying to find suitable words for the acronym SCAM. Modi asked a crowd in Meerut to rid the state of SCAM -- Samajwadi Party, Congress, Akhilesh Yadav and Mayawati. Rahul Gandhi retaliated: for him SCAM meant seva, courage, ability and modesty. Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke at the Lok Sabha on Tuesday morning, replying to the Motion of Thanks to President Pranav Mukherjee's address in the Parliament on January 31. In his speech, Modi attacked the Congress party, saying, We remember how democracy was under threat from 1975 to 1977, when Opposition leaders were jailed and newspaper freedom curtailed. Modi also retorted to Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge, who said that while Indira Gandhi had sacrificed her life for the nation, the PM cannot claim the patriotism of even a dog from his family. Modi said, We are not brought up in this sort of obsequious tradition." Emphasising the importance of 'Jan Shakti', the Prime Minister said it was because of the people's power that a person, born to a poor family, became the Prime Minister of India. "Let us understand and appreciate inherent strength of our people and take India to newer heights. Faith in Jan Shakti will give results," he added. Modi lambasted the Opposition for criticising the demonetisation drive and said the latter was more interested in television publicity than debating the issue. "From day one, we were ready for a discussion on demonetisation but some leaders were keen in giving TV bytes and not debates or discussion," Prime Minister said. Asserting that demonetisation decision was taken at the right time, the Prime Minister said, "When can you have an operation? When the body is healthy. Similarly, the economy was in a strong condition and our note-ban decision was taken at the best time." The Prime Minister also likened the demonetisation drive with the Swachh Bharat mission. "Like Swachh Bharat, the decision of demonetisation is a movement to clean India from corruption and black money," he said. Taking a dig at the Opposition for politicising the issue of cleanliness and criticising the Swachh Bharat mission, Modi said, I was surprised that there were some who made cleanliness a political issue. Why can't we work together on ushering a Swachh Bharat," he added. Here are the highlights from his speech: Mumbai: Students in three girls' hostels of the Mumbai University at Kalina in Mumbai have opposed a decision barring their entry into a 24x7 library at the campus after 11 PM. According to university's recent decision, male students have 24x7 access to the Jawaharlal Nehru library, but girls are allowed entry only till 11 pm owing to security reasons. The move has been opposed by female students, who staged a protest along with students' union Akhil Bhartiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) members, following which a decision to form a committee to look into their demand was taken by Board of College and University Development (BCUD). BCUD is a varsity body that prepares planning academic development programmes. A group of 120 girl students today wrote to the vice-chancellor, demanding that they may also be allowed to access the library. It was also decided earlier in the meeting of students and with BCUD officials that a temporary reading room and two books will be provided in the common mess area and a committee will be formed to look into students' demand. "The formation of such a committee is in itself discriminatory and therefore, we strongly condemn it," the letter read. A female student, who lives in varsity hostel, said, if it is question of security of girls, then university should provide it. "Why is there so much hue and cry on our entry in the library. Why can't we be given entry like boys? If there is a question of security, why can't the administration provide it?," she asked. Another female student claimed that they have got the support of Delhi-based Pinjra Tod, an associate of students that advocates for safe and non-gender discriminatory accommodation for women. ABVP, city head, Rohit Chandode, said, "We are with the girl students. However, we feel that university administration must be given time to set up proper security measures for female students. After that if nothing happens, then we will continue to lend our support." When contacted, an university administration official said that the decision to ban girls' entry during night hours was taken keeping in mind their security. "Allowing girls to move out late night or throughout the night could jeopardise their safety. We are trying our best to sort out the issue," the official said. Chennai: The AIADMK on Tuesday said it was the constitutional obligation of the Governor to swear-in Sasikala as Chief Minister and there is no ground for stopping it even as it rejected former Speaker PH Pandian's allegations of foul play in Jayalalithaa's death. Addressing a press conference hours after Pandian questioned Sasikala's election as party chief and Legislature Party Leader paving the way for her becoming Chief Minister, the party hit back, dubbing him a "betrayer who joined the ranks of detractors and causing confusion." "General Secretary in-charge can be appointed," senior AIADMK leader Panruti Ramachandran asserted, stating that Sasikala's elevation was in compliance with party rules and that it was valid. "The constitutional obligation of the Governor is to swear in Sasikala. There is no ground for stopping it. Nobody can stop it," Ramachandran, who was a minister in the first MGR cabinet, said. Asked about a PIL opposing swearing in of Sasikala as Chief Minister, he said that while the court can dismiss the petition, saying it cannot interfere in the Governor's duty. "We decided on Sunday (to elect her as legislature party leader). The petition came to Supreme Court on Monday". The press conference at the party headquarters was called to dispel rumours and wrong stories circulating about Jayalalithaa's death especially in the wake of media interaction of Pandian and his son, who was also a minister in Jayalalithaa's cabinet. Pandian and his son Manoj had earlier alleged that Sasikala's elevation was against party norms. Sengottaiyan, who was appointed organisation Secretary on Friday, said despite Pandian's five family members being given party positions years ago which could not be seen in any other party, he has joined "detractors and was causing confusion."He said AIADMK is a "fort" which cannot be shaken by such people. To a question on Sasikala soon becoming Chief Minister and if there was any delay from the side of theCentre in swearing her in, Ramachandran said "he (Governor Rao) will tell when he will come. "He has accepted the resignation of Panneerselvam, it is a question of convenience of Governor," he said, adding, he did not see the Centre delaying it. As soon as Governor Ch Vidyasagar Rao arrives in Chennai, Sasikala's election as AIADMK Leader of Legislature Party will be submitted to him, he said. "After giving him (Governor) the letter, if there was any delay, only then questions about delay arise...let us see," Ramachandran said. Blaming Pandian for not making efforts to unify the party in 1990 after it had split following the death of MG Ramachandran, Sengottaiyan said he did not do anything for the party then. "What right has he got to talk now?" he asked and alleged that he was also responsible for filing some cases against Jayalalithaa including the one against providing high-level security. Reacting to Pandian's charges, AIADMK spokesperson C R Saraswathi alleged that he wanted to split the party. "Why is he creating a scene now? What was he doing during those 60 days (since Jayalalithaa's death)?" she asked. Saraswati alleged that in 1989, two years after the death of MG Ramachandran, he opposed "Amma" and stood by Janaki Ramchandran (MGR's widow). "Claims (are) being made to create confusion now... he could have approached the party forum," she said. Sengottaiyan stressed that Pandian did not contribute to the party at crucial junctures like during the efforts to retrieve the 'Two-Leaves' symbol for the AIADMK which was unified after lot of efforts by party veterans. "You should not forget that Pandian joined the Tirunavukkarasar faction (now Tamil Nadu Congress Committee chief) in 1991 and fought polls on a DMK ticket," he said. Denying all the allegations of Pandian, he said the former assembly speaker had fought the 1996 assembly election as an independent candidate which resulted in both the AIADMK nominee and him facing defeat. Questioning Pandian's claims, Sengottaiyan charged that the former was behind filing of some court cases against late chief minister Jayalalithaa like the one against allotment of security personnel to her in 1996. Though Pandian should have been grateful to the party for the positions it had bestowed on him and his family members, the AIADMK leader said, "He did not do that, he has joined the rank of detractors who are causing confusion." Sengottaiyan said the party was united and no one can stop Sasikala from taking over as Tamil Nadu Chief Minister. Answering a question on perceived delay in Sasikala taking over as the Chief Minsiter, Sengottaiyan said, "We need to fix an auspicious day, arrangements are happening at University Auditorium...have we given any invitation for swearing-in? "General Council can recommend a person to be in charge so that he or she can discharge the functions of the general secretary till such time a regular election is held for the post of general secretary," Ramachandran said replying to Pandian questioning the elevation of Sasikala as against party rules. The two AIADMK leaders also said Sasikala was the "unanimous" choice of the party and legislators. On Pandian raising some suspicions over Jayalalithaa's death, he asked "what is the proof? Did he show any proof?" Ramachandran said only medical doctors were the competent authorities to speak on such issues, adding, "They did not say anything like that (indicating suspicious death)." Meanwhile, another senior leader Ponnaiyan said Sasikala will soon assume charge as Chief Minister. He praised her for her "organisational talent" and "efficiency." New Delhi: With China opposing a United States (US) proposal in the UN for designating Pathankot attack mastermind and Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) chief Masood Azhar as a global terrorist, India on Tuesday said it has taken up the matter with Beijing. "We have been informed of this development and the matter has been taken up with the Chinese government," External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Vikas Swarup said. He was asked about India's reaction to US pushing for a ban on Azhar in the UN and China yet again blocking it. However, he did not elaborate when and where the issue was taken up with China. According to senior government sources, the US, supported by the UK and France, moved a proposal at the UN's Sanctions Committee 1267 in the second-half of last month to proscribe Azhar. The proposal, which was finalised after "consultations" between Washington and New Delhi, said JeM is a designated terror outfit and so its leaders cannot go scot-free, sources said. "However, China opposed the US move by putting a hold on the proposal," a source said, adding the Chinese action came just before the expiry of the 10-day deadline for any proposal to be adopted or blocked or to be put on hold. The American proposal came barely weeks after India's efforts to get Azhar banned by the UN were blocked by China in December last. The "hold" remains for six months and can be further extended by three months. During this period, it can be anytime converted into a "block", thereby, ending the life of the proposal. Mysuru: Although the water level plummeted to barely four feet from dead storage at the Krishna Raja Sagar dam on Monday, arrangements have been made to continue supplying water from it to Bengaluru and places enroute. The dam authorities have already announced it has no water for summer crops this year. According to sources, water can be drawn up to a maximum level of 56 feet at KRS beyond its dead storage level. Its storage was 78.96 feet as against its capacity to hold 124.80 feet of water on Monday. While water is usually drawn from the Kabini reservoir to meet the needs of Bengaluru from February onwards, it has been releasing water to the city from November last year. The KRS currently has a live storage of 5.932 TMC and gross storage of 10.333 TMC, Kabini has live storage of 2.326 TMC and a gross storage of 6.175 TMC, and Hemavathi has dead storage of 3.54 TMC and gross storage of 4.883 TMC, according to official sources. While Bengaluru is supplied 1.2 TMC of water , the places enroute receive 0.1 TMC and Mysuru , 0.3 TMC from the reservoirs. Owing to the drought 124 private tankers will for the first time be used to supply water to 124 villages in Mysuru, HD Kote, Hunsur and Nanjangud taluks for three months at a cost of Rs 401.96 lakhs. The Mysore City Corporation is also likely to pump water from its five filling stations in 22 tankers. Rameswaram: Ten fishermen were on Tuesday arrested by Sri Lankan Naval personnel when they were fishing off Neduntheevu near the island nation, officials said. The Lankan Naval personnel also allegedly damaged fishing nets and other equipment besides seizing their boat, Assistant Director of Fisheries Kolinjinathan said. The fishermen from Thangachimadam here have been taken to Kangesanthurai, the official said. On February 1, five Tamil Nadu fishermen were arrested and their boat impounded by the Sri Lankan Navy for allegedly fishing in Lankan territorial waters. Raising the fishermen's issue, the Tamil Nadu government had on February 2 sought Prime Minister Narendra Modi's intervention in securing release of 25 fishermen and 119 fishing boats from Lankan custody. Bengaluru: With just a few days left for Asias premier air show, Aero India 2017, a 24-year-old man was arrested by the Yelahanka police for his suspicious behaviour at the Yelahanka Air Base, where the event is to be held. However, investigations revealed that he had no ulterior motive and he would be released soon. The person is identified as Mamnoon, who hails from Uttar Pradesh. He was hired by the organisers of the event to work as a welder at the Air Base and he had come to the city just a few days ago. The police said that Mamnoon is a daily wage labourer and his behaviour raised suspicion among the Air Force staff on Saturday night around 9 pm. It is learnt that he was found at a prohibited area on the premises and was speaking to someone over phone. When the staff caught and questioned him, he did not give a convincing answer. The Air Force staff frisked him and found nine SIM cards in his possession. Further, they also found some photos of the air base in his phones gallery. This raised suspicion about him and an Air Force official formally lodged a complaint with the Yelahanka police, who arrested him based on the complaint. His phone and SIM cards were seized. After a thorough investigation and questioning, it was found that he had no idea that he had entered a prohibited area and was casually speaking to someone over phone. There is no evidence to establish that he was planning something and had hidden motives. However, he is still in our custody and would be released soon, an official said. There were reports that he was speaking to a person in Saudi Arabia over the phone. The police, however, ruled that out and said it was not an international call. Further investigations are on. Mumbai: Polycystic ovarian syndrome, or PCOS, a common gynaecological disease, occurs when women dress like men, Principal of Government Polytechnic College has said. Swati Deshpande, Principal of the prominent college from Bandra in Mumbai, said, "I have heard theories on why girls suffer from PCODs (Polycystic Ovarian Diseases) at an early age. When they dress like men, they start thinking or behaving like them. There is a gender role reversal in their head. Due to this, the natural urge to reproduce diminishes right from a young age and therefore they suffer from problems like PCODs." That was not all. Deshpande devised an innovative way to curb the menace of sexual harassment on campus - sexual segregation in the canteen - areas for boys and girls separated by a rope. The college authorities have also been considering a 'suitable' uniform for the girl students, who currently wear the same white shirt and black trousers as the boys do. To save the girls from psychological, and hormonal imbalance, Swati Deshpande is considering allowing salwar kameez. However, experts have not deemed her views as scientific. Psychiatrist Anjali Chhabria said, "Girls do not suffer from Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) because of clothes. It is caused by hormonal imbalance." Not considering sexual discrimination, which is too obvious to miss in this situation, Deshpande said the steps to segregate the students were taken since some of the female students complained of former students creating 'ruckus' and misbehaving with the girls. One of the students told a news daily, "Authorities have been asking students to tie plaits for a while. They have informally asked us to not tuck shirts in, and now they plan to change the uniform. Most of us are opposed to the idea. It would be inconvenient to wear a salwar kameez in labs." Surprising many, the minister's office responded immediately saying the issue has been referred to officials concerned. (Representational image) Bengaluru: No mugs in any toilet in Kanyakumari Express. Please take action! was the tweet directed at Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu by a harried passenger on Monday evening. Railway authorities said that a passenger, Ravi Muthurajan, who was travelling in the train from the city with PNR number 4540775195, raised the issue. Mr Muthurajan tweeted saying, TTE says carry it from home. Is this some kinda joke? Surprising many, the minister's office responded immediately saying the issue has been referred to officials concerned. In the next few minutes, senior officials from the South Western Railway (SWR) swung into action. They informed both the ministry and the commuter that action will be taken immediately. Minister of State for Home Affairs, Kiren Rijiju at Parliament during the winter session, in New Delhi. (Photo: PTI) New Delhi: There was no security clearance obtained by Finance Ministry from the Ministry of Home Affairs at the time of incorporation of Goods and Services Tax Network (GSTN), a special purpose vehicle set up to provide Information Technology infrastructure for implementation of the GST, Union Minister Kiren Rijiju said today. The GSTN was set up as a not-for-profit private limited company in 2013 which has 51 per cent equity of five private institutions--HDFC Bank Ltd (10 per cent), HDFC Ltd (10 per cent), ICICI Bank Ltd (10 per cent), NSE Strategic Investment Corporation Ltd (10 per cent) and LIC Housing Finance Limited (11 per cent). Central government has 24.5 per cent equity in GSTN, whereas state governments, two union territories and empowered committee of state finance ministers together hold another 24.5 per cent stake in it. "No security clearance was obtained by the Ministry of Finance from the Ministry of Home Affairs at the time of incorporation of GSTN-Special Purpose Vehicle," the Minister of State for Home said in a written reply to Lok Sabha. Some senior officials and indirect tax employees organisation have raised objections over the management pattern of GSTN with majority stake in private hands. They had said since GSTN is funded by the central and state governments, there is no justification in entrusting its management to private individuals with heavy salary and allowance. BJP MP Subramanian Swamy has also been opposing majority stake for private entities in GSTN and has already written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi objecting to this. Chennai: Opposition leaders on Monday pinned their hopes on the Supreme Court verdict in the disproportionate case against AIADMK general secretary V.K. Sasikala and said she would be unseated if the judgment is adverse. While DMK working president M.K. Stalin said Chief Minister O. Panneerselvam could make a fourth comeback, PMK youth wing leader Anbumani Ramadoss insisted that Governor should wait till the apex court verdict as she could be disqualified immediately after the swearing-in ceremony. Speaking to reporters at Tiruchy airport, Stalin cited the Supreme Court announcement that it would deliver the judgement on the appeal against the Karnataka High Court verdict in the disproportionate wealth case against Sasikala. Since, Panneerselvam has got the opportunity to become the Chief Minister thrice, he will get a fourth chance. However, Sasikalas husband M. Natarajan had been admitted to Apollo Hospital adding to the mystery surrounding the whole episode, Stalin added. He also cited messages in the social media that for voting once, the state had seen three Chief Ministers. Anbumani, speaking to reporters here, said as the apex verdict would be out in a week, there is no urgency for Sasikala to take over as Chief Minister. The Governor should be patient for another week and arrange for her swearing-in after the verdict, if the arrangements are necessary. He said Sasikala was not given a post in the government when former Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa was alive and added that Panneerselvam was made the Chief Minister by Jayalalithaa herself. Anbumani said only the MLAs and MPs support Sasikala, and the people do not support her. New Delhi: More than 700 websites of various central and state government departments were hacked in the past four years, Lok Sabha was informed today. Of the total of 707, 199 of them were hacked last year, 164 in 2015, 155 in 2014 and 189 in 2013, Minister of State for Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju said in a written reply to Lok Sabha. Rijiju said a total of 8,348 persons were arrested for their involvement in cyber crimes. He said the website of counter-terrorism force National Security Guard (NSG) was partially defaced and abusive message was posted by unknown hackers on January 1 this year. "The NSG website which is hosted on National Informatics Centre (NIC) server has been blocked immediately," the minister added. Chennai: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister O Panneerselvam tonight took everyone by surprise when he sat alone in meditation at the burial site of Jayalalithaa, two days after he tendered his resignation paving the way for party chief V K Sasikala's elevation to the top post. Clad in a white shirt and dhoti, and sporting his trademark holy ash and kumkum, he sat on the floor inside the burial site enclosure in a traditional meditating posture. After sitting for nearly 40 minutes, he opened his eyes, wiped tears and prostrated as a mark of respect and then circumambulated the burial site. He then prayed before walking away. Panneerselvam arrived at the site around 9 PM and placed a wreath before sitting in meditation. A couple of plainclothesmen stood guard behind him as he quietly meditated by closing his eyes with folded hands. Shortly after word spread that Panneerselvam was sitting on meditation, crowds began to gather at the venue. Panneerselvam had on Sunday tendered his resignation from the post of Chief Minister citing 'personal reasons' and setting the stage for takeover of Sasikala, who was elected as Legislature Party leader earlier that day. Chennai: Upping the ante against AIADMK supremo V K Sasikala, DMK Working President M K Stalin on Tuesday claimed the people of Tamil Nadu have not accepted the prospect of her becoming the Chief Minister and urged Governor Ch Vidyasagar Rao to take a "good decision" on her elevation. "Not only the ruling party cadres, but all the people in Tamil Nadu have not accepted AIADMK supremo Sasikala trying to become Chief Minister," he said. "They (people and party cadres) have reached a boiling point as an undesirable situation (of Sasikala becoming the CM) is approaching them," Stalin, also the Leader of Opposition in the Assembly, said. In a Facebook post, he said people were anguished as he wondered if they had voted AIADMK to power "for Sasikala to become Chief Minister". As AIADMK prepares for Sasikala's swearing-in, Stalin urged Governor Rao "to take a good decision (that will be) liked by people". He asked the Governor to take a decision, by "considering factors like the imminent Supreme Court verdict in the (disproportionate) assets case (in which Sasikala is an co-accused) and the question of a stable regime." Referring to a daily's editorial raising questions of propriety in Sasikala wanting to take over as Chief Minister when the Supreme Court is set to pronounce its verdict in the DA case, he said "it was a view that needs to be accepted". "People, for sure did not vote for Sasikala who turned a stable regime (of Panneerselvam) into a caretaker government overnight," he said, adding "even AIADMK workers did not vote for such a scenario." He alleged that Sasikla had "done strange politics", and added that the "dignity of Constitution has been shattered in Tamil Nadu due to Sasikala's greed for power". "Sasikala is trying to become Chief Minister through the backdoor using the demise of Jayalalithaa and by doing so she has done an unpardonable betrayal of people who voted for Jayalalithaa," he alleged. He lashed out at state Ministers who had voiced support for Sasikala becoming Chief Minister "without giving respect to Panneerselvam's position as Chief Minister". He said, "That was why I had urged Governor Ch Vidyasagar Roa to direct Panneerselvam to prove his majority on the floor of the House (after he was sworn in following Jayalalithaa's demise in December.)" Sasikala flashes a victory sign after attending the party MLA's meeting in which she was elected as a AIADMK Legislative party leader. (Photo: PTI) Chennai: The ruling AIADMK on Tuesday insisted that party general secretary VK Sasikala Natarajan would be sworn-in as the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu by Thursday. According to a report in NDTV, AIADMK leader Pandia Rajan said, "We hope to have a swearing-in tomorrow or day after, adding that Thursday would be a perfect day. We don't suspect any tension with the Central government, he added. State Governor CH Vidyasagar Rao is expected to return to the state on Wednesday, and is said to be consulting legal experts on whether Sasikala can become Chief Minister when an important court verdict is expected in a corruption case against her. Vidyasagar Rao, who is in Mumbai, has no plans to go to Chennai on Tuesday, Raj Bhavan sources in Mumbai said, indicating that he could take a decision on Wednesday. Rao, who is Maharashtra Governor, is holding additional charge of Tamil Nadu. Meanwhile, charges and counter-charges flew thick and fast between AIADMK and rebel leaders over the death of J Jayalalithaa. With the Supreme Court expected to deliver its verdict in the disproportionate assets case against Sasikala and others next week, political uncertainty grew as opposition parties attacked the move to elevate her as Chief Minister and the AIADMK coming out in strong defence of her. But trouble is brewing within the AIADMK camp with senior leader PH Pandian on Tuesday claiming that late Chief Minister Jayalalithaas death was suspicious, and that Sasikala must be probed for it. "I heard that Jayalalithaa was pushed and when she came to the hospital she was not in a good state. Probe Sasikalas conduct, he said. The AIADMK veteran also alleged that the late Chief Minister had suspected that she would be poisoned. "We had assured that we will never let that happen," he said. On Monday, a panel of doctors cleared the air on suspicions surrounding the demise of Jayalalithaa. Pandian and his son Manoj Pandian also strongly opposed the elevation of V K Sasikala, saying she does not have the locus standi to either be the party chief or Chief Minister. "Sasikala does not deserve to be either the party supremo or the Chief Minister," PH Pandian told reporters in Chennai, two days after Sasikala was elected AIADMK Legislature Party leader, paving the way for her becoming the chief minister. Pandian said within 20 days of the demise of Jayalalithaa, party leaders were "made to say" that they wanted Sasikala to be the party chief. Strongly opposing her elevation as AIADMK chief, Pandian said it was against party rules. "Only cadres can elect the general secretary," he said. Referring to late Jayalalithaa's properties, Pandian claimed that in 1996 Jayalalithaa had made a public declaration that all her properties should go to the people. Explaining party rules in detail, Manoj Pandian said Sasikala's elevation as party chief was improper and it went against party norms. Manoj claimed that in 2011 when Sasikala was readmitted into the party after being expelled, Jayalalithaa had told him that she will not involve her in politics. "Violating party bylaws, one cannot become general secretary. If it was done, it is not sustainable," Pandian said. He alleged that "we were betrayed," and by trampling on "our rights" Sasikala had become the general secretary which he was "opposing" strongly. Pandian's outburst against Sasikala comes days after former Minister KP Munusamy's open dissent against her. On February 6, he had hit out at Sasikala for making a "backdoor entry" to the Chief Minister's post and questioned why O Panneerselvam made way for her despite being the "preferred choice" of late Jayalalithaa. "Sasikala does not deserve, she is ineligible to take charge as either party general secretary or chief Minister," Pandian said and also made some allegations on Sasikala and her family's business interests. Pandian alleged that Sasikala and her family members were expelled from the party by Jayalalithaa in 2011 for "plotting" to become Chief Minister by unseating 'Amma'. AIADMK however rubbished the allegations, saying these were 'canards spread by disgruntled elements' that are not to be taken seriously. Party spokesperson CR Saraswathi said, AIADMK has done everything according to law and we are waiting for a word from the governor for the swearing-in. New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday allowed a 22-year-old woman to terminate her 24-weeks pregnancy on the ground that it would endanger her life. A bench of Justices S A Bobde and L Nagesewara Rao perused the opinion of the medical board it had constituted to examine her health condition. The bench said in view of the opinion of Mumbai-based King Edward Memorial (KEM) Hospital's medical board, it will be appropriate to allow the woman to terminate her pregnancy. The board has opined that the foetus besides suffering various anomalies, has shrunken lungs and lacks kidneys and continuing with the pregnancy would endanger the life of the mother. The bench also relied on earlier verdicts of the apex court and allowed the prayer of woman to terminate her pregnancy. On February 5, the apex court had constituted a medical board to examine the "condition and advisability" of permitting medical termination of her pregnancy. She had approached the apex court seeking permission to terminate her pregnancy contending that the foetus does not have kidneys, besides having multiple anomalies. The law prohibits termination of pregnancy after 20 weeks, even if there is a fatal risk to the mother and the foetus. "The petitioner found out in the 21st week of her pregnancy that the foetus doesn't have kidneys. She had to undergo two scans before this could be established and the foetus has multiple anomalies," she had said in her petition. The medical board constituted by the bench consisted of doctors from the departments of psychiatry, obstetrics and gynaecology, medicine, radiology and anaesthesia. In a separate case, the apex court had on January 16 allowed a Mumbai-based woman, who was in her 24th week of pregnancy, to terminate her pregnancy under the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act while taking into consideration the report of a medical board of KEM Hospital which had suggested that the foetus would not be able to survive without the skull. Meerut (UP): Rahul Gandhi and Akhilesh Yadav on Tuesday attacked Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) claiming the "SP-Congress storm" sweeping Uttar Pradesh will "blow them away" and "finish" Prime Minister Narendra Modi who is "trying to bring Company Raj" in India. Addressing a joint poll rally in Meerut, the Congress vice president said they will not allow BJP to "spread hatred" in Uttar Pradesh which a "state of peace and harmony". "As soon as Congress-SP joined hands, the alliance's storm hit the state. This storm will finish Narendra Modi, BJP, Mayawati and BSP," he told his supporters. Earlier this week, addressing a rally in Aligarh, Modi had attacked the nascent SP-Congress alliance saying the BJP "storm" had forced Akhilesh Yadav to desperately seek the help of anything, "even a pole", to retain power. Hitting back at the Prime Minister over the "storm" remarks, Akhilesh today said if there is any "aandhi (storm)" in the state, it is for making the SP-Congress alliance government. "We are Samajwadi people. Even if there is a storm we will face it head on. We know how to paddle the 'cycle' (SP's poll symbol) through a storm," he said. Referring to the 1857-Meerut uprising, Rahul told the gathering, "You taught the British a lesson." "People had fought to free the country of the Company Raj. But, today Narendra Modi is bringing a kind of Company Raj in India," Rahul alleged. He again levelled allegations against Modi that he was favouring a few corporates. He claimed the government has waived "Rs 1.10 lakh crore" owed by the "richest 50 families" but "didn't give a penny" to the poor. He asked the gathering if "Rs 15 lakh" as promised by the BJP during the Lok Sabha poll campaign has been deposited in their accounts and also if the youths got employment as promised by the Modi government. In his attack on the PM over the "storm" remarks, Akhilesh said if there is any "aandhi (storm)" in the state, it is for making the SP-Congress alliance government. "We are Samajwadi people. Even if there is a storm we will face it head on. We know how to paddle the 'cycle' (SP's poll symbol) through a storm," he said. Akhilesh also attacked the BJP saying "the path it is trading" has "posed threat to brotherhood" and urged the voters not to elect the party. New Delhi: Appreciating cooperation extended by the members from all sides, Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan today thanked them soon after the Question Hour concluded without any disruption. In the last couple of days, the Opposition has been raising various issues, including about the death of former Union Minister E Ahamed, leading to disruptions forcing the Speaker to adjourn the proceedings during Question Hour. Since the Budget Session started on January 31, today is the first day when the Question Hour went on smoothly. "Thank you very much... Bahut achha lag raha hai (I am feeling very happy)," Mahajan said after conclusion of Question Hour and thanked the members for the discussion on the Motion of Thanks on the President's Address. As many as five questions were taken up during Question Hour today and Ministers replied to supplementaries in four of them. A farmer and his son protest against the laying of high-tension wires through their patch of agricultural land near Melavoy in Anantapur district on Sunday. Hyderabad: Using a British-era law passed in 1885, transmission companies and the power grid corporations of various states, including TS and AP, and even the Centre, have been violating human rights and land rights of farmers in a brazen manner. Without taking consent, these corporations are laying high-tension lines in the fields while denying the owners compensation. Farmers say the incident where two farmers were hoisted on a high-tension line near Melavoy in Anantapur district on Sunday, was not an isolated incident: Power lines are laid over lakhs of kilometres. Ranga Reddy district collector M Raghunandan Rao said, The Indian Telegraphic Act, 1885, has provisions that say no prior consent is needed. A recent Supreme Court judgement said there was no need for consent of the farmers if the project was taken up under the Indian Telegraphic Act. Sections 164 and 168 of the Electricity Act, 2003 also speak about this. The Electricity Act, 2003, and the rules framed in 2006, direct transmission companies to get prior consent of the land owner under rule 3(1)(a). This has to be done by way of the corporations sending a notice to the land owner seeking consent and also offering terms of compensation. If the land owner refuses consent, the corporation can approach the collector who is empowered to fix compensation. Most companies take shelter under the Telegraph Act, which was meant for the smaller telegraph poles that have no electromagnetic radiation. Mr Raghunath Reddy of Chevella, Ranga Reddy district, lost land under the power cable corridor. He waited for compensation in vain and is now taking the help of farmers associations. Mr Nakka Veeraswamy, a farmer in Mamidipudi, Mutkur mandal in Nellore district, who is helping a group of farmers, says, My uncle Nakka Radiah lost 75 cents of land. Other farmers too have lost their land. APGenco says that we are not eligible for compensation as we are Dalits who got occupied lands. Farmers who approach the district administration individually get compensation. Consortium of Indian Farmers Association founder P. Chengal Reddy, said, Land has been recognised as a right, apart from the fundamental to right property. The land becomes useless due to electromagnetic radiation, and only for the names sake the title deed is in the name of farmers. Banks also dont give loans to owners of these lands. New Delhi: Union Minister Venkaiah Naidu on Tuesday hit out at the Opposition for attempts to disrupt Prime Minister Narendra Modi's speech in the Lok Sabha accusing them of being "petty minded", and targeted Congress saying it was unbecoming of a party which has "ruled and ruined" the country for years. "They (Congress) behaved in an immature manner. They have been in power for long. They must have the patience to hear the truth. When the truth is unpalatable to them, the way they were making personal remarks, the way they were trying to heckle the Prime Minister, it was unbecoming of a party which has ruled and ruined the country for this many number of years," Venkaiah Naidu said. Naidu said that he felt sorry for "these people" who reacted the way they did in the Lok Sabha after they were heard patiently and peacefully. "The Prime Minister, who is the leader of the nation, when he is intervening in a debate, there is a decorum, there is a decency, there is a system, there are precedents, that the leader of the House is given a peaceful hearing. "But unfortunately these Congress people, they are not able to digest the fact that people have rejected them, they (people) have selected and elected Narendra Modi as the PM. It all shows their (Congress') petty mindedness," he told reporters outside Parliament. Replying to a debate on the Motion of Thanks on the President's Address which was adopted by the Lok Sabha later amid walkout by Congress, Modi answered criticism over demonetisation while asserting that the timing for the decision was perfect as the economy was doing well while hitting out at Congress whose record he questioned with regard to various issues. Modi also replied point-by-point to the issues raised by the Opposition, including surgical strikes and allocations for MNREGA, agriculture sector and for Scheduled Castes. In his 90-minute speech, which was punctuated by protests by some Opposition members at certain points, Modi also raised pitch for simultaneous elections to Lok Sabha and Assemblies. Referring to the Prime Minister's "earthquake" dig to hit out at the Opposition, Minister of State for Home Kiren Rijiju said, "...they (Opposition) presented things in front of the people as if the Parliament will be shaken. But nothing of that sort happened." Prime Minister Narendra Modi speaks in Lok Sabha, in New Delhi on Tuesday. (Photo: New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday slammed Congress leader in the Lok Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge, for claiming that not even a dog from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had fought for the countrys freedom. People such as Gandhiji, Indiraji sacrificed their lives for the countrys unity, who was there from your side? Not even a dog, Kharge said in the Lower House on Monday. Modi replied on Tuesday during a speech in the Lok Sabha, Hum kutton wali parampara se pale bade nahin hain. (We have not been brought up in a dog-like loyal tradition.) Modi added, Inkey mooh se sunne ko nahi mila hai ki koi Bhagat Singh, Azad bhi they; inko lagta hai ki aazadi sirf ek pariwaar ne dilayi hai. (The Congress has never spoken of the contribution of freedom fighters such as Bhagat Singh and Azad. They think only one family has given us freedom.) He went on to add: There are many like me who could not die for the nation but we live for and serve India. Kharges statement had led to outrage in Parliament, with some members demanding that his remarks be expunged. Subsequently, Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan had warned Congress MPs against making such derogatory comments. Chennai: Hitting out at AIADMK for keeping her in the dark about late Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa's health, her niece, Deepa Jayakumar, on Tuesday said that she would make an announcement on February 24 and implored the media not to question her about it before that. "I am here because of my aunt, Jayalalithaa. I want to complete the tasks that she's left behind. My primary concern is about the state, the people and what's going to happen to them. Unless I'm given an opportunity to serve the people, we can't say what I can do or not, she said talking to the media in a press conference. Criticising the partys decision to elevate Jayalalithaas close confidante VK Sasikala as the chief minister, she said, This is unacceptable. People have not voted for Sasikala. Referring to the dissenting voice against the elevation, she added, This is what the people and AIADMK want. This is not only politics, this is a forewarning. Deepa also pointed out that AIADMK was suspicious in the way they were handling Jayalalithaas death. From the way they are behaving, it's clear this is dishonest and they're hiding things. I don't know who is the family they are referring to. I was asking the administer to let me inside, I was denied. I was made to go back, Nobody got in touch. They are trying to establish I'm not family, she said. New Delhi: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Tuesday issued a whip to its Rajya Sabha members asking them to remain present in the House as Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to reply tomorrow on Presidential Address. BJP has issued a three-line whip to its Rajya Sabha members to remain present in the House for next two days, party sources said. BJP has 56 MPs against Congress's 60 in the 245-member Upper House. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Modi today replied in Lok Sabha on the Motion of Thanks on the President's address which was adopted by the House later amid a walkout by Congress. He asserted that the timing for demonetisation was the best as the economy was doing well and needled Congress by questioning its record with regard to various issues. Modi, who has been under sustained attack from Congress and other opposition parties, gave reasons for the first time for the timing of the decision to scrap notes of Rs 500 and Rs 1000 in November last year. In his 90-minute speech which was punctuated by protests by some Opposition members at certain points, Modi also raised pitch for simultaneous elections to Lok Sabha and Assemblies, asking all parties to consider the proposal, rising above political considerations as "everybody will face some difficulty" if it is implemented. Hyderabad: Governor E.S.L. Narasimhan has asked the governments of AP and Telangana states to submit details of all pending issues related to AP Reorganisation Act. Mr Narasimhan will be holding meetings with the committees constituted by the TS and AP governments separately to deal with the issue. The Governor has directed the two committees to come with complete details of the pending issues to the next meeting scheduled on February 9. The main issues are sharing the assets and liabilities of Schedule 9 and 10 institutions listed in the AP Reorganisation Act and also sharing of AP Bhavan located in Delhi. The AP government claims assets worth around Rs 40,000 crore from these institutions. It has prepared a report on the Schedule 9 and 10 institutions separately. TS too has readied a similar report. The TS government says that the assets of these institutions should be shared based on their location. Meanwhile, the Union home ministry is holding a meeting on February 13 in New Delhi with officials of the two states to discuss sharing of Schedule 9 institutions. Hyderabad: Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao on Tuesday met President Pranab Mukherjee and invited him to launch the centenary celebrations of Osmania University scheduled for April 26. Mr Rao, along with ministers and TRS MPs, met the President. According to the MPs, Mr Mukherjee accepted the invitation, but the TS government will be officially intimated later. After inviting the President, Mr Rao also met Union human resources development minister Prakash Javadekar and invited him to the ceremony as Chief Guest. Mr Javadekar accepted the invitation. The report, released in January, revealed that 103 doctors were on unauthorised leave in the state till the end of December 2016. (Representational image) Bengaluru: A government doctor in Hassan went on unauthorised leave in October, 1997, and it took the state government nearly 20 years to sack her! She was terminated only in January this year. This is the finding of a report prepared by the state health department on unauthorised absenteeism among government hospital doctors, as per the instructions of its Commissioner Subodh Yadav. The report, released in January, revealed that 103 doctors were on unauthorised leave in the state till the end of December 2016. Yadav informed that he has recommended to the state government to terminate the services of 84 such doctors. One of the common complaints against the government run hospitals, especially those located in the rural areas and small towns, is that doctors are not available and unauthorised absenteeism is rampant. The report also revealed that another doctor was on unauthorised leave since 2000. Most of these erring doctors were serving in taluka hospitals and despite not reporting for duty for years, their services were not terminated. A senior officer of the health department said, These doctors are paid very well, but still many are not keen to report to duty. These doctors are also shown as working at a particular hospital, but in reality the patients dont get to consult them." "Ever since Yadav came to our department, after being transferred from the KPSC, he has initiated several reforms and this is expected to benefit the general public, he added. New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday expressed its inability to issue directions to regulate jokes about the Sikh community, observing courts cannot lay down moral guidelines for citizens. The earlier Bench headed by former Chief Justice T.S. Thakur had entertained several PILs which sought court intervention to curb or ban Sardar jokes in circulation in the social media. During the resumed hearing, a Bench of Justices Dipak Misra and Ms. R. Banumathi, made it clear that the SC cannot pass any kind of guidelines banning or curbing jokes about the Sikhs. Justice Misra asked the counsel, is there any kind of guidelines for any community or any religion anywhere in the world. While some persons will laugh on a joke, some others may remain quiet. It all depends on individuals perception. New Delhi: Highlighting Indias new strategy, the United States under the Trump administration has now moved the United Nations to designate Pakistan-based terror outfit Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) chief Masood Azhar as a global terrorist but it was swiftly stymied by China which has again opposed the ban. India has again taken up the matter with China and voiced its objections to Beijing. New Delhis efforts earlier to move the proposal was blocked by Beijing. The US along with France and Britain had earlier been co-sponsors of the Indian move but after Beijing had blocked the move in December-end, India had held consultations in January this year with the US, UK and France to evolve a new strategy. It seems to have been decided then that the US will now move the proposal instead of India, highlighting the new-found strength of Indo-US ties. The Trump administrations resolve to go after radical organisations has further aided New Delhi but Beijing remains a firm backer of Islamabad due to its interests arising from huge Chinese investments in the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). We have been informed of this development (China blocking the US move) and the matter has been taken up with the Chinese Government, ministry of external affairs (MEA) spokesperson Vikas Swarup said. According to senior government sources, the US, supported by the UK and France, moved a proposal at the UNs Sanctions Committee 1267 in the second-half of last month to proscribe Azhar. The proposal, which was finalised after consultations between Washington and New Delhi, said JeM is a designated terror outfit and so its leaders cannot go scot-free, sources said. In a separate order, the commission warned political parties that it will not be a silent spectator if provisions of law or model code are violated. New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modis images may soon have to be covered or removed from petrol pumps in the five states where elections will be held from February 4 with the Election Commission on Tuesday ordering that hoardings and photographs of all political leaders be removed ahead of the crucial polls. In a separate order, the commission warned political parties that it will not be a silent spectator if provisions of law or model code are violated. The commission will take strong actions for any violations under all powers available. The EC decision comes a day after the Congress had petitioned for the removal of all the hoardings or posters of Mr Modi displayed at petrol pumps claiming it amounted to violation of model code of conduct in the poll-bound states. In its letter, the Congress told the Commission that these massive hoardings of the Prime Minister crediting him for distribution of cooking gas etc. were in violation of the model code of conduct which has become operational when the election date was announced on January 4. The commission in its order has asked the poll machinery in the five poll-bound states to either cover or remove photographs of political leaders on all hoardings and advertisements which seek to project the achievements of any living political functionary or political party. The EC was in fact reiterating its instructions issued on December 12, 2004 after the chief electoral officer of Goa raised the issue after the election schedule was announced on January 4. It said the photos in advertisements or hoardings of similar type should also be removed or covered suitably so that spirit of its instructions is fully complied with. It made it clear that hoardings put up by the government which convey general message to the masses on family planning or social welfare schemes may be allowed to be displayed. However, all those hoardings, advertisements which seek or purport to project the achievements of any living political functionary or political party and which carry their photos or name or party symbol should be removed forthwith. No political party or functionary can use public resources and incur or authorise expenditure from public exchequer to eulogise himself or itself or enhance his/its own or any political leader's image, the order said. Minister for Information and Broadcasting, M. Venkaiah Naidu speaks at the release of the annual year book India-2017 (Bharat-2017) published by Publications Division, in New Delhi. (Photo: AP) New Delhi: There is a need to bring in electoral reforms like holding simultaneous Lok Sabha and Assembly polls and taking measures to curb influence of money power, for which a consensus is required, Union Minister M Venkaiah Naidu said on Tuesday. "India has frequent election festivals. I call them festival because election becomes a festival, but we have too many festivals," he said. The entire system then gets devoted to the electoral process because of which Prime Minister Narendra Modi has given a call for holding simultaneous elections for the Centre and the states, the Information and Broadcasting Minister said. President Pranab Mukherjee has also endorsed it and Election Commission is also favourable to it, Naidu said. "We need to reform the system... The country has to move in a direction and evolve a consensus," he said, adding the decision had to be taken in the interest of the country rising above party lines. Another issue is to curb the influence of money power in the elections, Naidu said, adding Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has in the budget made a proposal that all political parties should accept contributions above Rs 2,000 by cheque. The Union Minister was speaking at an event where he released - India Year Book 2017 published by the Publications Division which also launched an online digital Library on Tuesday. Lauding the initiatives, Naidu claimed that, "The previous regimes had only encouraged a particular kind of literature and not enough material is available to the people especially the younger generation about a lot of our heroes." "It is sad that a lot of information about our great leaders, our forefathers who led the independence movement, who fought for the country against the Britishers like Veerapandiya Kattabomman, Tantya Tope and others, we don't have enough information for the new generation," he said. He lauded the Publication Division for bringing information about lives of these heroes to the people, saying authentic information is very important. AIADMK General Secretary V K Sasikala flashes a victory sign after attending the party MLA's meeting in which she was elected as a AIADMK Legislative party leader, set to become Tamil Nadu CM, at Party's Headquarters in Chennai. (Photo: PTI) Chennai: As reports of AIADMK party leader VK Sasikalas impending elevation as the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu flooded the news channels on Monday, social media frenzied in shock of the abrupt decision. Various political leaders also expressed their uncertainty about the decision. Amid reports that AIADMK party leader VK Sasikala will be sworn in as next Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, senior Congress leader P Chidambaram on Tuesday said she would be "unacceptable to most people" of the state. Former AIADMK minister KP Munusamy also slammed Sasikala for making a "backdoor entry" to the Chief Minister's post and questioned why O Panneerselvam made way for her despite being the "preferred choice" of late Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa. The Twitterati, indeed, did not take lightly to the decision. While some of the reactions came across as hilarious, most spoke of how Tamil Nadu would be adversely affected under the new Chief Minister. Here are some of the tweets on Sasikala as the Chief of state that clearly mirror the discontent of the people of Tamil Nadu. Mumbai: Maharashtra Governor C Vidya Sagar Rao, who also holds the charge of Tamil Nadu, is likely to fly to Chennai today or tomorrow, amid political developments in the southern state where O Panneerselvam has been replaced by V K Sasikala as leader of the ruling AIADMK legislature party. "Governor may leave for Chennai today or tomorrow," Raj Bhavan sources said. The prospects of Sasikala's immediate swearing-in as Chief Minister faded with Rao heading to Mumbai Monday night from New Delhi, instead of flying to Chennai, amid reports that he was seeking legal advice before administering the oath of office to Sasikala. The Supreme Court had yesterday indicated it could deliver a judgement soon in a disproportionate assets case against Sasikala, who became general secretary of AIADMK after the death of Jayalalithaa. A conviction after being sworn in could result in Sasikala having to step down as chief minister. A PIL was also filed in the apex yesterday seeking to restrain Sasikala from being sworn-in as chief minister claiming in the event of her having to resign if she is convicted in the DA case there could to law and order problem in the state. Rao had travelled from Coimbatore to the national capital Monday night. Sasikala was elected leader of the AIADMK legislature party on Sunday clearing the decks for her elevation as the chief minister. Chief Minister Panneerselvam had on Monday tendered his resignation to Governor Rao, which was accepted. According to Chennai reports, the Madras University Auditorium, which had earlier hosted the swearing-in of Jayalalithaa, was being spruced up for the swearing in of Sasikala. Azamgarh: Colonel Nizamuddin, the driver of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose, born in 1901, passed away at the age of 117 in his native Azamgarh district. Nizamuddin, who had been with Netaji between 1943 and 1945, breathed his last on Monday. He is survived by his wife Ajbul Nisha, three sons and two daughters. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed his condolence over the death of Nizamuddin. Modi on Tuesday said Subhas Chandra Bose's driver Colonel Nizamuddin, added strength to India's freedom struggle, adding that he will always be remembered for his idealism, courage and patriotism. Paying his tributes to Colonel Nizamuddin, Prime Minister Modi said the demise is saddening. "Tributes to Subhas Babu's close associate, Colonel Nizamuddin. I recall my meeting with him. His demise is saddening," Prime Minister Modi tweeted. "We will always remember the idealism, courage & patriotism of Colonel Nizamuddin, which added strength to our freedom struggle," he added. NEW DELHI: A replica of the Nobel Peace Prize and its citation awarded to child rights activist Kailash Satyarthi were among the valuables stolen from his southeast Delhi residence on Tuesday. In a statement, Satyarthi, who is currently in Panama with his wife, implored the people involved in the early morning act to understand the significance of the award and not get carried away by its monetary value. Satyarthi had presented his Nobel Peace Prize medal to President Pranab Mukherjee in January, 2015. The original medal has been preserved and is now on display at the Rashtrapati Bhavan Museum, his office said. Police said the matter came to light when Rakesh Sengar of Satyarthis NGO Bachpan Bachao Andolan went to take his car from the activists Kalkaji residence around 9 am. The replica of the nobel, which is as good as the original, and the citation are missing along with a host of other mementos, Sengar said. Mumbai: The Shiv Sena has picked Hardik Patel, the firebrand leader of Gujarats Patidar agitation, to campaign for its Gujarati candidate in a bid to split the Bharatiya Janata Partys (BJP) core vote bank ahead of the BMC elections. Mr Patel on Tuesday addressed a rally of Biren Limbachya, Senas Gujarati candidate who is contesting from Goregaon. It came as a surprise in political circles to see the influential Gujarati leader arrive in Mumbai to campaign against the BJP, a party that has traditionally enjoyed the support of Gujaratis throughout the years. Also, sources privy to the talks between Sena and Mr Patel told this newspaper that it was Yuva Sena chief and Thackeray scion Aaditya who brought young Gujarati leader close to Sena. It was Mr Thackeray who called on Mr Patel after the latter held a powerful rally in August 2015 in Ahmedabad demanding that the Patel community be given reservation under the OBC quota. Seeking to corner BJP on a day he met Mr Patel, Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray put the Maharashtra government on notice but Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis saw no danger to his government and said it will complete its term. Just ahead of the Mumbai civic polls, Mr Thackeray gave indications that the Sena might pull out of the BJP-led dispensation as he told reporters the government is on notice period as on now. Mr Thackeray, whose party is locked in a fierce combat with BJP in local body polls here and other cities taking their uneasy ties to a new low, said Mr Patel will be Senas face in neighbouring Gujarat, going to polls towards the end of this year. Our friendship with Hardik Patel will be lasting. Until the other person breaks relations with us, we do not leave their side. If needed, we will fight Gujarat Assembly polls as well and Hardik will be our face, the Sena chief said addressing a joint press meet with Mr Patel. The violent opposition in Nagaland against the entry of Naga women into active politics and the state government buckling under pressure and calling off the municipal elections, where 33 per cent of the seats were reserved for women following an interim order of the Supreme Court, has raised the question as to whether the state has failed in upholding the rule of law and the Constitution. The issue has also brought to the fore the question of gender justice in Naga society. The group of influential Naga women under the banner of the Joint Action Committee for Womens Reservation (JACWR), which had filed the special leave petition in the Supreme Court in 2013 seeking 33 per cent reservation for women to contest the municipal polls, braving arguments that Naga customary laws prohibit women in active politics, has now been compelled to withdraw the petition from the Supreme Court in the past week of tumult that Nagaland has witnessed. The conflagration doesnt seem to die down with the protesters, organised under the banner of the nascent Nagaland Tribes Action Committee (NTAC), pressing with their demand for the resignation of chief minister T.R. Zeliang, who is heading the Democratic Alliance of Nagaland (DAN) government, of which the BJP is a partner. Backed by his MLAs, Mr Zeliang is putting up a brave front saying that his government has already called off the elections respecting public sentiments. The CM has condemned the senseless vandalism, stressed the freedom of expression and an alternate viewpoint, and said his government was bound by the Constitution to maintain order. He rejected the demand for resignation. The question now is whether all Naga men are against their women being able to enjoy gender equality and contest elections, or whether CM Zeliangs political opponents are egging on the protesters to overthrow the state government by creating a situation that reaches a flashpoint. In this backdrop, the recent statements by Lok Sabha MP Neiphiu Rio, a former Nagaland CM, is significant. He claims Nagas are not against 33 per cent reservations for women but were unhappy over the way the government has been trying to override the provision of Article 371A by invoking Article 243T. Mr Rio sees this as a bid to dilute the customary laws of Naga society. Article 371A says no Act of Parliament can change things like Naga customary laws, social or religious practices of Nagas, ownership and transfer of land, etc, unless such a law is approved by the Nagaland Assembly. Article 243T on its part simply provides for womens reservation in civic polls. It says: Not less than one-third of the total number of seats reserved under clause (1) shall be reserved for women belonging to the Scheduled Castes or, as the case may be, Scheduled Tribes... A senior political leader like Mr Rio, who was once considered quite close to the BJP central leadership, can actually do a lot in defusing the situation and is expected to provide a solution to the current crisis, that, obviously, does not lie in simply calling off the civic elections. Nagaland has never elected a woman legislator since it attained statehood in 1963. In the past few years, Naga women have come up with a strong counter-narrative in favour of taking active part in politics. In a statement issued in the midst of the protests by the opponents of womens reservation, JACWR said: The aspirations of the other half of the Naga population, Naga women, our fundamental rights, the right to participate in electoral processes has been violated by bandhs, threats and use of force in the towns where candidates, including women, were unable to file their nominations or forced to withdraw their nominations. The voice of the women is being muffled by unprecedented un-Christian methods (Nagaland is a Christian-majority state) of destruction of private property of candidates, (besides) banishment and excommunication of candidates, including women candidates and leaders, by tribal organisations, the statement added. This, the JACRD said, was the situation before the polls due on February 1. As the anti-quota stir gathered steam, one was surprised to see demands for the dissolution of the influential Naga Mothers Association (NMA) formed in 1984. This was perhaps because the movers and shakers of the womens reservation demand are associated with NMA, which has, of course, rejected the demand for its dissolution. No outside forces can dictate the NMA is the refrain. A critical question arises: is it time for the government or the courts to come up with a clearer interpretation of Article 371 itself in the context of demands for greater autonomy or federal restructuring in Nagaland? After all, the situation in Nagaland clearly proves that the state is not in a position to implement even an order of the highest court due to pressure from certain groups. In fact, the Supreme Court had come up with an interim relief order on April 5 last year allowing 33 per cent reservation of seats for women based on the special leave petition, pending a final judgment. It is quite possible that only a handful of people are behind the unrest or the opposition to the quota for women, but if that is so, why has Naga civil society or the state government not been successful in going ahead with the polls after convincing different stakeholders. These are questions that require answers. Until then, it is a new front the government has to tackle in Nagaland in the days ahead. One cannot also rule out the possibility that this situation will impact the ongoing peace talks with the Isak-Muivah faction of the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN-IM). The Supreme Court has expressed reservations about passing orders barring Sardarji jokes, saying it couldnt possibly lay moral guidelines for people, nor could it envisage how any such ban would work. There is probably no one, Sikhs included, who hasnt shared a Sardarji joke, even though these unfairly depict a section of the people as dumb as the key targets of such jokes could be anybody from any community. World over, humour targets people over nationality, ethnicity or even religion. Its hard to imagine anyone not laughing over a Santa-Banta joke or an Irish joke. As long as such humour doesnt turn into ethnic hatred, people can enjoy the joke, though Sikhs have a point about this affecting boys who shed their identity by going for a haircut. The court admonished the petitioners, saying they were doing a disservice to the image of Sikhs by trying to ban jokes. To be fair, they only pursued a legal path than take out their angst against people behind these jokes. It has unfortunately become a trend in this country to take offence on every little issue, but as long as people are civil about their objections, there will only be a healthy debate rather than a fracas. But as we saw in the assault on filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali, shooting a fictional film on Padmavathi, people tend to take matters into their hands. This is where the State must step in to ensure such Indian offendedness doesnt get out of hand. It may not need an opinion poll to sense how so much of Tamil Nadus citizenry is angry and sad on hearing the news that Sasikala was all set to become their next chief minister. Nevertheless, Sasikala can become CM and may even complete the four years and three months of the late J. Jayalalithaas remaining tenure. It is extremely difficult for many to understand how a lady who hasnt even been in politics can become Tamil Nadus head of government with such ease. It is better to understand why such things happen in India so regularly, violating democratic norms. When Lalu Prasad Yadav had to resign as Bihar CM, he made Rabri, his little-educated wife with no interest or experience in politics, his successor as CM, ignoring all senior party colleagues. Today it is Sasikalas turn. She was elected by AIADMK Legislature Party members and the party has a clear majority in the Assembly, so irrespective of what the people of TN may wish, she can become CM. There is virtually no recourse available to anyone that could stop Sasikala becoming CM or force her to step down from the CMs post unless she is disqualified in one or other court cases she has faced for decades. Even the Centre cant do anything, such as using Article 356 to dismiss her government, as it will be contrary to the Supreme Courts guidelines in the S.R. Bommai ruling. The court can not only overturn the dismissal of a state government but also resurrect the Assembly and the state government. The issue before TN is gloomier than simply Sasikalas ascendency. If she is disqualified, she could make one of her relatives from Mannargudi CM or even pick an MLA of hers and her familys choice as a puppet. Even if she is defeated in the byelection she has to contest to enter the Assembly, she could appoint one of the sitting AIADMK MLAs as a dummy CM and rule by proxy. The AIADMK and DMK have perfected the art of winning byelections unscrupulously by scientifically bribing voters with direct cash transfers, and theres no reason to believe Sasikala will lose the byelection. AIADMK backers, however, fear that if the party under Sasikala seeks votes in any local body or parliamentary election, it may be marginalised in the hustings. Despite this, they still supported Sasiklalas ascendency to the twin posts of party chief and Tamil Nadu CM. Why did the AIADMK party in the first instance and subsequently AIADMK legislators remain accomplices to these unpopular and self-sabotaging decisions? For that, we must understand the structure and nature of various parties in India and how they function. India has at least four categories of political parties, with varying degrees of practised democracy, although all of them claim to be fully democratic parties. In the first category, leaders for the top posts either in the party or government are not decided on their blood relationship with their predecessors. The BJP and Communist parties belong to this category. The top brass is invariably elected based on their popularity in the party and among the public. However, there is no bar on scions of leaders from becoming party members and allow them to contest elections and occupy legislative and ministerial positions. The top leader is elected that will augur well for the party. The question of someone completely unconnected with the party, politics or public service occupying the top post either in the party or government through the back door does not arise in this category of parties. The second category of parties originated as democratic entities but due to lust for power for the family by top leaders, the parties degenerated into family parties. The Congress, DMK and Akali Dal are examples of this category. However, these parties will openly nurture the family members of the patriarch or matriarch to prepare them to assume the mantle in future. The third category of has originated from inception with the clear intention of running it as a family party. The RJD, SP and TRS belong to this category, and they follow the same philosophy as the second category of parties. The second and third categories of parties have clear succession plans as they are more concerned about complete hold of the parties by their families. There is a fourth category called one-man or one-woman party, where there may not be any succession plans as the party begins and ends at the leader with no questions being asked about anything, including succession or future plans. These parties run only on the charisma of the leader and ideally the party should cease to exist once the leader departs. The AIADMK, Trinamul Congress and BSP belong to this category. Although a servile attitude prevails among the second, third and fourth categories of parties, it takes a new avatar of short-term careerism in the fourth category of political parties. (Careerism refers to the derogatory practice of people who do anything to advance their own careers. Careerists dont mind being dishonest, hypocritical, servile, unscrupulous and unethical and do not bother about the loss of dignity and self-respect in that process). For example, AIADMK ministers, legislators and key office-bearers have already mastered careerism for a very long time now to an extent that careerism became the DNA of AIADMK legislators and key office-bearers. These AIADMK men know very well that in the absence of the charismatic Jayalalithaa, there is no political future for them. However, they also know that they can reap the maximum benefits by being in power in a united manner for the remaining four years and three months. They prefer short-term careerism than a long-standing tenure in politics. It is the structure of the political party that made them completely irrelevant when their charismatic leader departed. In addition to this, the electoral and governance model we follow also makes the political system murkier. India, in theory, follows the Westminster form of government, where people elect MPs and MLAs who in turn elect the Prime Minister or chief minister after the election. The leader of the legislative party which won a majority becomes the CM of a state or the nations PM. But, in practice, to a significant extent, India follows presidential form, whereby parties fight polls announcing overtly or covertly who will be their CM or PM if elected to power and people elect representatives loyal to the leader of their choice. Thus, MLAs and MPs are just a cog in the wheel with no special appeal to voters, unlike the leaders. For all practical purposes, our elections and governance have been moving towards a presidential form. In this backdrop, there should be crystal-clear succession plans if the leader departs from the scene for any reason. For instance, in the United States, which follows the presidential form of government, if the President can no longer serve, the vice-president takes over, followed by high constitutional functionaries and Cabinet members in the designated line of succession for the remaining term. In the absence of such clear protocols for replacement, in non-democratic political parties, anyone can become leader of the government. In democratic parties, there are some checks and balances. For instance, in a truly democratic party, whose aim is stay for a long time in politics based on ideology, those desiring to reach the top post should exhibit eminence and popularity over other leaders. Only if the party accepts his/her claims for the top post can such a leader reach that position. Given our political milieu of umpteen undemocratic parties, the theoretical Westminster form and practical presidential model has been costing our democracy much more than we think. There are no clear succession plans in the Westminster model as legislators must gather to elect their leader again, unlike the presidential form. Unless otherwise political parties are arm-twisted to become truly democratic and India moves towards a presidential form of government, directly electing CMs and PMs, with the succession plans spelt out in black and white, there is no solution in sight that would prevent the Sasikalas or Rabri Devis becoming CMs. A former Indian diplomat, the rare service where you can still find a few liberal souls, once served in Indonesia. What the diplomat told me left me aghast. It seems that a clutch of soldiers from Netaji Subhash Chandra Boses defeated Indian National Army had retreated to safer territories in Indonesia after the British won the decisive Southeast Asian war against Japan. When India and Pakistan gained independence in August 1947, the soldiers who had waged a valiant anti-colonial battle went to the new Indian embassy to process their passage back home. They were asked their religion. Muslims were asked to apply to the Pakistan embassy. Things havent changed much, have they? Babu Khan mistri ran a garage for old crocs in Lucknow where my fathers Ford Prefect was cared for like a pet. Babu wore a fur cap in all seasons somewhat like Firaq Gorakhpuri and loved to pepper his conversation with Urdu couplets. He had returned from Karachi in the 1950s where he failed to find a promised job. He was in this way an economic migrant as migrants often are. Babu soon returned home as people do. He was missing Lucknow and he believed he could still find a life in his old hometown. Indian law had no room for his mushy expressions of homesickness and the police arrived to repatriate Babu to Pakistan. My lawyer father was a staunch supporter of Jawaharlal Nehru. He carried a bullet wound in his arm from his student days. As a young freedom fighter he climbed the roof of Lucknows Christian College where a senior British official was due to visit. His job was to tear down the Union Jack and put up the Indian flag in its place. The deed done, the young man was rusticated but not before being shot through the arm during the melee. Father got Babu a stay order from the courts and he lived a happy life in Lucknow till his death. Being connected helps. Being a non-Muslim is all the advantage one needs as an Indian visa-seeker from Pakistan. One of my fathers routine pro bono jobs was to procure stay orders, which may be no more possible, for Pakistanis returning to Lucknow. I think Shyam Benegals film Mammo captured a similar quandary about a simple Muslim woman who kept dodging the police because she had to stay on in her old Mumbai home with her sister and nephew. An uncle, the late professor S.M. Naseer, was beaten and jailed in Kanpur during the freedom struggle. He was a Communist. For reasons that took many liberal Muslims to Pakistan, Naseer migrated and became a much-loved economics professor in Karachi. He was baffled that he could never get a visa to India. Then national security advisor J.N. Dixit had dug out the files and found an intriguing facts in Naseers dossier. Dixit solved the mystery. The Indian CID knowingly blacklisted Naseer because their British predecessors had marked him as a Communist threat. Naseer got his visa finally, and broke down at the ancestral graveyard in Mustafabad near Rae Bareli where many of his cousins and elders lie interred. Thats all that he came to do. There are so many Pakistanis who would get Indian visas because they were one way or the other linked with progressive activism. Faiz was a leading example. But Sajjad Zaheer returned home from Pakistan and he didnt have to take a stay order to get his Indian citizenship back. Its all a bit of a lottery. Being connected helps. Being a non-Muslim is all the advantage one needs as an Indian visa-seeker from Pakistan. The prejudice didnt spare soldiers of the INA. It is with this perspective that I saw Indian home minister Rajnath Singhs mocking address to Pakistanis the other day. The speech reminded me of an unambiguous couplet. Lagey moonh bhi chidhaney dete dete galiyan saahab/Zubaan bigdi to bigdi thi, khabar leeje dahan bigda. (Hissing curses was not enough that youve started making faces at me. Your tongue was truly dreadful but now, pay heed, your visage looks poised to lose its shape.) Everyone knows that Pakistanis are harassed and terrified by religious extremism that they had directly or indirectly helped to create. Twisting the knife instead of offering helpful advice, Mr Singh had asked Pakistanis to hold a referendum if they would like to migrate to India. Or perhaps he said the referendum should be about joining India. A similar public survey or plebiscite would continue to be denied to Kashmiris, he clarified, because Kashmir was in any case an integral part of India. So what was Mr Singhs point? The question flows from a less mocking quest in fact, a heartfelt petition pursued previously by Indian leaders of stature. People like Ram Manohar Lohia, a leftist, who had many pitched battles in Parliament on behalf of secularism, died dreaming of a confederation between India and Pakistan. Pandit Nehru, one or two years before his death, said he too favoured a confederation but did not raise the idea because it frightened Pakistan. You could find this treasure hidden away in the footnotes of Gunnar Myrdals Asian Drama. So lets not make a mockery of an idea that was embraced and may have never been discarded by very well-meaning men and women on both sides of the border. As referendums go, here is a real poser without rancour or malice. Mr Singh should free the borders. Be lavish with visas. And then only both sides could jointly ask: do both people want to live in peace with each other? Do they want to jointly fight terrorism of all forms? Should they be allowed to visit each other freely? Should their countries divert their humungous defence budgets to building schools and hospitals? These are some of the ideals that Subhas Bose and his INA soldiers had fought for. The answers are all too well known. Mr Singh would be scared of them. By arrangement with Dawn The writer is Dawns correspondent in New Delhi The research is based on state-of-the-art techniques used to reconstruct some 6,000 years of vegetation and fire history around two geoglyph sites. Long before European settlers arrived in the Americas in 1492, the Amazon rainforest was transformed for thousands of years by indigenous people who carved mysterious circles into the landscape, researchers said Monday. While the purpose of these hundreds of ditched enclosures, or geoglyphs, remains unclear, scientists say they may have served as ritual gathering places. Modern deforestation coupled with aerial photographs of the landscape helped reveal some 450 of these geoglyphs in Acre state in the western Brazilian Amazon. "The fact that these sites lay hidden for centuries beneath mature rainforest really challenges the idea that Amazonian forests are 'pristine ecosystems,'" said lead author Jennifer Watling, a post-doctoral researcher at the Museum of Archaeology and Ethnography, University of Sao Paulo. Archeologists have found very few artifacts from the areas, and scientists suspect the structures which span 5,000 square miles (13,000 square kilometers) were not built as villages or for defensive reasons. Rather, they believe humans altered the bamboo forests and built small, temporary clearings "concentrating on economically valuable tree species such as palms, creating a kind of 'prehistoric supermarket' of useful forest products," said the study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, a peer-reviewed US scientific journal. The research is based on state-of-the-art techniques used to reconstruct some 6,000 years of vegetation and fire history around two geoglyph sites. Watling, who did the research while studying at the University of Exeter, said the findings show the area was not contrary to popular belief untouched by humans in the past. "Our evidence that Amazonian forests have been managed by indigenous peoples long before European contact should not be cited as justification for the destructive, unsustainable land-use practiced today," she added. "It should instead serve to highlight the ingenuity of past subsistence regimes that did not lead to forest degradation, and the importance of indigenous knowledge for finding more sustainable land-use alternatives." Click on Deccan Chronicle Technology and Science for the latest news and reviews. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter. An explosion on the launch site of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket is shown in this still image from video in Cape Canaveral, Florida, US September 1, 2016. Space Exploration Technologies Corp, better known as SpaceX, plans to launch its Falcon 9 rockets every two to three weeks, its fastest rate since starting launches in 2010, once a new launch pad is put into service in Florida next week, the company's president told Reuters on Monday. The ambitious plan comes only five months after a SpaceX rocket burst into flames on the launch pad at the company's original launch site in Florida. SpaceX, controlled by billionaire Elon Musk, has only launched one rocket since then, in mid-January. We should be launching every two to three weeks, SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell told Reuters in an interview on Monday. SpaceX was approaching that pace last autumn, before the Sept. 1 accident, which happened during a routine preflight test. The explosion destroyed a $200 million Israeli satellite and heavily damaged the launch pad. Shotwell said repairs to the launch pad at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, which are still underway, should cost far less than half of a new launch pad, which she said runs about $100 million. The new launch pad is at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, just north of the Cape Canaveral site. SpaceX is also modifying the rocket's engines to increase performance and resolve potential safety concerns, said Shotwell. The company plans to change the design of the Falcon 9's turbopump - which provides propellants to the rocket's engines - to eliminate cracks that have prompted concern from NASA and the US Air Force. NASA has hired SpaceX to taxi astronauts to and from the International Space Station starting in late 2018. Shotwell said the new turbopumps will be installed before the first unmanned test flights of the commercial space taxi, scheduled for November. SpaceX is one of two companies certified to fly military and national security satellites for the Air Force, the other being United Launch Alliance, a partnership of Boeing Co and Lockheed Martin Corp. For us, the concern was not the cracks, but do they grow over time? Would these cracks cause a flight failure? Shotwell said. I think NASA is used to engines that arent quite as robust, so they just dont want any cracks at all in the turbo machinery." SpaceX discovered two types of cracks during ground tests of its Merlin engines in 2015, Shotwell said. The cracks were not related to the Sept. 1 launch pad explosion. To fix the more serious cracking issue, the company devised a software fix and then redesigned the turbine wheel, Shotwell said. The first of the redesigned turbine wheels flew in July 2016. A second set of cracks in welds and shrouds are not a concern for flight, but NASA and the Air Force have asked for a redesign, Shotwell said. SpaceX has a backlog of more than 70 missions, worth more than $10 billion. It has successfully flown 27 out of 29 times since the Falcon 9s debut in 2010. The company flew eight missions in 2016 before the launch pad accident in September grounded the fleet. The rocket returned to flight last month, flying from a second launch site in California, which is only used for satellites heading into polar or high inclination orbits. A fourth launch site in Texas is under construction. Click on Deccan Chronicle Technology and Science for the latest news and reviews. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter. Many customers who ordered either of the two smartphones from Canadian Telecom carrier Telus received emails saying that they should not expect to receive their phones any longer since Google will soon cease production. Getting your hands on Googles Pixel smartphones is difficult, especially when ordered through a carrier. The Mountain View company has been having supply issues ever since the launch of its Nexus 4 series. Two days ago, it was reported that Google will be ceasing the production of the Pixel line of smartphones. Many customers who ordered either of the two smartphones from Canadian Telecom carrier Telus received emails saying that they should not expect to receive their phones any longer since Google will soon cease production. The email read Please be advised that we have received notice today that Google will be ceasing production of their Google Pixel line and we will not be receiving further inventory of this phone. Therefore we will not be able to fulfil your order for the selected product. We apologise on behalf of TELUS and Google for this inconvenience. Following the said reports, news website MobileSyrup reached out to the telecom provider for an official statement and confirmed that Google hasn't ceased production of either Pixel or Pixel XL yet. Were working with Google to restock inventory across our retail channels as quickly as we can. Google has confirmed that production of the Pixel and the Pixel XL has not stopped. We are in the process of updating our retail channels to ensure our customers have the latest information about their Google Pixel orders, Telus told MobileSyrup. Currently, Telus is the only carrier that sent out emails to customers who ordered the Pixel. Googles Pixel smartphones are manufactured by HTC, unlike previous Nexus phones that were manufactured by LG or Samsung. Click on Deccan Chronicle Technology and Science for the latest news and reviews. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter. Apple is expected to start manufacturing iPhones in India by the end of April. Apple, which has been selling its products in the country through third-party retailers, is looking forward to manufacture iPhone in India after reviewing the concessions when proposed by the central government. As the two parties are negotiating on setting up a manufacturing unit in the country, Apple has reportedly again put up a request to sell refurbished iPhones in India. The smartphone maker has proposed to bring in used iPhone to refurbish and sell in the country as, if the manufacturing unit will set up, it will have the required infrastructure to make the old iPhones compliant with the quality standards, reported Bloomberg Quint. Recently, the Karnatakas IT Minister Priyank Khagre, in a statement said Karnataka is expecting Apple to start manufacturing by the end of April. We have an understanding with Apple and we expect them to start manufacturing in Karnataka by the end of April, he said. However, according to Financial Express sources, Apple will first set up a pilot project at Indias Silicon Valley Bengaluru, and will later, based on the kind of concessions the government will offer the company, extent on its manufacturing. Khagre in its statement had said that Apple would start the assembly of iPhone 6 and iPhone 7 at Peenya, an area located on the outskirts of Bengaluru. Whether Apple will be able to sell used iPhones in India or not still remains a question. This isnt the first time Apple has pitched to import used iPhones in India. India had earlier rejected Apples plan citing rules against importing used electronics, further affecting the Make in India initiative of the government to boost local manufacturing. Click on Deccan Chronicle Technology and Science for the latest news and reviews. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter. Washington: The U.S. Justice Department will face off with opponents in a federal appeals court on Tuesday over the fate of President Donald Trump's temporary travel ban on people from seven Muslim-majority countries, his most controversial act since taking office last month. Last Friday, U.S. District Judge James Robart suspended Trump's ban, opening a window for people from the seven affected countries to enter the country. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco will hear arguments over whether to restore the ban from Justice Department lawyers and opposing attorneys for the states of Minnesota and Washington at 3 p.m. PST (2300 GMT). In a tweet on Monday night, Trump said: "The threat from radical Islamic terrorism is very real, just look at what is happening in Europe and the Middle-East. Courts must act fast!" Trump has said the travel measures are designed to protect the country against the threat of terrorism. He has derided Robart, appointed by Republican President George W. Bush, as a "so-called judge." In a brief filed on Monday, the Justice Department said the suspension of Trump's order was too broad and "at most" should be limited to people who were already granted entry to the country and were temporarily abroad, or to those who want to leave and return to the United States. Opponents say the 90-day ban barring entry for citizens from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen and imposing a 120-day halt to all refugees, is illegal. The state of Washington argues it has suffered harm, saying some students and faculty at state universities had been stranded overseas because of the ban. The Republican president's Jan. 27 executive order sparked protests and chaos at U.S. and overseas airports in the weekend that followed. All the people who had carried out fatal attacks inspired by Islamist militancy in the United States since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks had been U.S. citizens or legal residents, the New America think tank said. None came to the United States or were from a family that emigrated from one of the countries listed in the travel ban, it said. (bit.ly/2keSmUO) Uphill fight? Trump faces an uphill battle in the liberal-leaning San Francisco court. Two members of three-judge panel that will hear the arguments were appointed by former Democratic Presidents Jimmy Carter and Barack Obama, and one was appointed by Bush. Appeals courts are generally leery of upending the status quo, which in this case is the lower court's suspension of the ban. Opponents of the ban received far more filings in support of their position than the Department of Justice. Washington state's challenge was backed by about a dozen friends-of-the- court briefs submitted by at least 17 state attorneys general, more than 100 companies, and about a dozen labor and civil rights groups. About a dozen conservative groups supported the government in three such briefs. The appeals court was focusing on the narrow question of whether the district court had grounds to put the order on hold. The bigger legal fight over whether Trump had authority to issue the order will be addressed later in the litigation. United Nations: India has called on the United Nations member states to build upon the progress made towards reforming the Security Council, warning them against continuing to "cocoon" from the enormity of the changes underway and having no framework for "setting our house in order". "It is unnatural and abnormal that even as the fundamental asymmetry between todays global reality and the primary global governance mechanism relating to peace and security grows, we have confined ourselves to monologues rather than dialogue," India's Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador Syed Akbaruddin said here on Monday. As the Intergovernmental Negotiations (IGN) on UN Security Council reforms commenced this year, Akbaruddin highlighted the progress and convergence already made over the years, saying in 2015, a total number of 122 member states had contributed to the framework document and enunciated their ideas for a reformed Security Council. In 2016 even more member states enunciated their positions on the reforms issue and worked together to find convergences, which formed the basis of an elements paper on working methods and the relationship between General Assembly and Security Council presented by the chair of the 70th IGN session. "At that stage, no one questioned how many spoke and how many did not; why go down that path now," he said at the informal meeting of the General Assembly on the Intergovernmental Negotiation on increase in membership of Security Council. "I join many of my colleagues in highlighting that the process at this stage has all the conditions to build on the work of previous sessions and to move forward based on the work already done by your predecessors," he said. Akbaruddin stressed that it is now time to be "interactive, negotiate, discuss, resolve issues" and move forward on the very crucial and important issue. "The formation of the Group of Friends demonstrates that many, many of us are willing to reach out and engage. We therefore urge you to lead this process into the phase of full-fledged negotiations, after all you are tasked for this purpose," he said. Akbaruddin said the result of "our inability" to progress is that while the prime example of anachronism the Security Council - may meet more and more, its actions now matter less and less. "It also represents fewer and fewer of those who it is supposed to act on behalf of 'we the people'. Hence the Security Councils effectiveness and efficacy is questionable and its credibility and legitimacy are at a low," he said. He emphasised that it is "not normal and not natural" that UN member states "continue to cocoon ourselves" from the enormity of the changes underway and "articulate views endlessly with no framework for setting our house in order". Washington: India, a major buyer of oil from Iran, has implemented UN-mandated sanctions against it, a bipartisan Congressional report has said, amid the Trump Administration's efforts to muster international support against Tehran after it conducted a missile test. The independent Congressional Research Service (CRS) said in its latest report said that India began reducing economic relations with Iran in 2010, when India's central bank ceased using a Tehran-based regional body, the Asian Clearing Union, to handle transactions with Iran. "India implemented UN-mandated sanctions against Iran and generally cooperated with multilateral efforts to use sanctions to achieve a nuclear agreement with Iran," the report which was presented to lawmakers on Monday. CRS is the independent research wing of the US Congress which prepares periodic reports on issues of interest for lawmakers for them to make informed decisions. Its report is not considered as an official report of the US Congress. In its 42-page report CRS notes that during 2010-2016, India's private sector described Iran as a "controversial market" a term used by many international firms to describe markets that entail reputational and financial risks. In January 2012, Iran agreed to accept India's currency rupee to settle 45 percent of its oil sales to India, which Iran mostly used to buy Indian wheat, pharmaceuticals, rice, sugar, soybeans, auto parts and other products. "India reduced its imports of Iranian oil substantially after 2011 - by the time of the JPA, Iran was only supplying about six percent of India's oil imports, down from over 16 percent in 2008. India incurred significant costs to retrofit refineries that were handling Iranian crude. However, since the JCPOA, oil imports apparently have increased to close to 2011 levels," the report said. Indian firms ended or slowed work on investments in Iranian oil and gas fields work that is likely to resume now that sanctions have been lifted, CRS said, adding that India and Iran are considering using Turkey's Halkbank to transfer to Iran USD 6.5 billion for oil purchased by India during 2012-2016. In 2015, India and Iran agreed that India would help develop Iran's Chahbahar port that would enable it to trade with Afghanistan unimpeded by Pakistan. "With sanctions on Iran now lifted, that project no longer entails risk to Indian firms involved. In May 2016, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Iran and signed an agreement to invest USD 500 million for developing the port and related infrastructure," CRS said. The report came as US President Donald Trump criticised Iran over its actions. The White House put Iran "on notice" over the move and vowed to take action, setting the stage for confrontation between the two nations. Washington: Pakistan's military continues to support terrorist groups that attack India to keep it "off balance" and draws international mediation into dispute over Kashmir, according to a report by a group of eminent South Asian experts from 10 major American think tanks. As per the report titled 'A New US Approach to Pakistan: Enforcing Aid Conditions without Cutting Ties' which will be released here on Friday, Pakistan's military has often disrupted nascent peace efforts pursued by Indian and Pakistani civilian rulers, most notably in 1999 during the Kargil war. "Pakistani military leaders continue to support terrorist groups that attack India in an effort to keep it off balance and to draw international mediation into the dispute with India over Kashmir," said the report. "Pakistan's use of terrorist groups as part of its security and foreign policy is a function of its obsession with India, which it perceives as an existential threat. From an outside perspective, Pakistan's paranoia regarding India is unfounded," it said. The report said while India may be unwilling to renegotiate Kashmirs territorial status, numerous Indian leaders has tried to reach a modus vivendi with Pakistan. Pakistan never changed its policy of supporting certain militant groups that fight Afghan and coalition forces, making it impossible for the US to achieve its objective of keeping Afghanistan from reverting to a safe haven for international terrorism, it said. "Pakistan's seemingly unconstrained expansion of its nuclear arsenal, particularly the development of tactical nuclear weapons and extended range missile systems, also remains a cause for concern, especially with regard to India," said the report co-authored by Lisa Curtis from The Heritage Foundation and Husain Haqqani, the former Pakistan Ambassador to the US, who is now with The Hudson Institute. Among other members of the report are Col (retd) John Gill, Professor from National Defense University; Anish Goel, from New America; Bruce Riedel from Brookings Institution; David S Sedney, Center for Strategic and International Studies; and Marvin Weinbaum from, Middle East Institute. The US clearly recognises that Pakistan's support for the Afghan Taliban, the Haqqani network and other terrorist groups is not the sole reason for Afghanistan's security challenges. However, the other problems become insurmountable when the principal insurgent groups enjoy safe havens in Pakistan, the report said. Pakistan's tolerance for terror groups also undermines the country itself, corroding its stability and civilian governance and damaging its investment climate, as well as inflicting death and injury on thousands of its own innocent citizens, it said. The objective of the Trump administration's policy toward Pakistan must be to make it more and more costly for Pakistani leaders to employ a strategy of supporting terrorist proxies to achieve regional strategic goals, it said. "There should be no ambiguity that the US considers Pakistan's strategy of supporting terrorist proxies to achieve regional strategic advantage as a threat to US interests. US policy must also pay attention to non-proliferation goals while dealing with Pakistan," the report said. The US continues to provide economic and military assistance to Pakistan without having secured its objective of convincing Islamabad to end its policy of using terrorist proxies to achieve regional strategic objectives. However, there have been some positive developments with regard to Pakistan's fight against terrorists that attack the Pakistani state, it noted. "The Pakistan military has been accused of facilitating the attack against India's Pathankot air base last January that derailed the goodwill created by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's surprise visit to Lahore to meet with PM Sharif six days earlier. And Pakistan-backed militants have acted as spoilers numerous times when bilateral ties seemed to be warming," it said. American interests in the region are not served by Pakistan's strategic thinking, which is fuelled by the belief that India seeks to weaken and then dismantle Pakistan. "Nor are American interests fully compatible with Pakistan's desire to steer events in Afghanistan and counter any Indian role there. Continued US assistance, offered in the hope of a gradual change in Pakistan's terrorism policies, only provides Pakistan an economic cushion and better quality military equipment to persist with those policies," the report said. Trump alleged that in many cases, 'the very, very dishonest press' doesn't want to report it. Washington: The White House has released a list of 78 terrorist attacks and has claimed that most of these have not been reported or under-reported by the media. The list came soon after the US President Donald Trump told a conference of his military commanders in Tampa that media is not reporting many of the terrorist attacks. "Radical Islamic terrorists are determined to strike our homeland, as they did on 9/11, as they did from Boston to Orlando to San Bernardino and all across Europe. You've seen what happened in Paris and Nice. All over Europe it's happening. It's gotten to a point where it's not even being reported," Trump told his commander in Tampa. Trump alleged that in many cases, "the very, very dishonest press" doesn't want to report it. "They have their reasons and you understand that," he told his commanders. On his way back abroad Air Force One, the White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer reiterated the allegations and promised to provide a list of such attacks. "He (Trump) felt as though members of the media don't always cover some of those events to the extent that other events might get covered; that a protest will get blown out of the water, and yet an attack or a foiled attack doesn't necessarily get the same coverage," Spicer said. "He's doing what he can to protect this nation and protect our people. And that's why I think sometimes the polls don't reflect what you see on the media," he said. "You see a wide degree of support for the President's policies to protect this country, to create jobs, to grow the economy, and yet a lot of those stories and successes that he's had in a mere two and a half weeks in office aren't exactly covered to the degree to which they should be," Spicer said. Giving details of the list, CNN said as per White House there are as many as 78 such incidents. "It's a head-scratcher as several of these, we here at CNN and other international news outlets, covered these extensively," CNN White House Correspondent Jim Acosta said. "All of these, you'll recall, we covered extensively. It's puzzling as to why the White House would include these attacks on this list when they were covered for days on end," he alleged. Earlier, the White House insisted that there are several instances of the media not reporting about terrorist incidents. "The President, again, got a great update today on the fight against ISIS that's going on throughout the region and what our military is facing throughout this globe, trying to combat ISIS. "But there's a lot of instances that have occurred where I don't think that they've gotten the coverage it's deserved, and I think that's what the President was clearly referring to there," Spicer said in response to a question. Washington: Facing criticism for cosying up to Russia, US President Donald Trump today said he does not know his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, nor has any deals in Russia. I dont know Putin, have no deals in Russia, and the haters are going crazy yet Obama can make a deal with Iran, #1 in terror, no problem, Mr Trump said in a tweet to his 24.1 million followers. In recent days, the US President has been slammed by the opposition parties for saying that he wants to work with Russia and Mr Putin in the fight against ISIS. Senator Ben Cardin, ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, alleged that Mr Trump has made clear he does not believe in Americas exceptionalism when he equated the United States to Vladimir Putin and his murderous regime. Such a ridiculous statement sends a signal that this White House does not in fact prioritise the United States but increasingly champions a Russia First Policy. It is offensive to the American people, veterans, and brave servicemen and women who put their lives on the line everyday to protect our principles, liberties, and way of life, he said. Political opponents and independent journalists in Russia have been attacked, jailed, and killed under Putins regime. Anna Politkovskaya, a world renowned journalist was killed in her apartment building. The former deputy Prime Minister Boris Nemtsov was gunned down steps from the Kremlin. Tuesday morning, another Russian opposition leader, Vladimir Kara-Murza, lies in a coma, likely the latest victim of the poisoning attacks that have become a periodic calling card of Putins thugs, he added. Equating our country with an authoritarian, murderous regime is outrageous and reprehensible, even for Trump. All elected officials in the US have a responsibility to speak up against the Presidents dangerous rhetoric. Manila, Philippines: Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has angrily berated more than 200 erring policemen on national TV and said he will send them to a distant island to fight militants dreaded for beheadings. Duterte's expletive-filled outburst Tuesday against the officers at Manila's presidential palace is his latest tirade against a police force that he has called "rotten to the core." He recently banned national police from carrying out his anti-drug campaign after a group of officers used the crackdown as a cover to kidnap and kill a South Korean man in an extortion scandal. Officials say the 228 policemen are accused of a range of offenses including extortion and illegal arrests. Police officers inspect the site of suicide attack at the Supreme Court in Kabul, Afghanistan on Tuesday. (Photo: AP) Kabul: A suicide bomber on foot ripped through a crowd of Afghan Supreme Court employees on Tuesday, killing at least 20 people and wounding 41 others in the second attack on government institutions in under a month. The assailant detonated the device in the parking lot as employees were boarding a bus to go home, leaving bodies and dismembered limbs scattered around the area, with women and children among the casualties. No group has so far claimed responsibility for the blast in the snow-laden Afghan capital, but it occurred as the Taliban are ramping up their nationwide insurgency even in the peak winter months when fighting usually abates. The piercingly loud explosion shook nearby buildings, smashing windows and blasting debris onto the streets. Police blocked off the road around the high-profile compound located near the US embassy as panicked relatives of court employees began to gather and ambulances and fire trucks rushed to the scene. "Twenty people were killed (including 3 women & one child), and 41 others were injured in today's suicide attack in #Kabul," health ministry official Wahidullah Mayar wrote on Twitter. The ministry warned the toll could rise still further. There were scenes of desperation at the Italian-run Emergency hospital in Kabul as anxious civilians looking for missing relatives searched through the ambulances that brought the dead and wounded. President Ashraf Ghani condemned the attack in a statement, calling it a "crime against humanity and an unforgivable act". The carnage underscores growing insecurity in Afghanistan where local forces are struggling to combat a resilient Taliban insurgency as well as Al-Qaeda and Islamic State militants more than two years after NATO's combat mission ended. Last month twin suicide blasts claimed by Taliban fighters tore through employees exiting a parliament annex in Kabul, killing 30 people and wounding 80. On Monday, the United Nations said civilian casualties in Afghanistan in 2016 were the highest recorded by the world body, with nearly 11,500 people -- one third of them children -- killed or wounded. The report comes as officials warn of a growing humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan, as unprecedented numbers of people flee the fighting while hundreds of thousands of failed asylum seekers are repatriated home. Earlier this month, an official US watchdog said the death rate among Afghan troops and police soared last year as the government's overall control of the country declined significantly. The grim new statistics paint a picture of a beleaguered nation still in the grip of a security crisis, despite many years and billions of dollars spent building up Afghanistan's army and police. Transcription 1 A Summer Union In Portugal Contributed by Dr. Janice Seto Thursday, 03 July 2008 In the Northern Hemisphere at least, it's summer time - a season which heralds the arrival of numerous society weddings. While the May union of Peter Phillips and Autumn Kelly received exhaustive coverage thanks to the controversial decision of the bride and groom to sell their story to Hello! magazine, over in Portugal the June wedding of a less high-profile royal couple followed more traditional lines, as Dr. Janice Seto examines... One wag on a royal forum quipped, 'Another Charles and Diana' in response to the happy news of the engagement at the historical royal Chateau d'eu of 34-year old French Prince Charles-Philippe d'orleans and the 29-year-old Portugeuse duchess, Diane Alvares Pereira de Melo. The first royal wedding in Portugal since Dom Duarte's about a dozen years ago was always destined to be a real gathering of continental royals, and one which saw the appearance of a wedding gown from Carolina Herrera. Stylish and comme il faut. In choosing suitable partners, it seems this new generation of French royals have learnt from the matrimonial turmoil of the previous generation. [includes/jumies/rectanglew.php]}in so many ways, the newlyweds are well-matched. And not in the William-Kate Middleton and Harry-Chelsy Davy way of, shall we say, 'partying and puking'. Rather than sharing a lifestyle of the fast-spending, self-immolating House of Wales sets, Charles-Philippe and Diane make public appearances supporting charities and other worthy causes. Both have French mothers, were brought up on the Iberian peninsula, and have spent enough time together in Portugal to make a considered decision. They speak each other's languages. (Has Kate started learning Welsh yet? Then again, has William?!). [includes/jumies/rectangle.php]}they make a photogenic couple - and more significantly a couple who appear very happy together. Compared to the young royals across the pond, they remind us this is how grown-up royals behave. Perhaps mature behaviour portends well for their future. Plus, both hold titles that others dispute. And since neither of these titles come from countries with extant monarchies, the 2 need for a resolution is faint. Call yourselves what you will, it depends on who recognizes it. Charles-Philippe is the eldest son of Prince Michel of France and his aristocratic wife, Beatrice de Pasquier de Franclieu but he was not born a prince. Michel's choice of life partner in 1968 had infuriated his father, Henri, the late Comte de Paris, who wanted his eleven children to contract dynastic marriages. For him, the daughter of a French baronial family was not quite right. And so Michel lost his place in the succession. [includes/jumies/rectanglew.php]}later, the Comte granted Michel and his wife the titles of Comte d'evreux. Following French noble practice, the two daughters, Clothilde and Adelaide, were then known as Mesdemoiselles d'evreux. And so it was that Charles-Philippe and his younger brother, Francois, and two older sisters were largely raised in Spain - some would say his parents were exiled from France. Representing the House of Dior in Madrid is mother Beatrice, often seen in the fashion press. However, Charles-Philippe retained very close ties with his French side via his indomitable paternal grandmother, the late Comtesse of Paris - Princess Isabelle d'orleans-braganza, granddaughter of the last Princess Regent of Brazil, and her husband, French Prince Gaston d'orleans, Comte d'eu. [includes/jumies/rectangle.php]}known simply as Madame, Isabelle took seriously her role of matriarch and the importance she played in the survival of the Orleans family. For the first quarter of the 20th century, the French Orleans family had been in danger of becoming extinct in the male line, almost like Japan's imperial family today. Indeed, Isabelle's husband had only three sisters. After her spectacular marriage to her second cousin in Palermo at the family's Orleans palace in 1931 at the age of barely 20, Isabelle - the lady who was dubbed by the King of Bulgaria the "most beautiful princess in Europe" - later gave Henri a total of five sons his heir and namesake Henri, Francois, twins Michel and Jacques, and Thibault. 3 Madame had indeed saved the Orleans. At the time of the late Comte de Paris's passing in 1997, however, the male line of succession was limited to his heir Henri (and his three sons) and son Jacques Duc d'orleans (and his two sons). Prince Francois had died a bachelor soldier in the Algerian war of independence, while Michel and the late Thibault and their sons had been excluded because of unequal marriages. This situation changed when the new Henri took charge. Calling himself Comte de Paris Duc de France, the new head of the Orleans line recognized the marriages of Michel and Thibault and then raised their children to the titles of 'H.R.H'. [includes/jumies/rectanglew.php]}in a gesture to Jacques, these new princes were placed after the family of the Duc d'orleans in the line of succession. Of all the Orleans grandsons, Charles-Philippe is the one who works best to his uncle, the new head of the family, on preserving the dynastic heritage of the Orleans. Comte Henri's own sons remain uneasy with him, after the divorce of their parents, and are not usually found at the Orleans events he hosts. On the other hand, business consultant Charles-Philippe tends to be there for his uncle. In gratitude for his support, the Comte gave Charles-Philippe a hereditary title of his own, that of Duc d'anjou, during a formal ceremony which took place in September [includes/jumies/rectangle.php]}the event served another purpose to end the detente with the supporters of the Legitimiste heirs, headed by their own Duc d'anjou, the Spanish Prince Luis Alfonso. (He was deliciously photographed in polo-playing style for the special royal issue of Vanity Fair magazine in 2003). It was an audacious move to grant a title that had always been outside the purvue of the Orleans. It is 4 almost as if the Queen had bestowed upon Viscount Linley the title of Prince of Prussia. (That would certainly raise the ire of young HI & RH Prince Georg, the head of the family!). The only surviving great-grandson of both the late Alfonso XIII and his Battenberg queen, Victoria Eugenia, and dictator El Caudillo, Francisco Franco, Luis Alfonso has largely led his own life, now father of a baby girl with his duchess, the Venezuelan heiress Maria-Margarita Vargas and working in Latin America with his wealthy father-in-law. It is a tribute to Isabelle Countess of Paris that action man Charles-Philippe - nine years in the French military, reality show contestant, and international development consultant - announced his September engagement at her childhood home in Normandy, the Chateau d'eu. [includes/jumies/rectanglew.php]}now mostly occupied by the municipal government, I believe that the family has the use of the lovely pavilion. It remains to be seen if his former flame, the sister of Crown Princess Mathilde of the Belgians, will attend. He was at Comtesse Elisabeth d'ucqoz D'urdem's wedding to the Marquis Pallavacini. Being civilized folk, she will certainly receive an invitation. No question that the Portuguese claimant will attend. Madame's nephew, Dom Duarte Duke de Braganza and his much younger duchess, aristocrat Isabel de Heredia, and their three young children will make the short drive down to the wedding ceremony from their home in Portugal to the palace of the Dukes of Cadaval in a UNESCO monument, the historic town of Evora. The Cadavals had gone into a form of voluntary exile with the Portuguese royals. Enter the blonde fiancee, 29 year old Diane Alvares Pereira de Melo, who studied at the American University of Paris and had done a stint at Christie's. Born in Lausanne when her father was in his sixties, Portugal-based Diane is the elder daughter from his second marriage in 1965 to the former Claudine Tritz. 5 It was Duchess Claudine who persuaded her husband to relocate their family permanently to Portugal after years in fashion, during which time they opened Lanvin, Valentino and Armani boutiques in world cities such as New York and Paris. Though Diane is known as the successor to her father, as Duchess of Cadaval, it is a disputed claim. [includes/jumies/rectanglew.php]}her father, Dom Jaime Alvares Pereira de Melo, 10th Duke of Cadaval, bore no sons and he wanted young Diane to inherit the title. Unfortunately, Dom Jaime also had two older daughters, by his first marriage in 1935 at age 23 to Antoinette Louise Schweisguth, a woman 14 years his senior. The Duke of Cadavil's first marriage, which ended in divorce, took place only in a civil ceremony in London. The rationale was that the offspring of the first marriage had a lesser claim due to the civil ceremony. The second time around however was a Catholic ceremony in 1965 to 21-year-old Claudine Tritz. Unlike Charles and Camilla, who received a religious blessing at St. George's Chapel, Windsor, for Henri comte de Paris and his second wife, Micaela, the lack of a religious ceremony was an important distinction. (On the other hand, the fact she had only married civilly gave Letizia Ortiz Rocasolano enough wiggle room to wed Prince Felipe. In the eyes of the church, she had not previously been married). [includes/jumies/rectangle.php]}her father named Diane his heir, in the process controversially disinheriting his adult two daughters from his first marriage. Diane's elder half-sister, Paris-based Rosalinda Guerrand-Hermes, who married into the Hermes family (yes, those handbags), has not yet relinquished her claim to the duchy. People invariably took sides and the conservatives supported Diane. Dom Duarte as the defacto head of the Portuguese royal family, was the one who resolved the problem of who inherited the dukedom of Cadaval when Dom Jaime died in 2001. 6 [includes/jumies/rectanglew.php]}at a family meeting he respected the wishes of the late Duke by awarding Diane the peerage of Duchess of Cadaval for life. He bestowed upon Rosalinda the hereditary titles of 13th Marquesss of Ferreira and 23rd Countess of Tentugal, plus the courtesy title of Duchess of Cadaval-Guerrand-Hermes. Apparently, according to the Duke of Braganza, the dukedon of Cadaval is not of automatic succession and the title-holder has to be confirmed by the royal house. It is the same in Spain, where the heir has to apply to the council of nobles to secure the title. Therefore, when Diane dies, the head of the Portuguese house of Braganza will then decide who will be the 12th duke or duchess of Cadaval. The choices come from Diane's offspring, or the families of her sister Alexandra or her half-sisters. But it is clear which duchess of Cadaval is in charge of the family seat in beautiful Evora. Since possession is nine-tenths of the law, it was widow Duchess Claudine who hosted the spectacular pre-wedding ball and the wedding banquet at the Ducal palace. Her daughter's wedding on June 21 cements her branch's claim. The bride was beautiful in her Cadaval tiara and gown, and the guests rose to the occasion. Diana wore the most stunning Oscar de la Renta gown, standing beside the other belle of the ball, Camilla, the new Duchess of Castro (a title bestowed upon the death of her father-in-law). [includes/jumies/rectangle.php]}her in-laws, who are the next generation of Napoleons, cheered on the newlyweds while the groom's parents put on a show of unity as their younger son escorted Alexandra de Cadaval to her seat. Meanwhile, the Comte de 7 Paris and his sons looked equally relaxed as they posed for photos. Honeymooning in secret, the couple will be known as Their Royal Highnesses The Duke and Duchess d'anjou and de Cadaval as they carry out their royal and humanitarian work whilst juggling the management of the Cadaval enterprises from their home base in Estoril. That's how it's done. A jolly good show, Your Royal Highnesses! Taipei: A new generation of locally built jet trainers would be completed by 2026, as part of a push to strengthen the defence industry against a growing China threat, Taiwan officials said on Tuesday. The island has developed jets and missiles at home in the past, but relies on its main ally, the US, as its biggest arms supplier. Relations are worsening with China, which sees Taiwan as a breakaway province to be brought back within its fold -- by force if necessary. President Tsai Ing-wen has faced mounting backlash from Beijing since she took office in May because she has refused to recognise that Taiwan is part of "one China". Beijing has severed all official communications with Taipei and has also reportedly discouraged Chinese visitors from travelling to the island. The current ageing trainer fleet will be replaced by 66 advanced jet trainers by 2026, with their first flight scheduled for 2020, according to the military-run National Chung Shan Institute of Science and Technology (NCSIST). The programme has a budget of some Tw$68 billion ($2.2 billion). Tsai said Tuesday that a robust aerospace industry was crucial for Taiwan's security. "It would be a big crisis for national security and industry if capabilities in aerospace development were broken," she said at a NCSIST research centre in Taichung. Taiwan's defence industry has lagged behind since it produced its only locally designed fighter jet almost 30 years ago, she said. "We don't have another 30 years to waste," Tsai urged. The military is also evaluating development of a new jet fighter. The air force confirmed last month it was starting an upgrade of part of its existing F-16 fleet of fighters, with materials supplied by US aerospace company Lockheed Martin. China is also riled by US President Donald Trump's suggestion that the "one China" policy could become a bargaining chip in negotiations over trade practices. Beijing sent its only aircraft carrier, the Liaoning, through the Taiwan Strait last month as a show of strength, but it did not enter Taiwanese waters. London: An Indian-origin banker in the UK has been ordered to make payments to his ex-wife from pension funds he had transferred out to India, in a High Court ruling that has been described as "landmark". The Goyal v Goyal case in the Family Division involves a long-running divorce battle between Amit and Ankita Goyal and strikes a blow at attempts by divorcing spouses to trying to conceal their assets overseas. "There are powerful reasons for making a supplementary periodical payments order in favour of the wife," Justice Mostyn said in his ruling, published last month. Under his order, the wife will receive new periodical payments of around 5,200 pounds per annum, which add up to 100 pounds per week. "This is a very small sum objectively, but it will be a meaningful sum for her as she attempts to rebuild her life and to support their child. It will end, of course, if she were to remarry, which she hopes to do," the judge added. The law in Britain provides that a pension may be divided between divorcing spouses by means of a pension sharing order pursuant to the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973. However, a previous judgment of the Court of Appeal in this case had decided that pension sharing pursuant to Section 24B did not apply to foreign pensions. One of the husband's submissions to the UK Court of Appeal was that it was not possible for the court to make a pension sharing order in respect of overseas pensions and the wife had failed to show that the pension sharing order would be enforceable in India. However, the latest ruling decided that it was open to the court to order the UK-based husband to make payments from the annuity to the wife as maintenance payments. "This is a landmark judgment in a long-running financial remedy case which relates to a foreign pension which the husband had transferred out of the UK to India. The husband claimed he had transferred his pension annuity to a friend to satisfy a debt, said Zaiwalla & Co. Solicitors, the law firm which represented the wife on a pro bono basis. The court disbelieved this claim and concluded that the story about the friend owning the annuity was a bare-faced lie," they further added. The couple were married in 2004 before separating in 2011 and have a nine-year-old daughter together. A judge had previously ordered the 39-year-old ex-banker to hand over his remaining assets to his 35-year-old ex-wife. However, they have been locked in legal battles for years now, something the judge in the latest ruling expressed his regret about. "I hope that the husband will accept this judgment and will now desist from further pointless litigation in these proceedings. I note that he will however resist the suit brought against him by the wife's family in India...I know nothing about this case but only express regret that it appears likely that these parties will remain locked in litigious battle in India for years to come," Justice Mostyn said. It had emerged in court last year that Amit Goyal had worked at high-flying jobs at well-known banks in heart of the financial district in London but got drawn into spread-betting losing his fortune and falling into heavy debt. London: A UK city Council has named a crackdown on dodgy taxi drivers Operation India, sparking outrage over the racist labelling of the scheme. Operation India was launched in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, as a joint initiative between council taxi licensing officers and police to carry out checks on taxi drivers. But both councillors and the taxi community have described the name of the scheme as racially insensitive. This name must be reconsidered, people will be outraged and it does not send a good message about ethnic minorities, councillor Mohammed Khan was quoted as saying by Milton Keynes Citizen. Its essentially blaming all Indian taxi drivers, these are good hard working people who work unsocial hours to make sure people get home safely, he said. A taxi boss, who has worked in Milton Keynes for 12 years, said, I dont have a problem with the police and council coming to check that our taxis are legal and safe. However to use India as the name of the operation is racially insensitive and it should be retracted. Just to use the word...its like theyre implying criminal drivers are Indian, the taxi boss said. I think it will cause outrage across the taxi driving community, why did they have to use a country or race? the taxi boss added. Chief executive of the Milton Keynes Equality Council, Navrita Atwal said, The name Operation India could be perceived as misleading. We are living in sensitive times and should exercise double caution as to not cause offence or mistrust as community relations take a long time to build, she added. Moscow: Russias air force has been ordered to prepare for a time of war. President Vladimir Putin has put the air force on high alert, the latest in a series of drills amid tensions with the West. Russian defense minister Sergei Shoigu said that the drills launched on Tuesday will check the air forces readiness and its ability to repel an enemy aggression. In accordance with the decision by the Armed Forces Supreme Commander, a snap check of the Aerospace Forces began to evaluate readiness of the control agencies and troops to carry out combat training tasks, he said, according to TASS. Special attention should be paid to combat alert, deployment of air defense systems for a time of war and air groupings readiness to repel the aggression, Shoigu added. The maneuvers are the latest in a steady series of war games intended to strengthen the troops readiness. Despite Russias economic downturn, the Kremlin has continued to spend big on military training and weapons modernisation amid tensions with the West over the Ukrainian crisis. The country has been increasing movement of its military including the launch of the biggest Arctic military push since the fall of the Soviet Union, last month. The preparations come amid increasing concern about tensions between Russia and many of the worlds largest superpowers. Meanwhile, US military hardware, including M1A2 Abrams battle tanks and Bradley infantry fighting vehicles, arrived in the northern Estonian town of Tapa as part of continued US efforts to counter the alleged Russian threat, RT reported. While Nato members continue to point toward perceived Russian aggression, calling it a source of instability, Russia has consistently denied that it poses any kind of threat. Moscow has also expanded its own military training and increased its strategic capabilities in areas such as Kaliningrad, its western exclave, it said. Russia had tried to ease tensions by proposing enhanced cooperation with Nato in August. Tehran: Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Tuesday he was grateful to US President Donald Trump for revealing "the real face of America". "We are thankful to this gentleman... he showed the real face of America," Khamenei said in a speech to military officers in Tehran. "What we have said for more than 30 years -- that there is political, economic, moral and social corruption in the ruling system of the US -- this gentleman came and brought it out into the open in the election and after the election." He referred to the case of a young Iranian boy who was pictured in handcuffs at a US airport following Trump's ban on visas for seven Muslim-majority countries, including Iran. "By what he does -- handcuffing a five-year-old child -- he shows the true meaning of American human rights," Khamenei said. He also responded to Trump's tweet of February 3, when the US president said: "Iran is playing with fire -- they don't appreciate how 'kind' President Obama was to them.". Khamenei ridiculed the idea of being grateful to former president Barack Obama, saying he was the one who placed "paralysing sanctions" on Iran and helped create the Islamic State group through his destabilising actions in Iraq and Syria. Beijing: A judge in China's top court has labelled Donald Trump an enemy "of the rule of law" over his insults directed at a US judge who temporarily blocked the president's travel ban. The judge also said that Trump had set a poor example as head of the world's leading democracy. Supreme People's Court Judge He Fan's blog post came after Trump went on Twitter on Saturday to denigrate James Robart as a "so-called judge" whose "ridiculous" decision opened the country to potential terror attacks. In his post, dated Sunday, He wrote that under the US system's separation of powers, a president who is dealt a judicial defeat should bear the loss silently rather than lash out at the judge in question. The widely reported controversy surrounding Trump's ban follows recent remarks by China's top judge that the concept of judicial independence was an "erroneous Western ideal" unsuited to China - seen as a demand for obedience from the ruling Communist Party's leaders. Those comments have reignited a debate on the topic within China's legal community, which is in general tightly bound to uphold the party line. An expert on the American justice system, He Fan did not voice his thoughts in that debate, although he frequently offers opinions on matters foreign and domestic. He published a lengthy and widely read paean to US Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia following his death last year. He said Trump had set a poor example and lost respect for having "led the way in insulting a judge, with the vice president and his political party swarming to his defence (and) in a country known as the most democratic and most respectful of the rule of law." "The president who would curse a judge and the thug who would kill a judge are both public enemies of the rule of law," He wrote, referencing the recent murder of a retired judge in southern China. "Who cares that you control the armed forces and have nuclear weapons at your disposal. Your dignity has been swept away and you are no different than a scoundrel," He wrote. Trump had been considered by many in China as preferable to Democratic Party candidate and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who was seen as taking a harder line toward Beijing. However, Trump has also raised concerns over his comments on Taiwan, trade and other issues seen as diverging from long-established US policy toward China. The divisive US presidential campaign and seeming chaos of Trump's first three weeks in office have also provided the ruling Communist Party with new grist for its claims that China's authoritarian one-party system is the best way for the country to ensure economic growth and social stability. Beijing: Riled by Sri Lankan envoy's assertion that Colombo will not permit China's military presence in its ports, Chinese official media on Tuesday quoted a scholar who accused India of "interfering" in the island nation's internal affairs. Sri Lankan envoy to China Karunasena Kodituwakku last week said that Colombo will not permit any military activity by China in any of its ports, including Hambantota in which Chinese firm will have 80 per cent stake. "Sri Lanka's promise is unnecessary because the port is meant for civilian use, and shows that India is interfering in Sri Lanka's affairs," Chu said. "China has no intention to offend India, and the program is good for Sri Lanka's economic development. But if India has a problem with the program and oppresses its neighbour, it only shows that it is interfering in other countries' domestic affairs," Chu Yin, an associate professor at the University of International Relations, told state-run Global Times daily. Lin Minwang, a professor at the Institute of International Studies of Fudan University said "Sri Lanka initially wanted India to help develop Hambantota port, but it finally turned to China for help since India faces financial difficulties and concerns over future competition with its own ports in the Indian Ocean." Separately an article in the same daily said "China won't back down from building economic, commercial ties with Sri Lanka" maintaining that Beijing will not be left behind India in "boosting its presence". "It would not necessarily be a bad thing if healthy competition between China and India in the Sri Lankan market could be further stirred up," the article said. "While China and Sri Lanka ramp up efforts to finalise a free trade agreement (FTA) this year, India is pushing for the signing of the Economic Technology Cooperation Agreement with Sri Lanka to broaden the scope of its existing FTA. It seems that neither China nor India wants to be left behind in boosting its presence in the island nation," it said. Last September an article by Forbes magazine has said foreign loans and investments in Sri Lanka including that of from China are driving the country to bankrupt. The official estimate of what Sri Lanka currently owes its financiers is USD 64.9 billion of which UDD eight billion owned by China. Sri Lanka's debt-to-GDP currently stands around 75 per cent and 95.4 per cent of all government revenue is currently going towards debt repayment. "Sri Lanka may be in a debt trap that it can't get out of. This year (2016) alone USD 4.5 billion is due to foreign lenders and next year (2017) USD four billion is owed bills which the country has not yet figured out a way to pay," it said. "Much of Sri Lanka's pile of debt accrued in the process of initiating an entire buffet of large-scale and extremely expensive infrastructure projects under the direction of former president Mahinda Rajapaksa," it said. "Between 2009 and 2014 Sri Lanka's total government debt tripled and external debt doubled, as the country engaged in a number of costly undertakings," it said. Significantly the article in the daily said investments will play an important part in the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) being worked out between China and Sri Lanka as Chinese manufacturers plans to sell goods made in Sri Lanka in India. The FTA was expected to be finalised when Sri Lankan Prime Minister, Ranil Wickramasinghe visits Beijing to take part in the Silk Road summit being held by China in May this year. A "tripartite arrangement on trade and investment is likely to be discussed among India, Sri Lanka and Singapore," the article said. "Sri Lanka may even be able to serve as a gateway to help Chinese investors explore the Indian market as the island nation is keen to make itself an offshore centre for South Asia," it said. Indian officials say this meant that China wants to set up manufacturing in Sri Lanka to sell the goods in India, which New Delhi is unlikely to encourage. While India may be open for goods made in Sri Lanka with local and Indian investments, goods made with third country investments may come under different category, they said. Besides giving 80 percent stakes to a state run Chinese firm in Hambantota port for 99 years, debt ridden Sri Lankan government also plans to hand over 15,000 acres to a Chinese industrial park for manufacturing. Both moves spared violent public protests in Hambantota with locals refusing to part with their lands. While the Chinese media highlights its growing investments in Sri Lanka which totalled to over USD eight billion in the last few years, Colombo says the some of the projects are not unviable. In his interaction with media here Feb 4, Kodituwakku said that the Hambantota port hasn?t been a viable project so far. "Very small numbers (of ships). Even the incoming they have received is not even enough to maintain the port maintenance, forget the salaries about the people who are working," he said. The Hambantota airport which was built with millions of dollars Chinese investments during the previous pro-China President Mahinda Rajapaksa has been converted into warehouse as it has no demand. The article in Global Times said despite China's assurances that its investments in Sri Lanka are commercial, "India may still worry about the tentacles China stretches into the Indian Ocean". "Despite a repeated pledge that Chinese investment in the Sri Lankan Hambantota port is normal business, India has remained alert. Further, Sri Lanka offered reassurances over the weekend that Chinese military activity would not be allowed at the port. Such words can be seen as diplomatic rhetoric to comfort India as Beijing and Colombo already have an understanding that the project is purely commercial," it said. Islamabad: Pakistan will soon issue a red warrant against London-based MQM supremo Altaf Hussain who is wanted in several cases in the country, including those relating to terrorism, media reports said on Tuesday. The Interior Ministry gave its approval on Monday for the issuance of a red warrant against Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) founder Hussain, DawnNews reported. The red warrant is an international notice sent to the International Criminal Police Organisation (Interpol) seeking the arrest and extradition of an individual. The 63-year-old leader of MQM, the fourth largest political party of Pakistan, is wanted in various cases that include charges of terrorism and incitement to violence, the report said. The approval for the red warrant was issued apparently in compliance with the orders of an anti-terrorism court, which is hearing three identical cases against Hussain pertaining to his August 22 anti-state speech. Police had also charged Member of the National Assembly Kanwar Naveed Jameel, Qamar Mansoor and Shahid Pasha in the three cases for allegedly listening to and facilitating the speech. They had additionally named Hussain, Dr Farooq Sattar, Khawaja Izharul Hasan, Dr Amir Liaquat Hussain and other MQM leaders as absconders. FIRs for the three cases had been lodged on the complaints of three private persons. In its last hearing of the cases, the court had issued non-bailable warrants for the arrest of the absconders, and directed the investigating officer to approach the interior ministry and secure red warrants for the MQM supremo's arrest through Interpol. Following Hussain's August 22 speech, a number of cases were filed against the party chief in Karachi, Quetta and Gilgit-Biltistan region. Anti-terrorism courts hearing these cases have also issued separate non-bailable warrants against the MQM chief. In October 2016, the Scotland Yard had cleared Altaf in the money laundering case, citing "absence of adequate evidence". Islamabad: An Afghan diplomat was on Monday shot dead by a security guard following an altercation between the two inside the Afghan Consulate in Karachi. Private security guard Hayatullah Khan opened fire on the third secretary, Zaki Abdu, in the lobby of the consulate in the high-security Clifton area after a personal disagreement between the two, according to the deputy inspector general (DIG) south Azad Khan. There is no terrorism element in this sad incident, DIG Khan said. This is not a premeditated act neither a terrorist act. The guard opened fire on the spur of the moment after he lost his temper following an argument with the deceased over timings. The diplomat killed was the brother of Mohammad Abdul, an MP from northern Balkh province, Afghanistans Tolo News reported. Afghanistans ministry of foreign affairs was quoted by Khaama Press as saying that a delegation comprising officials from the Afghan embassy in Islamabad and Pakistani officials has been formed to probe the incident. The Afghan Consulate is located in the heavily secured and posh area of Karachis Clifton and the provincial government has deputed security outside the building. There are a number of other foreign consulates in the area and also the Bhutto familys residence is situated in the locality. Washington: A significant bid by the US in the UN for designating Pathankot attack mastermind Masood Azhar as a global terrorist has been stymied by China, which has again opposed the ban against the Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) chief. The American proposal came barely weeks after India's efforts to get Azhar banned by the UN were blocked by China in December last year. According to senior government sources, the US, supported by the UK and France, moved a proposal at the UN's Sanctions Committee 1267 in the second-half of last month to proscribe Azhar. The proposal, which was finalised after "consultations" between Washington and New Delhi, said JeM is a designated terror outfit and so its leaders cannot go scot-free, sources said. "However, China opposed the US move by putting a hold on the proposal," a source said, adding the Chinese action came just before the expiry of the 10-day deadline for any proposal to be adopted or blocked or to be put on hold. The "hold" remains for six months and can be further extended by three months. During this period, it can be anytime converted into a "block", thereby, ending the life of the proposal. UN Sanction Committee's listing would have forced imposition of an asset freeze and travel ban on Azhar by countries including Pakistan. China has been constantly opposing efforts to get Azhar banned by the UN, which has proscribed his outfit JeM in 2001. The Chinese opposition is also seen by many here as an action taken at the behest of its "all-weather ally" Pakistan. After the attack on the IAF base at Pathankot in January last year, India in February wrote to the UN calling for immediate action to list Azhar under the Al-Qaeda Sanctions Committee. The efforts faced stiff opposition by China, which twice put a "technical hold" before finally blocking the Indian proposal in December. Reacting sharply to Chinese action, India had said that "We note with concern China's decision to block the proposal to list Masood Azhar", asserting that its proposal, submitted to the 15-member 1267 Sanctions Committee of the UN Security Council, had received the strong backing of all other members of the Committee. External Affairs Spokesperson Vikas Swarup had also said, "As a consequence of this decision, the UN Security Council has again been prevented from acting against the leader of a listed terrorist organisation. We had expected China would have been more understanding of the danger posed to all by terrorism and would join India and others in fighting the common challenge of terrorism." Transcription 1 A New History for a New Nation: The Search for South Sudan s Usable Past Douglas H. Johnson Keynote address given at the 9th International South Sudan and Sudan Studies Conference Bonn, July 2012 In February last year, I attended an event put on by South Sudanese in London celebrating the recently conducted independence referendum. Part of the celebration included a recitation of the history of South Sudan s liberation struggle by schoolchildren aged from six to sixteen. Their joy at the impending birth of their new nation was understandable, even if some of their historical claims could (and did) make a professional historian wince. Just five months later, on 9 July, I found myself sitting next to a Kenyan and a Ugandan watching the formal independence celebrations in Juba. This in itself marked a departure for Africa. Most African countries became independent on a negotiated transfer of power from a colonial authority to a new national elite. South Sudan s independence had come from the directly expressed will of its people. There was a shared sense of the historical importance of the event beyond the exercise of self- determination by Africa s newest nation. This is where we came from, one of my companions commented; this is our home. Juba, 9 July 2011 Watching the arrival of several African heads of state including Kenneth Kaunda, the last surviving member of the first generation of Africa s nationalist leaders one certainly sensed a change in Africa as well. When the Organization of African Union (OAU) was founded in the early 1960s, Sudan was already locked in its first civil war and South Sudan s exiled leaders, fighting what they called their own anti- colonial struggle, were shunned by the new African governments bound in solidarity to each other. South Sudanese warnings against the nascent OAU becoming a club for dictators proved all too prescient, but as John Garang, South Sudan s leader in the second civil war, later commented, We were the pariahs of Africa and the warnings were ignored. Yet here were today s African leaders, lining up to watch the flag of one African Union member go down as that of a future member went up. These two events made me reflect not only on how nations fashion and present their history but how the historiography of South Sudan has been both shadowing and trailing African historiography more 1 2 generally. The recitation by South Sudan s diaspora schoolchildren scripted, no doubt, by their parents, emphasizing the differences between the Arab and African Sudans, and celebrating the liberation of the latter from the former was not so different from the way the birth of the American nation was presented to my generation at a similar age. We were constantly reminded of the English tyranny from which we had liberated ourselves, especially when learning the words of our national anthem. This song commemorates a minor incident in the war of 1812, some three decades after independence: a war that despite our capital being burned, our government nearly bankrupted, and parts of our territory under foreign occupation we were taught we had won. This emphasis on past hostility was strange: by the 1950s, Britain had been our ally in two world wars, was currently our strongest ally in NATO while not only the then British prime minister but his most popular predecessor had been born to American mothers. Nationalist and anti- colonial narratives were a familiar refrain some years later when I was introduced to the study of both modern African history and South Sudan as a student at Makerere University College. It was a pivotal period in East Africa s historiography as it shifted away from the study of colonial states to the study of indigenous kingdoms and societies. Our reading included both Sir Reginald Coupland s East Africa and its Invaders, where the emphasis was on the invaders, and Zamani, a new collaborative effort by African, British and American historians teaching at East African universities. By this time, both resistance history and nation building were displacing empire building as dominant themes. What follows here is a personal reflection based on over 40 years of research and writing on South Sudan s pre- colonial, colonial and contemporary history. Such reflection is timely, with South Sudan itself in the process of creating its own nationalist history, just as all other African nations did on winning independence. But there is a wider history to think of as well: of South Sudan as a missing piece in the jigsaw of Africa s past. It has been common to think of South Sudan as isolated from the great centres of power and historical trends of the continent. But nearly every major African language family is found within its borders and, as Sudan s colonial administrators found to their frustration, South Sudanese peoples were too engaged with and too much a part of the surrounding region to be neatly disentangled. That same engagement later would contribute to the success of their liberation struggle. A new history for a new nation, then, must see South Sudan s involvement with the wider region as part of the story of its engagement with and then disengagement from the old Sudan. South Sudanese in Jonglei, Upper Nile, and Central Equatoria, 2011 At the time I began a serious study of South Sudan, very little had been written about the history of its indigenous communities. There was certainly nothing comparable to PM Holt s The Mahdist State in the Sudan, based as it was on the internal documents of the Mahdia. Books on the same period in South Sudanese history, restricted to contemporary sources by outsiders, were more in the Coupland vein, i.e. examinations of the invaders rather than the invaded. It was the ethnographers, rather than the historians, who offered insights into the internal history of South Sudanese societies, their institutions, and the impact of external events upon them. My reading became grounded in the ethnography of both professional and amateur anthropologists, a necessary step towards becoming a field- working historian. 2 3 The questions I wanted to ask were still influenced by prevailing trends in African history and resistance was an obvious topic. But what seemed obvious outside the territory became less so once in the field; and the testimony I began gathering re- directed my research. Direct engagement with the societies I was studying made me look for different things in the written sources and led me to question not only the nature of anti- colonial resistance but the anthropological certainties of segmentary opposition. Rather than assume a timelessness about the way peoples were when first described in the twentieth century ethnographies, I became interested in the processes of their becoming, in the trajectories and continuities between the pre- colonial, colonial, and post- colonial pasts. I wrote about prophets but also about the nature of prophecy, environmental history and political ecology, the social networks of slavery and the social history of armies, and colonial administration as viewed by both the colonizer and the colonized. 1 Over 30 years ago, I wrote about the future of southern Sudan s past in a journal commemorating 25 years of Sudan s own independence. At that time, I was critical of a southern Sudanese historiography that lagged far behind developments in the historiography of the rest of Africa with its fixed focus on the colonial period, its over- reliance on colonial administrative records, and its almost total exclusion of southern Sudanese from their own history. This focus on the colonial period, I wrote, obscured some of the broader trends in Southern Sudanese history, trends which are of great significance to the history of the rest of the Sudan. Southern Sudanese had been presented as atavistic or inert in response to externally initiated change. The old interpretation of the Southern Sudan s past, I concluded, supported the assumption that the Southern Sudanese were incapable of meeting the challenges of the modern world. 2 South Sudanese returning from Sudan, 2011 At that time back in 1981 I hoped that a new period of historical research, grounded on sources within southern Sudan and southern Sudanese communities, would produce a history more engaged with the internal dynamics of South Sudanese societies, and more in tune with the type of history being written about the rest of Africa. The war intervened to derail such an advance. Not only did it prevent extended fieldwork among South Sudan s many societies but it also involved the destruction of many of the local archival sources on which a new historiography could be partly based. The writing of Africa s history has continued to develop, along with debates and arguments about the writing of that history, without much reference to or input from South Sudan and as South Sudan tries to catch up with the rest of the continent, it seems to be repeating many of the earlier stages in the development of African history. John Lonsdale, in a celebration of the work of Terry Ranger, summarized some of the challenges Africanist historians have faced in their search for a usable past, and how these challenges have been met. In the 1960s, nationalism encouraged a focus on the history of self- government, African agency 3 4 and African initiative. This often promoted a vainglorious cultural nationalism that was increasingly criticized as intellectually flabby and methodologically complacent, particularly by radical pessimists who saw African agency as irrelevant, producing no real change in power relations in a neo- colonial world. Scepticism about the value of African history was reinforced from a different angle at the turn of the twentieth and twenty- first centuries, this time from the new humanitarians of the international aid agencies who felt that each new African emergency constituted yet another reason for ignoring the continent s history. Ranger had been one of the early promoters of both resistance and nationalist history, seeing continuities between early struggles of African societies to maintain their independence and their later struggles to regain independence, but he was not one to stand still and met the challenges of the critics of African history head on. He was among those Africanists who reasserted that human initiative in thought and action was the vital stuff of any history worthy of the name. The study of the African past is not just a parochial matter, he argued, for fine- grained local African case studies can show how the big why questions of world history actually manifest themselves to human actors in real life, and how in real lives they can, if always provisionally, be answered. 3 Where does the history of South Sudan now fit into this broader picture of African history? In many ways it resembles where African history was in the 1960s: still dominated by themes established by an older literature on colonial administration and colonial administrators or by narratives of migration history of often doubtful methodology but beginning to be re- directed by an emerging celebratory nationalism. Unlike the 1960s, South Sudanese history is already confronted and opposed by a well- developed Afro- pessimism, now informed by donor and NGO preoccupations with failed states and particularly sceptical and dismissive of South Sudanese attempts to forge a new nation. And while much more is now being published about South Sudan in academic writing and NGO gray literature than there ever was in the 1970s, 80s, and 90s, the work that offers the greatest insights into South Sudan s recent and more distant past is still to be found mainly in the writings of anthropologists such as Simon Simonse, Sharon Hutchinson, Eisei Kurimoto, Jok Madut Jok, Conradin ( Kuacakuoro ) Perner, and Wendy James most if not all based on fieldwork undertaken before the war. 4 This highlights one of the main differences between the research context before the war and today. In the absence of well- established research institutions in South Sudan, most research today is donor- funded and - initiated and supported by NGOs, who set the research agenda and provide the back- up and support for researchers in the field. NGOs being increasingly security- conscious and security- minded, entrenched within what Mark Duffield has termed fortified compounds, there are frequent formal and informal restrictions placed on researchers movements and contacts with the communities with which they are supposed to engage. In some ways we are returning to the days of the early twentieth century, with the constricted research of the steamer- bound Seligmans from which later anthropologists only with difficulty extracted themselves in order to engage more directly with South Sudanese peoples. Few expatriate researchers these days are familiar with the background work of earlier ethnographers and historians. Even fewer work through the medium of vernacular languages, for the reason that they have little opportunity to learn a local language. Research in South Sudan is in danger of being captured by the methods of fly- in- fly- out journalism and the hit- and- run rapid rural appraisals of NGOs. These can produce little more than snapshots, rather than extended and nuanced analyses. And there is little opportunity to change one s research questions and priorities, as I had to do, when confronted with a different set of perspectives in the field. There is a hunger in South Sudan for a type of history that returns to a serious engagement with South Sudanese societies, peoples and individuals as I have found out from the reception of my occasional Past Notes and Records column in the Juba weekly newspaper, The Pioneer. There is also dissatisfaction with, even embarrassment at, the type of national history rapidly manufactured in time for Independence Day. Rather than dwell on the regressive tendencies of such history, I want to highlight some recent research that will, I hope, help to set more positive trends in South Sudanese historiography. 4 5 The study of the condominium past in South Sudan has normally focused on the personalities and idiosyncrasies of colonial administrators, with timelines for the development of policy and local government institutions. It has been much less concerned with the personalities of local actors, or the impact of local institutions on South Sudanese societies. Cherry Leonardi s forthcoming study of the trajectory of chiefs courts in South Sudan is a departure from that norm. Begun as a document- based doctoral dissertation and carried forward in field- based research funded by NGOs whose assumptions about traditional authority and traditional leaders I hope she has subverted it is solidly based on an ethnographic understanding of the communities covered by its case studies and shows how custom and authority were transformed by interaction with a succession of invaders and governments. The themes of mobility rather than migration, of the accumulation of special knowledge, and of chiefship being constructed between the town and the rural areas, all represent a new perspective on the history of South Sudan where towns have normally been seen only as part of the history of the colonial rulers and not as part of the history of South Sudanese societies. 5 There are similar themes overlapping the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, where investigation could question some of our remaining assumptions about South Sudan s past. What was the impact of trade and the zariba network on South Sudanese communities? Was there a wholesale depopulation of the region through slave- raiding, or did whole communities become invisible from external observation by moving away from the caravan routes? What are the links and continuities between the armies of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, the old zariba sites, and the urban civilian populations of both South Sudan s malakiyas and northern Sudan s towns? How far did the Southern Policy of the 1930s really isolate South Sudanese societies and has anyone examined the record of trade permits to calculate the continuing involvement of Muslim traders in South Sudan s economy at that time? The history of South Sudan s national independence struggle is equally problematic. The fact that it is already being contested is an indication that a single party line is unlikely to dominate. At various independence celebrations both inside and outside the country, in the billboards in Juba commemorating Martyrs Day, many of the persons killed in the SPLA s internecine fighting are hailed as both liberators and martyrs. They are not being airbrushed out of history, though perhaps this is evidence that a seamless thread of liberation is being woven into the national historical consciousness, while the sharper edges of that struggle are smoothed over. There is already a common consensus of the length and ultimate intention of that struggle: leaving aside claims that it began in 1821 with Muhammad Ali s invasion of Nubia and Sennar, it is almost universally asserted that Sudan s first civil war began in 1955 and lasted 17 years, while the 11 years of the Addis Ababa peace are rapidly fading into a mere blip on the screen of history. Recent research by ystein Rolandsen shows why we should question that narrative. 6 He is not the first to draw attention to the intervening period between the brief spasm of violence in August 1955 and the beginning of a more sustained military struggle in the early 1960s, but he raises three important questions: what was the conducive environment that led to the outbreak of civil war; what were the motives of the instigators of civil war; and how did the civil war begin? However tentative or incomplete his answers, these questions were not raised by Sudan s nationalists historians. The attempt to answer them now throws new light on the nationalist struggles in both Sudans and calls into question the assumption that independence for South Sudan was the only and inevitable outcome. It opens up the possibility of a more detailed examination of the political history of the 1950s, when South Sudanese themselves offered alternatives to secession. It invites us to pose further questions: what led Fr Saturnino Lohure, a parliamentarian committed to federalism in the 1950s, to become a separatist in the 1960s; and how was Gordon Murotat transformed from a police inspector who saw his duty as preventing the 1955 disturbances from engulfing Wau to the civilian leader of a secessionist guerrilla movement? These are welcome advances to our knowledge of South Sudanese as actors in their own history, but we ought not neglect the broader picture of where South Sudan fits into world history. Migration histories 5 6 have proven problematic, not only for their time depth and chronologies but in their master narratives. I never found a Nuer informant whose own ancestors had participated in the migration stories they had just told me. Examination of individual family histories, marriage ties and age- set links told a much more complex story of the construction of the Nuer- speaking communities east of the Nile in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. An even more complex picture of social, cultural and economic exchanges and borrowings is revealed by historical linguistics. The work of Chris Ehret has done much to complicate the old migration theories of African history, revealing a movement of languages and ideas not necessarily confined to or dependent on the movement of whole peoples. 7 Building on the broader context already supplied by the linguistic historians of Africa, applying similar research methods to the peoples of South Sudan will reveal a depth of commonality they have with each other, as well as with the wider region of North East Africa. It has been the complaint of many South Sudanese that South Sudan was excluded in the writing of Sudanese history. What was lost by this exclusion? If we re- examine aspects of northern Sudanese history we often find that southern Sudanese were also there. John Garang was fascinated by the many Nilotic- sounding place names he found listed in the chapters on the ancient Nile valley in the second volume of the UNESCO General History of Africa. He was not alone. Shilluk, Dinka and Nuer all have an expression, kar tuom, which translates as the juncture where a branch meets a tree- trunk: a more accurate description of the confluence of the Blue and White Niles than elephant s trunk. Archaeological evidence has revealed the pre- historic presence in old Khartoum of peoples of a physical type now closely associated with the Western Nilotic speakers. While I believe it is naive (and probably unprovable) to assert that the early inhabitants of the Khartoum region were a people who called themselves Collo, Jieng or Naath, it is certainly reasonable to conclude that ancestral Western Nilotic speakers lived far beyond the present disputed borders of South Sudan and that not all of them left in the grand migrations now told to explain the peopling of South Sudan. A more rigorous application of historical linguistics to the analysis of place names could reveal more about the ethnic and linguistic bedrock on which Sudan s northern populations rest. Three of the most dramatic events of the nineteenth century the death of General Gordon, the Battle of Omdurman, and the Fashoda Incident also involved southern Sudanese. Gordon is usually depicted as being speared by a fanatic Muslim Arab. Yet the only eye- witness accounts that corroborate each other identify the killer as a tall black rifleman of the jihadia, the slave riflemen of the Mahdist army recruited from the southern Sudan, Nuba Mountains, Dar Funj and Darfur many of the same regions that later supplied recruits to the SPLA. 8 The Mahdia might have derived its ideological strength from a jihadist theology, but its military success rested in large part on its recruitment of these riflemen into its army, as one recent history of Western Bahr al- Ghazal suggests. 9 These slave soldiers later played a decisive part in the overthrow of the Mahdist state as the frontline troops in the Egyptian Army on Karari plain in 1898, while the Shilluk soldiers among them were instrumental in convincing the king of the Shilluk not to commit to a French alliance at Fashoda soon afterwards. 10 A more inclusive history of Sudan would not by itself have prevented the break- up of the country but, just as I end on this reminder of what Sudan lost by the exclusion of South Sudan from its national narrative, so South Sudan will be all the poorer if its history were to be written in parochial, essentialist terms. South Sudan might no longer be part of Sudan, but both countries still are part of the Nile Basin, the region of North East Africa, and the African continent, and their histories can and should reflect those connections. 6 7 NOTES 1 Douglas H. Johnson, Nuer Prophets. A History of Prophecy from the Upper Nile in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1994); and David M. Anderson (eds.), The Ecology of Survival: Case Studies from Northeast African History (London/Boulder CO: Lester Crook Academic Publishing/Westview Press, 1988);, The structure of a legacy: military slavery in northeast Africa, Ethnohistory 36/1 (1989), 72-88; (ed.), Governing the Nuer. Documents in Nuer History and Ethnography, (Oxford: JASO, 1993); and (ed.), Sudan (British Documents on the End of Empire, Series B, Volume 5) (London: The Stationery Office, 1998). 2 Douglas H. Johnson, The future of the southern Sudan s past, Africa Today, 28/2 (1981), John Lonsdale, Agency in tight corners: narrative and initiative in African history, Journal of African Cultural Studies, 13/1 (2000), Simon Simonse, Kings of Disaster: Dualism, Centralism and the Scapegoat King in Southeastern Sudan (Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1992); Sharon Hutchinson, The Nuer in Crisis: Coping with Money, War, and the State, (Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1995); Eisei Kurimoto and Simon Simonse (eds.), Conflict, Age and Power in North East Africa: Age Systems in Transition (Oxford: James Currey, 1998); Conradin Perner s multi- volume Living on Earth in the Sky work- in- progress on the Anuak; Jok Madut Jok, War and Slavery in Sudan (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2001);, Sudan: Race, Religion, and Violence (Oxford: Oneworld, 2007); Wendy James, Kwanim Pa: The Making of the Uduk People. An Ethnographic Study of Survival in the Sudan- Ethiopian Borderlands (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1979); and, War and Survival in Sudan s Frontierlands: Voices from the Blue Nile (Oxford: OUP, 2006). 5 Cherry Leonardi, Dealing with Government in South Sudan: Making Histories of Chiefship, Community and State (Woodbridge: James Currey, forthcoming). 6 ystein Rolandsen, Civil War Society? Political Processes, Social Groups and Conflict Intensity in the Southern Sudan, (PhD thesis, University of Oslo, 2010). 7 Christopher Ehret, The Civilizations of Africa: A History to 1800 (Charlottesville, VA: University of Virginia Press, 2002). 8 Douglas H. Johnson, The Death of Gordon: a Victorian myth, Journal of Imperial and Commonwealth History 10/2 (1982), Edward Thomas, The Kafia Kingi Enclave: People, Politics and History in the North- South Boundary Zone of Western Sudan (London: Rift Valley Institute, 2010). 10 Ron Lamothe, Slaves of Fortune: Sudanese Soldiers in the River War, (Woodbridge: James Currey, 2011). 7 US President Donald Trump has delivered a strong message to radical Islamic jihadists that America and its allies will defeat the "forces of death" who "worship destruction", and in defence of his immigration ban said he will not allow them to get a foothold in the country. "We're up against an enemy that celebrates death and totally worships destruction. You've seen that," Trump said during his first visit to Central Command which is responsible for an area that includes the Middle East and Central Asia. "ISIS is on a campaign of genocide, committing atrocities across the world," he said yesterday, referring to Islamic State by its acronym ISIS, that has gained a foothold in Iraq and Syria. The Central Command plays an important role in the US-led mission against the Islamic State terrorist group. Trump, now in his third week as the US President, visited the command centre on his way back to the White House after a three-day break in Florida. Trump, the commander in chief of the US, made the comments after a lunch with troops from the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines. "Radical Islamic terrorists are determined to strike our homeland, as they did on 9/11, as they did from Boston to Orlando to San Bernardino and all across Europe. You've seen what happened in Paris and Nice. All over Europe it's happening. It's gotten to a point where it's not even being reported," he said. Continuing his tirade against the US media, Trump alleged that "the very, very dishonest press" doesn't want to report the incidents of terrorism. "They have their reasons and you understand that," he told his commanders. "So today we deliver a message in one very unified voice to these forces of death and destruction. America and its allies will defeat you. We will defeat them. We will defeat radical Islamic terrorism. And we will not allow it to take root in our country. Not going to allow it," Trump said. In an apparent reference to a US federal court halting his executive orders preventing people from seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the US, Trump said the country needs strong programmes so that "people that love us and want to love our country and will end up loving our country are allowed in". "Not people that want to destroy us and destroy our country," he said amidst cheers and applause. Freedom, security and justice will prevail, he asserted. The Trump administration yesterday told a federal court that the US President has authority to decided who can enter the country and that the temporary suspension of visas from seven countries is in the national security interest. In a submission before the Ninth US Circuit Courts of Appeals in San Francisco, the Department of Justice pushed for quashing the stay order on the executive order of the US President that suspends for 90 day entry of people from seven Muslim-majority countries. The Trump Administration has ordered a country wise review of its visa policies. Relying on his express statutory authority to suspend entry of any class of aliens to protect the national interest, the President has directed a temporary suspension of entries through the refugee program and from countries that have a previously identified link to an increased risk of terrorist activity, it said. The federal government said the executive order temporarily suspends entry of aliens from seven countries previously identified by Congress and the Executive Branch as raising heightened terrorism-related concerns. The suspension terminates in 90 days, once concerns relating to screening practices can be addressed, as necessary "to prevent infiltration [into this Nation] by foreign terrorists or criminals," it said. Similarly, the temporary suspension of the US refugee programme will be lifted after 120 days, once the Secretaries of State and Homeland Security, in consultation with the Director of National Intelligence, determine "what additional procedures should be taken to ensure that those approved for refugee admission do not pose a threat to the security and welfare of the United States." "The potential national-security risks and harms resulting from the compelled application of procedures that the President has determined must be reexamined, for the purpose of ensuring an adequate measure of protection for the Nation, cannot be undone," it said. The Department of Justice said the federal government has made clear that it is seeking to protect Green card holders and other nationals from the seven identified countries who were previously admitted to the United States and are either temporarily abroad or are here now and wish to travel outside this countrynot aliens who are attempting to enter the country for the first time. As President Donald Trump is set to face a major legal test over his travel ban on citizens from seven Muslim-majority nations, the White House today ruled out any possibility of withdrawing the order and exuded confidence of winning the case."Clearly the law is on the President's side. The Constitution is on the President's side. He has broad discretion to do what's in the nation's best interests to protect our people. And we feel very confident that we will prevail in this matter," White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer told reporters travelling with the President aboard Air Force One from Tampa in Florida to Andrews Air Force base.The temporary travel ban which affects Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen has sparked widespread protests around the world.The appeals court has asked for both sides to file legal briefs before the court makes its final decision after a federal judge halted the programme on Friday.The US government defended the ban as a "lawful exercise" of President's authority. The court is schedule to hear the case later in the day.Meanwhile, Spicer ruled out any possibility of withdrawing the executive order."No, no, no," he said when asked if the White House is thinking about withdrawing it."This executive order was done in the best interest of protecting the American people. I think this is something that has broad support from the American people from one coast to another, and we're going to continue to do what we have to. And this President is committed to making sure that the country and its people are safe," he said in response to a question."I think part of the reason he issued the order the way he did was to ensure that people didn't have an advance notice, and he protected the country and ensured that we have an idea of who's coming in and out of the country," Spicer argued.Trump's number-one priority is to do what he can to keep the American people safe, he added.Trump, who paid a visit to US Central Command in Tampa, condemned the media for downplaying the terror threat his administration has cited to justify the travel ban."Radical Islamic terrorists are determined to strike our homeland as they did on 9/11, as they did from Boston to Orlando to San Bernardino, and all across Europe," Trump said.To defend President's actions, the White House released a list of 78 terrorist attacks under-reported by the media."The President, again, got a great update today on the fight against ISIS that's going on throughout the region and what our military is facing throughout this globe, trying to combat ISIS," Spicer said."But there's a lot of instances that have occurred where I don't think that they've gotten the coverage it's deserved, and I think that's what the President was clearly referring to there," he added. One of the key suspects in the Kanpur train derailment in November has been arrested from Tribhuvan International Airport here after being deported from Dubai. A special team of Nepal Police arrested Samshul Hoda along with three others. Hoda has been detained from the Tribhuvan International Airport yesterday, said Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) Pashupati Upadhyaya. "We have heard that Hoda is wanted in a railway accident that took place in Kanpur last year killing 150 people," Upadhyaya said. "Nepal Police will also work in close coordination with the Indian Police for Hoda's alleged involvement in criminal activities in India," he said. The three others arrested are identified as Brij Kishor Giri, Ashish Singh and Umesh Kumar Kurmi, all from Kalaiya district in southern Nepal. The police have brought Hoda and three other accused criminals to Nepal from Dubai in coordination with the Interpol, Upadhyaya told PTI. Hoda is the mastermind of a twin murder in Bara district of Nepal, the police said. Hoda has links with international criminal groups and he has been involved in a number of criminal activities in Nepal and India, Upadhyaya said. A case has already been registered against him in Bara District Court, he added. The role of ISI is being suspected in the incident after Bihar police in January arrested three persons claiming that they were working for the Pakistani intelligence agency to target Indian railways. According to Bihar police, the three were paid Rs three lakh by a Nepali man who had connections with Hoda. Maharashtra Governor C Vidya Sagar Rao, who also holds the charge of Tamil Nadu, is likely to fly to Chennai today or tomorrow, amid political developments in the southern state where O Panneerselvam has been replaced by V K Sasikala as leader of the ruling AIADMK legislature party. "Governor may leave for Chennai today or tomorrow," Raj Bhavan sources told PTI. The prospects of Sasikala's immediate swearing-in as Chief Minister faded with Rao heading to Mumbai last night from New Delhi, instead of flying to Chennai, amid reports that he was seeking legal advice before administering the oath of office to Sasikala. The Supreme Court had yesterday indicated it could deliver a judgement soon in a disproportionate assets case against Sasikala, who became general secretary of AIADMK after the death of Jayalalithaa. A conviction after being sworn in could result in Sasikala having to step down as chief minister. A PIL was also filed in the apex yesterday seeking to restrain Sasikala from being sworn-in as chief minister claiming in the event of her having to resign if she is convicted in the DA case there could to law and order problem in the state. Rao had travelled from Coimbatore to the national capital last night. Sasikala was elected leader of the AIADMK legislature party on Sunday clearing the decks for her elevation as the chief minister. Chief Minister Panneerselvam had yesterday tendered his resignation to Governor Rao, which was accepted. According to Chennai reports, the Madras University Auditorium, which had earlier hosted the swearing-in of Jayalalithaa, was being spruced up for the swearing in of Sasikala. A significant bid by the US in the UN for designating Pathankot attack mastermind Masood Azhar as a global terrorist has been stymied by China which has again opposed the ban against the Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) chief. The American proposal came barely weeks after India's efforts to get Azhar banned by the UN were blocked by China in December last. According to senior government sources, the US, supported by the UK and France, moved a proposal at the UN's Sanctions Committee 1267 in the second-half of last month to proscribe Azhar. The proposal, which was finalised after "consultations" between Washington and New Delhi, said JeM is a designated terror outfit and so its leaders cannot go scot-free, sources said. "However, China opposed the US move by putting a hold on the proposal," a source said, adding the Chinese action came just before the expiry of the 10-day deadline for any proposal to be adopted or blocked or to be put on hold. The "hold" remains for six months and can be further extended by three months. During this period, it can be anytime converted into a "block", thereby, ending the life of the proposal. UN Sanction Committee's listing would have forced imposition of asset freeze and travel ban on Azhar by countries including Pakistan. China has been constantly opposing efforts to get Azhar banned by the UN, which has proscribed his outfit JeM in 2001. The Chinese opposition is also seen by many here as an action taken at the behest of its "all-weather ally" Pakistan. After the attack on the IAF base at Pathankot in January last year, India in February wrote to the UN calling for immediate action to list Azhar under the Al-Qaeda Sanctions Committee. The efforts faced stiff opposition by China, which twice put a "technical hold" before finally blocking the Indian proposal in December. Reacting sharply to Chinese action, India had said that "We note with concern China's decision to block the proposal to list Masood Azhar", asserting that its proposal, submitted to the 15-member 1267 Sanctions Committee of the UN Security Council, had received the strong backing of all other members of the Committee. External Affairs Spokesperson Vikas Swarup had also said, "As a consequence of this decision, the UN Security Council has again been prevented from acting against the leader of a listed terrorist organisation. We had expected China would have been more understanding of the danger posed to all by terrorism and would join India and others in fighting the common challenge of terrorism." A suicide bomber on foot ripped through a crowd of Afghan Supreme Court employees today, killing at least 20 people and wounding 41 others in the second attack on government institutions in under a month. The assailant detonated the device in the parking lot as employees were boarding a bus to go home, leaving bodies and dismembered limbs scattered around the area, with women and children among the casualties. No group has so far claimed responsibility for the blast in the snow-laden Afghan capital, but it occurred as the Taliban are ramping up their nationwide insurgency even in the peak winter months when fighting usually abates. "My father and I were exiting through the parking lot when a huge blast hit us," said a witness, breaking down in tears. "My father is dead now. How will I live without him?" The piercingly loud explosion shook nearby buildings, smashing windows and blasting debris onto the streets. Police blocked off the road around the high-profile compound located near the US embassy as panicked relatives of court employees began to gather and ambulances and fire trucks rushed to the scene. "Twenty people were killed (including 3 women & one child), and 41 others were injured in today's suicide attack in #Kabul," health ministry official Wahidullah Mayar wrote on Twitter. The ministry warned the toll could rise still further. There were scenes of desperation at the Italian-run Emergency hospital in Kabul as anxious civilians looking for missing relatives searched through the ambulances that brought the dead and wounded. President Ashraf Ghani condemned the attack in a statement, calling it a "crime against humanity and an unforgivable act". The carnage underscores growing insecurity in Afghanistan where local forces are struggling to combat a resilient Taliban insurgency as well as Al-Qaeda and Islamic State militants more than two years after NATO's combat mission ended. Last month twin suicide blasts claimed by Taliban fighters tore through employees exiting a parliament annex in Kabul, killing 30 people and wounding 80. Yesterday the United Nations said civilian casualties in Afghanistan in 2016 were the highest recorded by the world body, with nearly 11,500 people -- one third of them children -- killed or wounded. The report comes as officials warn of a growing humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan, as unprecedented numbers of people flee the fighting while hundreds of thousands of failed asylum seekers are repatriated home. Earlier this month an official US watchdog said the death rate among Afghan troops and police soared last year as the government's overall control of the country declined significantly. The grim new statistics paint a picture of a beleaguered nation still in the grip of a security crisis, despite many years and billions of dollars spent building up Afghanistan's army and police. "I sent my resignation to the Governor this afternoon," Mitra told PTI here. On being asked about the reason for his resignation, he said, "I was having difference of opinion with the state government on certain issues." "My job is to plead the cases in the best interest of the state and I have done so during my tenure," Mitra added. Mitra was appointed AG in December 2014. His predecessor Bimal Chatterjee had resigned the post in 2014. And Before that Anindya Mitra had also resigned the post of AG in 2013. Meanwhile, Leader of Opposition in the West Bengal Assembly Abdul Mannan demanded a statement from the government on Mitra's resignation, alleging that he was "forced" to do so as he didn't want to be a party to the "illegal and unconstitutional" steps the state government was taking. "We feel the state government should offer a proper clarification as to why all of a sudden the Advocate-General of the state had to resign. The Assembly is in session, so we demand a statement from a minister on the floor of the Assembly," Mannan told reporters. West Bengal's Advocate-General Jayanta Mitra today submitted his resignation "over difference of opinion" with the state government, becoming the third top law officer of the state to put in his papers during Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's tenure. Mitra tendered his resignation to Governor K N Tripathi. In late September, a group of tech leaders started a well-publicised effort to raise $100,000 for Hillary Clinton. In flush Silicon Valley, that is spare change. But by the time the election was over, the campaign had pulled in only $76,324. For all its visceral dislike of Donald Trump, the tech community did not worry too much about him being elected or, once in office, carrying through with his programme. Lulled by favourable polls, distracted by its own destiny, Silicon Valley was above all else complacent. No longer. After President Trumps January 27 executive order restricting immigration, high-tech has gone full-tilt political. Companies are being pushed by their employees, by their customers and sometimes by their ideals. They are trying to go far enough without going too far. Nearly 130 companies, most of them in the technology field, filed an amicus brief late Sunday in the 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals, which declined to reinstate the travel ban after a lower court blocked it. The brief, which was signed by an unusually broad coalition of large and small tech companies that included Apple, Facebook, Microsoft, Google, Tesla, Uber and Intel, said Trumps order violates the immigration laws and the Constitution. Silicon Valley is stepping up, said Sam Altman, who runs the valleys most prominent startup incubator, Y Combinator. The companies are working on three fronts: they are vociferously objecting to the Trump policies they think are bad, they are trying to engage with him to influence his behaviour, and they are developing new technology to work against policies and political discourse they dont support. It is an improvised and complicated strategy. The companies are among the richest and most popular of US brands, which means they have a good deal of leverage. Yet they are also uniquely vulnerable not only to presidential postings on Twitter and executive orders, but to the sentiments of their customers and employees, some of whom have more radical ideas in mind. Many of the companies initially placed their bets on engagement after an upbeat meeting with the president-elect in December. That modest approach, which even the most risk-averse executive can endorse, showed its limits last week. After widespread customer defections, Travis Kalanick, chief executive of Uber, was forced to step down from one of the administrations advisory councils. People voted with their feet, and Travis listened, said Dave McClure, who runs the 500 Startups incubator and started the Nerdz 4 Hillary group that tried to raise the $100,000. We need to hold the other tech leaders accountable in the same way. Resistance, McClure said, begins at home. You dont have a voice with the president if you didnt vote for him, he said. But employees and customers have a voice with the tech companies. Silicon Valley should be demonstrating at the front doors of Google, Facebook and Twitter to make sure they share our values. Several factors are propelling Silicon Valley to the front lines of opposition to Trump. Some have been widely noted: The companies are often founded by and run by immigrants, which made the executive order on immigration offensive and a threat to their way of doing business. Tech companies frequently stress the importance of talent from other countries to their businesses. Less remarked on has been the political homogeneity of tech workers. Its not like you have 60% of the employees on one side and 40% on the other, said Ken Shotts, a professor of political economy at the Stanford Graduate School of Business. They all have the same leanings. Trump does have some support in Silicon Valley, most notably venture capitalist Peter Thiel. Yet another factor pushing the companies is the perennially tight job market in technology. Executives cannot afford to alienate a large bloc of workers. Beyond this, there is the mythology of Silicon Valley, which holds that the work being done there is building a better future. Googles former slogan Dont be evil is the most forceful expression of this. If you go around making a lot of statements about your exalted role in society, at some point your employees might just make you follow through, Shotts said. Since the executive order was issued, the companies have struggled to keep on the same page with their employees. Microsoft, for instance, initially made relatively muted comments that mostly celebrated immigration. Twenty-four hours later, it was much blunter, calling the order misguided and a fundamental step backwards, and saying it would create much collateral damage to the countrys reputation and values. At an all-hands meeting at the beginning of the week with the chief executive, Satya Nadella, who was born in India, Microsoft employees expressed their concern. The company did not file a formal declaration supporting Washington states effort to block the order the way Amazon and Expedia did, but its public comments assisted the effort, Bob Ferguson, the state attorney general, said. The immigration battle is in Microsofts self-interest. Seventy-six of its employees were affected by the order, the company said. Some in Silicon Valley have more expansive hopes for the tech companies there. In 2016, we saw how technology could be used to polarise ourselves to extreme levels, said Altman of Y Combinator. The most important thing we could do is figure out how to use technology to depolarise the nation. Tech summit Perhaps the companies just need a little push. On Sunday night, the Super Bowl was in overtime and a dreary winter rain was falling in San Francisco. That was not enough to deter more than 100 tech workers from showing up for a meeting of a new group, Tech Solidarity, that hopes to tackle some of these issues from the bottom up. Maciej Ceglowski, the organiser, canvassed the crowd. How many of you are immigrants? How many work for big tech companies? How many work for big tech companies that attended the Trump tech summit in December? In each case, numerous hands went up. Under the rules of the meeting, participants were not identified. It was a very geeky event. Much of it was a fundraiser for three legal aid groups that have been working to assist travellers caught in the ban. The speaker for the Council of American-Islamic Relations was asked what she needed. She replied that she was having trouble with her customer relationship management software. Ive actually been pretty obsessed with CRMs lately, said a woman in the audience, volunteering to help. Ceglowski is a software engineer who runs the one-man startup Pinboard. He was visiting the United States in 1981 with his mother when martial law was declared in their native Poland. He is now a US citizen. Best-known in tech circles as a caustic critic of the large tech companies and their attitude on issues like privacy, he took on the activist mantle shortly after Trump was elected. Since then, Tech Solidarity has held rallies in Portland, Oregon; New York; Seattle; Boston and other cities. The murder of a young female engineer on the office campus in Pune of the high-profile software behemoth Infosys, and the response of the government machinery and the company thus far, is a cause for extreme concern. In what appears to be a thoughtless practice, 23-year-old systems engineer, Rasila Raju O P, was asked to come to the office on a Sunday and work all alone between 2 pm and 11 pm. As it turned out, Rasila apparently had a tiff with her supposed murderer, security guard Bhaban Saikia earlier, and threatened to report on him. Rasilas helpless situation on that fateful Sunday must have emboldened Saikia to make advances to her, and when she resisted, he appears to have attacked her and strangulated her with a computer cable. Saikia was arrested the very next day, thanks to the modern technology, in Mumbai, trying to flee to his hometown in Assam, but several questions remain unanswered. Its clear that Rasila, who was just one year old in Infosys, was a victim of the companys greed and callous disregard for the security of a female employee. Its subsequent statements that it would re-examine the employee deployment roasters and bring in an outside expert consultant to review the security measures and that it would increase deployment of alarm buttons in all office buildings, as well as beef up rapid response teams, do not befit a company of Infosys standards. These feeble explanations were in response to a backlash from its two lakh-strong employee force. It took the company almost a week to announce a compensation of Rs 1 crore to Rasikas family and offer a job to a competent next of kin of the deceased. For over two decades now, the Indian software industry has been the engine of growth contributing substantial amounts to the Indian economy and it is no surprise that the Indian government has treated it with kid-gloves. It is high time that the Union government took a serious look at some of the employee-related practices followed in the software sector. The government needs to get into a dialogue with the software industry on issues like labour practices which dont conform to international standards, the working hours and the safety issues, which get relegated to the background. Given the uncertainties of the international market, especially in the US under President Donald Trump, both the Government of India and the software industry need to gear up to meet domestic as well as international challenges. Sunday the California Democratic Party Endorsement Caucus met in El Sereno to determine whether or not to endorse one of the dozen or so candidates running to replace Xavier Becerra in the Los Angeles district that includes Highland Park, Eagle Rock, Mount Washington, City Terrace, Boyle Heights, Glassell Park, Downtown L.A. (including the Arts District), Chinatown, Koreatown, Little Tokyo, Little Bangladesh, Westlake, etc. Becerra was appointed Attorney General to replace newly-elected Senator Kamala Harris. CA-34 is a deep blue district with a PVI of D+30. In 2012, Romney only got 14.1% of the votes. This year Trump did even worse: 10.7%, one of his worst performances anywhere in America. Becerra usually won his congressional reelections with around 75% of the votes. The endorsement process drew about a dozen candidates although few who have shown any ability to organize and campaign and run a race, let alone be an effective member of Congress. Ironically, the most progressive candidate, Assemblyman Jimmy Gomez, is also the one with all the backing, something that is rarely the case in Democratic Party politics. The other candidates running include a couple of charter school shills-- Yolie Flores and Sara Hernandez-- plus a bunch of veterans of the Bernie Sanders campaign-- Arturo Carmona, Kenneth Mejia (as a Green), Wendy Carrillo-- and a collection of fairly random people: Sandra Mendoza, Raymond Meza, Alex Poulton, Tenaya Wallace, Maria Cabildo, Alejandra Campoverdi, , Ricardo De La Fuente, Vanessa Aramayo, Michelle Williams, Robert Ahn, Steven Mac... There are also a couple of Republicans-- Karl Siganporia and Bill Morrison-- and a Libertarian, Angela McArdle. Yesterday there were 58 delegate votes in all. One was cast for "no endorsement," one was cast for Robert Ahn and 56 were cast for Jimmy Gomez. I asked one of the delegates why it was so lopsided. "What have any of these people done for anyone? They are nice and they mean well but Jimmy is our Assemblyman and he's been up in Sacramento doing things for regular people... He made the California family leave program work for real people in this district. Before it was just something that sounded good on paper but only worked for people making 6 figures. Now it works for the whole spectrum of working women, including people who need it most on minimum wage... We know what we're getting with Jimmy and we like that." This afternoon, just as CA-34's most recent congressman, Xavier Becerra, now California Attorney General, was explaining in Fresno how he would fight to protect Californians' legitimate interests when they are threatened by the Trump Regime, we asked Jimmy his own attitude towards Trump and how things have been unfolding so far. He told us that Trump "is is a once in a lifetime threat to our community, and I will fight him relentlessly to make sure he doesn't harm our freedoms and values. We cannot sit back and wait for Donald Trump to change. He showed his true colors during his campaign, and to think he would be any different was wishful thinking. The fight is real, and the fight is now. Look at the members of Congress who are standing up to Trump-- Ted Lieu in CA-33, Senator Kamala Harris, Ro Khanna up in Silicon Valley, Ruben Gallego in Arizona, Grace Napolitano here in CA-32... these men and women have all endorsed our campaign and they know I'm going to stand with them resisting any hostility from any direction towards our people. Our community is the future of America and we're not going to let Donald Trump do anything to change that or slow that down." The primary is coming up on April 4th and then the runoff is set for June 6. Jimmy is still the only candidate in the race with an actual record of delivering on issues important to people who live in the 34th congressional district-- from his nationally recognized (and imitated) work for expansion of paid family leave, his work to reduce community college tuition, his work to increase funding for local schools, and his legislation fighting domestic violence and expanding protections on womens healthcare. All these, and his work on making Climate Change legislation work for working class families, led to Blue America endorsing him long before anyone imagined the Democratic Party would do so in a 97% vote! Please consider contributing to his campaign by tapping on the thermometer below: UPDATE: Unite Here Endorses Gomez Another major labor union, Unite Here just endorsed Jimmy Gomez, joining the American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), the United Nurses Associations of California, the Communications Workers of America (CWA) and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW). Thomas Walsh, President of Unite Here Local 11: "There is no one better suited to protect our jobs, benefits and dignity in Washington D.C. than Jimmy Gomez. During his time in the labor movement and most recently as a member of the State Assembly, Jimmy has shown that he truly understands our struggles. He understands that we wake up every day with the threat of workforce violations and cuts to our benefits. We are confident that Jimmy will take this same understanding to Washington D.C. and continue to be a champion for our dignity." The union represents 270,000 employees and will be especially important with Gomez's get out the vote effort April 4. As the campaign peaks for the first two phases of Assembly elections, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav on Tuesday made a bid to keep the Muslim vote bank intact by fuelling a buzz that the BJP and BSP will join hands after the results are announced on March 11. BSP leaders say that the SP is spreading a canard that the Dalit party will forge a partnership with the BJP post elections to ensure that Muslims do not vote for them given their dislike for the right-wing party. Addressing a rally in Meerut on Tuesday, Yadav said, I wonder why PM included Mayawatis name in SCAM. They came together thrice to form government in UP. At a public gathering in the same city last week, Narendra Modi had coined a political syntax out of SCAM to take a jibe at Opposition parties. The PM had said that S stood for Samajwadi Party, C for Congress, A for Akhilesh and M for Mayawati. The BSP had formed alliance with the SP way back in 1993 to form government in UP but that alliance fell apart in two years and since then the two regional parties have been arch rivals. Mayawati then regained power by forming a coalition with the BJP in 2005. The BJP leaders repent till date giving her a lifeline as it helped Mayawati to expand her social base beyond Schedule Castes and become a dominant player in north-Indian politics. But SP ally Congress is sending different signals, perhaps to keep future options open. After Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi had praised former CM Mayawati, his senior party colleague Ghulam Nabi Azad said two days ago at a Ghaziabad rally that the BSP-Congress-SP alliance would have wiped out BJP from Uttar Pradesh. The Congress had earlier tried to have a grand alliance in UP to replicate the Bihar model which had helped the JD(U)-led coalition to defeat BJP and occupy power in Patna. Mufti Ezaz Ahmad Qasmi, Deoband Old Boys Association chairman, said: Mayawati has never compromised on principles. Even in a coalition government, she always had the upper hand and resigned when the situation turned bad for the BSP, Qasmi argued. He stressed Muslims can feel safe only under BSP rule as even her critics appreciate that law and order situation is always better during Mayawatis rule. Congress leader Rajpal Kharola is testing the electoral waters in the spiritual town of Rishikesh along the Ganga once again. He lost out to Premchand Agarwal of the BJP in 2012 by a margin of 6,000 votes. Kharola, considered to be close to Rahul Gandhi, is pinning his hopes on rebellion in the BJP ranks. Ironically, a rebellion in his own party was the cause of his defeat in the previous polls. This time, Sandeep Gupta, a local BJP aspirant who was denied the party ticket, has put his hat in the ring as an Independent. DH accompanied Kharola on the campaign trail. Excerpts from an interview to Sagar Kulkarni. How bright are your chances of victory in this Assembly election? In the previous elections, I was pitted against five rebels from the Congress ranks. Local Congress strongmen Jai Singh Rawat, Harshvardhan Singh and Deep Sharma were against me. They were instigated by the BJP. All these have returned to the party-fold and were with me when I filed the nomination papers. This time around, the rebellion is in the ranks of the BJP. I had not stopped working after my defeat in the previous polls. My work will definitely see me through. But Agarwal is a two-term legislator known for his work. In the past 10 years, this person could not even build a primary school. What can he talk about development? People in Rishikesh talk about incomplete works and commission being paid for the use of MLA Local Area Development Fund. He did not pursue any development work to its completion. How do you see the BJP as an opponent? Today, the BJP is following the same path they used to criticise the Congress for. They accused us of dynasty politics; today it is the BJP which has fielded candidates from the same family. Chief Minister Harish Rawat did not give tickets to his son or daughter. They accused us of corruption, but last year they engaged in horse-trading to topple our government. If the BJP believed in democracy, they should have respected the peoples mandate and waited for their turn to defeat us in elections. How many seats will the Congress win in the elections? People have seen the Modi government. There is a strong undercurrent on demonetisation. People are quiet because they fear being dubbed corrupt. The number of soldiers martyred on the borders is increasing and there is a feeling of insecurity. Modi is only good at giving speeches and making people believe acche din are here. The people have made up their mind to give a clear mandate. As things stand today, I see the Congress winning more than 40 seats (in the 70-member Assembly). The Election Commission on Tuesday rejected Defence Minister Manohar Parrikars contention that he was wrongly accused of flouting the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) in poll-bound Goa on the basis of a tampered CD and an inaccurate transcript of his speech. The poll panel asked Parrikar to submit his final reply to the notice, which the commission had served to him on February 1 for violating the MCC while campaigning for BJP candidates in poll-bound Goa. The commission had issued the notice after the defence minister was accused of deliberately and intentionally instigating the public to take bribe for voting and of thereby abetting bribery during the electoral process at Chimbel in Goa on January 29. Parrikar on February 3 sent his reply to the EC, questioning the authenticity of the CD containing the recording of his speech, which was delivered in Konkani. The EC in its letter to Parrikar on Tuesday referred to the communique it received from the chief electoral officer of Goa. Samajwadi Party (SP) supremo Akhilesh Yadav and Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday sought to woo the youth by promising them employment and loans to start their own business if their alliance formed the next government in Uttar Pradesh after the Assembly polls. The two leaders, who addressed a joint election meeting at Meerut, about 450 km from here, also cautioned Muslims against supporting the BSP, which, they said, could not be trusted. We will have a separate policy for the youth... we will provide them employment and also give financial assistance to start their own business, Rahul said. He also sought to change Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 'Make in India' initiative to Make in UP and said that the alliance government in the state would encourage the youth to adopt the new slogan. The Congress leader also accused Modi of not fulfilling any of the promises he had made during the 2014 Lok Sabha polls. In his speech Akhilesh asked the Muslim community to beware of BSP. We all know that the relations between the BJP and bua (Mayawati) have been strong, he said, apparently eyeing the sizeable Muslim community in the constituency. The UP chief minister also referred to the 'brother-sister' relationship between BSP supremo Mayawati and senior BJP leader Lalji Tandon. Who used to celebrate Rakshabandhan? he asked. During the BSP-BJP alliance government in the state, Mayawati used to tie Rakhee on the wrist of Tandon. There is an SP-Cong storm in the state, Akhilesh said, apparently in response to Modis assertion here a few days ago that there was a BJP stormin Uttar Pradesh. Akhilesh also listed the achievements of his government during its stint in the past four and a half years. It was the second joint rally by Akhilesh and Rahul after stitching an electoral alliance in the polls. For the third time, China has thwarted a move to designate Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Masood Azhar as a global terrorist. India has told the Chinese government it is upset. The US had moved a fresh proposal at the United Nations Sanctions Committee, seeking action against Azhar. The proposal had sought to designate Pakistan-based Azhar as an individual linked to international terrorist organisations. It had put forward the proposal in coordination with India. China thwarted the process by putting the proposal on technical hold for six months. We have been informed of this development and the matter has been taken up with the Chinese government, Vikas Swarup, official spokesperson of the ministry of external affairs said. China had last month blocked a similar move by India to bring Azhar under UN sanctions. Beijing last year blocked a similar move by New Delhi to designate Azhar as a terrorist. It was only because of Chinas opposition that the UN panel put Indias plea on technical hold for six months in April 2016. China one of five permanent members of the Security Council later managed to get the hold extended by three months, beginning October 1. Before the hold could expire on December 31, China formally blocked the process initiated by India. China has been shielding terrorists based in Pakistan, its all-weather friend, from UN sanctions. Nepalese national Samshul Hoda, an alleged ISI agent and the prime suspect in the November Kanpur train tragedy, has been arrested here after being deported from Dubai, police said on Tuesday. Hoda (48) was arrested by a special team of the Nepal Police along with three others at the Tribhuvan International Airport on Monday, said Deputy Inspector General of Police Pashupati Upadhyaya. The police have brought Hoda and three other criminals to Nepal from Dubai in coordination with the Interpol, Upadhyaya told PTI. We have heard that Hoda is wanted in a railway accident that took place in Kanpur last year killing 150 people, Upadhyaya said. The three others have been identified as Brij Kishor Giri, Ashish Singh and Umesh Kumar Kurmi, all from Kalaiya district in southern Nepal. They were arrested for their alleged involvement in the December 25 murder of Indian nationals Arun Ram and Dipak Ram in Bara district. Hoda is the mastermind of the twin murder, the police said. Hoda has links with international criminal groups and has been involved in a number of criminal activities in Nepal and India, Upadhyaya said. A case has already been registered against him in Bara District Court, he added. The role of ISI is being suspected in the incident after Bihar Police in January arrested three persons claiming that they were working for the Pakistani intelligence agency to target Indian Railways. According to Bihar police, the three were paid Rs 3 lakh by a Nepali man who had connections with Hoda, who is accused of acting as an agent of Pakistans spy agency ISI to execute the Kanpur sabotage plot on November 20 last year. Around nine years after Bengaluru became the first metro in India to ban smoking in public, the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) has decided to follow suit. Mayor Sovan Chatterjee said that steps are being taken to impose strict fines for smoking in public spaces, even in open air. Chatterjee said that there are laws to impose the ban, which the KMC will soon implement. Very soon, smoking will be banned across Kolkata, even in open spaces, he said. While the mayor has turned the KMC headquarters in central Kolkata into a No Smoking zone, the civic body has set its goal on joining cities like Bengaluru and Chandigarh, along with Kerala, which declared itself smoke-free in 1999. Chatterjee said that the KMC will take the help of the Indian Medical Association (IMA) and the Indian Dental Association to put the ban in place, with support from the Kolkata Police. Docs can lodge FIR IMA secretary Santanu Sen said that on February 4, the association passed a resolution at its state council meeting, deciding that doctors would be able to lodge FIRs against those seen buying cigarettes from any shop within 100 meters of a school or hospital. FIRs can also be lodged against sellers as well as minors buying cigarettes. The KMCs concern stems from the results of a 2014 survey, which revealed that Kolkata had the most number of smokers in a city in India. With Pakistan blocking most of the connectivity and counter-terrorism initiatives by Saarc, India is now set to rely on Bimstec to boost regional cooperation. New Delhi is set to host a series of meetings of the representatives of the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (Bimstec) nations to fast-track implementation of regional connectivity and counter terrorism initiatives. Meet in Delhi National Security Advisor Ajit Doval will host a meeting of his counterparts from other Bimstec member-nations Bangladesh, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Bhutan and Nepal in New Delhi to discuss collective action against spread of terrorism, violent extremism and radicalisation. Indias proposal to host a meeting of the national security chiefs of the Bimstec nations was agreed upon in a recent meeting of the senior diplomats of the seven member-nations of the bloc in Nepal, the Ministry of External Affairs stated. India would also be hosting an international conference on countering radicalisation and the representatives of the Bimstec nations would take part in it. New Delhi will push for early ratification of the Bimstec Convention on Cooperation in Combating International Terrorism, Trans-National Organised Crime and Illicit Drug Trafficking; early commencement of negotiations on the Bimstec convention on Extradition and early implementation of the Bimstec Convention on Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters. The South Asia Association for Regional Cooperation (Saarc) had also adopted a Convention on Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters almost eight years back. But it is yet to come into force as Pakistan did not ratify the 2008 convention. Pakistan also blocked establishment of the Saarc Terrorist Offences Monitoring Desk and the Saarc Drug Offences Monitoring Desk. The Bimstec senior diplomats meeting also agreed to boost regional connectivity initiative. India will soon organise a meeting of the Working Group to finalise the Bimstec Motor Vehicles Agreement. An MoU on Grid Interconnection has also been finalised to facilitate electricity trade in the region. Pakistan had earlier blocked moves to ink similar agreements for free movement of rail and motor vehicles. Demonetisation was not an easy decision for the government and it took several months and a number of closed-door meetings to decide on the note ban, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said on Tuesday. He urged the Opposition not to make farmers an excuse to promote black money. Jaitley said the decision on demonetisation was bound to have some short-term impact on perishable commodities and luxury goods but would not have much impact on agricultural output, which was going to increase this year when compared with 2016. Decision on the largest currency replacement exercise of the world was not easy to take. The Reserve Bank of India was working on it since May 2016. Both RBI and the government had held innumerable closed-door meetings. At one stage, the meetings used to take place every week, Jaitley said, replying to the discussion on the Specified Bank Notes (Cessation of Liabilities) Bill. The Demonetisation Bill was later passed by voice vote. The Bill replaced an earlier ordinance on the note ban. With the passage of the Bill, possession of more than 10 pieces of old Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes has become a punishable offence. The Bill also provides for a minimum fine of Rs 50,000 for a false declaration by a person that he or she was abroad during the demonetisation period (November 9 to December 30) and taken time to deposit the banned notes till March 31 this year. Jaitley said it was due to Indias overdependence on the cash economy and related evils that the government was not able to collect as much taxes as it should. The cash economy has polluted every stream of the system. Because of the cash economy, the taxes we are getting are minuscule, he said. On Congress leader in the Lok Sabha Mallikarjun Kharges charge that farmers were suffering due to a cash crunch, the minister said, Please stop taking farmers recourse to justify black money. The whole country was patient. Only one who had problems was the Opposition, not the people, the finance minister said, seeking cooperation of all parties in the important reform. Replying to Congress leader Shashi Tharoors charge that tourism and manufacturing had suffered, Jaitley said in December air traffic to India has risen from earlier. Tomorrow's the day. The full Senate will vote on Trump's nominee to destroy the American education system, crackpot Republican billionaire Betsy DeVos. Frequent DWT commenter, Hone, a retired school psychologist, told me she spent Friday at a teachers' union headquarters in upstate New York calling Republican Senate offices about DeVos. I told her that the only possible Republican who could be swayed was Nevada's Dean Heller, who lives in a swing state and is up for reelection in 2018. Hone, though, spent most of her time calling Thom Tillis' various offices trying to communicate the message about DeVos' unsuitability. I told her she was probably wasting her time. But as of yesterday, Tillis was actually claiming he was still undecided and wanted to hear from his constituents. His numbers, by the way, are (919) 856-4630 and (202) 224-6342. NY Times Friday explaining Fortunately there was no need for Hone to call centrist New Hampshire Democrat Maggie Hassan, someone who has supported some Trump nominees but wrote an OpEd in theFriday explaining why she's voting against DeVos today. It's pretty heavy-- particularly coming right on top of hypocritical Republican congressmembers defending their move to obliterate a rule preventing severely mentally disabled people from buying guns. The Republicans whined to the media about protecting the rights of the handicapped , not exactly something we ever hear from the GOP these days. Our nation recognized early in its history that public education is a necessary foundation for a democracy. Its critical that we continue to support a strong public education system that prepares our young people, all of them, to participate in our democracy and compete on a fair footing in the work force. For this reason, our public officials should share a reverence for the importance of public education to our countrys success, both now and in the future. And they must show a commitment to enforcing our laws so that all students have the opportunity to succeed. That is why I oppose President Trumps nominee for secretary of education, Betsy DeVos. Throughout her confirmation process, Ms. DeVos has demonstrated a complete lack of experience in, knowledge of and support for public education. Instead, it is clear that she would pursue policies that would undermine public schools, in my home state of New Hampshire and across our nation. At her nomination hearing before the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions last month, I questioned Ms. DeVos on whether she would enforce the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act, the law that ensures that all students receive a free and full education in our schools. Not only did Ms. DeVos decline to assure senators that she would enforce the law to protect students with disabilities, but she also demonstrated her confusion about whether the I.D.E.A. is a federal law. Ensuring access to public education for every student is an issue that is personal to my family. My adult son Ben was born with cerebral palsy. Ben is bright and funny (and quite handsome, according to this unbiased source). He cannot walk, cannot use his fingers to type and can speak only in difficult-to-understand single words. If Ben had been born a generation or two earlier, we, his parents, would have been pressured to put him in an institution. But Ben was able to go to a public school in his hometown, Exeter, N.H., because of the tireless work of the advocates, educators and public officials who came before us. Ben had the opportunity to go to school and make friends in his own community-- something that all parents want for their children. And I was drawn to public service to ensure that all children have the same opportunities that Ben did. Instead of supporting public schools, Ms. DeVos has supported voucher systems that divert taxpayer dollars to private, religious and for-profit schools without requirements for accountability. Voucher systems often fail to serve children who have disabilities. To use a voucher, families are sometimes forced to sign away their childs legal rights, and the schools receiving the voucher often lack the experience or resources necessary to educate the child. This is in sharp contrast to public school systems that focus on serving all students, including those with disabilities. In these public schools, educators are better prepared to recognize challenges faced by all students-- not just those who have a diagnosed disability-- and are empowered to tailor educational experiences to individual students. That is the wonder of a public education system that reinforces the principle that every student counts. Too often, though, the voucher programs that Ms. DeVos advocates leave out students whose families cannot afford to pay the part of the tuition that the voucher does not cover; the programs also leave behind students with disabilities because the schools do not accommodate their complex needs. I am also concerned about the number of unresolved conflicts of interest regarding Ms. DeVoss finances, which call into question whether she will put Americas students before her own financial interests. Ms. DeVos has invested in numerous companies in the education sphere, and she has failed to answer basic questions about her finances, including which companies she would stay invested in if she is confirmed. I will always fight to improve our public education system and ensure that all students have the opportunity to reach their full potential. This week, I voted against moving forward with Ms. DeVoss nomination in committee, and I will vote against her nomination again on the Senate floor. Thousands of my constituents have called my office about this nomination, and nearly all have voiced concerns that Ms. DeVos is completely unqualified to serve as secretary of education. Two of my Republican colleagues have also announced their opposition. This leaves just one more vote needed to defeat her nomination. I hope there is another senator willing to break with the president and vote against this woefully unqualified nominee. We must listen to the thousands speaking up for our children and the public education system that serves all Americans. Washington Post described grassroots reaction to DeVos' nomination as a "groundswell of opposition" and over the weekend the whole country saw her portrayed as a clod on Saturday Night Live in a performance that closely mirrored her own jaw-dropping testimony before the Senate. Editorial boards across the country have urged her rejection. Even the Republican Chicago Tribune summed her up as representing Thedescribed grassroots reaction to DeVos' nomination as a "groundswell of opposition" and over the weekend the whole country saw her portrayed as a clod onin a performance that closely mirrored her own jaw-dropping testimony before the Senate. Editorial boards across the country have urged her rejection. Even the Republicansummed her up as representing all that is wrong with the charter movement . "DeVos," they wrote over the weekend, "is woefully unqualified and unprepared to lead the Education Department. DeVos has no direct experience at any level of public education. Her only true experience is using her family wealth to influence legislation aimed at expanding and protecting charter and voucher schools in Michigan and across the country. She brings the flaws of the charter/voucher movement into clear focus... [T]here is the lack of any transparency with respect to how tax dollars are used in charter/voucher schools. Taxpayers deserve to know how sponsors of charter/voucher schools are taking profit or using tax dollars for nonschool church purposes versus educating kids. Here again, DeVos has financially influenced decisions to avoid such transparency. No legislator or government official should falsely preach against the effectiveness of public education, reject responsibility for making all schools effective or endorse the use of tax dollars while avoiding accountability and transparency and visiting financial harm on existing public schools." Politico outlined the quixotic, The intensity of opposition to DeVos seems greater than even the opposition to Scott Pruitt (EPA), Jeff Sessions (Justice) and Steve Mnuchin (Treasury), widely seen as his three worst appoints aside from her.outlined the quixotic, furious last minute bid to sink the nomination Teachers unions, civil rights advocates and a ragtag assemblage of other opponents are bombarding congressional offices with tens of thousands of phone calls and more than 1 million emails-- a massive but almost certainly doomed effort to vanquish one of President Donald Trumps most controversial Cabinet picks. Sen. Brian Schatz, a Hawaii Democrat, said on Twitter that the last three days had been the busiest in Capitol switchboard history by almost double. He urged opponents of DeVos to keep it up. The campaign kicked into high gear this week after two Republican senators, Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, announced their opposition, leaving the charter schools advocate hanging by a 50-50 thread. Just one more no vote and DeVos is done-- a prospect that seems tantalizingly close for Democrats but that GOP leaders say theyre confident wont happen. Author Stephen King, a Maine resident, tweeted to his 2.8 million followers: Thanks to Susan Collins for saying No on Betsy DeVos. Notice that it's possible to be a good Republican and still say no to Donald Trump. Trump doesn't even know her; she was Pence's pick. When Trump ran into her at event the other day, he seemed unsure of who she was and eventually said, in front of reporters, "You're the education lady, right?" Pence will have break the Senate tie tomorrow-- unless one good Republican is found to vote against her (or even just disappear for the day). Spicer claims the Regime is "100% confident" she'll be confirmed. Teachers unions, who have long warred with DeVos over her support of charter school expansion and using taxpayer money for vouchers, among other things, are continuing to mobilize hundreds of thousands of their members across the country to call lawmakers. The countrys largest union, the National Education Association, says it has organized more than 80,000 phone calls and more than 1.1 million emails in the past four weeks. But the opposition to DeVos mushroomed into something bigger after clips from her bumpy confirmation hearing exploded across social media, reinforcing questions about her qualifications for the job and turning the nominee into a punchline on late night television. Betsy DeVos teaches us that if you're born rich, never go to public schools, and hate public schools, someday you can run public schools, tweeted comedian Mike Birbiglia. Union organizers say that although they are still campaigning against DeVos, a good deal of the backlash comes from the general public. And they anticipate those efforts would increase over the weekend as activists share lawmakers phone numbers on Facebook and Twitter. This has become such a high-profile fight for our education system that there will no doubt be an enormous amount of activism over the weekend, said Mary Kusler, senior director of the Center for Advocacy at the NEA. Parent groups have become soldiers in the cause, incensed that DeVos has never been a teacher or school administrator and fearful she will put their children's education at risk. Deena Mitchell, a parent activist in Anchorage, said she is disturbed by Devos' "absolute lack of experience for this job." I think anyone who makes a comment that public education is a dead end doesnt fundamentally believe that public education is the bedrock of our democracy, Mitchell said. Mitchell and her group, Great Alaska Schools, cheered Murkowski's decision to oppose DeVos. This weekend, theyre organizing a tie-breaker telethon, collecting comments to deliver to their other senator, Dan Sullivan, who has said hell vote to confirm her. The push against DeVos has also sparked some unlikely alliances. Billionaire philanthropist and education reformer Eli Broad, a Democrat who has donated to both parties and pushed for charter school expansion, penned a letter this week urging the Senate to reject DeVos. American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten, who is usually on the opposite side from Broad, shares his position on DeVos. Education secretary nominees are usually given great deference by both parties, she said. But DeVos breaks the mold. This has been circulating on Social Media this week, meant, primarily as a description of Trump, of course, but it seems to fit DeVos perfectly as well as the whole kakistocracy A Legislative Assembly committee on the functioning of private clubs on Tuesday recommended hefty fines on clubs denying membership to legislators. According to the draft Bill prepared by the committee, refusing membership to legislators or violating provisions pertaining to the dress code will attract Rs 1 lakh fine and imprisonment of up to six months. The clubs licence and land lease agreement are also liable for cancellation, in case it is on government land. The draft Bill is part of a report submitted by the committee in the Assembly. Besides, the draft Bill has a provision for the local police and revenue authorities to conduct surprise inspections and search clubs without a warrant. A police officer below the rank of inspector and tahsildar can search and seize things if she/he has a reason to believe that the club is used for gambling or any illegal activity. There was no provision for conducting searches without warrant in the old draft Bill that was notified in September 2015. However, the new draft appears to be less harsh compared to the old one Karnataka Entry into Public Places (Removal of Restriction on Dress and Regulation of Membership and Fee) Bill, 2015 as far as providing membership to legislators and regulating membership fees go. The old draft, that the Stamps and Registration Department withdrew after notifying it, had proposed membership to legislators in all clubs, irrespective of whether the clubs received government benefits or not. And legislators were free to become members of any number of clubs anywhere in the state. The department dropped the old draft Bill as it received hundreds of mails from the public opposing it. Further, the new draft Bill is ambiguous as far as its applicability to companies or corporate bodies goes. Though the draft Bill has explained who in a company will be held responsible for any violation, the company is not included in the definition of club and public places. Land for Constitutional Club This is not all. The committee has recommended that all necessary steps should be taken to establish the Constitution Club of Karnataka for sitting and former legislators in the state. Suitable land should be allotted immediately. The panel has said that measures should be taken to enter into a memorandum of understanding with the Constitution Club of India, Delhi. The committee has said that an amendment to the Karnataka Town and Country Planning Act should be brought in, making it mandatory for developers to earmark land for setting up clubs. For layouts planned on land measuring 25 acres and above, setting up of clubs should be mandatory. This apart, the panel has recommended to the government to allot land in all taluk headquarters for setting up clubs. DH News Service Appeal to Centre The club committee also urged the Centre to enact legislation for regulating the activities of clubs in the country. The panel members had met all three Union ministers from Karnataka in January last year and informed them about the need for enacting legislation in this regard. About the panel The committee was first set up in 2012-13. It submitted an interim report in June, 2013. Congress MLA from Shanthinagar N A Haris is its chairman. H D Revanna, Ajay Dharam Singh, T Raghumurthy, Vasu, B Y Raghavendra and Guru Patil Shiraval are its members. TeamIndus Foundation on Tuesday announced the launch of its latest initiative, Moonshot Wheels. Moonshot Wheels, whose aim is to spread scientific knowledge to school children in India from the grassroots, is a bus that will traverse 11 states, covering 12,500 km, over a 12-month period. TeamIndus is among five teams competing in the Google Lunar XPRIZE a global competition challenging privately-funded teams to land a spacecraft on the moon by December 2017. In order to educate and inspire government school children, the bus will carry 16 science experiments, live satellite-tracking, moon rover, scaled model of the spacecraft, and an experience zone. Each child will get an opportunity to experience and understand the making of a space mission and its underlying technologies, and will interact with rocket scientists, as well as the rest of the team behind Indias first private moon mission, TeamIndus Foundation chief functionary Priyanka Narayan said. While the programme is curated and administered by TeamIndus Foundation, its on-ground implementation is by Agastya International Foundation. The bus, which was flagged off by interim chairman of Tata Group Ratan Tata on Tuesday, is expected to impact over 36,000 students in government schools. Bengaluru Development Minister K J George on Tuesday said directions have been issued to take action against those running illegal commercial activities in residential areas. Replying to Congress N A Haris in the Legislative Assembly, he said Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) has already started issuing notices to owners of such properties in the city. Using more than 20% of a plot on a road less than 40 ft wide for commercial purposes is illegal according to zoning regulations, he added. The minister said the BBMP council has formed a committee of corporators to look into the issue of illegal commercial activities in residential areas. Appropriate measures will be taken based on the committees report, he added. George said that the existing green belt area will be protected while preparing the new master plan for Bengaluru. To another question by C T Ravi of the BJP, the minister said the BBMP has not sold any public building for raising money. Currently, 11 public buildings in Bengaluru are mortgaged for a loan of Rs 1,434 crore. Do film festivals help parallel cinema gain wider acceptance in the wider world? Do they kindle that elusive interest in good cinema struggling to keep pace with the pyrotechnics of mainstream movies? The message thus far from the Bengaluru International Film Festival (Biffes) has been clear. No! Path-breaking, gripping stories in celluloid from around the world have nourished the audience. Packed movie halls at Orion Mall are testimony to the power of the moving images, irrespective of the cultural context. But as veteran filmmaker P Sheshadri reminded DH, those crowds will disappear if the same films were screened commercially. Sheshadri should know. His nine films never competed with the big budget movies. He was lucky to screen all his films commercially precisely because his budget was low and expectations of profit-making modest. Now working on his 10th film, the veteran is convinced the public would always make that distinction. Parallel cinema, at least here, would be just that: Parallel. Is that an admission that film festivals will remain exclusive clubs frequented only by the discerning few? That they have no role in evolving a mature audience outside the circuit? Sheshadri does not agree. Festivals fulfil that role indirectly, by inspiring filmmakers to experiment with new story-telling techniques, by foraying into hitherto unexplored genres. I myself became a meaningful filmmaker through the festivals. I realised that cinema is not only about Rajkumar and Vajramuni, he recalled. Experiments would be suicidal in mainstream cinema. But that is not always true. Thanks to the evolved film society culture in Kerala, filmmakers had managed to transcend those boundaries of commerce and good cinema. Bengaluru, noted Sheshadri, could have achieved that had it nurtured film societies. But he wondered where were they, barring the now defunct Bangalore Film Society and the Suchitra Film Society. Mansore, director of Harivu has a different take on the entire issue. He agrees that Malayalam, Bengali and to an extent Marathi films have prepared audiences to appreciate such films. But he is optimistic about Kannada films replicating that through Janata theatres. Instead of cash subsidy, elaborated Mansore, the state government could release good films at Janata theatres. Money made from these screenings could be given back to producers. I have realised through private screenings of my film that there is an audience in every district. Low budget films made with good story line and innovative techniques have a greater chance of commercial success because their costs remain low. Young law graduate Vishnu knew why exactly he came to this conclusion: The 13 films he watched at Biffes were proof of that huge potential. A 24-year-old labourer, who entered into a restricted zone in Yelahanka airbase speaking on his mobile phone, was arrested by Yelahanka police. He was later produced before a magistrate and was remanded in judicial custody. The suspect, identified as Mamnoon, is a native of Uttar Pradesh and a welder, who lives at a labourers' shed in Yelahanka. Mamnoon, on Saturday, night had entered into the airbase area's restricted zone speaking on his mobile phone to a person in Saudi Arabia. As there was no network, he was changing SIM cards on the phone to speak, the police said. The airforce security personnel, who were on patrolling duty, picked him up and interrogated. They found at least nine SIM cards in his possession, found him to be suspicious and handed him over to the jurisdictional Yelahanka police for verification of his antecedents. As the Aero India show is round the corner, security has been beefed up both by the airbase security personnel as well as the jurisdictional police. DH News Service No one doubts that Trump is a vengeful asshole. Aren't all authoritarians? It's in their DNA. Interviewed about his own experience with Trump last year on MSNBC , British businessman Richard Branson recalled Trump as "a very vindictive, rather dangerous, rather sad man. I would feel very uncomfortable-- very, very uncomfortable-- with somebody like Donald Trump in the White House. Some years ago, Mr Trump invited me to lunch for a one-to-one meeting at his apartment in Manhattan. We had not met before and I accepted. Even before the starters arrived he began telling me about how he had asked a number of people for help after his latest bankruptcy and how five of them were unwilling to help. He told me he was going to spend the rest of his life destroying these five people... I left the lunch feeling disturbed and saddened by what Id heard. There are a lot of frightening things about this election; not least that policy has been pushed so far down the agenda. What concerns me most, based upon my personal experiences with Donald Trump, is his vindictive streak, which could be so dangerous if he got into the White House. For somebody who is running to be the leader of the free world to be so wrapped up in himself, rather than concerned with global issues, is very worrying. And now members of Congress-- on both sides of the aisle-- wonder if Trump plans to come after them... and what it will mean it their careers. There is, after all, a lot of opposition to his ambitious legislative agenda-- from the wall and eliminating Obamacare to his expensive infrastructure program. Republicans seem to live in fear of his mighty twitter account. And everyone senses he's likely to hold rallies-- he enjoys them more than governing-- against Democrats in states where he's popular to threaten their reelection chances-- Tester in Montana, Heitkamp in North Dakota, McCaskill in Montana, Donnelly in Indiana... states he won with, respectively, 56.5%, 64.1%, 57.1% and 57.2%. He could even start in relation to his horribly flawed Supreme Court nominee. If Republicans like Dean Heller (NV) or Jeff Flake (AZ) their states could see the Trump Show live again too. Mark Sanford (R-SC), who hasn't always towed the line, told The Hill's Scott Wong yesterday that "He's going to take names. Hes going to look at the people who are supportive and who arent. I suspect he will be rigorous in calling attention to those he believes are hampering his legislative efforts." [S]everal Republicans said its only a matter of time before Trump cracks the whip on Capitol Hill. Hes already given rank-and-file lawmakers a taste of what could be coming if they dont fall in line. Last month, a series of tweets from Trump derailed House Republicans plans to gut an independent congressional ethics office. And just last week, Trump launched a blistering attack on Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), tweeting that theyre weak on immigration and always looking to start World War III after the senators slammed his executive order on refugees. Those types of personal attacks from Trump are certain to fire up his loyalists and could inspire primary challenges to his GOP targets. He could whip votes from Twitter, said Rep. David Joyce (R-OH), who saw Trump personally get involved in his states GOP chairmanship race to defeat the handpicked candidate of rival Gov. John Kasich (R), a onetime presidential rival. Hes definitely got an agenda and he wants to push it through. Hes going to use every arrow in his quiver to get those things accomplished." When he gets focused on something and he wants to get it done, he gets after it. Thats definitely a lesson I learned, Joyce continued. An enraged Twitter finger could really hurt somebody. ...GOP fissures are forming that could complicate or delay several top Trump priorities. Freedom Caucus leaders are aggressively calling for the repeal and wholesale replacement of ObamaCare, while GOP chairmen have argued a more measured repair of the healthcare law is the right approach. The Atlantic, McKay Coppins speculates that #NeverTrump Republicans are Think Big and Kick Ass, he devoted an entire chapter to the joys of exacting revenge. 'My motto is: Always get even,' he wrote. 'When somebody screws you, screw them back in spades.' For those who have crossed Trump, then, these are understandably anxious times. As he enters the White House and takes the reins of the most powerful government in the world, a small cadre of high-profile conservatives-- the haters, the losers, the Never-Trumpers who never fell in line-- has found itself wondering whether their partys president will use his new powers to settle old scores." Writing for, McKay Coppins speculates that #NeverTrump Republicans are bracing for Revenge of the Asshole that Branson described. "Trump," he reiterated, "has never made a secret of his penchant for personal vengeance. He boasts about it, tweets about it, tells long, rambling stories about it on the transcontinental speaking circuit. When, last year, he was asked to identify a favorite Bible passage, he cited 'an eye for an eye.' And in his 2007 book,, he devoted an entire chapter to the joys of exacting revenge. 'My motto is: Always get even,' he wrote. 'When somebody screws you, screw them back in spades.' For those who have crossed Trump, then, these are understandably anxious times. As he enters the White House and takes the reins of the most powerful government in the world, a small cadre of high-profile conservatives-- the haters, the losers, the Never-Trumpers who never fell in line-- has found itself wondering whether their partys president will use his new powers to settle old scores." The question is not whether hes vengeful, conservative columnist Ben Shapiro told me. The question is how willing he is to use the levers of government to exact that revenge. This is no idle question for Shapiro. The California-based commentator emerged in 2016 as one of Trumps most vociferous-- and most frequently targeted-- critics in the conservative movement. He spent months relentlessly prosecuting the candidate on TV and Twitter, and in March set off a media frenzy when he abruptly quit his job at Breitbart and blasted the companys then-CEO Steve Bannon for being a bully who had turned the site into Trumps personal Pravda. Now that Trump and Bannon are both in the White House, Shapiro says he has no intention of trying to make amends-- but cant help but worry about his standing with them. Trump has an extremely long shit list...I dont want to flatter myself and say Im top 10, but Im certainly top 50, he told me. Ive been half-joking for almost a year that my IRS audit is already being drawn up. In fact, hes taking the threat of retaliation from Trump and his allies quite seriously. A favorite target of the alt-right troll army that Breitbart helps marshal, Shapiro told me hes already purchased a shotgun and installed a high-end security system in his home. When we spoke the night before the inauguration, he was deliberating over whether to delete his entire personal email archive before spies or Russian hackers could infiltrate his inbox. He knows all this may sound a little paranoid, but he doesnt want to take any chances. They can fight very ugly and very nasty, he said of Trump and Bannon. And they do have power now, where if they feel like destroying you, they can. For Glenn Beck, theres nothing new about the fear of payback from a power-crazed president and his minions. The right-wing talk radio host spent much of the past decade preaching against the tyrannical terrors of the Obama administration, and twitchily looking over his shoulder as a result. Now, it looks as if Beck-- who spent the 2016 election bitterly feuding with Trump-- is consigned to repeating that experience for at least another four years. He believes the new president is dangerously unhinged, and he travels with two bodyguards by his side, fearing the death threats hes received from Trump supporters. It is not fun, Beck told me. I dont cherish it, but I value the truth more than Im afraid of retribution. ...Last month, the Washington Post reported that more than 100 national-security veterans in the GOP establishment are said to be blacklisted from administration jobs because they signed a public letter during the campaign opposing Trumps candidacy. In another episode, the president-elect aggressively campaigned behind the scenes to unseat a state party chairman in Ohio who had fought him during the election. Trump also spent weeks during the transition publicly weighing two of his most stubborn 2016 foes-- Ted Cruz and Mitt Romney-- for top cabinet posts, only to unceremoniously dump them once theyd been seen cozying up to the president-elect. Transition officials insisted these meetings were all in good faith; Trumps longtime adviser Roger Stone claimed otherwise. Donald Trump was interviewing Mitt Romney for secretary of state in order to torture him. To toy with him, Stone said on the Alex Jones Show. And given the history, thats completely understandable. Mitt Romney crossed a line. ...For many Republican politicos who were critical of Trump during the campaign, the fear of personal retribution from the leader of the free world is softened somewhat by their unwavering conviction of his incompetence. Several consultants and operatives, who requested anonymity so as not to provoke the presidents wrath, said Trump would likely be too overwhelmed and disorganized in office to keep working his way down the enemies list. I dont think anybodys too worried about Trump death-starring their business, because hes still struggling to even make the Death Star operational, cracked one strategist. When youre really dealing with Putin and Turkey and Syria, is that county chair in Iowa who turned on you gonna get the attention of the president of the United States? asked another. He paused and then added with a laugh, Of course, thats what staff is for. Indeed, Trumps administration is not lacking for enforcers who share his instincts. Reince Priebus, now the White House Chief of Staff, publicly threatened Republicans who were withholding their support from the nominee in the final weeks of the election. And according to two knowledgeable sources, White House press secretary Sean Spicer used to maintain a bad reporters folder in his inbox to keep track of journalists he believed had treated him or the RNC unfairly. But if consultants are worried about their contracts, and party officials about their positions, some of Trumps opponents harbor deeper and more serious concerns. For Evan McMullin-- who quit his job as policy director for House Republicans to launch a long-shot indie bid in 2016 under the #NeverTrump banner-- the question of how President Trump plans to get even from the Oval Office is a singularly important one. Petty partisan punishments are one thing, McMullin told me. But as a former CIA officer, he has witnessed firsthand the rise of despotic regimes abroad. If Trump uses state power to exact revenge on political opponents, that will be a very clear sign that he is a true authoritarian." During the election, McMullins candidacy unexpectedly threw his native Utah into contention, sending the Trump campaign on a frantic last-minute scramble to lock down the deep-red state. By the end, Trump managed to eke out a plurality win there, but he was left seething at McMullins meddling. The future president lashed out repeatedly at McMullin in the final days of the race, calling him a puppet for moneyed establishment interests. And the attacks only intensified once Trump won and embarked on his post-election victory tour. McMullin told me that watching the president-elect rail against him at raucous rallies was a chilling experience. I remember at one of his rallies when he was attacking me, he said something like, Hes sort of a bad guy, this guy. I immediately recognized that as something Id seen before overseas in places where authoritarians takes power. They try to criminalize their political opposition. They tried to do it with Hillary Clinton and they could do it with more of us. McMullin made clear that its still too early to know whether Trump will cross that line. Despite my concerns, I genuinely still have hope that he will not govern in the way that he said he would during the campaign, he told me. At least, I hope thats the case, because it would certainly make my life a lot easier. NY Times carries an explosive piece by Jason Horowitz about Clearly, though, neither Trump nor #PresidentBannon has ever thought about Martin Luther King's aphorism: "Man must evolve for all human conflict a method which rejects revenge, aggression and retaliation. The foundation of such a method is love." This morning'scarries an explosive piece by Jason Horowitz about Bannon's intrigues against Pope Francis with, among others, crackpot Raymond Cardinal Burke . The anti-Pope Francis forces have rallied around the Trump Regime. "While Mr. Trump, a twice-divorced president who has boasted of groping women," wrote Horowitz, "may seem an unlikely ally of traditionalists in the Vatican, many of them regard his election and the ascendance of Mr. Bannon as potentially game-changing breakthroughs. Just as Mr. Bannon has connected with far-right parties threatening to topple governments throughout Western Europe, he has also made common cause with elements in the Roman Catholic Church who oppose the direction Francis is taking them. Many share Mr. Bannons suspicion of Pope Francis as a dangerously misguided, and probably socialist, pontiff... [I]n Mr. Trump, and more directly in Mr. Bannon, some self-described 'Rad Trads'-- or radical traditionalists-- see an alternate leader who will stand up for traditional Christian values and against Muslim interlopers." Pakistan Censor Board Has Blocked The Release Of Raees In The Country! Gary Joseph Stowell, age 68 of Mountain Home, Idaho, passed away at his home, on January 31, 2017, in the arms of his family. Funeral services were held on Monday, February 6, 2017, at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, and burial with military honors will follow at Mountain View Cemetery, in Mtn Home. Arrangements are under the direction of Rost Funeral Home, McMurtrey Chapel, in Mtn Home. Gary was born April 4, 1948, in Ogden, Utah, to Verland and Grace Stowell. He grew up on the family ranch in Rowland, Nevada. He attended elementary school in a one room schoolhouse on the Bruneau River. He loved the cows and horses and each one had a name. Gary worked hand in hand with his dad and brothers in every aspect of running a cattle ranch. All the hay was put up with a team of horses and hand stacked. His first love was his saddle horses and the many draft horses he trained to ride and pull. Gary attended high school in Elko and the family traveled back and forth on weekends to help at the ranch. After graduation he went to BYU for a semester but decided ranch life was where his heart was. He joined the National Guard to serve his country but also to be able to help his father run the ranch. In the fall of 1974, he met the love of his life, Marsha McMahan. They were married in the Oakland LDS Temple on August 30, 1975. They spent the first winter together in Southern California where he broke saddle horses for Rancho Grande. Several years later he moved back to the family ranch in Rowland. He raised seven children and for many boys who worked the ranch, Gary, was like a father to them. He taught his children to work hard, love the stock and the land. For 20 years he was a Nevada brand inspector and was the mail carrier between Rowland, Nevada and Grasmere, Idaho. Gary was a very gentle man. Five years ago he was forced to leave his beloved ranch. He pulled up roots and joined his wife in Mountain Home. His new passion was buying homes on auction. Garys dream was to flip these homes and purchase another ranch. He was called to be the librarian at church and he loved this new calling. August of 2016 he was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer. Gary fought a tough battle but lost it to a lung infection. He was dearly loved by his family and friends. Gary is survived by his loving wife Marsha, 5 sons; Ryan Stowell, Robby Stowell, Marc Stowell, Travis (Charlotte) Stowell, Brandon (Alyssa) Stowell, 2 daughters; Sherry Stowell-Heath and Anna (Matt) Severe, his grandchildren; Eric, Tyler, Kayalee, Kenneth, JJ, Kimber, Adin, Reata, Skeeter, Jaycee, Quincy, Bobby, Addalynn, Ivy, Abria, with 2 more on the way, 2 brothers, 2 sisters and his devoted cow dog Jackie. He was preceded in death by his parents and 2 brothers. Donations in Garys memory can be sent to the Mountain Home Education Association Scholarship, C/O Rhonda Urquidi, 300 South, 11th East, Mtn Home, ID 83647. The family would like to thank Treasure Valley Hospice, as well as, Bobby and Brenda, for their loving care. Being adopted, Lamoille resident Tom Nielson knew little about his biological family growing up, but DNA has connected him to thousands of relatives and may even tell if his family descends from Egyptian royalty. Nielson will share his story and describe the role DNA testing plays in family history research this Saturday at the Elko Family Discovery Day at the Elko Convention Center. Nielson was adopted by his stepfather when he was young and never knew much about his real fathers family. When he was a boy an elderly woman gave him a pile of papers which turned out to be a family history of the Autens, his fathers biological family. It wasnt until many years later when he was living in Provo, Utah, that he took a particular interest in that family history. A neighbor from across the street asked him to play George Washington in a childrens play. I said, Im not going to be George Washington. He was 62 and Im 58, Nielson said, But she kept insisting. He finally relented and found out through that Auten family history that one of his ancestors had been George Washingtons blacksmith. I wanted to know who these Autens were, Nielson said. My Auten family invited me to come out to the Auten farms in Michigan to go through boxes of material from the Auten farmhouse. In the box I found my grandmothers wallet, which contained my picture. After getting to know his Auten family, Nielson suggested they use DNA testing to connect various family lines. As often happened, when the Autens emigrated to the United States they changed the spelling of their name. Aten became Auten or Eaton. The genetics company liked my story so they spent about $60,000 on my family history and connected 18,000 descendants of Adriaen Hendricks Aten, Nielson said. The various family lines got together for a DNA reunion. During this meeting he asked where the Aten family originated. They all thought they were Egypt, Nielson said. An interesting theory, and one that Nielson and his Auten relatives hope to test someday soon. The family has asked the Egyptian government for a DNA sample from the mummy Yuya so they can compare the markers. Yuya was the grandfather of the Pharaoh Ahkenaten, perhaps the first Aten, or maybe its just a coincidence. Either way its a theory that can be tested, although it may take some time with the Egyptian government unstable for the time being. The legal brief by 100 tech companies, including Google, Apple, Microsoft, has been filed with the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco More than a 100 tech companies, including the likes of Apple, Google, Microsoft, Twitter and Tesla, have filed a legal brief against U.S. President, Donald Trumps travel and immigration ban. The brief comes after Trump signed an executive order banning immigrants from 7 predominantly Muslim countries. The companies filed a "friend-of-the-court" brief with a Circuit court of Appeals in San Francisco. The tech giants have argued that the immigration ban "inflicts significant harm on American business." US based tech firms have many employees who belong to these countries and are affected adversely by the ban. The total number of signatories on the brief accounts for a total of 127 companies. Apart from the tech majors like Apple, Google and Microsoft, the brief was also co-signed by Uber, Facebook, Netflix, eBay and Intel. The brief also declares that the Trump immigration ban "violates the immigration laws and the Constitution." "Highly skilled immigrants will be more interested in working abroad, in places where they and their colleagues can travel freely and with assurance that their immigration status will not suddenly be revoked," the brief added. The Appeals court has called for legal briefs from both sides before it makes a final decision. The brief was filed in support of a lawsuit by attorney generals of Washington state and Minnesota, and is most likely to head to the U.S. Supreme Court soon. This is not the first time tech companies have filed motions against the Trump travel ban. Earlier on, ecommerce giant Amazon and travel portal Expedia had backed Washington states lawsuit against Trump's immigration ban. The 100 companies that have filed the latest legal brief include a majority of tech firms, with the exception of Levi Strauss & Co, Chobani Llc and Kind, all non-tech companies formed by immigrants. SEE ALSO: These Donald Trump, Sean Spicer memes are breaking the internet! Apple saw its first year-on-year decline in sales with the iPhone 7 failing to attract consumer demand Oppo, Huawei and Vivo have snatched the smartphone lead from Apple and Xiaomi in China. The three Chinese smartphone makers now control nearly 50 percent of the market share in world's largest smartphone market. Oppo shipped 78.4 million smartphones in China last year, followed by Huawei with 76.6 million and Vivo with 69.2 million smartphone shipments, research firm IDC said in its quarterly mobile tracker report. In the process, Oppo R9 has dethroned iPhone 6s as the best-selling smartphone. According to Counterpoint Research, Oppo sold close to 17 million units of the R9 in 2016 as opposed to 12 million iPhone 6s sold by Apple. "Increased dependence on mobile apps has led to consumers to seek phone upgrades, thus helping drive the large growth in 2016Q4. In lower tiered cities, there was a similar demand by consumers, which OPPO and vivo met by aggressively pushing mid-range smartphones in these cities," said Tay Xiaohan, Senior Market Analyst, IDC Asia/Pacific's Client Devices team. In 2016, the Chinese smartphone market saw a growth of 9 percent with local brands dominating the space. Apple saw its first year-on-year decline in sales with iPhone 7 launch failing to attract consumer demand. While Apple has dropped out of the top 3, IDC believes Chinese vendors have not eaten into iPhone maker's market share. The research firm believes most Chinese customers are holding out for the next iPhone and the 10-year anniversary offering will attract some of the high-end Android users to iOS. According to IDC, the online smartphone market slowed down in 2016 and most brands will now use combination of channels to increase their shipments. "Xiaomi, previously focused on online channels, has opened more Mi Home stores to drive offline growth. Apple has also been aggressive in increasing its offline retail presence." IDC research says Chinese vendors will continue to dominate the market in 2017 as well. While they continue strengthening their local presence, the top three Chinese smartphone makers will also explore international markets with India as a key target. The companies will continue to experiment with design and push other technologies like bezel-less designs and augmented reality going forward. Asa Resource Group announced on Tuesday that Freda Rebecca Gold Mine, in which it holds an 85% interest, has received export incentive credits and a Top Producer award. The AIM-traded firm said the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe introduced a 2.5% export incentive scheme to large mining exporters effective 1 May 2016, to address the challenges of low productivity and promote export earnings. Freda Rebecca earned a $1.3m in export incentive cash credits for the period to December 2016. The mine also won the inaugural Best Large Scale Top Producer award, which attracts an additional 2.5% export incentive bonus credits for the period January to December 2017. Freda Rebecca therefore will have a total export incentive in the next 12 months of 5%, which translates to more than $4.5m in cash rebates from the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe. This recognition is a great credit to the efforts of all the employees at Freda Rebecca and is an acknowledgement of the contribution we make to the Zimbabwean mining economy and the local community, said group chief executive Yat Hoi Ning. Shares in Sound Energy are up more than 1% on stating ground works at the Tendrara TE-8 well site, onshore Morocco, are now complete and that the National 110 UE drilling rig will soon be on site. The Africa- and Europe-focused upstream gas company said rig-up operations were expected to be completed by mid February, allowing drilling of TE-8 to start that month. At 14:19 GMT, shares in AIM-quoted Sound were up 1.24% to 81.5p. Cairn Energy: Deutsche Bank upgrades to buy with a target price of 275p. Servelec Group: Berenberg reiterates buy, 391p target. Anglo American: JP Morgan reiterates overweight with a 1470p target. Premier Oil: Deutsche Bank downgrades to hold with a 90p target. Sanne Group: Berenberg reiterates buy with a 765p target. Worldpay: Deutsche Bank starts coverage at hold with a target price of 300p. Rolls Royce: Citigroup keeps at buy with a 935p target. Gem Diamonds: Citigroup keeps at neutral with a 115p target. Kingfisher: Jefferies reiterates hold with a target price of 325p. Rio Tinto: JP Morgan reiterates underweight with a 4000p target. Ride-hailing service Uber is increasing its efforts to pioneer flying car technology the reported hiring of former Nasa engineer Mark Moore to head its research into the area. The company, whose chief executive Travis Kalanick last week stood down as a member of Donald Trump's economic advisory group after being inundated with criticism from its users, has said that operating vehicles through the air in metropolitan areas will allow for reduced congestion and commutes for city dwellers. Moore published significant research in 2010 during his time at Nasa, in which he argued that the feasibility of small electric aircraft with less noise and size than a helicopter was higher than originally believed. He will take on the role of director of engineering for aviation at Uber. "I can't think of another company in a stronger position to be the leader for this new ecosystem and make the urban electric VTOL market real," Moore said. Last year the San Francisco-based company laid out a comprehensive plan for how it would go about creating the new technology, but it has yet to begin any construction of such vehicles. It has said that the transport system would rely on commuters sharing rides on the Vertical Take Off and Landing technology, vastly reducing journey times in many major cities. "It could change cities and how we work and live," Uber's head of product said last year. "We want to offer our customers as many options as possible to move around. In December, Uber was reported to have racked up $1.9bn of losses for the first three quarters of this financial year, despite substantially increasing revenues. The Wall Street Journal reported that company's third-quarter results which are not publicly released showed a loss of at least $800m in the three-months to September. As well as the #deleteUber social media campaign that blossomed as a result of Travis Kalanick's position on Trump's economic advisory group, the company jumped back into a new legal fandango last month as it sued the city of Seattle in a challenge to the citys authority to allow drivers in the gig economy to form unions. Last year two UK drivers, James Farrar and Yaseen Aslam, brought a case on behalf of a group 19 Uber workers who argued they were employed by the company and not working for themselves. Lawyers said the victory would affect their fellow Uber drivers and have implications for tens of thousands of workers in the so-called gig economy, though Uber disagrees and said it would challenge the ruling. Nikolas Sarkozy , the former President of France, must face a court hearing related to accusations of illegal campaign spending in 2012. Sarkozy is alleged to have known about an overspend of 18m euros from his party on his presidential election campaign five years ago. He was unsuccessful in the campaign, when he lost out to current President Francois Hollande. The case, known commonly as the "Bygmalion affair", centres around the rightwing UMP party's relationship with public relations firm Bygmalion, who were reported to have concealed invoices for the campaign. France has a limit of 22.5m on campaign spending, but prosecutors say that more than double that amount was spent on Sarkozy's lavish campaign. Sarkoxy's lawyer Thierry Herzog said that the former president will be launching an appeal against the order, suggesting a disagreement between the two judges presiding over the case. "The clear disagreement between the two magistrates in charge of the matter is such a rare event that it is worth underlining, as it illustrates the inanity of the decision," Herzog said in a statement. The order is the latest in a recent series of financial scandals which have surrounded French politics. Centre-right presidential candidate Francois Fillon has been criticised for allegedly using public funds to give jobs to his wife and children, while former finance minister and EMF chief Christine Lagarde was found guilty of negligence in December, but avoided a jail sentence. US President Donald Trump should not be allowed to address the British Parliament, according to House of Commons Speaker John Bercow . In an unprecedented move from Bercow, he said that the signing of an executive order to ban immigrants from seven predominantly Muslim countries did not provide the basis for his stance, but merely strengthened it. Members of parliament have come out in support of Bercow, whose role traditionally dictates that he remains impartial on political issues. However, the Speaker told the Commons that his opposition is based on his opposition to "racism and sexism". "Before the imposition of the migrant ban I would myself have been strongly opposed to an address by President Trump in Westminster Hall," Bercow said. "After the imposition of the migrant ban by President Trump I am even more strongly opposed to an address by President Trump in Westminster Hall." Trump's run to the White House in 2016 caused a stir in the political realm and in financial markets, and since his inauguration his actions have been heavily scrutinised, particularly his attempts to block access to the US from citizens of Iran, Iraq, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Libya and Yemen. MPs from all sides of the political spectrum have backed Bercow's stance, including Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn. "Well said John Bercow. We must stand up for our country's values. Trump's State Visit should not go ahead." Corbyn tweeted. Conservative MP Sarah Wollaston also said that Bercow was "quite right" to express his views on the issue. London stocks were expected to open just a touch firmer on Tuesday following uninspiring sessions in the US and Asia. The FTSE 100 was seen starting the session eight points higher than Mondays close at 7,180. With no major UK data releases due, investors will turn their attention to the US. CMC Markets Michael Hewson said: The main focus today as European markets look to open slightly lower is the latest US December trade numbers for December which are expected to show a deficit of $45bn. Given the propensity for Donald Trump to tweet about how US economic data has been when its been good, its quite likely that we could see some comments about the size of the deficit, particularly in relation to recent comments that have been made about surplus countries like Germany, and China, whose numbers are out later this week. The US trade data is at 1330 GMT. In corporate news, fourth-quarter profits from BP fell short of target and the oil colossus said cash flow will not increase in 2017 as it hikes its level of disposals and capital expenditure to return the business to growth in the medium term. A fourth-quarter underlying replacement cost profit of $400m resulted in a full year profit of $2.6bn, a 56% drop from the previous year. DCCs third quarter profit was strongly ahead of the previous year and in line with expectations as the business support services firm agreed to buy Essos retail petrol station network in Norway as part of its plan to extend its presence in Europe. The company bought Esso Norge, the third largest network in Norway with about 20% of retail volumes, for 2.43bn Norwegian kroner (about 235m) in order to build its retail petrol station business in Europe. UK and North America passenger transport operator FirstGroup posted an update on trading for its third quarter to the end of December 2016. The group said the trend of overall trading and expectations for the full year was unchanged, and that reported group revenue increased by 12.8% in the third quarter, benefiting from favourable currency translation. Group revenue in constant currency was flat, with growth in North America offset by previously announced rail franchise changes and First Bus trading Housebuilder Bellway reported a rise in housing completions in the six months to the end of January and said it expects to build 5% more homes this year. The company posted a 6.5% jump in the number of housing completions compared with 2016 to 4,462, while the forward order book rose to 1.12bn from 1.03bn, comprising 4,487 homes versus 4,434 the year before. The average selling price of private completions rose by more than 4% to 291,000 and for the full financial year, Bellway expects to achieve at least this rate of growth in private average selling price following investment in higher value locations over recent years. ELKO Elko High School Family Career and Community Leaders of America members Robert Sandoz and Trysten Petrie are asking for the communitys support for donations of any new or gently used physical therapy equipment such as walkers, standers, crutches, canes, braces, wheel chairs, childrens books, coloring books, crayons, and activity books. All of the items that are collected during their community project will be donated to the Shriners Hospital in Salt Lake City. As a Shriners patient himself, Sandoz learned to walk with the aid of equipment given to him from the hospital and knows first-hand how much these items can be used by many children from birth to age 18. I wanted to do this project to help kids like me who go to Shriners, said Sandoz adding, Id like to thank the community for their support of our project. Donations may be dropped off at Ruby Dome Inc. 525 E. Idaho St., Empower Fitness 780 W. Silver St. No. 102, or E.H.S. Room J6. Monetary donations can be made out to E.H.S. FCCLA. All donations must be received no later than March 1. For more information, contact Barbara Hereford at 738-3179. Alongside a strong third quarter profit, DCC struck a deal to buy Essos retail petrol station network in Norway as part of its plan to extend its presence in Europe. The FTSE 100 business support services outfit said it expects operating profit and adjusted earnings per share will be significantly ahead of the prior year and in line with expectations. DCC Energy is to buy Esso Norge, the third largest network in Norway with about 20% of retail volumes, for 2.43bn Norwegian krone (about 235m) plus the value of stock in tank. The acquisition, which comprises of 142 company-operated sites that have contracts to supply 108 Esso dealer owned stations, is subject to competition clearance from the Norwegian Competition Authority and is expected to complete by the end of 2017. This builds on the recent acquisitions of Hammer, Medisource and Gaz Europeen and the company has committed to acquisition expenditure of about 430m, including the acquisition of Esso Norge, for the rest of the year. Esso Norge, which is substantially asset backed, is expected to generate a return on invested capital employed of about 15% in the first full year of ownership. DCC chief executive Tommy Breen said the acquisition was another material step in building the retail petrol station business in Europe. From a modest position three years ago, DCC Energy will, following completion, operate over 1,000 retail petrol stations and is ambitious to continue this development. The acquisition is consistent with our aim to operate world-renowned retail fuel brands and be an excellent partner for oil majors." Meanwhile, an update on trading for the third quarter ended 31 December 2016 showed DCC Energy recorded strong growth in operating profit, due to organic volume growth in liquefied petroleum gas, retail and fuelcard, and oil, while heating-related volumes were in line with expectations as the colder conditions elsewhere offset the mild conditions in Britain. DCC Healthcare traded in line with expectations due to its health and beauty solutions, although DCC Vital was, as the company anticipated, affected by trading headwind due to weak in sterling, particularly concerning pharmaceutical products. Operating profit for DCCs technology business was ahead of the previous year, following the acquisition of CUC, a cabling distribution business with operations in France and Germany, in 2015 and also from organic growth in its Britain and Ireland business. While, DCC Environmental also delivered strong year-on-year organic growth, in both Britain and Ireland. Nicholas Hyett, equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: A solid trading performance, combined with news that it will be acquiring Essos Norwegian petrol station network, has put gas in DCCs tank this morning, with the shares rising 6.1%. The groups hub and spoke system, that sees much of the support network for its operations run out of Ireland, should mean the new network can be quickly integrated into the wider business and raises the potential for efficiency savings. Shares in DCC were up 6.77% to 6,806.80p at 0946 GMT. As London Stock Exchange and Deutsche Borse submitted their revised merger plans to European competition regulators, the German exchange dismissed claims of insider trading hanging over its chief executive. Following talks with the European Commission, London Stock Exchange and Deutsche Borse directors hope to gain regulatory clearance for their proposed 21bn merger when officials report back on 3 April with the final results of a competition investigation. Meanwhile, the German exchange's supervisory board said it found no evidence of insider trading by chief executive Carsten Kengeter, with its probe showing no evidence that London Stock Exchange talks had started until last year. Local law enforcement officers have been investigating whether secret merger talks with LSE had already begun when Kengeter snapped up 4.5m of shares in December 2015. Meanwhile, in a separate report on the merger, LSE said it expected to spend up to around 175m on fees and expenses in connection with the merger, with DB spending only 150m. German politicians were reported to be increasingly opposed to the deal, the Times said, in particular that the combined groups holding company would be UK-registered. The reason for the headquarters being in Frankfurt are crystal clear, Thomas Schafer, finance minister of the state of Hesse, which must approve any deal, said. Those involved in London must recognise, also in their own interests, that it would not be a good idea to keep the plans as they are now. Save my User ID and Password Some subscribers prefer to save their log-in information so they do not have to enter their User ID and Password each time they visit the site. To activate this function, check the 'Save my User ID and Password' box in the log-in section. This will save the password on the computer you're using to access the site. Note: If you choose to use the log-out feature, you will lose your saved information. This means you will be required to log-in the next time you visit our site. Subscriber content preview By WAYNE PARRY Associated Press TOMS RIVER, N.J. A group of oceanfront homeowners in New Jersey is saying thanks, but no thanks, to the government and its money. The residents on Monday asked a state judge to exempt them from a protective sand dune project, arguing that the millions they've spent from their own pockets on a rock wall and the millions more they will spend on its upkeep will do the job better than what the government proposes. . . . Subscriber content preview ANCHORAGE (AP) Anchorage officials are set to consider a proposal that would allow ride-hailing companies such as Uber and Lyft to operate in the city this coming year. The ordinance has been drafted by Anchorage Assembly member Bill Evans. He said the measure is necessary because the city's transportation code was written before people began using their smartphones to access the ride-hailing services, The Alaska Public Radio Network reported Friday. . . . Subscriber content preview Up to $250,000 is being spent for surveys, property appraisal, site design and other preliminary efforts. KODIAK, Alaska (AP) Alaska Aerospace Corp. is weighing options for a second launch facility outside the state, but CEO Craig Campbell says Alaskans will still benefit from the additional revenue. The state-owned corporation's board of directors recently authorized spending of up to $250,000 for surveys, property appraisal, site design and other preliminary efforts for the launch site, the Kodiak Daily Mirror reported last week. Campbell estimated $30,000 to $35,000 of the funds has already been spent. . . . ELKO The Great Basin College nursing program has been ranked as the best nursing program in Nevada. RegisteredNursing.org ranked 13 nursing programs in Nevada, specifically programs that support students towards licensure and beyond. Top schools were determined by analyzing current and historical NCLEX-RN exam pass rates up to the last five years. For the last four years, the pass rate for Great Basin College nursing students has been 100 percent. The NCLEX-RN exam is used by all state boards of nursing across the U.S. to assess a students competency, and is also required for licensure. Many state boards of nursing use the total overall NCLEX-RN pass rates to weigh a schools ability to provide a nursing education in the state. We are firm believers in providing students with all the information possible to make the right choice when selecting a nursing school. With this in mind, we feel a great way to provide this transparency would be through studying nursing programs and their students performance on the NCLEX-RN exam, said founder of RegisterNursing.org Brooke Wallace. Programs reviewed include schools that offer an Associate in Nursing (ADN/ASN), BSN, or Direct-Entry MSN degree. Great Basin Colleges Dean of Health Sciences and Human Services Dr. Amber Donnelli believes this achievement is the result of a supportive faculty, staff and community. The commitment to student excellence, the outstanding rural nursing students, and the support of the community for students clinical rotations all continue to create a dynamic proven to work year after year with a four-year pass rate at 100 percent, she said. Great Basin College offers an associate of applied science (AAS) degree in nursing and a bachelor of science nursing (BSN) degree designed for non-traditional nursing students with an associate degree who want to continue their education in nursing and still be engaged in practicing their profession. The program is fully approved by the Nevada State Board of Nursing and accredited by the Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing Inc. Contrary to popular belief, theres a whole world of whiskey out there aside from the usual whiskey brand suspects pumped unrelentingly out of the distilleries of Scotland and the American South. Of course, there are still plenty of whiskey brands coming out of the old-school powerhouses as well So were undertaking the daunting task of guiding you on a whiskey world tour. Here are 56 whiskey brands that you should be aware of when you see them sitting on the shelf of any bar. Youll probably know some, you probably wont know a lot, but whiskey is as much about the journey as it is the destination anyway. Slainte. Whiskey Brands FAQ No decision yet on Apple's demands to make in India: DIPP The Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) is yet to take a decision on certain duty waivers that US-based technology giant Apple had sought to set up manufacturing unit, industry secretary Ramesh Abhishek said on Monday. ''Apple has submitted to us certain issues for consideration. We had a meeting of all the concerned ministries and departments and we have asked them to take a look at those issues and take a view. No ministry has taken a view on any of those issues yet,'' Abhishek said, adding that DIPP is waiting for responses from all the concerned ministries. According to Abhishek, the government is supporting ''high-value manufacturing'', and would not give exemptions or formulate a policy for a particular company. ''No company-specific decision will be taken. That is very clear,'' he reiterated. Last month, senior executives of Apple were in India to seek certain incentives from the government, as the company plans to set up manufacturing a unit in the country (See: Tax sops among Apple's many demands to make in India). The team made a presentation spelling out its plans for India to senior government officials from DIPP, ministries of environment, electronics and information technology and department of revenue. The company is said to have has sought concessions, including a 15-year customs duty holiday on imports of certain components and a relaxation of the 30-per cent local sourcing norm under the foreign direct investment rules. With sales tapering in the US and China, Apple is eyeing India - the fastest growing smartphone market in the world - and looking to set up a local manufacturing unit to cut costs. It makes devices through contract manufacturers. The company sells its products through Apple-owned retail stores in countries like 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. A Nepalese man suspected to be an operative of Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence, who is a key accused in the Kanpur train derailment case where 140 people died, has been arrested from an airport in Kathmandu after being deported from Dubai, India's National Investigating Agency said today. Officials in the NIA said Shamsul Hoda was in Dubai when a local criminal Brij Giri, who was arrested in Nepal, exposed Hoda's role in the derailment of Indore-Patna Express that went off the tracks near Kanpur Dehat in Pukhrayan killing 140 people on 21 November. ''Hoda was departed back from Dubai to Nepal and arrested there. We will seek access to him through legal channels,'' NIA sources said. Bihar police are probing whether the train derailment was an act of sabotage with possible ties to the Pakistan spy agency. They arrested three men on charges of involvement in the incident in January this year and suspect Hoda was their handler and may have ISI links. Official added that the accused were hired through a chain of handlers in Nepal and Dubai and the Dubai-based handler was connected to those in Pakistan. During questioning, one of the men accused the two others of receiving money from Hoda to plant bombs in public spaces and target the train line between Varanasi and Kanpur. A Donegal County Councillor has spoken of the impact cystic fibrosis has had on his family as he urged the local authority to support a motion calling for a new breakthrough drug to be made available for those who need it. Councillor Gerry McMonagle told the members at the January meeting of the council that one of his brothers passed away from cystic fibrosis, while his younger brother is currently living with the condition. He asked that the council call on Health Minister Simon Harris to ensure that the drug Orkambi be included on the General Medical Services and Long-Term Illness schemes. Cllr McMonagle said Ireland has the highest level of cystic fibrosis in the world and the new drug can help improve the lives of those living with the most common form of the condition. The is still no agreement on the drug. It is expensive but there is great progress for those who receive it. It reduced hospitalization and increases their health and gives a glimmer of hope, he stated. He said there are up to 600 people in Ireland who would benefit from Orkambi, adding that places such as Germany have adopted the use of the drug to good effect. The motion was seconded by Cllr Jack Murray who said the issue was very close to Cllr McMonagles heart. He said the fact the drug had not been adopted on such scheme as that it was deemed too expensive and not value for money was a hugely insulting and a horrible thing to say for those who are living with cystic fibrosis. He added that provision of the drug was life or death for many of them. Council Cathaoirleach, Cllr. Terence Slowey, said he would ensure the letter was sent to Minister Harris. It has been reported that the Health Service Executive and the makers of Orkambi failed to reach agreement in price talks drug recently. It is understood that Orkambi manufacturer, US-based firm Vertex Pharmaceuticals, made a new price offer in renewed talks early in the new year, but subsequent their company representatives and those acting on behalf of the HSE failed to produce an agreement. As one of Donegals best known garages celebrates 50 years in business, the continued commitment it has shown to its large customer base has been built on best practice in every aspect of customer service. Northern Garage Ltd, the well-known family-run business in Donegal Town, mark a significant milestone with a half century of providing the best in motoring services in Donegal. Founded by Robert Bobby Glenn in 1966, the business has grown and developed and is now run by his children, Robert and daughter Celine who are proud to keep the family tradition going for future generations. While Bobby had a passion for cars, his first job was as a skilled printer in the print and newspaper industry. His daughter, Celine Duncan, explains that Bobby started out working for Dunleavys before moving to the Donegal Democrat in Ballyshannon. He later moved with his wife, Sadie, from Killymard and young family to Dublin to work in the Irish Independent in 1954. The family subsequently crossed the Atlantic where he worked for the Boston Globe newspaper. However, it was the motor trade where Bobbys heart lay, and on their return to Donegal he got the chance to buy an established garage business. We went to America in 1963. Daddy always wanted to travel but they didnt like it. He worked in the Boston Globe. Even though he was a printer, he loved cars from a young age, Celine said. She said her father would often trade cars when he worked as a printer in Ireland and even took up a second job driving a taxi in America. They really did work hard, but they came back in 1966. I would say we were not back a few weeks when Daddy had the place bought. He bought it off Josie McGarrigle and William Thomas Smith. It was very small at that time. There was a small shop there for a while, she added. From there they grew the business, offering a full range of mechanic services, fuel and parts. They became a dealership for Renault in 1967. Bobby sold the first new Renault for 440. Celine recalled the days when she would come home from school and help out the business by pumping petrol from the single pump they had in the early days. The price for a gallon of petrol back then was one shilling and eleven pence. I loved the garage from day one. I took that from dad, she said. Robert also had a keen interest in the business and was given the chance to get involved straight from school. Daddy handed it on to Robert. He built a good business to hand over and it was his idea to open the stores as things were not great at time. That was one of the things Dad thought would boost it and it did help, Celine explained. They now continue to offer a great range of services from testing light commercial vehicles, autofactors, repairs, and the best value hand-attended uel in the area seven days per week. Celine said they are grateful to all their loyal customers over the years and look forward to building on the history and traditions they have as one of the longest established garages in the north west. Home Four wheelers Around The World In 133 Days In A Fiat Tipo oi-Rajkamal Generally, the quality or reliability of a car is checked by people in white overcoats wearing glasses. Fiat however, wanted to prove the reliability of the Tipo sedan, and handed a car over to a Turkish Journalist to be driven around the world. {photo-feature} Most Viewed Car Image Gallery Feb. 5 Joshua L. Bersane, 32, of Orange County, California was arrested on U.S. Highway 93 at mile marker 74 for possession of a controlled substance. Bail: $5,000 _____ Gaven L. House, 27, of Hagerman, Idaho was arrested on U.S. Highway 93 at mile marker 80 on two counts of being a fugitive felon from another state. No bail listed. _____ Raymond A. James, 38, of Spring Creek was arrested at 559 Spring Valley Court for driving under the influence, domestic battery and assault with a deadly weapon. No bail listed. _____ Payton C. Munguia, 20, of Elko was arrested on a warrant for failure to appear after bail on a misdemeanor crime. No bail listed. _____ Joshua M. Stock, 31, of West Valley, Utah was arrested at 802 Willow in West Wendover on a warrant for failure to appear after bail on a misdemeanor crime. No bail listed. _____ Hector F. Zazueta-Ochoa, 49, of Elko was arrested at 1400 Mountain City Highway for driving under the influence and driving without a drivers license. Bail: $1,335 _____ Rosario Zazueta-Ochoa, 44, of Elko was arrested at 1400 Mountain City Highway for driving under the influence, failing to maintain a lane or make an improper lane change, being a driver disobeying a peace officer and failure to decrease speed or use due care. Bail: $5,950 The site at Marshes Shopping Centre has been specifically chosen this year as the first venue of the 2017 season. The Big Top has been holding rehearsals for the last week before the spectacular premier performance on Wednesday 8th February. Tom and Jamie Duffy are quite literally a whirlwind duo. Complete concentration, balance, absolute trust in each other and a fearless mentality combine together to produce a heart-stopping performance on the Wheel of Death. As the huge wheel revolves getting faster and faster the brothers run, jump and skip as the lights blur. There are screams and many members of the audience can only watch through their fingers. Jamie is one of only a handful of people in the world to perform a forward somersault on the outside of the wheel. Their daredevil exploits have taken them to appear in Europes leading circuses each winter and recently they beat many world class acts to win the prestigious gold award the 'Grand Prix Der Artisten' in Hannover last month. These Irish boys are now a class act in their own right. The Duffy brothers take circus to the MAX ! The Kenya Boys are making a welcome return to Ireland, with their astonishing acrobatics, twisting and tumbling, and startling human pyramids while lovers of traditional circus acts will roar with laughter at the antics of the hilarious clowns, David and Raffy from Mexico. As always, the animal acts are the main draw for regular visitors. Our loveable giants, the St Bernard dogs, tend to dominate the ring, but its the cheeky miniature poodles that raise a smile with their mischief. Prepare yourself for a white-knuckle ride as the Diorios rev up their supercharged motorcycles.The noise of the engines increases and that deafening roaring sound is right in front of you. Three young Brazilian daredevils enter the huge steel globe one by one. They begin to circle the inside of the globe, crisscrossing each other, making dizzying rotations as they defy gravity. Skimming past each other it is difficult to tell whether they are upside down or sideways. Once they have started they can't stop or their bikes would fall on top of them. How do they not collide. It is danger it is excitement ! Tom Duffys Circus is now at Marshes Shopping Centre until Sunday 12th February. For more information and cheaper tickets visit www.duffyscircus.com SAINT Francis NS pupil Sophie English recently donated her hair to a very special cause. When the third class student learned about the Rapunzel Foundation she was determined to help, I wanted to help children who have no hair. The Rapunzel foundation make wigs for children who were born with no hair. I was very happy to do it. Sophie says she would advise other children to consider donating their hair to this cause because as she says, It would make people happy. Her Mum Denise said, Sophie got her hair cut in Colourcode. They were very kind and let Sophie know how generous she was to make the donation. When she decided to donate her hair I was very happy. She was certain that she wanted to do it so I made the appointment. I was also happy that I would have an easier job keeping it. Sophie has lots of hair! Sophie is a kind and generous girl and I am very proud Mum. 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. The Netherlands, Japan and UN Environment Programme (UNEP) will lead the establishment of a Global Centre of Excellence on Climate Adaptation in the Netherlands. Together with the global partners, Dutch state secretary Sharon Dijksma of Infrastructure and the Environment signed a Statement of Intent on 6 February. The centre will support countries, institutions and businesses to deal with climate change adaptation issues, such as natural disasters and economic disruptions. Signing ceremony on the establishment of a centre on climate adaptation, in the Netherlands. Multitude of risks On occasion of the signing, state secretary Sharon Dijksma said: Failure of dealing adequately with climate change will increase a multitude of risks such as natural disasters, social and economic disruptions and increasing political tensions. Many people are looking for good practices and guidance with regard to climate change adaptation, Dijksma continued. I am convinced the Global Centre of Excellence on Climate Adaptation can help addressing these challenges. The Dutch government will decide on the location of the centre at short notice. A warming planet leads to more frequent extreme weather events such as droughts and floods. Hotter planet Even with the Paris Agreement on climate change, our planet is heading for a global warming of around 3 degree Celsuis, said Ibrahim Thiaw, deputy chief of UN Environment. Our survival depends on learning to live on a hotter planet with more extreme weather, erratic rainfall and rising sea levels. This Centre is a welcome step, but other countries need to follow this example and urgently invest in climate adaptation. Paris agreement The historic Paris Climate agreement has made climate change adaptation a top global priority. The Global Centre of Excellence on Climate Adaptation, an initiative of The Netherlands, Japan and UN Environment will contribute to building a climate resilient world. The centre will support those that struggle to put climate adaptation effectively into practice, in all parts of the world. It will collect lessons from recently executed policies, programmes and projects and use those to develop guidance to accelerate climate adaptation. Support countries and communities The resulting pool of global knowledge and know-how to understand what works and what doesnt will be used to support countries, communities and companies to successfully integrate climate adaptation into their investment decisions. In that way, every new road, every construction, every crop field becomes an opportunity to become more resilient. Irrigation and soil management to counter drought are important climate adaptation issues for agriculture. Parties that are involved in the establishment of the Global Centre of Excellence on Climate Adaptation include: UN Environment Programme National Institute for Environmental Studies, Japan Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency (PBL) Acclimatise Delft University of technology Delta Alliance Deltares European Investment Bank Global Environment Facility Kingdom of Morocco Munich Climate Insurance Initiative Municipality of Rotterdam NAP Global Network Netherlands Water Partnership Partnership on Sustainable Low Carbon Transport (SLoCaT) S&P Global SNV Netherlands development organisation; Stockholm Environment Institute; UNEP DTU Partnership Unesco IHE Wageningen University and Research World Resources Institute World Meteorological Organization This news item was originally published on the website of Dutch government and UNEP. Read also on this website COP22: Provision of beehives as a way to decentralise climate adaptation funds, 18 November 2016 Stockholm water week 2016: High level panel on water takes complexity of global water issues on board, 3 September 2016 Adaptation Futures 2016: Climate adaptation costs for developing world to hit 500 billion dollar annual, 13 May 2016 Adaptation Futures 2016: Where is the business case for climate adaptation?, 11 May 2016 COP21: Adaptive planning for river deltas calls for flexible strategies, 10 December 2015 More information Ministry of Infrastructure and the environment The Hague, the Netherlands +31 70 456 00 00 www.government.nl/ministry-of-infrastructure-and-the-environment Commonly defined as enterprises employing nine or fewer people, micro-businesses are big players on the business stage. In 2013, they accounted for 14% of all businesses newly opened in Australia, but only 9% of businesses shutting down[1]. Any new business will face its share of growing pains. When youre trying to grow your business without necessarily growing your staff, though, youll encounter many obstacles that are somewhat unique to partnerships, solopreneurs and micro-businesses. But, with careful strategy and plenty of preparation, your micro-business (also referred to as micro-enterprises) can survive and thrive. Here are some tips to support your micro-business. 1. Focus on annual turnover Your output is always determined by your input; for micro-businesses with fewer employees to put in the work, its easy to see revenue suffer. The best way to overcome this challenge is to really tighten your spending. You can view your micro-business small employee pool as a benefit, in fact, since youll have fewer salaries to pay. Really limit overhead spending and reduce expenses wherever possible to make sure that you make the most of your budget. Dont just optimise your spending; optimise your processes. Take stock of your companys day-to-day sales practices, meeting schedules, marketing efforts, and more. Can anything be streamlined or automated? Furthermore, consider ways in which you could be putting your profit margin to work for you. For instance, flashy marketing campaigns are often seen by small business owners as a luxury or a nice to have; but if your turnover was good last year, why not take some of those profits and reinvest in yourself? You can always start small and focus on inexpensive marketing campaigns using social media/word of mouth, which continue to be considered one of the most trusted forms of advertising, amongst consumers. 2. Shoot for slow and steady growth Sure, all entrepreneurs dream of bursting onto the market to thunderous applause and skyrocketing profits. Most also realise that this dream is unrealistic. Its tempting to hit the ground sprinting, pouring all your resources into the startup and early stages of your business. Tread lightly. Remember, youre in this for the long run. Set short-term, medium-term, and long-term goals, and stick to them! In our era of fast food, social media news feeds, and television on demand, instant gratification is commonplace but your business should be different. If you know that you have a long-term objective, youll be less likely to overspend resources on your immediate goals. 3. Stick to structure Its easy to see why large corporations need strict protocols: they need to keep hundreds of employees speaking the same language. Many micro-business owners fall into the trap of thinking that their small employee base means that they dont need as much structure. On the contrary, if you only have a handful of staff, each employee bears a larger share of the responsibility. Make sure that your entire team is onboard from large-scale things like the overall business plan and long-term goals, to finer points like invoicing deadlines and customer service protocol. Once youve got everybody on the same page, keep them there with regular reviews and updates. A comprehensive and detailed business plan helps to keep your micro-business on track. Clearly defining your companys goals, mission, and vision will ensure that you and your team focus on the tasks at hand and dont get distracted by side projects or unrelated business opportunities. Perhaps even more importantly, once you have these items in place, be sure to review them regularly. When you meet a major objective, be sure to set a new one in its place. 4. Get a second opinion People choose to become entrepreneurs for a myriad of reasons. Small business owners want to make a difference in their local communities, have autonomy in making business decisions, and enjoy the flexibility of creating their own schedules. However, these same benefits can also pose challenges to those working in isolation. Theres a reason why employees of large corporations who have new ideas for innovation need to pass their ideas up the ladder, discussing and reviewing them with supervisors and directors before presenting them to those in control. Its because having multiple opinions from professionals with diverse backgrounds is crucial to successful innovation. Small businesses often lack built-in structures for reviewing and evaluating new ideas before implementing them, so its crucial that you seek out help in this regard. If you have staff, get them together to review and discuss any new ideas or approaches. Be sure that they feel open and confident in presenting their own innovations, too. You can also tap into your professional networks for help. Reach out to other small business owners and offer to be a sounding board for their new ideas, if theyll do the same for you. 5. Leverage your position Whether its with your suppliers over supply costs, or clients over the fee for your services, youll always be negotiating. The great part of being a micro-business is that youre incredibly flexible and autonomous when it comes to making deals. Use this autonomy to your advantage. Do your homework and anticipate the demands of the other party so that youre prepared with several different offers. If a potential client is choosing between you and a larger corporation, be sure to really sell all the benefits of working with a small business. In need of Business Insurance? Allianz offers a range of small business insurance packages, which you can tailor to suit your industry, occupation and budget. Get a quote and buy online today or Call 131000. Insurance issued by Allianz Australia Insurance Limited ABN 15 000 122 850 AFSL 234708 (Allianz). We do not provide advice based on any consideration of your objectives, financial situation, or needs. Terms, conditions, limits and exclusions apply. Before making a decision please consider the product disclosure statement which is available by calling us on 131000. [1]http://www.ausstats.abs.gov.au/Ausstats/subscriber.nsf/0/BE7D4569A92E5CA6CA257DF9000E452A/$File/att4no0k.pdf Research suggests that it is critical for marketing and sales to work together to create best practices, deliver more quality leads, and drive higher-impact deals. Unfortunately, in Australia, many companies are misaligned when it comes to marketing and sales, as marketers focus on top of the sales funnel, while sales reps close deals at the bottom of the funnel. According to research from Marketo and ReachForce* , half of sales time is spent on unproductive prospecting, with sales ignoring as much as 80% of marketing leads. Although, these numbers are worrying for Australian business owners, research suggests that if companies overcome the misalignment between sales and marketing, that businesses will be 67% more efficient at closing deals. So how do Australian business owners get these two departments to effectively work together? Here are some tips that will help you get started: 1. Lead Scoring The most crucial thing about marketing and sales alignment is the importance of engaging prospects at the right time. Lead scoring is a method of ranking leads for their sales-readiness, agreed upon by both sales and marketing. In order for your organisation to be well-aligned, effective lead scoring is critical. By implementing lead scoring into your marketing automation platform, the wasted time and resources between marketing and sales can be addressed. There are many different types of lead scoring, each measuring specific metrics that organisations can observe and use to make decisions regarding prospects. Lead scores help marketing teams identify top prospects through what is called a Marketing Qualified Lead (MQL). MQLs are prospects whose lead score adds up to a value that is agreed upon with a combination of metrics such as demographic/firmographic fit score, engagement score, and buying intent. Once the marketing team has used lead scoring to identify an MQL, they can hand the prospect over to sales, as they are considered primed and ready. This drastically reduces wasted time for both the marketing and sales departments on clients that are not yet ready, therefore, teams reduce time wastage and can run more efficiently. Once sales follow up on MQLs, they can then be transformed into a Sales Qualified Lead (SQL). A Sales Qualified Lead or SQL is a lead that has been accepted by sales after demonstrating BANT characteristics: Budget, Authority, Need and Time. Ultimately SQLs are prospects that the sales team consider to have a high potential to purchase a product. By scoring leads, sales and marketing teams can effectively identify interested prospects and engage them at the right rime, reducing time wastage and improving productivity, overall resulting in a much more aligned team. 2. Organised Lead Routing When a business receives leads, it is critical that they are appropriately and effectively routed at the right time, and to the right department. Business leaders should be seeking to drive fairer distribution of leads to the right people. A key marketing and sales exercise is to investigate the quality and quantity of lead flow in each department. Language preference, passing more highly qualified leads to more senior members of sales teams, and in some cases, a round robin may be the easiest and most balanced way to distribute leads. Often sales teams are unaware of the processes in place for follow-ups and how certain steps need to be followed in order for activities to be logged. Businesses should organise training sessions with sales to advise them of the correct processes. Feedback loops are an excellent way of asking the team whether they are seeing patterns in how leads are coming into view. The last consideration is designing an articulate lead routing engine and to have enough resources to manage it versus a simpler routing engine with less maintenance overhead. 3. Well Defined Marketing and Sales Handoff It is important that leads are handed off appropriately in order to avoid time and money wastage and possibly even the loss of a sale. To make this possible, organisations must have an effective workflow and procedure for handing qualified leads off to sales. For organisations to improve handoffs, it is important that they put the right processes in place for their employees to ensure a fully functional and aligned team. Service-level agreements (SLAs) should be integrated into marketing and sales teams in order for sales to be accountable for leads that have been passed over. By implementing SLAs, it ensures that sales are following up with given leads over a set period of time. Another way to ensure marketing and sales are aligned is by defining lead quality. Whilst a significant amount of time is spent defining the stages of the funnel it is imperative that both sales and marketing teams spend equal time on defining the quality side of the metric. Otherwise the two departments will begin passing the blame if a potential sale is lost, creating animosity between the two teams. The priority should be able to analyse good sales months and look back upstream to see what the key trigger points were to fuel the sales. The same should occur for bad months look back without blame, but with a focus to learn what you did (and didnt do) and correct it. If organisations are having troubles with marketing and sales alignment, then they should consider these tips to point them in the right direction. Alignment of both departments is possible however it is essential that they work together towards this common goal. About the author Bill Binch is the ANZ Managing Director at Marketo, a digital marketing software and solutions company based in San Mateo, California with offices all around the world. Michigan Congressman Dan Kildee reminds Governor Rick Snyder and others that without the Affordable Care Act, there would be no Medicaid expansion. At the moment, the future of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), or Obamacare, is anyones guess. Congressional Republicans and Donald Trump promised to repeal the law on the Presidents first day in office but that obviously didnt happen. Republicans cant agree on any of the replacement options brought forth so far, and most recently President Trump said it could take until 2018 for Republicans to craft a wonderful replacement plan. Republicans are running scared from their constituents, who are rightfully demanding the law not be repealed without a replacement that wont leave millions of Americans without health insurance. In the midst of this chaos, some Republican governors have been lobbying to protect Medicaid expansion, including Michigans Rick Snyder and Ohios John Kasich. Although I strongly disagree with most of their policy positions, I commend them for fighting their own party to bring Medicaid expansion under the ACA to their states. Gov. Snyder dubbed the expansion the Healthy Michigan plan, tailoring it, in part, to appease state legislators. Governors like Snyder and Kasich want to protect Medicaid expansion but whether they support the rest of the ACA is far less clear. Thats a big problem, because without the rest of the ACA in place, theres no telling if the funding that supports Medicaid expansion would survive the upheaval. I recently spoke about this with Congressman Dan Kildee. His district includes the city of Flint, Mich., where Medicaid was expanded even further in response to the Flint water crisis. Rep. Kildee has a message for Republicans who think they can pick and choose the parts of the ACA they want to keep: Republican governors that have accepted Medicaid expansion cant have it both ways. They say they want to keep Medicaid expansion, but they support the Republican obsession with repealing the ACA. Lets be clear: Medicaid expansion is Obamacare. Obamacare is Medicaid expansion. They cant have it both ways. Its important to understand the architecture of the ACA, says Rep. Kildee, because each part of the law supports the other. If Medicaid expansion were taken away, more than 646,000 Michiganders would lose their health insurance thats the worst impact, he says. But at the same time, everyone elses costs would go up. Everyone gets treatment sooner or later, Rep. Kildee explains, and the real problem comes when people without insurance need care. If its emergency care or a hospitalization, the costs of the hospitals uncompensated care get shifted to someone else. If Medicaid expansion is eliminated, Medicare costs and insurance premiums will go up. Rep. Kildee wants to protect Medicaid expansion and improve on the ACA, and is willing to work with anyone Democrat or Republican to make it happen. But hes frustrated by Gov. Snyders approach. If you really want to keep Healthy Michigan, be honest, Rep. Kildee says. Say we should preserve the ACA and make improvements where we need to. Stop pandering to your Republican buddies by trying to have it both ways. Congressman Kildee is concerned about the health and well-being of all Americans and Michiganders, but hes especially worried about what would happen to the people of Flint if they lose their health insurance under Medicaid expansion. It would be extremely difficult for Flint to continue to recover, he says. Because the situation in Flint is so severe and poverty is so high, they would absolutely lose. As for what Republicans in Congress might do about the ACA? Its still abundantly unclear. But heres how Rep. Kildee sees their stand on healthcare: What theyre saying is, Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain. Ignore logic, dont believe what you see and hear. Just trust us. Suspend your belief in mathematics and logic. The insurance model means everyone chips in so they can get the care they need. Republicans would take us back to the time when things were pretty good for people who either had employer-based healthcare or were wealthy enough to purchase their own. Or people who didnt get sick. Theres a reason why for decades this country was in search of comprehensive healthcare reform: The old system didnt work for most people. They want to take us back. Contact your Representative in the U.S. Congress HERE and your U.S. Senator HERE. Urge them to vote against repealing the ACA unless a replacement plan with the same level of coverage and consumer protections is enacted at the same time. Has Obamacare helped you or someone in your family? Tell us about it HERE if youd like to be considered for a future post. [Image courtesy of Congressman Dan Kildees office.] Without the Affordable Care Act (ACA), staying well could have wiped out his savings making it much harder to get back into the workforce. Living with generalized anxiety disorder and panic disorder can be challenging enough under the best of circumstances. But having to manage these mental health conditions while trying to find a new job is even tougher especially if youre not sure how youre going to pay for the medication and doctors care you need. That was the reality faced by Ryan Smith, who worked for the Michigan House of Representatives until the 2014 election, when he lost his job. He was diagnosed with generalized anxiety disorder and panic disorder in 2013, and considers himself fortunate that his illness can be managed with medication. But when he lost his job, he also lost his health insurance and the work he had done to advocate for the Affordable Care Act (ACA), or Obamacare, in Michigan became very personal. I was privileged enough to help fight for Medicaid expansion in Michigan, Ryan says. In the stories our constituents told, I saw all the ways a lack of health insurance could derail a life. I never imagined I would be the one who needed help. Ryans conditions fall into the category of whats known as an invisible illness. You cant see them, but theyre just as real as a physical illness or injury, and must be treated accordingly. People dont know I have this illness, but its there. It impacts my daily life. A panic attack is hard to explain to someone who has never had one. The first time you have one, you think it might be a heart attack or some sort of respiratory failure. Its your body responding to a threat thats not there like theres this giant tiger chasing you. Your heart speeds up, blood rushes from your head, everything feels like its moving quickly. You get this overwhelming sense of dread. Its very scary, no matter how many times it happens. When Im off medication, this happens two to three times a day. Its debilitating. This illness doesnt pay attention to whats on your schedule, that you have a job interview in 20 minutes. Its challenging. But with medication, it doesnt happen at all. Im very lucky that my course of illness responds to medication. Staying on his medication and seeing his doctor every couple of months to make sure its working as it should is essential for Ryan to manage his illness. With insurance, he pays about $6 a month for his two medications. Without insurance, the cost is $260, and that doesnt include doctors visits. After losing his job, Ryan turned to HealthCare.gov, where he was able to find health insurance for less than $250 a month. This coverage helped him keep his anxiety and panic disorder under control until he found a new job at a law firm in Chicago that provides health insurance. But Ryan, now 27 years old, still thinks the ACA is vitally important and should not be repealed. Im one of 300 million people in this country. Im not the only one who lost my job. I understand in a way thats incredibly personal that the rug can be ripped out from under you at any time. Everyone needs health insurance. The ACA isnt perfect, but it sure does allow for a lot more flexibility in terms of how we live our lives. Without the ACA, I would not have been able to move and find a new job if my savings had been obliterated by healthcare costs. Im able to plan for the future in a way I didnt think Id be able to after I walked out of my job for the last time in November 2014. Contact your Representative in the U.S. Congress HERE and your U.S. Senator HERE. Urge them to vote against repealing the ACA unless a replacement plan with the same level of coverage and consumer protections is enacted at the same time. Has Obamacare helped you or someone in your family? Tell us about it HERE if youd like to be considered for a future post. [Photo courtesy of Ryan Smith, pictured with his mom.] At least 127 United States companies including Apple, Facebook, Twitter, Google, Intel and other tech giants filed a friend of the court brief in a lawsuit the state of Washington brought against President Trump, which argues that his executive order to halt the entry of refugees and all travelers from seven Muslim nations would inflict significant harm on U. S. businesses. The brief, filed in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, asks the court to consider the disruptive impact that the ban would have on the conduct of business in the U.S. The Order makes it more difficult and expensive for U.S. companies to recruit, hire and retain some of the worlds best employees, the brief states. It disrupts ongoing business operations. And it threatens companies ability to attract talent, business and investment to the U.S. The signatories include a number of major non-technology companies as well, among them Levi Strauss & Co. and Chobani Global Holdings. The executive order is antithetical to everything Levi Strauss itself founded by an immigrant stands for, said CEO Chip Bergh in an online post last week. Restraining Order in Place The companies filed the brief just days after a U.S. District Court judge in Seattle imposed a temporary restraining order on the executive order. President Trump signed it on Jan. 27, temporarily blocking any incoming travel from seven predominantly Muslim nations in the Middle East and Africa, and also suspending the governments Refugee Admissions Program for 120 days. The order includes an exception for those facing persecution as members of a minority religion should the program resume. The countries involved all have predominantly Muslim populations. A DoJ request for an emergency stay of the TRO later was denied, and a number of airlines announced they would allow visa holders to resume travel to the U.S. while the legal case moved through the court system. The DoJ was filed another brief Monday evening, arguing that the executive order is lawful and in the national interest. Well decline to comment beyond our public filings, Peter Carr, a spokesperson for the Department of Justice, told the E-Commerce Times. Supporters Line Up A coalition of 16 state attorneys general, including those representing Iowa and Pennsylvania, which Trump carried in the presidential election, filed a brief in support of the Washington state and Minnesota cases against the Trump administration. Their brief argues that the executive order has had a direct impact on foreign students, researchers and faculty at a number of local colleges and universities; has disrupted state medical institutions; and has caused the states to lose tax revenue from students, tourists and business travelers. Iran, one of the countries subject to the temporary travel ban, sent more than 11,000 students to the U.S. during the 2014-15 academic year, the brief notes. Silicon Valley officials have expressed major concerns about Trumps immigration policy and his tweets since early in the campaign, as the technology industry depends heavily on H-1B visa holders for many of its professional class of engineers and programming talent. The Internet may be wonderful for daily communication, but eventually all sectors need face-to-face meetings, noted Amie Stepanovich, U.S. policy manager at AccessNow. This travel ban will not only undermine business, but it will harm the growth of all international movements, she told the E-Commerce Times. Billions in Business Deals at Risk The order created turmoil at airports across the country late last month, as more than 100 travelers were removed from airplanes, detained, or otherwise disrupted due to the ban. More than 100,000 visas were revoked in the aftermath of the ban. Major technology companies, including Google, and other firms saw major disruptions of travel that impacted workers attempting to return home from overseas. Some of the companies employees who worked on government visas reportedly were not allowed entry. The order could result in the loss of major business deals, the companies maintain. For example, U.S. diplomats have warned that General Electric may lose out on business deals in Iraq worth billions of dollars as a result of the order, according to a Feb. 1 story in Politico. Further, the ban could force foreign companies to grow their operations outside the U.S., and U.S. companies to staff their operations outside of the U.S., they argue. High-Tech Holdouts Although many high-profile tech companies have joined in the court battle, some have remained on the sidelines, noted Derecka Mehrens, cofounder of Silicon Valley Rising. We hope tech will continue to resist attacks on all immigrant workers, including the largely Latino army of service workers who cook, clean and protect their campuses, she told the E-Commerce Times. However we were disappointed to see that some of the core tech companies such as Dell, HP, Tesla and Oracle didnt sign onto the brief. These companies must recognize how integral immigrants are to their success and to a strong economy, Mehrens added. HPE shares the technology industrys serious concerns about the travel ban, the company said in a statement provided to the E-Commerce Times on Monday by spokesperson Kate Holderness. In the coming days, and through public means, well be adding our voice to the efforts of other companies and industry associations that have expressed similar concerns. HPE currently is not a signatory to the brief, but HP Inc. added its name on Monday. Tesla also joined the brief on Monday. Headed for the High Court The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals is scheduled to hear arguments in the case Tuesday afternoon. Its relatively difficult to predict how the [court] will rule, but since the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals is in the heart of the technology industry, they often rule in support of the technology companies, noted Peter Vogel, a partner in the Gardere law firm. Nonetheless, it seems likely that no matter what happens in the [appellate court], the final decision will be made by the U.S. Supreme Court, he told the E-Commerce Times. Given the separation of the judicial, executive and legislative branches, Vogel said, it is entirely possible the U.S. Supreme Court will be mindful of all amicus briefs and the social impact of the immigration ban. Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg on Tuesday announced the Startup Garage, the companys first-ever business incubator, which will be located in Paris at the new Station F hub launched last year. The Startup Garage will provide a six-month program of mentorship and assistance for new companies. About10-15 data-related startup firms will occupy up to 80 desks at the Station F campus. Facebook will provide a range of services, including marketing, UX/UI design assistance, focus groups and technical development. When we think about jobs, 60 percent of jobs that are created in France and most countries around the world come from startups, Sandberg said at a press conference at Station F. At Facebook, we care about nothing more than supporting them. Startup-Friendly Crowd Facebook already hosts an annual F8 conference for developers and entrepreneurs to help generate new ideas and innovation. It also has a program called FbStart, which is designed to help early stage mobile developers. However, the kickoff of the Startup Garage program in Paris marks the first time Facebook has backed an incubator program directly at this level. It plans to spend millions of dollars to help participating companies get off the ground. The first group of firms to participate in the program includes Mapstr, which offers apps that keep track of users favorite cities on a map; Chekk, a digital identity app; The Fabulous, an app that helps users reach personal health and fitness goals; Onecub, an app that helps users digitially organize their personal lives; and Karos, a carpooling application. The 34,000 square meter Station F facility is the brainchild of billionaire Xavier Niel, chief strategy officer of Iliad, a French ISP and mobile operator. Station F is located at a historic former rail station located in central Paris and has space for about 1,000 startup businesses. The facility is scheduled to offer a residential expansion that will house 600 entrepreneurs who will be able to live right next door to the incubator. Fires Warm Facebook is working on multiple levels to help develop its ecosystem of new businesses and present a friendlier face to European regulators. Facebook will be eager to maintain a strong presence in Europe, and this is just one method of keeping the continents best tech talent within its ecosystem, said Zach Fuller, paid content analyst at Midia Research. Both Snapchat and Google have opened new offices in London in recent years, he noted. Facebooks choice of France could be interpreted as an early crack in the faith that the UK will maintain its status as a gateway to the continent following the Brexit vote, he told the E-Commerce Times. It is unlikely a coincidence that much of the international finance community have also expressed an interest in moving their operations from London to Paris, Fuller said. Facebook has a history of operating in Paris, though, according to Jack Kent, director of operators and mobile media at IHS Markit. It has operated a research lab for artificial intelligence there since 2015. Both local and national government officials have worked to make the startup environment in France more competitive with tax incentives and investment plans, he told the E-Commerce Times. The launch is a display of good business sense and smart public relations strategy, suggested Michael Jude, a program manager at Stratecast/Frost & Sullivan. An increasingly skeptical international market has been eyeing Facebook suspiciously, he told the E-Commerce Times, concerned that it is capturing share from local Internet and social media companies. This goes a long way to calm some of the fears that the EU and France in particular have, said Jude. It is good business sense, because incubators like Station F can and often do generate new intellectual property that can generate new revenue streams for technology companies. Facebook benefits, he added, by getting a lead on entrepreneurial technology firms before some of its rivals. 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Youd think that would trigger a lot of support from the national and regional news media. There is an idea in law enforcement called the thin blue line. It basically means that police work together. A call goes out from Morton County and, right or wrong, law enforcement from around the country provides back up. Jenni Monet was arrested while covering the Standing Rock movement last week. But most of the press has been silent about the charges she facesand the implications for the First Amendment. Aboriginal Peoples Television Network You would think journalism would be like that, too. When one journalist is threatened, we all are threatened. We cannot do our jobs when we worry about being injured or worse. And when a journalist is arrested? Well, everyone who claims the First Amendment as a framework should object loudly. Last Wednesday, Monet was arrested near Cannon Ball, North Dakota. She was interviewing water protectors who were setting up a new camp near the Dakota Access Pipeline route on treaty lands of the Great Sioux Nation. Law enforcement from Morton County surrounded the camp and captured everyone within the circle. A press release from the sheriffs Department puts it this way: Approximately 76 members of a rogue group of protestors were arrested. Most were charged with criminal trespassing and inciting a riot. As was Monet. She now faces serious charges and the judicial process will go forward. The truth must come out. But this story is about the failure of journalism institutions. The Native press and the institutions that carry her work had Monets back. That includes Indian Country Media Network, YES! Magazine and the Center for Investigative Reportings Reveal. In Canada the Aboriginal Peoples Television Network reported on the story during its evening news. And, the Los Angeles Times has now weighed as well in with its own story written by Sandy Tolan whos done some great reporting from Standing Rock. The Native American Journalists Association released a statement immediately: Yesterdays unlawful arrest of Native journalist Jenni Monet by Morton County officers is patently illegal and a blatant betrayal of our closely held American values of free speech and a free press, NAJA President Bryan Pollard said, Jenni is an accomplished journalist and consummate professional who was covering a story on behalf of Indian Country Today. Unfortunately, this arrest is not unprecedented, and Morton County officials must review their officer training and department policies to ensure that officers are able and empowered to distinguish between protesters and journalists who are in pursuit of truthful reporting. Yet in North Dakota you would not know this arrest happened. The press is silent. I have heard from many, many individual journalists. Thats fantastic. But what about the institutions of journalism? There should news stories in print, digital and broadcast. There should be editorials calling out North Dakota for this egregious act. If the institutions let this moment pass, every journalist covering a protest across the country will be at risk of arrest. After her release from jail, Monet wrote for Indian Country Media Network: When Democracy Now!s Amy Goodman was charged with the same allegations I now facecriminal trespassing and riotingher message to the world embraced the First Amendment. Theres a reason why journalism is explicitly protected by the U.S. Constitution, she said before a crowd gathered in front of the Morton County courthouse. Because were supposed to be the check and balance on power. The funny thing is that journalism institutions were not quick to embrace Goodman either. I have talked to many journalists who see her as an other because she practices a different kind of journalism than they do. Monets brand of journalism is rooted in facts and good reporting. She talks to everyone on all sides of the story, including the Morton County Sheriff and North Dakotas new governor. She also has street cred and knows how to tell a story. Just listen to her podcast and you will know that to be true. So if we ever need journalism institutions to rally, its now. Its not Jenni Monet who will be on trial. Its the First Amendment. Journalism is not a crime. Mark Trahant is the Charles R. Johnson Endowed Professor of Journalism at the University of North Dakota and a member of The Shoshone-Bannock Tribes. He writes a regular column at YES!, where he is a contributing editor. Reposted with permission from our media associate YES! Magazine. Monsanto has officially broken ground on a $975 million expansion to its Luling plant in St. Charles Parish, Louisiana. The facility will manufacture dicamba, a controversial herbicide used in the companys new XtendiMax weedkiller for GMO soybeans and cotton. Despite the companys promise to bring 120 new full-time jobs to the area, it seems many locals are unhappy with the project. https://twitter.com/EcoWatch/status/797213616638402560 Angry online comments have flooded the Times-Picayunes coverage of the Feb. 3 groundbreaking. The newspapers Facebook post of the story has garnered 433 shares and 114 comments so far, with many people criticizing the new plant as well as the company itself. 120 jobs isnt worth having this toxic company in your backyard, the top Facebook comment states. The comment was Liked 117 times. Diacamba [sic] is bad. California just won the right to label Roundup as cancer causing, a newspaper reader commented. So excited for Cancer Alley to grow. Indeed, California could become the first state to require Monsanto to label its glyphosate-based herbicide, Roundup, as a possible carcinogen following a judges tentative ruling on Jan. 27. Monsanto opposes the ruling, saying its top-selling product is safe. https://twitter.com/EcoWatch/status/826190796785319936 But Monsantos $975 million investment on dicamba represents a major shift from its bread-and-butter glyphosate herbicide business, as Reuters noted. Glyphosate, the worlds most widely applied herbicide, has faced intense backlash ever since the World Health Organizations cancer research arm linked the compound to cancer in March 2015. The other major problem with glyphosate is the proliferation of superweeds that have grown resistant to the herbicide. Monsantos new XtendiMax weedkiller, a combination of dicamba and glyphosate, is designed to address the problem. Many health and environmental advocates, however, are worried that the companys new focus on dicamba will just put the world on another pesticide treadmill and create stronger weeds. Pesticide resistant superweeds are a serious threat to our farmers, and piling on more pesticides will just result in superweeds resistant to more pesticides, said Dr. Nathan Donley, a scientist with the Center for Biological Diversity. Dicamba was at the center of major controversy in the agricultural space last summer. Monsanto was criticized for selling its dicamba-tolerant cotton and soybeans to farmers for several growing seasons before gaining federal approval for the pesticide that goes along with it. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) only approved the XtendiMax formulation in November. The EPAs delayed approval led to farmers illegally spraying older versions of highly volatile dicamba on their crops last summer, sparking a massive swath of complaints from farmers who saw crop damage from the herbicide drifting onto their fields. Damage was reported across 10 states on a number of non-target crops such as peaches, tomatoes, cantaloupes, watermelons, rice, cotton, peas, peanuts, alfalfa and soybeans, the EPA said. https://twitter.com/EcoWatch/status/771889227957145600 XtendiMax is said to be less drift-prone than older versions of dicamba. Monsanto has also given farmers specific instructions for its application. The company has high hopes for its new product, projecting that the XtendiMax system will be utilized on about 15 million soybean acres and 3 million cotton acres in 2017. Monsanto is committing to a nearly billion dollar Dicamba expansion where a new tool to fight invasive species/pests will be produced, Mike Strain, Louisianas commissioner of Agriculture and Forestry, said after the groundbreaking ceremony last week. This herbicide should greatly benefit our Ag producers. The expansion will also bring approximately 1000 construction jobs to St. Charles Parish and about 100 new direct jobs to the area. The new facility in Luling is expected to be completed in 2019. [facebook https://www.facebook.com/DoctorStrain/posts/1217706961618189 expand=1] U.S. companies are taking a stand in these politically chaotic times. So far, 127 technology firms are firing back at President Donald Trumps travel ban affecting immigrants and refugees from seven Muslim-majority countries. Facebook, Apple and Google are leading the fight against Trump's immigration ban https://t.co/6lcwkRfP2a pic.twitter.com/MoNxOmRmLP Forbes (@Forbes) February 6, 2017 The movement was led by nearly 100 Silicon Valley companies who filed a legal brief on Sunday to oppose the highly controversial executive order, arguing that it is unconstitutional and inflicts significant harm on American business, innovation, and growth. Apple, Facebook, Google, Microsoft, Uber, Reddit, Netflix and Dropbox were among the 97 companies that initially signed on to support Washington states lawsuit against Trumps order. That list got substantially larger late Monday afternoon, when Tesla, SpaceX and 29 other tech firms joined the brief. Tesla and SpaceX were notably absent on the original list of signatories. CEO Elon Musk, who happens to sit on Trumps business advisory council, previously said he would use his position to express our objections to the recent executive order on immigration. Regarding the meeting at the White House: pic.twitter.com/8b1XH4oW6h Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 3, 2017 But as a Tesla spokesperson told the Verge, as soon as we saw the brief this morning, we insisted on being added. The suit is being heard in the ninth circuit federal court in San Francisco, California and has already succeeded in temporarily halting the enforcement of the executive order. Many other companies are making real efforts to be socially responsible. The outdoor industry as a whole has taken a stand against Utah states and the federal governments proposals to shed public lands. In an open letter to Trump and Congress, more than 100 outdoor industry leaders led by REI have called upon elected officials to protect public lands and the integrity of the outdoor recreation industry, which powers $646 billion in gross national product. Outdoor clothing big-hitter Patagonia also announced on Tuesday it will not participate in Utahs Outdoor Retailer shows after Gov. Gary Herbert signed a resolution on Friday urging the Trump administration to repeal the newly named Bears Ears National Monument. read page 1 Outdoor Retailer is a highly anticipated twice-yearly expo held in Salt Lake City that involves hundreds of outdoor brands from small business outfitters to industry pioneers. It brings about 22,000 people per event and gives Utah an estimated $45 million a year in direct spending. Rose Marcario, Patagonias president and CEO said in a statement that Herberts resolution makes it clear that he and other Utah elected officials do not support public lands conservation nor do they value the economic benefits$12 billion in consumer spending and 122,000 jobsthat the outdoor recreation industry brings to their state. Because of the hostile environment they have created and their blatant disregard for Bears Ears National Monument and other public lands, the backbone of our business, Patagonia will no longer attend the Outdoor Retailer show in Utah and we are confident other outdoor manufacturers and retailers will join us in moving our investment to a state that values our industry and promotes public lands conservation, she added. "Overturning a national monument of this size has never been done." The fight to #ProtectBearsEarsNow on @NPR: https://t.co/YXXsM9gRhG pic.twitter.com/QBTd3uIaB4 Patagonia (@patagonia) February 6, 2017 Patagonia founder Yvon Chouinard wrote in an op-ed last month that if Gov. Herbert doesnt need us, we can find a more welcoming home. Gov. Herbert should direct his Attorney General to halt their plans to sue and support the historic Bears Ears National Monument, Chouinard continued. He should stop his efforts to transfer public lands to the state, which would spell disaster for Utahs economy. He should show the outdoor industry he wants our businessand that he supports thousands of his constituents of all political persuasions who work in jobs supported by recreation on public lands. We love Utah, but Patagonias choice to return for future shows will depend on the Governors actions. Im sure other states will happily compete for the show by promoting public lands conservation. Black Diamond Equipment founder Peter Metcalf also urged the show to move, calling the Utah governments plans an assault on public lands. If they dont want to change their policies, we should respond with our dollars, with our conventioneers, with our money, and take this show to a state that is much more aligned with our values, Metcalf said. It appears that the trade show has heard the companies cries and is now shopping for a new home, the Denver Post reported. Weve been listening to the concerns from the industry and agree that its time to explore our options, said Marisa Nicholson, the director of the Outdoor Retailer trade shows, in a statement to the publication on Monday. Salt Lake City has been an incredible home to Outdoor Retailer and the outdoor community for the past 20 years, and we arent opposed to staying, but we need to do whats best for the industry and for the business of outdoor retail. Days before the full Senate votes on Scott Pruitts nomination to head the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Center for Media and Democracy (CMD), a national investigative watchdog group, alleges in a new lawsuit that as Oklahoma Attorney General, Pruitt has violated the Oklahoma Open Records Act for failing to provide public access to official emails and other documents for more than two years. The lawsuit also asks for an injunction to prevent the Oklahoma Attorney General from destroying any documents relevant to the groups open records requests. Alongside the petition, counsel is requesting an emergency hearing due to the impending Senate vote on Pruitts nomination. CMD filed seven records requests with Pruitts office in 2015 and 2016 and another two requests last month, seeking communications with Koch Industries and other coal, oil and gas corporations, as well as the corporate-funded Republican Attorney Generals Association (RAGA). Pruitt has yet to turn over a single document, despite acknowledging in August 2016 that his office has 3,000 emails and other documents relevant to CMDs first request in January 2015. https://twitter.com/EcoWatch/status/826104073388711937 CMD is represented in the lawsuit by Robert Nelon, a leading media and First Amendment lawyer at Hall Estill and by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Oklahoma, which is also leading an ongoing case against Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin for her denial of two plaintiffs access to public records for more than 900 days in violation of this same legislation. Scott Pruitt has withheld access to thousands of emails with businesses or organizations whose activities adversely affect the environment and other records of vital public interest for the past two years. His inaction denies the public prompt and reasonable access to public documents and violates Oklahomas Open Records Act, said Nelon. Under the Oklahoma Open Records Act, the people are vested with the inherent right to know and be fully informed about their government so they may efficiently and intelligently exercise their inherent political power. The act also mandates that a public body must provide prompt, reasonable access to its records. Freedom of information is essential to ensure the integrity of our government, said Brady Henderson, legal director of the ALCU of Oklahoma. When public officials like Scott Pruitt fail to abide by Open Records Act requirements, it interferes with the peoples ability to do our job holding government accountable. With Pruitt seeking confirmation to become EPA administrator, these public records are essential for the U.S. Senate to do its job too. Public records belong in public view, not hidden for months or years behind closed doors. For the past several years, CMD has led an investigation to pull back the curtain on Pruitts and other attorneys generals relationships with fossil fuel industry titans and the advocacy groups they fund. The lawsuit comes on the heels of a difficult few weeks for Pruitts nomination in which research from CMD has demonstrated Pruitts repeated pattern of obfuscating ties to deep-pocketed, corporate interests. At his hearing before the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee, Pruitt faced a series of questions about his private meetings with major fossil fuel companies while chair of the Republican Attorneys General Association and fundraising for the Rule of Law Defense Fund. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse concluded his questioning telling Pruitt his testimony just doesnt add up. Despite failing to respond to any records requests for the past two years, Pruitt told U.S. senators last week to file more open records requests with his office to answer 19 outstanding questions from his confirmation hearing. https://twitter.com/EcoWatch/status/822131474614861824 the Presidents Clean Power plan, his immigration rule and his attempt at a massive takeover of the waters of the U.S. ((Photo: Pamela Geller))The bus ad was deemed suitable for display on New York City buses by a district judge A controversial advertisement with the slogan 'Killing Jews is worship' has been deemed fit for display on New York City buses. The ad was created by the American Freedom Defense Initiative (AFDI) and the full quote reads: "Killing Jews is worship that draws us close to Allah." A question underneath asks: "That's his Jihad. What's yours?" Alongside the text, a man glares menacingly, with a scarf concealing most of his face. The Metropolitan Transport Authority (MTA) in New York wanted to refuse the "savage" ad on the grounds that it could incite terrorism and violence. Ruling on the case, U.S. District Judge John Koelti suggested the MTA's concerns about security were exaggerated, as the ad campaign has already run on public transport in Chicago and San Francisco without incident. He reasoned that the wording of the advert fell within the protections for free speech enshrined in the U.S. Constitution. "It strains credulity to believe that New Yorkers would be incited to violence by ads that did not incite residents of Chicago and San Francisco," he said. He added: "Moreover, there is no evidence that seeing one of these advertisements on the back of a bus would be sufficient to trigger a violent reaction. Therefore, these adsoffensive as they may beare still entitled to First Amendment protection." The MTA has 30 days to appeal the ruling before it comes into effect. A spokesman for the organisation said they were "disappointed" by the verdict and "reviewing our options". The AFDI said the ad challenges Hamas and Islamic anti-Semitism. It was celebrating the result, which it described as as "an important victory for the freedom of speech today". (Photo: REUTERS / Ibraheem Abu Mustafa)Palestinians chant slogans during the funeral of three senior Hamas commanders, who were killed in an Israeli air strike, in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip August 21, 2014. Israel killed three senior Hamas commanders in an air strike on the Gaza Strip, the clearest signal yet that Israel is intent on eliminating the group's military leadership after a failed attempt on the life of its top commander this week. Hamas, which dominates Gaza, named the men as Mohammed Abu Shammala, Raed al-Attar and Mohammed Barhoum and said they were killed in the bombing of a house in the southern town of Rafah. All three were described as senior Hamas military figures. A Palestinian who works for the Christian non-governmental organization World Vision has pleaded not guilty to helping Hamas the group that wants to destroy Israel and found an Islamic State instead. Israel accuses Mohammed al-Halabi, head of Gaza operations for World Vision, of siphoning millions of dollar to Hamas. The military wing of Hamas, along with several charities it runs, has been named as a terrorist organization by Israel (1989), the United States (1996), Canada (2002), the European Union (2001/2003), Japan (2006) and Egypt (2015), and it was outlawed in Jordan (1999). Hamas has since 2007 been the main governing group in Gaza. Since 2008, Israel has fought three wars with Hamas in Gaza. Muhammad el-Halabi, a manager of the World Vision charity's operations in the Gaza Strip, was indicted on Aug. 4, 2016, for diverting the charity's funds to Hamas, Agence France-Presse reports. The Gaza head of the U.S.-based NGO appeared in the Beersheba district court in southern Israel on Feb. 2 and pleaded not guilty to all charges against him of aiding Hamas, World Vision said. Israel accuses Mohammed al-Halabi, head of Gaza operations for World Vision, of siphoning millions of dollars to the Islamist movement which runs the territory. Israel's internal security agency, Shin Bet, claims El Halabi received military and organizational training in the early 2000s and was "planted" at World Vision in 2005, premier.org reports. Shin Bet alleges donations to World Vision paid for the salaries of high profile Hamas officials, while almost 70,000 British pounds ($87,000) was wrongly spent on a Hamas military base built in 2015. The claims are that he created fictitious humanitarian projects and increased costs in other projects so he could send the money to Hamas. World Vision says its humanitarian work in Gaza has been suspended following Halabi's arrest "as we conduct a thorough and wide-ranging review of our operations." "World Vision has not seen any credible evidence supporting the charges," it said in a statement. Halabi's lawyers have complained they have been prevented from seeing much of the evidence against him and objected to two additional charges being tacked on seven months after his initial arrest. The trial will continue on Feb. 23. New research from the Office of the Childrens eSafety Commissioner, reveals children as young as eight are sharing their surnames, school details and uniforms, phone numbers, and street addresses on their social media accounts. The finding comes as thousands of students across Australia participate in Safer Internet Day presentations through the Offices Virtual Classrooms helping students to positively manage their digital reputation and understand the importance of both privacy and safety online. In June 2016, the Office undertook a national survey of children, teens and parents who use the internet. Parents were asked about their approach to online safety, and what information they need to support their children to be safe online. The total sample comprised 1,367 children, 912 teens and 2,360 parents. Only one child and one parent were interviewed per household. Children aged 8 to 13 and teens aged 14 to 17 were asked detailed questions about their internet use and online practices, including how they manage their negative experiences online. A spokesperson from the Office of the Childrens eSafety Commissioner, Julie Inman Grant, told The Educator that principals can help promote a safer internet for students by implementing online safety education modules, early and regularly, in classrooms. The Office of the Childrens eSafety Commissioner has a range of education resources and activities schools can use, suitable for primary age students right through to high school, the spokesperson said. Principals should also ensure their staff are equipped with the necessary skills to help young people deal with online safety issues. The spokesperson added that the Office provides free Virtual Classroom PD sessions for teachers to help boost their knowledge and confidence in assisting students to stay safe online. We need to be having regular conversations with young people about what is and is not okay to share online, and make sure we are modelling the same behaviours in our own social media use, the spokesperson said. However, despite the personal information shared, 61% of young Australians surveyed revealed they had their main social media account set to private. The good news is that most young people are using privacy settings, however, education is essential to reinforcing the importance of keeping sensitive information private, said Grant in a statement today. Wisconsin and Wyoming have been notified by the U.S. Department of Education that they cannot win approval to use the ACT to measure high school achievement until they submit substantial amounts of evidence supporting its use. The two states learned of the deferred approvals in letters in December and January . They came as part of the federal departments long-standing peer review process, which requires states to undergo periodic, detailed evaluation of their assessment systems. The Every Student Succeeds Act, or ESSA, allows states to substitute nationally recognized high school tests such as the ACT or SAT instead of their own state tests to measure secondary school achievement. But states must win the approval of the federal departments peer reviewers, the same way they must for the assessments they use in elementary and middle school. Thirty-eight states submitted all or parts of their assessment systems for review last year. Like Wisconsin and Wyoming, most received notices that their assessment systems only partially meet federal requirements. They, too, must submit more evidence to win full approval, but they can continue using the tests while they do so. Wyoming and Wisconsin are the only states that sought approval for the ACT in this latest round of peer review. The federal departments responses are of interest because a growing number of states are using the ACT or SAT college-admissions tests as a way of gauging students mastery of academic standards, including the common core. Next Steps The letters said the federal department will place conditions on part of the states federal Title I funding allocations while they work on winning approval and would hold quarterly progress calls with them to track their progress. ACT spokesman Ed Colby said the company is eager to work with Wisconsin and Wyoming to help them gain full approval to use the ACT for accountability. He noted in an email that the letters dont state that the ACT is not compliant. They simply state that there are some aspects and additional data that [the Education Department] wants to see. Both states were asked to supply documentation that independent alignment studies were conducted to show that the ACT fully reflects the states academic content standards. And both states were also asked to supply evidence that supports their use of the ACT for students with disabilities. Wisconsins letter, in particular, seeks evidence that particular groups of students werent disadvantaged in taking the ACT. The Education Department requested a differential item functioning analysis that shows whether certain kinds of questions, such as essays or performance tasks, function differently for relevant student groups. The state must also clarify what specific accessibility tools are available to all students, including students with disabilities, and demonstrate that it has a process to determine that the accommodations it provides allow fair access for English-learners and students with special needs. The glistening white salt of the world famous Bonneville Salt Flats is shrinking near the Utah-Nevada line. The prehistoric lakebed has long been a mecca for daredevil speed racers, as well as a backdrop for famous movie scenes and destination for selfie-seeking tourists. Concerns are mounting about the future of the treeless expanse of salt crystals and yet another study has been launched as researchers try to pinpoint the cause and solution. They know a century of mining a potassium-based salt called potash has played a role and are also trying to assess how racing, tourism and climate change factor in. Congressional Republicans and President Donald Trump, aiming to break years of fiscal gridlock, could make significant changes to the U.S. Department of Educations budgetchanges that might include major cuts. There are conflicting signals about whether theyll impose big cuts that hit students in special education, educators in teacher training, and other beneficiaries of federal education programs. Budget sequestration, the mandated caps on spending that have defined the fiscal environment in Washington in recent years, may not make the headlines it used to. But lawmakers still have to decide if they want to end that constraint for education and other domestic programsand if so, how those budgets will look for whats left of fiscal 2017 and for fiscal 2018, which begins Oct. 1. Dramatic reductions in spending appear possible. A recent report from The Hill newspaper indicated that a 2017 budget blueprint from the Heritage Foundation, a leading policy voice on the political right, could form the basis for the Trump administrations fiscal 2018 budget. Conservative Blueprint That blueprint includes reducing so-called formula funding in education by 10 percent, or $2.3 billion, for federal programs like Title I whose aid is allotted mainly according to fixed formulas; cutting competitive and project grant funding under the Every Student Succeeds Act by $1.8 billion; and phasing out Head Start by cutting 10 percent from the program each year, or $935 million in the first year. (Head Start, which serves preschoolers from poor families, is overseen by the Department of Health and Human Services, not the Education Department.) In the current years budget, Title I for disadvantaged students is the largest single piece of federal K-12 spending, at $14.9 billion, followed by Individuals with Disabilities Education Act state grants, at $11.9 billion. Although the Heritage budget calls for a 10 percent cut to formula-funded education programs, the director of the think tanks Center for Education Policy, Lindsey Burke, said it wants to look at allocating IDEA money differently but isnt calling for cuts in that aid at this time. The very general approach is one in which we want to restore as much state and local control of education as possible, she said. said. In my opinion, in order to get to that point, it requires a stop to what we see as an education spending spree. There could also be a fierce competition for a shrinking pie of dollars, not just between education advocates and those fighting for Labor Department and HHS programs, but also between advocates of various programs within the Education Department budget. The Education, Labor, and HHS departments are funded through the same congressional budget bills. Rep. Tom Cole, R-Okla., the leader of the appropriations subcommittee in the House of Representatives that funds the Education Department, stressed that hes still finding out where the Trump administration stands on key K-12 spending questions, and that much will be shaped by Trumps priorities. Cole also said an overall reduction in department spending may be more likely than not. However, Cole also offered a measure of support for some of the biggest formula-funded programs at the Education Department. Some of these basic programs like Title I and IDEA are important building blocks for a lot of school districts around the country, he said. Recent Action The Education Department budget was $68.1 billion for fiscal 2016. Of that amount, $22.5 billion was for Pell Grants for higher education; Title I aid was the second-biggest category. (Because the federal budget is operating on a continuing resolution through late April, those fiscal 2016 spending levels have essentially rolled over into fiscal 2017.) Last year, when the GOP-controlled Congress approved spending bills, the House appropriations panel approved a fiscal 2017 bill that would cut $1.3 billion out of the departments budget. Among other reductions, state teacher-quality grants would be cut from $2.35 billion, to $1.95 billion; the office for civil rights from $107 million to $100 million; and the Education Innovation and Research program would be eliminated. In addition, the Student Support and Academic Enrichment Program in Title IVa big new block grant for various programs created by ESSAwould be funded at $1 billion, less than the $1.6 billion authorized in ESSA, but more than the $300 million allocated in the Senate budget bill for education. Special education grants to states under the IDEA, however, would get an increase of $500 million, to $12.4 billion, and Title I spending would go from $14.9 million to $15.4 billion. That Senate spending bill had a smaller overall cut to the Education Department, just $200 million, even as it increased funding for Title I by $500 million, up to $15.4 billion. Some advocates were still concerned because of other budget changes. Last summer, Speaker of the House Paul Ryans A Better Way policy blueprint called for reducing redundancy in early-education and child-care programs funded by Washington, and criticized Head Start for the fade out some research has shown occurs as children progress through the early grades. Its also unclear if, or how, a big push by the Trump administration to create a federal tuition-voucher program would shake up the education budget. When Trump announced his $20 billion voucher plan during the campaign last year, he said the money would come from existing federal funds. But the president hasnt elaborated on that idea. Cole said that if his subcommittee comes back to craft another education spending bill for fiscal 2017, the plan likely wouldnt look significantly different from what the panel put together last year. But he added that we dont have a lot of time to pass a regular appropriations bill for fiscal 2017 before the start of the next fiscal year in October. Without any action to alter sequestration, overall domestic discretionary spending is slated to go down by $3 billion in the next budget year, noted Erik Fatemi, a vice president at Cornerstone Government Affairs and a former Democratic staffer on the Senate appropriations subcommittee that handles education. And its unsafe to assume that the Labor-HHS-Education budget would merely take a corresponding $1 billion reduction, he added. The glory days of programs like the Obama administrations Race to the Topin which states applied for federal grants to accomplish certain education goals under certain requirementswill probably seem like a distant past when Republicans sit down to draw up their budget, according to Fatemi. Republicans for a long time have been frustrated by competitive [grant] programs. I think youre going to see that formula programs will carry the day much more than competitive programs, Fatemi said. Thats because many Republicans are concerned that if they cut formula programs like Title I, they could be accused of imposing unfunded mandates on states and school districts, said Julia Martin, the legislative director for Brustein and Manasevit, an education-focused law firm. Big-Ticket Items That concern among lawmakers would also apply, she said, to the IDEA, under which the federal government is authorized to pay for up to 40 percent of the cost of educating students with disabilities. Congress has not come close to reaching that level, however. Martin said theres the potential that advocates for different formula-funded aid programs will end up fighting over which formulas should be cut. In that case, Martin said, often the easiest answer is that kind of across-the-board cut. Such thinking could lead the administration back to the Heritage plan. Sheryl Cohen, the executive director of the Committee for Education Funding, a lobbying coalition that supports adequate federal support for K-12, predicted an overall cut for education in President Trumps proposed fiscal 2018 budget, but a boost for charter school aid. She pointed out that aside from Title I and the IDEA, only four other programs in the Education Department currently get more than $1 billion: Impact Aid, career and technical education programs, teacher-training programs, and after-school programs. (Impact Aid helps offset schools loss of local tax revenue in areas with a big federal presence, such as military bases, which might make it less likely to get cut by a GOP-controlled Congress.) Unfortunately, these are among the most important programs for filling the gaps in state and local funding, and most target their funding to at-risk students, Cohen said in an email. Fatemi said that the recent House and Senate education spending bills, despite general concerns about domestic spending levels under the GOP-controlled Congress, contained notable increases for Title I and the IDEA. But its unclear whether the new president will go along with them. Republicans are going to want to hear what Trump has to say. He may tell them to work it out, or he may have priorities, Fatemi said. Neil M. Gorsuch has confronted a wide range of education issues as a federal appeals court judge over the last 11 years, siding with school authorities much of the time but with some notable exceptions. Gorsuch is President Donald J. Trumps choice to fill the vacancy on the U.S. Supreme Court created by the death of Antonin Scalia last year. Judge Gorsuch has outstanding legal skills, a brilliant mind, tremendous discipline, and has earned bipartisan support, Trump said Jan. 31 in the East Room of the White House. And his academic credentials, something very important to me, in that education has always been a priority, are as good as I have ever seen. Gorsuch, 49, was born in Denver but moved to the Washington suburbs and attended the elite Georgetown Preparatory School in Bethesda, Md., when his mother, Ann Gorsuch Burford, was appointed by President Ronald Reagan to lead the Environmental Protection Agency. She resigned that post in 1983. Gorsuch graduated from Columbia University in 1988 and from Harvard Law School in 1991. He earned a doctorate at Oxford University as a Marshall Scholar. He was a law clerk to retired Justice Byron R. White, also a Colorado native, and also served Justice Anthony M. Kennedy during the 1993-94 term of the court. If confirmed, he would become the first law clerk to join the court and serve alongside a justice for whom he had clerked. Gorsuch was a senior U.S. Department of Justice official when he was nominated to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit, in Denver, by President George W. Bush in 2006. Gorsuch, appearing with his wife, Louise, on a dais with Trump, said the work of the Supreme Court is vital to the protection of the peoples liberties under law and to the continuity of our Constitution, the greatest charter of human liberty the world has ever known. Gorsuch said that when we judges don our robes, it doesnt make us any smarter, but it does serve as a reminder of whats expected of us: Impartiality and independence, collegiality and courage. Gorsuch lives near Boulder, Colo., with his wife and two teenage daughters, reportedly on a large lot with horses, chickens, and goats. When it comes to education, Gorsuch has written or joined opinions in cases involving school discipline, education finance, special education, and school employee speech, among others. Here is a look at some of his key education rulings: Student Discipline Last year, Gorsuch notably dissented from a 10th Circuit panel ruling that upheld a school resource officers arrest and handcuffing of a New Mexico 7th grader for disrupting his class with fake burps. The 2-1 panel majority in A.M. v. Holmes ruled that the officer was immune from liability because it was not clearly established that the students classroom disruptions would not be in violation of a New Mexico law that prohibits interference with the educational process at any public or private school. The majority also upheld qualified immunity for the officer regarding his use of handcuffs when he took the 13-year-old to a juvenile detention center. In his dissent, Gorsuch wrote with a sense of dismay that a students classroom disruption that would have once resulted in a trip to the principals office and detention was now leading to the involvement of the police. And maybe today the officer decides that, instead of just escorting the now-compliant 13-year-old to the principals office, an arrest would be a better idea, Gorsuch said. So out come the handcuffs and off goes the child to juvenile detention. My colleagues suggest the law permits exactly this option. ... Respectfully, I remain unpersuaded. Gorsuch added that the New Mexico courts had long ago alerted law enforcement that the statutory language on which the officer relied for the arrest in this case does not criminalize noises or diversions that merely disturb the peace or good order of individual classes. Respectfully, I would have thought this authority sufficient to alert any reasonable officer in this case that arresting a now compliant class clown for burping was going a step too far, Gorsuch wrote. In a 2014 case, Hawker v. Sandy City Corp., Gorsuch joined an unsigned 10th Circuit panel decision holding that a city police officers twist lock restraint of the arms of a 9-year-old student suspected of stealing an iPad at school did not constitute excessive force. The panel agreed with a federal district court that the officer, who was called to the school after the student was caught by the principal with the stolen iPad, used the twist-lock only after the student had grabbed her arm. The facts in this case are unfortunate in all respects, the 10th Circuit panel opinion said. It is regrettable that a police officer feels a need to resort to physical force, handcuffs, and arrest in order to gain control of and reason with a 9-year-old child. Equally regrettable is the disrespectful, obdurate, and combative behavior of that 9-year-old child. In any event, given [the students] resistance, [the officers] actions in this case simply do not rise to the level of a constitutional violation. Special Education In yet another case about constraining a student, this time in special education, Gorsuch joined a unanimous panel decision in 2013 that held a school districts use of a timeout room to briefly restrain an elementary school student with developmental disabilities did not shock the conscience and thus did not violate the students constitutional rights. The case of Muskrat v. Deer Creek Public Schools involved an Oklahoma familys claims about the use of the timeout room for their child, who was between ages 5 and 10 when it was used. In a more typical special education case, Gorsuch wrote the opinion for a unanimous three-judge panel in 2008 that ruled against a family seeking reimbursement for the placement of a child with autism in a private residential facility because the parents believed their school district had failed to provide a free, appropriate public education under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. The parents had argued that despite making progress on his educational goals in school, the boy had trouble generalizing his learning experiences at home and in the community. In Thompson R2-J School District v. Luke P., the 10th Circuit court panel reversed a federal district court ruling that had ordered reimbursement for the private placement. We sympathize with Lukes family and do not question the enormous burdens they face, Gorsuch wrote for the panel. Our job, however, is to apply the law as Congress has written it and the Supreme Court has interpreted it. The [IDEA] does not require that states do whatever is necessary to ensure that all students achieve a particular standardized level of ability and knowledge. Rather, it much more modestly calls for the creation of individualized programs reasonably calculated to enable the student to make some progress towards the goals within that program. Gary S. Mayerson, a New York City lawyer who had filed a friend-of-the-court brief on the familys side for the group Autism Speaks, wrote a letter to Sen. Charles E. Schumer, D-N.Y., that criticized Gorsuchs opinion in the case. Gorsuch wrote an opinion revealing his low and short-sighted expectations for individuals with autism, Mayerson wrote, and that Judge Gorsuchs low expectations and equally low educational standards, he makes a poor choice to be considered for the high court. Stuart Stuller, a Boulder, Colo., lawyer who specializes in education law and represented the Thompson school district in that case, declined to comment on the substance of Gorsuchs opinion. Stuller said he has appeared before Gorsuch in three 10th Circuit cases, and hes extremely bright and someone who is always very well prepared on the bench. School Finance In an education-finance case, Gorsuch joined a 2012 panel decision that a group of Kansas parents in the Shawnee Mission district could proceed with a lawsuit seeking to declare a federal constitutional right to spend more on education than the states school-finance plan permitted. The 10th Circuit held in Petrella v. Brownback that the parents group had standing to sue because their alleged injuryunequal treatment by the statecould be redressed by a favorable decision. (The suit was later rejected on the merits, including by a separate 10th Circuit panel that did not include Gorsuch.) In a 2007 case, Casey v. West Las Vegas Independent School District, Gorsuch wrote the opinion for a 10th Circuit panel that upheld the dismissal of most First Amendment free speech retaliation claims brought by a district superintendent. The superintendent had been demoted and later her contract was not renewed by the school board after she raised issues about improper spending in the districts Head Start program and that the board was violating the states open meetings act and other concerns about board actions. Gorsuch wrote that most of the superintendents retaliation claims were barred under the then recent decision of the U.S. Supreme Court in Garcetti v. Ceballos, a 2006 decision that held when public employees speak pursuant to their jobs, they are not immune from discipline as they might be when speaking out as citizens on a matter of public concern. We do not mean to suggest [the superintendents] speech regarding the Head Start program did not relate to a matter of public concern, Gorsuch wrote. Far from it. As we have held many times, speech reporting the illicit or improper activities of a government entity or its agents is obviously a matter of great public import. We simply hold that [the superintendents] speech, such as it was, is more akin to that of a senior executive acting pursuant to official duties than to that of an ordinary citizen speaking on his or her own time. Accordingly, Gorsuch said, the superintendent could not meet her burden here and avoid the heavy barrier erected by the Supreme Court in Garcetti. The court did allow a claim to proceed based on the superintendents reporting to the state attorney general about possible violations by the school board of the open-meetings law. Those statements, Gorsuch wrote, are another kettle of fish. Its more than a little upsetting that in more than three hours of testimony before Congress on her nomination to be the new U.S. secretary of education, neither Betsy DeVos nor the members of Congress grilling her said anythingnot a single wordabout a cohort of more than a half-million American students who will fall under the Department of Educations remit. That group? Native American students. The challenges facing Native students in America today are known, although hardly ever discussed outside of Native communities. According to national statistics, our students are more likely to be labeled as having special needs and experience higher rates of suspension and expulsion than white students. Just 67 percent of Native students graduate from high schoola figure well below the national average. This is in part due to a tribal education system that has been imposed on us by the federal government for 150 years. But contrary to what many think, education in Indian Country is not in need of a solution imposed by others who know little about our communities. Solutions already lie within. Created in the 19th century, the federal system responsible for educating American Indian students and funding Indian schools is a direct result of treaties entered into by our sovereign tribal nations and the federal government. At its inception, this education system had a stated policy of forcing the assimilation of Indian people by eradicating tribal culture. Students were intentionally taken away from their families and placed in boarding schools, where many endured physical and mental abuse. Slowly, the federal government moved away from these devastating policies, but the system that remains today for Native students is underfunded and inadequately staffed. The buildings our students study in are plagued with infrastructure problems, yet federal money, which should be guaranteed in accordance with long-standing treaties, has not been made available to fix them. The story of the Havasupai Elementary School in Arizona, at the heart of a recently filed lawsuit, is an example of how our federal education system has failed Native students. Nine students from the school are suing the Bureau of Indian Education for knowingly failing to provide basic general education. These are problems seen not just in this school, but in many other BIE schools across Indian Country. The failure to fully fund school construction, renovations, and repairs, coupled with the current federal hiring freeze (which could prevent teacher vacancies from being filled), does not set our students up for success. The system that remains today for Native students is underfunded and inadequately staffed." Still, many outside of Indian Country have offered several answers to repair the failing, broken system our children and their families endure. There have been calls to privatize schools through vouchers, to move responsibility from the federal government to state control, or to close some BIE schools entirely. Every one of these so-called solutions, while well-meaning, has a common thread: Tribes and Native people were not involved in the development of any of them. This means, unfortunately for us all, they are unlikely to work. Simply put, lasting solutions must be developed in partnership with Native communities, and there are examples across Indian Country that show how tribal innovation and leadership can lead to programs and services that meet communitywide needs. Through local control and direct community engagement, tribes have redesigned their courts, health-care systems, and workforce. For example, in Alaska, innovative approaches to dental health have made significant headway in improving youths oral health at a fraction of the standard cost. In Montana, the Confederated Tribes of Salish and Kootenai have transformed workforce-development programs and cut their unemployment rate by 20 percentage points. In Washington state, the Tulalip Tribe has developed a world-class, culturally sensitive tribal court system that has reduced recidivism rates among tribal offenders. Programs like these show that a win-win situation is possible when federal funds are spent in accordance with what the community wants and needs. And, today, we have a new opportunity to ensure these same successes in education. The education system promised by the trust responsibility to our tribes must be honored, not dismantled with vouchers or a hand-off of control to a state or local government body. The solutions lie within our communities. Everyonetribes, the federal government, and other partnersmust work together to ensure that the schools where our children are educated have the flexibility to create innovative approaches to meet the unique educational and cultural needs of Indian students. This can only be done through a tribal-led system. The work needed to transform the lasting hallmarks of a failed federal system cannot be done overnight or in isolation. Before more money is thrown into another well-meaning but poorly crafted solution, our existing schools should be given every opportunity to thrive, regardless of who leads the Department of Education. Native students absolutely need new culturally based approaches to providing the world-class education they deserve. To get there, we need committed partners who understand that traditional knowledge and culture-based education are key to producing engaged, successful learners. And we need partners who understand that tribes and Native communities must not only have a voice, they must lead the way. Mid-morning, mid-week, a middle-aged woman wearing pajamas and a bathrobe enters the Los Monaguillos cafe in Marmoles street in Malagas Trinidad district and orders churros. The waiter writes the order down but tells her shell have to wait outside and get her food at the door. What this customer didnt realize is that, for the past week, the cafe has introduced a strict no pajama and bathrobe dress code. The Los Monaguillos cafe in Malaga. Garcia-Santos Attention. No one in pajamas or bathrobe allowed, reads the sign in the window. The decision was taken in consideration of hygiene, image and respect for other customers, says the owner Maria Jose Silva, 76. Its not meant to be discriminatory, but it is meant to establish a basic sense of decorum. You should know how to behave outside your home, says Maria Jose, who favors a youthful look with leggings and a poncho, accessorized with a great deal of jewelry. I personally warned anyone coming in wearing their pajamas and robes, she says, but they paid no attention, so I thought we would put up a sign. I warned anyone coming in wearing their pajamas and robes, but they paid no attention Bar owner Maria Jose Silva Alexandro Tabaracu, one of the cafes seven employees taken on when it opened more than seven months ago, estimates that before the ban around 20 people came into the cafe every day wearing their bedclothes. As there are a lot of people who still dont know about the ban, they keep coming dressed like that, he says. We serve them but we tell them its the last time unless they wear something else. In general, he says, the customers havent taken it too badly. An cafe employee puts up a sign warning customers of the ban. Garcia-Santos Going around in your pajamas and bathrobe is not unique to this part of town, although, being a depressed neighborhood, it is perhaps more common here than elsewhere. Those who go out in their nightwear are mainly women who might go on to do the shopping after their cup of morning coffee. The men, meanwhile, are prone to going about their business naked from the waist up in summer a tendency bars and shops have been trying to stamp out for some years, without much success. Maria Jose laughs when she talks about the pajamas and describes how people in the neighborhood can be seen following the Easter processions that pass close to her establishment in their nightgowns. The men, meanwhile, are prone to going about their business naked from the waist up in summer The cafe itself is new and clean and attracts a steady stream of customers, many of them talking at their tables about the ban. Do I think its a good idea? asks Antonia, a 70-something who has come for breakfast with her husband Pepe. Of course it is! They have very good churros here and its a very clean cafe. You cant just come in however you fancy. English version by Heather Galloway. To build the largest and most complete Amateur Radio community site on the Internet - a "portal" that hams think of as the first place to go for information, to exchange ideas, and be part of whats happening with ham radio on the Internet. eHam.net provides recognition and enjoyment to the people who use, contribute, and build the site. This project involves a management team of volunteers who each take a topic of interest and manage it with passion. The site will stand above all other ham radio sites by employing the latest technology and professional design/programming standards, developed by a team of community programmers who contribute their skills to the effort. The site will be something of which everyone involved can be proud to say they were a part. We welcome your comments. The eHam.net Team, Revision 07/2020. Medical innovation from previous failure Going from university research to an industrial start-up was a bit of craziness, because I didnt know anything about medical diagnostics, says Joao. But he did know where to find the right guidance: previous failure. A few years earlier I had tried my first start-up. It was not a success but I learnt a lot of things. First, that I could not do it all on my own. I had to find the best people, biochemists, physicians, to help me make this possible. Second, that identifying a large unmet need and developing a technology that works is not enough. If you want to move from demonstrating to producing, you need money. So in mid-2014 Joao applied for a loan from the European Investment Bank. I filled an online form available on the EIB website without too much hope. We are small and, though we have amazing technology and people, ours is a risky business. But along the process I was really surprised by the way people from the Bank were involved, and by the fact that such a big institution made the step of believing in an adventure such as Biosufit. A Biosurfit researcher checks the functioning of the machines at the companys lab. Located at the Universidade Nova de Lisboa, the facilities are becoming too small for the growing team. The EIB loan will help finance a new factory With a EUR 12 million loan from the EU bank, Joao and team are building a new factory in Lisbon, hiring new people and investing to deliver new test options to doctors. The loan is supported by InnovFin EU Finance for Innovators, an investment programme designed to facilitate access to finance for innovative businesses. Medical innovation gets innovative financing The EIBs loan to Biosurfit is actually a new product called quasi-equity. The product aims to fill the market gap that afflicts many R&D-intensive, small and medium-sized European companies. At an early stage of development, its a challenge for such companies to find debt financing from the private sector. Their financing needs are also smaller than a regular EIB loan. Heres how it works: The EIB makes a loan to an innovative company like Biosurfit. Steady repayment of the loan or interest payments would drain the companys coffers just when it needs to be investing in research and development. Quasi-equity loans allow more flexible repayment that can be based on the performance of the company. Without the backing from the EIB we would go slower and wed be unable to deliver to the market the products they are asking for. This loan allows us to develop and attempt to conquer the world in a quicker way, Joao says with a smile. A blood test at the companys lab Biosurfits technology analyses a small drop of blood placed inside a disposable CD with a special CD drive, also developed by the team Biosufit is now selling its technology to hospitals and doctors offices in the Netherlands, Belgium, Norway, Switzerland and the Middle East. They expect to expand to the US and Asia in a couple of years. Joao has travelled the world over explaining how Biosurfits Portuguese innovation helps both patients and doctors. Coming from a country thats not well known for its science, we have an additional responsibility to show we are capable of doing cutting edge technology. People are surprised at first, but showing the technology working always makes the difference! 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. Spain is among the European Union member states with the lowest levels of environmental taxes. The latest figures from Eurostat, from 2014, show that Spain collected 19.2 billion from taxes on pollution, transportation, energy and the use of natural resources, equivalent to 1.85% of GDP, compared to the EU average of 2.5%. Half of these kinds of taxes were paid directly by consumers through their electricity bill or at the gas pump. Spain is still heavily dependent on imported energy. EFE In recent years, multilateral organizations such as the European Commission, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) have all called on the Popular Party (PP) administration of Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy to raise so-called green taxes. The government is putting the finishing touches to a new tax on hydrocarbons in response. No details are known, but the government has told Brussels that it plans to raise around 500 million more in environmental taxes in 2017. A comprehensive new European Commission report looking at how EU environmental policies and laws are applied on the ground across the 28-country bloc reminds the Spanish government that in 2014 it tasked a committee of experts headed by economist Manuel Lagares to list tax reform proposals. The energy industry is accused of pressuring central and regional governments to prevent them from raising taxes That committee came up with several recommendations to harmonize and improve the functioning of environmental taxes in Spain, increasing revenue in a logical and sustainable way. But the recommendations do not form part of the tax reform approved in Spain at the end of 2014, said the Commission in its European Implementation Review package. Reducing subsidies that are damaging to the environment is another key challenge, notes the European Commission. Spain is still subsidizing fossil fuels, local coal, company cars and diesel, it says, adding: Spain has no overall strategy to eliminate environmentally harmful subsidies. The European Commission illustrates this use of fossil fuel subsidies through the so-called diesel-gasoline differential, saying, This is not justified from an environmental perspective, pointing out that diesel emits higher levels of several atmospheric pollutants and should be taxed higher. But Spains taxes on diesel are lower than on gasoline. The result is more diesel cars. Currently in the EU more than 55% of new registrations are diesel cars; while in Spain this goes up to 63%. A recent study by three Spanish academics on green policies entitled Las Nuevas Reformas Verdes (New Green Reforms), concludes: Environmental tax has still not managed to carry out a relevant role in international tax reform due to institutional restrictions. It adds: In the case of Spain, environmental taxes have so far not played a relevant role. The government has always been reticent about incorporating these instruments and has only done so tangentially to resolve short-term revenue or regulatory problems, which is why Spain is currently at the bottom of European rankings in the use of these taxes. More than 55% of newly registered cars in the EU are diesel, while in Spain the figure is 63% European Commission report The authors argue that the academic evidence shows major possibilities for these taxes in Spain, with important improvements in collection (between 1.6 billion and 32.8 billion), reductions in CO2 emissions of up to 2.5% and with reduced impact on GDP and employment. They blame the Spanish government and problems related to competitiveness for the delay in imposing more green taxes, explaining that the difficulties the tax authorities face in creating a new levy are greater than reforming an existing one. The authors point out that Spain is still heavily dependent on imported energy and that more taxes would further increase costs and damage competitiveness in the short term. Other experts say that the energy industry is pressuring Spains central and regional governments to prevent them from raising taxes. The European Commission also highlights lack of coordination between Spains devolved regions, which was signaled in the report headed by Manuel Lagares. Many environmental taxes, for example, concerning waste management, water abstraction, water pollution, wastewater, and air pollution are adopted and implemented at regional and even at local level, with a high normative dispersion and different approaches, it says, adding: This heterogeneous situation may lead to market fragmentation and economic inefficiencies. English version by Nick Lyne. The Spanish Film Academy has reported the theft of 30,000 worth of jewelry during the Goya Awards ceremony held last Saturday in Madrid. While Spains movie industry was busy celebrating its equivalent of the Hollywood Oscars inside a local hotel, thieves broke into one of the rooms and made off with the loot, said Madrid police officials on Tuesday morning. The robbery took place inside the Hotel Marriott Auditorium, located near Madrids Barajas airport. According to police sources, the thieves found the room holding items on loan from Suarez, a prestigious jewelry store. The stolen goods were described as four pairs of cuff-links, a ring and a pair of earrings with a market value of 30,000. A second theft has been reported by a cameraman covering the Goya award ceremony The costly gems were under the care of the wardrobe department. They were not being kept inside safe boxes, and no special security measures had been taken to protect them, the news agency Europa Press reported. The owners realized that the jewels were missing at around 10am on Monday. The theft was reported later that day at the local police precinct in the San Blas district. Crime-scene investigators are going over security footage in a bid to identify the suspects. A second theft has been reported by a cameraman covering the Goya award ceremony for the state broadcaster TVE. The worker said he is missing several zooms and memory cards that he put down for a few moments during the course of the evening. English version by Susana Urra. Spain denied entry visas to the relatives of migrants who drowned during a mass bid to enter the Spanish North African exclave of Ceuta in February 2014, a Spanish NGO said on Monday. Caminando Fronteras, which works with immigrants, made the accusation at an event in the Spanish Congress marking the third anniversary of the tragedy in which 15 people most of them from Cameroon died while attempting to swim around a seawall at the El Tarajal border crossing between Ceuta and Morocco. Protesters at the site of the tragedy. Paco Puentes Helena Maleno of the NGO said Spain denied visas to relatives of the victims, which they had applied for in Cameroon in May of 2016. The purpose of travel was given as participating in the task of identifying bodies and in taking part in commemorative acts, Maleno said. But the Spanish embassy in the capital of Yaounde judged the family members couldnt adequately establish their identity and that there was a risk of illegal immigration, Maleno added. The investigation into the tragedy noted that the bodies of victims were not properly identified An appeal against the decision was rejected and legal action is now being considered by the NGO. Maleno also told deputies that the Spanish authorities had refused to carry out DNA tests on family members to help identify the bodies. Spains Foreign Ministry has not commented on the decision to reject the visa applications. The third anniversary of the incident has special significance, as the Ceuta seat of the Provincial Court of Cadiz recently decided to reopen the case after a group of NGOs including Caminando Fronteras lodged an appeal against an October 2015 decision to dismiss the case against 16 Civil Guard officers in connection with the drownings. A captain, a lieutenant, a sergeant and other members of the Spanish law enforcement agency had been under scrutiny over their use of rubber bullets to contain a group of around 400 people who had gathered at El Tarajal beach. El Tarajal is the only official border crossing between Morocco and Ceuta and is heavily fortified. El Tarajal is the site of the only official border crossing between Morocco and Ceuta and is heavily fortified During the border crossing attempt, the would-be migrants broke up into two groups, with one trying to reach Ceuta by foot at El Tarajal and the other diving into the sea in a desperate attempt to escape Moroccan authorities. The judge dropped the case, ruling the Civil Guard officers had acted according to the law and because the circumstances legitimized the use of riot equipment. But in deciding to reopen the case, the Cadiz court said it planned to clarify whether the Civil Guard officers had failed to perform their duties efficiently and competently, thus playing a role in the deaths of the 15. One aspect of the investigation that was not carried out efficiently was the identification of bodies, according to the court. Relatives of the victims continue to decry the fact the bodies have not been identified and that they do not know where they are buried, while no one has been brought to justice over the deaths of their loved ones. English version by George Mills. "NCIS: Los Angeles" will be back on TV screens after a break of two weeks but when it returns, it promises to be an exciting episode full of revelations and twists. Titled "Payback," the episode takes viewers on a journey that will see the characters undergoing betrayal, torture and reunion. According to TVLine, Episode 15 of "NCIS: Los Angeles" will return two weeks later and it offers to be a rollercoaster ride. According to the official synopsis of "NCIS: Los Angeles," there is a mole in the CIA and he/she will torture one kidnapped member of NCIS. Though the member is not yet revealed, it is speculated that she is Kensi Blye. If fans remember, at the end of episode 14, Sullivan aka Ferris kidnapped her and was seen holding a chainsaw close to her leg. The episode of "NCIS: Los Angeles" also ended on an interesting note and in a shocking disclosure, it came out that Hetty had orchestrated the arrest of the NCIS Los Angeles team to protect them. As for the mole, he was part of a conspiracy that started many years ago with Sullivan in Afghanistan, reports Carter Matt. He wants some payback for the mission that went awry and it looks like the teaser of Kensi's leg about to get chopped off was the revenge act. Also, "Payback" would see an NCIS team member facing betrayal and speculations suggest that this will have a connection with the storyline of Owen Granger. As of now, he is in a coma and it looks like there is some secret attached to him and there are high chances that the secret will come out in the said episode of "NCIS: Los Angeles." There is also the possibility of him betraying the NCIS team and it could be a way to wrap up his plot. Last but not the least, the reunion of Kensi and Deeks might be on the cards as fans are looking forward to seeing the duo tie the knot. Of course, she is in the clutches of the kidnapper Sullivan but she had joined the workforce on the field and therefore, her chances of escaping Ferris cannot be ruled out. "NCIS: Los Angeles" Episode 15 i.e. "Payback" airs on Feb. 19 on CBS. "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales" apparently released a new trailer for the Super Bowl spot, which showed more feats than what was expected. This time around, a revelation of vital characters is something to truly look forward to. It was shown in the past trailers for "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales" who exactly the antagonist will be. This is the terrifying Captain Salazar (Javier Bardem), who as the trailer shows is no push over and looks to settle an old score with the fan favorite, Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp). According to The Verge, Sparrow will have to face this ghostly adversary, whose score to settle with Sparrow is still unknown. In the trailer, a lot of ghoulish pirates went on to terrorize the seas, showing how menacing this new threat can be. In an interesting twist, Sparrow is not the only character to be unveiled in the latest clip for "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales." The returning Hector Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush) was also shown in the clip, seemingly also on the receiving end of Salazar's relentless search for Sparrow. One of presumably the most sought after returns is that of Captain Will Turner, who is now immortal after taking control of the Flying Dutchman in the previous installments; last seen in "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End." In "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales," Turner's role is still yet to be elaborated upon, and how it will be relevant to Sparrow's predicament. A new poster came out for the film, showcasing a close-up of Depp's Sparrow with a few hints that fans can analyze, Screen Rant reports. An "x" tattoo over his right cheek was spotted, as well as his fingers with the letters "J-A-K-C." Such implications are self-explanatory for now, but there are those who believe that it could mean something in terms of clues or hints on what is to come for Sparrow in "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales." Walt Disney's "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales" is slated for release on May 26, 2017. Keep posted for more news on the upcoming fifth installment. Amal Clooney and George Clooney have become the center of media attraction ever since the international human rights lawyer was seen sporting a baby bump. Though Amal Clooney and George Clooney is yet to confirm the news, the ever-growing tummy speaks for itself and it was again on show on Saturday when Amal celebrated her birthday with husband George and his parents in Spain. Amal Clooney rang in her thirty-ninth birthday with her husband, George Clooney and his parents Nick and Nina in Spain, reports E! News. She was seen leaving Barcelona with George and her in-laws, dressed in an all-black outfit and leopard print boots with her fuller figure, clearly pointing to the fact that she is expecting. As for George, the 55-year-old actor kept it casual with denim jeans and leather jacket. Though the Spain outing did see the family celebrating Amal's birthday, it was her job that brought the international human rights lawyer to the country. She was there to speak at the ADP ReThink Human Capital Management conference and the discussion was moderated by her father-in-law Nick Clooney. Amal Clooney and George Clooney arrived in Spain on Wednesday and Amal was spotted at the airport wearing a loose sweater to hide her belly but she was all smiles and the family cut a happy figure as they landed, claims Mail Online. However, it was not solely a family tour with her in-laws as she was also seen with George in isolation, spending some quality time together. Amal Clooney and George Clooney was also seen having dinner together at the swanky Rooftop Smokehouse Restaurant earlier in the week. Notably, George and Amal have been under the media glare for some time after the latter's pregnancy rumors started doing the rounds. Though they never spoke on the subject, they have been constantly active and were spotted together socializing on various occasions. Some time back, they were seen in London and it was said that they had decided to move to England to raise their baby. Well, even on this issue, Amal Clooney and George Clooney chose to remain silent and it looks like both are too busy enjoying their special time together. Thus, fans would have to wait for some more time to hear the good news from the parents-to-be. Joe Aldy: President Trump jettisoned more than 30 years of bipartisan regulatory policy on January 30 when he issued an executive order on Reducing Regulation and Controlling Regulatory Costs. The order requires that whenever a new regulation is enacted by any federal agency, regulators must eliminate two rules, so that the cost of complying with the new rule is offset by the costs associated with the two existing rules. But Trump misses a crucial point about government regulations: They impose costs on society, but they also produce benefits. The executive order refers to regulatory costs 18 times, but never mentions regulatory benefits. By focusing only on costs, the presidents order focuses on corporate bottom lines and ignores societys bottom line. If an industry is profitable but releases pollution that makes people sick, then the best outcome for society may be to pass a regulation that lowers corporate profits slightly, but also reduces expensive health problems for thousands of Americans. Are regulations costly for business? Yes. If they werent, then businesses wouldnt need government rules requiring them to eliminate lead paint and other toxics from childrens toys, make workplaces safer and disclose their financial risks. Most companies would not take these steps on their own. The question is not whether regulations represent good business investments, but whether they yield a good return for society. When government regulators write rules, they use benefit-cost analysis to compare the benefits and costs that the rules produce for society, much as corporate leaders weigh the costs of new business ventures against their expected returns. This approach was introduced under President Ronald Reagan in 1981 and continued under Presidents George H.W. Bush, Clinton, George W. Bush and Obama. ... The Office of Management and Budget, which coordinates the review of proposed regulations and their benefit-cost analyses, provides annual reports to Congress which show that most major executive branch agency regulations have positive net benefits. In other words, they produce benefits larger than their costs. ... Instead of proposing to throw out existing regulations simply because some business leaders say that regulations are bad for business, it would make more sense for the Trump administration to identify what works and what doesnt work from the perspective of all Americans. Then it could improve regulatory policy based on evidence, instead of arbitrary rules like one in, two out. The ESRF User Organisation has awarded the title of Young Scientist 2017 to Amelie Juhin for her experimental and theoretical studies of resonant X-ray scattering and X-ray dichroism. The prize was announced during the 27th ESRF annual User Meeting in Grenoble, on 7th February 2017. The Chairman of the jury, Dr Andrei Petoukhov, declared: Amelie Juhin is awarded the 2017 ESRF Young Scientist Award for her experimental and theoretical studies of resonant X-ray scattering and X-ray dichroism. She has matured into an independent scientist whose contributions are marked by a deep and thorough understanding of the physics and mathematics behind the interactions of X-rays with different substances, including minerals and magnetic materials. I am very honoured and pleased to be awarded the Young Scientist Award 2017, said Amelie after being congratulated by members of the ESRF management and User Organisation during the award ceremony. At the award ceremony. From L to R: F. Wilhelm (ID12), F. Sette (Director General), P. Glatzel (ID26), Amelie, A. Rogalev (ID12), J. Susini and H. Reichert (Directors of Research). Amelie checks the beamline set-up on ID26. Amelie Juhins research is focused on probing the electronic and magnetic properties of nanoparticles and molecular magnets. She explores both the experimental and theoretical aspects of soft and hard X-ray spectroscopies with a particular focus on dichroisms (natural and magnetic). Amelie is currently working as a researcher at the Institute of Mineralogy, Physics of Materials and Cosmo-Chemistry (IMPMC - CNRS/Universite Pierre et Marie Curie-Sorbonne-Universites/ Institut de Recherche pour le Developpement/Museum National d'Histoire Naturelle). She has been a regular user of the ESRFs ID12 and ID26 beamlines for more than 10 years. ESRF triggers scientific vocation Amelie didnt always know that she wanted to be a scientist. In fact, after studying at the Ecole Normale Superieure, she successfully qualified as associate professor in physical sciences and taught physics and French in Cambodia during a humanitarian mission in 2004. But her mind kept coming back to research and she started having doubts about a teaching career. She opted for a Masters in material sciences and nano-objects at the prestigious Pierre and Marie Curie University in Paris. After graduating top of her year, she pursued these studies with a PhD on the subject of electronic and structural properties of chrome impurities in crystals. The real trigger, however, to fully adhere to a scientific career came during her PhD work when she was sent to the ESRF to carry out some experiments. It became obvious then that I wanted to be a scientist, says Amelie. For my PhD, I worked on the French CRG beamline, FAME, with Olivier Proux and Jean-Louis Hazemann, and I started to do experiments on ID26 beamline. I chose X-ray spectroscopy because it is a very diverse field of study, I can do different experiments and calculations. Its very stimulating. I also find it fascinating that the measurement of X-ray dichroisms at the atomic scale allows to shed light on macroscopic properties such as colour and magnetism. Amelie on beamlines ID12 (left) with Andrei Rogalev, and on ID26 (right) with Pieter Glatzel. During a post-doctoral fellowship at the Debye Institute for Nanomaterials Science, at the University of Utrecht, in the Netherlands, Amelie strengthened her collaboration with ESRF scientists, Pieter Glatzel and Mauro Rovezzi. She developed a novel magnetic spectroscopy (photon-in, photon-out), the RIXS-MCD, and explored its complementarity to existing XMCD measurements such as those performed on ID12 with Andrei Rogalev and Fabrice Wilhelm For the magnetism community as well as for other scientific disciplines such as earth sciences, this new magnetic spectroscopy opens new paths of investigation. It has produced a number of original results which have been the subject of international publications. For Prof. Philippe Sainctavit, Director of Research at CNRS, Amelie was the tenacious driving force connecting international teams of experimentalists, theoreticians as well as chemists that made RIXS-MCD possible. She has a profound scientific maturity and, as an easy-going, young scientist, she brings her force, enthusiasm and scientific skills to colleagues, pulling everyone together to work on well-defined objectives. A succession of recognition and new projects in preparation Amelies talent was recognised at an early stage and her list of awards and prizes is impressive. Not least, Amelie can boast first prize from the ESRF in the Best Poster Award at the 2010 annual User Meeting. Her contribution to the field of dichroism and X-ray resonant inelastic scattering has already earned recognition from her peers as demonstrated by the Farrel Lytle Young Scientist Award from the International X-ray Absorption Society that she received in 2015 and a Bronze Medal from the CNRS in 2016. Amelie also has a busy life outside the laboratories, juggling a fulfilling family life with a successful career. Now a mother of two young children, I try to combine both scientific and family lives, which are two exciting adventures! Says Amelie, who also added: Being a scientist has not meant Ive had to put on hold starting a family. Amelies fruitful collaboration with the ESRF is not set to end any day soon. With the ESRF-EBS project, she has her sights set on new projects and the novel opportunities that will be made available with the greatly improved X-ray source. Im interested in materials whose magnetic properties can be switched through the application of pressure, and in textured magnetic liquids With ESRF-EBS, the gain in resolution and brilliance opens up very nice prospects in measuring in even better conditions than today. Read the press release in English (pdf). Lisez le communique de presse en francais (pdf). About the Young Scientist Award Each year since 1995, the Young Scientist Award (YSA) is presented to a scientist aged 37 or under in recognition of outstanding work carried out at the ESRF. The ESRF Users Organisation chooses a chairperson for the YSA. The chairperson then forms a selection committee composed of distinguished scientists whose expertise covers the most important areas of synchrotron science. The panel calls for nominations from institutes around the world and evaluates nominees on the basis of the following criteria: Significant and personal contribution to either a novel method or technique, or to the advancement of a particular field based on ESRF measurements Quality and quantity of publications, conference contributions and responsibilities Importance of the specific field for synchrotron science research For the 2017 YSA, the jury was chaired by Dr Andrei Petoukhov, Associate Professor at the University of Utrecht in The Netherlands. Who else has won the ESRF User Organisation Young Scientist Award? Argentinean President Mauricio Macris recent decision to toughen his countrys immigration laws by making it easier to expel foreigners who commit crimes and ban those with criminal records has sparked a conflict with the countrys northern neighbor, Bolivia. The presidents of Bolivia and Argentina, Evo Morales and Mauricio Macri. Reuters More information Tension entre Argentina y Bolivia por el nuevo decreto de inmigracion de Mauricio Macri Bolivian President Evo Morales, who has criticized Macri for the measures, accusing him of mimicking Donald Trumps immigration policies, has sent a delegation to Argentina led by Jose Alberto Gonzales, the president of the Bolivian Senate, in a bid to show his unhappiness and to reduce tensions. Bolivians fear is that this will unleash a wave of persecution because of the way people look, that people who come to work are pursued using the excuse of the fight against crime. There has been a wave of xenophobia, but the Argentinean government assures us that this is not the intention of the decree. The meeting was positive, said Gonzales after meeting with Argentinas foreign minister, Pedro Villagra. Bullrich insists that the governments new legislation is not about migration, but about crime Macris government says that it does not intend to stigmatize immigrants and that Argentina remains an open country the preamble to its Constitution refers to all men of the world who wish to dwell on Argentinean soil but some recent statements, particularly from Security Minister Patricia Bullrich, have heightened tensions with Bolivia, Peru and Uruguay, which all have large numbers of their citizens living in Argentina. When Argentinean deputy Alfredo Olmedo called for a wall to be built along the border with Bolivia, Morales signaled his displeasure. Brother Latin American presidents: let us be a great homeland; let us not follow the migratory policies of the north. Together for our sovereignty and dignity, he tweeted, adding: Discriminatory policies that condemn migration and blame it for crime, drug- and people-trafficking, terrorism and a brake on the right to development are a shameful regress in the face of the rights conquered through the struggle of our peoples. Gonzales, who lived for several years in Argentina as his countrys consul, met with representatives of the 1.2-million-strong Bolivian community there, who expressed their fears. The issue has been exaggerated. The role of the media is important, the social networks also contribute. This unsettles people. The Argentinean government is insisting that this is a measure against crime. We are trying to dispel these myths, says Gonzales, who has appealed to Macris wife, Juliana Awada, who owns a fashion brand that works with Bolivians and who has been accused of using undocumented migrants. If you have any doubts about how Bolivians work, then ask Awada about the quality of Bolivian tailors and seamstresses, he says. Brother Latin American presidents: let us be a great homeland Bolivian President Evo Morales Gonzales now seems to be looking to calm the situation. Nevertheless, Bolivians in Argentina are very anxious. Maria Blanco, a spokeswoman for the Bolivian community living in the capital of Buenos Aires, says her compatriots are afraid that the authorities will invent excuses to deport them. They can expel you for eight years. We are already seeing abuses by the police. Things are going to get worse. This new law revives xenophobia. My children were born here. This is their country. But they are still considered to be Bolivians society discriminates against us. The real problem is the crisis, says Juan Vasquez of Simbiosis Cultural, an organization that represents members of Argentinas Bolivian community. People are worried, because there is no work. The textile sector, where most Bolivians work, is in a bad way because the country is opening up to imports. All the workshops are breaking the law to some extent. Now they can expel your for whatever reason, he says. Bullrich has accused Paraguayans, Bolivians and Peruvians of being involved in the drugs trade, a claim Gonzales rebuffs. We have official data showing that of the 39,000 prisoners in jail in Buenos Aires province, only 190 are Bolivians, and only 14 of them are in jail for drug trafficking. That is the reality. Bullrich insists that the governments new legislation is not about migration, but about crime: The law is the same as in Bolivia, exactly the same for people with criminal records or who committed crimes. English version by Nick Lyne. For the European Union, efforts to stabilize Libya are now more important than ever such is the main conclusion of yesterdays (6 February) Council conclusions. European leaders reiterated their commitment to an inclusive political settlement under the framework of the Libyan Political Agreement (LPA), and support to Presidency Council (PC) and the Government of National Accord (GNA), headed by Prime Minister Fayez Sarraj, and backed by the United Nations. In this context, the EU welcomed the efforts of these bodies to restore prosperity, security and unified governance and recognized the PC and GNA as the sole legitimate authorities. The Council also praised ongoing efforts to bridge political differences and make the Libyan institutions more representative, efficient and capable of delivering. The EU moreover pointed to the Libyan ownership of the political process and the importance of its inclusiveness, mainly through the continued participation of political and local actors, women and civil society. The EU also urged all political leaders to bear the responsibility for the wellbeing and security of their citizens and called upon Libyan actors to avoid actions that undermine the political transition in the country. The Council also concluded that there can be no military solution to the conflict and urged all armed forces to unite under the control of the legitimate civilian authorities to ensure stability and preserve the countrys unity and territorial integrity. The EU therefore also welcomed the creation of the Presidential Guard and the recent deployment of its first units as a major step to protect the newly created institutions and diplomatic missions in Tripoli. The EU has been significantly involved in the diplomatic work to facilitate Libyas transition towards an inclusive and stable democracy since the popular uprising in 2011. The bloc provides support to the political transition, bilateral assistance including humanitarian aid as well as support through its Common Security and Defense Policy (CSDP) missions and operations especially EUNAVFOR MED Operation Sophia. The latest opinion poll carried out by the Center for Sociological Research (CIS) reveals that the main opposition Socialist Party (PSOE) has gained nearly two percentage points in terms of voter intention compared to the last survey, held in October. With 18.6% of voters giving it their support, the PSOE would be the only party to improve its results were a general election to be held, as the governing Popular Party (PP) as well as newcomers Unidos Podemos and Ciudadanos have both lost support among the Spanish electorate, with the three garnering 33%, 21.7% and 12.4% of voter intention respectively. The poll, which was released by the public research institute on Tuesday, was carried out between January 2 and 12, just at the time of the latest internal battle in Podemos over the direction the anti-austerity party should take. The PP is currently heading a minority government It also coincided with the release of a report by the Council of State that recognized the responsibility of the Defense Ministry in the Yak-42 military plane crash, in which 62 members of Spains armed forces were killed. On the release of the document, the opposition called for the head of the defense minister of the time, Federico Trillo. Shortly afterward, Trillo resigned from his post as Spanish ambassador to the United Kingdom, but denied he was at fault in the Yak-42 affair. This latest poll has seen the PP, which is currently heading a minority government, lose 1.5 percentage points in terms of voter intention compared to the last CIS survey. Ciudadanos, which signed a pact with the PP easing the partys path back to government after two inconclusive elections, has also suffered a slight fall in voter intention. The October CIS poll on voter intention predicted a victory for the PP were an election to be held, with 34.5% of the vote, 12.7 percentage points above Unidos Podemos, which came in as the second-most-voted party with 21.8%. The PSOE, meanwhile which had just been rocked by the dramatic resignation of then-general secretary Pedro Sanchez and the subsequent internal crisis that was sparked saw the PSOE fall to third place with 17% of the predicted vote, its worst result ever in a CIS poll. Ciudadanos, meanwhile, was in fourth place with 12.8% of the vote in the October survey. English version by Simon Hunter. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev met with European leaders in Brussels yesterday (6 February) EU President Donald Tusk welcomed Mr. Aliyev in Europes capital, saying that Azerbaijan is an important partner for the European Union. He reiterated that the EU supported Azerbaijans independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity and that the bloc wanted to build on the mutual strategic partnership in the energy sector. Azerbaijan is crucial for Europes energy security and the diversification of supplies and the finalization of the Southern Gas Corridor, a complex gas value chain stretching over 3,500 km crossing seven countries and involving more than a dozen major energy companies, is currently a key priority for both sides. The project represents a total investment of approximately US$45 billion. The EU is Azerbaijans main trading partner and one of its most important investors. Brussels seeks to expand these commercial relations further in the upcoming years and Mr. Tusk and Mr. Aliyev discussed how the intensified cooperation would help modernize and diversify the Azerbaijani economy. The EU also supports Azerbaijans bid to become a member of the World Trade Organization, which would pave the way for a competitive business environment that would drive economic integration. However, EU President Tusk did not forget to raise the topic of human rights and fundamental freedoms, which the EU believes are the best guarantee for long-term stability and prosperity. EU-Azerbaijan relations that date back to 1991 are based on a partnership and cooperation agreement, which provides for wide-ranging cooperation in the areas of political dialogue trade, investment, economic matters, legislation and culture. Since then, the European Union has gradually expanded the scope of its cooperation with Azerbaijan and in 2003 it appointed a Special Representative for the South Caucasus. Since 2004, Azerbaijan has been part of the European Neighborhood Policy (ENP), and also of the Eastern Partnership initiative. Rakesh Hinduja has been named the Executive Director and Branch Head, Mumbai at Leo Burnett India, with immediate effect. In his new role, he will continue to report to Saurabh Varma, Chief Executive Officer, Publicis Communications India. In the last two years, he has been part of the Mumbai team which has won brands the likes of Bajaj, HDFC Bank, HPCL, Fiat, Jeep and Amazon Prime Video. Leo Burnett Indias Mumbai office is the largest operation and the jewel of the Leo Burnett India portfolio. The branch boasts of clients such as McDonalds, HDFC Life, Ariel, Tide, Whisper, Color Plus, Tata Capital and Tata Sampann, among several others, managed by over 200 passionate Burnetters. Speaking about Hindujas elevation, Varma said, Rakesh has been with the group for over eight years, and in the last two years has been instrumental in building a fantastic culture and team in Leo Burnett Indias Mumbai office. I have had the opportunity of working with him closely and he is ready to lead the Mumbai team. Rakesh will focus on deploying PLAY (our integrated model) across all our clients. PLAY will ensure that we continue to create content at the speed of culture. Varma added, The Mumbai operation has been a pivot for us to transform our offering. Clients will continue to benefit from our integrated offering without compromising on specialisation. There has never been a better time to create a transmedia narrative. Commenting on his new role, Hinduja said, The Mumbai office has to play a key role in our ambition to be amongst the top 5 agencies in the world. My mandate is to build on our momentum as an agency and partner our clients to help them achieve a larger share of the future. With Leo Burnett Mumbais solid Humankind approach and Burnetters innovative thinking, we are on our way to reach for the stars! Read more news about (ad news, latest advertising news India, internet advertising, ad agencies updates, media advertising India) Paytm, the leading digital wallet player in the country, is all set to foray into the ecommerce space with a fresh round of investment totalling over $250 million from its biggest Chinese investor-Alibaba The battle for supremacy in the Indian ecommerce space is all set to get even more cut-throat with a new player joining the race. Paytm, the leading digital wallet player in the country, is all set to foray into the ecommerce space with a fresh round of investment totalling over $250 million from its Chinese investor, Alibaba. Riding high on Paytms success Though Alibaba had plans to enter the Indian ecommerce market on its own, it has finally chosen Paytm as its trusted ally to cruise the rough waters of the ecommerce space, which has been a loss making industry till date, with major players like Snapdeal, Flipkart and Amazon posting a collective loss of Rs 11, 754 crore in 2015-16. There are also some good reasons for Alibaba not to venture on its own into the challenging Indian ecommerce sector. The advantage of going along with Paytm is two- fold. Firstly, Alibabas association with Paytm goes back to almost two years when the Chinese giant invested $575 million in Paytm in March 2015. Also, being a pure Indian entity, Paytm has a better grip over the insights and demands of the local market. Secondly, ever since the demonetisation move was announced, Paytm has witnessed a record growth. The company claims to have registered 700% rise in overall traffic on the platform and 1000% growth in the value of money added to mobile wallets. Both these factors make Paytm an ideal vehicle for Alibabas ecommerce debut in India. Betting big on the burgeoning ecommerce market in India despite challenges According to a recent report by global payments firm Wordplay, the Indian ecommerce sector is all set to become the second largest market in the coming two decades, only next to China. The market is predicted to reach USD 63.7 billion by 2020 and overtake the US by 2034. Interestingly, ecommerce sales in India totalled an estimated $7.7 billion in 2015, a 15% increase from $5.3 billion in 2014, according to data from eMarketer. Moreover, 65% of consumers in India use mobile devices to connect to the internet. These numbers present an enormous opportunity for global players like Alibaba to look at investing in this booming ecommerce space in India. However, the lure of this promise is not without its set of challenges. From logistics, high dependence on cash; with 83% consumers in the country opting for cash on delivery (COD), low penetration of credit and debit cards, regulatory challenges and high cost of customer acquisitions, the Indian ecommerce space has a lot to tackle before it can leverage its vast potential. Both Alibaba and Paytm are well aware of these stumbling blocks and it will be interesting to see how they plan to negotiate with these limiting factors looming large. While speaking about Alibabas plans to foray into the ecommerce space in India through Paytm, Harish Bijoor, Brand Expert & Founder, Harish Bijoor Consults Inc., said, Alibaba and the Paytm guys will pose a challenge for sure. The payment gateway will become an ecommerce player and the ecommerce player will become a payment gateway. Competition is going to be intense. Expect burnouts as investors tire out. The year and years ahead will be full of this ecommerce tumult. Commenting on how the ecommerce market is all set for a big jolt in the coming time, Bijoor added, The ecommerce space in India is set for a jolt. It's going to be a" jolt-up" call for ecommerce outfits that have believed in taking the short cut to customer monies. Those who have depended on GMV at any cost, burning investor funds fast and wild, in this quest will be the first to face this jolt. Terming the entry of Alibaba into the Indian ecommerce landscape as an upcoming battle for supremacy, Rajiv Dingra, Founder and CEO, WATConsult, said, Paytm is entering with Alibaba backing at a time when the Indian e-commerce players are at their weakest in terms of market and investor sentiment. Clearly, Paytm will be able to take away some market share given Alibabas backing as well as brand recall post demonetisation. But e-commerce is a tough business in India given how large Amazon is and how committed it is to winning the e-commerce space in India and it will be a long battle for supremacy." Read more news about (internet advertising India, internet advertising, advertising India, digital advertising India, media advertising India) Times Network of The Times Group is all set to launch English news channel Times Now in Europe, marking its presence in 100 countries. This momentous occasion was celebrated in Mumbai today with Bollywood superstar Hrithik Roshan being present at the function. The expansion, closely followed on the heels of Times Nows launch in UK, will enable TIMES NETWORK to add a potential audience of 1.4mn Indians in mainland Europe in countries like Belgium, Germany, France, Italy, Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland, taking the international footprint to 10 million on 5 continents. The network will launch TIMES NOW with the support of Bobbles Media GmbH DTH and OTT platforms in Europe. Recently, the TIMES NETWORKs International Business received the Porter Prize for Strategy 2016 from the Institute of Competitiveness, affiliated to the Harvard Business School for Creating Distinctive Value. Roshan joined in the celebrations by cutting a cake on the occasion. MK Anand, MD & CEO, TIMES NETWORK, said, Today, with Indias growing participation in international affairs, engaging the Indian diaspora is equally important towards our economic development. I feel, as Indias leading English broadcast network, its the right time for us to create a global presence for ourselves and for our country. Through our approach towards television news journalism, which revolutionised the way news was presented in the country, we plan to represent a modern, vibrant, successful and vocal India to the world. Roshan said at the event, TIMES NOW, thank you for having me here to celebrate TIMES NOW reaching 100 countries. This is an exceptional achievement. Supplying objective and unbiased news to the world to make them aware of their environment is one of the noblest services that we can provide and I wish the entire team of TIMES NOW for this milestone; hope that the entire team of TIMES NOW reaches more than 183 countries in the coming year. Finally I personally believe and admit that no success is achieved solely but by the efforts of an entire team and thats what TIMES NOW has managed to do. Naveen Chandra, Head International Business, TIMES NETWORK, said, This is truly a landmark achievement considering we were the last Indian TV network to begin international operations and have reached 100 countries in just a little over 5 years. From Times Nows commercial launch in Australia in early 2011 to its launch in Western Europe in December last year, it has been an incredible journey. We have been part of some of the largest global Indian events and built some of very effective enabling platforms for the Diasporas engagement with India and for Indian brands to expand internationally. We are all set to launch our first local content initiatives in Europe and look forward to growing aggressively in the future. The flagship channel of TIMES NETWORK, the broadcast arm of Bennett Coleman & CoTIMES NOW has consistently been the most watched English News Channel over the last nine years and continues to dominate the market. It commands 43% market share in the English News category, and 58% overall market share during prime time English News, according to Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) India. Read more news about (internet advertising India, internet advertising, advertising India, digital advertising India, media advertising India) During a conversation with Donald Trump on Tuesday evening, Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy offered to act as interlocutor in Europe, Latin America, and also in North Africa and the Middle East. Rajoy also told the US president that despite the United Kingdoms exit from the European Union, known as Brexit, that in the coming months the process of European integration will be strengthened, a goal that the Spanish government will be working toward. Spanish Prime Minster Mariano Rajoy during a recent trip to Malta. ANDREAS SOLARO (AFP) More information Rajoy se ofrece a Trump como interlocutor en Europa y America Latina The Spanish prime ministers official residence, the Moncloa Palace, said in a statement that Rajoy had spoken with Donald Trump for 15 minutes through translators, as part of the round of calls the US president is making to the leaders of close allies. After talking to Rajoy, Trump spoke with Turkeys President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. According to the Moncloa, Rajoy said he was prepared to develop a good relationship with the new US administration and explained to Trump that Spain, with a stable government and an economy that is growing at more than 3%, is in the best condition to be an interlocutor for the United States. The press statement does not say whether Rajoy expressed any criticism of Trumps decision to build a wall along the US-Mexican border or his travel ban on citizens from seven Muslim majority nations. It is not known whether Rajoy expressed concern over the travel ban or the wall with Mexico A statement released by the White House is much briefer and does not refer to either of these decisions, which have prompted international criticism. It notes that Trump and Rajoy reaffirmed their bilateral alliance on a series of matters of joint interest and does not go into further detail, beyond citing a number of shared priorities, particularly efforts to eliminate ISIS, as the presidents spokesman, Sean Spicer had already mentioned. The only topic explicitly mentioned in both press statements is the Atlantic Alliance. Madrid said that both leaders had mentioned they would be at the NATO summit due to be held in May in Brussels and had addressed questions of security and defense. The Spanish press release highlights the importance of the US military bases at Rota and Moron, in southern Spain, along with the participation of Spanish soldiers in training the Iraqi armed forces and close intelligence collaboration between the US and Spanish security forces. The White House said that Trump had reiterated the United States commitment to NATO and emphasized the importance that all NATO allies share the burden of defense spending. Trumps conversation with Frances President Francois Hollande on January 28, and with the Italian Prime Minister, Paolo Gentiloni, on Saturday also mentioned this. In his conversation with the German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, also on January 28, he reiterated the message that Europe will have to increase its contribution to defense spending. Following Tuesday evenings telephone call, Rajoy tweeted that the conversation with Trump had been cordial and that it was aimed at strengthening relations to the benefit of our peoples, adding: We are allied nations. Spain is aspiring to become a privileged interlocutor for Washington within the EU once the United Kingdom has left, as well as making use of its links to Latin America, although it remains to be seen whether Trump, who has sparked a crisis with Mexico and clashed with France and Germany, would find it useful to assign Rajoy that role. Spanish Foreign Minister Alfonso Dastis told the Spanish Senate on Tuesday afternoon that the government is seeking to establish a frank and constructive communication channel with the new US administration that would allow deeper cooperation on shared questions and to address in a frank manner disagreements. Dastis declined to comment on the first measures taken by Trump, such as the wall with Mexico or the travel ban, but said that Spain will not renounce the free movement of people and goods, and would try to convince Washington that the best way to fight against illegal immigration is to work with the countries of origin and transit for migrants. Trump reiterated to Rajoy that Europe must contribute more to NATO defense spending Andres Gil, a senator for the Socialist Party (PSOE), called on Rajoy to demand respect and dignity for the Mexican people when speaking with Trump, and described as particularly painful and humiliating the Spanish governments wall of silence in the face of the wall of shame that the US administration wants to build along the border with its southern neighbor. Dastis pointed out that he spoke last week with his Mexican counterpart, Luis Videgaray and that Rajoy had talked with Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto, expressing to him his undoubted solidarity and to tell him he could count on Spain for any initiative to re-establish good relations and trust with the United States. Trump and Rajoy held a 20-minute telephone conversation on December 12, but their talk on Tuesday evening was the first since Trump was inaugurated on January 20. Dastis still hasnt spoken with the new US Secretary of State, Rex Tillerson, but hopes to do so at the meeting of G20 foreign ministers to be held on February 16 in Bonn. English version by Nick Lyne. The euro struggled on Tuesday, posting further declines against the US dollar, pound sterling and Japanese yen rivals. In the Asia morning session on Wednesday, EUR/USD was quiet, trading at 1.0676, down a little more than 1% on the week. With very little on the economic calendar this week, markets will likely be driven on Wed-Fri by sentiment, technicals and political updates (Brexit, Article 50, Trump). Dollar-Down Rhetoric Is the Reason for EUR USD Exchange Rate Strength On January 31st, the head of the US National Trade Council, Peter Navarro, caused a stir in the EUR USD exchange rate after his interview with the FT, in which he accused Germany of using a "grossly undervalued" euro to gain advantage over the United States. The comments were considered by some to be shots fired in the first battle of a US-European trade war. At the time, Italian bank UniCredit described Navarros words as: Strong and unusual coming from a senior trade advisor to the US president. Navarros comments were the latest in a line of weak-dollar political rhetoric that has weighed on the US dollar in early 2017. Two-weeks ago, Treasury Secretary nominee Stephen Mnuchin appeared to talk down a strong dollar when he suggested that dollar strength may negatively impact the US economy, and another week before that, Donald Trumps own comments caused concern for dollar bulls when he said that current US dollar levels were too strong and were killing us. Following Navarros comments, the US dollar index (DXY) fell sharply, finishing the Jan-31 session with its lowest close since November, and helped to lock in the US dollars worst January performance since 1987. On the same afternoon, the euro to dollar (EUR/USD) rate rallied by 1%. According to Goldman Sachs, it is exactly this dollar down rhetoric coming from Trumps new US administration that has created the current environment of dollar weakness. GS described this last week as the principal reason. With this apparent reversal of the post-election Trump Trade, EUR/USD is up 3.5% from its lows on January-3. The Euro is not alone of course. Despite struggling with Brexit, Article 50, a dovish Bank of England and an overall murky political and economic outlook, the pound to dollar exchange rate (GBP/USD) is up almost 4% since lows formed on January-16. Germany Agrees The Euro Is Too Weak In an apparent rebuttal to Peter Navarro, as if to say we didnt do this, Germanys Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said in an interview on Saturday that euro valuations in foreign exchange markets are too low for his country. Schaeuble said: [Monetary policy] is too loose for Germany. The euro exchange rate is, strictly speaking, too low for the German economy's competitive position. As if to raise his shield against US criticism, Schaeuble added: I don't want to be criticised for the consequences of this policy. When ECB chief Mario Draghi embarked on the expansive monetary policy, I told him he would drive up Germany's export surplus. Clearly, a frosty relationship exists between Germany and the European Central Bank. So Why Is The Euro at Current Levels? As of 06:05 GMT, Feb-7, the euro buys 1.0698 dollars. Were not too far from parity in the pair. This is a significant depreciation from mid-2008, when the euro-to-dollar rate traded above 1.6; from mid-2011, when it traded just shy of 1.5; and from mid-2014, when EURUSD came within a whisker of 1.4. With both Germany and the US apparently agreeing that a higher euro is appropriate, an obvious question seems to be: Why have the ECB implemented such loose monetary policy, thereby directing the euro to its current low levels? Like the question, the answer is obvious. As stated by Wolfgang Schaeuble in Saturdays interview: "The ECB must make policy that works for Europe as a whole. By necessity, ECB monetary policy has been engineered to bolster the weaker states, like Greece and Portugal, not Germany, nor any one individual country. A Journey Through Euro Valuation Is the Euro Really Too Low? (Societe Generale Analysis) How do you value a currency? According to FX strategists at Societe Generale there are a variety of methodsbut none of these are the last word in objective currency valuation. Unfortunately for exchange rate analysts, there is nothing in FX like the widely-accepted P/E or dividend yield ratios available to those who value equities. SocGen say: Instruments without underlying cash flows, such as currencies, are exceedingly difficult to value objectively. Secondly, currencies are always quoted relative to another currency, so FX valuation is necessarily relative by nature. How good a currency is, or how much it is worth, will always depend upon what the comparison is. At any given point, the euro may look terrible against the yen, for example, but great against the British pound. Purchasing Power Parity Analysis: The Euro Looks Very Undervalued As of December 2016, using the OECD Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) valuation methodology, the euro does look very undervalued at -26.8% versus USD. If taking an alternative PPP methodology, namely the famous Big Mac Index, we can still say that the euro is significantly undervalued at -23.4% versus USD. The two versions of the PPP calculation dont always provide the same assessment though. In their euro analysis SocGen note the following disagreements between them: The EUR/AUD cross would be considered undervalued by the OECD PPP measure, but not according to the Big Mac measure. Similar contradictory conclusions may be drawn about the EUR/JPY exchange rate." Interestingly, according to both PPP measures, the euro appears to be most undervalued against the Swiss franc and the Norwegian krone, rather than the US dollar. Euro Also Undervalued with FEER, But Whos Cheating the Most? The Fundamental Equilibrium Exchange Rate, or FEER, tries to estimate the exchange rate needed to reduce current account imbalances to a limit of 3% of GDP. By its nature, FEER tends to see the currencies of those economies with large persistent current account surpluses as undervalued, and those with persistent deficits as overvalued. About FEERs judgement on the euro, SocGen say: It is sufficient to say that the FEER methodology finds the euro undervalued too at -8.4% versus USD, but far less relative to other G10 currencies than suggested by the PPP methodology. If we adopt the attitude of Trump, Navarro and Co., and describe a nation that undervalues its currency as cheating, we see with FEER that the euro is by no means the worst offender. According to FEER calculations, against the US dollar the Japanese are having a jolly good time with their yen valuation. With a yen FEER of around -18% against USD, the Japanese are cheating more than twice as much as the Europeans. The Swiss and the Swedes would also have to join the serious offenders club, as the franc and the krona are both more undervalued than the euro using FEER. Within the standard OECD PPP methodology, the pound, yen, Canadian dollar and Swedish krona were all also undervalued, but the euro was comfortably ahead of the pack, running away with it in the undervaluation stakes. Comparing Trade-Weighted Exchange Rates Against Their Long-Term Trend One final method of currency valuation is described by SocGen below: Another way to assess currency valuation is to look at the current level of the real trade-weighted exchange rate and compare it against either the long-term trend or median level. And what does this say of euro valuation? The current euro [levels] appear somewhat cheap relative to trend over the past two decades, though not as cheap as in late 2000, says the bank. The Euro is Undervalued, But Is American Anger Justified? Based on their quick journey through several currency valuation methodologies, Societe Generale conclude that the euro is likely undervalued against the US dollar. Whether the Europeans are the biggest cheaters remains an open question however. Certainly a country that was not included in SocGens analysis China has been the target of Donald Trumps own too strong dollar rhetoric, and it would be interesting to see the French banks analysis of the yuan. But even without the presence of the Asian giant, the Japanese should also come in for some US criticism if such a thing is being thrown around. Against USD, the yen ranks first (by a country mile), third and first again for undervaluation in the FEER, standard PPP and Big Mac Index respectively. Having said that, it is obvious that the eurozone and China are the targets of the Trump administrations tough currency talk because of their vast volume of trade with the US, which is currently three times that of Japan in both cases. The Trump administration dont care about which is the most undervalued currency (I dont think they care where the Zimbabwe dollar is trading), they care about which currencies, in their eyes, are most negatively affecting the US economy. Investors should not be surprised by further dollar down" rhetoric. Getting back to the blame game (Germanys Finance Minister has already passed the buck to the ECB), SocGen make a special point of assigning some of the blame to the US for its own predicament, if we can call it that. According to Alvin Tan of SocGen: It is worth repeating that the EUR/USDs recent trend can be largely explained by the real rate spread between the US and the euro area. Thus, the Federal Reserve bears at least as much responsibility for the EUR/USDs undervaluation as the ECB." Finally, in terms of euro valuation as a whole, SocGen say: [It is] difficult to conclude [whether the euro is undervalued] against sterling, yen or the Scandinavian currencies. The ECBs trade weights for its euro exchange rate index has a 15.9% weight for the US, while the UK has 13%, Switzerland 6.9%, Japan 6.7%, Sweden 6.9% and Norway 1.2%. So if the ECB is actively trying to suppress the euro exchange rate, it is not doing a very good job on a trade-weighted basis. EUR USD Data Releases This Week [Day, Time in GMT, Currency, Data, Forecast] WED EUR Economic Forecasts (no time scheduled) THU 13:30 USD Unemployment Claims 249,000 THU 18:30 GBP BoE Governor Carney Speaks FRI 09:30 GBP Manufacturing Production M/M 0.3% FRI 15:00 USD University of Michigan Sentiment 97.9 GBP EUR Exchange Rate Holds Firm Despite Technical Analysis Thursday trade finds the GBP EUR exchange rate at 1.17662 after a stronger-than-expected RICS house price balance helped to boost the pair, trading up 0.27% on its opening levels. Wednesday's session saw demand for the single currency generally dented by a sharp narrowing of the German trade surplus, particularly as exports were found to have contracted -3.3% on the month in December. On an otherwise data-light day the pound sterling modest gains to the 1.1734 level, benefiting from fresh worries over Greece; however, with the governments Article 50 bill looking likely to pass without amendment, the Pound could soon return to the backfoot. Pound Sterling Slides as Parliament Rejects Early Amendments The British pound fell by around half a cent on Tuesday morning as parliament voted to reject two of Labours early amendments to the governments Article 50 legislation. Labour had called for Theresa May to be required to update parliament every two months on the progress of Brexit negotiations, but this was rejected by 333 votes to 284. Another amendment sought to allow the leaders of devolved governments like Scotland the right to have some say in the final Brexit deal, but this was also blocked by 333 votes to 276. Prime Minister, Theresa May said, Our European partners now want to get on with the negotiations, so do I, and so does this House, which last week voted by a majority of 384 in support of the government triggering Article 50. There are some hopes that there will be cross-party support for amendment 110, tabled by Chris Leslie, the former shadow chancellor as it calls for any new deal or treaty with the EU to face scrutiny from parliament. However the easy defeat of labours two bills have investors questioning whether this one will be able garner enough votes to pass. UK Tax Burden to Skyrocket, Will GBP EUR Fall? Sterling was also weakened today by a report that suggested that the UKs Tax burden will reach a 30-year high by 2019/20. The paper published by the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) casts a very gloomy outlook over the economy, suggesting that taxes will reach 37% of national income over the next couple of years. Paul Johnson, Director of IFS explained, Cuts to day-to-day public service spending are due to accelerate while the tax burden continues to rise. Even so the new chancellor may not find it all that easy to meet his target of eliminating the budget deficit in the next parliament. Greek Debt Crisis Hampers Euro (EUR) The Euros gains were slowed somewhat this morning as renewed focus was placed on the Greek debt crisis. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) made a fresh appeal to Greeces European partners to aid with the countrys debt relief as the beleaguered nation's economic crisis worsens. However with Germany facing a national election later this year and Greece still in dispute with the European Stability Mechanism (ESM) over the terms of a third bailout, investor fear that Greece faces the prospect of crashing out of the Eurozone. German Trade Balance Ahead, What Next for Pound Euro? The GBP EUR exchange rate may rally later in the week as analysts predict that Germanys latest Trade Balance figures will show that the trade surplus shrank from 22.6bn in December. However, the Pound may struggle to advance as markets become increasingly spooked by the rapid approach of March and the formal start of Brexit negotiations. GBP EUR Data Releases Wednesday, February 8, 2017 13:00 GBP BOE Deputy Governor Jon Cunliffe speaks in Birmingham Thursday, February 9, 2017 00:01 GBP RICS House Price Balance (JAN) 07:00 EUR German Trade Balance (euros) (DEC) 07:00 EUR German Current Account (euros) (DEC) 07:00 EUR German Exports s.a. (MoM) (DEC) 07:00 EUR German Imports s.a. (MoM) (DEC) 18:30 GBP BOE Governor Mark Carney Speaks in London Ameriabank: At the Vanguard of Armenia's Banking Sector STATEMENT OF THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY OF THE REPUBLIC OF ARTSAKH SUBSCRIBERS OF UCOMS ALL TIME BEST OFFER TO ENJOY ADDITIONAL BENEFITS Armenia-Azerbaijan: EU sets up monitoring capacity along the international borders PACE co-rapporteurs on Armenia concerned by reports of alleged war crimes or inhuman treatment perpetrated by Azerbaijans armed forces There is still 35% gender pay gap: Sona Ghazaryan Global Finance Names Ameriabank the Safest Bank in Armenia Mikayel and Karen Vardanyans provided 136 million AMD support for the overhaul of the Myasnikyan statue, which was in unsafe state of disrepair Believe me, as a representative of a country which uses the Schengen system very often, it is quite important. Vardanyan I really look forward to having answers from the Azerbaijani side for these alleged gross human rights violations: Secretary General I call on Armenian and Azerbaijani parliamentarians to use this Assembly as an agora of opportunities President Tiny Kox UCOMS SPECIAL OFFER OF THE UNLIMITED INTERNET IS NOW TERMLESS There is no place for the death penalty in a State that respects human rights: PACE General Rapporteur EU and CoE call on two Member States that have not yet acceded to this Protocol Armenia and Azerbaijan to do so without delay An urgent debate requested on "The military hostilities between Armenia and Azerbaijan". UCOM AND PES-PES CONTINUE COOPERATION WITHIN THE FRAMEWORK OF EDUCATIONAL PROJECT Google Ad The statement of the meeting between Prime Minister Pashinyan, President Aliyev, President Macron and President Michel of October 6, 2022 Largest Corporate Bond Program at the Securities Market of Armenia Completed Successfully The statement of the Defender on the video of the execution of Armenian PoWs by the Azerbaijani armed forces LEVEL UP ONLY FOR STUDENTS: UCOM OFFERS X2 AND X3 MORE INTERNET STATEMENT BY SECRETARY ANTONY J. BLINKEN This criminal act is another proof that the Armenophobia policy. Tatoyan Nikol Pashinyan, Nancy Pelosi discuss a number of issues related to the Armenian-American agenda and regional developments Delegation by Nancy Pelosi Accompanied by Alen Simonyan Visits Tsitsernakaberd Memorial Complex Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi Arrives in Yerevan Armenian Revytech, global technology leader SAP and financial services software specialist SAP Fioneer sign a cooperation agreement With 120 million drams donated by Mikael Vardanyan, the defenders of the homeland will be treated in a new building OSCE Chairman-in-Office and OSCE Secretary General call for immediate cessation of hostilities along Armenia-Azerbaijan border Statement by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Artsakh Ameriabank: At the Vanguard of Armenia's Banking Sector STATEMENT OF THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY OF THE REPUBLIC OF ARTSAKH SUBSCRIBERS OF UCOMS ALL TIME BEST OFFER TO ENJOY ADDITIONAL BENEFITS Armenia-Azerbaijan: EU sets up monitoring capacity along the international borders Google Ad PACE co-rapporteurs on Armenia concerned by reports of alleged war crimes or inhuman treatment perpetrated by Azerbaijans armed forces There is still 35% gender pay gap: Sona Ghazaryan Global Finance Names Ameriabank the Safest Bank in Armenia Mikayel and Karen Vardanyans provided 136 million AMD support for the overhaul of the Myasnikyan statue, which was in unsafe state of disrepair Believe me, as a representative of a country which uses the Schengen system very often, it is quite important. Vardanyan I really look forward to having answers from the Azerbaijani side for these alleged gross human rights violations: Secretary General I call on Armenian and Azerbaijani parliamentarians to use this Assembly as an agora of opportunities President Tiny Kox UCOMS SPECIAL OFFER OF THE UNLIMITED INTERNET IS NOW TERMLESS There is no place for the death penalty in a State that respects human rights: PACE General Rapporteur EU and CoE call on two Member States that have not yet acceded to this Protocol Armenia and Azerbaijan to do so without delay An urgent debate requested on "The military hostilities between Armenia and Azerbaijan". UCOM AND PES-PES CONTINUE COOPERATION WITHIN THE FRAMEWORK OF EDUCATIONAL PROJECT Google Ad The statement of the meeting between Prime Minister Pashinyan, President Aliyev, President Macron and President Michel of October 6, 2022 Largest Corporate Bond Program at the Securities Market of Armenia Completed Successfully The statement of the Defender on the video of the execution of Armenian PoWs by the Azerbaijani armed forces LEVEL UP ONLY FOR STUDENTS: UCOM OFFERS X2 AND X3 MORE INTERNET STATEMENT BY SECRETARY ANTONY J. BLINKEN This criminal act is another proof that the Armenophobia policy. Tatoyan Nikol Pashinyan, Nancy Pelosi discuss a number of issues related to the Armenian-American agenda and regional developments Delegation by Nancy Pelosi Accompanied by Alen Simonyan Visits Tsitsernakaberd Memorial Complex Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi Arrives in Yerevan Armenian Revytech, global technology leader SAP and financial services software specialist SAP Fioneer sign a cooperation agreement With 120 million drams donated by Mikael Vardanyan, the defenders of the homeland will be treated in a new building OSCE Chairman-in-Office and OSCE Secretary General call for immediate cessation of hostilities along Armenia-Azerbaijan border Statement by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Artsakh This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Customers at an Italian restaurant near one of the wealthiest neighborhoods in San Antonio allegedly left a racist message for the restaurants owner Friday, vowing not to return because he is Mexican. The food was tasty and the service was attentive, the customers allegedly wrote on a receipt left at Di Frabo Ristorante Italiano near the Dominion development on Friday. However, the owner is Mexican. We will not return. America First, the note concluded, using the same phrase for President Donald Trumps America First foreign policy agenda. The customers racked up a $53 tab before leaving the message scrawled across a lunch receipt. Its impossible to know whether the message was authentic or whether the customers identified with Trump since they paid with cash and didnt leave a name, according to restaurant owner Fernando Franco, who is from Mexico City. The slogan first rose into the popular lexicon during World War II as an antisemitic rallying cry that Trump revived during his campaign and has used to brand his legislative agenda at the White House since. From this day forward, a new vision will govern our land. From this day forward, it's going to be only America first, America first, Trump said in his inaugural address. Franco, who now lives in San Antonio and owns two restaurants in Mexico, relocated to the U.S. in 2012 through an E-2 investor visa. Franco said he wanted to expand his brand across the border and found San Antonio attractive because of its robust population growth and safer environment for his two children. We decided to try to look for other markets and find a better way to raise a family, Franco said in a telephone interview Monday. Franco purchased two Marble Slab Creamery locations in San Antonio to enter the market, selling them to finance the construction of Di Frabo in 2014. Franco said he and his wife were dining in the restaurant Friday afternoon. Once the lunch crowd cleared out, the manager approached him with the receipt, Franco said. At first, Franco said he thought it was a joke. I was surprised about how somebody would write down something like that, Franco said. I dont know what they were thinking when they wrote it. I have no idea who did it or even how they knew that I am Mexican. Im assuming because I was working and speaking Spanish. Im not a blond guy, Im a typical Latino guy. Franco posted a photo of the receipt on his personal Facebook page on Friday, which his wife then shared with a friend. Then, the photo took off on Facebook and Twitter where it was retweeted more than 12,000 times by Monday afternoon. Di Frabo received an outpouring of calls, emails and supportive posts to the restaurants Facebook page, Franco said. One commenter wrote, God bless you, sir. Keep up the good work That customer was an idiot and is setting a terrible example to his children. A small percentage, Franco said, have accused the restaurant of fabricating the receipt to gain attention or become political activists, which Franco denies. Hateful messages on restaurant receipts have a habit of going viral, but not all have gone uncontested. A Tennessee man sued a Red Lobster server and the Orlando-based casual seafood chain in 2014 after the server alleged the customer had scribbled the word none followed by a racial slur in lieu of a tip, according to The Huffington Post. A man in Kalamazoo, Michigan pushed back against a T.G.I. Fridays servers claims in November that the man stiffed the server out of a tip and instead left a homophobic and racist message with the hashtag, #PresidentTrump, Michigan news station WWMT reported. Two Di Frabo employees have told Franco they may quit if vitriol toward the restaurant continues, the restaurant owner said. He also worries whether his family will remain safe. 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. I hope this is not going to get worse, that my familys not going to be at risk in any way, Franco said. Ramiro Cavazos, president and CEO of the San Antonio Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, said he has not heard of similar racist instances occurring with its approximately 1,300 members but worries that people will feel increasingly emboldened to engage in offensive rhetoric. We believe San Antonio is setting the example of the fact that we value diversity and we value prosperity and the innovation that immigrants have brought to our country for over 300 years, Cavazos said. I believe that this is an aberration that I have confidence people will not see again in our community. Last month, Trump spokesman Sean Spicer said the president was considering a 20 percent tariff on goods imported from Mexico to pay for a proposed wall along the U.S.-Mexico border. The White House later walked back the proposal but not before sending a shiver through the Texas business community, which relies heavily on trade with their southern neighbor. The Trump administrations aggressive stance toward Mexico on matters of trade and immigration is one example of Trumps avowed America First strategy in international relations, said Cal Jillson, political science professor at Southern Methodist University. The catchphrase was discredited about 70 years ago when pro-Germany forces in the U.S. along with isolationists unsuccessfully employed the phrase to keep the nation out of World War II, Jillson said. The America First movement had overtones of anti-Semitism, most notably when Charles Lindbergh, an aviator who later became the America First Committees chief public supporter, gave a speech on Sept. 11, 1941 lambasting American Jews for favoring intervention against Nazi Germany. jfechter@express-news.net Twitter: @JFreports During an Air Force career in which he managed logistics for thousands of people and oversaw billions of dollars in infrastructure construction, Curt A. Van De Walle often pondered how hed perform in the civilian job equivalent as a city manager. Hes now finding out. Van De Walle, 52, began work Jan. 2 as Castle Hills city manager, beating out 84 other applicants for the post from which Diane Pfeil was fired last July on a 4-1 no-confidence vote. Ive been putting in a lot of long hours to get up to speed on the new job and to learn all the city processes, said Van De Walle, who worked as a capital programs manager for the City of San Antonio after ending his Air Force career in 2014 as a colonel. A San Antonio native whose family long operated a namesake agricultural business now known as San Antonio Farms, Van De Walle and his wife, Kim, have three grown daughters and live in Schertz. Besides getting acquainted with municipal co-workers and learning about Castle Hills, which has its own personality, his main focus since taking the $100,000-a-year job has been examining needed upgrades to the citys streets and drainage. Im a licensed professional engineer, so its right up my alley, said Van De Walle, noting city leaders are considering calling a bond election to fund infrastructure improvements. Mayor Tim Howell had high praise for Van De Walle, describing him as an energetic and unifying force at City Hall, whos military-driven. He jumps into everything without being asked. Hes all over it, said Howell, noting Van De Walle even launched a morning exercise regimen thats catching on with fellow staffers. Mike Shands, who served as interim city manager, winnowed the list of Pfeils would-be successors from 85 to five. Council members narrowed the field to three. The two other finalists withdrew and Van De Walle was hired Nov. 29 on a 4-1 vote, Howell said. Councilman Douglas Gregory, who dissented, said his vote reflected dissatisfaction with the process, not with Van De Walle. Its too early in the new managers tenure to deem it a success or failure, he said, but Gregory liked Van De Walles showing at a committee meeting this week on street and drainage issues. I was impressed and I told him so, he said. Van De Walles military resume reflects extensive experience managing air bases, facilities services and construction projects, most recently at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland from 2012-14. There, his resume says, he led/supervised 100 people executing a widely dispersed $4B construction portfolio in facility & utility projects located in the Continental United States, Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, South Pacific, Asia, Central Asia, Africa & the Middle East. Ive also been the equivalent of director of public works at Goodfellow Air Force Base and Tyndall Air Force Base, Van De Walle said. While employed by San Antonio, the resume says, his work included leading a team of employees, contractors and consultants in designing and constructing $260 million in improvements at San Antonio International Airport. Van De Walle describes his leadership style as collaborative, saying, I try to engage people and to get them involved in the process and solve problems. I enjoy working with people. Some adjustment has been required in shifting to a civilian workplace, he said. The culture is different, Van De Walle said. It can be a little more difficult to focus people on a common mission than it is in the military. Theres always a well-defined mission in the military. Asked if hed made any mistakes on his new job, he said, More than I care to count, but nothing major. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate A witness in the murder trial of Dustin Lee Osborne, one of two defendants accused in the 2014 shooting death of a San Antonio man on the South Side, testified Monday that he heard arguing the night of the shooting but ran from the scene. It wasnt any of my business and I didnt want for it to be my business, said Noe Quintanilla, the victims cousin. Quintanilla was among the witnesses Monday as testimony continued in the murder trial of Dustin Lee Osborne, accused of killing Ralph Michael Lopez, 34. Osborne, now 22, and his uncle and co-defendant, Gabriel Aguilar, now 42, went to Lopezs home to pick up some friends. After an altercation, Lopez, was shot multiple times in his driveway Aug. 11, 2014, and later was pronounced dead at San Antonio Military Medical Center. Quintanilla said he was at Lopezs home in the 9200 block of Lytle Avenue the night of the shooting. He said he heard arguing in the front yard, and went to the back. He said after the arguing stopped, he went back to the front yard and when the shooting started, he ducked and ran to the back again. He said before he left the scene, he saw his cousin on the driveway. Quintanilla was asked numerous times by both prosecutors and defense attorneys whether he saw Lopez with a gun, and he said, "No." He said he ran from the scene without calling 911 or checking on his cousin because he was afraid. I called my wife, he said. If convicted of murder, Osborne faces a maximum of life in prison. The Bexar County jury that will decide the case also heard from San Antonio Police Department crime scene investigators who recovered shell casings from a .45-caliber automatic handgun, the handgun and two magazines. The case is being heard before Judge Jefferson Moore who presides over the 186th state District Court. ezavala@express-news.net Twitter: @elizabeth2863 It was inevitable that we would get to this point, given the two years that preceded it. On Monday morning, President Trump began the tweetweek with a response to recent polling showing that his executive order on immigration is more unpopular than it is popular. And lo: Trump tweeted: Any negative polls are fake news, just like the CNN, ABC, NBC polls in the election. Sorry, people want border security and extreme vetting. (Among those polls, one from CNN-ORC aired shortly before Trumps tweet, reinforcing the idea that many of his morning tweets may be responses to what he sees on television.) The immediate response to this, as always, is that national polling from CNN, ABC (which partners with The Washington Post) and NBC was broadly correct in the past election. The last Post-ABC tracking poll had Hillary Clinton up by 3 points. On average, polls had her winning by 3.2 percent. She won by 2.1. The secondary response is the more important one. Any negative polls are fake news is a remarkable sentiment. A president cant both insist that everything is going perfectly and enact controversial, unpopular policies without something giving. In this case, whats giving is reality. Trumps antipathy to polling has reached its apex: Anything that says anything bad is made up. You may remember that, until about a year ago, polls were the magical validation of the Donald Trump phenomenon. During the primaries, Trump would spend a good deal of time fussing over his poll numbers, about how he was winning nationally and how he was winning in key states. He would talk about his poll numbers at his rallies, a habit that seemed bizarre at first and then simply folded into the broader universe of Trumps weird politicking. The effect was to make it very clear when Trump wasnt happy with what the polls showed. When the general election dawned, he stopped talking about what the polls showed, because he was trailing, and began talking about how the polls were rigged against him or otherwise contrived. He never said that all of the polls that showed him losing were fake, but he would go out of his way to instead highlight shaky polls that offered the news he wanted. In the wake of the election, he seized upon the discussion of fake news, an appellation that originally was used to describe intentionally false stories created to goad people into visiting sloppily created websites and to generate ad revenue. For Trump, it was the perfect way of dismissing any news reporting that he didnt like. Since the election, hes used the phrase 17 times on Twitter, first to disparage a story about Russian involvement in the election and later as a broad-brush response to individual stories or themes. Monday mornings tweet was more direct still: Anything that has negative information about me is fake. Its of a piece with another statement he tweeted over the weekend. Trump tweeted: The opinion of this so-called judge, which essentially takes law-enforcement away from our country, is ridiculous and will be overturned! When a judge ruled that Trumps executive order on immigration should be halted, Trumps response was abnormal for a president. The judge wasnt a judge, he was a so-called judge, a proprietor of fake judgment. The judge offered an opinion contrary to Trumps and therefore was not to be trusted. Or voting. That loss to Clinton in the popular vote still grates on Trump, and so he still seeks to dismiss it, throwing out the completely unsupported theory that millions of votes in the election were fraudulent. His first formulation of the extent of that fraud was 3 million votes - just more than the margin by which he lost. And all of those imaginary fraudulent votes, he insisted to ABCs David Muir, went to his opponent. Voila. Trump gets the news he wants. The seeming inevitability of all of this stems from Trumps broad willingness to embrace shaky or erroneous information for his own political benefit. That vote fraud claim stemmed from one unsourced tweet picked up by the conspiracy-theory site Infowars. But this isnt new to his candidacy. His infamous claim that he saw thousands of Muslims celebrating on 9/11 demanded one of two responses from observers: acknowledgment that Trump was lying or wrong or an assumption that the news media was incorrect or biased in pointing out Trumps error. Thats one example of many; Trumps frequent forays into surrealism eventually demanded that nearly anyone who wanted to support him come along for the ride. There may be another reason that Trump is eager to dismiss unflattering polling. In its stark description of his struggling administration, the New York Times quoted Christopher Ruddy, the chief executive of conservative Newsmax Media. I think, in his mind, the success of this is going to be the poll numbers, Ruddy told the Times. If they continue to be weak or go lower, then somebodys going to have to bear some responsibility for that. Perhaps internally. Externally, the punishment will be borne by the concept of reality itself. But poll numbers clearly factor heavily into Trumps thinking. In October 2015, after I wrote an analysis of how online polls seemed to show a more favorable picture for Trump than phone polls, he called me to challenge my assertion. While the campaign has reached out to me with feedback on occasion, it was the only time that he himself did so. The real risk here is that Trump is fostering a bubble of misinformation among his supporters. Hes not creating that bubble; to some extent, supporting Trump has always meant a willingness to set aside an insistence on factual accuracy. But this tweet signals a further retreat into that bubble and an insistence from his supporters that they tune out anything that isnt approved by Trump himself. That is valuable to a politician, certainly. But its clearly detrimental to the idea of an informed public weighing in on political decisions, the often unrealized ideal of our democracy. Ironically, this was the tweet that followed Trumps dismissal of all negative information. Trump tweeted: I call my own shots, largely based on an accumulation of data, and everyone knows it. Some FAKE NEWS media, in order to marginalize, lies! I call my own shots, largely based on an accumulation of data, Trump says. Only one of two things can be true: Trump makes decisions based on data or polls with negative information are false. Otherwise Trump is either including only positive and favorable information in his decision-making process a deeply problematic way of approaching problems or hes cynically telling his supporters that unfavorable polls are wrong, despite knowing that they are not. Im honestly not sure which is more likely. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate On the top floor of the Peace Library at the University of Texas at San Antonio, seven students spread out on wooden tables, gently handling centuries-old documents. Armed with pencils and spreadsheets pens could damage the fragile paper they methodically thumbed through archival boxes full of manila folders, one by one. With onion-skin sheets cataloging records dating back to at least the 1700s, they carefully flipped through pages of deeds, judgments and grants to piece together the history of the segment of downtown San Antonio surrounding Main Plaza, one lot at a time. Its amazing whats buried in here, said Mary Ledbetter, a graduate student in history, on a recent Wednesday in the Special Collections room inside Peace Library. She was looking through Box 120 from the Stewart Title Company archives, taking notes on her spreadsheet and pausing to take a few pictures with her cell phone. In one of her documents, there was a reference to the Baron de Bastrop. In two instances she found cases of land being taken away from an insurgent to the state. With no street addresses, changing street names and lot sizes that have morphed or shrunk through time, compiling information from the first recorded reference and then up to 1836 may prove to be a hefty challenge. But the results will be well worth the effort, students and professors agree. When they are done, the collegiate researchers will have created interactive story maps that will serve as tools to allow amateur as well as professional historians and the public at large to explore the regions rich archaeological and historical sites. The story maps and vivid vignettes will be published online, showing how land ownership has changed in San Antonio over time and documenting the thousands of years of history that predate the citys tricentennial. Were really proud of our 300th anniversary, but the fact is theres about 10 to 12 thousand years of history before that, said Clinton McKenzie, a project archaeologist at UTSA. To explore that history, the team is using research from Texas State University professor Frank de la Teja, as well as primary sources such as the Stewart Title Collection archives. These archives amount to more than 500 feet of paper, according to McKenzie. Inventories from missions and the Bexar Archives, the official collection of Spanish documents up to 1836, will also serve as references for individual projects, which will explore different groups of people, including Mission communities, Native Americans and Canary Islanders. Bexar Countys story is not one peoples story, McKenzie said. We want to tell as many peoples story as we can. John Reynolds, a history professor at UTSA, expects his students will analyze segments of downtown going east on Commerce Street, down to the river, by October, in time for the citys tricentennial commemoration in 2018. The team, consisting of experts from UTSAs Center for Archaeological Research, the Institute of Texan Cultures and the universitys Department of History, received a $54,922 grant from county commissioners in December for the project. In addition to producing the story maps and vignettes to better illustrate history, the research also is pointing out some controversial aspects of how property changed hands. Thats a big concern with Texas history, how land shifted and was taken in legal ways from the original owners, said Jessica Ceeko, another masters student. Ceeko planned to study marker trees of the Comanches in Texas. Some students didnt find everything they needed in their respective boxes of archives. William V. Scott had a box full of folders and documents only went back to the 1900s, so McKenzie suggested he search the online Bexar Archives collection. One document in his collection described the plot of land as having a front of 28.2 feet more or less on the North side of Market Street, formerly described as lots Nos. 7, 8, and part of Lot No. 9 in City Block 109. Its the artist formerly known as Prince, McKenzie said to Scott with a smile. Almost two hours into their library visit, McKenzie looked at the room full of students poring over stacks of documents, deep in their research. Theres so much in here, he said. Im a pig in mud, Im so happy. frahman@express-news.net A popular, 28-year San Antonio tradition continues next week with free Valentines Day weddings outside the Bexar County Courthouse. This years multiple ceremonies will be conducted by Bexar County Clerk Gerard C. Gerry Rickhoff, with the first starting at 12:01 a.m. on Feb. 14, followed by identical events at 10 a.m., noon, 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. that day. All the weddings will be conducted on the north steps of the historic red courthouse at 100 Dolorosa Street, facing Main Plaza. Couples planning to participate in the free Valentines Day ceremonies, which started in 1989, must secure a marriage license at least 72 hours before the weddings. With Valentines Day falling on a Tuesday, and the clerks office closed on weekends, the deadline for the license is this week. The last time is Friday at 5 (p.m.), Rickhoff said Monday. On Monday (Feb. 13), theyll need a waiver of the 72-hour requirement, he said. Several types of license applicants are eligible for waivers, including members of the U.S. military on active duty. Also eligible are applicants who completed a state-approved premarital education course and provide a course-completion certificate. More Information More on marriage licenses: https://gov.propertyinfo.com/tx-bexar/forms/InstructionsMarriageApp.pdf See More Collapse For others, a judge can waive the waiting period requirement for good cause, according to the clerks office, where licenses are requested. The office, open weekdays only from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., is on the first floor of the Paul Elizondo Tower at 101 W. Nueva Street. A cash-only fee of $81 is collected for the marriage license. Both applicants must provide proof of identity and age and their Social Security numbers if any. Other free weddings are sometimes offered by ministers around the community, a phenomenon that developed in 2012. Thats when the courthouse weddings came under fire after the then-presiding minister made disparaging remarks about gays and lesbians before gay marriage was legalized. Bexar County marriages have been on the upswing in recent years. From 2000-2014, the countys annual total stood around 13,000 before it surpassed 14,000 in 2015 and approached 15,000 in 2016, with each February providing the highest monthly total since 2000 in all but two years. For more information on obtaining a marriage license, call the clerks office at 210-335-2223. jgonzalez@express-news.net Twitter: @johnwgonzalez Does Texas risk billions of dollars in economic losses should lawmakers advance discriminatory legislation including a so-called bathroom bill? Portions of a study behind such widely cited projections appear solid, but we found elements of it shaky. One projection, for instance, rested on the incorrect assumption of Super Bowl LI being moved to another state. Another misleadingly used an Arizona immigration law as the basis for Texas losses. And we found that the studys biggest projected loss for Texas stemmed from an Indiana legislators comment that appears to lack factual footing. We didnt conclude that a Texas bathroom law would have no negative economic effects. Opponents of Senate Bill 6, requiring Texas residents to use bathrooms matching their assigned sex at birth, point out up to $201 million in losses due to North Carolinas 2016 move to curb protections for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender residents. Experts we consulted all suggested repercussions. A Wharton professor, Maurice Schweitzer, said, though, that precise figures are difficult to forecast, because the effects can snowball once one company or sporting event boycotts a state, others are more likely to follow. The Texas Association of Business, which calls itself the states leading advocate for employers, highlighted its study in a Dec. 6 press release urging legislators to spurn discriminatory legislation. The study, undertaken at St. Edwards University, found that a discriminatory law could result in $964 million to $8.5 billion in reduced state gross domestic product for Texas and up to 185,000 lost jobs, partly due to tourism fallout. We broke down the studys figures after Brad Zehner, a St. Edwards associate professor of management, addressed a set of questions in writing. Zehner told us four St. Edwards business graduate students under faculty supervision completed the projections in December 2015 more than a year before the legislative session and also before North Carolina's law won legislative approval in March 2016. Notably, none of the three states that the study analyzed to draw parallels to Texas still has a mandate like the ones gauged by the study. Lets recap what we found for each case-studied state. In 2014, Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer vetoed a religious freedom proposal viewed by critics as anti-gay. According to the study, the failed law would have cost Arizona's economy $140 million in cancelled conventions and travel costs. Yet that figure, we found, reflected projected losses due to a different immigrant-focused law. Danny Court of the Arizona firm that originated the figure told us by email: Our report had nothing to do with issues pertaining to religious freedom policies. The Texas studys Arizona section says the three-year impact of similar Texas legislation could be as much as $964 million, a total tied in part to Texas losing the equivalent of the just-played Super Bowl LI. Louisiana legislators didnt agree on a measure to protect businesses from consequences for denying services on religious grounds; Gov. Bobby Jindal then placed such provisions in an order that was later rescinded by Jindals successor, John Bel Edwards. According to the Texas study, the city of New Orleans predicted Jindals order would cause 85 percent of the citys top conventions not to return. The study applies that declaration to conventions in Houston and to Texas sales tax revenues to reach an estimated Texas impact of up to $1 billion. Stephen Perry of the New Orleans Convention & Visitors Bureau said in 2015 that 80 percent to 85 percent of the citys most important corporate customers had advised that if the Louisiana legislation advanced, its unlikely were going to be able to come back here. In Indiana in 2015, lawmakers voted to allow businesses to refuse service due to objections on religious grounds before blunting the laws effect on LGBT residents. Indiana, the Texas study says, still suffered $1.5 billion in short-term losses amounting to 0.5 percent of that states GDP. The study applies that percentage to the $1.7 trillion Texas GDP to suggest up to $8.5 billion in Texas losses. However, we were unable to pin a basis for the $1.5 billion figure for Indiana, which was mentioned in legislative debate, we found, without elaboration. A staff spokesman for Indianas Democratic House caucus told us that documentation of the figure, if any, is long gone. It could be that Indianas losses werent that huge. Our ruling TAB said a study projects up to $8.5 billion in lost GDP and up to 185,000 lost jobs if lawmakers approve a discriminatory measure like proposals in other states. A law might cause economic shivers. But not all the numbers, calculations and assumptions that factored into the Texas study proved solid. A vital figure that Indiana lost $1.5 billion in conventions doesnt appear to have a documented basis that we could discern. We rate this claim Mostly False. Russia demands apology from Fox News for calling Putin a 'killer' (video) The Kremlin has demanded an apology from Fox News over what it said were unacceptable comments one of the channels presenters made about Russian president Vladimir Putin in an interview with US counterpart Donald Trump. Fox host Bill OReilly made the comments while speaking to the President before the Super Bowl, when he asked him about US-Russian relations. Mr Trump said he respects the Russian President. When asked to elaborate about his respect for Mr Putin in his interview with Fox News, Mr Trump said: "Well, I respect a lot of people but that doesn't mean I'm going to get along with him. He's a leader of his country. I say it's better to get along with Russia than not. And if Russia helps us in the fight against Isis, which is a major fight, and Islamic terrorism all over the world, that's a good thing. "Will I get along with him? I have no idea." But "Putin's a killer," Mr O'Reilly said. Mr Trump replied: "There are a lot of killers. We've got a lot of killers. What do you think, our country's so innocent?" His comments were quickly attacked by the Kremlin as well as Republicans in the United States. There is no moral equivalency between the United States of America, the greatest freedom living nation in the history of the world, said Senator Ben Sasse (Nebraska) We consider such words from the Fox TV company to be unacceptable and insulting, and honestly speaking, we would prefer to get an apology from such a respected TV company, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on a conference call. BBC says that Bill OReilly is not going to apologize to the Russian leader for his words. Im working on that apology but it may take a little time. You might want to check in with me around 2023, he said. A federal appeals court will hear arguments today on whether to restore President Donald Trumps immigration order, marking a critical juncture for his directive temporarily barring refugees and those from seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the U.S. The hearing, which will be conducted by phone, is to review an order by a lower court judge to put Trumps directive on hold. It was scheduled just as Justice Department lawyers made their final written pitch to immediately restore the presidents order and as tech companies, law professors and former high-ranking national security officials joined a mushrooming legal campaign to keep the measure suspended. Department lawyers said the executive order was a lawful exercise of the presidents authority over the entry of aliens into the United States and the admission of refugees. They also said U.S. District Judge James Robarts order to stop it was vastly overbroad. The future of the temporary ban now lies with three judges on the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals: William Canby Jr., who was appointed by President Jimmy Carter; Richard Clifton, who was appointed by President George W. Bush; and Michelle Taryn Friedland, who was appointed by President Barack Obama. The judges said each side would have 30 minutes to present their arguments beginning at 5 p.m. Central time. It is unclear how soon a ruling could follow. Audio of the hearing will be posted online by the court soon after it ends, the judges said in an order. With the court case ongoing, those once stopped from coming to the U.S. have rushed to come into the country. The Homeland Security Department said it was suspending all enforcement of Trumps directive after Robart, who is based in Seattle, ordered it frozen. Many travelers have since been able to reunite with family here. The broad legal issues are whether Trump exceeded his authority and violated the First Amendment and federal immigration law and whether his order imposes irreparable harm on those it affects. Either Justice Department lawyers representing the Trump administration or the states of Washington and Minnesota, which had successfully sued to put the ban on hold, could ask the Supreme Court to intervene if they disagree with the appeals court decision. Since the death last year of Justice Antonin Scalia, the Supreme Court remains one justice short, and many see it as ideologically split 4-4. A tie would keep in place whatever the appeals court decides. The rhetoric from both sides has been fierce. Washington and Minnesota argued in a filing Monday that reinstating the ban would unleash chaos again by separating families, stranding our university students and faculty, and barring travel. Justice Department lawyers countered that noncitizens outside the U.S. have no substantive right or basis for judicial review in the denial of a visa at all and that, at most, the lower court judge should have limited his ruling to previously admitted aliens who are temporarily abroad now or who wish to travel and return to the United States in the future. Federal immigration law undeniably gives the president broad authority to bar people from coming into the U.S., saying that if he finds the entry of any aliens would be detrimental to the countrys interests, he can impose restrictions. Legal analysts have said those challenging the ban will face an uphill climb to overturn it. Yet the opposition has been successful so far, and it is growing. On Monday, 10 former high-ranking diplomatic and national security officials, nearly 100 Silicon Valley tech companies, more than 280 law professors, a coalition of 16 state or district attorneys general, and a host of civil liberties and other organizations formally lent their support to the legal bid to block Trumps order. While it is not unusual for outside parties to weigh in on legal cases of such public interest, the breadth and depth of those lining up behind Washington and Minnesota is notable. Former Secretaries of State John Kerry and Madeleine Albright, former CIA Director Leon Panetta, former CIA and National Security Agency Director Michael Hayden and other former top national security officials attached their names to an affidavit declaring that there was no national security purpose for a complete barring of people from the seven affected countries. Since September 11, 2001, not a single terrorist attack in the United States has been perpetrated by aliens from the countries named in the order, the group said. Very few attacks on U.S. soil since September 11, 2001, have been traced to foreign nationals at all. Apple, Facebook, Google, Microsoft, Netflix, Twitter, Uber and other companies asserted in a brief that the order hinders the ability of American companies to attract great talent; increases costs imposed on business; makes it more difficult for American firms to compete in the international marketplace; and gives global enterprises a new, significant incentive to build operations and hire new employees outside the United States. Sixteen attorneys general said that while their specific businesses and residents were different, all stand to face the concrete, immediate and irreparable harms caused by the executive order. Trump and his supporters have continued to press the case that the short-term stoppage on refugees and immigrants from the seven nations Iraq, Iran, Syria, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen is necessary for national security. Trump said Monday during remarks at MacDill AFB in Tampa, Florida, that, We need strong programs so that people that love us and want to love our country and will end up loving our country are allowed in, not people who want to destroy us and destroy our country. On Twitter, he went so far as to suggest that if an attack were to happen, the judiciary would be to blame. Just cannot believe a judge would put our country in such peril, Trump wrote. If something happens blame him and court system. People pouring in. Bad! Azerbaijani side did not lead OSCE mission to its front-lines On February 7, 2017, in accordance with the arrangement reached with the authorities of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic, the OSCE Mission conducted a planned monitoring of the Line of Contact between the armed forces of Nagorno Karabakh and Azerbaijan, in the direction of the NKR Hadrut region, to the north of Horadiz. From the positions of the NKR Defense Army, the monitoring was conducted by Field Assistants to the Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office Khristo Khristov (Bulgaria) and Jiri Aberle (Czech Republic), as well as Personal Assistant to the CiO Personal Representative Simon Tiller (Great Britain). From the opposite side of the Line of Contact, the monitoring was conducted by Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office Ambassador Andrzej Kasprzyk, Field Assistant to the Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office Ghenadie Petrica (Moldova), and staff member of the Office of the Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office Peter Svedberg (Sweden). The monitoring passed in accordance with the agreed schedule. No violation of the cease-fire regime was registered. However, the Azerbaijani side did not lead the OSCE mission to its front-lines. From the Karabakh side, the monitoring mission was accompanied by representatives of the NKR Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Defense. "Trevor was a strong candidate for the role in northern WA - he understands cattle enterprises from all perspectives having attended a rural college, worked on cattle stations in the Northern Territory and more recently, having established his own cattle stud in New South Wales," Mr Ritchie said. Gun shearers could earn three times the average wage of a city tradesperson and there was little opportunity during their time away to spend it, so some of their exploits when they returned home were also of legendary proportion. Manassas, VA (20110) Today Partly cloudy skies this evening will become overcast overnight. Slight chance of a rain shower. Low 64F. Winds SSE at 10 to 20 mph.. Tonight Partly cloudy skies this evening will become overcast overnight. Slight chance of a rain shower. Low 64F. Winds SSE at 10 to 20 mph. Mark Sorrells will be the new president of FTCC next year Why do bad guys always seem to get the girls? Is it their confident swagger and rebellious image? For some women, the attraction is purely sexual, heightened by a hint of danger. For me, its the look. I love a man with long hair, tattoos, wearing ripped black jeans and a leather jacket. It just so happens that that look is often associated with bad boys. What I really like, though, is the fact that just because the guy looks bad, it doesnt necessarily mean that he is. Apart from the dead sexy look, what I find appealing is that these guys (and girls) arent afraid to be themselves regardless of trend or other peoples expectations for them to conform to conventionalism. Katy Swann My idea of the perfect man is one that is rough around the edges, but has a soft heart. I think a lot of women (and men) would agree with me. Nobody really wants someone whos going to treat them badly, surely? The trouble is, its hard to tell which ones are good and which are rotten to the core. If theyre charming on the surface, it can be difficult to spot their darker side lurking beneath the fake exterior. Sometimes people are labelled bad by reputation. Mud tends to stick and rumours are hard to banish. Sometimes these rumours are true, but not always. What if you fall for a man who has a reputation for being an arrogant womanising drug dealer? You wouldnt go near him, would you? But what if the attraction is so strong that you just cant resist him? Thats what happens to Sami in my latest book, Devious Tactics. Sami, an ambitious journalist, sneaks on board a yacht belonging to millionaire ex-fighter pilot, Jet Whitely. He is rumoured to be a ruthless drug baron and Sami is determined to find evidence to prove it. But when Jet catches her snooping in his kinky playroom she is faced with a decision that could put her life in danger. He gives her a choice. He either calls the police and she can explain to them what she was doing there or she can be spanked as punishment. Any sane person would surely opt for the police, but Sami is torn. This could be her chance to find her evidence, but thats not the only reason she is tempted. Jet is a Dom, shes a submissive and Sami recognises the firm authority oozing from him and is deeply drawn to him despite the potential danger. When Sami agrees to be spanked it leads to more than she could ever have imagined and when she finds herself locked in the dungeon with no escape, it finally dawns on her how stupid shes been. More: To Love and Submit by Katy Swann I wont spoil it by telling you what happens, but its a good example of how easy it is to fall for someone you know you shouldnt. Whether Jet really is bad or not, youll have to see, but I will tell you that Sami soon learns that its not wise to put herself in a vulnerable position by agreeing to be tied up by a stranger. This story has a happy ending, but not all do so Ill end with a question. Would you trust a bad guy or would you run a mile? Totally Bound Publishing: https://www.totallybound.com/book/devious-tactics Amazon UK https://www.amazon.co.uk/Devious-Tactics-Katy-Swann-ebook/dp/B01N30H0R5/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1485899511&sr=8-1&keywords=katy+swann Amazon.com https://www.amazon.com/Devious-Tactics-Katy-Swann-ebook/dp/B01N30H0R5/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1485899569&sr=8-1&keywords=katy+swann From Maestro Malkhas to entrepreneurial Kardashians: US Ambassador left Facebook post U.S. Ambassador to Armenia marks the second anniversary of his mission in Armenia. "Talk about throwback Monday! Can it really be exactly two years today since I was sworn in as the eighth U.S. Ambassador to Armenia? That day in 2015 marked the renewal of my fascination and deep affection for all things Armenian, as well as day from which I was given the special opportunity as Ambassador to highlight all the ties that bind our two countries together from our economic trade to military cooperation and from the maestro Mr. Malkhas to the Pulitzer-winning poet Mr. Balakian and even those entrepreneurial Kardashians! Leigh and I have enjoyed meeting so many welcoming and engaging Armenians all across this beautiful nation. We are honored along with our Armenian-born adopted cat Gozo to have welcomed so many Armenian friends and colleagues to our Residence here in Yerevan. Our favorite moments since arriving have been when we can hear directly from Armenians, whether after dinner at our residence sharing cognac or sitting around a conference table with a cup of Armenian coffee, about what they want for the future of their country and how they think the United States can assist in building a more prosperous and democratic Armenia. Every Armenian school child I think knows by heart the quotation from the U.S. painter Rockwell Kent about how there is no place on earth more filled with wonders than Armenia. Leigh and I certainly agree with Mr. Kent and the most wondrous part of Armenia is no doubt the inspiring people who live in this country and are the reason Armenia has thrived in the face of a cruel history and a challenging present. And the second most wondrous part of life here is working with a very dedicated team, Armenian and American, at the U.S. Embassy, who focus every day on how to strengthen the friendship between Armenia and the United States. Leigh and I look forward to the rest of our time here. If there are places you think we should visit, sites we should see and zip lines we need to zip across -- or dishes we should try, please let me know!"Richard Mills wrote on Facebook. Hitting cinemas later this month, A Cure For Wellness comes from director Gore Verbinski and stars Jason Isaacs, Adrian Schiller, Dane DeHaan and Mia Goth; the latter two of which star in this brand new teaser clip from the movie, Pond. The official synopsis for the film reads: An ambitious young executive is sent to retrieve his companys CEO from an idyllic but mysterious wellness center at a remote location in the Swiss Alps. He soon suspects that the spas miraculous treatments are not what they seem. When he begins to unravel its terrifying secrets, his sanity is tested, as he finds himself diagnosed with the same curious illness that keeps all the guests here longing for the cure. The clip hints at sinister goings on within the wellness center thats housing a number of unique and special patients, as the patient Mia Goth is playing tells Dane DeHaans character, No one ever leaves. A Cure For Wellness is officially released on February 17 in the US and on February 24 in the UK. by Daniel Falconer for www.femalefirst.co.uk find me on and follow me on Finn Jones steps into the centre of proceedings in the brand new trailer for Netflix/Marvel collaboration, Iron Fist, proving within the first few seconds upon his return to America that hes a fish out of water amongst the bustling New York City life. It doesnt take long for the huge action segments of the Iron Fist trailer to kick in, with the couple of minutes of footage were granted proving that this series is going to follow in the footsteps of Daredevil, Jessica Jones and Luke Cage in delivering some monumental fight scenes. The official synopsis for the upcoming series reads: Fifteen years after being presumed dead in a plane crash, Danny Rand (Finn Jones) mysteriously returns to New York City determined to reclaim his birthright and family company. However, when a long-destined enemy rises in New York, this living weapon is forced to choose between his familys legacy and his duties as the Iron Fist. Iron Fist premieres exclusively on Netflix in all territories the streaming service is available on March 17, 2017. by Daniel Falconer for www.femalefirst.co.uk find me on and follow me on In an attempt to keep their female students safe, the Government Polytechnic College in Bandra, Mumbai, has introduced a bizarre policy--separate seating for male and female students in the college canteen demarcated by the use of ropes. The Principal, Swati Deshpande told the Times of India that the steps taken were necessary as former students would often come to the campus, create a commotion and make the girls uncomfortable. She went on to say that there was an incident in October 2016 that got out of hand and the police needed to be called to the campus. If this was not unusual enough, the Government Polytechnic College head is soon planning to introduce a change of uniform for the girls. She is keen that they dress in salwar kameez as opposed to the current white shirt and black trousers which is worn by both the male and female students. The main idea behind the uniform change is to curb any confusion about gender role reversal according to the Principal, who feels that what the students wear affects their mannerisms and reproductive systems. Deshpande told the Times of India that women who dress up in mens clothing, start to behave like men and undergo gender reversal in their heads. Without any scientific explanation, she further says that it is because of this that women suffer from Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOD) and lose the urge to reproduce at a young age. Needless to say, there has been a lot of outrage over this archaic view being enforced in the college. A policy like this puts the entire onus of safety on the girls. What about the accountability of the harassers? asked Anu Kotian, a college-goer, adding that she was appalled when she read about the bizarre policy. In fact, there should be a law against people who think like this, she added. Sheila Pillai, a resident of Bandra observed that it was high time the focus shifted from victim blaming to creating awareness on gender equality through education and information dissemination. "A society segregated by sex is surely not the solution, she said. We agree. Next Story : Not Your Average Gift: Our Handpicked Thoughtful Diwali Gifts Supplier of bonding technologies, Bemis Associates is participating at ISPO Munich and will be displaying its complete range of Sewfree Bonding solutions. Bemis will also show more solutions, which range from technical applications to integrated garments and technology from leading partners like Cotton Inc., Woolmark, Under Armour and Noble Biomaterials.Bemis will also be showcasing new products including Nylock and Terra Collection. Nylock provides designers with an unprecedented bonding solution for tightly woven, lightweight fabrics and smooth finishes for both construction and aesthetics. Supplier of bonding technologies, Bemis Associates is participating at ISPO Munich and will be displaying its complete range of Sewfree Bonding solutions. Bemis will also show more solutions, which range from technical applications to integrated garments and technology from leading partners like Cotton Inc., Woolmark, Under Armour and Noble Biomaterials. # Engineered for maximum performance while minimising garment weight and maintaining breathability, the Terra Collection can be applied to natural fibres like cotton, fleece and wool, thereby opening a new area of design possibilities.Bemis has leveraged its Sewfree technology in collaboration with Noble Biomaterials to develop a fully bonded kit that allows for the infusion of active devices such as biometric sensors, lights, and power into apparel, which can also be seen at its booth. (AR) Fibre2Fashion News Desk India US retailer Dollar General has planned 1,000 new store openings in 2017, in addition to which it will also set up two distribution centres, all of which are expected to create 10,000 new jobs in the current year. The addition of these jobs will increase the strength of its workforce by around 9 per cent, and will be the highest intake in its 78 year history.Dollar General plans to use its robust training programs to support the company's commitment to one of its operating priorities of investing in employees as a competitive advantage. US retailer Dollar General has planned 1,000 new store openings in 2017, in addition to which it will also set up two distribution centres, all of which are expected to create 10,000 new jobs in the current year. The addition of these jobs will increase the strength of its workforce by around 9 per cent, and will be the highest intake in its 78 year history.# The company will invest more than 1.5 million training hours in employees in 2017, to promote education and development throughout the year."Dollar General looks forward to welcoming new employees who want to grow with us, as we expand throughout the states we serve," Todd Vasos, Dollar General's chief executive officer said. Since joining Dollar General in 2008, I have had the privilege to see the company grow from around 72,000 employees, to more than 130,000 anticipated employees by end of the fiscal 2017. (AR) Fibre2Fashion News Desk India Garment production volume in Kyrgyzstan increased significantly in 2016 as compared to the years 2013 and 2015. This also resulted in an increase in the orders for garments from Kazakhstan and the Russian Federation. The production in the garment enterprises are operating to their full potential, however, there seems to be a lack of skilled workers. The Association of Light Industry Entrepreneurs, Legprom, carried out the research that says garment producers of the country lack skilled workers and sewers. The Kyrgyzstan government will work with Legprom to find a solution, according to an official statement. The discrepancies noticed in the amounts of garment exports are due to the fact that a chunk of garments are produced by individual entrepreneurs operating with a license. The volumes of production for these enterprises have not been registered by the statistical authorities. There is also no statistical data confirming the volumes of garment products that have been supplied to the Russian Federation and the Republic of Kazakhstan. Garment production volume in Kyrgyzstan increased significantly in 2016 as compared to the years 2013 and 2015. This also resulted in an increase in the orders for garments from Kazakhstan and the Russian Federation. The production in the garment enterprises are operating to their full potential, however, there seems to be a lack of skilled workers.# The statement also said that the a mechanism is being developed to optimise the accounting of textile products to gauge the real state of affairs in the industry. (KD) Fibre2Fashion News Desk India I Have Never Suggested Any Relationship To Be Dragged If It Has Died 'I am not someone who will show patience against something that is my attacking my dignity. Take my word, I have never begged any man to stay if he wanted to leave. I have never suggested any relationship to be dragged if it has died.'' So Why Did Her Relationship With Hrithik Roshan End? ''In fact, I have been the one to say: 'Why drag dead meat?' And I hold pride in that. I hold the trend to carry on without any weakness. And people want to attack that very thing. But I am a great daughter, friend and lover.'' When Kangana Ranaut was asked about the real reason behind her break-up with Hrithik Roshan, she said, ''Two different personalities.'' But Why Didn't She Realise This When Her Affair With Hrithik Roshan Started? ''We are not here to talk about what has gone in the grave, We can go on dissecting but...'' Till Date I Have Not Said Sorry To Hrithik Roshan! 'He sent me a notice asking me to apologise in front of everyone. But am I going to do that? It's not fighting back, but I am not going to respond to such bullying. So, I sent a notice back. Till date, I have not said 'Sorry', though he's going on forgiving me.'' Kangana Makes Fun Of Hrithik Roshan's Case Against Her ''Woh bhi koi case tha? There was an impersonator who wanted to imitate only Hrithik and is in love with me. I am in love with Hrithik and since he wants a 'Sorry' from me he sent me a Defamation. And now, there's no impersonator and no Defamation.'' I Accepted To Being A Psycopath Whore & A Witch 'I have said so much rubbish on public platforms. When this whole controversy happened, I even accepted to being a psychopath or a whore or a witch or to having written mails which I never wrote. I accepted simply to test what kind of response I get.'' I Was Appointed Head Of A Witch Community 'I got beautiful letters of love. I was appointed Head Of A Witch Community formed by some young women (laughs). I love my audience. People are living in delusions. I am sorry for them, they are not living real lives and not getting true love.'' But Still She Thinks That She Didn't Make Wrong Choices 'They're not wrong choices. It's just that one thing rolls into another and you don't reach anywhere because of a certain path. I too initially thought that you cannot speak about your affairs and many other things because the society is judgmental. If this obstacle hadn't come my way, I would have still remained in that cocoon.'' Why Be Fake? 'But this particular incidence taught me that there's no such thing. Everybody is struggling with his/her life. Nobody realises it but deep down, we all know what's our true essence and what goes on in human psyche- whether it's malice, hostility, love or desire. So why be fake? Why not bare your soul? I think this incidence only taught me that there is acceptance and love out there from people.'' On Why Men Kept Her Behind The Doors? 'Everyone wants to be goody-two-shoes. That's too good to be real. Honestly, it's hard to know why they want to be holier-than-thou. Nobody talks about their relationships. Everyone wants to portray that they are virgins.'' ''I think it's because they feel that they are judged for that. But I don't think likewise. I think people are looking for real people, they don't want to see holier-than-thou people. I have still always been open. I have even spoken about my panties and vagina. I think it's important to be yourself.'' Power Star Puneeth Rajkumar's next film has been titled as Anjaniputra. The film is directed by choreographer turned director A Harsha, who has directed films like Bhajarangi and Vajrakaya. Director Harsha has seen to it that film title is related to Lord Hanuman. This sentiment is working well for Harsha. Rashmika of Kirik Party fame plays the female lead. The film is an official remake of Tamil hit film Poojai, which had Vishal and Shruthi Hassan playing the lead roles. Apparently, Harsha has just retained the storyline and weaved new screenplay around the storyline. Well-known distributor/producer MN Kumar is bankrolling the film under MNK Movies. Yet another producer Jayashree Devi, is also involved in the production of the film. This is the first film for duo with Power Star Puneeth. Harsha has assembled young technicians for the film. Puneeth, who has mostly worked with the top technicians throughout his career, will be working with relatively new and young technicians in this film. Swamy Gowda, who has worked for films like Vajrakaya, Uppi Matte Hutti Baa has been signed on as the director of photography. Ravi Basrur, who made a mark with fantastic score of Ugramm, is composing music for the film. The film has been launched in a temple in Bangalore in the presence of film industry well-wishers and media. The team has plans of shooting from February last week. Producers intend to release the film in the latter half of the 2017. The duo Saad Khan and Danish Sait, who are busy with the scripting of Kanglish film Humble Politician Nograj, have signed two well-known actors to play important roles in this political satire. The actors who have been signed now are - Sruthi Hariharan and Roger Narayan. As per the team, they will be playing parallel leads in the film. This casting proves that film is not only about Danish Sait/Nograj and there is more to it. Danish quoting a newspaper article, confirmed the news about the latest additions to the cast - "Yes yes! These wonderful looking people with incredible amounts of talent are a part of our film welcome you 2." Another popular stand-up comedian, Sumukhi Suresh who is famously known on internet for the Anu Aunty Sketch, has been signed on to play the role of Nograj's wife. The audience will be looking forward for Danish and Sumukhi's combination scenes. Sumukhi tweeted - "Guess who's part #HumblePoliticianNograj as Nograj's wife #Lavanya?? ME GUYS ME! Million thanks to Danish, Saad & #PushkarFilms!" and Danish Sait confirmed the news - "Welcome aboard love. Let's make a killer film" The team is currently busy with pre-production work; Danish and Saad are giving the final touches to the script they have co-written. Also the look tests for the lead characters have been completed. The makers intend to start shooting from February 24 in different locations of Bangalore. The film might hit the screens in the month of May. GBSM producer and director Duo Pushkar Mallikarjun and Hemanth Rao are jointly producing the film. Piotr Switalski: EU Delegation ready to continue cooperation with Armenian Government (video) Prime Minister Karen Karapetyan received Head of EU Delegation to Armenia, Ambassador Piotr Switalski. The parties discussed cooperation in the fight against corruption. Prime Minister Karen Karapetyan introduced the steps taken by the Armenian government to that effect, including legislative reforms, decisions and activities carried out by the Anticorruption Council. Talking about the future plans, the Prime Minister said a new legislative package has been developed to create an independent preventive anti-corruption authority based on the terms of reference of the High-Ranking Officials Ethics Commission. The new package implies full revision of the applicable system of income statements and conflict of interest. Work is underway to improve investigation of corruption offenses. Based on the discussions held by Anticorruption Council, a number of important bills are being developed aimed at reducing the risks of corruption in all spheres of public life. The Premier stressed that the effectiveness of measures for the fight against corruption is largely dependant on the stance of civil society. Set to activate feedback from society, the Government will give new impetus to the activities of the anticorruption Council of the Republic of Armenia. Noting that his government is open to suggestions and recommendations, Karen Karapetyan stressed the importance of cooperation with EU partners. Welcoming the Governments efforts in the fight against corruption, Piotr Switalski extended a vote of thanks on behalf of the business community for the Governments decisions and legislative initiatives. He noted that the EU Delegation to Armenia is prepared to continue cooperation with the Government as part of the priorities and anti-corruption reforms outlined by the Prime Minister. Taking the opportunity, the Prime Minister and the Head of EU Delegation to Armenia exchanged views on the possibilities for implementing joint projects within the framework of the Center for Strategic Initiatives. Vividha In Kashmir Atharv follows Vividha to Kashmir. Vividha will be followed by an unknown person, and a lady also warns her. The lady gives her a taweez and asks her to leave from the back door as she was followed by dangerous people. Vivdha Escapes The Indian army finds Vividha and warns her to return. They take her to a safe place. Vividha feels that they won't let her search Ravish and might take her back home. So she escapes from the place. Vividha In Danger She reaches the border and is shocked to see none protecting it. A person fires a missile at her, and Atharv comes to her rescue. Atharv Tries To Convince Vividha Atharv asks her to return as the curfew is announced and terrorists might kill her. He also tells him that he will find Ravish. Vividha Is Adamant To Search Ravish Vividha doesn't pay heed to his words as she knows that he hates Ravish. She asks him to leave her and return as she will get Ravish. Atharv Saves Vividha Again! Initially Athrav gets hurt as she is determined to get Ravish. He still feels that Vividha loves Ravish. So he leaves her. But, as soon as he sees her in trouble, he rushes to save her. Atharv & Vividha Caught Vividha falls in river and Atharv saves her. Now, Atharv too joins Vividha to rescue Ravish. They decide to cross the border, but get in trouble as the terrorists catch them! Atharv & Vividha To Rescue Ravish Apparently, Vividha and Atharv rescue Ravish from the terrorists. They return to home. How they rescue Ravish will be interesting watch... (Image Source: Instagram) Will Atharv Marry Vividha? Also, there are reports that after rescuing Ravish, Atharv and Vividha might get married. To know if it is true, stay locked to this space as we will bring you the latest reports of the show... LONGUEUIL, QUEBEC -- (Marketwired) -- 02/10/17 -- Odyssey Resources Limited (TSX VENTURE: ODX.H) announces that Mr. David Fennell has resigned as director and Chairman of Odyssey to focus his efforts on other commitments. Mr. James Crombie, President, Chief Executive Officer and a director of Odyssey has been appointed as Interim Chairman of the Board effective today. The Board of Directors of Odyssey would like to thank Mr. Fennell for his contribution to Odyssey over the years. Information about Odyssey is available on its website (www.odysseyresources.com) and on SEDAR (www.sedar.com). Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Contacts: ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS: James Crombie Interim Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer 450-677-1233 Email: info@odysseyresources.com MENLO PARK, CA -- (Marketwired) -- 05/01/17 -- Corcept Therapeutics Incorporated (NASDAQ: CORT) Revenue of $27.6 million in the first quarter of 2017, a 72 percent increase from the first quarter of 2016 2017 revenue guidance increased to $125-135 million GAAP net income of $0.04 per share, compared to $0.00 per share in the first quarter of 2016 Non-GAAP net income of $0.06 per share, compared to $0.02 per share in the first quarter of 2016 Enrollment underway in Phase 2 trial of CORT125134 to treat patients with Cushing's syndrome; results expected by year-end CLIA-validation of FKBP5 gene expression assay for diagnosing and optimally treating patients with Cushing's syndrome expected in third quarter 2017 Enrollment underway in dose-finding portion of Phase 1/2 trial of CORT125134 in combination with nab-paclitaxel to treat solid-tumor cancers Selective cortisol modulators CORT118335 and CORT125281 on track to enter Phase 1 Corcept Therapeutics Incorporated (NASDAQ: CORT), a pharmaceutical company engaged in the discovery, development and commercialization of drugs that treat severe metabolic, oncologic and psychiatric disorders by modulating the effects of cortisol, today reported its financial results for the quarter ended March 31, 2017. Corcept reported quarterly revenue of $27.6 million, compared to revenue of $16.1 million in the first quarter of 2016, an increase of 72 percent. The company raised its 2017 revenue guidance to $125-135 million. First quarter GAAP net income was $4.4 million, compared to a GAAP net loss of $19,000 in the first quarter of 2016. Excluding non-cash expenses related to stock-based compensation and interest on the company's capped royalty obligation (the "Royalty Financing"), Corcept generated $7.4 million of non-GAAP net income in the first quarter, compared to non-GAAP net income of $2.2 million in the first quarter of 2016. A reconciliation of GAAP to non-GAAP net operating results is set forth below. "Our strong performance last quarter was driven by the hard work of our clinical specialists, who continue to become more productive," said Joseph K. Belanoff, MD, Corcept's Chief Executive Officer. "They were helped by the fact that physicians are increasingly aware that even less severe hypercortisolism is a serious disorder and that, for many patients, using Korlym to modulate the effects of their cortisol excess is the optimum treatment. In the eyes of physicians, the number of patients who might benefit from Korlym is increasing. "We expect our Cushing's syndrome franchise to continue growing," added Dr. Belanoff, "and to fund our advancing development programs. Most important, we look forward to the results of our Phase 2 trial of CORT125134, which promises to provide patients Korlym's benefits but without the side effects associated with Korlym's affinity for the progesterone receptor. Developing a potent cortisol modulator with an improved safety profile would be a boon to patients -- and would enlarge and secure our Cushing's syndrome franchise for many years." "Because cortisol is active in many disorders, our clinical programs span a broad array of serious unmet medical needs," said Robert S. Fishman, MD, Corcept's Chief Medical Officer. "We expect that CORT118335 will move forward as a potential treatment for metabolic disorders such as fatty liver disease and antipsychotic-induced weight gain and CORT125281 will move forward for castration-resistant prostate cancer. Both compounds are advancing to Phase 1. We plan to open expansion cohorts this year to study the combination of CORT125134 and nab-paclitaxel in two or more solid-tumor cancers. In the third-quarter, we expect to achieve CLIA-validation of our FKBP5 gene assay, which promises to provide physicians with a powerful and much-needed tool for diagnosing and treating hypercortisolism. And CORT125134's improved specificity, particularly its lack of activity at the progesterone receptor, will remove a complicating factor in Korlym's use. We look forward to the results of its Phase 2 trial." Financial Discussion Operating expenses for the first quarter increased to $22.9 million, from $15.5 million in the first quarter of 2016, primarily due to increased compensation expense, increased spending on the development of CORT118335 and CORT125281, and additional pharmacy costs. Corcept's cash and marketable securities totaled $57.3 million at March 31, 2017, compared to $51.5 million at December 31, 2016. These cash balances reflect scheduled payments under the Royalty Financing of $4.8 million in the first quarter of 2017 and $4.4 million in the fourth quarter of 2016. Corcept expects to make its final payment under the Royalty Financing in July 2017. About Hypercortisolism Endogenous Cushing's syndrome is caused by prolonged exposure of the body's tissues to high levels of the hormone cortisol and is generated by tumors that produce cortisol or ACTH. Cushing's syndrome is an orphan indication that most commonly affects adults aged 20-50. An estimated 10-15 of each one million people are newly diagnosed with this syndrome each year, resulting in over 3,000 new patients annually in the United States. An estimated 20,000 patients in the United States have Cushing's syndrome. Symptoms vary, but most people have one or more of the following manifestations: high blood sugar, diabetes, high blood pressure, upper body obesity, rounded face, increased fat around the neck, thinning arms and legs, severe fatigue and weak muscles. Irritability, anxiety, cognitive disturbances and depression are also common. Cushing's syndrome can affect every organ system in the body and can be lethal if not treated effectively. About Korlym Korlym modulates the effect of cortisol at GR, one of the two receptors to which cortisol binds, thereby inhibiting the effects of excess cortisol in patients with Cushing's syndrome. Since 2012, Corcept has made Korlym available as a once-daily oral treatment of hyperglycemia secondary to endogenous Cushing's syndrome in adult patients with glucose intolerance or diabetes mellitus type 2 who have failed surgery or are not candidates for surgery. Korlym was the first FDA-approved treatment for that illness and the FDA has designated it as an Orphan Drug for that indication. About Corcept Therapeutics Incorporated Corcept is a pharmaceutical company engaged in the discovery, development and commercialization of drugs that treat severe metabolic, oncologic and psychiatric disorders by modulating the effects of cortisol. Korlym, a first-generation cortisol modulator, is the company's first FDA-approved medication. The company has a portfolio of proprietary compounds that modulate the effects of cortisol but not progesterone. Corcept owns extensive intellectual property covering the use of cortisol modulators, including mifepristone, in the treatment of a wide variety of serious disorders, including Cushing's syndrome. It also holds composition of matter patents covering its selective cortisol modulators. Non-GAAP Measures of Net Income and Loss To supplement Corcept's financial results presented on a GAAP basis, we use non-GAAP measures of net income and net loss that exclude non-cash stock-based compensation expense and interest expense related to our capped royalty financing transaction. We believe that these non-GAAP measures help investors better evaluate the company's past financial performance and potential future results. Non-GAAP measures should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for comparable GAAP accounting and investors should read them in conjunction with the company's financial statements prepared in accordance with GAAP. The non-GAAP measures of net income and net loss and net income and net loss per share that we use may be different from, and not directly comparable to, similarly titled measures used by other companies. Forward-Looking Statements Statements made in this press release, other than statements of historical fact, are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements include statements regarding our financial results and our revenue guidance and expense estimates for 2017 and beyond, the anticipated contributions of our sales organization, the cost, timing and results of pre-clinical and clinical trials, including our clinical trials of CORT125134 to treat patients with Cushing's syndrome and solid-tumor cancers, the clinical attributes and advancement of our selective cortisol modulators, including CORT118335 and CORT125281, the protections afforded by Korlym's Orphan Drug designation for Cushing's syndrome and our other intellectual property rights, including the composition of matter patents covering our selective cortisol modulators and patents concerning the use of cortisol modulators to treat patients with Cushing's syndrome, triple-negative breast cancer, castration-resistant prostate cancer and other indications. These and other risks are set forth in our SEC filings, which are available at our website or from the SEC's website. We disclaim any intention or duty to update forward-looking statements made in this press release. CONDENSED BALANCE SHEETS (in thousands) March 31, December 31, 2017 2016 ------------ ------------ (Unaudited) (Note) ASSETS: Cash and investments $ 57,267 $ 51,536 Trade receivables 9,214 9,860 Inventory 6,708 5,164 Other assets 2,150 2,193 ------------ ------------ Total assets $ 75,339 $ 68,753 ------------ ------------ LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY: Accounts payable $ 4,253 $ 2,290 Long-term obligation 10,107 14,664 Other liabilities 11,399 10,420 Stockholders' equity 49,580 41,379 ------------ ------------ Total liabilities and stockholders' equity $ 75,339 $ 68,753 ------------ ------------ Note: Derived from audited financial statements at that date. CORCEPT THERAPEUTICS INCORPORATED CONDENSED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS (in thousands, except per share amounts) (Unaudited) Three Months Ended March 31, -------------------------- 2017 2016 ------------ ------------ Revenues: Product sales, net $ 27,599 $ 16,061 Operating expenses: Cost of sales 646 403 Research and development 7,176 4,634 Selling, general and administrative 15,037 10,432 ------------ ------------ Total operating expenses 22,859 15,469 ------------ ------------ Income from operations 4,740 592 Interest and other expense (225) (611) ------------ ------------ Income (loss) before income taxes 4,515 (19) Provision for income taxes (127) - ------------ ------------ Net income (loss) $ 4,388 $ (19) ------------ ------------ Other comprehensive income: Net unrealized gain/(loss) on available-for-sale investments (12) - ------------ ------------ Total comprehensive income (loss) $ 4,376 $ (19) ------------ ------------ Basic and diluted net income (loss) per share 0.04 (0.00) ------------ ------------ Shares used in computing basic net income / (loss) per share 112,867 109,661 ------------ ------------ Shares used in computing diluted net income / (loss) per share 121,189 109,661 ------------ ------------ CORCEPT THERAPEUTICS INCORPORATED RECONCILIATION OF GAAP TO NON-GAAP Net Income / (Loss) (in thousands, except per share amounts) (Unaudited) Three Months Ended March 31, -------------------------- 2017 2016 ------------ ------------ GAAP net income / (loss) $ 4,388 $ (19) Non-cash expenses: Stock-based compensation Research and development 653 286 Selling, general and administrative 2,048 1,327 ------------ ------------ Total stock-based compensation 2,701 1,613 ------------ ------------ Accretion of interest expense related to long- term obligation 270 584 ------------ ------------ Non-GAAP net income / (loss), as adjusted for non-cash expenses $ 7,359 $ 2,178 ------------ ------------ GAAP basic and diluted net income / (loss) per share $ 0.04 $ (0.00) ------------ ------------ Non-GAAP basic net income / (loss) per share, as adjusted for non-cash expenses $ 0.07 $ 0.02 ------------ ------------ Non-GAAP diluted net income / (loss) per share, as adjusted for non-cash expenses $ 0.06 $ 0.02 ------------ ------------ Shares used in computing basic net income / (loss) per share 112,867 109,661 ------------ ------------ Shares used in computing diluted net income / (loss) per share 121,189 109,661 ------------ ------------ CONTACT: Charles Robb Chief Financial Officer Corcept Therapeutics 650-688-8783 Email Contact www.corcept.com CALGARY, ALBERTA -- (Marketwired) -- 02/06/17 -- ROOSTER ENERGY LTD. (or the "Company") (www.roosterenergyltd.com) (TSX VENTURE: COQ) today announces that effective February 3, 2017, it entered into a Limited Forbearance and Reservation of Rights Agreement (the "Forbearance Agreement") with the holders of the senior secured notes (the "Notes") issued pursuant to the Amended and Restated Note Purchase Agreement dated as of November 17, 2014 as amended and restated as of June 25, 2015 (the "Second Amendment"). The Notes are secured by a first priority security interest, lien and mortgage on all of the assets of the Company. As previously reported, the Company received a notice of default for non-compliance with certain covenants of the Second Amendment and that it was operating under a waiver of same that expired on December 31, 2016. Pursuant to the Forbearance Agreement, the holders of the Notes have agreed to forbear from exercising certain of their rights and remedies under the Second Amendment during a standstill period that terminates on March 3, 2017, or earlier if there is a default of the terms of the Forbearance Agreement or if an acceptable restructuring agreement of the obligations of the Company under the Second Amendment is reached with the holders of the Notes. In consideration of the Forbearance Agreement, among other things, the Company agreed that from January 1, 2017, until termination of the Forbearance Agreement, in addition to the applicable rate of interest due on the Notes, additional interest at 8% per annum shall be payable in kind and a forbearance fee in an amount equal to 50 basis points of the aggregate principal amount of the Notes outstanding shall be payable in kind. To the extent that an acceptable restructuring agreement is reached prior to the expiration of the standstill period, both the additional interest and the forbearance fee shall be waived. Additionally, upon execution of the Forbearance Agreement, the Company paid the sum of US$2.5 million that has been applied to reduce the principal amount of the Notes. As of this date, the principal balance due under the Notes is approximately US$54.7 million. During the standstill period, the Company will conduct business as usual and intends to continue in negotiations with the holders to restructure the terms and conditions of the Second Amendment and its obligations thereunder. However, if the Company is unable to restructure the financial and performance covenants of the credit facility or extend the term of the standstill period before expiration, then the holders of the Notes may exercise their remedies against the Company. In that event, the Company will in all likelihood seek relief under applicable bankruptcy or reorganization laws to preserve the going concern value of the Company. ABOUT ROOSTER ENERGY LTD. Rooster Energy Ltd. is a Houston, Texas, based vertically integrated oil and gas production company combined with a well service intervention/plugging and abandonment subsidiary focused in the shallow waters of the U.S. Gulf of Mexico. Our primary business is a service company whose assets consist of rigless well plugging and abandonment/intervention units and our oil and gas assets consist of producing oil and gas wells located on US federal oil and gas leases. Investors are welcome to visit our website at www.roosterenergyltd.com. Forward Looking Information and Statements Certain statements and information in this press release may constitute "forward-looking information" or statements as such terms are used in applicable Canadian securities laws. Any statement that expresses, involves or includes expectations of the anticipated benefits of the refinancing or modification of existing debt or future operations (including drill rig commitments and use of proceeds), commerciality of any hydrocarbon discovered, production rates, operating costs, commodity prices, administrative costs, commodity price risk and other components of cash flow and earnings, management activity, acquisitions and dispositions, capital spending, access to credit facilities taxes, regulatory changes, projections, objective, assumptions or future events that are not statements of historical fact should be viewed as "forward-looking statements". Events or circumstances may cause actual results to differ materially from those predicted, a result of numerous known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors, many of which are beyond the control of the Company. These risks include, but are not limited to, the risks associated with the oil and gas industry, commodity prices, and interest and exchange rate changes. Industry related risks could include, but are not limited to, operational risks in exploration, development and production, delays or changes in plans, risks associated with the uncertainty of reserve estimates, or reservoir performance, health and safety risks and the uncertainty of estimates and projections of production, costs and expenses. The reader is cautioned not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking statement in this press release. The Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by applicable law. Financial outlook information contained in this press release about the Company's prospective cash flows and/or financial position is based on assumptions about future events, including economic conditions and proposed courses of action, based on management's assessment of the relevant information currently available. Readers are cautioned that any such financial outlook information contained herein should not be used for purposes other than for which it is disclosed herein. NEITHER THE TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE NOR ITS REGULATION SERVICE 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: Corporate updates and investor inquiries: Gary L. Nuschler, Jr. Chief Financial Officer (832) 772-6313 ext. 555 www.roosterenergyltd.com Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - February 6, 2017) - Gunpowder Capital Corp., (CSE: GPC) (CSE: GPC.PR.A) (FSE: YS6N), ("Gunpowder"), (the "Corporation") announced today that the Board of Directors have approved a change in the Corporation's auditor. Effective February 6th, 2017, the Corporation's Audit Committee and its Board of Directors have accepted the resignation of Ross Pope LLP (the "Former Auditor"), and have appointed McGovern, Hurley, Cunningham LLP (the "Successor Auditor") as the Corporation's new auditor until the close of the next annual general meeting of the Corporation. The Corporation has already sent a Notice of Change of Auditor (the "Notice") to the Former Auditor and to the Successor Auditor, and has received a letter from each, addressed to the Ontario Securities Commission, and stating that they agree with the information contained within the Notice. The Notice, together with the two letters from the Auditors, will be filed onto SEDAR accordingly. There were no disagreements or unresolved issues with the Former Auditor on any matter of audit scope or procedures, accounting principles or policies, or financial statement disclosure. It is the Corporation's opinion that there have been no "reportable events" (as defined in National Instrument 51-102 - Continuous Disclosure Obligation) between the Corporation and the Former Auditor. For further information please contact: Mr. Frank Kordy Interim CEO & Director Gunpowder Capital Corp. T: (647) 466-4037 E: frank.kordy@gunpowdercapitalcorp.com Mr. Paul Haber CFO Gunpowder Capital Corp. T: (416) 363-3833 E: paul.haber@gunpowdercapitalcorp.com Forward-Looking Statements Information set forth in this news release may involve forward-looking statements under applicable securities laws. The forward-looking statements contained herein are expressly qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement. The forward-looking statements included in this document are made as of the date of this document and the Corporation disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as expressly required by applicable securities legislation. Although Management believes that the expectations represented in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, there can be no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. This news release does not constitute an offer to sell or solicitation of an offer to buy any of the securities described herein and accordingly undue reliance should not be put on such. Neither CSE nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the CSE accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. - 30 - SAN FRANCISCO, CA -- (Marketwired) -- 02/06/17 -- The San Francisco-based Holberton School, an alternative to college for training students to become highly skilled full-stack software engineers, announced today it has raised $2.3 million led by daphni and joined by private equity and venture capital firms Reach Capital and Insight Venture Partners. The round brings to $4.3M the amount of financing raised by the school. Current investors Trinity Ventures (Dan Scholnick; board of directors, Docker and New Relic), Jerry Yang (co-founder and former CEO of Yahoo!), Partech Ventures, and Jonathan Boutelle (co-founder of Slideshare) are also part of the new round. Holberton School previously raised a $2 million seed round last year. Holberton, which accepts fewer than 2.5% of applicants (making it more than twice as hard to enter as Harvard) plans to expand their program to more than 100 students a year (from the current 30) responding to the overwhelming demand from both candidates and companies. Holberton will also use the funds to reach out to more potential students, especially those typically under-represented in the tech industry. Already, Holberton boasts a 40% class of women and nearly 50% people of color. "Holberton not only offers students an alternative place to a very exciting -- and lucrative -- career, they are turning Silicon Valley stereotypes on their head," said Marie Ekeland, co-founder at daphni. "We loved the admissions process that has resulted in a gender flipping near equal enrollment of men and women as well as almost an equal number of people of color. We also loved their approach to education, creating a collaborative community where everyone teaches and learns from everyone else." With less than half of their two-year program completed, the first class of Holberton students found internships and jobs at top Silicon Valley companies including Apple, Dropbox, NASA and Docker. Because students at the school are trained to "learn how to learn," companies remarked on their level of knowledge and skillset and how quickly they learned new languages and integrated with their teams. "(Holberton student) Rona Chong has been working with us for 3 months and I have been very impressed by her work," said Tammy Buttow, SRE Manager at Dropbox. "Thanks to her broad knowledge and how well she interacts with the team, she was able to make a difference very quickly." The students gained experience participating in a number of different projects and events, from hosting the first ever international secure academic certificates within the bitcoin blockchain. The students have also published many articles in a wide variety of publications, and one student received a coveted internship at the SETI Institute. "Our mission is to open this high quality education to as many people, from as many walks of life, as possible," said co-founder Julien Barbier. "This is the reason why there is no upfront tuition and why we created an automated, software-driven admissions process that removes human bias. This has led to a unique (for the technology industry) 40% ratio of female students and 50% people of color. This funding will allow us to make our program accessible to even more students while still keeping our academic standards high." The San Francisco-based school offers an alternative to college, online courses and coding bootcamps. It trains world-class full-stack software engineers in two years by using a system already proven in Europe to scale to graduate thousands of elite engineers a year. The curriculum is based on the progressive education concept, a methodology that combines project-based and peer learning, where students help each other to learn and reach their goals. At Holberton, there are no formal teachers and no lectures. Students learn theory and tools by building, which guarantees that they are fully prepared to take on the most demanding jobs and maybe even hunt for asteroids. Join Holberton Holberton is open to anyone -- ages of 18 to 128, whether an experienced programmer or not. The selection process is based only on talent and motivation. Holberton enables students from every community and background to have the opportunity to become a software engineer. That is also why there is no upfront cost to join the school, that charges a percentage of students' salary once -- and only if -- they find a job. Applications are now open for the May and September batches: Apply now. About daphni daphni invests in European startups that will change how the world works. For good! To support founders, daphni built a digital platform and a closely knit community of entrepreneurs, executives, academics, artists and advisors. They provide the right connexions and insights to grow faster. About Reach Capital Reach supports the most promising entrepreneurs developing technology solutions for challenges in early childhood, K-12 and higher education. We invest in early-stage tech tools, applications, content, and services to improve education opportunities for all children. The Fund also acts as a catalyst, inspiring and enabling traditional and non-traditional investors to provide capital to the fast-growing ed tech market. About Insight Venture Partners Insight Venture Partners is a leading global venture capital and private equity firm investing in high-growth technology and software companies that are driving transformative change in their industries. Founded in 1995, Insight has raised more than $13 billion and invested in more than 250 companies worldwide. Our mission is to find, fund and work successfully with visionary executives, providing them with practical, hands-on growth expertise to foster long-term success. About Holberton School Using project-based learning and peer learning, our mission is to train the best software engineers of their generation. At Holberton, there are no formal teachers and no formal courses. Instead, everything is project centered. We give our students increasingly difficult programming challenges to solve, and give them minimal initial directions on how to solve them. As a consequence, students naturally look for the theory and tools they need, understand them, use them, work together, and help each other. We are focusing on teaching how to learn instead of teaching a specific tool or programming language. Editorial Contact: Joe Eckert for Holberton Email Contact +1 203-300-2649 SASKATOON, SASKATCHEWAN -- (Marketwired) -- 02/06/17 -- Westcore Energy Ltd. ("Westcore" or the "Company") (TSX VENTURE: WTR) is pleased to announce that it has entered into a farm-in agreement (the "Agreement") with Eros Resources Corp. ("Eros") to complete a 3 vertical well program on Westcore's Flaxcombe oil field. Under the terms of the Agreement, Eros will fund 100% of the cost to drill, complete and bring the wells on production in exchange for a 90% interest in the wells before payout, and a 50% interest after payout. Eros shall also retain a right of first refusal on two subsequent drill programs under the same terms. The Flaxcombe field is located 30 kilometres west of Kindersley, Saskatchewan. With four wells producing, the field is generating approximately 85 barrels of oil per day and there remain additional standing well-bores and shut-in production that can be re-initiated at any time. The field has been optimized with the use of WTR's 100% owned water disposal facility, oil and water haulage capability and the use of casing gas to power the wells and to heat storage tanks. The 3 well program is designed to drill offset locations to Westcore's existing production wells at Flaxcombe. It is anticipated that the drill program will commence in mid February, with the intent of having all three wells on production before break-up. We seek Safe Harbor Reader Advisory Except for statements of historical fact, this news release contains certain "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable securities law. Forward-looking information is frequently characterized by words such as "plan", "expect", "project", "intend", "believe", "anticipate", "estimate" and other similar words, or statements that certain events or conditions "may" or "will" occur. In particular, forward-looking information in this press release includes, but is not limited to, the 3 well drilling program that is referenced herein, shut-in production potentially being re-initiated and the earning of interests by Eros in Westcore's Flaxcombe field. Although we believe that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking information are reasonable, there can be no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. We cannot guarantee future results, performance or achievements. Consequently, there is no representation that the actual results achieved will be the same, in whole or in part, as those set out in the forward-looking information. Forward-looking information is based on the opinions and estimates of management at the date the statements are made, and are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those anticipated in the forward-looking information. Some of the risks and other factors that could cause the results to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking information include, but are not limited to: general economic conditions in Canada, the United States and globally; industry conditions, governmental regulation, including environmental regulation; commodity prices; unanticipated operating events or performance; failure to obtain industry partner and other third party consents and approvals, if and when required; the availability of capital on acceptable terms; the need to obtain required approvals from regulatory authorities; stock market volatility; competition for, among other things, capital, skilled personnel and supplies; changes in tax laws; and the other risk factors disclosed under our profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. Readers are cautioned that this list of risk factors should not be construed as exhaustive. The forward-looking information contained in this news release is expressly qualified by this cautionary statement. We undertake no duty to update any of the forward-looking information to conform such information to actual results or to changes in our expectations except as otherwise required by applicable securities legislation. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking information. 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: Westcore Energy Ltd. Andrew Davidson Vice President and Chief Operating Officer (306) 653-2692 www.westcoreenergy.ca PORTLAND, OR -- (Marketwired) -- 02/06/17 -- In the news release, "IOTAS Names Tim Enwall, Former Head of Nest Labs and CEO of Revolv, to Board of Directors," issued earlier today by IOTAS, we are advised by the company that in the headline and first sentence of the first paragraph it should read "former head of Strategy for Nest Labs" rather than "former head of Nest Labs" as originally issued. Complete corrected text follows. IOTAS Names Tim Enwall, Former Head of Strategy for Nest Labs and CEO of Revolv, to Board of Directors Revolv Co-Founder Haley Taylor Joins IOTAS as Consultant PORTLAND, OR -- Feb 6, 2017 -- IOTAS, an innovator in premier smart apartment technology, today announced that Tim Enwall, former head of Strategy for Nest Labs and former CEO of Revolv, has joined the company's board of directors. Additionally, Haley Taylor, a co-founder and former head of Engineering and Product at Revolv, will serve as a consultant to IOTAS. "I am honored to have Tim join our board. His extensive industry experience, as well as his knowledge of building and growing an Internet of Things (IoT) company, will be valuable to IOTAS as we address the need of property owners and developers to offer smart, connected home solutions in the rental market," said Sce Pike, founder and CEO of IOTAS. "Tim has already added value to our team, introducing us to Haley, who brings strong technical expertise in the smart home market. Tim's and Haley's expertise, combined with that of current board member Dennis Wilde, who is known for his innovations in the real estate development market, gives our team the edge to strategically expand the footprint of our Smart Apartment Platform deployments." With its Smart Apartment Platform, IOTAS enables property owners and developers to quickly and easily deliver a complete connected home experience for technology-savvy renters. Unlike many point solutions on the market today, the IOTAS platform supports a wide variety of smart, connected devices -- smart switches, outlets, thermostats, presence control devices and sensors that are installed during new construction or retrofits, as well as add-on products like Nest, Google Home and Amazon Alexa. IOTAS delivers benefits to both property owners and renters. Property managers can use the IOTAS platform to control vacant units and common areas through a centralized dashboard, as well as deliver premium smart home services that improve their bottom line. And, residents can manage their homes from anywhere in the world using the IOTAS Home app, which supports various aspects of day-to-day life, from lighting and temperature control to voice integration, door locks and more. The IOTAS Smart Apartment Platform was recently recognized as a CES 2017 Innovation Awards Honoree for its unique ability to roll out a scalable IoT solution for today's highly competitive rental market. "The path to mass adoption of the smart home is through fully packaged solutions, like the IOTAS platform, which is quickly gaining traction in the multifamily dwelling market because of its focus on the needs of both the building owner and occupant," said Enwall. "I'm excited to join the IOTAS board for two reasons: The great potential of the IOTAS platform for transforming the smart rental home market, potentially reaching one-third of U.S. consumers who are not homeowners; and the passion, energy and entrepreneurial spirit that Sce displays in her leadership of the company as it taps into that potential." About IOTAS IOTAS, which stands for IoT as a Service, is a Portland, Ore.-based developer of a smart home platform for the rental market. The company enables property developers to easily and quickly install smart outlets, switches, thermostats, door locks, sensors and more by streamlining the set-up and deployment process. With this premium offering, building owners and operators can attract new tenants and premium rents, while lowering utility and management costs. IOTAS, which was founded in 2014, is venture funded by Creative Ventures, Portland Seed Fund, National Science Foundation and Oregon Best. For more information, visit www.iotashome.com. Media Contact: Theresa Maloney Cogenta Communications for IOTAS +1 415-225-5261 Email Contact Almaty, Kazakhstan and Tokyo, Japan, Feb 7, 2017 - (ACN Newswire) - JCB International Co., Ltd. (JCBI), the international operations subsidiary of JCB Co., Ltd., announced the launch of JCB card acceptance through Kazkommertsbank (Qazkom), which is one of the largest commercial banks in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) and the largest by assets in Kazakhstan. This arrangement was achieved based on the strategic relationship between Discover and JCB starting in 2006, which has enabled JCB card acceptance on the Discover Network in the U.S., and Discover card acceptance on the JCB network in Japan.Kazkommertsbank is the leading bank with the largest network in the country. This arrangement opens up new possibilities for Kazkommertsbank, Discover Global Network, and JCB to expand their business. Discover Global Network, the payments brand of Discover Financial Services, will enable JCB cards to run on its network for all Qazkom acquired merchants. For Kazkommertsbank, the addition of JCB as a new payment brand into its network brings new sales opportunities, and wider JCB acceptance in Kazakhstan enhances payment convenience for over 100 million JCB cardmembers. All JCB cards issued in 23 countries and territories will be accepted by Kazkommertsbank's network via the Discover Global Network throughout Kazakhstan.Takashi Suetsugu, General Director of JCB International Eurasia LLC, stated: "We are sure this arrangement will support our objective to expand acceptance of JCB cards in Central Asia which is a strategically important region for JCB to satisfy our cardmembers' needs for global acceptance, especially those visiting Kazakhstan from Russia, China, and Japan. We believe our collaboration will contribute towards the growth of card payments and tourism in Kazakhstan and provide greater convenience to JCB cardmembers from all over the world."About KazkommertsbankKazkommertsbank is one of the largest commercial banks in the CIS and is the largest by total assets in Kazakhstan. The Bank provides a wide range of banking and financial services to corporate and retail clients across Kazakhstan and the surrounding region. Headquartered in Almaty, the Bank services its retail clients through a network of branches in 45 cities across Kazakhstan. Kazkommertsbank also has international banking subsidiaries in Tajikistan and the Russian Federation.About JCBJCB is a major global payment brand and a leading payment card issuer and acquirer in Japan. JCB launched its card business in Japan in 1961 and began expanding worldwide in 1981. Its acceptance network includes about 32 million merchants and over a million cash advance locations in 190 countries and territories. JCB cards are now issued in 23 countries and territories, with more than 100 million card members. As part of its international growth strategy, JCB has formed alliances with hundreds of leading banks and financial institutions globally to increase merchant coverage and card member base. As a comprehensive payment solution provider, JCB commits to provide responsive and high-quality service and products to all customers worldwide. For more information, please visit: www.global.jcb/en/Note: Statistics in About JCB are as of September 2016.ContactJCB International Co., Ltd.Ayaka NomuraCorporate PlanningTel: 81-3-5778-8390Email: jcbinternational-pr@info.jcb.co.jpSource: JCBCopyright 2017 ACN Newswire . All rights reserved. WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Tyson Foods Inc. (TSN) said the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is investigating its chicken-pricing practices, following allegations that top meat companies conspired to raise the cost of poultry. The company disclosed in a regulatory filing that On January 20, 2017 it received a subpoena from the Securities and Exchange Commission in connection with an investigation related to the Company. The company is cooperating with the investigation, which is at an early stage. It believes the investigation is based upon the allegations in In re Broiler Chicken Antitrust Litigation. On September 2, 2016, Maplevale Farms, Inc., acting on behalf of itself and a putative class of direct purchasers of poultry products, filed a class action complaint against Tyson Foods and certain of its poultry subsidiaries, as well as several other poultry processing companies, in the Northern District of Illinois. Subsequent to the filing of this initial complaint, additional lawsuits making similar claims on behalf of putative classes of direct and indirect purchasers were filed in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. Several amended and consolidated complaints have been filed on behalf of each putative class. The currently operative complaints allege, among other things, that beginning in January 2008 the defendants conspired and combined to fix, raise, maintain, and stabilize the price of broiler chickens in violation of United States antitrust laws. The complaints on behalf of the putative classes of indirect purchasers also include causes of action under various state unfair competition laws, consumer protection laws, and unjust enrichment common laws. The complaints also allege that defendants 'manipulated and artificially inflated a widely used Broiler price index, the Georgia Dock.' It is further alleged that the defendants concealed this conduct from the plaintiffs and the members of the putative classes. The plaintiffs are seeking treble damages, injunctive relief, pre- and post-judgment interest, costs, and attorneys' fees on behalf of the putative classes. Tyson Foods said it has filed motions to dismiss these actions. On October 17, 2016, William Huser, acting on behalf of himself and a putative class of persons who purchased shares of Tyson Foods' stock between November 23, 2015, and October 7, 2016, filed a class action complaint against Tyson Foods, Inc., Donnie Smith and Dennis Leatherby in the Central District of California. The complaint alleged, among other things, that periodic filings contained materially false and misleading statements by failing to disclose that the Company has colluded with other producers to manipulate the supply of broiler chickens in order to keep supply artificially low, as alleged in In re Broiler Chicken Antitrust Litigation, stating that its industry is competitive, and failing to disclose that the company lacked effective internal control over financial reporting. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX Kostenloser Wertpapierhandel auf Smartbroker.de BURBANK (dpa-AFX) - Walt Disney Co.'s (DIS) Chief Executive Robert Iger may extend his tenure for a third time, With 16 months until his planned retirement and no successor in sight, the Wall Street Journal reported citing people familiar with the matter. Since former chief operating officer and presumed Iger successor Tom Staggs departed last spring, Disney's board has made no public comments about its progress or process to find a new CEO. Inside Disney, few think any executives are currently poised to ascend. There also is a widespread belief that it would be difficult for an outsider to get their hands around the world's largest media conglomerate in less than a year and a half. The report indicated that a further extension of Mr. Iger's tenure may be discussed March 8, when Disney holds its annual shareholder meeting, and its directors typically meet. March also will mark a year since Mr. Staggs decided to leave after learning Mr. Iger, who also is chairman, and the rest of the board had lost confidence in him. Iger originally was scheduled to step down as CEO in 2015, after 10 years on the job, and then in 2016. When his exit was pushed back again to June 2018 just more than two years ago, he said 'this time I really mean it' and has since given no indication he has changed his mind. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann. MARKHAM, ONTARIO -- (Marketwired) -- 02/06/17 -- MBMI Resources Inc. (the "Company" or "MBMI") (NEX: MBR.H) is pleased to announce that the British Columbia Securities Commission (the "BCSC") and the Alberta Securities Commission (the "ASC", together with the BCSC, the "Commissions") have issued partial revocation orders (the "Partial Revocation Orders") in respect of the cease trade orders (the "CTOs") issued by the Commissions. The CTOs were issued by the BCSC and the ASC on June 7, 2013 and September 6, 2013 respectively, as a result of the failure of the Company, under its previous management, to file audited financial statements and related management discussion and analysis for the year ended January 31, 2013. Pursuant to the Partial Revocation Orders, the Company proposes to consolidate its common shares on a 3 for 1 basis (the "Share Consolidation") in order to facilitate a non-brokered private placement of up to 5,348,149 units (the "Units") at a post-Share Consolidation price of $0.135 per Unit for gross proceeds of up to $722,000 (the "Private Placement"). Each Unit consists of one common share in the capital of the Company and one common share purchase warrant. Each warrant entitles its holder to purchase one common share in the capital of the Company at an exercise price of $0.18 per share for a period of 1 year from the date of issuance. The Private Placement may be closed in one or more tranches and is subject to requisite approval from the NEX Board of the TSX Venture Exchange (the "Exchange") and is conditional upon the completion of the Share consolidation. The Share Consolidation is subject to requisite approval from the Exchange and the shareholders of the Company at an annual and special meeting of shareholders to be held on March 28, 2017 (the "Shareholders' Meeting"). The Company currently has 36,264,966 common shares issued and outstanding and. After giving effect to the Share Consolidation, the Company will have approximately 12,088,322 issued and outstanding common shares. The Company will not change its name in conjunction with the Share Consolidation. The details of the Share Consolidation and the effect of the Private Placement will be included in the information circular for the Company's upcoming Shareholders' Meeting, a copy of which will be mailed to the eligible shareholders of the Company and will be available under the Company's profile at www.sedar.com or upon request to the Company. The net proceeds of the Offering will be used to bring the Company's continuous disclosure record up to date, complete an application to the Commissions for a full revocation of the CTOs, settle the Company's outstanding accounts payable, finance the Company's continuous efforts to reinstate the Financial and Technical Assistance Agreement with the Government of Philippines with respect to the Company's Palawan nickel properties, and for general working capital. In accordance with applicable securities legislation, all securities issued pursuant to the Private Placement will be subject to a hold period of four months and a day from the closing date of the Private Placement. Prior to completion of the Private Placement, each potential investor will receive a copy of the CTOs and the Partial Revocation Orders, and will be required to provide an acknowledgement to the Company that all of the Company's securities, including the securities issued in connection with the Private Placement, will remain subject to the CTOs until such orders are fully revoked, and that the granting of the Partial Revocation Orders by the Commissions does not guarantee the issuance of full revocation orders in the future. The Partial Revocation Orders will terminate on the earlier of: (i) the completion of the Private Placement, and (ii) May 4, 2017, being 90 days from the date on which the Partial Revocation Orders were issued. About MBMI Resources Inc. MBMI Resources Inc. (the "Company") is a Canadian-based mining company which operates 7 nickel mineral properties in the Philippines, which include the Alpha Property, Bethlehem Property and Northern Rio Tuba Property located in Palawan Philippines covering an area of 12,560 hectares (collectively, the "Palawan Properties"), and the Borongan-Maydolong Property, Gen. Mcarthur-Llorente Property, Balangiga-Giporlos Property and Homohon Island Property in Samar, Philippines covering an area of 10,150 hectares (collectively, the "Samar Properties"). The Company's principal properties, the Palawan Properties, have been subject to a dispute (the "FTAA Dispute") which led to a decision by the Office of the President of the Philippines on April 19, 2011 (the "OP Decision") that cancelled a Financial and Technical Assistance Agreement (the "FTAA") granted in April 2010 for the Palawan Properties. The FTAA, if reinstated, would allow large-scale exploration, development and utilization of minerals on the Palawan Properties. Through a series of transactions from September 2012 to March 2014 involving the sale of the company's ownership in the operating companies (the "Operating Company") that own and control the Palawan Properties and their respective holding companies, the Company's ownership in the Palawan Properties have been sold to DMCI Mining Corporation, a Philippines based mining company (the "Purchaser") for an aggregate purchase price of US$25.2 million (the "Sale Transactions"). The closing of Sale Transactions is subject to a number of closing conditions which include, among other things, the reinstatement of the cancelled FTAA. As a result of the Sale Transactions and the FTAA Dispute, the Company has suspended its exploration and development operations in all of its properties to focus its efforts and resources on the reinstatement of the cancelled FTAA in order to conclude the Sale Transactions. On December 9, 2015, the First Division of the Philippine Supreme Court issued a favourable decision (the "SC Decision") declaring null and void the decision of the Philippine Court of Appeals which affirmed the OP Decision without prejudice to any other appropriate remedy the parties may take against each other. It is important to note, however, that while the SC Decision is the final court decision with respect the FTAA Dispute, it is not a direct ruling with respect to the re-instatement of FTAA that would allow the Company to meet the closing conditions of the Sale Transactions. Therefore, following the SC Decision, the Operating Companies have commenced work on the documentation required to re-engage the Office of the President regarding the reversal of the OP Decision and reinstatement of the FTAA pursuant to the SC Decision. Since there is no assurance that the Office of the President of Philippines will reinstate the FTAA, the Company, the Operating Companies and the Purchaser are concurrently evaluating other recourses including, but not limited to, binding arbitration proceedings in accordance with the dispute resolution mechanism set out in the FTAA as sanctioned by the SC Decision. Disclosure regarding forward-looking statements This press release contains projections and forward-looking information that involve various risks and uncertainties regarding future events. Such forward-looking information can include without limitation statements based on current expectations involving a number of risks and uncertainties and are not guarantees of future performance of the Company. These risks and uncertainties could cause actual results and the Company's plans and objectives to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking information. Actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such information. These and all subsequent written and oral forward-looking information are based on estimates and opinions of management on the dates they are made and expressly qualified in their entirety by this notice. Neither the Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this Press release. Contacts: Joseph Chan Interim CEO (416) 299-9203 mbmi@mail.com BRUSSELS (dpa-AFX) - Cabinet office is set to release preliminary Japan leading economic indicators index for December at 12:00 am ET Tuesday. The leading index is expected to show a score of 105.5, up from 102.8 in November. Ahead of the data, the yen showed mixed trading against its major rivals. While the yen rose against the euro and the Swiss franc, it fell against the U.S. dollar. Against the pound, the yen held steady. As of 11:55 pm ET in the Asian deals, the yen was trading at 119.82 against the euro, 139.43 against the pound, 112.53 the Swiss franc and 111.88 against the U.S. dollar. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann. BEDMINSTER, New Jersey, Feb. 7, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --GAIN Capital Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:GCAP) ("GAIN" or "the Company"), a global provider of online trading services, announced that it has signed a non-binding letter of intent to acquire the client base of FXCM's U.S. operations. Under the letter of intent, customers of FXCM's U.S. regulated business will be transferred to GAIN's retail brand FOREX.com (www.forex.com). The transaction is subject to GAIN and FXCM reaching a definitive agreement and to final regulatory approval, which GAIN will attempt to expedite for the benefit of FXCM's customers. Upon reaching an agreement, the account transfer is expected to occur prior to the end of February. GAIN intends to provide further information regarding the timing of the transfer if a final agreement is reached. GAIN wishes to assure all FXCM clients that it is working hard to finalize an agreement with FXCM as soon as possible and ensure a seamless transfer of the customers of FXCM's U.S. operations and their assets to its award-winning FOREX.com service, under the close supervision of the National Futures Association (NFA). GAIN Capital is one of the largest providers of retail FX & CFD trading services globally. The Company is currently regulated in eight jurisdictions, with approximately 140,000 customers and over $1.5 billion in assets. In addition to its U.S. regulated retail forex business, GAIN operates regulated retail trading operations in the United Kingdom, Japan, Hong Kong, Australia, Singapore, Grand Cayman and Canada, conducting its retail trading business globally under its FOREX.com and City Index brands. In addition to its retail trading business, GAIN operates a broadly diversified business, which includes a U.S.-based retail futures business and an international institutional trading business, GTX. AboutGAIN Capital GAIN Capital Holdings, Inc. provides innovative trading technology and execution services to retail and institutional investors worldwide, with multiple access points to OTC markets and global exchanges across a wide range of asset classes, including foreign exchange, commodities, and global equities. GAIN Capitalis headquartered inBedminster,New Jersey, with a global presence acrossNorth America, Europeand theAsia Pacificregions. For further company information, visitwww.gaincapital.com. Forward-Looking Statements: In addition to historical information, this press release contains "forward-looking" statements that reflect management's expectations for the future. The forward-looking statements contained herein include, without limitation, statements relating to GAIN Capital's expectations regarding the proposed acquisition of the U.S. accounts of Forex Capital Markets L.L.C., including expectations regarding the timing of the closing. All forward looking statements are based upon current expectations and beliefs and various assumptions. There can be no assurance that GAIN Capital will consummate the acquisition of accounts or otherwise realize these expectations or that these beliefs will prove correct. The forward-looking statements included herein represent GAIN Capital's views as of the date of this release. GAIN Capital undertakes no obligation to revise or update publicly any forward-looking statement for any reason unless required by law. To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/gain-capital-in-discussions-to-acquire-client-base-of-fxcms-us-operations-300403116.html MALMO, Sweden, Feb 07, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Second quarter (October 2016 - December 2016) Net sales increased by 12.0 percent to SEK 2,508 million (2,239). (2,239). Operating profit (EBIT) increased by 57.8 percent to SEK 142 million (90). Adjusted for non-recurring items, operating profit was SEK 142 million (97). (90). Adjusted for non-recurring items, operating profit was (97). Net profit for the period was SEK 89 million (48). (48). Cash flow from operating activities amounted to SEK 260 million (267). (267). The average number of children and students in preschool, compulsory school and upper secondary school during the quarter was 65,633 (62,443), which was an increase of 5.1 percent. Earnings per share amounted to SEK 0.95 (0.57) before/after dilution. First six months (July 2016 - December 2016) Net sales increased by 11.5 percent to SEK 4,370 million (3,918). (3,918). Operating profit (EBIT) increased by 73.6 percent to SEK 210 million (121). Adjusted for non-recurring items, operating profit was SEK 211 million (131). (121). Adjusted for non-recurring items, operating profit was (131). Net profit for the period amounted to SEK 130 million (50). (50). Cash flow from operating activities amounted to SEK 391 million (254). (254). The average number of children and students in preschool, compulsory school and upper secondary school amounted to 65,388 (62,273), which was an increase of 5.0 percent. Earnings per share amounted to SEK 1.38 (0.60) before/after dilution. Significant events after the end of the reporting period On January 11, it was announced that Martin Sandgren, deputy CEO and COO will leave the company on June 30. Martin will remain as chairman of the board of Schoolido, a company partially owned by AcadeMedia. Kristofer Hammar has assumed a new role as Business Development Director and joined the Group Management team as of February 1st. Preliminary voucher increases in Sweden for 2017 amount to 2.3 percent. Voucher increases in Norway will amount to 1.9 percent. The voucher increases are based on municipality announcements to date and are calculated as a weighted average based on AcadeMedia's student mix in each country. The complete report will be made available at https://corporate.academedia.se/en/financials/reports-presentations/ Comments from CEO Marcus Stromberg AcadeMedia's second quarter 2016/17 continues to show solid revenue growth of 12 percent (11.5 percent year to date). In Adult education, participant numbers continue to be stable and are noticeably higher than the previous year. The growth is also driven by the increasing number of students, acquisitions and new establishments that largely took place in the spring of 2016 Growth in all segments The stable growth is partly due to acquisitions and new establishments in the spring and fall of 2016. We opened four new preschools and acquired three preschools in Sweden and Norway during the first half of the financial year. We have also enrolled more children and students in existing preschools and schools. Acquisitions and new establishments during January-July 2016 have also boosted the growth figures which as a result will decline in the spring of 2017. Another reason for the favorable financial development is the adult education segment, where participant numbers have been significantly higher than the weak fall in 2015. Operating profit in adult education has also improved as a result of the capacity adjustment measures that were implemented about a year ago. The improved results that followed in the adult education segment in the spring of 2016 will impact the comparable numbers over the coming periods. The Group's adjusted operating profit improved substantially and totaled SEK 142 million (97). Demand for new schools as well as demand for adult education, is strong in the three countries where AcadeMedia operates. Our German preschool operation, Joki, is adapting the Norwegian preschool concept, Espira, to the German market and sees opportunities for continued growth, both by launching Espira in Germany and through complementary acquisitions. Quality In Norway growth is also based on opening new preschools and carrying out complementary acquisitions. In addition, growth is supported by strong quality performance and high parent satisfation, as shown in the results of Espira's annual parent survey, which was published during the second quarter. Over the past four years, the survey has shown increasing satisfaction levels. This positive trend continues and the rating is now 5.3 on a six-point scale. In the Swedish school segments, a lot of focus in the quarter has been to meet with inspectors from the Swedish Schools Inspectorate. The outcome of these inspections is positive. PISA-survey An important event for compulsory schools in the second quarter was the publication of the PISA survey results on December 6. The PISA survey is carried out by the OECD and assesses the knowledge of 15-year-olds in math, science and reading. The downward trend which Sweden has experienced, was broken in the survey that was reported in December, and Sweden now ranks above OECD average in math and reading, and average in science. While the improvement in results is both gratifying and relevant, we cannot be satisfied with average or slightly above average scores. Pysslingen Skolor (compulsory schools) have implemented a reading-writing-math guarantee, a concept which the Swedish government is also proposing throughout the Swedish school system. This is just one of many ways to improve student performance. One area where the PISA survey shows negative results for Sweden is the equity in educational outcome. The gap between low-performing and high-performing students is growing. This is a trend that must be reversed. AcadeMedia has a clear strategy for improving equity in educational outcome. We must work together to stop segregation in society and schools are an important part of this effort. Profits in the welfare sector A major topic in the Swedish debate during the second quarter was Ilmar Reepalu's government-commissioned report on profits in the welfare sector. The report was submitted to the government on November 8. The report's key proposal is a cap on operating profit in relation to working capital amounting to 7 percentage points plus the risk-free rate multiplied by operating net assets. However, in practice, this would mean a ban on profits since working capital in service based firms like AcadeMedia usually is very low. If implemented, the strongly criticized model would have major consequences for Swedish society, as well as for diversity and freedom of choice for the residents of Sweden. Conclusion The number one priority for AcadeMedia is to provide a good education to everyone who chooses to attend one of our preschools, compulsory schools, upper secondary schools or adult education units, each and every day. We also want to improve Swedish schools, which we have been doing since Hermods began in 1898. We are convinced that we will continue to do so for many years to come. Marcus Stromberg President and CEO AcadeMedia AB (publ)" Presentation of the report A web-cast telephone conference will be held at 09:30 CET today, where CEO Marcus Stromberg and CFO Eola Anggard Runsten will present the report. You can follow the presentation and the conference on the following page:https://wonderland.videosync.fi/academedia-q2-report-2017 Or call one of the following numbers at least ten minutes before the start of the call: SE: +46 8 5664 2662 UK: +44 20 3008 9806 US: +1 85 5831 5945 The presentation material will be available before the conference begins on AcadeMedia web via https://corporate.academedia.se/en/financials/reports-presentations/ For more information, please contact: Marcus Stromberg, CEO Telephone: +46-8-794-4200 E-mail: marcus.stromberg@academedia.se Eola Anggard Runsten, CFO Telephone: +46-8-794-4240 E-mail: eola.runsten@academedia.se Christian Hall, Investor Relations Telephone: +46-763-111-242 E-mail: christian.hall@academedia.se About AcadeMedia AcadeMedia is the leading and single largest independent education provider in northern Europe. In 2015/16, approximately 63 000 children and students attended AcadeMedia's preschools, compulsory schools and upper secondary schools. An additional 80 000 individuals participated in AcadeMedia's adult education courses. In 2015/16, AcadeMedia had approximately 425 preschools, compulsory schools and upper secondary schools in Sweden and Norway and approximately 150 adult education units in Sweden. Since February 2016 AcadeMedia also operates seven preschools in the Munich region of Germany. AcadeMedia has operations throughout the education chain, from preschool, compulsory school and upper secondary school to adult education. More information about AcadeMedia is available on www.academedia.se This information is information that AcadeMedia AB is obliged to make public pursuant to the EU Market Abuse Regulation and the Securities Markets Act. The information was submitted for publication, through the agency of the contact persons set out above, at 08:00 CET on 7 February 2017. This information was brought to you by Cision http://news.cision.com http://news.cision.com/academedia-ab/r/academedia-s-interim-report-july---december-2016,c2180450 The following files are available for download: STOCKHOLM, Feb 07, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Key steps were taken in 2016 to shape the new Vattenfall and clarity improved in the regulatory landscape. The company today reports a loss for 2016 mainly attributed to significant impairments already announced in the second quarter and increased provisions. Underlying results improved owing to lower costs and increased earnings from the heat and sales operations. CEO Comment: "Entering 2016 a number of fundamental issues needed to be resolved to support the transition of the energy system and to shape the new Vattenfall. Significant progress was made during the year through the lignite divestment, the Swedish energy policy agreement and the German nuclear waste law, resulting in a positive outcome for the company and our customers, together with a reduced risk overall", says Magnus Hall, Vattenfall's President and CEO. Vattenfall's profit for the year totaled SEK -2.2 billion for continuing operations and SEK -26 billion including the lignite business. "Despite progress in a number of areas, the electricity business situation remains tough with low prices and over capacity. The entire electricity sector is under price pressure which resulted in significant impairment losses", says Magnus Hall. The underlying operating profit for continuing operations was SEK 21.7 billion, an increase of SEK1.2billion compared with 2015. "Our focus on reducing costs was a key contributing factor to the improvement, together with a strong performance from our Heat and Customers & Solutions business areas, supported by a customer base growth of approximately 200,000 contracts in 2016", says Magnus Hall. Due to the negative result for the period the Board of Directors proposes, in accordance with Vattenfall's dividend policy, that no dividend be paid for 2016. January-December in summary Continuing operations* 2016 Continuing operations* 2015 Total Vattenfall 2016 Total Vattenfall 2015 Net sales (SEK million) 139,208 143,576 152,667 164,510 Underlying operating profit (SEK million) 21,697 20,529 21,693 20,541 Profit for the year (SEK million) -2,171 -5,188 -26,004 -19,766 Electricity generation (TWh) 119.0 118.0 159.8 172.7 * Continuing operations, excluding the lignite operations. This information is such that Vattenfall is required to make public in accordance with the EU Market Abuse Regulation and/or the Swedish Securities Market Act. The information was submitted for publication, by the agency of the contact persons above, at 09.00 CET on 7 February 2017. This press release has been prepared in both Swedish and English versions. In the event of discrepancies between the two versions, the Swedish version shall govern. The report, presentation slides and information about the press conference at 10.30 a.m. CET on Tuesday are available at corporate.vattenfall. com . Contact: Vattenfall's Press Office, Telephone: +46-(0) 8 739-50-10, E-mail: press@vattenfall.com This information was brought to you by Cision http://news.cision.com http://news.cision.com/vattenfall/r/vattenfall-s-year-end-report-2016--transformation-towards-a-sustainable-generation-portfolio,c2181983 The following files are available for download: LONDON, Feb 07, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Itiviti, a world-leading technology provider for the capital markets industry, today announced that Eurobank Equities Investment Firm SA, the brokerage arm of Eurobank, one of the largest Greek banks, has selected the next generation FIX Engine Catalys by Itiviti to support transactional needs and VeriFIX by Itiviti for automated testing, including implementation by Itiviti Professional Services. Using Catalys by Itiviti, Eurobank Equities is now in the position to route client order flow in any FIX protocol version to the Athens Stock Exchange native ODL protocol. This delivers a significant performance improvement over the previous solution used by Eurobank Equities. The platform is initially used for DMA order flow, with future plans to add care order flow. Features offered by the integrated Itiviti solution include automated FIX testing with simulation and replay of client data, real time monitoring and alerting of order flow enabling faster response times, and a consolidated view of message flow with instant visibility. This provides Eurobank Equities with an enterprise-wide picture of performance with real-time and historical data on message flow displayed graphically, e.g. for message rates and roundtrip latency measures. "Improving latency and performance in order to win more client business has been a key goal for us," says Ilias Dionysopoulos, Head of Global Brokers, Eurobank Equities "Catalys by Itiviti has enabled significant improvements resulting in key client wins for Eurobank while we benefit from reliable and proven FIX connectivity. The support provided by Itiviti Professional Services during the implementation process has ensured a smooth transition, and we are very happy with the end result." "We are very pleased to welcome Eurobank Equities to Itiviti's global client base," says Lee Griggs, President EMEA, Itiviti. "Our FIX solution offers low latency access to local markets, which Eurobank successfully has implemented to gain competitive edge. Eurobank can also seamlessly add additional technology modules available from Itiviti, defining a roadmap for future growth." Formed by the unification of Orc and CameronTec, Itiviti develops, markets, and supports industry standard technology products and solutions including Tbricks and Catalys. Catalys by Itiviti provides an integrated platform for operations, infrastructure and trading. It is the ultimate enabler: open-standard-based and centrally managed to truly harness unprecedented levels of performance, data interoperability, convergence and business insight. About Eurobank Equities Investment Firm SA Eurobank Equities is Greece's largest broker ranking 1st for the eighth consecutive year with a market share ranging between 15% and 18% and is considered the first choice for the largest and most important international and local Institutional Investors. Furthermore, Eurobank Equities also ranked 1st in the "Leading Brokerage Firm" category of the 2016 Extel Survey for a third consecutive year, while the firm's Research Team also captured the top position in the same survey for a fourth consecutive year. For further information, please visit: www.eurobankequities.gr About Itiviti Itiviti is a world-leading technology provider for the capital markets industry. Trading firms, banks, brokers and institutional clients rely on Itiviti technology, solutions and expertise for streamlining their daily operations, while gaining sustainable competitive edge in global markets. With 13 offices and serving more than 400 customers worldwide, Itiviti was formed by uniting Orc Group, a leader in trading and electronic execution, and CameronTec Group, the global standard in financial messaging infrastructure and connectivity. From its foundation in 2016, Itiviti has a staff of 400 and an estimated annual revenue of SEK 700 million. Itiviti is committed to continuous innovation to deliver trading infrastructure built for today's dynamic markets, offering highly adaptable platforms and solutions, enabling clients to stay ahead of competitive and regulatory challenges. Itiviti is owned by Nordic Capital Fund VII. www.itiviti.com For further information, please contact: Lee Griggs, President EMEA, Itiviti, Tel: +44-20-794-209-58 Amal Ahmed, Senior Marketing Manager EMEA, Itiviti, Tel: +44-20-794-209-56 This information was brought to you by Cision http://news.cision.com http://news.cision.com/itiviti-group-ab/r/eurobank-group-selects-catalys-by-itiviti-for-dma-access-to-athex,c2181905 The following files are available for download: VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA -- (Marketwired) -- 02/07/17 -- Western Potash Corp. (TSX: WPX)(FRANKFURT: AHE) (the "Western", "the Company") today announced that it has obtained an interim order from the Supreme Court of British Columbia (the "Interim Order") in connection with the corporate reorganization by way of plan of arrangement (the "Arrangement") with Western Resources Corp. ("Western Resources") announced on February 1, 2017. The Interim Order, among other things, authorizes Western Potash to call and hold an annual and special meeting of the holders of common shares of Western Potash (the "Meeting") to approve the previously announced Arrangement under the Business Corporations Act (British Columbia). In accordance with the Interim Order, the Meeting will be held on March 9, 2017 at the offices of Western Potash, Suite 1400, 1111 West Georgia Street, Vancouver, British Columbia, at 10:00 a.m. (local time). Under the Arrangement, Western Resources will acquire all of the issued and outstanding common shares of the Company on the basis of 0.2 of a Western Resources common share for each one (1) Western Potash common share, subject to the terms and conditions of the Arrangement Agreement. The completion of the Arrangement will result in Western Resources becoming the TSX-listed successor company to Western Potash, and Western Potash becoming the wholly-owned subsidiary of Western Resources. The hearing date for the application for the final order of the Court (the "Final Order") has been scheduled for March 15, 2017. If all necessary approvals are obtained and the conditions to completion of the Arrangement are satisfied or waived, Western Potash expects that the Arrangement will close in March 2017. The record date for determining the shareholders entitled to receive notice and to vote at the Meeting has been fixed to be the close of business on January 27, 2017. All shareholders are encouraged to vote in person or by proxy at the Meeting. Western Potash intends to mail the Notice of Meeting and the Management Information Circular, together with a letter of transmittal and a form of proxy to Western Potash shareholders of record early next week. The Meeting materials will be available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com under Western Potash's profile. For more information on Western Potash Corp., please visit the Company's website at: www.westernpotash.com. ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS Geoffrey Chang, Chairman Forward-Looking Information Certain statements contained in this news release constitute forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws. Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts and are generally, but not always, identified by words such as "anticipate", "continue", "estimate", "expect", "expected", "intend", "may", "will", "project", "plan", "should", "believe" and similar expressions (including negative variations), or that events or conditions "will", "would", "may", "could" or "should" occur. Forward-looking statements are based on the opinions and estimates of management as of the date such statements are made and they are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results of the Company to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements or forward-looking information. Although management of the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. The Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking information that is set out herein, except in accordance with applicable securities laws. Contacts: Western Potash Corp. Angela Aydon Corporate Communications Manager 604-689-9378 www.westernpotash.com SEOUL, South Korea, February 7, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Stays on course towards becoming the world's largest owner and operator of VLCCs Bahri, a global leader in logistics and transportation, today announced that 'AMJAD', a 300,000 DWT Very Large Crude Carrier (VLCC) built by Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) in South Korea, has become the latest addition to its growing fleet of 84 vessels of various types. (Photo: http://mma.prnewswire.com/media/465533/Bahri_Amjad_Group.jpg ) Bahri took delivery of the VLCC, its 37th, built to the latest environmental and fuel-efficient technical specifications, in a ceremony held at HHI's Mokpo shipyard in South Jeolla Province, South Korea. Bahri CEO, Ibrahim Al-Omar, Hyundai Heavy Industries' President and CEO, M. K. Yoon and President and COO, Sam H. Ka, Saudi Arabia's Ambassador to South Korea, H.E. Riyad Almubaraky, Bahri Oil President, Naser Al-Abdulkareem, and other senior officials from both organizations attended the special two-day celebrations. Ibrahim Al-Omar, Bahri CEO, said, "The addition of AMJAD to our fleet is a milestone achievement as it not only cements our position as a global leader in oil transportation but also marks the beginning of our journey to becoming the world's largest owner and operator of VLCCs. This increase in fleet will provide us with added operational flexibility, facilitate business expansion and help us capitalize on the continued demand for crude oil." "With a bigger and newer fleet of VLCCs, we can continue to provide our customers with world-class transportation solutions and value-added customer service," added Al-Omar. Bahri and HHI have shared a close relationship for over a decade, with 25 vessels ordered and delivered to date and nine more VLCCs currently on order. This relationship was further accentuated with the Joint Development Agreement (JDA) signed with Saudi Aramco and Lamprell Energy Ltd. to build a 5-billion-dollar maritime shipyard within the King Salman Global Maritime Industries Complex in Saudi Arabia which will provide engineering, manufacturing and repair services for offshore rigs, commercial vessels and offshore service vessels and is expected to be fully operational by the end of 2022. M. K. Yoon, President and CEO of Hyundai Heavy Industries, said, "As the world's largest shipbuilding company, we are proud of our long-term association with Bahri, a maritime industry leader in its own domain. As flagship companies in our own backyards, HHI and Bahri are also playing a key role in further strengthening ties between our two nations. With nearly a third of Bahri's current fleet built by HHI and nine more VLCCs being built, and a multi-billion-dollar maritime shipyard being planned in Saudi Arabia in the coming years, our relationship with Bahri is set for the long haul." During the delivery ceremony of 'AMJAD', H.E. Riyad Almubarky, Ambassador of Saudi Arabia to The Republic of Korea, highlighted the close, historic and distinctive diplomatic relationship that brings both the nations together, adding that 2017 is expected to bring more cooperation and rise in trade and investments between both countries. Bahri Oil, one of Bahri's six business units, will be responsible for the commercial operation of 'AMJAD'. Bahri Oil has several long-term contracts with first-class charterers, with volumes exceeding its owned fleet capacity. About Bahri: Established in 1978, Bahri is one of the world's foremost logistics and transportation companies, playing a leading role in the transformation and growth of the global shipping industry through innovation and delivering value-added onshore and offshore services. As a global leader in the logistics and transportation industry, Bahri has six business units that include Oil, Chemicals, Logistics, Dry Bulk, Ship Management, and Data. Bahri is the second largest owner of Very Large Crude Carriers (VLCCs) in the world, and the largest owner of chemical tankers in the Middle East. Presently, the company owns 84 vessels, including 37 VLCCs, 36 chemical/product tankers, 6 multipurpose vessels, and 5 dry-bulk carriers with additional 9 VLCCs on order. Bahri is committed to playing an integral and leading role in realizing Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030 by continuously enhancing and expanding its services and presence across the world, enabling the opening of new trade routes, and positioning Saudi Arabia as a unique regional logistics gateway to three continents. Bahri has around 2,400 dedicated employees across its global network of offices in Saudi Arabia, UAE, USA and India. OTTAWA (dpa-AFX) - The euro weakened against other major currencies in the Asian session on Tuesday amid concerns over French politics, after France's far-right National Front leader Marine Le Pen pledged to pull France out of the eurozone and protect it from the effects of globalization. The French presidential vote is due to be held in April. Investors are worried about the financial instability in the nation, as this may increase pressure on the European Central Bank ECB to further support the monetary union, following Greece struggles to secure its next bailout payment. French presidential nominee Francois Fillo's campaign became weaker, due to a financial scandal involving his family. Dutch and German elections are due on March and September, respectively. Meanwhile, Asian stock markets are mostly lower on continuing uncertainty about the impact of U.S. President Donald Trump's economic policies. News that a federal judge halted Trump's executive order on immigration added to the recent uncertainty about the travel ban, also weighed on the Stock markets. Monday, the euro showed mixed trading against other major rivals. While the euro fell against the U.S. dollar, the Swiss franc and the yen, it rose against the pound. In the Asian trading, the euro fell to more than a 2-month low of 119.74 against the yen, and a 4-day low of 0.8585 against the pound, from yesterday's closing quotes of 120.10 and 0.8618, respectively. If the euro extends its downtrend, it is likely to find support around 118.00 against the yen and 0.84 against the pound. Against the U.S. dollar and the Swiss franc, the euro dropped to 1-week low of 1.0704 and 1.0645 from yesterday's closing quotes of 1.0749 and 1.0649, respectively. The euro may test support near 1.05 against the greenback and 1.05 against the franc. The euro edged down to 1.4019 against the Canadian dollar, from yesterday's closing value of 1.4060. The euro is likely to find support around the 1.38 region. Looking ahead, U.K. Halifax house price index for January is set to be published at 3:30 am ET. At 7:00 am ET, New Zealand's Global Dairy Trade is due to be held. In the New York session, U.S. and Canada trade data, U.S. consumer credit and Canada building permits- all for December and Canada Ivey's PMI for January - are set to be announced. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX Kostenloser Wertpapierhandel auf Smartbroker.de PARIS (dpa-AFX) - France's trade deficit narrowed in December as exports were boosted by Airbus deliveries that were twice the usual rate, data from the French Customs showed Tuesday. The trade deficit fell to EUR 3.421 billion from EUR 4.37 billion in November. A year ago, the shortfall was EUR 3.612 billion. Exports grew 4 percent after 5.4 percent gain in November, largely led by the strong performance of the aeronautics industry. Imports rose 1.4 percent following 2.7 percent increase. For the year 2016, the trade deficit widened to EUR 48.1 billion from EUR 45 billion in 2015. Exports dropped 0.6 percent versus 4.4 percent growth in 2015. Imports increased 2.4 percent after 5.7 percent in the previous year. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann. LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM--(Marketwired - February 07, 2017) - The speculation around Brexit's impact on supply chains is creating a huge dilemma for U.K.-based leadership teams. While some companies are making plans to move production out of the country, others are preparing to increase investment in Britain. But one thing is for certain: waiting for a clearer sense of the future under Brexit is the riskiest option. Bain & Company's latest study, Is Your Supply Chain Ready for Brexit?, finds that the leadership teams best equipped to limit any negative consequences from Brexit take a different approach to strategy -- one that anticipates a range of future scenarios. "Uncertainty around Brexit has left many executives feeling anxious and reluctant to act, but inaction is actually the worst path to take," said Thomas Kwasniok, a supply chain expert in Bain's London office and lead author of the research. "Based on our extensive work with clients in the U.K. and across Europe, we've seen that the most successful companies plan for change by incorporating it into their strategy process. This will enable them to pivot faster than the competition once Brexit details become clear, minimizing the risk to their supply chains." Currently, the aim is a "clean" or "hard" Brexit, which would include a clear split from EU's single market and customs union. This scenario poses the greatest risk to the profitability of companies operating in the U.K. Disruptions to supply chains could reduce net profits of key U.K. industries by as much as 30 percent. This would be the impact of a shift to standard WTO tariffs (2-10 percent) on all exports and imports, a 10 percent increase in the cost of U.K. labor and 20 percent depreciation in the British pound. According to Bain's analysis, the greatest negative impact under this scenario would fall on the retail, automotive and technology industries. Food retailers, for example, could see profits fall by 6-20 billion, though most would offset at least part of that decline with price increases. Automotive and technology could suffer 20-35 percent declines in profits. On the other hand, net exporters in low WTO-tariff industries such as aerospace or pharma -- an industry characterised by a global production footprint and sales mix and zero tariffs -- could potentially benefit from a "clean" Brexit due to pound depreciation and lower U.K. tax rates. "Brexit implications would depend on the individual setup of a company's supply chain and might vary even between players even in the same industry sector," said Kwasniok. "Take for example two large sugar manufacturers in Britain: one relies on sugar beet imports from EU countries and hence fears a cost increase if tariffs get imposed. The other one processes sugar cane from Brazil, for which tariffs would be lower under WTO standards than what they currently are into the EU." While now a lesser possibility, the U.K. could still opt for a "soft" Brexit with minimal or no tariffs on trade with the EU. However, in this case, companies that start moving manufacturing or sourcing out of the U.K. risk incurring a higher cost base unnecessarily. Ultimately, the final deal must be put to a vote in both houses of Parliament -- the outcome of which could add even further uncertainty around Brexit if, for example, it gets voted down. According to Bain, four guidelines can help leadership teams understand how Brexit could play out for them: 1) Define the uncertainties 2) Formulate a set of probable scenarios 3) Devise a specific set of strategic options, and 4) Identify a clear set of signposts for action "Leading companies use this approach to balance commitment to a long-term supply chain strategy with investments, and to position themselves to seize the post-Brexit future as it unfolds," said Peter Guarraia, head of Bain's Supply Chain Practice. "This flexibility allows them to focus on projects that make sense now, while assessing their payoffs under different future scenarios." While planning rational actions for each possible outcome, the most successful leaders pair each action with a signpost that triggers it: No-regret moves. Some actions will increase a company's competitive edge no matter what scenario plays out. They include improving cost management or operational effectiveness. Options and hedges. Leadership teams that develop strategic options and hedges for a variety of future scenarios navigate better when new developments unfold. Other options include joint ventures that provide lower-cost market entry or manufacturing changes that provide additional flexibility at low cost. Some companies exposed to a devaluation of the pound may use financial hedging instruments or choose to denominate contracts in different currencies. Big bets. The most challenging balancing act involves large-scale investments that have different payoffs depending how future uncertainties play out. "Whatever form U.K. participation in the EU will take, Brexit will have quite significant implications on supply chain choice -- what you buy, from whom and from where," said Michael Garstka, who leads Bain's U.K. practice. "For the last 40 years, U.K., European and global companies have been making sourcing decisions based on one set of rules. If and when those rules change, strategies and supply chain choices will need to adapt." Editor's Note: To request an interview with Mr. Kwasniok, Mr. Guarraia, or Mr. Garstka, please contact: International media: Dan Pinkney at dan.pinkney@bain.com or +1 646 562 8102 Local media: Aliza Medina at Aliza.medina@bain.com or +44 20 7969 6480 About Bain & Company Bain & Company is the management consulting firm that the world's business leaders come to when they want results. Bain advises clients on strategy, operations, technology, organization, private equity and mergers and acquisition, developing practical insights that clients act on and transferring skills that make change stick. The firm aligns its incentives with clients by linking its fees to their results. Bain clients have outperformed the stock market 4 to 1. Founded in 1973, Bain has 53 offices in 34 countries, and its deep expertise and client roster cross every industry and economic sector. For more information visit: www.bain.com. Follow us on Twitter @BainAlerts. Media Contacts: Dan Pinkney Bain & Company Tel: +1 646 562 8102 dan.pinkney@bain.com Aliza Medina Bain & Company Tel: +44 20-7969-6480 aliza.medina@bain.com GHENT, Belgium, February 7, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- New research published by the top impact scientific journal New Media & Society shows that employers use Facebook to screen job candidates. In fact, one's Facebook profile picture affects one's chances of appointment about as much as the picture that one adds to one's CV. (Photo: http://mma.prnewswire.com/media/465539/SBAERT_Image_Infographic.jpg ) Undercover on the Internet Employers have limited information when they make their first selection of the candidates for their vacancies. A CV and short motivation letter are often not sufficient to gain insight in the personality of the candidates. At the same time, there's a lot of information available online to further refine a first impression. A potential source of information is the social networking website Facebook. Professor Stijn Baert (Ghent University, Belgium) examined whether employers actually use Facebook in a first screening. He and his research assistants sent fictitious letters of application in response to genuine vacancies. The names of the fictitious candidates led, via a search engine or directly via Facebook, to just one hit on the Internet: one of the four fictitious Facebook profiles under the control of the research team. On Facebook, only the profile picture of the candidates was publicly visible. The four photographs were diverse in terms of attractiveness and personality traits (see "Method"). Female recruiters screen more via Facebook The research team compared the chances of positive responses for candidates with different Facebook profiles. In their application letter there was no picture. Professor Stijn Baert: "The candidate with the most favourable Facebook profile picture received approximately 21% more positive responsesto his application in comparison to the candidate with the least favourable profile picture. The difference in the chance to be immediately invited to a job interview even amounted to 38%." These important differences can only be driven by the view of the Facebook profile picture, so it is clear that a significant proportion of employers screens via Facebook. According to Professor Baert's results female recruiters are more likely screen via Facebook than male recruiters. Furthermore, Facebook profile picture appearance affects hiring chances more for highly educated candidates. Contrary to expectations, employers didn't look more often on Facebook for occupations with an intense customer contact. Facebook profile picture as much impact as CV picture At the same time, an alternative experiment was conducted. The research team added the Facebook profile pictures of the first experiment directly to the CV of the fictitious applicants. The differences in attractiveness and personality between the photos proved to have about as much impact when used as Facebook profile pictures as if they are added directly into the CV. This finding is remarkable because not all employers use Facebook to screen candidates (while they all see a photograph which added to the CV). Professor Stijn Baert: "A possible explanation why a Facebook profile picture and a CV photo can have the same impact, is thatemployers see a Facebook profile picture as an honest signal(since not all candidates are aware that employers use Facebook to screen candidates)." Efficient? As for the economic side of things, screening via Facebook seems efficient. Professor Stijn Baert: "Via Facebook, employers can collect information about candidates in a quick and easy way. Moreover, international research suggests that theimpression someone gives on Facebook reflects his real personality rather than some form of self-idealization." Method In total, 2112 fictitious job applications were sent to genuine vacancies for a range of jobs in various sectors on the Belgian labour market. The CVs and motivation letters differed in detail and layout but were similar in productivity-influencing characteristics. What differed substantially, was the name of the candidates (leading to a unique Facebook profile) or picture. This feature was added to the two different applications in a random way. The photos that were used in this study were selected for their different scores for attractiveness and personality (reliability in particular) in line with earlier research about the importance of these features in the labour market. The study was, after three revision rounds, based on comments from five anonymous experts in the field, published in the scientific journal New Media & Society in February 2017 (second most important journal in the field of Communication in terms of impact). Bibliographic information and contact details Baert, S. (2017): Facebook profile picture appearance affects recruiters' first hiring decisions. New Media & Society. DOI: 10.1177/1461444816687294. LONDON, February 7, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- The 19th Annual Africa Energy Forum (AEF) has been announced to take place from 7-9 June in Copenhagen. The decision to host the Forum in Denmark was made in order to capitalise on the investment potential of Nordic countries into Africa and to showcase the technologies being utilised across the region to manage their cities cleanly and cost effectively - technologies which can be transferred to African nations. (Photo: http://mma.prnewswire.com/media/465535/Africa_Energy_Ministers.jpg ) (Photo: http://mma.prnewswire.com/media/465536/Africa_Energy_Investment.jpg ) https://youtu.be/Y1Mu3zljgm0 Simon Gosling, Managing Director of EnergyNet, commented; "As Denmark leads the way with its clean energy initiatives and blending of public and private finance, Copenhagen is the perfect location to welcome African stakeholders and international investors to discuss project partnerships with some of the country's leading energy companies. The theme for the conference in Copenhagen in June 2017 is 'development financing institutions', so it's perfect that Denmark's Investment Fund for Developing Countries (IFU) celebrates 50 years of doing business on the first day of this conference in June." Nineteen years in the running, AEF brings together senior-level representatives from governments, utilities, regulators, power developers, financial institutions, technology providers, consultants, law firms and large energy consumers to form partnerships, identify opportunities and collectively move the industry forward. AEF 2016 attracted 2,100 participants from 80 countries, 32 of those being African. In addition, five major energy deals and mergers were announced at AEF 2016 in London totalling over US$1 billion from organisations including Harith General Partners, Africa Finance Corporation, World Bank Group, Mainstream Renewable Power and USTDA, demonstrating the role of the conference as a platform for industry developments. For more information about the Africa Energy Forum: Contact: Amy Offord - Marketing Manager Event dates: 7-9 June 2017 Event location: Bella Center, Copenhagen, Denmark Organisers: EnergyNet, part of Clarion Events Ltd Email:AEF@energynet.co.uk Tel: +44 (0)20 7384 8068 Visit: http://www.africa-energy-forum.com About EnergyNet: EnergyNet has been producing investment forums for Africa's power sector for the last 18 years, working with 23 different governments and national utilities to facilitate investment summits where investors can build relationships with credible African public sector stakeholders to advance access to power. The EnergyNet team spends over 220 days a year travelling to meet stakeholders across Africa. SINGAPORE -- (Marketwired) -- 02/07/17 --Marina Mandarin's 30th Anniversary this year, 2017, is filled with promotions that will excite our guests, from attractive room stays to dining deals, visit www.marinamandarin.com.sg to find the latest 30th Anniversary deals that will simply delight. Marina Mandarin Singapore's 30th Anniversary Book a Deluxe Room and enjoy these fantastic benefits: Guests will receive SGD30Nett worth of food and beverage credits per booking to be redeemed at Peach Blossoms, AquaMarine or Atrium Lounge. With this Marina Mandarin 30th Anniversary Deluxe Room booking, receive a Guaranteed upgrade to Executive Deluxe Room -- Marina Bay View and Guaranteed late check-out until 3pm, and guests will also receive 30th Anniversary welcome amenities. To book this package, quote "30th Anniversary" when making your reservation. Booking period is from now to 28 February 2017 Stay period: 9 Apr to 30 June 2017 Black-out dates are from 16 to 18 May 2017 and 23 to 25 May 2017 Terms and conditions apply Package is non-refundable, non-cancellable For Reservations, please call +65 6845 1000 marina@meritushotels.com www.marinamandarin.com.sg About Marina Mandarin Singapore, by Meritus Marina Mandarin Singapore is a world-class, 5-star luxury hotel that offers breathtaking views of Marina Bay and the financial district. Enjoying an excellent location in the heart of the city, the hotel has direct access to the Marina Square Shopping Mall, and is opposite the Suntec Convention & Exhibition Centre and The Esplanade -- Singapore's premier performing arts centre. The hotel is also perfectly situated right on the trackside of the Singapore Grand Prix Formula One race. Complemented by a host of comprehensive amenities, the hotel's 575 well-appointed guest rooms and suites are specially tailored to meet the needs of discerning business and leisure travellers. With a distinctively majestic atrium soaring through 21 levels of the hotel, Marina Mandarin Singapore is imbued with a philosophy of providing Asian grace, warmth and care in an atmosphere of relaxed elegance. Look forward to year 2017, as Marina Mandarin celebrates 30 years in Singapore. Meritus Hotels & Resorts Meritus Hotels & Resorts is a Singapore-based hotel management company under the Hospitality Division of OUE Limited (SGX-ST: "OUE"), a diversified real estate owner, developer and operator with a portfolio of iconic properties in prime locations in Asia and the United States. As an award-winning hospitality brand, Meritus has been providing guests its signature Asian Grace, Warmth and Care for over 40 years. With hotels and resorts strategically located in key cities and idyllic sanctuaries in Singapore and Malaysia, Meritus is soon extending its footprint in more locations around the region. Meritus Hotels & Resorts is three-time winner of Most Popular Heritage Brand at the Singapore Prestige Brand Award (SPBA), demonstrating its impact as a home-grown Singapore brand that has become an important benchmark for values and best practices that other local brand owners strive to attain. More recently, the Group was also conferred Global Winner -- Luxury Hotel Chain at the World Luxury Hotel Awards 2013. For more information visit www.meritushotels.com For hi res photos and more information, please visit: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/x4t5b2pl22z2spu/AAByMKJGwt5ylfaHtU6Owyd6a?dl=0 Image Available: http://www2.marketwire.com/mw/frame_mw?attachid=3106775 For further media information, please contact: Sharon Vu VU Marcoms Director, Marketing & Communications T (65) 8138 6913 Email Contact LAHOLM, Sweden, Feb. 7, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Arise's Year-end report for 2016 will be released on Friday 17 February, 2017 at around 08.00 CET. At 11.00 CET on the same day a conference call will be held, hosted by Daniel Johansson, CEO and Linus Hagg, CFO, who will present the report to the stock market and media. After the presentation those attending will be invited to ask questions. The dial in number for the conference call is: Sweden dial in number:08 50 510 036 UK dial in number (local):020 3059 8125 All other locations: +44 20 3059 8125 Password:Arise Presentation material for the conference call will be available at: http://www.investis-live.com/arise/587f532e7b6fba170040b9b8/ioj2a After the meeting a recording of the presentation will be available at the same link. Halmstad 7 February, 2017 ARISE AB (publ) For further information, please contact Bibbi Franzen, Head of Corporate Communications, +46 706 79 79 27 E-mail: bibbi.franzen@arise.se This information is information that Arise AB is obliged to make public pursuant to the Securities Markets Act. The information was submitted for publication at 11.30 CET on 7 February 2017. This information was brought to you by Cision http://news.cision.com http://news.cision.com/arise-ab/r/invitation-to-a-conference-call-in-connection-with-arise-s-year-end-report-for-2016,c2182152 The following files are available for download: LONDON, Feb. 7, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --The 10 Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) members obligated to reduce oil output under the landmark agreement signed late last year achieved 91% of their required cuts in January, with their production falling 1.14 million barrels per day (b/d) from October levels, according to the latest survey of OPEC and oil industry officials and analysts by S&P Global Platts, the leading independent provider of information and benchmark prices for the commodities and energy markets. Those cuts were, however, offset partly by output gains in Libya and Nigeria, which are exempt from the accord, and Iran, which is allowed to increase its production slightly. "The market has taken early indications of compliance with the OPEC/non-OPEC production agreement bullishly, and, indeed, the cuts that OPEC made in January look strong so far. But as we are just barely into the six-month deal, it'll take a few more months of monitoring to know whether the discipline that OPEC is displaying will hold," said Herman Wang, OPEC Specialist, S&P Global Platts. In all, OPEC's 13 members -- not including Indonesia, which suspended its membership at the group's last meeting -- produced 32.16 million b/d in January, a 690,000 b/d decline from December, the Platts survey showed. With Indonesia, the organization's January production totaled 32.89 million b/d. Under the agreement, OPEC pledged to cut 1.2 million b/d from its October output levels for six months starting from January 1 and freeze production at around 32.5 million b/d, including Indonesia. Eleven non-OPEC countries led by Russia have also agreed to cut output by 558,000 b/d in the first half of 2017. The survey shows that several OPEC countries covered by the agreement still need to make some progress in lowering output to their allocations, though the overcompliance of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Angola helps compensate. Since the deal covers an average of January to June output, some month-to-month fluctuations are to be expected. Saudi Arabia has backed up the strong words of its energy minister Khalid al-Falih, who played a key role in negotiating the agreement, with its January production falling to 9.98 million b/d, according to the Platts survey. That is below its allocation of 10.06 million b/d under the deal, as crude exports declined by more than 500,000 b/d in the month, Platts shipping tracker cFlow showed. It is also the first month Saudi production has been below 10 million b/d since February 2015, according to the survey archives. Falih in recent weeks had said that the kingdom would "strictly adhere to our commitment" and signaled that it would make deeper cuts in February. Likewise, Kuwaiti oil minister Essam al-Marzouq, who chairs a five-country committee that will monitor and enforce the production agreement, has said that Kuwait would "lead by example." Accordingly, Kuwait's production for January was under its quota of 2.71 million b/d, coming in at 2.7 million b/d, a 130,000 b/d drop from December, the survey showed. Besides Kuwait, the monitoring committee comprises fellow OPEC members Algeria and Venezuela, along with non-OPEC Russia and Oman. IRAQ HAS WORK TO DO Algeria is slightly above its quota of 1.04 million b/d, with January production at 1.05 million b/d, while Venezuela also exceeds its allocation of 1.97 million b/d, producing 2.01 million b/d in the month, according to the survey. Angola is below its allocation of 1.67 million b/d, with January output at 1.63 million b/d, as its crude loadings showed declines in the month. Iraq, which had sought an exemption from the deal, has the most barrels to cut to reach its allocation, with January output at 4.48 million b/d, according to the survey, while its quota is 4.35 million b/d. The January figure, however, was a decline of 150,000 b/d from December production, as exports from Iraq's southern terminals showed a significant decline from the previous month's record levels. Iran, which is allowed to boost production to 3.80 million b/d under the deal, had January production of 3.72 million b/d, a 30,000 b/d increase from December. Meanwhile, exempt Libya and Nigeria showed increases of 50,000 b/d and 210,000 b/d, respectively, as they continue to recover from militancy-related outages. Libyan output had reached 715,000 b/d during the month, but frequent power shortages and a fire at the Sarir field caused production to fall towards the end of January, for a full-month average of 670,000 b/d, according to the survey. Nigerian output saw good signs of recovery after recent attacks on infrastructure in the Niger Delta, as well as the return of key export grade Agbami from maintenance last month, averaging 1.65 million b/d in January. The Platts estimates were obtained by surveying OPEC and oil industry officials, traders and analysts, as well as reviewing proprietary shipping data. OPEC production (in million b/d) Country January Change December Algeria 1.05 -0.05 1.10 Angola 1.63 -0.03 1.66 Ecuador 0.52 -0.01 0.53 Gabon 0.20 -0.01 0.21 Iran 3.72 0.03 3.69 Iraq 4.48 -0.15 4.63 Kuwait 2.70 -0.13 2.83 Libya 0.67 0.05 0.62 Nigeria 1.65 0.21 1.44 Qatar 0.62 -0.02 0.64 Saudi Arabia 9.98 -0.44 10.42 UAE 2.93 -0.10 3.03 Venezuela 2.01 -0.04 2.05 Total 32.16 -0.69 32.85 Notes: OPEC ministers on November 30 finalized a deal to cut 1.2 million b/d from October levels and hold production around 32.5 million b/d, beginning January 1 for six months. The agreement exempts Libya and Nigeria, while allowing Iran a small increase in production. Indonesia suspended its membership on November 30, 2016, but its output is being counted by OPEC under the production ceiling. Non-OPEC producers led by Russia also agreed to cut output by 558,000 b/d in the first half of 2017, with Russia set to cut 300,000 b/d. The committee in charge of monitoring the implementation of the proposed OPEC and non-OPEC production cut is to be co-chaired by representatives of Kuwait and Russia, and will also have representatives from Algeria, Venezuela and Oman. The estimate for Iraq includes volumes from semi-autonomous Iraqi Kurdistan. About S&P Global Platts At S&P Global Platts, we provide the insights; you make better informed trading and business decisions with confidence. We're the leading independent provider of information and benchmark prices for the commodities and energy markets. Customers in over 150 countries look to our expertise in news, pricing and analytics to deliver greater transparency and efficiency to markets. S&P Global Platts coverage includes oil and gas, power, petrochemicals, metals, agriculture and shipping. S&P Global Platts is a division of S&P Global (NYSE: SPGI), which provides essential intelligence for companies, governments and individuals to make decisions with confidence. For more information, visitwww.platts.com. Logo - http://mma.prnewswire.com/media/365785/platts_Logo.jpg LONDON, February 7, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Expect Commercial Adoption From 2018 Infosys Finacle, part of EdgeVerve Systems, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Infosys (NYSE: INFY), along with its partner Let's Talk Payments (LTP), today released a global survey report - "Blockchain Technology: From Hype to Reality." According to the report, over 80 percent of bankers surveyed expect to see commercial adoption of the technology by 2020, with nearly half (50 percent) of the financial institutions already investing or planning to invest during 2017. This announcement builds on the recent announcement by Emirates NBD and ICICI Bank on the deployment of blockchain technology in international remittances and trade finance. (Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20151104/283829LOGO ) The aim of the study, which included a survey of more than 100 financial services professionals, was to understand the sentiment of blockchain technology in the following areas: The technology's current understanding in the banking industry Adoption strategies and investments being pursued The opportunities and challenges that the industry is dealing with Highlights: 33 percent of respondents expect to see commercial blockchain adoption by 2018, while a majority (nearly 50 percent) see mainstream adoption by 2020 According to the survey, the average investment in blockchain projects in 2017 is expected to be about USD 1 million Majority of banks, about 69 percent, are experimenting with permissioned blockchains About 50 percent of the banks are either working with a FinTech start-up or technology company to augment their blockchain capabilities, whereas another 30 percent are opting for the consortium model According to the study, 51 percent of executives driving the blockchain initiatives are either Chief Technology Officers or Chief Innovation Officers The study confirms that the blockchain roll out would be prioritized in business areas where it can significantly improve transparency, automate processes across enterprises as well as reduce settlement and transaction time The study further revealed that the top five use cases that are expected to go to production are: cross border payments, digital identity management, clearing and settlement, letter of credit process and syndication of loans. These use cases scored more than 3.2 on a scale of one to five, wherein one being the least prioritized use case for commercial adoption and five being most prioritized The full report can be downloaded here. Sanat Rao, Chief Business Officer and Global Head, Finacle, said, "This research reaffirms our belief that the blockchain technology has potential to help banks reimagine banking processes. The technology can help banks automate inter-organization processes, significantly improve transparency and reset existing operational benchmarks. Several progressive organizations have already executed pilots to validate these propositions. We believe, in the coming quarters, the industry will experience greater momentum towards rolling out lab-pilots to real-life use cases." Survey methodology LTP surveyed 100 business and technology leaders from 75 institutions ranging from regional banks to multinational banks on behalf of Infosys Finacle. About Infosys Finacle Finacle is the industry-leading universal banking solution from EdgeVerve Systems, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Infosys. The solution helps financial institutions develop deeper connections with stakeholders, power continuous innovation and accelerate growth in the digital world. Today, Finacle is the choice of banks across 94 countries and serves over 848 million customers - estimated to be nearly 16.5 percent of the world's adult banked population. Finacle solutions address the core banking, e-banking, mobile banking, CRM, payments, treasury, origination, liquidity management, Islamic banking, wealth management, and analytics needs of financial institutions worldwide. Assessment of the top 1000 world banks reveals that banks powered by Finacle enjoy 50 percent higher returns on assets, 30 percent higher returns on capital, and 8.1 percent points lesser costs to income than others. To know more, visithttp://www.finacle.com Safe Harbor Certain statements in this press release concerning our future growth prospects are forward-looking statements regarding our future business expectations intended to qualify for the 'safe harbor' under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, which involve a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in such forward-looking statements. The risks and uncertainties relating to these statements include, but are not limited to, risks and uncertainties regarding fluctuations in earnings, fluctuations in foreign exchange rates, our ability to manage growth, intense competition in IT services including those factors which may affect our cost advantage, wage increases in India, our ability to attract and retain highly skilled professionals, time and cost overruns on fixed-price, fixed-time frame contracts, client concentration, restrictions on immigration, industry segment concentration, our ability to manage our international operations, reduced demand for technology in our key focus areas, disruptions in telecommunication networks or system failures, our ability to successfully complete and integrate potential acquisitions, liability for damages on our service contracts, the success of the companies in which Infosys has made strategic investments, withdrawal or expiration of governmental fiscal incentives, political instability and regional conflicts, legal restrictions on raising capital or acquiring companies outside India, and unauthorized use of our intellectual property and general economic conditions affecting our industry. Additional risks that could affect our future operating results are more fully described in our United States Securities and Exchange Commission filings including our Annual Report on Form 20-F for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2016. These filings are available athttp://www.sec.gov. Infosys may, from time to time, make additional written and oral forward-looking statements, including statements contained in the company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission and our reports to shareholders. In addition, please note that any forward-looking statements contained herein are based on assumptions that we believe to be reasonable as of the date of this press release. The company does not undertake to update any forward-looking statements that may be made from time to time by or on behalf of the company unless it is required by law. Botman versus SuperAgent: The Future of the Contact Centre, will be the keynote topic LONDON, Feb. 7, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Dr. Nicola Millard, Head of Customer Insight & Futures, BT Global Services, has confirmed attendance as keynote speaker at the 11th Annual Customer Contact, Europe: A Frost & Sullivan Executive Mindxchange, taking place on 5-7 June 2017 at the Hilton Budapest, Budapest, Hungary. To register and download the event agenda, please visit: https://goo.gl/hfX6UA As Head of Customer Insight & Futures, Dr. Millard is responsible for BT Global Services Innovation team thought leadership. She performs extensive research on consumer behaviour, contact centres and the future of work, as well as drawing upon BT's global innovation ecosystem, which includes MIT and Cambridge University. Dr. Millard is regularly featured on radio and TV, with recent appearances on BBC World 'Tech Tent' and BBC 2 'Back in Time for the Weekend.' She has also done a TED talk on people's acceptance and rejection of technologies. In 2014, she received the Outstanding Industry Contribution Award from the UK Contact Centre Forum. Frost & Sullivan's event, themed Taking Customer Service to the Next Level, will address the unprecedented changes in customers, organisations, employees, and customer service being ushered in by digital transformation. Other featured sessions include Executive Insights:Building Brand Trust: The Art of Empathy and Emotional Connection; Success Story:Creating and Delivering an Effortless Customer Experience and SuccessStory:Customer Experience in the Millennials' Age. The highly interactive event will offer contact centre and customer experience executives the opportunity to benefit from: Truly innovative case studies and best practices Dynamic collaboration zones fostering disruptive and transformational thinking Networking and discussion opportunities with leading peers and professionals in customer contact Don't miss out on the opportunity to leverage the latest customer service thinking for competitive advantage. For additional information, please email events.us@frost.com or contact Alan Bowman at +44 1865 398 644. About Frost & Sullivan Frost & Sullivan, the Growth Partnership Company, works in collaboration with clients to leverage visionary innovation that addresses the global challenges and related growth opportunities that will make or break today's market participants. For more than 50 years, we have been developing growth strategies for the global 1000, emerging businesses, the public sector and the investment community. Contact us: Start the discussion Contact: Anna Zanchi Corporate Communications - Europe P: +39.02.4851 6133 E: anna.zanchi@frost.com www.frost.com SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 7, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --Anaplan, a leading planning and performance management platform, today announced that London-based Vuealta will join the Anaplan partner network in EMEA.Led by Ian Stone, formerly of Anaplan, Vuealta will bolster the Anaplan channel program. "We're thrilled to have a fast-growing global community of best-in-class consulting partners," said Paul Melchiorre, Anaplan's Chief Revenue Officer. "We are excited to welcome Vuealta into our ecosystem of partners who continually innovate to enable smart planning for our diverse customer base." Stone has worked closely with Anaplan since 2011, when he launched Vue Analytics as the first Anaplan partner in the UK. Since then, Stone has been at the heart of Anaplan's growth in EMEA as the Anaplan UK Managing Director before moving on as Managing Director at Vuealta. "There's a huge opportunity for Anaplan business partners in EMEA to complement phenomenal software with advisory, implementation, and managed services," said Stone. "I'm looking forward to working closely with customers to implement solutions that solve their business challenges and to continue supporting Anaplan's growth in EMEA." About Anaplan's Partner Network To meet demand for the Anaplan platform, Anaplan's global network of best-in-class partners helps companies implement and utilize the Anaplan platform for model building, process change, local support, and global deployments. For more information about the network and partner participants, visitanaplan.com/partners. About Anaplan Anaplan is a leading planning and performance management platform for smart businesses. Anaplan combines an unrivaled planning and modeling engine, predictive analytics, and cloud collaboration into one simple interface for business users. Anaplan is a privately held company based in San Francisco with 16 offices worldwide.To learn more, visitanaplan.com.Follow us on:Twitter,LinkedIn,YouTube, andFacebook. Logo -http://mma.prnewswire.com/media/428852/Anaplan_Logo.jpg RIO DE JANEIRO, February 7, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- March 17th is the date to commemorate the death of St. Patrick, the foremostpatron saintofIreland. However, this day is celebrated all over the world, not only in this country. Mexico is one of the countries which celebrate this important date in a special way through activities on the beaches of Riviera Maya! (Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20161124/442827LOGO ) Parades and celebrations around the world commemorate the traditional death date of Saint Patrick. Clovers, green colors and beer are the protagonists of this celebration day with a lot of parties. Barcelo Maya Grand Resort in Riviera Maya, with its natural environment, is located in one of the most beautiful beaches of the Mexican Caribbean with more than 1 mile of white sand, crystalline water and a coral reef. On March 17th this resort is celebrating with activities such as looking for clovers around the beach, beer competitions and dancing to typical Irish music. The first St. Patrick's Day Parade took place in 1737 in Boston, and the statement color being blue. When the celebration arrived in Ireland in 1931, green became the prominent colour. Another curiosity is the origin and name of the Saint because he wasn't Irish and his name wasn't Patrick. He was born in Scotland and his name was Maewyn. Saying good bye to summer in Mexico is always a good idea. Celebrate St. Patrick's Day, the date to remember all the Irish immigrants, deserters of the American army, who came together to the Mexican army to fight against U.S. troops for the defense of the Mexican State. For a unique experience, Barcelo Maya Grand Resort has everything holidaymakers are looking for in an exotic and unique place. Contact: Alfonso Lopez, alopez@3aww.com , +34-626-00-35-71 TORONTO, ONTARIO -- (Marketwired) -- 02/07/17 -- Red Pine Exploration Inc. (TSX VENTURE: RPX) ("Red Pine" or the "Company") has received results from composite grab(1) samples collected during its field mapping program as well as for holes SD-16-41 to SD-16-43 and part of SD-16-44 from its on-going drilling program at the Wawa Gold Project. Highlights from the field mapping results include: -- Up to 143.1 g/t gold in a composite grab(1) sample (greater than 1kg) taken in a quartz vein located 445 metres ENE of the Darwin-Grace Mine (Table 1 and Figure 1); in which channel samples taken during the production period in the 1920-1930s contained up to 2146 g/t gold over 0.91 metre; -- The discovery of a shear zone with quartz veins 235 metres ENE of the Darwin-Grace Mine - composite grab(1) samples contain 3.42 g/t and 1.65 g/t gold; and -- The discovery of gold mineralization zones south of the Surluga Deposit with composite grab(1) samples containing up to 3.16 g/t gold. The mineralization is similar to the William Gold Zone and possibly associated with the historic intersection of 2.37 g/t gold over 6.71 metres in hole S300 (Table 2). (1)Readers are cautioned that composite grab samples are taken over a representative length in the targeted shear zone or vein but remain selective by nature. The grades and mineralization present are not necessarily representative of other mineralization that may be identified on the property. Highlights from the drilling results include: -- Near surface quartz vein networks in the hanging wall of the Surluga Deposit form large zones of mineralization with 1.61 g/t gold over 26.25 metres, including 15.83 g/t gold over 1 metre, in SD-16-44 (Table 2 and Figure 2); -- 2.00 g/t gold over 8.96 metres and 0.59 g/t gold over 4 metres in the Jubilee Shear Zone and 0.57 g/t gold over 17.2 metres in the Hornblende Shear Zone/Surluga Road Shear Zone, 525 metres north of the inferred resource(2) in SD-16-43 (Table 2 and Figure 2); -- Higher grade mineralization in the Surluga Road Shear Zone with 7.46 g/t gold over 1.43 in SD-16-41 (Table 2 and Figure 2); and -- The presence of visible gold(3) in the Jubilee Shear Zone in both SD-17- 50 and SD-17-51 that are testing the near surface extension of the structure not-included in the inferred resource. Quentin Yarie, President and Chief Executive Officer of Red Pine states, "We are quite excited to see that the gold content of the Jubilee Shear Zone in hole SD-16-43, located 525 metres north of the inferred resource boundary, is comparable to the gold content of the shear zone in the inferred resource. This supports our exploration model that the inferred resource extends near surface to the north. In addition, the discovery of additional high-grade quartz veins and a gold-bearing shear zone near the Darwin-Grace Mine indicate that gold mineralization extends beyond the immediate area of the mine and warrants additional exploration." Field Mapping Results Containing 143.1 g/t gold, a quartz vein located 444 metres ENE of the Darwin-Grace Mine has the highest gold grade measured by the Company in a composite grab(1) sample so far and indicates that additional high-grade quartz veins exist in the area. Combined with the nearby identification of another gold-bearing shear zone, this expands the exploration opportunities near the historic Darwin-Grace Mine in which channel samples taken during the production period in the 1920-1930s contained up to 2146 g/t gold over 0.91 metre. The identification of William-like gold mineralization south of the Surluga Deposit, with composite grab samples in altered and weakly sheared diorite containing up to 3.16 g/t gold, indicate the extension of this mineralization styles of the Wawa Gold Corridor in an area that remains entirely under-explored. This is providing a framework to explain the intersection of 2.37 g/t gold over 6.71 metres in hole S300 and the cryptic nature of the mineralization intersected in that hole. With additional work to better constrain the geological controls on the gold distribution in the area, this zone of mineralization can become a near future exploration target south of the inferred resource boundary. Drilling Results Hole SD-16-43 was drilled close to the highway 101 to test the hypothesis that the Jubilee, Surluga Road and Hornblende Shear Zones of the Wawa Gold Corridor extend at least to the highway and remain mineralized. Hole SD-16-43 successfully intersected the three structures as well as gold mineralization with grade and width comparable to the inferred resource. Some uncertainty remains on the exact trace of the Hornblende Shear Zone and the Surluga Road Shear Zone as the current modelling indicates that both structures merge close to a mineralized intersection below the Jubilee Shear Zone. Additional exploration work will be necessary to resolve this uncertainty and better discriminate the gold zones in this area that remains under-explored. Hole SD-16-44 shows that near surface quartz vein networks in the hanging wall of the Surluga Deposit can form large zones of mineralization formed of multiple quartz veins. The geometry and gold content of those quartz vein networks remains to be defined and quantified in most of the deposit. Hole SD-16-41 and SD-16-42 were drilled to test the northern boundary of the Surluga Deposit. Results from these holes indicate that gold mineralization in both the Jubilee Shear Zone and Surluga Road Shear Zone improves with increasing depth. The Jubilee Shear Zone hosts the Surluga Deposit - the currently defined 1,088,000 ounces inferred resource(2) of the Wawa Gold project. Table 1 - Composite grab(i) samples collected south of the inferred resource boundary ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sample Area Sample type Au (g/t) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 18464 Darwin-Grace area Shear Zone 0.36 18482 Darwin-Grace area Quartz vein 143.1 18492 Darwin-Grace area Shear Zone 1.65 18493 Darwin-Grace area Quartz vein in shear zone 3.42 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1473370 S300 Zone Altered and weakly sheared diorite 3.16 1473380 S300 Zone Altered diorite 1.32 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- (i)Readers are cautioned that composite grab samples are taken over a representative length in the targeted shear zone or vein but remain selective by nature. The grades and mineralization present are not necessarily representative of other mineralization that may be identified on the property. Table 2 - Highlights of drilling results in the Wawa Gold Corridor ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- From To Length Gold Hole No (m) (m) (m)(i) (g/t) Gold structure ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- SD-16-41 89 90 1 1.07 Jubilee Shear Zone 113 114.6 1.6 1.3 -------------------------------------------------------------------- 160.66 162.09 1.43 7.46 Surluga Road Shear Zone ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- SD-16-42 95.93 99.13 3.2 0.5 Surluga Road Shear Zone ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- SD-16-43 43.94 69.7 25.76 0.79 Jubilee Shear Zone including 43.94 52.9 8.96 2.00 65.7 69.7 4 0.59 -------------------------------------------------------------------- 104.8 122 17.2 0.57 Hornblende Shear Zone/Surluga Road Shear Zone including 114.46 122 7.54 0.76 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- SD-16-44 24.57 50.82 26.25 1.61 Quartz Vein Network including 40.82 50.82 1 15.83 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- (i)Assay results reported over intersection length estimated in the Jubilee and Hornblende Shear Zone to represent greater than 85% true width; As they represent discoveries, no true width estimation is currently defined for the intersection in the Quartz Vein Network and the Surluga Road Shear Zone. On-going Drilling Program The on-going diamond drill program is focused on expanding the Surluga Deposit to the north. Hole SD-17-51 targeted the Wawa Gold Corridor 200 metres north of SD-16-40. Visible gold(3) was observed in the Jubilee Shear Zone in both SD-17-50 and SD-17-51 in the shallow extension of the structure generally not-included in the inferred resource because of the absence of historic holes. Figure 1. Highlights of composite grab(i) samples collected south of the Surluga Deposit inferred resource in the S300 zone and near the historic Grace-Darwin Mine: http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/RPX27a.jpg ((i)1)Readers are cautioned that composite grab samples are taken over a representative length in the targeted shear zone or vein but remain selective by nature. The grades and mineralization present are not necessarily representative of other mineralization that may be identified on the property. Figure 2. Fall/Winter 2016/2017 Drill Program - location of drill holes: http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/RPX27b.jpg On-site Quality Assurance/Quality Control ("QA/QC") Measures Drill core samples were transported in security-sealed bags for analyses at Activation Laboratories Ltd. in Timmins, Ontario. Individual samples are labeled, placed in plastic sample bags and sealed. Groups of samples are then placed into durable rice bags and then shipped. The remaining coarse reject portions of the samples remain in storage if further work or verification is needed. Red Pine has implemented a quality-control program to comply with best practices in the sampling and analysis of drill core. As part of its QA/QC program, Red Pine inserts external gold standards (low to high grade) and blanks every 20 samples in addition to random standards, blanks, and duplicates. Qualified Person Quentin Yarie, P Geo. is the qualified person responsible for preparing, supervising and approving the scientific and technical content of this news release. About Red Pine Exploration Inc. Red Pine Exploration Inc. is a gold and base-metals exploration company headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Company's common shares trade on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol "RPX". Red Pine has a 60% interest in the Wawa Gold Project with Citabar LLP holding the remaining 40% interest. Red Pine is the Operating Manager of the Project and is focused on expanding the existing gold resource on the property. For more information about the Company visit www.redpineexp.com. (2)NI 43-101 inferred resource of 1,088,000 ounces of gold at a 1.71 grams per tonne (g/t) using a 0.40 g/t gold cut-off grade for pit-constrained and 2.50 g/t gold cut-off grade for underground-constrained resources, contained in 19.82 million tonnes open along strike and at depth. The Cut-off grades are based on a gold price of US$1,250 per once and a gold recovery of 95 percent (Mineral Resource Statement(i), Surluga-Jubilee Gold Deposit, Wawa Gold Project, Ontario, SRK Consulting (Canada) Inc (effective May 26, 2015)). The report is available on www.SEDAR.com under Red Pine's profile. (3)Gold visible with the naked eye - "visible gold" 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. 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. Contacts: Quentin Yarie President & CEO (416) 364-7024 qyarie@redpineexp.com Mia Boiridy Investor Relations (416) 364-7024 mboiridy@redpineexp.com VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA -- (Marketwired) -- 02/07/17 -- Para Resources Inc. (the "Company" or "Para") (TSX VENTURE: PBR)(WKN: A14YF1)(OTC PINK: PRSRF) announces that the second ball mill (BM2) at El Limon which was installed in late December is now operational. The delay in starting operations was due to manufacturer defects in the ball mill transmission. Once the issues were identified, the transmission was sent to Medellin for analysis and repair. The transmission was re-installed on February 2nd and has now been tested. Process operations on BM 2 commenced on February 6th. Plant through-put is expected to increase to 165 tons per day ("TPD") of a combination of rock mined from El Limon and historical tailings. Processing of mineralized rock sourced from local artisanal miners and from the OTU properties acquired by Para in July 2016, is expected to commence in March 2017. Production in November from Ball Mill 1 (BM1) was 116 ounces from 1,146 tons of through-put for an average of 38 TPD. In December BM1 achieved 1,480 tons of through put for an average of 49 TPD, a 29% month over month increase. Gold production in December was 185 ounces, a 59.5% increase from the previous month. Production through put for BM 1 during January was 41.2 TPD yielding 159.5 ounces of gold. In February, BM2 is expected to achieve average through-put of 135 TPD to bring total production from both mills to 175 TPD. The combined production from BM 1 and 2 is expected to increase to 200 TPD with gold production climbing to 1,200 ounces per month by mid-2017. Ian Harris, the Company's President states, "We are pleased to have the second ball mill operational at El Limon. We have had a few set backs with equipment issues but we now have the installed capacity to produce 200 TPD. We are advancing with the formalization of the small artisanal mines on the OTU Property we acquired last year and expect that process to be completed in Q2 of 2017. The formalization of the mining permits will provide El Limon with additional high grade feed material which we expect will increase the average overall head grade. In the meantime, we are processing a combination of feed material extracted from the El Limon mine (approximately 50 TPD) and processing of the El Limon historical tailings." ABOUT EL LIMON The El Limon property is located in the northwest part of Colombia near the town of Zaragoza, Antioquia, Colombia and is accessible via both paved highways and gravel roads. The mine is situated in the wide Zaragoza Gold District which extends from El Bagre to Remedios and based on the historical alluvium mining and the number of primary underground gold mines, is considered to be one of the most prolific gold zones in Colombia. The El Limon claims cover a total area of approximately 21,000 hectares, including 129.6 hectares in RPP No. 12011 and 191.1 hectares in the concession contract No. 620 which is located west of the currently exploited zone. Typical production grades of the region range from 8-12 g/t Au diluted. However, higher grade mines do exist, such as Quintana and El Limon mines at 8-29 g/t Au diluted. Vein widths are typically below 1 m although both the hanging wall and the footwall zones can contain appreciable economic mineralization within the high-grade cores. The El Limon mine is currently operating underground on Levels 6 and 7 where the diluted head grade continues to be high at approximately 8+ gpt Au. The vein system is open at depth but constrained at both ends by faults. Management believes the El Limon property offers multiple exploration targets that could significantly increase the life of the mine. It is management's intention to utilize some of the cash generated from mining, to drill the property to expand the number of targeted areas for mining. Mr. Paulo J. Andrade, a Member of the Australian Institute of Geoscientists (MAIG #6136), Senior Geologist, VP and Country Manager for Para Resources, Inc., a CP/QP under NI-43-101, has reviewed and approved the scientific and technical information in this press release. ABOUT PARA RESOURCES: Para Resources is a junior producing gold mining and toll milling company. Para owns approximately 75% of the El Limon project, in Colombia, which in addition to its current underground operation has toll milling opportunities, and exploration and development upside. In addition, the Company has applied for the necessary permits to commence trial mining operations at its Angelim prospect on the Tucuma Project in Para State, Brazil. Para Resources will continue to take advantage of current market conditions to acquire and develop additional highly economic, near-term production assets that have strong exploration and development upside. Management's production decisions for the El Limon Gold Project are not based on a feasibility study of mineral reserves demonstrating economic and technical viability. As a result, the project has a much higher risk of economic or technical failure and may adversely impact the Company's projected profits, if any. The risks associated with this decision are set forth in the Company's latest annual management's discussion and analysis available on the Company's website and under Para's SEDAR profile on www.sedar.com ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS C. Geoffrey Hampson, Chief Executive Officer and Director Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its regulation service provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. All statements, analysis and other information contained in this press release about anticipated future events or results constitute forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are often, but not always, identified by the use of words such as "seek", "anticipate", "believe", "plan", "estimate", "expect" and "intend" and statements that an event or result "may", "will", "should", "could" or "might" occur or be achieved and other similar expressions. Forward-looking statements are subject to business and economic risks and uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results of operations to differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are based on estimates and opinions of management at the date the statements are made. Management believes that its estimates regarding its production plan and recovery from the El Limon mine are reasonable; however there are no assurances that the production estimates will be met for factors beyond the control of management, including the impact of proposed improvements at the mine, the impact of general business and economic conditions, fluctuating metal prices, currency exchange rates, possible variations in grade or recovery rates, changes in project parameters as plans continue to be refined, the possibility of project cost overruns or unanticipated costs and expenses, higher prices for fuel, power, labour and other consumables contributing to higher costs and general risks of the mining industry, failure of plant, equipment or processes to operate as anticipated, government regulation, environmental risks and title disputes or claims. The Company does not undertake any obligation to update forward-looking statements even if circumstances or management's estimates or opinions should change except as required by applicable laws. Investors should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Contacts: Andrea Laird +1-604-259-0302 PUNE, India, February 7, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- According to a new market research report "Top 10 Telecom Technologies (MVAS, BYOD and Enterprise Mobility, Mobile Money, Mobile Learning, Contactless Payment, Indoor Location, Mass Notification System, M2M Satellite Communication, Mobile CDN and Mobile User Authentication) - Forecast to 2021", published by MarketsandMarkets, the Top 10 Telecom Technologies market is estimated to grow at a significant rate during the forecast period. (Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160303/792302 ) Browse56 market data tables and143 figures spread through 237 pages and in-depth TOC on "Top 10 Telecom Technologies - Forecast to 2021" http://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/top-10-telecom-technologies-124560058.html Early buyers will receive 10% customization on this report. Increased connectivity of handheld devices, greater significance of network and communication in the corporate environment, rising significance of eLearning in the corporate and academic setups, and technological advancements & widespread government initiatives in the growing markets are some of the driving factors of the telecom technologies market. Increased significance of employee productivity to play a key role in the Top 10 Telecom Technologies market by 2021 The BYOD and enterprise mobility has the largest market share in the telecom technologies market during the forecast period. Its market share is expected to grow as it enables employee mobility leading to higher productivity. It enables the globally dispersed employees to participate and collaborate from anywhere through mobile devices. Ask for PDF Brochure @ http://www.marketsandmarkets.com/pdfdownload.asp?id=124560058 Consumerization of IT will drive the Top 10 Telecom Technologies market The increasing significance of consumerization of IT is driving the telecom technologies market as it indirectly boosts employee productivity within, as well as outside the organization infrastructure. Real-time access to information is critical to run business operations effectively. In the last five years, there has been significant adoption of Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) in organizations, which has not only improved productivity but also increased employee satisfaction. BYOD helps employees to work from remote locations and respond to work requests and queries as they can access the enterprise network on the device. This helps in reducing process times and improving operational efficiency, thus resulting in higher satisfaction levels among employees with flexible work arrangements and the freedom to use the device of their choice. The North American region is expected to contribute the largest market share in the Top 10 Telecom Technologies market North America is expected to hold the largest market share in the Top 10 Telecom Technologies Market during the forecast period. This is because of the high connectivity of handheld devices. The increasing innovative developments and technological advancements are benefiting all the stakeholders present in the telecom technologies market ecosystem in this region. Inquiry before Buying @ http://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Enquiry_Before_Buying.asp?id=124560058 The major vendors in the telecom and mobility market are AT&T, Inc. (Texas, U.S.), Gemalto N.V. (Amsterdam, the Netherlands), and Cisco Systems Inc. (California, U.S). Browse Related Reports BYOD & Enterprise Mobility Market by Software (MDM, Mobile Content Management), Security (Device Security, Network Security, IAM), Service (Managed & Professional Services), Deployment (Cloud & On-Premise), Vertical, and Region - Global Forecast to 2021 http://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/enterprise-mobility-334.html Mobile Money Market by Transaction Mode (NFC/Smartcard, SMS, Mobile Apps), Nature of Payment (Person to Person, Person to Business, Business to Person, and Business to Business), Location, Type of Purchase, Industry & Region - Global Forecast to 2021 http://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/mobile-remittance-money-mcommerce-market-577.html Know More About our Knowledge Store @ http://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Knowledgestore.asp About MarketsandMarkets MarketsandMarkets is the largest market research firm worldwide in terms of annually published premium market research reports. Serving 1700 global fortune enterprises with more than 1200 premium studies in a year, M&M is catering to a multitude of clients across 8 different industrial verticals. We specialize in consulting assignments and business research across high growth markets, cutting edge technologies and newer applications. Our 850 fulltime analyst and SMEs at MarketsandMarkets are tracking global high growth markets following the "Growth Engagement Model - GEM". The GEM aims at proactive collaboration with the clients to identify new opportunities, identify most important customers, write "Attack, avoid and defend" strategies, identify sources of incremental revenues for both the company and its competitors. M&M's flagship competitive intelligence and market research platform, "RT" connects over 200,000 markets and entire value chains for deeper understanding of the unmet insights along with market sizing and forecasts of niche markets. The new included chapters on Methodology and Benchmarking presented with high quality analytical infographics in our reports gives complete visibility of how the numbers have been arrived and defend the accuracy of the numbers. We at MarketsandMarkets are inspired to help our clients grow by providing apt business insight with our huge market intelligence repository. Contact: Mr. Rohan MarketsandMarkets 701 Pike Street, Suite 2175, Seattle, WA 98101, United States Tel: 1-888-600-6441 Email: sales@marketsandmarkets.com Visit MarketsandMarkets Blog @ http://www.marketsandmarketsblog.com/market-reports/telecom-it Connect with us on LinkedIn @ http://www.linkedin.com/company/marketsandmarkets GRAND JUNCTION, CO -- (Marketwired) -- 02/07/17 -- Bullfrog Gold Corp (OTCQB: BFGC) ("Bullfrog" or the "Company") has completed an extensive study of comprehensive metallurgical tests and is pleased to announce results that apply directly to the remaining mineralization around the Montgomery-Shoshone (M-S) and Bullfrog open pit mines. The Company is also scanning Barrick Bullfrog Inc.'s paper drill hole files that include assay certificates and other information needed to support Canadian 43-101 compliant resource estimates and open pit expansion plans. In addition, the Company is scheduled to deliver a public presentation on the Bullfrog Project in Beatty, Nevada on March 13, 2017. The Bullfrog Gold Project is located 120 miles NW of Las Vegas, Nevada and is estimated to contain 470,000 ounces of heap leachable mineralization that averages 0.89 g of gold/tonne within a preliminary pit outline. Metallurgical Test Results In 1985 St. Joe Minerals crushed to -3/4 inch a 22-ton composite sample of M-S ore that graded 0.034 opt (1.17 g/tonne) and recovered 56% of the gold after 59 days of column leaching. A second column test recovered 49% after 59 days of leaching, using minus 12 inch Run-of-Mine (ROM) ore grading 0.037 opt (1.26 g/t). Projected 90-day recoveries were 61% and 54% respectively. These columns were 24 feet high and 5.5 feet in diameter and contained representative mineralization remaining in the M-S deposit. St. Joe reported that the ROM sample had 43% of its weight in the minus 1.5 inch fraction, which was higher grade and yielded higher recovery than the coarser fractions. As significant higher grade fines were reported as lost during multiple handling of the samples and because the leach period should have been more than 90 days, St. Joe's recoveries are deemed conservative. In 1994, Kappes Cassiday, a metallurgical lab in Reno, Nevada, performed column leach tests on low grade ore from the Bullfrog pit. These columns were five feet high, 6 inches in diameter and charged with 45 kg of representative samples. A bottle roll test was also performed on a split of this bulk sample. Bottle Column Column Crush Size, mesh & inch -100m -1.5" -3/8" Calc. Gold Head, opt .029 .035 .029 g/t 0.99 1.20 0.99 Gold Recovery, % 96.6 71.4 75.9 Leach time, days 2 41 41 Cyanide, #/t .10 .77 1.07 Lime, #/t 2.0 .31 .35 In 1995, Barrick performed pilot heap leach tests on 844 tons of low grade material from the Bullfrog pit and 805 tons of higher grade from the M-S pit. Both samples were crushed to -1/2 inch and had the following results: BF Low Grade * M-S Ore ** Calc. Gold Head, opt .019 .048 g/t 0.65 1.65 Projected Au Rec., % 67 74 Leach time, days 41 37 NaCn, #/t .20 .25 Lime, #/t nil nil * This composite is deemed representative of the remaining mineralization in the Bullfrog deposit. ** Most of this higher grade represented by this composite was subsequently milled by Barrick. These large pilot tests are deemed the most representative for determining cyanide and lime consumptions, which were remarkably low. In this regard, Barrick reported that the alkalinity in the cyanide additions were sufficient to maintain an acceptable pH with nil lime additions. Notwithstanding, Barrick makes no representation concerning the accuracy or use of their information by the Company. In summary, the M-S and Bullfrog deposits are amenable to heap leaching and can support a mine cutoff grade of 0.2 g/t for leaching at coarse ROM sizes. The mineralization percolates well, and cyanide and lime consumptions are each projected at less than 0.3 pounds per ton. As the leach times in all column and pilot tests were too short, longer term recoveries are anticipated to be higher. Drill Data Base The Company is in process of scanning Barrick's paper drill hole files to obtain copies of assay certificates and update the electronic drill hole data base. In a few weeks, the Company should have all assay and survey data on 1,311 drill holes that contain more than 157 miles of drilling. This complete data base will then be vetted by an independent engineering firm and resources will be estimated in compliance with Canadian 43-101 policies. Pit plans will also be further optimized using computer programs rather than the Company's manual cross section estimation and pit planning methods. Public Meeting The Company's President & CEO is scheduled to deliver a public presentation in Beatty, Nevada to the Beatty Town Advisory Board on March 13, 2017 at 6:30 pm. The Company will discuss its exploration and development plans toward advancing the Bullfrog Project and looks forward to building mutually beneficial relationships with the Town and its citizens. Beatty has a population of 1,000 and is only 4 miles east of the Project. Cautionary Note Regarding Forward Looking Statements This press release may contain certain "Forward-Looking Statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the United States Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, included herein including those with respect to the objectives, plans and strategies of the Company and those preceded by or that include the words "believes," "expects," "given," "targets," "intends," "anticipates," "plans," "projects," "forecasts" or similar expressions, are forward-looking statements that involve various risks and uncertainties. We use certain terms in this valuation such as "mineralization" and "mineral inventory estimates" that are not defined in Canadian National Instrument 43-101; or recognized under the U.S. SEC Industry Guide 7. The Company is presently an exploration stage company. Exploration is highly speculative in nature, involves many risks, requires substantial expenditures and may not result in the discovery of sufficient mineral deposits that can be mined profitably. Furthermore, the Company currently has no resources or reserves on any of its properties. As a result, there can be no assurance that such forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate, and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Additional information regarding important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the Company's expectations is disclosed in the Company's documents filed from time to time with the United States Securities & Exchange Commission. Contact Information: David Beling, PE, President, CEO & Director (970) 628-1670 HASSELT, BELGIUM and SAN LEANDRO, CA -- (Marketwired) -- 02/07/17 -- OSIsoft, a leader in operational intelligence, and TrendMiner, the frontrunner in predictive analytics for the process industry, announced the companies have signed an Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) agreement. TrendMiner is a long-term technology partner of OSIsoft. The combination of the companies' technologies provide industrial and process customers with a comprehensive solution that maximizes the value of their process data and accelerates digital transformation for Industry 4.0 initiatives. The recent OEM agreement positions TrendMiner as an integral part of the OSIsoft ecosystem, strengthening the existing partnership and increasing alignment in product development. "Our customers ask for excellent self-service analytics software to help them improve process and asset performance. Meeting this need requires much more than just a historian -- it needs a powerful infrastructure. That's why we work closely with OSIsoft," said Bert Baeck, CEO and Founder of TrendMiner. "OSIsoft's superior technology enables us to develop great software that helps our customers optimize their profitability. An extra factor for tightening our relationship with OSIsoft is their effective ecosystem that benefits both us and our customers." TrendMiner is based on a high-performance analytics engine for data captured in time series. The software empowers process engineers and operators to analyze, monitor and predict process performance through an effective self-service data analytics solution. This approach removes common barriers to achieving the benefits offered by predictive analytics. TrendMiner software presents the process data in an easy-to-use graphical format through an intuitive web-based client. Pattern recognition and machine learning technologies allow users to question the data directly using Google-like searches to quickly identify process trends and search for similar behavior in the past. By searching on time-series data sequences captured and stored by the PI System, users can pinpoint patterns that indicate potential problems or fine-tune their "golden fingerprint" for optimal production processes. Today more than half of the top 10 largest chemical companies use TrendMiner software to optimize their production processes and enhance profitability. The PI System is one of the world's most widely-used technologies for the Industrial Internet of Things. The PI System captures data from sensors, manufacturing equipment and other devices and transforms it into rich, real-time insights that engineers, executives and partners can use to reduce costs, dramatically improve overall productivity or create new connected services and smart devices. Some of the world's largest organizations, including over 1,000 leading utilities, 95 percent of the largest oil and gas companies and more than 65 percent of the Fortune 500 industrial companies, rely on the high-fidelity insights from the PI System to manage their businesses. Worldwide, over 1.5 billion sensors serve data to PI System. "Process data is a valuable, but often underutilized, asset. The passion to innovate using the PI System and deliver customer centric solutions from our partner community is truly remarkable," said Aaron Pratt, Director of Global Channels at OSIsoft. "Together, TrendMiner and OSIsoft can help companies transform their operations and product lines for a new era." About TrendMiner Analyze, monitor and predict TrendMiner delivers self-service data analytics to optimize process performance in industries such as chemical, petrochemical, oil & gas, pharmaceutical, metals & mining and process manufacturing. TrendMiner software is based on a high-performance analytics engine for data captured in time series that allows users to question the data directly without help from a data scientist. The plug and play software adds value immediately after deployment, eliminating the need for infrastructure investment and long implementation projects. TrendMiner, founded in 2008, is a software company with global headquarters in Hasselt, Belgium, and offices in the Netherlands, Germany, Spain and the U.S. To learn more about TrendMiner, please visit www.trendminer.com About OSIsoft, LLC OSIsoft is dedicated to helping people transform their world through data. Our PI System captures operational data from sensors, manufacturing equipment and other devices and turns it into rich, real-time insights to reduce costs, optimize production or make critical business decisions. The PI System can be found at work at offshore wind farms, oil refineries, mining sites, pharmaceutical facilities and control rooms around the world. More than 1.5 billion sensor-based data streams are managed by the PI System. Founded in 1980, OSIsoft has over 1,200 employees and is headquartered in San Leandro, California. For more, please visit www.osisoft.com Media Contacts TrendMiner: Dawn Fontaine Ripple Effect Communications Email Contact 508-353-3777 OSIsoft, LLC Michael Kanellos Email Contact (510) 877-9331 LONGUEUIL, QUEBEC -- (Marketwired) -- 02/07/17 -- Heroux-Devtek Inc. (TSX: HRX), ("Heroux-Devtek" or the "Corporation"), a leading international manufacturer of aerospace products, today reported its results for the third quarter of fiscal 2017 ended December 31, 2016. Unless otherwise indicated, all amounts are in Canadian dollars. "Our ability to ramp-up production and deliveries of complete landing gear systems for the Boeing 777 aircraft was a key factor in Heroux-Devtek's third-quarter sales increase. We are also very pleased to have obtained customer approval for one of the three main surface treatment processes at our Strongsville, Ohio facility which will allow us to perform this key value-added activity internally. As anticipated, certain excess costs pending the completion of the approval phase and normal costs related to the production ramp-up had a negative impact on profitability," said Gilles Labbe, President and CEO of Heroux-Devtek. "During the quarter, Heroux-Devtek was awarded three contracts that highlight its status as one of the world's leading landing gear designers and manufacturers. These contracts on important programs such as the Embraer KC-390 multi-mission transport aircraft, the BAE Systems Hawk advanced jet trainer and the Saab Gripen E fighter are a testament of our solid relationships with leading original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) as well as our global reach," added Mr. Labbe. However, as some OEMs have announced reductions to their production rates for certain aircraft programs, including the Boeing 777, Heroux-Devtek will have to adjust its workforce by approximately 90 employees by the end of calendar 2017 throughout its offices and plants. The Corporation expects a related non-recurring charge of approximately $4.8 million to be accounted for, mainly in the last quarter of fiscal 2017. "In response to evolving market conditions, Heroux-Devtek is acting diligently by adjusting its workforce, while remaining in close contact with its customers to monitor the situation. We regret the consequences of this decision on affected employees and their families and we will take equitable measures to provide them with all the support they deserve," said Mr. Labbe. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS Quarters ended Dec. 31, Nine months ended Dec. 31, (in thousands of dollars, except per share data) 2016 2015 2016 2015 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sales 98,489 96,561 285,650 289,316 EBITDA(1) 13,851 15,666 45,573 41,877 Adjusted EBITDA(1) 13,851 15,666 42,267 43,357 Net income 8,175 7,010 22,873 17,550 Per share - diluted ($) 0.23 0.19 0.63 0.49 Adjusted net income(1) 6,015 7,010 17,276 18,559 Per share ($) 0.17 0.19 0.48 0.52 Weighted-average shares outstanding (diluted, in '000s) 36,327 36,168 36,294 36,099 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- (1) This is a non-IFRS measure. Please refer to the "Non-IFRS Measures" section at the end of this press release. THIRD QUARTER RESULTS Consolidated sales reached $98.5 million, compared with $96.6 million in the third quarter of fiscal 2016. This increase reflects higher sales to the defence aerospace markets, as detailed below, while year-over-year fluctuations in the value of the Canadian currency versus foreign currencies had a positive impact of $1.7 million on third-quarter sales. Commercial sales were $50.7 million, versus $50.8 million last year. This stability reflects the ongoing production ramp-up related to the long-term agreement to supply The Boeing Company ("Boeing") with complete landing gear systems for the Boeing 777 and 777X aircraft, as well as favourable currency fluctuations, offset by lower customer requirements for certain business jet and large commercial aircraft programs. Defence sales rose from $45.8 million to $47.7 million. This increase is essentially attributable to higher new and spare part requirements from civil customers, notably for the F-35 program, as well as favourable currency fluctuations, partially offset by lower engineering sales following the completion of certain development phases. Gross profit was $15.0 million, or 15.3% of sales, versus $18.1 million, or 18.7% of sales, last year. The decrease is mainly due to a higher under-absorption of costs, including excess processing and finishing costs related to the Boeing 777 program. These costs are expected to normalize upon completion of the customer qualification and approval of Heroux-Devtek's surface treatment processes. To a lesser extent, normal learning curve costs associated with the initial production ramp-up of the Boeing 777 contract and certain costs related to completing the integration of repair and overhaul facilities in the U.K. also impacted profitability. These factors were partially offset by favourable year-over-year currency fluctuations equivalent to 2.9% of sales. EBITDA reached $13.9 million, or 14.1% of sales, compared with $15.7 million, or 16.2% of sales, a year ago as a result of lower gross profit, partially offset by a reduction in selling and administrative expenses reflecting the year-over-year variations in the currency translation of net monetary items. Net income reached $8.2 million, or $0.23 per diluted share, in the third quarter of fiscal 2017. Excluding non-recurring items net of taxes, adjusted net income was $6.0 million, or $0.17 per share, in the third quarter of fiscal 2017, versus $7.0 million, or $0.19 per share, in the third quarter of fiscal 2016. This year's adjusted net income excluded an after-tax amount of $2.2 million related to a non-cash gain resulting from the update of the estimated repayment schedule for certain government authorities loans, taking into account revised assumptions mainly related to sales forecasts made following reduced production rates announced by OEMs. NINE-MONTH RESULTS For the first nine months of fiscal 2017, consolidated sales reached $285.7 million, versus $289.3 million in the first nine months of fiscal 2016. Year-over-year fluctuations in the value of the Canadian currency versus foreign currencies increased sales by $6.8 million. Commercial sales reached $150.0 million, versus $152.2 million a year ago, while defence sales totalled $135.6 million, compared with $137.1 million last year. Gross profit for the first nine months of fiscal 2017 amounted to $47.2 million, equivalent to 16.5% of sales, compared with $52.1 million, or 18.0% of sales, in the first nine months of fiscal 2016. Adjusted EBITDA reached $42.3 million, or 14.8% of sales, versus $43.4 million, or 15.0% of sales, a year earlier. Net income was $22.9 million, or $0.63 per diluted share, in the first nine months of fiscal 2017, compared with $17.6 million, or $0.49 per diluted share, in the first nine months of fiscal 2016. Adjusted net income stood at $17.3 million, or $0.48 per share, versus $18.6 million, or $0.52 per share, last year. FINANCIAL POSITION As at December 31, 2016, Heroux-Devtek's balance sheet remained healthy with cash and cash equivalents of $18.9 million, while total long-term debt was $138.7 million, including the current portion, but excluding net deferred financing costs. Long-term debt includes $56.4 million drawn against the Corporation's authorized Credit Facility of $200.0 million. As a result of a solid free cash flow generation, the net debt position was $119.9 million as at December 31, 2016, down from $130.4 million three months earlier. The net-debt-to equity ratio stood at 0.35:1 as at December 31, 2016, versus 0.39:1 three months earlier. UPDATE ON B-777 AND B-777X CONTRACT During the third quarter of fiscal 2017, Heroux-Devtek continued the ongoing production ramp-up of complete landing gear systems for this program. It also received customer approval for one of the three main surface treatment processes required under this contract in order to produce the most critical components internally. Customer qualification and approval is progressing for the remainder of the surface treatment processes. Management expects this phase to be completed by the end of the first quarter of fiscal 2018. In the meantime, the Corporation continues to utilize its supply chain in order to meet the customer's delivery schedule, which is negatively impacting the expected margin of the first units delivered. SALES GUIDANCE Since the end of the previous quarter, aircraft OEMs have announced reduced production rates for certain programs, including the Boeing 777. As a result of these changes in assumptions related to forecasted sales, management: -- Now expects relatively stable sales in fiscal 2017, when compared to fiscal 2016; -- Forecasts a low single-digit decrease in sales for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2018, when compared to expected sales for fiscal 2017; -- Following a transition year in fiscal 2018, Heroux-Devtek expects sales to grow progressively to reach between $480 million and $520 million in fiscal 2021. Please see "Forward-Looking Statements" below and the Guidance section in the Corporation's MD&A for the quarter ended December 31, 2016, for further details regarding the material assumptions underlying the foregoing guidance. OUTLOOK In the large commercial aircraft sector, Boeing and Airbus are proceeding with production rate adjustments ahead of introducing certain more fuel efficient aircraft variants on several leading programs through calendar 2019. Their backlogs remain strong despite a reduction in new firm orders in calendar 2016 versus the previous year. In the defence aerospace market, the new U.S. administration may bring a shift in priorities, the impact of which on defence spending is uncertain at this time. The Corporation's U.K. operations provide a more geographically diversified defence portfolio, which reduces its relative exposure to the U.S. market. The balance between new component manufacturing and aftermarket products and services in the Corporation's defence portfolio and its leading program content also promote more stability. As at December 31, 2016, Heroux-Devtek's funded (firm orders) backlog stood at $424 million, versus $437 million three months earlier. "For the short-term, our priority is to finalize the customer approval process for our surface treatment activities. Given the progress accomplished to this day, we expect to finalize this important phase early in the new fiscal year. We also remain focussed on ramping up production and meeting delivery schedules for the Boeing 777 contract. As for the longer term, our integrated world-class capabilities, ability to carry out large-scale mandates, operating flexibility and solid financial position will allow Heroux-Devtek to capture additional opportunities to further expand its reach in its niche market," concluded Mr. Labbe. CONFERENCE CALL Heroux-Devtek Inc. will hold a conference call to discuss these results on Tuesday, February 7, 2017 at 10:00 AM Eastern Time. Interested parties can join the call by dialling 1-877-223-4471 (North America) or 1-647-788-4922 (overseas). The conference call can also be accessed via live webcast at Heroux-Devtek's website, www.herouxdevtek.com/investor-relations/events or www.gowebcasting.com/8299. If you are unable to call in at this time, you may access a tape recording of the meeting by calling 1-800-585-8367 and entering the passcode 51952253 on your phone. This tape recording will be available on Tuesday, February 7, 2017 as of 1:00 PM Eastern Time until 11:59 PM Eastern Time on Tuesday, February 14, 2017. PROFILE Heroux-Devtek Inc. (TSX: HRX) is an international company specializing in the design, development, manufacture and repair and overhaul of landing gear and actuation systems and components for the Aerospace market. The Corporation is the third largest landing gear company worldwide, supplying both the commercial and defence sectors of the Aerospace market with new landing gear systems and components, as well as aftermarket products and services. The Corporation also manufactures hydraulic systems, fluid filtration systems and electronic enclosures. Approximately 80% of the Corporation's sales are outside Canada, including about 55% in the United States. The Corporation's head office is located in Longueuil, Quebec with facilities in the Greater Montreal area (Longueuil, Laval and St-Hubert); Kitchener, Cambridge and Toronto, Ontario; Springfield and Strongsville, Ohio; Wichita, Kansas; Everett, Washington; and Runcorn, Nottingham and Bolton, United Kingdom. FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS Except for historical information provided herein, this press release contains information and statements of a forward-looking nature concerning the future performance of the Corporation. Forward looking statements include the guidance, forecasts and outlook provided under "Sale Guidance" and "Outlook" in this press release. These statements are based on assumptions and uncertainties as well as on management's best possible evaluation of future events. Such factors may include, without excluding other considerations, fluctuations in quarterly results, evolution in customer demand for the Corporation's products and services, the impact of price pressures exerted by competitors, and general market trends or economic changes. As a result, readers are advised that actual results may differ from expected results. Please see the Guidance section in the Corporation's MD&A for the quarter ended December 31, 2016, for further details regarding the material assumptions underlying the forecasts and guidance under "Sales Guidance" in this press release. Such forecasts and guidance are provided for the purpose of assisting the reader in understanding the Corporation's financial performance and prospects and to present management's assessment of future plans and operations, and the reader is cautioned that such statements may not be appropriate for other purposes. NON-IFRS MEASURES Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization ("EBITDA"), adjusted EBITDA, adjusted net income and adjusted earnings per share are financial measures not prescribed by International Financial Reporting Standards ("IFRS") and are not likely to be comparable to similar measures presented by other issuers. Management considers these to be useful information to assist investors in evaluating the Corporation's profitability, liquidity and ability to generate funds to finance its operations. Refer to Non-IFRS financial measures under Operating Results in the Corporation's MD&A for definitions of these measures and reconciliations to the most comparable IFRS measures. Note to readers: Complete unaudited interim condensed consolidated financial statements and Management's Discussion & Analysis are available on Heroux-Devtek's website at www.herouxdevtek.com. Contacts: From: Heroux-Devtek Inc. Gilles Labbe President and Chief Executive Officer (450) 679-3330 Contact: Heroux-Devtek Inc. Stephane Arsenault Chief Financial Officer (450) 679-3330 MaisonBrison Martin Goulet, CFA (514) 731-0000 MISSISSAUGA, ONTARIO -- (Marketwired) -- 02/07/17 -- Note to editors: There is a photo associated with this press release. Globalstar Canada Satellite Co., a wholly owned subsidiary of Globalstar Inc. (NYSE MKT: GSAT) and the leader in satellite messaging and emergency notification technologies, announced today that its SPOT family of products has set a new safety record with 274 rescues initiated in Canada in 2016. The new milestone surpasses the previous record of 196 rescues which was set in 2014. To date, an estimated one-third, or 30% of all SPOT rescues worldwide have been initiated in Canada. SPOT is a proven and essential life-saving line of communication using 100% satellite technology for messaging, tracking and emergency notification completely independent of cellular coverage. Since SPOT satellite technology was introduced in 2007, there have been 1,460 rescues in Canada and nearing 5,000 rescues worldwide. British Columbia accounts for the most SPOT rescues (41%), followed by the Yukon, Northwest Territories and Nunavut (17%), and Quebec (13%). The majority of SPOT rescue incidents in Canada involve hiking and mountain sports, boating and water sports, motor vehicle incidents and medical emergencies. Hunter Adam Noah Rescued after Snowmobile Breaks Down on the Ice Adam Noah, a hunter from Baker Lake, Nunavut, headed out on his snowmobile for a day of caribou hunting early one morning last March. By the middle of the afternoon, when he was in a remote area about 45 kilometers east of Baker Lake, his snowmobile broke down. The temperature in that area was -40 degrees Celsius. For the past two years Noah says he has owned a SPOT GPS Satellite Messenger, which he carries with him as part of his emergency gear whenever he goes hunting or fishing. "We don't only use a snowmobile when we go out hunting or fishing. We always have a sled attached which carries survival gear. It gets so cold that you can't just go hunting for the day without emergency gear." For Noah, SPOT is an important part of his emergency gear. Following the mechanical breakdown of his snowmobile on the afternoon of March 10th, Noah recognized the dangerous situation he was in with the -40 degrees Celsius conditions. He says although he has owned the SPOT for 2 years, this was the first time he used the SOS feature, and he didn't hesitate. "This was the first time I used SOS," said Noah. "But I was alone and realized my snowmobile was beyond repair. I knew I was in trouble. I clicked the SOS button on my SPOT device." A couple of hours later, Noah was rescued, fortunately without any injury. Following the ordeal, Noah says SPOT is an important part of emergency survival gear. "I recommend SPOT to everybody in Nunavut that is going out hunting or fishing". The centerpiece of the SPOT family is the award-winning SPOT Gen3 GPS Satellite Messenger, a rugged, pocket-sized and affordable device that helps users stay connected via satellite even where there is poor or no cellular signal. It provides off-the-grid messaging, emergency alerts, and extreme GPS tracking, with track check points capable of taking place as frequently as every 2 1/2 minutes. SPOT devices work virtually everywhere in the world providing users with reliable connectivity and the ability to track assets, use location-based messaging and signal for help beyond the boundaries of cellular. SPOT satellite devices are available at outdoor and retail outlets in Canada including Mountain Equipment Co-op, Sail, London Drugs, Atmosphere, at independent electronics dealers and online. For pricing and complete product information visit findmespot.ca. SPOT Rescue Infographic To view rescue information in more detail, download this infographic which breaks down incidents by region and activity. About Globalstar, Inc. Globalstar is a leading provider of mobile satellite voice and data services. Customers around the world in industries such as government, emergency management, marine, logging, oil & gas and outdoor recreation rely on Globalstar to conduct business smarter and faster, maintain peace of mind and access emergency personnel. Globalstar data solutions are ideal for various asset and personal tracking, data monitoring, SCADA and IoT applications. The Company's products include mobile and fixed satellite telephones, the innovative Sat-Fi satellite hotspot, Simplex and Duplex satellite data modems, tracking devices and flexible service packages. Note that all SPOT products described in this press release are the products of SPOT LLC, which is not affiliated in any manner with Spot Image of Toulouse, France or Spot Image Corporation of Chantilly, Virginia. For more information regarding Globalstar Canada Satellite Co., please visit Globalstar's web site at www.globalstar.ca. To view the photo associated with this press release, please visit the following link: http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/Gen3_GS.jpg Contacts: Media Contact Caroline McGrath CMM Communications (for Globalstar Canada Satellite Co.) cmcgrath@globalstar.ca 416-972-1642 OTTAWA, ONTARIO -- (Marketwired) -- 02/07/17 -- Twenty of Canada's top researchers and engineers will be honoured tonight for their longstanding commitment to making discoveries and innovations that can be found in virtually every aspect of society, from the slim batteries that power our smartphones to sensor technology that can detect easily preventable diseases. The Government of Canada is proud of their remarkable achievements in science and their ongoing contributions to society that support a strong middle class and those working hard to join it. Tonight at Rideau Hall, His Excellency the Right Honourable David Johnston, Governor General of Canada, will be joined by the Honourable Kirsty Duncan, Minister of Science, and Dr. B. Mario Pinto, President of the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), in an award ceremony celebrating 20 of the nation's top researchers. One of them is Dr. Jeff Dahn, this year's winner of the Gerhard Herzberg Canada Gold Medal for Science and Engineering, Canada's most prestigious science prize. Dr. Dahn, a Canada Research Chair in Materials for Advanced Batteries at Dalhousie University, is a pioneer of lithium-ion battery technology. The work accomplished by his lab has helped lead to longer-lasting batteries for mobile devices, power tools, grid energy storage and electric vehicles that are now part of our everyday lives. For a full list of the award winners honoured tonight, please see the attached list: http://file.marketwire.com/release/bk_eng0207.pdf Quotes "It is an honour to recognize the incredible accomplishments of these distinguished research leaders, whose groundbreaking discoveries and innovations act as a symbol of Canada's commitment to science and its scientists. The breakthroughs made by the researchers we celebrate tonight have had a tremendous impact on the world today, and their future discoveries are bound to support a stronger, vibrant middle class." - The Honourable Kirsty Duncan, Minister of Science "The researchers and their partners who we are honouring offer excellent examples of successful discovery research and innovation. Their breakthrough successes have been the result of bold, ambitious research programs backed by hard work and creativity. They are beacons to their peers and to the new generation of student researchers they are training." - Dr. B. Mario Pinto, President of NSERC "I'm honoured to receive the Herzberg Medal for work done by my research team during the last 35 years. I acknowledge the generous support of partners including NSERC, 3M Canada, Dalhousie and now Tesla, which has made our work possible. Combining fundamental and applied science has been a trademark throughout my career. I will use the Herzberg award to help perpetuate excellence in battery research at Dalhousie University long after my own retirement." - Dr. Jeff Dahn, NSERC/Tesla Canada Inc. Industrial Research Chair, Canada Research Chair in Materials for Advanced Batteries, Professor of Physics and Professor of Chemistry, Dalhousie University Quick Facts -- Today's ceremony celebrates the outstanding achievements of recipients who received six NSERC prizes totalling $3.72 million. -- Honouring the memory of Canadian Nobel laureate Gerhard Herzberg, the NSERC Herzberg Gold Medal is the agency's highest honour. It provides recipients with $1 million in discovery research funding over five years. -- NSERC-funded researchers are honoured every year for achievements that showcase the high caliber of talent and the innovative research taking place in Canadian universities and colleges. Associated Links Winner profiles and videos NSERC 2020 Strategic Plan NSERC invests over $1 billion each year in natural sciences and engineering research in Canada. Our investments deliver discoveries - valuable world-firsts in knowledge claimed by a brain trust of over 11,000 professors. Our investments enable partnerships and collaborations that connect industry with discoveries and the people behind them. Researcher-industry partnerships established by NSERC help inform R&D, solve scale-up challenges, and reduce the risks of developing high-potential technology. NSERC also provides scholarships and hands-on training experience for more than 30,000 post-secondary students and post-doctoral fellows. These young researchers will be the next generation of science and engineering leaders in Canada. Contacts: Stefanie Power Press Secretary Office of the Minister of Science 343-291-2600 Media Relations Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada 343-291-1777 ic.mediarelations-mediasrelations.ic@canada.ca Martin Leroux Senior Communications Advisor Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada 613-943-7618 media@nserc-crsng.gc.ca LUXEMBOURG, Feb 07, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Millicom announced today that it has signed an agreement for the sale of its Tigo business in Senegal to Wari Group for $129 million. Wari Group, based in Senegal, is a leading platform for digital financial services in Africa. Mauricio Ramos, CEO of Millicom said: "With the support of the people of Senegal we have been able to empower millions of customers with mobile technology, and to help promote social and financial inclusion across the country.We are grateful to all of our employees, whose drive and commitment has enabled Tigo Senegal to become such a strong and sustainable business and are confident that Wari Group will build on the current strength of Tigo Senegal." Kabirou Mbodje, CEO of Wari commented: "The acquisition of Tigo illustrates how an international group such as Wari, born in Africa, is proud to be at the forefront of driving the shift towards an ecosystem that provides social added value and tailored for Senegalese and African customers' needs. By pooling the advantages of mobile telephony offered by Tigo and the world of benefits provided by Wari, a leading platform for digital financial services, we combine the expertise, energies and ambitions of our teams and our two groups in order to offer more convenient and affordable services to users." The transaction is subject to regulatory approvals. For further information, please visit: www.millicom.com or contact Press: Vivian Kobeh, Corporate Communications Director Tel: +352-277-59084 / +44-7971-919-610 E-mail: press@millicom.com Investors: David Boyd, Interim Investor Relations Director Tel: +44 20 3249 2413 E-mail: investors@millicom.com Mauricio Pinzon, Investor Relations Manager Tel: +44 20 3249 2460 / E-mail:investors@millicom.com This information was brought to you by Cision http://news.cision.com http://news.cision.com/millicom-international-cellular/r/millicom-to-sell-its-senegal-business-to-wari,c2182266 The following files are available for download: BEIJING (dpa-AFX) - China's foreign exchange reserves declined below the $3 trillion mark for the first time since 2011 in January, figures from the People's Bank of China showed Tuesday. Reserves decreased $12.3 billion to $2.99 trillion in January despite measures taken to curb capital outflow. This decline will likely spark renewed debate over how long the PBoC can continue intervening to support the renminbi, Julian Evans-Pritchard, a China economist at Capital Economics, said. The economist assessed that the PBoC can afford to keep selling FX at the current pace for a long time. He said reserves remain sufficiently large not to warrant any immediate concerns over the sustainability of exchange rate intervention by the People's Bank, particularly given that capital outflows appear to have eased recently. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann. LONDON, February 7, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Proagrica and Dacom Farm Intelligence have announced their collaboration to bring smart farm management and unique hardware products to the agriculture market with immediate effect. This will result in a unique combination of hyper-modern farm management software linked with expertise in the agricultural sector that has spanned more than 100 years. Proagrica, which publishes Farmers Weekly and the Dutch weekly Boerderij (since 1915) among other titles, also operates Farmplan and Gatekeeper software. At the end of last year, Proagrica acquired F4F, which brings proven integration technology and data analytics platforms to the agricultural supply chain. The strategic partnership with the Dutch company Dacom Farm Intelligence will expand its capability in farm management software and data solutions outside of the UK. According to Janneke Hadders, CEO of Dacom Farm Intelligence, "Dacom has been developing innovative and pioneering technologies for the agricultural sector for over 30 years. We bring together the world of data collection and the use of that data for specific advisory purposes. Data-driven decision making is the future for agriculture, and developments in that sector are moving rapidly. The partnership between Proagrica and Dacom will enable the use of data-driven advisory services to be accelerated. This will allow us to significantly improve our advisory services and enable us to offer growers even better solutions to help farmers deliver real farm efficiency improvements." Casper Niesink, Managing Director, Software and Media at Proagrica, added "The partnership with Dacom fits perfectly with the strategy we are implementing at Proagrica. We are focussed on helping farmers deliver real on farm efficiency savings through evidence-based production, and smart technology solutions fit perfectly with this aim. We are looking forward to working with our colleagues across both businesses to ensure the agriculture industry has the tools it needs to deliver food sustainably and efficiently". Proagrica is a global division of Reed Business Information and the RELX Group, a FTSE 100 company. Proagrica provides critical decision-support to the global agriculture industry by delivering high-value insight and data, trusted workflow tools, proven integration technology and effective channels-to-market. We're proud of our market-leading brands in Europe, as well as a growing footprint in Australia, Asia Pacific, South Africa and the US. Our portfolio includes flagship media brands Farmers Weekly and Boerderij, as well as the latest in the integration and connectivity capabilities that F4F offers across the supply chain. We're known for our industry leading farm management software Farmplan and GateKeeper, but with an increasing need for actionable insight from data and analytics, we have been developing new products in this area under our Agility brand. About Dacom Farm Intelligence Dacom Farm Intelligence is an innovative high-tech company that develops and supplies data-driven advisory technologies and sensor equipment to agricultural companies and the agribusiness around the world. All available and relevant data are converted into concrete advice via smart analyses. This enables our users to gain a better insight into their company and our solutions allow them to take better decisions. The result for growers and agribusiness is maximised yield with an economical and responsible use of resources such as water, crop protection products and fertiliser. https://www.dacom.nl/ About Reed Business Information Reed Business Information provides information, analytics and data to business professionals worldwide. Our strong global products and services hold market-leading positions across a wide range of industry sectors including banking, petrochemicals and aviation where we help customers make key strategic decisions every day. RBI is part of RELX Group, a world-leading provider of information and analytics for professional customers across industries. http://www.reedbusiness.com About RELX Group RELX Group is a world"leading provider of information and analytics for professional and business customers across industries. The group serves customers in more than 180 countries and has offices in about 40 countries. It employs approximately 30,000 people of whom half are in North America. RELX PLC is a London listed holding company which owns 52.9% of RELX Group. RELX NV is an Amsterdam listed holding company which owns 47.1% of RELX Group. The shares are traded on the London, Amsterdam and New York Stock Exchanges using the following ticker symbols: London: REL; Amsterdam: REN; New York: RELX and RENX. The total market capitalisation is approximately 28.7bn/33.4bn/$35.9bn. Notes to Editors For further information please contact: Snezana Petrovic Chief Marketing Officer Proagrica snezana.petrovic@proagrica.com +44-(0)20-8652-2077 Casper Niesink Managing Director, Software and Media Proagrica c asper.niesink@proagrica.com +44-(0)7795-458706 Sarah Riley Account Director rdp sriley@rdp.co.uk +44-(0)1452-429-175 Janneke Hadders CEO Dacom janneke@dacom.nl +44-(0)31-655-745019 Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - February 7, 2017) - Evrim Resources Corp. (TSXV: EVM) ("Evrim" or the "Company") is pleased to announce it has signed an Exclusivity Agreement (the "Agreement") with a wholly-owned subsidiary of Antofagasta plc ("Antofagasta") on the Ball Creek property in British Columbia. Antofagasta will have the exclusive right to complete due diligence and negotiate a definitive agreement (the "Definitive Agreement") to acquire up to a 70% interest in the Ball Creek property by spending up to US$31 million. "Ball Creek is a large land package in the Golden Triangle that carries significant district scale exploration potential for gold rich copper porphyry targets," commented Evrim's CEO Paddy Nicol, "Our exploration work over the past two summers coupled with previous data sets demonstrate the potential for multiple discoveries at Ball Creek. We look forward to completing the definitive agreement with Antofagasta this spring and commencing exploration at Ball Creek this summer." Evrim acknowledges that Ball Creek is situated in the traditional territory of the Tahltan Nation and is committed to developing a positive and mutually beneficial relationship based on respect and transparency. Under the terms of the Agreement, Antofagasta will conduct due diligence and may provide funding for planning activities up to the signing of a Definitive Agreement, which is expected to be completed on or before April 15, 2017. Upon the execution of the Definitive Agreement, Antofagasta will take an option to acquire up to a 70% interest in Ball Creek by spending US$31 million over a thirteen year period, with a minimum commitment of US$300,000 in 2017. Upon the execution of the Definitive Agreement Antofagasta can earn an initial 51% interest ("Initial Interest") by spending US$6 million over a six year period. Once Antofagasta has earned its Initial Interest, it may elect to earn an additional 19% interest ("Additional Interest") by spending either US$25 million or completing a prefeasibility study (with expenditures capped at US$25 million), over a seven year period. If Antofagasta elects not to earn the Additional Interest, it will transfer a 1.01% interest to Evrim in exchange for a 0.25% NSR, and Evrim will regain a controlling interest in Ball Creek. Evrim will be the operator on the Ball Creek property during the Initial Interest phase. About the Ball Creek Project The Ball Creek Project is a large 524 square kilometre copper-gold porphyry and epithermal gold-silver project located in northwest British Columbia's Golden Triangle, located only eight kilometres west of Highway 37 and the 287 kV Northwest Transmission Line. The project contains four separate porphyry systems distributed across the property and in close proximity to the Triassic/Jurassic unconformity, a similar setting to major deposits including Red Chris, KSM, Spectrum/GJ, and Snip. Within the concession significant potential exists at the Mess Creek, More Creek, Rainbow, and Ball Creek porphyry systems. The Ball Creek Porphyry has received the majority of exploration, with the other porphyry systems having seen only limited drilling. Drilling by previous operators has intersected: Ball Creek Porphyry 231 metres grading 0.21% copper and 0.54 g/t gold in drill hole BC07-12, including 45.8 metres grading 0.31% copper and 0.69 g/t gold 223 metres grading 0.21% copper and 0.28 g/t gold in drill hole BC06-03, including 45 metres grading 0.35% copper and 0.52 g/t gold 139 metres grading 0.23% copper and 0.59 g/t gold in drill hole BC07-06 74 metres grading 0.21% copper and 0.51 g/t gold in drill hole BC12-54 Rainbow 91 metres grading 0.05% copper and 0.76 g/t gold, including 42.9 metres of 0.06% copper and 0.99 g/t gold The 2016 work program recognized new untested targets within the Ball Creek Porphyry and Rainbow systems defined by open drill intersections, alteration, geochemistry and geophysics. About Evrim Resources Evrim Resources is a mineral exploration company whose goal is to participate in significant exploration discoveries supported by a sustainable business model. The Company is well financed, has a diverse range of quality projects and a database in Mexico and portions of southwestern United States. The existing projects, and generation of quality exploration targets and ideas, are advanced through option and joint venture agreements with industry partners to create shareholder value. Evrim's business plan also includes royalty creation utilizing the Company's exploration expertise and existing projects. On Behalf of the Board EVRIM RESOURCES CORP. Paddy Nicol President & CEO To find out more about Evrim Resources Corp., please contact Paddy Nicol, President or Charles Funk, VP New Opportunities and Exploration at 604-248-8648, or visit www.evrimresources.com. Forward Looking Information This news release includes certain statements that may be deemed "forward looking statements". All statements in this news release, other than statements of historical facts, that address events or developments that Evrim Resources Corp. (the "Company") expects to occur, are forward looking statements. Forward looking statements are statements that are not historical facts and are generally, but not always, identified by the words "expects", "plans", "anticipates", "believes", "intends", "estimates", "projects", "potential" and similar expressions, or that events or conditions "will", "would", "may", "could" or "should" occur. Although the Company believes the expectations expressed in such forward looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results may differ materially from those in the forward looking statements. Factors that could cause the actual results to differ materially from those in forward looking statements include market prices, exploitation and exploration successes, and continued availability of capital and financing, and general economic, market or business conditions. Investors are cautioned that any such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results or developments may differ materially from those projected in the forward looking statements. Forward looking statements are based on the beliefs, estimates and opinions of the Company's management on the date the statements are made. Except as required by securities laws, the Company undertakes no obligation to update these forward looking statements in the event that management's beliefs, estimates or opinions, or other factors, should change. LONDON, February 7, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Kaap Agri, one of the largest agricultural co-operatives in South Africa, and with over 180 operating points, recently hosted their Annual Supplier Awards dinner. Kaap Agri recognises that their supplier relationships are essential to providing Kaap Agri customers with excellent products and services. F4F, part of Proagrica, were nominated and recognised in the Information Management category for developing an iPaaS (Integrated Platform as a Service) solution and facilitating data exchange with the end goal of integrating a number of Kaap Agri's internal systems. Charl Graham, Group Manager for Information Management at Kaap Agri comments, "During implementation, we have found a great partner in the F4F team, who takes time and dedicates resources to understand our business and ensure a smooth and efficient delivery. We assess our suppliers against comprehensive criteria and F4F particularly excelled in innovation, relationship management, visibility and impact." "We are delighted that the existing relationship with Kaap Agri has led to our nomination for the Award", said Jaco van Dyk, Country Manager at F4F, South Africa. "While we are continuing the project for Kaap Agri, it's great to see the team's hard work recognised in this way among a host of Kaap Agri's strategic partners. We are excited to work with Kaap Agri on further integration capabilities that will bring even better services to Kaap Agri, their 2,500 employees, and most of all to their customers," concluded Mr Leppan. Notes to Editors Proagrica is a global division of Reed Business Information and the RELX Group, a FTSE 100 company. Proagrica provides critical decision-support to the global agriculture industry by delivering high-value insight and data, trusted workflow tools, proven integration technology and effective channels-to-market. We're proud of our market-leading brands in Europe, as well as a growing footprint in Australia, Asia Pacific, South Africa and the US. Our portfolio includes flagship media brands Farmers Weekly and Boerderij, as well as the latest in the integration and connectivity capabilities that F4F offers across the supply chain. We're known for our industry leading farm management software Farmplan and GateKeeper, but with an increasing need for actionable insight from data and analytics, we have been developing new products in this area under our Agility brand. About Reed Business Information Reed Business Information provides information, analytics and data to business professionals worldwide. Our strong global products and services hold market-leading positions across a wide range of industry sectors including banking, petrochemicals and aviation where we help customers make key strategic decisions every day.RBI is part of RELX Group, a world-leading provider of information and analytics for professional customers across industries. http://www.reedbusiness.com About RELX Group RELX Group is a world"leading provider of information and analytics for professional and business customers across industries. The group serves customers in more than 180 countries and has offices in about 40 countries. It employs approximately 30,000 people of whom half are in North America. RELX PLC is a London listed holding company which owns 52.9% of RELX Group. RELX NV is an Amsterdam listed holding company which owns 47.1% of RELX Group. The shares are traded on the London, Amsterdam and New York Stock Exchanges using the following ticker symbols: London: REL; Amsterdam: REN; New York: RELX and RENX. The total market capitalisation is approximately 28.7bn/33.4bn/$35.9bn. For further information please contact: Snezana Petrovic Chief Marketing Officer Proagrica snezana.petrovic@proagrica.com +44(0)208-652-2077 Sarah Riley Account Director rdp sriley@rdp.co.uk +44(0)1452-429-175 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. TORONTO, ONTARIO -- (Marketwired) -- 02/07/17 -- The Canadian Bankers Association (CBA) today released the results of its latest research, How Canadians Bank, which shows that Canadians are embracing new banking and payment technologies and that a large majority of Canadians (90 per cent) recognize the value they get from banking innovation. The research, commissioned by the CBA and conducted by Abacus Data, also reveals that 17 per cent bank primarily on a mobile device, up significantly from nine per cent two years ago. This is a sharp change from 14 years ago when 40 per cent said they banked mainly at an ABM, 30 per cent banked in branches and only 16 per cent did most of their banking online. Respondents credit banks for taking steps to provide secure, fast and convenient banking and payments solutions. "Banks in Canada have long been leaders in the development of new technologies and innovations that make banking and payments fast, simple and convenient for customers, while maintaining customer trust and confidence in the safety and security of these transactions," said Terry Campbell, president of the Canadian Bankers Association. "Canadians of all age groups are not only increasingly using online and mobile banking and payments, they are telling us they anticipate doing more and more in the coming years. The fact that 44 per cent of Canadians used mobile banking in 2016 is evidence of this progress." Digital banking and payments grow rapidly -- Nearly three quarters (72 per cent) of Canadians now use online and mobile banking as their primary means of banking, up from 52 per cent in 2012. -- 44 per cent of Canadians report having used mobile banking in the last year, up from 31 per cent in 2014. -- Nearly two-thirds (63 per cent) have used an email money transfer to send or receive money, including 40 per cent of those over the age of 55. -- In 2016, nine per cent of Canadians said that taking a picture on their mobile device was their primary means of depositing a cheque, compared to only one per cent in 2014. Looking ahead More Canadians than ever expect to be using mobile banking and payments in the coming years; a trend the 35 and under demographic are leading, but that Canadians 55 and older are contributing to in steady numbers. -- 38 per cent say their use of mobile banking increased in 2016 and 52 per cent say they are likely to conduct more of their banking using a mobile phone over the next two to three years -- 40 per cent of Canadians believe they will be making a purchase using a mobile phone in the next two to three years. -- Notably, Canadians believe that the introduction of new banking technology will change how they pay for everyday items. When asked, 26 per cent said they don't think they will be carrying cash in 10 years, and 59 per cent don't anticipate using cheques. Canadians overwhelmingly credit banks for leadership on banking technologies -- 90 per cent agree that Canada's banks have been doing a good job of bringing forward innovations in banking. -- 95 per cent of bank customers say that banking has become a lot easier and more convenient over the years. -- 91 per cent believe their banks have earned their trust over the years when it comes to ensuring banking technologies are safe and secure. "It's clear that Canadians are excited about, and fully willing to take advantage of the numerous banking innovations that are unravelling before our eyes," said Mr. Campbell. "This is in no small part due to the fact Canadians say they trust their banks year after year, and view them as a partner they can rely on." More of the key findings from the 2017 How Canadians Bank research can be found at:http://www.cba.ca/Assets/CBA/Files/Article%20Category/PDF/info-howCanadiansBank-poll-2016-en.pdf Survey methodology The survey was commissioned by the Canadian Bankers Association and conducted by Abacus Data. The findings are based on a phone-online hybrid survey of 1,262 Canadians aged 18 and over conducted from October 6 - 19, 2016. 817 interviews were conducted by telephone while 445 were conducted online. Results are valid within +/- 2.8 percentage points, 19 times out of 20. About the Canadian Bankers Association The Canadian Bankers Association works on behalf of 60 domestic banks, foreign bank subsidiaries and foreign bank branches operating in Canada and their 280,000 employees. The CBA advocates for effective public policies that contribute to a sound, successful banking system that benefits Canadians and Canada's economy. The Association also promotes financial literacy to help Canadians make informed financial decisions and works with banks and law enforcement to help protect customers against financial crime and promote fraud awareness. www.cba.ca Follow the CBA on Twitter: @CdnBankers Watch videos: Youtube.com/CdnBankers Follow the CBA on LinkedIn Contacts: Andrew Perez Manager, Media Relations Canadian Bankers Association (416) 362-6093, ext. 219 Cell: (416) 587-7733 aperez@cba.ca VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA -- (Marketwired) -- 02/07/17 -- Rise Resources Inc. (CSE: UPP)(OTC PINK: RYES) ("Rise" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that it has engaged Skanderbeg Capital Advisors Inc. ("Skanderbeg") to provide Investor Relations services. The initial contract with Skanderbeg is for a one-year term with a monthly fee of $7,500. In connection with the foregoing appointment the Company announces the grant of 500,000 incentive stock options to Skanderbeg at an exercise price of $0.33 per share for a period of 3 years. Benjamin Mossman, CEO of Rise, commented, "We are very pleased to have entered into a partnership with the Skanderbeg team who have developed a great reputation for investor relations in the public markets. Rise has already started an intense effort to process the historical documents from the Idaho-Maryland Mine and looks forward to presenting the results from its studies in the near future." The Company also announces that it has closed a non-brokered private placement (the "Financing"). The Company has raised a total of $113,750 through the sale of 455,000 units (each a "Unit") at a price of $0.25 per Unit where each Unit consists of one common share (a "Share") and one common share purchase warrant (a "Warrant"). Each Warrant entitles the holder to acquire one additional Share at an exercise price of $0.40 until February 6, 2019. In connection with the Financing, the Company agreed to pay finders' fees of a total of $2,625 and issue a total of 10,500 finders' warrants (each a "Finder's Warrant") where each Finder's Warrant entitles the holder to acquire one Share a price of $0.40 until February 6, 2019. Each of the foregoing securities is subject to a statutory hold period of a minimum of six months in accordance with applicable United States and Canadian securities laws. This press release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy securities in the United States. The securities referenced herein 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 in the United States except in compliance with one or more exemptions from the registration requirements of the U.S. Securities Act and applicable state securities laws. About Rise Resources Inc. Rise is a junior mining company. The Company's principal asset is the historic past producing Idaho-Maryland Gold Mine located in California, USA, and its focus is on advanced mineral projects with demonstrated continuity and the majority of its value in precious metals. Rise also has several exploration properties in British Columbia, Canada. Rise was incorporated in Nevada, USA in 2007 and maintains its head office in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. On behalf of the Board of Directors, Benjamin Mossman, CEO and Director Rise Resources Inc. Contacts: RISE RESOURCES INC. Suite 488, 1090 West Georgia Street Vancouver, BC V6E 3V7 604.260.4577 www.risecapitalresources.com INVESTOR RELATIONS Skanderbeg Capital Advisors Inc. Mario Vetro 604.687.7130 mario@skanderbegcapital.com Forum brings together young professionals from across the nuclear energy industry Jacobs Engineering Group Inc. (NYSE:JEC) is a Gold Sponsor for the European Nuclear Young Generation Forum 2017 (ENYGF2017) to be held from June 11-16, at the Victoria Warehouse in Manchester, U.K. ENYGF brings together students and young professionals from across the nuclear energy generation industry to provide an international platform for sharing experiential knowledge and best practices. The biennial event was last held in Paris in 2015, and united more than 350 delegates from 27 countries. This year's event is being organized by the U.K. Nuclear Institute's Young Generation Network (YGN) on behalf of the European Nuclear Society. The theme for ENYGF2017 is "Innovation in Nuclear: a Rich Heritage and our Bright Future." The week-long program includes expert speakers, interactive workshops and technical tours to nuclear energy sites around the U.K., as well as extensive networking opportunities with some of the industry's leading technical experts. ENYGF2017 also provides an opportunity to showcase the U.K. nuclear energy industry's innovation and expertise. "With the significant investment programs planned for U.K. Energy, it is critical for the nuclear and infrastructure industries to remain highly focused on attracting new talent," said Jacobs Vice President Aerospace and Technology Europe Peter Lutwyche. "The European Nuclear Young Generation Forum is a great opportunity for Jacobs to meet the next generation of innovators and for young people to learn more about the future of the industry. We look forward to engaging with the delegates, sharing insights from some of our exciting projects and contributing to the technical innovation discussions that will emerge over the week." "It is great to have an established player such as Jacobs as a sponsor of our program," said the 2016 Chair of the U.K. Nuclear Institute's Young Generation Network Alys Gardner. "ENYGF is a once-in-a-career opportunity for people to take part in a conference which showcases the innovative work that young nuclear energy professionals are involved in across the U.K. and around the world. This is our chance to shape the future of the industry. I strongly encourage young professionals to get involved, both in the ENYGF and in the numerous other events that the YGN runs each year. It is essential that we support the future leaders of our industry and provide them with the knowledge and skills required to deliver a safe and sustainable future for nuclear energy." The event also offers the opportunity for young professionals to give a presentation or present a poster on their area of expertise or special interest. The application process is accessible at www.enygf.org. Jacobs is one of the world's largest and most diverse providers of full-spectrum technical, professional and construction services for industrial, commercial and government organizations globally. The company employs over 54,000 people and operates in more than 25 countries around the world. For more information, visit www.jacobs.com. Statements made in this release that are not based on historical fact are forward-looking statements. We base these forward-looking statements on management's current estimates and expectations as well as currently available competitive, financial and economic data. Forward-looking statements, however, are inherently uncertain. There are a variety of factors that could cause business results to differ materially from our forward-looking statements. For a description of some of the factors which may occur that could cause actual results to differ from our forward-looking statements, please refer to our Form 10-K for the year ended September 30, 2016, and in particular the discussions contained under Items 1 Business, 1A Risk Factors, 3 Legal Proceedings, and 7 Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations. We do not undertake to update any forward-looking statements made herein. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170207005525/en/ Contacts: Jacobs Engineering Group Inc. Salim Rahimi, 214-583-8428 LONDON, February 7, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- James Gilbart; European Oncology & Haematology, 2016;12(Suppl 1):i-viii; http://www.touchoncology.com/articles/advancing-our-clinical-perspectives-haematology-what-your-approach (Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20151014/276718LOGO) Published recently in European Oncology & Haematology Review, the peer-reviewed journal from touchONCOLOGY, James Gilbart discusses Essential thrombocythaemia (ET) which is a rare and serious blood disorder that is associated with significant morbidity and mortality, but knowledge of the pathophysiology and best approaches to its management are evolving. It is important that myeloproliferative neoplasms are differentiated from each other as they differ in treatment approaches. It is also important to perform a bone marrow biopsy and identify the mutations causing ET since these affect prognostic factors such as thrombosis-free survival. In ET, 50-60% of patients have a mutation in the Janus kinase gene, 5-10% in the thrombopoetin receptor and 20% in the calreticulin gene. There is, however, a lack of consensus in ET regarding the optimum tests to perform and the most appropriate management approach. Signs and symptoms in ET are variable, the condition often has cutaneous manifestations such as pruritus leading to ulcers and phlebitis and such symptoms should be investigated. Cytoreductive therapies for ET include hydroxcarbamide, anagrelide and busulphan but treatment regimens vary according to patient age and must be carefully monitored and should be changed to maintain tolerability and quality of life. In women, the thrombotic risks in ET can be increased by contraception, pregnancy and menopause. In the elderly with ET, cardiovascular risk factors and cardiovascular events are serious complications that can be minimised by controlling factors such as blood pressure, blood glucose and cholesterol. Increased awareness of ET, willingness to perform diagnostic tests and prompt initiation of appropriate treatments are likely to increase detection of the condition and improve outcomes. The full peer-reviewed, open-access article is available here: http://www.touchoncology.com/articles/advancing-our-clinical-perspectives-haematology-what-your-approach Disclosure: James Gilbart is an employee of Touch Medical Media. Gunnar Birgegard has been a consultant, advisory board member or received research funding from Shire and Vifor Pharma. Selim Aractingi has been a consultant, advisory board member or received research funding from Leo, Novartis, Abbvie, Shire and Bristol Meyers Squibb. Claire Harrison has been a consultant, advisory board member or received research funding from Novartis, Shire, CTI, Baxalta, Gilead and Incyte. Jean-Jacques Kiladjian has been a consultant, advisory board member or received research funding from Novartis, Shire and AOP Orphan. Manuel Martinez-Selles has been a consultant, advisory board member or received research funding from Servier, Novartis, Pfizer and Shire. Note to the Editor touchONCOLOGY (a division of Touch Medical Media) publishesEuropean Oncology & Haematology Review, a peer-reviewed, open access, bi-annual journal specialising in the publication of balanced and comprehensive review articles written by leading authorities to address the most important and salient developments in the field of oncology and haematology. The aim of these reviews is to break down the high science from 'data-rich' primary papers and provide practical advice and opinion on how this information can help physicians in the day to day clinical setting. Practice guidelines, symposium write-ups, case reports, and original research articles are also featured to promote discussion and learning amongst physicians, clinicians, researchers and related healthcare professionals. http://www.touchONCOLOGY.com For inquires please contact: Nicola Cartridge - Managing Editor T: +44(0)207-193-3186 editor@touchmedicalmedia.com Providing practical opinion to support best practice for busy healthcare professionals. VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA -- (Marketwired) -- 02/07/17 -- Reliq Health Technologies ("Reliq") (TSX VENTURE: RHT)(OTCQB: RQHTF) is pleased to announce that it has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Invictus MD Strategies Corp. (CSE: IMH)(OTC PINK: IVITF)(FRANKFURT: 8IS) ("Invictus MD") to develop a mobile application for cannabis patients and consumers and their clinical care teams. Reliq Health, a healthcare technology company focused on developing innovative mobile health and telemedicine solutions, has developed a novel SaaS (software as a service) solution for the community health care market. The solution provides automated remote patient monitoring in the home and secure cloud-based communication, care planning and collaboration for all members of the patient's circle of care. Reliq's secure platform allows clinicians to collect comprehensive data on patients' clinical conditions, medication usage, symptoms, side effects and behaviours - creating a wealth of population health data. "Studies consistently show that providing patients with the tools they need for self-management of their health conditions produces better health outcomes and reduces healthcare costs. Cannabis is prescribed to treat a wide range of conditions including arthritis, glaucoma, side effects from chemotherapy, chronic pain, multiple sclerosis and post-traumatic stress disorder. Our cannabis app allows patients to track usage and record symptoms specific to their clinical condition, allowing patients and their care providers to determine optimum strain, dosing and mode of administration. Our platform will improve access to care by connecting patients with physicians in their community who have experience with medical marijuana, and supports physician-approved automated prescription refills through participating producers," said Dr. Lisa Crossley, CEO of Reliq. Invictus MD's Chairman and CEO, Dan Kriznic, said, "Our wholly owned subsidiary: Poda Technologies Ltd. ("Poda") is set for a launch in Q2 2017 of its Poda Pod vaporizer product which will provide an effective, reliable and convenient way to vaporize cannabis that is designed to appeal to modern retail and medical consumers." The Poda Pod vaporizer product, made with medical-grade components, has been designed to connect to users' smartphones via Bluetooth to provide real time information about dosage, product characteristics, track remaining contents, find vendors nearby, and customize their experience. Agreements are being negotiated to license the PODA products to the Access to Cannabis for Medical Purposes Regulations ("ACMPR") and licensed producers in Canada, helping those producers better reach and serve consumers with convenient, refillable devices. Mr. Kriznic added, "Invictus MD is excited and committed to working collaboratively with Reliq on this innovative mobile application to explore how Reliq's solution can support Invictus' commitment to its patients and consumers of cannabis products. Reliq's technology platform will give Invictus the ability to collect relevant anonymized consumer data such as usage trends, frequency of usage and other relevant insights to improve the overall experience for medical marijuana patients." ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD "Dr. Lisa Crossley" CEO and Director Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Cautionary Statements Regarding Forward Looking Information Certain statements in this press release constitute forward-looking statements, within the meaning of applicable securities laws. All statements that are not historical facts, including without limitation, statements regarding future estimates, plans, programs, forecasts, projections, objectives, assumptions, expectations or beliefs of future performance, are "forward-looking statements". We caution you that such "forward-looking statements" involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties that could cause actual and future events to differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements with respect to commercial operations, including technology development, anticipated revenues, projected size of market, and other information that is based on forecasts of future results, estimates of amounts not yet determinable and assumptions of management. Reliq Health Technologies Inc. (the "Company") does not intend, and does not assume any obligation, to update these forward-looking statements except as required by law. These forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties relating to, among other things, technology development and marketing activities, the Company's historical experience with technology development, uninsured risks. Actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. SOURCE: Reliq Health Technologies Inc. Contacts: CORE Capital Partners 604-566-9233 investors@ccpartnersinc.com VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA -- (Marketwired) -- 02/07/17 -- Corvus Gold Inc. ("Corvus" or the "Company") - (TSX: KOR) (OTCQX: CORVF) announces the initial results from the first five holes in the new Liberator Zone immediately east of the Company's Sierra Blanca-YellowJacket resource (Figure 1). Results continue to outline a broad zone of gold mineralization as four of the five holes returned wide mineralized intercepts. Drill Hole NB16-320 intercepted broad gold mineralization starting at a shallow depth below surface returning 108 metres @ 0.57 g/t gold including higher grade vein intercepts of 1.52 metres @ 8.3 g/t Gold & 1.52 metres @ 4.96 g/t gold (Table 1) and ending in mineralization. Figure 1. Phase 2 drill hole location map To view Figure 1, please visit the following link: http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/1085024_fig1.jpg This new zone has now been intercepted over a strike length of over 800 metres, is oriented sub-parallel to the YellowJacket Deposit, with several zones of higher grade mineralization along the trend. The current drill program at Liberator has another 3 holes pending. Table 1 Phase II Drill Results - Liberator Target (Reported drill intercepts are not true widths. At this time, there is insufficient data with respect to the shape of the mineralization to calculate its true orientation in space.) Length Silver From (m) To (m) (m)(i) Gold (g/t) (g/t) ------------------------------------------------------- NB-16-315 228.6 323.09 94.5 0.36 0.87 ------------------------------------------------------- AZ 265 dip-70 inc 249.94 256.03 6.09 1.06 0.72 ------------------------------------------------------- inc 269.75 275.84 6.09 1.14 1.43 ------------------------------------------------------- 329.18 338.33 9.15 0.15 0.51 ------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------- NB-16-316 141.73 243.84 102.1 0.44 1.15 ------------------------------------------------------- AZ 265 dip-65 inc 198.12 201.17 3.05 0.88 1.20 ------------------------------------------------------- inc 228.6 231.65 3.05 0.94 2.12 ------------------------------------------------------- Hole ended in gold mineralization ------------------------------------------------------- NB-16-319 97.54 100.58 3.05 1.56 14.17 ------------------------------------------------------- AZ 265 dip-75 106.68 117.35 10.7 0.15 1.01 ------------------------------------------------------- 132.59 164.59 32 0.25 0.79 ------------------------------------------------------- 169.16 181.36 12.2 0.13 0.58 ------------------------------------------------------- 188.98 220.98 32 0.16 0.34 ------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------- NB-16-320 76.2 184.4 108.2 0.57 0.87 ------------------------------------------------------- AZ 270 dip -50 inc 112.78 114.3 1.52 4.96 6.04 ------------------------------------------------------- inc 118.87 120.4 1.52 8.25 1.52 ------------------------------------------------------- inc 164.59 184.4 19.81 0.99 1.13 ------------------------------------------------------- Hole ended in gold mineralization ------------------------------------------------------- NB-16-321 103.63 156.97 53.34 0.34 0.76 ------------------------------------------------------- AZ 270 dip -70 inc 118.87 123.44 4.57 0.69 0.88 ------------------------------------------------------- inc 143.26 155.45 12.19 0.60 0.84 ------------------------------------------------------- (i) Mineralized thickness calculated @ 0.10 g/t Au cutoff with internal intervals calculated @ 1.0 g/t Au cutoff Jeff Pontius, President and CEO of Corvus said, "The initial results from drilling on the Liberator Zone has opened up a large new area of gold-silver mineralization at the North Bullfrog project. These results have led to a reinterpretation of numerous high and low grade intercepts immediately east of our current resource, now defining a sizable new structural zone stretching for over 800 metres in length. We believe that this new zone holds potential for another high-grade body like that at YellowJacket and its proximity to the current designed pit could make it an important resource expansion target. We believe the ongoing drill program is progressing toward its goal of expanding the existing resource and testing other new gold discoveries on this new Nevada, district scale, gold deposit." Liberator Zone The Liberator Zone is parallel to the YellowJacket deposit and has about the same strike length at nearly one kilometre. Although the Liberator and YellowJacket structural zones are parallel they dip in opposite directions with the YellowJacket dipping to the west and the Liberator dipping to the east, which led to the Liberator not being effectively tested in the past during the east directed YellowJacket drilling programs. The new Liberator discovery like the YellowJacket has returned drill intersections of shallow, higher grade gold mineralization (NB-15-267, 11m @ 3.5 g/t Au, NR15-14, Oct. 15, 2015; NB-13-350, 6m @ 2.4 g/t Au, NR13-25, Oct. 10, 2013; NB-12-126, 5.7m @ 6 g/t Au, NR12-10, Mar. 22, 2012; NB-10-63, 14m @ 6 g/t Au, NR11-03, Feb. 1, 2011). In addition, the Liberator also hosts broad zones of lower grade mineralization highlighting the extensive fluid flow of gold and silver rich solutions in this large structural zone (NB-16-320, 108m @ 0.57 g/t Au; NB-16-303, 154m @ 0.54 g/t Au, NR16-11, Aug. 2, 2016; NB-15-267, 210m @ 0.47 g/t Au, NR15-14, Oct. 15, 2016; low grade halo around high-grade zone). The holes reported in this news release are infill holes that have added continuity to the overall Liberator mineralized zone and importantly have now defined its northern extension (NB-16-315 6.1m @ 1.06 g/t Au and 6.1m @ 1.14 g/t Au) below the intercept in hole NB-16-300 with 18m @ 1.8 g/t Au. These results from the northern Swale Zone now shows a direct connection to the main east dipping Liberator zone to the south. This work also highlights a 250 metre section of the structure that is essentially untested down to the Rhyolite Zone, which hosts high-grade gold and silver mineralization. The higher-grade parts of the Liberator system are related to quartz stockwork and sulfidized zones at intersections with northeast structures, forming shoots within the very broad and extensive structurally controlled low-grade system. Follow-up drilling on the zone is being planned. Deep High-Grade Target The refinement of the strike and dip of the new Liberator Zone along with deep drilling success announced late last year at YellowJacket (NB-16-314, 10.7m @ 2.41 g/t Au & 9.7 g/t Ag, NR16-14, Nov. 29, 2016) has now outlined new deep target potential for the Sierra Blanca/YellowJacket deposit. The deep targets are located where the large YellowJacket and Liberator structural zones intersect the underlying low angle, West Jolly Jane Fault at depths of 400-500 metres (Figure 2). This geologic target is analogous to the Hishikari deposit in Japan which hosts large high-grade, gold-silver deposits along major structural zones at the contact between underlying basement sediments and overlying volcanic units. Follow-up core drilling of this target is planned for the next phase of North Bullfrog exploration later this year. Figure 2. District cross-section showing deep and other target areas for future exploration. To view Figure 2, please visit the following link: http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/1085024_fig2.jpg Management Change of Position Quentin Mai, Corvus Gold's VP of Business Development is moving to the position of Director of Shareholder Services of the Company effective as of February 7, 2017. Corvus Gold will eliminate the position of VP Business Development from its corporate management structure. About the North Bullfrog Project, Nevada Corvus controls 100% of its North Bullfrog Project, which covers approximately 72 km2 in southern Nevada. The property package is made up of a number of private mineral leases of patented federal mining claims and 865 federal unpatented mining claims. The project has excellent infrastructure, being adjacent to a major highway and power corridor as well as a large water right. The North Bullfrog project includes numerous prospective gold targets at various stages of exploration with four having NI 43-101 mineral resources (Sierra Blanca, Jolly Jane, Mayflower and YellowJacket). The project contains a measured mineral resource of 3.86 Mt at an average grade of 2.55 g/t gold and 19.70 g/t silver, containing 316.5k ounces of gold and 2,445k ounces of silver, an indicated mineral resource of 1.81 Mt at an average grade of 1.53 g/t gold, and 10.20 g/t silver, containing 89.1k ounces of gold and 593.6k ounces of silver and an inferred resource of 1.48 Mt at an average grade of 0.83 g/t gold and 4.26 g/t silver, containing 39.5k ounces of gold and 202.7k ounces of silver for oxide mill processing. The mineral resource for the mill process was defined by Whittle optimization using all cost and recovery data and a breakeven cut-off grade of 0.52 g/t gold. In addition, the project contains a measured mineral resource of 0.3 Mt at an average grade of 0.25 g/t gold and 2.76 g/t silver, containing 2.4k ounces of gold and 26.6k ounces of silver, an indicated mineral resource of 22.86 Mt at an average grade of 0.30 g/t gold and 0.43 g/t silver, containing 220.5k ounces of gold and 316.1k ounces of silver and an inferred mineral resource of 176.3 Mt at an average grade of 0.19 g/t gold and 0.67 g/t silver, containing 1,077.4k ounces of gold and 3,799.2k ounces of silver for oxide, heap leach processing. The mineral resource for heap leach processing was defined by Whittle optimization using all cost and recovery data and a breakeven cut-off grade of 0.15 g/t. Qualified Person and Quality Control/Quality Assurance Jeffrey A. Pontius (CPG 11044), a qualified person as defined by National Instrument 43-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects ("NI 43-101"), has supervised the preparation of the scientific and technical information that forms the basis for this news release and has approved the disclosure herein. Mr. Pontius is not independent of Corvus, as he is the CEO & President and holds common shares and incentive stock options. Carl E. Brechtel, (Nevada PE 008744 and Registered Member 353000 of SME), a qualified person as defined by NI 43-101, has coordinated execution of the work outlined in this news release and has approved the disclosure herein. Mr. Brechtel is not independent of Corvus, as he is the COO and holds common shares and incentive stock options. The work program at North Bullfrog was designed and supervised by Mark Reischman, Corvus Gold's Nevada Exploration Manager, who is responsible for all aspects of the work, including the quality control/quality assurance program. On-site personnel at the project log and track all samples prior to sealing and shipping. Quality control is monitored by the insertion of blind certified standard reference materials and blanks into each sample shipment. All resource sample shipments are sealed and shipped to ALS Chemex in Reno, Nevada, for preparation and then on to ALS Chemex in Reno, Nevada, or Vancouver, B.C., for assaying. ALS Chemex's quality system complies with the requirements for the International Standards ISO 9001:2000 and ISO 17025:1999. Analytical accuracy and precision are monitored by the analysis of reagent blanks, reference material and replicate samples. Finally, representative blind duplicate samples are forwarded to ALS Chemex and an ISO compliant third party laboratory for additional quality control. For additional information on the North Bullfrog project, including information relating to exploration, data verification and the mineral resource estimates, see "Technical Report and Preliminary Economic Assessment for Combined Mill and Heap Leach Processing at the North Bullfrog Project, Bullfrog Mining District, NYE County, Nevada" dated June 16, 2015 as amended and restated May 18, 2016 which is available under Corvus' SEDAR profile at www.sedar.com. About Corvus Gold Inc. Corvus Gold Inc. is a North American gold exploration and development company, focused on its near-term gold-silver mining project at North Bullfrog, Nevada. In addition, the Company controls a number of royalties on other North American exploration properties representing a spectrum of gold, silver and copper projects. Corvus is committed to building shareholder value through new discoveries and the expansion of those discoveries to maximize share price leverage in a recovering gold and silver market. On behalf of Corvus Gold Inc. Jeffrey A. Pontius, Chief Executive Officer Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains forward-looking statements and forward-looking information (collectively, "forward-looking statements") within the meaning of applicable Canadian and US securities legislation. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, included herein including, without limitation, statements regarding the potential for new deposits and expected increases in a systems potential; anticipated content, commencement and cost of exploration programs, anticipated exploration program results, the discovery and delineation of mineral deposits/resources/reserves, the potential to develop multiple YellowJacket style high-grade zones, the Company's belief that the parameters used in the Whittle pit optimization process are realistic and reasonable, the potential to discover additional high grade veins or additional deposits, the potential to expand the existing estimated resource at the North Bullfrog project, the potential for any mining or production at North Bullfrog, are forward-looking statements. Information concerning mineral resource estimates may be deemed to be forward-looking statements in that it reflects a prediction of the mineralization that would be encountered if a mineral deposit were developed and mined. Although the Company believes that such statements are reasonable, it can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. Forward-looking statements are typically identified by words such as: believe, expect, anticipate, intend, estimate, postulate and similar expressions, or are those, which, by their nature, refer to future events. The Company cautions investors that any forward-looking statements by the Company are not guarantees of future results or performance, and that actual results may differ materially from those in forward looking statements as a result of various factors, including, but not limited to, variations in the nature, quality and quantity of any mineral deposits that may be located, variations in the market price of any mineral products the Company may produce or plan to produce, the Company's inability to obtain any necessary permits, consents or authorizations required for its activities, the Company's inability to produce minerals from its properties successfully or profitably, to continue its projected growth, to raise the necessary capital or to be fully able to implement its business strategies, and other risks and uncertainties disclosed in the Company's 2014 Annual Information Form and latest interim Management Discussion and Analysis filed with certain securities commissions in Canada and the Company's most recent filings with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC"). All of the Company's Canadian public disclosure filings in Canada may be accessed via www.sedar.com and filings with the SEC may be accessed via www.sec.gov and readers are urged to review these materials, including the technical reports filed with respect to the Company's mineral properties. Cautionary Note Regarding References to Resources and Reserves National Instrument 43 101 - Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects ("NI 43-101") is a rule developed by the Canadian Securities Administrators which establishes standards for all public disclosure an issuer makes of scientific and technical information concerning mineral projects. Unless otherwise indicated, all resource estimates contained in or incorporated by reference in this press release have been prepared in accordance with NI 43-101 and the guidelines set out in the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum (the "CIM") Standards on Mineral Resource and Mineral Reserves, adopted by the CIM Council on November 14, 2004 (the "CIM Standards") as they may be amended from time to time by the CIM. United States investors are cautioned that the requirements and terminology of NI 43-101 and the CIM Standards differ significantly from the requirements and terminology of the SEC set forth in the SEC's Industry Guide 7 ("SEC Industry Guide 7"). Accordingly, the Company's disclosures regarding mineralization may not be comparable to similar information disclosed by companies subject to SEC Industry Guide 7. Without limiting the foregoing, while the terms "mineral resources", "inferred mineral resources", "indicated mineral resources" and "measured mineral resources" are recognized and required by NI 43-101 and the CIM Standards, they are not recognized by the SEC and are not permitted to be used in documents filed with the SEC by companies subject to SEC Industry Guide 7. Mineral resources which are not mineral reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability, and US investors are cautioned not to assume that all or any part of a mineral resource will ever be converted into reserves. Further, inferred resources have a great amount of uncertainty as to their existence and as to whether they can be mined legally or economically. It cannot be assumed that all or any part of the inferred resources will ever be upgraded to a higher resource category. Under Canadian rules, estimates of inferred mineral resources may not form the basis of a feasibility study or prefeasibility study, except in rare cases. The SEC normally only permits issuers to report mineralization that does not constitute SEC Industry Guide 7 compliant "reserves" as in-place tonnage and grade without reference to unit amounts. The term "contained ounces" is not permitted under the rules of SEC Industry Guide 7. In addition, the NI 43-101 and CIM Standards definition of a "reserve" differs from the definition in SEC Industry Guide 7. In SEC Industry Guide 7, a mineral reserve is defined as a part of a mineral deposit which could be economically and legally extracted or produced at the time the mineral reserve determination is made, and a "final" or "bankable" feasibility study is required to report reserves, the three-year historical price is used in any reserve or cash flow analysis of designated reserves and the primary environmental analysis or report must be filed with the appropriate governmental authority. U.S. investors are urged to consider closely the disclosure in our latest reports and registration statements filed with the SEC. You can review and obtain copies of these filings at http://www.sec.gov/edgar.shtml. U.S. Investors are cautioned not to assume that any defined resource will ever be converted into SEC Industry Guide 7 compliant reserves. This press release is not, and is not to be construed in any way as, an offer to buy or sell securities in the United States. Contacts: Ryan Ko Investor Relations Email: info@corvusgold.com Phone: 1-844-638-3246 (toll free) or (604) 638-3246 TORONTO, ONTARIO -- (Marketwired) -- 02/07/17 -- BMO Financial Group released the second installment of its annual RRSP study today showing that though funding a home purchase remains a top reason to withdraw from their RRSPs (30 per cent), Canadians continue to dip into their retirement savings for living expenses (21 per cent) and debt repayment (18 per cent). According to the study, Canadians have withdrawn an average of $17,213 from their RRSPs this year, an increase of $1,305 from last year ($15,908) and 38 per cent of Canadians have withdrawn money from their Registered Retirement Savings Plan (RRSP) before age 71, an increase of 4 per cent from last year (34 per cent). "It's concerning to see that so many Canadians are dipping into their RRSPs to meet short-term needs, which should only be considered as a last resort" says Chris Buttigieg, Director, Wealth Planning Publications, BMO Wealth Management. "Before withdrawing from an RRSP, speak to a financial professional to make sure you have fully considered the ramifications of the early withdrawal tax consequences, and to consider any additional options that may be available to you." Reasons for Withdrawal Top reasons why Canadians are withdrawing from their RRSPs include: -- Purchasing a home (30 per cent) -- To help pay off living expenses (21 per cent) -- To pay off debt (18 per cent) -- For emergencies (18 per cent) Regional Breakdown ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Average amount % of Canadians Canadians have who have made an withdrawn from Top reason for making an Region RRSP withdrawal RRSPs RRSP withdrawal ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- National 38 $17,213 To buy a home (30 per cent) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Atlantic To make a large purchase, other than a home (22 per 48 $25,485 cent) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Quebec 39 $17,231 To buy a home (23 per cent) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ontario 35 $16,593 To buy a home (31 per cent) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Prairies To pay off debt (27 per 33 $10,546 cent) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Alberta 41 $12,524 To buy a home (38 per cent) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- B.C. 44 $21,538 To buy a home (38 per cent) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Despite three quarters (75 per cent) being very concerned over the consequences of taking money from their RRSP and 73 per cent saying they are familiar with the tax penalties or rules for repayment (in the case of a homebuyers withdrawal) when withdrawing from their RRSP before age 71, one in five do not expect to ever pay it back (19 per cent). "Investing in a TFSA or putting funds in a high interest savings account to keep funds liquid and accessible is a good alternative to dipping into your RRSPs prematurely for non-retirement expenses. These short-term savings could be viewed as an emergency fund that will allow you to withdraw money for unexpected future needs without having to incur unnecessary taxes or jeopardize your retirement savings," says Mr. Buttigieg. For more information on saving for retirement, please visit www.bmo.com/retirement. For more information on investing, please visit bmo.com/investments. Get the latest BMO press releases via Twitter by following @BMOmedia. Also, get additional timely updates, related articles and insights on Twitter, Facebook and Linkedin. The BMO RRSP Survey was conducted by Pollara between December 14th and 19th 2016, with an online sample of 1 500 adult Canadians. Data has been weighted using the latest census data to be representative in terms of age, gender and region. The margin of error for a probability sample size of 1,500 is +/- 2.5% 19 times out of 20. About BMO Financial Group Established in 1817, and currently marking its 200th year of operations, BMO Financial Group is a highly diversified financial services provider based in North America. With total assets of $688 billion as of October 31, 2016, and more than 45,000 employees, BMO provides a broad range of personal and commercial banking, wealth management and investment banking products and services to more than 12 million customers and conducts business through three operating groups: Personal and Commercial Banking, Wealth Management and BMO Capital Markets. Contacts: Media contacts: Mark Beazley, Toronto 416-867-3996 mark.beazley@bmo.com Valerie Doucet, Montreal 514-877-8224 valerie.doucet@bmo.com TORONTO, ONTARIO -- (Marketwired) -- 02/07/17 -- -- BLACK IRON APPOINTS MICHAEL SPEKTOR, A HIGHLY SUCCESSFUL UKRAINE BUSINESSMAN AND THE FORMER CEO OF UKRAINE BASED VS ENERGY INTERNATIONAL LLC, AS PRESIDENT -- VS ENERGY INTERNATIONAL IS A UKRANIAN CONGLOMERATE WHICH OWNS ONE OF THE LARGEST STEEL MILLS IN UKRAINE AND UNDER MR. SPEKTOR'S LEADERSHIP BECAME ONE OF THE LARGEST DISTRIBUTORS OF ELECTRICITY IN UKRAINE Black Iron Inc. ("Black Iron" or the "Company") (TSX: BKI) is pleased to announce the appointment of Michael Spektor as President of the Company, effective immediately. Mr. Spektor is the former Chief Executive Officer of VS Energy International LLC, a Ukrainian conglomerate with holdings in electricity distribution, multiple hotels, a bank and Dniprospetsstal, which is one of Ukraine's largest steel mills. Mr. Spektor has been actively involved in the development and privatization of Ukraine's energy sector in addition to assisting the Government of Ukraine with the shaping of legislation on energy security. Mr. Spektor is also an active philanthropist who supported the creation of the Open Hearts of Ukraine foundation to assist needy children, sponsor talented youth and help people through difficult life situations. Matt Simpson, Chief Executive Officer of Black Iron, commented: "We are excited to have Michael join the Black Iron team to help accelerate development of our Shymanivske iron ore project particularly with iron ore prices on the rise. Michael brings with him a proven track record of building successful companies in Ukraine and substantial hands on experience constructing several large projects." In his capacity as President, Mr. Spektor's top priority will be to bring the Shymanivske ore body into production by obtaining all required permits from Ukraine's Government and negotiating contracts with local companies for construction and supply of services. About Black Iron Black Iron is an iron ore exploration and development company, advancing its 100% owned Shymanivske project located in Kryviy Rih, Ukraine. The Shymaniviske project contains a NI 43-101 compliant resource estimated to be 645.8 Mt Measured and Indicated mineral resources, consisting of 355.1 Mt Measured mineral resources grading 32.0% total iron and 19.5% magnetic iron, and Indicated mineral resources of 290.7 Mt grading 31.1% total iron and 17.9% magnetic iron, using a cut-off grade of 10% magnetic iron. Additionally, the Shymanivske project contains 188.3 Mt of Inferred mineral resources grading 30.1% total iron and 18.4% magnetic iron. Full mineral resource details can be found in the NI 43-101 compliant technical report dated January 24, 2014 titled "Feasibility Study of the Shymanivske Iron Ore Deposit for Black Iron Inc." under the Company's profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. The Shymanivske project is surrounded by five other operating mines, including ArcelorMittal's iron ore complex. Please visit the Company's website at www.blackiron.com for more information. The technical and scientific contents of this press release have been prepared under the supervision of and have been reviewed and approved by Matt Simpson, P.Eng, CEO of Black Iron, who is a Qualified Person as defined by NI 43-101. Forward-Looking Information This press release contains forward-looking information. Forward-looking information is based on what management believes to be reasonable assumptions, opinions and estimates of the date such statements are made based on information available to them at that time, including those factors discussed in the section entitled "Risk Factors" in the Company's annual information form for the year ended December 31, 2015 or as may be identified in the Company's public disclosure from time to time, as filed under the Company's profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. Forward-looking information may include, but is not limited to, statements with respect to the Shymanivske project, the Company's ability to obtain the requisite land rights for the Shymanivske project, the impact of the appointment and resignation of officers of the Company, and future plans for the Company's development. Generally, forward looking information can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "plans", "expects" or "does not expect", "is expected", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate", or "believes", or variations of such words and phrases or state that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will be taken", "occur" or "be achieved". Forward-looking information is subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information, including but not limited to: general business, economic, competitive, geopolitical and social uncertainties; the actual results of current exploration activities; other risks of the mining industry and the risks described in the annual information form of the Company. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that such information will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward looking information. The Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking information, except in accordance with applicable securities laws. Contacts: Matt Simpson Chief Executive Officer Black Iron Inc. +1 (416) 309-2138 DUBLIN, February 7, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- The best businesses from Ireland were honoured at an exclusive event last night at the British Ambassador's Residence in Dublin, for The European Business Awards sponsored by RSM. (Photo: http://mma.prnewswire.com/media/465553/Irish_National_Champions.jpg ) The 17 firms were chosen by a panel of independent judges, including senior businesses and academic leaders, to be 'National Champions' in Europe's largest business competition. At the event, attendees had the chance to speak to leading businesses and hear from guest speakers including the British Ambassador to Ireland, Robin Barnett CMG and, Julian Caplin of RSM Ireland. British Ambassador, Robin Barnett CMG said: "I was delighted to host this event to celebrate the success of the 17 organisations selected to represent Ireland as National Champions in the first stage of the European Business Awards. The entrants from Ireland can be a good role model to other businesses through their impressive innovation, determination and success. I have no doubt that these companies will continue to grow and help foster great business opportunities, not only with the UK and Europe, but globally." Lead sponsor RSM, is the sixth largest network of independent audit, tax and consulting firms worldwide, and has supported the European Business Awards since its inception. Julian Caplin of RSM Ireland said: "We were delighted to celebrate this huge achievement with last night's winners. As a champion of middle market businesses RSM Ireland are focused on supporting entrepreneurial companies. We understand the significance of the European Business Awards in providing these winners with a European stage to build relationships and collaborate." All the National Champions are also currently taking part in the Public Vote, which opened on 9 January at http://www.businessawardseurope.com. Category winners and the overall winner of the public vote will be announced at the Gala Final in May 2017. The European Business Awards was set up to support the development of a stronger and more successful business community throughout Europe. This year it engaged with over 33,000 businesses from 34 countries. Further information about the National Champions and the Awards can be found at http://www.businessawardseurope.com and http://www.rsm.global About the European Business Awards: The European Business Awards' primary purpose is to support the development of a stronger and more successful business community throughout Europe. For all citizens of Europe, prosperity, social and healthcare systems are reliant on businesses creating an even stronger, more innovative, successful, international and ethical business community - one that forms the beating heart of an increasingly globalised economy. The European Business Awards programme serves the European business community in three ways: It celebrates and endorses individuals' and organisations' success It provides and promotes examples of excellence for the business community to aspire to It engages with the European business community to create debate on key issues The European Business Awards is now in its 10th year. This year it engaged with over 33,000 businesses from 34 countries. Last year's public vote generated over 227,000 votes from across Europe. Sponsors and partners include RSM, ELITE and PR Newswire. http://www.businessawardseurope.com. About RSM: RSM is the sixth largest network of independent audit, tax and consulting firms, encompassing over 120 countries, 793 offices and more than 41,200 people internationally. The network's total fee income is US$4.8 billion. RSM is the lead sponsor and corporate champion of the European Business Awards promoting commercial excellence and recognition of entrepreneurial brilliance. RSM is a member of the Forum of Firms, with the shared objective to promote consistent and high quality standards of financial and auditing practices worldwide. RSM is the brand used by a network of independent accounting and advisory firms each of which practices in its own right. RSM International Limited does not itself provide any accounting and advisory services. Member firms are driven by a common vision of providing high quality professional services, both in their domestic markets and in serving the international professional service needs of their client base. http://www.rsm.global About ELITE: ELITE is a full-service programme designed to share best practice and increase growth opportunities for fast growing companies, with a focus on understanding the capital markets. ELITE is an innovative programme based on exclusive training and a tutorship model, supported by access to the business and financial community. Its aim is to prepare companies for their next stage of growth and investment. For further information on the programme, companies and the full list of partners, please go to: http://www.elite-growth.com About PR Newswire: PR Newswire is the leading global provider of PR and corporate communications tools that enable clients to distribute news and rich content. We distribute our client's content across traditional, digital and social media channels in real time with fully actionable reporting and monitoring. Combining the world's largest multi-channel, multi-cultural content distribution and optimisation network with comprehensive workflow tools and platforms, PR Newswire enables the world's enterprises to engage opportunity everywhere it exists. PR Newswire serves tens of thousands of clients from offices in Europe, Middle East, Africa, the Americas and the Asia-Pacific region. For more information on PR Newswire please visit http://www.prnewswire.co.uk AUSTIN, TX -- (Marketwired) -- 02/07/17 -- HandsOn Gloves knows how to groom its way to the top of the pet industry after receiving two highly coveted awards in an already crowded trade. HandsOn, a set of grooming and bathing gloves that pet and livestock owners use to bond and clean their animals, won awards in the grooming category at SuperZoo, a national pet tradeshow, and was named a pet industry all-star by Pet Business Magazine because of its exceptional patented design that can be used wet or dry. "We are so honored to be recognized by such esteemed leaders in the pet industry," said Jay Michaelson, CEO of HandsOn. "Launching HandsOn nationally and attending various tradeshows has really helped to grow our name." Out of 700 new pet products featured at Superzoo, HandsOn received the third place award in the pet grooming category for "Best New Product". Each year Pet Business Magazine honors standout products within the pet industry. In December, HandsOn won the 15th Annual Industry Recognition Award for dog grooming, which celebrates the best the pet care category has to offer. Tradeshow and magazine editors alike have taken heed to HandsOn's patented scrubbing nodules on the fingers and palm of the product, which provide a deep clean and are excellent for de-shedding. The nodules on the gloves also massage and increase animals' circulation while distributing natural oils for a healthy skin and coat. Additionally, hair does not stick to the gloves. With a simple flick of the wrist, hair releases immediately allowing consumers to get right back to grooming. The company will also launch new colors and sizes for the gloves in 2017 as well as extending the line with additional revolutionary products. A new junior size of the gloves will also be offered in 2017, which means HandsOn will be available in junior to extra-large sizes. "We know that children enjoy grooming and bathing their animals too, so it was important to add junior sizing," said Michaelson. "Children will have the opportunity to learn how to care and connect with animals at an early age, and that's important to the HandsOn community." For more information about HandsOn or to purchase this award-winning product please visit www.handsongloves.com. About HandsOn HandsOn Gloves takes an innovative approach to providing the highest-quality in grooming products to the world's top trainers, athletes and the everyday animal lover. Used wet or dry, HandsOn offers a unique bonding experience to a community that believes family and animals come first. The grooming gloves provide the utmost in professional excellence while allowing pet owners hands to stay clean and give their animal(s) extra tender loving care. For more information visit: www.handsongloves.com Image Available: http://www2.marketwire.com/mw/frame_mw?attachid=3105589 Image Available: http://www2.marketwire.com/mw/frame_mw?attachid=3105592 Image Available: http://www2.marketwire.com/mw/frame_mw?attachid=3105595 Kristyn Fryrear Media Contact kristyn@marketingmavenpr.com (310) 405-0351 BRUSSELS, BELGIUM -- (Marketwired) -- 02/07/17 -- Editors Note: There are two videos associated with this press release. This year marks the 20th anniversary of EQUIS - EFMD Quality Improvement System, launched two decades ago at the Deans and Directors General Conference at Schloss Gracht, now part of the ESMT Berlin. This international quality benchmark and improvement process was created to give European and, subsequently, business schools worldwide, a rigorous tool to assess, certify and improve their quality in 10 key areas, including governance, programmes, students, faculty, research and, foremost, internationalisation, ethics, responsibility and sustainability as well as corporate engagement. Since its establishment, a strong emphasis on internationalisation and corporate connections have been the differentiating points of the EQUIS business school accreditation system. Coupled with recently added ethics, responsibility and sustainability standards, they have created a solid framework for quality measurement for international business schools. In this interview, Gordon Shenton the former Quality Services Director and the founding father of EQUIS, talks about the evolution of EQUIS since the initial idea, its development and core values, and draws some perspectives for the future. EQUIS is not only a quality assessment but also a quality improvement process, very much rooted in the mission of EFMD. As David Saunders, the Dean of Smith School of Business at the Queen's University in Canada and Chairman of the EQUIS Accreditation Board, comments: "No matter how good your school is, you can always improve and that is a critical core component of EQUIS - continuous improvement." EQUIS has always aimed at building a community of mutual learning and best practice for business schools coming from different higher-education systems. Sue Cox, Dean Emerita of Lancaster University Management School in the UK and former EFMD Board member, stresses the emphasis on schools' differentiating points in the EQUIS quality framework. "EQUIS actively encourages schools to consider their unique selling proposition within the strategic planning process," she says. Over the last 20 years, EFMD has conducted over 600 peer review visits, with over a thousand outstanding experts devoting their time and knowledge to the development of the system. More than 10 deans and experts who have contributed to the development of the EQUIS accreditation system have given their voices to the value and role EQUIS has played in enhancing the quality of management education worldwide as well as the future development of the management education industry. "EQUIS is a way of celebrating excellence in diversity and I'm delighted to see how the EQUIS system and the accredited schools have evolved in these 20 years. There is no one harmonised definition of quality but there is an excellence benchmark and a striving for perfection in the continuous improvement process," adds Eric Cornuel, EFMD's Director General and CEO. It its short history, EQUIS accreditation has become widely recognised by potential students, employers, the wider business education industry and the media as the most holistic and rigorous accreditation process, often being a pre-requisite for entry to rankings. With an estimated number of 15,000 business schools worldwide, only a handful (167 institutions from 41 countries) hold the EQUIS quality label and they can say without being too boastful that they are part of "1% of leading business schools." To commemorate this landmark achievement, EFMD plans to celebrate the success of EQUIS over the course of 2017 at EFMD events across the international community. More information on EQUIS is available at www.efmd.org/equis To view the videos associated with this press release, please visit the following links: https://youtu.be/OBSBuklhSRE https://youtu.be/mpp1mciI36c Contacts: EFMD Magdalena Wanot magdalena.wanot@efmd.org +32 2 629 08 38 UK biotech company Nemaura Pharma has announced a commitment from private investors of up to 5m for the development of a hormone Biologic using its Micro-Patch solid dose delivery platform. The fast-growing company has made significant progress in the reformulation of liquid vaccines administered through the skin using its solid dose delivery system. The funding is being used to accelerate Nemaura's commercial research and development of clinical programmes to prepare the drug-device combination for market. According to global growth strategy analyst Frost Sullivan, Nemaura's drug delivery technologies have the potential to revolutionise the way drugs are delivered in the healthcare system. The company's solid dose delivery device, the Micro-Patch, was cited in the 2016 Frost Sullivan award for best practices in Enabling Technology Leadership in the Transdermal Drug Delivery Industry. The Micro-Patch works by depositing the drug under the outer layer of the skin using a metal needle which then retracts completely, minimising the risk of stick injuries. The solid dose delivery device which has been designed for safe patient self-administration, has the potential to improve control over drug release and absorption, improve stability performance, and either partially or completely eliminate the cold storage requirements for vaccines and biologics. CEO Dr Faz Chowdhury says: "Our advanced delivery technologies are designed to transform the way therapeutic drugs are administered through the skin, and this is an exciting time for the company and its collaborators. We know that conventional liquid formulations of vaccines and biologics carry stability risks, especially if they aren't stored at the correct temperature; this is costly, potentially dangerous and a major issue for developing countries. In solid-form, the drug can remain stable for several months without loss of potency. That's why we are eager to extend our Biologics and vaccines reformulation activity by working with the right partners to help us take our research forward." The maintenance of a temperature-controlled supply chain represents a major cost in the administration of vaccines and biologics overall, and its elimination would lead to significant savings. Data analysed by Pharmaceutical Commerce magazine estimates the 2017 global logistics costs of handling cold chain products in the pharmaceutical industry will be around $7.5 billion. The Frost Sullivan recognition of Nemaura's advanced technology capability comes ahead of anticipated company growth this year. The value of the global skin drug delivery market is expected to reach 33billion by 2018 and the company aims to be one of the leading pharmaceutical technologists in this market. Founded in 2005, Nemaura has patents secured or pending across multiple patent families and now employs over 25 medical device technologists and bio scientists based on the Loughborough University Science and Enterprise Park. ENDS http://logipharmaus.wbresearch.com/global-biopharma-cold-chain About Nemaura Pharma www.nemaura.co.uk Founded in 2005, Nemaura Pharma is a private specialist biotech company with headquarters and research facilities in the Advanced Technology Centre on the Loughborough University Science and Enterprise Park (LUSEP) in the United Kingdom. The company employs multi-disciplinary teams of scientists and engineers working in cutting edge innovative drug formulation and medical device technologies designed to radically improve the way drugs are administered through the skin. It has patents secured or pending in multiple countries across numerous patent families. The company has secured over 25 m (over$30m) in licensing and development payments, and private investment. In addition, Nemaura has been awarded five highly competitive British Government grants, and the Frost Sullivan 2016 Enabling Technology Leadership Award in Transdermal Drug Delivery. About Frost Sullivan www.frost.com Frost Sullivan, the Growth Partnership Company, works in collaboration with clients to leverage visionary innovation that addresses the global challenges and related growth opportunities that will make or break today's market participants. For more than 50 years, they have been delivering growth strategies for the Global 1000, emerging businesses, the public sector and the investment community. About LUSEP www.lusep.co.uk Already one of the UK's largest science and enterprise parks, Loughborough University Science and Enterprise Park (LUSEP) combines a purpose-built corporate environment with a complementary R&D base and skilled workforce supply, made possible by its location on the University campus. Nemaura Pharma is one of around 50 high-tech companies based in the Science and Enterprise Park which benefit from close proximity to the M1 motorway and international connections through Birmingham and East Midlands airports. Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements. The statements in this press release that are not historical facts may constitute forward-looking statements that are based on current expectations and are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual future results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such statements. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170207005880/en/ Contacts: Nemaura Pharma Media enquiries Louise Third +44 (0) 7773 288342 pr@nemaura.co.uk or Business Development enquiries David Scott + 44 (0)1509 222 912 bd@nemaura.co.uk DENVER, CO -- (Marketwired) -- 02/07/17 -- American Cannabis Company, Inc. (OTCQB: AMMJ) (the "Company"), a full-service business-to-business consulting solutions provider, and seller of ancillary products to the cannabis industry, today announced it has secured its sixth client in the state of Pennsylvania. The Company will work with this client to strategically plan, deploy and remotely oversee the client's retail dispensing, cultivation and infused product manufacturing operations within the city of Philadelphia. In addition to the Company's consulting engagement, the Company will also be taking an equity interest in the client's project and operations. The Company will provide end-to-end solutions for this new client, which include operational planning activities, conceptual design work, application completion, deployment of operations and ongoing remote management. The Company expects to leverage this contract to secure additional revenues through long-term consulting agreements and potential future sales of ancillary products. Terry Buffalo, CEO of American Cannabis Company, commented: "We are excited to be working with this particular client, as well as collaborating with them by taking an equity position in their business. The Company is actively exploring the development of hybrid relationships like this, that generate both consulting revenues and the opportunity for recurring profits from our equity interest. We feel that this new strategy will provide a beneficial long-term value to both our clients and our shareholders." About American Cannabis Company, Inc. American Cannabis Company, Inc. offers end-to-end solutions to existing and aspiring participants in the cannabis industry. We utilize our industry expertise to provide business planning and market assessment services, assist state licensing procurement, create business infrastructure and operational best practices. American Cannabis Company also developed and owns a portfolio of branded products including: The Satchel, Sohum Living Soils, The Cultivation Cube and The High Density Cultivation System. We also design and provide other industry specific custom product solutions. The building and development of our brands and product suite is based on our Geoponics Philosophy, "the art and science of agriculture in soil." For more information, please visit: www.americancannabisconsulting.com www.americancannabiscompanyinc.com www.sohumsoils.com www.dabwerks.com Forward Looking Statements This news release contains "forward-looking statements" which are not purely historical and may include any statements regarding beliefs, plans, expectations or intentions regarding the future. Such forward-looking statements include, among other things, the development, costs and results of new business opportunities and words such as "anticipate", "seek", intend", "believe", "estimate", "expect", "project", "plan", or similar phrases may be deemed "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Actual results could differ from those projected in any forward-looking statements due to numerous factors. Such factors include, among others, the inherent uncertainties associated with new projects, the future U.S. and global economies, the impact of competition, and the Company's reliance on existing regulations regarding the use and development of cannabis-based drugs. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this news release, and we assume no obligation to update the forward-looking statements, or to update the reasons why actual results could differ from those projected in the forward-looking statements. Although we believe that any beliefs, plans, expectations and intentions contained in this press release are reasonable, there can be no assurance that any such beliefs, plans, expectations or intentions will prove to be accurate. Investors should consult all of the information set forth herein and should also refer to the risk factors disclosure outlined in our annual report on Form 10-K for the most recent fiscal year, our quarterly reports on Form 10-Q and other periodic reports filed from time-to-time with the Securities and Exchange Commission. For more information, please visit www.sec.gov. Contact: Steven Lico Marketing Manager IR@americancannabisconsulting.com 303-974-4770 MIAMI BEACH, FL -- (Marketwired) -- 02/07/17 -- Car Charging Group, Inc. (OTC PINK: CCGI) ("CarCharging"), a leading owner, operator, and provider of electric vehicle (EV) charging services, announced today that Music City Center, Nashville's 2.1 million square foot convention center, now provides nine Blink Level 2 EV charging stations. Located at 201 Fifth Avenue South, in the heart of downtown Nashville, Tennessee, the Blink EV chargers are available to the public and operate on the Blink Network, the software that manages, monitors, and tracks the Blink EV stations and all its charging data. "We are delighted that Music City Center chose CarCharging for our Blink EV charging solutions," said Mike Calise, CarCharging's Chief Executive Officer. "With such an iconic location in downtown Nashville, the Blink charging stations here will not only serve the local community, but will also showcase EV charging and sustainability initiatives for the multitude of visiting guests." "At Music City Center, we are committed to sustainability, diversity business enterprise, community outreach, and doing all we can to ensure Nashville grows in a smart and sustainable manner," said Charles Starks, President and Chief Executive Officer of Music City Center. "Providing the Blink electric car chargers to the thousands of visitors that come to our convention center each year demonstrates our commitment to sustainability and supporting EV drivers." Blink Level 2 chargers are able to rapidly recharge electric cars, and accept payment with the Blink InCard or major credit card via the Blink mobile application, Blink Network website, or Blink customer support center. Blink's free membership offers drivers discounted charging fees on select public EV chargers on the Blink Network. Drivers can pinpoint Blink EV charging station locations and become a Blink member via the Blink mobile application or www.BlinkNetwork.com. In addition to these features, drivers can also initiate charging sessions via the Blink mobile application. About Car Charging Group, Inc. Car Charging Group, Inc. (OTC PINK: CCGI) is a leader in nationwide public electric vehicle (EV) charging services, enabling EV drivers to easily recharge at locations throughout the United States. Headquartered in Miami Beach, Florida with offices in Los Gatos, California and Phoenix, Arizona, CarCharging's business is designed to accelerate the adoption of public EV charging. CarCharging offers EV charging equipment and connectivity to the Blink Network, a cloud-based software that operates, manages, and tracks the Blink EV charging stations and all the associated data. The Company also provides residential EV charging solutions for single-family homes. CarCharging has strategic property partners across multiple business sectors including multifamily residential and commercial properties, airports, colleges, municipalities, parking garages, shopping malls, retail parking, schools, and workplaces. For more information about CarCharging, please visit www.CarCharging.com and www.BlinkNetwork.com About Music City Center The Music City Center is Nashville's convention center located in the heart of downtown. The 2.1 million square foot facility opened in 2013 and was built so that Nashville could host large, city-wide conventions in the downtown area. Forward-Looking Safe Harbor Statement: This press release contains forward-looking statements as defined within Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. By their nature, forward-looking statements and forecasts involve risks and uncertainties because they relate to events and depend on circumstances that will occur in the near future. Those statements include statements regarding the intent, belief or current expectations of Car Charging Group, Inc., and members of its management as well as the assumptions on which such statements are based. Prospective investors are cautioned that any such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties, and that actual results may differ materially from those contemplated by such forward-looking statements. The Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise forward-looking statements to reflect changed conditions. Investor Relations and Media Contacts: CarCharging Media Contact: Suzanne Tamargo Suzanne@CarCharging.com Music City Center Media Contact: Mary Brette Clippard mary.clippard@nashvillemcc.com (615) 401-1420 VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA -- (Marketwired) -- 02/07/17 -- Sabina Gold & Silver Corp. (TSX: SBB) ("Sabina" or the "Company") is pleased to announce a base budget of approximately $8.5 million for 2017. The budget will be funded from treasury of approximately $40 million as at December 31, 2016. The 2017 base budget delivers: -- completion of the environmental assessment process; -- advancement of IIBA negotiations with the Kitikmeot Inuit Association ("KIA"); -- completion of basic engineering and a project execution plan; and -- completion of a mapping, rock and till sampling and geophysical exploration field program. "The 2017 base budget focuses on maintaining optionality to advance the Back River Project towards production while preserving as much of our current treasury as possible while we continue through the environmental assessment process," said Bruce McLeod, President & CEO. "In addition, we have developed discretionary activities that are based on certain milestones achieved during the process. These expenditures will be assessed, confirmed or revised, at certain decision dates. All activities and expenditures focus on targeting first gold production at Back River in Q1, 2021." In 2017 discretionary activities could include completion of the water license review process to final hearings, commencement of detailed engineering and commencement of project financing. Depending on the timing and success of advancing the permitting process, total expenditures could range up to a total of approx. $25 million for the year. Exploration Base budget exploration work in 2017 focuses on continuing to define future high-value exploration targets and includes a modest mapping and till sampling program to be completed at the Goose, George and Boulder properties. At Goose, a number of gold anomalies along the iron formation trend northwest of Umwelt merit follow-up with infill sampling to determine their potential for future drilling. At Boulder, approximately 16 km northwest of Llama, detailed mapping and additional prospecting will be undertaken to constrain geometry and mineralization controls to further refine targets to drill ready status. At George, follow up detailed mapping would define the extent and significance of a previously identified area adjacent to the existing LCP North deposit. Additionally, several high-impact exploration targets have been prioritized for drilling. These targets are focused around the existing Goose deposits, all of which are open, with a view to impacting additional mine life from existing areas. One such high impact target is the Umwelt Vault target, where exceptionally high grade intercepts peripheral to indicated resources within planned underground infrastructure merit follow up. Other priority target areas include testing for extensions to the Llama and Echo deposits and new discovery areas in and around the Convergence trend and the Kogoyok-Echo trend. Drilling could potentially be undertaken later in the year for an additional budget of up to $5m. Sabina Gold & Silver Corp. Sabina Gold & Silver Corp. is a well-financed, emerging precious metals company with district scale, world class undeveloped assets in one of the world's newest, politically stable mining jurisdictions: Nunavut, Canada. Sabina recently released a Feasibility Study on its 100% owned Back River Gold Project which presents a project that has been designed on a fit-for purpose basis, with the potential to produce approx. 200,000 ounces a year for approx. 11 years with a rapid payback of 2.9 years. At a US$1,150 gold price and a 0.80 exchange rate, the Study delivers a potential after tax internal rate of return of approximately 24.2% with an initial CAPEX of $415 million. In addition to Back River, Sabina also owns a significant silver royalty on Glencore's Hackett River Project. The silver royalty on Hackett River's silver production is comprised of 22.5% of the first 190 million ounces produced and 12.5% of all silver produced thereafter. The Company had approximately C$40 million at December 31, 2016. Forward-Looking Information This news release contains "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable securities laws (the "forward-looking statements"), including our belief as to the extent, results and timing of and various studies relating to permitting and environmental assessment outcomes. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this news release. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements, as there can be no assurance that the future circumstances, outcomes or results anticipated in or implied by such forward-looking statements will occur or that plans, intentions or expectations upon which the forward-looking statements are based will occur. While we have based these forward-looking statements on our expectations about future events as at the date that such statements were prepared, the statements are not a guarantee that such future events will occur and are subject to risks, uncertainties, assumptions and other factors which could cause events or outcomes to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such factors and assumptions include, among others, the effects of general economic conditions, commodity prices, changing foreign exchange rates and actions by government and regulatory authorities and misjudgments in the course of preparing forward-looking statements. In addition, there are known and unknown risk factors which could cause our actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Known risk factors include risks associated with exploration and project development; the need for additional financing; the calculation of mineral resources and reserves; operational risks associated with mining and mineral processing; fluctuations in metal prices; title matters; government regulation; obtaining and renewing necessary licences and permits; environmental liability and insurance; reliance on key personnel; the potential for conflicts of interest among certain of our officers or directors; the absence of dividends; currency fluctuations; labour disputes; competition; dilution; the volatility of the our common share price and volume; future sales of shares by existing shareholders; and other risks and uncertainties, including those relating to the Back River Project and general risks associated with the mineral exploration and development industry described in our Annual Information Form, financial statements and MD&A for the fiscal period ended December 31, 2015 filed with the Canadian Securities Administrators and available at www.sedar.com. Although we have attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual actions, events or results to differ materially from those described in forward-looking statements, there may be other factors that cause actions, events or results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. We are under no obligation to update or alter any forward-looking statements except as required under applicable securities laws. This news release has been authorized by the undersigned on behalf of Sabina Gold & Silver Corp. Bruce McLeod, President & CEO Suite 375 - Two Bentall Centre 555 Burrard Street Vancouver, BC V7X 1M7 Tel 604 998-4175 Fax 604 998-1051 http://www.sabinagoldsilver.com Contacts: Nicole Hoeller Vice-President, Communications 1 888 648-4218 nhoeller@sabinagoldsilver.com VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA -- (Marketwired) -- 02/07/17 -- Black Sea Copper & Gold Corp. (TSX VENTURE: BLS)(OTCQB: BLSSF) ("Black Sea" or the "Company") is pleased to announce exploration results for its 100% owned Kalabak property in the Bulgarian Rhodope Mountains. Field mapping and sampling results at Kalabak confirmed the presence of a porphyry environment and discovered three new structural zones with mineralization and vein textures indicative of an epithermal environment and have reinforced the possibility of Ada Tepe style mineralization on the project. The Ada Tepe deposit (6.20 Mt @ 4.04 g/t Au, 2.22 g/t Ag)(1) is located approximately 10 kilometres to the south of the Kalabak property. The host stratigraphy at Ada Tepe and areas of structural complexity are preserved over an area 10 kilometres long at Kalabak and present a compelling regional target for epithermal mineralization. Geological Setting: The Kalabak license is underlain by metamorphic basement rocks of the Kesebir-Kardamos Metamorphic Dome that are unconformably overlain by sedimentary rocks of the Shavar Formation. At Kalabak the Shavar Formation typically forms units ranging from coarse conglomerates to interbedded sandstone, siltstone, marl and limestone. Tertiary intermediate to felsic intrusive rocks are intruded into and overlie both of these units. The Ada Tepe epithermal deposit is hosted proximal to detachment faults at the basal contact of the sediments with the gneissic complex. Mineralization and Alteration: Kalabak contains an open-ended quartz-sericite-pyrite alteration zone cut by structurally-controlled gold +/- base metal mineralization. This alteration zone abuts sheeted to stockwork quartz veins with centerline magnetite-pyrite-chalcopyrite, which cut secondary biotite altered quartz diorite porphyry intrusions. Quartz vein stockworks and quartz sericite pyrite alteration is consistent with a prospective porphyry target while bladed quartz after calcite textures in veins hosted in sediments with clay alteration are indicative of low-sulphidation epithermal mineralization opening up the possibility that Kalabak could host both styles of mineralization. Fall 2016 Mapping Campaign: A systematic program of field mapping and sampling was conducted on the Kalabak property to better define known surface targets and identify additional prospects. Mapping was completed at 1:20,000 (property-wide) and at 1:5000 scale over the known target area. The detailed field mapping documented lithology, alteration, mineralization, veins, structure and magnetic susceptibility. 41 samples were analyzed for 59 elements by ICP-MS and gold analysis by fire assay. The coarse rejects from the assayed samples were also analyzed for clay mineralogy by TerraSpec (Short-Wave Infrared) in order to characterize the clay alteration mineralogy within a porphyry-epithermal hydrothermal system context. This field program has furthered the Black Sea team's understanding of the existing target area and property as a whole. Mapping and prospecting discovered three narrow structural zones hosted in the Shavar formation that returned anomalous gold and/or copper-lead-zinc values (see Figure 1) consistent with Ada Tepe style epithermal mineralization. Property-wide work identified two new kilometre-scale areas containing epithermal style alteration within the 10 kilometres of prospective stratigraphy on the property. Additional field work is required to delineate these anomalous areas. To view Figure 1, please visit the following link: http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/bls0207fig1.pdf. Follow up Exploration Program: Black Sea will undertake a program of structural mapping, soil and rock sampling over the 10 kilometres of prospective host rocks and areas of regional structural complexity targeting Ada Tepe style epithermal mineralization during H1 2017. Once completed, target areas will progress through geophysics and possible trenching of mineralized structural zones before defining drill targets. A ground magnetics survey will be carried out over the porphyry target to better delineate its size before additional IP geophysics is undertaken to advance the target to the drill testing stage. Alankoy Property, Turkey: Black Sea would also like to announce it has given notice on February 1, 2017, to Eurasian Minerals Inc. for the termination of the Exploration and Option Agreement on the Alankoy copper-gold property in northwestern Turkey. The Company believes the political environment in Turkey has become increasingly unstable, making it difficult to validate further project expenditures. Black Sea will continue to focus its efforts on projects in Bulgaria, Serbia and other jurisdictions within Eastern Europe where it believes it can deliver better value to its shareholders. Qualified Person: Rory Kutluoglu, B.Sc. P.Geo., a Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101, has read and approved all technical and scientific information contained in this news release. Mr. Kutluoglu is the Company's Vice President of Exploration. About Black Sea Copper & Gold Black Sea Copper & Gold Corp. is a mineral exploration company active in the Black Sea region of Eastern Europe. The Company has over 4 years of regional experience both technically and operationally within Bulgaria, Serbia, Turkey and Romania, and has established a complement of local technical, logistical, community and corporate support. Black Sea has demonstrated its ability to identify new copper-gold porphyry and epithermal targets, and believes it has one of the most extensive proprietary geological/exploration databases for Eastern Europe in the industry. The Company is committed to building a robust portfolio of high quality copper and gold projects with the potential to become world-class mining assets. Vince Sorace, President and CEO, Black Sea Copper & Gold Corp. For further information regarding Black Sea Copper & Gold, please visit our website at www.blacksea.ca. Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. This news release contains certain statements that may be deemed "forward-looking statements". Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts and are generally, but not always, identified by the words "expects", "plans", "anticipates", "believes", "intends", "estimates", "projects", "potential" and similar expressions, or that events or conditions "will", "would", "may", "could" or "should" occur. Although Black Sea Copper & Gold believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of future performance, are subject to risks and uncertainties, and actual results or realities may differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. Such material risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, Black Sea Copper & Gold's ability to raise sufficient capital to fund its obligations under its property option agreements, to maintain its mineral tenures and concessions in good standing, to explore and develop its projects, to repay its debt and for general working capital purposes; changes in economic conditions or financial markets; the ability of Black Sea Copper & Gold to obtain the necessary permits and consents required to explore, drill and develop the projects and if obtained, to obtain such permits and consents in a timely fashion relative to Black Sea Copper & Gold's plans and business objectives for the projects; the general ability of Black Sea Copper & Gold to drill test its projects and find mineral resources; if any mineral resources are discovered or acquired, the Company's ability to monetize any such mineral resources; and changes in environmental and other laws or regulations that could have an impact on the Company's operations. Forward-looking statements are based on the reasonable beliefs, estimates and opinions of Black Sea Copper & Gold's management on the date the statements are made. Except as required by law, Black Sea Copper & Gold undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements in the event that management's beliefs, estimates or opinions, or other factors, should change. (1) Dundee Precious Metals NI 43-101 Technical Report 2014 reports Proven and Probable Reserves of 6.20 Mt of 4.04 g/t Au (807,000 ounces Au) and 2.22 g/t Ag (443,000 ounces Ag). Contacts: Black Sea Copper & Gold Corp. (604) 628-5623 www.blacksea.ca TORONTO, ONTARIO -- (Marketwired) -- 02/07/17 -- Editors Note: There is a photo associated with this press release. According to the 2016 Surviscor Service Level Assessment review, BMO Bank of Montreal and Desjardins provide the best customer service experience amongst Canadian banking firms. The review, now in its 12th year, analyzed over 170 'mystery shopper' service enquiries, per firm, sent between January 1st, 2016 and December 31st, 2016 to over 40 Canadian digital banking, credit union and brokerage firms. Manitoba-based Assiniboine Credit Union rounded up the top three in banking. "Generally speaking, Canadian consumers are being offered more customer service alternatives than ever before, including social media, live digital interactions and traditional methods," said Glenn LaCoste, President of Surviscor. "The troubling fact is, for the most part, Canadian banking customers are not being properly serviced through non-branch interactions provided by leading banks and credit unions," added LaCoste. BMO Bank of Montreal had the best Service Level Index amongst banking firms while Desjardins had the quickest average response time over the year. Qtrade Investor won both honours in the digital brokerage segment. Complete rankings can be found at www.surviscor.com for both the brokerage and banking industries. About Surviscor Inc. Surviscor is a North American leader in the analysis and ranking of Canadian digital customer experiences provided by service firms. Surviscor's popular digital brokerage and banking reviews are powered by its proprietary scorCard methodology, identifying the BEST and WORST digital customer experiences. All studies and analyses serve as industry benchmarks for consumers and industry participants by identifying digital offerings considered to be leading-edge as compared to the industry standard. To view the photo associated with this press release, please visit the following link: http://www.marketwire.com/library/20170206-service-level-index.jpg. Contacts: Surviscor Inc. Mr. LaCoste President (416) 993-1246 mobile or 1-866-299-7267 results@surviscor.com www.surviscor.com BRUSSELS (dpa-AFX) - The U.S. trade data for December is due to be released at 8:30 am ET, Tuesday. Ahead of the data, the U.S. dollar showed mixed trading against its major rivals. While the greenback rose against the euro, it fell against the Swiss franc and the yen. The greenback held steady against the pound. As of 8:25 am ET, the U.S. dollar was trading at 1.0675 against the euro, 1.2364 against the pound, 0.9983 against the Swiss franc and 112.36 against the yen. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann. WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - The White House has demanded an apology from New York Times for inaccurate reporting in a lead story it published Monday on the internal differences within the White House staffers. 'I would say that that story was so riddled with inaccuracies and lies that they owe the President an apology for the way that that thing was -- there were just literally blatant factual errors. And it's unacceptable to see that kind of reporting, or so-called reporting. That is literally the epitome of fake news,' White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer told reporters traveling with the President aboard Air Force One to Andrews Air Force base Monday. 'I don't think the President owns a bathrobe, or definitely doesn't wear one. There was no meetings in conference -- I mean, it's just -- from top to bottom, it made up stories that just don't exist. And I think that's unfortunate for people that look to news institutions like that for their news because it is just not an accurate portrayal of what's really happening,' Spicer said. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann. DALLAS, TX -- (Marketwired) -- 02/07/17 -- Towering over Victory Park is Victory Place, a brand new 25-story apartment community decked out in sky-high amenities. Victory Place has started preleasing, nearing completion in March 2017. The 352 units of urban real estate are prime, within walking distance to American Airlines Center, Katy Trail, Happiest Hour, Whole Foods, restaurants, shopping, and night life in Uptown and Victory Park. Studios, one bedrooms, two bedrooms, and three bedroom floor plans have begun preleasing, offering sky-high downtown views with floor to ceiling windows and nine foot exposed concrete ceilings. The sights and sounds of Victory Park can be taken in from the units' private balconies and terraces or from the rooftop pool. Located on the twenty fifth floor, the resort-style rooftop pool boasts Dallas views, in addition to a Sky Deck with outdoor kitchen, fireplace, lounge seating and TV, and a rooftop lounge with a pool table and shuffleboard. Communal conveniences include a state-of-the-art 24-hour gym, yoga, Pilates and cross-training room, dog spa, controlled access entry, parking garage, fully equipped business center with gourmet coffee bar, conference room with Apple TV, common area Wi-Fi as well as on-site retail. Designer tiled walk-in showers, granite countertops with subway tile backsplashes, stainless steel appliances, side-by-side refrigerators, hardwood floors with stylish cut-Berber carpet in bedrooms and electronic home entry systems are some of the in-unit features of the high-end tower. Victory Place will be under the management of Lincoln Property Company, the second largest multifamily manager in the United States, headquartered in Uptown, Dallas. The luxury apartment tower is the 15th delivered by Novare Group and co-sponsor Batson-Cook Development Company, following projects in Texas, Florida, Colorado, Georgia, North Carolina and Tennessee. The program has started or delivered more than $1.5 billion in new mixed-use development this cycle. Led by Jim Borders and Novare Group, the SkyHouse team includes general contractor Batson-Cook Construction and architect Smallwood, Reynolds, Stewart, Stewart. About Lincoln Property Company Lincoln Property Company was founded in 1965 as a builder and operator of high-quality residential communities. In the early 1970's, Lincoln expanded its product mix to include commercial, build-to-suit, office, hotel, industrial, and other mixed-use assets. In 1972, Lincoln took this expertise within the United States to Western Europe and the Middle East. In 2001, Lincoln joined forces with the U.S. Department of Defense to renovate and redevelop family housing at selected bases for the Navy, the Marine Corps, and the Army, becoming one of the largest operators of military housing in the country. Lincoln continued its growth in 2013 with the acquisition of Grand Campus Living, increasing the depth of knowledge in the rental housing sector for the firm. Headquartered in Dallas, TX, Lincoln focuses on real estate investment, construction and development, in addition to property management. Their national reputation has enabled Lincoln to attract a large client base of owners and investors who count on their ability to deliver quality results and continually serve as a market leader. For more information about Lincoln Property Company, please visit http://www.lincolnapts.com/management-services or visit http://www.lincolnapts.com/regions/ for apartment listings in your area. About Novare Group Novare Group is a real estate development and investment company headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, consisting of several investment and operating companies, including Novare Group Holdings, LLC and NGI Investments, LLC. Since 1995, Novare Group has developed over 12,600 high-rise residences in 38 buildings in the United States. Learn more by visiting www.novaregroup.com. About Batson-Cook Development Co. Founded in 1963, Batson-Cook Development Company is a wholly owned subsidiary of Kajima USA. It is a fully integrated real estate organization providing development and capital solutions primarily through partnerships on commercial real estate projects in the Southeastern United States. Based in Atlanta, Georgia Batson-Cook Development Company offers a wide variety of real estate services from development and construction, to equity and credit enhancements, to brokerage and property management. Learn more by visiting www.batsoncookdev.com. Image Available: http://www2.marketwire.com/mw/frame_mw?attachid=3106464 Image Available: http://www2.marketwire.com/mw/frame_mw?attachid=3106467 Media Contacts: Sheri Sandefur Killingsworth Vice President - Marketing & Communications 214-740-3300 Email Contact Thornton Kennedy Novare Group 404-210-0363 Email Contact ORLANDO, FL -- (Marketwired) -- 02/07/17 -- Pandera Systems, a leading full-service business intelligence and analytics solutions provider, and REV Acceleration, a performance management platform, announce today the launch of Tech and Beers, an Orlando-based incubator and fund for tech start-ups. Focused on driving community through technology, Tech and Beers aligns innovators with real support, connecting future technology leaders in Central Florida with great opportunities and seasoned mentors to help propel their businesses off the ground -- and stay there. "Nine out of ten start-ups today will fail, and that number is way too high. While existing incubators in Central Florida have proven successful for some, many of these programs only provide start-ups with limited funding and space to work. What's lacking here is the extensive level of support necessary to really get a start-up going," said Ty Tucker, CEO at REV. "REV and Pandera joined forces to fill this gap with Tech and Beers, which goes beyond funding and workspace to provide operational support, strategic advisory and access to distribution channels -- all of which are vital to a new company's success." Spearheaded by Pandera Systems and REV Acceleration, with additional financial assistance from anonymous individual investors, the Tech and Beers incubator and fund provides participating start-up technology companies initial micro-funding, office space and access to potential seed round(s) of up to $1 million, in addition to operational support, strategic counselling and access to a worldwide distribution channel of partners and customers, including Fortune 500 companies. "Tech and Beers is committed to changing the face of investing by driving the community through technology. Through this fund, Pandera and REV are working together to grow Orlando's technology industry into one that is nationally recognized for its innovative contributions," said Joshua Sutton, CEO of Pandera Systems. "A huge part of this initiative will be our monthly Tech and Beers meetups, which bring the local tech community together to discuss how we can join forces to accelerate technology growth and innovation in Orlando." The next Tech and Beers meetup takes place on Thursday, Feb. 23, 2017 at The Social (54 N. Orange Ave), with networking from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m., followed by live music from the Orlando band Catalystix. The event is free, and open to area tech, marketing and digital service professionals, entrepreneurs and investors. Complimentary beer, wine and hors d'oeuvres are provided. To RSVP, please visit https://www.meetup.com/Orlando-Tech-and-Beer/events/237243480/. For more information about the Tech and Beers incubator and monthly meetups, please visit www.techandbeers.com. Start-up companies interested in applying can contact ty.tucker@techandbeers.com or fill out an online contact form at http://techandbeers.com/contact/. About Pandera Systems In an era fixated on big data, Pandera Systems is leading the growth of business intelligence by re-engineering decision-making environments. Pandera provides businesses with the resources to mobilize analytics, and immerse employees in knowledge to enable peak performance. Clients gain a competitive advantage through immediate access to data, user self-service analytics, and applied decision sciences utilizing Cloud Solutions. Pandera has offices in Atlanta; Bangalore, India; Chicago; Nashville, Tenn.; Tampa, Fla.; Orlando, Fla.; and Charlotte, N.C. www.panderasystems.com. About REV Acceleration REV Acceleration is a big data and analytics platform giving organizations and employees the ability to create actionable insight, learn from their peers, and align to company-wide goals today and into the future. Sitting at the cross-section of business intelligence, CRM, performance management and gamification, REV takes an algorithmic approach with applied analytics to create transparency and alignment across goals. By giving people better systems and tools that allow them to learn from the environment they work in, REV fosters thinking and real-time planning by feeding analytical information to make decisions immediately. www.revapp.io Media Contact Melissa Landy Uproar PR for REV Acceleration and Pandera Systems 321-236-0102 x233 Email Contact Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - February 7, 2017) - During 2016, Stakeholder Gold Corp. (TSXV: SRC) completed a comprehensive exploration program on the Ballarat project; this work included: collection of 1,723 grid and reconnaissance soil samples; 425 GT Probe bedrock interface samples over 5 lines on the Northwest Zone; 11.76 line-km of high-resolution DC IP-Resistivity surveys over 28 lines on the Northwest and Eastern Zones; a 38.75 sq. km drone-derived, aerial photographic and DEM data capture survey of the property; geologic mapping and prospecting; and 1,728.15 m of RAB Drilling in 18 holes on the Eastern Zone. Although the 18 RAB holes drilled on the Eastern Zone (of a planned 30 hole program curtailed due to weather) yielded only narrow intervals of anomalous gold, the northeastern extension of the zone as well as the newly-discovered Skye Zone, located 1,500 m to the southwest, were not tested by drilling. Also, certain targets on the Northwest Zone have not yet been drilled. Eastern Zone Interpretations made by Groundtruth Exploration Inc., who managed the program, indicate there were two mineralizing events. One, with an Au-Ag-Hg-Te signature, has similarities to known occurrences on the White Gold showing and the deep zone in the Golden Saddle deposit. These can be high grade in the right structural setting, and the best continuity is found where the mineralization/alteration is formed at a deeper setting with an Au-Mo +/-Pb signature (Golden Saddle and QV) The other event has an Ag-As-Bi-Cu-Pb-Sb-Zn signature. This is likely later and intrusive-related, most likely dikes following the same structures that host the earlier gold-rich event. This later event may have overprinted the earlier one--possibly diluting the gold content. Skye Zone This zone is very much the same as the Eastern Zone but with better exposure. It contains more quartz veins and the significant Au-Mo +/-Pb geochemical signature (similar to Golden Saddle). The orientation of the mineralization is unknown, and this zone needs to be tested with geophysics and drilling. Northwest Zone Mineralization at the Northwest Zone is interpreted to be associated with E-NE oriented splay(s) from the NE-trending Ballarat fault, but direct observations of mineralization are few due to cover. Float of discrete, often sulfide bearing quartz veins and quartz vein breccias occur; however, pieces of strongly quartz-sericite altered felsic gneiss with stockwork quartz veining were noted, indicating that more robust zones of alteration and mineralization exist. Overall, three primary factors appear to be associated with localizing mineralization in the NW Zone: 1.) Host rock, 2.) pre-mineral ductile deformation, and 3.) brittle, likely syn-mineral, faulting. While mineralization can occur over the trend in any of the host rocks, the primary focus of exploration should be along interpreted brittle structures within the felsic gneiss and/or contact with the amphibolite. The Ballarat property has strong potential to host significant gold mineralization. It sources, and is adjacent to, four placer bearing creeks: Ballarat, Kirkman, Thistle & Barker. The property is cut by regional scale structures and has evidence of multiple ductile-brittle deformation events. It is underlain by chemically reactive and/or brittle host rocks with robust geochemical anomalies. While the results of 2016 exploration activities weren't significant (in a market sense), they were positive. At the Northwest Zone, results indicate the potential for km-scale mineralized structures that are untested (despite historic diamond drilling in the area) and warrant follow-up drilling. At the East Zone, RAB drilling intersected significant zones of alteration, albeit at low grades, adjacent to a regional scale fault, and there are indications of at least two hydrothermal events. This is important because it demonstrates that there were active gold-bearing, hydrothermal system(s) in the area. The Skye zone is a new discovery at surface that was missed during historic exploration efforts on the property. It is open for expansion along strike and warrants drill testing. There are also new anomalies identified from reconnaissance soils that warrant follow-up grid sampling and prospecting. A further 146 mineral claims were staked by the Company south of, and contiguous with, the existing claims; the property now consists of 346 claims covering approximately 69 sq. km (6,900 ha). Little information is available from this area. The access road planned for Goldcorp's Coffee deposit will pass through the eastern half of these claims (Link 1 below). Specific recommendations for continued exploration on the Ballarat property include: additional grid and reconnaissance soil samples, additional IP-Resistivity surveys, additional geologic mapping and prospecting and initial RAB drilling on the Northwest and Skye Zones. "During 2016, GroundTruth Exploration Inc. management were able to identify several targets of merit for gold exploration on Ballarat, and to increase the size of the Stakeholder land position by more than 42%. The White Gold District remains one of the world's premiere locations for gold exploration. Stakeholder is positioned in proximity to much larger companies (Link 2 below) that have already identified the significant economic potential of the district, manifesting their interest by way of acquisitions and joint venture agreements. Ballarat Creek has been a prolific and rewarding placer gold producer, yielding in excess of 104,000 oz. of historical gold production, and we are looking forward to the 2017 exploration season." -- Christopher Berlet, President and CEO. Links to recently updated maps on Stakeholder website: Link 1 Ballarat Property Including New Claims & Proposed Coffee Road Jan, 2017 http://stakeholdergold.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/CLAIM-LOCATIONS-BALLARAT-copy.jpg Link 2 Major Claim Holders & Deposits of the White Gold District, Yukon Territory Jan, 2017 http://stakeholdergold.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/WHITE-GOLD-DISTRICT-CLAIMS-JANUARY-2017.png John Nebocat, P.Eng is a Qualified Person under NI 43-101 and has reviewed and approved the technical portions of this news release. About Stakeholder Gold Corporation Stakeholder Gold Corp. is a Canadian mineral exploration company headquartered in Toronto, Canada. The primary focus of Stakeholder is to explore and develop the Ballarat Gold Property in the White Gold District of the Yukon Territory. 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. For more Stakeholder Gold Corp. information, please contact Christopher J. Berlet, CFA President & CEO 416 525-6869 cberlet@stakeholdergold.com Forward-Looking Statements: This news release contains forward-looking statements that include risks and uncertainties. When used in this news release, the words "estimate", "project", "anticipate", "expect", "intend", "believe", "hope", "may" and similar expressions, as well as "will", "shall" and other indications of future tense, are intended to identify forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements are based on current expectations and apply only as of the date on which they were made. The factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated in such forward-looking statements include changes in the prevailing price of gold, the prevailing price of natural gas, the Canadian-United States exchange rate, amount of gas produced that could affect revenues and production costs. Other factors such as uncertainties regarding government regulations could also affect the results. Other risks may be set out in the Company's annual financial statements and MD&A. WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - US President Donald Trump has vowed that America and its allies will defeat radical Islamic terrorism, and will not allow it to take root in the country. The Commander in chief delivered a strong message to what he called 'the forces of death and destruction' while addressing Coalition Representatives and Senior U.S. Commanders at MacDill Air Force Base Tampa, Florida, Monday. Despite a court order suspending a travel ban imposed on Middle East immigrants, Trump defended his Executive Order signed on 27 January by saying his government is up against an enemy that celebrates death and totally worships destruction. 'ISIS is on a campaign of genocide, committing atrocities across the world. Radical Islamic terrorists are determined to strike our homeland as they did on 9/11; as they did from Boston to Orlando, to San Bernardino. And all across Europe, you've seen what happened in Paris and Nice. All over Europe it's happening. It's gotten to a point where it's not even being reported and, in many cases, the very, very dishonest press doesn't want to report it.' It was Trump's first visit as President to Central Command, which is responsible for an area covering the Middle East and Central Asia. Later, in an apparent reference to legal hurdles in implementing his executive order banning immigrants from seven mostly Muslim countries in the Middle East, Trump tweeted: 'Courts must act fast!' Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann. TORONTO, CANADA -- (Marketwired) -- 02/07/17 -- Waseco Resources Inc. (Waseco or the "Company") (TSX VENTURE: WRI)(FRANKFURT: WSE) is pleased to announce the formation of a Technical Advisory Committee to assist in the assessment of its existing projects as well as in reviewing other related mineral property submissions. Joining the Technical Committee are: -- Brian Arkell - B.Sc. Geo, M.S. Econ Geo. Mr. Arkell brings over 30 years of world-wide experience in team building in base, precious metals, coal and uranium operations and exploration. Featured among his many accomplishments is an extensive international career with Newmont Mining Corporation. -- A. Lee Barker - P.Eng., P. Geol. Mr. Barker brings over 40 years of international mineral exploration and development experience. For the past few years, Mr. Barker has been the Qualified Person under National Policy 43-101, overseeing the reporting of results from the Company's Battle Mountain Ridge gold project in Nevada. Mr. Barker is also the current President and CEO of Sparton Resources Inc. -- Gary O'Connor - B.Sc. Geo, Geophysics & Environmental Studies. Mr. O'Connor also brings over 30 years of mineral exploration and development experience, having worked on all continents of the world. He is currently the Vice-President of Dundee Resources, where he is responsible for the technical due diligence and review of resource projects for the corporation. -- Alexander Po - B.Sc. Mining Engineering, M. Engr. Mining Geo. Mr. Po brings over 45 years of mineral exploration and development experience, including extensive work in Nevada, Canada, the Philippines and Guyana. Mr. Po recently retired from Guyana Goldfields Inc., where he led the team in the delineation of the Aurora Gold Mine. Company President, Richard Williams, commented that "this is a tremendous pool of geological knowledge and experience. We are extremely fortunate and honoured that they are making the time to assist us in our program development." The initial focus will be on conducting an in-depth review and analysis of the Battle Mountain Ridge project in Nevada, where the Company has recently completed a drilling program. The property is strategically located on the Battle Mountain-Eureka Trend, immediately adjacent to Newmont's Trenton Canyon Mine. Waseco Resources Inc. Richard Williams, President 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: Richard Williams (416) 364- 3123 rickw@wasecoresources.com www.wasecoresources.com VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA -- (Marketwired) -- 02/07/17 -- Metallis Resources Inc. (TSX VENTURE: MTS) (the "Company") has completed the compilation and interpretation of all of the available drilling, geophysical, geochemical and geological data, over the Company's Kirkham Property (the "Property'). The results of the data compilation and interpretation have resulted in the prioritization of two targets (out of 5 anomalies, see January 24, 2017 news release) on the Property: a porphyry target (KSM, Snowfield, Bronson Slopes) as well as a shear-vein target (Snip, Scottie Gold). The company intends on drill testing these centrally located targets, which are close to the Stuhini Hazelton contact, in Summer 2017. To view Figure 1: Metallis' Golden Triangle Exploration Model, please visit the following link: http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/1085059-F1.pdf Target #1 - Porphyry Target #1 is characterized by an altered and mineralized Porphyry that is, about 6 kilometers long. The geological setting is strikingly similar to several of the KSM deposits, located 20 kilometers to the east of the Kirkham Property. Seabridge's 2016 PFS incorporates KSM's Proven and Probable Mineral Reserves of 2.2 billion tonnes grading 0.55 grams per tonne gold, 0.21% copper and 2.6 grams per tonne silver. Paget Minerals tested this target in 2009 with five shallow drill holes. These holes show that the copper and gold grades increase with depth. Drill hole MD-09-01, which most deeply penetrated the monzonite reported 92.67m @ 0.217% Cu and 0.277 g/t Au at the bottom. Rock samples show improving grades down section. At the lowest exposure, twenty-two rock samples (Cliff Showing - see Figure 2) from the mineralized monzonite average 0.7 g/t gold and 0.35% copper. The magnetite, potassium feldspars, quartz veins, biotite alteration and mineralization distribution indicate that the lower part of the exposed Monzonite is proximal to the high-grade potassic core. Metallis plans to drill test the mineralized monzonite below the previous drilling intercepts. To view Figure 2 - Target 1: Summer 2017 Drill Test Location, please visit the following link: http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/1085059-F2.pdf Target #2 - Shear-Vein (King) The 2016 geophysical survey confirmed a planar, very strong, coincident resistivity and magnetic anomaly (King Target) that is outboard from the mineralized Hawlison Porphyry. The probable generator of this anomaly is a mineralized shear/vein system belonging to the "INTRUSION-RELATED Au PYRRHOTITE VEINS" type categorized by the BC Geological Survey. A heavy mineral sample collected several hundred meters downstream from this target returned a very anomalous assay of 3847 ppb gold. Modelling of the geophysical responses indicate that they are related to a plate-like conductor that is approximately 400 m long, 15m thick and at least 220 m down-dip. This plate is 3 times the size of the Snip deposit, located 40 kilometers to the northwest of the Property. The Snip Mine is the best example of this class of mineralized deposits. From 1991 to 1999, the Snip Mine produced over 1.1 million ounces of gold, 429,000 ounces of silver and over 550,000 pounds of copper from 1.2 million tonnes. Metallis President Fiore Aliperti noted: "The Golden Triangle of BC is one of the most highly mineralized regions in the world. Dave Dupre, VP of Exploration, has several decades of exploration experience throughout the Golden Triangle and contributed to the initial discovery of Eskay Mine, The Metallis geological team, led by Mr. Dupre, has compiled and interpreted the results of decades of work on our property and identified some highly prospective targets. Those targets are consistent, geologically, with two of the most productive deposit types in the region. We are very excited at the prospect of having multiple chances to find an economic deposit capable of bringing substantial returns to our investors." Technical aspects of this news release have been reviewed and approved by David Dupre, P.Geo., designated as a qualified person under National Instrument 43-101. On behalf of the Board of Directors: Fiore Aliperti, Chief Executive Officer, President and Director CAUTION REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS This Press Release may contain statements which constitute 'forward-looking' statements, including statements regarding the plans, intentions, beliefs and current expectations of the Company, its directors, or its officers with respect to the future business activities and operating performance of the Company. The words "may", "would", "could", "will", "intend", "plan", "anticipate", "believe", "estimate", "expect" and similar expressions, as they relate to the Company, or its management, are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. Investors are cautioned that any such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future business activities or performance and involve risks and uncertainties, and that the Company's future business activities may differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements as a result of various factors. Such risks, uncertainties and factors are described in the periodic filings with the Canadian securities regulatory authorities, including quarterly and annual Management's Discussion and Analysis, which may be viewed on SEDAR at www.sedar.com Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should assumptions underlying the forward-looking statements prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those described herein as intended, planned, anticipated, believed, estimated or expected. Although the Company 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. The Company does not intend, and does not assume any obligation, to update these forward-looking statements. 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. The TSX-V Stock Exchange has neither approved nor disapproved the contents of this news release. Contacts: Metallis Resources Inc. 604-688-5077 info@metallisresources.com www.metallisresources.com VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA -- (Marketwired) -- 02/07/17 -- Maxtech Ventures Inc. (CSE: MVT)(CSE: MVT.CN)(FRANKFURT: M1N)(OTC PINK: METHF) ("Maxtech" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that Jose Ricardo Thibes Pisani, P.Geo has joined the Maxtech Brazil team as Technical Advisor. Mr. Pisani is a seasoned operations executive with over 25 years experience working with mining projects, including the discovery and development of several extensive mineral deposits for multinational companies both private and publicly held. He is an executive with an acute focus on proposal evaluations, operational and expansion projects. He has direct practical experience overseeing two open pit diamond mines with combined teams of more than 400 people. Additionally, Mr. Pisani has negotiated merger and acquisition processes and final sales of mines. He is both fluent in Portuguese and English which will be a tremendous asset to the company. He holds an MBA in Business Management, Fundacao Getulio Vargas, Brazil, 2012. Geology, BsC, Universidade Federal do Mato Grosso, Brazil, 1991. Peter Wilson, Maxtech CEO states, "The caliber of management and in country advisor expertise Maxtech is attracting is a direct acknowledgment that the Company is quickly becoming a diversified battery metal market leader." About Maxtech Ventures Inc.Maxtech Ventures Inc. is a Canadian based diversified industries corporation. Its goal is to become a force in the green energy revolution through the development and acquisition of global properties. Peter Wilson, Chief Executive Officer Certain statements contained in this release may constitute "forward-looking statements" or "forward-looking information" (collectively "forward-looking information") as those terms are used in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and similar Canadian laws. These statements relate to future events or future performance. The use of any of the words "could", "intend", "expect", "believe", "will", "projected", "estimated", "anticipates" and similar expressions and statements relating to matters that are not historical facts are intended to identify forward-looking information and are based on the Company's current belief or assumptions as to the outcome and timing of such future events. Actual future results may differ materially. In particular, this release contains forward-looking information relating to the business of the Company, the Property, financing and certain corporate changes. The forward-looking information contained in this release is made as of the date hereof and the Company is not obligated to update or revise any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by applicable securities laws. Because of the risks, uncertainties and assumptions contained herein, investors should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. The foregoing statements expressly qualify any forward-looking information contained herein. 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. Further information about the Company is available on www.SEDAR.com under the Company's profile. Contacts: Maxtech Ventures Inc. info@maxtech-ventures.com www.maxtechventures.com STUTTGART, Germany, February 7, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Haselmeier has not even officially presented its latest innovation and the D-Flex. Just one. has already won an award: The especially flexible disposable pen D-Flex has been given the GOOD DESIGN' Award. However, the D-Flex stands out in the market primarily thanks to its uniqueness. No comparable product can be deployed so flexibly and at the same time deliver patient safety. (Photo: http://mma.prnewswire.com/media/465591/Haselmeier_D_Flex_Image.jpg ) The D-Flex is the disposable pen for the use with 3 ml cartridges. It closes the gap between fixed-dose pens which only allow a single fixed dose, and variable-dose pens where the dose can be finely adjusted by the patient. The D-Flex can therefore be configured for several fixed doses. These dose values can essentially be freely selected when assembling the pen. The pen system does not permit any in-between amounts aside from the set doses, i.e. the patient cannot select an unintentional dose by mistake. This significantly reduces the risk of any operating error and increases the safety of the patient. This makes the D-Flex the ideal, flexible platform for adapting to set doses in accordance with the therapy. This platform can be flexibly configured to suit the desired dose values, from the first clinical study to series production, thereby significantly reducing the "time to market" and "CAPEX." The benefit for patients and the advantages for Haselmeier customers are comprehensive: Just one pen which permits one or more pre-set doses. pen which permits one or more pre-set doses. Just one pen with dose correction in order to avoid injection errors or loss of the drug. pen with dose correction in order to avoid injection errors or loss of the drug. Just one pen which does not permit any in-between values besides the doses set. pen which does not permit any in-between values besides the doses set. Just one flexible platform which enables the customer to easily adapt to a wide variety of dose values. flexible platform which enables the customer to easily adapt to a wide variety of dose values. Just one strong platform from the initial clinical study to series production. Stefan Gaul, Strategic Product Manager at Haselmeier, explains: "In line with the needs of the market, we at Haselmeier were looking for an improved solution for "unconventional" or somewhat more complicated applications. Aspects such as patient safety and convenience of operation and handling were central elements of the process. The idea of designing an extremely flexible, strong platform for our customers was naturally a central aspiration. With the D-Flex we have found the ideal way to put this into practice. And it is all the more gratifying when the product design is explicitly appreciated by outside bodies. But above all, it is a good feeling to know that an innovation is far enough advanced in the development process to ensure that patients can be helped within a few years. The D-Flex product platform made of high-performance plastic will in future be available in the three colours, red, blue and green. Details of the award GOOD DESIGN from Chicago is considered the world's oldest and most prestigious institution for design excellence. In 2016, companies from over 46 countries submitted a total of more than 900 new product designs and artwork to the Chicago Athenaeum Museum. The winners are published on the website, www.chi-athenaeum.org and in the 2016 GOOD DESIGN Yearbook. Haselmeier had already won the award in 2014 for its Axis-D pen platform and a customer application for Merck based upon it. The GONAL-f 2.0 Pen from Merck is a pre-filled disposable injector which is used worldwide for fertility treatment. The GOOD DESIGN' Award has been presented since 1950. About Haselmeier Haselmeier stands for the development and production of innovative self-injection devices with award-winning designs. The Haselmeier Group primarily works on behalf of pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies to improve the lives of patients by manufacturing pens and auto-injectors that are easy to use and that can be dosed with precision. The family business covers all steps-from design to planning to industrialisation-in the creation of high-quality self-injection systems. Founded as early as in 1920 in Stuttgart, Haselmeier has long been an established name in the medtech industry, thanks to its proprietary technologies and international award-winning designs. In four years from now, this well-established company shall be able to look back on a 100 year old success story. Spread across eight global locations on three different continents, the Haselmeier Group employs a workforce of about 220 employees. While the Development Department is based in Stuttgart, the Innovation and Product Management is sited in Zurich (Switzerland). Haselmeier products are manufactured in the most modern production facilities in Buchen in Odenwald (Germany), Dnesice (Czech Republic) and Bengaluru (India). The international sales are controlled from Stuttgart and have representations in Lowell, Maryland (USA), Gurgaon (India) and Guangzhou (China). For further information, please visit: www.haselmeier.com Media Contact: Wilhelm Haselmeier GmbH & Co. KG Vaihinger Strae 48 70567 Stuttgart Germany Jana Heidrich Marketing and Sales Coordinator +49-711-71978-176 j.heidrich@haselmeier.com WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Candy maker Mars Inc. said the spill of its colorful candy Skittles on a highway in Wisconsin was the result of miscommunication with a subcontractor. The Skittles were apparently headed to be cattle feed as they did not 'make the cut' for packaging at the company, but instead ended up strewn on the highway. Last Tuesday night, Dodge County police officials were surprised when they discovered a huge load of Skittles spilled across a highway in Wisconsin. The load had fallen of a farmer's truck and was actually intended to be food for livestock. A Facebook post by the Dodge County sheriff showed that hundreds of thousands of Skittles were spilled on the County Highway near Blackbird Road. The post with the spill caught widespread attention. Later, the sheriff updated that the Skittles fell off a truck after the large box filled with sweets got wet in rain. The farmer was taking the rejected Skittles to be used as cattle feed. Mars noted that the factory which made the spilled Skittles was not authorized to sell the rejected Skittles for use in animal feed. Candy makers and bakeries usually sell the rejected food products as cattle feed. According to Mars, the Skittles were meant to be destroyed as a power outage during their manufacturing process left the hard-shelled candies without the 'S' imprinted on them. Mars said it only sells the unused candies and ingredients to third party processors so that it can be mixed with other materials to make animal feed. The company does not sell the rejected food directly to farmers and its procedures follow Food and Drug Administration regulations. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX Kostenloser Wertpapierhandel auf Smartbroker.de LOS ANGELES, CA -- (Marketwired) -- 02/07/17 --Beagle Freedom Project (BFP), the renowned non-profit national research, animal rescue and advocacy organization, has just announced the winners of its first ever 'Beagle Freedom Prize'. As supported by a grant received from Microsoft, BFP will fund $200,000 towards innovative research that pioneers new models and methodologies for replacing the use of animals in experiments. Headquartered in Los Angeles, BFP spent six months advertising and accepting research applications from across the world. Their team worked with scientific peers in each relevant field to evaluate and guide the judging process, and ultimately the charity has chosen four exceptional and diverse proposals from those who have the potential to replace animal-based research with more effective and humane alternatives. "BFP might have made a reputation from its emotionally gripping rescue videos of beagles who had survived laboratory experimentation, but the organization also recognizes the need to strike at the root of the problem and support the future of modern medical research," said Jeremy Beckham, Research Specialist for BFP. The winners of the 'Beagle Freedom Prize' include Dr. Katya Tsaioun (Director of the Evidence-based Toxicology Collaboration at the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health), Dr. Lawrence Vernetti (Research Associate Professor at the University of Pittsburgh Drug Discovery Institute), Dr. Lei Kerr (Professor of Chemical and Biomedical Engineering at Miami University in Ohio), and Dr. Alison Gray (Founder of the non-commercial science organization AFABILITY). Together, these four fields of research offer new promise at replacing antiquated animal models with 21st century innovations. BFP is eager to highlight the results of this funded research and will continue supporting more outstanding non-animal based research each year, until no animals are exploited and/or killed in laboratory testing. For more information on Beagle Freedom Project, or to interview Jeremy Beckham, please contact Eileen Koch of EKC PR, a full service Branding, Marketing, and Public Relations firm at 310.441.1000 or email Eileen@ekcpr.com. Visit www.EKCPR.com. EKC PR 310.441.1000 Eileen@EKCPR.com www.EKCPR.com MILPITAS, CA -- (Marketwired) -- 02/07/17 -- Leading storage solutions provider Promise Technology Inc. today announced that its VTrak E5000 Series of Fibre Channel to SAS storage solutions have been certified as DataCore Ready for DataCore Software's SANsymphony software-defined storage and virtualization platform. As consumers and businesses become more mobile, the need for data access, retrieval, and distribution from anywhere at any time means that data must be protected and available at all times. The changing nature of the data center also means that growing infrastructures are pushing the limits of bandwidth. A full-featured, affordable enterprise-level storage system that can accommodate business environments of all sizes, Promise's E5000 Series is versatile and scalable enough to meet the demands of IT departments, data centers, virtual environments, and high-performance computing. Redundant and active-active components of controllers, power supplies and cooling units provide optimal data availability and ensure continuous operation. The E5000 gives IT managers the ability to deploy 6/12 Gb SAS/SATA hard drives and SSDs, and contains flash arrays to optimize speed for key enterprise applications that need high-speed transfer rates and reduced latency. When combined with DataCore's SANsymphony software-defined storage virtualization solution, the VTrak E5000 maximizes the performance, availability and utilization of IT infrastructures by virtualizing the storage hardware. This enables the E5000 to leverage SANsymphony's data services, and further augment reliability, functionality and performance. Data services supported by SANsymphony include synchronous mirroring, asynchronous replication, CDP, snapshots/backups, storage pooling, thin provisioning, data migration, and deduplication/compression. To learn more about SANsymphony, visit https://www.datacore.com/products/SANsymphony.aspx. "DataCore's key strengths, in addition to parallel processing of I/O to increase workload productivity, include speeding up the response of mission-critical, enterprise-level applications and reducing the cost to meet performance expectations," said Carlos Carreras, senior vice president of worldwide business development and strategic alliances, DataCore Software. "As a result, we are pleased to certify the VTrak E5000 Series as DataCore Ready to help Promise Technology deliver the ultimate benefits of an affordable, high-performance Fibre Channel to SAS storage solution with advanced enterprise-level reliability and functionality." The DataCore Ready Program identifies solutions that are trusted to enhance DataCore SANsymphony infrastructures. While DataCore solutions interoperate with common open and industry standard products, those that earn the "DataCore Ready" designation have completed additional verification testing. The DataCore Ready designation is awarded to third party products that have successfully met the verification criteria set by DataCore through the successful execution of a functional test plan and performance envelope tests. "Promise has been working closely with DataCore for years to bring our customers additional capabilities to meet the bandwidth and storage requirements of IT departments, data centers and virtual environments," noted Vijay Char, president, Promise Technology USA. "With the VTrak E5000 Series now certified DataCore Ready, customers can seamlessly integrate our solutions with SANsymphony storage virtualization software for a superior level of compatibility and optimized performance." For more information, visit www.promise.com and follow Promise Technology on LinkedIn, Facebook or Twitter. About Promise Technology Inc. Promise Technology is a recognized global leader with 29 years of experience in the storage industry. Promise creates innovative solutions tailored to the unique needs of the IoT, Cloud, IT, Rich Media and Surveillance markets. From personal cloud appliances, to scalable enterprise IT Infrastructure, blazingly fast post production tools, video security solutions and hyperconverged systems, Promise adapts its products to meet the real-world challenges customers face every day. Promise's highly experienced sales and engineering teams are strategically located throughout the Americas, EMEA, and JAPAC regions to provide unparalleled services and support to its customers around the globe. For more information, visit: www.promise.com. Image Available: http://www2.marketwire.com/mw/frame_mw?attachid=3106537 MEDIA CONTACTS: The Americas: Dena Jacobson dena@lages.com +949-453-8080 EMEA: Dennis Lamers dennis.lamers@eu.promise.com +31-(0)-40 235 2614 Japan: Ushio Koida ushio.koida@jp.promise.com +81-3-6801-8064 Taiwan: Ya-Ping Hsu ya-ping.hsu@tw.promise.com +886-978695780 Arklie Appointed to Lead International Cyber Insurance Team AXIS Capital Holdings Limited ("AXIS Capital") (NYSE:AXS) today announced that Neil Arklie has joined AXIS Insurance as Vice President, Financial Lines, and Lead Underwriter for its London-based international cyber insurance unit. Arklie will lead a team of experienced underwriters focused on writing cyber, media, film and television, and technology coverage for AXIS Insurance's International Division. Joining Arklie on the recently expanded AXIS London cyber insurance team is Delvin Tillett, who has been appointed Associate Vice President, Financial Lines, and will provide underwriting support across cyber, technology and media liability lines. "Neil and Delvin are key additions to a growing cyber team that is just beginning to tap into its potential as we continue to leverage AXIS' platform at Lloyd's and expand our capabilities," said Mark Gregory, CEO of AXIS Insurance's International Division. "One of the first market underwriters to specialize in cyber, Neil brings proven leadership and experience that also crosses into the media and technology sectors. Additionally, Delvin is a talented cyber expert, and our clients will benefit significantly from his in-depth knowledge of the sector." Mr. Arklie joins AXIS following 13 years in various roles at Swiss Re, most recently as Senior Cyber and Technology Product Manager. He began his career in underwriting roles at Provincial (now part of Axa) and Chubb. Mr. Tillett joins AXIS from managing general agency Ascent Underwriting, where he served as an underwriter and specialized in cyber. About AXIS Capital AXIS Capital is a Bermuda-based global provider of specialty lines insurance and treaty reinsurance with shareholders' equity at December 31, 2016 of $6.3 billion and locations in Bermuda, the United States, Europe, Singapore, Middle East, Canada and Latin America. Its operating subsidiaries have been assigned a rating of "A+" ("Strong") by Standard & Poor's and "A+" ("Superior") by A.M. Best. For more information about AXIS Capital, visit our website at www.axiscapital.com. Please be sure to follow AXIS Capital on LinkedIn. About AXIS Insurance AXIS Insurance a business segment of AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) -provides Property Casualty, Professional Lines, Terrorism, Marine, Energy, Aviation, Credit Political Risk, Environmental, Accident Health coverages and other customized insurance solutions. Our products are offered through our distribution partners, which include wholesale brokers, retail brokers and designated managing general agents/underwriters ("MGAs"/"MGUs") in the U.S. and abroad. Coverages are backed by the financial strength and security of the AXIS Insurance Companies, rated "A+" (Strong) by Standard Poor's and "A+" (Superior) XV by A.M. Best. For more information, visit our website at http://www.axiscapital.com/en-us/insurance. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170207006019/en/ Contacts: Investors: AXIS Capital Holdings Limited Linda Ventresca, 441-405-2727 info@axiscapital.com or Media: AXIS Capital Holdings Limited Joe Cohen, 212-715-3524 joseph.cohen@axiscapital.com SINGAPORE, Feb. 7, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Reference is made to the announcements made by EMAS Offshore Limited ("EOL" or the "Company") on 30 October 2016 and updated on 29 November 2016 regarding the publication of the preliminary financial statements for FY2016, and on 10 January 2017 with respect to Q1 FY2017 financial results announcement and release date for the Annual Financial Report for FY2016 ("AR FY2016"). As announced to the market on 10 January 2017, the Company was not in position to release its annual report for 2016 ("AR2016") within the deadline 31 December 2016. In this regard, the Company received approval from the Singapore Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority ("ACRA") for the extension of time by sixty (60) days to hold its annual general meeting of shareholders ("AGM") and to present its audited financial statements for the full financial year ended 31 August 2016 at the AGM. As announced to the market on 10 January 2017, the Company expected to release the AR2016 on 7 February 2017, with the AGM to be held on 27 February 2017. As certain matters relating to the finalization of the AR2016 are not yet resolved, and are not likely to be resolved prior to the contemplated date of release, the Company is in the process of applying to ACRA again for an additional extension of time to hold its AGM. The application will request an extension of an aggregate of up to 150 days which would imply that the AGM would be held towards the end of May 2017, while the AR2016 would be released in the earlier part of May 2017. The reasons for the application for the delay and the requested extension to ACRA are mainly as follows: - As disclosed by the Company in Note 4 of the Q1 FY2017 results, both Ezra Holdings Limited and EOL will have going concern issues if discussions on EOL's fund raising and Ezra's consolidating its funding requirements do not achieve favorable and timely outcomes. Conclusion on these matters is still pending; -The above matters contain elements and discussions to which the outcome is uncertain and beyond the control of EOL. Taking into consideration the discussion above, it is therefore the conclusion of EOL that to have the audit report signed off without sufficiently more clarity will not be prudent and would entail significant risks. Consequently, the revised tentative Financial Calendar 2017 is as follows: Q1 FY2017 Report 10 January 2017 (Announced) Q2 FY2017 and first half semi-annual FY2017 Report 7 April 2017 Annual Financial Report 2016 9 May 2017 AGM 2017 30 May 2017 Q3 FY2017 Report 7 July 2017 Q4 FY2017 and preliminary FY 2017 20 October 2017 This announcement is made pursuant to the Oslo Stock Exchange's Continuing Obligations section 4.6 and is subject to disclosure in accordance with the Norwegian Securities Trading Act section 5-12. The Company is dual listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange and the Singapore Stock Exchange. For further information, please contact: Mr. Hsu Chong Pin EMAS Offshore Limited Tel: +65 6800 1202 investor_relations@emasoffshore-cnp.com This information was brought to you by Cision http://news.cision.com http://news.cision.com/emas-offshore-limited/r/update-release-date-for-annual-financial-report-fy2016---revised-financial-calendar,c2182126 The following files are available for download: WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - In an apparent effort to back up President Donald Trump's claim that the media is not giving terrorism sufficient attention, the White House released a list of terrorist attacks the administration believes did not receive enough coverage. The White House on Monday released a list of 78 terrorist attacks that occurred between September of 2014 and December of 2016. The release of the list came after Trump suggested in remarks at MacDill Air Force Base in Florida that the media was intentionally avoiding reporting on terrorist attacks. 'ISIS is on a campaign of genocide, committing atrocities across the world,' Trump said. 'You've seen what happened in Paris and Nice. All over Europe it's happening.' 'It's gotten to a point where it's not even being reported and, in many cases, the very, very dishonest press doesn't want to report it,' he added. 'They have their reasons and you understand that.' However, members of the media were quick to point out that the list released by the White House included attacks the received extensive coverage, such as the mass shootings in San Bernardino and Orlando. The bombing at the airport in Brussels and the attack in which a truck plowed through a Bastille Day crowd in Nice also made the list despite receiving weeks of media attention. The list also included more obscure incidents in which police officers or security guards were wounded but nobody was killed. White House spokeswoman Lindsay Walters said, 'The real point here is that these terrorists attacks are so pervasive at this point that they do not spark the wall-to-wall coverage they once did.' 'If you look back just a few years ago, any one of these attacks would have been ubiquitous in every news outlet, and now they're happening so often . that networks are not devoting to each of them the same level of coverage they once did,' she added. White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer acknowledged the media reported on the terrorist attacks but suggested they were 'underreported.' Spicer argued that a protest against Trump will get blown out of the water, while an attack or a foiled attack doesn't necessarily get the same coverage. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX Kostenloser Wertpapierhandel auf Smartbroker.de ZWOLLE, Netherlands, February 7, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- foodlife has decided to officially start furthering the "designed and made in Holland" foodlife brand on this year's Fruit Logistica in Berlin, starting this Wednesday. After 20 years of trading under the JFPT (Jansen Food Processing Technology) name, of which the last 8 years the foodlife line of products was marketed within the wider range of 3rd party products traded through JFPT, this Wednesday foodlife will be officially launching the independent foodlife brand in the international marketplace. (Photo: http://mma.prnewswire.com/media/465642/foodlife.jpg ) Before JFPT was founded, the Jansen Family many years was more than active with the actual Vegetables and Salad products. This in its turn was the drive for starting to trade 3rd party machinery. But over the years this product understanding more and more translated in not being able to truly facilitate the market with solutions which were best for the actual product circumstances resulting from the more conservative 3rd party manufacturers of equipment. This phenomenon translated in the actual development of foodlife; the best solution anytime, anywhere. After 2 decades of trading and providing services, JFPT BV passes the honours over to foodlife group. foodlife group, which is being formalized this quarter, will consist of foodlife products, foodlife projects, foodlife services & foodlife brainz. http://www.foodlife.nl NEW YORK, NY -- (Marketwired) -- 02/07/17 -- You won't find it over-the-counter at your local pharmacy among the masses of vitamins and supplements, but your doctor most likely knows about it, and will probably recommend that you take it if you are a woman struggling with irritability, fatigue, night sweats and hot flashes commonly associated with menopause. A scientific abstract presented at the 2015 North American Menopause Society Annual Meeting concluded that the non-soy based supplement Relizen provides effective relief from hot flashes and other symptoms associated with menopause without a hormonal or estrogenic effect. Multiple clinical studies have confirmed a reduction in menopause symptoms, and showed no adverse side effects or reactions compared to placebo. The main ingredient of Relizen is made from purified Swedish flower pollen extract from specific flowers grown in Sweden without the use of pesticides. "Relizen is so effective that it is the No. 1 product for hot flashes in France," said Dr. Steven R. Goldstein, professor of obstetrics and gynecology at New York University School of Medicine, and former president of the North American Menopause Society. "I recommend Relizen to my patients because it is safe and there is no question in my mind that this is an effective product, backed by clinical studies of merit, that can improve the quality of life for many women who are affected by menopause symptoms." Goldstein, who co-authored and presented the Relizen scientific abstract, and is one of thousands of American OB-GYNs currently recommending Relizen to patients since the product became available in the United States through an exclusive license with JDS Therapeutics. In Europe, physicians have recommended Relizen for more than 15 years and more than 1 million women have used the supplement. Relizen was designed in Sweden and is a patented nutritional supplement containing more than 180 nutrients derived from purified Swedish flower pollen. In all clinical studies of 300 women or more, Relizen has been shown to significantly improve quality of sleep, diminish fatigue and irritability, reduce night sweats, as well as hot flash frequency and intensity when compared to baseline. In these studies, Relizen has not been linked to any adverse reactions or side effects different than those associated with a sugar pill. "I'm not a proponent of most supplements, however unlike other supplements purported to relieve menopause symptoms, Relizen does have a double-blind, placebo controlled, randomized clinical trial," said Goldstein. "JDS Therapeutics brought the product to doctors first to get our feedback and recommendation before taking direct to consumers. This shows the company has faith in what they are producing, giving me confidence when recommending it to patients." A 2-3 month supply or Relizen is recommended by doctors for achieving best results and is available for purchase exclusively online at www.relizen.com (discounts available with doctor referral). A percentage of Relizen's profits are donated to ending domestic violence through My Sisters' Place charity, a cause JDS Therapeutics supports in its efforts to improve the health and wellbeing of women in the United States. Image Available: http://www2.marketwire.com/mw/frame_mw?attachid=3106942 Media Contact: Amy Summers 212-757-3419 Email Contact Pitch Publicity WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Libertarian-leaning Senator Rand Paul, R-Ken., indicated Tuesday he is vehemently opposed to President Donald Trump's possible nomination of neoconservative foreign policy insider Elliott Abrams as Deputy Secretary of State. In an op-ed piece posted on libertarian website Rare, Paul argued the president should have no reason to trust Abrams would carry out a Trump agenda rather than a neocon agenda. The piece from Paul comes amid reports Trump is due to meet with Abrams on Tuesday to discuss his potential nomination as the No. 2 official at the State Department. Recently sworn-in Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, who reportedly favors Abrams for the job, will also attend the meeting. 'Neoconservative interventionists have had us at perpetual war for 25 years,' Paul wrote. 'While President Trump has repeatedly stated his belief that the Iraq War was a mistake, the neocons (all of them Never-Trumpers) continue to maintain that the Iraq and Libyan Wars were brilliant ideas.' 'These are the same people who think we must blow up half the Middle East, then rebuild it and police it for decades,' he added. 'They're wrong and they should not be given a voice in this administration.' Paul highlighted Abrams' criticism of Trump during the presidential campaign as well as his conviction on two misdemeanor counts of withholding information from Congress during the Iran-Contra affair. Abrams was later pardoned by President George H.W. Bush. 'In a country of 300 million people, surely there are reasonable foreign policy experts who have not been convicted of deceiving Congress and actually share the president's foreign policy views,' Paul wrote. He added, 'I hope Secretary Rex Tillerson will continue the search for expert assistance from experienced, non-convicted diplomats who understand the mistakes of the past and the challenges ahead.' Paul is a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and his opposition to Abrams' potential nomination could complicate the confirmation process. Abrams, currently senior fellow for Middle Eastern studies at the Council on Foreign Relations, previously served under Presidents Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush. (Photo: Gage Skidmore) Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX Kostenloser Wertpapierhandel auf Smartbroker.de Former Standard Products Division of NXP combines experience, product and operational excellence with customer focus and ambition Nexperia, the former Standard Products division of NXP, today announced the formal completion of its launch as a separate entity. Headquartered in Nijmegen, Netherlands and backed by a consortium of financial investors consisting of Beijing Jianguang Asset Management Co. Ltd and Wise Road Capital Ltd, Nexperia is a stand-alone, world-class leader in Discretes, Logic and MOSFETs, retaining all the expertise, manufacturing resources and key personnel of the former NXP division, while bringing a new focus and powerful commitment to these product areas. Nexperia, which will produce around 85 billion devices a year and in 2016 had revenues exceeding US$1.1B, addresses three key trends: power efficiency; protection and filtering; and miniaturization. The Automotive sector is very strong for Nexperia and most of its products are AECQ101 qualified. Other important markets include portable devices, industrial, communications infrastructure, consumer and computing. A significant portion of the company's revenue is delivered through distribution channels. Nexperia CEO Frans Scheper, formerly EVP and GM of NXP's Standard Products Business Unit, comments: "Our history ensures that Nexperia is already regarded as a strong industry leader in Discretes, Logic and MOSFETs, which consistently delivers highly reliable and innovative products to our global customers. Under the new ownership and with a renewed sense of vigour we will invest in product development and best-in-class manufacturing practices and facilities to ensure that Nexperia becomes the byword for efficiency and quality. Together with our engaged and motivated employees this will enable us on a daily basis to exceed the needs and expectations of our customers." Nexperia has two front-end manufacturing facilities, in Manchester, UK and Hamburg, Germany, and three back-end packaging plants in Guangdong, China, Seremban, Malaysia and Cabuyao, Philippines. It currently employs about 11,000 personnel worldwide including an established and successful leadership team. Scheper continues: "Because Nexperia will continue to source its front end and back end production from its current manufacturing sites, there will be no disruption in our supply chain or other processes, so customers and partners can be fully assured that they will continue to receive excellent products and exceptional service." The company has an extensive IP portfolio and is certified to ISO9001, ISO/TS16949, ISO14001 and OHSAS18001. About Nexperia Nexperia is a dedicated global leader in Discretes, Logic and MOSFETs devices. We became independent at the beginning of 2017. Focused on efficiency, Nexperia produces consistently reliable semiconductor components at high volume: 85 billion annually. Our extensive portfolio meets the stringent standards set by the Automotive industry. Industry-leading, miniature packages, produced in our own manufacturing facilities, combine power and thermal efficiency with best-in-class quality levels. Built on over half a century of expertise, Nexperia has 11,000 employees across Asia, Europe and the U.S. supporting customers globally. Nexperia: Efficiency wins. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170207006161/en/ Contacts: For press information, please contact: Nexperia Petra Beekmans Head of Communications Branding Phone: +31 6 137 111 41 Email: petra.beekmans@nexperia.com or Agency: BWW Communications Nick Foot Director +44-1491-636393 Nick.foot@bwwcomms.com Creation of a consortium of hospitals, universities and corporates to develop diagnostic tools and research new therapeutic targets The programme has a total budget of 12 million, with 7.7 million coming from French government funds as part of call for structural competitiveness projects (PSPC), under the "Investment for the Future Programme", managed by the Commissariat General l'Investissement (CGI) and operated by Bpifrance Regulatory News: Oncodesign (Paris:ALONC) (FR0011766229 ALONC), a biotechnology company serving the pharmaceutical industry in the discovery of new therapeutic molecules to fight cancer and other serious illnesses with no known effective treatment, today announced Prime Minister's agreement to provide financial support for its strategic OncoSNIPE programme. OncoSNIPE is a programme designed to develop and implement "bio-IT" approaches, drawing on methodologies including artificial intelligence, statistical learning and semantic enrichment to help identify and characterise patients who are resistant to anti-cancer treatments and thus target research and development on specific therapies through the identification of new targets. OncoSNIPE will enable Oncodesign to generate new research pathways for its Experimentation and Discovery activities. The programme, which will last four years, is managed and coordinated by Oncodesign and will bring together four industrial partners with complementary expertise and core businesses Expert System (Modena, Italy), Sword (Lyon, France), Acobiom (Montpellier, France) and Oncodesign (Dijon, France) and three French academic institutions Hopitaux Universitaires de Strasbourg, Centre George Francois Leclerc in Dijon and Institut Paoli Calmettes in Marseille, these last two being anti-cancer centres. Precision medicine is focused on understanding diseases in patients The OncoSNIPE programme is an R&D programme that forms part of an approach which considers precision medicine as one of the major challenges in patient care. It is all the more important in oncology, where the development of resistance and tolerance to treatment gives rise to relapses that result each year in multiple patient deaths (8.2 million deaths in 2012 World Cancer Report 2014, by Stewart and Wild, IARC, WHO). OncoSNIPE will target three types of cancer: breast, pancreas and lung. These three cancers are representative of the conditions for the action or emergence of resistance mechanisms in oncology and will give the programme the diversity needed to develop tools for diagnostic and therapeutic targeting. Approved by the Cap Digital competitiveness institution, OncoSNIPE is a successful candidate for the "Investments for the Future Programme" (Programme d'investissements d'avenir PIA) for structural competitiveness projects (Projets de Recherche et Developpement Structurants pour la Competitivite PSPC). As a result, and subject to final contractual details being agreed with Bpifrance, it will receive government support of 7.7 million in the form of repayable advances and subsidies to be shared between the academic institutions and business partners. The projected total budget for OncoSNIPE collaborative programme, including private investment, is 12 million, and the programme will produce 43 direct jobs between 2021 and 2025. Over these 4 years, more than 800 patients will be enrolled in the programme by the academic partners, and 600 will receive an original form of longitudinal monitoring. This will include traditional clinical monitoring as well as NGS genomic monitoring of their tumour (Exom-seq and RNA-seq) and of their blood markers (RNA-seq) at the time of diagnosis, at the time of best therapeutic response and at the time of the emergence of the first signs of resistance. The resulting information, contextualised using semantic enrichment, will be used to model resistance mechanisms, identify biomarkers, discover new therapeutic targets and generate the knowledge needed to create a precision medicine approach dedicated to patients who are resistant to anti-cancer treatments. "The announcement of Bpifrance's financial support for the development of the OncoSNIPE programme is a strong signal of the interest government bodies have in developing innovative solutions that match treatments to diseases in patients using precision medicine. Having available effective personalised treatments for cancers and thus optimising treatment costs is a significant goal for the healthcare system," said Philippe Genne, CEO and founder of Oncodesign. "In addition, this programme will enable Oncodesign to accelerate the identification of new targets so as to develop new therapeutic solutions "Bpifrance is proud to support this ambitious and multidisciplinary programme through the "Investments for the Future Programme" that fits well with the national strategy for the development of genomic medicine. Beyond the expected medical benefit, substantial industrial growth is expected for the companies involved in this programme" said Paul-Francois Fournier, Senior Executive VP of Innovation Direction at Bpifrance. About Acobiom: Acobiom is a biotechnology company specializing in the discovery of new biological markers and the development of innovative diagnostics focused on personalized medicine. This market is in rapid expansion and expected to be valued at 2.5tn US by 2022 by Genetic Insider. Personalized medicine is meeting patients' needs: better stratifying patients, reducing drug side effects, better managing health expenditures and offering better therapeutic efficacy, as it enables "Giving the right treatment to the right patient!" Biomarkers are identified and selected by Acobiom using its proprietary technological platform, which combines genomics, transcriptomics, bioinformatics, and data science. With its unique scientific expertise in analyzing gene expression in blood cells and whole blood, Acobiom has established its position in the field of personalized medicine and in the development of (companion) diagnostics in order to select the best-in-class treatment. This approach enables targeted drug selection that matches the patient's own phenotypic profile for the treatment of diseases such as cancer and Alzheimer's disease among others. Founded in 1999, Acobiom is located in the Biopole Euromedicine life sciences business center in Montpellier, France, and is a member of local health care clusters. About Centre Georges-Francois Leclerc (CGFL) The cancer center Georges-Francois Leclerc, founded in 1967, is the only healthcare facility exclusively dedicated to oncology for the whole region of Burgundy Franche-Comte. In 50 years, it has become a reference center located between Paris and Lyon for the fight against cancer and for the benefit of 21,000 patients treated each year with the development of multiple innovative activities: molecular medicine, genomics, immunotherapy, pre-clinical and clinical imaging, early development of new drugs, high-precision radiotherapy, ambulatory surgery, quality of life. Its internationally renowned team of physicians-researchers offers a personalized medicine and a research that directly benefits patients through its state-of-the-art platforms listed in the catalog of the University of Burgundy among which one for early clinical research, the only one in the whole Great East of France to be labeled by the National Cancer Institute. Centre Georges-Francois Leclerc has conducted research on an advanced personalization of treatments by having a comprehensive view, from basic research to clinical research. The CGFL is the only institution in our region that prohibits its physicians from having a liberal activity and overrun fees, thus offering all patients an access to innovative care without anything to pay. With 10% of its annual budget ( 85M) devoted to research, 735 employees including 133 medical doctors and 48 researchers, this private nonprofit health institution, with public service missions of care, training and cancer research, is responsible for more than 21,000 patients each year, including 4,800 inpatients. Centre Georges-Francois Leclerc is a member of the Unicancer Group. About Expert System Expert System created Cogito, a text analytics technology that transforms the way organizations find, comprehend and use information. Cogito leverages proprietary artificial intelligence algorithms to deliver business value and ROI by extracting actionable knowledge from internal and external information and automating business processes. Cogito has been deployed to serve enterprises and government organizations in some of the world's largest industries (Banking and Insurance, Pharmaceuticals, Oil and Gas, Publishing and Government) including companies such as Shell, Chevron, Eli Lilly, Nalco Champion, Bloomberg BNA, Sanofi, Thomson Reuters, Wiley, Wolters Kluwer, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Department of Justice. Follow us on Twitter at @Expert_System About Hopitaux Universitaires de Strasbourg Ranked among the top teaching hospitals in France, Hopitaux Universitaires de Strasbourg are renowned for the quality of the care it provides, the excellence of its clinical research and innovation, and its leadership in the initial or continuous training of healthcare professionals in the Alsace region. The collaboration on various projects between Hopitaux Universitaires de Strasbourg and the University of Strasbourg, which has risen to international prominence in the Shanghai academic ranking, serves as a shining example for other French hospitals and universities to follow. With its University Hospital Institute, which specializes in image-guided minimally-invasive surgery, its 21 certified teams (CNRS, INSERM, University of Strasbourg) and its partnership in 4 LabEx (Laboratories of Excellence), research lies at the heart of the teaching hospital of Strasbourg's strategy. It contributes to the advancement of medicine and runs projects at the forefront of innovation for the benefit of patients. In conjunction with the Paul Strauss anti-cancer center, the teaching hospital of Strasbourg founded the Regional Cancer Institute, which plays a cooperation and coordination role in the public-sector cancer treatment sector in Strasbourg and the surrounding region. With its various projects, including the new PMTL medtech and musculoskeletal facility, the Regional Cancer Institute, and international and European development, the teaching hospital of Strasbourg is pursuing an ambitious policy. Not only does it serve the population of Alsace and beyond, but it has also gained recognition in its areas of expertise at national, European and international level. About IPC (Paoli-Calmettes Institute) Paoli-Calmettes Institute, based in Marseilles, is the leading comprehensive cancer center in region in terms of activities, providing global care for cancer. It is a member of the national federation UNICANCER. Paoli-Calmettes Institute has been licensed by the HAS (the overall health authority in France), level A. It comprises 1,523 employees researchers, medical doctors, health and administrative staff engaged in a wide range of activities on site: prevention, research, treatment and training. IPC registered over 82,987 consultations and over 9,271 new patients in 2015. About ONCODESIGN: www.oncodesign.com Founded over 20 years ago by Dr Philippe Genne, the Company's CEO and Chairman, Oncodesign is a biotechnology company that maximises the pharmaceutical industry's chances of success in discovering new therapeutic molecules to fight cancer and other serious illnesses with no known effective treatment. With its unique experience acquired by working with more than 600 clients, including the world's largest pharmaceutical companies, along with its comprehensive technological platform combining state-of-the-art medicinal chemistry, advanced animal modelling and medical imaging, Oncodesign is able to predict and identify, at a very early stage, each molecule's therapeutic usefulness and potential to become an effective drug. Applied to kinase inhibitors, which represent a market estimated at over $46 billion in 2016 and accounting for almost 25% of the pharmaceutical industry's R&D expenditure, Oncodesign's technology has already enabled the targeting of several promising molecules with substantial therapeutic potential, in oncology and elsewhere, along with partnerships with pharmaceutical groups such as Bristol-Myers Squibb, Ipsen and UCB. Oncodesign is based in Dijon, France, in the heart of the town's university and hospital hub, and within the Paris-Saclay cluster, Oncodesign has 165 employees and subsidiaries in Canada and the USA. About Sword Group: SWORD has 1,600+ IT/Digital Software specialists present over five continents to accompany you in the growth of your organisation in the digital age. As a leader in technological and digital transformation, SWORD has since 2000 acquired a solid reputation in software publishing and in complex IT business project management. With SWORD you have the guarantee of strong close and qualified local commitment, the aim of which is to optimise your processes and data. Above all, our ambition is to build sustainably and foster the loyalty of our staff, our clients and our partners by building on our values and our enthusiasm to accompany you throughout your projects. The Group's performance enables us to invest in the R&D projects that contribute to our positioning and our differenciation on niche markets. Thanks to its recognised competences in over 20 countries, Sword benefits from the trust of prestigious references such as: Admiral, Barclays Bank, BMW, the European Union, the National Payment and Trademark Offices, Lombard, Orange, the United Nations Organisation, etc. Consulting and IT Services: SWORD commits for the most part to fixed-price contracts and operates with a network of competence centres (business units) in different specialised fields: Geographic Information Systems, ECM/EDM, corporate search engines, digital marketing, CRM, portals and corporate social networks, Data and Business Intelligence, Web and Mobile development, infrastructure and cloud, cyber security, performance and applications optimisation, desktop publishing and intellectual property. Software: SWORD develops on demand product lines in the Risk and Compliance sectors (SWORD Active Risk and SWORD Achiever), Intellectual Property (SWORD Intellect), Health (SWORD Orizon), Desktop Publishing (SWORD Kami), Predictive Analysis (SWORD Insight) and Asset Finance (SWORD Apak). About the PIA (Investments for the Future Programme) French government's 47 billion "Investments for the Future Programme" is operated by the General Commission for Investment. Since 2010, 36 billion have been invested on 6 priorities for France's Future: higher education and vocational training research and technology transfer modernisation of enterprise sustainable development digital technology health and biotechnology Find out about the program 'Investments for the Future Programme': http://www.gouvernement.fr/investissements-d-avenir-cgi About Bpifrance Bpifrance, a subsidiary of the French state and the Caisse des Depots and the entrepreneurs' trusted partner, finances businesses from the seed phase to IPO, through loans, guarantees and equity investments. Bpifrance also provides operational services and strong support for innovation, export, and external growth in partnership with Business France. Bpifrance offers to businesses a large range of financing opportunities at each key step of their development, including offers adapted to regional specificities. With its 47 regional offices (90% of decisions are made locally) Bpifrance represents a strategic tool for economic competitiveness dedicated to entrepreneurs. Bpifrance acts as a back-up for initiatives driven by the French State and the Regions to tackle 3 goals: Contributing to SME's growth Preparing tomorrow's competitiveness Contributing to the development of a positive entrepreneur ecosystem. With Bpifrance, businesses benefit from a powerful, efficient and close representative, to answer all their needs in terms of financing, innovation and investment. More info: www.bpifrance.fr - Follow us: @bpifrance View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170207006164/en/ Contacts: Oncodesign Philippe Genne Chairman and CEO Tel +33 (0)3 80 78 82 60 investisseurs@oncodesign.com or Bpifrance Nicolas Jehly Tel.: 33 (0)1 41 79 95 12 nicolas.jehly@bpifrance.fr or NewCap Investor & Press Relations Julien Perez Nicolas Merigeau Tel. +33 (0)1 44 71 98 52 oncodesign@newcap.eu NEW YORK, 2017-02-07 18:15 CET (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- FastMatch, Inc., a financial technology company focusing on foreign exchange trading, announced today that Brian Friedman, President, and Jimmy Hallac, Managing Director, of Leucadia National Corporation, have joined its board of directors. They have replaced former directors Drew Niv and William Ahdout. FastMatch develops and operates trading platforms concentrating on both the sell-side and buy-side market segments. FXCM is a passive minority owner of FastMatch. FastMatch operates as a completely independent entity of FXCM with no operational dependencies between two firms. ABOUT FASTMATCH FastMatch is a financial technology company focusing on foreign exchange trading. FastMatch develops and operates trading platforms concentrating on both the sell-side and buy-side market segments. FastMatch operates a highly successful sell-side Electronic Communication Network that strives to offer its customers access to large pools of diversified liquidity at unparalleled speed with complete transparency in the optimal location. The FastMatch ECN is based on the state-of-the-art technology that gives FastMatch an incredible speed advantage and has the capability of handling thousands of clients simultaneously. Clients include retail brokers, institutions, banks, hedge funds, and proprietary trading firms. AgencyFX is a buy-side focused product, providing a safe, reliable way to trade with institutional and retail FX clients. The institutional and retail liquidity is enhanced with algorithmic trading technology to minimize information leakage, and lower execution costs. AgencyFX allows your desk to demonstrate to investors that your execution is in line with industry best-practice. Dmitri Galinov CEO - FastMatch Inc. 180 Maiden Lane, 7th Floor New York. NY 10038, USA dmitri.galinov@fastmatchfx.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. CHICAGO, IL -- (Marketwired) -- 02/07/17 -- Cosmos Holdings, Inc. ("the Company") (OTCQB: COSM), an international pharmaceutical company, announced that Orestes Varvitsiotes has been appointed as the initial board member of its Advisory Board of Directors. Mr. Varvitsiotes is currently working with Aegis Capital Corp. in New York. He is a wealth management professional with more than 25 years of experience in the capital markets. His experience extends in various fields of the financial industry such as financial consulting, portfolio management, trading and capital raising. Cosmos Holdings CEO Gregory Siokas commented, "As the company grows we expand our team and it is a great pleasure to welcome Orestes Varvitsiotes to our Advisory Board. His advice will be valuable and we expect that his input will reinforce the executive team's abilities to manage the company." Orestes Varvitsiotes said, "It's an incredible honor for me to join the Advisory Board of Cosmos. I believe Cosmos is uniquely positioned to grow its business worldwide and I am pleased to offer my services to assist the management to succeed its goals. I look forward to cooperating with them and beginning a new phase of the journey together." About Cosmos Holdings, Inc. Cosmos Holdings Inc. is a pharmaceutical company focused on identifying, acquiring, developing, and commercializing medicines to improve patients' lives and outcomes. The company has a trans-European network of more than 60 clients and vendors in Germany, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Denmark, Poland, Netherlands, and Greece. Its warehouse and distribution center is located in Thessaloniki, Greece and is GDP & ISO 9001:2008 certified. More information is available at www.cosmosholdingsinc.com. Cosmos Holdings, Inc. takes no responsibility for updating the information contained in this press release following the date hereof to reflect events or circumstances occurring after the date hereof or the occurrence of unanticipated events or for any changes or modifications made to this press release or the information contained herein by any third-parties, including, but not limited to, any wire or internet services. For More Information Contact: Steve Carr Managing Director Dresner Corporate Services (312)780-7211 scarr@dresnerco.com TORONTO, ONTARIO -- (Marketwired) -- 02/07/17 -- North Sea Energy Inc. ("NSE" or the "Company") (TSX VENTURE: NUK) announces the following corporate update: Board Changes: The Company is pleased to announce that the following two persons have been appointed to the Board of Directors of the Company, effective January 30, 2017: Harvey M. Lawson - Harvey Lawson has had many years of experience in the management of public companies. He served as CFO of Trade Winds Ventures from 2001 to 2011 until the Company was purchased by Detour Gold Corp. on December 1, 2011. Currently, Harvey is CFO of Alliance Growers Corp. Prior to this, Harvey taught Financial Management at the National University of Singapore, Hong Kong Polytechnic and the BC Institute of Technology. Harvey is an active member of several Angel Investor groups in Vancouver and the Pacific North West where he offers his expertise in reviewing the financials of companies presenting to the Angels, as well as in the Due Diligence process of companies under consideration for investment. Harvey also mentors many young entrepreneurs in the Technology sector. D. Brett Whitelaw - Brett Whitelaw has been involved in the Resources Industry since 1996. He was a founding director in 2000 of Conquest Resources Limited, which listed through a reverse takeover Conquest Yellowknife. Since then Mr. Whitelaw has been a founding director or Director of four other TSX Venture companies, including Nubian Resources Inc., Pinestar Gold Inc., Swift Resources Inc. and Newcastle Minerals Inc. Mr. Whitelaw has raised several millions of dollars for these companies. Ian Lambert has been appointed CEO, Harvey Lawson has been appointed CFO, and the Audit Committee consists of Ian Lambert, Harvey Lawson and Brett Whitelaw. About NSE: The Company, founded in February 2007, is a UK focused oil and gas exploration and appraisal company quoted on the TSX-V. NSE, along with its wholly owned subsidiary, North Sea Energy (UK NO2) Limited, holds two high impact opportunities in the UK North Sea. These opportunities are the Bagpuss and Blofeld prospects located in blocks 13/24c and 13/25 of the UKCS. Forward-looking statements Except for statements of historical fact, this news release contains certain "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable securities law. Forward-looking information is frequently characterized by words such as "plan", "expect", "forecast", "project", "intend", "believe", "anticipate", "estimate" and other similar words, or statements that certain events or conditions "may" or "will" occur. Although we believe that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking information are reasonable, there can be no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. We cannot guarantee future results, performance or achievements. Consequently, there is no representation that the actual results achieved will be the same, in whole or in part, as those set out in the forward-looking information. Forward-looking information is based on the opinions and estimates of management at the date the statements are made, and are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those anticipated in the forward-looking information. In particular, there can be no certainty that analysis of the hydrocarbons and reservoir will result in commerciality being established. Factors which may cause commerciality not to be established include risks and uncertainties such as analysis concluding that the hydrocarbons are not of a commercially interesting grade, logistical challenges associated with extracting in the North Sea, oil prices, access to financing (for a full list of risks please refer to our financial statements and management discussion and analysis filed on www.sedar.com). Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Contacts: North Sea Energy Inc. Ian Lambert CEO 416-366-4700 ilambert@northseaenergy.ca www.northseaenergy.ca Gold Reserve Inc. (TSX.V:GRZ) (OTCQB:GDRZF) ("Gold Reserve" or the "Company") announces that on February 7, 2017, the Paris Court of Appeal (the "Court") rejected all of Venezuela's arguments and issued a judgment dismissing the annulment applications filed by Venezuela pending before the French courts in relation to the arbitral award dated September 22, 2014 (the "Award") rendered by the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes ("ICSID"), against the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ("Venezuela"). At the Court in October 2014 and January 2015, respectively, Venezuela filed annulment applications regarding the Award and regarding the December 15, 2014 arbitral decision dismissing its request for rectification (the "Decision"). During the same period, the Company applied to the Court for exequatur of the Award, which entails recognition and enforcement of the Award in France. The Court issued the exequatur on January 29, 2015 declaring the Award to be recognized and enforceable in France. The Court considered and rejected each of the arguments raised by Venezuela, confirming that (a) the arbitral tribunal properly took jurisdiction over the matter, (b) the parties were treated equitably, and the rights of defense and the adversarial principles were respected, (c) the arbitral tribunal ruled within the mandate conferred upon it, and (d) the Award is not contrary to French international public policy. As a result, the Court has dismissed the annulment applications filed by Venezuela, and therefore the Award in the amount of $713,032,000 USD plus interest remains enforceable in France. The Court also ordered Venezuela to pay an amount of 150,000 for the Company's legal fees and costs. Venezuela can consider the option of appealing the judgment before the French Cour de cassation, which is the court of final resort in the French judicial system. James Coleman, Chairman of the Board, stated, "Even though we prevailed in this matter we consider Venezuela our partner and look forward to satisfaction of the Settlement Agreement and advancing the development of the gold copper silver Siembra Minera Project (Brisas Cristinas)." Further information regarding the Company can be located at www.goldreserveinc.com, www.sec.gov, and www.sedar.com. CAUTIONARY STATEMENT REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS This release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of applicable U.S. federal securities laws and "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian provincial and territorial securities laws and state Gold Reserve's and its management's intentions, hopes, beliefs, expectations or predictions for the future including without limitation statements with respect to the transactions contemplated by the Settlement Agreement, and the development of the Brisas Cristinas project. Forward-looking statements are necessarily based upon number of estimates and assumptions that, while considered reasonable by management at this time, are inherently subject to significant business, economic and competitive uncertainties and contingencies. We caution that such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other risks that may cause the actual outcomes, financial results, performance, or achievements of Gold Reserve to be materially different from our estimated outcomes, future results, performance, or achievements expressed or implied by those forward-looking statements, including without limitation Venezuela's ability to fund the contemplated payments to the Company pursuant to the Settlement Agreement, the ability of Venezuela and the Company to arrange financing for the anticipated capital costs of the Brisas Cristinas project and the risk that the development of the Brisas Cristinas project may not proceed as anticipated. This list is not exhaustive of the factors that may affect any of Gold Reserve's forward-looking statements. Investors are cautioned not to put undue reliance on forward-looking statements. All subsequent written and oral forward-looking statements attributable to Gold Reserve or persons acting on its behalf are expressly qualified in their entirety by this notice. Gold Reserve disclaims any intent or obligation to update publicly or otherwise revise any forward-looking statements or the foregoing list of assumptions or factors, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, subject to its disclosure obligations under applicable rules promulgated by the Securities and Exchange Commission and applicable Canadian provincial and territorial securities laws. Neither the 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. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170207006344/en/ Contacts: Gold Reserve Inc. A. Douglas Belanger, 509-623-1500 President Fax: 509-623-1634 WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Iran's Supreme Leader lashed out at President Donald Trump in a rare public speech on Tuesday, with Ayatollah Ali Khamenei arguing that the new president has exposed the 'real face of the United States.' Speaking to Iranian Air Force officers, Khamenei accused Trump of confirming Iran's claims of political, economic, moral, and social corruption within the U.S. The speech by Khamenei was seen as a response to Trump's immigration ban as well as the new U.S. sanctions imposed on Iran in retaliation for a recent ballistic missile test. Khamenei said Iranians will show what kind of stance the nation takes when threatened with a demonstration on Friday, when Iran celebrates the anniversary of the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Last week, Trump accused Iran of 'playing with fire' and noted the Islamic Republic has been formally put 'on notice.' Trump also indicated he would not be as kind to Iran as his predecessor, although Khamenei was also critical of former President Barack Obama in his remarks. Khamenei blamed Obama for the creation of the terrorist group ISIS, ongoing wars in Iraq and Syria and imposing sanctions intended to paralyze Iran. 'Of course, he did not achieve what he desired,' Khamenei said. 'No enemy can ever paralyze the Iranian nation.' Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann. OTTAWA, ONTARIO -- (Marketwired) -- 02/07/17 -- Department of Canadian Heritage and Department of Justice Canada The Honourable Melanie Joly, Minister of Canadian Heritage, and the Honourable Jody Wilson-Raybould, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, are pleased to announce the reinstatement and modernization of a program that, historically, has helped clarify and strengthen the constitutional rights of Canadians by supporting test cases. The Court Challenges Program will provide financial aid to groups and individuals asserting their rights and hold the government accountable for defending the rights and freedoms of all Canadians. The Program will have an annual budget of $5 million. The previous programs changed the course of history and played a significant role in most major court challenges associated with official language and equality rights in Canada. The programs have helped groups and individuals advocate for rights and freedoms at school, at work and in their day-to-day lives. With the modernized Program, the government intends to better reflect changes in the Canadian jurisprudence by expanding the scope of eligible rights to sections of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms relating to fundamental freedoms, democratic rights, life, liberty and security of the person and most of the language rights guaranteed under the Official Languages Act. The Program will have a modernized governance structure that is independent, transparent and accountable, and ensures the impartiality of funding decisions. Today, the Government is launching a process to select an independent body that will be mandated to implement and manage the modernized Court Challenges Program. Interested parties have until March 6, 2017, to submit an application. In the upcoming months, an open, transparent and merit-based process will also be initiated in order to select the members of two expert panels that will be responsible for making decisions regarding Program funding. More details will follow. The Government of Canada is aiming to have a modernized Program operational by fall 2017. Quotes "We are extremely proud of our free and democratic society, which is recognized around the world. It inspires us to work continuously to make Canada more diverse, inclusive and equitable. The return of the Court Challenges Program is a testament to our government's commitment to protecting human rights and official language rights. The impact of this program on our history is tangible, and the modernized version will change the lives of many Canadians." - The Honourable Melanie Joly, Minister of Canadian Heritage "Reinstating a modern Court Challenges Program will increase access to justice for vulnerable groups and official-language communities. Doing so as we celebrate the Charter's 35th anniversary is a clear affirmation of our Government's commitment to human rights and the rule of law." - The Honourable Jody Wilson-Raybould, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada Quick Facts -- In its ministerial mandate letters to the Minister of Canadian Heritage, and the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, the Government of Canada committed to modernizing and reinstating the Court Challenges Program. -- The Program has been modernized following a detailed analysis of several relevant areas, including an evaluation of the former Court Challenges Program and Language Rights Support Program, the results of consultations held in spring 2016 with over 100 stakeholders, and the Report of the Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights, released on September 19, 2016. -- Of the annual $5-million investment, a minimum of $1.5 million will be allocated to the clarification of language rights. The balance will be allocated to the clarification of other rights covered by the Program. Related Products Government Response to the Report of the Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights Report of the Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights Summary report on the Court Challenges Program consultations Mandate letter, Minister of Canadian Heritage Mandate letter, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada Associated Links The modernized Court Challenges Program Submit an application to be the managing entity of the modernized Court Challenges Program Stay Connected Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Instagram and Flickr. Backgrounder Program precursors Between 1978 and 2006, the former Court Challenges Program played a key role in helping Canadians clarify and assert the official language and equality rights guaranteed under the Constitution of Canada. The former Program was abolished in 2006. However, in 2008, following an out-of-court settlement, the Government of Canada pledged to fund the Court Challenges Program cases already approved (old cases still ongoing) and to establish the Language Rights Support Program. Modernized Court Challenges Program Anticipated outcomes Through the Court Challenges Program: -- Individuals or groups can obtain funding that allows them to bring and participate in test cases involving the rights and freedoms covered by the Program. -- The perspectives of individuals or groups who have received funding are brought before the courts in the context of test cases. -- The rights and freedoms covered by the Program are clarified and strengthened. An independent body In order to avoid any real or perceived conflict of interest with the Government of Canada, the Court Challenges Program will be implemented and managed by a third party. Among other duties, the independent body selected will be responsible for the general administration and implementation of the Program, including the management of the two panels of experts. Panels of experts Decisions as to which cases or projects will be funded under the Court Challenges Program will be made by two independent panels of experts: an Official Language Rights Expert Panel and a Human Rights Expert Panel. The seven members of each panel will be selected on the basis of their relevant legal expertise, and will report to the independent body. A selection committee composed of senior civil servants and experts in official languages and human rights will be responsible for pre-selecting qualified candidates for each panel, and recommending them to the Minister of Canadian Heritage. Funding priorities The Court Challenges Program will provide funding for: -- developing test cases; -- litigation in test cases; -- legal interventions. Rights covered by the Program The modernized Court Challenges Program will include all of the rights covered by the former Court Challenges Program and the Language Rights Support Program: -- Equality rights in the Charter (section 15; section 28 on gender equality; section 27 on multiculturalism) -- Official language rights in the Charter (sections 16 to 23 of the Charter; freedom of expression in section 2 of the Charter when invoked in an official language minority case) -- Official language rights in other parts of the Constitution and related laws will also still be included (section 93 or 133 of the Constitution Act, 1867, or as guaranteed in section 23 of the Manitoba Act, 1870) The modernized Program will include these additional Charter rights: -- Freedom of religion, expression, association and assembly (section 2) -- Democratic rights, that is, the right to vote and be a candidate for election (section 3) -- The right to life, liberty and security of the person (section 7) It will also include these parts and provisions of the Official Languages Act: -- Part I (Proceedings of Parliament) -- certain sections of Part II (Legislative and other instruments) -- Part IV (Communications and services to the public) -- Part V (Language of work within the federal institutions) -- Part VII (Promotion of English and French) -- section 91 (Staffing) Quotes from stakeholders "The revived and enhanced Court Challenges Program is a welcome and important addition to the enhancement and enforcement of constitutional human rights in Canada. Too often citizens cannot afford the litigation costs of maintaining democratic rights and freedoms granted by the Canadian Constitution. The expansion of the Program to cover not only additional official language rights and constitutional equality rights, but also fundamental Charter rights, is a demonstration of Canada's commitment to democracy, freedom and human dignity." - Michael Bergman, lawyer, cofounder of The Association of English Speaking Jurists of Quebec, and former member of the Board of Directors of the previous Court Challenges Program "The Court Challenges Program is fundamental to the preservation of our Francophone minority communities. Asserting these rights is not easy, and the Program supports those who take action for the good of us all. For our community, this means a school and learning centre where we can learn, share, eat, play, laugh, sing and, yes, even dance together in French." - Noella Arsenault, Principal appellant, Arsenault-Cameron v. Prince Edward Island (2000) (Minority Language Educational Rights, Article 23, Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms) "We at the Women's Legal Education and Action Fund (LEAF) welcome the renewal of a modernized Court Challenges Program. Our cases have sought to improve women's equality rights since our founding in 1985. Although much remains to be done before equality is achieved, support from this program will improve access to justice by helping LEAF and other equality-seeking groups to ensure that members of disadvantaged groups will have a meaningful voice in the evolution of constitutional equality rights in Canada." - Dr. Kim Stanton, Legal Director, Women's Legal Education and Action Fund "The Court Challenges Program is an important tool in creating equitable access to the justice and legal system with respect to equity rights. It is also an effective program that recognizes social change and emerging equity issues." - Pardeep Singh Nagra, Executive Director of the Sikh Heritage Museum of Canada Contacts: Pierre-Olivier Herbert Press Secretary Office of the Minister of Canadian Heritage 819-997-7788 Media Relations Canadian Heritage 819-994-9101 1-866-569-6155 pch.media-media.pch@canada.ca David Taylor Director of Communications Office of the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada 613-992-4621 Media Relations Department of Justice 613-957-4207 22.6 m raised on Euronext Paris which combined with the 2 m issued from convertibles bonds exercised by the funds managed by Alto Invest, will enable Lysogene to increase its share capital up to 24.6 m 15 m from historical shareholders: Sofinnova Partners, BpiFrance Investissement (InnoBio) and Novo A/S New partner joining Lysogene: Financiere Arbevel with 2 m Market capitalisation of approximately 82.1 m Offer price set at 6.80 per share Regulatory News: Lysogene (Paris:LYS) (the "Company"), a biotechnology company specializing in gene therapy targeting two rare CNS diseases announced today the success of its initial public offering on Compartment C of the Euronext regulated market in Paris ("Euronext Paris"), by way of an Open Price Offering ("OPO") and a Global Placement ("Global Placement", together with OPO, the "Offering" ), raising 22.6 m by means of a capital increase. "We are very pleased to announce today the success of our initial public offering on Euronext Paris, which constitutes a step that is a key milestone in the development of our company." states Karen Aiach, founder and CEO of Lysogene. "This IPO will enable us to pursue the development of two drugs to treat two polysdisabling, devastating and deadly diseases of the central nervous system, which start in infancy and lead to the patients premature death. By focusing directly on the cause, our treatments aim to cure these diseases the medical needs of which are largely unsatisfied and currently uncovered. We would like to take this opportunity to thank our shareholders such as Sofinnova Partners, BpiFrance Investissement (InnoBio) and Novo A/S as well as new partners such as Financiere Arbevel and Alto Invest in connection with the conversion of its convertible bonds, which have joined us during this IPO "We are pleased to have supported an entrepreneur like Karen, who developed in record-time, along with her team, an innovative technology in gene therapy for the treatment of rare and deadly central nervous system diseases. This IPO tops off a unique and remarkable track-record in the Biotech sector, in order to address important unmet medical needs." state Rafaele Tordjman of Sofinnova Partners and Chahra Louafi of BpiFrance Investissement, both members of Lysogene's Board of Directors. The price of the OPO and the Global Placement is 6.80 per share corresponding to the low-range price of the Offering. 3,323,567 new shares will be issued in the context of the Offering, allowing for a capital increase of 22,600,256 (including issuance premium), up to approximately 89% of the initially envisaged capital increase without the overallotment option. The order book is built around leading, specialist, French and European, institutional investors: Global Placement: total subscription demand of 22.9 m Open Price Offering: demand of 1.6 m The subscription commitments as mentioned in the note d'operation have been fulfilled. The historical shareholders, Sofinnova Partners, BpiFrance Investissement (InnoBio) participated in the Offering with 15 m and among the new shareholders, a new partner joined Lysogene, Financiere Arbevel, with 2 m. On the basis of a price per share of 6.80, Lysogene's market capitalisation is approximately 82.1 following the transaction. The 3,323,567 shares offered within the context of the Offering will be allocated as follows: Global Placement: 3,091,786 shares allocated to institutional investors (representing 93.03% of the total number of shares allocated); OPO: 231,781 shares allocated (representing 6.97% of the total number of shares allocated); In respect to the OPO, A1 and A2 orders will be 100% satisfied Lysogene's free float will be approximately 11.69% of the share capital. The Share Capital Increase, combined with the 2 m resulting from the conversion of the convertible bonds of Alto Invest, will enable Lysogene to increase its share capital up to 24.6 m. Trading on Compartment C of Euronext Paris will begin at 9.00 a.m. on February 8, 2017 in the form of when-issued shares on a single listing line entitled "Lysogene Promesses" and will be subject to delivery of the custodian's certificate relating to the issuing of the new shares. Clearing-settlement of the shares issued in respect of the open price offer and global placement will take place on February 9, 2017. The shares will be traded on Euronext Paris under ISIN code FR0013233475 and ticker LYS as of February 10, 2017. As from February 8, 2017, and for a period of one-year automatically renewable period, Lysogene has entered into a liquidity contract with French broker Gilbert Dupont that complies with the code of ethics issued by the AMAFI and approved by the French AMF on March 21, 2011. For the implementation of such contract, 300,000 in cash have been credited to the liquidity account. Lysogene's capital distribution after the Offering The calculation of the free float takes into account the number of shares held by the funds managed by Alto Invest 2.44%, and Financiere Arbevel 2.44%. Rationale for the Offering The purpose of the Offering is to provide the Company with additional financial resources to fund its activities and pursue the development of its technology platforms and drug candidates. The proceeds of the Offering will mainly finance: the completion of the Pivot Phase study in Europe and the United States of LYS-SAF302, for the treatment of MPS IIIA, with up to two-thirds of the net proceeds of the Offering, the completion of the Phase I/II study of LYS-GM101 for the treatment of GM1 Gangliosidosis, with up to approximately one-fourth of the net proceeds of the Offering, and the remainder of the net proceeds of the Offering (one-twelfth) will finance the Company's continuing activities aside from the foregoing two R&D programs. Indicative timetable of the IPO February 8, 2017 Start of trading of the shares on Euronext Paris in the form of "when-issued" shares (traded under the symbol "Lysogene-Promesses") February 9, 2017 Clearing-settlement of the Offering February 10, 2017 Opening of trading of the Lysogene shares on Euronext Paris under the symbol "Lysogene" Joint Lead Managers and Bookrunners Societe Generale Gilbert Dupont Identification codes for Lysogene shares Company name: "Lysogene" ISIN code: FR0013233475 Ticker: LYS Compartment: Euronext Paris (Compartment C) Sector: 4573 Biotechnology How to obtain the Prospectus Copies of the prospectus for the Offering and the admission of Lysogene shares to Euronext's regulated market in Paris consisting of (i) the document de base approved by the French Autorite des Marches Financiers ("AMF") on January 9, 2017 under no. I.17-001 and (ii) the note d'operation with the summary of the prospectus, approved by the AMF on January 24, 2017 under no. 17-031, are available free of charge upon request from Lysogene (18-20 rue Jacques Dulud, 92200 Neuilly-sur-Seine) and from the Company's (www.lysogene.com) and the AMF's (www.amf-france.org) websites. Risk factors Investors are advised to read carefully the risk factors presented in Chapter 4 "Risk factors" of the document de base and especially the factors in section 4.2 "Risks arising from the Company's business activities and products", giving special regard to the factors in section 4.2.5 "Risks related to financing the development of the Company's business activities" to the extent that the Company does not yet generate any revenue, and Chapter 2 "Risks related to the Offering" of the note d'operation. About Lysogene Lysogene is a clinical-stage biotechnology company pioneering in the basic research and clinical development of gene therapies that use vectors derived from adeno-associated viruses to treat rare and fatal central nervous system disorders in children, for which, to the best of the Company's knowledge, no current treatment exists. Since 2009, Lysogene has established a solid platform and extensive network, along with innovative products in MPS IIIA and GM1 Gangliosidosis, to become a global leader in gene therapies for rare and fatal central nervous system diseases. For more information, visit www.lysogene.com About Sofinnova Partners Sofinnova Partners is an independent venture capital firm based in Paris, France. For more than 40 years, the firm has backed nearly 500 companies at different stages of their development pure creations, spin-offs, as well as turnaround situations and worked alongside key entrepreneurs in the Life Sciences industry around the globe. With over 1.3 billion of funds under management, Sofinnova Partners has created market leaders with its experienced team and hands-on approach in building portfolio companies through to exit. Sofinnova Partners supports Lysogene since its seed funding in 2013. For more information, please visit: www.sofinnova.fr About BpiFrance Investissements BpiFrance, a subsidiary of the French state and the Caisse des Depots and the entrepreneurs' trusted partner, finances businesses from the seed phase to IPO, through loans, guarantees and equity investments. BpiFrance also provides operational services and strong support for innovation, export, and external growth in partnership with Business France. BpiFrance offers to businesses a large range of financing opportunities at each key step of their development, including offers adapted to regional specificities. With its 47 regional offices (90% of decisions are made locally) BpiFrance represents a strategic tool for economic competitiveness dedicated to entrepreneurs. BpiFrance acts as a back-up for initiatives driven by the French State and the Regions to tackle 3 goals: contributing to SME's growth, preparing tomorrow's competitiveness and contributing to the development of a positive entrepreneur ecosystem. With BpiFrance, businesses benefit from a powerful, efficient and close representative, to answer all their needs in terms of financing, innovation and investment. For more information, please visit: www.bpifrance.fr Important information This announcement does not, and shall not, in any circumstances constitute a public offering nor an invitation to the public in connection with any offer. The distribution of this document may be restricted by law in certain jurisdictions. Persons into whose possession this document comes are required to inform themselves about and to observe any such restrictions. This announcement is an advertisement and not a prospectus within the meaning of Directive 2003/71/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 4 November 2003, as amended (the "Prospectus Directive With respect to the member States of the European Economic Area other than France (the "Member States", no action has been undertaken or will be undertaken to make an offer to the public of the securities referred to herein requiring a publication of a prospectus in any relevant Member State other than France. As a result, the securities may not and will not be offered in any relevant Member State other than France except in accordance with the exemptions set forth in Article 3(2) of the Prospectus Directive or in such other cases not requiring the publication by the Company of a prospectus in accordance with article 3 of the Prospectus Directive and/or regulations applicable in that Member State. This document may not be distributed, directly or indirectly, in the United States. This document is not an offer of securities for sale nor a solicitation of an offer to subscribe securities in the United States or any other jurisdiction where such offer may be restricted. Securities may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "Securities Act"), or an exemption from registration. The shares of the Company have not been and will not be registered under the Securities Act, and the Company does not intend to make an offer to the public of its securities in the United States. Copies of this document are not being, and should not be, distributed in or sent into the United States. This document is only being distributed to, and is only directed at, persons that (i) are located outside the United Kingdom, (ii) are "investment professionals" falling within Article 19(5) of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Financial Promotion) Order 2005 (as amended, the "Order"), (iii) are persons falling within Article 49(2)(a) to (d) ("high net worth companies, unincorporated associations, etc.") of the Order, or (iv) are persons to whom an invitation or inducement to engage in investment activity (within the meaning of Article 21 of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000) in connection with the issue or sale of any securities may otherwise lawfully be communicated or caused to be communicated (all such persons together being referred to as "Relevant Persons"). This document is directed only at Relevant Persons and must not be acted on or relied on by persons who are not Relevant Persons. Any investment or investment activity to which this document relates is available only to Relevant Persons and will be engaged in only with Relevant Persons. A prospectus, consisting of (i) the document de base registered by the French Autorite des marches financiers (the "AMF") on January 9, 2017 under no. I. 17-001 and (ii) a note d'operation (the "note d'operation") including the summary of the prospectus, approved by the AMF on January 24, 2017 under no. 17-031 (the "Prospectus"). The Prospectus is available on the AMF website (www.amf-france.org) and on the Company's website (www.lysogene.com) and may be obtained free of charge from the Company. Potential investors should review the risk factors described in the Prospectus. THIS PRESS RELEASE MAY NOT BE DISTRIBUTED DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY IN THE UNITED STATES, CANADA, AUSTRALIA OR JAPAN View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170207006373/en/ Contacts: Lysogene Sarah Ankri, +33 (0)1 41 43 03 90 VP Finance sarah.ankri@lysogene.com or NewCap Investor relations Julie Coulot, +33 (0)1 44 71 20 40 lysogene@newcap.eu or NewCap Media relations Annie-Florence Loyer, +33 (0)1 44 71 94 93 afloyer@newcap.fr WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Senator Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., took another step toward becoming the next Attorney General on Tuesday, as his nomination cleared a key procedural hurdle in the Senate. The Senate voted 52 to 47 in favor of limiting debate on Sessions' nomination as the nation's chief law enforcement officer, with the vote largely coming down along party lines. Senator Joe Manchin, D-W.V., was the only Democrat to vote in favor of the motion, while Sessions cast his vote as 'present.' The vote in favor of the cloture motion sets up a final vote on Wednesday, with Sessions likely to be confirmed by the Republican-controlled Senate. Democrats have raised concerns about Sessions' level of independence from President Donald Trump as well as his record on issues such as immigration, civil rights, women's health, and voting rights. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., had some harsh words for his colleague ahead of the vote, calling Sessions the 'most anti-immigrant member' of the Senate. Schumer argued having an independent Attorney General is critical because the Trump administration has shown 'little regard for an independent judiciary and even for the Constitution itself.' 'That is probably the most important quality of this new attorney general, and I have to say as much as I agree with Jeff Sessions on an issue like trade, he's the wrong, wrong, wrong choice for attorney general,' Schumer said. He added, 'He would be wrong at any time because of his record on immigration, civil rights and voting rights, but particularly wrong now because we need someone who has some degree of independence from the President.' Meanwhile, GOP Senators stood by their fellow Republican, with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ken., describing Sessions as a man of his word who believes in the rule of law. 'We can expect that Senator Sessions, in his new role, will continue fighting to protect the rights and freedoms of all Americans as he also defends the safety and security of our nation,' McConnell said. (Photo: Gage Skidmore) Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX Kostenloser Wertpapierhandel auf Smartbroker.de Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - February 7, 2017) - CVR Medical Corp. (TSXV: CVM) (FSE: B3BN) (OTCQB: CRRVF) ("CVR Medical" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that, due to strong demand, the Company has increased the size of its previously announced private placement financing to 7.58 million units (the "Units"), at a price of $0.33 per unit, for aggregate gross proceeds to the Company of approximately $2.5 million (the "Financing"). Each unit is comprised of one common share ("Common Share") and one half of one common share purchase warrant of the Company. Each whole warrant will entitle the holder thereof to purchase one Common Share at a price of $0.70 for a period of eighteen months following the closing of the Financing. The Company intends to use the net proceeds of the Offering for ongoing working capital requirements relating to the Joint Venture described below. The Company may pay broker commissions or finder's fees to of up to 6.0% in cash and 6.0% in warrants. Completion of the Financing is subject to Exchange acceptance, and all securities issued pursuant to the Financing will be subject to a hold period of four months as required under applicable securities legislation. The securities referred to herein will not be or have not been registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or an applicable exemption from registration requirements. For additional information on the organization, leadership, and current news please visit the company website at www.CVRMed.com About CVR Medical CVR Medical is a company that is involved in an equal parts joint venture with CVR Global Inc. (the "Joint Venture"). The Joint Venture operates in the medical industry focused on the commercialization of a proprietary subsonic, infrasonic, and low frequency sound wave analysis technology and has patents to a diagnostic device designed to detect and measure carotid arterial stenosis. CVR Medical is managed by a proven technical team. CVR Medical trades on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol CVM. ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD: (signed) "Peter Bakema" CEO, President & Director For further information contact: Brisco Capital Partners Corp. Scott Koyich, President Telephone: (403) 262-9888 This press release contains forward-looking information that involves various risks and uncertainties regarding future events related to the Joint Venture and the proposed Financing. Such statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results, performance or developments to differ materially from those contained in the statements and are not guarantees of future performance of the Company. No assurance can be given that any of the events anticipated by the forward-looking statements will occur or, if they do occur, what benefits the Company will obtain from them. These forward-looking statements reflect management's current views and are based on certain expectations, estimates and assumptions which may prove to be incorrect. A number of risks and uncertainties could cause our actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements, including: (1) a downturn in general economic conditions in North America and internationally, (2) the inherent uncertainties and speculative nature associated with commercialization of technology and the practice of medicine, (3) a change in health regulations, (4) any number of events or causes which may delay or cease commercialization and development of the Joint Venture, (5) the risk that the Company or the Joint Venture does not execute its business plan, (6) inability to retain key employees, (7) inability to finance operations and growth, and (8) other factors beyond the Company's control. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this news release and, except as required by law, the Company assumes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements, or to update the reasons why actual results differed from those projected in the forward-looking statements. THE TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE INC. HAS NEITHER APPROVED NOR DISAPPROVED THE CONTENTS OF THIS PRESS RELEASE. 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. Fuqing City, China--(Newsfile Corp. - February 7, 2017) - China Clean Energy Inc. (OTC Pink: CCGY) ("China Clean Energy", the "Company" or "CCGY"), today announced that the Intermediate People's Court of Fuzhou City, Fujian Province, China ruled in favor of China Clean Energy in certain claims against its wholly-owned operating subsidiaries, Fujian Zhongde Science & Technologies Co., Ltd. ("FZT") and Fujian Zhongde Energy Co., Ltd. ("FZE"). China Clean Energy filed suit against its subsidiaries in order to enforce actions taken to legally remove directors, management, and legal representatives of the subsidiaries, and replace them with persons chosen and authorized by China Clean Energy. The subsidiaries refused to comply with the authorized changes, thus necessitating the need for court enforcement. The Court ruled as follows: The January 17, 2015 Shareholder's Resolution and the Letter of Removal and Appointment is legal and valid. (That resolution removed the former directors, Chairman and legal representatives of FZT and FZE, and appointed Cosimo Borrelli, Jocelyn Chi and Kevin Song as new directors, and appointed Cosimo Borrelli as the chairman and legal representative.) FZT and FZE must register with the appropriate authorities said changes within 10 days of the ruling. The Court rejected CCGY's claim that requests its subsidiaries to turn over specific licenses, certificates, chops, financial documents, and other items that enable it to operate. The Court noted that the subsidiaries exist as independent legal entities, and there is no legal basis to force the divestiture of those items. FZT and FZE have appealed this ruling to a Higher Court. The Higher Court's decision is expected within the next 3 months. "Fuzhou City Court's ruling sends a strong signal that foreign shareholders' legal rights will be enforced," said Stephen Markscheid, the Court Appointed Receiver of China Clean Energy. "This ruling is an initial victory for us, while also supporting the investment climate in China. Markscheid continued, "We are confident that we will regain control of our company. We look forward to ultimate success in our effort to recover some of the valuable assets owned by our shareholders." About China Clean Energy China Clean Energy Inc. is a renewable fuel and chemicals manufacturer, specializing in the development, manufacturing, and distribution of biodiesel and specialty chemical products made from renewable resources. For additional information please visit: http://www.chinacleanenergyinc.com. Safe Harbor Statement This announcement contains forward-looking statements. All statements other than statements of historical fact in this announcement are forward-looking statements, including but not limited to, the effectiveness, profitability, and the marketability of the Company's products; the future trading of the common stock of the Company; the ability of the Company to capitalize on its expanded production capacity; the period of time for which its current liquidity will enable the Company to fund its operations; the Company's ability to protect its proprietary information; general economic and business conditions; the volatility of the Company's operating results and financial condition resulting from changes in raw material prices, international oil prices and price controls imposed by the Chinese government; the Company's ability to attract or retain qualified senior management personnel and research and development staff; and other risks detailed in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. These forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties and are based on current expectations, assumptions, estimates and projections about the Company and the industry. The Company undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking statements to reflect subsequent occurring events or circumstances, or to changes in its expectations, except as may be required by law. Although the Company believes that the expectations expressed in these forward looking statements are reasonable, it cannot assure you that the Company's expectations will turn out to be correct, and investors are cautioned that actual results may differ materially from the anticipated results. Company Contact: Stephen Markscheid smarkscheid@gmail.com TORONTO, ONTARIO -- (Marketwired) -- 03/10/17 -- Uranium Participation Corporation ("UPC") (TSX: U) reports its estimated net asset value at February 28, 2017 was CAD$462.3 million or CAD$3.83 per share. As at February 28, 2017, UPC's investment portfolio consisted of the following: ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- (in thousands of Canadian dollars, except quantity amounts) Quantity Fair Value ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Investments in Uranium: Uranium oxide in concentrates ("U3O8") 10,080,024 lbs $ 297,127 Uranium hexafluoride ("UF6") 1,903,471 KgU $ 161,390 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- $ 458,517 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- U3O8 fair value per pound: - In Canadian dollars 1 $ 29.48 - In United States dollars $ 22.25 UF6 fair value1 per KgU: - In Canadian dollars 1 $ 84.79 - In United States dollars $ 64.00 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- (1) Fair values are month-end spot prices published by Ux Consulting Company, LLC, translated at the month-end noon exchange rate of $1.3248. On February 28, 2017, the common shares of UPC closed on the TSX at a value of CAD$4.37, which represents a 14.10% premium to the net asset value per share of CAD$3.83. About Uranium Participation Corporation Uranium Participation Corporation is a company that invests substantially all of its assets in uranium oxide in concentrates ("U3O8") and uranium hexafluoride ("UF6") (collectively "uranium"), with the primary investment objective of achieving appreciation in the value of its uranium holdings through increases in the uranium price. UPC provides investors with a unique opportunity to gain exposure to the price of uranium without the resource or project risk associated with investing in a traditional mining company. Additional information about Uranium Participation Corporation is available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com and on Uranium Participation Corporation's website at www.uraniumparticipation.com. Caution Regarding Forward-Looking Information This press release contains certain forward-looking statements and forward-looking information that are based on the Company's current internal expectations, estimates, projections, assumptions and beliefs. Forward-looking statements generally can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "may", "will", "expect", "intent", "estimate", "anticipate", "plan", "should", "believe" or "continue" or the negative thereof or variations thereon or similar terminology and include statements with respect to the use of proceeds for the Offering and the anticipated completion of uranium purchases. By their very nature, forward-looking statements involve numerous factors, assumptions and estimates. A variety of factors, many of which are beyond the control of the Company, may cause actual results to differ materially from the expectations expressed in the forward-looking statement. These factors include, but are not limited to, changes in commodity prices and foreign exchange as well as the risk that the Company will not be successful in completing the purchase of additional U3O8 and/or UF6 on terms satisfactory to the Company. For a description of the principal risks of the Company, see "Risk Factors" in the Company's Annual Information Form dated May 11, 2016, a copy of which is available at www.sedar.com. These and other factors should be considered carefully, and readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. Although management reviews the reasonableness of its assumptions and estimates, unusual and unanticipated events may occur which render them inaccurate. Under such circumstances, future performance may differ materially from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Except where required under applicable securities legislation, the Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking information statement. Contacts: David Cates President & Chief Executive Officer (416) 979-1991 Ext. 362 Mac McDonald Chief Financial Officer (416) 979-1991 Ext. 242 Acticor Biotech, a Paris, France-based biotechnology company focused on the treatment of acute ischemic stroke, raised 1.5M in funding. CapDecisif Management made the investment. Led by Gilles Avenard, CEO, Acticor Biotech is a bio-pharmaceutical company, spin-off of Inserm (U1148 Bichat Hospital, Paris, France) dedicated to developing an innovative treatment in the therapy of acute ischemic stroke. The company, which had already secured 1.4m in the first closing and has now raised 2.9m in total funding, will use the funds to continue to develop its lead candidate ACT-017 in Acute Ischemic Stroke, toward its entry in Phase I Clinical Trial. Built upon the expertise of and the results of researches conducted by founders Dr. Martine Jandrot-Perrus and Dr Christian Gachet, in two INSERM units, and Professor Philippe Billiald at Paris-Sud University, Acticor Biotech recently signed an R&D Partnership Agreement with Mediolanum farmaceutici to co-finance research and development of ACT017. FinSMEs 07/02/2017 Guest Post by the Observatory of P101 The transformational potential of big data is huge. The volume of data continues to double every three years as information pours in from digital platforms, wireless sensors, virtual-reality applications, and billions of mobile phones. Data-storage capacity has increased, while its cost has plummeted. In Italy alone, the market for big data reached a value of 183 million Euros in 2016, that is a 44% growth over the previous year. Data scientists now have unprecedented computing power at their disposal, and they are devising algorithms that are ever more sophisticated. The areas where we expect the greatest impact are geolocation-based services, healthcare and retail banking. Indeed, by 2030 mobility services, such as ride sharing and car sharing, could account for more than 15% to 20% of total passenger vehicle miles globally. Personalized medicine could reduce health-care costs while allowing people to enjoy longer, healthier, and more productive lives. The total impact could range from $2 trillion to $10 trillion in the US alone. In the retail banking industry, experts estimate a potential economic impact of $110 billion to $170 billion in developed markets. But that is not all. As highlighted by a new report from the McKinsey Global Institute The age of analytics: Competing in a data-driven world, in the last 6 years the range of applications and opportunities has grown and will continue to expand. Given rapid technological advances, the question for companies now is how to integrate new capabilities into their operations and strategiesand position themselves in a world where analytics can upend entire industries. It is no coincidence that the leading global unicorns tend to be companies with business models predicated on data and analytics, such as Uber, Airbnb, Snapchat, BlaBlaCar, and Spotify. These companies differentiate themselves through their data and analytics assets, processes, and strategies. However, leading companies are using their capabilities not only to improve their core operations but also to launch entirely new business models. The leading firms have remarkably deep analytical talent taking on various problemsand they are actively looking for ways to enter other industries. These companies can take advantage of their scale and data insights to add new business lines, and those expansions are increasingly blurring traditional sector boundaries: for instance, Apple and Alibaba have introduced financial products and services, while Google is developing autonomous cars. Adapting to an era of data-driven decision making is not always a simple proposition. The first challenge is incorporating data and analytics into a core strategic vision (we have discussed this here). The next step is developing the right business processes and building capabilities, including both data infrastructure and talent. It is not enough simply to layer powerful technology systems on top of existing business operations. A total rethinking of business models and strategies is needed, one that comes from management and permeates all of the companys actions and operations. Also, the war to attract the best talents is not to be underestimated as the experts at P101 underline. Across the board, companies report that finding the right professional is the biggest hurdle they face in trying to integrate data and analytics into their existing operations. The McKinsey survey highlights that approximately half of executives across geographies and industries reported greater difficulty recruiting analytical talent than filling any other kind of role. 40% say retention is also an issue. Data scientists, in particular, are in high demand. Even though US universities are adding data and analytics programs and the number of graduates could increase by a robust 7 percent per year, demand is likely to grow by 12% annually, which would lead to a shortfall of some 250,000 data scientists. In Italy, too, the hunt for data scientists has begun: in 2016, 30% of Italian companies recruited a data scientists and 7% codified the role in an official job title (4% in 2015). However, knowing how to read data is not enough: another equally vital role is that of the business translator who serves as the link between analytical talent and practical applications to business questions. McKinsey estimates there could be demand for approximately 2 million to 4 million business translators in the United States alone over the next decade. These numbers speak for themselves: access to big data and their intelligent use is already revolutionizing the way we do business. So much so that some companies, when confronted with the complexity of analysing huge blocks of information, have decided to acquire big data start-ups. Just think of Microsoft, that in 2015 acquired the analytics start-up Metanautix, or enterprise software provider SAP, which bought Altiscale, a start-up for cloud-based storage of big data. In short, if you think that your company cannot independently manage the data, this could be the right way to go. Because, if used well, the inexhaustible information contained in big data will help companies to no longer go on gut instinct: they can use data and analytics to make faster decisions and more accurate forecasts supported by a mountain of evidence. Its time for truth. This article has been written by the Observatory of P101. P101 is a venture capital firm focused on investing in digital and technology driven companies. Founded in 2013 by Andrea Di Camillo, the firm is managing a 65m fund, which has 25 companies in portfolio including including ContactLab, Cortilia, Tannico, Musement and MusixMatch. The vehicle, which partners with Italian private accelerators such as HFarm, Nana Bianca, Boox and Club Italia Investimenti to source investment opportunities, is backed by Azimut, Fondo Italiano di Investimento and European Investment Fund. LifeDojo, a San Francisco, CA-based health & well-being startup, received a strategic venture capital investment from Sodexo Ventures. The amount of the deal was not disclosed. With the investment, Sodexo Ventures, the venture capital arm of Sodexo, the global Quality of Life services company, will take a a minority stake in the company. In addition to the investment, Sodexos Benefits and Rewards Services US subsidiary, Inspirus, has formed a strategic partnership with LifeDojo to provide its services to clients. Founded in 2013 by Chris Cutter, Co-Founder and CEO, LifeDojo provides companies with person-centered corporate behavior change solutions for their employees. The company offers online 12-week corporate wellbeing programs that lead employees through a journey of motivation, daily action and support, resulting in permanent health behavior change. Clients include Fortune 500 companies and high-tech high-growth companies in over 16 countries. FinSMEs 07/02/2017 One Equity Partners, a NYC-based middle market private equity firm, closed its sixth fund, at $1.65 billion. Investors in One Equity Partners VI span North America, Europe, Asia, Australia, and the Middle East and include pension funds, financial institutions, sovereign wealth funds, consultants, and family offices. The fund also received investments from current and former portfolio company management teams, as well as a number of private equity founders and veteran dealmakers with whom the firms team has long-standing relationships. The fund, the first raised with outside capital following the firms spinout from JP Morgan in 2015, employs a Transformative Combination approach to merge like-sized businesses with a strategic fit in the industrial, healthcare and technology sectors across North America and Europe. To create a pipeline of proprietary deal flow, the firm partners with family owners, founders, management teams, and corporations. Led by Dick Cashin, President, One Equity Partners has made eight platform investments from the new fund to date, with approximately $600m already invested or committed. The firm has also completed eight add-on acquisitions for these investments. Founded in 2001, One Equity Partners has offices in New York, Chicago, and Frankfurt. The investment team also includes: Inna Etinberg, Vice President Ante Kusurin, Vice President Greg Belinfanti, Senior Managing Director JB Cherry, Senior Managing Director Christoph Giulini, Senior Managing Director Chip Schorr, Senior Managing Director David Han, Senior Managing Director Johann-Melchior von Peter, Senior Managing Director Jamie Koven, Senior Managing Director Brad Coppens, Managing Director Andrew Dunn, Managing Director Lee Gardner, Managing Director Joseph Huffsmith, Managing Director Andrew Oliver, Managing Director Carlo Padovano, Managing Director Joerg Zirener, Managing Director David Lippin, Managing Director and Head of Investor Relations Philipp von Meurers, Director Matthew Hughes, Director Steven Lunau, Director Charlie Cole, Associate Vittorio Palladino, Associate Marc Lindhorst, Associate Otavio Birman, Analyst FinSMEs 07/02/2017 SubVRsive, an Austin, Texas-based virtual reality startup, raised $4m in Series A funding. WPP made the investment along with current individual investors. The company intends to use the funds to accelerate growth and continue to build the team. Led by newly appointed CEO Johannes Larcher, Chief Creative Officer Austin Mace and Chairman Kenny Tomlin, SubVRsive focuses on creating Virtual Reality experiences for customers including directors, producers, content creators, and developers leveraging collaboration models and workflow technology to interact with them. Founded in August 2015, the company has served leading brands, including Lionsgate, MTV, and Downy Unstopables. FinSMEs 06/02/2017 Kolkata: The Centre has assured that the rate of Goods and Services Tax (GST) would be revenue neutral both for real estate developers and consumers, the Confederation of Real Estate Developers' Associations of India (CREDAI) said on Tuesday. "The government assured us (CREDAI) the GST rate will be revenue neutral. They are coming out with a model which will be revenue neutral for both developers and customers," CREDAI's National President Getamber Anand said here. "The developers are expected to pay GST equal to what they paid as Vat (value added tax) and excise and consumers will be exempted from state service tax. That is what the government assured us," Anand said. He said that the biggest concern was that GST treats real estate as a service while Stamp Act is treating it as a fixed asset. The real estate takes hits from both the sides. "From the consumers' point of view, we were arguing that either the Centre subsume stamp duty in the GST or do not levy GST. Only the stamp duty can be levied," he said. "The Centre said stamp duty is a state subject so it cannot interfere there," Anand said. The apex body of private real estate developers also advocated rationalisation of stamp duty across the country. In terms of providing skills to the construction workers, the industry body has already trained 50,000 workers and is aiming to train one lakh more workers in the next year, he said. It has opened two off-site training centres in West Bengal. New Delhi - In a big blow to beleaguered businessman Subrata Roy, the Supreme Court on Monday directed attachment of the Sahara Group's prime property worth Rs 39,000 crore at Aamby Valley in Pune for realisation of money to be paid to its investors. The apex court also asked Sahara Group to provide it within two weeks the list of "unencumbered properties" which can be put on public auction to realise the remaining over Rs 14,000 crore of the principal amount of around Rs 24,000 crore that has to be deposited in the SEBI-Sahara account for refunding money to the investors. Sahara's counsel senior advocate Kapil Sibal even raised the issue of demonetisation and the resulting liquidity crunch in a bid to convince the court to extend the deadline for remiting the amount. However, the court was not ready to take none of this and asked for the list of properties that could be put for public auction. A bench headed by Justice Dipak Misra, which will hear the matter again on 20 February, noted that out of the principal amount, the group has deposited around Rs 11,000 crore and it has to deposit over Rs 14,000 crore more. The bench, also comprising Justices Ranjan Gogoi and A K Sikri, was told by SEBI counsel Pratap Venugopal that the interest on the principal amount till 31 October 2016 would lead to a liability of Rs 47,669 crore on the Sahara Group, which on Monday deposited over Rs 600 crore in accordance with the 12 January order by which extension of time beyond 6 February was refused. The apex court had said failure to pay the said amount would lead Sahara Group Chief Subrata Roy going back to jail. The top court was not in agreement with Sibal that the amount should be realised in accordance with the roadmap provided by the group, which suggested the deadline of July 2019 will be adhered to. "No small token amounts," the bench observed, adding that the balance amount of over Rs 14,000 crore can be realised by public auction of Sahara's unencumbered properties which are free from litigations, mortgage and any charge. "The fundamental question is that the court (Supreme Court) found that the money collected by you from XYZ etc was in violation of the rule," the bench observed while not accepting Sibal's plea that he should be given at least a minimum of two hours to explain that the apex court judgement against Sahara was "ex-facie erroneous". "It's a question of a core verdict," the bench said, while referring to the August 2012 judgement by which the Sahara Group was asked to make refund to the investors. Sibal said the court should refrain from passing any order as the review petition against the August 2012 judgement was pending and he would demonstrate the "error on the face of the records". The bench, which was not impressed with his contentions, said, "You talk about the attachment of the property. We have no option. You give the list of unencumbered properties which are good enough to bring Rs 14,000 crore. Then we will let you (take back) the Aamby Valley (property) and we will hear you." The bench also said the question of consideration of the interest amount would be taken up after the principal amount has been realised. When the Sahara Group pleaded that it should be given an opportunity to explain its case to satisfy the court that its orders were erroneous, the bench said, "There is no question of going back." Sibal submitted that there was a need for "breathing time" for making the payment and contended that no bank or investor was claiming the money from the Sahara Group. The senior advocate also raised the issue of demonetisation and liquidity crunch in generating the money. It was following this submission, that the bench asked him to make effort for public auction of the unencumbered properties and expressed its intention of seeking placing a list of properties which are free from litigation and mortgage. While the bench was deliberating on the issue of the list of properties and wanted to know about the Aamby Valley, senior advocate Shekhar Naphade, who is assisting the court as amicus curiae, and SEBI counsel, said the hill resort was approximately worth Rs 39,000 crore. The bench noted that the SEBI counsel and Naphade were of the view that the Aamby Valley property was substantial for realising the amount and they favoured its attachement as such a move would press Roy and other directors to endeavour for depositing the amount in the SEBI-Sahara account. This was opposed by Sibal. However, the bench said, it was convinced that the property should be ordered to be attached. During the hearing, Sibal said if the bench was dealing with the issue of Aamby Valley what was the need for seeking a list of properties. When he raised the issue of demonetisation and sought more time to arrange the money, the bench said, "Either you speed up or we will go for your property." "We are talking about attachment when we have no option. So, give us the list of properties which are good enough to bring Rs 14,000 crore," it said. The bench had at the last hearing granted liberty to the Sahara Group chief to transfer 35 million pounds, equivalent to Rs 285 crore, deposited in a bank in London to SEBI-Sahara account as part of Rs 600 crore payment required to be made. That order was complied with today. The apex court had on 28 November last year asked Roy to deposit Rs 600 crore more by 6 February in the SEBI-Sahara refund account to remain out of jail and warned that failure to do so would result in his return to prison. The apex court had on 6 May 2016 granted a four-week parole to Roy to attend the funeral of his mother. His parole has been extended by the court ever since. Roy was sent to Tihar Jail on 4 March 2014. During the last hearing, the bench had scrutinised the repeated extension of Roy's parole and said too much indulgence had been shown to him by the court. Besides Roy, two other directors - Ravi Shankar Dubey and Ashok Roy Choudhary - were arrested for the failure of Sahara group's two companies - Sahara India Real Estate Corporation (SIRECL) and Sahara Housing Investment Corp Ltd (SHICL) - to comply with the court's 31 August 2012 order to return Rs 24,000 crore to their investors. However, woman director Vandana Bhargava was not taken into custody. This week on First Lady with Meghna Pant, we have one of India's most talented actors Kalki Koechlin. Kalki opens up about what it means to work in a male-dominated industry. Kalki, known for taking up unconventional roles, from her very first in Dev D to Margarita with a Straw, discusses how the directors pushed her to do better every time and fit into the part. The actor says her character in Margarita with a Straw was her 'scariest' role yet and how a six-month deadline was set to get the part right. Kalki further tells us how she gets to the depths of characters she portrays and the importance of balancing reel and real lives. Citing the examples of films such as Piku and Queen, she goes on to address male domination in Bollywood and cliched plots of cinema. Kalki talks about how the scenario is slowly changing. About women, the challenges they can take up and change, Kalki says 'Dont try to help me, just help your own situation.' The actress believes that men will accommodate women who start to empower themselves. Kalki also travels back in time and recollects being enthralled by movies and aspiring to be an actress someday, wanting to make people laugh and cry. If you thought Kalki was all about 'intellectual' and watches only intense movies, that's not really true! The lady even loves romantic comedies (considering her pleasing appearances in Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani and Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara), blockbusters and a lot of documentaries. Watch the latest episode for all this and more from the effortless actor as she expresses about staying in touch with reality without showbiz taking over, and much more. If fate had its way, Farhan Akhtar would have made his debut with an 2008 indie film called The Fakir of Venice instead of the musical Rock On!! According to DNA, "An offbeat film, it would also mark the debut of director Anand Surapur, had it released then. However, with no definite plan for it, especially in India, it languished in obscurity for years. Rock On!! came and went." Anand Surapur has also directed films like Noorie (2002) and Quick Gun Murugun: Misadventures of an Indian Cowboy (2009). Though the film hasn't been released in India yet; it has been doing the rounds of various film festivals, like the Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles (2009). A Hollywood Reporter critic described Akhtar as being 'talented and handsome enough and with looks that could translate into any number of ethnicities to have a huge career ahead of him. ' The 2008 off-beat film is about two conmen who are hired to find a poor guy from India for an art project in Venice. Though there is no official confirmation about the release date of the film, the film's poster has been doing the rounds of social media, reports Hindustan Times. According to an earlier report by IANS, the film is based on the unusual life experiences of Homi Adajania, who has helmed films like Finding Fanny and Cocktail. The film also stars Annu Kapoor, Kamal Sidhu, Italian actress Valentina Carnelutti and German actor Mathieu Carriere. While there is no official confirmation on the release date of the film, if The Fakir of Venice does release on 10 March (according to DNA's source), it will face tough competition from Karan Johar's Badrinath Ki Dulhania. Mean Girls actress Lindsay Lohan appeared on an Arab talk show 'Swar Shoaib' to talk Islam. Swar Shoaib is a popular Arab show which is shot in Kuwait and is hosted by Shoaib Rashid. Sporting a navy blue, patterned dress, the actress spoke to the popular host Shoaib Rashid about how paparazzi snapped a photo of her holding Quran in New York City in 2015, which went viral. "My intention wasn't to hold a religious book. I was just holding a religious book, but people in America didn't like it, they judged me for it and were saying nasty things. (The Quran was) a solace and a safe thing for me to have," Lohan said. In the interview she further elaborated on how she has started praying the Islamic way and has fasted during the Ramadan month. "I did Ramadan for three days with my friend from Kuwait, it was hard but it was good. It felt good," she said. The actress said she has read 15 pages from the Holy Quran in English and that she practices writing some of the verses in Arabic as well. "I also listen to the Quran on my phone, I have an App." she added. "Do you feel something special when you read it?" Rashid asked. "I feel calmness," Lohan said. Though Lohan neither confirmed nor denied converting to Islam in the interview; she has scrubbed of her entire social media presence and left an Arabic greeting 'Alaikum salam,' that translates to 'and unto you peace.' This greeting falls under the umbrella of proper Islamic etiquette, leading many believers to assume that Lohan has embraced the faith. Lohan has also put up a photo of her time with Rashid: What actions are most excellent? To gladden the heart of human beings, to feed the hungry, to help the afflicted, to lighten the sorrow of the sorrowful, and to remove the sufferings of the injured. (Bukhari) A photo posted by Lindsay Lohan (@lindsaylohan) on Feb 5, 2017 at 7:33pm PST There were a few fun, light moments in the show too. Rashid managed to get Lohan to eat rice with her hands. The interview ended on a funy note when Rashid concluded with, "Thank you, Lindsay, see you in heaven, soon Insha'Allah." Lohan retorted with, "Hope not like soon enough." (Skip to 18:20 in the video for Lohan's interview segment.) When actor Neil Nitin Mukesh announced his engagement to Mumbai-based Rukmini Sahay, the arranged match was quite the subject of interest. Now, Neil Nitin and Rukmini are all set to tie the knot on 9 February in an upscale hotel in Udaipur, Rajasthan. Just like the place, the wedding will be nothing short of royal and classy. The wedding invitation the Mukesh family has shared with their guests is a testimony to that. The cover of the card flaunts an elegant and minutely designed emblem with an NR logo, depicting the initials of the groom and the bride. The wedding invitation is quite elaborate as the wedding festivities invites are preceded by a foreword from Neil's father Mukesh. Interestingly, every foreword is derived from Mukesh's memorable songs, For example, the first function is the engagement on 7 February. It is introduced by verses from Anand. The mehendi and sangeet ceremonies will take place on 8 February. They have been preceded by lyrics of Himalaya Ki God Mein. The fourth function, the wedding ceremony, features a stanza from Jal Bin Machhli Nritya Bin. These functions, including a cocktail party on the last day, are scheduled to take place in Udaipur from 7 to 9 February. They are family-only events and will see about 500 guests. The wedding reception will be held on 17 February in a high-profile hotel in Juhu, Mumbai. The invitation to the reception has been introduced by a song from Kabhi Kabhi, which serves as the icing on the wedding cake. The wedding invitation card has been distributed along with a box of chocolate walnut brownies with a semi-precious coin embossed on every box. As per Neil, his parents are behind the entire concept of the wedding invitation and they decided to keep it old-school, just the way the groom likes it. Tamil Nadu wants to know 1) Will VK Sasikala be sworn in on Thursday 9 February as Tamil Nadu Chief Minister? 2) Will Suriyas Si-3, which is hitting the screens worldwide on 9 Feb, be live streamed by pirate site Tamil Rockers at 11 am same day? Both these controversial matters are the most talked about trends on social media currently. Tamil Rockers is a one-stop online store for pirated South Indian movies, especially Tamil films, and has been in the news for a while now. The website has servers in many countries and has been illegally live-streaming the latest Tamil films on its release day even before the first day first show (FDFS) gets over in Chennai. Tamil producers have been carrying out a long futile battle against them, but they seem to have gotten even bolder. They have now announced on their social media platforms that they will be live streaming Suriyas eagerly awaited Si-3 at 11am (IST) on its release day 9 February. This has created outrage in the Tamil film industry, and KE Gnanavel Raja of Studio Green, who are the producers of Si-3, have decided to take them on aggressively. Last Saturday, at the audio launch function of Vijay Antonys Yaman, Gnanavel Raja had said in his speech: The way pirates are operating in Kollywood, it is eating into the box-office collections. While producers are unsure about financial clearance, b****** Tamilrockers are confidently saying that they will release the pirated print of Si-3 at the said time. Gnanavel also said he will be contesting in Tamil Film Producers Council elections coming up on March 5 and within six months, will attempt to bring the administrators of the piracy site to justice. Meanwhile Si-3 will be Suriyas biggest release in Tamil and Telugu and is likely to be screened in over 2000 screens worldwide from 9 Feb. There is a lot of hype surrounding the long delayed film, which has been pre-sold for over Rs 100 cr via theatrical, satellite and other rights. The film is directed by action-family drama specialist Hari, and also stars Anushka Shetty, Shruti Haasan, Soori and host of other actors. It marks the Tamil film debut of popular television actor and Mr World 2015, Thakur Anoop Singh, who is playing the main villain in the film. Si-3 also has music by Harris Jayaraj, a Suriya favourite who has composed many hits for him in the past. A lot is riding on Si-3 not only for Suriya, but the entire industry, which is always on the lookout for a super hit. With piracy threat looming large, the film has to take a big opening to be profitable for its rights holders. As many as 102 complaints had been received related to discrimination against Scheduled Castes (SCs) while 40 such complaints had been received related to Scheduled Tribes (STs) by the UGC from various universities for the year 2015-16, the government said on Tuesday. Of the 102 complaints related to SCs, 81 have been settled while of the 40 related to STs, 33 have been settled, according to UGC data. This information was provided to the Lok Sabha in a written reply by Minister of State for HRD Mahendra Nath Pandey. "The UGC has intimated that it has compiled information on cases related to caste discrimination in universities only for the year 2015-16. As per the information provided by UGC, 102 and 40 complaints, respectively on SC and ST, caste discrimination have been received by it from various universities," the minister said. According to the data, the maximum 19 complaints related to discrimination against SCs have been received from Banaras Hindu University and all of them have been settled. A maximum of 10 complaints related to discrimination against STs were recieved from Gujarat University and all the 10 have been settled, the minister said. Members in Rajya Sabha also expressed concern over BHU imposing restrictions on eating of non-vegetarian food and using internet in hostels, saying it reflected the "high-handed" attitude against students in central universities. Raising the issue through a Zero Hour mention on Monday, Ali Anwar Ansari (JD-U) said nine students were suspended by BHU who had a year ago demanded round-the-clock access to cyber library and had sat on protest dharna. FIRs were lodged against the students who had protested against the Vice Chanellor denying permission to cyber library when two group of students clashed on the university campus, he alleged. While boys can eat non-vegetarian food in the hostels, girls were barred from doing so, he said listing out the restrictions placed on girls including returning to the hostel by 8 pm and banning the use of mobile phones after 9 pm. Internet access is allowed for boys for 24 hours a day but girls are barred from the same, he alleged, saying the University's orders were "Trump-like." He said similar high-handedness was being witnessed in JNU also where 15 students were suspended for protests. Students at JNU are protesting against UGC notification of PHD admissions based on performance in interviews only, without giving weightage to written exams. While Tapan Sen (CPI-M) said central universities are new grounds of "experiments", Sharad Yadav (JD-U) said government should be seriously take note of the arbitrary rule changes. Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said the government does not interfere in day-to-day functioning of universities and the issue should not be politicised. He said if there were any specific incident, it can be brought to the notice of the government and the concerned minister will be intimated. Deputy Chairman P J Kurien said the member has raised a specific issue and the HRD Minister should see if there is any discrimination. Anand Sharma (Cong) said this was not a small matter and the concerns should be conveyed to the HRD Minister. Also, the autonomy of the central universities should be protected, he added. With inputs from PTI The collision of two ships MT BW Maple and MT Kancheepuram on 28 January near the Kamarajar Port in Ennore, Chennai has rightly raised environmental concerns about a massive oil spill, the quantum of which is yet to be assessed. But apart from the adverse impact that the oil spill will have on the marine ecology and on the livelihood of fishermen, there is an equally pressing issue which needs to be addressed as well: how exactly will the Ministry of Shipping proceed with the removal of these vessels and who will foot the massive clean-up bill for these operations? If past precedents are anything to go by, this is an extremely complicated and difficult task. This is because the shipping industry operates largely in an ad hoc manner where there is little clarity about the "genuine" ownership of vessels. Praveen Nagar Sheth, president of the Indian Shipbreakers Association points out that already 50 large vessels are dotting the Indian sea coast. "Their owners are not traceable and to remove them from their present positions and take them to the shipbreaking yards at Alang in Gujarat is a very expensive proposition," he said. Sheth says that the entire shipping industry operates in an extremely mischievous manner. "The ownership of a ship changes hands repeatedly and more often than not, one company owns only one ship. So, if something happens to a ship, it often becomes difficult to trace the owner of that particular company," he informs. Inspector General Rajan Bargotra heading the Indian Coastal Guard in Chennai agrees with Sheth's assessment. Bargotra said, "If two ships are involved in a collision, the onus will be on the owners and it is they who will be impressed upon to bear the cleanup liability. After all, these ships are all covered by insurance and it is the Ministry of Shipping that oversees these salvage operations." Bargotra, however, admits that extracting money from the owners is an uphill task. "It is very difficult because the ship is registered in one country, the crew of the ship comes from another country and the accident, more often than not, occurs in yet another country," he said. As per the latest reports, the captains of both the ships involved in the collision have been arrested, and FIRs have been lodged against them. "The two ships involved in the collision have been impounded," MA Bhaskarachar, chairman and managing director of Chennai Port Trust said adding that a probe into the collision has been taken up by multiple agencies, including the director-general of shipping. However, Sheth believes that keeping these vessels near the Ennore Port will prove to be a very cumbersome and expensive business. "The owners, more likely than not, will abandon the ships and keeping the crew in jail for an indefinite period of time makes no economic sense either," he says. Ultimately, the route open to the marine admiralty will be to auction these ships and sold them as scrap. But this whole process can take several years and for the present, there is no clarity as to how the accident occurred in the first place. "Generally, an average vessel fetches between Rs three to five crore in scrap given that the present rate of Light Displacement Tonnage is 280 dollars," added Sheth. At present, around 350 ships are being brought annually to Alang for scrapping purposes. A small number of ships are scrapped at the dockyard in Mumbai. For both MT BW Maple and MT Kancheepuram to reach the dockyard of Alang will be an uphill task for both the coastal guards and also the Ministry of Shipping officials. Deepak Shetty, who till a few weeks ago was the director general of shipping admits that there are no ball mark procedures to access and investigate collision damage. "It varies from case to case. The endeavour is to proceed with the investigation at the earliest in order to minimise damage," said Shetty. And while the problem in containing the oil spill is far from over, what is also worrying is the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB) expressing its helplessness at the containment measures that were taken to try and reduce the environment damage. The TNPCB board admitted its failure before the southern branch of the National Green Tribunal on 3 February. Debi Goenka, who heads the NGO Conservation Trust is surprised at how the TNPCB has washed its hands off the cleaning operation. "The collision occurred over a long weekend. As a result, for two days the oil was allowed to spread. For the first five days, no machinery was deployed to clean up the oil spill," he said, adding, "I was horrified to find volunteers being mobilised to clean the oil spill without masks or gloves. Even on the seventh and eighth day after the oil spill, this bucket brigade was being made to clean up manually and in the process were being exposed to carcinogenic chemicals." Some television channels have cited how over five collisions have taken place along the Chennai coast in the last 10 years yet MA Waris, deputy director general of the Indian Coast Guard said, "The eastern coast has been largely a quiet coast." Gopal Krishna of ToxicsWatch Alliance says that by now, a plan of action should have been put in place to minimise the damage from the oil spill. "The Ennore port is an extremely busy port. We demand to know how the spill is being monitored, he said, adding, "Are the port authorities planning to disperse it, break it up or mop it up? Does the Ennore port (now known as Kamarajar Port Limited) have a mechanism in place to deal with disasters such as this? The public needs to be told which way is the oil flowing but so far nothing has been forthcoming. The International Maritime Organisation has laid down a clear protocol on how to handle oil spills," said Dr Sarang Kulkarni, a marine biologist. An oil spill of over 1,000 litres is bound to adversely impact marine life. What health hazards could arise from an unsafe handling of fuel oil? I desperately needed to know. Driving nearly 30 km to Ennores shoreline in Chennai, I was welcomed by the sight of a traffic policeman signalling me to turn around. As I lowered the window, a concentrated stench of oil was the second greeting sign which told me that I had arrived at the right place. This was on 3 February. At first, I wondered if the traffic policeman was gesturing that access to the site was restricted. If they could impose a curfew at the Marina Beach without public consent, they could do so here too, couldnt they? But I assured myself that he was asking me to park the car somewhere else, and not to go away. Besides, I had just heard on the news that the then Chief Minister O Panneerselvam had called out for volunteers to clear the oil spill bordering this shoreline. It had all started on 28 January at about 3:45 am, when two ships MT Dawn Kanchipuram and MT BW Maple collided with each other, two nautical miles off the Kamarajar Port at Ennore and spilled nearly 20 tons of fuel oil into the sea. Within a span of six days, the oil had spread nearly 35 km along Chennais coast. Now, cleaning of the shores was underway. Of course! The government definitely needs student volunteers now, dont they? At least for now. What followed next made me want to unlearn everything I understood about the toxicity of fuel oil. Fishermen, student volunteers, policemen in uniform and coastal guards in theirs, were all constantly mobile. The crew was equipped with state-of-the-art 25-litre buckets to clear the spilled oil, which had turned the coastline into a dense black swamp. I could not spot a single inert soul there. Everyone was tirelessly organised and like a 'well-oiled' machine, they scooped the toxic sludge with the buckets and relayed them across, till they were emptied into larger tanks. I later learned from other sources that these tanks were taken for a special treatment procedure organised by the Indian Oil Corporation. Here, the oil would be tilled with soil and digested by oil-eating bacteria in a compost pit over the following months. In the rocky terrains of the Ennore shoreline, I watched the cleaning crew work without a break in the mid-day heat. While the oil covered rocks were very difficult for me to even stand on, I watched these men religiously work, without throwing any tantrums about the work atmosphere or the equipment offered to them. Wearing calf high boots and gloves that were folded just above their wrists, they did not even pause for a moment to wipe any oil in contact with their skin. On inquiry, I learned that a majority of them were local volunteers most being fishermen and youngsters. What really bothered me about this clean-up was an old CNN report on the Exxon Valdez oil spill that happened in 1989, along the coast of Alaska. According to this report, the average life expectancy of clean-up workers involved in that spill was 51 years. This was 27 years lesser than the average life expectancy in the US at that time. During the Exxon Valdez clean-up efforts, the workers were even provided with special cleaning suits and pollution masks. And here, at Ennore, workers were provided with just rubber gloves and boots. I could only wish that the CNN report was not true. Even if CNNs report was not reliable, the risk arising from clean-up is mathematically known, evaluated using the term Odds Ratio (OR). Research by epidemiologist Jose Miguel Carrasco puts cleaning of oil spills at an OR of 3.86 for developing headaches. This means that on exposure to fuel oil spill, one is nearly four times as likely to develop a headache as when not. Similarly, the OR is 2.30 for respiratory problems. Knowing vs believing the risks Asked if the volunteers were informed of the toxic working conditions, Venkatesh, a local fisherman from the area stated that the supervisors had not briefed them about the health hazards of cleaning at any point. In fact, he went on to state that the fishermen volunteered despite knowing the health risks themselves. These arms and legs, have been used for swimming against the rough seas for ages. No bone problem would affect us, he remarked, when I tried to inform him that in previous oil spills, the cleaners had reported arthritis as one of the major effects. Fuel oil is known to contain chemicals like benzene, toluene, xylenes and other Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAH) which are all known to have toxic effects. PAH, in particular, is very well known for causing cancer. The status here reminded me of environmentalist Nityanand Jayaramans words, who said, Safety is a culture. Indeed, this was a matter of quickly responding to the situation but do you [the volunteers] believe that the oil is dangerous? This is something different: From knowing it is dangerous by reading in a book and believing it. Wherere the animal welfare activists when you need them? Being a body of literates, one would expect that the animal welfare organisations, who raised their voices against jallikattu, would muster a voice against the Kamarajar Port oil spill. Do turtles and fishes not deserve their voice? Maybe, they just do not believe in the magnitude of impact this could cause to the poor marine animals. The oil spills impact on turtles is also inconclusive till now. Akila, a volunteer at Students Sea Turtle Conservation Network, stated that post the oil spill, about 20 turtles had swept ashore dead. However, she added that it remains to be seen if the turtles died due to the spill or of other reasons. The post-mortem report must inspect the the dead turtles and see if they were smothered to death by the spilled oil. Definitely the oil would affect the turtles. There are no two ways about that, she concluded. The autopsy was due to be released on Monday by the Wildlife Warden affiliated to the Vandalur Zoo. However, no official statement has been released on the turtles cause of death so far. The toxicology results of the oil is also to be released by the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board. We had waited for nearly three days watching the spill spread and become a crisis, so we might have to wait longer for these results to come. It is now known that the ship responsible (or in this case irresponsible), MT Dawn Kanchipuram, along with the government would finance the cleaning process and remedial measures to balance the environment. Yet, there hasnt been any public announcement from the government or the ship, coming forward to offer volunteers medical aid if their health deteriorates. Surely at a time when these fishermen struggle to even sell their catch in the market, self-financing their medical needs would be severely traumatising. The least the volunteers could do is to vigilantly monitor signs in their body for days to come and take medical help without negligence. Who is Educated? There was another point of view here among the volunteers, which I believe is nothing short of martyrdom. The fishermen believed that the sea had to be cleared off the spill immediately to restore normal fishing conditions. Of course! Their livelihoods were dependent on it. Venkatesh said that the local fishermen were worried about this spill affecting the fish breeding season. The fishes we catch, lay eggs near the shorelines. They may not do this for the next two months due to the spill. If they do not lay eggs here, there may not be enough catch for us in the following months he said. With the oil creating a dark shiny cover on top, light penetration to underwater plants would also be affected. If these plants dont make enough food from sunlight, the creatures feeding on them are also deprived of nutrients. This is a blow to the entire coastal aquatic ecosystem. There is also the problem of the oil directly affecting the marine life forms. I could imagine how this may happen based on Nityanand Jayaramans words. He said that some oil may have already aggregated into tar-balls and settled to the sea bed over the past week. These oily substances are neither easily digested nor excreted by living beings. They tend to accumulate and grow in the food chain in a process called biological magnification. Imagine a tiny marine insect, accidentally feeding on the tar-balls. The insect would soon be poisoned. A bigger creature, like a prawn. feeding on three such insects would have thrice the poison level in it. And finally, a hungry fish that feeds on a bulk of prawns, over a span of time, accumulates and magnifies the poison in it. One of the worst affected and easily killed are the fishes in larval stages, which are reliant solely on food from the shore lines. All of this, I neednt convey to Venkatesh, who summed up If you take out one creature here [coast], others linked to it will be affected. They are all connected as a community. Only we fishermen have to help ourselves. Swachh Bharat doesnt apply for the oceans, I guess, quipped Venkatesh, before leaving for the volunteer work. It was very intriguing to me. What is belief (the health risk of fuel oil) for some, stands as ignorable knowledge for the government and what is knowledge taken for granted (need for conserving biodiversity) by qualified officials, is a hard-core belief for these 'uneducated' fishermen. So who really is 'uneducated? The learned disbeliever or the believing illiterate? In other news, Tamil Nadu slipped to rank 22 this year in the ease of doing business ranking. It is business as usual it seems, done with ease. New Delhi: The National Green Tribunal on Tuesday transferred to its Southern Bench two pleas seeking compensation to people affected by the recent oil spill off the coast of Tamil Nadu and seizure of the vessels involved. The principal bench headed by NGT Chairperson Swatanter Kumar transferred the petitions filed here to its southern bench in Chennai while noting that a similar plea is already pending there. "We would have considered it but the southern bench has already taken cognisance of the matter and the issue is pending before it," the bench said, adding it would not be appropriate for it to interfere in it. "We do not consider that this matter should be dealt with by the principal bench as it is already being heard by the southern bench. These petitions are transferred to the southern bench and it be listed there for February 20," it said. The tribunal said the Southern bench should also consider the petitioners' plea seeking compensation. The bench had yesterday issued notice to the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF), the Central and state pollution control boards, the Ministry of Shipping and the Tamil Nadu government through its chief secretary and sought its response by Tuesday. The petitions has sought constitution of an expert committee to oversee and monitor the entire clean up process and assess the damage caused to the environment. "The fish and all the other aquatic animals have become victims of the widespread disaster caused by the two vessels as a result of their negligence," the plea filed by one petitioner Ashwini Kumar through advocate Sumeer Sodhi said. In another plea, the counsel has sought a direction to the authorities to follow national and international protocol in dealing with the disaster. The petitions have also made parties the owners of the offending ships, including Gurgaon-based Tokio Marine Holdings Inc. On 28 January, 2017, two merchant vessels -- MV Maple Galaxy, owned by Tokio Marine Holding Inc. and under charter party contract with Indian Oil Corporation, collided with vessel MT Dawn Kanchipuram, operated by unknown persons near the Port of Kamarajar in Ennore, Tamil Nadu. The collision led to a massive spill of hazardous oil and LPG near the shoreline "causing severe damage to the ecosystem in the area and which will eventually become toxic for marine life in and around the place of incident and further result in health and other damage to the residents of the vicinity," one of the pleas has said. New Delhi: An unknown number of burglars broke into Nobel Laureate and social activist Kailash Satyarthi's house here and stole his Nobel Prize certificate, a spokesman of his foundation said on Tuesday. The burglary was carried out on Monday night and was discovered by Satyarthi's son. He said his parents were out of the country. He has filed a complaint at the Kalkaji police station. The burglary took place on Monday night in Alaknanda in south Delhi. Satyarthi and his wife are currently attending the World Summit of Nobel Peace Laureates in the US. The burglars broke into his home in the Aravalli apartment in Alaknanda here and also stole some jewellery, besides the certificate. "The burglars entered the house breaking a window and a ventilator. The verification of the objects stolen is on. Among the things stolen is his Nobel prize citation," Deputy Commissioner of Police Romil Baniya said. The police are also examining CCTV footage from Satyarthi's apartment as well as of the neighbours. Satyarthi is a renowned Indian child rights activist and the winner of Nobel Peace Prize in 2014. He is the founder of the Bachpan Bachao Andolan (BBA), an organisation dedicated towards the eradication of child labour and rehabilitation of the rescued former child workers. This is the second instance of theft of a Nobel memorabilia in India. The country's first Nobel winner, Rabindranath Tagore's medallion along with 47 other memorabilia were stolen from Rabindra Bhawan at Santiniketan in West Bengal. The theft came to light on March 25, 2004. The investigation was handed over to the Central Bureau of Investigation but the case has remained unsolved. New Delhi: A moderate intensity earthquake measuring 5.8 on Richter Scale on Monday hit Uttarakhand, tremors of which were felt in Delhi and other parts of northern India. The epicentre of the quake was Rudraprayag district in Uttarakhand, said J L Gautam, Operations head at the National Seismological Bureau, a unit of Ministry of Earth Sciences. "The depth of the quake was 33 km and it occurred at 10.33 pm," he said. Uttarakhand, which falls in the Himalayan belt, is known for high seismic activities. Tremors were felt across Punjab, Haryana and their common capital Chandigarh also after which many people rushed out of their homes. There were no immediate reports of any loss of life or damage to property. According to reports, tremors were felt across Haryana and the National Capital Region. People, especially those living in high-rise apartments and buildings, rushed to the ground floor. Tremors were felt at various places in Haryana including Gurugram, Faridabad, Rohtak, Ambala, Panchkula, Sonepat, Panipat and Karnal. In Punjab, tremors were felt at many places including Mohali, Patiala, Ropar, Ludhiana and Jalandhar. Meanwhile, people felt the tremors also in neighbouring Noida of Uttar Pradesh. "Bed started shaking and the ceiling fan was swinging a little," Sohil Sharma, a resident of sector 20 in Noida, said. "I was lying on bed suddenly it started shaking," said Savita Gupta, a resident of sector 21. Meanwhile, in Uttarakhand, people rushed out of their homes in panic when the earthquake struck tonight. The quake was felt nearly everywhere at 10.33 pm especially the hill districts of Uttarkashi, Chamoli and Pithoragarh. Panicked residents ran out of their houses. In many colonies of Dehradun, men, women and children were seen hanging outside their homes in anticipation of aftershocks. Meanwhile, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Harish Rawat said that he spoke to district magistrates and sought a report. "I have spoken to District Magistrate and getting information from various sources throughout the state. There is no loss of life but there may be some cracks developed in the houses in far-flung areas. We are still in the process of collecting the information," he said. Disaster Management authorities are well prepared and there is nothing to worry, he said, adding our emergency control room is also collecting information. Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday night said he took stock of the situation in the aftermath of the earthquake that struck northern part of the country. "Spoke to officials & took stock of the situation in the wake of the earthquake felt in various parts of North India," he tweeted. "PMO is in touch with officials in Uttarakhand, which is the epicentre of the quake. I pray for everyone's safety & wellbeing," he said in a tweet. Home Minister Rajnath Singh has also sought a detailed report on earthquake. The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) has been put on high alert to carry out relief operation and help victim in case the need arises. The Home Ministry is closely monitoring the situation in earthquake-hit Uttarakhand and other north Indian states where the tremors have been felt, Singh said in a tweet. "The NDRF teams have been rushed from Ghaziabad to Uttarakhand to conduct rescue and relief operations, if the situation arises," he said. The Home Minister has asked for a detailed report and the NDRF has been put on high alert, a Home Ministry spokesperson said. Two NDRF teams, comprising about 90 personnel, have been rushed to Rudraprayag from their base in Ghaziabad, NDRF Director General R K Pachnanda told PTI. He added that the preliminary reports received from the Uttarakhand government have not indicated any major damage but as a contingency measure, the relief and rescue teams are being mobilised. He said that one more team has been put on standby and will be dispatched depending on the developing situation. The terror group, Jamat-ud-Dawa (JuD) headed by Hafiz Saeed the prime accused in the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks, may have changed its face under the new banner, however, it is not the first time when a terror outfit has rechristened itself after being banned by the Pakistan government. Days before Saeed's house arrest, according to the Pakistani daily, The Express Tribune, there were rumours that Saeed has changed JuD's name to Tehreek Azadi Jammu and Kashmir (TAJK) so that its operations continue despite the ban imposed by the Pakistan government at the behest of the new US government. Imtiaz Gul, director of the Center for Research and Security Studies (CRSS), a Pakistani independent non-profit, says the Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) was renamed JuD after the January 2002 ban. The Sipah-e-Sahaba (SSP) was renamed Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat (ASWJ), Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) was Khudamal Furqan. Its a huge list of over 200 organisations, which stand banned but have been functioning under different names. It is difficult to figure out the exact number, he said. He says that the government may put Saeed under detention but it can't go on because of the courts. The detention will be challenged eventually, regardless of the pressure from the Donald Trump administration. Pakistan must keep taking credible actions against LeT and JeM, he said. The re-emergence of militant outfits under new names dates back to the 1990s when militancy was at its peak in Kashmir. One of the groups, according to Stanford University report, Harakat-ul-Mujahideen (HuM) which was formed in Pakistan in 1985 shifted its focus to participate in the jihad against Indian forces in Jammu and Kashmir after the withdrawal of Soviet Union troops from Afghanistan. According to the report, Harkat-ul-Mujahideen formed Harkat-ul-Ansar, which in turn shot to fame by orchestrating the kidnappings of foreign tourists in Kashmir in 1995 to mount international pressure on India for resolving the dispute. In the book The Meadow, authors Adrain Levy and Cathy Scott-Clark write that Harkat-ul-Ansar floated a new group Al-Faran to avoid the pressure from the governments of the six kidnapped tourists on Pakistan. After being designated as a foreign terrorist organisation by the US in 1997 (two years after the kidnappings), Harkat-ul-Ansar changed its name back to Harkat-ul-Mujahideen to avoid the sanctions connected with (Harkat-ul-Ansar) designation, according to the Standford University report. The report further says that HuM sometimes assumed the name of Jamiat-ul-Ansar to avoid freezing of their assets. JeM, formed in 2000 by Maulana Masood Azhar, actively carried out suicide bomb attacks in Kashmir. Officially banned by General Pervez Musharraf in 2002, JeM continues to operate under a new banner Jamaat-ul-Furqan. Masood also formed another organisation, Khuddam-i-Islam, soon after his release from an Indian prison in exchange of the passengers of the hijacked Indian Airline flight IC 814. Masood, according to Indias National Investigation Agency, was behind Pathankot airbase terror attack in 2016. Following the ban, the JeM splintered into several factions and continued its militant activities, according to Dawn. Despite his group being banned, Masood Azhar was never detained and lived freely in his home in southern Punjab where the JeM has strong roots, the report said. In 2009, Jamaat-ud-Dawa, the front group of LeT, changed its name to Tehreek-eTahafuz Qibla Awal. After the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks, there was immense pressure on Pakistan to take action against LeT. However, over the years, changing names has become a safe refuge of the outlawed organisations to keep their operations going. Soon after the Mumbai attack, Pakistan government raided LeTs training camps in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir and arrested several of its members. Despite being banned, LeT continues to be one of the largest and most active militant organisations in South Asia, particularly Kashmir. The SSP, responsible for carrying out attacks on Shias in Pakistan, changed its name to Millat-e-Islamia Pakistan after it was banned by Musharraf in January 2002. To make its activities look legal, the party operated as a political party and its leaders were even elected to the Pakistan National Assembly. A year after its creation, Millat-e-Islamia was again banned in 2003. In Pakistan, the terror organisations are often floated as welfare organisations to legalise their operations in the name of charity charities or small-time political parties and to sustain a flow of international funding for its activities. Once the outfits are termed outlaws, the terror-cum-welfare organisations rechristen themselves under new banner to avoid government wrath while fighting court cases against the ban. Kathmandu: One of the key suspects in the Kanpur train derailment in November has been arrested from Tribhuvan International Airport here after being deported from Dubai. A special team of Nepal Police arrested Samshul Hoda along with three others. Hoda has been detained from the Tribhuvan International Airport on Monday, said Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) Pashupati Upadhyaya. "We have heard that Hoda is wanted in a railway accident that took place in Kanpur last year killing 150 people," Upadhyaya said. "Nepal Police will also work in close coordination with the Indian Police for Hoda's alleged involvement in criminal activities in India," he said. The three others arrested are identified as Brij Kishor Giri, Ashish Singh and Umesh Kumar Kurmi, all from Kalaiya district in southern Nepal. The police have brought Hoda and three other accused criminals to Nepal from Dubai in coordination with the Interpol, Upadhyaya told PTI. Hoda is the mastermind of a twin murder in Bara district of Nepal, the police said. Hoda has links with international criminal groups and he has been involved in a number of criminal activities in Nepal and India, Upadhyaya said. A case has already been registered against him in Bara district court, he added. The role of ISI is being suspected in the incident after Bihar police in January arrested three persons claiming that they were working for the Pakistani intelligence agency to target Indian railways. According to Bihar police, the three were paid Rs three lakh by a Nepali man who had connections with Hoda. New Delhi: A bill, under which specified industrial units will have to pay salaries and wages to workers only either through cheques or by electronic transfer to their bank accounts, was passed by the Lok Sabha on Tuesday. "The initiative is aimed at promoting the welfare of workers," Labour Minister Bandaru Dattatreya said, adding that the legislation was aimed at bringing transparency, promoting digital economy and timely payments of wages to workers. The Payment of Wages (Amendment) Bill 2017, which was passed by a voice vote, enables the Centre and states to specify the industries which will come under the ambit of the new provision for which the Government had brought an Ordinance in December, he said, observing that the bill was a tribute to the memory of Bhim Rao Ambedkar. Asked why the government had brought an Ordinance on the issue, the minister said it was an extraordinary situation. "If you will give more support, we will do more for workers...we need to further improve the situation of workers," he said, adding more and more bank accounts of workers would help them get full wages. During a discussion on the bill, MPs from almost all political parties including Congress, Trinamool Congress and TDP supported the measure but came down hard on the government for taking the Ordinance route to bring the provision, saying it was the result of "post demonetisation syndrome". As per the bill, employers will have to pay wages to workers through cheques or credit their bank accounts without obtaining written authorisation of the employees. It replaces the Payment of Wages (Amendment) Bill 2016, which was introduced in Lok Sabha on 15 December, 2016 and also seeks to repeal the Payment of Wages (Amendment) Ordinance 2016 promulgated on 28 December, 2016. The Minister said the ordinance was promulgated because the bill introduced on 15 December, 2016 could not be taken up for consideration and passage in Lok Sabha. The decision to adopt ordinance route to amend the Act was taken by the Union Cabinet on 21 December. "The legislation will benefit the workers who are vulnerable to exploitation. It will also help them get minimum wages, provident funds and other benefits," he said. Participating in the debate, N K Premachandran of RSP slammed the government for promulgating the Ordinance saying such a route is taken in an extraordinary situation. He also accused the government of encroaching on the law-making domain of Parliament. "This government has taken the Ordinance route 26 times and 11 times, Ordinance was repromulgated...It is a fraud on the Constitution," he said. Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury (Congress) also attacked the NDA government for the promulgating the Ordinance and cited certain loopholes in the current legislation. He also demanded that adequate infrastructure be put in place to implement the provision. "The Ordinance is reflective of post-demonetisation syndrome. Due to demonetisation, the labourers were jolted. Lakhs of labourers lost jobs," he said. There were demands also for stringent action against employers issuing post-dated cheques and for dealing with cases of cheque bounce. P Ravindra Babu of TDP said payment through cheque is not foolproof and demanded measures to punish erring employers. Replying to the debate, the Minister said 45 establishments will be covered under the provision while Government may notify establishments which will require to follow the law. The amendment enables the Centre as well as state governments to notify industries where employers shall have pay wages either through cheque or crediting that into workers' bank accounts. As per the bill, the new procedure will serve the objective of "digital and less-cash economy". The Act had come into force on 23 April, 1936, providing for payment of wages in coin or currency notes, or in both. The provision for payment of wages by cheque or crediting it into bank account after obtaining the requisite authorisation of employees, was inserted in 1975. At present, the Act covers all those employees in certain categories of establishments whose wage do not exceed Rs 18,000 per month. The Centre can make rules regarding payment of wages in relation to railways, air transport services, mines, oil fields and its establishments while states take a call on all other cases. By making state-level amendments to the Act, Andhra Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Kerala and Haryana have already made provisions for payment of wages through cheques and electronic transfer. At present, with the written authorisation of an employee, wages can be given through cheque or transferred to his or her bank account. Among those who participated in the debate include Varaprasad Rao (YSR Congress Party), Jay Prakash Narayan Yadav (RJD) and Sanjay Jaiswal (BJP), Sushmita Dev (Congress), Rajesh Rajan. The recent tripartite talks held in New Delhi on the Manipur imbroglio have shifted the focus from the vexed issue of "Naga (inhabited) areas" to the revocation of the Manipur governments decision to create seven new districts in the contested area. But contrary to the popular expectation that the talks would result in the lifting of the economic blockade imposed by the United Naga Council (UNC) in the area, thus easing the process of holding Assembly elections in Manipur due in March, the latest development has threatened to worsen the ongoing ethnic tension. Satyendra Garg, joint secretary North East, Ministry of Home Affairs, was quoted by The Hindu just after the tripartite talks held on 3 February between the Manipur government, Government of India and the UNC: Substantial progress has been made on the issues of economic blockade and creation of new districts. Some issues need more discussion at the organisational level. Both the Manipur government and the UNC have asked for time, Garg said. The report also stated, quoting an unnamed official familiar with the talks, that a breakthrough could be on the horizon as the Manipur government had conceded to UNCs demand to partially roll back its decision of creating seven new districts in the contested area. Despite the Union Governments claim to have attained substantial progress in the talks, several reasons reveal that not much has changed on the ground following the talks. Rebuilding the bridge of trust After the economic blockade was imposed by the UNC on the non-Nagas dwelling in the valleys of Manipur, the Government of India saw a massive loss of trust in it from these victims. Much of the fuel to it was provided by the Centres delay in sending para-military forces to Manipur. Pradip Phanjoubam, an intellectual from Manipur, wrote in The Indian Express about this delay: It should have done this at least a month ago, when as a consequence of an indefinite blockade on the lifelines of Manipur by the United Naga Council (UNC) over the anticipated creation of two new administrative districts, signs of retaliation from those at the receiving end of the blockade began showing. The tripartite talks hardly succeeded in winning back the trust. Elangbam Johnson, president of United Committee of Manipur (UCM), a civil society organisation seen with a competing stand to UNC told Firstpost that he finds it hard to believe that the Manipur government, as reported, would concede to roll back its decision of creating the seven new districts. The officials in the Manipur government who participated in the talks have not issued any statement till now. So, we have no reason to believe that the Manipur government has consented to roll back its decision to create seven new districts, Johnson said. He also said that the UCM has sent a clear message to the Centre that no decision risking the territorial integrity of Manipur should be taken or else the situation will boil up. Resolving the acrimony The tripartite talks which claim to have achieved substantial progress in resolving the present imbroglio could not contribute to resolving even the basic differences between the Naga and non-Naga communities that had emerged from two different interpretations of local history. Manipur has 2,000 years of written history and a 1,500-year-old oral history beyond that. But nowhere in history, it is mentioned that any tract of land belongs to a certain nomenclature of an ethnic group, as claimed by the UNC, Johnson added. On the other hand, the UNC has been firm on its stand: Nagas and tribal people in the present state of Manipur were self-governed and self-administered people. It has also been maintaining that, the then Meitei Kingdom was merged with the Indian Union along with tribal areas without their consent, through deception, and under protest of the Nagas and other tribal people. Since then, the story of the Nagas and tribal people in Manipur has been one of marginalisation, victimisation, discrimination and domination. The tripartite talk could hardly do anything to resolve this acrimony. The Shift After the talks, the debate on the issue of Manipur imbroglio shifted to whether or not the Manipur government conceded to revoke its decision to create the seven new districts. It is seen in contrast with the earlier debate; whether or not the UNC would lift the economic blockade to make life and the elections easier in the state. But this shift is seen as inconsequential as the economic blockade continues along with escalated tension between the Naga and the non-Naga groups. Milan Shimray, general secretary, UNC, told Firstpost that a meeting of the leaders of the organisation will be held on Tuesday and without hinting at whether the economic blockade will be lifted after the meeting, he said, The outcome of the tripartite talks would be critically explored." On the other hand, UCM leader Johnson said, We have cautioned the Manipur government not to backtrack on its decision of creating seven new districts. We cannot succumb to the pressures of NSCN (IM) and accept a wrongly prescribed history. Similar anxiety exists among the Kuki tribe, another non-Naga ethnic group in the state. George Guite, a leader of the Kuki State Demand Committee told Firstpost that if the Manipur government decides to retreat from its decision to create seven new districts, then the repercussions would be too large as the demand to create some of these districts for administrative convenience goes almost four decades back. Where it all started Last year, Manipur government, in a bid to appease the non-Naga ethnic groups, decided to create seven new districts, including two Naga (inhabited) districts. The decision faced stiff resistance from many in the Naga society, resulting in an economic blockade in Manipur. UNC called for the blockade, saying in a press release that it sees this decision as an arbitrary bifurcation of Naga land without their knowledge and consent. Protesting the creation of Sadar Hills and Jiribam district, it further said that the land and the Nagas are inseparable, adding that the Nagas are the owner of their land and they will not let anyone decide for them. Since then, the creation of new districts has become the bone of contention between the Nagas and non-Nagas of Manipur. Even as the Nagas view this decision as an infringement upon their rights over "ancestral land", the Meitei and Kuki groups support and see it as an assertion of Manipurs territorial integrity. The economic blockade started on 1 November last year and continues till date. Where does it all end? The economic blockade has not only resulted in a scarcity of food and other necessary items in the valley but has also caused much anxiety about conducting free and fair elections in the state. Professor Bimal Akoijam of Jawaharlal Nehru University told Firstpost that there are nearly 12 Assembly constituencies in Manipur where UNC and NSCN (IM) have a strong influence. Since they have already declared the Okram Ibobi Singh-led Congress as an enemy of the Nagas, Congress candidates may find it difficult to contest from these constituencies. The Manipur government finds itself in a catch-22 situation on its decision to create seven new districts, as revoking it as demanded by the UNC would be seen as succumbing to the pressures of NSCN (IM) and thus would make way for an escalation of the tension. On the other hand, sticking to it as demanded by the non-Naga groups is likely to result in continuance of the economic blockade. No wonder the Manipur government has maintained stoic silence about what decision was arrived at in the tripartite talks, leaving space for speculation. Hence, Tuesday's meeting among UNC leaders holds much significance, where the "updates of the tripartite talks would be critically explored". The future course of politics in Manipur would depend upon whether or not UNC lifts the economic blockade unconditionally or whether the Manipur government decides to revoke its decision to create the new districts. To understand how deep-rooted the problem of sexism and patriarchy is in India, one only needs to look at its education system. It is highly ironic that some educational institutions, which are supposed to impart knowledge, become centres of childish logic and moral policing and directly or indirectly encourage sexism. And the Government Polytechnic College in Mumbai has made sure everyone notices this bad habit of institutions is still very much present. A report in The Times of India said that the college has demarcated different sections using ropes for men and women in the college canteen. Swati Deshpande, the principal, has said that this step was taken because "former students enter the campus and create a ruckus in the canteen, they misbehave with girls. In fact, one such incident had to be reported to police in October." Making sure that we find out the full extent of her ignorance, Deshpande also told The Times of India that she thought girls suffer from Poly Cystic Ovarian Diseases (PCODs) because they "dress like men", which leads to "a gender role reversal" in their minds. The principal of a vocational institute in Mumbai one of the most developed cities in India believes that a disease clearly linked with hormonal imbalance is actually caused by some magical changes which take place in girls' brains when they "dress like men". That is how pathetic the state of gender equality is in India. But the events at the Mumbai college are (unfortunately) not shocking. Because many other institutions have engaged in similar practices. Denying the students from the Women's College access to the Maulana Azad Library in Aligarh Muslim University, its vice-chancellor Lt Gen Zameer Uddin Shah had said in 2014 that if girls were allowed, there would be "four times more boys" in the library. In 2015, Farook College in Kozhikode, Kerala suspended a student who protested against the management's decision to crack down on boys and girls sitting next to each other. Such 'measures' have been part of the Indian education system for a long time, despite the fact that a report by the University Grants Commission (UGC) has said that "the provision of safety for women on campuses must eschew the practice or tendency to be overly prescriptive to women by restricting their freedom of movement." "Concern for the safety of all women, but particularly young women students should not lead to discriminatory rules for women in the hostels. The attitude to womens safety in hostels often infantilizes these adult women and does not empower them to learn to strategize about their own safety. Most importantly the focus would have to shift to ensuring a safe environment around the hostel and campus," says the UGC report titled 'Measures for Ensuring the Safety of Women and Programmes for Gender Sensitization'. Gender segregation in institutes also puts the onus of sexual assault on the victim. It is tiring and frustrating to keep pointing out the blatant flaw in this point of view over and over again and see no or very few results. Instead of coming up with ridiculous dress codes for women and separating men and women in the canteen, the institute should have taken steps to ensure that strict action is always taken against sexual assault culprits. By the way, separating men and women in the canteen will not in any way prevent "former students" who allegedly sexually assault girl students from entering the campus. It would also be ignorant and naive to assume that gender segregation in college campuses has nothing to do with the taboo associated with sex. Authorities often assume that the best way to prevent sexual assault is to prevent any interaction taking place between the two sexes in the first place. But the lack of interaction with the opposite sex just leads to sexual frustration and ignorance about sex and the other gender, ironically leading to more sexual assaults. In fact, a report by the Youth Coalition for Sexual and Reproductive Rights (YCSRR) said that a World Health Organisation study showed that proper sex education (which can never be fully imparted without allowing healthy interaction with the opposite sex) delays the onset of sexual activity and encourages safe sexual activity. It is important that we treat teenage students more like adults rather than children who must be 'protected' from the concept of sex and, more importantly, consent. In January, in a rare case, the Karnataka High Court accepted, approved and upheld the concept of and the right to be forgotten. In the Indian context, this right is unheard of it comes at a time when because of the internet, obtaining personal information is swift and easy, and there is an intense debate on the right to privacy versus the right to information. The right to be forgotten has been in practice in Argentina and the European Union since 2006, and it allows for the lawful removal of personal information of an individual if such request is made. The right is seen as significant in these jurisdictions as it can determine the development of their life in an autonomous way, without being perpetually or periodically stigmatised as a consequence of a specific action performed in the past. The etymological background of the right can be traced back to the right to oblivion (droit a loubli) in the French jurisprudence. The right was utilised by former offenders, who had served their sentence, to object to publication of materials regarding their offense and consequent conviction it was a right seen necessary to provide for easier social integration of erstwhile offenders. Thereafter, European Union Data Protection Directive, 1995 acknowledged and approved the right to be forgotten that provides for a right to all people from member states to rectify, erase and block all data that does not comply with the provisions of the directive. The Karnataka High Court upheld a womans 'right to be forgotten', as her fathers writ petition stated that he did not want her name to appear on search engines in association with digital records of the high court of a previous criminal case. Justice Anand Bypareddy stated: This is in line with the trend in western countries of the right to be forgotten in sensitive cases involving women in general and highly sensitive cases involving rape or affecting the modesty and reputation of the person concerned. The father of the woman had moved the court seeking orders to block her name in an earlier order passed by the court, as his daughter feared the consequences of her name associated with this earlier matter and was afraid that this would affect her relationship with her husband and her reputation and good-will in society. Previously, she had approached the court and had filed a case against a man who she had claimed she was not married to, and demanded that the marriage certificate be annulled. However, the parties reached a compromise resulting in the withdrawal of her complaint, thereby, the high court quashing the case against the man. Acting upon her plea for recognition of her right to be forgotten, the high court directed to its registry: It should be the endeavour of the registry to ensure that any internet search made in the public domain ought not to reflect the petitioner's daughter's name in the cause-title of the order or in the body of the order in the criminal petition. In the Indian context, the right to be forgotten poses a legal dilemma. While the significance of such a right exists, India has no legal provision, neither in the Information Technology (IT) Act 2000 (amended in 2008) or the IT Rules, 2011. And while the judicial construction of such a right should ideally be the balance between the right to privacy and the right to information and free speech, it is surprising to know and acknowledge that India does not yet have a privacy law either. Currently, the Delhi High Court is also hearing a matter that concerns the right to be forgotten. In this case, the petitioner has requested for the removal of a judgment involving his mother and wife from an online judgment portal. According to the petitioner, his name on the judgment is affecting his reputation and employment opportunities. Following this, the Delhi High Court had asked recently whether the right to privacy included the right to delink from the Internet the irrelevant information from the Centre and Google. Google Inc had stated to the Delhi High Court that there is no reason or creation of a separate legal framework under 'right to be forgotten' to delink 'irrelevant information' from the internet. For now, there is no way to pin down how the right to be forgotten would be molded by the Indian courts; currently, it is a nascent judicial concept that will take some amount of debate and deconstruction to make sense. However, the Karnataka High Court judgment must be applauded for what it is, prudent and inventive. New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday expressed its inability to issue directions to regulate jokes about the Sikh community, observing courts cannot "lay down moral guidelines" for citizens and doubting their enforceability if they were to do so. A bench comprising Justices Dipak Misra and R Banumathi said courts cannot pass any regulations asking people to behave in a "particular manner in public" and even if they do, "who will enforce them on the streets?" "We are clear on the issue that the courts cannot lay down moral guidelines for citizens. We cannot issue guidelines to regulate individuals," the bench said. The bench, which indicated its opinion on the issue, said it would pass a formal order on a batch of petitions alleging commercial dissemination of "insulting" jokes about Sikhs through public modes of communication, like internet and SMS, on 27 March. It did not agree with the submission that like the Vishakha judgement, in which the apex court had given a slew of directions on women safety at work places, directions can be passed in the instant matter also till the government comes out with a legislation. "In the Vishakha and the eve teasing judgements, the state was the party. Here, how can the court issue the writ of mandamus (directions) against individuals," it said. The bench said, "Certain things are collective and certain things are individual...Some people laugh when they hear jokes, some are reserved. How can we issue guidelines as to how people should conduct themselves?" The bench said the entire country respects the natives of the border areas including Punjab for their bravery and the history has been witness to it. "Sikh is a highly respected community but you are bringing it down by fighting litigation to ban jokes," it said, adding that at best the issue fell within the domain of parliament. It said an aggrieved individual has the legal remedy and there was no scope for issuing guidelines for common public to follow. The bench, earlier headed by the then CJI T S Thakur, had said it was willing to issue directions to curb dissemination of "insulting" jokes about Sikhs. It had said that the key concern was the enforcement of such directives. The bench had sought suggestions on enforceability of possible directions on the issue from lawyers concerned and Sikh bodies like Shiromani Gurudwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC), Amritsar, Delhi Sikh Gurudwara Management Committee (DSGMC), Sikh Gurudwara Management Committee, Haryana, and Gurudwara Management Committee, Patna Sahib. "The comments or jokes may be humiliating and denigrating to the community, the issue is how to enforce any such direction," it had said. It said an order can be passed to stop commercial exploitation of such jokes and materials, but it would be difficult to curb such things in private arena. The first PIL on the issue was filed by a woman lawyer, Harvinder Chowdhary, who had then got emotional and spoken about the menace of jokes about the community by referring to the suicide of a boy, who was upset by one lampooning the community. Chowdhary had said she herself had been a victim of being a Sikh, was treated in a discriminatory manner and suffered humiliation. She contended that such jokes were a violation of Sikhs' right to equality and an attack on the dignity of the community. Earlier the apex court had observed that there was a need to sensitise the society. The DSGMC has sought a direction to the Telecom Ministry to "filter" websites, which targeted the Sikh community, on the ground that it was violative of sections 153A and 153B of the IPC. These sections relate to punishment for promoting disharmony, enmity or feelings of hatred between different groups on the grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, etc. and doing acts prejudicial to maintenance of harmony, besides protecting national integration. It had said the community was against making and circulating of jokes about Sikhs and Biharis, besides calling people from Northeastern states by a particular derogatory term. It seems incredible that Indians are still debating the merits and demerits of abolishing a regressive social custom such as triple talaq when several Islamic theocratic states have discontinued the practice. But that is what happens when social reforms fall prey to vote bank politics and party ideologies are sacrificed at the altar of naked opportunism. There is no legal, moral, cultural or even religious justification behind continuing to let a few power-hungry patriarchs of All India Muslim Personal Law Board crush the Fundamental Rights of Muslim women. It is a question not only of gender justice. As long as one of the most vulnerable sections of our society doesn't enjoy equality before law and continues to be denied the respect and dignity that is due to them, then despite its robust Constitution and democratic credentials, India will remain a failure of a state. We have moved well beyond idle debates on this subject. Anecdotal evidence, empirical data, court observations and law commission findings suggest that there is little support for instant divorce among even the members of the community. Why then are we continuing with it? The answer isn't hard to find. The power-sharing arrangement between sundry Muslim organisations such as the AIMPLB and "secular" parties is such that both benefit from the status quo. While the empowered patriarchs act as self-appointed custodians of faith and interpret Sharia law in a way that extends their hegemony, political parties are loathe to upset their applecarts for perceived electoral benefits. In this perverted 'win-win' bargain, the only ones to suffer are Muslim women who are now increasingly raising their voices against this systemic subjugation of their rights. In their column for Firstpost, co-founders of Bharatiya Muslim Mahila Andolan (BMMA) Zakia Soman and Noorjehan Niaz, who are battling hard for the codification of Muslim personal law, write: "This situation has arisen thanks to the way the Muslim personal law is understood and practiced in India. The whole arena is mired in ambiguity, obfuscation and gross apathy owing to the stranglehold of conservative patriarchal elements who have hegemonised this space forever Within several conservative sections the dominant belief seems to be that Muslim women need to live a life of subjugation within the four walls of a home. The hegemony of the patriarchal forces has continued post-1947 till date. The attempts by Muslim women such as Shayara Bano and several others is a cry for justice and for a halt to rampant violations of their rights in marriage and family." As part of their pioneering study for which Soman and Niaz interviewed over 4,700 Muslim women across India between July and December 2013, some startling figures have emerged. While a staggering 88.3 percent of women seek a ban on triple talaq and want the divorce procedures to be spread over a period of 90 days in a bid to negotiate terms and conditions and avoid the arbitrariness of a divorce through email, text message or internet chat, another 83.3 percent of Muslim women feel that family disputes can be resolved if the law is codified, for which 89 percent want the government to step in. Other conclusions that Soman and Niaz mention in their piece, indicate that 95.5 percent of women have not heard of the AIMPLB while 91.7 percent want polygamy to end, saying Muslim men should not be allowed to have another wife during the subsistence of the first marriage. These are fairly comprehensive conclusions that are seemingly corroborated by recent Law Commission findings. In response to the Law Commission questionnaire issued in October 2016 to have an informed debate on the Uniform Civil Code, a majority of the respondents including many Muslim organisations have expressed their dissent against the practice of instantaneous divorce. While tabulation of the more than 40,000 responses are still on, law panel chairperson Justice BS Chauhan told The Indian Express that "one thing we have observed is that most people, even among the Muslims, have opposed the practice of spontaneous triple talaq. They have held that iddat period (three-month interval for reconciliation and arbitration) should be observed. Let us take a look at what the courts have said. On 8 December, a single judge bench of Justice Suneet Kumar, in response to a petition, called the practice of triple talaq "unconstitutional", "cruel" and observed that "personal laws, of any community, cannot claim supremacy over the rights granted to the individuals by the Constitution". "The instant divorce (triple talaq) though has been deprecated and (is) not followed by all sects of Muslim community in the country, however, is a cruel and the most demeaning form of divorce practised by the Muslim community at large. Women cannot remain at the mercy of the patriarchal setup held under the clutches of sundry clerics having their own interpretation of the holy Quoran. Personal laws, of any community, cannot claim supremacy over the rights granted to the individuals by the Constitution," said the court. Eight days later on 16 December, Justice A Muhammed Mustaq of Kerala High Court raised more questions on the validity of triple talaq. The empirical finding establishes that triple talaq as practiced in India in almost all the case is not by following Quranic injunctions and such practices are allowed in the name of religion, without its backing. It is not possible for the State to curb such practices by invoking penal law alone for the Muslims in India. The only way out for the State is to find out the meaning of rationale of the personal law and to regulate divorce in accordance with the purpose of law." While the polity and judiciary are providing the thrust, political parties must take it upon themselves to extend bipartisan support for this crucial social reform. So far the signs have been predictably discouraging. While news agency PTI quoted JD(U) leader and senior politician Sharad Yadav on Friday saying the Law Commission has no authority to even initiate a debate on Uniform Civil Code (which also involves a debate on triple talaq), the Congress, Samajawadi Party and sundry other so-called secular parties have been deafeningly silent. The CPI has attacked Union law minister Ravi Shankar Prasad for suggesting that the government may make a move towards banning the controversial practice after ongoing Assembly polls, while Trinamool Congress leaders have rushed to share the dais with patriarchal heads of Muslim religious organisations and have threatened the Centre. While progressive voices such as author Taslima Nasrin or Tufail Ahmad have batted in favour of the reform, Shahi Imams like Syed Mohammad Nurur Rahman Barkati, flanked by TMC netas, have warned Narendra Modi that his "party will be finished" if it moves to initiate such an action. In the end, we get the country that we deserve. The fate of India as truly modern, secular nation or a repository of regressive customs that tramples on the rights of its citizens will rest with us. In the prescient words of Justice Suneet Kumar of Allahabad High Court: "India is a nation in the making, geographical boundaries alone do not define a nation. It is to be adjudged, amongst others, on the parameter of overall human development and how the society treats its women; leaving such a large population to the whims and fancies of a personal law which perpetuates gender inequality and is regressive, is not in the interest of the society and the country. It impedes and drags India from becoming a nation." Lucknow: If the sentiments at one of the better known tea stalls here is any indicator, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav appears to be riding high ahead of critical assembly elections. A wide variety of people -- of all ages, from many occupations -- spoke favourably about the young Samajwadi Party leader who has taken control of the party after staging a coup against his father Mulayam Singh Yadav. "Akhilesh has come out of the shadow of his father and uncles (Shivpal Yadav and Ramgopal Yadav)," Dinesh Lal, a businessman in his late 60s, told IANS. Lal was one of the over a dozen people IANS interviewed at random at the popular Sharma Tea Corner at Lal Bagh. The small restaurant is famous for its tea and bread pakoda, paneer pakoda, pav and butter-laced buns. Lal said although his family had been associated with the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS), the Bharatiya Janata Party's ideological parent, for long, this time he won't vote for the BJP. "There is a huge difference between what the BJP says and does," he contended. "We don't want to be ruled by RSS as it has happened in Haryana. They brought a RSS face as chief minister... The BJP must announce their chief ministerial candidate here. They can't take voters for granted." A Hazratganj resident, Nandji Rai, said Akhilesh Yadav had done a lot for the state since taking office in 2012. "Have you been on the Agra-Lucknow expressway? Have you seen the work on Lucknow Metro? All have been completed in record time," Rai said. Lucknow, the state capital, has nine assembly constituencies and will vote on 19 February in the third phase of staggered elections that kicks off on 11 February. Girija Kumar, 64, admitted there were law and order issues but said he would still vote for Akhilesh "as he has led the state on the development path". Some were even happy Akhilesh Yadav had forged a tie-up with the Congress. There was also anger over the 8 November demonetisation of high-value currency notes, a decision being used as a campaign plank by the BJP to show its determination to end the scourge of black money. Rakesh Kumar, who runs a motor parts shop, told IANS: "Before (the) 2014 (Lok Sabha polls), the BJP promised many things for businessmen but what have they done? We suffered due to demonetisation. Our business has dropped a lot since 8 November. It is very hard for us to cope in such an environment." Some felt that the battle for supremacy within the Samajwadi Party had helped Akhilesh Yadav to gain more momentum than the BJP and the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), led by Mayawati. Harikrishan Singh, a professor, told IANS: "Akhilesh has emerged as a strong man from this infighting. He has given a new hope by overshadowing his father and uncle." Singh was furious that the BJP was again promising to build a grand Ram temple at Ayodhya. "People are not fools. This idea of raking up this issue just before every election shows their mentality of polarising votes," he said. "It is not going to help them." Ateeq Aslam, 24, felt the Congress had got oxygen by allying with "the young Chief Minister". Most young muslims IANS spoke to did not refer to the violent incidents of Dadri, Muzaffarnagar and Kairana. "We need development and employment," said Adnan Mirza, 23. "Whatever happened elsewhere in the state didn't affect us. We feel safe." But Mirza said that Akhilesh Yadav, if he returns to power, should restore law and order. "And I am sure if Akhilesh bhaiya (brother) wins, he will surely do so as he has dumped his uncles." A handful was not enamoured of Akhilesh Yadav. Aradhana Singh, 27, said women in the state didn't feel secure. "So I will vote for the BJP." Taxi driver Prem Singh, 39, is determined to vote for the BSP. "We need someone to safeguard the rights of Dalits," he said, in an obvious reference to BSP chief Mayawati. "Under Akhilesh, it is Yadavwad. Officers don't pay heed to atrocities on Dalits." Chhindwara: The Assembly elections in five states would be a decisive mandate against the BJP-led Central government over its demonetisation policy, senior Congress leader Kamal Nath said in Chhindwara on Tuesday. "The elections being held in different states are decisive as it is going to be a mandate against the NDA government at the Centre, which made people stand in long queues (for withdrawing money after the November 8 note ban)," the former Union minister told PTI. He expressed confidence on victory of the alliance between Congress and Samajwadi Party (SP) in Uttar Pradesh. "People in Uttar Pradesh are going to vote for the SP-Congress alliance," he said. SP is contesting on 298 of 403 seats, while Congress the rest 105 in the seven-phase polls scheduled between 11 February and 8 March. Nath, who represents Chhindwara seat in Lok Sabha, criticised Central government for "putting people from middle class as well as the poor in distress with sudden demonetisation." He said Narendra Modi government's claim to bring out black money by demonetising bank notes of Rs 1,000 and Rs 500 denominations has turned out to be hollow. "Not only Prime Minister, but all leaders of BJP are also involved in gimmickry and have done a nautanki (drama) in the name of demonetisation," Nath said. Nath alleged farmers in Madhya Pradesh are in distress as they are not given the the Minimum Support Price (MSP) for the agricultural produce. Half a decade ago, Mike Marqusee wrote for Socialist Worker that the art of the possible is that politics is a calculation of the probable, an exercise in the pragmatic, the expedient or the opportune. He even described it as a banality from political observers. In the current political scenario in the country, with Assembly elections due in three states and civic body elections in Maharashtra, this does gain attention. For like me, several others are coming up with their own idea of the possible. The Aam Aadmi Party is likely to emerge as a significant force in Punjab. Or the fact that the Shiv Sena has finally decided to snap its partnership with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Maharashtra, once the campaign for the ongoing civic elections in Mumbai is done away with. A Marathi newspaper chain Pudhari reported on Monday, with a cautious question mark in the headline, that the Sena may quit the government. Is it possible? With the caution of an observer, I would say yes; because the Sena itself has been saying it gives two hoots about being in power. But is it probable? We dont know since, in politics, every assumption looks likely till it does not happen. Or something else does. Marqusees article is interesting in many ways for it explains the meaning of the possible, especially when used in the political context. He quotes William Blake as saying: "Reason, or the ratio of all we have already known is not the same that it shall be when we know more." Do we know what is in the mind of Shiv Sena leader Uddhav Thackeray? Even most of those who claim proximity to his mind can only guess. So, when people speak of politics as the art of the possible, they imply a world of unexamined assumptions about the limits of the possible a world that embodies only the limits of their own experience or imagination". Let us go back to the Pudhari story, that featured on the front page on Monday. It says that on the final day of campaigning, which would end on 19 February, Uddhav "may" take resignation letters from the ministers from the party in the BJP-headed government. It does not say that the Sena will announce the withdrawal from the government. And, another qualifier emerges. The Sena, even if it were to withdraw its ministers, has not decided if it would withdraw the support to the government. Meaning that there are a whole lot of ifs and buts to the story. Why shouldnt the party leader straightaway withdraw than take letters of resignations from his nominees in the government? More questions arise: Would the Sena leader send those letters to the chief minister, Devendra Fadnavis if the party were to retain the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai? Then again, can it retain power on its own strength? If it didnt, then what (depending on which other parties step in to support)? To my mind, the calculations would not depend entirely on the outcomes in Mumbai and a couple of city corporations like Thane alone. There are 10 civic corporations being contested. It would necessarily have to depend on the wider profile the parties get because the ongoing elections are also for 21 zilla parishads. A mix of entirely urban and entirely rural constituencies. A party rarely leaves a government on the basis of principles. More often, it remains in one because power is heady and useful. Though, of course, the leaving, when necessary, is clothed in presumed principles and proclaimed as a sacrifice. Which political party likes to discard the loaves of office? That precisely is the reason why the Sena, which fought a bitter electoral battle in 2014 against the BJP in the Assembly elections, decided to be in the Opposition; but when it saw that the breakup of numbers BJPs 122 and its own 63 in a house of 288 it saw an opportunity. The upshot: the heat and dust of electoral battle throw up several possibilities "possible", as it can be about a reality that does not exist till it happens. We shall, till then, settle to dawdle between the possible and the probable; probable as in it is likely to transpire. Till then, others can have a field day speculating. It is fun but rather pointless. Mumbai: Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Tuesday asserted that there is no threat to his government and it will complete its full term, a comment which came on a day when Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray said that its ties with BJP in the state are on a "notice period". "There is no danger at all to my government for (the) five years (term)," the CM said here replying to a query at a press conference at the city BJP office, where he released the party's manifesto for the 21 February BMC polls. "This manifesto is an extension of Modiji's vision," he said. Fadnavis also challenged the bickering ally in the state government, to tackle him first, before speaking about Prime Minister Modi holding a rally in Mumbai, ahead of BMC polls. "(Tackling) PM is a distant thing. First (let Sena) tackle me," Fadnavis said responding to a question. Taking a dig at Modi for giving "false" assurances, Uddhav had yesterday said he was waiting for the PM's rally to be held in the city ahead of the BMC polls. "I want to see Narendra Modi coming to Mumbai and campaign for BMC polls. I want to see Sena's win after his rally here," Thackeray had said at a rally in Mumbai. On the meeting between Patidar agitation leader Hardik Patel and Uddhav in Mumbai today, Fadnavis said, "Look, whom one has to invite, after the ground slips from beneath their (Sena) feet." The manifesto, printed on a stamp paper-like document, promises to keep water tax rates stable, and also no levy of street tax on pothole-ridden roads. Roads will be washed with water, it says. Mumbai BJP president Ashish Shelar said the manifesto has been prepared after incorporating the expectations of common man in the city. Earlier, giving indications that the Sena is ready to pull out of the Maharashtra government, in which it is a partner of the BJP, Uddhav today said the government is on a "notice period" as on now. "Like the Code of Conduct is for a certain period, the government too is on a notice period and when the period ends will be known by all soon," he said. New Delhi: Congress on Tuesday dubbed Prime Minister Narendra Modi's speech in Lok Sabha as "arrogant and revengeful" and said he lost a good opportunity to present his vision for the country, even as Rahul Gandhi hit back at him for "mocking" the Uttarakhand quake issue and "insulting" the freedom struggle. Gandhi also said the Prime Minister, in his reply to a debate on the Motion of Thanks on President's address to the joint sitting of Parliament, did not answer opposition's questions on demonetisation. The Congress vice president also took a dig at Modi over his "surgery" remarks on economy, saying "a quack endangers life". "The Prime Minister mocks the tragedy of Uttarakhand and insults the freedom struggle but has no answers to the opposition's questions," he tweeted. Gandhi said this after the Prime Minister took a jibe at him in Parliament, saying "The earthquake has finally occurred" while referring to last night's tremors in Uttarakhand. The Congress vice president had in December last said he possessed certain material against the Prime Minister, and if he spoke in Parliament, there would be an "earthquake". Congress spokesperson Gaurav Gogoi said, "When PM expressed his sentiment, he mixed it with tint of humour and mockery. Many members of the house from various political parties felt that PM has hurt the dignity of people of Uttarakhand who are still suffering in the aftermath of an earlier earthquake. They must have felt humiliated." He also said, "PM used the opportunity merely for electoral purposes and obviously was concerned about the verdict of Punjab and Goa and of sweeping popularity that Congress-SP alliance is gaining in UP." Gogoi said PM referred to the freedom struggle and mocked the contribution of many brave souls and citizens who contributed to it and lost their lives. "PM should not use his office to malign the memories of those who contributed to the freedom struggle. Congress Party had expected far more accountability from PM's speech today," he said. Targeting Modi, Congress leader Veerappa Moily said, "This was quite an arrogant and revengeful reply." He said,"PM should have used this window of opportunity to present his vision, clarity and perspective for the country. Perhaps he has lost his life's opportunity or the NDA has lost this good opportunity to present what they stand for." Gogoi said PM remained silent on Rahul Gandhi's questions on Modi's name figuring in documents seized by the Income Tax department during raids at the offices of Sahara and Birla groups. "He should come clear on it, if he has nothing to hide. He should be aware that the office he represents is the highest office in the country. So, we felt here's the opportunity that PM could have used to get the record clean but he chose otherwise," he said. Senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor said good days do not come by just delivering a good speech. "By giving an achha bhashan (good speech), achhe din (good days) do not come. To bring good days, there is a need for work as well," he said. The Opposition had a field day in the Rajya Sabha on Monday. During the debate on motion of thanks to the presidents address to Parliament, leader after leader used the demonetisation bullet to fire at the government. Although there seems to be a problem of numbers to force amendments on Tuesday into the president's joint address and embarrass the Centre on demonetisation, all efforts are on to at least highlight the pressure points if not press for voting. The focus area will be 'demonetisation', as The Times of India points out in its report. The three parties want to insert a regret into Pranab Mukherjee's address that the speech carried no mention of deaths related to demonetisation, no mention of black money unearthed and no concrete evaluation of the goals that have been achieved till date. Although a perceptive exercise, amending the president's annual joint address has been the Opposition's calling card and they are doing everything possible to do a fourth encore. Which brings us to the curious happenstance on demonetisation: Why is there an almost-desperate attempt to refocus the nation's attention on the currency swap and peddle its many supposed ill-effects all over again? No other topic since the Narendra Modi government initiated the policy on 8 November last year has got so much attention. Except in Parliament where it was supposed to be discussed, India has hardly discussed anything else. The media has shred the currency swap to pieces and the Opposition has been relentless in taking its message to the people that it is the biggest example of Modi's 'hubris' a 'financial Emergency' and a thoroughly 'anti-people move'. These stances are nothing new. The question to be asked, therefore, is why did the Opposition which shied away from a debate in the Parliament during the Winter Session on one pretext or another suddenly seem so interested in raking it up on the floor of the House? What has changed? A report in The Indian Express points out how Opposition leaders could talk of nothing else on Monday. While JD(U) leader Sharad Yadav said "never before has a government decision produced so many dalals (brokers) as notebandi", CPM's Sitaram Yechury claimed "none of the four things the prime minister had cited as the reasons for demonetisation have been achieved." Congress' Ahmed Patel said it was the "biggest ever scam" while his colleague Rajeev Shukla said it "did not have any impact in curbing black money or terror funding". While his party colleagues were busy castigating demonetisation in Parliament, Congress spokesperson and economist Salman Aneez Soz wrote in his column for The Times of India that not only is Modi's policy already a huge failure, it is indicative of a 'sunk cost' fallacy where BJP is desperate to make it appear a success because "accepting failure was not an option". According to Soz, Modi "was invested in the demonetisation scheme and he would do whatever it took to justify his initiative". The Opposition's second wind on demonetisation is probably the result of media reports that indicate that currency swap is "losing popularity among the masses". Reports emerging from the ground ahead of the crucial Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls seems to suggest that even BJP's traditional voter base of Jats, Brahmins, Banias and other upper caste Hindus are disillusioned with the party and angry with what they call Modi's 'notebandi'. If that is indeed the case, the logical fallacy that arises from the Opposition's narrative on demonetisation is this: If the currency swap has been such a disaster and has crippled BJP's chances in the Assembly polls, why are the rival leaders sweating bullets to drive home the 'ill-effects'? They should instead sit back and relax as BJP's chances implode and the party goes up in flames in Uttar Pradesh. There are two ways of looking at this curious turn of events. One, the Opposition is confident about ground reports on angry voters and feels that it needs to further ramp up the heat on demonetisation to extract all electoral benefits. Or two, they are still unsure about the real cost-benefit analyses of demonetisation, the scale and scope of which remains unparalleled in the world. The 2017 Economic Survey indicates that the effect of demonetisation, while transitorily painful, will lead to a more robust growth. According to it, the currency swap will temporarily squeeze the 2016-17 growth to 6.5 to 6.75 percent in line with the IMF projection but in 2017-18, once remonetisation is complete, the growth will return from 6.75 percent to 7.5 percent. This will happen, says the survey, because "contractionary effects on the informal sector that accounts for 45 percent of GDP and 80 percent of employment would dissipate by the year-end when the currency in circulation should once again be back to normal." Economist Surjit Bhalla, sifting through data, concurs with Economic Survey projections. In his column for The Indian Express, he writes that the "rabi acreage, advertised by many anti-DeMo experts as doomed, has expanded by at least 5.9 percent (all data as of January 13, Economic Survey, page 156); wheat acreage is up by 7.1 percent. This implies that a minimum level of agricultural growth for 2016-17 will likely be close to 5.5 percent, and the likely level six percent to seven percent. Assuming an agricultural growth of 6.5 percent (versus the 4.1 percent estimated by the CSO), yields a GDP growth level of 7.1 percent. This is well above that of the (deliberately-conservative) Ministry of Finance". Leaving aside economic jargon, let's concentrate on politics. Simply put, it would be foolish at this stage to paint notebandi as a death-knell for BJP. Had that been the case, the first major opinion poll since demonetisation done by India Today wouldn't have indicated that BJP would win 360 seats if Lok Sabha polls were held just now. Other findings suggest that 45 percent believe that demonetisation will help curb black money while another 35 percent feel it will help the economy which indicates positive support from 80 percent respondents. Modi's popularity ratings, too, remain at a high of 65 percent. It is always prudent to take polls with a pinch of salt. At best, they are indicators of a mood. While the BJP has swept nearly all municipal and by-elections so far, the real test will obviously be the Assembly polls. Bankers and research institutes like Nomura suggest a sharp V-shaped recovery after initial contraction. The last word on demonetisation and its many after-effects haven't been heard yet. Perhaps that explains the Opposition's renewed effort at tweaking the narrative. Mumbai: Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray on Tuesday said Patidar quota leader Hardik Patel will be his party's face in Gujarat Assembly polls even as he asserted the alliance with BJP in Maharashtra is on "notice period". Thackeray's statements came after Patel called on him at his residence Mathoshree here. Patel's visit is being seen as significant since Sena has been trying to woo the Gujarati community in its fight against the BJP in Mumbai city corporation elections. "Our friendship with Hardik Patel will be lasting. Until the other person breaks relations with us, we do not leave their side. If needed, we will fight Gujarat Assembly polls as well and Hardik will be our face," Thackeray said while addressing a joint press conference with Patel. Giving indications that the Sena is ready to pull out of the Maharashtra government, in which it is a partner of the BJP, Thackeray said the government is on a "notice period" as of now. "Like the Code of Conduct is for a certain period, the government too is on a notice period and when the period ends will be known by all soon," Thackeray said. "From the last several months, Hardik wanted to pay his respects to the memory of Sena founder Balasaheb (Thackeray) and thus he came to Matoshree. Sena and Hardik are together in their fight for justice," he added. Patel, who had taken on the BJP government in Gujarat by spearheading a stir demanding quota for the Patidar community, said Maharashtra is a land of warriors and that the current struggle is for a social change and to deliver justice to people. "I have always been inspired by Balasaheb's thoughts. His thoughts are inspiration for the youth. Be it Gujarati or Marathi all are my friends. Meeting anyone cannot be a political issue. One should be in contact with 'good' people," Patel said. Thackeray said the decision to fight the upcoming civic polls sans BJP was taken as there were "no heartfelt feelings" to fight in an alliance. New Delhi: Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar on Tuesday came under Opposition attack in the Rajya Sabha for his statements on the surgical strike, India's nuclear doctrine and other issues and sought his explanation on the issue. The issue was raised during the Zero Hour by senior Congress member Shantaram Naik, which got support from some other members including JD(U) leader Sharad Yadav. Parrikar was present in the House but did not respond. Naik said Parrikar, in one statement, had given credit to RSS ideology for the surgical strikes instead of the brave soldiers, while in another statement he had said that India had never carried out before the one conducted last year. Expressing concern over these statements by Parrikar in various platforms, Naik suggested that he should not make policy statements outside Parliament. Citing certain examples, Naik said the Defence Minister "falsely claims that India never conducted surgical strikes in the past". Parrikar never mentioned the strike that India had carried out in erstwhile East Pakistan under occupation of Pakistan dividing that country into two during Prime Minister Indira Gandhi's tenure, the Congress MP said. Naik also alleged that "the Defence Minister gives credit to RSS ideology for surgical strikes rather than giving credit to our brave soldiers" and suggested that Parrikar should not "ridicule" the country by making statements which can be construed to be "in bad taste". Referring to the Minister's statement on nuclear doctrine at a recent book launch, Naik said Parrikar had then "articulated a personal view which is contrary to India's 'no first use' of nuclear weapons. This doctrine has come for adverse comments from many strategists." "If Defence Minister is making an aggressive posture, then how is that the government had failed to ensure reciprocal visit (to Pakistan) after it permitted a Pakistani delegation to visit sensitive areas in Pathankot," he asked. He said "Pakistan attacks our military camps on several occasions, but we are asked to remain content with one surgical strike." Associating with his party colleague, Anand Sharma (Congress) said the Defence Minister should not have made policy statements on India's nuclear doctrine outside Parliament. "The Defence Minister must respect the Parliament. He should be advised not to make policy statements when Parliament is in session. He should come to the House and respond," he added. Satyavrat Chaturvedi (Cong) and Sharad Yadav (JD-U) also wanted to air their concerns, with the latter saying "these are not ordinary statements. They are of serious nature. He (Parrikar) should respond." As Opposition members sought the Defence Minister's reply, Deputy Chairman P J Kurien said he cannot ask him to respond. Members from the Treasury Bench said "flimsy issues" are being raised and urged the Chair not to allow Opposition members to take others' time. Ahead of the Uttar Pradesh polls, the Jat community has escalated its agitation in a bid to strengthen its presence in UP politics. After Haryana, the Jat community has chalked out a series of demonstrations in Delhi and Madhya Pradesh from Tuesday onwards. While the Jat quota agitation in 19 districts of Haryana has entered the tenth day, with protesters sitting on dharnas at various places, the Jat leaders have planned to intensify the stir if their demands are not met by the government. Going beyond the common Jat belt Haryana, Rajasthan and Delhi the community is now focusing on pockets of Madhya Pradesh and UP, ahead of the Assembly election. Their sole target is the BJP. The Jats have also started protesting at Najafgarh in Delhi, and Faridabad and Dadri in UP on Tuesday. Weve appealed to our community leaders and members not to vote for the BJP. The Jats have a strong presence in western UP and its not possible for the BJP to win without the Jat support in this belt, Yashpal Malik, president of All-India Jat Aarakshan Sangharsh Samiti told Firstpost. How important is the Jat vote in UP? During 2014 general election, the Jats voted for the BJP in large numbers, which helped the party win 71 Lok Sabha seats out of 80. Though Jats form only five percent of the total population in the state, it has a strong dominance in western UP, which effectively takes the vote share to 20 percent. Of the total number of Assembly seats, the Jats have 20-40 percent presence in 65 seats; in 30 seats they have 10-20 percent presence and in another 30 seats, there is less than 10 percent. Were more effective in terms of votes in all those seats, where our presence is less than 40 percent. In such pockets, the decision of our community leaders is final and Jat voters go by it while casting their votes. Individual decision doesnt work. In the first two phases of polling, Jat factor will dominate, explained Malik. According to the community leaders, a majority of Jat voters have joined hands with Ajit Singh-led Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD). In western UP, the Jat voters have presence in 125 seats ranging from 5 to 40 percent. Itll be difficult for the BJP to win unless it gets 60-70 percent of the Jat votes, because, Muslims, Dalits, Gujjars and Yadavs wont vote for them, he said. Why is the Jat community angry? - Reservation issue. - Comments made by BJP MP Raj Kumar Saini and his close associate former MLA Roshan Lal Arya. They slapped attempt to murder charges on five accused from the Jat community in an ink attack on Saini. It generated controversy, which angered the community. - Death of 18 Jat youths due to firing during the reservation riot. - Prime Minister Narendra Modi's stand on reservation. Modi had assured us that our reservation demand would be met, but till now nothing has been done. Jats are ready to wait for reservation since the matter is sub-judice, but they want all their other demands to be accepted immediately. Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar had earlier said the government will accept their demand of giving jobs to the next of kin of those who had lost their lives in the agitation last year, so far the government has not done anything on this issue, Malik said. Unlike 2014, this time around, Jats seem unsure of voting for the BJP due to various issues. There is anger among the Jats against the BJP for not pushing their demand for reservation and the lack of any package to revive the farming sector in this years Budget. This has moved a large section of the Jats towards the RLD. Jats are economically conscious. Besides, reservation and education issues, the Budget failed to address anything concrete on the farming sector that could appease the Jats. Another factor thats bothering the Jats is leadership issue. The BJP couldnt project a strong Jat leader. In VP Singhs regime, there were seven Cabinet ministers from the Jat community, whereas now there are only two Ministers of States (MoS) who too dont have a national recall. This is making them go in favour of the RLD, Sompal Shastri, former Union agriculture minister in Atal Bihari Vajpayee government and an agriculture expert told Firstpost. Jat strategy to oppose BJP in UP - Create pressure through agitations and demonstrations in Haryana, Delhi, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan. - Distribution of pamphlets in UP narrating the deaths of 18 Jat youths and the governments alleged failure to keep its promise. - Stage statewide protests. - Align with the RLD. Weve got support from Jat activists in Punjab. There is anger among them as well. Currently, nearly 98 percent of Jats in UP are against the BJP, claimed Malik. Days after the tripartite meeting in Delhi which was called for a resolution of the economic blockade in Manipur, on Tuesday, the United Naga Council (UNC) announced that they will continue the blockade citing the reason that the state government has still not called for a roll-back of the seven new districts created on 8 December. After the tripartite talks which were held on 3 February between the Centre, the state government and the UNC, Manipur Chief Minister Okram Ibobi Singh announced that the blockade will be lifted on Tuesday and they will "unconditionally release two UNC leaders." An emergency Presidential Council of UNC was convened on Tuesday to consider the outcome of the tripartite meeting where they reached a consensus that despite several talks with the Naga leaders, the Manipur government has not called for a roll-back on the creation of seven districts, which were declared on 8 December 2016 by the Ibobi government without the consultation of the Naga leaders (stake-holders and the owners of the land) in the matter. Talking to Firstpost, S Milan, general secretary of the UNC said, "The Naga people who own the land must be consulted before making any decisions regarding the land. The governments move shows their utter disrespect for the community." On the matter of the roll-back of the seven districts, the Manipur government, during the tripartite meeting, pleaded "helplessness" on taking up the issue as the election code of conduct which has come into effect from 4 January prohibits any political decision on the matter by the state government or the Centre till the elections in the state (scheduled for 4 and 8 March) conclude. Sources told Huffpost India, that the UNC had considered temporary suspension of the blockade but changed their minds after Ibobi told media that the issue of new districts was not discussed in the tripartite meeting and that the UNC has decided to call off the blockade. In an interview with Outlook, Ibobi released the details of the tripartite meeting which according to the UNC were meant to be kept under wraps. Answering a question related to the expected date for lifting of the economic blockade, Ibobi said, "Tomorrow (Tuesday). Simultaneously it should happen as per agreement with Ministry of Home Affairs." He further said, "Mutually we have agreed, simultaneously, if they lift the blockade, we will release the office bearers of UNC, the president and another secretary also. From the state government side, what we have given commitment for, we are ready. This is our understanding between UNC office bearers and the state government in the presence of the union government." In a press release forwarded by the UNC, they reiterated that the economic blockade will continue on the state, till decision to create the seven districts is reiterated. It said, "The Presidential Council therefore reiterates the rejection of the creation of seven new districts and resolved to continue to fight against the insidious design of grabbing our land on the pretext of administrative convenience till the same is withdrawn." When asked whether he can forsee a successful resolution of the economic blockade in the state which has affected the prices of basic commodities in the state, Milan said, "Ibobi opened the Pandora's box when he decided to create smaller districts. If he is the one who creates the situation, he should also be the one to diffuse the situation." The UNC has called for another tripartite meet with the centre and the state government on 25 March, after the Assembly elections in the state are concluded. The economic blockade which has lasted for 101 days was called by the UNC to oppose the recent creation of the seven new districts which according to them was created without consulting the Naga tribes residing in the hills. The economic blockade which came into effect on 1 November 2016, has hit the prices of basic commodities which was doubly effected by the demonetisation announced on 8 November. Ibobi government justified the creation of the smaller districts citing that it would make the administration easier in the state which is hampered by navigation in the hilly terrain. The ruling Congress government in the state has called for this step several times in its 15-year-rule. However various MoUs between the Naga tribes and the government have been signed which hamper such a step. Political experts believe that Ibobi's move reflects on his communal politics that the decision was made before the elections to divide and secure the votes of the people residing in the hill and the valley. Mumbai: In a major boost to its campaign to win a fifth consecutive term at the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), the Shiv Sena on Tuesday announced that leader of the Patidar community Hardik Patel will campaign for the party in the run-up to the crucial 21 February polls to the 227-seat corporation. Sena supremo Uddhav Thackeray also declared Patel to be the face of the party in Gujarat for the forthcoming Assembly election. Patel addressed a joint press conference with Thackeray at his Bandra residence, Matoshree on Tuesday. The Gujarati vote is a major deciding factor in at least 40 seats, which the Sena fears may benefit the BJP. To counter BJP's growing clout among the Gujarati community, Shiv Sena roped in Patel to campaign for Sena candidates in Mumbai's Gujarati dominated areas. Patel will be meeting his supporters in the suburbs of Dahisar, Borivali, Kandivali and Malad all Gujarati-dominated areas before heading to Goregaon to address a rally on Tuesday evening, where he will be campaigning for Shiv Sena candidate Biren Limbachaya. The rally will also be attended by Industries Minister Subhash Desai. Talking to mediapersons, Patel took on the BJP and urged the Gujarati community to support Shiv Sena for the 21 February polls. "In the upcoming polls, the Gujarati community will stand with Shiv Sena. I will not participate in any campaign rallies directly but my community will support them," Patel said. During his interaction with the media, Patel reiterated his demand for Patidar reservation in Gujarat, while slamming Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP president Amit Shah. "Narendra Modi and his government are scared of me. But unlike Modi or Amit Shah, I have nothing to fear or hide. I will finish the BJP in upcoming Gujarat assembly poll and will show the unity of the Patidar community," he said. Patel also lent his support to the Maratha reservation stir, "I am in Mumbai to support the demand for Maratha reservation too. Like the Patidar community, the Maratha community must also get reservation", he said. Stating that he is happy to be in Maharashtra, Patel said, "Like I admire Bhagat Singh, I am also a fan of the late Balasaheb Thackeray. At the same time, I am happy to be in the land of Veer Savarkar. I am inspired by all three leaders." Describing Patel as "a firebrand leader", Thackeray said that the Patidar community leader "would be the face of the party in Gujarat." Blaming the Modi government for betraying the Gujarati community, Thackeray said, "Modi government has been ruthless on Gujarati businessmen. They all stood with BJP in the parliamentary and Assembly elections. But now they have realised their mistake. Many Gujarat leaders are now against Modi and BJP. We will unitedly fight against them." While welcoming Patel, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis however, dismissed his presence in Mumbai and exuded confidence of sweeping the polls. According to sources, backdoor negotiations with Patel had begun on 19 January, when the Sena supremo had sent his close aide to hold talks with him. In the meeting, it is believed that Patel agreed to participate in Shiv Senas election campaign for the forthcoming polls. The move to bring in Patel, just days before the election, should be seen in the context of BJP's good performance in the Gujarati-dominated areas of Mumbai in the 2014 Assembly elections. The Gujarati population comprises of 18 percent of the total electorate in Mumbai. In the last one month, Shiv Sena has successfully poached many Gujarati faces including leaders from Gujarat. Patel became a community hero after leading a major quota agitation across Gujarat. He was jailed for his massive campaign to seek job quotas for the Patel community, which often turned violent. Patel had been exiled to Rajasthan for six months. However, last week, he returned to Gujarat. The pressure on Nagaland chief minister TR Zeliang to step down following his government's decision to hold urban local body elections with 33 percent reservation for women is growing. Protesters on Monday upped their agitation against the government calling for complete shutdown of the government machinery, Hindustan Times said on Monday. "We are putting volunteers on the streets across the state to stop government vehicles. Government offices have been asked to shut down voluntarily," Kevichata Sechi, vice-president of Angami Youth Organisation (AYO), who have led the protests in the state's capital, Kohima, told the newspaper. Several tribal bodies have been protesting against the election since early January (when the nominations began) because of the 33 percent reservation for women, which they claim infringes on the special rights for Nagaland guaranteed by Article 371(A) of the Constitution. Though the protest initially was limited to AYO and few other organisations like Chakhesang Youth Front (in Chakhesang region) and Chakhroma Public Organisation, but the calls for Zeliang's resignation has intensified with the Hohos (an almost sovereign government for Nagas) of different tribes and two newly formed forums like Nagaland Tribes Action Committee (NTAC) and Joint Coordination Committee (JCC) joining the protest. Zeliang had earlier tried to calm the protesters by declaring the urban local bodies' election as "null and void". He had even asked the prime minister to immediately passed and ordinance and later amend Part IX-A of the Constitution to exempt Nagaland while holding municipal elections, but to no avail. According to The Indian Express, the chief minister has called a consultative meeting of all tribal bodies on Wednesday to find out ways to resolve the current impasse. He has "invited respective Hohos of all tribes including the apex Naga Hoho, Eastern Naga Peoples Organisation (ENPO), Angami Peoples Organisation (APO), Ao Senden, Chakhesang Public Organisation (CPO) and Nagaland Gaonburra Association to the consultative meet to be held in Kohima," it said. However, any solution seems unlikely as the Naga Hoho seems to have made up its mind about the Zeliang government. The present government does not listen to the voice of the people, can treacherously betray its own commitments made in the presence of our highest sacred institution, and even goes to the extent of taking the lives of the son of the soil, the Indian Express said quoting a strongly-worded statement issued by the Naga Hoho. It also accused the Zeliang government of being blind and deaf to the cries of the people, the report said. The way Prime Minister Narendra Modi has defended his decision to demonetise high value notes in Parliament today makes it sound like note ban was a measure his government had thought through thoroughly before implementing on 8 November in Asia's third largest economy. Not even his political rivals dispute the fact that demonetisation was a well-intentioned move by the government but executed badly. The idea of rooting out corruption, black money and fake notes with one big blow appealed to all sections economists, the middle class and the panwallah on the streetin the same manner. During his speech on Tuesday, Modi said. People asked why did we bring demonetisation into effect when the economy was doing well. As a doctor would say the best time to perform a surgery is when the body is completely healthy. Indeed, the economy was beginning to come out of a slowdown phase, but certainly it wasnt in the pink of health. The PMs contention that the operation could have been performed only when the body is healthy is questionable given that there is enough evidence (look at the chart below) to suggest that economy wasn't in good shape when 86 percent of currency was abruptly pulled out of system. That was also a time when this government was grappling with the reforms jinx. GST was beginning to appear as a possibility and the economy was fighting many evils such as a weak banking sector problems, muted industrial activity and decline in private investments. That is when the demonetisation happened. Since then, many economists, including Nobel laureate Amartya Sen, have raised the question as to why the government decided to scrap 86 percent of the currency when only 6-7 percent of the black money was estimated to be in cash. If the idea is to implement a massively disruptive reform when the economy is doing well, the government could have perhaps waited. But, thats a call the ruling dispensation had to take at some point. No matter what the critics say, the fact that Modi finally spoke on note ban in Parliament gives one the hope that the government will also show its willingness in the coming days to share vital information on the gains of this exercise, which is missing until now. Even in the Union budget 2017 last week, the government was largely silent on the demonetisation results. After three months of demonetisation, we still do not know how much black money has been recovered from the hoarders and how many fake notes have been seized since the start of the exercise. The government owes an answer to the common man on the above stated objectives. As of now, all we know is that the demonetisation has been painful for the economy. Most economists have lowered the GDP growth for this fiscal year to 6.5-6.6 percent level compared with the earlier estimates of 7-7.6 percent. There have been massive job losses in the informal sector and this has contributed to the already high unemployment levels that is currently at 5 percent. Industrial activity has slowed down, bank credit growth has plunged to multi-year lows. As far as the original objectives of black money and counterfeit notes are concerned, it wont be long before fake note makers recalibrate their machines to churn out new currencies and real estate mafia flood the market with cash after lying low for a while. The same will apply to extremist elements, who were equally affected by the cash crunch. But what are the gains? The government has, so far, not given any estimate of how much unaccounted cash is recovered from the exercise and how many fake currencies have been confiscated. On 8 November, the government had demonetised Rs 15.44 lakh crore currency in circulation, out of which majority has come back. This ended the expectation that a good part of the black money in cash will be extinguished out of the banking system. Recently, Motilal Oswal, a domestic brokerage, said that the government may gain only Rs 72,800 crore from the move taxes, penalties worth Rs 32,800 crore and Rs 40,000 crore by way of surplus transfer from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). As per the brokerages estimates, the income tax department may be able to unearth only Rs 28,500 crore as black money, representing 50 percent of the income considered to be declared under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana scheme. This would imply tax receipts amounting to Rs 24,200 crore. After three months, the demonetisation pain has begun to ease as cash has slowly found its way back to households with ATMs and banks beginning to dispense cash. Now, it is time the Narendra Modi government to move beyond mere rhetoric on demonetisation and present the facts. Prime Minister Modi doesnt need to explain why he went ahead with the demonetisation process putting the economy and his own political capital at great risk. The intention is well-known. But, what we need to see now is hard numbers on demonetisation gains. MK Stalin is right when he says people of Tamil Nadu did not vote for anybody from J Jayalalithaa's household to become chief minister of the state. And, it seems, ultimately the people of Tamil Nadu will decide the fate of the woman who has anointed herself as the chinnamma of the state. That moment could be just a few months away. Constitutionally, there is very little anybody can do to stall VK Sasikala's bloodless coup and stop her from becoming the state's chief minister. Once the legislators of the party with the majority elect someone as their leader, the governor has no option but to continue with the swearing-in. Since Sasikala has been elected as their chief minister by all the 136 MLAs of her party, Tamil Nadu Governor C Vidyasagar Rao can delay it further. The only hurdle in Sasikala's way is the Supreme Court judgment on the disproportionate asset's case in which Chinnamma is a co-accused with Jayalalithaa. The verdict is expected any time. If Sasikala is found guilty and her acquittal by the high court is reversed, she would have to step down, or barred from taking over as chief minister. If she is acquitted, nothing can stop her. For the moment, the BJP-led Centre appears to be caught between its desire to stop Sasikala and the compulsion to follow the law in word and spirit. It has reportedly asked governor Rao to delay the swearing-in, perhaps in the hope that the Supreme Court verdict could be pronounced soon. But, the BJP's choices are difficult. The AIADMK has the largest number of members in Parliament after the BJP. The Centre needs the AIADMK not just to help it in Parliament but also to get its candidate elected as the next President of India. The AIADMK numbers could become even more important if the Akalis get trounced in Punjab and the BJP doesn't win Uttar Pradesh, bringing down its numbers in the electoral college for the presidential election. The dilemma for the BJP is this: How far can it go to stall Sasikala? And, if it does, what would be the repercussions? Will she become vengeful towards the Centre and join the anti-BJP coalition that could take shape after the elections in Uttar Pradesh? There is no easy answer to any of these questions. Sasikala's impending ascent to the throne, incidentally, is not without precedence. In 1984, Rajiv Gandhi was elected leader of the Congress parliamentarians after his mother's death in spite of his lack of experience. After his death, the Congress pulled PV Narasimha Rao, who had decided to not contest the 1991 election, out of retirement to lead the party and become the PM. Similarly, Narendra Modi was chosen as leader by the BJP legislators of Gujarat even when he had no prior experience of holding a government job and was not an elected member of the house. But, there were two key differences between election of all these leaders and Sasikala's coup. One, their ascent was not shrouded in mystery, charges of conspiracies and subterfuge. Two, all these leaders had the support of the party cadres. The reaction to Sasikala's election within the state and its cadres is a clear indication that people see her as a usurper, not a legitimate leader. Even the AIADMK workers are angry that she has captured Jayalalithaa's legacy without any political or moral legitimacy. The AIADMK cadres believed Sasikala has used her clout over the MLAs, many of whom may have got party tickets because of her since Jayalalithaa was unwell, to insult the mandate. It can be safely presumed that if fresh elections were to be held in TN today, the AIADMK under Sasikala may not return to power. But, elections are almost five years away. But, Sasikala's day of reckoning may not be that far away. Even if she gets acquitted by the SC, gets sworn-in as CM, Sasikala will have to face the electorate within six months to enter the Assembly. Considering the anger on the ground and the resentment among AIADMK cadres, it may not be easy for Sasikala to retain power she has grabbed because of influence in the late CM's household. Follow all the live updates here Centre-state battlelines, it would appear, have been drawn. But, the Centre does not want to be seen as unnecessary interfering in Tamil Nadu's political imbroglio. There are all indications that it will go by the rule book of the Constitution and allow VK Sasikala to be sworn in as chief minister. Despite skepticism about Sasikalas ascension to the chair of the chief minister among the top BJP leadership, it would be next to impossible for the Centre to prevent Sasikala should the AIADMK legislators elect her as a leader. Highly-placed sources in the government point out that a majority of legislators had been showing the same level of obsequiousness to Sasikala, as they had shown to J Jayalalithaa. "It is the partys cadre that doesn't support her. Instead she is getting support from MLAs who are keeping her pictures in their pocket," a highly-placed government functionary told Firstpost. Obviously, the Centre does not have any resources at its disposal to check the political culture that characterises Tamil Nadus power politics. However Governor Vidyasagar Raos prevarication must be seen in light of the fact that the Centre would not kowtow to Sasikalas whims and cannot be taken for granted. At the same time, as per the constitutional arrangement, the governor is empowered to appoint the chief minister after satisfying himself about the incumbents constitutional suitability and propriety. Given a slew of cases against Sasikala and the latest PIL raising objections over her suitability to be the chief minister of the state, the Centre does not want to act in a hurry. Insiders in the government point out that even when Jayalalithaa died, there was pressure on the Centre by a section of the bureaucracy and legislators to declare Sasikala as her successor. The governor is believed to have turned down this suggestion from the very beginning and allowed O Panneerselvam to take over the reins. What appears to have particularly irked loyalists of Sasikala was the income tax raid at the residence of ex-Tamil Nadu chief secretary P Rama Mohan Rao and the recovery of unaccounted cash. Rao was considered to be close to Sasikala. This was seen by Sasikala loyalists as a clever move by the Centre to run Tamil Nadu by installing Panneerselvam who does not enjoy a stature of his own in Tamil Nadu politics. However the latest turn of events clearly indicate that Sasikala enjoys the support of a majority of AIADMK legislators who favour her to take over as the chief minister. And strictly in legal terms, her appointment as the chief minister may be delayed, but not stalled. And the Centre is unlikely to fight this untenable battle. Lucknow: The Allahabad High Court order to the Uttar Pradesh government to ensure free and fair polls in Kairana and other sensitive areas of the state has come as a shot in the arm of BJP which has been demanding removal of UP DGP Javeed Ahmed and other officials "working for SP candidates". "The directive of the HC is welcome. But it is unfortunate that is not doing much about officials who are close to the Saifai family or relatives of the candidates, who are still holding important posts and can influence the elections," UP BJP General Secretary Vijay Bahadur Pathak said on Tuesday. BJP has been demanding removal of the UP DGP and other officials, accusing them of working for SP candidates. A delegation of BJP leaders on Monday moved the Election Commission against chief secretary, Director General and Additional Director General of UP Police demanding they be replaced in order to ensure "free and fair elections". The party also demanded that District Magistrates of Rampur, Firozabad and Meerut also be replaced, accusing them all of "partisan behaviour". Pathak said the directive of the high court on the law and order issue in Kairana of Shamli district was welcome and expressed concern over the conduct of free and fair elections in Uttar Pradesh till the "tainted officials close to the ruling Samajwadi Party are shifted out from the key posts". On exodus and law and order issue in Kairana, he said, "The directive of the HC vindicates the charges of the BJP on the UP government." He said the state of affairs in UP is so bad that the HC had been forced to give orders even after the poll panel had repeatedly said it is committed to conducting free and fair polls. The HC directive also creates apprehension that the situation is not so good in Kairana and other places in the state and the government has "failed to perform its duty", Pathak said. The exodus of Hindus from Kairana made headlines last year when local BJP MP Hukum Singh released a list of more than 300 Hindu families which had fled the town following repeated extortion threats and attacks. Singh had alleged that Samajwadi Party was preventing action against anti-social elements responsible for the exodus since they happened to be its supporters. However, the allegations were countered by the SP which charged the BJP with trying to trigger communal tension in western UP with an eye on political gains ahead of Assembly elections in the state. Auto refresh feeds At the same time, this place is also linked to the family of BJP's tallest leader Atal Bihari Vajpayee. In fact, BR Ambedkar was the first one to realise the significance of this township where Dalit assertion manifested for the first time after Maharashtra before India's Independence. Since then Agra was symbolised with Dalit assertion. Ambedkar's influence on Agra's social and political life remains enduring till date. BJP chief, instead, will meet family of businessman shot dead in the area on Thursday night. Amit Shah cancels his foot march that was to be held in Meerut The roadshow will then proceed towards Bhagwan Talkies , Deewani chauraha, Sur Sadan and then Wazirpur the only area dominated by Muslims the major factor responsible for a turnaround in UP poll results. From there it moves forward to Hari parvat , Chipitola and finally ending at Bijligarh Chauraha situated in the south of the city. Dayalbagh also inhabits a large population of Satsanghis, who are followers of the RadhaSwami sect. The followers in general are taken to be mute supporter of the right wing party. For example the Dayalbagh institute is an educational institution area located at Dayalbagh in the heart of the city. The institute has been given deemed university status by UGC and is one of the most sought out campus among students. The road map which has been signalled by the district administration for this road show has an interesting mix of both communities, young and old voters and women in general. Starting point of this roadshow will be Dayal Bagh Engineering college, passing through Bhagwan Talkies, Deewani Chauraha, Sur Sadan, Wazirpur, Hari Parvat Crossing, Chipitola and finally culminating at Bijligarh Chauraha located in the South of the City. The roadshow will continue for approximately 3 hours and end around 6pm in the evening. With the choice of their city and preference of safer and urban road map for this show, it seems as if both the leaders are keen to send a strong political message to the people of the state in minimal time. And make out for the losses incurred to their party because of the delay in forming this unprecedented and fresh alliance. According to Firstpost reporters on the field, Akhilesh and Rahul have taken lessons from their earlier road show in Lucknow where they had a tough time facing the low hanging electric wires. Thus, confining the road show to areas which is comparatively more equipped in terms of basic infrastructure. He talked of how despite facing difficulties people have supported demonetisation in national interest. The BJP leader targeted the Akhilesh Yadav Government over alleged corruption and mining mafia. He also said it was his party's strategy not to declare its chief ministerial face. "In the UPA government, it was said that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is honest but the government is corrupt. Now Akhilesh Yadavji is also saying 'I am honest and removed one minister over allegations of corruption' but he reinstated him again after 15 days," Balyan said. However, for the upcoming elections, the party seems to have adopted the much-publicised narrative of development. Western UP, where tension had prevailed during the 2014 Lok Sabha election too in the wake of riots, is calm and elections would be held peacefully with development being the major issue, Balyan told PTI. The BJP had deployed local MP and minister of state for agriculture in Modi government, Sanjeev Balyan, MP Hukum Singh and MLA Suresh Rana for campaigning in February-2016 bypoll, the first after the communal riots. They were all named as accused in cases related to the 2013 riots which left at least 60 dead and thousands displaced. In 2016, nearly two and a half years after the Muzaffarnagar riots, when bypoll was held in this constituency following the death of the then sitting SP MLA Chitranjan Swaroop, the BJP won the seat battling a sympathy wave in favour of the leader's son. Many analysts had then said the saffron party was able to exploit the communal faultlines through its campaign which was led by riot-accused BJP leaders. "The family drama of SP is heading towards tragedy from melody and comedy," the senior BJP leader said at a press conference in Lucknow. "The alliance between Congress and SP is opportunist and immoral. Akhilesh Yadav has made an alliance but did not give space to his father (Mulayam Singh Yadav) even on the carrier of the 'bicycle' (SP symbol) and gave its handle to Congress. Terming Congress-Samajwadi Party alliance as "opportunist and immoral", Union minister M Venkaiah Naidu today said the family drama of ruling Samajwadi Party is "heading towards tragedy from melody and comedy". During his roadshow in Meerut few hours earlier he had reeled out statistics on crime to point out that the law and order situation has gone from bad to worse under Akhilesh? Kaam bolta hai goes the campaign catch line for Akhilesh's Samajwadi Party. The SP chief would like to believe his government has done enough to receive a repeat mandate, but BJP president Amit Shah surely is not buying that. Dil mile ya na mile, party toh mil gayi hai, is the current emotion running high in the ruling party of Uttar Pradesh. The mega road show in Agra is a clear message to parties that SP and Congress have decided to bulldoze into minority bastion and claim the Muslim votes. An hour late from the scheduled time, UP ke ladke have started their road show in Agra. As TV footage showed, the two leaders stood atop the vehicle, instead of being holed up inside their bullet-proof vehicles, and waved to their supporters, giving the feel that everything is well in the recently-formed alliance. Give it to the man, his claims may not be beyond suspicion, his confidence is. With Netaji in kabhi haan kabhi naa mode and uncle Shivpal Yadav planning his own party after elections Akhilesh has reason to be worried. Father Mulayam is taking too many quick turns for his comfort. But atop the vehicle in a road show he is a picture of confidence and self-assuredness. "This government has kept you (farmers) in darkness. The government has bought only 3 percent of its crops in the state," he said. "Why does the government give opportunities to traders to loot farmers?" the prime minister further said. "I want to ask Akhilesh ji's government: What is your connection with those from the sugar mills? Why doesn't the government provide money to the sugarcane farmers?" Modi said. "Has it ever happened that the farmers of Uttar Pradesh got the money they deserve?" Modi said. Why didn't Akhilesh govt do anything for farmers? says Modi The Samajwadi Party-Congress alliance has got the buzz right and it's drowning out the BJP and the BSP. Speak to the young men at the venue and they quickly chant Akhilesh Bhai ko jitana hai (We have to ensure Akhilesh's victory). What's the big deal, you might ask. It's after all a Samajwadi Party rally. Step beyond the rather cramped space, the buzz refuses to disappear. Akhilesh has struck a chord, it might carry him all the way. At Meerut's Nauchandi Chowk, amid batches of placard-carrying Congress and Samajwadi workers who keep streaming in for Akhilesh-Rahul joint rally, you feel the energy of the young. Akhilesh-Rahul joint rally: The UP CM might have struck a chord with the youngsters The reference, of course, is to Akhilesh and Rahul. Other placards say, "humko ye saath pasand hai," in a small variation of the alliance slogan "UP ko ye saath pasand hai". Ask the guy carrying the placard what he meant by the filmy comparison Karan, Arjun are lead characters of a movie played by Shah Rukh Khan and Salman long ago and he turns away. He is too busy for silly questions. Of course, some went beyond this and said a victory for Akhilesh-Rahul would be the beginning of the end of Narendra Modi. Bhaichaara was the word spoken often by the speakers on the dais. "UP had had enough of communal tension. It has suffered a lot. Now it's the time to put a stop to it. 2014 was a mistake. You put power in wrong hands. Let's not repeat it." This was the essence of their speeches. Victory for Akhilesh-Rahul could be beginning of end for Narendra Modi? Perhaps one of the negative consequences of the personality cult. There's none in the BJP to attack or discuss in Uttar Pradesh. A loss here, if it happens, would be a loss for Modi, none else. "You fell for white lies in 2014. Where is the recovered black money in your bank accounts? Where are the jobs? What happened to all those tall promises you made? Liar, liar." The barbs were, of course, directed at Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The election in Uttar Pradesh is a curious one. T he prime minister is in the direct line of attack in a state election. "These elections are not about choosing the next government, it is not about which political party will win or not. These elections are about whether development, which has been sent to an exile for the past 14 years, will it come back?" Modi says in Ghaziabad. The prime minister also lambasted Akhilesh for not generating employment as promised. "Standing today in Ghaziabad, I promise that youths won't have to run around for jobs anymore. And these are not election promises. This is my resolve." Taking on the ruling Samajwadi Party in Uttar Pradesh, Prime Minister Narendra Modi slammed Akhilesh and said that when he was elected as the chief minister everyone had great hopes from a young, educated leader. "Bachiyan school jaane se darrti hai. Aapki party (SP) ne gundon ko pal rakha hai or UP ka ye haal kar rakha hai (Girls are afraid to go to school because of the goons owned by you)." Samajwadi Party is ruled by goons, the govt is making no attempts to enforce law and order Narendra Modi says he will answer his detractors in 2019 I thought maybe, a young man (Akhilesh Yadav) will be ready in politics in five years. On another side, there was a politician in Congress, whose childish acts (you should see and find out the jokes on him) and manner of talking had kept Congress politicians away. The politician whose even the Congress leaders were running away from, Akhilesh Yadav has joined hands. That's when I began to doubt Akhilesh Yadav's intellegence. When it comes to the security of women in Uttar Pradesh, they blame the media. Isn't the crime records in Uttar Pradesh a proof of the poor women security situation in Uttar Pradesh? Why only one family from Safai with so many politicians: asks Narendra Modi The only way to save Uttar Pradesh is keep these two families from coming back to power. It's Akhilesh Yadav's government to give the money to sugar cane farmers. I had said, as soon as I come to power, we paid the money to 32 lakh farmers directly in their accounts. We will destroy the five-six mills hoarding your money. 'We started Fasal Bima Yojana for farmers. This scheme insures you even if you couldn't sow seeds till August. If your crop is destroyed by natural disaster, your loss be covered. But against the wishes of the sugarcane farmers, they put it under the insurance. A party which talks of making potatoes in factory, what would they know of farming. But at least Akhilesh Yadav should have known. His family's background is farming. Sugarcane is least affected by natural disasters. Even the richest farmer wouldn't insure sugar cane. But this anti-sugar cane farmers government in Uttar Pradesh.' We will listen to farmers and decide on insurance: Narendra Modi We are walking in the footsteps of Chaudhary Charan Singh: Narendra Modi Citing unutilised funds allocated by the central government, Modi attacked Akhilesh Yadav government of failing the people of Uttar Pradesh. Akhilesh has given up before election by joining Congress: Amit Shah 'Rahul Gandhi has been asking the BJP government of what we did. The first thing we did is gave a PM who can talk. The Manmohan government of corruption, we have given a government which even the opposition can't make a case of corruption. In your government, they used to behead soldiers. In our government, after they burn our soldiers, within ten days, we beat them in their home.' BJP will select candidates for Class III and IV jobs on the basis of merit: Amit Shah "In my tenure as chief minister, when a rape like this had happened, I got this done. Police officials told me that doing this was a violation of human rights. I replied that these 'danavs' (demons) do not have human rights. I also told the woman to watch the rapist being tortured through a lock-up window so that she could get some peace after listening to his screams and cries for help," the BJP leader said. Addressing an election rally here yesterday, she claimed that during her tenure as chief minister when a rape incident happened, "I also told the woman to watch the rapist being tortured". Rapists should be tortured "till their skin comes off", Union minister Uma Bharti has said and accused the Samajwadi Party government of failing to provide justice to the victims of the Bulandshahr gangrape case. Uma Bharti claims to have 'tortured rapists' when she was CM The BJP's stakes are high in the crucial state as they are being viewed as a mini-referendum on Prime Minister Narendra Modis major decisions like demonetisation and the surgical strikes across the border in Pakistan. After a bitter family feud, incumbent Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav's future is at stake as he eyes re-election. The principal protagonists Samajwadi Party-Congress alliance, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Mayawatis Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) are hoping for a strong performance in the communally-charged western UP region, infamous for the murderous riots in 2013, so as to gather enough impetus for the later phases. After months of campaigning, issues like communal polarisation to development and BJP government's decision to demonetise will be put to test as 73 403 assembly seats in Uttar Pradesh go to the polls today in the first of seven-phase elections. Polling has already begun and is expected to go on till about 5 pm on Saturday. Amroha has a special significance for Muslims, for the simple reason that around 65 percent of the electorate in this Assembly constituency are Muslims. There couldnt be a better place for leaders and students of politics to understand the communitys political preference. Owaisi was making his political debut in Uttar Pradesh, and Amroha was the most important stopover for him. Their body language clearly suggested that the sher they were referring to was their hero, both as a leader and as a rock star performer. The announcement that he had finally arrived resulted in a commotion, with everyone pushing, pulling, vying to catch a glimpse of the one man they were waiting for Assaduddin Owaisi, Hyderabad Lok Sabha MP and chief of AIMIM. Hours after the Shahi Imam of Delhi's Jama Masjid, Syed Ahmad Bukhari, blasted the Samajawadi Party-Congress coalition in Uttar Pradesh, and urged Muslims to vote for Mayawati's Bahujan Samaj Party instead, a mildly aggressive gathering of hundreds of young men from the community thundered, "Dekho dekho kaun aya, sher aaya, sher aaya (Oh, look who's here, the lion is here)." Take for example, the current arrangement in both the Houses. The Modi government, enjoying a brute majority in Lok Sabha, has presented a curious and unprecedented tug-of-war between the ruling party and the Opposition. While the BJP-led NDA government can pass any law as it pleases in the Lower House, key legislation often get stuck in the Upper House where the Congress enjoys a majority due to Parliament logjams and political bickering. While for the BJP, UP polls will be one chance to wrest free the Rajya Sabha from the controls of the Opposition, ensuring that BJP's strength is limited in Rajya Sabha is the only respite Congress can hope for until the next Lok Sabha Elections. Uttar Pradesh is called the king-maker state and it's not for nothing. The northern Indian state, with over 14,12,53,172 voters, sends the largest number of Members of Parliament to the Rajya Sabha, where both the ruling party and the Opposition vie to stake control. Polling delayed in booth no.42 in Mathura's Govardhan, and in booth nos 119 and 120 in Baghpat as EVMs are not working Thus, it is only natural that all eyes remain on the intense political drama unfolding in the state in these high-stake elections. So Firstpost sifted through the political pandemonium playing out in Uttar Pradesh, and brought together all that you need to know to track the humongous polling exercise. The state elections also arguably set the precursor to the the 2019 Lok Sabha election as Uttar Pradesh was crucial in BJP's cleansweep in 2014 Lok Sabha elections the saffron party's one-third parliamentarians come from the state that sends 80 MPs to the Lower House. Besides this, with the 2017 Presidential Election is in the offing, UP's strength will also play up in selecting the Constitutional head of the state. Total 73 constituencies, including a larger chunk of the politically important, western Uttar Pradesh goes to polls on 11 February. Key constituencies include communally sensitive constituencies of Kairana, Muzaffarnagar, Dadri and Meerut, apart from Ghaziabad, Noida, Agra etc. Ignoring the chill in the air, with the morning temperature being 11 degrees, the residents of Noida Sector 15 and 16, especially the senior citizens are heading towards polling booths. Many are taking a detour from their morning walk to cast their votes. But right now voters are very few in numbers, which is expected to pick up by 9 am. The only bright point is that it has Hema Malini as MP. As voters start trickling in at booths the question is will BJP will do better this time? The BJP's record in Mathura, the land of temples and mythology, is rather poor. In the birthplace of Krishna the party has not had its own lawmaker in the assembly for sometime now. Mathura was in the spotlight last year over the incident at Jawahar Chowk that claimed 24 lives. Two policemen were also killed in attack by encroachers on government land. The BJP raked this issue up during its campaign, citing this as an example of failing law and order under Akhilesh's rule. Will the voters buy it this? The Bahujan Samaj Party, meanwhile, has been working silently on the ground to regain control on the state by engineering a politically potent but unpredictable amalgamation of two communities, Dalits and Muslims. However, each party has its own Achilles heel to deal with; the nail biting competition can swing any way. But in Lok Sabha elections 2014, the people of the state voted overwhelmingly in support of the BJP. The saffron party would like to repeat the winning streak for obvious reasons, as it will pave a smooth path for the party in Delhi. However, the current ruling party in state, SP, has barely emerged from a succession war and it is Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav's only opportunity to prove his mettle as a leader, after he overthrew his father from the party's helm. The political scene in the state has been dominated by regional players (SP, BSP, RLD etc) since the 1990's and the so called national parties (BJP and Congress) have been pushed to the sidelines. If at all BJP and Congress managed to stake claim at the throne of Uttar Pradesh it was by cobbling up an alliance with the regional parties. After overwhelming win in 2014 LS elections, BJP would want a repeat of the mandate in UP The electoral battle in the state has grabbed all eyeballs, be it the electoral merger between the Congress and the Samajwadi Party or the infighting within the first family of this politically crucial state. Elaborate security arrangements have been made for smooth polling, especially in sensitive areas of Shamli, Aligarh, Muzaffarnagar, Mathura, Bulandshahr and Agra. This gives the present BJP candidate Pankaj Singh, who is the son of Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh an edge over others. But it's also challenging for him as he is a first timer. He has been given ticket by replacing Vimla Batham Sharma. Initially this led to some confusion and dissent among local party workers. But BJP leadership has ensured that the contesting candidate gets full support. It needs to be seen whether debutant Pankaj Singh is able retain the tradition of BJP of winning Noida seat this time. After he became an MP, in the 2014 by poll, BJP's Vimla Batham Sharma got elected. Noida, the assembly constituency was always a bjp stronghold. Mahesh Sharma of BJP held this seat, till the time he became an MP in 2014. In the by-election that followed, the bjp retained the seat. Rajnath Singh's son Pankaj has edge over others in Noida, thanks to Mahesh Sharma The Uttar Pradesh (UP) Assembly closes its term by May 2017. Elections to the Assembly are scheduled for February and counting will take place in April 2017. As candidates get ready to file their nominations with the Election Commission, we present our analysis of the current composition of the Assembly (2012-2017) and the participation of the members (MLAs). As Aligarh goes to elections, appeals for vote consolidation intensify. Messages and appeals being circulated on social media and through word of mouth. To avoid any sort of chaotic situation and to provide more convenience to voters, this time Aligarh has increased the number of booths. To increase voter accessibility the numbers are limited to 1000 votes per booth. As of 9 am, reports said that Agra recorded 12.8 percent; Muzaffarnagr recorded the highest at 15 percent; Aligarh recorded 9 percent and Ferozabad recorded 11 percent; Bulandshahr 12 percent. Reports said that EVMs in two polling booths in Mathura malfunctioned. Meanwhile, police have detained Gagan Som, brother of BJP candidate Sangeet Som for carrying a pistol inside poll booth. Akhilesh added that noone is better to run a state than two youths. "It will be a government of vision," added Rahul. While announcing the common minimum programme, UP chief minister Akhilesh Yadav says that many do not walk the talk, clearly taking a potshot at Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Akhilesh says he is confident that the first vote cast in the first phase of Uttar Pradesh election was cast in the name of Samajwadi Party-Congress alliance. Former BJP state president Lakshmikant Bajpai (Meerut), RJD chief Lalu Prasad's son-in-law Rahul Singh (SP) from Sikandarabad, and Sandeep Singh, grandson of Rajasthan Governor Kalyan Singh from Atrauli are among other key figures in this phase. The first phase of polling will decide the electoral fortunes of Pankaj Singh (Noida seat), son of Home Minister Rajnath Singh, Congress Legislature Party leader Pradeep Mathur (Mathura) against whom BJP spokesman Srikant Sharma is in fray, Mriganka Singh (Kairana), daughter of BJP MP Hukum Singh and controversial BJP MLAs Sangeet Som and Suresh Rana -Sardhana and Thanabhawan respectively. A total of 2.60 crore voters, including over 1.17 crore women and 1,508 belonging to third gender category are eligible to cast their ballots in 26,823 polling stations to decide the fate of 839 candidates.. Amid tight security, polling began for the first of the seven phases of the high-stake Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections with voters queueing up to cast their ballots in 73 constituencies spread over 15 districts of western Uttar Pradesgh. When asked about Shahi Imam Bukhari supported Mayawati and dissed SP-Congress alliance, Akhilesh Yadav said, "Shahi Imam Bukhari saab is a very good and learned man and if you ask him in person he will always give us the blessing and support us." The positive body language of Akhilesh Yadav during the presentation of SP-Congress vision document on Saturday gives an indication of his confidence in outcome. While tackling provocative questions from media, Akhilesh chose to play down the barbs, trying to drive a distinction between SP's development-oriented campaign and BJP's angry rhetoric. Akhilesh advised BJP to be less angry, his easy confidence rubbing on to even Rahul Gandhi. Prime Minister Narendra Modi's strategy is distraction. When he can't answer questions, then he starts distracting. Truth is that in two-and-a-half years, he has failed. He peeps into bathrooms and does nothing else. His threats are empty as well." When asked about seat-sharing issues between Samajwadi Party and Congress, Rahul said, "There are issues on six-seven seats, but these issues are insignificant, things will be worked out soon." Modi has all the time to do insignificant things, in 2.5 years he has done nothing: Rahul Gandhi "Modi loves to Google, peep into bathrooms, but he should be more concerned about development. Some clerics are resentful. But we believe they will finally support us. Modi is unable to answer on security, jobs, unemployment and that why he is distracting people," Rahul Gandhi. "Modi loves to Google, peep into bathrooms, but he should be more concerned about development. Some clerics are resentful. But we believe they will finally support us. Modi is unable to answer on security, jobs, unemployment and that why he is distracting people," Rahul Gandhi. The major issues of the burgeoning Assembly segment of Gautam Buddh Nagar district are regular supply of power and water, and the alarming crime rate. This time Congress hasn't fielded any candidate due to its alliance with Samajwadi Party. The sprawling industrial hub of Noida, which was the brainchild of one-time Congress stalwart and veteran leader ND Tiwari, seems to have nothing to do with the Congress anymore. Tiwari, as old-timers would remember, was the Chief Minister of undivided Uttar Pradesh thrice, and of Uttaranchal once that was carved out of Uttar Pradesh, is credited with substantial work for the development of the big and politically crucial state of Uttar Pradesh. Tiwari held important portfolios as a minister at the Centre and also served as the Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission. Noida, a brainchild of Congress' ND Tiwari, has nothing to do with the party anymore BJP wins all three MLC seats in UP where elections were held: Kanpur, Gorakhpur and Bareilly Besides, the EC has set up a police cell to keep a tab on messages received through social media so that trouble makers do not vitiate social harmony. The excise department has set up checkposts at inter-state borders as well as along the border with Nepal to check distribution of liquor to voters during elections. Around 6,000 paramilitary personnel have been deployed in all polling centres in Muzaffarnagar and neighbouring Shamli to instill a sense of security among voters, especially with focus on areas which had witnessed communal riots in 2013. Elaborate security arrangements have been made in all districts for the polls which are being seen as a litmus test for Prime Minister Narendra Modi's nearly three-year rule. Out of 887 polling centres in riot-scarred Muzaffarnagar, around 600 are sensitive where video cameras have been installed to maintain strict vigil. Elderly voters waiting their turn at the booth at Dhouli Pyayu primary school in Mathura 80 percent voters of 76 vidhan sabha seats in shehar Aligarh belong to the Ansari community, mostly engaged in small scale lock industries. Rest of the 20 percent constitute of Qureshi community, darzi, dhobhi, naai, sabzi farosh, pheri wale etc. All are vouching for SP candidate Zafar Alam. There are 26,822 polling centres for over two crore voters in the first phase of polling for 73 seats across 15 districts. Fate of 839 candidates will be sealed on Saturday. Prominent faces who cast their votes earlier included Rajya Sabha member Amar Singh who cast his vote in Sahibabad, Shrikant Sharma of BJP and Congress's Pradip Mathur in Mathura, Sangeet Som in Sardhana and Suresh Rana in Shamli. An EC official informed IANS that these problems were being attended to on a priority basis and EVMs at some places were replaced. Long queues were seen in places like Mathura, Agra, Muzaffarnagar, Meerut (City), Sardhana, Shamli and Noida. The largest constituency in this phase, as per population, is Sahibabad in Ghaziabad and the smallest is Jalesar in Etah. Voting picked up in the first phase of the Uttar Pradesh assembly elections within hours of its start at 7 am, poll officials said on Saturday. Kasganj witnessed 13 percent polling in the first two hours, Muzaffarnagar 15, Meerut 10, Mathura 11, Noida seven and Greater Noida nine percent. Technical snags in the electronic voting machines (EVMs) were reported in the first hour in polling booths across Noida, Baghpat, Hathras and Mathura. Aligarh is actually divided into two parts - old city Aligarh and new civil lines Aligarh. Old city side people feel that civil lines side voters are not fragmented and detached. They feel that civil lines area people might goof up the elections as they won't go for consolidated voting since they are divided among four major candidates - Vivek Bansal(congress), Ajju Ishaq (SP), Haji Aamirullah Khan(independent, previously SP candidate), Ram Kumar Sharma (BSP), Parvez Khan (AIMIM). These candidates are from Kol vidhan sabha (civil lines, Aligarh). BJP candidate from Kol is Anil Parashar. This statement coming in the backdrop of the Supreme Court ruling directing political parties to refrain from communal or caste appeasement in poll campaigns can be called a remarkable shift. He also insisted that there was no polarisation amid voters of Kairana. "Exodus was never a communal matter, it was a law and order problem," Hukum Singh said. He however refused to say that the exodus was a non issue, while adding that it was coincidental that the goons behind rangdaari (extortion) and petty crimes belonged to a specific community. BJP's MP from Kairana, Hukum Singh, on election did a U-turn on the exodus issue, first raked up by him last year. While Hukum Singh had always maintained that the Hindu community in Kairana district was being singled out and targetted, he told CNN-News18 on Friday that it was never a communal issue. There are 26,822 polling centres for over two crore voters in the first phase of polling for 73 seats across 15 districts. Fate of 839 candidates will be sealed on Saturday. Prominent faces who cast their votes earlier included Rajya Sabha member Amar Singh who cast his vote in Sahibabad, Shrikant Sharma of BJP and Congress's Pradip Mathur in Mathura, Sangeet Som in Sardhana and Suresh Rana in Shamli. Long queues were seen in places like Mathura, Agra, Muzaffarnagar, Meerut (City), Sardhana, Shamli and Noida. The largest constituency in this phase, as per population, is Sahibabad in Ghaziabad and the smallest is Jalesar in Etah. Largest constituency in Phase one is Sahibabad and smallest is Jalesar Though the Jat-dominated constituencies are witnessing a heavy turnout, their political conduct remains a mystery. Jats may not have numerical strength on many seats but their influence over political economy of the region can hardly be undermined. That is the reason why the BJP seems a little worried in the first phase. In west UP, there is an impression that the government turned anti-jat after its victory in 2014. As a result MPs like Satypal Singh, former Mumbai police commissioner, who defeated Chaudhary Ajit Singh has also lost relevance in the constituency. Hence this move was planned to rope in Jats who are fence-sitters. Just as Jat-dominated western UP was going to polls today, BJP president Amit Shah had a group of prominent jat leaders hosted by Union Minister Rao Virendra Singh, a jat leader from Haryana. The obvious reason was to neutralise the anger that Jats felt after their agitation in Haryana. Most of Aligarh university votes are going to the Congress but a few votes of non-teaching staff are for Samajawadi Party as well. Samajwadi Party has strong appeal among the economically lower sections of the population. "Badaun is one of those villages in India which are the most backward in India. Samajwadi and BSP have promised so much, delivered nothing." There is hardly any wave in support of any party. Even at the time of polling, there is hardly signs of any wave. Ajit Singh, his son Jayant Singh and his wife Charu Singh also attracted huge turnouts. How could one explain this? Asked leaders. Of course, given large population of the state, the turn outs are poor indicators to read political mood of the state. Yet there is no denying the fact that this election is the most deceptive electoral battle Uttar Pradesh had ever seen. Apparently not only Prime Minister Narendra Modi attracted a good crowd in this region but there was a huge turnout also for Rajnath Singh, Amit Shah and even outsiders like Nitin Gadkari. Similarly Akhilesh, Rahul Gandhi and BSP chief Mayawati also drew good crowds. As the first round of the polls is underway, there is one confusion that prevails among senior leaders of all parties. This confusion is about how to explain the large turn out at meetings of these leaders. Modi addresses rally in Badaun which goes to polls on 15 February But earnings from the auto were irregular, from Rs 15,000 to Rs 20,000 a month. So, Hussain is about to begin a job designing and fixing uppers (the upper part of a shoe that contains the tongue) at a shoe factory in NOIDA, located in UP but an extension of the metropolitan region of Delhi, Indias richest province, by per capita income. In the 1990s, Kanpurs leather industry employed a million workers (there are no official data), according to IndiaSpends inquiries with the government and leather-industry representatives. With 176 of 400 leather tanning units shutting over 10 years, according to a joint secretarywho requested anonymity since he is not authorised to talk to the mediain UPs industries department, that number has halved. According to Firstpost Hindi, voter turnout is heavy in western Uttar Pradesh. Till 1pm, Bulandshahr recorded polling percentage of 41.7 percent, Fatehpur Sikri recorded 45 percent, Aligarh 40 percent and Shamli recorded 43 percent. The huge turnout in response to communal consolidation of one community in today's polls is indicative of this strategy. An impression has gained ground here that most of these belong to a particular community. This assessment may not be correct. But the perception is stronger than reality. And the BJP's move has found resonance among voters who are divided on communal lines. The BJP's promise of launching anti-Romeo squads to check eve-teasing in Western UP is calculated to strike resonance with Hindu constituency. Of late there have been reports of eve-teasing assuming a sociological menace in the entire region. Criminals ruling the roost in west UP in the past five year was nothing new. But criminalisation of governance is given a communal touch by a deft political move by the BJP. Inputs from the field across western Uttar Pradesh from correspondents of ETV show polarisation trends, to the extent that channels showing Muslims in large numbers in front of polling booths since early morning also played on the minds of the voters. Observers believe that others are turning up now due to that influence. Voting percentage is likely to be very high and reports said that this polarisation helps BJP. Yet the BJP's move to placate Jats runs the risk of triggering a counter-polarization of non-hat castes. This is a tricky political situation for not only the BJP but also for SP-Congress and the BSP. "We are not short of fertilizer now as we get it aplenty" said one. They were least affected by demonetisation. What had hit them most is the brazen Yadavaisation of governance by Akhilesh Yadav and increasing criminalization. "We were the worst sufferer of this" said villagers who huddled in a corner to mourn the death of young boy in a road accident. Apparently the village distinctly displays a pro-BJP turn. In Tappal area adjacent to Aligarh exists a village where non-jat castes live in large number. In a Baghel-caste dominated village not far from the Yamuna expressway, villagers have decided to vote for the BJP. The reason is obvious. In Aligarh lies a non-Jat, pro-BJP pocket but saffron party runs the risk of losing the edge Multi-phase polling gives politicians this opportunity to move to areas which would come in later phases of polling and go out either to make high pitch campaigning or hold press conferences to make a last-ditch attempt to shape minds of voters in areas where voting was on. In this age of 24x7 news channels, social and digital media ensures that the message is communicated live. It was a strategic decision Akhilesh Yadav and Rahul Gandhi to hold a joint press conference and slam Prime Minister Narendra Modi on his remarks on their alliance in UP on Saturday morning when first phase of polling in the state was underway. Voting slow in several booths in Mathura. Polling officials say footfall may increase later in the day. If it doesn't then the guessing game over results begins all over again. For parties the task right now would be to get their core voters to booths. There was a feeling that momentum has been generated, from the point of view of crowd turn out in Lucknow, Agra and Kanpur for Congress-SP dynasts, needed to be maintained. Can that press conference influence voter mind who are going out to vote today? There were also reports that on ground level the SP and Congress workers had their own issues and reservation against each other to join hands and fight for common cause. The seat sharing in some constituencies, even as Congress had been allotted 105 seats were there and people, even the party supporters were taking an adverse view. Rahul acknowledged that there were problems in 6-7 seats but underplayed it. The decision to make Rahul and Akhilesh appear together, days after their joint presence in Kanpur, was guided by emerging circumstances because there was a feeling among sections of Samajwadi-Congress party leaders and supporters that Mayawati had lately become aggressive particularly pitching some influential Muslim religious leaders and groups urging minority community voters to trust and vote for BSP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi's high decibel attack against Congress and Samajwadi Party. Can UP ke ladke sway the voters of Western UP First, the present election has become mechanical and appears more a contest between highly professional poll managers hired by all the political parties than the parties themselves. Second, the well-defined notion of vote-bank politics is in terminal decline. The social bases of all the political parties have been seriously challenged. Read the full article here Interestingly, the pragmatism of electoral compulsions is seen in full swing when we find that all the parties moderated their competitive needs and entered into the political alignment beyond ideological lines and conventional hostilities. The saddest part is that the dramatic defragmentation of political parties has succeeded in misplacing the priorities of Uttar Pradeshs electorates. The first phase of the Uttar Pradesh Assembly election in the western region of the state, for 73 seats, is finally underway. The early trend of voting pattern shows that this election is shaping up to be one of the most unique, hyper-competitive, and potentially divisive elections in generations. The SP-Congress combine is heavily banking in Muslim voters in the region seeing their combination as sole protector of their interests. This was the region which was affected in 2013 riots. It is clear that a majority of Jats have shifted their preference from BJP to their very own Ajit Singh's RLD but then many of them are with the BJP. Ajit Singh's RLD is no winner (it can win few seats) but can play spoiler to the BJP's prospects. It thus becomes important for the BJP what percentage of Jats vote for RLD and what percentage of Jats vote for BJP. BSP and SP-Congress combine is talked here in context of a triangular or a quadrangular fight. Common wisdom would suggest that people or a group or a community would vote to see what suits their interest, who protects their interest and who has the potential to deliver goods for the state and work for popular welfare. Jats are a hugely emotional community and more often than not emotions take priority over prudence. Fellow Jats from adjacent Haryana have been camping in this region to ensure that their brethrens in Western UP got disconnected from the BJP. The 73 constituencies spread across 15 districts going to the polls in first phase, has an interesting mix of rural areas in western UP. While areas going to the polls includes, two most important cities Noida and Agra, but the centre of attention in this phase is how Jat heartland Shamli, Muzaffarnagar, Baghpat, Meerut, Hapur and Bulandshahar would vote. From Kol tehsil (civil lines side of Aligarh) Haji Zamirullah, the independent candidate who was previously in Samajwadi Party and belonged to the Shivpal camp was seen as a strong contender till morning but now voting has shifted to the Congress and the SP among Muslims. From Kol seat, both the Congress and SP candidates are getting votes. Zamirullah is also a favourite among Muslims as they are of the view that when an independent Muslim candidate is available then why should Muslim votes go to political parties who only use their votes for vested interests. As first phase of polling in western UP is underway, the stress in the media and at other chatter points have been on Jat factor, Jats slipping away from BJP and Muslims looking at Akhilesh Yadav-Rahul Gandhi combination with hope. The impression that Mayawati has capitulated is misleading. Her party candidates are strong on the ground and their campaign has been visible but while talking about BSP, we tend to talk only about Dalits and Muslim. BJP seems to have faltered on their strength. Instead of presenting the electorate with a simple yet convincing narrative, they are desperately searching for a better story to trump the one told by Akhilesh. They have been reduced to making the same mistake which Modi's rivals did in 2014 run an anti-campaign." Even BJP's early campaign script for 2017 Assembly polls promised to take off from where Modi had left in 2014. "In 2014 Modi had a better narrative than his opponents. To the electorate, pushed against the wall by a non-performing government at the Centre, Modi's promise of 'better days' made more sense than apocalyptic fear of riots. How Modi's campaign changed dramatically and what it says about BJP's chances A total of 121 candidates are in the fray in Agra. Around 30 percent votes were polled till noon in 73 Assembly constituencies, PTI said In twilight zone of their life them coming out to vote means that the hope that India would change is undying. Hope new rulers of Uttar Pradesh would consider their hopes and aspirations. It was heartening to see so many senior citizens in their 70s and 80s, even 90s coming out, holding hands of younger members of their family members, some with walking sticks. Standing in queue to honour my right to vote at a polling station in Kaushambi, Ghaziabad, I realised that polling day is perhaps one day which senior citizens relish the most. They don't complain of queue and hassled walk to polling booth but they like the way its an occasion when the world treats them with respect and dignity they deserve. Its also a day when their preference matters. We go on talking about India as a young country and its youthful energy. Political leaders speeches and government programs are angled at wooing them. In an election that's all about the youth, senior citizens inspire by exercising their franchise The Election Commission has been coming out with unique ideas to encourage women to come out and vote. Earlier in Goa, that went to poll on 4 February, the poll panel gifted soft toys to first-time women voters. Now in Uttar Pradesh, the poll panel is gifting all women voters a red rose, according to The Financial Times The party retained two of its traditional seat while it bagged another seat previously held by the Samajwadi Party. Even as polling is underway for the Assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh, the BJP won all three graduate MLC seats in Kanpur, Gorakhpur and Bareilly. Incidentally, in Mathura the BJP has been battling a poll jinx for over fifteen years as it had failed to bag a significant win in this city of temples. Malini remains its only bright spot in this holy town of Western UP. The actor turned politician had said, "Vrindavan widows have a bank balance, good income, nice beds, but they beg out of habit... There are 40,000 widows in Vrindavan. I think there is no more place in the city. A large population is coming from Bengal... that's not right. Why don't they stay in Bengal?," NDTV reported BJP's MP Hema Malini ran into a controversy in 2014 when she commented that the aged widows were "unnecesirily crowding" her constituency. According to Telegraph report, some 40,000 widows about 25,000 from Bengal are estimated to live in Vrindavan, Mathura region. They primarily live in various government-run homes and private quarters supported by Sulabh International. Bengali widows, who have found shelter in large numbers in Mathura, exercised their franchise in the crucial elections in the state. Whether the high voter turnout in key districts could swing the beeps on EVMs in favour of the BJP particularly in small non-Jat pockets would be known on 11 March. These isolated pockets have traditionally been against the Jat dominance and could appear as a saviour for the BJP. Besides, the Jats could be the most politically dominating community in the region but their numbers aren't incredible enough to singlehandedly influence the voting pattern in an election. The Jat leaders have advised the community to collectively defeat BJP, however, the appeal is unlikely to maneouvre a 100% swing against the BJP in a community that overwhelmingly voted for the BJP just two years ago. The undecided voter could still go with the saffron party. The Bharatiya Janata Party is walking on a tightrope in the Jat majority areas, as the community has openly pledged to vote for a candidate most suited to defeat the saffron party. Soon, all hell broke loose and the Samajwadi Party (SP) leader was gheraoed by an angry mob of BSP supporters after which police had to resort to cane charge to disperse the unruly crowd. The incident happened at the Islamia Madarsa poling booth. When he was talking to the voters, the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) supporters outside took umbrage to his spending a long time inside. The 61-year-old politician, who is the incumbent legislator from Kithaur constituency, was greeted with slogans and some people also pelted stones at him, after which he beat a hasty retreat, officials said. Uttar Pradesh Labour and Employment Minister Shahid Manzoor faced a hostile crowd in Meerut's Kithaur constituency on Saturday when he visited a polling both. Addressing a gathering in Budayun, a Yadav stronghold, the Prime Minister said time has come to reverse the caste and community-based policy making in the state and instead embrace the 'Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikaas' policies of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Prime Minister Narendra Modi renewed his attack on Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav on Saturday and charged him with presiding over chaos and lawlessness in the state in the past five years. Firstpost spoke to voters coming out after voting in Aligarh to sense the mood on the ground. Our inputs suggest that Khatig (SC) caste from the region has primarily voted for the BJP while Koli, Kumhar castes are going to SP. Among Muslims Abassi community has favoured the BSP as the local candidate fielded by it belongs to the Abassi community. However, the BSP has managed to retain the Jatav votes. As Firstpost spoke to the voters coming out of the booth, the mood remained inclined towards BJP, except for the Jatav votes which remained hitched to the BSP. However, other SC community voters have chosen to vote for BJP in Modi's name and not in the candidate's name. This area has negligible Muslim population. At the Nahar Singh Inter College, quarsi polling booth around 60% polling was recoded till 4 pm. The officials their suggested that the peak time at this booth was between 11am to 2pm. "Give BJP a chance. Within six months, I promise the law-and-order situation here will improve. The knife-wielding gangs will all be sent to jails within six months," says Prime Minister Narendra Modi, while addressing a rally in Uttar Pradesh's Lakhimpur district. "Women in Uttar Pradesh can't even wear chains in public, because they are afraid it'll be snatched away. The largest state in India is in the hands of criminals," says Prime Minister Narendra Modi, addressing a rally in Lakhimpur. "In her tenure, Mayawati gave electricity to 23 villages. In his tenure, Akhilesh gave electricity to just three more villages. But in just the last two years since I became Prime Minister, I have given electricity to 1,364 villages," Prime Minister Narendra Modi said, while addressing a rally in Uttar Pradesh's Lakhimpur district. Modi attacks Mayawati, Akhilesh over UP villages still being without electricity "The corrupt who I targeted with my demonetisation decision are still unable to sleep well. They stole money from the poor, but I am fighting them. And I will not rest. They are all joining hands against me, because they are afraid their ill-gotten wealth will go away from them," said Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Second phase of Uttar Pradesh began at 7 am. Join us for LIVE updates on everything that is happening on the ground in the 67 constituencies of India's most populous state. Firstpost Hindi brings you a comprehensive explainer as Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand vote. For Uttar Pradesh, this is the second phase of voting. While Bangli Hindus gradually found the area inhospitable and spread out to other parts while Sikh farmers developed large farmhouses across the area. At the height of Punjab terrorism, a large group of khalistani terrorists found this area as safe haven. But the lush green belt of the region and highly cultivable land is known as paradise for farmers and rice bowl of India. Sikhs comprise a major population in Terai (Himalayan foothills) that border Nepal. Lakhimpur Kheri, Pilibhit, Bijnor are the core and buffer forest zones of Dudhwa and Jim Corbett forest ranges. After 1947, Sikhs farmers from Punjab and Bangladeshi hindus were settled in this barren land and given cultivable land. Few know that the area going to polls in the second phase is known as mini Punjab in Uttar Pradesh. The Ruhailkhand area which comprises Himalayan foothills and forest is socially a diverse land. But it is known for housing a liberal Islamic seminary- called Barelvi school of Islamic though. Adjacent to Deobandi school of Islamic thought that propagates fundamentalist variant of the religion, the Barelvi school is known for promoting a liberal value system among faithfuls. This seminary is quite influential among Muslims of the region. Though they avoid directly to be indulging in politics, their tacit support is critical for parties which vie for Muslim support. This time Ulemmas of the seminary are divided and let the voters take their choice. In fact, Mulayam's fortune revived from Terai region where Sikhs came out in support of him. This is the precise reason that Samajwadi Party still enjoys considerable clout among sikhs of the area. He had his legs fractured too. But Mulayam found his spirit soaring following using reception he got in wake of killings of 13 Sikhs in fake encounters by the police in Pilibhit. Pakaria Gurudwara of Lakhimpur Kheri was the first place where Mulayam Singh Yadav visited after his electoral drubbing in 1991. When the BJP won the election, Mulayam was completely crushed in the election. Considering Azams controversial, mostly acidic, statements that generate a lot of political heat frequently, one needs no proof. The senior Samajwadi Party leader is contesting from Rampur. Its not about Hindu or Muslim, anyone can be victim of his tongue, says Debendra. "This man is incorrigible," says driver Debendra Singh, a resident of Etawah and a supporter of the Samajwadi Party, about Azam Khan. "He will do some good work but in the end say something so nasty that it will nullify all the goodwill he might have generated for himself. If only he knew how to control his tongue," he adds. It's not about Hindu or Muslim, your words can hurt anyone: Voter on SP's Azam Khan The BJP has none. While the first two are hoping to benefit from the support of minorities, the BJP is banking on reverse polarisation. With their eyes on the demographic balance, every party has stepped into the fray with a different strategy. The BSP and SP alliance have 26 and 25 Muslim candidates. The 67 seats that go to polls in Uttar Pradesh second phase are considered the pocket burrough of the Samajwadi Party. In most of the seats, Muslims are a third of the electorate and thus the decisive factor. "It was a situation that was allowed to escalate and the party in power in the state needs some explaining to do. Making Azam a scapegoat wont work." Not many in Muzaffarnagar believe Samajwadi Party's Azam Khan was behind the riots of 2013. "No, the perpetrators were other people. But the reputation of this man is such that people would buy anything said about him," says a Jat leader who plays an important role for farmers of the region and who saw the riots from close quarters. 'Azam Khan's reputation is such that anyone would buy theory that he was involved in Muzaffarnagar riots' The police administration of the district was under pressure to trace the animals. It made national news too. The buffaloes were traced to Moradabad. We dont know what the thief went through after being caught, but the message conveyed was clear: nobody messes with Azam, or his buffaloes, in Rampur. That Azam is a powerful man in the Samajwadi Party needs no overstating. So when cattle thieves stole seven of his buffaloes from his farm house two years ago, it was an act of great courage. Call it immense stupidity if you please. You cannot run away with Azam Khans buffaloes just like that. This is one of the few constituencies where the election is principally between SP and BSP. But then candidature and claim of BJP's Lakshmi Saini can't be completely ruled out. In 2014 parliamentary poll pattern gives hope to BJP's supporters - Muslim votes got divided between Azam's candidate from SP Naseer Ahmad Khan and Nawab Kazim Ali Khan to pave victory way BJP's Nepal Singh. What makes this Khan versus Khan battle even more interesting is the fact that this constituency has 60 percent Muslim population and the way members of the community vote here today could send signals elsewhere. Nawab Khan's family and SP's Azam Khan (who practically lords over this region) political rivalry dates is four decade old. But in this assembly election it has become sharper than ever. A well educated and well groomed Nawab Kazim Ali Khan is four time MLA from this constituency. A traditional Congressman Nawab (belonging to a family which had been with Congress since Independence until about a year ago) is now BSP candidate. He now hopes that dailts and other sections on margins of social structure would add on to his personal social clout of a royalty. Pitted against him is a young Samajwadi candidate Abdullah Azam Khan. Though the young Khan is a political green horn but has support and legacy of his mighty father. The battle of second phase is between the erstwhile Nawab of Rampur Nawab Kazim Ali Khan and modern day political Nawab of Rampur Azam Khan's son Abdullah Azam Khan. UP Second phase battle is between two royalties The BJP has picked up the topic of Triple Talaq ahead of Uttar Pradesh elections and asked its rivals SP and Congress to clarify their stand on gender justice. The women voters also feel that safety and security of women are of prime concern and they will vote for the party that can ensure it. Speaking to CNN-News18, Muslim women of Rampur, one of the constituencies that will cast its ballot in the second phase, say Triple Talaq isn't an issue that political parties should discuss and is best left for the community to tackle. Owasi's rally here drew enthusiastic crowd of under-30 youngsters. Can his AIMIM be a winner or spoiler for SP and BSP candidates? A triangular split in Muslim vote, if it happens, would generate hope for BJP candidate. This constituency has over 65 percent Muslim electorate. So it's not surprising to find that 10 out of a total of 13 candidates in contention are from Muslim community - SP's candidate Mehboob Ali is a minister in Akhilesh Yadav government. He is facing a stiff challenge from BSP's Naushad Ali. The two were pitted against each other in 2012 also. Then there is AIMIM's Shamim Ahmed, RLD's Salim Khan, and Peace Party's Mohammad Rizwan and the list would go on. BJP's Kunwar Singh Saini is one of only three Hindu candidates from Amroha. Amroha could be taken as a test case to understand Muslim voters polling preference whether the Muslims were en-bloc with SP-Congress combine or Mayawati's BSP has own claims in the community and how far Assaduddin's Owaisi AIMIM has made inroads in the community. In a crowded main bazaar of Amroha, one sees a hoarding "Tandoori Roti Rs 35 per kilo". Tandoori Roti or bread is cheaper than the price of raw atta that sells in any bigger cities. But when it comes to voting and understanding voting pattern, things are far more complicated. It is precisely for this reason that BJP president Amit Shah said in a media conference that Mayawati's outfit is BJP's main rival in this phase. Shah hopes that BSP, which has given tickets to 99 Muslim candidates this time, would spoil SP's plan and help BJP. Spread across 11 districts, the 67 constituencies that go to polls today in the second phase of Uttar Pradesh elections are dominated by the Muslim factor. While Muslims are known to vote tactically to keep the BJP away, the SP-Congress alliance would be hoping that the minority votes are not splintered between it and the BSP. BJP strategises propping up BSP as party's main rival in the second phase so as to benefit from the splinter Both quotes are attributed to Azam. Abdullah is the Samajwadi Party candidate from Suar. As part of the Rampur Lok Sabha constituency, it comes in the extended political catchment of his father. The latters prestige would as much at stake here as his. Abdullah Azam, son of Azam Khan, is believed to be a suave man and a temperate speaker unlike his father. He won't certainly be caught saying something like, "RSS volunteers are homosexuals, thats why they never get married"; or "Mobile phones are responsible for the rape of minors." States with the worst sex ratios have more women members of legislative assemblies (MLAs), as IndiaSpend reported in September 2015. READ THE FULL ARTICLE HERE The only exception was for the seats reserved for scheduled caste (SC) candidates. The proportion of women winning SC seats was more than double that of those winning general seats. All this happened over a period when women in Indias most populous state became healthier and better educated, reinforcing the point that there is no correlation between these indicators and better political representation of women. Poor, populous Uttar Pradesh was the first Indian state to have a female chief minister Sucheta Kriplani from 1963 to 1967but this pioneering effort has not improved prospects for women in elections. As voter turnout has risen, more competitors have stood against women candidates, fewer women have won and a growing number have lost their deposits, according to an IndiaSpend and Swaniti Initiative analysis of electoral data of the last three state elections in UP since 2002. Age must give way to youth, says the veteran brass trader. Some voters though are worried about the succession battle that affected the ruling party in this SP stronghold. One of them tells CNN-News 18 that Mulayam should have understood that he has reached retirement age and should have made it easier for son Akhilesh to succeed him, not tougher. The brass industry of Moradabad has been hit by notebandi (demonetisation) and the predominantly Muslim electorate are in a mood to teach BJP a lesson. Moradabad - Brass industry, which has been hit by demonetisation - in a mood to teach BJP a lesson? Overall, the voter turnout stands at 10.96 percent in Uttar Pradesh. According to reports, Moradabad recorded 11 percent voter turnout till 9 am and Saharanpur recorded 12 percent. Akhilesh Yadav and Narendra Modi urge voters to go out and cast their vote In the end, the outcome may not be decided by issues that have been talked about during the campaign development, demonetisation, dynasty and corruption. It may well boil down to whether a voter thinks of himself as a Muslim or a Hindu before pressing the button or looks dispassionately at the parties in the fray. A lot had changed between 2012 and 2014. But a lot has changed from 2014 to 2017. So, neither of the two scenarios is an apt pointer to the trend. The outcome would ultimately depend on how the BJP manages to benefit from a possible split in Muslim votes (nearly 33 percent) and capitalises on counter-consolidation of Hindu votes. There are two ways to look at polling in 67 constituencies of Uttar Pradesh. The first is to see it as a contest that could be shaped by the 2014 General Elections when the BJP polled nearly 42 percent votes and led in 49 seats in the region. The other is to go back to 2012 when the BJP polled just around 17 percent, winning 10 seats. In 2nd phase, all depends on how BJP manages to split Muslim votes Maximum voting was reported from Saharanpur and Bareilly at 11 per cent each, followed by Rampur (nine per cent) and Amroha (7.4 per cent). Excited first time voters, newly weds, elderly, differently-abled and women queued up outside the polling stations to cast their votes at 7 a.m. Brisk voting is reported in the first two hours of polling in the second phase of the Uttar Pradesh assembly elections on Wednesday. A confident Azam Khan, the SP minister, tells Aaj Tak in an interview that Muslims will be firmly behind his party. This phase is crucial for Samajwadi Party which won 34 of 67 seats in 2012 and is under pressure to do an encore. The BJP had got 10 seats during last assembly elections and BSP, 11. Till 9 am, 10.69 percent ballots have been cast in Uttar Pradesh. Azam Khan invokes Gujarat while tackling Narendra Modi's charge that police stations in Rampur, his constituency, have become Samajwadi Party's offices. Second phase: Tussle between BSP and SP-Congress alliance; Azam Khan confident Muslim voters will back him Five, the BJP's performance this time wouldn't be as good as 2014. Well, these could be true of the whole of UP as well. In any case, these don't give you an idea on which the way voters are going to swing this time. Four, local equations will override other considerations in the elections; and One, Akhilesh Yadav is not someone who is disliked much, both as a person and a politician; In Bijnor, you dont catch the election mood by speaking to a few people. Most are evasive when they sense a politically-inclined question. The ones who open up are most likely to be sympathisers of one party or the other. However, talking to a cross-section of people here you get to understand a few things: Facts from Bijnor that holds true for the whole of Uttar Pradesh: SP-Congress alliance a good idea and demonetisation doesn't matter "My battle is with Azam Khan and not his son. In terms of funding, the chief minister has sent crores worth of funds to the Mohammad Ali Jauhar University, which Azam Khan is the chancellor of. The money hasnt been used for the upliftment of the people of Rampur." His success, whatever it be, votes or seats, means loss to SP. So far Muslim politics and Muslim voting preference in the state has so far been split between SP and BSP. The BSP has fielded 100 Muslim candidates with SP closely following that number but the fact remains that no party with Muslim leadership at the top, formed with purpose to cater Muslim interests has so far electorally succeeded. Can Owaisi make that exception? His speeches have been fiery, making the crowd lustily cheer for him but can he turn that personal appeal in votes? For the first time Owasi is trying his luck here and has fielded 40 candidates from AIMIM symbol. Owaisi and erstwhile Congress ally in Andhra Pradesh and also at the centre during UPA regime had surprised all by opening account in Maharastra assembly election and making substantive gains in civic bodies polls. He, however, had failed in Bihar assembly elections because his party was seen as a vote spoiler. Uttar Pradesh is a big test for him. In his public rallies in Uttar Pradesh, he has pulled fierce punches on Akhilesh Yadav, Mayawati. BJP is his favourite punching bag. This round of election spread across electorally Muslim-dominated areas of Saharanpur, Muzaffarnagar, Bijnor, Sambhal, Rampur, Amroha where community presence vary between 30 percent to 65 percent will decide whether Hyderabad based Assaduddin Owasi's AIMIM can spread its political influence outside of Telangana and make a mark in Hindi heartland. Here is a look at the key electoral issues in Uttar Pradesh. Is caste the standalone factor that swings the electoral outcome in Uttar Pradesh or the recent tune of development sung by SP-Congress combine and the BJP resonating with the voters. With a Muslim electorate of over 65 percent all mainstream parties have chosen to field leader from the same community. SP's Iqbal Mehmood is sitting MLA and is considered a very strong candidate. He has for long been a challenger to Barq's dominance in the region. Presence of Mayawati's BSP candidate Rafatulla has further spiced up polls. He has roped in a hugely influential a four-time MP Shafiqur Rehman Barq to his party. Barq is now 86 and has chosen his young grandson Ziaur Rahman Barq to be AIMIM candidate. If AIMIM has a chance to open an account in UP then Sambhal needs to be watched. It's a tough electoral battle. Enter Sambhal and you will soon realise Asaduddin Owasi and his men mean business. Key to Owaisi's expansion plans for UP is an 86-year-old in Sambhal But that is not the case. The electoral chemistry of the national election is vastly different from the state assembly polls. In 2014 elections, Narendra Modi rode on a wave of high expectation and an outright rejection of a government perceived to be led by a weakest-ever prime minister. The groundswell of support transcended the caste-barriers in a decisive manner for Modi. READ FULL ARTICLE HERE Not let us examine the reasons why this election is one of the rarest political event in the life of the country's most populous state. Conventional wisdom has it that the party which gets overwhelming mandate only two-and-a-half years back in 2014 Lok Sabha election should have edge over others. By this logic, the BJP should have been choice for the electorate in the state assembly election. Conventional wisdom often guides elections. But rarely does an election turn conventional wisdom on its head. A cursory glance at the Uttar Pradesh Assembly election 2017 would leave no one in doubt that this election would fall into the category of 'rarest of rare' elections. In 2002, women won 11 of 314 seats (3.5 percent) for general-category candidates, and 15 of 89 seats (16.9 percent) reserved for SCs. By 2012, women won 22 of 318 general seats (6.9 percent) and 13 of 85 reserved seats (15.3 percent). So, women contesting from scheduled-caste seats had a more than double chance of winning. The BSP chief's move was to tell voters that such a thing will never be repeated in past. She has gone out of her way to attack BJP, calling the debate around triple talaq part of nefarious RSS agenda. To counter her tactic of fielding an unprecedented 99 Muslim candidates, Akhilesh Yadav therefore has been going around telling voters that Mayawati can't be trusted since her party has allied with "communal" BJP three times in past. In Kanpur on Tuesday BSP chief Mayawati was at pains to distance herself from BJP, insisting that she will never join hands with the "Dalit basher" party. Mayawati's predicament is understandable. To return to power she must ensure Dalit votes are consolidated and a sizeable portion of Muslim votes are weaned away from the Samajwadi Party. Mayawati distancing herself from 'Dalit basher BJP': BSP chief's move is most obvious and necessary Speaking to the media after casting his vote Duniyapur says the foundation of the Ram Rajya in Uttar Pradesh will be laid in Rampur. He adds that all parties in Uttar Pradesh are against the BJP. He is confident that the BJP will come to power in full majority in the state and that people will vote against poor governance and corruption. Though Lucknow had familiarised itself with Iranian cultural traditions due to Shia's influence, Rampur borrowed its cultural traits from Mughals of Delhi. As this constituency goes for polls, the electorate gets divided on intense communal lines. However in reality Rampur has a rich cultural heritage which has much more to celebrate about than acrimony. Historically Pathans from Afghanistan found a shelter in picturesque land of Ruhilkhand. Apar from Lucknow, Rampur emerged as another centre of excellence of Nawabi culture of Uttar Pradesh. Rampur, a township known as bastion of Samajwadi Party's loudmouth Azam khan, is also known as land of khans. The BJP is expecting benefits from counter pollination which may happen in the second half of the polls. Similarly, voters registered a significant turnout in Saharanpur and Pilibhit. This round of polls seem to be going in favor of the SP because of demographic profile of the region that comprises Muslim-Yadav as significant social chunk. In certain pockets where scheduled caste voters are higher in number, Muslims are looking for BSP as an option. But that is very rare as the SP-Congress enjoys a solid support base. Initial turnout in Budaun, Saharanpur, Bareilly and Shahjahanpur do indicate that Muslim voters have come out in large numbers in the morning. For instance in Budaun there are reports of 25 percent polls that suggest large turnout of Mulim-Yadav voters in support of the Samajwadi Party. Initial turnout indicate Muslim voters have come out in large numbers As Uttar Pradesh votes to choose its Legislative Assembly, BJP hopes to repeat its 2014 sweep victory riding on a Modi wave once again. The Akhilesh camp on the other hand managed to bag the majority in the 2012 Assembly polls. If a party's past performance tells us anythig, it's that in state elections swing votes ensure that its a close call between the key parties. Here is a look back at the previous performances of all the parties in UP. UP Polls: A look at the previous performance of key players in the state If the votes are divided then its advantage BJP, says Satish Prakash, Dalit activist. With as many as 34 of the 67 seats under its belt last time, the SP would expect a better show. It has the Congress votes with it now. The BSP, on the other hand, has announced its candidates much earlier and cultivated the constituencies well. The BJP would be happy if the alliance and the BSP shared the Muslim votes equally. Which way will the Muslim votes swing? On this question rests the fate of parties in Uttar Pradesh. As voters in the Muslim heavy constituencies queue up at the booths today the suspense would be around whether they have voted for the Samajwadi Party-Congress alliance or the BSP. Why the BJP would like Muslim votes to be shared equally by BSP and the SP-Cong alliance Official sources said polling was dull initially but picked up as the day wore on. They said till midday there was no report of any untoward incident and polling was going on smoothly. Over 25 percent of the electorate cast their votes till noon in the second phase polling in Uttar Pradesh. In the second of seven-phase election, 2.28 crore voters, including over 1.04 crore women, are eligible to cast their ballots in 14,771 polling centres and 23,693 polling stations. It reminds the imams that it is their "special responsibility" to use mosques and make the millat (the global Muslim nation) aware of the current conditions and ensure that Muslims know that voting is a democratic right as well as a shar'i fareeza (Islamic religious duty). While the appeal does not say which party to vote against, it urges the imams and others to go to areas where Muslim candidates are in the fray against other Muslim candidates, and explain the situation to the voters to exercise their vote unitedly, presumably against the BJP. On the second-phase polling in Uttar Pradesh, the Urdu-language daily Roznama Inquilab carries a frontpage appeal by some Muslims titled: "Respectful appeal to the imams of mosque." The two-column appeal reads: "The country's fascist forces, under their eternal projects, are conspiring to make Muslims second- and third-grade citizens, and are engaged in targeting the dear country's biggest minority by adopting new, new tactics. And surely, you are no less concerned about these situations." One argument I have not understood but most experts say is that Indian Muslims are voting the BJP, which is correct to some extent within Gujarat but it's not proven elsewhere. Khalid feels that Muslims indeed are voting the BJP but he says that they do not proclaim it publicly. "Within the community, such BJP voters are shamed by clerics and elders and therefore they do not reveal. So, one cannot detect such votes publicly," he explains. Perhaps in times to come, Muslims will vote for the BJP, but the party has not given tickets to any Muslim candidate in UP elections. A day before the first phase of UP polls on 11 February, Roznama Inquilab had carried a frontpage headline: "UP First phase polling, Musalmanon ka Imtehan (Test for Muslims)." A few days ago in Aligarh, I asked Urdu journalist Hasan Khalid how will Muslims perceive if Hindi newspapers gave such a headline saying elections are a "test for Hindus." Khalid criticises such headlines in the Urdu media and argues that if one has to be so, it must only be: "voters ka Imtehan." It also carries some reports expressing concern that the division of Muslim votes, notably in Pratapgarh region, could hurt secular forces. Roznama Sahafat, another Urdu daily, carries a whole front-page report in favour of Azam Khan, and it's not presented as kind of advert. Statements of Muslim elders such as Chaudhary Munawwar Saleem are given on the entire page to ensure Azam Khan's victory, but there have been occasions where his political rallies faced disruptions in Rampur. To assure Muslims that the BSP will not support the BJP in UP after the elections, Mayawati's statement "Willing to sit in opposition but no alliance with BJP (after the elections)" is a front-page headline in Urdu daily Roznama Akhbar-e-Mashriq on 15 February, as the UP goes to second-phase polling. Such pure rumours worked against the BJP in Bihar elections. Uttar Pradesh elections have seen mobilisation of Muslim voters against the BJP and in support of the SP-Congress alliance and to some extent for BSP. During Bihar Assembly elections, I heard actual reports that even rumours played a consequential role in defeating the BJP. In rural areas, poor Muslim women were convinced by Islamic clerics and local opinion makers to offer prayers for the victory of Nitish Kumar. They were told that "Modi will demolish mosques." Modi was effectively urging the voters to rise above caste, community and identity fault lines with a strong dose of nationalism arising out of the achievements of scientists. Narendra Modi began his rally in Kannauj by congratulating Isro scientists for launching 104 satellites in one go earlier in the day. Constantly invoking their success during his speech, the Prime Minister asked the sizeable crowd to raise their voice to laud the scientists' effort in which 101 were foreign satellites were launched and only 3 were Indian. Modi uses Isro success to punch in strong dose of nationalism in Kannauj rally The sugar mills feel their business is unsustainable in view of falling sugar prices. Some have threatened to die but they cannot do so under the law. Akhilesh has just made things more difficult for them by increasing the State Advisory Price for sugarcane to Rs 305. The BJP promises a loan waiver and payment to farmers within 14 days of delivery. But on the ground, its not a big talking point. Interesting. In the sugarcane zone of Uttar Pradesh theres not much talk on plight of cane farmers. Not all is hunky-dory with the sugarcane industry here. Farmers have been complaining about rising arrears in payment from the sugar mills. Was it really a paradigm shift in voter behaviour? Was 2014 the year of enlightenment for Indian voters who suddenly realised that they had been taken for a merry ride by politicians in the name of caste and community equations? Were they eschewing identity politics and its trappings? Writing for EPW, A K Verma analysed BJP's victory as "it is significant that the party made electoral gains across all castes and communities and across all regions in the state. This victory signalled a paradigm shift in voter behaviour, with a preference for good governance and development pushing out the identity politics of caste and community." The result was stunning. In Uttar Pradesh alone, BJP won 71 out of 80 seats. Dalits abandoned Mayawati and voted in droves for BJP's PM candidate. AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal ran a campaign of anger. Modi defeated him in Varanasi by a huge margin. It was a remarkable spectacle in 2014. While BJP's rivals, especially in the Hindi heartland, were busy slicing and dicing data on caste equations, PM-aspirant Narendra Modi was telling rally after rally of packed audiences how he will bring achhe din. The more his rivals asked the electorate not to trust him, the more Modi talked about development. The opposition called him a 'polarising figure who will usher in riots', Modi said he will usher in vikaas. How Modi's campaign changed dramatically and what it says about BJP's chances The underlying purpose behind the alliance between Akhilesh Yadav led Samajwadi Party and Sonia-Rahul Gandhi led Congress party was consolidation of Muslim votes for the combine. Akhilesh Yadav on several occasion has said there was a confusion among some people about Samajwadi's prospects to return to power but after a tie-up with Congress that confusion is gone. If SP-Congress has to come to power, it needs to sweep this phase. In 2012 elections SP had won 35 of 67 seats, Congress 3, BSP 18 and BJP had won 10, one seat had gone to Independent. The BJP is banking on some split in Muslim votes between SP-BSP and AIMIM. The BJP is also looking for a situation where aggressive polling by Muslim community members could consolidate Hindutava votes in its favor. Latent Hindutava sentiment is there in sections of Hindu voters but the key question is how much of that is translating into votes. The BSP has fielded some strong candidates on the ground. The party has also got a number of influential Muslim clerics and community groups to issue appeal in its favor. Despite Supreme Court order, Mayawati has been openly talking of importance of Muslim votes. Will that yield dividend to her. As it is she has solid backing of Dalits, particularly Jatavas. Polling by noon has shown that polling percentage could go up in this phase, at least as compared to phase one. There lies the catch for all three mainstream contenders SP-Congress, BJP and BSP. This phase of election is supremely important for the SP-Congress combine as majority of the 67 seats where the polling process is underway has overwhelming Muslim population. Sweeping phase two election crucial for SP to justify its alliance with Congerss Picking up BJP's clean sweep in Uttar Pradesh where the party won all three seats of graduate MLC seats in Kanpur, Gorakhpur and Bareilly this month, Narendra Modi during his election rally in Kannauj on Wednesday taunted the SP-Congress alliance by asking, "UP ko yeh saath pasand kyon nahin aya"? (Why did the UP voters show thumbs down to SP-Congress alliance). The taunt was a spin on the alliance partners' campaign slogan. The PM also mentioned BJP's good result in Odisha panchayat polls and interpreted it as the poor endorsing demonetisation despite Opposition slander. With elections for the 403-seat Uttar Pradesh assembly underway, even sale of liquor has fallen, partly because of strictures from the Election Commission. The Excise Department, the cash cow, has also taken a beating in revenue collection. An official said that as against a target of Rs 1,443 crore in December, the collection was down at Rs 1,345 crore. While it earned Rs 4,494 crore in tax in November, the collection slipped in December and is set to go down further in January and February due to engagement of employees and officials in election duty. The Sales Tax Department, an official told IANS, has seen a drop in collections in the past three months. Officials in the concerned departments fear that the revenue targets for the current fiscal might take a knock of 25-30 per cent. Uttar Pradesh's revenue has taken a big hit first due to demonetisation and now because most government employees are out on election duty. Modi says those sitting in Delhi cannot gauge the extent of damage at Barabanki The once powerful Shivpal Yadav is a pale shadow of himself after the knock-out blow from nephew Akhilesh. Patriarch Mulayam Singh is a much subdued man these days, preferring to be away from the limelight. Some other members of the family are still in the process of adjusting to the generational shift in the party. The Yadav community has stood by Mulayam for over two decades but this time its a bit confused after the coup by Akhilesh which many perceive as an insult to Mulayam. In Uttar Pradeshs heartland, where the election enters phase three, the debate is not whether the Yadav dominance in their stronghold would continue, its how the bitter power struggle in the Yadav first family would impact the prospect of individual members in the fray. Akhilesh Yadav. ReutersAkhilesh Yadav. Reuters In the 2012 Assembly polls, SP had won 55 of these 69 seats, while BSP, BJP and Congress secured just 6, 5 and 2 respectively. One seat went to an Independent. Curtains will come down on Friday on the hectic campaign in 69 Assembly seats spread over 12 districts of Uttar Pradesh that will go to polls in the third phase on 19 February. The districts are Farrukhabad, Hardoi, Kannauj, Mainpuri, Etawah, Auraiya, Kanpur Dehat, Kanpur, Unnao, Lucknow, Barabanki and Sitapur. Campaign for 3rd phase ends on Friday, 12 districts go to polls on 19 February "Akhilesh says that their party has changed over the years but the goons are still there within the party. Three people have been engaged in spreading corruption in the country and now these people have tied up in an alliance to loot Uttar Pradesh." "What has this family given you? There are problems for farmers while law and order machinery in the state has collapsed. There is acute shortage of water and medicines. What has this state government done for you?" he asked. He asked the voters to shun dynastic and caste-based politics, noting that everything in the state veered around one family. Two families have entered into an unholy alliance. Initially, people were affected by one shahzada (prince), now it is two. One shahzada is giving pain to his mother, the other to his father," he said, attacking Rahul and Akhilesh, who had a bitter feud with his father Mulayam Singh Yadav over the control over SP. UP election is a way to end caste and family politics, says Shah at Amethi rally. Congress-SP alliance is immoral, he adds. Sitting UP minister Vijay Mishra joins Mayawati's party dealing a fresh blow to Akhilesh. Vijay goes on to call Samajwadi Party Anti-Brahmin while Mayawati, all confident, says that Uttar Pradesh will punish Akhilesh for running goonda raj in state. The killing spree started with the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi by RSS. We are Gandhians from the core of our heart and firm believer of non-violence," AICC General Secretary and in-charge of party affairs in Uttar Pradesh Ghulam Nabi Azad told a news conference here. Congress on Thursday dismissed Prime Minister Narendra Modi's charge that the party had made a bid on Mulayam Singh Yadav's life, saying the word 'murder' was synonymous with Modi and BJP chief Amit Shah. "The word 'murder' is synonymous with Modi and (Amit) Shah. Irani had said on Thursday that Priyanka Gandhi was avoiding canvassing in Amethi because she was afraid of people's questions on their unfulfilled promises. After Smriti Irani took on Priyanka Gandhi for not addressing a single rally in Amethi, Priyanka has finally entered the poll limelight as she appeared at a Congress rally in Raebareli, flanked by her brother Rahul Gandhi. The apex court has also sought a status report from the UP police within a period of eight weeks. The Supreme Court ordered the registration of an FIR against UP minister Gayatri Prajapati in a gang rape and sexual harassment case against him. The bench hearing the case observed that the state machinery could not go slow on a accused just because he was an influential leader in the state. Poll panel officials said they hope that more and more people will come out to vote this time and that the previous turnout of 59.96 per cent in this region in 2012 will be bettered by the end of the day. Voting for 69 seats in the third phase of the Uttar Pradesh assembly elections began on Sunday amid tight security. Heavy security deployment has been made across the 12 districts where polling began. Sensitive polling stations marked by the Election Commission (EC) are being monitored online, an official said. Officials hope third phase turnout will be better than the second phase's 59.96% In this round, all eyes are on people from the Yadav clan, like Shivpal Singh Yadav, Mulayam Singh Yadav's daughter-in-law Aparna Yadav, Akhilesh Yadav's cousin Anurag Yadav. The fate of BJP's Rita Bahuguna Joshi will also be decided in this round. In all, there are 826 candidates in fray whose fate would be decided by 2.41 crore voters. Prominent districts where polling is underway include Lucknow, Kanpur, Etawah, Kannauj, Etah and Mainpuri. BSP has fielded Yogesh Dixit, who is trying to woo voters by promising good governance by party supremo Mayawati. The SP candidates include Mulayam Singh Yadav's daughter-in-law Aparna Yadav and three ministers, one of whom was recently sacked. BJP has preferred to field turncoats on two seats Lucknow Central and Lucknow Cantt. Rita Bahuguna Joshi, who had won on Congress ticket last time, has been fielded by BJP from Cantt seat against Aparna. Ruling Samajwadi Party is facing a tough battle as it tries to retain the seven Assembly seats it had won last time out of nine in Lucknow, while BJP and BSP queer the pitch. The two other seats were shared by BJP and Congress. Lucknow Central is also witnessing a keen contest, where sitting SP MLA and cabinet minister Ravidas Mehrotra is facing an uphill task with Congress candidate Maroof Khan refusing to withdraw from the field despite a tie-up between the two parties. BJP has given ticket to former MP Brijesh Pathak, a fromer Lucknow University student union president, who switched from BSP. However, this time the situation for SP is difficult with its MLA Sharda Prasad Shukla contesting on RLD ticket after being spurned by the party. An interesting contest is on in Sarojini Nagar seat, where BJP's woman face and state women wing chief Swati Singh is in fray. BJP has never won the seat. The driver gives it a thought, stifles a smile and nods in agreement. Who would like to be seen in the vicinity of the clinic and be branded a naamard? Its a society where everyone knows everyone. And word spreads fast. Salacious words move faster. I doubt whether even other patients go to the clinic that day. Do you think these doctors do any business on Tuesdays? I ask the driver, a native of Uttar Pradesh, adding, I dont think so. He is a bit perplexed: Why? One wise doctor has fixed a weekday for each category of patients for consultation. Naamards on Mangalbar (impotents on Tuesday), reads the information on one wall. Somewhere else Thursday is the day for those with the problem of early ejaculation. Something strikes you as odd. On the road through the Yadav zone in Uttar Pradesh which goes to polls today, theres no escaping gupt rog. On the ubiquitous long brick walls amid green fields on both sides you find the mention of gupt rog and the doctor in loud white. In fact, this crude advertisement easily outnumbers those of the candidates in the elections. Most voters are unable to say with confidence which party might form the next government in Lucknow. Will this election result in a hung assembly? This too cannot be said with certainty, as a shift of just about three percent votes could result in a clear majority for a single party. Except for the Jat voters, the BJP voters have largely stayed with the party. BJP might be enjoying some silent polarisation in its favour. However, talking to people in western UP, it didn't appear that there was any wave in favour of any party. This may change in eastern UP. During the first two phases of polling which covered western Uttar Pradesh, some division was seen in the Muslim votes. While most Muslim votes went for the Samajwadi Party, the BSP too seems to have received a fair share of Muslim votes. There is effectively a three-cornered contest across Uttar Pradesh. BJP might have enjoyed silent polarisation in western UP but that changes in eastern UP The constituency comprises city area considered stronghold of BJP and in 2012 polls BJP's Bora lost by a narrow margin of 2,219 votes to Mishra. Lucknow North is witnessing a contest between state minister and SP candidate Abhishek Mishra and BJP's Neeraj Bora, while BSP has fielded former NSUI leader Ajay Srivastava this time, making it a three-cornered fight. The Urdu daily Roznama Inquilab on 17 February also carried a five-column report from Barabanki quoting several Islamic clerics and local elders saying that appeals made by Muslim leaders to vote for a certain party has confused Muslim voters. Muhammad Yunus Khan, who works for educational uplift of Muslims, is quoted in the report as saying that there is awareness among Muslims as to which party to vote for. Haseeb Ahmad Nizami of the Lucknow-based social organisation Bharatiya Aqaliyat Mahasabha who criticised such appeals for Muslim votes says that Muslims are aware of which party to vote for or not to vote, according to a report in the Urdu daily Akhbar-e-Mashriq on 16 February. Some resentment is being seen in the Muslim community against appeals made by various leaders for Muslim minority votes. This may not be consequential but there is a realisation that political leaders use Muslims at the time of elections and forget the community after the vote. "I urge everyone to cast their important vote in the third phase of Uttar Pradesh voting. After the first two phases, I can confidently say that even in third phase BSP will lead all the parties as far as votes are concerned. In fact, in all the remaining phases as well BSP will come out as a winner. And I can positively say that BSP will form a government on its own, without anyone's assistance or any uncomfortable alliance. Uttar Pradesh needs change, it is looking for development. BJP has been tested and the same goes for Samajwadi Party the voters have decided." At another place close to Kanpur, you get ghanghor thandi beer. It does not surprise anymore. Perhaps its a case of overdoing things. The owner of the shop wanted extra emphasis on the chill factor and came up with this adjective. Well, cannot say it does not attract attention. If it didnt, why would one be discussing it in the first place? We know chilled beer. We can forgive the lapse on the sign board writers part when he mentions it as child beer. After all, beer is what matters in the end. But what, pray, is bhayankar thandi beer? On the road from Meerut to Kanpur one comes across this on a sign board and pauses for a few minutes to grasp the meaning of the words in combination. Thandi is for cold alright and beer needs no explaining. What is bhayankar doing here? The polling percentage so far, with exception of Noida, has been very good. That is a clear indicator that voters in large numbers from all communities are coming out to vote. READ THE FULL ARTICLE HERE An excessive reliance of the SP-Congress coalition to woo Muslims has given rise to latent Hindutva sentiments across the state. The strategists perhaps erred in calculating the Muslims vote but they are not the only ones who vote. Mayawati too has erred on the same count. Scratch a bit and Hindutva sentiments of non-Yadav and non-Jatav community would come out to the fore. The situation may not be that of 2014 but this factor is certainly there on the ground and that could significantly tilt the balance for BJP. Its true that there are no obvious signs of anti-incumbency against Akhilesh Yadav but the endorsement sentiments to bring the incumbent back to power is clearly missing. Winds of change could be blowing in Uttar Pradesh. Ahead of the third phase of polling in this most populous and politically crucial Hindi heartland state, there are signs on the ground that Samajwadi Party-Congress coalition, Rahul Gandhi and Akhilesh Yadavs pre-poll catchphrase UP ko ye saath pasand hai is not striking the desired cord among the numbers of voters required to catapult them to power. Long queues have been seen in Lucknow, Kanpur and Etawah where people went early morning to cast their votes. Lucknow, which is generally less excited about exercising franchise, has also witnessed long queues outside polling stations. The Modi-versus-Akhilesh debate has dominated the election scenario in Awadh, which could turn out to be a make-or-break region for both parties. Modi, who is the BJPs strongest vote-puller in a battle without a chief ministerial face, underlined the fact that he was an MP from the state and described himself as UPs adopted son. Brisk voting has been reported from most of the 69 assembly seats which are going to polls on Sunday in the third phase of the Uttar Pradesh elections. Awadh: With Modi vs Akhilesh debate dominating election talk, it could be a make-or-break region Prominent persons who voted here included Rita Bahuguna Joshi, former state Congress President and currently the BJP candidate from Lucknow Cantt seat. Large crowds swarmed polling stations in Indiranagar, Gomtinagar, Aliganj Chowk in the old city and Aashiana. Many voters were out early morning so that they do not have to wait in long queues later in the day. In this region, the competition is between the father and the son. There is anecdotal evidence to suggest that Akhilesh Yadav is being seen as tanashah (dictator), as one person told me. However, it seems to be more of a social case. In Indian society, people generally favour the father in any clash with his son. The third-phase polling today covers Etawah and nearby constituencies which are considered a stronghold of Mulayam Singh Yadav. However, the recent clash between Mulayam Singh and his son Akhilesh Yadav has caused resentment among the voters in this region. The black patches could well be heartbreaks, externalised and painted in colour for public viewing. These frustrated aspiring candidates could damage the prospect of running candidates in the Samajwadi Party dominated region through silent sabotage acts. Some of them had started campaigning already anticipating party tickets. The names had to be removed from the walls to avoid confusion among voters about the candidates. The huge, ugly black patches on many walls in the fields on both sides of the road (from Meerut to Kanpur) tell you that someone has done a shoddy job. Look carefully, and try to find what the dark patches are trying to cover. You get the Congress' campaign theme before it entered into an alliance with the Samajwadi Party: '27 saal UP behaal' and you get names of Congress and Samajwadi Party aspirants who didn't finally get the ticket or lost out due to the alliance. The Bhojpuri actor, who formally was a Congress candidate and contested election in Uttar Pradesh's Jaunpur in 2014, is all set to join the BJP. The announcement was done by BJP MP Manoj Tiwari. If rumours are anything to go by he would damage the prospect of the Samajwadi Party in some seats in the Yadav belt. He would ensure that the strike rate of the party goes down by several points. It was 80 percent and 55 seats last time. He would not mind playing the BJP's game. Mulayam Singh is still with him but his relationship with Akhilesh remains frosty. Wait for a new episode in the family drama after the results are out. Never underestimate the man outdone in a power game. He could have been pushed to the fringes of the Samajwadi Party by Akhilesh and ploughing a lonely furrow in his Jaswant Nagar assembly constituency at the moment, but Shivpal Yadav remains a dangerous man for Akhilesh. Akhilesh's alliance partner Rahul Gandhi's Congress has had no presence in the region. The only seat that Congress had won in 2012 was of Rita Bahuguna Joshi in Lucknow Cantt. But Joshi is now part of the BJP. Heavy voter turnout since morning in this phase could cut both ways, depending on voters mood pro-incumbency, favouring incumbent or anti-incumbency favouring challenger. The fact that in last five days Akhilesh Yadav had extensively campaigned in areas which are considered to be family stronghold is indicative of the fact that he can't be complacent about the outcome. His wife Dimple Yadav, after appearing to be a tentative campaigner and reluctant public speaker too is campaigning for the party. But each election has its own different dynamics. In 2012, Akhilesh Yadav, Mulayam Singh Yadav and Shivpal Yadav were one force, in 2017 not so much. The schism within Yadav clan has resulted in emergence of multiple forces. Also, in 2012 Samajwadi Party was a challenger and in 2017 Samajwadi Party is ruling party. Ideally, Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav should have been sitting comfortably ahead of phase three polling which is currently underway in 69 constituencies of Uttar Pradesh. In 2012, Samajwadi Party had swept the polls, winning 54 seats in 12 districts spread over in Yadav bastion of Etawah, Mainpuri, Kannauj, Farrukhabad, Auraiah and so on. But in 2012 Assembly elections, seven Samajwadi Party legislatures were elected of the nine assembly seats here. The young vote would be pivotal. A crucial constituency where BJP and SP both see the potential to gain from here. Atal Bihari V Agra: BSP chief Mayawati on Monday accused the Narendra Modi government of interfering with the personal law of Muslims and ending reservations for backward communities in jobs. Addressing a rally at Kothi Meena Bazar ground in Agra, she also attacked the Congress-Samajwadi Party alliance, saying Muslim voters should not get swayed by the alliance and waste their precious votes by supporting it. "The central government has failed to work on the recommendations of the Sachchar Committee. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had promised to bring black money from abroad, but no action has been taken yet," she said. She claimed that demonetisation has affected everyone. The Narendra Modi government wants to interfere with the personal law of Muslims, and end reservations in jobs, she said. She also promised to constitute a commission for businessmen to look into their problems, announced to launch a special scheme for Agra's leather shoe industry and waive loans upto Rs 1 lakh for farmers if voted to power. Editor's Note: There are known unknowns, unknown knowns and known knowns. And then theres all that Ajay Singh knows. Firstposts executive editor mines his decades-long experience reporting on politics to tell stories from the heartland that even Google cant unearth. In a Jat-dominated village at Sardhana of Meerut district, BJP candidate Sangeet Som was assured of peoples support on a weird logic. A village elder called him babbar sher (male lion) who fought for Jats during Muzaffarnagar communal violence. "He was jailed for three months for our cause," he said. Som is not an ordinary leader. He shot into the limelight following allegations of his involvement in the violence that continued for days on end in West Uttar Pradesh. In Sardhana, he plays on his Robin Hood image among the Hindu electorate. But things would have been easier if there is a clear polarisation on communal lines. But that is not the case. Jats who comprise a sizeable chunk of the electorate are now turning away from the BJP and getting attracted to Ajit Singhs Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD). And this is a major cause of concern for the BJP in general and Sangeet Som in particular. However a village elder has shown his earthy wisdom to resolve this dilemma. He innovated a logic and said, I know that Rajnath Singh and Ajit Singh have struck a deal in which Ajit Singh will support the BJP government in UP should there be a shortfall of MLAs. So let us vote for Thakur Sangeet Som and ensure that he gets a berth in the cabinet." His logic sounded convincing to villagers who are deeply affected by the communal polarisation. Even a cursory visit to West Uttar Pradesh would expose the deep communal fault-lines that exist in the region. The imprint of Jat-Muslim hostility is all too evident in this election. But that is not something which always existed in West Uttar Pradesh. Let me take you three decades back and remind you a name Naeema. In 1987, Naeema, a young daughter of a Muslim farmer in Muzaffarnagar, was abducted, raped and killed. This triggered a massive protest by Jat and Muslim farmers led by Mahendra Singh Tikait. In those days, Tikait used to evoke fear among rulers in Delhi and Lucknow. He blocked the highways and cut off the national capital from rest of Uttar Pradesh. Tikaits musclemen held a group of policemen to ransom and demanded a probe and compensation. After a week of skillful negotiations by the Uttar Pradesh government and Tikait, the body of Naeema was buried and the agitation was called off. However, the whole episode developed a unique bonding between farmers of West Uttar Pradesh irrespective of their religious faith. Tikait emerged as an undisputed leader of farmers across the region and even overshadowed at times Chaudhary Charan Singh. In VP Singhs emergence as challenge to Rajiv Gandhi in 1989, Jat-Muslim bonhomie contributed a great deal to consolidate the Janata Dals position. As of now, Naeemas name is literally erased from the political memory of the region. There are few who are aware of the episode which changed the political complexion of the region. Naeemas death was indeed a turning point for the regions politics and unified farmers in a manner which was unprecedented. But this social coalition fell apart as the BJP raised the pitch over Ram Temple movement, and mobilised people. Similarly West Uttar Pradesh is seen as an epicenter of radical and intolerant Islam. A series of communal riots has torn the social fabric asunder. And there are no signs of getting it restored by any political actors in the region. Naeema was a human tragedy that restored social amity. Muzaffarnagar was a social tragedy whose deleterious consequences are not only ignored but also reaped for political benefits. Lucknow: With the Samajwadi Party-Congress alliance going strong after initial hiccups, rival parties like the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) have been forced to rework their strategies in western Uttar Pradesh, where Muslim voters are a major force to reckon with. Western UP has 140 Assembly constituencies spread over 26 districts that go to polls in the first two phases, on February 11 and 15. BSP, which was expecting a cakewalk in the wake of internal feud in the Samajwadi Party, to provide a strong alternative to BJP, got a blow with the coming together of the two young faces of Indian politics Akhilesh and Rahul who do not have any previous record of hobnobbing with the saffron party. To target the Muslim-Dalit votebank, BSP fielded has fielded as many as 50 Muslim candidates in the first two phases. However, with the coming together of SP and Congress, the community got an option to choose between the two dispensations, sending BSP knocking the doors of Muslim leadership and drum up the Muzaffarnagar riots issue with renewed vigour. The fact that Muslims are important for SP as well can be seen in the party fielding Muslims on 42 of the 140 western UP seats. Interestingly, 28 seats in the first two phases will see both BSP and SP fielding Muslim candidates. If the Mayawati-led party is focussing on providing a "riot-free" and "crime-free" state upon coming to power, the SP-Congress alliance is reopening the pages of BSP's history, especially its alliance with the saffron party. "Can the community ever pardon Mayawati for 'falsely' implicating 43 youth on terror charges during her regime, which is yet to be proved?" posed a Samajwadi Party leader. BSP is also out to tar Akhilesh Yadav as "anti-Muslim" with the new entrant in the party Afzal Ansari, brother of mafia-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari, recalling a statement by Mulayam Singh Yadav in this regard that Akhilesh was working against the interest of Muslims. Ansari has resolved to campaign all over the state against the "anti-Muslim" Akhilesh. Perhaps it was the importance of Muslim votes that SP showed least interest in allying with the Chaudhary Ajit Singh-led RLD, primarily a party with a Jat vote bank. It was Jats versus Muslims during the Muzaffarnagar riots and Akhilesh Yadav was not interested in aligning with the perceived "oppressors" of the community, said SP insiders. BJP, on its part, hopes for polarisation of Hindus in reaction to the possible consolidation of Muslims behind the SP-Congress alliance. With pro-Hindutva leaders of the ilk of Hukum Singh, Sangeet Som, Suresh Rana, Sanjiv Balyan, Yogi Adityanath and Ramchandra Katheria leading the campaign and the issue of Hindu migration in the western region finding mention in BJP 'Sankalp patra' (manifesto), the party is expecting a consolidation of Hindu votes like in the 2012 elections when it won Kairana, Saharanpur Nagar, Thana Bhawan, Bijnor and Noorpur in the face of division of votes between two Muslim candidates. "BJP is clear that it will not get support among Muslims and knows that Hindus will finally come behind them. Though Muzaffarnagar has long been done, migration is a recent issue and a reality highlighted by his party," a BJP leader said. The party's concern is to check any division in Hindu votes on seats where no mainstream party has fielded Muslims or there is strong Hindu candidate against a BJP nominee. There are as many as 110 seats where both BJP and the SP-Congress alliance have fielded a Hindu candidate. BSP is also banking on the Mayawati regime providing a communally safe atmosphere during which the three-judge bench of the Allahabad high court pronounced its decision on the contentious Ram Janambhoomi-Babri Masjid title suit in 2009 when the entire country was put on high alert. It is also highlighting the condition of the community which relied on Congress for 50 years and on SP for more than two decades. In the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, BSP was relegated to third slot in Saharanpur, where Congress leader Imran Masood had emerged second because of overwhelming Muslim support as well as in Kairana, Sambhal, Moradabad and Bijnor, where SP consolidated its support among Muslims. Uttar Pradesh is called the king-maker state and it's not for nothing. The northern Indian state, with over 14,12,53,172 voters, sends the largest number of Members of Parliament to the Rajya Sabha, where both the ruling party and the Opposition vie to stake control. Take for example, the current arrangement in both the Houses. The Modi government, enjoying a brute majority in Lok Sabha, has presented a curious and unprecedented tug-of-war between the ruling party and the Opposition. While the BJP-led NDA government can pass any law as it pleases in the Lower House, key legislation often get stuck in the Upper House where the Congress enjoys a majority due to Parliament logjams and political bickering. While for the BJP, UP polls will be one chance to wrest free the Rajya Sabha from the controls of the Opposition, ensuring that BJP's strength is limited in Rajya Sabha is the only respite Congress can hope for until the next Lok Sabha Elections. The state elections also arguably set the precursor to the the 2019 Lok Sabha election as UP was crucial in BJP's cleansweep in 2014 Lok Sabha elections the saffron party's one-third parliamentarians come from the state that sends 80 MPs to the Lower House. Besides this, with the 2017 Presidential Election is in the offing, UP's strength will also play up in selecting the Constitutional head of the state. Thus, it is only natural that all eyes remain on the intense political drama unfolding in the state in these high-stake elections, due to start from 11 February. So Firstpost sifted through the political pandemonium playing out in UP, and brought together all that you need to know to track the humongous polling exercise. When does Uttar Pradesh go to polls? The giant state elects its legislative assembly in seven phases. The Election Commission, for the sake of logistics, divides the state into even segments and conducts polling on different dates. The first set of constituencies go to poll on 11 February, while the last set wraps up the polling process in five states of India on 8 March. The results for all the five states are due on 11 March. Here is a breakdown on which part of UP goes to poll when. Phase 1 - Total 73 constituencies, including a larger chunk of the politically important, western Uttar Pradesh will go to polls on 11 February. Key constituencies include communally sensitive constituencies of Kairana, Muzaffarnagar, Dadri and Meerut, apart from Ghaziabad, Noida, Agra etc. Phase 2 - Voters from 67 constituencies, in what is known as the Rohilkhand region, will choose their representatives on 15 February. Important constituencies include, Saharanpur, Moradabad, Pilibhit, Bareily, Kheri etc. Phase 3 - This phase constitutes of some of the most interesting electoral combats with state's political heavyweights like Rita Bahuguna Joshi and Brajesh Pathak, contesting elections in this phase. Sixty nine constituencies falling around the Central Ganges planes in the state will go o polls on 19 February. The key constituencies to look out for will be Kanpur, Unnao, Allahabad, Phulpur, apart from the state's capital Lucknow. Phase 4 - Fifty three constituencies in and around Bundelkhand, arguably the state's most underdeveloped region, goes to poll in this phase on 23 February. Important constituencies to track in this phase include Jhansi, Mahoba, Lalitpur, etc. Phase 5 - Voters from 52 constituencies will cast the ballot on 27 February. Constituencies like Basti, Ambedkar Nagar, Bahraich, and Amethi will go to polls in this phase. Phase 6 - Total 49 constituencies will vote on 4 March in this phase. Key constituencies in this phase include Padrauna, Mubarakpur, Mau etc, with many stalwarts and turncourts entering the fray. Phase 7 - The last phase of polling will be held on 8 March for 40 constituencies in Eastern Uttar Pradesh, or what is colloquially known as Purvanchal. Key constituencies in this phase would include Varanasi, Gorakhpur, Jaunpur, Sonbhadra etc Who is in the fray and what is at stake? The political scene in the state has been dominated by regional players (SP, BSP, RLD etc) since the 1990's and the so called national parties (BJP and Congress) have been pushed to the sidelines. If at all BJP and Congress managed to stake claim at the throne of UP it was by cobbling up an alliance with the regional parties. But in Lok Sabha elections 2014, the people of the state voted overwhelmingly in support of the BJP. The saffron party would like to repeat the winning streak for obvious reasons, as it will pave a smooth path for the party in Delhi. However, the current ruling party in state, Samajwadi Party, has barely emerged from a succession war and it is Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav's only opportunity to prove his mettle as a leader, after he overthrew his father from the party's helm. The Bahujan Samaj Party, meanwhile, has been working silently on the ground to regain control on the state by engineering a politically potent but unpredictable amalgamation of two communities, Dalits and Muslims. However, each party has its own Achilles heel to deal with; the nail biting competition can swing any way. Bharatiya Janata Party - The ruling party at the Centre is leaving no stones unturned in repeating its sweep in the Assembly Elections. However, the Prime Minister's move to demonetise higher value currency notes in November is still fresh in the voters' minds, which caused much distress to the common man. Although, Modi and Amit Shah have sought to portray it as a major move to weed out black money, it remains to be sen whether or not the cash strapped sugarcane farmer from western UP or a small trader from Purvanchal, or farm labourers reeling under continuous spells of drought in Bundelkhand buy that narrative. If anything, Shah himself has conceded that the election results in the five states will be the people's mandate on demonetisation. Samajwadi Party - The Yadav Pari-'war' has been grabbing headlines since October last year, when the Yadav scion and UP chief minister Akhilesh Yadav finally decided to move out of the shadows of his uncle and father. The high decibel family drama, totally comparable to your average Bollywood thriller, culminated into Akhilesh wresting control of the party out of the hands of Shivpal and Mulayam. That did two things for Akhilesh: One, he was able to shake away the 'three-and-a-half chief ministers' tag from his government and emerge as a decisive leader, two, he could have his say in the ticket distribution and in forging alliances ahead of the crucial polls. However, in that alone lies his strength and his weakness. The mandate in UP will not only be a clear reflection on his work of the past five years, but his latest stint to dethrone his father and ally with the Congress, apparently at the cost of 'Mualayam ke log' and the party workers who were expecting tickets on seats that were compromised to Congress. Bahujan Samaj Party - BSP, that has traditionally claimed the unwavering loyalty of Dalit voters in the state was annihilated in the last assembly elections and Lok Sabha polls. However, BSP supremo Mayawati, known for her political astuteness can very well spring a surprise by combining Dalit and Muslim votes breaking away from SP in the wake of Mulayam's forced political exile. However, she too is treading troubled waters as corruption charges leveled against her brothers have revived the memory of allegations against her when she was the chief minister. Alleged splurging of public money, corruption, and a disproportionate asset case against her marred her tenure and contributed to the anti-incumbency factor that brought on the SP win. Congress - With many poll pundits refusing to count Congress as a serious contender in the crucial polls, the Grand Old Party is perhaps the only party locked in a win-win deal. Rahul Gandhi, flanked by Akhilesh Yadav is drawing unprecedented crowds to his rallies, and the Congress has also forged a mint deal of over 100 seats in the alliance, which many believed it did not deserve. Whether or not the SP-Congress alliance make it to power, Rahul Gandhi will have a respectable exit when drapes are drawn on the election drama. To say that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has a centralised working style when it comes to his government and party would be a cliche. Yet, the consistency with which this charge has been levelled against him, has neither cut into his mass popularity nor forced him to consider altering working style and pursue consensual politics. Modi is not the first Indian to occupy high office and display such traits. While similarities between Modi and Indira Gandhi are routinely drawn, even Rajiv Gandhi displayed desire to concentrate power in an-all powerful prime ministers office and a small coterie of friends, derogatorily referred as 'babalog'. That is, till charges of corruption derailed his government midway into its tenure. Even PV Narasimha Rao, concentrated power in his hand once he dubiously secured majority in Lok Sabha. If he had the wherewithal, even Atal Bihari Vajpayee would have commandeered both party and government with an iron hand. In fact, he attempted this by installing Bangaru Laxman as party president. For more than thirty years since its inception that Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was noted for collegial functioning where key decisions were harmoniously taken by consensus after charcha or discussion among the top brass. While the party always had a clear leader who towered over others, he was more like one among equals and not the big boss. The party was always distinctive for its collective at the top that functioned as high command. But not any longer. Ever since Modi became prime minister and Amit Shah took over the baton of party president from Rajnath Singh in July 2014, the BJP has witnessed the emergence of the duo as all-powerful. Crucial decisions are taken by the two in a manner that few are privy to and thereafter communicated to other leaders and tasks allocated. In place of decisions emerging through a consensual process, diktats are issued. Close working ties between Modi and Shah has witnessed the emergence of a new relationship between government and ruling party. In India, ruling party and government often worked at cross purposes as during the UPA regime and even during the Vajpayee era. During Indira Gandhis period and even during Rajivs tenure, the government became the party. In contrast, Modi has ensured that the party maintains its distinct identity, albeit different from the past and under his complete sway. This has resulted in consternation down the line but few give vent to thoughts given complete dominance of the duo. Fear of marginalisation has ensured silence. In November 2015, after the electoral rout in Bihar, the four elders with little at stake, LK Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi, Yashwant Sinha and Shanta Kumar issued a statement criticising the leadership. The quartet did not have anything to lose and the so-called rebellion fizzled out. But the points they made need to be recalled as they argued: No lesson was learnt from the defeat Those who would have appropriated credit if the BJP won, shrugged off responsibility Principal reason for defeat was the way the BJP was emasculated since 2014 BJP forced to kow-tow to a handful Consensual character of the BJP had been destroyed Few observers of the party over the past three decades or less would dispute any of the points. No heads will roll if the coming polls result in a setback. Besides this, respect for elders, an integral part of Indian read Hindu culture exists more in absence. Moreover, when did the party ever witness a senior leader like Advani questioning party strategy in Parliament as he did during the Winter Session? But if one scans the balance sheet of the BJP in the Modi-Shah era, one cannot escape the conclusion that the party has become more focussed on acquiring power - and retaining it than ever in its history. The manner in which the party attempted to acquire power in Arunachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand last year, and eventually succeeded in Arunachal Pradesh, may have evoked criticism from the opposition and constitutionalists, but the party demonstrated unprecedented hunger for political power just as the Congress did previously by destabilising state governments run by other parties. Unethical though at one level, such strategies have not been frowned by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) which usually looks at political issues from a moral perspective because as Sanjeev Kelkar, author of the noted book, Lost Years of the RSS argues, the BJP under the Modi-Shah duo has an acute sense of giving parivar as much help as possible from the Central Government and seek their cooperation always as was never the case. Indisputably, while the Modi-Shah combine has become ruthless while dealing with political adversaries and rebels, it has displayed a desire to accommodate expectations of the RSS leadership. The bonhomie that exists between Modi and sarsanghchalak Mohan Bhagwat, in fact, is a complete contrast to the hostility between Vajpayee and KS Sudarshan, the RSS chief for most of the Vajpayee era. Modi has ensured that the RSS top brass feels that it has stakes in the governments stability. This has led to its decision to restrain affiliated organisations and direct these to be mild in criticism and opposition to certain government policies, for instance, the latest criticism of the Union Budget by the Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh. By making the RSS a stakeholder in his government, Modi has contained demands on contentious issues like Ayodhya, abrogation of Article 370, Uniform Civil Code, cow slaughter etc. In fact, use of such tactic, Modi has ensured that the accelerator on these controversial issues remains in his control. Till the BJP included Hindutva-centric issues in its manifesto for Uttar Pradesh, motor mouths in the Parivar remained silent. Even now, the extent of milking these issues remains in the hand of party leaders. BJP under Modi-Shah has abandoned romanticism and become unapologetic about the raison d'etre of its existence: acquire political power. No political party in India, save a few, is run on democratic lines and are mostly proprietorships. The Modi-Shah duo remains unchallenged because success remains on their side. It remains to be seen if this dominance remains during moments of adversity. (The writer is a Delhi-based writer and journalist. He authored Narendra Modi: The Man, The Times and Sikhs: The Untold Agony of 1984. Twitter handle: @NilanjanUdwin) By Samia Nakhoul | BEIRUT BEIRUT President Donald Trump has set out to crush Islamic State when it is already at a low ebb, but Islamists and some analysts say his actions could strengthen the ultra-hardline group by creating new recruits and inspiring attacks on U.S. soil. IS has been weakened in recent months by battlefield defeats, the loss of territory in Iraq, Syria and Libya, and a decline in its finances and the size of its fighting forces. Trump's pledge to eradicate "Islamic extremism" looks at first sight to be yet another blow to Islamic State's chances of success.But Middle East experts and IS supporters say his election triumph could help revive the group's fortunes. They also believe his move late last month to temporarily ban refugees and bar nationals from seven mainly Muslim countries could work in the group's favour. [nL1N1FS03X] The executive order, on which IS has been silent, is in limbo after being overturned by a judge. But whether or not it is reinstated, it has angered Muslims across the world who, despite Trump's denials, see it as evidence that he and his administration are Islamophobic. [nL5N1FF3TJ] The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the accusations of Islamophobia. But White House spokesman Sean Spicer said last week: "The president's number one goal has always been to focus on the safety of America, not the religion. He understands that it's not a religious problem."Denying the travel ban would make the United States less safe, Spicer has said "some people have not read what exactly the order says and are reading it through misguided media reports." [nL1N1FS03D] Yet such comments have not silenced the criticism."The ban on Muslim countries will undoubtedly undermine the global effort to discredit extremists," said Hassan Hassan, a writer on Islamist radicalism and co-author of the 2015 book "ISIS: Inside the Army of Terror".The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), which comprises 57 member states, said such "selective and discriminatory acts will only serve to embolden the radical narratives of extremists." [nL5N1FK2M8]Jihadists are still celebrating Trump's election triumph in online forums, saying it vindicates their argument that his views show the United States' true face and that his policy will polarise communities, one of the militants' goals. "It is a blessing from Allah to the Muslims who lost their loyalty and faithfulness and preferred to choose the worldly life with all its luxuries that exists in the apostate land over the land of belief," one jihadist wrote on the Islamist website al-Minbar. [nL4N1FK16F]DECLINING FORTUNES IS has in recent months been significantly weakened on many fronts, with the caliphate it has created in parts of Iraq and Syria -- where it has also imposed its ultra-hardline rule on residents -- shrinking.In Iraq, the group has lost territory in and around its northern stronghold of Mosul since U.S.-backed Iraqi forces last October began the biggest ground operation in the country since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein. A growing number of disillusioned local Sunnis are now cooperating with the Iraqi army and helping in the fight against Islamic State and its financial resources have been badly hit. Turkey has also sealed its border, denying IS a route for bringing in foreign fighters and smuggling in other goods. Islamic State's presence in Iraq is mostly concentrated in the north, but it still has significant strongholds such as Tal Afar, to the west of Mosul, and nearby areas such as Al Qaem near the Syrian border. Even so, Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi has said IS will be driven out of the country by April.IS still holds swathes of Syrian territory and is putting up fierce resistance in Raqqa, its capital in eastern Syria. It still holds around 90 percent of the province of Deir Ez-Zor near the Iraqi border, along with Raqqa and some parts of the eastern countryside of Aleppo in northern Syria. It also controls Palmyra and some pockets in Deraa in the south.Its opponents in Syria include the Turkish army and Syrian rebel groups northeast of Aleppo. On several fronts it is fighting Syrian government forces supported by the Russian air force and Iranian-backed Shi'ite militia. Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has indicated he sees Trump's views on Islamic State as promising. [nL5N1FS11U]In Libya, IS has lost control of the Mediterranean port city of Sirte to Libyan forces backed by U.S. air strikes. This defeat deprived the group of its main stronghold in North Africa, though it retains an active presence in other parts of Libya. The number of IS fighters is now estimated by analysts and experts to be at 20,000 in Iraq and Syria compared with 36,000 in 2014. Since then, a large number of fighters and IS leaders have been killed in air strikes by the U.S.-led coalition and others have been captured by the Iraqi army or fled the country.STRIKING BACK Despite the setbacks, Islamic States is putting up fierce resistance and remains a deadly threat to the United States and its Western allies. IS has started developing lethal alternatives to its caliphate, ranging from rural insurgencies in Syria and Iraq to carrying out attacks in Europe and targeting Western allies across the Middle East from Turkey to Egypt.Now, some Islamist experts believe, IS may redouble its efforts to strike inside the United States, and replicate the fatal attacks carried out in the last 15 months in Paris, Brussels, Nice, Berlin and Istanbul.Like al Qaeda before it, IS has long said the West has deep-seated hostility towards Muslims. Over the past decade, this narrative has been a factor in the steady growth of a radical audience in the Middle East and beyond. Trump's policies will make it a lot easier for the jihadists, says Mokhtar Awad, Research Fellow in the Program on Extremism at George Washington University."They will simply double down on the strategy (of attacks) and instead of investing totally in the battlefields they use, they will try even harder than they have already to activate cells in different Middle Eastern and Western countries," Awad said."An attack in the U.S., as horrific as it may be, is the perfect thing that will work in their favour to show Trump is weak, and embolden the most exclusionary and xenophobic attitudes that some in this (U.S.) administration may have."BUILDING COMMUNAL DISTRUST An important aim of IS strategy is to polarise societies and cause distrust of Muslim neighbours. Experts say IS believes that even if a Muslim does not join the group, he or she will be less inclined to oppose the militants if society is polarised.Many analysts say the most urgent fight for Islamic State's opponents is a political battle -- how to make the group irrelevant to those who support it now. Under Trump, who was inaugurated on Jan. 20, Washington has signalled it is looking for partners in the Middle East to take on IS.In Iraq, U.S. forces, at the forefront of the Mosul campaign, are in practice aligned, though not allied, with Iran, whose influence with Baghdad's Shi'ite-dominated government could increase if measures such as the U.S. entry ban go ahead or are reinstated. In Syria, U.S. forces are relying on Syrian Kurdish fighters to encircle Raqqa. But this has upset NATO ally Turkey, which sees the Syrian Kurd militia as identical to Turkish Kurd insurgents it regards as terrorists. The United States and European Union list them as terrorist groups. Trump's overtures to President Vladimir Putin suggest Russia and the United States could become closer in the fight against IS, though many of their goals and allies are different. This potentially budding relationship could also be an opportunity for IS. Analysts say it has already come to see Russia's alliance with Shi'ite Iran as a recruiting tool because it has caused such anger among some Muslims. (Additional reporting by Tom Perry, Editing by William Maclean and Timothy Heritage) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. By Brad Brooks | SAO PAULO SAO PAULO Brazil's top prosecutor on Monday asked the Supreme Court for permission to investigate an ex-president, two senators and the former head of a unit of the state oil company for alleged efforts to thwart the country's largest corruption probe.Prosecutor General Rodrigo Janot accused ex-President Jose Sarney, who now sits in the Senate, along with senators Romero Juca and Renan Calheiros of carrying out "political maneuvers" in a bid to quash the inquiry into political kickbacks at state-run oil firm Petrobras (PETR4.SA). All are allies of President Michel Temer.Janot also requested that Sergio Machado, the former head of Transpetro, the logistics arm of Petrobras, be investigated for his role in the efforts to hamper the investigation. Under Brazilian law, sitting federal congressmen, some members of the executive branch and other officials can only be investigated with approval from the Supreme Court. The top court must then approve charges and try them. Jucca and Calheiros, who was until last week the president of the Senate, are already under investigation by Janot for their alleged involvement in the Petrobras scheme. Machado, who has turned state's witness, told federal prosecutors that he taped hours of conversations with the others named on Monday in which they discuss how they could create roadblocks to the unprecedented investigation into political graft. Machado told prosecutors that the group was considering, among other maneuvers, passing a law that would make it illegal for an imprisoned person to strike a plea bargain with prosecutors. Several of the most important state's witnesses arranged such deals after being jailed on corruption charges or convicted. It is expected that over 100 sitting politicians could be investigated and possibly tried in connection with the Petrobras case and subsequent investigations into graft at state-run enterprises. Major Brazilian construction firms have admitted to paying billions of dollars in bribes in return for lucrative government contracts. (Editing by Daniel Flynn, Bernard Orr) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. By Lawrence Hurley | WASHINGTON WASHINGTON Democratic U.S. senators on Monday sharpened a potential line of attack against Neil Gorsuch's nomination to the Supreme Court by questioning whether he would be sufficiently independent as a justice in light of President Donald Trump's vigorous use of unilateral presidential power including his travel ban.Their comments came after Trump criticized James Robart, the U.S. district court judge who put on hold the Republican president's Jan. 27 order temporarily barring entry into the United States of people from seven Muslim-majority nations and halting the U.S. refugee program. Trump called Robart a "so-called judge" who made a "ridiculous" decision.Democrats have expressed worry that Gorsuch, nominated by Trump last week, could act as a rubber stamp for the Republican president's policies on a nine-seat Supreme Court poised to revert to a conservative majority. "It's a serious concern with a president who attacks the judiciary and seems to not respect the rule of law and the Constitution that you have a really independent justice," Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer of New York, set to meet with Gorsuch on Tuesday, told Reuters.Gorsuch, continuing a series of private meetings with senators ahead of his Judiciary Committee confirmation hearings, met on Monday with Senator Dianne Feinstein of California, the panel's top Democrat, at her Senate office.Afterward, she said Gorsuch is "clearly very smart, caring, and he's well thought of in Colorado," where he serves as a federal appeals court judge. But Feinstein said she will make up her mind after the hearing about whether or not to support his confirmation. "What we would like to see is an independent judge, and the hearing will determine that," Feinstein told Reuters.Gorsuch must be confirmed by the Senate to the lifetime post on the high court."It's incumbent upon Judge Gorsuch to make it clear to the American people that he does not believe in 'so-called judges,' that he thinks it's imperative that the judiciary has to be respected as an independent one-third of our government," said Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, who unsuccessfully sought the Democratic presidential nomination last year."I would look forward to hearing him speak out on that issue," Sanders added. Conservative lawyers and Republican senators who are favourable toward Gorsuch cite his record of supporting limited federal powers and his scepticism about courts deferring too much to executive branch interpretations of the law when issuing regulations as signs he would be willing to stand up to Trump."I have zero concerns about his independence being compromised," said Senator John Cornyn of Texas, a Republican who sits on the Judiciary Committee.Mississippi Senator Roger Wicker, another Republican, said Gorsuch "has a trail of decisions and publications a mile long that suggest how talented he is, that are instructive as to how he would rule on any number of issues." With four liberals and four conservatives now on the court, Gorsuch's confirmation would restore the conservative majority that had existed for decades until the death last year of Justice Antonin Scalia.Gorsuch's supporters point in particular to a recent case in which Gorsuch criticized a landmark high court ruling known as Chevron v. Natural Resources Defense Council. That 1984 ruling directed judges nationwide to defer to federal agencies' interpretation of laws that may be ambiguous.Gorsuch in a concurring opinion called that doctrine the "elephant in the room" that concentrates federal power "in a way that seems more than a little difficult to square with the Constitution."If Gorsuch is confirmed to serve on a court that would have five conservatives and four liberals, Democrats have expressed concern about setbacks for their positions on divisive issues such as abortion, gun control, environmental regulation and transgender rights. (Reporting by Lawrence Hurley; Additional reporting by David Morgan and Richard Cowan; Editing by Will Dunham) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. Tampa: President Donald Trump on Monday accused the news media of ignoring attacks by Islamist militants in Europe. Trump, who has made defeating Islamic State a core goal of his presidency, did not specify which attacks were going unreported, which news media organisations were ignoring them, or offer any details to support his claims. "All over Europe, it's happening. It's gotten to a point where it's not even being reported," he told a group of about 300 US. troops at MacDill Air Force Base in Florida. "And, in many cases, the very, very dishonest press doesn't want to report it. They have their reasons, and you understand that," he added, without saying what those reasons were. The White House later released a list of 78 attacks around the world from September 2014 to December 2016. "Networks are not devoting to each of them the same level of coverage they once did," a White House official said. "This cannot be allowed to become the 'new normal.'"It was Trump's latest salvo against the news media, a favourite target for derision that he says broadly underestimated his chances during the presidential campaign. He has kept up the attacks since his 25 January inauguration. Trump at one point cited attacks in the French cities of Paris and Nice, which were widely covered. More than 230 people have died in France alone in the past two years at the hands of attackers allied to Islamic State. Al Tompkins at The Poynter Institute, a Florida-based journalism school, dismissed Trump's criticism. "To suggest that journalists have some reason not to report ISIS attacks is just outlandish," Tompkins said, using an acronym for Islamic State. President Donald Trump vowed on Monday that America and its allies would defeat the "forces of death" and keep radical jihadists from gaining a foothold on US soil, but did not offer details about his strategy to defeat the Islamic State (IS) group. In his first visit to US Central Command responsible for an area that includes the Middle East and Central Asia Trump also did not say whether he would scrap parts of the anti-IS mission in Iraq and Syria undertaken by his predecessor Barack Obama. He accused IS fighters of leading a "campaign of genocide, committing atrocities across the world" and promised an unspecified "historic financial investment" in the US military. Trump made fighting "radical Islamic terrorism" a central plank of his election campaign, and the issue is emerging as the organising principle of his foreign and domestic policies. Trump used potential cooperation in the fight against the fighters as a reason to embrace Russia and has tried to implement an order banning refugees and nationals of seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the United States. The ban has spurred an unprecedented battle with the courts. On Sunday, Trump tried to pin the blame for future attacks on the federal judge who has temporarily blocked his executive order. Most experts express more concern about Americans becoming radicalised and carrying out IS-inspired attacks, rather than the group dispatching clandestine agents around the world. The contours of Trump's policy to fight the Islamic State group abroad are still coming into focus, after less than three weeks on the job. His call for a review of the anti-IS campaign included any "recommended changes to any United States rules of engagement." Trump also slapped fresh sanctions on Iran's weapons procurement network on Friday, provoking an angry response from Tehran in what is an increasingly tense stand-off. Officials said the new measures were in response to Iran's recent ballistic missile test and its support for the Houthi rebels in Yemen, who recently targeted a Saudi warship. The new sanctions do not yet mean that the US has abandoned commitments it made under the deal to lift measures aimed at Iran's nuclear program, officials said. But Trump has made no secret of his contempt for that accord, which his predecessor Barack Obama had approved in July 2015, and officials said that Friday's measures would not be the last. Iran is playing with fire - they don't appreciate how "kind" President Obama was to them. Not me! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 3, 2017 "This behaviour seems continuous despite the very favourable deal given to Iran by the Obama Administration. These sanctions target these behaviours," he said. Trump's administration has not shied away from criticising, undoing and often using Obama administration's policies as a defence to justify its own. White House press secretary, Sean Spicer said, "Well, first of all, it's not a travel ban." on President Donald Trump's executive order halting travel to the US for people from seven majority-Muslim countries. Secretary of homeland security, John Kelly added that, "This is not a travel ban; this is a temporary pause that allows us to better review the existing refugee and visa-vetting system." But that was not what their boss had said the day before. Trump defended the order and its immediate implementation in a tweet: If the ban were announced with a one week notice, the "bad" would rush into our country during that week. A lot of bad "dudes" out there! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 30, 2017 Spicer himself also had called it a ban at George Washington University's School of Media and Public Affairs, saying, "the ban deals with seven countries that the Obama administration had previously identified as needing further travel restrictions." Trump in a White House statement claimed that his policies were similar to what Obama did in 2011, when he banned visas for refugees from Iraq for six months. That's not what happened. According to State Department data, 9,388 Iraqi refugees were admitted to the United States during the 2011 budget year. The data also show that Iraqi refugees were admitted every month during the 2011 calendar year. The Obama administration did slow processing for Iraqi nationals, seeking refuge in the US under the government's Special Immigrant Visa program for translators and interpreters who worked with American troops in Afghanistan and Iraq. That happened after two Iraqi nationals were arrested on terrorism-related charges. But that year, 618 Iraqis were allowed to enter the US with that special visa. Also, government data shows that during the 2011 budget year, more than 7,800 Iraqis were allowed into the United States on non-immigrant visas, including tourists. Trump, in the same statement, said that the seven countries named in the Executive Order are the same countries previously identified by the Obama administration as sources of terror. That's misleading. There were no special US travel restrictions on citizens of those seven countries. The Republican-led Congress in 2015 voted to require visas and additional security checks for foreign citizens who normally wouldn't need visas such as those from Britain if they had visited the seven countries: Iraq, Iran, Syria, Sudan, Libya, Somalia and Yemen. This was included in a large spending bill passed overwhelmingly by Congress and signed by Obama. As the law was enacted, the Obama administration announced that journalists, aid workers and others who travelled to the listed countries for official work could apply for exemptions. Trump, also said this the ban is not a Muslim ban, blaming the media for false reporting. "This is not about religion this is about terror and keeping our country safe. There are over 40 different countries worldwide that are majority Muslim that are not affected by this order," he said in the statement. Trump is right that there are many majority-Muslim countries that have not been included in the travel ban. But he's also being misleading. The executive order signed on 27 January does not specifically say Muslims can't visit the US, but it does create a temporary total travel ban for citizens of seven majority-Muslim countries. It also indefinitely bans Syrians. Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani recently told Fox News that Trump had asked him to create a plan for a Muslim ban that would meet legal tests. Giuliani said he ultimately made recommendations that focused on security and what countries posed security threats. But travel ban is just one of the many expected measures the Trump administration is expected to bring forward which are expected to be vastly different from Obama's in its plan to combat terror. One of Obama's first moves as president in 2009 after winning his first four-year term was signing three executive orders to begin closing the detention facility at the US Navy base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and curtail "enhanced interrogation techniques," including waterboarding. Trump said shortly after his election that "we are keeping open" the detention facility and are "gonna load it up with some bad dudes," making rescinding Obama's actions on the closure of the facility a likelihood. The detention facility began housing detainees identified as foreign terrorism suspects in 2002 under Republican President George W Bush in the aftermath of the 11 September 2001 attacks on the US by al-Qaeda Islamic militants. Trump says he will also "rebuild" America's vast military, boost its anti-missile capabilities and prioritise defeating the IS group, according to the first policy statements published on the White House website. Published moments after Trump was inaugurated as the president, the statements say he will end limits on Pentagon spending agreed by Congress and the Obama administration, and will soon release a new budget proposal outlining his vision for the military. Moreover, Europe must pull together or risk being sidelined as Trump signals the end of a postwar transatlantic partnership credited with keeping the peace for the past 70 years, analysts and officials say. Fears about the US president's isolationist stance became a reality when Trump challenged basic assumptions about the role of an "obsolete" Nato and backed the break-up of the European Union. Nato groups 22 of the EU's 28 member states and many of those, led by Britain but including several former Soviet satellites in the east, believe that the US-led alliance not Brussels is the only real collective defence option against a more assertive Russia. On that basis, President Barack Obama won Nato leaders' backing for the biggest military build-up since the end of the Cold War in response to Russia's Ukraine intervention and the annexation of Crimea. Meanwhile, the EU on Monday insisted all parties must fully implement the Minsk ceasefire accords to restore peace in Ukraine, after Trump stoked fresh concerns that he could take a softer line on Russia. Trump repeated over the weekend he wanted to work with Russian President Vladimir Putin to fight the IS group, and drew fire from across the US political spectrum by playing down alleged political assassinations in Russia. The White House also raised eyebrows by referring to "Ukraine's long-running conflict with Russia" a framing of the situation that former national security advisor Susan Rice publicly criticised as a "distortion of... recent history". Russia annexed the Ukrainian region of Crimea in March 2014 and has supported separatists in the east of the country. Trump meanwhile has repeatedly said that he wants to improve relations with Putin, appearing to downplay events in Ukraine to the dismay of historic US allies in Europe. With inputs from agencies. London: US President Donald Trump will not be welcome to address the British Parliament on his state visit to the UK because of its opposition to racism and to sexism, the Speaker of the House of Commons said. John Bercow, the Speaker, said on late Monday that he "strongly opposed" Trump speaking in the Commons as he stressed that being invited to address Parliament was "not an automatic right" but "an earned honour", the Independent daily reported. "Before the imposition of the migrant ban, I would myself have been strongly opposed to an address by President Trump in Westminster Hall," Bercow told MPs. "After the imposition...I am even more strongly opposed to an address by President Trump in Westminster Hall." Parts of the Commons erupted into rare spontaneous applause in support of Bercow's statement, the daily said. The Speaker said: "We value our relationship with the United States. If a state visit takes place, that is way beyond and above the pay grade of the Speaker." "However, as far as this place is concerned I feel very strongly that our opposition to racism and to sexism and our support for equality before the law and an independent judiciary are hugely important considerations in the House of Commons." British Prime Minister Theresa May invited Trump to make a state visit to the UK on her recent trip to the US last month. Last week, nearly two million people signed a petition calling for Trump's state visit to be cancelled in just days after it was announced. MPs are to debate the issue in Westminster Hall. By John Whitesides | WASHINGTON WASHINGTON Burning passions over Donald Trump's presidency are taking a personal toll on both sides of the political divide. For Gayle McCormick, it is particularly wrenching: she has separated from her husband of 22 years.The retired California prison guard, a self-described "Democrat leaning toward socialist," was stunned when her husband casually mentioned during a lunch with friends last year that he planned to vote for Trump a revelation she described as a "deal breaker.""It totally undid me that he could vote for Trump," said McCormick, 73, who had not thought of leaving the conservative Republican before but felt "betrayed" by his support for Trump."I felt like I had been fooling myself," she said. "It opened up areas between us I had not faced before. I realized how far I had gone in my life to accept things I would have never accepted when I was younger."Three months after the most divisive election in modern U.S. politics fractured families and upended relationships, a number of Americans say the emotional wounds are as raw as ever and show few signs of healing.The rancour has not dissipated as it has in the aftermath of other recent contentious U.S. elections. A Reuters/Ipsos opinion poll shows it has worsened, suggesting a widening of the gulf between Republicans and Democrats and a hardening of ideological positions that sociologists and political scientists say increases distrust in government and will make political compromise more difficult.The Reuters/Ipsos poll of 6,426 people, taken from Dec. 27 to Jan. 18, shows the number of respondents who argued with family and friends over politics jumped 6 percentage points from a pre-election poll at the height of the campaign in October, up to 39 percent from 33 percent. (See graphic: tmsnrt.rs/2jLSU36)Sixteen percent said they have stopped talking to a family member or friend because of the election - up marginally from 15 percent. That edged higher, to 22 percent, among those who voted for Democrat Hillary Clinton. Overall, 13 percent of respondents said they had ended a relationship with a family member or close friend over the election, compared to 12 percent in October."It's been pretty rough for me," said Rob Brunello, 25, of Mayfield Heights, Ohio, a truck driver who faced a backlash from friends and family for backing Trump."People couldn't believe Trump could beat Hillary. They are having a hard time adjusting to it," he said.The White House did not respond to a request for comment on the poll results.AMID THE RANCOUR, FRIENDSHIPS BLOOM At the same time, many people reported their relationships have not suffered because of the election. The poll found about 40 percent had not argued with a family member or friend over the race. The election also enabled a significant number to forge new bonds - 21 percent said they became friends with someone they did not know because of the election, though the poll question did not ask respondents to specify if the friendship was with someone from a different party.Sandi Corbin, a retiree in East Galesburg, Illinois, said she has visited some of the new friends she made because of their shared support for Clinton. "We talk all the time now," she said. "I would say that's a plus from the election."The election's fervour has spilled into the streets since Trump's inauguration on Jan. 20. Hundreds of thousands of people marched in protest on the day after Trump took office, and there have been demonstrations against a travel ban on visitors from seven Muslim-majority countries.Arguing over Trump has become a bitter reality for many Americans."Once people found out I had voted for Trump the stuff started flying," said William Lomey, 64, a retired cop in Philadelphia who no longer speaks with a friend he grew up with after they clashed on Facebook over the election. "I questioned him on a few things, he didn't like it, he blew up and left me a nasty message and we haven't talked since."He said his friend is gay and worries about Trump's sometimes demeaning campaign rhetoric about minority groups including Muslims, Hispanics, immigrants and the disabled. "I think people are getting too wound up," Lomey said.Sue Koren, 57, a Clinton supporter in Dayton, Ohio, said she can barely speak to her two Trump-backing sons and has unfriended "maybe about 50" people on Facebook who support the president."Life is not what it was before the election," she said. "It's my anger, my frustration, my disbelief. They think our current president is a hero and I think he's a nut."George Ingmire, 48, a radio documentary producer in New Orleans, said he broke off a close relationship with an uncle who had helped him through his father's suicide because of his uncle's fervent support for Trump."We had some back and forth and it just got really deep, really ugly," Ingmire said. "I don't see this ever being fixed."FACEBOOK FIGHTS Many personal conflicts erupt on social media. In the Reuters/Ipsos poll, 17 percent said they had blocked a family member or close friend on social media because of the election, up 3 percentage points from October. LeShanda Loatman, 35, a black Republican real estate agent from Delaware, has severed ties on social media with former co-workers and old friends over their support for Trump and their criticism of the Black Lives Matter movement against violence and racism against blacks."I haven't come across anybody who was openly belligerent about the election or Black Lives Matter movement when I was out in public. It's just on Facebook," said Loatman, who voted for Green Party candidate Jill Stein.Eventually, McCormick's husband changed his mind about Trump and wrote in former House of Representatives Speaker Newt Gingrich in November, but by that time she had decided to strike out on her own.While the couple plans to vacation together and will not get divorced - "we're too old for that" - she recently settled in her own place in Bellingham, Washington."It really came down to the fact I needed to not be in a position where I had to argue my point of view 24/7. I didn't want to spend the rest of my life doing that," said McCormick, who ultimately cast a write-in vote for Democratic U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont.In St. Charles, Missouri, retired tour company operator Dennis Conner, who is a Trump supporter, says he has avoided confrontations with his brother, sister-in-law and brother-in-law, who were Clinton backers.His advice: "We don't have to talk about politics."--The Reuters/Ipsos poll was conducted online in English in all 50 states. It has a credibility interval, which is similar to margin of error, of 1 percentage point.--For other Reuters/Ipsos polls, go to polling.reuters.com/ (Editing by Jason Szep and Ross Colvin) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. By Dustin Volz | WASHINGTON WASHINGTON National security veterans from both parties and major U.S. technology companies expressed opposition to Donald Trump's temporary travel ban in a court case as his administration prepared on Monday to justify the measure, the most controversial policy of his two-week old presidency.Trump's executive order of Jan. 27, temporarily barring entry to the United States of people from seven Muslim-majority countries and halting the U.S. refugee programme, was suspended by a federal judge in Seattle on Friday. That opened a window for travellers from the seven countries to enter. The government now has until 3 p.m. PST (2300 GMT) on Monday to submit additional legal briefs to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco in support of Trump's order. A decision either way may ultimately result in the case reaching the U.S. Supreme Court.The new Republican president, who has said the travel measures are to protect the country against the threat of terrorism, has reacted to challenges to his ban by attacking the federal judge in Seattle and then the wider court system.Ten former U.S. national security and foreign policy officials, who served under both Republican and Democratic presidents, filed a declaration in the court case arguing the travel ban serves no national security purposes. It was signed by former secretaries of state including John Kerry, Madeleine Albright, Condoleezza Rice and former CIA directors Michael Hayden and Michael Morell. Over the weekend, the appeals court in San Francisco denied the administration's request for an immediate suspension of the federal judge's temporary restraining order that blocked the implementation of key parts of the travel ban. But the court did say it would consider the government's request after receiving more information. Trump faces an uphill battle in the San Francisco court, which is dominated by liberal-leaning judges. And appeals courts are generally leery of upending the status quo, which in this case is the suspension of the ban. On a visit to the military's Central Command headquarters in Tampa, Florida, Trump defended his order."Radical Islamic terrorists are determined to strike our homeland as they did on 9/11," he said. We need strong programs for people who love our country, Trump said, adding thathe did not want to allow people who want to destroy us and destroy our country into the United States. The measures put a 90-day ban on entry for citizens from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen and a 120-day halt to all refugees.Top technology companies, including Apple(AAPL.O) , Google (GOOGL.O) and Microsoft(MSFT.O) banded together with nearly 100 firms on Sunday to file a "friend-of-the-court" brief with the appeals court, arguing the travel ban "inflicts significant harm on American business, innovation, and growth." PRESIDENTIAL POWERS Curbing entry to the United States as a national security measure was a central premise of Trump's run for office, originally proposed during his campaign as a temporary ban on Muslims.U.S. presidents have in the past claimed sweeping powers to fight terrorism, but individuals, states and civil rights groups challenging the travel order say his administration has offered no evidence it answers a threat. Protesters have taken to the street accusing Trump of discriminating against Muslims. The government says the president is exercising his constitutional authority to control borders and that the law allows him to suspend the entry of any class of foreigners who "would be detrimental to the interest of the United States." The New America think tank says that all of the people who have carried out fatal attacks inspired by Islamist militancy in the United States since the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks have been U.S. citizens or legal residents. None of those attackers emigrated or came from a family that emigrated from one of the countries listed in the travel ban. (bit.ly/2keSmUO)A businessman who had never held public office until he assumed the presidency on Jan. 20, Trump has vented his frustration over the legal challenges with a volley of attacks on the judiciary. Trump derided U.S. District Judge James Robart in Seattle, who issued the temporary stay on Friday, as a "so-called judge." On Sunday, he broadened his Twitter attacks on Robart, who was appointed by former Republican President George W. Bush, to include the "court system." "Just cannot believe a judge would put our country in such peril," Trump tweeted. "If something happens blame him and court system." Trump did not elaborate on what threats the country potentially faced.It is unusual for a sitting president to attack a member of the judiciary, which the U.S. Constitution designates as a check on the power of the presidency and Congress. Democrats seized on Trump's remarks to raise questions about how independent his Supreme Court nominee, Neil Gorsuch, might be. (Additional reporting by Lawrence Hurley and Susan Heavey in Washington; Writing by Alistair Bell; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Frances Kerry) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. Karachi: An Afghan diplomat was shot dead on Monday by a guard at the Afghan consulate in Pakistan's southern city of Karachi in a personal dispute, officials said. The consulate's third secretary was killed by the consulate guard, also an Afghan national, who had been arrested, police official Saqib Ismail told Reuters. "The guard used his automatic weapon, firing multiple bullets," Ismail said. Afghanistan's foreign ministry issued a statement identifying the murdered diplomat as Muhammad Zaki Abdu. "Police authorities immediately intervened to minimise further loss of life," read the statement. Afghan ambassador to Pakistan Omar Zakhilwal described the shooting on his official Facebook account. "Firing inside Afg Consulate General in Karachi at around 12:30 pm today ... has been carried out by an Afghan guard inside the compound resulting in fatality of one of our diplomats," he wrote. Deputy Inspector General of Police Azad Khan told Reuters: "So far, from what we have gathered from investigation, the killing seems to be the result of some sort of personal grudge between the guard and third secretary. We have found there was a history of tensions between the two persons." BEIRUT The Syrian government and rebel groups swapped dozens of women prisoners and hostages, some of them with their children, in Hama province on Tuesday evening, a monitor said. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a British-based war monitoring group, said government representatives and rebel officials exchanged 112 women in the rebel-held Qalaat al-Madiq town in rural Hama. Many had been detained for years. About half were released from government prisons and then taken to opposition-held areas, the Observatory said. In return, the others were set free by various rebel groups and shuttled to government-controlled areas along the coast. Such exchanges were rare in the nearly six-year-old war, but had been occuring more often in recent months, the Observatory said. The war pits President Bashar al-Assad's government, backed by Russia and Iran, against an array of mostly Sunni rebel groups, including some backed by Turkey, the United States and Gulf monarchies. The conflict has killed hundreds of thousands of people, made more than half of Syrian homeless and created the world's worst refugee crisis. (Reporting by Ellen Francis; Editing by Angus MacSwan) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. By David Brunnstrom and Lesley Wroughton | WASHINGTON WASHINGTON U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has underscored Washington's intent to strengthen ties with Australia, Japan and South Korea, the State Department said on Tuesday, a move aimed at reassuring allies unnerved by the campaign rhetoric of new President Donald Trump.In separate calls with counterparts from the three long-time allies, they agreed to work closely to tackle threats from North Korea's nuclear ambitions and increased tensions in the East and South China seas, State Department spokesman Mark Toner said,"Secretary Tillerson reiterated the Administration's intent to strengthen our military alliances, our economic partnerships, and our diplomatic cooperation," he said in a statement.Tillerson expressed interest in early meetings with his counterparts "and expressed his deep respect for their nations' contributions to regional security, global prosperity, democratic institutions, and the rule of law," it said. The calls come at a time of raised concerns in the Asia-Pacific about Trump's attitude to the region.During his election campaign, Trump appeared to question U.S. alliances with Tokyo and Seoul and complained that they were not sharing enough of the cost of the U.S. security umbrella. Trump has also criticized Japan's trade policies as damaging to U.S. jobs.More recently ties with Australia were strained after details of an acrimonious phone call between Trump and Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull emerged and the former described a deal between the two nations on refugee resettlement as "dumb." Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is due to visit Washington for a two-day summit with Trump from Friday that is expected to focus on security ties in the face of a rising China and trade.Earlier on Tuesday, Japan's Kyodo news agency quoted Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida as saying that Tillerson had confirmed that a long-standing commitment by Washington to defend Japanese territory applies to the Senkakus, a group of small islands that China claims and calls the Diaoyus. The State Department declined to comment on the Kyodo report but U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis reaffirmed America's commitment to its mutual defense treaty with Japan on Friday when he met Abe in Tokyo and in a call with Abe in late January. Trump said the U.S. security commitment was "ironclad.Turnbull's leadership was questioned after he was berated by Trump and an opinion poll published on Monday showed support for his coalition had slipped to its lowest level since he took power 17 months ago and that his Liberal-National coalition would easily fall if an election were held now. (Reporting by Lesley Wroughton and David Brunnstrom; editing by Diane Craft, Bernard Orr) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. Washington: The US should "levy costs" on Pakistan for perpetuating terrorism in India and Afghanistan and must quickly formulate a new approach toward the country to prevent it from using terror for foreign policy ends, top US think-tanks have recommended to the Trump administration. "For too long, the US has given Pakistan a pass on its support for some terrorist groups based in Pakistan, including those used against India. The US squandered a valuable opportunity in the aftermath of 9/11 and the 2001-2002 India-Pakistani military crisis to alter the Pakistani military's fundamental calculations on the use of terrorism for foreign policy ends," said the report prepared by eminent South Asia experts from nearly 10 top American think tanks. "The objective of the Trump administration's policy toward Pakistan must be to make it more and more costly for Pakistani leaders to employ a strategy of supporting terrorist proxies to achieve regional strategic goals," said the report titled 'A New US Approach to Pakistan: Enforcing Aid Conditions without Cutting Ties', which would be formally released on Friday. "There should be no ambiguity that the US considers Pakistan's strategy of supporting terrorist proxies to achieve regional strategic advantage as a threat to US interests. US policy must also pay attention to non-proliferation goals while dealing with Pakistan," it said. "Pakistani military leaders continue to support terrorist groups that attack India in an effort to keep it off balance and to draw international mediation into the dispute with India over Kashmir," said the report. "Pakistan's use of terrorist groups as part of its security and foreign policy is a function of its obsession with India, which it perceives as an existential threat. From an outside perspective, Pakistan's paranoia regarding India is unfounded," it said. "Pakistan's seemingly unconstrained expansion of its nuclear arsenal, particularly the development of tactical nuclear weapons and extendedrange missile systems, also remains a cause for concern, especially with regard to India," said the report co-authored by Lisa Curtis from The Heritage Foundation and Husain Haqqani, the former Pakistan Ambassador to the US, who is now with The Hudson Institute. With India-Pakistan tensions on the rise, the report recommends that the Trump administration must formulate a new policy approach toward Pakistan quickly. The report, which is believed to have become part of the internal deliberations of President Donald Trump's administration, on what to do with Pakistan says as a first step, the US must warn Pakistan that its status as a Major Non-Nato Ally (MNNA) is in serious jeopardy. By Noah Browning | DUBAI DUBAI Yemen is emerging as a test ground for U.S. President Donald Trump's forceful approach to al Qaeda and Iran, but his first actions there risk drawing his administration further into its convoluted two-year-old war.A U.S. raid last month killed several al Qaeda militants but also left a Navy SEAL and several civilians dead, while the deployment of a destroyer to patrol the Red Sea coast drew the ire of Yemen's Houthi movement, an ally of Iran.The flurry of operations since Trump took power on Jan. 20 included three drone strikes on suspected al Qaeda militants and increased logistical support for a Saudi-led campaign against the Houthis that began under his predecessor Barack Obama.Washington has long supported the exiled Yemeni government against its Houthi and al Qaeda foes, who are also fighting each other. But Trump's more muscular approach may have unintended consequences, analysts and Yemeni officials warn, reversing efforts by Obama to achieve a peace deal and firing up two organisations hostile to U.S. interests."Rather than advancing a political solution that almost everyone agrees is the only way to solve the conflict, it seems the Trump administration's actions are just adding fuel to the fire," said Adam Baron, a Yemen expert at the European Council on Foreign relation.Reacting to the Navy SEAL raid, a Yemeni tribal leader said: "If they had just bombed the place it would have been much easier and less risky, but it looks like Trump is trying to say 'I'm a man of action'.""It looks like the new President has watched a lot of Steven Seagal movies," he added, referring to the action film star."PROXY TERRORIST" Seizing the capital Sanaa, the Houthis drove out the internationally recognized government in 2015 and now control most population centres in the largely desert and mountainous country at the tip of the Arabian Peninsula. The Shi'ite Islamist movement, which denies receiving any military aid from Iran, portrays Washington as an aggressor in the war that has killed over 10,000 people and unleashed mass hunger and disease.The latest U.S. actions risk fuelling that narrative.After the Houthis attacked a Saudi frigate off the Red Sea coast last week, U.S. officials said the destroyer USS Cole - the same vessel that was attacked by al Qaeda off Yemen in 2000, with the loss of 17 sailors - had arrived at the nearby Bab al-Mandab Strait to protect international waterways.Trump's new national security adviser Michael Flynn then accused the Houthis of being one of Iran's "proxy terrorist groups" - a label the last administration and even Saudi Arabia had avoided in hopes of reviving stalled Yemeni peace talks.Ahmed Hamed, information minister for the pro-Houthi authorities in Sanaa, fired back that the deployment was part of an Israeli-American plot to weaken Yemen's patriotic resistance and empower militant groups. "America and Israel are seeking to enable al Qaeda and Islamic State in the Bab al-Mandab," he said, dismissing what he called a "public relations tempest about Iranian meddling."While former Secretary of State John Kerry repeatedly visited the Gulf to try to seal an elusive deal between the Houthis and their government foes, the lack of any explicit commitment by Trump to those efforts could bode ill."The Iranians would love to see the Americans caught in a quagmire in Yemen, and vague talk of imposing red lines - in this case on Iranian behaviour - may not end well," said Baron."HE FOUGHT THE HOUTHIS" Pro-government forces backed by Saudi Arabia are fighting Houthi loyalists in battlefronts stretching throughout Yemen and across its knotted array of armed tribal and militant groups.It was into this explosive environment that U.S. Navy SEALs rappelled on a moonless night on Jan. 29, engaging in a firefight that killed several suspected al Qaeda militants in a southern village.By daylight, one of the commandos had been killed and local medics said women and children were among some 30 dead Yemenis, allegations the United States said it was investigating.Though al Qaeda claimed one of the dead, Abdulraoof al-Dhahab, as one of their "martyrs", some officials on the government side denied that and said he was an important partner with local tribes in battles against the Houthis."Trump must have launched the raid without enough information - Abdulraoof was a good, honest man, not with al Qaeda. He fought the Houthis," a local tribal leader and security official told Reuters.Some see a risk that the armed incursion could alienate local opinion and even encourage al Qaeda recruitment."The raid ignores the local political context, to the detriment of an effective counter-terrorism strategy," April Longley Alley of the International Crisis Group wrote in a report last week.Such commando actions risk bolstering al Qaeda's "narrative of the need to violently oppose what they claim is a U.S. war against Muslims," she warned. (Editing by William Maclean and Mark Trevelyan) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. By Valerie Volcovici | WASHINGTON WASHINGTON The U.S. Army secretary could make a decision on the final permit needed to complete the controversial Dakota Access Pipeline as soon as Friday, the government's lawyer told a Washington, D.C., court on Monday. The Army Corp of Engineers told the court it has submitted its recommendation to Robert Speer, the acting secretary of the Army, on whether it needs to complete a full environmental review before it can grant the final permit allowing work to start on a contested tunnel under a lake. The review was requested in December by former President Barack Obama.Opponents argue that letting the pipeline cross under Lake Oahe, a reservoir that is the water source for the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation, would damage sacred lands and could leak oil into the tribe's water supply.Proponents believe the pipeline is necessary to transport U.S. oil safely and that it would create jobs. Jan Hasselman, an attorney with Earthjustice, who represents the Standing Rock Sioux, said the tribe will challenge the U.S. government in court if the Army grants the easement. The tribe, along with other Native American groups, environmentalists and other activists, have opposed the $3.8 billion Dakota Access Pipeline led by Energy Transfer Partners LP (ETP.N). He said it is unclear whether construction could begin while the decision is challenged or whether the court will grant an injunction blocking the work. Our position is the tribe's treaty rights and the law require the full (Environmental Impact Study) process that the government initiated in December. Issuing the easement without that process will be a serious violation of the law, Hasselman told Reuters.A spokesman for the Army was not immediately available to comment. Energy Transfer Partners declined to comment on the legal proceedings. At the hearing at the D.C. Circuit Court on Monday, lawyers for ETP said the pipeline would become fully operational around 90 days after construction begins. If the easement is granted, oil can start crossing under the lake, a reservoir that is part of the Missouri River, as soon as 60 days after construction starts. (Additional reporting by Liz Hampton in Houston; Editing by Dan Grebler) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. New Delhi: Piling up pressure on Pakistan, the US along with the UK and France have moved the UN for designating Pathankot attack mastermind and Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) chief Masood Azhar as a global terrorist but have run into Chinese opposition. China has put a "hold" on the US-initiated proposal, which comes barely weeks after India's bid to get Azhar banned by the UN were scuttled by Beijing last December. This has prompted India to take up the matter with the Chinese government. NIA court issues proclamation order against Maulana Masood Azhar and three others. According to senior government sources, the US, supported by two other permanent members of UN Security Council -the UK and France- moved a proposal at the UN's Sanctions Committee 1267 in the second-half of the last month to proscribe Azhar, adding India had no role in the proposal. The proposal, which was finalised after "consultations" between Washington and New Delhi, said JeM is a designated terror outfit and so its leaders cannot go scot-free, sources said. It was submitted just a day before the inauguration of US President Donald Trump, according to officials. "However, China opposed the US move by putting a hold on the proposal," a source said, adding the Chinese action came just before the expiry of the 10-day deadline for any proposal to be adopted or blocked or to be put on hold. Asked about India's reaction, External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Vikas Swarup said, "We have been informed of this development and the matter has been taken up with the Chinese government." However, he did not elaborate when and where the issue was taken up with China. The "hold" remains for six months and can be further extended by three months. During this period, it can be anytime converted into a "block", thereby, ending the life of the proposal. UN Sanction Committee's listing would have forced imposition of asset freeze and travel ban on Azhar by countries including Pakistan. China has been constantly opposing efforts to get Azhar banned by the UN, which has proscribed his outfit JeM in 2001. The Chinese opposition is also seen by many here as an action taken at the behest of its "all-weather ally" Pakistan. After the attack on the IAF base at Pathankot in January last year, India in February wrote to the UN calling for immediate action to list Azhar under the Al-Qaeda Sanctions Committee. The efforts faced stiff opposition by China, which twice put a "technical hold" before finally blocking the Indian proposal in December. Reacting sharply to Chinese action, India had said that "We note with concern China's decision to block the proposal to list Masood Azhar", asserting that its proposal, submitted to the 15-member 1267 Sanctions Committee of the UN Security Council, had received the strong backing of all other members of the Committee. Swarup had also said, "As a consequence of this decision, the UN Security Council has again been prevented from acting against the leader of a listed terrorist organisation. We had expected China would have been more understanding of the danger posed to all by terrorism and would join India and others in fighting the common challenge of terrorism. NIA court issues proclamation order against Pak-based terror outfit JeM's chief Maulana Masood Azhar and three others. The Kremlin on Monday urged US network Fox News to apologise after its presenter called Russian President Vladimir Putin "a killer" while interviewing US President Donald Trump. "We consider such words from a Fox News correspondent unacceptable and offensive," Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists in a conference call. "To be honest we would prefer to receive an apology addressed to the president from such a respected television company," the Kremlin spokesman added. Fox News's Bill O'Reilly in an interview broadcast Sunday pressed Trump on Putin's alleged links to extrajudicial killings of journalists and dissidents, saying: "he's a killer though, Putin's a killer." Trump answered: "We've got a lot of killers. You think our country's so innocent?" "Take a look at what we've done too. We've made a lot of mistakes," Trump added. Asked to react to Trump's response, Peskov said "in this case I would prefer to leave this without comment." Trump has prompted a political firestorm with his remarks on Putin in the interview broadcast ahead of the Super Bowl. "I do respect him. Well, I respect a lot of people, but that doesn't mean I'll get along with them," Trump said. Trump and Putin had their first call since the US president took office on 28 January, which the White House called "a significant start to improving the relationship between the United States and Russia." Meanwhile, close to home, slamming The New York Times for inaccurate reporting, the White House has said that the popular American daily owes an apology to the US President Donald Trump. "I would say that story was so riddled with inaccuracies and lies that they owe the President an apology for the way there were just literally blatant factual errors." "And it's unacceptable to see that kind of reporting, or so-called reporting. That is literally the epitome of fake news," White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer told reporters travelling with Trump abroad Air Force One from Tampa to Andrews Air Force base. "I don't think the President owns a bathrobe, or definitely doesn't wear one. There was no meetings in conference..from top to bottom, it made up stories that just don't exist," he said, blasting The New York Times for a lead story it published on Monday on the internal differences within the White House staffers. "When Mr Trump is not watching television in his bathrobe or on his phone reaching out to old campaign hands and advisers, he will sometimes set off to explore the unfamiliar surroundings of his new home," the daily reported. Clashes among staff are common in the opening days of every administration, but they have seldom been so public and so pronounced this early, it added. With inputs from agencies Last year, the Indian Commerce Ministry had rejected Apples request to sell refurbished iPhones in India. Now, according to a latest report from Bloomberg, the company is reviving the idea of selling refurbished phones in the country. Apple said it will have manufacturing infrastructure needed to make them compliant with quality standards. The company has reportedly told officials that its certified pre-owned program would meet environmental and quality requirements and also be open for third party-audits and checks. As per the report this is one of the concessions in the deal to begin manufacturing phones in India. The Indian government is concerned over allowing Apple and other vendors to import used phones in the country as they would flood the market with cheap goods, and this in turn could affect the Make in India initiative. Apple wants a fifteen year tax holiday on imported parts and equipment. The company had previously claimed that refurbished iPhones are not second hand devices and are made by the original equipment manufacturers and thus they come with the same quality assurance as the new devices. They even boast of one year warranty and sport a new serial number and IMEI number. Last week, the government of Karnataka welcomed Apples proposal to begin initial manufacturing operations in Bangalore. Apple shipped record 2.5 million iPhone units in India during 2016. Source More than 40 people have already pleaded guilty in a $200 million health care fraud scheme run by a New Jersey blood testing lab. This week, the government's evidence will be tested for the first time by a 79-year-old family doctor who hopes to convince a jury of his innocence. Bernard Greenspan is charged with crimes including violating federal anti-kickback laws. Opening statements are scheduled for Tuesday. Greenspan was arrested for his connection with Parsippany-based Biodiagnostic Laboratory Services. The now-defunct company's owners have pleaded guilty to bribing dozens of doctors in exchange for patient referrals. Prosecutors say Greenspan was bribed with disguised lease payments, cash for holiday parties and a job for an alleged mistress. Greenspan's attorney says his client's dealings with the lab were legitimate business transactions. South Korea's SK Hynix Inc <000660.KS> has submitted an initial bid to acquire a stake in Toshiba Corp's <6502.T> memory chip business, a person familiar with the matter told Reuters on Tuesday. 6502.T>000660.KS> The person said it has not been decided how much a stake SK Hynix, the world's No. 2 memory chip maker, will acquire in Toshiba's memory business as the deal is in early stages. A SK Hynix spokesman declined to comment, and Toshiba could not be immediately reached for comment. (Reporting by Se Young Lee; Editing by Chris Reese) They're two of the biggest pharmaceutical companies in the world, but Merck (NYSE: MRK) and GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE: GSK) have had very different paths lately. While Merck's stock is up close to 30% over the last 12 months, shares of GlaxoSmithKline have declined. Which is the better pick for investors now? Here's how Merck and Glaxo compare. Image source: Getty Images. The case for Merck There's one major reason behind Merck's tremendous stock performance: Keytruda. The cancer drug is off to a great start after receiving U.S. regulatory approval for treating advanced melanoma in 2014. Merck subsequently won approval for several other indications for Keytruda, including as a second-line treatment for non-small cell lung cancer and as a second-line treatment for head and neck squamous cell carcinoma. Perhaps the biggest story for Keytruda so far, though, is the FDA approval in October for the drug as a first-line treatment ofnon-small cell lung cancer. Merck is now emerging as the clear leader in the large lung cancer market in the U.S. and a major player in other oncology indications. Keytruda is Merck's top star, but the company does have other solid performers in its lineup. Sales for its vaccines are increasing at an impressive rate, as are sales for antibiotic Cubucin and cholesterol drug Zetia. Merck is awaiting regulatory approval for four drugs. Its pipeline includes 24 late-stage clinical programs, 10 of which are evaluating Keytruda in additional indications. Merck also has 12 other phase 2 programs. One of the biggest reasons to like Merck is its dividend. The dividend yield currently stands just below 3%. Although the company currently is using much of its earnings to cover the dividend payments, Merck's earnings growth prospects should allow the dividends to keep flowing at least at current levels. The case for GlaxoSmithKline GlaxoSmithKline doesn't have a single powerhouse drug like Merck does with Keytruda. However, the drugmaker does have a couple of big winners in Tivicay and Triumeq. Sales for theHIV drugs soared 70% year over year in the third quarter. Like Merck, Glaxo is also seeing strong sales growth for its vaccines. Sales for quite a few other products in the company's lineup are increasing as well, including several of its respiratory drugs. However, the main problem for GlaxoSmithKline is that sales for its top-selling drug, Seretide/Advair, are falling significantly. Generic competition has taken its market share away since Glaxo lost patent exclusivity for the respiratory drug.Still, though, GlaxoSmithKline's newer products are helping considerably. Around a quarter of the company's total pharmaceutical sales now come from new drugs. Better yet, more winners could be on the way. Glaxo hopes to win regulatory approval for its Shingrix shingles vaccine soon. The company's pipeline includes over 90 clinical programs. GlaxoSmithKline claims one of the highest dividend yields around at 4.7%. However, the company is spending more to pay the dividend than it's making right now. Better buy Which of these stocks is the better pick? GlaxoSmithKline's pipeline could position the stock to be a bigger winner over time. Wall Street analysts expect Glaxo's earnings to grow more than 13% annually on average over the next few years. However, Merck appears to be in better shape right now. Keytruda is on its way to becoming the company's biggest seller. I think the edge, for now at least, goes to Merck. Glaxo's pipeline is promising, but there's still plenty of uncertainty. Investors can pretty much bank on Keytruda's success. That gives the edge to Merck. 10 stocks we like better than Merck and Co. When investing geniuses David and Tom Gardner have a stock tip, it can pay to listen. After all, the newsletter they have run for over a decade, Motley Fool Stock Advisor, has tripled the market.* David and Tom just revealed what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy right now... and Merck and Co. wasn't one of them! That's right -- they think these 10 stocks are even better buys. Click here to learn about these picks! *Stock Advisor returns as of January 4, 2017 Keith Speights has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. When you're ready to put retirement planning in your own hands, opening an IRA would be a logical leap. But before jumping in with both feet, it's important to understand how the broker you choose will affect what you pay, and what you can invest in. Let's look at one of the internet's most popular brokers, E*Trade, to review what it has to offer for IRA investors. Commission prices and trading costs Commission prices have come a long way from E*Trade's early days, when transactions were priced at $40 each. Today, the most common trade types (stock and ETF trades) start at less than $10 each. Stocks and ETFs Stock Options Mutual Funds $9.99 per trade $9.99 + $0.75 per contract $19.99 per purchase Data source: company website. E*Trade offers lower prices to its most active traders, who see commissions fall to $7.99 when they make 150 trades or more in a calendar quarter. But even low-volume investors can score some discounts thanks to the company's lengthy list of fee-free mutual funds and commission-free ETFs. And don't forget the perks for signing up -- special offers for new IRAs include commission-free trades and cash bonuses. Mutual fund selection and commission-free ETFs E*Trade isn't just about stocks or stock options trading. The platform has more than 8,000 mutual funds to choose from, of which roughly one-third are no-transaction-fee funds that you can invest in for free! Total Mutual Funds No-Load, No-Transaction-Fee Funds (NTF) Commission-Free ETFs More than 8,000 More than 2,600 More than 100 (Wisdom Tree, Global X, and more) Data source: company website. Investors who typically use ETFs should spend some time with its list of commission-free choices. Itscommission-free ETFs are primarily niche funds that focus on specific investing styles (such as dividend stocks) or sectors and geographies, which aren't as common on other brokers' lists. Minimum deposit requirement for E*Trade IRAs E*Trade drops its typical initial minimum deposit of $500 for IRAs, thus allowing investors to start with whatever they please. Of course, some mutual funds have their own minimums, while stocks and ETFs have practical limitations (you'll need to have enough in your account to buy at least one full share). That said, a minimum deposit requirement won't get in the way of simply opening an account. No minimum IRA accounts make it easy to balance the needs of your budget with the need to save for retirement. Image source: Getty Images. International stocks and ADRs E*Trade generally follows the discount brokerage "norm," offering limited access to international investments by way of ADRs or funds that hold foreign securities. Type of Investment Availability American depositary receipts(ADRs) Yes Stocks traded on international stock markets No Mutual funds and ETFs of foreign stocks Yes Data source: company. Although E*Trade doesn't offer the ability to trade on international exchanges, many of the best-known companies around the world have ADRs listed in the United States. Toyota, Unilever, and BP are examples of companies that are primarily listed on international markets but also have a U.S. ticker. Therefore, small-cap investors may feel more limited than large-cap investors as smaller companies are less likely to have an ADR. Mobile app Most brokers make it possible to manage your portfolio on the go with a mobile trading app for phones or tablets. Here's how E*Trade's users recently rated its mobile app on popular platforms, with ratings as of Feb. 1, 2017: Apple App Store Google Play 1.9 stars 3.9 stars Data source: relevant app stores. IRA account fees Some brokers charge annual maintenance fees (for keeping an account open) or inactivity fees (for failing to meet the brokers' minimum trading requirements). We don't need to spend too much time here, as E*Trade doesn't charge a maintenance or inactivity fee on IRAs, but keep these fees in mind while you search for the best broker for your IRA. Research and retirement planning tools E*Trade customers receive access to a large library of research reports and insights. Brokerage customers enjoy access to third-party research from S&P Capital IQ, Morningstar, and Thomson Reuters, just to name a few companies from a long list of providers. For retirement planning, the company'sMy Virtual Advisor tool can help you design a portfolio based on inputs that include your retirement timeline, income, and risk tolerance. The free tool is pretty handy and can spit out a model portfolio in just a few minutes. Is E*Trade right for your IRA? Investors can find a lot to like about E*Trade as a broker for their traditional or Roth IRA. Its research library includes some best-known third-party outfits, and it offers a unique assortment of commission-free ETFs. That said, its commission prices aren't necessarily the lowest, and commission discounts are reserved for only the most active traders. The truth is that no broker is the one-size-fits-all solution to every investor. What really matters is how the broker fits inside the specific needs of your portfolio. To be clear, The Motley Fool does not endorse any particular brokerage, but we can help you find one that is a good fit for you. VisitFool.com's IRA Centerto compare leading discount brokers, and see if you qualify for a special offer just for opening an account. 10 stocks we like better thanWal-MartWhen investing geniuses David and TomGardner have a stock tip, it can pay to listen. After all, the newsletter theyhave run for over a decade, the Motley Fool Stock Advisor, has tripled the market.* David and Tomjust revealed what they believe are theten best stocksfor investors to buy right now... and Wal-Mart wasn't one of them! That's right -- theythink these 10 stocks are even better buys. Click hereto learn about these picks! *StockAdvisor returns as of December 12, 2016The author(s) may have a position in any stocks mentioned. Jordan Wathen has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends WisdomTree Investments. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. General Motors (NYSE:GM) hourly employees in the U.S. will each receive record profit-sharing checks of $12,000, reflecting the automakeras best-ever earnings in North America. GM said Tuesday it earned $12 billion before taxes in North America last year, a 9.1% increase versus 2015. Like its Big Three rivals Ford (NYSE:F) and Fiat Chrysler (NYSE:FCAU), GM has benefited from consumer demand for lucrative SUVs and pickup trucks in the U.S. The company has also cut back on selling to fleets, a business that generates smaller profits. Based on North America results, GMas 52,000 union workers will get the record profit-sharing checks that are worth $1,000 more year-over-year. The checks will cost GM about $624 million. Automotive manufacturing is at the forefront of conversations in the White House about American jobs. GM CEO Mary Barra met with President Donald Trump last week as a member of the presidentas council of chief executives. Ford CEO Mark Fields and Fiat Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne have also met with President Trump, who has been critical of the industryas production of small cars in Mexico. U.S. auto sales are expected to moderate in 2017 following back-to-back years of record new-vehicle deliveries. Sales of passenger cars continued to slide in January, and manufacturers have cut some production to focus on supplying dealers with popular SUVs. GM let go of 2,000 workers in Ohio and Michigan last month amid slow sales of small cars. The Ohio plant makes the Chevrolet Cruze, and the Michigan facility makes the Chevrolet Camaro and two Cadillac sedans, the CTS and ATS. Globally, GMas net income for the full year dropped 2.7% to $9.4 billion, although revenue climbed 9.2% to $166.4 billion. Results in China were slightly softer, and GM posted a $257 million loss in Europe due to the weakening British pound. Fourth-quarter net income fell 71% to $1.8 billion overall on revenue of $43.9 billion. Adjusted earnings of $1.28 per share beat Wall Streetas forecast of $1.17. GM recently offered its 2017 outlook, calling for strong earnings of $6 to $6.50 per share on an adjusted basis. Excluding one-time charges, GM booked earnings of $6.12 a share in 2016. Last Friday, Judge James Robart issued a temporary halt on President Donald Trumps executive order on immigration. However, in an effort to try and restore the executive order, the Trump administration asked for an appeal with the Justice Department. Even though it might be a challenge to remove the halt, White House Counselor Kellyanne Conway believes that the Trump administration will be able to restore the executive order. The judge in Seattle seems to have issued a very broad nation wide injunction. Were not even sure here if the litigants here have standing, the states dont have standing. The individuals would have standing and an individual would have to show standing and also harm, so we think this is overly broad..We are confident that we will prevail on the merits, we know the Ninth Circuit (court of appeals) is tough, She told the FOX Business Networks Lou Dobbs. If the Ninth Circuit decides to keep the executive order on hold, the Trump administration could take the case to the Supreme Court. Out of the 12 regional circuits, the Ninth Circuit has the most reversed cases. This means that even if the Ninth Circuit votes against Trumps executive order, the Trump administration could bring the case to the Supreme Court to try and have the decision reversed to keep the executive order in place. Conway added that The President is confident that we will prevail on the merits and he's very confident that he's within his constitutional and statuary authority to protect the homeland. First lady Melania Trump has said little about what she intends to do with her prominent position. But in new court documents, her lawyers say that the "multi-year term" during which she "is one of the most photographed women in the world" could mean millions of dollars for her personal brand. While the new documents don't specifically mention her term as first lady, the unusual statement about her expected profits drew swift condemnation from ethics watchdogs as inappropriate profiteering from her high-profile position, which is typically centered on public service. The statement came Monday in a libel lawsuit the first lady re-filed in a state trial court in Manhattan. Trump has been suing the corporation that publishes the Daily Mail's website over a now-retracted report that claimed she once worked as an escort. In the filing Monday, Trump's lawyers argued that the report was not only false and libelous, but also damaged her ability to profit off her high profile and affected her business opportunities. Trump "had the unique, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, as an extremely famous and well-known person, as well as a former professional model, brand spokesperson and successful businesswoman, to launch a broad-based commercial brand in multiple product categories, each of which could have garnered multi-million dollar business relationships for a multi-year term during which plaintiff is one of the most photographed women in the world," the lawsuit said. The products could have included apparel, accessories, jewelry, cosmetics, hair care and fragrance, among others, the suit says. The first lady is seeking compensatory and punitive damages of at least $150 million. Richard Painter, who advised former President George W. Bush on ethics, said the language in the lawsuit shows Melania Trump is engaging "in an unprecedented, clear breach of rules about using her government position for private gain. This is a very serious situation where she says she intends to make a lot of money. That ought to be repudiated by the White House or investigated by Congress." Painter is part of a group of attorneys suing the president for an alleged violation of a constitutional clause that prohibits presidents from receiving foreign gifts or payments. In response to questions from The Associated Press, Charles Harder, Melania Trump's attorney, said "the first lady has no intention of using her position for profit and will not do so. It is not a possibility. Any statements to the contrary are being misinterpreted." Harder did not respond to a follow-up question about what the lawsuit means by "once-in-a-lifetime opportunity." To Painter and others, there is no ambiguity. "She's not talking about the future," Painter said. "She's talking about earning money now." Scott Amey, general counsel of the Washington watchdog Project on Government Oversight, said it is "another example of the first family blurring the line between public service and private business interests." Trump previously filed the lawsuit against Mail Media Inc. in Maryland, but a judge earlier this month ruled the case was filed in the wrong court. The lawsuit is now filed in New York, where the corporation has offices. Trump also had sued blogger Webster Tarpley for reporting the unsubstantiated rumors. Trump filed the lawsuit in Maryland after both Tarpley and the Daily Mail issued retractions. On Tuesday, Melania Trump's attorneys said they'd settled the Maryland case against Tarpley. "Mr. Tarpley has issued the attached retraction and apology to Mrs. Trump and her family, and agreed to pay her a substantial sum as a settlement," Harder's office said in a statement. Melania Trump's previous work in marketing has drawn scrutiny before. On Inauguration Day, the official White House biography for Melania Trump originally included an explicit reference to her jewelry collection, which it noted was sold on the home-shopping channel QVC. By the next day, that bio had been edited and simplified to say that she had "launched her own jewelry collection." A spokeswoman for the first lady said the website was updated out of "an abundance of caution" and that the jewelry line is no longer available in any case. President Donald Trump continues to financially benefit from his global business empire, breaking from past practice. Previous presidents and their families have divested from business interests and placed their holdings in a blind trust, although there is no legal requirement to do so. Trump handed daily management of the real estate, property management and licensing to his adult sons and a longtime Trump Organization employee. The Rio Tinto group has decided to hand over a diamond mine to the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh where the project is located. Work at the mining giant's Bunder diamond mine stopped last year when the company announced that it would end the project to cut costs and conserve cash. Development of the mine would have cost the company around $330 million. Handing over the mine and equipment to the Madhya Pradesh government would help the state to package the assets if the state decides to auction the mineral rights, Rio Tinto said in a statement Tuesday. The diamond deposits were discovered by the Australia-based company in 2004. Rio Tinto signed an agreement to develop the mine in 2010. What happened Shares of department store chains Macy's (NYSE: M), Kohl's (NYSE: KSS), and J.C. Penney (NYSE: JCP) tumbled in January, according to data provided byS&P Global Market Intelligence, dropping 16.2%, 20%, and 20.2%, respectively. All three companies reported lackluster holiday sales results, featuring comparable-sales declines across the board and slashed profit guidance at Macy's and Kohl's. So what The department store industry has been in a funk for years, with total revenue slumping considerably over the past decade. Discounters like Wal-Mart, wholesale clubs like Costco, and online retailers like Amazon.com have all been taking their toll. The department store model of generating gross margin in the mid-30s and advertising heavily to drive store traffic is in genuine peril. Image source: Macy's. The holiday season has become an all-out promotional slugfest to attract foot traffic, and the department stores are losing the battle. Macy's reported a 2.1% decline in comparable sales during November and December, with weakness in handbags and watches hurting its results. The company pointed to changing consumer behavior as having a major impact on sales, and while its e-commerce business grew at a double-digit rate, it's not yet big enough to offset the poor performance of its stores. Macy's slashed its guidance for 2016 due to its poor performance during the holidays. The company now expects comparable sales to slump by around 3%, the low end of its previous guidance range. Adjusted EPS, previously expected between $3.15 and $3.40, is now expected to come in between $2.95 and $3.10. The same story played out at Kohl's. Despite efforts to manage inventory and avoid profit-killing markdowns, Kohl's holiday season was its worst in years. Comparable sales in November and December slumped 2.1%, down from a 0.4% increase during the same period in 2015. The company saw volatile sales throughout the holiday season, with weakness sandwiched between a strong Black Friday and week before Christmas. Kohl's also slashed its full-year guidance in response to its disappointing performance. Adjusted EPS is now expected to come in between $3.60 and $3.65, down from a previous guidance range of $3.80 to $4.00. Gross margin will be lower than anticipated due to the mix and timing of sales and a competitive promotional environment. J.C. Penney's results look best on the surface, but the company's sales are still so depressed that anything short of growth is a disaster. Comparable sales fell 0.8% during November and December for J.C. Penney, a number that would have been viewed as borderline-positive for either Macy's or Kohl's. But J.C. Penney is still unprofitable as is works to slowly recover from the steep sales decline it suffered in 2012, so declining holiday sales are a major problem. J.C. Penney still expects to produce EBITDA of around $1 billion during 2016, and it predicts to continue its recent streak of producing positive operating profit. But interest on its excessive debt load will erase that profit and then some. Now what Action is already being taken in response to the weak holiday results. Macy's announced on Jan. 4 that it plans to close 68 stores by mid-2017, with another 30 expected to be closed over the next few years. The company is also restructuring its operations, with plans to eliminate layers of management, cut non-payroll costs, and reduce its field infrastructure. As part of this effort, 6,200 jobs are expected to be eliminated. Macy's has also been selling some of its real estate, and that effort could intensify going forward as the company looks to unlock value. Rumors of a potential takeover bid from Hudson Bay, the owner of Saks Fifth Avenue, surfaced in February, pushing up the stock as a result. This erased a portion of January's drop, but the stock remains down considerably. J.C. Penney also plans to close some stores, although a concrete strategy hasn't been announced. While most J.C. Penney locations are now profitable, according to CEO Marvin Ellison, sales remain stubbornly low. Kohl's hasn't announced much of anything as a response to its poor holiday season, but store closings in 2017 wouldn't be a surprise. The number of department store locations is set to decline going forward as the industry struggles to compete. Macy's and Kohl's are both possible buyout candidates, with plenty of cash flow generation despite sluggish sales. J.C. Penney has a tougher challenge ahead, with the company still losing money and unable to keep its previous streak of sales growth alive. With the department store industry in turmoil, January's slump in the stock prices of these three companies may be just the beginning. 10 stocks we like better than J.C. Penney When investing geniuses David and Tom Gardner have a stock tip, it can pay to listen. After all, the newsletter they have run for over a decade, Motley Fool Stock Advisor, has tripled the market.* David and Tom just revealed what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy right now... and J.C. Penney wasn't one of them! That's right -- they think these 10 stocks are even better buys. Click here to learn about these picks! *Stock Advisor returns as of January 4, 2017 Timothy Green has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Amazon and Costco Wholesale. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. What happened Shares of Chinese social media playerRenren Inc. (NYSE: RENN)dropped more than 56% throughout 2016, according to data fromS&P Global Market Intelligence,as large losses and declining unique visitors to its site lowered Wall Street's sentiment. So what For the full year 2015, reported in May 2016, Renren's revenue decreased 12% year over year to just $41 million. This decrease was due to a 64% drop in advertising revenue, which the company blamed on the transition from PC traffic to mobile traffic, as well as increased competition. Gross profit fell 63% over 2014, and total net loss was more than $220 million for the year. Image source: Getty Images. For the third quarter, reported in December 2016, things largely started to look better for Renren's finances. The company reported revenue of $17.9 million, more than double year over year. Earnings were still negative, with a $22 million loss, but that's much closer to zero than the $80 million loss reported in Q3 2015 -- and the trend upward has been pretty steady. Still, Renren's monthly unique visitors were down 22% for the period, to 35 million. Now what Before a recent one-for-five stock split, Renren's shares were now down around 84% from their 2011 high to below $2. The split, in which shareholders were given one new share for five existing shares, didn't change the stock's value, as each new share was worth what five of the old ones were, but at least it made the stock's selling price five times higher to get it out of the penny-stock range. So far, the company seems to be making the right decisions to turn its business around by spinning off some of its non-core components, and the Q3 results are encouraging.Going forward, Renren will need to prove that its declining monthly unique active visitor levels can be reversed, and that its upward path of earnings that are getting closer to breakeven is sustainable. 10 stocks we like better than Renren When investing geniuses David and Tom Gardner have a stock tip, it can pay to listen. After all, the newsletter they have run for over a decade, Motley Fool Stock Advisor, has tripled the market.* David and Tom just revealed what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy right now... and Renren wasn't one of them! That's right -- they think these 10 stocks are even better buys. Click here to learn about these picks! *Stock Advisor returns as of January 4, 2017 Seth McNew has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. WASHINGTON, Feb 6 (Reuters) - The U.S. House of Representatives voted on Monday to require law enforcement authorities to obtain a search warrant before seeking old emails from technology companies, a win for privacy advocates fearful the Trump administration may work to expand government surveillance powers. The House passed the measure by a voice vote. But the legislation was expected to encounter resistance in the Senate, where it failed to advance last year amid opposition by a handful of Republican lawmakers after the House passed it unanimously. Technology companies such as Microsoft have lobbied Congress for years to pass the Email Privacy Act, which updates a decades-old law to force authorities to first get a warrant to access emails or other digital communications that are at least 180 days old. Currently, agencies such as the Justice Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission only need a subpoena, which is subject to less judicial oversight than a warrant, to seek such data from a service provider - a standard that has existed since the Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA) was adopted in 1986. Supporters of the bill passed Monday say it is needed to update an out of date law conceived and written before the rise of the commercial internet. Richard Salgado, director of law enforcement and information security at Google, said in a statement the measure would "fix a constitutional flaw" in the ECPA."While there are disagreements about other aspects of surveillance reform, there is no disagreement that emails and electronic content deserve Fourth Amendment protections," he said. But some senators, including No. 2 Republican John Cornyn, last year sought to use the legislation as a vehicle for amendments that would expand the FBI's domestic surveillance capabilities, effectively killing the bill. Debate over law enforcement access to Americans' electronic communications intensified last year when the FBI sought a court order to make Apple help unlock an encrypted iPhone linked to one of the shooters behind a deadly attack in San Bernardino, California. Privacy advocates have expressed alarm at President Donald Trump's ability to expand government spying. The Republican campaigned on a "law and order" platform that included suggestions he may want to place some mosques in the United States under surveillance and maintain a national database on Muslims. Microsoft last year filed a federal lawsuit against the Justice Department over ECPA, alleging that the government's use of the law violated the U.S. constitution. It argued that ECPA is too often used to prevent companies from notifying its users, sometimes indefinitely, when investigators pry into emails and other data stored on remote servers. (Reporting by Dustin Volz; Editing by Tom Brown and Andrew Hay) This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. 2022 FOX News Network, LLC. All rights reserved. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. Market data provided by Factset. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. Legal Statement. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper. The owner of an Italian restaurant in Texas said he would welcome back the customers who reportedly wrote on a receipt that they wouldnt return, despite the tasty food, because he is Mexican. Fernando Franco, who owns Di Frabo in San Antonio, said his manager showed him the receipt shortly after a couple left the eatery Friday. The message noted that the food was "tasty" and the service "attentive," but concluded: "The owner is 'Mexican.' We will not return. 'America first.'" IHOP SERVER SAYS SHE RECEIVED HATEFUL RECEIPT MESSAGE FROM TEEN CUSTOMERS Since first speaking out about the incident, Franco said he's been inundated with messages of support. He added he's not sure how the customers knew he was the owner or that he's a native of Mexico. "Something like this is a slap in the face," Franco told Fox San Antonio. He opened the Italian restaurant in 2014, turning his dream into a reality. According to the station, Franco has been running businesses and restaurants in San Antonio since 2012 under the E-2 visa, which is an investor visa that has very specific requirements and has to be renewed yearly. FOR THE LATEST FOOD FEATURES FOLLOW FOX LIFESTYLE ON FACEBOOK He said was going to frame the receipt, and added that he plans to begin the citizenship process soon. The Associated Press contributed to this report. A restaurant in Brooklyn, New York is weighing into the political debate surrounding immigration with new messaging on its customer receipts. Kiwiana, in Brooklyns Park Slope, is run by former Top Chef Contestant Mark Simmons. But the restaurant isnt just serving up dishes inspired by Simmons native New Zealand. Now, when customers pay their tab, they're also getting a gentle reminder about whose really in the kitchen. DID CUSTOMERS AT TEXAS RESTAURANT SAY THEY WON'T RETURN BECAUSE OWNER IS MEXICAN? Immigrants make America great (they also cooked your food and served you today), the new message reads at the bottom of customer checks. A photo of the paper quickly went viral after it was tweeted by writer Mary Emily OHara. According to Grub Street, the tweet also received a lot of attention for the final cost - $46.54 for brunch (with alcohol). Breakfast in Brooklyn pic.twitter.com/JHEtfJhqPO Mary Emily O'Hara (@MaryEmilyOHara) February 5, 2017 That tweet, posted on Feb. 5, has since been liked almost 250,000 times. But the politically inspired restaurant receipt commentary goes both ways. Three Texas men who traveled to Washington, D.C. last month to watch Trumps inauguration left a $450 tip on a $72.60 bill. FOR THE LATEST FOOD FEATURES FOLLOW FOX LIFESTYLE ON FACEBOOK We may come from different cultures, and we may disagree on certain issues, but if everyone would share their smile and kindness like your beautiful smile, our country will come together as one people, the customers wrote. Not race, not gender, just American. A sushi chef has created a "lucky" dish he thinks will really outshine his many rival rolls. Japan celebrated the annual holiday, Setsubun last week, which involves children yelling at evil spirits and throwing soy beans to ward off evil and welcome in good fortune in the new year. Modern festival celebrations include observers eating larger-than-life sushi rolls called ehomaki or lucky direction sushi rolls. FAMED NEW YORK CITY SUSHI RESTAURANT NAKAZAWA JOINING TRUMP'S DC HOTEL The rolls traditionally contain seven ingredients, as seven is considered a lucky number throughout Japanese culture. And theyre meant to be eaten whole or at least in huge mouthfuls. But one chef, who works in a restaurant in the bustling Shinjuku area of Tokyo, created a lucky roll that may leave some buyers scrounging for extra change. () Japan has a golden sushirrito (sushi + burrito)!! Who'd want to try this delicious treasure!? Source: https://t.co/MS6t7aLZgK pic.twitter.com/hZDQdfOEj2 Japan Crate (@JapanCrate) February 4, 2017 At 10,800 yen, or $96.00, the special roll was made with twelve high-end ingredients found throughout Japan, wrapped in seaweed, then covered in a large piece of edible gold leaf paper. Not a fish lover? This roll certainly isn't for you. The creation was stuffed to the brim with premium ocean delicacies -- including tuna, puffer fish, squid, abalone, eel, crab, herring roe, salmon roe, sea bream, grouper, squid, and raw sea urchin. FOR THE LATEST FOOD FEATURES FOLLOW FOX LIFESTYLE ON FACEBOOK Food writer Seiji Nakazawa of Japan's RocketNews24 was lucky enough to taste the rare roll. He also happens to be a big ehomaki fan. So how did it taste? "Needless to say it was delicious," Nakazawa said. "A magnificent blend of some of the finest seafood in the entire country was destined to be great. If anything it was too much, but too much is what an ehomaki is all about." Recent flooding and severe storms across the Mediterranean have wreaked havoc on the availability of produce in many grocery stores across the U.K. In supermarkets across the country, baskets once teeming with fruits and vegetables are now barren. As a result of the bad weather which meteorologists say caused a perfect storm of bad growing conditions - new limits have been imposed on how much fresh produce shoppers can purchase at one time. According to The Telegraph, broccoli and iceberg lettuce are among the most affected greens. AMERICA'S BEST GROCERY STORE? U.K.-based Tesco supermarket has now stopped customers from buying more than three heads iceberg lettuces at a time. Supermarket Morrisons has implement the same mandate and theyve put a cap on broccoli purchases, too. But its not just a limit on purchases. Shoppers are also finding the prices of the products to be higher than usual. Wholesalers in Europe have started purchasing vegetables from the United States, which are more expensive and has led to a rise in prices in some British supermarkets. Lettuce lovers having to go without can look no further than Murcia, Spain, known as the hub for lettuce production in the country. Murcia is one of the largest lettuce producers on the continent but it's been hard hit by the inclemenet weather. Following floods, freezing conditions moved across Spain and Italy. An extreme frost kicked during the winter and Murcia then endured its biggest snowfall in decades in January. FOR THE LATEST FOOD FEATURES FOLLOW FOX LIFESTYLE ON FACEBOOK According to Aemet, Spains meteorological agency, the amount of rain that has dropped in the area since October marks the largest amount in 75 years. January was also the coldest month Murcia had experienced in more than a decade. This caused a significant interruption for British consumers as they import more vegetables from Spain than from any other country. The scare vegetable incident comes on the heels of the Food Price Index of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) reaching a two-year high in January. Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez is moving to consolidate his hold on Honduras, after orchestrating the return last Saturday of his puppet, Manuel Zelaya. Officials in Chavezs inner circle are wondering how their cash-strapped government can finance yet another revolutionary government in Central America. What they fail to realize is that Chavezs backup plan is to sow chaos in Honduras so it is hospitable territory for his partners in the illegal drug trade and a headache for the United States and Mexico. Sources within the Venezuelan foreign ministry are delighted that Honduran President Porfirio Pepe Lobo was so quick to pledge his loyalty to Chavez and the same radical reforms that got Zelaya deposed in 2009. Lobos surrender came at a secret meeting in mid-May with Venezuelan envoy Ariel Vargas, held far from the presidential palace at Lobos suburban home northeast of the capital. According to sources inside the Venezuelan government, Lobo posed as a fervent revolutionary and begged for Chavezs patience as he maneuvered around domestic opposition to fundamental constitutional reforms that will allow the people to sweep aside the old order. Lobo suggested to Vargas that he needed help in neutralizing opposition within his own Nationalist Party and the Catholic Church. Lobo explained a delicate political balance in the country where he could only count on the military for support; officials in Caracas interpreted this as an invitation for Chavez to buy the militarys loyalty to bolster Lobos ability to challenge the entrenched power structure. Lobo cautioned that he would lose the militarys backing if he were to label Zelayas ouster a coup d'etat or call for the punishment of those involved. Indeed, Lobo emphasized this point by joking that if he were to take these particular steps Chavez should be prepared to offer him political exile. Venezuelan diplomats familiar with Lobos offer agreed that the most appealing part of his proposed pact is that they would no longer have to rely on the mercurial Zelaya, whom they have come to regard as a clown and a pest. Chavez will let Lobo believe that they are partners, but the Venezuelan will never accept the rightist Nationalist Party president as an instrument of radical change. Instead, Caracas already has begun to pour millions in support to the National Front of Popular Resistance (FNRP), which will soon be accredited as a political party as part of the national reconciliation deal imposed by Chavez. By fabricating a well-financed rival to Honduras two traditional political parties, Chavez is convinced that he can rout the opposition and install minority governments to push through drastic economic and social changes. Hondurans know that Chavezs real interest in their country is its ideal location for trafficking drugs from South America to markets in the north. For example, the Chavez regime provides indispensable logistical support to the Mexican Sinaloa cartel. By abetting this poisonous trade, Chavez is waging asymmetrical warfare against two political enemies: Mexico (whose president, Felipe Calderon, was elected on an anti-Chavez campaign) and the United States. Those drug trafficking routes are also attractive to terrorist groups; according to published reports the same Hezbollah operatives who are offered refuge and training in Venezuela have sought advice from Mexican drug cartels on how to cross the U.S. border undetected. For Chavez, Honduras is a win-win-win proposition. If he manages to install a friendly government, he will have a malleable partner who will join the conspiracy against the United States. If his machinations merely sow political chaos and social mayhem, his allies in the illegal drug trade will prosper. And, in either case, saving Honduras will require heavy lifting and substantial support by the United States. Not very long ago, Hondurans were united in the pride at having used their constitution to thwart Zelaya from imposing a Chavista agenda on their small nation. In the intervening months, Chavez has imposed his will, using petrodollars to stir up violent strikes and wear down his opponents. As in other countries that find themselves pulled into Chavezs orbit, his work is made easier by cynical politicians who think they can out maneuver him by making secret, self-serving bargains. Lobo would be wise to remember the admonition of President John F. Kennedy, who said in a less remembered portion of his famous inaugural address 50 years ago, those who foolishly sought power by riding the back of the tiger ended up inside. Then again, in light of his alliances with drug traffickers and terrorists, Hugo Chavez is on his way to learning a similar lesson. Roger F. Noriega was Ambassador to the Organization of American States from 2001-2003 and Assistant Secretary of State from 2003-2005. He is a visiting fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and managing director of Vision Americas LLC, which represents U.S. and foreign clients. Democrats have worked very hard this week to derail the nomination of Betsy DeVos as Secretary of Education. What are they so afraid of? Betsy DeVos, Trumps pick for Secretary of Education, faces a Senate vote Tuesday. Two GOP senators have joined ranks with Democrats to block her appointment; if one more piles on, DeVos would be the first cabinet nominee in 28 years to face rejection by the Senate. Imagine that. A woman who has devoted much of her life to improving our countrys broken schools is deemed unworthy to head the Department of Education. Why this resistance? Because she, like President Trump, has vowed to disrupt the status quo. Nowhere is that prospect more needed than in our education system, and nowhere will it be more bitterly fought. Supporters of the teachers unions successfully fended off the early reform attempts by President Obama and Arne Duncan; they will not be any kinder to Mrs. DeVos. This is unacceptable. Our public schools are not only failing our most disadvantaged kids, denying them a rung up on the ladder of opportunity, they are also failing the nation. American students are underperforming their international counterparts, threatening our ability to compete with foreign rivals. The status quo is indefensible. At a time when hypocrisy is flowing waist-deep, the opposition to Betsey DeVos stands out. Mrs. DeVos is a champion of school choice, and has spent enormous time and money working to improve education outcomes for disadvantaged children. Nonetheless, Trumps pick as Secretary of Education has faced one of the toughest confirmation battles endured by any of his nominees. She is criticized because she has not worked in the public school system. That history gives her independence and a different perspective a perspective not welcome by those protecting the status quo. Joining ranks with resistant Democrats are Senators Lisa Murkowski and Susan Collins. Both have received campaign donations from the teachers unions; both have earned straight As on union report cards since 2014. Both claim their offices have been swamped by calls objecting to the DeVos nomination. Yes, thats what the teachers unions do. They mobilize their millions of members in support ofthemselves. The NEA, for instance, invites its 3 million members to tell your senator to vote NO on Betsey DeVos by checking a box on its website. They will take care of the rest. What are the teachers unions afraid of? They fear reform; they fear the Trump administration will overhaul the rules and procedures that discourage accountability and protect the lifetime employment of underperforming teachers. Donald Trump has called our school system broken; he is correct. The most recent survey by the National Assessment of Educational Progress reports that only 25 percent of our high school students are ready to tackle college-level work in math, and only 37 percent are capable of college-level reading assignments. Both scores were lower than in 2013; we are going in the wrong direction. According to DOE statistics, nationally only 32 percent of our eighth grade students met the standard for proficiency in math and 33 percent achieved that level in reading. But the worst news is from our inner cities. In Detroit, 96 percent were not up to speed in math, and 93 percent fell below par in reading. That is in spite of 2014 spending per pupil of nearly $15,000. Results from Baltimore, Fresno, Philadelphia and Cleveland are not much better. How can anyone defend such shocking failure? These are not some abstract report cards; these are statistics that reinforce income inequality, denying disadvantaged kids a foothold on the economic ladder. More important: behind those stats are children whose fate is sealed the minute they step inside a failing school. Broken schools are also a threat to our international competitiveness. Recent testing again showed our kids losing ground internationally. The 2016 PISA report came out in December. U.S. students rank below the average of those in 70 other nations in math, and only about average in reading and science. Specifically, in science the U.S. ranked 19th of 35 OECD countries, 20th in reading against that same group and 31st in math. For example, U.S. students did worse than the students of Estonia. Why should you care? Because we spend on average $115,180 per student between ages 6 and 15, almost twice as much as that spent in Estonia. Our kids also underperformed those in Germany and Canada, despite our spending 20 percent more on education. And while it is true that about 11 percent of the U.S. students sitting for the exams are disadvantaged, and 23 percent are from immigrant backgrounds, other countries like Hong Kong, with 23 percent disadvantaged and 35 percent immigrant populations, still outscored us. The shortcomings of our schools should not be a Republican issue or a Democratic issue; it should be a national issue. When U.S. companies have to go overseas for workers because we lack qualified candidates, thats a national problem. When kids are denied a shot at the American dream, its a national disgrace. If the Senate denies Mrs. DeVos confirmation Tuesday, that will be a national embarrassment. The federal court judge who blocked President Trumps temporary travel ban is the poster child for everything thats wrong with Americas legal system. U.S. District Judge James Robart is the man who blocked President Trump's temporary immigration ban. The presidents decision to stop refugees from seven countries that are known breeding grounds for jihadists was prudent. Click here to get Todds latest book described by liberals as the most deplorable book in America. In my estimation, we do not have a moral or constitutional obligation to let people into the country who want to blow us up or chop off our heads. Judge Robart's restraining order puts Americans in harm's way and, as the Associated Press reports, contained erroneous information. The judge said not a single person from any of the seven banned countries has been arrested for extremism. It turns out that was not true. The Associated Press reports that an Iraqi refugee living in Texas pleaded guilty to attempting to provide support to the Islamic State. And in November, a Somali refugee used a car and knife to wage an attack at Ohio State University. So President Trump was absolutely within his rights to call out Judge Robarts actions. Folks, our federal court houses are infested with judicial activists. And the only way to root out the infestation is for President Trump to name conservative judges to the appellate courts. But Republican presidents have had a bad habit of putting closet liberals on the bench. Democrats nominate liberals who stay liberal. But once GOP nominees get confirmed, their gavels go wobbly. Judge Robart, for example, was appointed by President George W. Bush. So not only do we need extreme vetting at the border, we also need extreme vetting in the court house. A fierce legal battle is brewing over President Donald Trump's extreme vetting executive order as the radical alt-left continues its willingness to gamble with the lives of Americans. The legal back and forth is complete nonsense, and here's why. It is a classic example of activist judges ruling based on their own personal opinions and not on what the law actually says. "Whenever the president finds that the entry of any aliens or any class of aliens into the U.S. would be detrimental to the interests of the United States, he may by proclamation and for such period as he shall deem necessary, suspend the entry of all aliens or any class of aliens as immigrants, non-immigrants or impose on the entry of aliens any restrictions that he may deem to be appropriate," reads the relevant federal law. President Trumps executive order imposes a 120-day moratorium on immigration from six countries that have shown little ability to control terrorism, and an indefinite pause on immigration from Syria, which is ISIS headquarters, has no functioning government and is mired in a grinding, five-year civil war. President Trump believes the order is necessary to ensure we dont bring in any terrorists masquerading as refugees. Trump is acting to protect Americans, but judges seem to believe they can impose their will over his. In an article entitled "Rogue judges undermining our sovereignty, and here's how Congress can stop them," David Horowitz of Conservative Review argued that the judicial branch of our government, especially on the lower levels, has been utterly polluted by progressive judges whose decisions are based on personal or political opinions, not on the law. In other words, plaintiffs can shop for a liberal judge and obtain a favorable and overreaching ruling that can have a national impact. Horowitz wants Congress to take power back from these activist courts in order to the American people, our sovereignty and the rule of law. The U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, where this legal battle is now playing out, is known by all to be the most liberal federal appeals court in the country. That three-judge panel is set to review a ruling by Seattle-based federal District Judge James Robart, who put a temporary halt to the president's extreme vetting executive order on Friday. Robart himself has shown his liberal leanings from the bench, declaring last year during a hearing on police reform that "Black lives matter." A fair-minded, even-handed judge might believe, as I do, that all lives matter. It isnt just judges. The out-of-control hypocrisy of lawmakers is on full display, too. For example, Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., is crying foul over the president's executive order, but what the senator is not telling you is that back in 2015, he actually said a pause on admitting refugees into the country could be necessary. And take a guess who said this: We are a nation of immigrants, but we are also a nation of laws. It is wrong and ultimately self-defeating for a nation of immigrants to permit the kind of abuse of our immigration laws we have seen in recent years, and we must do more to stop it. That was President Clinton, in his 1995 State of the Union address. Doesn't that sound a lot like President Trump now? Yet, back when President Clinton said it, there was no outrage from the left. Nor was there any outrage three years ago when President Obama said this: Today, our immigration system is broken and everybody knows it, Obama said. Even as we are a nation of immigrants, we're also a nation of laws. Undocumented workers broke our immigration laws, and I believe that they must be held accountable. There you have it. The only reason liberals are resisting President Trump's action on extreme vetting is that they're trying to score cheap political points. It doesn't matter that President Obama and Congress were the ones that came up the list of seven countries that President Trump referred to in his executive order, Libya, Iran, Iraq, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen. Amid the legal confusion, visa holders from these seven terror-plagued countries are now rushing into the U.S. country while they can, according to the New York Post. President Trump's policy is very straightforward. Instead of twisting and misrepresenting it, the radical alt-left should listen very closely to the presidents words. We need strong programs so that people that love us and want to love our country and will end up loving our country are allowed in, not people that want to destroy us and destroy our country, Trump said. If those on the left want to keep playing games, it should bear in mind that If one American loses his or her life as a result of letting dangerous, unvetted people into this country, they will have blood on their hands. And they will have a tough time explaining to the American people why they put politics ahead of our safety. Adapted from Sean Hannity's monologue on "Hannity," Feb. 6, 2017 Iran's ongoing tests of ballistic missiles has shown that Iran is in no mood to comply with the United Nations, and justifies a decision by President Trump to "tear up" the Iran nuclear deal, according to former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton. Bolton, who Trump was considering for secretary of state during the transition, said new sanctions and tougher talk from Trump won't be enough to curb Iran's actions. "Iran's continued missile testing on Saturday has given President Trump one more reason to tear up his predecessor's deal with the regime in Tehran," he wrote in the Wall Street Journal. Bolton called the Iran deal "diplomatic malpractice," and noted that the Iran nuclear agreement is an annex to a UN resolution that includes another annex that simply says Iran is "called upon" not to engage in any activity related to ballistic missiles that are "designed to be capable of delivering nuclear weapons." Read more on WashingtonExaminer.com The House Homeland Security Committee released a report Monday finding a lack of employee screening and vetting for those working in the TSA - uncovering examples of insider threats within Americas airports. The committees Subcommittee on Transportation and Protective Security, which authored the report titled Americas Airports: The Threat from Within, said it had launched an extensive, bipartisan investigation. That found many airport staff are able to bypass the traditional screening requirements that travelers visiting the airports undergo. This report is the result of two years of intense oversight efforts at a time when we face increased threats from homegrown radicalization and lone-wolf terrorism, we must ensure that our airport access controls are strong and that we are doing all we can to mitigate the insider threat to aviation security, Chairman of the subcommittee Rep. John Katko, R-NY, said in a statement. Examples outlined in the report include an attempt by airport employees to detonate a bomb at an airport, gun and drug smuggling, an expressed willingness to smuggle explosives, as well as employees who became involved in terrorist activities overseas. According to the report, there have been a number of alarming cases highlighting the threat over the last five years. The report outlined examples, such as the November 2014 instance of three men from Minnesota who worked at Minneapolis- St. Paul International Airport who were recruited to fight for ISIS while having access to any plane that passed through the airport; the Delta Air Lines employee who smuggled a total of 153 firearms onto 17 Delta flights between Atlanta and New York City in 2014; and the January 2015 instance of a Federal Aviation Administration inspector who was arrested at New Yorks LaGuardia International Airport after a TSA screener found a firearm in the inspectors carry-on baggage. The report concluded that without a comprehensive background check for employees, TSA does not have the ability to screen for individuals who may harbor ill-will toward the United States, or have connections to individuals who do. Americas aviation sector remains a crown jewel of ISIS and other terrorist groups targeting our homeland, House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Michael McCaul, R-Texas, said in a statement. The subcommittee also found that the overall understanding of threats facing U.S. transportation systems differs among airport officials across the country. Chairman Katko introduced the Aviation Employee Screening and Security Enhancement Act of 2017 on Monday to serve as a roadmap for TSA, airports, and air carriers to close security vulnerabilities at U.S. airports. Our nations aviation system is interconnected, Katko said. We are only as secure as our least secure airport. The Justice Department Monday asked a federal appeals court to restore President Trump's ban on travelers from seven majority-Muslim nations, the latest salvo in a legal fight headed for a possible showdown at the Supreme Court. The filing with the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals came three days after a federal judge in Washington state halted Trump's order and granted a nationwide stay. The Justice Department said U.S. District Judge James Robart's order was "vastly overbroad" and said Trump's executive order was "a lawful exercise of the President's authority over the entry of aliens into the United States and the admission of refugees." The appeals court refused to immediately reinstate the ban, and lawyers for Washington and Minnesota -- two states challenging it -- argued anew on Monday that any resumption would "unleash chaos again," separating families and stranding university students. Oral arguments were set for Tuesday afternoon. Whatever the appeals court decides, either side could ask the Supreme Court to intervene. It could prove difficult, though, to find the necessary five votes at the high court to undo a lower court order; the Supreme Court has been at less than full strength since Justice Antonin Scalia's death a year ago. The last immigration case that reached the justices ended in a 4-4 tie. The president's executive order has faced legal uncertainty ever since Friday's ruling by Robart, which challenged both Trump's authority and his ability to fulfill a campaign promise. The State Department quickly said people from the seven countries Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen could travel to the U.S. if they had valid visas. The Homeland Security Department said it was no longer directing airlines to prevent affected visa holders from boarding U.S.-bound planes. On Monday in Colorado, a graduate student who had traveled to Libya with her 1-year-old son to visit her sick mother and attend her father's funeral was back in Fort Collins after having been stopped in Jordan on her return trip. She was welcomed with flowers and balloons by her husband and other children. Two Yemeni brothers whose family has sued over the travel ban, and who'd been turned away in the chaotic opening days of the order, arrived at Dulles International Airport in Virginia, where they were greeted by their father. "America is for everybody," Aqel Aziz said after greeting his sons. Syrian immigrant Mathyo Asali said he thought his life was "ruined" when he landed at Philadelphia International Airport on Jan. 28 only to be denied entry to the United States. Asali, who returned to Damascus, said he figured he'd be inducted into the Syrian military. He was back on U.S. soil Monday. "It's really nice to know that there's a lot of people supporting us," Asali told Gov. Tom Wolf, who greeted the family at a relative's house in Allentown. The legal fight involves two divergent views of the role of the executive branch and the court system. The government has asserted that the president alone has the power to decide who can enter or stay in the United States, while Robart has said a judge's job is to ensure that an action taken by the government "comports with our country's laws." His Friday ruling triggered a Twitter rant by Trump, who dismissed Robart as a "so-called judge." On Sunday, Trump tweeted, "Just cannot believe a judge would put our country in such peril. If something happens blame him and court system. People pouring in. Bad!" States challenging the ban have been joined by technology companies, who have said it makes it more difficult to recruit employees. National security officials under President Barack Obama have also come out against it. A declaration filed by John Kerry and Madeleine Albright, former secretaries of state, and others said the ban would disrupt lives and cripple U.S. counterterrorism partnerships without making the nation safer. "It will aid ISIL's propaganda effort and serve its recruitment message by feeding into the narrative that the United States is at war with Islam," they wrote. How and when a case might get to the Supreme Court is unclear. The travel ban itself is to expire in 90 days, meaning it could run its course before a higher court takes up the issue. Or the administration could change it in any number of ways that would keep the issue alive. The bench also could be full, with a new ninth justice on board, by the time the court is ready to hear arguments. If Judge Neil Gorsuch is confirmed this spring as Senate Republicans hope, chances of a tie vote would disappear. The Associated Press contributed to this report. President Donald Trump told Fox News' Bill O'Reilly in an exclusive interview broadcast Monday that Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto "has got a problem" with drug cartels in his country and could need U.S. assistance. Trump was responding to reports that he told Pena Nieto in a phone call last week that the U.S. would send troops to Mexico to tackle the drug gangs, which the president said were "poisoning the youth of our country and ... countries all over the world." The president told O'Reilly that the Mexican leader was "a very good man" and claimed that the two had "a very good relationship." TRUMP: LEAKED TRANSCRIPTS OF MEXICO, AUSTRALIA CALLS DISGRACEFUL "I did talk to him about it. I want to help him with it," the president said. "Weve got to stop drugs from coming into our country and if he cant handle it and maybe they can or maybe they cant or maybe he needs help." Trump has repeatedly vowed to construct a massive wall along the southern border, a vow he repeated to O'Reilly. He also said that he would revisit the North American Free Trade Agreement with Mexico and Canada, a pact he repeatedly criticized on the campaign trail. "Im going to put another F in the name NAFTA," Trump said. "Because right now its free trade and Im going to have it fair trade also, because its not fair. Were losing $60 billion a year in trade deficits with Mexico. Cant do that." The president also criticized a push by California lawmakers to make the Golden State a so-called "sanctuary state" that would prohibit local law enforcement from cooperating with immigration authorities. CALIFORNIA DEMOCRATIC LAWMAKERS MOVE TO BECOME 'SANCTUARY STATE' "I think it's ridiculous," Trump said. "I will tell you that sanctuary cities are theyve got a lot of problems and theres tremendous crime. A lot of people agree with me, this was a campaign issue. "We will certainly not stand for sanctuary even cities, let alone states." Trump also said that California "in many ways is out of control ... from an economic standpoint ... People are leaving California [and] going to Texas and other places that are run in a different manner, but well see what happens." The president also discussed his relationship with his precessor in the Oval Office, Barack Obama. "I dont know if hell admit this, but he likes me," Trump said of Obama. "I can feel it. Thats what I do in life, its called ... like, I understand." Trump acknowledged that he and Obama had been "vicious" to each other during last year's election campaign. "We said horrible things about each other, and then we hop into the car [on Inauguration Day] and we drive down Pennsylvania Avenue together and we dont even talk about it," the president said. "Politics is amazing." A Maryland blogger has been forced to pay a substantial sum to Melania Trump as part of a settlement for a defamation lawsuit over an article containing unsubstantiated claims that the first lady once worked as an escort, her lawyers announced Tuesday. I posted an article on August 2, 2016 about Melania Trump that was replete with false and defamatory statements about her, Webster Tarpley, the 71-year-old blogger, said in a statement by Trumps attorneys, according to the Washington Post. Trumps legal team declined to provide the settlement amount. Tarpley, of Gaithersburg, didnt respond to requests from the Washington Post for comment, but his lawyer confirmed a settlement had been reached. BOY GEORGE DEFENDS MELANIA TRUMP I acknowledge that these false statements were very harmful and hurtful to Mrs. Trump and her family, and therefore I sincerely apologize to Mrs. Trump, her son, her husband and her parents for making these false statements, Trumps lawyers -- in comments attributed to Tarpley -- wrote in their statement. Trump on Monday also re-filed a libel lawsuit against the corporation that publishes the Daily Mail's website, this time in New York, for reporting on the escort rumors. Trump had previously filed the lawsuit against Mail Media Inc. in Maryland, but a judge earlier this month ruled the case shouldn't be filed in Maryland and dismissed it. The lawsuit now filed in New York, where the corporation has offices, seeks compensatory and punitive damages of at least $150 million. CHELSEA HANDLER SAYS MELANIA TRUMP BARELY SPEAKS ENGLISH In the new filing Monday, the first lady's attorneys argue the report damaged her ability to profit off her high profile. Melania Trump, the filing states, "had the unique, one-in-a-lifetime opportunity, as an extremely famous and well-known person, as well as a former professional model, brand spokesperson and successful businesswoman, to launch a broad-based commercial brand in multiple product categories, each of which could have garnered multimillion-dollar business relationships for a multi-year term during which Plaintiff is one of the most photographed women in the world." Those product categories, it goes on to say, could have included apparel, accessories, jewelry, cosmetics, hair care and fragrance, among others. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Tensions between the Trump administration and California leaders are escalating into an all-out political war, as Gov. Jerry Brown and his allies vow to fight the president tooth-and-nail over everything from sanctuary cities to environmental policies. President Trump fired the latest shot when he threatened to defund unspecified programs over Californias push to become a sanctuary state. In an interview with Fox News Bill OReilly, he criticized California lawmakers for pursuing a statewide law to limit local law enforcement from cooperating with federal immigration authorities. I think its ridiculous, Trump said, adding that sanctuary cities breed crime. We will certainly not stand for sanctuary even cities, let alone states. Calling California out of control, Trump described the threat of pulling funding as a White House weapon. While using the federal purse as leverage might work in some states, Senate President Pro Tem Kevin de Leon said it doesnt pack as strong of a punch in California. Far from being out of control, California is creating jobs faster than any other state and immigrants are key to our economic prosperity, he said in a written statement. We are an engine for the countrys innovation and job growth and our state annually pays more in federal taxes than it gets back. Our economy is the sixth largest in the world and thirteen percent of the countrys GDP. Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon added, If this is what Donald Trump thinks is out of control, Id suggest other states should be more like us. The statements gloss over Californias history of budget problems, poorly ranking public schools and ongoing struggle with high unemployment in some regions. But ever since Trumps election, Brown has set an adversarial tone with the new administration. Brown delivered a fiery rebuke against Trump in his January State of the State address, underscoring years of bitter conflict and foreshadowing even more. Weve seen the bald assertion of alternative facts, whatever those are, Brown said. Weve heard the blatant attacks on science. Familiar signposts of our democracy truth, civility, working together have been obscured or even swept aside. The fourth-term Democratic governor is now pitching his state as an outpost of resistance against Trump and pointedly vowing to push back against efforts by the administration to reverse environmental policies. "We've got the scientists, we've got the lawyers and we're ready to fight," he said during a December speech to the American Geophysical Union in San Francisco. Brown also tried to soothe concerns that Trump might eliminate NASAs Earth sciences department. Nicknamed Governor Moonbeam by a newspaper columnist in 1976 for his interest in a state-sponsored satellite, Brown told the revved-up San Francisco crowd, If Trump turns off the satellites, California will launch its own damn satellite. Trump has remained skeptical of science that says humans cause climate change, amid fears from the other side that his administration could stifle research on the subject. The official White House website wiped nearly all mention of climate change within minutes of Trumps inauguration. The only reference to it is his vow to reverse what the Obama administration had done. Trump also has had to contend with California criticism from the public and private sectors in the wake of his recent executive order on immigration. In a rare show of unity, Silicon Valley tech executives joined forces last weekend to file an amicus brief in the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco in support of a lawsuit against the order. Immigrants or their children founded more than 200 of the companies on the Fortune 500 list, the brief states. Collectively, these companies generate annual revenue of $4.2 trillion, and employ millions of Americans. Whether California, which voted overwhelmingly against Trump in November, can continue to go toe-to-toe with Trump is still up in the air. The state recently had to shelve a controversial proposal that would have provided health insurance to undocumented immigrants under ObamaCare. California had been pursuing a waiver that would open up coverage through the states ObamaCare marketplace to 390,000 adult undocumented immigrants. Brown signed on but the final approval depended on clearance from the administration. Brown and the bills sponsor Sen. Ricardo Lara withdrew the waiver citing fears that the Trump administration might go after residents who signed up. Counselor to the President Kellyanne Conway defended President Donald Trump's executive order halting travel to the U.S. from seven majority-Muslim nations Monday, saying that Trump "has a responsibility, the authority, and indeed, the duty to protect Americans." Conway spoke to Fox News' "Hannity" hours after the Justice Department filed a brief with a federal appeals court seeking the ban's restoration three days after a federal judge in Washington state halted the order. JUSTICE DEPARTMENT ASKS APPEALS COURT TO RESTORE TRUMP'S TRAVEL BAN Echoing the Justice Department brief, Conway argued that Friday's decision by U.S. District Court Judge James Robart was "overly broad." "Its a nationwide injunction," Conway said. "He referenced religion where, in fact, that has nothing to do with the executive order." "The fact is," she added. "we dont even know if these states that sued have standing. Individuals have standing and individuals usually need to show harm and damages." Conway also argued that Robart was "wrong from the bench" when he stated that no one from the seven countries named in Trump's executive order Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Syria, Sudan and Yemen had been arrested on terror charges in the United States since 2001. An Associated Press report described Robart's statement as "a step too far." "This is the judge who issued a nationwide injunction," Conway said, "and was just wrong from the bench in what he said about what this type of extreme vetting would provide or would have prevented had it been in place earlier." President Trump could come under new pressure to lift the curtain on secret elements of the Iran nuclear deal struck by his predecessor, especially as the Islamic Republic continues its war of words with his administration. Only days after the Iran nuclear deal was announced in July of 2015, news began to leak out about secret side agreements made between the Islamic Republic and the International Atomic Energy Agency. Some of those agreements have been subsequently released, but with the tension ratcheting up between Iran and Trump, who has criticized the deal, the White House could reveal more details. Iran has been formally PUT ON NOTICE for firing a ballistic missile. Should have been thankful for the terrible deal the U.S. made with them! Trump tweeted last week, quickly adding: Iran was on its last legs and ready to collapse until the U.S. came along and gave it a life-line in the form of the Iran Deal: $150 billion. Talk of secret "side agreements" involving Iran's past testing and inspection methods began almost as soon as the deal was reached. President Obamas national security adviser Susan Rice acknowledged that the documents between Iran and the IAEA were not public, but said Obama administration was informed of their contents and planned to share the details with Congress in a classified briefing. Since then, however, a number of other alleged side deals have come to light and many Republicans in Congress including former Kansas congressman and President Trumps current CIA director Mike Pompeo - continued to demand that the full context of the deal with Iran is revealed, especially following the countrys recent failed ballistic missile test. The fact that there are side deals to begin with is a problem, Behnam Ben Taleblu, a senior Iran analyst at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, told Fox News. The deal was sold to us as transparent and that hasnt been the case. PJMedia columnist Roger Simon, in an article that was picked up by numerous conservative blogs, called for a full airing of the nuclear deal. "The time is long since past for the complete details of this quondam deal to be released," read the column. The agreement, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), forced Iran to halt its enrichment of uranium, a material that can be used in nuclear weapons and in exchange received widespread relief from U.S. and international sanctions that had crippled the Iranian economy. One of the contentious issues brought up in the side deals is Irans claim that they can develop ballistic missiles with a range of 2,000 kilometers and that the tests are legitimate because they are not designed to carry a nuclear warhead. We will follow two restrictions: The first is mentioned in the JCPOA, in the matter of no nuclear planning, and the second is the range of 2,000 km, which has already been noted previously by all elements in Iran," Iranian Army chief of staff Hassan Firouzabadi told local media back in 2015. Officials from the U.S. and other Western nations contend that Tehran agreed two years ago to an eight-year extension of a ban on ballistic work during the nuclear negotiations. That agreement was codified in a U.N. Security Council resolution passed in parallel, but independently from the nuclear accord. Besides the ballistic missile tests, there have also been a number of side deals revealed since the nuclear deal was announced a year and a half ago. The Wall Street Journal reported last fall that Washington paid a $1.7 billion ransom for U.S. hostages held in Iran and agreed to lift UN sanctions on two major Tehran banks. The Obama administration also agreed to lift sanctions on Air Iran that were first imposed when it was revealed that the airline was ferrying weapons and supplies for the countrys Revolutionary Guard. Another side deal with the IAEA relaxed key restrictions on Irans nuclear program in a decade, rather than the original 15 years agreed upon, and also gave the country the right to collect its own soil samples, instead of IAEA inspectors, at the Parchin military base. On the campaign trail last year, Trump pledged to be tough on Iran and openly criticized the Iran deal as bad for the U.S. While his administration last week ordered sanctions against more than two dozen people and companies in retaliation for Iran's recent ballistic missile test, the new sanctions represent a continuation of the Obama administration's limited punishment for Iran's ballistic missile activity and avoid a direct showdown with Tehran over the nuclear deal itself. The sanction targets were drawn up before Obama left office as Trump press secretary Sean Spicer noted - and don't affect Iran Air, a big Iranian bank or any major government entity, making it unclear how effective they'll prove as deterrents. Still analysts and conservative lawmakers, like Republican chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Bob Corker of Tennessee, believe that Trumps sterner approach to U.S.-Iranian relations puts the country in a good position when it comes to renegotiating the terms of the deal with Iran. Trump spoke on Sunday with King Salman of Saudi Arabia and the White House said the two leaders. "agreed on the importance of rigorously enforcing the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action with Iran and of addressing Irans destabilizing regional activities. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he would bring up the Iran issue with Trump when the two leaders meet next week. The new administration is in a good position to call for Iran and the IAEA to release all the documents, Ben Taleblu said. If Trump wants to renegotiate the deal, he can really hold Irans feet to the fire by vigorously enforcing of the existing agreement. If her critics are to be believed, Education Secretary nominee Betsy DeVos is a danger to special education, could end public schooling and has plans that will kill children. Think thats hyperbole? That is not an exaggeration in any sense, tweeted Vanity Fair film critic Richard Lawson, who fired off a series of tweets early Tuesday arguing that DeVos confirmation would be deadly for queer and other at-risk kids because of DeVos support for voucher programs. Voucher programs will create systems in which queer kids have literally zero access to support apparatus bc they are in religious schools, Lawson wrote. Meaning voucher programs will lead to more suicides. Betsy DeVoss policies will kill children. DeVos nomination is set for a noon vote in the Senate on Tuesday, and, despite the defection of two Republican senators, shes likely to be confirmed though by the slimmest of margins. Vice President Mike Pence is expected to cast the deciding vote in his role as president of the Senate. But critics like Lawson have gone into overdrive in a bid to convince just one more senator to oppose the school choice advocate. Democrats kept the Senate in session all night into Tuesday morning protesting the DeVos nomination on the floor. The presidents decision to ask Betsy DeVos to run the Department of Education should offend every single American man, woman, and child who has benefitted from the public education system in this country, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said in a statement. Schumers warning paled in comparison to some of the vitriol aimed at DeVos from the media. Betsy DeVos is the worst person to be around schoolbooks since Lee Harvey Oswald, Bill Maher snarked on his Real Time show. The New Republic urged readers not to normalize Betsy Devos. Her views are simply much too dangerous. Don't normalize Betsy DeVos. Her views are simply much too dangerous. https://t.co/CL9xQBv1zl pic.twitter.com/i2I1LkQjYz New Republic (@NewRepublic) January 28, 2017 Actor-vist Mark Ruffalo appealed to Florida Sen. Marco Rubio on Twitter to be the third Republican no vote needed to defeat DeVos. Come on Marco, know where you stand and actually STAND there! You got kids. They have friends. You know better, he wrote. Come on Marco, know where you stand and actually STAND there! You got kids. They have friends. You know better. https://t.co/CYzfZd8SMI Mark Ruffalo (@MarkRuffalo) February 7, 2017 The United Federation of Teachers called DeVos a danger to special education, while disabilities writer Elizabeth Picciuto wrote a piece for The Daily Beast saying she has a special-needs son and Betsy DeVos scares me to death. Betsy DeVos is a danger to special education. We must protect the rights of our students with disabilities. #StopDeVos pic.twitter.com/DLkJHQFCQg UFT (@UFT) January 28, 2017 Comedian John Fugelsang compared DeVos nomination to the Syrian refugee crisis. Refugees vetted 2 yrs before allowed to reunite w/families. Betsy Devos vetted 5 mins per Senator before allowed to run Americas schools, Fugelsang wrote on Twitter. Westworld and James Bond actor Jeffrey Wright has frequently blasted DeVos, including one tweet that implied Chief of Staff Reince Priebus only cared about the money DeVos has contributed to Republican political candidates. Sherrilyn Ifill, president of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, suggested her confirmation could threaten the existence of public education. The DeVos confirmation is a fight over the continued existence of public education. https://t.co/5RYcIbvz5g pic.twitter.com/nXU5q5mnP8 Sherrilyn Ifill (@Sifill_LDF) January 28, 2017 On Tuesday morning, White House Counselor Kellyanne Conway voiced confidence in DeVos' confirmation and defended her views on public school alternatives. "[Democrats are] trying to humiliate and embarrass some of these nominees," Conway told Fox News, saying DeVos is committed to education. DeVos herself has not engaged the online critics. Her most recent tweet came on Jan. 31: If confirmed, I look forward to fighting for quality education for all students. Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly took the blame Tuesday for the hasty rollout of President Trump's order suspending immigration from seven countries, while defending the measure as "lawful and constitutional." "It's all on me," Kelly told the GOP-led House Homeland Security Committee, acknowledging lawmakers were not fully apprised. I should have delayed it just a bit so I could have talked to members of Congress, Kelly said. Going forward, I would have certainly taken some time to inform Congress, and thats something I look forward to in the future. Trump's Jan. 27 executive order suspended the U.S. refugee program and largley banned immigration and travel from seven mostly Muslim countries for 90 days. Kelly said Monday, as he said last week, that the order was crafted before he was confirmed as DHS secretary. The order, which caused confusion for green-card holders and others before the administration made clear they would not be affected, has since been held up in federal court with a hearing set for late Tuesday in California. Trump, ahead of a White House meeting with county sheriffs, voiced confidence Tuesday in his administrations case. We have to have security in our country, Trump said, adding that his team would take its case through the system. Asked if that means the dispute will land before the Supreme Court, he said: Well see. Hopefully it doesnt have to. Kelly also acknowledged before the GOP-led committee Tuesday that some of the orders core tenants are problematic, but said its still my belief we will prevail. We believe [the order] is lawful and constitutional, said Kelly, who also gave his support for Trumps plan to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border. Committee Chairman Mike McCaul opened the hearing, Kellys first as homeland secretary, by saying, This country is eager to work with you. Your job wont be easy. The Texas Republican also said the rollout of the executive order has been problematic. Mississippi Rep. Bennie Thompson, the top Democrat on the committee, acknowledged that Kelly was being called upon to explain and defend an order about which he had little prior knowledge. Frankly, it is somewhat unfair, he said. Kelly also said the administration has no plans to expand the number of countries on the banned list, dismissing reports that the number will increase to 12 and saying that officials hope, in fact, to narrow the list. Kelly argued, as he did last week, that the ban was imposed in larger part because official records in the seven countries are too inadequate to prove that travelers are who they say they are. And he appeared to try to emphasize how little the United States knows about such countries and their people by pointing out the U.S. has no embassy in four of the seven countries. He also said that Assistant to the President Steve Bannon, a member of the National Security Council, is not a Homeland Security Department employee, when asked by Rep. Cedric Richmond, D-La. As for the proposed border barrier, Kelly said the U.S. already has about 650 miles of southern border wall and predicted the entire project will be complete in about two years. He said he plans to visit the border on Thursday, while acknowledging that the southwest region continues to be a major problem. Trump hired me to get control of the southwest border, which I will do, Kelly said. Two Republican senators announced legislation Tuesday that could effectively cut legal immigration in half, marking a shift in the debate as President Trump focuses more on curbing illegal immigration. The bill by Sens. Tom Cotton, Arkansas, and David Perdue, Georgia, would reduce the number of green cards issued annually from 1 million to 500,000. The net effect is to cut American immigration in half, Cotton told Fox News Fox & Friends. With the exception of his controversial order suspending the refugee program and travel to the U.S. from seven mostly Muslim countries, Trump largely has focused his immigration policy on calls for a border wall and more immigration agents to stem the flow of undocumented residents. Cotton argues that issues such as illegal entry, border security and immigration enforcement are important but that the country also has to address the impact of legal immigration on U.S. workers. Right now, we have a legal immigration system thats not working for American workers, he said. Blue-collar workers, people working with their hands, on their feet, have seen their wages stagnate for decades. Cotton has been among Trumps earliest and most loyal Capitol Hill supporters. His and Perdues efforts to address legal immigration is a potentially contentious issue among Republicans, considering the partys pro-business or so-called Chamber of Commerce wing has essentially supported more workers into the country to fill jobs. Cotton argues such policies put downward pressure on blue-collar wages. His bill, if signed into law, would cut legal immigration by 40 percent in the first year and by 50 percent over 10 years. We are taking action to fix some of the shortcomings in our legal immigration system, Perdue said. Returning to our historically normal levels of legal immigration will help improve the quality of American jobs and wages. The Reforming American Immigration for Strong Employment, or RAISE, Act would reduce green cards (for permanent legal residents) by limiting whom U.S. citizens can sponsor, ending the U.S. Diversity Visa Lottery for countries that have few American immigrants and cutting the number of refugees allowed into the United States. Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, New Hampshire, called the legislation senseless and a job killer. This legislation sends a terrible message to the rest of the world and is unquestionably a job killer, she said. As a nation of immigrants, this bill runs counter to our values. Alabama GOP Sen. Jeff Sessions, expected later this week to be confirmed as U.S. attorney general, was a leading Capitol Hill voice in the effort to curb legal immigration to protect American workers. The Senate was in session all night Monday into Tuesday morning as members debated the nomination of Betsy DeVos to be education secretary ahead of her likely confirmation at noon. DeVos is poised to be confirmed for education secretary by the narrowest possible margin as Vice President Mike Pence is expected to break a potential deadlocked vote. DeVos, a wealthy GOP donor, has devoted herself to boosting alternatives to public education and sparked concerns among educators that she wont be a strong champion for public schools. Two GOP senators, Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, have announced plans to oppose DeVos in a Senate split 52-48 between Republicans and Democrats. That will leave her with a tie vote if all other Republicans support her and all Democrats oppose her as expected, and will require Pence to put her over the top. A vice president breaking a tie on a Cabinet nomination would be a first in the history of the Senate, according to the Senate historian's office. The chamber went to brief, intermittent quorum calls as senator after senator completed his or her remarks and yielded the floor to a colleague. And a lone Republican senator, South Carolina's Time Scott, went to the floor to speak, as well, arguing that lawmakers' focus should be not on DeVos, but on ways to improve the education system. Emotions ran high ahead of the vote as constituents jammed senators' phone lines with calls and protesters gathered outside the Capitol, including one person in a grizzly bear costume to ridicule DeVos' comment during her confirmation hearing that some schools might want guns to protect against grizzlies. Mrs. DeVos demonstrated a complete lack of experience in, knowledge of and support for public education. She was unable to address basic issues that any New Hampshire school board member could discuss fluently," said Sen. Maggie Hassan, D-N.H., whose son has cerebral palsy but studied in public schools under a federal law that guarantees access for disabled students. Several Democrats questioned DeVos' commitment to and understanding of that law. Republicans accused Democrats of dragging their feet on DeVos and other qualified nominees to appease liberal voters who still havent come to terms with Trumps election. "It seems this gridlock and opposition has far less to do with the nominees actually before us than the man who nominated them," said Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky. "Enough is enough." The clash over nominees has created a toxic atmosphere in the Senate that mirrors the tense national mood since Trump's election, with Democrats boycotting committee votes and Republicans unilaterally jamming nominees through committee without Democrats present. Yet there is little suspense about the final outcome on any of the nominees because Democrats themselves changed Senate rules when they were in the majority several years ago so that Cabinet nominees can now be approved with a simple majority, not the 60 votes previously required. Fox News Chad Pergram and the Associated Press contributed to this report. President Trump struck back Tuesday at the bipartisan criticism he's faced for allegedly drawing a "moral equivalence" between Vladimir Putin's Russia and America. In a Tuesday morning tweet, Trump hit two birds with one digital stone -- once again denying any ties to Moscow, while suggesting his predecessor's nuclear deal with Iran never faced such scrutiny. I dont know Putin, have no deals in Russia, and the haters are going crazy yet Obama can make a deal with Iran, #1 in terror, no problem! Trump tweeted. Trumps tweet came after days of criticism from Republican and Democratic lawmakers over the presidents off-the-cuff response when Fox News host Bill OReillys labeled Putin a killer. TRUMP INSISTENT ABOUT VOTER FRAUD, SAYS PEOPLE SAY 'I AM RIGHT' You think our countrys so innocent? Trump countered to OReilly, during an interview that was broadcast Sunday before the Super Bowl. That remark drew swift rebukes from lawmakers. .@POTUS statement suggesting moral equivalence between Putins Russia and the United States of America is deeply troubling and wrong, tweeted Rep. Liz Cheney, a Republican from Wyoming who is the daughter of former Vice President Dick Cheney. Irans Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei also had piled on the president after Trump put Iran on notice for apparent violations of a U.N. resolution banning ballistic missile tests. No enemy can paralyze the Iranian nation, Khamenei said Tuesday during his first speech since Trump was sworn into office. [Trump] says you should be afraid of me. No! The Iranian people will respond to his words on Feb. 10 and will show their stance against such threats. Feb. 10 marks the 38th anniversary of the 1979 Iranian revolution. The text of Khamenei's speech was published by the country's MEHR news agency. The morning message slamming the Obama administrations nuke deal also came in sharp relief to kinder statements Trump made about former President Barack Obama in an interview with OReilly that aired on Monday. I dont know if hell admit this, but he likes me, Trump said. I like him. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers announced to Congress Tuesday that it will grant the final easement needed to complete the Dakota Access Pipeline. President Trump revived the controversial project by signing an executive order in his first week of office after protests from climate activists and Native American tribes delayed the line's completion. The Justice Department filed court documents including letters to members of Congress from Deputy Assistant Army Secretary Paul Cramer. The Army intends to allow the crossing under Lake Oahe as early as Wednesday. The crossing is the final big chunk of work on the $3.8 billion pipeline. Acting Secretary of the Army Robert Speer said the decision was made based on a sufficient amount of information already available which supported approval to grant the easement. "Today's announcement will allow for the final step, which is granting of the easement," Speer announced in a statement. "Once that it done, we will have completed all the tasks in the Presidential Memorandum of January 24, 2017." North Dakota Republican Sen. John Hoeven issued a statement praising the Armys easement: Our nation needs new energy infrastructure, which means we must have a process to build safe, efficient and environmentally sound projects like pipelines and power lines. Going forward, we need to review the permitting process to ensure that everyone has an opportunity to be heard and that a fair, certain, and legal process has been followed. Democratic Sen. Heidi Heitkamp says the Army's announcement brings the pipeline conflict one step closer to resolution. She says it "delivers the certainty and clarity" she's been demanding. The Standing Rock Sioux tribe worries a pipeline leak could pollute drinking water and promised to continue legal challenges. Tribal attorney Jan Hasselman said the government "will be held accountable in court." He says the specifics of the tribe's challenge are being worked out. Dallas-based pipeline developer Energy Transfer Partners says the pipeline is safe. The Associated Press contributed to this report. If the phrase eco-friendly home makes you think of an off-the-grid hippie hut on one hand, or a bespoke LEED Platinum palace for those with Leonardo DiCaprios budget on the other, we have news for you. Greening your home is easier than everand more convenient than taking on a full-blown renovation. If your 2017 bucket list includes learning how to go green, youve come to the right place. The benefits of green upgrades, no matter the size, are far-reaching for both your global footprint and your wallet. Youll have a home that is more comfortable, more durable, with lower energy bills, says Eileen Oldroyd, a real estate broker in Mission Viejo, CA, and a National Association of Realtors Green Designee, a distinction given to Realtors who have completed training on energy-efficient and sustainable homes. These upgrades will also be valuable if you ever decide to sell, she says. Heres the scoop from green industry experts on the latest ways to slash your energy billsand to do so while clearing your earth-conscious conscience! Make your home a passive house Forget LEED certificationthe newly coveted green home credential is the deceptively named passive house standard. Unlike LEED certification, which speaks to how green the construction process was, a passive house is rated by how energy-efficient it will be when people are actually living in it. A passive house minimizes heating and cooling needs because it is sealed air-tight, meaning temperature-controlled air doesnt leak out, explains Ewan Utting, a passive-house builder in San Francisco. Photo by ENU Construction/Equilibrium House A passive house in San Francisco built by Utting. Although turning your home into a true passive house would mean a major renovation, you can reap some of those energy-saving benefits by replacing outside door thresholds, swapping old windows for new double- or even triple-pane ones, or covering the panes with a reflective coating that will beat heat in the summer. One change you can make without spending a cent: Remember to lock all of your windows when theyre closed, says Eric Graham, a green home expert with Sunshare, a Colorado community solar company. It creates a better seal between panes to keep air from coming in. Get smart (home tech, that is) Leaving a light on here or there causes small but significant increases in the size of your carbon footprint and your energy bill, but new technology can stop those little expenditures. New smart home devices let you turn off lights, radios, or just about anything you plug into the wall from anywhere in the world using your smartphone, says Oldroyd. Check out Wemo home automation products from technology company Belkin, which include smartphone-controlled wall outlets, slow cookers, humidifiers, and more. Smart thermostats from companies like Nest or Honeywell learn your heating and cooling preferences and can be controlled from your smartphone or tablet. Filling your home with smart products is easy and more convenient than ever now that home improvement stores like Home Depot have started stocking whole sections with smart home products. Choose the right paint Volatile organic compounds are chemicals found in many paints and building materials that easily vaporize and may pose health risks. Until recently it was gospel that the green-minded should choose low- or no-VOC paint, but those labels are too vague to mean much, says Jason Holstine, owner of Amicus Green Building Center in Kensington, MD. Because of the way the government defines VOCs, many concerning chemicals arent covered, he says. Instead, choose paints that are no-VOC and dont contain solvents, ethylene glycol, acetone, or formaldehyde. Some great brands include AFM Safecoat, Mythic, Colorhouse, ECOS, and Bioshield. Go native with your landscaping Todays sustainable landscaping is less cookie-cutter and more tailored to your climate. The most eco-friendly backyard features plant and grass species that are native to the area where you live, says Cassy Aoyagi of FORM LA Landscaping. They thrive without chemical pesticides and fertilizers and need little water. Rainfall during a normal year is usually enough. According to Aoyagi, replacing a traditional lawn with native grasses will require 50% to 70% less water and save you approximately 60 hours per year in maintenance, for a savings of up to $3,500 in thirsty climates. Photo by Christopher Yates Landscape Architecture Opt for native grasses that are low-maintenance and drought-tolerant. In Southern California, where FORM LA is based, Aoyagi recommends grama grass and California fescue. In various parts of the country, covering your lawn area with clover or low-growing herbs such as chamomile, thyme, and mint is a beautiful and eco-friendly option. Consider solar panels Whether or not solar panels make fiscal and environmental sense for your house depends on your climate, the layout of your roof, and whether your state offers rebates. For an instant estimate to see if solar panels are right for your house, enter your address into Googles Project Sunroof. In a matter of seconds you can see how many hours of usable sunlight your home gets per year, the square feet available for solar panels, and the amount of money you could save based on that information. For a more detailed breakdown of costs and benefits, contact a solar expert like Sungevity, a company that creates custom solar energy systems for homes all around the country. Get an energy audit Greening your home isnt a one-size-fits-all process, and a certified energy auditor can suggest upgrades that will lower your energy costs. Often, the rebates youll receive from your utility company or on your taxes will offset the costs of the audit, says Oldroyd. Homeadvisor.com reports the average cost to hire a home energy auditor is $373. The Residential Energy Services Network has an easy-to-search directory of certified energy auditors in each state. Look for an auditor certified to give your home a Home Energy Rating System index rating, which is a score of your homes energy efficiency. Lowering your homes HERS index score will likely raise the resale value of your home if you sell in the future. The post How to Go Green: The Ultimate Homeowner's Guide to an Eco-Friendly Pad appeared first on Real Estate News & Advice | realtor.com. A fireball meteor over Chicago ignites hearts and mindsand scientific reports A massive flash of light illuminated the skies above Illinois and Wisconsin on Sunday. It blazed a Northeasterly path bright enough for folks to spot from New York to Minnesota before falling into Lake Michigan. Youre probably picturing a steaming rock, hissing briefly as it hit the chilly surface of the Great Lake. But youd be wrong. That was completely made up in Hollywood, says Mike Hankey, Operations Manager and meteorite hunter at the American Meteor Society. Its literally cold when you first touch it. He would knowhes been tracking down meteorites for years with the AMS and has found many a meteorite chunk. Everyone always writes in saying they know theyve found a meteorite because it was hot, he says. Nope, definitely not. Its true that when you see the flash of a meteor in the sky, its literally white-hot. But it's not burning up. Meteors and meteorites (which is what a meteor is called if it hits the ground) glow because the air in front of them gets compressed and heats up, which in turn heats the meteorite itself. And almost all solid materials glow when they get above 977 degrees. Thats called the Draper point, after the first president of the American Chemical Society who discovered the phenomenon in 1847. Incandescent light bulbs work by the same principle: a wire filament inside the bulb is heated to the Draper point and emits visible light. Meteorites can get above 3000 degrees, which is plenty hot enough to produce a bright light. All that intense heat vaporizes part of the meteor. Between that and the friction from the atmosphere, the rock breaks up miles above the ground. As it slows and comes apart, it enters whats poetically known as dark flight. The meteor fragments cool and slow down, carried along by the windflying almost invisibly. By the time a meteorite hits the ground, its at ambient temperature. Mondays meteorite was unexpected. Meteor showers happen periodically as the Earths orbit takes it through clouds of debris from comet tails. Sporadic meteors like this one break off from asteroids. There are plenty of meteors in our patch of sky every day, but most fall over remote regions of the world or in daylight, when they're usually too dim to see. Sunday's was unusually large and brightif it hadnt landed in Lake Michigan, it probably would have been one of the few each year that produces a fallout large enough to scatter individual meteorite pieces for hunters to find. It landed pretty close to shore, but given the whole dark flight thing and the fact that it was about 1 a.m., its not like anyone saw the meteorites hit the water. We know where it landed because the AMS gathers enough data to find it on Doppler radar. It was Hankeys idea to have the AMS host a citizen science site to report meteor sightings. To track a meteor, he explains, you normally have to interview witnesses or have videos, or both. That means you have to go to peoples houses and then try to measure the angle at which they would have seen the meteor, but all of that is fairly imprecise. Instead, Hankey thought, you could make an app for people to report their sightings right away. Hankey is a software developer professionallyhe just works with the AMS out of sheer love of meteoritesso he was in an ideal position to make that idea a reality. And the system works. We can get really precise trajectories, Hankey says, which is all the more impressive when you realize that this is not a subset of dedicated citizen scientists reporting findings. Its random people. Its involuntary citizen science, Hankey says, When you have events like this, its once in a lifetime. For 99 percent of people, its the first fireball theyve seen. But he says the beauty of Google is that basically everyone immediately goes on the internet and searches for more info on what they just saw. You cant not be captivated by it. Its the type of thing that really gets your mind going. So, Hankey says, people type in things like I just saw a bright light in the sky, and the AMS site comes up. Right on the homepage, theres a button that says Report a Fireball. They got 222 reports on last nights meteor, which they used to plot the trajectory. Based on that trajectory and their knowledge of exactly when the meteor fell, they could go look at the Doppler radar data that NOAA and other government agencies gather and look for a cloud. Not a literal cloud, but a radar cloud produced by the falling meteorite pieces. Since the Doppler info was collected far above the ground surface, it cant be used to determine the precise location of the fallout, but it can get within one kilometer. Sometimes, if they have enough data, astronomers can figure out where the meteor came from in space. The massive meteor that hit Chelybinsk, Russia in 2013 was captured on so many cameras that researchers could backtrack and figure out the meteors original orbit. This whole system is basically dependent on peoples sense of wonder. In fact, the entire AMS was founded on it. In 1911, Charles Olivier wanted a way to collect observations of meteors and meteor showers, so he created the AMS as an offshoot from the American Astronomical Society. Hankey says people used to mail in letters describing their observations for the AMS to collect, and the tradition carries on today. Lots of people send in photos thinking that theyve found a meteorite. But more often than not, its just a heavy black rock. Real meteorites take practice to find. The stereotype of heavy and black is right, Hankey says. Meteorites have embedded metals in them that Earth rocks dont, so theyre unusually heavy, and theyre definitely black. With a new fall, its so blackblacker than anything youve ever seen, he says. Theyre also aerodynamically shaped from their descent. Still, lots of people hoping that theyve found a little piece of space in their backyards are sadly mistaken. It takes training and holding a lot of real meteorites. And finding a lot of false meteorites. And having your heart broken, Hankey says. Ive broken a lot of hearts. Video footage credit: Space Science and Engineering Center (SSEC) and Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, University of Wisconsin-Madison (GIF made from footage courtesy of Space Science and Engineering Center (SSEC) and Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, University of Wisconsin-Madison) Traveling with falcons on commercial airliners is not unheard of in the Middle East, but the sheer number reportedly snapped on a recent flight is pretty remarkable. Reddit user lensoo posted the image with dozens of hooded birds, writing, My captain friend sent me this photo. Saudi prince bought tickets for his 80 hawks. Other Reddit users pointed out the picture, which quickly went viral, actually shows falcons, not hawks. One wrote, If you fly Etihad or Emirates or Qatar enough you will eventually see someone flying in first class with a falcon sitting next to them. According to the International Association for Falconry and Conservation of Birds of Prey, around half of the worlds falconers are located in the Middle East, and many travel across the globe to hunt and take part in competitions. Middle Eastern airlines have special rules for transporting falcons, which have their own passports to crack down on smuggling. #TuesdayMotivation Become so successful that I can fly 80 of my pet hawks on a commericial plane like that Saudi Prince. pic.twitter.com/2kbc49gUyb Jack Molloy (@JackFMolloy) January 31, 2017 FOR THE LATEST TRAVEL FEATURES FOLLOW FOX LIFESTYLE ON FACEBOOK According to Qatar Airways website, passengers are permitted to carry one falcon on board the Economy Class passenger cabin of an aircraft, and a maximum of six falcons are permitted within the Economy Class cabin of an aircraft. Falconry is a popular sport among wealthy Saudis, who often see it as part of their Bedouin, or desert nomad, history. Falconry fans head to deserts to watch the magnificent raptors hunt for prey, with some chases lasting for days. Many of the falcons are imported from the US and Canada and some birds can sell for over $1 million. This story originally appeared on The Sun. A flight attendant has been hailed a hero after reportedly saving a teenage girl from a sex trafficker while working on a flight nearly 6 years ago. Shelia Fedrick of Alaska Airlines noticed a girl with greasy blonde hair, believed to be about 14 or 15, sitting next to a well dressed older man on an Alaska flight from Seattle to San Francisco in 2011. Fedrick said the difference in age and appearance between the traveling companions seemed suspicious to her at the time. WOMAN CLAIMS SHE WAS BOOTED FROM SPIRIT FLIGHT FOR SHOWING TOO MUCH CLEAVAGE But the flight attendant was especially struck by the demeanour of the girl who looked like she had been through pure hell." When Fedrick decided to approach the pair, the girl apparently refused to speak or make eye contact. The man sitting next to the female passenger reportedly kept interrupting the younger girl and became defensive as the stewardess tried to make conversation. Something in the back of my mind said something is not right, Frederick told WTSP. Deciding something was amiss, Fedrick says she formulated a plan. She managed to convince the girl to go to the bathroom where the flight attendant had left her a note stuck to the mirror. Sex and the Flight Attendant Sheila Frederick, 49, was working on an Alaska Airlines flight from Seattle to San... https://t.co/hoA9Y2GjYf Naomi T. Drake (@iMoanMinistries) February 6, 2017 She wrote back on the note, Fedrick told NBC News. She wrote on the note she needed help. Fedrick immediately reported the man to the pilot who then alerted police.. By the time the flight touched down in San Francisco, cops were waiting at the terminal. It was then revealed the girl was the victim of human trafficking and Fedrick had just saved her life. Fedrick told WTSP, Ive been a flight attendant for ten years and its like I am going all the way back to when I was in training. "And I was like, I could have seen these young girls and young boys and didnt even know. If you see something, say something. FOR THE LATEST TRAVEL FEATURES FOLLOW FOX LIFESTYLE ON FACEBOOK Fedrick said she has kept in contact with the girl who is now attending college. I put my phone number on the note that I left for her and I guess she memorised it, so a few weeks later, she called me, Frederick said. Its estimated that more than 50,000 women and girls are trafficked into the United States for prostitution each year, reports The Washington Post. Last year, US Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested 2,000 human traffickers and identified 400 victims. Flight attendants are now being trained to spot for signs of human trafficking as part of their instruction, reported airlineamb.org. This article originally appeared in the The Sun. next Image 1 of 2 prev Image 2 of 2 The new Bliss liner from Norwegian Cruise Line wont be ready to set sail until summer 2018-- but reservations for its first voyage to Alaska and its following voyages through winter 2019 are already available to book online. Starting August 2018, the Norwegian Bliss will take passengers from Seattle, Wash., to ports in Ketchikan, Juneau and Swagway, Alaska, before stopping in Victoria, British Colombia. The trip then returns to Seattle. Prices for the seven-day trip range from $899 to $5,749 per person, depending on dates and accommodations. In a press release, Norwegian describes the Bliss as the first cruise ship custom-built with features and amenities for the ultimate Alaska cruise experience. Notable features also include a sprawling observation deck offering 180-degree views and a two story observation lounge with floor-to-ceiling windows. FOR THE LATEST TRAVEL FEATURES FOLLOW FOX LIFESTYLE ON FACEBOOK One of the ship's most striking features is a large mural along its hull, painted by marine-life artist Robert Wyland-- who often goes by the moniker Wyland. In November 2018, the Bliss will begin sailing the Caribbean, starting in Miami, Fla., making stops in St. Thomas, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Tortola, the British Virgin Islands, and Nassau, Bahamas. The Bliss is currently under construction in Germany, but once complete, the ship will weigh 167,800 tons, measure 1082 feet in length, and hold up to 4004 passengers. Qatar Airways has launched the world's longest scheduled commercial airline route with the arrival of its flight from Doha to Auckland, New Zealand. The Gulf carrier said flight QR920 touched down in Auckland early on Monday after covering a distance of 14,535 kilometers, or 9,032 miles. That is the furthest distance between any two cities linked by direct flights. The outbound journey is scheduled to take 16 hours and 20 minutes on the Boeing 777-200LR. That's relatively short compared to the return trip of 17 hours and 30 minutes, which is slower because of headwinds. Qatar Airways' rival Emirates previously held the record for its route between Dubai and Auckland. That route is more than 300 kilometers shorter. A South Carolina firefighter who was questioned by the Columbia Police Dept. in connection with a deadly arson was cleared of any wrongdoing Tuesday. The Columbia firefighter voluntarily spoke with police after he was spotted on surveillance footage at a fire outside an apartment that killed 80-year-old True Dent Henderson, investigators said. The unidentified firefighter is no longer considered a person of interest or suspect in the case and it's not clear if he knew Henderson. Investigators continue to aggressively investigate a number of leads in the case to determine who started the fire. The Red Cross was providing aid to five other people who had to leave the building. next Image 1 of 2 prev Image 2 of 2 A judge is weighing arguments for and against bringing an 82-year-old suspect to trial in the nonfatal shooting of an Ohio police officer almost 45 years ago. Defendant Charles Hays was indicted but never prosecuted following the shooting as the case fell through the cracks. Columbus police officer Niki Cooper was hit in the left arm in March 1972 when he and his partner interrupted a burglary. Cooper never regained full use of the injured limb. He died just over three years ago at age 71. Hays' lawyer says reopening the case would violate Hays' constitutional speedy trial rights. The Franklin County prosecutor says Hays, who lives in Dayton, never waived his right to a speedy trial. Franklin County Judge Guy Reece scheduled a hearing for Tuesday. It is not a bad thing for us, that the route known as the Goldene Strae or the Golden Road as we will get to know it- has escaped the attention of so many. It has been spared being overrun by hordes of tourists and as you will discover the Two men wearing body armor and carrying firearms and cameras were arrested Sunday at a Michigan police headquarters in a confrontation livestreamed on the internet. Dearborn police said that one of the men wore a ski mask and they initially refused to drop the weapons. James Baker, 24, of Leonard, and Brandon Vreeland, 40, of Jackson, face charges including breaching the peace and failure to cooperate with police. Both men were free on bond. Vreeland tells the Detroit Free Press state law allows them to openly carry legally owned weapons. He said they "audit police to see how well they honor the Constitution and people's rights." The ordeal began when police investigated two suspicious men wearing tactical masks and vests in a car near a shopping center. The men fled the scene, but police found them a few miles away at a park, according to Fox 2 Detroit. Police conducted a traffic stop to investigate and didnt find any weapons in the car. The men drove to the police headquarters to confront the police. Baker was carrying an AP-14 firearm and handgun, while Vreeland was carrying a camera and a tripod. The men initially failed to cooperate, but police eventually took them into custody without incident. Police seized the loaded Ap-14, a loaded Glock 19 handgun and their vests and armor. Police also seized an AK-47 style rifle and an AR-15 rifle. It was pretty clear based on the cameras that they were there to make a statement," Dearborn police Lt. Gary Mann said. Open Carry Michigan condemned the mens actions. Ninety-five percent, at a bare minimum, has said, 'What were these people thinking?' and that really makes the rest of us look bad," attorney Terry Johnson said. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Click for more from Fox 2 Detroit. At least seven confirmed tornadoes hit southeast Louisiana Tuesday, causing major damage as a wave of severe thunderstorms swept through the region. Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards said at a news conference at least seven confirmed tornadoes touched down in the state, including two in Livingston Parish, and one in six other parishes. He declared a state of emergency in the wake of the storms. Edwards said while there was a wide range of destruction, "the Lord has blessed us with not a single fatality at this time." There are at least 20 people reported injured statewide, according to Edwards. New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu said the city suffered "a terrible blow," and that the tornado that struck the east side of the city traveled around two miles and affected a half-mile swath of land. "I want to think we've been through many things together, and we will get through this together with prayers," he told reporters. The large tornado in New Orleans touched down northeast of downtown along Interstate 10 and Chef Menteur Highway, Fox 8 reported. Images from the area showed severely damaged buildings with downed power lines strewn across the road. SLIDESHOW: Tornadoes slam New Orleans area Over 15,000 customers are without power in several areas of the city and surrounding area, according to Fox 8. Laci Blondell, the school director at Schaumburg Elementary School in New Orleans told Fox News even though the building sustained some damage, all the students were safe. "Luckily because of an amazing staff that we have and all the practice procedures that we've had previous to today," she said. "All of our students are accounted for and safe as well as our staff members. And it was truly truly a blessing to have everybody." James Thomas, a resident of Eastern New Orleans, told the Associated Press his his whole neighborhood shows storm damage, but his house escaped the tornado. "It's bad. I've never seen it this bad," he said. "As far as I can see, treetops are off, power lines down." Thomas said he saw the twister coming, grabbed his motorcycle helmet and ran into his bathroom. The room then went pitch-black, he heard hail on the window, and came outside afterward to see a damage trail or about 20 to 40 feet from his house. NASA said in a series of tweets the tornado in Eastern New Orleans impacted the Michoud Facility, but only minor injuries were reported and personnel are being accounted for. The onsite Michoud emergency response team is also conducting damage assessments of buildings and facilities, according to NASA. Yoshekia Brown, who lost everything to Hurricane Katrina in 2005, lost everything again on Tuesday when three-quarters of her home in New Orleans East collapsed in the storm. Brown told the AP she was at work when she got a weather alert on her phone, looked at a weather map and realized it was affecting her neighborhood. She then drove home to check when her brother called to say, "Sister, your house is gone." "I lived in between two blighted properties. One of those would have been gone before my house," Brown said. "It wasn't real until I walked up. I can see into my living room. I can see into my front bedroom. It's just gone. Like the movie Twister." Her 2-year-old son and three dogs survived the storm, and her home was insured. Brown said she's not sure what to do next, but "something good has to come from this." Tornado watches covered large parts of Louisiana and Mississippi and the line of severe storms prompted multiple tornado warnings. At least seven homes were damaged in Livingston Parish, Louisiana, located northwest of New Orleans, according to Deputy Emergency Management Director Brandi Janes. "Two of them are completely gone... all the way to the ground," she told the AP. Janes said she knows of two injuries in the parish, both minor, but didn't immediately have any information on whether the homes that were destroyed were occupied when the storm struck. The tornadoes are part of storm system moving across the Deep South that lit up radar monitors and prompting multiple tornado warnings from Louisiana to Alabama as the system brought hail, high winds and twisters to the New Orleans area. One of the warnings described a "large, extremely dangerous and potentially deadly" twister south of Hammond, Louisiana. White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer told reporters President Trump plans to contact officials in the hardest-hit areas. The National Storm Prediction Center in Norman, Oklahoma, said 2.7 million people in parts of Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama would be at the highest risk of severe weather on Tuesday. Fox News' Willie Inman and The Associated Press contributed to this report. Click for more from FOX8Live.com. A Minnesota city that drew backlash after pulling a cross from a veterans memorial park has agreed to bring it back as early as Tuesday -- inside a section of the park that supporters have called a "free speech zone." COFFEE COMPANY TAKES ON STARBUCKS' REFUGEE PLAN, PLEDGES TO HIRE 10,000 VETERANS The Freedom From Religion Foundation demanded the city of Belle Plaine remove the cross last month, claiming it violated the separation of church and state. After workers took it down, many supporters of vets responded by setting up their own crosses, and the Second Brigade Motorcycle Club patrolled the park to watch out for vandalism. I'm told they will be welding the cross back on by as early as tonight. The memorial will look like this again soon. pic.twitter.com/s3LVkhRIea Courtney Godfrey (@courtneygodfrey) February 7, 2017 Amid the controversy in that city, the Alliance Defending Freedom, a conservative Christian nonprofit, proposed setting up a "limited public forum" inside the park, where the original cross could stand, Fox 9 reported. The name "free speech zone" has stuck, even though the park is public. CEMETERY WITH GRAVES OF VETS AND A PRESIDENT'S GRANDFATHER SEES NEW VANDALISM The city council narrowly approved the proposal, by a vote of 3-2. Under the plan, city leaders would set up a method of considering each proposed display, giving priority to veterans groups, the StarTribune reported. "It sets it up so we can have something to memorialize our fallen but it also gives others a chance to memorialize theirs as well," Katie Novotny, a supporter of the cross who lived in Belle Plaine, told the news station. "It doesnt matter if youre Jewish, if youre Muslim, were all Americans fighting this war together." The Freedom From Religion Foundation called the idea "constitutionally problematic" in a letter before Monday's vote, Fox 9 added. The group reportedly claimed it would submit a proposal for a memorial of its own in the park. The newly approved plan "ensures that there is no endorsement of religion by the city whatsoever because the memorials that will be put up represent the citizens that put them up," Doug Wardlow, who represented the Alliance Defending Freedom, responded. The original memorial showed the silhouette of a soldier holding a gun and kneeling in front of a small cross. It could reappear in the park as early as Tuesday evening, according to Fox 9. Cheers erupted in City Hall after the council gave the OK. Belle Plaine is a 45-minute drive southwest of Minneapolis. Click for more from Fox 9. A Penn State University student fell down some steps during a party at a fraternity house, and police say paramedics weren't called until about 12 hours later. State College police say sophomore Timothy Piazza died Saturday at Hershey Medical Center. He had been transferred there after being found unconscious at the bottom of the basement steps in the Beta Theta Pi house shortly before 11 a.m. Friday. Police say Piazza reportedly fell down the steps about 11 p.m. Thursday, during a party. Penn State has suspended the fraternity, which has also been put on a "cease and desist" order from the school's Interfraternity Council and the fraternity's national organization. The cause of manner of Piazza's death remains under investigation. Police say the fraternity is cooperating, and investigators are obtaining unspecified video from the group. The Latest on President Donald Trump (all times local): 10 a.m. Turkish officials say President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will hold a telephone conversation with U.S. President Donald Trump their first since the American leader took office. Officials from Erdogan's office said the conversation would take place around 2100 GMT, or 4 p.m. Eastern Standard Time. Turkey's relations with the United States under the Obama administration were strained, with Ankara frequently expressing frustrations over what it perceives as U.S. reluctance to extradite U.S.-based Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen, whom Turkey accuses of orchestrating the failed July 15 military coup. Turkey has also been angered by U.S. support to Syrian Kurdish militia fighting the Islamic State group. Ankara considers the fighters "terrorists" because of their links to Kurdish rebels in Turkey. ___ 8:40 a.m. President Donald Trump's nominee for labor secretary says a housekeeper he previously employed at his home was an undocumented worker. Andrew Puzder said in a statement that he and his wife employed a housekeeper for a few years and they were unaware that "she was not legally permitted to work in the U.S." He says that when they learned of her status, "we immediately ended her employment and offered her assistance in getting legal status." Puzder, a fast food chain executive, adds that he and his wife have "fully paid back taxes to the IRS and the State of California." The revelation could complicate Puzder's nomination. ___ 7:35 a.m. President Donald Trump says it's no fair "the haters" tie him to Russian President Vladimir Putin when President Barack Obama was the one who struck a deal with Iran. He tweeted Monday: "I don't know Putin, have no deals in Russia, and the haters are going crazy - yet Obama can make a deal with Iran, #1 in terror, no problem!" Obama helped orchestrate a 2015 nuclear agreement between Iran, the U.S. and five other world powers, in which Tehran agreed to curb its uranium enrichment in exchange for the lifting of international sanctions. Trump has criticized that deal. He also once bragged about how well he knew Putin, but he has since walked back those comments, amid accusations that Russia meddled in the U.S. election. The adoptive parents of a South Carolina girl are fighting to retain custody of the 3-year-old child they've cared for since she was weeks old after a judge remanded the case back to a family court. Tammy and Edward Dalsing, of Rock Hill, S.C., welcomed Braelynn Puckett into their home in 2013 when she was 3 weeks old, raising the bubbly, brown-eyed girl who loves ballet and swing sets as if she were their own. Now, the Dalsings said they fear the girl will be placed with her biological father, who was released from jail three months ago. "Being a father or a mother is not about biology -- it's about love," Edward Dalsing told Fox News Tuesday. The Dalsings -- registered foster parents who have seven other children -- were declared adoptive parents of the girl, according to a 2015 "Final Order of Adoption Notice" obtained by Fox News. In the ruling, a family court judge "hereby forever terminated" the parental rights of the child's biological parents, Erica Smith and Andrew Jack Myers, who was incarcerated at the time of the order. "...the Dalsings have demonstrated their ability to provide care, support, stability, and security for Braelynn," the September 2015 court order reads. "They are well-suited to meet her physical, emotional, medical, educational, spiritual and other needs." But in a move that stunned the family, an appellate court judge ruled to vacate the adoption in December 2016. The girl's fate is now back in the hands of the family court system. Myers is arguing the court never should have terminated his parental rights. "His rights were terminated because he [Myers] failed to meet the minimum requirements under South Carolina state law," said Dalsing, claiming Myers never called, visited, provided financial support or showed any interest in the child's life. "Braelynn's entire world is being taken away," Tammy Dalsing said. Myers' attorney, meanwhile, says her client was not present in court when his rights were terminated, though court documents show he was legally represented. "He [Myers] was never in court he was never allowed to come," his lawyer, Melinda Butler, told Fox News. "He was incarcerated in another state and was never transported." "Mr. Myers has been committed to being a father to his daughter from the womb and he remains absolutely committed and his family supports him 100 percent," Butler said. The South Carolina Department of Social Services had removed the girl from her biological mother shortly after her birth in May 2013 when a drug test revealed the presence of cocaine and benzoylecgonine in her system. The DSS then placed Braelynn with the Dalsings, who contract with DSS to provide foster care. The York County couple has eight children, five of whom came to the Dalsings as foster children, including Braelynn and her biological sister, McKenna. At the time Braelynn was placed in the Dalsing's care, Myers was incarcerated in Virginia on two contempt of court charges, two fraud, bank notes or coins charges and one probation violation. Following his release in November, Myers appealed the adoption order and an appellate court judge agreed, citing a previous ruling that said incarceration was not enough reason to terminate a parent's rights. "We vacate the family court's finding that father's consent was not required for the adoption and the family court's order granting foster parents adoption of child," reads the appellate court opinion. "We find the record does not contain clear and convincing evidence showing father willfully failed to visit child." But Judge Rochelle Conits, who issued the 2015 adoption order, had disagreed. "Mr. Myers has willfully failed to support the child," she wrote in the final order. "He never paid any support for the child, despite having the ability and discretion to do so from funds in his commissary account." The Dalsings also say Myers made no attempt to contact them about the daughter he's never met. He sent one card through his attorney shortly before the girl's first birthday, according to the family. "Hes never tried to call us," Edward Dalsing said. "He lost his right not because he was in prison, but because he didnt do anything." In the meantime, the family has requested a re-hearing with the state court of appeals while the girl -- who is three months shy of her fourth birthday -- continues to live with them. No decision over the girl's fate has been made yet. Neither Myers nor the girl's biological mother, Erica Smith, could be reached for comment. The Dalsings claim Smith -- whom they are in regular contact with -- had asked them to adopt her daughter and sides with the family in the dispute. The DSS declined to comment on the matter Tuesday, citing confidentiality laws. Jim O'Connor, a South Carolina-based family attorney, said the custody battle raises many questions. "I want to know if the father was given the opportunity to be present at trial when his rights were terminated -- was he afforded the opportunity to be heard in the court?" asked O'Connor, who is not involved in the case. "We have to remember that Family Court is a court of equity and the result must be as fair as possible to everybody involved," O'Connor told Fox News. "When you place a child at the center of a controversy, then that child's best interest must be paramount, without exception." The Dalsings have launched an online petition and created a website to bring awareness to their plight. "Were asking everyone to be a voice for Braelynn because right now the South Carolina judicial system is not her voice," Edward Dalsing said. Fox News' Terace Garnier contributed to this report. A Cleveland-area judge is considering whether prosecutors should have the option to retry three men who spent 20 years in prison before their convictions for a 1995 murder were overturned last year. Cleveland.com (http://bit.ly/2khsl3K ) reports that lawyers for the three East Cleveland men want a Cuyahoga (ky-uh-HOH'-guh) County judge to dismiss the case with prejudice, meaning they couldn't face new charges in the same killing. The attorneys argue that prosecutors withheld evidence that could have exonerated the men, violating their right to a fair trial. Prosecutors haven't indicated plans for new charges against the men anytime soon, but say they can't rule out that possibility. Laurese Glover, Eugene Johnson and Derrick Wheatt were convicted as teenagers in the fatal shooting of 19-year-old Clifton Hudson. They denied killing him. ___ Information from: cleveland.com, http://www.cleveland.com A man suspected in the killings of three women is dead after a standoff with police at a Georgia motel late Tuesday, and a female suspect has been arrested, officials said. U.S. Marshals spokesman Jim Joyner said that 44-year-old William "Billy" Boyette was dead after the standoff in West Point, Georgia and that 37-year-old Mary Rice was taken into custody after the pair, often compared to Bonnie and Clyde, had been holed up inside a room at the motel. The Troup County Sheriff's Office said Boyette is believed to have died from a self-inflicted gun shot wound. Dominic Guadagnoli of the U.S. Marshals Service earlier told the Pensacola News Journal that the stolen vehicle the couple had been driving was seen at the motel, and that Rice checked into the motel using her real name. Authorities had been searching for the couple linked to a multi-state killing spree for seven days. Two capital murder warrants were issued for Boyette, who is suspected in the deaths of two women in Florida and one woman in Alabama, Santa Rosa County Sheriff Bob Johnson told reporters. Boyette is also suspected of wounding a young mother on Monday during a home invasion near Pensacola. 2 EMPLOYEES ATTACKED BY INMATE AT NORTH CAROLINA PRISON He is a deranged man, Johnson said earlier Thursday. Police are also seeking warrants for accessory after the fact for Rice, who was seen on video with Boyette since the shootings started, Johnson said. NORTH CAROLINA POLICE OFFICER SHOOTS AFTER BEING HIT BY CAR Rice had previously been considered a person of interest in the attacks; however on Monday she was upgraded to an official suspect. Authorities said she dyed her hair orange and did not act on multiple chances to flee or ask for help. She was spotted on surveillance video entering stores on her own. The fact that she was seen away from him in Walmart and then came together with him in the parking lot, shes a willing participant without a doubt, Johnson said. The Florida Panhandle was on high alert since the killing spree began last week. Two bodies turned up at the Emerald Sands Inn in Milton on Jan. 31. One of the victims, Alicia Greer, 30, was in a relationship with Boyette, while the other was identified as Jacqueline Jeanette Moore, 39. Police said Greer is the only victim with a connection to the suspected killer. Boyette and Rice then reportedly went to Lillian, Ala., where police said they allegedly killed Peggy Broz and stole her vehicle Friday morning. The manhunt for Boyette and Rice escalated after the Monday morning shooting that left Kayla Crocker, 32, in the hospital in critical condition. Crocker's white Chevrolet Cobalt was stolen and video surveillance confirmed Boyette and Rice took the car to a nearby Shell station and ate at a Hardee's restaurant a short time after the attack. Authorities believed Boyette and Rice were hiding in nearby wooden areas, which they said are well-known to the suspect. Boyette had a history of drug trafficking and is known to be a heavy user of the drug Spice. The Associated Press contributed to this report. A man died by falling ice while cleaning windows in Park City, Utah, on Friday. Jon Henry, 50, Midway husband and father of two, cleaned windows in the Park City area for over eleven years. According to Henry's family, while he was working, a 200-pound sheet of ice and snow slid off a roof of a home that Henry was cleaning. Police and paramedics freed him and airlifted him to University Hospital. TORNADOES STRIKE NEW ORLEANS AREA, WIDESPREAD DAMAGE REPORTED "I threw his things and toothbrush in a bag because I figured a couple days and then we'd be home," his wife said. "The magnitude of the volume of snow up there is more than people realize, I think." In the days following the accident, the Henry family says they've had an outpouring of support and love from the community and friends and family. The family spent time Monday afternoon reflecting on what made Jon a great husband and father. "He would send emails every Monday saying, 'I'm thinking of you guys, love you guys,'" said Jonson Henry, Jon's son. "I remember when we walked into a store, he found some object, a remote control helicopter, and said 'everyone needs one of these,' and everyone smiled." Click for more from Fox 13. A body found in a shallow grave in Alpine, Texas, is confirmed to be Zuzu Verk, a 22-year-old woman who vanished in October 2016. COPS HUNT WOMAN, 'DERANGED' MAN LINKED TO 3 MURDERS IN 2 STATES Alpine Police confirmed the identification made through dental records at a news conference Monday. Verks former boyfriend, Robert Fabian, has been under arrest for tampering with or fabricating physical evidence by concealing a human corpse since Saturday. His bond was set at $500,000. TWO EMPLOYEES ATTACKED BY INMATE AT NORTH CAROLINA PRISON Police in Phoenix arrested a second man, Chris Estrada, on the same charges Monday. Verk was last heard from during the early hours of October 12 after a night out with friends and her boyfriend. Verk was a student at Sul Ross State University in Alpine. Verks father, Glenn, told Fox News in October that Zuzus boyfriend was not cooperating with the investigation and asked him to tell police what he knew. "When someone you care about is missing, dont you help?" said Glenn Verk, whose lives seven hours away in Keller, the Dallas-Fort Worth suburb where his daughter grew up. He said he was happy with the response from the community. "I drove all night as soon as I heard Zuzu was missing, and when I got there, a search was already in progress," he said. "Everyone wanted to help, but he [Verk's boyfriend] wasn't there." Less than a week after Zuzu Verk disappeared, police offered $7,500 for Verks safe return or information leading to her. By the end of October, police were offering $200,000. A GoFundMe page was set up to help the family pay for hotels, meals and gas while the Verks spent time in Alpine searching for their daughter. The page ultimately raised over $13,000 dollars, far exceeding the $5,000 goal. Alpine is about 220 miles southeast of El Paso, and north of Big Bend National Park. Fox News' Cristina Corbin contributed to this report. South Korea's spy agency told the country's lawmakers Wednesday that North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un executed his defense chief for falling asleep during a meeting and talking back to the young leader. Lawmaker Shin Kyoung-min says that officials from the National Intelligence Service told a closed-door parliamentary committee that People's Armed Forces Minister Hyon Yong Chol was killed by anti-aircraft gunfire with hundreds watching at a shooting range at Pyongyang's Kang Kon Military Academy in late April. Shin was one of the lawmakers who attended the briefing. The office of another lawmaker, Lee Cheol Woo, released similar information about the NIS briefing. The NIS didn't tell lawmakers how it got the information, saying only that it was from a variety of channels and that it believed it to be true, Shin said. The agency wouldn't comment when contacted by The Associated Press. South Korea's spy agency has a spotty record of tracking developments in North Korea. Information about the secretive, authoritarian state is often impossible to confirm. U.S. State Department spokesman Jeff Rathke said Wednesday the U.S. can't confirm reporting of the execution of North Korean officials, but added that "these disturbing reports, if they are true, describe another extremely brutal act by the North Korean regime. These reports are sadly not the first." More On This... Analyst Cheong Seong-chang at the private Sejong Institute think tank in South Korea questioned the authenticity of the report on Hyon's execution because the minister still frequently appears in state TV footage. North Korea typically removes executed and purged officials from TV documentaries, but Hyon has appeared multiple times in a TV documentary on live fire drills between April 30 and May 11, according to Seoul's Unification Ministry. North Korea's state media hasn't mentioned Hyon since an April 29 report of his attendance of a music performance the previous day. Hyon was named armed forces minister, the equivalent of South Korea's defense minister, in June of last year. He was made a vice marshal of the Korean People's Army in July 2012 before being demoted to a four-star general later that year, according to South Korea's Unification Ministry. Kim, the South Korean parliament's intelligence committee chief, said Hyon was the North Korean military's No. 2 after Hwang Pyong So, the top political officer at the Korean People's Army. Since taking power upon the death of his dictator father in late 2011, Kim has orchestrated a series of purges in apparent efforts to bolster his grip on power. Analysts are split on whether the bloody power shifts indicate a young leader in firm control, or someone still struggling to establish himself. The most notable purge was in 2013 when Kim executed his uncle and chief deputy, Jang Song Thaek, for alleged treason. Koh Yu-hwan, a North Korea expert at Dongguk University in Seoul, said Kim Jong Un appears to be using purges to keep the military old guard in check as they pose the only plausible threats to his rule. Koh said Kim could be resorting to a "reign of terror" to solidify his leadership but that would eventually have only a limited effect if he fails to produce breakthroughs in resolving the country's economic woes. Last month, spy officials told lawmakers that North Korea executed 15 senior officials accused of challenging Kim's authority. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Moldova's prime minister says the government will continue to implement reforms a day after a former prime minister was detained and charged with taking bribes worth $260 million. Premier Valeriu Strelet of the Liberal Democratic Party said Friday not all measures would be popular with the other two parties in the pro-European ruling coalition. Vlad Filat, Liberal Democratic prime minister from 2009 to 2013, was detained in connection with a bank fraud of up to $1.5 billion that went missing from three banks ahead of November 2014 parliamentary elections. Filat denies wrongdoing. Strelet called on Moldova's president to fire the director of the anti-corruption prosecutors' office, saying he had "a selective" approach to fighting corruption. He noted that the businessman who allegedly paid bribes to Filat had not been detained. The Roman Catholic Church in El Salvador has asked the small Central American country's legislature to ban metal mining. Archbishop Jose Luis Escobar Alas said Monday that the country's mining law is so obsolete that it makes El Salvador especially vulnerable to exploitation. In October, El Salvador celebrated a victory in international arbitration against a multinational mining company. Pac Rim Cayman had demanded $250 million for potential profits lost when the government did not grant it a license to mine gold. Australia-based OceanaGold, which purchased Pac Rim Cayman in 2013, was ordered to pay the government's $8 million in legal fees. Other proposals to ban mining have been introduced to the legislature, but conservative parties have kept them from advancing. The European Union has appointed 19 international judges to a special court that will prosecute ethnic Albanian rebels for crimes during and immediately after Kosovo's war for independence. A statement Tuesday said the Kosovo Specialist Chambers judges come from 12 EU countries and the United States and Canada. The court based in The Hague has jurisdiction over crimes against humanity, war crimes and other crimes under Kosovo law which allegedly occurred between Jan. 1, 1998 and Dec. 31 2000. The court, which was created last year, has not yet begun processing any cases. Some 10,000 people died and 1,700 went missing during the 1998-1999 Kosovo war that ended after NATO intervened on behalf of the Albanian majority. Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008, which Serbia has not recognized. next Image 1 of 3 prev next Image 2 of 3 prev Image 3 of 3 French police say 26 protesters were detained during an eruption of violence against police in the Paris suburbs in which a police car was torched. The violence in the night of Monday to Tuesday is a show of outrage in support of a young black man who authorities allege was sodomized by a police officer's baton last week during a police operation that targeted drug traffickers. Several cars were set on fire and blazed through the night, with firefighters racing to limit the damage. Police Alliance spokesman Frederic Lagache said that one police officer narrowly escaped being burned as a protester set his vehicle on fire with a Molotov cocktail. He said in an interview with Europe-1: "The objective is to kill cops and this is unacceptable." It looks like the attempt by police to have three topless sunbathers cover themselves up may have backfired big time. Hundreds of women are expected to take to the streets topless in several Argentinian cities Tuesday, claiming their right to enjoy a day at the beach bare-chested just like men do. The so-called Tetazos protest follows a week of escalating tensions over an incident in which three women sunbathing topless on a public beach were ordered by cops to put their bikini tops back on. The scene was captured in video and quickly spread through social media. (Go figure.) And although a judge ruled that topless sunbathing on a public beach is allowed, the controversy is far from over. ADULTS-ONLY, NUDIST-FRIENDLY 'DESIRE' CRUISE TO SET SAIL NEXT YEAR Equality! The only [breasts] that annoy you are the ones that you cant buy! reads the event description on Facebook. The main tetazo, for the Spanish word teta, is set to take place Tuesday afternoon at the Buenos Aires Obelisk. "We call a tetazo in response to the instructive mechanism that moralists pretend to perform on our bodies and decisions, as have always done the state institutions that reinforce patriarchy," the organizers said in a statement. POLICE OFFICER SUSPENDED FOR OPENING DOOR IN THE NUDE FOR PIZZA DELIVERY The officers who took part in the beach incident cited an article of the Criminal Code, drafted in 1973, that describes going topless an "obscene display." In his ruling, Judge Mario Juliano said that "a woman exposing her breasts does not constitute an act injurious to a third parties" and ruled the 1973 norm unconstitutional. Syrian President Bashar Assad said Tuesday that President Donald Trumps focus on eradicating the Islamic State from the Middle East was promising, but too early to expect "practical steps." Assad was quoted by the SANA news agency as saying, "I believe this is promising but we have to wait and it's too early to expect anything practical." Critics would argue Assad's murderous regime has never taken a "practical" approach to eliminating ISIS, instead killing tens of thousands of his own innocent citizens during his country's bloody civil war. Trump has previously hinted at the possibility of aligning with Assad, which would amount to a drastic reversal from years of the Obama administration calls for Assads ouster. Trump has made defeating ISIS one of his core elements to his presidency and signed an executive order asking the Pentagon, the joint chiefs of staff and other agencies to submit a plan on how to defeat the terror group within the month. Widespread evidence of torture, chemical weapons attacks and even war crimes by Assad's forces had made a partnership infeasible to Obama and most of America's foreign policy establishment. Trump has said Assad may be "bad" but the rebels fighting to topple him "could be worse." He has said the U.S. has no idea who its allies in the country are and has appeared most concerned about containing the exodus of Syrian refugees, fearing they'll spread terrorism. Assad had previously suggested the U.S. and Syria could be "natural allies." Assad added in his press conference that a U.S.-Russia alliance in the Middle East could bring positive repercussions. Trump has raised the possibility of a broad new U.S. partnership with Vladimir Putin's increasingly authoritarian Russia. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Click for more from Reuters. In a dilapidated Y-shaped military prison near Damascus, the Syrian government quietly and brutally executed its own people, according to an alarming report released by Amnesty International. The 48-page report claims Syria secretly carried out mass hangings at the Saydnaya Military Prison to eliminate those who spoke out against the government. At least 13,000 people were hanged the past five years, most of them in batches of 50, the report said. The most important finding here is that the government has been launching a calculated campaign of exterminations in this prison, Nicolette Waldman, a Middle East and North Africa researcher at Amnesty International who authored the report, told Fox News. This is not an isolated incident, but a planned and strategic campaign to root out opposition in the civilian population and even kill those against Syrian authorities. The report is just the latest look at the humanitarian crisis that persists in Bashar al-Assads Syria. Amnesty Internationals investigation, spanning from December 2015 to December 2016, consisted of interviews with former Saydnaya prison officials, guards, and former detainees who gave testimony and were witnesses to the sounds and sights of certain executions. The bodies, according to witnesses, were eventually dumped at mass graves on military land near the countrys capital. One former prison guard told Amnesty International that Saydnaya is the end of life the end of humanity. There are two detention centers at Saydnaya Military Prison, which, according to the report, may hold up to 20,000 people. In the red building, the majority of detainees are civilians who have been arrested since the beginning of the crisis in 2011. In the white building, the majority of the detainees are officers and soldiers in the Syrian military who have been arrested since 2011. The report said the detainees were never given a fair trial. Instead, they were tortured until they gave false confessions. Government leaders, the report said, knew the prison was a human slaughterhouse yet turned a blind eye to it. We believe these practices are known about and approved by the highest level of the Syrian government, Waldman told Fox News. People need to understand that Saydnaya has been manufactured to be a place of slaughter for human beings. The State Department told Fox News that they are in the process of reviewing the report. Our initial assessment is that were not surprised by its allegations as it would be keeping with Assad and his regimes brutal tactics, which include systematic human rights violations, Mark Toner, acting State Department spokesperson, told Fox News via email. The report outlined recommendations to address the situation at the prison, calling for a United Nations investigation into crimes against humanity as well as allowing independent monitors to have unfettered access to Syrian prisons. Saydnayas prison is notorious and known by all opposing groups to the Assad regime, said Walid Phares, a Fox News contributor and former foreign policy advisor to President Trump during the campaign. Many reports have surfaced about the breaches at Saydnaya targeting Syrian opposition members and citizens. Phares said the United Nations and the United States should demand Syria to release all of its political prisoners. Former Congressman Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio), who recently returned from a humanitarian fact-finding mission in Syria, said he was disturbed by the reports findings. Killing of innocent civilians is fundamentally wrong and if this report is true, it raises questions of great consequence for international law, Kucinich told Fox News. While the report only looked at one prison, Waldman said the group would not be surprised if similar executions were being carried out other Syrian prisons. It would be very concerning if this was the tip of the iceberg, which we hope is not the case, but its important we immediately determine whats going on, Waldman told Fox News. We need to bring these atrocities to an end. A top official of the European Union's highest court says Belgium must grant a humanitarian visa to a Syrian family seeking asylum even though the family has no strong ties to the country. Advocate General Paolo Mengozzi said in an opinion Tuesday that any EU member state should provide a visa on humanitarian grounds if there is fear for grave consequences otherwise. The Belgian government has refused to grant humanitarian visas to the family from the besieged city of Aleppo, arguing the links are too tenuous. It has been fined 4,000 euros ($4,270) a day for defying a local appeal tribunal. The family is believed still to be in Syria. The opinion is not binding on the court itself but is often followed in the final ruling. Iran removed a powerful missile from a launchpad east of Tehran within the past few days, Fox News has learned, as U.S. and Iranian officials continued trading public barbs about the Islamic Republic's missile tests. IRAN, 'ON NOTICE' BY UNITED STATES, LAUNCHES MISSILES IN EXERCISE The Pentagon is concerned because Safir missiles use the same components as those needed for an intercontinental ballistic missile. Irans ballistic program has expanded dramatically in the past 10 years, a senior U.S. defense official told Fox News. New satellite imagery from Feb. 3, obtained exclusively by Fox News from ImageSat International and verified by U.S. officials, showed Iran preparing a Safir for launch. That missile is the type Iran has previously used to put a satellite into space. ISRAELI LEADER PRESSES UK TO IMPOSE NEW SANCTIONS ON IRAN It has been two years since Iran has launched a Safir into space, according to officials. But there has been a flurry of activity on an Iranian launchpad that U.S. officials have been watching closely, since the launch of a ballistic missile from the site last week. In a surprising about face, Fox News learned Tuesday morning that Irans missile had been removed from the launchpad. It was not immediately clear why. On Jan. 29, Iran launched a new type of medium-range ballistic missile prompting an emergency meeting of the U.N. Security Council on Jan. 31. A day later the White House issued a strongly worded statement from National Security Adviser Mike Flynn putting Iran "on notice." President Trump tweeted a similar statement soon after. Days later, American intelligence officials watched as Iran quickly cleaned up the site and prepared another missile on the same launchpad near Semnan, about 140 miles east of Tehran, before it was removed. ImageSat International reported a "missile integrations facility" near the launchpad that is normally quiet had a host of visitors on February 3, when the new missile showed up on the launchpad. Another satellite photo showed an additional Iranian missile launcher and nine vehicles in the desert not far from the launchpad. "The specific aspect of the Safir that is useful from an ICBM perspective is learning how to stage a missile, basically stacking one missile atop another," said Jeffrey Lewis, a scholar at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies. "Other than that, though, its really a space launcher." On Friday, the same day the satellite photos showed the new Safir missile on the launchpad, the White House announced new sanctions against 13 Iranian individuals and 12 Iranian companies tied to its missile program. Iran's Supreme Leader on Tuesday issued a new warning to the White House about the coming 38th anniversary of Iran's Revolution this Friday. "No enemy can paralyze the Iranian nation," Khamenei said. "[Trump] says 'you should be afraid of me'. No! The Iranian people will respond to his words on Feb. 10 and will show their stance against such threats," according to Reuters. Speaking in Tokyo on his first overseas trip, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis called Iran the "single biggest state sponsor of terrorism in the world." The view was shared by former President Barack Obamas State Dept. in its last terrorism report issued in June. The report listed Iran first as a state sponsor of terrorism along with Sudan and Syria. On Sunday, Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., called Irans recent ballistic missile launch very dangerous and said the launch should not have happened, and agreed with President Trump that new sanctions on the Islamic Republic were needed. Also Sunday, Iran fired off five advanced surface-to-air missiles as part of a military exercise Sunday, two US officials told Fox News. The Iranian Sayyad -- or "Hunter" -- missiles were launched from Dasht-e Kavir, a remote area 45 miles south of Semnan, the location of last week's ballistic missile launch. Officials said the tests were successful. U.N. Resolution 2231 calls upon Iran not to conduct ballistic missile tests -- but does not forbid the nation from doing so. The resolution went into effect days after the landmark nuclear deal with signed with Western nations including the U.S. Iran has placed four satellites into orbit since 2009, according to allthingsnuclear.org, which says the Iranian Safir missile closely resembles Irans Shahab3 ballistic missile, based on North Koreas Nodong missile. The website is run by the nonprofit Union of Concerned Scientists. In his book "The Field of Fight," Flynn writes about Iran: "For nearly forty years every American administration has permitted the Islamic Republic to build up its strength, and even organize assassinations in our capital. Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton and Ronald Reagan either directly sold weapons to Iran, or enabled others to do it." The Islamic State reportedly keeps meticulous records of its jihadi warriors on file with some of the information ranging from country of origin to blood type to the amount of slave girls each fighter has. Documents obtained by the Washington Post show the different informational categories the terror group keeps on its fighters. An illustration from the newspaper showed that one Frenchman who joined ISIS in 2015 had a B+ blood type and didnt have any slave girls or children from slave goals. The file also shows that the man didnt have any children or wives in so-called infidel countries. Reuters reported last November that men caught in the ISIS terror network must obey decisions of a senior cleric over how to share their sex slaves. One pamphlet included a question-and-answer section on women and girls held as ISIS captives. It stated: Non-Muslim women can be taken as concubines. It reportedly added that terrorists could keep two sisters as concubines, but could have sex with only one of them. In addition, each woman could sleep with only one man. The Washington Post obtained more than dozen documents on problem fighters from the Tariq Bin Ziyad battalion. Some recruits reportedly had medical notes saying that they wouldnt join battle and others requested transfers from Iraq to Syria. Others just wouldnt fight. He doesnt want to fight, wants to return to France, notes on one of the France-native fighters read. Claims his will is a martyrdom operation in France. Claims sick but doesnt have a medical report. Iraqi counterterrorism forces found the files in a Mosul house that was being used by the Tariq Bin Ziyad battalion as an administrative base, according to The Washington Post. Click for more form The Washington Post. next Image 1 of 2 prev Image 2 of 2 The mayor of Ankara has suggested that two earthquakes that demolished homes on Turkey's northern Aegean coast may have been triggered artificially as part of a plot to harm Turkey's economy. Melih Gokcek, who frequently courts controversy, said in a series of tweets on Tuesday that authorities should keep a close eye on all submarines and heavily equipped ships sailing off Turkey's northwestern coast, where two magnitude-5.3 quakes damaged homes in 11 villages and injured five people on Monday. Gokcek tweeted: "The blow they want to inflict on Turkey is to cause economic collapse through an earthquake near Istanbul. Some may ridicule this, but I take it seriously." The mayor had previously raised eyebrows by suggesting that a U.S.-based cleric, blamed for Turkey's failed coup, uses genies to control his followers. next Image 1 of 3 prev next Image 2 of 3 prev Image 3 of 3 Saeb Erekat, secretary general of the Palestinian Liberation Organization, has told The Associated Press that Israeli legislation to retroactively legalize thousands of West Bank settlement homes is "putting the last nail in the coffin of the two-state solution." The bill, approved by lawmakers late Monday, is the latest in a series of pro-settler steps taken by Israel's hard-line government since the election of Donald Trump as U.S. president. Calling the move "theft," Erekat said it was "the Israeli government trying to legalize looting Palestinian land." Erekat spoke in Paris ahead of a visit by Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas to meet with President Francois Hollande Tuesday. Police in a suburb of Buenos Aires, Argentina, discovered the bodies of a mother and her 15-year-old daughter buried together in a private homes backyard. Maruja Chacon Perez and her daughter Shirley Cielo Barrientos were last seen on Friday. ARGENTINE MAN ARRESTED IN DEATHS OF WIFE, 4 OF HER RELATIVES An official with the Office of Security of Punta Lara, Susana Gonzalez, told local media their main suspect is the houses tenant, reportedly the oldest victims romantic partner. She said the killings apparently occurred on Friday night or Saturday. The bodies were found buried 5 feet under the ground, wrapped with plastic bags and blankets. They were both naked, she said, but it has not yet been determined if they were sexually attacked. NEW IMMIGRATION LAW IN ARGENTINA BANS ENTRY, EXPELS FOREIGNERS WITH CRIMINAL RECORDS Gonzalez said that the suspect, who remains fugitive, resigned to his job on Monday and that before leaving he told co-workers I messed up. The search for the women, who were Peruvian immigrants, began after their relatives back home claimed they had not heard from them in several days and got concerned. The prosecutor investigating the case of bribery against Brazil's giant Odebrecht conglomerate in Peru will ask for the preventive detention of former President of Peru Alejandro Toledo for suspected influence peddling and money laundering. The announcement by Attorney General Pablo Sanchez came after the AG's office announced Monday night that a case had been opened against him. A judge is expected to determine very quickly what measures will be taken against the ex-president, who ruled the South American country between 2001 and 2006. PERU: BRIBES BY BRAZILIAN BUILDER COST COUNTRY $283 MILLION Given that Toledo is currently in France with his wife, these measures could include an international search and capture warrant. On Monday night the AG's office reported that it has opened a criminal investigation against Toledo and Jorge Barata, ex-director of Odebrecht in Peru, and Josef Maiman, a friend of the ex-president who acted as his front man. According to the AG's office, Barata will be accused as the primary accomplice in money laundering and Maiman as the mastermind of that crime. Toledo is the first eminence of Peruvian politics accused of receiving bribes from Odebrecht, which occurred after Barata confirmed to prosecutors in Brazil and Peru that Toledo had pocketed $20 million in kickbacks. BRAZIL'S 'CAR WASH' PROSECUTOR SAYS CORRUPTION PROBE TO GROW For that money, Odebrecht was guaranteed the concession for laying the Interoceanic Highway. In Peru, Odebrecht paid some $29 million in kickbacks to officials between 2005-2014, years that included the governments of Toledo, Alan Garcia (2006-2011) and Ollanta Humala (2011-2016), as can be deducted from an agreement signed by the company with the U.S. Justice Department. President Vladimir Putin has put the Russian air force on high alert, the latest in a series of drills amid tensions with the West. Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said that the drills launched Tuesday will check the air force's readiness and its ability to repel an enemy aggression. Shoigu told military officials that special emphasis will be given to practicing the deployment of air defense systems. The maneuvers are the latest in a steady series of war games intended to strengthen the troops' readiness. Despite Russia's economic downturn, the Kremlin has continued to spend big on military training and weapons modernization amid tensions with the West over the Ukrainian crisis. Headaches, bad backs and general malaise are plaguing the ranks of ISIS, with jihadists calling out sick from the fight to save their caliphate, according to a report. IRAQI ARMY ENGAGES IN PSYCHOLOGICAL WARFARE: CORPSES LYING IN THE STREETS Foreign fighters in particular seem to be going soft in the face of an offensive led by the Iraqi national military, Kurdish fighters and international forces. Documents discovered in recently liberated sections of Mosul show how the fair-weather jihadists go to great lengths to get out of combat. The Washington Post reported that Iraqi forces who took over an ISIS base in Mosul found a document lamenting 14 problem fighters from the Tariq Bin Ziyad battalion. On the surface, reports that militants are on the ropes in former stronghold cities appears to be a good thing, but some disenfranchised members may work their way back to Europe. IRAN, 'ON NOTICE' BY UNITED STATES, LAUNCHES MISSILES IN EXERCISE He doesnt want to fight, wants to return to France, one note reportedly said about a 24-year-old Algerian, who is a resident of France. Claims his will is martyrdom operation in France. Claims sick but doesnt have a medical report. Another man from Kosovo complained of a headache. A Belgian militant got out of fighting by offering a doctor's note saying he had back pain. The reports listed where each militant is from, his number of wives and the number of slave girls he has. The report said it is impossible to verify the documents, but Iraqi officers believe they are legitimate. Last month, President Donald Trump called ISIS fighters sneaky, dirty rats. We have evil that lurks around the corner without the uniforms, he told Fox News Sean Hannity. Ours is harder because the people were going against they dont wear uniforms. Theyre sneaky, dirty rats and they blow people up in a shopping center and they blow people up in a church. Maj. Gen. Joseph Martin, commanding general of the 1st Infantry Division, said he has not received any change to his orders in prosecuting the ISIS war in Iraq and Syria. When asked if the military could do more to stop the terrorists, he responded, "Our role is where it needs to be right now." Martin said there was a "significantly higher" operational tempo in the fight for the terror group's Iraq stronghold of Mosul. However, it started late last year when Iraqi forces supported by U.S. airpower started pushing ISIS out of many of their fortifications in the city, after a new offensive was launched. The operation to retake Mosul started more than three months ago. Lt. Col. Muhanad al-Tamimi, the leader of the group that found the documents in a desk draw, told the paper, when those fighters refuse to fight it means that theyve realized this organization is fake Islam and not the one they came for. Despite the report, Iraqi generals still expect a bloody fight ahead in the western side of the city. TSpain's Interior Ministry says two Moroccan who are accused of indoctrination in Islamist extremism and recruiting others have been detained in Barcelona. The ministry said in a statement that the men, aged 25 and 27, allegedly raised money through drug trafficking and theft to support the Islamic State group. Agents of Spain's Guardia Civil police were searching the men's apartment on Tuesday morning in Badalona, a city next to Barcelona, for further evidence. The ministry said police have arrested 185 suspected jihadi activists since Spain raised its national security alert to one step below maximum following attacks in France and elsewhere in 2015. The Syrian government has executed up to 13,000 prisoners in mass hangings at a prison near Damascus since 2011, Amnesty International says. IRAN, 'ON NOTICE' BY UNITED STATES, LAUNCHES MISSILES IN EXERCISE A report by the human rights group also claims systematic torture has been carried out at the military jail, which is referred to by detainees as "the slaughterhouse." Some inmates were allegedly executed after a "sham trial" lasting no more than a couple of minutes - and the killings were often authorised by senior Syrian officials, including deputies of President Bashar al-Assad. IRAQI ARMY ENGAGES IN PSYCHOLOGICAL WARFARE: CORPSES LYING IN THE STREETS Amnesty's most recent figures suggest an average of 20 to 50 people were hanged every week at the Saydnaya prison between 2011 and 2015 - but many thousands more may have been executed since then. The organization has described the executions as a war crime, and is calling for a UN investigation. Its report said: "The victims are overwhelmingly civilians who are thought to oppose the government. Many other detainees have been killed after being repeatedly tortured and systematically deprived of food, water, medicine and medical care." Lynn Maalouf, deputy director for research at Amnesty's office in Beirut, added: "The horrors depicted in this report reveal a hidden, monstrous campaign, authorised at the highest levels of the Syrian government, aimed at crushing any form of dissent within the Syrian population." The report said executions were often carried out in secret. Those killed were buried at mass graves outside the capital, but families were never informed of their fate. Amnesty interviewed more than 30 ex-inmates at the prison and dozens of other officials and experts, including former guards and judges. Omar Alshogre was spared execution during his nine months at the jail and now lives in Sweden. One of his cousins died in his arms because he was so deprived of food, while another of his cellmates died of diarrhea - a common occurrence inside the prison. He said: "Death is the simplest thing. It was the most hoped for because it would have spared us a lot: hunger, thirst, fear, pain, cold, thinking." Click for more from Sky News. next Image 1 of 3 prev next Image 2 of 3 prev Image 3 of 3 Vatican officials are defending their decision to invite a Chinese delegation to an organ trafficking conference, saying the positives of encouraging reform outweighed negative criticism that the Holy See was helping whitewash Beijing's use of organs from executed prisoners. Monsignor Marcelo Sanchez Sorondo, chancellor of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences, said there was no way to know if China is still harvesting organs from executed prisoners. But he said Tuesday the Vatican wanted to strengthen reformers in China, which has declared that the practice ended in 2015. "We believe truly that they want to change, and that they are changing," he said. The Chinese delegation is headed by the former vice minister of health, Dr. Huang Jiefu, who is proposing a U.N. global task force for organ trafficking oversight. Right at Home Kicks Off 2017 Strong With Sights on Increased Expansion and Growth Earns No. 1 Ranking in Senior Care by Entrepreneur Magazine The Leading Senior Care Franchise Is on Pace for Another Record-Breaking Year. OMAHA (PRWEB) February 07, 2017 - The Home Care Association of America predicts that people aged 65 or older will grow from 56 million in 2020 to as many as 84 million by 2050. But today, caring for the ever-increasing number of older Americans is putting a significant strain on hospitals, care facilities and families - as Americas overall population ages, the number of potential caregivers isnt growing fast enough to meet the demand. Thats where companies like Right at Home come in, a leader in the in-home care industry. Backed by 471 U.S. locations and 76 international locations, the rapidly-growing brand - which was recently ranked No. 1 in Senior Care by Entrepreneur magazine - is poised to build off of 2016s momentum and reach more clients than ever before. "Our franchisees in the United States, along with our corporate staff in Omaha and our international franchises in the United Kingdom, Canada, Ireland, The Netherlands, Australia, Japan and China, are working together to solve one of the developed worlds biggest problems: helping the elderly and individuals with disabilities age with as much grace and dignity as possible," said Eric Little, Chief Development Officer. "As we continue to expand our reach and add locations, we know that we will continue to make a positive difference in the lives of families around the world. Right at Home separates itself from the competition by emphasizing both training and support, focusing on the Right People providing clients with the Right Care. With locations in eight countries and nearly 23,000 caregivers and more than 19,000 clients, Right at Home is able to incorporate the best industry practices from its domestic and international partners into its business model. Right at Home is also on the forefront of innovation in healthcare technology and working to intercept changes in condition through partnerships with multiple prestigious industry studies. Our work with Philips and Harvard Medical School demonstrates Right at Homes commitment to improving the care experience for families who need assistance caring for an aging loved one, said Little. As we work to improve the overall delivery of care in our industry, we are proud to be involved with these partnerships, helping make care more personalized and effective for decades to come. Twenty-sixteen was also marked by steady development throughout previously untapped markets. Last year, Right at Home opened 45 locations in the U.S., including several in new markets such as Chattanooga, Tennessee; Miami, Florida; Waterloo, Illinois; Lima, Ohio; Anderson, Indiana; Terre Haute, Indiana; Bozeman, Montana; and Issaquah, Washington. Now, as the brand enters 2017, it will continue to focus on increasing the availability of care services nationwide. Right at Home plans to open a total of 30 locations this year with a focus on cities like Jacksonville, Florida; Cleveland, Ohio; Norfolk/Virginia Beach, Virginia; Buffalo, New York; and Spokane, Washington. "With nearly 500 U.S. locations, 2017 and beyond will be focused on continuing to fulfill our mission of improving the quality of life for as many people as we can," Little added. "Part of fulfilling that mission is to help our current franchisees grow their existing businesses with new customers, and for us to recruit franchisees into the remaining markets that arent currently served by a Right at Home location." About Right at Home Founded in 1995, Right at Home offers in-home companionship and personal care and assistance to seniors and disabled adults who want to continue to live independently. Local Right at Home offices are independently owned and operated and directly employ and supervise all caregiving staff, each of whom is thoroughly screened, trained, and bonded/insured prior to entering a clients home. Right at Homes global office is based in Omaha, Nebraska, with more than 500 franchise locations in the U.S. and seven other countries. For more information on Right at Home, visit About Right at Home at http://www.rightathome.net/about-us or read the Right at Home franchising blog at http://www.rightathomefranchise.com/blog/. To learn more about franchising opportunities, please visit http://www.rightathomefranchise.com/. Contact: Lauren Boukas No Limit Agency +1 (312) 526-3996 SOURCE Right at Home ### Add to Request List Added Request Information Comments: Please enable JavaScript to view the comments powered by Disqus. Disqus The first food truck rodeo at Courthouse Village in Spotsylvania was such a hit last year that the county and W.J. Vakos Companies will hold an even bigger version on April 8. Theyre hoping for a repeat of the lovely weather that helped attract more than 1,000 people in 2016 for the free family- and pet-friendly event. We were just shocked and pleased with the turnout for the first rodeo, said Joyce Willis, Vakos leasing coordinator and executive assistant. We had no idea how it would go over. The 2nd Annual Courthouse Village Food Truck Rodeo will be held from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at 9010 Battlefield Blvd. It will feature around 25 food trucks, which is about twice as many as last year. That should help increase the variety, and decrease the time people have to wait in line to get their orders. Last year the lines were so long that some people would leave, said Debbie Aylor, Spotsylvanias tourism director. The food trucks will be serving up such expected fare as pizza, barbecue and kettle korn, along with such offerings as Caribbean fusion foods and gourmet grilled cheese sandwiches. Theyll be vying for customer choice trophies designed by blacksmith Hunter Perkinson, a 1973 Spotsylvania High School graduate who owns Featherstone Forge in Mineral. Voters will be asked to take into consideration food quality, service and the general experience. Ballots will be due by 2:30 p.m. Also on tap will be a handful of vendors selling things other than food, plus performances onstage and throughout the Merchants Square Pavilion by the Grassland Bluegrass Band and the Courthouse School of Ballet. Children can have their photos taken with Christian Youth Theater Fredericksburg princesses, and visit their table for a chance to win tickets to see Shrek the Musical in Richmond. The idea for the rodeo came about because Vakos and Spotsylvanias Department of Economic Development and Tourism wanted to partner on a community event, said Willis. They did some research and decided to feature food trucks because theyre popular. Applications were accepted from as many local vendors as possible while still offering a variety of food choices. A few vendor spaces are still available for this years rodeo. To apply, go to visitspotsy.com/Food-Truck-Vendor by March 10. Admission and parking are free, and people can bring pets if theyre on a leash. It will be held rain or shine. There will be a limited number of tables and chairs available for seating, and people can bring a chair or spread a blanket on the greens. About 118 years ago, the Culpeper area was in the grips of perhaps its most potent and dangerous winter weather system in recorded history. The Blizzard of 1899 had begun. Today, we tend to think of a blizzard as a powerful snowstorm with high winds, but the Blizzard of 1899 was that and much more. That event was really several storms that raged over almost a two-week period. In an era that featured none of the modern conveniences of today, it was particularly devastating. It began on Feb. 3 with a thunderstorm in air so cold that the raindrops froze on contact, according to newspaper accounts of the day. The Culpeper Exponent reported that the ice made our streets veritable ice slides and caused a large number of limbs to fall from the shade trees in town. Snow began to fall on Feb. 7 and continued sporadically for three days. On the 11th [Saturday] it began to snow and continued all night, all Sunday and Sunday night, Miss Senie Hitt of Rixeyville wrote in her diary. The wind began to blow and, oh, my! Monday morning! What a dreadful time! Temperatures had begun falling even before the thunderstorm and freezing rain and got even colder. On Friday, Feb. 10, Washington, D.C., experienced its all-time low15 degrees below zero. Temperatures over the Mid-Atlantic region would remain below zero for almost a week. During the height of the snowstorm, one Remington man said that members of his family had to be anchored to a porch post of reach the woodhouse. At Cardova, the drifts became so deep and the snow was falling so fiercely that Bergen Judd, using a balance pole, had to walk atop drifts and follow a rail fence to get to the springhouse. The wind sounded like so many roaring lions, wrote Senie Hitt. The snow was coming so thick you could only see a few yards ahead of you. It continued all [Monday]. The wind blew all that night but I think the snow ceased to fall soon after dark. Few people living in the county ever saw a worse day than last Monday, 60-year-old Dr. Alexander Harris of Jeffersonton said. It was risky to venture far from home, and I did not, even to feed, without an escort. Those short of wood cut shade trees in their yards to survive and could work only 15 or so minutes at a time in the blinding snow and freezing cold. One Remington resident burned the lining of his ice house and many sacrificed furniture to keep from freezing. Other Remington residents commandeered coal from cars that were marooned on the tracks. In Stafford County, about two miles from Fredericksburg, a 60-year-old man named Reuben Bowler froze to death while he and two companions were out cutting wood. He was within a quarter of a mile of a dwelling and couldnt reach it, wrote the Exponent. Lewis Green, an elderly colored man who lived in a lean-to on the place of Moses and Mollie Phillips [at Stevensburg], died of exposure and starvation, the paper reported. Soon after the snow abated (Tuesday was bright and clear but cold), two doctors had concurred that Lester Frays grandmother was in bad need of medication to keep her alive. The closest drug store was in Culpeper, so, believing the worst to be over, the 19-year-old set out about 9 a.m. on his sorrel horse, Thunderbolt, to make the 15-mile trip. With transportation at a standstill, the postmaster at Brightwood asked Fray to carry the mail pouch to Culpeper, which he did. I had quite a time getting to James City [Leon], a distance of three miles, Fray wrote 50 years later. At this point the trail was drifted over. Residents there warned Fray to turn back, but he kept going. At this time it began to hail, with a keen wind from the north. I pulled down my hat brim and we faced the elements. I hated to force Thunderbolt into the weather as he had nothing to shield his eyes. But our trip was a must. Then the hail turned to rain and, with the temperature still well below freezing, Fray became almost encased in ice. At times, he could not find the main road (U.S. 29) and made his way through the fields and woods, occasionally stopping at houses to ask directions. He wandered so far off course that he wound up passing through Clatterbucks big swamp (above where Mountain Run Lake is now). Here my heart almost failed me, he later wrote. I dreaded forcing Thunderbolt into that swamp but we went into it, crossing without a mishap. He crossed Mountain Run at Gibsons old mill, but at one small brook nearby Thunderbolt, weary from his journey, refused to cross because of the high drifts. Fray faced no other option but to dismount, worrying that he would never be able to get back on the horse. Still, he got down and persuaded his horse to make the crossing with one enormous jump. But when he did, the animal pulled the reins from his riders hands and bolted up the trail, leaving Fray stranded. I was just about all in anyway so I began to bellow just like a crybaby, Fray wrote. That being a strange noise that probably he had never heard, [Thunderbolt] stopped in his tracks, turned, looked at me and waited until I pulled the mail pouch from the brook. Somehow, climbing onto a half frozen drift, Fray was able to remount and continue, hitting the Sperryville Pike at the old toll gate (west of Fairview Cemetery). At some place between there and Culpeper I saw a lot of starving cattle in a field, some that appeared to be nothing but skeletons with hide stretched over them. Vultures were standing in front of them, waiting for them to pass out, some skeletons already picked. After more than seven hours in the saddle, Fray dropped off Thunderbolt safely at a stable, took the mail to a post office, and finally reached the Culpeper home of his cousin, Billy Fray, who provided a warm stove. The story goes that Fray and his horse made the return trip home with the needed medicine a few days later, arriving safely without incident. Between 40 and 50 inches of snow fell during that period, not counting the freezing rain and sleet. Trains were stalled as drifts of 12 feet covered the tracks in places. The Exponent told of many sheep and cattle that perished, some standing with only their horns protruding from the drifts. One farmer accidently snapped off both of his horses frozen ears while trying to bridle the beast. During that cold stretch, the Chesapeake Bay froze, as did the Mississippi River. It got down to six degrees in New Orleans and 10 in Jacksonville, Fla. At Monterey, in Highland County, the low temperature on Feb. 2 was 29 below. The effects of the blizzard and cold were long lasting. Small trees and shrubbery froze and died and the quail population would take 20 years to return to normal. The Blizzard of 1899 was really one for the record books. Editors note: All three of the accompanying photos were taken by John T. Wampler, editor of the Culpeper Enterprise, Culpepers second weekly newspaper of the day. For the time being, Tom Allan has two dioramas stored in his garage that show an iconic place and an event from the American Revolutionary War. The three-dimensional scene of Valley Forge is more exact in detail than the actual historic site in Pennsylvania attracting more than 2 million visitors a year. The other tableau, based on Tom Lovells painting The Noble Train of Artillery, shows patriots and oxen muscling sleds carrying heavy canons through a valley of deep snow. A few miles from Allans Albemarle County home, another diorama, this one depicting the Battle of Trenton, is being created by master diorama builder Bret Jones in his Rail Tales hobby shop. Jones also built the other two dioramas, and all three will be donated to the Museum of the American Revolution in Philadelphia, which opens to the public on April 19. We are so excited about the dioramas that Tom and Bret have developed and built for donation to the new museum, said R. Scott Stephenson, vice president of collections, exhibitions and programming at the museum. We are using every exhibit storytelling technique at our disposal, from engaging media and digital interactives to immersive environments and artifact-rich displays to bring the story of our nations founding to life. This includes the use of dioramas and life-cast museum figures to recreate people and events. Tom and Bret have brought tremendous dedication and artistry to the three scenes. We will use these dioramas in a variety of programs. They will rotate on display in a family friendly, hands-on discovery center in our lower level. And they will be mounted on carts that will allow program staff to move them to various places in the building to engage visitors in our public and exhibit spaces. Allans longtime interest in high-quality military miniatures led to the creation of the three scenes. Central to each diorama are brightly uniformed soldiers that serve to give an element of life and action to the realistic settings. As a kid, I was pushing miniature soldiers around on the floor until I got to be 13 or 14, said Allan, who has donated all the tiny soldiers, materials, assorted buildings and sundry pieces featured in the displays. When I went away to boarding school, I gave them to my younger brothers. After I retired, I found these 1-inch-high miniatures being made by a company by the name of Dixon. They sold them unpainted, but they had good definition. Most of the figures I have now are from a company called King and Country, and they come already painted. Its my interest in history more than anything that makes this interesting for me. Its bringing into three dimension things that I read about in books. Through the years, Allan amassed thousands of miniature soldiers, many of which are from the Napoleonic era. As he approached his 80th birthday, he started thinking about providing good homes for the wee characters. These are certainly not the plastic figures sold for a few bucks a bag. The miniatures in Allans armies are meticulously hand painted and exquisitely detailed, and they provide a satisfying heft when laid in the palm of a hand. I collected thousands of miniatures, Allan said. I dont want someone to push them into a box and not know what to do with it. Its not easy to sell them, or find anybody to take them. So I bought some display cabinets and donated more than 4,000 figures to the Virginia War Memorial in Richmond. After meeting Scott Stephenson, I proposed to do some dioramas related to the Revolutionary War for the new museum. Stephenson earned his doctorate in American history at the University of Virginia. He also served as Monticellos archaeologist. One of our core values as a museum is to foster empathy for the difficult decisions and uncertain outcomes that people from a diverse range of backgrounds faced during the Revolutionary era, Stephenson said. Exhibit elements like the dioramas help us to personalize those situations and characters, especially for younger visitors.The diorama of the train of artillery depicts a critical action during the early months of the American Revolution. In the spring of 1775, American troops forced the British to surrender Fort Ticonderoga in northern New York. The capture of the fort put 59 pieces of artillery into the patriots hands. Gen. George Washington desperately needed the cannons, and a young American officer, Henry Knox, hatched a plan to get them to the high ground outside Boston. Knoxs idea called for the heavy cannons to be dismantled and transported 300 miles through wilderness, and across rivers and lakes. To accomplish this, 40 special sleds, 80 yoke of oxen and an array of flat-bottomed boats were marshaled into use. When this diorama is on view in the Philadelphia museum, it will give visitors a strong sense of the suffering men and beasts endured in order to accomplish a daunting feat that many of Washingtons officers thought was impossible. The arrival of the cannons outside Boston in early March 1776 forced the British to retreat. Fort Knox in Kentucky is named in honor of the brave officer whose leadership and perseverance helped win the war. The diorama provides a birds-eye view of what that Herculean endeavor involved. I think the thing thats most important about these dioramas is that children will see them, Allan said. This is something they can get their teeth into. Ive been told that its the kids who get their parents to bring them back to the War Memorial in Richmond to see the miniature soldiers. This actually started with me buying a few model cabins with which to build a diorama of Valley Forge. Then I found Bret, who does unbelievable things with dioramas. He actually went to Valley Forge at his own expense to research the cabins. You can see the difference between those that I bought and the ones that are now in the diorama. Jones started building models when he was a youngster. He got interested in building dioramas after being inspired by the work of Howard Sheperd Shep Paine, who was instrumental in popularizing military miniatures and diorama building. By the time I got into high school, I was fairly serious about creating dioramas, Jones said. I was lucky to have a mentor who was an expert at this, and he showed me how to do better techniques. The first thing you start with when doing a diorama is researchand then more research. Most dioramas that are done are from 1939 through modern times, and are military dioramas of tanks and soldiers. There are those who do dioramas with aircraft, and others create fantasy dioramas. But the vast majority are what we call a tank and a setting. Accuracy is a key component of Jones dioramas. That made Allans purchased cabins unusable, but resulted in a scene that is historically spot-on. I met with the historian and archeologist at Valley Forge, and we talked extensively, Jones said. What I was told was that everything you think you know about Valley Forge is wrong, and everything thats there for the public to see is incorrect. The cabins that are there are made from redwood and shingled with modern cedar shingles. Neither of these woods [was] available to the original builders. The cabins now on site were done very professionally, whereas the originals were made with crude tools. The original shingles would have been split oak, and much larger than shingles today. The placement of the cabins [is] for the convenience of visitors and re-enactorsnot as they were originally laid out, so that the soldiers could get to the defensive lines easily. Jones en situ research is reflected in handmade cabins built by modeler Gary Whistleman, who lives in Stuarts Draft. He is also responsible for creating from scratch superbly crafted trees that appoint each of the dioramas. My mentor is standing beside me, Whistleman said of Jones. I retired a few years ago, and when Bret asked me to work on a piece with him, we clicked. Bret is a perfectionist, and he wants everything exactly perfect. This has been a wonderful hobby for me. Years ago I built in my basement a huge diorama of a train traveling through the middle of a Civil War battle. There were hundreds of figures, each of which I hand painted. I had a house being blown up by a cannonball, troops going through a cornfield and all kinds of things going on. It took me years to build. Whistleman offered the diorama to Virginia Tech, but it was too large for the school to accommodate. Ultimately, the figures, train and buildings were removed and the landscape sledge hammered into pieces. The three dioramas that will be transported carefully to Philadelphia in a few months wont suffer a similar fate. Quality craftsmanship will ensure that they will be studied and admired for generations. The Battle of Trenton scene currently under construction shows a phase of the engagement that occurred on Dec. 26, 1776. The scene is based on the painting Battle of Trenton by H. Charles McBarron Jr. The battle in the New Jersey town was a resounding victory for the Americans and led to the capture of nearly 1,000 Hessian soldiers. A few dozen Hessian miniatures with their hands in the air are shown surrendering to Washington. Allan had the miniature POWs specially made, as well as American cavalrymen with the First Troop Philadelphia City Cavalry. This famous unit sported especially ornate uniforms and often served as Washingtons personal bodyguard. On the night the Americans crossed the Delaware River to surprise the enemy in its winter camp, the boats transporting the cavalry unit werent able to reach the far shore. Undeterred, riders and horses splashed into the black water and swam between chunks of drift ice to reach land. During the 45-minute battle, the drenched cavalrymen likely warmed up a bit during a savage confrontation they had with Hessian troops holed up in a barn.Each of the dioramas shows a small part of a bigger story. The hope is that they will spark enough interest in individuals that they will do further research into these fascinating places and events. I feel really lucky to be doing this for a living, Jones said. This is the most research Ive done for a project in a long time, so it has been quite a learning experience for me. Normally, were modeling railroads where were just making something that looks good for people to enjoy. These three dioramas are a different sort of animal. A woman who authorities allege has been stealing credit cards from restaurant customers in Stafford County and elsewhere was indicted Monday by a Stafford grand jury. Chaquita Lanise Speight, 21, of Washington is charged in Stafford with multiple offenses, including grand larceny, credit card fraud, identity theft, forgery and obtaining goods by false pretenses. Sheriff's spokeswoman M.C. Morris Moncure said that on Nov. 29, Deputy J.J. Kreider and Sgt. E.D. Chinault responded to larceny reports at Panera Bread at 24 South Gateway Drive and 1005 Stafford Marketplace. In both cases, the victims reported that their wallets were stolen and a credit card was used at nearby Target stores. Photos of a woman who was using the card were obtained and a video showed the woman and a man leaving Target in a beige sedan. Detective A.R. Spotts took over the investigation and learned that similar thefts with similar suspects had been reported throughout Northern Virginia. With information obtained from the Fairfax County Police Department, Moncure said, Spotts learned that the woman had rented a vehicle under a phony name and used it in thefts in Fairfax County and Stafford. Several unused Visa cards were recovered from the vehicle. Fairfax County detectives identified Speights as a suspect on Dec. 16 after searching another rental car she and a companion failed to return. Police arrested both suspects near a Panera Bread in Fairfax County. Speight answered questions from detectives in Fairfax County about numerous larcenies and credit card crimes throughout the region, police said. Moncure said a number of other law-enforcement agencies were involved in the investigation, as well, including Fredericksburg police, the Spotsylvania Sheriff's Office, Prince William County police and the Loudoun County Sheriff's Office. Speight is being held at the Fairfax County Adult Detention Center, court records show. Her alleged accomplice has not been charged in Stafford. Students in Samantha Halls first-grade class will soon be able to get their wiggles out without getting up from their seats. Thats because the first-grade teacher at Caroline Countys Lewis and Clark Elementary School won a $475 Innovation Grant from the Caroline Education Foundation to purchase six wobble stools and three wobble cushions for her class. The brightly colored plastic stools rock 360 degrees but dont shift or tip over, allowing squirmy 6-year-olds to burn energy while sitting and working in class. Theres been research to show that some students need some movement to kind of increase their attention and to help them focus a little better, Hall said. She plans to let students use the stools during small-group reading and math sessions. And if theres a student I feel would really benefit from the stool, Ill let him or her use it for the day, she said. Hall received one of three grants that CEF gave for the first time this year to encourage and reward innovative teaching supportive of college and career readiness, technology integration, STEM and critical thinking. Assistant Superintendent Sarah Calveric said the foundation received four applications for the inaugural grants. A total of $3,500 in grant funds was available this school year. The three grants awarded totaled $1,475. The money for the grants came from business partnerships and fundraising events, Calveric said. Caroline Middle School Principal Angela Wright and guidance counselor Dwayne Parker received a grant for $500 to implement the national Watch D.O.G.S (Dads Of Great Students) program at the school. The goal of Watch D.O.G.S. is to increase the presence of positive, male role models in the school. Fathers, grandfathers, uncles and male community leaders spend a day in a participating school visiting classrooms, eating lunch with students, helping load and unload buses and holding small group sessions. They also serve as deterrents to bullying by being an extra set of eyes and ears in the hallways. Wright said she had been looking for a way to help her male students succeed academically. There is also a goal across the school system to increase community engagement. Watch D.O.G.S. is a way to accomplish both. With this program, were bringing the fathers in and having them be more engaged in the school setting, Wright said. She said the middle-school years are awkward socially, emotionally and academically. Boys are trying to figure out how to be men and that is difficult when there is no male role model at home. A lot of times, our view of a male is not as positive as it should be, she said. What were trying to do is have some positive role models to show our males that you can make a difference. Wright said that she and Parker have invited community leaders and reached out to in-house teachers to participate in the program. Theyve identified a group of students who they think would benefit most from positive male role models. Theyll have small-group character-building sessions, learn study skills, socialization, how to cope with anxiety and so on, Parker said. Wright and Parker hope that if they collect data showing the success of the program, it will be implemented at Caroline High School, as well. Joseph Robinson, Bowling Green Elementarys instructional technology teacher, received $500 to purchase two Flybrix kits. Using the kits, which incorporate LEGO bricks, fifth-grade students in his classes will work in small groups to design and build drones. The drones can then be controlled with smartphones or tablets. Theyre made to be destroyed and redesigned so the kids learn by doing, Robinson said. I think students need to be more engaged. Ill give them a little guidance, but theyre in charge of their own creations. Theyll learn that if they fail, its OK, but what can you do to fix it? All grant recipients will present results from their programs at an event in May, Calveric said. Were hoping that will help spread the word and that additional staff will view this as an opportunity to identify funds that will help them be innovative in their practices, she said. REEDVILLEWhen Lee LangstonHarrison signed on to become the new director of the Reedville Fishermens Museum, chances are she hadnt heard of Clam, Va. But when I joined her there on an unusually balmy winter morning, she learned from one of the many museum volunteers that Clam was where the museums shallow-draft skipjack, the Claud W. Somers, was built in 1911, just north of Onancock. Thats one of the many details Ill have to file away for future use, said LangstonHarrison, who for the previous 10 years had run the Museum of Culpeper History, revitalizing the organization thats now thriving downtown at Culpepers train depot. LangstonHarrison has put in 40 years working for museums and historic attractions30 of them in Virginiaand said the Reedville job came up as she was looking for a new life challenge. It didnt hurt that her brother and sister-in-law recently bought a house on the outskirts of Reedville, where Langston-Harrison visited last year on the Fourth of July. Wed eaten crabs and I was looking across the creek at the museum building in the middle of Reedville, she said. I thought to myself that the next time they needed a new director, I would give serious consideration to seeking that job. That very thing happened last fall, and LangstonHarrison wasted no time seeking the job. She got it before the end of the year and reported for work in Reedville a few weeks back. During the interview for the job, one of the museums board members asked me how much I knew about watermen and fishing, said Langston-Harrison, who worked for 12 years at the James Monroe Museum in Fredericksburg and another eight at James Madisons Montpelier. I told him that I knew as much right then as I knew about the Civil War when I took the job in Culpeper, she said. But soon enough, I got myself up to speed on that history, as I would on fishing and watermen. On my visit to the museum, in Northumberland County at the tip of the Northern Neck at the Chesapeake Bay, a quick spin around the museum grounds showed the variety of things LangstonHarrison will become familiar with soon enough. Out on the Claud W. Somers, a two-masted sailboat thats on the National and Virginia registers of historic places, two crew members were helping to finish improvements that will have the iconic oyster boat taking visitors out for cruises come spring and summer. In the boat shop, where volunteers keep the art of building wooden boats alive, a handful of volunteers pointed proudly to a 16-foot Butler skiff they hope to raffle off to raise money for the museum. In the model shop, a loyal group of volunteers were busy building and extending tiny, immaculate buildings and extensive track layouts for model trains. New this year will be a whole area for trains and buildings, some resembling real buildings at Stratford Hall and other spots. LangstonHarrison, who will live at her brothers home until she can buy a place of her own, said she likes the challenge posed by taking the job at the Fishermens Museum. There is such a rich history and culture to the life of watermen and the role they played in the settling of Reedville and the entire Northern Neck, said LangstonHarrison, who noted that going to college on the water at St. Marys College in Maryland makes Reedville feel familiar. I want for this museum the same thing I wanted arriving in Culpeper: to make it the best small museum of its kind in the region, she said. I want to have things going on here that people will want to come to and then come back again. In Culpeper, that meant expanding programs for youngsters, with the theory that if kids want to come, adults will follow. LangstonHarrison said her hope is to have new exhibits often enough to create constant interest, some made by the staff in Reedville and some on loan from other museums in the region. She also aims to make it a place where people of every background and demographic want to and can visit. She said the feeling of community in Reedville is one similar to what she experienced in Culpeper. Ive got a lot of work to do getting up to speed, but thats the challenge I look forward to, she said. A man who shot two people inside their Fredericksburg apartment last year was convicted of four charges Thursday, but was cleared of five others. A global manufacturer is bringing 150 jobs to the former General Motors Powertrain plant in Spotsylvania County, Gov. Terry McAuliffe announced Tuesday. Missouri-based idX Corp., which produces decor, fixtures, graphics and millwork for retailers, is investing $7.2 million to set up shop at the plant on Tidewater Trail, according to a Governors Office news release. The company hopes to have a soft opening June 1 and be fully operational later that month, idX spokeswoman Lin Courtois said in an email to The Free LanceStar. It will fill the jobs over an estimated three years, she said. An undetermined number of the 150 jobs will be filled by existing employees in Columbia, Md., which is about 90 miles north of Fredericksburg. The company is moving its operations there to Spotsylvania, Courtois said, but idX anticipates hiring a good number of Virginians. She could not immediately provide a pay range for the workers. The 289,000-square-foot facility across from Fredericksburg Country Club has been vacant since the GM plant closed in 2010. McAuliffe approved a $400,000 state grant to help the company improve the plant. In addition, the Virginia Jobs Investment Program will contribute an unspecified amount of funding and services for idXs employee training activities. The company also will receive about $1.5 million in incentives from Spotsylvania over 10 years, according to a county news release. A county spokeswoman said the Board of Supervisors must approve the incentives agreement before she can publicly release it. Virginia competed against Maryland and North Carolina to win the project, according to the Governors Office. The manufacturer is purchasing the 77-acre facility from RACER Trust, which a federal judge created to sell off GMs former assets after the company declared bankruptcy in 2009. The sale is expected to be finalized soon. idX has locations across North America, in addition to Asia, Europe and the Indian subcontinent to meet the needs of global customers, the governors release states. It specializes in wood, metal, glass, acrylic, laminates, veneers and upholstery. As idX Corporation expands its presence in the United States and globally, we are proud that the company chose Virginia for its state-of-the-art manufacturing operation to serve the growing Southeast market, McAuliffe stated. Winning this project is a testament to both Spotsylvania County and the commonwealths open and competitive business climate, strategic location and top-notch workforce. Spotsylvania County Administrator Mark Taylor lauded the companys bold decision to adapt and enlarge the former plant, saying the jobs will reduce commutes for some of our talented Spotsylvania workforce. A county news release said the company will expand the plant over five years. Supervisor Gary Skinner, whose Lee Hill District includes the site, said officials have worked hard to replace the lost jobs at the GM plant, which employed 300 people in its heyday. idX is a very good start for us to replace those jobs, Skinner said. Terry Schultz, CEO of idX, said in a statement that the Spotsylvania investment will strengthen the companys East Coast manufacturing and distribution network. He added: Were eager to get started. We know we will build a strong team in Spotsylvania County. The Virginia Economic Development Partnership, Spotsylvania and the Fredericksburg Regional Alliance all worked to attract the company. Republican Laquan Austion has decided to throw his hat into the ring in the race for the 2nd District seat in the Virginia House of Delegates, which includes Prince William and Stafford counties. Austion announced his candidacy on Monday, and said he hopes to bring a new voice to Richmond. The people of the 2nd district deserve to have a voice in Richmond by someone who will always listen, work hard, and fight for them, Austion said in a news release. Being a tireless voice for families, and fighting to make life for the people in Stafford & Prince William the best it can be, will be my number one goal. Last month, two-term Republican Del. Mark Dudenhefer said he would not run for re-election to the 2nd District seat this November. The only other candidate to launch a bid for the 2nd District seat is Democrat Josh King who narrowly lost to Dudenhefer in 2015. One of Austions key priorities will be easing traffic and commute times for families. He said long commute times can stand in the way of parents making it home in time to tuck their children into bed or attend their sporting events. I want to increase the quality of life for everyone in Stafford and Prince William Counties and that begins with less time sitting in traffic and more time for themselves, he said. Austion aims to create a business climate that enables people to rise out of poverty through free-market opportunities. He believes this can be done by creating incentives and eliminating handouts, which he said keep people impoverished. Those issues are important to Austion, as his life started in poverty. Born in Newark, N.J., Austion was homeless the first few years of his life and grew up in a rough community. However, his mothers perseverance gave him and his two siblings an example of hard work and resilience. Austion became the first in his family to go to college. He attended Drew University and George Washington University. He now works on the government relations team for the ridesharing company Lyft, and lives with his wife, Alicia, and their dog, Diggie, in Stafford. WASHINGTON - Just 2 1/2 weeks into his tenure, Vice President Mike Pence has done something his predecessor Joe Biden never did in eight years: cast a tie-breaking vote in the Senate. The Constitution assigns only two real responsibilities to the vice presidency: breaking Senate ties and assuming the presidency should the president leave office. At noon on Tuesday, for the first time since the spring of 2008, the Senate was deadlocked 50-50, on a vote to confirm Betsy DeVos as education secretary, and Pence got to cast his first vote in the Senate. Yet Pence's most important activity came next, walking into his now regular Tuesday luncheon with Senate Republicans in his role as President Donald Trump's highest profile set of eyes and ears on Capitol Hill. A member of the House for 12 years before serving as Indiana governor, Pence has expanded his portfolio in the Senate well beyond awaiting the increasingly unusual tie votes. He has emerged as a key ally to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky. At McConnell's invitation, Pence attends the weekly policy lunch on Tuesdays inside the Mansfield Room, just a few steps off the Senate floor, resuming a tradition that Dick Cheney kept over his eight years as the last Republican vice president. There, Pence has shown a willingness to talk with members and take questions, a contrast to how Cheney approached his role. "He didn't do much talking," Sen. John Cornyn, Texas, the No. 2 Republican leader, recalled of Cheney. He tended to take a seat at a table off to the side and quietly talk to any senators with questions." He added "Pence is much more gregarious." He's not quick to leave, either. "And you know he is available to talk to individuals when that's over, as a rule, and I think that will serve him well," Sen. Roy Blunt, Mo., also a member of GOP leadership, said. What remains to be seen is whether Pence has true clout in a West Wing that seems to thrive off competing power centers. It will always be helpful to have the vice president relaying his intelligence from Capitol Hill back to Trump and his top advisers, but true power comes in shaping the final outcome of decisions. During his House tenure, Pence wasn't particularly influential. The former radio talk show host was always known more for communication skills than policy chops. But he was generally well liked and trusted, developing long-standing friendships with rabble rousers who now hold powerful posts, particularly Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis. But Pence's early kinship with the Senate could pay even more dividends for the administration. Last week, he served as the lead escort for Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch to Wednesday meetings with McConnell and other senior Republicans. About a third of the Senate served in the House with Pence, including Blunt and several other members of McConnell's leadership team. It's a much more direct approach than Biden took after serving 36 years in the Senate. He and Harry Reid, the majority leader in 2009, both thought it was inappropriate to have the vice president sitting in on their weekly strategy sessions. So Biden took a more traditional role of roving elder statesman, working the phones to his old colleagues and hosting them at the vice president's home at the Naval Observatory. But Biden and Cheney both served presidents who came from within the political system and spoke the same language, understanding the intricacies of how difficult the Senate could be to overcome. Not Trump, who just a few days into office was already calling for McConnell to blow up the chamber's filibuster rules to confirm Gorsuch. Just before his inauguration, Trump suggested in a Washington Post interview that he was on the verge of releasing his own health-care plan. Then, in a weekend interview with Fox News Channel, the president suggested it could take well more than a year to replace the Affordable Care Act. "I think it's really indispensable," Cornyn said of Pence's work, "because there are so many opportunities for miscommunication or no communication between the executive branch and Congress." Republicans could be forgiven if they suffered whiplash during back-to-back appearances at the policy retreat in Philadelphia late last month. Trump delivered a free-form performance that jumped all over the map, leaving after 25 minutes and not taking questions. Pence followed with a steady, hand-chopping 20-minute speech that began with a rousing set of thank-yous to his hosts and ended with a stern, prayerful story about Ronald Reagan, and he then took 20 minutes of questions from the rank and file. Even Democrats don't mind having Pence around so much. Sen. Thomas Carper, Del., said Trump's "propensity for alternative facts" might mean the vice president has to translate: "Mike Pence could probably come over, clearly as anybody, and say: This is what's really going on." But history measures a vice president's power more on his ability to help shape a president's decisions than how many friends he has on Capitol Hill. Early on, with the slew of executive orders Trump is signing, the power seems to reside with senior West Wing advisers, particularly his chief strategist, Stephen Bannon. Unlike those aides, however, Pence is a constitutional officer and has the same four-year term as Trump. Strategists tend to come and go, and Republicans think that Pence's credibility will be key to truly big successes like legislative victories on health care. "I think he's an incredibly valuable part of what can happen here," Blunt said, noting Pence's political utility in reassuring traditional Republicans of Trump's candidacy and now his presidency. "I think the president realizes what an important decision this was in terms of rallying conservatives and main street Republicans around him." Author Information: Paul Kane covers Congress and politics for the Washington Post. @pkcapitol Washington Post Bio More stories by Paul Kane When it comes to a parent's power over what their children read in school, the Virginia House of Delegates has gone where the Virginia Board of Education refused. The House of Delegates approved legislation Monday that would mandate school divisions annually notify parents of "sexually explicit" material that may be taught in their classrooms. If parents request it, teachers must provide replacement, non-explicit assignments. By defining sexually explicit content, the bill went a step further from a similar proposal taken up and ultimately rejected by the Virginia Board of Education almost two weeks ago. The House bill defines sexually explicit content as any criminal sexual assault punishable as a felony under the state code that deals with rape. The education board didn't see defining sexually explicit as a state board matter. The measure passed 73-25 in the House of Delegates. Decried by free-speech groups and some teachers who say that definition would censor classic works of literature, the bill and similar proposals have found more favor among parents who point mainly to the importance of parental notification. Gov. Terry McAuliffe would veto the bill if it reaches his desk, McAuliffe's spokesman Brian Coy said Monday. The bill is now headed to the Senate. The governor vetoed similar legislation last year that became known as the Beloved bill. That bill received its moniker after Laura Murphy, a Fairfax parent, raised objections after she said her high school senior negatively reacted to scenes in Toni Morrison's Pulitzer-prize winning work of fiction, which she said he was reading in his AP English class without her knowledge. She took issue with scenes in the book that depict bestiality and gang rape. Murphy believes the bill passed by the House of Delegates on Monday will go a long way in helping local school districts define sexually explicit, and promote transparent conversations between teachers and parents. "It is certainly reasonable to notify parents when their children will be assigned material with graphic descriptions of sexual felony criminal offenses. Again, this is not censorship as the teacher may still assign the material and no book will be removed from the classroom, library or syllabus," she said in an email. Parents are notified and given the option to select an alternative in sexual education classes when sexually explicit material is presented, she added, and parents are also notified about animal dissection in biology classes. "To be consistent, parents should also be notified in the English classroom of certain books," Murphy wrote in an email. Del. Alfonso H. Lopez, D-Arlington, echoed free-speech groups and the American Civil Liberties Union by saying in the House on Monday that the bill created a slippery slope to back door censorship. He argued reading classic literature like Shakespeare and the Bible without the proper context could be interpreted as sexually explicit. With the bill in place, students could conceivably be kept from it and that would deprive them of great literature and the ideas that come from it. This argument that we have to protect children from ideas in school is scary, Lopez said. Many teachers agreed, adding that conversations between parents and teachers over material that cause parents concern already take place. "Why does not the General Assembly not trust the local School Boards to handle this issue?" said Donald Wilms, the head of the Chesterfield Education Association, which represents teachers. "They are making an issue out of something that was not an issue to begin with." An English teacher for 29 of his 39 years as an educator, Wilms said he always provided alternative assignments to students whose parents occasionally raised objections to books. But he felt that a student who at one point read "A Tale of Two Cities" rather than "Frankenstein" because her parents said they didn't believe in raising people from the dead missed out on important classroom discussion. "Ultimately, I believe the students are harmed," he said. "Now, are we going to take away every book that deals with rape? I dont see any way that Tess of the d'Urbervilles can be considered sexually explicit. But it has something somewhat equivalent to a rape on a campus. It seems to me that rape is a real subject. Why not talk about it at home rather than stifling it?" Tess of the d'Urbervilles is a book commonly asked about on AP English exams, he said. The Virginia American Civil Liberties Union agreed. "We oppose the use of ratings and warning labels for books as forms of censorship. Vague terms to label potentially controversial books provide no guidance on the topic and only encourage some parents to forbid their children from reading the books without knowing much more about them other than that there is an arbitrary label attached to them," Bill Farrar, spokesperson for the Virginia ACLU, wrote in an email. R. Steven Landes, R-Augusta, who sponsored HB2191, said the bill did not create a slippery slope to censorship. Instead, it empowered parents to have a say in what their children are reading. The purpose is to allow parents to have a little bit of say over what material is appropriate for them, he said. Victoria Cobb, president of The Family Foundation of Virginia, said the rhetoric and scare tactics of opponents to the bill are both misleading and demeaning to parents who have the best interest of their children in mind. In previous debates, Virginia board of education members agreed that parents should be notified, but also felt that existing regulations sufficiently resolved such issues. Existing policy dictates all schools provide parents with syllabi and already allow parents to request a review of any instructional materials. They require local school boards to lay out the basis on which someone can request reconsideration of materials considered sensitive or controversial." According to a 2013 survey of school divisions conducted by Virginia Department of Education staff, 74 percent of 108 districts and five professional organizations had policies allowing students to be excused from instruction related to sensitive or controversial materials. Forty-eight percent of those respondents required that parents receive advance notice before potentially sensitive or controversial materials are used in the classroom. Sen. Amanda F. Chase, R-Chesterfield, said that existing system isn't working. "Parents know our kids best, that's what it comes down to," she said Monday. "So the problem that we have right now is that by the time that the parents find out, it's already too late. A lot of the titles that are out there, you can't really tell if they have sexually explicit materials." She hadn't looked specifically at the House bill and its definition of sexually explicit, she said, but she believes teachers should include the book on a list of sexually explicit material even if they think that it could raise some red flags for parents. She also supported the "Beloved" bill. "I get it, it can be subjective, but I still think we owe our due diligence to parents. We don't necessarily know what our kids are reading because they use technology or other things. It's almost impossible to track," Chase, a mother of three students in Chesterfield schools, said. "It's not the role of schools to indoctrinate our children ... a lot of times they are pushing ideas that may conflict with another parent's belief system. So we have to be sensitive to parents' belief systems." The debate comes not long after similar ones in Chesterfield and Accomack counties. After a controversy sparked by parents concerns over some books listed on the school systems summer reading list, Chesterfield schools Superintendent James Lane said in September that the challenged books would remain on shelves but the criteria for selecting library books would be reviewed. He also said future summer reading lists simply would share lists of nationally recognized books, and schools that assign a particular book for the summer should have an alternative assignment available for students who express concern. On Monday, Chase referenced "Dope Sick," one of the books at the center of the Chesterfield summer reading list controversy. Chase believed the novel, about a teenage boy running from the police because he has been involved in a drug deal that ended with the shooting of an undercover cop, promoted drug use. "Whenever you have books that glorify and edify that behavior we find reprehensible, then we need to ... ask ourselves if this is okay? We just wants a heads up so we can have that conversation with that kid. We aren't trying to keep our kids in a bubble ... we just want that opportunity to have that conversation," Chase said. Accomacks school district leaders faced backlash after they temporarily pulled To Kill a Mockingbird and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn from bookshelves after some parents expressed concerns over racial slurs in the classic novels. The district later formed a committee to re-examine how to handle such complaints. RICHMOND Del. Kathy Byron's hotly contested broadband bill, twice-revised and whittled down, passed Virginia's House of Delegates Tuesday. The bill passed the House as a measure to increase transparency among government-funded municipal broadband initiatives. House Bill 2108 sailed through the House in a 72-24 vote with one abstention. Local delegates Sam Rasoul, Greg Habeeb, Joseph Yost, Nick Rush and Chris Head all opposed the bill after representatives from Roanoke and the Roanoke Valley Broadband Authority fought against multiple versions of the bill. Byron's bill would require municipal broadband entities to keep transparent records showing how they revise their rates, fees and charges and details on loan funding. Municipal broadband authorities like the one created by Roanoke, Salem and Roanoke and Botetourt counties already have open books and records and public board meetings. Localities and municipal broadband entities across the state widely criticized Byron's original bill because of provisions that could keep local broadband entities from expanding and stipulations that municipal networks should focus on "unserved" populations. Byron stripped that language out of her revisions. When presenting her bill on the House floor Monday, Byron said members of the Broadband Advisory Council, which she serves on, will hold public hearings throughout the year to brainstorm solutions to bring high-speed internet to rural, "unserved" areas what she said was the original intent of her Broadband Deployment Act. The Roanoke broadband authority still opposes HB 2108 because its representatives fear with the repeal of some of its Freedom of Information Act exemptions, the authority would be forced to reveal proprietary information and trade secrets of its customers. Byron said that is not the case. The broadband authority also argues Byron's bill still favors legacy telecommunications providers like Cox Communications and Comcast over municipal providers, and could allow legacy companies to request confidential proprietary information about their competitors. Byron said much of the latest version of her bill was designed to prevent corruption among municipal broadband entities, like what occurred within the Bristol Virginia Utilities Authority. "This bill ensures that when taxpayer dollars are used to underwrite municipal broadband systems, citizens have the ability to learn how their investment is being spent," she said Monday. WHAT a difference a year can make. Locally, on few other issues is that more apparent than in the budget now being considered by the Stafford County School Board. The spending proposal drafted by Superintendent Bruce Benson has won high marks from School Board members for hewing to their priorities. We hope that Bensons reforms will lead to a better budget season with the Board of Supervisors, which holds the purse strings. The School Boards upbeat budgetary mood is a happy contrast with the situation last year and in 2015, when board members and county supervisors clashed over how staff members budgetary high-jinks had let millions of dollars go unspent despite overcrowded classrooms and teacher-pay issues. In recent days, Benson struck a positive note in presenting his plan to the School Board. I feel really good about the request moving forward and its been vetted fairly well, I think, he said. That sounds right, given the initial reaction from School Board members. We always come in with the big laundry list, but listening to what Dr. Benson said, Im almost putting check marks by almost everything in our priorities list, Chairwoman Holly Hazard said. Hazard and her colleagues took a lot of heat when $8.3 million unexpectedly turned up after fiscal 2015 closed. Later, a forensic audit showed that the staff had shuffled around as much as $104 million in fiscal 2013 with little to no oversight. The money apparently went for legitimate school purposes, but the budget process was too informal. The surplus funds could have put more teachers in the classroom and made class sizes smaller, which is better for students. To avert a repeat of such headaches, the school district developed this budget differently, applying new software to make the work more transparent. It reviewed three years of budgets with every fund manager, then created budget codes that include detailed supporting documentation. That moves the system to modern accounting, with stronger controls on spending. Then, school departments and teacher and parent advisory groups weighed in with their budget ideas. School Board members have expressed pleasure that Bensons draft prioritizes giving support staff, including paraprofessionals and bus drivers, a 1 percent raise like teachers received last yearin addition to the 2 percent raise all employees received last year. The board and Benson are focused on trying to persuade workers not to leave Stafford for better pay elsewhere. Thats a most worthy goal. Students education benefits when a school system rewards competence and loyalty, and employees dont come and go. The boards discussion has centered on raising salaries to reach the median of comparable districtsespecially for support staff such as bus drivers. To make Stafford more competitive, Bensons proposal includes an increase of $1.73 million in salary adjustments for these staff members. But he doesnt propose a pay raise for teachers. Statewide, Virginias $1.5 billion budget shortfall has threatened better teacher pay next year. However, budgets put forward Sunday by money committees of House of Delegates and Senate contain funds for the states share of 2 percent teacher raises. At this point, the proposals differ significantly on the details. The General Assembly will be in session until later this month to finalize the state budget. At last weeks School Board work session, advocates warned that Stafford is losing good educators at an alarming rate. One 10-year veteran of the classroom, Tiffany Kopcak, said significant numbers of experienced teachers have left because they know their pay will not increase. Thats a predicament that demands redress. The good news is that Stafford officials, as well as some legislators in Richmond, realize the problem and are trying to relieve it. Doing so, though, could take yearsand better economic news. In 1859, a Jewish wool and textile merchant from Moravia tried to immigrate to Leipzig, Germany, with his wife, toddler son and infant daughter. He carried with him a good conduct certificate, or personal reference, in ornate script, from the mayor of their official home village. But it was not enough: A restriction barred Jews from settling in that part of Germany. So the family moved to Vienna, the toddler grew up to be the father of psychoanalysis, Sigmund Freud, and the rest is history. That historyincluding the certificate, with its calligraphic flourishes and teal-colored stampsis for the first time be available to anyone in the world with an internet connection. The Library of Congress has digitized much of its extensive Sigmund Freud Collection, 20,000 items in all, including letters, artifacts from his personal and professional life and hundreds of interviews with colleagues, family members, patients and even his housekeeper. Digitization took a year and a half and was funded by the Polonsky Foundation, a cultural heritage nonprofit in the United Kingdom. People will be able to browse the collection and stumble upon things they hadnt known about, much like wandering through library stacks. They will also be able to download images of the material. Freud experts welcomed the move, noting that online availability of the material could help kindle interest in Freud worldwide. It will open doors to researchers whose travel funds are limited or for whose nationalities travel to the United States may become more difficult, said Louis Rose, a history professor at Otterbein University in Ohio and executive director of the Sigmund Freud Archives, a private organization of psychoanalysts in New York. Whether a person from Iran is going to be able to come and see the materials in D.C. is in doubt for a number of old and new reasons, he said. Now, theres the URL. With a few exceptions, scholars will no longer be allowed access to the original material, a measure taken to protect it against deterioration. That means no more fingers stroking the ultra-feminine stationery of Freuds fiancee, Martha Bernays, its pages edged with cherubs and pink hearts and gilt curlicues. The couple wrote to each other daily, and sometimes twice a day, starting from when they met in 1882 to when they married in 1886. In the voluminous cache of love letters, the young doctor already showed hints of where his interests lay. He started classifying her letters as either open or concealed . . . in which she opened herself to him or concealed herself, said Margaret McAleer, senior archives specialist at the Library of Congress. Which letters garnered which classifications is lost to time, but their correspondence reveals Freuds early interests, including his fascination with cocaine and its various usesits efficacy in managing pain, lifting depression and soothing his own anxiety in social situations. The next time you see me you will see a big, wild man with cocaine in his body, he wrote to Bernays in 1884. In fact, Freud believed that a much-anticipated visit to his sweetheart robbed him of an early cocaine-related triumph. Before setting off, he shared with some of his colleagues who were ophthalmologists the thought that cocaine might be able to be used successfully to numb eyes in an operation, McAleer said. While he was away, one of them, Carl Koller, tried it on animals and published his findings, catapulting him to fame and prompting a jab from Freud in a letter to his future sister-in-law: The cocaine business has indeed brought me much honor, but the lions share to others. However, he later wrote that he bore no grudge against his fiancee for the missed opportunity, and told her in one letter that he was sending her a vial of the drug. You really get a sense of him as this young, ambitious physician who wants to make a name for himself, and he had an idea of how to do it, McAleer said. That Freuds papers survived at all, let alone found a home at the Library of Congress, is kind of a miracle, McAleer said. It did not occur to him until well into his career that such artifacts as original book manuscripts might be of interest to others, so he didnt keep them. And unlike many of his contemporaries, he did not retain carbon copies of the letters he sent, so they had to be located and retrieved from around the world. At one point, while he was still casually tossing away notes and drafts, his apprentice and patient the Princess Marie Bonaparte, great-granddaughter of Napoleons brother, intervened by begging his housekeeper not to dispose of the contents of the wastepaper basket. The collection began at the library in 1952 after the Sigmund Freud Archives donated the first batch of material. Further large troves were donated by his daughter Anna, in 1970 and again at her death in 1982. It is now one of the most frequently visited of the manuscript divisions 11,900 collections, attracting scholars from around the world. The online collection will include many interviews never before released, as well as guest blogs from the still-active Sigmund Freud Archives. The collection includes photos and postcards from Freuds sole trip to the U.S., taken in 1909. Traveling by oceanliner with protege Carl Jung, the two icons of psychoanalysis passed the time by interpreting each others dreams. It has prescriptions he wrote, his correspondence with Albert Einstein and letters to a fellow analyst and patient of his, Horace Frink, whose divorce and then marriage to Frinks patient Freud controversially egged on (the union quickly deteriorated). It includes palm-size notebooks with miniature pencils attached that Freud carried around, his gold pocket watch, an oil portrait of him by Wilhelm Victor Krausz and a small terra-cotta bust from Ancient Greece, one of many ancient figurines that adorned his desk. The survival of so much material also takes on a miraculous sheen in light of the rise of Nazism toward the end of Freuds life. While he was aware of its dangers (he signed an antiwar petition in 1932), he did not seem to take seriously the menace to himself and his family until very late. In mid-March 1938, he was still in Vienna and his journal entries were short but momentous: Austria finished; Annexed by Germany; Hitler in Vienna. Within days, the Gestapo raided his apartment. They wanted to burn his books, but they didnt consider his papers to be valuable, McAleer said. A week later, his daughter Anna was taken in for questioning by the Gestapo and narrowly escaped deportation (three of his elderly sisters subsequently died in concentration camps). By then, it was hard for Jews to leave Austria or find safe countries willing to accept them as refugees, even refugees who were 82, world-famous and ill with cancer, as Freud was. Bonaparte sent telegrams to diplomats across Europe, who pressured the Nazi regime to let him and his family leave and persuaded the United Kingdom to accept them. Under the Gestapos eye, Bonaparte retrieved Freuds papers from a safe-deposit box and spirited them to the Danish Embassy in Paris, where they remained for the duration of the war. You belong to the history of human thought, Bonaparte told him in a letter. The border crossings that bookended Freuds life were a theme in his life work and are particularly relevant today, said Diane ODonoghue, a senior fellow for the humanities at Tisch College of Civic Life at Tufts University and a Freud scholar. I sense that there is a kind of return again to Freud in sort of new and interesting ways, so it feels to me that the moment of starting the online access is a very good one, she said. Noting that his childhood experience as a new immigrant and religious minority was marked by poverty and displacement, she added, Seeing Freud as a migratory subject under a very difficult regime, looking at his work as a cultural history and the issues of politics of Vienna, there is a way in which some aspects of Freuds work are quite timely. Its a tradition to celebrate the anniversary of a lifesaving bone marrow transplant as a rebirth. By that measure, today marks the 10th birthday of one of the worlds best known transplant survivors: Timothy Ray Brown. On Feb. 7, 2007, Brown underwent a last-ditch effort to cure his life-threatening acute myeloid leukemia after chemotherapy failed. But what sets him apart from the million-plus transplant survivors worldwide who have been reborn free of leukemia and other blood cancers is that he became the first person in the world to also be cured of HIV. A decade later, scientists at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and other institutions are working hard to make sure he will not remain the only person cured. Their challenge is to show that what once was thought impossible can be repeated and also to find a cure that is less risky and toxic than the one Brown endured. Finding a cure now commands a place on the agenda of every major scientific meeting on HIV, including next weeks Conference on Retroviral and Opportunistic Infections in Seattle. Cure is challenging because of the very special nature of HIV: how it attacks the body, how it integrates into our cells, and how the immune response, unlike for virtually any other virus, is inadequate, said Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, part of the National Institutes of Health, at a recent international AIDS conference. But, Fauci added, We now have a cohort of dedicated scientists who are working in this field. The NIH helped foster this cohort. In 2011, it funded three public-private research groups, including the Fred Hutch-based defeatHIV, to focus on curing HIV. Last summer it awarded an additional $150 million over five years to be divided among the original partnerships as well as three new groups. All are led by U.S. researchers and based at U.S. institutions but each draws from academia and industry across the nation and abroad. This is an overview of the work they are undertaking. By Stef Gijssels We love solo bass albums, and it seems that they keep coming in great numbers. The overview below is indeed nothing more t... 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. In May 2016, a Facebook post claiming that China was making corned beef with dead bodies and selling the products to Africa started circulating on social media, along with a series of photos purportedly showing the morbid operation. The truth is... On June 16th, the Zambian tabloid KACHEPA issued an open apology on its report dated May 17th that "China Feeding Africa with Human Meat". The apology reads that the source of the said report was from social media and was not verified, which constituted a hoax and the tabloid therefore extends its unreserved apology to the Chinese people. The Centre For Civilians in Conflict (CIVIC) report said the Chinese peacekeepers abandoned their posts in the South Sudanese capital of Juba on July 11, 2016, a day after a rocket-propelled grenade had exploded near a Chinese armoured personnel carrier, killing two Chinese soldiers. The truth is... China has refuted allegations that its peacekeepers abandoned their posts in South Sudan in July as "malicious speculation". Yang Yujun, spokesman of the Ministry of National Defense said that Chinese peacekeepers did their utmost to guarantee the safety of civilians and other peacekeepers even after two Chinese soldiers were killed and 5 were injured. On June 12th 2016, the Journal of Brazil published a report titled China's female citizens are forbidden to marry foreigners, which had been picked up from the Brazilian channel of a Russian website. The truth is... Recently, a social media post claimed that plastic rice was found in an Asian restaurant in Vancouver, Canada. The truth is... Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson has attacked SNP calls for Westminster to devolve more powers to Holyrood to devise its own farming policy after Brexit. Ms Davidson said creating a separate Scottish agricultural policy after the UK leaves the EU would be foolhardy and it would place barriers within our own UK domestic market. Speaking at the NFU Scotland annual general meeting on Monday (6 February), she told delegates there had been much talk about where powers should lie when they come back from Europe. See also: Hard Brexit will decimate Scots farming, says Fergus Ewing Ms Davidson predicted an almighty political row over the coming months about whether Holyrood or Westminster should decide Brexit farming policy. But a pragmatic approach would be required. The ruling SNP administration argues that Westminster should repatriate more powers to Holyrood to allow Scotland to take decisions that best meet the interests of its farmers, crofters, landowners and tenants. For example, 85% of Scottish farmland is classed as less favoured, compared to 15% in England. The SNP says it is vital that support for less favoured area farmers continues after Brexit. But the government has given no guarantees beyond 2019. Ms Davidson is advocating a UK-wide funding approach after Brexit. She told the conference in Glasgow it would be unwise for Scotland to create domestic barriers and pursue a so-called differentiated deal within the UK, or to leave the UK altogether. I dont see the upside in leaving one complex regulatory regime in Brussels (the Common Agricultural Policy), only to burden farmers with two regulatory regimes within the UK. However, It was vital that the needs of Scottish farmers were heard in Brexit farming policy, she added. Shared powers Ms Davidson, a leading figure of the Remain campaign, said she did not see Brexit as a binary choice as increasingly, the UK appeared to be moving towards a system of shared power. The reality is that the UK is a highly integrated economic unit of which Scotland is a part and upon which our prosperity depends and where fully 85% of Scotlands agri-exports go, she added. Ms Davidson acknowledged that Brexit would be a period of great change and uncertainty, but it offers a genuine opportunity to reset the framework for the better. It is surely possible to design a better support system than one which has to accommodate the needs of farmers on the shores of the Mediterranean with those on the fringes of the Arctic circle, she said. The Treasury has promised that UK agriculture will get the same level of funding until at least 2020. After that, the timetable for farm support is uncertain. The governments Brexit White Paper, published last week, promised that no decisions currently taken by the devolved administrations will be removed. Ukrainian coke and semi-coke exports in physical terms grew by 30.1% year-on-year in January 2017, to 12,883 tonnes. Coke and semi-coke exports in monetary terms rose by 21.6%, to $1.611 million, according to a customs statistics report issued by Ukraine's State Fiscal Service. Most exports went to Turkey (31.04% of total exports in monetary terms), Bulgaria (28.24%) and Lithuania (16.51%). In January 2017, Ukraine's coke and semi-coke imports amounted to 76,144 tonnes, 14.4% less than in January 2016. Imports in monetary terms rose by 44.5%, to $17.183 million. Imports mainly originated from Russia (51.37% of imports in monetary terms), Poland (47.8%) and the Czech Republic (0.83%). As reported, in 2016 Ukraine boosted exports of coke by 7.4%, to 257,356 tonnes, and in money terms it fell by 14.8%, to $32.543 million. Ukraine imported 1.612 million tonnes of coke and semi-coke in 2016, and it was 20.9% less than in 2015. In money terms imports decreased by 25.7%, to $294.061 million. Due to fighting in eastern Ukraine, some mines and coking chemical plants are now in territory which is temporarily uncontrolled by the Ukrainian government. Donetsksteel industrial and financial group, which is a large producer of coal, coke, pig iron and rolled steel, is a major exporter of coke. The group incorporates PrJSC Donetsksteel metallurgical plant, PJSC Donetsk metallurgical plant, JSC Yasynivsky coking chemical plant, PrJSC Makiyivkoks, and JSC Coal Company Pokrovske (former KrasnoarmiiskaZakhidna No. 1). Many of these enterprises are now in territory which is temporarily uncontrolled by the Ukrainian authorities. Viktor Nusenkis, a Russian businessman of Ukrainian origin, is the beneficial owner of the group. 'Kingdom Hearts' Features New Pop Figures; Funko Keychains Unveiled "Kingdom Hearts" series' new Pop figures, as well as keychains were showed off recently. While a number of these figures will be released in the broader markets, some will be retailer exclusives. "Kingdom Hearts" Pop Vinyl Figures Revealed "Kingdom Hearts" Pop Vinyl figures have been revealed recently, which includes two each for Donald, Pete and Goofy, as well as for Chip and Dales and Mickey, with an additional seven new figures. Reports suggest the some of these will be retailer exclusives, but all will be released in April. The black-and-white Pete figures of "Kingdom Hearts" can only be found at Walmart, while Kingdom Donald will be available at Hot Topic. On the other hand, "Kingdom Hearts" Pop figure Kingdom Goofy will be found at GameStop, and the rest will be released more broadly. Meantime, Funko is set to release Pop keychains that feature Goofy, Donald and Mickey in March. Meanwhile, "Kingdom Hearts" HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue, which is the latest game in the series, reportedly released last month on the PS4, GameSpot reported. "Kingdom Hearts" Latest Screenshot Pays Homage To "Final Fantasy VII" "Kingdom Hearts'" official Twitter account reportedly paid homage to the classic game "Final Fantasy VII" cover art through a "Kingdom Hearts III" screenshot. Reports confirm that the tweet was to honor the 20th anniversary of FFVVII. While it was a good gesture from "Kingdom Hearts", it also gave the fans a small glimpse of "Kingdom Hearts III", which the fans had not heard much about lately. Meantime, the original "Kingdom Hearts" and "Final Fantasy VII" were published before the Square, which is also known as the merged companies of Squaresoft and Enix, True Achievements reported. Watch "Kingdom Hearts" HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue here: Ukraine's Infrastructure Ministry, State Aviation Service and representatives of the aviation market have decided to draw up calculations of the State Fiscal Service and Finance Ministry. It aims at developing the domestic flights market in the country. An Interfax-Ukraine correspondent has reported that it was arranged at a roundtable devoted to the development of the domestic aviation market held in Kyiv on Monday. Head of the aviation transport department of Infrastructure Ministry Halyna Durmush said that the peak of domestic transportation was in 2012 over 1 million people were transported. Then a decline was seen, and only in 2016 802,000 passengers were carried on domestic routes. Vice President of Ukrainian International Airlines (UIA) for Commerce Serhiy Fomenko said that in 2016 the airline serviced 3,248 domestic flights carrying 664,000 passengers. "Finally we have not seen return of spending from these flights, with $2.5 million of loss," he said. Fomenko said that if in 2008 average tariff for domestic flights in the U.S. dollar equivalent was $82, in 2016 it was $42. This decline is balanced by the devaluation of the national currency. He said that in 2017 UIA would offer 1 million seats on domestic routes. "If everything were good, the airline will carry 880,000 passengers," he said. "In this segment there is a field for development for UIA if runways of Chernivtsi, Dnipro, Ivano-Frankivsk, Yuzhgorod and Kherson accept Boeing 737-800 planes without any restrictions. The minimum production cost of a flight is ensured thanks to this type of planes. These runways cannot accept these planes. In addition, the runway in Odesa is deteriorating," Fomenko said. He presented three proposals to develop the market: to annul the formation of the tariffs in the U.S. dollars at the national level, stop applying VAT to the price of tickets on domestic routes and invest in the infrastructure of the above-mentioned airports. Durmush said that the public airport development program envisages the funds for its implementation, but in 2016 the Finance Ministry did not provide the funds. In addition, there are no funds planned for 2017. Representatives of the State Fiscal Service and the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) said that the detailed calculations and explanations of viability to remove VAT from domestic passenger transportation should be presented. Aviation market players mentioned the painful issue of selling foreign currency income during the discussion. "Next week we are gathering data from all Ukrainian airlines and sending the relevant letters to the NBU and the State Fiscal Service and working with the Finance Ministry. These letters will concern the VAT issue and sale of foreign currency income by airlines. The issue of socially important routes should be discussed and European experience should be studied," Durmush said. Readers, we need your help to prove a merry Christmas for victims of domestic violence. Faced with the prospect of flat state funding levels and rising employee retirement costs, Oregon State University administrators are contemplating a combination of tuition hikes and spending cuts to balance the books. Going into this years legislative session, the presidents of Oregons seven public universities asked for $765 million in state support for the 2017-19 biennium, up from $665 million in 2015-17. The group said the increase was needed to keep pace with rising costs especially a sharp increase in expected payments for Public Employees Retirement System obligations after a court ruling threw out the Legislatures last attempt at PERS reform. They now appear likely to get far less than they asked for as lawmakers scramble to fill an estimated $1.8 billion revenue shortfall. Gov. Kate Brown earmarked just $667 million for the seven schools in her proposed budget, while the proposal drafted by the co-chairs of the Joint Ways and Means Committee is expected to be only slightly better, at around $677 million. The universities will continue to push for the higher funding level, but OSU President Ed Ray said his school could be facing a significant budget deficit that would likely result in some level of tuition increase. Our board wants to keep tuition down. We all do, Ray said in an interview with the Gazette-Times editorial board on Monday. But even with 2 to 3 percent tuition increases, were looking at something like a $20 million shortfall (per year) in operating expenses. The Legislature is not expected to pass a 2017-19 budget until June or July, but Ray said the university cant wait that long to set tuition rates for next year. Administrators are working on a tuition proposal to present to the OSU Board of Trustees in March that will likely include some level of increase. Even so, Ray added, the university will still need to trim its budget somewhere, most likely by curtailing planned salary increases, going slow on new hires and leaving some open positions vacant. Seventy percent of our costs are people, so its not as if we have a lot of leverage in where we look to save money, he said. This log includes incidents in which there might have been a public disturbance or a risk to the public. Information comes from the Corvallis Police Department, the Benton County Sheriffs Office and Oregon State Police. It does not include all calls for service. The status of incidents might change after further investigation. Locations are approximate. People arrested or suspected in crimes are considered innocent until proven otherwise. Corvallis Police Department SATURDAY, FEB. 4 METH: 10:32 a.m., 200 S.W. Third Street. An officer saw Alexander Michael Maybee, 21, of Foster, recognized he had an outstanding warrant and arrested him. The officer allegedly found methamphetamine and credit cards belonging to other people on his person, and charged him with identity theft and unlawful possession of methamphetamine. Benton County Sheriffs Office MONDAY, FEB. 6 DUII: 2:15 a.m., Northwest Van Buren Avenue and Northwest Third Street. A deputy arrested Zarale L. Denley, 40, of Nashville, Tennessee, for a charge of DUII. He reportedly had a blood alcohol content of 0.14 percent. SUNDAY, FEB. 5 DUII: 2:56 a.m., Highway 20 and Shrike Way. A deputy arrested Tucker Heitz Billman, 21, of John Day for a charge of DUII. He reportedly had a blood alcohol content of 0.17 percent. DUII: 2:51 a.m., Northwest Harrison Boulevard and Northwest 16th Street. A deputy arrested Nicole Suzanne Marshall, 37, of Corvallis, for a charge of DUII. She reportedly had a blood alcohol content of 0.18 percent. SATURDAY, FEB. 4 ATTEMPT TO FLEE: 8:43 p.m., Northwest Oak Creek Drive and Cardwell Hill Road. James Thomas Kozlik, 22, of Corvallis, reportedly tried to flee a deputy in his vehicle twice before he was arrested. The arresting deputy charged him with two counts of attempting to elude by fleeing in a vehicle, DUII, reckless driving and second degree criminal trespassing. He reportedly had a blood alcohol content of 0.13 percent. DUII: 3:01 a.m., Northwest Ninth Street and Northwest Freemont Avenue. A deputy arrested Mark Aron Byrum, 49, of Corvallis, for a charge of DUII. He reportedly refused both field sobriety tests and a breath test, but the deputy obtained a warrant to have a sample of his blood collected, which was sent to the crime lab for analysis. DUII: 2:45 a.m., Northwest Harrison Boulevard and Northwest Third Street. An officer arrested Mason Thomas Westmoreland, 26, of Corvallis, for charges of DUII, reckless endangering, and driving while suspended. He reportedly had a blood alcohol content of 0.12 percent. I applaud President Trumps willingness to engage Russia. Its been disturbing to see the media and politicians vilify Putin about his acts of aggression. The U.S. has been the aggressor for years. Installing missile defense systems (an Orwellian term if there ever was one) in former eastern bloc countries, admitting those countries into the NATO military alliance, encouraging (and perhaps facilitating) a coup in Ukraine these were all acts of western aggression towards Russia. The press vilified Ukrainian President Yanukovitch as a thug, but have nary a peep about the thug Poroshenko who replaced him. Anyone who thinks that the Crimean Peninsula will ever leave Russian control is delusional and ignorant of history. Russia acted just as the U.S. would if southern California seceded with Los Angeles and joined Mexico. U.S. accusations of Russian intransigence in Crimea and Syria, long key parts of their sphere of influence, are laughable given recent U.S. intervention in Venezuelan elections, an Honduran coup, and ongoing drone attacks across the globe, including on U.S. citizens, without due process. Beware when politicians and the media start vilifying selected leaders, lest we find ourselves in another Iraq. I disagree with many of the things Trump stands for, but less saber-rattling towards Russia could be good. Especially if he is serious about his desire to reduce nuclear weapons, and not about his contradictory statements for expanding our already huge nuclear arsenal. Weve had enough hot and cold wars over the last few decades. Lets try something different. Andrew Gray Corvallis (Jan. 27) S&P Global Ratings raised its long-term corporate credit rating on Ukrainian iron ore producer Ferrexpo Plc to 'B-' from 'CCC' and its short-term rating to 'B' from 'C', following the recent rally in the prices of iron ore in the world. "The recent rally in the price of iron ore, supported by a tight supply of iron ore pellets, should result in improved cash flows for Ukrainian iron ore producer Ferrexpo PLC. The company's liquidity has improved, supported by its increased cash balance and positive free operating cash flows, which should allow it to meet its debt maturities in 2017," S&P said in a report issued on Tuesday. S&P also raised our senior unsecured long-term rating on the debt issued by Ferrexpo Finance PLC to 'B-' from 'CCC'. S&P said that the outlook is stable. It balances the improved liquidity position and the current elevated iron ore price against the heavy maturities in the coming two years. Welcome to my genealogy blog. Genea-Musings features genealogy research tips and techniques, genealogy news items and commentary, genealogy humor, San Diego genealogy society news, family history research and some family history stories from the keyboard of Randy Seaver (of Chula Vista CA), who thinks that Genealogy Research Is really FUN! Copyright (c) Randall J. Seaver, 2006-2021. Odesa's Prymorsky district court has arrested four self-lifting drilling rigs belonged to public joint-stock company Chornomornaftogaz seized by Russia when it occupied Crimea. According to the court ruling issued on January 27, 2017, a copy of which has been sent to Interfax-Ukraine, the rigs were arrested under a petition of the chief department of the National Police in Crimea and Sevastopol in the criminal case opened on Decembe 14, 2015 over the unlawful movement of the rigs and their seizure. "To prevent the possibility of hiding, damaging, destroying, modernizing or selling the above-mentioned state-owned property the investigator asked to arrest floating drilling rigs V-319 Ukraine, V-312 Petro Hodovanets, Sivash and Tavryda. After studying the petition and materials proving the conclusions of the investigator, the court believes that the petition is to be satisfied," the court said in its ruling. As reported, early February an attempt by the Russian side from the rigs earlier seized by Russia to fire on a Ukrainian An-26 transport plane was made in the area of the Odeske gas field. After the plane returned to the airfield, its visual inspection revealed a three-centimeter bullet hole caused by firing from small arms. Naftogaz Ukrainy said that the company intends to achieve the resumption of control over the assets lost due to occupation of Crimea by Russia and refunding of all losses at international courts. Naftogaz in February 2016 initiated a negotiating process regarding the loss of its assets in Crimea by formally notifying Russia of an investment dispute under the bilateral investment protection agreement. The six-month negotiating period ended in August 2016. Thus, the negotiating process produced no results, which entitles Ukraine to start arbitration proceedings against Russia regarding the investment agreement. Naftogaz contracted Covington & Burling LLP (New York, the United States) to protect its interests in the litigation concerning the lost Crimean assets. Naftogaz Ukrainy is wholly owned by the Ukrainian Cabinet of Ministers and consolidates the country's largest oil and gas producing facilities. It holds a monopoly on the transportation and storage of natural gas in underground storage facilities and on the transportation of oil through pipelines across the country. UN competition : Momentum for Change Award Bonn The UN wants to hear from people who are active in addressing climate change. Applications are being accepted for the 2017 Momentum for Change Award. The deadline is April 9. Teilen Teilen Weiterleiten Weiterleiten Tweeten Tweeten Weiterleiten Weiterleiten Drucken Von Carol Kloeppel Does your organization or community have an outstanding project for tackling climate change? Applications are now being accepted by the United Nations in conjunction with their Momentum for Change competition. Any organizations, communities, cities, businesses or governments which are taking concrete action on climate change can apply to have their project recognized. Chosen projects will be part of the 2017 Lighthouse Activities and winners will receive special benefits such as full attendance to the 2017 UN Climate Change Conference in Bonn and a chance to make connections and gain support. The competition is being spearheaded by the Climate Change Secretariat in Bonn. They want to take notice of what people around the world are doing to tackle climate change, with the hope that these examples can be replicated in other corners of the world. Bonn Uni-garage renovation : Special wishes cause delay Seit funf Jahren ist die Universitats-Tiefgarage geschlossen. Foto: Benjamin Westhoff Bonn The NRW real estate holding firm BLB has officially confirmed that renovation work on the University underground parking garage will not begin until October of 2017. BLB has said the delay is due to a change in plans. Teilen Teilen Weiterleiten Weiterleiten Tweeten Tweeten Weiterleiten Weiterleiten Drucken In the middle of 2016, the University of Bonn expressed the wish to create additional parking spaces for electric cars. In a written response, the state real estate company BLB wrote Generally, making changes during the internal approval process always involves adjustment to the planning, costs and deadlines. Further, the statement said that electric cars represent an increased fire hazard in an underground car park. More fire escape routes would now have to be planned in consultation with the City of Bonn, and the owner had to agree to the changes. According to BLB, the final fire protection concept was not presented until the end of 2016. At the beginning of 2017, there were renewed requests for change from the university, but they were not accepted. University spokesman Andreas Archut said in response, We are not interested in playing a game with the BLB. We are interested in an early start and the fastest possible completion of the renovations. For this reason, we would propose to the BLB, that the preparatory work should commence as soon as possible, in parallel with the ongoing planning and approval procedures, for example, setting up the construction site and perhaps even beginning with the demolition work. We will continue to hold talks in this direction. Banks with Russian capital in Ukraine are restricted in transaction today. They are operating under supervision of a curator and looking for a buyer, Deputy Governor of the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) Kateryna Rozhkova said at a press conference in Kyiv on Tuesday. She recalled that at present five banks with Russian capital are operating on the Ukrainian market. "There are two ways for them to find a new owner or gradually reduce their presence on the market," she said. Rozhkova said that Russian banks today have enough capital thanks to conversion of parent banks' resources to capital, but the further expansion of their business is a problem due to sanctions. "Their [Russian banks] additional capitalization was carried out mainly thanks to conversion of earlier raised funds of parent companies. Taking into account current sanctions, we cannot speak about the potential future additional capitalization. This means that there could not be any development, as boosting of assets requires additional capital," Rozhkova said. The National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) could start dialog with holders of eurobonds of nationalized PrivatBank (Dnipro), Deputy NBU Governor Kateryna Rozhkova has said. "We have received letters. Eurobond holders want to hold a dialog We are ready to meet, present our position, as we acted in line with law," she said at a press conference in Kyiv on Tuesday. Rozhkova said that the first meeting with some of the eurobond holders is scheduled for Tuesday. "I do not know who will represent bond holders. I have received a letter that they want any dialog. I know that today they will meet with representatives of the bank's supervisory board. After the meeting they will arrive to the NBU. This is the first meeting," she said. She expressed confidence that the NBU's position is grounded. "We carried out bail-in under Article 41.1 of the law on the individuals deposit guarantee system. It says that liabilities of persons who are not affiliated with the bank, which are not deposits or current accounts, can be converted into capital. Professional investors were to assess the current and potential risk when they invested their money [in acquisition of eurobonds], taking into account several factors. We are ready to meet with representatives of bond holders. We are ready to present our position. We believe that our position is legal," The positions of the Ukrainian Armed Forces had come under fire 78 times in the past day and one Ukrainian serviceman had been wounded, the press center of the anti-terrorist operation (ATO) has reported. "All in all, there have been 78 shelling incidents. One of our soldiers has been wounded," the ATO press center said on Facebook on Tuesday. Weapons prohibited by the Minsk agreements were used, it said. Tanks, 152mm artillery, 120mm and 82mm mortars, grenade launchers, large-caliber machineguns and small arms targeted Ukrainian military positions near Avdiyivka in the past day, the press center said. Troitske, Verkhniotoretske, Kamianka, Luhanske, Opytne and Zaitseve in Donetsk region were also shelled. Militants fired 122mm artillery, grenade launchers and mortars of different calibers on Bohdanivka, Novohryhorivka, Lebedynske, Vodiane, Hnutove, Shyrokyne and Maryinka near the city of Mariupol, the press center said. A tank was used against Shyrokyne, an infantry fighting vehicle against Maryinka, and large-caliber machineguns were fired on Novotroitske. Krymske in Luhansk region came under 122mm artillery fire more than once, the press center said. Mortars and grenade launchers were used against Zhelte and Krymske, and a tank fired on Novozvanivka. Information that representatives of the Blockade of Donbas action had revealed weapons and ammunition in wagons of a train under construction materials spread in mass media and social networks is untrue. So are charges that the head of the Bakhmut railway station confirmed the reports, public joint-stock company Ukrzaliznytsia has said. According to its press release, law enforcement agencies did not record any fact of transporting weapons and ammunition by rail across the contact line. In addition, the head of the Bakhmut railway station did not provide this information to Ukrainian lawmakers and participants of the blockade. "Blockade participants with several parliamentarians cause material damage, financial loss and reputation risks to the railway sector by their actions. A diesel locomotive and 57 empty freight wagons are blocked on the Shypilove-Svitlanove rail section (since January 25) and a shunting diesel locomotive on one of the tracks of the Kurdiumivka-Bakhmut-2 rail section (since February 2)," Ukrzaliznytsia said. He said that each day of blocking the locomotives and wagons causes losses to the railway sector due to consumption of lubricants and fuel and the stoppage of transportation. The loss has reached UAH 8.4 million. Ukrzaliznytsia urges to unblock train movement at the two rail sections in Donbas and refund the loss by guilty persons. The company recalls that freight are transported across the contact line by rail in line with the temporary rules of monitoring the movement of persons, vehicles and freights (goods) across the contact line in Luhansk and Donetsk regions approved by the Anti-Terrorist Operation (ATO) chief on the territory of Luhansk and Donetsk regions. Permits to cross the line and transport cargo across the contact line are checked by the coordination center. It consists of representatives of the State Fiscal Service, State Border Guard Service of Ukraine, Ukrainian Armed Forces, National Police and Security Service of Ukraine (SBU). Article Protecting the worlds oceans an important goal of Germanys climate diplomacy The worlds oceans are vital to our survival. They regulate the global climate and are a source of food and income for billions of people. Only a very small part of the seas enjoys legal protection, however. Our diplomats are working in New York right now to change this state of affairs. Mastercard, CAIT launch pan-India campaign to promote digital payments News oi -Rohit 500 camps will be held across 30 cities over 90 days to enable 5 lakh merchants and traders to get on-board digital platform Mastercard in collaboration with Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) has announced a 90-day campaign to accelerate the adoption of digital payments amongst merchants to grow their businesses in India. Under the 'Digital Apnao Vyapar Badhao' campaign, the duo will organize 500 camps across 30 cities over 90 days to enable 5 lakh merchants and traders to get on-board digital platform. The first of the 500 camps will be launched in Nagpur today. The one of its kind campaign to bring financial institutions and payment facilitators under one roof will follow a three step process of completing KYC documents; opening merchant accounts and helping them expand their business reach by adopting the right digital payment solution as per their requirement. The duo will help the traders and merchants install the PoS terminals with the help of available technological methods such as QR codes, mobile app, PoS machines, etc. and will offer guidance through the process of digitization. SEE ALSO: ZTE Blade A2 Plus Unboxing and Review Ravi Aurora, Senior Vice President, Global Policy Affairs and Community Relations introduced the campaign to the reporters and said, "We share the government's vision of creating a less cash economy and bringing more people under the ambit of financial inclusion. The campaign is in line with our commitment to create awareness about the benefits of less-cash economy and the opportunity that new payments technology can bring to the untapped SME sector." SEE ALSO: LG H871 with Snapdragon 820 appears on Geekbench Praveen Khandelwal, Secretary General, CAIT was also present at the event and highlighted that the campaign will ensure that traders and merchants have access to the right information and solutions as they embark on the digital payments journey to be future ready and grow their business. As noted, the campaign is in continuation to Mastercard and CAIT's collaboration to promote financial awareness amongst traders through educational training sessions 'Master Your Card'. Mastercard and CAIT also talked on the present situation in the country post Government of India's demonetization move. The duo said that they support the government's move to curb black money and will provide the required technical support to boost digital payments in the country. Both are holding talks with government to incentivise the use of digital payments in the country as it can further accelerate the adoption by many folds for the larger benefit. 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 Ukraine and Azerbaijan have decided not to allow goods made on the territories that are not under control of Baku and Kyiv to enter their territories without permits from official authorities, Ukrainian Ambassador to Azerbaijan Oleksandr Mischenko has told Interfax-Azerbaijan. "During the visit of Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko to Baku the heads of the two states instructed chiefs of customs agencies of Ukraine and Azerbaijan to meet and discuss the issue of passing goods coming from occupied territories of the two countries. Heads of customs agencies met and drew up a mechanism, according to which goods from these territories can be supplied only if they are licenses by central authorities Kyiv and Baku," Mischenko said. The diplomat said that goods made in Nagorno-Karabakh could cross the Ukrainian border only if Baku gives a permit. The similar scheme is applied by Azerbaijan to goods arriving from Donbas. "For example, lets take a label on sparkling wine. If it says Ukraine, Artiomovsk factory (Donbas) this is good. If it says Novorossiya or something like this, of course, Azerbaijan would not take it. The similar approach applies to goods from Nagorno-Karabakh," he said. "The rules took effect at once when the presidents issued the orders. We do not need to sign any international agreements here. The document was signed by the heads of customs agencies," the ambassador said. Apple plans to sell used iPhones in India along with locally manufactured ones News oi -Abhinaya Prabhu Apple seems to have more plans. Apple is very close to attaining its goal of manufacturing iPhones in India, but that doesn't mean the company is giving up on its plan to sell refurbished iPhones in the country. As per a report by Bloomberg, Apple met a panel of government officials and told that it would have the required infrastructure to ensure that the used iPhones are compliant with the set quality standards. This way, Apple is trying to address the concerns that India might turn into becoming a dumping ground for the used devices. The Cupertino tech giant is right now negotiating with the Indian government to get tax concessions for the local manufacturing of iPhones. The company is asking for a tax holiday of 15 years, reveals the report. For now, it remains unknown if Apple would be let to sell used iPhones in India, but previous requests regarding the same were highly criticized by the competitors and officials alike. The Make in India program lures foreign manufacturers to build their offerings locally in exchange for some attractive incentives. Earlier, Apple tried to take advantage of the increase in local mobile sales by bringing used/refurbished phones to the country. Apple to manufacture iPhones in Bengaluru, Karnataka While many people believe that the used iPhones would be priced relatively lower and sell well in the country, there are warnings that the environmental impact would be pretty huge, especially when the batteries in these phones reach the end of their life. But, Apple assures that the refurbished units would also meet the imposed standards. Despite the company's struggles to bring the refurbished iPhones in India, the government hasn't given a response till date. If the government approves the same, Apple will become the first foreign company to sell refurbished devices in the country. Best Mobiles in India Asus launches Zenfone 3S Max with 5,000 mAh battery in India at Rs. 14,999 News oi -Rohit Asus Zenfone 3S Max is priced at Rs. 14,999 and will be available on all leading e-commerce platforms as well as retail stores across the country Asus has announced the launch of company's latest big battery smartphone- Zenfone 3S Max (ZC521TL). The smartphone is backed by a large 5,000 mAh battery unit and is priced at Rs. 14,999 in the Indian market. It will be available on leading e-commerce stores as well as retail stores across the country. As mentioned, the highlight of the smartphone is its big 5,000 mAh battery unit that is said to deliver a standby time of up to 38 days on 4G, offers 28 hours of 3G talk-time and 25 hours of Web browsing on a single charge. The smartphone also offers USB OTG reverse charging feature that can be used to charge other mobile phones. The latest smartphone from Asus comes with a 5.2-inch HD (720x1280 pixels) display and features a 2.5D contoured edge. This can be deal-breaker for some consumers in India as the handset does not feature a 1080p screen even at a price-point of Rs. 15,000. The recently launched ZTE Blade A2 Plus, which also offers a 5,000 mAh battery unit flaunts a full HD screen and is priced at Rs. 11,999. SEE ALSO: Asus ZenFone 3s Max will find it difficult to compete with these devices Encased with aluminium metal body, Zenfone 3S Max is powered by MediaTek MT6750 octa-core processor clocked at 1.5GHz coupled with 3GB of RAM. 32GB of built-in storage is offered in this device but can be further expanded up to up to a 2TB via microSD card. As far as imaging goes, Asus Zenfone 3S Max has a 13MP rear camera with f/2.0 aperture, 5P Largan lens, and dual-LED real-tone flash light. There's an 8MP front-camera for selfies and video calling. The smartphone also has a fingerprint scanner that's embedded in the home button at the front of the ZenFone 3S Max. It is said to unlock the device in 0.5 seconds and expands its recognition ability for up to 5 fingers. Talking about software, the ZenFone 3S Max runs Android 7.0 Nougat with company's proprietary ZenUI 3.0. Zenfone 3S Max will be available in Black and Gold colour variants. Best Mobiles in India Xiaomi Pinecone V670 and V970 processor leak: Mi 6S and Mi Note 3 may use them News oi -Abhinaya Prabhu Xiaomi is working on two processors. Xiaomi is in the news not only for its upcoming flagship Mi 6 but also for working on its own processor. Now, all rumors seem to fall in place as it appears like the smartphone maker will introduce its processor soon. Lately, there were speculations that the Xiaomi Mi 5C might be using the company's own Pinecone processor under its hood. The chipset is believed to be similar to Snapdragon 808 that the Mi 4C uses. Eventually, there were reports that the Mi C lineup of smartphones might use the in-house processor from Xiaomi. But this proves to be wrong by another speculation. It appears like the Xiaomi's self-made processor might be used for the high-end smartphones too. Though the Xiaomi Mi 5C would be the first device to feature the Pinecone processor, the latter is claimed to be an octa-core processor based on the A53 architecture. It is rumored to be accompanied by Mali T860 MP4 GPU and have the model number V670. However, it is disappointing to know that it will use the 28nm process technology. Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 next flash sale set for February 8 Xiaomi seems to be working on another chipset codenamed V970 that is expected to be an octa-core processor with a quad-core Cortex A73 and a quad-core Cortex A53 architecture unlike the other one that uses two quad-core Cortex A53 architectures. Basically, the larger cores are meant to run at a higher frequency than the smaller cores. Also, this processor is said to be coupled with a Mali G71 MP12 GPU and come with the 10nm process technology similar to the latest Snapdragon 835. Having detailed the specifications of the two Xiaomi chipsets, we come to the latest bit of information that has emerged online. The upcoming smartphones of Xiaomi - Mi 6S and Mi Note 3 are rumored to feature the powerful self-made processor - V970 and go official in Q4 this year. Source 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 Vodafone launches SuperNet 4G services in Haldwani News oi -Priyanka Vodafone services has been launched in Meerut, Agra, Bareilly, Dehradun and more than 60 other cultural, educational and tourism hubs. In order to further its reach in the country, Vodafone, on Tuesday announced the launch of SuperNet 4G service in Haldwani. The services has been launched in Meerut, Agra, Bareilly, Dehradun and more than 60 other cultural, educational and tourism hubs and the company is planning to launch its services in other major towns across the circle by March 2017. Vodafone India, Business Head - UP West and Uttarakhand, Dilip Kumar Ganta, said, "UP West and Uttarakhand is a key market for Vodafone India and as one of the leading telecom service provider in the region, we have a lot to offer to our over 11.3 million customers." SEE ALSO: Bored of YouTube? Here are a few alternative video streaming sites "Beginning with Dehradun, Haridwar, Aligarh, we are now launching 4G services in Haldwani, we will shortly expand the Vodafone SuperNetTM 4G service across the entire circle in a phased manner. We invite our data savvy customers in the city to make the most of the bonanza of special benefits being offered to enjoy the best mobile internet experience," he added. Vodafone's customers in Haldwani have a bonanza of special benefits to enjoy the SuperNet 4G experience seamlessly. These include 2GB data free with every 4G SIM upgrade. Three-months access to Vodafone Play, Live TV, Movies, Videos & MusicBesides and 4G Mi-Fi that supports Wi-Fi connectivity for up to 15 devices. With launches planned shortly in Goa, and Chennai, Vodafone SuperNet 4G coverage will be available in 2,400 towns across the country by March 2017. These 17 circles where Vodafone will offer 4G service, contribute over 90 per cent of Vodafone India's data revenue. Meanwhile the company is in talks with Aditya Birla group's Idea Celluar for a possible merger, which would create the country's biggest telecom company, ahead of Bharti Airtel. 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 Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin is set to discuss the implementation of the Minsk agreements with members of the new U.S. Administration during his visit to the United States in the upcoming days. "A few days from now, I will be discussing ways to fulfill the Minsk agreements, who will be the guarantors, and how the window of opportunity can be used with members of the new U.S. Administration [...] It [the visit] will take place in the upcoming weeks. We are considering logistic dates; we need to prepare thoroughly but we have definitively agreed to meet soon," Klimkin said on the ICTV channel on Monday. The sequence of the implementation of the Minsk agreements is on the agenda with U.S. partners, the minister said. "We are offering a clear logic as to how we can fulfill the Minsk agreements, what should be done in the field of security, what role the United States has, how the United States will interact with our 'Normandy format' partners and the EU, and how we will fulfill our humanitarian obligations, primarily the release of hostages, before we proceed to the political settlement logic. This is the logic of sequence and the guarantees we are discussing are with the U.S. side," Klimkin said. He also said that the atmosphere of the telephone call between Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko and U.S. President Donald Trump was good. He declined to reveal details but said that the substantive conversation and Trump's awareness of the Donbas situation were good signs. "First of all, the conversation had a wonderful atmosphere. Secondly, the conversation was substantive. The U.S. president was aware of current events, including Avdiivka, but he was asking very clear questions. [...] The depth of his questions and the wish to understand the situation looked like good signs," the minister said. Military Strikes Hit ISIL Terrorists in Syria, Iraq From a Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve News Release SOUTHWEST ASIA, Feb. 6, 2017 U.S. and coalition military forces continued to attack Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant terrorists in Syria and Iraq yesterday, Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve officials reported today. Officials reported details of the latest strikes, noting that assessments of results are based on initial reports. Strikes in Syria Attack, bomber, fighter and remotely piloted aircraft conducted 16 strikes in 18 engagements in Syria: -- Near Abu Kamal, three strikes destroyed five oil wellheads. -- Near Dayr Az Zawr, seven strikes destroyed nine oil tanker trucks, six oil wellheads and a pumpjack. -- Near Raqqa, six strikes destroyed three tunnels, an artillery system, a vehicle bomb and an ISIL headquarters. Strikes in Iraq Bomber, fighter and remotely piloted aircraft and rocket artillery conducted nine strikes in 27 engagements in Iraq, coordinated with and in support of Iraq's government: -- Near Huwayjah, a strike engaged an ISIL tactical unit, destroyed two ISIL-held buildings and damaged a tunnel. -- Near Kisik, a strike engaged an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL-held building and a command-and-control node. -- Near Mosul, three strikes destroyed 23 ISIL-held buildings, an ISIL headquarters and a front-end loader; and damaged 14 supply routes and a tunnel. -- Near Qaim, a strike destroyed three bunkers. -- Near Rawah, two strikes engaged an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed a vehicle, a tactical vehicle and a vehicle bomb. -- Near Tuz, a strike engaged an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed two ISIL-held buildings and a vehicle. Task force officials define a strike as one or more kinetic events that occur in roughly the same geographic location to produce a single, sometimes cumulative, effect. Therefore, officials explained, a single aircraft delivering a single weapon against a lone ISIL vehicle is one strike, but so is multiple aircraft delivering dozens of weapons against buildings, vehicles and weapon systems in a compound, for example, having the cumulative effect of making those targets harder or impossible for ISIL to use. Accordingly, officials said, they do not report the number or type of aircraft employed in a strike, the number of munitions dropped in each strike, or the number of individual munition impact points against a target. Ground-based artillery fired in counterfire or in fire support to maneuver roles is not classified as a strike. Part of Operation Inherent Resolve The strikes were conducted as part of Operation Inherent Resolve, the operation to eliminate the ISIL terrorist group and the threat they pose to Iraq, Syria, and the wider international community. The destruction of ISIL targets in Syria and Iraq further limits the terrorist group's ability to project terror and conduct operations, officials said. Coalition nations that have conducted strikes in Syria include the United States, Australia, Bahrain, Canada, France, Jordan, the Netherlands, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom. Coalition nations that have conducted strikes in Iraq include the United States, Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Jordan, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address 1-68 AR Soldiers arrive in Latvia for 9-month rotation By Sgt. Lauren Harrah, 24th Press Camp HQ February 6, 2017 CAMP ADAZI, Latvia -- The mission continues as Soldiers assigned to 1st Battalion, 68th Armor Regiment, 3rd Armored Brigade, 4th Infantry Division, arrived at Camp Adazi, Latvia, Feb. 5, 2017 for a 9-month rotation in support of Operation Atlantic Resolve. Operation Atlantic Resolve is a U.S. led effort in Eastern Europe that demonstrates U.S. commitment to the collective security of NATO and dedication to enduring peace and stability in the region. The Soldiers of 1-68 AR, based out of Fort Carson, Colo., will take over for the Paratroopers of 2nd Battalion, 503rd Infantry Regiment, 173rd Airborne Brigade, in reassuring NATO allies and strengthening deterrence capabilities with partnered forces. "We are excited to be here and to train with the Latvians," said 1st Lt. Alexander Forman, executive officer, Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1-68 AR. "They have been extremely welcoming and helpful in the planning process so far." As the Soldiers settle in and begin preparing for a Combined Arms Live Fire Exercise with the Latvian soldiers in the next couple months, 1-68 AR looks forward to building interoperability in everything from small weapon systems to communication systems and command control, Forman said. "This is a very unique opportunity," said 1st Sgt. Blake Wilson, senior enlisted advisor, HHC, 1-68 AR. "I've been in the Army for almost 18 years and I've never done anything quite like this." Forman hopes his Soldiers are able to see firsthand how NATO allies work together across multiple spectrums, sharing tactics and building capabilities. "We are thankful to be here to train with them in a different training environment," Forman said. "Hopefully we can learn from what they do and maybe teach them as well." --- U.S. Army Europe is uniquely positioned in its 51 country area of responsibility to advance American strategic interests in Europe and Eurasia. The relationships we build during more than 1,000 theater security cooperation events in more than 40 countries each year lead directly to support for multinational contingency operations around the world, strengthen regional partnerships and enhance global security. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Virgin Island National Guard prepares for Vigilant Guard 17 By Pfc. Chenelle Brady February 6, 2017 VIRGIN ISLANDS -- Members of the Virgin Islands Army and Air National Guard put together a series of hands-on training to help prepare for Vigilant Guard 17 exercise during annual training at the Joint Force Headquarters' drill hall floor February 2, 2017. "The main focus for Vigilant Guard 17 is to assure that Information is flowing and the Joint Task Force knows how to run their operation," said Captain Carl Christopher, director of operations/strategic plans, from Virgin Islands Air National Guard Joint Force Headquarters. "By the leadership coming together, war gaming, going through everything line by line and developing products, we have something that we can take off the shelf and hit the ground running," said Christopher. There are multiple staff sections that come together to make the joint task force. The purpose of Vigilant Guard 17 is to help determine how the joint task force will function when receiving missions and tasks from Virgin Islands Territorial Emergency Management Agency (VITEMA) that will be coming into the organization, and accomplish these tasks. Process maps were created as a guide to specific events that will be happening and the way that they will deal with it. The JTF will need to understand how the information is supposed to flow when it comes to Defence Support of Civil Authorities operations. When a disaster happens they want to be able to respond to it properly and efficiently. "Although there are a few things that may need to be fine-tune, we are heading in the right direction in accomplishing a mission and doing so successfully," said Maj. Alphonso John, the G-3 training specialist for the Joint Force Headquarters. "We are heading in the right direction," said John. The mass exercise will test the ability of the military along with emergency personnel on how to communicate and work together as a team. Vigilant Guard 17 will take place in the Virgin Islands in the upcoming months. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Iran not supplying arms to Yemeni fighters: Spokesman IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency Tehran, Feb 6, IRNA -- Iran has provided Yemeni fighters with no weapons, says Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Qasemi, rejecting as irrelevant allegations against the Islamic Republic's interference in the war-torn country. "Iran has no engagement in Yemen and it has never supplied the Yemeni fighters with weapons" Qasemi said in a press conference on Monday. "Iran seriously and definitely rejects any kinds of allegations leveled against it trying to relate the Islamic Republic with the Yemeni Issues," Qasemi said. The Foreign Ministry spokesman also said that those who are familiar with the history of Yemen, especially in the days before the disintegration of the former Soviet Union, know very well that the country used to be divided into two parts. Part of Yemen used to be under the Soviet rule and Moscow used to supply the country with advanced weapons and military hardware, Qasemi said. "The Yemeni people and fighters still have access to these weapons," he said. According to Qasemi, the allegations against Iran and the claims that the Islamic Republic is funneling weapons for Houthis in Yemen is a new pretext invented by some regional countries and the US new administration to promote Iranophobia. "This is not anything new," he said. "It is a joint strategy followed by regional and trans-regional powers to face Iran," Qasemi said. "Yemen is the victim of an imprudent war imposed against it by the government of Saudi Arabia," he said. Many have died as a result of the war, and Yemen now has been reduced to ashes, with its people living under very dire conditions, he added. 2044**1771 NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Future USS Rafael Peralta Delivered to the Navy Navy News Service Story Number: NNS170206-19 Release Date: 2/6/2017 11:31:00 AM From Team Ships Public Affairs BATH, Maine (NNS) -- The U.S. Navy accepted delivery of future guided-missile destroyer USS Rafael Peralta (DDG 115) during a ceremony Feb. 3. Rafael Peralta is the first Arleigh Burke-class destroyer constructed at the General Dynamics-Bath Iron Works shipyard since the program was restarted in 2010. DDG 115 is the second restart ship to deliver to the Navy, following delivery of future USS John Finn (DDG 113) from Huntington Ingalls Industries in December 2016. The Navy accepted delivery of Rafael Peralta following a series of at-sea and pierside trials which demonstrated the ship's operational readiness. "Arleigh Burke-class destroyers continue to provide the most critical warfighting technologies to our Sailors, equipping them with the capabilities they require to meet our missions at sea," said Capt. Casey Moton, DDG 51 class program manager, Program Executive Office (PEO) Ships. "As the 65th Arleigh Burke-class destroyer to join the fleet, Rafael Peralta will continue the proud legacy of this class." Rafael Peralta is equipped with the Aegis Baseline 9 Combat System, which includes an integrated air and missile defense (IAMD) capability incorporating Ballistic Missile Defense 5.0 Capability Upgrade and Naval Integrated Fire Control-Counter Air. The ship's IAMD radar will provide increased computing power and radar upgrades which improve detection and reaction capabilities against modern air warfare threats. The Aegis Combat System will enable the ship to link radars with other ships and aircraft to provide a composite picture of the battle space and effectively increase the theater space. The destroyer honors Sgt. Rafael Peralta, one of the most heralded Marines from 2004's Battle of Fallujah. In November 2010, Peralta pulled a grenade tossed by insurgents towards himself and absorbed most of the blast with his body, thus saving the lives of two fellow marines. He was mortally wounded from the grenade blast. Future USS Rafael Peralta will officially join the fleet during a commissioning ceremony in San Diego later this year. As one of the Defense Department's largest acquisition organizations, PEO Ships is responsible for executing the development and procurement of all destroyers, amphibious ships, special mission and support ships, and boats and craft. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini has expressed concern about the deteriorating situation in Donbas. "The European Union will continue to support Ukraine with a special focus on the delivery of services to the population and trying to make sure that the conditions in the country improve for the people," High Representative Federica Mogherini said at a press conference in Brussels on Monday. At the same time, she stressed that this requires improvements in the security situation in Ukraine. "And, obviously, this requires also a better security situation, and the situation in the east in the last days was definitively extremely worrying for us. So when we refer to the full implementation of the Minsk agreements, we obviously restate our expectation that the fighting stops there and that a process of peace can be started effectively," she said. The participants of the EU ministerial meeting again said they are ready to support the settlement process within the Normandy format and the OSCE, Mogherini said. She also noted that the ministers discussed the support to reforms in Ukraine, in particular in social and economic area and in the area of the fight against corruption. USS Hue City Arrives in Klaipeda, Lithuania Navy News Service Story Number: NNS170206-18 Release Date: 2/6/2017 11:30:00 AM By Ensign Danielle Moser, USS Hue City (CG 66) Public Affairs KLAIPEDA, Lithuania (NNS) -- Guided-missile cruiser USS Hue City (CG 66) arrived in Klaipeda, Lithuania, Feb. 6 for a scheduled port visit as part of the George H.W. Bush Carrier Strike Group (GHWBCSG) to enhance U.S.-Lithuania relations as the two nations work together for a stable, secure, and prosperous Europe. The ship's presence in the Baltic Sea is a demonstration of continued commitment to the collective defense of NATO allies under Operation Atlantic Resolve. Quote: "USS Hue City's visit to Lithuania is a great opportunity to work with our NATO ally and strengthen our interoperability. Hue City Sailors are thrilled to engage and train with the Lithuanian navy." - Capt. Dan Gillen, USS Hue City commanding officer Quick Facts: Hue City's visit advances maritime cooperation and encourages a positive naval relationship with the Lithuanian navy. During the visit, the crew will have the opportunity to engage with members of the Lithuanian navy and public. While in Klaipeda, Hue City is scheduled to host distinguished visitors during an on-board lunch. Sailors will have the opportunity to visit the Lithuanian Naval Headquarters, tour Lithuanian warships, and participate in a community relations program. The scheduled events will allow Sailors from both nations to interact and build relationships through shared maritime interests. Hue City Sailors will have the opportunity to explore Klaipeda through tours organized by the ship's Morale, Welfare and Recreation (MWR) program. Following the scheduled port visit, Hue City will continue to conduct maritime security responsibility and theater security cooperation efforts in the U.S. Navy's 6th Fleet area of operations as part of the GHWBCSG. Hue City departed Naval Station Mayport, Florida, Jan. 21. The U.S. Navy maintains a presence in the 6th Fleet area of operations to help preserve peace and security and to further partnerships with friends and allies. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Ike Sustains Readiness Underway Navy News Service Story Number: NNS170206-08 Release Date: 2/6/2017 10:04:00 AM By Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Liam Antinori, USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69) Public Affairs ATLANTIC OCEAN (NNS) -- Aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69) (Ike) departed Naval Station Norfolk to host pilots of the "Gladiators" of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 106 and several student pilots from Training Air Wings 1 and 2 to help them earn carrier qualifications, Feb. 4. This marked the first time Ike left Norfolk since returning from a seven-month deployment, Dec. 30, 2016, and the ship is currently in the sustainment phase of the Optimized Fleet Response Plan (OFRP). Sustainment phase contains a variety of evolutions designed to sustain warfighting readiness so the Navy preserves surge capacity and combat-ready deployable assets. Sustainability is created by doing proper maintenance to get platforms to their expected service lives, ensuring units and strike groups receive all expected training, build generational technical expertise, and control deployments. Accomplishing these goals helps ensure the Navy retains its best and brightest, which also contributes to sustainability. During this underway period, one of Ike's focal points will be the training of tomorrow's naval aviators, a key component to sustainability and maximizing the Navy's warfighting capabilities. "Carrier qualification is a requirement for student naval aviators, or pilots still in training," said Cmdr. Bill Delmar, Ike's combat direction center officer. "They land on an aircraft carrier and make their first landings at sea. It's a vital part of naval aviation and something that makes us different than the Air Force. They have a long runway that doesn't move, while we have a pitching flight deck. These qualifications are a student pilot's last step to becoming a winged aviator." This underway will also serve to maintain the skills displayed by the entire crew during deployment. After a monthlong hiatus, as well as the arrival of new crew members who have never gone underway, some time is needed to re-adjust to operational functionality and maintain a deployed-force level of proficiency. This is understood well by even the most junior Ike Sailors. "Leave was good and gave me the chance to spend some time with my family," Damage Controlman Fireman Damion Howell said. "Now it is time to get back to work. Pulling out this time is a little different after deployment, but it's no less important. We definitely have a different mentality and are more experienced in how we run our operation. We just have to stay sharp." While returning Sailors are working off any rust, junior leaders have the chance to use their new on-the-job experience to prepare Sailors new to the command in their areas of responsibility. "Over leave I had a lot of time to relax and visited my family in New York for a little while," said Hospital Corpsman 3rd Class David Ross, who came to Ike nearly halfway through its deployment. "It's a little different this time around because I've established myself and have something to come back to. I also now know a lot more about the ship and the team in medical. We also have some new check-ins we have to get up to speed." Ike remains in an operational status following its deployment in support of Operation Inherent Resolve. As the ready carrier of the east coast, Ike is standing by to respond if needed. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Yemen's Houthi fighters say they fired ballistic missile at Saudi capital Iran Press TV Mon Feb 6, 2017 6:50PM Yemen's Houthi Ansarullah fighters have confirmed that they fired a ballistic missile at the Saudi capital of Riyadh for the first time, vowing that more attacks will be in the offing. The Houthis said in a statement carried by the official SABA news agency on Sunday that the missile "targeted" the al-Mazahmiya army base in western Riyadh, around 1,000 kilometers from the Yemeni capital of Sana'a. Yemen's local media reported earlier that a ballistic missile had hit Saudi Arabia's capital. Saudi officials have not made any comments on the reports yet, but locals said on Twitter that the missile struck a military camp to the west of al- al-Mazahmiya town near Riyadh. The attacks by the Yemeni forces against Saudi targets are carried out in retaliation for Riyadh's military aggression against its impoverished neighbor, which was launched in March 2015. The Saudi war on Yemen, which local sources say has killed at least 11,400 people, was launched in an attempt to bring back the former government to power and undermine the Houthi Ansarullah movement. The brutal military campaign has also taken a heavy toll on Yemen's facilities and infrastructure, destroying many hospitals, schools, and factories. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Four soldiers slain as Yemenis attack Saudi military bases Iran Press TV Mon Feb 6, 2017 6:19PM Yemeni army soldiers and fighters from Popular Committees have killed four Saudi troopers during separate attacks on the kingdom's southwestern border regions of Najran and Jizan as part of retaliatory bids against the Saudi regime's military campaign. An unnamed military official said Yemeni forces and their allies fired a number of rocket-propelled grenades at military positions in Najran region, located 844 kilometers south of the capital Riyadh, on Monday, leaving three Saudi troopers dead, Yemen's official Saba news agency reported. Elsewhere in Jizan region, located 969 kilometers south of Riyadh, a Saudi trooper was killed and another injured, when Yemeni forces and Popular Committees fighters carried out an assault against Awjabah military base. A Saudi armored vehicle was also destroyed in the attack. The development came on the same day that Saudi fighter jets hit a gas tanker and a car in the Majz district of Yemen's northwestern mountainous province of Sa'ada. Four people lost their lives in the attack. A woman was also killed and her two children sustained injuries when Saudi-backed militiamen loyal to resigned Yemeni president Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi fired several artillery shells at their residential building in the As Silw district of Yemen's southwestern province of Ta'izz. Saudi jets pounded an area in the al-Maslub district of the northern province of al-Jawf, though there were no immediate reports of casualties and the extent of damage caused. Additionally, Saudi military aircraft carried out eight aerial attacks on the Midi district of the northwestern province of Hajjah. An assault was also launched against Harad district in the same Yemeni province. There were no immediate reports of possible casualties and the extent of damage from the air raids. The Saudi war on Yemen, which local sources say has killed at least 11,400 people, was launched in an attempt to bring back the former government to power and undermine the Houthi Ansarullah movement. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Egyptian army kills 14 Daesh-linked terrorists in restive Sinai Iran Press TV Mon Feb 6, 2017 5:34PM Egyptian army soldiers have killed 14 militants linked to the Daesh Takfiri terrorist group and arrested ten others in the country's restive Sinai Peninsula. A spokesman for Egypt's military made the announcement on Monday, adding that three car bombs and 10 other explosive devices had been destroyed during operations over the past five days in central Sinai. The military also seized weapons, communication devices and military clothing from the Daesh-linked Velayat Sinai terrorist group. The Sinai Peninsula has been under a state of emergency since October 2014, following a deadly terrorist attack that left 33 Egyptian soldiers dead. Over the past years, militants have been carrying out anti-government activities and fatal attacks, taking advantage of the turmoil caused in Egypt after the democratically-elected president, Mohamed Morsi, was ousted by the military in July 2013. Velayat Sinai Takfiri terrorist group -- previously known as Ansar Beit al-Maqdis -- which pledged allegiance to the Daesh terrorist group in 2014, has been responsible for most of the attacks in the Sinai Peninsula as well as Cairo. On January 9, a car bombing targeted a checkpoint in the city of el-Arish, the provincial capital and the largest city of North Sinai, killing nearly a dozen policemen. Militant activity in central Sinai is less frequent than in its more restive north, where terrorist attacks on military and police checkpoints are common. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address UN reports rise in Afghan civilian casualties in 2016 Iran Press TV Mon Feb 6, 2017 9:1AM The United Nations (UN) has reported a rise in the civilian casualty toll in Afghanistan, which it says was caused by an increase in different forms of violence in the beleaguered country. The number of the civilians killed and wounded in Afghanistan rose by three percent in 2016 compared to the previous year, according to the UN's 2016 Annual Report on the Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict in Afghanistan, which was released on Monday. The report, compiled by the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), said that between January 1 and December 31, 2016, the mission registered 3,498 civilian deaths and 7,920 injuries. That marked a combined increase of three-percent in casualties compared to 2015. The deaths were caused by the terrorist activities of Daesh, Taliban, airstrikes meant to target militants, and unexploded ordnance particularly affecting children. "Conflict-related violence exacted a heavy toll on Afghanistan in 2016, with an overall deterioration in civilian protection and the highest-total civilian casualties recorded since 2009, when UNAMA began systematic documentation of civilian casualties," the UN mission said in the report. In 2016, UNAMA also recorded the highest number of child casualties in a single year. "This appalling conflict destroys lives and tears communities apart in every corner of Afghanistan," the report quoted Tadamichi Yamamoto, the UN's special representative of the secretary-general for Afghanistan, as saying. "Real protection of civilians requires commitment and demonstrated concrete actions to protect civilians from harm and for parties to the conflict to ensure accountability for indiscriminate and deliberate acts of civilian harm," Yamamoto further said. Afghanistan has been plagued by violence ever since US-led forces attacked the country in 2001. The Taliban, who were removed from power as a result of the invasion, have been engaging in militancy ever since. Meanwhile, the Daesh terrorist group has also recently gained a foothold in Afghanistan and has been seeking to spread its terror activities to more areas in the country. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Ballistic missile attack reported in Saudi capital: Yemeni media Iran Press TV Mon Feb 6, 2017 2:9AM Yemen's local media have reported a ballistic missile attack on Saudi Arabia's capital Riyadh. The Yemeni army made the announcement of their first ever attack on the city via a statement released by the official state Yemen news agency on Sunday. In the statement, they claimed that the missile had been launched at a Saudi military base located to the west of the capital in retaliation for the kingdom's relentless war against their country. It went on to stress that the attack shows that Riyadh is well within the range of Yemen's missiles. Saudi officials have not made any comments on the reports yet, but locals have said on Twitter that the missile struck a military camp to the west of al-Mazahimiyah town near Riyadh. The regime in Riyadh has been incessantly pounding Yemen since March 2015 in a bid to reinstall the country's ex-government and crush the Houthi Ansarullah movement. The military aggression has claimed the lives of over 11,400 Yemenis, including women and children, according to the latest tally by a Yemeni monitoring group. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Azerbaijan's Aliyev Cancels Brussels Meeting With EU Parliament President RFE/RL's Azerbaijani Service February 06, 2017 Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has canceled a meeting with the European Parliament president in Brussels, where he held talks with EU officials on issues including a new partnership agreement between Baku and the European Union. Aliyev cancelled a meeting with Antonio Tajani, the president of the European Parliament, which hosted an event on "continued human rights violations in Azerbaijan." The event's panel included Erkin Gadirli of the Azerbaijani political movement REAL and RFE/RL journalist Khadija Ismayilova. Ismayilova was arrested in December 2014 and subsequently spent 17 months in Azerbaijani prisons after being convicted of "illegal entrepreneurship" and other charges. Her supporters said the case was the government's revenge for reporting on corruption involving Aliyev and his family members. She was released in May 2016. Aliyev did meet with European Council President Donald Tusk, EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini, and other top EU officials on February 6. A new framework agreement for EU and Azerbaijan ties being discussed would replace the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement, which came into force in 1999, and would guide relations in trade and investment as well as economic, legislative, and cultural cooperation. Speaking at a joint news briefing with Tusk after their meeting in Brussels, Aliyev praised what he called "a new chapter in our cooperation." "I wish success to the negotiators and hope that they will not lose [any] time starting immediately tomorrow and soon will present a document, which will determine a strategic cooperation between us for many years to come," Aliyev said. Tusk, meanwhile, said that EU-Azerbaijani relations "go beyond energy and trade" and that he was "very happy" to announce that negotiations on a new agreement between the two sides would be launched on February 7. "We want to upgrade our relationship and develop its full potential through a new bilateral agreement," he said. Tusk added that, during his talks with Aliyev, he "stressed the importance attached to human rights and fundamental freedoms, including the freedom of expression." "The EU believes that an open society is the best guarantee for long-term stability and prosperity. We look forward to continuing to work as a partners on these issues," he told reporters. Ahead of Aliyev's visit, 76 human rights organizations signed a joint letter urging EU leaders to use the trip to insist that the president "commits to concrete, lasting human rights reforms in Azerbaijan." In a February 6 statement, Human Rights Watch said the Azerbaijani government has made "concerted efforts" in recent years to "restrict independent activism, critical journalism, and opposition political activity by imprisoning and harassing many activists, prominent human rights defenders, and journalists." "Draconian laws and regulations impede the operation of independent groups and their ability to secure funding," it added. Aliyev also met with Maros Sefcovic, the EU energy minister, to discuss the Southern Gas Corridor pipeline project. An initiative of the European Commission, the project would bring natural gas from the Caspian Sea region to Europe through a series of pipelines that would go from Azerbaijan through Georgia, Turkey, Greece, Albania, and Italy, reducing Europe's dependence on Russian-based energy. Earlier, Aliyev met with Belgian King Philippe at the royal palace in Brussels. With reporting by RFE/RL's Rikard Jozwiak in Brussels, Commonspace.eu, and apa.az Source: http://www.rferl.org/a/azerbaijan-eu- aliyev-partnership-talks-human-rights -pressure/28281494.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 Romanian Leader Defies Calls To Resign In Face Of Protests RFE/RL February 06, 2017 Romanian Prime Minister Sorin Grindeanu has insisted he will not step down as protests mount despite his move to repeal an unpopular decree that would have decriminalized some official corruption. "I will not resign," Grindeanu told broadcaster Antena3, adding he could only be forced out by the parliament, where he holds a majority. Grindeanu's vow to remain in office came on February 5 as massive public protests against the decree turned into demonstrations against his rule by many in the crowds. As many as 500,000 demonstrators hit the streets nationwide on the sixth day of protests, including more than 200,000 in the capital Bucharest, according to media estimates. Earlier in the day, Grindeanu's cabinet confirmed the withdrawal of the measure in a statement issued after an emergency meeting on the issue. But that provided Grindeanu with no respite as protesters remained on the streets. Many of them chanted "Resign! Resign!" as they waved flags and signs and blew whistles. In the face of the calls to resign, Grindeanu said his government, which has been in office barely a month, "has a responsibility to the people who voted for us." A day earlier, Grindeanu yielded to public pressure and promised to withdraw the decree because, he said, he didn't want to "divide Romania...Romania in this moment seems broken in two." The six nights of protests -- the largest demonstrations since the toppling of communist dictator Nicolae Ceausescu in 1989 -- have shaken the political landscape, with the president and prime minister on opposing sides of the decree issue. The decree would have made the abuse of power a crime only punishable by jail if the sums involved exceeded 200,000 lei ($47,500). Grindeanu's Social Democrats (PSD) party argued the move was meant to bring the law into line with the constitution and reduce overcrowding in prisons. Critics said the motive behind the government's action was to let off the many PSD officials and lawmakers who have been caught in a major anticorruption drive of recent years. The government's pullback could be seen as a victory for President Klaus Iohannis, who filed a Constitutional Court challenge against the decree, arguing that it undermined the rule of law and efforts to combat corruption. With reporting by Reuters and DPA Source: http://www.rferl.org/a/romania- protests-corruption-decree- politics/28281124.htmll 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 Finland, Sweden Invited to UK-Led Expeditionary Force, Creep Closer to NATO Sputnik News 16:18 06.02.2017 The UK is poised to leave the EU, and is exploring the possibilities of expanding and deepening its military cooperation with allies across Europe. Finland and Sweden, the only remaining non-aligned Nordic nations, have both been invited to join a UK-led expeditionary force. While both Finland and Sweden officially remain true to their time-tested policy of non-alignment, they have been inching closer to NATO in recent years. While the British-led Joint Expedition Force (JEF) is not a NATO force per se, it is comprised of NATO members and is said to pursue a similar agenda. The two Nordic nations, which have considered forming a military alliance of their own for years, are poised to further coordinate their positions and carry out a joint analysis of the benefits of joining JEF. So far, both Swedish Defense Minister Peter Hultqvist and his Finnish counterpart Jussi Niinisto have been positive about the idea, Finnish national broadcaster Yle reported. "Our cooperation with Britain is highly developed. Although it is poised to leave the EU, the British Defense Minister specifically pointed out that it wants to remain an active player, assume its responsibilities regarding the security of Europe and remain a partner one can trust implicitly, Swedish Defense Minister Peter Hultqvist told the Swedish daily Dagens Nyheter. In June 2016, Hultqvist signed a broad agreement to cooperate with his British counterpart Michael Fallon. Although the agreement did not include Sweden's participation in JEF, Hultqvist did not rule out the possibility of joining, considering the fact that Sweden's fellow Nordic nations Norway and Denmark were already part of it. Earlier, Hultqvist repeatedly expressed concern over the security situation in Europe and called for new ways to provide for the region's defense. "Our view is that the UK is an extremely important actor in the European defense and security field. It has a large capacity, which is why it is important to maintain this relationship," Hultqvist said. Meanwhile, the UK has been building up its military profile in Eastern Europe. Last week, the first British officers arrived in Finland's neighbor Estonia as part of the new NATO battalion tasked with preventing Russian "sneak attacks." The British have the main responsibility for securing Estonia with armored vehicles, tanks, drones and 800 men. JEF has so far consisted only of NATO member states, which is not a problem for Peter Hultqvist, a long-standing proponent of non-alignment. "JEF is not a NATO force per se, but a British initiative with British-led operations. This means that we are free to join, without any obligation to participate in operations," Hultqvist said, suggesting clear difference between JEF and NATO. The UK Joint Expeditionary Force is a United Kingdom-led expeditionary force consists of Denmark, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands and Norway. JEF member states plan to hold joint drills with the intent of supporting the UN, the EU or NATO with a range of responses from humanitarian operations to direct warfare. JEF's maximum force is estimated at 10,000, whereas each participating country decides itself on whether and how to contribute. Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address The state-testing center for Ukraine's Armed Forces at an airport near Chernihiv has begun testing the Ukrainian-made Leleka-100 drone, the Defense Ministry of Ukraine said on its website. The announcement said military engineers plan to evaluate the drones thrust capabilities and aerodynamic qualities, as well as the work of the UAV's controller in extreme conditions. The Leleka-100 drone kit is new and requires rigorous testing. The UAV possesses modern aviation and radio-electronic equipment and is capable of carrying out missions over long distances. The drone is silent and undetectable by radar, unlike previous models. In addition to testing the drone, training will be provided to drone pilots, who in the near future will be sent to the Anti-Terrorism Operation (ATO) zone in eastern Ukraine. They will be instructed on how to fly the A1-C Furiya drone in battle conditions. Training flights will be conducted in harsh weather conditions. Ukraine's defense ministry says the A1-C Furiya has already been tested in battle with positive results. US Heavy Vehicles Arrive in Estonia as Part of Atlantic Resolve Sputnik News 15:36 06.02.2017(updated 16:29 06.02.2017) A new company with four M1A2 Abrams tanks and 15 Bradley fighting vehicles will replace the company of the 173rd Airborne Brigade's 503rd Infantry Regiment, which arrived in Estonia in September 2016. TALLINN (Sputnik) US heavy vehicles of the infantry company of the 68th Armored Regiment's 1st Battalion arrived on Monday in Estonia as part of the Atlantic Resolve operation, the Estonian Defense Forces said in a statement. "The infantry company's heavy equipment with tanks and armored fighting vehicles arrived at Estonia's Tapa station The company's personnel arrived last Friday," the statement said. The company with four M1A2 Abrams tanks and 15 Bradley fighting vehicles will replace the company of the 173rd Airborne Brigade's 503rd Infantry Regiment that arrived in Estonia in September 2016. The Operation Atlantic Resolve was launched to boost NATO military presence in Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and Poland following the eruption of the Ukrainian crisis in 2014 with the Western countries using alleged Russian interference in Ukrainian affairs as a pretext. Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address UN renews call for protection of Afghan civilians, after casualty figures spike in 2016 6 February 2017 Attacks in Afghanistan by the Taliban, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL/Da'esh) and pro-Government troops killed or injured more children and other civilians in 2016 than at any other time since the United Nations began keeping records, it was announced today. According to the new UN report, some 11,418 civilian casualties were confirmed last year including 2,589 children an increase of 24 per cent since the previous high in 2015. Releasing the casualty figures at a press conference in the Afghan capital of Kabul, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General, Tadamichi Yamamoto, called the killing and maiming of thousands of Afghan civilians "deeply harrowing and largely preventable." "All parties to the conflict must take immediate concrete measures to protect the ordinary Afghan men, women and children whose lives are being shattered," said Mr. Yamamoto, who is also the head of the UN Assistance Mission in the country (UNAMA). A breakdown of the figures shows that 3,498 people were killed, among them 923 children, and 7,920 civilians were injured, including 2,589 children. UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein, said the casualty figures painted a picture of the most vulnerable sectors of society paying the highest price. "Children have been killed, blinded, crippled or inadvertently caused the death of their friends while playing with unexploded ordnance that is negligently left behind by parties to the conflict," Mr. Zeid said. His Office, known by the acronym OHCHR, works annually with UNAMA to produce the report. In addition to figures, the report includes excerpt of interviews with survivors of violence. One of the interviews is with a mother who survived a mortar attack during a ground engagement in the Bala Buluk district of Farah province, in the western part of Afghanistan. "It was the day before Ramadan when a number of Taliban entered my village," she told UNAMA during a telephone interview in June 2016. "While we were walking to my husband's tricycle, a mortar shell landed nearby. My mother-in-law and I hit the ground injured and my newborn baby was hit by shrapnel in the chest. He died after a few minutes." UN investigators found that anti-Government forces, mainly the Taliban, were responsible for almost two-thirds of the casualties, while pro-Government forces were responsible for almost one-quarter. In addition, casualties caused by airstrikes carried out by Afghan and international forces nearly doubled since 2015. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address UN: Annual Afghan Child Casualties Rose By 24 Percent By Ayaz Gul February 06, 2017 The United Nations recorded an alarming 24 percent spike in conflict-related child casualties in Afghanistan and a three percent rise in total civilian casualties in 2016 compared to the year before. The violence caused more than 11,400 civilian casualties, including around 3,500 deaths last year, according to the annual report by the U.N. Assistance Mission in Afghanistan, or UNAMA, released in Kabul Monday. Report blames Taliban for most civilian deaths It attributed 61 percent of civilian deaths and injuries to anti-government elements, mainly the Taliban. UNAMA blamed pro-government forces for causing 24 percent of the casualties, saying it reflected a 46 percent increase compared to 2015. The Taliban swiftly denied the allegations and blamed U.S.-led foreign forces as well as their local Afghan partners for causing most of the casualties in airstrikes against civilian areas. The report could not ascertain responsibility for 10 percent of the casualties caused by the fighting, while the remaining five percent resulted mainly from explosive remnants of war. Most child casualties ever recorded by UNAMA in one year "UNAMA recorded 3,512 child casualties (923 deaths and 2,589 injured), a 24 percent increase from 2015, and the highest number of child casualties recorded by UNAMA in a single year," it said. UNAMA Chief, Tadamichi Yamamoto, while launching the report called on Afghan warring sides to take urgent steps to halt "the preventable harm" to civilians. "What they must do is clear; cease fighting in civilian populated areas, and stop using civilian space such as schools, hospitals and mosques for military objectives," emphasized Yamamoto. "Notwithstanding these efforts, parties to the conflict must demonstrate commitment and resolve to reach a politically negotiated solution to this needlessly protracted conflict that has destroyed lives, broken families, induced displacements, caused trauma and sufferings beyond imagination." lamented Yamamoto. The disproportionate rise in child casualties across Afghanistan last year resulted mainly from a 66 percent increase in civilian casualties from explosive remnants of war, and most of those civilians were children, UNAMA explained. The report noted an overall deterioration in civilian protection and the highest number of civilian casualties recorded since 2009, when UNAMA began its systematic documentation of civilian casualties. Ground fighting caused most civilian casualties Ground engagements between warring sides, particularly in areas populated or frequented by civilians, were the leading cause of civilian casualties, followed by improvised explosive devices, or IEDs, suicide and complex attacks and targeted and deliberate killings. "The intensification of efforts by Taliban and other anti-government element groups to seize or maintain territory led to a correlated increase in civilian casualties from ground engagements," said UNAMA. It added that airstrikes carried out by Afghan and international forces also caused more civilian casualties than in 2015. Civilian casualties caused by IS also increase The report noted the number of civilian casualties caused by extremists linked to the so-called Islamic State in Afghanistan increased nearly ten times in 2016 compared to the previous year. "UNAMA documented 899 civilian casualties (209 deaths and 690 injured) in comparison to 82 civilian casualties (39 deaths and 43 injured) in 2015," according to the report. It added that extremists linked to the Middle East-based terrorist group used suicide attacks and targeted killings as primary tactics against civilians, particularly targeting members of the Shia Muslim religious minority. IS loyalists conducted extremist activities in Afghanistan under its local name, Islamic State Khorasan Province or ISKA. They are mostly operating in the eastern Afghan province of Nangarhar and in parts of neighboring Kunar province, both sharing a border with Pakistan. The armed conflict in Afghanistan has claimed the lives of around 25,000 Afghan civilians and injured more than 45,000 since 2009, according to UNAMA. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Yemen Proxy War Adds to Tensions Among US, Iran, Saudi Arabia By Edward Yeranian February 06, 2017 Saudi Arabia has accused Iran of involvement in a series of missile attacks launched from Yemen. Saudi Arabia says the attacks also targeted its naval vessels in the Red Sea. Some analysts worry that the ongoing proxy war between Iran and Saudi Arabia could escalate. The almost two-year-old proxy war between Iran and Saudi Arabia in Yemen has been aggravating both regional and international tensions. Yemen's Houthi militia, which controls large portions of the country and is aligned with Iran, is battling Saudi Arabia and its allies for control of the country and strategic ports along the Yemeni coast. Nothing, however, has provoked tensions more than ballistic missile and rocket attacks by Yemen's Houthi militia fighters and forces loyal to their ally, former President Ali Abdallah Saleh. Saudi media reports say that Iran has supplied some of those missiles and rockets, in addition to helping train combatants to use them. Saleh, who held power for nearly 34 years before stepping down in a Gulf-brokered power-sharing agreement in 2012, said his own forces and Houthi allies will stop firing missiles into the Saudi Kingdom if a cease-fire deal is worked out. He said that missiles fired into Saudi Arabia, both across the border and into Saudi military and industrial facilities deep into the country, will stop [once a deal is reached]. No cease-fire deal, though, appears close at hand and the battle for control of Yemen took an ominous turn last week when Iranian-supported Houthi fighters attacked a Saudi warship off the coastal port of Hodeida, killing two Saudi sailors. Saudi-owned al Arabiya TV reports that a Houthi suicide boat hit the vessel, while the Houthis say a missile they launched struck it. The incident occurred just days after the Saudi-led coalition captured the nearby Houthi-held Red Sea port of al Mukha. Arab media reported Monday that the Houthis have mined waters surrounding the port of Hodeida, further south, in a bid to prevent Saudi forces from trying to take the strategic facility near the Bab al Mandeb and international sea lines leading to the Suez Canal and the Israeli port of Eilat. Saudi analyst Ali Touati argued that the upcoming battle to take Hodeida will not be easy and that the Houthis' Iranian allies are not likely to let it fall easily. He said that Iran and the Houthis are not eager to see the port of Hodeida fall and will fight hard to prevent it from happening, especially after the recent loss of the smaller port of al Mukha. Analyst Khattar Abou Diab, who teaches at the University of Paris, told VOA that he thinks the attack on the Saudi naval frigate al Medina last week, along with a recent missile test, were intended to test the resolve of the new Trump administration. He said that [recent Houthi] missile attacks [into Saudi territory] and the attack on the Saudi naval vessel during the past couple of weeks were meant to test the pulse of the Trump administration and see how it would react and they discovered that it would act much more forcefully than the prior Obama administration. Abou Diab said he doesn't expect any direct conflict between the U.S. and Iran over recent incidents in Yemen, arguing that Tehran prefers proxy wars and small attacks, here and there, in places like Iraq, Bahrain or Yemen. Former Iranian President Abolhassan Bani Sadr, however, is not so sure, telling VOA that he worries that the Trump administration's forceful language, along with recent new sanctions it imposed on Tehran, could spark a conflict. He said that harsh words and fresh sanctions imposed by the U.S. could result in war. Iran and Saudi Arabia, he notes, are already fighting a semi-war in six areas, including on the military, diplomatic, economic, religious, terrorism and propaganda fronts, and he thinks the state of war could worsen unless the US helps de-escalate the situation. President Donald Trump told Fox News, in a recent interview, that he thinks Iran has "total disregard for the U.S." Defense Secretary James Mattis has also called Iran the "biggest state sponsor of terrorism in the world." Bani Sadr worries that such language could increase tensions and in his words, "could undermine the Iranian people's long-standing opposition to many of the policies of its own regime." NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Somalia's al-Shabab Beheads 4 for Alleged Spying By Sahra Abdi Ahmed, Salem Solomon February 06, 2017 Somali militant group al-Shabab has beheaded four civilians who it accused of spying for the Somali federal government and Jubaland State administration. The executions took place Sunday in the town of Jamame, west of the port city of Kismayo. The four men were accused of collaborating with authorities on counterterrorism efforts, including drone strikes that have targeted the extremist group. The terror group said it killed Siyad Ali Abdi, 26, Ahmed Ibrahim, 28, Yusuf Makaran, 58, and Abdullahi Omar, 26, the Associated Press reported. "The four men slaughtered in public were all civilians," Jubaland's regional troop spokesman, Ahmed Mohamud Arab, told VOA's Somali service. "They [al-Shabab] suspected that they were working for us." The victims were arrested a week ago and brought to a public square for the execution. Al-Shabab announced the execution in advance through the radio station the group operates, and called on the residents to attend after midday prayers. Osman Galey was one of the resident who attended the execution. "It was disturbing and I couldn't continue to watch," he told VOA Somali Service. The militant group often carries out executions, especially when there are military operations targeting their territories. In November 2016, the terrorist group beheaded five civilians in Tieglow town in Somalia's Bakool region. Some information in this report comes from the Associated Press. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Corruption Likely to Mar Somali Presidential Vote By Mohamed Olad Hassan February 06, 2017 Election observers in Somalia say corruption is running rampant ahead of Wednesday's presidential election, with candidates giving gifts and large sums of cash to lawmakers to secure their votes. Twenty-three candidates are challenging incumbent Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, who is seeking a second four-year term as leader of the Horn of Africa nation. The president will be elected by members of the parliament, who were elected last year. Warning from official Speaking to reporters Monday, the chairman of an independent anti-corruption committee threatened to expose those who are offering and accepting bribes. "We know what is going on in the city and we want to make sure that things happen in a transparent and legal way," said Abdi Ismail Samatar. "There is no way we can immediately prevent if a lawmaker makes deals under the table, but we make sure that the voting process is free and fair, and later if we find out any corruption and bribery involvement, we will make it public," he said. The committee, which has no policing authority, was established by parliament to oversee the election and report any malpractices and irregularities. Election moved to airport The election has been delayed several times, and organizers decided last week to change the venue after 18 candidates expressed concerns about security at the original location, the Mogadishu police academy. The candidates spoke out after the commander of the police reportedly endorsed President Mohamud for re-election. Now, members of the upper and lower houses of parliament will gather inside the heavily-fortified Aden Abdulle International Airport. But few expect the change in venue to cause a change in tactics. Heikal Kenneded, a Somali scholar and writer who lives in Virginia, said he saw election players exchanging cash during a trip to Mogadishu last week, though he would not specify who was involved in the deal. "I definitely saw with my own eyes the vicious political corruption and wheeling and dealing of corrupted officials among the current candidates," he told VOA's Somali service Monday. Government jobs have a price Political insiders, speaking on condition of anonymity, said candidates have begun reimbursing would-be supporters for their expenses, including airfare, hotel bills and meals. In addition, officials say bribes of between $1,000 and $10,000 have been paid. According to a member of parliament, one candidate has spent $1.3 million in an effort to get elected. Candidates are also offering positions in the government. "The major candidates have already began striking political deals with lawmakers to corrupt them, vote for them," one lawmaker told VOA. "The influential and prominent lawmakers have already secured offers of a future role in the coming administration in exchange for votes if their card wins," another lawmaker said. Fadumo Dayib was planning to become the first woman in Somalia's male-dominated political culture to make a run for president. But after an active social media campaign, she did not register for the contest, citing a high level of corruption. "I am not running because of the shocking level of corruption, and I don't want to be part of something that is illegitimate," Dayib said in a brief message posted on her social media platforms. Security tightened Somalia has a longstanding reputation for corruption and weak government. No government has been able to assert much authority outside Mogadishu since the regime of dictator Mohamed Siad Barre fell in 1991. The situation has worsened periodic food shortages caused by drought, enabled militant group al-Shabab to seize chunks of territory and for several years, allowed pirates to freely hijack ships off the Somali coast for ransom. Al-Shabab carries out periodic suicide bombings in Mogadishu, mainly aimed at the hotels where lawmakers, diplomats and businessmen tend to meet. So security has been stepped up in most parts of the city, and VOA reporters say government forces are patrolling the streets to prevent possible attacks. Streets to be shut down during election The current mayor of Mogadishu, Hussein Yusuf Jimale, said most of the city's public and vehicular movements will shut down during the election. "For two days, all the streets of the city will be shut down, starting from 6 p.m. Monday, all public transportation in the city will be suspended, schools will be shut down, and we ask people to remain in their houses," Yusuf told reporters on Sunday. Residents said security forces were deployed overnight in all streets leading to the airport from the rest of the city. Two days of debates Ahead of the vote, parliament is holding presidential debates on Monday and Tuesday, in which candidates are touting their plans to improve security, fight terrorism and implement good governance. Among the president's main challengers are his prime minister, Omar Abdurashid Ali Sharmarke; former president Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed; and former prime minister, Mohamed Abdullahi, a dual U.S.-Somali national better known as Farmajo. Other candidates include former ministers, former Mogadishu mayor, businessmen, and civil society activists. In a speech to lawmakers Thursday, Mohamud vowed to rebuild the army to take over the security of the country within two years, and to prepare for elections by popular vote in 2020. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address U.S., Coalition Continue Strikes Against ISIL in Syria, Iraq From a Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve News Release SOUTHWEST ASIA, Feb. 7, 2017 U.S. and coalition military forces continued to attack Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant terrorists in Syria and Iraq yesterday, Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve officials reported today. Officials reported details of yesterday's strikes, noting that assessments of results are based on initial reports. Strikes in Syria Attack, fighter and remotely piloted aircraft conducted 17 strikes consisting of 28 engagements in Syria: -- Near Abu Kamal, a strike destroyed an oil wellhead. -- Near Ayn Isa, a strike destroyed a vehicle-borne bomb. -- Near Palmyra, nine strikes destroyed 17 heavy-equipment vehicles, 11 vehicles, four dump trucks, three front-end loaders, three vehicle-borne bombs and two tanks. -- Near Raqqa, six strikes destroyed three tunnels, a weapons facility, a vehicle and an oil wellhead. Strikes in Iraq Fighter aircraft and ground-based artillery conducted seven strikes consisting of 42 engagements in Iraq, coordinated with and in support of the Iraqi government: -- Near Beiji, a strike destroyed two tactical vehicles. -- Near Haditha, a strike engaged an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL-held building, a vehicle and a supply cache. -- Near Kisik, a strike engaged an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL-held building and a supply cache. -- Near Mosul, four strikes engaged four ISIL tactical units and an ISIL staging area; destroyed two watercraft, two supply caches, two weapons caches, a barge, a bunker, a dump truck, a front-end loader, a mortar system, a vehicle, a vehicle-borne-bomb facility and an anti-air artillery system; and damaged 16 supply routes and a tunnel. 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 it poses to Iraq, Syria, the region and the wider international community. The destruction of targets in Syria and Iraq further limits ISIL'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, Denmark, 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 Russia stresses stronger security cooperation with Afghanistan Iran Press TV Tue Feb 7, 2017 4:18PM The Russian foreign minister has underlined Moscow's determination to bolster security and economic cooperation with its "long-time partner" Afghanistan. Speaking to reporters following a Tuesday meeting with his Afghan counterpart, Salahuddin Rabbani, in Moscow, Sergei Lavrov said Russia would support Kabul to stabilize the situation in the country. "Afghanistan is a long-time and close partner of Russia. Today, we reaffirmed our interest in further developing cooperation in political, military, socio-economic and humanitarian spheres," Lavrov said. The Russian foreign minister expressed hope for the establishment of a more cooperative partnership with the new administration of US President Donald Trump regarding regional security, including in Afghanistan, and the campaign against Daesh Takfiri terrorist group. Rabbani, for his part, stressed that Afghanistan would cooperate with Russia to tackle the existing common security issues. "We agreed that the interests of Afghanistan and Russia in ensuring regional stability are intertwined," he added. Russia to host Afghanistan conference: Lavrov Elsewhere in his remarks, Lavorv pointed to Russia's plan to convene a conference of regional powers on Afghanistan in Moscow in mid-February, with representatives from Afghanistan, Pakistan, China, Iran and India. "We are expecting that our partners will be represented at a high level. Most have confirmed their participation," Lavrov said. The Russian foreign minister stressed that "the Taliban must be included in a constructive dialogue" to help find a solution to resolve the security crisis in Afghanistan against the backdrop of the expanding presence of Daesh terrorists in the country. According to a UN report released on Monday, the number of the civilians killed and wounded in Afghanistan rose by three percent in 2016 compared to the previous year. The report said that between January 1 and December 31, 2016, the UN registered 3,498 civilian deaths and 7,920 injuries. The deaths were caused by the terrorist activities of Daesh and Taliban, airstrikes meant to target militants, and unexploded ordnance particularly affecting children. Afghanistan has been plagued by violence ever since US-led forces attacked the country in 2001. The Taliban, who were removed from power as a result of the invasion, have been engaging in militancy ever since. Meanwhile, the Daesh terrorist group has also recently gained a foothold in Afghanistan and has been seeking to spread its terrorist activities to more areas in the country. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Romanian President Blasts Government Over Crisis RFE/RL February 07, 2017 Romania's President Klaus Iohannis says the Social Democrat-led government has caused a "fully fledged" political crisis by pushing with a decree that would have weakened the country's anticorruption drive and triggered the largest mass protests since the collapse of communism. Iohannis, who addressed a special session of both chambers of parliament on February 7, said the majority of Romanians now believed the country is going in the wrong direction. But he said he did not want to topple the cabinet led by Prime Minister Sorin Grindeanu or hold early elections. "The resignation of a single minister is too little and early elections would be at this stage too much: this is the space for manoeuver available," Iohannis said, urging members of the governing coalition to govern "responsibly." Some lawmakers from the governing coalition shouted "shame on you!" and walked out. Iohannis later received a standing ovation from opposition lawmakers. Social Democratic Party (PSD) chief Liviu Dragnea, who is also speaker of the lower house, and Senate speaker Calin Popescu Tariceanu refused to greet the president when he arrived at the joint session of parliament. "Romania needs a strong government, not one that shyly executes party orders. Romania needs a government that governs transparently, predictably, not at night in secret," Iohannis said, in a reference to the government passing an emergency decree at midnight on January 31. The decree, which redefined abuse of office and decriminalized embezzlement of less than 45,000 euros ($50,000), was seen by many as tailored specifically to exonerate Dragnea. It triggered more than a week of huge mass protests that culminated with some 600,000 people taking to the streets on February 5 in dozens of cities across Romania -- some 300,000 of them in Bucharest alone -- despite the government hastily repealing the decree. Protests continued on February 6 outside the government building, with people calling for the government's resignation. Government sympathizers held a much smaller counterprotest outside the presidential palace, calling for Iohannis's resignation. With reporting by Digi24hd.ro Source: http://www.rferl.org/a/romania-president -blasts-government- protests/28294818.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 Trump Calls on NATO Members to Pay Up Amid Fragmented European Defense Sector Sputnik News 17:54 07.02.2017 Despite describing NATO as "obsolete" ahead of the US presidential election, Donald Trump has said in a speech to troops at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa that he is not anti-NATO, but simply wants all members to pay up, which is a complex issue because of Europe's fragmented defense industry. Trump told troops of US Central Command and US Special Operations Command that other NATO member states should step up to the plate and commit to spending two percent on GDP on defense, as agreed at the 2014 NATO summit in Wales. "We strongly support NATO; we only ask that all of the NATO members make their full and proper contributions to the NATO alliance, which many of them have not been doing many of them have not been even close," Trump said. However, the issue of defense spending is complex, because each European NATO member procures its military assets at national level often favoring local industries rather than on a Europe-wide basis, in the way the US buys on a US-wide basis. The upshot is that according to a report by McKinsey Europe has 19 different armored infantry-fighting vehicles, as against only one type in the US. At sea, Europe has 29 types of destroyers and frigates, while the US has only four. Europe has 16 different types of fighter planes, against the US' six. Even battledress varies throughout Europe. The US spends 3.62 percent of GDP on defense. Only Greece, Poland, Estonia and the UK spend over the two percent required by NATO. France, Turkey, Germany and Italy are all below two percent. According to NATO statistics, the US spent an estimated US$650 billion on defense, 2015, more than double the amount all the other 27 NATO countries together despite their combined GDP being more than the US. Defense spending in Europe has been squeezed by the drive for austerity, following the global financial crash of 2008/9. The UK finds itself with no aircraft carrier capability until the arrival of the two Queen Elizabeth class vessels in late 2017 and 2020, although they will be unable to use the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II on commission and will have to fly US aircraft initially. Data provided by the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS), Military Balance 2016 shows that EU member states spent a total amount of US$217 billion on defense in 2015. Europe's 2015 defense spending corresponds to a mere 85.5 percent of pre-financial crisis levels (2007) and thus the lowest military outlays in almost a decade, according to the IISS. Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address A delegation of the Ukroboronprom State Concern headed by Concern Head Roman Romanov has visited Lithuania to study the opportunities of expanding Ukrainian-Lithuanian defense cooperation. The press service of the concern reported on Tuesday that the Ukrainian delegation met National Defense Minister of Lithuania Raimundas Karablis, Deputy Economy Minister of Lithuania Ramunas Burakas, officials from the Foreign Ministry, heads of some associations of defense companies and some Lithuanian companies. "During the meetings the sides discussed the existing industrial, scientific and technical potential of Ukraine and Lithuania in the defense sphere, opportunities of joint implementation of some projects and decided to further exchange information and cooperate in some directions," the concern said. "The participation of Ukrainian defense enterprises in the international arms exhibition to be held in Lithuania in October 2017 was discussed," the press service said. Norway Arms Itself to Deflect Difficult-to-Detect Russian Subs Sputnik News 16:43 07.02.2017(updated 17:51 07.02.2017) Of late, Norway seems to have caught the common Russophobia bacillus from its neighbor Sweden. First came "Russian hackers" who allegedly are prying into Norwegian state secrets. Then "invisible" Russian submarines that lurk in Arctic waters arrived. In a recent threat assessment by the Norwegian Intelligence Service, Russia's rearmament and modernization of its military forces was pointed out as a danger for Norway's security. Norwegian security bosses were particularly alarmed by the state-of-the-art Russian submarines are next to invisible. "We are seeing an increase in Russian submarine activity, with Russian vessels venturing further westwards. Also, owing to the use of advanced technology, Russian submarines are becoming increasingly difficult to detect," Lieutenant General Morten Haga Lunde of the Norwegian Intelligence Service told Norwegian national broadcaster NRK. According to NRK, newly developed Russian submarines move almost silently underwater, using special turbines that are next to noiseless. "Russia has undergone a dramatic upgrade in recent years. The Russians have new submarines, surface ships, aircraft and arms," Lunde told NRK. While the Norwegian Intelligence Service admitted that Russia posed no direct military threat, it nevertheless pledged to follow its vast neighbor's defense developments, citing the possibility of a conflict in northern seas, which is likely to engulf Norway. Taking cue from the Norwegian Police Security Service, which last week warned its compatriots about the dangers Russian hackers allegedly posed, The Norwegian Intelligence Service ventured that Russia and China posed the greatest threat to Norway in the field of cyber security, NRK reported. Similarly to Sweden's case, whose military bosses keep intimidating their compatriots with unseen Russian subs lurking in the Baltic Sea, untraceable cyberattacks and "undetectable" Russian submarines and are a convenient pretext for launching military upgrades of its own. Russia's alleged military activities in the far north, indeed, triggered Norway's response. Last week, Norway chose Germany's ThyssenKrupp to supply four submarines for its navy amid what was called Russia's "unpredictable behavior." According to a future contract to be signed at some point in 2019, Germany is therefore expected to deliver four submarines to the Norwegian Navy, effectively replacing six German-built Ula subs, which entered service between 1989 and 1992, the Norwegian daily Aftenposten reported. Whereas Norwegian Defense Minister Ine Eriksen Sreide refused to disclose the amount of the contract, the Norwegian tabloid newspaper Verdens Gang estimated it at 30 billion NOK ($3.7bln), venturing that the Armed Forces should have bought "at least six" submarines to successfully hold the fort. In June 2016, the Norwegian government announced it would grant an additional 165 billion kroner ($18.7bln) to its armed forces over 20 years. As part of the ongoing overhaul, the Norwegian Armed Forces are to replace ageing F-16 jets with up to 52 F-35 fighters, buy five maritime surveillance aircraft and dramatically renew its submarine fleet. Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Afghanistan Favors Deeper Cooperation With Russia on Security Issues Sputnik News 12:31 07.02.2017(updated 14:16 07.02.2017) Afghanistan's top diplomat said Kabul sought deeper security cooperation with Moscow. MOSCOW (Sputnik) Afghanistan's Foreign Minister Salahuddin Rabbani said Tuesday that Afghanistan wanted deeper cooperation with Russia on a range of security challenges. "We are in favor of further deepening of our bilateral relations" Rabbani said on Tuesday during the talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Moscow. The Afghan foreign minister added that there were a number of topics to be discussed, including the global challenges such as terrorism and drug trafficking as well as a number of bilateral cooperation matters. "We are interested in increasing oil imports from Russia," Rabbani said. Earlier in the day, Rabbani who is on official visit to Russia, said that there were a number of topics to be discussed with Lavrov, including the global challenges such as terrorism and drug trafficking as well as a number of bilateral cooperation matters. Russia has been Afghanistan's largest supplier of refined petroleum over the years, contributing to roughly half of its imports. However, the value of such imports has been declining due to fall of oil prices with over $580 million in 2012 and just $233 million in 2014. Afghan FM Praises Progress in Technical-Military Cooperation With Russia Military-technical cooperation between Afghanistan and Russia is on the rise, Moscow provides Kabul with needed training and equipment in the fight against terrorism, Rabbani said. "We were discussing progress in our technical-military cooperation. We thanked Russia for the training and equipping support as our forces need it to battle transnational terrorist organizations," he said. He added that the military-technical agreement recently signed by the defense ministers of the two states would "further strengthen military to military cooperation." The agreement has been reached in December and includes maintenance of Russian hardware adopted by the Afghan armed forces. The Afghan armed forces have Russian helicopters, including Mi-17, as well as old Mi-24s supplied from India. Rabbani also thanked Russia for condolences over the death of people along the Afghan-Pakistani border after three days of heavy snowfall caused a series of deadly avalanches Sunday. "We agreed to increase cooperation at and through the multilateral platforms including the United Nations and other international organizations," he added. Afghanistan is in a state of political and social turmoil, with government forces fighting the continuing Taliban insurgency. The instability has persisted in the country since the 2001 US-led invasion to defeat the Taliban and al-Qaeda in the wake of the 9/11 attacks in the United States. The lack of control and instability turned the country into home to the largest opium poppy production and distribution network in the world. According to the concept of the Russian foreign policy adopted in 2016, Russia seeks cooperation with Afghanistan as well as international platforms such as the United Nations, the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in order to solve economic and security problems of Afghanistan as soon as possible. Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Palestinians Seek International Action after Israel Legalizes Settlements By Robert Berger February 07, 2017 The Palestinian Authority is calling for the international community to punish Israel for a new law that legalizes thousands of Jewish homes built on Palestinian-owned land in the West Bank. The law passed Monday in the 120-member Knesset, Israel's parliament, by a vote of 60-52. Under the legislation, about 100 settlement outposts that were built without government approval are now legal under Israeli law. The vote sparked outrage in the Palestinian Authority (PA) that rules parts of the West Bank, with officials accusing Israel of legalizing land theft in violation of international law. "Such a law signals the final annexation of the West Bank," said Palestinian legislator Hanan Ashrawi. "It also gives clear license to the settlers to embark on a land grab in the occupied West Bank with impunity." PA officials say the next step is to take Israel to the International Criminal Court in The Hague on charges of war crimes. Until then, they are demanding action from the world powers. "It is imperative that the international community, including the United States and the European Union, assumes its moral, human and legal responsibilities and puts an end to Israel's lawlessness and its system of apartheid and ethnic cleansing," Ashrawi said. "Accountability should include punitive measures and sanctions before it is too late." "We plan to petition [Israel's Supreme Court] in the hope of canceling this law," said attorney Suhad Bishara of the Israeli Arab legal rights group Adalah. Legal experts say the High Court is likely to overturn the law since it violates property rights in occupied territories that are not part of the State of Israel. Despite the legal challenges, the settlers and their supporters are declaring victory for Jewish claims to all of the biblical Land of Israel. This law is about "the connection between the Jewish people and its land," said Cabinet Minister Ofir Akunis of the ruling Likud party. "This entire land is ours." Knesset member Moti Yogev of the hawkish Jewish Home party told Israel Radio that it is a "historic day" for Israeli democracy. He warned that if the Supreme Court overturns the law, it would be equivalent to a "dictatorship" overruling the democratically-elected parliament. Comparing the Supreme Court to a dictatorship underscores how the charged issue of settlements is polarizing Israeli society. While supporters see the settlements as a national and even God-given right, opponents fear that Israel is losing its democratic and Jewish character by ruling over another people, while also facing growing international condemnation and isolation. Indeed, the law was harshly criticized by, among others, Jordan, Turkey, the European Union, and United Nations. Nickolay Mladenov, the U.N. coordinator for the Middle East peace process, said the legislation imperils "the internationally-backed idea of establishing a Palestinian state alongside Israel as part of a negotiated peace deal. It will have a drastic legal consequence for Israel and for the nature of its democracy. It crosses a very, very thick red line." The law is part of a major Israeli settlement expansion project since U.S. President Donald Trump took office last month, including plans to build more than 6,000 new homes in the West Bank and disputed East Jerusalem. Israel curbed construction under former President Barack Obama who saw the settlements as an obstacle to peace, but Israel believes Trump is more sympathetic. While Trump's appointee of U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman is known to be strongly pro-settlement, the president appears to be urging Israel not to go too far too fast. In response to the Knesset vote, the White House referred to a statement it issued last week, "While we don't believe the existence of settlements is an impediment to peace, the construction of new settlements or the expansion of existing settlements beyond their current borders may not be helpful in achieving that goal." The settlement issue is likely to top the agenda when President Trump holds his first meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House on February 15. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Businessman Jovenel Moise Sworn In as Haiti's President By VOA News February 07, 2017 Jovenel Moise was sworn in as the president of Haiti Tuesday morning, following an extended and complicated two-year election cycle. Moise took the oath of office in a Parliament chamber surrounded by Haitian lawmakers and foreign dignitaries. Moise, whom former Haitian President Michel Martelly hand-picked as his Bald Heads Party (PHTK) candidate, won with nearly 56 percent of the votes cast in the November 20 election. The Haitian businessman, 48, faces lingering accusations of money laundering. Late last month, Moise spent four hours answering an investigative judge's questions in a closed Port-au-Prince courtroom, in a process similar to that of a U.S. grand jury. He has denied the allegation, claiming it is politically motivated. His political opponents, including at least two other candidates for the presidency, had pressed for a decision by Tuesday. Late Monday evening, the government's prosecuting attorney, Danton Leger, released a statement announcing he'd decided to return the case to Judge Bredy Fabien to investigate further. That could take months more to complete. "For a lack of adequate tools in the justice system, it is impossible to make a definitive decision" by the inaugural date on whether to charge Moise," Leger's statement said. The United States, France, and Venezuela were among the countries who sent delegations to attend the inauguration. Thomas Shannon, undersecretary of state for political affairs, is leading the U.S. delegation, which includes Peter Mulrean, the U.S. ambassador to Haiti, the White House said Monday. Carol Guensburg and VOA's Creole Service contributed to this report NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Daesh still posing grave threat despite budget, recruitment crisis: UN report Iran Press TV Mon Feb 6, 2017 7:29PM The United Nations has warned that the Daesh Takfiri terrorist group continues to pose a threat despite reports of a drop in the outfit's revenue and its waning ability to attract new recruits. According to a new UN report published on Monday, the terrorist group is "militarily on the defensive in several regions, notably in Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya and Syria," and is facing a drop in revenue from oil and extortion. The report said the terrorist group's finances are on a decline, forcing them to operate on a "crisis budget." It further noted that the flow of foreign militants to Iraq and Syria had seen a considerable decline due to the "diminished attractiveness" of the Takfiri group. The world body called for greater vigilance against Daesh bids to find new revenue sources, expressing concerns that journalists and aid workers traveling to areas retaken from the terrorist group could be targets for kidnapping. Daesh communication and recruitment "are increasingly moving towards more covert methods, such as the use of the dark web, encryption and messengers," said the report. "The group continues to encourage its followers and sympathizers outside conflict zones to perpetrate attacks," it added. Daesh began its campaign of terror in northern and western Iraq in 2014, when it overran large swathes of land in the Arab country. The terrorist group is also active in neighboring Syria while it has been seeking to gain a foothold in other countries, including Afghanistan and Libya. The Takfiri terrorists have suffered major setbacks over the past few months as the Syrian and Iraqi army forces have managed to liberate several strategic areas from the grip of the extremists. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address PLA drill features advanced missile People's Daily Online (China Daily) 08:14, February 06, 2017 The People's Liberation Army has released a video of a recent exercise employing the advanced DF-16 medium-range ballistic missile, a weapon seen as filling a gap in the nation's arsenal. Several launch vehicles carrying the ballistic missiles were seen in the footage that the PLA published on its video website, released to show the training of Rocket Force missile brigade soldiers around the Spring Festival holiday. The participating units handled a number of scenarios, including chemical/biological contamination, countering satellite reconnaissance and electronic jamming. The crews practiced multiple maneuvers, such as rapid loading, redeployment and launch sequence, though the video showed no missile actually being launched. Two types of DF-16 that appeared in the exercise are the bullet-shaped missile that is considered the original DF-16 and a new variant that features a maneuverable warhead and several extra fins. The video represents the third time the DF-16 has been shown to the public. The missile made its debut at a military parade in Beijing in September 2015. In July, a television news program showed General Fan Changlong, a vice-chairman of the Central Military Commission, inspecting a DF-16 unit of the Southern Theater Command. Though the PLA has never disclosed its ballistic missiles' specifications, experts said the DF-16 poses a challenge to foreign military installations along the first island chain, which is what the Chinese military calls the series of islands that stretch from Japan in the north to China's Taiwan and the Philippines to the south. Xu Guangyu, a retired major general and now a strategy researcher, said that DF-16 has a strike range of more than 1,000 kilometers, filling the gap that previously existed with the absence of a medium-range ballistic missile in the PLA's arsenal. He said the missile also is able to reach Okinawa, a Japanese island about 400 km from China's Diaoyu Islands. Shi Hong, executive editor of Shipborne Weapons, said the DF-16 was developed by China Aerospace Science and Industry Corp based on the DF-11 short-range ballistic missile and can carry a warhead of at least 500 kg. The missile has a strike accuracy as good as that of a cruise missile, Shi said. It is also able to maneuver in its final stage to penetrate enemy defensive firepower, he said. Other PLA Rocket Force brigades also mobilized their DF-11, DF-15 and DF-21C ballistic missiles during training around Spring Festival, according to PLA media outlets. In another development, Washington Free Beacon, a news website in the United States that specializes in military affairs, reported on Jan 31 that China conducted the first flight of the DF-5C intercontinental ballistic missile in January. The missile carries 10 multiple independently targetable re-entry vehicles. The DF-5C is the latest variant of the three-decade-old DF-5 family, the report said. An unidentified officer from the Defense Ministry's Information Bureau reached by Shenzhen TV on Saturday would neither confirm nor deny the DF-5C test, but said such tests are not aimed at any foreign nation or specific target. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address DF-5C missile tests targeted at no specific country: China's defense ministry People's Daily Online (People's Daily Online) 17:30, February 06, 2017 Carrying out planned scientific tests in Chinese territory is normal practice, and the tests targeted no specific country, China's Ministry of National Defense said in a written statement to Shenzhen TV following the Washington Free Beacon's report about the DF-5C missile tests. American media has kept hyping up China's normal scientific tests, although the Chinese military has reiterated that China adopts a defensive nuclear strategy and will not change its "no first use" policy. The Washington Free Beacon report said the U.S. will have to reevaluate China's nuclear arsenal, and a boost in China's nuclear arsenal to 800-1,000 warheads would likely prompt the Pentagon to increase the U.S. arsenal by taking nuclear weapons out of storage. China may be sending a signal to the Trump administration with the test, Rick Fisher said, a senior fellow at the International Assessment and Strategy Center. Li Wei, a professor at the People's Liberation Army's National Defence University told Shenzhen TV the U.S. is likely to maintain its dominant position, especially as a nuclear power. The U.S. believes China's possession of DF-5C missiles poses some threat to its dominance. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Rocket Force: China Tests Its New Super-Accurate Missile During War Games Sputnik News 22:10 06.02.2017(updated 00:29 07.02.2017) The Chinese People's Liberation Army Rocket Force has begun practicing the deployment of medium-range Dongfeng (DF) missiles capable of reaching strategic US and Japanese bases near China, the latest iteration of Beijing's war game-preparations for an armed conflict in the South and East China Seas. While the Chinese Lunar New Year holiday celebrations carried on, Beijing focused on defense preparations. DF-16 missiles, first unveiled to the public in late 2015, were tested in the deep forest during missile-launch exercises in recent weeks, according to video footage of the war games published by the Chinese Ministry of National Defense. The DF-16 missile touts a level of accuracy comparable to a cruise missile, Shi Hong, executive editor of Shipborne Weapons, told China Daily. To quantify this precision, the missiles can travel some 625 miles, carry up to three nuclear warheads at a combined weight of one ton, and strike within five feet of a programmed target. The DF-16's range puts it in striking distance of the US military base on Okinawa, as well as the Japanese islands, Taiwan, and the Philippines, The Japan Times reports. The latest medium-range ballistic missiles developed by China work via two phases that allow the missiles to alter trajectory mid-flight, the news outlet added. This feature of the DF-16 makes it possible to maneuver around Taiwan's missile defense systems, The Japan Times notes. Beijing's PLA Rocket Force could launch the DF-16 missiles from anywhere on the Chinese mainland, and perhaps even from China's lone aircraft carrier Liaoning, given that the missiles are deployed from a mobile, 10-wheeled platform. Recently, Beijing retaliated to US President Donald Trump's communication with Taiwan by testing ten DF-21 missiles, which have a reported range of at least 900 miles. Chinese news agency Xinhua wrote that DF-21-class missiles can "destroy US Asia Pacific bases at any time." Military expert Rick Fisher told the Washington Free Beacon that "the PLA is banging some drums to provide background for military psychological warfare." An article in the Diplomat noted that China does not need to be concerned about a "conventional American assault on the mainland" from amphibious landing by water, or from paratroopers, or Marine expeditionary forces. Beijing is susceptible, however, to Washington's ability to control waters "outside of China's 12-nautical mile maritime boundaries," the Diplomat noted. Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address North Korea Plans to Continue Satellite Launches Despite UN Objections Sputnik News 09:09 07.02.2017(updated 09:35 07.02.2017) North Korea intends to continue launching satellites, despite UN Security Council sanctions and resolutions. TOKYO (Sputnik) According to the newspaper Rodong Sinmun, the country will continue to launch satellites when and where its leadership determines. On February 7, 2016, North Korea put a satellite into orbit, violating UN Security Council resolutions. The move is considered threatening since the international community believes the North could use its rocket technology to develop ballistic nuclear missiles. Pyongyang has successfully conducted five nuclear tests, including two in 2016, and has frequently made statements about the advancement of its nuclear program. In January, the North Korean Foreign Ministry announced that the country was ready to launch an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) "anytime and anywhere." Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Last consignment of yellow cake to be delivered to Iran Tuesday IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency Tehran, Feb 6, IRNA -- Iran will receive the last consignment of 149 tons of yellow cake at Isfahan airport on Tuesday. Iran's yellow cake stockpile will increase to 359 tons after receiving the final batch of 149 tons of yellow cake tomorrow. This will be the fourth part of 149 tons of yellow cake Iran receives and it is more than the sum of all yellow cake produced in the country during the past decade. Head of Atomic Energy Organization of Iran Ali Akbar Salehi had previously acknowledged entry of 210 tons of yellow cake to the country. First part of the 149 tons of yellow cake was delivered on January 26, 2017. 9191**1771 NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Head of the EU Delegation to Ukraine Hugues Mingarelli has expressed alarm with bills foreseeing amendments to the laws concerning the anti-corruption sphere. "We are alarmed with some proposed bills that could weaken fight against corruption," the EU Delegation to Ukraine wrote in Twitter. The ambassador said that bill No. 5430 amending the law on the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) in part of strengthening public control in the anti-corruption activities is not in line with the key requirement about transparent and independent audit of NABU with participation of representatives of international society. Mingarelli also expressed alarm with bill No. 5672 amending the law on preventing corruption. Managers of state-run enterprises are not to avoid filing e-declarations," the EU Delegation to Ukraine said. Iran is now more powerful than ever ISNA - Iranian Students' News Agency Mon / 6 February 2017 / 16:28 Tehran (ISNA) - President Trump's tough talk on Iran is winning him friends in the Arab world, but it also carries a significant risk of conflict with a U.S. rival that is now more powerful than at any point since the creation of the Islamic republic nearly 40 years ago, Washington Post reported. With its warning last week that Iran is "on notice," the Trump administration signaled a sharp departure from the policies of President Barack Obama, whose focus on pursuing a nuclear deal with Iran eclipsed historic U.S. concerns about Iranian expansionism and heralded a rare period of detente between Washington and Tehran. Many in the region are now predicting a return to the tensions of the George W. Bush era, when U.S. and Iranian operatives fought a shadow war in Iraq, Sunni-Shiite tensions soared across the region and America's ally Israel fought a brutal war with Iran's ally Hezbollah in Lebanon. Except that now the United States will be facing down a far stronger Iran, one that has taken advantage of the past six years of turmoil in the Arab world to steadily expand its reach and military capabilities. "In order to confront Iran or push back more fiercely against it, you may find you're in a conflict far more far-reaching and more destructive to the global economy than many of our allies or American public are willing to bear," said Nicholas Heras of the Center for a New American Security. Iran's alleged quest to produce a nuclear weapon which Tehran has always denied has been curbed by the nuclear accord signed in 2015. But in the meantime it has developed missiles capable of hitting U.S. bases and allies across the Middle East and built a network of alliances that have turned it into the most powerful regional player. Iran now stands at the apex of an arc of influence stretching from Tehran to the Mediterranean, from the borders of NATO to the borders of Israel and along the southern tip of the Arabian Peninsula. For the first time in its history, the Institute for the Study of War noted in a report last week, Iran has developed the capacity to project conventional military force for hundreds of miles beyond its borders. "This capability, which very few states in the world have, will fundamentally alter the strategic calculus and balance of power within the Middle East," the institute said. Exactly what the Trump administration intends to do about a state of affairs that has already become deeply entrenched is unclear, however. So pervasive is Iran's presence across the region that it is hard to see how any U.S. administration could easily roll it back without destabilizing allies, endangering Americans, undermining the war against the Islamic State and upsetting the new regional balance that emerged during the Obama administration's retreat, analysts say. The Trump administration has given no indication that it intends to abrogate the nuclear accord. Rather, U.S. officials say, the goal is to contain activities that lie outside the scope of the accord, such as the ballistic missile program and what one official called the "destabilizing activities" of the Revolutionary Guard Corps and its proxies. The US Treasury imposed sanctions Friday against people and companies alleged to be involved in Iran's test-launch of a ballistic missile last week.Otherwise, the Trump administration has given little indication of what it has in mind, except to make clear that it intends to be different from Obama. "Iran is playing with fire they don't appreciate how 'kind' President Obama was to them. Not me!" Trump wrote in a tweet Friday. Iran has offered a relatively muted response to the challenge, with Iran's foreign minister tweeting that Iran is "unmoved" by the threats emanating from Washington. "We'll never initiate war," he said. Iran may well conclude that it is not in its interests to engage in confrontation with a new U.S. administration already earning a reputation for unpredictability, analysts say. But those familiar with Iran's behavior in the region have said that they do not believe it will readily surrender its gains. "Any pushing back, the Iranians won't take it lying down," predicted Mowaffak al-Rubaie, a Shiite Iraqi parliamentarian who has, for many years, worked to bridge the divide between Iran and America in Iraq. "Iraq, Iran and the United States are an extremely finely balanced equation, and Trump shouldn't come and bash," he said. US should consider Iran's influence in Syria. Iran and Russia together have fought to ensure the survival of President Bashar al-Assad's regime, and they are now pursuing a peace settlement in alliance with Turkey that excludes a role for the United States. America has been left with few friends and little leverage, apart from the Kurds in the northeast of the country. Trump's promises to curb Iranian influence are at odds with his stated desire to pursue closer cooperation with Russia in Syria and also to support Assad, because Iran is allied with both Assad and Russia, said Mustafa Alani, a director at the Dubai-based Gulf Research Center. End Item NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Final batch of Yellow Cake due in Iran Tuesday ISNA - Iranian Students' News Agency Mon / 6 February 2017 / 13:12 Tehran (ISNA) The final batch of a 149-ton yellow cake (Urania) shipment from Russia will arrive in Tehran on Tuesday, spokesman of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran announced. "During the last week, three batches of the shipment are imported from Russia and the fourth and final batch is expected to arrive in Tehran on Tuesday," spokesman of the Atomic Energy Organization of IranBehrouz Kamalvandi said. "The entry of 149-ton yellow cake to Iran is more than our productions in last 10 years. At the same time we continue to extractions but since our uranium output is less in comparison to the world's major uranium producers, the imports are a great contribution to Iran's nuclear industry," he added. "We informedInternational Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) about the uranium imports," Kamalvandi continued. Following the implementation of Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), more than 360 tons of uranium have been imported to Iran from Russia and other countries, according to the reports. End Item NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address New US sanctions on Iran unacceptable: Russia Iran Press TV Mon Feb 6, 2017 7:12PM Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov has expressed his regret over the new United States' sanctions against the Islamic Republic, saying bans are not an appropriate means to resolve issues. "We regret this happened. We have always expressed our stance that sanctions are not an acceptable and suitable tool for resolving certain issues," TASS new agency quoted Ryabkov as saying on Monday. The US Treasury Department said on February 3 that Washington had imposed sanctions on 13 individuals and 12 entities as part of bids to ratchet up pressure on Iran chiefly over Tehran's missile program. The move against Iran is the first by the US government since President Donald Trump took office on January 20. In a statement on the same day, the Iranian Foreign Ministry slammed as illegal the US anti-Iran sanctions and said the Islamic Republic would deliver a "proportionate and reciprocal" response to the move. "The Islamic Republic of Iran, with the backing of the wise participation and support of the great Iranian nation, will respond proportionately and reciprocally to any move that targets the interests of the Iranian people," the statement said. The Russian diplomat further said Iran's missile test launches do not violate the landmark nuclear agreement, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), signed between Iran and the P5+1 group of countries, including Russia, in July 2015. Russia believes that Iran's missile test launches do not create any problem in the implementation of the JCPOA, Ryabkov added. He emphasized that the international community is "now focused on the pace of" the JCPOA implementation, saying Moscow also celebrated the first anniversary of the nuclear agreement's enactment in January. "We do not see any special problems in this area. We want to stress again that missile launches with the use of missile technologies are not a breach of the [Joint Comprehensive] Plan of Action and UN Security Council Resolution 2231. We have brought this position to the notice of the US side as well," the Russian deputy foreign minister said. Moscow expects that "strict and clear-cut reading" of the JCPOA provisions and Resolution 2231 would be "the main thing in the determination of Washington's further policy in this direction," Ryabkov added. The United States claims that a recent missile test by Iran violated Resolution 2231 that endorsed the JCPOA. Iranian Defense Minister Brigadier General Hossein Dehqan said on February 2 that Iran's "successful" recent ballistic missile test had breached neither the deal nor the resolution. "Iran's missile tests are not, and have never been, in violation of the JCPOA or Resolution 2231," Dehqan added. WSJ seeks to 'poison atmosphere' Ryabkov also slammed as "unfounded speculation" a report by The Wall Street Journal about the US administration's plans to damage Iran-Russia relations. "The Wall Street Journal and many others do nothing but look for reasons for unfounded speculation and groundless insinuations and attempts to poison the atmosphere of relations," the senior Russian diplomat said. In a report published on February 5, The Wall Street Journal quoted senior US administration, European and Arab officials as saying that the "Trump administration is exploring ways to break Russia's military and diplomatic alliance with Iran." "If there's a wedge to be driven between Russia and Iran, we're willing to explore that," an official told the US daily. Syria has been fighting foreign-sponsored militancy over the past almost six years. The UN Syria man, De Mistura estimated in August last year that more than 400,000 people had been killed in the Syrian crisis until then. The UN has stopped its official casualty count in Syria, citing its inability to verify the figures it receives from various sources. Iran has been offering Syria advisory military assistance, and Russia has been carrying out an aerial campaign against the militants in the country on a request from the Damascus government. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Russia disagrees with US on Iran characterization Iran Press TV Mon Feb 6, 2017 11:33AM Russia says it disagrees with the administration of US President Donald Trump's characterization of Iran as a "terrorist state." Several officials in Trump's inner circle are known for visceral acrimony toward Iran. Trump himself, who is a former businessman with no prior political career of his own, has also been striking a belligerent tone on Iran, particularly regarding a nuclear deal that Tehran negotiated with six other countries including the US back in 2015. Trump has said the deal benefited the other parties to the deal more than it did American businesses. But in a first remark that closely resembled his aides' rhetoric on the Islamic Republic, Trump told Fox News on Sunday that Iran was "terrorist state number one." Reacting to that remark on Monday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, "We disagree with this postulate," Russia's ITAR-TASS news agency reported. US Defense Secretary James Mattis had on Saturday called Iran "the single biggest state sponsor of terrorism in the world." While it was his first comment on Iran since taking over as the US's defense secretary, the retired US Marines Corps general had made similar remarks on numerous occasions in the past. Earlier, Trump's national security adviser, Michael Flynn, had said the US was putting Iran "on notice" over a recent missile test. The US also introduced sanctions on the Islamic Republic over the missile test and what it said was Iran's continued support for terrorism. Iranian officials have rejected the US accusations and have said Iran is a main country on the battlefront against terrorism. Iran has been offering advisory military support to Iraq and Syria in the two Arab countries' fight on terrorism. The Islamic Republic has been cooperating with Russia in assisting the Syrian government. Peskov, the Kremlin spokesman, pointed to that cooperation as well as partnership between Tehran and Moscow in other areas and said Russia was to develop its relations with Iran. "You all know that Russia has good relations of partnership with Iran, and we cooperate with that country on a number of issues. We appreciate our relations in the trading and economic sphere and we hope for their further development," the Russian official said. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Iran Foreign Ministry rejects foreign meddling in domestic issues Iran Press TV Mon Feb 6, 2017 11:21AM Iran has rejected any foreign meddling in its domestic affairs, saying the nation is ready to defend its missile program with full strength in the face interventionist policies of other states. "The missile issue and Iran's internal affairs are the Iranian government, its leadership, and people's business," Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Qassemi told reporters on Monday. "When it comes to Iran's interests, we ourselves are the ones taking decision and we do not need any consultations" with others over such issues, said the official, adding that the nation will defend its "independence with all might." The administration US President Donald Trump has adopted a hostile rhetoric against Iran's missile work in recent days. New US officials have claimed that Iran's January 29 missile test was "in defiance of" UN Security Council Resolution 2231, which endorsed the 2015 nuclear agreement signed between Tehran and world powers, including Washington. Various Iranian officials, including Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and Defense Minister Brigadier General Hossein Dehqan, have rejected the claims, saying Iran's missiles are not designed to carry nuclear warheads and thus its missile tests do not breach Resolution 2231. Qassemi further said the Islamic Republic was indifferent to the latest remarks by the US officials as it is not the first time an American administration was making "contradictory," "threatening," and "antagonistic" statements against Tehran. He, however, said the new administration was yet to find its feet, and therefore it was too soon to make assessments about it. The official, meanwhile, reminded that Iran's missiles serve the purpose of the country's defense. 'Iran stands by Syria' Qassemi said Iran maintains its principal stance of defending Syria's territorial integrity, government, reiterating support for the restoration of peace and stability to the country. Addressing the issue of talks underway in the Kazakh capital of Astana among representatives of Iran, Turkey, and Russia on the situation in Syria, he said the meeting is a technical one among experts aimed at coordinating the countries' efforts towards the consolidation of the ceasefire in Syria. The nationwide ceasefire in Syria was brokered by Russia and Turkey with the support of Iran in December 2016. In January, Astana hosted two days of talks between Damascus and opposition groups, with Iran, Russia and Turkey attending the event as mediators. 'Iran to retaliate against sanction' The official said the Islamic Republic was examining placing some American individuals and institutions on a sanction list in reaction to the Trump administration's recent "unfair and wrongful" bans against the Islamic Republic. The sanctions, he said, will be targeting those assisting Takfiri terror groups such as Daesh and the groups that contribute to the Israeli regime's aggression against Palestinians. 'Netanyahu trying in vain' The Iranian spokesman, meanwhile, addressed speculations suggesting that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attempts to form a "tripartite coalition comprising Israel, the US, and the UK" against Iran. Netanyahu feels there is an opportunity amid the Trump administration's anti-Iran stance, and is trying to seize it, Qassemi said. "I think this again is among the Zionists' chimeras and delusions, because neither Iran nor the region's situation allows for such developments," he said. "They [the Israelis] try in vain and fail to fulfill their evil goals." NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address China protests to US over new Iran sanctions Iran Press TV Mon Feb 6, 2017 10:19AM China says it has protested to the US for putting Chinese companies and individuals on a new sanctions list targeting Iran. Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang said on Monday Beijing had "lodged representations" with Washington after Trump's administration imposed sanctions on 25 people and entities on Friday for trade with Iran. "We have consistently opposed any unilateral sanctions," Lu told a regular press briefing in Beijing. Unilateral US sanctions in the past have infuriated China. Last March, Beijing was outraged after the US government punished China's largest telecom equipment maker ZTE Corps for alleged violations of sanctions on Iran. China's Foreign Ministry expressed anger at the action, saying it is "opposed to the US citing domestic laws to place sanctions on Chinese enterprises." The new US sanctions list includes two Chinese companies and three Chinese people. Those on the list cannot access the US financial system or deal with American companies. They are subject to secondary sanctions, meaning foreign companies and individuals are prohibited from dealing with them or risk being blacklisted by the United States. China has close economic and diplomatic ties with Tehran. Executives of two Chinese companies included on the list said they had only exported "normal" goods to Iran and didn't consider they had done anything wrong. Lu said such sanctions, particularly when they harmed the interests of a third party, were "not helpful" in promoting mutual trust. China has said it is "seriously concerned" about President Donald Trump's recent hawkish rhetoric on Beijing. Experts say the new administration's moves are set to further strain relations between China and the US. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Iran puts new military equipment on production line Iran Press TV Mon Feb 6, 2017 9:31AM Iran begins the mass production of state-of-the-art defense equipment newly designed and manufactured by experts at home to enhance the country's capabilities in ground and aerial warfare. Defense Minister Brigadier General Hossein Dehqan made the announcement on Monday during a ceremony held in Tehran to launch the production line of the new domestically-built hardware. Among the achievements unveiled at the event were the Fajr 5 guided artillery rocket, Misagh 3 shoulder-fired missile, a 40-milimeter grenade launcher, a caliber gun and a pistol. Speaking at the ceremony, Dehqan said by manufacturing the new equipment, the Defense Ministry has "taken a great leap forward" in its efforts to boost the preparedness of Iranian Armed Forces in individual warfare and air defense. Over the past three years, he said, over 115 types of defense systems and military hardware have been manufactured and put to use, up by 69 percent compared to previous years. The Iranian defense chief further hailed round-the-clock hard work by Iranian experts to upgrade the military systems used by the Armed Forces with the help of domestic science and capabilities. The Islamic Republic has reached self-sufficiency in producing essential military equipment and systems. Each year, the country inaugurates a series of new defense projects aimed at boosting its readiness in the face of potential enemy threats. Iran also conducts maneuvers from time to time to test the combat readiness of its Armed Forces as well as the domestically-manufactured military hardware. Over the weekend, the Aerospace Division of Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) held defense exercises in the north-central province of Semnan. Different types of missile and radar systems, designed and manufactured by Iranian specialists, were used during the military drills. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Iran: Final batch of 149 tons of "yellow cake" expected on Tuesday Iran Press TV Mon Feb 6, 2017 12:33AM The head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran says his country will receive the final batch of a shipment of 149 tons of natural uranium on Tuesday. "Simultaneously with the execution of the JCPOA and over the last year we have imported around 210 tons of uranium into the country," the Fars News Agency quoted Ali Akbar Salehi as saying on Sunday. Iran and the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council -- the United States, France, Britain, Russia and China -- plus Germany started implementing the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) on January 16, 2016. Salehi noted that the shipment would bring the amount of "yellow cake" imported after the landmark nuclear deal to 359 tons, which increases Iran's stockpile by 60 percent. Under the agreement, Iran accepted to put limitations on its program in exchange for the removal of nuclear-related sanctions imposed against Tehran. In accordance to the JCPOA, Iran can sell its enriched uranium material -- called UF6 -- and buy natural uranium or yellow cake in return. Iran's purchasing of natural uranium is monitored by the International Atomic Energy Agency. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Netanyahu Seeks Joint Response To Iran Missile Test In London Talks RFE/RL February 06, 2017 Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has called on "responsible" nations to follow the lead of U.S. President Donald Trump and impose sanctions in Iran. Netanyahu made the appeal as he met with British counterpart, Theresa May, in London on January 6. "Iran seeks to annihilate Israel, it seeks to conquer the Middle East, it threatens Europe, it threatens the West, it threatens the world. And it offers provocation after provocation," he told May ahead of their meeting. The meeting comes just days after the Trump administration imposed new sanctions against Iran after the country carried out a medium-range ballistic-missile test. Netanyahu said before his talks with May that he wants to craft a joint response with Britain and the United States to the missile test and that the three countries must work together to stand up against Iran's "extraordinary aggression, gall, and defiance." The Israeli prime minister told his British counterpart that he welcomes the new sanctions against Iran and that "other nations should follow suit, certainly responsible nations." "I'd like to talk to you about how we can ensure that Iran's aggression does not go unanswered," he said. Netanyahu is a vocal opponent of the 2015 deal between Tehran and world powers on Iran's nuclear program. Trump also opposes the accord, having called it a "disaster." A spokeswoman for May said that the British prime minister "made clear" in talks with Netanyahu that Britain supports the deal, which eases sanctions on Tehran in exchange for restrictions on its nuclear program. "What happens now is that [the deal] needs to be properly enforced, and we also need to be alert to Iran's pattern of destabilizing activity in the region," the spokeswoman was quoted by Reuters as saying. The Trump administration said the new sanctions announced on February 3 were in response to the ballistic-missile test and Iran's "material support to various terrorist groups," but that Washington continued to maintain its commitments under the nuclear deal. On February 6 in Moscow, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Moscow disagrees with comments by Trump that Iran was a terrorist state, but added that differences between Russia and the United States should not stop the two countries from building a mutually beneficial relationship. "It's not a secret that Moscow and Washington's views on many international issues are diametrically opposed," he said. Meanwhile, a spokesman for the Iranian Foreign Ministry said on February 6 that Tehran is in the "final stages" of preparing a list of U.S. individuals and companies to be targeted with sanctions in response to the "unjust" actions of the Trump administration. With reporting by Bloomberg, Reuters, dpa, TASS, and Press TV Source: http://www.rferl.org/a/iran- missile-test-israel-seeks-uk-us- joint-response/28281702.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 Wife Says Sweden-Based Researcher Sentenced To Death In Iran On Spy Charges RFE/RL February 06, 2017 The wife of a Swedish-based academic and researcher says Iran has sentenced her husband to death on espionage-related charges. Iranian authorities detained Ahmadreza Jalali, a scientist at the Research Center in Emergency and Disaster Medicine (CRIMEDIN) run by the University of Eastern Piedmont in Novara, Italy, and the Free University Brussels (VUB), during a visit in April. Jalali's wife, Vida Mehrannia, told RFE/RL's Radio Farda on February 3 that her husband had been charged with "working with enemy states," an allegation that she dismissed as baseless because he was engaged exclusively in "scientific work." The apparent verdict follows warnings by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and Mohammad Ali Jafari, the commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), the regime's heavily militarized ideological gatekeepers, of "infiltration" attempts by Iran's enemies. It also comes with conservative opponents in Iran of a possible thaw with the West seemingly eager to project strength to their critics at home and abroad. Mehrannia said Jalali had traveled to Iran to attend a scientific workshop based on an official invitation from an Iranian university. She said he has been refusing to eat since December 26 to protest his arrest and the charges, and added that he is in poor mental and physical condition. Mehrannia also said she was told the presiding judge informed Jalali last week that his trial was still weeks away. "Judge [Abdolqasem] Salavati had read him the indictment and told him that his main trial will be held in two to three weeks," she said. Harsh Sentences Rights advocates have long accused Iranian courts of issuing politically motivated sentences. Trial proceedings, often held behind closed doors, can last only a few minutes, and charges and even verdicts are routinely left to public speculation rather than informing defense teams or family of pending charges. Salavati has been accused by rights activists of ignoring the principles of a fair trial and issuing unduly harsh sentences for dissidents, journalists, lawyers, and others. The espionage charges against Jalali have been dismissed as nonsense by his colleagues. "Ahmadreza is passionate about science," Ives Hubloue, the head of the Free University Brussels' Research Group on Emergency and Disaster Medicine, was quoted by Science Magazine as saying on February 3. "He's not interested in politics. We don't believe he would do anything at all" to undermine the Iranian government. 'Outrageous Rights Violation' According to Hubloue, the charges appeared to be related to Jalali's international contacts. The program draws students and professors from countries around the world, he said, including the United States, Saudi Arabia, and Israel. "That could have something to do with it," he said. Caroline Pauwels, rector of the Free University in Berlin, criticized Jalali's sentence "without public trial" as an "outrageous violation of universal human rights, against which we should react decisively," according to a February 3 statement published on the university's website. Pauwels described Jalali's activities as "important humanitarian work." Mehrannia said her husband had previously traveled to Iran every six months or so, based on invitations from Iranian universities, without incident. She said Jalali was initially held for seven months in solitary confinement, without access to a lawyer. Dual Nationals Behind Bars A number of dual nationals have been arrested in Iran and charged with security offenses amid what appears to be a power bid by hard-liners eager to tie the hands of reformist President Hassan Rohani and undermine the potential for less frosty ties with the U.S. and Western countries. They include Iranian-American business Siamak Namazi and his 80-year-old father, Bagher Namazi, each of whom was sentenced to 10 years in prison for alleged cooperation with the United States. Last month, the New York-based International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran said that Tehran is currently holding at least nine dual nationals "hostage" in prosecutions "completely lacking in due process." The rights group called on Rohani to push for the release of all dual nationals unjustly detained in Iran. "Rohani hides behind the excuse of an independent Judiciary, but in fact it is not independent -- it is doing the bidding of the IRGC and Intelligence Ministry officials who wish to intimidate dual nationals from western countries," Hadi Ghaemi, the executive director of the campaign, said in a January 25 statement. With reporting by RFE/RL's Radio Farda Source: http://www.rferl.org/a/iran- scientist-jalali-death-sentence- swedish-based/28284967.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 Members of the European Parliament's Security and Defense Subcommittee discussed on Monday the deteriorating security situation in Ukraine's east, the press service of the EU Delegation in Kyiv reported. "MEPs urged Russia to stop testing the West's reactions and to implement the Minsk agreements," the subcommittee said in a statement. Security and defense MEPs expressed concern about the deteriorating situation in eastern Ukraine. "A majority were convinced that Russia is 'testing the ground' against the backdrop of new US administration and called on Russia to implement the Minsk agreements. MEPs also reiterated that EU sanctions are linked to the implementation of the Minsk agreements and should therefore be maintained," the statement reads. Some MEPs called on the EU to be more proactive and to start discussing the possibility of deploying an EU Common Security and Defense Policy mission as well as delivering on its promises to grant Ukrainian citizens visa-free access without further delays, since Ukraine has met all of visa liberalization benchmarks. "A majority of Security and Defense Committee MEPs also backed a call to debate the situation in eastern Ukraine at Parliaments next plenary session in Strasbourg and to vote a resolution," the statement says. Russia receives first prepayment for Bushehr 2nuclear plant ISNA - Iranian Students' News Agency Tue / 7 February 2017 / 16:08 Tehran (ISNA) Moscow received first prepayment for construction of Bushehr 2 nuclear power plant, Russian ambassador to Iran announced. "The first installment of this prepayment was paid completely in last December. The project of Bushehr 2 nuclear power plant initially was raised between Iran and Russia in 2014 and the two countries signed an agreement over the construction of Bushehr 2 and Bushehr 3 power plants in November 2014," Russian ambassador to Iran, Levan Dzhagaryan said. "The project expected to go online in 10 years and its worth is estimated about $10 billion," the diplomat added. End Item NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Iran's Supreme Leader Says Trump 'Reveals America's Real Face' RFE/RL February 07, 2017 Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has said he is grateful to U.S. President Donald Trump for showing "the real face of America." Khamenei's website quoted him as making the comments in a February 7 meeting with military commanders in Tehran. "What we have said for more than 30 years -- that there is political, economic, moral, and social corruption in the ruling system of the United States -- this gentleman came and brought it out into the open in the election and after the election," he said. Khamenei also warned that "no enemy can paralyze the Iranian nation" and called on Iranians to respond to Trump's "threats" on this week's anniversary of Iran's 1979 Islamic Revolution. "The Iranian people will respond to his words on February 10, and will show their stance against such threats," Khamenei said. The Trump administration last week imposed new sanctions on more than two dozen Iranian companies and individuals after Tehran tested a ballistic missile. Ahead of the measure, Trump tweeted that Iran's leaders "should have been thankful for the terrible deal the U.S. made with them!" The U.S. president has denounced the July 2015 nuclear accord between world powers and Iran a "disaster." The deal imposed curbs on Tehran's nuclear program in exchange for lifting sanctions. Earlier on February 7, Iranian President Hassan Rohani said that, despite what Trump thinks, the nuclear agreement was a "win-win agreement." "The new U.S. president reads the text of the nuclear deal but cannot accept it," Rohani said in a February 7 speech broadcast live on state television. "He says this is the worst deal in history." But the Iranian president said the agreement could be used "as an example for other talks to bring stability and security to the region." On February 6, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called on "responsible" countries to follow the U.S. president's lead. The United States and Israel say Iran's January 29 ballistic-missile launch defied a 2015 UN Security Council resolution calling on Tehran not to test nuclear-capable missiles. Iran denies that. With reporting by Reuters, AFP, and AP Source: http://www.rferl.org/a/iran-khamenei- trump-true-face-rohani-nuclear- deal-win-win/28294507.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 $50 million required to clear Daesh mines in Iraq's Mosul: UN Iran Press TV Mon Feb 6, 2017 6:24PM The United Nations says it costs as much as $50 million to remove all mines, explosive devices and booby traps left by the Daesh terrorist group in and around the Iraqi city of Mosul, as government forces and allies prepare for a new stage of liberation operations in the Takfiri group's last stronghold on Iraqi soil. Paul Heslop, the chief of program planning and management section of the United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS), announced the estimate on Monday, adding that another $50 million was needed this year for the rest of the Arab country to be cleared of the landmines and improvised explosive devices (IED) planted by Daesh. "Clearing IEDs and building clearances is a lot more dangerous than minefields. You need a higher level of technical skill and complex equipment and it's slower. As areas are liberated, you get a better idea of the level of contamination," he added. The UNMAS, operating as part of the world body's Department of Peacekeeping Operations, had previously estimated that some $112 million was needed for the whole of Iraq this year, and around $178 million next year. Iraqi army soldiers, supported by fighters from pro-government Popular Mobilization Units, commonly known by the Arabic term Hashd al-Sha'abi, and Kurdish Peshmerga forces, launched a joint operation on October 17, 2016 to retake Mosul, Daesh's last urban bastion in Iraq, from terrorists. The anti-terror forces have so far fully liberated the eastern half of the flashpoint city, home to more than one million people. "I could see Iraq needing an Afghanistan-style (demining) operation, which at its peak was 15,000 people about five years ago. You could put 5,000 on the ground in Iraq and they would be gainfully employed," further said Heslop, an expert on conflicts from Afghanistan to Angola. During the past two years, UNMAS's demining teams have managed to clear nearly 400 priority locations in Iraq's Fallujah and Ramadi in the western Anbar Province, removing over 2,600 explosive hazards from areas recaptured from Daesh. Daesh began its campaign of terror in northern and western Iraq in 2014. Iraqi army soldiers and allied fighters are leading military operations to win back militant-held regions, trying to eliminate terrorists or driving them out of their country. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Myanmar army, police 'gang rape' Rohingya women systematically: HRW Iran Press TV Mon Feb 6, 2017 3:3PM Human Rights Watch (HRW) says Myanmarese government forces have committed "rape and other sexual violence" against women and girls of the Muslim Rohingya ethnic minority while carrying out their so-called counter-militancy operations in the western province of Rakhine. The rights group on Monday strongly called on the Southeast Asian country to immediately endorse an independent and international probe into the alleged abuses against the desperate Rohingya minority in the volatile region. The New York-based rights group made the bitter criticism of State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi's government in a statement, saying that the country's "army and Border Guard Police personnel took part in rape, gang rape, invasive body searches, and sexual assaults in at least nine villages in Maungdaw district [in Rakhine] between October 9 and mid-December" last year. According to the statement, the sexual violence and assaults against female members of the minority, even as young as 13 year-old girls, seem not to be random or opportunistic, but can be considered a part of the "coordinated and systematic" violence against the minority. "These horrific attacks on Rohingya women and girls by security forces add a new and brutal chapter to the Burmese military's long and sickening history of sexual violence against women," said Priyanka Motaparthy, a senior researcher in the Emergencies division of the rights group, adding that those military and police commanders who were not directly involved in the crimes should also be punished for dereliction of duty since they did not do everything in their power to curb the culprits. The statement is based on interviews with over two dozen of the 69,000 Rohingya Muslims who have fled to neighboring Bangladesh during the past four months. Eleven of 18 female interviewees reported appalling cases of rape and gang rape committed by army troops or police officers against them and 10 male interviewees recounted shocking cases of rape against their wives, sisters, or daughters. While lambasting the horrific crimes, the statement added that Myanmarese authorities "have taken no evident steps" to resolutely probe into the allegations of sexual violence and other forms of abuse reported by rights groups, including the HRW. The HRW's statement is echoing a much similar report issued by the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) on Friday, which revealed that more than half of the 101 interviewed Rohingya women had been raped or suffered other forms of sexual violence at the hands of government forces. Last December, the rights group demonstrated, via satellite imagery and interviews with witnesses, that Myanmar's military was behind the torching of a number of villages belonging to Rohingya Muslims in Rakhine, saying at least 1,500 buildings had been destroyed since October 2015 in the crisis-hit state. The minority group has been under a military lockdown since an attack on the country's border guards last October, which left nine police officers dead. The government accused the Rohingya of being behind the assault, but the minority flatly denied the allegations. There have been reports of a growing rise in the cases of rape, murder, and arson against the Muslim population in the state. The military has blocked access to the region and banned journalists and aid workers from entering the zone. Rakhine has also been the scene of communal violence at the hands of Buddhist extremists since 2012. Hundreds of people have been killed and tens of thousands have been forced from their homes and live in squalid camps in dire conditions in Myanmar, Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia. The government denies full citizenship to the 1.1 million-strong Rohingya population, branding them illegal immigrants from Bangladesh. However, many believe the Rohingya are a community of ancient lineage in Myanmar. According to the UN, the Rohingya are one of the most persecuted minorities in the world. The bloody crackdown on the Muslims by the military has now prompted an international outcry, posing the biggest challenge to Suu Kyi since her National League for Democracy party won elections last year. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Seoul Mulls Possibility to Take China to WTO Over THAAD Retaliation Measures Sputnik News 12:06 07.02.2017 Seoul considers a possibility to send a case of Chinese unfair retaliation measures regarding South Korean businesses to the World Trade Organization (WTO) for arbitration, Yonhap reported Tuesday, citing an official. MOSCOW (Sputnik) South Korean authorities accuse Beijing of blocking access of Korean entertainers to Chinese market, as well as of imposing harsh import standards, compared to other countries. China's actions are believed to be triggered by Seoul-Washington joint decision to deploy a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system in South Korea's Seongju County for countering possible North Korea's threats before the end of 2017. "As we may happen to need to take legal action in the future, a working-level examination is under way on (the illegality of) all measures taken by the Chinese central and regional governments as well as the private sector following the Seoul deployment decision," the official was quoted as saying by the Yonhap news agency. The official added it was "not an easy process to say exactly what WTO rules are in breach." THAAD anti-missile systems, 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, serve as one of the main irritants in Beijing-Seoul ties. China and Russia have repeatedly showed their objection to the deployment of THAAD, arguing that their 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 Wife Says Kremlin Critic Diagnosed With 'Acute Poisoning'; Blood Samples Sent To Israeli Lab Carl Schreck, Mike Eckel February 06, 2017 The wife of well-known Kremlin critic Vladimir Kara-Murza, Jr., who fell critically ill last week in Moscow for the second time in two years, said doctors have diagnosed him with "acute poisoning by an undetermined substance." Yevgeniya Kara-Murza told RFE/RL on February 6 that samples of her husband's blood, hair, and fingernails have been sent to a private laboratory in Israel in an effort to identify the toxin that triggered his sudden illness. "We want to get some samples tested again to try to determine what this 'unidentified' substance may be," she told RFE/RL in a Facebook message. Doctors at the Moscow hospital where Kara-Murza is being treated could not immediately be reached for comment. Kara-Murza, 35, was hospitalized on February 2 and placed in an intensive-care unit. His wife said later that her husband had suffered kidney failure and was on life support after being placed in a medically-induced coma. http://www.svoboda.org/a/28284840.html She said he was still in a coma on February 6 but his condition had stabilized. His friends and family say his symptoms closely resemble those he suffered in May 2015, when he abruptly fell ill in Moscow and was hospitalized in critical condition. Deliberate Poisoning? Kara-Murza, who spent two months in hospitals in Moscow and outside Washington, D.C., believes his 2015 illness was the result of a deliberate poisoning with a sophisticated toxin and that he was targeted for his political activities. His doctors in Moscow at the time posited that his near-fatal illness had been linked to his ingestion of a prescription antidepressant, though independent experts told RFE/RL at the time that it would be highly unusual for the drug to trigger such a severe reaction. His wife said on February 6 that since his recovery from his first illness, her husband had not taken any medicine and that his body was "completely healthy." After he was hospitalized last week, U.S. lawmakers urged an investigation into his case and called on the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump to speak out on his behalf. Kara-Murza splits his time between Russia and Centreville, Virginia, a Washington suburb where he resides with his wife and three children. He is a coordinator for former tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky's nongovernmental organization, Open Russia, and has advocated for sanctions against Russian officials and media executives before U.S. lawmakers. At the time of his most recent hospitalization, Kara-Murza had been traveling around Russia, conducting screenings of a documentary about his close political ally, the late opposition politician Boris Nemtsov, who was shot dead outside the Kremlin in February 2015. With reporting by RFE/RL's Russian Service Source: http://www.rferl.org/a/russia-kara-murza- acute-poisoning-blood-israel- kremlin-critic/28285215.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 Kremlin Wants Apology From Fox News Over Putin 'Killer' Comment, Says Iran Not 'Terrorist' RFE/RL February 06, 2017 The Kremlin says it wants an apology from Fox News over what it said were "unacceptable" comments one of the U.S. channel's presenters made about Russian President Vladimir Putin. Speaking to U.S. President Donald Trump in an interview broadcast on February 5, Fox News's Bill O'Reilly called Putin "a killer." Trump responded, "There are a lot of killers. We've got a lot of killers. What do you think? Our country's so innocent?" Putin's spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, said on February 6 that O'Reilly's comments were "unacceptable and insulting." He said the Kremlin would like "to receive an apology to the president" from Fox. Peskov declined to comment on Trump's response to O'Reilly's remark. Trump's remarks on the Russian president have been followed closely in the United States, where critics say he is too complimentary about Putin. U.S. intelligence agencies say Russia used hacking and other methods to meddle in the 2016 presidential election campaign with the aim of discrediting U.S. democracy, bolstering Trump, and undermining his rival in the November vote, Hillary Clinton. O'Reilly did not say who he believed Putin has killed. Some Kremlin opponents say they believe Putin was behind killings of critics such as journalist Anna Politkovskaya, who was shot dead in 2006, and politician Boris Nemtsov, who was gunned down in February 2015, as well as 1999 apartment-building bombings that killed hundreds of people in Russia and increased popular support for a second war against separatists in Chechnya. Putin and the Kremlin have denied involvement in these and other attacks. In January 2016, after a British judge ruled that Putin might have authorized the fatal poisoning of Aleksandr Litvinenko in London with the radioactive isotope polonium-210 in 2006. Trump noted that Putin had not been convicted of killing the former KGB officer and said: "Many people say it wasn't him. So who knows who did it?" Speaking to journalists on February 6, Peskov also said that the Kremlin did not agree with remarks by Trump in which he called Iran a "terrorist state." 'Don't Fix What's Not Broken' Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov, meanwhile, warned the United States not to try to "rewrite" a July 2015 deal between Tehran and six world powers that curtailed Iran's nuclear program in exchange for relief from economic sanctions. "My advice to our U.S. colleagues on the Iran nuclear deal is very simple: Don't try to fix what is not broken," Ryabkov said in an interview with the Russian PIR-Center think tank's magazine, Security Index. "It would be too risky to try to launch a new process on such a serious issue and seek new terms of the deal," he said. "This would be an undesirable and negative scenario, which would only add fuel to the fire in the Middle East." Trump has called the deal forged with Iran by the United States, Russia, China, Britain, France, and Germany "one of the worst deals we have ever made" and indicated during his campaign that he would seek to abandon or alter it, but has taken no specific steps to do so since he took office on January 20. His administration did, however, impose new sanctions on Iran on February 3, after Tehran carried out a medium-range ballistic-missile test. Russia has close relations with Iran, and both countries' military forces are backing the Syrian government in the country's civil war. While criticizing Trump's characterization of Iran, Peskov said that differences between Russia and the United States should not stop the two countries from building a mutually beneficial relationship. Ukraine Conflict The Kremlin also took issue with the White House's description of the conflict in eastern Ukraine, where government forces are fighting Russia-backed separatists in a war that has killed more than 9,750 people since April 2014. In a brief statement about Trump's February 4 telephone call with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, the White House said the two discussed topics including "Ukraine's long-running conflict with Russia." Peskov said: "There is no conflict between Ukraine and Russia. Donbas is exclusively an internal Ukrainian conflict." Russia has repeatedly denied involvement in the conflict, despite large amounts of evidence that it stirred up separatism in eastern Ukraine early in 2014 and has sent military forces and weapons into the region, which borders Russia, to help the separatists. The White House statement quoted Trump as saying the United States "will work with Ukraine, Russia, and all other parties involved to help them restore peace along the border." Trump's talk with Poroshenko came a week after he spoke by phone with Putin, their first conversation since Trump took office on January 20. An upsurge in fighting in the Donbas killed at least 35 people last week in a week of escalated fighting between Ukrainian troops and Russia-backed separatists. On February 2, the new U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley, expressed "strong condemnation of Russia's actions" in eastern Ukraine. Haley also said that "Crimea is a part of Ukraine" and that U.S. sanctions related to Russia's seizure of Crimea in March 2014 "will remain in place until Russia returns control over the peninsula to Ukraine." With reporting by Reuters, Interfax, AP, and TASS Source: http://www.rferl.org/a/russia-us- fox-news-apology-putin- killer/28282958.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 Syrian army besieges Daesh-held town of Bab Iran Press TV Mon Feb 6, 2017 11:41AM Syrian government troops and their allied forces have laid siege to the town of al-Bab, the largest stronghold of Daesh terrorists in the northeastern countryside of Aleppo, according to a pro-opposition monitoring group. The so-called Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported on Monday that Syrian forces had completely surrounded the town. The Britain-based group added that the advance followed the army's capture of Awishyah hill, which is several hundred meters away from a road that links al-Bab to Raqqah and Dayr al-Zawr provinces. The capture of the hill came hours after Syrian troops took control of the village of Awishyah, it said. The latest advance means government forces have now encircled the terrorists in the towns of al-Bab, Bizaah, Qabasin and Tedif. In January, the monitoring group reported that Daesh terrorists had transferred their families out of al-Bab to other areas under their control ahead of the Syrian army's imminent advance on the town. As a landmark victory against the invading terrorist groups, the Syrian army liberated the strategic city of Aleppo in 2016. Meanwhile, Turkish forces fighting as part of Operation Euphrates Shield have failed to keep their control over Bizaah. Daesh terrorists are said to have recaptured the town after multiple ambushes that left an unconfirmed number of Turkish soldiers dead. In August last year, the Turkish air force and special ground forces launched Operation Euphrates Shield inside Syria in a declared bid to aid the Free Syrian Army militants against Daesh terrorists. Turkey is also accused of using the fight against Daesh as a cover to repel Kurdish forces, who themselves have been battling against the terrorist group. Ankara has already made it clear that it will not tolerate Kurdish territorial gains close to its frontiers. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Russia, Turkey, Iran Discuss Syria Cease-Fire In Kazakhstan Talks RFE/RL February 06, 2017 Russia, Turkey, and Iran on February 6 discussed the implementation of the cease-fire they brokered in Syria and reportedly agreed to meet again later this month. No documents were signed at the second round of Syria talks in Kazakhstan's capital, Astana, where representatives of the United Nations were in attendance. But the Kazakh Foreign Ministry said the February 6 session included discussions of the implementation of the cease-fire as well as a proposal from the Syrian opposition concerning the cessation of hostilities. The first round of talks on January 23-24 failed to make progress toward a political settlement of the 6-year-old civil war, but the sides did agree to create a mechanism, called the Joint Operational Group (JOG), to monitor the fragile cease-fire in Syria. The JOG includes experts from the three co-sponsoring countries. "This is about creating a mechanism to control the implementation of the ceasefire," a Kazakh Foreign Ministry spokesman was quoted by the Reuters news agency as saying on February 6. Moscow and Tehran back Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's government in the civil war, while Ankara supports the opposition. An estimated 300,000 Syrians have been killed and millions have been displaced since 2011. The head of the Russian delegation in Astana, senior military official Stanislav Gadzhimagomedov, said following the meeting that the sides had preliminarily agreed to meet again on February 15-16, Russia's state-owned TASS news agency reported. With reporting by Reuters, TASS, and Sputnik Source: http://www.rferl.org/a/syria-talks-astana- russia-turkey-iran/28285014.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 Jordan Says Southern Syria Opposition Ready for Cease Fire at Astana Talks Sputnik News 16:23 06.02.2017(updated 16:42 06.02.2017) Representatives of Jordan at the Astana, Kazakhstan talks on the resolution of the Syrian conflict said that the opposition in southern Syria was ready to take part in the ceasefire regime and fight the al-Nusra Front and Daesh militants, Maj. Gen. Stanislav Gadzhimagomedov, the head of the Russian delegation at the Astana meeting, said Monday. ASTANA (Sputnik) Earlier in the day, the first session of the Syria ceasefire regime monitoring joint task force (JTF), bringing together experts from Russia, Iran and Turkey, concluded in Astana. "The Jordanian side came through with some very interesting information during the talks it outlined the situation in southern Syria, the readiness of opposition regiments in southern provinces of Syria to join the cessation of hostilities and their readiness to conduct operations against international terrorist organizations such as Daesh and al-Nusra Front," Gadzhimagomedov, the deputy head of the Russian Armed Forces' main operational department, told reporters. Since 2011, Syria has been engulfed in a civil war, with government forces fighting against numerous opposition and terrorist groups, including al-Nusra Front and Daesh, banned in a range of countries, including Russia. Russian President Vladimir Putin announced in December 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. Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Ukraine's SBU Security Service has learned about the illegal acquisition of land belonging to the state-owned Chornomorsk seaport (formerly the port of Illichivsk). "Law-enforcement officials established that the company illegal rented a small plot of land located on the territory of the enterprise. Later, with the "acquiescence" of Chernomorsk officials, the businessmen began building a facility for offloading grain. Some three hectares of the port was illegally rented to facilitate same. Individuals degraded production facilities at the seaport for handling cargo, which, in turn, prevented it from working at full capacity and making budget payments. According to experts, the cost of the illegal land plot rentals is about $4 million," SBU's press center said on Tuesday. During the pretrial investigation SBU agents documented numerous instances when the businessmen transferred assets to various funds, some opened by local state enterprises and self-government rule bodies, which supported their activities. Bureaucrats then under the guise of defending "foreign investments" blocked work of law-enforcement organs attempting to check illegal construction at the seaport. "SBU agents established that the real owners of the commercial company registered in Europe were citizens of Russia and Georgia," the press release says. A criminal case has been opened based on Part 1 and 3 of Article 197-1 and Part 2 of Article 364-1 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. Two members of the commercial enterprise have been given indicted. "The businessmen evade any contacts with investigators and are hiding from the justice system. According to information from special law-enforcement agencies, the men used their European office to minimize payments to the Ukrainian budget and laundered a portion of their profits into the shadow economy. The investigation continues," the SBU's press center said. Free Syrian Army Should Expand Battle Against al-Nusra Front - Russian Military Sputnik News 16:00 06.02.2017(updated 16:21 06.02.2017) According to the head of the Russian delegation at Astana talks, the Free Syrian Army should expand its battle against al-Nusra Front. MOSCOW (Sputnik) The armed Syrian opposition's battle against al-Nusra Front militants should extend from northern Syria into the Arab republic's southern and central regions, the head of the Russian delegation in Astana said Monday. "A number of Free Syrian Army units are actively fighting against al-Nusra Front forces in Aleppo and Idlib provinces," Stanislav Gadzhimagomedov told the Rossiya-24 broadcaster. Gadzhimagomedov, the deputy head of the Russian Armed Forces' main operational department, added that the delegation believes "this work should be carried out both in southern Syria and in the central provinces." Experts from Russia, Turkey and Iran delineated on maps areas of Syria controlled by al-Nusra Front militant group and moderate opposition, Gadzhimagomedov said. Earlier in the day, the first session of the Syria ceasefire regime monitoring joint task force (JTF), bringing together experts from Russia, Iran and Turkey, concluded in Astana. "We delineated the areas controlled by the Daesh militant group and the areas controlled by the moderate opposition at the last meeting. During this meeting, we elaborated the division of areas where al-Nusra Front is active. Our opinions do not coincide on everything. In general, we managed to have these regions put on a map," Gadzhimagomedov said. Since 2011, Syria has been engulfed in a civil war, with government forces fighting against numerous opposition and terrorist groups, including al-Nusra Front and Daesh, banned in a range of countries, including Russia. Russian President Vladimir Putin announced in December 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. Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Syria: UN provides emergency water around Aleppo, as 1.8 million cut off from water supply 6 February 2017 The United Nations today voiced grave concern about nearly two million Syrians in the area of Aleppo who have been without water for almost a month, as UN agencies are helping to provide emergency access to some of the people in need. The UN spokesperson today told journalists in New York that an estimated 1.8 million people in Aleppo city and rural eastern Aleppo have been cut off from their main source of water, which is under Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL/Da'esh) control. "The UN continues to respond to the water crisis by supplying fuel to operate 100 deep wells, and is supporting emergency water trucking, reaching nearly one million people in need of water assistance," the spokesperson said. The UN is also working closely with its partners, including the International Committee of the Red Cross and the Syrian Arab Red Crescent, to deliver food, nutrition, health and other emergency items to rural Homs. The inter-agency convoy delivered items to 84,000 people in hard-to-reach Talbiseh yesterday, for the first time since 19 September. "This convoy is the first cross-line land delivery in February and only the second in 2017," the spokesperson said. He added that the UN continues to call for "unconditional, unimpeded and sustained access to all 4.72 million people in hard-to-reach locations across the country," including more than 600,000 in besieged locations. Also today, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) confirmed that Stephen O'Brien, the Emergency Relief Coordinator, completed a two-day visit to Jordan. The country is the third-largest host of Syrian refugees in the region. During his visit, Mr. O'Brien met with senior Jordanian officials, including Prime Minister Hani Mulki and General Mahmoud Frihat, the head of the Jordanian Armed Forces. He also visited the Azraq refugee camp, which is operated by the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address In Syria, The Rebels Turn On Each Other David Patrikarakos February 07, 2017 2017, it seems, will be no less chaotic than its predecessor -- an aphorism made plain by a mere glance at the state of international politics extending from Paris to Washington. But nowhere is this trend clearer than in that most tumultuous of countries, Syria. The end of 2016 saw the fall of the city of Aleppo, the primary stronghold of the rebels battling Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Now, it appears, the rebels are beginning to turn on one another. On January 26, the Syrian Islamist rebel group Ahrar al-Sham incorporated six other rebel groups into its ranks in northwestern Syria in order to battle Jabhat Fateh al-Sham (JFS), a former Al-Qaeda franchise once known as the Al-Nusra Front. The announcement came just days after JFS attacked Free Syrian Army (FSA) groups west of Aleppo, accusing them of conspiring against it at Russian-backed peace talks in Astana, Kazakhstan, that began in the closing days of January. In reality, JFS's attack is rooted in weakness. Over the summer, as the siege of Aleppo progressed, JFS played an increasingly important role in the defense of the city, using suicide bombers to blow open Assad's front line positions. This forced Russia and Iran to commit more resources to the battle, which eventually turned the tide. Since the Assad coalition's seizure of eastern Aleppo in December, JFS and the rebels in general have found themselves boxed in. Their options are running out. Idlib remains their only major stronghold in northwestern Syria. The more moderate, mainstream factions among the rebels have had a problem since the second summer of the Syrian civil war: Jihadist groups have consistently proved themselves to be the most effective fighting force against Assad. Syrians were initially reluctant to deal with, let alone welcome, forces like JFS, but without sufficient support, groups like the FSA -- made up primarily of former Syrian army officers -- were forced to accommodate the more committed radical groups. Rapid Developments The loss of Aleppo has given JFS a chance to consolidate power. As Hassan Hassan, co-author of the New York Times bestseller, ISIS: Inside The Army Of Terror, and resident fellow at the Tahrir Institute for Middle East Policy, observes: "JFS has sought to bring the rebel forces under one umbrella to run the north, especially focusing on Islamist and jihadist groups like Ahrar al-Sham and Harakat Nourreddin al-Zinki. With the failure of the merger attempts and the loss of eastern Aleppo, JFS wanted to consolidate its dominance in the north by force. So the ongoing campaign by JFS against some rebel forces is designed to clean up these areas to rule what remains of the north. JFS recognizes it is the most powerful and organized group in that region, and that its rivals are incapable of effectively organizing against it." As Hassan further observes, JFS's end game is to ensure that Idlib and surrounding areas do not have the forces capable of eventually turning against it. JFS would usually seek consensus, build alliances, and infiltrate small and big groups to ensure it remains ahead of the curve. But the rapid developments over the past few months have added urgency to its open campaign. These developments include the participation of major groups operating in the north in the Russia-sponsored peace talks that are under way in Astana. As the pro-Assad coalition is building up military and political momentum in northern Syria, JFS cannot afford to continue to play its old game of playing nice with fellow anti-Assad forces. Indeed, things are becoming ever more chaotic in Syria's north. In the city of Azaz, an FSA group, the Levant Front, clashed with the Islamist group Ahrar al-Sham, which reportedly captured its headquarters and some checkpoints, forcing it to withdraw fighters from a battle it was fighting against the extremist group Islamic State (IS) in the neighboring city of Al-Bab. To make matters worse, the fighting prompted Turkey to close the border crossing at Oncupinar, across from the Syrian city of Bab al-Salam -- a critical corridor for Turkish support to certain rebel factions in northern Syria. Rise Of The Jihadists Jihadist groups now stand ascendant among the coalition battling Assad. JFS in particular has spent years ensuring its indispensability to the antiregime effort. Those opposing the JFS are unlikely to succeed in any open war against it. The FSA and associated groups fought against IS in 2014, when they were much stronger -- a campaign that cost them dearly. Those groups simply cannot afford to fight against JFS as well. As it stands, little can stop JFS from near total control of northwestern Syria. All of this is of course a gift to Assad. Not only are the rebels fighting among themselves, and in the process weakening the coalition against him, but the regime can double down on a longstanding propagandist tactic of arguing that it is on the front lines of the battle against Jihadism. "Us or them?" runs the argument: an argument that, though largely fallacious, is being strengthened by the day. Indeed, Turkey -- once seen as the great ally of the FSA and a direct threat to the Assad government -- is now fighting side by side with Syrian soldiers in the campaign against IS in Al-Bab. The regime may be witnessing either a rebel implosion or a jihadist takeover of the opposition, both of which it will welcome with glee. It will help Turkey defeat IS while Al-Qaeda linked groups prosper. This is a calculated move by the Assad regime, which has shown little interest in confronting jihadists of any stripe. As Hassan concludes: "It is important to remember Idlib is small, it is only 1.5 percent of Syrian geography. Northwestern Syria is the only area where Al-Qaeda is dominant, so it is a major battle that the international community should keep its eyes on and try to shape." The views expressed in this blog post do not necessarily reflect the views of RFE/RL Source: http://www.rferl.org/a/syria-rebels- turn-against-each-other-islamic -state/28294933.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 Amnesty: Thousands Killed In Mass Hangings At Syrian Military Jail February 07, 2017 The Syrian government has executed as many as 13,000 people, many of them civilian opposition supporters, in mass hangings at a military jail near Damascus, Amnesty International says. In a new report issued on February 7, the London-based group documented executions between September 2011 and December 2015, adding that they probably are still being carried out and amount to war crimes. It called for a United Nations investigation. Amnesty, which interviewed 84 people, including former guards, detainees, and prison officials for its report, said 20 to 50 people were hanged each week at the Saydnaya prison, dubbed "the slaughterhouse." Between 5,000 and 13,000 people were executed at Saydnaya in the four years after Syria's popular uprising descended into civil war, the report says, adding that the alleged executions were authorized at the highest levels of the Syrian government. "The victims are overwhelmingly civilians who are thought to oppose the government," it says. "Since 2011, thousands of people have been extrajudicially executed in mass hangings, carried out at night and in the utmost secrecy," with families not informed of their fate. "Many other detainees at Saydnaya military prison have been killed after being repeatedly tortured and systematically deprived of food, water, medicine, and medical care," it adds. The prisoners, who included former military personnel suspected of disloyalty and people involved in unrest, underwent sham trials before military courts and were sometimes forced to make confessions under torture, Amnesty says. The bodies of those executed were allegedly then loaded onto trucks, and transferred to Tishreen military hospital in Damascus for registration and burial in mass graves located on military land. President Bashar al-Assad's government has previously denied killing or mistreating detainees. Since antigovernment demonstrations broke out in March 2011, Assad has labeled all those opposing his rule as "terrorists." In a separate development, Assad on February 7 was quoted by the official news agency SANA as saying that U.S. President Donald Trump prioritizing the fight against Islamic State (IS) militants was "promising," although it was too early to expect any practical steps. Trump has made defeating the IS group a core goal of his presidency and signed an executive order asking the Pentagon, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and other agencies to submit a preliminary plan on how to proceed within 30 days. Assad was also quoted by SANA as telling a group of Belgian reporters that U.S.-Russian cooperation in stepping up the fight against the militants would have positive repercussions. U.S.-Russia ties have sunk to lows unseen since the Cold War amid rancor over Moscow's seizure of Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula in 2014, its backing of separatists in eastern Ukraine, its involvement in the Syrian conflict, and other issues. But Trump has repeatedly called for improving relations with Russia, arguing there are ample grounds for cooperation, such as the fight against Islamic terrorism. With reporting by AP, AFP, and Reuters Source: http://www.rferl.org/a/syria-amnesty-report- mass-hangings-military-prison -sednaya/28294131.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 Tu-22M3 Bombers Demoralize and Strike Fear Into Daesh in Deir ez-Zor Sputnik News 16:33 07.02.2017(updated 17:33 07.02.2017) The Syrian troops in Daesh-besieged Deir ez-Zor have significantly improved their positions thanks to Russian airstrikes, the Russian General Staff said. MOSCOW (Sputnik) Russian Aerospace Forces' Tu-22M3 aircraft have carried out 36 sorties, during which they destroyed 34 terrorist facilities near the Syrian city of Deir ez-Zor, Lt. Gen. Sergei Rudskoi, chief of the Russian General Staff Main Operational Directorate, said Tuesday. Russian long-range aircraft played an important role in undermining the combat capability and demoralization of Daesh troops in the area of the city of Deir ez-Zor. Tu-22M3 aircraft conducted 36 sorties, during which 34 terrorist facilities were destroyed. With the active support of Russian Aerospace Forces, the garrison of government troops in the besieged city of Deir ez-Zor has significantly improved its position," Rudskoi said. Russia has been conducting a counter-terrorist campaign in Syria since September 30, 2015, at President Bashar Assad's request. Daesh terrorists had surrounded the Deir ez-Zor military airfield in Syria's northeast by mid-January. Commenting on the development of the situation in the area, the Russian General Staff said that if terrorists capture Deir ez-Zor, civilians would be subjected to genocide and the local population could be completely wiped out. The city of Deir ez-Zor, which is still held by Syrian government forces, has been under siege from Daesh since July 2014. The residents of Deir ez-Zor and the servicemen only receive food and humanitarian aid via air-drops. On January 30, the United Nations resumed aid deliveries after a two-week pause. Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Turkey detains 748 Daesh suspects in nationwide operations Iran Press TV Mon Feb 6, 2017 3:46PM Security forces in Turkey have raised the number of detained suspects linked to the Daesh Takfiri terrorist group to nearly 750 people, says the Interior Ministry. In a statement published on Monday, the ministry announced that Turkish anti-terrorism police had detained 748 suspects in the initial phase of nationwide operations in 29 provinces over the weekend. Turkish police seized numerous documents, digital materials, two guns, four rifles and ammunition in the operations, the statement said. Meanwhile, the state-run Anadolu news agency put the number of detained suspects at 763. The arrests come over a month after a gunman on New Year's Eve went on a shooting spree inside an Istanbul nightclub, killing 39 people, mostly foreigners. Daesh claimed responsibility for the massacre. On January 16, police captured the suspected assailant of Reina nightclub, Abdulgadir Masharipov, an Uzbek national, after a two-week manhunt. Media reports said at the time that Masharipov had also considered attacking Istanbul's main Taksim Square as well as the offices of the opposition Cumhuriyet newspaper. The operation against Daesh-linked suspects in Turkey comes as Ankara stands accused of aiding and abetting militant groups operating in Syria against the Damascus government. According to reports, Ankara actively trains and arms the Takfiri militants in Syria, and facilitates their safe passage into the Arab country. Turkey has also been accused of buying smuggled oil from Daesh. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Turkish Deputy PM Vows Referendum on Constitutional Changes to Be Transparent Sputnik News 19:08 06.02.2017 Turkey's Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmus expressed hope that President Recep Tayyip Erdogan would approve all the 18 articles of the of constitutional reform, despite the rumors that some of the amendments would be rejected. MOSCOW (Sputnik) The upcoming referendum on constitutional amendments in Turkey will be transparent and democratic, Turkey's Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmus said on Monday. "Everyone will reveal their stance, 'yes' or 'no,' clearly during the campaign. No one should doubt that it will be a democratic race. It will be an open, transparent democratic race," Kurtulmus said as quoted by Turkey's Hurriyet Daily News. The deputy prime minister expressed hope that President Recep Tayyip Erdogan would approve all the 18 articles of the of constitutional reform, despite the rumors that some of the amendments would be rejected. On January 21, the Turkish parliament approved the constitutional amendments that would enlarge the presidential powers over the legislature and the judiciary. The president will also be able to remain the head of the political party he represents, which is not allowed by the current legislation. On Thursday, the Turkish constitutional amendments bill was submitted for the approval of the president. Erdogan has 15 days to approve or reject the bill and set the date of the referendum on the amendments. The referendum is expected to take place in mid-April. Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Turkish Security Forces Launch Major IS Crackdown By Dorian Jones February 06, 2017 Since early Sunday, Turkish police have been breaking down the doors of suspected Islamic State members, detaining more than 700 people across the country. More than 30 people were detained in Istanbul, many in the area where a gunman responsible for the New Year's nightclub attack was captured by police last month. That attack, which killed 39 people, spurred an unprecedented crackdown on the terrorist group. "Even before this recent attack, it was a major threat to Turkey's security," said Haldun Solmazturk, who heads the 21st Century Turkey Institute, an Ankara-based research institution, "and now it is an even bigger threat, because it has a terror infrastructure within Turkey. It has clear aims and purposes." Dozens were arrested in the city of Izmir, and according to local news reports, an imminent attack was foiled. Analysts say this latest crackdown is on an unprecedented level nationwide, with arrests in 29 provinces. So-called Islamic State is believed to have built up a national network, created to smuggle people from across the globe into neighboring Iraq and Syria. Foreigners and Turkish nationals are among those who have been detained. Critics have accused the government, and even some of its Western allies, of turning a blind eye to the threat, being more interested in bringing down the Syrian regime. "In a sense they were given a free hand to further radicalize Turkish society," says analyst Solmazturk, "and now it's a huge threat, in a sense, it's a beast of our own creation." Experts say many jihadists arrested in previous crackdowns were subsequently released, in what has been dubbed a "revolving door" policy. Turkish media have reported one of those arrested in connection with the Istanbul New Year's attack was detained last year and set for deportation, but instead was let go. "Turkey has changed its position towards the Islamic State," notes Sinan Ulgen, visiting scholar of the Carnegie Europe Institute in Brussels, "and is now involved in a bitter struggle, in a military campaign against Islamic State. Turkey will remain a target for the Islamic State militants for the foreseeable future." Turkey's government has promised to eradicate Islamic State, and Turkish soldiers are currently fighting the jihadist group in neighboring Syria. IS has vowed revenge. Analysts warn that Turkish security forces are now engaged in a race against time. The security forces, however, are facing are ongoing purge within their ranks. Tens of thousands of police officers, prosecutors, intelligence and army offices have been arrested or dismissed. They have been accused of being followers of the U.S.-based cleric Fethullah Gulen, blamed by Ankara for July's failed coup. Analyst Ulgen says the purge inevitably raises questions over the effectiveness of Turkish security forces. "The government has started to purge the administration from the Gulen influence. This has incapacitated to some extent the same entities that are responsible for providing security. So the functional, the operational effectiveness of these institutions has seemingly been affected or that is at least the conclusion we can reach since the Turkish government most tragically was not able to preempt or prevent a series of attacks which we have seen in recent months." Since July, Islamic State and the Kurdish rebel group the PKK have carried out a series of major attacks, killing more than 100 people. The government refutes allegations the purge has impacted the effectiveness of the security forces and has warned of the need for further waves of arrests and dismissals, maintaining that followers of Gulen are just as dangerous to Turkey as Islamic State. That stance leads some in Turkey to continue to question the government's priorities in the war against Islamic State. "Even now we are not at a position that a firm decision, with political determination, has been made to fight back against Islamic State," warns analyst Solmazturk. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Turkish Forces Kill 21 Daesh Terrorists in Northern Syria in 24 Hours Sputnik News 08:33 07.02.2017(updated 09:16 07.02.2017) The Turkish army announced that it had killed 21 Daesh terrorists in Syria over the course of 24 hours. MOSCOW (Sputnik) The Turkish Armed Forces killed 21 Daesh jihadists and attacked over 200 terrorist targets over the course of 24 hours, as part of the Euphrates Shield operation in northern Syria, the Turkish General Staff said Tuesday. "As a result of airstrikes and hostilities, 21 Daesh terrorists were killed. A total of 203 Daesh targets were attacked," the General Staff was quoted as saying by the newspaper Haberturk. On August 24, the Turkish army launched Operation Euphrates Shield against the internationally-condemned jihadist group Daesh. Turkish forces, with assistance from Syrian opposition fighters, occupied the city of Jarablus in northern Syria and are currently conducting an offensive on al-Bab. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that the aim of the operation is to clear the region of terrorists and make it a safe zone for refugees. The operation has been widely criticized both by the Syrian Kurds and Damascus, who have accused Ankara of violating Syria's territorial integrity. Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Defence Secretary praises 'good partners' Croatia during visit 6 February 2017 The Defence Secretary has praised Croatia's commitment to NATO operations and wider peacekeeping exercises during a ministerial visit. Sir Michael Fallon welcomed Croatia's Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Damir Krsticevic to sign an agreement aimed at developing existing security and Defence relations. At the Ministry of Defence in London today they discussed Britain's bilateral relationship and explored ways the UK can work together with Croatia on joint activities. The Defence agreement focuses on developing the UK-Croatian Defence relationship including focus on: existing joint operations to support stability, peace and security; effective deployments together on future international operations; and further opportunities and benefits for defence procurement and equipment support. By signing the agreement the Defence Secretary has also confirmed the UK will hold annual Defence talks with Croatia, which will be held at policy director level. This year Croatia is contributing to the NATO high readiness force which the UK is leading, by providing a platoon of Military Police and a Civil Military Co-operation Team. Croatia will also contribute to the German Enhanced Forward Presence in Lithuania. Croatia has around 100 troops deployed on operations in Afghanistan, where 500 UK personnel are based in Kabul to provide officer training and wider assistance and advice. Defence Secretary Sir Michael Fallon said: "Croatia is a good partner of the UK with our Armed Forces' serving together within NATO in Afghanistan and in Europe. The UK will continue to play a leading role in NATO and I welcome Croatia's commitment to the high-readiness force that we are heading this year." During their meeting the ministers also discussed the Defence Secretary's meeting with Croatian President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic in October and HMS Defender's visit to the port of Split last June. The UK enjoys good relations with several states in southern and south eastern Europe. In September the Defence Secretary visited Bulgaria and Albania as part of his regional engagement, and last month met UK personnel providing training to the Armed Forces in Ukraine. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address A scandal involving an interview of the German ambassador to Ukraine, who had said that the elections in Donbas are possible under the current conditions, is erupting in Kyiv. On Tuesday, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry summoned German Ambassador Ernst Reichel to provide an explanation of his statements on the modalities of holding the elections in the territories of Donbas uncontrolled by Kyiv. "The German ambassador was invited to the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry to provide an explanation of his statements made in an interview with the RBC-Ukraine publication," the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry's press service told Interfax on Tuesday. UK High Court to review arms deals with Saudi Arabia Iran Press TV Tue Feb 7, 2017 11:20AM The UK High Court is set to review the country's weapons deals with Saudi Arabia, after activists accused the government of British Prime Minister Theresa May of complicity in Riyadh's war crimes against Yemen. The court will start the landmark case Tuesday and is expected to reach a conclusion in three days. Brought by the Campaign Against Arms Trade (CAAT), the case includes submissions from Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch. "For almost two years now, the UK has been complicit in the destruction of Yemen. UK fighter jets and bombs have played a central role in the bombardment, and UK political support has helped to underpin and legitimize it," said Andrew Smith, a spokesman for CAAT. "We are always being told that the UK stands for free speech and democracy, yet it has sold billions of pounds worth of arms to one of the most brutal and repressive regimes in the world to use against one of the poorest countries in the region," he added. Britain has signed off 3.3 billion in arms sales to Saudi Arabia since March 26, 2015, when Riyadh began its unprovoked aggression on its impoverished southern neighbor. London, which has been one of the biggest suppliers of weapons to Riyadh for 40 years, has provided Tornado and Eurofighter Typhoon jets along with training to Saudi pilots participating in the war, which has killed thousands of Yemeni civilians. The British government has also admitted to exporting 500 illegal cluster bombs to Saudi Arabia in the 1980s which the country used in its war on Yemen. In November, the government rejected calls by two parliamentary committees and human rights groups to stop selling arms to Saudi Arabia, arguing that the weapons were not being used in "a serious violation of International Humanitarian Law (IHL)." To make a stronger case, CAAT is expected to include in its claim condemnations of the Saudi aggression by a UN Panel of Experts as well as the European Parliament EU. A survey Conducted by Opinium on behalf of the CAAT, showed last week that almost 62 percent of British people think selling arms to Saudi Arabia, the UK's largest arms customer, was "unacceptable." NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Ukraine Increasing Military Presence in Donbass, Sends Nationalists There Sputnik News 17:26 07.02.2017(updated 17:27 07.02.2017) Kiev is stepping up its military presence along the contact line in Donbass and has sent nationalist militants there, the Russian Investigative Committee said. MOSCOW (Sputnik) The Armed Forces of Ukraine (VSU) keep increasing presence along the contact line in Donbass, deploying forces there, including the "Donbas" nationalist battalion, Russian Investigative Committee spokeswoman Svetlana Petrenko said Tuesday. "The Kiev authorities continue to illegally, in violation of the Minsk agreements and ceasefire commitments arising from them, actively build up their military presence along the contact line, deploying additional forces there, including units of the 79th air assault brigade, as well as the 'Donbas' nationalist battalion and the 'Azov' regiment," Petrenko said. The situation in Donbass has escalated over the past few days, in particular near the town of Avdiivka in the Donetsk region, where clashes between Kiev forces and the troops of the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) have intensified. The conflicting parties have both accused each other of initiating the violence. The Donbass conflict erupted in April 2014 as a local counter-reaction to the West-sponsored Maidan coup in Kiev that had toppled legitimate President Viktor Yanukovych in February. Residents of the Donetsk and Lugansk regions held independence referendums and proclaimed the People's Republics of Donetsk and Lugansk. Kiev has since been conducting a military operation, encountering stiff local resistance. In February 2015, Kiev forces and Donbass independence supporters signed a peace agreement in the Belarusian capital of Minsk. The deal stipulates a full ceasefire, weapons withdrawal from the line of contact in Donbass, as well as constitutional reforms that would give a special status to the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics. Despite the agreement, the ceasefire regime is regularly violated, with both sides accusing each other of multiple breaches, undermining the terms of the accord. Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address In recent years the Russian Federation has intensified the transfer of military equipment, weapons and soldiers in the territory of the occupied part of Donbas, Ukrainian National Security and Defense Council (NSDC) Secretary Oleksandr Turchynov has said. "A large number of military vehicles, tanks, multiple launch rocket systems, etc. is delivered through the uncontrolled area of Ukrainian-Russian border from the territory of the Russian Federation," he said. According to him, military equipment, weapons, armaments, munitions, fuel and lubricants are imported systematically and in an orderly manner almost every day "both by motorways and railway." Turchynov noted that over the last three days only, a significant number of tanks, infantry fighting vehicles, light multi-purpose armored towing vehicles, Grad MLRSs, Pion 2S7 (203 mm) and Giatsint 2A36 (152 mm) self-propelled guns were relocated from the Russian Federation to Donbas. "Reinforcement is provided for Russian hybrid troops deployed all along the delimitation line," he said adding that undisguised recruitment of contractors to participate in hostilities in the east of Ukraine is conducted in Russian military commissariats. "All this may indicate at Russia's readiness for further escalation of hostilities in Donbas," the secretary of the NSDC said adding that Russia will not be able to hide its bloody acts of aggression against Ukraine from the international community. Gold Reserve Inc. (TSX.V: GRZ) (OTCQB: GDRZF) (Gold Reserve or the Company) today reported that it has been in discussions with the Government of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ("Venezuela") regarding payments that were due under the terms of the previously announced amended settlement agreement (the Settlement Agreement). Gold Reserves executive committee members, James Coleman, Rockne Timm and Douglas Belanger, have been meeting in Caracas with senior Venezuelan officials. These officials indicated that the payment to Gold Reserve has been delayed due to certain procedures and processes which have slowed the completion of the related financing. The parties previously agreed to temporarily refrain from enforcing the ICSID Award and from seeking the decision on the annulment of the Award. Notwithstanding Venezuelas assurances to comply with the Settlement Agreement, the parties have agreed to have the Paris Court of Appeal issue its decision on Venezuela's motion for annulment on February 7, 2017. The Gold Reserve legal team believes that the motion should be denied and Gold Reserves arbitration award will be confirmed. The Minister of the Peoples Power for Ecological Mining Development, Roberto Mirabal and the Attorney General, Reinaldo Munoz, also stated, Venezuela expects to be in a condition to satisfy its obligations under the Settlement Agreement. Mr. Mirabal further stated, The Republic looks forward to continuing to move the gold copper silver Siembra Minera Project (Brisas Cristinas) forward, which will create many positive benefits for the region and the Republic." James Coleman of Gold Reserve stated, The settlement process has been long and at times difficult with our shareholders patiently waiting for completion. Although, the Company remains optimistic, it is well aware of the views of its stakeholders and is diligently working to complete the transaction as previously outlined in prior news releases. Accordingly, based on the Caracas meetings and the assurances set out herein, the Company believes that the Settlement Agreement will be respected and the terms satisfied. Further information regarding the Company can be located at www.goldreserveinc.com, www.sec.gov, and www.sedar.com. CAUTIONARY STATEMENT REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS This release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of applicable U.S. federal securities laws and forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable Canadian provincial and territorial securities laws and state Gold Reserves and its managements intentions, hopes, beliefs, expectations or predictions for the future including without limitation statements with respect to the transactions contemplated by the Settlement Agreement, as amended, the outcome of the legal proceedings before the Paris Court of Appeal and the development of the Brisas-Cristinas project. Forward-looking statements are necessarily based upon number of estimates and assumptions that, while considered reasonable by management at this time, are inherently subject to significant business, economic and competitive uncertainties and contingencies. We caution that such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other risks that may cause the actual outcomes, financial results, performance, or achievements of Gold Reserve to be materially different from our estimated outcomes, future results, performance, or achievements expressed or implied by those forward-looking statements, including without limitation Venezuelas ability to fund the contemplated payments to the Company pursuant to the Amended Settlement Agreement, the risk that the Paris Court of Appeal may rule adversely to the Company, the ability of Venezuela and the Company to arrange financing for the anticipated capital costs of the Brisas-Cristinas project and the risk that the development of the Brisas Cristinas project may not proceed as anticipated. This list is not exhaustive of the factors that may affect any of Gold Reserves forward-looking statements. Investors are cautioned not to put undue reliance on forward-looking statements. All subsequent written and oral forward-looking statements attributable to Gold Reserve or persons acting on its behalf are expressly qualified in their entirety by this notice. Gold Reserve disclaims any intent or obligation to update publicly or otherwise revise any forward-looking statements or the foregoing list of assumptions or factors, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, subject to its disclosure obligations under applicable rules promulgated by the Securities and Exchange Commission and applicable Canadian provincial and territorial securities laws. Neither the 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. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170206006158/en/ Contact Gold Reserve Inc. A. Douglas Belanger, 509-623-1500 President Fax: 509-623-1634 VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwired - Feb 6, 2017) - Bluestone Resources Inc. (TSX VENTURE:BSR) ("Bluestone" or the "Company") today announced key additions to the team in advance of the previously announced Proposed Acquisition of the Cerro Blanco gold project in Guatemala (see press release dated January 11, 2017). Mr. Keith Peck and Mr. Leo Hathaway have been appointed to Bluestone's Board of Directors, and Ms. Allison Rippin Armstrong, Mr. Murray Seitz and Mr. David Kelsch, P.Geo. have joined Bluestone's technical advisory committee. "We are pleased to welcome such experienced professionals to Bluestone's team," stated Bluestone CEO and Chairman John Robins. "We will benefit from their experience and respective track records in the fields of project finance; exploration/development; renewable energy and corporate and social responsibility. These appointments are critical steps in our path to establish bench strength within the Company as we move closer towards the acquisition of the Cerro Blanco project. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank Mr. Kelsch for his extended years of service as a Bluestone director and Vice President, Exploration." Board of Director Appointments Effective immediately, Mr. Keith Peck and Mr. Leo Hathaway have been appointed to Bluestone's board of directors and Mr. Dave Kelsch has resigned from his role as director and has agreed to continue working with the Company as an active technical advisor. Mr. Keith Peck is Chairman and CEO of Lincoln Peck Financial Inc., a financial advisory firm focused on the resource sector, and a director of Orezone Gold Corp.. He has over 30 years investment banking experience including Vice-President and Director of RBC Dominion Securities Inc., Haywood Securities Inc. and Vice-Chairman of Yorkton Securities Inc. Mr. Peck has a broad business background that includes billions of dollars of financings in public and private markets, mergers and acquisitions, corporate restructurings, business valuations and expert financial testimony. Mr. Peck was a founder of Centenario Copper Corp., a Chilean copper company which was acquired by Quadra Mining Ltd. in 2009. He has a BA in Economics from Princeton University and is a Chartered Business Valuator (CBV). Mr. Leo Hathaway is a geologist with extensive experience in the exploration and mining sector from grassroots to feasibility and development stage projects. He currently serves as Chief Geological Officer for Anfield Gold Corp. and Senior Vice President of Lumina Gold Corp. Since 2004, Mr. Hathaway was the former Chief Geological Officer for Lumina Copper Corp. and the former VP Exploration for Northern Peru Copper Corp., Regalito Copper Corp, Global Copper Corp and Lumina Resources Corp., as well as a former partner in Lumina Capital LP. Prior to 2004, he worked for Inmet Mining in Europe, Australia, Central and South America. Mr. Hathaway holds a B.Sc. (Hons) degree in Applied Geology from the University of Plymouth, a M.Sc. in Mineral Exploration from the University of London, and obtained a P.Geo. from the Association of Professional Geoscientists of Ontario in 2004. Technical Advisory Committee Appointments Ms. Allison Rippin Armstrong has 20 years of experience in permitting, regulatory processes and environmental compliance working for resource companies, Aboriginal organizations and NGOs. In 2004, Ms. Rippin Armstrong formed her own very successful environmental consulting company specializing in permitting, regulatory processes and compliance. She has permitted projects from grassroots exploration through to advanced exploration projects in the NWT, Nunavut, Saskatchewan, Alberta and Ontario. In 2013, she joined Kaminak Gold Corp. and led the environmental, permitting and community relations department until the company was acquired by Goldcorp in July 2016. During her tenure at Kaminak Ms. Rippin Armstrong and her team were the recipients of several awards for excellence in Environmental Stewardship and First Nations engagement. Mr. Seitz has been involved in the mineral exploration and renewable energy space for over 15 years. He has extensive experience in Latin America, including over 6 years in Guatemala focused on hydroelectric and geothermal power projects. Mr. Seitz is currently President of Pan American Hydro, a private renewable energy company. Mr. Seitz has an extensive knowledge of the Guatemalan renewable development space, as well as the domestic and regional electrical markets. Mr. David Kelsch, P.Geo has been Vice President of Exploration and a Director of Bluestone Resources Inc. since March 2004. Mr. Kelsch's involvement in the mineral exploration industry spans more than 30 years. He has been active on programs ranging from grass roots through to development both locally and internationally, on commodities ranging from diamonds to gold to base metals. He has a strong exploration background and the ability to manage and execute large, remote exploration programs. Most notably he was an integral member of the Rio Tinto team responsible for the discovery of what was to later become the Diavik diamond mine. Mr. Kelsch continues to actively consult for a variety of junior explorers. About Bluestone Resources Inc.: Bluestone Resources Inc. (TSX VENTURE:BSR) announced on January 11, 2017 that it has entered into an agreement with Goldcorp Inc. to acquire 100% of Goldcorp's Cerro Blanco Gold project and Mita Geothermal project in Guatemala. In connection with the proposed acquisition, Bluestone has engaged Cormark Securities Inc. as its financial advisor; JDS Energy & Mining Inc. as lead technical consultant; Mr. Garth Kirkham, P. Geo., as qualified person as defined by National Instrument 43-101; and Axium Law Corporation as its legal advisor. On behalf of the Board, Bluestone Resources Inc., John Robins, President and Chief Executive Officer Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Forward Looking Statements Certain information set forth in this news release contains "forward-looking statements", and "forward-looking information" under applicable securities laws. Except for statements of historical fact, certain information contained herein constitutes forward-looking statements, which include the Company's expectations about the completion of the Proposed Transaction and the Financing, future performance based on current results and expected cash costs and are based on the Company's current internal expectations, estimates, projections, assumptions and beliefs, which may prove to be incorrect. Some of the forward-looking statements may be identified by words such as "will", "expects", "anticipates", "believes", "projects", "plans", and similar expressions. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and undue reliance should not be placed on them. Such forward-looking statements necessarily involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties, which, may cause the Company's actual performance and financial results in future periods to differ materially from any projects of future performance or results expressed or implied by such forward-looking statement. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to: liabilities inherent in mine development and production; geological risks, the financial markets generally, the results of the due diligence investigations to be conducted by the Company, the ability of the Company to complete the Financing or obtain requisite Exchange acceptance and shareholder approvals. There can be no assurance that forward-looking statement will prove to be accurate, and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipate in such statements. The Company undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking statements if circumstances or management's estimates or opinions should change except as required by applicable securities laws. The reader is cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwired - Feb. 6, 2017) - THIS NEWS RELEASE IS INTENDED FOR DISTRIBUTION IN CANADA ONLY AND IS NOT INTENDED FOR DISTRIBUTION TO UNITED STATES NEWSWIRE SERVICES OR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES. Colonial Coal International Corp. (TSX VENTURE:CAD) (the "Corporation" or "Colonial Coal") is pleased to confirm, further to its news release of February 6, 2017, that the Corporation has now completed the balance of its non-brokered private placement (the "Private Placement") pursuant to which the Corporation has now issued an aggregate of 51,952,661 units (each, a "Unit") of the Corporation, at a subscription price of $0.15 per Unit, raising aggregate gross proceeds to the Corporation of $7,792,900. Additional information respecting the Private Placement is provided in the Corporation's most news release of February 6, 2017. Colonial Coal also announces that it is not proceeding with at this time its previously announced (May 2, 2016) sale of a 10% interest in the Corporation's Flatbed Property and related unit private placement. About Colonial Coal International Corp. Colonial Coal is a publicly traded coal corporation in British Columbia that focuses primarily on coking coal projects. The northeast Coal Block of British Columbia, within which our Corporation's projects are located, hosts a number of proven deposits and has been the subject of M&A activities by Xstrata, Walter Energy, Anglo-American and others. Additional information can be found on the Corporation's website www.ccoal.ca or by viewing the Corporation's filings at www.sedar.com. Forward-Looking Information Information set forth in this news release involves forward-looking statements, including statements relating to the Corporation's potential sale of an interest in its Flatbed Property. Forward-looking statements are statements that relate to future, not past, events. In this context, forward-looking statements often address a Corporation's expected future business and financial performance, and often contain words such as "anticipate", "believe", "plan", "estimate", "expect", and "intend", statements that an action or event "may", "might", "could", "should", or "will" be taken or occur, or other similar expressions. By their nature, forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause our actual results, performance or achievements, or other future events, to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such factors include, among others, the following risks: risks associated with marketing and sale of securities; the need for additional financing; reliance on key personnel; the potential for conflicts of interest among certain officers or directors with certain other projects; and the volatility of common share price and volume. Forward-looking statements are made based on management's beliefs, estimates and opinions on the date that statements are made and except as required by law, the Corporation undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking statements if these beliefs, estimates and opinions or other circumstances should change. Investors are cautioned against attributing undue certainty to forward-looking statements. THE FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION CONTAINED IN THIS NEWS RELEASE REPRESENTS THE EXPECTATIONS OF THE CORPORATION AS OF THE DATE OF THIS NEWS RELEASE AND, ACCORDINGLY, IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE AFTER SUCH DATE. READERS SHOULD NOT PLACE UNDUE IMPORTANCE ON FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION AND SHOULD NOT RELY UPON THIS INFORMATION AS OF ANY OTHER DATE. WHILE THE CORPORATION MAY ELECT TO, IT DOES NOT UNDERTAKE TO UPDATE THIS INFORMATION AT ANY PARTICULAR TIME EXCEPT AS REQUIRED IN ACCORDANCE WITH APPLICABLE SECURITIES LEGISLATION. 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 news release. VANCOUVER, Feb. 7, 2017 /CNW/ - GoldMining Inc. (formerly, Brazil Resources Inc.) (the "Company" or "GoldMining") (TSX-V: GOLD; OTCQX: GLDLF) is pleased to announce it has been named to the 2017 OTCQX Best 50, a ranking of top performing companies traded on the OTCQX Best Market, placing in the top 4 of the annual ranking. The OTCQX Best 50 is an annual ranking of the top 50 U.S. and international companies traded on the OTCQX market. The ranking is calculated based on an equal weighting of one-year total return and average daily dollar volume growth in the previous calendar year. Chairman of the Board, Amir Adnani, stated: "We are very pleased to report that GoldMining Inc. placed among the top 4 companies selected for the OTCQX Best 50 list. This accolade comes at a time when the Company is pursuing another phase of growth by aggressively targeting select gold projects that demonstrate an existing sizable resource with high potential for expansion. With over $20 million of cash and major institutional holders that have been long-term backers of the Company's business plan, we are in a strong position to continue the acquisition strategy that has consistently increased shareholder value over the past 5 years." For the complete 2017 OTCQX Best 50 ranking, visit http://web.otcmarkets.com/otcqx-best-50/ About GoldMining Inc. GoldMining is a public company with a focus on the acquisition, exploration and development of projects in Brazil, Colombia, the United States and Canada. The Company is advancing its Sao Jorge and Cachoeira Gold Projects in Brazil, Titiribi Gold-Copper Project in Colombia, Whistler Gold-Copper Project in Alaska and its Rea Uranium Project in the western Athabasca Basin in Canada. Forward Looking Statements This news release contains certain forward-looking statements that reflect the current views and/or expectations of the Company with respect to its performance, business and future events, including statements regarding the Company's acquisition strategy and potential acquisitions. Forward-looking statements are based on the then-current expectations, beliefs, assumptions, estimates and forecasts about the business and the industry and markets in which the Company operates, including that: the current price of and demand for minerals being targeted by the Company will be sustained or will improve; the Company's current exploration programs and objectives can be achieved; the Company will be able to obtain required exploration licences and other permits; general business and economic conditions will not change in a material adverse manner; financing will be available if and when needed on reasonable terms; the Company will not experience any material accident; and the Company will be able to identify and acquire additional mineral interests on reasonable terms or at all; the Company will be able to carry out its acquisition strategy;. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions which are difficult to predict. Investors are cautioned that all forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties, including: that the Company has a limited operating history; that resource exploration and development is a speculative business; that the Company may lose or abandon its property interests or may fail to receive necessary licenses and permits; that the Company's properties are in the exploration stage and are without known bodies of commercial ore; that the Company may not be able to obtain all necessary permits and approvals on any of its properties; that environmental laws and regulations may become more onerous; that the Company may not be able to raise additional funds when necessary; potential defects in title to the Company's properties; fluctuations in currency exchange rates; fluctuating prices of commodities; operating hazards and risks; competition; potential inability to find suitable acquisition opportunities and/or complete additional acquisitions on acceptable terms or at all;;; and other risks and uncertainties listed in the Company's public filings. These risks, as well as others, could cause actual results and events to vary significantly. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements and information, which are qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement. There can be no assurance that forward-looking information, or the material factors or assumptions used to develop such forward-looking information, will prove to be accurate. The Company does not undertake any obligations to release publicly any revisions for updating any voluntary forward-looking statements, except as required by applicable securities law. Neither the TSX-V nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX-V) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release. SOURCE GoldMining Inc. At a meeting of the permanent commission of the Kyiv City Council on issues of urban planning, architecture and land use MPs agreed on the termination of the lease contract directly for the three sites provided to the Embassy of the Russian Federation in Ukraine, the press service of Kyiv City Council said. "These plots of land were granted for the use of 49 years to the Russian Federation in 1998. For one hryvnia rent per year the Muscovites had the right to build a new embassy, a consulate and a residence of the ambassador, or sublease it, mortgage at banks or even sell. Fortunately, over 17-years of their use they didn't have time to use this right, so we can break the leases," the press service of the City Council cites the subject of the submission of the relevant decisions, the city council deputy, Ihor Miroshnychenko. Klimkin calls elections in Donbas and Crimean territories occupied by Russia at Russian gunpoints as 'farce' Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Pavlo Klimkin has called elections in the territories of Donbas and Crimea occupied by Russia as 'farce' and noted that Kyiv no longer needs such farces. "Two electoral farces at Russian gun points have resulted in two occupation authorities in the occupied Crimea and Donbas. These are enough farces," Klimkin wrote on his Twitter on Tuesday. Earlier, in an interview with the media, German Ambassador to Ukraine Ernst Reichel said that the elections in Donbas could take place in the presence of Russian troops. Gov. Mary Fallin has signed emergency rules regulating Oklahoma's medical marijuana industry a day after they were introduced by the State Board of Health.Although the industry said more regulations were needed to ensure the new law could be effectively implemented, her decision Wednesday set off a firestorm of commentary about controversial provisions that were introduced shortly before the board's action."These rules are the best place to start in developing a proper regulatory framework for medical marijuana, with the highest priority given to the health and safety of Oklahomans," Fallin said. "They are also the quickest and most cost-efficient way to get the process actually started as required by the law passed by the people."Most of the new rules are typical bureaucratic fare, including sections that regulate labels, testing, advertising and disposal.However, additions introduced before the meeting Tuesday included provisions that ban smokable marijuana and some edibles, and the requirement that each dispensary hire a pharmacist. Those measures were pushed by the state's health care community, who opposed State Question 788 before more than half a million Oklahomans voted to make it law.The governor can only approve or deny the entire rule change; she cannot pick and choose which parts of it to sign. Fallin said she expects modifications to the rules but continued to rule out a special legislative session to address comprehensive legislation.Lawmakers will have a chance to review the rules, but only when they convene in regular session next February."I know some citizens are not pleased with these actions," Fallin said. "But I encourage everyone to approach this effort in a constructive fashion in order to honor the will of the citizens of Oklahoma who want a balanced and responsible medical marijuana law."State Question 788 required the Oklahoma State Department of Health to start the application process by July 26. Completed licensing forms can be turned in on Aug. 25.The rules could draw legal challenges by the state's burgeoning cannabis industry, or by advocates who have campaigned for years to adopt medical marijuana.Bud Scott, executive director of New Health Solutions Oklahoma, said after the board's vote Tuesday that it would be financially unfeasible for every dispensary to employ a pharmacist, and that the rules ban products that are widely available in other states with medical marijuana laws.In a news release on Wednesday, the group's Political Director Jed Green said the rules are designed to hamstring the industry."By refusing to show leadership and call a special session, the governor's office has handed over implementation of Oklahoma's medical cannabis program to a group of bureaucrats that are beholden to the special interest groups that fought State Question 788," Green said.The group, which is one of two cannabis trade organizations based in Oklahoma, did not say whether they would challenge the law. Most Americans are ill-prepared for retirement. Half of private-sector workers don't have an employer-sponsored retirement plan and only a small percentage of those 57 million people have saved enough on their own to retire. But that's starting to change.This July, Oregon will become the first state to offer a retirement plan to part- and full-time private-sector workers who don't have access to one through their employer. The program is ultimately expected to cover nearly one million workers in the state.Six other states -- California, Connecticut, Illinois, Maryland, New Jersey and Washington -- are also planning to roll out similar programs within the next five years. When that happens, the seven states will cover nearly one-quarter of the nation's private-sector workers without an employer-sponsored retirement plan.Called Secure Choice, these programs have been catching on since California in 2012 decided to study the feasibility of creating one. They aren't pensions but instead independently managed and pooled retirement accounts. The programs pay for themselves through fees, so states aren't liable for the cost. In addition to the seven states that have approved a program, at least eight other states -- including populous New York -- have or are considering legislation to launch their own.Experts have long warned that states will end up paying for a poor retiree's social services needs unless something changes. That's helped fuel bipartisan support in an era of constrained state finances. "We've heard back from conservative bill sponsors in state such as Arkansas and Utah, and they are saying, 'This is an approach where we can save taxpayer dollars,'" said Sarah Gill, senior legislative representative for AARP. "This is about personal responsibility and helping people be independent as they age -- this is not a red or blue state issue."A recent study put actual dollar figures to those potential savings. Segal Consulting found that 15 states could save more than $100 million each in Medicaid payments in the first 10 years after a retirement savings plan is introduced. Their total projected savings would approach $5 billion. Among the eight states that are implementing retirement programs, Segal estimates their combined savings could total nearly $1.5 billion.There have been two approaches to crafting Secure Choice programs. New Jersey and Washington state will open small business retirement marketplaces, where employers can shop for a retirement plan that fits their business model. But the more common approach is to offer 401(k)-style retirement plans directly to employees through a payroll deduction.A common feature of both styles is to automatically enroll employees into a retirement plan, which studies have shown make it much more likely people will save for retirement. Nevertheless, employees can opt out if they choose.Still, each state's plan has its own unique components. To get more employers to offer retirement plans, Maryland is waiving the annual business license fee for businesses that already offer one and for businesses that eventually will through the state.AARP's Gill expects the momentum for Secure Choice to continue -- if not speed up. Those interested "are very different states, so that covers a lot of ground nationally," she said. "Now what we're seeing is the length of time it takes for states to pass bills is getting shorter." A Booming Problem Pills to Heroin In Search of Sobriety When Clifton Hilton decided to quit drinking this month, he called a residential drug and alcohol detoxification center in this coastal Maine city on a Friday afternoon and was told a bed was available for him. But by the time he arrived on a bus from Bangor the next morning, the bed had been taken.I just walked the streets for five days, Hilton said. It wasnt until Wednesday that the Portland detox facility, the Milestone Foundation, had an open bed for him.Hilton, 70, is more fortunate than most of Maines growing number of low-income seniors with a drug or alcohol abuse problem. He was able to find help for his alcohol addiction and said he expects to secure a spot at Milestones sober housing facility in Old Orchard Beach once he gets straightened out.As the nations opioid addiction epidemic expands, older adults in Maine and other states face mounting barriers to getting help for abuse of alcohol and opioid painkillers not the least of which is finding they are squeezed out of scarce treatment facilities by younger people with prescription drug or heroin habits.And thats only if they seek help. Many older Americans are reluctant to ask for it out of shame of being an addict at this point in their lives creating what addiction experts call a silent epidemic.The silent epidemic also distorts the true toll that addiction has on the nation. Drug-related deaths of the elderly are often undercounted because its assumed on death certificates that they died of their age-related illness, not an overdose of pain pills, said Dr. Andrew Kolodny, who runs a New York-based group of addiction treatment centers.Despite the relatively low number of older adults reported dying from an overdose, a new analysis from Stanford University shows that people covered by Medicare the federal health care program for people 65 and older and those with disabilities have among the highest and most rapidly growing prevalence of opioid use disorder. More than 6 out of every 1,000 Medicare patients are diagnosed with an opioid disorder, compared with 1 of every 1,000 patients covered by commercial insurance plans, according to the report.But getting treatment can be expensive. Seniors who do seek help find that Medicare does not cover most types of addiction treatment, something advocates have been trying to persuade the federal government to change for years.Low-income seniors who are unable to pay for treatment find few options in Maine and 18 other states where Medicaid coverage for the poor has not been expanded under the Affordable Care Act to cover able-bodied adults.Like Hilton, many older addicts face waiting lists at treatment facilities. And elderly people with prescription painkiller or heroin addictions often are less able to cope with the wait because they lack transportation, family support and the stamina to persevere.For the vast majority of addicted seniors, habitual and heavy drinking is the problem. Because elders are often isolated from family and friends, particularly in rural parts of the nation, their drinking problems go undetected until they end up in a hospital from a fall or serious alcohol-related health problems.When elderly alcohol addicts are referred to treatment, they often end up in a situation similar to the one Hilton faced here.Just two years ago, 90 percent of our beds were available for people with alcohol disorders, said Milestones director Bob Fowler. Today, more than half are taken by people with opioid addictions.Hilton, a native of Damariscotta, a small town up the coast from Portland, quickly makes clear that alcohol was all he ever used. As a trucker in his working years, he said he once smoked a joint.It put me in a coma, he said. A six-pack of beer would do the same thing for me. I was never into drugs, never. I couldnt see the price of it.The vast majority of people 65 and older with a substance abuse problem use alcohol, according to national surveys conducted by the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. It is more culturally accepted among older people here in Maine and in most of the country and more readily available.And while younger people may have access to heroin and illicit prescription drugs through their social contacts, many elders see alcohol as their only option to ease the physical pain and loneliness of aging.But a growing number of seniors are quietly becoming addicted to prescription pain medicines such as OxyContin, Vicodin and Percocet, and sedatives such as Xanax, Valium and Ativan.A new study by researchers at Texas State University and the University of Michigan indicates a significant increase in the abuse of prescription painkillers and sedatives among people age 65 and older since 2003. Its a trend the researchers warn could result in increased harm to older Americans if additional public health measures are not taken.In Maine, where the median age is 44, making it the oldest state in the country, there is a growing need to expand addiction treatment and prevention for older Mainers. The aging of the baby boomers, born between 1946 and 1964, portends an expanding elderly drug abuse epidemic nationwide.According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, Baby boomers' histories of illicit drug use, and their relatively tolerant attitudes toward it, along with the fact that they now comprise nearly 30 percent of the nations population, have raised the stakes on understanding and responding effectively to drug abuse among older adults.So far though, state responses to the opioid epidemic have largely been aimed at younger people and those involved in the criminal justice system.As states and the federal government devote more money to expanding access to medication-assisted addiction treatment, seniors may benefit along with everyone else, Kolodny said.But most state and local programs, including outreach and education efforts, are not tailored for older people. Its an underreported problem that needs addressing, he said.Nationwide, the prevalence of seniors addicted to prescription medications has been growing for more than a decade. Since the mid-1990s when doctors began liberally handing out opioid painkillers, elderly people as a group have received a disproportionate share of those prescriptions because of age-related pain.Many became addicted, but typically were able to continue taking their medications because doctors considered their worsening pain a natural part of the aging process.But in recent years, tighter prescription drug monitoring laws have made it more difficult for seniors and others to continue taking high doses of opioid medications prescribed by their doctors. In many states, physicians must check patients prescription drug history to see if they are taking pills prescribed by more than one doctor. If so, they may limit patients doses, prescribe fewer pills or cut them off altogether.As a result, some seniors have begun seeking illicit drugs, making their addictions more visible in places like needle exchanges and public health clinics.Maines prescription drug law, enacted in April, is among the strictest in the nation. It limits both the duration and the dosage of prescriptions, and requires doctors to check a patients opioid painkiller and sedative prescription history before handing out more pills.The new law, combined with Maines relatively old population and abundant supply of illicit drugs, makes the opioid problem among the elderly particularly acute here in Portland.The fallout from the opioid epidemic on older people is complicated, said Dr. Jabbar Fazeli, a geriatric specialist in Portland.The opioid frenzy is getting so much attention that it affects patients and families, he said. Many are afraid to take painkillers even when they are recommended. Weve gone from a concern that were undertreating pain to the other extreme.Still, he said, Maine is doing the right thing to restrict opioid and sedative prescribing. But time will tell whether curtailing the number of pills doctors prescribe will lower the overdose death toll. So far, that hasnt happened in Maine.After Maine tightened the rules on opioid painkiller prescribing in its Medicaid program in 2012, state data indicated more people moved to heroin and other illicit drugs, Fazeli said, and the number of overdose deaths did not decline.The number of seniors coming into Portlands health department who have turned to heroin doubled in the last year, although the total number remains relatively small, according to the facilitys patient log. Social workers at the clinic say they also are increasingly hearing from younger drug users that their parents or grandparents are abusing prescription medications or using illicit drugs, but refuse to seek treatment.Outside of a hospital emergency department, Milestone is the only publicly funded residential facility in Maine where people with drug or alcohol addictions can get medical detoxification assistance.Milestones medical director, Dr. Mary Dowd, said shes seeing seniors who have increased their alcohol intake to blunt physical and emotional pain when the prescription painkillers or sedatives theyve been taking are no longer available.For Hilton, drinking has been a lifelong problem. He started when he was 13. His parents drank. But he said hes had some wonderful years of sobriety and doesnt want to waste any more time.Wearing a clean white T-shirt, black jeans and brand new lumberjack boots, he says hes ready for a fresh start. Hilton said he has been homeless since his wife died two decades ago, but he managed to stay sober for the last seven years, until his brother committed suicide in June.His most recent years of sobriety started at Milestone in 2009, when he lived and worked at its Old Orchard Beach sober living facility.I had good sobriety there, he said. It was a close-knit group. He wonders whether Big Scott, Slippery Beth or any of his other old pals will still be there. Texas Supreme Court Justice Nathan Hecht, left, and attorney Ed Shack, right, go over notes and talk before testimony to the Texas Ethics Commission Thursday, Dec. 4, 2008, in Austin, Texas. Investigators found that Justice Hecht broke campaign finance laws by failing to report a political contribution from a major Texas law firm. Hecht disputes the allegation and is awaiting judgment from the Texas Ethics Commission. (AP Photo/Harry Cabluck) Harry Cabluck/AP As New Jersey Senate President Stephen M. Sweeney, right, D-West Deptford, N.J., and Assembly Speaker Vincent Prieto, second right, D-Secaucus, N.J., listen, Gov. Chris Christie, left at podium, addresses a joint session of New Jersey's legislature after calling for a Special Session to work on overhaul New Jersey's bail system Thursday, July 31, 2014, in Trenton, N.J. Christie urged lawmakers to pass a pair of bills that would let judges keep suspects who are considered dangerous in jail as they await trial and release low-level suspects without requiring them to pay. (AP Photo/Mel Evans) Mel Evans/AP Houston police pulled over Maranda Lynn ODonnell. The 22-year-old had driven through a toll plaza without paying. When officers ran the tags on her car, they found she was driving with a suspended license, didnt carry car insurance and had already racked up $1,487.25 in unpaid tolls. The officers arrested her.During her intake at jail, a pretrial services agent interviewed her and recommended she be released on a personal bond, which doesnt require any upfront payments. Nonetheless, the next day a hearing officer set her bail at $2,500.Some people have the resources to post bond on their own. But most dont. Instead, they turn to a bail agent who, for a fee -- typically 10 percent of the total bond -- puts up a promissory note for the total bail amount. In theory, the bonding agent will pay that amount if the person fails to appear. To bail herself out of jail, ODonnell needed $250. But she had just started a new job at a restaurant, and she didnt have any friends or family who could come up with the money. As a result, ODonnell, the mother of a 4-year-old girl, stayed in jail for three days.Its long been a basic principle of constitutional law that no human being can be put in a cage because she cant make a payment, says Alec Karakatsanis of the nonprofit Civil Rights Corps, one of a group of organizations currently suing Harris County over its bond practices. Yet its happening everywhere.Every year, more than 10 million Americans are arrested and taken to jail. Most are released. However, on any given day, jails house some 700,000 people. A large majority of them are there because they cant afford to make bail. On a typical day in Harris County, 9,000 people are locked up in the county jail system. A significant number of them are low-risk offenders awaiting trial on misdemeanor charges who cant post bail.Texas policymakers knew they had a growing problem. Twenty years ago, 1 in 3 jail inmates in the state was awaiting trial. By 2017, that had escalated to 3 out of 4. Mostly, these were people who could not afford to make bail. Jail time cost people their jobs, their houses, even their families. It also cost Texas taxpayers: A billion dollars a year was spent on pretrial housing.To Texas Chief Justice Nathan Hecht, the system looked ripe for reform. The Texas Judicial Council duly recommended a series of fixes: Expand the use of risk assessment tools to help judges better gauge flight risks and potential danger to the community; change the constitution to create a presumption of release on personal bond for low-risk defendants; and allow judges to deny bail to any high-risk defendants. (As it was, judges could only deny bail in capital murder cases.)The conservative Texas Public Policy Foundation signed off on the proposal. So did influential Republican and Democratic lawmakers. To lead a legislative effort to turn the ideas into law, Hecht turned to Sen. John Whitmire, the Democratic chairman of the Senate Criminal Justice Committee, and Rep. Andrew Murr, a Republican former judge. Legislatively, it seemed like a sure thing, except for one group -- the states bail bondsmen.Bail is a big business. Of the $14 billion in bonds that are issued across the country each year, some $2 billion is profit for bail bond companies themselves. Nationally, there are more than 25,000 such companies; Texas alone has hundreds, maybe thousands of bail bondsmen. Whitmire and Murrs bill threatened the bail industry by encouraging courts to release more low-risk arrestees without requiring so-called surety bonds. Ironically, what elicited even greater opposition was that bail reform was too tough: Letting judges deny bail to high-risk individuals was a blow to bail companies, since they earn higher fees on higher-risk defendants. The bill was defeated. This is the classic case of a powerful special interest being able to block legislation that would change a system that they literally make millions of dollars off of every year, says Whitmire.Hecht was stunned by the loss. The logic of it was so strong, the benefits were so clearly demonstrable and the politics so bipartisan, he says. Bipartisan things just dont come along very often these days. I did not think it would be as hard as it turned out to be.Welcome to the upside-down world of bail in America. A system that dates back to medieval England is resisting 21st-century updates, at least in this country. While a few states and localities have taken meaningful steps toward reform -- relying on risk evaluations and pretrial services rather than cash bail for low-level offenders -- their efforts are threatened by significant pushback.Right now, Americas cash bail system itself is on trial. Earlier this year, Marylands Court of Appeals issued rules that ban the practice of holding low-risk, misdemeanor offenders on money bonds. In April, a federal judge in Houston found that Harris County has a consistent and systematic policy of imposing cash bail on defendants in misdemeanor cases and that these de facto detention orders effectively operate only against the indigent, who would be released if they could pay at least a bondsmans premium, but who cannot. Civil rights attorneys have brought, and in many cases won, similar cases in Alabama, Mississippi and Tennessee.In other states, court systems are making changes proactively. In Arizona, a criminal justice task force convened by Chief Justice Scott Bales developed rule changes that have lowered the states pretrial incarceration rate by encouraging judges to utilize nonjail alternatives and pay closer attention to defendants financial circumstances when setting bail bonds. In July, courts in New Mexico began to operate under new rules that prohibit judges from requiring money bail for low-risk offenders who cant afford it. According to the Laura and John Arnold Foundation, more than 40 states now have task forces or commissions considering changes to bail and pretrial detention.The most sweeping changes, however, have taken place in New Jersey. On Jan. 1, the state rolled out a new pretrial system, developed jointly by the administration of Gov. Chris Christie, the legislature and advocates of criminal justice reform. Three years in the making, it comprises statutory and constitutional changes, including ones that allow judges to detain high-risk arrestees. Previously, New Jersey, like Texas, could only deny bail to people arrested for capital murder. In addition, the New Jersey measure provides funding for a robust network of statewide pretrial services. The state has also adopted a risk assessment system (developed by the Arnold Foundation) that gives judges a better sense of the potential dangers posed by people being released from jail.One of the results of reform has been the virtual disappearance of commercial surety bonds from the criminal justice system in New Jersey. That has devastated the states bail bonds industry and alarmed the companies that insure the bondsmens bonds.Jeffrey Clayton, who heads the American Bail Coalition, says that when New Jersey voters approved the changes to the constitution, they had intended to adjust only the top end of the system and the bottom end -- let judges lock up the most dangerous offenders until trial and let low-level offenders go home. In Claytons opinion, the voters hadnt meant to end the commercial bail system for felony-level offenders. Although the industry had expected reform to cut its business in half, it has lost 100 percent, says Clayton.The industry is fighting back in New Jersey and everywhere else. It has filed lawsuits challenging the reforms in New Jersey and New Mexico and is pushing Harris County to appeal the decision against it in court. It plans to urge the Maryland Legislature to overturn the reform rules the states court system put in place. These actions are part of a broader argument made by anti-reform factions: Risk assessment is not a safe or effective substitute for cash bail.of Anglo-American legal systems. In medieval England, courts released all but the most dangerous offenders before their trial. To guarantee that defendants appeared at trial, courts also required bail bonds. The amount of bond was pegged to the severity of the crime and the defendants ability to pay.At the beginning of the 20th century, bail bonds became a business. Bail companies began to sign surety bonds with the courts, which in turn were insured by commercial insurers. Bail bondsmen were then responsible for ensuring that defendants appeared in court. That appeared to spare the government the expense of monitoring people out on bail. As a result, the cash bail system grew quickly. But over time disparities emerged. People who had no resources often languished in jail. In order to get out, they pleaded guilty to felony offenses at a higher rate than people who paid bail. Longer jail stays were associated with worse future outcomes. A disproportionate number of the people experiencing the adverse effects of pretrial detention were minorities.In the 1960s, the Vera Institute of Justice began to explore an alternative: releasing people without a secured bail bond. The institute started with a question: What were the characteristics of people who showed up for trial without posting a secured bond? Certain features quickly surfaced, such as prior criminal record, employment history and family connections to the community. The institute generated risk scores that could be used to make recommendations regarding pretrial release. After three years of trial, the project found that defendants released on nonfinancial conditions (based on risk scores) appeared for their day in court three times more frequently than similar defendants released on surety bail bonds.Risk assessment was born. Releases on recognizance increased sharply in the 1970s and most of the 1980s, as judges made roughly equal use of surety bonds and personal recognizance. That began to change in the late 1980s. Congress passed legislation that allowed courts to factor into bail decisions not just the likelihood of a defendant appearing for trial but also the public safety risk they posed. Most states quickly passed similar directives. Judges responded to the increased concern about public safety by turning more frequently to cash bail. While most large jurisdictions still had pretrial services and made some use of risk assessment systems, they used them inconsistently and ineffectively, according to Cherise Fanno Burdeen, who heads the Pretrial Justice Institute. The result was a sharp rise in the use of cash bail.In the late aughts, Burdeen and others began to advocate for changes. Despite a decade of robust jail building and falling crime rates, jails were overcrowded. Reformers championed a new generation of risk assessment tools and expanded pretrial services. The Arnold Foundation developed one such risk assessment tool, which it piloted successfully in Kentucky and encouraged other jurisdictions to adopt. The bail industry fought back politically, supporting legislation and ballot initiatives in Colorado, Florida, Georgia and Virginia intended to expand the use of secured money bonds. During the Obama administration, however, the U.S. Justice Department hosted a symposium on bail to explore reform strategies, the first since 1968.Investigators also looked into the operations of bail agents. In 2014, New Jerseys State Commission of Investigation published its results, which found that bail bond agencies were being operated by unlicensed individuals, some with criminal records. Bail bond agents often hired people in jail to drum up new clients. The commission also found that New Jerseys counties routinely failed to capture tens of millions of dollars in forfeited bail. Instead, penalties were often negotiated and settled for pennies on the dollar. The bail system as a whole, according to the commission, was highly prone to subversion by unscrupulous and improper practices that make a mockery of the public trust.Soon thereafter, New Jersey began work on overhauling the system, the results of which were launched this year.Faced with the kinds of criticisms that surfaced in the New Jersey report, the bail industry claims to have retrenched. Clayton of the American Bail Coalition says the industry isnt opposed to making it easier to release low-risk, misdemeanor defendants. It just wants to preserve a role for money bail in felony cases. The key core of our business is high-risk felony cases, says Clayton. Thats where judges should use us.But that belies the attacks the bail industry is taking against reforms, particularly the use of risk assessment. In states such as Colorado, Maryland, New Mexico and Texas, the industry has mounted broad attacks on measures the states have put in place, raising questions of effectiveness, safety and expense. One of the key arguments is that pretrial services and supervision -- a key component of a risk assessment approach -- will open sinkholes in state budgets.Pretrial services can indeed be expensive. Washington, D.C.s pretrial services program is often held up as a model, but it costs $60 million a year. Thats a figure that Tara Blair, who runs Kentuckys statewide pretrial services division, says gives the cost of pretrial services a bad name. Her state manages to provide effective pretrial services to a population of 4.4 million for just under $14 million a year. Urban localities such as Toledo, Ohio; Allegheny County, Pa.; and Denver have found ways to keep bail reform costs in check. Denvers Community Corrections Department, for instance, began to implement risk assessment in 2012 and enhanced its pretrial services program the following year. Denver now releases without a secure bond 40 percent of people arrested on felonies.One cost of the program is the monitoring of those released on bond. Greg Mauro, who runs Denvers pretrial services department, says its tempting to aggressively monitor lots of people after such systems are first put in place, but that most agencies find over time that its not necessary. Although his corrections department uses GPS bracelets to monitor some arrestees, many are supervised using less-restrictive methods. One innovation that dramatically boosted court appearance rates: texting people reminders.Burdeen is worried about one of the points Mauro makes: the tendency to monitor aggressively. I fear that we let all these people out without posting bonds, but we will saddle them with so many conditions for release and with surveillance to such a degree that we will have incarcerated them again. She sees this as something to be mindful of when building alternatives.Several rural counties have also found simple ways to provide pretrial services economically. Faced with a continual jail overcrowding problem, Major Michael Merican, who ran the jail in rural St. Marys County, Md., until a recent promotion, decided it was just as easy to supervise many of the countys arrestees outside of jail as inside. St. Marys borrowed a tool from Montgomery County, a wealthy suburban county near Washington, D.C., with a well-regarded pretrial services program: the use of drug screening and GPS bracelets. He then directed two jail staffers to provide pretrial services; another deputy on light duty keeps tabs on inmates who are released under GPS monitoring. There is no need to reinvent the wheel here, says Merican. Most any jail with a work release program is already set up for pretrial services to a certain degree.The success of the pretrial program, along with other initiatives, allowed St. Marys to ease overcrowding. Moreover, 99 percent of the people who go through the pretrial program show up for court dates; 70 percent are not sentenced to additional jail time.Passaic County, N.J., Judge Ernest Caposela, one of the three judges to pilot New Jerseys new pretrial system, says hes seeing similar improvements in his state. The states pretrial jail population has fallen by 20 percent since the beginning of the year.New Jersey judges are realizing that the most effective way to ensure that someone appears in court is to remind them that they have a court date, just like when you have a dentist appointment, Caposela says. Other more intensive measures of supervision include a weekly call in or report in to pretrial services. Only about 5 percent of people are actually ordered to wear ankle bracelets, according to Caposela, and that number is going down.As part of its reforms, New Jersey also invested in IT upgrades that give judges and prosecutors a better sense of defendants histories and overall life situations. That, along with provisions designed to speed up trials, has had profound effects. Theyve encouraged prosecutors and judges to think about defendants in a different way. With early factual analysis, we are able to make an early diagnosis, says Caposela. Does this person need surgery -- such as a heavy dose of the criminal justice system -- or can we put a cast on it and send it home?That is potentially momentous change. Instead of thinking about defendants engaged in a case in an adversarial court system, the new framework is encouraging prosecutors and judges to think about arrestees as people in need of help or correction. New Jerseys approach to bail reform is a model of careful planning. It is sure to inspire reform-minded legislators in the years to come, just as the reforms championed by the highest courts of Arizona and Maryland will inspire other state supreme courts to act.Back in Texas, Chief Justice Hecht is trying a different tack. Hes going straight to localities. The impetus came from two neighboring but very different counties -- Dallas County, which is heavily Democratic, and Tarrant County, home to Fort Worth, which is staunchly Republican. Despite their political differences, in the months after the failure of bail reform in the legislature, both approached the Supreme Court with the same message: We want to do bail reform; and we want your help to move ahead.Hecht agreed that the Supreme Court would provide help identifying best practices. These days, he is spending time talking with jurisdictions around the state and offering technical assistance. Its really fascinating, he says. When there is this kind of failure of state policy, local government can just come right in. Theres nothing to prevent judges from doing it themselves. It is totally up to them. On Sunday, His Excellency the Honourable Paul de Jersey AC and Mrs Kaye de Jersey attended the afternoon service of Eucharist at St Johns Anglican Cathedral, Brisbane. A criminal case for blocking the highway near Chasiv Yar in Donetsk region has been opened, as well as an internal investigation into the use of special gear by police. "Police from the Bakhmutsky district unblocked the road. Member of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Semen Semenchenko (Samopomich faction) was there and behaved erratically, swore at police officers and blocked traffic. He was reminded of this several times," chief of the main directorate of the National Police of Ukraine in Donetsk region Viacheslav Abroskin said during a briefing in Kyiv on Tuesday. Abroskin said, "No one has the right to block a road during time of war not a parliament deputy, nor a chief of police or anyone else, who considers himself or herself to be a law-abiding Ukrainian citizen." He said the highway blockage was documented and information about the incident was added to the national register of pretrial investigations. "There is a corresponding criminal offense pursuant to an article on blocking roadways. I think investigators will have their say on the actions of each participant of this event," Abroskin said. He added that a special investigation was ordered into whether police used special equipment, saying an internal investigation is underway. "Case materials will be sent to the Donetsk region's Prosecutor General's Office to determine whether a crime was committed," he said. Parliament's Samopomich faction on Tuesday called on the Rada's law-enforcement committee to conduct a special meeting to review the episode involving the unblocking of the highway in Donetsk region by activists. Description GIS - 07 February, 2017: Mauritius is all geared to be the connecting dot between Asia and Africa and India is well positioned to use our island as a stepping stone to set up trades and other business in the continent. Mauritius is a financial corridor par excellence to African countries, offering exceptional advantages at several levels. Mauritius is all geared to be the connecting dot between Asia and Africa and India is well positioned to use our island as a stepping stone to set up trades and other business in the continent. Mauritius is a financial corridor par excellence to African countries, offering exceptional advantages at several levels. This statement was made yesterday by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Regional Integration and International Trade, Mr S. Lutchmeenaraidoo, during the Business Networking Conference of the Confederation of Indian Industry held in Bagatelle. He invited Indian investors to use Mauritius as a springboard to set up operations in Africa. The Foreign Affairs Minister welcomed the strengthening of economic relations between Mauritius and India since the visit of Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi in March 2015. He pointed out that the participation of India in major development projects in Mauritius is a clear sign of a new era of bilateral cooperation. Minister Lutchmeenaraidoo highlighted that doing business with Africa is one of the three pillars to boost the Mauritian economy along with the blue economy and the Maritime Hub. Mauritius relies heavily on strategic partnerships to develop new activities and in this context it seeks to encourage Indian operators to take an interest in them and to explore ways of collaboration within the framework of South-South cooperation, he added. He underscored that with a new opening strategy, Mauritius can become a regional power within the next ten to fifteen years. He further explained the Mauritian approach to putting in place instruments such as special purpose vehicles to channel international capital towards development projects in Africa. Description GIS 07 February, 2017: It is through innovation that we will develop our competitive edge and differentiate our markets and products while enhancing job creation and wealth generation, said the Minister of Technology, Communication and Innovation, Mr Yogida Sawmynaden, this morning at Le Sirius, Labourdonnais Waterfront Hotel, in Port Louis. The Minister was speaking at the opening of the second leg of the European Unions (EU) seminar on Horizon 2020 and Erasmus+ programmes. The event brings together researchers, innovators and students who want to learn how to prepare a good proposal for Horizon 2020 or Erasmus+. The aim is to present participants with information on, as well as how to tap in, exciting funding opportunities under both these EU programmes. In his address, Mr Sawmynaden stressed that Government fully acknowledges that investing in Research and Innovation will be highly beneficial for the future of the country, adding that Rs 150 million have been earmarked for the promotion of innovation for financial year 2016-2017. According to the Minister, innovation requires effective implementation, and this cannot be achieved in a sustainable manner at country level, unless a structured framework is put in place that allows the doers of innovation to operate and grow. To that end, he announced the introduction of a National Innovation Framework which is designed to focus our strategy for innovation through an understanding of the priority areas for Mauritius and where scientific, technological and social entrepreneurs can collaborate and maximise their collective impact. For her part, the Head of the EU delegation to Mauritius, Ambassador Marjaana Sall, observed that through the Horizon 2020 programme, the EU has invested considerably in research and innovation given the potential of this sector to increase competitiveness and employment. Mauritius, she pointed out, has also identified research and innovation as key drivers for the economy which are needed for the country to achieve the High Income Status. Mauritius is, as at date, currently involved in two Horizon 2020 projects with a participation in the area of Leadership in enabling and industrial technologies (LEIT) and in the Marie Skodowska - Curie Actions. EUs Horizon 2020 is the worlds largest multinational programme supporting science, research and innovation in many different areas, from blue sky research to demonstration projects, to develop new ideas and bring products and services to the market. Erasmus+, equally an EU programme specifically for education, training, youth and sport, supports, amongst others: opportunities to study, train, gain work experience or volunteer abroad; education, training and youth sector staff to teach or learn abroad. Description GIS - 07 February, 2017: A delegation from the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) led by Mr S. Kuppuswamy paid a courtesy call on the Prime Minister, Mr Pravind Kumar Jugnauth, yesterday at the New Treasury Building in Port Louis. A delegation from the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII)led by MrS. Kuppuswamypaid a courtesy call on the Prime Minister, Mr Pravind Kumar Jugnauth, yesterday at the New Treasury Building in Port Louis. The delegation which is on a two-day visit to Mauritius to explore business opportunities had several meetings with captains of the business industry in Mauritius. A business networking conference was also scheduled yesterday in the presence of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Regional Integration and International Trade, Mr Seetanah Lutchmeenaraidoo. In a statement following the courtesy call, the CII mission leader, Mr S. Kuppuswamy spoke of the fruitful discussions with the Prime Minister which focused on furthering the economic and trade relationships between India and Mauritius. Mr S. Kuppuswamy added that Prime Minister Jugnauth also invited the Indian investors to collaborate with Mauritius to tap business opportunities in Senegal, Ghana and other parts of the African continent while he recalled the setting up of a first Special Economic Zone in Senegal recently. The mission leader also highlighted that the Prime Minister evoked the possibility for Indian businessmen to use Mauritius as gateway to access business opportunities in other continents such as Africa, America and Europe. The Indian delegation responded positively to the request of the Prime Minister. It will be recalled that the CII which is a non-government, non-profit making industry which works to create an environment conducive to the development of India partnering industry. It regroups Indian businessmen operating in the fields of ICT, textile and manufacturing, construction, among others. Digital Democracy, a Web platform that creates a searchable archive of videos and transcripts from hearings inside of statehouses, launched in New York Tuesday, Feb. 6, and its leadership announced subsequent plans to make the resource available soon in Florida and Texas.Started as a bipartisan effort in 2015 to increase the transparency and accessibility of Californias state government , Digital Democracy is spearheaded by Californias Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) and former Sen. Sam Blakeslee (R). The platform is developed and maintained by a team of about 20 engineering and political science students at the Institute for Advanced Technology and Public Policy, which was founded by Blakeslee and is located at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo.With Digital Democracy, anyone can search keywords, such as education funding or climate change, to find listings for hearings in which the words were used, complete with videos and transcripts of the moment they were discussed. Users can also set email alerts, edit videos and share them via email or social media. The transcripts created by the platform are a new data set previously unavailable to the public, complete with votes, speakers, positions registered and speaker affiliations.Blakeslee toldthat given the current political climate in which President Donald Trump appears poised to shift decisions about medical care, immigration, climate change and public lands to the states open state government has never been more important.Virtually every major policy issue that affects our lives is rapidly devolving to state capitols, Blakeslee said. We need to have the tools to hold our elected representatives accountable as they make decisions on these weighty issues.Digital Democracy has already proven especially popular among journalists in California. Blakeslee pointed to an irony in which statehouse press corps were diminished when newspaper profit margins dropped due to technology, but now this new technology is poised to enable even small-town papers to cover state legislatures as if they had a capitol bureau.In the spring, Blakeslee said Digital Democracy will be rolling out a feature called Mobilized, which will allow nonprofit organizations and advocacy groups to brand the content and embed it on their own sites. This way they can then curate video footage important to them and the causes or communities they serve.This function is ideal, Blakeslee said, for groups that cant afford high-priced lobbyists to push their priorities and keep pressure on legislatures, because they can now see what their representatives are saying and how they are saying it. They can, in other words, keep their elected officials accountable.Lt. Gov. Newsom stressed the importance of open government in a statement. Technology has transformed the way we engage with business and each other, but the government has been late to the party," he said in the statement. "We are conditioned by a world where tools are customized to our needs, and Digital Democracy is an important extension of that. By opening up statehouses to citizens, Digital Democracy is empowering advocates and individuals with modern organizing tools.It would, of course, be ideal to deploy the technology in all 50 statehouses, from Augusta, Maine, to Salem, Ore. As of today, though, its present in Sacramento, Calif., and Albany, N.Y., with plans for expanding to Austin, Texas, and Tallahassee, Fla., by this time next year. For a state to be eligible for the tech, it must have an existing video feed in its statehouse and a policy allowing public access to that video. As Digital Democracy is funded by donations, finances are also limiting.Labor and ideas, however, are not a problem. Andrew Voorhees, a senior at California Polytechnic State University, is the database lead for Digital Democracy, and he describes a vibrant atmosphere in which a rotation of new students every two years brings fresh faces and renewed vigor. The importance of the project has become evident to Voorhees as hes worked on it.What we do thats unique is we make it easier to search through and find state government information that people are looking for, Voorhees said. Sometimes we have trouble finding it ourselves. (TNS) -- ViaSats latest internet satellite blasted into space Thursday afternoon, furthering the Carlsbad companys strategy of delivering high-speed broadband to more homes and commercial airlines for in-flight Wi-Fi.ViaSat-2, which at 14,149 pounds is the size of four sedans, launched from Guiana Space Center on an Ariane 5 rocket. It was supposed to enter orbit on April 25, but civil unrest in French Guiana delayed blast off until Thursday.With more than 300 gigabits per second of maximum capacity, ViaSat-2 has more than twice the bandwidth of the companys first internet satellite, ViaSat-1, launched six years ago. Its the highest capacity communications satellite ever launched, according to the company.ViaSat-2 represents the latest test to the companys strategy of engineering satellites to maximize speed and low-cost bandwidth in hopes of mitigating concerns over latency the delays as signals travel from space to Earth that can bog down some real-time applications such as online gaming.ViaSat held a blast-off party at its corporate headquarters Thursday, where several hundred employees and guests watched a live stream of the launch.With ViaSat-2, we set out to solve this problem of how do we get capacity and coverage, said Chief Operating Officer Rick Baldridge. We were able to do that. ViaSat-2 has over seven times the coverage of ViaSat-1.ViaSat said the new $625 million satellite, which was built by Boeing Satellite Systems in El Segundo, will allow it to offer residential satellite internet plans with up to 100 megabits per second speeds and virtually unlimited data use challenging cable and telephone line internet in some regions.That beats ViaSats current baseline plans, which start at 12 megabits per second but have usage caps around 10 gigabits per month.Launched in 2011, ViaSat-1 is full with 660,000 subscribers. It will take several months to test and position ViaSat-2 in its orbital slot 22,000 miles above Earth. The company expects to begin offering service in January.Competitor Hughes Network Systems, owned by EchoStar, already launched its second high capacity internet satellite, giving it about a seven-month head start on ViaSat-2.But analysts say theres room for both. About 14 million U.S. households are outside the footprint of cable or telephone company high speed internet services. But only 1.7 million currently subscribe to satellite internet, according to Northern Sky Research.For commercial flights, ViaSat-2 aims to deliver 25 megabit speeds or better to each passenger airplane, and widen geographic coverage beyond the U.S. The satellites footprint reaches the Caribbean, Mexico, Central America, parts of South America and across the Atlantic.Once in Europe, ViaSat-2 would hand off in-flight Wi-Fi to satellites of partner Eutelsat, but the switch would be seamless to users, the company said.In fact, with ViaSat-2, youll be able to fly from the U.S. West Coast all the way across the Atlantic and through Europe to the Middle East with ViaSats network, said David Abrahamian, director of space systems at ViaSat.The company currently powers free inflight Wi-Fi on JetBlue, as well as some American Airlines and United Airlines commercial aircraft. More than 550 aircraft use its technology today, which is fast enough for passengers to watch Netflix and Amazon Prime video on their mobile devices in the air.About 830 additional commercial aircraft are in the pipeline to be retrofitted with antennas for ViaSat-powered onboard Wi-Fi.Northern Sky Research forecasts in-flight connectivity will be installed on two out of every three commercial passenger aircraft worldwide by the end of 2026, driven by higher demand for broadband connectivity. The industry research firm said inflight Wi-Fi could generate $32 billion in revenue over the next decade.While ViaSat pushed the market toward faster in-flight Wi-Fi, competitors are fighting back. Gogo, a Chicago company that provides cellular-based ground-to-air Wi-Fi to airlines, has developed a new antenna and leased space on existing satellites to provide faster speeds. It is battling with ViaSat and others for a pending Wi-Fi upgrade contract at Alaska Airlines, according to analysts.ViaSat-2 isnt the end for the company. Its currently building payloads for ViaSat-3 a three satellite constellation slated to begin launching in 2019.Each ViaSat-3 satellite will have 1 terabit-per-second maximum capacity more than triple that of ViaSat-2. When all are in orbit, the company will have global coverage.Whats really important is ViaSat-2 is a stepping stone to ViaSat-3, said Baldridge. Two of those satellites are already under construction with our Boeing partner. We just cant wait to get there in a couple years. The California Supreme Court is mulling new rules that could require any government business conducted on personal telephones and computers be made public.At a December hearing, the court discussed a case involving a community activist who filed public records requests after he suspected alleged backroom dealing at San Jose City Hall regarding funding for a downtown development project, according to a report from the. Now eight years after the close of the project, the activist, Ted Smith, apparently has yet to see some of the information he solicited.Smiths case could produce new rules that would extend the California Public Records Act to include business-related communication made via personal technology. The Supreme Courts discussion has many officials wondering what the costs and benefits of these potential rules could be.The report notes that several local public-sector associations say that the new rules would be a costly burden, especially as state funding for the public records mandate has disappeared, and urge the state to side with San Jose. On the flipside, media lawyer Karl Olson argues that without extending the requirements, officials could purposely conceal communications by using personal devices.While many from both the public and private sectors continue weighing in on the repercussions of extending the California State Records Act, questions surrounding the future of the mandate still remain. The California Supreme Court is scheduled to make a decision on Smiths case by early March. McLaren has now confirmed the departure of Jost Capito. Just four months after he started work, it emerged before Christmas that the 58-year-old German - who had left VW to be McLaren's new CEO - was in fact now leaving McLaren. The news came amid a period of upheaval for the beleaguered British team, whose supremo Ron Dennis was ousted at the end of a bitter shareholders dispute. Indeed, it has emerged that McLaren will drop the iconic "MP4" - which for decades had referred to Dennis' 'Project 4' organisation - from its car name for 2017. And now, Italy's Corriere della Sera confirms that Capito has in fact left the team. A team spokesman told GMM: "Regrettably, we have not been able to find common ground with Jost with regard to what is and will be needed to make the team successful again. "As a result, we have agreed that he will leave McLaren Racing and will now consider other opportunities. We wish him success in his future endeavours." (GMM) The Verkhovna Rada has appealed to the parliaments of foreign countries and international organizations regarding condemnation of escalation of the armed aggression unleashed by Russia against Ukraine. Some 258 deputies voted for resolution No. 6039 on Tuesday night. "The Verkhovna Rada calls on the parliaments of foreign states and international organizations to condemn the Russian Federation for the violation of the ceasefire regime stipulated in the Minsk agreements, deliberate destruction of Avdiyivka in Donetsk region by irregular and regular armed formations of the Russian Federation and barbaric attacks on infrastructure that is vital to civilians' survival," the resolution says. Two weeks later, Pascal Wehrlein is still recovering from a scary rollover crash that occurred during the race of champions event in Miami. Last month, the Sauber driver was sidelined by doctors at the event after rolling a bizarre three-wheeler into a barrier following contact with Felipe Massa. "It's no more than mild discomfort but my real priority for the coming year is my formula one season," German Wehrlein, 22, said at the time. Now, Germany's Auto Motor und Sport reports that Wehrlein "obviously injured himself more heavily" than that and could miss the start of F1 testing later this month. "Wehrlein suffered a neck injury that requires a longer healing phase," explained correspondent Michael Schmidt. It is alarming news for Wehrlein, given the fact that drivers are currently increasing the strength of their necks for the much faster cars of 2017. Schmidt continued: "A doctor will decide at the end of next week whether Wehrlein can do the Barcelona testing in three weeks." The report added that new Ferrari reserve Antonio Giovinazzi could be called up as a substitute. But Sauber said on Twitter that the reports "are pure speculation". "The medical examinations are still ongoing," the Swiss team added. "We will provide information in due time." (GMM) Interfax-Ukraine to host press conference 'Searches at Lawyers' as a Form of Pressure on the Judicial Process, Revenge for their Human Rights Activities' On Wednesday, February 8, at 10.30, the Interfax-Ukraine News Agency's press center will host a press conference by lawyers Andriy Mamalyha and Leonid Syvakov titled "Searches at Lawyers' as a Form of Pressure on the Judicial Process, Revenge for their Human Rights Activities." (8/5a Reitarska Street). Admission requires press accreditation. Interfax-Ukraine to host press conference 'The Tragedy at Luhansk Airport on June 14, 2014: Defense Ministry and General Staff are Putting Pressure on the Court by "the officers' letters" in support of General Nazarov, Written as a Blueprint' On Friday, February 10, at 14.00, the Interfax-Ukraine News Agency's press center will host a press conference "The Tragedy at Luhansk Airport on June 14, 2014: Defense Ministry and General Staff are Putting Pressure on the Court by "the officers' letters" in support of General Nazarov, Written as a Blueprint." The participants will include lawyer Vitaly Poghosyan; sister of the deceased paratrooper Iliana Haiduk; Mechanic of IL-76, landed at the airport, Oleksandr Matsiuk; Project Manager at Digests & Analytics Ukraine Vadym Homaha (8/5a Reitarska Street). Registration requires press accreditation. More information by phone: (063) 796 8740. Subsidiary operations of the new Japan-based joint venture are planned for the US and China, each with manufacturing and sales functions. Together with the establishment of these operations, the new company will expand the global supply of motors by creating a robust response to demand from Honda and other vehicle manufacturers. Hitachi Automotive Systems and Honda Motor have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) aiming to establish a joint venture company for the development, manufacture and sales of motors for electric vehicles. Initially, Hitachi will hold 51%, Honda 49% of the new JV, the name of which is still to be determined. The two companies now will conduct formal discussions regarding the establishment of the new company. The signing of the definitive agreement for the establishment of the joint venture company is planned for the end of March 2017. Since Hitachi Automotive Systems first started selling motors for electric vehicles in 1999, it has been refining its technological and product capabilities to develop high-output, lightweight and compact electric vehicle motors. The company has delivered a high volume of these motors to vehicle manufacturers in Japan and throughout the world. Since 1999, when Honda launched its first hybrid car, Insight, the company has focused on expanding its electric vehicle line-up as it continues to enhance its technological and production capabilities with respect to the motors that form the core component of electric vehicles. Going forward, with environmental conservation measures and regulations increasing on a global scale, the market for electric vehicles is expected to continue to grow. Based on this direction, the two companies signed the MoU with the aim of using the collaboration between a vehicle manufacturer and supplier to generate technological synergy and economies of scale that will strengthen their competitive advantage and business foundation for the motors at the core of an electric vehicle system. In parallel to the efforts of the new company, Hitachi Automotive Systems will continue to promote its business operations by maintaining the business relationships it has with vehicle manufacturers that receive their supply of motors from the company. Moreover, Honda will continue to focus on the global promotion of electric vehicles by using motors from the new company as well as the motors it currently manufactures itself in Japan. (Xinhua) 10:36, February 07, 2017 Queen Elizabeth II reached another milestone on Monday when she became the only British monarch in history to celebrate a sapphire anniversary, marking 65 years on the throne. The Queen spent the day at Sandringham in Norfolk, in line with her tradition of spending Accession Day, the anniversary of the day she became monarch, in private. Since 2015, the Queen has been Britain's longest serving monarch, having then overtaken Queen Victoria's long reign. Prime Minister Theresa May paid tribute to the Queen in a statement issued by 10 Downing Street: "It is a testament to her selfless devotion to the nation that she is not marking becoming the first monarch to reign for 65 years with any special celebration, but instead getting on with the job to which she has dedicated her life." "She has truly been an inspiration to all of us and I am proud, on behalf of the nation, to offer our humble thanks and congratulations on celebrating her Sapphire Jubilee." This year, Queen Elizabeth II will be 91 and is scaling down her activities by having her grandchildren Prince William and Prince Harry undertake more royal duties. But she has shown no signs of retiring as Britain's ruling monarch. State and federal lawyers will argue before a panel of federal appellate court judges Tuesday in the pitched fight over President Donald Trump's travel and refugee ban that could reach the Supreme Court. (Xinhua) 10:38, February 07, 2017 Politicians on both sides of the English Channel are eager to resolve the plight of millions of people living in a state of limbo thrown up by Britain's decision to leave the European Union(EU), British Prime Minister Theresa May made clear Monday. May told Members of Parliament (MPs) in the House of Commons that her counterparts in EU countries had not resolved their status ahead of formal talks. As a curtain raiser to a round of discussions in the House of Commons this week over the triggering of Britain's exit from Brussels, May spoke of the millions of British people living in EU countries and the millions of Europeans living in Britain. It was an issue discussed by May last week when she met leaders of the other 27 EU member states in Malta. Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn told the House of Commons Monday, "There is no need to wait for negotiations to begin, the government could do it now. This is not a question about Brexit, it is a question about human rights, democracy, and decency towards people who have lived and worked in this country." Corbyn added: "Many families have had children born here, and I think we must guarantee their rights. Many of those people have been left in limbo, and are very deeply concerned and stressed." On the millions living on the European side of the English Channel, May said: "I think it is right that we ensure that the rights of UK citizens living in other European states are maintained. It is clear from the conversations that I have had with a number of European leaders that they think that it should be dealt with in the round as a matter of reciprocity." She referred to discussions she had had with Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, saying it was very clear that "we want to give reassurance to people as early as possible in the negotiations." Conservative MP John Redwood asked May if she was shocked that the EU was unable to offer a simple reassurance to all British citizens living in EU countries that they would not face eviction. May said she had every confidence the issue would be addressed early on in the negotiations. "I would have liked to be able to address it outside the negotiations but, sadly, some member states did not wish to do that. However, I think that the goodwill is there to give that reassurance to EU citizens here and to UK citizens in Europe." MPs are this week discussing details of the Article 50 Brexit bill -- the formal process by which Britain will leave the bloc -- before it goes to the House of Lords. Although amendments are likely to be made and changes recommended to the legislation, May's government is confident it will win enough support to gain the consent of Queen Elizabeth II to trigger the exit process next month. If you're looking to get involved in politics, there are plenty of opportunities this week. "Democracy for Sale," a documentary on North Carolina's extreme gerrymandering starring actor and Wilkesboro native Zach Galifianakis, will be shown twice this week in Greensboro. The film will be shown at 6 p.m. Wednesday at 100 Ferguson Hall at UNCG, and at 7 p.m. Thursday at Room 218 in the General Classroom Building at N.C. A&T. It's one installment in a five-part series called "America Divided," which focuses on inequality in education, housing, healthcare, labor, criminal justice and the political system produced by Common, Norman Lear, and Shonda Rhimes. Gerrymandering is the practice of drawing district lines that significantly benefit one political party and disadvantage the other. Both Democrats and Republicans have been guilty of this practice when they held power in the General Assembly. North Carolina has some of the most gerrymandered districts in the country, currently drawn to benefit Republican candidates. Those who want to get involved in changing the political landscape are welcome to attend a meeting of Indivisible Greensboro at 7 p.m. Thursday at the Congregational United Church of Christ at 400 W. Radiance Dr. The next Moral March in Raleigh begins at 10 p.m. on Saturday. Marchers should gather across the street from the Raleigh Memorial Auditorium, 2 East South St. Raleigh, at 8:30 a.m. The march begins at 10 a.m. Israel's Knesset approved an incredibly aggressive new law last night that will severely test the Trump administration. "The legislation is set to retroactively legalize some 4,000 settler homes on private Palestinian land and offers to compensate its owners," The Jerusalem Post reports. "The intention is to prevent future demolitions, like the one that occurred last week in the Amona outpost. "Approval of the legislation runs counter to almost 40 years of Israeli judicial rulings against the construction of homes on private Palestinian property." Jewish settlers were removed from the Amona camp in the West Bank last week because they had taken private property that belonged to Palestinians. The Knesset move, as the Post noted, seeks to legalize similar actions. Private property, if it's in Palestinian territory and belongs to Palestinians, is fair game as long as "compensation" is provided in cash or other land. Who assures that this compensation will be fair? Israel, of course. But what if the owners want to keep their land? If they don't want to sell? Too bad. "Government Minister Miri Regev of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud party called the bill's passage 'a historic move' toward annexing the West Bank," CNN reports. "'This is the first step towards complete regulation, namely, applying Israeli sovereignty over Judea and Samaria,' Regev said, using the biblical name for the West Bank." Of course, Israeli sovereignty over, or annexation of, the entire West Bank will crush any ideas of a two-state solution, which has been the goal of U.S. Middle East policy for decades. Furthermore, absorbing the Palestinian population into Israel, if that happens, would lead to a fundamental change in identity for Israel. It could no longer be both a democracy and a Jewish state. Netanyahu's ruling coalition has been emboldened by the election of Donald Trump, who criticized former President Barack Obama's opposition to settlement expansion. Yet, last week the Trump administration issued a statement saying further settlement construction "may not be helpful," although not an "impediment," to the peace process, so there may be some confusion in Israel about Washington's position. It's certainly true that last night's action won't be conducive to peace. I doubt many Americans would take kindly to occupiers taking their land and then having Congress pass a law making the theft legal. Can we expect Palestinians to accept last night's action quietly? Moreover, does Netanyahu expect Trump to approve? Despite the consequences to U.S. relationships with (so far) friendly Arab governments like Jordan, Saudi Arabia and Egypt? Trump vowed that the U.S. will have Israel's back. But how far into the West Bank is he willing to follow? This higher ed story from our sister paper in Richmond caught my eye: That perplexing question: Where did all the students go? According to the story, overall college enrollment is down across the state even as the number of high school graduates eligible to go to a four-year school increased. In the comment section under the story (I normally don't read them but I made an exception just this once), readers (I use the term loosely) blame (in no particular order): the cost of college, rising student debt, state lawmakers, liberals and the old anecdote that my brothers cousin uncles best friends father knows a guy who didnt go to college and is doing just fine, thank you very much. All of those things are true to a degree. (Take my alma mater, William & Mary. Freshmen who started this fall paid nearly $33,000 in tuition, fees, room and board. And that's in state! Be glad you live in North Carolina.) But commenters missed what's really going on in Virginia. The key graf in the story is the third one (emphasis mine): Although public four-year universities posted a modest increase, overall enrollment fell by 1.5 percent from the prior year because of declines at the Virginia Community College System and at Liberty University. Despite the expense and the debt, enrollment at most of Virginia's major public universities (W&M, George Mason, James Madison and Virginia Tech) is up not just for the year but up over the past five years. UVa's enrollment remains flat; Old Dominion and Virginia Commonwealth are down slightly, with most of their losses coming at the grad-school level. (By the way, you can check my math here. The Virginia higher ed database is great.) The decline in community college enrollment isnt surprising. Community college enrollment ebbs and flows with the economy; when things are bad, it's up; when companies start hiring again, it's down. Thats happening here in North Carolina. Its also happening in Virginia, where community college enrollment peaked in 2011 and has dropped each year since. Libertys enrollment decline isnt surprising either when you consider that it's partly a traditional campus but mostly an online operation. As president Jerry Falwell Jr. told the Richmond paper, enrollment at its Lynchburg campus held steady at around 15,000. Where Liberty took a beating is online, where enrollment dropped 5 percent this year to about 60,000. Its possible that Liberty is suffering because people see it as guilty by association with the battered for-profit sector. Yes, Liberty is a non-profit institution (like Wake Forest or Elon or Guilford College), but its recruiting operation an 800-person telemarketing call center in a former Sears department store near the main campus, according to this New York Times story is more University of Phoenix than University of Arizona. Its also possible that Libertys enrollment troubles are due to the nature of online students. Students enrolled in online-only programs tend not to be in the 18-to-22 group (though that appears to be changing some). Rather, theyre more like community college students older, employed and more likely to drop in and drop out of school as their job fortunes change. (The report I cited in the last sentenced noted that employers are cutting back on tuition-assistance programs. There's another stress point on online colleges and maybe another factor at work here.) So, no, there's no higher ed crisis in Virginia. The only crisis is the fact that people can't be bothered to understand what they read. For more on Liberty and one of the reasons Falwell might be excited to lead a new national higher ed reform effort, check out the Grade Point blog over at the Washington Post. Want to make sure you see these blog posts? Like me on Facebook, and follow me on Twitter. Have something to say? Email me at john.newsom@greensboro.com. Two years after states around the country passed an unprecedented number of police reforms after the killing of George Floyd, some are struggling to make the new policies stick. The momentum for change has slowed from its earlier frenetic pace. Some of the reforms have been rolled back or at least tweaked after police complained that the new policies were hindering their ability to catch criminals. Legal experts say police killings of Black people over the last decade epitomized by Floyds killing have altered the trajectory of policing. But change has come about unevenly in thousands of police departments across the U.S. GREENSBORO Members of the General Assembly and city officials testified in a federal bench trial Monday that a decision made by state lawmakers to redistrict the Greensboro City Council will harm minority voters and give Republican lawmakers an advantage. "I can say based on emails, phone calls and people stopping me on the street that the overwhelming majority were opposed to redistricting," Mayor Nancy Vaughan testified. Vaughan's testimony came during a two-day bench trial in U.S. Middle District Court. Judge Catherine Eagles must decide whether state lawmakers racially gerrymandered Greensboro districts when it passed a law in 2015 that changed district boundaries, the council makeup and how council members would be elected without input from city residents. Testimony pointed to the election of Sen. Trudy Wade (R-Guilford) as the event that marked a change in the way state laws affecting local lawmakers were formulated. Before Wade took office, proposals were discussed among Guilford county lawmakers before the changes took effect. "I'm not aware of another local bill the legislators initiated," Vaughan said. "Normally we would initiate it and ask for their support." Currently, the City Council is comprised of one mayor, five district representatives and three at-large members the at-large members and the mayor are elected by all city voters. The new law eliminates the at-large seats and creates eight newly drawn districts. Each new district member would have a vote. The mayor would only vote in the event of a tie. Local politicians testified that Wade proposed the new districts without consulting the mayor or council and said that unnamed Greensboro business owners asked for the districts that would give better representation to the black community. Opponents, and everyone who testified Monday, said that simply wasn't the case. Sen. Gladys Robinson (D-Guilford) said when she looked at the new map she immediately noticed it clumped black and Democrat voters into three distinct districts, creating five Republican districts. "African American voters were put into (fewer) districts and did not have the same vote over what happened in the city as white voters," Robinson said. Robinson said when Wade first proposed the redistricting, meetings of the Guilford County delegation had all but ceased. Wade took over as chair of the delegation, which had previously been held by Rep. John Faircloth (R-Guilford). Robinson testified that she immediately called the Greensboro City Council to see if they were involved in creating the new districts. She said she tried to block the bill when she learned that council was unaware of the bill and that a majority of her constituents didn't want the changes. "Our city was under attack and it wasn't happening anywhere else," Robinson said. "It was just Greensboro." Rep. Pricey Harrison testified that she tried to help. "I thought it was flat wrong," Harrison said. "It was wrong that legislators decided what to do with the city without input from the city." Vaughan, Marikay Abuzuaiter and Sharon Hightower, who are all Democrats, testified about the impact the new districts have on the voters. "This map destroys people's ability to have a say in who represents them," Abuzuaiter said. All three councilwomen pointed out that five people currently represent each district: the mayor, the three at-large council members and the district representative. Under the new map, there is only one representative per district. That point upset Anna Fesmire, co-president emeritus of the League of Women Voters. "It was taking away the five votes I have to one and a mayor who can't help me," Fesmire said. "We felt we were being disenfranchised without anyone asking us if we needed to be or wanted to be disenfranchised." Hightower said Fesmire's reaction was a common response. "I met no one who was in favor of the Greensboro redistricting," Hightower said. She said people asked her why the General Assembly did not like the mayor and wanted to do away with her power. "People kept asking, 'What did you all do that the General Assembly is going after you?" Hightower added. (Xinhua) 11:02, February 07, 2017 The Australian grocery giant Woolworths said on Tuesday that it will now accept UnionPay cards at its stores; China's leading debit and credit cards. Woolworths will offer all forms of UnionPay payment, including the contactless mobile based transactions at its terminals. According to UnionPay, Australia has the largest number of terminals that accept their cards, outside of China. The grocery chain will initially only have the terminals set up at their Woolworths outlets, but plans a full rollout to their other brands, such as Big W and liquor retailer Dan Murphy's in the foreseeable future. Paul Monnington, head of digital payments at Woolworths, said the changes are long overdue, with the high number of Chinese tourists visiting Australia each year. "Last year the number of Chinese visitors to Australia surpassed 1 million for the first time," Monnington said. The sentiment was shared by UnionPay International South Pacific general manager James Yang, who said the need for more access to UnionPay would increase in the future. "This is a great win for our customers visiting, studying or living in Australia. As tourism from China grows, we know we will see more and more people using UnionPay cards across Australian stores." UnionPay cards are accepted in over 160 countries and regions around the world. GREENSBORO Guilford County Schools leaders say a state mandate to reduce class sizes for kindergarten through third grade could require hiring hundreds of additional teachers and cost the district $16.6 million or more. The state legislature passed a requirement for districts to decrease class sizes as part of an appropriations bill in 2016, but didnt set aside extra money to help do it. Guilford County Schools and other districts use part of annual teacher salary allotments from the state to pay for elementary teachers of special subjects like physical education, art and music. Unless they cut into those offerings, local school leaders said they would be stuck with an estimated $16.6 million in costs for staffing. By comparison, the districts total operating budget is about $680 million. Staff stressed their estimates dont include potential costs for additional classrooms. In some cases, it may be difficult to find space in a school to house extra classrooms. And many North Carolina districts are currently experiencing challenges when it comes to finding qualified candidates to teach. District staff said its unlikely the General Assembly would abandon the idea of reducing class sizes entirely, but school officials would like to see the mandate pushed back by the legislature. We are asking them to delay until they fully understand the issues, Superintendent Sharon Contreras told board members over the weekend. District staff brought up the topic with school board members at a retreat on Saturday. Members are forming a new committee that could recommend positions the board might take. School staff also mentioned that a bill has been introduced in the state House of Representatives that would serve as a bit of a compromise. It would decrease maximum class sizes for 2017-18, but less dramatically. That would cost about $4.6 million for the district versus $16.6 million. Absolute truth and our founding principles never change; they dont progress with liberal causes. Reasons for a constrained federal government are as true today as in 1789. God-given rights never infringe on someone elses rights, but man-granted rights do. Progressives are what our Founders tried to protect the people from with a defined, people-controlled process to change the Constitution. Progressive judges make rulings that change the meaning of our Constitution, making them unconstitutional. They deny the very concept of representative government. Each activist judge ruling ignores the constitutional balance of power, defies the defined process for changing the Constitution, denies key founding principles and inserts activist judges into social and cultural changes belonging only to we the people. Neil Gorsuch, like Antonin Scalia, is dedicated to interpreting the Constitution as written. Thats why liberals are squealing and throwing tantrums. Gorsuch is exactly what the Supreme Court needs to sustain our constitutional government not progressively, radically transform it. God bless America! Janice Wangard Ruffin Nanjing Green Towers (Photo credit: Stefano Boeri Architetti) Chinese leaders in Beijing are taking big steps to tackle climate change and pollution, and some of Chinas cities are acting too. Nanjing, the capital of Chinas eastern Jiangsu province, is getting a Vertical Forest, a set of two green residential towers that will beautify the city and will provide residents and visitors with a breath of fresh air. Nanjing, like many major cities in China, is looking for innovative ways to deal with air pollution. The brain behind the concept is Stefano Boeri Architetti, an architect based in Milan, Italy. The first example of the Vertical Forest was realized in Milan in 2014. The two residential towers host 900 trees and over 20,000 plants from a wide range of shrubs and floral plants. On flat land, each vertical forest equals an area of 7,000 square meters of forest area. Now, Stefano is bringing his innovative model for a sustainable residential building to Nanjing, a major city in China built along the Yangtze River. It will be the first Vertical Forest built in Asia. According to the architect's website, Nanjing Green Towers will host a total of 1,100 trees from 23 local species and 2,500 cascading plants and shrubs and plants. The two green residential towers will provide 25 tons of CO2 absorption each year and will produce around 132 pounds of oxygen each day. The project is slated for completion in 2018. The green residential towers aid in the absorption of CO2 and dust particles and produce oxygen. Other Chinese megacities, like Chongqing and Shanghai, are reportedly planning to build similar green structures. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate GREENWICH Three Greenwich High students will advance to the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair, a prestigious science competition, after winning top awards at the Connecticut STEM Fair at Darien High School on Saturday. Senior Connor Li, senior Agustina Stefani and junior Shobhita Sundaram collected the STEM Fairs highest awards for their science research. GHS virtually swept the competition, winning all of the significant awards, said Andrew Bramante, who teaches the Greenwich High independent science research course these students participate in. It is an incredible, incredible amount of work, and I couldn't be prouder of each of them. The students will travel to Los Angeles from May 14 to 19 to present on their research and compete for approximately $4 million in prizes. Greenwich High had at least one student per year participate in ISEF for each of the past 11 years, and at times, have sent as many as 5 in one year. Bramante described the competition as the yearly gathering of about 1,200 of the brightest, young scientific minds. Li was recognized for his research which developed a way to easily fabricate Boron nanotubes, which can replace carbon nanotubes currently used in water transport technologies, making salt water desalination and water-based energy production much more efficient. Stefani discovered that silver nanoparticles can be added to water, so it can naturally suck in or sequester carbon dioxide from the air and contain it in the water source. Sundaram created a software package that can examine mass spectroscopy data of a patient's blood prior to the onset of any signs of pancreatic cancer and based on the presence of protein biomarkers predict whether the patient will eventually develop pancreatic cancer. Greenwich High also had seven other students compete in the CT STEM Fair. Senior Olivia Hallisey and Sundaram tied for first in the health sciences category, followed by junior Sophia Chow in third. Li finished first in the physical sciences category, with junior Steven Ma trailing him in third place. Stefani claimed first in environmental science, followed by senior Devyn Zaminski who won third in environmental and a Navy award. Senior Adam Roitman and junior Dante Grace Minichetti won ISEF special awards, but will not advance to international competition. Senior Manuel Carballo also participated in the event. Convent of the Sacred Heart Greenwich had five students win awards at the CT STEM Fair, but who did not qualify for ISEF. Junior Sofia Piriz of Stamford won first place for her science project, The Effect of Age and Gender on Choice Blindness, in the category of Behavioral Research Proposal. The team of juniors Lauren Burd of Bronxville, N.Y. and Caroline Dym of Pound Ridge, N.Y. won a second place award for their research proposal, Evaluating the Bacteria Found in Indoor Play Areas versus Public Restrooms Using DNA Barcoding. Julia Herzig of Larchmont, N.Y. and Barbara Jones of Bedford Corners, N.Y. teamed up and won fourth place for their research proposal, The Effects of Choline on Learning, Memory, and Movement in C. elegans. emunson@greenwichtime.com; Twitter: @emiliemunson 1 [File photo] A Chinese AI robot has emerged the victor in a popular quiz show, in which contestants knowledge of a wide range of fields is put to the test. The robot, Wangzai, comes in an appealing package, which offers simulated facial expressions and a wide scope of knowledge. Wangzai was designed by Chinas search engine giant Sogou, and defeated a Harvard graduate in Yi Zhan Dao Di, the Chinese version of American game show "Whos Still Standing?" The robot demonstrated its quasi-human intelligence, including its ability to comprehend and respond to questions both swiftly and accurately. Using Sogous powerful search engine, Wangzai can retrieve information and conduct independent analysis. Its deduction capability allows it to find the right answer within milliseconds, media reported. This is not the first time that Chinese AI robots have bested their human counterparts. In January, Xiaodu, Baidus AI robot, defeated human competitors in a series of complex trials involving facial and voice recognition. Chinese tech companies have shifted their focus to AI in recent years, becoming a leading power in the field. According to a report released by the World Internet Conference in 2016, AI has attracted $2.6 billion of investment in China. Samsung will release the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8 Plus on March 29. Until then we'll be discovering bits about the awaited devices day after day. This latest leak contains some sleek renders from OnLeaks and GearIndia. For now we know that Samsung will keep its glass-aluminum design with both devices. The Galaxy S8 will have 5.7 display while the bigger device is going for 6.2. The overall size of the device wont be significantly bigger since Samsung is dropping the Home Key and minimizing bezels all around. Now the fingerprint scanner is on the back, next to the camera setup. Display will still be SuperAMOLED, as Samsung announced earlier. Both devices are rumored to have iris scanner at the front, a feature we already saw in Galaxy Note 7 last year. The volume keys are still in their places, but the power button has been moved below them to make way for the Bixby AI assistant button. The USB-C and the 3.5 mm audio jack are on the bottom side of the phone. Via Chinese smartphone manufacturer Oppo has announced that the Rose Gold color variant of its F1s smartphone will soon be available in India. The announcement was made by the firm's India subsidiary through social media channels. The model will be a Flipkart-exclusive at launch, and it will cost INR 18,990 (around $280). Pre-booking for the device is currently open. There's no word on exactly when the launch will happen, but given the #BestValentineGift hashtag the company has used in the tweet, we expect the variant to go on sale on or before the Valentine's Day. Source (Xinhua) 13:43, February 07, 2017 Photo released by the Chinese embassy in Albania shows counsellor Bai Yunbin (2nd R) and defense attache Liu Xingjiang (1st R) coordinate the rescue operation in the town of Bulqiza, north Albania, on Feb. 5, 2017. The Chinese embassy in Albania confirmed on Sunday that three Chinese miners were trapped in a chromium mine in the town of Bulqiza, north Albania, and the other Chinese miner got injured after a hydrogen gas explosion there. [Photo: Xinhua] Albanian rescue teams on Tuesday continued their search for three Chinese miners trapped in a chrome mine in the northern Albanian town of Bulqiza. Two Albanian rescue teams have been sent in for the search operation, together with Albanian and Chinese mining experts, after a hydrogen gas explosion in the chrome mine on Saturday, said Mehmet Hasalami, head of the Albanian Mining Rescue Unit. "The underground explosion has destroyed the ventilation system in the mine. We are rebuilding the airing system and clearing the rocks that block the entrance to the well," said Hasalami. "Rescuers have managed to reach some 200 meters away from the spot where the Chinese miners are believed to be trapped," he said, adding that situation down the well is crucial because hydrogen may cause the second explosion. There has been no contact of any kind with the three Chinese miners since Saturday afternoon, reports said. The Albanian government and the Chinese Embassy in Tirana have dispatched a working group to the mine, respectively. The Chinese Embassy confirmed on Sunday that three other Chinese miners inflicted minor injuries in the accident. Samsung's upcoming Galaxy S8 has long been rumored to feature a brand new virtual assistant tentatively called Bixby. This has been apparently made possible by the company having acquired a specialized startup launched by the creators of Apple's Siri. So far we've heard that Bixby will be able to identify objects and text through the camera's viewfinder, and it will also feature some kind of integration with Samsung Pay. Anyway, today's rumor from Samsung's home of South Korea claims that Bixby will launch with support for 7 to 8 different languages, including English, Korean and Chinese. If this information pans out, it means that Samsung's new assistant will be much more of a polyglot than Google's Assistant, which currently supports only English and German on Pixel phones, and only English on the Google Home product. That said, there's another iteration of the Google Assistant, the one that's built into the Allo chat app, and this one knows English, German, Hindi, Japanese, and Portuguese. That's still a lower number of languages than Bixby is claimed to support, so Samsung will be ahead in this game no matter how you look at it. On the other hand, while language support is obviously important in a virtual assistant, speech recognition accuracy and its actual skills (what it can do for you) are definitely even more so, and we don't yet know how Bixby fares in that department. Oh, and it's also good to note that Apple's Siri trumps both Google's and Samsung's assistants at the moment by supporting 20 languages. Source (in Korean) | Via Haiti - FLASH : 33 young girls saved before being sold After a long investigation into a human trafficking network in Haiti and a key information last week that young girls were going to be sold by a network of human traffickers, the Port-au-Prince Public Prosecutor's Office launched on Sunday afternoon, a joint operation involving the Central Directorate of the Judicial Police (DCPJ), the National Police of Haiti (PNH) assisted by United Nations police officers (UNPol), the Brigade of Protection of Minors in the presence of Me Myrlande Prevost Dupiche, Deputy of the Government Commissioner to the Court of First Instance (TPI) of Port-au-Prince. This important operation, which took place at the Kaliko Beach Club on the Arcadin Coast, about 60 km from Port-au-Prince, enabled PNH to save from the clutches of traffickers, 33 young girls, including 20 minors, some as young as 13 years old, about to be sold for a few hundred dollars, according to preliminary information released by the court. 12 suspected traffickers were arrested on the spot by the police. "We found 33 girls, 20 of them minors, locked up in one room and another, there were 12 adults: 4 women and 8 men [...]" In the room occupied by the traffickers, the police seized bags of drugs, alcohol, a certain amount of money in Gourdes and US dollars, a computer whose hard disk contains videos of child pornography [...] which tends to prove that these individuals were accustomed to this kind of exploitation," explained Danton Leger, the Port-au-Prince government commissioner, very proud of this dragnet, refusing to provide further details on the number of traffickers involved or other arrests, because the investigation is still ongoing. According to initial testimonies gathered by the police, the girls had been brought to this place under the promise of a beautiful sea feast. "There is no doubt that these individuals are suspected of trafficking of minors and sexual exploitation," affirmed Inspector Garry Desrosiers, Deputy spokesperson of the PNH, pointing out that the 20 young minors were handed over to the Minors' Protection Brigade while waiting to contact their parents. Recall that these traffickers since the passing of a law in the summer of 2015, are liable in Haiti, a prison sentence of 7 to 15 years and a maximum fine of 1,500,000 Gourdes ie +/- 22,000 US dollars... Note that Haiti is still on the blacklist of the US State Department of Trafficking Countries, alongside Suriname, Burma, Djibouti, Papua New Guinea, Sudan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. Download the legislation on human trafficking in Haiti : https://www.haitilibre.com/docs/Loi-sur-la-traite-des-personnes.pdf See also : https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-17376-haiti-flash-historic-judgment.html https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-15940-haiti-politic-inauguration-of-members-of-the-committee-against-human-trafficking.html SL/ HaitiLibre Haiti - Inauguration : Donald Trump sends presidential delegation to Haiti President Donald J. Trump announced the sending of a Presidential Delegation to the Republic of Haiti to attend the Inauguration of His Excellency Jovenel Moise on February 7, 2017 in Port-au-Prince. The Honorable Thomas A. Shannon, Jr., Under Secretary for Political Affairs, U.S. Department of State, will lead the delegation. Members of the Presidential Delegation are : The Honorable Peter F. Mulrean, United States Ambassador to the Republic of Haiti, U.S. Department of State The Honorable Omarosa O. Manigault, Assistant to the President and Director of Communications for the Office of Public Liaison, The White House The Honorable Kenneth H. Merten, Acting Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs and Haiti Special Coordinator, former United States Ambassador to the Republic of Haiti, U.S. Department of State. Follow on HaitiLibre.com the inauguration of the President of Haiti Jovenel Moise, this Tuesday, February 7, 2017 HL/ HaitiLibre The U.S. and Japan successfully conducted a missile interception test off the Hawaiian islands on Feb. 4. The USS John Paul Jones destroyed the target ballistic missile using its Standard Missile-3 (SM-3) Block IIA interceptor, reports stated. But an expert pointed out that Japan's new weapon is unable to threaten China. Military observers believe the SM-3 Block IIA interceptor, together with the U.S.-backed Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system, have created a wider defensive range against China, and will threaten the security of the Asia-Pacific region as a whole. "China always believes that the anti-missile issue bears on global strategic stability and mutual trust among major powers, and therefore shall be approached with great care," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lu Kang said at a press conference on Feb. 6. "We are firmly against the U.S. and the ROK deploying the THAAD anti-missile defense system in the ROK," Lu continued. A Russian analyst said the U.S. global missile defense system ultimately targets the nuclear deterrent capability of China and Russia. Yang Chengjun, a Chinese missile expert, said that once the upgrade and deployment of the SM-3 system is completed, it will encourage Japanese militarism and threaten the peace and stability of the Asia-Pacific region. The U.S. and Japan also discussed ballistic missile defense during U.S. Defense Secretary James Mattis's visit to Japan, Japan's Kyodo News Agency reported. The SM-3 system will greatly enhance Japan's ballistic missile defense capability, Japan's Yomiuri Shimbun stated. "But the SM-3 system couldn't intercept any Chinese missiles in real battle," Yang noted. Shunzi Taoka, a Japanese military analyst, thinks that for Washington, a harmonious bilateral relationship with China is more important than one with Japan. Apart from counterbalancing China, the U.S. is attempting to develop a relationship of trust with China. While Japan is dreaming about encircling China with the help of U.S., the latter is giving China a warm hug, he described. "I can not help but ask, who is on earth trapped inside the circle?" he wondered. Haiti - Inauguration : Jovenel Moise, 58th President of Haiti We will build a single Haiti for all Haitians dixit Jovenel Moise https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-20035-haiti-politics-we-will-build-a-single-haiti-for-all-haitians-dixit-jovenel-moise.html This Tuesday, at the Legislative Palace took place the solemn session of investiture of the President-elect of the Republic, Jovenel Moise in the presence of friends and members of the Presidential family, the Provisional President of the Republic, Jocelerme Privert and the First Lady of the Republic, Ginette Michaud Privert, Prime Minister Enex Jean-Charles and Darnick Christophia Dorval Jean-Charles, members of the Government of the Republic, the Vice-President of the Superior Council of the Judiciary (CSPJ), the President of the Court of Cassation, representatives of the political party PHTK, political party leaders, former Prime Ministers of the Republic, former Presidents of the Republic, special guests, major mayors of the Metropolitan area, foreign delegations... After the opening of the National Assembly, the President-elect of the Republic, Jovenel Moise and Martine Moise, arrived at the Legislative Palace and were led by a delegation from the National Assembly and of Protocol to the Diplomatic Room of the Chamber of Deputies. Then came the Provisional President of the Republic, Jocelerme Privert and the First Lady of the Republic, Ginette Michaud Privert. After the usual greetings, and the Marching Band playing the presidential anthem, the solemn session resumed with the reading of the Act of Proclamation of the Results of the Presidential Elections of November 20, 2016 and the President of the National Assembly invited the President-elect, Jovenel Moise, to approach the Bureau. Subsequently, was held the ceremony of handing over of the presidential scarf, the President of the National Assembly invited the Provisional President Jocelerme Privert to approach the Bureau, the President Privert handed the Presidential Scarf to the President of the National Assembly, then the President of the National Assembly invited the President Elected to approach the rostrum and asked him to take the Constitutional Oath. Jovenel Moise, the President of the Republic sworn in front the National Assembly, by declaring "I swear before God and the Nation, to faithfully observe the Constitution and laws of the Republic, to respect and enforce the rights of the Haitian people, to work to the greatness of the Fatherland, to maintain the National Independence and territorial integrity." Subsequently the President of the National Assembly handed the new scarf to the outgoing President Jocelerme Privert. The latter passed it to the President of the Republic Jovenel Moise, becoming the 58th President of the Republic of Haiti. The continuation of program of the day will be held at the Museum of the Haitian National Pantheon (MUPANAH) where Jovenel Moise will make a Floral Offering to the Fathers of the Fatherland and a guided tour of the museum. Then he will go to the National Palace for a Te Deum by His Eminence Chibly Cardinal Langlois. Subsequently, the President Jovenel Moise will address a message to the Nation. He will also have to review National Police units. The Heads of State present will be at the end of the ceremony conducted in the President's private apartments in the National Palace. The President of the Republic, accompanied by the Prime Minister and the Minister of Foreign Affairs, will have a meeting with each of the Heads of State and Government. He will then return to MUPANAH where a lunch will be offered in honor of the Heads of Foreign Delegation and their spouse by the President and First Lady of the Republic. HL/ HaitiLibre Haiti - FLASH : Double murders by decapitation in the commune of Hinche Saturday, the decapitated body of two people were discovered in Tabacal (Commune of Hinche) in the Central Plateau. The victims were identified as Cantave Michel, a security guard and Celimene Desinor a mother of family. Reginald Michel, spokesman for the National Police of Haiti (PNH) of the Department of Centre, explained that according to the first pieces of information of the investigation, Lucson Jean-Baptiste (23 years) is suspected of being the alleged perpetrator of this double murder. He could have acted according to testimonies collected, to avenge the death of his mother in 2016 which he attributed the death to an act of sorcery caused by the victims. Lucson Jean-Baptiste is known by police who already suspected him of involvement in several other assassinations in the region. The alleged killer is on the run and actively sought, however, it is possible that he fled to the Dominican Republic. The spokesman of the PNH deplores the fact that today lynching is still a practice used by the population in Haiti, especially in the Department of Centre. Barbaric acts that occur most often in cases of theft of cattle, armed robbery and witchcraft... TB/ HaitiLibre Login or sign up to follow actresses, movies & dramas and get specific updates and news Login Sign Up New Ad-free Subscriber Login Email Password Password Username Your E-mail will only be used to retrieve a lost password. Stay logged in Help Published on 2017/02/07 | Source Added episodes 47 and 48 captures for the Korean drama "The Gentlemen of Wolgyesu Tailor Shop" (2016) Advertisement Directed by Hwang In-hyeok Written by Koo Hyeon-sook Network : KBS With Lee Dong-gun, Jo Yoon-hee, Cha In-pyo, Oh Hyun-kyung, Ra Mi-ran, Choi Won-young,... Sat, Sun 19:55 Synopsis "Suited Gentlemen In Yanggye-dong" is based on a traditional tailor's with history. The drama depicts the tears, friendship, success and romance of four men. Broadcast starting date in Korea : 2016/08/27 More 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. 12:22, 4 NOV 2022 [File photo] China has established a network to monitor PM 2.5 levels nationwide, in a move meant to hasten the reduction of the countrys air pollution and cut down on fraudulent data. The network includes manual sampling stations and laser radar stations. Analysts can even monitor the movement of air pollutants via airborne platforms, Chen Jining, head of the Ministry of Environmental Protection, told Science and Technology Daily. Weve established a monitoring network to keep track of particles. The network consists of satellite sensing and ground base sensing; the first method supervises the overall process and the second monitors the transportation of pollutants, said Li Qian, a scholar from Beijing Municipal Environmental Monitoring Center. The implementation of satellite remote sensing technologies can also put an end to data fraud, experts say. In October 2016, several environmental protection officials in Xian, Shaanxi province tampered with air quality monitoring equipment to create falsified data, resulting in a scandal that triggered public concern over the authenticity of such data. Though data collected by ground base stations can be manually forged, real-time satellite data cannot be changed, which prevents [officials] from falsifying data, said He Kebin, a professor at Tsinghua University. The optimization of Chinas 1,436 air quality monitoring sites will be put on the agenda during China's 13th Five-Year Plan (2016-2020), while 16 new air monitoring background stations and 96 regional stations will be established to tackle air pollution, Science and Technology Daily reported. Annual shipments by Chinese smartphone manufacturers Huawei, OPPO and vivo rocketed all three companies into the world's top 5 smartphone manufacturers last year, according to the latest data released by third-party market intelligence firm IDC. Global smartphone shipments reached 1.47 million units in 2016, up by 2.3 percent from last year, said IDC. The data showed that Samsung took the top spot, followed by Apple in second place. Even so, the shipments of the two top tech giants declined respectively by 3 percent and 7 percent, demonstrating decreased global market shares. However, 2016 saw the rise of Chinese mobile phone-makers. Huawei shipments grew 30.2 percent year on year to 139.3 million units, and the company retained its No. 3 position globally. In addition, the last quarter of 2016 marked the first time that Huawei achieved a double-digit global market share. The other two manufacturers, OPPO and vivo, both achieved growth of over 100 percent, shipping 99.4 million and 77.3 million units respectively in 2016. Statistics from another market research firm, Counterpoint, indicate that China shipped 465 million smartphones over the last year, accounting for nearly one-third of the global volume. IDC believes that the rising disposable income of Chinese people has resulted in greater consumption, which contributed to the rapid growth of the domestic smartphone market. Chinese customers now consider mobile phones an essential tool required to meet their daily needs, IDC speculated. They also see it as a symbol of their taste, rather than simply a cost-effective piece of hardware. IDC predicted that shipments of Chinese smartphones in 2017 will continue to grow, and the rise of Chinese brands will keep changing the global market landscape. Chinese billionaire Jia Yueting, who backs the startup electric car company Faraday Future, recently expressed confidence in the project, despite the company's financial problems and rumored over-extension. "The scale of the Faraday Future factory will not shrink; instead, it will try to guarantee the on-time delivery of FF91. Wait and buy the car at the end of March," Jia wrote on his Weibo account. The FF91 was unveiled at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas in early 2017. According to information at the expo, 300 units of FF cars will be on sale starting in March 2017, and public sales will begin in 2018. However, Faraday Future still needs to finalize work on its factory, which is located in northern Las Vegas, Nevada. The company is also in the process of gathering the required funding. But the capability of investors was only recently called into question, since work on the plant was halted in October 2016 after Faraday Future reportedly missed payments to contractors. According to Reuters, the seven models of electric vehicles included in the original plan will be reduced to two models, and Las Vegas officials said the scale of the plant will be reduced as well. The report noted that the factory's annual output will be 10,000 units, down from the original plan of 150,000, and the plant might not be finished until 2019. On Feb. 5, Faraday Future announced on its microblog, "The orders for our cars have far exceeded expectations. We will not shrink the construction of the factory. The second phase of the phase one project will begin soon." The plan to invest $1 billion in the plant in Nevada will not change, reads an announcement on the company's official website. According to the Reuters report, Jia plans to raise a Series A round of investment in late 2017, with the aim of launching an IPO in 2020, when the company's electric car output has reached 1 million units. However, Faraday Future did not comment on the plan. Regarding funds for the car, we believe there will be breakthrough in the months to come, Jia said at an investors meeting on Jan. 16. A 1-2 punch of tax proposals by Rachelle Chang, Better Hawaii, February 7, 2017 So far, 2017 has delivered a one-two punch for Hawaii residents. In January, as we were still reeling from holiday celebrations and new years resolutions, the Hawaii State Teachers Association (HSTA) proposed a constitutional amendment to add a property tax surcharge on residential investment properties as well as a visitor accommodations surcharge (Honolulu Star-Advertiser, HSTA pitches property tax, hotel surcharge to hire, retain teachers, 1/24/17). The surcharges could raise $500 million a year for hiring and retaining teachers. A week later, Honolulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell proposed offering the State of Hawaii a larger share of the of the 0.5% general excise tax surcharge that was intended to fully fund the rail project, in exchange for extending the surcharge in perpetuity. The States share is currently 10% (Honolulu Star-Advertiser, Mayor proposes larger share of rail tax for state, 2/1/17). Is it reasonable to require homeowners to pay higher taxes for a service that is unrelated to their home or property? Is it reasonable to require non-residents to pay a dedicated tax for Hawaii public education? Is it effective to create a dedicated funding source that has little oversight by Hawaii legislators and taxpayers? Public education is funded by state income taxes and the general excise tax. Hawaiis property taxes can barely pay for the current level of city services; and the transient accommodations tax (TAT) has already jumped to 9.25% in 2017. Its disingenuous to compare Hawaiis real property taxes and TAT to other U.S. cities Hawaii residents have higher costs of living and lower availability of land and affordable housing than other mainland cities; and visitors face higher transportation costs and time commitments just to travel to Hawaii. In greater numbers, homeowners could be forced out of their homes and visitors will choose to vacation elsewhere. Is it reasonable and effective for the City and County of Honolulu to claim that they need to make the rail surcharge permanent, while simultaneously claiming that they dont need the full amount of the surcharge? The Honolulu rail is funded by the general excise tax surcharge. Without another extension, or making the surcharge permanent, Honolulu rail may not be built. But offering the State of Hawaii an even higher percentage of the general excise tax surcharge seems like a bribe to Hawaii legislators in exchange for their support. For some perspective, in Fiscal Year 2016, collections of Honolulus county surcharge totaled $259.2 million, according to the Hawaii Department of Taxation Annual Report 2015-2016 (page 30). The State kept 10% of the surcharge collected or $25.92 million which is more than the Department of Taxations entire Fiscal Year 2016 operating budget of $24 million (page 37). Do you think these tax proposals are good ideas? How do you rank public education and Honolulu rail on your list of priorities for Hawaii? Last weekend, local writer Randy Johnsons new book Grandfather Mountain: The History and Guide to an Appalachian Icon was honored in an Asheville ceremony bestowing the Thomas Wolfe Memorial Literary Award from the Western North Carolina Historical Association. Wolfe prize winner Terry Roberts, Ph.D. received the award for his novel That Bright Land, and Johnson and four other writers received awards as finalists, among them New York Times-bestselling author of Gap Creek Robert Morgan for a volume of poetry Dark Energy, and novelist Ron Rash for Above the Waterfall. Other finalists and winners since 1955 have included Charles Frazier, Wilma Dykeman, John Ehle, Lee Smith, and John Parris. Nearly thirty new books competed. Thomas Muir, manager of the Thomas Wolfe Memorial State Historic Site in Asheville said attending the ceremony was like sitting on the 50-yard line at the Super Bowl of North Carolina literature. Saturday, February 11 Johnson signs books at Cheap Joes Art Stuff in Boone from 1 to 4 pm during a Grandfather Mountain-themed art show from the Charlotte Art League. Hell speak to the High Country Writers at Watauga County Public Library March 9th at 10 am. Also last week Johnson was cited in the annual travel writing contest of the North American Travel Journalist Association (NATJA). He was a finalist in the National Park Centennial category for his Sierra magazine article He Sung the Glory of Nature: John Muirs Ascent of Grandfather Mountain. Hundreds of other articles and interviews about the book also appeared in 2016 across the region in newspapers and magazines and on radio and television, with Johnson encouraging people to visit Grandfather Mountain and the High Country. In NATJAs Historical Travel category, Johnson was also a finalist for the article Make History on Your Next Southern Ski Trip that appeared last winter on SkiSoutheast.com, a popular ski magazine website produced by Appnet New Media Studio in Foscoe. The piece urged skiers to hang their helmets at historic High Country hotels, the Green Park Inn and Mast Farm Inn. The local writer has won numerous NATJA awards over the years for his writing and as editor-in-chief of United Airlines magazine Hemispheres from 1992-2009. ### For more information about Johnson and his writings, check out the following links: http://www.sierraclub.org/sierra/2016-4-july-august/green-life/he-sung-glory-nature The SkiSoutheast.com article can be found here. The Amazon.com book page for the Grandfather Mountain can be found here. Share this: Twitter Facebook LinkedIn Reddit Pocket Two childhood friends who starred in a playful wedding photo shoot taken 19 years ago were married for real in 2015. The bride, Gao Tian, and groom, Gao Lin, were close friends as children. When they were both 5 years old, their parents proposed that the two take a series of "wedding photos." Amused by the photos, both families saved the pictures long after they were printed. Later, Gao Tian moved away when his parents changed jobs. Afterward, the playmates went more than 10 years without seeing each other. In early 2014, Gao Tian visited Gao Lin's parents with his father, and set eyes on his friend for the first time in many years. Reminiscing about their childhood memories, the pair soon hit it off and fell in love. About a year after their reunion, they enjoyed a real wedding. Friends of the couple joke that the marriage was decreed by fate, saying they would never have really tied the knot if they hadn't taken the playful wedding photos so many years before. (HedgeCo.Net) The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced SEC Chief Operating Officer Jeffery Heslop will leave the agency this month. Mr. Heslop joined the SEC in 2010 when he was named the SECs first-ever COO. In the nearly seven years since joining the SEC, Mr. Heslop has led significant innovation in the agencys approach to human capital management, business process, internal controls, and technology infrastructure. Through his efforts, the agency has realized substantial operational cost reductions, increased efficiencies in staffing and operations, and strengthened the cooperation between various SEC offices and divisions. In his role as COO, Mr. Heslop oversees the operations of the SECs Office of Human Resources; Office of Acquisitions; Office of Information Technology; Office of Strategic Initiatives; Office of Financial Management; and Office of Support Operations, which includes the SECs Office of Freedom of Information Act, Privacy, Records Management and Facility Operations. During his time at the SEC, Mr. Heslop: Led a team that significantly improved internal controls and compliance in financial management and information security, and eliminated persistent conditions of material weakness. Developed and implemented a strategy to rehabilitate outdated technology infrastructure and organizational business process approaches to deliver dramatic improvements in customer satisfaction. Championed the investment in, and oversaw the execution of, numerous business process redesign initiatives to move several SEC processes from manually-intensive, paper-based approaches to efficient, automated processes resulting in the realization of compelling cost reductions and enhanced employee productivity. As the SECs first COO, Jeff helped the agency streamline operations and leverage resources to more effectively serve the investors and markets, said SEC Acting Chairman Michael Piwowar. He has overseen significant improvements in technology and has helped ensure that our financial reporting controls and FOIA operations are top-notch. It has been a true honor to serve with the extraordinarily dedicated and self-sacrificing professionals who comprise the agencys staff, said SEC COO Jeffery Heslop. In particular, I would like to extend my deepest appreciation to the staff members from the offices under the Office of the Chief Operating Officer, who, through their collaborative effort, have played an instrumental role in an effort to modernize the agencys human capital, business process, and technological capabilities. Their contribution to the SECs unwavering and deep commitment to protect Americas investors has been simply remarkable, and I am deeply grateful to have had the privilege of leading them. KazakhFinnish friendship is based on solid pillars, encompassing a good political will, trust and openness, mutual respect, and interests. We have rich historical and cultural heritage, our substantive dialogue is motivated by longterm perspectives, and stems from similar approaches towards most acute issues of the international agenda. The ever-expanding bilateral cooperation between Astana and Helsinki represents an excellent example of combining efforts for the sake of our nations and the entire world community. Kazakhstan and Finland overcame many challenges and tests that resembled one another. Despite this, we have been successful in our path towards independence, international recognition, and integration into the world community as strong, sovereign, and dynamic states. And Kazakhstan stands ready to further foster its role as a reliable regional partner and gateway for Finland not only to Eurasia, but also to the entire Asian continent. Landmark events in political and economic dimensions, our achievements and future endeavors, and ongoing large-scale political and socioeconomic transformations in the two states mean to bring our people even closer, to amplify potentials and opportunities. In this context, 2017 promises to be a year rich with historic dates and important decisions. First and foremost, this year we celebrate Together Centenary of Suomis independence. Yet, it is a good occasion to generate fresh ideas and build on undertakings started in 2016 when Kazakhstan marked its 25th anniversary. 2017 is very symbolic for us due to one more reason on May 13th, we shall observe the 25th anniversary of the establishment of our diplomatic relations. Participation of Finland in the forthcoming EXPO2017 international exhibition in Astana is yet another milestone on the way to boosting KazakhFinnish cooperation, a new bridging-platform between Asia and Europe. It is an excellent chance for Kazakhstan and Suomi to try on a new capacity as regional actors in technological, educational, financial, and cultural exchanges. As it was said by President Nursultan Nazarbayev, Participation in EXPO2017 is a win-win formula and a good investment that will be paid back in medium-term perspective." While giving a short glance to our past track, it is important to refer to the official visit by President Mauno Koivisto to Kazakhstan in 1992. This first visit in the modern history of the two states laid a firm foundation for regular political contacts and active economic cooperation. Later, in Suomi, this summit meeting was referred to as "the great conversation." The visit by President Nursultan Nazarbayev to Finland in 2009, three official trips by President Sauli Niinisto in 2013 and 2015, and President Tarja Halonen in 2010 legitimately serve as crucial points in the history of bilateral relations. During those stays in Helsinki and Astana, our leaders have demonstrated a genuine aspiration to strengthen multifaceted ties, and high-level negotiations set out priorities for decades ahead. Also, our Parliaments are committed to stepping up their contacts to a higher and more substantive level. For that they have exchanged with eight delegations. Friendship groups of legislative bodies closely interact to ensure productive dialogue within the framework of various international organizations, OSCE PA, PACE, and IPU. Fruitful endeavors among our ministries, public, and non-governmental entities are well-conducted thanks to effective coordination of the Ministries of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan and Finland. Dozens of delegations traveling between the two capitals speak themselves for this fact. At the current stage, it is vital to gain fresh impetus and elaborate on the meaningful activities of the KazakhFinnish Joint Commission on trade and economic cooperation to develop respective strategy for the core bilateral vectors. The 10th session of the Commission to be held on March 15th, 2017, is a good occasion for that. It is also a follow-up meeting and continuation of talks on the Prime Minister's level at the ASEM Summit in 2016. Today, exchanges on official levels transformed to concrete steps and undertakings from the business and private sectors, where a leading role is played by the Kazakh-Finnish business hub operating in our capital. Astana and Helsinki aimed at keeping momentum and expanding areas of collaboration. In this regard, all efforts directed to creation of additional opportunities based on traditional spheres of economic, cultural, and humanitarian ties are worth every possible guidance. And we have great a deal of remits and records to crystallize a new architecture on the economic track. Finland is Kazakhstans biggest trade partner and the second largest investor among all Nordic countries (with about $300 mln FDI). Here, turnover statistics are the best way to feel dynamics and great potential of our economic cooperation at the rise of Kazakhstan's independence, we have embarked just from $6.7 mln. and 13 years later it exceeded $1 bln. In the meantime, the number of Finnish companies operating in our country is growing steadily. Kazakhstan has already shown its hospitality to about one hundred Finnish companies. This list includes well-known names such as Wartsila, Vaisala, Kemira, Honka, Pemamek, etc. The most successful global engineering flagships from Suomi like Outotec, Metso, ABB, and Kone are also represented in various parts of the Great Steppe to pave the way for intensive technology investments. For example, Outotecs experience illustrates this thesis in the very best manner. During the past 30 years, they have implemented a number of mining projects and are now builds processing plants in our territory. Vaisala supplied equipment for our twenty airports and fifty meteorological stations for environmental observations. The worlds fourth leading energy supplier with a 10% share in global power production, Wartsila, explores the possibility of opening its permanent office in Astana or Almaty. It's also good to mention Kemira, who have established a mutually beneficial cooperation with Kazakh industrial giants such as Kazzinc and Kazchrome. The merge of technologies of Sampo with financial resources of KazAgroFinance already resulted in production of agricultural machines in several regions of Kazakhstan and the next aim is to export them to neighboring markets. Tikkurila and Ruukki Construction companies Masters of Arts in Kazakhstans market seek to expand their operations to other Central Asian countries, like China and Iran. The success story of Tikkurila, Ruukki Construction, and Sampo-Rosenlew should encourage other Finnish SMEs not to miss their chances and enter Kazakhstan. So here is a key message - we are open for a broader exchange and technological cooperation, and we are ready to warmly welcome all representatives of Finnish business to discover the benefits of doing business together. Economic, tourism, and cultural exchanges are expected to see a breakthrough after launching direct flights between the two countries, as well as a unilateral decision by our government to introduce a 30 day visa-free policy for citizens of 54 states, including Suomi. The past decade has witnessed a tremendous advancement of initiatives in the sphere of education, where our Embassy relies on the support of the FinnishKazakh group on education and innovations. We are also happy to note positive trends in this extremely important field. Now, we study the possibility of using the Finnish model of education in Kazakhstan without excluding the broader context. In healthcare, Kazakhstan has already introduced Finlands best practice in many medical institutions. Beside that, about four hundred Kazakh medical nurses were invited to Suomi for short-term training. Yet, synergy of Kazakhstans Great Silk Road infrastructure policy, well familiar as Bright path and Chinese undertaking - widely known as OBOR - allow us to focus on a current economic reality and market opportunities in Central Asia, Eurasian Economic Union, China, Iran, India, Caucasus, and the Middle East. This thesis has quite a solid basis and is already justified, if we think about test launch of the first container train this year connecting China and Northern Europe through territories of Kazakhstan and Finland. Of course, this kind of effort would not be crowned with success without our reliable partners. Thus, a much-extended and strong presence of Finland contributes to the achievement of Kazakhstans noble goals declared in Strategy Kazakhstan-2050, Nations Plan - five institutional reforms through 100 concrete steps and an industrialization program until 2020. Thanks to successful implementation of these and many other initiatives, Kazakhstan enjoys high international rankings. According to Doing Business, we are among the top 35 states in terms of business climate and competitiveness, in contract implementation we are on the 9th position, and LPI also places us in 77th position in transport networks. For sure, the major records of Kazakhstan during the 25 years of independence are political stability, unity of the nation, openness to cooperation, and balanced multivector foreign policy. Astanas non-permanent membership on the UN Security Council for the period of 2017-2018, OSCE and OIC Chairmanships, many international initiatives such as convening CICA summits, nuclear disarmament, and dialogue among religions are the shortest list of our deeds. All the examples mentioned above should be considered as the beginning of a big journey, since Kazakhstan takes two more decisive and irreversible steps crucial both for our countrys future and for perspectives of collaboration between Kazakhstan and Finland in the years to come. Firstly, head of our state, in his recent address to the nation on January 25th gave a start to constitutional reforms, which will transform the very foundation of Kazakhstan's traditional statehood model. The quintessence is that the president delegates forty of his current functions to the parliament and government. Vertical separation of powers has been necessary for us in the course of overcoming the enormous difficulties of state-building. That principle has justified itself. In practice, the authority and responsibility of the government on regulating social and economic processes will be significantly expanded. The influence of the parliament on the government is also proposed to be strengthened. As the guarantor of the constitution, the president will play the role of an arbiter between branches of power. The Head of State will concentrate on the foreign policy, national security, and the countrys defense. A new, more democratic political system of Kazakhstan will be based on the concept of "a strong president an competent Parliament an accountable government." Secondly, on January 31st, 2017, in the presidents State of the Nation Address, Kazakhstan announced its transition to a new model of economic growth. In other words, it is the third stage of our socioeconomic modernization through five priorities - an accelerated technological modernization of the economy, improvement of the business climate, macroeconomic stability, improving the quality of human capital, institutional transformation, as well as security and the fight against corruption. These acts of tremendous transformation are designed to open broader horizons for mutually beneficial ties with all our foreign partners. Needless to say, that every single message from Astana can be taken as a call on Finnish friends and food for thought for many. Moreover, we can suggest a wide variety of platforms for realization of joint projects on various forms of partnership, including so called PPP. Finnish friends are most welcomed in every region and city, International Technopark for IT-startups to be established on the basis of "Astana EXPO 2017", as well as Astana International Financial Center This list can be significantly enlarged with ten Special Economic Zones. On the background of the new trends in global economy, an introduction of advanced methods of teaching in schools, improving healthcare system, commercialization of innovations, as well as developing a business-friendly environment for SME are issues of a strategic importance for us. Given the best expertise and practice of Suomi in the field of green and cyclic economy, automatization of industry, energy efficiency, waste and water management, cleantech, transport and logistics, agriculture and constructions, city planning, cybersecurity and other dimensions, we are confident that there are plenty of rooms for our active, multi-faceted cooperation in technology and investment fields. We live in a rapidly changing world full of challenges, threats, contradictions, and stereotypes. Kazakhstan and Finland, along with other members of the international community have to find their own way in so called new normalities. As one can see, Kazakhstans choice is modernization and transformation, openness to cooperation. Our confidence in the future rests on political stability, well-being and prosperity of the nation, balanced foreign policy and vast economic potential. The whole complex of Kazakh-Finnish relations is not a subject of one publication. We touched upon only some aspects of our fruitful endeavors and tried to build a vehicle for amplifying our opportunities and achievements. This mission is accomplished if the message reaches all of our Finnish friends. Ambassador of the Republic of Kazakhstan to the Republic of Finland Murat Nurtleuov The Centre Party nominated Laura Kolbe, a councillor for the City of Helsinki, and the Social Democratic Party Tuula Haatainen, a two-time cabinet member, as their candidates for the mayoral race on Sunday, leaving the National Coalition as the only major party yet to announce its candidate. One noteworthy name is still missing from the list of accomplished mayoral candidates for the upcoming municipal elections in Helsinki. Pundits have pegged Jan Vapaavuori (NCP), a Vice-President at the European Investment Bank, as the favourite to receive the nomination. Vapaavuori, however, is not expected to announce whether or not he will throw his hat into the ring until mid-February, according to Helsingin Sanomat. Several of his party comrades have expressed their hope that he will take on the challenge. The National Coalition is expected to face a stern challenge from the Green League in the race to become the largest party on the Helsinki City Council in the municipal elections on 9 April. The Green League nominated Anni Sinnemaki, Helsinki's Deputy Mayor for Real Estate and City Planning, as its mayoral candidate last week. The Left Alliance has nominated Paavo Arhinmaki, an ex-Minister of Culture and Sport, as its candidate, while the Christian Democratic Party is to decide on whether or not to enter the race on 17 February. Aleksi Teivainen HT Photo: Antti Aimo-Koivisto Lehtikuva Source: Uusi Suomi Niinisto announced on 2 February that he has launched preparatory work to clarify the legislation on dual citizenship holders in the defence administration in order to ensure the legislation provides the means to adapt to the changing security environment and respond to new security threats. Jussi Niinisto (PS), the Minister of Defence, has raised eyebrows with his proposal to re-examine the position of dual citizenship holders residing in Finland. The primary objective of the project is to improve the security of citizens, according to a press release from the Ministry of Defence. The starting point would be that only people with only Finnish citizenship can be appointed to military positions in the Defence Forces, the press release reads. Ex-Minister for Foreign Affairs Erkki Tuomioja (SDP) has expressed his doubts about the security effects of the proposal. This is what you could call security hysteria, he stated to Uusi Suomi. Tuomioja pointed out that it is questionable to presume that all dual citizenship holders would pose a security threat in the Finnish Defence Forces. Finnish citizens will abide by Finnish laws in Finland. If we start introducing changes, the changes should affect everyone. He also drew attention to the position of dual citizenship holders living abroad: You have to keep in mind that many of the Finns who have moved abroad would prefer to retain Finnish citizenship. You then have to keep in mind that we're basically operating in a world of reciprocity. Finnish dual citizens living abroad, he warned, may be treated differently, if Finland takes action to undermine the position of dual citizens. Ozan Yanar (Greens) similarly criticised the legislative project launched by Niinisto. This is quite a difficult discussion, if you're implying that there's a large group of people who may be disloyal based on the fact that they have dual citizenship, based simply on the fact that they happened to be born in another country or one of their parents is from abroad. It'd be quite a strong message to send by the society, it'd be discriminatory, he said to Uusi Suomi. Yanar reminded that in addition to himself, three Members of the Finnish Parliament are dual citizenship holders: Antero Vartia (Greens), Juhana Vartiainen (NCP) and Anne Berner (Centre), the Minister of Transport and Communications. Simon Elo (PS) contrastively expressed his tentative support for the proposal, estimating that both the legislative amendments and the preceding public debate are much needed. However, as a member of the Constitutional Law Committee, I'll examine the proposal in terms of its adherence to the constitution. That may be the biggest question mark at the moment, analysed Elo. Aleksi Teivainen HT Photo: Martti Kainulainen Lehtikuva Source: Uusi Suomi The C919 passenger plane, the first passenger jet built and designed by China, has completed most of the ground-based pre-flight evaluations, and is projected to see its first take-off before July of this year. The plane has completed the installation of its on-board system and passed its static and integrated system tests. The static test is designed to simulate heavy pressure-bearing situations and test the limits of the aircraft in such scenarios. For this reason, the test is a prerequisite for the plane's design to be finalized. The test results confirmed preliminary analysis--that the framework of the jetliner is strong enough to support future navigation. In order to pass the tests, the structure of the plane endured a maximum pressure load for three full seconds, explained Zhou Liangdao, the deputy chief designer. It took the design team 300 days to prepare for the test. The state-owned Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China Ltd. has been monitoring all tests for the jetliner. Before its maiden flight, the C919 will go through still more evaluations, including an essential pressurization test. The house on Leinster Road, Rathmines, with bunk beds visible in the window A businessman who owns a number of houses being rented by up to 40 people at a time claims he is doing nothing wrong, saying: "There is nothing unusual about this... sure what happens when you have 40 kids in a school?" James 'Jim' Cuddy (67) has been issued with fire safety notices by Dublin City Council after a number of his properties across the capital were found to be dangerously overcrowded. Mr Cuddy, who lives in a 12-bed mansion in Co Cavan, owns four houses on the Howth Road in Clontarf and a property on Leinster Road in Rathmines. Overcrowded An undercover investigation by Independent.ie revealed how these properties were overcrowded with foreign nationals after the houses were filled with bunk beds. The tenants were each paying 300 a month in rent, meaning each house could be generating 12,000 a month in income - or around 144,000 a year. With five houses being rented to up to 40 people, Mr Cuddy and the management company subletting his houses could have been collecting close to 800,000 in rent for the year. Mr Cuddy said that he leased the properties to a company called Red Sky Property Management and allowed them to "do whatever they like with them". Red Sky was previously run by Christian Carter (29) and his father, Colin Carter, with addresses at Dunedin Drive, Monkstown, and Grove Park, Rathmines. Mr Cuddy claimed Red Sky "are in the business of accommodating students". When questioned about the unhealthy living conditions in the houses, he said: "Well, I'm sure they could move out if they wanted to." He denied he had anything to do with the running of the properties, but when asked about the number of tenants occupying the houses, he said: "There is nothing unusual about this. That's not a regulation. Sure what happens when you have 40 kids in a school?" However, following inspections by Dublin City Council last month, the houses in Howth were deemed to be in breach of fire safety regulations. When all of the properties were visited, the tenants were found to be in the process of moving out. The houses on the Howth Road, formerly known as units 1-4 Howth Court, are now known collectively as 116 Howth Road. Dublin City Council issued fire safety notices in respect of numbers 1, 2 and 3, and a spokesperson confirmed that, if the notices are not complied with, "a person convicted for an offence may be liable to a maximum fine of 130,000 and/or imprisonment for a period not exceeding two years". The buildings concerned are also being investigated by Planning Control and Environmental Health Officers. Fire The house in Rathmines, where 40 women were living, was described as a "death trap" by a former tenant. She claimed there is no way of exiting the building at the back in the event of a fire in the front of the house. Mr Cuddy is presently director of three Irish companies - Crossagalla Management Company, Irish International Abrasives and Cuddy Industries. Irish Abrasives is his biggest and most successful company - it has been producing and importing abrasive products since the 1980s. It was previously revealed that Christian Carter was subletting a property in The Pines, Lehaunstown, Cabinteely, to up to 70 people at a time. Following an inspection by Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council, this property was deemed to be an "unauthorised, dangerous hostel". Mr Carter was ordered by the Circuit Civil Court to find the remaining tenants in The Pines alternative accommodation, in what the judge deemed to be an "extremely serious matter". The house had significant sewage problems and Judge Jacqueline Linnane stated the tenants would be "safer sleeping on couches somewhere than in that house". Speaking yesterday, Christian Carter claimed that the number of tenants occupying these houses has now been reduced after fire safety notices were issued by DCC. "I have now resigned from Red Sky. The houses in Howth Court were of a better standard than the house in The Pines, but there are now only 16 people in three of the houses and 10 in the others," he said. Peter Brazil was intoxicated at the time of the assault A father-of-six who assaulted a female garda when he was being arrested for a drunken incident at a pub has been jailed for three months. Peter Brazil (38) was so intoxicated at the time of the assault that he only realised what had happened when he later viewed CCTV footage. Judge David McHugh sentenced him after hearing Bra- zil had 117 previous convic- tions. Brazil, with an address at Oatfield Drive, Clondalkin, pleaded guilty to trespass and assaulting Gda Goretti Lynch at Finches Pub, Clondalkin. Blanchardstown District Court heard the incident happened last April 19. The court was told Brazil was extremely intoxicated at the time of the assault. This "common theme" was very obvious in all statements provided by witnesses, defence barrister Jennifer Jackson said. Regretted Brazil himself had said he had a "very hazy recollection" of what happened and it was only when he saw the CCTV footage that he said "yes, that was him," Ms Jackson added. The court heard the accused had lost his mother and father in a short space of time the previous year. The "very unfortunate" assault on Gda Lynch happened in the middle of his arrest at the pub, Ms Jackson said. Brazil had left the premises and was trying to get back in when Gda Lynch arrived and proceeded to arrest him. She said he regretted his actions and had already apologised in court. The judge imposed the three-month sentence on the assault charge and took the other into consideration. Sgt Maria Callaghan said the accused had 117 previous convictions, most of which were for road traffic offences. The judge said the defendant's long list of previous convictions notwithstanding, he had no other "place to go". Lorcan OReilly was 21 when he was killed at a Halloween party The father of a 21-year-old man stabbed to death by a 14-year-old boy at a bonfire party has said time cannot heal his family's broken hearts. Paddy Rooney said his wife and children were "robbed that night of a happy, kind and thoughtful" son and brother. Lorcan O'Reilly's killer, who is now 16 and cannot be identified for legal reasons, had originally been charged with murder and a trial date was set. However, at an arraignment hearing at the Central Criminal Court in November, the teenager denied murder. Instead, he pleaded guilty to manslaughter at the Oliver Bond flats in Dublin early on November 1, 2015. Mr Rooney fought back tears yesterday as he told the court his family will "never be able to celebrate Halloween again, the night Lorcan was taken from us". Sitting in the witness box a few metres from the accused, who sat impassively in the dock, Mr Rooney read out a victim impact statement on behalf of his closest relatives. He said Lorcan's mother, brothers and sisters were still struggling to come to terms with his death and that he was finding it "unbelievably difficult to relive the events of the night". "Nothing has been the same since," he said. "Time is not a healer. All of our hearts are broken." He said his son enjoyed creating music on his laptop and had his whole life in front him, but "he will never get to fulfil his potential". Knife "We will never hear his laugh again or see his cheeky smile. No parent should have to bury their child." Earlier, the court was shown CCTV footage that captured the moment the accused plunged the knife into Lorcan's heart. Det Insp Paul Cleary told prosecution counsel Brendan Grehan that the recording was from cameras inside the Oliver Bond flats complex. As the footage was played, Det Insp Cleary said the accused could be clearly seen swinging a hurley as he walked towards the area where the Halloween party was being held. The recording then showed the accused arguing with Lorbefore they were separated by a "large number of persons". The accused was seen returning four minutes later. "He takes a knife from his pocket and brandishes it towards the group where Lorcan is standing," said Det Insp Cleary. The footage then showed the moment the fatal blow was struck, with Lorcan seen clutching his chest after he had chased and confronted his attacker, who had tried to flee the scene. Michael O'Higgins, defending, said his client had endured a "difficult and chaotic childhood". He said that, as a child, the accused had changed addresses frequently and his family rarely stayed in one place for more than six months. He said he had expressed remorse and, despite his difficult upbringing, he had told the psychologist preparing a background report for the court that "my worst memory is that I killed someone". "I am only a child. I keep thinking about what I have done and I am sorry," he said. Before adjourning the case for sentencing, Mr Justice Patrick McCarthy said it was a "difficult case for any judge". "It is a homicide, a serious homicide," he added. The accused was remanded on continuing bail until next Monday. Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 7 Trend: Over the past 24 hours, Armenias armed forces have 22 times violated the ceasefire in various directions along the line of contact between Azerbaijani and Armenian troops, the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry told Trend Feb. 7. The Armenian army was using large-caliber machine guns. The Azerbaijani army positions located in Gaymagli village and on nameless heights of Azerbaijans Gazakh district underwent fire from the Armenian army positions located in the Barekamavan, Shavarshavan villages of the Noyemberyan district and on nameless heights of the Ijevan district of Armenia. The Azerbaijani army positions located in the Aghbulag and Munjuglu villages of Azerbaijans Tovuz district were also shelled from the Armenian army positions located in the Chinari village and on nameless heights of the Berd district of Armenia. Moreover, the Azerbaijani army positions underwent fire from the Armenian army positions located near the Armenian-occupied Chilaburt village of the Tartar district, Mehdili village of the Jabrayil district, as well as from the positions located on nameless heights of the Goranboy, Tartar, Fuzuli and Khojavand districts of Azerbaijan. The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts. The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts. Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 7 Trend: The OSCE monitoring held along the line of contact between Azerbaijani and Armenian troops passed without incidents, the press service of Azerbaijans Defense Ministry told Trend Feb. 7. The monitoring was held Feb. 7 under the mandate of the OSCE chairperson-in-office personal representative in Azerbaijans Fuzuli District. On the Azerbaijani side, the monitoring was held by OSCE Chairperson-in-Office Personal Representative Andrzej Kasprzyk and his field assistants Ghenadie Petrica and Peter Svedberg. On the Azerbaijani territories occupied and controlled by Armenian armed forces, the monitoring was held by Hristo Hristov, Jiri Aberle and Simon Tiller, field assistants of the OSCE chairperson-in-office personal representative. 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. Details added (first version posted on Feb. 6, 20:08) Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 6 Trend: President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has met with President of the European Commission Jean Claude Juncker in Brussels, Belgium. The sides expressed satisfaction with the cooperation between Azerbaijan and the European Union. They expressed confidence to further develop bilateral ties. It was emphasized that a new document on cooperation and partnership between Azerbaijan and the European Union is being prepared, and following the signing of this document, the relations in overall spheres would be further strengthened and expanded. During the meeting, Azerbaijans close cooperation in the field of dialogue among civilizations and cultures with the world countries, including with the European Union was specified. It was noted that Azerbaijan comprehensively cooperate with the European Union in the educational and humanitarian spheres. The sides stressed economic and export diversification as a priority issue in Azerbaijan, exchanged views over cooperation in the field of energy and transport, as well as on a number of issues of mutual interest. The same day, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has completed his visit to the Kingdom of Belgium. Details added (first version posted on 14:13) Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 7 By Elmira Tariverdiyeva Trend: The Supreme Court of Belarus has rejected the complaint filed by the defendant of blogger Alexander Lapshin regarding his extradition to Azerbaijan, the press service of the court told Trend. On Jan. 26, 2017, Alexei Stuk, deputy prosecutor general of Belarus, issued a ruling on Lapshins extradition to Azerbaijan. Later, the Minsk City Court upheld this decision. The Supreme Court of Belarus is the last instance Lapshin could appeal to against the ruling of the General Prosecutors Office. Alexander Lapshin is a citizen of several countries and has had a criminal conspiracy with Armenians living in the occupied Azerbaijani territories. He also illegally visited these territories. Lapshin is accused of violating Azerbaijani laws on state border in April 2011 and October 2012. In order to promote the illegal regime created in the Azerbaijani territories occupied by Armenia, Lapshin presented Azerbaijans Nagorno-Karabakh as an independent state on his social media account, and supporting the independence of the unrecognized regime he made public incitements aimed at violating Azerbaijans territorial integrity on April 6 and June 29, 2016. 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. Washington County football: Wildcats, Warriors open playoffs with victories Williamsport and Boonsboro will play in the second round of the Class 2A-1A West playoffs after victories Friday night. Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 7 Trend: A countrys every step to facilitate the obtaining of visas by citizens of other states is already a big progress to improve the tourist exchange, said Lithuanian Ambassador to Azerbaijan Valdas Lastauskas in his interview with Trend. Azerbaijan's simplification of visa procedures for foreign citizens, starting from January 2017 is definitely a positive step, which will definitely have a positive impact on the development of tourism in the country, noted Lastauskas. The ambassador said that the Azerbaijani governments decision on simplification of visa procedures for foreigners will lead to increase in tourist traffic between Azerbaijan and Lithuania, and the two countries diplomatic missions in Baku and Vilnius will do everything possible for that. Lithuanian tourists will be interested to come to Azerbaijan, get acquainted with the sights of Baku and regions, taste national dishes, enjoy the hospitality of the Azerbaijani people and feel comfortable here, said the ambassador. As you know, Lithuania is located on the shores of the Baltic Sea, where, as we joke, it is cold 10 months a year and high rainfall, noted the diplomat, adding that there is a beautiful nature in Lithuania. Azerbaijan, with its favorable weather, sun, warm sea, beaches, beautiful nature, forests, lakes, mountains will attract more and more tourists from Lithuania, added Lastauskas. The diplomat believes that Lithuanian tourists, fans of winter holidays, will surely be attracted by one of the best ski resorts in the region Shahdag Mountain Resort, which will be one of the essential tourism destinations in Azerbaijan. Many Lithuanian tourists, who, in recent years, are expanding the geography of their traveling further, and have visited and loved it here in Azerbaijan, he said. I think that over time, the number of those wishing to visit your beautiful country will increase, added the Lithuanian ambassador. My first acquaintance with the Azerbaijani national cuisine took place many years ago. It happened not in Azerbaijan but in a completely different country, in an Azerbaijani restaurant where I tried Sheki piti (a soup made with mutton and vegetables) for the first time. The taste is excellent. For me, personally, the Sheki piti is the basis of the national cuisine. Of course, the list of my favorite dishes of Azerbaijani cuisine expanded after my arrival in Azerbaijan, the diplomat said. The list includes such dishes as Baku dushbara (small dumplings filled with lamb, served in broth), Lankarani levengi (a casserole of chicken or fish stuffed with walnuts and herbs), Shamkir tomatoes, sweets Guba baklava, shakarbura, etc. But piti is still the best. At times, I do cook it myself at home. My friends and acquaintances in Lithuania already know the taste of the Azerbaijani tea and baklava, which I always bring them as a gift when I go home. But my main finding is Mulberry oghi (fruit vodka) a traditional drink of the people in the Azerbaijani Western regions, and liqueur made of walnuts, which is prepared only in Nakhchivan, he said. These two drinks, having many healing powers, can deservedly become Azerbaijans national brand and be exported to other countries, in Lithuania as well. I would be very happy if restaurants of Azerbaijani cuisine are opened in Lithuania, I would like to see more Lithuanians become acquainted with this rich and varied cuisine. Unfortunately, there are no such restaurants in our country yet," Lastauskas said. "Of course, the South Caucasian cuisine is presented in Lithuania, it is more of a mixed cuisine, but I would like to see a separate Azerbaijani restaurant. I hope that Azerbaijani entrepreneurs will fill the void and make the Lithuanians happy with delicious dishes of your cuisine, the envoy said. Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 7 Trend: Blogger Alexander Lapshin, who illegally visited the occupied Azerbaijani lands, has been brought to Baku from Belarus where he was earlier detained. Earlier, the Supreme Court of Belarus rejected the complaint filed by Lapshins lawyer regarding his extradition to Azerbaijan, the press service of the court told Trend. On Jan. 26, Alexei Stuk, deputy prosecutor general of Belarus, issued a ruling on Lapshins extradition to Azerbaijan. Later, the Minsk City Court upheld this decision. The Supreme Court of Belarus is the last instance Lapshin could appeal to against the ruling of the General Prosecutors Office. Alexander Lapshin is a citizen of several countries and has had a criminal conspiracy with Armenians living in the occupied Azerbaijani territories. He also illegally visited these territories. Lapshin is accused of violating Azerbaijani laws on state border in April 2011 and October 2012. In order to promote the illegal regime created in the Azerbaijani territories occupied by Armenia, Lapshin presented Azerbaijans Nagorno-Karabakh as an independent state on his social media account, and supporting the independence of the unrecognized regime he made public incitements aimed at violating Azerbaijans territorial integrity on April 6 and June 29, 2016. 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. A meeting dedicated to the completion of a project entitled ICT Training for Youth, which won 8th Grant Contest organized by Youth Foundation under the President of the Azerbaijan Republic, was held at Baku Higher Oil School (BHOS). Opening the meeting, BHOS Rector Elmar Gasimov said that such projects help schoolchildren develop skills that would be useful for them in the future. He reminded that 12 projects of students and teachers of the Higher School won the 8th Grant Contest of the Youth Foundation and emphasized that this was a remarkable achievement. Cooperation between BHOS and the Youth Foundation is very important for our students. The Youth Foundation is an organization that deals with issues related to implementation of the Youth Policy, encourages young peoples involvement in various activities including scientific, educational, cultural and social activities, and provides grants to sponsor their projects and programs, said the Rector. Addressing the gathering, Executive Director of the Youth Foundation under the President of the Azerbaijan Republic Farhad Hajiyev told that establishment of BHOS and other similar higher educational institutions in the country was a result of special attention of the Head of the state to the issues of youth. He said, I am very pleased to see that BHOS students participate in our contests and win our grants. It proves once again that the Higher School under Elmar Gasimovs management trains highly qualified specialists. Speaking at the meeting, author of the ICT Training for Youth Project, Senior Lecturer of BHOS Process Automation Engineering Department Abbas Alili expressed his gratitude to the BHOS Rector and the Executive Director of the Youth Foundation for their support to the project implementation. He informed that its main objective was to raise schoolchildrens interest to electrical engineering, electronics, robotics, and automation engineering. During the project implementation, Abbas Alili conducted training courses for upper-form pupils of the school 232 of Surakhan district of Baku, lyceum named after academician Zarifa Aliyeva and lyceum school complex named after Mubariz Gurbanov of Bilesuvar district. Upon the training course completion, the schoolchildren received certificates of participation. They were also presented with ARDUINO Uno gadgets. A Manager on Education Affairs in the Europe and Central Asia of the World Bank Christian Aedo and a Senior Education Expert Jason Allen Wiever met with UNEC Rector Adalat Muradov. Delivering detailed information about UNEC, A.Muradov brought to attention that UNECs goal is to be ranked among the world- class universities; then he spoke about the international cooperation and namely about the ties established with the worlds prestigious universities. He provided the delegation with the expanded information about the opportunities of receiving Undergraduate Degree of the University of London/ London School of Economics at UNEC and dual diploma programs with the University of Montpellier of France. Rector informed the guests about the projects realized at the university, especially the Electronic University Model and Differential Salary System, performances of the newly established International School of Economics and UNEC Business School. Stating as a reason of their visit to study the priorities of higher education system in Azerbaijan and obtain the information about the needs of the universities, the World Bank Manager Christian Aedo and Senior Education Expert Jason Allen Wiever highly appreciated the projects implemented at UNEC, essentially digitalization of teaching, involving young specialists studied abroad to university and the application of Differential Salary System. The issue of getting the World Banks support for UNECs development strategy has been extensively discussed. In addition, views on having access to the banks publications in the field of education and expansion of cooperation in UNEC projects of international education and research were exchanged in the end. UNEC is the brand of Azerbaijan State University of Economics. The brand of UNEC has been registered and patented by the State Committee on Standardization, Metrology and Patent on January 21 2016. Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 7 By Seba Aghayeva Trend: The governments of Azerbaijan and Pakistan are considering the introduction of free trade regime, Azerbaijani Ambassador to Pakistan Ali Alizade said in an interview with Trend. Pakistan has earlier offered Azerbaijan to sign a free trade agreement. Preparation of a draft free trade agreement and its negotiation is a process that requires a lot of time. The agreement must satisfy both sides, answer trading interests and take into account the priorities, he said. During the visit of Pakistans Commerce Minister Khurram Dastgir Khan in Azerbaijan in October 2016, this issue was on the agenda of negotiations and was discussed with the Azerbaijani side, Alizadesaid, adding that it is currently being considered in Azerbaijans government. In line with orders and decrees of Azerbaijans president, reforms in customs have been carried out and also procedures have been simplified for obtaining visas for citizens of foreign states, the diplomat said. As a result of reforms in the customs sector, the "single window" principle was improved, implementation of the "green corridor" regime was started for transportation of goods and vehicles in 2016, and also a simplified electronic declaration system for individuals was launched, Alizadesaid. Another important point for the development of cooperation is the simplification of visa procedures for foreign citizens through the ASAN visa system, the services of which are already used by Pakistani citizens. All of this encourages Pakistans business community to cooperate with Azerbaijan. Trade turnover between Azerbaijan and Pakistan amounted to $7.3 million in 2016, according to Azerbaijans State Customs Committee. Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 7 By Maksim Tsurkov Trend: An export mission of the Azerbaijani entrepreneurs will visit Pakistan on Feb. 9-11, Azerbaijans Economy Ministry said in a message. The message says that currently, an Azerbaijani export mission consisting of representatives of nine companies engaged in the production of fruit juices, meat and meat products, mineral water, flour and flour products, as well as milk and dairy products is on a visit in Afghanistans capital, Kabul. On the visits first day, the Azerbaijani and Afghan companies held a forum organized by the Azerbaijan Export and Investment Promotion Foundation (AZPROMO) and Afghanistan Chamber of Commerce and Industries. AZPROMO and the Afghanistan Chamber of Commerce and Industries signed a memorandum of understanding on cooperation during the forum. Meanwhile, bilateral meetings were organized, which were attended by representatives of more than 60 Afghan companies, said the message. The Azerbaijani delegation will stay in Afghanistan until Feb. 8, and will visit Pakistan on Feb. 9-11. --- Follow the author on Twitter: @MaksimTsurkov NEWTON The Catawba County Board of Commissioners recognized the Catawba County Budget and Management Office on Monday morning for earning the 2016 Distinguished Budget Presentation Award from the Government Finance Officers Association. This year marks 28-straight years of receiving the award. Commissioners also heard a presentation from Hani Nassar, chair of Hickory International on behalf of Sister Cities International. Nassar asked commissioners to consider re-joining the organization that joins cities around the world with each other. The City of Hickorys sister city is Altenburg, Germany, Nassar said, because of the common heritage shared between the two cities. Sister Cities was an organization formed in 1956 by President Dwight Eisenhower and aims to bring people together, he said. Commissioners agreed to discuss the potential of rejoining the organization during budget meetings in the future. Commissioners also made an official proclamation declaring Feb. 5-11 as National Burn Awareness Week to draw attention to fire safety. Commissioners concluded the meeting by entering into executive session. 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/ Two Van Gogh masterpieces stolen in Amsterdam in 2002 and recovered last year in Italy will be on show in Naples from Tuesday until February 26, 2017. The brief exhibition at the Capodimonte Museum has been organised as a thank you to the southern city for the local polices role in tracking down the two small but hugely valuable and historically significant oil paintings. The works had gone unheard of from the time they were stolen in a daring raid on the Van Gogh Museum until they turned up last year at the house of a notorious mafia boss. Two Italian policemen stand guard by the two recently recovered stolen paintings by late Dutch artist Vincent Van Gogh at the Capodimonte Museum in Naples. (AFP/Carlo Hermann) The 1882 Seascape at Scheveningen and the 1884/5 Congregation leaving the Reformed Church at Nuenen were among the Dutch masters first oil paintings and, as such, are of enormous interest to art historians. How exactly the paintings ended up in Italy remains a mystery. They were found in September during a raid on a property belonging to fugitive mobster Raffaele Imperiale, at Castellammare di Stabia, southeast of Naples. The area is a notorious hotspot for the nefarious activities of the Neapolitan mafia, the Camorra. A specialist carries The Beach At Scheveningen During A Storm . Two Van Gogh masterpieces, stolen in Amsterdam 14 years ago, will be returning to The Netherlands after the end of the exhibition on February 26, 2017. (AFP/Carlo Hermann) The paintings were stolen in December 2002 with the thieves using a rope to get in and out of the heavily fortified building after getting on to the roof by ladder. Two Italian policemen of the Guardia di Finanza (Financial Police) stand guard by the two recently recovered stolen paintings by late Dutch artist Vincent Van Gogh entitled "Congregation Leaving the Reformed Church in Nuenen" and "The Beach At Scheveningen During A Storm" displayed at the Capodimonte Museum in Naples on February 6, 2017 for an exhibition before their return at the Van Gogh Museum. Two Van Gogh masterpieces, "Congregation Leaving the Reformed Church in Nuenen" and "The Beach At Scheveningen During A Storm", stolen in Amsterdam 14 years ago will be returning to The Netherlands after the end of the exhibition on February 26, 2017. The Italian police recovered them from the house of notorious drug boss. / AFP PHOTO / CARLO HERMANN / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY MENTION OF THE ARTIST UPON PUBLICATION - TO ILLUSTRATE THE EVENT AS SPECIFIED IN THE CAPTION (AFP) Giorgio Toschi, a general with Italys financial and customs police, said the theft had ranked on the FBIs top ten of art crimes. More than ever we are seeing art works being used by criminals either as safe haven investments or as a way of making payments or guaranteeing deals between organised criminal groups, he said at the unveiling of the two paintings on Monday. Follow @htlifeandstyle for more. The sizeable population of ex-servicemen and widows in Uttarakhand has led to both the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Congress trying their best to woo the 2.5 lakh voters from the community residing in the hill state. The BJP aims to lure the sizeable vote base by drawing attention towards the implementation of the One Rank One Pension (OPOP) scheme; while the Harish Rawat- led Congress has promised a separate ministry for former soldiers, if it is voted to power. The BJP, however, appears to be a step behind the Congress as it has failed to project a candidate representing the forces. The Congress on the other hand as fielded three candidates -- TPS Rawat, SS Negi and Ranjeet Rawatthat have a connection with the armed forces. Political set up Representation from the armed forces is significant in the state due to the sizeable vote bank constituted by ex-servicemen, widows, veterans and those presently serving. Understanding the importance of army vote bank in state, BJP has Major General BC Khanduri currently an MP from Pauri campaigning in the Garhwal region where the concentration is highest. The Congress appears to not have taken the full advantage of its representives of the armed forces as its candidates TPS Rawat and Negi have been limited to their constituencies. Number game The hill state has nearly 2.25 lakh serving personnel, retired officers, widows and veterans. There are 76 lakh total voters in state. According to records of Sainik Kalyan Evam Punarwas located in capital, till December 2016, there are 122,849 registered ex-servicemen and 39,345 widows. In addition, there are 300 veterans while 1,531 veteran widows. There are about 60,000 armed forces serving personnel. Dehradun has 22,576 retired personnel and 4,000 widows. With seven veterans and their 78 widows, it has the maximum concentration of ex-servicemen. It is followed by Pauri Garhwal district. The regiment centre of Garhwal Rifles-Lansdowne alone has 14,866 retired and 4,936 widows. It also has 10 veterans and 143 war widows. The remaining areas in the district have 6,958 ex-servicemen and 2,455 widows with 2 veterans and 134 war widows. Pithoragarh district has 16,517 retired personnel and 7,348 widows, 10 veterans and 329 war widows. Pulling strings In order to woo this section of voters, BJP is largely banking on the implementation of One Rank One Pension (OROP). Parrikar had already declared that 90% retired personnel have been benefited so far. The second trump card of the saffron party is the army chief. He is the first army man from Uttarakhand who was promoted to the rank of Army General. His visit to home district of Pauri Garhwal last year was seen as another important event favoring the party during elections. The man behind the surgical strikes-Ajit Doval who also hails from Pauri, has managed to mesmerise retired personnel in his home district. Two of our sons-Bipin and Ajit are safeguarding the country and I feel immense proud of being a resident of their home district, said Lt Gen Raghubeer Rawat. Congress on the contrary, is banking on support from the United Front of Ex-Servicemen of India. The front has shown its solidarity with the party highlighting several discrepancies in OROP. OROP was given to us like alms and not as our rights. There are discrepancies to which BJP is not willing to make changes. Under such circumstances, we have requested the people and families associated with the front to cast vote in favour of Congress, Lt. Gen. Gambhir Singh Negi (retd.), a former commandant of Indian Military Academy told Hindustan Times. Congress chief Amarinder Singh is also expected to take part in campaigning with an aim to win retired personnel and Punjabi voters. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 7 By Seba Aghayeva Trend: Azerbaijan and Pakistan intend to develop the economic cooperation and the two countries are aimed at development of cooperation in such areas as policy, economy, defense and security, trade, energy, tourism and humanitarian sphere, said Azerbaijani Ambassador to Pakistan Ali Alizada. Alizada noted that currently, there are many spheres for cooperation that are of mutual interest for both countries, particularly, in the defense industry, agriculture, textile industry, pharmaceutical industry and the field of medical equipment, trade of tinned products, energy and tourism, use of transport corridors and infrastructure projects, and others. Main advantages of Azerbaijan for attraction of investments are that the country has a growing economy, relevant business environment has been created here and there is a high level of competition, he noted. "Political relations between Azerbaijan and Pakistan are at the highest level. There are many similarities between our countries: both countries cherish religious and moral values. Pakistan, especially for Azerbaijan, is a fraternal country and a partner," said the Azerbaijani envoy. "The leaders of the countries attach great importance to our relations. The heads of Azerbaijan and Pakistan signed a declaration on strategic partnership of the two countries and the relations are developing in this direction." "The deepening of friendly and brotherly relations, ensuring the implementation of those issues, which are reflected in the declaration and cover all areas of cooperation, are the main priorities in our relations," noted the diplomat. He added that the development of trade and economic cooperation stands at the center of attention of the two countries presidents. "Prospects of cooperation in this sphere were discussed during the visit of Pakistans Commerce Minister Khurram Dastgir Khan to Azerbaijan in October 2016, following the official visit of the Pakistani Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif," said the ambassador. "During the visit, Pakistans commerce minister was accompanied by a group of Pakistani businessmen. Azerbaijan will send a trade mission to Pakistan in February. Moreover, several reciprocal visits of representatives of governments and business circles of the two countries are planned and all this, undoubtedly, will serve for the development of the two countries economic ties." One of the priority directions of cooperation is tourism, according to him. "There are big prospects for the two countries cooperation in this sphere. The participation of Pakistans tourism companies in exhibitions held in Baku, the exchange of information and experience, provision of more information on tourism opportunities of the two countries are under permanent attention," said Alizada. He added that the Azerbaijani embassy regularly holds presentations on the countrys tourism opportunities, acquaints travel agencies and nationals of Pakistan with tourism infrastructure, tourism products, by attracting them in every possible way to visit Azerbaijan. The envoy is confident that the promotion of Azerbaijans tourism opportunities, simplification of visa procedures via the ASAN Visa system will contribute to the increase of tourist flow from Pakistan. Azerbaijan simplified the visa regime and starting from Jan. 10, 2017, foreign citizens are able to register visas for entry into Azerbaijan via the ASAN Visa system within three days. Trade turnover between Azerbaijan and Pakistan amounted to $7.30 million in 2016, according to Azerbaijans State Customs Committee. Bhopal: Chief judicial magistrate (CJM), Bhopal Bhubhaskar Yadav on Monday issued a bailable arrest warrant against the then district collector Moti Singh and the then superintendent of police of Bhopal Swaraj Puri for failing to appear before court despite summons to them. On November 19, Bhopal district court had summoned Moti Singh and Swaraj Puri to give their statements on their alleged role in letting go Warren Anderson, whom they had escorted to the Bhopal airport in 1984 after his arrest. The order came on a 2010 petition filed by activist Abdul Jabbar and Shanawaz Khan. Moti Singh had given sequential details about the letting go of Anderson in his book Unfolding the betrayal of Bhopal Gas Tragedy (2008) . Jabbar used this book in a Bhopal court as evidence in his 2010 petition against Moti Singh and Swaraj Puri On Monday , the CJM court issued bailable arrest warrants against Moti Singh and Swaraj Puri through the senior superintendent of police. Bhopal for Rs 5,000 surety each for securing their presence before the court on March 1. In the order, the court maintained that both of them were aware of the summons, but being influential people, the summons couldnt be served to them. Jabbar said even after 32 years of Bhopal gas tragedy, they were hoping that the mystery of who had ordered the letting go of Warren Anderson, the then chairman of the US-based Union Carbide Corporation (UCC), within hours of his arrest in Bhopal on December 7, 1984, could be cracked soon if Moti Singh and Swaraj Puri gave their statements before the court. Both of them were first summoned on December 8 last. They didnt appear. Then they were again summoned on January 13. Again they didnt appear. And this is for the third time , they didnt appear, prompting the court to issue an arrest warrant against them, he said. Jabbar said it remains a mystery who actually instructed the senior government functionaries in Madhya Pradesh directing them to let Anderson go. Over 42 tonnes of methyl isocyanate gas leaked at the UCCs plant in Bhopal killing 15,000 to 20,000 people on the night of December 2-3, 1984 and exposing more than 5 lakh people to the toxic fumes. Bhopal: Former union HRD minister Murli Manohar Joshi feels difficulties students face in getting into the USA for studies or research work have increased after Donald Trump becoming the president but if a student gets a chance he should go there for a research work. Joshi was speaking at the convocation of Barakatullah University, Bhopal on Monday. The BJP MP in Lok Sabha said, Trump Mahodaya ne waise to kathinaiyan badha di hai, lekin agar kisi student ko bahar jaane ka mauka mile toh unko wahan jakar reserach karni chahiye (Trump has added to the difficulties for students but if a student gets a chance to go abroad, he should go there for research work). Exhorting students to serve their nation Joshi said, Prof Barkatullah Bhopali served in many countries but he didnt settle down abroad. He came back and served our country. Joshi also said, Students shouldnt forget that they have their duties towards their country and the university too. Emphasizing on quality of education, Joshi said, Students should concentrate on quality of their work not on quantity. They should look forward to getting a patent on their names. Joshi said, India has made progress in many fields like technology, telecom and agriculture but a lot of work has to be done in some areas like malnutrition, poverty eradication, women safety and environment because the condition is very pitiable. In the programme, Joshi was conferred upon a degree of doctorate of Science. Bhopal: Madhya Pradesh government has extended the term of the judicial commission which is probing the jailbreak and encounter of eight alleged SIMI men in Bhopal that took place on October 31, by six months. The commission was supposed to conduct and complete the inquiry in a period of three months. On February 6, the duration of three months was completed. After the high drama on Saturday evening when the irked SIMI judicial commission chief Justice (retd) SK Pandey left the circuit house in Bhopal, where he was staying, with his baggage and boarded an auto, the senior officials of the government went to pacify him. He finally agreed to return to his office and continue his inquiry, said official sources. In the first week of November, the state government had issued a notification for instituting a judicial inquiry into the jailbreak and the alleged encounter, with Justice (retd) SK Pandey heading the one man inquiry commission. According to the terms of reference for the inquiry, it had to be completed in within three months and the report had to be submitted to the state government. The inquiry is looking into under what circumstances eight SIMI escaped from the central jail on the wee hours October 31, which officers and employees are responsible for the escape, under which circumstances and sequence the encounter took place at a hillock in Manikhedi village on the outskirts of Bhopal. From gaining customers, revenue and market share, the war between telecom operators -- at least Reliance Jio versus Bharti Airtel -- is turning into a battle of ethics, trust, openness and interoperability. A day after Mukesh Ambani-promoted Reliance Jio alleged that Airtel was violating licensing conditions by not giving adequate points of interconnectivity (PoI), the Sunil Mittal-run telecom behemoth hit back on Tuesday. The PoIs have been provided well above the customer growth projection provided by Jio to Airtel. The capacity provided is ideal for serving over 190 million customers on the Jio network, Airtel said in an statement. Reliance Jio has 72.5 million subscribers. Airtel claims that it has provided 35,000 PoIs to Reliance Jio in the short span of five months -- of which 27,719 PoIs have been dedicated for incoming calls from Jio customers -- the highest among all operators. Reliance Jio and Airtel have been waging an existential battle, after Ambanis new telecom operator started offering data free of cost. Profits squeezed, and a price war began, as Reliance Jio continued to offer free data after the stipulated 90-days period. Even before extending its free data offer, the telecom industry was hurt. India mobile revenue growth stepped down in July-to-September quarter (2017), led by Reliance Jios free offers. The impact on growth was higher in data heavy markets, brokerage firm CLSA said in a report. Airtel moved the telecom tribunal TDSAT, against the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India for having allowed Reliance Jio continue with its service. TRAI dismissed Airtels plea. Soon enough, Airtel filed a complaint in the Competition Commission of India (CCI) that Reliance Jio has built a pan-India telecom network and distribution infrastructure, and is providing free voice and data services. In return, on Monday, a Reliance Jio spokesperson said, This latest salvo by Airtel is a clear ploy to divert attention from its own violation of licensing conditions by having denied adequate POIs to Jio and the already announced censure proceedings by the TRAI against them. Meanwhile, the Telecom Commission of India has given TRAI a 15-days notice to explain how it slapped Rs 3,050 penalty on Airtel, Vodafone and Idea Cellular, questioning the regulators methodology. TRAI had slapped the penalty on operators for not providing adequate PoIs to Reliance Jio. Airtel, too, on Tuesday dismissed all of Reliance Jio claims. It said that Airtel has honoured its regulatory obligations and has provided PoIs ahead of the commencement of its (Jios)commercial operations. The Reliance Jio spokesperson had said that Airtel acting against consumer interest by opposing the free voice benefit that Jio is providing using the internet. Airtel in its note hit back mentioning that the Reliance Jios constant rhetoric on PoIs is to cover up technical issues in their own network, hinting at the consistent call drops. It also said that due to the bad voice quality on Reliance Jios network, the voice traffic on its own network has grown in leaps and bounds. On the contrary, Airtel said that it has given Reliance Jio more PoIs in ratio to other telecom operators. To Vodafone with 202 million customers has provided 40,600 points, to Idea with 185 million customers it has given 38,130 points, to Reliance Communications with 86 million customers 13,400, and Telenor with 58 million customers 9000. Moreover, all these PoIs have been provided over a longer time period. Earlier, Reliance Jio had said that Airtel and the other incumbents have formed a cartel to stonewall the new player. The telecom sector progresses due to disruptive innovation brought in by a new comer, but unfortunately, the incumbents led by Airtel have always tried to block such initiatives, the Jio spokesperson said. If global practices are a benchmark, the US telecom regulator Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is inquiring about free data programs and television services provided AT&T, Verizon Communications, Comcast Corp, T-Mobile USA. The FCC has written letters that raise concern over, if Verizon and AT&T violate the premise of net neutrality, which states that all data should be treated equally. Free data might just go against this principle, as it forces users to stay away from competitors offerings. On January 20, former FCC chairman Tom Wheeler told Reuters that free data practices were free data practices were abusive and anticompetitive. Analysts have also mentioned about the difficult times in the telecom industry. The entry of Reliance Jio and its hugely disruptive free distribution of SIM cards to rapidly build up scale are clearly proving to be a catalyst, a report by Bernstein said after Vodafone announced a merger with Idea Cellular. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Rideshare, which allows two or more people going in the same direction to use one cab, might be a good concept, but when did a good concept come in the way of law? It has in the case of cab aggregators Ola and its American rival Uber. Transport department officials in Delhi and Karnataka are contemplating banning services such as UberPOOL and Ola Share, which both the companies claim help decongest cities. The government said the service is illegal. If the ban is implemented, it might be just the beginning of the end of the road for ride-sharing in India. It sets precedence for a nationwide ban ... Even though it is economical for the riders, but it is a security concern, said Amit Kaushik, managing director (India) at Detroit-headquartered consultancy firm Urban Science. There is a good potential that other states might follow. Security concerns are a big problem, and these services should be restricted if regulations are not in place, Kaushik added. Who cares about regulations as long as the money flows in? Cab-hailing companies have a hook to attract customers. Under UberPOOL and Ola Share, users pay 30% to 50% less depending on the demand and time of their ride. In some cases, a shared travel is less expensive than an auto rickshaw ride. But, in a country where fake identity proofs are so common, allowing strangers to share rides can be risky. That is the governments concern, too. If an unforeseen incident happens during a shared ride, all fingers will be pointed at the government, a Delhi transport ministry official told Hindustan Times. According to the law, the ride-hailing companies are allowed to pick up passengers from one location and drop them to at another location. However, they cant change the route to pick up other passengers midway. Delhi government officials told HT that the companies are violating the permit norms, and are introducing more variants of ride-share. For both Ola and Uber, ride-sharing is the new battleground and future of commercial transportation. Ubers desperation was visible when it decided to go against the government to continue with its ride-sharing services in Bengaluru. Ubers general manager Christian Freese said that the firm had not received any notice from the government and so it wont take down the service. Soon after, the government in Karnataka has given a 15-day extension to Uber and Ola to carry on with the ride-sharing service amid a lot of uncertainty. When an Indian company goes to the US, it follows the law of the land. You can debate with the government, but you cant dictate the government, Sanchit Vir Gogia, founder and chief analyst at Greyhound Research, said. POOL and Share have also been opposed by drivers unions in Karnataka as they complained that it has brought down incentives of drivers. as customers are charged less when they hail a shared ride. While both Ola and Uber continued to talk about ease of use, lower prices, and decongesting cities, they do not take responsibility for the passengers safety. The companies do guarantee passenger safety even after the rider has boarded the cab. Incidents of rape and molestation have never stopped doing the rounds with cab-hailing companies. Women safety cant be jeopardised. The government is not wrong..., Gogia said. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON New Delhi: The Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) administration will take action against the students who organised and participated in a university lockdown strike on Monday. The strike was called by tudents suspended by the administration for allegedly disrupting an academic council meeting in December last year. The students had entered the meeting to protest the universitys decision to implement the University Grants Commissions (UGC) admission policy of giving 100% weightage to viva. On Monday, these students had called for a lockdown and organised strike at different centres demanding the revoking of the suspension. The university registrar, Pramod Kumar, said, A handful of students illegally and forcibly prevented academic activities in JNU which is condemnable. They did not allow the employees to enter the different centres. Our security staff has recorded the videos of the disruption. We will see that and take action, said Kumar. On twitter too, Kumar called the strike an illegal activity and said students should resist politics. The protesting students said that they received support from the students and the call for strike was not illegal. Our demands are very logical and we will fight till the end. We have an unprecedented support as we are also fighting for the cause of the students, said a member of the National Students Union of India. The university administration said they have also received complaints of some students forcing teachers to plead that they be allowed to enter the centres. Makarand R Paranjape, professor at the School of Languages said he was prevented from going to his office by tge striking Jawaharlal Nehru Student Union members. The stand-off continued for a long time. They shouted slogans against me, called me names, and hinted that I was outnumbered twenty to one. But I also shouted slogans that I would fight for my democratic rights and the rights of all those who wish to dissent. In the end, I succeeded, but only after I had offered satyagraha myself, sitting down in dharna, and holding the students feet to push them away from the door (sic), Paranjape said on a social media website. While on Monday the strike was called out by the suspended students, members of JNUSU are also on a hunger strike demanding the revoking of the UGC recommendations on admission. Meanwhile, the JNU teachers association (JNUTA) will be taking the issue with the President of India, who is the visitor of the university, to apprise him of the matter. The Standing Committee on Admissions (which the Press Note surprisingly calls the Steering Committee) is a body that makes recommendations to the Academic Council. It is duplicitous, therefore, to suggest that it has arrived at some decisions/recommendations in advance of an AC meeting, said JNUTA in a statement. On February 4, the administration had said that the university would stick to the old admission policy of giving 80 marks to entrance test and 20 marks for viva. Principal of a government school in eastern Uttar Pradesh has been suspended for allegedly forcing a group of girl students to run laps of the playground without their skirts for failing to memorise Sanskrit lessons. Meena Singh was suspended on Monday after parents of around 15 Class 8 students gathered at Electricity Board Junior High School for Girls in Anpara in Sonbhadra district to protest against the punishment handed out to their daughters. The principal has denied the charge. School principal Meena Singh has been suspended by the management of the school. It has constituted a probe committee to look into the matter. It will submit report in a week, block education officer Dileep Kumar said on Tuesday. Singh had on Friday asked the class to memorise some Sanskrit shlokas, education department officials said, citing complaints submitted by the parents. She ordered 15 girls out of the classroom the next day when they failed to recite the shlokas. The girls were then given the murga punishment that required them to squat, hold their ears by looping the arms behind the knees, a position resembling that of a rooster, or murga in Hindi. The murga is counted among the worst forms of corporal punishment, which is banned in schools. The girls were then asked to take off their skirts and run around the school ground, the officials said. Embarrassed, the girls informed their parents, who came to the school on Monday and demanded action against the principal. She didnt ask the girls to take off their skirts and run, Meena Singh said. The girls were only asked to recite the shlokas and were told to inform their parents as they had not completed the homework, she said. It was at an airy, well-equipped hospital of 100 beds on a sylvan hilltop in tribal Tamil Nadu that N Devadasan realised how, even when it appears prepared, Indias public health system is not. Catering to about 17,000 tribals at the tri-junction of Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka, the government hospital could not stop the deaths of many pregnant women. There was no follow-up care after admission, and there were only two doctors, usually loath to physically examine their tribal patients. There was a local saying, said Devadasan. You come in on your own, and you are carried out by four people. A soft-spoken, earnest doctor determined to work in a place of need, Devadasan spent a decade with his wife in the late 1980s and 90s catering to the primary healthcare needs of tribals whose children died from reasons difficult to comprehend in prosperous, emerging India, including diarrhoea, measles, respiratory infections and malnutrition. These illnesses continue to kill Indian children by the thousands. Although India has steadily improved its infant-mortality rate (a 53% drop over a quarter century), a million babies die every year at a rate higher than the average of 154 low- and middle-income countries. Read | Pithoragarh: drinking water and healthcare main poll issues Living on the forest edge in the town of Gudalur, initially in a leaky house with no TV, fridge or running water, except in the toilet, the Devadasans represented many idealistic folk who try to fill the countrys biggest governance gap: The last-mile delivery of services, particularly to disadvantaged communities. The Devadasans set up a system of immunising children, monitoring growth and delivering babies, but they could not handle complicated deliveries or treat disease, such as pneumonia. Financed by British and Dutch donors, the NGO they worked for asked the government: Could they volunteer at the hilltop hospital? No. Could they get vaccines to deliver to remote tribal villages? No. This perverseness is an Indian quality. It also explains why many NGOs that work on governance failures report that Indian donors want to see buildings or tangible things they are reluctant to donate money for research or training, and, largely, flee from anything that spells r-i-g-h-t-s. After a decade with the tribals of Gudalur, the Devadasans left to see if they could address the knowledge gap at the district and state level in the government health system by working with public health services. If they could be strengthened, the poorest would benefit. Read | Govt launches Measles-Rubella vaccine campaign to cover nearly 3.6 crore children Today, Devadasans decade-old NGO, the Institute of Public Health (IPH) run from a modest house in a Bangalore suburb generates data from within district hospitals to help evidence-based decision making. It shares the data to influence policy in other words, advocacy (which, Devadasan admitted, is now a bad word), and provides on-the-job training and professional education for government health officers. Read | Beware! Giving out Facebook likes harms your mental and physical health Some IPH recommendations have become part of Indias public-healthcare improvements. Devadasan was part of the Karnataka governments task-force on reorganising primary healthcare and the national health assurance mission; a colleague was part of Indias official delegation to the UN in October on anti-tobacco laws; and IPH training programmes for the police, education, urban development, information, infotech/biotech and other departments have led to Karnataka, which has tasked the NGO with being the implementing agency, being furthest along in giving life to the countrys anti-tobacco law, more than eight years after it came into force, 13 years after it was passed. Helping the government implement its own laws in a country full of high-quality legislation but poor execution is an important role that NGOs like the IPH fulfil. That argument did not stop Narendra Modis government from banning, in the public interest or for anti-national activities to use the vague, official reasons foreign donations to IPH and 24 other NGOs in November. The real reasons, of course, are clearer. Read | Act against hospitals that dont register babies of unwed mothers: Maneka Gandhi Some of the NGOs forbidden from foreign donations have helped implement laws in a manner inconvenient to Modi in the past, such as the Sabrang Trust of Teesta Setalvad, which fought cases on behalf of Muslim victims of the 2002 Gujarat riots, and the Lawyers Collective, run by former Indian additional solicitor general Indira Jaising, who defended Sabrang. Another banned NGO includes Gujarats 27-year-old Navsarjan Trust, which has built facilities for disenfranchised Dalits and fought legal cases, most notably on behalf of four Dalit tanners flogged by Right-wing Hindu vigilantes for skinning cows. The IPH had rocked no boat associated with the BJP (although, its anti-tobacco work, I heard, could have riled the tobacco industry). Its foreign-donations ban further illustrates the inherently arbitrary and opaque nature of the governments actions. Devadasan first got to know of the cancellation of the IPHs foreign-contribution licence from the newspapers. An appeal to ministry of home affairs, got this reply on December 26: It is (sic) to inform that the application for renewal is refused in the public interest. With four donors (Belgian, German, the United States, and the Red Cross) cashiered, so to say, the IPHs Rs 2.5-crore annual budget is in disarray, and 30 of IPHs 40 public health professionals and other staff will leave by the end of this month. Only one donor remains: The World Health Organization, which does not require government clearance. Read | Pay first, treatment later, UK tells foreign patients To use the public-interest justification against respected organisations that work in the public interest, delivering the governments own laws and services, is an act of irony (consider, the IPH works with the health ministry and faces action from the home ministry). To provide no clear justification is not only perverse but sets yardsticks others can similarly misuse the precedent for the hounding of NGOs was established by the previous Congress government. And to argue that these NGOs can do without foreign donations which political parties are free to receive hides the uncomfortable fact that Indian donors arent exactly lining up. One prospective Indian donor told Devadasan the most it would do was sponsor a bag of medicines provided IPH carried their logo and name. Samar Halarnkar is editor, Indiaspend.org, a data-driven, public-interest journalism non-profit The views expressed are personal SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Anupam Trivedi GANGOTRI (Uttarkashi) : Pradeep Rana runs a tea stall en route to Gangotri, the origin of the River Ganga. One can see Bhagirathi flowing serenely below in the valley as Pradeep prepares for the day, boiling potatoes and preparing tea. His only source of income is this tea stall, which he set up in the 80s. As the tea comes to a boil, Pradeep expresses his concern. His son is now a graduate but is yet to find a job. I have spent my life selling tea. My son wants to do something different. I was planning to convert this tea stall into a small hotel, Pradeep and adds that now he is not sure whether he would be able to translate his dream. Reason: On December 18, 2012, Union ministry of environment and forest (MoEF) notified the 100-km stretch from Gangas origin at Gomukh to Uttarkashi as an eco-sensitive zone (ESZ). The notification, which covers 4179.59 sqkm area, puts conditional ban on several activities, including construction of homes, commercial buildings and hydropower projects. Why ESZ Was Notified? The rationale behind notifying ESZ gazette is that anthropogenic pressure on ecosystem has increased causing irreparable damage to fragile mountain ecosystem including flow and character of the river. The locals are against the notification calling it a hindrance to the development of the area. In the run up to the assembly elections on February 15, the two big political players in the region BJP and Congress --- are busy in the blame game. The notification was issued during Congress-led UPA regime at the Centre. Now, theres a BJP-led NDA government ruling from New Delhi. The gazette affects nearly 1 lakh people of the Gangotri assembly constituency. Interestingly, Uttarakhand assembly in 2013 had unanimously passed a resolution seeking withdrawal of the notification. A tea shop near Gangotri. The area falls under Bhagirathi eco-sensitive zone. (HT PHOTO) Is there any contradiction? ESZ notification read that tourism activity shall be continued but in a controlled manner. The locals are heavily dependent on the pilgrimage and tourist activities. Now, they are confused about the terms and conditions mentioned in the notification. Rajesh Negi, owner of Himalayan Hikes, an expedition operator based in Uttarkashi, is a worried man. His firm handles groups that visit Bhagirathi valley for expeditions. Uttarkashi, with more than 25 Himalayan peaks available for summit, has emerged as a preferred destination for European mountaineers over the last few years. A number of trekking routes are also accessible for domestic and foreigner adventure lovers. Negi is unsure whether tourism industry could face issues in the coming times. We are keeping fingers crossed. The ESZ notification is very technical to me, he says. Nonetheless, the notification has had been under the scanner of experts. SS Pangti, member, Bhagirathi River Valley Development Authority, underlines gazette is contradictory in nature. He points out that it permits establishment of hotels and resorts under the category of activities to be permitted. Notification lacks clarity. The big investors could ruin the ecosystem if they are permitted to open hotels and resorts, he adds. The notification further stated that state government in consultation with local authorities and stakeholders would prepare zonal plans within two years time, which will set clear rules on carrying out activities such as the construction of roads, homes etc. Blamegame continues However, for four years, the state didnt move the zonal plan to authorities at Centre for approval and just before the announcement of polls, Harish Rawat government made a proposal. It was rejected as it reportedly proposed for carrying out mining activities and construction of hydropower projects of more than 2 MW in the region. The sitting Congress MLA from Gangotri, Vijaypal Sajwan, lobs the ball in BJPs court. He asks why BJP didnt repeal or amend the notification when it is in power at the Centre. In fact in early January, chief minister Harish Rawat staged a dharna in protest against rejecting states zonal plan. We knocked the doors of High Court since the state didnt take interest in making zonal plans. However, as promised, the state didnt move the Supreme Court against notification, says Lokendra Bisht, BJP leader from Gangotri. The agitation for quota reservation by Jats, which was confined to Haryana so far, has started spreading to parts of Delhi. On Tuesday, the Jat community organised a peaceful protest in Najafgarh area of southwest Delhi. Hundreds of people gathered outside the sub-divisional magistrates office in Najafgarh, where they demanded inclusion of their caste in the Other Backward Class (OBC) category by the Centre. The Centre does not recognize the Jats as OBCs. Most states (except for Delhi, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradsesh, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand) too dont recognize Jats as OBCs. We have been demanding the government to fix our reservation, said Yashpal Malik, president of the All India Jat Arakshan Sangharsh Samiti. The agitation comes a few days before Jat dominated regions in western Uttar Pradesh comprising 140 od the total 403 seats, going to polls on February 11 and February 15. The agitation is significant, considering the Jats have giving a call to defeat BJP in UP polls accusing the party of harming interest of the majority farming community. In 2014, the BJP had a clean sweep in western UP. The Jat community has also been demanding the government to take back all the cases registered against protesters from the community during the agitation in Haryana held in February 2016. These youths were held responsible for crimes, which were committed by members of other communities, or for crimes that were never committed. The government assured to fulfill. They later retracted their promise, said Malik. The Jat community is also demanding compensation for families of 30 people who lost their lives in the 2016 agitation and government jobs for at least one member of such families. On February 3, the community had organised a demonstration outside the deputy commissioners (Delhi government) office in Narela followed by another demonstration in Mahipalpur on February 5. These protests concluded with the handing of a copy of a memorandum of demands to some senior government officials. All these demonstrations will be peaceful, just like hose in Haryana so far. We will not block any roads or violate any rules, assured Malik. According to Jat leaders, the protest will continue throughout the month of February. On February 9, Malik said, the Jats will protest in Mundka, in Bawana on February 11, and in east Delhi on February 12. Demonstrations will also be staged in Dwarka on February 14, in Rohini on February 16, in Burari on February 18 and in Bijwasan on February 20. However, the protesters have no plan to enter Central Delhi. We have no plan to agitate outside Jantar Mantar or at Ramlila Maidan because it will not serve our purpose. We are focusing on broader areas so that, if required, we will get the support to our community to block the borders, said Malik. The Jat leaders claim to get the support of people from other communities as well. One of the most common services used by cardholders in Azerbaijan is cash withdrawal through ATMs. It is well known that customers of a certain bank using ATMs of other banks have to pay commission. Starting from today, February 7th 2017, Azer Turk Bank provides to its salary card holders the opportunity to withdraw cash from any banks ATMs located in the Republic of Azerbaijan without paying any commission. Azer Turk Bank OJSC, which operates since 1995, by 75% is owned by the Government of Azerbaijan. More information about the Bank, its service network, products and services is available at www.azerturkbank.az, the Banks corporate pages at social networks or at (012) 945 Call Center. Shops and eateries of Connaught Place remained closed for over four hours on Tuesday to protest the Centres plan to make the commercial hub a pedestrian-only zone. Traders from around 1,200 stores in CP came together with many holding placards that read NDMC be logical, Save CP, its a market not a tourist destination and No car karobar. They threatened of a complete shut down if their voices arent heard. Read more: Car-fee Connaught Place plan runs into opposition, will take two more weeks Atul Bhargava, the president of the New Delhi Traders Association (NDTA), said, The scheme was earlier introduced around 1994 but was scrapped as it failed miserably. CP is already pedestrian friendly as it has 15 feet covered corridor for walking and 20 feet additional walking space. Shops were shut from 11am to 3pm in the area. Shops in Connaught Place were shut from 11am to 3pm on Tuesday. (Mohd Zakir/HT PHOTO) The proposal, which was given in-principle approval by the ministry of urban development, when implemented, will prohibit vehicles in the inner and middle circle of CP. Also, nearly 2,000 parking spaces will be removed, which include 1,500 from the Inner Circle and 400-500 from the Middle Circle. The plan was to roll out by February 1, but is now likely to be implemented by the end of this month or early March. Traders opposed the move as they felt the plan would choke the outer circle even more and hit business. Instead of easing congestion, it would lead to traffic jams in the outer circle, going all the way to Mandi House, India Gate and other areas. Besides, what about the elderly who come to our shops? Many of them are regular customers and they would stop coming if they have to walk for so long, said Rippon Nath of Nath Brothers chemist shop. According to traders, two plans were proposed by the council. In the first, cars will be allowed to enter from Janpath, people will alight at Palika Bazar or Palika Parking and take an exit from Baba Khadak Singh Marg. The second plan proposes that cars will be allowed in the middle circle but only for visitors and shoppers to be dropped, making it a no-parking zone, said another trader. The Jat community of Haryana, which has been holding sit-ins for the last nine days seeking reservation in the OBC (other backward classes) category for education and jobs, is set to widen their agitation if their demands are not met by February 12. Some youth leaders have also called for closure of colleges and universities in the state from Wednesday. These are indefinite dharnas and will carry on till all our demands are met. We are campaigning against the BJP in Uttar Pradesh to defeat its candidates. Daylong protests are also being held in Delhi and Madhya Pradesh to mount pressure, said All-India Jat Aarakshan Sangharsh Samiti (AIJASS) chief Yashpal Malik. Pictures of mobs running amok, setting fire to eateries, houses, schools and even police pickets, from the agitation a year ago have not faded from public memory. The Capital had faced a severe water shortage as rioters breached the Munak canal, one of Delhis main lifelines, and Delhi Police personnel were deployed to protect the structures. Read | Unemployed sons at home, moms join dharnas in hope for Jat quota Apart from reservation, the Jat protestors want withdrawal of cases registered for last years violence, and release of the rioters arrested then. Though several caste khaps and Jat organisations have distanced themselves from the AIJASS stir, Haryanas Congress leaders and the Indian National Lok Dal have supported the movement. Rohtak, which saw the worst violence in February 2016, is the centre of action this time too. Read | Jat leaders refuse to hold talks with govt, say agitation to continue till demands are met But the atmosphere is more that of a fair than an agitation, as the organisers have roped in artistes and folk dancers and are also holding poetry recitations for children to draw crowds and prevent a repeat of last years violence. The state and district authorities, which appeared clueless last time, too are showing a semblance of preparedness. The agitation is spreading to Sonepat, Jind, Kaithal and Panipat districts, and Malik said next will be Najafgarh, Ghewra Crossing near Mundka and Bawana in Delhi and Barwani in MP. The Manoharlal Khattar government has kept the doors open for talks, but the protesters are in no mood to oblige, and the Capital continues to breathe uneasy. The Aam Aadmi Party-led Delhi government will construct multi-storey apartments to rehabilitate the slum dwellers living in Lajpat Nagar, Bhalswa, Dev Nagar, Mongol Puri and Ambedkar Nagar. Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal approved the proposal in the board meeting of Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board (DUSIB) on Monday to construct the apartments at the four locations. The board approved the pilot project for in-situ upgradation of slum on DUSIB land. 6178 EWS (Economic Weaker Section) flats will be constructed at the cost of Rs866 crore, said a Delhi government spokesperson. Read more: Delhi govt to provide 24/7 toilet facility in slums Delhi Slum & Jhuggi Jhopari Rehabilitation & Relocation Policy 2015 has also been approved by the board, clearing way for the rehabilitation. The policy was earlier approved by the board in April last year and got the Cabinet approval in July. The file was sent to the lieutenant governor but despite agreeing to the policy, the LG made observations with regard to rate to be charged from the land owning agency. Now, after the LGs suggestion, the board has approved that land owning agencies should be charged at government to government rates instead of circle rates. The second issue was that in case JJ Bastis, existing in land belonging to the Central government or agencies like Railway, DDA and others, the respective agency may either carry out the rehabilitation themselves as per the policy of Delhi government or may entrust the job to DUSIB, said an official. Read more: Delhi to start slum rehab policy from Sangam Park As per the policy, the cut-off date is January 1, 2015. This means the clusters that have come after this date will be demolished and will not be eligible for the rehabilitation. The AAP government wanted the date to be February 14, 1015, the day they formed the government, in order to keep their vote bank intact. Their biggest poll policy was Jaha Jhuggi, Wahan Makaan and the cut-off date was fixed as February 14, keeping that in mind. But ministry of urban development has raised objection to it and in order to avoid any confrontation, the Delhi government has agreed, said a senior Delhi government official. Read more: Over 5 lakh defecate in the open due to lack of toilets in Delhi The thrust of the policy is in-situ rehabilitation, using land as a resource and relocation will be resorted only as an exception. Attempts will be made to rehabilitate the eligible Jhuggi Jhopri dwellers at the same location or a nearby location within a radius of 5 kilometre, said a Delhi government spokesperson. The name of the Jhuggi Jhopri dweller must exist in at least one of the electoral rolls (voters list) of 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, and also in the year of survey, for the purpose of rehabilitation. Electricity bill has been added in the list of documents which were considered for the purpose of proof of residence. Read more: Delhi slums chosen to become Adarsh Basti still waiting for development Steps on the cards 1) DUSIB will provide 5,000 bunk beds, 10,000 mattresses along with bed sheets, blankets, pillows and pillow covers, LED, TVs, water coolers and geysers at the cost of Rs5 crore to improve the quality of life in shelters for homeless 2)The board also approved four new shelters for urban homeless under National Urban Livelihood Mission (NULM) at Dwarka, Geeta Colony, Rohini and Nangloi, which will accommodate 72 families and 1,200 homeless people 3) Construction of 582 EWS houses at Sangam Park under the scheme of in-situ rehabilitation of slum in Delhi Delhis lieutenant governor Anil Baijal has cleared the AAP governments project to set up 300 mohalla clinics on the premises of Delhi government schools. The project has been cleared with certain riders about safety and security of the children. These mohalla clinics will be open to general public only after the school hours and the entrance for them will also be separate, said a Delhi government official. The 300 clinics are a part of the governments project of setting up 1,000 mohalla clinics across the city to strengthen the primary healthcare infrastructure. Apart from providing free consultation, medicines and tests, the mohalla clinics in school premises will also double up as school infirmary and provide routine check-up for students. The students will have regular health and dental checkups on periodic basis and these mohalla clinics will also solve the problem of infirmaries. The schools had no such facilities till now, said another official. The sites for these clinics had already been identified and the work on the infrastructure had started. We were just waiting for an approval from the LG, said the official. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON The Delhi government may be considering to ban shared cab services but people say it is a bad move. HT spoke to users who instead demanded that the archaic Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 be amended and the service be brought within the ambit of law. Car pooling facilities by app-based cab aggregators, like Ola and Uber, have gained popularity within 15 months as the rides cost up to 50% less than the usual fares, which are already cheaper than radio taxis. However, following the Karnataka governments ban on such services, the Delhi government too has said that such operations are in violation of the contract carriage permit issued to these cabs. Reacting to HTs report on the governments plan to ban car pooling in the capital, people said that immediate steps should be taken to make the service legal. It shouldnt be banned. Instead, the Delhi government must put pressure on the Centre to amend the law and make this service legal, said Supriyo Das, a regular user. The government has accepted that car pooling is a positive step towards decongesting city roads and reducing pollution. In fact, during its two odd-even road rationing drives these services were highly promoted by app-based cab aggregates and received a good response. User too say that on one hand these services are economical and on the other they provide a viable solution to the problem of pollution and traffic on city roads. Shared cabs are more economical and take away traffic from roads. In fact, the government should promote the concept and arrange for safety of passengers travelling in such cabs so that people can use it in large number. If the service is stopped, then everyone will start using his/her vehicles adding to the traffic chaos, said Pooja Bhagat, a resident of Keshapuram. The Delhi government believes its time to bring the service under a law so that accountability can be fixed and safety of passengers is ensured while they avail the service. Shared services are eco-friendly and must be promoted. Besides, it saves one from buying a car and the expenditure that follows like insurance, maintenance and parking, said Anita Bajpai, a resident of Mayur Vihar Phase I. However, some users also point out that with no existing framework in place, such services can be unsafe. There is no doubt that the shared cabs help in last mile connectivity and turn out to cheaper in comparison to other modes of transportation. But the Delhiites still need to learn the etiquettes of travelling in shared cab. Commuters often misbehave, argue and even fight for getting seats with co-passengers. Shared cabs dont look safe during night, said Aryan Bhardwaj, a resident of Daryaganj. An Ola spokesperson said that they have saved over four million litres of fuel in 2016 thanks to cab-sharing while Uber said more than 31% of all its trips are shared rides. A committee set up by the ministry of road transport and highways had already suggested that shared cab services be allowed. However, a corresponding change in the MV Act, 1988 is the need of the hour. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON To promote learning through fun, South Delhi Municipal Corporation has planned to install 50 playstations in its primary schools. The project has been commissioned on a pilot basis, and depending on the response of the system, all 581 SDMC-run schools may get playsations. One station has already been installed at an SDMC School in Malviya Nagar. The school syllabus/chapters are loaded in the machine. We have dedicated one period for each class to use the station. The students feel excited to use the colourful device for solving mathematical puzzles, learning English lessons in interesting ways. Later when students read the same chapters in their school books, it becomes easy for them to understand it, said a senior official from education department. Unsafe schools? South Delhi institutions ill-equipped to tackle emergencies, shows govt inspection These playstations are financed by Rotary International, while the concept has been developed by the NIIT, an SDMC official said. Students can operate the device alone, without the assistance of a teacher and will get first-hand experience of the digital world. Though we have the provision for computers in schools, the playstations excite students more because they resemble gaming equipment available in markets, added the official. However, teachers say that the number of playstations installed in a school will not be enough. With only one or two playstations installed in a school, it would be difficult for all students to use them in one period, given the fact that there are 40 students enrolled in each class, said a teacher. South Corporation has been using innovative tools and learning techniques from time to time to help children in its schools to improve their learning standards. Read more: South Delhi Municipal Corporation proposes cashless property tax payments We have opened science clubs in 100 schools 25 in each ward in 2016-17.The project is exciting children as they learn the concept of science through fun. In 2017-18, we are targeting to open such science clubs in each school, said Puneet Goel, commissioner, SDMC. The civic agency has also introduced the concept of LED screen-aided smart classes in four schools in 2016 and based on the response received from these schools in 2016-17, 104 more schools will get smart classes. Read more: SDMC will make school inspections regular, effective Similarly, the concept of School Quality Enhancement Programme was introduced under which an attempt was made to increase the number of students in schools. Twelve schools, with the help of NGO and registered societies, were chosen in 2016-17 under the programme. In 2017-18 this programme will run in 25 schools. How will it help the students? 1. Students are able to use the device alone, without the presence of a teacher 2. It will promote self learning among students 3. Students with get first-hand experience of the digital world 4. It will help the students to become tech-savvy 5. It will bridge the gap between theory and practical concept 6. Games related to all the subjects are present in the system 7. Maxims of teaching learning by doing are truly fulfilled 8. Helpful in all round development of students SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON If theres one thing that private and state-run schools in South Delhi have in common, it is their poor state of preparedness for tackling disasters. A Delhi government team that has been inspecting schools in the area stumbled upon various inadequacies in this regard, including expired fire extinguishers, empty sand buckets, first-aid boxes filled with expired medicines, and dry underground water tanks. The exercise revealed that almost every school has deficiencies that could prove disastrous in case of a fire or natural calamity. The team, led by the district magistrate, has inspected 33 of 140 schools both state-owned and private until now. After this drive is completed, the government will launch similar exercises in other areas. We have to develop the habit of tackling disasters in every institution. As of now, checking on schools and the safety of our children happens to be our top priority. Shockingly, almost every school is guilty of one violation or another. Once every school is covered, we will ask them to rectify the deficiencies or face action, said district magistrate (south) Amjad Tak, who is also the head of the areas disaster management authority. The areas quick reaction team launched the inspection on January 30. The government plans to complete the exercise by February 15, after which it would prepare a detailed report. While some schools had partly damaged buildings, others lacked functioning fire extinguishers and adequate water in their underground tanks, said Tak, adding that guidelines under the disaster management act mandate schools to have an evacuation plan coupled with emergency numbers displayed on their walls. The institutions were asked to submit their disaster management plans by January 31. In certain schools, the inspection team found local LPG cylinders being used in the chemistry laboratory. Sand buckets were displayed prominently, but they contained no sand that could be utilised in case of a fire. In yet another institution, the emergency exit to be used by children to escape in the event of a disaster was found to be locked. Our objective is not to punish schools, but to spread awareness among them. We are also training school staffers and children how to react if disaster strikes, said Tak. There have been several incidents in the past, when children lost their lives due to the schools failure to respond. On January 30, 2016, a six-year-old boy drowned in a water tank at the Ryan International School in Vasant Kunj. A Delhi government investigation revealed procedural lapses on the part of the institution. The next month, a nursery student fell into an open septic tank while he was heading to the toilet. The school principal was arrested and released on bail in both the cases. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Just as when travelling in Delhi was becoming a wee bit easier, the city government on Monday decided to ban shared rides through app-based cab aggregators. This step is in line with the Karnataka governments move, which banned shared services provided by two major cab companies. The car pooling facilities have gained popularity in a span of 15 months as the rides cost up to 50% less than the usual fares, which are already cheaper than radio taxis. According to the city government, these services violate the permit conditions and that the cab aggregators are introducing and running these facilities in a clandestine way. They have been bringing out more variants of shared rides, which are illegal, the government added. Moreover, there are safety of passengers are also an important issue. Sources said the Delhi government will write to the Centre asking it to amend the Motor Vehicles Act at the earliest. Read: Delhi moves to ban app-based shared cab services such as UberPOOL, Ola Share While the government is correct that safety is a big concern and they will be the one facing public anger in case of any untoward incident, how will it monitor such a service? Estimates of the transport department peg the number of such cabs between 45,000 and 50,000 in Delhi and catching hold of violators will not be easy. Moreover, the fear of any untoward incident cannot be the sole reason for banning a popular service. Read: Delhi: Pressure builds on Centre to make app-based cab sharing legal There are two more reasons why the government should have worked on changing the law while allowing the services to run. First, think about the traffic congestion in Delhi. It does not matter which time of the day you are travelling, traffic always seems to be impossible to negotiate. So sharing could have been ideal way to ensure more cars dont add to the mess on the citys roads. Second, fewer cars mean less pollution. So if the law has to change it must, but banning these cabs in apprehension that something unpleasant may happen is not the way to go about it. Language is the gateway to a new world, every language that you learn lets you explore the cultural, social and literary nuances of myriad hues. The Urdu language classes conducted by the department of languages at Punjabi Bhawan of the city is one such place that lets the connoisseurs of this regal language continue with their learning pursuit albeit for different reasons. This Urdu class is a class in itself, hosting about 30 students hailing from different age groups and varied walks of life including several senior citizens, each has an interesting reason behind taking up Urdu classes here. For 22-year-old Bhavneet Singh who is studying charted accountancy, this class is meant to enrich his vocabulary which he believes could be an asset for his passion for writing songs. I have been writing songs since last several years but whenever I meet literary personalities, they always suggested me to learn at least basic Urdu so that my songs can be richer as according to them Urdu has many rich words. So, when I came to know that language department is coming up with Urdu classes, I could not let this opportunity go, shares 22-year-old Bhavneet Singh, a student of charted accountancy who, right after his college heads directly to this class thats conducted daily from 3 pm to 4 pm except Sundays. Similarly, 22-year-old Sandeep Dutt, an IT student says, His love for literature triggered him to be an Urdu student. It is a well know fact that Urdu literature stands richest of all, so how could I ignore these classes. Thanks to one of my friends, who was part of the same class last year and told me about. Every day, I am gaining more insight into the language although it is an elementary six months course. Then there is a 50-year-old advocate Sandeep Singh who despite his hectic schedule manages to make time for this one hour class. Ask him what fostered him, he replies smiling, I was ready for this language course last year as well but work load of cases did not allow me but I never wanted to miss it this year, as learning basic Urdu was always on my mind since it is a very sweet language like French. Secondly, in courts at times you have to go through several old documents that are in Urdu and I feel once you learn this language, it can be very helpful while reading the Urdu documents as well. Tarlochan Singh Lamba (66) who runs a construction business considers these classes like a hobby class and ardently states, Besides my work, I wanted to indulge in some interesting hobby. That is why, as I came across an advertisement on Urdu classes on social networking, I said why not take up these classes like a hobby. After all, I knew they would keep me busy and make me learn something new. Same is the case for Dhanvinder Kaur (65), a retired government primary school teacher and Narinder Singh (72), a retired public health officer who underlines with elation: Learning new languages is always exciting and learning should never stop be it at any age, they voice as one. On the other hand, there are also some students who learn this language to get some additional jobs where Urdu is mandatory. One of them, Neha (24), a business administration student said, I am planning to take a part time job in a court or in revenue department where many old documents in Urdu have to be read and they keep looking for those who can read and understand Urdu. So, why not learn it to grab these opportunities? Many students also agree that being part of this class that has students of different ages and backgrounds also proves an interesting learning experience and offers an exposure with a difference. Elderly complete the course; youngsters leave midway Prem Singh Bajaj (85) who has been teaching this course since last several years said that as the course advances, elderly or middle aged students continue to show interest but some youngsters even leave the class midway. Citing reasons he states, Before leaving, the youngsters usually say that they have exams or other hobby classes but it cant be ignored that it could also happen because these classes are for free and one loses nothing, if one leaves. On the other hand, retired students stick with us till end of the course who also give the written test and get awarded certificates by the language department. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Even as the commercial sale of molasses which contains nicotine in hookah bars has been declared illegal as per the Drugs Act, bars in the city still continue to serve hookah. With a view to prevent this practice in the city, the food and drugs administration officials are conducting several searches as directed by the district administration on Monday. Read more| Hookah bars operate despite ban The administration had claimed that hookah bars are serving molasses containing nicotine, which is injurious to health, especially to college students and youths. Nicotine has been included in the category of toxins under the Haryana Toxic Ownership and Sales Rules, 1966, and is treated as poison. We are taking all measures to ban hookahs in Gurgaon, said Amandeep Chauhan, drug control officer, Gurgaon. As incidences of serving hookahs in bars have been reported from time to time, the district administration on Monday exercised powers under Section 144 of the CrPC to ban hookah bars. Read more| Smokescreen out, hookah bars make a comeback Usually, the bars in malls served hookahs. We had conducted searches in MGF mall, Sector 14 restaurants and bars in Palam Vihar. At present, there are no legal hookah bars. We will continue our searches to make the city nicotine-free, Chauhan said. In 2010, hookah bars were banned in Haryana after a public interest litigation was filed in the court in 2007. The city witnessed the first even conviction under the Drugs and Cosmetic Act, 1940, on January 20, when a manager and worker of a hookah bar in Sector 14 market was awarded a three-year imprisonment by a city court. Last September, in a joint operation by the Food & Drugs Administration officials and Gurgaon police, a hookah bar operational in Sector 23, Palam Vihar, was searched. Read more| To ban hookah or not? During the search, nine hookahs and over 10 kg of flavoured molasses containing nicotine were recovered by the team. To stop the functioning of hookah bars, the district administration on March 2, 2012 had invoked Section 144. Within a year of that, the health and police department searched and closed seven hookah bars across the city. In July, 2013, over 100 students from prominent schools were caught in a bar called Hookah Baron during an excise department search. Read more| Hookah bars in dock for flouting norms Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 7 By Elena Kosolapova Trend: Saken Sarsenov was appointed to the post of Chairman of the Board of Kazpost company (a Kazakhstan postal operator), the company said in a message. Sarsenov has been serving as first deputy chairman of Kazakhstan Communications and Information Agency since April 2014. Earlier he served as vice-minister of communications and information. The previous head of Kazpost Bagdad Musin was earlier appointed as chairman of the Committee on the Legal Statistics and Special Accounts of the State Office of Kazakhstans Public Prosecutor. Kazpost is a Kazakh postal operator. It provides a wide range of postal, financial, brokerage, agency, electronic services. Kazpost has the greatest branch network in the country, covering almost the entire territory of Kazakhstan, especially at the level of regional and rural areas. Follow the author on Twitter: @E_Kosolapova The bitter turf war following the alleged encounter killing of gangster Sandeep Gadoli on February 7, 2016, in Mumbai has shaken Gurgaons underworld and none of the gangs has been able to establish their stranglehold in the city. Several notorious gangsters are behind bars while those outside are lying low. Some of them are on the run too. Sandeep Gadoli of Gadoli Khurd, a dominant Gurgaon gangster, was killed by a team of the Gurgaon police in an alleged encounter while he was staying in a Mumbai hotel. The Gadoli encounter was a setback for the Gurgaon police as the team of eight personnel was accused of staging the encounter. Five members of the team are in jail after Gadolis family approached the Bomaby high court and accused gangster Binder Gujjar of colluding with the police to get Gadoli killed. While Gadolis family fought a legal battle, it also allegedly orchestrated the murder of Manish Gujjar, elder brother of Bindar Gujjar. Men who allegedly have allegiance to the Gadoli group shot Manish on October 21, 2016. Police booked Sandeeps brothers Brahm Prakash and Kuldeep Gadoli and sister Sudesh, and gangster Kaushal, brother Manish and his aide Amit Dagar for Manishs murder. Brahm, Kuldeep and Amit Dagar are in jail, and Kaushal and Sudesh are absconding, police said. Prior to the murder of Manish, the Gadoli family also allegedly orchestrated the killing of Mahesh alias Attack, a gangster considered close to Bindar Gujjar. He was shot outside his office near Jharsa. Following the attack, police arrested eight members of Kaushal gang, who are now behind bars. Currently, only Rakesh Hayatpur, who operates in new Gurgaon sectors 81 to 95 is out of jail. He is lying low and focusing on business after he was attacked on MG Road on July 15, 2015 at the behest of Narender alias Bhandi of Garhi Harsaru, who is absconding, police said. Ashok Rathi from Sohna is operating from prison. Sources said effectiveness and fear of a gang leader declines considerably once he is in jail or becomes an absconder. Most of these gangsters thrived on extortion bids, real estate deals, settling land deals, and taking protection money from traders. They also financed and operated betting operations in the city. However, with them behind the bars or absconding, Gurgaon police claim they have managed to curb organised crime in the city. Our objective is to break the financial network of these gangs as money is the only motive with which they engage in crime. The extortion network is under pressure and being neutralised, and their activities are being closely monitored. We will not let them operate freely, Sumit Kuhar, DCP, crime, said. Kuhar, however, said since Gurgaon is close to Najafgarh, which has traditionally been a hotbed of gangs, the ripples are sometime felt in this city too. He said the Delhi-based gangsters trying to extend their influence in the region will be dealt with strictly. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Residents and litigants have welcomed the initiative to install CCTV cameras in the Gurgaon district court to record proceedings as part of a pilot project. The announcement had come after the Supreme Court said it is inclined to the installation of CCTV cameras in one district court in each state and selected Gurgaon for the pilot project. Litigants and residents said the move will help to bring transparency and will end all charges of unfair proceedings. The move came at the request of a petitioner in a matrimonial dispute case who wanted proceedings to be recorded on CCTV cameras. Read more| Gurgaon court tells builder to refund Rs 1.13 lakh for not handing over plot The apex court has decided to send a two-member team of senior advocate R Venkataramani and additional solicitor general Maninder Singh to the Gurgaon district court to examine the working of the CCTV cameras. The court asked the Gurgaon district judge to help the two lawyers in making an on-the-spot study. Digvijay Singh, a litigant and resident of the city, said, I am happy with the move and I believe many people would welcome it. We easily blame the court even when we lose a case on merit. This would end all such allegations. I wish it becomes a reality at the earliest. There is no doubt powerful people will try to influence proceedings. Read more| New Gurgaon court complex to have arbitration centre In Gurgaon, the lawyers said 70% litigants in all types of proceedings have been consenting for video recording of trials in the past five to six years. I am fighting a case against a builder who cheated many others like me. I feel CCTV cameras would have a positive impact on the trial. It would improve the system, bring transparency and efficiency, said Mohan Singh, another resident. The lawyers also feel that the video recording will have a positive impact. Read more| A week on, family refuses to claim Gadolis body I remember the installation work of CCTV cameras on court premises, but a few days later it stopped. Then the attempt was initiated only after litigants raised a demand. Now, the directions have come from the apex court. The decision will give a positive result, said Mayank Raghav, a senior lawyer, adding that litigants have long been demanding video recording of court proceedings. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Consuming e-cigarettes is far safer and less toxic than smoking conventional tobacco cigarettes, according to the findings of a study analysing levels of dangerous and cancer-causing substances in the body. Researchers found that people who switched from smoking regular cigarettes to e-cigarettes or nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) such as gum or patches for at least six months had much lower levels of toxins in their saliva and urine than those who continued to smoke. Our study adds to existing evidence showing that e-cigarettes and NRT are far safer than smoking, and suggests that there is a very low risk associated with their long-term use, said Lion Shahab, a specialist in epidemiology and public health at University College London who led the work. E-cigarettes, which heat nicotine-laced liquid into vapour, have grown into an $8 billion-a-year market, according to Euromonitor International -- more than three times that of NRT products. They are, however, still dwarfed by a tobacco market estimated by Euromonitor to be worth around $700 billion. Many health experts think e-cigarettes, or vapes, which do not contain tobacco, are a lower-risk alternative to smoking and potentially a major public health tool. But some question their long-term safety and worry that they may act as a gateway to taking up conventional cigarettes. The US surgeon general in December urged lawmakers to impose price and tax policies that would discourage their use. World Health Organization says tobacco is the worlds biggest preventable killer. Mondays study, published in the journal Annals of Internal Medicine, analysed saliva and urine samples from long-term e-cigarette and NRT users as well as smokers, and compared levels of key chemicals found in their bodies. It found that smokers who switched completely to e-cigarettes or NRT had significantly lower levels of toxic chemicals and carcinogens compared to people who continued to smoke tobacco cigarettes. Those who used e-cigarettes or NRT but did not completely quit smoking did not show the same drop in toxin levels. This underlined that a complete switch was needed to get the long-term health benefits of quitting tobacco, the researchers said. Quit smoking as it causes cancer. Take to vaping instead. (Shutterstock) The World Health Organization says tobacco is the worlds biggest preventable killer, with a predicted cumulative death toll of a billion by the end of this century if current trends continue. Tobacco smoking currently kills around 6 million people a year. Kevin Fenton, national director of health and wellbeing at the government authority Public Health England, said the findings held a clear message for tobacco smokers. Switching to e-cigarettes can significantly reduce harm to smokers, with greatly reduced exposure to carcinogens and toxins, he said in a statement. The findings also make clear that the benefit is only realised if people stop smoking completely and make a total switch. The best thing a smoker can do, for themselves and those around them, is to quit now, completely and forever. Follow @htlifeandstyle for more New research suggests that having more children could increase the risk of cardiovascular disease for not only mothers but also fathers too. According to Professor Vera Regitz-Zagrosek, chairperson of the European Society of Cardiology Management of CVD During Pregnancy guidelines task force, two recent studies suggest that the risk of cardiovascular disease in women could be affected by how many children they have, and in some cases that could also be a factor in cardiovascular risk for men. In the first of the recent studies, which looked at half a million Chinese people, the research team found a statistically significant J-shaped relationship between number of children and risk of coronary heart disease and stroke, which means that the risk decreases with one child, then increases with two or more children, explained Professor Regitz-Zagrosek. Professor Regitz-Zagrosek also pointed out that the striking thing about the study was that the same association was found for both women and men, with further research also finding that a greater number of children was also associated with a greater risk of diabetes in both women and men. The study found that having more number of children was also associated with a greater risk of diabetes in both women and men. (Shutterstock) In addition, a study published in the journal Circulation also suggests that experiencing multiple pregnancies (lasting at least six months) in ones life could increase a womans risk of developing atrial fibrillation -- a condition involving an irregular heart rhythm that increases the risk of stroke -- in later life. However Professor Regitz-Zagrosek pointed out that In the AF study, a J-shaped relationship was not statistically significant, but this may be because it was in around 34,000 women and relatively small in comparison with the Chinese study. On what could be causing the increase in cardiovascular risk Professor Regitz-Zagrosek explained that the studies authors believe that socioeconomic factors are at play. The study said experiencing multiple pregnancies (lasting at least six months) in ones life could increase a womans risk of developing atrial fibrillation -- a condition involving an irregular heart rhythm that increases the risk of stroke -- in later life. (AFP) Having one child is protective because parents have social support in older age, she explained, But if they have a large number of children this benefit goes away because it increases the economic and social pressure on the parents. Professor Regitz-Zagrosek also added that, There is evidence that pregnancy leads to alterations that change the bodys reaction to additional cardiovascular stressors. And this may happen by epigenetic mechanisms. But the findings in Chinese men favor the socioeconomic explanation. She added that further research should investigate both the biological and socioeconomic mechanisms involved to understand better the link between number of children and cardiovascular risk. Follow @htlifeandstyle for more Academy Award-winning actor Alicia Vikanders first pictures as adventure heroine Lara Croft have hit the internet. In the pics from the sets of her upcoming movie Tomb Raider, she can be seen pulling some stunts in the now iconic grey tank top and dark pants. Primera imagen de #AliciaVikander como #LaraCroft en #TombRider A photo posted by Los Cinefilos (@loscinefilos) on Feb 6, 2017 at 5:54pm PST #laracroft #aliciavikander A photo posted by www.okmagazine.ru (@okmagazine_ru) on Feb 6, 2017 at 8:16am PST Sairam as primeiras imagens de #AliciaVikander como #LaraCroft no reboot da franquia #TombRaider. Veja mais la no site. Aprovaram? A photo posted by AdoroCinema (@adorocinema) on Feb 6, 2017 at 12:47pm PST Primeiras imagens de #TombRaider #AliciaVikander e #LaraCroft #99takes #cinema A photo posted by 99 Takes (@99takes) on Feb 6, 2017 at 4:30pm PST In the film, a yet another adaptation of the hit video game Lara Croft: Tomb Raider, she will play the daughter of an aristocratic family who goes looking for treasures in remote, dangerous locations. Vikander is stepping into the big shoes of Angelina Jolie who starred in two Lara Croft films in 2001 and 2003. Both the films opened to mixed reviews. While this may be Vikanders first major solo role, she is currently being hailed as one of the better, younger actors in Hollywood. She delivered stellar performances in films like Ex Machina and The Danish Girl, the latter won her the Oscar for Best Actress in Supporting Role. Roar Uthaug, a Norwegian director is heading the film which also stars Walton Goggins, Daniel Wu and Dominic West. The film is slated for release on March 16, 2018. Follow @htshowbiz for more A 12-year-old Scheduled Caste girl was allegedly raped by three men, including the duo who run an old age home here where she is working, police said on Tuesday. The minor was subjected to repeated sexual assaults by Srinivas Reddy and Manik Rao who run the facility and their friend Venu Gopal, L B Nagar police station inspector P Kasi Reddy said based on a complaint lodged by the girl. The girl has been working with the old age home since May last year. Following the complaint, the police registered a case of rape under relevant sections of IPC and the provisions of POCSO Act and SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. No arrest has been made so far and further probe is on, the inspector said. A six-year-old tribal girl, who was allegedly administered contaminated intravenous fluid at the state-run Gandhi hospital in Hyderabad on December 15, succumbed early on Tuesday. Sai Pravallika, from Mondrayi village in Telanganas Jangaon district, had been admitted to the hospital on December 7 for pneumonia and was undergoing treatment since then. Her condition worsened in the last two days and she breathed her last on Tuesday morning. Her parents, Dharavath Bikshapathi and Sumalatha alleged that the hospital authorities tried to hush up Pravallikas death by forcibly sending the body to their village in an ambulance with the help of police. We were not allowed to stay even for 10 minutes after the death and were forcibly sent to our village, Bhikshapathi said. According to him, Pravallika was recovering and was about to be discharged, but she suddenly developed complications on December 15. Bhikshapathi noticed some fungus in the intravenous fluid (IV fluid) being administered to her and raised an alert. By the time the doctors removed the bottle, half of the fluid had been administered. He alleged that the hospital staff tried to destroy the bottle, but he snatched the same and lodged a complaint with the Chilkalguda police in Secunderabad. My daughter developed severe allergic reaction all over the body and was gasping for breath. The bottle, which had a yellowish material and an insect in it, was sent for examination, he said. The doctors immediately shifted the girl to the intensive care unit and put her on ventilator. But her condition continued to remain critical and she died after battling for life for nearly eight weeks. The state government ordered an inquiry into the incident by the Telangana drug control department authorities. But, the inquiry has not yet been completed and no report has been submitted so far. The authorities said they would shift Pravallika to a corporate hospital, but they didnt do it, Bhikshapathi lamented. Hospital superintendent Dr J Venkateshwar Reddy, however, said Sai Pravallika had already been suffering from a peculiar neurological disorder by the time she had been admitted to the hospital. The report from Bangalore-based National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences (NIMHANS) also confirmed her disease, which is progressively degenerating. Periodically, she used to get infections like pneumonia for which we had given her treatment, he said. On the contamination of dextrose administered to her, Reddy said immediately after the incident was reported, the hospital authorities had seized all the bottles of that particular batch and sent them for medical examination. None of the bottles had any contamination and even the supplier had agreed for investigation. We do not know how that particular bottle was contaminated, he said, adding that drug control authorities are investigating the case. On why the hospital authorities had sent Pravallikas body to her native place without conducting post-mortem, the superintendent said autopsy would be conducted only in medico-legal cases. Even the parents did not ask for any post-mortem, he said. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Activist Trupti Desai and others attempted to rough up Bhaben Saikia, the accused in the murder of an Infosys employee found strangled at the Pune office. Saikia was heckled by Desai and other women activists when he was being produced before the court in Pune on Tuesday following the expiry of his police custody. The police however prevented Desai and others from getting close to Saikia. Saikia was later remanded to judicial custody till February 21 by local court. On January 29, Saikia, who was working as a security guard at the Infosys campus at Hinjewadi IT park, strangled 23-year-old software engineer, Rasila Raju OP. She was found near her workstation with the computer cable around her neck. According to police officials, Rasila was murdered after she threatened to complain against Saikia for constantly staring at her while she worked in office. Half of the most polluted cities in India are in Uttar Pradesh with Allahabad ranked as worst, the Central Pollution Control Board air quality data of the 46 million cities showed. Delhi ranks fourth for the average annual particulate matter pollution in 2016, 19% deterioration since 2014. Other cities are Jaipur, Dhanbad, Ranchi and Amritsar. The worrying trend emerging from the data was that air pollution was rising at a rapid pace in most of the big cites except Raipur, Kolkata and Indore, where it has gone down slightly because of proactive action by local bodies. The annual average pollution was more than four times the permissible limit in 10 most polluted cities, meaning that on the worst days, especially in winter, it was up to 20 times the national safety parameter and 60 times of the World Health Organisation (WHO) norm. The data tabled in Parliament on Tuesday had five UP cities Allahabad, Varanasi, Lucknow, Ghaziabad and Agra among the top worst air quality cities in the country. Check your citys real time pollution levels here The only saving grace for the state is that the levels in Ghaziabad has improved slightly since 2014 even though it was 6th most polluted city. Regional officer of UP Pollution Control Board Mohd Sikander admitted that the particulate matter was high within the city limits. He blamed dust, vehicular exhaust, brick-kilns and garbage burning as main reasons. The main cause is increasing vehicle use in absence of adequate public transport system, construction activity, coal burning and high emission thermal plants, said Aarti Khosla, India Programme Lead, Global Strategic Communications Council. While this winter the focus on air pollution control had been on Delhi and its neighbourhood, most of the UP cities, including Allahabad, had witnessed heavy smog. In fact, the pollution level was at par with Delhi on several days. In Varanasi, the air quality was not found to be good even on a single day after Diwali. The Care 4 air campaigner Ekta Shekhar said the PM level increased by eight times because of burning of waste, unplanned demolition of old buildings and slow construction of roads. Rajasthans capital Jaipur also finds place in the top 10 with experts blaming it on rising vehicle population and congestion. Trinamool Congress (TMC) on Tuesday staged a walk out from the Rajya Sabha over alleged threats being given to its MPs by state BJP functionaries in West Bengal. The issue was raised by senior TMC leader Derek O Brien soon after the papers were laid on the table in the Upper House. My colleagues, Trinamool MPs have been threatened by BJP functionaries in Bengal. Please read this media report sir. Our MPs are saying that they will be arrested. In a democracy, this is not done, Brien said. He urged the Chair to see the media clippings on the issue and said open threats have been issued by BJP functionaries in Bengal. Stating that the TMC did not want to disrupt the proceedings, Brien said, I will leave the House (on this issue). We are walking out. In a democracy, the state agencies are controlled by the government and not by the ruling party. There is a difference between the government and the party, he said. Brien then walked out of the House along with other members of his party. Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 7 Trend: The management of the International Bank of Azerbaijan (IBA) considers it important to involve the International Finance Corporation, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, Asian Development Bank, which are interested in the socio-economic development of Azerbaijan, in the banks privatization process, Khalid Ahadov, chairman of the banks board, said in an interview with Reuters. "Moreover, the preference can be also given to the private foreign financial institutions which will be able to introduce new technologies in the IBA, he said. The local investors can be also involved through the placement of shares in the countrys domestic stock market." Ahadov spoke about the measures on IBAs reorganization. IBA will be able to get small profit by the end of 2017 through the current measures, he said. Ahadov added that the bank has no problems with the fulfillment of its external obligations. While speaking about the preparation for IBAs privatization, Ahadov said that the process will be carried out gradually. Ahadov also shared his opinion about the possible investors, who may participate in the privatization process. International Bank of Azerbaijan has been operating since 1992. The Union ministry of human resource development has set in motion a plan to include more information about the democratic exercise of voting in school syllabi, including as extra and co-curricular activities, following a request from the Election Commission. As many as 20 million first-time voters are added to the electoral list every year and the EC wants to focus on this demographic of 15-17-year-olds or 62% of the future voters to drive home the importance of the franchise and ethical voting. Though information about electoral processes is part of civic science syllabus in most states, the poll panel wants more. It has cited the examples of countries such as the United States, Canada, South Korea and Australia where electoral literacy is part of the school curriculum. Schools in these countries carry out mock elections either close to the state or national elections or an annual exercise to familiarise the students with the actual voting and counting process. Even young democracies like Kenya, Namibia and Myanmar have included voter education in the school curricula, adopting best practices from countries where voter education has been successfully imparted in schools, the panel said in its letter to HRD minister Prakash Javadekar. The curriculum is expected to cover the whole gamut of electoral aspects, from the formation of political parties to how elections are held and the use of electronic methods of casting a vote to malpractices. The idea is to not only introduce children to voting exercise but also help them make an informed choice when they are eligible to vote, said a source. Following a positive response from the HRD ministry, the panel has set up a working group at its headquarters to draw the blueprint for the implementation of electoral literacy. Commission has initiated steps to introduce electoral literacy in school curricula and co-curricula. Committees have been formed in every state to review the existing curricula and suggest new contents to inculcate electoral awareness among future voters, chief election commissioner Nasim Zaidi said recently. A national level working group has also been set-up in ECI to prepare co-curricular activities and toolkits for students and teachers, he added. The poll panel has also suggested that till the time new curriculum is introduced, National Council Of Educational Research And Training (NCERT) should develop a booklet on elections and as supplementary reading. In 2013, the EC collaborated with the National Literacy Mission Authority of the HRD ministry to introduce electoral literacy in the Sakshar Bharat programme. Earlier, the EC appointed campus ambassadors to motivate students to register for voting. Read | Yoga to be part of curriculum in all Centre-run schools SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON India is working against Chinese interests in Sri Lanka by interfering in a port project funded by Beijing because New Delhi is worried about losing its influence in the Indian Ocean, state media said on Tuesday. Quoting local academics, nationalistic tabloid Global Times said Sri Lanka was made to repeatedly vow that China will not be allowed to indulge in military activities at the island nations Hambantota port although the facility was always meant for civilian use. Karunasena Kodituwakku, the Sri Lankan ambassador to China, had told mediapersons last week that Colombo will not allow China to set up a military facility at any port in the country. Chinese investors have also been informed that no civilian facility will be allowed to be used militarily, he added. We have to consider the neighbours concerns. We do not want to create any situation, which... may become (a source of) suspicion. We know the Indian Ocean is a very important ocean in international trade, he said. Read | Xi Jinpings Belt-Road plan highlighted but no mention of finances The Hambantota port is an important part of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), Chinese president Xi Jinpings ambitious connectivity project. Kodituwakkus statement has apparently riled the state media, prompting a retort. Sri Lankas promise is unnecessary because the port is meant for civilian use. It shows that India is interfering in Sri Lankas affairs, said Chu Yin from the University of International Relations. The BRI always focuses on civilian projects to help developing countries, and China respects these countries security concerns when pushing infrastructure development. Sri Lanka has had to repeatedly pacify its neighbour even over projects intended to promote Sri Lankas economic development, Yin said, adding that India remains preoccupied with Chinas presence in the region. Lin Minwang from the Institute of International Studies of Fudan University said Sri Lanka initially wanted India to help develop the Hambantota port. However, it eventually turned to China for help because India faces financial difficulties and concerns over future competition with its own ports in the Indian Ocean, Minwang added. Read | India and China must show mutual restraint to avoid a major crisis China has no intention to offend India, and the programme is good for Sri Lankas economic development. However, if India has a problem with the programme and oppresses its neighbour, it only shows that it is interfering in the domestic affairs of other countries, said Yin. Another article in the newspaper claimed it was only natural for India to be worried if China strengthens its ties with Sri Lanka. As Sri Lanka is a key point along the Belt and Road route, China is increasing its investment in the country situated along one of the busiest sea routes in the world. Some projects financed by China have helped Sri Lanka solidify its strategic position in South Asias geopolitical landscape. As China and Sri Lanka strengthen ties, Indias desire to maintain its balance of power in the region is understandable, it said. China is expected to further enhance economic cooperation with Sri Lanka, and such efforts are Chinas response to distrust from countries and the proliferation of groundless rumours that Beijing has military ambitions in the Indian Ocean, the report added. Read | BRICS: China may put renewed pressure on India to join Belt and Road Initiative Commerce ministry officials will meet representatives of information technology (IT) industry and NASSCOM to chart out ways to deal with the changes proposed by the US to its law pertaining to H1B visa. As soon as Parliament session is over, that is after February 9, we will be meeting (representatives of) Nasscom and industries that have significant presence in US, commerce and industry minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Monday. We will be talking to them to know what are they are working out in this environment, what are their strategies, what the government is doing. We are going to have a clear exchange and discussion with them. After this, I will have clear picture of what industry is planning, she said. A bill was recently tabled in the US House of Representatives, proposing amendments to the H1B visa, which include doubling of minimum salary of H1B visa holders to $130,000, sending jitters to Indian IT industry who fear large scale job losses. While conceding that the legislation, if it becomes law, will impact India, Sitharaman said there was a long way to go before it could hurt Indian interests. There are several nuances to it. It is not just one call. Its a call that is possibly going to happen through executive order, she said, adding that the major decision would be when the Congress approves the bill. She said her ministry was closely monitoring the developments and was in touch with the embassy in US, along with the ministry of external affairs. In the meanwhile also, I will be talking to MoEF and understanding on how to take a call on this issue, she said. On the other hand, the business process outsourcing (BPO) industry is divided on whether the H1B visa issue would impact it or not. India has about 12 lakh employees working with BPOs. Raman Roy, founder of Quatrro and one of the pioneers of BPO industry in India, said the sector would not have an impact as it does off-shore jobs, not on-shore, whereas others like Deepak Kapoor, an industry veteran and BPO consultant, said that the big blow was in the making for this industry. US president Donald Trump is all set to follow the suit and may announce formally to put a tab on outsourcing jobs to other countries including India. Its primarily the IT industry that is going to be impacted, Kapoor had said last week. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON The Congress has issued a three-line whip to its members to be present in the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday when the amendments to the motion of thanks to the Presidents address will be taken up for voting even as the government stepped up efforts to avoid yet another embarrassment. To avoid confrontations, the ruling side agreed to the oppositions demand that PM Modi will remain present when Congress deputy leader Anand Sharma speaks on the motion of thanks. The PM will speak in the Rajya Sabha around 5pm. In all, 651 amendments were moved two by Congress members T Subbarami Reddy and Chhaya Verma. Others who moved amendments include CPI(M ) leaders Sitaram Yechury and Ritabrata Banerjee, CPIs D Raja, Derek OBrien of the Trinamool Congress and SP leader Kiranmoy Nanda. For two consecutive years, the BJP-led NDA government had to face embarrassment in the Rajya Sabha after the opposition managed to pass its amendments to the Presidents address. In 2016, leader of opposition Ghulam Nabi Azad moved an amendment, expressing regret that the Presidents address did not pledge support to rights of all citizens to contest panchayat elections. When Azad pressed for the amendment, 94 voted in favour and 61 against. An amendment moved by Yechury and others in the Upper House in 2015 on Presidents address was passed with 118 voting for and 57 against. Despite the whip, party leaders Ghulam Nabi Azad and Raj Babbar will not attend the proceedings as they will be busy campaigning in UP. The West Bengal government is working on a new law that will prescribe strong penal measures against people arrested for vandalism and arson amid incidents of increasing attacks on policemen in the state, senior officials have said. Records indicate that in the recent years one or more policemen were attacked or heckled almost every month by leaders and supporters of political parties and even common citizens, who simply refused to follow the law. The Trinamool government wants to bring the new legislation in force apprehending that these incidents may affect the morale of the police force and lead to severe consequences, officials said. Read | Tension in Kolkata as Bengal govt deals with minor communal clashes It is evident from these incidents that law enforcers in Bengal are dangerously exposed to sporadic bouts of lawlessness. Sub-inspector Tapas Chowdhury was shot dead by a Trinamool supporter during a college election in February 2013, Alipore police station was attacked by local slum-dwellers forcing policemen to hide under tables in November 2014 and a mob set Kaliachak police station in Malda on fire in January 2016. Chief minister Mamata Banerjee said that tough laws would be enforced immediately after the Ausgram police station in Burdwan district was vandalised and set on fire last month. Read | The Bhangar land row shows that Mamatas land acquisition model has failed The proposed law is going be a new avatar of the Prevention of Damage of Public Property Act that was brought into force across India in 1984. It prescribed an imprisonment of up to 10 years and a fine for a serious offence in addition to no bail on personal bond. There are also sections in the Indian Penal Code relating to assault on public servants. Every act of vandalism, including an attack on policemen and police stations, will be covered under the new law, director general of state police Surajit Kar Purakayastha said. State officials now said that they are seeking legal opinion on more stringent provisions such as longer jail term and, more significantly, no bail for certain crimes. Read | Villagers protest under-construction university in Birbhum, demand industry instead Although the proposed state law will aim at safeguarding public property, officials said it is being prepared principally in view of the increasing attacks on policemen and police property, a rather alarming trend for a state that has no terror-inflicted zone and is governed by a party that enjoys an absolute majority. Critics, however, said that attacks on the police point at bad governance and new laws alone cannot change the situation. Retired Kolkata Police commissioner Tushar Talukdar said he does not blame political parties for the attacks on the police. Their characters will always be the same. IPS officers who began their career by taking oath in the name of the Constitution are failing to lead their men and set examples. They are more concerned about their career, Talukdar told HT. Going by the recent incidents, all I can say is that a police force cannot be at the mercy of hooligans. And, if policemen stoop before politicians, people will not take them seriously, he added. Retired deputy commissioner Samir Ganguly, who headed the investigation into the Bowbazar bomb blast case in 1993, blamed political parties for the situation. It started during the Left regime. If people see a Trinamool leader showing utter disregard for the uniform, they will automatically feel provoked to go one step ahead, Ganguly said. The results are evident, he added. Noted lawyer and Congress leader Arunava Ghosh said the government may misuse the law. I have a strong feeling that in the name of restoring order the government will introduce laws that will violate human rights and empower the police to keep anyone in custody without trial, Ghosh said. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON A 16-year-old domestic help was allegedly sexually assaulted by her 70-year-old employer in Moti Nagar area of west Delhi, police said. The girl, hailing from Bihar, had started working at the house of the accused four months back and alleged that she was being harassed for a month, they said. A complaint was lodged by her at Moti Nagar police station on Sunday which she withdrew after mediation by people known to both sides, a senior police officer said. But she again lodged a fresh complaint claiming that she withdrew her previous complaint as she was scared, the officer said. She also alleged that the accused offered her money to keep her mouth shut, he said. A case has been registered and investigation taken up in the matter, he added. An estimated one-fourth of the ATMs across the country are running dry again with people withdrawing large amounts for sundry payments and purchases at the start of the month, bank officials said on Tuesday. Lakhs of workers in unorganised sectors are still paid in cash, usually within the first week of the month. Tuesdays payday for an estimated 560 million factory workers could have also contributed to the cash shortage, the officials added. The fresh cash shortage could fuel the debate over the efficacy of the move to withdraw high-value banknotes and leave the government open to a renewed attack by the opposition, which has been very critical of the demonetisation exercise. Officials of bank and cash logistics companies, however, said the shortage will be over after February 10. Last week, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) allowed people to withdraw up to Rs 24,000 from ATMs in a single transaction, withdrawing a limit imposed during a severe crunch after the ban on 500 and 1000-rupee notes. Read | Demonetisation: RBI may not relax cash withdrawal limit for 3 weeks to a month Typically, the salary cycle is on till about the 8th of any month... ATM functioning is near-normal and there has been no major problem, banks have ensured there is enough cash for ATMs, said Rituraj Sinha, president of the Cash Logistics Associations, an umbrella body of firms which manage the countrys 2.2 lakh-odd cash-dispensing machines. Though banking sources admitted that about 25-30% of the ATMs were short on cash, they said the overall situation was under control and far better than what it was in December and January, shortly after an estimated Rs 15.44 lakh crore was sucked out of the system. Since then, the RBI has pumped in over Rs 10 lakh crore though the central bank indicated that the entire sum may not be replenished. Around Rs 12,000 crore per day is being provided to the ATMs but the figure is still lower than around Rs 13,000 crore provided daily before the note ban. There is significant cash constraint even today and people especially those who are working in the unorganised sector are once again going through a lot of pain. Many ATMs still dont have cash, said CH Venkatachalam, general secretary of the All India Bank Employees Association. The union had planned a strike on February 7 but rescheduled it for February 28 in view of the factory payday. Our assessment is that the situation will be normal only around the month-end, said Soumya Kanti Ghosh, chief economic adviser of the SBI Group. A private sector bank executive said the cash shortage was more pronounced in small towns and rural areas. Read | RBI increases withdrawal limit: Heres a list of the withdrawal and deposit rules SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Recalling high-value banknotes was a right decision made at the right time as the economy was in good health and there was a brief lull in business after the peak festive season, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Tuesday. In what was his first defence in Parliament of the demonetisation of 500-and 1000-rupee, Modi compared his November 8 move to fight tax evasion and illicit wealth with surgery on a human body. When can you have an operation? When the body is healthy. The economy was doing well and thus our decision was taken at the right time, a combative Modi said, peppering his speech with stinging attacks on the Congress for opposing the demonetisation move. Like Swachh Bharat, the decision on demonetisation is a movement to clean India. The prime minister said the cash clampdown was ordered after the festive season business had peaked with Diwali and there was a slack period when businesses usually took it easy. Highlights of PM Modis speech in Parliament Changes dont happen on a whim, proper process and planning is being followed, he said, rejecting opposition charges that the government was ill-prepared for a decision that drained out 86% of the cash in the economy. The move triggered a severe cash crunch in the initial weeks and disrupted business and trade that hit the poor the most. After demonetisation we did our best to help people who were facing issues, we also had to tweak rules to stop those who were trying to game the system, those adept at theft, he said. Modi said he also was ready to face the consequences. Aise aise logon ki musibat hui hai. Mujhe pata hai mere upar kya kya zulm ho sakta hai (Because of the kind of people who were affectedI know the kind of trouble I could face). Calling demonetisation a pro-poor move, he said the government was clear from the beginning that we are ready for a discussion on demonetisation but some were keener on TV bytes and not debates. He also said his government had done more to fight corruption than any other government in the past and, to make his point, cited the formation of a special investigation team on black money on the directive of the Supreme Court. Modi said the government had taken a series of steps to curb the shadow economy from applying higher taxes to jewellery and writing a stringent new law against benami property to launching a voluntary income disclosure scheme to enhance compliance. Before May 2014, the opposition benches used to shout about how much money was eaten up in the coal scam or that scam. Now the opposition shouts, how much has Modi brought back. This is a matter of great satisfaction for me, the prime minister said. Modi, who rode to power in May 2014 promising to fight corruption, was referring to his campaign pledge of bringing back illicit wealth parked abroad. You can oppose Modi, that is your job, he said. But if something is genuinely good you should lend your support to it. The Congress, however, was not impressed by Modis defence and reiterated its demand for an apology. Demonetisation has wrecked the lives of the peoplethe least the PM could have done is apologise to the nation. The government is yet to offer condolences to the families of the victims of demonetisation, Congress spokesperson Gaurav Gogoi said. The Congress links the death of more than 100 people to the note-ban. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON The breeding site of greater adjutants in Kadwa diara (a piece of land created in the middle of the river by sand deposition) in Bihars Bhagalpur district, 190km from state capital Patna, recently welcomed its first batch of foreign tourists. The arrival of two Czech tourists has boosted the confidence of conservationists, who feel the potential of the sanctuary in Naugachia sub-division of the Bhagalpur district can now get a fillip. The breeding site for greater adjutants at Kadwa is the third in the world. The other two are in Cambodia and east Indian state of Assam. Arvind Mishra, founder-member of Mandar Nature Club, involved in conservation and protection of greater adjutants, said this was the first time that foreign tourists were in Kadwa to see the breeding site. Mishra said Tomas Kotok, an expert in scuba diving, and Irena Bednerova, a medical practitioner, discovered the site on the internet and included it in their tour plan. Bird watcher Jai Nandan Mandal said compared to last year, more greater adjutants had been found nesting in the area this year. Against 105 nests last year, 110 were counted in the area this time, Mandal said. Regional chief conservator of forests (RCCF) Prabhat Kumar Gupta said a visit, clubbing Vikramshial Gangetic Dolphin Sanctuary in the district with the breeding site of greater adjutants in Kadwa diara, could make for an attractive tour package for both foreign and domestic tourists. Gupta said, as per a study conducted last year, 210 greater adjutants had nested in Kadwa diara and 174 of them gave birth to 189 chicks. Of them, 166 survived and 376 greater adjutants left the area at the end of breeding season, he added. Meanwhile, to create awareness about birds and biodiversity among school children, the forest department is to organise five trips to Kadwa for school children by February end. The first trip, consisting of students of Mount Carmel School, DAV School, Saint Pauls School and Happy Valley School was organised in December last year. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON If statistics can tell a story, brace yourself for a horrific one. According to the National Crimes Records Bureau (NCRB), as many as 15,039 children were identified as victims of assault under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act in 2015. Of these, 8,800 cases were filed under sections 4 & 6 of the Act dealing with penetrative and aggressively penetrative sexual assaults respectively. In 8,341 cases, the assaulter was known to the child. Every day, a young child both boys and girls is sexually abused by a stranger, a relative or worse a teacher who is supposed to be teaching them right from wrong. The previous year had ended with the news of a Karnataka couple discovering that their 13-year-old daughter was pregnant with the child of an auto rickshaw driver who had been raping her repeatedly. Read: How safe are our kids: Schoolchildren pay for rule violations in blood The New Year started on a bad note too, with a serial offender in New Delhi boasting of having assaulted 500 minor girls. Sunil Rastogi, a 36-year-old tailor from Uttar Pradesh, told police that his modus operandi comprised travelling to Delhi twice a month and standing in wait for lone schoolgirls to pass by. He would approach the victim with gifts, and lure her to a secluded area in the locality for more. Karnataka and Delhi amplify a phenomenon that is routine across the country. Children are vulnerable to sexual predators in school and outside it. The crucial question, therefore, is: Are schools doing enough to educate and safeguard its young ones? Special counselling teams have been constituted at all the private schools in Ranchi to address issues related to child abuse. Children are taught about bad and good touch, and encouraged to speak up if anything untoward happens to them. Owing to a slew of child sexual abuse cases that emerged in 2014, the Karnataka government has issued a circular that mandates schools to get the names of their staffers registered with police stations. It also called for the constitution of child protection committees comprising teachers, parents, students and administrative workers at every school. Gayatri Ananth, a member of the Vigilant Citizen, said schools in the state have been actively trying to spread awareness on sexual assault among children. However, in the national capital where at least five children are assaulted every month not all schools address the issue of securing their students. Rajeshwari Kapri, principal of the Government Girls Senior Secondary School in Sonia Vihar, admits that safety remains a concern in her locality. However, she has tied up with the Delhi police to train her students in self defence. I know my students are not very safe when they step out, and this worries me. In this area, anybody neighbor, relative or friend can be a potential rapist. Girls may not even tell their parents if they are assaulted for fear that they will be blamed. This is why we are organising self-defence classes for them, said Kapri. Ameeta Mulla Wattal, principal of Springdales School on Pusa Road, explains how circumstances have forced parents and teachers to turn vigilantes. I dont want to be an alarmist, but we do have unsavoury elements in our society. Schools can hike their security, but they cant be responsible for childrens safety once they leave the campus. So, the onus of ensuring that the children reach home safe should be on parents, NGOs and law enforcement agencies, she added. However, even the mandated guidelines are not practised in some cases. Andhra Pradeshs Balala Hakkula Sangham which is waging a pitched battle against child abuse pointed out that all-girl schools are not allowed to appoint male teachers below 45 years of age. The management is mandated to ensure the safety of girl students until they reach home in co-education institutions too. There should also be a psychologist to counsel students regularly. However, this is lacking in most schools, said Sangham convener Anuradha Rao. Many children find it difficult to speak up, say experts. It is practically impossible for a child to speak up against an adult offender, especially if he is liked by family members. The silence is built into the abuse itself the kind of influence the abuser might have on the child. Some even fear angering their parents, says Anuja Gupta, founder and executive director of RAHI foundation, a one-of-its-kind NGO that offers support to survivors of incest. According to her, it is important for adults to create a conducive environment for disclosure, and keep a lookout for sudden changes in behaviour. There is no robust system available to tackle the critical issue of child sexual abuse, and each state government continues to grapple with its own set of guidelines. Taking note of the sexual assault on a nine-year-old girl at an educational institution in central Mumbais Dadar last year, the Bombay high court asked the Maharashtra government to ensure that schools install CCTV cameras on their premises. Read: Poor parenting makes kids afraid of reporting sexual abuse, says study Though most have adhered to the guideline, only a few monitor the footage closely or store them for more than 30 days. The Centre is also grappling with ways to address the issue. A POCSO e-Box recently launched by the Union ministry for women and child development is displayed prominently on the website of the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR). The complaints will reach the NCPCR directly, instead of being routed through state education departments. However, as a ministry official pointed out, streamlining complaints is only one aspect of a very large problem. Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 7 By Anakhanum Hidayatova Trend: Azerbaijan is of strategic importance for Ukraine as part of the implementation of the plan of replacing Russian oil with Azerbaijani oil, Alexander Mishchenko, Ukrainian extraordinary and plenipotentiary ambassador to Azerbaijan, told Trend. He added that Azerbaijans state oil company SOCAR successfully operates in Ukraine. The diplomat said that perhaps, Ukraine will buy Azerbaijani gas in the future. "The diversification of energy resources and an opportunity of avoiding dependence on Russia is a matter of national security for Ukraine," the diplomat said. He added that a meeting of the working group on Azerbaijan-Ukraine energy cooperation, to be headed by deputy energy ministers of the two countries, is expected to be held in mid-February. The ambassador said that the Ukrainian side has already submitted proposals and the agenda to the Azerbaijani side. "Unfortunately, such meetings have not been held for the last five years, Mishchenko said. After the presidents meeting, the implementation of acceptable projects, in which Ukraine and Azerbaijan could participate, is being intensified to be beneficial to both countries." He added that Azerbaijan and Ukraine are working on big projects concerning the resumption of Azerbaijani oil supplies to Ukraine. There are issues related to the possible participation of Azerbaijan in Ukraines infrastructure modernization, in particular refinery, Mishchenko said. The diplomat said that all aspects of further cooperation will be solved and discussed at the forthcoming meeting. "The Ukrainian side is being thoroughly prepared for the meeting, he added. The various options for cooperation will be presented to the Azerbaijani side. Azerbaijan will also make its proposals. The attention is paid to realize the potential of the two countries: Azerbaijan has resources, while Ukraine market. It is also very important for Azerbaijan." The ambassador expressed hope for Azerbaijans more active participation in Ukraines investment projects. Ukrtransnafta Public Joint Stock Company will transport twice as much oil to the Kremenchug refinery in 2017, Andrey Pasishnik, the companys first deputy general director, said earlier. The corresponding agreement for the supply was concluded between Ukrtransnafta PJSC and Ukrtatnafta company. Kremenchug refinery will receive not less than 1.3 million tons of Azerbaijani oil in 2017. "We expect to receive the first tankers with Azerbaijani oil in February and begin to transport the oil to the Kremenchug refinery," he added. --- Follow the author on Twitter: @Anahanum The Supreme Court decided to initiate contempt proceedings against a sitting Calcutta high court judge who in recent months hit out at his colleagues with allegations of corruptions. Chief Justice of India JS Khehar will head a seven-judge bench on Wednesday morning to issue a directive against Justice CS Karnan, making it the first instance of such proceedings being ordered against a sitting judge of an appellate court. The SC is likely to issue a notice to Karnan, summoning him in person after charging him for obstructing dispensation of justice, sources said. Karnan has alleged that he is being persecuted for being a Dalit. The judge has already challenged the SC collegium recommendation to transfer him out of his parent high court Madras to Calcutta. He will appear in the top court on February 13 to argue the case himself. Justice Karnan stirred fresh controversy when he sent a letter to the Prime Minister on January 23. The letter said high corruption in the judiciary is still being perpetrated in an arbitrary fashion and without fear. He furnished the list and claimed his allegations could be proved through some competent agencies. The letter contained name of a high court CJ who is due for elevation to the SC. While staying his own transfer order, Justice Karnan also sought a response from the CJI, whom he asked not to interfere with his jurisdiction. He questioned the CJIs authority as the head of the collegium to issue transfer orders for better administration. Faced with a piquant situation, the HC registry rushed to the top court with a plea to restrain Justice Karnan from issuing such orders. The SC directed the judge not to pass judicial orders on his own and imposed a blanket stay on all directions issued by him after his transfer. Days later, Justice Karnan wrote a letter to the CJI and blamed his actions on loss of mental balance due to mental frustrations over alleged caste bias he faced in the HC. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON India, a major buyer of oil from Iran, has implemented UN-mandated sanctions against it, a bipartisan Congressional report has said amid the Trump administrations efforts to muster international support against Tehran after conducting a missile test. The independent Congressional Research Service (CRS) said in its latest report said that India began reducing economic relations with Iran in 2010 when Indias central bank ceased using a Tehran-based regional body, the Asian Clearing Union, to handle transactions with Iran. India implemented UN-mandated sanctions against Iran and generally cooperated with multilateral efforts to use sanctions to achieve a nuclear agreement with Iran, the report which was presented to lawmakers on Monday. CRS is the independent research wing of the US Congress which prepares periodic report on issues of interest for lawmakers for them to make informed decisions. Its report are not considered as official report of the US Congress. In its 42-page report CRS notes that during 2010-2016, Indias private sector described Iran as a controversial market a term used by many international firms to describe markets that entail reputational and financial risks. In January 2012, Iran agreed to accept Indias currency rupee to settle 45% of its oil sales to India, which Iran mostly used to buy Indian wheat, pharmaceuticals, rice, sugar, soybeans, auto parts and other products. India reduced its imports of Iranian oil substantially after 2011 - by the time of the JPA, Iran was only supplying about six per cent of Indias oil imports, down from over 16% in 2008. India incurred significant costs to retrofit refineries that were handling Iranian crude. However, since the JCPOA, oil imports apparently have increased to close to 2011 levels, the report said. Indian firms ended or slowed work on investments in Iranian oil and gas fieldswork that is likely to resume now that sanctions have been lifted, CRS said, adding that India and Iran are considering using Turkeys Halkbank to transfer to Iran $6.5 billion for oil purchased by India during 2012-2016. In 2015, India and Iran agreed that India would help develop Irans Chahbahar port that would enable it to trade with Afghanistan unimpeded by Pakistan. With sanctions on Iran now lifted, that project no longer entails risk to Indian firms involved. In May 2016, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Iran and signed an agreement to invest $500 million to develop the port and related infrastructure, CRS said. The report came as US President Donald Trump criticised Iran over its actions. The White House put Iran on notice over the move and vowed to take action, setting the stage for confrontation between the two nations. India will join Russia-Pakistan-China-trilateral on Afghanistan, which had upset Kabul in the past, for the first time. Afghanistan will also attend the meeting to be held in Moscow on February 15. India will be represented by a joint secretary- level official, sources said. Iran is another likely participant at the meet. The Russian had invited India to attend the grouping during the visit of national security advisor Ajit Doval to Russia last week. Doval had a meeting on a wide range of security and counter-terrorism issues with Russian security council secretary Nikolai Patrushev, a confidant of president Vladmir Putin. According to sources India was willing to join the grouping provided Afghanistan was on board. Though Russia had maintained Russia-Pakistan-China trilateral as one of the many initiatives on Afghanistan, the move did not down well with Afghanistan. The three countries had also said they are concerned about the growing threat of Islamic State in Afghanistan which threatens to spill over. Russian envoy Vitaly Churkin, told the UN Security Council in December that deteriorating security situation has given a fillip to the IS militants escaping Syria and Iraq to take refuge in Afghanistan. The grouping will also discuss the security situation in Afghanistan and the peace process with Taliban. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON With China opposing US proposal in the UN for designating Pathankot attack mastermind and Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) chief Masood Azhar as a global terrorist, India on Tuesday said it has taken up the matter with Beijing. We have been informed of this development and the matter has been taken up with the Chinese government, external affairs ministry spokesperson Vikas Swarup said. He was asked about Indias reaction to US pushing for a ban on Azhar in the UN and China yet again blocking it. However, he did not elaborate when and where the issue was taken up with China. According to senior government sources, the US, supported by the UK and France, moved a proposal at the UNs Sanctions Committee 1267 in the second-half of last month to proscribe Azhar. The proposal, which was finalised after consultations between Washington and New Delhi, said JeM is a designated terror outfit and so its leaders cannot go scot-free, sources said. However, China opposed the US move by putting a hold on the proposal, a source said, adding the Chinese action came just before the expiry of the 10-day deadline for any proposal to be adopted or blocked or to be put on hold. The American proposal came barely weeks after Indias efforts to get Azhar banned by the UN were blocked by China in December last. The hold remains for six months and can be further extended by three months. During this period, it can be anytime converted into a block, thereby, ending the life of the proposal. India has warned Myanmar that Pakistan-based militants were exploiting radicalisation among the Rohingya community, which posed a security risk to both the countries as well as the region, sources told HT. India asked Myanmar to find a political solution to defuse the ticking bomb, citing information that the radicals among the minority ethnic community were being abetted by outfits such as Lashkar-e-Taiba. Delhi conveyed this message to Myanmars national security adviser U Thaung Tun, who was on his maiden visit to India last week, sources said. We told the NSA that this issue is a major threat. Rohingya radicals are being abetted by Lashkar. This will have consequences for the region. And we have advised them to find a political solution to the issue soon, an official told HT on condition of anonymity. Thaung Tun met his Indian counterpart Ajit Doval as well as officials of ministries of external affairs and defence. New Delhi believes that security measures were necessary but a crackdown alone on the minority community would be counter-productive. Myanmar is coming under increasing international pressure over its treatment of an estimated 1-million strong Rohingya Muslims, who face official and social discrimination in the Buddhist-majority country. Even as Western and Islamic countries and human rights bodies have made the treatment of Rohingyas a central concern in their engagement with Myanmar, India has chosen restraint and discretion, given the sensitivities of both the military and Aung San Suu Kyi on the issue. Soldiers recently stepped up offensive in the northwestern Rakhine state in a crackdown on Rohingyas, sparking a new round of violence. India had adequate intelligence to confirm the role of the Lashkar, operating first through its so-called charitable avatar and then through frontmen in the Rakhine state, the Indian official said. It was in 2012-13 that India first grew suspicious of Lashkar, which carried out the 2008 Mumbai terror attack that left 166 people dead, involvement in Myanmar. New Delhi got inputs from Bangladesh and suspected that Rohingya radicals and Lashkar had a hand in the blasts that rocked Bodh Gaya, Buddhisms holiest site. Lahskar founder Hafiz Saeed has often accused India of aiding the Myanmar regime in its persecution of Rohingyas, who are regarded as illegal immigrants from Bangladesh even when their families have lived in Myanmar for generations. Soldiers have also been accused of sexual violence against women. The government, however, denies all charges. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON A Nepalese man, a suspected ISI operative and a key accused in the Kanpur train derailment case, has been arrested from an airport in Kathmandu after being deported from Dubai, NIA sources said on Tuesday. National Investigating Agency sources said Shamsul Hoda was in Dubai when a local criminal Brij Giri, who was arrested in Nepal, exposed Hodas role in the derailment of Indore-Patna Express that went off the tracks near Kanpur Dehat in Pukhrayan killing 140 people on November 21. Hoda was departed back from Dubai to Nepal and arrested there. We will seek access to him through legal channels, NIA sources said. Bihar police are probing whether the train derailment was an act of sabotage with possible ties to Pakistani spy agency Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI). They arrested three men on charges of involvement in the incident in January this year and suspect Hoda was their handler and may have ISI links. Official added that the accused were hired through a chain of handlers in Nepal and Dubai and the Dubai-based handler was connected to those in Pakistan. During questioning, one of the men accused the two others of receiving money from Hoda to plant bombs in public spaces and target the train line between Varanasi and Kanpur. It is suspected that the same group was also involved in planting IED near Ghorasahan-Raxaul rail track along the Indo-Nepal border on October 1, 2016, that failed to go off. Nepal police will also work in close coordination with the Indian police for Hodas alleged involvement in criminal activities in India, a top Nepalese police official, Pashupati Upadhyaya, told PTI. Hoda is also the mastermind of a twin murder in Bara district of Nepal, the police said. Three others were also arrested with Hoda and have been are identified as Brij Kishor Giri, Ashish Singh and Umesh Kumar Kurmi, who belong to Kalaiya district in southern Nepal. Hoda has links with international criminal groups and he has been involved in a number of criminal activities in Nepal and India, the officer said. A case has been registered against him in Bara district court, he added. (With inputs from PTI) SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu governor C Vidya Sagar Rao is likely to fly to Chennai on Tuesday or Wednesday amid political developments in the southern state where O Panneerselvam has been replaced by VK Sasikala as leader of the ruling AIADMK legislature party. Read: Tamil Nadu governor in Mumbai: Suspense remains over Sasikalas swearing-in Governor may leave for Chennai today or tomorrow, Raj Bhavan sources said on Tuesday. The prospects of Sasikalas immediate swearing-in as chief minister faded with Rao heading to Mumbai on Monday night from New Delhi, instead of flying to Chennai amid reports that he was seeking legal advice before administering the oath of office to Sasikala. Rao had travelled from Coimbatore to the national capital on Monday night. The Supreme Court on Monday indicated that it could deliver a judgement soon in a disproportionate assets case against Sasikala, who became general secretary of AIADMK after the death of Jayalalithaa. A conviction after being sworn-in could result in Sasikala having to step down as chief minister. A PIL was also filed in the apex court on Monday seeking to restrain Sasikala from being sworn-in as chief minister claiming in the event of her having to resign if she is convicted in the DA case, there could be a law and order problem in the state. Sasikala was elected leader of the AIADMK legislature party on Sunday, clearing the decks for her elevation as the chief minister. Chief minister Panneerselvam on Monday tendered his resignation to the governor, which was accepted. According to Chennai reports, the Madras University Auditorium, which had earlier hosted the swearing-in of Jayalalithaa, was being spruced up for the swearing in of Sasikala. The dustbins at Rajasthans oldest bird hospital in Jaipur are brimming with that similar but unusual element -- an entangled mass of manja (a glass coated thread used to fly kites). As residents celebrated Makar Sankranti, flying colourful kites on their terrace and balconies, the cases of bird injuries and deaths by Chinese manja shot up. The hospital with 83 wards, established around 1950 and run by Sthanakwasi Shrawak Sangh, opened its doors 24x7 in the week surrounding the festival. A compounder treats a bird entangled in manja at the Bird Hospital in Jaipur, Rajasthan. A few hours at the hospital are enough to witness the plight of these feathered friends. (Himanshu Vyas/HT Photo) Numerous NGOs set camps to treat injured birds, the police department issued orders prohibiting use of manja and the National green Tribunal (NGT) banned sale and use of any harmful coated thread for flying kites. Yet, the rush of concerned citizens carrying pigeons, crows, parrots, barn owls, doves, egrets and even peacocks entangled in manja for treatment does not seem tom stop. The recovery ward of birds where they are kept after treatment at the Bird Hospital in Jaipur. (Himanshu Vyas/HT Photo) The caretaker at the hospital, Ramesh Verma, informed that around 500 birds were brought to the hospital in November and December. This number shot up to more than a 1,000 in January. An eagle injured by the manja gets treatment. The coated thread, sharp as a razors edge, has become an inseparable component of the festival of kites celebrated on Makar Sankranti. (Himanshu Vyas/HT Photo) The casualties remain high even during February, long after the festival is over. Reason: Look out your window and you will see the same dangerous manja still strewn across tress, rooftops, poles and power lines -- all places frequented by our feathered friends. A man hands over an injured bird for treatment at the Bird Hospital in Jaipur. Every year, dozens of deaths and injuries are caused by the high-flying duels of kite-flyers. (Himanshu Vyas/HT Photo) It is the responsibility of municipality officials and each and every citizen to free the city of manja, said Rohit Gangwal, president of RAKSHA -- an organisation which released about 90 cured birds of various species last week. A barn owl, injured due to a kite string, tries to take off after being released following treatment by RAKSHA, at Jhalana Hills in Jaipur. (Himanshu Vyas/HT Photo) The NGT banned the use of glass-coated manja for flying kites in December but the sharp string continue to be sold. PETA has said manja poses a grave threat to humans and animals as every year a number of deaths are caused by it. It also poses a huge threat when it comes into contact with live overhead electric wires, leading to grid failure. Despite growing pressure from tribal organisations, Nagaland chief minister TR Zeliang refused to step down on Tuesday, insisting that he enjoys majority support in the assembly. I will resign only if my government is reduced to minority. And that can only be decided by a floor test in the assembly, he told journalists in Kohima, in his first press interaction since the womens reservation issue in the urban local body (ULB)elections sparked off the current crisis. Opposition to holding elections to municipal bodies with 33% reservation for women led to violent protests that left two men dead in police firing in Dimapur and over 20 government buildings burned down in Kohima last week. Holding Zeliang responsible for the incidents, powerful tribal bodies of the state have shut down government offices since Monday and have refused to call off protests till the CM resigns. A deserted street during a bandh call in Dimapur. (PTI File) The Nagaland assembly has 60 members and Zeliangs Naga Peoples Front-led Democratic Alliance of Nagaland, of which the BJP is also a part, enjoys the support of all legislators. I enjoy the support of all members barring the Speaker. Hence we dont have to go by what people from outside say, Zeliang said. Vested were responsible for the move to oust him and it had nothing to with the municipal polls or reservation for women, he added. He, however, refused to specify what or who those vested interests were and stressed there was no ground for Presidents rule either in the state. The Kohima Municipal Council office which was set ablaze by Naga tribals during their violent protest in Kohima. (PTI) The state government has called for wider consultations with tribal bodies beginning Wednesday. But with the latter refusing to take part in talks till Zeliang steps down, the standoff could last for some time. Zeliang stated that the only two options left with the government to end the present crisis are to hold municipal polls with 33% reservation or seek exemption of the state from Part IXA of the Constitution which deals with municipal polls and provides for reservation for women. Nagaland is exempt from providing reservation to women in village bodies under provisions of the Panchayati Raj Act and the state government wants similar privilege for municipal bodies. In an emergency meeting on Saturday night, the state cabinet had decided to ask the Centre to keep the state outside the purview of a certain part of the Constitution that deals with the matter. Article 371A of the Constitution grants special status to Nagaland to preserve customary laws and tribal bodies feel providing 33% reservation to women in municipal bodies will violate it. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Nagaland stands to lose almost Rs 140 crore in grants from the Centre to modernize its decrepit urban infrastructure after the state government surrendered to tribal customs and failed to hold elections to urban local bodies (ULBs), This includes Rs 127 crore under the 14th Finance Commission (FFC) and another Rs 10 crore as incentive under the Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT), the union urban development ministrys programme to upgrade urban amenities in 500 cities. The hilly north eastern state with a population of 19 lakh has been rocked by violence over the past week after the government decided to hold municipal elections with 33% seats reserved for women. Tribal organizations are up in arms saying reservation is against their customary laws. According to the FFC recommendation, which had been accepted by the government in 2015, the total grants to ULBs across India over a five year period (2015-2020) is to the tune of Rs 87, 143 crore. Nagalands share is Rs 127 crore that is to be used by the municipalities to augment basic services such as water supply, sanitation, solid waste management, maintenance of roads, etc. However, the recommendation, which was accepted by the government in 2015 mandates that the grants will be given to only those states, which have a duly constituted ULBs. The last time municipal elections were held in the state was 16 years ago. Besides Nagaland, Meghalaya and Jammu &Kashmir have also missed out the first instalment of funds because of their inability to constitute ULBs. If Nagaland foregoes its share of the FFC grants, the planned development of fast growing urban centres such as Dimapur will suffer. Such cities are regional economic hubs but deficiencies in municipal infrastructure and services expose their citizens to a variety of risks, said Jagan Shah, director, National Institute of Urban Affairs. Besides, the state will also miss out on 10% incentive from the Rs 108 crore allocated to it under AMRUT for not improving the levy and collection of user charges for basic services. Article 243 (T) of the Constitution that provides for reserving 33% seat for women in ULBs also empowers them to collect tax. But tribal bodies have opposed this too. AMRUT grants incentives to state, which carry out reforms like municipal tax and fee improvement, said an official. Nagaland and Meghalaya have cited Article 371 (A) that gives them special status and exempts them from following central laws for not holding municipal polls. Shah says its a conundrum in all states that have protected areas. It is natural that indigenous communities see urbanization as a threat to ancient customs. However, traditional practices are authentic to a specific geography, whereas civic laws and ethos are applicable in urban areas, where development of infra and delivery of basic services must be a priority, he said. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb.7 By Leman Zeynalova Trend: Azerbaijan is the most likely source of second phase of gas transportation to Europe via the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline (TAP), Ulrike Andres, Commercial and External Affairs Director of the TAP AG told New Europe. However, in line with EU regulation, any shipper who wishes to take part in TAPs open seasons may do so as long as they comply with the requirements for participation, she added. Andres pointed out that the first phase of TAPs 10 billion-cubic-meters capacity is booked on ship or pay. However, there is a minor amount of capacity available for short-term transportation and capacity might be made available on the secondary market, should there be demand from shippers, she added. Earlier, deputy CEO of Russias Gazprom Alexander Medvedev said that the company is discussing the possibility of using Poseidon and TAP to export gas to Europe. Federico Ermoli, Vice-President of Italys Snam company, which is one of TAP shareholders, said that the pipelines capacity can be expanded and used for delivering Russian gas to Europe. Moreover, CEO of Fluxys Pascal De Buck told reporters on the sidelines of the European Gas Conference that this is a very good idea. TAP is a part of the Southern Gas Corridor which is one of the priority energy projects for the EU. TAP project envisages transportation of gas from the Stage 2 of development of Azerbaijan's Shah Deniz gas and condensate field to the EU countries. The pipeline will be connected to the Trans-Anatolian Pipeline (TANAP) on the Turkish-Greek border, run through Greece, Albania and the Adriatic Sea, before coming ashore in Italy's south. TAPs shareholders are: BP (20 percent), State Oil Company of Azerbaijan (20 percent), Snam (20 percent), Fluxys (19 percent), Enagas (16 percent) and Axpo (5 percent). --- Follow the author on Twitter: @Lyaman_Zeyn The political temperature in Tamil Nadu soared on Tuesday with a raft of wild charges adding to a growing chorus of opposition to stop Sasikala from being sworn in as chief minister. Three senior AIADMK leaders, dismissed as disgruntled rebels by the party, sought a probe into circumstances leading to the death of J Jayalaithaa and insinuated that the former chief minister may have been murdered. The growing opposition to Sasikala came amid reports from Mumbai that governor C Vidyasagar Rao could arrive in Chennai on Wednesday. Raj Bhavan in Chennai, however, said it had not received any schedule of the governors visit to Chennai so far. An impending Supreme Court judgment in a disproportionate assets case against Sasikala is also hanging like the sword of Damocles over the CM-designate. Meanwhile, the suspense over Sasikalas swearing-in ceremony continued on Tuesday. The AIADMK had nothing to say about the schedule of the oath-taking ceremony, but officially, it maintained that it was waiting for a word from the governor and that it was ready. Everything in the party is fine and we are ready, senior AIADMK leader Panruti Ramachandran said at a crowded press conference called to counter charges made by rebel AIADMK leaders. Senior leaders Panruti Ramachandra and KN Sengottiyan said that once the governor came to Chennai, the party would call on him with all the MLAs and present the letters to him. We are hoping for a positive development, Ramachandran said and dismissed all the allegations levelled by disgruntled elements of the party who were sidelined even during the time of Madam Jayalalithaa. Absolutely false allegations devoid of any truth, Ramachandran said questioning their timing and intent. They should have made these allegations inside the party forum if they were concerned. And besides, why did they wait for two months to come out with these wild charges now, Ramachandran inquired. But the grave charges levelled against Sasikala by former assembly speaker PH Pandian and his son and former MP, Manoj Pandian found resonance with another senior leader KC Palaniswamy who demanded a Supreme Court monitored probe into the circumstances leading to the death of the former chief minister. The probe must be carried out by an outside, independent agency like the CBI, the former AIADMK MP Palaniswamy said. Earlier, PH Pandian and his son Manoj Pandian sought a probe into Jayalaithaas death. Independent of these demands, Jayalalithaas niece, Deepa Jayakumar too stuck to her old stand that a probe ought to be held into the treatment of her aunt in the hospital and her subsequent death. She, like the other rebel AIADMK leaders, dismissed the Apollo doctors panel clean chit to the treatment, saying that the timing of the press conference too was questionable. Why did the doctors wait for two months for this press conference, just before the reported elevation of Sasikala as chief minister? she questioned. The exercise of the doctors, she said, in fact raised more questions than it answered and moreover it is nothing but a staged show to facilitate a clean chit before Sasikala took over as chief minister. It will be a sad day for Tamil Nadu, Deepa said when asked how she viewed the imminent swearing in of Sasikala as the chief minister. She warned that she will be going to the people, who are against Sasikala. It is exactly this point that former union finance minister and senior Congress leader P Chidambaran also underlined. He said that he found a universal opposition of people, barring miniscule AIADMK MLAs, to Sasikala in Tamil Nadu and it will be a sad day for Tamil Nadu if she is made the chief minister. Technically there is nothing wrong in AIADMK electing Sasikala as their leader, as it is their internal matter. But is she the right person to be the chief minister of Tamil Nadu? he questioned adding that the governor, ideally, ought to be swearing in a person elected by the MLAs as the chief minister. But Chidambaram said there is a slight window of discretion available to the governor who can consider all the conditions and situation before and take an appropriate decision. The AIADMK legislative party on Sunday chose its general secretary VK Sasikala to replace chief minister O Panneerselvam. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Despite Indias Cold Start military doctrine, nuclear-armed Pakistan is militarily strong enough to defend its sovereignty and it will not be a one-sided victory as assumed by New Delhi, a top Chinese strategic analyst has told the state media. The Cold Start doctrine is an Indian armed forces manoeuvre developed to swiftly seize Pakistani territory and end the war before it escalates into a nuclear conflict. Army chief General Bipin Rawat made a rare mention of it in a recent interview, seemingly putting a stamp of confirmation about the existence. It didnt go unnoticed among India-watchers in China. Zhao Gancheng, director of Centre for Asia-Pacific Studies at Shanghai Institutes for International Studies, told the nationalistic tabloid Global Times that comments like the one Rawat made will increase India-Pakistan tension especially because of the uncertainty in the US foreign policy after President Donald Trump took over. Read | US wanted nuclear emissary to reduce India-Pakistan tensions, CIA papers reveal Against this backdrop, any remark that might threaten the delicate peace between the two nations from the Indian military authority will undoubtedly trigger a strong reaction in Pakistan, Zhao said. Despite Prime Minister Narendra Modis initial overtures to Pakistan, Zhao blamed India for derailing the peace process between the two countries by accusing Pakistan of harbouring terrorists. Yet, due to a number of other factors, such as India accusing Islamabad of terror attacks in Kashmir and New Delhis bid to add Pakistan-based organisation Jamaat-ud-Dawa and Masood Azhar, chief of Pakistan-based group Jaish-e-Mohammed, to the UN Security Councils terror list, India-Pakistan ties worsened, Zhao said. But India, he said should remember that even if there is a gap militarily between the two countries, Pakistan is strong enough to defend itself. Read | Chinas state-run newspaper says India working against Beijings interests in Sri Lanka However, both India and Pakistan are nuclear-armed countries. Even if the Cold Start strategy sounds intimidating and there is indeed a gap between the two powers military might, it does not mean that New Delhi can easily win a landslide victory against Islamabad. The truth is, Pakistan has considerable strength to safeguard its sovereignty and its nuclear weapons should not be ignored, Zhao said. He added that the USs role in India-Pakistan ties will be crucial and Trumps policy could be different from predecessor former president Barack Obama. Moreover, Trumps South Asia policy may be different from that of former US president Barack Obama, who adopted a comprehensive pro-India policy in his final years in office. Trump called Pakistani prime minister first after winning the election, which may be a crucial signal - he would take a more balanced strategy between New Delhi and Islamabad. Read | Heavy price of India-Pakistan nuclear war: 21 million may die, half of ozone layer will vanish Prime Minister Narendra Modi defended on Tuesday his surprise decision to recall high-value banknotes, saying the move was made at an opportune moment when the economy was in good health and there was a lull in business after the festive season. Calling demonetisation a pro-poor move, he said the government was clear from the beginning that we are ready for a discussion on demonetisation but some were more keen on TV bytes and not debates. Highlights PM on surgical strikes across LoC 1:45 PM: No matter how much praise is heaped on our armed forces it is not enough. Our military is completely capable of defending the nation: PM Modi 1:40 PM: Surgical strike was a big decision but no one is questioning it like they questioned demonetisation: PM Modi PM on the Budget 1:37 PM: We have worked to improve employment opportunities.Many schemes were implemented to help youth employment: PM Modi 1:36 PM: Budget 2017 is benefiting 96% of the population: PM Modi PM on social security schemes 1:35 PM: Why was it that there were crop insurance schemes earlier but farmers were not keen to avail of the benefits: PM Modi 1:30 PM: Now, middlemen no longer enjoy the benefits they did. We have stopped the corruption and loot: PM Modi 1:27 PM: Rs 7633 crore leakage in social programs has been stopped by us: PM Modi 1:23 PM: As I have said before, the steps Im taking make the target of some very powerful people. But I will continue doing this: PM Modi 1:22 PM: 22,27,000 houses have been constructed in the past one year: PM Modi. PM on MNERGA and other policies 1:20 PM: Changes dont happen on a whim, proper process and planning is being followed: PM Modi 1:10 PM: You can oppose Modi, that is your job but if something is genuinely good you should lend your support to it: PM Modi on cashless push 1:05 PM: What was the reason that a popular law like MNERGA was ammended 1035 times: PM Modi PM on demonetisation 1:00 PM: After demonetisation we did our best to help people who were facing issues, we also had to tweak rules to stop those who were trying to game the system, those adept at theft: PM Modi 12:56 PM: Like Swachh Bharat, the decision on demonetisation is a movement to clean India (from corruption and black money): PM Modi 12:53 PM: People asked why did we bring demonetisation into effect when the economy was doing well. As a doctor would say the best time to perform a surgery is when the body is completely healthy: PM Modi. 12:50 PM: We do not see everything from the prism of elections. The interests of the nation are supreme for us: PM Modi 12:47 PM: It does not matter how big you are, you will have to give back what belongs to the poor. My fight is for the poor: PM Modi. 12:45 PM: Earlier the discussion was about how much has gone, now people ask how much has Modi brought back. This is how discourse has changed after we have assumed office: PM Modi. 12:42 PM: Agree with Kharge jis statement that black money is being held in jewellery and property. The house wants to know when did he realise this, Prime Minister Modi takes a jibe at Congress. 12:38 PM: From Day 1, we have been clear- we are ready for a discussion on demonetisation but some were more keen on TV bytes & not debates, says Prime Minister Modi. 12:34 PM: When Rail budget was first presented, the transport sector was different. Now things are different and a more comprehensive look is needed, says Prime Minister Modi. 12:33 PM: I was surprised that there were some who made cleanliness also a political issue. Why cant we work together on ushering a Swachh Bharat, says Prime Minister Modi. PM takes on opposition 12:32 PM: I have said it in the past- every Prime Minister has contributed to the nation. But there is a party here that wants to attribute everything to one family, says Prime Minister Modi. 12:31 PM: Let us understand & appreciate the inherent strength of our people & take India to newer heights. Faith in Jan Shakti will give results, says Prime Minister Modi. 12:30 PM: Somewhere on the way, Jan Shakti was forgotten. We do not accept this, says Prime Minister Modi. 12:26 PM: There are many here like me who were born after independence. While we did not have the privilege to fight for the nations independence but we are living for the nation and serving the nation, says Prime Minister Modi. 12:25 PM: There is something very special about Jan Shakti. It is due to this Jan Shakti that the son of a poor mother can become the Prime Minister of India, says Prime Minister Modi. 12:23 PM: We remember how democracy was under threat from 1975 to 1977, when opposition leaders were jailed, newspaper freedom curtailed, says Prime Minister Modi. 12:20 PM: How can someone see SEVA or any positive virtue in the word SCAM, says Prime Minister Modi. 12:18 PM: Ruckus in the house again. Opposition MPs raise slogans. 12:16 PM: The earthquake finally arrived yesterday. We had been hearing threats for a long time, says Modi, referring to Congress leader Rahul Gandhis statement that there will be an earthquake in Parliament if he were to speak in Parliament about the alleged scam in demonetisation. Modi was also alluding to the earthquake in Uttarakhand on Monday night. 12:15 PM: PM Narendra Modi speaks in Parliament, replies to Presidents speech. 12:10 PM: Ruckus in Lok Sabha as Trinamool leaders raise slogans. Speaker Sumitra Mahajan rejects adjournment plea. Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday taunted the Congress, mocked its vice president Rahul Gandhi and criticised its dynastic politics as he tore into the main Opposition party in Parliament. So, finally, the earthquake has come, Prime Minister said in the Lok Sabha, referring to the tremors felt in Delhi and parts of north India on Monday night as he took a jibe at Rahul Gandhi. The Congress leader had on December 9 warned that if he was allowed to speak in Parliament an earthquake would happen. He had information on the personal corruption of the Prime Minister, Gandhi said a few days later at a press conference in the Parliament complex during the winter session, which was a wash-out as the Opposition and government traded charges over demonetisation. Highlights | They want to attribute everything to one family: Modi targets Cong, Gandhis I was thinking where did the quake come from? I heard the threat long ago. There must be some reason for mother earth to be unhappy, Modi said, replying to the motion of thanks on Presidents address. He then took on Gandhi over a recent election speech in Uttar Pradesh. When someone finds seva in scam, then not even a mother but mother earth too, becomes unhappy, he said. Speaking at a rally, Gandhi had hit back at the PM, who had questioned the Congress alliance with the Samajwadi Party and accused them of corruption, saying SCAM means Seva (service), Courage, Ability and Modesty. It was janshakti (peoples power) that had propelled him to the top job but the Congress thinks only a family has given us freedom, said Modi, an apparent reference to the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty. The Prime Minister also attacked Mallikarjun Kharge, the Congress leader in the Lok Sabha, for his remarks that not even the dogs of the BJP were part of the freedom struggle. We have not grown up in Kutton wali parampara. There are many people who were born after Independence but we are fortunate to live for the country, Modi said amid an applause from the treasury benches. Kharges comment on Monday that Modi could become prime minister because the Congress kept the democracy alive too didnt go unnoticed. It was a huge favour Modi said as he questioned internal democracy in the Congress. In his almost two-hour speech, the Prime Minister said he wanted to play in the Congress ground and started comparing performance of his government with that of the UPA, giving an account of various welfare schemes including the MGNREGA programme. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Rahul Gandhi and Akhilesh Yadav on Tuesday attacked BJP and BSP claiming the SP-Congress storm sweeping Uttar Pradesh will blow them away and finish Prime Minister Narendra Modi who is trying to bring Company Raj in India. Addressing a joint poll rally here, the Congress vice president said they will not allow BJP to spread hatred in Uttar Pradesh which a state of peace and harmony. As soon as Congress-SP joined hands, the alliances storm hit the state. This storm will finish Narendra Modi, BJP, Mayawati and BSP, he told his supporters. Read | Highlights | No one questioned surgical strike like demonetisation: Modi Earlier this week, addressing a rally in Aligarh, Modi had attacked the nascent SP-Congress alliance saying the BJP storm had forced Akhilesh Yadav to desperately seek the help of anything, even a pole, to retain power. Hitting back at the Prime Minister over the storm remarks, Akhilesh on Tuesday said if there is any aandhi (storm) in the state, it is for making the SP-Congress alliance government. We are Samajwadi people. Even if there is a storm we will face it head on. We know how to paddle the cycle (SPs poll symbol) through a storm, he said. Referring to the 1857-Meerut uprising, Rahul told the gathering, You taught the British a lesson. People had fought to free the country of the Company Raj. But, on Tuesday Narendra Modi is bringing a kind of Company Raj in India, Rahul alleged. He again levelled allegations against Modi that he was favouring a few corporates. He claimed the government has waived Rs 1.10 lakh crore owed by the richest 50 families but didnt give a penny to the poor. Read | PM Narendra Modi targets Gandhis and Congress for dynasty politics He asked the gathering if Rs 15 lakh as promised by the BJP during the Lok Sabha poll campaign has been deposited in their accounts and also if the youths got employment as promised by the Modi government. In his attack on the PM over the storm remarks, Akhilesh said if there is any aandhi (storm) in the state, it is for making the SP-Congress alliance government. We are Samajwadi people. Even if there is a storm we will face it head on. We know how to pedal the cycle (SPs poll symbol) through a storm, he said. Akhilesh also attacked the BJP saying the path it is trading has posed threat to brotherhood and urged the voters not to elect the party. After the government ended multiple green approvals for the high air pollution contributor real estate sector, it now needs only clearance from a state environment authority, mostly headed by a retired bureaucrat. The sector has been exempted from appraisal under the Air and Water laws. The government move is part of its initiative to ease norms for business and reviving the demonetisation-hit sector. A 2015 report by the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur, has termed the sector as the second biggest contributor to air pollution in the plains of India as environment-friendly dust trapping measures are not installed. In a recent communique, the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) said the real estate sector no more requires consent to establish from the state pollution control boards. The environment clearance will suffice subject to the condition that there is a member from the state pollution board in the state-level EIA (environment impact assessment) authority, CPCB told all pollution control boards a day after the Union budget was presented on February 1. A CPCB official explained that the change was to end duplicity of work and to simplify green approval process. Now, the entire appraisal will be done by the state environment impact appraisal authority (SIEAA) which will have a state pollution control board nominee. I dont think there will be any compromise on norms, said the CPCB member secretary AB Akolkar. Environment lawyer Ritwick Dutta, however, differed and said the government has given a free-way to the sector by exempting them from appraisal by experts (read state pollution control boards). The CPCB has issued the order at the time when the green tribunal is deliberating on the Centre delegating its appraisal power to the state governments. We know very well that the state doesnt have capacity to appraise such big dimension projects, he added. The Centre in December 2016 had delegated its power to appraise real estate projects to the state-level EIAs to foster cooperative federalism and to promote housing for all. An analysis of the green approvals to the sector by the non-government EIA Resource Centre in 2016 showed around 98% of the projects got approval and the delay in its execution was more because of project proponents than the green norms. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON An impending Supreme Court judgment in a disproportionate assets case and a host of other political and administrative problems will be the major challenges before VK Sasikala, who is set to be the 14th chief minister of Tamil Nadu. Read | SC to hear plea seeking to stay Sasikalas swearing-in as Tamil Nadu CM tomorrow The apex court is likely to pronounce its verdict next week on the 20-year-old case in which Sasikala is a co-accused along with former chief minister J Jayalalithaa, who died last year, and two of her relatives. If convicted she would face the danger of disqualification from the coveted post she is all set to take over. Trial court had earlier gave four-year jail terms to Jayalalithaa and Sasikala after finding the former guilty of amassing wealth worth Rs 66 crore during her first stint as chief minister between 1991 and 1996. Sasikalas sister-in-law Ilavarasi and nephew Sudhakaran are co-accused in the DA case. They were let off after Karnataka high court dismissed the case. But the Karnataka government challenged the acquittal, which is awaiting verdict in the apex court. The DA case, however, is not the only legal trouble confronting the to-be CM. To add to her worries, madras high court recently permitted the enforcement directorate to investigate against her the FERA violation case in which she was arrested in 1996. Read | Video rental shop owner to CM: Sasikala evokes awe, fear among old neighbours The court had rejected her plea to be discharged in the case pertaining to payments made in US and Singapore dollars to foreign firms for hiring transponders and uplink facilities for J. Jay TV. Several members of her immediate and extended family are also facing criminal charges and allegations of abusing power. On the political front, the challenge before us is to win over the support of those AIADMK cadres, who are opposed to her elevation. Jayalalithaas niece Deepa Jayakumar had already emerged as a rallying point for the disgruntled party leaders and cadres. But to her relief no MLA or MP has opposed her new appointment. Sasikala will have to be elected to the assembly shortly after taking over as the chief minister as she not a member of the House presently. Getting elected to the assembly though will not be much of a problem, provided the entire party backed her to the hilt. But her real political test will be the ensuing local body elections. The DMK, under the leadership of M K Stalin, who took over the partys mantle recently, will pull out all the stops to make life miserable for her in the elections. The dissention in some AIADMK quarters over her leadership could make things further difficult for her. On the administrative front, however, Sasikala might get a relatively smooth sailing as most of the bureaucrats were handpicked by her. Read | Jayalalithaa death: Timing of doctors press conference to dispel health rumours raises eyebrows She was recently instrumental in the ouster of many key officials in the chief minister Panneerselvams office. Incidentally, ousted officials were the appointees of Jayalalithaa. Besides, Tamil Nadu bureaucracy is known for its efficiency, and operates as if on auto-pilot mode. This would come handy to Sasikala in dealing with governance issues. But the excess baggage of family members exerting pressure on officials and police, is something that she would have to guard against. And this is a challenge that would prove to be difficult to overcome, according to an analyst who preferred anonymity. A big challenge for her on the administrative front will be to deal with the worst drought Tamil Nadu has faced in several decades. Then there is the issue of Cauvery river water sharing, over which Tamil Nadu wants the setting up of a Cauvery River Water Management Board, which the centre has not done allegedly in view of elections in Karnataka. Tamil Nadu has disputes over river water sharing with Kerala too. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON The Supreme Court on Monday refused to interfere with the NDA governments decision to re-promulgate the Enemy Property (Amendment and Validation Act), 2016 ordinance, saying it was a sensitive topic that did not require judicial intervention at this juncture. Under the ordinance all movable and immovable assets of enemies and their legal heirs from hostile countries such as Pakistan and China vest with the Centre. A bench of Chief Justice JS Khehar and Justice NV Ramana told the petitioner, Congress Rajya Sabha MP Hussain Dalwai, that enemys property must come to the country. Government is free to promulgate the ordinance to take over such property, the bench told his counsel verbally. An enemys property must come to the country. What happens when a person who is an enemy and is dead? His property must come to the country, the bench said when Dalwais lawyer, senior advocate Anand Grover called the December 23, 2016 ordinance unconstitutional and drastic. Grover said the Parliament was not taken into confidence by the government while issuing the ordinance. Rejecting his contention, the bench said: It depends upon the issue. If the issue is very serious, or affects national interests, they are free to do it (Govt). You are an MP. You must also be sensitive. It should be debated in Parliament. Should we interfere at this stage? You can always raise the issue in Parliament. Grover then withdrew the petition. The ordinance was re-promulgated by the Centre to amend the original Enemy Property Act, 1968 and the Public Premises (Eviction of Unauthorized Occupants) Act 1971. The impugned ordinance, first brought in January last and re-promulgated in December, says the properties will continue to vest with the custodian not only on the enemys death but even if he/she has a legal heir who is an Indian, or the enemy changes his nationality to that of another country. DMK working president MK Stalin is likely to visit New Delhi to meet President Pranab Mukherjee, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and home minister Rajnath Singh to appraise them of the political situation in Tamil Nadu. However, party spokesperson and MP TKS Elangovan said there was no official confirmation about the visit. I am in Delhi and so are the other party MPs. We havent got any information about Stalins Delhi visit. He may come tonight (Tuesday), Elangovan told IANS over phone from Delhi on Tuesday. According to reports, Stalin will appeal to President Mukherjee not to allow AIADMK general secretary VK Sasikala to be sworn as the chief minister till the apex court delivers its judgement in the corruption case in which she is one of the accused. Tamil Nadus ruling AIADMK legislators elected Sasikala as the leader of the legislature party. Following that, chief minister O Panneerselvam submitted his resignation and the governor Ch.Vidyasagar Rao has asked him to continue in office till an alternate arrangement is made. The swearing-in date is yet to be finalised. The Supreme Court asked the government on Monday to mandatorily verify all pre-paid mobile phone subscribers and scrutinise their identity to ensure that their SIM cards are not misused for criminal, terrorist and fraudulent activities. A bench headed by chief justice of India JS Khehar said such an exercise could be undertaken in a phased manner. The court noted that a mechanism would be put in place within a year under which new mobile subscribers would be required to fill up Aadhaar-based e-KYC (Know Your Customer) forms to check their identity. But the court told attorney general Mukul Rohatgi that the existing customers, too, should be verified. It suggested giving the unverified pre-paid mobile numbers six months time for submitting identity proof, failing which they should not be allowed any recharge facility. "It is submitted that an effective system will be put in place and the process of scrutiny will be completed in one year. We are satisfied that the prayers made in the writ petition have been substantially dealt with," the bench said, hoping the process would be completed within a year. The top court was hearing a PIL filed by Lokniti Foundation, which pointed out that almost five crore pre-paid subscribers were unverified. The petitioner had sought a direction to the Centre to put in place a proper mechanism to check the authenticity of information provided by mobile users. Verification was necessary in view of the fact that mobile phones are now used for banking. Expressing serious concern over the possible misuse of such phones, the bench said subscribers could be given an opportunity to verify themselves at the time of recharge. It did not keep the petition pending and recorded Rohatgis assurance that the verification would be completed within a year. Rohatgi admitted that more than 90% of mobile phone subscribers were pre-paid and got their phone recharged at kiosks spread across the country. He said it would be complicated, but the government would still put the system in place. At an earlier hearing CJI Khehar had said it was important to remove fictitious subscribers. This was necessary to keep a check on fraudulent activities. The petitioner highlighted the dangers posed by unverified SIM cards and said it was a grave risk to the national security. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb.7 By Leman Zeynalova Trend: The total volume of investments in Albania as part of the implementation of the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) project will be 1.5 billion euros, TAP general director in Albania Shkelqim Bozgo told the local media outlets. He pointed out that this is the second year when the intensiveness of investment flow in Albania reaches its peak. The volume of investments as part of TAP in Albania will stand at 400 million euros ($430 million) in 2017, according to Bozgo. TAP is the largest project carried out in the Albania. Bozgo noted that the investment flow will continue at the same pace in 2018. The pipeline will be tested with gas in 2019, and by 2020 it may be ready to transport gas from the Azerbaijani fields to Europe, he added. Earlier, the International Standard & Poor's Global Ratings (S&P) said in its report on Albania that as the largest share of TAP will be executed in 2017, the foreign direct investment (FDI) inflow in Albania is expected to exceed 11 percent of the countrys GDP in 2017. TAP consortium said on its Twitter page on Feb.6 that around 75 percent of pipes needed for pipeline construction in Albania has been delivered. TAP is a part of the Southern Gas Corridor which is one of the priority energy projects for the EU. TAP project envisages transportation of gas from the Stage 2 of development of Azerbaijan's Shah Deniz gas and condensate field to the EU countries. The pipeline will be connected to the Trans-Anatolian Pipeline (TANAP) on the Turkish-Greek border, run through Greece, Albania and the Adriatic Sea, before coming ashore in Italy's south. TAPs shareholders are: BP (20 percent), State Oil Company of Azerbaijan (20 percent), Snam (20 percent), Fluxys (19 percent), Enagas (16 percent) and Axpo (5 percent). TAP will be 878 kilometers in length (Greece 550 km, Albania 215 km, Adriatic Sea 105 km, and Italy 8 km). Its highest point will be 1,800 meters in Albanias mountains, while its lowest point will be 820 meters beneath the sea. --- Follow the author on Twitter: @Lyaman_Zeyn The Supreme Court collegium has recommended 9 names to the government for taking over as regular chief justices for high courts signalling a move ahead amid a face-off between the executive and judiciary over the authority to appoint judges, an Indian Express report said on Tuesday. The Express quoted unnamed sources as saying that the names recommended are: justice Hemant Gupta for Madhya Pradesh high court; justice Abhilasha Kumari for Tripura high court; justice BD Ahmed for Jammu and Kashmir high court; justice Pradeep Nandarajog for Rajasthan high court; justice Rajendra Menon for Patna high court; justice T Vaiphei for Hyderabad high court; justice HG Ramesh for Madras high court; justice TB Radhakrishnan for Chhattisgarh high court and justice PK Mohanty for Jharkhand high court. Read | Intra-collegium row may prolong logjam over appointments of judges The report said 4 of these names take into account the vacancies likely to be created in high courts after their chief justices are elevated to the top court as judges following the recommendation made separately by the collegium, headed by Chief Justice of India JS Khehar, to the government last week. The existing memorandum of procedure (MoP) on the appointment of judges say that ordinarily the arrangement of appointment of an acting chief justice should not be made for more than one month. A logjam between the judiciary and the executive - with almost all major recommendations by the collegium getting blocked by the government - followed after the top court struck down the National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC) in October 2015 and revived the collegium. It has delayed the appointment of new judges to high courts and the top court. The Supreme Court is in desperate need for judges as it is short of seven and is battling a backlog of 60,000 cases. This could be the highest number of appointments of chief justices in one go if the government clears the recommended names. Read | Why dont you shut down courts? SC slams govt over delay in appointing judges There was little clarity on Tuesday about the date of swearing in of VK Sasikala as the 14th chief minister of Tamil Nadu, with governor C Vidyasagar Rao still in Mumbai. No word has come in from the ruling AIADMK though there are several reports doing the round, including the governor consulting legal experts on Sasikala, facing several charges of corruption. The 61-year-old chief minister-designate has never contested an election and is about to take over the top job at a time when the Supreme Court is to deliver a verdict in a corruption case against her. Sasikala was on Sunday elected the legislature party leader by the ruling AIADMK members, clearing the way for her to be the third woman chief minister of the southern state. Read | Video rental shop owner to CM: Sasikala evokes awe, fear among old neighbours AIADMK leaders gave two possible dates for her oath ceremony -- February 7 and February 9, without saying anything officially. We have not yet heard from the governor about swearing in. The party had submitted the documents to the governor and is yet to get time from him, AIADMK spokesperson CR Saraswathi told HT on Monday. Reports about Tuesday being the D-day were all speculation, she said. Governor Rao, who would administer the oath of office, on Monday night headed for Mumbai from New Delhi and not Chennai. It was not clear when Rao would be back in the state. Rao travelled from Coimbatore to the national capital on Sunday night after Sasikala was elected leader of the AIADMK legislature party. Elevation of Sasikala, a close confidante of late chief minister J Jayalaithaa for more than 30 years, is unlikely to be smooth. Read | Sasikala must clear administrative and political challenges before swearing in The former video parlour owner whose association with Jayalalithaa is the only reason for her rise within the party and government faces several cases of corruption. The Supreme Court on Monday said it would give its verdict next week in a Rs 66-crore corruption case against her. Though Jayalalithaa was the main accused, after her death on December 5 the disproportionate assets case against her stands abated. Sasikala is accused number two in the case, in which Jayalalithaa, she and two others were found guilty by a trial court in September 2014. The Karnataka high court acquitted the four and it is this verdict that has been challenged in the Supreme Court. If found guilty, Sasikala would have to step down. A PIL was also filed in the Supreme Court on Monday to restrain Sasikala from being sworn in, with the petitioner arguing her resignation in case of a conviction in the DA case could lead to a law and order problem in the state. Read | Not my CM: Chennai rapper Sofias musical protest against Sasikalas elevation Thieves broke into Nobel laureate Kailash Satyarthis home in south Delhi and stole several valuable items, including his Nobel certificate, police said on Tuesday. People close to Satyarthi, who also runs NGO Bachpan Bachao Andolan, said his Nobel prize is safe as it currently with the President. No one was present in Satyarthis Kalkaji house when the thieves struck. Satyarthi is currently in the United States to attend the World Peace Summit. The theft came to light on Tuesday morning when Satyarthis son, who lives elsewhere in the city, found the locks of the house broken. The house was ransacked and several valuables were missing. Police were immediately informed and a case has been registered. Police said it was too early to say who is behind the theft, but suspect that it was the handiwork of burglars whose primary aim was to steal jewellery. The time of the theft is yet to be ascertained. The CCTV cameras in the area are being scanned and known criminal elements in the area are rounded up for questioning. Satyarthi, a childrens rights activist, won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2014, which he shared with Pakistans Malala Yousafzai. A vegetable seller in Osmanabad district of Maharashtra was assaulted, allegedly for ridiculing the achche din (better days) slogan of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, police said on Tuesday. The vegetable seller, Shivaji Narayankar, was shouting: achche din aye hai (better days have come). Potatoes slumped to Rs 10 per kg, a police official told PTI. This angered a youth, Kashinath Deshmukh, who assaulted the vegetable seller with stones. The victim suffered two stitches on head, police said, adding that the incident occurred on Monday. A case under section 324 (voluntarily causing hurt by dangerous weapons or means) of IPC has been registered at the Anand Nagar police station, the official added. Tamil Nadus caretaker chief minister O Panneerselvam announced an inquiry into the death of late CM J Jayalalithaa, a day after his revolt against AIADMK general secretary VK Sasikala. He said doubts prevailed over her health condition and that the people of Tamil Nadu deserved to be told the truth about her illness and death. The announcement came within hours of Panneerselvam rebelling against CM-designate VK Sasikala, when he alleged that certain members of the ruling AIADMK party forced him to resign. In response, party general secretary Sasikala removed him as AIADMK treasurer after an emergency meeting with party leaders and cabinet ministers. She further said that he would be removed from the party itself. Read | Stealth and strategy: How VK Sasikala plotted her way to the top of Tamil Nadu politics Here are the updates 10:45pm: He has already resigned, so why do you want to talk about him?: Thambidurai,AIADMK MP on #Paneerselvam pic.twitter.com/SNlJHDDHwN ANI (@ANI_news) February 8, 2017 10: 40pm: AIADMK lawmakers arrive in New Delhi, reports ANI. 10:25pm: O Panneerselvam writes to banks saying he is ADMK treasurer, no transactions should be done in party accounts without his assent @htTweets Aditya Iyer (@Theadityaiyer) February 8, 2017 8:33pm: AIADMK leaders(Sasikala supporters) got aggressive when cameras recorded their movements into Minister Edappadi K Palanisami's residence ANI (@ANI_news) February 8, 2017 8:12pm: AIADMK leaders supporting Sasikala gather at state minister Edappadi K Palanisamis residence in Chennai, reports ANI. 7:50pm: Thirteen AIADMK MPs left Chennai for Delhi, earlier this evening: ANI 7:09pm: Sasikala says news that there was a delay in taking Jayalalithaa to the hospital is incorrect. The first person I called was the deputy superintendent of police... As far as I am concerned, my elder sister knows how I took care of her. Everybody in the hospital also knows, she tells CNN News-18 in an interview 7:05pm: A 100% yes, I will be sworn in as chief minister of Tamil Nadu, says Sasikala in during an interview with CNN News-18 7:02pm: No one knew the grief I felt when Jayalalithaa died, Sasikala says of her friend during the interview 7pm: Governor C Vidyasagar Rao is expected to reach Chennai tomorrow afternoon, ANI reports 6:50pm: When DMK was in power there were many instances where they never stood for the interest of people. We have always stood for the people of Tamil Nadu, she said in the interview 6:45pm: The AIADMK general secretary once again blamed the DMK for the current situation, saying its motive is to destroy the AIADMK 6:43pm: Panneerselvams accusations are baseless. Its not true that he was forced to resign. Time will give the best reply to him, she said in the interview to CNN News 18 6:40pm: VK Sasikala gives an interview to CNN News 18, and breaks down. Says the time during Jayalalithaas hospitalisation was a tough time. I am ready to face any probe over Jayalalithaas death. 4:30pm: AIADMK MLAs boarding buses froM party HQ. They are being taken to an undisclosed 5 star hotel @htTweets pic.twitter.com/MvDAF3XwQA Aditya Iyer (@Theadityaiyer) February 8, 2017 3:35pm: Around 130 AIADMK lawmakers have been sent in a bus to a five-star hotel near the Chennai airport. TV reports say the MPs will be flown to Delhi to meet the President over the governors delay in swearing-in Sasikala. Meanwhile, ANI shows a crowd of supporters outside Panneerselvams residence in Chennai. 3:30pm: Amma appointed me, but I was sacked because I supported OPS.I congratulate the new person appointed but Ill continue to work on Ammas path, says G Ramachandran 2:55pm: Sasikala sacks AIADMKs IT wing secretary G Ramachandran for anti-party activities and appoints VVR Raj Sathyan in his place, reports ANI. 2.40 pm: The discussion on the crisis in Tamil Nadu was disallowed in the Rajya Sabha. As CPIs D Raja raised it, he was cut short by deputy chairman PJ Kurien who said: All Tamilians are capable of taking a decision on it. We have full faith in them. 2:35pm: An IANS report says that governor Rao has not finalised plans to go to Chennai. Rao, the Maharashtra governor who has additional charge of Tamil Nadu, would be busy with official commitments till late Wednesday evening and there is no word when he is likely to proceed to Chennai, sources told IANS. 2:30pm: Seeking Tamil Nadu governor Vidyasagar Raos intervention, DMK leader Kanimozhi said that it was very shocking that Paneerselvam has to say that he was forced to resign. She also dismissed allegations that the DMK was involved, saying they dont get involved in the inner politics of any other party. Read | TN turmoil deepens, O Panneerselvam orders Jayalalithaa death probe, Sasikala puts up show of strength 1:25am: We will not bow down to anyone who acts, speaks against what (Amma) Jayalalithaa said, says Sasikala. Panneerselvam conspiring against party; he is doing theatrics, AIADMK general secretary says, adding that she did not take the chief ministerial position after Jayalalithaas death because she was very sad, quotes ANI. Sasikala hits back at Panneerselvam, saying that it is her responsibility as the general secretary to put an end to his wrongdoings. We will defeat anyone who tries to defeat the ideals of the party. Referring to opposition party DMK, Sasikala further says the caretaker CM colluded with the party that Amma fought against. 1:20pm: AIADMK general secretary VK Sasikala addresses party MLAs. Around 100-130 lawmakers are present. 12:50pm: Ive full majority in the state assembly, all AIADMK MLAs stand with me, Panneerselvam tells ANI. To be a CM is a huge task but at each and every step, humiliation was carried out by the insiders who were close to me. Ill continue to discharge my duties in accordance with the wishes of people of Tamil Nadu, he says. 12:40pm: No force can break the unity of AIADMK, tweets the partys official handle, quoting Sasikala. No force can break the unity of AIADMK - Respected Chinnamma AIADMK (@AIADMKOfficial) February 8, 2017 12:20pm: Meanwhile, there are no developments on the Election Commission front on the turmoil in the state. A complaint was sent to AIADMK on February 2 but no date was set for submission of a response, EC sources told HT. 12:15pm: AIADMK general secretary VK Sasikala begins addressing party MLAs at the Royapettah headquarters. Around 100-130 MLAs present. 11:40am: DMKs Stalin responds to Sasikalas allegation that he had a role to play in sowing dissent within the party. Sasikala saying OPS smiled at me is shameful given the laughable turn of events happening within the AIADMK. He said he also used to exchange pleasantries with former chief minister J Jayalalithaa. Read | Clear divide in AIADMK, majority does not support O Panneerselvam: DMK Stalin also asked Sasikala to respond to Panneerselvams allegations rather than point fingers at his party. DMK is not responsible for the political bickerings and internal squabbles of AIADMK. Dont point fingers at DMK, if you cant respond to Panneeselvams charges, he said. 11:30am: Sasikala arrives at AIADMK headquarters for the MLA meet in Chennai. 11:11am: Pandian alleges that one of the doctors treating Jayalalithaa gave her the wrong type of medication. If they go run and hide I will let them be. They must not interfere with OPS or the MLAs. Otherwise I will file an FIR, says Pandian. He swears his allegiance to Panneerselvam saying, I have to protect OPS. I will do anything for him. I told him on December 5 I will always support him. Read | Jayalalithaa may have been murdered, says AIADMK leader Pandian 11:08am: Sasikala remains interim general secretary of AIADMK, says Panneerselvam. Senior AIADMK leader OP Pandian is also with him. He says: She (Sasikala) only cares about money, money, money. She wants to grab power to get money. 11:05am: Panneerselvam promises to meet people in every part of the state. I will prove my majority and lead the people, says Panneerselvam. 11:01am: I will give Deepa (Jayalalithaas niece) the respect she deserves. I will ask Deepa to join me. I have always respected Ammas brothers children. He dismisses allegations that hes backed by BJP: It is a lie. Read | O Panneerselvam vs VK Sasikala: 10 things we know now about the late-night drama 11:00am: The council can only appoint a temporary general secretary. Elections must be held as per party rules: Panneerselvam. 10:55am: Doubts about Ammas health still prevail. A probe commission will be set up under a retired HC judge says Panneerselvam. He also says that he will meet the state governor Vidyasagar Rao as soon as he arrives in Chennai. (Initial reports had said that it would be held under a retired SC judge). 10:53am: Health queries regarding Amma raised in recent past. Its the duty of the state government to enquire. Recommended an enquiry commission, says Panneerselvam. 10:51am: Amma remained CM for nearly 16 years, I happened to become CM twice, all this was the wish of Amma. Always followed Ammas path, Panneerselvam says. 10:47am: There has been no instance where I have betrayed the party, while remaining in power or opposition. If party cadres ask me to withdraw my resignation, I will do that, says Panneerselvam. 10:45am: O Panneerselvam to address reporters at his residence shortly. Read | Video rental shop owner to CM: Sasikala evokes awe, fear among old neighbours 10:45am: Chinamma will be Tamil Nadu chief minister undoubtedly, all AIADMK MLAs are behind her: AIADMK MP, Navaneethakrishnan tells ANI. 10:30am: AIADMK Rajya Sabha MP V Maitreyan reaches O Panneerselvams residence in Chennai. My conscience as Amma loyalist made me join Panneerselvam, says Maitreyan. 10:15am: More police personnel deployed around Jayalalithaas memorial at Chennais Marina Beach. 10:10am: BJP MP Subramanian Swamy weighs in, says Sasikala should be sworn-in as chief minister, if delayed itll be violence against Constitution and the President will need to intervene. 9:50am: Ahead of AIADMK MLAs meet at the party headquarters, Sasikala meets leaders including M Thambidurai at Poes Garden, reports ANI 9:40am: Panneerselvam spoke to reporters on Wednesday morning. I dont understand Sasikalas rush to become the chief minister, does she not understand the situation in Tamil Nadu, he said. He also refuted allegations that the BJP was behind his decision to revolt, saying, My actions are my personal decisions. Read | What makes Sasikala so powerful and indispensable for the AIADMK 9:10am: How can DMK be behind this, asks TKS Elangovan, responding to Sasikalas allegation. How can they blame us for their infighting? How can we support O Panneerselvam when hes the Opposition?Were a major party and we want to come back to power and expose AIADMKs wrongdoings. 9:00am: There is a force behind everything that is happening, says Panneerselvam. 8:55am: On Sheela Balakrishnans resignation as the government adviser, Panneerselvam says, Cant say much about her resignation.She was already given an extension. 8:45am: I had visited the hospital daily to enquire about Jayalalithaas health condition, but couldnt meet her even once, ANI quotes Panneerselvam. 8:30am: Heavy police presence outside Sasikalas residence at Poes garden and outside AIADMK headquarters in Chennai: Developments on Tuesday night: 10:15pm: Panneerselvam begins addressing media at Marina beach: - I dont want to be a troublemaker. (But) I was forced to step down at the MLA meeting - Ammas spirit told me that I should come out and tell these truths to the people O Panneerselvam mediates at J Jayalalithaas memorial on Marina Beach in Chennai. (V Srinivasulu /HT Photo) - If the people want, if the electorate want, I will be there for them - Even if I have to fight alone to uphold Ammas good work I will - When Amma was in Apollo, her condition deteriorated and I was asked to head the govt - Senior leaders in the AIADMK agreed that Sasikala should be made the general secretary - They sat me down and said we should make Sasikala the CM soon - Many AIADMK leaders were giving interviews that Sasikala should be CM. I felt humiliated - I was not allowed to come to this memorial on Saturday (the day before he resigned as chief minister) - I have been told to be patient. I have always been patient. If they insulted me as an individual I would have said nothing - I do not mind comments about me, but the name of the party AIADMK should not be spoilt - Its who the people want who should be CM. That is what is good for the state. Whether thats me or anyone else - For the future of Tamil Nadu, the CM should be someone who has the support of the people - If the people, cadre, legislators want, I will withdraw my resignation - I worked tirelessly during Cyclone Vardah to keep Ammas name high. That irritated them (other AIADMK leaders) - Several days after I accepted CM post, the Health Minister told be Dhivaharan was angry with me Read | What makes Sasikala so powerful and indispensable for the AIADMK Panneerselvams move comes amid uncertainty over the swearing in of party general secretary VK Sasikala as chief minister. It also comes on a day that allegations have grown over the circumstance around Jayalalithaas death. 11pm: Following Panneerselvams accusations, party general secretary Sasikala called for an emergency meeting of cabinet ministers at Poes Garden, the official residence where Jayalalithaa used to live. AIADMK spokesperson Apsara Reddy rubbished Panneerselvams claims, saying he lacked support from fellow party leaders. He does not have any MLAs with him and a disgruntled man like him can go. The AIADMK is not poorer by his loss, Reddy said, adding the party supported Sasikala. 11:30pm: The DMK, the main opposition party, responded to the developments with working president MK Stalin demanding action against those who threatened and pressurised Panneerselvam to resign. Today there is no government in Tamil Nadu... (the governor) should call for Assembly immediately and should ask to prove the majority, Stalin said. The governor should do what is constitutionally right, Stalin further said, adding Panneerselvam should take steps to form the government. 12:39am: Sasikala removes Panneerselvam from the post of AIADMK treasurer #SasikalaNatarajan at the entry of her Poes Garden residence after meeting with ministers and party leaders #Chennai pic.twitter.com/eDAC7XBJXC ANI (@ANI_news) February 7, 2017 1:15am: I did not force O Pannerselvam for anything, what he is saying is not correct, Sasikala tells supporters outside Poes garden. Says DMK is behind Panneerselvams accusations. DMKs Stalin and Panneerselvam are known to be on cordial terms 1: 45am: I have carried forward the post of treasurer which was entrusted upon me by Amma and I think no one can take it away from me, says Pannerselvam in response to being sacked as treasurer 2:15am: VK Sasikala addresses supporters outside Poes Gardens. I am a staunch follower of AIADMK and will remain so. Wait and see what will happen tomorrow. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON A 32-year-old American woman was allegedly raped by a 38-year-old yoga teacher under the pretext of giving her a tantrik massage in Goas Pernem taluka, police said on Tuesday. Following the complaint lodged by the woman, Pernem police on Tuesday arrested the accused, identified as Pratik Agarwal. According to the woman, currently on working visa in Goa, the incident occurred on February 2 at Agarwals School of Holistic Yoga and Ayurveda at Korgao village, where she had gone for a yogic massage, said police inspector Rahul Parab. He said the complainant claimed Agarwal also raped a Canadian girl who had visited him for a massage. The accused has been arrested and produced before a local court which has remanded him in police custody for eight days, Parab said. A melodious rendition of Pakistans national anthem by two budding Kashmiri musicians on traditional instruments has gone viral on social media in the Valley. The video is spreading like a forest fire through Whatsapp groups and has become particularly famous for its melodious rendition on santoor and rabab by Umar Majeed (18) and Zubair Ahmad (22). The video shared on Facebook page Culture de Kashmir on Monday morning has been viewed over 62000 times and has elicited thousands of likes. Thousands others have also shared the video. Music has no boundaries. Musicians are azad. It is our work and we will be of no worth without music. There is no other motive to my rendition of Pakistans national anthem, said Umar Majeed, who has played the santoor. The Pakistani national anthem was been written by Hafeez Jullundhri and its music was composed by Ahmad G Chagla in 1949. Majeed said that he and Zubair were practising in the musical institute of the formers father in HMT area on the outskirts of Srinagar when somebody suggested the rendition. We were trying the instruments when a friend suggested playing Pak sarzameen. Somebody started capturing it on a video. Since its upload on social media my phone has not stopped buzzing, Majeed, who is a class 12 arts student, said. Zubair is studying for his graduation. Majeed said that he was surprised by the response of the people. I have also uploaded videos before but I had never imagined this video will become so famous, he said. Not unexpectedly, the rendition has become a fodder for some trolls to use it for their own ends on either side of the border but many music lovers have hailed the young musicians for the mesmerising music. Wooooww. This music is soul refreshing. Mesmerising music, wrote Umar Khan, a Kashmiri working in Bangalore wrote on Facebook. Majeed is more than happy as he said it has turned the attention of youth towards the Kashmirs traditional music. Music is in my body and soul but there are many youth like me who have no idea of Kashmirs folk music. Many people called me to ask what instruments we were playing in the video. They know everything about guitar and western instruments but have no idea about our own instruments, he said. Majeed is now mulling a musical rendition of the Indian national anthem. When it comes to love, no boundary is too high to cross. A young woman from the US proved this adage right once again as she traveled all the way from New York to Rajasthan to get married to a youth from Bundi. The wedding took place Monday as per the Hindu rituals amid chanting of shlokas. It was a culmination of a friendship that blossomed into love over sessions on social networking site Facebook and finally crossed the boundary called cultural divide. It was while working on developing some applications that Jessica Jones met Ankit Gupta in Washington. While Jessica looks after the environment science programme of county government in Washington DC, Ankit is an environment engineer. After the work got over, they remained in touch on Facebook and it is there that the love blossomed. When they broached the topic of marriage, Ankits family insisted that they wed in India and as per Hindu ritual, to which Jessica agreed. My father is a Christian and mother is Jewish. I have grown up respecting other cultures and religions, said Jessica, dressed in a lehenga. Dressed in kurta-payjama, her father Harold and mother Helena, who had draped a saree, performed the rituals as Jessica and Ankit took seven rounds of the sacred fire. Ankits father, D K Gupta is a senior Surgeon while mother Maya is homemaker. Ankit, a product of IIT-Guwahati, said they have not yet decided whether they will settle in the US or India. The Centre allowed Rajasthan to use maximum groundwater in the country for industrial purposes in the last five years, the government has said in the Lok Sabha. The Central Groundwater Authority (CGWA) issued no-objection certificates for utilisation of more than 4.04 crore cubic metres of groundwater in Rajasthan -- the volume used in the state every year is 37% more than what is recharged. After Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh used 3.44 crore cubic meters (CM) of groundwater for industry, followed by Chhattisgarh (3.31 crore CM) and Odisha (2.27 crore CM). The CGWA grants permission for exploiting groundwater for industrial use, but with some conditions. The one who exploits must recharge too, said PK Parchure, Rajasthan regional director of the Central Groundwater Board. No doubt, Rajasthan stands at a critical stage as far as groundwater level is concerned. Scanty rains and Thar desert covering a major part of Rajasthan hit the groundwater level in the state. The groundwater board monitors the level and quality every year. On the basis of the board report, the CGWA grants permission for exploiting groundwater. The board report says around 10.82 billion cubic metres of groundwater is available in Rajasthan every year after recharge but around 13.13 billion cubic metres is exploited for irrigation and 1.70 billion cubic metres for domestic and industrial purposes. The state groundwater department prepared a report in 2014 taking 1984 as the baseline year. According to the report, the groundwater level has dipped 15 metres in Nagaur, Jhunjunu, Jalore, Jaipur and Sikar districts because of overexploitation in last 30 years. Alwar and Dausa districts registered 10-15 meters decline in ground water level. The level is under five meters in Ajmer, Baswara, Baran, Bharatpur, Bhilwara, Bundi, Dholpur, Dungarpur, Kota, Sawai Madhopur, Tonk and Udaipur districts. According to experts, Rajasthan has to rely on groundwater because of shortage in surface water. Groundwater recharging is low in western Rajasthan except in areas adjoining canals. A jump in the number of tube wells has also pushed down the groundwater level. Caught up in crucial legal battles, mostly against Central investigation agencies, the Bengal government suffered a blow on Tuesday when Jayanta Mitra became the third advocate general to step down ever since the Trinamool Congress came to power in 2011. Mitra was having serious differences with the government over some important cases. In an unprecedented development, Lakshmi Gupta, the additional advocate general, too, announced his resignation. Its a team work. You cant work if the team breaks, said Gupta. Differences of opinion with the government remain. Let the government go ahead with its policies. I am grateful to my colleagues and support team for letting me serve the people successfully, said Mitra. Read: West Bengal advocate general Anindya Mitra resigns His resignation created a sensation at the Calcutta high court with most eminent lawyers in the city accusing the government of putting distinguished legal experts under pressure for political reasons. Anindya Mitra was the first advocate general to resign after Trinamool came in power in 2011. He was followed by Bimal Chatterjee. Jayanta Mitra was appointed towards the end of 2014. In fact, Manjit Singh, the chief public prosecutor, too, resigned about a month ago. Advocate general is a Constitutional post. The person serving as AG cannot become an organ of the government. All the AGs who resigned were extremely qualified but they couldnt become part of political decisions, former AG of Tripura and CPI-M leader, Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharya told HT. These men were under pressure. Do you really believe that men holding such high positions would resign to pursue hobbies? said a very senior member of the High Court Bar Association. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a law on the ratification of the agreement with Ankara on the Turkish Stream gas pipeline, Sputnik International reported. The lower house of the Russian parliament, the State Duma, ratified the agreement Jan. 20, while the upper house, the Federation Council, ratified the document Feb. 1. Moscow and Ankara signed an intergovernmental agreement in October 2016 envisioning the construction of two underwater legs of the gas pipeline in the Black Sea. The annual capacity of each leg is estimated to reach 15.75 billion cubic meters of natural gas. Pipe-laying work for the Turkish Stream is expected to begin in 2017 and end in late 2019. Dilshad Khan, 40, a street vendor of sandals and slippers smiles outside a busy market here. His joy has nothing to do with any increase in sale volumes. Rather, he is happy to know about the crowds turning up at the joint roadshows and public meetings of his local MP Rahul Gandhi and chief minister Akhilesh Yadav, who is also the Samajwadi Party (SP) national president. Rahul was a clear choice for Dilshad Khan and others like him in the Lok Sabha elections in Amethi. But things were different in the assembly elections and this time he hopes the alliance will give the people a clear option. The Congress has been out of power in the state for 27 years. People used to look at other options in the assembly elections as caste and local issues dominated the poll arena, said Dilshad. Others echo the same sentiments till arrival of cash at an ATM near Amethi railway station interrupts the discussion. A long queue is seen soon at the ATM. Suneet, an online trader, points towards the queue to make his point how his business has suffered following demonetisation. I have been made to suffer for no reason. I am not happy with the way things are now, he said. Sunil Soni, a fruit vendor in Bachhrawan, a reserved assembly constituency in Rae Bareli, also talks about the peoples suffering. The BJP has been a party of the trading community. The people are openly venting their ire against the party following demonetisation. We have seen how people have been harassed and suffered financially in the past few months, he said. His observation came with a caution. Demonetisation is working both ways. Its evoking strong reactions from those who have been affected. But there is also a category of people who feel happy in the hope of long-term gains, he said. A visit to markets or villages of Amethi and Rae Bareli shows no political activity. Flags, posters or banners are hardly seen. Even in the past, posters and flags of non-Congress candidates were rarely seen in Amethi and Rae Bareli. A visit or two by a member of the Gandhi family used to suffice for high-pitched campaigning here. The party won four out of five seats in Rae Bareli and all the five seats in Amethi in 1989. Much water has flown down the Ganga since then. The party won no seat in Rae Bareli and only two seats in Amethi in the 2012 assembly election. The Congress hopes to regain its glory through the alliance route now. The aspirations of partymen are high. The party has been under pressure to contest all the 10 assembly seats in Rae Bareli and Amethi. Union minister Smriti Irani lost the Lok Sabha election to Rahul Gandhi in 2014. After the loss, the BJP has worked on its organisation. Known for its upper caste base, the party has focused more on backward classes, appointing Keshav Prasad Maurya as the new state president. It also brought to the party fold Swami Prasad Maurya, once considered a close aide of Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati. Irani has managed to get some tickets to the BJP leaders considered close to her. Read more: We are fighting divisive forces, says Raj Babbar This makes the BJPs challenge to the Congress greater. But we are sure, the Congress will do better in assembly elections this time, said Rajesh Shukla, a Congress leader in Jais. The real test of the alliance will be in coordination at the grass roots, he said. Still, the Congress and Samajwadi Party candidates are face to face in a number of assembly constituencies. Despite initial hiccups, the alliance has worked out at the top level. It should work at the grass roots too, said Shukla. All eyes will now be on Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, who is expected to begin campaigning in a few days. She is likely to devote a day to every assembly constituency of Rae Bareli and Amethi. Like always, Priyankas campaigning will help us immensely. We are sure of winning all the seats this time, said a veteran party leader. But many believe that anti-incumbency will be at work against the SP candidates on the three seats that the ruling party will contest in Rae Bareli and Amethi. They feel Priyanka should avoid campaigning on SP seats. Strong public anger is visible against Manoj Pandey, UP minister and SP candidate from Unchahar assembly constituency of Rae Bareli, said JP Tripathi, a former teacher at HN Inter College, Unchahar. Another minister Gayatri Prajapati is a Samajwadi Party MLA from Amethi. But the focus may be on the two Ranis (queens) of the Amethi royal house. The BJP has already announced the candidature of Rani Garima Singh, former wife of Congress Rajya Sabha MP Raja Sanjay Singh. From the Congress side, it is expected that Sanjay Singhs wife and former MLA Amita Singh will counter Garima Singhs campaign even if she does not contest an election this time. Read more: Congress, SP have sealed a natural alliance, says Jitin Prasada SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON There is just a hint of a pardesi accent as this young hotel management graduate from Switzerland talks about development at a remote Valmiki Dalit locality in Sikandarabad, Bulandshahr. He keeps his address simple and makes no personal attacks, only promising development if the Samajwadi Party (SP) were to be re-elected to governance in Uttar Pradesh. Through it all, his hands remain folded in a traditional gesture of humility. Meet 33-year-old Rahul Yadav, the English-speaking son-in-law of Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) supremo Lalu Prasad Yadav. The son of Samajwadi Party MLC Jitendra Yadav, he had married the former Bihar chief ministers fourth daughter Ragini in 2012. I really want to make a difference in your lives. I am not seeking votes in the name of religion or caste, but in the name of development. If elected, I will ensure that each of you get medical insurance and top medical care at subsidised rates. I want to upgrade the quality of your schools and colleges, so educated youngsters can get good jobs. I have plans for you, he says. While Ragini is already campaigning for her husband, her sister RJD Rajya Sabha MP Misa Bharti was expected to join the campaign on Tuesday. Lalu and his son, Bihar deputy chief minister Tejaswi Yadav, will hold a public rally for Rahul on Wednesday. Uttar Pradesh chief minister Akhilesh Yadav, who reluctantly replaced local SP chief Abdul Rab with Rahul as the party candidate for the constituency, has already sought votes on behalf of Lalus son-in-law. Akhileshji made a passionate appeal for Rahul by drawing similarities between them. He said that like him, Rahul has also studied abroad and wants to bring about a change in the lives of the people through development, said Awadhesh Yadav, Rahuls maternal uncle, a Delhi-based businessman. Awadhesh said he was confident of Rahuls success because politics is undergoing a sea change. The days of criminal-politicians are ending. Its a new dawn, and lets welcome that, he added. Rahul focuses on development in the next two meetings too. Main vikas ki rajniti karna chahta hoon (I want to engage in politics of development), he says at a public meeting in Gorki. So, what made Rahul take the plunge into politics? When I came back from Switzerland, I realised there was so much to be done here. I thought that if I can change something, why shouldnt I? he said. Rahul is pitted against sitting BJP MLA Vimla Solanki and BSP candidate Haji Mohd Imran Ansari. And, going by the general mood, he seems to enjoy the publics goodwill. Despite the BSP putting up a candidate from my community, I have decided to vote for Rahul because his approach is refreshingly different, says Mohd Mursalin, a lawyer. Rahuls father, Jitendra, had contested the 2012 UP polls on a Congress ticket after being denied one by the SP. Though he lost, he managed to garner nearly 35,000 votes. This time round, Jitendra is banking on the Congress-SP alliance to secure his sons win from a constituency where Chaubisa-Chatisa the name given to 36 Yadav-dominated villages from the constituency could play a crucial role. Rahul is not the only member of Lalus extended family to have links with the SP. The RJD supremos youngest daughter, Raj Lakshmi, is married to SP patron Mulayam Singh Yadavs grandnephew Mainpuri Lok Sabha MP Tej Pratap. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON The Bombay high court on Tuesday restrained Shivaji Nagar police station at Pune from taking any further steps on an FIR lodged at the behest of former revenue minister Eknath Khadse against a local builder Hemant Gavande. Gavande had earlier sought a CBI probe against Khadse in the MIDC land deal in which Khadse had allegedly purchased a plot near Bhosari in MIDC, Pune at a throwaway price of Rs3.75 crore when the market price of the land was Rs31 crore. A bench comprising Justice Abhay Oka and Justice Anuja Prabhudessai issued the restraint order after noticing that though the FIR was registered by the dean of Mahatma Phule Agriculture College, on Khadses orders, the police had summoned the college authorities to register the FIR. The court was hearing a petition filed by the builder wanting to quash of the FIR registered by the Shivaji Nagar police station on January 30, 2015 charging him and seven others for cheating, forgery and conspiring to usurp the college land. It was alleged in the FIR that the builder and others conspired and created false documents with the help of revenue officials in respect of 3.48 hectare land at village Bopodi in Haveli tehsil, which is owned by the college. It also stated that they registered a false sale deed in favour of Gavande for a consideration of Rs7 crore. Gavande stated that the allegations were predominantly of civil nature and no FIR could have been registered against him and the others on its basis. He also said that whether the agricultural college has any right to the land or not has to be first determined by a civil court where proceedings are pending. At the previous hearing, his lawyer advocate Subhash Jha argued that the police never wanted to register an FIR against him but did it at Khadses behest. He also said that there was an entry made in the station diary to this effect. On Tuesday when the police failed to produce the station diary, Jha produced an extract of it obtained by his client under the Right to Information Act. After examining the extract, the judges noted that the diary mentioned that the police had issued a letter to the college authorities on the orders of the (then) cabinet minister. The extract also mentioned that Khadse ordered the police to ensure that the college authorities were present while the FIR against Gavande was being filed. Also read: Illegal land deal: Maharashtra govt gets one week to begin probe against Eknath Khadse With college exams barely a few weeks away, teachers and principals are worried about a clash in schedules. The University of Mumbai has announced that first-year BCom (semester II) exams will commence in the second week of March, which means it will clash with the Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC) examinations that all colleges will conduct from February 27 till mid-March. While space constraint most colleges are exam centres is one of the problems, teachers are worried about the extra time they will have to put in for all the examinations. This will be the second cycle where MU will set the question papers as well as a common timetable for all first-year students so that all affiliated colleges follow a uniform pattern. Most colleges run junior college and degree sections in the same building, but in two shifts. Conducting the HSC exams along with that of first-year BCom students will be impossible for the staff logistically as well as physically, said the principal of a suburban commerce college. He added that most colleges will face the same problem and teachers will be left with no breathing space due to back-to-back examinations, which will go on till the end of April. Meanwhile, the MU is struggling to announce a final timetable for first-year students due to clash of dates. We have announced the timetable for semester V and VI but are struggling with the timetable for first year. The date of commencement has been announced but we have sought the help of the academic council to release a common examination schedule for first-year degree college students, said Deepak Wasave, controller of examinations (in-charge), MU. Some colleges have also written to the university that they would first focus on completing the practicals as well as assessment of the first-year answer sheets, before moving on to third-year assessment. This may delay the results for third year students, which we dont want. So the aim will be to release a schedule in a way that teachers are not overworked and still the work gets done in time, added Wasave. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Gujarats Hardik Patel, the leader of the Patel reservation movement and a major critic of the Narendra Modi government, may extend his support to Shiv Sena for the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) polls. Patel is scheduled to meet Shiv Sena Chief Uddhav Thackeray at his residence, Matoshree, in Bandra. However, he has not yet confirmed if he is will campaign for the saffron party. Sena, which recently called off its alliance with the BJP and is contesting civic polls on its own, might rope in Patel to garner Gujarati votes. Patels support will bolster Senas chances of winning the elections, which is attempting to project itself as a cosmopolitan party rather than strictly a pro-Marathi one. It is for the first time in more than two decades that the Sena and the BJP are contesting BMC polls independently, and the Gujarati votes are a key factor in at least 40 of the 227 seats in areas such as Ghatkopar, Mulund, Borivli and Kalbadevi, among others. Gujaratis are the third largest community in Mumbai after Maharashtrians and north Indians. Also read: BMC polls 2017: Bharatiya Janata Party fields most Marathi faces, gives precedence to women SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Observing that there was an impending need for the state to step in and prevent destruction of wetlands and mangroves, considering the interest of the future generation, the Bombay high court on Tuesday directed the state to submit older and current Google map images of wetlands and mangroves to help the court assess the extent of the damage. A bench of justice VM Kanade and justice PR Bora were hearing a bunch of PILs filed by the Vanshakti Trust and others against several development and private real estate projects claiming such work would lead to the destruction of mangroves and encroachment of wetlands in and around the city. The state and other respondents, meanwhile, argued that some crucial development projects such as new highways, and even a portion of the proposed airport at Navi Mumbai would encroach upon some mangrove rich area and that while the consequent destruction of mangroves could not be avoided, these projects were in the publics interest and that the respondents would carry out compensatory replantation. At this the bench said while it had cleared several development projects in the past on the ground that they were in public interest and that the petitioners should not adopt an adversarial attitude towards such projects, it was also essential to rein in indiscriminate destruction of wetlands and mangroves. I have no doubt that there are encroachments on wetlands and that mangroves are being destroyed. Nobody can deny that. The ideal thing to do would be to take an old Google map image of an affected area and compare it with a new one. What is important is to see is what the authorities are doing to prevent and restore such destruction. And also, what steps are being taken to prevent further destruction, the court said. We cannot do anything in those places where buildings have already been constructed on wetlands. But in the future, some kind of a cut off must be imposed to define how much construction can be allowed in such areas, the bench said. In places like Mira-Bhayander and Panvel that are relatively untouched, we have to see to it that mangroves are saved, Justice Kanade said. The bench said while it did not want to interfere in cases of public utility projects that already secure permissions from ministries and authorities concerned, the agencies carrying out such work must ensure compensatory re-plantation at an alternate spot. In the interest of the common public and the future generation, the government will have to ensure wetlands are safeguarded, the court said, while posting a petition for further hearing in March this year. Read more: 80% fall in mangrove destruction in 1 year, says study by Maharashtra government SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON The Mira Bhayander Municipal Corporation (MBMC) has been warned by the National Green Tribunal (NGT) that new constructions will be banned if it does not issue work orders for a waste processing plant in one month. In its order on February 3, Justice UD Salvi and Dr Ajay Deshpande of the NGT western bench, Pune, asked the MBMC to deposit Rs20 crore in the escrow account of Konkan divisional commissioner in two weeks time from the date of the order, and ensure that the a garbage incineration and compost plant will be completed by October 2017. We further direct that if the corporation (MBMC) fails to issue work order for the same project within one month, the corporation is hereby restrained to issue any occupation certificate or commencement certificate for any new residential and commercial building projects within the municipal limits, read the order. MBMC has been having problems managing its trash. Residents of Uttan, a village within MBMC, have complained that garbage contractors are dumping unsegregated and untreated waste in the area. Nagri Hakka Sangharsha Samiti, an association of villagers, sought NGTs intervention and complained that odour and leachate from the dump was a nuisance. Forty kilometres away from Mumbai, the hill-top dumping ground receives 500 tons of solid waste per day. There are five villages around the hill and residents living in the vicinity said that garbage mounds, which had reached a height of 40 metres, have caught fire during the last two summers. Mira Bhayander has a present population of 8.20 lakh people Highlighting a total non-compliance of municipal solid waste rules, in July 2015, NGT had directed MBMC to deposit Rs70 crore with the Konkan commissioner to ensure scientific waste disposal. However, MBMC, citing insufficient finances, filed a writ petition in the Bombay high court (HC) in August 2015. The corporation was temporarily pardoned through an HC stay, which was lifted by end 2015. The tribunal also question the corporation about its waste management plant to treat 350 of 500 tons of waste. The corporation shall submit a proposal for scientific disposal for the remaining 150 metric tons of solid waste by the next date of hearing, read the order. The next date of hearing has been scheduled for March 1. IIT B study indicates several ground water, soil pollution at Uttan The NGT, western bench highlighted a report by the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT-B) that found serious condition prevailing due to fires and leachate from existing dumps at Uttan. The presence of several heavy metals including nickel, chromium, zinc etc is reported in leachate, with serious apprehensions of ground water and soil pollution, which is a serious risk considering very heavy rainfall and hilly terrain at the site, read the report. Air pollution twice the safety limit at Uttan dumping ground A pollution study carried out by the Environment Policy Research Institute (EPRI) at the Uttan dumping ground found pollution levels for particulate matter (PM2.5) - small pollutant particles of 2.5 micron size that can easily enter the respiratory system and cause ailments to be twice the permissible limits prescribed by the Central Pollution Control Board. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON On Tuesday, the prosecution in journalist J Deys murder case examined two former members of Chhota Rajan gang who had given their statement to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on how Rajans gang used to operate. The two former Rajan aides, Nilesh Paradkar and Prashant Deshmukh, had told the agency that Rajan used to communicate with his gang members in Mumbai using global SIM cards and Paulson Joseph was one of the key links. Both of them, however, denied their statement before the court. The witnesses did not support the prosecutions case and were declared hostile, said one of the defence lawyers Santosh Deshpande. Paradkar and Deshmukh were the 51st and 52nd witnesses in the case and the prosecution is yet to reach the motive behind the killing. The prosecution was examining the two witnesses to show how the gang operated but not only did they refuse to identify any of the accused but also said that they did not know Rajan. The defence claimed that the prosecution has so far declared at least five witnesses hostile as they did not support their case. Special public prosecutor Pradeep Gharat, however, said that there has been a good progress in the case. The progress in the trial is satisfactory. However, key witnesses are yet to be brought to court. The witnesses and their roles in the conspiracy are yet to be examined. But even then, there is enough evidence to prove the involvement of the accused in the murder, Gharat added. It is has been around a year and half since the trial in the journalists murder case started. The trial, however, is yet to reach the crucial stage where key witnesses related to the conspiracy behind the Deys killing are examined. Also read: Accused in J Dey murder, Chhota Rajan thought journo was working for Dawood SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON The prosecution on Tuesday objected to the bail plea of the nine accused including the former chairman of IDBI bank arrested in connection with Kingfisher Airline-IDBI loan default case. It alleged that the accused would hamper evidence and influence the witnesses if let off on bail. Special public prosecutor Bharat Badami for the CBI on Tuesday argued on the role played by the accused on changing the requirements to grant loan to companies. Badami alleged that the changes in the policy was made overnight and rules were relaxed to grant a loan of Rs750 crore to Kingfisher in November 2009. In total, the bank has given a loan of Rs950 crore to Kingfisher. On the night of November 23, 2009, the officers of the bank asked the company to fulfil some of the conditions and pledge shares of the company while the next day the conditions were removed. We are investigating on what had happened overnight, said Badami. He said that since the CBI is probing the case, if the accused are granted bail then they may tamper with the evidence. The arguments of prosecution will continue on Wednesday. Meanwhile the court extended the judicial custody of all the nine accused till February 20. The CBI had initiated probe against Vijay Mallya, Kingfisher Airlines and IDBI bank officials in 2015. On January 23, the CBI had arrested nine people, bank and Kingfisher Airlines officials, and filed a charge sheet against 11 accused the next day. Mallya was named as an absconder in it. Also read: CBI arrests former IDBI chairman in Vijay Mallya loan default case SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON The state election commission saw 367 candidates withdrawing from the civic elections to be held on February 21. The total number of candidates now contesting are 2,276. In 2012, this number was 2,232. Civic officials working with the election department said most of the nominations that were taken back were of independent candidates. One Shiv Sena rebel, Mahesh Sawant, who had filed a nomination as an independent candidate from Dadar, has not taken back his nomination yet. Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray said during a rally that there were many Sena party workers who were keen to contest but could not be given a ticket. He had asked people to withdraw nominations and be united for the party. A sitting corporator from the Matunga area, Nayana Seth, who filed her nomination as an independent this time after being denied a Congress ticket also withdrew. BJP candidate Deepali Matkarhai from the S ward was among those who withdrew. There were a few cases where members of the same family filed nominations, fearing rejection. In one case from Andheri, a father and son filed forms. After the fathers nomination was approved, the son withdrew, said a returning officer, not wishing to be named. With the contesting candidates final, citizens have 10 candidates on an average in each ward to choose from when they go to vote. READ MORE Rebels in spotlight on last day of nominations SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 7 By Maksim Tsurkov Trend: Ministers from several countries have confirmed their participation in the third meeting of the Advisory Council of the Southern Gas Corridor (SGC) to be held in Baku Feb. 23, Azerbaijans Energy Ministry said in a message Feb. 7. Italys Minister of Economic Development Carlo Calenda, Greeces nergy and Environment Minister Giorgos Stathakis, Bulgarian interim Energy Minister Nikolay Pavlov and Croatian Environment Protection and Energy Minister Slaven Dobrovic confirmed their participation in the meeting. The majority of the ministers are slated to meet with their Azerbaijani counterpart Natig Aliyev during their visit to Azerbaijan. Among international financial institutions, the World Bank confirmed its participation, and its delegation will be headed by Riccardo Puliti. The European Investment Bank (EIB) will also take part in the meeting. The EIB will be represented by Flavia Palanza, director of the banks Central and South Eastern Europe Department, the Energy Ministry said. Energy Ministry noted that European Commission Vice-President for Energy Union Maros Sefcovic was among the first ones to accept Azerbaijans invitation. The SGC Advisory Council held its first meeting on Feb. 12, 2015, and the second meeting on Feb. 29, 2016. The Southern Gas Corridor envisages transportation of 10 billion cubic meters of Azerbaijani gas from the Caspian region to Europe via Georgia and Turkey. The gas will be exported through expansion of the South Caucasus Pipeline and the construction of the Trans Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline and the Trans Adriatic Pipeline. --- Follow the author on Twitter: @MaksimTsurkov With its manifesto, the Bharatiya Janata Party has tried to give Mumbai a new start. Making up for its 15-year-rule in the countrys richest civic body as a junior partner to the Shiv Sena, the BJP manifesto now promises to make amends and chart a new path for the city and the running of the civic corporation. The partys intentions are good, given that for the first time a party has said it will be accountable to a civic polls manifesto. But, how seriously can we take these promises, especially that of transparency ? The BJP has promised a slew of reforms and action plans to ensure transparency in the administration, from announcing a probe into all Public-Private-Partnership projects undertaken in the last 20 years through the civic body, to reviewing existing tender processes and stopping arbitrary cost escalation proposals. These promises are likely to be undone, if the civic polls throw up an unclear verdict. If the Sena and BJP are forced into a post poll alliance, the transparency promises will be the first to go out the window, given they target the Sena. Even if the BJP can implement 50% of what has been promised, it will be great. Going by the 2014 poll promises, it looks unlikely. But, one sees hope in promises such as making asset declaration mandatory for all from contractors to officials and elected councillors, said activist Anjali Damania. CM Devendra Fadnavis has said the transparency and other promises made in the manifesto will not be compromised on. This is an agreement with Mumbaiites, showing our commitment for development and an assurance for 100% transparent governance in BMC, the chief minister said. But, in case of political uncertainty, can he keep this promise? Too many ambitious promises The manifesto promises five new government colleges, three hospitals, a refurbished zoo, 24x7 water supply, a flood-free Mumbai, no mobile towers in public parks... the BJP seems to have stretched itself too thin with its election manifesto to appease all. And, many of its promises ring hollow. For instance, the BJP has said it will amend the BMC Act to make maintenance of such open spaces mandatory, not just a discretionary duty. While an amendment to this effect was moved by the BJP in the state legislature, in the past year, the partys stance over open spaces has been anything but consistent in the BMC. Similarly, the party has said it will ensure 29.59% of the citys natural areas, including its salt pan lands, water bodies and forest areas, are reserved as eco-sensitive zones where no construction will be allowed. But, at the same time, the BJP-led state government is keen on opening up salt pan lands for affordable housing. READ MORE BJP makes big promises in high-stakes BMC elections SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON The Central Board of Secondary Educations (CBSE) statement on the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) has clarified many doubts for medical aspirants and their parents, but there is still ambiguity about admission rules for deemed universities in state, or the syllabus for NEET 2017. A group of parents from Maharashtra are planning to meet authorities from the Directorate of Medical Education & Research (DMER) this week for better clarity. In the last many years medical admissions had never given any weightage to class 12 marks, but recently the Supreme Court requested all higher education courses to consider that score as well as entrance exam scores. We are not sure if the rule is applicable this year, said one of the parents. Earlier this month, the DMER had also released a statement saying that admission to all medical seats (except for 15% all-India quota) in government-run and private institutes will be conducted by DMER. However, there is no clarification about seats in deemed institutes. We dont want to wait till the last minute for clarity. So hopefully the state government will release another statement soon, said a parent. When HT contacted the DMER director, he said the matter of admissions to deemed institutes is still sub-judice, as the matter is still pending in Supreme Court. Once we get a go ahead from SC, we will release a statement on that as well. As for weightage to class 12 marks, medical admission have given no weightage to class 12 marks since 1999, and we will continue the same rule in 2017. As for 2018, we can decide later, said Dr Pravin Shingare, director, DMER. Parents have complained about other problems, including an unclear stand by CBSE on the portion applicable for NEET 2017. The website says that the portion will include questions from CBSE as well as a common state board syllabus, but there is no such thing as a common state board syllabus. Each state has a different syllabus, said Sudha Shenoy, another parent. Many are hoping to hear form the CBSE soon for better clarity. READ MORE Medical entrance: NEET 2017 to be counted as first attempt, clarifies CBSE Centre sets limit on age and attempts for NEET SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON With an eye on the Gujarati vote, Uddhav Thackeray and Hardik Patel put up a joint show on Tuesday, with the Patidar leader endorsing the Shiv Senas work in Mumbai and calling himself a fan of the late Bal Thackeray. The leader of Gujarats Patel quota movement, who is a major critic of the Narendra Modi-led government, said the Sena is capable of heading into the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections by itself and does not need anyones support. A tiger is a tiger whether in a cage or on the loose. He has the same qualities and capabilities. The Shiv Sena is capable of contesting in Mumbai on its own strength, said Patel at a joint press conference. Uddhav hinted at the possibility of a tie-up with Patel for the Gujarat assembly polls later this year. Why cant he (Patel) be Shiv Senas face for the polls? But nothing has been decided or discussed yet. This was just our first meeting and everything cannot be discussed in one meeting, he said. Though Patel denied he would campaign for the Sena, the Patidar agitation leader said he would support the party whenever required. The Sena, which has been in an alliance with the BJP in Maharashtra since 1995, recently split from its partner. Although the tie-up will remain at the state level, the parties are gunning for each other in the election to the BMC, the countrys richest municipal body. This is the first time that the two parties are contesting the civic polls independently, and the Gujarati vote is a key factor in at least 40 of the 227 seats. The Gujarat leaders support is expected to be a shot in the arm for the Sena, which has been trying to woo the community by inducting influential leaders, poaching from the BJP and attempting to project a cosmopolitan image rather than a strictly pro-Marathi one. Earlier in the day, Patel called on Uddhav at his residence, where the two had an hour-long chat. Hardikbhai and Uddhav ji discussed their respective views on fight against social injustice and the way forward, tweeted Uddhavs son Aaditya Thackeray, who heads the Shiv Senas youth wing. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON The man who impersonated him and claimed to be driving the Audi Q7 that crashed into an auto and killed four people was promised Rs 8,000 by a lawyer, truck driver Ishaq Ahmed has told HT. Syed Imtiyaz Qadri, who lived in the same building as him in a village in Uttar Pradesh, told Ahmed he was only paid Rs 2,000 after he appeared in a Ghaziabad court. Ahmed, however, doesnt know the lawyers name. He also said he didnt know Audi owner Dr Manish Rawat, a neurosurgeon with Delhis Safdarjung hospital. The role of police and the lawyer has come under the scanner in the January 28 accident, with the investigation making little headway. Rawat, who couldnt be traced after the accident in Ghaziabad, finally joined the investigation on Monday and told police Ishaq Ahmed was driving him on the night of the accident. But Ahmed, whose driving licence with his picture was submitted by police in the court, was not in Ghaziabad on the night of crash, a fact backed by the transport company he works for. He was in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, with a truck, he said. After his name cropped up, Ahmed returned home to Bareilly from Guwahati in Assam and spoke to Qadri, whose surrender made headlines on January 31. Qadri was granted bail the same day as all charges against him were bailable. Only Qadri, my co-tenant, had a photocopy of my driving licence. I was furious and called him up. He told me he did it for Rs 8,000, Ahmed said. He plans to go the Ghaziabad Police to tell them he is innocent. I left my truck in Assam and returned on a train. In a hurry, I even forgot my belongings at the railway station, Ahmed said. On the day of surrender, an HT team visited the address the Ghaizabad Police submitted to the court. When it reached Labhera village in Bareilly, it found that Ishaq Ahmed was a truck driver and not the person police claimed him to be. Qadri and Ahmed, who have a striking resemblance, are tenants in the same building. Qadri went into hiding after his cover was blown. He is also a drug addict. Sometime back, he borrowed my LPG cylinder and sold it, Ahmed said. Read | Ghaziabad Audi crash ends lives, dreams to marry, work in a big city His wife went to Qadris home on hearing about the surrender but there was no one there. Qadri continues to be untraceable. His mobile phone is switched off. The Audi owner Rawat told police on Monday Ishaq Ahmed was his driver when he was posted in Bareilly. Ishaq was my driver for three-four months and I also got his driving licence verified from the transport office, he said. Rawat said Ahmed didnt join him when he left Bareilly in June. Ahmed met him two weeks ago and he offered him drivers job. He stayed with me at Olive County (Greater Noida) or at my government accommodation at Lodhi Colony in Delhi, Rawat said. While Ahmed was in Gujarat at the time of accident, HT found that Qadri was home during the period. His landlady, Shabnam, said Qadris wife Ayesha had told her that her husband went to Gonda on January 29 and returned after a couple of days. Qadri seemed upset and told his wife that he went to Ghaziabad instead she also talked about some accident, Shabnam said. Police have since added the charge of giving false information to rash driving and causing death by negligence charges in the case. The special investigation team (SIT) that is investigating the alleged ponzi scam in Noida along with UP special task force have come across some suspicious bank transactions related to accounts of prime accused Anubhav Mittals firm. On February 2, the Uttar Pradesh police special task force (UP-STF) arrested Mittal and his two colleagues - CEO Shridhar Prasad and technician Mahesh Dayal - following different complaints. Officials investigating bank details of Ablaze Info Solution Private Limiteds accounts said that a number of outgoing transactions, amounting to the tune of Rs 400 crore, were identified and further investigation is on. The STF has already seized Rs 524 crore that was deposited in the companys accounts with various banks. The details of incoming and outgoing transactions are voluminous and needs a comprehensive check to trace where the amount is actually headed to. Such transactions are getting rotated to different accounts. These transactions were found suspicious and a thorough check is being carried out, RK Mishra, UP-STF deputy superintendent of police, said. On Sunday, the directorate enforcement (ED) had registered a case of money laundering on the basis of FIRs registered by UP-STF. UP-STF officials said that they have come to know about 10 bank accounts of Mittals company in Axis Bank, Yes Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank and Canara Bank after the arrests. Some of these accounts were closed by company officials as complaints had started coming in wherein the complainants had mentioned bank account numbers. Investigators have also come across several presentation slides where the company officials mentioned Delhi municipal corporation, UP State Road Transport Corporation, Paschimanchal Vidyut Vitaran Nigam Limited, soft drink manufacturing firms, prominent banks, renowned colleges, etc. as its clients. These presentations were probably meant to show to other clients that the firm had links with big organisations. We are getting in touch with these organisations to know more details. Further, we have also sealed one of companys premises at Sector 64 where a container laden with shoes, etc was found, Mishra said. Searches were also conducted with the help of ED teams at two of companys offices in Raj Nagar District Centre, Ghaziabad, Mittals Ghaziabad residence and Sector 63 office, he added. Hindustan Times reported on Monday that Mittal, who is in judicial custody, was planning to launch an online shopping website allegedly as a cover for his Ponzi scheme in which he is accused of duping lakhs of people of about Rs 3,726 crore. Mittal had made a payment of about Rs 8 crore to six garment manufacturing companies, including leading brands in clothing, based in Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Punjab. The 26-year-old had ordered 50,000 garments to start his business through a website named intmart.com. The STF has received more than 6,000 complaints on its e-mail ID reportfraud@upstf.com which was created for investors to report complaints of fraud in the case. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON A day before Prime Minister Narendra Modis scheduled election rally in Ghaziabad, Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati slammed the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on demonetisation, black money and alleged attacks on minorities. She also slammed the opinion polls and surveys that predicted that the BSP would get fewer seats than other major parties. Since Modi became the PM, farmers, traders and the poor have suffered. People are annoyed with his flawed policies. This is why BJP has not been able to project any chief ministerial candidate for the state, said Mayawati. She also took on the Congress-Samajwadi Party alliance, in an attempt to woo minority communities. The Congress has put its policy at stake and allied with the anti-minority Samajwadi Party. This party is a symbol of chaos, unruly, communal and jungle raaj, she said. She also evoked the Muzaffarnagar riots, Bisada lynching, Mathura violence, in which a police officer died, and the Bulandshahr highway rape incidents. The tenure of the SP government has been painful for the people, and the previous Congress and BJP governments at the Centre are equally responsible. They have not been able to discharge their constitutional duties. So, the leaders of these parties, especially PM Modi, have lost their moral right to speak on the issues in UP. He will face a heavy loss in the elections, she said. In this situation, if minorities vote for SP, their vote will become useless as it will benefit only the BJP. So, to prevent this loss, the states minorities should not vote for SP and vote only for BSP. We have our dalit vote base intact and if the minority vote is added, BJP will not be able to assume power, she said. The BSP formed the state government in 2007, but secured only 80 seats in the UP assembly in the 2012 elections. However, the BSP had secured 25.91% of the total votes against the SP, which had secured 224 seats with a 29.13% vote share. It is evident that some of the BSPs traditional supporters had got swayed and they also failed to win the votes of minority communities. Mayawati alleged that the BJP has shown a flawed working and framed flawed policies in its rule so far. She also attacked the BJP for failing to keep its promise of retrieving black money within 100 days. This was their major promise. They also promised farmers of waiving their loans. Has any poor person got even a single rupee in their account? I want to ask farmers have your loans have been waived? These were just jumlebaazi. They have not been able to complete even one-fourth of their (pre-poll) promises, she said. Crores of people have been rendered jobless (because of the demonetisation). I have also heard that BJP leaders, especially PM Modi, converted the black money of the party leaders, big businessmen and corporates nearly 10 months before the demonetisation. We openly raised the issue, but they have still not been able to disclose the amount of black money retrieved and the number of people punished, Mayawati said. She alleged that the demonetisation was a tactic to divert the peoples attention from real issues. She said that the PM should also reveal the details about Lalit Modi, Vijay Mallya and the near and dear tangled in the Vyapam scam. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON The latest Economic Survey (ES) points to a dramatic spike in internal migration with Delhi and the NCR being the top destinations. Between 2011 and 2016, close to nine million migrated between states annually, up from about 3.3 million suggested by successive censuses, says the survey. Among the states that send the highest number of migrants to these places, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar top the list. They are followed by Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, Jammu and Kashmir and West Bengal. In an interview to HT, Indrajit Roy, Principal Investigator of University of Oxfords study Lives on the Move, talks about what triggers such high migration and why it is now absolutely critical to make social and political rights of citizens portable. KD: India is on the move. Is it a good or bad thing? IR: Well, the short answer is that it depends. What does it depend on? The circumstances and the nature of migration. Migration in general is to be welcomed and there are indications that migration in India helps people to exit from hierarchical social relationships. However, much of the migration in India, especially related to work and employment, is circular which means people dont find enough social and economic opportunities outside of their home localities and must fall back on these for sustenance. You have in India a perverse sort of mobility, an immobile mobility: Individuals are mobile but their households remain immobile. Migration is good because it might improve peoples economic condition. More importantly, migration and mobility enables people to escape local oppression and lead dignified lives, further their social networks, learn new skills and disseminate social and political ideas. This is the reason that statesmen such as BR Ambedkar argued that Indians should be more mobile than he found them to be. Mobility, if motivated by a desire to exit caste hierarchies and to aspire to better lives, can be emancipatory. It is often said that migration will disrupt the village way of life, thus destroying a civilisation. These fears are ahistorical. Indias so-called village way of life was a product of colonial rule that encouraged the countrys peasantisation. Disrupting this way of life only disrupts a colonial creation, not Indian civilisation. Concerns about mobility are also motivated by a desire to keep people in their place. Look at the way migrant workers are treated in Delhi and Mumbai: They are almost considered to be not human. Bal Thackeray once said one Bihari brought with him a 100 headaches. I believe caste hierarchies inform elite suspicion of mobility and migration, especially by Dalitbahujans, in a major way. Anti-caste struggles over the last two centuries have weakened the caste hierarchy considerably. Migration is one of the ways of diminishing the hold of caste on peoples lives further. However, if mobility is forced due to economic distress, civil unrest and political persecution, it signals a problem. One is not here talking only of physical coercion, but also extreme conditions of destitution and exclusion. In such circumstances, mobility is far from the panacea and might even exacerbate existing social and economic hierarchies. In India, fragmented landholdings in the countryside make it imperative for people to combine agricultural work with work outside of that sector, the 2011 census reported an absolute decline in the number of cultivators across India. This might have been good news, except that the number of agricultural labourers increased during precisely this period . Read: How many farmers does India really have? Informal employment remains in the region of a whopping 92% . To make matters worse, inequality is at an all-time high and we have a long way to go before the per capita incomes of the States even begin to converge, as the Economic Survey itself notes in the report (Chapter 10). This combination of aspiration and desperation results in internal migration in India, at least for employment at the poorer end of the spectrum, being circular: one estimated - reported in the Economic Survey (page 267) suggests there are 100 million circular labour migrants in India. This means 100 million people traverse the length and breadth of India, seeking dignified lives and livelihoods, working for a few months at different locations throughout the year, and then returning because of limited opportunities. Throughout this time, their families remain home - circular labour migration is a mostly male thing. Although economic remittances do contribute to migrant households being less dependent on local elites, the fact remains that at the end of the day, migrant workers and their families remain rooted to their villages. During their iterations, migrant workers have no access to their social entitlements or their political rights. Thus, India today is witness to both impulses. On the one hand, people seek to exit oppressive social hierarchies and lead dignified lives as equals. On the other hand, poverty and inequality continue to blight the lives of an overwhelming majority. People trying their best to lead dignified lives and exit social hierarchies. But there are simply not enough opportunities for them - either in their source locations or their destinations. KD: Your ongoing research in migration is based in Bihar. Whats triggering migration from that state? IR: Our research shows that the quest for dignified livelihoods is an important motivating factor for people leaving Bihar. I want to insist on dignified livelihoods: there is employment available locally, but many labourers, the majority of whom are Dalitbahujans, will refuse to work for farmers or landlords who practice caste discrimination. Our research assistants tell us of labourers who, during the 1970s and 1980s, fought with local employers because they were not being paid on time or because they faced caste discrimination. Refusing to tolerate continued oppression, they left for dignified work as far as Punjab when agricultural opportunities were available. But more than incomes, people justified their going to Punjab on the grounds that they were treated with respect and dignity there: Sardarji sits on the same cot as us or We are offered food in the same utensils that everyone else eats in. Remember this was the time the Bihar socialists had been really campaigning along themes of izzat and samman. Under Lalu Yadavs regime, migrant workers felt confident that local landlords (the dabang people) would not harm their families. Over the last few years, Punjabs popularity has declined and people look to Delhi and the southern States for work. A recent survey we did in 10 districts of Bihar reveals that while 40% of all migrant workers flock to Delhi for work, as many as 22% seek work in the southern States. Clearly, economic opportunity is important - but not the only thing they are looking for- for example, there was not a great deal of enthusiasm regarding Gujarat and Mumbai, the hubs of economic growth although - yes - Delhi is deemed as welcoming. KD: What kinds of policies are required to ensure a better life for migrants? IR: Social and political rights in India are based on the assumption that people are sedentary. Under the public distribution system (PDS), peoples ration cards are invalid in their destinations of work. These migrants depend either on their employer or labour contractor for food provisions or purchase food in the open market. This significantly increases their cost of living and reduces the additional earnings they might hope to remit to their families. The only social support their families possess is the compensation offered by the state in case of death at work. Because migrant workers are mostly in informal employment and dotted across several sectors and industries, they have little organised space to voice their grievances or articulate complaints. Migrants voting rights are also restricted to their villages what the census calls their usual place of residence (UPR) despite the fact that they give the best part of their working lives to the city. On the one hand, this reduces their value to the destination localitys politicians, who do not need their votes to win elections. And on the other, it sees them excluded from the electoral process when they are unable to go back to their homes during election time to cast their votes. A study conducted by the NGO Ajivika and their partners revealed that over 60% of itinerant migrants were unable to cast their votes in at least one election for the simple reason that they were away from home. Taking cognisance of this mobility, the state should consider making social and political rights portable. People should be allowed to access their social entitlements - the PDS grain, etc - from anywhere in the country. This government loves digital technologies and should use such technologies to serve the circular labour migrants who build India. Moreover, NRIs are being the given the right to vote, irrespective of where they live. Surely, the Indians who labour to construct, manufacture and service India deserve that right no matter where they live. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON A local court on Monday convicted the mother and uncle (husband of mothers sister) of a minor for sexual exploitation and criminal conspiracy against her and sentenced them to three and four years of jail, respectively. The court has also imposed a fine of Rs 6,500 on the minors uncle, Surinder Singh, alias Shinda, while a fine of Rs 3,500 on her mother. The two have been held guilty under Sections 354A (assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty), 506 (punishment for criminal intimidation), 292 (sale of obscene books etc), 120-B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Section 12 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. The duo was acquitted under Section 323 (punishment for voluntarily causing hurt) of IPC and 66A (sending obscene material through computer or communication device) of the IT Act. An FIR was registered on January 10, 2015, based on the complaint filed by the victim herself at the Sector-17 police station. The court adjudged that the mother and uncle of the minor, who later on became major, were supposed to protect her, but they did otherwise, making the offence severe. Jailed for 3 years At a family gathering in 2011, the victims uncle tried to molest her. Her mother ignored her complaints. In September 2014, the uncle gave the victim a DVD with an objectionable video of him and the victims mother. In November 2014, the victim herself complained to the police about her situation. The case On November 7, 2014, the victim complained that her father was made to leave his own house in the year 2009. Being too young, the victim and her brother could not understand the circumstances in which he was made to leave. On the eve of Lohri at her house in 2011, her uncle tried to molest her. When she complained to her mother about this, she simply ignored it by saying that the culprit was just like her father and a father can hug and kiss his daughter. This repeated in the family gatherings or party at home in 2012 and 2013 too. The victims mother, who was enamoured of the uncle, used to thrash the victim, saying that she is unnecessarily accusing him, who is providing all the amenities to their family. On September 30, 2014 when the complainant was alone at her residence, the uncle handed over a DVD to her, carrying an objectionable video of him and her mother, and threatened that it will be made public if she refuses to establish physical relations with him. LUDHIANA With 14 constituencies, Ludhiana district forms a large chunk of Malwa regions 69 seats, out of the 117 in the Punjab assembly. In the industrial hub of the state, industrialists and migrant workers account for around 33% of total voters 24 lakh and have a dominant presence in five seats. The ruling SAD-BJP government has lost its currency with industry after demonetisation and some big and medium corporates hit by the note ban even held meetings with their workers prior to elections to persuade them to vote for the Congress. But migrant workers living in dismal conditions revealed that their lot has not improved in alternating governments of the ruling SAD-BJP or the Congress and they see hope of a change in the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). Also read | Paper-trail machine snag: Repolling at 48 stations in Punjab on Feb 9 President of Asias largest association of cycle industry, United Cycle Parts and Manufacturers Association (UCPMA), Charanjit Vishivkarma highlights the employer-worker divide in terms of voting preferences. A substantial vote share of cycle makers went to the Congress. But a big chunk of total 1.25 lakh migrant workers in the cycle industry voted for the AAP. Some seats had a close triangular contest among the SAD-BJP, Congress and AAP, he says. Ludhiana South and Atam Nagar, the two seats of Bains brothers, Simarjeet and Balwinder Bains, who had forged an alliance with the AAP, too have a strong presence of migrant workers and industrialists. Narendar Bhamra, president of Fasteners Association of India, said small traders have been worst hit by the note ban. Apart from anti-incumbency, the SAD-BJP will also bear the brunt of demonetisation, he said. A migrant worker-turned-contractor from Gonda, Uttar Pradesh, who is settled in Ludhiana from the last 19 years, says 90% of migrants workers in Ludhiana are from UP and Bihar. A large chunk of migrant workers here come from Rae Bareli, Amethi, Faizabad, Gonda and Azamgarh districts of UP. The first two are Congress strongholds and in the remaining three districts, the grand alliance announced last month by the Congress and Samajwadi Party has tilted migrant vote in the formers favour. So the Congress too got a chunk of migrant votes, he said, requesting anonymity. The industry also cites revival of realty sector during Congress regime (2002-2007) as a reason for supporting Congress. Badish Jindal, vice-chairman of National Productivity Council, said: Big corporates and realtors have given all-out support to the Congress while small and medium scale manufacturers were inclined towards the AAP in hope of reduction in corruption in government offices, tax rationalisation and end of inspector raj. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON A 32-year-old Dalit man was killed and his brother was injured after a group of around 50 Akali workers, including a former sarpanch, allegedly barged into their house and opened fire on the family at Palasaur village, 10 km from Tarn Taran, on Monday morning. The deceased has been identified as Surjit Singh. Ex-sarpanch Gurpreet Singh Babbu and 15 others have been booked for his murder. They are absconding. The attackers reportedly held a grudge against the Dalit family, also supporters of the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), after an altercation during an election meeting on January 29. Tarsem Singh, Surjits elder brother, said Babbus group used derogatory words against them after Akali candidate from Tarn Taran Harmeet Singh Sandhu left the meeting. This led to a scuffle, during which the victim family reportedly thrashed one of the rival members. The accused had been threatening us ever since and we also approached the police, but to no avail. They made similar attempts earlier too, alleged Tarsem. On Monday, when Tarsem was at home along with his three brothers, Babbu along with 50 other men allegedly stormed into their house around 10am and started incessant firing. Ten of them were carrying rifles and revolvers. They fired around 25 gunshots. Some climbed on to the rooftop to target us, and later fled, alleged Tarsem. While Surjit was shot in the forehead and died on the spot, his other brother, Jaswant Singh, received a bullet injury in his leg. Senior superintendent of police (SSP) Harjit Singh, who rushed to the spot with heavy police force, said a case has been registered against 16 persons under Sections 302 (murder), 307 (attempt to murder) and other relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) besides the Arms Act. Those booked include Babbu, Pappu Sarli, Bonny, Amarpal Pala and Manna. Efforts are on to nab the accused, said the SSP. On measures taken to ensure submission of all licensed weapons ahead of the polls, he said the department didnt have all the details as relevant records were destroyed in fire at the arms branch of the deputy commissioners office a few years ago. This is third major incident of poll-related violence in the district. An Akali sarpanch opened fire at Congress workers outside a polling station in Lalu Ghuman village of the same constituency on the day of polling, leaving one person injured. Earlier, Akalis allegedly attacked two Congressmen with sharp-edged weapons at Boparai village in Patti segment on February 2. As a part of its corporate social responsibility (CSR) strategy, Nar successfully continues cooperation with the Azerbaijan Technical University (ATU). The mobile operator, which launched Nar laboratory equipped with special equipment in the Azerbaijan Technical University last year and carried out various educational activities in the higher institution, develops its relations with ATU in various fields. On February 7, 2017, ATU hosted awarding ceremony of the students, studying on the specialties of Electronics, Telecommunications and Radio Engineering of the Faculty of Radio Engineering and Communications in the first term of 2016-2017 academic year and showing best results. According to high results of the winter session, students taking 1st, 2nd and 3rd places Mammadaslan Khuliyev, Khayala Hasanli and Ghunay Abbasova won valuable prizes from the mobile operator. Giving special attention to the development of education and enlightenment, this initiative by Nar stimulates students to be more successful in their studies. Within CSR strategy of the mobile operator, 3 students of ATU, showing the best results every semester, were presented special prizes by Nar. It is noteworthy that in the framework of a partnership agreement signed with the Azerbaijan Technical University, Nar GSM laboratory was established in the university, the students gained opportunity to get various theoretical knowledge and experience in the field of GSM. A professional technical staff conducts trainings and seminars for the students in the special laboratory, where Nar's modern telecommunication equipment installed. A group of youth developing practical knowledge under the program, has taken the first steps to become qualified personnel. Supply of the university's laboratory as well as internship program for the students is carried out within the framework of Nar CSR strategy towards youth and education. For further information about Nar CSR strategy, please visit nar.az website. Unable to cope with pressure, a class 12 boy in Ranchi set himself ablaze in the classroom on Monday and was hospitalized with 60% burn injuries. The 18 year old, a science student at CBSE-affiliated Lala Lajpat Rai School had carried petrol in his school bag to the class on Monday. During a break, he poured it on his sweater and lit it with a matchstick. The school authorities came to his rescue, but by then more than half of his body was already burnt. The incident highlighted once again the stress among students due to pressure of performing well in academics, making psychiatrists, educationists and activists question the competitive education structure in the country. I could not cope with the study pressure. So, I decided to end my life, Ashutosh said. He is undergoing treatment at Devkamal Hospital in Ranchi. Ashutosh is originally from Bihars Ara district and was staying with his aunt at Harmu Housing Colony in Ranchi. He aspired to become an engineer and was preparing to crack the IIT, his classmates said. Mohammad Farukh, officer in-charge of concerned Pundag police station, said that the boy has not blamed anybody in his statement to the police. He (Ashutosh) had his physical education practical exams on Monday. The incident happened after the exam, said Farukh. School principal P.K. Thakur saved the students life with the help of curtains and burnt his hands in the process. He too underwent treatment for burn injuries. The incident is as horrifying for us as it is for the boys family. We will initiate an inquiry into the matter, Thakur said. He added that the school regularly held parents-teachers meetings and encouraged students to speak up about their stress. Psychiatrists, however, do not see the possibilities of a psychological disorder behind the incident. They blame the education system for it. The fact that an 18-year-old tried to set himself on fire in his classroom says a lot about how the education system impacted him. He could have tried other ways to end his life, but why fire? It shows the extent of agony he was in, said Dr Siddharth Sinha, senior resident, Ranchi Institute of Neuro-Psychiatry and Allied Sciences. Baywatch star Pamela Anderson is rumoured to be in a romantic relationship with Wikileaks founder Julian Assange. According to a report in Daily Mail, the TV actor visited Assange five times in four months at his Ecuadorean Embassy in London, where he has been holed up for five years. She seems to be wearing sexier outfits every time she visits, one political activist told Page Six. Assange (45) and Anderson (49) first met in September 2014 to get him to back her foundation that works for female victims of sexual abuse. Pamela Anderson visits Wikileaks founder Julian Assange - Daily Mail https://t.co/PNSunFy89d pic.twitter.com/R0T0j8leVU Ricardo (@Advo_Gatinho) January 21, 2017 In 2016, She visited him in October, November and twice in December, each time, bringing him trays full of goodies. 'I have a very soft spot for Julian' An amazing piece by Pamela Anderson.https://t.co/UDTOI7IqNz#Assange pic.twitter.com/UfCULLEdy2 Rixstep News (@rixstepnews) November 15, 2016 The whistleblower sought refuge in Ecuadors embassy in London in June 2012, fleeing allegations of rape and sexual assault in Sweden dating back to 2010. Assange denies the claims. Recently, on February 4, Pamela stepped out for The Best Awards Gala, held at the Four Seasons hotel George V in Paris, in a very different look. She toned down drastically on her make up and let her natural beauty shine in a black and white gown. She got a lot of praise from fans on social media for her new look. A photo posted by @closerweekly on Jan 30, 2017 at 2:07pm PST Follow @htshowbiz for more Once, the Cannes Film Festival placed an empty chair on the stage during the opening night to convey its displeasure over the absent Iranian auteur, Jafar Panahi - who was not allowed to travel by the clergy Government in Tehran. The festival conveyed, in no uncertain terms, that it missed having Panahi around. On Monday, at the Oscar nominees luncheon in Los Angeles, one could not but take note of the empty chairs in the room. These chairs reminded attendees that helmers like Irans Asghar Farhadi -- whose The Salesman is in the running for the Best Foreign Language Oscar -- were absent. They were unlikely to fly down for the big night on February 26, because of US President Donald Trumps travel ban on residents from several primarily Islamic nations. One of them is Iran. The president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Cheryl Boone Isaacs, deeply unhappy over the latest political development, averred: There is a struggle globally today over artistic freedom that feels more urgent than at any time since the 1950s. Art has no borders. Art has no language and doesnt belong to a single faith. Just as our work does not stop at borders, borders cannot be allowed to stop any of us. (We in India should know this only too well. India and Pakistan take turns to proscribe each others movies, the latest being the Shahrukh Khan-starrer, Raees. While allowing Hrithik Roshans Kaabil to be screened, Pakistan has stopped Raees, because it is felt that the film shows Muslims in bad light.) Thanks to Trumps decision, which though seems to be kept in abeyance following a judicial ruling, the Foreign Language Oscars have shot into the limelight this year. Normally, they are the least talked about in the Oscars event. And Farhadis The Salesman, appears to be the favourite - and not really because it is the best of the five nominees. One has often seen politics playing an important role in the verdict of a jury. In 2004, Michael Moores documentary lambasting President Bush, Fahrenheit 9/11, won the Palm d Or at Cannes. It did not deserve to win, but that years president of the Cannes jury, Quentin Tarantino, was such a Bush hater that he must have made sure that Moore got the trophy. So, it may not come as a big surprise if Farhadi clinches the Best Foreign Language Oscar on February 26. Farhadi - who gave us that fantastic work called A Separation on a squabbling couple - takes us back again to domestic disharmony in The Salesman. Here, a husband and wife, both actors in the theatrical production of The Death of A Salesman, find jealousy and suspicion creeping into their lives after an unsavoury incident in their new flat. A stranger walks into the apartment assuming that the old tenant, probably a prostitute, still lives there. And the wife lets him in the mistaken belief that it is her husband coming in. The Salesman is not this writers favourite. What is, is Germanys Toni Erdmann -- a hilarious, but hauntingly touching work about a fathers desperate attempts to help his daughter loosen up a bit, take her work a little less seriously and to spend a little time with him. And what all he does to get close to his girl, and this includes him dressing up like a bear, to make her laugh. And finally, as he sits forlornly on a Park bench, tired and defeated, the daughter races up to him and gives him a bear hug! A scene from Toni Erdmann, a film about a fathers hilarious and desperate attempts to get his daughters attention. Another of this writers favourite among the five nominees is the Danish movie, Land of Mine. World War II has been beaten to pulp on the screen, and so it could not have been easy for director Martin Zandvliet to make yet another on the subject. But he scores with his compellingly fresh story and approach. He presents in his Land of Mine a bit of war history that is true but not well known, and possibly never been made into a film. On a path travelled a million times or more, Zandvliet discovers or rediscovers a tragic episode and lights it up with beautiful sensitivity and feeling. One cannot miss the humanism that the helmer portrays through his taut narrative in the months when almost the entire world hated the Nazis and the Germans. After the war ended in May 1945, German prisoners of war in Denmark were given a deadly assignment. They were ordered to clear the Danish coast of the two million land mines which the German army had planted in the mistaken belief that this would be where the Allied invasion would take place. Most of the prisoners were teenage boys, recruited in the last days of Hitlers march, and totally unprepared for what was apparently a suicidal mission. The fourth nominee, Australias Tanna, is some sort of Romeo and Juliet story. Set on the island of Tanna in the South Pacific, the movie is inspired by the true story of a man and woman who decide to get married against their parents wishes. Tanna highlights the societys quirky beliefs and customs. Finally, Swedens A Man Called Ove, based on Fredrik Backmans best-selling novel with the same title, is a lovely portrait of a man who is mourning for his wife, and the film has the power to tug at the heart strings of all those who may have been in a similar state or known someone in the same frame of mind. Follow @htshowbiz for more ott:10:ht-entertainment_listing-desktop The White House has released a list of 78 terrorist attacks and has claimed that most of these have not been reported or under-reported by the media. The list came soon after the US President Donald Trump told a conference of his military commanders in Tampa that media is not reporting many of the terrorist attacks. Radical Islamic terrorists are determined to strike our homeland, as they did on 9/11, as they did from Boston to Orlando to San Bernardino and all across Europe. Youve seen what happened in Paris and Nice. All over Europe its happening. Its gotten to a point where its not even being reported, Trump told his commander in Tampa. Trump alleged that in many cases, the very, very dishonest press doesnt want to report it. They have their reasons and you understand that, he told his commanders. On his way back abroad Air Force One, the White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer reiterated the allegations and promised to provide a list of such attacks. He (Trump) felt as though members of the media dont always cover some of those events to the extent that other events might get covered; that a protest will get blown out of the water, and yet an attack or a foiled attack doesnt necessarily get the same coverage, Spicer said. Hes doing what he can to protect this nation and protect our people. And thats why I think sometimes the polls dont reflect what you see on the media, he said. You see a wide degree of support for the Presidents policies to protect this country, to create jobs, to grow the economy, and yet a lot of those stories and successes that hes had in a mere two and a half weeks in office arent exactly covered to the degree to which they should be, Spicer said. Giving details of the list, CNN said as per White House there are as many as 78 such incidents. Its a head-scratcher as several of these, we here at CNN and other international news outlets, covered these extensively, CNN White House Correspondent Jim Acosta said. All of these, youll recall, we covered extensively. Its puzzling as to why the White House would include these attacks on this list when they were covered for days on end, he alleged. Earlier, the White House insisted that there are several instances of the media not reporting about terrorist incidents. The President, again, got a great update today on the fight against ISIS thats going on throughout the region and what our military is facing throughout this globe, trying to combat ISIS. But theres a lot of instances that have occurred where I dont think that theyve gotten the coverage its deserved, and I think thats what the President was clearly referring to there, Spicer said in response to a question. A suicide bomber on foot ripped through a crowd of Afghan Supreme Court employees on Tuesday, killing at least 21 people including nine women and wounding 41 others in the second attack on government institutions in under a month. The assailant detonated the device in the parking lot as employees were boarding a bus to go home, leaving bodies and dismembered limbs scattered around the area, with women and children among the casualties. 21 killed (including 9 women), 41 wounded (including 9 women and 2 children) in todays #Supremecourt #Suicide attack, #Kabul, #Afghanistan, health ministry official Wahidullah Mayar wrote on Twitter. No group has so far claimed responsibility for the blast in the snow-laden Afghan capital, but it occurred as the Taliban are ramping up their nationwide insurgency even in the peak winter months when fighting usually abates. Map of the Afghan capital Kabul locating the Supreme Court building, site of a suicide attack Tuesday. (AFP Graphics) My father and I were exiting through the parking lot when a huge blast hit us, said a witness, breaking down in tears. My father is dead now. How will I live without him? The piercingly loud explosion shook nearby buildings, smashing windows and blasting debris onto the streets. Police blocked off the road around the high-profile compound located near the US embassy as panicked relatives of court employees began to gather and ambulances and fire trucks rushed to the scene. An injured man being carried to a hospital after the bomb blast in Kabul. (REUTERS) The health ministry warned the toll could rise still further. There were scenes of desperation at the Italian-run Emergency hospital in Kabul as anxious civilians looking for missing relatives searched through the ambulances that brought the dead and wounded. Crime against humanity President Ashraf Ghani condemned the attack in a statement, calling it a crime against humanity and an unforgivable act. The Taliban have previously targeted the Supreme Court. They killed 15 civilians with a suicide car bomb at the entrance to the compound in 2013. At the time the insurgent group threatened further attacks on the judiciary if it continued to sentence its militants to death. The US embassy in Kabul also denounced Tuesdays bombing, saying it was an attack on the very foundation of Afghan democracy and rule of law. The carnage underscores growing insecurity in Afghanistan where local forces are struggling to combat a resilient Taliban insurgency as well as Al-Qaeda and Islamic State militants more than two years after NATOs combat mission ended. Last month, twin suicide blasts claimed by Taliban fighters tore through employees exiting a parliament annex in Kabul, killing 30 people and wounding 80. Men carry an injured man to a hospital after the bomb blast in Kabul. (REUTERS) On Monday, the United Nations said civilian casualties in Afghanistan in 2016 were the highest recorded by the world body, with nearly 11,500 people -- one third of them children -- killed or wounded. The report comes as officials warn of a growing humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan, as unprecedented numbers of people flee the fighting while hundreds of thousands of failed asylum seekers are repatriated home. Earlier this month, an official US watchdog said the death rate among Afghan troops and police soared last year as the governments overall control of the country declined significantly. The grim new statistics paint a picture of a beleaguered nation still in the grip of a security crisis, despite many years and billions of dollars spent building up Afghanistans army and police. In one of the Obama administrations last actions in January, the US moved a proposal in support of Indias application to have Pakistan-based Masood Azhar included in a UN list of designated terrorists but China blocked the move in a cynical show of solidarity with its iron brother Pakistan. The proposal moved on January 19, a day before Barack Obama handed over charge to President Donald Trump, was co-sponsored by Britain and France as a fresh counter-terrorism effort, a part of a global move, according to officials who spoke only on condition of anonymity. The proposal, finalised after consultations between Washington and New Delhi, said JeM was a designated terror group and its leaders could not go scot-free. China blocked it on February 2, as it has several times before. China opposed the US move by putting a hold on the proposal just before the expiry of the 10-day deadline for any proposal to be adopted or blocked or to be put on hold, said an official in New Delhi. Refusing to give details as deliberations of the UN sanctions committee are confidential, a US state department spokesman told Hindustan Times Tuesday, Our views on Masood Azhar and Jaish-e-Mohammed are well known. JeM has been responsible for numerous terrorist attacks and is a threat to regional stability. Another US official said on background that the designations and this one in particular is something we have been working on for some time (and) using the UN Designations process, even if they were blocked, was a critically important part of our CT cooperation and an important way to bring global attention to the most serious terror cases and actors. We have been informed of the development and the matter has been taken up with the Chinese government, external affairs ministry spokesperson Vikas Swarup said. Beijing has not publicly assigned any reason for blocking the US proposal. But it has called it a technical hold in the past, saying it was based on facts and procedure. Chinese diplomats have suggested India needs to sort this out with Pakistan. Azhar is the founder of Jaish-e-Mohammed, a Pakistan-based terror group held responsible for recent attacks on an airbase in Pathankot in January 2016 and on an Indian Army camp at Uri in Jammu and Kashmir in September, which led to unprecedented surgical strikes by Indian forces along the Line of Control. Beijing first blocked Indias application on Azhar before the UN sanctions committee which goes by the lengthy name of Security Council Committee pursuant to resolutions 1267 (1999), 1989 (2011), and 2253 (2015) concerning ISIL (Daesh, names for Islamic State) al-Qaida and associated individuals, groups, undertakings and entities in April and then again in October. The designation would have enjoined UN member states to freeze assets owned by Azhar in their jurisdictions, deny him entry or exit and not supply to him any sort of weapons. JeM was designated in 2001 and several operatives and organisations associated with the group have also been put on the UN blacklist. The US designated JeM a foreign terrorist organisation in 2001 and Azhar as a terrorist in 2010. A close associate of Azhars, Sheikh Ahmed Saeed Omar, masterminded the kidnapping and murder of The Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl in 2002. There is all round support for Indias application but according to the rules, all 15 members of the UN sanctions committee must approve fresh designations. The USs help, as of other members of the Security Council has been critical for India in the past, in adding Dawood Ibrahim, gangster and terrorist, and Hafiz Saeed, the founder of Lashkar-e-Taiba, responsible for the 2008 Mumbai attacks, to the UN list. A hold at the UN sanctions panel remains for six months and can be extended by three months. During this period, it can be converted into a block, thereby ending the life of the proposal. Chinas Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) has not only strengthened bilateral ties but has opened up new areas for cooperation, the Sri Lankan leadership has told the top Chinese leadership. President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang exchanged greetings with their Sri Lankan counterparts Maithripala Sirisena and Ranil Wickremesinghe to mark the 60th anniversary of bilateral diplomatic ties. China considers Sri Lanka an important part of the BRI and has lavished investment on the island nation in the past decade. Colombo too has been eager to use its strategic location in the Indian Ocean to strengthen its infrastructure and economy. According to Chinas official Xinhua news agency: Sirisena noted that Sri Lanka is firmly dedicated to promoting its relations with China and that he believed on the basis of the ancient Maritime Silk Road, the Belt and Road Initiative will open up a new era for Sri Lanka-China cooperation. Friendship between Sri Lanka and China dates back to a long time ago, Sirisena said, adding that since the two countries established diplomatic relations, their ties have gained constant and sound development and were upgraded to a strategic partnership. Xi said he appreciates Sri Lanka for its active participation in the Belt and Road Initiative. I am willing to work with you to consolidate political mutual trust, expand mutually beneficial cooperation and deepen people-to-people friendship" to inject new vigour into the strategic cooperative partnership featuring sincere mutual assistance and enduring friendship, Xi said. Wickremesinghe, according to Xinhua, told Li that Sri Lanka-China friendship, which has continued for centuries through the ancient maritime silk road, was further strengthened under the BRI. The initiative has also provided opportunities for the two countries to explore new areas of cooperation, he said. Li said in recent years, the two countries, taking the BRI as an opportunity, had broadened cooperation. China is willing to work with Sri Lanka to carry forward the traditional friendship and deepen win-win cooperation so that the China-Sri Lanka strategic cooperative partnership can achieve more accomplishments, he said. Donald Trumps executive order on immigration has legal experts grappling with a key question: how broad is the US presidents reach when it comes to shaping migration policy? Trumps decree slapped a blanket ban on entry for nationals of seven predominantly Muslim countries for 90 days and barred all refugees for 120 days. Refugees from Syria were blocked indefinitely. But a federal judge issued a temporary nationwide suspension of the presidents order, which the US government swiftly appealed. The ultimate ruling in the case could clear confusion regarding Trumps executive reach and leave a lasting legal impact. Here is a look at the process: Who will decide? The case could land in the Supreme Court, the nations top bench that is the final interpreter of US constitutional law. In the meantime, uncertainty reigns after federal courts across the country have delivered a range of decisions. All eyes are now on the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, based in San Francisco, that is weighing Judge James Robart of Seattles recent order temporarily suspending the ban nationwide. A hearing has been set in the case for Tuesday at 3pm Pacific time (2300 GMT). Federal judges in several other states -- including California and New York -- have also ruled against Trumps executive order, and a judge in Boston declined to review it, but Robarts ruling has the greatest sweep. Who is involved? The Trump administration officially challenged Robarts ruling by filing an emergency motion with the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals saying that suspending the ban was causing irreparable harm to the American public. The US government on Monday defended the presidents travel ban as a lawful exercise of his authority, and claimed that a federal court made a mistake in barring enforcement of the measure. Protestors march on the streets of Sydney's central business district against US President Donald Trump's travel ban policy on February 4. (AFP Photo) The primary plaintiffs in the case are two Democratic-leaning states that border Canada: Washington, where Robart sits, and Minnesota. They were backed in a court brief filed by 16 state attorneys general. A number of groups have also filed legal briefs backing the states efforts, including the American Civil Liberties Union, the Southern Poverty Law Center -- which monitors extremism in the US -- and the HIAS refugee protection organization. Nearly 300 law professors and some 100 Silicon Valley firms have also submitted arguments supporting Robarts opinion. Trump attacked Robart in a string of fiery Twitter posts on Saturday. The opinion of this so-called judge, which essentially takes law-enforcement away from our country, is ridiculous and will be overturned! the president wrote. What are the arguments? Trump justifies his controversial decree with Article II of the Constitution, which grants the president authority to direct immigration policy and conduct foreign affairs. His argument is also founded in part on a 65-year-old provision of the federal Immigration and Nationality Act, which allows the president to suspend US entry of any category of foreigners when he deems their presence detrimental to the interests of the United States. Government lawyers are trying to bolster this argument by saying that the judiciary is unqualified to decide on national security matters. Unlike the president, courts do not have access to classified information about the threat posed by terrorist organizations operating in particular nations, the efforts of those organizations to infiltrate the United States, or gaps in the vetting process, they wrote in their appeal. People hold a banner reading "Make America hate again" during a gathering to protest US President Donald Trump's recent travel ban to the US at Trocadero Plaza next to the Eiffel Tower in Paris. (AP Photo) Those opposed to the White House decree also cite the Constitution, saying that the executive order violates its fundamental principles including those on equality, freedom of movement and freedom of religion. They also emphasize that the role of the judicial branch is to check the power of the executive, especially to protect minorities. The states pin the legitimacy of their complaint on the fact that, as states, Trumps ban has negative consequences on employment and in the education and business sectors. They also warn that reinstating the ban could threaten public order, considering the chaos that broke out, especially in airports, following its hurried implementation. What is the next step? The appeals court will likely take one of three options: reinstate the ban, confirm its suspension or schedule an additional hearing. If the ban is restored, authorities have yet to indicate whether they have planned measures to avoid further airport detentions or deportations, which have already fueled international outrage and mass protests. If they take the second option, Robarts decision would likely apply nationwide, keeping the US open to refugees and those from the seven countries targeted by the ban. The losing party would be able to request the Supreme Court to take on the case. If the nations highest court accepts, five of the eight total judges would be required to reverse the decision from the Court of Appeals. Achieving that majority poses a challenge: the Supreme Court is currently ideologically split between four conservatives and four progressives. Trump has nominated a conservative, Neil Gorsuch, to fill the vacant seat. But he must first get confirmed by the Senate. Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte angrily berated more than 200 allegedly erring policemen on national TV on Tuesday and said he would send them to a southern island to fight extremists dreaded for their beheadings. Dutertes expletive-filled outburst against the officers at Manilas presidential palace was his latest tirade against a police force that he has called rotten to the core. He recently banned the national police from carrying out his anti-drug campaign after a group of officers used the crackdown as a cover to kidnap and kill a South Korean man in an extortion scandal. The 228 policemen from metropolitan Manila are accused of a range of administrative and criminal offences, including extortion and illegal arrests. Some have tested positive for drug use, regional police spokeswoman Inspector Kimberly Molitas said. Duterte, a long-time crime-busting city mayor and government prosecutor who ran after erring policemen and soldiers before he rose to the presidency in June, said he had wanted to punish the policemen by ordering them to clear the murky Pasig river by the presidential palace of water lilies, but that the river was clear of lilies. So he ordered them instead to prepare in two weeks for a two-year deployment to Basilan Island, the birthplace of the brutal Abu Sayyaf extremist group, where he said some police stations have been blown up by the terrorists. If you survive, come back here, Duterte told the policemen, who were made to stand in the sun before him outside the Malacanang palace. If you die there, Ill tell the police not to spend to bring you here and just bury you there. Duterte said the policemen can opt to resign but warned them about getting involved in criminal syndicates like some former police and military personnel. I will create a battalion just to keep track of your movements because it has been the sad experience of this country that the most vicious criminals are mostly ex-police or sometimes, ex-military men, he told the policemen, their heads bowed, threatening them with death if they venture into crime. Sorry, I wont think twice, you would really be the ones to go down in extrajudicial killings, said Duterte, who stood beside top police officials. Some rogue policemen have mulcted street vendors and ordinary Filipinos, while others have killed drug dealers, seized and sold their methamphetamine, a strongly addictive stimulant locally known as shabu, then pocketed the money, Duterte said. If youre mad at me, wait until my presidency ends, then lets go into a gunbattle, said the president, who started his six-year term in June. Duterte abruptly ended his talk to lead a cabinet meeting, but asked the policemen to wait for him under the sun. More than 7,000 suspected drug dealers and addicts had been killed in Dutertes anti-drug crackdown before he prohibited the 170,000-strong police force from serving as the main enforcer of the campaign last week amid the scandal over the South Korean businessmans murder. Troops will be tapped to temporarily replace the policemen, Duterte said, prompting human rights groups to express alarm due to what they say is the militarys equally notorious image. Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, Feb. 7 By Huseyn Hasanov Trend: Ashgabat hosted a meeting with Bangladeshs Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Ambassador to Turkmenistan (with a residence in Tehran) Majibur Rahman Bhuiyan, the Turkmen Foreign Ministry said in a message Feb. 7. The sides noted their interest in development of cooperation in the areas of electricity, transportation and petrochemical sphere. It was also noted that the two countries have opportunities to intensify relations in the spheres of agriculture and textile industry. In 2017, Turkmenistan and Bangladesh mark the 25th anniversary of establishment of the two countries diplomatic relations. Bangladesh, as it was reported earlier, is studying opportunities to join the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) gas pipeline project, which is being developed by the Asian Development Bank (ADB). Turkmenistans biggest field Galkynysh will be the raw materials base for the TAPI project, the implementation of which started in December 2015. Turkmen gas will help to meet the growing energy consumption in India and Pakistan, where the demand may increase by twofold until 2030. The remaining part will help to eliminate the permanent deficit of energy resources in the transit country, Afghanistan. A California doctor removed a 130-pound tumour from a Mississippi man who had been told by other physicians that he was just fat. Roger Logan, 57, had the non-cancerous growth removed on January 31 at Bakersfield Memorial Hospital, where he will remain for another week or so before returning to Gulfport, Mississippi. The tumour probably started as an ingrown hair that became infected, swelled and developed its own blood supply, Logans surgeon Dr Vipul Dev. It sprouted from his lower abdomen more than a decade ago. Doctors told him: You are just fat, its just fat, Logan informed. The tumour grew so massive that it hung to the floor when he sat. I used to equate it, you just put a strap around your neck and carry three bags of cement around with you all day long, just swinging, Logan said. Virtually unable to move, he spent most of his time in a recliner in one room of his home. By the time the tumour reached 130 to 140 pounds, doctors told Logan it was too risky for him to have surgery, giving him only a 50% chance of surviving it. Kitty Logan stands by her husband Roger Logan as he rests on a bed at Bakersfield Memorial Hospital two days after he had his 130-pound tumour removed. (AP photo) But his wife Kitty scoured the country for specialists to perform the operation and found Dev, who had performed similar surgeries. She just kept pushing, Logan said. She wouldnt let me quit. Logan finally made the 2,000-mile, 40-hour trip to Central California with his chair bolted to the floor of a cargo van, just like I was in my living room at home, Logan said. Logan is now recovering and last Thursday he was able to walk for practically the first time in years. My feet are together, Logan said, wiggling his toes in his hospital bed. They have not been together in years. He is looking forward to returning home and resuming his life, out of an armchair. She tugged 13 envelopes from a cabinet above the stove, each one labelled with a different debt: The house payment, the student loans, the vacuum cleaner she bought on credit. Lydia Holt and her husband tuck money into these envelopes with each paycheck to whittle away at what they owe. They both earn about $10 an hour. She did the math; at this rate, they will be paying these same bills for 87 years. In 2012, Holt voted for Barack Obama because he promised her change, but she feels that change has not reached her here. So last year she chose a presidential candidate unlike any she had ever seen, the billionaire businessman who promised to help people like her win again. Many of her neighbours did too so many that for the first time in more than 30 years, Crawford County, Wisconsin, a sturdy brick in the once-mighty Big Blue Wall, abandoned the Democratic Party and that wall crumbled. Some 50 counties stretching 300 miles down the Mississippi River through Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa and Illinois transformed in one election season into Trump Country. Read: Pro-Trump camp colonised Twitter campaign They voted for Trump for an array of reasons, and the list of grievances they hope he now corrects is long and exacting: stagnant wages, the cost of health care, a hard-to-define feeling that things are not getting better, at least not for people like them. Here in Crawford County, residents often recite two facts about their hometown, the first one proudly: It is the second-oldest community in the state. The next is that it is also one of the poorest. There are no rusted-out factories to embody this discontent. The main street of Prairie du Chien butts up to the Mississippi River and bustles with tourists come summer. Pickup trucks crowd parking lots at the 3M plant and Cabelas distribution centre where hundreds work. Just a few vacant storefronts hint at the seething resentment that life still seems harder here than it should. In this place that astonished America when it helped hand Trump the White House, many of those who chose him greeted the frenetic opening acts of his presidency with a shrug. Immigration is not their top concern, and so they watched with some trepidation as Trump signed orders to build a wall on the Mexican border and bar immigrants from seven Muslim countries, sowing chaos around the world. They are still watching and they are waiting, their hopes pinned on his promised economic renaissance. Jim Bowman, director of the countys economic development corporation, says some of the economic anxiety here is based not on measurable decay, but rather a perception that life is decaying. There are plenty of jobs, but its hard to find one that pays more than $12 an hour. Ambitious young people move away. Rural schools are dwindling, and with them a sense of pride and purpose. If you ask anybody here, we will all tell you the same thing: We are tired of living like this, said Mark Berns, leaning through the service window in the small-engine repair shop that he can barely keep open anymore. Mark Berns sits in his engine repair shop in Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin. (AP photo) Berns watched Trumps first days in office half-hopeful, half-frightened. He bemoaned what he described as Trumps quantity-over-quality, sign, sign, sign approach to governing. I just hope we get the jobs back and the economy on its feet, so everybody can get a decent job and make a decent living, and have that chance at the American dream thats gone away over the past eight or 10 years. Im still optimistic, he said, sighing. I hope Im not wrong. Marlene Kramer is also optimistic Trump will make good on his promises. Her priority is health care. Kramer, who voted twice for Obama, used to watch Trump on Celebrity Apprentice. I said to myself, Ugh, I cant stand him. When he announced his candidacy, she thought it was a joke. Then my husband said to me, Just think, everything he touches seems to turn to money. And she changed her mind. She is 54, and she has worked since she was 14, all hard jobs -- feeding cows, standing all day on factory floors. Now she works at a sewing shop, where she is happy, and gets to sit. But there is no health insurance. Kramer said she is glad the Affordable Care Act has helped millions get insurance, but it has not helped her. Marlene Kramer stands for the national anthem while watching her stepdaughter cheerlead at a high school wrestling meet in Wisconsin. (AP photo) She and her husband were stunned to find premiums over $1,000 a month. They opted to pay the penalty of $2,000 until Trump, she hopes, keeps his promise to replace the law with something better. Across town, Robbo Coleman leaned over the bar he tends and described a similar political about-face. He held up an ink pen, wrapped in plastic stamped Made in China. I dont see why we cant make pens in Prairie du Chien or in Louisville, Kentucky, or in Alabama or wherever, said Coleman. Coleman does not love Trumps moves to build a wall or ban certain immigrants, but he is frustrated that other politicians stopped listening to working people like him. We have got to give him some time, he said. He is not Houdini. Robbo Coleman watches a live broadcast of former President Barack Obama waving goodbye during the inauguration of President Donald Trump, in Wisconsin. (AP photo) Farmer Bernard Tinker Moravits is also willing to wait and see. Change is what he looked to Obama for and now expects from Trump. The price of milk and agricultural goods has plummeted, and it is getting harder to keep things running. He wants the president to reduce red tape and renegotiate trade deals to benefit American farmers. He has several choice words for Trumps move to build his stupid wall. Moravits employs Hispanic workers who have been with him 15 years. He trusts them to do a dirty, difficult job that he says white people are not willing to do. But unlike many transfixed by Trumps presidency, Moravits does not stay up-to-the-minute on the news. Bernard Moravits walks on his farm in Bloomington, Wisconsin. (AP photo) The play-by-play dont mean bullshit, he said. Its like watching the Super Bowl. What counts is how it ends. Moravits is not sure Trump is going to Make America Great Again for farmers. But he feels he had to take the gamble. He laughed, then shrugged and pantomimed rolling the dice. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei dismissed Donald Trumps warning to Iran to stop its missile tests, saying the new US president had shown the real face of American corruption. In his first speech since Trumps inauguration, Irans supreme leader called on Iranians to respond to Trumps threats - which he said had failed to frighten Iranians - on Fridays anniversary of the 1979 revolution. We are thankful to (Trump) for making our life easy as he showed the real face of America, Khamenei told a meeting of military commanders in Tehran, according to his website. During his election campaign and after that, he confirmed what we have been saying for more than 30 years about the political, economic, moral and social corruption in the U.S. ruling system, he added. Trump responded to a Jan. 29 Iranian missile test by saying Iran is playing with fire and slapping fresh sanctions on individuals and entities, some of them linked to Irans elite Revolutionary Guards. The White House said the test was not a direct breach of a 2015 nuclear deal with six world powers but violates the spirit of that. A U.N. Security Council resolution underpinning the pact urges Iran to refrain from testing missiles designed to be able to carry nuclear warheads, but imposes no obligation. No enemy can paralyse the Iranian nation, Khamenei said. (Trump) says you should be afraid of me. No! The Iranian people will respond to his words on Feb. 10 and will show their stance against such threats. The Israeli parliaments adoption of a contentious law meant to retroactively legalise thousands of West Bank settlement homes built unlawfully on private Palestinian land is expected to trigger international outrage and a flurry of lawsuits against the measure. The explosive law, approved by lawmakers late on Monday, is the latest in a series of pro-settler steps taken by Israels hard-line government since the election of Donald Trump as US president. Trump is seen as more sympathetic to Israels settlement policies than his fiercely critical predecessor Barack Obama, and the Israeli government has approved plans to build thousands of new homes on occupied territory since Trump took office. We are voting tonight on our right to the land, cabinet minister Ofir Akunis said during a stormy debate ahead of the vote. We are voting tonight on the connection between the Jewish people and its land. This whole land is ours. All of it. Critics say the legislation enshrines into law the theft of Palestinian land, and it is expected to be challenged in Israels Supreme Court. People walk near houses in the Israeli settlements of Ofra, in the occupied West Bank. (Reuters photo) According to the law, Palestinian landowners will be compensated either with money or alternative land, even if they did not agree to give up their property. The vote passed 60-52 in Israels 120-member Knesset following a raucous debate in which opposition lawmakers shouted from their seats at governing coalition lawmakers speaking in favour of the vote. Some legislators supportive of the law took pictures of the plenum during the vote while some spectators in visitors seats raised a black cloth in apparent protest. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had voiced misgivings about the law in the lead-up to the vote, reportedly expressing concern that it could trigger international censure and saying he wanted to coordinate with the Trump administration before moving ahead on a vote. He told reporters on a trip to London that he had updated Washington and was ready to move ahead with the law. Netanyahu was on his way back from the trip and was not present for the vote. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at 10 Downing Street in central London. (AFP photo) The White Houses immediate response was to refer to its statement last week that said the construction of new settlements may not be helpful in achieving an Israeli-Palestinian peace. The state department later said the Trump administration will withhold comment on the legislation until the relevant court ruling. Read: New Israeli settlements may not help peace, says White House David Harris, CEO of AJC, the global Jewish advocacy organisation, said Israels High Court can and should reverse this misguided legislation by Knesset ahead of Netanyahus meeting with Trump in February. The parliaments action is misguided and likely to prove counter-productive to Israels core national interests. Netanyahus attorney general has called the bill unconstitutional and said he will not defend it in the Supreme Court. Critics have warned it could drag Israel into a legal battle at the International Criminal Court at The Hague, Netherlands, which is already pursuing a preliminary examination into settlements. Among the laws problematic elements is that the West Bank is not sovereign Israeli territory and that Palestinians who live there are not citizens and do not have the right to vote for the government that imposed the law on them. Palestinians condemn the law This is an escalation that would only lead to more instability and chaos. It is unacceptable. It is denounced and the international community should act immediately, said Nabil Abu Rdeneh, a spokesman for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. Netanyahu faced intense pressure from within his nationalist coalition, especially from the pro-settler Jewish Home party, to press ahead with the vote following the court-ordered evacuation last week of the illegal Amona outpost found to have been built on private Palestinian land. Over 40 settler families were forced to leave the 20-year-old outpost, and on Monday construction vehicles demolished and removed the trailer homes that remained behind. Zehava Galon, leader of the dovish Meretz party, wrote on Facebook ahead of the vote that Netanyahu declares that the legalisation bill is dangerous for Israel and instead of standing on his hind legs to stop this shameful law, he presses ahead with it. After years of condemnations from the Obama administration over settlement construction, Israels government has ramped up settlement initiatives since Trump took office, announcing plans for some 6,000 new homes in the West Bank and east Jerusalem and promising to build a new settlement for the Amona evacuees. Trump has signalled a far more accepting approach to settlements, raising hopes in Netanyahus government that it will be able to step up construction. The White House said little as Netanyahu announced plans during Trumps first two weeks in office to build over 6,000 new settler homes. But after Netanyahu announced his plan to establish a new settlement for the first time in two decades, Trump indicated that he, too, might have his limits. While we dont believe the existence of settlements is an impediment to peace, the construction of new settlements or the expansion of existing settlements beyond their current borders may not be helpful in achieving that goal, the White House said. Read: US allows UN to condemn Israeli settlements, Netanyahu furious The Palestinians want the West Bank, east Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip territories Israel captured in the 1967 Mideast war for their future state. Much of the international community views settlements as illegal and an obstacle to reaching peace with the Palestinians. Shortly before leaving office, Obama allowed the UN security council to pass a resolution declaring settlements illegal. Before the law passed, the UN Mideast envoy, Nickolay Mladenov, called on lawmakers to vote against the law, saying that it will have far-reaching legal consequences for Israel and greatly diminish the prospects for Arab-Israeli peace. The Indian government is monitoring increased coordination between Khalistani and pro-Pakistan Kashmiri groups, particularly in organising anti-India protests in countries such as Canada. While such protests have been staged in the recent past in London and New York, this new trend, according to one official, has become evident in the Greater Toronto Area. The latest joint protest was at the venue for the celebration of Indias Republic Day in Brampton, a suburb of Toronto. The groups participating in that protest were the Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar), Canada, United Front of Sikhs and Jammu Kashmir Diaspora Alliance. Last year, these groups had highlighted the killing of Kashmiri militant commander Burhan Wani. Shouting slogans against the Indian government in downtown Toronto, across the street from an event to mark Independence Day, the organisers pointed to what they called the murder of the liberation leader of Maqbooza (occupied) Kashmir Burhan Muzaffar Wani. Another protest was held in front of the Indian consulate in Toronto to raise concern over Indian forces committing genocide of Kashmiri people in Indian occupied Kashmir and the announcement for that had described Wani as a freedom fighter. The group, Friend of Kashmir, had joined that protest. A group with a similar name organised a Kashmir Black Day event at the Pakistani consulate in Toronto in November. Among those in attendance was Habib Yousafzai of the Jammu Kashmir Diaspora Alliance. Yousafzai confirmed that and told Hindustan Times: Whenever they call me, I go there. He said such coordination between Kashmiris and Khalistanis had been going on for quite a long time. However, that had been intermittent and appears to have escalated in recent years. Yousafzai said, They (Khalistanis) have their own grievances; they dont want to stay with India. We have our own grievances, we have a very known case. In a blog post this January, Yousafzai wrote: Pakistan is incomplete without Kashmir. A strong Pakistan is a guarantee for liberation of Maqbooza Jammu Kashmir from Indian occupation. However, in the interview to Hindustan Times, he said he was not a very rigid person and accepted the ground reality. In that context, he said a solution could lie in the Hindu-majority area in Jammu and Kashmir becoming Indian territory and Muslim-majority areas being ceded to Pakistan. He ruled out an independent Kashmir, asserting that the UN resolution on this matter only offered two options, either joining India or Pakistan. However, in an earlier blog post, he had mentioned that he spoke at the Pakistan consulate and said that, Pakistan is determined to liberate the remaining 42,000 square miles which is known as Maqbooza Kashmir under Indian occupation along with the 12 million Kashmiris which are the rightful citizens of Pakistan. The number of protestors at such events had dropped in recent years, according to an official. However, the lower turnout appears to have made way for the protests to be bolstered through these joint actions. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON The UN on Tuesday questioned the credibility of a government-led investigation into allegations of abuses against the Muslim minority Rohingya community in Myanmar. The existing Commission is not a credible option to undertake the new investigation, UN special adviser on the prevention of genocide Adama Dieng said. His comments follow an announcement by the Myanmar government to launch a fresh investigation into the allegations after the High Commissioner of Human Rights in a report last week refuted the clean chit given to the army by a government committee, headed by vice-president Myint Swe. The report had blamed the army, deployed in the state of Rakhine after an alleged armed assault by Rohingya rebels in October, of carrying out ethnic cleansing in the region. I urge that any investigation be conducted by a truly independent and impartial body that includes international observers, said Dieng, adding that the differences between the reports published by the government body and the UN were disturbing. The army offensive has, meanwhile, blocked access to humanitarian aid -- on which thousands of people in the region depend -- and has also barred observers and independent media from accessing the northern part of the state. The Human Rights Watch also reported fresh violence against the Rohingyas such as rape of women, including minors, by soldiers. These horrific attacks on Rohingya women and girls by security forces add a new and brutal chapter to the Burmese militarys long and sickening history of sexual violence against women, said HRWs senior emergencies researcher Priyanka Motaparthy. Rohingya refugee women in Bangladesh wait in a queue to collect relief distributed by the Bangladesh Red Crescent Society at the Kutupalang refugee camp in Coxs Bazar on Monday. (REUTERS) Motaparthy also denounced the Myanmar government for its lopsided investigation, and demanded an international and independent probe. The government should stop contesting these rape allegations and instead provide survivors with access to necessary support, health care, and other services, Motaparthy added. More than a million Rohingyas live in Rakhine, where they face increasing discrimination from the countrys authorities, who do not recognise them as Burmese citizens. A new Israeli law legalizing dozens of Jewish settler outposts in the Palestinian West Bank is in violation of international law, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said Tuesday. Guterres said he deeply regrets the adoption of the bill which many governments worldwide see as the latest bid to erode the two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. This bill is in contravention of international law and will have far reaching legal consequences for Israel, Guterres said in a statement. The UN chief again stressed the need to avoid any actions that would derail the two-state solution and said such issues must be resolved through negotiations. Settlements in both the West Bank and east Jerusalem are viewed as illegal under international law and major stumbling blocks to peace as they are built on land the Palestinians want for their own state. The new law passed by the Israeli parliament late Monday allows the appropriation of private Palestinian land for Jewish settler outposts, a move the Palestinians said was a means to legalise theft. Guterres joined an international outcry over the parliaments decision, but the new US administration of President Donald Trump has refused to comment. The law is expected to be challenged in court, with some Israeli officials expecting it to be struck down by the Supreme Court. It would protect settlers against eviction from outposts discovered to have been built on private Palestinian lands. Palestinian owners will be compensated financially or with other land. It would apply to around 53 outposts as well as some houses within existing settlements, potentially legalizing more than 3,800 homes, according to anti-settlement NGO Peace Now. The UN Security Council will discuss the dispute over Israeli settlements during a meeting on February 15. Pakistan on Tuesday decided to build at least 50 bunkers for civilians along the shared boundary with India in the Punjab province to provide protection during cross-border firing incidents. During a cabinet meeting, three federal ministers, including defence minister Khawaja Asif who belong to Sialkot and Narowal districts of Punjab, urged the Nawaz Sharif government to take measures to avoid civilians casualties along the border. The cabinet decided to build 50 bunkers along the Working Boundary to provide refuge to villagers living in the area during cross-border firing from India, information minister Maryam Aurangzeb said. The government also announced to enhance compensation for those killed and injured in cross-border firing incidents. The information minister said that the families of those killed will be given Rs 500,000 as compensation and those injured will get Rs 150,000. The villagers from Sialkot and Narowal were badly hit due to firing last year and dozens of them were killed and injured due to border clashes between Pakistan and India at the height of tension. Pakistans Punjab province Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday imposed a complete ban on Basant, a seasonal festival celebrated by Punjabis of all faiths to mark the commencement of the spring season. In a message posted on his official Twitter account, he said that none would be allowed to play with the lives of people and concerned District Police Officer would be held responsible in case a violation is reported. Complete BAN on Basant...No one can be allowed to play with the lives of ppl...concerned DPO will be responsible for any violation of ban, Sharif tweeted. Earlier, Punjab Law Minister Rana Sanaullah had said that the provincial government could not permit a throat-cutting kite flying festival. There is a long established tradition of flying kites and holding fairs on the occasion. The festival was banned in Punjab in 2007 owing to deaths caused by sharply polished threads used to fly kites. However, many analysts say the festival was banned due to pressure from hardline religious and extremist groups like the Hafiz Saeed-led Jamaat-ud Dawah, which claimed the festival had Hindu origins and was un-Islamic. A Pakistani court dismissed on Tuesday a petition challenging the detention of Jamaat-ud-Dawah chief and Mumbai attack mastermind Hafiz Mohammad Saeed. Lahore high court Justice Erum Sajjad Gull dismissed the petition filed by a lawyer on technical ground after hearing the arguments. The court observed the petitioner had not furnished the impugned notification of Saeeds detention. Interestingly, during the hearing, Saeeds counsel advocate AK Dogar appeared before the judge and requested not to give any adverse judgement in this case. He said Saeed was filing a separate petition this week to challenge his illegal detention. The habeas corpus petition filed by advocate Sarfraz Hussain contended that the JuD chief has been put under illegal detention by manoeuvring the anti-terrorism law. The government has detained Saeed citing a resolution of the United Nations Security Council. But the UNSCs resolution for plebiscite in the Indian-held Kashmir has not yet been implemented. The government has detained him at the behest of the foreign masters, he said. Hussain said there has been no nexus with the anti-terrorism laws which are manoeuvred by the respondent (federal and provincial governments) to curtail the liberty of a Pakistani citizen (Saeed) on the behest of the foreign mission and UNSC resolution. He said Saeed has made the Kashmir issue alive. The petitioner prayed to the court to accept the petition instantly and set Saeed at liberty in the larger interest of justice, equity and fair play to meet the ends of justice. The government on January 30 placed Saeed and four other members of JuD and Falah-e-Insanyat under house arrest for a period of three months invoking the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997. The names of Saeed and 37 other JuD and FIF leaders have also been placed on the Exit Control List (ECL) barring them from leaving the country. Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, Feb. 7 By Huseyn Hasanov Trend: Turkmenistan initiated the creation of a permanent Caspian Economic Forum, which is intended to become an effective site for negotiations for representatives of government and business circles of the Caspian regions countries, said the article of the Turkmenistan State News Agency. It is expected that the creation of the forum will help establish fruitful relations with global business and authoritative international organizations. This issue was discussed during the meeting of authorized representatives of the Caspian littoral states recently held in Ashgabat. The initiative to establish a permanent Caspian Economic Forum was first announced by Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov in September 2014 in Astrakhan (Russia). In general, this will also serve to increasing the investment attractiveness of the Caspian region and its full integration into the global economic system, according to the news agency. Hundreds of people marched in a Paris suburb on Monday to show support for a young black man whom authorities allege was sodomised by a police officers baton last week during a police operation that targeted drug traffickers. One officer was charged on Sunday with aggravated rape and three others were charged with aggravated assault. Interior minister Bruno Le Roux suspended the four officers and also said the facts surrounding their arrest of the 22-year-old man during an identity check must be established very clearly and with no ambiguity. The incident allegedly occurred in a neighborhood with a large minority population in the city of Aulnay-sous-Bois, east of Paris, and a crowd turned out there to march in support of the alleged victim. There were minor clashes and arson attacks on the vast housing estate, called 3,000, on Saturday and Sunday evening where the arrest took place. At least five people were detained, police sources said. The feeling of humiliation is felt by people, said Abdallah Benjana, a former deputy mayor who lives in the neighborhood. What are they seeking?, he said of the officers. To provoke a spark? Isnt there enough gunpowder in those neighborhoods? Unemployment, insecurity, high rents ... no perspectives for future. They do that to a young man, it can only explode. Abdel Adhoure, a 20-year-old resident of the area, said every day its like that: whenever the police come they carry out abusive checks. Protestors gather in front of Le Cap concert venue in Aulnay-sous-Bois, northern Paris during a protest after a French police officer was charged with rape of a youth. (AFP photo) The young man allegedly assaulted by the officers told his story to the BFM television channel on Monday. Speaking in an audio interview, he said the officers hit him and peppered him with racist insults. At one point, one of the officers took his truncheon and he drove it into my buttocks, he said. A lawyer for the officer charged with rape said any injury inflicted was done accidentally. The Associated Press does not typically identify victims of sexual assault. Authorities have not identified the young man, but supporters have been marching in Justice Pour Theo shirts. Eric Dupond-Moretti, a lawyer representing the young man, told Europe 1 radio that his client underwent emergency surgery for a deep anal tear and had been hospitalised since. The attorney said the case is exceptionally serious and he called on judicial authorities to treat the officer as any other suspected rapist would be. French law defines a rape as any act of sexual penetration of any kind, committed by violence, coercion, threat or surprise. When an alleged offender has an authority of law over the victim, a conviction can bring up to 20 years in prison. In the interview with BFM, the alleged victim said that have he was sodomised, he fell face down. I had no strength left. It was as if my body had left myself, he said. He said he was then handcuffed and taken to a police car, where he was insulted again, spat at and beaten in the private parts. Once at the police station, he said, another officer saw his condition and he was taken to a hospital. Frederic Gabet, a lawyer for the officer charged with rape, told Europe 1 radio that his client had never wished at any time to cause any injury to the victim and that the blow had been carried out in a totally involuntary manner, without his being aware of any injury. Police officers stand guard in front of a local police station in Aulnay-sous-Bois, northern Paris during the protest march. Clashes between protesters and police forces left several cars burnt and five people in custody. (AFP photo) In an interview with AP, Yves Lefebvre, a police union chief, suggested the rape charge was filed to calm or to stop a violent outburst in the sensitive suburban neighborhood. Aulnay-sous-Bois was one of the worst-hit suburbs during 2005 riots around the French capital. Lefebvre said there was no evidence so far that the truncheon was actually introduced into the victims rectum. And if that actually happened, it was likely done accidentally, the union leader said. Defender of Human Rights, an independent French watchdog group, said it will investigate this dramatic case that illustrates the conflicts that sometimes arise from identity checks. A mentally ill Saudi national tried to set himself on fire beside the Kaaba inside Meccas Grand Mosque, the Islams holiest site, but his attempt was foiled by alert pilgrims and security forces, police said on Tuesday. The man wearing Umrah garb, identified as a Saudi national in his 40s, was dousing himself in gasoline when he was caught, police spokesman Major Sameh al-Salmi said. He was held before he went on with his dramatic self-immolation act and his behaviour indicates that he is mentally ill. All the necessary measures will be taken, Saudi news site Sabq quoted the spokesman as saying. A 23-second video, posted on social media, shows dozens of pilgrims who were surrounding the assailant while he was pouring gasoline on himself beside the Kaaba last evening. Police and pilgrims overpowered the man and escorted him away before he could light the petrol. Citing security forces at the Grand Mosque, the Gulf News said the man was trying to kill himself and not attempting to set the sacred cubic structure ablaze as reported. Earlier media reports claimed that the man was spilling gasoline on the kiswah, the black and gold silk curtain that covers the Kaaba - the cubical structure at the center of the sacred mosque. One eyewitness told Sabq that the man had been uttering takfiri slogans, referring to extremist Islamist groups like Islamic State and al-Qaeda. Kaaba is central for all Muslims who are required to look its direction when they perform their prayers five times a day, and during the Haj or Umrah (minor haj), pilgrims walk counterclockwise around it seven times. Muslims believe the Kaaba was originally built by Prophet Abraham and his son Ismael who also placed the sacred black stone in one of its corners. In November 1979, the Grand Mosque was seized by over 400 fundamentalists who seized pilgrims as hostages. Special forces fought fierce gun battles with the militants to retake the mosque compound. A Nepalese citizen, suspected of having links with the ISI and mob boss Dawood Ibrahim and a key accused in the Kanpur train derailment case, was arrested in Kathmandu after being deported from Dubai, officials said on Tuesday. Samshul Hoda, 43, from Bara district of Nepal, was detained along with four others who were described as agents of the Inter-Services Intelligence agency. They were operating a ring from Pakistan, Malaysia and the UAE, Nepalese officials said. The other arrested men were identified as Brij Kishore Giri, Ashish Singh, Mujahir Ansari and Umesh Kasmar Kurmi. In New Delhi, sources in the National Investigation Agency (NIA) said Hoda was in Dubai when Giri exposed his alleged role in the derailment of the Indore-Patna Express near Kanpur Dehat on November 21, which killed more than 140 people. We will seek access to him through legal channels, a source in the NIA said. Narenda Prasad Upreti, superintendent of police of Nepals Bara district, told the media: We have established proof that Hoda and his friends were involved in various terrorism-related activities in India. He was active in various criminal activities in India and Nepal by using his (links) in Pakistan and Malaysia from Dubai. Hoda was brought from Dubai to Nepal on Sunday and taken to Bara for further investigation. According to Nepalese police, Hoda went to Dubai with the help of a Pakistani national identified only as Safi. He then established contact with Dawood Ibhraim, one of Indias most wanted terrorists. Hoda allegedly worked with Ibrahim to smuggle counterfeit Indian currency through the porous Nepal- India border. Hoda told police he had sent fake notes with a face value of Rs 5 million to India via Nepal in March 2016. He also travelled to Malaysia on one occasion to smuggle fake notes, officials said. Hoda allegedly became involved in terrorism and criminal activities after losing an election in 2013, which results in losses of Rs 20 million. After failing to repay his debts, he allegedly began circulating counterfeit Indian currency. He then contacted the ISI and began hiring people for criminal and terrorist activities in India, officials said. According a statement from Nepalese police, Hoda admitted he had paid Rs 8 lakh to a man, Umashankar Patel of Raxual, through Brij Kishore Giri to plant a bomb in Darbhanga. Hoda and Giri reached an agreement that if the bombing succeeded, Rs 30 million would be paid to Giri and his accomplices. Patel, in turn, paid two Indian nationals, Arun and Dipak from East Champaran, to plant the bomb on a railway track last October. But the bomb did not go off. Giri asked Arun and Dipak to return the money because the plan had failed but they refused. Giri then took them to a jungle in Bara district and allegedly killed them on December 25 last year. After their bodies were found, Nepalese police launched a massive operation and arrested Mujahir Ansari, who disclosed the connection between Hoda and Giri. Ansaris revelations led to the arrest of Giri in Parsa district. Nepalese police then sent a team to Dubai to nab Hoda. Bihar Police are probing whether the train derailment was an act of sabotage with possible ties to the ISI. They arrested three men on charges of involvement in the incident in January and suspect Hoda was their handler. Officials said the three men were hired through a chain of handlers in Nepal and Dubai, and the Dubai-based handler was connected to Pakistani elements. During questioning, one of the men accused the two others of receiving money from Hoda to plant bombs in public areas and to target the train line between Varanasi and Kanpur. Also read | Before Indore-Patna Express tragedy: In 5 yrs, railways saw 2 dozen near-misses US President Donald Trump made an unsupported assertion on Monday that terrorist acts in Europe are going unreported. A look at the matter: Trump: All over Europe its happening. Its gotten to a point where its not even being reported. And in many cases the very, very dishonest press doesnt want to report it. They have their reasons, and you understand that. Read: After Trump, White House releases list of 78 terror attacks under-reported THE FACTS Trump and his team have cited only one example of a deadly terrorist attack anywhere going unreported, the one that didnt happen in Bowling Green, Kentucky. Adviser Kellyanne Conway spoke about a Bowling Green massacre that didnt take place, correcting herself when she was called out on the error. As for Trumps claim about Europe, it is probably true that you have not heard of every attack on the continent that can be tied to terrorism. Scores, if not hundreds, happen every year. Many do not rise to the level of an international audience because they cause no casualties, or little or no property damage, or are carried out by unknown assailants for unclear reasons. One exhaustive list is the Global Terrorism Database, maintained by the University of Maryland. It lists 321 episodes of suspected or known terrorism in Western Europe alone in 2015. Many are anti-Muslim attacks against mosques, not the brand of terrorism Trump has expressed concern about. Many are attacks undertaken for right-wing or left-wing causes that have nothing to do with Islamic extremism or xenophobic attacks on mosques. Among examples from 2015 that were largely under the radar of Americans: On October 24, assailants set fire to the residence of a Socialist Justice Party member in Gothenburg, Sweden, one of series of attacks against the party that day. On September 13, assailants set fire to the Whitton Methodist Church hall in Richmond, England, with no reported casualties and no one immediately claiming responsibility. On January 17, gunmen opened fire on patrons at a bar in Londonderry, Northern Ireland, causing no casualties. Dissident Republicans were thought to have been behind the attack. The database defines a terrorist act as one aimed at attaining political, religious, social or economic goals through coercion or intimidation of the public, outside acts of war. The devastating attacks by Islamic extremists that year are also on the list, among them the murderous assault on the Paris offices of the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, and the even bloodier attack at Paris Bataclan concert hall, the worst in a series of killings in one day. Those attacks and other deadly ones in Europe received saturation coverage for days. Gunmen gesture as they return to their car after an attack outside the offices of French satirical weekly newspaper Charlie Hebdo (seen at rear) in Paris on January 7, 2015. (Reuters photo) But even the smaller, non-lethal acts of terrorism received coverage: The database itself is built from media reports. THE WALKBACK Trump made his claim before a broad audience on live television, while speaking at Central Command headquarters in Florida. On Air Force One, before a smaller audience, Trump spokesman Sean Spicer said Trump did not really mean that terrorist attacks received no coverage. Trumps actual complaint, he said, was that such acts dont get enough attention. He felt that members of media dont always cover some of those events to the extent that other events might get covered, Spicer said. Like a protest gets blown out of the water, and yet an attack or a foiled attack doesnt necessarily get the same coverage. White House press secretary Sean Spicer speaks to reporters on board Air Force One over Maryland. (AP photo) The White House later released a list of 78 worldwide attacks it described as executed or inspired by IS. Most on the list did not get sufficient media attention, the White House said, without specifying which ones it considered underreported. Attacks on the list that had high death tolls were given blanket coverage, such as the Brussels bombings in March, the San Bernadino, California, shootings in December, 2015, and the Paris attacks in November, 2015. Some with a smaller death toll, such as two attacks in Canada that killed one soldier each, also were covered at the time and well known. The White House did not point to any examples supporting Trumps contention that terrorist attacks were not even being reported. Less than half of the 78 incidents the White House listed occurred in Europe. The House of Commons speaker John Bercow delivered an unprecedented rebuke to US President Donald Trump on Monday, defying the long history of his office by taking a political stand. Responding to a point of order on an early day motion signed by 170 MPs seeking to prevent Trump from addressing parliament during his upcoming state visit, Bercow said: An address by a foreign leader to both Houses of Parliament is not an automatic right; it is an earned honour. While his statement was at once applauded by many it was also derided as being out of line and has also annoyed Number 10 Downing Street. The speaker said he was opposed to an address by Trump in Westminster Hall even before he imposed the migrant ban, but after its imposition, I am even more strongly opposed. I would not wish to issue an invitation to President Trump to speak in the Royal Gallery. I conclude by saying...that we value our relationship with the United States. If a state visit takes place, that is way beyond and above the pay grade of the Speaker, he said. And added: I feel very strongly that our opposition to racism and to sexism, and our support for equality before the law and an independent judiciary are hugely important considerations in the House of Commons. His statement was followed by a round of applauseas a convention, applause or clapping of hands is not allowed in the houseby MPs from Labour and the Scottish National Party. The ruling Conservative benches were silent. On Tuesday, he defended his statement, saying he acted honestly and honourably. No date has yet been finalised for Trumps visit. Several visiting heads of state have addressed the British parliament. Amid growing support for the demand to cancel the visit, Prime Minister Theresa May has stood by her decision to invite him during her recent visit to the United States. As many inside and outside parliament hailed Bercows intervention, he was also criticised for ignoring the words of the 17th century House of Commons speaker, William Lenthall which have guided the conduct of speakers over the centuries. In 1642, when King Charles I tried to arrest five MPs for treason, speaker Lenthall stood up for the independence of the House of Commons and told him: May it please Your Majesty, I have neither eyes to see, nor tongue to speak in this place, but as the House is pleased to direct me, whose servant I am here. Bercow is known to speak his mind inside and outside the House of Commons. During Prime Minister Narendra Modis visit in November 2015, he showered fulsome praise on him and Indias democratic credentials, but qualified it with a condition. Sceptics sometimes suggest that democracy is all but impossible to create or to maintain in countries of a certain size, degree of diversity or level of economic development. Over the past 68 years, India has proved to be a standing rebuke to such sceptics, he had said. To rout the disbelievers completely, however, democracy has to demonstrate that it can respect free speech and incorporate a true diversity of creeds, faiths and orientations without diminishing or disrespecting any of them. Days before Modis visit, Bercow, aware of concerns over human rights in China, took many by surprise when he told the visiting Chinese president Xi Jinping, while welcoming the latter to address parliament, Of course, the Indian Prime Minister is the representative of a great democracy. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON The US government on Monday defended President Donald Trumps travel ban as a lawful exercise of his authority, and claimed that a federal court made a mistake in barring enforcement of the measure. The executive order is a lawful exercise of the presidents authority over the entry of aliens into the United States and the admission of refugees, read a brief filed by justice department lawyers to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. Read: White House confident of winning legal battle, says law on Trumps side The district court therefore erred in entering an injunction barring enforcement of the order. But even if some relief were appropriate, the courts sweeping nationwide injunction is vastly overbroad, it said. The government again asked that the ban be reinstated. A hearing has been set in the case for Tuesday at 3:00 pm Pacific time (2300 GMT). A randomly selected panel of appellate judges will hear arguments on Tuesday. The appeals court earlier refused to immediately reinstate the ban, and lawyers for Washington and Minnesota two states challenging it argued anew on Monday that any resumption would unleash chaos again, separating families and stranding university students. The justice department said the travel ban, which temporarily suspends the countrys refugee program and immigration from seven countries with terrorism concerns, was intended to permit an orderly review and revision of screening procedures to ensure that adequate standards are in place to protect against terrorist attacks. The challengers of the ban, the department wrote, were asking courts to take the extraordinary step of second-guessing a formal national security judgment made by the president himself pursuant to broad grants of statutory authority. Whatever the appeals court decides, either side could ask the Supreme Court to intervene. It could prove difficult, though, to find the necessary five votes at the high court to undo a lower court order; the Supreme Court has been at less than full strength since justice Antonin Scalias death a year ago. The last immigration case that reached the justices ended in a 4-4 tie. In a major concession, the Theresa May government on Tuesday said parliament will get to vote on the final Brexit deal reached with Brussels before it is sent to the European Union, throwing up several possibilities at the end of the two-year exit process. The concession was announced as MPs prepared to vote on a bill seeking to authorise Mays government to trigger Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty that sets out the two-year exit process. The vote was expected to get a smooth passage after the concession. David Jones, minister in the Department for Exiting the EU, told the House: First of all we intend that the vote will cover not only the withdrawal arrangements but also the future relationship with the European Union. Furthermore, I can confirm that the government will bring forward a motion on the final agreement to be approved by both Houses of Parliament before it is concluded, and we expect and intend that this happen before the European parliament debates and votes on the final agreement. It is known that most members of the House of Commons and House of Lords are against Britain leaving the EU. It was not immediately clear what will happen if parliament voted against the final deal reached by the government at the end of the two-year process in 2019. Jones hoped that the terms of the final deal will be good enough for parliament to agree to it, but the concession opened up a range of possibilities, including parliament eventually deciding not to leave the EU. Voting on the bill authorising the government to trigger Article 50 was scheduled to be put to vote on Tuesday evening. Prime Minister May has announced the process will be initiated by the end of March. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON The White House is confident that it will prevail in a legal back-and-forth over President Donald Trumps executive order to prevent travellers from seven countries entering the United States, spokesman Sean Spicer said on Monday. Clearly the law is on the presidents side, Spicer told reporters on Air Force One. He has broad discretion to do whats in the nations best interest to protect our people, and we feel very confident that we will prevail in this matter. Read: Trump defends immigration curbs, says allow those into US who want to love our country National security veterans, major US technology companies and law enforcement officials from more than a dozen states backed a legal effort against Trumps temporary travel ban. A federal judge in Seattle suspended the order on Friday, opening a window for people from the seven countries to enter. Ten former US national security and foreign policy officials, who served under both Republican and Democratic presidents, filed a declaration in the court case arguing that the travel ban serves no national security purposes. Read: Trump faces doubts over who controls White House as travel ban mess continues Over the weekend, the appeals court in San Francisco denied the administrations request for an immediate suspension of the federal judges temporary restraining order that blocked the implementation of key parts of the travel ban while it considered the governments request in full. But the court did say it would consider the governments request after receiving more information. A Canadian woman was found guilty of intentionally hiding in a storage locker the remains of six babies to whom she gave birth. The 42-year-old Winnipeg woman refused to submit to a DNA test, but investigating police performed one with a warrant, using a sanitary napkin from her home. She was shown to have given birth to all the infants. All of these children were likely born alive. There is no evidence of complications in these pregnancies, judge Murray Thompson said in finding Andrea Giesbrecht guilty of six counts of concealing the body of a dead child. Each count carries up to two years in prison. Giesbrecht was not charged with murder because the bones of the children were in bad condition, authorities were unable to determine their causes of death. One of the remains was found in cement, and another covered in a white powder. The discovery of the remains came after Giesbrecht failed to pay rent on her storage area. Staff readying to auction off the contents made the tragic discovery. She pleaded not guilty at trial in April. Tashkent, Uzbekistan, Feb. 7 By Demir Azizov Trend: The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) aims at long-term cooperation with Uzbekistan, Natalia Khanjenkova, managing director for Central Asia and Russia at the EBRD, said in an interview with the Uzbek Foreign Ministrys Jahon news agency. It was previously reported that an EBRD delegation headed by Khanjenkova arrived in Tashkent Feb. 7 to discuss cooperation prospects. "On the basis of consultations with the government (of Uzbekistan), we will identify specific areas of the Uzbek economy where the EBRD, within its capabilities, could invest," she said after talks with the countrys Foreign Minister Abdulaziz Kamilov. At this stage, priority areas for cooperation are support for small and medium-sized businesses and improvement of business environment in the country, according to her. Khanjenkova noted that the parties intend not to confine themselves to traditional sectors of the economy and look for new, innovative areas. "Modern conditions allow us taking a new view of the state and prospects of cooperation. We seek long-term cooperation with Uzbekistan in areas of mutual interest," she said. She noted that the visit of the EBRD President Suma Chakrabarti will help expand the EBRD-Uzbekistan partnership. Uzbekistan joined the EBRD in 1992. According to the EBRD, the bank invested almost 900 million euros in the country and implemented about 55 projects in energy, entrepreneurship, transportation, construction, development of mineral resources, etc. [dropcap]O[/dropcap]ne of the most surprising past contributors to World War II magazine is a man of current notoriety: Russian President Vladimir Putin. For nearly eight yearssince April/May 2009the magazine has been running a short feature called Reading List, which gives readers a glimpse of the bookshelves of eminent individuals with a passion for World War II. Its a revealing mix, ranging from former secretary of state Madeline Albright, whose family fled Nazi-occupied Czechoslovakia in 1938, to rock musician Lemmy, late bassist of Motorhead and an avid collector of Nazi memorabilia. Vladimir Putin contributed a list to the March/April 2011 issue. Looking to solicit contributions from world leaders, the magazines staff contacted the Russian Embassy to ask Putin, then Russias prime minister, to contribute. He obliged with a list in Russian and a set of requirements. He demanded that the list run uncut and unedited and insisted upon approval of our English translation. His listwhich includes praise for a World War II article about truckers who crossed frozen Lake Ladoga to deliver food to the besieged citizens of Leningrad, Putins birthplace (now Saint Petersburg)appears below. The magazines final Reading List is in its January/February 2017 issue. Look for a replacement coming soon. To subscribe to World War II, click here: Dear Friends, I am glad to describe some of the books about World War II that are especially meaningful to meall the more so since I learned about the great research and educational work that World War II is doing. I would like to thank the authors and the editorial board of the publication for the serious and thoughtful approach to one of the most difficult pages in the history of civilization. I was deeply touched by the article Russias Ice Road Truckers (November/December 2010), dedicated to Leningrad of the blockade period and the immortal feats of the inhabitants of that heroic city. In general, I would like to note the serious, objective, and professional approach that characterizes World War II. Practically every family in Russia had its own casualties in that war. Both the pride in the victory and the pain of the losses are passed from generation to generation. And I think you will understand why we perceive any falsifications, any distortions of the history of World War II, any betrayal of the memory of the victory over Nazism as a personal insult, a sacrilege. For us it is very important that the majority of people all over the world share this principled position that the voice of scholars and journalists, considering their professional and moral duty, sound loudly to tell the truth about World War II, its sources and lessons, and about the priceless experience of alliance. About the true heroes, in the face of which time does not really matter. And about the criminals who are not subject to rehabilitation. Russian experts and historians are now very productively collaborating with colleagues from Germany, Poland, and other European countries. The veil of secrecy is being lifted from archival collections, and documents are finally being published. Roundtables and joint seminars are being held on World War II and on the seminal, dramatic, and sometimes debatable and not completely unambiguous events of the 1930s and 1940s. We support such a scholarly, non-politicized dialogue, and assume that American specialists will join in such efforts. The memory of World War II, its terrible images, and its tragic times will always be imprinted in the reminiscences of its eyewitnessesin their letters, stories, and memoirs. Turning to them gives us much to ponder. And, of course, the creative work of writers who served on the front linesfor example, nobody wrote about the history of World War I or about broken destinies more sincerely or truthfully than Hemingway or Remarque. Russia is by rights proud of its entire constellation of outstanding writers and poets who were at the front and saw death face to face. I would recommend that you read their honest books, as they are devoid of falsification and pathos. Learn about the heroes in the stories and novels of our war correspondents Konstantin Simonov (The Living and the Dead, 1959) or Mikhail Sholokhov (The Fate of a Man, 1957; They Fought for Their Country, 1959). Learn about the self-affirmation and great patience of the ordinary Soviet soldier, who became the theme of the works of officers Boris Vasilev (And the Dawns Here Are Quiet, 1969; He Was Not on the List, 1974) and Konstantin Vorobev (Killed Near Moscow, 1963; It is We, God! 1943). The book Moment of Truth (1973) by Vladimir Bogomolov, who went as a volunteer to the front, will tell you about the difficult days of military intelligence, filled with danger. Let me add that these and many other works of our writers who served at the front have been translated into foreign languages. They have been adapted for the screen and some have become classics. To conclude, I would like to wish the editors and readers of World War II all the best. Let us together protect and vindicate the truth. Civil War Hero Receives Medal of Honor After 151 years, Union artillery Lieutenant Alonzo H. Cushing has been recognized for his heroism above and beyond the call of duty at the 1863 Civil War Battle of Gettysburg. President Barack Obama presented Cushings posthumous Medal of Honor on November 6, 2014, during a White House ceremony. Sometimes, Obama explained, even the most extraordinary stories can get lost in the passage of time. No matter how long it takes, it is never too late to do the right thing. This medal is about more than just one soldier. It reflects our obligations as a country to the men and women in our armed services; obligations that continue long after they return home, after they remove their uniforms, and even perhaps especially after theyve laid down their lives. On the afternoon of July 3, 1863, the third and decisive day of the Battle of Gettysburg, 22-year-old Cushing commanded Battery A, 4th U.S. Artillery, positioned at a key location on Cemetery Ridge. This section of the Union line became the focus of a massive attack by 10,000 Confederate infantrymen, an action famously known as Picketts Charge. However, by the time the infantry assault was mounted, a heavy pre-attack artillery bombardment had already destroyed four of the batterys six 3-inch ordnance rifle cannon and severely wounded Cushing in the shoulder, abdomen and groin. Despite suffering grievous wounds, Cushing stayed with his guns and continued firing deadly canister rounds into the advancing Confederate infantrymen until he was killed by a rifle shot to the head. Shortly before his heroic death, Cushing had steadfastly refused to be taken to safety in the rear, telling his battery first sergeant that he would rather fight it out, or die in the attempt. Thanks to the heroism of Cushing and other Union artillerymen and infantrymen who, in President Abraham Lincolns words, gave their last full measure of devotion, Picketts Charge was defeated and General George Meades Army of the Potomac won the Civil Wars greatest battle. Cushings story, President Obama said, is part of our larger American story one that continues today. The spirit, the courage, the determination that he demonstrated lives on in our brave men and women in uniform who this very day are serving and making sure that they are defending the freedoms that Alonzo helped to preserve. And its incumbent on all of us as Americans to uphold the values that they fight for, and to continue to honor their service long after they leave the battlefield for decades, even centuries to come. Some information for this item was taken from an article by David Vergun, Army News Service. For more about Cushing and Picketts Charge, see Leader in the July 2013 issue of ACG. Sailor Corpsman Receives Navy Cross On November 25, 2014, at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, California, U.S. Navy Chief Petty Officer Justin A. Wilson was awarded the Navy Cross, Americas second-highest valor medal, for his heroic actions three years earlier while supporting Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan. On September 28, 2011, Wilson, a special amphibious reconnaissance corpsman with 1st Marine Special Operations Battalion, U.S. Marine Corps Forces, Special Operations Command (MARSOC), was on a patrol with Marine Special Operations Team 8113. He volunteered to go with Staff Sergeant Nicholas Sprovtsoff (an explosive ordnance disposal technician) and Staff Sergeant Christopher Diaz (a handler for military dogs trained to find explosives) to clear an improvised explosive device near an Afghan local police checkpoint in Helmand province. As Sprovtsoff began inspecting the device, it detonated in a sizable explosion. Wilsons award citation states: Despite being disoriented by the dust and over pressure from the blast, and knowing the enemys tactic of emplacing multiple IEDs in proximity, Petty Officer Wilson immediately left the safety of his position and searched the checkpoint until he located the severely wounded EOD tech. Diaz and another unidentified team member ran to render aid and help remove Sprovtsoff from the kill zone, but a second explosive device soon detonated. Wilson, disregarding his serious wounds from this blast, moved Sprovtsoff and administered lifesaving procedures, but the EOD tech ultimately succumbed to his injuries. Still uncertain of the condition of Diaz and the other team member, or if any other IEDs remained, Wilson returned to the checkpoint to search for the men. Once he reached his fallen comrades, he realized there was nothing more he could do to save their lives. Only then did he allow for the treatment of his own injuries. At the ceremony, Wilson said, I knew what lay ahead, referring to his anticipation that multiple IEDs were in the area. I think [Diaz and Sprovtsoff] knew what lay ahead, and I think everybody knew what was going to happen that day. Major General Joseph L. Osterman, MARSOC commander, praised Wilson, saying, This is a man who literally ran through multiple IEDs with complete disregard for his own safety. He didnt hesitate for one second to run to the sound of the guns. Wilson was the first MARSOC sailor to be awarded the Navy Cross; he joined six MARSOC Marines who had previously received the medal. During the same ceremony, Diaz and Sprovtsoff were posthumously awarded the Bronze Star medal with combat distinguishing V device. From an article by Lance Corporal Steven Fox, U.S. Marine Corps Forces Special Operations Command. Vietnam War Letters Donated to Norwich University Archives Norwich University, the United States oldest private military college and the birthplace of the Reserve Officers Training Corps (ROTC), has announced additions to the universitys archives of two collections of letters written by members of the Norwich class of 1966 while they were serving combat tours in the Vietnam War. The family of the late Lieutenant Colonel Howard C. Lewis donated two sets of letters that he, as a young captain, wrote home from in-country in 1969. The collection, which includes letters Lewis penned to his twin brother, Harold (who also attended Norwich), and to his parents, Daniel and Dorothy Lewis, became the first of its kind at Norwich. It also contains several photographs of Howard and the Lewis family (1964-1966) and a file of information pertaining to the 1988 dedication of the Lieutenant Colonel Howard C. Lewis Memorial Chapel at the Camp Ethan Allen Firing Range in Jericho, Vermont. During the time Lewis served in Vietnam, he was cited seven times for bravery and was awarded the Soldiers Medal, five Bronze Star medals, the Meritorious Service Medal, the Air Medal, two Army Commendation Medals and, later, the Vermont Medal of Merit. Following his return from Vietnam, Lewis joined the Vermont National Guard, rising to the rank of lieutenant colonel. He passed away in 1987. Shortly after the university received the Lewis donation, William F. Bonk, another member of the class of 1966, donated his collection of letters that he wrote to his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Henry Bonk of Connecticut, during his service as a helicopter pilot in Vietnam (February-October 1968). The collection also includes color slides documenting Bonks time in-country. These generous gifts constitute the first two substantial manuscript collections from the Vietnam War era to be available in the Norwich University archives. They are valuable primary resources and will serve as the foundation for helping students, faculty, staff, alumni and researchers better understand the Vietnam War experience. From a press release by Norwich University. For more information, visit norwich.edu. Dressed to Kill: Civil War Zouave Uniform Among the many historical artifacts preserved at the U.S. Armys Muse um Support Center at -Fort Belvoir, Virginia, is the distinctive Civil War uniform of Corporal Matthew Bradley. Born in Yorkshire,England, Bradley immigrated to the United States as a boy, and his family ultimately settled in Philadelphia. In August 1862,at the age of 25, he enlisted in Company F, 114th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry Regiment,known as Collis Zouaves. Modeled after the eras famed French colonial light infantry of North Africa, the distinctive uniform of the Zouavesset them apart on the battlefield. Private Bradleys uniform included a red fez with a yellow tassel, a short collarless jacket,ballooning red trousers and white canvas leggings. His jacket is especially well made, neatly hand sewn from dark blue wool cloth with sky blue cuffs. Inside the sleeve of Bradleys jacket are two large painted dots, the uniform sizing symbols used by Philadelphias Schuylkill Arsenal. During the Civil War, this 12-acre facility was one of the U.S. Armys important centers of manufacture for a wide range of uniforms and footwear. Thousands of women, many the wives of absent soldiers, worked from their homes to sew uniforms that they brought to Schuylkill Arsenal for inspection and payment. Private Bradleys regiment proudly wore the Zouave uniform throughout the Civil War. During the second day of the Battle of Gettysburg, July2, 1863, 114th Pennsylvania advanced across Emmitsburg Road near the Sherfy farmhouse, just north of the peach orchard, where the men encountered stiff resistance as the Confederates advanced. Sergeant Alexander W. Given, also of Company F, recalled, Then began a desperate conflict, men of both armies clubbing each other with their muskets. Given remembered Bradley being in the thick of the fight. As the Confederates moved up an artillery battery and fired canister rounds into the 114th Pennsylvanias ranks, the Zouaves defensive line was finally forced back. The regiment suffered heavy casualties in the fighting, with 95 men killed or wounded and 60 reported missing. According to a family descendant, Bradley later joked that he survived because of his small stature, the bullets just passing harmlessly over his head. Private Bradley served with Company F for the remainder of the war, and his unit saw additional fighting in Grants Overland Campaign the Wilderness, Spotsylvania Court House, Cold Harbor and Petersburg. A month after the war ended, Bradley was promoted to corporal and proudly sewed on the red stripes that today are still visible on his jacket. Four weeks later, on May 29, 1865, he was mustered out of service. Bradley resumed a normal life. He married, raised a family, and worked as a plumber and pipe fitter in Philadelphia. In 1886, the 49-year-old veteran returned to Gettysburg with some of his old comrades to dedicate a monument to their beloved regiment, marking the fateful spot near the Sherfy farmhouse where they had once stood. That monument can be seen today, topped with a large bronze statue of a Zouave reloading his musket, wearing the elaborate and colorful uniform that made the Zouaves such a distinctive element of the U.S. Army. Submitted by Ephriam D. Dickson III, U.S. Army Center of Military History. For information about the National Museum of the U.S. Army, slated to open in 2019, visit armyhistory.org. WORTHY CAUSES Operation Supply Drop is a 501(c)(3) public charity organization founded in 2010 by former Army Airborne Ranger Captain Stephen Shanghai Six Machuga. Its mission is to send video game-themed care packages to U.S. military personnel deployed to combat zones or recovering in military hospitals. For more information, operationsupplydrop.org. The Iwo Jima Association of America is dedicated to preserving and perpetuating the history of the Battle of Iwo Jima in particular and World War II in general for future generations. The IJAA sponsors educational and historical symposiums, which include an annual Reunion of Honor memorial service on including how to donate money or games/consoles in working condition, visit Iwo Jima conducted jointly with the Iwo Jima Association of Japan that honors those who fought on both sides of the battle. For more information, visit iwojimaassociation.org. Teaching Civil War Leadership A chance to visit the great battlefields of Americas Civil War is always special. Here, a group of students taking a course in Civil War Leadership stops for a photo at a Confederate artillery position atop Oak Knoll at Gettysburg. The course is offered by the Jepson School of Leadership Studies at the University of Richmond. The two-day Gettysburg field trip provided the students with an opportunity to consider the great questions surrounding combat leadership.Accompanied by several faculty members from the Jepson School, the group was guided by a member of the Jepson adjunct faculty, Brigadier General (Ret.) Jack Mountcastle (kneeling at right), who serves on the ACG advisory board.After walking the ground at most of the critical scenes of combat, the students concluded their visit at the national cemetery, where they considered not just the marvelous words butal so the lasting impact of Abraham Lincolns Gettysburg Address. While traveling back to Richmond,the group avoided the heavy traffic around Washington, D.C., and traveled through the portion of Northern Virginia referred to asMosbys Confederacy, an area named for the daring exploits of the partisan ranger John Singleton Mosby,known as the Gray Ghost. In the rolling fields and forests ablaze with autumn colors, one could almost see the fleeting forms of gray horsemen in the afternoon shadows. It was a wonderful trip! Submitted by Brigadier General (Ret.) John W. Mountcastle, PhD. For more about John S. Mosby, see Battlefield Leader in the March 2015 issue of ACG. Appomattox Court House National Historical Park 2 015 is the 150th anniversary year of the end of the American Civil War, and thus it is a fitting opportunity to visit Appomattox Court House National Historical Park, located in south-central Virginia. The more than1,300-acre park includes the Old Appomattox Court House as well as the McLean House where Confederate General Robert E. Lee surrendered his Army of Northern Virginia to Union General Ulysses S. Grant on April 9, 1865, effectively ending the Civil War. In one of the strangest coincidences of the war, on July21, 1861, Wilmer McLean was living on a farm near Manassas,Virginia, when the wars initial major clash, the First Battle of Bull Run, began on his property. In 1863, he moved his family to what became known as theSurrender House at Appomattox. McLean is alleged to have quipped that the Civil Warstarted in my front yard and ended in my front parlor. Sesquicentennial activities at the park are scheduled for April 8-12, 2015, and will be centered around real-time commemorative events organized by the Appomattox 1865 Foundation. For directions, hours of operation and a calendar of events, visit nps.gov/apco. Originally published in the May 2015 issue of Armchair General. It is January 24, 1954, as you assume the role of General Vo Nguyen Giap, commander of the military forces of the Viet Minh, the Vietnamese communist independence movement led by Ho Chi Minh that seeks to overthrow French colonial rule. Since 1887 Vietnam has been part of Frances Indochina empire (which includes Cambodia and Laos),and in 1941 Ho founded the Viet Minh to expel the French and to establish an independent communist nation. During World War II, Japan occupied Indochina and the Viet Minhs combat focus supported the Allied cause by opposing the Japanese occupiers. Ho had hoped that an Allied victory in World War II would lead to the creation of an independent Vietnam under his leadership. However, those hopes were dashed when France reclaimed its Indochina empire after the war. Fighting between the Viet Minh and French forces erupted in December 1946, marking the beginning of the Indochina War. However, until Mao Zedongs 1949 communist victory in neighboring China, the fighting you led was mainly guerrilla warfare. But since then, communist China has provided your forces with modern weapons of all types that enable them to combat the French in large-scale operations on a nearly equal footing, despite Frances airpower monopoly. These weapons include American-manufactured howitzers that Maos forces seized when they defeated the U.S.-backed Nationalist Chinese, plus others they captured from the Americans and South Koreans during the Korean War (1950-53). Thus, the Viet Minh now has the means to win a decisive battle if the French create a tactical situation you can exploit to your armys advantage. Two months ago, on November 20, 1953, the French launched an airborne assault code named Operation Castor that you believe provides such an opportunity. Six French paratrooper battalions jumped into a remote valley in northwest Vietnam near the Laotian border. After flying in more troops, weapons and supplies over the past few weeks, the French have created a fortified zone consisting of a series of mutually supporting strong points surrounding the village of Dien Bien Phu. Clearly, the intent is to lure your forces into a costly battle of attrition in which French airpower and superior firepower will inflict a decisive defeat on your army. Thus, your challenge is to develop a battle plan that will turn the tables on the French and give the Viet Minh, not France, a decisive victory at Dien Bien Phu. DIEN BIEN PHU Dien Bien Phu lies in the remote Nam Yum River valley 450 kilometers northwest of Hanoi and 50 kilometers from the Laotian border. (See Northern French Indochina map.) This bowl-shaped valley region is dominated by mountains to the north, east and west and is surrounded by thick jungle. On Dien Bien Phus northern end is the enemys main airstrip, which is constructed of perforated steel planking to make it usable in all weather. Since French plans assume your forces will surround and cut off the Dien Bien Phu garrison from ground communications, the airstrip is absolutely vital to the French for flying in supplies and reinforcements and for evacuating casualties. If it becomes unusable, the garrison will have no way to evacuate the injured and will have to rely on parachutists as reinforcements and airdrops for resupply. Therefore, neutralizing or capturing the airstrip is a tactical priority for your forces. The French fortified area consists of eight main strong points on small hills spread over a distance of 10 kilometers running north-south. Five of the strong points Anne-Marie, Huguette, Dominique, Eliane and Claudine are clustered around Dien Bien Phu and the main airstrip. Two others, Gabrielle to the north and Beatrice to the northeast, are positioned to keep Viet Minh forces out of mortar range of the main airstrip. The final strong point, Isabelle, guards a small, secondary dirt airstrip six kilometers south of Dien Bien Phu. FRENCH FORCES After the initial airborne assault on Dien Bien Phu in November, the French rapidly built up the garrison to about 11,000 soldiers. The majority of them are organized into 12 infantry battalions of paratroopers, French Foreign Legionnaires, North Africans, and indigenous Indochinese troops. However, only the paratroopers and legionnaires are elite units composed of mostly combat veterans. Fire support for the French garrison consists of one battery of four 155 mm howitzers, two artillery battalions with 24105 mm howitzers, 10 75 mm howitzers, 28120 mm mortars, 77 81 mm mortars, 14060 mm mortars, and 70 recoilless rifles (57mm and 75 mm). Additionally, a company of 10 M24 U.S. Chaffee light tanks was airlifted into the position, as were four quad.50-caliber anti-aircraft machine guns capable of delivering devastating fire against infantry attacks. Additional supporting units include a combat engineer battalion,medical teams, maintenance crews and command post personnel. Meanwhile, stationed at the main airstrip are six fighter planes and six observation aircraft. Additional air support is available from French air bases at Hanoi and Haiphong and includes 32 fighter planes, 45 fighter-bombers, 40 medium bombers and several transport aircraft squadrons (C-47s and C-119s). VIET MINH FORCES When French paratroopers first landed at Dien Bien Phu, your only force there was 148th Independent Regiment stationed near the village. Heavily outnumbered, the regiments soldiers withdrew into the surrounding jungle. However, realizing the French buildup was a major operation, you immediately ordered strong Viet Minh forces to march to the area. By early January, your units surrounding Dien Bien Phu consisted of five infantry divisions (304th, 308th, 312th, 316th and 351st heavy divisions) and 57th Independent Regiment. Your total infantry strength is currently 33 battalions numbering about 50,000 soldiers a nearly 5-to-1 advantage over the French defenders. Significantly, you have gathered substantial fire support assets of artillery guns, mortars, rocket launchers and recoilless rifles.In addition to infantry units, 351st Heavy Division contains 45th Artillery Regiment,which has two dozen 105 mm U.S. howitzers provided by China that the French are currently unaware of; 675th Artillery Regiment, with 18 75 mm guns and 20 120 mm mortars; and 367th Anti-aircraft Regiment,with 36 37 mm anti-aircraft guns and 10012.7 mm machine guns. Your formidable fire support arsenal includes 12 Soviet-built Katyusha six-tube rocket launchers and about 70 recoilless rifles (57 mm and 75mm) in the infantry divisions. Supplying your large force in this remote location requires a massive logistical effort. This involves Russian and Chinese-provided U.S. vehicles as well as bicycles and about 15,000 civilian porters. COURSES OF ACTION As you consider possible courses of action, you recall facing a similar tactical situation at the November 23-December 2, 1952, Battle of Na San. The French, much as they have done at Dien Bien Phu, created fortified positions at Na San to draw your forces into a costly battle of attrition, and your army suffered a bloody defeat with horrendous casualties. However, there are notable differences in the two situations, as well. For instance, at Na San the French force was larger than your army and you lacked heavy weapons fire support. Moreover, Na Sans more open terrain greatly favored the enemys devastating employment of firepower and air support. Finally, at Na San the French seized the initiative and controlled the flow of the battle. At Dien Bien Phu, you are determined to implement a battle plan that imposes your will on the enemy. You gather your staff and division commanders in your command bunker in the hills north of Dien Bien Phu to brief them on three courses of action you are considering. Although you want to hear their feedback on each plan, the final decision regarding which one to implement is yours alone. COURSE OF ACTION ONE: GENERAL ATTACK. Under the first plan, Viet Minh infantry forces will quickly defeat the enemy by immediately launching a powerful ground attack in two waves under the cover of a barrage delivered by all fire support weapons. The first wave will target the most vulnerable northern French strongpoints, Gabrielle and Beatrice. Then the general attack will rapidly continue in a powerful second wave launched from all directions at the main strongpoints clustered around Dien Bien Phu village and the isolated southernmost strongpoint, Isabelle. COURSE OF ACTION TWO: PHASED ATTACKS. With this option, Viet Minh infantry units, supported by fire from well-positioned mortars and artillery guns, will establish trench lines as close as possible to the French positions. From there, your soldiers will launch a series of phased attacks to capture the enemy strongpoints one by one and then end with a final attack to overwhelm the remaining French garrison. By placing your trench lines close to the enemy forces, you will prevent the French from using their heaviest firepower and thereby lower your number of casualties. COURSE OF ACTION THREE: PROLONGED SIEGE. The final course of action calls for mounting a prolonged siege to force the French garrisons eventual surrender. Viet Minh infantry units will establish extensive trench lines around the enemy strongpoints while supporting mortars and artillery systematically bombard the French positions. Although this plan will take the greatest amount of time to achieve victory, it will be the least costly in Viet Minh casualties because it entails only small raids and avoids risky frontal assaults. Since you intend to make this the wars decisive battle, you must carefully choose the plan that promises your army the greatest chance of success. What next, General Giap? COURSE OF ACTION ONE: GENERAL ATTACK You decide to launch a general attack immediately in order to overrun the French positions in the shortest possible time. Winning the battle within days instead of weeks significantly reduces the amount of supplies your army will require a major consideration since every bullet, artillery round and pound of rice must be laboriously transported by civilian porters and trucks through the regions thick jungle. A quick victory also limits the amount of time your soldiers are exposed to enemy firepower and especially airpower, against which you have only limited anti-aircraft defense weapons. Finally, the shock of a sudden Viet Minh victory will have the greatest impact on Frances political leadership. You are concerned, however, that by launching the attack right away, you will not have time to construct heavily fortified, well-camouflaged firing positions for your artillery guns and mortars, thus leaving them vulnerable to French counterfire and airstrikes. Yet you are willing to take this risk since you are confident that your infantrymen can quickly overrun the garrison before the French are able to inflict serious damage on these heavy weapons. Under the cover of darkness the night of January 25, your division commanders place their infantrymen in attack positions in the jungle surrounding the French garrison. At dawn on January 26, the first wave of your general attack rushes forward as your soldiers assault Gabrielle and Beatrice, while your artillery guns, mortars and rockets bombard all of the enemy strong points and the main airstrip. Your Chinese-provided105 mm howitzers prove to be an unpleasant surprise to the French, who, unaware that you possessed such heavy guns, had not constructed fortifications sturdy enough to withstand their shells. The barrage collapses the French bunkers and trenches, paving the way for your attacking infantrymen. Yet the French also have 105 mm artillery guns, and their well-trained crews deliver heavy fire that tears holes in the ranks of your infantrymen swarming around Gabrielle and Beatrice. Moreover, since your bombardment reveals the unfortified firing positions of your artillery guns and mortars, counterfire from the enemys heavy weapons begins systematically knocking out your fire support. Nevertheless, Gabrielle, the most exposed strongpoint, falls to your infantrymen by 10 a.m.Beatrice holds out another two hours but is taken by your soldiers at noon. Your infantry casualties are heavier than you had expected and at least one-third of your artillery guns and mortars are destroyed. Yet you are determined to press the attack, and thus you order the second wave launched immediately. However, as your infantrymen advance across the open terrain toward the main cluster of enemy strongpoints around Dien Bien Phu, you hear the sound of approaching aircraft. Waves of French fighter planes and fighter-bombers soon appear overhead and begin strafing your attacking infantrymen and bombing your remaining artillery and mortar positions in the surrounding hills. Although your anti-aircraft guns engage the enemy planes, they succeed only in shooting down a few of them and damaging several more. Heavy fire from French artillery guns, mortars, machine guns and small arms adds to the carnage the airstrikes have wrought on your exposed infantrymen. Used in a ground defense role, the enemys quad .50-caliber anti-aircraft machine guns deliver particularly deadly fire against your soldiers. Despite the horrendous casualties, you exhort your division commanders to continue pressing their attacks. Yet your soldiers, their morale shattered by the heavy losses inflicted by French firepower and airstrikes, are already retreating into the jungle. You realize that your decision to launch a general attack has created a disaster for the Viet Minh. You have unwittingly given the French exactly what they had planned in their Dien Bien Phu operation a stunning victory in a one-sided battle of attrition. Whether Viet Minh forces can recover from this disastrous defeat remains to be seen. COURSE OF ACTION TWO: PHASED ATTACKS You believe the most effective use of your infantry and firepower is to place your soldiers in trenches dug as close as possible to the French strongpoints, from which the infantrymen will launch a series of phased attacks. This tactic, which you call hugging the belt of the enemy, will prevent the French from using the full force of their heaviest firepower against your soldiers, lest their rounds strike their own troops. You also order your men to construct heavily fortified, well-camouflaged firing positions for the artillery guns and mortars and to createdummy firing positions to draw off enemy counterfire. Finally, after carefully analyzing the surrounding terrain to identify the most likely air corridors French planes will use for launching airstrikes and delivering supplies, you concentrate your anti-aircraft guns along those routes. Since your extensive preparations require several weeks to complete, you set the date of your initial strike for March 13. On that evening, you launch your first attack, targeting the most exposed northern French strongpoints, Gabrielle and Beatrice. Under the cover of a barrage delivered by your artillery guns, mortars and rockets, your infantrymen leap out of their trenches and rush across the short distance to the enemy positions. Your Chinese-provided U.S. 105 mm howitzers prove to be an unpleasant surprise to the French, who had not constructed fortifications sturdy enough to withstand the heavier shells. Your troops overrun Gabrielle so quickly that you order them to continue their attack and immediately strike Anne-Marie. After two days of relentless assaults, your first phase attack captures Gabrielle, Beatrice and two fortified positions within the Anne-Marie strongpoint. You are particularly pleased that French counterfire is proving extremely ineffective against your camouflaged artillery and mortar positions. Even when the French gunners are able to locate your well-hidden guns,their counterfire cannot penetrate the fortified firing positions. Likewise, your hugging the belt tactic is working well infantry casualties, while substantial, are not heavy. On the night of March 30, you launch the second attack, targeting the French strongpoints Eliane, Dominique and Huguette. Your artillery bombardment concentrates fire on Dominique, Eliane and all the enemy artillery gun pits. The first two fortified positions within Dominique fall quickly, but Eliane holds out by launching desperate counterattacks and receiving timely reinforcements. Meanwhile, you order artillery fire and infantry attacks to target Huguette and Isabelle. By dawn on March 31, your forces hold one of Elianes fortified positions and two of Dominiques. Throughout the day, they continue to attack Eliane while simultaneously assaulting Huguette. Stiff French resistance keeps Eliane in enemy hands, but by nightfall your infantrymen have captured Huguette. Your phase one and phase two attacks shrink the area held by the French garrison to half its original size, while your continual artillery, mortar and rocket bombardments effectively close both enemy airstrips. Thus, the garrison must now rely on airdrops for resupply. Often, however,the airdropped supplies including thousands of rounds of 105 mm ammunition land in areas under your control. With the French garrison starved of supplies and receiving only infrequent reinforcements by a few parachutists, you decide to delay your third and final attack until you have worn down the enemy even further. Finally, on May 1, you launch the phase three attack, preceding the infantry assaults with a heavy, three-hour barrage against the remaining enemy strongpoints, command bunkers and artillery gun pits. After the shelling, your infantrymen leave their close-in trenches and advance on Eliane, Dominique, Huguette, Claudine and Isabelle. Fierce, often hand-to-hand fighting rages over the next several days. However, it becomes clear to you that the French garrison, now reduced to only about 3,000 men still capable of fighting, cannot hold out much longer. On May 7, you order 25,000 Viet Minh troops to launch a final, all-out assault against the beleaguered, outnumbered defenders. By nightfall, your forces overrun all remaining enemy positions and the French commander surrenders what is left of the garrison. Your phased attacks, spread over a period of 56 days, have resulted in a stunning, decisive victory. You and Ho are confident that this triumph means the end of Frances Indochina empire. COURSE OF ACTION THREE: PROLONGED SIEGE With Ho still criticizing you for your costly defeat by French firepower at the Battle of Na San, you realize you must win the Battle of Dien Bien Phu with the fewest possible casualties. You therefore decide to force the French garrisons surrender through a prolonged siege. During the weeks of preparing your siege lines around the garrison, you emplace your artillery guns and mortars in heavily fortified, well-camouflaged positions and create dummy firing positions to draw off enemy counterfire. You also emplace your anti-aircraft guns in camouflaged positions to protect your artillery guns, mortars and infantry siege lines against French airstrikes and to engage enemy transport planes attempting to deliver supplies. Surprisingly, the French seem content to allow you to encircle the garrison presumably because they are confident that their firepower will decimate your besieging troops and that their airpower will keep French forces resupplied. Yet you have a plan to seriously disrupt the enemy air support through a series of heavy, sustained ground attacks on all French air bases supporting Dien Bien Phu. As your siege begins in earnest in mid-March, you order Viet Minh forces to launch simultaneous ground attacks against all French air bases at Hanoi and Haiphong. Taking the enemy by complete surprise, these attacks destroy dozens of planes on the ground and blow up aircraft maintenance and aviation fuel storage facilities.After nearly two weeks of relentless attacks,your forces cripple the enemy airpower, yet your men also suffer horrendous casualties. On March 17, the French garrison receives another nasty surprise when your siege begins with a massive bombardment by all your artillery guns, mortars and rockets.Unaware that you possess the 105 mm howitzers, the French did not construct their fortified positions to withstand such large rounds.Furthermore, their counterfire against your heavily fortified, well-camouflaged artillery gun and mortar positions proves ineffective. Over the next several weeks, combat reminiscent of World War I trench warfare becomes the routine continual artillery, mortar and rocket bombardments of French strongpoints during the day,and small-scale trench raids by your infantrymen against the garrison perimeter at night. Although a few enemy warplanes conduct infrequent airstrikes and a handful of transport planes drop meager supplies,your earlier ground attacks against the airbases have deprived the French of effective air support. The Dien Bien Phu defenders are slowly starving, and their artillery and mortar fire becomes significantly weaker as they adopt strict rationing of ammunition. Yet as the siege extends into mid-June, it seriously overburdens your supply system and you too must ration food and ammunition, particularly 105 mm artillery rounds.While the French are much worse off than your soldiers, if the garrison does not surrender by the end of the month, you will be forced to launch a general attack or else abandon your siege. Then on June 25, you are shocked to see the sky suddenly filled with fighter-bombers and transport aircraft. At first you are astonished that the French have reconstituted their Indochina air force, but as the planes fly closer, you see from their insignia that they are American. Your prolonged siege has given the hawks in Washington, D.C., enough time to convince the U.S. president and his senior advisers, who have been reluctant to support Frances imperial ambitions, that containing the spread of communism in Southeast Asia is vital to American national interests. Since China fell to Mao and the Korean War ended in stalemate, the U.S. containment policy would be seriously weakened by a French defeat that leads to a communist Vietnam. Ironically, the catalyst that tipped the scales in the hawks favor was your destruction of French airpower. The Americans realized that without it, France was doomed to lose Indochina. As squadrons of U.S. transport planes begin dropping hundreds of tons of vital supplies into the garrison, swarms of American fighter-bombers attack your infantrymen and artillery positions. You quickly abandon the siege and disperse your forces in remote jungle hideout locations safe from American airstrikes. You are afraid that not only have you lost the Battle of Dien Bien Phu, but by provoking massive American intervention, you also may have lost the war. HISTORICAL COURSE OF ACTION AND ANALYSIS Giap chose to launch phased infantry attacks from close-in trenches under the cover of heavy artillery and mortar bombardments (COURSE OF ACTION TWO: PHASED ATTACKS), and the battle unfolded as described in the COA Two narrative. Giaps innovative tactics frustrated the enemys attempts to employ French firepower to the best effect, and the effectiveness of the Viet Minh artillery guns and mortars, particularly the 105 mm howitzers that surprised the enemy, proved overwhelming. The entire 11,000- man French garrison was either killed or captured, compared to Viet Minh losses of about 4,000 killed and 9,000 wounded. The Battle of Dien Bien Phu was the decisive, turning-point battle in what became known as the First Indochina War. It resulted in France abandoning its Indochina empire, and the last French troops left in 1956. However, in the aftermath of Frances defeat, Vietnam was divided into a communist-controlled north led by Ho Chi Minh and a non-communist, Vietnamese-governed south supported by the United States. Although nationwide elections were supposed to be held in 1956 to create a unified Vietnam, they never took place. This prompted Hos communists to launch the Second Indochina War (1955-75) against South Vietnam, American forces and the U.S.s regional allies. Again, Giap would lead his army to final victory. Colonel (Ret.) Richard N. Armstrong has written numerous military affairs/history articles for professional and historical journals and has authored several books, including Red Army Tank Commanders and Soviet Operational Deception. Originally published in the May 2015 issue of Armchair General. First recipient of the Air Force Medal of Honor On March 9, 1966, some 2,000 North Vietnamese attacked the isolated A Shau Special Forces camp, defended by 17 Green Berets, 210 local militiamen and a company of Mobile Strike Force (Mike Force) troops. Air Force efforts to drop supplies, evacuate wounded and engage the enemy were met with withering groundfire. One AC-47 gunship was shot down, the heroism of the pilot and co-pilot reflected in posthumous Air Force Cross awards. Five airmen received Silver Stars on the battles first day. One was an A-1E Skyraider pilot, Maj. Bernard Francis Bernie Fisher. Fisher, born Jan. 11, 1927, in San Bernardino, California, was a World War II Navy veteran who had joined the Idaho National Guard, enrolled at the University of Utah, signed up for the Air Force ROTC program and received his commission in 1951. In 1964 Fisher and his wife, Realla, moved to the Florida Panhandle, where he learned to fly the Skyraider at Hurlburt Field. Despite being a slow-speed, propeller-driven aircraft in the jet age, the Skyraider displayed a durability and maneuverability ideal for low-level flight and observation in Vietnam, although it was an easy target for enemy gunners. Fisher requested duty in Vietnam and in mid-1965 was assigned to the 1st Air Commando Squadron. In October 1965, he received the Distinguished Flying Cross for flying dangerously low to cover a rescue helicopter that retrieved a downed fighter pilot. But it was the 1966 A Shau mission that tested the limits of Fishers endurance and courage. By the end of the first days fighting on March 9, he was exhausted. However, the Green Berets at the camp were still desperately fighting for their survival. Fisher and fellow Skyraider pilots were back with daylight, flying low in the fog-shrouded valley. During the night the North Vietnamese troops had taken control of the base camp, forcing the Green Berets against their last line of defense, bunkers at the north end of the camp. They wouldnt be able to hold out much longer. Fisher led his wingman and two Skyraiders of the 602nd Fighter Squadron (Commando) beneath the cloud cover to attack the enemy. As Fisher led a third pass, Maj. Dafford Jump Myers radioed, Ive been hit and hit hard. Fisher radioed back, You are on fire and burning clear back to your tail. Myers realized that his plane was damaged too severely to fly, and he headed for the battle-scarred airstrip below. Ignoring enemy groundfire, Fisher flew parallel to guide him down. After a fiery 800-foot wheels-up skid Myers Skyraider nosed into a dirt embankment. Myers managed to get clear and dove into a ditch moments before the plane exploded. Fisher flew down the airstrip only 20 feet above the ground. As he neared Myers Skyraider, the downed pilot leaped up and waved his hands, then ducked back into the ditch and the weeds. Fisher knew the ground was swarming with the enemy, and Myers would probably not survive long enough for a rescue helicopter to reach him. Im going in, Fisher radioed to the other pilots. He lined up on the embattled runway while his wingman tried to provide covering fire. With groundfire shredding his Skyraider, Fisher came in hard and fast, dodging the tangled metal and deep craters that had turned the airstrip into a moonscape. When the Skyraider finally came to a stop, Myers ran through enemy fire and started to scramble up the planes wing. Fisher grabbed him by the collar, pulled him into the cramped cockpit and began the dangerous taxi through the rain of bullets to lift out of the hell below. For those actions, Fisher on Jan. 19, 1967, became the first person to receive the U.S. Air Force Medal of Honor, which was authorized by Congress in 1956 and became effective in 1965. (Previously Air Force personnel received the Army Medal of Honor.) After Fisher retired in 1974 as a colonel, he and Realla lived in Kuna, Idaho. He died Aug. 16, 2014, and was buried at the Idaho State Veterans Cemetery. Doug Sterner, an Army veteran who served two tours in Vietnam, is curator of the worlds largest database of U.S. military valor awards. First published in Vietnam Magazines April 2017 issue. As Major Moshe Dayan, YOU must lead your outnumbered Israeli defenders to defeat a powerful Arab attack. On November 29, 1947, the United Nations passed Resolution 181, authorizing the termination of the quarter-century-old League of Nations-approved mandate through which Britain had governed Palestine after the Ottoman Empires collapse at the end of World War I. Significantly, U.N.Resolution 181 also authorized the partition of Palestine into two independent states, one Jewish and one Arab. Therefore, in accordance with the resolution, on May 14, 1948,Israel was declared an independent nation under the leadership of David Ben-Gurion,its first prime minister. However, one day later, Israels neighboring Arab states launched powerful invasions aimed at overrunning and destroying the new country. On May 15, 1948, about 30,000 trained and well-equipped Arab troops from the armies of Egypt, Jordan, Iraq, Lebanon and Syria attacked across Israels northern, eastern and southern borders. The invaders not only outnumbered the Israeli defenders,they also were substantially better armed,had tanks, armored cars, heavy weapons and artillery, and were supported by several hundred combat aircraft. The Israelis, on the other hand, possessed no tanks or heavy weapons, virtually no artillery, and only a few light aircraft of limited value in combat. At the time, Israel had only about 15,000 trained soldiers, members of the countrys organized defense force, the Haganah. Inside the Haganah was a small but elite strike force called the Palmach. Theoretically, Israel could mobilize another 30,000 citizens to help defend against the invasions, but that would take several days and those men and women were poorly trained and inadequately armed militia. Essentially, they were farmers living and working in the numerous collective agricultural settlements (kibbutzim) located throughout the countryside. Yet given the state of emergency, Israel had to call upon them as quickly as possible to fill the ranks of its defenders. Despite being outnumbered and outgunned, the Israelis realized they had no choice but to take on all the invading armies simultaneously while creating the best possible defense using their limited military resources. In fact, the only reason the Arab armies did not destroy Israel in the first few days was that the enemy forces failed to properly coordinate their multiple attacks to achieve the maximum possible impact. This gave the Israelis some hope albeit a slim one of surviving the onslaught by opposing each attack as it developed. If they failed to defeat the invasions, their country was doomed. Armchair General takes you back to May 19, 1948, on the southern shore of the Sea of Galilee, where you will play the role of Israeli Major Moshe Dayan, commander of a mixed unit of local militia and Haganah fighters. Your mission is to defeat an imminent attack by a much larger Syrian force of tanks, armored cars, artillery and infantry that has already destroyed an Israeli force defending the nearby village of Tzemach, located only about a mile to the east. Having captured Tzemach, the Syrians are now well positioned to continue their advance westward and attack Degania Alef and Degania Bet, which your force now defends. If you fail to defeat the enemy attack, the Syrians will gain control of the strategic Jordan River valley and move one step closer to destroying the new state of Israel. THE COMMANDER WITH THE BLACK EYE PATCH Your military experience began when you were still a teenager. You joined the Haganah at age 14 and over the next decade participated in combat actions against Arab guerrilla forces that frequently attacked Jewish settlements. In 1941, during World War II, you became a member of a Palmach reconnaissance unit supporting one of Britains Commonwealth military units in the Middle East, Australian 7th Infantry Division. While conducting a forward reconnaissance mission on June 8 of that year in preparation for the Australian divisions attack into Lebanon to defeat the forces of Nazi-allied Vichy France, you were injured when an enemy bullet struck the binoculars you were looking through. Glass and metal fragments destroyed your left eye, and you have worn a black eye patch ever since. Last year, in 1947, you were appointed to the Haganah general staff and worked in the Arab Affairs department in Haifa. In that position, you created a network of agents who gathered intelligence on Arab irregular forces and operations in Palestine. Yesterday, on May 18 three days after the commencement of the Arab invasions the Haganah sent you to Degania to take command of the defense of the key position in the Jordan River valley. Although each point where the Arabs are invading is critical, nowhere is that more true than at Degania. DEGANIA Established on the south shore of the Sea of Galilee in 1909 when Palestine was ruled by the Ottoman Empire, Degania Alef is the oldest kibbutz in Israel. It is also the place of your birth in 1915. In 1920, Degania Bet was established immediately south of the first settlement. Each kibbutz consists of small clusters of stone and wooden buildings (living quarters, farm machinery sheds, crop storage structures, etc.) and is surrounded by generally flat terrain of pastures and cultivated land (grain fields and fruit orchards). A few hundred meters south of Degania Bet is a small group of buildings on a 20-meter-high hill called Beit Yerah. Since flat terrain provides no natural defensive obstacles, the militia platoons have begun digging trenches and foxholes at the eastern approaches to each kibbutz. Fortunately, some of the fields and pastures are surrounded by stone walls that offer at least some level of protection from enemy small arms fire. The only impediment to vehicle movement in the area is the 10- to 20-meter-wide and 5- to 10-meter-deep Jordan River, which makes the bridge on the west side of Degania Alef an obvious and important tactical objective for the invaders. The force you command at Degania is not a powerful one by any measure. Primarily, it is an infantry force composed of four platoons: 50 militiamen from Degania Alef; 50 militiamen from Degania Bet; 30 soldiers detached from the Haganah Golan Brigade; and 20 fighters from the Palmach Yiftach Brigade. Reflecting the eclectic nature of Israels weapons, your soldiers small arms are a mixture of British .303-caliber bolt-action Enfield rifles, World War II German 7.92 mm bolt-action K98 rifles, and a handful of British 9 mm Sten submachine guns. Your fighters also have a limited number of hand grenades, and the Degania settlers have filled glass bottles with gasoline to make Molotov cocktails to use against enemy armored vehicles. Your supporting weapons amount to four 81 mm mortars, three 20 mm anti-tank guns, and two PIAT anti-tank guns with two-man teams. The 20 mm guns are only effective against light armor, such as armored cars. The shaped-charge explosive devices launched by the PIAT guns can destroy enemy tanks, but their range is limited to about 100 meters. And while the Haganah general staff has promised to send you Israels only artillery guns, this amounts to just four obsolete 65 mm French Model 1906mountain guns that lack aiming sights and are manned by inexperienced crews. Nonetheless, if and when these guns arrive, you will put them to the best possible use despite their serious drawbacks. In contrast, the Syrian force opposing you is a formidable one. Its infantry component consists of two battalions totaling about 1,000 soldiers armed with bolt-action French rifles. Each battalion also has several machine guns as well as 60 mm and81 mm mortars. Furthermore, the Syrian force has two 10-vehicle squadrons of armored cars of two types: one with a 40 mm gun and a light machine gun mounted in the turret, and the other with a 37 mm gun and a light machine gun mounted in the open rear cargo compartment. Supporting the Syrians is a battalion of self-propelled 75 mm artillery guns. Yet the enemys two 12-vehicle companies of French Renault R-35 tanks pose the most serious threat. Each 10-ton tank boasts a turret-mounted 37 mm main gun and a light machine gun, and the 43 mm armor plate is vulnerable only to a PIAT hit. Although the tanks pre-World War II design is obsolete by 1948 standards, the fact that the Israelis have no tanks at all means that the R-35s are dominant combat weapons in this war. The challenge you now face is to decide how to employ your limited resources to defeat this much more powerful Syrian force and thereby prevent the invaders from seizing control of the strategically important Jordan River valley. DEFENSE OPTIONS Since the Syrian attack could come at any moment, you gather your platoon commanders to brief them on three possible courses of action you have developed and to get their feedback on each. Although you dont personally know the commanders, you waste no time on introductions. You will become familiar with them and they with you as you fight together to defeat the common enemy. You all know the situation we face, you begin, as well as the terrain we will defend and the size and composition of the Syrian force thats preparing to attack us. The enemy has tanks and armored cars. We have none. The enemy has artillery. We have none although the Haganah headquarters has said it will send us four 65 mm cannon at some point. The enemy infantry numbers about 1,000. We have no more than 150 fighters. Plus, the morale of the enemy troops has been buoyed by their victory yesterday when they captured Tzemach and destroyed our comrades who were defending it. Yet despite being outnumbered and outgunned, we will find a way to win. Now, listen closely as I detail the three courses of action I am considering for our defense. After each one, I will give you the opportunity to share your candid opinion of it. COURSE OF ACTION ONE: WEIGHTED DEFENSE The first plan, you explain, is to deploy all units in the north to defend Degania Alef, the most likely enemy target since it sits on the Syrians direct route to the important Jordan River bridge. The PIAT teams, backed up by the anti-tank guns, will take forward positions on the kibbutzs outskirts on each side of the main road from Tzemach, while the mortars will emplace in firing positions on the west bank of the Jordan River. All infantry platoons will establish fighting positions in and around Degania Alefs buildings, ensuring that their fields of fire cover the main road where it passes through the village. One squad of 10 militia fighters will establish an outpost at Degania Bet to provide early warning in case any part of the enemy force approaches from that direction. Meier, the Degania Bet militia platoon commander, appears concerned. Moshe, he replies, this plan leaves my kibbutz and our southern flank virtually defenseless. What if the Syrians attack Degania Bet instead of Degania Alef? Or what if we turn back a strike against Degania Alef only to have the Syrians shift their axis of attack south and roll through Degania Bet? Aron, the Palmach platoon commander, shakes his head and says, I disagree with Meier. We must meet strength with strength, and this plan allows us to do just that. COURSE OF ACTION TWO: BALANCED DEFENSE The next option, you continue, is to create a balanced defense by dividing our command into two equal-sized forces to defend both villages. The Degania Alef militia, the Palmach platoon and one of the PIAT teams will establish positions in Degania Alef. The Degania Bet militia, the Golan platoon and the other PIAT team will occupy positions in Degania Bet. The anti-tank guns will take up positions on the hilltop at Beit Yerah, giving them clear fields of fire to cover the approach to each village. Again, the mortars will emplace on the west bank of the Jordan River to fire in support of both defense forces. David, a Haganah officer and commander of the Golan platoon, supports this plan, saying, Since we dont know exactly how the Syrians intend to attack, a balanced defense seems to make the most sense. It gives us the maximum amount of flexibility to respond to however the Syrians deploy for their attack and whatever axis of advance they choose. Aron, however, does not concur. Dividing our already outnumbered force, he complains, does not balance our defense; it only weakens it. I still believe we must build the strongest possible defense at the most likely target, Degania Alef. COURSE OF ACTION THREE: AMBUSH The final course of action, you conclude, is to strike first by ambushing the enemy column as it advances along the main avenue of approach, the Degania AlefTzemach road. Our best-trained fighters, the Golan and Palmach platoons, along with both PIAT teams, will create hidden ambush positions along the road about 200 meters east of the outskirts of Degania Alef. The militia platoons, meanwhile, will occupy defensive positions at Degania Alef and Degania Bet, while the anti-tank guns will establish firing positions on the hilltop at Beit Yerah. As with the other plans, the mortars will emplace on the west bank of the Jordan River. Once the enemy tanks and armored cars enter the kill zone, our ambush force will destroy as many of them as possible along with their accompanying infantrymen. The Palmach platoon will then withdraw and join the defenders at Degania Alef, while the Golan platoon heads to Degania Bet. David states, I am of two minds on this course of action, Moshe. On the one hand, I think that striking first gives us a good chance of knocking out many of the armored vehicles while they are still unprepared for combat and in a vulnerable column formation. But on the other hand, this plan puts my Golan platoon and Arons Palmach platoon in dangerously exposed forward positions. If our ambush fails, or if our soldiers come under heavy fire while withdrawing afterward,we risk losing our best fighters at the very outset of the battle. Cutting off all further comments, you announce that you have heard enough to make your final decision. Thank you, gentlemen, for your candid feedback. Now, you add, go and prepare your platoons for battle. In 30 minutes I will tell you which course of action we will implement. But regardless of which one I choose, keep foremost in your minds that we must succeed the fate of our country depends on it. What is your decision, Major Dayan? Andrew H. Hershey holds a doctorate in medieval history from the University of London. He contributes to the USMC Gazette and is a four-time winner of its Tactical Decision Game design contests. He also designs World War II tactical-level wargames for Heat of Battle and Le Franc Tireur. Originally published in the May 2015 issue of Armchair General. During communist North Koreas surprise invasion of democratic South Korea that began June 25, 1950, Northern forces crossed the 38th parallel dividing the two countries, quickly captured the neighboring nations capital, Seoul, and rolled south like an unstoppable juggernaut. Led by a brigade of Soviet-built T-34tanks, over 230,000 soldiers of the North Korean Peoples Army (NKPA) smashed through all attempts that the 65,000-manU.S.-trained Republic of Korea (ROK) army mounted to stop them. Even U.S. President Harry S. Trumans commitment of American ground troops to the ongoing combat in early July disastrously failed to slow the NKPA advance. By the beginning of August, the North Korean offensive had pushed ROK and U.S.forces into a 90-by-60-mile enclave near Pusan at the southeastern tip of the Korean peninsula. (See Korea, 1950 map, p. 57.)Inside the Pusan perimeter were the embattled troops of U.S. General Walton Walkers 8th Army, consisting of five battered ROK divisions, four under strength U.S.Army divisions, and the U.S. Marine Corps4,700-man 1st Marine Provisional Brigade.Desperate to eliminate these last remaining forces and thus overrun the entire peninsula, NKPA tank and infantry units continued to launch powerful attacks. Walkers 8th Army was able to maintain its tenuous hold on the perimeter with stubborn defensive fighting and limited counterattacks to regain lost ground. However, an enemy attack launched around the first week of August forced a dangerous bulge in the southwestern sector of the perimeter. NKPA4th Division advanced across the Naktong River, pushed back the outnumbered U.S.24th Infantry Division defending the Naktong line, and seized a bridgehead east of the river. From this position, NKPA forces had an opportunity to strike east toward the vital port of Pusan, whose capture would have collapsed the entire defense of the perimeter. Armchair General takes you back to August 17, 1950, at the southwest sector of the Pusan perimeter two miles east of the Naktong River, where you will play the role of U.S. Marine Corps Captain Ike Fenton,commander of B Company, 1st Battalion,5th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Provisional Brigade. Your mission is to attack and seize enemy-held high ground on Obong-niRidge. By capturing and holding this key terrain, your troops will prevent North Korean forces from expanding their bridgehead and striking east to capture the port of Pusan. If your attack should fail, however, 8th Armys tenuous toehold on the Korean peninsula will be placed at great risk, and U.S. and ROK forces ultimately could be dealt a disastrous defeat. TRUMANS FATEFUL MISJUDGMENTS North Koreas decision to attempt to unite the Korean peninsula under communist rule by force was in large measure prompted by the misjudgments of the Truman administration. Fixated on the threat that the Soviet Union poses to Europe in these early years of the Cold War, Truman and his senior advisers have placed little political and military emphasis on the defense of Asian nations. Although U.S. military advisers have trained and equipped the ROK army since the peninsula was divided between the democratic South and communist North at the end of World War II, the administrations focus in the region has been on rebuilding Japan. Seven months ago, Trumans Secretary of State Dean Acheson delivered a speech to the National Press Club in which he specifically placed South Korea outside of the strategic defense perimeter in Asia that the United States was committed to defend. Yet, stung by the loss of China to Mao Zedongs Communists in 1949, the U.S. administration realized it could not afford to allow another Asian nation to fall to communism. Thus, shortly after the North Korean invasion began, Truman, backed by a United Nations Security Council resolution, ordered General of the Army Douglas MacArthur, supreme commander in the Far East, to commit U.S. air, naval and ground troops to the defense of South Korea. However, soon after MacArthur committed the initial contingent of U.S. ground troops in the first week of July, another fateful misjudgment by the Truman administration was painfully exposed. The presidents rapid post-World War II demobilization of the magnificent U.S. military that had conquered Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan, coupled with crippling defense budget cuts, left the American military a disastrously weakened hollow force. MacArthurs challenge now is to mobilize, train and equip the forces necessary to mount a devastating counterstroke to defeat the NKPA and save South Korea. Yet such an effort requires time, and time will surely run out if Walkers 8th Army is unable to hold the Pusan perimeter. WORLD WAR TWO AND A HALF The weapons, tactics and combat operations employed in the fighting in Korea have thus far been the same as those used in World War II. In fact, many participants on both sides are veterans of that previous wars fighting. Despite Trumans desire to fight a limited war he has characterized U.S. involvement as a police action American GIs and Marines embroiled in the intense combat are cynically referring to the situation in Korea as World War Two and a Half. The war may seem limited to politicians and bureaucrats in Washington, D.C., but that is hardly the word troops fighting and dying in the Pusan perimeter would use to describe it. Like the rest of Walkers 8th Army American units, your Marine B Company is equipped with World War II-era weapons and largely filled with veterans of the previous war, many of whom are reservists that were rapidly recalled to active duty to meet the crisis in Korea. The company is composed of a small headquarters element,three infantry platoons and a weapons platoon. Each infantry platoon contains about 30 Marines armed with .30-caliber M1 Garand rifles, a few .30-caliber M1carbines and some hand grenades. Attached to each platoon is a two-man team armed with a 3.5-inch M20bazooka capable of knocking out tanks and destroying bunkers and strong points. The infantry platoons are supported by fire from the weapons platoons six .30-caliber M1919A4machine guns and three60 mm mortars. Your company can request additional fire support from the81 mm and4 . 2 inch mortars of1st Battalions Weapons Company, the 105 mm howitzers of 11th Marine Artillery Regiment, and airstrikes (fragmentation and napalm bombs) from Marine close air support operating from U.S. Navy aircraft carriers offshore. Although 5th Marine Regiment has some M26 Pershing tanks, they cannot operate on ridges or hills and are restricted to roads and flat terrain. The enemy in your sector consists of infantry battalions of NKPA 4th Division, 18th Regiment. Primarily light infantrymen, the NKPA soldiers are armed with Soviet-built weapons: 7.62 mm Mosin-Nagant bolt-action rifles and carbines, 7.62 mm PPSh 41/43 submachine guns, and hand grenades. Supporting weapons include 7.62 mm Degtyaryov light machine guns, 7.62 mm Goryunov SG43 medium machine guns, and 82 mm mortars. The North Korean units in this sector have no tanks or air support and have only limited artillery support. Although NKPA ranks have been thinned by nearly two months of heavy combat, they remain a formidable and dangerous foe. The enemy soldiers are skilled and tenacious fighters in both offense and defense, and their fighting spirit has been buoyed by a string of victories over ROK and U.S. forces. OBONG-NI RIDGE Until 20 minutes ago, you were B Companys executive officer and thus second in command of the unit. However, just as your company commander, Captain John Tobin, was completing his briefing to you on the attack mission, he was severely wounded by a sudden burst of enemy machine-gun fire. Tobin was quickly evacuated by medical corpsmen, leaving you in charge of the company. B Companys mission is part of 1st Battalions attack to seize and hold Obong-Ni Ridge, a narrow strip of dominating ground beginning just south of the village of Tugok and running generally north-south for 1.2kilometers. The surrounding terrain is flat and open, consisting mainly of rice paddies and cotton fields. The objective of your attack is the approximately 600-meter northernmost section of the ridgeline, including key high ground at hills102 and 109. At the same time that your attack is to commence, 1st Battalions A Company will strike to seize the ridgeline south of your objective. Meanwhile, to the north of the battalions sector, U.S. Army 9th Infantry Regiment will assault Finger Ridge, west of Tugok. With Obong-Ni Ridge and Finger Ridge in American hands, North Korean forces east of the Naktong River will be contained and unable to launch further attacks that could threaten Pusan port. With precious little time left before the operation is scheduled to begin, you gather your platoon leaders at the company command post on Observation Hill. Once they arrive, you begin briefing them on the mission, using a map to point out the companys objective and the key terrain features. The North Koreans on our section of the ridgeline, you explain, are positioned in foxholes and strong points both along the ridge and on the reverse slope, which we can only hit by using high-angle fire support weapons such as mortars and howitzers. The terrain on the ridge wont offer our Marines much cover since its rocky and mostly bare with only a few scattered low shrubs and bushes. Thus, once the attack kicks off, our guys must move as quickly as possible to close with the NKPA forces to limit the amount of time theyre exposed to enemy fire. Now, listen closely as I brief you on three different courses of action Im considering for our attack. Feel free to give me your candid assessment of each. Afterward, I will decide which plan we will implement. COURSE OF ACTION ONE: RIGHT HOOK My first course of action, you begin, is to launch 1st and 2d platoons in a right hook against the ridges north flank and then attack south along the ridgeline. First Platoon will take the lead and capture Hill 102, and then 2d Platoon will continue the attack to seize Hill 109. Meanwhile, 3d Platoon will remain in reserve to be committed on my order, and Weapons Platoon will support the attack with machine-gun and mortar fire from the forward slope of Observation Hill. We will receive additional fire support from the 81 mm mortars of 1st Battalions Weapons Company, airstrikes by Marine close air support, and the 105 mm howitzers of 11th Marine Artillery Regiment. Lieutenant Taylor, leader of 2d Platoon, replies, Captain, Im worried that attacking north to south along the narrow ridgeline will greatly restrict our room to maneuver and allow the enemy to concentrate fire on our lead elements. If 1st Platoon bogs down, it could block my platoons forward progress and then our entire attack might stall or even fall apart. In response, Lieutenant Schryver, leader of 1st Platoon, responds, I think the restricted area along the top of the ridgeline is actually a disadvantage for the enemy. It prevents the North Koreans from moving additional troops to defend Hill 102, and those farther south will be unable to engage us with direct-fire weapons because of the intervening high ground. COURSE OF ACTION TWO: TWO PLATOONS ABREAST The second option, you continue, is to launch an attack by the book: two platoons up and one platoon back in a frontal assault targeting two hills simultaneously. First and 2d platoons will advance abreast along a front parallel to the ridgeline, with 1st Platoon on the left attacking Hill 109 and 2d Platoon on the right attacking Hill 102. Once the platoons have seized these key high points, they will send squads to clear the ridgeline between them. Meanwhile, 3d Platoon will be held in reserve, prepared to reinforce either 1st or 2d platoon on my order. Fire support for this plan will be the same as in COA One. Taylor enthusiastically responds, Captain, attacking both key terrain features simultaneously certainly seems to be the quickest way to accomplish our mission. And I like that this plan provides flexibility by having 3d Platoon in reserve, ready to be committed if either 1st or 2d platoon bogs down. Lieutenant Brown, Weapons Platoon leader, appears concerned. Captain, he interjects, under this course of action my machine guns and mortars will be required to fire over the heads of our advancing Marines, as will our fire support from the mortars and 105s from 1st Battalion and 11th Marines. This puts our guys at risk of being hit by friendly fire, especially as they close on the objective. COURSE OF ACTION THREE: THREE PLATOONS ABREAST The final plan Im considering, you conclude, is to go all in with all three of our platoons attacking abreast in a frontal assault to seize our entire sector of the ridgeline at a single stroke. From left to right, 1st, 2d and 3d platoons will line up parallel to the ridgeline. Supporting fire from Weapons Platoon, as well as all other fire support, will be the same as in COA One. Lieutenant Morris, leader of 3d Platoon, replies, Captain, in my opinion this plan gives our attack the best chance to succeed. Launching all three platoons at once maximizes our combat power against the enemy defenders and fixes them in place, thereby preventing them from shifting forces to reinforce any threatened area. Brown appears to be ready to speak again undoubtedly to warn you about the risks of firing over the heads of your attacking troops but you cut him off by announcing, All right, Ive heard enough. Go and prepare your platoons for the attack. In 10 minutes Ill let you know which plan Ive chosen. Good luck, Marines. What is your decision, Captain Fenton? Andrew H. Hershey holds a doctorate in medieval history from the University of London. He contributes to the USMC Gazette and is a fourtime winner of its Tactical Decision Game design contests. He also designs World War II tactical-level wargames for Heat of Battle and Le Franc Tireur. Originally published in the January 2015 issue of Armchair General. When World War I began in August 1914, few at the time anticipated the prolonged bloodletting that eventually produced the deaths of tens of millions of men fighting on land, sea and in the air in the global conflict. The horrendous butchers bill of the Great War, as the 1914-18 conflict was known to contemporaries, was the result of numerous technological weapons advancements in the years just prior to and then during the war as military planners looked to new and more lethal ways to break the battlefield stalemate. While World War II ushered in the atomic and jet age, World War I arguably made those advances in lethality possible through the widespread use of aircraft, submarines, poison gas, armored vehicles, and improved artillery weapons and fire control. World War I also was notable for numerous innovations in small arms, killing technology that brought greatly increased death and misery to the mud-soaked battlefields of the Western Front in Europe and to other theaters of the war. RAPID-FIRE KILLING MACHINES The main small arms killer of World War I was, of course, the machine gun. While it was already in the arsenals of the worlds great powers and had been used in numerous conflicts, European armies didnt truly encounter the devastating killing power of this new weapon until the outbreak of the First World War. The concept of rapid fire had been proposed since the earliest days of firearms, but early pioneers in weapons design were hindered by the fact that muzzle-loading guns were slow to load. Designers thus sought multi-barrel weapons, and one of the earliest attempts at a machine gun was born out of such a design when Richard Jordan Gatling patented the first controlled, sequential fire weapon in 1861. (See Forgotten History, p. 18.) Named for its inventor, the Gatling gun saw limited use in the American Civil War and the 1870-71 Franco-Prussian War, but it unveiled the potential for sustained rapid fire. The Gatling subsequently saw use in various colonial engagements as well, but it was a later invention by Sir Hiram Maxim that truly had an impact on future conflicts. Invented in 1884, the Maxim gun was the first self-powered machine gun. Rather than being hand-powered by a crank mechanism like the Gatling, it used the recoil power of the previously fired bullet to automatically reload a new bullet into the chamber. This enabled a much higher rate of fire than was possible with earlier designs, yet it also came with numerous shortcomings notably, that the Maxims single barrel could overheat very quickly. To resolve this issue, Maxim introduced the use of water cooling via a water jacket shroud that surrounded the barrel. His design proved so successful that it was widely adopted, and derivative designs were used by all sides during World War I. Germany manufactured the Maxim gun under license as the Maschinengewehr 08 (MG08), and the weapon served as the primary heavy machine gun of German infantry divisions. The MG08 had a practical range of 2,000 meters and an extreme range of 3,600 meters more than enough to mow down advancing lines of infantrymen in no-mans-land. While it has been widely argued that military planners didnt foresee the machine guns killing potential, the fact that the Germans had 12,000 MG08s available for battlefield operations in August 1914 indicates that German planners did know what the weapon could do.In fact, in 1914 some 200 MG08s were produced each month, and by1916 the number increased to 3,000 a month. A year later, that number reached an astonishing 14,400 per month. Clearly, the age of the machine gun had arrived. The British recognized the machine guns potential, as well. Britains imperial forces had relied on the Maxim during its colonial wars, where the weapon proved highly effective. The British developed their own version of the Maxim in the years just prior to World War I, and the result was the Vickers (Vickers purchased the Maxim Company outright in 1896). The Vickers design reduced the guns weight, simplified the action and introduced components made of high-strength alloys. Yet these improvements led to shortages of the weapon when the war broke out, and thus many British units were still equipped with older Maxims. The French, who also get criticized for being a bit behind the times in 1914, had in fact been undertaking military reforms when the war broke out. Their baptism of fire in World War Is opening months accelerated numerous changes that were already in the works. Just as the French army had been looking at uniform and helmet designs prior to the war, it also had been experimenting with small arms. Asa result, when the war started, the army was relying on a number of machine-gun designs, including the largely forgotten Puteaux ModelAPX 1905 machine gun, which was a disastrous attempt at changing what wasnt broken with the Maxims proven design. Another French design was the St. Etienne Mle 1907, a gas-operated, air-cooled machine gun that fired the 8 mm Lebel bullet of French infantry rifles. The St. Etienne Mle 1907 was an update of the Puteaux, but it too proved unsuccessful and was pulled out of action in favor of the Mle 1914 Hotchkiss machine gun. The 1914 Hotchkiss was the last version of a series of nearly identical designs that dated back to the Mle 1897. It was sturdy and reliable, and it remained in active service with the French army until the early 1940s. Yet the machine-gun design that proved to be a true game changer was a late arrival to the battlefield. The American-designed M1917 Browning machine gun served through both World Wars, the Korean War, and even saw limited use in Vietnam. The .30-caliber, belt-fed, water-cooled machine gun also led to the development of the air-cooled Browning M1919 and the larger .50-caliber M2 machine gun, which today is still the standard heavy machine gun of the U.S. military and other world armies. BIRTH OF THE ASSAULT WEAPON While the first true assault rifle wasnt created until Germany developed the StG44/MP44 during World War II, the worlds first assault-style weapons actually were developed prior to and during World War I. The requirement for rapid-fire assault weapons grew out of the need to provide attacking infantrymen with highly mobile firepower. Although machine guns were excellent defensive weapons, they were not exactly mobile. The Maxim, weighing nearly 100 pounds even without its heavy mount, could not be moved easily to keep pace with advancing infantrymen (the vast majority of whom were armed with bolt-action rifles). French military arms designer Colonel Louis Chauchat had considered the problem and designed a light machine gun prior to the war. His prewar design was refined, and the result was the 8 mm Lebel caliber Fusil Mitrailleur Modele 1915 CSRG, commonly known as the Chauchat. Today, this firearm has a reputation for being unreliable and even poorly designed. However, this could be due to the fact that the Chauchats supplied to American troops in 1918 were mainly well-used models past their prime. The firearm was actually reasonably reliable if properly maintained and cleaned. Moreover, due to wartime constraints, the Chauchats construction had been simplified to facilitate mass production, and the weapon was often produced using low-quality metal components. Likewise, its open-sided magazine (designed to allow the shooter to see how many bullets remained) often became jammed with mud and dirt. Yet the weapon had innovative features that would be incorporated in future assault rifles, to include a pistol grip, in-line stock, detachable magazine and selective fire capability. The Chauchat weighed just 20 pounds and could be fired from the hip and while moving. In many ways, it was arguably the first true assault weapon, even if not the first assault rifle. The British also sought a more mobile machine gun to serve as an assault weapon and developed the .303-caliber Lewis automatic machine gun, or simply the Lewis gun, which featured a distinctive wide tubular cooling shroud and a top-pan magazine. This gas-operated machine gun had a rate of fire of 500-600 rounds per minute and weighed 28 pounds somewhat heavy but still manageable by advancing infantrymen. The Lewis gun was issued to British infantry battalions on the Western Front as a replacement for the heavy Vickers machine gun, yet it achieved its greatest success as a machine gun for combat aircraft. While the American Expeditionary Forces had to rely on the Chauchat and to a lesser extent the Lewis gun, John Browning was already working on an assault weapon that was truly innovative. The .30-06 caliber Browning automatic rifle (BAR), which only reached American soldiers in the closing months of the war, weighed less than 20 pounds, was designed to be carried by advancing infantrymen and could be fired from the hip. The BAR also could be used as a light machine gun and fired from a bipod, introduced in later models. Although the BAR saw limited service in World War I due to its late appearance in that conflict, it was used extensively in World War II and the Korean War and saw some use early in the Vietnam War. SUBMACHINE GUNS The BAR, Chauchat and Lewis gun provided some mobile assault weapon firepower to infantrymen, but by the end of World War I the machine gun had truly been reduced in size. With this innovation came the birth of the submachine gun, a much smaller automatic weapon designed to fire pistol-sized cartridges. In fact, Germany created the concept and called it a maschinenpistole, or machine pistol. Hugo Schmeisser, whose name erroneously has been tied to the World War II MP38/40 submachine gun, created the first true submachine gun in World War I. While working for the Bergmann Waffenfabrik firm, Schmeisser, along with Theodor Bergmann, developed the Maschinenpistole 18/I, more commonly known as theMP18. The Germans used this submachine gun during the final stages of World War I, and its design was so successful that it directly influenced later submachine guns. What made the MP18 unique was that it featured an open bolt blowback action and fired pistol rounds. Originally, it was designed to use the unwieldy snail drum of the Luger artillery model pistol, which provided soldiers with 32 rounds of 9 mm Parabellum ammunition. The downside to this, however, was that reloading the drum magazine required a special tool. After the war, the MP18 was modified to use a straight magazine. Post-World War I Germany was forbidden by the Versailles Treaty to manufacture the MP18, yet production continued in secret. The weapon was improved in 1928 when a selector was added for single shot or automatic fire. The MP28 was subsequently used in World War II and was even copied by the British as the Lanchester submachine gun. While the MP18 was the first true purpose-designed submachine gun, the Italians designed the Villar-Perosa as a dual-barrel light machine gun for use with aircraft. It, too, fired pistol rounds rather than rifle rounds to increase the rate of fire and to provide more rounds per pound for carrying in military planes. The 9 mm pistol rounds,however, proved inadequate to shoot down aircraft, and the gun was later issued to ground troops in a single-barrel configuration. The French army also experimented with lighter machine guns and attempted to remedy some of the flaws of the Chauchat with apistolet-mitrailleur (or submachine gun) that originally was intended to provide protection for French tank crews. Yet the weapon never entered mass production, and today it is largely forgotten. The Americans scored a major design success with the Thompson submachine gun, although it came a little too late for use in World War I. General John T. Thompson, the weapons namesake, originally envisioned the gun as a semi-automatic rifle to replace the World War I bolt-action infantry rifle. Later, he decided it should be a one-man, hand-held machine gun a trench broom to sweep enemy troops from the trenches. The guns principal designers (Theodore H. Eickhoff, Oscar V. Payne and George E. Goll) designed the weapon as a true submachine gun that fired a .45 ACP round (a bullet developed for the Browning-designed M1911 semi-automatic pistol). Originally known as the Annihilator I, it was officially renamed the Thompson submachine gun the first small arm to incorporate submachine gun in its name. The Tommy gun, as it was often called, of course never saw service in the trenches. It appeared too late and only entered production in 1921. However, it was ubiquitous on the battlefields of World War II and the Korean War and it saw some use in Vietnam. Peter Suciu, a freelance business writer, is the author of the book Military Sun Helmets of the World. He has collected military helmets and uniforms for more than 30 years, and his ideal vacation includes visits to military museums around the world. Originally published in the May 2015 issue of Armchair General. In today's ultra-competitive hotel environment, every dollar counts. Any competitive edge that translates into a stronger bottom line is sought out, and every piece of hotel business is evaluated to determine its true worth. With rising costs associated with acquiring new guests through third-party platforms, hotels are rightly considering their most effective booking channels and looking to maximize business from owned assets like their own website. Guest Acquisition in a Digital Age Today's costs for acquiring guests are significant: OTAs charge between 15-25 percent commission for every booking they secure, with hotels also paying hefty transaction fees to their selling systems if the reservation is received through them. These third-party costs influence the amount of revenue hotels are able to secure from each guest - ultimately impacting a property's bottom line. While there are significant challenges in securing guests for the ideal price, at the ideal time, through the ideal booking channel today; hoteliers that effectively market themselves to potential guests, practice advanced search engine optimization strategies, and offer guests a unique value can greatly reduce their cost of acquiring guests. Hoteliers currently using OTAs to secure bookings should also consider ways to use those platforms to better support their future business. To increase both business and return business, savvy hoteliers are letting their OTAs handle the initial capturing of guests, and then implement strategies and incentives that ensure those guests book future reservations directly with their hotel - eliminating ongoing third-party booking expenses. Despite a high reliance on OTAs, the most cost-effective online booking channel for a hotel remains its own website. How can hoteliers maximize direct bookings through their website? The first step is increasing website traffic from potential guests and attracting more 'lookers.' To do this, hotels need to understand where, when and who those 'lookers' are. What dates are they searching for, where do they search and what is driving them to a particular market? Collecting this market intelligence provides data that can be used to develop targeted marketing strategies that attract the right type of 'lookers,' the ones most likely to become 'bookers.' Hoteliers can also increase direct bookings by re-targeting past visitors and directing them to their website. When researching a location, potential guests may visit a variety of travel websites and OTAs before deciding where to stay. Hotels need to keep their property on the top of the consumer's mind and influence guests to book on the hotel's website. Technology that offers tailored adverts customized around visitor behavior or website activity can help hotels achieve an estimated 10 percent return rate on website visits - increasing direct booking opportunities. Capturing Direct Business Through Effective Website Design With so much competition today, driving direct business and better revenue is a priority for all hoteliers. A greater share of the hotel budget is being allocated to attract qualified website traffic; however, what if the website's architecture and content is preventing - rather than enabling - the booking process? If a website's booking process is not seamless and secure, guests will book elsewhere. That means all the work that went into attracting a guest led to providing someone else a commission for that booking. With marketing funds focused on driving qualified traffic to the hotel website, the website architecture should deliver an enhanced customer experience with user-friendly features that enable easy navigation and booking, and offer a variety of payment options. The hotel website should be informative and assure guests of the level of service they can expect. It is also important the website can be viewed in multiple languages to cater to guests traveling from around the world. To help facilitate the booking process, content is key. To increase direct booking opportunities, website content should not only attract, but also keep visitors on the website. Hotels should incorporate user-generated content from social media sites, such as user ratings and reviews, to assure guests of the credibility and service standard of the hotel. Including online reviews as a component of website content can keep guests from leaving the website, making this is a critical opportunity for hotels since over half of online bookers search online reviews before making reservations. Since call centers are used less frequently by potential guests, many hotels have also neglected phone number placement for reservations on their website. With the advent of push-to-talk capabilities through mobile browsers, today's consumers are often looking to ask specific questions before booking. Hiding or removing phone numbers, or sending them to automated recordings, can quickly cause a hotel to lose out on a booking even though the guest may have had a straightforward query they wanted resolved prior to making a reservation. The rise in mobile device usage needs to be considered when attracting more direct bookings. Mobile phones and tablets are increasingly used for researching and last-minute bookings. A recent eMarketer survey showed that 65 percent of same-day hotel reservations are made via smartphones. Hoteliers looking to capture guest bookings from mobile devices (which are frequently used during 'micro-moments' such as traveling on public transportation, or searching for information while on the go) need to ensure their website is user-centric, responsive, compatible on mobile and tablet devices, and offers a positive visitor experience. Personalising the Guest Experience Today's hotel booking meta-sites and OTAs attract large volumes of traffic because they offer potential guests aggregated views of hotels in a particular destination. These sites make it easy to research potential accommodations by viewing and comparing locations, ratings, amenities and more. Ultimately, guests seek hotel experiences tailored around their unique needs, which is why they often visit a hotel's website for more information. However, if the hotel website isn't focused around the needs of the consumer (such as having more photos, videos and reviews than an OTA), they may quickly move onto another property. A hotel's website should be the best online representation of the property available on the internet. Hotels may not be able to compete with OTAs on the level of website traffic they generate, but they should beat them at enhancing the guest's online shopping experience. Throughout the research and purchase journey, hotels need personalize their website and differentiate their property to highlight what makes it unique. For example, most hotel rooms look similar, and while it is important for guests to know what the hotel rooms look like, hotels should focus heavier on other kinds of differentiators. These differentiators could be local experiences or their iconic rooftop pool, farm-to-table restaurant or intriguing history. Millennials, for example, may not be as brand loyal as previous generations, but they aren't driven solely by price either. They appreciate unique experiences they can share with their networks - and they are willing to pay more for it. Maximizing Direct Bookings With the Right Pricing While it remains vital that hotels are using the right processes to attract online traffic (and their website seamlessly facilitates the booking process), if the rooms or services are priced incorrectly, hotels can still lose out on critical business. Guests will decline to book at properties perceived to be too costly or, adversely, hotels might be attracting guests at price points that leave revenue unclaimed. The practice of revenue management ensures that revenue opportunities are maximized from all booking channels, which includes a hotel's website. It can be a struggle for hotels to determine which pricing strategies deliver maximum revenue optimization. This can become an overly complex and time-consuming process, and something virtually impossible to do in a manual environment. Automation allows a revenue management system to send pricing and inventory decisions to other selling systems, such as property management or central reservations systems. One of its top benefits is that it binds together the hotel's revenue management strategy and its deployment - and its integration helps reduce human errors and inconsistencies. This also frees up valuable time for revenue managers to be more strategic since their automated revenue management technology is handling the heavy-lifting of executing a dynamic revenue strategy. Pricing Advances Hoteliers Need to Consider It is important to understand the pricing strategies employed by competing properties in the market and the effect this has on forecasting and pricing. Hotels should look for revenue management technologies that incorporate competitor data into their demand, pricing and forecasting at the room-type level. Pricing by room type is an area of opportunity for nearly every hotel today. Understanding the demand by each room type enables hoteliers to make data-driven decisions on whether to oversell the base level rooms, or close them out and sell true to type (rather than forced upgrades at no charge). By individually calculating demand by room class, the pricing difference between each room class can be elastic - and drive significant revenue uplift when demand for higher room classes such as suites or club rooms is high. The traditional approach of adding a flat dollar amount onto the base room type rate often leaves significant revenue opportunities untouched. Driving Direct Business It's no secret that driving direct business and better revenue is one of the top priorities facing all hoteliers. In an age of rising third-party guest acquisition costs, hotels are increasingly turning their attention to their most cost-effective online booking channel: their website. However, driving website traffic is not enough on its own; to maximize and achieve the most profitable revenue results, hotels need to not only attract the 'lookers,' but be successfully converting them into 'bookers.' About IDeaS IDeaS, a SAS company, is the world's leading provider of revenue management software and services. With over 30 years of expertise, IDeaS delivers revenue science to more than 18,000 clients in 145 countries. Combining industry knowledge with innovative, data-analytics technology, IDeaS creates sophisticated yet simple ways to empower revenue leaders with precise, automated decisions they can trust. Results delivered. Revenue transformed. Discover greater profitability at ideas.com. 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 Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 7 By Emil Ilgar Trend: Indian government has set aside a $235 million line of credit for development of Irans Chabahar Port since 2015, but is unable to release the first tranche of $150 million due to Irans delay to submit a proposal for release of the fund despite several reminders, Indian officials said. Iran and India signed a deal in May 2015 on development of the Chabahar Port, aimed at opening of a transit route to Afghanistan and Central Asia for Indian goods and products, avoiding the land route through Pakistan. A year after that, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that his country would invest $500 million to develop the project. "The funds cannot be released without paperwork and this has not yet reached the Indian government. Even reminders from EXIM Bank to Iran have not helped," a person familiar with the matter told the Indian Economic Times. "There are apparently no reasons behind Irans delay in submitting the proposal for the release of loan," the person alleged. As per the memorandum of understanding (MoU), signed during the visit of Shipping Minister Nitin Gadkari to Tehran in May 2015, EXIM Bank is to extend a $150 million line of credit for development of the port complex. Another $85 million was allotted later following a contract between the two sides for supply of equipment to develop two berths in the port complex, persons familiar with the development told Economic Times. They said India had offered to release the first portion of the line of credit within four months of the Iranian proposal on the port expansion and development plan, but the proposal has yet to come. Pirkles 25 years with Four Seasons have been divided between resorts and hotels; from shorts-and-sandals destinations in Hawaii, the Bahamas and Malaysia to necktie-expected addresses in Boston, New York, Jakarta and Riyadh. For the past two and a half years, Pirkle has been based in Bahrain - opening the magnificent Four Seasons Hotel Bahrain Bay, rising 68 stories on its own island. Before Bahrain, he first became a General Manager in Malaysia and the beautiful beaches of Langkawi and then moved to Riyadh in 2011 where he was the GM for three years. Before graduating from Indianas Purdue University with a Bachelor of Science in Hospitality Management, Pirkle realised his passion for hospitality during his high school working days, and has successfully pursued a career in hotel management ever since. After graduation, he first started with Ritz-Carlton, which in turn opened the door to Four Seasons; Pirkles two plus decades with Four Seasons brings a wealth of experience into resort management. When not assuring the most luxurious experience for guests, Pirkle and his wife Sherry care for feral, or stray, cats. With a real devotion to the initiative, the couple always supported the notion in significant movements at every destination they were in. Pirkle treats his three pets the way they should be in their new Middle Eastern home. The team at Four Seasons Resort Sharm El Sheikh warmly welcomes Greg and his wife Sherry to their new Red Sea haven, and to the Sharm El Sheikh family. According to a report from Vibe Magazine and WFLA, law enforcement in Hernando County, Florida seized almost 5,500 packages of heroin stamped with Donald Trumps face last Friday. Authorities were tipped off about the heroin by a mail courier who had previously discovered a shipment of the narcotics. Apparently, Kelvin Scott Johnson was buying the drugs in a city in the Northeast region of the state and shipping them back to himself in the Tampa Bay area. Johnson is being held on a $75,000 bond and faces charges of trafficking in heroin, possession of cocaine and a slew of others. While this is a weird story, this isnt the first time something like this has happened as The New York Times reports that a New Hampshire woman was busted last April for selling bags of heroin with Trumps name on them. Check out the video report below. Donald Trump Davon Trapo Prather is 18 years old and graduated from high school last spring, but hes already staked his claim for the title of Best Rapper in Madison, Wisconsin. On SHE EP and Shade Trees, the two projects he released last year, Trapo tackled difficult topics like race and heartbreak with honesty, intelligence, and immense heart. Indeed, his precociousness has turned plenty of heads, but no one believes in Trapo more than Trapo himself. HNHH recently had an opportunity to ask Trapo a few questions about his early forays into rap, life in Madison, and his major league ambitions. *** What was your household and family like growing up? I lived with my mother and father and grandpops, I was real close to my mom, and used to go to her for advice. I never had a close relationship with my pops. Im kind of distant from my family, just because I like to chill alone and be isolated. What music inspired you growing up? Isaiah Rashad, Tyler the Creator, Kendrick Lamar, and hella more. i liked how personal their music was. It was cool seeing people can make personal music and still sell. What was the first song you ever recorded? I cant remember what my first song was called but I made it in fifth grade, I didnt know how to download beats, so i just held my microphone next to my speakers, and let it record. Then I rapped over the beat I recorded. The mix was trash but the song was written well, it was catchy. Early on, were you recording in your house or a studio? What was your setup like? I was recording in the house, in my room. I had a laptop, a USB microphone, and [recording software] Audacity. Madison is 7% black. How has growing up as an extreme minority shaped your music and your overall outlook on life? It makes my music confident. Because its only 7% black here, and everyday I go outside, Im constantly reminded its 7% black, it makes me proud to be who I am. It makes my music proud because its personal music so it reflects on me. Its frustrating because i know how a majority of the white race sees us. I dont feel limited at all, I feel like anything I want is possible. Whats one thing everyone should know about Madison? Everybody should know that theres absolutely nothing to do here, and because of that most of the kids here are pot heads or are drinking at a early age, because thats what makes Madison fun. I definitely choose Madison out of all places in Wisconsin. How would you characterize the local hip hop scene in Madison? Is it strong? Is it weak? Are you on good terms with other rappers in the area, or is it competitive? I definitely feel like I am the best in Madisons local hip hop scene when it comes to the drive, musical content, and strategy. There are good artists in the scene, but i feel like they are not trying to raise the bar as high. Chicago is one of your most popular songs. How did you come up with the concept? This was when i was working on SHE EP. I did a show in Chicago at Reggies with Supa Bwe. And when I went back home I needed an outro for SHE, so I wrote about when I went out to Chicago for that one night. You tweeted that you refuse to be in the same category as these new kids. What do you have that these other kids dont? I have actual meaningful content. I have subtext in my music. Im bringing more of an artsy vibe to it, but not like stereotypical artsy shit. Shit that come from my thoughts, making the music literally feel like my thoughts. With the voice i put on that, with the pitch changes. Im making timeless abstract music, not shit that sound like 50 other niggas. Im making music with longevity in mind. Can you write anywhere, or it does have to be in the studio or another specific location? Do you write on a notepad or phone? Or do you write in your head? Its just got to be a vibe, I can write in my room, its gotta be quiet, unless Im in the studio and the beats playing over and over or being looped. I can pretty much write anywhere if its in those places. I like to write late at night at like 4 AM. I write my lyrics down on a notepad. I used to use my phone. And i used to go off the top, freestyling songs. What lyricists have inspired you? Kendrick Lamar, Isaiah Rashad, Kid Cudi, Frank Ocean, Andre 3000, and Earl Sweatshirt. In your mind, what distinguished Shade Trees from your previous two projects? Shade Trees was me being experimental. I spent more time on that project in the studio and took more time writing it than on any other project. It was the most truthful music Ive put out. You tweeted that youve been producing a lot lately. What program do you use? Is it challenging? What producers are you modeling your sound after? Im new to producing, and im just using FL studios right now and trying to practice on Ableton. I just model my production after the music i make already, off the sounds i think are cool. Does producing scratch a different creative itch than writing and rapping? Yeah, because it involves a lot more attention, youre really making a beat based off of how you feel, its interesting to see what melodies and chords you chose. What are you working on next? What are your goals for 2017? Im about to drop a project this year, I might even be dropping two. We plan on stepping up the visuals this year too. Right now im working on my album, but I might drop the EP before that though. Im going to be dropping loosies regardless. Colombian-born reggaeton superstar J Balvin recently paid a visit to New York Citys Stadium Goods with Joe La Puma for a little sneaker shopping in which he revealed how he used to get Adidas Yeezy samples even before Kanye West himself. Additionally, J Balvin spoke about what it was like growing up and getting sneakers in his hometown of Medellin, his close friendship with Pharrell and his love of the Doernbecher Air Jordan 4. At the end of the day, he walked out of Stadium Goods with over $4,000 worth of gear, highlighted by a couple of Pharells Human Race Adidas NMDs and a $2,000 pair of Fragment Air Jordan 1s. J Balvin The harm reduction initiative could be up and running in Dublin city-centre by the autumn... The good news this afternoon is that the Government has approved the publication of the Misuse of Drugs (Supervised Injecting Facilities) Bill 2017, which will pave the way for the piloting of Ireland's first SIF, which is expected to open in Dublin city-centre this autumn. It will, according to the Department of Health, provide safe harbour and medical help for chronic users. Explaining the philosophy further, the National Drug Strategy Minister, Catherine Byrne says: They will provide a controlled place for people to inject, but will be much more than that a place to rest, have a chat and access the services people need. I believe in a health-led and person-centred approach to the drug problem. For me this is all about people and looking after the most vulnerable and marginalised in our society. The human cost of public injecting is clear and keeps adding up the lack of dignity, the effect it has on peoples health, wellbeing and safety. We know that these facilities are not the sole solution to the drugs problem and many other steps are needed, but I am committed to doing everything we can to help those who need it most. The Department of Health statement resumes: This is a controlled environment where drug users may self-administer, by injection, drugs they have brought with them. Such facilities will provide access to clean, sterile injecting equipment and have trained staff on hand to provide emergency care in the event of an overdose, as well as advice on treatment and rehabilitation. They will also help alleviate the problems associated with injecting on the street, including drug-related litter. Despite sensationalist claims to the contrary by an Irish Sunday newspaper, the updating of the Act doesnt mean that heroin is being legalised here. It is important to note that possession of controlled drugs will continue to be an offence outside a supervised injecting facility, the Department of Health continues. Possession for sale or supply will remain an offence both inside and outside a supervised injecting facility. Who will run the Supervised Injecting Facility, and it's precise location have yet to be determined says Catherine Byrnes Minister for Health colleague, Simon Harris. "I know people have concerns about where this first pilot facility will be located, but I want to assure you that no decisions have been made," he stresses. "The HSE will be undertaking a process of consultation, including with local stakeholders and communities. Any decision on the location of the pilot facility will be informed by the outcome of this consultation process. The news has been welcomed by Catherine Byrnes Drugs Minister predecessor, Aodhan O Riordain, who first took the idea to Enda Kenny and the cabinet. Lump in my throat, I have to admit, he tweets. Well done Minister Byrne. The current issue of Hot Press includes an interview with Pat Paroz, the ex-Commander of Drug and Alcohol Coordination for New South Wales, who talks about the success of Sydney's Supervised Injecting Facility, and why local residents and businesses in Dublin have nothing to fear from the introduction of one here. Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 7 By Khalid Kazimov Trend: An Iranian MP has confirmed that the country recently purchased 149 tons of yellowcake (natural uranium) denying the remarks suggesting that Russia was the seller of the shipment. Mojtaba Zolnouri, the head of Iranian parliaments nuclear committee, has said that for some reasons he cannot disclose the name of the country that exported the yellowcake shipment to Iran, ICANA (Iranian parliaments official news agency) reported. I emphasize that Russia was not a side of this deal, he added. The MP also refused the reports that suggest Iran received the yellowcake shipment in exchange for raw uranium. Earlier on Feb. 6, the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran announced that the country would receive the final batch of the 149-ton yellowcake shipment from Russia on Feb. 7. This article can only be read with a Premium Account Montreals NEeMA has announced a date at Whelans this April as part of her European tour in support of her new album Painting My Wall Gold. NEeMA, the contemporary folk artist, has announced that she will be playing Whelan's pub on 11 April 2017, tickets will be on sale this week. She has toured extensively around Canada, the U.S., Australia, and Europe, and has opened U.S. dates for Jesse Winchester and European shows for Joe Cocker, Jeff Beck, Cyndi Lauper and Elton John. Her album Painting My Wall Gold was released early in March of last year. NEeMA was mentored by her good friend Leonard Cohen, and her sophomore album Watching You Think was co-produced by Cohen and Pierre Marchand, who works with Sarah McLachlan. Painting My Wall Gold was produced by Daryl Johnson and Mark Howard, who has worked with Bob Dylan and Daniel Lanois. The Montreal Gazette have described NEeMA as "one of a kind" and they have also said that some of her songs, such as 'Angel Undercover', have echoes of her former mentor Leonard Cohen. Painting My Wall Gold has also been described as a 'beautiful, sophisticated, globally-infused, and electronically-enhanced album of modern folk music that draws heavily on themes of acceptance and equanimity', and her lyrics have been described as 'poetic in their ambiguity and sprinkled with visual metaphors and spiritual allusions, transcend the personal triumphs and tragedies that gave them life.' Advertisement NEaMA will play at Whelan's on April 11. Tickets priced 15 go on sale this Friday February 10 at 9am through www.ticketmaster.ie & usual outlets nationwide. The Northern Irish punk rock band will make its way to Dublin this December. The Undertones will perform at Dublins Academy. After previously announcing several shows in Germany, England and Scotland, the band will also make an appearance in Dublins Academy on December 02, 2017. Tickets, priced from 25 are going on sale Friday, the 10th February 2017 at 10am. Being founded in Derry, Northern Ireland by five friends, including John ONeill, Feargal Sharkey, Billy Doherty and Michael Brady, the band started out with rehearsing cover versions of songs in their living rooms. Being influenced by punk rock, the band was inspired to write their own tunes, leading to their first own records. Their first breakthrough came after the band continued to play small gigs in local venues, which inspired guitarist John ONeill to write the, now widely known, single Teenage Kicks. When the DJ John Peel received a copy, he liked it so much that he decided to play it twice in a row in his radio show. After The Undertones signed with Sire Records Teenage Kicks was re-released, resulting in the bands first appearance in the UK Single Charts. Teenage Kicks then was followed by several other punkpop successes such as Here Comes The Summer, Jimmy Jimmy and Wednesday Week. They also recorded four highly acclaimed LPs. In 1983 Feargal Sharkey, by then vocalist of the band, made a decision that would have a huge impact on the whole band. He decided to leave the band to pursue a solo career. This caused The Undertones to disband in the same year. Advertisement After 16 years of silence, in 1999 The Undertones reformed, replacing Sharkey with Paul McLoone in vocals and after much consideration the band released their new album Get What You Need in 2003. Finding a way to address a new generation of fans with songs like I Need Your Love The Way It Used To Be, Everything But You and especially Thrill Me, The Undertones found their way into the radios again. In 2007, the band recorded and released some new music again, collected on the album Dig Yourself Deep, which was later described as a true return to the classic sound of The Undertones. To celebrate their 40th anniversary in 2016, the band released two LP remasters of their two first released LPs. It can be said that The Undertones is one of the most famous bands to have emerged from Northern Ireland. English indie trio White Lies are back with another collection of gloom-tinged arena rockers in new album Friends, a top twenty hit in the UK last year. The album title is certainly intriguing I wonder what inspired it? A lot of the subject matter on the album is to do with how your friendships change as you grow older, reflects frontman Harry McVeigh in his posh tones, down the line from Milan, where the band are currently on tour. When youre a young teenager, you see your friends all the time you go to school with them every day. As you grow older, the time you spend apart gets longer and longer. Its totally normal for us now, in our late twenties, not to see some of our best friends for three or four months at a time, maybe even a year. But youre still really close with them. Its really interesting, and the record deals with a lot of stuff like that how your relationships change and move forward, and backwards sometimes. The majority of Texas' hundreds of thousands of oil and gas wells have gone at least five years without an inspection, underscoring a monitoring regimen that even state regulators concede is inadequate and increases the risk of leaks, spills and other hazards. The Railroad Commission, which regulates the state's oil and gas industry, says it not only has a severe shortage of inspectors - just 158 for 435,000 wells - but also antiquated computer systems that make it nearly impossible to track whether wells and their owners have histories of violating state rules and regulations. Data are stored on a 40-year-old system that is inaccessible to the commissioners, most employees, and members of the public - unless they know how to use a mainframe computer, according to interviews with Railroad Commission staff. About 1,400 violations were issued based on inspections in 2016, with the majority - more than 700 - involving the failure to adequately plug inactive wells and protect water sources from toxic chemicals, according to the commission's annual violations report. Commissioners concede they don't know how widespread such problems are since 65 percent of wells - about two out of three - have gone five years or more without an inspection, according to agency's budget request. It's also difficult, they said, to know if certain companies are repeat offenders or certain wells are consistent problems since they can't easily access inspection data that might show a history of violations. "We are nowhere near where we'd like to be," said Kim Corley, who became the commission's executive director a year ago. "We can produce reports out of the mainframe, but it's not web-based, it's not instantaneous and it's kind of clunky. And until we get that money, we can't upgrade." The Railroad Commission is seeking a special appropriation of about $45 million from the Legislature to hire more inspectors, upgrade its technology and reduce the inspections backlog, among other things. The goal is to inspect every well at least once every five years and make data more accessible to the commission and the public. In past legislative sessions, including 2015, lawmakers have chosen not to provide the money the commission says it needs. This year, the House and Senate have proposed radically different budgets for the commission. The House has proposed increasing the budget by $35 million, while the Senate proposed cutting it by $13.5 million. The commission will go before the Senate Finance Committee Feb. 9 to defend its requests. Sen. Jane Nelson, R-Flower Mound, who is chair of the finance committee, described the Senate plan as a starting point in the debate over funding levels for the Railroad Commission. "I live in the Barnett Shale, so I understand both the economic impact and the health and safety concerns involved with energy production," Nelson said in a statement. "We will work to ensure that the resources are there to ensure a safe, thriving energy sector in Texas." Two industry trade groups, the Texas Oil and Gas Association and Texas Independent Producers and Royalty Owners Association, said they support additional funding for the Railroad Commission to beef up inspections staff, upgrade computer systems and modernize data collection. The Railroad Commission's roughly $87 million annual budget is largely funded by fees paid by the state's oil and gas companies, meaning the agency's revenues are subject to the vagaries of the oil market. The boom-and-bust cycles tend to work against the commission, creating many more wells to inspect during the booms and significantly reducing fee collections during the busts. Ultimately, both cycles result in too many wells and too few inspectors, regulators said. Even with added inspectors, it would still take years to clear the inspection backlog. By 2019, the Railroad Commission said in its budget request, 20 percent of wells - one in five - would still be waiting more than five years for inspection. Environmental advocates say the state needs to devote far more money to ensure wells operate safely. Inspecting wells each year would require the commission to quadruple the number of inspectors. "You cannot claim that you are doing the job of protecting the public interest if you are not inspecting wells each year," said Alan Septoff, a spokesman for Earthworks, a national environmental advocacy group that has analyzed inspection data in Texas and other energy producing states. Most have multi-year inspection backlogs, he said. Scott Anderson, a Texas-based senior policy director at the Environmental Defense Fund, another national advocacy group, said the numbers just don't add up for inspectors. Each has a goal to visit 700 wells a year. That barely makes a dent in the backlog, but checking any more than that could result in rushed, cursory inspections and missed problems, he said. Prioritizing inspections according to past histories of violations would be more effective, Anderson added, but, of course, that information is buried in an outdated computer system. It's February 1945 in Scotland, and the war just landed in Lorna Anderson's front yard. Since her two older brothers left to fight, it's been hard for Lorna's father to keep up the family farm. But when a military truck pulls up to the house one morning, 17-year-old Lorna is appalled to see a young German soldier jump off. He's a prisoner of war, brought from a nearby camp to help out on the farm. "The enemy!" Lorna protests. "You can't be bringing enemy soldiers onto our farm, Dad. No!" She's even more shocked when the German turns his head. On the left side of his face, the skin has been burned away by shrapnel from a grenade, leaving behind tight, raw scar tissue and a misshapen eye. Thus begins "Wait for Me," a new young-adult novel by Caroline Leech. The historical romance is the Houston writer's debut, and she'll read from her book at Brazos Bookstore Tuesday night. Needless to say, Lorna falls in love with the German prisoner. It's not a surprise, but it's a joy to follow her as she moves past revulsion and begins to see beyond his uniform and scars. Leech hails from Scotland, and her story was inspired by real war stories. More Information Author appearance Caroline Leech will discuss and sign "Wait for Me," 7 p.m. Tuesday, Brazos Bookstore, 2421 Bissonnet; 713-523-0701, brazosbookstore.com. 'Wait for Me' By Caroline Leech HarperTeen, 384 pp., $17.99 See More Collapse Several years ago, a friend mentioned in passing that when her father was growing up in South Wales, a German prisoner of war had worked on the family farm. "I had no idea, at that point, that POWs were used as labor," Leech said. "I did some research, and as I read more about it, I started to feel this tingle of excitement growing." She found stories of lifelong friendships that had formed between these prisoners and people in towns all over Allied territory. Just last year, in fact, a former German POW left his estate - the equivalent of nearly $500,000 - to a tiny Scottish village, thanking the Scottish people for their "kindness and generosity" during and after his imprisonment. And in fact, Leech discovered, there were plenty of romances and marriages between German POWs and local girls. "People were falling in love all over the place - and very quickly because of this anxiety that there might not be a tomorrow," she said. "Wait for Me" captures that wartime uncertainty - the crackle of news on the radio, the falsely cheerful letters from home, the fear of a telegram bearing bad news. It also includes plenty of things that will feel familiar to teens of any era: the betrayal of friends, spiked lemonade at a dance, obsessing over a kiss. "Wait for Me" was "a YA novel from the start," said Leech, who has three teenagers of her own. "It's the thrill of doing something for the first time," she said. "The first kiss, the first time you leave home - you're always doing something for the first time. That's why I love YA - there's a real thrill to discovering the world." In writing historical fiction, though, Leech knew she had a challenge: how to explain World War II-era societal norms to the 21st-century girls reading her story? She knew it might be hard for readers to relate to a story about girls whose futures offered limited options. The necessities of war brought women into the workplace, "but once they got married, they had to settle down and look after the family and house," she said. To her young readers, "this does not compute." Her heroine is feisty and brave, ready and willing to exert her independence or stand up to a man, even if it's her big brother. But she also has limited opportunities because she's a girl. Lorna's father doesn't want her going to college, and her teacher urges her to apply for secretarial school ("It's amazing what girls these days can do with good secretarial skills.") When her best friend starts dating the minister's son, Lorna is stunned to watch Iris' independent thinking evaporate; instead of being fun and free, Iris now has to take orders from her boyfriend and play bridge with his parents. "You have to somehow explain to your readers: This is how it was," Leech said. Leech moved to Texas from Wales a decade ago, when her husband, Perryn Leech, took a job with the Houston Grand Opera; he's now the opera's managing director. She wrote the bulk of "Wait for Me" as a National Novel Writing Month challenge several years ago, then put the text in a drawer. "It was such a tiny little story in such an enormous world of war, I decided no one would want to read it," she said. Four years later, Leech needed something to enter in a writing contest, so she decided to dust off her World War II romance. Her story won that contest, then it won another - and the judge happened to be an editor for HarperTeen. Leech is working on revisions for a second HarperTeen novel, another wartime story set in Scotland. World War II is rich material for fiction, Leech has realized - especially the stories she has found of people who reached out to help each other, save each other and love each other, even though their countries were at war. "That's really what my book is trying to say: War is not straightforward," she said. "There are nuances in war." It was originally a European tradition, not ours. But in 1780, needing a more formal way to send former Continental Congressman Francis Dana from France to Holland, Benjamin Franklin used his own printing press to create a new document. The single-sheet letter, written entirely in French, politely requested that Dana and his servant be allowed to pass freely as they traveled for the next month. Franklin signed and sealed the page himself and handed it off to Dana, creating one of the first known U.S. "passe-ports." Today, the nation's passports still display vestiges of their diplomatic origins with a written entreaty to let "the citizen national named herein to pass without delay or hindrance." But in almost every other aspect, the modern 32-page, eagle-emblazoned booklets bear little resemblance to Franklin's makeshift bit of ambassadorial decorum. The differences hint at the profound shiftsin appearance, in use, in meaning, in trust, in who got to carry themthat produced a document that came to play a much larger role in American life than originally intended. It's the story of how a few pieces of paper came to produce new answers to the question "who are you?" Ernest Hemingway Collection, John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, Boston The idea of the passport pre-dates the founding of the republicone can find early mention of "safe conducts" in the biblical passages of the Book of Nehemiah and in histories of Medieval Europe. Like the Franklin-issued passe-port, these early documents evolved from deals that granted negotiators safe passage through foreign territory. They relied largely on an assumption that the person presenting the papers was the person or group named in them (if any was named at all). But mostly, they were a formality. The privilege and reputation of the limited number of people who frequently traveled usually trumped the need for any formal letter of introduction. Not required to previous generations For the hundred years following the American Revolution, the U.S. passport largely followed this historic form too. In the first half of the 19th century, the State Department only issued a few hundred passports per year. Governors and mayors did too, absent any law prohibiting it. The letter-like documents usually only identified the bearer's name, and could be drawn up to cover a diplomat, a private citizen, a non-citizen, a man's entire family, or even an entire ship. Passports then were rarely required for cross-border travel. Instead, they were more often used to gain access to private museums, collect mail from a post office, get invitations to social events, or to serve as a souvenir worth framing. In these early years, the U.S. lacked compelling reasons to identify each person coming in and out of its borders. Immigration levels had been low, and the newcomers who arrived helped fill labor shortages and sparsely populated frontiers. And, unlike citizens of most other countries, Americans had long been skittish about any sort of national identification system. By the latter half of the 1800s, however, demographic and political winds began to shift. First came the laws prohibiting entry of prostitutes and convicts in 1875. Then came the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882. During World War I, the U.S. government began scanning for spies, radicals, and Communists; and soon after, the Immigration Acts of the 1920s established hard nationality-based quotas. The more xenophobic the U.S. became, the more interest it had in separating traveling citizens from unwanted aliens at its ports. The standardization In response to these new screening demands, the federal government turned to the passport. Through a series of ad hoc laws and policies over the course of a few decades, policymakers radically transformed the passport from a diplomatic introduction for traveling elites into the highly-controlled identification for citizens we'd recognize today. In 1856, Congress granted the State Department sole issuing power over the papers, and limited their use to U.S. citizens. The agency also slowly standardized the passport's appearance. Engraving plates, signatures, and seals all lent the document a look of authoritygiving it a form more like a certificate than a letter (the booklet form came later, in 1926). Officials also added markedly modern requirements. Applicants had to produce supporting documents to prove their identity. Forms demanded consistently spelled full names and dates of birth. The passports themselves began consistently listing objective physical features of the bearer, such as height and eye colorshortly replaced by a stark, square headshot photo. Designated government clerks now checked all of the information, all with the idea of creating a verifiable identity that couldn't be easily assumed or forged. Congress made yet another big change: During World War I, legislators (alongside European nations) passed emergency measures that demanded passports from everyone entering the country. And after the war ended, the requirements never went away. Like "common criminals!" Between the 1850s and 1930s, these transformations did not go unnoticed. Newspapers filled pages with stories on the "passport nuisance"the term used to cover the perceived absurdity that the government would force people of the "better" class to be documented like common criminals. Ladies blushed at having to tell their age to a clerk. Gentlemen objected to having their romantic notions of individual character reduced to a generic list of physical traits. Headlines like "W.K. Vanderbilt Tries to Identify Himself" detailed bureaucratic bothers, and the fact that President Woodrow Wilson needed a passport made front-page news. Stories chronicled tales like that of a Danish man who allegedly waited weeks at the border to regrow the mustache in his ID photo. A 1920s advice columnist even recommended a young woman show a fiance her passport picture as a test to see if he loved her. If he survived the shock of seeing the mugshot-like image, she could safely assume that he truly adored her. In a society that previously relied on local reputation, the idea that the government could replace respectability with an impersonal bureaucratic document seemed, to many, preposterous. Rather than a privilege, some saw the passport as a symbol of eroding trust between citizens and their government. Who should be an American? But the government's new demands for proof of identity hit on another major shift going on in the United States at the time: it was becoming more difficult to immediately recognize who should be considered an American. Citizenship was extended to free slaves. The previous generation's surge in immigrant labor made it difficult to distinguish old faces from new. Women were beginning to demand recognition independent of a husband. A rising industrial middle class blurred old markers of status. At the same time, prosperity and easier modes of transportation were giving people more reason and means to move around. Travelers of all races and social status now mattered. Having a passport that said you were American took on new meaning for those who had to, and were allowed to, carry one. The passport had become an instrument of control to help further xenophobic exclusion, but to many of its holders, the document could feel empowering, proof of their belonging. Because the U.S. doesn't issue any other form of national identification card (state driver's licenses and Social Security numbers fill the gaps, and can be obtained by foreign residents), carrying a passport became a way for citizens in the wide-reaching federation to assume a national identity. A symbol Though few possessed oneless than a tenth of the population for most of the 20th centurythe passport, with its elaborate seals and ornamentations, became the supreme authenticator of national identity. The passport, more or less, settled into its current form by the late 1930s. Small adaptations in decades since generally followed larger historical trends. Authorities used them in reaction to the country's fears, attempting to impede Communists, terrorists, and scares in between. Tweaks were made in response to new technologies (the new 2017 passports will feature a stiff polycarbonate id page containing a RFID chip) and to the expanding politics of inclusion (applications now accommodate gender changes and same-sex parents). Perhaps the biggest change to the passport is that it's no longer novel. More Americans than ever have one132 million, nearly quadruple the number 20 years ago. The "nuisance" of producing our small certificates of citizenship at the border has largely faded into a thoughtless routine. Identities are blurring as more and more people move around. And, as they do, the little blue pocketbook with its lithographed scenes of Americana, awaiting all those coming-and-going stamps, has become one of the more improbable symbols of American identity. *** Craig Robertson is a professor of media studies at Northeastern University and author of The Passport in America: The History of a Document. This story appeared first in Zocalo Public Square. *** Write us an email or share your comments below. Were your ancestors required to use passports? How much private information should passports include nowadays? This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate This story ran on Oct. 21, 1947, in the Houston Chronicle. The words and headlines are reprinted as they appeared then. Approximately 200,000 persons visited the new Foley's at 1100 Main during the nine hours Monday following its opening at noon, the store's officials announced Tuesday. The figure is based on counts taken by employees who tallied the number of riders on electric stairways and elevators. When the store opened its doors again at 9:30 a.m. Tuesday, another large crowd of shopping-minded citizens was on hand to tour the six floors and basement. Packed to Capacity. The crowd was so large at one time Monday afternoon, shortly after the store opened, that the electric railway from the basement to the first floor was packed and there no longer was room for more persons - in fact, quite a few still were waiting at the Main Street entrances to get into the store. This occurred despite the fact that four large elevators and the electric stairways were running steadily in the store, which was especially designed for speedy movement of customers from one department to another. The crowds apparently did not come just to look. Heavy sales were reported. All in Gay Mood. The shoppers and the clerks were in gay mood as they jammed in the store, the shoppers craning their necks to view the merchandise on display. A London, England, department store executive, Sir Richard Burbidge, described the scene as "eye watering" to a Britisher who does not have such things at home. He expressed envy at the enormous variety and abundance of goods for sale. He and Lady Burbidge came here to attend the official opening. Sir Richard was not the only one who found the displays "eye watering", however. Men and women alike exclaimed at the magnitude of the store's merchandising as they viewed the displays. Celebrities "Impressed." Out-of-town celebrities appeared to be as impressed as the local citizens. They used such adjectives as "wonderful," and "beautiful," and "amazing," in referring to the $12,000,000 venture. This figure includes the store, the parking, garage on Travis and the big warehouse at 2103 Eastwood. The new parking garage will open for business on November 4 for customers of Foley's. It contains five stories and will handle a capacity of 600 automobiles. The notables who came to Houston for the Foley's opening were taken for a trip down the Houston Ship Channel Tuesday, stopping for lunch at San Jacinto Inn and then continuing down to Galveston for dinner there. Officials of Foley's again called the public's attention to the new store hours. Foley's will open from 12 noon until 9 p.m. on Mondays and from 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday through Saturdays. The Oct. 20 edition of the Chronicle carried two Foley's stories on its front page, including this one : Foley's tells out-of-town trade plans Officers Say Store Aims at "Darned Good Job" in Houston, Then at "Entire Southwest." The new Foley's aims to bring the Southwest to Houston, Fred Lazarus, Jr. of Cincinnati, president of the Federated Department Stores, of which Foley's is a member, said here Monday. Mr. Lazarus headed a large group of nationally prominent businessmen who came for the opening of the new $12,000,000 Foley's at noon Monday. Max Levine, president of Foley's, said the store now has charge accounts in every county in Texas and that many of the these customers come to Houston to make their purchases. Mr. Levine said Foley's is opening the new store with an inventory if $6,000,000 in merchandise of which $2,750,000 is in addition to what was carried in the old store. Mr. Levine revealed, also, that Foley's has set up a budget of $24,000,000 in sales for the first 12 months after opening. He smiled and added: "we have some little private hopes about doing better than that." Mr. Lazarus, Mr. Levine said Foley's immediate aim is to do "a darned good job in Houston and its environs" and then set their merchandising guns on the entire Southwest. Can Add Six More Floors. Mr. Lazarus appeared proud of the fact that the new Foley's is so constructed that six more floors may be added later. The store now has a basement, six merchandising floors and a seventh floor for various employee services. He is proud, also, of the special design of the store, in which, he said, every inch of cubical space is utilized for merchandising purposes. As an example of what he meant, he pointed out that except for the first floor the new store is windowless and the perimeter of the sales spaces on each floor is available as stock rooms. Mr. Lazarus told of innumerable hours if consultation which went into the plan of the new store. Officials of Federated studied the Houston market and conferred with officials of Foley's on each department. These officials made trips all over the United States, observing other retail stores. When asked if he could estimate how many hours or days of consultation went into the planning of the new store, Mr. Lazarus smiled and threw both hands in the air. Mr. Lazarus emphasized the main change in the old and the new Foley's, which is that the new store is a complete department store. Some new departments have been added, such as furniture and restaurants while other departments have been "dissected" and enlarged, forming separate departments. There are now 204 separate departments and sub-departments in the store. UPDATE In 1988, Campeau Corp. bought Federated and sold the Foley's division to May Department Stores. In 2005, Federated Department Stores bought May. Federated, as part of efforts to unify regional brands under one banner, re-branded Foley's stores as Macy's in 2006. Through all that change, the downtown Foley's (later Macy's) store remained. In 2013, the store, which was 10 stories, closed and the building was demolished. A Houston man is facing up to 10 years in prison for allegedly stalking his ex-girlfriend. Roy West, 49, was indicted on a third-degree felony stalking charge Thursday. Investigators allege West would incessantly threaten his ex-girlfriend online and in person following a short relationship. The two began dating in June 2016, court documents state, and the woman was helping West get back on his feet. She bought him a laptop and a truck for a roofing business West was hoping to start. The apparent troubles began Aug. 25 when West gambled away about $1,000. West allegedly became enraged and began making threats to the woman when she asked him to leave, including that he was going to kill her, himself and burn her house down. ANIMAL CRUELTY: Accused ranchers' trial to move forward in Montgomery County The woman spent the night at a friend's house but came back the next morning, and the two made amends, investigators said. About two weeks later, West allegedly began drinking heavily and arguing with the woman about her not opening a line of credit for him. He again allegedly threatened to kill her, himself and damage her home. She again spent the night at a friend's house, but came home the next day not to make amends with West but to find her home trashed and damaged to the tune of $10,000, court documents state. After that, she began receiving harassing texts and Facebook messages, investigators said. Deputies allege West posted the woman's number to multiple sexual hook-up sites and even threatened to post nude photographs of the woman if she didn't give him the laptop and truck. West will be back in Judge Patty Maginnis's 435th state District Court for an information hearing Tuesday. He is being held in the Montgomery County Jail on $100,000 worth of bonds. Montgomery County grand jury indictments for Feb. 2: Daniel Guevara Jr., assault causing bodily injury family enhanced and possession of controlled substance Thomas Weathers, aggravated sexual assault of a child Lazabion Gaines, DWO with a child Ashlee Gonzales, theft Maurice McAuthur, possession with intent to deliver/manufacture controlled substance Nasier Cutler, possession of controlled substance Raela Hawkins, fraudulent possession of identifying items Dillen Day, aggravated robbery Roslin Hanna, aggravated robbery Donnie Dricker III, aggravated robbery Manuel Marin, assault causing bodily injury family enhanced Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 7 By Emil Ilgar Trend: Venezuelan oil and foreign ministers will visit Iran Feb.9 to discuss the OPECs latest deal to cut the oil output by 1.2 million barrels per day (mb/d) to 32.5 mb/d. The deal, achieved on November 30, came on force Jan.1 for six months. Currently Iran and Omans oil ministers are discussing the global oil market situation in Tehran and Venezuelan oil and foreign ministers would arrive in Iran on Feb.9 to discuss the management of oil markets, Amir-Hossein Zamaninia, Iran's deputy petroleum minister for international affairs and trading told Mehr Feb.7. Mohammed bin Hamad Al Rumhi, minister of oil and gas of the Sultanate of Oman, visited Tehran on Tuesday. Zamaninia said that Iran and Venezuelas negotiation aims at helping OPEC and non-Cartels agreement to clear glut in market (by decreasing 1.8 mb/d of oil output). 11 Non-OPEC producers also reached an agreement Dec.10 to cut their output by 558,000 b/d, of which the share of Russia is 50 percent. An Iraqi mother and her teenage daughter plan to arrive in Houston on Tuesday, capping the last stage of their resettlement to the U.S., a process that had to be rearranged following President Donald Trump's executive action on immigration. After patching together a travel plan, they now are two of 14 refugees planning to arrive this week through the nonprofit Interfaith Ministries of Greater Houston, said Ali Al Sudani, the organization's director of refugee services. Interfaith Ministries, like other local resettlement programs, is resuming booking travel arrangements and organizing volunteer activities to welcome refugees to Houston after a federal judge temporarily halted the order. Last year, almost 2,100 refugees came to Houston, and in recent years, the city resettled the most refugees in the nation. Al Sudani, who himself fled southern Iraq to resettle in the U.S., said his organization welcomed the decision. "We hope that it will be something more sustainable over the long term." U.S. District Judge James Robart found that the the president's order caused "immediate and irreparable injury" to the employment, education, business, family relations and freedom to travel of the states' residents. Robart blocked several pieces of the order, including Trump's temporary suspension of the refugee resettlement program, permanent halt on the entry of Syrian refugees and ban on travel from citizens of seven majority-Muslim countries. The White House says that the executive action is crucial to upholding national security. Trump criticized Robart's decision in several weekend Twitter posts. The process to legally enter the U.S. can take as long as three years. Applicants for entry must be screened by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the Department of Homeland Security, the National Counterterrorism Center and the FBI's Terrorist Screening Center. Syrian refugees must undergo additional scrutiny. Refugees sometimes live in dangerous conditions as they wait, said Wafa Abdin, vice president of immigration and refugee services at Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston. "They will not be posing a danger to the community," Abdin said. Abdin said her agency is expecting eight families to arrive this week, should the judge's ruling continue after an appeals process initiated by the Justice Department. A hearing in San Francisco on the appeal is scheduled for Tuesday. After the Friday court decision, volunteer lawyers camped out at Bush Intercontinental Airport to answer questions as families reunited. Some people affected by Robart's decision must still determine their next steps. One is Azadeh Mehrani, a University of Houston graduate student, who has been in Iran since July. She planned to visit family for a few weeks, expecting to receive a new single-entry visa to return to the U.S. for the fall semester. But she has struggled to obtain the proper paperwork and was initially derailed by the executive action. Like other students, Mehrani needs a document called a form I-20 and a student visa to enter the U.S. But her I-20 expired by the time she received her new visa in January. Though UH issued her a new I-20, she said, that document no longer matched the new visa. First, she heard she could not receive another new visa due to the executive order, she said. But she learned Monday that because of the Seattle decision, she can reapply for another new visa with her updated I-20. She hopes to arrive back in Houston before UH's summer session begins - and she's keeping her fingers crossed that Congress won't pass a law that could change her plans again. "I'm trying to control my feelings," she said by phone on Monday. "I'm not sure what's going to happen next." Nearly 600 colleges, universities and academic systems signed a letter to Secretary of Homeland Security John Kelly on Friday against Trump's order. International academic exchange, they said, promotes economic growth and goodwill between countries. "America is the greatest magnet for talented people from around the world and it must remain so," the letter reads. At least seven Texas institutions signed onto the letter, which was sent by the American Council on Education, an advocacy group. Among the seven are Rice University, the University of Texas at Austin and Texas A&M University. In particular, Texas A&M, the University of Texas at Arlington and the University of Houston System enroll hundreds of students from the seven countries banned in the executive action. Each could lose millions of dollars should student visas from these countries be revoked, Business Insider reported. The executive order also forced resettlement organizations nationwide to brace for revenue shortfalls that put at risk jobs nationwide. Groups that help refugees come to the U.S. receive federal money per resettlement. Sara Kauffman, Houston-area director of Refugee Services of Texas, said the executive order showed her the organization is "vulnerable" to political changes. Still, Kauffman said her organization has received 800 volunteer applications since the executive action was signed on Jan. 27, "significantly more" than it would generally receive. Information from the Associated Press was used in this report. James Nielsen/Staff The family of a man who died at the city jail in December are suing the City of Houston and 10 jail employees in federal court, saying they failed to screen him for medical and mental health concerns, check him in his cell or respond appropriately when he was found unresponsive. According to the civil rights suit, Robert Stephen Jr. was arrested for public intoxication and booked into the jail on Dec. 27. The suit says he was placed in a cell by himself, with no surveillance equipment. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Friends described Steve Hafer as a dedicated father and a hard worker. "He was a better man than me," his best friend and former college roommate, Josh Becker, said Monday. But Thursday, the 34-year-old civil engineer was found shot to death in the bedroom of his northwest Harris County home, and the wife and mother of his 2-year-old daughter now stands charged with his murder. Tu Thien Huynh, 29, a registered nurse, broke down in court Monday after seeing her family in the gallery, as prosecutors accused her of killing her husband before calling 911 and falsely reporting his death as a suicide. Police were initially called to the home in the 10400 block of Newpark Drive around 4:10 p.m. Thursday, according to the Houston Police Department. At first, Huynh claimed her husband killed himself, but investigators grew suspicious when Huynh kept changing her story about the shooting, prosecutors said. They also discovered that the shotgun had apparently been wiped clean and the trajectory did not match a self-inflicted wound. Prosecutors said that Huynh later admitted to having an affair with an ex-boyfriend, but her defense attorney called the charges a "rush to judgment." Attorney Brian Nguyen, who is representing Huynh, said that things may not be as they seem. "There are some real problems with the state's case that the DA is unaware of," he said in a phone call Monday afternoon. "We are extremely confident that at the conclusion of this process the truth will come out and we believe that Ms. Huynh will be cleared of the charges." Huynh's family members were in court for the hearing but declined to comment. Hafer's friends took to social media to mourn the devoted father's passing. "He was an awesome, awesome, awesome guy," Becker, 34, said from Florida. "He was just loaded with integrity and morals and amazingness. He was the type of guy I would gladly have my daughters marry." Another friend, William Springsteen, concurred. "He was quick with a smile and a genuinely caring type of guy," he said. "My prayers go out to those he leaves behind." Hafer grew up in a small town in Michigan and later attended Michigan Technological University, where he met Becker. The two quickly bonded, rooming together for most of their college years. "We did everything together. We were probably more known as a duo than as individuals," Becker said. "We planned on keeping in touch for life. He was an only child, so he was like an honorary brother." After graduation, Hafer's job took him to Mississippi and eventually Houston, where he worked for local construction company J.D. Abrams. After meeting Huynh through mutual friends, the two married in 2014 and had a daughter just over two years ago. The civil engineer was a religious man and dedicated employee who valued family and fatherhood, friends said. "For the first several years of his career he was working 70 hours a week - and he did it all for the family," Becker said. "He lived for being in that role." They stayed close to family, with Huynh's mother visiting from Vietnam and Hafer's parents often coming from Michigan. "They had a great support system," Becker said. But the reported marital problems stayed hidden even from Hafer's closest friends and family. Becker, who met Huynh when the young couple visited his home in Florida, said she seemed compassionate and "almost angel-like." "Nothing would give a clue that something like this would happen," he said. In court, State District Judge Randy Roll ruled that Huynh must surrender her passport if she makes her $50,000 bail. Originally from Vietnam, Huynh came to America in 2004 and later gained citizenship, according to the district attorney's office. She was a registered nurse who previously worked at the MD Anderson Cancer Center, although an MD Anderson spokeswoman said Monday that Huynh had not been employed there since 2015. She was still in the Harris County jail as of late Monday afternoon. After weeks of debate and an outpouring of public opinion, the U.S. Senate voted Tuesday 51-50 to confirm Betsy DeVos as the nation's new education secretary. The vote was the first time in history a vice president had broken a tie vote for a cabinet position. Many voters expressed outrage at DeVos' potential appointment in the weeks leading up to the confirmation vote. They cited her work in Michigan to expand voucher programs, which see tax-payer money follow typically lower-income students to private schools, as well as her statements lambasting public education. During a 2015 speech she gave at Austin's SXSW education convention, she said the traditional American public school system, as it exists now, is a "dead end." WHO IS SHE: Things to know about Betsy DeVos, the Secretary of Education She, her family and her foundations have also contributed millions to senators who ended up voting to confirm her, including Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL), Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) and Sen. Bill Cassidey (R-LA). Neither of Texas' senators received money directly from DeVos or her family. But Texas Sen. John Cornyn was among the elected officials to get an earful from those opposed to DeVos. POWER BROKER: Details about presidential adviser Steve Bannon's life, career Of more than 31,000 reactions on a Facebook status Cornyn posted Monday evening announcing he would vote to confirm DeVos, more than 25,000 Facebook users reacted with anger as of Tuesday morning. The most liked comment to his post read: "Lifelong Republican and more importantly, true conservative no longer voting for you. Very disappointed." Erika Klein, a mother of four children ranging from ages 8 to 15 who all attend Conroe ISD schools, said she called Cornyn, Sen. Ted Cruz and U.S. Rep. Kevin Brady at least 10 times a week leading up to DeVos' confirmation. She said she's an independent voter who leans Democratic and did not vote for Trump. "There are actually proven models for public education in other countries, and Betsy DeVos doesn't know any of that and has no experience in public education," Klein said. "To hand over the future of my four children and 59 million public school children is appalling." DESTRUCTIVE OFFER: Trump offers to end Texas state senator's career Klein said it was difficult - if not impossible - to speak to anyone in the senators' offices. Sometimes their voice-mailboxes would be full. Another time she waited on hold for more than an hour. The only way she could get through to an answering machine for Ted Cruz was by calling his Houston office. Linda McSpadden McNeil, a professor of education and director of Rice University's Center for Education, said the public outcry is greater than it has been for past education secretaries but is not surprising due to DeVos' controversial stances. She said the danger of DeVos leading the U.S. Department of Education is a combination of potential neglect and damage. "She has no knowledge or interest in many of the official functions of the office, but then we know she has also - through her dollars and efforts in Michigan - done everything she can to fund legislators who will defund public education and shift public tax dollars to private schools," McSpadden McNeil said. "I think the danger is, some people are just looking wholesale at all things she doesn't know. I'm looking at it as there's the potential, not just potential, but she said she will neglect and fail to enforce and fail to implement things her office is in charge of." But John Kirtley, vice-chairman of American Federation for Children and the founder of the nonprofit that distributes Florida tax-credit scholarships, which essentially work as vouchers, said fears about DeVos are over-blown. He said her detractors are wrong about her commitment to accountability, especially when it comes to vouchers and private schools. "I worked with Betsy Devos for 20 years on this very subject, and I'll tell you she's not popular with people in the choice movement because she believes strongly in accountability," Kirtley said. "Kids (who receive vouchers) have to take a state assessment or a nationally-normed reference test." U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz said the DeVos confirmation is welcome news for students and parents in Texas and across our great nation. "DeVos brings decades of remarkable experience advocating for policies and programs that empower families and remove barriers to academic choice," Cruz said in a statement. "Most importantly, she will fight to take power away from the bureaucrats in Washington D.C. and return it to where it belongs to parents and teachers back home in our local school districts." >>>Scroll through the above gallery to see a listing of things to know about new Education Secretary Betsy Devos During a meeting with the National Sheriff's Association, President Donald Trump offered a solution to an issue of concern for the Rockwall County, Texas sheriff. Concerning asset forfeiture laws, Sheriff Harold Eavenson said, "We've got a state senator in Texas that was talking about introducing legislation to require conviction before we could receive that forfeiture money. And I told him that the cartel would build a monument to him in Mexico if he could get that legislation passed." Trump responded: "Who is the state senator? Do you want to give his name? We'll destroy his career." END IN SIGHT? State senator files bill to eliminate business franchise tax Eavenson was complaining about an unnamed Texas state senator's efforts to change civil asset forfeiture laws, which allow authorities to seize property that they believe has been used in the commission of a crime. But despite Trump's offer, the sheriff didn't give up the name of the senator. Story continues below... Facebook The Texas Legislature's website shows a handful of senators who have introduced civil asset forfeiture legislation this session. State Sen. Konni Burton, R-Fort Worth, State Sen. Juan Hinojosa, D-McAllen, and State Sen. Don Huffines, R-Dallas have each submitted bills related to either "repealing" asset forfeiture or further defining what goods and items can be seized. In 2013, the Houston Chronicle investigative team tackled the murky world of government seizures, finding a number of these operations are not disclosed in the public record or reviewed in federal court. You can read the full investigation on HoustonChronicle.com. SANCTUARY CITIES: What is it like in other states? One of the more notable asset forfeiture cases involved Osiel Cardenas Guinness, one of the leaders of the Gulf Cartel. Federal authorities were able to seize around $50 million of his assets and redistribute them among law enforcement agencies. However, there are concerns this method of seizing cash and property can be directed towards innocent civilians or those who have not been charged with a crime in the U.S. In a Facebook post Tuesday afternoon, Eavenson said he was trying to point out that the position of the lawmaker was illogical. "It was also to make the point public to possibly benefit law enforcement. My personal opinion is that such a bill if were to pass would benefit the cartels and damage law enforcement," Eavenson wrote. In an Iowa case, officers seized $100,000 from a pair of professional poker players who were driving through the state, according to CNN. The men sued and eventually recovered some of that money. Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 7 By Khalid Kazimov Trend: Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has forecast that his country would have difficult days during President Donald Trumps term in office. He, however, added that domestic structures of the US, international relations and equations have serious impact on the implementation of the electoral promises of the US president. In an interview with Ettelaat newspaper in Tehran, he said that personal ties between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his American counterpart are of high importance. In the meantime, the rivalry between Russia and the US and their domestic structures are capable of posing obstacles to the development of ties between the two presidents, he added. Speaking about of the possible military actions, Zarif stated that President Trumps plans to help the domestic economy of the US generate the idea that he will demonstrate less interest in military adventures. Elaborating on concerns over Trumps approach to Irans nuclear deal (Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action/JCPOA), Zarif said the JCPOA is not a bilateral accord between Iran and the US, adding the nuclear accord has been implemented. The Americans neither in Trumps term nor in the term of the former President Barack Obama did not tend to help concerning the implementation of the nuclear deal, Zarif mentioned. Saying that Trump may make efforts to renegotiate the nuclear deal, he added that Iran alongside with other signatories of the accord is against reexamining the JCPOA. Iran and the world powers in 2015 reached a historic deal on Tehran's nuclear program removing sanctions on the Islamic Republic in exchange for curbing the country's nuclear program. The officials from Iran and the US have recently exchanged sharp criticism amid reports on the Islamic Republics recent missile tests. Houston growth Regarding "Economics" letter (Page A20, Monday), in the early 2000s, I was privy to Boeing's sales argument for their 787 jet as a competitor to Aerobus's giant 380. The central argument was that the air travel template of the '80s and '90s was the "hub and spoke pattern," and the 380 was designed to enhance that mode of travel. The 787 was designed with the notion that many cities now comprise a viable travel hub and, therefore, a smaller plane was justified. Subsequent experience has proven Boeing right. Similarly, Houston's unplanned growth has resulted in many "little downtowns" becoming the mode of growth. I hope the city of Houston and Harris County are accepting of this reality and will not try to force a "hub and spokes" growth plan for a central downtown that imitates older Eastern cities. It seems to me that the key component of infrastructure that supports this mode of growth is transportation between urban centers, or the "little downtowns." This probably means express service and not local service. Perhaps this could stimulate the reexamination of a small footprint design like the monorail if expensive passenger platforms were minimal. Joe F. Moore, Houston Our neighbors Regarding "Ready for some futbol - and shopping" (Page A1, Saturday), it is so easy to blame others. And the Trump administration is eager to blame Mexico for a variety of things. But here's the deal. We cannot demean and bully Mexico without consequences. The article confirms this. Interviews of Mexicans who came to the Super Bowl reveal two important points. No. 1, they won't be coming here again during the Trump administration. No. 2, business owners are turning away from U.S. products to fill their supply needs in places like China. We need to wake up to the reality that this will cost jobs in Texas and across our country. Hopefully, we will do so before we hand more U.S. jobs to other countries. That in no way puts America first. Kathy Butler, Houston Immigrants Regarding "I am watching" (Page F1, Sunday), my main take-away from "View From The Pulpit" is their point from the Book of Ruth. Ruth loved her newly adopted country and displayed loyalty and faithfulness. My grandparents and others like them also loved their newly adopted country and became a model for the faithful assimilated American. That is all we ask for new, legal immigrants and refugees. To come here in peace and love our country. Mark Petrichuk,Montgomery Strong resources Regarding "Gracias, Presidente Trump" (Page A29, Sunday), the bashing of President Trump over immigration proposals should perhaps be directed to Mexico's President Enrique Pena Nieto. It is he as well as past Mexican presidents who have failed to address the poverty in Mexico. It is a travesty that Mexico's people have to leave their country and their families to find work. Desperate people will do what they have to in order to provide for their families. Mexico has the resources and industry to take care of its own. Paul Cunningham, Willis I am a scientist, so like others, I share a scientific concern that the final remedy selected for the San Jacinto waste pits site located off Interstate 10 in east Harris County is sound, transparent and scientifically valid. Unfortunately, the proposed remedy chosen by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for this site is based on multiple scientific errors. It also creates unnecessary engineering and scientific complexity. Most significantly, it presents risk of failure. Since 1981, I have performed technical and scientific work at more than 350 Superfund sites in the United States. As someone who deeply understands and respects the multi-faceted decision-making that goes into remediation of a complex site like this one, I performed a rigorous scientific peer review of EPA's proposed remedy. First and foremost, I found that in developing its proposed plan and communicating its results, EPA Region 6 did not comply with the agency's own national guidelines for transparency. Moreover, the agency didn't adequately acknowledge scientific and engineering uncertainty in its presentation of the plan to the public. Clearly, the community in the vicinity of the San Jacinto River deserves to know and understand the ambiguity involved before such complicated engineering activities move forward. I believe the agency relied on subjective - and even arbitrary - judgments. The agency devised an unprecedented proposal for removing a fully functioning, existing armored cap, then removing and eventually transporting waste now partially submerged away from the site. The EPA characterizes its proposed plan as achievable. However, the agency disclosed very few design details. The approach - even with best management practices - is highly complex. And with increasing complexity comes a proportionate risk of failure. EPA Region 6 also failed to fully take into account the proven success of remedies like capping at similar sites elsewhere around the country. The truth is that capping as a remedy - especially when combined with stabilization and land use restrictions - has a long and proven track record. Also concerning is that the agency drastically over-estimated the time it could take dioxins and furans - two types of contaminants contained within the protective cap - to degrade naturally at the site. This means that if the current cap is left in place and key U.S. Army Corps of Engineers-recommended enhancements were made, I calculate that it will take only 74 years for a cleanup standard to be attained. This compares to an incorrect figure of 750 years predicted by EPA Region 6. Since the cap was constructed, extensive studies of sediment, surface water, groundwater and fish tissue data have been performed. Based on those studies and comprehensive engineering evaluations, a containment remedy irrefutably meets goals for protecting human health and the environment. EPA Region 6 should go about selecting scientifically appropriate preliminary remedial goals for this site. These steps should take place in an open and transparent fashion, including candor about any scientific and engineering uncertainties. Until such time, the community does not benefit from a plan based on inadequately reasoned scientific conclusions. Chrostowski, Ph.D., is principal of a Washington D.C.-based firm that provides technical consulting on federal environmental programs. He was requested by McGinnes Industrial Maintenance Corp. (one of the parties alleged to be responsible for cleanup of the Superfund site) to review EPA's proposed plan under an unrestricted grant. To review the left's reaction to Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch is to infer he's the spawn of Dracula - a cruel and bloodless beast who shrinks from the light and plays havoc with history. Among the many distortions: Gorsuch is against clean water, consumers, women's health, dying people and workers. The liberal Alliance for Justice declares him worse in some ways than Justice Antonin Scalia, whose seat Gorsuch would assume if confirmed. People for the American Way claims he's an ideologue "far outside of the judicial mainstream who has a record of warping the law to serve the powerful over the interests and constitutional rights of ordinary Americans." Or, one could argue that he is courageous in protecting the people and the Constitution by adhering to text and original intent without concern for his popularity. As background, Gorsuch has served since 2006 on the Denver-based 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, where his reputation as a brilliant jurist and writer gained national attention. A graduate of Harvard Law School, he also earned a doctorate from Oxford in legal philosophy. His dissertation was on euthanasia, which has raised flags among those fighting for death-with-dignity laws. If Gorsuch opposes assisted suicide for the terminally ill, goes the thinking, then he must also oppose a woman's right to terminate a pregnancy. Gorsuch has said that human life has intrinsic value and that no other human has a right to destroy another's, which seems on its face to be manifest. He has never written or ruled specifically on abortion, so this remains a hazy correlative. He is, indeed, an originalist, as was Scalia, and his rulings might not differ much from his conservative predecessor's. Fundamental to his approach is the understanding that legislatures, and not courts, should create laws. This position also extends to administrators and bureaucrats. Liberals have sometimes preferred to fashion law through the courts, rather than navigate the legislative process, which is burdensome, stubborn and slow. It's so much easier to create law in the courts and let people adapt. This view would seem almost Trumpian but for his selection of Gorsuch, who is of the opposite inclination. After two dizzying weeks of confounding (Mexico), outrageous (travel ban) and absurd (Australia) first acts, Trump's naming of Gorsuch brought a welcome pause. Yes, it was showmanship - prime time and all that - but, seriously, who cares? It was far and away the most presidential performance we've thus far witnessed, notwithstanding Trump's nearly separating Gorsuch's arm from its socket during a handshake. Should Gorsuch be approved, the court's composition obviously doesn't really change. The balance would remain the same, with Justice Kennedy, for whom Gorsuch clerked, as the swing vote. It's the next seat for which Democrats should save their fire, lest they be viewed as intractable as the Republicans were the past eight years. No one wins this war. Democrats are entitled to their indignation over Republicans' refusal to consider Merrick Garland, President Obama's choice for Scalia's seat. But their energies will be spent for naught - and they could do far worse. Besides, there's no real knowing how a justice will rule. Philosophical temperament is a factor, but it's not the only one. Individual cases present facts and circumstances that can lead to unexpected conclusions. One needn't look far for examples. Chief Justice John Roberts shocked conservatives when he ruled favorably on the Affordable Care Act, but his decision was double-edged. By deciding that the penalty in Obamacare, intended for people who refused to buy insurance, was really a tax, Roberts also exposed the dishonesty in the Obama administration's presentation of the health care plan. Throughout the legislative process, the administration insisted that it was not a tax. Though cold comfort to conservatives, the ruling bolstered arguments that Obamacare was based on false pretenses and the assumption, as one of the law's architects later boasted, that people would be too stupid to know the difference. The upcoming debate should be scintillating theater as it strikes at the heart of a judge's role. Gorsuch has made himself clear on this. In a 2016 concurrence, he wrote: "Ours is the job of interpreting the Constitution. And that document isn't some inkblot on which litigants may project their hopes and dreams for a new and perfected tort law, but a carefully drafted text judges are charged with applying according to its original public meaning." I wouldn't wish on anyone the task of proving that wrong. Parker's email address is kathleenparker@washpost.com. AUSTIN At times, it seemed like Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick was a bit like a man on an island when it came to one of his signature priorities this legislative session: the Texas Privacy Act, otherwise referred to as 'the bathroom bill.' He has worked for the weeks to rally support for the measure, facing stiff opposition from the traditionally GOP-friendly Texas business community. House Speaker Joe Straus, a San Antonio Republican, has thrown cold water on the proposal at various private and public events. Not only did Gov. Greg Abbott not list it as an emergency item in last weeks State of the State address, he didnt mention it at all. Senate Bill 6, sponsored by Sen. Lois Kolkhorst of Brenham, would prohibit city or county officials from adopting an ordinance that prevents a business from making policies for their bathrooms and dressing rooms. It also would bar local officials from considering these measures when awarding government contracts. Another part of the proposed legislation would require each locker room or restroom in government buildings, public schools and universities to be designated for use based on biological sex. The bill, which allows schools to make special accommodations, would authorize the attorney general to levy a civil penalty if they do not follow the regulations. Patrick was elated at a Monday press conference to publicize a PolitiFact Texas article that said the Texas Association of Business estimates were mostly false. The writer, Gardner Selby, said the Texas Privacy Act might cause economic shivers, but judging from the calculations cited in the report, claims about its potentially disastrous effect on the Texas economy dont appear to have a documented basis. I hope that all of you who just took that report based on what was issued by the Texas Association of Business -- I hope you now will report the fact that it has been totally discredited, Patrick said. So, those who have been resistant of supporting the measure because of economics, they lost the argument. Its gone. In response, TAB released a statement Monday saying that while PolitiFact criticized its data, the independent sources PolitiFact consulted, including economists, said the bill would negatively impact the states economy one way or another. The TAB economic impact study has drawn both praise and criticism, which is to be expected in any study that tries to project future events, the statement said. TAB believes that the currently proposed bills contain provisions that will adversely impact our states economy; however, the extent of that impact cannot be precisely determined. The association also added that its leaders would work with Patrick and Kolkhorst on SB 6 and other bills, a position the lieutenant governor echoed at his press conference. Im also happy to say that Im talking with members of the Texas Association of Business and there will be a way to bring them together, Patrick said. Were talking with lots of people because they realize our bill does not discriminate against anyone. Getting the states largest business lobby on board is one challenge for Patrick, and using the PolitiFact article to weaken opposition is a start on that journey. However, he and Kolkhorst still are working on their Republican Senate caucus, too. On Monday, Kolkhorst said she has 14 co-sponsors, 15 including her vote. No Democrat has signed onto the bill, and Patrick needs at least 19 senators to move the measure to the floor for a full chamber debate and eventual vote. She said she respected her colleagues for letting her explain the bill to them, adding that she has verbal support from some senators who are not listed publicly as co-sponsors on SB 6. Last week, the Senate State Affairs Committee, ever mindful of Patricks desire to show his chamber hard at work, approved two major bills of the session. These measures tightening up ethics rules for public servants and banning so-called sanctuary jurisdictions are headed to the floor Tuesday, Patrick said as he walked out of the room. They are sure to pass. Senate Bill 6 does not yet have a committee hearing date. With the closing of The Animal Shelter of Texas County, Houston city government is making plans to reopen its dog pound off Lone Star Drive. Discussion came Monday night during a meeting of the Houston City Council. The shelter closed recently after it said it had a pile of debt and no means to pay it or the day-to-day operation on East Highway 17. The news became a contentious subject with a primarily new board replacing old members and finger-pointing as to who was to blame. City staff is working to follow state procedures in reopening the pound, Joe Kirkman, head of the public grounds department, reported. City Administrator Larry Sutton said required licensing will be obtained, facilities reopened to standards and fees researched. The last regulations on the books date to 1960. No date has been set to reopen it. In other matters, members: Are considering the steps it will follow as it moves toward hiring an economic development director to replace Ron Reed, who left the citys payroll last month. An economic development committee comprised of council members will meet and seek input from the full council. Feedback from members of the Houston Development Co. and Industrial Development Authority of Houston will be solicited. Don Romines, an HDC member, spoke about the need to fill the post. He was joined by R.E. Eddie Smith, another HDC board member. Currently three buildings require marketing in the city: An empty HDC building on Spruce Street, an IDA-owned structure that briefly housed a dairy manufacturer at the Houston Industrial Park on West Highway 17 and a manufacturing building on South Sam Houston Blvd. that is occupied by GAMO, which is leaving for Arkansas by the end of the year as part of a site consolidation. A job description will be developed, and salary guidelines established. Donated $200 to Celebration for Life, an organization that sponsors post-graduation and post-prom activities at Houston High School. Received an update on the status of private structures set for repair or demolition on a list developed by the council. Two remain on Forrest Drive, and improvements are under way. Monthly status reports are being generated. Firefighters from four Texas County volunteer fire departments responded at about 12:15 p.m. Sunday to a field fire that scorched close to 100 acres off of Highway 137 south of Raymondville. Raymondville Fire Department Chief Mike Jackson said personnel responded from his department, along with the Houston Rural, Licking and Tyrone departments, with a total of six trucks and 18 men. It was a mixture of sage grass and it also got into some wooded areas, Jackson said. We did water suppression for the field fire, then we had to put in a fire line in the wooded part with backpack leaf blowers and rakes, and we had to drop some trees that were burning way up in the air. It was going pretty good there for a while. While Jackson and the rest were still working the expansive blaze, a call came in for another fire on Highway 137, only a short distance away. Personnel from Raymondville and Tyrone tended to that situation. We could see it from our original location, Jackson said. We contained that mainly to a field fire, and caught it before it got into the woods. MIKE JACKSON Jackson said the five-acre blaze did burn a well house, and Intercounty Electric had to be contacted about a power pole with a transformer on it that sustained heavy damage from flames. Several of the personnel who responded to the blazes were working on a house fire in Houston at the time of the first call. It was an exciting day, Jackson said. Several firefighters from multiple Texas County departments attended fire school in Columbia over the weekend. On their way back, they could tell fire was prevalent as they got close to home. Some of them said when they hit Texas County there was a haze in the air because of the number of fires that were burning, Jackson said. Jackson had some advice for local residents that could help curb fire danger. I would stress to people that they often dont realize how dry it is and how quickly these fires can spread, he said. Every one of the people I talk to at these fires says, I thought everything was fine and a little bit of wind came up. Or theyll say, look around our feed lot theres mud everywhere. They just dont realize that it doesnt take much with the wind and warm temperatures to dry out all that grass. Healthy Schools Healthy Communities is hosting a color run/walk in April. The event begins at 3:30 p.m. Friday, April 21, at Houston Middle School and will conclude 1.3 miles later at Rutherford Park. There will be a water mister from the citys fire truck, color powder and prizes. There will be no winners or losers, said Earlene Stoops, HSHC director, only fun to be had by all. Houston students in grades 6-12 will receive a flyer around March 9 for the event, Stoops said. The first 75 kids to return their form to their respective building secretary before March 21 will receive free registration and a T-shirt. Every registered student will be entered into a drawing for one of five season pool passes. Some one-day passes will also be drawn. They will be announced following a short presentation by HSHC at Rutherford Park. Adults may register now through March 21. Cost is $10 and may be submitted with the students form or at the Texas County Health Department. Students may register after the flyers are distributed. For more information, contact Stoops at stoops@texasmo.org or 417-967-4131. Two regional women were the recent recipients of a pair of $1,000 scholarships from the Texas County Memorial Hospital Healthcare Foundation Connie Brooks, of Willow Springs, and Angela Watkins, of Rolla, were selected to receive the funds to assist with their educational costs for the 2017 spring school semester. The recipients were chosen among several applicants by members of the Healthcare Foundation board of directors. Brooks is a student at Central Methodist University in Fayette, where she is pursuing a bachelors degree in nursing. She is a registered nurse and director of the TCMH education department. Watkins is pursuing a graduate degree in the pediatric nurse practitioner program at Maryville University in St. Louis. She is a registered nurse and director of the obstetrics department at TCMH. Brooks is a first-time healthcare foundation scholarship recipient. It was the second time Watkins received a scholarship. Educational scholarships are a focus area of the TCMH Healthcare Foundation, said Jay Gentry, foundation director. Our board of directors believes in the importance of education for area students that are pursuing training in healthcare-related fields. The foundation awards educational scholarships for students pursuing additional higher education each spring and fall. This fall, the foundation will award endowed scholarship funds in addition to the healthcare foundation scholarships. The foundation board of directors recognizes the growing need for healthcare providers in rural America, Gentry said. It is the hope of the foundation that these scholarships will assist in attracting and retaining qualified residents to work in the local healthcare fields. Complete scholarship information and the scholarship application is available online at www.tcmhfoundation.org. Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 7 By Fatih Karimov Trend: Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei says the Islamic Republic has no reason to be thankful to the former US President Barack Obama as he is responsible for sanctions against Iran. That was Obama who brought the crippling sanctions onto Iran, so why should we be thankful to him, Khameneis official website quoted him as saying Feb. 7. He made the remarks during a meeting with a group of the Islamic Republics Air Force commanders and staff on the occasion of National Air Force Day in Iran. Khamenei said Obama failed to achieve his intention on Iran, adding that no enemy can paralyze the Iranian nation. He further said the US stands behind of creation of Daesh (aka Islamic State, ISIL or ISIS) terrorist group, the wars in Iraq and Syria as well as sedition in Iran. The new US President Donald Trump says be afraid of me, Khamenei said, adding that Iranians will respond to his threats at the rally for anniversary of victory of Islamic Revolution on Feb. 10. Khamenei also said the Islamic Republic is thankful to Trump for showing the real face of the United States. Trump has made clear what we were saying for over 30 years about political, economic, ethical and social corruption in US administration, the Iranian leader said. A 5-year-old boy is handcuffed in the US, Khamenei said, adding that Trump actually shows the realities of the US and the American understanding of human rights by his recent measures. Last month a five-year-old boy in the US was reportedly handcuffed and held in custody for five hours because he may have been a threat to America. The boy, reportedly a US citizen with an Iranian mother, was one of more than 100 people detained following President Donald Trumps immigration order. 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! 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Syrian government forces advanced on the northern Islamic State-held city of al-Bab on Monday, cutting off the last supply route that connects it to militant strongholds further east towards Iraq, a monitor said, Reuters reported. Islamic State militants in the area are now effectively surrounded by the army from the south and by Turkish-backed rebels from the north, as Damascus and Ankara race to capture the largest Islamic State stronghold in Aleppo province. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a British-based war monitor, said the army and allied militia made gains southeast of al-Bab overnight, and fought the militants there on Monday. Backed by air strikes, they severed a road that links the city to other Islamic State-held territory in Raqqa and Deir al-Zor provinces, it said. A military commander in the alliance fighting in support of President Bashar al-Assad said Islamic State was encircled. "There is one narrow passage left out of al-Bab," the commander said. Government forces now had most of it "within close firing range". The Syrian army's advance towards al-Bab risks triggering a confrontation with the Turkish military and its allies - rebel groups fighting under the Free Syria Army banner - which have been waging their own campaign to take the city. In three weeks, Syrian army units moved to within 6 km (4 miles) of al-Bab, as Damascus seeks to stop its neighbor, Turkey, penetrating deeper into a strategic area of northern Syria. "It's clear the regime is in a hurry to reach al-Bab," said Mustafa Sejari, a senior rebel official in the FSA group Liwa al-Mutasem. The Turkish-backed rebels, who have had the city in their sights for months, would fight government forces if they got in the way, he said. Turkey launched its campaign in Syria, "Euphrates Shield", in August to secure its frontier from Islamic State and halt the advance of the powerful Kurdish YPG militia. Northeast of the city, Turkish troops and FSA rebels, backed by Turkish air strikes, clashed on Monday with Islamic State around the town of Bazaa, the Observatory said. Turkish-backed forces had briefly captured the town before suicide bombers pushed them out on Saturday. What makes a good corporate HR director? The answer is not simple, we could talk about leadership, strategic vision, flexibility...but in reality it entails a set of many different skills, being skilled in different contexts and times, having a global and local vision, knowing what makes an excellent professional. The Human Capital manager in a multinational must have different skills, as complex as their own profession. Of course, all of these can be worked at and developed. In this regard, it is important that these professionals be vigilant, because your post today is highly strategic; good talent management marks the difference between excellent organizations and those that are left behind. Especially at a moment when its commonly known that its so hard to find the right people for each position, and even more to retain them. In this article, we have collected twenty tips and skills that we consider very important for a corporate HR director, to guide him or her through developing and improving skills, on the day to day job, although we could cite many more, of course. Let's take a look at them. Strategy 1. Tip: Manage transformation Key skill: Adaptability We live in a changing world; we have gone from local to global, from the physical to the virtual, from certainty to uncertainty. A "liquid time," quoting the words of the sociologist, Zygmut Bauman. The key competence to work in this context is the "ability to adapt to c... What does the future of work look like? Google the phrase future of work and the images returned are telling. First come the sumptuous infographics, then the glossy photographs. The pictures are surprisingly uniform. Young people in business attire concentrate on their laptops, but theyre not sitting in the office they are variously on a beach, in a field or pasture, cross-legged on the floor or sat on futuristic chairs in a spacious, well-lit room that owes more to science fiction than to todays offices. The implication is clear: In the future, we will be self-determined individuals, free to roam and work where we please. Not everyone agrees. A recent study from Oxford University points to a rather different future, one that anybody concerned with Human Capital should begin preparing for right now. The title The Future of Employment: How Susceptible are Jobs to Computerisation almost seems quaint. Nobody uses the word computerization these days, do they? Its 45 pages of content, however many of them dense statistics are anything but quaint. In those pages authors Carl Frey and Michael Osborne paint a dramatic, and very different, picture of work to that of suited twenty-somethings and their laptops on the beach. The headline figure, the one that jumps off the papers front page, is this: About 47% of total US employment is at risk of computerization. ... The HR and payroll sector is moving at such a fast speed that it can be hard for the casual observer to keep up. As we begin a new year full of challenges and opportunities, let's review some of the major trends unfolding in this space. 1. The tactical role of HR in the business We all know that South Africa's economy is facing some difficulties, thanks to a weak Rand, load shedding, and slow growth among the country's major trading partners. Against this backdrop, HR departments must demonstrate their value to the business and go far beyond simply providing administrative support. They must align themselves closely to the business strategy and sharpen their tactics for recruiting, engaging and retaining the best talent. They must focus on how they can help drive productivity and growth for the business by building a skilled and motivated workforce. 2. Using IT as a strategic edge HR departments have relied on IT to automate paperwork, but now they must also learn how to use technology to create a better employee experience as well as to access information that will help management make more informed strategic decisions. Today's employees carry smartphones in their pockets and expect processes at work to be as smooth, user-friendly and intuitive as banking online or using Facebook. Savvy employers are looking to use online portals and mobile apps to interact with their employees - for example, allowing employees to download pay slips ... Managing Human Resources is the real challenge for any organization, particularly in the present-day computer age. Any HR policy has to have some essential ingredients in it for it to succeed. But don't worry. Just remember the word COMPUTERS and you can mould the policy as you want, properly mixing all the essential ingredients. 'How?' you may ask. To find the answer, read what follows. C represents challenges. These days, people want some challenge always to fully utilize their talents. Perhaps, people prefer challenges to money alone. When the job is challenging enough, it is easy to attract talent and retain too, though, of course one has to keep the other ingredients also in mind. O represents opportunities. The organization should ensure that employees are given opportunities to enhance their skills through which they can move up the ladder and realize their dreams. Lack of opportunities cannot bring out the hidden talents in everyone. M represents money. Money would always remain the main motivation for people. When the compensation is to be calculated, adequate care has to be taken to see that the employee is reasonably paid. It should be comparable to industry standards and in some cases, even slightly better if you want them to perform better. P represents position and promotion. People would want to flaunt their visiting cards and therefore the position should be appropriately chosen for each job. While one may argue that posit... Due to recent fluctuations in the energy sector and government cuts, organizations are dealing with downsizing again. The term downsizing occurred during the 1990s because of the increase in organizational reductions. The factors contributing to the increase in downsizing included mergers, outsourcing, and reduction of bureaucratic functions (Dolan, Belout, & Balkin, 2000). Currently, downsizing occurs more often than we know due to unforeseen changes. Many organizations may try to hide massive layoffs but sometimes employees want others to know about poor leadership and negative organizational justice perceptions. However, what the affected employees do not realize is how the surviving employees feel about the situation. Downsizing Researchers define organizational downsizing as a purposeful reduction of employees within an organization (Hopkins & Weathington, 2006). Early antecedents of downsizing included economic survival while current antecedents of downsizing include the need to reduce the number of employees to meet economic necessity (Dolan, Belout, & Balkin, 2000). Many organizations may decide to reduce the employees to remain competitive after the downsizing is complete (Hopkins & Weathington, 2006). With reduction in oil prices, energy sector organizations are forced to reduce the number of employees working. Larger organizations are often prepared for economic changes more than smaller organizations. Some smaller organizations n... The human resource function within organizations can play a significant role in developing a strong capability in business transformation. Human resource leaders can draw upon their strategic expertise in change management and talent management in building some of the critical competencies needed for transformation success. Enterprises with a good track record of business and technology transformation success are constantly investing in enhancing business transformation capability. Organizations are tapping into the people or human capital management expertise resident within the human resources function for doing so. Having a strong organization capability in business transformation is critical for driving strategic execution, leading strategic change, delivering business outcomes, and sustaining the higher performance level. Human resource executives are well positioned in effectively engaging with various business units involved in a business transformation endeavor and creating a culture that garners support for transforming the business. An organization culture of employees striving to improve business performance and competitiveness by executing strategic transformational initiatives is a critical success factor. According to the research conducted among 587 C-Suite and senior executives by the Economist Intelligence Unit, organizations can improve competitiveness by successfully executing strategic initiatives. Organizations frame up, launch,... After years of strong economic growth across the continent, African organisations face an enormous demand for skills to keep expanding their businesses. A recent survey from EY shows that 70% of African firms are recruiting - yet many report that they are taking longer to fill vacancies and experiencing higher staff turnover. Technical and professional skills are in particularly high demand as African countries race to build out their infrastructure. Many HR departments in South Africa and other parts of Africa are not well prepared for an escalating war for talent that sees people with key skills and expertise able to pick and choose between employers. All too many HR directors are tied up in red tape rather than spending their time on strategic talent management, skills development and performance management. That puts their businesses in a weak position to respond to a changing workplace and workforce. Today's employees are ambitious, connected, and demanding global thinkers. They're more mobile within the borders of their own countries and industries than ever, and they're also increasingly open to global opportunities. These factors demand that HR departments become more flexible and focused. It's not just about the money Research from the likes of EY indicates that competitive remuneration is important, but it is not the sole factor in securing the best talent. It's as important to provide a quality workplace and a good employee e... If you work in HR, you may feel like you have the most thankless job in the world. I suppose the same could be said about people in the admin department and there are probably a bunch of other jobs out there where people feel this way. However, I know a number of people who say that people in the HR department are simply not appreciated for all the work they do for employees and the company. That said (and with a respectful nod to anyone who feels this way) Ive also seen a number of HR people making grave mistakes in their departments. These mistakes not only affect the efficiency of business within the department but also the negative perception that others have towards the function. Here are 3 of the top most dangerous HR mistakes that many departments face. By understanding why each one occurs, youll probably be able to implement solutions more quickly and maybe even find hidden issues that you never knew existed. 1. Poor HR Department Structure Have you ever seen one of those organizations that has a huge head count but hasnt bifurcated the responsibilities of their HR People? Essentially, they have a pretty vertical structure where the HR team is assigned vague designations such as Manager HR, Assistant Manager HR, etc. The mistake that these departments make is that theyre not identifying whos responsible for different HR functions. They need to answer, whos leading recruitment, whos taking care of compensa... HR and people management have been taken over by the data and analytics wave. This part of organisations that has traditionally focused on the softer things such as culture, talent development and employee engagement is now obsessed with data analysis. And with good reason. Human resources is one of the data rich functions in most businesses. There are tonnes of performance scores, employee demographics, training stats, recruitment data, culture audits, etc. In the past, this data was mostly ignored or at most put into charts and tables and stuck into the corporate performance pack. Now, in the era of big data and analytics, companies want to turn their data into insights, predict when employees will leave, where to recruit the most suitable candidates from, how to identify and retain top talent. According to the Economist Intelligence Unit, more than half of HR departments have already reported an increase in data analytics since 2010, and that trend is likely to grow. Crunching HR Data Innovative HR departments have been crunching their data for a while now and many have gained new insights. Consider these successful examples: One bank assumed their best performing people would be those with Ivy League degrees, but data analytics clearly showed the assumption was wrong. It turned out that candidates from non-prestige universities outperformed the top-university candidates, allowing the business to recruit the right talent for less money. One ... Compared to some European countries, granted, that doesnt seem all that radical. However, the US is one of only three countries, alongside Oman and Papua New Guinea that does not offer its citizens any paid maternity leave, much less paternity leave. In fact, 41% of American workers are not even entitled to unpaid maternity leave. Within that context, Netflixs move is pretty radical. Turn the clock 20 years back and a radical HR policy might have involved using automated touch-tone telephones to find out about employee benefits, setting up confidential concern reporting systems or offering subsidized gym memberships. Parental leave policy isnt exactly the coolest or most exciting topic, but Netflix, like many other successful yet disruptive technology companies, understand that it is not only products and services that require innovation but also working practices. To fulfil their vision these companies want the most talented people that money can buy. Except, its not just money that buys people. The best talent also wants a life outside of work and demands a workplace structure that supports flexibility and choice. Netflix recognizes that to attract and engage the millennial generation, employees must be free to choose how to work in a way that makes room for their other endeavors, reducing the conflict that can distract people from their work. To attract and engage the millennial generation, employees must b... The speaker of Britain's lower house of parliament said on Monday he would not support any plans for U.S. President Donald Trump to address parliament during a state visit planned for later this year, citing Trump's temporary immigration ban as a factor, Reuters reported. More than 1.8 million people in Britain have signed a petition calling for Trump's planned visit to be canceled or downgraded to avoid embarrassing Queen Elizabeth, part of a grassroots backlash against his immigration policies. Prime Minister Theresa May has defended the decision to offer a state visit, but more than 150 lawmakers have signed a symbolic motion calling for Trump not to be given the honor of speaking in parliament. Asked by an opposition Labour lawmaker about the possibility of a parliamentary address, House of Commons speaker John Bercow said he shared the concerns. "As far as this place (parliament) is concerned, I feel very strongly that our opposition to racism and to sexism and our support for equality before the law and an independent judiciary are hugely important considerations," Bercow said, earning a round of applause from lawmakers. Trump's executive order barring entry to the United States for refugees and people from seven Muslim-majority countries has prompted worldwide protests, including by thousands of demonstrators in London. The temporary immigration ban faced a legal hurdle on Monday that could determine whether he can push through the most controversial and far reaching policy of his first two weeks in office. As one of the key figures whose approval would be needed for a parliamentary address, Bercow said he would oppose any possible move to invite Trump to speak in either of the two locations which host foreign leaders during state visits. In 2011, Trump's predecessor Barack Obama became the first U.S. president to address both houses of parliament in Westminster Hall, the oldest building in the parliamentary palace, which has also hosted South Africa's Nelson Mandela and France's Charles de Gaulle. "Before the imposition of the migrant ban, I would myself have been strongly opposed to an address by President Trump in Westminster Hall. After the imposition of the migrant ban by President Trump, I am even more strongly opposed to an address by President Trump in Westminster Hall," Bercow said. "An address by a foreign leader to both houses of parliament is not an automatic right; it is an earned honor." The essence of Auto-Enrolment (AE) is simple: A company must automatically enroll jobholders into a qualifying pension scheme and contribute on their behalf to that scheme. The minimum non-contributory employer rate starts at 2% but will rise to 8% over the next three years. The scheme affects any employee who is not already in a pension scheme, who is aged between 22 and state pension age, who earns more that 10k a year for 2015-2016 and who ordinarily, works in the UK. Employees have some control however, and can opt out of the scheme for example, older employees may have already made their own pension arrangements, but there are specific criteria that must be met. In fact, Government research suggests that around 12% of eligible employees will opt out, but companies must offer the opportunity for all eligible employees who have opted-out to re-enroll every three years. If an employee doesnt contribute towards the pension, the employer is expected to contribute the full minimum amount up to 8% by 2018. AE Staging From 2015 onwards, small businesses will need to start staging and companies need to determine their staging date as a priority to begin effective AE planning. However, businesses have different staging dates so it is essential to find out which date applies. While until now, the Pensions Regulator has essentially staged companies by size, with the largest going first, for the SME market this model i... The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) is currently looking into Singapore Airlines (SIA) medical leave system following the death of 38-year-old flight attendant, Vanessa Yeap and staff complaints about unfair HR practices. Some cabin crew members have spoken to The Straits Times alleging that the flagship carriers medical leave system discourages those who are ill from taking medical leave. They said that employees start off with 10 incentive points each year but points are docked for every time they submit a medical certificate (MC) for common ailments. According to reports, employees lose all incentives once 12 casual MCs are submitted. "The whole system is flawed. Why even make it a factor... You really just end up penalising those who are really ill, said a crew member, adding that the points are taken into consideration during annual performance appraisals. An SIA spokesperson declined to comment on their performance management process but said that sick crew members are encouraged to rest and that operating with an MC is, in fact, a disciplinary lapse. As with all other businesses, employee productivity and attendance at work are important for a successful airline operation. Although crew attendance is a component in the performance management process, we would like to emphasise that crew performance is measured across many other factors, said SIA spokesperson Nicholas Ionides. MOM said that paid sick and hospitalisation leave should be core benefits and are under basic protection under the Employment Act. Employers should avoid penalising an employee solely based on his consumption of sick leave, said a MOM spokesperson. Employers should adopt appraisal or performance management systems which are fair, objective, and which take into consideration the employee's ability, performance and contributions, he added, noting that employers should communicate employment and work-related benefits clearly to their staff. Companies in Asia typically communicate employee benefits only once during their career, said Liana Attard, regional benefits management leader, Mercer, Asia to HRD. Some companies pretty much hand people a bible of their benefits and you need a PhD to decipher whats in it. Its not simple and its really complicated messaging, she said, adding that constant communication between the employer and the employee is key to avoid any misunderstanding. t studies have shown that diversity in the workplace not only creates a highly engaged workforce, it also has a positive impact on the companys financial performance . Yet despite this, many organisations still struggle to cultivate a truly diverse workforce.Perhaps organisations can take a cue from global professional services firm EY s (formerly Ernst & Young) recruitment policy blind CVs. In 2015, the company introduced the idea of removing all academic and education details from their trainee application process, adding that the move was designed to reduce any unconscious bias in the selection process.According to a report by The Independent, EY is the UKs biggest graduate recruiter and since they have introduced this policy, their recruitment rate from state schools went up by 10% while the number of applicants to their student programmes saw a 75% increase. They said that had they not introduced the blind CV policy, 18% of their 2016 recruits would have been ineligible to apply.It was the right thing to do for EY, to broaden our talent pool and the diversity of our workforce, and at the same time create more opportunities for young people. We hope we have inspired others to do the same; driving social change, said Maggie Stilwell, managing partner for talent for the UK and Ireland at EY.Another form of blind recruitment that companies have undertaken is the name-blind recruitment in an effort to curb significant discrimination against minority groups in the workplace.In a field experiment conducted by Inside Out London for BBC, researchers sent out two similar CVs but with two different names one with an English name, Adam, and the other with a Muslim name, Mohamed to 100 jobs as a business manager in advertising sales. In the two and half months that they conducted their study, Adam was offered three times more interviews than Mohamed.There's a perception of Muslim employees being considered disloyal, considered to be political, their appearances sometimes are read as them being fundamentalist. And it's leading to a significant number of Muslim employees being discriminated against, said employment lawyer Nabila Mallick.However, beginning this year, the British government is set to roll out its name-blind application programme in universities and professional organisations across the country. The policy was first introduced by then Prime Minister David Cameron in 2015.It's clear it makes a difference to the numbers of people from minority groups, in particular for ethnic minorities, who get a chance of getting an interview. It's also a really easy thing to implement. There's no real reason to not be doing this, commented Jonny Gifford from Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD). It looks like a lot of Canadians really want a guaranteed income. More than 10,000 people have signed a petition supporting a basic income guarantee. The 10,000 mark was passed in mid-December. The petition was started by Basic Income Canada, a non-profit organization that advocates for a universal income for all citizens that would replace government assistance. Advertisement Right now, two basic income pilot projects are on the way one in P.E.I, and one in Ontario. Ontario's plan is set to be released sometime this spring. An outline paper recommended that the government provide every individual participating in the project a minimum of $1,320 per month, with an additional $500 for those with disabilities. The project will likely be tested at three locations: one in southern Ontario, one in northern Ontario, and one in a First Nation community. In December, P.E.I. unanimously voted to pursue a basic income pilot project with the federal government, in the hopes of reducing or eliminating poverty in the province. Follow The Huffington Post Canada on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Also on HuffPost Canadian Homes You Can Buy With A Median Income (September 2016) See Gallery It's been a week since the tragic terror attack at a Quebec City mosque, which took the lives of six innocent Muslim men. And as Muslims all over the country continue to grasp the current state of Islamophobia in Canada, many are also reflecting on what it means to be a Muslim today. As issues of safety rise to the forefront, Muslim Canadians are not only more aware of how they feel on Canadian soil, but they stress one act of violence is not reflective of what it means to be a follower of Islam. Advertisement "Please do not draw conclusions on the majority of Muslims based on what a group of criminals who proclaim to be Muslims are doing," 29-year-old Mostafa El-Diwany tells The Huffington Post Canada. "I think the most important thing is to be pro-active, not reactive, in seeking knowledge in general. One pro-active initiative can be visiting a mosque (#VisitMyMosque) [or] talking to trustworthy Muslims who we know." Below, Canadians share their experiences of racism, Islamophobia, fears and also their messages of hope of how all Canadians can live in unity. A 20-year-old student at Ryerson University from Toronto. Advertisement Have you ever experienced any racist comments, insults or remarks because of your religion? I have never been discriminated against for my religion. Perhaps its because I dont carry any physical traits that a stereotypical Muslim would have. If I wore a hijab or a burqa, without a doubt, something would happen. All I have to show is my name. However, this doesn't dismiss the fact that discrimination, indirect or not, is happening to fellow Muslims in Toronto. Do you feel safe as a Muslim in Canada? It isn't that I don't feel safe in Canada, it's just that I suddenly became more conscious of the fact that there are people out there in this country that are Islamophobic to a terrorist's extent. A 29-year-old family medicine resident doctor from Montreal. Why do you think Islamophobia exists in Canada? Canada is open and welcoming; the recent events have confirmed that through the outpouring of empathetic gestures from all communities. However, even our loving Canadian society is not immune to what fear can provoke in the hearts of people. I think a phobia is a response to the unknown. I do not blame the person who may feel threatened. It takes a great level of intellectual curiosity and open mindedness to go beyond what the media feeds, and to question the discourse of calculated political figures. How can we as Canadians tackle Islamophobia? To me, the strongest instrument of change in facing these very real and important challenges, such as tackling Islamophobia or questions pertaining to ethnic or religious identity, is to return to our humanity; to realize that we are all made of the same fabric and have common traits and aspirations towards love and growth; that we flee pain and seek comfort; that we share universal values and principles; that our commonalities supersede our peculiarities; that we need to be comforted when scared and that dialogue holds the key to the solution. Advertisement A 21-year-old student from Brock University in St. Catharines, Ont. How long have you identified as a Muslim? I was born Muslim and continue to identify as Muslim. I particularly remember shaping my identity in the wake of 9/11. I was five when 9/11 happened and it was the dichotomy between media sensationalism around "Islamic terrorism" and my internal compass as a Muslim that put me in a position to define my identity by my own experiences and beliefs. Do you feel safe as a Muslim in Canada today? This past week has been immensely eye-opening, and I would say that despite the less-than-ideal circumstances leading up to the past week, the support and solidarity from the world has been incredible. I have seen candlelight vigils for the victims of the Quebec terrorist, witnessed signs of protest that claim that "Muslims are our own," had people reach out to me personally to express their outrage and offers to stand in solidarity with me, and friends let me know they will continue to fight to ensure I feel safe in this country. A 29-year-old non-profit professional from Toronto. Advertisement Have you ever experienced any acts of racism? Unfortunately, my life has been underscored with sustained moments of anti-black Islamophobia. As a Somali, I come from a community that is constantly reeling from the humiliation and harassment that young people encounter simply accessing public services; the contemptible routine carding of black people; the deadly practice of shooting the mentally ill instead of de-escalating situations; and the ever-increasing surveillance of our communities. Why do you think Islamophobia exists in Canada? It's imperative to speak back to the myth that Canada is a country that is "open and welcoming." I mean, you only have to look to our history to displace this lie: slavery, residential schools, the Chinese Head Tax, the Journey Stipulation Act; the refusal to take in Jewish refugees fleeing Nazi Germany; and the destruction of indigenous and black communities. Islamophobia exists in this country because it's a country that hasn't worked through its very long history of racist and genocidal violence. A 24-year-old from Burnaby, B.C. What are some of the biggest frustrations you have after seeing attacks on Muslims? It's just tough and painful. Things like that situate Muslims as "others," as not belonging here even though it is our home. How do you think Canadians can educate themselves to understand what the religion means? Canadians can educate themselves by engaging in discussions with Muslims, visiting a mosque, to talk to actual Muslims. We are happy to talk to you and educate you about what Islam means! I would rather someone ask me a question than hold onto a faulty assumption. Advertisement Rasoul works in student affairs for an Ontario post-secondary institution. She is from Mississauga, Ont. What are some of the biggest frustrations you have after seeing attacks on Muslims? When Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called the Quebec Mosque shooting an act of terrorism, I was pleasantly surprised. Finally, a politician calling a spade a spade. Do you feel safe as a Muslim in Canada today? The details of the attack are terrifying: in a mosque, during prayers. This could have happened at any mosque that I attend. But I know that Alexandre Bissonnette's actions are not reflective of Canada. Yes, Islamophobia exists, but by no means do I think that these attacks are indicative of the future. But I am certainly more careful of my surroundings. I began taking notice and being vigilant in 2015, when more and more hijabis were being harassed and attacked. My sincere hope is that in these situations, someone will intervene. Advertisement A 27-year-old case coordinator at Deloitte from Toronto. Have you ever experienced any racist comments, insults or remarks because of your religion? If so, what happened? There was just one incident that took place mid-last year in a Toronto subway. I was waiting for the train and I was standing near a man that appeared to look mentally distraught. He came towards me and shouted, Why are you dressed like that? What are you doing here? then spat on my face. I froze for a second then the train door opened and I just entered the train. To be honest, at first I was more disgusted that there was spit on my face and I was more concerned about wiping it off. Then when I sat down, I noticed a few people staring and that was it. I told my sister about it and she said I shouldve reported it, but I never did. How do you think Canadians can educate themselves to understand what the religion means? Dont believe everything you read online. If you have any questions or concerns about Islam in general, dont hesitate in visiting a mosque or Islamic centre. Advertisement Canadians perceive themselves as unusually tolerant and welcoming but that's simply not the case, a new study suggests. Canadian attitudes toward immigration are in line with those of Americans and Europeans, and the potential exists for it to become a divisive issue, according to the study titled Canadian Exceptionalism: are we good or are we lucky? Advertisement The University of Toronto and the McGill Institute for the Study of Canada partnered with Ipsos Observer to ask 1,522 Canadians their views on the topic in January. While most Canadians think immigration has a neutral or positive effect, a significant number of people hold a very different view. Almost a third of Canadians said the government should discriminate against Muslims when selecting foreigners to move to the country, and a third want to discriminate against people of colour to prioritize white immigrants. More than 65 per cent think immigrants have a responsibility to behave "more like Canadians." Advertisement Whatever is driving Canadas exceptionally positive history of immigration ... it does not appear to be an exceptionally tolerant public, the study read. 1 in 5 want to end all immigration Twenty per cent support ending immigration to Canada completely, while 46 per cent said they oppose the idea. That leaves a large block of voters who are open to the idea, at least in the abstract, the studys author, political science professor Michael J. Donnelly, wrote. These results suggest that a serious anti-immigrant movement is not impossible. The author noted that in 2010, 43 per cent of Americans said they would oppose closing the borders. The study, conducted January 18-27, has a margin of error of 2.5 percentage points, 19 times out of 20. Controversy over U.S. travel ban In January, U.S. President Donald Trump introduced an executive order that halted all refugee settlement and banned entry of travellers from seven countries. Advertisement These results suggest that a serious anti-immigrant movement is not impossible. Trumps election victory is largely credited to his stance on immigration, data has shown. "In exit polls, people who rated the economy the most important issue broke for [Hillary] Clinton, not for Trump, the Washington, D.C.-based Brookings Institution wrote in a post-election analysis. Trump won among those more concerned about immigration and terrorism.'' In Canada, immigration has rarely played a significant and divisive role in politics, Donnellys study said. But his results suggest the potential for it lives here, too. With files from the Canadian Press Follow The Huffington Post Canada on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Also on HuffPost A small aircraft crashed near the city of Marcos Paz in the Argentian province of Buenos Aires, resulting in the death of five people, Sputnik reported. The Cessna 210 aircraft caught fire after crashing, which killed all five people onboard, the news outlet Clarin reported on Tuesday night, citing police sources. The investigators reportedly believe that either the pilot attempted to land after discovering a malfunction or was trying to turn around and return to the town of Canuelas, from which the plane departed. Tory leadership candidate Deepak Obhrai has called out the conservative think tank named after his one-time leader for an upcoming discussion it will host on the rising threat of radical Islam. Obhrai, a Calgary MP who was first elected under the Reform banner in 1997, sent a letter to Preston Manning Monday criticizing the event at this months Manning Networking Conference, an annual gathering of right-wing thinkers and politicians in Ottawa. Advertisement The Manning Centre advertised the talk online this week with a tweet featuring the image of a bomb. Though the tweet appears to have been deleted, a Facebook post from December shows the same image. In his letter, Obhrai told Manning it was irresponsible to identify a particular religion in todays culture of fear. He asked that the focus of the talk instead be on the threat of extremism to Canadians. Extremism exists across a wide spectrum of society, he said in the letter, noting that the Air India bombing and a recent attack on a Quebec City mosque show Canadians face a "multifaceted threat." Advertisement There are two events scheduled at the conference dealing with the topic. In addition to a discussion group on radical Islam, there will also be a talk on Leading the Response to Islamist Extremism and its Ideology in Canada. Both events will feature security expert Thomas Quiggin and Raheel Raza, president of The Council for Muslims Facing Tomorrow. Razas group seeks, according to its mission, to reclaim Islam for, as the word itself means, securing Peace for all people. Colin Craig, director of senior communications for the Manning Centre, told The Huffington Post Canada in an email that Raza, a "respected Muslim human rights advocate," will lead a thoughtful discussion about attacks "by radical Islamic extremists" in places such as Ottawa, New York, Boston, and Paris. "The conversation will be respectful and will help those seeking answers about what can be done to address the problem," Craig said. "Some people want to ignore the issue, but the problem isn't going away. We just saw another attack in Paris last week." Advertisement "Extremism exists across a wide spectrum of society." Despite his concerns, Obhrai told Calgary Metro Monday he still plans to participate in the conferences leadership debate on Feb. 24. Obhrai has sparked a number of memorable moments on debate stages throughout the leadership race, but he has also spoken out about the need for all communities to tackle the scourge of extremism. Muslims must stand up to fundamentalists. Hindus must stand up to fundamentalists. Christians must stand up to fundamentalists,Obhrai said at a debate in Moncton in December. Our country is built on respecting the human rights of everyone. This is our core principle. Obhrai has criticized Leitch's 'anti-Canadian values' plan He has also called out leadership rival Kellie Leitch for her controversial plan to screen immigrants, refugees and visitors for so-called anti-Canadian values. After the horrific shooting in Quebec City last month, in which six Muslim men were killed while praying, a reporter asked Obhrai if he felt his party shared any blame for a rise in anti-Islamic sentiment. Advertisement "I think all of us have to be a little more careful in what we say and how we say. And that we don't give fuel to community-based politics, Obhrai said. We don't give fuel to that divisiveness. Also on HuffPost OTTAWA Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and U.S. President Donald Trump may meet in Washington, D.C. as early as next week, a Trump adviser said Tuesday. Speaking to CNN, Kellyanne Conway said: Im glad that the prime minister of Canada is coming here next year, next week excuse me. Im sure theyll talk about that, if hes coming soon, as I understand. Advertisement (Watch the interview in the video above.) Conway was responding to CNN host Jake Tapper who wanted to know why Trump had not tweeted anything about the Quebec City mosque shooting victims. In Ottawa, the prime ministers office said Trudeaus visit to D.C. has not been finalized. We are having constructive discussions but we have no date to confirm, press secretary Cameron Ahmad said. Trump, Trudeau have spoken twice In a read-out of the first telephone conversation between both leaders after the inauguration, Trudeaus office said: The prime minister and the President looked forward to meeting soon. Advertisement Trump also called Trudeau on Jan. 30 to express his condolences to the prime minister and the people of Canada following the shooting in Quebec City. Another read-out from the PMO said Trump offered to provide any assistance as needed. Several Canadian cabinet ministers are in Washington, D.C., this week. Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan met with his counterpart, U.S. Defence Secretary James Mattis, on Monday. Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland was in D.C. as well on Tuesday, meeting with U.S. Speaker of the House of Representatives Paul Ryan. According to a summary of her meeting, the two had a productive chat that focused mostly on the important integrated economy of both countries. They discussed the $1 billion in exports to Canada from the Speakers district, as well as the fact that 35 states count Canada as their number one customer, her office stated. Advertisement On Wednesday, Freeland is schedule to meet Secretary of State Rex Tillerson. Finance Minister Bill Morneau is also expected to be in Washington, D.C., Wednesday to meet with some of the newly appointed people in the Trump administration, as well as senators and congressmen. Its an opportunity to start developing a relationship, he told reporters. You know, our continuing goal is to engage, to ensure that we provide the information on the positive benefits of Canada-US trade, both for Canadians and for Americans, Morneau said. That will be our continuing initiative and certainly, it's my focus. Also on HuffPost A petition calling on the Liberal government to stick to its electoral reform pledge has scored tens of thousands of signatures. Sponsored by NDP MP Nathan Cullen, the e-petition was submitted on Nov. 2, 2016. It gained a lot of traction late last week, however, after the Liberals confirmed they were abandoning their promise to change Canada's voting system before the next election. Advertisement As of Tuesday, the petition has received more than 65,000 signatures. Unbelieveable! 51,000 signatures on our petition demanding dem reform & @JustinTrudeau to keep his promise #cdnpolihttps://t.co/X8xwktQf3r Nathan Cullen (@nathancullen) February 5, 2017 Ontarian Jonathan Cassels told CBC News he started the petition in response to comments Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made to Le Devoir in October. Trudeau told the paper at the time that any change to the country's voting system must receive "substantial" support. He also said there was less of a pressing need for electoral reform now that the Conservatives were no longer in power. "In that interview, he signalled electoral reform might not happen because, he said, support for it had waned," Cassels told the broadcaster. Advertisement Months later, after a cabinet shuffle, Trudeau told new democratic institutions minister Karina Gould that electoral reform would not be in her mission statement, as it was for her predecessor. "Changing the electoral system will not be in your mandate," Trudeau wrote to Gould in her mandate letter, released on Feb. 1. In the House, he would rise to say despite an electoral reform committee's nationwide consultations and ultimate recommendation of a proportional representation system that there was simply no consensus on moving forward. Liberal insiders have told The Huffington Post Canada that Trudeau feared a system of proportional representation would elevate more regional parties or so-called alt-right groups to the House. Advertisement Cullen, the NDP's democratic reform critic, has railed against Trudeau for being a "liar." "This is one of the most cynical displays of self-serving politics this government has yet to engage in," the MP said after Gould's letter was released. Cullen kept the heat up on Monday, accusing Trudeau of fear-mongering and walking away from electoral reform simply because it wouldnt benefit Liberals. "Youd think the prime minister would at least have the decency to blush when he's breaking his promise to Canadians so blatantly, and he could at least take that slightly smug look off his face," Cullen said. The MP later apologized for the "smug" comment on Facebook. "Changing the electoral system will not be in your mandate." Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to Democratic Institutions Minister Karina Gould Now that the government has officially abandoned its promise, Cassels told CBC the petition's new focus is to get the Liberals to re-commit to electoral reform. He said he hopes the recent momentum it has received makes a difference. Advertisement "I'd like to hear, 'Look, we misjudged, because we see this enthusiasm," he said. "We are going to pursue this. Here's the timeline. Here's what a new system should look like,'" he said. Petitions need 500 signatures before they are certified and sent to the government. After that, the Liberals will have 45 days to respond. With files from Ryan Maloney, Althia Raj and The Canadian Press Also on HuffPost Oh Ryan, fatherhood looks good on you. During a recent "Man Of The Year" award ceremony by Hasty Pudding Theatricals (which Reynolds just happened to win), the 40-year-old "Deadpool" star proved hes also dad of the year in his household. Advertisement Hasty Pudding Theatricals Honors Ryan Reynolds as 2017 Man Of The Year on Feb. 3. Talking to People magazine, the Vancouver native shared his proudest dad moment, and we have to say it's pretty darn cute. Just seeing my older daughter be so infatuated with our younger daughter, whos four months old, Reynolds told the magazine. Seeing her kiss her and hug her and hold her, it kinda crushed me. But would put anyone else to sleep. Actors Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively with daughters James Reynolds and Ines Reynolds attend the ceremony honoring Ryan Reynolds with a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Advertisement Reynolds has two daughters two-year-old James and four-month-old Ines with wife and actor Blake Lively. The family made their last public appearance in December when Reynolds was honoured with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Seriously, look at this freaking photo opp. Actor Ryan Reynolds and daughter Ines Reynolds attend the ceremony honouring Ryan Reynolds with a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Advertisement Actor Ryan Reynolds and daughter James Reynolds attend the ceremony honoring Ryan Reynolds with a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. And Reynolds has been pretty open about the realities of fatherhood in the past. In a 2015 interview with GQ, the "Green Lantern" actor was pretty clear when it came to good parenting advice. "Don't listen to any advice. Because there's nothing you can do to prepare for it," he said. He's also gotten pretty good at tweeting his hilarious take on parenting. Also on HuffPost Afraid of what President Donald Trump's immigration policies could mean for their future, some refugees have been crossing into Canada at the Manitoba border. Manitoba RCMP have confirmed 22 people crossed the border near Emerson, approximately 100 kilometres south of Winnipeg, over the weekend. Nineteen arrived Saturday and another three on Sunday. Advertisement Farhan Ahmed was among Saturday's asylum seekers. He told CBC News his group, which included a family with children, walked through deep snow in cold temperatures for about 12 kilometres before they called 911 for help. RCMP picked up the group and brought them to a Canada Border Services Agency location where they could make refugee claims, he said. Ahmed, who originally fled Somalia in 2014, had been granted work authorization in Ohio in 2015. He worked as a truck driver while trying to make an U.S. asylum claim. However, he said, when Trump signed the executive order barring citizens from seven Muslim-majority countries, including Somalia, from entering the U.S. he knew it was time to leave. Advertisement Rita Chahal, executive director of Manitoba Interfaith Immigration Council, told The Guardian the number of refugees seeking asylum has increased dramatically in the past few months. She said her organization has opened claims for 118 refugees, compared to 50-70 filed in a typical year. High-risk trek north Perhaps most troubling, said Chahal, is the long, risky route these refugees are taking to get to Canada. "Theyre not crossing at the actual point where theres an immigration and customs offices," she said. "Theyre walking through prairie fields with lots and lots of deep snow. In Europe were seeing people in boats; now just imagine a prairie flatland and snow for miles and miles." Advertisement Manitoba's Welcome Place refugee agency told Global News they, too, have seen a drastic increase in the number of claimants. Between Nov. 1 and Jan. 25, the group helped 91 refugees more than they typically assist in one year. "The U.S. presidential campaign, putting undocumented immigrants and refugees in the spotlight, terrified them," Ghezae Hagos, a counselor at Welcome Place, told Global News. "The election and inauguration of Mr. Trump appears to be the final reason for those who came mostly last month." Maggie Yeboah, president of the Ghanaian Union of Manitoba, told Reuters 27 men from Ghana have made the trek to Manitoba from the U.S. since last summer. Advertisement Two of those men lost fingers to frostbite after they crossed the border on foot from North Dakota on New Year's Eve. Canadian government pressed to react A temporary restraining order by a U.S. judge of Trumps executive order has blocked nationwide the implementation of key parts of the travel ban and provided a reprieve for refugees trying to come to the United States. However, a growing number of refugee advocates, including the Canadian Council for Refugees and the Canadian Association of Refugee Lawyers, are calling on the federal government to reconsider Canada's 2004 Safe Third Country Agreement with the U.S. The agreement requires people to apply for asylum in the first country they arrive in, meaning refugees may risk dangerous journeys to sneak into Canada, instead of being turned back into the U.S. while trying to cross at a border customs office. Advertisement Meanwhile, in Emerson, emergency officials were left scrambling on the weekend to convert a town centre into a shelter for the refugees. Brenda Piett, assistant emergency co-ordinator for the municipality of Emerson-Franklin, said Canada Border Services called her at 8:30 a.m. Saturday to see if the Emerson Community Centre could be opened to shelter refugee claimants. Piett told CTV Winnipeg about 10 were put up at the shelter, where they were given sandwiches, blankets and pillows. She said they did not speak English and stayed at the shelter until 8:30 p.m. that evening. They were eventually picked up and taken to Winnipeg. Advertisement "I would hope that if someone comes to a door and they're freezing, that they would have that door opened." Manitoba Premier Brian Pallister said now is not the time to strengthen the Canada-U.S. border in Manitoba. "I would hope that if someone comes to a door and they're freezing, that they would have that door opened," he said Monday. "And I would hope that people would make sure and understand that there are people who require a handout right now, and that we give them that support." Manitoba is the home of hope and open to all. We will welcome any and all newcomers whatever the circumstances. #mbpoli#WelcometoCanada Brian Pallister (@Brian_Pallister) January 29, 2017 Advertisement Emerson-Franklin councillor Doug Johnston said Monday he's concerned about the volume of people crossing into town. On top of safety concerns, he said the cost of caring for the claimants comes out of the municipal budget. Johnston wants municipal, provincial and federal politicians for the region to have a meeting and work out a plan for the future, including better security measures to stop the flow of people across the border. Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale said Tuesday border crossings in other parts of the country have also seen an increase, but the overall numbers are not as high as they were several years ago. "The number has risen over the last three or four years, but compared to 10 years ago, the number is substantially down,'' Goodale told reporters in Ottawa. Goodale said he would consider providing more resources to Emerson-Franklin and other areas, but was non-committal. Advertisement "We are examining right now what are the appropriate steps to take to protect the integrity of the border, to make sure that public health and safety is properly protected and to make sure that the people involved here are treated in a fair and compassionate way.'' With files from The Canadian Press Also on HuffPost A woman says she "feels awful" after she was recently kicked off an airline. The waitress, named Brenda, told Inside Edition she believes she was escorted from a Spirit Airlines flight from New Orleans to Fort Lauderdale last week because of her cleavage. "I feel awful," the 21-year-old said in the segment. "I cant sleep. It is really affecting me, actually." Advertisement 21-year-old Brenda. Brenda first made headlines when fellow passenger Cathy Supp told Inside Edition an unidentified passenger was kicked off her airline before takeoff possibly because of what she was wearing. "There was discussion about her outfit," Supp told producers last week. "She was upset; she was crying." Supp claims when she offered Brenda a tissue she was also kicked off the flight. Advertisement Brenda on the day of her flight. Brenda claims flight attendants asked her if she was drunk before takeoff, and said she was "loud and belligerent." One of the attendants told her to cover up, but never did mention her breasts in particular. "It was obvious it was my breasts... I feel if I was smaller or someone with a smaller breast size, there would have been no issue," Brenda said. Spirit airlines. Spirit Airlines denies Brenda was kicked off because of her exposed cleavage, and instead claim she was "intoxicated." The woman's cleavage played absolutely no role in her removal," the airline said in a statement, adding other passengers were complaining about her behaviour. Advertisement In 2012, a woman on a Southwest Airlines flight from Las Vegas to New York wasn't allowed to board the plane because her cleavage was "inappropriate," NY Daily News reports. The airline later apologized. In fact, Jezebel even has a list of women who were humiliated and body shamed on flights. Also on HuffPost People in Victoria, B.C. don't always react well to snow, but one man's attempt to help during this week's snowstorm was totally unexpected. Central Saanich Police pulled over a man trying to clear snow from the street with a Zamboni on Monday evening near the Patricia Bay Highway. Advertisement The Zamboni belongs to farmer Marko Kardum, 32, who lives on Central Saanich Road near the highway. He told The Huffington Post Canada that it had snowed heavily early in the evening and he wanted to see if the machine would help clear it. He got to work, but about 10 minutes in, the police arrived. Someone had called the force, thinking that he was trying to make a rink. Advertisement The officer wasn't too pleased, but he understood that they were just trying to help, Kardum's roommate Colin Stuart told HuffPost. Central Saanich Sgt. Paul Brailey told the Times Colonist that the Zamboni wasn't terribly helpful: it cleared the top portion of snow but just flattened the bottom layer, which could turn into ice if temperatures dropped. Police asked Kardum to go home because the vehicle doesn't have the insurance required to be operated on public roads. Police escorted Kardum, who was still driving the Zamboni, back to his property, and public works cleared the snow using proper equipment. Advertisement Kardum said Tuesday he got the machine to move horse manure, but found it's quite good for removing snow, too. (Kardum bought the Zamboni at an auction for $300, Stuart told HuffPost.) "It worked really well, actually. I was surprised," Kardum said. .@ScanBC this person is a goddamned hero a Andy Cole (@AndyCole84) February 7, 2017 While officials were not impressed, others hailed Kardum as a champion. "This person is a goddamned hero," wrote a Twitter user. "Hopefully they're giving him a medal and a hot coffee for being a badass and helping people out!" said a Facebook commenter on a photo of Kardum. B.C.'s South Coast has been hit with one of the snowiest winter storms in decades. With files from The Canadian Press Also on HuffPost AleksandarNakic via Getty Images Lovely couple in pyjamas spending Valentine's day in their bed, and sharing their love and affection Valentine's Day is around the corner. You may be searching for love, falling in love, making sweet love, or sick of love. Like it or hate it, single or coupled, February 14 can be hard to ignore. According to Statistics Canada, 38.7 per cent of Canadians were married in 2016, and another 9.2 per cent were living common-law. The other one-half of the population were never married (39.6 per cent) or separated (2.3 per cent), divorced (5.2 per cent), or widowed (5.1 per cent). By sex, 56.0 per cent of females were in no relationship compared with 51.1 per cent of males. Advertisement Whatever camp you're in, recent studies on those in relationships and those who are single have discovered some interesting answers to questions you may be wondering about. Is being single liberating or lonely? Despite the relaxing of cultural norms, being single (particularly for women) can still carry a social stigma. The common assumption is that not being in a relationship is inherently negative, resulting in loneliness, unfulfillment, and lots of cats. This dominant ideology can influence how people view singlehood and consequently their approach to relationships, according to a 2013 study in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. Of the 152 men and women surveyed in the study, 37 per cent expressed some degree of fear of being single. The most common worry was lack of companionship and intimacy. Those with stronger fears were more likely to lower their standards in both new and on-going relationships. Advertisement But perspectives on being single vary. Another study involving 502 young college women, published in the journal Sex Roles, found that many were happy unattached. That same study also found that outlooks on single life differed by socioeconomic status. Higher income students tended to view being single as positive and self-enhancing, affording them more freedom and independence, as well as time to focus on academic and professional goals, whereas lower income non-students were more likely to frame their single status in terms of self-protection, aimed at avoiding potential relationship risks (e.g., conflict, infidelity) and prioritizing other needs (e.g., those of children). Is Tinder just for hook-ups? If you are in the market for a relationship and looking for something serious, researchers in Belgium and the Netherlands suggest Tinder may not be a bad option. They surveyed 266 men and women between the ages of 18 and 30 to understand motivations behind Tinder usage. Sixty-one per cent of the sample had used Tinder at least once, and of those, 23 per cent were daily users. Although Tinder is normally seen as a hook-up app, most participants in the study reported swiping right to find love, and a few other things, with motivations differing by age and gender. Finding a long-term romantic partner, having casual sex, and the ease of interacting online were all reasons associated with older age. Men showed a higher motivation for casual sex and liking the rush of it. Other reasons common to all included it being popular with friends and using it to improve self-esteem and get positive appearance-related feedback. Advertisement What happened after a match? About half of the sample went out on a date, and one-fifth had a one-night stand. The type of offline encounter was related to people's Tinder goals. Endorsement of casual sex predicted one-night stands, while those who found it easier to communicate online were less likely to meet face-to-face. Online dating used to be taboo but today, one in five relationships start online. With millions of people on Tinder and tons of new dating apps like Bumble and Happn popping up, who said romance is dead? It's just gone digital. What keeps the spark alive in long-term relationships? Finally, how about some advice for those married or partnered for a long time? Have sex more frequently. Engage in oral sex more often. Achieve more consistent orgasms. And incorporate more variety in your sex life -- try new things, set the mood, and communicate. These practices were associated with sexual satisfaction and sustaining passion in a recently published US study, which surveyed 38,747 heterosexual women and men aged 18 to 65 who reported being partnered for three or more years. Eighty-three per cent of participants (regardless of gender) reported being satisfied with their sex lives in the first six months of dating. This number declined over time, with just 55 per cent of women and 43 per cent of men currently satisfied. Passion also diminished: only one-third reported as much passion toward their partner presently as they did in the beginning of their relationship. Advertisement Compared with sexually dissatisfied individuals, those who were sexually satisfied reported more frequent oral sex and more consistent orgasms, along with a greater assortment of sexual acts (e.g., massage, new positions, videotaping sex), mood settings (e.g., playing music, lighting candles), and communication strategies (e.g., requesting something they desired in bed, asking for feedback on how something felt). These findings, study authors concluded, may offer some people ideas to improve a "sagging" sex life. But what if sex isn't your thing and you're among those in long-term relationships that would be just as happy with a cup of tea? Don't succumb to cultural or partner expectations about sex. Treat yourself to a hot chocolate this Valentine's Day! After all, variety is the spice of life. Follow HuffPost Canada Blogs on Facebook Also on HuffPost: Travelers carrying luggage walk through an airport. (Photo : Getty Images) A record-breaking 1,570 foreigners were granted citizenship by the Chinese government last year, which is 163 percent higher compared to 2015. According to Chinas Ministry of Public Security, while this is the highest in the history of the Communist nation, the timing of the release of the figures of granting permanent citizenship to foreigners coincides with the issues over U.S. President Donald Trump trying to impose strict restrictions over the entry of foreigners and immigrants, especially from seven Muslim-majority countries. Advertisement NDTV reported that at present, China allows 72-hour visa-free entry for nationals of certain countries to 15 Chinese cities; while Shanghai, Jiangsu, and Zhejiang offer 144-hour visa-free stays for international transit passengers from certain countries. Since Sept. 2015, China has made residency and entry policies smoother for foreigners, boosting international exchanges and the economy and attracting more talents from overseas. Foreign experts are also welcome as they invest billions of dollars in advanced technology. Like Chinese citizens, foreigners with permanent residents have the right to investment, schooling and house purchases, among other rights. Since these new measures were implemented a year after, there was a year-on-year increase of six times over the number of permanent residence applications from foreigners and their families. Last year, the number of such applications increased 426 percent from that of 2015. Foreigners also made over 56.5 million trips to China, up 8.9 percent from 2015. Chinese Culture summarized how foreigners can become Chinese citizens. Under the Article 7 of the Nationality Law, foreigners who will abide by the Chinese Constitution and laws can apply to be naturalized as Chinese citizens if they meet one of the following conditions: 1) They have close relatives who are Chinese nationals; 2) They have settled in China; 3) They have other legitimate reasons. Applicants can submit their applications for citizenship at local Public Security Bureaus in China. If abroad, applicants can submit their citizenship applications at Chinese embassies and consular offices. Submitted documents will be examined, approved or dismissed by the Ministry of Public Security. If approved, applicants will receive a certificate of citizenship. Eighty years ago, Spain was embroiled in a violent civil war. As is often the case, children bore the brunt of the fighting and suffering. While reporting on the conflict, a British war correspondent noticed a young boy standing alone with a note hung around his neck at a local train station. He walked to the child and took a closer look at the note. It read: This is Jose. I am his father and when Santander falls, I will be shot. Whoever finds my son, please take care of him. Advertisement The journalist could not turn away. Instinctively he knew that he bore a responsibility to protect this vulnerable child. His name was John Langdon-Davies and from that moment, he swore that he would answer Jose's father's plea, refusing to turn a blind eye to the generations of children that would find themselves in the same grave situation. Langdon-Davies' desire to help orphaned children of war became the foundation of Foster Parents Plan, which has evolved into Plan International, one of the world's oldest and largest international development agencies. Tragically, almost a century later, record numbers of people are being displaced by conflict, famine and persecution. There are still millions of children just like Jose -- new generations of children in need of protection and the chance of a peaceful life. Nine year-old Syrian refugee Laial lives in Egypt after escaping her home country. She now attends one of Plan International's child-friendly spaces.(Photo Credit: Plan International/Joseph Raouf Youssef) Advertisement Children like nine-year-old Laial, who sought refuge in Egypt after fleeing the conflict in Syria, or Ibrahim, who escaped intense fighting in Mali and now lives in a refugee camp in Burkina Faso. Or Selam, a ten-year-old girl who courageously crossed seas, rivers, and borders in search of peace. Regardless of their circumstance, these children all yearn for safety and stability -- a sanctuary to grow and build brighter futures. This week marks International Development Week. It comes at a time when people seem to be increasingly shutting their doors and hearts to the world's most vulnerable. As members of the global community, we must seize this moment by standing up for the world's refugees. In 1937, when John Langdon-Davies looked at Jose he saw a refugee, a defenseless child torn away from his family and home. In 2017, when people see young boys and girls in refugee camps on the news, what do they see? It is alarming to observe that the word refugee has become entangled in such a divisive debate. Much of the conversation seems devoid of the impulse for empathy and compassion that impelled Langdon-Davies to act that day at the train station. Advertisement We have now been confronted with a new narrative; the word refugee has somehow warped to describe a person to be fearful of, rather than a person who is fearful for their own life. For those that work and support refugees in communities around the world, this reversal of meaning defies all logic and reality. Syrian children receive schooling and psychosocial support at the Ensan Foundation in Egypt. (Photo Credit: Plan International/Heba Khalifa) Needless to say, my colleagues around the world are deeply concerned about the recent U.S. executive order on immigration and what it signals globally. Yet in the face of closing borders, these same colleagues are on the frontlines working tirelessly to protect and improve the quality of life for refugees, especially children. But compassion must go beyond the frontlines. We all have a role to play in welcoming and aiding people fleeing conflict and persecution. Advertisement We must work to remind the world of what it means to be a refugee. We must never allow people to forget that more than half of the world's refugees are children. And most importantly, we must always remember the life-shattering consequences of failing to protect these children. In a desperate plea to the world, seven-year-old Bana Alabed in Aleppo spelled out these consequences by tweeting about her daily routine of violence, fear and deprivation in 140 characters for months. The 21st century version of a note hung around her neck, she tweeted to make global citizens feel connected to her plight. Imagine, if every child refugee had the chance to tweet, what would they say? That they are alone, yearning for their parents. That they are traumatized by the violence they have seen, and by the bombs dropping over their heads. That they are dreaming of a community to embrace them, and a school to protect and teach them. Advertisement With the support of Plan International, 1,400 often vulnerable and severely war-affected children are now attending school in Egypt. (Photo Credit: Plan International/Heba Khalifa) Perhaps girls and boys would tweet a warning to us, reminding us that they are vulnerable to recruitment into armed groups, sexual abuse, and trafficking. When these realities are written plainly for all to read they are hard to ignore. We need to read the message in whichever form it comes, and seize the courage to act. We act because of the same instinct that pushed a war journalist to dedicate his life to orphaned children. We act because of our shared humanity, which urgently calls on us to welcome and protect those children fleeing violence and persecution around the world. Advertisement Follow HuffPost Canada Blogs on Facebook lolostock via Getty Images A young woman wearing a hooded coat is walking on a dramatic beach in the winter I recently had the opportunity to speak with two different groups of male inmates at a prison. They, along with a group of university students, were enrolled in a criminology course taking place inside the prison in which they'd been required to read my memoir. It was an amazing experience to see these "hardened criminals" sharing their feelings, dreams and drive to understand what had led them to the life mistakes they were now trying to turn around. Time and again I heard details of harrowing childhoods, and many of them related closely to the little girl in my book. And what they all wanted to know most was why I've been so resilient when they were still struggling. Advertisement This is the question I've had more than not other from my readers, and one I've pondered at great length over the past few years. I'm certainly no expert on the matter, but here's what I've come up with speaking from my own personal experience: It is not actually resiliency that keeps our chin above water when we are sinking, but the determination not to give up on our core dreams while knowing when to let go of our superficial desires. Let me explain. Resiliency is the ability to recover -- in other words, to return to a prior state of health. That's great, but what if you start life at such a deficit that you never had that state of wellness to begin with? If your life then slides even further downhill as an adult, the best you can hope for under the terms of resiliency is to return to your previous condition. So for many of us it's about more than resilience -- it's about recreating who we are, redefining our values, and understanding what we need to feel fulfilled. This may sound daunting, but it's really quite simple. It comes down to our dreams, which everyone has. I think that most suffering happens because we give up before we achieve our goals -- or we actually do, but then dismiss our achievement because it's not exactly the picture we had in mind. I'm willing to bet all of those men on the inside had big dreams as children, dreams that were slowly eroded by dysfunctional family dynamics and their resulting inability to make good choices. But when you peel back the layers of the shattered illusions of higher education, fancy houses, big-money careers or what have you, you find a basic desire to create a life that's better than the wandering, wondering, struggling one their parents set them up for by failing to provide boundaries or support or love. And this elevated sense of self, in its many shapes and forms, is something I believe we can all achieve. Advertisement I first started pondering the idea of core dreams vs superficial desires when I was modelling. With teeth that just weren't straight enough and thighs that weren't quite skinny enough, I was continually passed over for the jobs I really craved -- the editorials for the top magazines. My desire to land these jobs was based in ego, while my longing to have a career as a working model was driven by my will to survive. I eventually settled into a career as a catalogue model and enjoyed financial success -- my core dream. Another of my dreams was to break the divorce pattern in my family by marrying once and staying that way. But with no model for choosing a partner wisely, it quickly became apparent in both my first two marriages that I'd made a mistake. Years of painful realizations and turmoil ensued before I finally got up the courage to leave each of them, but I never gave up on my core dream of finding the right man, which I now have. When I wrote my first memoir, I received countless rejection letters over the six years I took to finally get it right. Each time another round of rejections hit me, instead of hitting delete on my manuscript, I'd rewrite the whole damn thing over again and try again. It eventually brought me an amazing agent, a deal with HarperCollins and a bestselling book. I've thought long and hard about what it was that finally made me turn the corner in my writing, and I've realized it was purpose; instead of writing to feed my egotistical ambition of creating a bestseller, I started writing to connect with people who, like myself, felt like outsiders -- and that's when I found success. So hold fast to your core dreams. And most of all, don't give up. You've heard it before, you'll hear it again, but as someone who's been in the trenches of hopelessness several times, it's the best advice I can give. If you quit today, you may be quitting when you are an inch away from the end of a thousand-mile journey. Honour yourself and your dreams, and you will find a way to make them reality. Follow HuffPost Canada Blogs on Facebook Also on HufffPost: Did you know that the mathematician who calculated the trajectories for NASA's Apollo 11 flight to the Moon was an African-American woman? Her name is Katherine Johnson. She was so well-known for her accuracy that when NASA used electronic computers for the first time to calculate astronaut John Glenn's orbit around the Earth, officials asked Johnson to verify the calculations. Thanks to the movie Hidden Figures, her story, and that of two other brilliant African-American women, Dorothy Vaughan and Mary Jackson, is finally being told. Hidden Figures was screened last month by the Faculty of Science at Ryerson University as part of an event to celebrate the achievements and contributions of women in STEM -- science, technology, engineering and math. Advertisement The pre-screening reception was attended by the Honourable Elizabeth Dowdeswell, Lieutenant Governor of Ontario, and featured a keynote speech by Dr. Shohini Ghose, Professor of Physics and Computer Science and Director of Centre for Women in Science at Wilfrid Laurier University. Dr. Ghose shared some of the challenges she had faced as a woman in STEM, from being mistaken as the administrative assistant to being harassed by some of her students. The women of Hidden Figures worked for NASA in the 1960s, facing racial segregation on a daily basis. They started as "coloured computers" but eventually built great careers within the agency. The spirit that they fought those barriers with is sure to inspire and empower everyone, not just women in STEM. Many incidents from the movie stand out. In one, Johnson fights for her place in all-male briefings, convincing her boss to defy convention so she can be in that room where decisions are being made. Another example is when Jackson petitions the city to let her take the necessary night courses in an all-white college, which will allow her to apply for an open engineering position at NASA. Advertisement Most importantly, Hidden Figures highlighted how many stories of women in STEM are still yet to be told. I'm a female scientist and I only heard of Katherine Johnson last year. Janelle Monae, who plays Jackson in the movie, was quoted saying: "I was really upset because, as an African-American young woman, I had no idea who Mary Jackson was, who Dorothy Vaughan was, who Katherine Johnson was, who the coloured 'computers' were." As Dr. Ghose suggested at the Ryerson event, I invite you to Google "women in STEM" and learn at least about one woman that inspires you. Tell your friends about her, share her story with your network on social media or talk about her with your family at the dinner table. Follow HuffPost Canada Blogs on Facebook Imagine the following scenario: a woman goes to the authorities and reports being a victim of domestic violence. Without looking at the evidence, the officer accuses her of dishonest victimization and tells her that she is making false allegations to push forward her feminist agenda. A little while later, her body is found lying dead in her living room. Although such an awful scenario would be deemed completely unacceptable due to the heightened awareness of domestic violence against women, it seems as though there is still much work to be done in raising awareness about various forms of violence rooted in racism, xenophobia and more specifically Islamophobia. Advertisement There are various definitions of what Islamophobia is and how it manifests, but one that sums it up is by Dr. Jasmin Zine who is a professor of sociology at Wilfred Laurier University. She states that: "Islamophobia is a fear or hatred of Islam and its adherents (Muslims) that is translated into individual, ideological and systemic forms of oppression." Last summer, the National Council of Canadian Muslims (NCCM) conducted press conferences in six different cities to bring to light the alarming increase of Islamophobia in Canada. Sadly, some news commentators in Quebec were either quick to brush the problem under the carpet and/or scream: "Conspiracy theory! Nonsense!" Little importance seemed to have been given to research and the troubling statistical evidence corroborating NCCM's straightforward claim: that Islamophobia is real and it's on the rise. In fact, data gathered by Statistics Canada's shows an increase in the number of hate crimes perpetrated against Canadian Muslims between 2013 to 2014, and this while the overall number of hate crimes appears to be falling. Advertisement These numbers however didn't seem to deter pundits, politicians and others with their own agendas from, at best, minimizing and ridiculing those who would point them out or at worst simply ignoring them. Former U.S. Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan once stated: "Everyone is entitled to their own opinions, but they are not entitled to their own facts." So, how could it be possible that some prominent public figures continue to deny the existence of a growing anti-Muslim sentiment? The lack of political will in addressing the Muslim community's fears is a reflection of the general climate of Islamophobia in the province. This past September, a concerned group of Muslim Quebecers approached the Minister of Public Security to blow the whistle on the growing threat of Islamophobia and the steady increase of hate attacks against Muslims. Unfortunately, their concern was completely ignored or, at best, trivialized. The lack of political will in addressing the Muslim community's fears is, unfortunately, a reflection of the general climate of Islamophobia in the province. In a recent public appearance, the leader of the Coalition Avenir Quebec, Francois Legault, claimed that there is no trend of Islamophobia in Quebec. Other pundits such as Mathieu Bock-Cote and Richard Martineau often accused the Muslim community of self-victimization and using charges of Islamophobia to censure any criticism of Islam. Advertisement If the likes of Mr. Legault, Mr. Martineau and Mr. Bock-Cote genuinely believe that Islamophobia is a myth, perhaps they can help us explain how six Muslim men were killed in cold blood while peacefully praying in their local mosque? "An isolated case!" they may shout. So, how would they make sense of the fact that every mosque in the Quebec city region was vandalized prior to the Sainte-Foy shooting? How can they help us explain the following incidents which all occurred within the last three years in the province of Quebec? The aforementioned represent only a small sample of some of the hate incidents in Quebec which were reported or covered. We will never know the full extent of incidences that occur, as Statistics Canada has reported that up to two-thirds of hate crimes go unreported. Advertisement "The denial of racism is a form of racism itself." - Timothy Jacob Wise Timothy Jacob Wise, an American anti-racism activist once stated: ''The denial of racism is a form of racism itself.'' Likewise, the denial of Islamophobia can also be an act of Islamophobia used to facilitate the propagation of hate speech and violence towards Muslims. How long will our society remain in denial that Islamophobia, racism and xenophobia exist? How many more victims will it take before we start understanding the seriousness of this issue? Like many diseases, Islamophobia is curable and its treatment is more simple than one may imagine. The first step to attaining this cure is by recognizing that one is afflicted by the illness. We must all recognize that Islamophobia is not only a threat to Muslims, but to our entire society. The great Thomas Jefferson once stated that democracy functions on a rational and well-informed public. Islamophobia is an irrational fear, often stemming from ignorance or misinformation, and like other kinds of hate, is a cancer that erodes our democracy and hinders our ability to meaningfully and rationally exchange ideas in seeking the betterment of our society. Follow HuffPost Canada Blogs on Facebook Also on HuffPost: Can music still soothe the savage sound bite? That was my quest this last fortnight, as I sought solace from non-stop Trumpapocalypse onslaught on "social" (why do they call it that when it's so decidedly anti-social?) and more traditional media. As campuses were burned, mosques attacked, and civilized sensibilities assaulted, the salve for my soul came in the form of two Early Music Vancouver performances. Indeed Early Music Vancouver, a local treasure whose motto is "transcending time," offered much food for thought. Advertisement The first performance that had me time travelling in a bid to escape 2017's grim realities was part of a series called New Music for Old Instruments featuring the Pacific Baroque Orchestra and counter-tenor Reginald L. Mobley. The program featured new classical compositions by an array of local talent ranging from Jocelyn Morlock to Rodney Sharman - as well as a little Cole Porter and Gershwin- sung by the velvet-voiced Mobley and played on baroque instruments. As I listened to Morlock's glistening Golden played on baroque strings, and later took in Mobley singing It's Not Easy Being Green accompanied by those same instruments, I read EMV's manifesto: All art exists on a continuum. Looking back, we can see paths form and lines connecting the many disparate elements. Early Music Vancouver (EMV) is an organization that reaches back into this history and casts beautifully preserved antiquities in fresh light. By preserving and presenting this music with the instruments and traditions intended, Early Music Vancouver fosters an understanding and appreciation of these unique moments in time. Advertisement At a certain point - perhaps it was when Mobley sang Lady Be Good with the Pacific Baroque Orchestra, I entered a kind of musical portal in the time-space continuum. Weirdly my watch even stopped for a whole hour. It was hard to tell where the "new" began and the "old" ended. Strains of new compositions played on baroque instruments sounded like ancient Sumerian incantations - and in the same moment - like cutting edge contemporary pieces. In the end there was just pure sound - marking the birth of music, or the death of it- all stemming from a single human cultural source. With Trumps' "Muslim ban" and walls looming, it was a moving reminder of how the pentatonic scale could unite seemingly disparate "sides" - and how early music connects us to a time when East and West shared harmonies, of the links between lutes and ouds and hearts and minds. The musical melding also made me ponder: where does one draw the line between anachronistic and visionary? Avant-garde and old guard? Is Trump's unique style a modern monster? Or have we seen this movie before - circa 1939? As Shirley Bassey sings it, is history repeating? Advertisement Well it certainly was the following weekend, when EMV presented a documentary about "le Mozart noir" - composer and French Revolutionary extraordinaire Joseph Bologne de Saint-Georges- followed by a concert of his works performed by the Northwest Baroque Masterworks Project. The 18th-century work of the son of a black slave from Guadeloupe and a French aristocrat was presented in the modern context of Black History month, but many of his life experiences resonate today. The bi-racial musical genius, who had his work "borrowed" by Mozart and other composers, was exoticized by French society, but never accepted. His appointment by the King to be director of the Paris Opera was nixed by powerful divas, and his child with his married French mistress (he would never have been allowed to marry) was killed by willful neglect. His efforts as the leader of a black Revolutionary battalion were met by a near brush with the guillotine when the reign of terror began and his associations with the nobility that never really accepted him, became a death sentence. Advertisement St George's story was a timely reminder of how quickly Western society can drift from "enlightenment" to mob rule. After a moving rendition of his concerto for violin and orchestra, featuring the indomitable Monica Huggett, music director Alexander Weimann said that the performance was a reminder that "we are all one." (image by Jan Gates) While a disgruntled if erudite patron sitting nearby mumbled caustically, "sure - we're all equal beneficiaries of oppression," there is an argument to be made for the power of music to unite us- or at the very least soothe the savage sound bite. When I asked EMV director Matthew White about the Western classical canon- often performed for and commissioned by the aristocracy -- "whose canon is it?", he replied, "it belongs to civilization." Advertisement Encouragingly, the evening enjoyed the patronage of some of Vancouver's African community, breaking up the otherwise monochromatic crowd. And there are other signs of course of the power of classical music to unite disparate factions. This past week, youth symphony orchestras from both sides of the Texas-Mexico border performed a joint concert titled "The Bridge." Packed theatres and standing ovations greeted The El Paso Symphony Youth Orchestras and Esperanza Azteca Symphony Orchestra of Ciudad Juarez. And even as Iraqis enjoyed the indignity of being banned by the country that invaded and then abandoned them, the Iraqi National Orchestra plays on, infusing the classical canon with their own unique spirit, just as St. George did, and just as Early Music Vancouver does. While Trump appears to prefer pilfered Rolling Stones songs to baroque instrumentations, he seems to be learning that you can't always get what you want. Advertisement And hopefully, we're all learning that more than ever, as the new reign of terror dawns, we desperately need shared cultural experiences that remind us of our common humanity. Team Static via Getty Images A doctor listening to a stethoscope A few years ago, I was diagnosed with Generalized Anxiety Disorder. My doctor suggested counselling as part of my treatment. My workplace health benefits include access to counselling services. When I contacted our provider to book an appointment, I was given the option of doing online counselling with a practitioner based in Toronto (I'm in Saskatoon). I jumped at the chance. As a person with a hearing disability, I felt that online chat provided not just needed health care, but also suitable accommodations. Telemedicine is not yet widely used in Canada, but it is gaining momentum. In Saskatchewan, we are still working with an advice-based model via a service called HealthLine. Staffed by nurses, this phone line offers advice on whether it is better to treat your own symptoms, wait to see your regular doctor, go to a clinic, or go to an emergency room. Advertisement Services like HealthLine only offer advice, and often require patients to seek in-person care. Telemedicine is different, directly connecting patients and licensed health care providers online. Telemedicine -- also known as eHealth, telehealth, or virtual medicine -- aims to cut down on in-person visits, making medical care more efficient for both patients and healthcare providers. I chose telemedicine because it supported my disability, but there are numerous reasons why telehealth might be a good choice for a patient. People in remote communities, people with limited mobility or limited transportation options (including seniors), and people living in areas with shortages of family doctors and/or specialists could all benefit from telemedicine. But there are other reasons to choose telehealth too. Parents with young children may have difficulty arranging child care in order to visit a doctor; it may be difficult for some people to get time off work during regular office hours; and for others, just the chance to avoid germs at a walk-in clinic might be reason enough to choose a virtual appointment. While urban dwellers might not use telehealth services very often, it has been practiced in remote communities for years. Pelican Narrows, in Saskatchewan, is a six hours' drive northeast of Saskatoon. Since 2014, a robot has been instrumental in providing healthcare to the village of 2800 residents. Prior to the introduction of the robot, critical cases had to be airlifted to Saskatoon. This was problematic for patients, who were then isolated from their friends and family, and without community support in Saskatoon hospitals. Transportation delays due to weather or airport shutdowns could prove fatal. And the cost to the health care system is high, since the price of a round trip is about $10,000. The Pelican Narrows robot has a stethoscope, ultrasound, dermatoscope (for a magnified view of the skin), ophthalmoscope (to look into the eye), and otoscope (to look into the ear). A nurse, trained in telemedicine, takes remote direction from a doctor to use the robot's equipment. The images scanned by the equipment are sent via video in real time to a doctor, who can make diagnoses and determine treatment plans. Advertisement While not as impressively futuristic as Dr. Robot, there are a couple of other ways telemedicine services can be accessed. In urban areas where there are shortages of family doctors, telemedicine clinics could be the best way to ensure continuity of care. As this piece in the Victoria Times Columnist explains, MedViewMD, based in Chatham, Ontario, has set up telemedicine clinics within British Columbia pharmacies. Patients are first assessed by a nurse practitioner before meeting with a doctor via web conferencing. Home health monitoring is another facet of telemedicine. A patient is loaned a tablet computer with various equipment hooked up to it (like a blood pressure monitor or blood glucose meter). Readings made by the equipment are uploaded and sent to the patient's health care provider. This system encourages accountability for the patient in terms of self-care. For example, failing to take medications or falling back into an unhealthy lifestyle after treatment will be reported immediately to the practitioner. The monitoring also provides an alert to the practitioner when the patient requires urgent care. Despite its potential, and despite being widely used in the U.K., U.S.A., Australia, and New Zealand, telemedicine has not yet been widely adopted in Canada. One point of concern is the confidentiality of health records shared between various practitioners online; another is the worry that patients will not see continuity of care if a different practitioner is provided for each appointment. There are technological issues too. Apps need to be developed for different purposes; and, of course, any type of system glitch or failure can cause untold problems. However, the digitization of healthcare is gaining momentum, and is impacting everything from online certification for healthcare professionals (such as Advanced Cardiovascular Life Support (ACLS) recertification) to the opening of Canada's first fully digital hospital in Toronto. Despite the concerns about it, telemedicine is clearly forging forward. Advertisement Should you go ahead and embrace telemedicine now while it is still gaining a foothold? It's important to remember that if you accept some types of telemedicine, not all your health-care services need to become digitized. And, in fact, just as I chose online counselling after having an in-person appointment with my family doctor, telemedicine is best used as a supplementary form of healthcare. Some in-person appointments will still be required. But if telemedicine offers a choice that's convenient and/or offers a service that's otherwise unavailable to you, why not take it? Regardless of whether a non-urgent appointment is made with an in-person or online practitioner, that practitioner is still a licensed health care professional whose job is to keep you healthy and well. br-photo via Getty Images Los Angeles, USA - July 12, 2016 - Black lives matter protestor put their fists in the air as a sign of 'black power' on City Hall following ruling on LAPD fatal shooting of African American female Redel Jones There's that old saying that any publicity is good publicity. It gets your name out there in the public conversation, people who may not know who you are Googling you. You end up winning new fans or followers -- a new audience. We all want positive publicity, but there are benefits to bad publicity too. For the Black Lives Matter Toronto chapter, most of what they do brings bad publicity. And not the good kind of bad publicity. The kind of bad publicity where you ask yourself who is running the show and if there is an adult in the room. Advertisement The BLM Community stemmed from problems in the U.S. Cops killings, increased incarcerations, inequality in schools and communities. Some people write it off saying "All Lives Matter." They don't understand that no one is saying "We're more important than you." They're saying "We are important, too." From the main page of the Black Lives Matter website: "Black Lives Matter is an ideological and political intervention in a world where Black lives are systematically and intentionally targeted for demise. It is an affirmation of Black folks' contributions to this society, our humanity, and our resilience in the face of deadly oppression." Now, let's talk about the Black Lives Matter Toronto chapter. There is no raising awareness and focus on issues that affect the black community here in Canada. If there were, then people such as myself could be aware of their plight. I could say, "Wow, good point there, guys!" I'd say "I never thought about how things affect the black community in Canada, thanks for opening my eyes." But they seem more interested in causing chaos. They are tone deaf when it comes to realising that their actions do very little to help their cause. They are not starting the types of conversations that BLM in the U.S. have inspired. They seem to be more interested in making problems, not resolving them. Advertisement We know about their sit-in at last year's Pride Toronto parade. I can appreciate that being a minority and part of the LGBT community is a very difficult thing, and that Pride Toronto hasn't had the best relationship in the past recognising that. But to interfere in the parade seemed cheap and selfish. As per the CBC, The organisation was given the status of Honoured Group for the parade, which is the grand finale of Pride Month. It did not give Pride Toronto advance notice of their planned sit-in. Earlier this year, they took the Pride Toronto board hostage. They made a list of demands like hostage takers and all of them were met. One was banning police floats from the parade and not allowing cops to march in uniform. The past history of Toronto police and the LGBT community has had its dark moments. But Google image search "Pride Toronto Police" and you will see where relations were up until now. You'll see officers dancing in the parade, in uniform, having as much fun as anyone else. The asterisk that the police can be AT the event, but can't take part in the parade route in uniform is horrible. The decision got blasted by people across the country. People with family, friends, coworkers, classmates in the LGBT community were mind blown. Pockets of the LGBT community questioned why this battle was being waged. When you think of celebrations of inclusion, you think of Pride parades. People of all walks of life partying and embracing, coming together as one. This decision has excluded people. People are now questioning who is running the show at Pride. BLMTO or the board and planning committee? Some have suggested they can have their own parade and dictate their own rules, banning whoever they want. They've brought down Pride Toronto's credibility and authority of their upper management. Sponsors of the festival now question if they are supporting inclusiveness or exclusion. Advertisement "Social justice should be about resolving issues that exist and preventing new ones from popping up." This past weekend there was an Anti-Islamophobia rally in Toronto. All over the world, rallies took place after Donald Trump's ban on 7 Muslim countries. Yusra Khogali, a co-founder of the BLM chapter in the city called Prime Minister Justin Trudeau a "white supremacist terrorist". Say what you will about him, but he's one of the last world leaders embracing Muslims and refugees. That decision brings controversy, but he and the Liberals have dug in their heels. He made international headlines for welcoming all those affected by Trump's ban. He will probably win a Nobel Peace Prize as the face of Muslim immigration. Muslims have no better ally in the western world right now than Trudeau. I'm not sure who is advising the Black Lives Matter Toronto chapter. Social justice should be about resolving issues that exist and preventing new ones from popping up. Regressive justice and the approach of BLMTO seems to be creating division. They're stepping on others and provoking controversy. Making such outlandish commentary and actions, they become their own worst enemy. If they want to be accepted as a credible organization, they need a PR person. They need a buffer, to question consequences and ask if their messaging hurts them. Right now, they are collecting bad publicity after bad publicity. And not the good kind. The kind that makes people tune them out and roll their eyes. There's already a strong contingent of people in Canada who oppose immigration and minorities. Inspiring new enemies to join them is not helping their cause and only fuels up the other side with confirmation bias red meat. Advertisement In 20 years, will we be celebrating the legacy of the BLMTO movement during Black History Month? Or will we be looking at it as a drain on the community that caused more tension than bridge-building? They obviously have a knack for getting in the headlines and creating conversations. Let's just hope they can stay on message and get good publicity rather than bad. CORRECTION: An earlier version of this blog stated BLMTO could have asked to march in the Toronto Pride parade instead of holding it up, when they were in fact given the status of Honoured Group for the parade. Follow HuffPost Canada Blogs on Facebook RapidEye via Getty Images Jo Tumhe Mehroom Karey Tum Usay Ata Karo (Shower grace on the one who bereaves you) The Quebec mosque shooting galvanized Canadian communities who came out in droves for vigils all across Canada. In Edmonton, despite freezing temperatures, hundreds flocked to the Alberta Legislature to comfort the Muslim community. Many have also formed human chains outside mosques in solidarity. My friend Gary Simpson from McDougall United carried the sign "Christian against Islamophobia. My friend the good Reverend Mark Chiang had the sign outside his Church, St. Andrews Presbyterian, to read, "Loving Jesus means loving our Muslim neighbours." Advertisement This reaction is not unexpected. In Cold Lake, many Canadians gathered to wash the racist graffiti off the mosque wall. In Flemingdon Park, Toronto, many marched in solidarity with a Muslim woman who was physically assaulted. Canadians also donated generously for 15-year-old Noah Rabbani whose skull was brutally cracked in Hamilton, Ontario. The prime minister has termed the Quebec shooting as a terrorist attack. Canadian writers have also emphasized the need to address the problem posed by homegrown right wing white supremacists. While racism and Islamophobia remain problems, as is evident through online comments, Canadians of goodwill show through their actions, time and again, that there is no place for hate in Canada. Many in the LGBTQ community have also expressed their unconditional solidarity with Muslims despite the fact that mainstream Muslim groups continue to ignore inter-sectional work with the LGBTQ community. Advertisement Both Ahmadis and LGBTQ Muslims are awestruck by such solidarity of Canadians with their Muslim neighbours. After all, the persecution of Ahmadi Muslims is often sidelined and any solidarity is peppered with ifs and buts. Social ostracism of both Ahmadis and LGBTQ Muslims remains the norm in Canada. This necessitates merciless introspection. We cannot combat racism and Islamophobia but casually ignore supremacism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia and apostasy charges (takfir) stoked by popular Shaykhs and speakers. Indeed, all oppression (zulm) is connected. Jamal Badawi, who upholds Islamic law over secular governance and Abdullah Andalusi who clamours for a "benign" Caliphate, continue to be paraded as Muslim leaders for Islam Awareness Week in Alberta. Likewise, Farhat Hashmi continues to operate in Canada. Four girls who joined ISIS from Canada and the San Bernardino shooter had attended the al-Huda institutes run by her. Sadaf Ahmed, a professor in Pakistan, found al-Huda graduates to be "very intolerant and judgmental toward people who were different from them." Advertisement A Muslim lady offered the following testimony on Hashmi: "She came to Edmonton, I challenged her on views and I am no longer invited to such events. There was a lady who used to play her cassettes ... in which she suggested that women should not go out to work or go shopping because they will miss prayer. Women should refrain from wearing pants ... I think that she is a danger to society. You can be easily brainwashed by this woman. ... A definite Sharia propaganda machine ..." When Muslims invite such speakers and pray for our prime minister to be shown the right path of Islam as if he were astray, they do a great disservice to Islam by reducing it to a supremacist puritanical cult. Puritanical speakers may not necessarily endorse violence, but they certainly create divisiveness amongst people by demarcating between proper Muslims and others. Through carefully worded apostasy charges (takfir) they marginalize Muslims who support religious pluralism, gender equality and LGBTQ affirmation. By basing their teachings on mindless submission and by stoking victimhood and fear, they control masses that seek to address their existentialist problems. The problem, however, is less about these speakers and more about Muslims who forgo their Allah given potential and become intellectual slaves of these zealous Shaykhs and medieval legal manuals. Such indoctrination should not be taken lightly in Canada as it has raised generations on hate in Pakistan and even in the U.K. Religious minorities in Pakistan have suffered directly as a consequence of such indoctrination. Advertisement Banning such speakers would go against freedom of religious expression and will be resisted by libertarians and Muslims alike. Libertarians, however, are not necessarily affected by Islamophobia that arises due to such speakers. Regardless, exclusivist, sexist and homophobic viewpoints sold in the name of religion must be fully challenged and resisted. One way to achieve this is by insistence on diversity, as emphasized by the prime minister. Diversity allows for the drowning out of extreme voices. This means Muslim students on campus and Muslims in the community must strive for plurality of religious spaces. This includes inviting Shia Ithna Ashari and Shia Ismaili, Bohra and Ahmadi, progressive and LGBTQ Muslim voices for Islam Awareness Week on campus. This also means supporting the incredible work done by groups like the Canadian Council of Muslim Women on engaging men to end domestic violence and el-Tawhid Juma Circle that upholds religiously plural, gender equal and LGBTQ affirming safe spaces. People who raise concerns about Islam and Muslims should also realize that making issues out of personal practices like the headscarf or halal meat only stokes Islamophobia. They can instead contribute to positive change by emphasizing diversity of Muslim voices to drown out exclusivism, sexism and homophobia preached in the name of Islam. Advertisement On their part Muslims owe it to their youth to not reduce a great religion to the antithesis of the West, the wet dreams about Caliphates or to an arrested development of sexuality. They should reject puritanism by emphasizing repeatedly that Islam is about serving humanity, doing what is right without expecting the same in return and offering unconditional sanctuary to any and all. Follow HuffPost Canada Blogs on Facebook Last Saturday, at the debate in Halifax, other candidates accused me of abandoning Atlantic Canada. They said that my proposal to freeze the equalization budget until we review its funding and the way the money is being distributed is going to hurt the region economically. Of course, in the short term, some people might not like this idea. But transferring money from the rest of Canada to the Atlantic has been going on for decades. And if we do nothing, it will likely continue for several more decades. Shouldn't we be thinking about solutions beyond the short term? Advertisement The question we should be asking is: How can we create the best conditions for Atlantic Canadian entrepreneurs to create jobs and wealth? (Including in Newfoundland & Labrador, which hasn't received equalization money for some years because of revenues from offshore oil, but still has a weak economy and very high unemployment.) Equalization should not be a permanent program to keep whole regions and provinces poorer than the rest of the country. Unfortunately, that's what it does. Various studies have shown that it encourages the growth of the public sector in the recipient provinces, which bids away resources and workers from the private sector and weakens it. It encourages provincial governments to keep taxes high and to intervene more in their economies. They don't have as much incentive to make their economies more competitive because more private sector growth will lead to less equalization money. Bigger governments, less competitive private businesses: That's the recipe for economic stagnation. It's a shame that after 150 years, our country is still not a unified market. Kevin O'Leary said last week that he would "force" provinces to adopt some policies that he favours, such as developing natural gas in Nova Scotia. And that he would be "very punitive" if they don't comply. This is a totally arrogant and reckless approach, one that will bring back constitutional quarrels between Ottawa and the provinces. Advertisement My approach is not to impose Ottawa's will on the provinces, but rather to reform the equalization program so that it provides the right incentives for economic development. I will respect the provinces and our Constitution. A second very important change that needs to be made to help Atlantic Canada become more prosperous is to eliminate interprovincial trade and labour barriers. It's a shame that after 150 years, our country is still not a unified market. If you are a consumer, you can pay a fine for crossing a provincial border with too many beers, as happened to Gerard Comeau in New Brunswick. If you are a worker, you may need a new licence, or see your qualifications not recognized, when you go to work in another province. And if you are an entrepreneur, you may need more permits, have to go through bureaucratic loopholes, or simply face a closed door, when you try to export to another province. A Senate committee estimated that these barriers may cost our economy up to $130 billion a year. That's almost half the federal budget! Advertisement But it's even more costly for small provinces with tiny markets that are more dependent on trade. They cannot benefit from the economies of scale of a larger market. It's more difficult for their businesses to grow. And costlier for their consumers who can't buy stuff produced elsewhere. The Atlantic Provinces Economic Council released a report last October explaining why the region can't afford these barriers. The study says removing all trade barriers between provinces could create gains as high as 3.3 per cent of GDP, but that the gains would be more than double that for the Atlantic provinces at 7.6 per cent of GDP. Our Constitution says these barriers should not exist. Provinces have been talking and negotiating for decades. But why should we expect those who created the problem to solve it? We need a strong central government to systematically deal with this problem. I propose to create an Economic Freedom Commission with the power to take provinces to court when their regulations infringe upon your freedom. Atlantic Canadians need real solutions, not paternalism. Instead of pandering to those who like the status quo, or adopting an authoritarian approach, we should be supporting those who are fighting for change. Like the people at the Atlantic Institute for Market Studies in Halifax who have been proposing sound policies for many years. Like Conservatives who are calling for less government and more free-market solutions at the provincial level. That's the vision I'm offering Atlantic Canadians, based on freedom, responsibility, fairness and respect. And I am hopeful many of them will embrace it so that Atlantic Canada can one day take its rightful place among the prosperous regions of our country. Advertisement Follow HuffPost Canada Blogs on Facebook Also on HuffPost: According to The Economist Intelligence Unit, America, the often self-proclaimed greatest democracy on Earth, is no longer a "full democracy." The EIU was established in 1946 and reaches over two hundred countries worldwide. It helps large industry and governments understand how the world is changing, and allows them to identify opportunities, as well as possible risks or threats that may need to be managed. As an essential component of this work, it also bears the responsibility of ranking countries according to their state of government. The EIU ranks countries based on five categories: civil liberties, political participation, political culture, the overall functioning of government, and electoral process and pluralism. Advertisement Depending on their score, they may be classified as a full democracy, a flawed democracy, a mixed regime, or an authoritarian regime. A flawed democracy is broadly characterized as a country that holds free elections, but is troubled by weak governance, an underdeveloped political culture, and low levels of political participation. This is where America now finds itself in the democracy index. The EIU's report, titled "Democracy Index 2016: Revenge of the 'Deplorables,'" downgraded the U.S. from a "full democracy" to a "flawed democracy" on January 25, 2017. American now finds itself in the company of other flawed democratic countries such as Tunisia, Italy, Mexico, and the Philippines. The downgrade came swiftly on the heels of Trump's inauguration, which happened on January 20 -- but the report says that the new president is not solely to blame. Advertisement The EIU states that the downgrade occurred due to an "erosion of trust in government and elected officials" in America, as a whole. This is reflected by various other reliable sources and surveys, all of which indicate that the American public's confidence in their government has hit an all-time, historical low. In this way, Donald Trump is not the cause of democratic decline, but simply the heir of it. It should also be noted that the U.S. is not alone in this phenomenon. The EIU has described 2016 as a year of popular revolt against political elites on an international scale. It pointed to the Brexit referendum as another illustration of such political and social unrest, along with a number of other examples. However, America's decline seems to be the most disquieting of them all. At this point, there are only a handful of "full democracies" left in the world: 19 in total, with less than nine per cent of the world's population inhabiting them. The G-Zero world that political scientists like Ian Bremmer have long warned about, is now here. This world, quite simply, lacks any real, defined global leadership. Advertisement With the decline of Pax Americana, which more or less provided the world with economic and political stability for seven decades following the Second World War, our global community has suddenly become a rather uncertain place. America has lost its international credibility. The economic rise of China, along with the apparent military resurgence of Russia, means that there will be new contenders for international control. A power struggle of global proportions is sure to ensue. The Trump administration will have a key role in dictating how our currently unstable global future will ultimately play out. The established world order is unravelling -- and turmoil and unrest will inevitably follow. How we, the citizens of the world, will experience this potentially tumultuous time will largely be determined by our governments. The Trump administration will have a key role in dictating how our currently unstable global future will ultimately play out. This is particularly worrisome when we consider how ill-prepared Trump appears to be for his new role as president. With no experience in politics, Trump must rely on those around him to advise him in many matters moving forward. However, as he assembles his cabinet, we are beginning to realize that he has gathered a group of perhaps equally inexperienced and polarizing individuals to help him. This is concerning. Advertisement Even more concerning is the fact that experienced government officials, whom Trump should be able to rely on, are resigning from his administration at a mind-boggling pace. Last week, the entire senior level of management officials at the State Department walked out, signalling their staunch refusal to work for Trump. Meanwhile, Mexican president Enrique Pena Nieto unilaterally cancelled a meeting with Trump on short notice, citing renewed tensions as the reason for doing so. In order for a government to govern successfully, it must hold the confidence of the governed. It must also hold the respect of the international community. At this point, the Trump administration holds neither. Follow HuffPost Canada Blogs on Facebook Fans of the hit AMC zombie apocalypse drama will see a ray of hope for the Alexandrians when the second half of the "The Walking Dead" Season 7 returns. Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) and the Alexandrians will begin their resistance against Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) to put an end on the latter's brutality. Advertisement "The Walking Dead" Season 7 synopsis revealed that Rick will be introduced to a new community in the new episode. As Rick went out of his way to collaborate with The Kingdom, he will also ask the help of the neighboring community Hilltop to form a coalition to kill Negan. The second part of Season 7 is very much different from the first half as it will be more about the various characters, who are moving forward after their traumatic past. One of the beloved characters, Daryl Dixon, (Norman Reedus) will be seen reunited with his crossbow. This time, Daryl is ready to take revenge against Negan after the former was held captive by the latter, according to Express. Another shocking scene in "The Walking Dead" Season 7 new trailer revealed Carol (Melissa McBride) clutching a gun. Although she made a promise not to kill anymore, it looks like she has changed her mind in order to help Morgan (Lennie James) and The Kingdom against Negan. Viewers would also see Eugene (Josh McDermitt) alive and well after he was abducted by The Saviors at the finale episode. He looked like more relaxed as he could be seen munching something and playing with a flame-thrower. Another new thing about "The Walking Dead" Season 7 is the introduction of a different kind of zombies. Viewers will see metal-spikes monsters, which are expected to bring a different twist to the story. Although Rick and the Alexandrians, The Kingdom and Hilltop built a resistance against Negan, it is not sure whether or not they will succeed, according to Digital Spy. Morgan previously revealed that the remaining episodes will be crazier as Rick and Negan started to clash. The second half of "The Walking Dead" Season 7 titled "The Rock in the Road" returns on Feb. 12, Sunday, on AMC. Watch the midseason premiere promo below: Right-wing knuckle-draggers always like to bray and screech about "political correctness." Many years ago, I wrote in the National Post about how Stockwell Day, and those like him in the Canadian Alliance, were always going on and on (and on) about "political correctness." The column is a bit ancient, but I think it stands up. You can read it here. Advertisement In the main, I wrote, there were a couple reasons why the mouth-breather contingent were endlessly against "political correctness." To wit: Sometimes, it is done by intolerant people hoping to give a patina of respectability to their intolerance -- to wit, This may not be politically correct, but I think all refugees should be thrown in detention when they arrive here. And, sometimes, it is done by politicians to chill legitimate criticism of their views on issues like abortion, or sexual orientation, or something else. Donald Trump, as is now well-known, used "political correctness" as cudgel on all of his critics, over and over. He was a genius at it. He wielded that metaphorical cudgel to (a) normalize his bigotry and (b) to silence his critics and legitimize/mobilize other bigots. It worked like a charm. Advertisement Throughout the presidential campaign, however, I told my wife -- about a thousand times, as we toiled as volunteers for Hillary Clinton -- that Trump's words would come back to haunt him, in the unlikely event that he ever became president of the United States. His hateful words -- about Muslims, women, blacks, Mexicans, the disabled and myriad others -- could be used against him in litigation, I told her. "You've said that about a thousand times," she'd say, which was true. "But how can political rhetoric, even his, be considered admissible in a court of law?" Because, I replied, it's relevant. It has probative value, as we lawyers like to say. In the U.S., you often find this sort of non-legal stuff in something called a Brandeis Brief. It takes its name from Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis who -- as a lawyer in 1908, before his elevation to America's highest court -- made a legal submission that was (literally) two per cent legal argument, and 98 per cent data, social science, reports and near-anecdotal material. Trump's words are coming back to haunt him. In the Commonwealth, we have long done likewise. Here, for example, we have permitted judges to consider what is called "legislative intent" when a statute's words aren't as clear as they'd like. So, judges will often read up on rough-and-tumble debates in the Commons to discern Parliament's intention. It's messy, but it works. And, in the Charter era, Canadian judges have often gone even farther. Non-sworn, extrinsic evidence has been accepted in Canadian courts for decades. As no less than Chief Justice Bora Laskin put it, this sort of material "may be considered by the Court in determining whether the legislation rests on a valid constitutional base." Advertisement Which is a rather genteel way of summarizing the constitutional dilemma Donald Trump has created for himself. By being, you know, "politically incorrect," what he said outside the courtroom is now being used to hammer him inside the courtroom. And it's simply wonderful. Druggies, drug dealers, rapists and killers are coming across the southern border. When will the U.S. get smart and stop this travesty? Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 20, 2015 Here's the Washington Post explaining why Trump's words are coming back to haunt him -- and why his Muslim ban is being found discriminatory, and therefore unconstitutional, by court after court: "The states of Washington and Minnesota, which sued to block Trump's order, are citing the president's inflammatory rhetoric as evidence that the government's claims -- it's not a ban and not aimed at Muslims -- are shams. In court papers, Washington and Minnesota's attorneys general have pulled out quotes from speeches, news conferences and interviews as evidence that an executive order the administration argues is neutral was really motivated by animus toward Muslims and a 'desire to harm a particular group.'" Get it, Donald? Do you understand, now? Being "politically incorrect" may have transformed you into a politician who was seen as unconventional. But, along they way, it has likely rendered you unconstitutional, too. Your words are being used against you, and properly so. Advertisement There are three lessons, here, for politicians -- almost always of the conservative variety -- who want to throw off the oppressive bonds of "political correctness," and say whatever pops into their tiny craniums. Heed them well, conservatives. Words matter. You are always, always on the record. "No comment" is sometimes a really good idea. It's like what no less than the Prophet Muhammad said, some 1,400 years ago. It's one for the ages. You know: "Say good, or remain silent." Donald Trump -- who had the right to remain silent, but didn't -- may soon be wishing he had followed the Prophet's advice. (Not that he'd let the Prophet into America to be heard by anyone, of course.) Follow HuffPost Canada Blogs on Facebook Also on HuffPost: The five things you need to know on Tuesday, February 7 1) BREX BOMB? Labours amendments to the Brexit bill fell last night, defeated by robust Government majorities of around 50. Brexit minister David Jones played hardball in the chamber, but with Tory Remainers focusing on today for their main act of rebellion, will David Davis play good cop and signal some more detail on a final vote on the eventual Brexit deal? Advertisement At about 5.30pm today we will get the real crunch vote, on amendments which would stop the Government from signing a Brexit treaty until MPs and peers have approved it first. Anna Soubry signalled yesterday she could back Chris Leslies new clause 110, saying she may have no alternative but to go against my government. The PM had a cryptic line yesterday, saying the House would have to wait for DD to set out his detailed position. Government whips are working hard to keep any rebellion numbers down and Cabinet will get an update this morning. Rebels know they need up to 30 backers, but say this is their very last chance to give MPs the right to stop the clock on the ticking Brexit timebomb over the next two years. There's even hot gossip in the Tea Room that George Osborne could back the amendment. Away from the amendments, its the Shadow Cabinet at 9.45am where the splits in Labour will focus. Chief whip Nick Brown last night told the PLP (read my report HERE) that he personally wanted consistency, ie a renewed three-line whip ordering MPs to back the Brexit bill tomorrow night. But Im told some Corbyn allies have been pushing for a free vote, to spare Diane Abbott and Clive Lewis having to quit. Labours pro-Brexit Kate Hoey is a bit of an outlier in the party, but it was still quite a sight to see her declare on BBCs Daily Politics yesterday of Theresa May: When I watch prime ministers questions now, or when I see her, particularly abroad at international events, I have to say I feel quite proud she is the prime minister of the UK. No wonder the PM felt emboldened to finally hit back at Emily Thornberry yesterday (who now has the Ed Balls role of sledger-in-chief), calling her Lady Nugee. The PM will also be pleased by a new Telegraph report that PWC now forecasts the UK to grow faster than any other advanced economy over the next 30 years, thanks to Brexit. Advertisement 2) WESTMINSTER GALL DEBATE Some Tory MPs were surprised that John Bercow had the gall to accept applause from SNP and Labour MPs over his Donald Trump broadside. The Speaker has in the past been rather caustic about the habit of clapping, but had no problem with it yesterday as he basked in praise for his unprecedented attack on a sitting US President, attacking his racism and sexism. The incident was classic Bercow, delighting in the upset he would cause to former Tory colleagues (its hard to remember but he was once a Conservative MP) and the headlines he would generate. Government sources are stressing that the outburst was also a classic straw man incident, as Trumps White House had never raised the idea of him addressing both Houses of Parliament in the historic Westminster Hall. I note that one of the auction items at the Tory fundraising ball/party last night was a dinner for 40 guests in a medieval hall in west London. Maybe Trump could try that? Sajid Javid told the Today programme that Bercow doesnt speak for the Government. Last night, only Tory MP James Duddridge could be persuaded to publicly condemn the Speaker. But on the Today prog, Nadhim Zahawi said Bercow leaves himself "open to the accusation of hypocrisy because of his welcome for Chinese President Xi. And he added this kicker: Bercow should now "think about" his position. And even some MPs normally sympathetic to Bercow think he overstepped the mark and raised doubts about the political neutrality of his role. Bercow allies say he is strictly impartial on domestic politics but has a right to speak out on behalf of Parliament on international affairs. I bumped into Michael Gove last night and he said simply John is John.. Which was what Tony Blair said about Prescotts punch. Trumps team probably wont risk trying for a speech in the alternative venue of the Lords Royal Gallery, but today Lords Speaker Lord Fowler (who distanced himself from Bercow last night) will say more. 3) HOUSE PARTY Communities Secretary Sajid Javid will today publish his White Paper on housing with a clear bid to extend the Tories reputation as not just the party of homeowners but also of home-renters. Thats a big ask, but shows the Conservatives ambition to grab the centre ground and hold it, even if it means nicking some Labour-ish policies. Advertisement And Ed Miliband was quick late last night to pounce on a Sun story claiming that Javid will copy his use it or lose it 2015 manifesto plan to crack down on developers holding onto land. The paper says Javid will target land banking with new powers to seize the land if its not built on in time. Miliband drily tweeted From Mugabe to May in a few short years, with a link to a HuffPost story about Boris comparing him to the Zimbabwean leader back in 2013. Add in todays pre-payment meter energy price cap and you can see why Eds feeling he was ahead of the curve. Sometimes he misses the curve completely, though. Miliband was up late on Sunday night, to watch his favourite team, the New England Patriots, in the SuperBowl. But when they looked beaten going into the third quarter, he gave up and went to bed. He was gutted the next morning when he realised hed missed the greatest comeback in Superbowl history, his team snatching victory at the death. Maybe hed been burned by 2015 election night, and EU referendum night, and 'Things Can Only Get Better' seemed a distant memory... Meanwhile, Tory backbenchers are delighted after seeing off possible new relaxation of the Green Belt. That speculation had been fuelled by Javid last year praising a new plan in Birmingham to reduce its protected area and build more homes. No.10 has since stamped firmly all over that, but discontent continues among rural Tory MPs. The Times today follows up and adds to our HuffPost report that backbenchers are upset about not just school funding but also a new council formula thats left many without funds for social care. BECAUSE YOUVE READ THIS FAR Watch Donald Trump accuse the media of not reporting terror attacks in Europe, adding they have their reasons. The White House then published a list of 78 such attacks, inviting further ridicule. 4) STOKE-ING THE FIRE It was a busy day in the Stoke-on-Trent Central by-election campaign yesterday, with Lib Dem Tim Farron, Labours Jon Ashworth and UKIPs Paul Nuttall all on the stump. Our man Owen Bennett pottered about in the Potteries to cover it all. Advertisement Funnily enough one of the first things eagle-eyed Owen spotted was that Nuttalls campaigners included an ex-Ukip councillor suspended from the party for making a joke about 71 migrants who died in a lorry. Richard Broughan, who now sits on Stoke City Council as an independent, had been forced to quit after he sent a tweet mocking those who died in refrigerated lorry in Austria. (#IsItOk to ask migrants to chill out following the Austrian refrigerated lorry incident?). Broughan told us: I wasnt saying that its ok. I wasnt condoning the question. No, really. Farron told us that there would be no progressive alliance with Hard Brexit Labour, though he was friendly to the Greens. In a HuffPost interview, Nuttall says hes changed his mind on NHS privatisation. At last nights PLP, Labour MPs were told the party is starting to get traction in Stoke (and the NHS argument was having cut through in Copeland). But local MP Ruth Smeeth had a swipe at Shadow Cabinet ministers talking down Labours chances, a reference to Clive Lewis warning the party was holding on by its fingernails in Stoke and elsewhere. 5) OFFAS SPIKE Under the Lib-Dem Tory Coalition, many Conservatives were wary of the creation of the new Office For Fair Access and its aim to get poorer kids into university. The body was officially dubbed OFFA and unoffically derided as Off-Toff by critics. Its chief Professor Les Ebdon came under repeated attack, despite strong defences by the Cameroons. And yesterday we learned that this was one bit of the Cameron legacy that Theresa May doesnt intend to tear up. Ebdon issued new guidance for universities that will force them to do more to explain what they are doing to raise A level grades for less well off pupils. Unis have said they shouldnt get the blame because poorer kids dont perform so well, but Ebdon hit back yesterday that this argument doesnt hold water. So far, so predictable. But what was striking was No.10 saying it strongly welcomed his new guidance as an important first step towards creating thriving university-supported schools. It is also, of course, a key part of the PMs just about managing agenda. Meanwhile, Uni minister Jo Johnsons US-style sale of the student loan book was confirmed yesterday. But will it really recoup 12bn in the long run for the exchequer? One to keep an eye on. Advertisement If youre reading this on the web, sign-up HERE to get the WaughZone delivered to your inbox. shutterstock Fresh from seeing the UK's Supreme Court thrust into the limelight when deciding on the recent Article 50 case, we are now seeing the USA grapple with the separation of powers under its own constitution. President Trump's nomination of federal judge Neil Gorsuch last week for the vacancy in the US's highest court in the land - selection the American Way - provides a vivid contrast to how our judiciary is selected here in the UK. The public berating of Judge Robart by a president apparently upset by his ruling, has echoes in the public berating by some lesser UK politicians in our jurisdiction of the decisions of the High Court and the Supreme Court in the Article 50 litigation. Advertisement In issue is the independence of the judiciary, and, ultimately, the Rule of Law. The Executive Orders issuing forth from the White House must ultimately be subjected to the Rule of Law, but the political process which is engaged to select the senior judiciary in America is foreign to us in the UK. Alexis de Tocqueville believed American judicial elections were an attack "against the democratic republic itself". Whilst open elections of judges may dispel suspicions of corruption, there is a price to pay if elected judges find themselves enemies of the people who elected them, or of the President. Similarly judges who have been appointed by politicians seem to us to be compromised. Imagine the constitutional difficulties in the Article 50 case if the judges concerned had been elected or appointed by politicians. In America, Congress no doubt represents part of the requisite constitutional check on the abuse of Executive Power. Once in place, those judges in the US Supreme Court, inevitably act professionally in carrying out their duties. However, in the US it is an accepted fact that the senior judiciary are either liberal or conservative and that a President is considered fortunate to have the opportunity to appoint a member of the Supreme Court during their term, implying that President has some influence over the judge and balance of the court. That concept is foreign to us here in the UK, and our different constitution. But in both countries, the independence of the judiciary, once in office, is sacrosanct, and it is not only the actual independence but the appearance of independence that matters if confidence in the Rule of Law is to be maintained. It is the Rule of Law that prevents the government of the day from abusing its powers. When the Executive oversteps the mark and purports to exercise a power it does not hold, or if holding it purports to exercise it in a manner which is unlawful, it is the Rule of Law that nullifies the breach. Advertisement There is an extension to this which matters. The Rule of Law prevents a democracy descending into an elected dictatorship. On both sides of the Atlantic, the Executive emboldened by the popular vote has overstepped the mark. Here in the UK, the Rule of Law has asserted itself to ensure that Parliament and not the Executive is entrusted with the decision to commence the Brexit process. The task of upholding the Rule of Law has been the judges'. Their independence is critical to this task, which is why those who understand the importance of the Rule of Law are disappointed by any unjustifiable attack upon it and alarmed by any palpable failure to defend it. The fact that our judges are unelected is a comfort to most of us. The method of selection of the senior judiciary is, as Lord Judge has put it, "as immune from the political process as it is possible to be in a democratic society". Perhaps that is possible in part because of the sovereignty of Parliament. In the United Kingdom Parliament is sovereign, and the judges when called upon will uphold that sovereignty. In a democracy it is not enough for the Executive to point to a popular mandate. The legislature must be engaged. As we all know, our judges recently reached that unsensational conclusion and were branded 'Enemies of the People'. In the US, the Attorney General was sacked last week for "betraying" the Justice Department by telling her lawyers not to defend the Executive Order banning entry for people from seven Muslim-majority countries. In the US and the UK, those who love the law and know its value find themselves in the unexpected position of having to proclaim or defend its supremacy. Whilst the law rules supreme, populism and the abuse of executive power will be held in check. But recent events demonstrate that we can take nothing for granted. We share history and we share a love of freedom and a determination to defeat any exercise of arbitrary power. We have seen it in action in the US, where lawyers were camped out on the floor of JFK Airport in New York providing pro bono support to those arriving in the US following the new President's immigration crackdown. We see it in the horrified reaction of lawyers and those who understand the constitution when their President berates a judge. The trouble with unwarranted attacks is that even if they are repelled, a sense may grow that the subject is not off-limits. The truth is that the independence of the serving judiciary is and should remain inviolate within any functioning democracy. Without that, the Rule of Law is threatened. Advertisement Young people are still dying in Calais, and the UK have left children with no choice but to return there I returned to Calais this past week, several months since the eviction of the refugee camp that had once existed there. I hoped to find the port returned to its former slumber, a tourist town of not much of note once again - but instead I found that the refugee crisis in the North of France is far from over. Advertisement As I walk from the Youth Hostel on the beach towards the centre, a CRS riot-police van slows as it passes me and the two officers inside crane their necks to get a better look. Outside the Calais train station I notice a group of children carrying sleeping bags and wandering aimlessly through the town centre. I issue a friendly 'Hello' in English as they pass me on the pavement, and after a few metres, one boy from the group sheepishly turns back to speak to me. There are five of them - fifteen and sixteen-year-old boys, from Eritrea, Sudan and Afghanistan - and all 'ex-Jungle residents' that have just arrived back in Calais from their accommodation centre in Marseille. They have the look of a secondary school camping trip who've realised they're horribly out of their depth - grinning timidly and nervously looking round at the town they used to know so well. But Calais has changed a great deal since October and the demolition of the Jungle. In its place is a cold, hard city - where the temperature hasn't risen above freezing in a week and where locals are more unwilling than ever to receive refugees. There are casual reminders of the state of things wherever you look: every few blocks a billboard is covered in repetitions of Marine Le Pen's face and on each side of the central motorway through town is a vast cement wall (paid for by 23 million of British taxes). Gone are the vast numbers of volunteers and in their place are the police vans that patrol the streets, and wait outside the train station to trap returnees. They're looking for who they consider an archetypal 'stranger' - black and brown skinned boys and men, perhaps in second-hand donated clothing or carrying a backpack or a sleeping bag - who they'll stop and ask for identification (legal in France since the extension of the national state of emergency). If they're an adult they're arrested and placed in immigration detention. If they might be a child, then they are to be brought under state protection and provided accommodation by France terre d'asile in St. Omer. But these children are in Calais because they intend to reach the UK and not to stay in France, and so they're only permitted to stay in this centre for a maximum of five days before being turfed out and back onto the streets again. Advertisement I explain to the boys who I am: a volunteer for the charity Help Refugees, who worked in Calais for many months last year. I can get them some help if they want it, but first 'Why are you here?' I ask. Rahimi, a 16-year-old Afghan boy points to his friend and jokingly tells me 'He's an economic migrant from China'. His friend, a Hazara boy from central Afghanistan pushes his glasses back on his nose, and laughs, unable to speak a word of english. They're back in Calais to try their luck, climbing onto lorries with the hope of reaching the UK. I worry whether these boys truly understand the seriousness of the situation and the danger they're putting themselves in, in being here. I guide them to the parking lot of a local hotel, out of concern that they might be spotted by one of the CRS vans circulating. There I call Pauline Le Coent, a volunteer with the French charitable organisation Utopia 56, who arrives promptly with a car of volunteers and begins to distribute to the teenagers cups of hot tea, packaged hot food, survival blankets and sleeping bags (provided by the charity Help Refugees). Pauline gives them an emergency phone number to call and where possible writes down each child's details. She tells me that she has now seen over "120 different children" since the 7th of January. Each day, Utopia help as many as 60 different kids. She must also offer each child the opportunity to be placed in state protection, which in most instances they refuse. After they've eaten their fill, they disappear off into the back roads of Calais. A few days later I join Utopia 56 on one of their 'Night Maraudes'. We stop at town parks and in laybys and walk around but find no kids at first. At a woods near the old sight of the Jungle, we park the car and open the boot. Minutes later and a group of children emerge. They're greeted with hugs by the volunteers and happily receive a cup of tea to warm their frozen fingers. One boy tells me he has cousins in the UK that he could stay with, and another, a brother. They were interviewed by the UK Home Office in their centre, later receiving a rejection but with no explanation as to why. The boys had previously been living in makeshift shelters in the woods nearby but the police had come and destroyed their dwellings. The interior ministry of Pas-de-Calais on Monday confirmed that they would continue to disallow structures to "make a point of no attachment". Officials in Calais want to make sure that there is no return of "the Jungle". The camp was undoubtedly a dangerous place, but for these children at least it provided shelter at night, somewhere to prepare food, some basic sanitation, a community and adults to watch over them. Now all they have is a sleeping bag in the snow. Advertisement Pauline tells me that some 80 to 90% of the children returning to Calais are from the Horn of Africa: Eritrean or Ethiopian. As such these children were not even considered for Alf Dubs amendment to the Immigration Act, that provided a little over 200 children with no family in the UK, sanctuary there. It was recently revealed in The Guardian that a delegation of UK Officials met with the Eritrean government with the aim of reducing migration from Eritrea. They offered aid money in return for a promised softening of human rights abuses that never materialised. As a result of new guidance the Home Office put out in response to this agreement, the percentage of successful asylum claims for Eritreans dropped from 85% to 60%. This allowed the UK Home Office to refuse to consider any Eritrean children from Calais, over 12 and without family, for transfer to the UK. Now they're back here again, climbing onto trucks and risking their lives to reach the UK by 'illegal' means. Many of the children returning claim to have close family in the UK and many have no knowledge of the law as it affects them. Tina Brocklebank of Help Refugees describes the absence of information being shared by officials to the children on the ground: "Children don't understand. There is a complete lack of clear and accessible information. When they go to St. Omer, they're not being asked whether they have family in the UK. No one is explaining to them their legal rights." Beyond that, it's apparent that these children no longer trust the systems put in place to protect them. They moved from Calais to accommodation centres across France, under the pretext that they would be rightly considered for transfer to the UK under the Dubs amendment. But as Tina explains, the Home Office "moved the goalposts", only considering a small percentage of the children from Calais for transfer. At each step of the way, the Home Office has ducked and dodged their responsibility to the children of Calais, so it's no surprise that they now have no faith in any system meant to keep them safe. Reports from volunteers I speak to are that on several occasions police have taken sleeping bags from children and tear gassed where they have been sleeping. Children fear being beaten and having their shoes stolen as happened in the Jungle. On multiple occasions the police have refused to take children into state protection citing that they are too busy with local issues. Advertisement Just a 30-minute drive from Calais is the refugee camp of Grande-Synthe in Dunkirk where over 1,300 refugees (mostly families with young children) live in chipboard cabins in a gravelled field. Over 100 unaccompanied minors still remain there - exempt from the Home Office proceedings that considered children from Calais for transfer to the UK. This number is increasing day by day as the mayor of the town allows for new migrants to enter the camp in response to the below-freezing temperatures. Yet camp officials here have not allowed for the construction of more shelters and so many young people sleep in a building used during the day as a community kitchen. Children are also returning to the smuggler-run "mud-pit" camp in Norrent Fontes and to Hazebrouck where kids hide in the woods near the lorry park, asleep during the day and in the night climbing onto lorries. In Calais, I met with Kibrom and his friend - two Eritrean boys who I used to know from the Jungle and who have returned to Calais from their accommodation centre in Nancy. They were told that the UK Home Office had completed their task of transferring children, and that they would need to claim asylum in France or leave. I buy them some chips and we stand in the park and eat them. Kibrom's friend Alex made it across a few weeks ago, in the back of a refrigerated lorry. A girl travelling with him became so cold that she was later hospitalised. The boys look desperate and depressed. They tell me that yesterday a boy died in Calais. Advertisement In the centre of town a small group of local people gather to mark the death of John Sina, a 20-year-old from the Horn of Africa, who was killed after being struck by multiple trucks on the motorway passing near Calais. His name is spelt out in candles on the pavement and a couple of locals say a few words about his passing. His name is added to a growing list of young people who have died attempting to reach the UK from the North of France: last September 14-year-old Afghan Raheemullah Oryakhel fell off a lorry and was struck by a car in Calais; in July 19-year-old Ertirean, Samarwit was killed in a hit in run in town; and on Christmas eve last year, a 17-year-old Congolese boy fell from the undercarriage of a truck as it boarded a ferry in Dunkirk, and was crushed. The UK have long since moved on from considering the needs of asylum seeking children in France, while the French continue to deny the increasingly obvious existence of migrants here in the North. The few volunteers that remain here scramble to attempt a support system for the children who choose to come back. Pauline explains that more accommodation centres are going to be closing this week and they have had more and more phone calls from children saying that they're planning on travelling back to Calais. As such they're expecting a huge number of returnees over the next several weeks. And it's no longer just returnees - children that have never set foot before in Calais are also now arriving. The British and French might wish for the refugee crisis in Northern France to be over, but for the children here who are roaming the streets, sleeping under bridges and in the woods, the end to their suffering is not yet in sight. For more information on the children who lived in 'The Jungle' in Calais or to donate visit www.helprefugees.org.uk Some names have been changed to protect the anonymity of minors. SIphotography via Getty Images Acronyms: the bane of the student politics. Whilst often joked about by SU hacks and NUS nerds (see, I did it twice in half a sentence), it underlines a much more serious problem: the language we use often fails to engage students, yet the concepts and instruments such acronyms cloak are important. Really important. The National Student Survey - NSS- is one such acronym, one that has unwittingly been pushed to the front of the battle for the sole of education. It sounds nice enough: a survey, asking students how they found various aspects of their university life, and then using that data to form some sort of system whereby potential students can see how well universities are doing various things. Indeed, not many people really have a problem with that- it's the most recent uses NSS is being put to that is igniting boycotts of the survey up and down the country. Advertisement NSS forms part of the Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF- there's another acronym for you), which is used by the government to rank institutions (ranking universities is not new, but the next bit is), which will now be dubbed 'gold' 'silver' and 'bronze' universities dependant on their score. Here's the rub: along with the Olympic-like classifications, the government is proposing that those with a higher rank be allowed to start charging even higher tuition fees. That's right: filling out the NSS and giving your university a good score could lead to the students that come after you being charged higher fees as a result. In fact, it gets even weirder: as NSS also includes a question about the performance of your Students' Union, it leaves us in the truly bizarre situation of unions representing students well (and therefore getting a higher score on that question) potentially leading to higher tuition fees for those students. You have to hand it to the Tories: it's a masterful move on their part. Even beyond its link to raising fees, there are aspects of NSS that are deeply concerning to those who care about the future of higher education. A lot of it asks questions that are highly subjective and actually irrelevant to the quality of an education someone receives, and both NSS questions and the other metrics the TEF uses are affected by a variety of other factors completely out of the control of the university. See here for a useful summary of the issues. NUS and a number of SUs around the country are calling for students to boycott NSS to show the government we will not be complicit in helping raise fees. Some, like my Students' Union officer team, believe that such an approach is unhelpful, and unlikely to change anything... Advertisement Yet boycotting is a logic that works. Boycotting has been shown to be a powerful tool both in helping to bring down the apartheid regime in South Africa and in its growing role in challenging climate change through socially stigmatising fossil fuels. It's a political tool that has piled pressure on numerous corporations to ensure better workers conditions and pay, and environmental awareness too. Of course, the stakes are not as high as in either of those examples but that's the point: if boycotting can play a role in such huge battles, it can certainly help in challenging the Tories' machinations for higher education. No student leader (at least openly) argues that fee rises are a good thing, they just differ in their commitment to stopping them. Some suggest we need to critically engage with NSS- of course we do, but not backing up our stance with any sort of action is futile- we need to have an ace in our hand and mass boycotting gives us that. Some argue they won't boycott because they want to have the useful data that the NSS gives us, both to improve things on campus and to showcase to prospective students- fine, we'll do our own surveys until the government changes track on TEF. Others still worry that boycotting will mean the university is left out of the rankings, to its detriment. Your universities rank will be secure for another two years- the rankings work on previous years scores, so a boycott this year will not immediately exclude you from the rankings, but it will send out a powerful message to your senior management and the government and will socially stigmatise the uses of NSS (also, if enough students boycotted for long enough, there wouldn't be a rankings system to fall out of). The arguments against boycotting are based on a logic that is mindnumbingly inconsistent: we oppose tuition fee rises, but will do nothing to stop them rising. We disagree with the uses NSS is being put to and will ask you to stop, but will do nothing if you don't. It is a stance born out of a shallow and timid interpretation of what student unionism is about, one that conforms to the apolitical incarnation proposed by university senior managements and government ministers and concedes key battlegrounds before they've even been fought. A friend of mine, in giving a speech to his student council, as so many other student councils debate this issue up and down the country, asked of those assembled a question all of those who value education need to ask themselves: 'Where do we draw the line?' This is but the latest incarnation of a larger ploy to force education to succumb to the ravages of the market, one that has tripled our fees, removed grants and bursaries and has retroactively changed the terms of our loans. This is a significant step towards the government's end game of a 'free' market system within our education sector, where profit, not learning or the people involved in it, is the priority, the governing principle. If this vision worries us, we need to start doing something to stop it. Advertisement Fairfax Media via Getty Images Have you ever hesitated before talking about something difficult, or delayed delivering bad news to the adults around you, never mind to a child? We will all experience tough times or challenges at some point in our lives, whether it's illness or death in the family, financial trouble, or relationship issues, and these alongside the usual day-to-day pressures of work and school. Perhaps we shouldn't be too surprised then, that when Place2Be recently surveyed over 700 10-12 year olds, more than half (54%) said they worry a lot or all the time about their family. Advertisement Lives today just seem so busy - so many pressures, so many draws on our time. And in the midst of all this, the very idea of how to go about supporting your child's mental health through a challenging time can sound daunting. But we don't have to be experts to make a difference. Sometimes the smallest things - such as just stopping from the busy day-to-day whirlwind and spending some quality time with your child and really listening to them - can be enormously helpful. And that goes for the adults in our lives too. I grew up in a country where cups of tea seemed to be the answer to everything. I count myself lucky for that; it's not just the cup of tea is it? It's the fact that someone takes some time out to sit down and talk with you. Time out to step back from the whirlwind. And that's why the Heads Together campaign spearheaded by The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry, encouraging us all not to be afraid to start conversations about mental health, is so important. There are so many of these seemingly small gestures that we can all do every day to 'Spread a Little Kindness', the theme for this year's Children's Mental Health Week (6th-12th February). Offering a sympathetic ear, stopping and truly listening, walking in someone else's shoes, offering a seat, a simple smile of acknowledgement - any of these inexpensive things that we all have the power and ability to do any and every day can make all that crucial difference in our world. These small kindnesses are more than just a nicety. Most certainly the concept is not new: "Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle" - Plato. But perhaps it is something that we might have forgotten in today's busy, forever connected, forever 'switched on' world. Parents and schools are crucial in the effort to instil kindness from an early age. While I was at Mitchell Brook Primary School for the launch of Children's Mental Health Week, I was delighted to hear children of all ages talking proudly about which of their classmates have "the K factor", sending the message to everyone that kindness is something to strive towards. Advertisement Our Royal Patron, HRH The Duchess of Cambridge, summed it up perfectly when she spoke to over 300 children at the school as part of our Big Assembly: "If you see someone who you think might need help, try and be kind to them. Keep a look out for them if they are on their own or seem sad or worried. Perhaps they just need a hug or someone to talk to. I know it is hard if you are feeling down yourself. But helping someone out will also make you feel so much better too." When we teach children to practise kindness and look out for it every day, it isn't about smiling away the doom and gloom; it's about inspiring them to seek support for themselves and to be there for others. I'm a member of Moodscope, an online community that helps people to measure, track and share their difficult moments and with some incredible peer support - a virtual cup of tea in today's world. Imagine a generation of children who can not only weather tough times but extend kindness to those around them, openly discuss issues and support their peers. Now imagine those children as adults, teaching future children to cultivate kindness in the same way. This isn't new, and it won't stop tough times from happening, but it might make our world feel a little warmer. Barcroft Media via Getty Images The violence and rioting that occurred at UC Berkeley on February 1 in opposition to a scheduled talk by alt-right figure Milo Yiannopoulos has increased the divide between the right and the left and fuelled debate on free speech vs. hate speech. This violence should not be considered representative of the protest as a whole, which was conducted peacefully by the vast majority of participants. However, it has become a successful talking point for conservative pundits and commentators to illustrate what they believe is the repressive culture of liberal "safe spaces" on universities. If liberals don't want to give a larger platform to the alt-right and legitimize their message, they need to stop protesting - and start engaging. This is not to say peaceful protesting is an ineffective form of resistance. In many cases it is the most effective way to show dissent and pressure the government to change legislation for fear of alienating their constituency. The massive demonstrations following President Trump's travel ban has led the Trump administration to significantly reduce the parameters of the ban, exempting green-card holders and dual citizens. Community action has mobilized Washington state lawyers to petition a federal judge to temporarily block enforcement of the ban, which has gone into effect Friday. Advertisement Public protests are effective when attempting to pressure public officials - not private individuals. Europe has dealt with a rise in far-right extremism in recent years not dissimilar to America's more recent alt-right phenomenon. They have subsequently looked into effective methods for countering violent extremism. The International Centre for Counter-Terrorism (ICCT)'s J. M. Berger has published the reportMaking CVE Work: A Focused Approach Based on Process Disruption where he discusses how counter-messaging should target "small audiences". He goes on to say, "Broadcasting counter-messages to large audiences may create curiosity, rather than suppress it, and may prompt vulnerable people to seek more information about the [violent extremist] organisation". This was the precise effect of the demonstration against Milo Yiannopoulos at UC Berkeley. His upcoming book, Dangerous reportedly soared from the 642nd to the 5th ranked best-seller on Amazon the same night of the protest. As of this writing, his book is ranked 1st on Amazon. Despite the intentions of protestors to block Milo's message by pressuring the university to cancel his speech, they have conversely shined a spotlight on the event and spread curiosity about his message, allowing it to reach vastly more people than the UC Berkeley College Republicans. Not only did this protest aid in spreading awareness of Milo Yiannopoulos' brand of alt-right ideology, but it also aided his narrative of a liberal university culture that suppresses free speech. At an election week event at Ohio State University, Milo told his exuberant audience, "I'm waging a battle across this country to promote free speech on campus. It's what I do for a living: try[ing] to make it okay to be a libertarian, okay to be a conservative on a college campus which these days sometimes it isn't". Advertisement Milo's views on the perceived suppression of conservative voices on campus are not without merit. In Harvard University's 2015 Survey of Young Americans' Attitudes Toward Politics and Public Service, 21% of Republicans surveyed said they did not feel comfortable sharing their political opinions at their university without fear of censorship or negative repercussions. Given the tensions exacerbated by the last election, this percentage is likely to be much higher now. Many young conservatives are feeling ostracized and believe any presentation of their ideology will be silenced in a university environment. Milo is capitalizing off of this common conservative sentiment by painting himself as the victim of liberal suppression and gaining the sympathy of conservatives who otherwise might not have been receptive to his more extreme brand of conservatism. Former Breitbart News colleague and current political adversary to Milo, Ben Shapiro, wrote of the UC Berkeley incident, "When the left shuts down his speeches, when they riot, when they engage in actual violence, when they pepperspray those who come to hear him and hit them with metal poles, all they're doing is legitimizing Yiannopoulos in the public eye, making him the victim and selling him books." Protesting always has the potential to be co-opted by violence, poisoning the well-meaning intentions of the majority of the counter-movement. So if a peaceful protest itself is not conducive to countering ideology, its only effects can be negative. Milo Yiannopoulos is a symptom of a very real problem - the political ostracization of right-wing viewpoints in public spaces has led it to recede into the cyber-spaces of anonymity, where the more salacious and extremist rhetoric attract the most attention. According to the Southern Poverty Law Center, "The general population of the Alt-Right is composed, by and large, of anonymous youths who were exposed to the movement's ideas through online message boards like 4chan and 8chan's /pol/ and Internet platforms like Reddit and Twitter". Online political engagements are likely to be subject to socio-political echo chambers where people are insulated from counter-arguments and surrounded by people with a similar bias. Any opposition to their views will be disregarded as "fake news" and any content that confirms preconceptions will be lauded and unchallenged. This type of environment is likely to create an alternate sense of reality, where the more extreme viewpoints are continually reinforced to become normalized. Advertisement By refusing to engage with ideologies deemed hateful or ignorant, liberals are cutting off the one tool they have at curtailing the alt-right movement - open dialogue. ICCT's J. M. Berger details effective methods for countering extremist messaging: "Messaging... should especially focus on providing factual rebuttals to extremist messaging... Individuals who are questioning whether they should join a [violent extremist] organisation should be exposed to a volume of material that will inspire doubt." Instead of protesting alt-right gatherings, which feeds into their victim narrative and raises their profile to potentially draw more to their messaging, liberals should debate their message. Attend their meetings and contest their assertions. Be open to finding common ground in order to establish enough trust to reach their audience. Milo said at his Ohio State University event, "The default position to those in power should be... holding them to account. Aught to be testing everything they say and checking if it's true." This is a sentiment people on all sides of the spectrum can agree upon. It is the responsibility of the counter-movement to hold the alt-right accountable to this message. Will they exercise the same level of vetting for their representatives that they have for their opposition? As Donald Trump betrays their notion of populism by filling his cabinet with corporate cronies and Washington lobbyists and insiders, will they hold him accountable to his promise to "drain the swamp"? The President of the United States is a liar. If kids understand that people in positions of mighty power can lie - and lie epicly on a gargantuan scale - what does that mean for their understanding of authority, the law, the concept of trust, and, god help us, integrity? I've just had this conversation with my eleven year old son. "Mum, is Donald Tr*mp a liar?" "Yes." "Why is he lying?" "Because he wants to confuse people. He wants them to question whether facts really are facts." "But facts are facts!" "I know." "Do you think facts are facts?" "Facts, my love, are ALWAYS facts. Don't believe anyone who tries to tell you otherwise." "But what if a teacher tells you that something's true when you absolutely know it isn't?" "Your teachers wouldn't do that." "Why not? If the President of the United States can do it, mum, you can bet your life a primary school teacher from Stockport can." Advertisement "Donald Tr*mp is a special case." "Why?" "I think I'm right in saying that no-one in American presidential history has ever lied like he does." "But aren't there laws to stop him from lying?" "Well, there's the American Constitution." "So if he goes against the Constitution, he's officially a liar." "Yes." (pause) "Mum, why did he sack that lawyer who said the Muslim ban was illegal?" "Because he disagreed with her." "But if the Constitution says it's illegal, then isn't it illegal?" "Yes. The law aims to be very clear and definite what is legal and what isn't." "Is the Constitution clear?" "Yes." "So he's lying when he says the ban is legal?" "I'm not a Constitutional lawyer, son. I put on funny voices for a living." "But if it says it's wrong in the Constitution, then it must be wrong." "Yes." "Does he just want to make what he says become law?" "I don't know, son..." "Because if I say the sky is green when it's blue, it doesn't make it green, does it?" "No. It doesn't." (pause) "Can people trust Donald Tr*mp?" "No. Because he's a liar." "What about Theresa May? She trusts him." "I don't know if that's true. I think she feels that she's got to seem to trust him." "Because of Brexit?" "Yes." "But what if Donald Tr*mp lies to her? What if he breaks a promise? And what if Brexit is bad for the UK? And what if by being friends with Donald Tr*mp, Theresa May makes things worse for the UK?" "All big questions, son." (at this point I am in despair) (pause) "Lying's really bad, isn't it, mum?" "Yes." "So, how are they going to make him stop?" Good bloody question, son. Getty Images/iStockphoto Anyone who spends time on Twitter these days will have seen a huge number of tweets from Brexiteers cheering every upward revision of the UK's economic forecasts and demanding to know what happened to Project Fear. In this narrative, the vote on 23 June has already unleashed a wave of exuberance and self-confidence, a 'Brexit boom' that is merely a foretaste of what is to come once we sever our ties with Brussels. There is in fact a lot of evidence backing up this optimistic view of the British economy, whether it is the latest official predictions for economic growth, the 'dramatic U-turn' over Brexit by TheCityUK, or rumours that Bank of America Merrill Lynch is planning to keep its European HQ in London. And now my colleagues at Capital Access Group (CAG) have added weight to the argument with the results of their survey of fund managers specialising in UK-focused equity funds. With almost 300 billion under management what they say is worth listening to. Advertisement This group of institutional investors, according to the CAG survey, is exceptionally bullish about our prospects. Nearly two-thirds of them believe the UK will be more attractive for investment in 2017 compared to the previous year. In fact well over 80 percent of them plan to maintain or increase their UK exposure in the next 12 months. This would seem to be a major vote of confidence in this country's future economic performance. Well, that's how it appears - and that's what the rest of the evidence I have mentioned seems to support too. But the fact is that no-one really knows. Brexit hasn't happened yet: this boom is taking place whilst we are members of the European Union, not after we've left. Who can know what deal Theresa May will secure? Who can say what trade deals may follow our departure? Who can guess whether Trump's wildly erratic approach to trade and to policy-making in the US will do to us? And who would be willing to predict the outcome of the election in France and polls elsewhere, and what they might mean? There are a lot - and I mean a lot - of unknowns right now. Donald Trump has been in office for but two weeks and already he is dramatically changing the face of the World as we know it. One of Trump's first actions was to reinstate the global gag rule, a rule initially devised in 1984 by Ronald Reagan. When initiating this, Reagan drew heavily on the morality of US citizens, suggesting the rule was about removing financial support for abortions around the world. Similarly, the conversation about the gag rule has mostly focused around the subject of abortion. Yet, what the gag rule actually does is reduce funding for organisations that educate and counsel on a whole range of issues, including family planning, maternal health, HIV prevention and testing, contraception and sex education for young people. In order to better understand how this might affect women in the countries that may see a dramatic reduction in financial aid supporting family planning, I interviewed Dr Bianca Stumbitz, who has extensive experience researching issues related to maternity protection including in both Ghana and Malaysia. Bianca draws primarily on her experiences in Ghana, working on an ILO funded study concerning maternity protection in the workplace, looking especially at informal workers in impoverished areas, where access to health care is a key challenge. I asked Bianca how she thought the gag rule might impact women around the world, to which she replied: Advertisement 'US aid money is used to provide support to areas where otherwise without that money the support would simply be non-existent. Women will be affected around the world, but the most affected will be the most vulnerable and marginalised from the poorest regions. In these regions women and girls often face pressure to marry young, they may have little or no access to education about sexual health and reproduction. Women who do become pregnant out of wedlock may face serious social stigmatisation and these situations can often mean women turn to abortion as a last resort.' We began to discuss abortion in more depth... 'There are many issues as to why unwanted pregnancies occur, there is a lack of education, women often feel incapable of saying no, especially in cases of rape and abuse, contraception might not be available, there may be resistance to using contraception, it is complex and begs the question where do you start tidying this up? In these contexts, women will keep finding ways to have abortions, if they do not see another way out. For example, abortion in Ghana was made legal in the 80s but only under certain circumstances. While that may be true many doctors will not perform abortions due to religious beliefs and moral positions. In Malaysia, women face similar barriers to safe abortions as we heard at a previous workshop . 'During my research in Ghana one NGO working in Ghana commented on the common practice of drinking water laced with broken glass, as many women believe that this will induce an abortion. This obviously ends in death quite frequently. This really does highlight the desperation of the women, but also where the level of reproductive education is at.' Advertisement 'The same NGO also gave us examples of doctors who agree to perform an abortion informally and at little or no cost, on the condition that the woman will have sex with them beforehand. For women who do manage to receive a safe abortion, there is little information available to them, about how to prevent it from happening again.' Considering the lengths that women are willing to go to end unwanted pregnancies it is perhaps unsurprising that: 'Maternal mortality is the second most frequent killer of women in Ghana, unsafe abortion is the second most frequent cause of maternal death - it is a big problem. Globally it is estimated that 21.6 million women suffer an unsafe abortion each year.' It's ironic that abortion was the moral argument used to introduce the gag rule, given that after Bush reinstated it when he took office in 2001, it resulted in an increase in abortions due to the fact that reduced access to contraception and family planning services led to more unwanted pregnancies. Yet, as Bianca points out this isn't the only irony: Advertisement 'There is a massive contradiction here, between this particular policy, and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals which demand we come together to leave nobody behind in achieving good health and well-being, aim to reduce maternal mortality drastically by 2030, empower all women and girls and achieve gender equality.' When I asked Bianca about the wider political ramifications, she suggested that we can't really predict the future: 'but the messages that have been sent by the US over the last couple of weeks are shocking. It is about the status of women all over the world, it is about the status of the marginalised, this is about social justice, global socio-economic development and sustainable development, it is not only about women, it is the livelihood of families and society.' Through the Jack Ma Foundation, the University of Newcastle will receive $20 million (AUD$26.4 million) to set up The Ma and Morley Scholarship Program. (Photo : Getty Images) The University of Newcastle (UON) in New South Wales, Australia, announced on Friday a grand scholarship program supported by Alibaba founder and China's second wealthiest man, Jack Ma. The scholarship is Ma's first philanthropic work in Australia and is also the largest charitable commitment UON has ever received in its history. Advertisement Through the Jack Ma Foundation, the university will receive $20 million (AUD$26.4 million) to set up "The Ma and Morley Scholarship Program." According to Ma, the program honors his personal link to Newcastle, particularly to the Morley family who has been a big influence to him since his youth. It was in Hangzhou, China, during a tour joined by Ken Morley and his family with the Australia-China Friendship Society when Ma first met Morley. According to Business Insider Australia, Ma was only 12 years old and approached Morley to improve his English. And so began a close friendship that even brought Ma to Newcastle and then lingered until Morley died in 2004. "I am very grateful to Australia and the time I spent there in my youth. It had positively and largely affected my view of the world that time," Ma said. In a news published by UON on its website, Ma was quoted as saying that Alibaba was built by young people and they are committed to empower and lift up students so they can achieve their ambitions. He said that "The Ma and Morley Scholarship Program" will encourage, educate and develop the leaders of the future. According to UON, the recipients of the scholarship will be chosen based on their interest and commitment toward cross-cultural understanding; social justice and equity; cooperation and peace; sustainable development which includes environment, conservation and renewable energy; and fairness and ethics in entrepreneurship and industrial relations. Under the program, in the initial year, there will be 30 new scholarships. Twenty of these will support students throughout the duration of their degree, including access to a unique and comprehensive engagement and enrichment program. The remaining 10 will be one-off scholarships to support educational exchange, internship or immersion activities. The scholarship, in its full capacity, aims to eventually support 90 students per year. The announcement on Friday was joined by Jack Ma, Ken Morley's son, David Morley, New South Wales Premier Gladys Berejiklian, UON Chancellor Paul Jeans, and UON Vice-Chancellor Caroline McMillen. Getty The first application figures are in following the Government's decision to scrap Bursaries for nurses, midwives and allied health professionals and they are as bad as just about everyone feared. Applications for nursing and midwifery courses at British universities have fallen by 23% and nobody outside the Conservative party will be in any way surprised. I warned at the time that the policy was likely to have precisely this impact, after meeting with representatives from the profession and looking at the evidence. The Government on the other hand didn't even bother to formally consult with the Royal Colleges and other experts before announcing their plans to replace Bursaries with the prospect of a lifetime of debt. Advertisement If they had done, they would have heard that gambling with the future of the nursing profession for short-term savings will cost more in the long-term than it ever saves. Instead, in a contender for the most ludicrous political statement of the last decade, the then Health Minister described the proposal as, "potentially one of the most exciting things that we will do in the NHS in the next five years to increase opportunity and quality, and the presence of nursing staff on wards." The nursing profession is straining at the seams, with the Royal College of Nursing recently reporting that there are 24,000 nursing vacancies in the UK. This not only leads to understaffed wards, pushing the remaining workforce to its limit and leaving patients potentially less safe. The failure to recruit and retain adequate numbers of nurses also led to soaring agency costs, which reached an eye-watering 3.3 billion in just one year under this Government. Along with scrapping bursaries and the ludicrous decision by the Tories to cut the number of nurse training places by 3,000 after taking office which left the NHS with 8,000 fewer nurses; another key cause of the recruitment and retention crisis is the Government's ongoing policy of pay restraint. The Royal College of Nursing have stated that since 2011 there has been a real-terms drop in earnings of 14% for its members. A wide range of experts from Simon Stevens to the Nuffield Trust have for years warned that pay restraint is not sustainable moving forward and I argued in Parliament this week that the Government needs urgently to change course if it is to avoid compounding this crisis. Advertisement New guidance from the British Medical Association recommends a change of language, from "expectant mother" to "pregnant person," in order to recognise trans parents who may not identify as women. I confess that this is very confusing for me, and my confusion arises from how, then, we should define motherhood. There is also a conflict between my inclination to accept whatever terms people want to use for themselves, but also to value motherhood in a way that does not easily allow me to erase the "womanness" of it. Please don't imagine that my point of reference for motherhood is limited to floating around in a cloud of organic breastfeeding loveliness. In fact, I think that might be the core of the dilemma: this question of whether to use the word "mother" is just terribly reductionist, as though motherhood can be only one thing. Motherhood emerges in so many different forms, perhaps uniquely for every single person who has - but there's the problem - has what? Given birth? Some mothers adopt. Parented? Are women who miscarry or suffer stillbirth not mothers? The literature is at pains to emphasise that they are. Does that mean that women whose pregnancies end in abortion are also mothers? Some of them might feel that way; it was certainly the start of the journey into motherhood for me. Advertisement Clearly there is not one single event that turns a person into a mother. Motherhood is more like a place you go to, where you experience new things, which you may have expected or not, and which you may enjoy or not, and which change you, but do not turn you into a specific and new type of person. As with travelling, those experiences will affect you to some extent, but will be assimilated into your existing self. A close friend tells me that she always knew she wanted to be a mother, by which she means give birth to and raise children, yet a decade in she still feels that this isn't the real her, these boys aren't really hers (this existential angst must necessarily co-exist with doing the laundry and preparing packed lunches). On the other hand, I never particularly yearned for motherhood (and I overheard my own mother, when I was six months pregnant, remarking "Karen was never very maternal.") And yet I simply could not be the person I am now, and do the most fulfilling work I have ever done, without it. It seems acceptable for other people to identify me as a mother, but I would prefer them to understand that I am not solely - or even mostly - that, while still being that to my very core. Yet having argued that neither being pregnant, nor being a parent, are intrinsic to motherhood, I think we could explore the possibility of having a term that isn't gendered, to represent having travelled to this place, should it be necessary to reveal that element of one's identity. Endometriosis, a condition not well known, but a condition that affects one in 10 women, most of which are unaware of the chaos that is happening in their own bodies. After almost 15 years of pain, I can finally say that I am an endo sister. I have finally been diagnosed. I sit here now with four holes in my stomach after having keyhole surgery to remove a cyst the size of a grapefruit and to clean up the endometriosis that left my insides mangled together and my fertility in question. I feel a sense of relief! Sore, but relieved that I have been taken seriously and that I am finally getting treatment for something that I have struggled with for most of my life. Relieved that my future as a mummy is still intact. But what is endometriosis? It is when the lining of your womb which makes up your period, grows elsewhere in the body. When it is time for your period, this lining sheds blood like it would do in the womb except the blood gets trapped in your body which can then turn into a sticky glue that sticks your organs etc together causing pain and reducing fertility. For me, heavy periods were a normal part of life. I had started my first period at eight years old and from then on they were a constant pain every month. As I got older, the heavier and more painful they became, until one day when I was 15 years old the pain had gotten the better of me. I woke in the morning with a horrible cramp in my stomach. "Great", I had thought, I have my period. But as the morning progressed the pain didn't subside and I found myself doubled over unable to walk. My parents, not sure what to do, tried everything to ease my pain. They thought I had just contracted a stomach bug, but when I threw up everything they tried to give me and then passed out from the pain, they knew something was up. A trip to the ER and I was sent home and told that I had a low pain tolerance, told to suck it up, period pain is a normal part of being a woman. Advertisement From then on, I would fear the time of month. It was always a lucky dip. Was it going to be a normal period this month or was I going to suffer? I never knew when it would come and what was worse was that no one would take me seriously. Countless times to the nurse at school or to the ER and each time told it is a normal part of being a woman. I came to the point where I used to hide it, try and sit in the corner until it passed because I was scared that people would think I was a drama queen, that I was an attention seeker. Trying to hide it was difficult, when you are in so much pain that you are throwing up and passing out it is hard for people not to notice. I was on my way to the cinema with my mum and I could feel it coming. I found myself drifting in and out of consciousness. As I walked in to the cinema room trying hard to keep up appearances, my body finally had had enough and I fell to the floor. I saw the panic on my mum's face as she tried to lift me up and call the paramedics. Surely they would believe me this time? I am not faking it! I was at the movies, I was having a good time! But to my disappointment the paramedics scoffed and told me the same thing all the others had. It wasn't until the manager of the cinema took my mum aside and said this isn't normal. Get her checked for endometriosis. Advertisement Endometriosis? I had never heard of it before but to my dismay my doctors didn't seem to know much about it either. Their approach was to put me on the pill and hope for the best, if that didn't work well then I just had to learn to accept it. At times, it was just plain embarrassing. When you pass out and throw up while you were in the toilet in the middle of a work day and are escorted out with your knickers in full view it is hard not to be embarrassed! But with each episode, I found a new person who was struggling with something very similar and came to understand that it was a condition that was slowly getting recognised and that was a lot more common than I was lead to believe. Heavy periods, ovarian cysts, excruciating pain each month, symptoms of IBS and problems falling pregnant are all symptoms of endometriosis and if you suspect that you may have it I am here to give you hope and encourage you to get the treatment you deserve. Do not let anyone tell you that it is part of being a woman or to just suck it up! It is NOT normal to pass out from pain every month! It is NOT just part of being a woman and NO you do NOT just have a low pain threshold! It is estimated that endometriosis affects more than 2 million women in the UK and there are still a lot of women out there who are unaware of this condition. I feel like I am lucky, even though I suffered for a long time I am far from the worst. A lot of my fellow endosisters suffer daily, with their quality of life greatly diminished and their chances of becoming mothers taken away from them. My heart and my respects go out to all of them and I think it is our responsibility to create awareness of this common yet virtually unknown disease. Awareness of endometriosis has come along way in the last 10 years but it still has a long way to go, if you would like to help or wish to learn more then take a look at http://www.endomarch.org. Any little bit helps. Getty Images Why is anyone surprised that Theresa May failed to call out Donald Trump on his Executive Order regarding refugees? There she was awkwardly holding hands with him (admittedly it was reminiscent of two Year 6s going to their first school disco). Anyone remember the last time that they saw two World Leaders holding hands? If I give her the benefit of the doubt, it's only because she possibly wanted him to keep his hands where she could see them. She'd already taken enough risk for one day with the red kitten heels. All this talk of #NotmyPresident for Trump is all very well, but let's remember that May is technically #NotmyPrimeMinister. The electorate did not actually vote to put Mrs May into the role of PM. She obtained it simply through inaction. She watched the men around her backstab each other, step down and simply behave too badly for Executive Office. She was literally the last (wo)man standing. She is our Prime Minister by chance, by default, by a chain of events so random that it would be impossible to predict at this point in January of 2016. Advertisement The reason why #NotmyPrimeMinister didn't start to trend is that we as a population were a little overwrought by the Brexit drama, and frankly needed a sit-down and a cup of tea by the time that Mrs May had accidentally fallen into the role of PM. Plus, it was the Summer and holidays had been booked. You couldn't keep focusing on politics when you had to get to the villa in Biarritz or Puglia. Because who knows what would happen? We might not be allowed to keep our villas, this could be the last continental holiday for years! But, the very fact that Brexit happened gave much-needed hope to Donald Trump that literally anything was possible. Mrs May glibly commented about not being responsible for another country's refugee policy and didn't appear to bat an eyelid regarding the introduction of such a poorly thought out scheme. Possibly because as Home Secretary she introduced laws which also removed basic human rights from her own citizens. In fact, Trump inadvertently copied one of her key policies. (Admittedly his scope is wider, but still produces the same net result of tearing apart married couples and families). As Home Secretary Theresa May introduced sweeping changes to immigration policy which had an immediate impact on British citizens. Those of us who dared to marry a foreigner (specifically from outside of the European Union), and wished to live in the UK were immediately penalised. At the time I was living in Singapore, when my Kiwi husband and I decided to move home with our three American born children. (We'd been married in Cheshire over a decade before when living in England). However as an expat I had to meet minimum income requirements in Singapore for a specific period of time, while living overseas I had to secure a new role in the UK again meeting income requirements and apply for the visa, move my family, oh, and my husband had to find a new job too (given that he was our family's breadwinner) all within a very short period of time. Clearly these new rules had been dreamed up by someone who'd barely been outside of the M25. (A bit like Trump and New York). To add insult to injury this would cost us almost 1000 for a 2 year visa, we would then have to reapply and once he'd accrued 5 years of residency he could apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain. Advertisement We're now over the half-way mark (after shelling out another 1000, not to forget the NHS levy which was imposed as an extra incentive for wanting to live in my own country). You would think that the UK government would be welcoming the return of its own brain drain with a welcome mat, perhaps a little tax incentive or two. Unfortunately they aren't that smart. We're still being treated like second class citizens. We can't even get a mortgage as my husband's visa only lasts until 2018 and banks aren't keen on giving a 20 year mortgage to someone who's only legally here for twelve more months. Last week's massacre of Muslim worshippers in a mosque in Quebec, Canada, is the latest in a long line of increasingly deadly anti-Muslim hate crimes. The most recent FBI crime statistics recorded a 67% annual jump in anti-Muslim hate crimes. Europe, too witnessed a surge in anti-Muslim hate crime in recent years. But hate crimes against religious minorities do not just affect Muslims in the west. They span the persecution of Christians and Yazidis in Iraq and Syria and what Amnesty International describe as "crimes against humanity" against Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar. Anti-religious hate and discrimination has gone global. Which means it can only fully be tackled through global cooperation. A welcome example of that cooperation came in the dying days of the Obama Administration when the United States, Canada, the EU and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, the second largest inter-governmental body after the U.N, convened a joint forum to tackle the global rise in anti-Muslim discrimination. Advertisement Unfortunately, it now represents a type of multilateral cooperation that could become increasingly rarer with the recent rise in populism and uncompromising nationalism, as reflected by President Trumps' Executive Order against Muslim countries, more commonly known as Trump's 'Muslim ban'. What is particularly concerning is how this emerging tension between nationalism and multilateralism could potentially undermine years of efforts by the international community to protect religious and racial groups. Efforts, for example, like U.N. Human Rights Council Resolution 16/18, a multilateral feat designed to combat religious hatred, discrimination and violence in accordance with international human rights law. Itself a product of international cooperation between Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, the EU and the United States, the resolution was hailed by then US Secretary of States Hillary Clinton and key human rights organizations as a "landmark achievement", providing a comprehensive action plan to combat incitement to religious discrimination at different levels through the prism of international human rights law. Despite the subsequent slow progress in implementation, there was something of a breakthrough at the last of a series of meetings in 2015, designed to create a roadmap for implementation (called the 'Istanbul Process' meetings). Advertisement There, governmental, inter-governmental and global civil society representatives agreed that full implementation of the resolution at all levels is the best way to address escalating religious intolerance and emphasized the need for stronger political commitment in its implementation. The meeting also reiterated the need to define hate speech in a way that conforms to high anti-censorship standards. While recalling the importance of preserving and promoting freedom of expression, participants also emphasized the need to protect all victims of religious discrimination and violence on an equal footing. However, despite the progress made at that meeting, the events of previous weeks demonstrate that since then, the world has changed immeasurably. Today, instead of doubling down on this spirit of international cooperation, we are witnessing a global political shift in the opposite direction. Brexit, the rise of Europe's right-wing insurgent parties, triumph of an extreme right wing nationalist party in India with a known prejudice towards minorities and the victory of President Trump and his 'anti-Muslim ban' all indicate a shift towards a more insular narrow focus on the nation-state and a lack of confidence in international frameworks and the multilateralism that underpins them. Advertisement Which is ironic given many of the justifications used by those railing against minorities, like uncontrolled refugee movement and terrorism, require multilateralism to be solved. Closing borders cannot solve the realities of the refugee, economic or security crises. Terrorism cannot be addressed unilaterally. These are global problems requiring global solutions. Responding to them by closing borders and shunning refugees never helps in the long-run - it only feeds the divisive "us versus them" narrative that emboldens extremism. While all of this is far from meaning efforts like the Istanbul Process may come to a halt, it is a worrying trend at a time when multilateral cooperation is needed more than ever; not least because what happens in one corner of the world can increasingly reverberate and influence developments in another. DragonImages via Getty Images Pornography has dominated user searches and is set to remain one of the world's most popular industries. A 2014 British Sex Survey found that 55% of Brits admitted to watching porn, with 15% doing so on a regular basis. While 25-36 year olds were the most avid consumers at 78%, teenagers are accessing porn at an increasingly younger age. Following a report led by NSPCC Senior Research Fellow Dr Christine Barter and researchers from the Universities of Bristol and Lancaster (2013-2015), ChildLine began a campaign that supports young people and the impact that pornography has had. Advertisement The report found that 39% of boys in England aged 14-17 regularly watched porn, and ChildLine were concerned that 18,000 of its annual website views were via message board threads containing "porn" in the subject heading. An online survey ran by the NSPCC (2015) involving 2,000 younger people aged 11-17 found that 1 in 10 children aged 12-13 were concerned that they may be addicted the porn, while around 1 in 5 children admitted to seeing upsetting pornographic images. If porn is consumed by this younger demographic regularly without better, more thorough sex education in place, porn sex becomes an expectation for sex in reality. As evidenced by the Channel 4 documentary Sex in Class (2015), younger people believed that certain sexual acts depicted in pornography were not only acceptable, but expected. Highlighting the key differences between porn sex and real sex will help younger people create more realistic expectations and have a better understanding of sexual intimacy, making them well-prepared for when they become sexually active. Advertisement For instance, porn implies that every man's trouser snake is of python proportions, however the average penis size is 3.6 inches when flaccid and 5.2 inches when erect. Porn stars, meanwhile, typically have an erection between 6 and 9 inches long, which is considerably larger. It's not just men that are misrepresented either: female porn stars often have "neat", hairless labia. However, women's vulvas come in all different shapes, sizes and colours. The Vulva Gallery is a fantastic website and Instagram account that highlights the diversity of female genitalia. Artist Hilde Atalanta created the site in 2016 in order to educate people about different women's bodies. Moreover, in porn, both men and women are ready for sex as soon as it's on the table. Typically speaking, people need between 10 and 12 minutes to become fully aroused, and many women need vaginal lubricants too. Porn also implies that women can achieve an orgasm from penetration alone. However, 71% of women need clitoral stimulation in order to climax. Advertisement Men, meanwhile, shouldn't feel bad if they can't last as long as a male porn star would during sex. On average, 75% of men ejaculate within three minutes, whereas in porn men can last for a much longer period. Let's face it, people are watching pornography, but it should not be viewed as a source of education. While the pornography referred to above concerns porn typically created for the male consumer, thanks to female directors like Erika Lust, a new brand of feminist porn is on the rise. Her company, Lust Productions, has around a 40% female consumer base, with the porn they produce reflecting this. In a Marie Claire interview last year, Lust stated that she prefers to opt for authentic shots rather than "gynaecological" ones, indicating that some female consumers of pornography prefer the sex in a scene over graphic close-ups. Pornhub has also announced that they will be launching a Sexual Wellness Centre on their site, with videos and Q&As offering sexual health advice, aiming to educate their viewers as well as entertain them. Advertisement While this is a positive step, this arguably suggests that formal sex education in schools or provided by healthcare professionals is not up to scratch. There needs to be more information readily available for people who would perhaps be exposed to particularly graphic imagery when researching via adult websites. Good sex education needs to be available to anyone, not just younger people, but if it improves in schools now then people will be more aware of sexual health issues in their later life. If there is any reason at all to put an immediate halt to Brexit, it is President Trump's first week in office, culminating in Prime Minister Theresa May's desperate visit to be the first leader to swear fealty - and then her inexcusable refusal to condemn the so-called Muslim Ban. May scrambled in Farage's fetid footsteps, obviously keen not to lose any of the momentum or populist support she has gained since adopting most of UKIP's far right policies with regard to freedom of movement, immigration in general and the deliberate pressures being imposed on minority communities following the deeply flawed Prevent policy and the recent Pickles and Casey reports. Only hours before, Trump became the only President in living memory to publicly endorse the use of torture. And hours later, on Holocaust Memorial Day of all days, he signed the Refugee Ban and initiated a policy now being referred to as the Muslim Ban. Advertisement Citing 9/11 three times, he banned visa applications and re-entry from a number of middle-eastern countries - though markedly ignoring the countries where the 9/11 bombers actually originated. But then of course, Trump has substantial business interests in those countries. Refugees in transit that landed after the edict and US citizens returning from holidays or business trips abroad have been detained at their point of entry and denied access to legal representation. Foreign students and US citizens are being warned by their universities and employers not to leave the country in case they are not allowed to return. These actions, breaking international treaties and showing no respect for international law, mean that the United States already meets the definition of 'rogue state.' But in addition to these acts of inhumanity and xenophobia, Trump is acting entirely irrationally. His first actions were to sanction the parks service for posting photos that showed the actual size of his inauguration crowd. His press officer was made told to go in front of the press and deliver demonstrable lies - something that was later referred to by one Trump's staff to be 'alternative facts'. After being challenged on his repeated lie that millions of illegal votes were cast in the election - this being the reason why he lost the popular vote - Trump announced that he would initiate a federal investigation. And being told in no uncertain terms that his Mexican wall would not be paid for by Mexico, and the Mexican president cancelled his state visit, Trump immediately announced a 20% tariff on all Mexican imports. He responds immediately to any criticism in the press with wild inaccurate accusations on Twitter Advertisement May has finally admitted that UK would have no chance of remaining in the EU single market and that we would also be withdrawing from the customs union. Both of these actions will result in the UK losing tens of thousands of jobs and rising prices, inevitably pushing more people into poverty. The loss of the banking jobs already announced, the loss of Toyota - Nissan talking about leaving despite their sweetheart deal - the loss in income tax revenue from the banking jobs alone will be far more than the oft-quoted 350m a week. The government consistently has said that it will not reveal what its post-brexit plans are, as it wants to keep its cards close to its chest. But we have nothing left to offer - our hand is already face up on the table. In this context, May goes cap in hand to Trump, refusing to rule out that the NHS would now be up for grabs - this to a US administration hell-bent on removing affordable healthcare from millions of its own citizens simply in order to optimize profits for the private medical and insurance corporations that supported Trump's election. And before slicing up the NHS for sale, it means that even our long-taken-for-granted food and industrial safety standards may be threatened. Our self-imposed isolation from Europe pushes the UK into depending on whatever crumbs the protectionist Trump regime chooses to throw in our direction. Instead of throwing ourselves at the feet of the Great Dictator, we should be distancing ourselves, uniting as closely as possible with the rest of Europe in the face of this very real threat. We should be looking at the possibility of diplomatic sanctions, not deals. This is important not just for our national security and the benefit of the poorest of our citizens, but to prevent the normalization of the racism and discrimination that Trump's policies will inevitably bring with it, not only to the US but to our society as well. Advertisement This visit has already done great damage to our standing on the internationally. The Murdoch press and our state broadcaster, the BBC, might try to romanticize the 'special relationship', but the reaction in the foreign press is not being reported domestically. Even the US press has made disparaging comments about the UK and the PM in the wake of the visit. So rather than Corbyn setting a three-line-whip for Brexit (with no sense of the irony involved, him being a notorious rebel against such measures in the past), he should be listening to the majority of his voters and MPs, and what is fast becoming a majority of the people who actually voted in the referendum in the first place. The people who will suffer most because of Brexit, the normalization of Trump and increased economic dependence on the US are the minorities, the poorest and most vulnerable in our society - the very people that he claims to represent. One of the big slogans of the brexit campaign was 'take back control' - though this week they somewhat hypocritically protested the high court re-affirming the primacy of parliament. Did the brexiters campaign to simply hand executive control to an unelected PM fully beholden to Donald Trump - where we have no say, no control, no rights and no protections? Fulfilling the promise of a fast food brand used to be simple; it had to be fast, and it had to be food. It was really no more complicated than that. In fact, as long as the need for a rapid injection of fat, salt and sugar was fulfilled, quality, provenance and presentation were largely irrelevant (look no further than the late-night kebab for proof). But consumers are getting more sophisticated and demanding. It's no longer enough to be fast and it's not enough to be just 'food'. Chains such as Byron Burger and Leon are proving that it's possible to turn around the covers while providing quality food and a great experience. Does this mean that the fast food stalwarts of a Friday night are on the way out? Not necessarily. But if the food part of the equation is proving difficult to bring up to snuff, then the fast part is really going to have to deliver. Advertisement In Dominos Pizza's case, they've taken this literally. The company took searing honesty to the next level when it based an ad campaign on just how bad its pizzas are in its 'Our Pizzas Suck' ad. Instead, the pizza delivery company has upped the ante on the 'fast' part and blistering doesn't even begin to cover it. Making the most of mobile and biometric tech, it's now possible to order a Dominos Pizza just by opening the app. No clicking, no selecting and certainly no tedious card entry. This is just one more in a long line of Dominos tech experiments which include Tweet for a Pizza and talking to Amazon's Echo. It proves that, where convenience is concerned, food is only part of the equation. The fast food industry has form when it comes to being first on the innovation bandwagon. Visa chose McDonalds and the London 2012 Olympics as the perfect testbed for contactless payments. Until that point, the whole idea of contactless payments had been viewed with some skepticism by consumers but the ability to fly through queues in one of the busiest sporting events in the world was a compelling use case. Since then, McDonalds has been working on both the food and the fast. On top of eggs from cage-free hens, removing corn syrup and artificial preservatives the company has been adding kiosks to the centre of its restaurants. It is also introducing ordering by app allowing customers to be served at the table. This solves a number of the experience issues fast food chains face. Advertisement First, the menu and number of potential combinations has grown significantly since Big Mac and Fries. Visual cues and direct from listing ordering helps guide customers without the pressure of a harried cashier and hungry customers hopping from one foot to the other in the queue behind. Next, it opens the potential for McDonald's to grow its revenues, pure and simple. Presented with all the options, the luxury of time to choose them in and tantalising extras that the customer might not have considered, there is ample opportunity to cross and upsell - even for a fast food sandwich. And it improves consideration in a competitive marketplace stuffed with similar products. While McDonalds' and arch-rival Burger King may be the sandwich version of the Cola wars, the brand that offers the best burger experience wins. Being able to order at the table - as you can with McDonalds' mobile app - removes the uncomfortable five minutes spent circulating the restaurant, tray in hand waiting for places to come free. Although they have the chance to improve the immediate experience in-store, these innovations aren't all about the customer. Bringing tech into the bricks and mortar environment provides a rich seam of data for the marketers to mine. Cinnabon in the US was one of the first to innovate using mobile POS (mPOS). It certainly sped up the morning queues for commuters wanting a sticky, sugary hit. But more importantly, it delivered a bunch of customer data back to the business. From that information Cinnabon can fine tune production (essential given the limited shelf life of product), understand peak customer flows and the impact of special offers. Advertisement The increased use of AI is another trend hitting convenience. KFC in China is experimenting with ordering by selfie. Still very much in a beta phase it claims to be using recognition technology to understand customers' moods and make recommendations, encouraging exploration and experimentation. It may seem a triumph of 'just because you can' rather than 'you should' when it comes to using tech in a fast food environment but this may well be the tip of the iceberg. Ordering via the voice interface in Amazon Alexa is becoming much more commonplace and its integration into Ford's on-board telematics system will accelerate this. MasterCard is trialing the concept of selfie pay as the next step in its improved biometric authentication process. And why should this feel so strange, we've been standing in front of things, ordering things for decades. It's just that they used to be a little bit more human. Bastiaan Slabbers via Getty Images It's been a difficult start to 2017. The new US President has hit the ground running, and has trampled right over many of the protections and advances that have been accumulated through years of campaigning. People I know and have worked with in the voluntary sector have been shocked, angered, upset (and maybe a little excited and energised too) by the policies and rhetoric coming out of the White House since the 20th of January. The Trump administration will have an impact on issues and politics in the UK, both directly through US policy and indirectly by example. Many of us working in the migration, refugee protection, human rights, women's rights, anti-prejudice and environmental sectors (plus many more - apologies if I missed you out) will now be discussing what impact the Trump presidency may have on our issues and, crucially, what we can do about it. Advertisement I was struck, at a recent Britain Thinks breakfast briefing Learning from Brexit and Trump, by a comment from one voluntary sector worker: "People are expressing their outrage and mistaking it for action that will make a difference". It's a fair point. Yes, we are outraged and want to come together to express that. But we do, above all, want our actions to make a difference - that's why we got into this sector in the first place. And so it is worth taking a step back from the barricades to ask: "What is the most effective way to oppose the policies of President Trump?" The problem is that much of the mobilisation against Trump doesn't just originate from within the most liberal minority, but ends up looking like it's only meant to appeal to them too. That represents a lack of ambition, perhaps borne out of bitter experience for some campaigners. On issues like immigration and asylum, the UK public tends to be pretty divided - a strongly 'pro' liberal minority, a strongly 'anti' rejectionist minority, and the bulk of the public somewhere in between. On Donald Trump's policies, however, that's not the case. With the exception of cheerleaders like Katie Hopkins and Nigel Farage, plus their fanclubs in the margins, most people in Britain agree on Trump. The good news is that this is because he and his politics are not popular in the UK - with liberals and the wider public alike. People prefer our traditions, of religious tolerance and protecting refugees, to a US President who wants to undermine them. A quarter of the British public agreed with Trump the candidate when he proposed banning Muslims from the US - but two-thirds of us thought it was inappropriate (YouGov, December 2015). Six times as many Brits think Donald Trump as president makes the world a more dangerous place, than think he makes it safer; and 58% say his victory sets a dangerous precedent for future election (ComRes, November 2016). So while the Trump presidency represents a threat, it also offers an opportunity for campaigners. In seeking to divide people (as he has in America, roughly down the middle) in the UK he has made us more united than usual - in opposition. Most people in the UK don't like his approach to refugee protection and immigration - they prefer ours. So there is the potential to mobilise two-thirds of Britain around a message that defends existing refugee protections. And yet given the chance to mobilise more broadly than ever before, we seem to risk only taking the usual crowd with us. Advertisement So what could we do differently? Firstly, think about who we want to talk to, and who is doing the talking. The London demo on Monday went off peacefully and most protesters took a rather British approach to their placards, expressing their wit rather than their anger. Contrast that with the chants of some protesters at US airports: "No borders, no nations, no deportations" will have little appeal beyond the already-onside. In the UK, protests that seek to defend principles of refugee protection dating back to the First World War and beyond will find support across a broad cross-section of society - while a 'no borders' message will not. Likewise making an explicit link between Trump and Brexit, which many campaigners may be keen to do. This puts an immediate 48% ceiling on support and, more likely, restricts it yet further to the 25% who still hope to stop Brexit. Yes, I'm sure that personally many of us would lump the two together near the top of the 'bad things that happened in 2017' list. But will voicing that help us to oppose Trump effectively? Probably not. Tougher still to swallow, I suspect, will be a final point: trying to stop the state visit is a minority position and unlikely to succeed. The public is pragmatic and worried about the economy. 49% of people, according to a ComRes poll for the Independent, think "Theresa May should pursue a close relationship with Donald Trump because it is in Britain's best interests" while just 31% think she should not. So calls to cancel that visit will be less effective than, for example, a call to make very clear where we disagree with the policies of the new US administration. Stopping Trump will be difficult - he is, after all, the elected President of the United States - and it is largely the job of his opponents on the other side of the Atlantic. Making clear what we think of his policies, and their impact on people in the UK and all over the world, is more achievable. Most importantly, we should be more ambitious in defining that 'we'. It does not just mean the liberal left, but the majority of Britain. That includes most Christians and other people of faith; most people who would get behind Comic Relief or Children in Need; and most Conservative voters. We should seize this opportunity to build a far bigger and broader coalition to defend refugee protection and to oppose torture and prejudice. Because one thing we did learn about the new President, from his obsession with the crowds at his inauguration, is that size matters. As the self-identified party of small government that allegedly values families, life, and hard work, Republicans have been working hard to restrict progress for families and children, particularly for the ones that are not as affluent as GOP would like them to be. Subsequently, the USA, compared to other industrial nations, is among the worst in regard to protecting and improving the well-being of children and families. Advertisement Comparable troubling patterns as in infant mortality rates are also seen in maternal mortality. Among 184 countries, the USA ranks 48, similar to Iran and Hungary, behind Turkey, Cyprus, Bosnia, Herzegovina, and Lithuania. In regard to child poverty, the USA ranks 34 out of 35 OECD countries, behind other developed nations. Worst yet to come? Regardless, as Americans, we can rest assured that we have not seen the worst of it yet. In view of the anti-working class administration that took over in January, we can expect things for mainstream children and families to get worse, much worse. Dave Bautista of 'Bushwick' attends The IMDb Studio featuring the Filmmaker Discovery Lounge, presented by Amazon Video Direct: Day Two during the 2017 Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah. (Photo : Getty Images/Rich Polk) Triple H was supposed to face Seth Rollins at WrestleMania but the latter's knee injury forced WWE to find possible backup options. The latest rumors have revealed that Triple H vs. Batista could be booked at WrestleMania 33. According to Geno Mrosko of Cageside Seats, Batista is the only answer to for Triple H's new WrestleMania 33 opponent. He pointed out that the WWE already has a storyline for the return of "The Animal" which is turning his back on Evolution back in 2014. Advertisement Batista left the WWE after creative difference and he was asked to return at WrestleMania 32 but he turned it down. He was offered a referee role on the Triple H vs. Roman Reigns title match but he wanted a more meaningful role. The wrestler-turned-actor told The Sun in an interview in 2015 that he wants his next storyline for the WWE to revolve around his retirement. He also revealed the opponent he wants to face in a retirement match at WrestleMania. "You do take a beating in professional wrestling. But I love it. It's not 'will I go back?', it's 'when will I go back?'. Hopefully, it won't be far too long. Triple H right now is the guy I really want to work with. I want to go back and that's hopefully that'll be my retirement program," Batista said. "Yeah, I'll have my WrestleMania retirement match with Triple H," he added. However, it should be noted that Batista and WWE are not in good terms since the company did not fully support his Hollywood career. It was one of the worst decisions made by the WWE since Batista is the most successful superstars in Hollywood not named The Rock. The 48-year-old star is set to star in five Hollywood movies in 2017 including "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2" and "Kickboxer: Retaliation". He will also appear in the 2018 Marvel Film "Avengers: Infinity War" as Drax the Destroyer. The WWE will keep all of their options open if Rollins is ruled out of WrestleMania 33. Triple H could always sit out the event and focus on NXT TakeOver: Orlando. Nevertheless, superstars like Samoa Joe and Shane McMahon are rumored as his possible opponents. Ominous headlines across the globe trumpet that the Trump Administration and Iran on a collision course. To what end, and for what strategic objective? Hard to decipher the Trump tea leaves given the merger of Twitter and national security. Mr. Trump and his White House team have been ratcheting up the tweets and rhetoric against Iran since his inauguration. Iran has responded to Mr. Trump's taunts with its own belligerent threats as well as very worrisome ballistic missile testing. So where is this heading? Since his inauguration, the President's nascent team of national security staffers have been surgically laying the groundwork for a new Iran policy approach that, if successful, would cut off Iran from its principal global benefactor - Russia. The objective? To reduce the flow of arms to Iran and to the Assad regime, and isolate Iran in order to reign in its regional provocations and ambitions. Advertisement Weakening Russia's alliance with Iran would constitute an early, major diplomatic achievement for the Trump team. Nevertheless, Trump foreign policy officials are not betting the mortgage that they can coax Vladimir Putin away from the ayatollahs merely because the U.S. desires President Putin to do so. If that were to occur, it would undoubtedly come at a very high price for the U.S. After all, what Putin wants from the new president is not only relief from sanctions, but also a free hand in Eastern Ukraine, recognition of Russia's annexation of Crimea, an end to NATO enlargement, and de facto recognition of Russian influence and interests throughout "eastern Europe." Moreover, Mr. Putin does not want his mischief-making in U.S., French, or German national elections to be on Mr. Trump's bilateral agenda, either. Today's Wall Street Journal shed some light on the Iran machinations inside the West Wing. Based on "senior sources" within the National Security Council, the Trump Administration aspires to orchestrate a strategic diplomatic and military "wedge" between Russia and Iran to accelerate a potential U.S.-Russian solution to the Syrian civil war and gain greater Russian support for a new Trump plan to eradicate ISIS. Unlike Iran, Russia has no long-term investment in the Assad regime itself. Moscow has often signaled Assad is expendable so long as Russian military bases in Syria are untouchable. As an aside, for a president who prides himself as the purveyor of "FUD" (fear, uncertainty, and doubt) what does the NSC gain by leaking its strategic objectives to the Wall Street Journal. Does that not vitiate the element of uncertainty? Advertisement Iran views the uber brutal Assad differently. Tehran considers Shiite Assad its front-line redoubt against the radical Sunni Islamic State and its regional adherents. Iran is loath to toss Assad's brutal regime overboard and has a virtual stranglehold on the Assad regime's longevity. In other words, Assad's departure is not for Mr. Putin alone to decide, if the Ayatollah Khamenei has his way. For all the Administration's diplomatic hopeful vision to play an effective card against Iran courtesy of Russia, events may supersede this incubating policy. The rulers of Iran read the Wall Street Journal, too, and they are masters of three-dimensional chess. Tehran is not blind to President Trump's enmity and his willingness to embrace Israel's justifiable fear of a resurging Iran. But like the rest of the world, Iran is not certain where the President's bluster ends and a potential showdown ion begins even though the Administration has signaled it has no intention to revoke the Iran nuclear agreement, even though the President has condemned it as the worst deal ever. So what is Iran doing to thwart a prospective end run around Iran by the President to Moscow? No surprise! Iran is playing a dangerous game trying to bait the Trump Administration into a potential military confrontation with Tehran before the White House is ready to move its chess pieces with Moscow. After all, the Ayatollah Khamenei is not going to let himself fall into that trap if he can avoid it. His play...firing off ballistic missiles to bait the U.S. into an early confrontation with Iran before the president can line up his plays and compelling Russia to come to its rescue against Washington. On January 29 -- only nine days following Donald Trump's inauguration -- Iran tested a 4,000 kilometer (2,500 mile) ballistic missile capable of carrying a nuclear warhead. Four days later, the authoritative German newspaper Die Welt reported that Iran also test fired a domestically-produced cruise missile that could also carry a nuclear warhead (known as the Soumar), which has a range of 3,000 kilometers (1,864 miles). According to Die Welt the cruise missile traversed a distance of 600 kilometers (373 miles) on its maiden voyage. Advertisement Per published reports in various military and Middle East media outlets (notably the Times of Israel and Defense One Daily) this cruise missile is a re-engineered version of the Russian KH-55, which can reach Israel. It has a multi-platform launch option (i.e., from aircraft, Iranian naval vessels, or from Iranian subs). In response, Trump's National Security Adviser, Michael Flynn, placed Iran "on notice" that its launches were unacceptable. Reporters were sent scrambling to their diplomatic dictionaries to determine exactly what "on notice" practically meant. They did not have to wait very long. A few days later, the Trump Administration carefully threaded a needle by imposing new economic sanctions on 17 entities that had been designated by U.S. authorities as entities actively engaged in supporting Iran's ballistic missile program. For good measure, another 8 entities were marked for terrorist support. These additional sanctions were designed not to violate U.S. commitments under Iran nuclear agreement. The U.S. Treasury Department listed three networks of companies that it asserted were actively engaged in procuring equipment for Iran's ballistic missile program. One network, not surprisingly, is Chinese. The second involved companies based in the United Arab Emirates. And the third constituted corporate tentacles affiliated with Iran's Revolutionary Guards. Depending how one views Iran's conduct, those wishing to be amen choir apologists for Iran's ballistic missile program assert these launches are NOT violations of United Nations Security Council resolutions because, as Iran adamantly asserts, it does not have a nuclear weapons program under the terms of the Iran nuclear agreement. Consequently, Tehran asserts these missile tests are not subject to restriction under UNSC resolutions. So, follow the logic of those like CNN's Farid Zakaria who carried Tehran's water with Anderson Cooper the other night by asserting that since Iran no longer has a nuclear weapons program under the Iran nuclear agreement its ballistic missile tests are kosher and do not violate UN resolutions barring Iran from building a ballistic missile program capable of carrying nuclear warheads. Got that. I wonder if Mr. Zakaria is on Iran's visa retainer? Advertisement The fact that these missiles can carry nuclear warheads is good enough for me to hold Iran accountable for violating UN prohibitions barring Iran from developing ballistic missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads. And Mr. Flynn was on solid terrain to orchestrate a new round of punishing U.S. economic sanctions against Iran. No one really expects any action out of the UN Security Council given Russia's veto and other Security Council members unwilling to shut their markets off from Iran's new bazaar abundantly funded by sanctions relief under the Iran nuclear agreement. If, as President Trump suggests, Iran is "playing with fire" it is incumbent on his advisers to orchestrate a region wide containment strategy against Iran, rather than taking on Iran unilaterally. Remember, U.S. sanctions have a cascading impact on other foreign countries trading with Iran, meaning that any foreign company doing business with a sanctioned entity could also be subject to economic sanctions by the Treasury Department. Tehran is privately howling that these sanctions add to the laundry list of existing U.S. and UN sanctions which impose a chilling effect on any foreign bank doing business with Iran. So be it. Iran is determined to develop long-range missiles with increasing precision and warhead capacity. It is trolling the globe for better guidance systems to improve their accuracy. The fact that Iran claims that its program abides by the four corners of the nuclear agreement does not cut it. Nor does it cut it that Iran's asserts that its program is defensive in design. Lest we forget. Iran is the principal UN-tagged global state sponsor of terror. President Obama idealistically hoped that his outreach to Tehran would temper its misconduct and that sanctions relief under the nuclear accord would cause Iran to pivot toward a more statesmanlike global posture. Based on events so far -- from Syria, to Yemen, to Iran's provocations in the Persian Gulf against the U.S. naval presence, just to name a few -- since the adoption the Iran nuclear agreement, Iran's bellicosity and belligerence has proven Mr. Obama and is serial callow foreign policy team drinking their own Kool Aid. Advertisement Democrats may have gotten their brains beaten out last year, but it's Republicans who are experiencing a brain drain. Educated Americans are horrified by Donald Trump. He is not just oblivious to facts but proud of it. ``We won with poorly educated,'' Trump said after the Nevada caucuses last year. ``I love the poorly educated.'' Meanwhile, the drift of educated voters away from the Republican Party is accelerating. It's well established that Trump won because of a surge of support among white rural and working class voters. What's less well known is his weakness among affluent white suburban voters who used to be the Republican Party's base. Advertisement The chairman of the Harris County, Texas (Houston) Republican Party called 2016 ``an anomaly of an election'' because ``a lot of traditional Republicans would not vote for Trump.'' They were appalled, not just by the fact that Trump was so uninformed, but also by his coarseness and vulgarity. Trump may be rich, but he has no class. The education gap has been growing for some time. In 2012, Republican Mitt Romney carried non-college educated whites by 25 points and whites with a college degree by 14. In 2016, Trump's margin among non-college whites increased to 39 points while shrinking to a near tie among college-educated whites (49 percent for Trump, 45 percent for Hillary Clinton). As President, Trump continues to appall educated voters. They're certainly not proud of the new President. They find him embarrassing and shameful. The Speaker of the British House of Commons says he is opposed to inviting Trump to address parliament when the new President makes a state visit to London this year. ``I feel very strongly that our opposition to racism and sexism and our support for equality before the law and an independent judiciary are hugely important considerations in the House of Commons,'' the Speaker said. If President Trump is invited to speak, some members of parliament are threatening to boycott. How embarrassing is that? The latest CNN poll shows the President with just 38 percent approval among college-educated whites. President Trump is doing everything he can to drive them away. His disdain for facts -- like his claim, with no evidence, that as many as five million fradulent votes were cast for Clinton last year, and his assertion that the press is covering up news of terrorist attacks -- is generating alarm and disgust among well-informed Americans. Critics call Trump a ``bullshit artist'' -- someone for whom facts are irrelevant. Advertisement Scientists are planning a march on Washington on Earth Day to protest the President's disdain for scientific knowledge on issues like climate change and vaccine safety. A group of prominent tech firms -- including Uber, Netflix and Trump's favorite, Twitter -- have filed a joint legal brief calling Trump's immigration order discriminatory. Over 900 career diplomats signed a ``memo of dissent'' protesting the order. The legal community was appalled when Trump attacked the federal judge who blocked the order, calling him ``this so-called judge.'' The President was challenging the legitimacy of the judicial branch of government. We've seen a pattern building for a long time: the wealthier you are, the more likely you are to vote Republican, and the better educated you are, the more likely you are to vote Democratic. What happens to people who are well educated and wealthy? They are what sociologists call ``cross-pressured.'' If they vote their conservative interests, they vote Republican. If they vote their liberal values, they vote Democratic. In 2012, Mitt Romney was the prince of wealth. Barack Obama was the prince of education. Neither one had a populist bone in his body. The result? A populist insurrection against the leadership of both political parties that gave us Donald Trump. In 2012, non-college and college-educated white voters were equal in numbers (36 percent of voters nationwide in each category). In 2016, white college graduates, at 37 percent, began to outnumber non-college whites (34 percent). Since the 1960s, educated white liberals have become a dominant force in the Democratic Party. They're exploding in rage. They have a deep commitment to diversity and inclusion. Trump challenges that commitment head on. Advertisement At the same time, many conservative intellectuals are repelled by Trump. He's turning the Republican Party into the ``know nothing'' party. In 2016, the Trump movement and the conservative movement became allies. They use each other. Trump used conservatives to legitimize his rise to power. Conservatives need Trump in the White House to sign whatever legislation the Republican Congress passes -- and shut up. But he won't shut up. Conservatives were shocked last week when the President equated Vladimir Putin's murderous record with U.S. policies. When the interviewer called Putin a murderer, Trump replied, ``What, you think our country's so innocent?'' Imagine what would have happened if Barack Obama had said that. A disastrous, purposeless war with China to defend the global credibility of the United States is imminent. Only vocal citizen opposition to the war communicated to the Congress and the White House can prevent our self-ruination. It happened in 2013 to prevent President Barack Obama from another trillion dollar fool's errand against Syria. The system still works, if citizens will use it. Secretary of State-designate Rex Tillerson testified on January 11, 2017, before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that the United States would deny China access to islands in the South China Sea over which China claims sovereignty. (The artificial islands are thousands of miles from the continental United States and irrelevant to invincible self-defense). Mr. Tillerson declared that China's building and militarization of the islands was "akin to Russia's taking Crimea" from Ukraine. He bugled: "We're going to have to send China a clear signal that, first, the island-building stops and, second, your access to those islands also is not going to be allowed." (How do you think the United States would respond if China denied us access to Guantanamo Bay Naval Base?). The White House reiterated on January 24, 2017 that the United States would prevent China from accessing the South China Sea islands China claims, and hinted at an American blockade. A blockade would mean war, according to a nationalist Chinese newspaper. (A blockade assumes a state of war). Australia, a longstanding United States ally in the Asia Pacific region, balked at participation. Advertisement The White House-Tillerson bellicosity aligns with everything the United States has done since Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in 2011 announced a "pivot" to Asia to encircle China. We have sought to deny China a regional sphere of influence that we have exerted for almost two centuries beginning with the Monroe Doctrine. We have established a marine training base in Darwin Australia. We are building a THADD missile defense system in South Korea. We have negotiated the use of five military training bases in the Philippines. We have supported Vietnam in its South China Sea maritime dispute with China. We have sent aircraft carriers there. We have declared an obligation to defend Japan's claim to the Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands disputed by China. The United States has accused China of currency manipulation, and threatened to impose prohibitive tariffs on Chinese imports. These unfriendly acts are the very definition of encirclement. Chinese resentment against the west and the United States has been building for centuries. The First Opium War (1839-1842), fought by Britain, was precipitated by China's refusal to legalize opium. It ended with the Treaty of Nanking, which indemnified merchants for confiscated opium, granted the British extraterritoriality, opened five treaty ports, and ceded Hong Kong. The Second Opium War (1856-1860) was fought by the British to compel China to open up its ports and interior to western trade. Other western powers piggybacked on Chinese concessions to Britain through most-favored-nation clauses in a series of "unequal treaties." Advertisement The 1894-1895 Sino-Japanese War concluded in the Treaty of Shimonoseki by which China was obliged to recognize the independence of Korea; to cede Taiwan, the Pescadores Islands, and the Liaodong (south Manchurian) Peninsula to Japan ; to pay an indemnity of 200,000,000 taels to Japan; and to open the ports of Shashi, Chongqing, Suzhou, and Hangzhou to Japanese trade. These Western and Japanese humiliations sparked the 1900 Boxer Rebellion to expel western spheres of influence. An international force featuring British, Russian, American, Japanese, French, and German troops relieved Beijing after fighting their way through much of northern China. The victors agreed that China would not be partitioned further. In September 1901, the Beijing Protocol was signed. Foreign nations received extremely favorable commercial treaties, foreign troops were permanently stationed in Beijing, and China was forced to pay $333 million dollars as penalty for its rebellion. The United States intervened in the Chinese Civil War (1946-1949) in favor of General Chiang Kai-shek against Mao Zedong. After Chiang was driven off the mainland to Taiwan in 1949, the United States launched covert actions against the People's Republic of China seeking the overthrow of Mao. General Douglass Macarthur's adventurism during the Korean War provoked China to intervene with over 1 million troops. Depend upon it. What will provoke war against China will be a professed need to defend our credibility everywhere on the planet. It will be said that if we do not fight China over the South and East China Sea islands as we have threatened, Russia will be emboldened to attack the Baltic States or Eastern Europe, Iran will be emboldened to attack Israel and destabilize its Sunni rivals, and North Korea will be emboldened to attack South Korea and Japan. Advertisement The Han Chinese is a proud people, and China is a proud nation. China invented gunpowder and paper. It gave the world Confucius and Sun Tzu. It possesses hundreds of nuclear weapons. After suffering humiliation and subjugation by western imperial powers for centuries, China will fight the United States for its own sphere of influence in the South China and East China Seas. China will never bow to the double standards of the United States. We have intervened in Mexico, Cuba, Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Panama, Nicaragua, Guatemala, Chile, and Grenada to maintain our sphere of influence in Central and South America and the Caribbean. Our schoolmarm-like rebuke of China over its assertion of regional hegemony takes audacity to a new level. The Han Chinese is every bit or more nationalist than were the Vietnamese who bested the United States in the Vietnam War. The morale of United States troops in Vietnam suffered terribly because the war was about an abstraction--global American credibility-- not about defending the United States from aggression. The same will be true in our war with China, and the morale of our troops will suffer accordingly. We will be defeated for the same reasons we were defeated in the Vietnam War. This looming calamity can be forestalled if American citizens immediately flood the White House and Congress with phone calls and emails voicing vehement opposing war with China absent actual unprovoked Chinese aggression against the United States or a Chinese declaration of war. That would represent the high water mark of self-government celebrated in the Declaration of Independence. Through his empty bravado and saber rattling about trade, South China Sea islands, and Taiwan among other issues, Mr. Trump should think twice about antagonize China. Yet, China is less worried when one considers it holds about 10 percent of U.S. debt and has no reason to be concerned as our nation continues to borrow more money to pursue and finance more wars and more conflicts. Only two weeks into his presidency, Mr. Trump's domestic and foreign policies reveal more chaos and ambiguity than one could imagine. On one hand, it suggests lack of strategy and poor planning when it comes to, for instance, Executive Orders such as the ban on immigration. On the other, it demonstrates the administration's poor understanding of foreign policy matters including China, Iran, and Europe among others. Mr. Trump will be hard pressed to tune down his rhetoric because when it comes to China, context matters. It is very easy to blast China until you realize how easy it is for China to sink your economy because it holds much of your debt. It is easy to play hardball and flex your muscles until you find out your leadership and credibility on the world stage amounts to nothing because a single veto vote from China at United Nations Security Council (UNSC) could paralyze the US politically. Advertisement This comes on the hills of two key issues. First, China's recent warning to the US regarding the South China Sea islands in response to the recently confirmed Secretary of State, Rex Tillerson's statement, "China's militarizing the islands is akin to Russia's taking of Crimea." Second, Chinese President, Xi Jinping's recent statement, "We must remain committed to developing global free trade and investment," at the annual meeting of global political and economic leaders in Davos, Switzerland indicates that China's readiness to assume global leadership and provision of economic openness is inevitable. One thing sure: the cancellation of the Trans-Pacific Partnership or TPP will certainly be a gift to China. Hence, China may soon find itself the sole guarantor of the global free trade. As to the One China policy regarding Taiwan, Mr. Trump will find it very challenging to reverse the 40 years policy that defines US-Sino relations. Upsetting this balance will have serious economic, diplomatic, and even military ramifications. Similar argument could be made about South China Sea dispute. Washington should see the writings on the wall when China, recently, decided to install more advanced weapons in the South China Sea. Is China sending a message to Mr. Trump? Is China defying the World tribunal's recent rulings? Is this China's approach to cement and project its global power? The answer is yes, yes and yes! Another issue that looms large: energy. China's use of energy cannot be ignored. Could this explain its increasing footprints in the Middle East? I say so. China's demand for Middle East oil continues to grow. Equally important, China's bilateral agreements with Iran did not happen in a vacuum. Said differently, because of the lifting of sanctions on Iran, China expects the flow of oil from Iran to remain uninterrupted. In return, China will upgrade Iran's military hardware, if it has not already done so. Advertisement Of note: Recently, China provided Iran with its 25-year strategic cooperation plan that will see an increase in trade between to the two nations for up to $600 billion in the next decade. Will China and Asia - for that matter - be the next economic hub? I say so! The challenge for Mr. Trump is to figure out how to decrease, if not limit, China's increasing footprints and interests in the Middle East. Yet, Mr. Trump's foreign policy team might be unable to do so since China realizes how important the Mideast is to not only its economic growth, but also its global prestige. As the region descends into more chaos, I believe China is not willing to sit on the sidelines anymore. The other motivation is that China's foreign policy elites conclude that, due to disastrous foreign policy and weak leadership, the United States is no longer interested in the Middle East as it once did. The call by Mr. Trump for an isolationist US foreign policy supports China's argument. By China's standard and most of the world - for that matter - Mr. Trump is a foreign policy novice. He ought to be well-seasoned, politically speaking, to know and understand how to navigate these diplomatic waters especially when it comes to China. Mr. Trump's urgency in addressing China could not come at a crucial time as the latter continues to expand its presence on the Mideast stage. My reference is to the increased high-level visits by Chinese officials to the region. For instance, China engaged the Arab league organization and recruited nine countries in the region including Egypt and Saudi Arabia to sign up as founding members of the new China-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank. While this might not suggest that China is replacing the United States' leadership in the region, it certainly sends a message that it is just a matter of time before China and Russia - for that matter - coordinate their efforts in setting up the agenda for the Middle East. Should that become the case, will Mr. Trump embark on a militarized foreign policy to confront China? Or, will he start to learn the art of diplomacy and engage the Chinese to protect our interests in the region? The answer is anyone's guess. Advertisement President Trump's announcement last week at the National Prayer Breakfast that he intends to "destroy" the Johnson Amendment has turned heads in the nation's houses of worship. The Johnson Amendment, enacted in 1954, changed federal tax law to discourage pastors from engaging in partisan political activity. The central concern of the measure's sponsor, then Senator Lyndon Johnson of Texas, was that right-wing pastors would speak from the pulpit against his candidacy for re-election that year, when he faced a challenge from a conservative Democrat in the Texas Democratic senatorial primary. With the passage of the Johnson Amendment, as it became known, engaging in that kind of partisan political activity could lead a church to lose its tax-exempt status. That is, at least in theory, a powerful deterrent because the nation's houses of worship are aided in attracting contributions by having tax-exempt status. The Johnson Amendment wasn't very controversial when it became law, but it has become more so in recent decades, especially among some of the evangelical churches strongly supportive of the Republican Party. Even so, repeal of the Johnson Amendment was not high on the religious right's list of legislative objectives in 2016. The impetus for this change appears to have come from Donald Trump himself, in response to his discovery that churches of that kind were inhibited by the law in advocating directly for his election. Like some of Trump's earlier remarks in other, related areas, advocating for the end of the Johnson Amendment reflects a view of church-state relations that is different from the one the courts have usually embraced since the 1960's. To President Trump, America is "a nation of believers," whose free-speech rights ought to be sacrosanct. Advertisement In the case of the Johnson Amendment, abolishing it might not change as much as Trump or his critics think it would. The Amendment has almost never been enforced by the IRS, even in the law's early years. One of the most famous examples came in October 1960, when Martin Luther King, Sr., the pastor father of the famous civil rights leader, publicly signaled - perhaps unwittingly - his intention to violate the Johnson Amendment. The catalyst for his statement was the reaction of the two major-party candidates for president that year, John F. Kennedy and Richard M. Nixon, to the jailing of Martin Luther King, Jr., for a parole violation. A Georgia judge ordered King sent to a state penitentiary in a remote area of rural Georgia, something that led King's wife, Coretta Scott King, to fear she would never see him alive again. Civil rights leaders associated with King appealed for help. Nixon decided to do nothing, but Kennedy telephoned Mrs. King, pledged his assistance in getting her husband released, and then let the national media know about the call, saying "she is a friend of mine." Kennedy then instructed his brother Bobby to contact the judge and make the case for King's release, given the potential danger to him from other inmates and guards. The judge relented and ordered King released immediately. It is distinctly possible that action saved Martin Luther King, Jr.'s life. It is also possible that the Kennedys' intervention saved another life, in that Coretta Scott King was seven months pregnant at the time, and so upset that some family members feared she might miscarry. For those reasons, Martin Luther King, Jr.'s father, a prominent pastor in Atlanta known informally as "Daddy King," then announced at a mass meeting at Ebenezer Baptist Church that (having earlier decided to vote for Nixon) he was switching to Kennedy. At that meeting, which was reported in both the national print and broadcast media, Daddy King then went on to say that "I've got all my votes and I've got a suitcase [of them, meaning at his church], and I am going to take them up there [the local precinct] and dump them in his [John Kennedy's] lap." This was a hugely consequential action, politically, in that Kennedy had been blacks' least favorite candidate during the Democratic presidential primaries and did not, until that moment, enjoy enthusiastic backing among black voters (most of whom lived in the urban North). It is no exaggeration to say that Daddy King's statement probably altered the outcome of the election, which Kennedy won very narrowly on the strength of a better than 70-30 split among black voters in such key swing states as Illinois and Michigan. (The Kennedy campaign heavily publicized King, Sr.'s remarks, which had a very big impact on black voters' choice in the presidential race.) Even so, the Johnson Amendment was not used against Daddy King's church. The basic pattern of not enforcing the Johnson Amendment has persisted over the sixty-plus years of its existence. Only once in all that time has it ever been applied to a house of worship. It isn't clear that the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) devotes substantial resources to investigating complaints about Johnson Amendment violations. What the law seems to have done, instead, is to give pastors - who typically don't want to engage in partisan political sermonizing - a persuasive reason for why they don't do so, even when members of the congregation wish they would. (Pastors are usually concerned that partisan political statements from the pulpit could divide congregations.) And so what abolishing the Johnson Amendment would really do, it seems, is to increase pressure on pastors from members of their congregations to make partisan political statements from the pulpit. That is a very unattractive idea to most leaders of the nation's houses of worship, and so such a change in the law is not likely to be supported by most of them. Given that resistance, abolishing the Johnson Amendment seems unlikely to pass in Congress. Advertisement As Japan's population declines, new policies are in place to entice non-Japanese to move to Japan. Changes being made seem to be on the right track, but many questions remain. There is a long list of reasons why Japan is an appealing place to live and work: it has safe and clean cities, abundant job opportunities (particularly in IT and engineering), and a reasonable cost of living. But are policies in place to encourage young, experienced and talented people to choose Japan as a place to develop a career? Important policy changes have been established to make such a decision easier. These include relaxed visa regulations (1), reduced time required to attain a minimum pension (2), and even enhanced use of English throughout the nation. Advertisement However, much remains to be done. At a time when Japan's immigration numbers are reaching new highs (3), new taxation laws are being introduced to discourage non-Japanese from staying well into old age (4). In addition, work-related issues such as a systemic priority for work-life balance, elevation of women on par with men in the workplace, and a general acceptance of change remain elusive. There are promising signs of 'innovation hubs' throughout Japan (5), promoting out-of-the-box thinking and allowing space for people to exchange and test out ideas. This needs further nurturing. All in all, promising signs of hopeful change are in the air. The question is how many people from outside Japan will elect to take a chance and make Japan 'home'. (1) http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2016/11/15/national/crime-legal/japans-permanent-residency-rules-may-loosened-lure-global-talent/ Advertisement (2) http://www.japantimes.co.jp/community/2015/12/02/how-tos/life-work-japan-tackling-readers-pension-posers/ (3) http://www.nippon.com/en/features/h00137/ (4) https://www.pwc.com/jp/en/taxnews-international-assignment/assets/gms-20161222-en.pdf After spending a quarter century treating NATO as an international social club to which every reasonably civilized European nation should belong, the alliance has begun to focus again on its original role as a military alliance. Rather than expect the U.S. to burnish NATO's nuclear deterrent, European nations should consider expanding their nuclear arsenals and creating a continent-wide nuclear force, perhaps as part of the long-derided Common Security and Defense Policy. Since its creation NATO has stood for North Atlantic and The Others. America dominated decision-making, spent most of the money, provided most of the forces, and offered a continental security guarantee, both conventional and nuclear. France and Great Britain created their own nuclear forces, but they likely would have been reluctant to engage in a nuclear war with the Soviet Union to protect West Germany, then the most vulnerable NATO member. If any country was going to engage in nuclear exchanges with Moscow, it would have been the U.S. That almost certainly remains the case today. European tensions with Russia have greatly increased, mostly tied to Moscow's seizure of Crimea and support for separatists in Ukraine's east. There is no evidence that the Putin government intends to start an aggressive war against Europe, and no alliance member, including the Baltic States and Poland, has boosted military outlays as if it believed conflict was imminent. Rather, the Europeans have concentrated on demanding that America do more. Advertisement That's certainly the case when it comes to nuclear weapons. In a study last year for the Atlantic Council Matthew Kroenig argued: "In order to deter the Russian nuclear threat, NATO needs to realign its priorities by increasing the importance of its nuclear deterrence mission and considering possible modifications to its conventional and nuclear posture." In his view deterrence should return as the alliance's nuclear priority. While Kroenig's discussion is about NATO infrastructure and doctrine, any additional weapons likely would be American--Washington currently shares control over U.S. nukes with several alliance members--and the country most in Russia's retaliatory sites would be America. Since two European nations possess nuclear weapons and others could develop them, why should the U.S. remain the country expected to bring Gutterdaemmerung to life? Kroenig noted that "NATO must be able to deter a Russian nuclear attack, counter the nuclear coercion inherent in Russia's hybrid warfare strategy, and assure NATO members that the Alliance is prepared to defend them. This will require strengthening NATO's existing nuclear deterrence strategy and capabilities." But who within NATO should do the heavy lifting? Do Americans really want to use nuclear weapons to defend Europe? Is it truly in America's interest to do so? Advertisement Europe is a great tourist destination, but is its defense today worth the risk, even if very small, of incinerating a large portion of America's population? The Soviet Union was an ideological and global competitor to the U.S. During the Cold War Moscow's domination of the more populous and productive Western European states would have made for a much scarier world. Very different is Russia, which looks a lot more like pre-1914 Imperial Russia with far more bounded ambitions. Moscow's present aggressiveness is unpleasant, but not particularly threatening to the U.S. Putin's Russia appears most interested in respect--for its interests and borders. It is hard to imagine a scenario in which the reformed Red Army would again drive on Berlin, let alone Paris. If anyone is at risk, it is the three Baltic States, though Moscow would gain little benefit from attacking them while the costs would be significant--diplomatic isolation, full economic sanctions, permanent new Cold War, and likely military conflict with the Western powers. Nothing in Russia's posturing today looks like the opening salvo of an expensive Russian blitzkrieg over a geopolitical cliff. And if Putin surprised in a bad way, does defense of the Baltics warrant Washington taking steps that could bring nuclear war to the American homeland? Of course, more vigorous action is advocated as a means to deter Moscow. But if Putin fears not the obviously severe consequences today, why assume he would fear the augmented consequences tomorrow? To threaten to use nukes suggests being willing to actually use them if necessary, and bear the horrid consequences afterwards. In this case for what? To protect a continent which appears to have little interest in arming itself? "Old Europe," in Rumsfeld-speak, has shown a particular lack of enthusiasm for aiding "New Europe." Only the specter of Donald Trump becoming president appears to have caused a few European nations to reluctantly do a bit more. But the difference is hard to notice. Berlin is highlighting its eight percent hike in military outlays--which still leaves Germany spending only about 1.22 percent of GDP on its armed forces. Advertisement Nuclear nonproliferation is a worthwhile goal, but not if it increases the likelihood of America being involved in a nuclear war. If anyone should take that risk for Europe, it should be European nations. Britain and France already have nukes. Although they might prefer not to tie use of such weapons to the security of other states, why should America do so to them? A possible solution would be to create European nuclear deterrent through contributions from member nuclear states. Roderich Kiesewette, a Bundestag leader on foreign policy, suggested turning to Britain and France, with a build-up financed by a joint European military budget: "If the United States no longer wants to provide this guarantee, Europe still needs nuclear protection for deterrent purposes." However, it would be hard for Germany to avoid joining such the nuclear club. No doubt, history would make such a decision controversial, and the Germany people have shown little desire to play such a role. But those concerns do not justify expecting the American people to act as defenders of last resort for Germany and Europe. Berthold Kohler, a publisher of the conservative Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, followed with the suggestion that Germany might need to augment the small British and French arsenals to successfully confront Russia and maybe China. The Carnegie Endowment's Ulrich Kuehn called such musings "an important early warning sign." However, a nuclear Germany isn't a new idea. It came up during West Germany's rearmament and induction into NATO. Chancellor Konrad Adenauer advocated possession and use of American tactical weapons and capability to make German warheads. The latter proposal deserves a full debate today. Advertisement For much of the foreign policy community, what has always been must always be is the guiding mantra. The incoming Trump administration is likely to provide greater opportunities to rethink Washington's conventional wisdom. Dont fear the end of Daylight Saving Time and turning back the clocks on Sunday, Nov. 6. There are a few things you can do to help your baby or toddler with this sleep transition. The last few days are showing how the resistance to the furious, insane and untrue statements of the President of the United States is starting to take shape. It will, over time, strengthen and contain Donald Trump's ability to make America less bad than he has made it since the beginning of his Presidency. The independence of the judiciary branch His constant unconstitutional attacks against the judiciary have taken many forms, calling judges "so-called judges", taking out of the White House website all reference to the judiciary branch, violations of the constitution and fight against the Courts ending in almost one hundred lawsuits against him. However, he will not be able to destroy the judiciary branch and judges, on both sides, will continue to ensure that his knee-jerk executive orders, most of which have no legal effect, are contained within the law. The United States are not managed through executive orders, and he will soon find out the limitations if, as expected, the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court reject the immigration ban as unlawful. The appointment of a new member of the Supreme Court is plagued by politics: the refusal of the replacement proposed by the Obama administration whom the Republicans refused even to interview will be met in kind by the Democrats on his proposal, irrespective of the merits of the case. The freedom of opinion The White House is now in full unconstitutionality in the various moves it has tried to do to tell the media to "shut up" or as the President erupted yesterday, "hide terrorism". All this is of course in sharp contrast with the first amendment and the net result is a surge of revenue of the press he hates (New York Times, Washington Post or CNN), the hiring of even more aggressive research capabilities by all kinds of media who are going to investigate conflicts of interest, his direct management of his "empire", the First lady immigration status as well as her continuation of business, the "family circle" at the White House, his failed military intervention in Yemen. The People of the United States of America and abroad will continue to demonstrate everywhere he will want to travel and he will be paid back in kind for his hatred and bullying. He does not have 100 days. He is already weak as a President for most of the US population who do not approve his actions. The Republican Party is guilty of complacency and silence The fascinating part of this situation is that very few Republicans lawmakers dare to express any form of dissenting opinion. Facing a risk of retaliation, they display cowardice. However, it will become central to the reelection of the House of Representatives and one-third of the Senate if he continues to destroy Republican conservative fiscal policy. Will they increase the debt ceiling that they refused to the Democrats, even blocking the Federal Government? Will they disenfranchise 20 million Americans by dismantling Obamacare? Will they continue to support discriminating immigration measures for legitimate Americans, green card holders or holders of visas? The massive sale of US Treasuries has increased the 10-year US Treasury bond yield by 40% and will increase the budget deficit of the United States by 50%. Unless the Gross Oppressive Party resurrects as a decent political movement and contains the President, their complacency might be deadly for the midterm elections. The trumping of the corporate world The first actions of the President of the United States were not making America great again, but weakening the global leadership of the US corporate world. More than 100 US companies including Google and Apple have jointly filed a legal brief against President Trump's temporary migration ban. His unhealthy fiscal policy and possible conflict with the Federal Reserve is increasing the value of the US dollar to the detriment of US exports. It is a direct result of the distrust of US Treasury bondholders. The threats against Mexico weakens the US car industry that might lose its competitiveness. By Michaela Morrow, Harvard Class of 2018 On Monday, February 6, the JFK Jr. Forum at the Institute of Politics was honored to welcome Ambassador Norman L. Eisen and Mary Graham for a conversation about presidential secrecy. Ambassador Eisen, a current fellow at Brookings and former U.S. ambassador to the Czech Republic, served as Special Counsel and Special Assistant to the President for Ethics and Government Reform from 2009-2011. Mary Graham is Co-Director of the Transparency Policy Project at Harvard Kennedy School's Ash Center and is the author of the forthcoming book Presidents' Secrets: The Use and Abuse of Power. At the forum, moderator Archon Fung engaged Graham and Eisen in a lively conversation about the role of presidential secrecy both today and throughout U.S. history. Check out these key takeaways from the discussion: 1. Debates about presidential secrecy are as old as the founding fathers. According to Eisen, the framers of the constitution shared many of his concerns about presidential transparency. He is deeply worried about President Trump's potential financial conflicts of interests, and noted the framers' inclusion of the foreign emoluments clause as an example of their desire to prevent such international entanglements. Despite these early attempts to check presidents, many have not governed transparently. Graham believes that presidents Washington, Ford, and Obama made the most effort to do so. Advertisement 2. Transparency can aid productivity. While some may argue that having too much transparency can lead to political gridlock, Eisen firmly believes that openness "gets things done." He told the story of working on the Dodd Frank bill and described the experience as "lawmaking in an atmosphere of extraordinary openness." Being transparent, Eisen argued, encouraged public buy-in, which has made the law more difficult to reverse. 3. New technology has complicated questions about secrecy. For Graham, we are living at a "particularly dangerous moment for secrecy" because "we don't yet have agreed on limits for secrecy in the digital age." She continued, "There's nothing that can stop a president who wants to do harm behind closed doors...we have accountability but accountability is after the fact when the damage is already done." The rise of the internet and social media have raised questions about secrecy that have yet to be answered. Is Wikileaks a good way to hold politicians accountable? Graham feels that "there is a danger in data dumps" because the media cannot filter out sensitive material as they have in the past. 4. Checks and balances will push the new administration towards transparency. Although Eisen and Graham both worry about the Trump administration's secrecy, they also see ways that the new president will be held accountable for his actions. Eisen believes that "it's going to take the judicial branch asserting its power" to limit Trump's international business dealings. Graham, on the other hand, doesn't think that "limits on secrecy have ever depended solely on congress and the courts...limiting secrecy has always depended on the courage of individuals...and there are more people watching [the president] than ever before." Whether through litigation or watchdogs, these ethics experts believe there is still hope for political transparency in the Trump era. China Major Contributor to Nepal's FDI with Two-Thirds of Total Investment Pledged in First Half of FY Nepal Premier's special envoy Krishna Bahadur Mahara meets with Chinese Premier Li Keqiang ahead of a meeting in Zhongnanhai Leadership Compound on Aug. 17, 2016 in Beijing. (Photo : Getty Images) China emerged as one of the top contributors to Nepal's economy with more than two-thirds of the total foreign direct investment (FDI) coming from the country, which Nepal received during the first half of the current fiscal year that started in mid-July, according to Nepal's Department of Industries (DoI). Advertisement The Xinhua News Agency cited DoI statistics which showed that Nepal had received China's investment pledge worth more than $51.77 million during the first half of the fiscal year. According to the data, this represents about 68 percent of total FDI, worth about $76.39 million, which other countries have pledged during the period. The report said that as economic activity between China, the world's second largest economy, and the Himalayan country grew in recent years, China became one of the country's biggest FDI contributors. With an investment pledge that reached $57.47 million, China was the largest source of FDI pledges to Nepal, in the fiscal year 2015-2016. According to Pradeep Kumar Koirala, director general of DoI, most of the Chinese investors have shown interest in investing in Nepal's infrastructure, tourism, and restaurant businesses. Meanwhile, Satish More, a director of Hongshi-Shivam Cement Private Limited, a Nepal-China joint venture, said that their country is underdeveloped and in recent years, the Chinese investment in the country has been rising in recent years because they saw opportunities for investment in almost all areas. "There is a scope for increased investment from China if we develop our infrastructure," the director said. Compared with the first half of last year, when India's fuel blockade affected Nepal, the total pledged FDI that Nepal received was $59.93 million but during the same period this year, it rose to $76.39 million, the report said. In March last year, Nepali Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli's visit to China resulted in the signing of ten agreements, which include a landmark deal on transit trade. Under the transit agreement, Nepal will have access to the sea, through the Chinese port of Tianjin, a move that is seen to reduce its economic dependence on India, the report said. Californians are paying billions of dollars too much for electric plants we don't need. That's the finding of a major Los Angeles Times investigation and a new Consumer Watchdog report explains why. Governor Brown has embraced the building of fossil fuel generated electricity, along with the reopening of Aliso Canyon's gas reserve, even while Californians have a glut of electric capacity. In the new report "Is Brown Green?" twelve public interest groups show how Governor Brown's environmental record is murky at best, despite his high-profile role attacking Trump's environmental policies. Advertisement The cost to California ratepayers is at least $6 billion extra for the fossil fueled gas power they don't need. People who live near Also Canyon like Jane Fowler, who has been sickened by the largest methane leak in US history and Brown's rush to open the fossil fuel reserve, have paid a big price with their health. Fowler talked at the report's release about her stomach being enlarged and being sickened as gas withdrawal resumed at Aliso the other day. The toll goes far beyond the natural gas electric plant overbuild, which has enriched So Cal Gas, a subsidiary of SEMPRA, where Brown's sister sits on the board. In virtually every environmental indicator, but climate change, from coastal protection to oil drilling to water, Brown gets a bad grade for environmental policies. Governor Brown has recklessly encouraged oil drilling and fracking, while his counterpart in New York Andrew Cuomo banned fracking. He has allowed drilling in state waters, while calling on Obama to ban drilling in federal waters. Brown has refused to stop the use of oil waste water in irrigating our crops despite a petition from 350,000 Californians. Brown's office responded to the report on KNX radio that, "No jurisdiction in the Western Hemisphere is doing more to combat climate change with plans, among other things, to generate half of our electricity from renewables by 2030." Advertisement Note to Gov Brown: environmental protection is more than combating climate change. When Toxics regulators poison communities and Brown turns the other way that's not being green. When oil waste water irrigates strawberry fields we all are at risk. When developers usurp our coast, California is diminished. When Aliso canyon's natural gas reserve opens, the health of Porter Ranch residents is at risk. Brown needs to address the full spectrum of environmental problems that impact people daily, not just the long term devastation climate change can cause. His refusal to acknowledge his need to do more for people daily is a reminder of the dangers of the elite ivory tower Democratic approach that contributed to the transfer of power of the federal government to Donald Trump. If that doesn't wake Brown up, what will? Consumer Watchdog's last report, "Brown's Dirty Hands," spurred an ongoing Fair Political Practices Commission investigation into the laundering of oil and gas company contributions through the Democratic Party to Brown. It charted the Governor's close political, financial and family ties to the energy industry. Many of the same people who allowed California to be ripped off during the phony shortages of the 2000 electricity crisis have come back to overcharge us for excess capacity. As Dirty Hands reports, many of them are still advising Brown. That's why increased solar power hasn't translated to fewer electric plants and no fossil fuel powered electricity. Advertisement The digital nomad lifestyle has become something of a holy grail for thousands of people around the world who want to escape the 9-5. What's not to like? You could spend your life travelling to exotic destinations and spend a fraction of what you would at home, without having to give up your fulfilling career. Sounds amazing, right? I should know, I'm a digital nomad myself. It's true that few other career paths allow for this much freedom and adventure. After all, we get to experience different cultures, see incredible sights and meet interesting new people from around the world. But we also know the struggles of this lifestyle (ever searched for wifi in the Australian outback?) and the many misconceptions that come with it (no, I am not always on holiday). One thing that isn't talked about enough is the sustainability of this lifestyle. Is it really possible to travel while working online indefinitely? Or is the Digital Nomad lifestyle just a phase, like a gap year for millennials? Will most nomads return home after a few years of adventure are under their belts, craving the stability and convenience of a real home, network and routine? Let's discuss some of the issues that face long-term digital nomads, and their potential solutions. Advertisement Loneliness Arguably, the most common fear new nomads have is being lonely while travelling. Moving to a new country every few weeks means constantly meeting new people and having the same conversations over and over again (where are you from, what do you do, where have you been?). In the beginning, this is fun and exciting, but after a while it can become exhausting. Considering the increasing number of online communities and real-life events that are targeting digital nomads, I think it's safe to say that many of us have experienced loneliness at some stage in our journey. Workations and retreats bring digital nomads together in exotic locations to network, connect, collaborate and, of course, make friends. With your family and friends at home not being part of the nomad world, it's important to connect with like-minded people who get you and your situation. To make this lifestyle work, it's important to make a real effort to build an online and offline network. Finances A big draw of the location independent lifestyle is being able to live in a cheaper country. The concept of geoarbitrage was coined by Tim Ferriss in his bestseller 'The 4-Hour-Work-Week'. Geoarbitrage means leveraging a modest Western income to live in comparative luxury in countries with weaker currencies. For example, $2000 might not stretch far in San Francisco, but will allow you to live very comfortably in Bangkok. I've seen so many articles promising that you can live like a king for under $300 in Thailand or the Philippines. If that's your plan, great - book a budget holiday, backpack around and enjoy yourself. But the real idea behind geoarbitrage is to move to a cheaper country to bootstrap your business or freelance career, not to live off $600 a month forever. In reality, many nomads get stuck in a freelancing rut, never managing to build their businesses or make a Western living. That could be fine, unless you want to go home to visit friends and family regularly, which, for me, is a huge part of making this lifestyle sustainable. So, the most important step towards sustainability is creating a real income, rather than just scraping by in cheap countries, which can get old very quickly. Advertisement Travelling with kids How to travel as a digital nomad with a family is probably among the most discussed topics in the community. Freedom and flexibility do not seem well matched with the strict routines and needs children have. It's definitely doable - many digital nomads and long term travellers that travel with their families - but doable doesn't mean easy. I think the turning point for many nomads comes when they need to decide between having a family or continuing their travels. The solution to this problem seems to be settling in each place for several months to allow your kids to go to school, make friends and enjoy a routine. What's the long-term solution for digital nomads? So, if you reach the point that the workations aren't providing enough real human interaction for you, or you want your kids to attend one school, or moving every few weeks is stopping you from growing your business, or you're burnt out and need a break - what then? Well, the solution to all these typical nomad problems is the same: travel slower, stay longer. Instead of travelling continuously, more and more nomads are deciding to base themselves in hubs for longer periods of time. That's why cities like Chiang Mai, Bangkok, Medellin, Lisbon, and Berlin are becoming nomad hotspots. They tick all the convenience boxes (wifi, affordability, community), while offering a rich cultural experience and a laidback lifestyle. But are we still digital nomads if we're not, well, nomadic? That's why I prefer the term 'location independent'. It means you can move as much as you want, but doesn't mean that you have to. In all likelihood, most digital nomads will probably evolve into serial expat - staying in each base for 6-12 months, laying down some roots and immersing themselves in a new culture, before moving on to the next location. Advertisement Other new trends are also evolving from this lifestyle to offer a real alternative. For example, communal living is making a huge comeback under the trendier and less hippie-ish name of 'coliving'. Combined coliving and coworking spaces are springing up around the world, catering to our need for a nest, community and stability, while allowing us to live in new locations whenever we like. No More Epidemics is calling on all countries to publish their completed assessments of national capacities to prevent, detect and respond to epidemic threats, known as the Joint External Evaluation (JEE). Ethiopia, Liberia, Peru, Uganda, UK, and the US have openly shared theirs. Data transparency and accountability are vital to address global health threats. Unless these documents are made public it will be impossible for civil society to either hold governments accountable for their obligations under the International Health Regulations (IHR), or to support governments in their compliance efforts. More than 55 nations have joined the effort to combat highly infectious disease by signing on to the Global Health Security Agenda (GHSA), and a number of participating countries have undergone the multi-sectoral JEE and developed five-year national country roadmaps to address gaps in health infrastructure and capabilities. A number of countries have already completed a JEE. Another 27 countries are planning to undergo a JEE by May - yet, only 13 finalized JEEs and 12 country roadmaps are available online to the public. Advertisement Knowledge of baseline data provided by the JEE will result in more effective programming, prevention and detection of infectious disease outbreaks and early response. The JEE and roadmap processes are critical tools for civil society to use in developing appropriate and adequate programming to help countries close health systems gaps and become IHR-compliant. Transparency and accountability are vital in addressing global health threats. No More Epidemics urges all countries carrying out their Joint External Evaluations to make the results publically available and for these to be made available on the World Health Organization's Strategic Partnership Portal, the online repository for tracking funding, donor profiles and country level data. In a terse statement indicating that no charges of sexual assault would be filed as a result of the claims of 21-year old Alice Paquet, M.N.A. Gerry Sklavounos announced that he is planning a return to the political scene in Quebec by reclaiming his position in the caucus of the ruling Liberal Party. The news that Gerry Sklavounos was facing accusations he had assaulted Ms. Paquet was dropped as a bomb on Quebec politics last October. The young woman, speaking at a forum for victims of sexual abuse at Laval University, took the floor and announced, in dramatic tone, that she was, herself, a victim of assault committed by a member of Quebec's National Assembly. Immediately, Premier Philippe Coulliard forced Mr.Sklavounos to resign from his caucus while Alice Paquet toured the media telling a story filled with gaps and contradictions. After three months of thorough investigation by the authorities, it was determined that, due to a lack of any sufficient evidence, the prosecution would not be pressing charges against Sklavounos for the "alleged" sexual abuse of Paquet. Now, Gerry Sklavounos is hoping to return to his position in the Liberal caucus and hoping that the Premier of Quebec will restore and correct the political injustice he suffered last October. Advertisement Unfortunately, over the course of the last months, the provincial and national media shone a savage light on Sklavounos, highlighting Alice Paquet as a heroine even as her allegations were being debunked one after the other. It was shocking to watch the ease with which politicians and journalists rushed to condemn the M.N.A. even though his accuser's story was filled with numerous falsehoods. It was, frankly, a disappointing hypocrisy with our society using every means to attempt to banish Sklavounos from the political and social scene by making him appear as a "rapist" on the unproven and weak accusations of a young woman. During his Senate confirmation hearings last week, Scott Pruitt, President Trump's nominee for EPA administrator, made a lot of questionable claims about his ties to the oil industry, his environmental credentials and climate science denial. Less noticed, but just as flawed, were his statements regarding a specific regulations: the current greenhouse gas emissions and fuel efficiency standards for automobiles. These standards, which run through 2025, are the Obama administration's greatest success in combatting climate change. Between 2012 and 2025 these regulations will save twelve billion barrels of oil and prevent six billion metric tons of greenhouse gases from entering the atmosphere, all while providing American drivers trillions of dollars in fuel savings. These rules are already proven to work.. Over the first four years, the targets have been exceeded by an auto industry that is also experiencing record sales and healthy profits. Neither were these rules forced upon automakers, who largely agreed to negotiated standards. As part of that agreement with automakers, the EPA conducted a mid-term review last year. Their conclusion: the auto industry could meet the standards at a lower cost than anticipated and that the auto industry was, in fact, ahead of schedule in meeting those standards. So why would Pruitt re-open a legally binding decision that is, by almost any measurement, a successful win-win regulation for the environment, consumers and industry? Advertisement As is commonly the case with Pruitt, he is listening to voices in the auto industry - the same industry that willingly agreed to the 2025 national program five years ago - who are now trying to turn back the clock on fuel efficiency and greenhouse gas reduction. Weakening the rules may result in at least a short-term rise in profits. By any other standard, attempting to change the rules regarding fuel efficiency and environmental protection will be a disaster. Pruitt's suggestion will create instability in the market, hurt jobs in the US, discourage innovation and reduce American manufacturing competitiveness abroad. Destabilizing the Market First of all, such a change in existing rules will likely be very messy. Even as EPA administrator, Pruitt cannot unilaterally change current regulation. In so doing, he would be repealing the action made by a former EPA administrator, which is backed by the enormous amounts of research, science, policy and legal work conducted by EPA, California Air Resources Board staff, International Council of Clean Transportation (ICCT) and other experts. Reversing the decision would not be supported by the record, would be considered unlawful by many stakeholders, and will inevitably result in lawsuits by environmental groups and perhaps individual states. The plaintiffs would even be able to use the existing EPA work confirming the standards against Pruitt's EPA in the lawsuits. Whatever the end result of any legal action, the legal impediments and bureaucratic processes would mean it would take 2-3 years to finalize any new rules. And, ultimately, Pruitt's action would only affect the tail end of the program, from 2022-2025. The standards through 2021 are already locked in. None of this is good news for auto companies, which need to plan their research and production schedules years in advance. Today they have certainty about government standards; changing the rules will create instability. Advertisement Additionally, any change to federal rules regarding greenhouse gas (GHG) standards also has to take into account the position of a single state: California. Not only does the Golden State have the 6th largest economy in the world and the nation's largest auto market, it is uniquely allowed to set its own GHG standards. Under the current national regulations, California agreed to harmonize their more progressive standards with the EPA's national program. If Pruitt pulls back national standards, California regulators and politicians have already made clear that they will not be following his lead. The president of California's senate, Kevin de Leon reaffirmed the state's progressive view. "California will continue to lead the world in addressing climate change and advancing clean energy regardless of who is in the White House or at the EPA," said de Leon. "Mr. Pruitt should get used to that and not try to impose his Oklahoma views on the Golden State." California's firm commitment to hold steady on its state vehicle standards will collide with any move to weaken the EPA's national standards. The result will be a situation in which automakers who choose to manufacture cars that don't meet California standards will either have to sell a different model in that state - or not sell those cars in the country's biggest market. What's more, any other state can choose to adopt the more stringent standards set by California. In the past, states representing roughly half of the US market adopted California standards. So, on top of the instability inherent in changing existing EPA rules, automakers will face the prospect of an extremely fractured market. Innovation and Jobs Like all the best regulation, the existing rules covering fuel efficiency and greenhouse gas emissions do not prescribe solutions. Instead they set carefully researched and feasible standards and then let the market compete to create the new technologies needed to meet them. When automakers and parts suppliers see that there will be a sustained demand for more efficient, cleaner cars, they are willing to invest some of their massive developmental budget in research and development. Automakers annually spend some $100 billion on R&D. Even earmarking a portion of that funding for cleaner, smarter cars drives huge innovation. Advertisement This investment is currently funding more than 1,200 facilities in 48 states, which are making components and materials that go directly into improving fuel economy and reducing greenhouse gases. That represents an increase of 240 percent over the number of such facilities in 2011 and hundreds of thousands of jobs. The results of the investments are impressive. Traditional gasoline powertrains, for example, are reaching new heights of efficiency with direct injection, Atkinson cycle engines, 10-speed transmissions, and cylinder deactivation. Companies like Ford have found additional efficiencies by changing over entire vehicle lines to lightweight aluminum bodies. Meanwhile, investments to date in electric vehicles and advances in battery technology have helped reduce the cost of batteries by 65 percent in the last 6-7 years. According to GM the cars will achieve cost and range parity with similar gasoline models within just a few years. The new Chevy Bolt offers 238 miles of range on one charge and, after federal tax credits, its list price is nearly 15 percent less than the average transaction price of light duty vehicles in 2016. Popular demand for electric and hybrid vehicles will continue to grow regardless of the Pruitt EPA's direction. Cars from the Chevy Bolt to the Tesla Model S to the Nissan Leaf have the highest satisfaction ratings among American drivers of any vehicles, according to Consumer Reports. But relaxing the standards that is driving much of the innovation among automakers today will surely result in less long term investment in the future of transportation. Innovation will surely suffer, as will jobs and consumer choice. Global Competitiveness This is where all these previous factors come together. From an economic standpoint, loosening GHG regulations for cars is also incredibly shortsighted. Even if the Pruitt EPA is able to legally change current rules, the rest of the world will continue to push forward on their auto emission and efficiency regulations. Under existing regulations, current US standards will be roughly aligned with about 70 percent of the global market - including China, Japan and Europe - by 2025. As Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn made clear at last week's Detroit auto show: "Let's not forget this is a global issue and we develop engines for the global market." He added that the "global trend is driving higher fuel efficiency no matter what happens in US." Advertisement The Auto industry is the fourth largest exporter of US manufactured goods and nearly 20 percent of light duty vehicles are exported. Under current rules, an engine designed for the American market in 2025 can be sold in China or Japan or Europe with relatively few design differences. For example, 2016 was the fifth consecutive year that China was GM's largest market in terms of retail sales, accounting for more than one-third of the company's global sales. The three models with electrification technology GM introduced in China last year - the Buick LaCrosse Hybrid, Chevrolet Malibu XL Hybrid and Cadillac CT6 Plug-In - all are based on technology developed in the US. But every US manufacturer has to recognize that virtually all their future growth will take place in foreign markets. If American carmakers start backsliding on standards and reducing investment in innovation, these markets will begin to dry up. China, for example, is the largest auto market in the world. But the country is also in the midst of an air pollution crisis. As part of the national drive to clean up its unhealthy smog, the government is instituting strict emissions. It is also promoting sales of electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles with subsidies as high as 90,000 yuan (roughly $13,000). Local governments also offer incentives like free parking or license plates. This helps explain why the fastest growing segment within the world's fastest growing market are plug-in hybrids and EVs. In his first days, President Trump has made a big show of promoting American manufacturing jobs, loosening regulations to help business and make America more competitive. But if his nominee for EPA administrator, Scott Pruitt, loosens regulations regarding emissions and fuel efficiency, it will not only accelerate global warming and adversely effect Americans' health, it will destabilize the industry, discourage innovation, cost jobs and hurt the global competitiveness of the auto industry And yes, we have all seen this movie before. It was less than a decade ago when the automakers found themselves either bankrupt or nearly bankrupt because their products were not what consumers wanted to buy. Then it was the high price of gasoline. In the future that is being written in the global automotive capitals of today, it is a new generation of clean and smart vehicles. Advertisement By: Greg Hemmings What images come to mind when you think of mid-life crisis? As a Gen-Xer I think of the crisis stereotype of my Baby Boomer parent's generation, one that would likely lead to a marital separation, a departure from a life-long career, a purchase of a Porsche (and possibly a yacht) and the 'acquisition' of a much younger, more attractive and probably temporary, domestic partner. The stereotype of the Boomer midlife crisis that sits in my subconscious revolves around materialism and surface veneer. I am very close to turning 40. I suspect most of the cartoon references to Baby Boomer mid-life crisis depicts a challenged character in their 4th decade of life. So what does the stereotype of the Generation X midlife crisis look like as we enter our forties? Before digging too deeply into that question, let me tell you a bit about me. I am a filmmaker and entrepreneur. My company started producing television shows, documentaries and commercials over a decade and a half ago. Over the years we produced everything from docu-soaps about pro wrestling and MMA, to North American home design shows, to documentaries about Jack Kerouac, to social change films focusing on classical music in Venezuela and kids coding in Estonia. We produced hundreds of hours of live music content and countless television commercials and corporate videos. Advertisement Our motivation? We wanted to produce the highest quality content and work with the biggest industry players to make the most money, end of story. It didn't matter too much where the money was coming from, as long as it ended up on our profit / loss statement. This motivation started to change however when we did a number of projects for the lottery industry. After sending my crew to Vegas for a project that followed a number of other gambling-related commercial projects, some of my team members specifically asked to not do this type of work anymore. They didn't want to contribute to an industry that feeds and exploits addiction so strongly. I listened. I had the very uncomfortable discussion with the marketing agency that hired us and said we can no longer take this work on. It was a hard decision that cost us a lot of work, but there was something liberating about the decision at the same time. Then we did a piece of work that I am even today very proud of as far as production quality is concerned. The work was an animation that tried to show all sides and perspectives of the fracking debate. It was an idea I came up with out of the frustration of never hearing a balanced perspective on the topic. I went to the oil and gas industry and pitched to them to pay for it, and they did. I felt that it was a well-balanced piece with voices from all sides of the issue well represented. It even won a marketing award! Then something happened that I didn't anticipate; a major protest broke out in my community that led to violence, arrests, and burned cop cars. This lit the debate about fracking up to the point that it became a household discussion and a day did not go by when the media didn't have updates on this contentious topic. Advertisement And whose video started to make its rounds again on social media to promote the pro-fracking side? Our video. I then received an unexpected social backlash from people in my community that I care about. The very fact that the oil and gas industry paid for the work compromised my integrity for being a balanced documentary filmmaker in the eyes of the people calling me out. I was gutted. Not only did it challenge the direction I was leading my company to, it challenged my whole business as a whole. Quality film content costs a lot of money (as does quality journalism!). But in this day and age when video is a commodity and our broadcasters are paying less and less for content, how am I as a CEO of a film company (with 12 full-time employees) going to continue growing in a market that is on a race to the bottom if I can't leverage the financial resources that big industry has available to invest? And if big industry invests in my content will I still have the ability to tell an authentic story? This very question initiated my own personal journey into a midlife crisis. Twenty years ago I wouldn't believe it if someone told me that in 2013 (when we produced the fracking film) I would be producing content that is seen around the world and that we would have such a solid team and top line growth. But once I arrived to this point of corporate success, I felt lost, a bit confused and not satisfied. I just didn't want to create content anymore that didn't have a direct positive impact on the world. After a bit of exploration, I found the B Corp community. I immediately certified our company and as it turns out we scored really well. Our company has always measured the triple bottom line; we just didn't know that it had a name and that there was a global community committed to the measuring it. This explains the heart ache we would have when doing work that didn't totally align with our values, but did align with earning the cash we needed to grow. My 'Gen-X crisis' started three years ago at 37 years of age. I am determined to get out of it in February when I turn 40, and owning a B Corp certified company is helping me achieve this goal. Advertisement What I am realizing is that my crisis, and the crisis that so many other entrepreneurs, artists and professionals in my friend group are going through is a crisis of purpose. Are we committing the majority of our waking hours to the vision of making money and being materialistically wealthy? Or are we using those precious 'living hours' to contribute to the greater good? Are we able to use our careers and businesses to literally contribute to a happier and kinder world? Since becoming B Corp certified we produced a social impact film called the Millennial Dream. We studied the motivations of the Generation-Y. The interesting thing is that the purpose driven lifestyle that the Millennials expect and even demand is a lifestyle that Gen-X has been striving for since Seattle broke the music scene that defined our generation. Now that we see that the Millennials are living purpose-centric lives, I believe that it's giving the Gen-Xers the confidence and motivation to finally grab onto it too...finally. Our mid-life crisis is not fuelled by the list for faster cars, yachts and younger domestic partners, it's fuelled by the internal desire to create positive impact, be purpose-centric and use our gifts as tools for activism. If this is the stereotype of my generation's midlife crisis, then I am proud to say that I was born in this generational cohort. The Millennials have not reached the age of mid-life yet, but I will be keeping an eye on them as they approach their 40s. I suspect there will be a Hemmings House documentary film produced about it. Pioneers for Change is a seed-bed for innovative thought. An activator of personal potential. A catalyst for collective energy. A community to drive social change. Advertisement Our annual, international Fellowship is open to anyone aged 28 - 108 years old. We gather change-makers -- a business person, a community person, an investor, a thinker or doer -- who are willing to harness their talents, energy and resources as a force for good. Pioneers for Change is an initiative of Adessy Associates. Adessy Associates believes social and business objectives are mutually reinforcing. We equip and enable organisations for a sustainable future, by focusing on benefit for people, planet and profit. Our bespoke services harness sustainability, innovation, consciousness and purpose. We are proudly B Corp certified. As a Nigerian women's rights lawyer and activist who partners with survivors of rape and sex trafficking in West Africa, I've become accustomed to dealing with both the best and worst of humanity. I view my work at Pathfinders as a sacred gift which affords me the privilege to celebrate our shared humanity, yet simultaneously condemn that which is inhumane in each and every one of us. Fear, coupled with access to unfettered power, potentially corrupts us all. I was not remotely surprised by President Donald J. Trump's unconventional rise to the most powerful position in the world. After all, America itself had created the vacuum for it by failing to ensure that every voice, opposition included, was seated at former President Obama's table of ideals. What did surprise and then impress me was the brilliance of Trump's packaging of his personal fears to appeal to the American masses who felt marginalized by prior administrations. Many in my circles, however, were shocked by the President's success in the November elections. Repeatedly, I was asked, "Is this the same guy who ultimately rose to fame in African households via the reality show 'The Apprentice'?" The same guy whose former wife's sworn deposition testimony included a claim of rape and violence? The one with zero political experience? The orange guy with the toupee who many thought would be brutally annihilated by Hillary Clinton? The "pussy" grabber? That guy? Advertisement From our perspective, Trump's campaign was ladened with way too many unforced errors to have been conventionally successful. Most of us on the African continent are accustomed to electing benevolent dictators who buy and then bully their way into our so-called democratic electoral system, but very rarely have we come across an American candidate whose personal fears and cosmic ego dictated and then translated into a successful campaign. Granted, there were supporters on our continent who unapologetically hailed Trump's eccentric rise to President of the United States. Why? Primarily because their religious sentiment aligned with his concocted 2016 "Come to Jesus" moment; with his newly discovered pro-life stance on abortion and with his not so covert threats against the LGBTQ community. Others believe that he is a strong leader, one that is respectable and desperately needed for such a time as this. His unpredictability was a breath of fresh air, precisely what was needed to "shake things up" in a world increasingly obsessed with reality television. Indeed, this was the time. And Donald J. Trump was the one. But for those of us on the African continent who saw through the rhetoric and began to consider the far reaching implications of a Trump presidency on humanity, we began to sleep with one eye open after the Republican Primaries. We realized that there was an urgent need to begin the mobilizing conversations necessary to combat what we knew was inevitable: Trump's America would be one that ultimately reflected his personal fears at the expense of the rest of the world. Activists like myself did not have the luxury to lament Trump's election. That was a privilege afforded only to those who would likely be paralyzed by inaction. So here are my overall sentiments and how this Nigerian activist is bracing for Trump's America: 1.Africans believe Mr. Trump when he says it will be "America First." In the poignant words of Dr. Maya Angelou, when someone shows you who they are, believe them. We believe you, President Trump. It will be America First, at least for the two percenters who comfortably rotate in Trump's circles. The rest of America, particularly those that voted for him, will soon be betrayed. As such, America and the rest of the world, particularly the developing world, needs to quickly accept this as fact and make whatever adjustments are necessary for at least the next four, possibly eight, years. If Trump's first few weeks in office are any indication of what is to come, his foreign policy will be alienating, brutal and unwavering- a monumental departure from the last eight years. From the implementation of what Trump once touted as a Muslim ban to the sanctions he has imposed on Iran and proposed on "you will pay for the wall" Mexico, President Trump has made it clear that fascism and oligarchy, disguised as nationalism, will dictate the tone of his authoritarian regime. Advertisement Those of us on the African continent anticipate the attrition of the notion of shared humanity. Practically speaking, this will translate in the loss of military funding in Nigeria's fight against Boko Haram which, over 1,000 days later, continues to suffocate the souls of 195 girls from Chibok, Nigeria who were brutally abducted from their school in April 2014. Also anticipated is a swift retreat from humanitarian assistance, HIV/AIDS funding and development on the African continent because after all, countries like Nigeria, the self-proclaimed 'Giant of Africa', are "corrupt" and impotent to #BringBackOurGirls. In a country where two-thirds of its people reportedly live on a dollar a day and are now also reeling from a recession, Trump will ignore the lingering implications of colonialism and western imperialism and demand that we pull ourselves up by the strapless boots we were handed as our colonizers unapologetically vacated. The toll on human life on the continent will be sizeable and those fleeing for their lives will likely have America's golden gate of liberty slammed in our faces. But who cares? It's #AmericaFirst. 2.Trump's election has made my job as a women's activist considerably harder. According to the Global Slavery Index (2016), Nigeria has the world's 23rd highest number of slaves - 875,500 - and its National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) reports that Nigerian girls make up 60-80 percent of the girls trafficked into the European sex industry. Other estimates are as high as 90% (UNDOC, 2016), with Italy being the number one destination country. This writer's home town, Benin City (Edo State) is an internationally recognized sex trafficking hub, with built in infrastructures and networks which support the sale of human bodies. The souls and bodies of women are turned into commodities for financial gain while the survivors themselves are held in debt bondage, severely abused, starved, tortured or infected with various sexually transmitted diseases before being deported back to Nigeria. Others who are victims of organ trafficking are murdered and never make it back home. The survivors whose lives tenuously hinge on the margins of poverty and abuse, yet who summon up the courage to resist the brutal annihilation of their souls, are the women and girls I am honored to serve. No, President Trump did not singlehandedly create patriarchy or the subjugation of women which has resulted in the reality that a human being can now, globally, be purchased at an average cost of $90. And no, Trump is not to blame for the proliferation of the evil that is sex trafficking, but he does occupy the highest office in the world and his sense of entitlement to women's bodies will powerfully reverberate as a convenient example to follow. This same sense of entitlement is what fuels rape as a weapon of war around the world. It is what fuels the ideology of Boko Haram, the world's deadliest terror group which forces grown men to swallow bullets for breakfast, rape abducted girls into motherhood and strap IEDs to the bodies of teenage girls with babies on their back. It is this same sense of entitlement that underpinned Mr. Trump's comments when he casually described grabbing the body parts of women with impunity, as if he were offhandedly referring to one of his licensed towers. Entitlement is what has compelled millions of rapists around the world to blatantly steal the souls of one out of every three women who have been forced to have either sexual and physical assault written into their life stories. We say we abhor this behavior, yet sheepishly sit by and hand women the pens by our complicity. And so, yes, Mr. Trump, you have made our work harder; harder because more men will be emboldened to harass and assault women. After all, the President of the United States does and does so with impunity. Once again, the casualties will be high. But who cares, we're making America great again. 3.Notwithstanding the foregoing, Trump's election is an unparalleled global catalyst and stimulus for change. He is a much needed social disruptor. Advertisement Perhaps Trump's presidency has presented the United States and the rest of the world with a precious gift. His "America First" dogma has forced America to first examine her own hypocrisy and to unearth the superficially buried roots of her sexism, racism, homophobia, islamophobia, etc. For the first time in a long time, Americans are grabbing the proverbial bull by the horns and rallying around their similarities and endeavoring to shun their differences. They are awakening to the power of collaboration and its unfettered ability to generate the change they want to see. Beyond America, Trump's election has served to awaken the sleeping consciousness of millions around the world who have pledged to resist, agitate and demand the world they want to live in. The day after Trump's election, millions gathered globally to send the message that women will not succumb to fear and that the definition of justice will extend beyond the convenience of compassion to boldly charging the darkness via activism. People are putting their money where their march is and what those of us in the struggle for human rights could not have singlehandedly accomplished is now possible because there is a committed army rising to fight for the soul of humanity. In Nigeria, we are bracing for Trump's four, and possibly eight, years as a world leader. We understand that it will be riddled with much of the same frustration and uncertainty I experienced in writing this article. Nonetheless, we are equipping the leaders in our survivor led organization to resist, to be prepared to speak truth to power when Trump's policies targeting women attempt to unravel the fragile tapestry we are endeavoring to mend. We are preparing to step boldly into the gap and to hold space for the broken with the understanding that struggle precedes progress and that power concedes nothing without demand. President's Trump election presents us with an unconventional opportunity. His role as a social disruptor will require a global revolution which may or may not be televised. David Oyelowo, so brilliant in a recent theater production of Othello, playing the king against Daniel Craig's Iago, is now a king again in Amma Asante's A United Kingdom. Groomed to take the throne of Botswana, Seretse Khama is studying in London where he meets an office girl, Ruth Williams (the lovely, angelic Rosamund Pike). They fall in love. Let us just say, in this period drama based on a true story, the racism works both ways; and the colonialism is in-your-face exploitative. Some lines in this movie had the audience cheering: one wag, predicting the white woman would not last as the king's wife in dusty Africa opines, "Wait till she finds out, there's no Buckingham Palace in Botswana." And when Ruth Williams is picked out of the typing pool, she asserts, "I'm no office girl." Every time a British official condescends to the king, he offers a sherry, a double dig as in Botswana the blacks are not allowed to drink. It took me a while to realize saving money means having access to an infrastructure that provides financial security and the tools to keep track of what you have. In the widely developing landscape of South Africa, these tools can be crucial to growing. However, as a result of many factors driving the socio-economic gaps to widen, many of the lower income communities live in informal to partially informal settlements without a solid infrastructure to save and manage their finances, many without individual bank accounts. Enter the stokvel. It's essentially an informal system in which members of a community pool their money together. These group savings serve a variety of purposes: some use it because it gives them greater purchasing power, others use it to pay for education, funerals, or celebrations. Given the informal nature, money frequently goes missing. Many people contributing to stokvel are taken advantage of or flat out robbed. There is no real system of management in place, only blind trust in whoever is put in charge of handling the logistics of the individual stokvel. Advertisement Yethu is a stokvel management app that proves to be a game changer for those who rely on stokvels to save their money. It keeps track of everyone's activities within a stokvel - so members can hold each other accountable. The app is the brainchild of Tuskan Owen-Thomas and Sebastian Daniels, two Business Finance students at The University of Cape Town. During a recent visit to Cape Town, I was invited to check out their offices and have a chat with them about their journey. What did the early steps look like, what were some of the factors that got you invested in pursuing Yethu? Advertisement Tuskan: UCT Upstarts was a program that kinda pushed us. We really got momentum from it because we had deadlines, generally with ideas at varsity people leave it as a means of procrastinating. We had 6 weeks. Wait... how long? Sebastian: The full program was about 6 months, we were there for the last 3 months. Tuskan: Yeah, 3 months and it really put pressure on us to do the whole thing properly and actually get it running, instead of leaving it till next month and the next month... so that's kinda what catapulted us. Sebastian: It was like an idea accelerator. We accelerated an idea in the concept. Not a business but a concept we could use and that's when we built the first prototype. After we did this big pitch at UCT Upstarts we had about R30,000 ($2242.29) and we built our first prototype. The duo went on to participate in several other competitions including Get In The Ring, Launchlab and a pitch at the London School of Business through Global Social Venture. How did you get such an awesome office? Sebastian: We were both on the committee of the entrepreneur society at UCT and through that, we were asked to go meet with this accelerator (Far Ventures) because they wanted to form some kind of partnership. We ended up just speaking about Yethu the whole time. They wanted us to be involved. We did that quite quickly, within a month, we met them, signed a contract and that's when we first moved into offices and got a full-time developer, which was a big thing at the time because we could increase our development speed. Advertisement Tuskan: Our first office was originally in Woodstock, it was a smaller space but they grew as well... and now we've recently moved to town (Roeland Street) to a bigger office. Our team has grown from the two of us, to eleven people, we have eleven people now, plus three more coming from Belgium. Yethu has a very hands-on approach to development, how do you maintain this process? Tuskan: We spend a lot of time researching what to do, how it works, getting a lot of feedback. We're still learning. Meeting with groups and finding out new things. I think with this market there are so many people trying to get into it, but they trying it from an ivory tower approach. It's an ongoing process. We meet new people, find new issues and then kind of mold the product as we go. It's never really finished. Many members of the community are not in a position where they have a smartphone readily available, where it be too expensive to own, or too dangerous to carry. Yethu has made an interesting choice to develop a service that will work on older phone models too - we don't often see this in tech. Is it the same developer that works on both a working service for older phone models as well as the smartphone app? Tuskan: That is correct and because we have been on a shoestring budget. It hasn't been easy and it's been a big learning curve but for what we've done based on the budget, I think what we've done... it's pretty, pretty amazing - even for him (Gregoire Vilde, the current developer). We're still astonished because he's still learning, himself. If we had a nice budget it would help but it's all part of the startup process, I guess. Sebastian: He's always our MVP. The initial roll-out for Yethu was in Khayelitsha - how has Khayelitsha served as a prominent starting point for your work? Sebastian: Khayelitsha is huge. It's the biggest township in Cape Town by far, it was the second biggest in South Africa, now it's about the fourth biggest in South Africa. It's really, really huge. It makes up probably a quarter of Cape Town. There is a lot of people there and a lot of them have stokvels, so it is the ideal location to host. We are very big on going out into the communities, doing our workshops where people feel comfortable. Advertisement What are the current Yethu goals? Sebastian: The main focus now, is to get full stokvels on. Our goals is to get between 10 - 20 stokvels on the system (using the app) to really get it strong. 10 - 20 stokvels is roughly 150 - 300 people using our system. We've got enough money to last us awhile, with that amount of people. If we can get that right, get the formula right. We want to take that 10 - 20 to 1000, and then 100,000 so on. So, it's very much making this model work perfectly and then scaling it up very quickly. Tuskan: I think what's important to know is that in South Africa, they (stokvels) generate, on a yearly basis, between 45 to 50 billion rands. Sebastian: That's around 3 - 4 billion dollars, a year, is how much is going into stokvels. Tuskan: So even though that's through, a poorer community - the amount of money that is saved between them is absolutely mind-boggling. It's a big market and it's all over the world, in various countries with various other names. Thank you. This is a very challenging, very exciting journey you're on - is there anything you'd like to say - a particular note you'd like to end on? Sebastian: I think it's probably been the biggest thing I've ever had to do. When we started we thought you just build an app and put it up on the play store- Tuskan: -And just chill out. (Laughter) Advertisement Sebastian: Little did we know, it's not that easy. It's been one of the tougher things I've had to do, far tougher than a degree. It's gotten to that point where we doing Yethu and a degree on the side... a full-time degree... on the side. So it's been a learning curve but everything we do, we think wow, this is amazing - and whenever we go out to communities, and people see this and think wow, this is amazing - it's so rewarding because that's what we want to do, that's why we started this. We want to change lives. We want to improve people's savings and returns. We want them to work up the ladder. You want people to work up a ladder and then their money gets stolen and they end up right back where they started. Tuskan: Because it's such a unique market, it's not like you can just put something up online and it either flies or it doesn't. It's been a lot of real hard grinding and trying to figure out how to integrate tech with a newer market - and during those hard times when we'd think 'what are we doing!?' then you go back to the ground and you talk to people and you see what a difference it can actually make and people actually want to engage with it, that what gives you the motivation to continue and really make a plan. Is the God of the Bible a God of War? Or a God of Peace? Or both? And, are there ethics of warfare that should be followed by a Jewish army, according to the Bible and according to the post-Biblical Jewish Tradition? These questions are not merely theological or historical ones. Rather, they contain within them issues which affect us today, in our personal and collective lives, as Jewish citizens of a state that was created to be a Jewish state, one based on the humanistic values of the prophets of Israel. We are confronted with these questions starkly in the "Song of the Sea", which according to the Biblical text, the Israelites sang after escaping Egypt through the Red Sea, or the Sea of Reeds, in the dramatic story of the Exodus in the portion of the week known as "B'shalach", which we read in our synagogues this week. Advertisement Then Moses and the Israelites sang this song to the Lord. They said, ' I will sing to the Lord for He has triumphed gloriously: Horse and driver He has hurled into the sea.'. (Exodus 15:1) Every year when I read these verses in synagogue, I am filled with questions and moral dilemmas. How can God do this? What kind of God is this who delights when some people are killed? Can God really be pleased with these actions? Is God one-sided? Does he want some human beings or some peoples to triumph in war and others to be defeated? Is our God a particularist one? Or a universal one? Or both? The Jewish Tradition known as the midrash-- the creative commentaries on the Torah which inform our consciousness as religious Jews and help us deal with problematic Biblical texts like this one-- comes to our aid here, as it often does, with a remarkably humanistic and universalistic response to our dilemma. According to a famous midrash, when God heard the Israelites singing this triumphalist song, He rebuked them, saying: "The works of My hands are drowning in the sea, and you would utter song in My presence!" (Sefer HaAggadah, The Book of Legends, edited by Bialik and Ravnitsky #86). I would argue that it is impossible to read this problematic Biblical text, without this midrash as our corrective guide. Otherwise, we will fall into the triumphalist trap of a literal reading of the Torah text which was always dangerous in Jewish history, and is more problematic today than ever before. According to this interpretation, our rejoicing is never complete if someone else is required to suffer. We know from earlier texts that all human beings are created in the image of God, and therefore we should not rejoice when any human being is killed! Indeed, this midrash is so central in our tradition that it has been incorporated into many modern Passover haggadot, when we recall the exodus of our people from Egypt in ancient days and try to make the story relevant to our own times. Advertisement Our Torah text becomes even more perplexing as we read further: The Lord, the Warrior is His Name. or God is a Man of War . Really? Our God is a man of war!? This is not a simple text to digest. Once again the midrash comes to help us here. The Jewish Tradition, as developed by the rabbis during the Talmudic period, tried to soften this message and to add some nuance, which I find very useful and relevant. According to Rashi, one of the greatest commentators on the Torah, "Even in War, God is YHVH, i.e. He appears in His merciful quality." Rabbi Gunther Plaut, editor of The Torah A Modern Commentary, explained that in the midrashic tradition, "Elohim" represents God's justice and "YHVH" represents His mercy. This is therefore a reminder to the Jewish people--and to human beings everywhere--that even if war becomes "just", i.e. a necessity sometimes, one must be careful and humane in waging war. In fact, there are rules for warfare, which are spelled out clearly in Deuteronomy 20:10 "When you approach a town to attack it, you shall offer terms of peace". By the way, the Koran has similar verses which apply to Muslims in warfare. These ideas could not be more relevant today in Israeli society, especially in the Israel Defense Forces, where the ethics of warfare remain a regular concern, as we have seen in the recent judgment of the court in the trial of a soldier who shot and killed a Palestinian in Hebron after he was already severely wounded. The Torah commentaries also praise peace much more than they praise war. In the rabbinic tradition, war was not an ideal. Peace was always the ideal. For example, one famous Midrash states: If there is no peace, there is nothing at all, for Scripture goes on to say, 'And I will give Peace in the Land' (Psalms 23:6), which indicates that peace equals all else. Indeed, we say (in the morning prayers, 'When He made peace, He created everything.'(Sefer HaAggadah, The Book of Legends, edited by Bialik and Ravnitsky). The ban comes into effect two years after it was passed into law by the Taiwanese parliament. (Photo : Getty Images) Taiwan has banned euthanasia of animals in shelters, following the tragic suicide last year of a vet overwhelmed with the backlash of putting down strays. The law came into effect Saturday, two years after it was passed by the Taiwanese legislature, a period meant to allow the shelters to adjust to the ban. Advertisement The ban comes under the shadow of the suicide of Chien Chih-cheng, the head of a veterinarian clinic who injected herself with drugs used to euthanize animals in May last year. Chien faced intense public criticism after admitting to have killed over 700 dogs in two years in a TV interview, with the media dubbing her as a "butcher" and "beautiful slaughterer." Chien's death has sparked calls for lawmakers to improve conditions for animals and staff at shelters. According to the Life Conservationist Association, an animal welfare group, it is estimated that more than 1.2 million animals not adopted from shelters have been euthanized since 1999. "Animal protection in Taiwan has moved towards a new milestone," the association's executive director Ho Tsung-hsun said in a statement to the media. But Taiwan's Council of Agriculture warned the new law could lead to the deterioration in the quality of animal shelters and discourage the capture of strays. "It's impossible for there to be no problems," Wang Chung-shu, deputy chief of the animal husbandry department, told to The China Times. Wang said that the ban is "quite idealized," adding that the department is currently experiencing problems with manpower as Chien's suicide has created a "chilling" effect amongst would-be applicants. Even before the ban was implemented, the number of animals being put down in Taiwan has been declining at a steady rate. In 2016, 12.38 percent of 64,276 animals housed in public shelters have been euthanized, according to government data. In contrast, of the 94,741 animals in shelters in 2017, 26.45 percent were put down. To do this, improved agricultural practices need to be implemented by smallholder farmers. This will require access to high quality and locally-relevant information. But African smallholder farmers have little access to information, particularly due to a lack of modern connectivity. One way of overcoming this problem is through agricultural extension services. This involves employing extension officers to promote the adoption of new practices and technologies. These officers are integral to supplying information to farmers, particularly in information and resource constrained contexts. Advertisement But there is chronic under-funding of extension officers. For example, it's not uncommon for a single government extension officer to be responsible for several thousand households. A manageable target would lie well below 1:500 households taking into account time and mobility constraints. To overcome the shortage, African governments and NGOs have embraced "farmer-to-farmer" extension approaches. This is where a local community member becomes a "lead" or "model" farmer and delivers information to other farmers. In theory, this engages local knowledge and networks and eases the introduction of new information. But how effective has this approach been? To find out our team conducted 14 months of fieldwork, interacting directly with communities across six countries in eastern and southern Africa. The functionality of farmer-to-farmer systems On the surface, it could be argued that farmers are generally aware of new technologies, and so farmer-to-farmer systems are working. Yet we found that overwhelmingly farmers are frustrated with the system, expressing the view that they felt "forgotten" or "struggling". Put simply, they said they knew new practices existed, but not enough to implement them. Many knew of lead farmers in their community but felt unable to access them. Advertisement Our research shows that a number of factors make the farmer-to-farmer system dysfunctional. Trust: Farmer-to-farmer extension is based on the premise that existing social networks can be used to deliver information. Yet many farmers don't find the lead farmer approachable. This is often because of their gender or religion. Even if the lead farmer is in their social group, farmers tend to have little trust in the quality of information they provide. As one smallholder farmer near Mitundu, Malawi, stated We don't actually know if they are doing what they were taught because they often do not do everything correctly. Motives and incentives: The motives of lead farmers are often questioned. Lead farmers generally receive various subsidies and handouts on their fertiliser, seed, chemicals, tools and in some cases direct financial rewards to perform demonstrations and trials. But other farmers often noted that lead farmers did not expand their demonstration or trial to larger areas of their farms. As such, many farmers concluded that the improved practices were only good due to the provision of handouts. These views are not unfounded. Many lead farmers eventually disadopt when handouts are removed. Jealousy: Lead farmers are typically provided with all they need to implement new technologies. Ordinary farmers are not. We found several cases of disadoption where farmers knew a technology was beneficial, but were angered that they were not provided inputs. As one disadopting farmer in Kasungu, Malawi said: Even the harvest was good but I was offended that I was only given a small amount of fertiliser ... the group (of lead farmers) were each given a bag of fertiliser whilst the rest of us only a small plate. Disincentive factor: Even if the resources were available, farmers tended to wait for inputs to be provided because they were under the impression that this would eventually happen. This was particularly the case when lead farmers were instructed to provide smaller handouts for other members in their community, or when multiple NGOs were active. This acted as a disincentive for farmers to use their own resources to experiment with new practices. As one farmer in Nakasongola, Uganda noted: We lost interest because of the seeds... We can use our own seeds but we also still want seeds from the project. Exclusivity: Communities perceived lead farmers as "favoured", particularly when there was no transparency in their selection. Frustrations ran particularly high when there was not open access to information provided by lead farmers. As one farmer in Lira, Uganda said: They are like a secret organisation because they have their own people and what goes on in that group is done by the group members only. Disruption to power dynamics: What has become obvious during our fieldwork is that the development community has overlooked the ethical dilemmas associated with raising one individual above others. This suggests that the farmer-to-farmer system can disrupt traditional power dynamics and entrench a new class of elites. This is particularly true given the impact of direct subsidies to individuals in resource constrained environments. As one farmer in Embu, Kenya put it: Advertisement The problem is you people come to just a few people. If you only help a few, then you build up inequality in the same community and increase theft and these sorts of things and it really hurts us ... We want all to benefit and the community to grow, not just a few. Given these perspectives, there seems to be a case for changing the system. Other options Farmer training centres and innovation platforms provide possible alternatives. These tend to be more inclusive in terms of access, but will need further modification to be effective. What is clear is that the focus must be on ensuring inclusivity and sustainability. Social capital needs to be fostered so that communities are able to build from within and demand technologies and systems that meet their wants and needs. As it is - at least from a farmer's perspective - extension systems will be much more effective if they are inclusive and aren't simply used to funnel resources to a select few. A new study of attitudes towards al-Shabaab in Kenya has found no evidence that terrorist violence is directly driven by religion. Instead, al-Shabaab - the Somali-based terror group that has wreaked deadly havoc in Kenya - exploits perceived historical, social and political grievances and draws on extreme interpretations of Islam to craft its propaganda narratives. This conclusion is confirmed by several related studies on violent extremism in Africa and elsewhere in the world. The findings of the study in Kenya also showed that different situations throw up different reasons for why alienated people resort to violence. This is evident in the areas in which the field work was done. This ranged from the Majengo and Eastleigh areas of Nairobi, to Garissa in the east and Mombasa in the south. Each has concentrations of Somalis. Advertisement The study entailed a series of individual discussions, 200 focus groups and 30 in-depth interviews. The interviewees included community leaders, religious figures, ex-combatants, academics and members of civil society. Some were sympathetic to al-Shabaab while others were strong opponents. The goal was to assess attitudes towards al-Shabaab. This was based on the premise that the success or otherwise of rebel groups is significantly dependent on community support. Thus efforts to counter them require the trust and participation of local communities. The findings indicate that there's no single pathway to violent extremism, which is a complex psycho-social process. And mainstream Muslim and Christian leaders expressed the common view that Jihadist Islamic extremism is as far removed from mainstream Islam as the heretical neo-Calvinist support for apartheid was from mainstream Christianity. These leaders cautiously supported the use of force by the military and police against al-Shabaab, its suspected sympathisers and other perpetrators of unrest. But they also insisted that without a change in social conditions and the involvement of people in government programmes the present conflict is likely to intensify. Advertisement The case study was conducted between June and August 2016. It involved researchers from the Nairobi branch of the Life & Peace Institute and the Institute for Justice and Reconciliation in Cape Town, with the support of Georgetown University. Religion and radicalisation Kenya has been subject to deadly attacks by al-Shabaab. These include the 2013 attack on Nairobi's Westgate Mall, in which 67 people were killed. The 2015 massacre at Garissa University College claimed 148 deaths lives. The Kenyan government has cast suspicion on the concentration of Somalians in the country. Many regularly cross the extended and porous border with Somalia. It's against this backdrop that Kenya has announced plans to shut down Dadaab, the largest refugee camp in the world. Reuters/Noor Khamis There's no evidence that the terrorist violence is driven directly by religion. Religious radicalism is an offspring of deprivation, alienation and despair by people who find options for improving their lives increasingly difficult to come by. Advertisement Talking to poor and desperate people living in camps and on the edge of mainstream Kenyan society, it became clear that many of them are torn between support and rejection of the use of violence to bring about change. This vacillation makes them vulnerable to recruitment and radicalisation by preachers and imams. A myriad of factors merge to create an environment conducive to the spread of extremism, especially among young people. These included corruption and government failure to provide essential services. In addition, respondents mentioned: structural marginalisation, the breakdown of family and community structures, the proliferation of criminal gangs, youth unemployment, corruption, human rights abuses, and individual and collective trauma. Even so, only a minority of respondents showed open support for al-Shabaab. They attributed their support to a lack of opportunities to live a purposeful life or to overcome their loss of human dignity. This indicates that the narrative perpetuated by some in the West - such as US President Donald Trump who attributes violence to Islam and the promotion of sharia law - is not shared by most local residents. Advertisement Behind the violence Respondents ascribed violence in Kenya to a range of different factors. These include al-Shabaab, the police and military, gangs and splinter groups within both al-Shabaab and government agencies. Only in Garissa did interviewees specifically identify al-Shabaab as the major source of their insecurity. No doubt many still had the 2015 local campus massacre vivid in their minds. But in Mombasa, for example, respondents pointed to a link between radical Islam and independence movements such as the Mombasa Republic Council. The interviewees also identified specific mosques and preachers that teach interpretations of Islam that promote violence. Copies of these sermons are available on internet forums and on CDs distributed at markets and youth gatherings. Importantly most respondents said they were reluctant or afraid to report crimes committed by the police or anyone else to the authorities. Their reason was fear of revenge from al-Shabaab, rebel gangs or the police. Al-Shabaab recruitment The interviews showed that individuals are often duped into joining al-Shabaab. Recruiters promise employment or study opportunities abroad. Also, people with criminal pasts see recruitment into al-Shabaab as a way of escaping law enforcement. Advertisement For those who have experienced harassment or extortion at the hands of local criminal gangs, the police or an extremist group, cooperation with al-Shabaab tended to be seen as an avenue for self-defence and revenge. The interviews indicated that al-Shabaab's recruitment programmes vary from "casual encounters" to requests by an undercover al-Shabaab agent for a limited "favour" to invitations to become involved in a community project. These initial contacts would later be followed up with meetings designed to draw recruits deeper into al-Shabaab activities. The decision to pursue the relationship further was often motivated by fear of exposure to the police, the threat of abduction and reprisals against family members. New options needed Al-Shabaab feeds off particular security fault lines, specific causes of popular discontent and the inevitable irritations and weaknesses that characterise living with internalised alienation and despair. The misreading of these feelings often contributes to the deepening of extremist positions that the local authorities and the international community are unable to understand. This indicates that more attention needs to be given to community based voices in the assessments of violent extremism. But these voices continue to are underrepresented. Advertisement New options for countering the violence perpetrated both against alienated people, as well as between alienated people, need to be devised. This is needed for the sake of those living on the margins of society. It's also required for the middle and upper class people, who are likely to become increasingly vulnerable to the anger of desperate people - many of who are looking for no more than a space within which to survive. Is Disney World better than Disneyland? It's a question that's been debated amongst Disney lovers for decades. East coast versus West coast. The Grand Floridian versus The Grand Californian. The Matterhorn Bobsleds versus, well, The Laugh Floor? Before I get into it, I want to make it perfectly clear that I ADORE Disney World. I worked there for eight months on a Disney College Program. I'm in no way bashing one of my favorite places in the world. I'm simply saying that one great place is better than a similarly great place. Want to know my reasons? Let's get into it. 1. Churros Ah, yes--the churro. Probably the most sought after snack besides the mickey ear ice cream bars. My best friend from California said he was incredibly disappointed in the churros from Disney World. At first I was kind of flabbergasted because I loved the churros at Disney World. However, after visiting Disneyland and trying the other churros, I can say the man is 100% right about one of the greatest snacks in the parks. Advertisement 2. Park Hopping Is Easier Disney World may have more parks, but by the time you get to a different one you've wasted close to an hour of your day. You have to exit the park, wait for the buses, board the bus, drive over to the other park, then wait in line again. And what if you're park hopping three parks in a day? It's kind of a massive waste of time. In Disneyland, all that separates California Adventure from Disneyland itself is about 100-150 yards of space. You're cutting out at least 30 minutes of wasted time from your day that you can immediately funnel into waiting in line. Speaking of lines, let's talk about fast passes. 3. FastPass Ah, FastPasses. They're probably the biggest reason I'm writing this article right now. Nothing maddened me more than when Disney World diverted away from paper FastPasses. Now they have kiosks where people can swipe second rate passes for second rate times. The reason? Because they hand out FastPasses like restaurant reservations now. People can book FastPasses months in advance, which leaves no FastPasses for Florida residents who might want to visit the parks for the day. FastPasses for Toy Story Mania are a constant no-go. The same is true for so many of the best attractions at Disney World. Advertisement At Disneyland everyone gets a fair chance, and that's why I like it so much. You have just as fair of a chance at getting a FastPass as the family that booked their reservations month in advance. In the end, we're all paying the same price to get into the parks; we all deserve the same chance at FastPasses, too. To be honest with you, I actually don't think the FastPass kiosks help large families who do want to plan their vacation months in advance. When I was with my family at Disney World, we used to get at least 4-5 FastPasses a day for all the awesome attractions. Now it's only limited to three. 4. Disneyland Is Like The Greatest Hits Of Disney World Soarin', Splash Mountain, Pirates of the Caribbean, Toy Story Mania. You can find all of these attractions at both Disney World and Disneyland. The major difference? You have to visit three different parks to ride all of them if you're staying in Orlando. In Los Angeles? Not so much. Disneyland is like the greatest hits of Disney World. Nobody likes Ellen's Energy Adventure anyway. Instead of diluting the parks with mediocre attractions (ahem, Disney World), why not use space efficiently and make every ride/show a knockout? Advertisement That's what Disneyland does. They have Fantasmic, Big Thunder Mountain, Space Mountain, Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin and all the rides I mentioned above. It's basically the greatest hits of Disney World without mediocre attractions like The Great Movie Ride or Journey Into Imagination With Figment. I like both of those rides, but are they Soarin'? No. 5. World of Color I'm about to really get blasphemous here. World of Color is by far the best show I've ever seen in any Disney park. A post shared by Tom Kuegler (@tomkuegler) on Jul 16, 2016 at 11:16pm PDT It's better than Fantasmic, the Epcot show, and, dare I say it, Wishes. The nighttime spectacular is a hallmark for the Disney parks, and Disneyland is home to the best one of them all. With that said, I'm ready for the angry mob to show up at my front door with pitchforks now. 6. New Orleans Square vs. Liberty Square This article is as much about Magic Kindom versus Disneyland as it is about anything else. Magic Kingdom, if you remember, houses Liberty Square on the east side of the park. It's a cool little homage to the Colonial Period of America. I certainly enjoy it, given that I'm the biggest Ben Franklin fan you'll ever meet. Advertisement Despite this, I believe Disneyland's east side offers a richer, more authentic experience for guests. As Walt Disney himself originally intended, New Orleans square puts a different spin on rides like Pirates of the Caribbean and The Haunted Mansion. In Disney World these attractions are very much their own. The Haunted Mansion looks like a traditional mansion, and Pirates of the Caribbean is a Spanish fort. In Disneyland, the Haunted Mansion looks like southern mansion minus the plantation. Also, the structure housing Pirates of the Caribbean still belongs in New Orleans, and when you get on the ride itself, there's more of a lead into the world of the Caribbean from the bayous of Louisiana. These rides belong in the world of New Orleans square, while in Disney World they kind of don't fit with the theme of Liberty Square. 7. Cars Land One of the coolest experiences in Disneyland is Cars Land. I must admit that Cars isn't my favorite Pixar movie by any stretch, but it's still fun to walk around Radiator Springs and ride the Radiator Springs Racers ride (which, yes, is better than Test Track). 8. It's The Original There's nothing like walking down Main Street in Magic Kingdom. It's the number one moment for everyone visiting Disney World to see the castle for the first time. I'll be the first to admit that no other experience in Disneyland beats seeing Cinderella's Castle in Orlando. Advertisement However. There's a certain feeling you get walking into Disneyland that's very similar. You know why? It's because you know Walt designed this place and saw the construction through every single day. This was his baby. Disneyland changed everything we know about theme parks for the better. A post shared by Tom Kuegler (@tomkuegler) on Jul 17, 2016 at 5:04pm PDT It's impossible not to feel that history tugging at you as you enter this place. It's an experience that's impossible to get at Disney World. 9. Hyperspace Mountain / Twists On The Traditional Rides Disneyland offers a few twists on the rides at Disney World. Yes, they both have Space Mountain, and up until a few weeks ago they both had Tower of Terror, too. But Disneyland put a little twist on Space Mountain, renaming it Hyperspace Mountain for Star Wars. You're no longer just rocketing through space in California, you're now part of a squadron of X-wings dogfighting with Tie Fighters along the outer rim. Advertisement I got off Hyperspace Mountain as giddy as a child. I hadn't been that giddy since I did my Disney College Program. A post shared by Tom Kuegler (@tomkuegler) on Dec 10, 2014 at 9:11am PST But it doesn't end there. Disneyland is about to have a Guardians of the Galaxy themed "Tower of Terror" ride. And if this new twist on the familiar ride is as good as what Disneyland did with Hyperspace Mountain, I might just buy annual passes. You heard me. 10. The Rides That Disney World Doesn't Have Guys, Matterhorn Bobsleds is the best. You know what else is? California Screamin'. You wanna know another one? Indiana Jones Adventure. Spoiler Alert: You can't find any of these rides in Disney World. And that's really the nail in the coffin for me. Disneyland basically has all your favorite attractions from Disney World minus a select few. But what they lack in the absence of a Expedition Everest they make up for with a Matterhorn Bobsleds. Advertisement Now, Disneyland may have the upper hand now, but what I conveniently left out was the fact that Disney World has many more resorts than Disneyland. They have basically unlimited acreage down there in Orlando. Also, Pandora will open in Animal Kingdom along with a totally revamped Hollywood Studios with a Star Wars Land. Guess what though? California is getting its own Star Wars Land, too. And may the debate rage on and on and on. One thing's for sure, I love both places with a burning passion, and I'll continue giving my money to Disney by the boatload until I physically can't go anymore. Digitally generated cyber hacking image Marketing has brought many familiar catch phrases into popularly accepted lexicon, including "where's the beef?" and "do you hear me now?". However, in the realm of cyber risk, I've often posed a question that would provide a good touchstone if it gains similar common-use status in corporate settings: "where's our data?" or even "can you find my data now?". It is a sad fact that for many organizations their business units, vendor management group, and even procurement, truly have no idea exactly where all their data is stored, or even who has access to it - and yes - this includes fourth-party access and storage as well. As IT environments continuously expand their support to include follow-the-sun methodologies, it's more important than ever to traverse that ground and pursue answers now to this very important question. Advertisement A great case in point is a recent incident I've been made aware of at a Fortune 100 company in which a compliance director was informed that one of their company's IT vendors commented they were processing data for a key application in China. He further explained that China is a location that was "verbally understood" by the parent company to be forbidden, but was never explicitly documented and communicated to the vendor. Further investigations identified that the data processing was originally handled in India, but the IT vendor moved the work over to China without the knowledge or consent of the outsourcing company's business unit. Perplexed as to how this occurred, he immediately requested a copy of the contract for review and noticed there weren't any clauses or directives stating that the work must only be performed at the India facility or that changes to subcontractor use had to be pre-approved by the outsourcer. In discussing this further directly with the third party vendor and the outsourcer's business unit management, the director concluded the change had been made in response to "cost pressures" imposed by the business unit onto the vendor. To rectify the situation quickly, he notified additional executive management within his own organization for guidance, which included the Chief Information Security Officer, the Chief Privacy Officer, and his senior legal counsel. Almost immediately the parent company's compliance management called a meeting with the business unit management, the heads of IT Security and procurement, and the vendor's account management. The vendor and the business unit understood that the data and all operational support for this and all other applications, were not to be moved anywhere without the express consent of the business unit, procurement, and IT Security. Once this understanding had been formally established, additional steps were enacted immediately, including: A rapid assessment of the current location of where the work was being processed; Provision of a remediation work plan timeline by the vendor for moving the data processing back to India (they were given 45 days to complete the move back to the India datacenters), during which they were being monitored for progress weekly by compliance and IS Security; Amendment to the master services agreement, which stated that any physical process or data moves must be approved by the outsourcing company's executive management; Amendment to the master services agreement that stated what locations are permitted to process the scope of work; and Lastly (and with greater impact...) the vendor was barred from bidding on any new projects for a one-year period. This may seem extreme to some, but this response underscores the importance of knowing who touches your data and where and how that information is being accessed. Constant threats surround the cyber landscape and it's important to have your finger on the pulse to be aware of every aspect of how your vendors are treating your most precious resource - your data. Advertisement It is urgently important to have contract wording - which may be included in contract addendums - that specifies, appropriate to your organization's risk needs, where the work will be done and who has access to it. This includes the most current copies of the third party's business continuity and disaster recovery plans, as these recovery locations must also be properly vetted during a third-party risk assessment. These documents should be continuously updated as scopes of work change and new projects are added (or even removed). And finally, the business unit - along with procurement - should always maintain copies of the fully executed (dual-party signature) agreements. By Willa Seldon and Debby Bielak When it comes to our lot in life, where we're born has a lot to do with it. Case in point: according to research from the Equality of Opportunity Project, children born in San Jose and Salt Lake City--the country's most upwardly mobile cities--have a dramatically better shot at seizing the American Dream of a better economic life than children born in Atlanta and Charlotte, the two worst cities for upward mobility. The Pew Charitable Trusts' Pursuing the American Dream report asserts that 70 percent of children born to parents in the bottom 40 percent of incomes remain at the bottom of the economic ladder--no matter how hard they try to climb it. Many of the people who are trapped in the economy's basement live in areas where poverty is concentrated. Discriminatory housing policies, dilapidated housing, substandard schools, limited job opportunities, and chronic crime all conspire to keep people right where they are. Today, the number of people living in high-poverty neighborhoods is increasing rapidly. According to a US Census Report, in 2000, nearly 50 million people lived in neighborhoods where more than 20 percent of the population lived below the federal poverty line. In 2010, that number topped 77 million. Advertisement When talking about the role that geography plays in keeping people at the bottom of the income ladder, it's worth noting the stark disparities of race. Fifty percent of African Americans live in neighborhoods where poverty is concentrated--compared with 44 percent of Hispanics and 20 percent of whites. What's more, nearly half of black families living in the poorest 25 percent of American neighborhoods have lived there for three generations. In its May 2016 report, 'Billion Dollar Bets' to Create Economic Opportunity for Every American, The Bridgespan Group identifies 15 areas where philanthropy can help restore economic opportunity for low-income Americans. Reducing concentrated poverty is one of these areas. Tackling a challenge of this scope requires patient capital. The federal government's investment in housing vouchers is one example of such long-term capital; this may be the time for philanthropists, who are willing to accept the risk, to capitalize on newfound momentum, as well as promising models for change. Moving to Opportunity Consider Baltimore, where a child who grows up in a low-income family earns less than any of the 100 largest counties in the country. But Baltimore also boasts one of the country's most promising programs for moving people up and out of poverty. Since 2003, the Baltimore Housing Mobility Program has moved more than 3,200 African American families out of high-poverty, highly segregated neighborhoods into low-poverty, racially mixed neighborhoods. The program seeks communities with low poverty and crime rates, high-quality schools, racial and economic diversity, and employment centers--features that ensure families aren't just moving to neighborhoods that are a little less poor. Advertisement Moving low-income families into more promising neighborhoods is not a new idea. In the 1990s, the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) devised the Moving to Opportunity for Fair Housing (MTO) experiment. Working through public housing authorities in five major cities--Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York City--MTO randomly selected families living in intense poverty to receive housing counseling and vouchers. In Chicago, many families who made the move went on to thrive. Parents had lower rates of obesity and depression; kids who moved when they were 12 or younger went on to earn incomes nearly one-third higher than their peers who stayed behind. Both programs show that moving to a better neighborhood can improve a child's life trajectory, increasing both college attendance and average income as young adults. Revitalizing Communities Of course, not all families want to leave their neighborhoods. Helping families where they are remains a critical need. Housing is an important issue when considering revitalizing communities. Private investors and the federal government are supporting initiatives that consider housing and other needs. For example, Purpose Built Communities provides social services to distressed neighborhoods. Meanwhile, HUD's Choice Neighborhoods initiative rehabilitates housing and commercial real estate. There is growing recognition that housing policies are not serving poor communities well. In 2015, the US Supreme Court reached a decision that expanded the Fair Housing Act of 1968 to prohibit government housing policies that unintentionally discriminate against minority groups, such as policies that continue to concentrate black poverty. Also in 2015, HUD established the Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing (AFFH) Final Rule, which puts pressure on local and regional housing authorities to increase access to fair, affordable housing in their communities. Already, governments are feeling the heat to reverse underinvestment in low-income communities and build new housing-mobility programs. Advertisement For Philanthropists, Not an "Either/Or" Choice For decades, the social sector has debated whether the best way to reduce concentrated poverty is to transform high-poverty communities or to help people move to communities with more opportunity. Now, we know it's not an "either/or" choice. The challenge is so complex, it makes sense to pursue both strategies simultaneously. For philanthropists looking to improve the lives of the poorest Americans, there is ample opportunity to build on promising housing-mobility programs like those in Baltimore and Chicago. A starting point would be to invest in creating a national nonprofit to serve as a hub for expertise on housing-mobility programs. This entity could provide technical assistance and seed grants to regional programs, as well as create a consistent set of quality standards for housing-mobility programs. Investors could also develop regional mobility programs in as many as 20 to 25 targeted regions, providing many more families with the chance to move to higher-opportunity neighborhoods. To help those people who remain where they live, there is a critical need to assess neighborhoods based on both the most distressing aspects of the neighborhood (such as crime), as well as their assets (such as potential funding streams that could be redirected or increased). Investors can also support community preservation strategies aimed at purchasing and maintaining affordable rental units for qualified, low-income families. Better Homes, Higher Incomes How might such investments pay off? Since data on the effects of revitalizing neighborhoods is limited, Bridgespan has focused on the potential outcomes of housing-mobility programs. We estimate a $1 billion investment in building access to better housing opportunities could help provide housing vouchers to 4,000 to 8,000 families living in each of the 20 to 25 targeted regions. This would benefit between 45,000 to 85,000 children--and lead to potential lifetime family earnings returns of between $4.5 and $8.5 billion. Advertisement Most importantly, it would lift these children onto the rungs of the economic ladder and give them a real chance to climb upward. *** By Joshua Rosenblum, ZEALnyc Contributing Writer, February 7, 2017 On February 4 at Carnegie Hall, the famously conductorless Orpheus Chamber Orchestra presented a performance of Tchaikovsky's beloved Violin Concerto with a twist: the soloist Vadim Gluzman played the piece on the actual instrument that inspired the composer to write the piece. The violin in question was owned at the time by Leopold Auer, who was the concertmaster of the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow. Tchaikovsky wrote the piece for Auer to premiere, but the violinst, according to legend, declared the difficult work to be unplayable, and though he eventually warmed to it, Tchaikovsky didn't live to hear him perform it. Gluzman, the current proprietor of the very same 1690 Stradivarius, can no doubt give a spectacular rendition of the piece on any instrument, but these special circumstances turned this performance into something resembling a holy ritual. The audience was rapt as Gluzman drew dark, rich, opulent sound out of the violin, playing with pure, sweet intonation and no-nonsense phrasing. He let the piece speak for itself, which it did gloriously, and every note of the blisteringly fast runs rang out sonorously. His playing seemed almost frictionless, with no harsh attacks and nearly imperceptible bow changes. Gluzman gave a refreshingly unsyrupy rendering of the second movement's gorgeous, singing melody. Even when he stretched the phrases slightly it didn't seem indulgent. Somehow the orchestra stayed with him in his bat-out-of-hell approach to the last movement, whose main theme seemed faster every time it reappeared. The call and response woodwind figures in the lyrical interludes were particularly well-shaped, and the headlong lunge to the end was electrifying. Advertisement The amazing precision of ensemble that Orpheus displays without benefit of a conductor remains a marvel. The orchestra opened the program with Mendelssohn's Symphony No. 3 in A minor ("Scottish"), and the level of personal commitment from the players was immediately obvious. With nobody on the podium waving a stick, each orchestra member is more deeply involved, both musically and physically. Although this symphony is not one of the more overtly thrilling items in the repertoire, the players treated the musical materials reverentially, with the kind of subtle shadings and shaping one associates with a charismatic conductor. The transitions between sections of different tempos were done seamlessly, and the rhythmically vigorous passages came off with fireworks and verve. The concertmaster (it was a different player for each piece) clearly played a leadership role, but there was no obvious bobbing up and down to provide the beat--it was thoroughly a group endeavor. The technically challenging second movement featured snappy dotted rhythms and ended with remarkably synchronous string pizzicato. The ensemble's warmly integrated string tone was especially apparent in the noble, regal third movement; the players made serene poetry out of the long lyrical lines of the opening theme. In the exciting last movement vivace, the ensemble did subtle bends of tempo and shifts of dynamics as a near perfect unit. It was a model of virtuosity, cooperation, and commitment. Preceeding the Tchaikovsky concerto on the second half was Michael Hersch's twenty-minute, eight-movement work end stages, an Orpheus commission and New York City premiere. Like his recent chamber opera On the Threshold of Winter, which Hersch described as a sister piece, end stages is about confronting terminal cancer. The first section opens with glassy sounding string effects, woodwind shrieks, and an unsettling low-register bassoon crescendo. Astringent harmonies and alternating gestures of pain and placidity contribute to the depiction of a world in turmoil. In the fourth movement, the woodwinds attempt a relatively normal sounding chorale melody, but the other instruments interrupt and then take over completely. Hersch has a formidable arsenal of modernist devices at his disposal, but it's not just a bag of tricks; he's expressing something profound and deeply personal with his inventive sonorities, textures, and emphatic gestures. As he put it in brief spoken remarks before the performance, there is a lot of friction between writing something that is completely private but that gets communicated to other human beings. This piece is not exactly a crowd-pleaser, but the audience could tell it took a lot of guts to write and they responded appreciatively to the authenticity. _____________________ Advertisement Orpheus Chamber Orchestra in concert at Carnegie Hall on February 4, 2017. Vadim Gluzman, violin. MENDELSSOHN Symphony No. 3, "Scottish" M. HERSCH end stages (NY Premiere) TCHAIKOVSKY Violin Concerto Cover: Vadim Gluzman; photo: Marco Borggreve _____________________ Joshua Rosenblum, a Contributing Writer for ZEALnyc, writes on classical music performance, theater, and related topics. For more ZEALnyc features, read: Please Wait - Uploading.... Will Geothermal Heating Replace Natural Gas in Your Ontario Home? Feb 7th, 2017 8:01 AM Will Geothermal Heating Replace Natural Gas in Your Ontario Home? Low carbon emission heating in a warming climate is focus of Ontario Geothermal Association conference Feb. 21-22, 2017 in Mississauga The Ontario Geothermal Association welcomes industry leaders from across North America and Europe to their Annual Meeting. The theme is Ontarios Climate Change Action Plan and geothermal technologys role in Ontarios energy future - will Geo be heating your house in the near future?Minister Glen Murray, industry representatives and speakers from the USA, Canada and Europe will be present and responding to questions, such as: Is Ontario ready to have geothermal services delivered like a natural gas utility? In a low carbon world, what is Geos advantage, why are we not using more Geo in Ontario?February 21st & February 22nd, 2017.Hilton Mississauga/Meadowvale, 6750 Mississauga Rd, Mississauga, and Ontario- Ontario, Enbridge Gas Distribution(Markaryd, Sweden), Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Institute of Canada (HRAI)(Kissimmee, FL)-(Corporate headquarters in Greenville, IL, production facilities in Mitchell, SDThe temperature of the Earths core is over 4,000 degrees Celsius, with the inner heat radiating outward from the core and heat from the Sun radiating inward from the Earths surface. In the province of Ontario, the Earths temperature stays constant in the top 200 meters of the crust, ranging from 6-11 degrees Celsius depending on the regions seasonal temperature.Geothermal HVAC systems utilize energy extracted from the Earth and is able to dependably distribute heating and cooling no matter what the climate as the energy extracted remains at a constant temperature throughout the year. A Samsung Electronics Co. Galaxy S7 Edge smartphones is displayed at the company's Galaxy Zone store in the COEX mall in Seoul, South Korea, on Wednesday, Jan. 4, 2017. (Photo : Getty Images/ SeongJoon Cho) Android 7.0 Nougat update might be rolling out for Samsung Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge users in the United States and some select regions but a wider deployment of the same is unlikely to happen in the next few months. New reports indicated that international users of the same flagship handsets will have to wait a little longer for Nougat, perhaps beyond June 2017. Advertisement Specifically, the Android Nougat worldwide update for the Galaxy S7 Edge will not happen anytime soon, Android Headlines reported, adding that the same likely applies to the regular GS7. The site pointed to a screenshot of a recent chat exchanges between an S7 Edge owner and a Samsung tech support representative as source of its information. In the conversation, the Sammy fan identified as Mr. John informed the Samsung rep that his device is still in Android Marshmallow and fired off the question: When is Nougat coming to town? And the answer was: "The closest timescale I can advise is from the month of April till June ... This year." Phone Arena picked up too on the same report first published by XDA Developers and pointed out that the GS7 Edge in question was purchased from Singapore. And that could mean that Android Nougat for Samsung's 2016 flagship phones will not be delivered as promised not only in the country but in most regions around the world. The only exceptions would be in the U.S. and in South Korea, where Samsung is headquartered. "There's a high chance that Singapore is not the only country where Android 7.0 Nougat for the Galaxy S7 edge will be available many months after the initial release. The same might be applied to the regular Galaxy S7 as well," Phone Arena added on its report. And "many months" could translate into a long wait that likely will extend beyond the June deadline provided by the Samsung representative. There will be many disappointing scenarios for Samsung on this. One is that the Galaxy S8, rumored to come out April 2017, will be the first to rock Android Nougat and not any of the GS7 variants. And the likelihood is there that Google will have already revealed the follow up to Nougat but the latter is yet to be absorbed by the majority of GS7 users. Normally, Google unveils the next Android version, likely to be codenamed Android O or version 8.0 this 2017, during its annual I/O Developers Conference that is held late May or early June. As of writing, Samsung has no official word on the matter. Early morning fire heavily damages southeast Hutchinson home Hutchinson resident and his four dogs escaped the home without injury. The cause remains under investigation, fire officials reported. 10 Pandora Initiatives It Says Are Moving The Music Industry Forward Not long ago, if you asked someone in the music industry about Pandora, you'd get an earful about aggressive attempts to pay lower royalties. Now, their not paying much more than they always did; but most would give the streamer a thumbs up. That shift is largely because artist-friendly founder Tim Westergren took control and launched a series of musician and music industry friendly initiatives. ______________________________________ By Glenn Peoples, Music Insights and Analytics at Pandora The recorded music industry is like a boulder on a hill. Pushing the boulder up the hill is difficult even during the best of times. When new formats and technologies spur periods of transition, the boulder gets heavier, the hill gets steeper, and the industry retreats a few steps. Thats what has happened in the U.S. music industry over the last dozen or so years. But in the past couple years, the boulder has reversed course, the ground has become steadier and the CD-to-download-to-streaming transition has become smoother. Revenues are rising in the U.S. and around the world. Business models are evolving and taking shape. New products are being launched. Now the boulder doesnt seem so heavy. What did Pandora do to help push the music industry forward in 2016? Plenty. The year was marked by the launch of forward-thinking products, unique content and landmark agreements with rights holders. More information on each item is below, but heres the list of ten ways Pandora is helping the music industry evolve and improve: direct licensing agreements with record labels, Pandora Premium, Pandora Plus and offline listening, a replay function, Thumbprint Radio, the Ticketfly integration with Pandora, the Questlove Supreme show, the This American Life podcast and the Next Big Sound charts. Pandora got a new logo and new branding in 2016. DIRECT LICENSING DEALS WITH RECORD LABELS In September, Pandora announced it signed direct licensing agreements with Universal Music Group, Sony Music, Warner Music Group and Merlin Network. These were landmark deals that have allowed Pandora to build new products that introduce new features and guide the company into a new era. Three items on this list are the direct result of these deals. First is the upcoming launch of Pandora Premium, the new $9.99-per-month, premium service with on-demand features. The arrival of Pandora Premium brings a strong competitor to an on-demand market that had an 83-percent growth in streams last year, according to BuzzAngle. Two innovative, first-to-market features for Pandoras core radio products are also the results of the new deals: offline listening for Pandora Plus and a replay function on both Pandora Plus and the free, ad-supported Pandora service (more on those below). These licensing deals they cover the use of labels sound recordings follow the direct licensing deals Pandora signed in late 2015 with both small and large music publishers as well as performing rights organizations ASCAP and BMI. On a separate but related note, the direct deals give artists and rights holders increased royalty rates across all three tiers. [A side note: Four years ago Pandora had no direct licenses, no industry relations team, and was boggled down in a public dispute with trade groups representing artists and rights holders. But not long after, the earliest of high-level licensing talks began, an industry relations team began to take shape (see proof in the late January Billboard cover story) and Pandora began work on preparing itself for its next phase.] How it moves the industry forward: Better, more innovative services will help expand the premium streaming market. New features will raise the bar for what consumers expect from services. PANDORA PREMIUM Pandora Premium addresses what for years have been premium services biggest problems: the intimidation and complexity of premium music services. Entering an on-demand servicethose on-demand, unlimited-listening-for-$9.99-a-month services can be like walking into a museum the size of ten airplane hangers with a nearly indecipherable map and a half-blind guide. A user requires help to enjoy a large catalog of songs. Curators and editors are often employed by these services. They also get automated recommendations. Some people actually invest the time and energy to endlessly perform the digital equivalent of crate-digging for choice vinyl records. Pandora Premium takes a very Pandora approach to the premium service with a personalized product that does the heavy lifting for the listener. The service leverages its trove of listener data and uses the Music Genome Project, a taxonomy of the songs in its catalog, to recommend and select songs. People have thumbed songs on Pandora for yearssome for a decade or soand those thumbs help Premium create radio stations, recommend new music, and suggest and create playlists of favorite artist and genres. One particularly helpful feature, add similar songs, automatically adds five songs a playlist with the press of a button. Press it again and five more songs are added. Easy. And like the existing Pandora service, Premium has a personalized browse feature for finding new music, playlists and artists. Also easy. How it moves the industry forward: Pandora Premium is a unique take on giving people music they like and music they dont yet know they like. In a competitive field, Pandora has a differentiated product that can leverage a listener base of over 78 million monthly listeners. Offline listening in Pandora Plus. The app will switch to offline listening when the smartphone loses a cellular signal. PANDORA PLUS AND OFFLINE LISTENING Until September, digital radio was a live-in-the-moment experience. Just like broadcast radio, digital radio services could stream music but couldnt download it; as required by the standard license, services must limit the number of times a person could skip a song and couldnt allow replays. Pandoras direct licensing deals birthed Pandora Plus, the update and rebrand of the long-running Pandora One ad free, subscription radio service. One new feature is offline listening, a first for a non-interactive digital radio service. Plus automatically downloads the songs of a users three favorite channels plus their Thumbprint Radio station. New York City subway riders, drivers through cellular dead zones in Los Angeles, and frequent air travelers will appreciate the automatic downloads. The other feature is unlimited skips. Pandora One limited the number of times a user could skip songs. Because of new licensing deals, Pandora Plus doesnt limit the number of skips on iOS and Android devices. The ad-supported, free service also gets an improved skip policy. When free listeners hit their skip limit they can unlock additional skips by engaging with an ad. How it moves the industry forward: Better features lead to better products and a better listening experience. Better products provide more value to consumers. Premium services must always innovate for the music subscription market to reach critical mass. Listeners now have the ability to replay a song. Thats a first for this type of digital radio service. SONG REPLAYS Going back over ten years, the main Pandora radio service had been totally non-interactive. A listener could skip a track or thumb a song, but a specific song could neither be played on-demand nor replayed. You listened, you thumbed and you skipped. Skip forward to September 2016 and the direct licensing agreements (see above) enabled Pandora to create a replay feature for both the free, ad-supported service and Pandora Plus. This is a big moment in music streaming. Its a delightful addition for listeners who cant bear the wait a traditional digital radio service imposes on hearing a song twice. Pandora Plus subscribers get to replay songs in their listening history (swipe to the right). Free listeners get a reply by watching a video ad. How it moves the industry forward: Replays is a first-to-market, interactive feature for an otherwise non-interactive radio service. Finally, listeners can repeat a song they love. Thumbprint Radio knows what you listened to last summer. THUMBPRINT RADIO Thumbprint Radio, launched in December 2015, has been called the most popular radio station in the world. Thats a bold claim for a new feature of just one digital radio service but the numbers back it up. Through January, the year-old station had 9.2 billion spins by 28 million listenersat just one station. Theres a good reason so many people are listening. The aptly-named Thumbprint Radio gives each listener a station based on songs theyve thumbed on Pandora. If a Thumbprint Radio station could be called Joes Greatest Hits, for example, it would spin songs Joe has thumbed in the past and songs he is sure to like now. The result is a thoughtful if that word can apply to algorithms selection of familiar songs that span the users listening history. A listener will notice how the songs easily flow from one genre to the next. A group of metal songs might be followed by downtempo electronic songs, thumping indie rock songs and then a group of West African afro-funk tracks. This is real progress. When the iPod was released in 2001, people could mix their MP3 collection with the iPods shuffle feature. [A dozen years ago, people so loved to shuffle songs in their MP3 collections that Apple released in 2005 the iPod shuffle, a small, screen-less music player that could only shuffle songs.] Sure, shuffle gave people songs people liked, but it was a disjointed experience that could jolt the listener when Metallica was followed by Norah Jones. This kind of listening experience, first a drunken walk through a music collection, then a poorly guided tour, has been improved over the last 12 years as recommendation engines became more prevalent. Now theres Thumbprint Radio, the best way to hear songs you already know you like. How it moves the industry forward: Thumbprint Radio is the best of the guided tour types of radio stations and ups the ante for delivering a better listening experience. TICKETFLY INTEGRATION Hear a song and seconds later purchase a ticket to an upcoming show without leaving the app. It wasnt possible before Pandoras acquisition of Ticketfly and the technology integration that allows Pandora to use its platform to sell concert tickets. The combination of services give the Pandora listener has a simple route perhaps the simplest path from learning about a concert to buying a ticket. (If you havent gone into your Pandora apps feed, youre probably missing concert announcements and ticket offerssome by Ticketfly venuesthat show how frictionless this process really is.) From the ticket sellers points of view, the integration provides tools to promote concerts and sell tickets. Artists can use Pandoras Artist Marketing Platform (more on that below) to promote upcoming shows by recording an audio message thats streamed to fans listening to their Pandora station. The listener hasnt seen much of the Ticketfly integration but will notice more in 2017. 2016 was a year of hard work integrating the two platforms. How it moves the industry forward: For the music industry, the addition of Ticketfly creates a more diverse, more powerful partner in Pandora. Taking a wider view, stacking Ticketfly onto Pandora changes the thinking about what a standalone streaming service can be. The activity feed in Jill Scotts Artist Marketing Platform account. Helpful tips and metrics provide insight and suggestions on how to utilize the AMP platform. ARTIST MARKETING PLATFORM (AMP) Its common for artists and managers to look at a streaming service and ask, What else can you do for me? Provide information? Help promote, market and sell things? Pandora can say, Yes, yes and yes. The Artist Marketing Platform, simply called AMP, launched in 2014 and was updated in October with more features and a cleaner layout. Other tools exist to help artists market, promote and sell, but nothing else reaches such a large number of fans in this way. Not only can AMP help artists sell concert tickets (see above paragraph) it also offers tools that builds campaigns and analyzes their effectiveness. A new feature allows artists to record audio messagesthis can also be done on the mobile app, AMPcastand stream them to fans across the nation or in specific markets. Campaigns built around artist audio message, as theyre called, are good for planning a tour and targeting fans in specific markets. Artists also have the ability to choose a featured track that gets accelerated spins to reach more listeners. The potential reach of these audio messages may surprise people because an artist can have far more Pandora stations than followers on social media. Just as an example, Bon Jovi has 5.7 million Pandora artist stations compared to 2.4 million Twitter followers. How it moves the industry forward: AMP sets a new standard for free artists tools offered by a music streaming service. Questlove hosts a radio show thats a music junkies dream, says Consequence of Sound. QUESTLOVE SUPREME Questlove was a big get for Pandora. His show, Questlove Supreme, combines interviews, humor, and music that reflect the tastes of it host, the drummer for The Roots, pop culture icon, NYU professor and a tastemaker of the highest regard, Questlove. Listeners get to hear Questlove chat and trade witticisms with guests (Maya Rudolph, Solange, Purple Jewels, Shep Gordon, Q-Tip, and The Revolution, among others) while spinning familiar songs and unearthing rarer ones. Consequence of Sound summed it up well by calling the show it a music junkies dream for the handpicked mixtape of Questlove-approved jams. Each weeks three-hour episode debuts on Wednesdays. Aside from the show itself, Questlove Supreme is also unique from a business angle because the host is a strategic advisor to Pandora and its first artist ambassador. How it moves the industry forward: Shows like this, and a household name like this, broaden the role and identity of a streaming service. Offering more great content can only help attract listeners, keep them listening and bring them back. Ira Glass and This American Life is an NPR favorite thats now available at Pandora. THIS AMERICAN LIFE The definition of a music streaming service is breaking apart. Pandora got into the podcast business in 2015 by becoming the exclusive streaming partner of the immensely popular Serial podcast. Last year, Pandora took another step into podcasts and began streaming This American Life, the long-running public radio show heard by over 2.2 million people every week. (Serial, a podcast sensation not available on broadcast radio, was a spinoff of This American Life.) On Pandora, This American Life had 28 million episode streams through mid-January. One important facet of Pandoras approach to podcasts is their visibility. Pandora greeted the show with fanfare and wide media coverage. At Pandora the show has its own station page where listeners can choose from older episodes as well as segments within episodes. Its a fresh way to hear a 21-year-old classic. How it moved the industry forward: See above. See above. Great content and household namesat least in the homes of regular NPR listenersbroaden a streaming service and give people another reason to listen and, if all goes well, subscribe, too. Pandora acquired Next Big Sound, a music data and analytics company, in 2015. NEXT BIG SOUND CHARTS In August, Pandora debuted three charts from Next Big Sound, the Pandora-owned music data and analytics company: Pandora Predictions, Pandora Trendsetters and Pandora Top Spins. Each chart highlights artists at different spots in their careers and levels of popularity. Each adds insights and different perspectives on what artists and songs are connecting with listeners. (For editorial insights, see Next Big Sounds blog with data-driven writings.) Pandora Predictions is based on social media activity and has up-and-coming artists that havent landed on a major Billboard chart (Hot 100, Billboard 200, Country Airplay, et al). Pandora Trendsetters tracks the social activity and Pandora spins of artists in the early stages of their careers. Pandora Top Spins ranks songs by Pandora spins. There are numerous scenarios for using these charts. A&R reps can use Pandora Predictions to track unsigned artists. People in and out of the industry can look to Pandora Trendsetters for the artists of tomorrow and Pandora Top Spins to see how the most popular artists are resonating with listeners. How it moves the industry forward: The industry benefits from new charts that provide a different look at the music industry. The Pandora Spins chart is especially vital because it reveals the top songs at the countrys most popular digital radio service. Share on: 4 Major Live Music Trends Changing The Industry This Year It may only be February, but the year 2017 has already proven itself to be one of major change for the live music industry. Here we look at five different trends, whether it's a rise in activism or immersive theater, that are reshaping the live music business. _____________________________ Guest post by Rachel Grate of Eventbrite Were just one month into 2017, and its already proven to be a year of big changes and the live music industry is no exception to the rule. To stay on top of your game in a shifting landscape, you need a firm grip on the music trends that will shift the landscape in 2017. But dont take it from us take it from the nineteen industry pros we interviewed, including Newport Folk Festival, Afropunk, National Sawdust, and more. Heres how tastemakers predict the live music industry will change in 2017 and how you can use those trends to protect your business. 1. Activism will revive the live music community Music has recently been more about escapism than activism, says Jay Sweet, festival director and talent buyer for the Newport Festivals Foundation. But with major political changes coming in 2017, fans may be looking to their favorite artists to take a stance. Im excited because I think this could be the year where musicians could try to affect positive change through music, Sweet says. Matthew Morgan, the co-founder of Afropunk, believes fans will look to live music as an opportunity to make sense of the world around them. Were in line for some really great art over the next four years, [and] what were doing is going to be even more important, Morgan says. So many people are looking for things that are positive, that give them something meaningful in their lives. Were in line for some really great art over the next 4 years. Matthew Morgan of @afropunk In this quest for self-expression, fans and artists will use live performances as an opportunity to build community around shared causes. Festivals are a place for people to congregate safely a place to share a common, collective experience, Sweet says. It will be up to independent promoters and producers to create these safe spaces for activism. 2. Immersive theater will influence live music performances From popular events like The Speakeasy in San Francisco to the topic of breakout HBO show Westworld, immersive theater made a big splash in 2016. These shows make audience members a part of the performance, and this year, well see their influence begin to make live music performances more multidimensional. The world of immersive theater is about to explode, says Nick Panama, the founder of Cantora. Well be seeing a lot more experiential storytelling, and its influence on live music. Panama predicts live shows will expand the storytelling from the music itself to other senses. Instead of relying solely on audio cues or a screen behind them to tell a story, performers will begin to activate the entire room or stadium with immersive sensory details. Using a variety of new technologies, fans will become part of an alternate reality for the duration of the show. 3. Venues will band together to establish more sustainable economics With rising rent prices in cities across the country, venues are facing a serious financial challenge in 2017. Venues will either buy the land they sit on, or theyll move, says Brendon Anthony, the director of the Texas Music Office. Were not going to see our favorite venues in the same place unless they own the land. The venues that are iconic and last [will] need to control their rent. Venues will either buy the land they sit on or theyll move. @Brendon_Anthony of @txmusicoffice But venues may not be able to crack the code to sustainability on their own. Venues will have the most success if they band together to protect their businesses. There are real ways venues can work together to make their margins a bit easier to handle, Anthony says. In Texas and other states, for instance, venues, bars, and restaurants are all taxed in the same way, even though venues have to put more of their money back into infrastructure. There could be a way for venues to reduce their tax rate, but for that to happen, venues would have to define what being a venue means, and then go to work to lobby as a group for the change. Fighting for this recognition wont be easy, but its the best way for rooms to protect their business. Venues in the UK have already seen success with this strategy, led by the Music Venue Trust and their annual Venues Day, aimed at raising awareness and advocating for venue rights. Venues in the states will need to follow suit, banding together to protect the future of live music in their respective cities. 4. Brands will become even more intertwined with artists Sponsors spend $1.4 billion on the music industry in the United States each year, and that number is only going up. Instead of investing in large activations or stages at festivals, our experts predict that brands will focus more on building relationships with specific artists in the next year. Mark Monahan, the festival director of Ottawa Bluesfest, has seen this shift firsthand. In the last few years, most sponsors want to activate around artists, Monahan says. Five years ago in the festivals space, that was a nonstarter. Artists are recognizing the role sponsors play in helping to fund festivals, and are more willing to participate in auxiliary activities. Currently, most of these artist activations look like meet and greets, or small, private shows with festival headliners. But these activations will need to evolve and become more natural to succeed in 2017. It is likely well see more activations like last years Lady Gagas Dive Bar Tour, sponsored by Bud Light. The series focused on one of the most important roles a brand can play for an artist: delighting fans by bringing them in more direct contact with their idols. But this integrated relationship between artists and brands could be in conflict with another trend that artists are more openly expressing their political beliefs. Im hesitant about what the branded content space is going to look like in the next year, Gaston says. If artists get more politically involved, will that impact how brands interact with artists? Its going to be really tricky if that spending shifts, especially since brand dollars have become more important to the bottom line for both artists and labels. Find out all seven live music trends and get more opinions on these four predictions in the full report: 2017 Music Trends: 7 Eye-Opening Predictions from Industry Pros. Rachel Grate is a writer for Eventbrite, where she regularly interviews organizers of the country's most popular events, from massive music festivals to small food & drink gatherings. She's a live music lover, a foodie, and a big fan of smiles. Share on: Iran Vows to Annihilate US Navy Fifth Fleet and Tel Aviv with Missiles in the Event of War Launch of an Iranian Fajr-3 MRBM. (Photo : IRGC) Iranian bombast is reaching dangerous levels with Iran now boasting it can smash the United States Fifth Fleet based in Bahrain and Tel Aviv, Israel's capital, with its ballistic missiles within minutes. "If the enemy makes a mistake, our roaring missiles will hit their targets," said Brig. Gen. Amir Ali Hajizadeh, commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Aerospace Force, during massive air defense drills. Advertisement Iran also warned its missiles will be launched against the Fifth Fleet in Bahrain; American military installations in the Indian Ocean and Tel Aviv if it's attacked by either the U.S. or Israel. "These points are all within the range of Iran's missile systems, and they will be razed to the ground if the enemy makes a mistake," said Mojtaba Zonour, a member of the Iranian parliament's National Security and Foreign Policy Commission. "And only seven minutes is needed for the Iranian missile to hit Tel Aviv." The new warnings follows new sanctions imposed by the Trump administration on Feb. 3 against Iranian government institutions and Iranian individuals in retaliation for Iran's failed test of an intermediate range ballistic missile in mid-January. It's also another act of reprisal against Trump's executive order of Jan. 27 that bans migrants and travelers from seven majority-Muslim countries coming to the US. Iran derided the Trump ban as an "affront against the Muslim world" and a "great gift to extremists." On Jan. 29, however, Iran blocked American citizens from entering the country in retaliation for Trump's ban on officials have said. Iran's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it will enforce the ban "until the offensive US limitations against Iranian nationals are lifted." On Feb. 4, Iran began massive military exercises in a boisterous response to a week of warnings from the Trump administration, including new sanctions. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said it tested missile and radar systems as part of the drill. It said the aim of the exercise was "to showcase the power of Iran's revolution and to dismiss the sanctions." The United States Fifth Fleet is responsible for naval forces in the Persian Gulf, Red Sea, Arabian Sea, and parts of the Indian Ocean. Two Nimitz-class aircraft carriers and their supporting carrier strike wings in Task Force 50 are part of the Fifth Fleet. The Fifth Fleet's mission is to keep the Strait of Hormuz open and deter unacceptable military behavior by the Iranians. Total revenue grew 8.0% or was up 10.6% in constant currency Digital revenue grew 27.6% or was up 30.2% in constant currency Net income was $24 million versus $28 million in the prior-year quarter OIBDA was $157 million versus $137 million in the prior-year quarter Warner Music Group Corp. today announced its first-quarter financial results for the period ended December 31, 2016. Our strong momentum continues with excellent first-quarter results including 11% constant-currency revenue growth on top of 11% growth in the prior-year quarter, said Steve Cooper, Warner Music Groups CEO. While streaming continues to drive industry growth, we are outperforming the market thanks to extraordinary music from our artists coupled with first-class execution from our operators around the world. We had another great quarter and I am very pleased with our revenue, OIBDA and cash flow performance, added Eric Levin, Warner Music Groups Executive Vice President and CFO. Our formula for sustainable growth is clearly working. Revenue grew 8.0% (or 10.6% in constant currency). Growth in Recorded Music digital and artist services and expanded-rights revenue and Music Publishing digital and synchronization revenue was partially offset by declines in Recorded Music physical and licensing revenue and Music Publishing mechanical and performance revenue. Revenue grew in all regions. Digital revenue grew 27.6% (or 30.2% in constant currency), and represented 48.4% of total revenue, compared to 41.0% in the prior-year quarter. Operating income was $94 million compared to $62 million in the prior-year quarter. OIBDA increased 14.6% to $157 million from $137 million in the prior-year quarter and OIBDA margin rose 1.0 percentage point to 17.1% from 16.1% in the prior-year quarter. The improvement in operating income and OIBDA was the result of increased revenue and the absence of legal settlement costs which impacted the prior-year quarter. The improvement in OIBDA margin was due to revenue mix. Adjusted OIBDA rose 17.5% and Adjusted OIBDA margin rose 1.5 percentage points to 17.6% from 16.1% as a result of the same factors which impacted OIBDA and OIBDA margin. Net income was $24 million compared to $28 million in the prior-year quarter and Adjusted net income was $28 million, flat with the prior-year quarter. The decline was primarily attributable to a loss on extinguishment of debt and increased tax expense related to higher pre-tax income in the quarter and the absence of a deferred tax benefit which impacted the prior-year quarter. These factors more than offset higher other income largely due to a gain related to the companys Euro-denominated debt and increased OIBDA. Adjusted operating income, Adjusted OIBDA and Adjusted net income exclude certain losses in the quarter related to PLG-related divestitures and the companys shared service center move. See below for calculations and reconciliations of OIBDA, Adjusted operating income, Adjusted OIBDA and Adjusted net income. As of December 31, 2016, the company reported a cash balance of $455 million, total debt of $2.755 billion and net debt (total long-term debt, [which is net of deferred financing costs of $35 million, minus cash) of $2.300 billion. There was no balance outstanding on the companys revolver during the quarter. Cash provided by operating activities was $156 million compared to $61 million in the prior-year quarter. The change was largely a result of working capital management and improved OIBDA. Free Cash Flow, defined below, was $144 million compared to $43 million in the prior-year quarter, reflecting the improvement in cash provided by operating activities, and modestly lower music publishing rights acquisitions and capital expenditures. Recorded Music revenue grew 8.1% (or 10.5% in constant currency). Growth in digital and artist services and expanded-rights revenue was partially offset by a decline in physical revenue due to the ongoing shift to streaming and a decline in licensing revenue primarily related to currency fluctuations. Digital growth reflects a continuing shift to streaming revenue. The improvement in artist services and expanded-rights revenue was due to higher merchandise revenue in the U.S. Recorded Music revenue grew in all regions. Major sellers included Bruno Mars, Michael Buble, twenty one pilots, the Hamilton original cast album and the Suicide Squad soundtrack album. Recorded Music operating income was $123 million up from $98 million in the prior-year quarter and operating margin was up 2.1 percentage points to 15.4% versus 13.3% in the prior-year quarter. Adjusted operating margin rose 2.5 percentage points to 15.8% from 13.3% in the prior-year quarter. OIBDA rose to $165 million from $152 million in the prior-year quarter driven by revenue growth. OIBDA margin rose 0.1 percentage point to 20.7% driven by revenue mix. Adjusted OIBDA was $168 million versus $152 million in the prior-year quarter with Adjusted OIBDA margin up 0.5 percentage points to 21.1%. The improvement in Adjusted OIBDA and Adjusted OIBDA margin were driven by the same factors which impacted OIBDA and OIBDA margin. Music Publishing revenue rose 6.9% (or 10.7% in constant currency). Growth in digital and synchronization revenue was partially offset by a decline in mechanical and a decline in performance revenue which was largely timing related. Music Publishing operating loss was $2 million compared with a loss of $13 million in the prior-year quarter. The improvement in operating income was due to revenue growth in the quarter and the absence of legal settlement costs which impacted the prior-year quarter. Music Publishing OIBDA rose by $11 million to $16 million, and Music Publishing OIBDA margin rose by 8.6 percentage points to 12.9% from 4.3%, due to the same factors which impacted operating income. Financial details for the quarter can be found in the companys current Form 10-Q, for the period ended December 31, 2016, filed today with the Securities and Exchange Commission. This morning, management will be hosting a conference call to discuss the results at 8:30 A.M. EST. The call will be webcast on www.wmg.com. About Warner Music Group With its broad roster of new stars and legendary artists, Warner Music Group is home to a collection of the best-known record labels in the music industry including Asylum, Atlantic, Big Beat, Canvasback, East West, Elektra, Erato, FFRR, Fueled by Ramen, Nonesuch, Parlophone, Reprise, Rhino, Roadrunner, Sire, Warner Bros., Warner Classics and Warner Music Nashville, as well as Warner/Chappell Music, one of the world's leading music publishers, with a catalog of more than one million copyrights worldwide. "Safe Harbor" Statement under Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 This communication includes forward-looking statements that reflect the current views of Warner Music Group about future events and financial performance. Words such as "estimates," "expects," "anticipates," "projects," "plans," "intends," "believes," "forecasts" and variations of such words or similar expressions that predict or indicate future events or trends, or that do not relate to historical matters, identify forward-looking statements. All forward-looking statements are made as of today, and we disclaim any duty to update such statements. Our expectations, beliefs and projections are expressed in good faith and we believe there is a reasonable basis for them. However, we cannot assure you that management's expectations, beliefs and projections will result or be achieved. Investors should not rely on forward-looking statements because they are subject to a variety of risks, uncertainties, and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from our expectations. Please refer to our Form 10-K, Form 10-Qs and our other filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission concerning factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in our forward-looking statements. We maintain an Internet site at www.wmg.com. We use our website as a channel of distribution of material company information. Financial and other material information regarding Warner Music Group is routinely posted on and accessible at http://investors.wmg.com. In addition, you may automatically receive email alerts and other information about Warner Music Group by enrolling your email address through the email alerts section at http://investors.wmg.com. Our website and the information posted on it or connected to it shall not be deemed to be incorporated by reference into this communication. Basis of Presentation The Company maintains a 52-53 week fiscal year ending on the last Friday in each reporting period. As such, all references to December 31, 2016 and December 31, 2015 relate to the periods ended December 30, 2016 and December 30, 2015, respectively. For convenience purposes, the Company continues to date its financial statements as of December 31. The fiscal year ended September 30, 2016 ended on September 30, 2016. Supplemental Disclosures Regarding Non-GAAP Financial Measures We evaluate our operating performance based on several factors, including the following non-GAAP financial measures: OIBDA OIBDA reflects our operating income before non-cash depreciation of tangible assets and non-cash amortization of intangible assets. We consider OIBDA to be an important indicator of the operational strengths and performance of our businesses, and believe the presentation of OIBDA helps improve the ability to understand our operating performance and evaluate our performance in comparison to comparable periods. However, a limitation of the use of OIBDA as a performance measure is that it does not reflect the periodic costs of certain capitalized tangible and intangible assets used in generating revenue in our businesses. Accordingly, OIBDA should be considered in addition to, not as a substitute for, operating income (loss), net income (loss) and other measures of financial performance reported in accordance with U.S. GAAP. In addition, OIBDA, as we calculate it, may not be comparable to similarly titled measures employed by other companies. Adjusted Operating Income (Loss), Adjusted OIBDA and Adjusted Net Income (Loss) Adjusted operating income (loss), Adjusted OIBDA and Adjusted net income (loss) is operating income (loss), OIBDA and net income (loss), respectively, adjusted to exclude the impact of certain items that affect comparability. Factors affecting period-to-period comparability of the unadjusted measures in the quarter included the items listed in Figure 8 below. We use Adjusted operating income (loss), Adjusted OIBDA and Adjusted net income (loss) to evaluate our actual operating performance. We believe that the adjusted results provide relevant and useful information for investors because they clarify our actual operating performance, make it easier to compare our results with those of other companies in our industry and allow investors to review performance in the same way as our management. Since these are not measures of performance calculated in accordance with U.S. GAAP, they should not be considered in isolation of, or as a substitute for, operating income (loss), OIBDA and net income (loss) attributable to Warner Music Group Corp. as indicators of operating performance, and they may not be comparable to similarly titled measures employed by other companies. Constant Currency Because exchange rates are an important factor in understanding period-to-period comparisons, we believe the presentation of revenue on a constant-currency basis in addition to reported revenue helps improve the ability to understand our operating results and evaluate our performance in comparison to prior periods. Constant-currency information compares results between periods as if exchange rates had remained constant period over period. We use results on a constant-currency basis as one measure to evaluate our performance. We calculate constant-currency results by applying current-year foreign currency exchange rates to prior-year results. However, a limitation of the use of the constant-currency results as a performance measure is that it does not reflect the impact of exchange rates on our revenue. These results should be considered in addition to, not as a substitute for, results reported in accordance with U.S. GAAP. Results on a constant-currency basis, as we present them, may not be comparable to similarly titled measures used by other companies and are not a measure of performance presented in accordance with U.S. GAAP. Free Cash Flow Free Cash Flow reflects our cash flow provided by operating activities less capital expenditures and cash paid or received for investments. We use Free Cash Flow, among other measures, to evaluate our operating performance. Management believes Free Cash Flow provides investors with an important perspective on the cash available to fund our debt service requirements, ongoing working capital requirements, capital expenditure requirements, strategic acquisitions and investments, and any dividends, prepayments of debt or repurchases or retirement of our outstanding debt or notes in open market purchases, privately negotiated purchases or otherwise. As a result, Free Cash Flow is a significant measure of our ability to generate long-term value. It is useful for investors to know whether this ability is being enhanced or degraded as a result of our operating performance. We believe the presentation of Free Cash Flow is relevant and useful for investors because it allows investors to view performance in a manner similar to the method management uses. Because Free Cash Flow is not a measure of performance calculated in accordance with U.S. GAAP, Free Cash Flow should not be considered in isolation of, or as a substitute for, net income (loss) as an indicator of operating performance or cash flow provided by operating activities as a measure of liquidity. Free Cash Flow, as we calculate it, may not be comparable to similarly titled measures employed by other companies. In addition, Free Cash Flow does not necessarily represent funds available for discretionary use and is not necessarily a measure of our ability to fund our cash needs. Because Free Cash Flow deducts capital expenditures and cash paid or received for investments from net cash provided by operating activities (the most directly comparable U.S. GAAP financial measure), users of this information should consider the types of events and transactions that are not reflected. We provide below a reconciliation of Free Cash Flow to the most directly comparable amount reported under U.S. GAAP, which is net cash provided by operating activities. Councilor Kathleen Amuso has spent 14 years in public office. Pittsfield Councilor Kathleen Amuso Won't Seek Re-election PITTSFIELD, Mass. Councilor at Large Kathleen Amuso will not seek re-reelection. Amuso sent out a statement Tuesday morning saying that she believes "it is the right time for me to step away" after 14 years in public office. Amuso was first elected to the School Committee in 2003 and left in 2013 to succesfully run for the City Council. She has served two terms on the council. As she began to think about the next election in the fall, she decided it was the right time to step aside and find other avenues to help the city. "I wanted to step down early enough so if people are thinking about running, they know at least one incumbent is not running," Amuso said on Tuesday. She plans to finish out her term. One of her largest accomplishments is her work of 12 years on the School Building Needs Commission, a role she said she plans to continue even after her council term is up, which has led to the construction of a brand new Taconic High School. "It has taken us quite a few years to get to where we are," Amuso said, later adding, "I think it's been a great project for the city." That process included a year of looking at regionalionization, lengthy debates about whether the city should have one school or two, working through the Massachusetts School Building Authority's system to get funding, and hundreds of public meetings. She played a role in determining the vocational offerings of the new school and said the committee has "really made excellent choices in our partners" who are heading the construction. "I think we came together as a community," Amuso said. During her time on the School Committee, she said is particularly happy with her efforts to align curriculum throughout schools. She said early in her time as a member different schools and different grades were using disparate curriculum, often leaving gaps. She said she worked to take those several different programs and bring them into a more cohesive curriculum for the entire district. "We spent a few years looking at the continuity of the programs," Amuso said. On the City Council, Amuso had been aggressive in advocating for reductions to the budget, particularly last year. At the same time, she said she was proud to support public safety initiatives to make the city safer. "I really supported safety which we needed to approve and I'm fiscally conscience," Amuso said. "I think I really have been fiscally responsible with how I handled the budget and will continue to do so." While she may not be seeking another term on the council, Amuso says she will still remain active in the community. She'll miss the initiatives she has been a part of to help the city, but says she'll find other ways to fill that niche. She already plans on continuing with the School Building Needs Committee, as a trustee at the Berkshire Athenaeum, and as a committee member for the Children's Holiday Extravaganza at the Colonial Theatre. "My experience on both the City Council and School Committee has been rewarding and challenging. It has been a privilege to serve the people of Pittsfield as an elected official. I want to thank everyone, especially my family, for all of the support I have received. I will serve the remainder of my term with the same vigor and energy that the people of Pittsfield deserve," Amuso wrote in the statement she released Tuesday morning. "I will continue to serve as the co-chair of the School Building Needs Commission and as a trustee at the Berkshire Athenaeum. I will also investigate other opportunities where I can serve this great community." While she still plans to remain active in city affairs, she says she'll really miss the people she worked with in various capacities the most. "I'll miss the people I am working with.... It's really been a great experience and it was a difficult decision," she said. The RINJ Foundation is seeking to ban Detroit rappers Big Sean and Eminem because of their newly released collaboration song titled "No Favors." The song is one of the 14 tracks in Sean's fourth studio album titled "I Decided," which was released by GOOD Music and Def Jam Recordings on Feb. 3, Friday. Advertisement In a statement released in its official website, the RINJ Foundation said it strongly urges the boycott of rape rappers and their labels. As stated in its website, the women's organization aims to fight for the safety of women and children as it seeks to end malicious and hateful ideologies fueling gender-based violence and terrorism. "In a poorly mastered rap recording by RAPE RAPPERS Marshall Bruce Mathers (Eminem) and Sean Michael Anderson (BigSean), America's most popular and most vulgar heroes demonstrate why and how America became a global pariah," the RINJ Foundation explained. "The February 2017 recording includes lyrics about raping American author Ann Coulter." Coulter herself has slammed Eminem and the song. The conservative social and political commentator, who is a supporter of United States president Donald Trump, told TMZ that it was unfortunate that the left has normalized violence against women. By the left, Coulter refers to the people who are against Trump. In this context, the left includes the "Rap God" rapper. "He talks about effing women with an umbrella until the bleep comes out," Coulter said of Eminem. "This goes on for years." "No Favors" was co-written by Sean and Eminem with Brittany Hazzard, Ebony Oshunrinde, Francis Bach-Hoang Nguyen Tran, Mark Sebastian, Steven Boone and John Sebastian. With a running time of 5 minutes and 25 seconds, it is the longest collaboration song in "I Decided." The other five collaboration songs in the album are "Light" featuring Jeremih, "Same Time Pt. 1" featuring Twenty88, "Sunday Morning Jetpack" featuring The-Dream, "Sacrifices" featuring Migos and "Bigger Than Me" featuring Flint Chozen Chour and Starrah. Here is a video of Sean freestyling: Alicia Vikander attends the Louis Vuitton show as part of the Paris Fashion Week Womenswear Spring/Summer 2017 on October 5, 2016 in Paris, France. (Photo : Getty Images/Pascal Le Segretain) The filming of the highly anticipated "Tomb Raider" reboot is finally underway in South Africa and the first photos from the set have just been leaked. The photos has fans buzzing as Alicia Vikander takes on the role of Lara Croft. Fans were excited to see the Academy Award-winning actress in her new avatar ever since she was tapped to play Croft in the film adaptation of the popular video game franchise. Vikander's role was previously made famous by Angelina Jolie, who starred in the previous two film adaptations; "Lara Croft: Tomb Raider" and "Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life." Advertisement "The Danish Girl" actress is proving herself to be an impressive Croft as the on-set images show her performing several stunts atop a wooden bar. Wearing a low-cut khaki top and black trousers with her hair tied up in a braid, Vikander nailed Croft's signature look as she jumped and swung off the wooden platform. The upcoming film's plot revolves around a young Croft as she follows her father's footsteps and sets off on her first archeological adventure. In a telephonic interview with Uproxx in July 2016, Vikander pointed out that the film was based on the 2013 reboot of the video game. "That is more of an origin story, she told the publication. "You get into an emotional aspect of getting to know Lara hopefully in an in-depth way. So I hope that doing a film of the rebooted game will bring something new and fresh that"ll stand on its own two legs." "The Wire" star Dominic West will be playing the role of Croft's father in the film alongside Daniel Wu, who plays a ship captain, and Walton Goggins, who has been tapped to play the bad guy, according to Screen Crush. Norwegian filmmaker Roar Uthaug, whose credits include "The Wave," will be directing the action-adventure flick based on a script penned by "Transformers: The Last Knight" scribe Geneva Robertson-Dworet. The "Tomb Raider" reboot has currently been set for a March 16, 2018, release. Check out the first look of Vikander as Lara Croft in the video below: 'The King' star Jo In-Sung hopes to star in 'Goblin' writer Kim Eun Sook's next project after 'It's Okay, That's Love' South Korean actor Jo In-Sung plays the character of Park Tae-Soo in 'The King.' (Photo : YouTube/Movieclips Film Festivals & Indie Films ) Jo In-Sung, who rose to fame after starring in 2004's "What Happened in Bali," seems to have been totally bowled over by screenwriter Kim Eun Sook. The 35-year-old actor recently expressed his desire to work with the latter, whose previous projects include the mega-hit TV series "Goblin" and "Descendants of the Sun." Advertisement Jo, who will be seen playing an ambitious prosecutor Park Tae-Soo in Han Jae-Rim's "The King," has been quite busy with the film's promotional activities. In a recent interview with the local media, as cited by Soompi, the veteran actor hopes for an opportunity to work with screenwriter Kim. "Although I don't know what screenwriter Kim Eun Sook has planned for her next project, I really hope that I can be a part of it," Jo said. While many are happy about it, some are doubtful that the screenwriter will cast him. Jo's last drama was the 16-episode SBS series "It's Okay, That's Love." He was one of the actors who declined the role of Captain Yoo Shi Jin in KBS 2TV's "Descendants of the Sun." He turned down the offer because the role required him to have a short haircut and he was skeptical about starring in a fully pre-produced drama. This comes after writer Kim discussed her next project following the successful run of the tvN fantasy drama. She will take a three-month break before starting her next project that she intended to complete by the first half of 2018. "I've always had an interest in historical dramas," Korean newsoutlet Munhwa, as cited by Drama Beans, quoted writer Kim as saying before a group of local media. "Through 'Goblin,' I kind of feel that I have experimented enough to actually do a full historic drama as my next project." For now, check out the official trailer of "The King" below: Italy has said that judicial cooperation to resolve the case of Italian student Giulio Regeni, who was murdered in Egypt early in 2016, is "essential" to relations with Egypt, Italian news website AnsaMed reported. Italy is "evaluating the development of judicial cooperation" with the Egyptian authorities, "which for us is essential for the continuation of a certain kind of relationship with Egypt," Italian Foreign Minister Angelino Alfano was quoted as saying on Monday. Regeni was in Cairo conducting graduate research on independent trade unions when he went missing on 25 January, the fifth anniversary of Egypts 2011 Revolution. His body was found bearing signs of torture by a roadside on the outskirts of Cairo on 3 February. Egypt has strongly denied claims that security forces were involved in Regeni's murder. Prosecutors from both countries have been investingating the case over the past year, but Rome has withdrawn its ambassador to Cairo in protest over the slow progress of investigations. Search Keywords: Short link: The content you are trying to view is exclusive to our subscribers. To unlock this article: The B737-800 is the second in a deal signed last year to deliver nine of the next-generation series jets Related Boeing, EgyptAir announce $864 deal for nine next-generation 737-800s EgyptAir, the country's national carrier, is set to receive on Tuesday a new Boeing passenger jet, the second in a 2016 deal to deliver nine of the aerospace company's next-generation aircrafts. An EgyptAir team has departed for the US city of Seattle to receive the B737-800 aircraft, state news agency MENA reported on Monday. The plane will become the 62nd aircraft in the company's upgraded fleet. The new jet is part of a USD 864 million deal EgyptAir signed with Boeing in July 2016 to purchase nine of the next-generation series planes. Egypt has already received one of the jets. The EgyptAir team will conduct final inspections of the aircraft and make a test flight before departing from Renton Municipal Airport in Seattle within days, MENA added. The national carrier is currently carrying out a renovation plan of its fleet, now six years old and one of the most modern in the region. The Boeing Next-Generation 737 is known for its fuel efficiency and lower maintenance and operating costs. Search Keywords: Short link: 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 }} The End of Eddy is the newly released English translation of Edouard Louis first novel, En Finir avec Eddy Bellegueule. First published in 2014 when its author was only 21, it quickly became a best-seller: within a year, this striking account of a young gay man growing up in a deprived environment of rural northern France had sold more than 300,000 copies. With success came controversy: Louis was blamed by some journalists and relatives for misrepresenting his working-class background as overtly violent, uneducated, racist and homophobic. Labelled a roman (novel) on its front cover, the book is openly autobiographical, as defended by Louis in interviews. Indeed Eddy Bellegueule is not a fiction: this used to be the authors real name before he took on the much more formal Edouard Louis and not as nom de plume, but as a legal name. But Eddy is an invention: as the French title suggests, Louis did away with his former identity to create a new one, as a member of the French intellectual elite. He recreated Eddy through language, memories and emotions; through the sociological tools of understanding he acquired reading Bourdieu and Foucault at the prestigious Ecole Normale Superieure. While this distance may be seen as a betrayal of Louis working-class origins for some, his transformation was required to cast a critical eye on his childhood and bring to light this invisible portion of French society. Dangerous exposure Life-writing has always been a potentially dangerous act of exposure. Rousseau knew it when he wrote his Confessions. However, in the past few decades, authors have experimented further with the disclosure of private events in the public domain. The French did not invent the autobiography the notion first appeared in the English language at the end of the 18th century but they have shaped a strong tradition of theoretical debates in which acclaimed writers have been expanding the porous borders of life-writing. Barthes, Beauvoir, Derrida, Duras, Gide, Leiris, Malraux, Sarraute and Sartre, to name a few in the 20th century, all wrote autobiographical texts. Some of these, such as Duras The Lover, are now commonly viewed as autofictions a seemingly paradoxical notion which has become a literary, media and cultural phenomenon. When Serge Doubrovsky coined the term autofiction in his 1977 book Fils, he was playfully going against rigid definitions of autobiography as a retrospective, all-encompassing account of ones life. A French academic, split between Paris and New York, torn between two languages and cultures, Doubrovsky sought to emphasise the plurality of the individual and the ability of language to transform prosaic reality into eventful stories. Turning life into literature can be, however, a risky strategy: 10- years after Fils, Doubrovsky made a deal with his wife Isle to write about their relationship as it unfolded. Shortly after he sent her a chapter detailing violent episodes of their marriage, including her addiction to alcohol, she was found dead in their Parisian flat. When invited to present Le Livre brise (The Shattered Book) on television in 1989, Doubrovsky faced an open accusation from the journalist Bernard Pivot: that this book had led his wife to suicide. Louis' book has been translated into more than 20 languages (Getty) This TV programme was a pivotal moment, after which sales of Le Livre brise soared and autofiction fully entered the journalistic and critical domain. This phenomenon has expanded far beyond literature: in a national context where literary prizes are an institution, where writers still enjoy the aura that once surrounded intellectuals, it is not just the Proustian private and social selves that authors have to contend with. They are also expected to play the media game and cannot simply be a name on a book cover, as the recent unveiling of Elena Ferrantes true identity shows. Mystery attacker Louis is, in many ways, a media phenomenon. He has discussed his book on TV and radio, has given public lectures in the UK and US, writes a bilingual blog, and has seen En Finir avec Eddy Bellegueule not only translated in more than 20 languages, but also turned into a film due to come out later this year. However, like many writers whose work questions the representation of lived experience through language, Louis rejects the label autofiction, arguing that there is no fiction in his books. But life-writing is not an isolated practice, and it is not without consequences in real life. Louiss second autobiographical novel, Histoire de la violence (2016), tells the story of an encounter which takes a dramatic turn as its main protagonist is assaulted and raped. The publication of this book led to a court case eventually won by Louis on the grounds that there were not sufficient clues in the book to identify his alleged attacker. Viewing autofiction as an ambiguous, blurry, undefinable combination of autobiography and fiction may seem convenient, and partly explains the appeal of this notion. After all, does it really matter if autobiographical texts play with reality? Is literature not primarily about invention, creation, and artistic freedom? Of course it is. But literature is also political, and so is language. As the French presidential election is nearing and Marine Le Pen is predicted to win record numbers of votes for a far-right party; as weve entered a post-truth era where the manipulation of facts is a practice that impacts on our perception of knowledge and power, the issues that autofiction raises are an acute reminder of the intrinsic power of language to transform reality and to bring to light its most unsettling aspects. Elise Hugueny-Leger, senior lecturer, school of modern languages, University of St Andrews. This article first appeared on The Conversation (theconversation.com) 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 }} Ever since the Han Solo film was announced by Disney/LucasFilm, fans have questioned whether making a Star Wars spin-off about such a beloved character is really such a great idea. There are, however, a couple of things leading us to believe the film will be great. First, the directors: Phil Lord and Christopher Miller have a knack for making seemingly terrible ideas into incredibly fun films, their past work including The Lego Movie, 21 Jump Street and Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs. Then, theres the actor taking on the coveted role, Alden Ehrenreich was the stand-out from The Coen Brothers Hail, Caesar! along with a minor role in Woody Allens Blue Jasmine. Recent additions to the brilliant cast have also included Woody Harrelson and Emilia Clarke, both playing as-yet unrevealed characters. Finally, theres Donald Glover, who will take on the role of Lando Calrissian, previously played by Billy Dee Williams in The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. Star Wars: The Force Awakens ILM concept art Show all 45 1 /45 Star Wars: The Force Awakens ILM concept art Star Wars: The Force Awakens ILM concept art Star Wars: The Force Awakens ILM concept art Star Wars: The Force Awakens ILM concept art Star Wars: The Force Awakens ILM concept art Star Wars: The Force Awakens ILM concept art Star Wars: The Force Awakens ILM concept art Star Wars: The Force Awakens ILM concept art Star Wars: The Force Awakens ILM concept art Star Wars: The Force Awakens ILM concept art Star Wars: The Force Awakens ILM concept art Star Wars: The Force Awakens ILM concept art Star Wars: The Force Awakens ILM concept art Star Wars: The Force Awakens ILM concept art Star Wars: The Force Awakens ILM concept art Star Wars: The Force Awakens ILM concept art Star Wars: The Force Awakens ILM concept art Star Wars: The Force Awakens ILM concept art Star Wars: The Force Awakens ILM concept art Star Wars: The Force Awakens ILM concept art Star Wars: The Force Awakens ILM concept art Star Wars: The Force Awakens ILM concept art Star Wars: The Force Awakens ILM concept art Star Wars: The Force Awakens ILM concept art Star Wars: The Force Awakens ILM concept art Star Wars: The Force Awakens ILM concept art Star Wars: The Force Awakens ILM concept art Star Wars: The Force Awakens ILM concept art Star Wars: The Force Awakens ILM concept art Star Wars: The Force Awakens ILM concept art Star Wars: The Force Awakens ILM concept art Star Wars: The Force Awakens ILM concept art Star Wars: The Force Awakens ILM concept art Star Wars: The Force Awakens ILM concept art Star Wars: The Force Awakens ILM concept art Star Wars: The Force Awakens ILM concept art Star Wars: The Force Awakens ILM concept art Star Wars: The Force Awakens ILM concept art Star Wars: The Force Awakens ILM concept art Star Wars: The Force Awakens ILM concept art Star Wars: The Force Awakens ILM concept art Star Wars: The Force Awakens ILM concept art Star Wars: The Force Awakens ILM concept art Star Wars: The Force Awakens ILM concept art Star Wars: The Force Awakens ILM concept art Star Wars: The Force Awakens ILM concept art The pair recently went to lunch together, with Williams offering some insight into what the pair talked about while promoting Lego Batman, in which he voices villain Two-Face. Hes a very delightful young man, I must say, Williams told The Hollywood Reporter. He had questions about [Lando]. I guess he was doing what normal actors do, they just want to find out what direction they want to take so they gather their information. The actor revealed that there was very little talk about Lando specifically because Glover basically just wanted to see me, meet me, get to know me a little bit and probably figure out a way to use me in developing his character. The Last Jedi: Three films that influenced Star Wars director Rian Johnson After remarking on Glovers incredible artistry - including his rap persona Childish Gambino (which he enjoys) - the actor remarked on previous comments that no-one else should play Lando. Access unlimited streaming of movies and TV shows with Amazon Prime Video Sign up now for a 30-day free trial Sign up To me, I guess what it is that I identify so much with Lando, he said. I mean, Lando has been very much a part of my life for over 30 years I just never thought of anybody else being Lando. I just see myself as Lando. He continued: Eventually something else has to happen with it. But Im not saying goodbye to that character. Its still very much a part of my life. I created that character. Asked whether he would consider playing Lando again, Williams said If they asked me, I wouldnt say no, adding that neither him nor Harrison Ford - who played Solo originally - had not spoken about returning yet. Recently, Chris Miller revealed the working title for the film while confirming filming is underway. The as-yet-officially-untitled film has a scheduled release date of 25 May, 2018. Sign up to Roisin OConnors free weekly newsletter Now Hear This for the inside track on all things music 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 Roisin OConnors email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Steve Bannon's history with Hollywood is well-known, but a recent interview with one of his long-time professional partners has shed further light on one of the most powerful men in America. President Donald Trump's campaign strategist, whose promotion to the National Security Council was recently revealed to have been an error-of-sorts, was the subject of an interview with Julie Jones in the Daily Beast. Jones, who worked with Bannon as his writing partner for almost two decades, referred to herself as a "Bernie Sanders liberal" but said she still considers Bannon "like family". She said she is struggling to wrap her head around the image of "racist Steve" in the media, along with accusations of racism, anti-Semitism and white supremacy by other high profile political figures. "I never heard him make any racist jokes, and his best friend was an African-American who went to [college] with him. I never even saw a hint of racism, but I did see this elitism... He would always look down on poor people of any colour," she told the Daily Beast. "At one point, he told me that only people who own property should vote." Bannon was said to have been a key figure in the so-called 'Muslim ban', which Jones also claimed that Bannon had an idea for a musical "set in South Central during the LA riots". Protestors rally at JFK Airport against Muslim immigration ban Show all 20 1 /20 Protestors rally at JFK Airport against Muslim immigration ban Protestors rally at JFK Airport against Muslim immigration ban jfk-protest-muslim-ban-1 Protestors rally during a demonstration against the Muslim immigration ban at John F. Kennedy International Airport on January 28, 2017 in New York City. President Trump signed the controversial executive order that halted refugees and residents from predominantly Muslim countries from entering the United States. Getty Protestors rally at JFK Airport against Muslim immigration ban jfk-protest-muslim-ban-2 Protestors rally during a protest against the Muslim immigration ban at John F. Kennedy International Airport on January 28, 2017 in New York City. President Trump singed the controversial executive order that halted refugees and residents from predominantly Muslim countries from entering the United States. Stephanie Keith/Getty Protestors rally at JFK Airport against Muslim immigration ban jfk-protest-muslim-ban-3 Protestors rally during a protest against the Muslim immigration ban at John F. Kennedy International Airport on January 28, 2017 in New York City. President Trump singed the controversial executive order that halted refugees and residents from predominantly Muslim countries from entering the United States. Stephanie Keith/Getty Protestors rally at JFK Airport against Muslim immigration ban jfk-protest-muslim-ban-4 SAN FRANCISCO, CA - JANUARY 28: Demonstrators hold signs during a rally against a ban on Muslim immigration at San Francisco International Airport on January 28, 2017 in San Francisco, California. President Donald Trump signed an executive order Friday that suspends entry of all refugees for 120 days, indefinitely suspends the entries of all Syrian refugees, as well as barring entries from seven predominantly Muslim countries from entering for 90 days. Stephen Lam/Getty Protestors rally at JFK Airport against Muslim immigration ban jfk-protest-muslim-ban-5 A crowd of protesters gathers outside of the Brooklyn Federal Courthouse as a judge hears a challenge against President Donald Trump's executive ban on immigration from several Muslim countries, on January 28, 2017 in Brooklyn. The judge issued an emergency stay on part of Trump's executive order, ruling that sending refugees stopped at U.S. airports back to their countries would be harmful. Yana Paskova/Getty Protestors rally at JFK Airport against Muslim immigration ban jfk-protest-muslim-ban-6 Protestors rally during a demonstration against the new immigration ban issued by President Donald Trump at John F. Kennedy International Airport on January 28, 2017 in New York City. President Trump signed the controversial executive order that halted refugees and residents from predominantly Muslim countries from entering the United States. Stephanie Keith/Getty Protestors rally at JFK Airport against Muslim immigration ban jfk-protest-muslim-ban-7 NEW YORK, NY - JANUARY 28: Protestors rally during a demonstration against the new immigration ban issued by President Donald Trump at John F. Kennedy International Airport on January 28, 2017 in New York City. President Trump signed the controversial executive order that halted refugees and residents from predominantly Muslim countries from entering the United States. Stephanie Keith/Getty Protestors rally at JFK Airport against Muslim immigration ban jfk-protest-muslim-ban-8 Protestors rally during a demonstration against the new immigration ban issued by President Donald Trump at John F. Kennedy International Airport on January 28, 2017 in New York City. President Trump signed the controversial executive order that halted refugees and residents from predominantly Muslim countries from entering the United States. Stephanie Keith/Getty Protestors rally at JFK Airport against Muslim immigration ban jfk-protest-muslim-ban-9 Getty Images Protestors rally at JFK Airport against Muslim immigration ban jfk-protest-muslim-ban-10 Getty Images Protestors rally at JFK Airport against Muslim immigration ban jfk-protest-muslim-ban-11 NEW YORK, NY - JANUARY 28: Protestors rally during a demonstration against the Muslim immigration ban at John F. Kennedy International Airport on January 28, 2017 in New York City. President Trump signed the controversial executive order that halted refugees and residents from predominantly Muslim countries from entering the United States. Stephanie Keith/Getty Protestors rally at JFK Airport against Muslim immigration ban jfk-protest-muslim-ban-12 Protestors rally during a demonstration against the Muslim immigration ban at John F. Kennedy International Airport on January 28, 2017 in New York City. President Trump signed the controversial executive order that halted refugees and residents from predominantly Muslim countries from entering the United States. Stephanie Keith/Getty Protestors rally at JFK Airport against Muslim immigration ban jfk-protest-muslim-ban-13 Protestors rally during a demonstration against the Muslim immigration ban at John F. Kennedy International Airport on January 28, 2017 in New York City. President Trump signed the controversial executive order that halted refugees and residents from predominantly Muslim countries from entering the United States. Stephanie Keith/Getty Protestors rally at JFK Airport against Muslim immigration ban jfk-protest-muslim-ban-14 Protestors rally during a demonstration against the Muslim immigration ban at John F. Kennedy International Airport on January 28, 2017 in New York City. President Trump signed the controversial executive order that halted refugees and residents from predominantly Muslim countries from entering the United States. Stephanie Keith/Getty Protestors rally at JFK Airport against Muslim immigration ban jfk-protest-muslim-ban-15 Protestors rally during a demonstration against the Muslim immigration ban at John F. Kennedy International Airport on January 28, 2017 in New York City. President Trump signed the controversial executive order that halted refugees and residents from predominantly Muslim countries from entering the United States. Stephanie Keith/Getty Protestors rally at JFK Airport against Muslim immigration ban jfk-protest-muslim-ban-16 Protestors rally during a demonstration against the Muslim immigration ban at John F. Kennedy International Airport on January 28, 2017 in New York City. President Trump signed the controversial executive order that halted refugees and residents from predominantly Muslim countries from entering the United States. Stephanie Keith/Getty Protestors rally at JFK Airport against Muslim immigration ban jfk-protest-muslim-ban-17 NEW YORK, NY - JANUARY 28: Protestors rally during a protest against the Muslim immigration ban at John F. Kennedy International Airport on January 28, 2017 in New York City. President Trump singed the controversial executive order that halted refugees and residents from predominantly Muslim countries from entering the United States. Stephanie Keith/Getty Protestors rally at JFK Airport against Muslim immigration ban jfk-protest-muslim-ban-18 Protestors rally during a protest against the Muslim immigration ban at John F. Kennedy International Airport on January 28, 2017 in New York City. President Trump singed the controversial executive order that halted refugees and residents from predominantly Muslim countries from entering the United States. Stephanie Keith/Getty Protestors rally at JFK Airport against Muslim immigration ban jfk-protest-muslim-ban-19 Protestors rally during a protest against the Muslim immigration ban at John F. Kennedy International Airport on January 28, 2017 in New York City. President Trump singed the controversial executive order that halted refugees and residents from predominantly Muslim countries from entering the United States. Stephanie Keith/Getty Protestors rally at JFK Airport against Muslim immigration ban jfk-protest-muslim-ban-20 Passengers wait in line to check in at the American Airlines terminal at JFK International Airport August 10, 2006 in the Queens borough of New York City. British authorities arrested 21 people and halted a anallegedly terrorist plot to use liquid explosives concealed in carry-on luggage to blow up airliners traveling between Britain and the U.S. Homeland Security chief Michael Chertoff said that the plot appeared to be directed at U.S. carriers flying out of Heathrow. such as United Airlines, American Airlines, Continental Airlines. Stephen Chernin/Getty The Daily Beast says it was shown excerpts of the screenplay, and that it included rap music, racial tension, gangster soldiers and "chaos at ground zero of the 1992 LA riots". Jones said she penned most of the rap lyrics - "it's not strictly rap. It's more Shakespeare in rap [music]". Recommended Nancy Pelosi says Steve Bannon is a white supremacist Bannon made his first forays into the film industry by executive producing, following careers in the Navy and at Goldman Sachs. Enjoy unlimited access to 70 million ad-free songs and podcasts with Amazon Music Sign up now for a 30-day free trial Sign up He was involved in films such as The Indian Runner and Titus before he began producing, writing and occasionally directing his own movies, beginning with an admiring portrayal of Ronald Reagan (In the Face of Evil: Reagan's War in Word and Deed). Since then he has produced films on illegal immigration, federal government and conservative women. An article published in the Washington Post suggested that the current political turmoil in the US provides the setting for Bannon's "new movie". "As far as political reality goes, it's Bannon's movie, we're now in it, and the opening credits have just started to roll," it warned. A new Google Chrome extension currently replaces the word "Trump" with Steve Bannon, in an attempt to warn users of the influence the White House chief strategist wields over the US President. 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 }} Nearly 450 former US Environmental Protection Agency staff have written to Congress urging it to reject Scott Pruitt as the EPAs new administrator. Mr Pruitt, a lawyer, is known for climate science denial and his own website described him as a leading advocate against the EPAs activist agenda. Despite this, Donald Trump chose him to run the agency. While working as Oklahomas Attorney-General, Mr Pruitt has sued the agency several times and, since he was chosen by the new President, he has refused to say whether he will drop out of an on-going case against the agency even if he becomes its top official. One of the 447 signatories of the letter to Congress, Judith Enck, who was appointed by Barack Obama to head an EPA regional office, told The Washington Post that Mr Pruitts appointment would be an an unprecedented assault on the agencys primary function. The letter said Mr Pruitts views and history of suing the agency strongly suggest that he does not share the vision or agree with the underlying principles of our environmental laws. Different administrators have come to different conclusions about how best to apply the law in view of the science, and many of their decisions have been challenged in court, sometimes successfully, for either going too far or not far enough, it said. But in the large majority of cases it was evident to us that they put the publics welfare ahead of private interests. Scott Pruitt has not demonstrated this same commitment. Mr Pruitt has in the past opposed the EPAs attempts to control mercury pollution, power station carbon emissions, air pollution and water quality. Every EPA administrator has a fundamental obligation to act in the publics interest based on current law and the best available science, the letter said. Mr Pruitts record raises serious questions about whose interests he has served to date and whether he agrees with the long-standing tenets of US environmental law. 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 Ms Enck, who only recently left the agency, told the Post she had not seen the level of concern at EPA that Im seeing today. She said Mr Trumps decision to appoint Mr Pruitt was an unprecedented assault on environmental protection, not just on EPA as an agency, but on our countrys ability to enjoy clean air, clean water and a logical agenda on climate change. 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 coal-fired power plant which produced twice the legal amount of toxic gas for seven years has been awarded a 10m state subsidy to produce electricity for a single year. Aberthaw in Barry, in the Vale of Glamorgan, describes itself as one of the most efficient coal-fired power stations in the UK. However, in September last year, the European Court of Justice ruled that it had breached the legal limit for nitrogen oxide for seven years, emitting more than double the permitted level. The power plant was one of the successful bidders in a capacity market auction held by the National Grid on behalf of the Government. The Business Secretary has still to formally approve the results. Nearly 40 per cent of the contracts went to gas power stations, while a further fifth went to coal and biomass plants. The money is paid regardless of whether any electricity is actually produced and is designed to ensure electricity can be generated quickly when needed. The Government said it was planning to phase out unabated coal by 2025 and the amount of spare electricity capacity to be provided by the fossil fuel would fall over the next few years. Recommended Government could ditch pledge to shut all coal power stations by 2025 However, legal activist group ClientEarth, which has successfully sued the Government twice over its plans to cut air pollution, said it was unacceptable that Aberthaw, run by energy giant RWE Generation, would receive 10m of public money to produce electricity in 2017-18. ClientEarth's chief executive, James Thornton, said: The Government has agreed to dole out millions of pounds of public money to a coal power station already condemned as polluting way above its allowed limit, but at the same time assures us we will see a managed transition away from coal by 2025 or earlier. What are investors supposed to think? Coal capacity will certainly need to be used to secure supply during the transition, but only within reason. Giving this kind of incentive to recognised polluters is a total affront to human health and to those fighting for a swift move to a low-carbon energy system. Lower-carbon energy generators should be given preference over the most polluting plants in the auctions, ClientEarth argued. The group has also criticised the 1bn of public money given to power station Drax for a biomass conversion project. The worst countries in the world for air pollution deaths Show all 10 1 /10 The worst countries in the world for air pollution deaths The worst countries in the world for air pollution deaths Ukraine The worst countries in the world for air pollution deaths Bulgaria Rex Features The worst countries in the world for air pollution deaths Belarus The worst countries in the world for air pollution deaths Russia The worst countries in the world for air pollution deaths Armenia The worst countries in the world for air pollution deaths Bosnia and Herzegovina REUTERS The worst countries in the world for air pollution deaths Georgia The worst countries in the world for air pollution deaths Hungary DigitalGlobe The worst countries in the world for air pollution deaths China The worst countries in the world for air pollution deaths Moldova In September, a report by Greenpeace and Friends of the Earth said Aberthaw, which can produce electricity for 1.5 million homes, had the third highest emissions of nitrogen oxides of any industrial installation in the whole of the European Union. Hundreds of peoples lives are ended prematurely as a result of pollution from Aberthaw power station every year, the report said. This pollution also causes tens of thousands of days of lost productivity through sick leave, and hundreds of thousands of days of illness every year. The pollution is responsible for causing asthma symptoms in children, bronchitis in children, chronic bronchitis in adults, hundreds of hospital admissions every year, and low birth weight in babies. Over the 45 years since it started operating, pollution from this one power station alone is likely to have caused the premature deaths of more than 3,000 people in Wales, and 18,000 across a wider area. At that time, RWE said it remains fully compliant with emissions permits. 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 We will work with the UK and Welsh governments and Natural Resources Wales (NRW) to accommodate the changes to the way the station is regulated as a result of the EU ruling which will enforce an alternative interpretation of the legislation, it added. National Grid said the results of the Capacity Market auction, which is run according to rules issued by the Government, still had to be confirmed by Ministers. The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy said: We have set out our proposals to phase out unabated coal power generation by 2025, and are already seeing a significant reduction in the role that coal will play in the capacity market year on year, with 43 per cent less coal winning agreements to provide Britains electricity capacity for 2021 than for 2017. RWE said in a statement that it was investing 5m in technology that will significantly lower the stations NOx [nitrogen oxide] emissions. Aberthaw Power Station is vital to the UKs short term security of electricity supply as a partner to renewable technologies, the firm said. Aberthaw remains fully compliant with all permits that control emissions from the site. It said the station would reduce its generation levels this year and this combination of fewer operating hours and lower emissions will ensure that Aberthaw Power Station can provide security of electricity supply for Wales and beyond into the 2020s. Later this year the UK will experience some of the tightest generation margins in many years, RWE added. The recent capacity market auction has procured capacity to ensure that the country has adequate supply available for the coldest months. Environmental protection is of the utmost priority to RWE Generation and Aberthaw remains fully compliant with all permits that control emissions from the site. Some Western media portray terrorist attacks in Egypt with accusations directed at the government, complained the foreign ministry The Egyptian government has praised US President Donald Trump's criticism of the media's ''underreporting" of terrorist attacks, in a statement released on Tuesday by the countrys foreign ministry. Ministry spokesman Ahmed Abu Zeid said that Egypt praised the stance by the US administration on the matter, arguing that the new US government agrees with the continuous calls that Egypt had made for the international community to adopt a comprehensive strategy to combat terrorism in its security, political, culture and media components. On Monday Trump accused the media of failing to report terrorist attacks. "Its gotten to a point where it's not even being reported. And in many cases the very, very dishonest press doesnt want to report it. They have their reasons, and you understand that," he told military commanders at Central Command. The White House shortly released a statement listing 78 terror attacks around the world that it said did not get sufficient media coverage. They included high profile attacks in Paris, Nice, and California. Nine of the attacks on the list took place in Egypt, including attacks in 2015 in Cairo, North Sinai, and the Red Sea resort of Hurghada. The ministry spokesperson said the "neglect" by Western media outlets was "selective", adding that it was regretful that "the selectivity and partiality in some Western media criticised by the US president in their coverage of terror attacks have not only resulted in dismissing coverage, but also touched on the way certain attacks were covered." "While the focus was on international support and sympathy towards some countries and societies victims of acts of terror, accusations and blame were pointed at others, like Egypt, following terrorist attacks that left dozens and hundreds dead, as in the crash of the Russian plane, and the bombing of St. Peters Church, which some Western media portrayed as a security failure on the part of the government, in providing protection to Copts in Egypt," Abu Zeid said. A Russian passenger jet crashed in Sinai after taking off from Sharm El-Sheikh in October 2015, killing all aboard. The IS militant group claimed to have caused the crash by planting an explosive device on board. Twenty-five people were killed at a church in Cairo in December 2016 when a suicide bomber blew himself up, in an attack which was also claimed by IS militants. The ministry spokesperson expressed Egypt's hope that the upcoming period will witness an "essential shift" in the international community's dealing with terrorism, and that the US succeeds in leading the review process and making the necessary changes. Search Keywords: Short link: Stay ahead of the trend in fashion and beyond with our free weekly Lifestyle Edit newsletter Stay ahead of the trend in fashion and beyond with our free weekly Lifestyle Edit 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 Lifestyle Edit email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} The Maasai of Kenya and Tanzania embody one of the most powerful images of tribal Africa but its a guise thats becoming increasingly imitated. Companies around the world have, for some time now, continued to exploit the Maasais iconic cultural brand in a bid to infuse a patina of exoticism to their products and increase sales. The most familiar, perhaps, harks back to Louis Vuittons 2012 spring/summer mens collection which included hats, shirts and scarves inspired by the Maasai Shuka a traditional African blanket cast in colourful shades of red and blue. Recommended Marc Jacobs triggers more criticism after defending dreadlocks The key issue here is that the Maasai people arent compensated for anything sold under these luxury brands' names despite having helped them sell billions of dollars worth of goods worldwide, according to Light Years IP, a Washington DC nonprofit that works on public interest intellectual property issues internationally. As a result, another group known as the Maasai Intellectual Property Initiative (MIPI) has been created to challenge companies referring to or copying the signature Maasai style without a licensing agreement. Louis Vuittons menswear SS12 show featured knits very similar to the Maasai Shuka (AFP/Getty Images) It hopes that by working with the community and forcing companies to obtain licences from the Maasai that reasonable funds can then be distributed to the people. Nearly 80 per cent of the Maasai population in Kenya and Tanzania are living below the poverty line, the website explains. Yet their distinctive and iconic cultural brand and intellectual property concepts have been used commercially around the globe. Just as Burberry has the right to copyright and trademark its signature check, so too the Maasai should be able to protect its traditional designs. But, for some reason, while the rest of the fashion industry progresses, it continues to struggle to maintain an ethical business model. By working with the Maasai through community boards and gatherings, the MIPI hopes to place control of the cultural brand back in the hands of its people and accrue the compensation it is deserved. In fact, theyve gone as far as to quantify exactly how much the Maasai are owed. Its calculated that around 80 companies are presently infringing and as a result, the Maasai people should be collecting $10m in licensing fees every year. 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 }} Because of their symbolic meanings, certain dishes are eaten during the Chinese New Year. These lucky foods are served during the 16-day festival season especially New Years Eve, which is believed to bring good luck for the coming year. In this video, School of Wok's Founder and Chef Jeremy Pang demonstrates how to make Dan Dan Lo Mian a dish symbolising longevity in the Chinese culture. Jeremy Pangs Dan Dan Lo Mian Dan Dan Lo Mian (Jeremy Pang ) (Jeremy Pang) Serves 4 2 tbsp vegetable oil red pepper, diced 2 dried shitake mushrooms, soaked in hot water overnight and then diced 500g minced pork 4 spring onions, finely chopped 400g egg noodles 2 tsp cornflour 1 tsp sesame oil 2 tbsp coriander, chopped The Sauce 1 tsp chilli bean sauce 1 tbsp tomato paste 1 tbsp hoisin sauce 1 tbsp light soy sauce 2 tbsp peanut butter 1 tsp sugar 100ml Tsingtao beer 200ml chicken stock Preparation Soak the egg noodles in hot water for 3-5 minutes. Once the noodles have separated, drain the water and place them on your serving dish. Then mix The Sauce ingredients together in a small mixing bowl and set aside. Cooking Heat 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil over high heat until smoking hot. Add the pork mince and cook for a minute. Then add half the spring onions, the diced peppers and the diced shitake mushrooms and stir fry for a further 2-3 minutes. Lastly, pour over the sauce and continue to stir fry on a medium heat, tossing occasionally, for 3-5 minutes. Mix the cornflour with a couple of teaspoons of water, and add to the meat, stirring until it thickens into a sauce. Pour the sauce over top of the noodles and garnish with the remaining spring onions and coriander. Stay ahead of the trend in fashion and beyond with our free weekly Lifestyle Edit newsletter Stay ahead of the trend in fashion and beyond with our free weekly Lifestyle Edit 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 Lifestyle Edit email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} An injectable contraceptive gel that acts as a reversible vasectomy is a step closer to being offered to men following successful trials on monkeys. Vasalgel is injected into the vas deferens, the small duct between the testicles and the urethra. It has so far been found to prevent 100 per cent of conceptions. The gel fills the interior of the passage, allowing seminal fluid to be released during ejaculation but blocking sperm, which are reabsorbed by the body. Researchers said the latest test, on a group of 16 rhesus monkeys, showed the product was safe and produced fewer complications than usually occur with a vasectomy. The gel, previously tested in rabbits, can be removed by flushing the duct with a baking soda solution. Although it is possible to reverse a vasectomy, it is a technically challenging procedure and patients often have very low rates of fertility following reversal, said lead scientist Catherine VandeVoort, from California National Primate Research Centre. Vasalgel shows real promise as an alternative to vasectomy because research in rabbits has previously shown the product to be reversible. A traditional vasectomy involves cutting and sealing off the vas deferens. Complications can include infection, bruising and lumps of leaked sperm forming in the surrounding tissue. One of the treated monkeys showed signs of sperm granuloma, this hard build-up of sperm in the vas deferens, which affects around 60 per cent of men undergoing a vasectomy and is non-serious. Clinical trials of Vasalgel, developed by non-profit Parsemus Foundation in Berkeley, California, are expected to begin next year. The first trials will be limited to men who accept that they may become sterile, because researchers cannot guarantee that the procedure is reversible until a separate study has taken place. Darren Griffen, professor of genetics at the University of Kent, said an effective reversible male contraceptive treatment had the potential to revolutionise this field of medicine, but questioned whether the necessity of injection might limit its take-up among humans. Adam Balen, chair of the British Fertility Society, said: this novel approach has the potential for great promise as a male contraceptive. Professor Balen emphasised the importance of proving the techiques ongoing reversibility, as did Allan Pacey, Professor of Andrology at the University of Sheffield. Where tech meets sex Show all 6 1 /6 Where tech meets sex Where tech meets sex Lovely - the smart sex toy that has been dubbed 'the Fitbit for your penis' Tired of not being able to track the average speed of your thrusts during sex? Well, your problems will be solved with the Lovely - a sex toy that's been touted as 'the fitbit, but for your penis'. The lovely is a stretchy silicone ring, which attaches around the base of your penis. It also has a vibrator tucked inside, which stimulates both sexual partners. So far, so Ann Summers Lovely Inc Where tech meets sex The 'sex selfie stick' lets you FaceTime the inside of a vagina Further proof that the sole goal of mankind is now to take selfies absolutely everywhere possible, a vibrator that can video capture an orgasm from its epicentre has been invented. The nightmarish love child of an endoscopy and a vibrator, the 'Svakom Gaga Camera Vibrator' allows for a new level of explicitness in amateur sex tapes. Footage taken can be uploaded to PC or smartphone and the device also syncs with FaceTime, offering the unprecedented opportunity to be on the phone with someone's genitals Lovehoney Where tech meets sex Pornhub turns masturbation into energy With an estimated 41 million people visiting it every day, Pornhub figured it might be time to channel all that furious fapping into something more useful than brief, boredom-relieving ecstasy. "Every day, millions of hours of adult content are consumed online, wasting energy in the process and hurting the environment," the porn site writes on a dedicated website. "At Pornhub we decided to do something about it. Introducing The Wankband: The first wearable tech that allows you to love the planet by loving yourself." The band creates power when moved in an up and down motion, with a kinetic charger inside storing the clean (albeit slightly dirty) energy generated. It can then be connected via USB to smartphones, tablets and computers, powering them with 100% sustainable energy PornHub Where tech meets sex Men have begun 3D-printing their penises "What would happen if I put my penis in it?" It's a question man has been asking ever since it discovered it was useful in certain situations for procreation thousands of years ago. But now it has reached an absurd and mildly dystopian conclusion: 3D-printed d*ck pics. The means? A handheld 3D scanner such as Fuel3D's Scanify above. The method? By pointing it at *any* object and capturing it three-dimensionally. The reason? Who can say Fuel3D Where tech meets sex Japanese developer creates virtual breast-squeezing 'game' for the Oculus Rift Although gadgets like the Oculus Rift and Samsung Gear VR are promising to take virtual reality into the mainstream, there are still plenty of virtual experiences that we hope never make it out the basements they were dreamt up in. Exhibit a: a game which lets users squeeze a virtual womans breasts who responds by squealing in disgust and covering up her chest. Thats right, the guy who made this didnt even want to fabricate a positive sexual experience instead he went for virtual abuse. The set-up works like this. The user dons an Oculus Rift to enter the virtual world populated by an anime character, he can then squeeze a novelty mouse pad with foam breasts with pressure sensors inside them. This hooked up to the virtual character who reacts accordingly Where tech meets sex Have sex with your iPad thanks to the new sex toy no-one asked for Many of us have become inseparable from our smartphones and tablets, but if you're looking to take the relationship to the next step and actually 'f*ck your iPad', sex toy brand Fleshlight has now made this possible for some reason. The company launched Fleshlight Launchpad, which allows users of their flashlight-shaped, vagina-like toy to plug it into the back of an iPad in order to 'fully immerse themselves' in whatever they're watching. The gadget "enables the user to enjoy the full Fleshlight experience while enjoying content or communicating live with a friend via applications like Facetime or Skype," makers Interactive Life Forms claim, with its trailer showing a man making use of one while video-chatting with his girlfriend In order for it to have a chance of replacing the traditional surgical method of vasectomy, the authors need to show that the procedure is reversible and its reassuring that apparently such studies are ongoing, said Professor Pacey. Its interesting that there has been very little commercial interest from pharmaceutical companies in this kind of a approach and so the idea of a social venture company to develop the idea is intriguing, he said. I would imagine there is a worldwide market for a new male contraceptive, but trials in humans and more long-term safety data are required before we will know if it is a success. Recommended Scientists discover why humans have no penis bone A similar experimental contraceptive injection, called Risug, has been developed and tested in India. It works by impairing sperm cells as they swim from the testicles to the urethra, unlike Vasalgel, which blocks the sperm from passing through the tube. Around 11,000 men had a vasectomy in England in 2014-15, according to NHS Digital a drop from around 30,000 ten years previously. Experts have suggested this could be because couples are having children later. Stay ahead of the trend in fashion and beyond with our free weekly Lifestyle Edit newsletter Stay ahead of the trend in fashion and beyond with our free weekly Lifestyle Edit 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 Lifestyle Edit email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} In the past, those with extreme sexual urges were cast aside as nymphomaniacs. Nowadays, the disorder has a name: hypersexuality. The rare and little-understood sexual condition sees the sufferer flooded with unwanted sexual urges. That could include in the middle of a presentation at work, to the deepest moments of sleep. As a result, a persons insatiable sex drive can cause them to masturbate for hours a day, watch pornography, become dependent on visiting sex workers, and talk about sex obsessively. Debra Soh, a sex researcher, neuroscientist at York University in Toronto, Canada, who has investigated the phenomenon, explained to The Independent: Many lose their jobs after these activities leak into their work lives. For example, most will tell me that they are chronically late for work due to staying up the night before, and that they view porn while at work or call in sick because theyd rather be watching it at home. Peter Saddington, a sex therapist in Midlands for the relationships charity Relate and chair of the College of Sexual and Relational therapy, recalls treating a patient whose hyper-sexuality caused her to masturbate unknowingly in her sleep. She only found out what she was doing when her husband alerted her. He told The Independent that hypersexuality is often caused by medication. As a result, sufferers are forced to cope with their unmanageable sex drives in order to treat conditions. Ropinirole, which is used to treat individuals with Parkinson's disease, has been shown to trigger hypersexuality as well as compulsive gambling. Neurological disease such as Alzheimer's, autums, Kluver-Bucy syndrome, and Kleine-Levin syndrome have also been linked to extreme sexual behaviour. The condition can have knock-on effects for a persons overall mental health, triggering conditions such as depression and anxiety, he adds. It is very debilitating and makes people anxious and adds to mental health difficulties as people cant understand why they are different. One woman I treated was masturbating all the time, even in her sleep. Her partner was told her. She was mortified. Where tech meets sex Show all 6 1 /6 Where tech meets sex Where tech meets sex Lovely - the smart sex toy that has been dubbed 'the Fitbit for your penis' Tired of not being able to track the average speed of your thrusts during sex? Well, your problems will be solved with the Lovely - a sex toy that's been touted as 'the fitbit, but for your penis'. The lovely is a stretchy silicone ring, which attaches around the base of your penis. It also has a vibrator tucked inside, which stimulates both sexual partners. So far, so Ann Summers Lovely Inc Where tech meets sex The 'sex selfie stick' lets you FaceTime the inside of a vagina Further proof that the sole goal of mankind is now to take selfies absolutely everywhere possible, a vibrator that can video capture an orgasm from its epicentre has been invented. The nightmarish love child of an endoscopy and a vibrator, the 'Svakom Gaga Camera Vibrator' allows for a new level of explicitness in amateur sex tapes. Footage taken can be uploaded to PC or smartphone and the device also syncs with FaceTime, offering the unprecedented opportunity to be on the phone with someone's genitals Lovehoney Where tech meets sex Pornhub turns masturbation into energy With an estimated 41 million people visiting it every day, Pornhub figured it might be time to channel all that furious fapping into something more useful than brief, boredom-relieving ecstasy. "Every day, millions of hours of adult content are consumed online, wasting energy in the process and hurting the environment," the porn site writes on a dedicated website. "At Pornhub we decided to do something about it. Introducing The Wankband: The first wearable tech that allows you to love the planet by loving yourself." The band creates power when moved in an up and down motion, with a kinetic charger inside storing the clean (albeit slightly dirty) energy generated. It can then be connected via USB to smartphones, tablets and computers, powering them with 100% sustainable energy PornHub Where tech meets sex Men have begun 3D-printing their penises "What would happen if I put my penis in it?" It's a question man has been asking ever since it discovered it was useful in certain situations for procreation thousands of years ago. But now it has reached an absurd and mildly dystopian conclusion: 3D-printed d*ck pics. The means? A handheld 3D scanner such as Fuel3D's Scanify above. The method? By pointing it at *any* object and capturing it three-dimensionally. The reason? Who can say Fuel3D Where tech meets sex Japanese developer creates virtual breast-squeezing 'game' for the Oculus Rift Although gadgets like the Oculus Rift and Samsung Gear VR are promising to take virtual reality into the mainstream, there are still plenty of virtual experiences that we hope never make it out the basements they were dreamt up in. Exhibit a: a game which lets users squeeze a virtual womans breasts who responds by squealing in disgust and covering up her chest. Thats right, the guy who made this didnt even want to fabricate a positive sexual experience instead he went for virtual abuse. The set-up works like this. The user dons an Oculus Rift to enter the virtual world populated by an anime character, he can then squeeze a novelty mouse pad with foam breasts with pressure sensors inside them. This hooked up to the virtual character who reacts accordingly Where tech meets sex Have sex with your iPad thanks to the new sex toy no-one asked for Many of us have become inseparable from our smartphones and tablets, but if you're looking to take the relationship to the next step and actually 'f*ck your iPad', sex toy brand Fleshlight has now made this possible for some reason. The company launched Fleshlight Launchpad, which allows users of their flashlight-shaped, vagina-like toy to plug it into the back of an iPad in order to 'fully immerse themselves' in whatever they're watching. The gadget "enables the user to enjoy the full Fleshlight experience while enjoying content or communicating live with a friend via applications like Facetime or Skype," makers Interactive Life Forms claim, with its trailer showing a man making use of one while video-chatting with his girlfriend She didnt manage to get over it in the time I knew her because it was associated with physical condition she was struggling to manage. "She was highly sexual and her body was sending signals she wasnt consciously thinking about." A patient's high sex drive can also take its toll on a their relationships, as partners can struggles to deal with their urges. It is something you cant just change, says Saddington. It is about acceptance and sometimes about change being managed. Hypersexuality is something that generally requires medical intervention, and cannot be treated at home, he added. Its like if you break your leg, you dont try to deal with it yourself. Seek help. Visit a professional. This will help to normalise it and realise its not just you. Other people have the problem and you can start the process to help achieve some support. 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 list of companies opposing President Donald Trumps Muslim ban just keeps growing. On Monday, Elon Musks Tesla and SpaceX, as well as 29 other corporations joined almost a hundred tech companies in their legal fight against Mr Trumps order on immigration, claiming that his policies violate the constitution, according to CNN. Over the weekend, ninety-seven companies, including Apple, Airbnb, Facebook, Google, Intel, Netflix, Snap and Uber Technologies, already filed an impassioned legal brief, stepping up the industrys growing opposition to the policy. Recommended Apple to Zynga file legal brief against Donald Trump immigration order Immigrants make many of the Nations greatest discoveries, and create some of the countrys most innovative and iconic companies, the brief states, according to Bloomberg. America has long recognized the importance of protecting ourselves against those who would do us harm. But it has done so while maintaining our fundamental commitment to welcoming immigrantsthrough increased background checks and other controls on people seeking to enter our country. The technology industry has been among the most vocal in opposition to Mr Trumps immigration policies. Travis Kalanick, Uber's CEO, stepped down from Mr Trumps business advisory council after criticism from customers and drivers. Tech giant Google in January set up a $4m (3.2m) crisis fund to help employees and other people affected by the policy while Airbnb offered free accommodation to people left stranded by the ban. Microsoft previously sent a letter to its employees offering legal assistance to those affected, and Mark Zuckerberg, the chief executive of Facebook, has also personally voiced his concern. The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Show all 9 1 /9 The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the media White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer takes questions during the daily press briefing Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the Trans-Pacific Partnership Union leaders applaud US President Donald Trump for signing an executive order withdrawing the US from the Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations during a meeting in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington DC. Mr Trump issued a presidential memorandum in January announcing that the US would withdraw from the trade deal Getty The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the Mexico wall A US Border Patrol vehicle sits waiting for illegal immigrants at a fence opening near the US-Mexico border near McAllen, Texas. The number of incoming immigrants has surged ahead of the upcoming Presidential inauguration of Donald Trump, who has pledged to build a wall along the US-Mexico border. A signature campaign promise, Mr Trump outlined his intention to build a border wall on the US-Mexico border days after taking office Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and abortion US President Donald Trump signs an executive order as Chief of Staff Reince Priebus looks on in the Oval Office of the White House. Mr Trump reinstated a ban on American financial aide being granted to non-governmental organizations that provide abortion counseling, provide abortion referrals, or advocate for abortion access outside of the United States Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the Dakota Access pipeline Opponents of the Keystone XL and Dakota Access pipelines hold a rally as they protest US President Donald Trump's executive orders advancing their construction, at Columbus Circle in New York. US President Donald Trump signed executive orders reviving the construction of two controversial oil pipelines, but said the projects would be subject to renegotiation Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and 'Obamacare' Nancy Pelosi who is the minority leader of the House of Representatives speaks beside House Democrats at an event to protect the Affordable Care Act in Los Angeles, California. US President Donald Trump's effort to make good on his campaign promise to repeal and replace the healthcare law failed when Republicans failed to get enough votes. Mr Trump has promised to revisit the matter Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Donald Trump and 'sanctuary cities' US President Donald Trump signed an executive order in January threatening to pull funding for so-called "sanctuary cities" if they do not comply with federal immigration law AP The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the travel ban US President Donald Trump has attempted twice to restrict travel into the United States from several predominantly Muslim countries. The first attempt, in February, was met with swift opposition from protesters who flocked to airports around the country. That travel ban was later blocked by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. The second ban was blocked by a federal judge a day before it was scheduled to be implemented in mid-March SANDY HUFFAKER/AFP/Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and climate change US President Donald Trump sought to dismantle several of his predecessor's actions on climate change in March. His order instructed the Environmental Protection Agency to reevaluate the Clean Power Plan, which would cap power plant emissions Shannon Stapleton/Reuters Beyond the tech sector, Starbucks has said it will hire 10,000 refugees over the next five years in response to the new Presidents move. 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 }} Islamist hackers linked to Isis carried out an attack on a series of NHS websites in a cyber-attack exposing serious flaws in security systems meant to protect sensitive information, The Independent has learnt. Graphic, brutal images of violence from Syrias war were put up on the sites by a group based in North Africa which declared it was carrying out the electronic raid in retaliation for the Wests aggression in the Middle East. This is believed to be the first time that an Isis-linked group has carried out a concerted attack on the NHS. There was one instance of a health service site infected last year by a hacker who said he was an Islamist, but the new assault is being viewed by security agencies as much more serious and one which may pave the way for other such strikes. The six websites struck by the group called the Tunisian Fallaga Team three weeks ago were in the south-west of England and ranged from ones dealing with childcare to funding, with the two sites particularly severely damaged. The Independent has agreed not to give further details due to security considerations. It is believed that patient data was vulnerable in the attacks, but initial checks do not indicate that any had been compromised. There is no suggestion patient safety was put at risk. CAUTION: GRAPHIC IMAGES BELOW Islamist hackers linked to Isis carried out an attack on a series of NHS websites in a cyber attack exposing serious flaws in security systems meant to protect sensitive information, The Independent has learned. The six websites struck by the group called the Tunisia Fallaga Team three weeks ago were in the south-west of England and ranged from ones dealing with childcare to funding, with the most severe damage taking place to two of the sites. The Independent has agreed not to give further details due to security considerations. The hacking comes in the wake of a government warning that the NHS was facing serious risk of cyber attacks, something which was "no longer the stuff of spy thrillers and action movies, but a clear and present threat. Ben Gummer, Minister for the Cabinet Office , stressed that "large quantities of sensitive data" held by the NHS and the Government is being targeted by hackers. (youtube) The hacking comes in the wake of a Government warning that the NHS was facing serious risk of cyber-attacks, something which was no longer the stuff of spy thrillers and action movies, but a clear and present threat. Ben Gummer, Minister for the Cabinet Office , stressed that large quantities of sensitive data held by the NHS and the Government is being targeted by hackers. The Tunisian group along with two other groups, Global Islamic Caliphate and Team System DZ, all connected to Isis, are said to carry out coordinated operations. As well as airlines and media companies, the groups had broken into the US Central Command's Twitter and YouTube accounts and had published personal details of retired US military personnel. The Tunisian group had carried out cyber-assaults on a number of countries in the past 18 months, becoming particularly active after the Charlie Hebdo murders in Paris, focusing on organisations which condemned the murders of the journalists. In November 2015, it showed its reach in the UK with the infection of a Jewish school website in north London. More images showed scenes from the Syrian civil war (youtube) Around the same time as the Isis-linked assault last month, the Barts Health Trust warned that its four hospitals Royal London, St Bartholomews, Whipps Cross and Newham were experiencing a virus attack. This, however, is believed to have been criminal rather than political in nature. Shocking images show Aleppo before and after the conflict A Trust spokesman said: We are urgently investigated this matter and have taken a number of drives offline as a precautionary measure. "We have tried and tested contingency plans in place and are making every effort to ensure that patient care will not be affected. Some of the photos were graphic in nature (youtube) Khaled Fattal, the head of the MLi Group, which specialises in cyber-threat intelligence and security, said: What happened to the NHS sites shows just how vulnerable some institutions continue to be. "We have two types of these attacks, criminal and political, driven respectively by motives of profit and ideology. "The political cyber attacks, whats called policyber, can be organised by a terrorist group, or inspired by them, with individuals or small groups then carrying out the attacks: very much like physical acts of terrorism We dont think that these attacks on the NHS were random acts. They appear to be deliberately targeted at a British public institution and in particular at an institution dealing with something which affects every member of the public, their health. So of course, this is very worrying. Recommended Hundreds of suspected Isis fighters arrested Robert Emerson, a security analyst, added: The cyber-terrorist threat to the NHS will be perceived as psychologically more serious than a purely commercial threat . The Government has acknowledged that the NHS and other public bodies are under threat, its a matter now of taking appropriate counter-action. A programme of training for students with work placements in security companies and Whitehall departments as well as the possibility for work at GCHQ has been launched with a target of 1,000 to be qualified by 2020. But the House of Commons Public Accounts Committee accused the Government last Friday of failing to consolidate the alphabet soup of agencies supposedly dealing with cyber-attacks. It claimed that the role of the Cabinet Office, which is responsible for protecting national institutions from hacking, remains confused. Labour MP Meg Hillier, who chairs the committee, said: Its approach to handling personal data breaches has been chaotic and does not inspire confidence in its ability to take swift, coordinated and effective action in the face of higher-threat attacks. "In this context, it should concern us all that the Government is struggling to ensure its security profession has the skills it needs. 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 }} Illegal ivory that is less than 70 years old is being sold in the UK, after it is stained with tea to make it look older and bypass legislation. Evidence suggests ivory which has been poached from elephants after the 1947 legal cut off date is being sold by antiques and auctioneers, WWFs UK chief advisor on wildlife Heather Sohl told The Independent. It came as Parliament debated the future of the UKs domestic ivory market and conservation charity WWF called for MPs to consider a ban of all ivory trade with a few reasonable exemptions. We have evidence that ivory, which dates from after 1947 is being sold in the UK as antique ivory. It is not always easy to identify modern, post 1947 ivory, and ivory that has been poached on elephants before 1947. Some pieces of ivory are tea-stained to make it look older. They are literally dipped in tea to stain the piece, Ms Sohl said. Last September, the Government announced a ban on the sale of all ivory pieces produced after 1947. The law already made it illegal to sell ivory from elephants killed after 1947 but a loophole allowed dealers to claim the item was classified as antique, or produced before 1947, without showing any evidence. Conservation groups, politicians and celebrities including Prince William criticised the announcement as not enough to stop the illegal killing of thousands of elephants and urged the Government to implement a total ban on all ivory trade. We need stricter control than what is there at the moment. We are in talks with antiques and auctioneers about the type of exemptions that would not cause any risk of illegal trading of elephant ivory. Antiques dealers are concerned about whether they are contributing to the killing of elephants, that is one of the key messages that they put across to us, Ms Sohl said. Recent estimates show around 20,000 elephants are killed by poaching in Africa every year, which means an elephant is killed every 25 minutes. CEO of WWF-UK Tanya Steele said: During the time Parliament debates the UKs domestic ivory market, another six elephants could be killed by poachers. This is a matter of life and death. It is time for the Government to take all possible action to end the illegal global ivory trade. In pictures: Kenya stages largest ivory burn in history Show all 15 1 /15 In pictures: Kenya stages largest ivory burn in history In pictures: Kenya stages largest ivory burn in history Reuters In pictures: Kenya stages largest ivory burn in history Traditional Maasai tribesmen pose for a photograph near elephant tusks, part of an estimated 105 tonnes of confiscated ivory to be set ablaze, stacked onto a pyre at Nairobi National Park near Nairobi, Kenya, April 28, 2016. Reuters In pictures: Kenya stages largest ivory burn in history A Kenya Wildlife Services ranger guards the burning of an estimated 105 tonnes of Elephant tusks confiscated ivory from smugglers and poachers at the Nairobi National Park near Nairobi, Kenya, April 30, 2016. Reuters In pictures: Kenya stages largest ivory burn in history Reuters In pictures: Kenya stages largest ivory burn in history Reuters In pictures: Kenya stages largest ivory burn in history Reuters In pictures: Kenya stages largest ivory burn in history Reuters In pictures: Kenya stages largest ivory burn in history Reuters In pictures: Kenya stages largest ivory burn in history Reuters In pictures: Kenya stages largest ivory burn in history Reuters In pictures: Kenya stages largest ivory burn in history Reuters In pictures: Kenya stages largest ivory burn in history Reuters In pictures: Kenya stages largest ivory burn in history Reuters In pictures: Kenya stages largest ivory burn in history Reuters In pictures: Kenya stages largest ivory burn in history Reuters We urgently need the UK to take a stand for elephants, continue to demonstrate global leadership and implement a ban without delay. Such a commitment will send a strong message that the UK refuses to play any part in the illegal ivory trade. The world will be looking to London as we host the next illegal wildlife trade conference in 2018. It is vital that we continue to take a strong stance on this illicit activity. Speaking at Monday's debate, which followed a petition signed by more than 160,000 people, Environment minister Dr Therese Coffey said the Government was working on initial proposals for a complete ban on the sale of ivory artefacts carved after 1947. But she rejected calls for a total ban on the domestic ivory trade, describing such a move as "symbolic action". Dr Coffey said the Government was happy to strive towards "our shared goal of ending poaching and saving elephants". "The kind of assessment we will need to make is how prohibiting the sale of a 17th-century ivory carving would prevent the poaching of elephants today," she said. "We must make sure our rules are robust and proportionate and will achieve the aim of ending the poaching of elephants." A total ban on ivory trade would send a strong message to other countries, where there continues to be a demand for ivory. China, which is home to the worlds greatest legal and illegal ivory markets, announced it will ban domestic trade by the end of 2017. The US has also introduced a near total ban and Hong Kong said it has committed to closing its domestic market. The Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) is expected to announce a consultation on a ban in the coming days. The illegal wildlife trade is the fourth largest illegal trade behind drugs, human trafficking and counterfeiting, worth over an estimated 12 billion annually. 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 }} John Bercow has been no stranger to the limelight since taking the Speaker's chair in 2009. The Conservative MP with a high-profile, Labour-supporting wife has made a number of unconventional comments since he took over the impartial role from Michael Martin. He has also survived attempts to remove him from the role, including from Tory colleagues, and revelations about his expenses. His remarks from the chair include telling Labour's Paula Sherriff (Dewsbury) she would have received an anti-social behaviour order (Asbo) if her rowdy behaviour had taken place outside the Commons. He made the joke in January as he sought to quieten the chamber to allow Prime Minister Theresa May to respond to a question. Later that month he was caught on microphone warning Cabinet minister Sir Michael Fallon it would be "stupid" to pick a fight with a senior MP. He made the unguarded comment after the Defence Secretary had been grilled about reports that a Trident ballistic missile veered off course during a test firing. Mr Bercow has suggested yoga to several MPs, including Labour's Tom Blenkinsop (Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland) and Ronnie Campbell (Blyth Valley), while calling for calm during heated debates. He admonished MPs for repeatedly asking for a tea break or whether they could use the toilet during the long-running Brexit debate last week. His decision to strip parliamentary officials of their traditional wigs on Monday was met with disapproval from a number of MPs. In pictures: Protests, pomp and Donald Trump Show all 30 1 /30 In pictures: Protests, pomp and Donald Trump In pictures: Protests, pomp and Donald Trump President-elect Donald Trump acknowledges guests as he arrives on the platform at the US Capitol in Washington DC Getty Images In pictures: Protests, pomp and Donald Trump Donald Trump is sworn in as the 45th president of the United States by Chief Justice John Roberts as Melania Trump looks on during the 58th Presidential Inauguration at the U.S. Capitol in Washington AP In pictures: Protests, pomp and Donald Trump President Donald Trump shakes hands with Justice John Roberts after taking the oath at inauguration ceremonies swearing in Trump as the 45th president of the United States Reuters In pictures: Protests, pomp and Donald Trump President Donald Trump raises his fists after his inauguration on the West Front of the U.S. Capitol Getty In pictures: Protests, pomp and Donald Trump U.S. President-elect Donald Trump greets outgoing President Barack Obama before Trump is inaugurated during ceremonies on the Capitol in Washington Reuters In pictures: Protests, pomp and Donald Trump resident-elect Donald Trump arrives on the platform of the US Capitol in Washington DC Getty Images In pictures: Protests, pomp and Donald Trump Attendees partake in the inauguration ceremonies to swear in Donald Trump as the 45th president of the United States at the U.S. Capitol in Washington DC Reuters In pictures: Protests, pomp and Donald Trump US President Donald Trump delivers his inaugural address during ceremonies at the US Capitol in Washington DC Getty In pictures: Protests, pomp and Donald Trump U.S. President Donald Trump waves with wife Melania during the Inaugural Parade in Washington DC Reuters In pictures: Protests, pomp and Donald Trump Protesters registered their rage against the new president Friday in a chaotic confrontation with police who used pepper spray and stun grenades in a melee just blocks from Donald Trump's inaugural parade route. Scores were arrested for trashing property and attacking officers AP In pictures: Protests, pomp and Donald Trump Demonstrators protest against US President Donald Trump in Washington DC Getty Images In pictures: Protests, pomp and Donald Trump A woman holds a sign before the start of the Presidential Inauguration of Donald Trump at Freedom Plaza in Washington DC Getty Images In pictures: Protests, pomp and Donald Trump Anti-Trump protesters prepare banners for a protest against the inauguration of US President-elect Donald Trump, in Berlin REUTERS In pictures: Protests, pomp and Donald Trump Demonstrators shout slogans against US President-elect Donald Trump in Washington DC Getty Images In pictures: Protests, pomp and Donald Trump Demonstrators march, block foot traffic and clash with U.S. Capitol Police at the entry checkpoints for the Inauguration of Donald Trump Alamy Live News In pictures: Protests, pomp and Donald Trump Demonstrators display a banner as people arrive for US President-elect Donald Trump's inauguration in Washington DC Getty Images In pictures: Protests, pomp and Donald Trump A man displays a placard as people lineup to get into the National Mall for the inauguration of US President-elect Donald Trump in Washington DC Getty Images In pictures: Protests, pomp and Donald Trump Protesters demonstrating against U.S. President Donald Trump raise their hands as they are surrounded by police on the sidelines of the inauguration in Washington DC Reuters In pictures: Protests, pomp and Donald Trump A demonstrator wearing a mask depicting Donald Trump protests outside the US Embassy in London Getty Images In pictures: Protests, pomp and Donald Trump Demonstrators hold placards as they protest outside the US Embassy in London Getty Images In pictures: Protests, pomp and Donald Trump Former US President George W. Bush and First Lady Laura Bush arrive for the Presidential Inauguration at the US Capitol Rex In pictures: Protests, pomp and Donald Trump Michelle Obama and Dr. Jill Biden share an umbrella as President Donald Trump delivers his inaugural address at the inauguration in Washington DC Rex In pictures: Protests, pomp and Donald Trump Former Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton and former President Bill Clinton arrive on the West Front of the U.S. Capitol in Washington Reuters In pictures: Protests, pomp and Donald Trump U.S. Vice President Mike Pence takes the oath of office on the West Front of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, DC Getty Images In pictures: Protests, pomp and Donald Trump Advisors to President-elect Donald Trump, Kellyanne Conway and Steve Bannon depart from services at St. John's Church during the Presidential Inauguration in Washington Reuters In pictures: Protests, pomp and Donald Trump Protesters demonstrating against U.S. President Donald Trump take cover as they are hit by pepper spray by police on the sidelines of the inauguration in Washington DC Reuters In pictures: Protests, pomp and Donald Trump An activist demonstrating against U.S. President Donald Trump is helped after being hit by pepper spray on the sidelines of the inauguration in Washington DC Reuters In pictures: Protests, pomp and Donald Trump A police officer tries to tackle a protester demonstrating against U.S. President Donald Trump Reuters/Adrees Latif In pictures: Protests, pomp and Donald Trump Police arrest and detain a protester in the street in Washington DC Rex In pictures: Protests, pomp and Donald Trump A police officer falls to the ground as another shoots pepper spray at protesters demonstrating against U.S. President Donald Trump on the sidelines of the inauguration in Washington DC Reuters In the last few years he has faced scrutiny over his expenses. In November it was revealed he had spent almost 20,000 of taxpayers' money to fly to a conference in Japan with an aide. That followed revelations last February that he spent thousands of pounds wining and dining fellow MPs, plus almost 2,000 on a dinner with his Australian counterpart and hundreds of pounds to tune the grand piano in his apartments. His office argued that the overall expenditure of the Speaker's Office has fallen during his tenure from 626,029 in 2009/10 to 504,737 in 2015/16. Born on January 19 1963, the son of a Jewish taxi driver, Mr Bercow went to school in Margaret Thatcher's Finchley constituency and first got involved as politics as a teenager. He attended Essex University, where he gained a reputation as something of a firebrand, and became a member of the hard-line Tory Monday Club, notorious for its "hang Nelson Mandela" slogans, joining its Immigration and Repatriation Committee. John Bercow 'strongly opposed' to Donald Trump address to Parliament At the age of 20 he left the pressure group, saying some of its members' views about immigration were "unpalatable". After a short spell at Hambros Bank, Mr Bercow embarked on a career as a lobbyist, serving as a councillor in Lambeth, south London, at the same time. At the 1992 general election he stood unsuccessfully against Labour's Dawn Primarolo in Bristol South. Three years later he went into politics full-time, becoming special adviser to chief secretary to the treasury Jonathan Aitken until his resignation, and then to heritage secretary Virginia Bottomley. Mr Bercow finally secured a berth in the safe seat of Buckingham, and - despite Labour's landslide victory - entered Parliament at the 1997 general election. He was made shadow chief secretary when Iain Duncan Smith became Tory leader in 2001 before quitting the Conservative front bench in November 2002. Recommended The downfall of Labour began with Ed Miliband He became Speaker following Labour MP Mr Martin's resignation and has been re-elected twice, despite angering former Tory colleagues over his behaviour in the chair. Nadine Dorries, his constituency near neighbour, was one of a handful of MPs who tried to have him removed in 2010. He was re-elected in 2015. Mr Bercow married Sally Illman in 2002 and they have three children together. The marriage has been a source of attention throughout his tenure, with his wife becoming a household name after posing for a photoshoot in Speaker's House draped in a sheet, and appearing on Celebrity Big Brother. In 2015 she admitted she had been a "terrible wife" amid reports of an affair with her husband's cousin. Press Association 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 }} John Bercow defended his opposition to Donald Trump addressing Parliament, saying he acted honesty and honourably. The Speaker of the House of Commons told MPs he believed the matter was within his remit after he came under the fire of some Conservative MPs, who criticised him for speaking his mind instead of remaining impartial. Whilst I completely understand that there can be different views about this matter and we have heard some of them which should always and all be treated with respect, I was commenting on a matter that does fall in the remit of the chair, he said. The house has always understood that the chair has a role in these matters." He added: I was honestly and honourably seeking to discharge my responsibilities to the House. Mr Bercow was responding to Conservative MP Sir Gerald Howarth, who said the Prime Minister had secured a favourable outcome of what was undoubtedly a tricky visit to the US. He added that there had been a rather subdued aspect among his Conservative peers, when Mr Bercow made his comments. I do hope, Mr Speaker, that you will help us to ensure that we can have full confidence in your impartiality, he said. Mr Bercow previously told the House of Commons he would strongly oppose an address by President Trump in Westminster hall, accusing the US President of racism and sexism. Theresa May invited Mr Trump to make a state visit to the UK on her recent trip to the United States. She said he would fly to Britain before the end of the year. A spokesman for Downing Street previously said: "What John Bercow suggests to Parliament is a matter for Parliament. What I will set out is our position which is we've extended this invitation to the president and we look forward to receiving him later this year." The Speaker of the Lords, Lord Fowler, said he was not consulted on Mr Bercows decision to oppose an address by Mr Trump in Westminster and that he would keep an open mind. UK news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 UK news in pictures UK news in pictures 5 November 2022 Demonstrators with placards calling for a General Election march near the Houses of Parliament AFP via Getty Images UK news in pictures 4 November 2022 A peacock is seen in the early winter sunshine in the Dutch Gardens in Holland Park AFP via Getty Images UK news in pictures 3 November 2022 A villager cooks roti bread at the site of the annual Camel Fair in Pushkar, in India's desert state of Rajasthan AFP via Getty Images UK news in pictures 2 November 2022 A red squirrel gathers nuts in Pitlochry, Scotland Reuters UK news in pictures 1 November 2022 Englands Tara-Jane Stanley scores their sides seventh try against Brazil during the Womens Rugby League World Cup group A match at Headingley Stadium, Leeds PA UK news in pictures 31 October 2022 GBs James Hall competes during the mens parallel bars qualification at the World Gymnastics Championships in Liverpool AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 30 October 2022 People dressed in Halloween costumes paddle board along the river Avon in Christchurch, Dorset PA UK news in pictures 29 October 2022 Members of the public take pictures as police officers remove activists from a road during a Just Stop Oil protest, in London Reuters UK news in pictures 28 October 2022 A cosplayer attends the MCM Comic Con London 2022 at the ExCel Centre in London Reuters UK news in pictures 27 October 2022 98-year-old D-Day Veteran Bernard Morgan, whose story is among those featured on the giant poppy wall, during the launch of The Royal British Legion 2022 Poppy Appeal, at Hay's Galleria in central London PA UK news in pictures 26 October 2022 A meerkat explores a pumpkin in the enclosure at Wild Place, Bristol, where some of the animals are having pumpkin treats as part of their environmental enrichment PA UK news in pictures 25 October 2022 King Charles III welcomes Rishi Sunak during an audience at Buckingham Palace, where he invited the newly elected leader of the Conservative Party to become Prime Minister and form a new government PA UK news in pictures 24 October 2022 Rishi Sunak celebrates with Tory MPs outside the Conservative Campaign Headquarters after becoming the new leader of the Conservative Party Reuters UK news in pictures 23 October 2022 The Green Man at October Plenty, Borough Market's annual Autumn Harvest festival, in London, which returns for the first time post pandemic PA UK news in pictures 21 October 2022 Sculptor Peter McKenna puts the finishing touches to a pumpkin that will form part of the Planet A Hebden Bridge Pumpkin Trail in the West Yorkshire town PA UK news in pictures 20 October 2022 Britains Prime Minister Liz Truss delivers a speech outside of 10 Downing Street in central London to announce her resignation AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 19 October 2022 Salmon leap up Stainforth Force on the River Ribble in the Yorkshire Dales as they swim upriver to their spawning grounds during the annual Salmon migration PA UK news in pictures 18 October 2022 Just Stop Oil protesters continue their protest for a second day on the Queen Elizabeth II Bridge, which links Kent and Essex and which remains closed for traffic, after it was scaled by two climbers from the group PA UK news in pictures 17 October 2022 Hundreds of students take part in the traditional Raisin Monday foam fight on St Salvator's Lower College Lawn at the University of St Andrews in Fife PA UK news in pictures 16 October 2022 A protester holds a placard during a march into central London at a demonstration by the climate change protest group Extinction Rebellion AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 15 October 2022 A member of the public drags an activist who is blocking the road during a "Just Stop Oil" protest, in London, Britain REUTERS UK news in pictures 14 October 2022 Germanys Womens double skulls during day one of the World Rowing Beach Sprint Finals at Saundersfoot beach, Pembrokeshire PA UK news in pictures 13 October 2022 Family and mourners arrive at St Michael's Church, in Creeslough, for the funeral mass of 49-year-old mother of four Martina Martin, who died following an explosion at the Applegreen service station in the village of Creeslough in Co Donegal on Friday PA UK news in pictures 12 October 2022 Motorists in Coventry pass trees showing autumnal colour PA UK news in pictures 11 October 2022 A woman and her dog in the the North Sea at Tynemouth Longsands beach before sunrise PA UK news in pictures 10 October 2022 Police officers remove a campaigner from a Just Stop Oil protest on The Mall, near Buckingham Palace, London PA UK news in pictures 9 October 2022 A drummer plays during the Diwali on the Square celebration, in Trafalgar Square, London PA UK news in pictures 8 October 2022 Timothee Chalamet attending the UK premiere of Bones and All during the BFI London Film Festival 2022 at the Royal Festival Hall, Southbank Centre, London PA UK news in pictures 7 October 2022 Two young male fallow deer lock antlers in Dublins Phoenix park as rutting season begins PA UK news in pictures 6 October 2022 The Princess of Wales during a cocktail making competition during a visit to Trademarket, a new outdoor street-food and retail market situated in Belfast city centre, as part of the royal visit to Northern Ireland PA UK news in pictures 5 October 2022 Greenpeace protesters interrupt Prime Minister Liz Truss as she delivers her keynote speech to the Conservative Party annual conference PA UK news in pictures 4 October 2022 Prime Minister Liz Truss and Britains Chancellor of the Exchequer Kwasi Kwarteng wearing hard hats and hi-vis jackets, visit a construction site for a medical innovation campus in Birmingham AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 3 October 2022 British artist Sam Cox, aka Mr Doodle, reveals the Doodle House, a twelve-room mansion at Tenterden, in Kent, which has been covered, inside and out in the artist's trademark monochrome, cartoonish hand-drawn doodles PA UK news in pictures 2 October 2022 Erling Haaland celebrates after scoring Manchester City's second goal against Manchester United at Etihad Stadium. Haaland went on to score a hattrick, his third of the season in the Premier League. City beat United 6-3. Manchester City FC/Getty UK news in pictures 1 October 2022 Protesters hold up flags and placards at a protest in London. A variety of protest groups including Enough is Enough, Don't Pay and Just Stop Oil all demonstrated on the day AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 30 September 2022 British Prime Minister Liz Truss, who has not been seen in days, leaves the back of Downing Street after a meeting with Office For Budget Responsibility following the release of her governments mini-budget Getty UK news in pictures 29 September 2022 The Virginia creeper foliage on the Tu Hwnt i'r Bont (Beyond the Bridge) Llanwrst, Conwy North Wales, has changed colour from green to red in at the start of Autumn. The building was built in 1480 as a residential dwelling but has been a tearoom for over 50 years PA UK news in pictures 28 September 2022 Criminal barristers from the Criminal Bar Association (CBA), demonstrates outside the Royal Courts of Justice in London, as part of their ongoing pay row with the Government PA UK news in pictures 27 September 2022 David White, Garter King of Arms, poses with an envelope franked with the new cypher of King Charles III 'CIIIR', after it was printed in the Court Post Office at Buckingham Palace in central London AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 26 September 2022 A gallery staff member poses next to a painting by Lucian Freud - Self-portrait (Fragment), 1956 - on show at a photocall for the Credit Suisse exhibition - Lucian Freud: New Perspectives at the National Gallery in London PA UK news in pictures 25 September 2022 Labour leader, Sir Keir Starmer is interviewed by Laura Kuenssberg in Liverpool before the start of the Labour Party annual Conference which he opened with a tribute to Queen Elizabeth II and sang the national anthem PA UK news in pictures 24 September 2022 Handout photo issued by Buckingham Palace of the ledger stone at the King George VI Memorial Chapel, St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle PA UK news in pictures 23 September 2022 A climate change activist protests against UK private jets while lighting his right arm on fire during the Laver Cup tennis tournament at the O2 Arena in London EPA UK news in pictures 22 September 2022 Woody Woodmansey, Lee Bennett, Kevin Armstrong, Nick Moran and Clifford Slapper attend the unveiling of a stone for David Bowie on the Music Walk of Fame at Camden, north London PA UK news in pictures 21 September 2022 A flock of birds in the sky as the sun rises over Dungeness in Kent PA UK news in pictures 20 September 2022 Flowers which were laid by members of the public in tribute to Queen Elizabeth II at Hillsborough Castle in Northern Ireland are collected by the Hillsborough Gardening Team and volunteers to be replanted for those that can be saved or composted PA UK news in pictures 19 September 2022 The ceremonial procession of the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II travels down the long walk as it arrives at Windsor Castle for the committal service at St Georges Chapel AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 18 September 2022 A man stands among campers on The Mall ahead of the Queens funeral Reuters UK news in pictures 17 September 2022 Wolverhampton Wanderers Nathan Collins fouls Manchester Citys Jack Grealish leading to a red card. City went on to win the match at Molineux Stadium three goals to nil. Action Images/Reuters UK news in pictures 16 September 2022 Members of the public stand in the queue near Tower Bridge, and opposite the Tower of London, as they wait in line to pay their respects to the late Queen Elizabeth II, in London AFP via Getty Images Some have called on Mr Bercow to resign on the basis he breached his neutrality. A petition describing the Speaker's intervention as "inappropriate" and calling for a vote of no confidence against Mr Bercow has been set-up and already has more than 5,000 signatures. But MPs from across the political divide have voiced their support for Mr Bercow after he spoke out against the US President addressing Parliament. The Speaker was also applauded by some Labour and SNP MPs in the chamber. Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn tweeted: Well said John Bercow. We must stand up for our country's values. Trump's State Visit should not go ahead. Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron responded: "This is the right decision by The Speaker. "The Prime Minister might wish to kowtow to the nasty misogynist that now sits in the Oval Office but no-one else does. We do not want him to speak to us. He is not welcome. 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 Government has been accused of conning MPs into backing their plans for Brexit without offering them a meaningful vote on any deal to leave the European Union. Tory rebels and Labour had been due to gang up in Parliament tonight in an attempt to force ministers to give MPs the power to send Theresa May back to the negotiating table if she fails to secure a good deal. The Government headed off the rebellion by 326 votes to 293 after earlier promising that MPs would in fact be given a vote on the deal. Brexit minister David Jones had sought to satisfy would-be rebels by saying that MPs would be given a vote before negotiations were concluded and the final deal was put to the European Parliament. Recommended Tory Brexit rebel hails government climbdown to give MPs decisive vote The move was enough to stop wider scale backing for a Labour amendment calling for parliamentary approval of any new relationship with the EU. But critics have suggested that parliament had been duped by the apparent concession. The Prime Ministers spokesperson confirmed to journalists at an official briefing that the Government had in fact not changed its position and was only offering a take-it-or-leave-it vote. The rejection of any deal at that stage would see the UK crash out of the EU and make it subject to World Trade Organisation rules making it of no meaningful use to opponents of hard Brexit. Labour MP Angela Eagle described the promised vote as a Hobsons choice not a proper choice a reference to Thomas Hobson, a 17th century stable owner who offered customers the choice of one horse or none at all. Question Time audience member changed Brexit vote 'because of bananas' EU-supporting MPs from across the opposition parties criticised the Governments offer. The Governments so-called concession falls short of giving Parliament a meaningful vote, said Labour MP Chris Leslie, who had brought the amendment asking for a meaningful vote on the terms of the Brexit deal. Ministers have failed to produce a new amendment, so their commitment will not be binding. The Minister refused to give Parliament the option to reject the deal and tell the Government to go back to negotiate a better one. Green MP Caroline Lucas, co-leader of the Green Party said: MPs must not be duped by the Governments attempt to quell unrest on their backbenches. The vote theyre offering which will give MPs a choice between an extreme Brexit and falling off a cliff edge into WTO trade rules isnt a concession, its an ultimatum. Green Party leader Caroline Lucas (Getty) Parliament should have a real voice on the terms of Brexit not a symbolic handout from a Government trying to railroad their extreme Brexit through the House of Commons. Tom Brake, a Liberal Democrat MP, said the proposal was not so much a concession as a con, adding: A choice between a bad deal and no deal is no choice at all. In the end seven Conservative MPs Ken Clarke, Bob Neill, Andrew Tyrie, Claire Perry, Anna Soubry, Antoinette Sandbach and Heidi Allen rebelled on the issue by voting against the Government. Conservative Nicky Morgan, the former Education Secretary, tweeted that the Government did make a concession but for No 10 to then brief there was no change & Minister to undermine it makes no sense. Labour voted for the amendment but not before hailing the vote conceded by ministers a significant victory for Parliament and an eleventh hour concession. MPs have been debating Brexit until the midnight hours for the past week during the passage of the Governments Article 50 Bill. On Wednesday the House of Commons will face a vote on the rights of EU nationals living in the UK, which has been a point of contention with many MPs from both sides of the House calling for the Prime Minister to guarantee the rights of EU citizens living in the UK before any reciprocal deal is reached on British people living in the rest of the Europe. Brexit Concerns Show all 26 1 /26 Brexit Concerns Brexit Concerns Brexit will put British patients at 'back of the queue' for new drugs Brexit will put British patients at the back of the queue for vital new drugs, the Government has been warned forcing them to wait up to two years longer A medicines regulator has raised the alarm over a likely decision to pull out of the European Medicines Agency (EMA), as well as the EU itself. ealth Secretary Jeremy Hunt dropped the bombshell , when he said he expected the UK would quit the EMA because it is subject to rulings by the European Court of Justice. Getty Images Brexit Concerns London to lose status as 'gateway to Europe' for banks One of Germanys top banking regulators has warned that London could lose its status as gateway to Europe for the banking sector after Britain quits the European trading bloc. Andreas Dombret, who is an executive board member for the BundesbankGermanys central banktold a private meeting of German businesses and banks earlier this week in Frankfurt that even if banking rules were equivalent between the UK and the rest of the EU, that was still miles away from [Britain having] access to the single market, the BBC reports. Jason Hawkes Brexit Concerns Exodus The number of financial sector professionals in Britain and continental Europe looking for jobs in Ireland rocketed in the months after the UK voted to leave the European Union Shutterstock Brexit Concerns Brexit is making FTSE 100 executives richer Pay packages of many FTSE 100 chief executive officers are partly tied to how well share prices are doing rather than the CEOs performance -- and some stocks are soaring. ritish equities got a boost since the June vote because the likes of Rio Tinto, Smiths Group and WPP generate most sales abroad and earn a fortune when they convert these revenues back into the weakened pound. Sterlings fall also made UK stocks more affordable for overseas investors. Rex Brexit Concerns Theresa May: UK to leave single market Theresa May has said the UK "cannot possibly" remain within the European single market, as staying in it would mean "not leaving the EU at all". Getty Brexit Concerns Lead campaigner Gina Miller and her team outside the High Court Getty Brexit Concerns Raymond McCord holds up his newly issued Irish passport alongside his British passport outside the High Court in Belfast following a judges dismissal of the UK's first legal challenges to Brexit PA wire Brexit Concerns SDLP leader Colum Eastwood leaving the High Court in Belfast following a judges dismissal of the UK's first legal challenges to Brexit PA wire Brexit Concerns Migrants with luggage walk past a graffiti on a wall as they leave the 'Jungle' migrant camp, as part of a major three-day operation planned to clear the camp in Calais Getty Brexit Concerns Migrants leave messages on their tents in the Jungle migrant camp Getty Brexit Concerns The Adventist Development and Relief Agency (Adra) which distributes approximately 700 meals daily in the northern Paris camp states that it is noticing a spike in new migrant arrivals this week, potentially linked the the Calais 'jungle' camp closure - with around 1000 meals distributed today EPA Brexit Concerns Migrant workers pick apples at Stocks Farm in Suckley, Britain Reuters Brexit Concerns Many farmers across the country are voicing concerns that Brexit could be a dangerous step into the unknown for the farming industry Getty Brexit Concerns Bank of England governor Mark Carney who said the long-term outlook for the UK economy is positive, but growth was slowing in the wake of the Brexit vote PA Brexit Concerns The Dow Jones industrial average closed down over 600 points on the news with markets around the globe pluninging Getty Brexit Concerns Immigration officers deal with each member of the public seeking entry into the United Kingdom but on average, 10 a day are refused entry at this London airport and between 2008 and 2009, 33,100 people were detained at the airport for mainly passport irregularities Getty Brexit Concerns A number of global investment giants have threatened to move their European operations out of London if Brexit proves to have a negative impact on their businesses Getty Brexit Concerns Following the possibility of a Brexit the UK would be released from its renewable energy targets under the EU Renewable Energy Directive and from EU state aid restrictions, potentially giving the government more freedom both in the design and phasing out of renewable energy support regimes Getty Brexit Concerns A woman looking at a chart showing the drop in the pound (Sterling) against the US Dollar in London after Britain voted to leave the EU Getty Brexit Concerns Young protesters outside the Houses of Parliament in Westminster, to protest against the United Kingdom's decision to leave the EU following the referendum Getty Brexit Concerns Applications from Northern Ireland citizens for Irish Passports has soared to a record high after the UK Voted in favour of Leaving the EU Getty Brexit Concerns NFU Vice President Minette Batters with Secretary of State, Andrea Leadsome at the National Farmers Union (NFU) took machinery, produce, farmers and staff to Westminster to encourage Members of Parliament to back British farming, post Brexit Getty Brexit Concerns The latest reports released by the UK Cabinet Office warn that expats would lose a range of specific rights to live, to work and to access pensions, healthcare and public services. The same reports added that UK citizens abroad would not be able to assume that these rights will be guaranteed in the future Getty Brexit Concerns A British resident living in Spain asks questions during an informative Brexit talk by the "Brexpats in Spain" group, about Spanish legal issues to become Spanish citizens, at the town hall in Benalmadena, Spain Reuters Brexit Concerns The collapse of Great Britain appears to have been greatly exaggerated given the late summer crowds visiting city museums, hotels, and other important tourist attractions Getty Brexit Concerns The U.K. should maintain European Union regulations covering everything from working hours to chemicals until after the government sets out its plans for Brexit, said British manufacturers anxious to avoid a policy vacuum and safeguard access to their biggest export market Getty Assuming the Government wins the vote, the bill, which gives the Government the power to trigger Article 50, which would start Brexit negotiations, will pass to the House of Lords without any opposition amendments having been accepted. The Prime Minister has said she wants to invoke the treaty clause by the end of March this year. As MPs debated in Westminster, the Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh voted against triggering withdrawal talks. The assembly in Holyrood voted by 90 to 34 for a motion from the Scottish Government saying the European Union (Notification of Withdrawal) Bill should not proceed. Twenty others have been sentenced to life imprisonment A Cairo criminal court has sentenced two people to death and 20 others to life imprisonment over street violence that dates back to the aftermath of the 2013 ouster of Islamist president Mohamed Morsi, a judicial source said. The defendants were convicted on Tuesday of charges including murder, undermining public peace, deliberate sabotage of public buildings, protesting and terrorising citizens, the source added. Another defendant was handed a 10-year prison term for the same charges. The charges stem from violence near the US embassy in downtown Cairo in October 2013. One person was killed and many others were wounded during clashes with security forces at the time. The sentences can still be appealed. Under Egyptian law, the cases of those facing the death penalty must be referred to the grand mufti, for his non-binding recommendation to the court on whether to proceed, before they are carried out. Search Keywords: Short link: 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 }} Crashing out of the EU with no deal would be an iceberg that will sink Theresa Mays hopes for Brexit, a Cambridge professor has warned ahead of a crunch Commons vote. Kenneth Armstrong, a Professor of European Law, predicted massive disruption for both the Government and British businesses if the Prime Minister carries out her threat to walk away with no agreement. It would be so damaging it would make the huge task of transferring all EU law into British law the so-called Great Real Bill look like a sixth form project. The warning came as MPs prepare to vote tonight on a crucial amendment to the Article 50 Bill, to stop the Prime Minister taking Britain out of the EU with no deal without MPs consent. Some Tory MPs have sided with the Opposition parties by demanding a guarantee of a meaningful vote on the outcome of the negotiations. They want that vote to be held early enough for Ms May to go back and seek a better deal from the EU in 2019, if MPs reject her exit terms. The Prime Minister is also under pressure or to guarantee a vote if she is unable to reach any agreement at all a highly-plausible scenario, given the huge complexity of the talks. Giving evidence to the Commons Foreign Affairs Select Committee, Prof Armstrong said trade with the EU depended on high-level co-operation and legal frameworks, which would be lost without a fresh deal. He told MPs: I think there is potentially massive disruption in the ordinary day-to-day boring business of administering legal frameworks Its the iceberg below the top level of the legislation that we see with the Great Repeal Bill We know that that is going to be a difficult task, to put in place the legal framework to deal with the legislation. I think its going to look like a sixth-form project compared with the task of putting in place the structures of co-operation between administrators, outside of the structures of the European Union. The Independent revealed last week that Neil Carmichael, the Education Select Committee chairman, is set to rebel in tonights vote. Nicky Morgan, the former Education Secretary, has hinted she will join him to guarantee MPs are given a decisive role even if it appears no deal is likely to be agreed. And, in the Commons last night, Anna Soubry also indicated that she is poised to vote against the Government, unless it gives way. She told ministers: I make it very clear - in the absence of that I will find myself perhaps with no alternative but to go against my Government, the last thing I want to do. However, it will require up to 20 Tory MPs to rebel later, given that Unionist and some Labour MPs will vote with the Government. Last night, four Labour MPs Kate Hoey, Kelvin Hopkins, Graham Stringer and Gisela Stuart voted against Jeremy Corbyns unsuccessful attempt to force reports on the Brexit negotiations every two months. Ms May has promised the Commons will be given more detail today about the status and timing of her promised vote in 2019. 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 }} Jeremy Corbyn has issued a second three-line whip, ordering his MPs to vote for the Governments Brexit bill at its final stage in the Commons. Various Labour sources confirmed the decision to The Independent after a meeting of the partys shadow Cabinet on Tuesday. It now paves the way for Theresa May to trigger the formal exit process. The decision to impose the three-line whip the strictest possible instruction means that certain members of Mr Corbyns shadow Cabinet will also be facing a difficult decision, especially those from areas with considerable proportions of Remain voters. Recommended Jeremy Corbyn backs Donald Trump being banned from Parliament Clive Lewis, the shadow Business Secretary, has indicated he could resign from his position if the partys amendments to the Bill fall flat in the Commons. If at the end of that process the bill before us is overwhelmingly a Tory hard cliff-edge a Trumpian Brexit I am prepared to break the whip and I am prepared to walk from the shadow Cabinet, he told his constituents on Friday. His colleague Diane Abbott, the shadow Home Secretary, who is one of the Labour leaders closest allies in Westminster, will also be under pressure to vote in line with the party whip after abstaining on the first vote last week due to a migraine. One Labour MP has called on her to apologise after she bottled it. But at the weekend Mr Corbyn hinted that those not in the shadow Cabinet but on the front bench could still keep their jobs, adding he was a very lenient person. Labour MPs said the party's chief whip Nick Brown had indicated there would be consistency in dealing with the passage of the European Union (Notification of Withdrawal) Bill, which is now being debated in the three days of its committee stage in the Commons before a vote on Wednesday on whether to approve its third reading and send it to the Lords for consideration. Brexit Concerns Show all 26 1 /26 Brexit Concerns Brexit Concerns Brexit will put British patients at 'back of the queue' for new drugs Brexit will put British patients at the back of the queue for vital new drugs, the Government has been warned forcing them to wait up to two years longer A medicines regulator has raised the alarm over a likely decision to pull out of the European Medicines Agency (EMA), as well as the EU itself. ealth Secretary Jeremy Hunt dropped the bombshell , when he said he expected the UK would quit the EMA because it is subject to rulings by the European Court of Justice. Getty Images Brexit Concerns London to lose status as 'gateway to Europe' for banks One of Germanys top banking regulators has warned that London could lose its status as gateway to Europe for the banking sector after Britain quits the European trading bloc. Andreas Dombret, who is an executive board member for the BundesbankGermanys central banktold a private meeting of German businesses and banks earlier this week in Frankfurt that even if banking rules were equivalent between the UK and the rest of the EU, that was still miles away from [Britain having] access to the single market, the BBC reports. Jason Hawkes Brexit Concerns Exodus The number of financial sector professionals in Britain and continental Europe looking for jobs in Ireland rocketed in the months after the UK voted to leave the European Union Shutterstock Brexit Concerns Brexit is making FTSE 100 executives richer Pay packages of many FTSE 100 chief executive officers are partly tied to how well share prices are doing rather than the CEOs performance -- and some stocks are soaring. ritish equities got a boost since the June vote because the likes of Rio Tinto, Smiths Group and WPP generate most sales abroad and earn a fortune when they convert these revenues back into the weakened pound. Sterlings fall also made UK stocks more affordable for overseas investors. Rex Brexit Concerns Theresa May: UK to leave single market Theresa May has said the UK "cannot possibly" remain within the European single market, as staying in it would mean "not leaving the EU at all". Getty Brexit Concerns Lead campaigner Gina Miller and her team outside the High Court Getty Brexit Concerns Raymond McCord holds up his newly issued Irish passport alongside his British passport outside the High Court in Belfast following a judges dismissal of the UK's first legal challenges to Brexit PA wire Brexit Concerns SDLP leader Colum Eastwood leaving the High Court in Belfast following a judges dismissal of the UK's first legal challenges to Brexit PA wire Brexit Concerns Migrants with luggage walk past a graffiti on a wall as they leave the 'Jungle' migrant camp, as part of a major three-day operation planned to clear the camp in Calais Getty Brexit Concerns Migrants leave messages on their tents in the Jungle migrant camp Getty Brexit Concerns The Adventist Development and Relief Agency (Adra) which distributes approximately 700 meals daily in the northern Paris camp states that it is noticing a spike in new migrant arrivals this week, potentially linked the the Calais 'jungle' camp closure - with around 1000 meals distributed today EPA Brexit Concerns Migrant workers pick apples at Stocks Farm in Suckley, Britain Reuters Brexit Concerns Many farmers across the country are voicing concerns that Brexit could be a dangerous step into the unknown for the farming industry Getty Brexit Concerns Bank of England governor Mark Carney who said the long-term outlook for the UK economy is positive, but growth was slowing in the wake of the Brexit vote PA Brexit Concerns The Dow Jones industrial average closed down over 600 points on the news with markets around the globe pluninging Getty Brexit Concerns Immigration officers deal with each member of the public seeking entry into the United Kingdom but on average, 10 a day are refused entry at this London airport and between 2008 and 2009, 33,100 people were detained at the airport for mainly passport irregularities Getty Brexit Concerns A number of global investment giants have threatened to move their European operations out of London if Brexit proves to have a negative impact on their businesses Getty Brexit Concerns Following the possibility of a Brexit the UK would be released from its renewable energy targets under the EU Renewable Energy Directive and from EU state aid restrictions, potentially giving the government more freedom both in the design and phasing out of renewable energy support regimes Getty Brexit Concerns A woman looking at a chart showing the drop in the pound (Sterling) against the US Dollar in London after Britain voted to leave the EU Getty Brexit Concerns Young protesters outside the Houses of Parliament in Westminster, to protest against the United Kingdom's decision to leave the EU following the referendum Getty Brexit Concerns Applications from Northern Ireland citizens for Irish Passports has soared to a record high after the UK Voted in favour of Leaving the EU Getty Brexit Concerns NFU Vice President Minette Batters with Secretary of State, Andrea Leadsome at the National Farmers Union (NFU) took machinery, produce, farmers and staff to Westminster to encourage Members of Parliament to back British farming, post Brexit Getty Brexit Concerns The latest reports released by the UK Cabinet Office warn that expats would lose a range of specific rights to live, to work and to access pensions, healthcare and public services. The same reports added that UK citizens abroad would not be able to assume that these rights will be guaranteed in the future Getty Brexit Concerns A British resident living in Spain asks questions during an informative Brexit talk by the "Brexpats in Spain" group, about Spanish legal issues to become Spanish citizens, at the town hall in Benalmadena, Spain Reuters Brexit Concerns The collapse of Great Britain appears to have been greatly exaggerated given the late summer crowds visiting city museums, hotels, and other important tourist attractions Getty Brexit Concerns The U.K. should maintain European Union regulations covering everything from working hours to chemicals until after the government sets out its plans for Brexit, said British manufacturers anxious to avoid a policy vacuum and safeguard access to their biggest export market Getty It is expected that more MPs could join those who rebelled last week, if the party fails to secure some of its key amendments to the Governments EU withdrawal bill. One of the key demands includes securing the rights of EU citizens in the UK before Theresa May serves notice of Article 50 on her self-imposed March deadline. Emily Thornberry says Labour are a national party and will not frustrate will of the people The decision was described as deeply disappointing by Caroline Lucas, the co-leader of the Green Party, who added Labour is handing the Tories their extreme Brexit on a plate. In Holyrood later today it also expected that the Scottish Labour Party will vote against invoking Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty putting it at odds with the orders of the UK Labour Party. In a non-binding, symbolic vote MSPs will vote on the Scottish government motion arguing against the withdrawal bill currently making its way through the Commons. Kezia Dugdale, the Scottish Labour leader, said the people of Scotland did not vote for Theresa Mays hard Brexit. 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 }} Jeremy Corbyn has said he unequivocally supports a statement by the Speaker of the House of Commons suggesting Donald Trump will not be allowed to address Parliament during his state visit to the UK. Mr Corbyn was speaking on BBC Radio London, after John Bercow faced calls to resign for saying he "strongly opposed" the President being invited to speak to MPs. The Speaker is traditionally politically neutral, but his firm statement in the House on Monday afternoon was met with applause from MPs. Asked if Mr Bercow has the right to make such a statement, Mr Corbyn said: "The speaker speaks for Parliament. He is elected by all members of the House, he is therefore independent. He has the authority over Westminster Hall and that aspect of state visits." He added: "I think he has spoken absolutely clearly [about] Donald Trump, and his misogyny and his racism and his behaviour over international law, particularly on the convention on refugees. Recommended Javid rebukes Bercow after his block on Trump speaking to Parliament "I think he is absolutely right and I welcome the statement." Mr Bercow told MPs on Monday he did not have the authority to block Mr Trump's state visit altogether, after Theresa May extended an invitation to the President during her visit to Washington last month. But he said he had the power as Speaker to oppose an appearance by Mr Trump in Parliament's Royal Gallery, generally regarded as one of the high points of a traditional state visit. Before the imposition of the migrant ban I would myself have been strongly opposed to an address by President Trump in Westminster Hall, Mr Bercow said. After the imposition of the migrant ban by President Trump I am even more strongly opposed to an address by President Trump in Westminster Hall. He said that addressing Parliament was "not an automatic right, it is an earned honour". And to the visible shock of MPs, Mr Bercow added in a raised voice: "I feel very strongly that our opposition to racism and to sexism and our support for equality before the law and an independent judiciary are hugely important considerations in the House of Commons." Trump Inauguration protests around the World Show all 14 1 /14 Trump Inauguration protests around the World Trump Inauguration protests around the World Activists from Greenpeace display a message reading "Mr President, walls divide. Build Bridges!" along the Berlin wall in Berlin on January 20, 2017 to coincide with the inauguration of Donald Trump as the 45th president of the United State Getty Trump Inauguration protests around the World An activist holds up a sign at the "We Stand United" rally on the eve of US President-elect Donald Trump's inauguration outside Trump International Hotel and Tower in New York on January 19, 2017 in New York Getty Trump Inauguration protests around the World Protesters burn a U.S. flag and a mock flag with pictures of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump outside the U.S. embassy in metro Manila, Philippines Getty Trump Inauguration protests around the World Filipino protestors hold placcards during a protest rally in front of the US embassy in Manila, Philippines, 20 January 2017. On the eve of President-elect Donald Trump's inaguration as the 45th president of the United States, Filipinos and Fil-Americans held a protest in front of the US embassy in Manila to denounce the incoming US president. Getty Trump Inauguration protests around the World Hong Kong police officers and security guards look on as an anarchist protester belonging to the Disrupt J20 movement sits after using a heavy duty D-lock and motorcycle lock to chain himself to a railing at the entrance gate to the Consulate General of the United States of America in Hong Kong to protest the inauguration of United States President-elect Donald Trump, Hong Kong, China, 20 January 2017. Two activists were arrested and taken away by Hong Kong police during the demonstration. Getty Trump Inauguration protests around the World A banner is unfurled on London's Tower Bridge, organised by Bridges Not Walls - a partnership between grassroots activists and campaigners working on a range of issues, formed in the wake of Donald Trump's election, which aims to build bridges to a world free from hatred and oppression. Getty Trump Inauguration protests around the World Protesters chain themselves to an entry point prior at the inauguration of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump in Washington, DC, U.S. Getty Trump Inauguration protests around the World Bridges Not Walls banner dropped from Molenbeek bridge in Brussels, Belgium, 20 January 2017, in an Greenpeace action part of protests Wolrd protest in solidarity with people in the US, the day Donald Trump sworn in as the 45th President of the United States. Getty Trump Inauguration protests around the World A woman holds an anti-U.S. President-elect Donald Trump placard during a rally in Tokyo, Japan, Getty Trump Inauguration protests around the World A Palestinian protester holds a placard during a demonstration against the construction of Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank and against US President-elect Donald Trump, on January 20, 2017, near the settlement of Maale Adumim, east of Jerusalem Getty Trump Inauguration protests around the World Banners on North Bridge in Edinburgh as part of the Bridges Not Walls protest against US President Donald Trump on the day of his inauguration Getty Trump Inauguration protests around the World Russian artist Vasily Slonov (L) and his assistant carry a life-sized cutout, which is an artwork created by Slonov and titled "Siberian Inauguration", before its presentation on the occasion of the inauguration of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, in a street in Krasnoyarsk, Russia Getty Trump Inauguration protests around the World A woman holds a banner during a march to thank outgoing President Barack Obama and reject US President-elect Donald Trump before his inauguration at a park in Tokyo, Japan, 20 January 2017. EPA Trump Inauguration protests around the World Palestinian demonstrators protesting this week against a promise by Donald Trump to re-locate the US embassy to Jerusalem Reuters Government ministers have been critical of Mr Bercow's statement. Sajid Javid told the BBC's Today programme that his actions could set him on a collision course with the Prime Minister, who has been careful to present a positive picture of her relationship with Mr Trump. He said: "Anyone who knows the Speaker knows that he speaks his mind but he doesnt speak for the Government. The Government is very clear. President Trump is the leader of our most important ally he is elected fairly and squarely. "And its manifestly in our national interest that we reach out to him, we work with him and that he visits us in the UK." Decisions over who can address Parliament are taken jointly by the Speaker and the Lords Speaker, and a spokesperson for the House of Lords said on Monday evening that the latter - Lord Fowler - had not been consulted ahead of Mr Bercow's statement. Lord Fowler was reported by the Guardian to be "irritated" at not being informed in advance. He is expected to give his own statement on Mr Trump's visit at 2.30pm on Tuesday afternoon. 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 Cabinet minister has hit out at Speaker John Bercow after he dramatically blocked Donald Trump from addressing Parliament, saying: He doesnt speak for the Government. Sajid Javid suggested the intervention when Mr Bercow said the Presidents racism and sexism were not welcome at Westminster had put him in a collision course with Theresa May. He said: Anyone who knows the Speaker knows that he speaks his mind but he doesnt speak for the Government. The Government is very clear. President Trump is the leader of our most important ally he is elected fairly and squarely And its manifestly in our national interest that we reach out to him, we work with him and that he visits us in the UK. The comments, to BBC Radio 4s Today programme, reflected alarm that the Prime Ministers strident efforts to forge a close relationship with the Trump administration had been undermined. And they came amid a wider backlash from Tory MPs against Mr Bercow, despite the applause in the chamber for his extraordinary attack on Mr Trump yesterday. Iraqi-born Nadhim Zahawi, who sharply criticised Mr Trump's travel ban after learning he could be caught up in it, suggested the Speaker was a hypocrite and should consider resigning. He pointed out that Mr Bercow had rolled out the red carpet for Chinese president Xi Jinping, despite his policy on Tibet, and for the emir of Kuwait, which bans British dual nationals of Israeli origin. Mr Zahawi said: I think it is, in my book, unwise and he opens himself up to the accusation of hypocrisy, that's my point. It's unwise to ban the legitimately elected president of the United States of America, our closest ally when we're trying to urge them not to shoot from the hip, not to ban people, to exercise restraint, look at evidence. "Yet we are now, or at least the Speaker of Parliament, who has a big, big responsibility, is now sort of talking the language of bans. Another Conservative MP Crispin Blunt, who chairs the Foreign Affairs Committee, said the intervention was to be regretted. He added: He has no idea whether he will be speaking for a majority of the House of Commons, and this is why Speakers do not express their opinion. That's the entire point, otherwise they can't remain neutral and above the political fray. There was also criticism in the US, where Republican congressman Joe Lewis described it as a slap to his party. If ever in recent years there's been a more pro-British president of the United States, it's Donald Trump, Mr Lewis told Newsnight. So far, Downing Street has given a guarded response to Mr Bercows block on Mr Trump, saying: We look forward to welcoming the president to the UK later this year. The dates and arrangements for the state visit will be worked out in due course. Mr Bercow said he was one of three key-holders for invitations to speak in Westminster Hall, following in the footsteps of the likes of Nelson Mandela and Barack Obama. A second, the Lords Speaker Lord Fowler, also distanced himself from his counterpart in the Commons and will make his own statement today. 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 }} Labour voters are unhappy about Jeremy Corbyns decision to support Brexit and would prefer Labour to pledge to keep Britain in the European Union, a new poll suggests. Voters who backed Labour in 2015 would be happier if the party promised a second referendum on whether Britain should leave the EU or said it would stop Brexit entirely. Despite upsetting many of his partys Remain-supporting voters, however, the poll suggests Mr Corbyn may have still chosen the least divisive position - and reveals the huge divisions within Labour on whether Britain should leave the EU. The YouGov survey found 45 per cent of Labour voters would be delighted or pleased if the party promised to reverse Brexit more than the number expressing support for any other policy position on the issue. 42 per cent, meanwhile, would react positively if the party promised a second referendum that could see the original Leave vote overturned. In contrast, only 36 per cent of Labour supporters are happy with Mr Corbyns position of advocating a soft Brexit, while even fewer - 28 per cent - want a hard Brexit. However, a pledge to stop Brexit would be hugely divisive among Labour voters. While almost half would back it, more than a third (34 per cent) say they would be angry or disappointed at such a policy. Mr Corbyns team will be buoyed by the finding that their current position, in favour of a soft Brexit, is the least divisive among Labour voters suggesting he may have chosen the most sensible option in attempting to unite his fractured party. 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 Anthony Wells, YouGovs Research Director, told The Independent: Either by luck or by design, Jeremy Corbyn seems to have picked the course of action that will be best in keeping Labour together. Normally the criticism of Corbyn and his allies is that they are ideological purists who act on principle and [think] to hell with Labour supporters, but actually if you look at this its the other way round. It is Labour pro-Europeans who want to stand up and fight it and refuse to vote for Brexit who are the ones risking driving a further wedge between Labour and its working class support. Its not what you expect from Jeremy Corbyn to go down the consensual route rather than the decisive one but that seems to be what he has done. Labours current policy will probably do the least damage, he added, saying: Jeremy Corbyn has actually got it right. Jeremy Corbyn says he is 'very lenient' in response to possible shadow cabinet sackings over Brexit whip Of Labour voters who backed Brexit, the poll suggests almost half want a hard Brexit in which the UK leaves the single market and only negotiates a free trade deal with the EU. Fewer than one in four want to see Britain maintain a close relationship with the rest of Europe. The survey also suggests very few people have changed their mind since the EU referendum last June just 3 per cent of Labour-supporting Brexit voters now want the party to stop Brexit. Studies suggest Labour voters backed Remain by a majority of 61 per cent to 33 per cent, but the Leave supporters tended to be in the partys northern heartlands where it must retain support to have any hope of winning a general election. Mr Corbyns challenge is to keep both sides of his party together but his allies are likely to take heart from the finding that he may be on the best path to doing so. 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 }} The Government refused to stop the sale of bombs to Saudi Arabia after it was privately advised to do so by the top civil servant in charge of weapons exports control, a court has heard. Edward Bell, head of the Governments Export Control Organisation, told the Business Secretary, Sajid Javid, that it would be prudent and cautious to stop selling to the Saudi regime amid widespread reports of war crimes by its military in Yemen. Campaigners today began a legal challenge against the Government in a bid to force ministers to stop issuing export licences for weapons to the autocratic state. In an email from February 2016 presented to the High Court in London, Mr Bell said: To be honest and I was very directly and honest with the Secretary of State my gut tells me we should suspend. This would be prudent and cautious given the acknowledged gaps in knowledge about Saudi operations. I put this directly to the Secretary of State in these terms. Ministers have also publicly been advised to stop sales by MPs on the International Development Committee, the Business Committee, as well as by the European Parliament. The meeting with Mr Javid was said in the email to have taken place on 10 February 2016 and the email was dated the day after, the court saw. In separate evidence presented to the court, the head of policy at the Export Control Organisation is quoted as saying the organisation has significant concerns regarding the acknowledged gaps in knowledge about Saudi targeting processes and about the military objectives of some of the strikes. The Ministry of Defence were not able to identify a valid military target for all the air strikes Saudi Arabian forces had carried out, the head of policy says only a majority. They cannot be certain that the vast majority of total air strikes that are not being tracked have all been IHL-compliant, it concludes. Human rights groups say more than 10,000 people have been killed in Yemen as the Saudi Arabian-led coalition intervenes in the countrys civil war. Schools, hospitals, and food factories have reportedly been hit while the United Nations has declared the situation a humanitarian catastrophe. Campaign Against Arms Trade says the Government is unlawfully failing to suspend the sale of UK arms to Saudi Arabia, despite evidence that the Gulf state is guilty of repeated and serious breaches of international humanitarian law. More than 3.3bn worth of arms has been licenced to Saudi Arabia since the bombing began in March 2015. 10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses Show all 10 1 /10 10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses 10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses In October 2014, three lawyers, Dr Abdulrahman al-Subaihi, Bander al-Nogaithan and Abdulrahman al-Rumaih , were sentenced to up to eight years in prison for using Twitter to criticize the Ministry of Justice. AFP/Getty Images 10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses In March 2015, Yemens Sunni President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi was forced into exile after a Shia-led insurgency. A Saudi Arabia-led coalition has responded with air strikes in order to reinstate Mr Hadi. It has since been accused of committing war crimes in the country. Getty Images 10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses Women who supported the Women2Drive campaign, launched in 2011 to challenge the ban on women driving vehicles, faced harassment and intimidation by the authorities. The government warned that women drivers would face arrest. Getty Images 10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses Members of the Kingdoms Shia minority, most of whom live in the oil-rich Eastern Province, continue to face discrimination that limits their access to government services and employment. Activists have received death sentences or long prison terms for their alleged participation in protests in 2011 and 2012. Getty Images 10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses All public gatherings are prohibited under an order issued by the Interior Ministry in 2011. Those defy the ban face arrest, prosecution and imprisonment on charges such as inciting people against the authorities. Getty Images 10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses In March 2014, the Interior Ministry stated that authorities had deported over 370,000 foreign migrants and that 18,000 others were in detention. Thousands of workers were returned to Somalia and other states where they were at risk of human rights abuses, with large numbers also returned to Yemen, in order to open more jobs to Saudi Arabians. Many migrants reported that prior to their deportation they had been packed into overcrowded makeshift detention facilities where they received little food and water and were abused by guards. Getty Images 10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses The Saudi Arabian authorities continue to deny access to independent human rights organisations like Amnesty International, and they have been known to take punitive action, including through the courts, against activists and family members of victims who contact Amnesty. Getty Images 10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses Raif Badawi was sentenced to 1000 lashes and 10 years in prison for using his liberal blog to criticise Saudi Arabias clerics. He has already received 50 lashes, which have reportedly left him in poor health. Carsten Koall/Getty Images 10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses Dawood al-Marhoon was arrested aged 17 for participating in an anti-government protest. After refusing to spy on his fellow protestors, he was tortured and forced to sign a blank document that would later contain his confession. At Dawoods trial, the prosecution requested death by crucifixion while refusing him a lawyer. Getty Images 10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses Ali Mohammed al-Nimr was arrested in 2012 aged either 16 or 17 for participating in protests during the Arab spring. His sentence includes beheading and crucifixion. The international community has spoken out against the punishment and has called on Saudi Arabia to stop. He is the nephew of a prominent government dissident. Getty The Government says there is no clear risk that UK-licensed items might be used to commit a serious violation of humanitarian law. Sajid Javid is no longer in charge of arms exports, the policy area now being the responsibility of Liam Foxs Department for International Trade. A Government spokesperson declined to comment on the court case but said: The UK is playing a leading role in work to find a political solution to the conflict in Yemen and to address the humanitarian crisis. We operate one of the most robust export control regimes in the world and keep our defence exports to Saudi Arabia under careful and continual review. Given the current legal proceedings we will not be commenting further outside of court at this stage. Additional reporting by PA 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 }} The Speaker of the Lords has gently rebuffed John Bercow over his refusal to invite Donald Trump to speak in Westminster, saying he would keep an open mind about any request made. It follows an unprecedented intervention by Mr Bercow, the Commons Speaker, who said he was strongly opposed to the President addressing Parliament as he stressed being invited was not an automatic right but an earned honour. Speaking in the Lords, Lord Fowler said: My view is that I will keep an open mind and consider any request for Mr Trump to address Parliament if and when it is made. I do not intend to argue a case for or against Mr Trumps visit that is not my role as Speaker. But allow me to say Ive spent the last 30 years campaigning against prejudice and discrimination, particularly for the rights of LGBT people and those with HIV/AIDS. There will be other leaders coming to this country who may also be controversial, he added. The procedure as it stands means that either Mr Speaker or myself can effectively veto any proposal for a visiting to address Parliament at least as far Westminster Hall is concerned. Lord Fowler said that when Speakers receive a request to invite a head of state to address Parliament they both have to agree to issue an invitation after consultation. The whole purpose is to seek consensus ensuring that both Houses have the opportunity to consider a request. Yesterday in the Commons Mr Bercow said he was opposed to the President speaking. I should make it clear that I was not consulted on that decision or its timing, he said. Lord Fowler added, however, that Mr Bercow had contacted him earlier on Tuesday. He told me that while he maintained his view on the issue he was generally sorry for failing to consult with me. Obviously I accepted that apology. The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Show all 9 1 /9 The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the media White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer takes questions during the daily press briefing Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the Trans-Pacific Partnership Union leaders applaud US President Donald Trump for signing an executive order withdrawing the US from the Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations during a meeting in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington DC. Mr Trump issued a presidential memorandum in January announcing that the US would withdraw from the trade deal Getty The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the Mexico wall A US Border Patrol vehicle sits waiting for illegal immigrants at a fence opening near the US-Mexico border near McAllen, Texas. The number of incoming immigrants has surged ahead of the upcoming Presidential inauguration of Donald Trump, who has pledged to build a wall along the US-Mexico border. A signature campaign promise, Mr Trump outlined his intention to build a border wall on the US-Mexico border days after taking office Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and abortion US President Donald Trump signs an executive order as Chief of Staff Reince Priebus looks on in the Oval Office of the White House. Mr Trump reinstated a ban on American financial aide being granted to non-governmental organizations that provide abortion counseling, provide abortion referrals, or advocate for abortion access outside of the United States Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the Dakota Access pipeline Opponents of the Keystone XL and Dakota Access pipelines hold a rally as they protest US President Donald Trump's executive orders advancing their construction, at Columbus Circle in New York. US President Donald Trump signed executive orders reviving the construction of two controversial oil pipelines, but said the projects would be subject to renegotiation Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and 'Obamacare' Nancy Pelosi who is the minority leader of the House of Representatives speaks beside House Democrats at an event to protect the Affordable Care Act in Los Angeles, California. US President Donald Trump's effort to make good on his campaign promise to repeal and replace the healthcare law failed when Republicans failed to get enough votes. Mr Trump has promised to revisit the matter Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Donald Trump and 'sanctuary cities' US President Donald Trump signed an executive order in January threatening to pull funding for so-called "sanctuary cities" if they do not comply with federal immigration law AP The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the travel ban US President Donald Trump has attempted twice to restrict travel into the United States from several predominantly Muslim countries. The first attempt, in February, was met with swift opposition from protesters who flocked to airports around the country. That travel ban was later blocked by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. The second ban was blocked by a federal judge a day before it was scheduled to be implemented in mid-March SANDY HUFFAKER/AFP/Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and climate change US President Donald Trump sought to dismantle several of his predecessor's actions on climate change in March. His order instructed the Environmental Protection Agency to reevaluate the Clean Power Plan, which would cap power plant emissions Shannon Stapleton/Reuters Speaking in the Commons on Tuesday, Mr Bercow said he strongly opposed an address from the American President before the imposition of the widely-condemned executive order banning migrants from Muslim-majority countries. After the imposition of the migrant ban by President Trump I am even more strongly opposed to an address by President Trump in Westminster Hall, Mr Bercow added. He admitted that he would perhaps have a strong a say in that matter but said that customarily an invitation to a visiting leader to deliver an address there would be issued in the names of the two speakers. Speaker John Bercow says he would oppose a speech to the House of Commons by Donald Trump The Commons Speaker has since faced calls to consider his position after he appeared to brand the US president as "racist" and sexist during a point of order. When asked about Mr Bercows comments on Tuesday the Prime Ministers spokesman added: "What John Bercow suggests to Parliament is a matter for Parliament. "What I will set out is our position which is we've extended this invitation to the president and we look forward to receiving him later this year." Asked if Ms May had full confidence in the Speaker, the spokesman added: The Speaker is an issue for Parliament. 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 }} MP and co-leader of the Green Party, Caroline Lucas, has accused the Prime Minister of trying to pimp out Parliament in allowing Donald Trump the possibility of a state visit to the UK. Her comments come after Speaker of the House, John Bercow, said he would not be inviting the US President to speak at Westminster Hall because of Parliaments opposition to racism and sexism. In an interview on Sky News, Lucas said she agreed with the Speakers comments, adding that she thought the Prime Minister was disregarding concerns over Donald Trump's actions in attempt to "be as friendly as possible" with the US. Recommended Theresa May refuses to back Bercow I think we need to remember that being given the privilege of being able to address MPs at Westminster Hall really is an honour that has been accorded to relatively few people, She said. People like the Head of Catholic Church, Nelson Mandela, the first black President. And whatever we think of Donald Trump, I don't know many people that would put him in quite that same category. "I think we need to be very clear that what's going on here essentially is, Theresa May the Prime Minister is basically trying to rush across the Atlantic, to be as friendly as possible to this President in spite of all the deep concerns about racism, about misogynism around the executive orders." UK news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 UK news in pictures UK news in pictures 5 November 2022 Demonstrators with placards calling for a General Election march near the Houses of Parliament AFP via Getty Images UK news in pictures 4 November 2022 A peacock is seen in the early winter sunshine in the Dutch Gardens in Holland Park AFP via Getty Images UK news in pictures 3 November 2022 A villager cooks roti bread at the site of the annual Camel Fair in Pushkar, in India's desert state of Rajasthan AFP via Getty Images UK news in pictures 2 November 2022 A red squirrel gathers nuts in Pitlochry, Scotland Reuters UK news in pictures 1 November 2022 Englands Tara-Jane Stanley scores their sides seventh try against Brazil during the Womens Rugby League World Cup group A match at Headingley Stadium, Leeds PA UK news in pictures 31 October 2022 GBs James Hall competes during the mens parallel bars qualification at the World Gymnastics Championships in Liverpool AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 30 October 2022 People dressed in Halloween costumes paddle board along the river Avon in Christchurch, Dorset PA UK news in pictures 29 October 2022 Members of the public take pictures as police officers remove activists from a road during a Just Stop Oil protest, in London Reuters UK news in pictures 28 October 2022 A cosplayer attends the MCM Comic Con London 2022 at the ExCel Centre in London Reuters UK news in pictures 27 October 2022 98-year-old D-Day Veteran Bernard Morgan, whose story is among those featured on the giant poppy wall, during the launch of The Royal British Legion 2022 Poppy Appeal, at Hay's Galleria in central London PA UK news in pictures 26 October 2022 A meerkat explores a pumpkin in the enclosure at Wild Place, Bristol, where some of the animals are having pumpkin treats as part of their environmental enrichment PA UK news in pictures 25 October 2022 King Charles III welcomes Rishi Sunak during an audience at Buckingham Palace, where he invited the newly elected leader of the Conservative Party to become Prime Minister and form a new government PA UK news in pictures 24 October 2022 Rishi Sunak celebrates with Tory MPs outside the Conservative Campaign Headquarters after becoming the new leader of the Conservative Party Reuters UK news in pictures 23 October 2022 The Green Man at October Plenty, Borough Market's annual Autumn Harvest festival, in London, which returns for the first time post pandemic PA UK news in pictures 21 October 2022 Sculptor Peter McKenna puts the finishing touches to a pumpkin that will form part of the Planet A Hebden Bridge Pumpkin Trail in the West Yorkshire town PA UK news in pictures 20 October 2022 Britains Prime Minister Liz Truss delivers a speech outside of 10 Downing Street in central London to announce her resignation AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 19 October 2022 Salmon leap up Stainforth Force on the River Ribble in the Yorkshire Dales as they swim upriver to their spawning grounds during the annual Salmon migration PA UK news in pictures 18 October 2022 Just Stop Oil protesters continue their protest for a second day on the Queen Elizabeth II Bridge, which links Kent and Essex and which remains closed for traffic, after it was scaled by two climbers from the group PA UK news in pictures 17 October 2022 Hundreds of students take part in the traditional Raisin Monday foam fight on St Salvator's Lower College Lawn at the University of St Andrews in Fife PA UK news in pictures 16 October 2022 A protester holds a placard during a march into central London at a demonstration by the climate change protest group Extinction Rebellion AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 15 October 2022 A member of the public drags an activist who is blocking the road during a "Just Stop Oil" protest, in London, Britain REUTERS UK news in pictures 14 October 2022 Germanys Womens double skulls during day one of the World Rowing Beach Sprint Finals at Saundersfoot beach, Pembrokeshire PA UK news in pictures 13 October 2022 Family and mourners arrive at St Michael's Church, in Creeslough, for the funeral mass of 49-year-old mother of four Martina Martin, who died following an explosion at the Applegreen service station in the village of Creeslough in Co Donegal on Friday PA UK news in pictures 12 October 2022 Motorists in Coventry pass trees showing autumnal colour PA UK news in pictures 11 October 2022 A woman and her dog in the the North Sea at Tynemouth Longsands beach before sunrise PA UK news in pictures 10 October 2022 Police officers remove a campaigner from a Just Stop Oil protest on The Mall, near Buckingham Palace, London PA UK news in pictures 9 October 2022 A drummer plays during the Diwali on the Square celebration, in Trafalgar Square, London PA UK news in pictures 8 October 2022 Timothee Chalamet attending the UK premiere of Bones and All during the BFI London Film Festival 2022 at the Royal Festival Hall, Southbank Centre, London PA UK news in pictures 7 October 2022 Two young male fallow deer lock antlers in Dublins Phoenix park as rutting season begins PA UK news in pictures 6 October 2022 The Princess of Wales during a cocktail making competition during a visit to Trademarket, a new outdoor street-food and retail market situated in Belfast city centre, as part of the royal visit to Northern Ireland PA UK news in pictures 5 October 2022 Greenpeace protesters interrupt Prime Minister Liz Truss as she delivers her keynote speech to the Conservative Party annual conference PA UK news in pictures 4 October 2022 Prime Minister Liz Truss and Britains Chancellor of the Exchequer Kwasi Kwarteng wearing hard hats and hi-vis jackets, visit a construction site for a medical innovation campus in Birmingham AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 3 October 2022 British artist Sam Cox, aka Mr Doodle, reveals the Doodle House, a twelve-room mansion at Tenterden, in Kent, which has been covered, inside and out in the artist's trademark monochrome, cartoonish hand-drawn doodles PA UK news in pictures 2 October 2022 Erling Haaland celebrates after scoring Manchester City's second goal against Manchester United at Etihad Stadium. Haaland went on to score a hattrick, his third of the season in the Premier League. City beat United 6-3. Manchester City FC/Getty UK news in pictures 1 October 2022 Protesters hold up flags and placards at a protest in London. A variety of protest groups including Enough is Enough, Don't Pay and Just Stop Oil all demonstrated on the day AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 30 September 2022 British Prime Minister Liz Truss, who has not been seen in days, leaves the back of Downing Street after a meeting with Office For Budget Responsibility following the release of her governments mini-budget Getty UK news in pictures 29 September 2022 The Virginia creeper foliage on the Tu Hwnt i'r Bont (Beyond the Bridge) Llanwrst, Conwy North Wales, has changed colour from green to red in at the start of Autumn. The building was built in 1480 as a residential dwelling but has been a tearoom for over 50 years PA UK news in pictures 28 September 2022 Criminal barristers from the Criminal Bar Association (CBA), demonstrates outside the Royal Courts of Justice in London, as part of their ongoing pay row with the Government PA UK news in pictures 27 September 2022 David White, Garter King of Arms, poses with an envelope franked with the new cypher of King Charles III 'CIIIR', after it was printed in the Court Post Office at Buckingham Palace in central London AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 26 September 2022 A gallery staff member poses next to a painting by Lucian Freud - Self-portrait (Fragment), 1956 - on show at a photocall for the Credit Suisse exhibition - Lucian Freud: New Perspectives at the National Gallery in London PA UK news in pictures 25 September 2022 Labour leader, Sir Keir Starmer is interviewed by Laura Kuenssberg in Liverpool before the start of the Labour Party annual Conference which he opened with a tribute to Queen Elizabeth II and sang the national anthem PA UK news in pictures 24 September 2022 Handout photo issued by Buckingham Palace of the ledger stone at the King George VI Memorial Chapel, St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle PA UK news in pictures 23 September 2022 A climate change activist protests against UK private jets while lighting his right arm on fire during the Laver Cup tennis tournament at the O2 Arena in London EPA UK news in pictures 22 September 2022 Woody Woodmansey, Lee Bennett, Kevin Armstrong, Nick Moran and Clifford Slapper attend the unveiling of a stone for David Bowie on the Music Walk of Fame at Camden, north London PA UK news in pictures 21 September 2022 A flock of birds in the sky as the sun rises over Dungeness in Kent PA UK news in pictures 20 September 2022 Flowers which were laid by members of the public in tribute to Queen Elizabeth II at Hillsborough Castle in Northern Ireland are collected by the Hillsborough Gardening Team and volunteers to be replanted for those that can be saved or composted PA UK news in pictures 19 September 2022 The ceremonial procession of the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II travels down the long walk as it arrives at Windsor Castle for the committal service at St Georges Chapel AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 18 September 2022 A man stands among campers on The Mall ahead of the Queens funeral Reuters UK news in pictures 17 September 2022 Wolverhampton Wanderers Nathan Collins fouls Manchester Citys Jack Grealish leading to a red card. City went on to win the match at Molineux Stadium three goals to nil. Action Images/Reuters UK news in pictures 16 September 2022 Members of the public stand in the queue near Tower Bridge, and opposite the Tower of London, as they wait in line to pay their respects to the late Queen Elizabeth II, in London AFP via Getty Images What she's really doing by issuing the state visit in the first place and the possibility of this speech in Westminster Hall is pimping out Parliament," Lucas added. "And I think it's quite right for Parliament to stand up and say we will not be used in that way." Theresa May herself refused to back the Speaker. Asked for her reaction to the remarks, her spokesperson said: "What John Bercow suggests to Parliament is a matter for Parliament. "What I will set out is our position, which is we've extended this invitation to the president and we look forward to receiving him later this year." 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 has declined to give her full confidence in John Bercow, after his extraordinary attack on Donald Trump in the House of Commons on Monday, when the Speaker said the US President would not be welcome to address Parliament in his upcoming state visit. Mr Bercow told the House of Commons that he was strongly opposed to the President addressing Parliament, and an invite to do so was not an automatic right but an earned honour. Asked for her reaction to Mr Bercows remarks, her spokesperson said: What John Bercow suggests to Parliament is a matter for Parliament. What I will set out is our position, which is weve extended this invitation to the President and we look forward to receiving him later this year. In pictures: Protests, pomp and Donald Trump Show all 30 1 /30 In pictures: Protests, pomp and Donald Trump In pictures: Protests, pomp and Donald Trump President-elect Donald Trump acknowledges guests as he arrives on the platform at the US Capitol in Washington DC Getty Images In pictures: Protests, pomp and Donald Trump Donald Trump is sworn in as the 45th president of the United States by Chief Justice John Roberts as Melania Trump looks on during the 58th Presidential Inauguration at the U.S. Capitol in Washington AP In pictures: Protests, pomp and Donald Trump President Donald Trump shakes hands with Justice John Roberts after taking the oath at inauguration ceremonies swearing in Trump as the 45th president of the United States Reuters In pictures: Protests, pomp and Donald Trump President Donald Trump raises his fists after his inauguration on the West Front of the U.S. Capitol Getty In pictures: Protests, pomp and Donald Trump U.S. President-elect Donald Trump greets outgoing President Barack Obama before Trump is inaugurated during ceremonies on the Capitol in Washington Reuters In pictures: Protests, pomp and Donald Trump resident-elect Donald Trump arrives on the platform of the US Capitol in Washington DC Getty Images In pictures: Protests, pomp and Donald Trump Attendees partake in the inauguration ceremonies to swear in Donald Trump as the 45th president of the United States at the U.S. Capitol in Washington DC Reuters In pictures: Protests, pomp and Donald Trump US President Donald Trump delivers his inaugural address during ceremonies at the US Capitol in Washington DC Getty In pictures: Protests, pomp and Donald Trump U.S. President Donald Trump waves with wife Melania during the Inaugural Parade in Washington DC Reuters In pictures: Protests, pomp and Donald Trump Protesters registered their rage against the new president Friday in a chaotic confrontation with police who used pepper spray and stun grenades in a melee just blocks from Donald Trump's inaugural parade route. Scores were arrested for trashing property and attacking officers AP In pictures: Protests, pomp and Donald Trump Demonstrators protest against US President Donald Trump in Washington DC Getty Images In pictures: Protests, pomp and Donald Trump A woman holds a sign before the start of the Presidential Inauguration of Donald Trump at Freedom Plaza in Washington DC Getty Images In pictures: Protests, pomp and Donald Trump Anti-Trump protesters prepare banners for a protest against the inauguration of US President-elect Donald Trump, in Berlin REUTERS In pictures: Protests, pomp and Donald Trump Demonstrators shout slogans against US President-elect Donald Trump in Washington DC Getty Images In pictures: Protests, pomp and Donald Trump Demonstrators march, block foot traffic and clash with U.S. Capitol Police at the entry checkpoints for the Inauguration of Donald Trump Alamy Live News In pictures: Protests, pomp and Donald Trump Demonstrators display a banner as people arrive for US President-elect Donald Trump's inauguration in Washington DC Getty Images In pictures: Protests, pomp and Donald Trump A man displays a placard as people lineup to get into the National Mall for the inauguration of US President-elect Donald Trump in Washington DC Getty Images In pictures: Protests, pomp and Donald Trump Protesters demonstrating against U.S. President Donald Trump raise their hands as they are surrounded by police on the sidelines of the inauguration in Washington DC Reuters In pictures: Protests, pomp and Donald Trump A demonstrator wearing a mask depicting Donald Trump protests outside the US Embassy in London Getty Images In pictures: Protests, pomp and Donald Trump Demonstrators hold placards as they protest outside the US Embassy in London Getty Images In pictures: Protests, pomp and Donald Trump Former US President George W. Bush and First Lady Laura Bush arrive for the Presidential Inauguration at the US Capitol Rex In pictures: Protests, pomp and Donald Trump Michelle Obama and Dr. Jill Biden share an umbrella as President Donald Trump delivers his inaugural address at the inauguration in Washington DC Rex In pictures: Protests, pomp and Donald Trump Former Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton and former President Bill Clinton arrive on the West Front of the U.S. Capitol in Washington Reuters In pictures: Protests, pomp and Donald Trump U.S. Vice President Mike Pence takes the oath of office on the West Front of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, DC Getty Images In pictures: Protests, pomp and Donald Trump Advisors to President-elect Donald Trump, Kellyanne Conway and Steve Bannon depart from services at St. John's Church during the Presidential Inauguration in Washington Reuters In pictures: Protests, pomp and Donald Trump Protesters demonstrating against U.S. President Donald Trump take cover as they are hit by pepper spray by police on the sidelines of the inauguration in Washington DC Reuters In pictures: Protests, pomp and Donald Trump An activist demonstrating against U.S. President Donald Trump is helped after being hit by pepper spray on the sidelines of the inauguration in Washington DC Reuters In pictures: Protests, pomp and Donald Trump A police officer tries to tackle a protester demonstrating against U.S. President Donald Trump Reuters/Adrees Latif In pictures: Protests, pomp and Donald Trump Police arrest and detain a protester in the street in Washington DC Rex In pictures: Protests, pomp and Donald Trump A police officer falls to the ground as another shoots pepper spray at protesters demonstrating against U.S. President Donald Trump on the sidelines of the inauguration in Washington DC Reuters Amid calls for Mr Bercow to resign from his post over the incident, the spokesperson was asked if the Prime Minister had full confidence in the speaker, who said: The speaker is an issue for Parliament. Asked if Mrs May agreed with Mr Bercow's characterisation of Mr Trump as a racist and a sexist, the spokesman said: In terms of these issues on comments that the President has made in the past, I think the PM herself has addressed that and I can point you to the words that she has used in the past. Recommended Javid rebukes Bercow after his block on Trump speaking to Parliament Mr Bercow has since defended his comments, insisting they were made honestly and honourably and were within his remit. Earlier in the day, Ms Mays Communities Secretary, Sajid Javid, criticised Mr Bercow, saying: He doesnt speak for Government. The Government is very clear. President Trump is the leader of our most important ally, and its manifestly in our national interest that we reach out to him, we work with him and that he visits us in the UK. The comments, to BBC Radio 4s Today programme, reflected alarm that the Prime Ministers strident efforts to forge a close relationship with the Trump administration had been undermined. And they came amid a wider backlash from Tory MPs against Mr Bercow, despite the applause in the chamber for his extraordinary attack on Mr Trump on Monday. Iraqi-born Conservative MP Nadhim Zahawi, who sharply criticised Mr Trump's travel ban after learning he could be caught up in it, suggested the Speaker was a hypocrite and should consider resigning. He pointed out that Mr Bercow had rolled out the red carpet for Chinese president Xi Jinping, despite his policy on Tibet, and for the emir of Kuwait, which bans British dual nationals of Israeli origin. Mr Zahawi said: I think it is, in my book, unwise and he opens himself up to the accusation of hypocrisy, thats my point. It's unwise to ban the legitimately elected president of the United States of America, our closest ally when we're trying to urge them not to shoot from the hip, not to ban people, to exercise restraint, look at evidence. Yet we are now, or at least the Speaker of Parliament, who has a big, big responsibility, is now sort of talking the language of bans. Despite criticism from the Conservative benches, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn backed the Speaker, saying Mr Bercow was absolutely right to speak out. The Speaker of the House of Lords, one of three "keyholders" to Westminster Hall together with Mr Bercow and the Lord Chamberlain, refused to get drawn into the debate, but said he would keep an "open mind" about any request made. Speaking in the Lords, Lord Fowler said: My view is that I will keep an open mind and consider any request for Mr Trump to address Parliament if and when it is made. I do not intend to argue a case for or against Mr Trumps visit that is not my role as Speaker. But allow me to say Ive spent the past 30 years campaigning against prejudice and discrimination, particularly for the rights of LGBT people and those with HIV/Aids. There will be other leaders coming to this country who may also be controversial, he added. The procedure as it stands means that either Mr Speaker or myself can effectively veto any proposal for a visiting to address Parliament at least as far Westminster Hall is concerned. Lord Fowler said that when Speakers receive a request to invite a head of state to address Parliament they both have to agree to issue an invitation after consultation. The whole purpose is to seek consensus ensuring that both Houses have the opportunity to consider a request. In the Commons Mr Bercow said he was opposed to the President speaking. I should make it clear that I was not consulted on that decision or its timing, he said. Lord Fowler added, however, that Mr Bercow had contacted him earlier on Tuesday. He told me that while he maintained his view on the issue he was generally sorry for failing to consult with me. Obviously I accepted that apology. A spokesman for the Prime Minister said no formal details had been made with regard to Mr Trump's visit. Mr Bercow was speaking with specific regard to whether Mr Trump should be granted the opportunity to address both Houses of Parliament in Westminster Hall, an honour that is rarely bestowed on visiting heads of state. But almost all state visits involve some form of address to parliamentarians somewhere on the parliamentary estate. The Speaker of the House is appointed and voted on by MPs, a process in which the Government has no role. The next speaker, who is expected to be appointed next year, will be elected by secret ballot. 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 }} Just a third of voters think Labour will regain power by 2025, a poll suggests. Only 15 per cent of people said they expected to see Labour win an election in 2020, while 18 per cent said they thought it would happen in 2025. The ICM poll, for The Guardian, also found Labour lags behind the Conservatives, with 27 per cent of support compared to the Tories' 42 per cent. Jeremy Corbyn says he is 'very lenient' in response to possible shadow cabinet sackings over Brexit whip The poll also found that, of the 1,984 adults surveyed online, 43 per cent thought Brexit would have a negative impact on the British economy, while 38 per cent said it would have a positive effect. The majority thought Brexit would make no difference to their personal finances at 54 per cent, while just 12 per cent thought it would have a positive impact and 34 per cent a negative effect. Jeremy Corbyn has issued a three-line whip to order his MPs to vote for the Government's Brexit bill at its final hurdle in the Commons, Labour sources told The Independent. Brexit Concerns Show all 26 1 /26 Brexit Concerns Brexit Concerns Brexit will put British patients at 'back of the queue' for new drugs Brexit will put British patients at the back of the queue for vital new drugs, the Government has been warned forcing them to wait up to two years longer A medicines regulator has raised the alarm over a likely decision to pull out of the European Medicines Agency (EMA), as well as the EU itself. ealth Secretary Jeremy Hunt dropped the bombshell , when he said he expected the UK would quit the EMA because it is subject to rulings by the European Court of Justice. Getty Images Brexit Concerns London to lose status as 'gateway to Europe' for banks One of Germanys top banking regulators has warned that London could lose its status as gateway to Europe for the banking sector after Britain quits the European trading bloc. Andreas Dombret, who is an executive board member for the BundesbankGermanys central banktold a private meeting of German businesses and banks earlier this week in Frankfurt that even if banking rules were equivalent between the UK and the rest of the EU, that was still miles away from [Britain having] access to the single market, the BBC reports. Jason Hawkes Brexit Concerns Exodus The number of financial sector professionals in Britain and continental Europe looking for jobs in Ireland rocketed in the months after the UK voted to leave the European Union Shutterstock Brexit Concerns Brexit is making FTSE 100 executives richer Pay packages of many FTSE 100 chief executive officers are partly tied to how well share prices are doing rather than the CEOs performance -- and some stocks are soaring. ritish equities got a boost since the June vote because the likes of Rio Tinto, Smiths Group and WPP generate most sales abroad and earn a fortune when they convert these revenues back into the weakened pound. Sterlings fall also made UK stocks more affordable for overseas investors. Rex Brexit Concerns Theresa May: UK to leave single market Theresa May has said the UK "cannot possibly" remain within the European single market, as staying in it would mean "not leaving the EU at all". Getty Brexit Concerns Lead campaigner Gina Miller and her team outside the High Court Getty Brexit Concerns Raymond McCord holds up his newly issued Irish passport alongside his British passport outside the High Court in Belfast following a judges dismissal of the UK's first legal challenges to Brexit PA wire Brexit Concerns SDLP leader Colum Eastwood leaving the High Court in Belfast following a judges dismissal of the UK's first legal challenges to Brexit PA wire Brexit Concerns Migrants with luggage walk past a graffiti on a wall as they leave the 'Jungle' migrant camp, as part of a major three-day operation planned to clear the camp in Calais Getty Brexit Concerns Migrants leave messages on their tents in the Jungle migrant camp Getty Brexit Concerns The Adventist Development and Relief Agency (Adra) which distributes approximately 700 meals daily in the northern Paris camp states that it is noticing a spike in new migrant arrivals this week, potentially linked the the Calais 'jungle' camp closure - with around 1000 meals distributed today EPA Brexit Concerns Migrant workers pick apples at Stocks Farm in Suckley, Britain Reuters Brexit Concerns Many farmers across the country are voicing concerns that Brexit could be a dangerous step into the unknown for the farming industry Getty Brexit Concerns Bank of England governor Mark Carney who said the long-term outlook for the UK economy is positive, but growth was slowing in the wake of the Brexit vote PA Brexit Concerns The Dow Jones industrial average closed down over 600 points on the news with markets around the globe pluninging Getty Brexit Concerns Immigration officers deal with each member of the public seeking entry into the United Kingdom but on average, 10 a day are refused entry at this London airport and between 2008 and 2009, 33,100 people were detained at the airport for mainly passport irregularities Getty Brexit Concerns A number of global investment giants have threatened to move their European operations out of London if Brexit proves to have a negative impact on their businesses Getty Brexit Concerns Following the possibility of a Brexit the UK would be released from its renewable energy targets under the EU Renewable Energy Directive and from EU state aid restrictions, potentially giving the government more freedom both in the design and phasing out of renewable energy support regimes Getty Brexit Concerns A woman looking at a chart showing the drop in the pound (Sterling) against the US Dollar in London after Britain voted to leave the EU Getty Brexit Concerns Young protesters outside the Houses of Parliament in Westminster, to protest against the United Kingdom's decision to leave the EU following the referendum Getty Brexit Concerns Applications from Northern Ireland citizens for Irish Passports has soared to a record high after the UK Voted in favour of Leaving the EU Getty Brexit Concerns NFU Vice President Minette Batters with Secretary of State, Andrea Leadsome at the National Farmers Union (NFU) took machinery, produce, farmers and staff to Westminster to encourage Members of Parliament to back British farming, post Brexit Getty Brexit Concerns The latest reports released by the UK Cabinet Office warn that expats would lose a range of specific rights to live, to work and to access pensions, healthcare and public services. The same reports added that UK citizens abroad would not be able to assume that these rights will be guaranteed in the future Getty Brexit Concerns A British resident living in Spain asks questions during an informative Brexit talk by the "Brexpats in Spain" group, about Spanish legal issues to become Spanish citizens, at the town hall in Benalmadena, Spain Reuters Brexit Concerns The collapse of Great Britain appears to have been greatly exaggerated given the late summer crowds visiting city museums, hotels, and other important tourist attractions Getty Brexit Concerns The U.K. should maintain European Union regulations covering everything from working hours to chemicals until after the government sets out its plans for Brexit, said British manufacturers anxious to avoid a policy vacuum and safeguard access to their biggest export market Getty The issue caused heated debate at a meeting of the Parliamentary Labour Party (PLP) yesterday, after 47 MPs defied Jeremy Corbyn and voted against formally launching the withdrawal negotiations with the EU last week. Labour MPs said the party's chief whip Nick Brown had indicated there would be "consistency" in dealing with the passage of the European Union (Notification of Withdrawal) Bill. The failure of shadow home secretary Diane Abbott to take part in the Brexit vote was also raised at the PLP, after the close Corbyn ally said a migraine had forced her to go home early. Critics accused Ms Abbott of falling victim to "Brexit flu" because her constituency voted overwhelmingly in the referendum to Remain. The details of an anticipated cabinet reshuffle will be presented to the parliament on Sunday, Prime Minister Sherif Ismail said on Tuesday. In press statements, Ismail said that the reshuffle was currently being "finalised", adding that it was difficult to provide more details before sending the list of possible ministers to the parliament. Speaking on a previous occasion last week, Ismail said that some ministries could be merged and some eliminated in the reshuffle, but no new ministries would be created. In statements to state-owned MENA agency last week, Ismail said the parliament, which is currently on a short recess, will have to approve the reshuffle before the new ministers are sworn in before the country's president. He added that some figures who were nominated to take ministry portfolios declined the offer to hold posts due to the critical conditions the country was currently facing, limiting the choices available. In January, President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi said a reshuffle would take place very soon. Ismail's 34-minister cabinet last saw a reshuffle in March 2016, when ten ministers, mainly those with economic portfolios, were replaced. The March changes included the ministers of tourism, finance, investment, justice, civil aviation, irrigation, human resources, antiquities and transportation. Article 147 of Egypt's constitution stipulates that the president may exempt the cabinet from carrying out its tasks provided that a majority of the House of Representatives approves of the decision. Under the constitution the president is entitled to conduct a cabinet reshuffle in consultation with the prime minister and with the approval of an absolute majority of attendees of the house, or no less than a third of its total members. Search Keywords: Short link: 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 }} A key Conservative rebel has hailed a Government climbdown to give MPs a decisive vote if there is no Brexit deal even as Labour insisted it was virtually worthless. Neil Carmichael told The Independent he was delighted that the vote will now be staged before the European Parliament has its say on the outcome of the negotiations, suggesting a threatened revolt is off. Crucially, he argued ministers were also guaranteeing a vote even if Theresa May emerges from the Article 50 talks with no deal at all, the key demand of the rebels. Recommended Government climbdown to give MPs vote on final Brexit deal before But Labour, which initially welcomed the important concession, quickly decided it fell far short of the meaningful vote it is demanding. Angry Labour MPs turned on Brexit minister David Jones after it quickly emerged that the Commons would still be left with a take it or leave it choice, in 2019. To leave it would mean Britain crashing out of the EU with no agreement at all risking an economic slump, they argued However, Mr Carmichael signalled that the threatened Conservative revolt in a vote around 6pm tonight had been averted by Mr Jones concession. Mr Carmichael said: Im pleased the minister has informed the Commons that there will be a meaningful vote at the end of the negotiations and in a timely manner. This is a big step in the right direction and Im confident we will be given further clarification during the course of the afternoon. The key shift, Mr Carmichael argued - strongly disputed by Labour - was an agreement that MPs will be given a vote even if the Prime Minister fails to strike a deal, a highly-plausible scenario, given the tight timetable. Many observers believe Ms May would be forced to call a general election in those circumstances, rather than carry out her threat to pull out of the EU regardless. However, under questioning by Labour MPs, Mr Jones confirmed the Governments determination to complete Brexit even if the Commons rejected her deal or lack of a deal. MPs would have to accept the deal that the Government will have achieved, because there was no question of a veto. Mr Jones said: Frankly, that is the choice that the House will have to make thats the most meaningful vote that the House can imagine. To send the Government back to the European Union to say it wants to negotiate further would be seized upon as a sign of weakness so, therefore, I cant agree with it at all. Another possible Tory rebel, Anna Soubry, appeared to side with Labour in arguing Mr Jones had not given a satisfactory concession. She told a Brexit-supporting MP: We want the same vote - the sovereignty of this place - in the event of no deal being struck by the Government despite their finest efforts. At the start of the debate, Mr Jones told MPs: We intend that the vote will cover not only the withdrawal arrangements, but also the future relationship with the European Union. I can confirm that the Government will bring forward a motion on the final agreement to be approved by both Houses of Parliament before it is concluded And we expect and intend that this will happen before the European Parliament debates and votes on the final agreement. The phrase future relationship with the European Union was interpreted to mean a proposed new trade deal, as well as the exit terms. 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 }} Betsy DeVos has been voted in as education secretary after Vice President Mike Pence cast a rare, tie-breaking vote on the Senate floor. There were 51 votes in her favour and 50 against. She was the only cabinet pick to come close to failure after Democrats successfully stalled and delayed her hearing. The vote came after the Democrats staged a 24-hour protest in the Senate, asking for support from just one more Republican to break the vote in their favour. In the days before her appointment, congressional switchboards were jammed as people phoned in to protest to their representatives. Two Republican senators, Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, were against her appointment, but a third Republican dissenter was needed. Mr Pence was filmed running up the steps to the Senate on Tuesday morning to cast his vote for Ms DeVos and ensure a 50-50 tie. It was the first time in American history that a Vice President's vote was required to break a tie for a cabinet pick. Jeff Sessions, the incoming Attorney General, also voted in her favour. His confirmation vote was scheduled for just after Ms DeVos to ensure he could take part. Filings from the Federal Election Commission show that her family previously donated to more than 20 Republicans who voted in her favour. Ms DeVos tweeted after the vote that she appreciated the Senate's diligence and was honoured to be appointed. Let's improve options and outcomes for all US students, she tweeted. She also re-tweeted a social media post from President Trump, who said the Democrats were protesting in order to keep a failed status quo. House speaker Paul Ryan said her appointment was ensuring that schools did not suffer from innovation-crushing regulations and that state schools had more control over their educational agenda. States and local communities need the flexibility to be able to innovate, he said in a statement. These rules crush the spirit of federalism that strengthens schools and helps kids across the country. Thats why were repealing them today. Democrats accused her of not having any experience in the classroom and being head of an agency that funds free schools, which she is against. She is in favour of school choice and charter schools, which means federal funds could be diverted from free schools and disadvantage the lowest income students further. Chuck Schumer, the Senate Minority Leader, said she was the least-qualified nominee in a historically unqualified cabinet. On conflicts of interest she ranks among the worst, he said on the floor during the all-night filibustering session. She seems to constantly demand the main purpose of her job: public education. Senator Al Franken grilled the billionaire philanthropist during her senate confirmation hearing last month on her thoughts about teaching methods, and said he was surprised that she knew so little of an issue that had been discussed in education for years. She was asked about proficiency versus growth, and she appeared flustered and asked for clarification. She has also come under fire for lobbying government for anti-LGBT and anti-abortion bills. Civil rights groups said they were deeply concerned about Ms DeVos, who could dismantle protections for LGBT and transgender students. Betsy DeVos blames 'clerical error' for years as VP of anti-LGBT foundation When asked why she served as vice president of an anti-LGBT foundation for years, she said it was a clerical error. Her family has donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to groups that promote conversion therapy for gay people. In her new role, she will be responsible for deciding which federal education laws schools abide by in each state. 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 }} President Donald Trumps pick to lead the Environmental Protection Agency, may have falsely stated under oath that he has not done anything to undermine a pending industrial waste case filed by the state of Oklahoma. During his Senate confirmation hearing in January, Scott Pruitt, the Republican Oklahoma attorney general and Mr Trump to head the nation's senior environmental agency, defended his actions on a case brought by his Democratic predecessor. The state alleges that several poultry companies in Arkansas dumped thousand of tons waste into the Illinois River, which flows into Oklahoma. Before Mr Pruitt came into office in 2011, the case received a full federal trial, but the federal judge has yet to issue a ruling. Mr Pruitt told the Senate in January that he has done nothing but file briefs in support of the court making a decision. The publication Fusion reviewed public records and found that that Mr Pruitt had actually not filed any motions or briefs of this sort. Nearly all the court filings in the six-year period since he started as attorney general have been from lawyers who were withdrawing their representation in the case, Fusion said. Bernie Sanders on Donald Trump: "This guy's a fraud" The publication reported that the only substantive filing by the state since Mr Pruitt took office was a notice that the Supreme Court had issued a ruling in AEP v Connecticut, which was originally thought to be relevant to the lawsuit. The filing said the decision would ultimately not affect the states case against the poultry companies. A spokesman for Mr Pruitt, John Konkus, told Fusion that Mr Pruitt had been referencing the notice about the Supreme Court decision during the confirmation hearing. On 7-6-2011 the Attorney General's office filed notice of relevant authority sending the court the Supreme Court decision in AEP v Connecticut which the Attorney General's office says supports their arguments made in the poultry case regarding whether the CWA displaced its federal common law nuisance case, Mr Kronkus said. 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 is leading himself towards impeachment, a senior Democrat has claimed. Maxine Waters stated on Twiiter that her greatest desire was to lead the President right into impeachment, The Californian congresswoman later clarified her position, saying she had not called for it, but that he was doing it himself. Let me just say that the statement I made was a statement in response to questions and pleas that I'm getting from many citizens across this country, she told a news conference. What are we going to do?" Ms Waters cited the travel ban and Mr Trumps rhetoric around Muslims as reasons that could eventually lead to his impeachment. The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Show all 9 1 /9 The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the media White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer takes questions during the daily press briefing Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the Trans-Pacific Partnership Union leaders applaud US President Donald Trump for signing an executive order withdrawing the US from the Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations during a meeting in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington DC. Mr Trump issued a presidential memorandum in January announcing that the US would withdraw from the trade deal Getty The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the Mexico wall A US Border Patrol vehicle sits waiting for illegal immigrants at a fence opening near the US-Mexico border near McAllen, Texas. The number of incoming immigrants has surged ahead of the upcoming Presidential inauguration of Donald Trump, who has pledged to build a wall along the US-Mexico border. A signature campaign promise, Mr Trump outlined his intention to build a border wall on the US-Mexico border days after taking office Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and abortion US President Donald Trump signs an executive order as Chief of Staff Reince Priebus looks on in the Oval Office of the White House. Mr Trump reinstated a ban on American financial aide being granted to non-governmental organizations that provide abortion counseling, provide abortion referrals, or advocate for abortion access outside of the United States Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the Dakota Access pipeline Opponents of the Keystone XL and Dakota Access pipelines hold a rally as they protest US President Donald Trump's executive orders advancing their construction, at Columbus Circle in New York. US President Donald Trump signed executive orders reviving the construction of two controversial oil pipelines, but said the projects would be subject to renegotiation Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and 'Obamacare' Nancy Pelosi who is the minority leader of the House of Representatives speaks beside House Democrats at an event to protect the Affordable Care Act in Los Angeles, California. US President Donald Trump's effort to make good on his campaign promise to repeal and replace the healthcare law failed when Republicans failed to get enough votes. Mr Trump has promised to revisit the matter Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Donald Trump and 'sanctuary cities' US President Donald Trump signed an executive order in January threatening to pull funding for so-called "sanctuary cities" if they do not comply with federal immigration law AP The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the travel ban US President Donald Trump has attempted twice to restrict travel into the United States from several predominantly Muslim countries. The first attempt, in February, was met with swift opposition from protesters who flocked to airports around the country. That travel ban was later blocked by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. The second ban was blocked by a federal judge a day before it was scheduled to be implemented in mid-March SANDY HUFFAKER/AFP/Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and climate change US President Donald Trump sought to dismantle several of his predecessor's actions on climate change in March. His order instructed the Environmental Protection Agency to reevaluate the Clean Power Plan, which would cap power plant emissions Shannon Stapleton/Reuters I think that he's leading himself in that kind of position, where folks are going to ask, 'What are we going to do?' and the answer is going to be, 'Eventually, we've got to do something about him,'" she said. "We cannot continue to have a President who is acting in this manner. It's dangerous to the United States of America." She later told CNN that Mr Trump was creating chaos and division, adding we have to find out more about him and some of that I think leads to the possibility of impeachment. An unnamed White House official told the news channel that Ms Waters comments were an example of extreme rhetoric from a completely out-of-touch party. 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 }} President Trump ordered his first military raid on January 29 with one secret objectiveto capture or kill an al Qaeda leader and recruiter who ultimately survived the strike. Military officials told NBC News on Monday that the operation targeted 38-year-old Qassim al-Rimi, who leads al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula and is considered the third most dangerous terrorist in the world. On Sunday, al-Rimi released an audio message taunting the president. "The fool of the White House got slapped at the beginning of his road in your lands," he said in the message, military sources confirmed to NBC that the message is authentic. White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer on Tuesday denied that al-Rimi was the subject of the counterterrorism operation. The raid that was conducted was an intelligence gathering raid, he said, and thats what we received and thats what we got and that was a success. President Trump ordered the raid, his first military operation as commander-in-chief, on a suspected Al-Qaeda camp in Yemens Bayda province. The operation resulted in the deaths of Navy SEAL William Ryan Owens and up to 30 civilians, including 10 women and children, according to medics at the scene. Three other US service members were also injured. Its currently unclear how al-Rami avoided capture or death and if he was present at the raids location at all. New York City bodegas strike to protest Trump's travel ban Show all 27 1 /27 New York City bodegas strike to protest Trump's travel ban New York City bodegas strike to protest Trump's travel ban Ethnic Yemenis and supporters protest against President Donald Trump's executive order temporarily banning immigrants and refugees from seven Muslim-majority countries, including Yemen on February 2, 2017 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. At least 1,000 Yemeni-owned bodegas and grocery-stores across the city shut down from noon to 8 p.m. today to protest the order. Spencer Platt/Getty New York City bodegas strike to protest Trump's travel ban People rally at Brooklyn Borough Hall as Yemeni bodega and grocery-stores shut down to protest US President Donald Trump's Executive Order banning immigrants and refugees from seven Muslim-majority countries, including Yemen, on February 2, 2017 in New York. Bryan R. Smith/AFP/Getty New York City bodegas strike to protest Trump's travel ban Men pray during a protest by ethnic Yemenis and supporters over President Donald Trump's executive order temporarily banning immigrants and refugees from seven Muslim-majority countries, including Yemen on February 2, 2017 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. At least 1,000 Yemeni-owned bodegas and grocery-stores across the city shut down from noon to 8 p.m. today to protest the order. Spencer Platt/Getty New York City bodegas strike to protest Trump's travel ban Ethnic Yemenis and supporters protest against President Donald Trump's executive order temporarily banning immigrants and refugees from seven Muslim-majority countries, including Yemen on February 2, 2017 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. At least 1,000 Yemeni-owned bodegas and grocery-stores across the city shut down from noon to 8 p.m. today to protest the order. Spencer Platt/Getty New York City bodegas strike to protest Trump's travel ban Men pray during a protest by ethnic Yemenis and supporters over President Donald Trump's executive order temporarily banning immigrants and refugees from seven Muslim-majority countries, including Yemen on February 2, 2017 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. At least 1,000 Yemeni-owned bodegas and grocery-stores across the city shut down from noon to 8 p.m. today to protest the order. Spencer Platt/Getty New York City bodegas strike to protest Trump's travel ban People rally at Brooklyn Borough Hall as Yemeni bodega and grocery-stores shut down to protest US President Donald Trump's Executive Order banning immigrants and refugees from seven Muslim-majority countries, including Yemen, on February 2, 2017 in New York. Spencer Platt/Getty New York City bodegas strike to protest Trump's travel ban People rally at Brooklyn Borough Hall as Yemeni bodega and grocery-stores shut down to protest US President Donald Trump's Executive Order banning immigrants and refugees from seven Muslim-majority countries, including Yemen, on February 2, 2017 in New York. Bryan R. Smith/AFP/Getty New York City bodegas strike to protest Trump's travel ban People rally at Brooklyn Borough Hall as Yemeni bodega and grocery-stores shut down to protest US President Donald Trump's Executive Order banning immigrants and refugees from seven Muslim-majority countries, including Yemen, on February 2, 2017 in New York. Spencer Platt/Getty New York City bodegas strike to protest Trump's travel ban People rally at Brooklyn Borough Hall as Yemeni bodega and grocery-stores shut down to protest US President Donald Trump's Executive Order banning immigrants and refugees from seven Muslim-majority countries, including Yemen, on February 2, 2017 in New York. Spencer Platt/Getty New York City bodegas strike to protest Trump's travel ban People gather for evening prayer at a rally at Brooklyn Borough Hall as Yemeni bodega and grocery-stores shut down to protest US President Donald Trump's Executive Order banning immigrants and refugees from seven Muslim-majority countries, including Yemen, on February 2, 2017 in New York. Bryan R. Smith/AFP/Getty New York City bodegas strike to protest Trump's travel ban People rally at Brooklyn Borough Hall as Yemeni bodega and grocery-stores shut down to protest US President Donald Trump's Executive Order banning immigrants and refugees from seven Muslim-majority countries, including Yemen, on February 2, 2017 in New York. Bryan R. Smith/AFP/Getty New York City bodegas strike to protest Trump's travel ban People rally with flags at Brooklyn Borough Hall as Yemeni bodega and grocery-stores shut down to protest US President Donald Trump's Executive Order banning immigrants and refugees from seven Muslim-majority countries, including Yemen, on February 2, 2017 in New York. Bryan R. Smith/AFP/Getty New York City bodegas strike to protest Trump's travel ban People rally at Brooklyn Borough Hall as Yemeni bodega and grocery-stores shut down to protest US President Donald Trump's Executive Order banning immigrants and refugees from seven Muslim-majority countries, including Yemen, on February 2, 2017 in New York. Spencer Platt/Getty New York City bodegas strike to protest Trump's travel ban People rally at Brooklyn Borough Hall as Yemeni bodega and grocery-stores shut down to protest US President Donald Trump's Executive Order banning immigrants and refugees from seven Muslim-majority countries, including Yemen, on February 2, 2017 in New York. Spencer Platt/Getty New York City bodegas strike to protest Trump's travel ban People rally at Brooklyn Borough Hall as Yemeni bodega and grocery-stores shut down to protest US President Donald Trump's Executive Order banning immigrants and refugees from seven Muslim-majority countries, including Yemen, on February 2, 2017 in New York. Spencer Platt/Getty New York City bodegas strike to protest Trump's travel ban People rally at Brooklyn Borough Hall as Yemeni bodega and grocery-stores shut down to protest US President Donald Trump's Executive Order banning immigrants and refugees from seven Muslim-majority countries, including Yemen, on February 2, 2017 in New York. Spencer Platt/Getty New York City bodegas strike to protest Trump's travel ban People rally at Brooklyn Borough Hall as Yemeni bodega and grocery-stores shut down to protest US President Donald Trump's Executive Order banning immigrants and refugees from seven Muslim-majority countries, including Yemen, on February 2, 2017 in New York. Spencer Platt/Getty New York City bodegas strike to protest Trump's travel ban People rally with flags at Brooklyn Borough Hall as Yemeni bodega and grocery-stores shut down to protest US President Donald Trump's Executive Order banning immigrants and refugees from seven Muslim-majority countries, including Yemen, on February 2, 2017 in New York. Bryan R. Smith/AFP/Getty New York City bodegas strike to protest Trump's travel ban People rally with flags at Brooklyn Borough Hall as Yemeni bodega and grocery-stores shut down to protest US President Donald Trump's Executive Order banning immigrants and refugees from seven Muslim-majority countries, including Yemen, on February 2, 2017 in New York. Bryan R. Smith/AFP/Getty New York City bodegas strike to protest Trump's travel ban People rally with flags at Brooklyn Borough Hall as Yemeni bodega and grocery-stores shut down to protest US President Donald Trump's Executive Order banning immigrants and refugees from seven Muslim-majority countries, including Yemen, on February 2, 2017 in New York. Bryan R. Smith/AFP/Getty New York City bodegas strike to protest Trump's travel ban People rally at Brooklyn Borough Hall as Yemeni bodega and grocery-stores shut down to protest US President Donald Trump's Executive Order banning immigrants and refugees from seven Muslim-majority countries, including Yemen, on February 2, 2017 in New York. Bryan R. Smith/AFP/Getty New York City bodegas strike to protest Trump's travel ban People rally with flags at Brooklyn Borough Hall as Yemeni bodega and grocery-stores shut down to protest US President Donald Trump's Executive Order banning immigrants and refugees from seven Muslim-majority countries, including Yemen, on February 2, 2017 in New York. Bryan R. Smith/AFP/Getty New York City bodegas strike to protest Trump's travel ban People rally at Brooklyn Borough Hall as Yemeni bodega and grocery-stores shut down to protest President Donald Trump's Executive Order banning immigrants and refugees from seven Muslim-majority countries, including Yemen, on February 2, 2017 in New York. Bryan R. Smith/AFP/Getty New York City bodegas strike to protest Trump's travel ban A Yemeni business owner places a sign on the gate of his store February 2, 2017 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. Across the city, Yemeni owned bodega and grocery-stores will shut down from noon to 8 p.m. to protest President Donald Trump's Executive Order banning immigrants and refugees from seven Muslim-majority countries, including Yemen. It is expected that over 1000 stores will be closed in protest with workers and owners participating in an afternoon rally in Brooklyn. Spencer Platt/Getty New York City bodegas strike to protest Trump's travel ban A Yemeni business owner places a sign on the gate of his store February 2, 2017 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. Across the city, Yemeni owned bodega and grocery-stores will shut down from noon to 8 p.m. to protest President Donald Trump's Executive Order banning immigrants and refugees from seven Muslim-majority countries, including Yemen. It is expected that over 1000 stores will be closed in protest with workers and owners participating in an afternoon rally in Brooklyn. Spencer Platt/Getty New York City bodegas strike to protest Trump's travel ban NEW YORK, NY - FEBRUARY 02: Yemeni business owner Musa closes the gate to his store February 2, 2017 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. Across the city, Yemeni owned bodega and grocery-stores will shut down from noon to 8 p.m. to protest President Donald Trump's Executive Order banning immigrants and refugees from seven Muslim-majority countries, including Yemen. It is expected that over 1000 stores will be closed in protest with workers and owners participating in an afternoon rally in Brooklyn. Spencer Platt/Getty New York City bodegas strike to protest Trump's travel ban A Yemeni business owner closes the gate to his store February 2, 2017 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. Across the city, Yemeni owned bodega and grocery-stores will shut down from noon to 8 p.m. to protest President Donald Trump's Executive Order banning immigrants and refugees from seven Muslim-majority countries, including Yemen. It is expected that over 1000 stores will be closed in protest with workers and owners participating in an afternoon rally in Brooklyn. Spencer Platt/Getty Former President Barack Obama had drafted and reviewed plans for the raid but held off because his advisors wanted to launch the operation on a moonless night, the New York Times reports. US military officials are now claiming that the Trump administration approved the counterrorism operation without sufficient intelligence, ground support or adequate backup preparations. In the days following the raid, US Central Command issued a statement saying that an investigation team had "concluded regrettably that civilian non-combatants were likely killed" with children among the casualties. Last week, the president made an unannounced trip to Dover Air Force Base in Delaware to honor the fallen soldier as his remains returned home. 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 }} Dozens of rabbis and rabbinical students have been arrested following a protest against the US travel ban outside Trump Tower in Manhattan. A crowd of around 200 people blocked the street outside the hotel to protest against President Donald Trumps executive order temporarily banning refugees and cancelling visas from seven Muslim-majority countries. The crowd waved placards saying welcome refugees while hitting drums and tambourines at around 7pm on Monday evening in the latest demonstration outside Mr Trumps former home. Nineteen rabbis and rabbinical students affiliated with the liberal Jewish group, Truah, were arrested after deliberately blocking traffic to pray following a march through the city's Upper West Side. Rabbi Jill Jacobs told the New York Times the protest was designed to show many Jewish people opposed the ban. She said: We remember our history, and we remember that the borders of this country closed to us in 1924 with very catastrophic consequences during the Holocaust. We know that some of the language thats being used now to stop Muslims from coming in is the same language that was used to stop Jewish refugees from coming. The ban, which has since been suspended, prevented any citizen from Iran, Sudan, Iraq, Syria, Libya, Somalia and Yemen from entering the US for 90 days even if they had a valid visa or green card. New York City bodegas strike to protest Trump's travel ban Show all 27 1 /27 New York City bodegas strike to protest Trump's travel ban New York City bodegas strike to protest Trump's travel ban Ethnic Yemenis and supporters protest against President Donald Trump's executive order temporarily banning immigrants and refugees from seven Muslim-majority countries, including Yemen on February 2, 2017 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. At least 1,000 Yemeni-owned bodegas and grocery-stores across the city shut down from noon to 8 p.m. today to protest the order. Spencer Platt/Getty New York City bodegas strike to protest Trump's travel ban People rally at Brooklyn Borough Hall as Yemeni bodega and grocery-stores shut down to protest US President Donald Trump's Executive Order banning immigrants and refugees from seven Muslim-majority countries, including Yemen, on February 2, 2017 in New York. Bryan R. Smith/AFP/Getty New York City bodegas strike to protest Trump's travel ban Men pray during a protest by ethnic Yemenis and supporters over President Donald Trump's executive order temporarily banning immigrants and refugees from seven Muslim-majority countries, including Yemen on February 2, 2017 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. At least 1,000 Yemeni-owned bodegas and grocery-stores across the city shut down from noon to 8 p.m. today to protest the order. Spencer Platt/Getty New York City bodegas strike to protest Trump's travel ban Ethnic Yemenis and supporters protest against President Donald Trump's executive order temporarily banning immigrants and refugees from seven Muslim-majority countries, including Yemen on February 2, 2017 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. At least 1,000 Yemeni-owned bodegas and grocery-stores across the city shut down from noon to 8 p.m. today to protest the order. Spencer Platt/Getty New York City bodegas strike to protest Trump's travel ban Men pray during a protest by ethnic Yemenis and supporters over President Donald Trump's executive order temporarily banning immigrants and refugees from seven Muslim-majority countries, including Yemen on February 2, 2017 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. At least 1,000 Yemeni-owned bodegas and grocery-stores across the city shut down from noon to 8 p.m. today to protest the order. Spencer Platt/Getty New York City bodegas strike to protest Trump's travel ban People rally at Brooklyn Borough Hall as Yemeni bodega and grocery-stores shut down to protest US President Donald Trump's Executive Order banning immigrants and refugees from seven Muslim-majority countries, including Yemen, on February 2, 2017 in New York. Spencer Platt/Getty New York City bodegas strike to protest Trump's travel ban People rally at Brooklyn Borough Hall as Yemeni bodega and grocery-stores shut down to protest US President Donald Trump's Executive Order banning immigrants and refugees from seven Muslim-majority countries, including Yemen, on February 2, 2017 in New York. Bryan R. Smith/AFP/Getty New York City bodegas strike to protest Trump's travel ban People rally at Brooklyn Borough Hall as Yemeni bodega and grocery-stores shut down to protest US President Donald Trump's Executive Order banning immigrants and refugees from seven Muslim-majority countries, including Yemen, on February 2, 2017 in New York. Spencer Platt/Getty New York City bodegas strike to protest Trump's travel ban People rally at Brooklyn Borough Hall as Yemeni bodega and grocery-stores shut down to protest US President Donald Trump's Executive Order banning immigrants and refugees from seven Muslim-majority countries, including Yemen, on February 2, 2017 in New York. Spencer Platt/Getty New York City bodegas strike to protest Trump's travel ban People gather for evening prayer at a rally at Brooklyn Borough Hall as Yemeni bodega and grocery-stores shut down to protest US President Donald Trump's Executive Order banning immigrants and refugees from seven Muslim-majority countries, including Yemen, on February 2, 2017 in New York. Bryan R. Smith/AFP/Getty New York City bodegas strike to protest Trump's travel ban People rally at Brooklyn Borough Hall as Yemeni bodega and grocery-stores shut down to protest US President Donald Trump's Executive Order banning immigrants and refugees from seven Muslim-majority countries, including Yemen, on February 2, 2017 in New York. Bryan R. Smith/AFP/Getty New York City bodegas strike to protest Trump's travel ban People rally with flags at Brooklyn Borough Hall as Yemeni bodega and grocery-stores shut down to protest US President Donald Trump's Executive Order banning immigrants and refugees from seven Muslim-majority countries, including Yemen, on February 2, 2017 in New York. Bryan R. Smith/AFP/Getty New York City bodegas strike to protest Trump's travel ban People rally at Brooklyn Borough Hall as Yemeni bodega and grocery-stores shut down to protest US President Donald Trump's Executive Order banning immigrants and refugees from seven Muslim-majority countries, including Yemen, on February 2, 2017 in New York. Spencer Platt/Getty New York City bodegas strike to protest Trump's travel ban People rally at Brooklyn Borough Hall as Yemeni bodega and grocery-stores shut down to protest US President Donald Trump's Executive Order banning immigrants and refugees from seven Muslim-majority countries, including Yemen, on February 2, 2017 in New York. Spencer Platt/Getty New York City bodegas strike to protest Trump's travel ban People rally at Brooklyn Borough Hall as Yemeni bodega and grocery-stores shut down to protest US President Donald Trump's Executive Order banning immigrants and refugees from seven Muslim-majority countries, including Yemen, on February 2, 2017 in New York. Spencer Platt/Getty New York City bodegas strike to protest Trump's travel ban People rally at Brooklyn Borough Hall as Yemeni bodega and grocery-stores shut down to protest US President Donald Trump's Executive Order banning immigrants and refugees from seven Muslim-majority countries, including Yemen, on February 2, 2017 in New York. Spencer Platt/Getty New York City bodegas strike to protest Trump's travel ban People rally at Brooklyn Borough Hall as Yemeni bodega and grocery-stores shut down to protest US President Donald Trump's Executive Order banning immigrants and refugees from seven Muslim-majority countries, including Yemen, on February 2, 2017 in New York. Spencer Platt/Getty New York City bodegas strike to protest Trump's travel ban People rally with flags at Brooklyn Borough Hall as Yemeni bodega and grocery-stores shut down to protest US President Donald Trump's Executive Order banning immigrants and refugees from seven Muslim-majority countries, including Yemen, on February 2, 2017 in New York. Bryan R. Smith/AFP/Getty New York City bodegas strike to protest Trump's travel ban People rally with flags at Brooklyn Borough Hall as Yemeni bodega and grocery-stores shut down to protest US President Donald Trump's Executive Order banning immigrants and refugees from seven Muslim-majority countries, including Yemen, on February 2, 2017 in New York. Bryan R. Smith/AFP/Getty New York City bodegas strike to protest Trump's travel ban People rally with flags at Brooklyn Borough Hall as Yemeni bodega and grocery-stores shut down to protest US President Donald Trump's Executive Order banning immigrants and refugees from seven Muslim-majority countries, including Yemen, on February 2, 2017 in New York. Bryan R. Smith/AFP/Getty New York City bodegas strike to protest Trump's travel ban People rally at Brooklyn Borough Hall as Yemeni bodega and grocery-stores shut down to protest US President Donald Trump's Executive Order banning immigrants and refugees from seven Muslim-majority countries, including Yemen, on February 2, 2017 in New York. Bryan R. Smith/AFP/Getty New York City bodegas strike to protest Trump's travel ban People rally with flags at Brooklyn Borough Hall as Yemeni bodega and grocery-stores shut down to protest US President Donald Trump's Executive Order banning immigrants and refugees from seven Muslim-majority countries, including Yemen, on February 2, 2017 in New York. Bryan R. Smith/AFP/Getty New York City bodegas strike to protest Trump's travel ban People rally at Brooklyn Borough Hall as Yemeni bodega and grocery-stores shut down to protest President Donald Trump's Executive Order banning immigrants and refugees from seven Muslim-majority countries, including Yemen, on February 2, 2017 in New York. Bryan R. Smith/AFP/Getty New York City bodegas strike to protest Trump's travel ban A Yemeni business owner places a sign on the gate of his store February 2, 2017 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. Across the city, Yemeni owned bodega and grocery-stores will shut down from noon to 8 p.m. to protest President Donald Trump's Executive Order banning immigrants and refugees from seven Muslim-majority countries, including Yemen. It is expected that over 1000 stores will be closed in protest with workers and owners participating in an afternoon rally in Brooklyn. Spencer Platt/Getty New York City bodegas strike to protest Trump's travel ban A Yemeni business owner places a sign on the gate of his store February 2, 2017 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. Across the city, Yemeni owned bodega and grocery-stores will shut down from noon to 8 p.m. to protest President Donald Trump's Executive Order banning immigrants and refugees from seven Muslim-majority countries, including Yemen. It is expected that over 1000 stores will be closed in protest with workers and owners participating in an afternoon rally in Brooklyn. Spencer Platt/Getty New York City bodegas strike to protest Trump's travel ban NEW YORK, NY - FEBRUARY 02: Yemeni business owner Musa closes the gate to his store February 2, 2017 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. Across the city, Yemeni owned bodega and grocery-stores will shut down from noon to 8 p.m. to protest President Donald Trump's Executive Order banning immigrants and refugees from seven Muslim-majority countries, including Yemen. It is expected that over 1000 stores will be closed in protest with workers and owners participating in an afternoon rally in Brooklyn. Spencer Platt/Getty New York City bodegas strike to protest Trump's travel ban A Yemeni business owner closes the gate to his store February 2, 2017 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. Across the city, Yemeni owned bodega and grocery-stores will shut down from noon to 8 p.m. to protest President Donald Trump's Executive Order banning immigrants and refugees from seven Muslim-majority countries, including Yemen. It is expected that over 1000 stores will be closed in protest with workers and owners participating in an afternoon rally in Brooklyn. Spencer Platt/Getty It was blocked by a federal judge last week and the ninth US Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco refused to reinstate it instead ordering both sides to submit more arguments over the coming days. Mr Trump, who argues the ban is not unconstitutional because as President he has the power to decide matters of national security, condemned the so-called judge who ordered the stay saying he had essentially taken law enforcement away from our country. He said the decision was ridiculous and would be overturned. 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 }} President Donald Trump has threatened to take his appeal to reinstate his executive order banning travel from seven predominantly Muslim countries to the US Supreme Court, following a major defeat over the weekend by a federal judge. The new administration has struggled to get the temporary travel ban to stick, as the country and other parts of the globe have erupted in mass protests against the order. The order, signed at the end of January, only lasted a week when a George W Bush-appointed judge decided to block it. But Mr Trump remains steadfast to keep one of his biggest and most controversial campaign promises, despite major outcry and the check from the judicial system. "We have a big court case we're well represented. We're going to see what happens," he told reporters in the White House. "It could [go to the Supreme Court]. I mean we'll see. Hopefully it doesn't have to. "It's common sense. Some things are law and I'm all in favour of that and some things are common sense. And this is common sense." The Trump administration will deliver arguments to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco in hopes to reverse last week's decision to block the executive order. Claiming that Isis would use migration to enter the US despite any evidence such actors have made it through the country's already extensive immigration screening process Mr Trump called for more security "We're going to take it through the system," Mr Trump told reporters at the White House. "We have to have security in our country." New York City bodegas strike to protest Trump's travel ban Show all 27 1 /27 New York City bodegas strike to protest Trump's travel ban New York City bodegas strike to protest Trump's travel ban Ethnic Yemenis and supporters protest against President Donald Trump's executive order temporarily banning immigrants and refugees from seven Muslim-majority countries, including Yemen on February 2, 2017 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. At least 1,000 Yemeni-owned bodegas and grocery-stores across the city shut down from noon to 8 p.m. today to protest the order. Spencer Platt/Getty New York City bodegas strike to protest Trump's travel ban People rally at Brooklyn Borough Hall as Yemeni bodega and grocery-stores shut down to protest US President Donald Trump's Executive Order banning immigrants and refugees from seven Muslim-majority countries, including Yemen, on February 2, 2017 in New York. Bryan R. Smith/AFP/Getty New York City bodegas strike to protest Trump's travel ban Men pray during a protest by ethnic Yemenis and supporters over President Donald Trump's executive order temporarily banning immigrants and refugees from seven Muslim-majority countries, including Yemen on February 2, 2017 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. At least 1,000 Yemeni-owned bodegas and grocery-stores across the city shut down from noon to 8 p.m. today to protest the order. Spencer Platt/Getty New York City bodegas strike to protest Trump's travel ban Ethnic Yemenis and supporters protest against President Donald Trump's executive order temporarily banning immigrants and refugees from seven Muslim-majority countries, including Yemen on February 2, 2017 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. At least 1,000 Yemeni-owned bodegas and grocery-stores across the city shut down from noon to 8 p.m. today to protest the order. Spencer Platt/Getty New York City bodegas strike to protest Trump's travel ban Men pray during a protest by ethnic Yemenis and supporters over President Donald Trump's executive order temporarily banning immigrants and refugees from seven Muslim-majority countries, including Yemen on February 2, 2017 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. At least 1,000 Yemeni-owned bodegas and grocery-stores across the city shut down from noon to 8 p.m. today to protest the order. Spencer Platt/Getty New York City bodegas strike to protest Trump's travel ban People rally at Brooklyn Borough Hall as Yemeni bodega and grocery-stores shut down to protest US President Donald Trump's Executive Order banning immigrants and refugees from seven Muslim-majority countries, including Yemen, on February 2, 2017 in New York. Spencer Platt/Getty New York City bodegas strike to protest Trump's travel ban People rally at Brooklyn Borough Hall as Yemeni bodega and grocery-stores shut down to protest US President Donald Trump's Executive Order banning immigrants and refugees from seven Muslim-majority countries, including Yemen, on February 2, 2017 in New York. Bryan R. Smith/AFP/Getty New York City bodegas strike to protest Trump's travel ban People rally at Brooklyn Borough Hall as Yemeni bodega and grocery-stores shut down to protest US President Donald Trump's Executive Order banning immigrants and refugees from seven Muslim-majority countries, including Yemen, on February 2, 2017 in New York. Spencer Platt/Getty New York City bodegas strike to protest Trump's travel ban People rally at Brooklyn Borough Hall as Yemeni bodega and grocery-stores shut down to protest US President Donald Trump's Executive Order banning immigrants and refugees from seven Muslim-majority countries, including Yemen, on February 2, 2017 in New York. Spencer Platt/Getty New York City bodegas strike to protest Trump's travel ban People gather for evening prayer at a rally at Brooklyn Borough Hall as Yemeni bodega and grocery-stores shut down to protest US President Donald Trump's Executive Order banning immigrants and refugees from seven Muslim-majority countries, including Yemen, on February 2, 2017 in New York. Bryan R. Smith/AFP/Getty New York City bodegas strike to protest Trump's travel ban People rally at Brooklyn Borough Hall as Yemeni bodega and grocery-stores shut down to protest US President Donald Trump's Executive Order banning immigrants and refugees from seven Muslim-majority countries, including Yemen, on February 2, 2017 in New York. Bryan R. Smith/AFP/Getty New York City bodegas strike to protest Trump's travel ban People rally with flags at Brooklyn Borough Hall as Yemeni bodega and grocery-stores shut down to protest US President Donald Trump's Executive Order banning immigrants and refugees from seven Muslim-majority countries, including Yemen, on February 2, 2017 in New York. Bryan R. Smith/AFP/Getty New York City bodegas strike to protest Trump's travel ban People rally at Brooklyn Borough Hall as Yemeni bodega and grocery-stores shut down to protest US President Donald Trump's Executive Order banning immigrants and refugees from seven Muslim-majority countries, including Yemen, on February 2, 2017 in New York. Spencer Platt/Getty New York City bodegas strike to protest Trump's travel ban People rally at Brooklyn Borough Hall as Yemeni bodega and grocery-stores shut down to protest US President Donald Trump's Executive Order banning immigrants and refugees from seven Muslim-majority countries, including Yemen, on February 2, 2017 in New York. Spencer Platt/Getty New York City bodegas strike to protest Trump's travel ban People rally at Brooklyn Borough Hall as Yemeni bodega and grocery-stores shut down to protest US President Donald Trump's Executive Order banning immigrants and refugees from seven Muslim-majority countries, including Yemen, on February 2, 2017 in New York. Spencer Platt/Getty New York City bodegas strike to protest Trump's travel ban People rally at Brooklyn Borough Hall as Yemeni bodega and grocery-stores shut down to protest US President Donald Trump's Executive Order banning immigrants and refugees from seven Muslim-majority countries, including Yemen, on February 2, 2017 in New York. Spencer Platt/Getty New York City bodegas strike to protest Trump's travel ban People rally at Brooklyn Borough Hall as Yemeni bodega and grocery-stores shut down to protest US President Donald Trump's Executive Order banning immigrants and refugees from seven Muslim-majority countries, including Yemen, on February 2, 2017 in New York. Spencer Platt/Getty New York City bodegas strike to protest Trump's travel ban People rally with flags at Brooklyn Borough Hall as Yemeni bodega and grocery-stores shut down to protest US President Donald Trump's Executive Order banning immigrants and refugees from seven Muslim-majority countries, including Yemen, on February 2, 2017 in New York. Bryan R. Smith/AFP/Getty New York City bodegas strike to protest Trump's travel ban People rally with flags at Brooklyn Borough Hall as Yemeni bodega and grocery-stores shut down to protest US President Donald Trump's Executive Order banning immigrants and refugees from seven Muslim-majority countries, including Yemen, on February 2, 2017 in New York. Bryan R. Smith/AFP/Getty New York City bodegas strike to protest Trump's travel ban People rally with flags at Brooklyn Borough Hall as Yemeni bodega and grocery-stores shut down to protest US President Donald Trump's Executive Order banning immigrants and refugees from seven Muslim-majority countries, including Yemen, on February 2, 2017 in New York. Bryan R. Smith/AFP/Getty New York City bodegas strike to protest Trump's travel ban People rally at Brooklyn Borough Hall as Yemeni bodega and grocery-stores shut down to protest US President Donald Trump's Executive Order banning immigrants and refugees from seven Muslim-majority countries, including Yemen, on February 2, 2017 in New York. Bryan R. Smith/AFP/Getty New York City bodegas strike to protest Trump's travel ban People rally with flags at Brooklyn Borough Hall as Yemeni bodega and grocery-stores shut down to protest US President Donald Trump's Executive Order banning immigrants and refugees from seven Muslim-majority countries, including Yemen, on February 2, 2017 in New York. Bryan R. Smith/AFP/Getty New York City bodegas strike to protest Trump's travel ban People rally at Brooklyn Borough Hall as Yemeni bodega and grocery-stores shut down to protest President Donald Trump's Executive Order banning immigrants and refugees from seven Muslim-majority countries, including Yemen, on February 2, 2017 in New York. Bryan R. Smith/AFP/Getty New York City bodegas strike to protest Trump's travel ban A Yemeni business owner places a sign on the gate of his store February 2, 2017 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. Across the city, Yemeni owned bodega and grocery-stores will shut down from noon to 8 p.m. to protest President Donald Trump's Executive Order banning immigrants and refugees from seven Muslim-majority countries, including Yemen. It is expected that over 1000 stores will be closed in protest with workers and owners participating in an afternoon rally in Brooklyn. Spencer Platt/Getty New York City bodegas strike to protest Trump's travel ban A Yemeni business owner places a sign on the gate of his store February 2, 2017 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. Across the city, Yemeni owned bodega and grocery-stores will shut down from noon to 8 p.m. to protest President Donald Trump's Executive Order banning immigrants and refugees from seven Muslim-majority countries, including Yemen. It is expected that over 1000 stores will be closed in protest with workers and owners participating in an afternoon rally in Brooklyn. Spencer Platt/Getty New York City bodegas strike to protest Trump's travel ban NEW YORK, NY - FEBRUARY 02: Yemeni business owner Musa closes the gate to his store February 2, 2017 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. Across the city, Yemeni owned bodega and grocery-stores will shut down from noon to 8 p.m. to protest President Donald Trump's Executive Order banning immigrants and refugees from seven Muslim-majority countries, including Yemen. It is expected that over 1000 stores will be closed in protest with workers and owners participating in an afternoon rally in Brooklyn. Spencer Platt/Getty New York City bodegas strike to protest Trump's travel ban A Yemeni business owner closes the gate to his store February 2, 2017 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. Across the city, Yemeni owned bodega and grocery-stores will shut down from noon to 8 p.m. to protest President Donald Trump's Executive Order banning immigrants and refugees from seven Muslim-majority countries, including Yemen. It is expected that over 1000 stores will be closed in protest with workers and owners participating in an afternoon rally in Brooklyn. Spencer Platt/Getty "Isis said, 'we are going to infiltrate the US and other countries through migration," he added. "And then we're not allowed to be tough on the people coming in? Explain that one." The 9th Court rejected an earlier motion from the Department of Justice to overturn Judge James Robart's decision to block the order nationwide after Washington state and Minnesota sued. The President has continuously defended his attempt to temporarily ban migration from the seven countries Iraq, Iran, Yemen, Syria, Sudan, Lybia, and Somalia resorting to issuing insults of Mr Robart and the judicial system via Twitter. "Just cannot believe a judge would put our country in such peril," he tweeted. "If something happens blame him and court system. People pouring in. Bad!" 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 million books, a dozen operas and even a Broadway show may end up being written about the relationship between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin. The US president has repeatedly refused to criticise him and even heaped praise. Despite that, Mr Trump tweeted that I dont know Putin, have no deals in Russia, and the haters are going crazy. However, one person responded to Mr Trumps tweet with a link to a video from 2013 in which Mr Trump was interviewed on MSNBC about his relationship with the Russian leader. In that interview, journalist Thomas Roberts, pointed out that the rapport between Barack Obama and Mr Putin was tense. He then asked if Mr Trump had any sort of relationship - a conversational relationship - with the Russian leader. I do have a relationship, and I can tell you that hes very interested in what we're doing here today, Mr Trump said. Hes probably very interested in what you and I am saying today, and Im sure he's going to be seeing it in some form. Bernie Sanders on Donald Trump: "This guy's a fraud" He added: But I do have relationship with him and I think its very interesting to see what is happening. Look, he has done a very brilliant job, in terms of the what he represents and who he is representing. He said that when it came to the situation in Syria and on a range of other issues, Mr Putin had performed very well. Hes eaten our presidents lunch. He has put Russia at the forefront of the world. Mr Trump for weeks refused to accept a conclusion by US intelligence that Russia had tried to influence the outcome of the presidential election in favour of the New York tycoon. He has repeatedly talked of his desire to reset relations with Moscow and said it would be a benefit for the world if the US and Russia got on better. At the same time, Mr Trump has declined to comment on human rights abuses in Russia, or condemn Russian expansionism, in places such as Crimea or eastern Ukraine. Earlier this week, Mr Trump sparked controversy during an interview on Fox News when host Bill OReilly called Mr Putin a killer. There are a lot of killers. We got a lot of killers, what, you think our country is so innocent, said Mr Trump. In the same interview, Mr Trump also said he did not take it as an insult that pro-Russia separatists recently stepped up fighting in Ukraine after a conversation he had with Mr Putin. 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 launched into a Twitter tirade about an unflattering expose of his first two weeks in the White House. The New York Times article contains embarrassing reports of the President's aides conversing in the dark because they cannot find the light switch, the President watching cable TV in his bathrobe and marking up negative news stories with a black sharpie. Mr Trump has hit back at the report and suggested the publication has written total fiction about him and fabricated their sources. The failing NY Times writes total fiction concerning me. They have gotten it wrong for two years, and now are making up stories & sources! the billionaire property mogul wrote on Twitter on Monday. The report was based on anonymous accounts from government officials, congressional aides and other insiders. The failing NY Times was forced to apologise to its subscribers for the poor reporting it did on my election win. Now they are worse! the 70-year-old later added. New York City bodegas strike to protest Trump's travel ban Show all 27 1 /27 New York City bodegas strike to protest Trump's travel ban New York City bodegas strike to protest Trump's travel ban Ethnic Yemenis and supporters protest against President Donald Trump's executive order temporarily banning immigrants and refugees from seven Muslim-majority countries, including Yemen on February 2, 2017 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. At least 1,000 Yemeni-owned bodegas and grocery-stores across the city shut down from noon to 8 p.m. today to protest the order. Spencer Platt/Getty New York City bodegas strike to protest Trump's travel ban People rally at Brooklyn Borough Hall as Yemeni bodega and grocery-stores shut down to protest US President Donald Trump's Executive Order banning immigrants and refugees from seven Muslim-majority countries, including Yemen, on February 2, 2017 in New York. Bryan R. Smith/AFP/Getty New York City bodegas strike to protest Trump's travel ban Men pray during a protest by ethnic Yemenis and supporters over President Donald Trump's executive order temporarily banning immigrants and refugees from seven Muslim-majority countries, including Yemen on February 2, 2017 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. At least 1,000 Yemeni-owned bodegas and grocery-stores across the city shut down from noon to 8 p.m. today to protest the order. Spencer Platt/Getty New York City bodegas strike to protest Trump's travel ban Ethnic Yemenis and supporters protest against President Donald Trump's executive order temporarily banning immigrants and refugees from seven Muslim-majority countries, including Yemen on February 2, 2017 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. At least 1,000 Yemeni-owned bodegas and grocery-stores across the city shut down from noon to 8 p.m. today to protest the order. Spencer Platt/Getty New York City bodegas strike to protest Trump's travel ban Men pray during a protest by ethnic Yemenis and supporters over President Donald Trump's executive order temporarily banning immigrants and refugees from seven Muslim-majority countries, including Yemen on February 2, 2017 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. At least 1,000 Yemeni-owned bodegas and grocery-stores across the city shut down from noon to 8 p.m. today to protest the order. Spencer Platt/Getty New York City bodegas strike to protest Trump's travel ban People rally at Brooklyn Borough Hall as Yemeni bodega and grocery-stores shut down to protest US President Donald Trump's Executive Order banning immigrants and refugees from seven Muslim-majority countries, including Yemen, on February 2, 2017 in New York. Spencer Platt/Getty New York City bodegas strike to protest Trump's travel ban People rally at Brooklyn Borough Hall as Yemeni bodega and grocery-stores shut down to protest US President Donald Trump's Executive Order banning immigrants and refugees from seven Muslim-majority countries, including Yemen, on February 2, 2017 in New York. Bryan R. Smith/AFP/Getty New York City bodegas strike to protest Trump's travel ban People rally at Brooklyn Borough Hall as Yemeni bodega and grocery-stores shut down to protest US President Donald Trump's Executive Order banning immigrants and refugees from seven Muslim-majority countries, including Yemen, on February 2, 2017 in New York. Spencer Platt/Getty New York City bodegas strike to protest Trump's travel ban People rally at Brooklyn Borough Hall as Yemeni bodega and grocery-stores shut down to protest US President Donald Trump's Executive Order banning immigrants and refugees from seven Muslim-majority countries, including Yemen, on February 2, 2017 in New York. Spencer Platt/Getty New York City bodegas strike to protest Trump's travel ban People gather for evening prayer at a rally at Brooklyn Borough Hall as Yemeni bodega and grocery-stores shut down to protest US President Donald Trump's Executive Order banning immigrants and refugees from seven Muslim-majority countries, including Yemen, on February 2, 2017 in New York. Bryan R. Smith/AFP/Getty New York City bodegas strike to protest Trump's travel ban People rally at Brooklyn Borough Hall as Yemeni bodega and grocery-stores shut down to protest US President Donald Trump's Executive Order banning immigrants and refugees from seven Muslim-majority countries, including Yemen, on February 2, 2017 in New York. Bryan R. Smith/AFP/Getty New York City bodegas strike to protest Trump's travel ban People rally with flags at Brooklyn Borough Hall as Yemeni bodega and grocery-stores shut down to protest US President Donald Trump's Executive Order banning immigrants and refugees from seven Muslim-majority countries, including Yemen, on February 2, 2017 in New York. Bryan R. Smith/AFP/Getty New York City bodegas strike to protest Trump's travel ban People rally at Brooklyn Borough Hall as Yemeni bodega and grocery-stores shut down to protest US President Donald Trump's Executive Order banning immigrants and refugees from seven Muslim-majority countries, including Yemen, on February 2, 2017 in New York. Spencer Platt/Getty New York City bodegas strike to protest Trump's travel ban People rally at Brooklyn Borough Hall as Yemeni bodega and grocery-stores shut down to protest US President Donald Trump's Executive Order banning immigrants and refugees from seven Muslim-majority countries, including Yemen, on February 2, 2017 in New York. Spencer Platt/Getty New York City bodegas strike to protest Trump's travel ban People rally at Brooklyn Borough Hall as Yemeni bodega and grocery-stores shut down to protest US President Donald Trump's Executive Order banning immigrants and refugees from seven Muslim-majority countries, including Yemen, on February 2, 2017 in New York. Spencer Platt/Getty New York City bodegas strike to protest Trump's travel ban People rally at Brooklyn Borough Hall as Yemeni bodega and grocery-stores shut down to protest US President Donald Trump's Executive Order banning immigrants and refugees from seven Muslim-majority countries, including Yemen, on February 2, 2017 in New York. Spencer Platt/Getty New York City bodegas strike to protest Trump's travel ban People rally at Brooklyn Borough Hall as Yemeni bodega and grocery-stores shut down to protest US President Donald Trump's Executive Order banning immigrants and refugees from seven Muslim-majority countries, including Yemen, on February 2, 2017 in New York. Spencer Platt/Getty New York City bodegas strike to protest Trump's travel ban People rally with flags at Brooklyn Borough Hall as Yemeni bodega and grocery-stores shut down to protest US President Donald Trump's Executive Order banning immigrants and refugees from seven Muslim-majority countries, including Yemen, on February 2, 2017 in New York. Bryan R. Smith/AFP/Getty New York City bodegas strike to protest Trump's travel ban People rally with flags at Brooklyn Borough Hall as Yemeni bodega and grocery-stores shut down to protest US President Donald Trump's Executive Order banning immigrants and refugees from seven Muslim-majority countries, including Yemen, on February 2, 2017 in New York. Bryan R. Smith/AFP/Getty New York City bodegas strike to protest Trump's travel ban People rally with flags at Brooklyn Borough Hall as Yemeni bodega and grocery-stores shut down to protest US President Donald Trump's Executive Order banning immigrants and refugees from seven Muslim-majority countries, including Yemen, on February 2, 2017 in New York. Bryan R. Smith/AFP/Getty New York City bodegas strike to protest Trump's travel ban People rally at Brooklyn Borough Hall as Yemeni bodega and grocery-stores shut down to protest US President Donald Trump's Executive Order banning immigrants and refugees from seven Muslim-majority countries, including Yemen, on February 2, 2017 in New York. Bryan R. Smith/AFP/Getty New York City bodegas strike to protest Trump's travel ban People rally with flags at Brooklyn Borough Hall as Yemeni bodega and grocery-stores shut down to protest US President Donald Trump's Executive Order banning immigrants and refugees from seven Muslim-majority countries, including Yemen, on February 2, 2017 in New York. Bryan R. Smith/AFP/Getty New York City bodegas strike to protest Trump's travel ban People rally at Brooklyn Borough Hall as Yemeni bodega and grocery-stores shut down to protest President Donald Trump's Executive Order banning immigrants and refugees from seven Muslim-majority countries, including Yemen, on February 2, 2017 in New York. Bryan R. Smith/AFP/Getty New York City bodegas strike to protest Trump's travel ban A Yemeni business owner places a sign on the gate of his store February 2, 2017 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. Across the city, Yemeni owned bodega and grocery-stores will shut down from noon to 8 p.m. to protest President Donald Trump's Executive Order banning immigrants and refugees from seven Muslim-majority countries, including Yemen. It is expected that over 1000 stores will be closed in protest with workers and owners participating in an afternoon rally in Brooklyn. Spencer Platt/Getty New York City bodegas strike to protest Trump's travel ban A Yemeni business owner places a sign on the gate of his store February 2, 2017 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. Across the city, Yemeni owned bodega and grocery-stores will shut down from noon to 8 p.m. to protest President Donald Trump's Executive Order banning immigrants and refugees from seven Muslim-majority countries, including Yemen. It is expected that over 1000 stores will be closed in protest with workers and owners participating in an afternoon rally in Brooklyn. Spencer Platt/Getty New York City bodegas strike to protest Trump's travel ban NEW YORK, NY - FEBRUARY 02: Yemeni business owner Musa closes the gate to his store February 2, 2017 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. Across the city, Yemeni owned bodega and grocery-stores will shut down from noon to 8 p.m. to protest President Donald Trump's Executive Order banning immigrants and refugees from seven Muslim-majority countries, including Yemen. It is expected that over 1000 stores will be closed in protest with workers and owners participating in an afternoon rally in Brooklyn. Spencer Platt/Getty New York City bodegas strike to protest Trump's travel ban A Yemeni business owner closes the gate to his store February 2, 2017 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. Across the city, Yemeni owned bodega and grocery-stores will shut down from noon to 8 p.m. to protest President Donald Trump's Executive Order banning immigrants and refugees from seven Muslim-majority countries, including Yemen. It is expected that over 1000 stores will be closed in protest with workers and owners participating in an afternoon rally in Brooklyn. Spencer Platt/Getty Mr Trump has an ongoing vendetta against Americas second largest newspaper and has frequently vented his frustrations against its coverage of him and claimed its subscription rates are falling. However, the paper has actually seen readership figures climb and recently announced it has gained the most digital subscribers since 2011. The Presidents press secretary Sean Spicer has also slammed the report and demanded an apology from the New York Times. Sean Spicer: Trump 'doesn't own a bathrobe' That report was so riddled with inaccuracies and lies that they owe the president an apology, Spicer told reporters on the Air Force One on Monday. There were just literally blatant factual errors and its unacceptable to see that kind of reporting or so-called reporting. Spicer also took issue with the reports claim Mr Trump wears a bathrobe, saying the President does not even own one. "I don't think the president owns a bathrobe; he definitely doesnt wear one, he said. From top to bottom they made up stories that just dont exist. And I think thats unfortunate. Quickly after Spicer made the comments, images of Mr Trump wearing a bathrobe flooded social media. The Times report paints a picture of a small, chaotic and fractious team of advisors being forced to rethink their tactics after facing significant backlash. It also claimed Mr Trump is frustrated by his teams inability to control the backlash against his executive orders and is feeling increasingly pinched by the pressures of the job. He was also reported to have been adamant the early stages of his presidency were going well until the barrage of bad headlines. 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 }} Military officials got Donald Trump to agree to the botched Yemen raid by suggesting Barack Obama would never have had the courage to do it, it has been reported. The raid, which had been planned for two months before Mr Trumps arrival in the Oval Office, killed 30 civilians and one US Navy SEAL but failed to kill its alleged target, al Qaeda leader Qassim al Rimi. The raid on a suspected al Qaeda camp in a remote village in Yemens central Bayda province on 29 January was Mr Trumps first military operation as Commander in Chief and the White House insisted it was a successful operation by all standards. Trump claims 'Obama likes him, but probably won't admit it' It is currently unclear how al Rimi escaped or if he was even at the site at the time of the raid but he later released a video taunting Mr Trump as a fool. Mr Obama had reportedly been told about the plan to kill al Rimi, who took over control of the Yemeni affiliate of the terror organisation in 2015, but held off approving it because his advisors had wanted to wait until a moonless night which would not have happened again till after he left office, the New York Times reported. But Defence Secretary, General James "Mad Dog" Mattis, and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Joseph Dunford, reportedly convinced Mr Trump to go ahead with the raid by suggesting Mr Obama would never have been so bold as to actually go through with it. They suggested that the death of al Rimi would be a game changer in the fight against al-Qaeda, according to a senior White House official. World reaction to President Trump: In pictures Show all 29 1 /29 World reaction to President Trump: In pictures World reaction to President Trump: In pictures London, England AP World reaction to President Trump: In pictures London, England Reuters World reaction to President Trump: In pictures Manila, Philippines Getty Images World reaction to President Trump: In pictures Manila, Philippines Getty World reaction to President Trump: In pictures Mosul , Iraq Getty World reaction to President Trump: In pictures Manila, Philippines AP World reaction to President Trump: In pictures New Delhi, India Reuters World reaction to President Trump: In pictures Karachi, Pakistan EPA World reaction to President Trump: In pictures Jakarta, Indonesia Reuters World reaction to President Trump: In pictures Lagos, Nigeria AP World reaction to President Trump: In pictures Kabul, Afghanistan AP World reaction to President Trump: In pictures Jerusalem. Israel Reuters World reaction to President Trump: In pictures Moscow, Russia Reuters World reaction to President Trump: In pictures Seoul, South Korea AP World reaction to President Trump: In pictures Lagos, Nigeria AP World reaction to President Trump: In pictures Peshawar, Pakistan EPA World reaction to President Trump: In pictures Jakarta, Indonesia Reuters World reaction to President Trump: In pictures Hyderabad, India AP World reaction to President Trump: In pictures Kolkata, India AP World reaction to President Trump: In pictures Sydney, Australia Getty World reaction to President Trump: In pictures Sydney, Australia AP World reaction to President Trump: In pictures Aleppo, Syria Reuters World reaction to President Trump: In pictures Mexico City, Mexico AP World reaction to President Trump: In pictures Port-of-Spain, Trinidad and Tobago Reuters World reaction to President Trump: In pictures Jerusalem, Israel EPA World reaction to President Trump: In pictures Baghdad, Iraq Rex World reaction to President Trump: In pictures Gaza Strip, Palestinian Territories Rex World reaction to President Trump: In pictures Tokyo, Japan Rex World reaction to President Trump: In pictures Mexico City, Mexico Getty A senior US intelligence official told NBC News that almost everything went wrong once the raid got underway and people in the targeted house had been alerted to their presence by something possibly a barking dog, drones or walkie-talkie chatter and the raiding force on the ground soon came under fire. Chief Petty Officer William Ryan Owens of SEAL Team 6 was mortally wounded and it was later revealed an eight-year-old US citizen Nawr al Awlaki, daughter of American-born al Qaeda leader Anwar al Awlaki, was also killed in the raid. Despite the alleged failure to kill their target, who has been described as the third most wanted terrorist in the world, the Pentagon insisted that it was able to retrieve materials and information that is yielding valuable intelligence. Related Naguib Sawiris to sue his own Free Egyptians Party over new bylaws Leader of Free Egyptians Party resigns, jeopardises parliamentary seat The founder of the Free Egyptians Party, business tycoon Naguib Sawiris, will hold a press conference next week in solidary with party members who have recently been expelled for disagreeing with the partys current leadership. A statement by the partys board of trustees which revealed Sawiris plans called on all current and former members who were prevented from renewing their membership to participate in the conference. The press conference is scheduled for 14 February. The Free Egyptians Party is the largest political party in the 596-member House of Representatives, with a total of 65 seats. It is currently headed by Essam Khalil, who was elected as party leader last year. In December, Sawiris, who cofounded the party in 2011, said he would take legal action against a decision by the general assembly of the party to change its bylaws. The liberal-oriented party decided at its annual general assembly - in the absence of Sawiris - to eliminate the partys board of trustees, among other changes to the party's bylaws. The general assemblys meeting to amend the bylaws violates Article 59 of the bylaws themselves, which stipulate the board of trustees must approve any bylaw amendments, the board of trustees said in its statement in December. Describing it as a coup, the board of trustees added that it will pursue its legal rights via the party's internal mechanisms and also via the Egyptian legal system. The board of trustees declares its full rejection of this illegal coup by those who claim to be working for the interest of the country, without realising that Egypts main project at this stage is to fully complete the democratic transition, read the board of trustees statement. Sawiris, one of Egypts wealthiest men and a prominent public figure, publicly expressed his rejection of the assembly's decisions in a series of tweets. Search Keywords: Short link: 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 man had a tumour weighing 63.5kg removed by doctors who think it was likely that it started with an ingrown hair. Roger Logan, had been living with the growth for more than 10 years, watching on helplessly as it became infected, swelled and developed its own blood supply. Doctors had previously told the 57-year-old from Mississippi that he was "just fat", he said. But the tumour grew so big that it hung to the floor when Mr Logan sat down. Unable to move, Mr Logan spent most of his time in an armchair in his room. But after an operation at Bakersfield Memorial Hospital,in California, the tumour has now been removed. The tumour is believed to have sprouted from an ingrown hair in his lower stomach, surgeon Dr Vipul Dev told the Bakersfield Californian newspaper. "I used to equate it, you just put a strap around your neck and carry three bags of cement around with you all day long, just swinging," Mr Logan told US news channel Kero-TV. By the time the tumour reached 130-140lbs doctors told Mr Logan it was too risky for him to have surgery and only gave him a 50 per cent chance of survival. But his wife Kitty was determined to help her husband have the operation and she scoured the country for a specialist. "She just kept pushing. She wouldn't let me quit, said Mr Logan. Eventually Ms Logan found a doctor, who agreed to carry out the operation, 2,000 miles from their home. 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 couple made the 40-hour road trip to California with his chair attached to the floor of a cargo van as he was unable to board an aircraft. It was just like I was in my living room at home, he said. Since the operation, Mr Logan has been able to walk for the first time in nearly three years. "My feet are together.They haven't been together in years, he said, adding that he was looking forward to life out of his armchair. 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 judge has ruled that a man convicted of rape cannot have sex with anyone until he is married. Cody Duane Scott Herrera, 19 and from Twin Falls, Idaho, was sentenced to a period of five to 15 years in prison last week after pleading guilty to the statutory rape of a 14-year-old girl in March 2015 with the possibility of the sentence being suspended if he successfully completes a year-long therapeutic prison programme. In an unusual proclamation, the judge then added that, should the defendant complete the programme and be released on probation, he would not be permitted to have sex with anyone unless he is married to them, according to the Idaho Times-News newspaper. Judge Randy Stoker, told Mr Herrera in court: "If youre ever on probation with this court, a condition of that will be you will not have sexual relations with anyone except who youre married to, if youre married. The fifth district judge reportedly explained that the condition would be put in place in part because Mr Herrera told pre-sentence investigators he had had 34 sexual partners. I have never seen that level of sexual activity by a 19-year-old, Judge Stoker added. Lawyers and legal scholars are now debating whether Judge Stoker's conditions will be legally enforceable, with some claiming it breaches constitutional rights. Shaakirrah Sanders, an associate professor at the University of Idahos College of Law, told Times-News: I would suspect a judge cant do that. I think it infringes on his constitutional rights. 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 Twin Falls County Prosecutor Grant Loebs meanwhile told the newspaper he believed Judge Stoker would be able to impose the probation condition, on the grounds that it is a move to keep the defendant from "committing another offence." Mr Loebs pointed out that abstaining from alcohol was a condition of many probation orders. He said: The judge has the ability to tell people to do or not do all sorts of things that are [otherwise] legal and constitutional. 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 }} US First Lady Melania Trump has re-filed a libel lawsuit against the Mail Online's publisher, Mail Media Inc, for reporting on rumours she worked as an escort. In the new filing, made this time in New York, the first lady's attorneys argue the report damaged her ability to profit off her high profile. Ms Trump, the filing states, had a "one-in-a-lifetime opportunity" to launch a commercial brand of multiple products. It says each product "could have garnered multi-million dollar business relationships" during the term in which Ms Trump is First Lady and thus "one of the most photographed women in the world." The lawsuit says those products could have included apparel, accessories, jewellery, cosmetics, hair care and fragrance, among others. Ms Trump filed the previous lawsuit against Mail Media Inc after it ran a story citing a Slovenian magazine's report that a modelling agency she worked with in New York in the 1990s also served as an escort business, linking wealthy clients with women for sexual services. The Mail Online has since retracted the story, which it headlined: Naked photoshoots, and troubling questions about visas that wont go away: The VERY racy past of Donald Trumps Slovenian wife." The posting said it did not intend to state or suggest that these allegations are true, nor did it intend to state or suggest that Mrs. Trump ever worked as an 'escort' or in the 'sex business.' Ms Trump's lawsuit was previously dismissed by a judge in Maryland. In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump Show all 32 1 /32 In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump London An image of President Donald Trump is seen on a placard during the Women's March in London, England Getty In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump Sydney A view of the skywriting word reading 'Trump' as thousands rally in support of equal rights in Sydney, New South Wales EPA In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump Rome People shout and hold signs during a rally against US newly sworn-in President Donald Trump in Rome Getty Images In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump London A protester holds a placard during the Women's March in London, England Getty Images In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump Marseille A placard ready 'Pussy grabs back' is attached to the handle bar of a bike during a 'Women's March' organized by Feminist and human rights groups in solidarity with women marching in Washington and around the world for their rights and against the reactionary politics of the newly sworn-in US President Donald Trump, at the Old Port (Vieux Port) of Marseille, southern France Getty Images In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump Bangkok A young Thai girl holds a "women's rights are human rights" sign at Roadhouse BBQ restaurant where many of the Bangkok Womens March participants gathered in Bangkok, Thailand Getty Images In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump Bangkok A Thai woman takes a photo of a "hate is not great" sign at the women's solidarity gathering in Bangkok, Thailand Getty Images In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump Bangkok American expats and travellers gather with the international community in Bangkok at the Roadhouse BBQ restaurant to stand in solidarity in Bangkok, Thailand Getty Images In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump London Protetesters gather outside The US Embassy in Grosvenor Square ahead of the Women's March in London, England Getty Images In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump Marseille Women's March at the Old Port (Vieux Port) of Marseille, southern France Getty Images In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump Marseille Protestors hold placards reading 'My body my choice, my vote my voice' during a 'Women's March' organized by Feminist and human rights groups in solidarity with women marching in Washington and around the world for their rights and against the reactionary politics of the newly sworn-in US President Donald Trump, at the Old Port (Vieux Port) of Marseille, southern France Getty Images In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump Rome A person holds a sign during a rally against US newly sworn-in President Donald Trump in Rome Getty Images In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump Kolkata Activist Sarah Annay Williamson holds a placard and shouts slogan during the Women's March rally in Kolkata, India AP In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump Kolkata Activists participate in the Women's March rally in Kolkata, India AP In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump London A Women's March placards are rested on a bench outside the US Embassy in Grosvenor Square ahead of the Women's March in London, England Getty Images In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump London A women carries her placard ahead of the Women's March in London, England Getty Images In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump Manila Women protesters shout slogans while displaying placards during a rally in solidarity against the inauguration of President Donald Trump, in suburban Quezon city, northeast of Manila, Philippines AP In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump Berlin Protesters attend a 'Berlin Women's March on Washington' demonstration in front of the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, Germany AP In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump Berlin Protesters attend a 'Berlin Women's March on Washington' demonstration in front of the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, Germany AP In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump Berlin Protesters attend a 'Berlin Women's March on Washington' demonstration in front of the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, Germany AP In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump Melbourne Protesters take part in the Melbourne rally to protest against the Trump Inauguration in Melbourne, Australia Getty Images In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump Macau Protesters take part in the Women's March rally in Macau Getty Images In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump Melbourne Womens march on Melbourne protestors marching during a rally where rights groups marched in solidarity with Americans to speak out against misogyny, bigotry and hatred Rex In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump Macau Protesters hold placards as they take part at the Women's March rally in Macau Getty Images In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump Macau Protesters hold placards as they take part at the Women's March rally in Macau, Macau. The Women's March originated in Washington DC but soon spread to be a global march calling on all concerned citizens to stand up for equality, diversity and inclusion and for women's rights to be recognised around the world as human rights Getty Images In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump Manila A mother carries her son as they join a rally in solidarity against the inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump as the 45th President of the United States in suburban Quezon city northeast of Manila, Philippines AP In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump Sydney An infant is held up at a demonstration against new U.S. President Donald Trump in Sydney, Australia Getty Images In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump Sydney A woman attends a demonstration against new U.S. President Donald Trump in Sydney, Australia Getty Images In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump Sydney A woman expresses her Anti-Trump views in Sydney, Australia Getty Images In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump Sydeney Protesters demonstrate against new U.S. President Donald Trump in Sydney, Australia. The marches in Australia were organised to show solidarity with those marching on Washington DC and around the world in defense of women's rights and human rights Getty In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump London Protesters march from The US Embassy in Grosvenor Square towards Trafalgar Square during the Women's March in London, England Getty In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump London Protesters carrying banners take part in the Women's March on London, as they stand in Trafalgar Square, in central London Reuters The lawsuit, now filed in New York, where the corporation has offices, seeks compensatory and punitive damages of at least $150m (121m). She is also suing US blogger Webster Tarpley for reporting the rumours. The lawsuit against Mr Tarpley has been allowed to go ahead in Maryland. 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 }} Melania Trump's immigration lawyer, who has also represented her husband's organisation in visa battles, is now fighting his presidential executive order barring travel from seven predominantly Muslim countries. Michael Wildes, a New York-based attorney and former Democrat mayor who voted for Hillary Clinton, has been vocal in his criticism on the ban in a string of media appearances. Mr Trump's executive order barred citizens from Yemen, Iraq, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Syria, from travelling to the US for 90 days. It resulted in travellers being detained or deported even if they had a valid visa or green card. The measures, which have since been suspended, also prevented refugee resettlement in the US for 120 days and barred Syrian refugees indefinitely. Ms Trump, described Mr Wildes as "my immigration attorney" as she attempted to clear up questions surrounding her own immigration to the US. Mr Wildes signed a letter released by the First Lady in September 2016, which denied accusations that she had worked in the US without a visa. "I can unequivocally state that these allegations are not supported by the record and therefore completely without merit," he wrote. Documents subsequently released by the Associated Press, appear to suggest that Ms Trump had modelled illegally in the US for a number of weeks. Despite his support for the First Lady in the past, Mr Wildes appears less than impressed with her husband's attempt to bar travellers from some Muslim countries. New York City bodegas strike to protest Trump's travel ban Show all 27 1 /27 New York City bodegas strike to protest Trump's travel ban New York City bodegas strike to protest Trump's travel ban Ethnic Yemenis and supporters protest against President Donald Trump's executive order temporarily banning immigrants and refugees from seven Muslim-majority countries, including Yemen on February 2, 2017 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. At least 1,000 Yemeni-owned bodegas and grocery-stores across the city shut down from noon to 8 p.m. today to protest the order. Spencer Platt/Getty New York City bodegas strike to protest Trump's travel ban People rally at Brooklyn Borough Hall as Yemeni bodega and grocery-stores shut down to protest US President Donald Trump's Executive Order banning immigrants and refugees from seven Muslim-majority countries, including Yemen, on February 2, 2017 in New York. Bryan R. Smith/AFP/Getty New York City bodegas strike to protest Trump's travel ban Men pray during a protest by ethnic Yemenis and supporters over President Donald Trump's executive order temporarily banning immigrants and refugees from seven Muslim-majority countries, including Yemen on February 2, 2017 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. At least 1,000 Yemeni-owned bodegas and grocery-stores across the city shut down from noon to 8 p.m. today to protest the order. Spencer Platt/Getty New York City bodegas strike to protest Trump's travel ban Ethnic Yemenis and supporters protest against President Donald Trump's executive order temporarily banning immigrants and refugees from seven Muslim-majority countries, including Yemen on February 2, 2017 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. At least 1,000 Yemeni-owned bodegas and grocery-stores across the city shut down from noon to 8 p.m. today to protest the order. Spencer Platt/Getty New York City bodegas strike to protest Trump's travel ban Men pray during a protest by ethnic Yemenis and supporters over President Donald Trump's executive order temporarily banning immigrants and refugees from seven Muslim-majority countries, including Yemen on February 2, 2017 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. At least 1,000 Yemeni-owned bodegas and grocery-stores across the city shut down from noon to 8 p.m. today to protest the order. Spencer Platt/Getty New York City bodegas strike to protest Trump's travel ban People rally at Brooklyn Borough Hall as Yemeni bodega and grocery-stores shut down to protest US President Donald Trump's Executive Order banning immigrants and refugees from seven Muslim-majority countries, including Yemen, on February 2, 2017 in New York. Spencer Platt/Getty New York City bodegas strike to protest Trump's travel ban People rally at Brooklyn Borough Hall as Yemeni bodega and grocery-stores shut down to protest US President Donald Trump's Executive Order banning immigrants and refugees from seven Muslim-majority countries, including Yemen, on February 2, 2017 in New York. Bryan R. Smith/AFP/Getty New York City bodegas strike to protest Trump's travel ban People rally at Brooklyn Borough Hall as Yemeni bodega and grocery-stores shut down to protest US President Donald Trump's Executive Order banning immigrants and refugees from seven Muslim-majority countries, including Yemen, on February 2, 2017 in New York. Spencer Platt/Getty New York City bodegas strike to protest Trump's travel ban People rally at Brooklyn Borough Hall as Yemeni bodega and grocery-stores shut down to protest US President Donald Trump's Executive Order banning immigrants and refugees from seven Muslim-majority countries, including Yemen, on February 2, 2017 in New York. Spencer Platt/Getty New York City bodegas strike to protest Trump's travel ban People gather for evening prayer at a rally at Brooklyn Borough Hall as Yemeni bodega and grocery-stores shut down to protest US President Donald Trump's Executive Order banning immigrants and refugees from seven Muslim-majority countries, including Yemen, on February 2, 2017 in New York. Bryan R. Smith/AFP/Getty New York City bodegas strike to protest Trump's travel ban People rally at Brooklyn Borough Hall as Yemeni bodega and grocery-stores shut down to protest US President Donald Trump's Executive Order banning immigrants and refugees from seven Muslim-majority countries, including Yemen, on February 2, 2017 in New York. Bryan R. Smith/AFP/Getty New York City bodegas strike to protest Trump's travel ban People rally with flags at Brooklyn Borough Hall as Yemeni bodega and grocery-stores shut down to protest US President Donald Trump's Executive Order banning immigrants and refugees from seven Muslim-majority countries, including Yemen, on February 2, 2017 in New York. Bryan R. Smith/AFP/Getty New York City bodegas strike to protest Trump's travel ban People rally at Brooklyn Borough Hall as Yemeni bodega and grocery-stores shut down to protest US President Donald Trump's Executive Order banning immigrants and refugees from seven Muslim-majority countries, including Yemen, on February 2, 2017 in New York. Spencer Platt/Getty New York City bodegas strike to protest Trump's travel ban People rally at Brooklyn Borough Hall as Yemeni bodega and grocery-stores shut down to protest US President Donald Trump's Executive Order banning immigrants and refugees from seven Muslim-majority countries, including Yemen, on February 2, 2017 in New York. Spencer Platt/Getty New York City bodegas strike to protest Trump's travel ban People rally at Brooklyn Borough Hall as Yemeni bodega and grocery-stores shut down to protest US President Donald Trump's Executive Order banning immigrants and refugees from seven Muslim-majority countries, including Yemen, on February 2, 2017 in New York. Spencer Platt/Getty New York City bodegas strike to protest Trump's travel ban People rally at Brooklyn Borough Hall as Yemeni bodega and grocery-stores shut down to protest US President Donald Trump's Executive Order banning immigrants and refugees from seven Muslim-majority countries, including Yemen, on February 2, 2017 in New York. Spencer Platt/Getty New York City bodegas strike to protest Trump's travel ban People rally at Brooklyn Borough Hall as Yemeni bodega and grocery-stores shut down to protest US President Donald Trump's Executive Order banning immigrants and refugees from seven Muslim-majority countries, including Yemen, on February 2, 2017 in New York. Spencer Platt/Getty New York City bodegas strike to protest Trump's travel ban People rally with flags at Brooklyn Borough Hall as Yemeni bodega and grocery-stores shut down to protest US President Donald Trump's Executive Order banning immigrants and refugees from seven Muslim-majority countries, including Yemen, on February 2, 2017 in New York. Bryan R. Smith/AFP/Getty New York City bodegas strike to protest Trump's travel ban People rally with flags at Brooklyn Borough Hall as Yemeni bodega and grocery-stores shut down to protest US President Donald Trump's Executive Order banning immigrants and refugees from seven Muslim-majority countries, including Yemen, on February 2, 2017 in New York. Bryan R. Smith/AFP/Getty New York City bodegas strike to protest Trump's travel ban People rally with flags at Brooklyn Borough Hall as Yemeni bodega and grocery-stores shut down to protest US President Donald Trump's Executive Order banning immigrants and refugees from seven Muslim-majority countries, including Yemen, on February 2, 2017 in New York. Bryan R. Smith/AFP/Getty New York City bodegas strike to protest Trump's travel ban People rally at Brooklyn Borough Hall as Yemeni bodega and grocery-stores shut down to protest US President Donald Trump's Executive Order banning immigrants and refugees from seven Muslim-majority countries, including Yemen, on February 2, 2017 in New York. Bryan R. Smith/AFP/Getty New York City bodegas strike to protest Trump's travel ban People rally with flags at Brooklyn Borough Hall as Yemeni bodega and grocery-stores shut down to protest US President Donald Trump's Executive Order banning immigrants and refugees from seven Muslim-majority countries, including Yemen, on February 2, 2017 in New York. Bryan R. Smith/AFP/Getty New York City bodegas strike to protest Trump's travel ban People rally at Brooklyn Borough Hall as Yemeni bodega and grocery-stores shut down to protest President Donald Trump's Executive Order banning immigrants and refugees from seven Muslim-majority countries, including Yemen, on February 2, 2017 in New York. Bryan R. Smith/AFP/Getty New York City bodegas strike to protest Trump's travel ban A Yemeni business owner places a sign on the gate of his store February 2, 2017 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. Across the city, Yemeni owned bodega and grocery-stores will shut down from noon to 8 p.m. to protest President Donald Trump's Executive Order banning immigrants and refugees from seven Muslim-majority countries, including Yemen. It is expected that over 1000 stores will be closed in protest with workers and owners participating in an afternoon rally in Brooklyn. Spencer Platt/Getty New York City bodegas strike to protest Trump's travel ban A Yemeni business owner places a sign on the gate of his store February 2, 2017 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. Across the city, Yemeni owned bodega and grocery-stores will shut down from noon to 8 p.m. to protest President Donald Trump's Executive Order banning immigrants and refugees from seven Muslim-majority countries, including Yemen. It is expected that over 1000 stores will be closed in protest with workers and owners participating in an afternoon rally in Brooklyn. Spencer Platt/Getty New York City bodegas strike to protest Trump's travel ban NEW YORK, NY - FEBRUARY 02: Yemeni business owner Musa closes the gate to his store February 2, 2017 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. Across the city, Yemeni owned bodega and grocery-stores will shut down from noon to 8 p.m. to protest President Donald Trump's Executive Order banning immigrants and refugees from seven Muslim-majority countries, including Yemen. It is expected that over 1000 stores will be closed in protest with workers and owners participating in an afternoon rally in Brooklyn. Spencer Platt/Getty New York City bodegas strike to protest Trump's travel ban A Yemeni business owner closes the gate to his store February 2, 2017 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. Across the city, Yemeni owned bodega and grocery-stores will shut down from noon to 8 p.m. to protest President Donald Trump's Executive Order banning immigrants and refugees from seven Muslim-majority countries, including Yemen. It is expected that over 1000 stores will be closed in protest with workers and owners participating in an afternoon rally in Brooklyn. Spencer Platt/Getty "This ban, which originally included green card holders, is something we have never seen before," a post on his lew firm's website reads. "It is important to know that this is not a permanent ban. The travel ban for the 7 countries listed above is 90 days, and the refugees ban is 4 months. In a separate interview with the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, Mr Wildes, 52, said that his client list had quadrupled since the ban. I have a client whos Iranian and has dual citizenship in Switzerland, but is a permanent resident here. She was afraid to fly home to visit her sick other out of fear she wont be allowed back in. So we started her citizenship application immediately. Judge James Robart blocks Trump's travel ban Mr Wildes, whose father Leon Wildes famously defended John Lennon from US deportation in the 1970s, also referenced that the case of Nassir Monim Mansour, a Sudanese-born US citizen and neurosurgeon whose parents feared deportation on a return flight from Sudan and cancelled their tickets as a result. A doctor and cancer researcher shouldnt have to worry about how his parents are treated by customs officials," he said. "He should just be focused on treating his patients." 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 }} Department of Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly admitted he should have delayed the Muslim ban, taking the blame for an executive order that he reportedly was not even fully involved with. "In retrospect, I should have, this is all on me by the way, I should have delayed it just it a bit, so that I could talk to member of congress, particularly the leadership of committees like this, to prepare them for what was coming," he testified before the Homeland Security Committee, "although I think most people would agree that this has been a topic of President Trump during the campaign and transition process." He was responding to a question about what lessons he had learned after President Trump signed an executive order 12 days ago to bar nearly all travellers from seven Muslim-majority countries and which was then blocked a week later by a federal court in Washington. Over the weekend Mr Trump was dealt a major blow when his emergency appeal to overturn the courts ruling was denied. He has now threatened the case will go to the Supreme Court. The order was reportedly crafted by Mr Trumps chief strategist, Steve Bannon, including banning green card holders. Mr Kelly testified that the order had been designed before he took on the role at the DHS, and he and his "very small staff" made some "small cuts" before it was signed into law. It was reported that he and his staff were only allowed to see the order after Mr Trump signed it, and lawyers from the National Security Council were stopped from evaluating it. "The desire was to get it out, the thinking was to get it out quick, so that potentially people that be coming here to harm us would not take advantage of a period of time to jump on a plane and get here," he said. Less than a week before at a press conference, he had defended the roll-out of the ban and that he and his agency had been fully involved in its drafting. He insisted that all detainees were treated humanely and reports of them standing around for hours did not happen. Regarding travellers being insulted, he said "insults are in the eyes of the beholder". White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer said the number of detainees was only 109, but this number was disputed by Mr Kelly after he was pressed by reporters on higher figures. He promised that for any future similar executive orders, he would take the time to "inform Congress". The Muslim ban led to Mr Trump firing former acting attorney general Sally Yates, who refused to defend the ban in court. The order led to a flurry of lawsuits which allowed legal, permanent residents to stay in the US even if they landed at an airport after the order was signed. Several lawsuits granted reprieve for individuals or families to stay in the country. The largest setback was the lawsuit brought by Washington attorney general Bob Ferguson, who argued the ban was unconstitutional and should be halted. "No one is above the President," said Mr Ferguson. "Even the President." Judge James Robart ruled in favour of the case, prompting Mr Trump to threaten the "so-called judge" with an emergency appeal by the Justice Department. "It will be overturned", the President wrote. 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 }} Two public schools in the Bronx recently found elevated levels of lead in their water, with one testing 16 times higher than Flint, Michigan. The city Department of Education issued a letter to parents on Monday informing them that lead levels are higher than the EPAs action level of 15 parts per billion, NBC New York reports. Ten of the 63 fixtures at PS 41 in Olinville are currently running high lead levels including four drinking fountains and several water faucets. Two water faucets tested at 442 parts per billion, the most toxic at the school. We're not saying it's not safe but we want to make sure we have precautionary measures in place for any child washing their hands or any worker washing their hand or anyone drinking water, that it's ok, City Council Member Andy King told local Pix 11. In pictures: Flint water crisis Show all 10 1 /10 In pictures: Flint water crisis In pictures: Flint water crisis Anthony Fordham picks up bottled water from the Food Bank of Eastern Michigan to deliver to a school after elevated lead levels were found in the city's water in Flint Reuters In pictures: Flint water crisis Michigan National Guard Staff Sergeant William Phillips (L) assists a Flint resident with bottled water at a fire station in Flint Reuters In pictures: Flint water crisis Flint residents Arthur Woodson, left, and Tony Palladino Jr. protest the arrival of Flint native and filmmaker Michael Moore as Moore accuses Gov.Rick Snyder of poisoning Flint water during a rally outside of city hall in Flint AP In pictures: Flint water crisis Flint residents pick up bottled water and water filters at a fire station in Flint. Michigan National Guard members were set to arrive in Flint to join door-to-door efforts to distribute bottled water and other supplies to residents coping with the city's crisis over lead-contaminated drinking water Reuters In pictures: Flint water crisis Soldiers from the Michigan Army National Guard Flint prepare to give Flint residents bottled water at a fire station in Flint Getty Images In pictures: Flint water crisis Justin Roberson (L), age 6, of Flint, Michigan and Mychal Adams, age 1, of Flint wait on a stack of bottled water at a rally where the Rev. Jesse Jackson was speaking about about the water crises at the Heavenly Host Baptist Church in Flint Getty Images In pictures: Flint water crisis A man sits next to a stack of bottled water at the Heavenly Host Baptist Church in Flint 2016 Getty Images In pictures: Flint water crisis The top of a water tower is seen at the Flint Water Plant. President Barack Obama declared a state of emergency in Michigan and ordered federal aid to be used to help state and local response efforts to an area affected by contaminated water Reuters In pictures: Flint water crisis Rosie Wright, center, rallies with the crowd over Flint's water crisis in Ann Arbor, Michigan AP In pictures: Flint water crisis Rick Catherman participates in a rally around Flint's water crisis in Ann Arbor, Michigan AP Parents are understandably worried and one father brought his daughter in for lead testing. "We're just trying to follow up and make sure there is nothing in her body," he told the news outlet. Another school, IS 158, found high levels of lead in three classrooms, the girls restrooms, the kitchen, weight room, and boys locker room, the website DNAInfo reports, testing well above the EPA threshold. 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 }} Steve Bannon has been recommending books about nationalism to colleagues and considered hiring someone to monitor nationalist movements around the world as his boss signs executive orders to ban refugees and cut regulations. Donald Trumps chief strategist has been described as a voracious reader, and the books tend to share a similar argument: that Western civilization is being destroyed and only a shock to the system can reverse its decline. He also strongly believes in a theory, espoused in one of his favourite books, The Fourth Turning by William Strauss and Neil Howe, that history unfolds in cycles of 80 to 100 years. At the end of the cycle, the old order is destroyed and replaced. In Mr Bannons view, the next cycle was sparked by the financial crisis and gave rise to the election of Mr Trump. His 2015 documentary, Generation Zero, drew heavily on this theory. Lacy MacAuley, an activist and member of the Washington DC Antifascist Coalition, told The Independent: "I absolutely think Steve Bannon is connected to a network of white nationalists. Just in the last few years there have been contractual obligations between white supremacist James OKeefe at Project Veritas and Breitbart." Mr O'Keefe was known, she said, for taking down institutions and organisations via fake news. "I would say that Steve Bannon is the advocate for white nationalism in the White House and theres no doubt in my mind on that. Its not just through Breitbart, its through his entire line of work." Mr Bannon recruited from this pool to fill out the National Security Council. He reportedly added himself to the NSC without Mr Trump knowing as he drafted the executive order himself. Daryle Lamont Jenkins, executive director of the anti-racist organisation One People's Project, told The Independent, said that paleoconservatives attempt to use theories and academia to justify their racism. Mr Bannon went to Harvard, and Jared Taylor, a prominent white supremacist, went to Yale. "We've been dealing with a cluster of white supremacists within the beltway of the Washington DC area who do just that: they try to back up their racism and justify why they should have a separation of the races, and justify a more strident attack on African Americans in the name of 'fighting crime'," he said. In Mr Bannon's network is Curtis Yarvin, known as "Mencius Moldbug", who gathered a global following after writing in his blog in 2008 that "nonsense is a more effective organising tool than the truth." He also asked Whats so bad about the Nazis? and wrote about how he "stopped believing in democracy". "Moldbug" was escorted out of a computer software conference where he was scheduled to speak due to his blog posts and Breitbart covered the incident as "censorship". Now "Moldbug" has a line to the White House, through an intermediary, and was deeply sceptical that the Russians were behind the "influence campaign" during the election, as reported by Politico. Steve Bannon being talked about will be his kiss of death Michael Anton, a former managing director for investment firm BlackRock, also sits on the NSC. He was a former speech writer for Rudy Giuliani and George W Bush's NSC. He wrote a post called "The Flight 93 Election", under the pseudonym Publius Decius Mus in September 2016, that said "America and the West are on a trajectory toward something very bad." He argued that electing Mr Trump was simply worth trying, rather than elect another member of the bipartisan junta and the end of civilization. "2016 is the Flight 93 election: charge the cockpit or you die," he said. "You may die anyway. Youor the leader of your partymay make it into the cockpit and not know how to fly or land the plane. There are no guarantees." Mr Bannon was reportedly the architect behind the Muslim ban, including barring visa and green card holders. When far right French politician Marine Le Pen came to visit Mr Trump in the White House, he had invited her. The ultra-conservative website that he founded, Breitbart, covered her career extensively. He boasted last July that Breitbart had become the "platform for the alt-right". Now his platform has become the government. 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 }} An agency of the US government has said it will allow the $3.8bn North Dakota Access Pipeline to carry oil beneath the Missouri River close to the site of indigenous American community - a move previously blocked after huge protests. In December, the Army Corps of Engineers said it had turned down permission for the pipeline to pass under Lake Oahe, a reservoir formed by a dam on the river. The then Assistant Army Secretary for Civil Works, Jo-Ellen Darcy, declined to issue permission for the crossing, saying a broader environmental study was warranted given the Standing Rock Siouxs opposition. What is the Dakota Access Pipeline? The Corps launched a study of the crossing on January 18, just two days before Barack Obama left office, that could have taken up to two years to complete. However, the company building the 1,200-mile pipeline that will transfer oil from the Dakotas to a shipping point in Illinois, Energy Transfer Partners, said the decision was politically motivated. President Donald Trump signed an executive action on January 24, telling the Corps to quickly reconsider Ms Darcys decision. He also made it easier for a separate company, TransCanada, to push ahead with another project, the Keystone XL pipeline. Tom Goldtooth, Native American environmental activist, said the protests that swelled to include thousands of people at the site of the Standing Rock Sioux reservation, would now be repeated. Were telling President Trump he will not be able to have this pipeline without a fight, he told The Independent. Expect massive resistance. It will be like nothing he has seen before. He said thousands of people across the country, and millions around the world, had been moved by the plight of the protesters, who had fought not only for the safety of the reservations water source, but also for the civil rights of indigenous people. He said the mechanism for the approval of such projects had been rolled back by Mr Trump. The Standing Rock tribe is used to tyranny, and they are used to colonisation. They have been facing this for the last 500 years. Lawyer Jan Hasselman said the tribe would challenge the decision. The Obama administration correctly found that the tribe's treaty rights needed to be respected, and that the easement should not be granted without further review and consideration of alternative crossing locations, he told the Associated Press. Trump's reversal of that decision continues a historic pattern of broken promises to Indian Tribes and violation of treaty rights. They will be held accountable in court. ETP has been poised to begin drilling under Lake Oahe as soon as it has approval. Workers have drilled entry and exit holes for the crossing, and oil has been put in the pipeline leading up to the lake in anticipation of finishing the project. The news agency said that those protesting the pipeline at an encampment the tribe set up on federal land have at times clashed with police, leading to nearly 700 arrests. The camps population thinned to fewer than 300 as harsh winter weather arrived and as Standing Rock officials pleaded for the camp to disband before the spring flooding season. 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 }} More than one hundred people have died in the hands of law enforcement on the same day that Sandra Bland, an African American woman who died behind bars, would have celebrated hr 30th birthday. The date also comes two days after Trayvon Martins birthday - he would have been 22 years old. He was shot dead by neighborhood volunteer officer George Zimmerman in Florida when he was 17. According to killedbypolice.net, 125 people have died so far this year. Critics of President Donald Trumps pro-law enforcement stance, and the deletion of the White House website pages on civil rights, fear the number could rise significantly. The Obama administrations national investigation of police departments and their use of excessive force, as highlighted in Chicago, now has an uncertain future under Mr Trump. Recommended Police officer who arrested Sandra Bland indicted on perjury charges The Washington Post database found that 963 people had been shot and killed by police in 2016. If the death rate of the first five weeks of 2017 continues, there will be a much higher death toll this year than in 2016. The rate of officer indictions and convictions is extremely low. In December, a judge declared a mistrial in the case of Michael Slager, the former officer who shot dead Walter Scott, shooting him multiples times in the back as he ran away, The police officer who arrested Sandra Bland, Brian Encinia, was indicted on perjury charges last month. There was no indictment in the death of Bland, who was found unresponsive in a jail cell in Texas three days after she had been arrested for a minor traffic violation. Footage shows Sandra Bland in prison Less than two years ago, her death at the age of just 28 years old sparked a massive backlash as thousands of people saw the video of her arrest. After failing to use her indicator, officer Encinia was seen to use excessive force as he pulled Bland out of her car, pulled out a gun and said, "I will light you up!" She was unarmed. In the video, Bland tells him he is being too rough after he slammed her head to the ground. He said in a statement that Bland had been combative and uncooperative during the arrest and she was taken into custody to further the investigation. Three days later her body was found hanged from the ceiling of her cell by a plastic bin bag, and her death was ruled as a suicide according to a medical examiner report. The ruling was questioned by her family. Encinia faces a $4,000 fine and a maximum of one year in jail. He has been on administrative leave since last summer. Blands mother, Geneva Reed-Veal, told the press that she had no confidence in the investigation or the justice process. "I'm angry, absolutely," she said. "That's not justice for me." Her family filed a wrongful-death lawsuit against the Texas Department of Public Safety, Encinia and two guards at the Waller County Jail, where Bland had died. They settled for $1.9 million and a federal judge formally dismissed the lawsuit. Texas lawmakers have introduced the Sandra Bland Act, which has 14 recommendations including increasing mental health and de-escalation training, as well as change the law that allows police officers to jail citizens for minor traffic violations. "So this, we believe, is just simply a knee-jerk reaction to an anecdotal incident," said Kevin Lawrence, executive director of the Texas Municipal Police Association. "It would create bad public policy. It would benefit criminals; it wouldn't benefit public safety." 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 }} Record numbers of refugees in the US are fleeing to Canada as uncertainty about Donald Trump's immigration policies continues. The Welcome Place refugee agency in the central province of Manitoba, said it had helped 91 people since November, more than the total number of claimants it normally sees in a year. Most braved freezing conditions to cross the border, walking miles through snow-covered prairie fields into Canada so they could avoid official border checks. Maggie Yeboah, president of the Ghanaian Union of Manitoba, said that two men lost all their fingers to frostbite in December and nearly froze to death. "We haven't had something before like this," she said. "We don't know what to do." She added that 27 Ghanaian men had walked to Manitoba from the United States since last summer. Her organisation helps refugees access medical attention and housing. Charities are now warning that an even greater influx could be on the horizon after Donald Trump issued an executive order temporarily suspending America's refugee resettlement programme and permanently barring Syrian refugees from entering the US. The measures, which have since been suspended, also barred citizens from Yemen, Iraq, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Syria, from travelling to the US. It resulted in travellers being detained or deported even if they had a valid visa or green card. "They will make a dash for Canada, whether they are going to go through cold weather to die or not," said Abdikheir Ahmed, a Somali immigrant in Manitoba's capital Winnipeg who helps refugees make immigration claims. Recommended Thousands attend funeral for Quebec mosque shooting victims More than 7,000 refugee applicants entered Canada in 2016 through land ports of entry from the United States, up 63 per cent from the previous year, according to the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA). Over 2,000 more entered "irregularly" during a similar time period, without official authorization. Some crossed unmonitored fields along the 5,525 border - the longest in the world between two countries. Canadas Prime Minister Justin Trudeau committed to admitting tens of thousands of Syrian refugees when he took office in 2015. "While the majority of the world is turning their backs and building walls, the fact that Trudeau took this bold humanitarian goal put [Canada] on the map," said Chris Friesen, director of settlement services at Immigrant Services Society of British Columbia. But this year, Canada plans to take only 7,500 government-assisted refugees - less than half last year's number. People eager to sponsor refugees find themselves waiting years to do so. Canadian Council for Refugees, Amnesty International and the Canadian Civil Liberties Association, are demanding Canada abandon the Safe Third Country Agreement that requires people to apply for asylum in the first of the two countries they arrive in. However, the government is standing by the agreement, Immigration Minister Ahmed Hussen told Canada's House of Commons last week. Canadian Council for Refugees executive director Janet Dench said if the government refuses to act, her group will sue. "We are talking about peoples charter rightsso, yes, we would expect to see something in the courts, she said. MP Ilhami Agina has been investigated by the parliamentary ethics committee; he explained he had not meant to insult Egyptian women The parliamentary ethics committee finished Monday investigating independent MP Ilhami Agina, who caused controversy last year when he praised FGM and said Egyptian women should face "virginity tests" before being allowed to enroll at university. The committee, led by head of the legislative and constitutional affairs committee Bahaaeddin Abu Shoqa, indicated that Agina faced two accusations: issuing a number of public insults against women, and demanding that girls who want to join university must face virginity tests first. Sources said Agina told the committee that his statements which were published and broadcast by the media were not meant to insult Egyptian women. "They were just meant to keep public morals in Egypt intact, help families monitor the manners and conduct of their daughters, and stem the tide of customary marriages on university campuses," Agina was quoted as saying by the source, adding that "if any of my statements were misunderstood, I apologise for them because they were never meant to direct insults to women. In August last year Agina told reporters that the country needed female genital mutilation, a widespread though banned practice, because the countrys men were too sexually weak to control women without such measures. In October he made the comment about virginity tests for students, arguing that the practice could stem the tide of urfi marriages on campus. Urfi marriages are civil unions that are not registered by the state. Although legal, they are considered improper by many due to their usually secretive nature. Hassan Bassiouny, a member of the ethics committee, told reporters that a report on the result of the investigation will be submitted to parliamentary speaker Ali Abdel-Aal, to be discussed in a plenary session. Mohamed Akl, another member of the ethics committee, told reporters that a report on the investigation of MP Anwar El-Sadat will be also presented to the speaker. Akl said after the ethics committee had investigated Sadat on Sunday, he said he wanted to be questioned by the prosecutor-general because he does not trust the committee. "El-Sadat has the right to defend himself but it is the committee which has the final say whether he should be investigated by the prosecutor-general," said Akl. Sadat told reporters on Sunday evening that he had told parliament's ethics committee that he does not trust its members. "It is a sub-committee rather than the 15-member ethics committee - which has investigated me, and "as a result I said it is the prosecutor-general who should question me in order for the investigation to be complete and transparent." El-Sadat faced two accusations: leaking a government-drafted NGO law to foreign embassies in Egypt without prior approval from parliament, and faking signatures of some MPs in support of an independent NGO law which he had drafted. In a public statement last week, a defiant El-Sadat took everyone by surprise when he accused the parliament speaker of misspending EGP 18 million in public funds on buying three "armoured cars." El-Sadat said Sunday that parliament's ethics committee acts "like a judge and antagonist at the same time." "They want to tarnish my image in the eyes of all Egyptians and as this has become a matter of public opinion, I request that prosecutor-general take charge of investigating me," he said. Search Keywords: Short link: 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 Trumps administration has provoked outrage for releasing a list of terror incidents it claimed had not been sufficiently covered by the media, including the Paris attacks and Orlando nightclub shooting. Of the 78 incidents issued by the White House, all mass casualty attacks had been reported extensively, while some smaller incidents had been classified as terror-related by right-wing websites but not by investigators. Speaking to troops at MacDill Air Force Base, the President claimed: All over Europe it's happening. It's gotten to a point where it's not even being reported. And in many cases the very, very dishonest press doesn't want to report it. They have their reasons, and you understand that. Donald Trump wrongly accuses media of covering up terrorist attacks Asked for details by journalists later on Monday, White House spokesman Sean Spicer said Mr Trump was referring to events that have not gotten the coverage it's deserved, comparing atrocities to demonstrations against the President. He felt as though members of the media don't always cover some of those events to the extent that other events might get covered that a protest will get blown out of the water, and yet an attack or a foiled attack doesn't necessarily get the same coverage, Mr Spicer said. The White House said its list included terror attacks executed or inspired by Isis on Western targets between September 2014 and December. Networks are not devoting to each of them the same level of coverage they once did, an official said. This cannot be allowed to become the new normal. The White House did not specify which attacks on the list it claimed had gone under-reported, though the dossier included the massacres in Paris, Nice, Brussels, Berlin and the shooting in San Bernardino, all of which received widespread international coverage. The list appeared to have been assembled hastily using media reports and Isis propaganda. It included a number of spelling errors, with the words attacker and attackers misspelled multiple times along with the name San Bernardino, sparking anger from local politicians. The 10 developed countries suffering the most deaths from terrorism Show all 10 1 /10 The 10 developed countries suffering the most deaths from terrorism The 10 developed countries suffering the most deaths from terrorism 10: Greece AP The 10 developed countries suffering the most deaths from terrorism 9: Denmark Shutterstock The 10 developed countries suffering the most deaths from terrorism 8: Austalia Getty Images The 10 developed countries suffering the most deaths from terrorism 7: Sweden Ola Ericson/imagebank.sweden.se The 10 developed countries suffering the most deaths from terrorism 6: Mexico Reuters The 10 developed countries suffering the most deaths from terrorism 5: Germany Anthony Faiola/The Washington Post The 10 developed countries suffering the most deaths from terrorism 4: Israel AP The 10 developed countries suffering the most deaths from terrorism 3: US Getty The 10 developed countries suffering the most deaths from terrorism 2: France Getty The 10 developed countries suffering the most deaths from terrorism 1: Turkey AP All mass casualty incidents had been covered worldwide, while smaller attacks that caused few deaths or little damage received less attention in the US than in their respective countries. Several cases, including the murder of an American defence contractor in Saudi Arabia, were not verified as terror-related by police. Some incidents were claimed by terror groups other than Isis, including a listed suicide bombing on a bus carrying Canadian embassy guards in Kabul, which both Isis and the Taliban said they carried out. Others have no confirmed connection to Isis, including the bombing of a Sikh temple in Germany in April, which police said was committed by extremist Salafists. Alt-right website Breitbart, whose former chair Steve Bannon has been hired as Mr Trumps chief strategist, was among the sites raging against authorities treatment of the case. A stabbing attack where a French national killed his British roommate and hostel caretaker in Australia was also not treated as extremist by police, who criticised media reports for linking the murders with Islamist terrorism. Mia Ayliffe-Chung was stabbed to death in a non-terror-related attack in Australia (Facebook) Rosie Ayliffe, the mother of victim Mia Ayliffe-Chung who described the aftermath of the killing in a series of articles for The Independent, was outraged by the list. The possibility of Mia and Tom's deaths being consequent to an Islamic terror attack was discounted in the early stages of the police investigation, she wrote in an open letter to Mr Trump, accusing him of vilifying whole nation states and their people based on religion. Sandra Jackson, whose son Tom was murdered while trying to save Ms Ayliffe-Chung, wrote on Twitter: @realDonaldTrump wake up this morning to see you've used my son murder to further your campaign of hate, how dare you. You are a disgrace. Swedish police pointed out that an Isis-claimed arson attack on a community centre in Malmo was not terror-related, while German investigators concluded that a terrorist motive for a stabbing hailed by the group in Hamburg was unlikely. Both were listed by the White House. Claims came amid ongoing ridicule over claims by Mr Trumps adviser Kellyanne Conway that a massacre had taken place in the American city of Bowling Green, adding: Most people dont know that because it didnt get covered. It didnt get covered because it did not take place. She was referring to the arrest of two Iraqi nationals who attempted to send money and weapons to al-Qaeda in Iraq, which later evolved to become Isis. They were not charged with plotting attacks in the US. 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 herd of plains bison has been reintroduced to Canadas oldest national park, more than a century after the iconic North American animal roamed the Great Plains and eastern slopes of the Canadian Rocky Mountains. The government agency Parks Canada, released 16 selected bison in the Banff National Park in central Alberta. The herd will be monitored in an enclosed pasture for about 16 months before being released into the 460-square-mile (about 1,200-square-km) reintroduction zone in the remote eastern slopes of the park. Canadas Environment and Climate Change Minister Catherine McKenna said that bison were an icon of the countrys history, as well as integral part of the lives of indigenous peoples. By returning plains bison to Banff National Park, Parks Canada is taking an important step towards restoring the full diversity of species and natural processes to the parks ecosystems while providing new opportunities for Canadians and visitors to connect with the story of this iconic species, she said. Environmental historian John Sandlos, of the Memorial University of Newfoundland, said plains bison were exterminated in Canada in the late 19th century, mostly to provide a supply of dried meat to fuel the fur trade. Stonehenge 'tunnel' explained Mr Sandlos said the current reintroduction of plains bison to Banff National Park was significant because it restored a keystone species that will maintain the ecological integrity of the park through interactions with other species. While there have been other bison reintroductions in the Grasslands and Prince Albert National Parks, he said, this project has the potential to create a large free-roaming herd of bison in southern Canada, a wildlife assemblage that has not existed in the region since the late 19th century. A total of 16 bison were released by officials (Reuters) In a broad sense, the reintroduction program is a small but significant step toward restoring a species that is ecologically extinct across most of its former range, Mr Sandlos told The Independent. Theodore Binnema, an environmental history professor at the University of Northern British Columbia, said that the reintroduction of the plains bison to Banff was a complicated issue. Mr Binnema said the bison population during the pre-settlement era was actually relatively small, and that the herd has the potential to grow far larger that it would have been during that time. This could produce an ecosystem in the park very unlike it ever was in the past, Mr Binnema said, bringing into question whether reintroducing the bison actually fulfils Parks Canadas mandate to protect the ecological integrity of park spaces. 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 organisers of the Women's March on Washington and its counterparts around the globe, have called on American women to go on strike for a day as they continue to campaign against President Donald Trump. The "day without a woman" aims to highlight the contribution paid and unpaid female labour makes to the US economy. A date for the strike is yet to be set, but a separate general strike has also been called to protest against Mr Trump's so called "Muslim ban". The President's executive order barred travellers from the Yemen, Iraq, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Syria for 90 days. It resulted in some people being detained or deported from the US even if they had a valid visa or green card. The measures, which have since been suspended, also prevented refugee resettlement in the US for 120 days and barred Syrian refugees indefinitely. The general strike will also protest Mr Trump's proposed Mexico-US border wall and reinstatement of the "global gag rule" which bans US government funding for any international health organisation or NGO around the world, that counsel women on family planning options including access to safe abortion The relationship between the women's strike and the general strike already called for 17 February by Strike4Democracy and other organisations remains unclear. Meanwhile, the Service Employees International Union (SEUI), which represents 1.9 million public sector workers across North America, has called for a strike on 1 May International Labour Day. Critics on Twitter and elsewhere have noted a true "general strike" would last longer than a single day and require more organisation than is possible in the space of a few weeks. It appears that the F17 general strike campaigners intend to organise a day of direct action rather than a prolonged refusal of work to secure better working and living conditions. On their website, its organisers said: "We will show dissent with unconstitutional governance through gatherings and activities to be organized at the local/personal level." The initial women's marches, which took place across the United States and the world to protest Donald Trump's inauguration, may have been the largest day of protest in US history. In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump Show all 32 1 /32 In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump London An image of President Donald Trump is seen on a placard during the Women's March in London, England Getty In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump Sydney A view of the skywriting word reading 'Trump' as thousands rally in support of equal rights in Sydney, New South Wales EPA In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump Rome People shout and hold signs during a rally against US newly sworn-in President Donald Trump in Rome Getty Images In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump London A protester holds a placard during the Women's March in London, England Getty Images In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump Marseille A placard ready 'Pussy grabs back' is attached to the handle bar of a bike during a 'Women's March' organized by Feminist and human rights groups in solidarity with women marching in Washington and around the world for their rights and against the reactionary politics of the newly sworn-in US President Donald Trump, at the Old Port (Vieux Port) of Marseille, southern France Getty Images In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump Bangkok A young Thai girl holds a "women's rights are human rights" sign at Roadhouse BBQ restaurant where many of the Bangkok Womens March participants gathered in Bangkok, Thailand Getty Images In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump Bangkok A Thai woman takes a photo of a "hate is not great" sign at the women's solidarity gathering in Bangkok, Thailand Getty Images In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump Bangkok American expats and travellers gather with the international community in Bangkok at the Roadhouse BBQ restaurant to stand in solidarity in Bangkok, Thailand Getty Images In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump London Protetesters gather outside The US Embassy in Grosvenor Square ahead of the Women's March in London, England Getty Images In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump Marseille Women's March at the Old Port (Vieux Port) of Marseille, southern France Getty Images In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump Marseille Protestors hold placards reading 'My body my choice, my vote my voice' during a 'Women's March' organized by Feminist and human rights groups in solidarity with women marching in Washington and around the world for their rights and against the reactionary politics of the newly sworn-in US President Donald Trump, at the Old Port (Vieux Port) of Marseille, southern France Getty Images In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump Rome A person holds a sign during a rally against US newly sworn-in President Donald Trump in Rome Getty Images In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump Kolkata Activist Sarah Annay Williamson holds a placard and shouts slogan during the Women's March rally in Kolkata, India AP In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump Kolkata Activists participate in the Women's March rally in Kolkata, India AP In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump London A Women's March placards are rested on a bench outside the US Embassy in Grosvenor Square ahead of the Women's March in London, England Getty Images In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump London A women carries her placard ahead of the Women's March in London, England Getty Images In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump Manila Women protesters shout slogans while displaying placards during a rally in solidarity against the inauguration of President Donald Trump, in suburban Quezon city, northeast of Manila, Philippines AP In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump Berlin Protesters attend a 'Berlin Women's March on Washington' demonstration in front of the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, Germany AP In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump Berlin Protesters attend a 'Berlin Women's March on Washington' demonstration in front of the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, Germany AP In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump Berlin Protesters attend a 'Berlin Women's March on Washington' demonstration in front of the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, Germany AP In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump Melbourne Protesters take part in the Melbourne rally to protest against the Trump Inauguration in Melbourne, Australia Getty Images In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump Macau Protesters take part in the Women's March rally in Macau Getty Images In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump Melbourne Womens march on Melbourne protestors marching during a rally where rights groups marched in solidarity with Americans to speak out against misogyny, bigotry and hatred Rex In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump Macau Protesters hold placards as they take part at the Women's March rally in Macau Getty Images In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump Macau Protesters hold placards as they take part at the Women's March rally in Macau, Macau. The Women's March originated in Washington DC but soon spread to be a global march calling on all concerned citizens to stand up for equality, diversity and inclusion and for women's rights to be recognised around the world as human rights Getty Images In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump Manila A mother carries her son as they join a rally in solidarity against the inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump as the 45th President of the United States in suburban Quezon city northeast of Manila, Philippines AP In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump Sydney An infant is held up at a demonstration against new U.S. President Donald Trump in Sydney, Australia Getty Images In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump Sydney A woman attends a demonstration against new U.S. President Donald Trump in Sydney, Australia Getty Images In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump Sydney A woman expresses her Anti-Trump views in Sydney, Australia Getty Images In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump Sydeney Protesters demonstrate against new U.S. President Donald Trump in Sydney, Australia. The marches in Australia were organised to show solidarity with those marching on Washington DC and around the world in defense of women's rights and human rights Getty In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump London Protesters march from The US Embassy in Grosvenor Square towards Trafalgar Square during the Women's March in London, England Getty In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump London Protesters carrying banners take part in the Women's March on London, as they stand in Trafalgar Square, in central London Reuters Somewhere between 3.3 million and 4.6 million marchers made their presence known across the United States, with perhaps 600,000 in Washington alone, while there were marches in solidarity from Iraq to Afghanistan. Some service workers have already gone on strike to remind the government of the economic contribution made by refugees, migrants and undocumented workers, while New York taxi drivers struck to protest Donald Trump's "inhumane" travel ban on citizens of Muslim-majority countries. 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 top Chinese judge has labelled Donald Trump a public enemy of the rule of law over his insults directed at a US judge who suspended the President's travel ban. Supreme People's Court Judge He Fan's blog post came after Trump went on Twitter to denigrate James Robart as a so-called judge whose ridiculous decision opened the country to potential terror attacks. In his post, dated Sunday, He wrote that under the US system's separation of powers, a president who is dealt a judicial defeat should bear the loss silently rather than lash out at the judge in question. The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Show all 9 1 /9 The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the media White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer takes questions during the daily press briefing Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the Trans-Pacific Partnership Union leaders applaud US President Donald Trump for signing an executive order withdrawing the US from the Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations during a meeting in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington DC. Mr Trump issued a presidential memorandum in January announcing that the US would withdraw from the trade deal Getty The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the Mexico wall A US Border Patrol vehicle sits waiting for illegal immigrants at a fence opening near the US-Mexico border near McAllen, Texas. The number of incoming immigrants has surged ahead of the upcoming Presidential inauguration of Donald Trump, who has pledged to build a wall along the US-Mexico border. A signature campaign promise, Mr Trump outlined his intention to build a border wall on the US-Mexico border days after taking office Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and abortion US President Donald Trump signs an executive order as Chief of Staff Reince Priebus looks on in the Oval Office of the White House. Mr Trump reinstated a ban on American financial aide being granted to non-governmental organizations that provide abortion counseling, provide abortion referrals, or advocate for abortion access outside of the United States Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the Dakota Access pipeline Opponents of the Keystone XL and Dakota Access pipelines hold a rally as they protest US President Donald Trump's executive orders advancing their construction, at Columbus Circle in New York. US President Donald Trump signed executive orders reviving the construction of two controversial oil pipelines, but said the projects would be subject to renegotiation Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and 'Obamacare' Nancy Pelosi who is the minority leader of the House of Representatives speaks beside House Democrats at an event to protect the Affordable Care Act in Los Angeles, California. US President Donald Trump's effort to make good on his campaign promise to repeal and replace the healthcare law failed when Republicans failed to get enough votes. Mr Trump has promised to revisit the matter Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Donald Trump and 'sanctuary cities' US President Donald Trump signed an executive order in January threatening to pull funding for so-called "sanctuary cities" if they do not comply with federal immigration law AP The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the travel ban US President Donald Trump has attempted twice to restrict travel into the United States from several predominantly Muslim countries. The first attempt, in February, was met with swift opposition from protesters who flocked to airports around the country. That travel ban was later blocked by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. The second ban was blocked by a federal judge a day before it was scheduled to be implemented in mid-March SANDY HUFFAKER/AFP/Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and climate change US President Donald Trump sought to dismantle several of his predecessor's actions on climate change in March. His order instructed the Environmental Protection Agency to reevaluate the Clean Power Plan, which would cap power plant emissions Shannon Stapleton/Reuters Recent remarks by China's top judge that the concept of judicial independence was an erroneous Western ideal unsuited to China have re-ignited debates on the topic within Chinese legal communities. AP 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 Chinese farmer has won the first round of a legal battle against a powerful state-owned chemicals corporation, after spending 16 years teaching himself about the law. Wang Englin, who is in his 60s, has had just three years of education and lives in a modest home which costs 5.80 a month, according to the People's Daily Online. By contrast, the Qinghua Group employs 5000 people in mines and kilns across China, processing and trading minerals, and turns turns over around 2 billion (235 million) a year. The worst countries in the world for air pollution deaths Show all 10 1 /10 The worst countries in the world for air pollution deaths The worst countries in the world for air pollution deaths Ukraine The worst countries in the world for air pollution deaths Bulgaria Rex Features The worst countries in the world for air pollution deaths Belarus The worst countries in the world for air pollution deaths Russia The worst countries in the world for air pollution deaths Armenia The worst countries in the world for air pollution deaths Bosnia and Herzegovina REUTERS The worst countries in the world for air pollution deaths Georgia The worst countries in the world for air pollution deaths Hungary DigitalGlobe The worst countries in the world for air pollution deaths China The worst countries in the world for air pollution deaths Moldova It is claimed that Qinghua first dumped hazardous wastewater near Mr Wang's land in 2001, preventing him from growing his crops. Mr Wang claimed he was playing cards and cooking with neighbours on the eve of the Lunar New Year when water began leaking into his house. Since 2001, Qinghua has reportedly released 15,000 to 20,000 tonnes of annual chemical waste from a polyvinyl chloride plant near Mr Wang's home village near the city of Qiqihar in north-east China. The corporation has also made 71 acres of land unusable by dumping calcium carbide, and filled a 478-acre pond with liquid waste, according to a government document cited in the report. When asked to produce legal evidence of the pollution, Mr Wang began his studies. According to a translation by the Daily Mail, he said: "I knew I was in the right, but I did not know what law the other party had broken or whether or not there was evidence." Terrifying video shows blanket of air pollution enveloping Beijing Initially, he was forced to copy out information by hand in a bookshop, paying the store's owner in sacks of corn. He started receiving free legal advice in 2007, after half a decade of solo study, and finally filed a legal petition. Information posted by the Centre for Legal Assistance to Pollution Victims details Mr Wang's repeated efforts to bring the company to justice, though he was often ignored by the local courts and inspection agencies, and faced counter-accusations from the agency. The case reportedly took another 8 years to get to court, but the Angangxi District Court has finally ruled against the Qinghua Group, awarding 820,000 (96,000) to Mr Wang and his neighbours. However, Mr Wang might face a further fight, as PDS noted the corporation is planning an appeal. 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 }} Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin are likely to attempt to draw the map of Europe to their own design in the fallout from Brexit, a group of senior French politicians have warned. The new American President, they say, may use the Governments desperate need for a trade deal with the US after Brexit as a template to undermine and weaken the European Union. Theresa May was the first foreign leader to visit the White House after the election and Mr Trump has declared that a new trade deal between the US and UK would take place swiftly after Brexit. European diplomats point out that London has repeatedly played the Trump card in claiming that leaving the European single market will not have adverse economic consequences. Mr Trump and his advisors have also been vocal in their attacks on the European Union, and Jean-Pierre Raffarin, a former French Prime Minister, expressed deep concern that the US administration has targeted individual member states for British-style bilateral deals to test the solidarity of the union. Mr Trump is trying to hold the EU hostage to Brexit, he said. Vladimir Putin may also, said Mr Raffarin and his colleagues, use similar ploys to destabilise Western European alliances, as they stressed the need for member states to stay united in the face of attempts to divide them. The meeting between Mrs May and Mr Trump is something which affects us. The difficulty with Mr Trump is that he is completely unpredictable, we have to see what he is going to do. "But we are receiving signals which we find worrying, said Mr Raffarin, the chairman of the French Senates EU Committee, during a visit to London. The US wants to do bilateral deals with its friends. We dont accept this approach, we are united in the European Union and we must stay together. Theresa May: Invite for US President Donald Trump stands "With Russia we need to wait and see, but Mr Putin sees Europe in terms of Nato and he too sees the logic of bilateral relationships for his benefit. "Mr Trump and Mr Putin are likely to try to draw the map of Europe to their design. Mr Raffarin, who is leading a French Senate working group on the withdrawal of the UK and the refounding of Europe, wanted to point out that similar views about the US and Russian leaders were held by Angela Merkels government. The Germans are very interested in Mr Trump and Mr Putins views on Europe. The Germans want a cohesive Europe, he said. Europe has been strengthened through crisis: times of trouble can pull us closer together. "France and Germany are united in our approach. We, and other governments, want to listen to public opinion. We dont think people in continental Europe want to see a deconstruction of Europe, people dont want Europe to unravel. European Union leaders have dismissed Ms Mays offer to be a bridge builder with the Trump administration. 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 Speaking at a summit in Malta earlier this week, French President Francois Hollande commented: It is not about asking one particular country, be it the UK or any other, to represent Europe in its relationship with the United States. "In a while, France will be the only permanent member of the Security Council to be also a member of the EU when the UK leaves. Ms Merkel said she had not even spoken to Ms May about her Washington visit and Dalia Grybauskaite, the Lithuanian President, quipped: I dont think there is a necessity for a bridge. We communicate with the Americans on Twitter. Mr Raffarin rejected suggestions that some members states, led by France, wanted to punish Britain over Brexit. The new agreement [for Britain] will not be as good as the previous one, but we need to reassure the British and also the Europeans that an agreement will be in their best interest, he stated. The ability of the financial sector based in London to operate in the European Union after separation will be a key part of the negotiations. The City may be forgiven for thinking that current manoeuvres by the French do not have its best interest at heart. Along with the politicians, the French delegation visiting London also includes business leaders who want to attract financial institutions and banks from Britains capital to Paris. A reception was held for around 80 banks and fund managers at the Shard on Monday evening during which French officials estimated that more than 10,000 people working in the UK financial sector may relocate to the Paris post Brexit. Valerie Pecresse, President of the Ile-de-France region, which includes Paris, maintained that the overall exodus could be a lot higher with tens of thousands of jobs leaving London. The move will come slowly, so we just dont know how many may come. It will depend on the strategy of the firms and how hard the Brexit is, she said. Ms Pecresse was keen to deny that this meant it would be in Frances interest to have a hard Brexit. No, no, absolutely not, she said. Its not a question of punishing Britain for its vote. But it is a question of trying to keep a strong European Union. "If we want to keep a strong EU, it means that people who vote out cannot have all of the advantages and yet none of the duties. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} German police have provoked outrage by advising local authorities not to organise refugee trips to carnival celebrations because of the risk of undesirable interactions with locals. Officers from the headquarters of North Rheine-Westphalia state police (LZPD) said that officers took a critical view of the prospect of mass appearances of refugees and asylum seekers at the traditional festival. "We are aware that last year, carers of refugees and asylum seekers organised visits to carnival events, said the memo, which was obtained by the Kolner Stadt-Anzeiger. In light of the ongoing security situation in Germany, due to the events of the past couple of years, it could lead to undesirable interactions with the population and we advise against it." Police officers pass a clown during a carnival parade on 7 February 2016 in Cologne, Germany (Getty Images) The Information for Carnival 2017 email advised anyone attending to expect strong security provisions and a heavy police presence, and ordered them not to carry large bags, rucksacks or dangerous objects. It added that refugees should accept searches and other security measures targeting them without criticism. German Karneval or Fasching celebrations officially start in November but peak around Rose Monday, the day before Shrove Tuesday, falling this year on 27 February. Thousands of people will be joining celebrations across North Rheine-Westphalia, centring on its cities of Cologne, Dusseldorf and Mainz, where there will be parades and traditional performances, music and dance. Petra Jennen, who runs a refugee centre in Leverkusen, told the Kolner Stadt-Anzeiger she was embarrassed by the letter. I will not tell our families that they should not go to the parade, she added. Even in an internal email, the district government and state police cannot communicate in this way. The North Rheine-Westphalia interior ministry and LZPD disassociated themselves from the letter, saying it was unauthorised. Some local politicians were incensed by the leaked email. Marion Heuser, from the German Green Party, said the measures were tantamount to racial profiling. Germany reacts to Cologne New Year's Eve attacks Show all 13 1 /13 Germany reacts to Cologne New Year's Eve attacks Germany reacts to Cologne New Year's Eve attacks Women protest against sexism outside Cologne Cathedral on 5 January after the assaults Oliver Berg/EPA Germany reacts to Cologne New Year's Eve attacks Women protest against sexism in Cologne following the rash of sex attacks on New Year's Eve Wolfgang Rattay/Reuters Germany reacts to Cologne New Year's Eve attacks Police initially failed to mention the assaults in report the following morning EPA Germany reacts to Cologne New Year's Eve attacks Police officers patrol in front of the main station of Cologne, Germany AP Germany reacts to Cologne New Year's Eve attacks German far-right supporters demonstrate at Cologne`s train station (Reuters) Reuters Germany reacts to Cologne New Year's Eve attacks Supporters of anti-immigration right-wing movement Pegida in Cologne, Germany, January 9, 2016. Reuters Germany reacts to Cologne New Year's Eve attacks Police used pepper spray to control supporters of Pegida, Hogesa (Hooligans against Salafists) and other right-wing populist groups as they protested against the New Year's Eve sex attacks on 9 January, 2016 in Cologne, Germany Reuters Germany reacts to Cologne New Year's Eve attacks Police use a water cannon during a protest march by supporters of anti-immigration right-wing movement Pegida in Cologne, Germany, January 9, 2016 Reuters Germany reacts to Cologne New Year's Eve attacks Police use pepper spray against supporters of anti-immigration right-wing movement Pegida, in Cologne, Germany, January 9, 2016. Reuters Germany reacts to Cologne New Year's Eve attacks Artist Mira Moire protests naked in Cologne against the mass sex attacks on New Year's Eve AP Germany reacts to Cologne New Year's Eve attacks A demonstrator holds a sign in German that reads 'No violence against women' during a demonstration in the wake of the sexual assaults on New Year's Eve, outside the cathedeal in Cologne, Germany, 09 January 2016. EPA Germany reacts to Cologne New Year's Eve attacks Counter demonstrators hold up a sign reading "Against sexism, against racism" as they protest against a demonstration of the islamophobic movement PEGIDA at the train station in Cologne, Germany, on January 9, 2016. AFP/Getty Images Germany reacts to Cologne New Year's Eve attacks Demonstration by a womens group on Saturday (AP) AP Many people have committed themselves to bringing the people left stranded here closer to German culture, which can sometimes be incomprehensible, she wrote on Facebook. Now refugees should be kept away? Rainer Pannenbacker, director of the LZPD, confirmed that the message was sent out on 30 January. Recommended Refugee jokes banned at Austrian carnivals The wording in this letter is divisive and offensive. I regret that very much, he said. NRW police protect all people who celebrate carnival peacefully, no matter where they come from or what colour their skin is. Authorities said similar information would be distributed in a more suitable form in future. Authorities in North Rheine-Westphalia came under fire last month after using the pejorative term Nafri in a tweet referring to North African immigrants, who they claimed were being vetted during New Years Eve celebrations in Cologne. The controversy came a year after mass sexual assaults outside the citys main railway station, where police initially sought to play down attacks largely attributed to migrants. The assaults and a series of Isis-inspired terror attacks in Germany have fuelled growing anti-immigrant sentiment since Angela Merkel opened the borders to Syrian refugees in 2015. She is facing a tough battle to be elected as Chancellor for a fourth term amid rising support for the far-right populist Alternative for Germany, while the anti-Islam Pegida group has drawn thousands of people at its marches. 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 sailor is the prime suspect in the murder of a young Icelandic woman whose case has gripped the nation, police have told The Independent. Birna Brjansdottir's body was found washed up on the coast of the country shortly after she went missing in the early hours of 15 January Wearing her Doctor Martin boots, the 20-year-old was alone when she left a nightclub in the country's capital Reykjavik and walked up the high street to buy a kebab. Awaking several hours later, her parents discovered she had failed to return home. As 800 people volunteered to help look for her - the biggest search and rescue mission in Icelands history - the case gripped the nation. A week later, her body was found swept up on a beach 35 miles south the capital. Within hours of its discovery, candlelit vigils were held in both Iceland and Greenland. Last weekend, more than 8,000 people took part in a march through the streets of Reykjavik in memory of Ms Brjansdottir. Two sailors from Greenland aged 25 and 30, whose boat had been docked on the same beach, were arrested in connection with her disappearance. Police told The Independent that the 30-year-old has now been release. But the second suspect will be held in isolation for a further two weeks. He is thought to have "gone off" with Ms Brjansdottir after his friend returned to the boat and, four hours later, boarded the vessel without her. Volunteer rescuers search for clues relating to Ms Brjansdottir's murder during the biggest rescue and search operation in Iceland's history (Icelandic Association for Search and Rescue) Einar Gudberg Jonsson, the detective chief inspector (DCI) in charge of the case, told The Independent: A man was released last week after we were satisfied that wasnt involved in the death of Birna, and that he wasn't in the car when it happened. We prolonged the second suspects time in custody last week. We havent yet had the final report from the medical examiner, but it appears Birna got into the car with these men on the high street, meaning it was her and the two men in the vehicle." He added that they drove to the port area of Hallgrimskirkja, where their ship was docked. "One of the men, very drunk, left the car and got on board the ship," said DCI Jonsson. "Birna and the other man then go off, and we have a four-hour gap where we cant plot the route or where they went. "The man later comes back without Birna, and we see him on CCTV at the docks cleaning the car. He then returns it to the car rental and boards the boat, which leaves the harbour that evening." Reports in Icelandic media suggest Ms Brjansdottir drowned, saying her autopsy reveals she had water in her lungs, indicating she was still alive when she was dumped into the ocean. DCI Jonsson could not confirm this. While the police had seen the findings of the autopsy, they were unable to discuss them in public at this point, he said. In a country with no armed police on the streets, no army and the worlds third-lowest murder rate, the murder case of Ms Brjansdottir is unprecedented. This kind of thing has never happened. In the whole of the Iceland there are around two murders a year, said DCI Jonsson. Weve had some disappearances of people here, but nothing of this sort where a stranger picks up another total stranger, drives off and does something and then kills the person and dumps the body in the ocean. Thats not something that happens here. He added that the Icelandic population was devastated, but that there had been no animosity towards Greenland, despite it being the suspects country of origin. Everybody here is devastated. There have been a lot of talks and a lot of media coverage and a lot of speculation and anger, DCI Jonsson said. But there has always been a good connection between Greenland and Iceland. There was some anger towards Greenland here at the very beginning, but now the two countries are uniting in mourning for Birna. 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 }} French far-right leader Marine Le Pen said Crimea has always been Russian in a series of astonishing claims that defy the evidence that Moscow invaded Ukraine. The Front National leader vehemently denied any invasion had taken place and instead claimed a coup detat in Ukraine resulted in a transferring of power. Ms Le Pen also called for sanctions against the Kremlin to be removed, calling them completely stupid and the cause of major problems for the EU. Speaking during an interview with CNNs Christiane Amanpour, the 48-year-old, who is known for her strong views on the importance of French sovereignty, was asked about her position on the sovereignty of Ukraine and the annexation of Crimea. There was a coup detat in Ukraine... its not just what I think, its a reality. There was an agreement between different nations and the next day this agreement was broken and some people took power after the referendum... there was no invasion of Crimea, she said. Ms Amanpour then cited the 1994 Budapest memorandum whereby Ukraine agreed to give up the arsenal of soviet weapons in its territory in return for security assurances from the international community. She said: "The French were part of the deal that guaranteed the independence of Ukraine in 1994. Its really important this because it is the fundamentals of international law." Ms Le Pen replied: Crimea was Russian, it has always been Russian, its not that long ago. The people feel Russian, the people decided by great majority that they wanted to belong to Russia so we can't be democratic when it suits us and then reject democracy when we don't like it. Her comments came despite French, British and American signatories refusing to recognise Moscows claims to the majority-Russian speaking territory. Under international law, Crimea is still legally a part of Ukraine. Vladimir Putins forces swept into the Ukrainian Black Sea peninsula of Crimea in February 2014. French National Front policies Show all 9 1 /9 French National Front policies French National Front policies End of the European Schengen Area and cross border freedom of movement without passports French National Front policies Reduce legal immigration to France from the current 200,000 a year to 10,000 French National Front policies Create 40,000 new prison places and deport foreign criminals French National Front policies Huge state investment to promote industry in France and create jobs French National Front policies Higher import duties on foreign produce to protect French industry French National Front policies Closer relations with Russia, including a tri-lateral alliance with France, Russia, and Germany 2015 Getty Images French National Front policies Leave the European single currency French National Front policies Aggressively promote the French language and maintain state support for French cultural outpuit 2015 Getty Images French National Front policies Give police a legitimate defence when the use firearms against suspects The Kremlin organised a referendum a month later which saw more than 95 per cent of voters in Crimea back joining Russia, however the vote was branded farcical and illegitimate by the British Government. Russia was subsequently hit with sanctions and fierce criticism by the EU and UN as well as international governments, including the UK and France. However, Ms Le Pen called the sanctions meaningless. These sanctions are completely stupid they have not solved any problems, they haven't improved the situation at all, all they have done is created major economic problems for the EU, she said. They are meaningless, maybe we need to step down, wouldnt we have better peace in the world if we could step back. The President of the US, the President of Russia can end the Cold War, no one else. Donald Trump's newly-appointed UN ambassador Nikki Haley condemned Russia's "aggressive actions" in Ukraine at a meeting of the UN security council and stated that sanctions against Russia for annexing Crimea would remain. Ms Le Pen has long been a loyal supporter of Mr Putin, and this is not the first time she has denied Russias annexation of Crimea. Recommended Marine Le Pen is not the Donald Trump of France Asked for her views on the diplomatic crisis during an interview with French channel BFM TV, she said: I absolutely disagree that it was an illegal annexation: a referendum was held and residents of Crimea chose to rejoin Russia. In 2015, Russian hackers published allegations she had received a multi-million euro loan by a Russian bank as a "reward" for her support of Mr Putins annexation of Crimea a claim she denies. Ukraine indicated it would bar the French presidential candidate from entering the country after she made the comments appearing to legitimise the annexation. The Ukrainian foreign ministry said in a statement: "Making statements that repeat Kremlin propaganda, the French politician shows disrespect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine and completely ignores the fundamental principles of international law. "Such statements and actions in violation of the Ukrainian legislation will necessarily have consequences, as it was in the case of certain French politicians, who are denied entry to 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 majority of Europeans want a ban on immigration from Muslim-majority countries, a poll has revealed. An average of 55 per cent of people across the 10 European countries surveyed wanted to stop all future immigration from mainly Muslim countries. The Chatham House study, conducted before US President Donald Trump signed an executive order banning immigration to the US from seven predominantly Muslim countries, found majorities in all but two of the ten states opposed immigration from mainly Muslim countries. Farage defends Trump's 'Muslim ban' in EU Parliament Only 20 per cent disagreed, while 25 per cent said they did not know. A ban was supported by 71 per cent of people in Poland, 65 per cent in Austria, 53 per cent in Germany and 51 per cent in Italy. In the UK, 47 per cent supported a ban. In no country did more than 32 per cent disagree with a ban. Of those surveyed, opposition to Muslim immigration was especially intense among older people, while those under 30 were less opposed. There was also a contrast between those with secondary level qualifications, of which 59 per cent opposed Muslim immigration, and degree holders, of which less than half supported halting immigration. Donald Trump fights back after judge blocks his travel ban The poll backs up other research about attitudes towards Muslims in Europe. A Pew survey of 10 European countries in 2016 found majorities in five countries had an unfavourable view of Muslims living in their country. Of those, 72 per cent of Hungarians had a negative view of Muslims, followed by 69 per cent of Italians, 66 per cent of Poles, 65 per cent of Greeks and 50 per cent of Spaniards. In the UK, only 28 per cent said they had an unfavourable view of Muslims, while in Germany and France 29 per cent said the same. Israel passed a law on Monday retroactively legalizing about 4,000 settler homes built on privately owned Palestinian land in the occupied West Bank, a measure that has drawn international concern. The legislation has been condemned by Palestinians as a blow to their hopes of statehood. But its passage may only be largely symbolic as it contravenes Israeli Supreme Court rulings on property rights. Israel's attorney-general has said it is unconstitutional and that he will not defend it at the Supreme Court. Though the legislation, passed by a vote of 60 to 52, was backed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's right-wing coalition, it has raised tensions in the government. A White House official said that, given the new law is expected to face challenges in Israeli courts, the Trump administration "will withhold comment on the legislation until the relevant court ruling." Political sources have said Netanyahu privately opposes the bill over concerns it could provide grounds for prosecution by the International Criminal Court in The Hague. The White House official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Washington would oppose any such international legal action. But the far-right Jewish Home party, a member of the coalition looking to draw voters from the traditional base of Netanyahu's Likud, pushed for the legislation after the forced evacuation of 330 settlers last week from an outpost built on private Palestinian land. With Netanyahu under police investigation on suspicion of abuse of office, an allegation he denies, Likud has been slipping in opinion polls. Opposing the law would have risked alienating his supporters and ceding ground to Jewish Home. Last-minute appeals this week by Netanyahu to postpone the vote until after he meets U.S. President Donald Trump in Washington on Feb 15, were refused by Jewish Home, political sources said. In London, where he met Prime Minister Theresa May on Monday, Netanyahu told Israeli reporters he did not want to delay the vote and that he sought only to update Washington ahead of time - which he said he did. Israeli officials did contact their U.S. counterparts at the "staff level," the White House official said. Netanyahu himself did not attend the vote because he was on a plane back from London when it was held. "Black Flag" Hanan Ashrawi, a senior member of the Palestine Liberation Organization, the main Palestinian political umbrella body, said in a statement that the law gave settlers a green light to "embark on a land grab". "Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his extremist, racist coalition government are deliberately breaking the law and destroying the very foundations of the two-state solution and the chances for peace and stability," Ashrawi said. Turkey on Tuesday condemned the new Israeli law, saying that the "unacceptable" Israeli policy contradicted UN Security Council resolutions and was "destroying the basis for the two-state solution," as a senior government minister was visiting Tel Aviv in the first such trip in seven years. "We strongly condemn Israeli Parliament's adoption of a law that gives approval to various settlements consisting of 4,000 units built on the private property of the Palestinians," the Turkish foreign ministry said in a statement. The U.N. Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Nickolay Mladenov said in a statement that the law "will have far reaching legal consequences for Israel and greatly diminish the prospects for Arab-Israeli peace". However, Netanyahu may face little to no criticism from the White House, which has signaled a far softer approach to the settlement issue than that of the Obama administration, which routinely denounced settlement announcements. The Trump administration said on Thursday it did not see existing settlements hampering peace, although it recognized that "the construction of new settlements or the expansion of existing settlements beyond their current borders may not be helpful in achieving that goal." Opposition leader Isaac Herzog of the Zionist Union said a black flag hung over the "insane law that threatens to destroy Israeli democracy". Israeli Attorney-General Avichai Mandelblit has described the law as unconstitutional and a breach of international law since it allows expropriation of private land in areas Israel seized in the 1967 Middle East war. Under the new law, settlers could remain on the land if they built there without prior knowledge of Palestinian ownership or if homes were constructed at the state's instruction. Palestinian owners would receive financial compensation. Anti-settlement group Peace Now said it would petition the High Court against the law that sanctions more than 50 settler outposts built without government approval. The Isareli settlements are illegal under international law. Most countries consider an obstacle to peace as they reduce and fragment the territory Palestinians want for a viable state in the West Bank, East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip. *The story was edited by Ahram Online. Search Keywords: Short link: 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 mayor of a village in Hungary has said Muslims and gay people are not welcome, despite a need to fill houses in the area. Laszlo Toroczkai, mayor of Asotthalom, a remote village of around 4,000 on Hungarys southern border with Serbia, said that while he would like to attract more inhabitants to the village, he did not want to attract Muslim or gay people citing his desire to preserve traditions. Mr Toroczkai, who was elected in 2013 and is also vice-president of Hungarys far-right party Jobbik, told the BBCs Victory Derbyshire show the village authorities wanted to welcome new Western European residents, claiming that the flow of refugees could lead to the "disappearance of Europe". We primarily welcome people from Western Europe, people who wouldnt like to live in a multicultural society. We wouldnt like to attract Muslim people in the village, even though we already have a few Muslim residents in Asotthalom," Mr Torockzai said. Its very important for the village to preserve is traditions. Europe is small. It cant take in billions of people from Africa and South Asia, where theres a population boom. This would soon lead to the disappearance of Europe. We can see large numbers of Muslim communities in Western communities that havent been able to integrate, and we dont want the same thing to happen here. When asked about recent laws he had put forward that discriminate against gay people, Mr Toroczkai said this was also part of the village's drive to defend traditions, saying: Were defending our own traditions. Assothalom has a by-law that bans homosexual propaganda. We adopted it a few weeks ago. It comes several weeks after the Asotthalom mayor, who has become renowned for expressing anti-refugee sentiment since the migration crisis gained momentum in 2015, announced a series of bans on Muslim traditions such as the call to prayer, the wearing of Islamic dress and the building of mosques in the village, as well as outlawing the propogation of gay marriage and public displays of affection by gay people. The mayor first unveiled the plans to ban Muslim traditions as part of a preventative action package of laws last November, describing them as a "defence against the forced mass resettlement of migrants by Brussels". The Hungarian government is due to rule on the legality of Asotthaloms by-laws later in February. In another display of his strong anti-refugee rhetoric, Mr Toroczkai released a video in 2015 warning immigrants entering the town that they would be caught and imprisoned. The video, which appeared to be a mash-up between a cliched car advert and a low budget action film, showed dramatic police chase scenes on the Hungary-Serbia border, ending with the ominous warning: "If you are an illegal immigrant and you want to get to Germany... Hungry is a bad choice. Asotthalom is the worst." The mayor's latest remarks come as Hungarys government on Monday submitted proposals to the EU that all asylum seekers in the county be automatically detained for the entirety of their asylum claim. The governments chief spokesman, Zoltan Kovacs, said anyone seeking asylum through the country would be kept in shelters for the entire period of their application. How Hungary welcomes its refugees - in pictures Show all 15 1 /15 How Hungary welcomes its refugees - in pictures How Hungary welcomes its refugees - in pictures Serbia-Hungary border Refugees protest as Hungarian riot police fires tear gas and water cannon on the Serbian side of the border, near Roszke How Hungary welcomes its refugees - in pictures Serbia-Hungary border A refugee throws a bottle of water towards Hungarian riot police after they used water cannon to push back refugees at the Hungarian border with Serbia near the town of Horgos How Hungary welcomes its refugees - in pictures Serbia-Hungary border Refugees protest as Hungarian riot police fires tear gas and water cannon at the border crossing with Serbia in Roszke How Hungary welcomes its refugees - in pictures Serbia-Hungary border Hungarian armoured personnel carriers are deployed at the border crossing with Serbia in Roszke How Hungary welcomes its refugees - in pictures Serbia-Hungary border Hungarian riot policemen are deployed at the border crossing with Serbia in Roszke How Hungary welcomes its refugees - in pictures Serbia-Hungary border Hungarian police spray water cannon on migrants at the "Horgos 2" border crossing into Hungary, Serbia How Hungary welcomes its refugees - in pictures Serbia-Hungary border A refugee reacts after Hungarian riot police use water cannon to push back refugees at the Hungarian border with Serbia near the town of Horgos How Hungary welcomes its refugees - in pictures Serbia-Hungary border A refugee gestures as Hungarian riot police use water cannon to push back refugees at the Hungarian border with Serbia near the town of Horgos How Hungary welcomes its refugees - in pictures Serbia-Hungary border A refugee throws a stone towards Hungarian riot police after they used water cannon and pepper spray to push back refugees at the Hungarian border with Serbia near the town of Horgos How Hungary welcomes its refugees - in pictures Serbia-Hungary border Refugees protest as Hungarian riot police fires tear gas and water cannon on the Serbian side of the border, near Roszke How Hungary welcomes its refugees - in pictures Serbia-Hungary border Migrants shout slogans as they stand in front of a barrier at the border with Hungary near the village of Horgos, Serbia How Hungary welcomes its refugees - in pictures Serbia-Hungary border Hungarian riot policemen run as they are deployed at the border crossing with Serbia in Roszke Reuters How Hungary welcomes its refugees - in pictures Serbia-Hungary border Hungarian riot policemen are deployed at the border crossing with Serbia in Roszke Reuters How Hungary welcomes its refugees - in pictures Serbia-Hungary border Refugees stand in front of a barrier at the border with Hungary near the village of Horgos, Serbia Reuters How Hungary welcomes its refugees - in pictures Serbia-Hungary border Refugees wait at the Horgos 2 border crossing EPA Speaking at a briefing in London, Mr Kovacs said: No migrants not even those who have already issued their request for asylum will be able move freely until there is a primary legal decision whether they are entitled for political asylum, refugee status or anything else, so they are not entitled to move freely in the country. Hungary has repeatedly clashed with the EU over its migration policy, including its decision to erect a fence on its Serbian border and its refusal to accept EU-wide asylum quotas. During 2015, the country saw nearly 10,000 refugees entering every day. The country set up border fences with Serbia last year, and plans to employ between 6,000 to 8,000 border guards to apprehend those coming through the fence. 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 magistrate has ordered former French president Nicolas Sarkozy to face trial for exceeding election expenses during his failed 2012 campaign. The Paris prosecutor's office said 13 others would also face trial over the so-called Bygmalion Affair, which has involved charges of spending overruns and funding irregularities. Mr Sarkozy's representatives have said they will appeal the decision. He has repeatedly denied knowledge of the overspend because he was not involved in the details of his campaign finance. Sarkozy calls for nationwide burkini ban Mr Sarkozy was previously placed under investigation in a probe into his campaign funding. His 2012 re-election campaign costs were more than twice the legal limit. The charge exposes the 62-year-old conservative politician, who led France for five years from 2007, to a one-year prison sentence if convicted. It is alleged he exceeded the spending limit of 22.5m (19m) through false invoices issued by the Bygmalion PR company. In pictures: Nicolas Sarkozy through the decades Show all 12 1 /12 In pictures: Nicolas Sarkozy through the decades In pictures: Nicolas Sarkozy through the decades Nicolas Sarkozy Nicolas Sarkozy looks on before the meeting with King Juan Carlos of Spain at the Zarzuela Palace on 27 May 2014 in Madrid In pictures: Nicolas Sarkozy through the decades Nicolas Sarkozy Former French president Nicolas Sarkozy leaves 'La Petite Maison' in Nice, southeastern France, on 27 September 2013 after a private conference in Cannes In pictures: Nicolas Sarkozy through the decades Nicolas Sarkozy France's outgoing president Nicolas Sarkozy shakes hands with France's president-elect Francois Hollande, next to France's outgoing First Lady as they are about to leave the Elysee presidential Palace after the formal investiture ceremony between Francois Hollande and his predecessor Nicolas Sarkozy, on 15 May 2012 in Paris In pictures: Nicolas Sarkozy through the decades Nicolas Sarkozy President and right-wing ruling party Union for a Popular Movement (UMP) candidate for the French 2012 presidential election Nicolas Sarkozy gives a speech during a campaign meeting in Saint-Pierre in the French overseas island of La Reunion, on 4 April 2012 In pictures: Nicolas Sarkozy through the decades Nicolas Sarkozy Former France's president Nicolas Sarkozy and his wife Carla Bruni-Sarkozy leave the Elysee presidential Palace after the formal investiture ceremony between France's president-elect Francois Hollande and his predecessor Nicolas Sarkozy on 15 May 2012 in Paris In pictures: Nicolas Sarkozy through the decades Nicolas Sarkozy French Interior Minister and leader of the French ruling Conservative party UMP (Union for a Polpular Movement) Nicolas Sarkozy greets British Conservative party leader, David Cameron prior to a meeting in Paris on 6 January 2006 In pictures: Nicolas Sarkozy through the decades Nicolas Sarkozy French interior minister and powerful head of the ruling UMP party Nicolas Sarkozy pronounces a statement in the high chamber of French Parliament focused on his general policy on 8 June 2005 in Paris, few days after his return to government office In pictures: Nicolas Sarkozy through the decades Nicolas Sarkozy Nicolas Sarkozy in Brussels on 3 May 2004 In pictures: Nicolas Sarkozy through the decades Nicolas Sarkozy Nicolas Sarkozy, then minister of Interior and French President Jacques Chirac at Elysee palace in Paris on 10 May 2002 In pictures: Nicolas Sarkozy through the decades Nicolas Sarkozy Nicolas Sarkozy, head of the neo-Gaullist Rally for the Republic (RPR), waves during a rally in Dijon on 4 June 1999 ahead of the 13 June European elections In pictures: Nicolas Sarkozy through the decades Nicolas Sarkozy Nicolas Sarkozy in campaign for the Legislatives of 1986 In pictures: Nicolas Sarkozy through the decades Nicolas Sarkozy Nicolas Sarkozy participates in a demonstration in Paris, 14 April 1976 The decision to put Mr Sarkozy on trial comes as French politicians face growing scrutiny over their personal finances in the build-up to this year's presidential election in April and May. Mr Sarkozy's conservative predecessor Jacques Chirac was convicted in 2011, after his retirement, of misusing public funds to keep political allies in phantom jobs. That was the first conviction of a French head of state since Nazi collaborator Marshal Philippe Petain in 1945. Conservative Francois Fillon, who beat rivals including Mr Sarkozy to become the centre-right's candidate in this year's race, has been engulfed by a scandal over payments of public funds to his wife and children. Far-right presidential candidate Marine Le Pen is also being pursued by the European Parliament to refund money paid to her bodyguard and another person. 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 }} The Russian Academy of Sciences has become the latest body to declare homeopathy has no scientific basis and endangers people who believe it to be effective. A memorandum issued by the the Commission Against Pseudoscience and Falsification of Scientific Research described the treatments as pseudoscientific, saying that attempts to verify their success had failed for over 200 years. Homeopathy is not innocuous: patients spend heavily on non-performing drugs and neglected means of treatment with proven effectiveness, a statement said. Does Homeopathy Work? This can lead to adverse outcomes, including death of the patient. Homeopathy, which has become a popular method of alternative medicine across the Western world, is based on the principle of like treats like and follows ideas developed by a German doctor called Samuel Hahnemann in the 1790s. It sees practitioners dilute substances that cause certain symptoms, using the succussion method, in the belief the substance can cause the body to heal itself. But Russian researchers said numerous proposed explanations contradict known chemical, physical and biological laws and could not be verified. Homeopathy originated in an era when the most important principles of the chemistry and biology of the molecule properties and existence of microbes had not yet been accepted, they said. [We call on the media] to present homeopathy as a pseudoscience on a par with magic, healing and psychic practices. Health news in pictures Show all 40 1 /40 Health news in pictures Health news in pictures Coronavirus outbreak The coronavirus Covid-19 has hit the UK leading to the deaths of two people so far and prompting warnings from the Department of Health AFP via Getty Health news in pictures Thousands of emergency patients told to take taxi to hospital Thousands of 999 patients in England are being told to get a taxi to hospital, figures have showed. The number of patients outside London who were refused an ambulance rose by 83 per cent in the past year as demand for services grows Getty Health news in pictures Vape related deaths spike A vaping-related lung disease has claimed the lives of 11 people in the US in recent weeks. The US Centre for Disease Control and Prevention has more than 100 officials investigating the cause of the mystery illness, and has warned citizens against smoking e-cigarette products until more is known, particularly if modified or bought off the street Getty Health news in pictures Baldness cure looks to be a step closer Researchers in the US claim to have overcome one of the major hurdles to cultivating human follicles from stem cells. The new system allows cells to grow in a structured tuft and emerge from the skin Sanford Burnham Preybs Health news in pictures Two hours a week spent in nature can improve health A study in the journal Scientific Reports suggests that a dose of nature of just two hours a week is associated with better health and psychological wellbeing Shutterstock Health news in pictures Air pollution linked to fertility issues in women Exposure to air from traffic-clogged streets could leave women with fewer years to have children, a study has found. Italian researchers found women living in the most polluted areas were three times more likely to show signs they were running low on eggs than those who lived in cleaner surroundings, potentially triggering an earlier menopause Getty/iStock Health news in pictures Junk food ads could be banned before watershed Junk food adverts on TV and online could be banned before 9pm as part of Government plans to fight the "epidemic" of childhood obesity. Plans for the new watershed have been put out for public consultation in a bid to combat the growing crisis, the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) said PA Health news in pictures Breeding with neanderthals helped humans fight diseases On migrating from Africa around 70,000 years ago, humans bumped into the neanderthals of Eurasia. While humans were weak to the diseases of the new lands, breeding with the resident neanderthals made for a better equipped immune system PA Health news in pictures Cancer breath test to be trialled in Britain The breath biopsy device is designed to detect cancer hallmarks in molecules exhaled by patients Getty Health news in pictures Average 10 year old has consumed the recommended amount of sugar for an adult By their 10th birthdy, children have on average already eaten more sugar than the recommended amount for an 18 year old. The average 10 year old consumes the equivalent to 13 sugar cubes a day, 8 more than is recommended PA Health news in pictures Child health experts advise switching off screens an hour before bed While there is not enough evidence of harm to recommend UK-wide limits on screen use, the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health have advised that children should avoid screens for an hour before bed time to avoid disrupting their sleep Getty Health news in pictures Daily aspirin is unnecessary for older people in good health, study finds A study published in the New England Journal of Medicine has found that many elderly people are taking daily aspirin to little or no avail Getty Health news in pictures Vaping could lead to cancer, US study finds A study by the University of Minnesota's Masonic Cancer Centre has found that the carcinogenic chemicals formaldehyde, acrolein, and methylglyoxal are present in the saliva of E-cigarette users Reuters Health news in pictures More children are obese and diabetic There has been a 41% increase in children with type 2 diabetes since 2014, the National Paediatric Diabetes Audit has found. Obesity is a leading cause Reuters Health news in pictures Most child antidepressants are ineffective and can lead to suicidal thoughts The majority of antidepressants are ineffective and may be unsafe, for children and teenager with major depression, experts have warned. In what is the most comprehensive comparison of 14 commonly prescribed antidepressant drugs to date, researchers found that only one brand was more effective at relieving symptoms of depression than a placebo. Another popular drug, venlafaxine, was shown increase the risk users engaging in suicidal thoughts and attempts at suicide Getty Health news in pictures Gay, lesbian and bisexual adults at higher risk of heart disease, study claims Researchers at the Baptist Health South Florida Clinic in Miami focused on seven areas of controllable heart health and found these minority groups were particularly likely to be smokers and to have poorly controlled blood sugar iStock Health news in pictures Breakfast cereals targeted at children contain 'steadily high' sugar levels since 1992 despite producer claims A major pressure group has issued a fresh warning about perilously high amounts of sugar in breakfast cereals, specifically those designed for children, and has said that levels have barely been cut at all in the last two and a half decades Getty Health news in pictures Potholes are making us fat, NHS watchdog warns New guidance by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), the body which determines what treatment the NHS should fund, said lax road repairs and car-dominated streets were contributing to the obesity epidemic by preventing members of the public from keeping active PA Health news in pictures New menopause drugs offer women relief from 'debilitating' hot flushes A new class of treatments for women going through the menopause is able to reduce numbers of debilitating hot flushes by as much as three quarters in a matter of days, a trial has found. The drug used in the trial belongs to a group known as NKB antagonists (blockers), which were developed as a treatment for schizophrenia but have been sitting on a shelf unused, according to Professor Waljit Dhillo, a professor of endocrinology and metabolism REX Health news in pictures Doctors should prescribe more antidepressants for people with mental health problems, study finds Research from Oxford University found that more than one million extra people suffering from mental health problems would benefit from being prescribed drugs and criticised ideological reasons doctors use to avoid doing so. Getty Health news in pictures Student dies of flu after NHS advice to stay at home and avoid A&E The family of a teenager who died from flu has urged people not to delay going to A&E if they are worried about their symptoms. Melissa Whiteley, an 18-year-old engineering student from Hanford in Stoke-on-Trent, fell ill at Christmas and died in hospital a month later. Just Giving Health news in pictures Government to review thousands of harmful vaginal mesh implants The Government has pledged to review tens of thousands of cases where women have been given harmful vaginal mesh implants. Getty Health news in pictures Jeremy Hunt announces 'zero suicides ambition' for the NHS The NHS will be asked to go further to prevent the deaths of patients in its care as part of a zero suicide ambition being launched today Getty Health news in pictures Human trials start with cancer treatment that primes immune system to kill off tumours Human trials have begun with a new cancer therapy that can prime the immune system to eradicate tumours. The treatment, that works similarly to a vaccine, is a combination of two existing drugs, of which tiny amounts are injected into the solid bulk of a tumour. Nephron Health news in pictures Babies' health suffers from being born near fracking sites, finds major study Mothers living within a kilometre of a fracking site were 25 per cent more likely to have a child born at low birth weight, which increase their chances of asthma, ADHD and other issues Getty Health news in pictures NHS reviewing thousands of cervical cancer smear tests after women wrongly given all-clear Thousands of cervical cancer screening results are under review after failings at a laboratory meant some women were incorrectly given the all-clear. A number of women have already been told to contact their doctors following the identification of procedural issues in the service provided by Pathology First Laboratory. Rex Health news in pictures Potential key to halting breast cancer's spread discovered by scientists Most breast cancer patients do not die from their initial tumour, but from secondary malignant growths (metastases), where cancer cells are able to enter the blood and survive to invade new sites. Asparagine, a molecule named after asparagus where it was first identified in high quantities, has now been shown to be an essential ingredient for tumour cells to gain these migratory properties. Getty Health news in pictures NHS nursing vacancies at record high with more than 34,000 roles advertised A record number of nursing and midwifery positions are currently being advertised by the NHS, with more than 34,000 positions currently vacant, according to the latest data. Demand for nurses was 19 per cent higher between July and September 2017 than the same period two years ago. REX Health news in pictures Cannabis extract could provide new class of treatment for psychosis CBD has a broadly opposite effect to delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the main active component in cannabis and the substance that causes paranoia and anxiety. Getty Health news in pictures Over 75,000 sign petition calling for Richard Branson's Virgin Care to hand settlement money back to NHS Mr Bransons company sued the NHS last year after it lost out on an 82m contract to provide childrens health services across Surrey, citing concerns over serious flaws in the way the contract was awarded PA Health news in pictures More than 700 fewer nurses training in England in first year after NHS bursary scrapped The numbers of people accepted to study nursing in England fell 3 per cent in 2017, while the numbers accepted in Wales and Scotland, where the bursaries were kept, increased 8.4 per cent and 8 per cent respectively Getty Health news in pictures Landmark study links Tory austerity to 120,000 deaths The paper found that there were 45,000 more deaths in the first four years of Tory-led efficiencies than would have been expected if funding had stayed at pre-election levels. On this trajectory that could rise to nearly 200,000 excess deaths by the end of 2020, even with the extra funding that has been earmarked for public sector services this year. Reuters Health news in pictures Long commutes carry health risks Hours of commuting may be mind-numbingly dull, but new research shows that it might also be having an adverse effect on both your health and performance at work. Longer commutes also appear to have a significant impact on mental wellbeing, with those commuting longer 33 per cent more likely to suffer from depression Shutterstock Health news in pictures You cannot be fit and fat It is not possible to be overweight and healthy, a major new study has concluded. The study of 3.5 million Britons found that even metabolically healthy obese people are still at a higher risk of heart disease or a stroke than those with a normal weight range Getty Health news in pictures Sleep deprivation When you feel particularly exhausted, it can definitely feel like you are also lacking in brain capacity. Now, a new study has suggested this could be because chronic sleep deprivation can actually cause the brain to eat itself Shutterstock Health news in pictures Exercise classes offering 45 minute naps launch David Lloyd Gyms have launched a new health and fitness class which is essentially a bunch of people taking a nap for 45 minutes. The fitness group was spurred to launch the napercise class after research revealed 86 per cent of parents said they were fatigued. The class is therefore predominantly aimed at parents but you actually do not have to have children to take part Getty Health news in pictures 'Fundamental right to health' to be axed after Brexit, lawyers warn Tobacco and alcohol companies could win more easily in court cases such as the recent battle over plain cigarette packaging if the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights is abandoned, a barrister and public health professor have said Getty Health news in pictures 'Thousands dying' due to fear over non-existent statin side-effects A major new study into the side effects of the cholesterol-lowering medicine suggests common symptoms such as muscle pain and weakness are not caused by the drugs themselves Getty Health news in pictures Babies born to fathers aged under 25 have higher risk of autism New research has found that babies born to fathers under the age of 25 or over 51 are at higher risk of developing autism and other social disorders. The study, conducted by the Seaver Autism Center for Research and Treatment at Mount Sinai, found that these children are actually more advanced than their peers as infants, but then fall behind by the time they hit their teenage years Getty Health news in pictures Cycling to work could halve risk of cancer and heart disease Commuters who swap their car or bus pass for a bike could cut their risk of developing heart disease and cancer by almost half, new research suggests but campaigners have warned there is still an urgent need to improve road conditions for cyclists. Cycling to work is linked to a lower risk of developing cancer by 45 per cent and cardiovascular disease by 46 per cent, according to a study of a quarter of a million people. Walking to work also brought health benefits, the University of Glasgow researchers found, but not to the same degree as cycling. Getty The memorandum said homeopathy should not have a place in Russias national health system, making recommendations to the ministry of health and other bodies to introduce mandatory labelling stating homeopathy is not proven to work and protect citizens from misleading advertising. The same recommendation was made by the American Federal Trade Commission in November, with the government agency requiring that producers need to state that there is no scientific evidence that the product works on packaging. Australias National Health and Medical Research Council said was no evidence that homeopathy was effective in 2015, when a the University of Barcelona also scrapped its course in the treatment following the death of a six-year-old boy. In the UK, two NHS hospitals offer homeopathy as well as some GP services, despite the body declaring that there is no good quality evidence that homeopathy is an effective treatment. A report released in 2010 by the House of Commons Science and Technology Committee said that homeopathic remedies perform no better than placebos, and that the principles on which homeopathy is based are scientifically implausible. 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 Syrian refugee suing Facebook over fake news falsely accusing him of terrorism says he has a good feeling about the outcome of the landmark case. Anas Modamanis chance selfie with Angela Merkel at his shelter in Berlin went viral in 2015, with the initially positive reaction becoming increasingly sinister after a wave of terror attacks in Europe. The teenagers picture was used in Facebook posts accusing him of links to terrorist attacks and the attempted murder of a homeless man in Berlin, with the images remaining online despite a series of attempts to have them removed. Anas Modamani, a teenage Syrian refugee, took a selfie with Angela Merkel when she visited his shelter in Berlin on 10 September 2015 (Anas Modamani) Mr Modamani, now 19, is now suing Facebook for damages and seeking an injunction that would force the social media giant to actively search for and remove such posts, rather than wait for users to flag violations of the sites community standards. His lawyer, Chan-jo Jun, said that Facebook has a legal responsibility to remove defamatory or discriminatory content that violates German law. Instead, Facebook has created an environment that allows illegal content to thrive, he told The Independent, saying malicious posts about Mr Modamani had remained online despite repeated complaints. Mr Jun said that the legal community has a chance to curb fake news, at least where the rights of individuals are violated, and hopes his case could set a precedent for the future. It also names a politician from the anti-immigrant Alternative for Germany party, who was allegedly among hundreds of people who shared one of the posts featuring the Syrian refugees picture. The case opened at Wurzburg district court on Monday, with the courtroom packed with journalists and supporters. Martin Munz, a lawyer representing Facebook, told the court that a billion pieces of content can be uploaded to the site in a single day, and that a miracle machine would be needed to sort through it. Refugees settle in Germany Show all 12 1 /12 Refugees settle in Germany Refugees settle in Germany Germany Mohamed Zayat, a refugee from Syria, plays with his daughter Ranim, who is nearly 3, in the one room they and Mohamed's wife Laloosh call home at an asylum-seekers' shelter in Vossberg village on October 9, 2015 in Letschin, Germany. The Zayats arrived approximately two months ago after trekking through Turkey, Greece and the Balkans and are now waiting for local authorities to process their asylum application, after which they will be allowed to live independently and settle elsewhere in Germany. Approximately 60 asylum-seekers, mostly from Syria, Chechnya and Somalia, live at the Vossberg shelter, which is run by the Arbeiter-Samariter Bund (ASB) charity 2015 Getty Images Refugees settle in Germany Germany A refugee child Amnat Musayeva points to a star with her photo and name that decorates the door to her classroom as teacher Martina Fischer looks on at the local kindergarten Amnat and her siblings attend on October 9, 2015 in Letschin, Germany. The children live with their family at an asylum-seekers' shelter in nearby Vossberg village and are waiting for local authorities to process their asylum applications. Approximately 60 asylum-seekers, mostly from Syria, Chechnya and Somalia, live at the Vossberg shelter, which is run by the Arbeiter-Samariter Bund (ASB) charity Getty Images Refugees settle in Germany Germany Kurdish Syrian asylum-applicant Mohamed Ali Hussein (R), 19, and fellow applicant Autur, from Latvia, load benches onto a truckbed while performing community service, for which they receive a small allowance, in Wilhelmsaue village on October 9, 2015 near Letschin, Germany. Mohamed and Autur live at an asylum-applicants' shelter in nearby Vossberg village. Approximately 60 asylum-seekers, mostly from Syria, Chechnya and Somalia, live at the Vossberg shelter, which is run by the Arbeiter-Samariter Bund (ASB) charity Getty Images Refugees settle in Germany Germany Mohamed Ali Hussein ((L), 19, and his cousin Sinjar Hussein, 34, sweep leaves at a cemetery in Gieshof village, for which they receive a small allowance, near Letschin Getty Images Refugees settle in Germany Germany Mohamed Zayat, a refugee from Syria, looks among donated clothing in the basement of the asylum-seekers' shelter that is home to Mohamed, his wife Laloosh and their daughter Ranim as residents' laundry dries behind in Vossberg village on October 9, 2015 in Letschin, Germany. The Zayats arrived approximately two months ago after trekking through Turkey, Greece and the Balkans and are now waiting for local authorities to process their asylum application, after which they will be allowed to live independently and settle elsewhere in Germany Getty Images Refugees settle in Germany Germany Asya Sugaipova (L), Mohza Mukayeva and Khadra Zhukova prepare food in the communal kitchen at the asylum-seekers' shelter that is their home in Vossberg village in Letschin Getty Images Refugees settle in Germany Germany Efrah Abdullahi Ahmed looks down from the communal kitchen window at her daughter Sumaya, 10, who had just returned from school, at the asylum-seekers' shelter that is their home in Vossberg Getty Images Refugees settle in Germany Germany Asylum-applicants, including Syrians Mohamed Ali Hussein (C-R, in black jacket) and Fadi Almasalmeh (C), return from grocery shopping with other refugees to the asylum-applicants' shelter that is their home in Vossberg village in Letschin Getty Images Refugees settle in Germany Germany Mohamed Zayat (2nd from L), a refugee from Syria, smokes a cigarette after shopping for groceries with his daughter Ranim, who is nearly 3, and fellow-Syrian refugees Mohamed Ali Hussein (C) and Fadi Almasalmeh (L) at a local supermarket on October 9, 2015 in Letschin, Germany. All of them live at an asylum-seekers' shelter in nearby Vossberg village and are waiting for local authorities to process their asylum applications, after which they will be allowed to live independently and settle elsewhere in Germany 2015 Getty Images Refugees settle in Germany Germany Kurdish Syrian refugees Leila, 9, carries her sister Avin, 1, in the backyard at the asylum-seekers' shelter that is home to them and their family in Vossberg village in Letschin Getty Images Refugees settle in Germany Germany Somali refugees and husband and wife Said Ahmed Gure (R) and Ayaan Gure pose with their infant son Muzammili, who was born in Germany, in the room they share at an asylum-seekers' shelter in Vossberg village on October 9, 2015 in Letschin, Germany. Approximately 60 asylum-seekers, mostly from Syria, Chechnya and Somalia, live at the Vossberg shelter, which is run by the Arbeiter-Samariter Bund (ASB) charity, and are waiting for authorities to process their application for asylum 2015 Getty Images Refugees settle in Germany Germany German Chancellor Angela Merkel pauses for a selfie with a refugee after she visited the AWO Refugium Askanierring shelter for refugees in Berlin Getty Images Judge Volkmar Seipel, who admitted he was not a Facebook user himself, adjourned the case until 7 March for time to assess both sides. An amicable agreement is not possible today, he said at the close of a 40-minute hearing. The judge will make a ruling next month, unless Facebook and Mr Modamanis representatives reach an out-of-court settlement in the interim period. The Syrian refugee, who now lives in Berlin with a German family, said he was returning home with a good feeling. Mr Modamani had only been in Germany for a couple of weeks after journeying across the Aegean Sea and through the Balkans from a war-torn suburb of Damascus when he snapped his chance photo with Ms Merkel. But the teenager had no idea that an agency photographer standing metres away had captured the moment on camera, with the image going viral in a matter of hours and dominating international news coverage. It was swiftly picked up by far-right activists and groups in hate-fuelled social media posts that evolved into fake news stories spread on Facebook, accusing Mr Modamani of terrorism and attempted murder. Among them is a combination of his selfie with CCTV images of one of the Brussels bombers, alleging he was among Isis militants who attacked the Belgian capital, with the caption you reap what you sow. One of the Facebook posts, which remains available on the site, falsely accusing Anas Modamani of involvement in an attack on a homeless man in Berlin The jihadis were identified, but Mr Modamani remained a target. As the hunt continued for the man who rammed a lorry into a Christmas market in Berlin in December, his photo popped up again. It was superimposed on photos of the wreckage from the massacre in a mock news story with the headline They are Merkels dead. Then, after a homeless man was set on fire by seven migrants at a Berlin underground station over Christmas, Mr Modamani was falsely alleged to be among the suspects. The lies were repeated on Twitter and on websites posing as anti-mainstream media news outlets, where the articles remain. He hoped the false stories would die down but as malicious claims continued to surface in new incarnations, an activist group that debunked the allegations put him in touch with a lawyer. I came to Germany because I wanted to live in peace, away from danger, Mr Modamani told The Independent ahead of the court case. I dont want anyone to continue using my photo on Facebook. I want to live in peace without any problems. A spokesperson for Facebook said it took down one piece of content that violates Mr Modamani's right of personality at his lawyers request, adding: Access to that reported content was quickly disabled, so we do not believe there is any basis for him to seek an injunction. The case is being closely watched as Germany prepares new legislation to force the social network to remove hate speech from its web pages within 24 hours or face fines. 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 prominent critic of Vladimir Putin who was rushed to hospital with organ failure had been planning to travel to the United States later that day, his wife has revealed. Vladimir Kara-Murza, who works for pro-democracy group Open Russia, was taken to an intensive care unit in Moscow on 2 February and remains in a grave condition. The 34-year-old had spent the night at his in-laws home where his wife and two children live, when he fell ill hours before they were due to fly to Washington DC. In 2015, the activist and journalist spent two months in hospitals after surviving a suspected poisoning. Evgenia, his wife, told The Independent: They are symptoms that resemble those from two years ago. My parents called me and I asked the ambulance to take my husband to the same medical team he was with last time. They were supposed to fly to Washington together that same day. The last time Ms Kara-Murza spoke to her husband was the night he became ill. He spoke to me at the onset of his symptoms, she said. He called me to say he was not feeling right, that he had an accelerated heart rate and trouble breathing. Murdered Kremlin critic Boris Nemtsov remembered at rally His medical team have diagnosed an acute intoxication by an unidentified substance. Mr Kara-Murza had been travelling around Russia in recent weeks to conduct screenings of his documentary about his friend Boris Nemtsov, a liberal opposition politician who was assassinated near the Kremlin in 2015. The day before falling ill, he had paid tribute to Nemtsov on Facebook. No definite cause was ever established for Mr Kara-Murzas illness in 2015, but both he and his wife believe it was intentional poisoning. There are unfortunately many people very irritated with my husbands activities, so its very hard to determine who exactly could be behind both attacks, or one of them, Ms Kara-Murza said. In pictures: Marchers mourn Boris Nemtsov in Moscow Show all 7 1 /7 In pictures: Marchers mourn Boris Nemtsov in Moscow In pictures: Marchers mourn Boris Nemtsov in Moscow Russian protest march People march in Moscow in memory of opposition leader Boris Nemtsov (Dmitry Lovetsky/AP) In pictures: Marchers mourn Boris Nemtsov in Moscow Russian protest march A man prepares portraits of opposition leader Boris Nemtsov who was gunned down on Friday (AP/Pavel Golovkin) AP/Pavel Golovkin In pictures: Marchers mourn Boris Nemtsov in Moscow Russian protest march People hold posters of Kremlin critic Boris Nemtsov, who was shot dead on Friday night, during a march to commemorate him in central Moscow (SERGEI KARPUKHIN/Reuters) (SERGEI KARPUKHIN/Reuters) In pictures: Marchers mourn Boris Nemtsov in Moscow Russian protest march Riot police near the site of Russian opposition veteran leader Boris Nemtsov killing in central Moscow (SERGEI ILNITSKY/EPA) SERGEI ILNITSKY/EPA In pictures: Marchers mourn Boris Nemtsov in Moscow Russian protest march People hold flags and posters during a march to commemorate Kremlin critic Boris Nemtsov, who was shot dead on Friday night, in central Moscow (MAXIM SHEMETOV/Reuters) MAXIM SHEMETOV/Reuters In pictures: Marchers mourn Boris Nemtsov in Moscow Russian protest march Portraits of murdered Russian opposition veteran leader Boris Nemtsov are held by members of the crowd (EPA/SERGEI ILNITSKY) In pictures: Marchers mourn Boris Nemtsov in Moscow Russian protest march People march in memory of opposition leader Boris Nemtsov (Pavel Golovkin/AP) AP Speaking in 2016, Mr Kara-Murza said he had no doubt his ordeal two years ago was a deliberate poisoning aimed to kill, and that it was politically motivated. I was a healthy 33-year-old man. Suddenly, when all of your major organs shut down within 24 hours, one after another that doesn't just happen, he told RFE. Doctors are currently trying to wake Mr Kara-Murza from his coma by lowering the dosage of his medication. 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 }} Russia's air force has been ordered to prepare for a "time of war". President Vladimir Putin has ordered a "snap check" of the country's armed forces, accoording to defense minister Sergey Shoigu. As well as checking whether agencies and troops are ready for battle, the same order will ensure that systems are ready to fight, according to state news agency TASS. Those preparations have already begun, according to Russian ministers. World news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 World news in pictures World news in pictures 30 September 2020 Pope Francis prays with priests at the end of a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 29 September 2020 A girl's silhouette is seen from behind a fabric in a tent along a beach by Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 September 2020 A Chinese woman takes a photo of herself in front of a flower display dedicated to frontline health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Beijing, China. China will celebrate national day marking the founding of the People's Republic of China on October 1st Getty World news in pictures 27 September 2020 The Glass Mountain Inn burns as the Glass Fire moves through the area in St. Helena, California. The fast moving Glass fire has burned over 1,000 acres and has destroyed homes Getty World news in pictures 26 September 2020 A villager along with a child offers prayers next to a carcass of a wild elephant that officials say was electrocuted in Rani Reserve Forest on the outskirts of Guwahati, India AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 September 2020 The casket of late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is seen in Statuary Hall in the US Capitol to lie in state in Washington, DC AFP via Getty World news in pictures 24 September 2020 An anti-government protester holds up an image of a pro-democracy commemorative plaque at a rally outside Thailand's parliament in Bangkok, as activists gathered to demand a new constitution AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 September 2020 A whale stranded on a beach in Macquarie Harbour on the rugged west coast of Tasmania, as hundreds of pilot whales have died in a mass stranding in southern Australia despite efforts to save them, with rescuers racing to free a few dozen survivors The Mercury/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 22 September 2020 State civil employee candidates wearing face masks and shields take a test in Surabaya AFP via Getty World news in pictures 21 September 2020 A man sweeps at the Taj Mahal monument on the day of its reopening after being closed for more than six months due to the coronavirus pandemic AP World news in pictures 20 September 2020 A deer looks for food in a burnt area, caused by the Bobcat fire, in Pearblossom, California EPA World news in pictures 19 September 2020 Anti-government protesters hold their mobile phones aloft as they take part in a pro-democracy rally in Bangkok. Tens of thousands of pro-democracy protesters massed close to Thailand's royal palace, in a huge rally calling for PM Prayut Chan-O-Cha to step down and demanding reforms to the monarchy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 September 2020 Supporters of Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr maintain social distancing as they attend Friday prayers after the coronavirus disease restrictions were eased, in Kufa mosque, near Najaf, Iraq Reuters World news in pictures 17 September 2020 A protester climbs on The Triumph of the Republic at 'the Place de la Nation' as thousands of protesters take part in a demonstration during a national day strike called by labor unions asking for better salary and against jobs cut in Paris, France EPA World news in pictures 16 September 2020 A fire raging near the Lazzaretto of Ancona in Italy. The huge blaze broke out overnight at the port of Ancona. Firefighters have brought the fire under control but they expected to keep working through the day EPA World news in pictures 15 September 2020 Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny posing for a selfie with his family at Berlin's Charite hospital. In an Instagram post he said he could now breathe independently following his suspected poisoning last month Alexei Navalny/Instagram/AFP World news in pictures 14 September 2020 Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba and former Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida celebrate after Suga was elected as new head of the ruling party at the Liberal Democratic Party's leadership election in Tokyo Reuters World news in pictures 13 September 2020 A man stands behind a burning barricade during the fifth straight day of protests against police brutality in Bogota AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 September 2020 Police officers block and detain protesters during an opposition rally to protest the official presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus. Daily protests calling for the authoritarian president's resignation are now in their second month AP World news in pictures 11 September 2020 Members of 'Omnium Cultural' celebrate the 20th 'Festa per la llibertat' ('Fiesta for the freedom') to mark the Day of Catalonia in Barcelona. Omnion Cultural fights for the independence of Catalonia EPA World news in pictures 10 September 2020 The Moria refugee camp, two days after Greece's biggest migrant camp, was destroyed by fire. Thousands of asylum seekers on the island of Lesbos are now homeless AFP via Getty World news in pictures 9 September 2020 Pope Francis takes off his face mask as he arrives by car to hold a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 8 September 2020 A home is engulfed in flames during the "Creek Fire" in the Tollhouse area of California AFP via Getty World news in pictures 7 September 2020 A couple take photos along a sea wall of the waves brought by Typhoon Haishen in the eastern port city of Sokcho AFP via Getty World news in pictures 6 September 2020 Novak Djokovic and a tournament official tends to a linesperson who was struck with a ball by Djokovic during his match against Pablo Carreno Busta at the US Open USA Today Sports/Reuters World news in pictures 5 September 2020 Protesters confront police at the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne, Australia, during an anti-lockdown rally AFP via Getty World news in pictures 4 September 2020 A woman looks on from a rooftop as rescue workers dig through the rubble of a damaged building in Beirut. A search began for possible survivors after a scanner detected a pulse one month after the mega-blast at the adjacent port AFP via Getty World news in pictures 3 September 2020 A full moon next to the Virgen del Panecillo statue in Quito, Ecuador EPA World news in pictures 2 September 2020 A Palestinian woman reacts as Israeli forces demolish her animal shed near Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank Reuters World news in pictures 1 September 2020 Students protest against presidential elections results in Minsk TUT.BY/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 31 August 2020 The pack rides during the 3rd stage of the Tour de France between Nice and Sisteron AFP via Getty World news in pictures 30 August 2020 Law enforcement officers block a street during a rally of opposition supporters protesting against presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus Reuters World news in pictures 29 August 2020 A woman holding a placard reading "Stop Censorship - Yes to the Freedom of Expression" shouts in a megaphone during a protest against the mandatory wearing of face masks in Paris. Masks, which were already compulsory on public transport, in enclosed public spaces, and outdoors in Paris in certain high-congestion areas around tourist sites, were made mandatory outdoors citywide on August 28 to fight the rising coronavirus infections AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 August 2020 Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe bows to the national flag at the start of a press conference at the prime minister official residence in Tokyo. Abe announced he will resign over health problems, in a bombshell development that kicks off a leadership contest in the world's third-largest economy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 27 August 2020 Residents take cover behind a tree trunk from rubber bullets fired by South African Police Service (SAPS) in Eldorado Park, near Johannesburg, during a protest by community members after a 16-year old boy was reported dead AFP via Getty World news in pictures 26 August 2020 People scatter rose petals on a statue of Mother Teresa marking her 110th birth anniversary in Ahmedabad AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 August 2020 An aerial view shows beach-goers standing on salt formations in the Dead Sea near Ein Bokeq, Israel Reuters World news in pictures 24 August 2020 Health workers use a fingertip pulse oximeter and check the body temperature of a fisherwoman inside the Dharavi slum during a door-to-door Covid-19 coronavirus screening in Mumbai AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 August 2020 People carry an idol of the Hindu god Ganesh, the deity of prosperity, to immerse it off the coast of the Arabian sea during the Ganesh Chaturthi festival in Mumbai, India Reuters World news in pictures 22 August 2020 Firefighters watch as flames from the LNU Lightning Complex fires approach a home in Napa County, California AP World news in pictures 21 August 2020 Members of the Israeli security forces arrest a Palestinian demonstrator during a rally to protest against Israel's plan to annex parts of the occupied West Bank AFP via Getty World news in pictures 20 August 2020 A man pushes his bicycle through a deserted road after prohibitory orders were imposed by district officials for a week to contain the spread of the Covid-19 in Kathmandu AFP via Getty World news in pictures 19 August 2020 A car burns while parked at a residence in Vacaville, California. Dozens of fires are burning out of control throughout Northern California as fire resources are spread thin AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 August 2020 Students use their mobile phones as flashlights at an anti-government rally at Mahidol University in Nakhon Pathom. Thailand has seen near-daily protests in recent weeks by students demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha AFP via Getty World news in pictures 17 August 2020 Members of the Kayapo tribe block the BR163 highway during a protest outside Novo Progresso in Para state, Brazil. Indigenous protesters blocked a major transamazonian highway to protest against the lack of governmental support during the COVID-19 novel coronavirus pandemic and illegal deforestation in and around their territories AFP via Getty World news in pictures 16 August 2020 Lightning forks over the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge as a storm passes over Oakland AP World news in pictures 15 August 2020 Belarus opposition supporters gather near the Pushkinskaya metro station where Alexander Taraikovsky, a 34-year-old protester died on August 10, during their protest rally in central Minsk AFP via Getty World news in pictures 14 August 2020 AlphaTauri's driver Daniil Kvyat takes part in the second practice session at the Circuit de Catalunya in Montmelo near Barcelona ahead of the Spanish F1 Grand Prix AFP via Getty World news in pictures 13 August 2020 Soldiers of the Brazilian Armed Forces during a disinfection of the Christ The Redeemer statue at the Corcovado mountain prior to the opening of the touristic attraction in Rio AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 August 2020 Young elephant bulls tussle playfully on World Elephant Day at the Amboseli National Park in Kenya AFP via Getty "In accordance with the decision by the Armed Forces Supreme Commander, a snap check of the Aerospace Forces began to evaluate readiness of the control agencies and troops to carry out combat training tasks," he said, according to TASS. "Special attention should be paid to combat alert, deployment of air defense systems for a time of war and air groupings readiness to repel the aggression," Shoigu added. The preparations come amid increasing concern about tensions between Russia and many of the world's largest superpowers. Donald Trump has both condemned Russia's military campaigns and been criticised for being too close to the country's leaders, and Russia itself is standing in an increasingly tense relationship with some Nato countries. The country has been increasing movement of its military including the launch of the biggest Arctic military push since the fall of the Soviet Union, last month. It has also revealed plans to expand its military over 2017, including a huge boost in the number of tanks, armoured vehicles and aircraft controlled by the company. 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 }} Somalias al-Shabaab militants have publicly beheaded four men after accusing them of spying on behalf of the government. The al-Qaeda linked organisation confirmed the executions and said the men were found guilty by an al-Shabaab court. "The court ruled on their cases and four of the men were executed publicly in Jamame District according to the Sharia this (Sunday) afternoon," Mohamed Abu Abdalla, al-Shabaabs governor for the Jubba region, told Reuters. "The four men admitted they were spies," he added. The news comes a fortnight after the group claimed responsibility for an attack outside a luxury hotel in Mogadishu. At least 13 people are reported to have been killed after heavy gunfire and two explosions. 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 Dozens of people, including politicians, were staying at the hotel at the time of the attack. Al-Shabaab was formed in 2004 and is a breakaway faction of the former Islamic Courts Union, which ruled much of Somalia until the end of 2006. The group is seeking to reassert its dominance against the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) and create an Islamic state in Somalia. 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 }} Israels Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said that UK Prime Minister Theresa Mays invitation for the Israeli premier to the centenary celebrations of the Balfour Declaration later this year speaks volumes about the closeness of the two countries. Ms May extended an invite to Mr Netanyahu during an official visit to London which concluded on Monday. While the Palestinians want to sue Britain for the Balfour Declaration, the British prime minister is inviting the Israeli prime minister to an event to mark the 100th anniversary of the declaration. That speaks volumes, Netanyahu said. Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu meets Theresa May The Balfour Declaration, as it is known, was a 1917 letter from British Foreign Secretary Arthur James Balfour to Lord Rothschild, head of the Zionist Federation of Great Britain and Ireland, promising support for the idea of a Jewish homeland in historical Palestine as long as the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities were not prejudiced. Britain ended up governing Palestine shortly afterward under mandate rule after the defeat of the Ottoman Empire in WWI. Mr Netanyahus remarks came as he wrapped up a two-day trip to Downing Street on Monday. During talks Ms May reiterated the UKs desire for a two-state solution in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. While the visit itself was described as warm, on Tuesday, the UK was the Jewish states first major ally to condemn the passage of a controversial bill retroactively legalising 4,000 wildcat Jewish homes built on private Palestinian land in the West Bank which cleared the Knesset very late the night before. Israel: From independence to intifada Show all 7 1 /7 Israel: From independence to intifada Israel: From independence to intifada 26973.bin Israel: From independence to intifada 26974.bin Israel: From independence to intifada 26975.bin Israel: From independence to intifada 26976.bin Israel: From independence to intifada 26977.bin Israel: From independence to intifada 26985.bin Robert Capa/Magnum Israel: From independence to intifada 26986.bin Robert Capa/Magnum A spokesperson for Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas said the new law was unacceptable if Israel was sincere in its commitment to a two-state solution. Last year Wafa, the Palestinian news agency, announced a years worth of action and protest in the run up to the Balfour Declarations centenary in November 2017, including a lawsuit and demands for a formal apology from the UK for its role the creation of the Jewish state. During a speech at the United Nations in New York last October, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas said that it was time the UK accepted its moral responsibility for the consequences of this declaration. We ask Great Britain, as we approach 100 years since this infamous declaration, to draw the necessary lessons and to bear its historic, legal, political, material and moral responsibility for the consequences of this declaration, including an apology to the Palestinian people for the catastrophes, misery and injustice this declaration created and to act to rectify these disasters and remedy its consequences, including by the recognition of the state of Palestine, Mr Abbas said. This is the least Great Britain can do. Also speaking at the UN, Mr Netanyahu criticised the PAs stance on the centenary, citing it as another example of the Palestinian refusal to recognise Israels right to exist. Thats almost 100 years ago Talk about being stuck in the past. The Palestinians might as well file a class action suit against Abraham, for buying land in Hebron, he said, referencing the Torah figure. At the time, a British Foreign and Commonwealth Office spokesperson that the government would not apologise for a historic statement but recognised that for many, it is a sensitive subject. The Balfour Declaration was a historic statement and one that the UK Government will not be apologising for We are focused on encouraging the Israelis and Palestinians to take steps which bring them closer to peace, they said, adding that the government supports a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. However, we do recognise the sensitivities many people have about the Balfour Declaration and will mark the anniversary accordingly. 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 20 people have been killed in a suicide bomb blast outside Afghanistan's Supreme Court in central Kabul, officials have said. At least 48 more were wounded in the explosion near a side door to the building used by employees leaving work at the end of the day, Interior Ministry deputy spokesperson Najib Danish said on Tuesday. The attacker approached on foot, detonating a vest rigged with explosives. Recommended Record number of children killed in Afghanistan as Isis expands "When I heard a bang I rushed toward the Supreme Court's parking lot to find my brother who works there," witness Dad Khuda told Reuters, adding he had found his brother alive. "Unfortunately, several people were killed and wounded." A Reuters reporter at the scene said splashes of blood could be seen on the snowy street as several ambulances removed people from the area and police shut down surrounding roads. Also on Tuesday, a roadside bomb in western Farah province killed the region's top police official Abdul Khaliq on his way home from a mosque, an attack immediately claimed by the Taliban. It is not yet clear who was responsible for the Kabul attack, but twin bombings in the same area last month which killed around 30 people and injured 70 were also claimed by the Taliban. Kabul residents feel unsafe despite heavy security Extremists have attacked the top court and its employees in the past, as well as court buildings in other provinces. 2017's attacks come after a period of relative calm in Afghanistan's capital despite the years of Taliban insurgency aimed at overthrowing the government and removing foreign soldiers from Afghan soil, as well as more recent attacks by Isis. Last year was the deadliest year on record for civilian casualties since 2001, with 3,498 recorded deaths, the UN says. An investigation into Tuesday's Kabul attack is underway, the Interior Ministry 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 }} Mahmoud Abbas has condemned as an aggression against the Palestinian people a vote in Israels Knesset to legalise thousands of wildcat settlement homes built on private land in the West Bank. After more than a week of parliamentary discussion members of the Israeli parliament voted on the controversial legislation, retroactively recognising 4,000 Jewish homes in 54 outpost settlements late on Monday night. Speaking after a meeting with the French President Francois Hollande in Paris on Tuesday, Mr Abbas said the bill was contrary to international law. This is an aggression against our people that we will be opposing in international organisations, the President of the Palestinian Authority said. What we want is peace.... but what Israel does is to work towards one state based on apartheid. The bill was narrowly passed by 60 votes to 52 in the 120-member Knesset in Monday's late-night vote. During a heated debate, cabinet minister Ofir Akunis said: We are voting tonight on our right to the land. We are voting tonight on the connection between the Jewish people and its land. This whole land is ours. All of it. Outpost or wildcat settlements, as they are sometimes known, have been built on Palestinian land without government permission. The international community, which views all Israeli building over the 1967 Green Line as illegitimate, does not recognise the distinction between outposts and regular settlements. The vote marks the first time Israel has applied its own civil law to land it recognises as Palestinian-owned in the West Bank. It is the latest in a string of bold pro-settlement steps the state has undertaken since US President Donald Trump took office last month. Thousands of new homes are slated for construction in the West Bank and East Jerusalem now that Barack Obama, who was critical of settlement building, has given way. President Trump is more sympathetic to Israeli interests, although his administration has blown hot and cold over the subject of settlements in the last week, warning the new legislation on outposts would not be helpful for the peace process. Barack Obama uses final interview as President to slam Israeli policy on settlements The US has not issued an official statement on Mondays vote. The State Department later said: The Trump administration will withhold comment on the legislation until the relevant court ruling. The legislation stipulates that the original Palestinian owners of the land should be given either generous financial compensation or land elsewhere, whether they agree to such a deal or not. The Palestinian Liberation Organisation (PLO) has described the measure as being as good as a declaration of war, and PLO secretary general Saeb Erekat said the bill is putting the last nail in the coffin of the two-state solution. Palestinian Authority cabinet minister Rula Maayaa insisted that nobody can legalise the theft of the Palestinian lands.... I think it is time now for the international community to act concretely to stop the Israelis from [committing] these crimes. The explosive law, proposed by the right-wing Jewish Home party, is expected to trigger lawsuits and reach Israels Supreme Court. Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu meets Theresa May Israels Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit reportedly told Mr Netanyahu earlier this month that he would not defend the legislation against the expected legal challenges because he believes it violates both Israeli and international law. Mr Netanyahu himself who missed the vote as he was travelling back from talks with Prime Minister Theresa May in London is thought to have personal misgivings about the law, which is popular with right-wing Jewish Israeli voters, but has split the population more generally. Critics have warned it could drag Israel into a legal battle at the International Criminal Court at The Hague, which is already pursuing a preliminary examination into settlements. Among the law's problematic elements is that the West Bank is not sovereign Israeli territory, and that Palestinians who live there are not citizens and therefore do not have the right to vote for the government that imposed the law on them. Before the law passed, Nickolay Mladenov, the UNs envoy for the Middle East peace process, called on Israeli MKs to vote against the law, warning it will have far-reaching legal consequences for Israel and greatly diminish the prospects for Arab-Israeli peace. At least 15 people died in air strikes on the rebel-held Syrian city of Idlib on Tuesday, in some of the heaviest raids there in months, residents and a rescue worker said. Around eight attacks by what were believed to be Russian jets wounded scores of people and leveled several multi-storey buildings in residential areas of the northwestern city, they added. "We are still pulling bodies from the rubble," Issam al Idlibi, a volunteer civil defense worker, said. Most of the casualties were civilians and the death toll would probably rise, he added. The extent of the damage and the debris bore the hallmarks of a Russian attack, said two witnesses. There was no immediate comment from Moscow. Russian planes have targeted a number of towns and villages in the area since entering the Syrian conflict in September 2015 to back ally President Bashar al-Assad. But activists and residents said there had been a reduction of Russian strikes in Idlib province since a Turkish-Russian brokered cessation of hostilities late December. Planes from the U.S.-led coalition have also launched a number of attacks in the rural province, a major stronghold of militants, many of them formerly affiliated to al Qaeda. Idlib's population has been swollen by thousands of Syrian fighters and their families who were evacuated from villages and towns around Damascus and Aleppo city retaken by the government in recent months. Search Keywords: Short link: 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 West Banks Palestinian Authority (PA) has set up a committee to come up with worst-case scenario financial strategies that may unfold for Palestinians now that US President Donald Trump, who is sympathetic to Israeli interests, has entered office. While one of former President Barack Obamas last actions before leaving the post was releasing $221 million (179 million) in aid to the PA, new White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer has suggested that Mr Trump could renege on the commitment. On the campaign trail Mr Trump was vociferous in his support for right-wing Israeli positions such as unpicking the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, settlement building in the West Bank, and moving the US embassy to the contested city of Jerusalem. While Mr Trumps administration has used more cautious language since he was inaugurated on January 20, Israel has still welcomed him as a friend in the White House, a significant shift after eight years of worsening relations with predecessor Barack Obama. Palestinians widely view the bold new Israeli announcement of the building of thousands of new settlement homes in the West Bank as a direct result of encouragement from Mr Trump, as the Palestinian Liberation Organisation (PLO) described it. Many are worried that either the threat or lure of financial aid will be used to make Palestinians negotiate despite the distaste for recent Israeli actions. Under Trump, the road ahead will be full of challenges, as US aid to the PA will be possibly reduced, Ghassan al-Khatib, the former Palestinian labour minister and former director of the Government Media Office, told Al-Monitor. Barack Obama uses final interview as President to slam Israeli policy on settlements The US has steadily cut the amount of money given directly to the PA Treasury since 2008, channelling more and more into NGOs and development projects instead. On average, US input into the PAs budget totalled $300 million (240 million) a year under Mr Obama. While the majority of the PAs financial support comes from the EU, rather than the US, the UK governments strengthened ties with Israel - demonstrated by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahus visit to Downing Street this week - and a possible right-wing political shift in the French elections later this year are yet more cause for worry. Trump might influence the positions of international parties to halt the financial support given to the PA due to the weak Palestinian impact on the international political scene, Mr Khatib added. 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 Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is persecuting prominent activists and other dissidents with renewed zeal so far into 2017, a human rights monitor has claimed. Two people were sentenced to lengthy jail terms and two more detained without change in January alone, New York-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) says. The four were arrested after being accused of contact with international media and rights organisations, detentions which HRW says fit a pattern of ongoing repression against peaceful advocates and dissidents, including harassment, intimidation, smear campaigns, travel bans, detention, and prosecution. At least 20 prominent critics of the Saudi kingdoms repressive stance on womens rights and issues such as capital punishment have been sentenced to jail terms of as long as 15 years since 2011. People who defy the strictly conservative countrys laws are routinely charged with vague offences such as breaking allegiance to the ruler or participating in protests - the broad terms of which have been criticised internationally for not constituting recognisable crimes. Authorities in Saudi Arabia have used a viral party video to identify and arrest partygoers in the country. Saudi Arabia is trying to silence and lock away anyone who doesnt toe the official line or dares to express an independent view on politics, religion, or human rights, said Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East director at Human Rights Watch. When will the Saudi authorities understand that talking to the media or an international organisation should not be a crime? The kingdom has ratified the Arab Charter on Human Rights, which guarantees the right to freedom of opinion and expression. 10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses Show all 10 1 /10 10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses 10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses In October 2014, three lawyers, Dr Abdulrahman al-Subaihi, Bander al-Nogaithan and Abdulrahman al-Rumaih , were sentenced to up to eight years in prison for using Twitter to criticize the Ministry of Justice. AFP/Getty Images 10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses In March 2015, Yemens Sunni President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi was forced into exile after a Shia-led insurgency. A Saudi Arabia-led coalition has responded with air strikes in order to reinstate Mr Hadi. It has since been accused of committing war crimes in the country. Getty Images 10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses Women who supported the Women2Drive campaign, launched in 2011 to challenge the ban on women driving vehicles, faced harassment and intimidation by the authorities. The government warned that women drivers would face arrest. Getty Images 10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses Members of the Kingdoms Shia minority, most of whom live in the oil-rich Eastern Province, continue to face discrimination that limits their access to government services and employment. Activists have received death sentences or long prison terms for their alleged participation in protests in 2011 and 2012. Getty Images 10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses All public gatherings are prohibited under an order issued by the Interior Ministry in 2011. Those defy the ban face arrest, prosecution and imprisonment on charges such as inciting people against the authorities. Getty Images 10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses In March 2014, the Interior Ministry stated that authorities had deported over 370,000 foreign migrants and that 18,000 others were in detention. Thousands of workers were returned to Somalia and other states where they were at risk of human rights abuses, with large numbers also returned to Yemen, in order to open more jobs to Saudi Arabians. Many migrants reported that prior to their deportation they had been packed into overcrowded makeshift detention facilities where they received little food and water and were abused by guards. Getty Images 10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses The Saudi Arabian authorities continue to deny access to independent human rights organisations like Amnesty International, and they have been known to take punitive action, including through the courts, against activists and family members of victims who contact Amnesty. Getty Images 10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses Raif Badawi was sentenced to 1000 lashes and 10 years in prison for using his liberal blog to criticise Saudi Arabias clerics. He has already received 50 lashes, which have reportedly left him in poor health. Carsten Koall/Getty Images 10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses Dawood al-Marhoon was arrested aged 17 for participating in an anti-government protest. After refusing to spy on his fellow protestors, he was tortured and forced to sign a blank document that would later contain his confession. At Dawoods trial, the prosecution requested death by crucifixion while refusing him a lawyer. Getty Images 10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses Ali Mohammed al-Nimr was arrested in 2012 aged either 16 or 17 for participating in protests during the Arab spring. His sentence includes beheading and crucifixion. The international community has spoken out against the punishment and has called on Saudi Arabia to stop. He is the nephew of a prominent government dissident. Getty Saudi Arabia repeatedly demonstrates its complete intolerance toward citizens who speak out for human rights and reform, Ms Whitson added. Saudi Arabias embassy to the UK did not respond to The Independents repeated requests for comment. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said US President Donald Trump prioritising the fight against jihadists by Islamic State was promising although it was too early to expect any practical steps, state news agency SANA has reported. Trump has indicated he might cut US support for Syrian rebels and might help Syria in the fight against Islamic State. He has made defeating Islamic State a core goal of his presidency and signed an executive order asking the Pentagon, the joint chiefs of staff and other agencies to submit a preliminary plan on how to proceed within 30 days. Assad was quoted by SANA as telling a group of Belgian reporters: I believe this is promising but we have to wait and it's too early to expect anything practical. In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Show all 30 1 /30 In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria A Syrian family arrives at a checkpoint, manned by pro-government forces, at the al-Hawoz street roundabout, after leaving Aleppo's eastern neighbourhoods Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria A Syrian woman, fleeing violence in the restive Bustan al-Qasr neighbourhood, reacts as she stands with her children in Aleppo's Fardos neighbourhood, after regime troops retook the area from rebel fighters Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrian pro-regime fighters, gesture as they drive past resident fleeing violence in the restive Bustan al-Qasr neighbourhood, in Aleppo's Fardos neighbourhood Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrian rebels withdrew from six more neighbourhoods in their one-time bastion of east Aleppo in the face of advancing government troops, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrian rebels withdrew from six more neighbourhoods in their one-time bastion of east Aleppo in the face of advancing government troops, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrian residents, fleeing violence in the restive Bustan al-Qasr neighbourhood, arrive in Aleppo's Fardos neighbourhood , after regime troops retook the area from rebel fighters Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrian pro-regime fighters, gesture as they drive past residents fleeing violence in the restive Bustan al-Qasr neighbourhood, in Aleppo's Fardos neighbourhood Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrian residents, fleeing violence in the restive Bustan al-Qasr neighbourhood, arrive in Aleppo's Fardos neighbourhood, after regime troops retook the area from rebel fighters Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrian residents, fleeing violence in the restive Bustan al-Qasr neighbourhood, arrive in Aleppo's Fardos neighbourhood Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria A Syrian pro-regime fighter speaks with a child, as residents flee violence in the restive Bustan al-Qasr neighbourhood. Syrian rebels withdrew from six more neighbourhoods in their one-time bastion of east Aleppo in the face of advancing government troops AFP/Getty Images In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Smoke rises as seen from a governement-held area of Aleppo, Syria Reuters In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrian soldiers targeting rebels-held areas in the eastern neighborhoods in Aleppo, Syria. According to media reports, the army is now holding on 99 percent of Aleppois eastern neighborhoods EPA In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrian pro-government forces patrol Aleppo's eastern al-Salihin neighbourhood after troops retook the area from rebel fighters Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrian soldiers rest following the battle at al-Sheik Saeed neighborhood in Aleppo, Syria EPA In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria A Syrian pro-government fighter walking past closed shops in the Bab al-Nasr district of Aleppo's Old City. Once renowned for its bustling souks, grand citadel and historic gates, Aleppo's Old City has been rendered virtually unrecognisable by some of the worst violence of Syria's war Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria The crucial battle for Aleppo entered its 'final phase' after Syrian rebels retreated into a small pocket of their former bastion in the face of new army advances. The retreat leaves opposition fighters confined to just a handful of neighbourhoods in southeast Aleppo, the largest of them Sukkari and Mashhad Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrian civilans arrive at a checkpoint, manned by pro-government forces, at the al-Hawoz street roundabout, after leaving Aleppo's eastern neighbourhoods. Syria's government has retaken at least 85 percent of east Aleppo, which fell to rebels in 2012, since beginning its operation Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrian civilians flee the Sukkari neighbourhood towards safer rebel-held areas in southeastern Aleppo Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrians celebrate in the government-held Mogambo neighbourhood of the northern Syrian city of Aleppo, after rebel fighters retreated into a small pocket of their former bastion in the face of new army advances Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrians celebrate in the government-held Mogambo neighbourhood of the northern Syrian city of Aleppo, after rebel fighters retreated into a small pocket of their former bastion in the face of new army advances. The fall of Aleppo would be the worst rebel defeat since Syria's conflict began in 2011, and leave the government in control of the country's five major cities Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria A Syrian refugee camp in the Bekaa Valley, Lebanon, close to the Syrian border PA wire In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrian refugee Aliya inside the tent where she lives with her husband and ten children in a camp in the Bekaa Valley, Lebanon, close to the Syrian border PA wire In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrian refugee women and children outside the entrance to their tents in the refugee camp in the Bekaa Valley, Lebanon, close to the Syrian border PA Wire In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria A Syrian refugee camp in the Bekaa Valley, Lebanon, close to the Syrian border PA wire In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria A Syrian refugee camp in the Bekaa Valley, Lebanon, close to the Syrian border PA Wire In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria A Syrian refugee woman outside the entrance to the tent where her family live, in the refugee camp in the Bekaa Valley, Lebanon, close to the Syrian border PA wire In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria A vehicle drives past a mosque at night in Idlib, Syria. Picture taken with a long exposure Reuters In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Damaged buildings stand in the rebel-controlled town of Binnish in Idlib province, Syria Reuters In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria The night sky is seen through damaged windows in the rebel-controlled town of Binnish in Idlib province, Syria Reuters In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Damaged buildings stand in the rebel-controlled area of Maaret al-Numan in Idlib province, Syria Reuters In a tweet on Monday, Trump said: The threat from radical Islamic terrorism is very real, just look at what is happening in Europe and the Middle-East. Courts must act fast! Assad was also quoted as saying that US-Russian cooperation in stepping up the fight against the militants would have positive repercussions. 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 }} Life goes on for the parents who drop off their children at homework club, or those rushing in late for embroidery class. As usual, the community centre where Im doing my fieldwork in northern New Jersey is filled with the piercing screams of toddlers trying to keep up with the older kids. But something in the atmosphere is different. At the front desk, a pile of letters from an immigrant rights group explain the terms of the executive order in English and Arabic, brutally stating in capital letters that those affected SHOULD NOT TRAVEL OUTSIDE THE UNITED STATES for any reason. Standing by the community centres front desk is Zainab, a Syrian refugee. Her husbands aunt, a green card-holder born in Iraq, is currently flying from Dubai to Newark Airport; her fate is unknown. The air of uncertainty and confusion surrounding the executive order and its practical implementation by federal agencies obscures any clear prediction of what will happen to her. Will she meet the same fate as two Yemenis who arrived in the US on January 28, who were reportedly talked into signing away their green cards and put on the next flight back? Yet, Zainab exudes an air of resigned optimism. As her relative hurtles towards the US, she says there is little to do other than wait and hope. Unlike Zainab and her aunt, the majority of the community centres patrons are Muslim Palestinian-Americans. As most are American citizens, and have ties to Palestine and Jordan not included in the ban the executive order doesnt directly affect them. But for those I speak to, this is the most shocking and scary moment since Trump entered the presidential race, perhaps aside from his election victory. The letters piled at the entrance remind those who enter that this is no longer a time of primaries and debates, of rhetoric and promises. In pictures: Protests, pomp and Donald Trump Show all 30 1 /30 In pictures: Protests, pomp and Donald Trump In pictures: Protests, pomp and Donald Trump President-elect Donald Trump acknowledges guests as he arrives on the platform at the US Capitol in Washington DC Getty Images In pictures: Protests, pomp and Donald Trump Donald Trump is sworn in as the 45th president of the United States by Chief Justice John Roberts as Melania Trump looks on during the 58th Presidential Inauguration at the U.S. Capitol in Washington AP In pictures: Protests, pomp and Donald Trump President Donald Trump shakes hands with Justice John Roberts after taking the oath at inauguration ceremonies swearing in Trump as the 45th president of the United States Reuters In pictures: Protests, pomp and Donald Trump President Donald Trump raises his fists after his inauguration on the West Front of the U.S. Capitol Getty In pictures: Protests, pomp and Donald Trump U.S. President-elect Donald Trump greets outgoing President Barack Obama before Trump is inaugurated during ceremonies on the Capitol in Washington Reuters In pictures: Protests, pomp and Donald Trump resident-elect Donald Trump arrives on the platform of the US Capitol in Washington DC Getty Images In pictures: Protests, pomp and Donald Trump Attendees partake in the inauguration ceremonies to swear in Donald Trump as the 45th president of the United States at the U.S. Capitol in Washington DC Reuters In pictures: Protests, pomp and Donald Trump US President Donald Trump delivers his inaugural address during ceremonies at the US Capitol in Washington DC Getty In pictures: Protests, pomp and Donald Trump U.S. President Donald Trump waves with wife Melania during the Inaugural Parade in Washington DC Reuters In pictures: Protests, pomp and Donald Trump Protesters registered their rage against the new president Friday in a chaotic confrontation with police who used pepper spray and stun grenades in a melee just blocks from Donald Trump's inaugural parade route. Scores were arrested for trashing property and attacking officers AP In pictures: Protests, pomp and Donald Trump Demonstrators protest against US President Donald Trump in Washington DC Getty Images In pictures: Protests, pomp and Donald Trump A woman holds a sign before the start of the Presidential Inauguration of Donald Trump at Freedom Plaza in Washington DC Getty Images In pictures: Protests, pomp and Donald Trump Anti-Trump protesters prepare banners for a protest against the inauguration of US President-elect Donald Trump, in Berlin REUTERS In pictures: Protests, pomp and Donald Trump Demonstrators shout slogans against US President-elect Donald Trump in Washington DC Getty Images In pictures: Protests, pomp and Donald Trump Demonstrators march, block foot traffic and clash with U.S. Capitol Police at the entry checkpoints for the Inauguration of Donald Trump Alamy Live News In pictures: Protests, pomp and Donald Trump Demonstrators display a banner as people arrive for US President-elect Donald Trump's inauguration in Washington DC Getty Images In pictures: Protests, pomp and Donald Trump A man displays a placard as people lineup to get into the National Mall for the inauguration of US President-elect Donald Trump in Washington DC Getty Images In pictures: Protests, pomp and Donald Trump Protesters demonstrating against U.S. President Donald Trump raise their hands as they are surrounded by police on the sidelines of the inauguration in Washington DC Reuters In pictures: Protests, pomp and Donald Trump A demonstrator wearing a mask depicting Donald Trump protests outside the US Embassy in London Getty Images In pictures: Protests, pomp and Donald Trump Demonstrators hold placards as they protest outside the US Embassy in London Getty Images In pictures: Protests, pomp and Donald Trump Former US President George W. Bush and First Lady Laura Bush arrive for the Presidential Inauguration at the US Capitol Rex In pictures: Protests, pomp and Donald Trump Michelle Obama and Dr. Jill Biden share an umbrella as President Donald Trump delivers his inaugural address at the inauguration in Washington DC Rex In pictures: Protests, pomp and Donald Trump Former Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton and former President Bill Clinton arrive on the West Front of the U.S. Capitol in Washington Reuters In pictures: Protests, pomp and Donald Trump U.S. Vice President Mike Pence takes the oath of office on the West Front of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, DC Getty Images In pictures: Protests, pomp and Donald Trump Advisors to President-elect Donald Trump, Kellyanne Conway and Steve Bannon depart from services at St. John's Church during the Presidential Inauguration in Washington Reuters In pictures: Protests, pomp and Donald Trump Protesters demonstrating against U.S. President Donald Trump take cover as they are hit by pepper spray by police on the sidelines of the inauguration in Washington DC Reuters In pictures: Protests, pomp and Donald Trump An activist demonstrating against U.S. President Donald Trump is helped after being hit by pepper spray on the sidelines of the inauguration in Washington DC Reuters In pictures: Protests, pomp and Donald Trump A police officer tries to tackle a protester demonstrating against U.S. President Donald Trump Reuters/Adrees Latif In pictures: Protests, pomp and Donald Trump Police arrest and detain a protester in the street in Washington DC Rex In pictures: Protests, pomp and Donald Trump A police officer falls to the ground as another shoots pepper spray at protesters demonstrating against U.S. President Donald Trump on the sidelines of the inauguration in Washington DC Reuters Just by signing the order, Abdullah tells me incredulously, Trump immediately turned more than 100 airplane passengers from valid visa and green card holders into illegal travellers, welcomed not by friends and family but by detention and coercion. Have you ever seen political bureaucracy work so fast?, he asks me. In the words of Palestinian-American poet and activist Remi Kanazi, with a pen stroke, a wedding is missed, a eulogy isnt spoken, a job is not taken, a family is left broken, safety isnt found. For members of the community, the ban is unprecedented not because it targets Muslims and Arabs, and (green card-holding) Muslim- and Arab-Americans, but because of its open and unabashed intention to do so. Flying while Muslim The Arab-American community has endured decades of government infringements on their civil liberties: as far back as 1972, President Nixon launched Operation Boulder, a clandestine FBI operation that spied on thousands of Arab-Americans. But the sharpest uptick, of course, came in the aftermath of 9/11. Almost immediately after the events of that day, Arab-Americans quickly found themselves collectively punished with detention, deportation and surveillance in spite of the fact that none of their number were involved in the attacks. (One Palestinian-American tells me, half-joking, that in the months after 9/11, there were more FBI agents than real customers in the Arab restaurants in this New Jersey town.) Police prepare for a protest against the travel ban at JFK international airport (EPA) In terms of international travel, many have experienced first hand the humiliating difficulties of what they call flying while Arab and flying while Muslim, and the enhanced security attention this entails. In past years, several airplane passengers simply speaking, reading or writing in Arabic have been pulled off flights in the US and Europe. Yet this order is not secret or unofficial: it is meant to be seen. Photos and videos of Trump sternly signing the necessary papers in the Oval Office, then holding them up for cameras, have been endlessly circulated (and mocked) over the past week. The spectacle of Trumps executive orders is part and parcel of his performative politics. Its not lost on the young children who come to homework club. As their attention span expires, they rush to the lectern standing empty at the front of the room and begin to imitate their president. I am Donald Trump, and I hate Muslim people, says one child in Arabic. Between fits of self-conscious giggles, another declares: I will not let Muslim people into this country. A final Trump impressionist takes his homework up to the podium and signs it with great concentration and then holds his giant signature up for the audience: Here is my signature for not letting people in! Older members of the centre find comfort in sharing stories of small acts of kindness from other Americans. A fellow tutor relates an encounter over the weekend: walking alone in the street wearing a hijab, a large man approached her. She expected the worst but instead, he offered words of support and protection. During a meeting that evening, several participants discussed how a neighbour, a colleague or a boss had knocked on their door, phoned them, or sent them an email of support and friendship. One tells me that they are fortunate to live in northern New Jersey, a diverse urban area with few Trump supporters and in a state with one of the largest Muslim populations in the US. Muslim- and Arab-Americans elsewhere in the country might not be so fortunate. Tom Brocket, PhD candidate in geography, UCL. This article first appeared on The Conversation (theconversation.com) 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 }} Until 2013, airport departure gate staff inspected every traveller's luggage to ensure it met the strict rules on size and weight and would often oblige people to pay 60 extra to check in any baggage that infringed the rules. But as part of the airlines Always Getting Better campaign, both the rules and the enforcement were relaxed: a second piece of baggage is now allowed, and gate staff are far less strict about dimensions. As a result of the struggle to fit bags in the overhead lockers, some flights are being delayed. Ryanair now says it will reverse its generous two-cabin-bag allowance unless travellers show more respect for the regulations. Ryanair's Neil Sorahan asks passengers to stop 'bringing the body bags' on flights Neil Sorahan, the airlines Chief Financial Officer, told The Independent: Were becoming victims of our own niceness. People arent playing by the rules. Were seeing very large bags coming onboard, which is leading to delays at the gate, and indeed onboard the aircraft. The airline currently permits one cabin bag with a maximum volume of 44 litres, plus a smaller bag of up to 14 litres onboard the aircraft. Were asking our customers to stop bringing the body bags, start bringing the wheelie bags again and well all be happy. If, however, that doesnt happen, well have to review this along with a number of different initiatives just to make sure our on-time performance isnt impacted. It is possible that Ryanair is looking to emulate Wizz Air and a number of US airlines, and charge fees for larger pieces of cabin baggage. Ryanairs no-frills rival, easyJet, allows only one cabin bag though it can be up to 63 litres in volume. Some easyJet passengers who pay for extra services can bring a second bag. British Airways allows all passengers two pieces, one of 63 litres and one of 18 litres. 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 }} Paris is romantic. Venice is dreamy. Rio? Sex appeal in spades. Whether Valentine's Day makes you think of a romantic retreat or a Tinder spree, here are what we reckon are the world's sexiest cities and why. Rio de Janeiro: For hot locals Rios self-explanatory. It has beaches, it has the location, it has insanely beautiful people, and they're often scantily clad. Hotels run the gamut from the world-class Fasano to the jaw-dropping La Suite and boho La Maison, and the food, of course, is superb, from Giuseppe Grill (which stocks 92 varieties of cachaca) to pretty much everywhere at the hippodrome, where sultry restaurants line the racetrack of Brazil's Jockey Club. And of course, there's carnival. Boston: For all the unmarrieds Sixty-nine per cent of Boston adults are unmarried (the second-highest proportion in the US, after Washington DC), so if youre playing the odds, its a good bet. Whats more, Bostonians buck the stereotype of unfriendly New Englanders possibly something to do with the Irish influence. Its a more down-to-earth glamour than NYC, so if youre the talk-to-a-stranger-down-the-pub type, this is where to head. In Buenos Aires, people take to the street to dance the tango (Getty) Buenos Aires: For saucy dancing No dance is steamier than the tango, and no place is better to soak that up than the tangos birthplace. Forget the touristy displays in La Boca, and make for a milonga essentially tango nights for locals or walk through San Telmo, where dancers and music flood the streets in summer. Want to watch the pros? Try a show like those at Esquina Carlos Gardel, which manage to be tourist-friendly yet sizzling. Monaco: For the glitz Those Made in Chelsea lot are onto something. Monaco may be flash and brash but it also treads the line between old world glam and selfie-generation glitz rather perfectly. To keep that balance, helicopter into town from Nice airport, stay in a belle epoque hotel like the Hermitage, take a couples spa treatment in the high-tech Thermes Marins, overlooking the Med, eat at one of the citys Michelin-starred restaurants and then face the madness of the Port Hercule for a nightcap. Madrid: For sensual food and drink Move over Paris and Rome: Madrids the European capital with the most je ne sais quoi right now. Think cafe culture spilling onto the pavements until the early hours, music drifting from every window and through every park, and world-class art galleries. Plus there's never-ending tapas and G&T and what could possibly be sexier than that? New York: For reputation Playboy named New York the sexiest city in the world, and who are we to argue? Few places can hold a candle to the city that never sleeps, whether we're talking its 24-hour party scene, bars and morning-after brunches, mortifyingly high grooming standards or its perfect-for-dates galleries. Sydney: For the chat and aphrodisiacs Its not just that Sydney draws bronzed bodies to the beach; its that its constantly rated amongst the friendliest and most liveable cities in the world. Sydney residents are chipper, have time for strangers and know how to enjoy themselves. Plus this is a city where oysters are so popular, they cost less than a dollar. Nuff said. Who could fail to be swept away by Cape Town? (South African Tourism) Cape Town: For swoony scenery Johannesburg may edge it for hipsters but nothing quite beats Cape Towns location. In between the beaches, the wineries and those views from Table Mountain, its up there with the best. To vamp up the romance, try a wine-and-chocolate tasting at Durbanville Hills or a champagne picnic on top of Table Mountain. Wind down at the beach with the beautiful people. Repeat. Medellin: For sexy students Whats not to love about Medellin? As a city thats seen some dark days, Colombia's "City of Eternal Spring" is shamelessly on the up and ready to party now that its looking towards the future. Plus, its large university population drags the average age down from Colombias already young 29. Relaxed with a hint of hedonism is the verdict from Real World Holidays the nightlife takes in everything from salsa nights to techno clubs, and the city is the venue for the worlds premier designer lingerie show each year. As well as romance, Vienna's hipster scene means it has sex appeal in spades (Vienna Tourist Board) Vienna: For the scene Vienna was named the worlds best city for quality of life last year, and its overtaken Berlin as the university capital of the German-speaking world. All that means youre in for a cushy stay which combines classic romance (imperial palaces, dancing horses) with trendy nightlife though a scene that has yet to be colonised by English-speaking transplants as Berlin has. If youre single, make for a coffee house, where tradition dictates you can stay as long as you like with just one drink, and make meaningful eye contact with your neighbour/s. Chengdu: For a sexy surprise and pandas Its skyscrapers may not be instantly sexy but Chengdu hides its light under a bushel: specifically, the bushel of Taikoo Li, the glass-walled new shopping development around the ancient Daci Temple, complete with swish spa and seriously sexy hotel, the Temple House (part of Swire Hotels understated luxe portfolio). Its secret restaurants, located in real apartments and houses, serve fabulous food, and the famous panda base lies just outside the city centre. 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 }} Betsy DeVos' confirmation as Education Secretary thanks to the tie-breaking Senate vote of the Vice President is not just an unprecedented event in US history. It is further proof that once routine confirmation proceedings have been sucked into the partisan warfare on Capitol Hill and a harbinger of what may come next. Once upon a time (or more exactly until midway into the Obama administration) confirmations of Cabinet nominees were, with the rarest of exceptions, a given. Often choices went through without even a formal voice vote, and even in contentious times the margins of approval were wide. In 2005, for instance, when disapproval of the Iraq war was growing fast, Condoleeeza Rice, a prime policy maker in that war, was approved as Secretary of State by 85-15. Contrast that with the 56-43 margin by which Rex Tillerson, Donald Trumps choice for the same job, was confirmed last week. Only twice since World War II has a nominee been actually rejected by the full Senate: Lewis Strauss, who was turned down as Dwight Eisenhowers Commerce Secretary in 1959; and John Tower, defeated by 53 votes to 47 as George HW Bushs first Pentagon choice in 1989 (the job eventually went to Dick Cheney). Normally, when a nomination has become controversial, things arent allowed to go that far. In the past 30 years, more than a dozen Cabinet nominees have failed to be confirmed but with the exception of Tower, because theyve pulled out of their own volition, usually because of failure to pay some past taxes (either on their own account, for a household employee, or for some other usually pretty minor financial irregularity). Bill Clinton lost a couple of Attorney General nominees (Zoe Baird and Kimba Woods) that way, because it emerged they had employed illegal immigrants as nannies for their children. Later, another to fall by the wayside was Tom Daschle, who took himself out of consideration as Barack Obamas first nominee to head the Department of Health and Human Services in 2009, because of various unpaid back taxes. Daschle had the votes, but declared he didnt want to be a distraction to the new presidents agenda. No such niceties obtain these days. Mick Mulvaney, President Trumps pick for White House Budget Director, failed to pay $15,000 in payroll taxes for a household employee, it has emerged. But theres been scant talk of him stepping down. Similarly Tom Price, Trumps hotly contested nominee for the HHS job, is under fire from Democrats for alleged insider trading, over share dealings in medical companies he made while a member of Congress. In more genteel times, he too might have bowed out as a distraction. But in 2017, not a chance. In todays take-no-prisoners mood on Capitol Hill, Republicans will doubtless hail the DeVos confirmation as a famous victory and none of Trumps other nominees is likely to have such a close call, when they face a full Senate vote. But the warfare will continue, fiercer than ever. 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 }} Nigel Farages wacky race through life took another madcap twist this weekend, with a Sunday newspaper hinting that the Dick Dastardly of British politics has his hands on a Ferrari. For anyone who assumed Nigel is embedded in the Oval Office, helping that cuddly Steve Bannon keep the Trump presidency on its reassuringly even keel, the truth is more prosaic and more entertaining. Nige isnt elegantly perched on the Donalds right hand after all. Not yet, anyway, though the call may come. It seems unlikely that this administration wont be short of vacancies. Once Trump has exhausted the phone directories of the entire eastern seaboard, its even money that Nigel will be asked to serve at the pleasure of the President. For now, however, the multiply former and doubtless future leader of Ukip is living in Chelsea, some 3000 miles from DC and a mere 22 miles from his marital home in Kent. While he has chosen to style this borrowed residence as a bachelor pad, he is not living there alone. 'He's lying to you' - Nigel Farage heckled in European Parliament The Mail on Sunday faithfully reports that Nigel, 52, is sharing the property, a 4m Georgian house owned by an unnamed businessman, with a certain Laure Ferrari. Far from being a scion of the Italian luxury car firm, she is a French national who was born in Alsace 37 years ago. Mlle Ferrari, who has led a far right French party called Arise the Republic, heads a Eurosceptic grouping called the Alliance for Direct Democracy in Europe. She is also director of an associated think tank, the extremely differently named Institute for Direct Democracy in Europe. In a classic instance of Jungian synchronicity, the ADDE is under an Electoral Commission investigation for funnelling about 400,000 to Ukip for domestic campaigns. Nigel not only denies any infringement of electoral funding law. He insists his relationship with Laure is wholly platonic, and that suggesting otherwise is crackers a pithier version of what another notable Brexiteer called an inverted pyramid of piffle in vaguely similar circs. He is simply putting up a friend in need of lodgings, he says, as any gallant Englishman would. Laura, whom he met in 2002 when she waited on him in a Brussels restaurant, and whom he took to a Trump inauguration bash in Washington, comes tantalisingly close to being equally categorical. You are putting two and two together, she tells the paper, but it is not as simple as that. I am not pleased to be in this situation, and I am sorry it is bringing awful things on Nigels life and on my life. As blanket denials go, this lacks the crystal clarity of crackers. Meanwhile, the newspaper adduces the fact that in 2013 Mlle Ferrari retweeted the headline Why do more women want to bed Nigel Farage than David Cameron? to press home its insinuation. Why innocently having or being a house guest would bring awful things on anyone is one of various mysteries. Another, of course, is the status of Kristen Farage, Nigels German wife. Over the years, Kirsten has joined an elite group of fictional spouses Captain Mainwarings Elizabeth, Dr Niles Cranes Maris, Arthur Daleys Er Indoors whose legendary status rests on never being seen or heard. Lavishly eyebrowed Soviet consorts like the late Mrs Brezhnev had a far higher public profile. Nigel Farage's most controversial moments Show all 12 1 /12 Nigel Farage's most controversial moments Nigel Farage's most controversial moments When he unveiled that 'breaking point' poster during the referendum Mr Farage was accused of deploying Nazi-style propaganda when he unveiled a poster showing Syrian refugees travelling to Europe under the next Breaking point. Users on social media were quick to compare the advert to a Nazi propaganda film with similar visuals and featuring Jewish refugees. The poster was particularly controversial because it was unveiled the morning of the killing of Labour MP Jo Cox Rex Nigel Farage's most controversial moments When he said hed be concerned if his neighbours were Romanian In May 2014 Mr Farage was accused of a racial slur against Romanians after he suggested he would be concerned living next to a house of them. I was asked if a group of Romanian men moved in next to you, would you be concerned? And if you lived in London, I think you would be, he told LBC radio during an interview. Asked whether he would also object to living next to German children, he said: You know the difference Bongarts/Getty Images Nigel Farage's most controversial moments When he said the EU campaign was won 'without a bullet being fired' Nigel Farage has said the next Prime Minister has to be a Leave supporter AFP/Getty Nigel Farage's most controversial moments When he resigned as Ukip leader and came back days later After failing to win the seat of South Thanet at the general election, Nigel Farage stepped down as Ukip leader as he had promised to do during the campaign. Days later on 11 May he un-resigned and said he would stay after being convinced by supporters within the party. Well see how long his resignation lasts this time AP/Matt Dunham Nigel Farage's most controversial moments When he blamed immigrants for making him late Mr Farage turned up late to a 25-a-head meet the leader style event in Port Talbot, Wales in December 2014. Asked why he was late, he blamed immigrants. It took me six hours and 15 minutes to get here - it should have taken three-and-a-half to four, he said. That has nothing to do with professionalism, what it does have to do with is a country in which the population is going through the roof chiefly because of open-door immigration and the fact that the M4 is not as navigable as it used to be Getty Nigel Farage's most controversial moments When he wanted to ban immigrants with HIV from Britain Mr Farage has used his platform as Ukip leader call for people with HIV to be banned from coming to Britain. Asked in an interview with Newsweek Europe in October 2014 who he thought should be allowed to come to the UK, he said: People who do not have HIV, to be frank. Thats a good start. And people with a skill. He also repeated similar comments in the 2015 general election leadership debates Getty Nigel Farage's most controversial moments When he defended the use of a racial slur against Chinese people Defending one of Ukips candidates, who used the word ch**ky to describe a Chinese person, Mr Farage said: If you and your mates were going out for a Chinese, what do you say you're going for?" When he was told by the presented that he honestly would not use the slur, Mr Farage replied: A lot would Lintao Zhang/Getty Images Nigel Farage's most controversial moments When he said parts of Britain were like a foreign land The Ukip leader used his 2014 conference speech to declare parts of Britain as being like a foreign land. He told his audience in Torquay that parts of the country were unrecognisable because of the number of foreigners there. Mr Farage has also previously said he felt uncomfortable when people spoke other language on a train Screengrab Nigel Farage's most controversial moments When he said the British army should be deployed to France At the height of trouble at Britains Calais border Mr Farage proposed a novel solution. The Ukip leader called for the British army to be sent to France to put down a migrant rebellion. In all civil emergencies like this we have an army, we have a bit of a Territorial Army as well and we have a very, very overburdened police force and border agency, he said. If in a crisis to make sure weve actually got the manpower to check lorries coming in, to stop people illegally coming to Britain, if in those circumstances we can use the army or other forces then why not AFP/Getty Nigel Farage's most controversial moments When he said breastfeeding women should sit in the corner Mr Farage sparked protests from mothers after he told women to sit on the corner if they wanted to breastfeed their children. I think that given that some people feel very embarrassed by it, it isnt too difficult to breastfeed a baby in a way that's not openly ostentatious, Mr Farage said. He added: "Or perhaps sit in the corner, or whatever it might be AFP/Getty Images Nigel Farage's most controversial moments When he said the gender pay gap exists because women are worth less At a Q&A on the European Union in January 2014 Mr Farage said there was no discrimination against women causing the gender pay gap. Instead, he said, women were paid less because they were simply worth far less than many of their male counterparts. A woman who has a client base, has a child and takes two or three years off - she is worth far less to her employer when she comes back than when she went away because that client base won't be stuck as rigidly to her portfolio, he said Getty Nigel Farage's most controversial moments When he said he actually couldnt guarantee 350m to the NHS after Brexit During the EU referendum campaign the Leave side pledged to spend 350 million a week on the National Health Service claiming that this is what the UK sends to Brussels. Nigel Farage didnt speak out against this figure and also pledged to spend EU cash on the health service and other public services himself. Then the day of the election result he suddenly changed his tone, saying he couldnt guarantee the cash for the NHS and that to pledge to do so was a mistake Getty Frau Farages immaculately dignified disdain for commenting on her husbands endeavours has yet to rub off on Katie Price. After difficult encounter with Nigel last week on ITVs Loose Women, when naive viewers thought her out of her depth on geopolitical issues, Katie counterstruck never underestimate the Pricey! with a sortie into the arena of the psycho-sexual therapist. From what Ive heard and sensed about him up close, she posits, I think the problem with Nige is that his German wife has put up very firm borders around her knickers, and all that sexual frustration has turned him into a racist bigot and a bully. Well, its certainly a theory, if not a particularly original one. Claims of sexual inadequacy and/ or genital deficiencies have always been used as propaganda against enemies. The CIA spread it about that Saddam Hussein had a tiny penis, and you need no reminding of the ditty about Hitlers gonadic shortfall, the other allegedly stored (for reasons never explained) in the Albert Hall. If and when Katie and Nigel debate the genesis of his Euroscepticism at the Oxford Union, and surely it has to be when, shell probably cite Nigels loss of a testicle to cancer as the source of his muscular distaste for allowing foreign bodies into the national bloodstream. Until then, we are free to speculate as pruriently as we wish its only odious European countries like Mlle Ferraris native France which legally protect public figures privacy about the private life of a man who has infinitely more cause than David Beckham to resent being denied an honour. Operating under deep cover of buffoonery, he conned us into giggling at him while he earnestly and relentlessly set about changing our country beyond recognition. For that alone, however much one loathes the accomplishment, he should be given a peerage. For selflessly continuing to amuse us now that there is no political advantage in doing so, he deserves nothing less than a Dukedom. The strike by Tesco workers will continue indefinitely, the Mandate union said Workers in nine Tesco stores are to go on all-out strike from St Valentine's Day. The Mandate trade union said management were notified of the walk-out after 78% of its 10,000 members voted for the action. The strike will continue indefinitely and could hit a further 15 stores when more ballots are completed, the union said. The dispute centres on changes to employment contracts affecting about 250 workers who were hired by Tesco before 1996. Mandate claimed that some workers will see their pay cut by up to 15% while they will be obliged to work more flexible hours. John Douglas, the union's general secretary, said Tesco is the most profitable supermarket in Ireland and it plans to restart dividend payments to shareholders this year. "Meanwhile, Tesco workers in Ireland who have worked with the company for more than 21 years, and are already classified as low-paid on slightly more than 14 euro per hour, are being told to accept imposed changes to their contracts or get out the door," he said. Tesco said contract changes will affect less than 280 staff. It said it has been through 12 months of negotiations and secured a Labour Court recommendation which cleared the way for changes to contracts signed before 1996 before late nights, Sunday opening and online shopping became the norm. "We want to improve our customer service but these terms are no longer suitable as we have too many people working during the earlier quieter times of the week and this also creates unfairness between colleagues. "We have always said that we will compensate colleagues for this change," Tesco said in a statement. The strike action is taking place at Tesco stores in Dublin on Baggot Street Lower, Ballyfermot Road, the Clearwater Shopping Centre, in Finglas; Vevay Road in Bray; Deanscurragh in Longford; Navan Town Centre; O'Connell Street in Sligo; the Manor West Retail Park in Tralee, Co Kerry; and the Tullamore Retail Park. Tesco described the ballot for strike action as "extremely disappointing" but insisted that all its stores would open for business as usual. "Tesco has accepted the Labour Court Recommendation in its totality, even though it was beyond what we believed was affordable. Mandate has rejected it," a spokeswoman said. The company described the offer for workers to be moved on to new contracts as a "clear and generous solution". The Arab League accused Israel on Tuesday of "stealing the land" of Palestinians after the Israeli parliament passed a law legalising dozens of Jewish outposts in the occupied West Bank. "The law in question is only a cover for stealing the land and appropriating the property of Palestinians," said the head of the Cairo-based League, Ahmed Aboul Gheit. Under the new law, adopted late Monday, settlers could remain on the land if they built there without prior knowledge of Palestinian ownership or if homes were constructed at the state's instruction. Palestinian owners would receive financial compensation. The law is a continuation of "Israeli policies aimed at eliminating any possibility of a two-state solution and the establishment of an independent Palestinian state," Aboul Gheit said. Jordan, one of the few Arab states to have diplomatic ties with Israel, also denounced what it called "a provocative law likely to kill any hope of a two-state solution". The parliamentary approval could "lead the region into further violence and torpedo any peace effort," Information Minister Mohamed Momani said, quoted by the official news agency Petra. Turkey on Tuesday condemned the new Israeli law, saying that the "unacceptable" Israeli policy contradicted UN Security Council resolutions and was "destroying the basis for the two-state solution," as a senior government minister was visiting Tel Aviv in the first such trip in seven years. "We strongly condemn Israeli Parliament's adoption of a law that gives approval to various settlements consisting of 4,000 units built on the private property of the Palestinians," the Turkish foreign ministry said in a statement. Late Monday, Hanan Ashrawi, a senior member of the Palestine Liberation Organization, the main Palestinian political umbrella body, said in a statement that "Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his extremist, racist coalition government are deliberately breaking the law and destroying the very foundations of the two-state solution and the chances for peace and stability." The U.N. Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Nickolay Mladenov said in a statement that the law "will have far reaching legal consequences for Israel and greatly diminish the prospects for Arab-Israeli peace". However, Netanyahu may face little to no criticism from the White House, which has signaled a far softer approach to the settlement issue than that of the Obama administration, which routinely denounced settlement announcements. The Trump administration said on Thursday it did not see existing settlements hampering peace, although it recognized that "the construction of new settlements or the expansion of existing settlements beyond their current borders may not be helpful in achieving that goal." The Israeli settlements are illegal under international law. Most countries consider an obstacle to peace as they reduce and fragment the territory Palestinians want for a viable state in the West Bank, East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip. *The story was edited by Ahram Online. Search Keywords: Short link: Attendees expressed their worries around the future for all-island health agreements, including the new cancer care unit in Derry, which caters for patients in Donegal and Northern Ireland. Stock photo: Getty Images Concerns have been raised about the future of all-island health agreements following Britain's departure from the European Union. Cross-Border cancer care, the impact on the arts community north and south, and Border businesses were among a range of topics discussed at the Government's latest public meeting on Brexit. Attendees expressed their worries around the future for all-island health agreements, including the new cancer care unit in Derry, which caters for patients in Donegal and Northern Ireland. Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs Minister Heather Humphreys said the Government understood rural communities' concerns. Meanwhile, Katherine Licken, secretary general at the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, highlighted the close trading relationship between Northern Ireland and the Republic. She said the UK was a "vitally important market" for Irish businesses. "This is particularly the case for food and drink exports, which are so important to rural Ireland and also for Irish-owned firms in general as the UK is the most successful foreign market for Irish-owned firms in all sectors. "Cross-Border trading relations are critically important. "For example, 10pc of Irish milk for manufacturing is sourced in Northern Ireland, and 14pc of pigs produced in the south are slaughtered in the North," she said. Enda Kenny: 'I dont want to be alarmist about it but this is a political challenge here.' Photo: Damien Eagers The re-establishment of a hard border in the wake of Brexit could lead to an upsurge in criminality and even armed conflict, Taoiseach Enda Kenny has warned. While saying he did not want to be "alarmist", Mr Kenny said the threat to the relationship between Northern Ireland and the Republic needed a political solution. "The Irish people didn't cause this problem; the challenge is not just psychological - it's also political," he said. "I have made this point very clearly in that any semblance of a return of what they deem a hard border or borders of the past brings serious issues for this country and I don't mean just in terms of trade or the economy, but going back to before, criminality and even armed conflict. "I don't want to be alarmist about it but this is a political challenge here." The statement is the starkest warning yet from the Taoiseach about the implications of the Brexit negotiations between the UK and the EU. It came after Social Protection Minister Leo Varadkar appeared to stray from the Government line to criticise British Prime Minister Theresa May for what he believes is her overuse of "soundbites". Mr Varadkar said he got annoyed when he heard Mrs May say there would be "no return to borders of the past". Read more: 'Hard Brexit' border controls 'will wreck' the North's fragile peace - Dail hears "It annoys me when I hear that soundbite, since she loves talking in slogans and soundbites, that you know she always has this line, that 'we're not going back to the borders of the past', that implies, that we're going to have some sort of borders for the future and you know I don't want to have any borders on our island," he said. "We got rid of them and the peace process has been a success in part because there is no physical border of any sort." Mr Varadkar made no mention of the fact the Taoiseach has repeatedly used the same phrase, even as recently as in the Dail last week. Speaking to RTE's Sean O'Rourke, the minister also asked if Northern Ireland could be allowed to continue taking part in some aspects of the EU. "Could Northern Ireland not opt into certain programmes, like the CAP which would be of huge benefit to their farmers and ours, and like [EU fund] Interreg so we keep that European money and also the single market?" Mr Varadkar said. Asked about this approach, Mr Kenny said everything had to be negotiated. "We have got to have new outcomes because it doesn't just affect the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland but it has global implications. But also the relationship between the United Kingdom and the European Union is one that is going to be discussed," Mr Kenny said. The Taoiseach, who travels to Poland on Thursday to discuss Brexit with the Polish prime minister, said it was "difficult to know" when Mrs May would move Article 50. "We have got to think of new ways of having a relationship between the Republic and Northern Ireland and between the Republic and Great Britain. "We agreed to retain the Common Travel Area, but this is a new position and it is one that requires a political answer and that's one that we have to be very clear about when Article 50 is pushed," he said. Housing shortages and health sector woes will not derail Ireland's bid for Brexit jobs, Health Minister Simon Harris insists. The minister was in Brussels in a bid to lure the London-based European Medicines Agency (EMA) to Ireland. According to a 2012 EU agreement on agencies, there must be "appropriate access to the labour market, social security and medical care" for agency employees and their families. The agreement doesn't mention housing, but it does include "accessibility of the location" and "education facilities" for children of agency staff. "Obviously, there are challenges in the health service, I accept that, but the overall package that Ireland offers is very strong," Mr Harris said. "Dublin is the best possible home for the EMA, if the overriding criteria is how do you ensure a seamless transition," he said, pointing to Dublin's proximity to London, language and education system. "We genuinely believe we can provide a top-class home for the EMA that can minimise the disruption," he said. The EMA is responsible for vetting medicines for use in the EU, and providing safety information on those medicines. It has around 900 staff at its current base in London's Canary Wharf. In its bid for the agency, Ireland will be up against Sweden and the Netherlands. Italy, France, Finland and Spain have also expressed an interest. EU leaders will make the final decision on the agency's new home once the UK officially triggers Brexit. Mr Harris has already met with EU health commissioner Vytenis Andriukaitis, and Ireland's EU commissioner Phil Hogan to make our case for the EMA. Ireland has also made a bid for the European Banking Authority, which makes sure banks apply EU financial regulations. Foreign Affairs Minister Charlie Flanagan, who will travel to Brussels again on Thursday to meet with the bloc's chief negotiators, said Ireland's strategy on Brexit was "clear". "All ministers are actively engaged at every opportunity, pressing the very strong case we have in Ireland - that our position not only be fully recognised, but it be factored in to whatever final arrangement is made between the UK and the European Union," he said. Theresa May has warned rebel Conservative MPs they would be "obstructing" the will of the people if they vote with Labour and the SNP to change the Brexit Bill. The British prime minister said the House of Commons had already clearly voted in support of the EU (Notification of Withdrawal) Bill, which will allow her to trigger Article 50 to begin the formal exit process. The bill is returning to the Commons this week for a further three days of debate during committee stage, giving MPs the chance to amend the legislation. Mrs May warned pro-Remain Tories against backing amendments seeking to ensure Parliament gets a say on the "endgame" if Brexit negotiations collapse without a deal. The PM has made clear she will walk away from talks if no deal can be reached, but potential rebels on her backbenches are worried about quitting the EU without an agreement, with potentially serious consequences for the economy. In a Commons statement on last week's informal EU summit in Malta, Mrs May warned them: "Our European partners now want to get on with the negotiations, so do I, and so does this House, which last week voted by a majority of 384 in support of the Government triggering Article 50. "There are, of course, further stages for the Bill in committee and in the Lords and it is right that this process should be completed properly. "But the message is clear to all - this House has spoken and now is not the time to obstruct the democratically expressed wishes of the British people. "It is time to get on with leaving the European Union and building an independent, self-governing, global Britain." Meanwhile, Mrs May has shot down calls to unilaterally guarantee the rights of EU citizens living in Britain before Brexit negotiations start. The UK government has come under pressure to make the pledge before Article 50 is triggered and formal talks begin. But the prime minister dismissed the proposal as "not the right way forward" and said negotiating a deal that would guarantee the rights of EU citizens in the UK, and UK nationals in Europe, would be a priority "as soon as the negotiations begin". Ryanair's 33 average fare during the third quarter is set to fall even further as the airline grapples with increased competition, seat availability, and the fallout from Brexit. Ceo Michael O'Leary said the weak pricing environment has also been heightened by weaker sterling and the shift by charter airlines of capacity away from Turkey, Egypt and north Africa into Spain and Portugal. He confirmed that Ryanair fares will continue to fall until next year, and will plunge up to 15pc in the current quarter. "It's clear that pricing will continue to be challenging as capacity is being added across Europe," he told investors yesterday. "We intend to respond to those adverse market conditions with lower fares, strong traffic growth and - unlike all other airlines - lower unit costs." Releasing third-quarter results yesterday, Ryanair said that its profit in the period fell 8pc to 95m as its average fare price fell 17pc. Profits of 99m had been anticipated by analysts. Howver, its unit costs tumbled - by 6pc when lower fuel costs are excluded, and by 12pc if included. Mr O'Leary said he remains "very cautious" about the remainder of the financial year that ends next month. However, he reiterated Ryanair's guidance, that it expects to make a profit of between 1.3bn and 1.35bn in the current financial year - about 7pc higher than in the previous financial year. Shares in the carrier fell over 2pc by early afternoon. Mr O'Leary said uncertainty regarding Brexit continues. Chief commercial officer David O'Brien said demand out of the UK has held up, but business there is suffering from "challenges on the fare front". "It seems clear we're heading for a hard Brexit," added Mr O'Leary. "But there's still significant uncertainty in relation to what this will mean. It certainly means, we think in the short-term, a continuing slowdown in the economic growth in both the UK and Europe. We won't have a better picture until the British file their Article 50 notification in March." Read more: Mr O'Leary also said that while Ryanair is happy with its current aircraft order book, it would consider any opportunity to acquire additional planes if they became available at attractive prices. Its fleet is already expected to expand to 585 jets by 2024. Last November, Mr O'Leary said Ryanair might also convert some of the 100 options it has on Boeing 737 Max aircraft into firm orders in the next couple of years. "Would we speed it up? Yes, we would, but there would have to be financial inducement to do so," said Mr O'Leary yesterday. "We're not out there actively looking for new aircraft or new orders in the next two, three or four years. But if there was a crisis or an opportunity to help somebody in crisis, or if Boeing had a large volume of unplaced aircraft and were willing to price them down at our kind of deal levels, we'd certainly look at it. "But we're comfortable with the rate of growth we have at the moment." Ryanair is growing by about 50 new aircraft every year over the next five years, giving it about 10 million extra passengers a year. It expects to carry 200 million a year by 2024. The airline carried 29 million passengers in the third quarter, 16pc more than in the third quarter in the 2016 financial year, as capacity increased and it continued its load-factor active, yield-passive strategy of pricing tickets to make sure its jets are as full as possible. Its load factor - or percentage of available seats filled - was 95pc during the third quarter. Mr O'Leary conceded that Ryanair's aircraft are now about as full as they're going to get, and that in the current financial year the load factor will "top out" at between 93pc and 94pc. "I don't foresee us raising load factors beyond that," he said. "We're essentially full most of the year round now. To get the load factor up any higher would require a ridiculous amount of yield dilution and we're not in that business either, so we're very happy where the load factors are." Membership of the airline's MyRyanair platform is now mandatory for booking tickets. Chief marketing officer Kenny Jacobs said the number registered under MyRyanair should hit 25 million by the end of this calendar year - about the same that Tesco has under its Clubcard system in the UK, Ireland and mainland Europe. A major action by the Data Protection Commissioner aimed at having the Court of Justice of the EU decide if transatlantic data transfer channels breach privacy rights of EU citizens has opened at the Commercial Court. The Commissioner has formed a provisional view there are deficiencies concerning the rights of EU citizens to access remedies under US law for any breach of their data protection rights protected by the European Charter, the court was told today. Michael Collins SC, for the Commissioner, said she had also formed the draft view the transatlantic data transfer channels - known as standard contractual clauses (SCCs) - do not provide the level of protection necessary. If the court shares the Commissioners doubts, it should ask the CJEU to decide whether those channels are valid and provide adequate protection for the rights of EU citizens, he said. The Commissioner was not brining this case for any vested interest or agenda, he said. Her concern is simply to get it right. The potentially huge implications of the case for EU-US trade and privacy rights are underlined by the US governments first ever involvement in litigation in the Irish courts. It will argue significantly enhanced protections have been put in place in recent years to ensure privacy rights of EU citizens are not at risk from transatlantic data flows. Any finding by the Irish or European courts the safeguards are inadequate could have sweeping commercial ramifications for data flows and risk undermining international co-operation to confront common threats, it claims. The US governments claims concerning the adequacy of the US safeguards are disputed, including in an expert report to the court by US lawyer Ashley Gorski, of the National Security Project of the American Civil Liberties Union, who will give evidence on Friday. Among various claims, Ms Gorski argues there is extremely limited judicial oversight of actions taken under the US Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. That Act provides a low threshold for targeting non-US persons and also includes an exception allowing the US government retain communications of US and non-US persons if it concludes they contain any information broadly considered foreign intelligence, she alleges. The adequacy of the US safeguards, and the effectiveness of remedies for any breach of rights, are key issues in the case, expected to last at least three weeks and cost several million Euro. It concerns transfer of data by Facebook Ireland Ltd (FIL) because Facebooks European headquarters are in Dublin to its parent company Facebook Inc and whether that transfer is lawful under Irish and EU data protection law. Ms Justice Caroline Costello will hear evidence from a large number of legal experts from the US and several European countries, including the well-known UK human rights lawyer and author, Geoffrey Roberston QC who has provided an expert report for Facebook. The case stems from a June 2013 complaint by Austrian lawyer Max Schrems to the Commisisoner alleging FILs transfer of his personal data to the US was unlawful. He made that complaint after former US National Security Agency (NSA) contractor Edward Snowden disclosed documents revealing surveillance by the NSA of certain internet and telecommunications systems operated by companies including Facebook, Microsoft and Google. Mr Schrems, who is in court today, later took proceedings over the alleged failure by the Commissioner to investigate his complaint. That refusal was based on her view she must accept EC decisions on the validity of data transfer channels known as Standard Contractual Clauses (SCCs). After the Irish High Court referred issues in the case to Europe, the Court of Justice of the EU (CJEU) ruled the Safe Harbour framework used for data transfers was invalid under the EU Charter due to failure to enable EU citizens pursue effective legal remedies in the US over any alleged breach of their EU privacy rights. The case then returned to the Irish courts and the High Court in October 2015 quashed the Commissioners refusal to investigate his complaint. The Commissioner opened an investigation into a reformulated complaint and her office made a draft finding in May 2015 Mr Schrems had raised well-founded objections over whether the data channels breached the date privacy rights of EU citizens. The Commissioner took the current proceedings after deciding she could not complete her investigation without a ruling from the CJEU on the validity of three European Commission decisions of 2001, 2004 and 2010 approving the SCCs. Her case is against FIL and Mr Schrems. Several concerned parties, including the US government, have been joined to the case as amici curiae, assistants to the court on legal issues. Other amici include the Business Software Alliance (BSA); the Washington DC based Electronic Privacy information Centre (EPIC); and Digital Europe, representing digital technology associations and corporations operating in Europe. The case continues. President Trump's clampdown on immigrants has already sent staff in top Irish food companies back home to Ireland. Speaking at a Brexit conference last Friday, Aaron Forde (pictured), the chairman of Ornua said five Ornua graduates have already been refused visas by the US immigration service. In addition, two staff that were already stationed in the US were initially refused a renewal of their visas. Both, along with one of the graduates, have since succeeded in securing the required documents. "It's the first time that we've ever had this problem in nearly 30 years doing business in the US," said Mr Forde. "It's been very disappointing for us and the first sign of a very different regime." The visa applications were refused prior to the US president's inauguration, but Mr Forde insisted that the regime had already begun to prepare for President Trump's policy shift on immigrants. An Ornua spokes- person told the Farming Independent the situation was likely to become more serious as more staff H-1B visas come due for renewal over the coming months. Over 40 Irish staff are employed by the dairy board, some of whom have been based in the US for more than 20 years. Ornua - the former Irish Dairy Board - markets over 20,000 tonnes of Irish cheese and butter in the US annually and, over the last two decades, has built Kerrygold into the third biggest brand of butter there. It is a key target market for the extra volumes of Irish milk products following the sector's expansion recent years. Beef grading machines produce a digital image of each carcass that passed through the machine, which set the grade achieved and, consequently, the price paid to the farmer. ICMSA beef chairman Michael Guinan has demanded improved transparency around the factories' mechanical grading system as an immediate priority to assure farmers of the system's reliability, writes Martin Ryan. "All farmers should be given access to the digital image of their animals' carcasses produced by the grading machine for information and transparency purposes, and to increase farmer confidence that their animal is being graded correctly and fairly," Guinan said. Saudi security forces said that a man arrested on Monday at the Kaaba in Mecca was trying to kill himself and not attempting to set the holy structure on fire, as was initially reported. A security forces spokesman said that at 11pm on Monday, a Saudi national who is in his forties and appears to be mentally unstable was arrested and referred to the authorities, after pouring gasoline on himself next to the Kaaba. A video circulating on social media showed the man being dragged away from the structure by security forces and worshippers. In response to the incident, the Saudi Highest Islamic Scholars Council praised security forces efforts to prevent any act that could hurt the feelings of Muslims or harm their sacred sites. Previous reports quoted accounts from witnesses saying the man was spotted while pouring petrol on the Kaaba, the sacred structure towards which Muslims worldwide direct their prayers. The Kaaba is located inside the Grand Mosque, and is visited by nearly 5 million Muslims who are on pilgrimage. Occasional suicide attempts occur at the holy places in Mecca. Search Keywords: Short link: President Donald Trump salutes a Marines honor guard as he disembarks from Marine One upon arrival at the White House in Washington. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta) President Donald Trump has been urged to "put American jobs first" by revoking a permit that would allow Norwegian Air International (NAI) to launch flights between Cork and Boston this summer. US Airline Pilots' Association (ALPA) spokesman Captain Greg Everhard told Fox News he hopes that President Trump "steps up" to cancel the permit that was granted in December to NAI. Dublin-based NAI is a subsidiary of Norwegian Air Shuttle. NAI also plans to launch low-cost flights between Cork and New York. Mr Everhard, a captain with United Airlines, repeated claims - which have already been denied by NAI - that the Irish subsidiary was a flag of convenience, and that hundreds of thousands of American jobs would be at risk if NAI was allowed to exercise its permit. Fox News news anchor Gregg Jarrett backed Mr Everhard in his attempts to have the permit revoked. Asked what President Trump can do, Mr Everhard said: "This is a simple decision to enforce our trade agreements. By revoking the permit that allows NAI to operate, we think President Trump can make a very strong statement that he's going to put American jobs first and help save US aviation workers." Mr Everhard insisted that the EU is "violating" the Open Skies agreement that permits any EU-based airline to fly to any destination in the US, and vice versa. "We need the Trump administration to help us by revoking the permit that was granted in December," he said. Last month, more than 100 congressmen and women in the United States urged Mr Trump to revoke the permit granted to NAI once he was inaugurated. Norwegian Air Shuttle already operates between Europe and the United States. "They're based in Norway, but they've started a company in Ireland and they're hiring crews using Asian employment contracts. This gives them an unfair advantage over US companies," Mr Everhard said. Norwegian Air Shuttle has consistently denied that it is using the Irish subsidiary to circumvent labour laws in Norway, and has also pledged to use only US and EU-based crews for NAI. In a surprise move, the US Department of Transportation finalised the permit for NAI in December, having provisionally agreed to issue it last summer. It had been expected a decision would have been delayed until the new administration. Diversified Irish group DCC has agreed to pay 2.43bn krone (273m) to buy Essos retail petrol station network in Norway. The network is the third-largest in Norway, selling about 20pc of all retail volumes. The acquisition expands DCC's forecourt business in Europe. It already owns networks in Sweden and France. DCC, A FTSE-100 company, is also the largest supplier of home heating oil in the UK. It also supplies gas in France, and is a distributor of electronic equipment and has a waste management arm as well as a healthcare distribution business. Essos retail petrol station network in Norway includes a national network of 142 company-operated sites, 15 of which are unmanned, and has contracts to supply 108 Esso-branded dealer owned stations. DCC, whose chief executive is Tommy Breen, also bought its forecourt operations in France from Esso. Releasing an interim management statement this morning, DCC said that group operating profit for the third quarter that ended on December 31 was strongly ahead of the prior year and in line with expectations. It said its energy division recorded strong operating profit growth. Its shares were up almost 6pc in London this morning. MicksGarage.com has annual revenues of over 11m and recently opened a distribution centre in Poland. Stock image Online car parts retailer MicksGarage.com has raised an extra 1.5m in private funding to help push its business in the UK market. The Dublin-based company - founded by Mayo brothers Ciaran and Michael Crean - has now raised over 4m in private capital since its first fundraising round in 2009. It has annual revenues of over 11m and recently opened a distribution centre in Poland. It delivers over 1,000 products a day. The 1.5m was raised by Investec Wealth & Investment through the employment and investment incentive scheme. "As a business it has demonstrated at each stage of its development the ability to grow significantly and the prospects for growth remain strong," said Nigel Poynton, a director at Investec Wealth and Investment. "This is particularly so as it moves to larger markets with greater scope to build an international business of scale." The move comes as Clare County Council begins the rollout of free public wifi to Ennis town centre as part of a wider plan to introduce open internet access to several other Clare towns. Clare County Council, which is funding the initiative, said that it was working with local businesses to install the wifi hotspots in an effort to draw shoppers and businesspeople to the town. "This is a brilliant initiative that will further enhance the experience of visitors to the town," said the Mayor of Ennis, Ann Norton. Open wifi access was recently introduced to the Upper Market area of Ennis, with plans to extend the free service. Ireland is about to become a "powerhouse" of the animation industry, according to the CEO of a film company that has entered into a partnership with a studio to create 140 jobs. Kilkenny beat off competition from Spain, France, Germany and the UK to land the new Lighthouse Studios joint venture between local Oscar-nominated company Cartoon Saloon and Canadian animation producer Mercury Filmworks. The aim is to develop a "centre of excellence" for animation in Kilkenny, with Lighthouse Studios to service major international clients such as Disney and Netflix. Paul Young, CEO and co-founder of Cartoon Saloon, said it was a "very exciting time" for the industry in Ireland and talks about the joint venture had been going on for a year-and-a-half. Jobs Minister Mary Mitchell O'Connor was in Kilkenny for yesterday's announcement and said that Mercury Filmworks was attracted to the region because of its "worldwide reputation and because of the talent here". The minister was also in Waterford where plans were announced by open source technology company Red Hat to create up to 60 jobs over the next four years as part of a 12.7m investment. The company also has offices in Cork and Dublin. Expand Close Anne-Marie Tierney Le-Roux, IDA Ireland head of regions. Photo: Dylan Vaughan / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Anne-Marie Tierney Le-Roux, IDA Ireland head of regions. Photo: Dylan Vaughan Elsewhere, the Centra chain of stores is to expand this year with 20 new shops and 460 jobs being created. Air strikes on Al-Qaeda's former affiliate in Syria on Tuesday killed 26 people in the country's northwest, most of them civilians, a monitoring group said. The headquarters of Fateh al-Sham Front and the surrounding neighbourhood in Idlib city were battered by at least 10 strikes at dawn, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which relies on a network of sources on the ground for its reports. Observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman initially said there were only 10 civilians among the dead. But after further verification, he said the victims included "16 civilians, most of them women and children". "The toll could rise because some people are trapped under the rubble and unaccounted for," he said. Abdel Rahman said the raids were likely carried out by Russian warplanes -- allied with Syria's government -- or by a US-backed air coalition. But Russia quickly denied it had struck Idlib. "Russian military planes did not carry out a single strike in Idlib yesterday, or this week, or even since the beginning of 2017," its defence ministry said in a statement. "Any information on these strikes are well-known lies." Moscow has waged a fierce bombing campaign in support of the Damascus regime since September 2015, a year after the US-led coalition began its own strikes against Islamist militant groups. Fateh al-Sham has come under increasing pressure in recent weeks in Idlib province, the only remaining opposition-held province in war-ravaged Syria. Bombing raids against the group have escalated, including one US strike in January that killed more than 100 fighters at a training camp in Idlib province. The US-led coalition has mostly focused on Fateh al-Sham's Islamist militant rival, the Islamic State(IS) militant group, but it has also hit operatives from other factions. Rebel groups have held Idlib province since the spring of 2015, four years after conflict first broke out. More than 310,000 people have died since, and millions have been forced to flee their homes. Search Keywords: Short link: It is estimated that around 25,000 units are needed every year to restore the housing market to a healthy level. Photo: Matt Cardy/Getty Images Almost 15,000 new homes were completed last year, the largest number since 2009. New figures to be published by the Department of Housing today will show that while the construction industry is slowly getting back to business, the market is still a long way off what is considered normal. The second quarterly report of the Government's housing strategy, 'Rebuilding Ireland', shows that 14,932 new homes were completed during 2016, an increase of 18pc on the previous year. However, it is estimated that around 25,000 units are needed every year to restore the market to a healthy level. Of the homes completed in 2016, some 6,289 were in the Greater Dublin area and 8,643 across the rest of the country. Planning permission was granted for more than 16,000 new homes in the year to end September 2016, an increase of 45pc on the preceding 12 months. And 21 local authorities have applied for funding under the 200m Local Infrastructure Housing Activation Fund (LIHAF), seeking to open up more of the 17,434 hectares of land for development that the planning process has identified nationally for housing, 2,654 hectares of which are in Dublin. These applications, which have identified 74 separate projects, are being assessed with a view to making funding decisions in March. Read more: Mortgage lending hits a six-year high as 5.6bn drawn down by 30,000 people The report notes that, while there is "an encouraging trend", the figures also underline "the continuing challenge that faces the State, housing providers, funding institutions and all other relevant stakeholders in terms of adding to the momentum now in evidence so that housing delivery reaches the target level of 25,000 homes per annum in the shortest possible timeframe". In 2006, developers built more than 93,000 units but this figure had plummeted to just 14,602 by 2009. The report notes that there has been an increase in the overall number of people experiencing homelessness, since the launch of Rebuilding Ireland. But it says this is "an on-going reminder of the imperative for action". The number of people who are in State-funded emergency accommodation overseen by housing authorities in December was 4,643 adults, and there were 1,205 families, with 2,505 children or dependants. "While there have been ongoing increases in overall levels of homelessness, it is important to recognise the significant work being done by housing authorities and their delivery partners in the approved housing body sector in providing solutions," the report states. Other key figures to be released today include: In excess of 18,000 households/individuals had their social housing needs met in 2016, ahead of the target of just over 17,000. As part of this overall delivery, the State built, purchased or refurbished some 5,300 homes in 2016 - around 1,000 over the target for the year. 12,000 HAP tenancies were created last year. 1,100 families were accommodated under RAS. In a foreword for the report, which has been seen by the Irish Independent, Housing Minister Simon Coveney says: "The Action Plan is only six months old but already important signs of progress are emerging. "I expect these trends to continue and accelerate over the course of 2017 - the first full year of implementation of the Plan - but that can only happen if we continue to collectively put our shoulders to the wheel in tackling the greatest challenge our country faces." Read more: Back to boom era: first-time buyers borrowing an average of over 200k Austria's parliament said that a Turkish Islamist hackers' group had claimed responsibility for a cyber attack that brought down its website for 20 minutes this weekend. Aslan Neferler Tim (ANT), or Lion Soldiers Team, whose website says it defends the homeland, Islam, the nation and flag, without any party political links, claimed the attack, a parliamentary spokeswoman said. Relations between Turkey and Austria soured last year after President Tayyip Erdogan cracked down on dissent following a failed coup, and Vienna has since made a solo charge within the European Union for accession talks to be dropped. On its Facebook page on Sunday afternoon, above a screenshot indicating the website was not loading, ANT said in Turkish: "Our reaction will be harsh in response to this racism of Austria against Muslims!!! (Parliament down)." ANT says it has carried out "operations" against the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP), the Austrian central bank and an Austrian airport. An Interior Ministry spokesman said on Tuesday that an investigation had begun into the cyber attack and, declining to elaborate further, noted that no data had been lost. A parliamentary spokeswoman said: "ANT has claimed responsibility." When asked if ANT was responsible, she said: "We assume so." The website was brought down after the server was flooded with service requests, a so-called DDoS-attack, similar to an attack last November that targeted the Foreign Affairs and Defence Ministries' websites, a statement from parliament said. DDoS attacks are among the most common cyber threats. One such attack targeted the European Commission's computers in November. The Vienna-based Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) was also recently the target of a cyber attack. Lloyds Banking Group said it will carry out a review and decide whether to pay out compensation to business customers who became victims of fraud at the hands of former HBOS staff. The bank said it will asses "all customer cases" which may have been affected by "criminal activities" linked to the former Halifax Bank of Scotland (HBOS) impaired assets office in Reading. It comes after a group of corrupt financiers who carried out a 245 million loans scam and squandered the profits on high-end prostitutes and luxury holidays were jailed on Thursday. Consultant David Mills, 60, bribed HBOS manager Lynden Scourfield, 54, with designer goods, sex parties and "boys' jollies" to exotic locations. The perks were a reward in exchange for loans which allowed Mills and his associates to profit from high consultancy fees. In a statement, Lloyds said: "Customer cases will be considered afresh in light of all relevant evidence including new evidence that emerged during the trial. "Since the investigation began in 2010, it was important that the group did not do or say anything that could subsequently prejudice the trial. "The group deeply regrets that the criminal actions have caused such distress for a number of HBOS business customers." Mario Draghi has taken the Trump administration to task, rebutting recent assertions that Germany is a currency manipulator and warning against the roll-back of post-crisis financial regulation. Speaking at a hearing of European lawmakers in Brussels on Monday, the European Central Bank president responded to the charge by US National Trade Council Director Peter Navarro and others that Germany was using a "grossly undervalued" euro to gain an unfair trade advantage. "The ECB has not intervened in the foreign exchange markets since 2011," Draghi said, adding that Germany's trade surplus was the result of productivity gains. "Germany has a significant bilateral trade surplus with the US, a material current account surplus, but it has not engaged in persistent one-sided intervention in the foreign exchange market." In a question-and-answer session punctuated with lawmakers' concerns over the shifts in global economic and financial policy brought about by the change of government in Washington, Draghi also hit out at Trump's moves to begin dismantling the Dodd-Frank Act. Rolling back the compendium of financial rules intended to prevent a repeat of the 2008 financial crisis would be "very worrisome", he said. "The last thing we need at this point in time is a relaxation in regulation," Draghi added. "Frankly I don't see any reason to relax the present regulatory stance which has produced a stronger banking and financial services industry than before the crisis." In introductory comments on ECB policy and the euro-area economy, Draghi said current stimulus settings reflect a recovery that, while performing well, isn't yet strong enough to stand on its own. (Bloomberg) America has a "huge economic interest" in the success of Scandinavian airline Norwegian, which is planning to launch low-cost flights between Cork and Boston this summer using an Irish subsidiary, White House press secretary Sean Spicer said today. The subsidiary - Dublin-based Norwegian Air International (NAI) - was granted a permit last December that will enable it to fly between Ireland and the United States under the Open Skies agreement between the regions. However, US aviation unions have been campaigning hard for President Donald Trump to either revoke or suspend that permit that was granted to NAI by the US Department of Transportation. The delay in granting the permit had threatened to spark a trade war between the US and the European Union. Mr Spicer was asked today if Mr Trump planned to do revoke NAI's permit. "On the case of Norwegian, my understanding, if Im correct, that there is a deal in which theyre having 50pc of the crews and the pilots are American-based," he said. "Theyre flying Boeing planes. There is a huge economic interest that America has in that deal right now." Mr Spicer said he didn't want to "get ahead of the president". However, he added: "But just to be clear, I mean, when youre talking about US jobs, both in terms of the people who are serving those planes and the person whos building those planes. "Thats a very big difference." Mr Trump is due to meet airline chiefs in coming days. Mr Spicer's comments will come as a relief to Norwegian and to Cork. Dermot Morgan as Fr Ted and Ardal O'Hanlon as Fr Dougal in the famous 'My Lovely Horse' video. Photo: Channel 4 Actor Ardal O'Hanlon said he is very aware of how Irish people are represented on British TV and that he frequently amends his scripts to remove the "Irishisms". The former Father Ted star, who is replacing Death In Paradise's Kris Marshall in BBC1 series, said that people in Ireland have been "outraged" by the way they are portrayed on-screen, using the 1997 Dublin-based episodes of EastEnders as an example. O'Hanlon told the Radio Times: "From day one working in TV, I have been very conscious of the way the Irish are represented. "In every show I've been involved in I read the script, take out the Irishisms right away and say, 'I'll supply those'. Expand Close TV comedy: Ardal O'Hanlon stars in a new series based in a typical north of England town. / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp TV comedy: Ardal O'Hanlon stars in a new series based in a typical north of England town. "Father Ted was written by Irish people, so that was fine, but around the time we were shooting it EastEnders went to Ireland and represented it as this terribly backward society where people were going around with one eye and drunk." The BBC was forced to apologise after receiving complaints from viewers over the stereotypical overtones of the three special episodes, which focused on Pauline Fowler (Wendy Richard) travelling to Ireland to meet a long-lost relative. O'Hanlon said: "That outraged people in Ireland. But that will happen from time to time, we were brought up with that." The actor and comedian said he is "crippled with doubt" to be taking over the reigns as Detective Inspector Jack Mooney in the Caribbean-based detective series from Marshall, who has played DI Humphrey Goodman since 2014. Expand Close Dermot Morgan as Fr Ted and Ardal O'Hanlon as Fr Dougal in the famous 'My Lovely Horse' video. Photo: Channel 4 / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Dermot Morgan as Fr Ted and Ardal O'Hanlon as Fr Dougal in the famous 'My Lovely Horse' video. Photo: Channel 4 He said: "For most of us, even the apparently very confident ones, doubt is a big part of life. But I'm of a certain age now, and those kind of things don't plague me the way they might have 10 years ago, I embrace the challenge." Marshall, (43), joked that the main difference between his departing character and O'Hanlon's is that "he's Irish, for starters". Marshall said: "His character's a lot more anecdotal, so the way he goes about things is different. He's also been recently widowed - and he has a daughter in her early 20s. So that's a whole different dynamic." Marshall revealed last week that he is standing down from the popular programme because he wants to spend more time with his children, after spending six months of the year filming the show in Guadeloupe. Video of the Day He said that it was always his plan to end his time on Death In Paradise within a few years, once his son had grown up and when working abroad half the year "became impractical". "It was always quite a finite thing. I certainly didn't hide it from anyone I work with," he said. Kellyanne Conway was widely mocked when she described a fake "massacre" to justify Donald Trump's immigration ban on seven Muslim-majority countries. In an interview with MSNBC last week, Conway said that two Iriqis who came to the US had been radicalised and "were the masterminds behind the Bowling Green massacre". If you heard that interview and felt completely clueless for being unaware that such a tragedy had occurred, don't feel bad. It didn't happen. It was just one of those "alternative facts" that the Trump administration are so fond of throwing about. Following the interview, a website called the Bowling Green Massacre Victims Fund was set up. This had me laughing aloud. #NeverRemember https://t.co/lJVwCSac6M Where were you when it didn't happen? Dave (@mmmerf) February 7, 2017 I want to thank @KellyannePolls for her bravery in bringing up the #BowlingGreenMasacre we must never forget! https://t.co/B8JXPJ5gxE pic.twitter.com/lj0iWlH0kk The Kid (@Sam_Tuero) February 4, 2017 I weep for the victims of the Bowling Green Mascara .https://t.co/JFUawdB4ya#BowlingGreenMasacre pic.twitter.com/ILZdGOFTaT Ricardocb (@richardcb67) February 5, 2017 Troll so hard: The Bowling Green Massacre Victims Fund https://t.co/9hvCiizq2D pic.twitter.com/ZbgekmIEmj Ryan Teague Beckwith (@ryanbeckwith) February 3, 2017 A message on the site reads: "We all still carry the vivid memories of what horrors occurred at Bowling Green, but some still relive those moments every day as they work to rebuild a community torn apart." There's also a "donate" button on the website which allows visitors to the site to donate money to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). Conway, who was Trump's campaign manager during the presidential election, acknowledged and corrected her statement Friday morning on Twitter. But it wasn't the first time she had pushed the fake massacre story. Cosmopolitan magazine reports that she did the same thing last month in an interview they published with her. [T]wo Iraqi nationals came to this country, joined Isis, traveled back to the Middle East to get trained and refine their terrorism skills, and come back here, and were the masterminds behind the Bowling Green massacre of taking innocent soldiers lives away," she told the magazine. The internet has also responded by setting up a hashtag #NeverRemember started trending, marking themselves as safe on Facebook and over the weekend, people even went as far as to hold a fake vigil for the victims of Bowling Green, the massacre that never happened. What characters will we meet this season? The first season of Gogglebox Ireland introduced us to the Cavan Twins, the Cabra Girls and the Castleknock Legends, among other intriguing households. So it's safe to say season two will throw some fantastic new characters in the mix. TV3 has confirmed that five new households will join the show. The homes will be in Cork, Portlaoise, Clare, Mayo and Wicklow and are set to be revealed over the coming weeks. The new recruits were selected after an exhaustive search that kicked off with over three thousand applications. Simon Proctor, Series Producer of Gogglebox Ireland said: "We're thrilled to welcome our five new households to join our expanded Gogglebox Ireland family! "Representing a great geographical and social mix, our new Goggleboxers will bring us even more unique insights into the week's telly along with many of our original cast - they let us into their homes, switch on their kettles and pick up their remote controls". Series two of Gogglebox Ireland kicks off on Wednesday, February 8. Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas on Tuesday called a new Israeli law legalising dozens of Israeli outposts built on private Palestinian land an "attack against our people". Israel has faced broad international criticism over the law its parliament passed on Monday, including from Britain, France, the United Nations and neighbouring Jordan. The United States has not commented. Abbas said the law was illegal and was "obviously against the wishes of the international community." Speaking alongside Abbas at a press conference in Paris, French President Francois Hollande said: "I want to believe that Israel and its government will reconsider this law." The legislation would legalise dozens of wildcat outposts and thousands of settler homes in the occupied West Bank and prompted a call by the Palestinians for the international community to punish Israel. Pro-Palestinian Israeli NGOs said they would ask the Supreme Court to strike down the law. Israeli opposition leader Isaac Herzog warned the legislation could result in officials being hauled before the International Criminal Court. Search Keywords: Short link: David Piele departs from Dun Laoghaire courthouse after he was charged with deception and granted bail. Picture; Gerry Mooney David Piele departs from Dun Laoghaire courthouse after he was charged with deception and granted bail. Picture; Gerry Mooney A man has been charged this morning in relation to an investigation into alleged investment fraud and money laundering offences involving forestry in Ireland. David Piele (40), a UK National with an address at Rectory Way in Bray, Co Wicklow, was brought before Dun Laoghaire District Court where he was charged with deception. In a hearing before Judge Anne Watkins, Piele was charged with deceiving an investor named Kari Wahlstrom to the value of 52,000 sterling (aprox 60,000) at the AIB branch in Dun Laoghaire on February 23 last year. Detective Garda Siobhan Moore of the Garda National Economic Crime Bureau (GNECB) told the court that Piele made no reply when charged. Piele, wearing a blue grey zipped hoodie, blue jeans,and blue trainers with white stripes, sat quietly in the court throughout the hearing. His solicitor, Michael Staines, applied for bail but this was objected to by Det Garda Moore. She said that as a UK National who frequently visited there, as well as Spain and other European destinations, he was a flight risk. She also said that the investor who had made the complaint to gardai, had known him by the name David Marshall and that Piele had told Gardai he had used this name. Det garda Moore also said the charges against the accused were of a serious nature and there was a possibility of further charges in the future. Solicitor Michael Staines said his client had resided in Ireland knowing there was a garda investigation ongoing, and has a partner and two children here. Bail was granted on condition of a lodgement of 5,000 cash and an independent surety of 5,000. Mr Piele also has to sign-on at a garda station twice daily, surrender his passport, and not apply for any travel documents. He also has to be contactable by mobile phone at all times. Piele will appear in court again on March 21. A second man remained in garda custody in relation to the garda investigation. He was being questioned at Dun Laoghaire garda station in relation to the ongoing investigation in relation to alleged investment fraud and money laundering offences involving up to 5m. THE father of 21-year-old Lorcan OReilly, who was fatally stabbed in the heart by a 14-year-old boy at a bonfire party, said today no parent "should have to bury their child". Paddy Rooney said his wife and children were robbed that night of a happy, kind and thoughtful son and brother. His sons killer, who is now 16 and cannot be identified because of his age, had originally been charged with murder and a trial date set. But at an arraignment hearing at the Central Criminal Court last November, the teenage pleaded not guilty to murder but guilty to Mr OReillys manslaughter at the Oliver Bond flats in Dublin during the early hours of November 1, 2015. Today, Mr Rooney fought back tears as he told the court that his family will never be able to celebrate Halloween again, the night he (Lorcan) was took from us. Sitting in the witness box, yards away from the accused who sat impassively in the dock, Mr Rooney read out a victim impact statement on behalf of his closest relatives. Expand Close The Funeral of Lorcan O'Reilly at The Church of Saints Augstine and John The Baptist / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp The Funeral of Lorcan O'Reilly at The Church of Saints Augstine and John The Baptist Mr Rooney said Mr OReillys mother and brothers and sisters were still struggling to come to terms with the death and that he personally was finding it unbelievably difficult to relive the events of the that awful night. Nothing has been the same since. Time is not a healer, he said. All of our hearts are broken. Expand Close Relatives at the Funeral of Lorcan O'Reilly at The Church of Saints Augstine and John The Baptist / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Relatives at the Funeral of Lorcan O'Reilly at The Church of Saints Augstine and John The Baptist He said his son enjoyed creating music on his laptop and had his whole life in front him, adding: He will never get to fulfil his potential. "We will never hear his laugh again or see his cheeky smile. No parent should have to bury their child. Earlier, the court - which had been closed off to members of the public except close relatives of the accused and deceased - was shown CCTV footage that had captured the moment the accused plunged the knife into Mr OReillys heart. Detective Inspector Paul Cleary, of Kevin Street garda station in Dublin, told prosecution counsel Brendan Grehan SC that the recording was from cameras situated inside the Oliver Bonds flats complex. As the footage was played to the court, Det Inps Cleary said the accused could be clearly seen swinging a hurley as he walked towards the area where the Halloween party was being held. Det Insp Cleary said that the recording then showed the accused arguing with his victim after words were exchanged. The pair were separated by a large number of persons but the accused was seen returning four minutes later. Det Insp Cleary added: He (the accused) returns to the group and takes a knife from his pocket and brandishes it towards the group where Lorcan is standing. The footage then showed the moment the fatal blow was struck, which took place when the accused and Mr OReilly clashed for a second time. Second later, Mr OReilly is seen clutching his chest after he had chased and confronted his attacker who had tried to flee the scene. Michael OHiggins SC, defending, said his client had endured a difficult and chaotic childhood. Mr OHiggins said the accused, as a child, had moved addresses frequently and his family rarely stayed in one place for more than six months. Before settling in Ireland with his mother, he had lived in four different countries. Mr OHiggins said his client had expressed remorse and, despite his difficult upbringing, he had told the psychologist preparing a background report for the court that my worst memory is that I killed someone. I am only a child. I keep thinking about what I have done and I am sorry for all the family. Before adjourning the case for sentencing, Mr Justice Patrick McCarthy said it was a difficult case for any judge. It is a homicide, a serious homicide. The accused was remanded on continuing bail until next Monday. Evidence from previous hearing: Last November, the court was told that the deceased and the defendant had both attended an organised Halloween bonfire next to the flats in Dublins south inner-city. The event began on the evening of October 31, 2015, and Det Insp Paul Cleary agreed with Mr Grehan that a large crowd of youths later congregated inside an open area of the flats during the early hours of November 1 as the Halloween party continued. Describing the events leading up to the fatal attack, Mr Grehan said the accused and deceased had been involved in a slagging match at around 2.40 am and that at 2.42am the accused was caught on CCTV in possession of a hurley. One witness, whose unnamed statement was read out in court by Mr Grehan, told gardai that there was a lot of slagging off going on. He (the accused) was saying who he was and who his dad was. Another witness, who was also not identified in court, told investigating officers that Mr OReilly had been trying to stop a fight between the accused and another boy but the accused wanted the fight to go on. Det Insp Cleary agreed with Mr Grehan that the accused had been swinging the hurley towards the deceased while shouting: You dont who my dad is You dont know who I am. Taking the hurley from the boy, Mr OReilly was heard saying: I dont care. Im not letting a 14-year-old talk to me like that. At that point, the accused left the scene but returned minutes later and struck Mr OReilly in the chest with a knife. He then ran off but Mr OReilly chased after him and the pair clashed again, with Mr OReilly receiving a second stab wound to below his right eye. Moments after the second altercation, Mr OReilly approached a friend and said: Im after being stabbed He was then taken by car to the accident and emergency department of the nearby St Jamess Hospital where he later went into a cardiac arrest. And despite the best efforts of the hospital medical staff, which included a cardiac massage, Mr OReilly never regained consciousness and was pronounced dead at 4.05am. Mr Grehan told the court a post-mortem later revealed the fatal blow had been a knife wound to Mr OReillys chest that had punctured his heart. He said: The critical wound was the one that had gone into the chest and that this was the cause of death. Mr Grehan also told the court that assistant state pathologist Dr Margaret Bolster, who had carried out the post-mortem, later viewed CCTV footage of the attack and confirmed that the first blow struck by the boy was consistent with the injury she found in the autopsy. The court was also told that although around 23 youths had been present at the Halloween party, the gardai had struggled to gather witness statements and that 19 arrests had been made during the course of the investigation. When asked by Mr Grehan if gardai had had concerns about the safety and well-being of witnesses, Det Insp Cleary replied: Serious concerns. Days after the killing, on November 4, the accused - who has no previous convictions - attended Kevin Street Garda Station under his own volition with his maternal and paternal grandmothers. And during a subsequent interview with gardai on that date, Mr Grehan described how one of the grandparents said to her grandson: Show him the bruises on your arm. When are you going to tell your side of the story? When your solicitor comes?. The accused was later charged with Mr OReillys murder on April 1 this year. During the hearing, Det Insp Cleary agreed with Mr Grehan that the deceased had been a popular and well-liked member of the community and people spoke highly of him. Bankrupt politician Mick Wallace has denied claims he is evading a summons server in court proceedings that could see him barred from acting as a company director. The allegation was made in the High Court yesterday where a judge was told the summons server had been unable to find the Independents4Change TD at his home in Clontarf, Dublin. The liquidator of his M&J Wallace construction firm has applied to the court for an order disqualifying him and his son Sasha from being company directors, or failing that, restricting them for a number of years. Mr Justice Robert Haughton heard that a summons server had been unable to serve court papers on either man at the addresses available to liquidator Micheal Leydon. Barrister Stephen Brady submitted an affidavit to the court in which the summons server said he had been unable to serve papers at Mr Wallace's home in Clontarf despite several attempts. "It appears he is evading service as he is not answering my calls," the affidavit said. However, when contacted by the Irish Independent, Mr Wallace denied he was evading anyone. "I got no notice of any hearing and I have not seen anyone try to serve papers," he said. "I have not been hiding. I've been in the Dail five days every week since the Dail reopened." Mr Justice Haughton asked on what basis the "evading" claim was made. Mr Brady clarified that while Mr Wallace had not been contacted by phone, the summons server had called to his house on seven occasions in the past three weeks without success. Mr Justice Haughton ruled that Mr Wallace and his son could both be served by post and email. A heroin addict robbed his local credit union after grabbing the supervisor by the neck and telling her he was pouring fuel over her to set her on fire. The woman tasted what she believed was either perfume or petrol in her mouth when Gary Gregg (28) poured liquid out of a cannister over the top of her head. He held a lighter in his hand and shouted give me the money. I've a lighter here and fuel and I am going to set you on fire. Gregg of Ashlawn Park, Ballybrack, Dublin pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to robbery and making a threat to kill at Core Credit Union, Ballybrack on January 16, 2016. He was on bail at the time and has 87 previous convictions including 13 for robbery. Garda Declan Hartley told Eilis Brennan BL, prosecuting, that the woman recognised Gregg immediately, even though he was wearing a balaclava, from his deep Dublin accent and a stammer. She knew him since he was a baby and was acquainted with his family and grandparents. He had applied for a loan in the credit union six months previously and had been unsuccessful. She said she couldn't believe it when she felt the liquid on her head. She knew Gregg was desperate for money and that he was prepared to use her as a tool to get it. She said she knew she had to get away from him and was absolutely terrified. Gda Hartley said another woman, who had previously given Gregg a loan through her work, later told gardai that she had met him outside the credit union minutes before the robbery. She chatted with him and he had directed her out of her parking space as she was pulled in between two cars. The robbery lasted 41 seconds during which time Gregg also threw fluid over the counter and ordered two other staff members to hand over cash before robbing 12, 241. The supervisor who he had grabbed and prevented from getting into a back office, managed to duck under him and escape through the front door to raise the alarm. A woman who had been in the credit union with her two young children, ran out of the building as soon as Gregg started threatening staff. Gda Hartley said that neither the cash nor the cannister of fluid were ever recovered. The gardai had taken the victim's cardigan for forensic testing but it was not properly preserved in a nylon evidence bag and the liquid that had been on it evaporated. The garda said there was therefore no forensic evidence to confirm if Hartley had lighter fuel with him, as he had claimed, during the robbery. Judge Melanie Greally adjourned sentencing to May 4 next to allow for offences before the District Court to be dealt with as this case must run consecutively to any sentence he may receive there. She also ordered that Gregg be assessed for drug treatment. Seoirse O Dulaing BL, defending, told Judge Greally that his client wished to apologise to the staff in the credit union for the terrifying ordeal. He said when his client was 12 years old, his biological father approached him in a take-away and told him that his mother had committed suicide while serving a prison sentence. Gregg, who had been brought up by his grandparents had never been told how his mother died and had not known his father before this. He was unable to deal with the situation and resorted to taking drugs before he began committing crime. The head of the US Air Force urged caution Tuesday in increasing the pace of the air war against the Islamic State (IS) militant group in Iraq and Syria. President Donald Trump made accelerating the fight against IS a central plank of his campaign and has pledged to intensify bombing of the IS group. General David Goldfein told journalists that air strikes must remain synchronized with the progress of coalition-backed local ground forces, as well as with political and diplomatic efforts. And he warned against loosening rules of engagement that could result in greater numbers of civilian casualties. "One of the things I am very proud of is that we have never lost sight of the fact that we go to war with our values," he said. "Short-terms gains that may be accomplished by rapid increases in the number of weapons or numbers of sorties pale in comparison to long-term costs if we were to step away from how we fight, which is as a nation of values," he added. Trump has given top military brass until the end of February to come up with a revised plan to defeat IS. The US-led coalition has already carried out more than 18,000 air strikes since the beginning of the campaign in late summer 2014. The Pentagon says at least 199 civilians have been killed, though critics say the real number is far higher. Search Keywords: Short link: The full extent of the crisis over hospital waiting lists has been laid bare as it emerged 49,000 public patients have been "hidden" from official figures. And a leading orthopaedic surgeon Martin Murphy warned some of his patients are in such pain they have spoken of "jumping off a building". Martin Murphy of Tallaght Hospital said six patients are in despair to the point where they felt like "walking into the middle of the road or jumping in the river". The human cost comes as it was confirmed many patients are not even documented in the monthly inpatient and day case waiting lists, which currently stand at 81,015, according to an RTE Investigates programme aired last night. The true number of patients who are in the queue for surgery and other procedures is over 130,000. When these are added to the 437,558 people who are on outpatient lists it brings the total number waiting to a staggering 567,558. The unseen patients include those who have received dates for their operations as well as those who have had surgery but still need follow-up hospital care. The bleak picture has emerged following confirmation that thousands of patients are bypassed in calculating waiting lists which have spiralled in the past year. The National Treatment Purchase Fund (NTPF) defended its method of measuring the numbers waiting. But it said a review is now under way following an expose in the 'RTE Investigates - Living on the List' programme aired last night. The programme highlighted the pain endured by patients who have serious medical conditions and are parked on waiting lists for over a year as their health deteriorates. Health Minister Simon Harris said he was ashamed at the deeply moving accounts given by patients. "The experiences they describe are absolutely inexcusable," he said. The NTPF said it is responsible for collecting, collating and validating information on people waiting for public hospital treatment. "Patient waiting-list data is extremely fluid with people coming on to and going off the lists all the time as their procedures are scheduled and performed," said a spokesman. As of December 30, there were 81,015 patients awaiting an inpatient or day case procedure and 17,401 patients awaiting an endoscopy. However, 'pre-admit' and 'pre-planned' patients are not counted. There are 22,927 pre-admit patients from across the country waiting up to 18 months for surgical procedures. These are patients who have been given an appointment but who have not yet undergone treatment. The pre-planned patients have undergone surgery but need to return to hospital for further follow-on care. This can include surgical pin or cataract removal, hip replacement and corrective spinal surgery. The list also includes patients who had endoscopies but need more scopes at regular intervals in the future. When the endoscopy figure is discounted, the numbers on the unpublished lists come to almost 49,000. This is 60pc higher than the figure that was published by the NTPF. The NTPF said its reporting guidelines were developed in accordance with international best practice, including systems in Canada and Sweden. The HSE said it is aiming to ensure that by the end of June this year no one will be waiting more than 18 months. Asked if he is aware of cases like that of Darragh who was featured in the programme, whose scoliosis is rapidly deteriorating as he awaits surgery, Mr Harris said he was aware that the crisis in waiting lists was happening on his watch. "I am aware that it's happening and I know the stress that it puts families through," he said. "That is why I unapologetically put 2m worth of additional funding in 2016 into scoliosis operations." Strike action looms at hospitals across the country after the collapse of talks on the recruitment and retention of nurses. The Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO) has warned HSE management that proposals it tabled to deal with the crisis would have to be "radically improved" within 24 hours to form the basis for further talks. The INMO's mandate for industrial action provides for a series of one-day strikes and a continuous work-to-rule which would mean no redeployment from one ward to another, no working of additional hours and the introduction of a ban on overtime. Relations are at a low point after the union accused management of a "total row-back" on a previous commitment for a funded workforce plan for this year, which would have involved the recruitment of 1,200 nurses. The management proposal document, seen by the Irish Independent, says that a 'Bring Them Home' campaign should be extended beyond the UK, with a second 1,500 allowance given after a period of 18 months. It says a career break option will be available for new graduates after a year of service. But the impasse means that the INMO executive council will meet tomorrow to consider industrial action. The union has accused management of refusing to allow directors of nursing and midwifery to fill all posts that become vacant this year or guarantee that sufficient funds would be available to allow all Irish-trained nurses and midwives who graduate to get jobs. The union said it also refused to guarantee that maternity leave vacancies would be filled. "The net effect of this is that the crisis remains and will continue to destabilise the delivery of safe patient care," it said in a statement. Sources said unions had sought a number of measures to attract and retain staff, including the establishment of an income continuance plan and reinstatement of allowances that had been axed. It had been speculated that the proposals tabled by unions to attract nurses would have surpassed the 50m cost of a recent pay package for gardai. However, the deputy general secretary of the INMO David Hughes denied it would be on that scale. The INMO is due to discuss staffing shortages at a meeting with the Public Services committee today. Health Minister Simon Harris said: "I would really just call on everybody to absolutely do everything that they possibly can, on all sides, to make sure that there isn't a disruption to our health services." Meanwhile, it has also emerged that hospital doctors may join the clamour for a special deal in recognition of a recruitment crisis among their ranks. President of the Irish Medical Organisation (IMO) John Duddy revealed it would seek an extra increase on top of wage rises sought by most unions at new talks on a successor to the Lansdowne Road Agreement. The IMO is also seeking a reversal of a 30pc cut in newly recruited consultants' salaries and pay rises of 5pc to 19pc for junior doctors. Mr Duddy said Ireland was heavily reliant on junior doctors from abroad because so many home-grown graduates emigrate. A deluge of claims would not bode well for the Government, which is already struggling to meet the cost of exceptional pay agreements it has reached in the past few months. It had budgeted for a 290m bill to fund pay rises under the terms of the Lansdowne Road Agreement this year, but agreed to pay 50m to halt garda strikes in November. It must now find another 120m after public sector unions demanded the same terms. Elsewhere, Siptu members in Dublin Fire Brigade will, within two weeks, complete a ballot for strike action, saying they require an additional four ambulances. An artists impression of the new childrens hospital. Photo: PA The HSE said yesterday that the current capital budget is "entirely insufficient" to deal with the range of challenges it faces. It comes as questions are asked about the 1bn cost of building the new national children's hospital in Dublin. The HSE said it had made provision for 68m to spend this year on the hospital - due to be built over four years. It's entire capital budget is 384m. Labour spokesperson on finance, and member of the Oireachtas Budgetary Oversight Committee, Joan Burton, has requested a special meeting to examine the estimated costs of the proposed children's hospital. "I wrote to the Budgetary Oversight Committee Chair, John Paul Phelan, to request a special meeting," she said. "The original figure of 650m has risen by nearly 350m - close to 1bn." A spokeswoman for the development board overseeing the hospital said the 650m figure was approved Exchequer funding in 2014 for its core construction along with the two satellite centres. "This funding was approved following a cost estimate commenced in 2013 and completed in early 2014," she said. "This was done by the National Paediatric Development Board. It based the cost on estimates for building the hospital at the Mater Hospital site. It will now be built at the campus of St James's Hospital. "At the time construction inflation was at 3pc." The spokeswoman said that an internationally recognised design group supported by an experienced project team were in place. BAM Ireland, one of the State's largest building contractors, has been selected to build the hospital after an international procurement process was followed. "Local and international companies participated in the tender process," the spokeswoman added. "More than 35 people participated in review panels for the tenders which covered thousands of line items. "The tenders were reviewed against a number of technical and financial criteria and were independently peer reviewed by construction experts with extensive experience of projects of this size and complexity. It was a highly competitive process." Little Darragh Cahill's plight as he suffered months of pain waiting for vital spinal surgery has moved his mother Claire to tears many times. Darragh (7), from Kilkenny, was diagnosed with infantile scoliosis at two-and-a-half years old and has had to undergo body casing and spinal bracing. His condition became so severe it affected his breathing. "I know he is suffering," his mother Claire told the 'RTE Investigates' programme. His condition had deteriorated to the point where he needed halo traction prior to surgery. She believed this may not have been needed if he had been operated on earlier. Darragh has since undergone the surgery after being on the list for more than 15 months. Describing the kind of surgery required in the programme, his mother said he would need six bolts to be put into his skull. Orthopaedic surgeon Martin Murphy of Tallaght Hospital told the programme that the health service was putting budgets before patients. "What is more important. Treating patients or achieving a balanced budget?" he asked. Meanwhile, a leading hospital consultant has said that although a public patient is given an appointment for surgery, they can endure several cancellations running into months. Consultant ophthalmologist Michael O' Keeffe of the Mater Hospital said they should continue to be counted on waiting lists until the procedure was completed. There should be no juggling of figures, he added. Megan Halvey-Ryan (13) who suffers from scoliosis - an abnormal curvature of the spine - said she now finds it almost impossible to attend school. The Limerick girl described how she can feel sick with the pain. She told last night of how she is just "sick of this stupid thing". And Megan said she feels her condition is affecting the whole family. "It makes me really sad because I don't want to see her upset and I feel like it's somehow my fault. I just want the surgery, it's not fair," her mother said. "It's not fair for any child to have to go through this when it can be rectified with surgery, she doesn't have to be like this. "All she needs is her surgery and this will go away and she can start her life again, and she's not having her surgery, she doesn't have a date. "We're still in limbo." Two years ago, Megan only had a 20-degree curve but now it's an s-shape. Pat Kiely, an orthopaedic surgeon who operates on children with scoliosis, said he would like to see more use of the theatres at Our Lady's Hospital in Crumlin. Children should be operated on between three to six months, he said. However, the delays mean their condition can deteriorate and the surgery is more complex. Currently he is doing around one to two of these operations a week. The waiting time for surgery faced by children is 15 to 18 months. Britain must pay to leave the EU in the same way as friends going to the pub must pay for their round of drinks, the European Commission said Tuesday. Margaritis Schinas, a spokesman for Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker, said the divorce bill is an "essential element" of an orderly Brexit. "It is like going to the pub with 27 friends," Schinas told a daily briefing. "You order a round of beer but then you cannot leave while the party continues, you still have to pay for the round you ordered." Britain's former ambassador to the EU said last week that the EU is set to demand up to 60 billion euros ($64 billion) from Britain to settle outstanding budget commitments. EU sources confirmed the figure to AFP. Britain estimates the figure at closer to 20 billion, they added. Schinas would not confirm the figure, saying that "technical work was ongoing". But he added: "During the time of its membership the UK has taken and probably will take financial commitments. These commitments should be fulfilled in full. "This will be an essential element of the negotiations on the orderly separation." Senior EU negotiators met on Monday to discuss their preparations ahead of Britain's expected triggering of the two-year divorce process in March. They discussed Britain's financial services industry and the rights of EU citizens in Britain and vice versa, Schinas said. French Prime Minister Bernard Cazeneuve became the latest senior European figure on Monday to declare that Britain must agree to pay the bill before negotiations on a future trade deal can start. Cazeneuve and Juncker, who met in Brussels, agreed that the terms of any eventual deal cannot be better than those of membership of the EU, they said. Search Keywords: Short link: A woman who was grabbed from behind and groped while walking in a laneway in west Dublin has described the terrifying incident, admitting she has "never been so scared". The attack on the young woman took place in Raheen Road in Springfield on Sunday evening. She was on her way home from work nearby when the assailant approached her from behind and attacked her. "Finished work at six tonight and, despite my gut feeling, I walked through the lane at Springfield. Biggest mistake I've made," the victim wrote on Facebook. The woman said the man, who was in his 30s, tried to pull her back into the laneway she had just walked through. As he did so, he started groping her and saying "come on, come on", the victim reported. The distressed screamed and another woman, who was out walking with her children, came to her aid. "I've never been so scared," the victim wrote in the post. "I screamed and a woman and her kids were walking out of the estate - God knows what could have happened. "Safe to say I won't be walking through there again. Ladies, be careful and stay safe," she added. Gardai confirmed they have received a report about the incident and are investigating. Separately, gardai in Killiney are continuing to investigate the sexual assault of a woman on January 30. At a public meeting last week, gardai told the community they were confident of apprehending the man involved. A woman in her 40s was attacked at about 5.45pm at the front of the Bayview housing estate. She managed to fight her attacker off but was understood to be shaken up by the assault. Close to 50 residents attended a neighbourhood watch meeting in Shankill last week. Inspector Tom Condon, from Dun Laoghaire Garda Station, told the meeting they are in the early stages of the investigation and have got a large amount of CCTV footage to sift through. "We will apprehend this guy, I can tell you that, we're very confident," Insp Condon said. "We're examining CCTV and there is a lot of it and there are people coming forward [with information]," he added. Residents are calling for CCTV to be mounted at all entrances to the Bayview estate. Tesco may be hit by strikes from St Valentine's Day after the main retail union served notice of industrial action on the supermarket chain today. Mandate, which represents 10,000 workers at the stores, said the industrial action that will start at nine stores will continue for an indefinite duration in a row over cuts to earnings. The union warned that the action could spread to another 15 stores, which will ballot on industrial action tonight and tomorrow. Members of the union balloted by 78pc in favour of strikes after the union accused the company of attempting to force changes to 250 workers' contracts of employment without agreement. Mandate said the new contracts would result in some workers suffering cuts to their incomes of up to 15pc, along with increased flexibility in their work practices. It claimed Tesco's actions are an abuse of power by a major multinational corporation against a small number of workers with more than 20 years service. Tesco is the most profitable retailer in the Republic of Ireland with estimated profits of more than 200m annually and has recently purchased the largest UK wholesaler Booker for 4.3bn," said Mandate General Secretary John Douglas. He said the company has confirmed that dividend payments to shareholders will restart this year and its share price has gone up by 33pc in six months. In a statement, Tesco said they want to reassure customers that all its stores will open for business as usual next Tuesday. Tesco called on mandate to accept a Labour Court recommendation on changes to the terms and conditions of workers who joined before 1996. It said the recommendation which went beyond what it believed was affordable affects less than 280 people out of a workforce of 14,500 and followed 12 months of talks on compensation. Tesco said the recommendation means 90pc of those affected will have a pay increase, while a 5pc share bonus and guaranteed overtime are protected. "There is an onus on Mandate to abide by the outcomes of the Labour Court and we are shocked that it has rejected the recommendation which the union had sought," it said in a statement. The company said Mandate was misguiding members by suggesting that there are alternatives to the recommendation. It said the pre-1996 terms and conditions were agreed over 21 years ago before late nights, Sunday openings and online shopping. It said it is the only employer in the food retail sector to recognise unions, offering above market rates of pay, conditions, benefits and careers. "We want to improve our customer service but these terms are no longer suitable as we have too many people working during the earlier quieter times of the week and this also creates unfairness between colleagues," it said. The stores that could be hit by strikes include: A businessman who owns a number of houses being rented by up to 40 people at a time claims he is doing nothing wrong, saying: "There is nothing unusual about this... what happens when you have 40 kids in a school?" James 'Jim' Cuddy (67) has been issued with fire safety notices by Dublin City Council after Independent.ie exposed how a number of his properties across the capital are dangerously overcrowded. Mr Cuddy, who lives in a 12-bed mansion in Co Cavan, owns four houses on the Howth Road in Clontarf and a property on Leinster Road in Rathmines. An undercover investigation by Independent.ie revealed how these properties were being overcrowded with foreign nationals after the houses were filled with bunk beds. The tenants were each paying 300 a month in rent, meaning each house could been generating circa 12,000 in income - or around 144,000 a year. With five houses being rented to up to 40 people, Mr Cuddy and the management company subletting his houses could have been collecting close to 800,000 in rent for the year. Expand Close Businessman Jim Cuddy / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Businessman Jim Cuddy Read more: Exclusive: The millionaire landlord raking in thousands each week from dangerously-overcrowded houses Mr Cuddy told how he leased the properties to a company called Red Sky Property Management Ltd and let them "do whatever they like with them". Red Sky was previously run by Christian Carter (29) and his father Colin Carter, with addresses of Dunedin Drive, Monkstown and Grove Park, Rathmines. Mr Cuddy claimed Red Sky "are in the business of accommodating students". When questioned about the unhealthy living conditions in the houses, he responded: "Well, I'm sure they could move out if they wanted to." He denied he had anything to do with the running of the properties, but when asked about the number of tenants occupying the houses, he said: "There is nothing unusual about this. That's not a regulation. Sure what happens when you have 40 kids in a school?" However, following inspections by Dublin City Council last month, the houses in Howth were deemed to be in breach of fire safety regulations. Independent.ie visited all the properties and the tenants were in the process of moving out. The houses on the Howth Road, formerly known as units 1-4 Howth Court, are now known collectively as 116 Howth Road. Dublin City Council issued fire safety notices in respect of no. 1, 2 and 3 and a spokesperson confirmed that if the notices are not complied with, "a person convicted for an offence may be liable to a maximum fine of 130,000 and/or imprisonment for a period not exceeding two years". The buildings are also being investigated by Planning Control and Environmental Health Officers. The house in Rathmines, where 40 women were living, was described as a "death trap" by a former tenant. She claimed there is no way of exiting the building at the back in the event of a fire in the front of the house. Independent.ie previously exposed how Christian Carter was subletting a property in The Pines, Lehaunstown, Cabinteely to up to 70 people at a time for 200 a month. Following an inspection by Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council, it said the property was deemed to be an "unauthorised, dangerous hostel". Speaking yesterday, Christian Carter claimed that the number of tenants occupying these houses has now been reduced after fire safety notices were issued by Dublin City Council. "I have now resigned from Red Sky," he told the Irish Independent. "The houses in Howth Court were of a better standard than the house in The Pines. "But there are now only 16 people in three of the houses and 10 in the others." A cabinet split has emerged over whether to invite US President Donald Trump to Ireland, with Taoiseach Enda Kenny remaining non-committal. Jobs Minister Mary Mitchell O'Connor and Social Protection Minister Leo Varadkar expressed alternative views on the prospect of a presidential visit. Ms Mitchell O'Connor said she is in favour of an invitation being issued as a way of bolstering "a good collaborative relationship between Ireland and the US". "There are over 150,000 Irish people employed in US companies here in Ireland and I would like to make sure that there is US investment into the country," the Dun Laoghaire TD said. However, Mr Varadkar said he "wouldn't be keen on it", adding he's "not sure what purpose it would serve". Already there has been divided views in the Cabinet over Mr Kenny's decision to travel to the White House for the traditional St Patrick's Day shamrock ceremony. Expand Close Social Protection Minister Leo Varadkar. Photo: Tom Burke / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Social Protection Minister Leo Varadkar. Photo: Tom Burke Independent Alliance Minister Shane Ross opposed the move, arguing that the Government should distance itself from a man who believes in torture. Asked yesterday whether he would invite President Trump to Ireland when he visits Washington, Mr Kenny replied: "I have got a lot of things I want to talk to the president about and that's what I am focused on and I will make that decision when I have the opportunity to talk to the president." Ms Mitchell O'Connor said that she "certainly" backed the Taoiseach's trip, adding "and I'm sure the Taoiseach will, with his officials, decide whether President Trump will be invited to Ireland". Arlene Foster has said she will never agree to an Irish language act, saying that Polish people have a stronger case. Political parties in Northern Ireland formally launched their campaigns yesterday ahead of the March 2 election. DUP leader Mrs Foster used the opportunity to outline that she would not be supporting the introduction of an Irish Language Act and she warned that Gerry Adams is "front and centre". "If we have an Irish language act, maybe we should have a Polish language act as well because there are more people in Northern Ireland who speak Polish," Mrs Foster said. In a no-holds-barred attack, she said: "If you feed the crocodile, they just come back for more." Mrs Foster said Sinn Fein's new leader in the North, Michelle O'Neill, had been "handpicked" by Mr Adams - who is no longer "in the shadows" - to do his bidding. "Come election day, Sinn Fein could have enough seats to be the biggest party, capture the First Minister's post and push to implement Gerry Adams's agenda for Northern Ireland. Just imagine what that would mean for our way of life," she said. Separately, at the Sinn Fein launch, Ms O'Neill bluntly challenged Secretary of State James Brokenshire's rejection of 'special status' for Northern Ireland post-Brexit. "I have got news for you, James, it won't be your decision," she told the event at the Belfast Waterfront Hall. "It will be the other member states who decide the terms of Brexit. "That is why Sinn Fein is on a diplomatic offensive across the length and breadth of Europe, where there is a hell of a lot more sympathy for our case than for the right-wing, anti-immigrant agenda which has fuelled the Brexit fiasco in the first place." Mr Brokenshire last week dashed nationalist hopes for special status, insisting it would be the wrong approach. Meanwhile, SDLP leader Colum Eastwood asked for a second chance for an Executive led by his party and the Ulster Unionists. Promising to "co-operate and compromise" with the UUP, he argued the two parties would come together "to make Northern Ireland work". Facing his second election test as leader in little over a year, Mr Eastwood argued that the "Irish political equation" always returns to the same solution - the place "only works if nationalism and unionism works together". "We are asking people to choose between two parties who have shown they can't work together or take the chance to choose differently - choose those of us who have shown that we can work together," he said. German police on Tuesday arrested a Syrian man on suspicion of belonging to the Islamic State (IS) militant group and of raping a woman as she attempted to flee an IS-held area in Syria with her children, officials said. The 31-year-old suspect, named as Akram A., was detained in the northeastern state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomeria, the federal prosecutor's office said in a statement. Prosecutors allege that he manned a checkpoint in Syria that sought to prevent citizens from escaping IS-controlled territory. In early 2016, he stopped a woman who was trying to flee with her children, they said. "Under the pretext of obtaining the necessary 'exit permit', the accused lured her to a house and raped her," prosecutors said in the statement. The rape could amount to a war crime, they added. The suspect will Wednesday appear before a judge who will decide whether to keep him in custody. German federal prosecutors have launched around a dozen investigations concerning alleged war crimes committed in Syria or Iraq, alongside dozens of cases of suspected membership of Islamist militant groups. The investigations have gained momentum following the arrival of over a million asylum seekers since 2015, including hundreds of thousands of people from Syria and Iraq. Last July, in the first such conviction in Germany, a German Islamist militant was sentenced to two years in prison on war crimes charges after posing for pictures in Syria with the severed and impaled heads of two government troops. Search Keywords: Short link: The boat believed to have been used by Cuban refugees that washed up in Co Sligo Photo: Gordon Fallis An old boat believed to have been used by Cuban refugees has washed up on a beach in Co Sligo. The "homemade" and "improvised" boat was found by Gordon Fallis on the Cliffoney beach. "I was out for a walk on Sunday morning and I spotted this huge thing on the beach. I had no idea what it was but it looked like some kind of boat. "It was very homemade and improvised. It had a car engine and water bottles to keep it afloat," Gordon told Independent.ie. Expand Close The boat believed to have been used by Cuban refugees Photo: Gordon Fallis / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp The boat believed to have been used by Cuban refugees Photo: Gordon Fallis Gordon posted images of the boat to the Lost at Sea Facebook page to help identify it. "A man in Florida helped me to identify it and said it looked exactly like boats that Cubans used to use. When I checked the water bottles used to make the boat they were all Cuban mineral water bottles." Expand Close The boat believed to have been used by Cuban refugees Photo: Gordon Fallis / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp The boat believed to have been used by Cuban refugees Photo: Gordon Fallis Gordon said that the boat had developed goose barnacles which he says suggests it has been in the water for a long time. The boats, which were nicknamed "Cuban Chugs", would have been used by Cubans to escape to America. In a former US Policy called 'Wet Foot, Dry Foot', if the Cubans were caught in the water they were sent home, but if they made it to the US soil, they would be granted residency. This treatment was unique to Cuban Refugees and not available to any other migrants. This Policy was ended on Jan 12, 2017 by Barack Obama. Gordon said that he hopes the boat will be preserved. "It's still there at the moment. We're hoping it will be preserved but we'll have to wait and see." Lynn McDonald's day can begin as early as 2am, when her daughter Daisy, who suffers from a rare disorder, wakes, needing urgent attention, and it rarely finishes before 11pm. Daisy, who celebrates her fourth birthday later this month, has an extreme form of Rett Syndrome (RTT), a rare neurodevelopmental life-limiting condition, which has left this beautiful little girl unable to move, eat, speak or even use her hands. She communicates only with her eyes, has a moderate intellectual disability, and has had to have a feeding tube inserted into her intestine because her stomach doesn't work properly. Another tube releases the air which builds up in her stomach as a result of aerophagia, which causes her to continually gulp air, resulting in a bloated, distended stomach. Even now, her mother explains, caring for Daisy is "pretty much like caring for a newborn baby straight out of hospital." Rett Syndrome affects girls almost exclusively, impacting on one in 10,000 births. The condition brings with it severe and multiple disabilities. Daisy, however, has an extreme form of the condition, explains Lynn, a mother of two and former chef who says her daughter wasn't formally diagnosed until she was one-year-old. As a newborn, Daisy looked perfectly normal, but had difficulty sucking, swallowing and even holding milk in her mouth. "She never babbled, held up her hands, rolled over, or tried to crawl. She had absent seizures at six months - although it looks like she's day-dreaming, the brain switches off. "She was always a floppy baby. I knew all along that things were not right," Lynn adds, explaining that Daisy is also not a typical RTT case. Typically such a child develops normally to up to 20 or even 30 months, hitting the normal milestones before regressing. Daisy never reached any milestones. "At nine months she was like a newborn baby. She did smile, but just lay there with very little interaction. She couldn't sit, roll, lift her head, and feeding was difficult." Sleep, recalls Lynn, a lone parent, was virtually non-existent: "There were long screaming periods of up to 12 hours. Daisy was in a lot of pain because RTT brings extreme digestive problems." After Daisy's diagnosis, Lynn struggled on for three more months before her father Joe alerted her to the existence of the Jack and Jill Foundation. The organisation provides a home nursing care and respite service to children from birth to four years of age, who suffer from severe developmental delay as a result of brain damage, who may not be able to walk or talk, are tube-fed, oxygen-dependent, and in need of round-the-clock care. Set up in 1997 by Jonathan Irwin and his wife Anne Marie O'Brien, founder of Lily O'Brien's chocolates, the foundation's work is based on the couple's own devastating experience with their son Jack, who died that year aged 22 months. Jack and Jill operates 365 days a year, has no waiting list, and mobilises an army of some 1,000 nurses and carers around the country. Over 20 years, and spearheaded by Jonathan's relentless fundraising, the group raised over 35million while receiving just 4.5million from the State. It has supported over 2,000 children with a service that includes everything from financing and resourcing practical home nursing care and home visits by one of its liaison nurses, to making representations on the behalf of families to the government and HSE. Very shortly after Lynn contacted the Jack and Jill Foundation, help arrived at the family home at Bohernabreena in Dublin in May 2014, in the form of two kind and capable nurses. Daisy was then 15-months-old. "I was given 40 hours a month to use as needed, so I could choose a night's sleep or a few hours to go and do the shopping." She now also had some quality time to spend with Ellie (8), her eldest daughter and a recipient of the Tallaght Under-18 Person of the Year Award for her work with her sister. "Those 40 hours every month let me do things I couldn't otherwise do." Lynn says she can bring Ellie to the cinema or majorettes, go shopping, or even just walk the dog. "When you have a sick child and you are given the diagnosis you have to go home and get on with it - if it wasn't for Jack and Jill and the LauraLynn Children's Hospice, I'd be on my own as far as the State is concerned." Although she does receive HSE support in the form of an on-call nurse up to three times a week, caring for Daisy is literally non-stop, she says. "Sleep deprivation is one of the hardest things to deal with and it can take over. That's where Jack and Jill comes in. They're great; the nurses are flexible so they will come when you need them," Lynn explains. "Usually it's 11.30pm or midnight by the time I go to bed, but I cope as best I can." The support from the Jack and Jill Foundation is a crucial buttress against the crippling demands of daily life for thousands of parents like Lynn, yet this organisation, which celebrates its 20th anniversary this year, gets less than 20pc of its budget from the HSE. The charity, which is now planning to expand its service beyond the age of four, will be relying on public donations more than ever to keep going. "We have to raise 3.5 million or 10,000 every single day, including Saturdays and Sundays, to finance Jack and Jill and allow us to expand the services," explains new CEO Hugo Jellett, who took up the role in early January. The organisation's core funding from the HSE is about 585,000. "A lot of our work is a collaborative effort with the HSE. Back 20 years ago there was no help, but since then Jack and Jill's existence has put it up to the HSE that more needs to be done. Services have steadily improved," he says. "If we get a call for help from a mum or dad we can get a nurse or carer into that house by the end of the week." * For more information visit jackandjill.ie SUPPORT JACK & JILL Funding is an ever-present concern for the organisation, which says every 16 donation to Jack & Jill funds one hour of home nursing care for a sick child. The Foundation is constantly running fundraising events, such as: The RTE Concert Orchestra's Jack & Jill Foundation Charity Gala is scheduled for the National Concert Hall on February 8. This special performance of classical and popular music (tickets available fromrte.ie/co, priced from 12 to 39.50), will feature soloists Niall O'Sullivan (trumpeter) and vocalists Shona Henneberry and Simon Morgan, who will perform a programme of film and classical favourites. On February 16 a series of Afternoon Tea fundraising events kicks off in The Merrion Hotel, followed by events in venues all over the country right through to November. The organisation is also seeking Lego donations from the public, which it puts on sale. In April, it will hold an exciting lucky bag-style exhibition and sale of 1,500 specially created postcards, (some by very famous artists) at Dublin's Solomon Gallery - termed, 'Incognito', it gives members of the public the opportunity to pick up some potentially valuable artwork at very low prices. See incognito.ie. Premium Colette Browne Opinion Every effort must be made to retrieve oral histories of mother and baby home survivors With three days to go until the Mother and Baby Homes Commission ceases to exist as a legal entity, we are being told that audio recordings of hundreds of witnesses which were deleted may not actually be gone forever. It is another usual twist in a most emotional saga. For decades, survivors of mother and baby homes have been denied a voice and denied autonomy. When they fell pregnant, many through rape and abuse, they were marched to the doors of religious institutions. Stories linking cyberbullying and suicide are sadly more common, but each story never less depressing or chilling. The connection between the digital world and mental health is one that I am acutely concerned with - particularly as a father of four young children and now in my role as Communications Minister. I worry for my children and their safety as they embrace the digital world in the years ahead, which inevitably they must. Of course, the internet is a wonderful tool to enjoy and learn from, but it is also a dangerous place that combines anonymity and distance too easily. Today is European Safer Internet Day. The day exists to remind us of the dangers that are online. It is also an opportunity for us as legislators to look at policies that must be introduced to keep up with reality in an effort to combat these dangers as best we can. My colleague, Justice Minister Frances Fitzgerald, is already providing for new and extended criminal offences in the area of digital harassment, stalking and revenge pornography and these are hugely significant new measures. Another significant new measure which I intend to pursue at Government level is the creation of a statutory Digital Safety Commissioner that will have the power to compel social media sites to take down harmful abuse quickly. If a social media site does not comply with the Digital Safety Commissioner's direction, the commissioner could apply to the Circuit Court for a court order requiring compliance. The appointment of a Digital Safety Commissioner was a recommendation of the Law Reform Commission in its report last year and I believe the time has come for this office to be legislated for. Stories of parents desperately trying to get in touch with social media operators to take down offensive material about their children are too common. The commissioner would also be tasked with promoting digital safety, particularly among children and young people, working in conjunction with the Ombudsman for Children and schools. Of course, there will be those who claim this is akin to censorship and an attack on the freedom of speech, but I will not accept there is a place in this digital world for those who wish others dead, raped, disfigured . . . and the list goes on. Stories and statistics all point in one direction - keyboard bullying and harassment has to be tackled quickly and the time for the appointment of a Digital Safety Commissioner is now. Independent TD Denis Naughten is Communications Minister During his presidential campaign, Donald Trump accused Barack Obama of treating America's adversaries "with tender love and care" while allies were "snubbed and criticised by an administration that lacks moral clarity". "We've picked fights with our oldest friends," Mr Trump declared in his April 2016 foreign policy speech, adding, "We've had a president who dislikes our friends and bows to our enemies." Mr Trump was absolutely right. From Iran to Cuba, Mr Obama bent over backwards to court the US's adversaries. At the same time, he mistreated its closest allies - allowing Israel to get bullied by the UN Security Council and cancelling missile defence deals with Poland and the Czech Republic in a misguided effort to curry favour with Moscow. So why, less than two weeks into his presidency, is Mr Trump doing precisely what he criticised Mr Obama for doing - picking fights with one of the US's oldest friends, Australia, while treating an adversary, Russia, "with tender love and care"? When Fox News's Bill O'Reilly challenged Mr Trump on his praise for Vladimir Putin this weekend, declaring "Putin's a killer," Mr Trump responded, "There are a lot of killers," adding, "We've got a lot of killers. What, do you think our country's so innocent?" Had Mr Obama said these words, every conservative in America would have erupted with outrage. Equating US actions with those of its enemies is a tried-and-true tactic of the left. Remember how appalled everyone was when Mr Obama declared that America should get off its "high horse" in criticisng Islamic terrorists because of the "terrible deeds" committed "in the name of Christ" during the Crusades? Or when he drew a moral equivalence between Iran's decades of terrorist murder and the role the CIA played in the 1950s "overthrow of a democratically-elected Iranian government" in his infamous Cairo speech? Why would Mr Trump follow Mr Obama's model, and draw the same false moral equivalence between the United States and Russia? At the very moment Mr Trump was speaking with O'Reilly, Russian opposition activist Vladimir Kara-Murza lay fighting for his life in a Moscow hospital, after being poisoned under mysterious circumstances. He was similarly poisoned in 2015, and barely survived. His crime? Lobbying Congress to impose economic sanctions against Russia under the Magnistky Act, a law that itself was named for a Russian human rights lawyer who was beaten to death in Mr Putin's jails. Kara-Murza and Magnitsky are not alone. In 2015, opposition activist Boris Nemtsov was assassinated by gunmen on a bridge within sight of the Kremlin. And in 2016, a British judge found that Mr Putin was likely behind the assassination of Alexander Litvinenko, a former Russian spy turned Putin critic, who was poisoned in London with radioactive polonium-210. Mr Trump says he wants to get along with Mr Putin. There's nothing wrong with trying. But getting along with Mr Putin does not require excusing this campaign of political murder, or suggesting that the US acts similarly. As William F Buckley once famously put it, "To say that the CIA and the KGB engage in similar practices is the equivalent of saying that the man who pushes an old lady into the path of a hurtling bus is not to be distinguished from the man who pushes an old lady out of the path of a hurtling bus: on the grounds that, after all, in both cases someone is pushing old ladies around." Worse still, Mr Trump's defence of Mr Putin came just days after he scolded Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull over an agreement he had reached with Mr Obama to take in 1,250 refugees, held at Australian detention centres, from Iran, Iraq, Somalia and other countries. Yes, it was poor form for Mr Turnbull and Mr Obama to make this deal after Mr Trump was elected. Yes, Australia was stupid to press Mr Trump to take in a group of refugees that they themselves refuse to let into their country - many of whom hailed from the very nations for which Mr Trump had just temporarily suspended immigration. But Australia is also one of the US's closest allies - and Australians have fought beside Americans in every war the US has fought in the last century, from World War I to Iraq and Afghanistan. There was no reason for Mr Trump to tell Mr Turnbull that theirs was "the worst call by far" he has had with any world leader - including, apparently, Vladimir Putin. The leader of America's closest ally deserved at least the same kind of deference that Mr Trump seems to be willing to extend to the leader of one of the US's greatest adversaries. Mr Trump told the recent National Prayer Breakfast in Washington that the US has to "get tough" because "the world is in trouble". He's correct. For eight years, the Obama administration projected weakness in the world, and the consequences have been devastating - from the rise of Isil, to Syria's brutal use of chemical weapons on its own people, to the spread of Iranian hegemony in the Middle East, North Korea's nuclear and missile tests, and China's cyber-attacks on America and building of military bases on disputed islands in the South China Sea. The US does need to get tough, and Mr Trump is doing so. He has imposed new sanctions on Iran for its illegal ballistic missile tests - a sea change from Mr Obama, who delivered pallets of unmarked foreign currency to Tehran on secret planes. And instead of just 'droning' terrorists, like Mr Obama did, Trump put boots on the ground, sending a special operations team to Yemen to take out al-Qa'ida leaders and capturing intelligence that Mr Obama would have vaporised. This is all to the good. But as Mr Trump jettisons Mr Obama's policies of weakness, he should also banish Mr Obama's troubling habit of treating the US's allies worse than its enemies - and of drawing a moral equivalence between US actions and theirs. Marc A Thiessen was a chief speechwriter for former US President George W Bush Almost 3,000 textile workers in Mahalla El-Kubra, mostly women, announced a strike on Tuesday, several workers told Ahram Online. The workers in the clothing section of the Mahalla Textile and Weaving Company are striking to demand payment of a variety of benefits they say that they are entitled to. Two female workers who asked to remain anonymous told Ahram Online that their main demands are "applying a court order to get the [development bonus] raised to almost EGP 600 instead of EGP 360, and to get the seven-month delayed social raise, which is 10 percent of the basic salary, and to get the full nutrition allowance, which is EGP 320 instead of EGP 210." My monthly salary is EGP 2,000, and they have started to take taxes from it, said one worker. I have three children, and I had to take my eldest girl out of school as I cannot afford her expenses. Were not demanding thousands of pounds.Those few pounds are our right, and it will not even be enough to face the high prices of everything. The 10 percent raise will only add EGP 70 to my salary," she added. Labour activist and former Mahalla Textile and Weaving Company employee Nagy Haider, who was dismissed from the company in 2015 for leading a number of strikes, said that the whole company will join the strike on Wednesday if their demands are not met. Haider added that there is a possibility that other textile and weaving workers around Egypt will join the strike with similar demands. Mahalla Textile and Weaving Company is one of the biggest textile and cotton companies in the country; the sector as a whole comprises 32 companies and employs 60,000 workers around the country. However many of the workers are not sure if their colleagues will join their action. One of the workers told Ahram Online that they were warned that the National Security Apparatus will intervene if the strike does not end before Wednesday, echoing fear of a crackdown. The government introduced a law in 2013 that severely restricts protests and strikes in Egypt, and thousands have been jailed for violating the law, including workers. However, according to the annual report issued in December by the Egyptian Centre for Social and Economic Rights, during 2016 the governmental sector witnessed almost 478 industrial actions while the public sector saw 133 actions and the private sector witnessed 107 actions. In October 2015, the workers of Mahalla Company a public company -- went on strike for 12 days, to demand they receive a benefit known as the social raise. The action was successful and they were awarded nine months-worth of the raise. The companys workers have placed a major part in political developments in Egypt in the last decade, including in major protests against the Mubarak regime in 2008. "The number of the workers [in the company] was 24,000 in 2006, but has decreased to 15,000 today as many workers have been dismissed, said Haider. Ahram Online was unable to reach both the head of the general union of textile workers, and the chairman of the Textile and Weaving Company for comment. Search Keywords: Short link: Mickey the cat became wedged in a gap between two walls. (RSPCA/PA) A careless cat which became wedged in an 8in (20cm) gap between two walls was freed after a four-hour rescue operation. Fire crews were forced to cut through a cabinet and use a chisel to cut away bricks before pushing the animal, named Mickey, to safety at a home in Trentham, Stoke-on-Trent. The unusual rescue ended at 2am last Friday after RSPCA animal collection officer Cara Gibbon decided to call the fire service for assistance. Mickey's owner, Mark Colclough, believes his pet decided to venture into a gap between his house and next door's garage to reach the rear of the property. "He never goes out the front door, but we think he sneaked out when we weren't aware, panicked because it was unknown territory, then tried to get to the back of the house," Mr Colclough said. Ms Gibbon said: " We get called to rescue animals which have got themselves stuck quite regularly; however, Mickey was the worst case of a wedged animal I have ever seen. He was completely jammed. "We're glad that he was safely released and thankfully he did not have any injuries - just a slightly bruised pride!" Dozens of adults and children with shiny red noses and wearing multicoloured suits attended the annual memorial service for Britain's best-known clown, Joseph Grimaldi. The brightly-dressed congregation gathered at All Saints Church in Haggerston, Hackney, east London, for the 71st Clowns International annual Grimaldi service on Sunday. Worshippers sang hymns including Give Me Joy In My Heart and said the Clown's Prayer. The service was first held in 1946 at the now-demolished St James' in Pentonville Road, Islington, where Grimaldi, who died in 1837, is buried. Lynn Maalouf, deputy director of research at Amnesty International Middle East and North Africa, says the hangings were sanctioned at the highest levels of the Syrian government (AP) Syrian authorities have killed at least 13,000 people since the start of the 2011 uprising, in mass hangings at a prison north of Damascus known to detainees as "the slaughterhouse", Amnesty International has said. In a new report covering the period from 2011 to 2015, Amnesty said 20-50 people were hanged each week at Saydnaya Prison in killings authorised by senior Syrian officials, including deputies of President Bashar Assad, and carried out by military police. The report referred to the killings as a "calculated campaign of extrajudicial execution". Amnesty has recorded at least 35 different methods of torture in Syria since the late 1980s, practices that only increased since 2011, said Lynn Maalouf, deputy director for research at Amnesty's regional office in Beirut. Other human rights groups have found evidence of massive torture leading to death in Syrian detention facilities. In a report last year, Amnesty found that more than 17,000 people had died of torture and ill-treatment in custody across Syria since 2011, an average rate of more than 300 deaths a month. Those figures are comparable to battlefield deaths in Aleppo, one of the fiercest war zones in Syria, where 21,000 were killed across the province since 2011. "The horrors depicted in this report reveal a hidden, monstrous campaign, authorised at the highest levels of the Syrian government, aimed at crushing any form of dissent within the Syrian population," Ms Maalouf said. While the most recent data is from 2015, Ms Maalouf said there was no reason to believe the practice has stopped since then, with thousands more probably killed. "These executions take place after a sham trial that lasts over a minute or two minutes, but they are authorised by the highest levels of authority", including the Grand Mufti, a top religious authority in Syria, and the defence minister, she said. Syrian government officials rarely comment on allegations of torture and mass killings. In the past, they have denied reports of massacres documented by international human rights groups, describing them as propaganda. The chilling accounts in the Amnesty report came from interviews with 31 former detainees and more than 50 other officials and experts, including former guards and judges. According to the findings, detainees were told they would be transferred to civilian detention centres but were taken instead to another building in the facility and hanged. "They walked in the 'train', so they had their heads down and were trying to catch the shirt of the person in front of them," Hamid, a former detainee, told Amnesty. "The first time I saw them I was horrified. They were being taken to the slaughterhouse." Another former detainee, Omar Alshogre, told The Associated Press the guards would come to his cell, sometimes three times a week, and call out detainees by name. He said a torture session would begin before midnight in nearby chambers that he could hear. "Then the sound would stop, and we would hear a big vehicle come and take them away," said Mr Alshogre, who spent nine months in Saydnaya. Now 21, he lives in Sweden. Speaking from Stockholm, he described how he was forced to keep his eyes closed and his back to the guards while they abused or suffocated a cellmate. The body often would be left behind, or there would be a pool of blood in the cell for other prisoners to clean up. "We can tell from the sound of the prisoner as he dies behind us," said Mr Alshogre, who at 17 moved among nearly 10 detention centres in Syria for two years before he was taken to Saydnaya. "He dies a metre away. I don't see anything, but I see with my ears." Mr Alshogre survived nine months in the prison, paying his way out in 2015 - a common practice. He suffered from tuberculosis and his weight fell to 35 kilograms (77lbs). Two cousins detained with him in western Syria did not survive, dying a year apart in a military intelligence detention centre. The younger one died in Mr Alshogre's arms, deprived of food and so weak he was unable to walk to the bathroom on his own. Still, Mr Alshogre said nothing could have prepared him for Saydnaya. At one point he was called out by his guards "for execution", he said. He was brought before a military trial and told not to raise his gaze at the judge, who asked him how many soldiers he had killed. When he said none, the judge spared him. Death in Saydnaya was always present "like the air," he said. Once when he was deprived of food for two days, a cellmate handed him his food ration and died days later. "This is someone who gave me his life," he said. Another cellmate died of diarrhoea, also common in the prison. "Death is the simplest thing. It was the most hoped for because it would have spared us a lot: hunger, thirst, fear, pain, cold, thinking," Mr Alshogre added. "Thinking was so hard. It could also kill." AP Security personnel stand guard at the site of a suicide attack on the Supreme Court in Kabul (Massoud Hossaini/AP) A suicide bomber has targeted the Supreme Court building in the Afghan capital Kabul, killing at least 19 people, officials said. Ismail Kawasi, the public health ministry spokesman, said 41 people were also wounded in the explosion, which hit near a side door used for court employees to leave the building at the end of the work day. Najib Danish, deputy spokesman for the interior ministry, said not all the victims have been identified yet but that an investigation was under way. The attacker was on foot and detonated his suicide vest packed with explosives near the employees and other people as they were coming out of the main court building, Mr Danish added. No-one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack but Taliban insurgents have attacked the top court and its employees in the past, as well as court buildings in the other provinces. The Kabul bombing came hours after a roadside bombing killed the top government official of a district in western Farah province. Taliban spokesman Qari Yusouf Ahmadi said the group claimed responsibility for that attack. Abdul Khaliq, the top official in the Khak-e-Safed district, was on his way home from the mosque when the explosion took place in the city of Farah, the provincial capital, a police spokesman said. Taliban insurgents frequently use roadside bombs and suicide attacks to target government officials as well as Afghan security forces across the country. A mortar pit with children's footprints still preserved was also uncovered at the site At the ancient city of Piramesse, which was Egypt's capital during the reign of the King Ramses II, an excavation team from the Roemer and Pelizaeus Museum in Hildesheim in Germany has uncovered parts of a building complex as well as a mortar pit with childrens footprints. The head of the Ancient Egyptian Antiquities Department at Egypts antiquities ministry, Mahmoud Afifi, describes the newly discovered building complex as "truly monumental," covering about 200 by 160 metres. The layout suggests the complex was likely a palace or a temple, Afifi told Ahram Online. The mission director, Henning Franzmeier, explained magnetic measurements were carried out last year in order to determine the structure of the ancient city, and through those measurements the building complex was located. The site of excavation had been chosen, he explained, not just because of its archaeological potential but because of its proximity to the edges of the modern village of Qantir, which is endangering the nearby antiquities under its fields due to rapid expansion. Franzmeier told Ahram Online that the team has also uncovered an area of about 200 square metres in its excavations. It is the goal of this work to locate a potential entrance to the monumental building, which seems not to be located as is typical in the axis of the complex, but rather in its north-western corner. Furthermore a second small trench was laid out in an area where the excavators believe the enclosure wall can be traced. "The finds and archaeological features uncovered are most promising," he said, adding that just a couple of centimetres beneath the surface a multitude of walls was uncovered, all dating to the Pharaonic period. Due to the limited size of the trenches no buildings can be reconstructed so far. Nonetheless it is obvious that the stratigraphy is extremely dense and several construction phases are preserved, and not all the walls are contemporaneous. The team has also found a mortar pit extending to at least 2.5 by 8 metres. At the bottom, a layer of mortar was uncovered, in which childrens footprints have been preserved. Even more extraordinary is the filling of the pit, consisting of smashed pieces of painted wall plaster. "No motifs are recognisable so far but we are certainly dealing with the remains of large-scale multi-coloured wall paintings," said Franzmeier. The team fragments have been cleaned in situ and subsequently removed. A comprehensive excavation of all fragments followed by permanent conservation and the reconstruction of motifs will be the subject of future seasons. Search Keywords: Short link: A Pakistan International Airlines flight to Heathrow Airport has been intercepted by the RAF after reports of a disruptive passenger onboard. An RAF spokesman said Quick Reaction Alert Typhoon aircraft from RAF Coningsby in Lincolnshire escorted the aircraft to Stansted Airport in Essex. Essex Police said the diversion happened at around 3pm on Tuesday and the plane is on the ground at Stansted. A force spokesman said officers are investigating the incident, which is "not believed to be a hijack situation or terror matter". It was later confirmed the passenger on board the Pakistan International Airlines flight was wanted by the Metropolitan Police, Scotland Yard said. German Chancellor Angela Merkel admitted she was facing the toughest election campaign of her career yesterday after an opinion poll found her party trailing for the first time in almost seven years. Martin Schulz, the former European Parliament president and outspoken European Union critic, is leading the race to be Germany's next leader, according to the poll for 'Bild' newspaper. His centre-Left Social Democrats (SPD) came first with 31pc, ahead of Ms Merkel's Christian Democrats (CDU) on 30pc. The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) was in the third place with 12pc. It is the first time the CDU has been beaten into second place since 2010. "This will be the hardest election campaign I have ever fought," Ms Merkel said at a press conference in Munich. "We have quite a fight on our hands, and we have plenty of work ahead of us." Mr Schulz has emerged as the most serious challenger Ms Merkel has faced in more than a decade in power. Support for the SPD has surged 10 percentage points in the two weeks since he took over as party leader after the resignation of Sigmar Gabriel. In a sign of the panic gripping Ms Merkel's camp, one of the harshest critics of her refugee policy yesterday agreed to set aside their differences and work towards her re-election. Horst Seehofer, the leader of Ms Merkel's Bavarian sister party, the Christian Social Union (CSU), was threatening to pull out of an electoral alliance with her unless she agreed to a limit on the number of refugees allowed into Germany. However, the two leaders put on a show of unity at a joint press conference to endorse Ms Merkel's candidacy. All differences seemed forgotten as Mr Seehofer praised her "dazzling" record as chancellor. Ms Merkel said she was taking the threat from Mr Schulz seriously. The SPD seized on the poll findings as evidence that the tide of German politics had turned in its favour. "Merkel is finished, just like Kohl was in 1998," Johannes Kahrs, an MP from the party, told 'Welt' newspaper, referring to Helmut Kohl, the former chancellor. "People want a fresh face." "There is something of a weariness when it comes to Merkel," Carsten Brzeski, chief economist at ING-Diba bank, told Bloomberg news agency. "Martin Schulz is Angela Merkel with a beard," Hermann Binkert, head of the Insa polling institute, told 'Bild'. ( Daily Telegraph London) Telegraph Media Group Limited [2022] Lech Walesa said he 'never pledged allegiance to the other side' (Czarek Sokolowski/AP) Lech Walesa, Poland's former president and leader of its peaceful pro-democracy struggle, has rejected evidence recently presented by state experts who claim it proves that he was a communist-era paid informer. The allegations against Mr Walesa are not new and he has been denying them ever since they surfaced in the early 1990s, tarnishing his image as a national hero and icon of struggle against communism. But last week a state historical institute backed them with analyses by experts of handwriting in the reports made to the communist-era secret police and receipts for money in return, from 1970-76. They concluded it was Mr Walesa's handwriting. The conclusions are in line with the views of Poland's ruling party, which questions Mr Walesa's hero status and blames some of Poland's current shortcomings on the time when he had influence on the nation. Mr Walesa insisted on Tuesday that he never collaborated, not even under pressure from authorities, and appealed to journalists to gather and publish proof that he was persecuted and fired from jobs by the authorities in the 1970s for his anti-communist activity. "I swear to you now that I never pledged allegiance to the other side," Mr Walesa said. Mr Walesa insisted the signatures were counterfeited and the reports were transcripts made by secret police from their eavesdropping on him and on other workers at the Gdansk shipyard and other places where he was employed as an electrician. "I could find 100 handwriting experts who would deny" the findings by the state institute, he said. The documents surfaced last year after the death of a communist-era interior minister who kept them in his basement. Mr Walesa won the 1983 Nobel Peace Prize for leading Solidarity, the peaceful pro-democracy movement. Six years later, Solidarity ousted the communists from power in peaceful negotiations. Mr Walesa was democratic Poland's first popularly chosen president, from 1990 to 1995, but his authoritarian streak cost him a lot of popularity. AP A woman poses topless with the words "I am free" written on her back during a protest in response to a recent incident on an Argentine resort beach between police and topless sunbathers, in downtown Buenos Aires, Argentina, February 7, 2017. REUTERS/Marcos Brindicci Topless women attend a protest in response to a recent incident on an Argentine resort beach between police and topless sunbathers, in downtown Buenos Aires, Argentina, February 7, 2017. REUTERS/Marcos Brindicci Topless women attend a protest in response to a recent incident on an Argentine resort beach between police and topless sunbathers, in downtown Buenos Aires, Argentina, February 7, 2017. REUTERS/Marcos Brindicci TEMPLATE OUT A woman poses topless with the words "I am free" written on her back during a protest in response to a recent incident on an Argentine resort beach between police and topless sunbathers, in downtown Buenos Aires, Argentina, February 7, 2017. REUTERS/Marcos Brindicci A woman holds a sign that reads in Spanish "People are uncomfortable with sexuality that is not for male consumption," during a bare-breasted demonstration in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2017. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko) A woman with the text written in Spanish on her torso "I will not ask for permission," protests during a bare-breasted demonstration in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2017. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko) A woman poses topless with the words "The tit is not a crime" written on her back during a protest in response to a recent incident on an Argentine resort beach between police and topless sunbathers, in downtown Buenos Aires, Argentina, February 7, 2017. REUTERS/Marcos Brindicci Dozens of topless women, joined by hundreds of fully clothed protesters, demonstrated in Buenos Aires on Tuesday to demand the right to sunbathe semi-nude after police asked bare-breasted women to leave a nearby beach. Smaller protests have occurred throughout the country in recent weeks in response to the January incident and it remains unclear if Argentine law allows women to go topless on public beaches. Police cited a national criminal code article prohibiting "obscene displays" to justify asking the women to leave the beach, although at least one judge ruled after the incident that going topless was not a crime. Arguing that women should have the same right as men to sunbathe topless, the women chanted, painted slogans on their bodies and held signs reading: "The only breasts that bother them are the ones that aren't for sale." Expand Close A woman with the text written in Spanish on her torso "I will not ask for permission," protests during a bare-breasted demonstration in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2017. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp A woman with the text written in Spanish on her torso "I will not ask for permission," protests during a bare-breasted demonstration in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2017. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko) The demonstration in downtown Buenos Aires followed the "Not One Less" protests late last year in which tens of thousands of Argentines protested gender-related violence after the rape and killing of a 16-year-old girl. The protesters said the incident on the beach exemplified social inequality between men and women in Argentina. Expand Close A woman poses topless with the words "I am free" written on her back during a protest in response to a recent incident on an Argentine resort beach between police and topless sunbathers, in downtown Buenos Aires, Argentina, February 7, 2017. REUTERS/Marcos Brindicci / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp A woman poses topless with the words "I am free" written on her back during a protest in response to a recent incident on an Argentine resort beach between police and topless sunbathers, in downtown Buenos Aires, Argentina, February 7, 2017. REUTERS/Marcos Brindicci "In many places, when a woman reports gender violence, they don't listen, but when a woman shows her breasts they send so many police," said Grace Prounesti Piquet, a 33-year-old photographer with the words "The breast is not a crime" painted in pink on her back. "It's a shame." The protest drew a large number of male gawkers, prompting chants of "Get out" from women demonstrators. US first lady Melania Trump has refiled a 121 million libel lawsuit against the corporation that publishes the Daily Mail's website, this time in New York, for reporting rumours that she worked as an escort. In the new filing, Mrs Trump's lawyers argue the report damaged her ability to profit from her high profile. Mrs Trump, the filing states, "had the unique, one-in-a-lifetime opportunity, as an extremely famous and well-known person, as well as a former professional model, brand spokesperson and successful businesswoman, to launch a broad-based commercial brand in multiple product categories, each of which could have garnered multi-million dollar business relationships for a multi-year term during which Plaintiff is one of the most photographed women in the world". Those product categories, it goes on to say, could have included clothing, accessories, jewellery, cosmetics, hair care and fragrance, among others. Mrs Trump had previously filed the lawsuit against Mail Media Inc in Maryland, but earlier this month a judge ruled the case should not be filed there and dismissed it. The lawsuit, now filed in New York, where the corporation has offices, seeks compensatory and punitive damages of at least 150 million dollars. Mrs Trump had sued Mail Media Inc, along with blogger Webster Tarpley, for reporting the rumours. She filed the lawsuit in Maryland after both Mr Tarpley and the Daily Mail issued retractions. The lawsuit against Mr Tarpley has been allowed to move ahead in Maryland. AP The Syrian government has executed thousands of prisoners in mass hangings and carried out systematic torture at a military jail near Damascus, rights watchdog Amnesty International said on Tuesday. The jail, referred to by detainees as 'the slaughterhouse', was the site of "a hidden, monstrous campaign" the group said. Amnesty said the executions took place between 2011 and 2015, but were probably still being carried out and amounted to war crimes. It called for a UN investigation. Syria's government and President Bashar al-Assad have rejected similar reports in the past of torture and extrajudicial killings in a civil war that has claimed hundreds of thousands of lives. The Amnesty report said an average of 20-50 people were hanged each week at the Sednaya military prison north of Damascus. Between 5,000 and 13,000 people were executed at Sednaya in the four years after Syria's popular uprising descended into civil war, it said. "The victims are overwhelmingly civilians who are thought to oppose the government," the report said "Many other detainees at Sednaya Military Prison have been killed after being repeatedly tortured and systematically deprived of food, water, medicine and medical care." The prisoners, who included former military personnel suspected of disloyalty and people involved in unrest, underwent sham trials before military courts and were sometimes forced to make confessions under torture, Amnesty said. The executions were carried out secretly and those killed were buried at mass graves outside the capital, with families not informed of their fate, it said. The report was based on interviews with 84 witnesses including former guards and officials, detainees, judges and lawyers, as well as experts on detention in Syria. "The Syrian state's backers, in particular Russia, with its permanent seat on the Security Council, and Iran, must condemn the extrajudicial executions and extermination policies of the Syrian state and do what is in their power to bring them to an end," Amnesty said. President Donald Trump salutes a Marines honor guard as he disembarks from Marine One upon arrival at the White House in Washington. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta) President Donald Trump appears to be laying the groundwork to shift blame for any future terrorist attack on US soil from his administration to the federal judiciary, as well as to the media. In recent tweets, Mr Trump personally attacked James Robart, a US district judge in Washington state, for putting "our country in such peril" with his ruling that temporarily blocked enforcement of the administration's ban on all refugees as well as citizens of seven majority-Muslim countries from entering the US. Then yesterday, Mr Trump seemed to spread that blame to include news organisations. In his speech to the US Central Command, the president accused the media of failing to report on some terrorist attacks for what he implied were nefarious reasons. He added, "You've seen what happened in Paris and Nice. All over Europe it's happening. It's gotten to a point where it's not even being reported. And in many cases, the very, very dishonest press doesn't want to report it." White House press secretary Sean Spicer sought to clarify Trump's remarks, telling reporters traveling on Air Force One that the president believes some terrorist attacks have been "underreported." "Protests will get blown out of the water, and yet an attack or a foiled attack doesn't necessarily get the same coverage." David Frum, a White House speechwriter under President George W Bush, said: "Mr Trump's instinct to pass blame is very strong. ... I don't know whether people will succumb to this." Gayle McCormick walks outside her new apartment in this still photo taken from video, in Bellingham, Washington February 2, 2017. Photo taken February 2, 2017. REUTERS/Tim Exton/ReutersTV Gayle McCormick works in her kitchen in this still photo taken from video, inside her new apartment in Bellingham, Washington February 2, 2017. Photo taken February 2, 2017. REUTERS/Tim Exton/ReutersTV Gayle McCormick works in her kitchen in this still photo taken from video, inside her new apartment in Bellingham, Washington February 2, 2017. Photo taken February 2, 2017. REUTERS/Tim Exton/ReutersTV Gayle McCormick poses during interview in this still photo taken from video, inside her new apartment in Bellingham, Washington February 2, 2017. Photo taken February 2, 2017. REUTERS/Tim Exton/ReutersTV Burning passions over Donald Trump's presidency are taking a personal toll on both sides of the political divide. For Gayle McCormick, it is particularly wrenching: she has separated from her husband of 22 years. The retired California prison guard, a self-described "Democrat leaning toward socialist," was stunned when her husband casually mentioned during a lunch with friends last year that he planned to vote for Trump - a revelation she described as a "deal breaker." "It totally undid me that he could vote for Trump," said McCormick, 73, who had not thought of leaving the conservative Republican before but felt "betrayed" by his support for Trump. "I felt like I had been fooling myself," she said. "It opened up areas between us I had not faced before. I realized how far I had gone in my life to accept things I would have never accepted when I was younger." Three months after the most divisive election in modern U.S. politics fractured families and upended relationships, a number of Americans say the emotional wounds are as raw as ever and show few signs of healing. The rancor has not dissipated as it has in the aftermath of other recent contentious U.S. elections. A Reuters/Ipsos opinion poll shows it has worsened, suggesting a widening of the gulf between Republicans and Democrats and a hardening of ideological positions that sociologists and political scientists say increases distrust in government and will make political compromise more difficult. Expand Close Gayle McCormick works in her kitchen in this still photo taken from video, inside her new apartment in Bellingham, Washington February 2, 2017. Photo taken February 2, 2017. REUTERS/Tim Exton/ReutersTV / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Gayle McCormick works in her kitchen in this still photo taken from video, inside her new apartment in Bellingham, Washington February 2, 2017. Photo taken February 2, 2017. REUTERS/Tim Exton/ReutersTV The Reuters/Ipsos poll of 6,426 people, taken from Dec. 27 to Jan. 18, shows the number of respondents who argued with family and friends over politics jumped 6 percentage points from a pre-election poll at the height of the campaign in October, up to 39 percent from 33 percent. Read More Sixteen percent said they have stopped talking to a family member or friend because of the election - up marginally from 15 percent. That edged higher, to 22 percent, among those who voted for Democrat Hillary Clinton. Overall, 13 percent of respondents said they had ended a relationship with a family member or close friend over the election, compared to 12 percent in October. Expand Close Gayle McCormick walks outside her new apartment in this still photo taken from video, in Bellingham, Washington February 2, 2017. Photo taken February 2, 2017. REUTERS/Tim Exton/ReutersTV / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Gayle McCormick walks outside her new apartment in this still photo taken from video, in Bellingham, Washington February 2, 2017. Photo taken February 2, 2017. REUTERS/Tim Exton/ReutersTV "It's been pretty rough for me," said Rob Brunello, 25, of Mayfield Heights, Ohio, a truck driver who faced a backlash from friends and family for backing Trump. "People couldn't believe Trump could beat Hillary. They are having a hard time adjusting to it," he said. The White House did not respond to a request for comment on the poll results. At the same time, many people reported their relationships have not suffered because of the election. The poll found about 40 percent had not argued with a family member or friend over the race. Expand Close Gayle McCormick poses during interview in this still photo taken from video, inside her new apartment in Bellingham, Washington February 2, 2017. Photo taken February 2, 2017. REUTERS/Tim Exton/ReutersTV / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Gayle McCormick poses during interview in this still photo taken from video, inside her new apartment in Bellingham, Washington February 2, 2017. Photo taken February 2, 2017. REUTERS/Tim Exton/ReutersTV The election also enabled a significant number to forge new bonds - 21 percent said they became friends with someone they did not know because of the election, though the poll question did not ask respondents to specify if the friendship was with someone from a different party. Sandi Corbin, a retiree in East Galesburg, Illinois, said she has visited some of the new friends she made because of their shared support for Clinton. "We talk all the time now," she said. "I would say that's a plus from the election." The election's fervor has spilled into the streets since Trump's inauguration on Jan. 20. Hundreds of thousands of people marched in protest on the day after Trump took office, and there have been demonstrations against a travel ban on visitors from seven Muslim-majority countries. Arguing over Trump has become a bitter reality for many Americans. "Once people found out I had voted for Trump the stuff started flying," said William Lomey, 64, a retired cop in Philadelphia who no longer speaks with a friend he grew up with after they clashed on Facebook over the election. "I questioned him on a few things, he didn't like it, he blew up and left me a nasty message and we haven't talked since." He said his friend is gay and worries about Trump's sometimes demeaning campaign rhetoric about minority groups including Muslims, Hispanics, immigrants and the disabled. "I think people are getting too wound up," Lomey said. Read More Sue Koren, 57, a Clinton supporter in Dayton, Ohio, said she can barely speak to her two Trump-backing sons and has unfriended "maybe about 50" people on Facebook who support the president. "Life is not what it was before the election," she said. "It's my anger, my frustration, my disbelief. They think our current president is a hero and I think he's a nut." George Ingmire, 48, a radio documentary producer in New Orleans, said he broke off a close relationship with an uncle who had helped him through his father's suicide because of his uncle's fervent support for Trump. "We had some back and forth and it just got really deep, really ugly," Ingmire said. "I don't see this ever being fixed." Many personal conflicts erupt on social media. In the Reuters/Ipsos poll, 17 percent said they had blocked a family member or close friend on social media because of the election, up 3 percentage points from October. LeShanda Loatman, 35, a black Republican real estate agent from Delaware, has severed ties on social media with former co-workers and old friends over their support for Trump and their criticism of the Black Lives Matter movement against violence and racism against blacks. "I haven't come across anybody who was openly belligerent about the election or Black Lives Matter movement when I was out in public. It's just on Facebook," said Loatman, who voted for Green Party candidate Jill Stein. Eventually, McCormick's husband changed his mind about Trump and wrote in former House of Representatives Speaker Newt Gingrich in November, but by that time she had decided to strike out on her own. While the couple plans to vacation together and will not get divorced - "we're too old for that" - she recently settled in her own place in Bellingham, Washington. "It really came down to the fact I needed to not be in a position where I had to argue my point of view 24/7. I didn't want to spend the rest of my life doing that," said McCormick, who ultimately cast a write-in vote for Democratic U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont. In St. Charles, Missouri, retired tour company operator Dennis Conner, who is a Trump supporter, says he has avoided confrontations with his brother, sister-in-law and brother-in-law, who were Clinton backers. His advice: "We don't have to talk about politics." The Reuters/Ipsos poll was conducted online in English in all 50 states. It has a credibility interval, which is similar to margin of error, of 1 percentage point. Donald Trump has launched into a Twitter tirade about an unflattering expose of his first two weeks in the White House. The New York Times article contains embarrassing reports of the President's aides conversing in the dark because they cannot find the light switch, the President watching cable TV in his bathrobe and marking up negative news stories with a black sharpie. Mr Trump has hit back at the report and suggested the publication has written total fiction about him and fabricated their sources. The failing NY Times writes total fiction concerning me. They have gotten it wrong for two years, and now are making up stories & sources! the billionaire property mogul wrote on Twitter on Monday. Expand Close White House Communications Director Sean Spicer holds the daily press briefing at the White House in Washington, U.S. February 2, 2017. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp White House Communications Director Sean Spicer holds the daily press briefing at the White House in Washington, U.S. February 2, 2017. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst The report was based on anonymous accounts from government officials, congressional aides and other insiders. The failing NY Times was forced to apologise to its subscribers for the poor reporting it did on my election win. Now they are worse! the 70-year-old later added. Mr Trump has an ongoing vendetta against Americas second largest newspaper and has frequently vented his frustrations against its coverage of him and claimed its subscription rates are falling. However, the paper has actually seen readership figures climb and recently announced it has gained the most digital subscribers since 2011. The Presidents press secretary Sean Spicer has also slammed the report and demanded an apology from the New York Times. The failing @nytimes writes total fiction concerning me. They have gotten it wrong for two years, and now are making up stories & sources! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 6, 2017 Sean Spicer: "I don't think the president owns a bathrobe." Anyone with internet access: pic.twitter.com/SNZBoG0Zcn Casey Clemmons (@Casey_Clemmons) February 6, 2017 .@seanspicer Trump has hotels. Each room has a bathrobe. There's probably a warehouse full of bathrobes. He definitely has a bathrobe. John Levenstein (@johnlevenstein) February 6, 2017 "Uh, yeah, I don't think hotel owner Mr Trump owns a bathrobe, or a tiny thing of shampoo, or a mini tube of Pringles, or a shower cap..." Paul Bradley Carr (@paulbradleycarr) February 6, 2017 That report was so riddled with inaccuracies and lies that they owe the president an apology, Spicer told reporters on the Air Force One on Monday. There were just literally blatant factual errors and its unacceptable to see that kind of reporting or so-called reporting. Spicer also took issue with the reports claim Mr Trump wears a bathrobe, saying the President does not even own one. "I don't think the president owns a bathrobe; he definitely doesnt wear one, he said. From top to bottom they made up stories that just dont exist. And I think thats unfortunate. Expand Close White House spokesman Sean Spicer holds a press briefing at the White House in Washington, U.S., February 3, 2017. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp White House spokesman Sean Spicer holds a press briefing at the White House in Washington, U.S., February 3, 2017. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque Quickly after Spicer made the comments, images of Mr Trump wearing a bathrobe flooded social media. The Times report paints a picture of a small, chaotic and fractious team of advisors being forced to rethink their tactics after facing significant backlash. Expand Close Press Secretary Sean Spicer talks to journalists on board Air Force One during U.S. President Donald Trump's return to Washington, U.S., February 6, 2017. REUTERS/Carlos Barria / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Press Secretary Sean Spicer talks to journalists on board Air Force One during U.S. President Donald Trump's return to Washington, U.S., February 6, 2017. REUTERS/Carlos Barria It also claimed Mr Trump is frustrated by his teams inability to control the backlash against his executive orders and is feeling increasingly pinched by the pressures of the job. He was also reported to have been adamant the early stages of his presidency were going well until the barrage of bad headlines. President Park Geun-hye faces questions from South Korean prosecutors this week over her alleged involvement in a political scandal that toppled her from power. Ms Park was impeached by the opposition-controlled parliament in December over allegations she let her long-time confidante Choi Soon-sil interfere in state affairs and extort money from businesses in collaboration with presidential officials. Ms Park, who has immunity from prosecution while in office, has said she is willing to undergo questioning. Prosecution spokesman Lee Kyu-chul said on Tuesday Ms Park's questioning is expected to take place "around February 10". Prosecutors have tried to search Ms Park's presidential compound twice, but her aides rejected the requests, citing a law that can block searches in areas with official secrets. The Constitutional Court is deliberating about whether to formally unseat her and trigger an election to choose her successor. On Tuesday, four former top government officials were indicted for allegedly blacklisting thousands of artists critical of the government. The four include former culture minister Cho Yoon-sun, who became the first incumbent cabinet member of the Park government to be arrested over the allegation. She resigned after her arrest. The ex-top officials allegedly pressured culture-related organisations to exclude blacklisted artists from state funding programmes, Mr Lee said. They face charges such as abuse of power and coercion, he said. Three other senior officials including another former culture minister have already been indicted over the blacklist allegation, which surfaced as authorities were expanding their probe into the political scandal. Ms Park's confidante, Choi, and several of Ms Park's former advisers have been jailed and face criminal trials. AP President Trump salutes a Marines honour guard as he steps off Marine One at the White House after his Florida trip (AP) President Trump lunches with troops at US Central Command and US Special Operations Command at MacDill Air Force Base, Florida (AP) The White House has insisted US President Donald Trump "respects the judicial branch" despite his tough talk over the pushback against his immigration ban. Press secretary Sean Spicer asserted that there is "no question" over the president's respect of the courts. Earlier, Mr Trump told members of the National Sheriff's Association that the court fight over his refugee and immigration executive order could end up in the Supreme Court. Mr Trump said he was going to take his fight to uphold the directive "through the system". He lashed out last weekend over a court order to block the ban, saying on Twitter: "The opinion of this so-called judge, which essentially takes law-enforcement away from our country, is ridiculous and will be overturned." The US Justice Department earlier filed a new defence of the president's ban on travellers from seven predominantly Muslim nations as a federal appeal court considers whether to restore the administration's executive order. The lawyers said the ban was a "lawful exercise" of the president's authority to protect national security and a judge's order that put the policy on hold should be overruled. The filing with the San Francisco-based 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals was the latest salvo in a high-stakes legal fight surrounding Mr Trump's order, which was halted by a federal judge in Washington state on Friday . A randomly-selected panel of appeal judges are set to hear the arguments. The appeal court earlier refused to immediately reinstate the ban, and lawyers for two states challenging it - Washington and Minnesota - argued on Monday that any resumption would "unleash chaos again", separating families and stranding university students. The Justice Department responded that the president had clear authority to "suspend the entry of any class of aliens" to the US in the name of national security. It said the travel ban, which temporarily suspends the country's refugee programme and immigration from seven countries with terrorism concerns, was intended "to permit an orderly review and revision of screening procedures to ensure that adequate standards are in place to protect against terrorist attacks". The challengers of the ban, the Justice Department wrote, were asking "courts to take the extraordinary step of second-guessing a formal national security judgment made by the president himself pursuant to broad grants of statutory authority". Whatever the appeal court decides, either side could ask the Supreme Court to intervene. It could prove difficult to find the necessary five votes at the high court to undo a lower court order; the Supreme Court has been at less than full strength since Justice Antonin Scalia's death a year ago. The last immigration case that reached the justices ended in a 4-4 tie. The president's executive order has faced legal uncertainty ever since Friday's ruling by US district judge James Robart, which challenged both Mr Trump's authority and his ability to fulfil a campaign promise. The State Department quickly said people from the seven countries - Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen - with valid visas could travel to the US and t he Homeland Security Department said it was no longer directing airlines to prevent affected visa holders from boarding US-bound planes. The legal battle involves two divergent views of the role of the executive branch and the court system. The government has asserted that the president alone has the power to decide who can enter or stay in the United States, while Judge Robart has said a judge's job is to ensure an action taken by the government "comports with our country's laws". AP Donald Trump's claim that European terror acts are ignored by the media is not supported by facts (AP) Donald Trump has made an unsupported assertion that terrorist acts in Europe are going unreported. The US president said: "All over Europe it's happening. It's gotten to a point where it's not even being reported. "And in many cases the very, very dishonest press doesn't want to report it. They have their reasons, and you understand that." In fact, Mr Trump and his team have cited only one example of a deadly terrorist attack anywhere going unreported, the one that did not happen in Bowling Green, Kentucky. Adviser Kellyanne Conway spoke about a Bowling Green "massacre" that did not take place, correcting herself when she was challenged on the error. As for Mr Trump's claim about Europe, it is probably true that you have not heard of every attack on the continent that can be tied to terrorism. Scores, if not hundreds, happen every year and many do not rise to the level of an international audience because they cause no casualties or little or no property damage, or are carried out by unknown assailants for unclear reasons. One exhaustive list is the Global Terrorism Database, maintained by the University of Maryland, listing 321 episodes of suspected or known terrorism in western Europe alone in 2015. Many are anti-Muslim attacks against mosques, not the brand of terrorism Mr Trump has expressed concern about. And many are attacks undertaken for right or left-wing causes that have nothing to do with Islamic extremism or xenophobic attacks on mosques. Examples from 2015 that were largely under the radar of Americans include: :: On October 24, assailants set fire to the home of a Socialist Justice Party member in Gothenburg, Sweden, one of series of attacks against the party that day. :: In the UK, assailants set fire to the Whitton Methodist Church hall in Richmond on September 13, with no reported casualties and no one immediately claiming responsibility. :: On January 17, gunmen opened fire at a bar in Londonderry, Northern Ireland, causing no casualties. Dissident Republicans were thought to have been behind the attack. The database defines a terrorist act as one aimed at attaining political, religious, social or economic goals through coercion or intimidation of the public, outside acts of war. The devastating attacks by Islamic extremists that year are also on the list, among them the murderous assault on the Paris offices of the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo and the even bloodier attack at Paris' Bataclan concert hall, the worst in a series of killings in one day. Those attacks and other deadly ones in Europe received saturation coverage for days. But even the smaller, non-lethal acts of terrorism received coverage: The database itself is built from media reports. Mr Trump made his latest claim before a broad audience on live television, while speaking at Central Command headquarters in Florida. On Air Force One, before a smaller audience, Trump spokesman Sean Spicer said the president did not really mean that terrorist attacks received no coverage. Mr Trump's actual complaint, he said, was that such acts do not get enough attention. "He felt that members of media don't always cover some of those events to the extent that other events might get covered," Mr Spicer said. "Like a protest gets blown out of the water, and yet an attack or a foiled attack doesn't necessarily get the same coverage." The White House later released a list of 78 worldwide attacks it described as "executed or inspired by" the Islamic state terror group. Most on the list did not get sufficient media attention, the White House said, without specifying which ones it considered under-reported. Attacks on the list that had high death tolls were given blanket coverage, such as the Brussels bombings in March, the San Bernadino, California, shootings in December 2015, and the Paris attacks in November 2015. Some with a smaller death toll, such as two attacks in Canada that killed one soldier each, were also covered at the time and well known. The White House did not point to any examples supporting Mr Trump's contention that terrorist attacks were "not even being reported". Less than half of the 78 incidents the White House listed occurred in Europe. AP Any US H-1B visa change to affect IT talent pool The debate in the US over bills designed to tighten H-1B visa rules has become a cause for worry among many major Indian IT companies. While the operations of many multinationals will be impacted by tighter restrictions for the visa, the biggest impact for HR managers in India will be related to the availability and cost of talent. Any tightening of the eligibility for H1B visas will affect hiring managers in India that utilize H-1B visa programs as an incentive for domestic employees and may cause a high number of Indian citizens to return to India from the US. The latter development will likely benefit hiring managers who have struggled with the high levels of competition for talent in Indias major business hubs. New Boeing engineering, technology center in Bangalore Boeing, the multinational aerospace company, opened the Boeing India Engineering and Technology Center (BIETC) in Bangalore last week. The new center will provide data analytics, engineering, and IT services for the companys global operations. A spokesperson for Boeing said the company opened the center to take advantage of competitive operational costs as well as the talent available in the Bangalore area. These features have long attracted R&D as well as technology centers to Bangalore, but some US multinationals such as Target have also started experimenting with support for incubators and accelerators in the city. Investment from Canada reaching new heights Canadian companies have invested between US$7 to 8 billion into India over the past two years, according to estimates by the Economic Times and Live Mint. This investment marks a drastic increase in FDI from Canada: Canada made investments totaling only US$613 million in 2015. Real estate and infrastructure have been the target of the majority of Canadas FDI into India. Canada-based pension and private equity funds have accounted for the bulk of this new wave of investment, following similar investments in years past by funds based in Singapore and the Middle East. Despite the increase in FDI from Canada, and the consistent growth in bilateral trade between the countries, the Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman recently announced that India would not enter into an economic and trade agreement promoted by Canada due to provisions outlining a permanent multilateral investment court. 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 india@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. An Introduction to Doing Business in India 2016 Doing Business in India 2016 is designed to introduce the fundamentals of investing in India. As such, this comprehensive guide is ideal not only for businesses looking to enter the Indian market, but also for companies who already have a presence here and want to stay up-to-date with the most recent and relevant policy changes. Pre-Investment Due Diligence in India In this issue of India Briefing Magazine, we examine issues related to pre-investment due diligence in India. We highlight the different regulatory, tax, and socio-economic issues that a company should be aware of before entering the Indian market. We also detail some of the topics related to entry structures while investing in the Indian market, as well as cultural and HR due diligence, which may differ from state to state. Strategies for Repatriating Funds from India In this issue of India Briefing Magazine, we look at issues related to repatriating funds from India. We highlight the unique regulations for sending funds back from India, examine the various strategies companies can make use of while repatriating, and look at remittance procedures for different types of Indian entities. Finally, we give some tips on how expats can remit their Indian money to their home countries. Varun Dhawan is busy shooting for his forthcoming film 'Judwaa 2'. His role in the film is expected to be much different from what he has played earlier as this time he would be seen in a double role. The actor is working hard to get into the skin of the character as he doesn't want to disappoint Salman Khan- who played Raja's character in the first installment. Varun who recently celebrated 20 years of 'Judwa' went nostalgic reminiscing the days when his father David Dhawan was shooting for the film. He says, "I remember during the first trial of the film, he (Salman) was standing in a pair of shorts and a vest. I called him as Salman uncle and he was very upset. He told me to call him 'Bhai'. (sic) "I have a lot of memories of the film when we were shooting in Mauritius. It was as if we went there for a holiday. Everybody was so relaxed on the set. As I was so young, I didn't understand that everybody was actually working". (sic) He even stated that Salman had sent something special when he started to shoot for 'Judwaa 2'. He informs that "Before we started the shooting of 'Judwaa 2', Salman bhai sent the cartons of jeans for Raja's character. I am going to use that." (sic) 'Judwaa 2' also stars Jacqueline Fernandes and Taapsee Pannu in the lead roles. The film is scheduled to release sometime in December this year. The distributor of Bollywood films in Pakistan, Satish Anand says, "There was a message from the Board banning exhibition of Raees in Pakistan and the reason given was 'distortion of true spirit of Islam'. [That] Content [is] objectionable for our territory." "I am yet to receive a letter from the Pak censor board, but I am shocked by the decision. The film has released in several Muslim- dominated countries like the UAE, Oman, Bahrain, etc. I think this ban will lead to rampant piracy since people across the border will definitely watch it." (sic) Director Rahul Dholakia says,(sic) On the other hand, Hrithik Roshan's 'Kaabil' has become the first Bollywood film to release in Pakistan after the month-long ban by their exhibitors. (Quotes: Mumbai Age) JMC Projects India secures new orders of Rs2,277 crore; Stock gains 2.6% JMC Projects (India) Limited (JMC), a leading Civil Engineering and EPC Company has secured new orders of Rs2,277 crores. The details are as follows: Water Projects in India of... November 04, 2022 | 04-11-2022 2:08 pm Lupin receives USFDA tentative approval for Drospirenone Tablets Global pharma major Lupin Limited (Lupin) has announced that it has received tentative approval from the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its Abbreviated New Drug ... November 04, 2022 | 04-11-2022 1:26 pm Bloomberg Report: Pegatron Corp starts production of iPhone 14 in India Pegatron Corp., a Taiwanese contract manufacturer for Apple Inc., has begun producing the most recent iPhone 14 model in India. Pegatron is now the second Apple supplier to manufacture th... November 04, 2022 | 04-11-2022 12:48 pm JMC Projects India allots NCDs for Rs100 crore; Stock rallies over 3.5% The Management Committee of the Board of Directors of JMC Projects (India) Limited at its meeting held on November 04, 2022 has allotted 1000 Repo Rate, Unsecured, Rated, Listed, Rede... November 04, 2022 | 04-11-2022 12:34 pm Nykaa receives shareholders' approval for bonus issue and ESOP; Stock down 1% The Board of the lifestyle retailer FSN E-Commerce Ventures Limited (Nykaa), on October 3, 2022, approved Bonus Issue of Equity Shares in the proportion of 5 (Five) fully paid-up Equity Sh... November 04, 2022 | 04-11-2022 12:03 pm Giant Panda Bao Bao will be departing for China on February 21 from the Washington's Smithsonian's National Zoo, the media reported. Bao Bao was born on August 23, 2013 at the Washington zoo, and is nearing her fourth birthday. AFP According to arrangements between China and the US, giant pandas born here must move back to China at around four years of age, Xinhua news agency reported. #BaoBao is moving to China Feb. 21. Celebrate her & say farewell during special events Feb. 16-20. #ByeByeBaoBao https://t.co/Q9goEWbuSP National Zoo (@NationalZoo) February 6, 2017 Tai Shan, another giant panda born in the Washington zoo in 2005, was shipped in 2010. One keeper and one veterinarian will accompany Bao Bao to Chengdu, where the China Conservation and Research Centre for the Giant Panda is located. AFP Bao Bao will travel with a supply of her favourite treats, including bamboo, apples, pears, cooked sweet potatoes and water, zoo authorities said. AFP The Washington zoo now has three other giant pandas, an adult female Mei Xiang, 18, an adult male Tian Tian, 19, and a male cub Bei Bei, 1.4 Fifty-nine newly recruited commandos of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) stunned the brass of India's largest paramilitary force when they abandoned their journey to the headquarters in Bihar and went home without informing anyone. BCCl/Representational Image The mass bunking by the CoBRA personnel, who were returning from Srinagar after a five-day basic training session, forced the CRPF to order an inquiry into the matter after they didn't report for duty in Bihar, where they were supposed to be posted in Naxalism-affected areas. The incident occurred on Sunday at Mughalsarai railway station. Officials said the jawans did not inform their contingent commander, who was on board the train, and made their escape in the night. BCCL/Representational Image CRPF director general K Durga Prasad told TOI that he had ordered a court of inquiry into the incident. Prasad said the commandos had come early from J&K as they had to reach Bihar on February 7. He, however, agreed that "they cannot be termed deserters even though they should have informed the seniors". The force played down the episode and said, "These personnel were returning to their unit after completion of their training at Recruitment Training Centre, Srinagar, and had their return reservations from Jammu to Gaya on February 5 in Sealdah Express. Due to inclement weather and road blockade, these personnel were sent to Jammu on February 1 and decided to board an early train on February 2. Since they were early as per their scheduled programme, they decided on their own to avail Saturday and Sunday, to visit their homes without prior permission from competent authority. These personnel have committed misconduct for which they will be dealt with departmentally." BCCL/Representational Image "A full Inquiry has been ordered by the force headquarters in Delhi. The trainers and the havildar who was accompanying these commandos have got in touch with some of those who vanished from the train without informing seniors. Some have promised to report by tomorrow," a senior official said. NRSC's 17 million GB data can be used by many aiming to launch app-based startups.The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is luring young entrepreneurs to utilise massive amounts of geospatial data procured through its series of earth-mapping satellites to launch start-ups and earn millions in the years to come via consultative services to respective users. networkcomputing.com Director of ISRO's National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC), Dr YVN Krishna Murthy told Bangalore Mirror at the 104th Indian Science Congress in Tirupati that they have gathered up to a whopping 17 million gigabytes (or 17 petabytes as 1 petabyte is 1000000 gigabytes) of geospatial data, which is set to cross 50 million GB (50 petabytes) in the next five years with the addition of a more sophisticated constellation of satellites in space to map the Indian sub-continent. Geospatial data is information about physical objects (in terms of land, crops, water resources, agricultural information, etc) that can be represented by numerical values in a geographic coordinate system. These data have been collected using 21 remote sensing satellites so far - IRS-1A being the first one to be launched on March 17, 1988, and Resourcesat-2A, the last to be launched on December 7, 2016. newsbharati.com The data from Indian Remote Sensing (IRS) satellites are used for various applications of resources survey and management under the National Natural Resources Management System (NNRMS), which include space-based inputs for decentralised planning; national urban information system; ISRO disaster management support programme; biodiversity characterisations at landscape level; pre-harvest crop area and production estimation of major crops; drought monitoring and assessment based on vegetation condition; flood risk zone mapping and flood damage assessment; hydro-geomorphologic maps for locating underground water resources for drilling wells; irrigation command area status monitoring; snow-melt run-off estimates for planning water use in downstream projects; land-use and land cover mapping; urban planning; forest survey; wetland mapping; environmental impact analysis; mineral prospecting; coastal studies; and integrated mission for sustainable development (initiated in 1992) for generating locale-specific prescriptions for integrated land and water resources development in 174 districts. "There is an immense scope for start-ups. With time, the cost of technology will go down while its scope will only increase," Murthy said. "Young entrepreneurs can look at our portals to launch start-ups on a consultative basis for users and rake in millions of rupees." The principal of a Bandra-based women's college has said that women developed PCOS ( polycystic ovarian syndrom) from dressing "like men". TOI While the disease is a hormonal disorder, Swati Deshpande of the Government Polytechnic College said that it is caused by 'gender reversal' in the women's minds, the Times of India reported. Firefly Daily/representational image "I have heard theories on why girls suffer from PCOD (Poly Cystic Ovarian Disease) at an early age. When they dress like men, they start thinking or behaving like them. There is a gender role reversal in their head. Due to this, the natural urge to reproduce diminishes right from a young age and therefore they suffer from problems like PCODs." Experts have confirmed that this is bogus. Psychiatrist Anjali Chhabria said, "Girls do not suffer from polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) because of clothes. It is caused by hormonal imbalance." BCCL/representational image Gynaecologist Duru Shah said, "There is no evidence to prove that clothes cause PCOS!" News of the statement triggered off a hashtag #DressLikeAnIndianWoman, and women who understood the workings of the female anatomy lashed out against it. Two Facebook posts announcing a four-year-old boys suspected abduction and unexplained death last week have stumped the Mumbai police as there has been no such complaint, or even a call, by the parents and so far, nobody. mumbaimirror The sudden silence of the boys uncle Zain Shaikh who wrote the posts, prompting thousands of online shares and prayers by worried Mumbaikars has deepened the mystery. Zain shut down his Facebook account after claiming over the weekend that young Musa Arfat Shaikh had died a day after being possibly kidnapped by the family driver. He gave no further details. But Zain left the Mumbai police with the headache of verifying and dispelling a series of serious claims. He wrote that the family alerted cops after Musa Arfat vanished last Friday while he was being dropped home in a black Innova. Police officials said on Monday they had received no such complaint. Zain wrote cops had found the Innova near Dadar TT circle with no sign of the boy or the driver. Police officials said they never discovered such a car. In his last post before deactivating his Facebook page, he said Musa Arfat would be laid to rest in a Mazgaon cemetery on Sunday. Police and this correspondents inquiries there revealed no boy matching Musa Arfats description had been buried there recently. Investigators are now trying trace Zain to ascertain if a young boy had really disappeared, and if not, who is Musa Arfat Shaikh and why did Zain make those posts. If he has made up the story, he could be booked for spreading rumours under section 505 of the Indian Penal Code and relevant provisions of the Information Technology Act, said deputy police commissioner Ashok Dudhe, who is the spokesperson for the Mumbai police. Reuters/representational image Little is currently known about Zain, where he lives or what he does. He reported his nephews disappearance in a lengthy Facebook post at 1.48 pm on Saturday. He also uploaded a picture of an adorable kid with what appears to be a seafront in the background. The little guy in the above pic is my nephew and the black Innova belongs to us which is driven by our driver from past 4 years, the message read. ON Friday evening our driver named Jafar went to drop my nephew at my sister's home which was 20 mins drive from our place. As time passed by my sister called at my number informing that the kid was not home yet. I immediately called at the driver's number but he refused to pick and after an hour his cell was off (sic). The family, according to Zain, searched for the boy for a few hours before filing a police complaint. Today morning the police just found our car parked near Dadar T.T circle. Its almost 18 hours since he is missing and there is no information about him. Request you all to please share this. Contact szain236@gmail.com, Zain wrote. The post was shared over 10,000 times and around 200 people commented on it, saying they were praying for Musa Arfats safe return. Some users were baffled why Zain had not shared any phone number where people could call him with information about the boy. They urged him to share an emergency contact and add a picture of the driver. Zain didnt update the post. Around 4 pm on Sunday, he wrote: My nephew (Musa Arfat Shaikh) is no more. Janaza is after Asar Namaz at Nariyalwadi Kabrastan. This correspondent sent a message to Zain on Facebook seeking more details about the tragic incident. He replied in the evening saying there was no need to pursue the case. He didnt even provide the name of the police station where he had lodged a missing persons complaint. screengrab/facebook Mirror contacted all senior officers from the central and southern region and they denied receiving a complaint about a boy named Musa Arfat Shaikh. But Zains two posts were alarming enough to trigger frantic inquiries on Sunday. The Matunga police still searched for the car described by Zain on Facebook. Our officers searched the entire area, but found no abandoned black Innova, a senior official said. A police team also went to the cemetery on Sunday, but found no recent record of a funeral for Musa Arfat. This reporter was also there till 6 pm, but no young boy was laid to rest till then. Zain removed the posts on Sunday evening and deactivated his profile on Monday morning. A child was brought to the cemetery late on Sunday night. We visited the place again, but the child was not the boy described on Facebook, an investigator said. DCP Dudhe said they were trying to trace Zain. There is no record of any such [missing boys] complaint in Mumbai. An inquiry has been initiated under the cyber branch of the Mumbai police, he said. A panipuri vendor in Lal Darwaja area of Gujarat's Ahmedabad district has been sentenced to six months' imprisonment for mixing toilet cleaner in fast food, a special court said on Saturday. BCCL In 2009, Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) had filed a case against vendor Chetan Nanji Marvadi in a special court for adulteration. AMC has been receiving regular complaints from the residents of Lal Darwaja that Marvadi is mixing something to the panipuri water. The residents had also complained that the vendor throws the leftover water on the already damaged road creating a nuisance for the public. ANI Acting on the complaints, AMC sent the samples to the food testing laboratory in the state. Shocked by the presence of oxalic acid which is used in toilet cleaners, AMC filed the case against the vendor in the local adulteration court. Seven years later, the special court held accused Marvadi as guilty while sentencing him to six months in jail. AP During the trial, the accused claimed that there is no evidence which can prove him guilty and the court should release him. However, special advocate Manoj Khandhar argued that the crime of the accused is associated with a huge class, which is dangerous for public health and should be taken to task. It has been over ten days since two ships collided off the coast of Ennore in Chennai triggering one of the worst oil spills in recent times. BCCL Even now hundreds of people are working overtime to remove the sludge which has spread over an area of nearly 40 kilometres along the beach. It is expected to be weeks before the entire dirt from the spillover is cleared. BCCL But the damage it has caused to the ecosystem will take much longer to recover, raising environmental concerns. It is also now revealed that the actual spillover from the collision could be much more than the initial estimate. BCCL An assessment by Directorate General of Shipping (DGS) has revealed that there is heavy damage to Dawn Kanchipuram and there is also a possibility of the oil spill to be over 40 tonne instead of the earlier reported 20 tonne. The spill could have been far worse if the two vessels were not brought back to the shore on time. This is because one of the ships, Dawn Kanchipuram was carrying 45,000 tonne of petroleum products when the mishap took place. Any delay in getting the ship which was badly damaged, to safety would have resulted in the vessel drifting into or sinking in the sea. It would have resulted in a spill of nearly 1,000 times more oil than was actually spilt. The National Green Tribunal (NGT) taking note of the situation has sought a report from the Centre on measures being taken to clean up the sludge. BCCL Meanwhile, the port trust has claimed that they had warned the captain of BW Maple, the merchant vessel leaving the Kamarajar Port that it was on a collision course with M T Dawn Kanchipuram. Six to seven minutes prior to the accident, the Port pilot of B W Maple, who disembarked at breakwaters had warned (from the signal station) of a collision. The captain of B W Maple paid no heed, MA Bhaskarachar, Chairman of the Kamarajar Port said. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, once again defended demonetisation in the Parliament, saying that it was a necessary step taken at the right time. Calling country's economy healthy, Modi said that the ban on Rs 500 and 1,000 notes could not have come at a better time. LSTV "When can you have an operation? When the body is healthy. The economy was doing well and thus our decision was taken at the right time." In a reply, to a motion of thanks to the President's address at the start of the Budget session, PM attacked at Opposition for criticising the notes ban. He said that his decision of demonetisation was a well-thought one and it did not go wrong. "Nothing was done in haste. To understand that you will need to study Modi." The ban, he said, was timed to coincide with the slump that follows a peak in trade during the Diwali festival. "We calculated that this would be the least disruptive time and the maximum impact would be over within 50 days. Our calculation was accurate," the Prime Minister said. Indiatoday H said, He was asked, why he had made the sudden decision to scrap high-value notes when "things were going fine." It was a preventive step at a time when the economy was resilient, the PM said, asserting, "for demonetisation, this was the most opportune time. India could handle it best at this time." The Congress' Mallikarjun Kharge had on Monday demanded that PM Modi apologise for the notes ban, which he said had caused people untold misery. Mr Kharge was supported by leaders of other opposition parties. He said the notes ban has cleansed India. "Like Swachh Bharat, the decision on demonetisation is a movement to clean India (from corruption and black money)." Shaikha Mozah Al Maktoum, one of the female members of the esteemed ruling family of Dubai, has become the first woman commercial pilot of Dubai. (Also read: When It Comes To Women Pilots, India Is Teaching The World How To Fly) Her aunt, artist Sheikha Lateefa, shared a photo of the young aviator in full uniform on Instagram, describing her as the first female pilot from the family On Sunday, Shaikha Latifa posted on her Instagram account a photograph of her cousin Shaikha Mozah, which said in Arabic: Mozah Marwan- my sisters daughter. The first female pilot in the family, who is on her first assisted flight as a commercial pilot for Emirates. As long as you can dream it, you can achieve it, the Gulf News reported. Finally..wings and bars today. A photo posted by mozahmm (@mozahmm) on Apr 26, 2016 at 8:01am PDT Other members of the ruling family, including Sheikha Maitha bint Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum and Sheikh Marwan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, also shared their good wishes on Instagram. So proud of you cousin. the posts read. Sheikha Mozah earned her wings in April last year, after completing the APP First Officer programme at the CAE Oxford Aviation Academy in Phoenix, Arizona. A bit of a plane nerd, the passionate aviator has her Instagram account filled with photos of different types of aircraft and videos from her test flights. The passionate aviator is clearly a bit of a plane nerd her Instagram account is full of photos of different types of aircraft. Slingsby Firefly T67 - 070315 A video posted by mozahmm (@mozahmm) on Mar 7, 2015 at 8:40am PST And there are even a few videos of some of her early test flights. First solo. A photo posted by mozahmm (@mozahmm) on Dec 19, 2015 at 6:56am PST "Sometimes I get so far into my head I forget anything else exists", the caption reads. Sometimes I get so far into my head I forget anything else exists. A photo posted by mozahmm (@mozahmm) on Aug 1, 2015 at 2:45pm PDT Can't get enough! Can't get enough. A photo posted by mozahmm (@mozahmm) on Feb 15, 2016 at 8:06am PST One can't tell from the pictures as to where she has joined and for whom she's working, but the uniform resembles a bit from that of Emirates pilots. (Also read: Latest Batch Of IAF Women Pilots Don't Pick Fighters, Opt For Transport And Helicopters Instead) So-called Islamic State (IS) is taking advantage of vulnerable child refugees and paying smugglers to recruit them from countries such as Lebanon and Jordan, according to a new UK report. Reuters/representational image Counter-terrorism think-tank, Quilliam, which published the report, suggests that as many as 88,300 unaccompanied children, identified by the European Unions police agency Europol as missing, are at risk of being radicalised. Nikita Malik, a senior researcher at Quilliam, told The Observer, "Young asylum seekers are targeted by extremist groups as they are more vulnerable to indoctrination make able fighters and, in the case of girls, can create a new generation of recruits. This report outlines national and international requirements to reduce the risk of child-trafficking, extremism and modern slavery." Reuters/representational image The report found that ISIS had offered up to 2,000 dollars to recruit within camps in Lebanon and Jordan. Last year, Jordanian special forces reportedly found what they described as an ISIS sleeper cell inside a refugee camp near Irbid, north Jordan. Reuters/representational image Additional reports indicated that ISIS had tried to recruit refugees by supplying food previously withheld from camp residents, the newspaper reports. The report said, "Young unaccompanied refugees are more vulnerable to radicalisation if they are separated from their parents, who remained in the country of origin at risk to violent and radical groups, or in a new host country". Reuters/representational image "There is no question that militant groups target refugee youth for recruitment. It has also been argued that refugee youth can become autonomously radicalised, through online content, for example," the report said. With inputs from PTI Reuters Throwing its weight behind India, the US on Tuesday moved the United Nations for banning Pathankot attack mastermind and Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Muhammad (JeM) chief Masood Azhar. The US, supported by the UK and France, moved a proposal to designate Masood Azhar as a global terrorist at the Sanctions Committee of the UN Security Council, but it has once again been opposed by China. The proposal, which was finalised after "consultations" between Washington and New Delhi, said JeM is a designated terror outfit and so its leaders cannot go scot-free, sources said. "However, China opposed the US move by putting a hold on the proposal," a source said, adding the Chinese action came just before the expiry of the 10-day deadline for any proposal to be adopted or blocked or to be put on hold Read more here Here are 5 more stories for you: 1. Pollution Drives Sea Turtles Away From Mangaluru Beaches, Activists Blame Poor Govt Efforts BCCL Rising water pollution has led to sea turtles shying away from the coastal city of Mangaluru, said National Environment Care Federation (NECF) state secretary Shashidhar Shetty. He told Bangalore Mirror that the district administration of the coastal districts, especially Mangaluru, is failing to control the ever-increasing water pollution. In the recent years, we have noticed the river and sea water turning black in several areas. There have been instances wherein industrial waste and effluents are channelized towards the sea or river. It is shocking to note that the sea turtles are not visiting the coast to lay eggs in parts of Mangaluru. Over the years, we have been working towards conservation of sea turtles and we noticed that in the past three years, there are hardly any turtles coming down to lay eggs, especially in places near Someshwara, Tannir Bhavi, Surathkal, Malpe, Byndoor of Udupi district, and Karwar of Uttar Kannada, which has seen a drastic reduction, Shetty said.Read more here 2. UK Council Names Crackdown On Illegal Taxis As 'Operation India', Says Nothing Wrong With It Reuters A UK city Council has named a crackdown on dodgy taxi drivers 'Operation India', sparking outrage over the 'racist' labelling of the scheme. 'Operation India' was launched in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, as a joint initiative between council taxi licensing officers and police to carry out checks on taxi drivers. But both councillors and the taxi community have described the name of the scheme as racially insensitive. "This name must be reconsidered, people will be outraged and it does not send a good message about ethnic minorities," Councillor Mohammed Khan was quoted as saying by Milton Keynes Citizen. "It's essentially blaming all Indian taxi drivers, these are good hard working people who work unsocial hours to make sure people get home safely," he said. Read more here 3. 4-Year-Old Giant Panda Bao Bao, Who Was Born In Washington Zoo, Is Now Moving To China AFP Giant Panda Bao Bao will be departing for China on February 21 from the Washington's Smithsonian's National Zoo, the media reported. Bao Bao was born on August 23, 2013 at the Washington zoo, and is nearing her fourth birthday. According to arrangements between China and the US, giant pandas born here must move back to China at around four years of age, Xinhua news agency reported. Read more here 4. Now CRPF Man Writes To Rajnath Singh Alleging Torture By Seniors BCCL/ Representative Image It seems like the Facebook post of BSF soldier Tej Bahadur Yadav has opened the floodgates for complaints by those serving in the forces about the treatment they receive. It had reached a point where the Army chief had to ask soldiers to raise their concerns directly and not post them on social media. The army had also warned of strict action if soldiers resorted to such steps. The latest to join the bandwagon is a Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel.Read more here 5. 59 CRPF Commandos Bunk Weekend Duty After Training To Meet Their Families, Probe Ordered BCCl/Representational Image Fifty-nine newly recruited commandos of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) stunned the brass of India's largest paramilitary force when they abandoned their journey to the headquarters in Bihar and went home without informing anyone. The mass bunking by the CoBRA personnel, who were returning from Srinagar after a five-day basic training session, forced the CRPF to order an inquiry into the matter after they didn't report for duty in Bihar, where they were supposed to be posted in Naxalism-affected areas. The incident occurred on Sunday at Mughalsarai railway station. Officials said the jawans did not inform their contingent commander, who was on board the train, and made their escape in the night. Read more here In an image that has gone viral across all social media has terrorised and worried a lot of people. Two Turkish men were caught cutting a dog's ears off for a perfect selfie. (Also read: Kerala Teenage Girl Dies Trying To Escape Dog Attack; Canine Menace Continues To Haunt Locals) snopes The incident happened in Isparta, Turkey were the two individuals were caught doing this heinous crime. They were detained by police and fined 4,404 lira (approximately $1150). This lax punishment is not acceptable for inflicting such reprehensible harm on the animal. This is not the first time that we are seeing that people have hurt animals without any particular agenda. Several such cases have been highlighted by institutions and authorities, however, the government has miserably failed in taking stringent measures. (Also read: More Than 100 Dogs Saved From China Dog Meat Festival, Now Find Home In Canada!) Unfortunately, Isparta wasn't the only location in the world to witness animal abuse during the first few days of 2017. The Michigan Humane Society offered $2,500 for any information about a Rottweiler who had had its ears and nose cut off. This incident of grossly inhumane treatment highlights the urgent need for the Turkish government to revisit their animal cruelty laws. Sign this petition if you feel the same. Were excited to announce that indmin.com is now part of fastmarkets.com. A new look and an improved experience means you can still stay ahead of this fast-moving market with price data, news and market intelligence right here on Fastmarkets. Discover more than 2000 prices, news and analysis in primary and secondary metals markets. We cover base metals, industrial minerals, ores and alloys, steel, scrap and steel raw materials. If you already have a Fastmarkets account, youll still have uninterrupted access to your markets by logging in with your current details. Is The Trump Administration Already Over? By Paul Craig Roberts February 06, 2017 " Information Clearing House " - Hopes for the Trump administration are not burning brightly. Trumps military chief, Gen. Mattis, is turning out to be true to his mad dog nickname. He has just declared that Iran is the single biggest state sponsor of terrorism in the world. He has declared Russia to be the number one threat to the US. He has threatened intervention in Chinas territorial affairs. I was wrong. I thought Gen. Mattis was a reasonable choice as he rejects the efficacy of torture, and, according to Trump, convinced Trump that torture doesnt work. Apparently Mattis cannot reach beyond this realization to higher geo-political realizations. Trump needs to fire Mattis who has placed the Pentagon in the way of normal relations with Russia. There is no evidence in the behavior of Iran, Russia, and China to support Gen.Mattis views. His definition of threat is the neoconservative onea country capable of resisting US hegemony. This is a convenient threat for the military/security complex as it justifies an unlimited budget in order to prevail over such threats. It is this hegemonic impulse that is the source of terrorism. If truth can be spoken, there are only two countries in the world with hegemonic aspirationsIsrael and the USand they are the sources of terrorism. Israel terrorizes Palestinians and has done so for about 70 years. The US terrorizes the rest of the world. All known Muslim terrorists are creations of the US government. Al Qaeda was created by the Carter administration in order to confront the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan with jihadism. ISIS was created by the Obama/Hillary regime in order to overthrow Gaddafi in Libya and then was sent by the Obama/Hillary regime to overthrow Assad in Syria, as Trumps national security advisor, Gen. Flynn, former director of the Defense Intelligence Agency revealed on TV. The Ukrainian neo-nazis assaulting the republics of Donetsk and Luhansk were also unleashed by the Obama/Hillary overthrow of the democratically elected government of Ukraine. All terror is associated with Washington and Israel. The fact of Washingtons overthrow of Ukraines government is incontestable; yet large numbers of brainwashed Americans think Russia invaded Ukraine, just as they believe the fake news that Iran is a terrorist state. The last time Iran initiated a war of aggression was in the last decade of the 18th century when Iran reconquered the Caucasus and Georgia, which Iran soon lost to Russia. Iran in our time has done no offense except to refuse to submit to being a Washington vassal state. Additionally, Iran, and Syria rescued by the Russians, are the only states in the Muslim world that are not US puppet states and mere vassals that are nothing in themselves, no independent foreign policy, no independent economic policy. Only Iran and Syria have independent policies. Iran is a large country endowed with substantial energy resources. Iran has a long history going back to ancient times of independence and military prowess. Today Iran is essential to Russia as a buffer to the US created jihadism that neoconservatives plan to export to the Muslim areas of the Russian Federation. Consequently, Iran is the most inopportune of targets for Trump if he wishes to restore normal, non-threatening relations with Russia. Yet his mad dog Pentagon chief recklessly makes threating statements alleging Iran to be a terrorist state. Do we see Israels hand at work in the threats against Iran? Iran and Syria are the only countries in the Middle East that are not American puppet states. Syrias army has been hardened by combat, which is what Syrias army needs in order to stand up to US-backed Israel. Both Syria and Iran are in the way of Israels Zionist policy of Greater Israelfrom the Nile to the Euphrates. For the Zionists, Palestine and Southern Lebanan are merely the beginning. Israel has successfully used the corrupt British and now the corrupt Americans to reestablish themselves on lands from which God evicted them. This doesnt speak well of the intelligence and morality of the British and US governments. But what does? We are also hearing from Mattis and from Tilerson threats to intervene in Chinas sphere of influence. Trumps appointees appear to be unable to understand that there can be no improvement in relations with Russia if the Trump regime has Iran and China in its crosshairs. Is there any prospect that the Trump administration can develop geo-political awareness? Is the tough-talking Trump administration tough enough to overthrow the power that Zionist Israel exercises over US foreign policy and the votes of the US Congress? If not, more war is inevitable. For twenty-four yearseight years of the criminal Clinton regime, eight years of the criminal Bush regime, eight years of the criminal Obama regimethe world has heard threats from Washington that have resulted in the death and destruction of millions of peoples and entire countries. The Trump administration needs to present a different Washington to the world. Dr. Paul Craig Roberts was Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Economic Policy and associate editor of the Wall Street Journal. He was columnist for Business Week, Scripps Howard News Service, and Creators Syndicate. He has had many university appointments. His internet columns have attracted a worldwide following. Roberts' latest books are The Failure of Laissez Faire Capitalism and Economic Dissolution of the West , How America Was Lost , and The Neoconservative Threat to World Order . The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Information Clearing House. Christine Amanpour Pushing Propaganda The Leftwing Has Placed Itself In The Trash Can Of History By Paul Craig Roberts February 06, 2017 " Information Clearing House " - At a time when the Western world desperately needs alternative voices to the neoliberals, the neoconservatives, the presstitutes and the Trump de-regulationists, there are none. The Western leftwing has gone insane. The voices being raised against Trump, who does need voices raised against him, are so hypocritical as to reflect less on Trump than on those with raised voices. Sharon Kelly McBride, speaking for Human Rights First, sent me an email saying that Trump stands on the wrong side of Americas ideals by his prohibition of Muslim immigrants into the US. My question to McBride is: Where were you and Human Rights First when the Bush/Cheney/Obama regime was murdering, maiming, orphaning, widowing, and displacing millions of Muslims in seven countries over the course of 4 presidential terms? Why is it OK to slaughter millions of peoples, destroy their homes and villages, wreck their cities as long as it is not Donald Trump who is doing it? Where does Human Rights First get off. Just another fake website, or is McBride seizing the opportunity to prostitute Human Rights First in hopes of donations from the DNC, the Soros NGOs, the Isreal Lobby, and the ruling One Percent? Money speaks, and alternative voices need money in order to speak. As so many Americans are indifferent to the quality of information that they get, many alternative voices are thrown back to relying on whatever money is available. Generally, it is the money of disinformation, of information that controls the explanations in ways that favor and enhance the ruling oligarchy. Is this the position in which McBride has placed Human Rights First? Turn now to Truthout. This website says that Trump is demonizing Muslims by denying them immigration into the US. Where has Truthout been for the past 16 years? Did Truthout not notice that the George W. Bush regime said We have to kill them (Muslims) over there before they (Muslims) come over here. Did Truthout not notice that Obama continued the policy of killing them (Muslims) over there? How insane, how corrupt, does Truthout have to be to say that it is Trump who is demonizing Muslims? Trump has not said that he wants to kill them over there. He has said that if the masses of peoples we have dislocated and whose families we have murdered want to come here, they might wish to exact revenge. Having made Muslims our enemies, it makes no sense to admit vast numbers of them. According to Bush and Obama, we are supposed to kill them over there, not bring them over here where they can kill us as a payback for the murder machine we have run against them. This is common sense. Yet, the deranged left says it is racism. What happens to a country when the alternative voice is even more stupid and corrupt than the governments voice? Dr. Paul Craig Roberts was Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Economic Policy and associate editor of the Wall Street Journal. He was columnist for Business Week, Scripps Howard News Service, and Creators Syndicate. He has had many university appointments. His internet columns have attracted a worldwide following. Roberts' latest books are The Failure of Laissez Faire Capitalism and Economic Dissolution of the West , How America Was Lost , and The Neoconservative Threat to World Order . The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Information Clearing House. Donald Trump Banned From Addressing Parliament on UK State Visit MPs broke into spontaneous applause as the Speaker said he would not permit Westminster Hall to be used By Jon Stone February 06, 2017 " Information Clearing House " - " The Independent " - Donald Trump will effectively be blocked from addressing Parliament on his state visit to the UK, the Speaker of the House of Commons has said. John Bercow, the Speaker, said he was "strongly opposed" to Mr Trump speaking in the Commons and that being invited was "not an automatic right" but "an earned honour". In a dramatic intervention cited the Commons' opposition to "racism and to sexism and our support for equality before the law and an independent judiciary" as his reasons. Before the imposition of the migrant ban I would myself have been strongly opposed to an address by President Trump in Westminster Hall," Mr Bercow told MPs in response to a point of order by an MP. After the imposition of the migrant ban by President Trump I am even more strongly opposed to an address by President Trump in Westminster Hall." Parts of the Commons erupted into rare spontaneous applause in support of Mr Bercow's statement. Veteran Labour MP Dennis Skinner, speaking after Mr Bercow's statement said: "Further to that point of order: two words: well done." The Speaker said: "We value our relationship with the United States. If a state visit takes place, that is way beyond and above the pay grade of the Speaker. "However, as far as this place is concerned I feel very strongly that our opposition to racism and to sexism and our support for equality before the law and an independent judiciary are hugely important considerations in the House of Commons." Theresa May invited Mr Trump to make a state visit to the UK on her recent trip to the United States. She said he would fly to Britain before the end of the year. Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn and others have said that the visit should be cancelled until Mr Trump rescinds his "Muslim ban" on travellers from some countries. Whether the controversial president would address Parliament has been a particular source of contention. Foreign leaders on state visits sometimes address Westinster Hall, which lies in the House of Commons, or Royal Gallery in the House of Lords. Mr Bercow said he was one of the three "keyholders" to Westminster Hall and also said he would not permit an invitation to the Royal Gallery in the House of Commons to be made in his name. He admitted that he would "perhaps have a strong a say in that matter" but said that "customarily an invitation to a visiting leader to deliver an address there would be issued in the names of the two speakers". "I would not wish to issue an invitation to President Trump to speak in the Royal Gallery," he concluded. The Speaker's intervention is a particularly stunning development because the post is politically neutral. Mr Bercow was previously a Conservative MP before he was elected to the role; following convention he then gave up any party affiliation. The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Information Clearing House. The United States Is Innocent and Has Never Killed Anyone By David Swanson February 06, 2017 " Information Clearing House " - It was bound to be the case that if a U.S. president ever admitted that the United States murdered people and did so on a scale at least as significant as other countries, he would be defending the practice, not denouncing it. It is not a secret in much of the world that the United States is (as that Putin stooge Martin Luther King Jr. put it) the greatest purveyor of violence on earth. The United States is the top weapons dealer, the top weapons buyer, the biggest military spender, the most widespread imperial presence, the most frequent war maker, the most prolific overthrower of governments, and from 1945 to 2017 the killer of the most people through war. During this past U.S. election, a debate moderator asked if a candidate would be willing to kill thousands of innocent children as part of basic presidential duties. One can find many faults in Russia and other countries, but in none could one find such an occurrence. I ask people at public events where I speak to name eight countries bombed under president Barack Obama, and most cannot come close. Nowhere else on earth can people not keep track of their wars. During this last presidency, the United States developed a new policy of murdering people with missiles from drones. Other nations do not yet have anything to match it. Hillary Clinton told Goldman Sachs bankers that a no-fly zone in Syria would require killing lots of Syrians, but told the public that a no-fly zone should be created. For all its evils at home and abroad, Russia -- over the years -- has proposed complete nuclear disarmament, significant overall disarmament, a ban on weapons in space, and a peace settlement in Syria. The United States has broken promises, laws, and morality to expand NATO and its troops to Russia's border. The reality of U.S. foreign relations is generally treated as "fake news." So, when someone like Donald Trump, who pushes lies and disasters like they're going out of style, blurts out some truth, Democratic partisans are eager to denounce it. Don't Let Elliott Abrams Anywhere Near The State Department By Sen. Rand Paul February 07, 2017 " Information Clearing House " - " Rare " - I hope against hope that the rumors are wrong and that President Donald Trump will not open the State Department door to the neocons. Crack the door to admit Elliott Abrams and the neocons will scurry in by the hundreds. Neoconservative interventionists have had us at perpetual war for 25 years. While President Trump has repeatedly stated his belief that the Iraq War was a mistake, the neocons (all of them Never-Trumpers) continue to maintain that the Iraq and Libyan Wars were brilliant ideas. These are the same people who think we must blow up half the Middle East, then rebuild it and police it for decades. Theyre wrong and they should not be given a voice in this administration. One of the things I like most about President Trump is his acknowledgement that nation building does not work and actually works against the nation building we need to do here at home. With a $20 trillion debt, we dont have the money to do both. I urge him to keep that in mind this week when he meets with Elliott Abrams, the rumored pick for second in command to the Secretary of State. Abrams would be a terrible appointment for countless reasons. He doesnt agree with the president in so many areas of foreign policy and he has said so repeatedly; he is a loud voice for nation building and when asked about the presidents opposition to nation building, Abrams said that Trump was absolutely wrong; and during the election he was unequivocal in his opposition to Donald Trump, going so far as to say, the chair in which Washington and Lincoln sat, he is not fit to sit. Why then would the president trust him with the second most powerful position in the State Department? Abrams was equally dismissive throughout Trumps entire candidacy. As a Never-Trumper, he repeatedly said he would neither vote for Clinton nor Trump. He likened the choice to the one the nation faced of McGovern vs. Nixon. I voted for Rex Tillerson for secretary of state because I believe him to have a balanced approach to foreign policy. My hope is that he will put forward a realist approach. I dont see Abrams as part of any type of foreign policy realism. Elliott Abrams is a neoconservative too long in the tooth to change his spots, and the president should have no reason to trust that he would carry out a Trump agenda rather than a neocon agenda. But just as importantly, Congress has good reason not to trust him he was convicted of lying to Congress in his previous job. His conviction for deceiving Congress over secret arms deals, better known as the Iran-Contra scandal, show that his neocon agenda trumps his fidelity to the rule of law. The Constitution directs Congress to approve or disapprove of war. It would be a mistake to appoint anyone to the State Department who was previously convicted for defying Congressional authority. Nation building in Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Syria and Yemen has not and will not work. Mr. President please, please do not open the door to the people who sip lattes while sneering behind your back. They are bold enough to come begging for work while continuing to laugh and deride your every remark concerning foreign policy. Dont let them in! The neocon trademark is to conduct war in secret to avoid congressional scrutiny. This is exactly what happened during Iran-Contra. Despite legislation that prohibited sending arms to Nicaragua, Abrams and other neocons surreptitiously funneled money from sultans in Brunei to sheiks in Iran, converting the cash into weapons that were then sent to authoritarians in Nicaragua. Abrams also supervised, covered up and defended a policy of arming a Guatemalan government undeniably waging war against an indigenous native population. Thousands of the indigenous people of the Ixil region of Guatemala were exterminated. The Guatemalan President was eventually convicted of war crimes. Abrams was an unabashed supporter and organizer of sending arms into this tragic situation. In a country of 300 million people, surely there are reasonable foreign policy experts who have not been convicted of deceiving Congress and actually share the presidents foreign policy views. I hope Secretary Rex Tillerson will continue the search for expert assistance from experienced, non-convicted diplomats who understand the mistakes of the past and the challenges ahead. Elliott Abrams is Trump's leading candidate for deputy secretary of state : Abrams is a veteran of the Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush administrations, and played a role in the Iran-Contra scandal. He was convicted of withholding information from Congress, but later pardoned by President George H.W. Bush. STOP ELLIOTT ABRAMS! : No matter what you think of Trump, this must be stopped. Contact the White House and call your Senators . Tell them: No on Abrams! The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Information Clearing House. 9/11 And The Transporter Jihad By Bonnie Faulkner - Guns And Butter Three presentations from the Justice In Focus 9/11 Conference at Cooper Union in New York City on September 10th, hosted by New York University Professor of Media, Culture and Communication, Mark Crispin Miller. Trial Attorney, Lionel, on 9/11 and Conspiracy Theory; Former Foreign Services Officer and Whistleblower, J. Michael Springmann, and Investigative Journalist and Syndicated Columnist, Wayne Madsen, on "Creating Our Enemies: From the Mujahadeen to ISIS". Posted February 07, 2017 Originally Aired: October 12, 2016 Visit Guns and Butter at: www.gunsandbutter.org Subscribe to our newsletter at: eepurl.com/bmg4zf Moral Supremacy and Mr. Putin By Patrick J. Buchanan February 07, 2017 " Information Clearing House " - Is Donald Trump to be allowed to craft a foreign policy based on the ideas on which he ran and won the presidency in 2016? Our foreign policy elites answer appears to be a thunderous no. Case in point: U.S. relations with Russia. During the campaign Trump was clear. He would seek closer ties with Russia and cooperate with Vladimir Putin in smashing al-Qaida and ISIS terrorists in Syria, and leave Putins ally Bashar Assad alone. With this diplomatic deal in mind, President Trump has resisted efforts to get him to call Putin a "thug" or a "murderer." Asked during his taped Super Bowl interview with Fox News Bill OReilly whether he respected Putin, Trump said that, as a leader, yes. OReilly pressed, "But hes a killer, though. Putins a killer." To which Trump replied, "There are a lot of killers. Weve got a lot of killers. What, do you think our countrys so innocent?" While his reply was clumsy, Trumps intent was commendable. If he is to negotiate a modus vivendi with a nation with an arsenal of nuclear weapons sufficient to end life as we know it in the USA, probably not a good idea to start off by calling its leader a "killer." Mitch McConnell rushed to assure America he believes Putin is a "thug" and any suggestion of a moral equivalence between America and Russia is outrageous. Apparently referring to a polonium poisoning of KGB defector Alexander Litvinenko, Marco Rubio tweeted, "When has a Democratic political activist ever been poisoned by the GOP? Or vice versa?" Yet, as we beat our chests in celebration of our own moral superiority over other nations and peoples, consider what Trump is trying to do here, and who is really behaving as a statesmen, and who is acting like an infantile and self-righteous prig. When President Eisenhower invited Nikita Khrushchev to the United States, did Ike denounce him as the "Butcher of Budapest" for his massacre of the Hungarian patriots in 1956? Did President Nixon, while negotiating his trip to Peking to end decades of hostility, speak the unvarnished truth about Mao Zedong that he was a greater mass murderer than Stalin? While Nixon was in Peking, Mao was conducting his infamous Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution that resulted in millions of deaths, a years-long pogrom that dwarfed the two-day Kristallnacht. Yet Maos crimes went unmentioned in Nixons toast to America and China starting a "long march" together. John McCain calls Putin a KGB thug, "a murderer, and a killer." Yet, Yuri Andropov, the Soviet ambassador in Budapest who engineered the slaughter of the Hungarian rebels with Russian tanks, became head of the KGB. And when he rose to general secretary of the Communist Party, Ronald Reagan wanted to talk to him, as he had wanted to talk to every Soviet leader. Why? Because Reagan believed the truly moral thing he could do was negotiate to rid the world of nuclear weapons. He finally met Gorbachev in 1985, when the USSR was occupying Afghanistan and slaughtering Afghan patriots. The problem with some of our noisier exponents of "American exceptionalism" is that they lack Reagans moral maturity. Undeniably, we were on Gods side in World War II and the Cold War. But were we ourselves without sin in those just struggles? Was it not at least morally problematic what we did to Cologne, Hamburg, Dresden, Tokyo, Hiroshima and Nagasaki where hundreds of thousands of women and children were blasted and burned to death? How many innocent Iraqis have perished in the 13 years of war we began, based on falsified or fake evidence of Saddams weapons of mass destruction? In Russia, there have been murders of journalists and dissidents. Yes, and President Rodrigo Duterte, our Philippine ally, has apparently condoned the deaths of thousands of drug dealers and users since last summer. The Philippine Catholic Church calls it "a reign of terror." Should we sever our treaty ties to the Duterte regime? Have there been any extrajudicial killings in the Egypt of our ally Gen. Abdel Fattah el-Sisi since he overthrew the elected government? Has our Turkish ally, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, killed no innocents in his sweeping repression since last summers attempted coup? Some of us remember a Cold War in which Gen. Augusto Pinochet dealt summarily with our common enemies in Chile, and when the Savak of our ally the Shah of Iran was not a 501(c)(3) organization. Sen. Rubio notwithstanding, the CIA has not been a complete stranger to "wet" operations or "terminating with extreme prejudice." Was it not LBJ who said of the Kennedys, who had arranged multiple assassination attempts of Fidel Castro, that they had been "operating a damned Murder Inc. in the Caribbean"? If Trumps talking to Putin can help end the bloodshed in Ukraine or Syria, it would appear to be at least as ethical an act as pulpiteering about our moral superiority on the Sunday talk shows. Patrick J. Buchanan is the author of the new book "The Greatest Comeback: How Richard Nixon Rose From Defeat to Create the New Majority." To find out more about Patrick Buchanan and read features by other Creators writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators website at www.creators.com. The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Information Clearing House. "A Century of War" Video Sean Stone, co-host of Watching the Hawks, debuts his new documentary, "A Century of War" Stone links Americas petrodollar economy with its global military predominance, often to secure corporate access to natural resources. Weve seen America fulfill its mission as the city upon the hill but at the expense of the homeland. Physical infrastructure is decaying, and the population is being weighed down by debt. Posted February 07, 2017 Amnesty Claims Mass Executions In Syria, Provides Zero Proof By Moon Of Alabama February 07, 2017 " Information Clearing House " - " Moon Of Alabama " - A new Amnesty International report claims that the Syrian government hanged between 5,000 and 13,000 prisoners in a military prison in Syria. The evidence for that claim is flimsy, based on hearsay of anonymous people outside of Syria. The numbers themselves are extrapolations that no scientist or court would ever accept. It is tabloid reporting and fiction style writing from its title "Human Slaughterhouse" down to the last paragraph. But the Amnesty report is still not propagandish enough for the anti-Syrian media. Inevitably only the highest number in the range Amnesty claims is quoted. For some even that is not yet enough. The Associate Press agency, copied by many outlets, headlines: Report: At least 13,000 hanged in Syrian prison since 2011: BEIRUT (AP) Syrian authorities have killed at least 13,000 people since the start of the 2011 uprising in mass hangings at a prison north of Damascus known to detainees as "the slaughterhouse," Amnesty International said in a report Tuesday. How does "at least 13,000" conforms to an already questionable report which claims "13,000" as the top number of a very wide range? Here is a link to the report. Before we look into some details this from the "Executive Summary": From December 2015 to December 2016, Amnesty International researched the patterns, sequence and scale of violations carried out at Saydnaya Military Prison (Saydnaya). In the course of this investigation, the organization interviewed 31 men who were detained at Saydnaya, four prison officials or guards who previously worked at Saydnaya, three former Syrian judges, three doctors who worked at Tishreen Military Hospital, four Syrian lawyers, 17 international and national experts on detention in Syria and 22 family members of people who were or still are detained at Saydnaya. ... On the basis of evidence from people who worked within the prison authorities at Saydnaya and witness testimony from detainees, Amnesty International estimates that between 5,000 and 13,000 people were extrajudicially executed at Saydnaya between September 2011 and December 2015. There are several difficulties with this report. 1. Most of the witnesses are identified as opposition figures and "former" officials who do not live in Syria. Some are said to have been remotely interviewed in Syria but it is not clear if those were living in government or insurgent held areas. Page 9: The majority of these interviews took place in person in southern Turkey. The remaining interviews were conducted by telephone or through other remote means with interviewees still in Syria, or with individuals based in Lebanon, Jordan, European countries and the USA. It is well known that the Syrian insurgency is financed with several billion dollars per years from foreign state governments. It runs sophisticated propaganda operations. These witnesses all seem to have interests in condemning the Syrian government. Not once is an attempt made to provide a possibly divergent view. Amnesty found the persons it questioned by contacting international NGOs like itself and known foreign financed opposition (propaganda) groups: These groups include Urnammu for Justice and Human Rights, the Syrian Network for Human Rights, and the Syrian Institute for Justice and Accountability. 2. The numbers Amnesty provides are in a very wide range. None are documented in lists or similar exhibits. They are solely based on hearsay and guesstimates of two witnesses: People who worked within the prison authorities at Saydnaya told Amnesty International that extrajudicial executions related to the crisis in Syria first began in September 2011. Since that time, the frequency with which they have been carried out has varied and increased. For the first four months, it was usual for between seven and 20 people to be executed every 10-15 days. For the following 11 months, between 20 and 50 people were executed once a week, usually on Monday nights. For the subsequent six months, groups of between 20 and 50 people were executed once or twice a week, usually on Monday and/or Wednesday nights. Witness testimony from detainees suggests that the executions were conducted at a similar or even higher rate at least until December 2015. Assuming that the death rate remained the same as the preceding period, Amnesty International estimates that between 5,000 and 13,000 people were extrajudicially executed at Saydnaya between September 2011 and December 2015. From "between x and y", "once or twice a week", "suggests" and "assuming" the headline numbers are simply extrapolated in footnote 40 in a back-of-the-envelope calculation; "If A were true then B would be X": These estimates were based on the following calculations. If between seven and 20 were killed every 10-15 days from September to December 2011, the total figure would be between 56 people and 240 people for that period. If between 20 and 50 were killed every week between January and November 2012, the total figure would be between 880 and 2,200 for that period. If between 20 and 50 people were killed in 222 execution sessions (assuming the executions were carried out twice a week twice a month and once a week once a month) between December 2012 and December 2015, the total figure would be between 4,400 and 11,100 for that period. These calculations produce a minimum figure of 5,336, rounded down to the nearest thousand as 5,000, and 13,540, rounded down to the nearest thousand as 13,000. 2. I will not go into the details of witness statements on which the report is build. They seem at least exaggerated and are not verifiable at all. In the end it is pure hearsay on which Amnesty sets it conclusions. One example from page 25: Hamid, a former military officer when he was arrested in 2012, recalled the sounds he heard at night during an execution: "There was a sound of something being pulled out like a piece of wood, Im not sure and then you would hear the sound of them being strangled If you put your ears on the floor, you could hear the sound of a kind of gurgling. This would last around 10 minutes We were sleeping on top of the sound of people choking to death. This was normal for me then." A court might accept 'sound of "I'm not sure" "kind of gurgling" noise through concrete' as proof that a shower was running somewhere. But as proof of executions? Of all the witnesses Amnesty says it interviewed only two, a former prison official and a former judge, who describe actual executions (page 25). From the wording of their statements it is unclear if they have witnessed any hangings themselves or just describe something they have been told of. 3. The numbers of people Amnesty claims were executed are - at best - a wild ass guess. How come that Amnesty can name only very few of those? On page 30 of its report it says: Former detainees from the red building at Saydnaya provided Amnesty International with the names of 59 individuals who they witnessed being taken from their cells in the afternoon, being told that they were being transferred to civilian prisons in Syria. The evidence contained in this report strongly suggests that in fact, these individuals were extrajudicially executed. and Former prison guards and a former prison official from Saydnaya also provided Amnesty International with the names of 36 detainees who had been extrajudicially executed in Saydnaya since 2011. Those 95, some of whom may have been "executed" - or not, are the only ones Amnesty claims to be able to name. That is less than 1-2% of the reports central claim of 5,000 to 13,000 executed. All those witnesses could provide no more details of persons allegedly killed? Amnesty acknowledges that its numbers are bogus. Under the headline "Documented Deaths" on page 40 it then adds additional names and numbers to those above but these are not from executions: the exact number of deaths in Saydnaya is impossible to specify . However, the Syrian Network for Human Rights has verified and shared with Amnesty International the names of 375 individuals who have died in Saydnaya as a result of torture and other ill-treatment between March 2011 and October 2016. Of these, 317 were civilians at the time of their arrest, 39 were members of the Syrian military and 19 were members of non-state armed groups. In the course of the research for this report, Amnesty International obtained the names of 36 additional individuals who died as a result of torture and other ill-treatment in Saydnaya. These names were provided to Amnesty International by former detainees who witnessed the deaths in their cells The "Syrian Network for Human Rights" (SNHR) is a group in the UK probably connected to British foreign intelligence and with dubious monetary sources. It only says: SNHR funds its work and activities through unconditional grants and donations from individuals and institutions. Now that is true transparency. SNHR is known for rather ridiculous claims about casualties caused by various sides of the conflict. It is not know what SNHR qualifies as civilians - do these include armed civil militia? But note that none of the mostly civilians SNHR claims to have died in the prison are said to have been executed. How is it possible that a organization frequently quoted in the media as detailed source of casualties in Syria has no record of the 5,000 to 13,000 Amnesty claims were executed? 4. The report is padded up with before/after satellite pictures of enlarged graveyards in Syria. It claims that these expansions are a sign of mass graves of government opponents. But there is zero evidence for that. Many people have died in Syria throughout the war on all sides of the conflict. The enlargement, for example, of the Martyrs Cemetery south of Damascus (p.29/30) is hardly a sign of mass killing of anti-government insurgents. Would those be honored as martyrs by the government side? 5. The report talks of "extrajudicially executed" prisoners but then describes (military) court procedures and a necessary higher up approval of the judgement. One may not like the laws that govern the Syrian state but the courts and the procedures Amnesty describes seem to follow Syrian laws and legal processes. They are thereby - by definition - not extrajudicial. 6. In its Executive Summary the Amnesty report says that "Death sentences are approved by the Grand Mufti of Syria and ...". But there is no evidence provided of "approval" by the Grand Mufti in the details of the report. On page 19 it claims, based on two former prison and court officials: The judgement is sent by military post to the Grand Mufti of Syria and to either the Minister of Defence or the Chief of Staff of the Army, who are deputized to sign for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and who specify the date of the execution. It is very doubtful that the Syrian government would "deputize" or even inform the Grand Mufti in cases of military or criminal legal proceedings. Amnesty International may dislike the fact but Syria is a secular state. The Grand Mufti in Syria is a civil legal authority for some followers of the Sunni Muslim religion in Syria but he has no official judiciary role. From the 2010 Swiss dissertation Models of Religious Freedom: Switzerland, the United States, and Syria quoted here: In Syria a mufti is a legal and religious expert (faqih and alim) who has the power to give legally non-binding recommendations (sing. fatwa, pl. fatawa) in matters of Islamic law. ... Queries which are either sought by a sharia judge or private individuals regard the personal status laws of the Muslim community only. In the Arab Republic fatawa are given neither to public authorities nor to individual civil servants, .. Neither the Syrian constitution nor any Syrian law I can find refers to a role of the Grand Mufti in any military or civil criminal court proceding. The Amnesty claim "approved by the Grand Mufti of Syria"is not recorded anywhere else. It is very likely false. The Grand Mufti, Sheikh Ahmad Badreddin Hassoun, is a moderate, recognized and accomplished scholar. He should sue Amnesty for this slander. Syrian law includes a death penalty for certain severe and violent crimes. Before 2011 actual executions in Syria were very rare, most death sentences were commuted. Allegedly the laws were amended in late 2011, after the war in Syria had started, to include the death penalty as possible punishment for directly arming terrorists. It is quite likely that the Syrian military and/or civil judiciary hand out some death penalties against captured foreign and domestic "rebels" it finds them guilty of very severe crimes. It is fighting the Islamic State, al Qaeda and other extreme groups well known for mass murder and other extreme atrocities. It is likely that some of those sentences are applied. But the Syrian government has also provided amnesty to ten-thousands of "rebels" who fought the government but have laid down their arms. The claims in the Amnesty report are based on spurious and biased opposition accounts from outside of the country. The headline numbers of 5,000 to 13,000 are calculated on the base of unfounded hypotheticals. The report itself states that only 36 names of allegedly executed persons are known to Amnesty, less than the number of "witnesses" Amnesty claims to have interviewed. The high number of claimed execution together with the very low number of names is not plausible. The report does not even meet the lowest mark of scientific or legal veracity. It is pure biased propaganda. Note: An earlier version of this piece mixed up the Syrian Network for Human Rights (SNHR) and the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR). Both are registered in the UK and claim to provide accurate casualty data from Syria. Only SNHR is referenced in this Amnesty report. The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Information Clearing House. Syria carried out mass hangings at military prison: Amnesty International : The Syrian government has executed up to 13,000 prisoners in mass hangings and carried out systematic torture at a military jail near Damascus, rights watchdog Amnesty International said on Tuesday. Lagos State Governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode on Monday insisted plans are afoot to remove yellow buses popularly known as Danfo from Lagos roads for a more efficient, well-structured and world class mass transportation system that would facilitate ease of movement within the city. The Governor also said that his administration would soon roll out a comprehensive environmental sanitation policy that would make the city to be clean without much burden on the people in terms of taxes. Speaking at the 14th Annual Lecture of the Centre for Values in Leadership (CVL) held at Muson Centre in Onikan with the theme: Living Well Together, Tomorrow: The Challenge Of Africas Future Cities, Governor Ambode admitted that the present connectivity mode in Lagos was not acceptable and befitting for a mega city, and as such a well-structured transportation mode would soon be put in place to address the challenge. When I wake up in the morning and see all these yellow buses and see Okada and all kinds of tricycles and then we claim we are a mega city, that is not true and we must first acknowledge that that is a faulty connectivity that we are running. Having accepted that, we have to look for the solution and that is why we want to banish yellow buses this year. We must address the issue of connectivity that makes people to move around with ease and that is where we are going. For instance, people going from Ikorodu to CMS have started leaving their cars at home because the buses are very convenient and so why cant we do that for other places? Yes, we dont have the money to do that but we can go to the capital market and then improve on the technology of collection of fares and that will encourage investors and then the city will change, Governor Ambode said. He said government was also embarking on massive reform in waste management system, expressing optimism that the plan will fully be actualized by July this year. He said: We are also embarking on massive reform in the waste and sanitation management system. I dont like the way the city is and the Private Sector Participants (PSP) collectors are not having enough capacity to do it but again should I tax people to death, the answer is no. I dont want to tax people and so we need this partnership with the private sector so that they can invest in the sanitation management of the city and in no time maybe by July, the city will change forever. The Governor, who recalled the massive infrastructures being put in place in critical sectors of the Lagos economy such as transport sector, road construction and rehabilitation, construction of lay-bys, and flyovers among others, said the main objective of his administration remained the growth of the Lagos economy from 5th to 3rd largest economy in Africa. On power, Governor Ambode said the major issue had always been with transmission and advocated an embedded power initiative that would allow clusters of Independent Power Projects (IPP) to run the cities. He said he had remained focused on some issues such as infrastructure, security, job creation, power, adoption of technology as an enabler and driving investment through ease of doing business. In his opening remarks, CVL founder and renowned development expert, Professor Pat Utomi said the idea behind the formation of the group was to get young people to begin to appreciate early what leadership was all about being service to the people. Speaking on the theme of the symposium, Utomi said Lagos remained the best governed State in Nigeria in the last 18 years, and a good example of what the country should be beyond and without oil. He commended Governor Ambode on his leadership style, and particularly congratulated Lagos for being named by the Rockefeller Foundation as one of the 100 most resilient cities in the world. Chairman of the occasion and former Governor of Cross River State, Liyel Imoke said the theme of the symposium was apt considering that Nigerias population by 2050 would have tripled and as such it was important for the country to start planning for livable cities. He commended Governor Ambode over his achievements in office so far, saying that it was obvious that the Governor has been performing very well and he is a good example of continuity in governance. On his part, Director of Centre for African Economies, Oxford University, Professor Paul Collier said from his over thirty years experience of coming to Nigeria, Governor Ambode has proven himself to be the third excellent Governor in a row in Lagos. Collier, who was the keynote speaker, said judging by the population projection of Nigeria by 2050, now is the time for the country to start building its cities to conform with modern trend. He said Nigerias oil had been a course which messed up the economy, and so there was need to start proper planning for developmentThe rate of kidnapping in the country has escalated, and no one seems not to know what to do. Here is a case of another incident in Bayelsa, told through a press release circulated by the chief press secretary of Brass Local Government Council in Bayelsa State. ABDUCTED 48YRS OLD BAYELSA BUSINESSMAN REGAINS FREEDOM Mr. Loveday Lucky, the kidnapped 48years old Businessman based in Sagana town in Brass Local Government area of Bayelsa State has regain his freedom from kidnappers den. Mr. Loveday Lucky was kidnapped in his hometown, Sangana, on Saturday, 28th January, 2017 at about 10:45pm by unknown gunmen and was released Sunday morning around Azuzuama axis of Southern Ijaw Local Government Area. Lucky, who was released with machete marks on his back and stab injuries on both hands, was received and taken into custody by the Chairman of Brass Local Government Council, Hon. Bello Bina. Hon. Bello Bina ,while confirming the development, warned youths in the area to shun kidnapping, adding that any culprit caught will face the full wrath of the law. Hon. Bina said that it is not only illegal but devilish for anybody to kidnap a fellow human for selfish gains. According to him: Brass LGA is not a safe haven for Kidnappers or any criminally-minded youth. And I can assure you that Security agents are on red alert. The Council Boss equally warned youths from neighboring LGAs that come to perpetrate crime in the area to desist from the act. We are aware that most of the abductors and sea pirates that have been disturbing the area are youths from other LGAs that come to carry out the dastardly acts in order to give Brass a bad name. We will not rest until the criminals that kidnapped Loveday and any other person in Brass LGA are brought to book. They cannot hide. Security agents have already swung into action and they will soon apprehend the abductors in their hideouts and prosecute them accordingly, Bello stated Mienpamo Onitsha Saint Chief Press Secretary To the Chairman, Brass LGA. An Aso Rock villa staff has accused police in Cross River State, of freeing a man arrested with a gun, after allegedly collecting money from his family members. Below is how a facebook user, Ifere Paul who is a staff at the presidential Aso Rock villa, Abuja, reported the story on social media; ****************** Breaking News: The police in Calabar, Cross River State capital has released a man they arrested previously with a gun and live ammunition. According to reports from concern citizens, the young man seen in this picture was paraded with the gun, was released after police collected monies from his relatives as bail. It is sad that criminal elements like this are arrested and released to freely roam the streets, kidnapping, robbing, and sexually molesting their weaker victims at gun points. As the dust raised by the current health status of President Muhammadu Buhari is yet to settle, some Nigerians have said his condition may not be unconnected to that which led to the death of former President, Umaru Musa YarAdua. DAILY POST recalls that Buhari has been on a 10-day vacation in the United Kingdom, UK, , but his stay was extended indefinitely due to health issues. But in an exclusive chat with DAILY POST, some Nigerians have raised their voices of concern, asking to see the letter sent by the sick president to the National Assembly. A Nigerian Professor of English, William Ajene Horsfall said, Special Adviser to the President, Femi Adesina said the President had planned to return to Abuja this evening, but was advised to complete the test cycle before returning. The notice has since been dispatched to the Senate President, and Speaker, House of Representatives. What notice? Notice by phone or email or official letter as usual? Who signed the letter? Let us see it and not only a three paragraph letter. Remember, President YarAdua left Nigeria on 23 November 2009, and He was not seen in public again, and his absence created a dangerous power vacuum in Nigeria. He battled kidney failure and purportedly challenged his critics to a game of squash in an endeavor to end speculations about his health; this is exactly what is happening with Buhari and his government. Further fomenting rumors about his health, he was flown to Germany for medical reasons and we were told it was due to stress. Afterall, whatever we are told, we accept. Mumu! If you remember, YarAdua was quoted as saying he was fine and would soon be back to campaigning. They have said this about Buhari too. Like a rumour, YarAdua was said to have collapsed after suffering a heart attack another report which was swiftly dismissed by them. YarAdua was urged to hand over power to Vice-President, Goodluck Jonathan, in an acting capacity during his illness, but what happened? They kept swindling Nigerians. Speaking further, Prof Horsfall said, On 24 February 2010, YarAdua returned to Abuja under the cover of darkness. His state of health was unclear, but there were speculations that he was still on a life support machine, but unfortunately, YarAdua died on 5 May at the Aso Rock Presidential Villa. There were reactions here and there. So, whatever is happening to Buhari is not different from what we know or what we have seen, heard or experienced. We may be looking at Yaraduas scenario, the Professor added. Similarly, a medical practitioner with one of the government hospitals in Abuja, spoke on condition of anonymity saying, Just like Wole Soyinka said during Yaraduas time, all power in heaven and on earth belongs to God. Playing politics at the expense of someones health? No matter how much strength the Presidency thinks Buhari has, he is only human and old for that matter; they should know that the politics of Do-or-Die cannot guarantee who dies or who doesnt. They must stop playing God. In Yaraduas time, there was issue of signing or no signing budget. This man was critically ill and a living corpse already who was on life support. Yet, their people said they went to Saudi or wherever Yaradua was and he (Yaradua) signed the budget. Of course, we knew it was a fake signature, they put it there but the senators (David Mark) looked away then because they wanted the country to be running. At that time, those of us close to government knew something was definitely wrong because it was not funny. So, for this one, just like they leaked the letter that Buhari sent to Babachir Lawal, then someone should be able to get hold of the letter that Buhari wrote to NASS, extending his vacation or based on request, let us see the letter with Buharis signature because we dont want a situation where we really dont know what is going on. When people get to know all these facts, trust me, the Presidency will start running helter skelter because they will understand that people have started calculating and using their brains. I was expecting the president wont extend his stay but now that he has, it just confirms to me that they think Nigerians are stupid. That excuse was too dumbwaiting to collect investigation results? Where is he sitting to wait for the result? Is it in front of the consulting room or the laboratory?, he quizzed rhetorically. Source: Daily Post Developing reports have it that the pro-Buhari team tagged #IStandWithBuhari allegedly induced protesters with a paltry sum of money to secure their participation in a counter protest against the One Voice Nigeria and #IStandWithNigeria team. Dooshima Abu, a TVC news correspondent in Abuja has alleged that the Pro-Buhari activists were promised a cash reward of N1,000 by an unidentified mobilizer to join todays rally. According to reporters, the turn-out was massive despite the scourching sun that led to excessive sweating among the protesters. The pro-Buhari protesters occupied the same Unity Park, Abuja venue with the opposing #IStandWithBuhari team. Reports gathered by the reporter revealed a section of the protesters had no slightest idea about the essence of their political activity as they focused on the promised fund. Todays political reactions have been based on the parlous state of the Nigerian economy coupled with the poor infrastructural facilities in the country without a visible improvement under the current administration of President Muhammadu Buhari. A total number of commercial prostitutes who were arrested within Minna, the Niger State capital have all been convicted and sentenced by a Chief Magistrates Court on Monday. A Minna Chief Magistrates Court on Monday convicted 11 prostitutes arrested within Minna metropolis to various jail terms, but with option of fine. The Chief Magistrate, Abdullahi Usman, convicted them as they pleaded guilty to the charges levelled against them. The prosecuting counsel, Mallam Mukthar Muhammad had told the court that the 11 prostitutes were arrested in different locations in Minna. Usman ordered that three of the accused persons Jennifer Innocent, Blessing Tioyo and Comfort David would serve 12 months imprisonment with an option of N50, 000 fine each. He said that Blessing Marshal, Inferang Akpan, Godwin Jenifer would serve six months imprisonment or pay N30, 000 each as fine. The court fined Hadiza Muhammad and Evelyn Daniel N20, 000 each for their involvement. The court also fined James Omande, Jessica Gbele who claimed to have ventured into the trade to pay their school fees, N10, 000 each or serve three months and one month in prison respectively. The Chairman of Liquor Board, Mr Yahaya Pera,who spoke said that the board was making efforts to stamp out prostitution in all the 25 local government areas of the state. The Niger Liquor Licensing Board has zero tolerance for prostitution because it is part of the mandate given to us by the state government and we shall carryout the enforcement to the later, he said. Source: NAN A resident of Barama Village in Hawul Local Government of Borno who was sentenced to death by hanging, for killing a man whom he accused of having a love affair with his wife, has angrily rejected the verdict. Haruna Tonga, who was sentenced to death by a Borno State High Court, for killing his wifes lover, Adama Ali, has appealed against the death sentence. Tonga has taken the matter to the Court of Appeal in Jos, and wants the sentence quashed. Justice A.B. Kumalia of High Court 12, Maiduguri, had, on Feb. 25, 2014, sentenced Tonga of Barama Village in Hawul Local Government of Borno to death by hanging, for killing Ali, whom he accused of having a love affair with one of his three wives, Fatima. When the case came up before appellate Justices led by A.G. Mshelia on Monday, counsel to Tonga, Mr Aliyu Sangei, told the court that his client was sentenced in error and declared the judgement as a flagrant abuse of court process. Sangei appealed to the court to allow his clients appeal and set aside the decision of the lower court by discharging and acquitting Tonga. He argued that Tonga was tried, convicted and sentenced to death in flagrant abuse of court process, with two charges simultaneously filed against the appellant in respect of one and the same offense. He said that one of the charges was still pending. The appellants counsel also claimed that Tonga did not sign the alleged statements (Exhibit C1 and C2), used by the lower court, whose judge did not also sign his ruling and judgment. But the defense counsel, Mr Garba Chibok, said that the lower court acted rightly and not in error since Tonga himself confessed to committing the culpable homicide, contrary and punishable under Section 221 of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. In his argument, Chibok said that the statements of Tonga were signed and that the court did not make any error in its judgment, and therefore urged the justices to apply, recognize and uphold it. Chibok appealed to the court to look at the merit of the lower courts judgment and dismiss Tongas appeal for lack of merit. Tonga had called his three wives and informed them of his knowledge about the secret escapades of one of them and had wanted an outright confession. He threatened to use the Holy Quaran to swear against the suspect, if she failed to confess to him. It was at that point that Fatima confessed and gave the name of Ali as her lover. Tonga, in anger waylaid Ali and killed him with a cutlass and a knife and did not deny it. He confessed to committing the crime before the Village Head, Police and the lower court, which convicted and sentenced him to death in accordance with the law, he said. After listening to the two counsel, the presiding lead Judge, Justice A.G Mshelia, announced that the court has reserved judgment to a date to be communicated to them. Source: NAN A Federal High Court in Lagos on Monday convicted and sentenced three men, Okechukwu Nwachukwu, Osita Ilechukwu and Blessing Eluwa to five years imprisonment each for Cocaine trafficking. The trial judge, Justice Mojisola Olatoregun handed down the verdict after founding the convicts guilty of three count charge of conspiracy, unlawful importation and trafficking of restricted narcotics brought against them by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA). The convicts, who were arraigned in 2014, had pleaded not guilty to the charges when they were docked before the court. In the charge, the convicts were said to have conspired to import 5.89 kg of Cocaine from Brazil into Nigeria. The first convict (Okechukwu) was said to have induced the third convict (Eluwa) to convey the narcotic from Brazil to Nigeria. According to the prosecution, Abu Ibrahim, the third convict was arrested during the inward clearance of passengers on board a Qatar Airline flight from Brazil. Ibrahim said that the third convict was arrested while investigations led to the arrest of the other convicts. The offence is said to have contravened the provisions of sections 11 (b) of the NDLEA Act, Cap N30 Laws of the Federation, 2004 The prosecution had opened trial in the suit on March 10, 2016 and he called11 witnesses and tendered a total of 21 document as exhibits before the court. Prosecution closed its case on May 10, 2016 The defence on their part, testified for themselves while final addresses were adopted on Nov. 28, 2016. While delivering her judgment on Monday, Justice Olatoregun found the accused guilty of the offence as charged. The judge held, I am satisfied that the three accused conspired in furtherance of the offence for which they are charged to court. On the whole I find that the prosecution succeeded in discharging the onus on it to establish its case; I find each of the accused guilty as charged and each is accordingly convicted. The three accused are first offenders, they must however be strongly deterred as there is no short cut to wealth. On count one, the accused are sentenced to a term of five years imprisonment each or an option of N5 million fine On count two, the second accused is sentenced to a term of five years imprisonment with an option of N5 million fine On count three, the third accused is sentenced to a term of five years imprisonment with an option of N5 million fine. The terms of imprisonment shall run consecutively while the fines are cumulative. The exhibit 5.89 kg of cocaine together with the substance in exhibit F1 are to be destroyed by men of the NDLEA within 90 days if there is no appeal against this judgment; the exhibits are not to be recycles, she held. Source: Leadership In what will come across as a really shocking development, several female school teachers have cried out after allegedly being attacked by evil spirits. A report by The Manica Post has shown that some evil spirits have been attacking and having forceful s*x with female teachers at a school in Zimbabwes eastern Manicaland province. The incident reported in different cases has caused a serious stir in the community, the newspaper claims. The Manica Post reports that the attacks by the evil spirits started at Chishuma Primary School in Odzi last June and are ongoing. Two female teachers confirmed the attacks and said a pastor from a local church had conducted prayers to try to get to the bottom of the drama. However, he did not succeed. According to the Manica Post, some mysterious human-like creatures, believed to be evil spirits keep coming at night to have forced sexual intercourse with female teachers at Chishuma Primary School in Odzi in a real-life drama whose script reads like folklore plucked from Gothic literature. The head of the Zimbabwe National Traditional Healers Association George Kandiero told the paper: The solution comes when the people affected find a genuine traditional healer who can cleanse that. Evil spirits have been reported before, often in connection with money-making enterprises. Investigation has been launched into the claims which have gotten many peole worked up. The former Minister of Aviation, Mr Femi Fani-Kayode has disproved the assertion of his lawyer, Ahmed Raji, that he was seeking an out of court settlement of his trial with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) where hes being accused of receiving N26 million from the office of the former National Security Adviser, Sambo Dasuki, and using same for media campaign. Fani-Kayode who released his counter-statement on Monday, few hours after his lawyer told a federal judge in Abuja that he is considering a settlement, said that such reports as false, embarrassing, and mischievous. Recall that earlier on Monday, the ex-ministers lawyer Ahmed Raji, asked the judge to adjourn the proceedings to allow him explore other options of settlement aside from going to trial. But in a swift reaction to his lawyers arguments, Mr. Fani-Kayode, through his spokesperson, Jude Ndukwe, said the plea bargain option was out of the question. Under no circumstances will Chief Fani-Kayode pay any money back to EFCC or any other government agency because he never collected any money from any government agency in the first place. Fleeing Boko Haram suspects in a convoy of Toyota Hilux vehicles and motorcycles attacked Sasawa village in Damaturu Local Government Council of Yobe State, setting ablaze several houses and shops on Sunday night. Sasawa is a farming community, 48 kilometres north of Damaturu, the state capital. Military sources in Damaturu said yesterday that the insurgents invaded the village through the southern exit of Sambisa Forest, which was captured last December. Even though we cannot ascertain the level of casualties, but most of the houses and shops in the village were burnt down by the fleeing insurgents, while some of the villagers escaped into nearby bush, said the military source in Damaturu. He said that troops of Operation Lafiya Dole have been deployed to the village in the early hours of yesterday. The casualty figure remains imprecise, but security analysts are worried about the attack due to the proximity of Sasawa village to Damaturu. Also, six armed Boko Haram terrorists on motorcycles were sighted fleeing through Lumamari village in Yunusari Council Area of the state, though without attacking any persons or destroying any property. It was gathered that fleeing the terrorists towards north part the state, were also carrying AK-47 rifles without hurting any villager. The fleeing insurgents passed through the village without harming anyone while most of the villagers fled into the bush, said one of the villagers. Lumamari is about 25 kilometres from Kanama, the council headquarters of Yunusari. Our council area is one of the high-risk areas in the state and is still experiencing frequent insurgent attacks, before the insurgents fled through this village, said Buba Musa, a farmer. Source: Guardian Israels interior minister, Ayre Deri, using onion to fake crying to express grief over passing of a Rabbi, Ovadia Yosef, in 2015 went viral after it was uploaded on YouTube on February 5. Deri was seen rubbing onions in his eyes before venturing into a full-fledged drama of faking crying. He was trying to express his grief in the passing of Rabbi Ovadia Yosef in 2015, but the video was uploaded on YouTube only a couple of days back. Needless to say, the video went viral on social media and made headlines. The video was made public on Channel 2s news magazine programme People. Deri, irritated with his inability to fake crying, asks for an onion. The actor is also seen laughing after his performance ended. In a report, the Jerusalem Post said, Rabbi Ovadias endorsement was seen as a key to controlling the party which Deri took over after the Rabbis death in 2013. Governor Akinwunmi Ambode of Lagos State on Monday said he would banish yellow commercial buses from Lagos roads this year. Ambode spoke at the 14th Annual Lecture of the Centre for Value and Leadership with theme: Living Well Together, Tomorrow: The Challenge of Africas Future Cities held in Lagos. Ambode said that connectivity was a critical element for a mega city to work, which required having mass transit system to move people from one point to another. I tell you what, I want to banish yellow buses from Lagos this year. My dream of ensuring that Lagos becomes a true megacity will not be actualised with the presence of these yellow buses on Lagos roads Mr. Ambode said. The governor said there was still a lot more to be achieved as regard making Lagos one of the vibrant cities of the world. According to Mr. Ambode, cities are the most attractive destination for those who want to realise their dreams. He said that to this end, there was the need for government to be proactive in providing and expanding infrastructure, connectivity, other services to accommodate them. It is estimated that 86 immigrants enter Lagos every hour the highest in any city in the world and they have no plans to leave. This is because Lagos has remained over time, and most especially in the last decade, the most attractive destination for those who want to realise and live their Nigerian dream. This ever increasing population of the state however means that we have to be on our toes to provide facilities for this more than 23 million population, Mr. Ambode said. He said that government was also embarking on massive reform in waste management system, expressing optimism that the plan would be fully actualised by July. We are also embarking on massive reform in the waste and sanitation management system. I dont like the way this city is and the Private Sector Participants (PSP) collectors are not having enough capacity to do it, but again should I tax people to death? The answer is no. I dont want to tax people and so, we need this partnership with the private sector so that they can invest in the sanitation management of the city and in no time, maybe by July, the city will change forever, he said. The governor said that the main objective of his administration remained the growth of the Lagos economy from fifth to third largest economy in Africa. On power, Mr. Ambode said the major issue had always been with transmission and advocated an embedded power initiative that would allow clusters of Independent Power Projects (IPP) to run the cities. He said that he had remained focused on some issues such as infrastructure, security, job creation, power, adoption of technology as an enabler and driving investment through ease of doing business. The Founder and Chief Executive Officer of CVL, Pat Utomi said that Lagos was thriving because of 18 years of good governance and ability to sustain the economy without and beyond oil. Mr. Utomi said that with the theme, it was appropriate to expose the young people early to leadership skills as future leaders, describing leadership as a sacrificial giving of oneself to the advancement of common good. A man in the US has been arrested, and booked into the same jail for the 77th time. According to police in Alexandria, Louisiana, officers responded to the report of a man stuck in the chimney of a business early Friday morning. Employees told officers that when they arrived at the business, they could hear a man yelling. They found he was stuck. While officers were in route, police say the man was able to free himself from the chimney. He then reportedly threw a brick at an employee before running from the store. Officers were soon able to locate the suspect. Police identify him as 41-year-old Matthew Mobley of Alexandria. Police say this is the 77th time Mobley has been booked into the Rapides Parish Detention Center. This is Mobleys 77th booking into the Rapides Parish Detention Center. Hes facing charges of attempted simple burglary and aggravated assault. APD officers said in a news release that they did not locate a sleigh or any presents on scene. A man from Mississippi, USA is recovering at a hospital in California after doctors removed a 130-pound benign tumor. For 15 years, the tumor had grown on Roger Logans abdomen until it reached the size of a small adult, according to KERO. Usually at home I would sit and it would rest on the floor, Logan, 57, said about the tumor that he says doctors dismissed for years as just fat. Logan said he was practically confined to a reclining chair inside a room he rarely left. They said its just fat, youre just fat its just fat developing there, Logan said. Doctors believe the benign tumor likely started because of an ingrown hair, then grew quickly. From here up I was a normal person, Logan said, explaining what his daily struggle was like. I used to say Put a strap around you and (carry) three bags of cement around you all day long, just swinging. Luckily for Logan, while researching his condition he ended up at Memorial Hospital in Bakersfield in the hands of Dr. Vipul Dev. Were fortunate to have a facility like this where we can do this kind of surgery with very little or no complications, said Dev, who diagnosed the tumor after having treated other patients with similar conditions. Dev told KERO that Logans operation was a success. Logan said hes thrilled the surgery went well, but wants to take care of one last thing while hes still in California. Im waiting on the tacos, he said. https://youtu.be/lMk0ThQFUb0 US first lady Melania Trump has refiled a 121 million libel lawsuit against the corporation that publishes the Daily Mails website, this time in New York, for reporting rumours that she worked as an escort. In the new filing, Trumps lawyers argue the report damaged her ability to profit from her high profile. The filing states that Trump had the unique, one-in-a-lifetime opportunity, as an extremely famous and well-known person, as well as a former professional model, brand spokesperson and successful businesswoman, to launch a broad-based commercial brand in multiple product categories, each of which could have garnered multi-million dollar business relationships for a multi-year term during which Plaintiff is one of the most photographed women in the world. Those product categories, it goes on to say, could have included clothing, accessories, jewellery, cosmetics, hair care and fragrance, among others. Trump had previously filed the lawsuit against Mail Media Inc in Maryland, but earlier this month a judge ruled the case should not be filed there and dismissed it last week. The lawsuit, now filed in New York, where the corporation has offices, seeks compensatory and punitive damages of at least $150m. Trump had sued Mail Media Inc, along with blogger Webster Tarpley, for reporting the rumours. She filed the lawsuit in Maryland after both Tarpley and the Daily Mail issued retractions. The lawsuit against Tarpley has been allowed to move ahead in Maryland. Grapples with new court cases The hope of reviving a vibrant opposition party in the country ahead of the 2019 general elections is getting dimmer with the resurgence of court judgments that are further weakening the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). Since the beginning of 2017, two different courts have given judgments in favour of the chairmen of state chapters of the PDP loyal to the Ali Modu Sheriffs faction. A weakened PDP means complete absence of opposition in Nigerias democracy, as no other party in the line-up possesses the muscle to benchmark the ruling APC. Nigerians will be stuck with the APC in the 2019 elections not necessarily on the basis of the sterling performance of the ruling party but for lack of choice. The PDP chairman in Ekiti State and latest victim of the court judgments ousting chairmen loyal to Ahmed Makarfis faction, Mr. Gboyega Oguntuase, claimed that the verdict was a deliberate ploy to weaken the party in the state and prevent it from winning the 2018 governorship election. The judgment was based on judicial rascality and insanity, which would not dissuade us from winning the 2018 governorship election, he however added. The Makarfi-led faction of the party has argued that the failure of the courts to quickly adjudicate on the PDP leadership matters before them portends danger to the countrys democracy. Makarfi said in an interview with The Guardian that though the courts should be allowed to decide on the leadership issue in the party at their convenient time, the matter is a serious one that has the potential of causing disturbances to larger parts of the country. Where you have some elements in the ruling party interfering in what is going on in an opposition party, may be in order to bring down genuine opposition, such can instigate ugly tendencies as we head towards local government elections. In an All Progressives Congress (APC)-controlled state, for example, they can use such a division to deny PDP the chance to legitimately field candidates and this will be the greatest disservice to democracy in the country. That is why I am telling the judiciary that the situation we are today is not just a simple party affair but linked to elections across the length and breadth of this country with unimaginable consequences if allowed to linger for too long, he stated. According to the Rivers State Chairman of the PDP, Felix Obuah, Sheriff has created some kind of confusion but God will vindicate us. Anyone using him to destabilise PDP will not succeed. But the spokesman for Sheriffs faction, Mr. Bernard Mikko dismissed the claim that the judiciary was causing confusion, stressing that rather, it was hope rising for PDP and Nigerians. According to him, it is only when Makarfi and his group get unfavourable judgment that they complain, but when it favours them, the judiciary is good. The truth is that if the judgment is not in their favour they say judiciary is creating confusion and constituting a threat to the society. Why dont they go to court and challenge the judgments? Mikko explained that the issues involved in the Kebbi and Ekiti states chapters of the party were purely matters in the states and have nothing to do with the national leadership crisis in the party. To him, the only matter that affects the national leadership is before the Appeal Court in Port Harcourt, Rivers State. He said the Sheriffs faction would win in Osun State the way they won in Kebbi and Ekiti. We are taking our party back to the people just like (Donald) Trump has taken America back to the Americans, he told The Guardian. Efforts to get the apex Igbo socio-cultural organisation, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, to comment on the implications of decimating opposition parties proved abortive, as the body claimed such comments would portray it as being partisan. However, the Yoruba socio-cultural group, Afenifere said it was unfortunate that Nigeria is currently under the control of those who never believed in the culture of opposition and that is the reason they have been doing everything to muzzle the opposition parties. The Spokesman of Afenifere, Mr. Yinka Odumakin, said: The only remedy to the crisis confronting the nations democracy given the way the leadership of the APC is handling it is for the country to be restructured. With the way things are in Nigeria, democracy can never germinate on our soil unless we restructure it. The opposition parties must renew their strength to ensure the restructuring of the country. The PDP leadership struggle has left the courts in disarray of conflicting decisions. There were Federal high court orders sacking Sheriff and affirming the chairmanship of Makarfi. There have also been orders from the same Federal high court (though in a different division) upholding Sheriffs chairmanship of the PDP and removing Makarfi as chairman. These orders have been contradictory and show that one court has been entertaining appeals from a court of coordinate jurisdiction, which is an aberration. The genesis of the crisis began when in May 12, 2016, Justice Ibrahim Buba of the Federal High Court in Lagos restrained the PDP from holding elections into offices of the national chairman, national secretary, and national auditor pending the determination of a suit before him, but PDP went ahead and appointed a caretaker committee with as Makarfi as chairman at the national convention held in Port Harcourt, Rivers state. On May 24, Justice Buba sacked the Makarfi-led caretaker committee because it was appointed contrary to his May 12 restraining order. The same day, a Federal High Court restrained Sheriff from parading himself as PDP Chairman, thereby validating the convention and ordered INEC to recognize Makarfi as the valid chairman of the PDP. However, on June 29, Justice Valentine Ashi of the FCT High Court in Abuja nullified Sheriffs chairmanship on the grounds that the process that brought him in was illegal. Few days later, on July 4, Justice Mohammed Liman of the Federal High Court in Port Harcourt affirmed Sheriffs removal, stating that the May 21 convention was in order. As a result, the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, Ibrahim Auta, on July 8, directed all judges of the Federal High Court to stay clear of any matter concerning the PDP crisis pending the determination of appeals before the appellate court. Despite the directive, Justice Okon Abang of the Federal High Court in Abuja on July 28 sacked Makarfi as PDP chairman on the grounds that the July 4 judgment of Justice Liman could not overrule the May 12 restraining order because both courts are of coordinate jurisdiction. Another federal high court in Port Harcourt on August 16 presided over by Justice Watila affirmed the legitimacy of the Makarfi-led faction and ordered INEC, the Police Force, and all other relevant agencies to be present at the PDP Convention slated for August 17. The same day, Justice Abang ordered that the PDP national convention should not hold. He equally ordered all relevant agencies to stay clear of the convention. But the convention held and extended the life of the Makarfi caretaker committee. The same day, an FCT High Court sacks Sheriff based on the June 29 order of the same court. Most of these cases are on appeal, but when the conflict climaxed with the gubernatorial ticket for Ondo state, the Supreme Court struck out the interlocutory appeals filed by the Sheriff-led faction of the Ondo PDP, telling them to return to Appeal Court to consolidate and resolve all pending cases relating to the dispute. It appears the cases at the lower courts are resurfacing and the appellate courts have no power to stop litigants from ventilating their grievances at the courts below. Irrespective of what the decision of the appellate courts would be, the cases at the lower courts would go on. And if any consolidation takes place, it is most likely to affect those already within the docket of the appellate court. Source: Guardian Nigerian newspaper headlines February 7, 2017. Punch The Senate will on Tuesday (today) begin the screening of 46 non-career ambassadorial nominees for whom President Muhammadu Buhari is seeking legislative approval. Guardian The Federal Government through the National Agency for the Control of AIDS (NACA) and the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has dismissed the claims by a Professor of Veterinary Medicine and Clinical Virology at the Michael Okpara University of Agriculture Umudike, Abia State, Maduike Ezeibe, to have discovered a new drug for the cure of Human Immuno-deficiency Virus (HIV)/Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS). Vanguard The Ekiti State Government will in the next two weeks begin to pay contractors with the State Universal Basic Education Board, SUBEB, owed about N850 million by administration of former Governor Kayode Fayemi. The Nation The Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) Director-General, Dr Dakuku Peterside, has been urged to promote indigenous ship repairs and dry docking. Thisday Acting President Yemi Osinbajo monday spoke for the first time since President Muhammadu Buharis departure for the United Kingdom, where he is undergoing medical tests for undisclosed reasons, assuring Nigerians that the speculations surrounding the health of his principal and the fake news reported by some online news media, he was under no pressure from any quarters to resign. Premium Times An advocacy group, Access to Justice, has called on President Muhammadu Buhari to break his discomfiting silence on the appointment of a substantive Chief Justice of Nigeria. The Sun South African Airways (SAA) yesterday announced it decision to discontinue its Abuja Johannesburg flight operations over security concerns in the region. Leadership The acting president, Prof Yemi Osinbajo, yesterday replied those seeking the health status of President Muhammadu Buhari, especially members of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), saying only the president can disclose the status of his health. Femi Adesina, the special adviser on media and publicity to Muhammadu Buhari has been under fire for failing to disclose the current health status of the president. When asked if he was in touch with Buhari, the journalist told Channels TVs Sunrise Daily that he isnt directly in touch with the President, but speaks with those around him in London. I am not directly in touch with the President, but I speak with those around him in London ~ Femi Adesina. via @sunrisedailynow Channels Television (@channelstv) February 7, 2017 Adesina, for this statement, has been trolled on social media. Below are some posts: Poor Femi Adesina. He is having to do a job he doesn't know how to do. Beekay Igwegbe (@beekayigwegbe) February 7, 2017 https://twitter.com/ayodeletwitts/status/828895281634803712 So who is the person that feeds Femi Adesina with the information of the President's health status. MistEmeka (@Em3kaE) February 7, 2017 Femi Adesina had been speaking to the cabal. He's also another pawn. https://t.co/y8VRAfwSd6 Foundational Lagosian (@KolawoleIlori14) February 7, 2017 If Femi Adesina only gets to speak to Buhari 'directly' from ppl around him then we have a problem Chubs (@Kaycce) February 7, 2017 Managing Political CEOs can even bring you into conflict with your Creator! Just thinking, like @Olusegunverdict like @FemAdesina OTUNBA TOPE OYEFESO (@otunbatope) February 7, 2017 https://twitter.com/zhurg_/status/828892096627097600 Nigerias acting president Yemi Osinbajo Monday said he was no under pressure to resign from his post, addressing rumours for the first time that he was pressured by a special interest to vacate his position. Osinbajo spoke to reporters at the State House, Abuja, after a meeting with the national chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) Chief John odigie-Oyegun. Im absolutely under no pressure to resign. In any event, I was voted for by the people of this nation myself and Mr President, and the people of this nation have not asked us to resign, Osinbajo said. So I have absolutely no pressure whatsoever and the truth is that there have been absolutely no pressure whatsoever from any source asking me to resign. Reiterating the presidencys position that the Buhari had no serious health issues, the acting vice president said he had a long phone conversation with hale and hearty Buhari earlier on Monday on the state of the nation. Let me say that the President is hale and hearty. I spoke to him just this afternoon and we had a very long conversation. He was interested in knowing about the budget process and how far we had gone. As you know, we had a meeting today with the private sector on the economic recovery plan. Of course I informed him about some of what we are seeing the protests, marches and all of that, some of the feedback and what people are saying about the economy. He is in good shape, he was very chatty and we had a good conversation this afternoon. He, however, like Buharis spokesman, Femi Adesina, declined to disclose the exact state of the presidents health, noting that only the president had the right to disclose such information to the public. I think that the health status of Mr President is a fact or issue that only Mr President himself will be able to discuss at the appropriate time. Again, he is running tests and before you determine your health status you must be able to say this is my health status. If Im running tests; doing some routine and some that my doctors have asked me to do, then surely I must await the outcome of that before I talk about any kind of status, he said. Source: Guardian The Bayelsa State Police Command says it has intercepted an attempt by hoodlums to steal a Russian gas turbine worth N7.2 billion at Etelebou, Gbarain community in Yenagoa Local Council . The Commissioner of Police (CP), Mr. Asuquo Amba, who made the disclosure yesterday at a news conference in the state capital, said: On January 29, 2017 at about 1400 hours through information, the police intercepted a Russian gas turbine at Etelebou, Gharain and prevented the removal of the said turbine valued at about N7.2 billion. Seven suspects were arrested and five trucks recovered. Investigation is ongoing. He also said the police had arrested one of the suspected kidnappers that allegedly killed a soldier and a civilian along the Angiama river between Bayelsa and Delta states in July 2016. He said: On July 5, 2016, one Captain Buruma, male, who was in charge of a vessel, Yade One, was kidnapped by unknown gunmen along Angiama river between Bayelsa and Delta states, during which an army personnel and a civilian were killed. The victim was held hostage for about 63 days together with two others: one Sunny Andy and Bernard Narebo, along Azuzuama area of Bayelsa State before he was released by his captors. One of the kidnappers, Shola Job, male, 24 years from Azuzuama community, was sighted at Okutukuku in Yenagoa on February 1, 2017 at about 2:00 p.m. in Yenagoa by one of the victims who raised the alarm and he (Job) was arrested. The suspect is undergoing interrogation and investigation is ongoing. The CP further said on January 29, 2017, the command control room received a distress call from one Toju Adama from Ogborikoko, Warri in Delta State, that his Hilux van was stolen and was traced to Agudama Ekpetiama in Bayelsa State. He said operatives from the state command swung into action and arrested the occupants of the Hilux, one John Ogah, male, a dismissed soldier from Cross River State, but his cohort, one Shedrack, escaped at the scene. He said a bunch of master keys were recovered from the suspect, noting that upon interrogation, four other Toyota Camry cars were recovered each from Andrew Henry of Amassoma in Southern Ijaw Local Council of the state, Ndubuisi Okafor from Ebonyi State, Godday Berenege from Amassoma and Taye Afolabi from Osun State. The police boss said the Hilux van plate number is APP 883 XN, the Toyota Camry cars plate numbers are SMK 20 AY, FKJ 290 DY, EPE 612 EM and the last one is without registration number. He added that on February 1, 2017, at about 8.30am, one Bibowei Kelvin, male, from Amassoma town, a student of the Niger Delta University, Department of Fine and Applied Arts, was arrested during a cult clash with a rival gang. He said one locally-made pistol and a live cartridge was recovered from the suspect. He said the successes recorded by the command since he assumed office were due to the synergy between the police and critical stakeholders in the state such as paramount rulers, community leaders and youths. Source: Guardian *Discussion on budget, protests and other issues Acting President Yemi Osinbajo, SAN, has assured the nation that President Muhammadu Buhari is hale and hearty and would return home as soon as he completes the necessary tests recommended by his doctors in the United Kingdom. Prof. Osinbajo gave the assurance on Monday when State House correspondents approached him for a chat shortly after his telephone conversation with the president. Let me first say the President is hale and hearty. I spoke to him just this afternoon and we had a fairly long conversation, he is in good shape and very chatty, the Acting President said. He disclosed that the conversation was focused on the economy, the budget and goings on in the country. The President was interested in knowing about the budget process and how far we had gone, especially with efforts aimed at taking the country out of recession. As you know we had a meeting today with the private sector on the economic recovery and growth plan and he was interested in knowing what was happening with that, with the economic recovery and growth plan and what we are doing with the private sector. And of course I informed him of what we are seeing, the protest matches and some of what the feedback is, what people are saying about the economy and all of that, Osinbajo added. On when the President would return to Nigeria and his present health status, Osinbajo said just as he has said in his letter to the National Assembly, he needs to go through a cycle of tests and once the test results are seen, he will receive medical advice. We should expect him very soon. On the health status of the President, the Acting President noted that at the appropriate time the President will be able to discuss it, especially as he is currently running tests. According to Prof. Osinbajo, before you determine your health status, you must be able to run the necessary tests, and do what doctors have asked to be done, and await the outcome of that before one can talk about any kind of health status. The Acting President also dismissed insinuations that he was under pressure to resign. I was voted for by the people of this nation, myself and Mr President, and the people of this nation have never asked us to resign. So, I am absolutely under no pressure, and the truth is that there has been absolutely no pressure from any source. *Discussion on budget, protests and other issues Acting President Yemi Osinbajo, SAN, has assured the nation that President Muhammadu Buhari is hale and hearty and would return home as soon as he completes the necessary tests recommended by his doctors in the United Kingdom. Prof. Osinbajo gave the assurance on Monday when State House correspondents approached him for a chat shortly after his telephone conversation with the president. Let me first say the President is hale and hearty. I spoke to him just this afternoon and we had a fairly long conversation, he is in good shape and very chatty, the Acting President said. He disclosed that the conversation was focused on the economy, the budget and goings on in the country. The President was interested in knowing about the budget process and how far we had gone, especially with efforts aimed at taking the country out of recession. As you know we had a meeting today with the private sector on the economic recovery and growth plan and he was interested in knowing what was happening with that, with the economic recovery and growth plan and what we are doing with the private sector. And of course I informed him of what we are seeing, the protest matches and some of what the feedback is, what people are saying about the economy and all of that, Osinbajo added. On when the President would return to Nigeria and his present health status, Osinbajo said just as he has said in his letter to the National Assembly, he needs to go through a cycle of tests and once the test results are seen, he will receive medical advice. We should expect him very soon. On the health status of the President, the Acting President noted that at the appropriate time the President will be able to discuss it, especially as he is currently running tests. According to Prof. Osinbajo, before you determine your health status, you must be able to run the necessary tests, and do what doctors have asked to be done, and await the outcome of that before one can talk about any kind of health status. The Acting President also dismissed insinuations that he was under pressure to resign. I was voted for by the people of this nation, myself and Mr President, and the people of this nation have never asked us to resign. So, I am absolutely under no pressure, and the truth is that there has been absolutely no pressure from any source. INTERVIEW w/ Acting President, today. He speaks on his telephone conversation today with PMB, and dispels a circulating rumour. pic.twitter.com/OgSSF5bWxT Government of Nigeria (@NigeriaGov) February 6, 2017 Source: NTA Corporal Michael Olujimi, a policeman attached to the Okitipupa Police Division in Ondo State, is dead after he was shot by unidentified gunmen. The sad incident occurred Saturday, at about 5:30 a.m. Olujimi was heading to the station to resume duty when the gunmen opened fire on him and escaped, immediately leaving him in a pool of his own blood and fighting for his life. He was still alive when help came and he was rushed to the hospital, sadly he did not make it. A witness spoke to Vanguard about the incident, saying; He was going to the station to resume duty this morning (yesterday) when the incident happened. We met him in a pool of blood and quickly called the station. He was not dead when we found him and rushed him to an undisclosed hospital. Robbers have invaded this town and I think the police should step up strategies to bring these culprits to book. The Okitipupa Divisional Police Officer, DSP Oluwole Ojo, when contacted by Vanguard on phone, said that he had not been adequately briefed, hence could not comment on the issue. Source: Vanguard Several police officers who have been found out to have committed grievous offences have been given the sack letter. Rwanda has dismissed 200 police officers implicated in corruption-related cases, a Police Spokesman said on Monday. According to the News Agency of Nigeria, the announcement came about two weeks after anti-corruption watchdog Transparency International ranked the East African country as the third-least corrupt in Africa, after Botswana and Cape Verde , and as the 50th least corrupt globally among 176 countries. The ranking shows the governments commitment and the will to fight corruption, Marie-Immaculee Ingabire, the Chairman of Transparency International Rwanda said. The sacked police officers included one superintendent and four chief inspectors. The war against corruption and bribery, either within the force or in other institutions, remains. The slogan is the same no mercy for corrupt officers, police spokesman Theos Badege said. In 2016, no fewer than 200 civilians and 80 police officers were arrested on corruption-related charges. President Paul Kagames regime has come under criticism for alleged human rights violations, but it has earned praise for uprooting corruption and stimulating investment. Many angry residents have threatened to burn down a police station and deal with the officers after accusing the police of a criminal act. There is tension in Omi Adio community, a suburb of Ibadan in Ido Local Government Area of Oyo state following an alleged threat to burn down a police station by some aggrieved members of the community. This came as a result of an accident that claimed the life of a commercial bus driver, Tirisimiyu Oladosu a few metres to a police check point along Ibadan-Abeokuta expressway. When journalists visited the community where the police station is located, security has been beefed up around the station, with armed mobile policemen keeping vigil to prevent break down of law and order. According to an eyewitness, the unfortunate accident which occurred around 12pm on Saturday saw the victim being crushed to death by an oncoming commercial bus with registration number Lagos AKD 07 XP. It was gathered that the deceased was said to have packed his bus with registration number DGB 620 XA by the road side and crossed to the other side of the road to meet the policemen at the check point. But, while attempting to cross over to where he packed, an oncoming commercial bus knocked him down. He was said to have died on the spot. The deceased shattered body was released to the family by the police and has been buried same day. The aggrieved persons blamed the police for the death. But the state Police Command denied the allegation, saying that the accident was not caused by its men. The commands spokesperson, ASP Adekunle Ajisebutu while speaking said the accident was not caused by men of the command. The accident was not caused by the police. The accident happened after police stop and search point. Victim reportedly packed along the road to check a mechanical fault and was about entering his vehicle after crossing to the other lane when he was knocked down by another oncoming vehicle. The police assisted in taking the victim to the hospital. Meanwhile, the offending driver has been arrested while investigation has begun. Source: Naija Loaded If youre worried about fake news, you aint seen nothing yet. Soon we may not be able to tell the difference between a fake video and a real one, even forensically. What we are seeing today is the tip of the iceberg. Fake news has already altered the world forever. Its always been a huge businessthe National Enquirer has been around since 1926. But fake news came to a head in the 2016 U.S. presidential election and, more recently, even led a Pakistani minister to threaten nuclear war. Today, the big social media sites are trying to come up with new ways to filter out the crap. [ Expand your security career horizons with these essential certifications for smart security pros. | Discover how to secure your systems with InfoWorlds Security Report newsletter. ] Ever since I learned that Hollywood was working on a method to re-create our favorite movie stars as digital doppelgangers, Ive known that our days of being able to tell real versus fake are numbered. I mean, today's live concerts feature incredibly lifelike holograms of dead rockers. Soon enough, everyone will have the capability of creating really good fake content. Adobes Project Voco lets you not only easily edit existing speech, but create new speech that sounds as if the original person said it. If you want to see how far weve come technologically, read the Verges Artificial intelligence is going to make it easier than ever to fake audio and video. Software to automate the creation of fake content has come a long way. What is reality? As it stands, we humans are bad at figuring out what is and isnt fake. We have decades of experience with email phishing, for example, to tell us were pretty awful at detecting forgeries. That only applies to old people who arent really comfortable with computers, right? Not so fast. A recent Stanford University study revealed that young folks arent much better. More than 80 percent of the tested students identified a story with the words sponsored content prominently placed as a legitimate news story. To add to the confusion, the leader of the free world is calling any news story he disagrees with fake news and a large percentage of his followers agree. Thus, you have fake news thats believed by tens of millions of people and real news disbelieved by a similar amount. Its all very confusing. I have little doubt there will come a time when even professional investigators will be unable to tell the difference between real and fake news. Validation by reputation Were left, then, to rely on the reputation of the services that provide us with news. Some political supporters might try to convince you that established news sources arent trustworthy anymore, but thats far from the truth. Sure, reporters and editors sometimes make mistakes, and occasionally outlets get tricked into into publishing incorrect information, but for the most part they do a consistent, reliable job. Part of the reason is that their operating culture has long required any fact be confirmed and cross-checked before it can be published. Citizen bloggers can publish anything they like without verification. But a legitimate news service observes quality control processes that, under normal circumstances, cannot be subverted. Theres a cost to the fact checking: speed. No one wants to be second to publish, especially when they have the facts first. But established news organizations have wrestled with such challenges for decades. Future solutions Many social media sites already use visible cues such as blue check marks to indicate that an article has been validated. In the future, we may see third-party reputation services that would function much like traditional Certification Authorities that attest to the realness of a news story or content. Who knows? You might even have an antivirus-like scanner service that you run against a displayed news story to return a rating. Right-click the website content and a reputation score comes back. Trust or lack thereof applies equally to the worlds of security and content. You have fake tech support scams calling peoples houses. You have fake law enforcement and IRS calls threatening jail time if people dont run to their closest store to buy a green card or wire the perp for payment. Its getting so that you have to be skeptical of any new claim in order to survive in this world. Perhaps well end up with a real-time Minority Report-style display we can call up whenever a reputation question arises in the digital world or otherwise. That would be the true pre-crime detector. Society runs on trust. Right now fake news and fake content are causing cultural disruption. Im betting its cyclical. Ultimately, particularly if we have new tools to help us, I am hopeful well become more trusting again. November Rain Sidwell Strategies - 1 hour ago US elections Tuesday; USDA reports Wednesday Climate activists block private jets at Amsterdam airport AP - Sat Nov 5, 7:48AM CDT Hundreds of climate protesters have blocked private jets from leaving Amsterdams Schiphol Airport in a demonstration on the eve of the COP27 United Nations climate meeting in Egypt $SPX : 3,770.55 (+1.36%) $DOWI : 32,403.22 (+1.26%) $IUXX : 10,857.03 (+1.56%) Should Investors Sweat the 2022 Midterm Elections? Young & The Invested - Sat Nov 5, 6:00AM CDT Election Day is right around the corner. And while there's plenty to be anxious about, Wall Street strategists say your portfolio shouldn't be one of them. Cotton Closes with another Triple Digit Gain Barchart - Fri Nov 4, 4:46PM CDT Front month cotton futures added triple digits to the climb on Friday. Dec cotton closed up by another 4.73%, for a weekly gain of 20.5%. The December to December spread is now an 8.56 cent premium for... CTZ22 : 86.93s (+4.73%) CTH23 : 85.67s (+4.26%) CTK23 : 84.63s (+3.21%) 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. Britain may not have officially left the European Union just yet, but that hasnt stopped one major city making a serious approach for Londons insurance and financial firms.Paris is attempting to lure businesses across the channel, post-Brexit and key bosses have even invaded London to prove their point.At the Shard in central London yesterday, more than 80 bosses gathered to be informed that France could offer them stability and that Paris will be the only remaining global city once Britains exit is complete. At the same time as the charm offensive was launched, Anne Hildago, Mayor of Paris, opened an invitation to the approximate 300,000 French nationals living in the UK capital to return to France.According to a report in the Evening Standard, the publicity efforts were led by Valerie Pecresse, president of the Paris region, who suggested that Paris could offer a foothold for insurance companies and other firms in Europe, when the UK leaves.Her argument stemmed from a belief that Britain was likely to lose its passporting rights, meaning financial firms would need a European base if they want to continue to do business without barriers. And while many insurers appear to be looking at Dublin as a first choice option because of the lack of a language barrier and its low tax economy, Pecresse was keen to alter perceptions about France, and in particular that it is heavily regulated and taxed.When we looked at comparative taxation, comparative labour laws, the difficulty for hiring or firing people, or changing the rules in between the companies, we realised that in fact it was much easier than people thought in France, than for example in Germany, the publication quoted her as saying.We are a very stable choice, we are very near London. The market is in Europe, the clients are in Europe, the tech is in Paris, the quality of life is in Paris.However, the attempts to win favour on this side of the Channel did not go down well with everyone. UKIP MP Patrick OFlynn described the move as a laughable attempt and said Paris is a fast declining city.Now we want to know your opinion? Should Britain lose its passporting rights, as predicted, where should insurers look to set up in Europe? Paris? Dublin? Or somewhere else? Leave a comment below with your thoughts. Warren Buffett, the American investor and business conglomerate, knows a thing or two about global success and now the billionaire has set his sights on insurance expansion with the staple of his fortune, Berkshire Hathaway In a statement released earlier today, Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance Company (BHSI), in coordination with its affiliate Berkshire Hathaway International Insurance Limited (BHIIL), announced that it has established a new office in London and filled key executive roles, naming Richard Nathan as head of property lines; Patrick Brown as head of executive & professional liability; and Andrew Walker as head of claims, for BHSI in the UK and Southern Europe.The move to the new office gives the company a base from which to serve both customers and brokers across southern Europe and the UK. Notable target markets include Spain, Italy, Ireland and France.We are pleased to expand our specialty insurance operations with a new London office and a growing team of professionals with excellent capabilities and characterWe are pleased to expand our specialty insurance operations with a new London office and a growing team of professionals with excellent capabilities and character, said Tom Bolt, president, UK and Southern Europe, BHSI. Richard and Patrick will deliver bespoke specialty solutions backed by financial strength, while Andrew will ensure that excellent in-house claims expertise is available for customers from day one.The new office, located at 8 Fenchurch Place, in London, will be home to Nathan, who has more than 25 years of industry experience and was most recently corporate property manager for UK & Europe at Allied World . It will also welcome Brown who joins from Travelers Europe Ltd, where he was head of management liability and financial institutions; and Walker who has worked in commercial lines claims for 30 years, and was most recently head of casualty claims in Europe for AIG Europe Ltd. The specialty insurance arm of the Jardine Lloyd Thompson (JLT) Group announced that the firm has appointed a new senior vice president to help with risk assessment and management duties in the power sector.According to a statement from the company, JLT Specialty USA has appointed Robert Moussaid to head its power sector line to leverage his industry expertise culled over more than 20 years.The new executive will be based in Dallas.Roberts experience in the power and utility industry will prove to be invaluable to our clients and our team, JLT chief executive Mike Rice said.Moussaid honed his power sector skills in Energy Future Holdings, while he built up credentials in the industry mutuals field serving with Aegis, FM Global NEIL, and EMANI. His skills set also covers management of global liability and property, executive liability, builders risk and captive programs.He has a Finance degree from John Carroll University. Members of the Montana Senate have expressed support for a proposed measure aimed at preventing insurance companies from cancelling policies over zero-dollar claims.The bill has been tabled in a senate committee for several weeks with carriers currently able to cancel policies, prevent renewal or hike rates over customer inquiries for a potential claim, even if the company did not shell out for a payout related to the incident.Whats particularly ironic about this is most policies require you to report any potential claims, whether anything comes of it or not. I dont think its fair. I dont think its right, Senator Mary McNally told the Billings Gazette.Further, Senator McNally noted that the problem first surfaced when 100s of policies were cancelled in Billings over inquiries made after several hailstorms hit the area based on calculations of risk and not actual payouts.If passed, the bill would apply to a diverse range of policies, including homeowners, auto, commercial property and professional liability. In just one week, President Trump told America that pharmaceutical companies were getting away with murder, sending their stocks plummeting before meeting with industry CEOs and their stocks rebounding.Within the same timeframe, Trump said hed eliminate 75% to 80% of FDA regulations to bring pharma manufacturing jobs back to the US.All of this may be music to the ears of Trump supporters, but for directors and officers (D&Os) this type of talk creates risk, according to a reputation insurer.I believe the Trump administration creates risk for D&Os by these unpredictable behaviours, said Nir Kossovsky, CEO of Steel City Re.We (Steel City Re) have been approached through brokers by three different industry groups representing the largest firms who have collectively deemed that theyre potentially at risk for being forced to do something to meet the expectations of stakeholders.Kossovsky listed the lines of business he thought were most vulnerable to a Trump tirade as being heavy manufacturing, heavy machinery, industrial services, energy, minerals, consumer manufacturing and consumer durables.He puts them at risk by creating expectations that they may not be able to fulfil the nature of a reputation risk is the gap between expectation and an attainable reality, Kossovsky said.A crisis in the current environment is imminent, I dont think theres a D&O on the face of the planet right now who could say I have nothing to worry about, I dont need to be proactive, I dont need to reinforce my own credibility.Dampening the credibility, and therefore the effect, of Trump and the White House is one method of risk mitigation Kossovsky recommended.Creating a collective voice advocating a dissenting narrative in the form of he (Trump) says this but what he really means is that, or you know when he says this he doesnt mean it, were some of the counter communications efforts Kossovsky advised.Undercutting without redirecting was how Kossovsky described one method and added the those who know better will ultimately win the day, line as a supplementary line of defense.Once your office is on fire, is it time to buy sprinklers? Sure you can get the hoses out, but there will be damage, he explained. The notion of reputation in particular is a game of psychology - reputation is all about winning the hearts and minds of stakeholders. Insurance technology (insurtech), as well as two other emerging fields in the financial technology (fintech) arena - regulatory and blockchain technologies - will take the spotlight during a trade delegations visit to Australasia in March. The UKs Department for International Trade (DIT) will send a delegation consisting of 11 successful UK fintech companies to promote fintech opportunities in Australia and New Zealand, CryptoCoinsNews reported. The trade mission will be participated in by the following 11 UK companies: Aire; Clarus; ClearMacro; FundApps; Ingage; Iwoca; Neyber; ObjectTech; Onfido; Sybenetix; and Tradle. The participants will hold a five-day program from March 20-24 that will include a number of events, such as workshops and meetings. Want the latest insurance industry news first? Sign up for our completely free newsletter service now. The fintech delegates, accompanied by regulators and government officials, will visit local startups and hubs in Sydney and Melbourne. They will then go to Auckland in New Zealand. We look forward to welcoming our first UK fintech delegation to showcase the opportunities that exist in Australia and New Zealand for UK companies and to foster greater collaboration between our countries in this rapidly developing and growing sector, said Michael Ward, director for UK Trade and Investment. The delegates will also pitch to potential customers and partners, including venture capital firms and financial institutions; meet with ministers and regulators; and interact with UK companies with operations in the local fintech community. Related stories: Tech to complement not replace insurance Brokers face considerable change thanks to tech Authorities say a massive industrial fire has destroyed several vehicles and a building at a car dealership near Syracuse, N.Y. The Onondaga County Sheriffs Office says 911 dispatchers fielded several calls around 9:10 p.m. Thursday reporting heavy fire and smoke coming from the back side of the building at the Hot Rides Auto Sales & Service dealership in the town of Salina. Crews from several fire departments were called in to battle the blaze. Mattydale Fire Chief Timothy Zacholl says strong winds and icy conditions slowed efforts to put out the fire. Firefighters put the fire out around midnight. No one was injured. Officials on Friday said the building is considered a complete loss. Police say the owner stated he recently had furnace work done, but the cause of the fire is unknown. Information from: The Post-Standard Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Topics New York Vermont Governor Phil Scott has announced that workers compensation insurance will cost less for most Vermont employers when new rates approved by the Vermont Department of Financial Regulation (DFR) become effective on April 1. This is Vermonts first rate decrease in two years and represents the largest rate decrease in more than eight years. Gov. Scott applauded the good news for Vermont workers, their employers and the overall Vermont job market in a recent press release issued by the Vermont DFR announcing the change. I am pleased to announce this substantial decrease in workers compensation rates, which will directly lower the cost of doing business in Vermont, Gov. Scott said in the release. These considerable savings will contribute to making Vermont a more affordable place to do business and creates more opportunity for businesses to thrive, grow their operations and support more workers. In the voluntary market, which is the competitive market offering the most favorable rates, loss costs will decrease by an average of 7.9 percent, the release stated. Loss costs are the primary component of workers compensation rates. Approximately 89 percent of Vermont employers receive voluntary market coverage. In the assigned risk market the market for employers unable to obtain coverage in the voluntary market rates will also decrease by an average of 8 percent, the release added. This substantial rate reduction is a clear indication that Vermonts workers compensation market has significantly improved as of late, said Vermont DFR Commissioner Michael Pieciak. This improvement is driven by the commitment of Vermont business owners to improve the safety of their work places and the quality of medical care provided to an injured worker. Rate changes vary by industry and classification. Significant reductions for two Vermont industries are seen in dairy farm operations, which will see an overall decrease in rates of almost 10 percent, while rates for ski areas will be 12.3 percent lower, the release stated. Source: Vermont Department of Financial Regulation Topics Trends Legislation Workers' Compensation Talent Vermont Chubb announced the promotion of Steve Parry, currently claims director for UK and Ireland, Operations and Integration, to the role of director of Claims, Europe and Eurasia & Africa. In his new role, Parry will have overall responsibility for strategy and delivery of the companys claims service in these two regions. He brings over 30 years of insurance industry experience, of which the last 10 have been with Chubb in positions of increasing responsibility, the company said in a statement. Before assuming his current position in January 2016, he served as head of UK and Ireland Claims from 2012 to 2016. Parry joined the company in 2006 as head of Property, Energy and Technical Lines Claims for Europe, and previously held a range of claims management positions at AIG Europe. Parry will continue to be based in London and will report to Jalil Rehman, chief business operations officer and executive vice president, Europe, with a matrix reporting line to Andrew McBride, executive vice president of Claims for Overseas General Insurance. Parry succeeds Peter Murray who, after a distinguished 40-year career in the insurance industry, will retire this year. Murray joined the company in 1999 as claims director of ACE Global Markets. In 2001, he was promoted to his current role, which he has held ever since. Earlier in his career, he spent 22 years at Lloyds Claims Office, in a number of claims technical and management roles. During his career at Chubb and at Lloyds, Murray has played an active role in a number of Lloyds market committees and London claims reform initiatives. Murray will work closely with Parry and McBride over the coming months to ensure a smooth handover. Parrys appointment remains subject to regulatory approval. Steves breadth and depth of experience and his proven leadership of the claims function in our biggest European market position him perfectly for this important role as we continue to build a market-leading claims proposition to support the future needs of our clients and partners, said Andrew Kendrick, regional president, Europe at Chubb. Over the past two decades, Peter has been a trusted, dependable and astute partner to me, to our boards and executive team, and to the whole company. He leaves with my sincere thanks for an outstanding contribution to the organization and very best wishes for his retirement, Kendrick added. Steve brings impressive technical and market experience and a deep commitment to delivering a superior and market-leading claims service, said Andrew McBride, executive vice president of Claims, Overseas General Insurance at Chubb. McBride thanked Murray for his outstanding contribution, not only to Chubb but also to the wider industry. He has provided his valued leadership and direction to a range of major loss events and transformational market changes over many years. Source: Chubb Related: Topics Claims Europe Chubb Prem Watsas Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd. is expected to raise about $500 million for its new African investment fund, attracting less than its original goal as investor interest in the region proved weaker than anticipated, according to people familiar with the matter. The Toronto-based insurer sought to raise as much as $1 billion at $10 a share for Fairfax Africa Holdings Corp. in an initial public offering on the Toronto Stock Exchange, according to a regulatory filing in December. Fairfax said it had secured as much as $416 million in commitments for the African venture from both its own funds and partners, including the Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System, a Canadian pension fund and CI Investments Inc., according to the filing. The order book [was] expected to officially close later Monday [Feb. 6], and the total may change as more orders [were] recorded through the day, the people said, asking not to be identified as the details arent public. A representative for Fairfax was not immediately available for comment. Fairfax Africa is the insurers second public fund focused on a specific region. In January 2015, Fairfax raised more than $1 billion for Fairfax India Holdings Corp., including $500 million in commitments from its own funds and other cornerstone investors. Investor interest in Fairfax Africa proved more muted than its Indian fund because of political and economic uncertainty in the region, said the people. The new African fund will invest in private and public equity as well as debt of companies operating on the continent, with a view to acquiring control or significant positions, Fairfax said in a statement in December announcing its launch. Fairfax has made six investments in Africa, according to the regulatory filing. The company acquired a 7.4 percent stake in Commercial International Bank Egypt SAE from Actis LLP for $330 million in May 2014, the filing shows. It also made investments in agricultural company Afgri Operations Ltd., Africa Re, APR Energy and others, the company said. Fairfax India has deployed about $1.1 billion, including acquiring a minority stake in the Bangalore International Airport in March 2016 for roughly $323 million, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Watsa said in a statement announcing the IPO that Africa will be transformed in the coming years by an emerging middle class, improved political stability and governance, and increased integration with global markets. RBC Capital Markets led the share sale. Related: Copyright 2022 Bloomberg. Topics Funding Social Security numbers and other personal information of up to 1.87 million Michigan workers may have been compromised, the state said on Feb. 3. The problem stemmed from a software update to Michigans troubled unemployment computer system, state officials said. For roughly 3 1/2 months, it gave third-party payroll vendors and employers unauthorized access to names, wage information and Social Security numbers for a big chunk of the workforce in the state. There is no evidence at this time of any wrongdoing by anyone who had the ability to see the personal information, though the investigation continues to ensure the peace of mind for residents potentially affected, said Dave Murray, spokesman for the Unemployment Insurance Agency. The number of people affected will not be known until the probe is finished. Those at risk include employees whose payroll is processed by one of the 31 third-party vendors that work with the agency 43 percent of Michigans nearly 4.4 million payroll workers. The software update was done Oct. 10. State officials said a vulnerability was identified Monday by one of the payroll companies; the state blocked unauthorized access that day. We are working diligently, 24 hours a day, right now to continue this investigation to determine just exactly who did access this information, who had access to it, said Caleb Buhs, spokesman for the Department of Technology, Management and Budget. He said only authorized users can get into the Michigan Data Automated System payroll experts who are used to handling this type of sensitive information. Officials said if a breach is confirmed, those affected will be notified immediately. They urged people whose employers have payroll vendors to be on the lookout for identity theft by monitoring their personal financial statements for suspicious activity and requesting a free credit report. The computer program, MiDAS, was created by Fast Enterprises of Centennial, Colorado, and brought online in 2012 as part of a modernization of the states unemployment benefits and tax system. The softwares robo-adjudication feature is under scrutiny after it contributed to at least 20,000 people being wrongly flagged for unemployment fraud, in part because of a lack of involvement by state staff in such determinations. As part of a lawsuit settled on Feb. 2, the Unemployment Insurance Agency agreed to make policy changes. Another suit, which seeks damages for people who were assessed high penalties and suffered other repercussions, is pending in the Michigan Court of Appeals. Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Topics Michigan Attorneys for nine patients have filed a lawsuit against Iowa Methodist Medical Center, blaming the hospital for a pharmacy techs theft of potent painkillers from hundreds of vials. The lawsuit accuses the hospital of being negligent in its supervision of the pharmacy tech who stole fentanyl and Dilaudid during a six-week period last year, the Des Moines Register reported. The tech used a syringe to remove drugs from the vials and replace it with saline. The tech was fired Oct. 7 and the thefts reported to law enforcement, hospital officials said. The hospital contacted more than 700 patients last October after learning of the tampering, fearing the patients might not have received full doses of the drugs. Attorneys for the patients said there are 185 former patients whose pain medication was diluted who are willing to sue. More are expected to join the lawsuit in the coming weeks, said Courtney Rowley, a lawyer for the patients. As each week passes, people have been coming forward, including employees of the hospital, to talk about what they know and the information they have, Rowley said. This was a systematic failure, an institutional failure, a failure to people who trusted this medical institution. Hospital spokeswoman Amy Varcoe has denied several allegations in the lawsuit, including the charge that patients suffered extreme pain during the period of the medication thefts. Although pain medicine was diluted, she said, no patients during that period reported suffering from extreme pain. But one of the suing patients, Des Moines police officer Dusty Chapline, said when she gave birth to her daughter in September at the hospital, she had to receive a second epidural after the first was ineffective, causing some of the worst pain Ive ever felt in my life. Two other patients believe they contracted hepatitis C at the hospital during the time of the thefts. The liver infection can be spread through use of dirty needles. The lawsuit also says the hospital has not refunded patients charges for diluted narcotics, but Varcoe said Friday that they hospital system did reverse those charges for affected patients. Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Topics Lawsuits Fraud Iowa Five of the countrys 100 worst congested areas for trucks are in the state of Ohio, and three of those areas are in Cincinnati, according to a study. The American Transportation Research Institute has ranked Interstate 71 at I-75 junction north of the Brent Spence Bridge as No. 5, the highest Ohio area with truck-traffic bottlenecks on the organizations list. Two other areas in Cincinnati are listed as No. 35 and No. 84, respectively: The I-75 at I-74 interchange and the I-75/I-71 interchange at Interstate 275. The I-71/I-70 interchange in Columbus is listed as No. 67. Interstate 75 at U.S. Route 35 in Dayton is No. 50. Higher levels of distracted driving and poor driving habits are among reasons for Ohios presence on the list, Tom Balzer, president and chief executive of the Ohio Trucking Association, and others told the Hamilton-Middletown Journal-News. Thats the thing about traffic, Balzer said. Its all a chain reaction. The problem requires attention to not just infrastructure, but to highways in particular and expanding those roads whenever possible, Balzer said. Butler County Commissioner T.C. Rodgers, who will serve as president of the Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana Regional Council of Government for 2017, has told the newspaper that his goal is to get funding for the project to replace the Brent Spence Bridge. The bridge connecting Cincinnati and northern Kentucky is considered functionally obsolete, but theres been disagreement on how to fund an estimated $2.6 billion project. Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Topics USA Auto Ohio Attune, the data-enabled small business platform established by American International Group, Hamilton Insurance Group and affiliates of Two Sigma Investments has named James Hobson, currently chief operating officer of online small business lender OnDeck, to be its chief executive officer. Hobson, who will step down from his role at OnDeck on March 15, will be responsible for achieving Attunes goal of using data science and advanced technology to streamline the submission and insurance underwriting process for U.S. small businesses. If its possible to describe an appointment as a perfect fit, then James and Attune meet that description, said Attune Chairman Brian Duperreault. His deep experience with using technology to enable the growth of small businesses aligns with our objective of making it easier for companies in that segment to get the protection they need to succeed. Attune is combining Hamiltons small business underwriting with AIGs scale, data and distribution network. Two Sigma is handling the technology and data science capabilities. The plan is for Attune to partner with retail and wholesale insurance brokers, agents and other intermediaries, to provide small business owners with a broad, flexible range of products. When three companies of the caliber of AIG, Hamilton and Two Sigma come together, you pay attention. Attune has already transformed how a small business owners policy is issued, and I am excited to build upon this early success, said Hobson. As COO of OnDeck, Hobson oversaw the companys development into an industry leader in online small business lending. His responsibilities included operations, product, analytics, credit, risk management, platform solutions and business development. Hobson played integral roles in stewarding OnDeck through an IPO in 2014 and launching OnDecks landmark partnership with JP Morgan Chase in 2015. Before joining OnDeck, Hobson served as senior vice president, Technology Operations for iQor, Inc., a private equity-backed global business process outsourcing company. At iQor, he helped to build a platform for commercializing iQors proprietary suite of business applications and managed a global technology team. Prior to iQor, Hobson co-founded BuyYourFriendADrink.com, which was sold to LivingSocial in 2009. Early in his career, he was a consultant at McKinsey & Co. The Attune website, attuneinsurance.com, is currently a restricted site. Topics Commercial Lines Tech Business Insurance Marsh & McLennan Agency LLC (MMA) has acquired iaCONSULTING, a Lubbock, Texas-based employee benefits consulting firm. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Founded in 1994, iaCONSULTING offers a wide range of employee health and benefits-related services to midsize employers in Texas. iaCONSULTING CEO Bill Hartsfield and the rest of the firms employees will join MMA and operate out of MMAs existing office in Lubbock. Marsh & McLennan Agency LLC is a subsidiary of Marsh established in 2008 to serve as a platform for the middle market. In 2015, it expanded its national footprint into Canada. MMA offers commercial property, casualty, personal lines, and employee benefits to midsize businesses and individuals across North America. Source: Marsh & McLennan Agency LLC Topics Mergers & Acquisitions Texas The Tennessee Valley Authority finished a four-day trial Thursday in which environmental groups accuse the utilitys power plant outside Nashville, Tennessee, of illegally polluting the Cumberland River with coal ash. Still, a decision in the case may not come for months. The Tennessee Clean Water Network and the Tennessee Scenic Rivers Association claim coal ash ponds from TVAs Gallatin coal-fired power plant are seeping pollution into the Cumberland River, violating the Clean Water Act and permits. TVA attorneys wrapped up their defense Thursday in Nashville federal court with testimony that it could cost roughly $2 billion to excavate and truck out the coal ash stored at the federal utilitys coal-fired power plant in Gallatin, about 40 miles from Nashville. Thats compared with $230 million to keep the waste on site and cap it, testified John Kammeyer, TVA vice president for civil projects. Environmental groups want the waste at the 1950s-era Gallatin Fossil Plant dug up and taken elsewhere. TVA has said its cheaper and may be safer and more environmentally friendly to keep it where it is, although the utility says it has not made a decision yet. U.S. District Judge Waverly Crenshaw in Nashville set a mid-April deadline for more court filings, putting any decision in the case at least a few months out. In one of the few comments showing his perspective, Crenshaw said Wednesday that the environmental groups need to cite more specific evidence in later filings. The trial follows a related 2015 state lawsuit by Tennessee environmental officials against the nations largest public utility, which powers 9 million customers in parts of seven Southern states. The environmental groups dont think the state required sufficient changes from TVA at the plant to safeguard against contamination of the Cumberland River. An environmental investigation related to the state case is ongoing. Environmental groups on Thursday drew testimony from state environmental geologist James Clark, who said he was told at a recent TVA meeting that multiple testing wells drilled into the coal ash pits showed the groundwater contacted the ash, and some wells registered concentrations of arsenic. They also contend a coal ash pond that has been sitting unused for decades has been leaking toxic coal ash through sinkholes into the river in violation of the Clean Water Act. They say the coal ash impoundment let 27 billion gallons of coal ash seep from sinkholes into groundwater and the river from 1970 to 1978, and leaks continue. Its unfortunate that we had to go to these lengths to enforce the Clean Water Act, said Beth Alexander, an attorney for Southern Environmental Law Center representing one of the groups. We expect that TVA and other governmental entities will be more protective of the environment without the citizens having to call them into court. TVA attorneys acknowledged the past pollution problems, but said the Gallatin plant is doing nothing illegal and environmental groups provided no proof otherwise. I think TVA maintains that we are following state and federal regulations, including our permit at Gallatin, TVA spokesman Scott Brooks said. We think our witnesses over the last two days have shown our diligence and our intent to do the right thing at Gallatin. TVA says its investing billions of dollars in safer ways to store coal ash and other waste from burning coal across its operations. That includes converting all of its wet coal ash storage to dry storage, a decision made after a 2008 coal ash disaster at TVAs Kingston Fossil Plant in Tennessee. More than 5 million cubic yards of sludge from the plant spilled into the Emory and Clinch rivers that year, destroying homes in a nearby waterfront community. Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Topics Pollution Tennessee Authorities say more than two dozen kids attending a science competition in north Florida fell ill and were taken to the hospital after eating a catered lunch. The Columbia County Sheriffs Office said on its Facebook page that 28 children and 2 adults were taken on Saturday to hospitals due to suspected food poisoning. Authorities say people fell ill at Florida Gateway College in Lake City at a middle school Science Olympiad was being held. The Florida Department of Health is investigating. Mark Lander of the health department told reporters that the affected people should recover quickly. Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Topics Florida Recent Florida Supreme Court decisions and ongoing abuse in Floridas insurance market have led a ratings company to change the criteria it uses when rating insurers in the state. The announcement comes as insurers get ready to announce their 2016 annual reports that could indicate unfavorable results for many. Ohio-based Demotech which rates 397 companies nationwide, 57 of which are in Florida said Monday that it has suspended ratings guidelines it uses in Florida due to what it is calling an uncertain operating environment in the state. The ratings firm says no Florida insurers it rates are in danger of failing but there are about 10 to 15 that could see downgrades in March. Demotech said it will eventually revise its general guidance but, in the meantime, it is advising carriers individually to ensure they are adequately capitalized to handle the now uncertain operating environment. Pricing insurance policies is a prospective process. Carriers and their actuaries price tomorrows policies based upon the claims and experience from yesterday and today, the ratings agency said in a statement. When changes occur in claims procedures, practices, and protocols, the utility of historical experience is diminished. Similarly, with insurance policies issued for 12-month periods, court decisions that markedly change claims procedures, practices, and protocols mid-term are problematic to carriers, insurer rating agencies, and actuaries. The uncertain operating climate that concerns Demotech refers to Floridas escalating assignment of benefits crisis that has caused the number of litigated water loss claims to skyrocket over the past few years, particularly for the state-run insurer Citizens. The problem has begun affecting Floridas private market insurers as well, with many pulling out of areas of the state where the abuse is the most rampant and filing for rate increases. In addition, two court cases decided at the end of 2016 that Demotech said reversed industry claims procedures that remain intact in other operating environments will create unanticipated challenges for insurers that Demotech said it now needs to take into consideration to properly rate companies operating in Florida. Claims procedures, processes, and protocols utilized in the past must be replicable in the future if loss experience is to be predictable and claims handling scalable, Demotech said in a statement. The [AOB) situation in Florida is unlike any other in the United States and two recent court decisions, Johnson (September 2016) and Sebo (December 2016), have also revised claims procedures, practices, and protocols from the industry standards that previously existed to a Florida only standard. The state high courts ruling in December in the case of American Home Assurance Co. v. Sebo overturned a lower courts decision that sided with the insurer. The case stemmed from a 2007 concurrent loss claim, where the Florida Supreme Court instead ruled for the homeowner in the case (Sebo). Lawyers specializing in insurance law said at the time that the case could lead to the reopening of past claims where coverage was denied. In the other case, Johnson v. Omega Insurance Co., the Florida Supreme Court disagreed with a lower courts ruling that Omega wasnt responsible for paying the insureds attorneys fees because it didnt act in bad faith when it wrongfully denied benefits for the insured and later paid the claim. The Supreme Court said that though the insurer righted the situation, it was at fault for initially denying the claim and therefore should be responsible for the insureds attorneys fees. Demotech said no carrier can be prepared for the impact of the Johnson and Sebo cases, which were less than 100 days apart, being superimposed on the challenges associated with an AOB protocol unlike that of any other jurisdiction. Demotech said it must now undertake a review of its protocols to respond to the implicit albeit yet unquantified changes in the operating environment. Joseph Petrelli, president and CEO of Demotech, said the company has not yet determined what the new ratings guidelines will be, but it will be watching the Florida Legislature when it resumes in March and would certainly take any legislation that addresses these issues into account when establishing them. The operating environment in Florida is not the same as it was and is not the same as other jurisdictions so we need to respond, Petrelli said. We are not 100 percent certain what the evolution will be it is a fluid situation. However, we know the situation is not better today than it was several months ago, and we need to have a suspension of guidance while these situations play out. Petrelli emphasized, however, that the changes do not mean the ratings company will no longer rate Florida insurers; rather it is looking at each company individually and providing guidance on how each insurer can prepare financially for the impact that increased claims could have on its surplus. We are still rating companies and doing everything that we currently do, he said. But [Florida insurers] now operate in a jurisdiction where the situation has changed. We dont want to operate with one hand behind our back and too many things have changed for us to use the same ratings guidance. He said the companies Demotech rates currently have adequate reserves to handle losses from the catastrophe events of 2016, including Hurricanes Hermine and Matthew. However, those storms coupled with the changing market will have an impact on company balance sheets for 2016. [2016 catastrophes] eroded their surplus and after that had been eroded there was the Johnson and Sebo cases, he said. No one is in danger of going under, but that being said we have standards that are higher than just not going under. Demotech is encouraging the insurers it rates that experienced significant losses from 2016 storms and any other unaccounted for losses to take advantage of the Statutory Statement of Accounting Principles Number 72 (SSAP 72), which provides insurers with the opportunity to address financial matters before Feb. 28. Insurers can use the SSAP to infuse capital into their surplus to improve their year-end results. Petrelli said there are about 10 to 15 Florida companies that could see downgrades in March, but the company will not issue any downgrades before then. We will be doing downgrades and upgrades in March in response to year end results we have taken that position now. Even though we have a pretty good idea what those results will be, [insurers] have the ability to change those based on SSAP so we are waiting for that to come out, he said. In addition, Demotech will be evaluating and implementing revised reinsurance evaluation procedures for all catastrophe exposed property insurance carriers countrywide prior to the start of the 2017 storm season. The company said the revised reinsurance evaluation procedures will be more stringent than the procedures in the suspended guidance. Accordingly, they may be phased in over time. Demotech will continue to provide all carriers in catastrophe prone jurisdictions with objective catastrophe reinsurance evaluation criteria and our initial thoughts on the review and analysis process of vertical and horizontal catastrophe reinsurance programs for the 2017 storm season in all jurisdictions., the companys statement said. Topics Carriers Catastrophe Florida Claims Reinsurance What the final two years of California Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones will entail is among the topics to be discussed during a conference in Southern California in March. The WIAA Education and Research Foundation will present a conference titled Challenges, Opportunities and Transformational Leadership for insurance professionals on March 23 at the Marriott Irvine in Irvine. Senior executives from the California Department of Insurance will talk about Jones last two years in office. Conference attendees will also hear from experts about changes affecting the insurance industry as well as how to take advantage of opportunities made available by those changes. Speakers include: Richard Kerr, founder and CEO of MarketScout, giving a big picture view of the insurance industry nationally and worldwide. Richard Kerr, founder and CEO of MarketScout, giving a big picture view of the insurance industry nationally and worldwide. Bill Hartnett, president of Hartnett Advisors, will give a talk titled: From the Flintstones to the Jetsons: Is Technology Making Insurance Obsolete. His presentation will explore how rapid advances are combining to give consumers and businesses new options. Michael Jans, with Agency Revolution, will discuss how many agents are still relying on old school ways to communicate with their customers and how insurance may be getting left behind by the fast-changing consumer. James Keating, chairman and CEO of The Keating Group, will discuss how the various trends with technology and other disrupters will require new approaches to management. George Mueller, deputy commissioner of the enforcement branch of the California Department of Insurance, and Beth Ossino, claims manager of Golden Bear Insurance Co., will talk about the current enforcement program for the CDI. Joel Laucher, a CDI chief deputy of will discuss the major issues facing the CDI and present the main agenda for the remaining two years of Jones tenure. John Finston, CDIs general counsel, will cover significant actions by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners and other national and international actions that will impact legislative and regulatory agendas in California and the West. The conference has been approved for five hours of Continuing Education credits. For more information or to register for the conference call (916) 443-4221 or visit www.WIAAconference.com. Topics California Training Development NFP Corp. has acquired Portland, Ore.-based Mattecheck & Associates Inc. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Bill Mattecheck, principal of the firm, will become a senior director of NFP and report to John Hohman, managing director. Mattecheck is an employee benefits consultant that focuses on group medical plans for employers based in the Pacific Northwest, with supplementary offerings in ancillary benefit lines and retirement planning. Mattecheck has been a member of NFPs Benefits Partners producer group since 2012 and is also a member of NFPs retirement plan advisory group. NFP is an insurance broker and consultant that provides employee benefits, property/casualty, retirement and private client solutions. Topics Mergers & Acquisitions Oregon American Family Insurance has launched KnowYourDrive, a new usage-based insurance program, with technology from connected-car company Automatic. KnowYourDrive is available this month in Arizona and Indiana, with more states set to be announced, according to American Family. Members, who will get an initial five percent discount for enrolling, collect data through an on-board device and visualize it through an American Family-branded, Automatic-powered smartphone app. "The app provides information about driving habits, and tips and advice on how to improve their driving," says Kelly Lien, American Family VP of personal lines product management. American Family's previous forays into usage-based insurance included the Teen Safe Driver program, which used cameras to help parents manage teen drivers. That program has been sunsetted, Lien says, as American Family began to explore this type of program. "Insurance is a fairly low touch-point industry, and this allows us to establish a deeper connection with customers," Lien says. "We're always looking for interactions we can have outside the bill or the claim." Benno Suter Hevin Demir In the court decision A-2675/2016, dated October 25 2016, the Swiss Federal Administrative Court decided in favour of the Swiss Federal Customs Administration (SFCA) concerning an import VAT adjustment of more than CHF 100 million ($99.2 million) and late payment interest of CHF 924,854 for imports that occurred between 2009 and 2014. The court backed the application of the deductive method but did not address whether the SFCA had created a legally non-existent distinction between a domestic and non-domestic importer. Company A is the non-Swiss established purchasing company of the international C group. Company A is Swiss VAT registered. Company C is the local Swiss sales company of the C group. The criminal investigation team of the SFCA discovered that the VAT value for imports that took place between 2009 and 2014 was based on the invoice from the foreign supplier to Company A rather than the actual market value. Usually, where the goods are imported in fulfilment of a sales or commission transaction, the import VAT value in Switzerland is calculated on the remuneration (Swiss VAT Law, Article 54, paragraph 1(b)). In this case, however, Company A failed to prove a direct supply from its foreign vendor and thus performed the import in its own name and not part of a sales or commission transaction. In the court decision, the organising of the transport to Switzerland and the transition of economic disposal, provided the predominant arguments to the Federal Administrative Court. The decision also included parts of the criminal investigation team's report containing several interviews with those responsible for logistics and tax at Company A and Company C. The SFCA decided that the correct market price is the sales price from A to C minus 10%. This deductive method is also mentioned in the guidelines, VAT information 06, of the Swiss Federal Tax Authorities. This interpretation has now been affirmed by the Federal Administrative Court. The Federal Administrative Court deliberately left open the question as to whether the practice of the SFCA creates a legally non-existing distinction between established and non-established importers in Switzerland. With regard to the late payment interest, the court argued that the exemption according to Article 87, paragraph 2 of the Swiss VAT law did not apply because the Administrative Court concluded that there was no proof of an error on the authorities' side. The Administrative Court disagreed with the argument that the import customs office failed to challenge the declared import VAT value while challenging other aspects such as the HS Tariff number and preferential proof of origin in previous imports. The company has appealed against the decision to the Swiss Federal Court. In the meantime, companies with similar supply chains should assess the potential impacts of the decision. Benno Suter (bsuter@deloitte.ch) and Hevin Demir (hedemir@deloitte.ch) Deloitte Tel: +41 58 279 6366 and +41 58 279 6902 Website: www.deloitte.ch Dicembre nero per le vendite al dettaglio. Lo rivela l'Istat, secondo cui a dicembre 2017 le vendite al dettaglio hanno registrato una diminuzione, rispetto al mese precedente, dello 0,3% sia in valore sia in volume. In particolare, rivela lo studio, sono diminuite sia le vendite di beni alimentari sia quelle di beni non alimentari (rispettivamente dello 0,2% e dello 0,3%, in valore e in volume). Andamento trimestrale alterno Considerando l'andamento trimestrale, nel periodo ottobre-dicembre l'indice complessivo registra, rispetto al trimestre precedente, una variazione positiva dello 0,1% in valore e una flessione dello 0,2% in volume. Nello stesso periodo, per le vendite di beni alimentari si rileva un incremento dello 0,2% in valore e una diminuzione dello 0,5% in volume; sostanzialmente stabile l'andamento dei beni non alimentari (-0,1% in valore, invariato il volume). Meno del 2016 Rispetto a dicembre 2016, prosegue Istat, le vendite al dettaglio registrano una flessione dello 0,1% in valore e dello 0,9% in volume. Nello stesso periodo quelle di prodotti alimentari aumentano dell'1,2% in valore e diminuiscono dello 0,4% in volume, mentre le vendite di prodotti non alimentari registrano una diminuzione per entrambi gli aggregati (rispettivamente -0,7% e -1,1%). Crescita modesta Il 2017 si chiude quindi con una crescita delle vendite modesta (+0,2%), sintesi di un aumento dell'1,4% per la grande distribuzione (all'interno della quale emerge la crescita del 3,2% dei discount di alimentari) e una diminuzione dello 0,8% delle vendite delle imprese operanti su piccole superfici. Esport in crescita Buone notizie sul fronte esportazioni. In un quadro di forte espansione del commercio mondiale, prosegue l'Istat, continua l'andamento positivo delle esportazioni Italiane in tutti i settori eccetto quello manifatturiero, che ha registrato invece qualche segnale di rallentamento. In presenza di un aumento del potere di acquisto delle famiglie, e aumentata la propensione al risparmio. L'inflazione si conferma moderata e in ripiegamento. What Is a Maximum Wage? A maximum wage is a price ceiling imposed on how much compensation a worker can receive in a given period of time. It can be imposed as an absolute level or as a ratio between high and low wage earners. If it is a binding constraint (below the market wage), then it will tend to result in the usual problems associated with price ceilings and similar price controls, though other policy considerations may outweigh these known social costs. A maximum wage can be contrasted with a minimum wage or the price floor imposed on what employers can pay their workers. Key Takeaways The maximum wage is the most compensation that a firm can pay a worker over a given period of time. Economists believe that such an artificially imposed ceiling on wages causes market inefficiencies and is undesirable in a capitalist free market. Maximum wages may be imposed as a signal of social virtue to oppose income inequality or to favor the interests of certain politically influential businesses and industries over others. Understanding the Maximum Wage As a price ceiling, a maximum wage may be binding (below the market wage) or not (above the market wage). In the latter case, the maximum wage will have no actual effect on wages paid or other market outcomes. In the case of a binding maximum wage, the predictable result will be a shortage of high-skilled, high earning workers, who cannot be compensated for the full value they create for their employers and naturally reduce the amount of labor time and effort they will be willing to offer on the market in response. These workers may individually reduce the amount of marginal effort they put into their jobs and some may exit the market for labor entirely to pursue self-employment, retirement, leisure, or to enter other labor markets where the maximum wage does not apply. The maximum wage can be incorporated country-, industry-, or company-wide, and the wider the scope, the greater these basic effects will be. This shortage of high-skilled labor, like any shortage, reduces both consumer and producer surplus in labor markets and imposes a deadweight loss on society. At the maximum wage, the quantity of labor demanded by employers is greater than the quantity of labor high skilled workers are willing to supply. Employment of high-skilled workers will fall as they withdraw from the market, and employers will not be able to fill job vacancies for high-skilled work. Firms impacted by the maximum wage will be less productive and less profitable to the extent that they depend on the availability of high-skilled labor, and the more of the economy the maximum wage applies to, the more society as a whole will suffer from this reduced productivity. In a dynamic sense, investment and capital will tend to flow out of the affected firms and high-skilled workers will flow out of the economy unless employers can find ways to circumvent the maximum wage through other incentives or forms of compensation. These may take the form of non-wage benefits, hiring bonuses, or illicit under-the-table payments. High-skilled workers who are unable to find suitable employment may flow into self-employment and start businesses, which they would otherwise not prefer and may be unsuited for, reducing the overall quality of entrepreneurial judgment and decision-making in the society. Given the welfare costs imposed on workers, employers, and society in general by a maximum wage, substantial offsetting gains would be needed to justify such a policy. Typical policy justifications involve moral arguments against wealth and income inequality. Because the shortage of high-skilled workers that results may constitute a major barrier to entry to some industries, rent-seeking activity can play a large role. Rent-seeking on the part of employers who have a relative advantage in attracting high-skilled workers (due to legal exemptions or the ability to pay non-wage benefits such as access to elite social networking opportunities) may provide the primary practical motivation for policy makers to impose and maintain a maximum wage. Examples of Maximum Wages U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt, in 1942, proposed a marginal tax rate of 100% for income over $25,000 in order to discourage war profiteering and encourage the rich to make sacrifices in monetary earnings. Today, the maximum wage is increasingly becoming a subject of debate in the 21st century as more CEOs and top executives take home millions of dollars in earnings compared to the minimum wage earned by some of the employees in the same companies. The communist country of Cuba long had a maximum wage capped at $20 per month for almost every job across the nation, along with a dual-currency system. However, that changed in 2021, with wages rising to reflect a jump in overall prices as a result of the unification of the two currencies. The new minimum salary of $87 per month and maximum salary of $396 per month bookend a range of 32 wage levels that vary depending on the job. Egypts banking industry was hit hard when over two hundred executives resigned after the countrys central bank applied a maximum wage law of approximately $5,800 monthly. Switzerland initiated a referendum in 2013, which failed to pass, that would have limited a companys executive pay to twelve times the lowest-paid employees wage. In 2017, British politician Jeremy Corbyn, following Britains decision to exit the European Union (EU), called for a CEO-to-worker pay ratio of 20:1. If passed into law, this would have meant that top executives of companies vying for government contracts would not be able to earn more than 20 times the annual income of the companies lowest-paid workers. Supporters of a maximum wage argue that paying senior officials less enables the company to create more financial benefits for everyone. However, critics say firms would lose top talent to other companies and economies that don't put a cap on potential earnings. Pros and Cons of a Maximum Wage Proponents claim that a maximum wage is sure to bolster the economy. In their view if high wage earners earn less, then the additional funds left over can be used to raise wages for others and hire more employees. Note that this view assumes that firm revenues are simply given and do not depend largely on the efforts and decisions of top-earning employees. With more people working, they claim, more taxes will be paid, which in turn would mean that the government and society benefit from a reduction in the wages of top executives. It is unclear what the basis is for their belief that shifting more wages from high earners in top income tax brackets toward workers in lower tax brackets will result in greater tax revenue. Also, if the wages of top earners of a company are tied directly to those of minimum wage employees in the same company in the form of a ratio, it is believed that the top managers will be incentivized to increase the minimum wage in order to get an increase in pay themselves. Proponents hope that this will increase the rate at which revenues and profits trickle down to the lower wage workers in a company, government, and economy. Critics and capitalists argue that when a government gets involved in the price controls of an economy, the economic state of a free market is compromised. By setting maximum wages, companies would have fewer talented leaders and employees, as the more valuable talents would be unwilling to work for a capped fee. Maximum wage legislation could set the stage for a human capital flight where the most talented individuals emigrate to freer nations that could pay them their worth. In effect, setting such a policy would not lead to a more productive and profitable economy as the advocates believe. Top News - Investor Idea A Boat-full of Potential - Renewed Interest in the Cruise Industry Bolsters Luxury Markets (OTC: MASN) (NYSE: CCL) (NYSE: CUK) (NYSE: RCL) (NYSE: NCLH) Vancouver, Kelowna, Delta, BC - November 2, 2022 (Investorideas.com Newswire) Investorideas.com, a leading investor news resource covering luxury goods and cruise ship stocks releases a special report featuring Maison Luxe, Inc. (OTC: MASN), a company that offers luxury retail consumer items. Top AI Stock News - Investor Idea Breaking AI Stock News: GBT's (OTCPK: GTCH) AI Driven Financial Technology Patent Application Received a Notice of Publication San Diego, CA - November 3, 2022 (Investorideas.com Newswire) GBT Technologies Inc. (OTC PINK: GTCH) received a notice of publication for its financial software patent application. Top AI Stock News - Investor Idea Breaking AI Stock News: Intellagents, a FatBrain AI (OTCQB: LZGI) Company, Announces Hiring of Insurtech Industry Veteran as Chief Revenue Officer NEW YORK, NY - November 2, 2022 (Investorideas.com Newswire) FatBrain AI (LZG International, Inc.) (OTCQB: LZGI), the leader in powerful and easy-to-use artificial intelligence (AI) solutions for star enterprises of tomorrow, announces the hiring of Euan King, an experienced and respected Insurtech industry leader as Chief Revenue Officer for insurance technology-focused subsidiary Intellagents. Top Health and Wellness News - Investor Idea Health and Wellness Stock News - Endexx (OTCBB: EDXC) Secures $3.8M Order for Non-Nicotine Vape Product HYLA from Italy CAVE CREEK, Az. - November 2, 2022 (Investorideas.com Newswire) Endexx Corporation (OTCBB:EDXC), a provider of innovative, plant-based, and sustainable health and skincare products, today announces it has secured a new $3.8 million USD order for its newly acquired, non-nicotine based vape product, HYLA from customers in Italy. Check out our Podcasts for great investor ideas: Get new posts by email: Subscribe Powered by Investorideas.com Newswire: Subscribe to Investor Ideas Newswire Hutchison Telecommunications Hong Kong Holdings Limited For immediate release HGC and Centrin Online launch ibizCloud service in Indonesia Hong Kong and Jakarta, 7 February 2017 - Hutchison Global Communications Limited (HGC), the fixedline operating arm of Hutchison Telecommunications Hong Kong Holdings Limited (stock code: 215), and PT Centrin Online Prima (Centrin Online), a leading Indonesian Internet service provider (ISP), today announced launch of ibizCloud in Jakarta, Indonesia. This will provide a one-stop global cloud service that meets the infrastructure and speed requirements of local and international enterprises. ibizCloud has been tailored to the Indonesian market. HGC provides cloud technologies and service design, as well as international connectivity, and holds a wealth of experience in designing cloud services to suit niche markets. Correspondingly, Centrin Online provides local connectivity and will now be able to offer cloud service instantly without having to go through a product development process. This helps the company meet increasing demand for data exchanges from corporations operating in Indonesia. Quick and easy access to capacious data storage Offered as a total solution, ibizCloud enables the Indonesian business community to access reliable cloud storage without having to make hefty upfront investment in infrastructure. In fact, ibizCloud makes managing and carrying huge volumes of data much easier. The service helps enterprises keep pace with the big data trend by granting access to a cloud environment via Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS), Bandwidth-as-a-Service (BaaS) and Dedicated Bandwidth-as-a-Service (DBaaS). Customer organisations can also choose to use on-demand Virtual Leased Line (ODVLL), which facilitates end-toend data transmission over a secure network. ibizCloud comes complete with virtualised infrastructure such as virtual machines, CPU cores, RAM and storage. All this enables corporations to access the Internet without restrictions on data volumes. Enhanced ibizCloud features include resource pool arrangement Andrew Kwok, President of International and Carrier Business at Hutchison Telecommunications (Hong Kong) Limited, said: "Making ibizCloud available in Jakarta represents a great start to 2017 for HGC. The new cloud site strengthens ibizCloud's market position in Asia, following launch of the service in Hanoi last December. HGC works tirelessly to enhance ibizCloud features in order to meet ever-rising demand from multinationals. One of the value-added features to look out for in early 2017 will be a resource pool arrangement by which customers can allocate additional resource promptly, without having to go through a subscription process." Centrin Online CEO Ismail Hirawan said: "We are proud of this collaboration between Centrin Online and HGC to extend ibizCloud into Indonesia. The move offers attractive opportunities to provide fast, reliable and secure world-class cloud service. ibizCloud is tailored to the ISP market, in which we have more than 25 years' experience." -Ends- About Hutchison Global Communications Limited Hutchison Global Communications Limited (HGC) is a leading fixed-line operator, IT service provider, carrier's carrier and one of Hong Kong's largest-scale Wi-Fi service providers. HGC empowers local and overseas customers with one-stop international, corporate, data centre and residential broadband services. HGC owns and runs an extensive optical-fibre network, coupled with four cross-border routes integrated with three of mainland China's tier-one telecoms operators, plus a world-class international network. The company is committed to developing cloud computing services and offering high-speed Wi-Fi service under the "HGC On Air" brand. HGC is a subsidiary of Hutchison Telecommunications Hong Kong Holdings Limited (stock code: 215), a group member of CK Hutchison Holdings (stock code: 1). For more information on HGC, please visit www.hgc.com.hk. For more information on HTHKH, please visit www.hthkh.com. About PT Prima Centrin Online PT Centrin Online Prima's forerunner, PT Khasanah Timur Indonesia, was founded in 1995. A year later, the company started an Internet service provider business branded Primanet. Then in 2013, PT Khasanah Timur Indonesia became PT Centrin Online Prima and established the Centrin Online brand. PT Centrin Online Prima operates in major cities such as Jakarta, Bandung, Denpasar, Medan and Surabaya. In 2013, PT Centrin Online Prima developed a triple-play network capability by integrating Internet access, telephony and pay-TV, all delivered as a one-stop IT solution. Online Centrin focuses on corporate and retail business in the middle premium market, which is served by three main providers including PT Centrin Online Prima. A proliferation of construction projects and property development has generated significant growth for PT Centrin Online Prima's customer base. For media enquiries, please contact: Hutchison Global Communications Limited PT Centrin Online Prima Corporate Affairs Marketing Ada Yeung/Sandy Wong Aditya Cahyadi +852 2128 3108/2128 5313 +62 822 44444030 ada.yeung@hthk.com/sandy.wong@hthk.com a.cahyadi@centrin.net.id THE head of the European Central Bank (ECB) has expressed concern about the Trump administrations moves to relax financial oversight, saying such deregulation helped pave the way for the global financial crisis. During a hearing in the European Parliament, ECB president Mario Draghi was asked about Donald Trumps efforts to revisit parts of the Dodd-Frank regulations aimed at keeping risk-taking banks from sparking a repeat of the 2007-9 financial turbulence. He said: "Frankly, I dont see any reason to relax the current regulatory stance which has produced a much, much stronger banking - and, generally, financial services - industry than we had before the crisis." Mr Draghi said that financial deregulation and expansive monetary policy were "exactly the ground on which the financial crisis developed". He added that more clarity was needed on what exactly Mr Trumps government plans to do. Mr Trump on Friday directed the US Treasury to look for potential changes in the laws provisions. Responding to questions from members of the parliaments economic and monetary affairs committee, Mr Draghi also rejected claims by the Trump administration that Germany gets unfair trade advantage from a weak euro. Peter Navarro, head of the US National Trade Council, has claimed that Germany is exploiting what he called a "grossly undervalued" currency. Lower currencies help exports; the euro has fallen from around 1.40 US dollars in 2014 to around 1.07 dollars now. Mr Draghi said euro member Germany "has not engaged in persistent, one-sided intervention in foreign exchange markets", adding: "We are not currency manipulators." Mr Draghi said Germanys large trade surplus was based on economic competitiveness, not currency advantage. As a euro member, Germany by itself no longer controls the interest rate and monetary policies that could force down the euro. Those powers now reside at the ECB, created to manage the shared currency. In fact, German politicians and German members of the ECBs board have campaigned in vain for higher interest rate policy that is likely to have strengthened the euro. ECB stimulus has helped lower the euro. Mr Draghi said those policies were carried out to boost the lagging recovery in Europe, not for currency advantage, adding: "The monetary policies that we have conducted reflect the different stage of the cycle in the eurozone and the United States." German finance minister Wolfgang Schaeuble deflected the criticism of Germany by saying in an interview published over the weekend that ECB policies that were right for the eurozone as a whole were too loose for Germany. When Mr Draghi launched the stimulus, "I told him that he would drive up Germanys export surplus," Mr Schaeuble was quoted as saying in the Tagesspiegel newspaper. "I promised then not to criticise this course but I also dont want to be criticised for its consequences." AP Menacing seagulls are causing such havoc in Britain that vigilantes are arming themselves with guns and launching their own culls, a British politician has said. It comes as a Labour politician called for a national seagull summit to tackle the problem. Labour's John Woodcock said his constituents have been "blighted and besieged" by the pest. Pensioners have been attacked and locals have been assaulted by the gulls on their way to the library, he said. Conservative MP Anne-Marie Trevelyan said locals have been "wandering the streets" of the picturesque seaside town of Berwick-upon-Tweed near the Scottish border to kill the birds. Her comments come as concerns mount that the scavenger birds will launch a fresh wave of attacks on Britons as the breeding season arrives this spring. Speaking during a Westminster Hall debate on the "scourge" of gulls, Ms Trevelyan said: "In Berwick-upon-Tweed, my constituency, we are plagued with the seagull problem, to the point that last summer someone took it upon themselves to institute their own cull, which, while appreciated in some quarters, brought the risk that people are having to take the law into their own hands to deal with these really difficult and aggressive birds. "Which means there are people wandering the streets of Berwick with firearms who really shouldn't be doing so. "So the impact of that frustration is very, very real." Attacks by the birds became so bad that in 2015, then-Prime Minister David Cameron called for a "big conversation" about the issue. Taking up the issue, Tory MP Oliver Colvile (Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport) said the birds have attacked pensioners, leaving them needing hospital treatment, and terrorised communities. He warned that the breeding season hits in the spring and by May, "eggs will be hatching and the gulls become even more aggressive as they seek to protect their young". He added: "As we head into the summer, we could very well see gull wars on our high streets." Mr Colvile urged the Government to do more to bring the numbers of seagulls under control. But he played down reports he is urging a Government crackdown because his friend had his chips stolen by an aggressive seagull while they were out canvassing. The birds, which are increasingly found in Britain's towns and cities as well as by the coast, are a real menace, he stressed. "This is not a vendetta", Mr Colvile said. "It is an opportunity to ensure that shoppers, residents and tourists feel safe when they are outdoors." Painting a vivid picture of the harm and menace the gulls wreak, Mr Colvile said: "We see photos in the press of a pensioner with a large cut to her scalp, we read stories about the diving seagull killing a pet dog, things have become so bad and so widely publicised that our former prime minister David Cameron said he wanted a big conversation about murderous seagulls." The MP told how a man had emailed him to say he had been attacked by a pair of seagulls nesting in his chimney. "The gulls used their claws and beaks to attack the top of his head, causing quite a large amount of damage and pain", Mr Colvile said. "And this gentleman, I have to tell you, has got a very bald head." Mr Colvile said he is not calling for a cull, but called for new measures to be introduced to lower their numbers. This can include introducing dummy eggs seagulls are tricked into thinking are their own and try to care for, proofing buildings and ensuring weekly bin collections, he said. SNP MP Kirsty Blackman (Aberdeen North) said her constituency is home to giant seagulls that can terrorise the community. Gesturing to mimic the size of the giant gulls, she said: "The Aberdeen seagull is the size of a large dog, it is absolutely ginormous, and it regularly gets mentioned. "People that come to uni in Aberdeen from Glasgow or from elsewhere in Scotland or England are shocked at the size of these creatures because, they are not like normal seagulls, they are ginormous." A Palestinian cabinet minister has called on the international community to punish Israel over a contentious new settlement law. It comes just hours after the Israeli parliament adopted the bill to retroactively legalise thousands of West Bank settlement homes built unlawfully on private Palestinian land. The law, approved by politicians late on Monday, is the latest in a series of pro-settler steps taken by Israel's hard-line government since the election of Donald Trump as US president. It is expected to trigger international outrage and a flurry of lawsuits against the measure. "Nobody can legalise the theft of the Palestinian lands. Building settlements is a crime, building settlements is against all international laws," said Palestinian tourism and antiquities minister Rula Maayaa. "I think it is time now for the international community to act concretely to stop the Israelis from these crimes." Mr Trump is seen as more sympathetic to Israel's settlement policies than his fiercely critical predecessor Barack Obama, and the Israeli government has approved plans to build thousands of new homes on occupied territory since Mr Trump took office. Using a biblical name for the West Bank, Israeli cabinet minister Yariv Levin said the law was "a first step in a series of measures that we must take in order to make our presence in Judea and Samaria present for years, for decades, for ages". "I do believe that our right over our fatherland is something that cannot be denied," he said. According to the law, Palestinian landowners would be compensated either with money or alternative land, even if they did not agree to give up their property. Critics say the legislation enshrines into law the theft of Palestinian land, and it is expected to be challenged in Israel's Supreme Court. The vote passed 60-52 in Israel's 120-member Knesset. The raucous debate saw opposition politicians shouting from their seats at governing coalition politicians speaking in favour of the vote. Some spectators in visitors' seats raised a black cloth in apparent protest. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had voiced misgivings about the law in the lead-up to the vote, reportedly expressing concern that it could trigger international censure and saying he wanted to co-ordinate with the Trump administration before moving ahead on a vote. He told reporters on a trip to London that he had updated Washington and was ready to move ahead with the law. Mr Netanyahu was on his way back from the trip and was not present for the vote. The White House's immediate response was to refer to its statement last week that said the construction of new settlements "may not be helpful" in achieving an Israeli-Palestinian peace. The State Department later said "the Trump administration will withhold comment on the legislation until the relevant court ruling". David Harris, chief executive of AJC, the global Jewish advocacy organisation, said that "Israel's High Court can and should reverse this misguided legislation" ahead of Mr Netanyahu's meeting with Mr Trump in February. Critics have also warned the bill could drag Israel into a legal battle at the International Criminal Court at The Hague, Netherlands, which is already pursuing a preliminary examination into settlements. Among the law's problematic elements is that the West Bank is not sovereign Israeli territory and that Palestinians who live there are not citizens and do not have the right to vote for the government that imposed the law on them. Nabil Abu Rdeneh, a spokesman for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, called the law "unacceptable" and urged the international community to act immediately. "This is an escalation that would only lead to more instability and chaos," he said. Mr Netanyahu faced intense pressure from within his nationalist coalition, especially from the pro-settler Jewish Home party, to press ahead with the vote following the court-ordered evacuation last week of the illegal Amona outpost found to have been built on private Palestinian land. More than 40 settler families were forced to leave the 20-year-old outpost, and on Monday construction vehicles demolished and removed the trailer homes that remained behind. Naftali Bennett, head of the Jewish Home party, told Israel's Army Radio on Tuesday that the goal of the bill was to create the same conditions in the settlements as in Israel proper. "At the end of the day, behind all the talk there is a simple question: what do we want for the future of Israel?" he said. After years of condemnations from the Obama administration over settlement construction, Israel's government has ramped up settlement initiatives since Mr Trump took office, announcing plans for some 6,000 new homes in the West Bank and east Jerusalem and promising to build a new settlement for the Amona evacuees. Mr Trump has signalled a far more accepting approach to settlements, raising hopes in Mr Netanyahu's government that it will be able to step up construction. The White House said little as Mr Netanyahu announced plans during Mr Trump's first two weeks in office to build more than 6,000 new settler homes. But after Mr Netanyahu announced his plan to establish a new settlement for the first time in two decades, Mr Trump indicated that he, too, might have his limits. "While we don't believe the existence of settlements is an impediment to peace, the construction of new settlements or the expansion of existing settlements beyond their current borders may not be helpful in achieving that goal," the White House said. The Palestinians want the West Bank, east Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip - territories Israel captured in the 1967 Middle East war - for their future state. Much of the international community views settlements as illegal and an obstacle to reaching peace with the Palestinians. Shortly before leaving office, Mr Obama allowed the UN Security Council to pass a resolution declaring settlements illegal. Before the law passed, the UN Middle East envoy, Nickolay Mladenov, called on politicians to vote against the law, saying that "it will have far-reaching legal consequences for Israel and greatly diminish the prospects for Arab-Israeli peace". The Kilkenny-based multinational late last month said it had advance plans to build its third cheese factory in the US in a joint venture with Michigan dairy farmers. The investment was hailed by analysts as it only involved a relatively small amount of upfront cash to secure the transaction. The percentage of site visits going to the Greater Dublin area increased from 47% to 48% in 2016, with the number in Dublin City and county themselves increasing from 43% to 45%. However, while the number of visits to Cork, Limerick and Clare increased, the overall number of site visits to Munster dropped with 149 being recorded in 2015 versus 144 in 2016. Fianna Fail spokesperson for enterprise and jobs, Niall Collins, said the drop in visits to Kerry, Tipperary and Waterford made a mockery of government policy of rejuvenating the regions and that Dublin was still favoured. He said: Three of the six counties in Munster have seen a year-on-year reduction in the number of site visits facilitated by the IDA. The counties with the drops are the counties with the biggest need for investment Kerry, Tipperary and Waterford. IDA client companies created 18,627 jobs in 2016 across a range of sectors, with every region of Ireland posting net employment gains. Visits increased to 638 in 2016 from 565 in 2015. Kerry had just three site visits, down from six, Waterford went from 31 to 17 and Tipperary went from 12 to eight. By contrast, Dublin visits increased from 242 in 2015 to 284 in 2016, Carlow went from one to nine and Westmeath 28 to 36. An IDA spokesperson told the Irish Examiner that site visits only were not an accurate reflection of the bigger picture on promoting destinations to FDA. He said: It should be borne in mind that site visit activity is not the only evidence, nor is it a true reflection of IDAs marketing activity in any region. It should also be considered that companies often visit a number of different locations in Ireland during visits. The decision by a company on ultimate locations is influenced by a number of factors, the most important considerations being access to qualified talent, the availability of property solutions, proximity to transport hubs and the availability of business support services. Since it launched over a year ago, CyberSafeIreland has spoken to more than 4,000 children aged eight to 13. It found that while many connections are harmless, there are cases of significant concern, particularly for the 5% of children who are in contact with a stranger on a daily basis. On Safer Internet Day, cyber crime expert and co-founder of CyberSafeIreland, Cliona Curley says parents are overwhelmed by the challenge of keeping their kids safe online. One of our key objectives is to demystify internet safety for parents and to help move them beyond feeling overwhelmed to a place where they feel empowered to take simple steps to address online safety at home. It is absolutely critical that parents become more engaged in their childrens online lives, said Cliona. Research from Switcher.ie shows four in five parents are seriously worried their childrens internet usage will harm them, yet nearly 60% of parents have not enabled parental controls on household technology. One in five parents are worried that their childrens use of technology will damage their social skills, while three in 10 parents fear their childs internet usage will impact their mental health. One in four parents fully trust their children to be sensible online, says the research by the price comparison and switching service. Up to 44% of the 1,000 parents who spoke to the survey team say they have spoken to their children about the dangers of the internet and 24% only allow them to use the internet when they are at home with them. At the Trend Micro launch are Kate OCallaghan, Aghabullogue National School, Coachford, Co Cork; Kate Manley, Scoil Naomh Michael, Upper Glanmire, and Sarah OCallaghan, Aghabullogue NS. Pictures: Cathal Noonan Switcher.ie managing director, Eoin Clarke said: Most broadband providers allow customers to install parental controls at a household level, which could give parents some peace of mind, and there are a number of apps available which allow parents to restrict access to certain content and websites. Its important to remember that, for certain sites like Facebook and YouTube detailed privacy settings can be set at a site level. Assistant director for vulnerable communities at Interpol, and special adviser to CyberSafeIreland on online criminality, Mick Moran, said : For all the advantages of this digital revolution, the reality is that the Internet also hugely facilitates those adults who have a sexual interest in children, he said. Children are asked to tell their digital story for the Whats Your Story video competition, with 8,000 in cash prizes. The theme is: If you could change one thing about your digital life, what would it be?. To learn more go to www.whatsyourstory.trendmicro.ie. Frank Buttimer also said the French indictment, delivered to Mr Bailey at his West Cork home last week, did not contain any new charges, while Mr Bailey, speaking to TV3, said the latest moves from French prosecutors to bring a trial against him in absentia was yet another form of torture. Mr Bailey, speaking later on RTE radio, also claimed any allegation that he had photographs of Ms du Plantiers body was a total and absolute lie and fiction. Mr Buttimer said the indictment produced by French prosecutors was a complete rehash of what gardai had initially submitted to the Director of Public Prosecutions here after the death of the French filmmaker at her home in Schull which the DPP subsequently rejected. On the witness-tampering allegation, Mr Buttimer said it referred to Marie Farrell, who had initially claimed to have seen Mr Bailey in the vicinity of Ms du Plantiers home on the night of her death but later retracted the claim. They maintain that at some point in time Ian Bailey created that scenario by prevailing upon her, Mr Buttimer said. He added that towards the end of the indictment it is pointed out that prosecutors are not proceeding with that charge. Frank Buttimer. Of the content of the indictment, Mr Buttimer said: Its like we are back in 1997 and 1998, adding that it ignored subsequent developments which had discredited the allegations against his client, who had always maintained his innocence. Our office, our DPP, has looked at the exact same material repeatedly, he said. This is thoroughly flawed and prejudiced. Speaking to TV3, Mr Bailey said he had written to Taoiseach Enda Kenny asking if there was anything that could be done to help him. What I am facing into is a trial probably in my absence where I will be convicted of murder in France, he said. And I suspect there will be yet another European arrest warrant application. This is a form of torture at this stage. It is a form of mental torture that never ends. I am asking the Taoiseach if there is anything he can do to abate our suffering. Later, on RTEs Drivetime, Mr Bailey offered explanations regarding some of the allegations levelled at him in the indictment, including that he had taken photographs of the victim, and said he had sympathy for Ms du Plantiers family. At this stage it feels nothing less than a torture, he said. Its a very hard thing to have to handle and deal with. He said there was nothing he could do to change the point of view of the du Plantier family and added: They have suffered greatly and we have suffered greatly, differently. The Department of Justice said it was obliged under international arrangements to facilitate the conveying of the French indictment to Mr Bailey. The threat from the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO) followed the adjournment without agreement last night of talks focused on devising measures to address the recruitment/retention crisis. The INMO has advised the HSE that proposals have to be radically improved to form the basis of any further discussion. Commenting on the adjournment of talks, Health Minister Simon Harris urged both sides to meet again today and redouble their efforts to agree measures to address the important issue of retaining and recruiting nurses and midwives. Among the sticking points for the INMO were the refusal by the HSE and the Department of Health to allow directors of nursing and midwifery to fill all posts which become vacant in 2017; the refusal to guarantee that sufficient funding would be made available to allow the permanent employment of all Irish trained nurses and midwives graduating in 2016/2017 and the refusal to guarantee replacement of maternity leave vacancies on a one-for-one basis. The union said the net effect of this would be that the crisis remains and will continue to destabilise the delivery of safe patient care. The INMO accused management of a total rowback on a previous commitment to a funded workforce plan for 2017. The unions executive council is scheduled to meet tomorrow to consider the current position in the context of the recent national ballot for industrial action. The INMO said unless there is a radical improvement in the next 24 hours, it is probable that the executive council will, in the context of this adjournment, take a collective decision to serve notice, for industrial action, on all health employers. Siptu nursing representatives said the talks with the HSE and the department had reached an impasse. Siptu spokesperson Kevin Figgis, said managements proposals fell way short of our members expectations regarding the protection of nursing and midwifery services into the future. The HSE must revisit its position if it is to successfully reach an outcome that is in the best interest of patients and staff alike, Mr Figgis said. Managements proposals will be discussed by Siptus National Nursing Committee today to decide on the best way forward. Siptu said the union remains open to discussion. Over the course of one week in May, a 60-strong team of Irish medical personnel will travel to the Vietnamese capital to carry out joint replacement operations on circa 50 patients while at the same time providing training to local surgeons. The effort is under the auspices of Operation Walk, established about 20 years ago by American orthopaedic surgeon Larry Dorr. This latest venture, however, has a distinctly Gaelic flavour and makes history as the first all-Irish Operation Walk, and the first ever complete Operation Walk from outside the USA. David Mulcahy, orthopaedic surgeon at the Bon Secours Hospital in Cork, said he had been inspired to take part after hearing a presentation by Mr Dorr at an orthopaedic meeting. He has been trying for a couple of years to attract a more international element so it looks like Ireland will be the first outside of the States, Mr Mulcahy said. The Irish team needs to fundraise 250,000 for the mission which should see around 65 joint replacements involving 50 patients. Travelling personnel will pay for themselves but 125,000 still needs to be raised. Mr Mulcahy said the group will bring their own implants, thanks to the generosity of two medical device companies, as well as any necessary supplies, rather than drawn on the resources of the local hospital. Upon arrival in Hanoi, the group will set up in a military hospital where four operating theatres will be made available to them for a week. Mr Mulcahy said surgeons will operate in pairs with a strong emphasis on teaching local surgeons. Vietnam will have a huge demand in the future, Mr Mulcahy said. They have virtually no joint replacement service in the country. Of a population of 90m, about 700/800 undergo joint replacements annually. Here at home, about 5,000 patients have joints replaced out of a population of 4.5m. In Vietnam, surgery costs approximately three years wages. A combination of increasing life expectancy, dietary habits, and hereditary conditions has resulted in a large number of the Vietnamese population suffering from crippling arthritis and requiring hip and knee replacements. Operation Walk will concentrate on those aged 30-60 who require replacement joints so that they can get back into the workforce and provide for their families. Members of the public interested in helping with this initiative can make a donation via www.idonate.ie/operation-walk-ireland, or through the Operation Walk Ireland Facebook Page. Alternatively, buy a table at a charity lunch in the Conrad Hotel, Dublin on Friday or donate an item for the charity auction or raffle. Up to 23 so-called Major Urban Delivery Sites have been identified with the capacity to deliver 30,000 new homes in the medium term in the Greater Dublin Area, Cork, Limerick and Galway. These are to be prioritised for progressing by the Housing Delivery Office and Local Authorities, the report states. The report, which will be discussed by Cabinet today, also reveals that almost 15,000 new homes were finished in 2016 which represented an 18% increase on the year before. The figure while up significantly on previous years is still well short of the required number of 25,000 a year which is needed around the country to meet the demands of the growing population. According to the Quarter 4 report from Housing Minister Simon Coveney, which was presented to the Cabinet sub-committee on housing last night, 14,932 new homes were completed during 2016, an increase of 18% on the 2015 figure of 12,666. The report, obtained by the Irish Examiner, also states there has been an increase of 45% in the number of granted planning permissions across the country, but again this is still 9,000 shy of the Governments own target figure. In relation to homelessness, Mr Coveney states that three new and one upgraded homelessness facilities at a total cost of 6.1m were opened in Dublin in December. These provided over 200 additional emergency beds, bringing the overall total of emergency beds available in Dublin to more than 1,800. Mr Coveney says: We have seen some positive trends in homelessness statistics of late with the number of homeless families appearing to stabilise and the numbers of children in emergency accommodation decreasing. The early phase of the Housing Agency programme for the acquisition of vacant properties using 70m in exchequer funding, which will deliver close to 200 additional homes in the coming months, and the continuing creation of homeless HAP tenancies, which proved particularly successful in 2016, are hugely important interventions that will continue to be central features in tackling homelessness in 2017, the report adds. We must harness the 40% increase in homeless funding from 70m in 2016 to 98m in 2017 to ensure that the increased demand for emergency homeless services is effectively addressed and delivers solutions for the maximum number of homeless households, he says in the report. In excess of 18,000 households/individuals had their social housing needs met in 2016, ahead of the target of just over 17,000. As part of this overall delivery, we built, purchased or refurbished some 5,300 homes in 2016 around 1,000 over the target for the year. More than 12,000 HAP tenancies were created last year; 1,100 families were accommodated under RAS. Separately Junior Health Minister Catherine Byrne will seek approval for legislation and the setting up of injecting centres. The legislation would allow the minister to issue a licence or licences for supervision centres. The Government hopes to have the law passed through the Oireachtas in the coming months with the first pilot drug injection centre up and running later in the year. Education Minister Richard Bruton is to bring details of a review of the Deis scheme for disadvantaged schools to cabinet. Mr Bruton hopes that the scheme can be expanded to include more schools. The case against Ali Arafa, an Egyptian national, was re-entered at Cork Circuit Criminal Court yesterday. He is serving a sentence for harassment of a Cork woman by persistent phonecalls and threats. She received 1,000 missed calls and 1,000 emails from him long after the relationship had ended. In November 2016, Judge Sean O Donnabhain jailed Arafa for three years, backdating the sentence to August, as he had been in custody since then. The last two years were suspended on condition that he would stay away from the complainant and have no contact with her. Detective Garda Eamon Feehan said authorities in Wheatfield alerted gardai to the fact that Arafa had attempted to have a letter posted to the woman from prison. Arafa also applied to have her number put on an approved list of numbers that he would be allowed to call from prison, the detective told the court. The third alleged breach was that a relative sent an invoice on the defendants behalf to the complainant for work he had done for her in the past. Ray Boland, defending, and Donal OSullivan, for the prosecution, said the sentence was being appealed to the Court of Criminal Appeal. Judge O Donnabhain said that because of the appeal, he would have the fresh evidence of alleged breaches recorded. The matter could then be brought to the attention of the Court of Criminal Appeal, he said. In the original sentencing hearing last year, Judge O Donnabhain said: This is an alarming case; the length of time over which the harassment took place, the nature of the harassment, and the repeated continuous nature of the phone calls. What takes it on to a different level is his entering or being at her apartment [months after the relationship had ended] that is a serious escalation in the harassment. Also what is worrying me is his reaction to the guard, which was alarming, saying: Tell the bitch I will smash her face. They are worrying aspects. Judge O Donnabhain said that Arafas insight into his offending behaviour was limited. Det Garda Feehan said last November that, even when Arafa was remanded in custody in the case at that time, he sent five letters to the woman. There was nothing threatening in those letters, which were vetted by prison authorities before being sent. The latest letter he allegedly tried to send was also devoid of any threatening content and was reportedly apologetic in nature. In a letter to court in November, Arafa said: Love made me do some crazy stuff. I never mean to annoy her when I ring her that much. While the full details of Sunday nights incident, in a pub off Rembrandt Square, have not been officially confirmed, the victim is thought to have escaped death after the gun failed to fire. He tried to shoot him in the head, but the gun jammed, said one source. Other sources confirmed this, although some reports indicated that it was a murder threat rather than attempted murder. The victim, described as a Dutch national originally from Nigeria, is thought to have fled the pub. Dutch police said officers on Rembrandt Square were approached by a man who claimed that he had been threatened with a firearm. He told police the gunman was in a catering business on the square. There are other reports that it was a customer from the pub who alerted police to the incident. Armed backup was called and police entered the premises and arrested who they said was the main suspect. Three others were also arrested, including one outside the premises. One of the Irishmen is a convicted drug dealer from Drimnagh, south Dublin, described as a significant player in the Kinahan organised crime group. The second Dubliner is thought to be a 23-year-old from the south inner city, considered to be an associate of the Drimnagh man. Three firearms, including a Glock handgun and a Walther PPK handgun, were found discarded or hidden inside the pub. The incident is another blow to the cartel, which has been hit by successive and substantial seizures of firearms and drugs in Ireland in recent weeks. Garda sources suspect Sundays incident may be connected to some drug or firearms row involving the Kinahan cartel and foreign criminals. The Kinahan cartel has had long and extensive dealings in Amsterdam in relation to trafficking. A statement from Dutch police said the incident on Rembrandt Square unfolded at around 8.45pm when a man alerted local police, claiming he had been threatened with a firearm. The statement said the person who threatened him had ran into a catering business off the square. Dutch police said that multiple units descended on the square and entered the premises, where they arrested the main suspect. The three other suspects were also arrested. Searches were conducted and three firearms were recovered. Police said the firearms were sent off for ballistic and fingerprint examination. Two of the suspects are 29 years old and the other suspects are 37 and 23 years, said the statement. The suspects came from Great Britain and Ireland respectively. The Drimnagh man, who has lived in different addresses, ran his own independent drug dealing business for many years, including during the Crumlin-Drimnagh feud. He has close links to the side that has since become the leadership of the Kinahan cartel in Dublin. Dutch police are questioning the four arrested for threatening with a lethal weapon and possession of a lethal weapon. FEW seats have greater appeal to acoustic guitarists than the front row at a Preston Reed show, the New York-born inventor of a mould-breaking percussive style. Living in Scotland since 2000, for a time Reed hosted highly sought-after, five-day private workshops. He recalls one 2005 workshop in which he tutored a talented 13-year-old called Ed Sheeran. Ed came up with his father, recalls Reed. There was only one other student, Jocelyn from Oklahoma, whose boyfriend came too. The boyfriend had previously been a gangster in Mexico. Ed was blown away with the idea of him being a gangster, and had lots of questions for him. On the Friday night, we had a party to finish up. Someone suggested Ed should rap lyrics along to some of my songs; so I played Ladies Night, Fat Boy and Metal, and he made up some gangster rap lyrics. Ed was intelligent and quick; he very quickly picked up the things that he had come up to learn. Even at 13, you could tell he had real determination and ambition. Reed was something of a prodigy himself. In 1972, aged 17, he played onstage with legendary Beat poet Allen Ginsberg at the Smithsonian in Washington DC. Reed was invited there by a guest who heard him play at a New York party. Reed was brought to the party by his elder sister, Fran. But surely, at 17, it must have been a bit alien for Reed to find himself in the US capital performing for a theatre full of Beat poets and hippy academics? It wasnt that alien to me really. Id always admired Fran, and she was very much an authentic hippy. She had been to Woodstock, she was going out with Denis Hopper at one stage, and she appears in the movie Easy Rider. I wasnt a hippy myself, but I had read a lot of the Beat literature, and I was familiar with Allen Ginsbergs work before we met. He was very excited about the performance. The show was very fun and loose. He did some recitations, then hed let me play a tune, then he did a recitation while I played a groove. It went down well. At the time, Reed was developing an alternating bass finger-picking style influenced by guitarists like Jorma Kaukonen (Jefferson Airplane), acoustic blues player John Fahey and 12-string virtuoso Leo Kottke. Reed later took on the styles of everyone from Hendrix to Clapton. He is also an accomplished classical guitarist. Even today, Reeds shows still feature a mix of traditional guitar styles. He sees his percussive style as an evolution, not a revolution. Reeds songs are very strong on melody, and often blend formal styles into his percussive style. Martin Scorceses 2005 docu-film No Direction Home (about Bob Dylans influence) features an emotional Allen Ginsberg stating that Dylans arrival effectively marked the end of Beat poetry. Similarly, in the late 1980s, Preston Reed brought a new guitar style that left other guitar styles in the shade, at least for a few years. Did some people feel the need to defend their old turf? There were some naysayers who argued that what I was doing wasnt guitar playing, that it was drumming mumbo jumbo. They said they werent hearing any music in it. Im not sure why they reacted like that. I had a very strong foundation in the traditional ways of playing; that certainly helped the credibility of what I was doing. I wasnt just thrashing away at the guitar. When Reed plays in De Barras, Clonakilty, Co Cork, on Thursday, guitarists eager for a fret-side view will occupy the front rows hours before his arrival. Reed arrives in Ireland fresh from shows in China, playing to audiences of musicians gathered to see his techniques. Does he mind this up-close attention? No, Im honoured that they want to sit there studying intensely. The front row guitar nerds are very welcome. That said, I think of myself as an entertainer, not just as a technician. When I get the techniques right, theyre there to deliver the emotion of the tune. Donald Trump continues to defend Vladimir Putin. In his pre-Super Bowl interview with Bill OReilly, the US president dismissed the Fox News hosts description of the Russian president as a killer. There are a lot of killers, said Trump. What do you think? Our countrys so innocent? US national security interests could certainly benefit from improved relations between Washington and Moscow, most notably by reducing the risks of nuclear war and nuclear terror. However, despite the optimistic signals emanating from the Trump and Putin camps, the relationship could sour quickly and perhaps even make tensions worse. Among the policy issues that could still drive a wedge between the US and Russia is Iran. Trump is sending out contradictory signals on the nuclear deal with Tehran. As a candidate, he repeatedly promised to rip it up. As president, he may be looking to strengthen it. Putin will not want him to take the first option. Russia played a key role in bringing the Iran deal to fruition, in particular by developing solutions to reconcile Irans desire for a domestic uranium enrichment capacity with the Wests desire to limit this capability. Russia also continues to play an important part in the deals implementation. At the end of 2015 Moscow took possession of 25,000 pounds of Irans enriched uranium, and more recently with the blessing of the Obama administration Moscow shipped 116 metric tons of raw uranium to Iran in exchange for Tehran sending 44 tons of reactor coolant to Russia. Putin could easily view Trumps repudiation of the deal as a provocation, and perhaps as a precursor to an American strike on Irans nuclear facilities. Putin might even respond by authorising the shipment of advanced Russian weaponry to Iran to counter any perceived American threat, which could easily lead to a spiralling Russian-American crisis. Trump and Putin could also find themselves in a new nuclear arms race. Remember the furore over Trumps tweet that the United States must greatly strengthen and expand its nuclear capability and his let it be an arms race comment to MSNBC after Putin said that Russia needed to strengthen the military potential of its strategic nuclear forces. Its not difficult to envision how a renewed Russian-American nuclear arms race might occur. The US is building a European missile defence shield that, by 2018, will cover the entire European continent. While ostensibly constructed to defend Nato against missiles from Iran, Russia believes the shield is directed at Moscows own nuclear arsenal. In response, Putin may feel compelled to expand Russias offensive missile forces if he believes they are needed to maintain Moscows nuclear deterrent. That, in turn, could set off further growth in the American nuclear arsenal as well. Russian policy in Afghanistan could also induce a Trump-Putin clash. Although Moscow professes its own fear of Islamic extremism, Russia now shares intelligence with the Taliban the same jihadists American troops have been fighting for 15 years. While Russia claims it only exchanges information with the Taliban to fight Islamic State, the commander of US forces in Afghanistan is on record as saying that Moscow is lending public legitimacy to the Taliban mainly to undermine Nato. The Talibans continued ties to al Qaeda combined with Trumps stated desire to focus on fighting Islamic extremism could easily prompt Trump to demand that Moscow change its Afghan policy. It remains to be seen whether Putin would assent to such a demand. There are, of course, other areas where the two leaders could seek common ground. One is Ukraine, the other is Syria. If the Trump-Putin relationship stays warm, the US president might consider cutting off support for the broader Syrian rebel movement and partnering with Russia and the Bashar al-Assad regime to fight solely against Islamic State. While this would no doubt please Moscow, the question is what would Putin give Trump in return? Russia entered Syria ostensibly to fight Islamic State, but in reality largely targeted other Syrian opposition groups. Putin could promise to join the American battle against Islamic State, but how would Trump react if Putin ignored this commitment? Moreover, by aligning with Russia and Assad in Syria, Trump would also join a de facto alliance with Iran the very country he reviles. Similar concerns apply to Ukraine. Moscow would love for Washington to end sanctions and recognise its annexation of Crimea. Again, what would Putin give Trump in exchange? Moscow could theoretically promise to end its hybrid war in eastern Ukraine, but Putin shows no indication of allowing Ukraine to join the West and he would quite possibly renege on such a deal. Furthermore, Moscow not only wants American sanctions lifted, but even demands that Washington pay it compensation for the damage these sanctions caused. Trumps personal relationship with Putin has yet to be determined. The US president has said he respects the Russian president as a strong leader, but told OReilly that doesnt mean Im going to get along with him. Regardless of whether Putin and Trump get along, domestic political constraints could upend efforts by Trump to normalise Russian-American relations. Senate minority leader Charles Schumer, for example, plans to introduce a bipartisan bill requiring Trump to obtain Congressional approval before lifting sanctions on Russia. There is also a provision in current intelligence legislation working its way through Congress to create a new organisation dedicated to countering Russian political interference something which could provoke even further Russian ill-will. Even lifting the 2012 Magnitsky Act sanctioning numerous Russians for human rights violations would require approval as well. Trump could also face resistance to his Russia policy within his own administration as well as the wider national security establishment. In her first appearance at the UN Security Council, Trumps UN ambassador Nikki Haley condemned Russias aggressive actions in Ukraine and stated that sanctions against Russia for annexing Crimea would remain. During confirmation hearings, secretary of state Rex Tillerson called Russia a danger to the US, CIA director Mike Pompeo criticised Russia for threatening Europe and doing nothing to fight Islamic State and US defence secretary James Mattis said he considered the principal threats to start with Russia. While Trump could theoretically circumvent any resistance by ordering the military to co-operate with Russia in Syria, the Pentagon has already stonewalled a similar approach by former secretary of state John Kerry. Trump may well succeed in changing the tenor of the American-Russian relationship. But a change in form may not lead to a change in policy. You may not have noticed, and I wouldnt blame you, but theres an election going on the island. In Northern Ireland to be exact, where a new Assembly is due to be put in place on March 2. Thats around three weeks from now. I havent been in Northern Ireland since the Assembly was dissolved, so I cant tell you whether the posters are even up yet. But as far as the media are concerned, something weird seems to be happening. I searched the pages of the main Northern Ireland newspapers over the weekend the Belfast Telegraph, the Newsletter, the Irish News and youd be very hard pressed to discover theres an election on at all. Its early yet, and no doubt therell be lots of coverage as the election heats up. But so far, its eerily quiet. Theres been one opinion poll so far, as far as I can tell, and it shows Sinn Fein and the DUP running neck-and neck to become the largest party the DUP down a little and Sinn Fein up a little. That may or may not be maintained there seem to be early signs the DUP has been damaged by the ash for cash fiasco. It would of course be depressing if this election turns out like so many in the past, as a restatement of tribal loyalties. But there is the intriguing possibility that instead, this time well see a referendum on which of two women is most trusted by the people of Northern Ireland. Because for the first time in political history on this island, the leaders of the main political parties in a significant election are both women. And the differences between them, at this early stage, are quite striking. Arlene Foster has been in power, and appears to have been damaged by it. She is struggling to maintain her hold on her own party, and its loyalty, and may have to bang a lot of tribal drums to ensure that she is not done-in by the election outcome. Michelle ONeill, on the other hand (despite having been a member of the cash for ash government) is presenting herself as an entirely new face. She has said repeatedly that she sees her job as being to bind up wounds. So there is a real possibility that this will be a contest between a forward-looking, fresh-faced leader on the one hand, and a tired and damaged older leader on the other. Both women are, though, still young theres only a few years between them, and it will be fascinating to see how the personality images evolve. Whats equally intriguing, though, is that, so far, neither of them has dug the kind of hole that it would be impossible to climb out of after the election. They both give off the signs of being able to work together. Neither has so far played the tribal card in a way that would make relationships impossible (although both have surrogates that are well capable of making that sort of noise). The result will matter, of course. If it should be the case that Sinn Fein manages to pass out the DUP, that will open up an entirely unpredictable sequence of events. But if the status quo emerges after the election, with the DUP able to field a First Minister, even if the gap has narrowed considerably, there will be, Im guessing, hope that power-sharing can be sustained. And thats more crucial than weve taken into account. For most of us down here, even though we love our politics, theres nothing more boring than a Northern Ireland election. But be certain of one thing. Right now, the more boring it is, and the more predictable the outcome, the better it will be for everyone on this island. Thats because Northern Ireland faces an existential threat from Brexit. Its a far deeper threat, potentially, than anything we face in the rest of the island. In our case, the threat is economic. Thats real, and in a worst-case scenario it could be catastrophic. There is no doubt that already, civil servants are warning ministers that they are going to have to pull in their horns when it comes to public spending. Homelessness and health care crises are going to have to wait, theyre saying, until stability is restored. But in Northern Ireland there is a real danger that Brexit will lead to increased political conflict. My youngest daughter Sarah is an independent woman in her 30s. She was 10 when the first IRA ceasefire was announced, followed six weeks later by the loyalist cessation. Because Sarah never lived in Northern Ireland, her life wasnt shaped and tempered by violence. But for thousands of her contemporaries, violence was the defining factor in their development into adulthood. More than 20 years have passed since then. We have lived through a half-century on our island thats three generations characterised for roughly half the time by a violent and life-taking conflict, and for the other half by a growing concentration on economic, social and cultural co-operation. If an entire generation of children and young people have been able to grow and develop in a time when daily violence is becoming a distant memory, that is an incredible political achievement. One of the great symbols of that achievement has been the disappearance of a physical border. Many of us can still remember when the border was more than just physical not just a crossing point between two pieces of land, but a barrier between two people. For many it came to be seen as a constant reminder that there was them and there was us. No one on this island wants to see a day when that mindset would ever be allowed or encouraged to reappear. Its often forgotten now that part of the underpinnings of that peace process was a set of principles, first enshrined in the Downing Street Declaration of 1993 and used to inform every subsequent development in the peace process. Those principles were actually written by loyalists like David Ervine and Gusty Spence, and they included, among other things, the right to live wherever one chooses without hindrance, and the right to equal opportunity in all social and economic activity, regardless of class, creed, sex or colour. In many ways the disappearance of the border the hearts and minds border as much as the physical one was one of the core illustrations of the efficacy of those principles, articulated at a time when people were struggling to find ways to lay down the gun. The hearts and minds border still exists, of course. A bitter and divisive election now would exacerbate it, and Brexit carries the real threat of adding back the physical border. The British Government says it doesnt want that, but its harder and harder to see how it can be avoided. That, above all, is why power-sharing must re-emerge after the election. So, if it stays quiet, if no tribal drums are banged, if no implacable positions are adopted, Arlene Foster and Michelle ONeill will be doing us all a considerable service. We should wish them both well. In Person Arakan Army Chief: The Burma Armys Real Intentions Are to Continue Fighting Brig-Gen Tun Myat Naing of the Arakan Army. / The Irrawaddy Arakan Army (AA) chief Brig-Gen Tun Myat Naing recently spoke to The Irrawaddy about the conflict between the Burma Army and the Northern Alliancewhose members are comprised of the Kachin Independence Army (KIA), Taang National Liberation Army (TNLA), Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA), and the AA. He also spoke on the role of China in Burmas peace process, on military cooperation between the Northern Alliance and the United Wa State Army (UWSA), and the stances of the AA. How is the Northern Alliances current military and political situation? There are still clashes in the Kokang area as the Burma Army is continuing offensives as a consequence of the clashes that broke out [last] November. As for the political situation, the government has not directly invited us [to talks]. But we met Sun Guoxiang [Chinas Special Envoy of Asian Affairs] on Jan. 19, and he conveyed a message that [the Burmese government] was ready for talks. As far as I understood, it was as though he said that the Burma army chief [Snr-Gen Min Aung Hlaing] wanted us to join talks. But then, the signatories of Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA) recently met with the Burma Army chief and Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, and we were confused to hear that the government would lead the peace process and that the army would lead the ceasefire process. As you see, the two cases are closely intertwined, and neither can be successful without high levels of cooperation and understanding between the government and the army. So, the fact that they said they would handle the two processes separately suggests that there is no cooperation between them. Im afraid there will be more limitations toward making progress. What is your understanding of how the Burma Army would take care of the ceasefire process? My view is that the army wont concede its power at all. In fact, the ceasefire process is also the responsibility of the current government. The army has to cooperate according to the instructions of the government. We should have a clear idea by now of how much influence the government has over the army, and how much the army is willing to cooperate. We should know the real intentions of the army. My view is that the armys real intentions are to continue fighting. The previous government, as they were ex-generals, had closer links with the army both in terms of personal ties and procedures. But we dont feel that the new government is as close to the army as the previous government. For example, U Aung Min [the lead peace negotiator for the previous government] was closer to the army than Dr. Tin Myo Win [the lead peace negotiator for the current government]. Burma Army chief Snr-Gen Min Aung Hlaing has said the army is cooperating with the National League for Democracy (NLD) government during its democratic transition. But on the other hand, clashes are occurring. So, what is your view of the current political situation in the country? As I have said, there is no cooperation between the current government and the army. The army always justifies its actions by using the 2008 Constitution as a shield. It would always say its actions are in line with existing law. The army has proposed branding us as a terrorist organization in the Parliament. And it continues using that term though the Parliament didnt approve it. It is unlawful to do something that is not approved the Parliament, but the army does it anyway. So, my conclusion is there is little cooperation between the government and the army. What did the Northern Alliance discuss when you met Mr. Sun Guoxiang on Jan. 19? What did he say about the clashes, as they took place in an area that is part of the Silk Road Belt envisaged by China? They didnt put pressure on us. We requested that China take a fair stance concerning ethnic issues and the peace process. They said that they would not take sides, but stand fairly, and urged us not to be aggressive. You said that Mr. Sun Guoxiang had implied that the Burma Army chief was open to including the Northern Alliance in talks. If that were to happen, what would you like to discuss? Whether it is a peace talk or a dialogue, the most important thing before it is that the army needs to stop the ongoing offensives as quickly as possible. If they hold talks with us and are carrying out large-scale offensives at the same time, it will be very difficult [for us to talk]. Areas of the Northern Alliance are adjacent to UWSA region militarily. Will the Northern Alliance hold political talks with the government along with the USWA? Yes, we want our Wa allies to join us in our talks with the government, and the Wa told us willingly that they were interested in doing so. The government, however, has concerns, thinking we have brought the Wa into the civil war. This is wrong. We just want to bring the Wa into the peace process. We wont ask the Wa to join the discussion, but only to serve as a witness to our discussion with the government. But it seems that the government doesnt want to allow it. There are allegations that the UWSA supplied weapons and ammunitions to the MNDAA, AA and TNLA, and that the UWSA would pull the strings for these three groups on the political stage. What can you say in response to this? Ethnic groups understand that if [the Burma Army] has finished fighting a particular group, then their next target will be one of them. So, there is mutual sympathy and understanding between us. It is quite natural for us to help each other, more or less. We have to work in cooperation, and it is not that UWSA pulls strings for us, it is just a negotiation between ethnic allies. With which policy you would proceed toward political and peace talks with the government? Will the Northern Alliance take cues from the UNFC [United Nationalities Federal Council]? The UNFC focuses more on political talks, but we work both politically and militarily. We will only publicize certain things about our political stances when we hold talks with the government. Though we are standing separately as the Northern Alliance, we agree to the standpoints of [the UNFCs] Delegation for Political Negotiation. Despite the fact that both sides in this conflict are citizens of Burma, you have to rely on a Chinese envoy to send messages to the government. Do you feel like China has intervened in the ethnic affairs of the country? Given the circumstances, we have to pull China in, even if China does not want to get involved. At present, we no longer have brotherly ties with the Burma Army. If it is just an argument at the table, we still can solve it. But now, [the army] said it would annihilate us, and this is no longer a brotherly relationship; we are enemies now. We are the weaker side and we have to seek help, as the stronger one is taking steps to annihilate us with bigger weaponry. If there is clash at the China border, China is also affected. Whats more, the Burma Army has also gotten help from China both in terms of weaponry and technology. So, even if China doesnt want to get involved, it is inevitable that it will. If we reached a certain level of progress in political dialogue, foreign countries would not need to get too involved. However, it is good to have them as observers. It is good if there are forces that can monitor and stand fairly while there is still no trust between the two sides. They would no longer be needed when the problem is solved at some point in the future. Even if they want to stay involved, neither side would like it. Now, we have to bring in outsiders because there is no domestic stability. Is there anything else you want to add? When we, the Northern Alliance, met the Chinese special envoy, we requested help for internally displaced persons. They are in deep trouble, because of severe weather as well as a shortage of foods and medicine. As they fled to the border with China, we urged the special envoy not to neglect them and to provide humanitarian aid. I saw that they listened carefully and noted it down. Translated from Burmese by Thet Ko Ko. Burma Mon Military Parade Will Go Forward, in Defiance of Burma Army MNLA soldiers take part in military training inside one of their liberated zones, November 2016. / AhAr / Facebook RANGOON The New Mon State Party (NMSP) plans to defy an order from the Burma Army and will organize a parade of Mon armed forces on Feb. 12 in celebration of Mon National Day. The Burma Armys Col Win Naing Oo, who also acts as the Mon State government border affairs minister, sent a letter on Feb. 2 instructing the NMSP not to organize a military march in the NMSP-controlled areas near the Thailand-Burma border. We heard that you will organize a Mon National Day celebration near Three Pagodas Pass, the letter said. We are giving you a warning not to parade your armed forces at the celebration. The NMSP, which acts as the political wing of the Mon National Liberation Army (MNLA), said that it will ignore the warning. We will march our armed forces at the celebration, just as we did before. We will not listen to their order, Nai Win Hla, an NMSP spokesperson and central committee member, told The Irrawaddy on Tuesday. Nai Win Hla said the NMSP will draft a response letter to Col Win Naing Oo. This years anniversary will be the 70th Mon National Day, and it is expected that ethnic Mon people in Mon State, Rangoon, and around the world will celebrate. We will keep doing this as long as we can, said Nai Win Hla. We will not stop the parade. Tensions have run high between the Burma Army and the NMSP since November, when the Tatmadaw issued a warning about the NMSP violating certain aspects of its ceasefire agreement. The Burma Army claimed that MNLA soldiers were entering government-controlled territory without permission. But the MNLA said it was taking action to arrest ethnic Mon drug users and traffickers. We dont take a salary from the Burma Army. We get our weapons from our Mon people. So why would we listen to their order? said MNLA officer Zaw Latt. This marks the first time that the Burma Army has tried to stop the Mon National Day military paradean annual eventsince the ethnic armed group signed a ceasefire agreement in 1995. The NMSP renewed the bilateral ceasefire agreement with the government in 2012. However, the NMSP remains a non-signatory to the nationwide ceasefire agreement and has not been formally invited to attend the 21st Century Panglong Peace Conference, which is slated to start on Feb. 28 in Naypyidaw. On Mon National Day, the ethnic Mon people typically hold parades, wear their traditional dress, and put on cultural dancing performances. Mon political leaders make speeches about Mon politics and history. Mon National Day commemorates the establishment of the first Mon kingdom, Hongsawadee, in 573 AD. It is marked annually one day after the full moon in the lunar month of Thabodwe. Burma Second Panglong Conference Scheduled for Later This Month Union Peace Dialogue Joint Committee meeting in Naypyidaw. / Htet Naing Zaw / The Irrawaddy NAYPYIDAW The Union Peace Dialogue Joint Committee (UPDJC) set a date for the second Union Peace Conference during its meeting in Naypyidaw on Monday. The second round of peace talks will begin on Feb. 28 in Naypyidaw and will include 700 participants, according to the framework for political dialogue, said deputy director general U Zaw Htay of the Presidents Office. The UPDJC (formed with representatives from government, Parliament, the Burma Army, registered political parties and eight non-state ethnic armed organizations) decided to try to persuade non-signatories of the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA) to sign before the set date in order to join the peace conference, U Zaw Htay said. National-level political dialogues were held in Karen State and Tenasserim Division last month, and recommendations from the discussions will be submitted to the conference, said U Hla Maung Shwe, a secretarial member of the UPDJC. The UPDJC also agreed to hold national-level political dialogues in three more locationstwo in Shan State and one in Bago Division, plus a forum for civil society organizations (CSOs). The Pa-O National Liberation Organization (PNLO), an NCA signatory, will also lead dialogues to be held in Shan States Hopong in the second week of February, said U Hla Maung Shwe. All the papers discussed at the political dialogues will be put forward to our secretarial body. We have five work committees responsible for different topics, and each of them will sort out the three most common recommendations from those papers, he added. Then, the next UPDJC meeting will discuss which recommendations should be submitted to the second peace conference, he added. Phadoe Mann Nyein Maung, a central executive committee member of the Karen National Union (KNU), spoke of three years of progress in Karen State following a KNU decision to join peace negotiations. The KNU can now discuss the aspirations and rights of all Karen people, he said. The UDPJC also discussed the possibility of NCA non-signatories participating in the peace conference as special guests, observers or delegates, but no decision was reached, said Khun Myint Tun, chairman of the PNLO. We are taking a flexible approach, as they may sign [the NCA] before the conference in order to join it. We have agreed to try to get non-signatories to participate, he said. Burma Shan National Day Commemoration Downplays Armed Resistance The Restoration Council of Shan State (RCSS) hosted the 70th annual Shan National Day celebration at its headquarters Loi Tai Leng, Shan State, on Tuesday. / ABSDF CHIANG MAI, Thailand The commemoration of the 70th Shan National Day on Tuesday at the Restoration Council of Shan States (RCSS) headquarters on the Thai-Burma border more closely resembled a cultural celebration than a show of military resistance, observers said. Until last year, the RCSSs armed forces parade for the occasion served as a display of military strength, but the 2017 event reflected the RCSSs recognized legal standing in Burmaearned by signing the 2015 nationwide ceasefire agreementand the organizations investment in the countrys peace process, participants explained. Col Sai La, the RCSS spokesperson, said, We are in the process of finding the way toward political solutions; we want to show [that we are working] toward peace, referring to the shift in tone from previous years national day commemorations. Also known as Shan State Day or Shan State People National Day, celebrations for the event took place in Loi Tai Leng, Shan State, as well as in Rangoon and other cities. Thousands of locals attended the event, as well as foreign diplomats, leaders of Shan political parties, and representatives from the Karen National Union (KNU), the Chin National Front (CNF), the All Burma Students Democratic Front (ABSDF) and the Karenni National Progressive Party (KNPP). RCSS chairman Lt-Gen Yawd Serk said in his address that the ceremony is held to remember a significant day in ethnic Shans history that brought Shan leaders together on Feb. 7, 1947. On this day, Sai La explained, former ruling hereditary princesknown as saophasand the Shan public formed a united Shan State and agreed on a national flag and anthem. Our chairman highlighted how today in 1947 was the initial day in working toward achieving the Panglong Agreement on Feb. 12, Sai La said, a reference to Burmas Union Day, on which a pact was signed between some of the countrys ethnic nationality leaders and Burman representative Aung San, promising equality in a future independent, federal Burma. Attendees at Tuesdays ceremony were told to remember the benefits and the disadvantages of the Panglong Agreement, Sai La told The Irrawaddy. This year, he said, was special because of the greater level of public participation in the national day events, as well as because of the presence of guests, including ethnic armed group leaders and politicians, and Western diplomats who are engaged in Burmas peace process. I have been to many, many national day activities around the countryside over the years throughout Myanmar. I would say this one is more of a national day [that is] sending a peace message, said Steve Marshall, New Zealands Ambassador to Burma and a former International Labour Organization liaison officer in the country. The ambassador described the 2017 military parade as simply a cultural showing of national solidarity, rather than a show of strength, a shift which he viewed as very valuable. General Saw Mutu Say Poe, the KNUs chairman, addressed crowds on the importance of finding solutions for the country through political means and urged the public to be prepared for the challenges ahead to achieve a genuine Union. We all need patience and good intentions in building our country to become a peaceful and stable Union, he said. News Foreign Officials Deeply Troubled by Findings of UN Report UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Raad Al Hussein speaks to reporters, Feb. 6, 2016. / Reuters DHAKA, RANGOON, & WASHINGTON The United States is deeply troubled by the findings of a United Nations report that said soldiers in Arakan State had committed atrocities against minority Muslims, the US State Department said on Monday. Washington was still studying the report, but urged the government to take its findings seriously and redouble efforts to protect the local population, a spokeswoman for the department, Katina Adams, said. We are deeply troubled by the findings, Adams said, referring to the Feb. 3 report from the UNs Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in Geneva. The allegations should be investigated in a thorough and credible manner, and those responsible for any violations held accountable, she said, adding that Washington was continuing to call on the government to restore fully humanitarian and media access to the area. The UN report issued on Friday said security forces had committed mass killings and gang rapes of Rohingya Muslims and burned their villages since October in a campaign that very likely amounted to crimes against humanity and possibly ethnic cleansing. On Sunday, diplomats and government officials from several nations held a closed-door meeting in Dhaka, Bangladesh to discuss a plan to relocate hundreds of thousands of refugees from makeshift camps on the Burma-Bangladesh border to a remote island in the Bay of Bengal. Officials present at the meeting said that Burmas government remains in denial about alleged crimes by its military against minority Rohingya Muslims. When Bangladesh cited the horrific acts by Burmas law enforcing agencies, the Burma representative did not agree with this and was in complete denial, said H.T. Imam, a political advisor to Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who was at the meeting. Three international diplomats also present at the Sunday meeting broadly corroborated that account to Reuters. The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Raad al-Hussein told the New York Times that Daw Aung San Suu Kyi had appeared genuinely moved by the harrowing 43-page report, released on Friday, expressing no defensiveness or denial. Daw Aye Aye Soe, deputy director at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, told Reuters on Monday that Burma took the UN findings seriously and would investigate. But she added that the country had been the victim of disinformation, misinformation and fake news on the issue that meant the international community seems to have made up its mind. We dont know if these allegations are true, said Daw Aye Aye Soe. If we find that these allegations are true, we will take action. A Burma diplomat also complained at the meeting about Bangladeshs description of the Rohingya refugees crossing the border as undocumented Burma nationals. Whether the person is a citizen or not would depend on verification by Burma and Bangladesh together. Without going through the process you cantone-sidedjust label them as our citizens, said Daw Aye Aye Soe. You should call them illegal migrants or undocumented people or illegal refugees or whatever. Burma has said the allegations contained in the UN report would be investigated by its own commission on Arakan, headed by Vice President U Myint Swe, a former general. U Zaw Myint Pe, the secretary of that commission, said it had been unable to substantiate any allegations of rape in northern Arakan since it began its work in December. Describing the testimony of one woman he said: The way she was talking to us, it seemed like someone had been teaching her. It was difficult to accept that it must be true. U Zaw Myint Pe added that Rohingya villages were like mazes, where insurgents could easily shoot at troops, and the confusion caused might have resulted in acts of indiscipline. So the soldiers might be angry, there might be abuses of power from the government troops, he said. Commentary Who Killed U Ko Ni? A woman carries a portrait of slain lawyer U Ko Ni at his funeral in Rangoon on Jan. 30. / Pyay Kyaw / The Irrawaddy The brazen killing of prominent legal advisor to the National League for Democracy and its leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi not only sent shock waves through the country, but also a signal: you could be next. Will we find out who really killed U Ko Ni? The assassin, Kyi Lin, who was caught just minutes after the killing, has a long criminal record and is believed to be a hired gunman. Under former President Thein Seins government, thousands of criminals were released from prisons under several amnesties and Kyi Lin was one of them. Since last week, a manhunt has been underway and several unidentified people have been summoned and interrogated by law enforcement regarding potential connections to U Ko Nis killing. Some suspects have been put under surveillance, but police have remained tight lipped. The public has unleashed criticism and anger toward the authorities; this is a high profile case and security forces will be held accountable if they cannot find any hard evidence linking suspects to the murder. The Presidents Office announced on Friday that police had apprehended another reported conspirator, Aung Win Zaw, in Hpa-an, Karen State, on Monday after he had fled from Rangoon. Myanmar Now reported that he is a former military officer who was kicked out of the army for breaking martial laws. He was also involved in the smuggling of Buddha statues and spent a jail term with Kyi Lin in Mandalays Obo Prison. Sources said that police are still hunting for a 50-year-old man named Myint Swe, who may have allegedly hired Kyi Lin to shoot the lawyer.Conspiracy theories abound, but if powerful figures were involved in the killing, some speculate that the mastermind behind the murder will never be brought to justice. On Monday, Jan. 30, the office of the Burmese President, U Htin Kyaw, said in a statement that the attack had been carried out to undermine the countrys stability, suggesting a political motive. Lawyer U Ko Ni had been trying to write a new Constitution to replace Burmas existing military-drafted one. It is not certain whether Daw Aung San Suu Kyi was in agreement with his proposal. But political observers have said that it was U Ko Ni who came up with the bold proposition to create the position of State Counselor for Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, who was barred from the Presidency. It remains worrying that more than one week after U Ko Nis killing, neither police and security forces nor the governmentwhich has strongly advocated for adherence to the rule of lawhas held a press briefing on the incident. The army published a brief press release on Jan. 30 and sent a Rangoon regional commander to meet U Ko Nis family members. But public criticism and frustration have mounted as Daw Aung San Suu Kyi has refrained from making any public statement, let alone from sending condolences to the lawyers bereaved family. Inside sources have said that she was shocked by U Ko Nis death and has instructed her aides, as well as officials in the home affairs ministry, to investigate the killing and bring the culprit to justice. Former UN secretary-general Kofi Annan, who has visited Burma twice in recent months in his capacity as head of the Arakan State Advisory Commission, urged authorities to carry out an investigation as quickly as is possible. It is now known that U Ko Ni received death threats before he was killed. It is likely that his assassins followed him and studied his social media page, where he often posted pictures from his overseas visits. As U Ko Ni and a government delegation returned from a two-week trip to Indonesia, Kyi Lin was believed to have been tipped off as the delegation disembarked the plane. He was waiting at the gate as U Ko Ni arrived to see his family. So it is assumed that the assassin was told minutes in advance of U Ko Nis movementspassing through immigration, the baggage claim and the arrivals gate. Kyi Lin then executed his deadly mission. It is very unlikely that he could have acted alone. It is still unknown how Kyi Lin acquired the nine-millimeter pistol used to kill U Ko Ni. News reports have said that an ex-convict was approached by Aung Win Zaw to kill a foreign diplomat, but no details further details on this point are currently known. The ex-prisoner told local media that he had turned down the offer. Political pundits have speculated that assassins were told to kill U Ko Ni in broad daylight so as to create fear and to send a message. Some extreme elements with vested interests in the country and its politics have been mentioned as suspects. But if they are themselves powerful figures or have close ties to other such individuals in the country, then history suggests that the family of U Ko Ni will not likely see the mastermind of the murder apprehended and sentenced in accordance with the law. In this fragile transition, justice is not guaranteed. Aung Zaw is the founding editor-in-chief of The Irrawaddy. Tuesday, February 7th, 2017 (9:47 am) - Score 1,080 Business ISP Gamma has moved to upgrade their national core network in the United Kingdom by signing a new long-haul Dark Fibre agreement with Cityfibre. The access agreement will connect 15 data centres and exchanges across the country via CityFibres long-distance and metro networks. The agreement, which runs until 2042, aims to deliver multi-Terabit core and multi-Gigabit access speeds using 1,300km of Dark Fibre in a fully resilient ring configuration, between Manchester and London. Cityfibre is already well known for having built or acquired a growing number of urban focused Fibre-to-the-Premise (FTTP) networks, which are generally used to connect public sector and business sites. Andy Rawnsley, Chief Architect at Gamma, said: We are always looking to increase our capacity and the range of innovative services we can offer. CityFibres national long distance network is an ideal mechanism for us to deliver the speed, resilience and flexibility we need in our core network. Coupled with its extensive metro assets, CityFibre has fast become a one stop shop for fibre connectivity that is a breath of fresh air in the carrier market. We look forward to exploring how else we might work together in the future. Rob Hamlin, Commercial Director at CityFibre, added: We are delighted to welcome Gamma on-board as CityFibres first partner to access our long distance network on a national basis. The project demonstrates our unique capability to offer unified long distance and metro fibre solutions to national service providers. We look forward to working with Gamma to develop other innovative value propositions to the Enterprise and SME markets. Cityfibre currently have fibre footprints in 42 cities across the UK, which are linked via a national long distance network that connects these cities to major data-centres across the UK and to peering points in London. If CIOs hope to eradicate shadow IT from their businesses, they cant expect to accomplish that with an edict from the IT organization. Instead, they have to provide the business units with the means to do what they need to do without having to resort to sourcing technology on their own, which they almost certainly never wanted to have to do in the first place. That was my main takeaway from my recent conversation with Simon Tucker, chief customer officer at Anaplan, a cloud-based business planning platform provider in San Francisco. Given that not everyone even agrees on what constitutes shadow IT, I asked Tucker how he thinks of it. He said what matters is how his customers look at it: As we talk to more and more CIOs out there, what theyre discovering is that as the marketplace has consolidated, as invariably it does over the years, a lot of point solutions get rolled into bigger companies, and applications become more and more complex and can only be configured by the IT teams. That situation is slowing down the process of planning in the business. However, business is moving much more quickly today its much more global, theres much more data, theres much more globalization of companies, and its moving very quickly. Competition is very volatile. And thats why people have to change their business processes and their business strategies on the fly, and they have to quickly plan for that. What happens is, the business starts taking matters into their own hands, and they start running their own systems in other words, a business unit is running its own technology. Tucker explained that the way Anaplan helps with that is to bring in a single platform across the different business functions, and across all of the major planning and analytical processes: In a sense, its managed by IT, but because its software-as-a-service, its really being managed by the vendor, which is Anaplan. The business can self-serve on this platform thats still under the control and the governance of IT. So thats really how CIOs see that Anaplan is eradicating this shadow IT. Its really good for both parties. IT wants to be able to control systems in the business, because they want to make sure that they maintain security and integrity and consistency, etc. The business units dont want the burden of having to create reports, which is the traditional area of IT for the business. They want to be able to have IT run the technology side of the house, but for business to be able to self-serve on a platform, and build their own models under the governance and guidance of IT. I asked Tucker who within a company Anaplan targets with its business planning platform. He said its a multitude of people: If youve got a company thats looking to really bring in all the shadow processes into a single platform, then very typically its the CIO that well talk to. However, sometimes well actually start off in a company in a slightly smaller way. A company will invite us in to bid for a single, simple-use case to get going. So that could be, for example, the vice president of sales ops, or the vice president of HR. Or it could, of course, be the CFO, who wants to do anything from zero-based budgeting, to normal planning and budgeting and forecasting, to strategic financial planning, to consolidation, to managing their financial statements. So we really operate across the entire business. So how common or uncommon is it for there to be a backlash from the IT department when theres some perception that Anaplan is sidestepping IT? Tucker said there isnt too much of a backlash these days: Certainly, if the internal function didnt consult the IT team, then there is potentially backlash, because IT wasnt involved in the situation. We see that less and less these days. But sure, if IT doesnt get involved, and the business goes off and does their own thing, you will naturally get a backlash from IT, certainly. I mentioned to Tucker that I had recently spoken with Steve Betts, the CIO of a large health insurance provider in Chicago, who said this about shadow IT: The days of demonizing shadow IT I think are well behind us. There is an increasing convergence between solving business problems, and technology and I think its the wrong perspective to try and stop shadow IT. I actually encourage technology capability in our business units, and look for that strong partnership. I asked Tucker for his thoughts on that, and he said he would put a slightly different spin on it: CIOs want to encourage the business to self-serve with the technologies that will equip them to manage their business functions. So thats the foundation IT wants to enable the business to self-serve. However, what IT doesnt want, and the business doesnt want, is a set of individual, stovepipe business functions going out and doing their own thing, and using different versions of the truth different business hierarchies, different datasets, and creating all these silos of information that are not connected together, and cant form the backbone or the spine of decision-making for the business. So shadow IT, in our mind, is a business function that goes off and does its own thing, independent of a centrally managed set of data, best practices, etc. The bottom line, Tucker said, is that the CIOs he speaks with absolutely want to eradicate shadow IT: Late last year, I met with the global CIO of a big consumer packaged goods company. Shes been in the job for two years, and her mandate was to try to eliminate the vast majority of 7,000 systems that they had in the business. She had identified that there were shadow IT systems everywhere, and her role was to try to eliminate that. But of course, she was smart enough to know that she couldnt just go to the business and say, Stop doing that. She has to go to the business and say, Dont use this system. Ive got one that you can use, but Im going to manage it centrally for you, and youre going to get the right data and metadata, etc. So were having these conversations with CIOs all the time, because these shadow IT processes are all over the place, especially in large businesses. And by the way, theyre also in small businesses. You dont have to be too big of a business to suddenly have created a bunch of different systems that people dont share. A contributing writer on IT management and career topics with IT Business Edge since 2009, Don Tennant began his technology journalism career in 1990 in Hong Kong, where he served as editor of the Hong Kong edition of Computerworld. After returning to the U.S. in 2000, he became Editor in Chief of the U.S. edition of Computerworld, and later assumed the editorial directorship of Computerworld and InfoWorld. Don was presented with the 2007 Timothy White Award for Editorial Integrity by American Business Media, and he is a recipient of the Jesse H. Neal National Business Journalism Award for editorial excellence in news coverage. Follow him on Twitter @dontennant. As the world currently commemorates the World Cancer Awareness month, the fight against the disease has just got even more serious than before. All around the world, a significant number of experts have clearly noted that in their quest to battle out cancer, a number of treatments for the disease has been created but few has been highlighting its prevention. A year ago, just as former US President Obama has given his final State of the Union address, he clearly announced that the so-called "moonshot" initiative is all that patients will be needing since it has the ability to cure cancer once and for all. 'Moonshot' Initiative To Cure Cancer According to reports revealed by Vox, although the moonshot initiative will be one of Obama's few health programs to continue under President Donald Trump since its $1.8 billion budget has already been secured, as of the press, time, in line with the commemoration of the World Cancer Day, experts say that it remains more difficult than ever to imagine a real cure. Furthermore, as experts have described it, one problem with the moonshot initiative is that it focuses on magic bullets, at the expense of the majority of current and future cancer patients. However, in order to successfully to eliminate the global burden of cancer, patients and doctors need an equal focus on prevention as on cure, or it could be that we need to redefine the word "cure" altogether. Health Practitioners' Take On Moonshot Initiative In one of her statements reported by The Star, Dr. Michele Potter-Williams, a nurse practitioner with the University of Maryland Shore Regional Cancer Center in Easton, who has represented the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN) at the Moonshot briefing, said that her passion for patient advocacy prompted the Oncology Nursing Society to nominate her to attend the Cancer Moonshot to explore the challenges in community oncology and to advocate for the needs of oncology patients from the Eastern Shore. Moreover, it was found that one of the purposes of the moonlight initiative for cancer is to allegedly accelerate cancer research (and) to make more therapies available to more patients, while also improving our ability to prevent cancer and detect it at an early stage. In addition, it is said that the National Cancer Institute is reportedly the sponsor of the said project. Even though a number of cases designed for the Samsung Galaxy S8 have allegedly been leaked, none of them is set to match the leaked image of the phone released by Evan Blass. That is, until recently today. Legit Cases For The Galaxy S8 Leaked A couple of pictures found that recently surfaced online have shown two cases that are apparently made for the 5.7-inch Samsung Galaxy S8 and the 6.2-inch Samsung Galaxy S8 Plus. Both units will be featuring a Super AMOLED display with a 1440 x 2560 resolution. According to PhoneArena, these cases appear to be legitimate because of the placement of a cut out for a rear-facing fingerprint scanner that is located on the right of the camera. This is exactly the layout that we have seen from the Galaxy S8 in the photo disseminated by Blass, who is heavily considered to be one of the more reliable smartphone tipsters out there. Why This Could Also Be A Fluke The cut out on the left is big enough to fit both the flash and the camera. But with all the legitimacy of the image, here's a little bit of us playing Devil's Advocate here; if you look at the alleged picture, there is plenty of space around the Samsung logo which screams for some editing. Additionally, it isn't very clear if the cut out for the fingerprint reader is big enough to allow a finger to press the button. Thus, it would be advised that people should take this story with a grain of salt. About the Galaxy S8 and S8 Plus According to CNET, the two handsets will be powered by either the Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 chipset or the Exynos 8895 SoC, to go along with the 4GB/6GB worth of RAM. A 12MP rear-facing camera and a 5MP front-facing selfie shooter are also expected to be incorporated. A Type-C USB port will also be included, with the Galaxy S8 expected to carry a 3250mAh battery. The official introduction of the much-awaited handset is rumored to take place on March 29. Vaping is becoming more popular especially to teenagers, even with all the studies claiming the harmful effects it gives to the body. Teenage e-cigarette users are doing a trend which is called "dripping," and a research study suggests parents should ask their kids if they have tried this, if they have, they should talk to their children about the possible harmful effects of dripping. 'Dripping' Is Used To Make Flavors Taste Better "Dripping" involves putting drops of e-liquid directly onto the exposed heating coil of an e-cigarette or atomizer. The cloud of vapor is immediately inhaled, Dr. Suchitra Krishnan-Sarin, a professor of psychiatry at Yale University School of Medicine in New Haven, Connecticut, said. This method is said to make the flavors taste better, and it also give a "stronger hit." What makes this dangerous, researchers say, is that it could also give a potentially higher hit of nicotine. What's worse is that a lot of teenagers have already tried "dripping." The Yale research team surveyed 7,000 Connecticut high school students, and they found that among 1,080 e-cigarette users, 26.1 percent of students have tried dripping in the past, NBC News reported. E-Liquids Contain Flavor Chemicals Which Are Deemed Safe For Ingestion A limitation to this study is that a large proportion of teens who participated in the research did not know whether they have tried dripping or not, which might have led the authors to underestimate the prevalence of this behavior. But still, this practice is a cause for concern, many experts agree. Krishnan-Sarin said that e-liquids contain flavor chemicals such as aldehydes, vanillins and alcohols which are considered safe for ingestion, but not so much information is available about the toxicity of inhaling these chemicals. Not all e-cigarette products contain nicotine, but increased nicotine levels can lead to stronger throat hits. The study did not assess if the students added nicotine to the e-liquids used for dripping, or how frequently e-cigarettes were used for dripping, Science Daily reported. Krishnan-Sarin said that further studies are needed to assess possible health risks of e-cigarettes and of alternative uses like dripping. The Banff National Park in Alberta, Canada opened its gates to accommodate 16 bison. This reintroduction came after almost a century when they were nearly hunted out of existence. According to officials, the transfer of the bison to their new habitat became smooth as the animals were able to adapt well. The bison were moved to the esteemed park because they will play a vital role in restoring the areas ecosystem. They will be kept in an enclosed pasture under observation. The enclosed pasture is located within the foothills of the Rockies until the summer of 2018. Moreover, indigenous peoples working or living within the parks premises welcomed the bison and said that they will help in ensuring their safety. The bison were once dominant attractions in the park. These animals also serve some form of spiritual significance to the aboriginal groups of Canada. The bison were sources of food, shelter and clothing. After a certain period of time, the bison will be released into a far wider area of the park. There, they can interact with other native animals and search for food themselves. According to BBC, almost 30 million bison were found on the plains. However, they have been hunted on the brink of extinction. Luckily, the local government was able to maintain a handful in some of their controlled areas. Reuters also reported that ten pregnant female bison and six young bulls have been tested for disease. These bison were radio collared prior to being herded into five shipping containers. The horns of the bison have been taped with rubber hoses to prevent injuries while being driven 400 km (250 miles) cross Alberta by truck. Shipping containers were attached by long line to a helicopter as it was flown in one at a time for the last 25 km (16 miles), because the Panther Valley cannot be reached by road. Recent studies reveal that researchers were able to trace the ancestors of the bison through cave paintings. Before the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 was even released, several publications already hailed it as the best smartphone of 2016. But when it finally did launch in the market, several users claimed that their units were exploding without manual cause. And while the situation spiraled into the worst possible case, it did open up the necessary discussion about whether or not rechargeable batteries were no longer safe. As Digital Trends notes, South Korea has no intention of making the same mistake as it did last year. As such, it announced on Monday that it will beef up its safety requirements of lithium-ion batteries, as well as carry out regular inspections. The reason of which, was further discussed by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. According to the department, lithium-ion battery manufacturers will be subject to "greater oversight and regular inspections." Moreover, the Ministry noted that mobile devices - smartphones and tablets included - will have to undergo constant safety test. South Korea is taking every precaution to make sure that it will not experience the same situation as it did last year. "We ask that the industry shares the view that making efforts to ensure safety is equally as critical as developing new products through technological innovation," Vice Minister Jeong Marn-ki said. This is, of course, following the exploding battery issue of Samsung, one the country's largest companies, last year. The tech giant had a rollercoaster of a year that cost greatly. When the Samsung Note 7 was released, it was popularly hailed a spectacular device. It had everything that modern technology could then offer and introduced innovations to the market as well. All of this, however, was negated when users started to claim that the units were exploding. At that point, the South Korean tech giant decided to replace all current handhelds, which eventually reached the same fate. After which, the company decided to recall the model altogether. After thorough investigations, it was determined that battery issues were the cause of the explosions and fires. The financial loss of the replacement and eventual recall is estimated at about US$5.4 billion including operating profits. But the involvement of the South Korean government is large because a loss this huge from one of its largest local companies also had a negative effect on the country's economy. As Computer World adds, the problem may have publicly begun with Samsung, but it is actually an industry-wide problem. Battery technology, particularly lithium-ion, is not exclusive but is widely used in the market. There is an inherent danger in relying on a sensitive chemical reaction in high-tech batteries. This danger is only heightened by excessive charging, excessive battery drains and possible design flaws. But changing this technology at this point seems far off and a safer option might be a while away. Internally, Samsung has created an 8-point battery test, which will be practiced for all its future products. Theoretically, it will greatly decrease the risks on battery problems and is undoubtedly a more rigorous testing process than what was previously used. The tech giant will reportedly share its findings and battery quality testing with the rest of the industry once results have been established. The much-awaited LG G6 finally has a specific release date. Popular leaker Evan Blass of Venture Beat reported that the next flagship smartphone from the Korean tech company will be released in South Korea on March 9 and will hit U.S. shores a month later, on April 7 to be precise. The LG G6 is yet to be officially unveiled as the company is expected to do so at the Mobile World Congress which will be held on Feb. 26, in Barcelona, Spain. Venture Beat got hold of the important detail when it was given planning material by the company to review. The new LG flagship phone is expected to pick up the slack from its predecessor the LG G5 which failed miserably as compared to the Galaxy S7 of fellow Korean company and bitter rival Samsung. With a number of rumors and leaks showing how impressive the Galaxy S8 could possibly be, LG is again pressed to deliver with the G6. LG has been generally quiet as compared to what is happening with Samsung and its next flagship smartphone. But that doesn't mean that LG is not capable of hyping its own. Last month. As mentioned by Trusted Reviews, LG released a YouTube video in which a number of people are asked to describe what their perfect smartphone would be like. Their answers focused on a device with a large screen yet small body. They also wanted it to be reliable, waterproof and have a camera that captures everything at once. The video ends with the line "Imagine how your wishes will come to life - February, 2107". One could easily assume that the next LG smartphone will have these characteristics. A supposed image of the G6 was leaked late last month and indicates that the device will have minimal bezels alluding to the "big screens" in the LG video. Other rumors say the G6 will possibly have a 4K display measuring between 5 to 5.5 inches and will come with an all-glass design. Following after their announcement of launching a mission to Mars, the United Arab Emirates has once again been put the the spotlight after it has been noted that they are the very first Islamic nation to launch such mission to the red planet. Authorities from the said project have revealed that in the year 2020, an unmanned craft called Hope will reportedly take off from Japan and travel to Mars, in the nation's historic bid to become leading Muslim space-faring nation. The First Ever Islamic Mission To Mars According to reports revealed by News.com.au, although last year, certain groups of religious leaders in the UAE have issued a fatwa that forbids the Muslim community to land on Mars, authorities have claimed that the robotic spaceship will not actually touch down on the Martian surface. Yuichi Yamaura, vice president of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency said that the mission will blast off aboard a Japanese rocket and then go into orbit around the planet. Yamaura reveals that the UAE's Mars explorer by the Japanese launch vehicle H-IIA from Tanegashima Space Center in Japan in 2020. Furthermore, the vice president claims that they are confident with regards to the success of their mission in partnership with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries. It was found that the UAE has created their first space agency in 2014 with the hopes of becoming the first Arab nation to launch a Mars mission. Apparently, it was also the same year where the nation's General Authority of Islamic Affairs and Endowment have released a fatwa forbidding Muslims from journeying to the Red Planet due to the belief that they would likely be to commit suicide. Islamic Space Exploration On the other hand, as per The Sun, Mars One has also revealed that the Muslim community has a rich tradition of exploration. Ultimately, authorities from the Mars one project was also found to have quoted a Koranic verse which they believe to be encouraging the Muslims to go out and see the signs of God's creation in the heavens and the earth. Mark Zuckerberg is probably the most important tech figure right now, being Facebooks CEO and Silicon Valley main member, two major positions that showed how this young man have so much similarities with the person he admired when he was a kid: Microsoft founder Bill Gates. Although he wasn't on the same field within the tech business as Zuckerberg, there are reasons to believe that the big boss of the most important media network, has become the new Bill Gates. A Young Tech Billionaire With A Lot Of Influence Although this might be a little bit predictable, one of the biggest parallelisms between Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg is the way in which Facebooks CEO has become one of the richest tech figures in the world being so young, which is something that not even other legendary tech leaders like Steve Jobs reached, In fact, Mark Zuckerberg is already at a really high position among the richest people on earth, alongside really wealthy figures as Carlos Slim or even Amancio Ortega. Naturally, Bill Gates position was even higher when he was at this point, but right now theres no other tech figure that has so much economic power as Zuckerberg, considering that his social media network is the most popular in the world. Actually, it can be said that Zuckerberg can have more credit on this one, considering that Facebook is more competitive than Microsoft when it became the major company in the tech business. Getting to this point, theres another huge similarity between Mark Zuckerberg and Bill Gates that probably no one likes. Both Tech Honchos Are Extremely Aggressive Against The Competition Lets face it, once youre on the top the most difficult situation, you have to stay stronger considering that just what naturally happens in the monarchy, when someone reaches the highest position, theres always another person or another group that wants to take it. Naturally, this is something that clearly happens in the tech business, which is the reason why the most important companies tend to take different kinds of measures to beat its competition, even if it looks quite unethical. Naturally, there are cases in which this thing gets so far that far from wanting to be the biggest player among many competitors, major companies sometimes doesn't want to share the market and try to create a monopoly, avoiding the existence of the competition. Of course, this is something quite ugly, and Bill Gates was known for not caring too much about it, gaining a lot of criticism for doing whatever he could to eliminate Microsofts competitors. Even when is not the same case and we live in different times, Mark Zuckerbergs position against the competition is extremely similar, considering that if he sees a company that can represent a huge threat, he just buy it, or sabotage it by cloning its best features, as he have done plenty of times with Instagram. Bill Gates And Mark Zuckerberg Have Their Own Charity Foundations If we just pointed out that one of the biggest similarities between Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg is the fact that both became tech billionaires at a really young age for this kind of achievement, another even more incredible is that just as Microsoft founder, the Facebooks CEO also have his own charity foundation, which is called the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, because just as Gates, his wife is also in the equation. However, the main difference between both tech leaders in this particular aspect is that Mark Zuckerberg has shown his more ambitious side, and not exactly with the charity foundation. Lets put it like this: when Bill Gates decided to focus more on his philanthropic activities he decided to quit Microsoft, while in Zuckerbergs case, he is actually capable of making efforts to focus more on his foundation, without losing any kind of power on his social media network. A high-profile whistleblower from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has recently exposed that the organization has allegedly published set of manipulated data to advance a political agenda by hiding the global warming pause. It was found that retired principal scientist of the National Climatic Data Center, John Bates was the one who accused the lead author of the 2015 NOAA in their so-called "pause buster" report of trying to discredit the hiatus through flagrant manipulation of scientific integrity guidelines and scientific publication standards. Did NOAA Manipulate Global Warming Data? In one of his statements revealed by Breitbart News, Bates has revealed that NOAA has reportedly bypassed its own protocol by never subjecting the report to NOAA's strict internal evaluation process. Rather, NOAA superiors rushed the study through in a blatant attempt to intensify the impact of the paper on the Paris meeting on climate change, he said. It was found that the "pause buster" report that has been produced by NOAA in 2015 was actually based on two new sets of temperature data, consequently, both of which turned out to be flawed. Moreover, as of the press time, NOAA has now decided to replace the sea temperature dataset just 18 months after it was issued, because it apparently used unreliable methods which overstated the speed of warming. Additionally, the retired principal scientist said that Thomas Karl, the lead author of the paper allegedly insisted on decisions and scientific choices that maximized warming and minimized documentation. The World On Climate Change Meanwhile, as per The Washington Times, Karl has reportedly admitted the data had not been archived when the paper was published. However, he has highly emphasized the fact that it was not trying to influence the climate summit. He added that he was not rushing to get the paper out in time for Paris, claiming that there was no discussion about the Paris agreement that took place. In the last couple of years, there has been a lot of focus on autonomous vehicles from all sides of the auto industry. Car manufacturers and ride-hailing companies have worked together or worked apart to try and make self-driving vehicles the new norm. Uber, however, is already thinking beyond this fad and is working towards its flying car initiative. By hiring Mark Moore, a 30 year veteran from NASA, as its director of engineering for aviation, Uber is one step closer to making flying cars a reality. The project, officially called Uber Elevate, is still years away from actually producing a flying car. At this point, however, ZDNet notes that the real goal is to enhance knowledge on the subject and advance its ecosystem. In particular, Uber is working on vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) technology, which will theoretically be a new way to transport riders on short trips. VTOL currently allows aircraft to hover, take off and land with minimum noise and space. "It could change cities and how we work and live," the company's Chief Product Officer Jeff Holden previously said. Meanwhile, Uber's head of product for advancement programs, Nikhil Goel, told the publication that the company has claimed responsibility in growing VTOL. "Uber continues to see its role as a catalyst to the growing [and] developing VTOL ecosystem." He then went on to say that by having Mark lead the program, the company will be in the best position to explore the technology. Moore, on his part, is excited about the new partnership. "I can't think of another company in a stronger position to be the leader for this new ecosystem and make the urban electric VTOL market real," he told Bloomberg. As mentioned earlier, however, Uber Elevate is still in its infancy stages and the executives do not have their eyes on what is currently still impossible. In a white paper that was published last October, Uber discussed its radical idea for an airborne means of transportation. The paper also outlined the possible technical challenges that VTOL would solve, such as vehicle efficiency and pollution. It was this paper that pushed Moore to retire from NASA a year away from retirement. He was able to see the potential impact that the technology could have on the market and the industry in general. While Moore admits there will be problems and issues beyond the technical aspects of Uber Elevate, there are also facts that will help cushion the same. The future of flying cars will undoubtedly be an expensive and risky one, which might not work in favor of the company. To put prices down, flying car companies would have to negotiate with suppliers to get their own costs down first, as well as lobby regulators to certify aircraft and minimize air-traffic restrictions. Moore then explained that Uber's 55 million active riders, which is an astonishing number that will continue to grow as the year progresses, will be a large factor in making this all work. With numbers behind them, it will be proven that there will a market to sell the technology to. "Outlander" stars Sam Heughan and Caitriona Balfe in "Saturday Night Live?" That's what several fans have been wishing for. Several reports reveal fans are urging "Saturday Night Live" producers to have the two host an episode of the show. Meanwhile, both actors have confirmed attendance to the upcoming Emerald City Comicon in Seattle on March 2-5. Sam Heughan and Caitriona Balfe has proven their on-screen chemistry as Jamie Fraser and Claire Randall on the hit Starz time travel drama. Every now and then, dating rumors about the two which they dismiss saying they are close friends. A report reveals most fans believe that the "Outlander" stars are not getting the publicity and international exposure they deserve. The series proved to have a big and dedicated fan base. "Saturday Night Live" might be a perfect venue to showcase the other side of the two stars. It would give fans an opportunity to see natural comedic skits which are not seen in "Outlander." The two has previously shown their knack for comedy in interviews. The report further revealed that a previous online poll mentioned the "Outlander" stars among the "Saturday Night Live" hosts wishlist. "Outlander" season 3 recently finished filming in Scotland. The series is expected to film in their next location, South Africa, until May. The 13-episode installment of the third book of Diana Gabaldon's Voyager series will follow Jamie and Claire's reunion after 20 years. It is speculated to premiere in April 2017. Meanwhile, fans will get a chance to see "Outlander" stars Sam Heughan and Caitriona Balfe in the Emerald City Comicon 2017. Caitriona Balfe recently announced attendance to the event on Twitter by posting a video. Sam Heughan is also confirmed to attend according to Daily Record. The Emerald City Comicon 2017 will be held in Seattle, Washington at the Washington State Convention Center on March 2-5. The African Agricultural sector may be facing one of its most grueling challenges yet. Despite efforts to eradicate the countrys staggering hunger rate by improving their harvest, scientists have discovered a new threat that can destroy their crops. The spread of this pest is rapid, which forced scientists to seek the action of the local government and private organizations. According to the Centre for Agriculture and Biosciences International (Cabi), the fall armyworm is causing woes among farms across Africa. If no immediate action will be undertaken, this might become a major threat to the countrys food security and agricultural trade. This will also endanger the local farmers source of livelihood. Moreover, the Food and Agriculture Organization began creating plans through emergency talks on how to address the matter. They promised the farmers that they will make a viable solution to solve this looming crisis so as to prevent devastating losses. What they fear more is the pest, which is non-native to Africa, might reach Asia and Mediterranean borders in the near future. According to BBC, the fall armyworm got its name because of its nature in consuming crops. It marches through farms and eats most of the vegetation in its way. It was first identified in Africa last year, but is said to native to North and South America. Cabi chief scientist Dr. Matthew Cock even warned that this invasive species has become a serious pest spreading in tropical Africa. Bloomberg also reported that fall armyworms have already devastated entire cornfields in Zambia. According to the countrys Vice President, Inonge Wina, Zambia will intensify its fight against armyworms. President Lungu even tapped the air force to help in transporting chemicals needed to fight and fully obliterate the pests. Recently, the Science and Security Board announced that the doomsday clock has moved closer to midnight, which means that mankind can expect more catastrophes detrimental to human survival, including natural disasters and food security threats. When a vehicle has 450 horsepower under the hood like the 2018 Dodge Durango does, you better believe that it has all the rights to brag about it. The 2017 Chicago Auto Show is kicking off in just a few short days and the 2018 Dodge Durango is set to be one of those that will be showing off what it means to be a family hauler. 2018 Dodge Durango SRT: It's All About The Power If you are looking for a powerful family hauler, the 2018 Dodge Durango SRT might just be what you are looking for. Getting a family vehicle is not just about practicality as it also has to be about having fun. The 2018 Durango SRT offers both. According to CNET, the 2018 Durango SRT is equipped with a 6.4-liter Hemi V8 engine, the same one found in SRT 392 and this is capable of putting out 475 horsepower and 470 pound-feet of torque. This gives you enough power to go from zero to 60 miles per hour in only 4.4 seconds and travel a distance of a quarter mile below 13 seconds. If you don't think an SUV is capable of this, think again. The National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) has already proven this to be true. The automaker has not yet revealed the top speed of the 2018 Dodge Durango SRT but if you look at the speedometer, the top mark is at 180 miles per hour, which means, yes, it is indeed a very fast SUV. 2018 Dodge Durango SRT: Seven-Mode Drive System Didn't I say that the 2018 Dodge Durango SRT offers practicality and fun? Here's the deal, aside from the fact that the 2018 Dodge Durango SRT is a powerful SUV, it also has seven drive modes to suit different kinds of situations. According to Digital Trends, the 2018 Dodge Durango SRT has an eight-speed automatic transmission and an all-wheel drive (AWD) configuration as it standard drivetrain. If you are not satisfied with this however, you can kick things up a notch with the other modes including the Sport, Snow, Track, Tow, Valet and Eco. You may be better off putting things on Track mode when you are alone though because you don't want to scare your passengers if you decide to go for aggressive power. Switch to Valet Mode and you get a Dodge Charger V6 power configuration, which also offers a lot of fun but less scary for those that are not used to raw vehicle power. 2018 Dodge Durango SRT: The Excitement Begins To Build Just hearing about an SUV with 475 horsepower alone is enough to make a lot of people excited, especially when you consider the fact that SUV demand in the U.S. market is at an all-time high. The 2018 Dodge Durango SRT is set to make an appearance at the upcoming 2017 Chicago Auto Show and if you want to see it, I suggest you attend the event. Reports state that the 2018 Dodge Durango SRT will hit showrooms before the current calendar year ends. The price is expected to be revealed as the launch date draws closer. One thing is certain at this point, the 2018 Dodge Durango SRT is an SUV worth waiting for. Nuclear fusion is the basic element of clean energy. This was according to Saurav Rungta, an Indian Technology Enthusiast. He also said that nuclear fusion is not a new concept to mankind. According to Rungta, mankind has been long aware that fusion energy serves as the source of life that keeps the sun and other stars burning. Yet, he also added that people still cannot define what exactly fusion energy is, and how it differs from other energy sources. When it comes to technological relevance, Rungta said that it is important for laymen to understand nuclear fusion because it will be a core matter when it comes to the need for multiple energy sources evolving with the growth of humanity who consumes it. He also said that mankind is still reliant on fossil fuels, but he also said that we are slowly averting from using it because of the adverse effects in our natural resources. Rungta also wrote in Steemit that since mankind has exhausted environmental resources, they are not limited. Thus, he pointed out that the continuity of future supply might be in jeopardy. This, according to Rungta, has become the main reason why people are looking for other sources of energy like geothermal, wind, water and solar. However, nuclear fusion seems to be the answer to our search for renewable energy. According to Know Nuclear, nuclear fusion is easily done on Earth when two isotopes of hydrogen, deuterium and tritium, are put together. Being the lightest of all elements, hydrogen is composed of single proton and electron. On the other hand, Deuterium, known as heavy water, contains an extra neutron in its nucleus, while Tritium has two extra neutrons, which makes it three times as heavy as hydrogen. A study published that renewable energy will soon replace fossil fuel. The U.S. technology industry warned President Donald Trump that his immigration order will hurt the U.S. economy by making it more difficult for businesses to attract overseas workers. The administration's seven-country ban is, for the tech industry, a blinking caution sign to the world's highly skilled population delivering this message: Come here at your own risk. Tech firms see the market for highly skilled workers as being "globally competitive," and any changes to immigration rules may inhibit their ability to recruit overseas. Most of these companies hire Indian nationals, who account for as many 70 percent of the H-1B visa holders. [ To comment on this story, visit Computerworld's H-1B & IT Outsourcing Facebook group. ] Two hundred and fifty-one H-1B visa applications for people born in the seven banned countries were approved in fiscal year 2015 for computer-related jobs, according to a Computerworld analysis of government immigration data for that year. If new and renewed H-1B visas are counted for multiple years, the number will rise. The seven countries where the immigration ban would apply are Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen. FY2015 H-1B visas approved for people born in countries affected by Trump travel ban Country Total Iran 203 Libya 20 Syria 15 Iraq 10 Yemen 2 Sudan 1 Somalia 0 The court papers filed in support of Washington State's fight against the seven-country ban tell stories of people who can't travel out of the U.S. for fear they won't be able to get back in; people arriving at a U.S. airport only to be sent back to their home countries; and of those fearful that Trump's executive order has fueled "anti-Muslim feelings." [ Join the discussion about this and other H-1B stories at Computerworld's H-1B & IT Outsourcing group on Facebook. ] Apple, eBay, Facebook, Google and Microsoft are among the 97 companies that are challenging the ban in appellate court. The appellate brief argues that "fairness, regularity, and predictability are core principles of immigration law and of U.S. law generally." Trump's widely expected next move is to propose changes to the H-1B visa program. A draft proposal has been released that could lead to major reforms of the H-1B and the Optional Practical Training programs. The attack on the immigration ban by tech firms may be a preview of how the tech industry approaches the H-1B issue if they don't like what Trump pitches. But the same arguments raised in the ban may not apply. Although the appellate brief cites "predictability" as one of the principles of the immigration system, the H-1B program is anything but predictable. H-1B visas are handed out via a random lottery. There are 85,000 visas available each year, and last year the U.S. received 230,000 visa petitions. This means that many tech firms, including the companies that filed the appellate brief, won't get all the visas they want in a given year. Trump appears interested in changing the system to something that distributes these visas to the "best and brightest." How he would do that is not clear. He could broadly change the system to give preference to "non-dependent" firms, which are companies that have less than 15 percent of their employees on H-1B visas. This would be a disadvantage to large offshore outsourcing companies, especially in India, which rely heavily on visa workers. Trump may also try distributing H-1B visas on the basis of salary, skills and other criteria. Rosanna Berardi, an immigration attorney in Buffalo, New York, whose clients include Canadians, said that Trump's H-1B proposal may make it easier for people from Canada to get a visa. Right now, because of the lottery, her clients have less than a 35 percent chance of obtaining a visa. Many of the H-1B visas are taken by large IT offshore outsourcing firms, which cuts down on the number of visas available to companies that use far fewer, Berardi said. "If President Trump removes the lottery system, it would provide all foreign nationals, including Canadian citizens, a better opportunity to obtain H-1B status," Berardi said. In addition to the general Computerworld social media pages listed below, you can comment specifically about H-1B and other IT outsourcing issues at our H-1B and Outsourcing Facebook group, tweet to Patrick @dcgov and Sharon @sharon000 or email them at pthibodeau@computerworld and smachlis@computerworld.com. After years of delays, China's first large homemade passenger jetliner will take to the air for its maiden flight in the first half of this year, state media reported Monday. State-owned aircraft maker Commercial Aircraft Corp. of China Ltd., or Comac, based in Shanghai, has nearly completed work on the 175-passenger C919, the ruling Communist Party newspaper People's Daily reported. The C919 was originally due to fly in 2015, but has been beset by delays blamed on manufacturing problems. It is now scheduled to enter service in 2019, aimed at competing with the Airbus A320 and Boeing 737, along with the Russian Irkut MC-21. Airbus and Boeing say the market for new aircraft will be worth more than $5 trillion over the next 20 years. Industry experts say China faces a tough slog capturing a significant share of that market, even with government support. Comac has 517 orders for the C919. Company officials couldn't immediately be reached. Quicken last month moved to a software-by-subscription model for Canadian customers. Unlike a pilot program that launched in April 2016, the Quicken subscription is not a pure cloud-based service, but relies on software installed locally on a Windows personal computer. The two subscriptions available to Canadian users cost $40 a year (Quicken Cash Manager) and $90 annually (Quicken Home & Business). The core software must be installed on a Windows device, and will, Quicken said, be updated "to make sure you're always on the newest version." More importantly, however, is that the subscription offers one year of what Quicken dubbed "Connected Service," the back end that supports transaction downloads from banks, credit card companies and other financial organizations. Like most vendors offering software subscriptions, Quicken will automatically ding the customer's on-file credit card for renewals. But if customers do not renew their subscription, they will lose more than just access to downloads from their bank. "While you can continue to access your data and run reports, you'll no longer be able to download transactions, or add manual transactions [emphasis added]," a FAQ said in reply to a question about what happens when access to Connected Service ended. The restriction is no different than what other subscription services place on customers. Users who stop paying for Office 365, for instance, can no longer create new or edit existing documents. But the idea that they could not continue to track finances by manually entering transactions fueled push-back from Quicken customers. "If the subscription isn't renewed, manual access and updates to the data need to be allowed, otherwise the company will be perceived to be holding the customer's data hostage," argued Dan Glynhampton in a message posted to a Quicken support forum. "Quicken is supposed to help me manage my finances, not prevent me from managing my finances," added mshiggins on the same thread. When a Quicken representative intervened on the forum to say that the only real difference between a subscription and the older licensed software is "that manual transactions can't be added" when the former expired, users were quick to respond. "If at the point the subscription ends my data essentially becomes frozen in time then that makes the program absolutely useless to me," asserted Peculiar_Investor. Quicken had long used a similar "sunset" policy, as after three years a licensed version of the software would stop downloading transactions from online sources or letting users pay bills electronically. Even then, though, customers could add transactions manually. In another answer to a question in the FAQ, Quicken implied that all versions would be offered solely as subscriptions. "All future Quicken products will be subscription products," the FAQ said. In an email reply to questions, Quicken later clarified that the FAQ applied to Canadian users only. The move to subscriptions is not a surprise. Last year, Quicken CEO Eric Dunn said that the company -- which had just split from its parent firm, Intuit -- was investigating a subscription model for the software. "We're open to that. It could make sense," Dunn said in April 2016. Quicken declined to comment when asked whether it planned to expand the subscription model to U.S. customers, and if so, whether that would be their only option. "While we're not sharing any information on changes to our U.S. offerings at this time, we remain completely focused on delivering the best product possible to all Quicken customers," a spokeswoman said in an email. The 97 tech firms who have joined forces to oppose President Donald Trump's executive order on immigration say they are looking to protect their employees as well as their business interests. "The order makes it more difficult and expensive for U.S. companies to recruit, hire, and retain some of the world's best employees," the court brief reads. "It disrupts ongoing business operations. And it threatens companies' ability to attract talent, business, and investment to the United States." The list of firms who signed onto the friend-of-the-court brief includes Airbnb, Apple, Facebook, GitHub, Google, Intel, Microsoft, Netflix, Twitter and Yelp. The move comes in response to the executive order signed on Jan. 27 that temporarily bars citizens from seven Muslim-majority countries, as well as all refugees, from entering the United States. The Trump administration has said the ban is only temporary and was designed to protect the nation from terrorist attacks. It has been placed on hold while lawsuits against it work their way through several courts. The 97 companies contend that it would be bad for business. "Immigrants are among our leading entrepreneurs, politicians, artists, and philanthropists," the companies said. "Immigrants or their children founded more than 200 of the companies on the Fortune 500 list, including Apple, Kraft, Ford, General Electric, AT&T, Google, McDonald's, Boeing, and Disney. ...Collectively, these companies generate annual revenue of $4.2 trillion, and employ millions of Americans." The move echoes protests that have erupted around the world about the ban. On Friday, James L. Robart, a U.S. federal judge who presides in Washington state, halted Trump's immigration ban by granting a temporary restraining order against it. That ruling has been appealed by the Trump administration. After Robart temporarily blocked the travel ban, Trump took to Twitter to complain about the move and to disparage the judge. "The opinion of this so-called judge, which essentially takes law-enforcement away from our country, is ridiculous and will be overturned!," the president tweeted just hours after Robart made his ruling. Industry analysts say the companies could face similar criticism from Trump, but likely feel the need to defend themselves and their employees. "There could also be backlash if they did not participate, especially if a large number of other companies did," said Ezra Gottheil, an analyst with Technology Business Research. "I think this was a principled stand, but it is also a sound business move. All the populations these companies deal with are diverse - employees, prospective employees, customers, and partners. The U.S. being, and being seen as, hostile to refugees, immigrants, and people from other countries would impede their businesses." Judith Hurwitz, an analyst with Hurwitz & Associates, said many companies, particularly international businesses, may be feeling the strain of what the immigration ban could mean to them. "One of the consequences is that companies may decide not to locate their companies in the United States because they are afraid that they will not be able to hire the right people they need," she said. "Technology companies often have unique personnel requirements and have to be able to find the right people no matter where they live. These employees need visas and green cards." While Gottheil isn't sure how much effect the brief will have, he did say it could help sway public opinion. 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. This Week in Review A weekly review of the best and most popular stories published in the Imperial Valley Press. Also, featured upcoming events, new movies at local theaters, the week in photos and much more. A Qatar Airways jet touched down in Auckland, New Zealand Monday, shattering the record for the world's longest flight by distance. The Boeing 777 took off from Doha, Qatar and was in the sky for 14,535 km before landing in New Zealand. The old record was set by an Emirates Airlines Dubai to Auckland flight, a 14,200 km journey. Qatar Airways Chief Executive Officer Akbar Al Baker called his company's flight "an important milestone." Apple is one of the most respected and admired companies in the world as it has changed the way that many people live through its technology and innovative products. This is why so many people would give anything to work for the company, but what does it take to land a job in Cupertino? CEO Tim Cook spoke with Charlie Rose during a 60 Minutes interview (via Business Insider), saying that Apple looks for people who want to change the world. People who work with a passion and idealism, said Cook. People who see things and they know it should be different, and they sit and they focus on it until they find an answer. Cook revealed that they dont test people who are looking to get a job at Apple. Instead, they have 10 to 12 people do an interview and look at the candidate from different points of view to see if he would be a good fit for the job. This is exactly what Luis Abreu, a user-experience designer based in the United Kingdom, experienced when he tried to get a job at Apple. Abreu detailed his experience on his blog, saying that he went through three screenings, five FaceTime interviews, and a trip to Cupertino for in-person interviews. Abreu prepared himself to apply at Apple by watching 17 hours of videos from Apples Worldwide Developers Conference and compiling all of the companys privacy and security-related news into a reference article on his blog. He invested about two weeks of his time working on the article, and the post turned out to be very popular with the developer community. Soon after, an Apple internal recruiter got in touch with Abreu asking him if he wanted to be a member of their Developer Publications team. After saying yes, he had three 30-minute screening calls, with each caller explaining how the process works and what to expect next. Abreu also had five FaceTime interviews, each going on for about 30 minutes, with the tail end of each interview devoted to a 5-minute question time. Three weeks after his initial interviews, Abreu was invited for a new round of interviews at the Apple Headquarters. He was given a free return flight, plus 3 nights accommodation at a hotel near the headquarters. At Cupertino, he was subjected to interviews which went on for six hours with 12 different people. Though Abreu said the questions were not hard, there were questions on how he would deal with orders that conflicted with his values and the like. After a week, Abreu was told that Apple will not be moving forward with your application. The interviews seemed based on indirect questioning, said Abreu. This leaves too much room for bad judgements and assumptions in my opinion. Though getting through Apples interview rounds may seem like going through the eye of a needle, the experience is all worth it as youll get some of the best perks ever once youve been hired by the company. Apart from a high starting salary and various benefits, employees get as much as 25 percent off on an iPod, iPad, or computer. While the food isnt free, a former employee told Quora that all the food is pretty much restaurant grade and that all the main dishes are $8 or less. I remember extreme happiness, and overall excellent memories, said another former employee. Your life will never dip because of Apple. For more, check out Jobs & Hires report on what it takes to land a job at Facebook. A North Korean defector who had lived in Russia illegally for 20 years has been arrested and is now in danger of being sent home to the North. The Fontanka daily in St. Petersburg identified the man as Choe Myong-bok, adding that a court has ruled that he should be deported to the North. Choe had worked as a logger in Siberia, but escaped in 1999 and hid from authorities in St. Petersburg for nearly two decades. The decision to repatriate him comes under a controversial agreement between Pyongyang and Moscow from February last year on the detention and repatriation of defectors and illegal immigrants. The court order is expected to be carried out on Friday. Reports said the Russian human rights group Memorial is going to appeal the decision, saying that repatriated defectors face execution in the North. It is also asking the European Court of Human Rights to protect Choe. Hyundai Motor Group did not promote as many employees in 2016 as they did in 2015 following the lagging sales at its flagship unit, Hyundai Motor. The lower number of promotions might be a signal that Hyundai Motor Group is reeling from the impact of the dropping profits at the carmaker. In 2016, only 358 Hyundai Motor Group employees were promoted, down 5% from the number of employees promoted in 2015, as reported by Reuters. The news comes just as carmaker Hyundai Motor suffered from another profit decline in 2016. The carmaker's profit has been sliding since 2013. Hyundai Motor Group is not the only family-owned conglomerate that held back on its promotion. Samsung Group, another Korea-based company, also promoted fewer employees in 2016, Business Times reported. The trend is not surprising given that South Korea is still grappling with a political scandal involving South Korean President Park Geun-hye. The South Korean president is facing an impeachment trial for alleged corruption. Several executives of South Korean companies have been investigated and questioned over the political scandal, although no one has been charged yet with any wrongdoing. Some of the largest South Korean companies have reportedly been coerced by the country's first female president into coughing out donations to her foundations. In addition to the political unrest, Hyundai Motor Group also has to deal with "growing business uncertainty." The South Korean conglomerate has responded by reducing costs in certain parts of its operations. The cost reduction has also involved giving its executives lower compensation, which makes sense given that poor performance does not warrant high compensation for the people in charge of running the company. Although Hyundai Motor Group is working on limiting its expenses, Jobs & Hire previously reported the Korean carmaker will increase its investments in the U.S. by more than 50% than it initially planned. Email Links to our top local news stories of the day, Monday through Saturday. The criminal trial of President Park Geun-hye's longtime confidante Choi Soon-sil descended into farce Monday as she faced off with her alleged ex-lover-turned-whistleblower. Koh Young-tae was called to testify at the Seoul Central District Court, and under Korean law a defendant can question witnesses in person. The two had not seen each other since September last year, when Choi fled to Germany. Koh arrived at around 2 p.m. and headed straight into court without answering questions from reporters. In a session lasting more than seven hours, Koh and Choi engaged in heated argument, often hurling insults at each other. Choi's questions often focused on discrediting the witness rather than his testimony, but they often had the effect of undermining her own presentation as a harmless old woman barely holding on to her wits. "You are prohibited from transferring money through bank accounts because of your bad credit record, yes?" Choi asked in one exchange. "I am not aware of that," Koh responded. "What do you mean you don't know? And you tried to change your name to Koh Min-woo, but couldn't because of your record of drug abuse," she said. "That is absolutely not true," he answered. The judge intervened as the two became increasingly emotional. American Spirit marketing lawsuit hearing set A federal judge has set May 12 for a hearing on whether to dismiss a consolidated lawsuit targeting Natural American Spirit super-premium cigarettes. Natural American, sold by Reynolds American subsidiary Santa Fe Natural Tobacco Co., is the No. 6 U.S. traditional cigarette brand. There are 13 styles of Natural American Spirit. In 2015, the Food and Drug Administration sent Santa Fe and two other manufacturers warning letters about their organic and additive-free marketing claims. The first consumer lawsuit against Santa Fe and Reynolds was filed in December 2015. The number of federal plaintiffs has climbed to at least 82, including at least one from North Carolina. The parties to consolidate lawsuits filed in federal court in at least 12 states into federal court in New Mexico. The consolidated complaint alleges violations of deceptive and unfair trade practices statutes. The company said that its packages feature disclaimers, approved by the Federal Trade Commission in 2000, that include no additives in our tobacco does not mean a safer cigarette or organic tobacco does not mean a safer cigarette. Richard Craver Tech group Oerlikon picks Charlotte for plant Global technology group Oerlikon said Monday it will spend $62 million to establish a manufacturing hub in Charlotte that will create 93 new jobs during the next five years. Oerlikon is headquartered in Switzerland. The company, which has been in business for more than 100 years, focuses on surface solutions, advanced materials and materials processing. It has a global footprint of more than 13,500 employees at more than 170 locations in 37 countries. Oerlikons Charlotte plant will be its first additive manufacturing facility in the U.S. and will provide end-to-end advanced component manufacturing and house extensive research and development and production teams. Oerlikon will hire engineers, research and development staff, and skilled craftsmen for the Charlotte plant. Annual salaries for the new jobs will average $93,011. The company has been made eligible for up to $1 million in performance-based incentives from the One North Carolina Fund, which requires matching local incentives. Richard Craver La-Z-Boy plans expansion to Tenn. plant La-Z-Boy Inc. said last week it will spend $26 million over three years to expand its largest U.S. furniture plant in Dayton, Tenn. The plant will add 70,000 square feet to the 1.2 million-square-foot facility, which currently has 1,400 employees. The company said it will expand the workforce by 70 to 75 employees. It is the only La-Z-Boy plant that makes all three categories of recliners, sofas and stationary upholstery. The plant serves the companys Midwest, Northeast and Southeast markets. Richard Craver The top two B/E Aerospace Inc. executives would receive a hefty golden parachute package upon the completion of an $8.3 billion sale to Rockwell Collins, according to a regulatory filing. The company also disclosed it had talks with three other potential suitors, but only Rockwell Collins made an offer. B/E has set March 9 for a special shareholder meeting. One of the three items on the agenda is a shareholder advisory vote on the golden parachutes. Although B/E is based in Wellington, Fla., its largest U.S. operations are in Winston-Salem with at least 1,300 employees. The filing disclosed that Amin Khoury, the companys executive chairman, would gain a golden parachute package of $32.38 million, of which $16.5 million would be in cash and $15.8 million in B/E stock awards. Werner Lieberherr, the top B/E executive based in Winston-Salem, would receive $29.14 million overall $12.64 million in cash, $16.38 million in B/E stock awards and $140,465 in perks. Lieberherr initially would take a pay cut as chief operating officer of Rockwells aircraft interior systems business unit and executive vice president. His starting Rockwell salary would be $875,000, down from $1.01 million with B/E for fiscal 2015. He would be eligible for incentive pay of at least 90 percent of his salary, compared with $1.65 million in fiscal 2015. However, Lieberherr would be made eligible for a $2 million cash retention award, vesting on the first anniversary of the completed deal, and an annual equity award, similar to other Rockwell senior executives, of $1.3 million. B/E entered into four other golden parachute packages: $9.9 million to Ryan Patch, general counsel, secretary and chief compliance officer; $8 million to Joseph Lower, chief financial officer; $4.27 million to Sean Cromie, general manager of commercial aircraft segment; and $3.68 million to Tommy Plant, general manager of the business jet segment. Bowman Gray IV, a local independent stock broker, said a strong argument could be made that they have done a good job for shareholders over the last 10 years. Being that the purchase consideration is about 45 percent equity in Rockwell, I suspect that even those with a higher cost basis should be pleased. At the local level, we are hopeful that the impact on jobs is minimal, Gray said. It is here with those that are left out of work that packages such as these are the most unfair. Khoury told employees on Oct. 23 that Rockwell Collins is the perfect fit for our employees and our customers. We share a culture and reputation for innovation, quality, on-time delivery and global customer support to benefit our customers. Peter Arment, an analyst with Baird, said he views the Rockwell offer as a good deal for B/E. Over the long term, we believe the combination with Rockwell Collins creates an attractive aerospace play with $8 billion-plus in revenues. B/E stockholders would receive the equivalent of $62 a share for each share owned, breaking down to $34.10 in cash and $27.90 in Rockwell Collins stock. The overall share price offer represents a 22.5 percent premium over B/Es share price of $50.61 at the start of trading Oct. 24. B/Es share price closed Monday down 5 cents at $61.70. The deal announcement came after B/Es board of directors said in May 2014 it was considering a sale as part of exploring and evaluating its strategic alternatives. In June 2014, B/E announced the spin-off what became KLX Inc. into an independent, publicly traded corporation. B/Es local operations are likely to receive a workforce blow from the deal. The top executive of Rockwell, Kelly Ortberg, has projected $160 million in cost savings. However, Pam Tvrdy-Cleary, a Rockwell spokeswoman, said in October that the potential buyer expects minimal if any impact in Winston-Salem. According to the deal narrative, Rockwell expressed interest in B/E in February 2016 after learning of B/Es interest in selling. B/E disclosed it spoke with other suitors in February 2016 and April. The Rockwell-B/E talks began to heat up in June 27 when Ortberg called Khoury. The boards began to perform due diligence on Aug. 10. The first Rockwell nonbinding offer came Sept. 2 at $58 to $60 a share at 50 percent cash and 50 percent stock. B/Es board turned the deal down Sept. 5, saying it was not sufficiently attractive. The board told Rockwell it was willing to halt talks, even though the board did not believe any other financial option would be as attractive. The companies reached a tentative agreement Sept. 27 at $62 a share, with a $300 million breakup fee to B/E and $200 million break-up fee to Rockwell. B/E would gain two directors on the Rockwell board in John Whates and Richard Hamermesh. At that time, Lieberherr indicated his willingness to work for Rockwell. An employment contract for Lieberherr was completed Oct. 21. A couple dozen people stood shivering in the driveway waiting patiently for a man who, thanks to an interstate covered with non-dairy creamer, wouldnt make it in time. The occasion was a ceremonial ribbon-cutting, a dedication of the 1,000th wheelchair ramp built by a group called Serving Our Savior. Board members, volunteers, a few members of First Baptist Church and, of course, George and Diana Drake, the people whose lives just got easier just by having a ramp at the front of their home, all gathered for a word of prayer and thanks. People snapped a few cellphone photos and made small talk, trying to kill time so that Jack Shearin, an 80-something-force of nature who has poured years into the ramp program, might make it. Harry Underwood, the chairman of the groups board, even read the entirety of a congratulatory proclamation approved by the Forsyth County Board of Commissioners before giving in to the realities of the clock and a traffic snarl. The bad news is Jack isnt here, Underwood said. He said to go ahead and start without him. Saying so was ironic, because without Shearin, there was no need for Fridays ceremony. Making lives easier The group which would eventually morph into an honest-to-goodness 501-c nonprofit organization was inspired by a trip made in 2000 by a few men from First Baptist Church to help people whose homes had been damaged by a hurricane. A couple of those guys, Charlie Bris-bois and John Jordan, came back from the coast with a simple notion in their heads: If we can help people who live in other places, surely we can find a way to help people here at home. And as these things go sometimes, it took awhile for the mission to become clear. The group, Underwood said, started off by offering a range of services to the elderly. They tried offering rides to medical appointments, meals, anything that might help. Then in 2001, the Eureka moment came. Somebody requested a wheelchair ramp. And Shearin, whether hed admit it or not, immersed himself. That one ramp turned into a dozen, and the group had found itself a niche. These days, Serving our Savior doesnt have to go looking for work. It finds them through referrals at the Department of Social Services, the Shepherds Center, the Senior Center and pretty much anyone who works with the elderly. Weve never advertised, Underwood said. Theres no shortage. That original dozen or so ramps built by a handful of church men has mushroomed into 1,000 constructed by teams of volunteers, a modern loaves-and-fishes tale made from wood. Were so grateful, Diana Drake said Friday from the foot of ramp Number 1,000 where she stood with George. Before, wed have to take the chair down to the bottom (of the stairs) and struggle with the handrail. For George, the new ramp means freedom. He explained that diabetes has left him reliant on a wheelchair and that frequent trips for dialysis had gotten progressively more difficult. I was in a nursing home and they wanted to keep me there, he said. Then we got this ramp. Hearing that caused a smile to crease the face of Dan Kinney, one of two design crew leaders. He explained that the teams use a laser level and different designs for ramps depending on whether a client uses a manual or electric chair. He smiled even wider when asked about the small scars and fresh nicks on his fingers. Were all old farts, on blood thinners and things like that, he said. It doesnt take much to draw blood. Sharing stories, smiles Serving Our Savior gets by on an annual budget of about $50,000, and built 75 ramps in 2016 a little more than one a week. As Underwood was wrapping up the formal part of the dedication Friday, several people stepped up to tell stories during the portion where Shearin had been expected to say a few words. His son-in-law talked about how Shearin, a banker in his professional life, killed his lawn twice after he retired while trying to redo his yard. I heard him say Now that Im retired, I want to help people for as long as Im able. In addition to building ramps, Shearin also started helping provide elderly and disabled people with wheelchairs. One friend estimated that he had a small warehouse filled with chairs and spare parts. Just before the gathering broke up, another man stepped forward to talk about how much Shearin enjoyed firing up a motor home and taking his tools to the coast after hurricanes. Shearins knees might have given out, but his heart is just fine. If Jack doesnt get to heaven, none of us have a prayer, the speaker said. Independent counsel Park Young-soo hopes to extend his deadline for investigating the presidential corruption scandal amid massive obstruction from President Park Geun-hye and other suspects. The 70-day probe is due to end on Feb. 28, but the counsel has the option of extending it for up to 30 days. But to extend it he needs to seek presidential approval no later than Feb. 25. "Considering the current status of the probe, more time is needed to investigate all 14 major charges," said Lee Kyu-chul, a spokesman for the independent counsel. "We might need to consider an extension of the probe." As it is unclear whether acting president Hwang Kyo-ahn, a Park loyalist, will approve the extension, hopes were that the probe could be wrapped up within 70 days. But a court's refusal of an arrest warrant for Samsung chief Lee Jae-yong was a setback for the investigation of bribery charges. And Park's longtime confidante Choi Soon-sil has tried to dodge questioning, and a standoff at Cheong Wa Dae last week meant investigators have been unable to raid the presidential office. A spokesman for the acting president said any extension request will be reviewed once it is submitted. Meanwhile, Park's lawyer Son Bum-kyu crowed about the success of his team's delay tactics on Facebook on Monday. "The attacker gradually loses its initial upper hand as its supply line gets extended, and the power is finally balanced between the attacker and defender," he wrote. Son went on to say that the spirits of the lawyers representing Park in her impeachment trial are rising as "they are standing together more closely and ready to counterattack." Park's side have done everything they can to filibuster the impeachment trial while key witnesses have gone to ground. A high school assistant principal was arrested on various criminal charges in Surry County Tuesday, according to a release by the school system. Benjamin L. Baliles, assistant principal at Surry Central High School, was charged with impaired driving, possession of a controlled substance and property damage, according to the Dobson Police Department. The incident did not occur on school property and no students were believed to be involved. Baliles was suspended by the Surry County Schools' administration while the investigation is ongoing. Gov. Roy Coopers attempt to move forward with his cabinet includes requesting a temporary restraining order against a law that lengthens the approval process. Cooper submitted his motion Monday in Wake Superior Court, his latest legal action addressing House Bill 17, which was passed by the Republican-controlled legislature during the 2016 special fourth session. A hearing is expected to be held today. Earlier Monday, Cooper sent a letter to Senate Republican leaders asking them to delay a confirmation process currently slated to begin Wednesday and run through March 17. Before leaving office, Republican Gov. Pat McCrory signed HB17 into law Dec. 19. Defendants are Senate leader Phil Berger, R-Rockingham, and House Speaker Tim Moore, R-Cleveland. Part of the law requires Senate advice and consent of the governors 10 cabinet secretaries, included in the state Constitution but not required of previous governors. The nominees have been asked to answer submitted questions to the Senate Select Committee on Nominations. The questions are supposed to help determine if the nominees are qualified for the job for which they have nominated, if they have any potential conflicts of interest, and whether they will agree to uphold laws under their jurisdiction. It is not clear if a no vote serves as a veto and eliminates a nominee from serving as a department secretary. Cooper filed his initial complaint Jan. 11, calling HB17 an unprecedented legislative effort to interfere with his duties. He said it could have played a detrimental role in his potential cabinet selections. A statement from Bergers office Monday said Cooper is being disingenuous by saying he wanted to avoid a legal fight. For years, cabinet secretaries have met behind closed doors to share their qualifications and address any concerns like conflicts of interest legislators may have, Berger said. It is extremely disturbing that Roy Cooper is demanding the state courts keep these meetings hidden behind closed doors and out of the public eye. Sen. Bill Rabon, R-Brunswick, has said he doesnt expect any of Coopers nominees to be vetoed by the committee if they can meet the three stated criteria. The Senate appeared to have saved the two most potentially contentious candidates for last in Michael Regan for the Department of Environmental Quality and Dr. Mandy Cohen as health secretary. Regan has drawn GOP criticism for serving as a longtime advocate for the Environmental Defense Fund. Mandy Cohen served as a top Medicaid and Medicare administrator of President Barack Obamas health care overhaul. The motion said Cooper has not submitted any cabinet nominees to Berger. Cooper has said he has until May 15 to do so. Attorneys representing Cooper said it is critically important that he find and employ people who share his views and priorities for North Carolina so he can exert control over the executive policy that is implemented. These changes are unconstitutional because they violate the separation of powers clause, the executive power clauses, and the appointment and exclusive privileges clauses enshrined in the North Carolina Constitution. For example, Coopers attorneys have claimed the Senate advice and consent clause only covers constitutional officers, such as Council of State members. They argue that statutory officers, such as cabinet secretaries, are beyond the advice and consent edict. The attorneys say an amendment to the state constitution, which requires voter approval, is necessary to give that consent role to the Senate. Coopers attorneys said a legal precedent was established in a 2014 lawsuit involving McCrory vs. Berger. In January 2016, the N.C. Supreme Court ruled that the General Assembly took powers away from the executive branch by permitting its leaders to appoint most of the statutory members on three environmental regulatory commissions. RALEIGH President Donald Trump's campaign-trail condemnation of Bowe Bergdahl the army sergeant charged with desertion while serving in Afghanistan won't prevent the soldier from getting a fair trial, according to military prosecutors. Prosecutors are seeking to rebuff Bergdahl's assertion that Trump violated his constitutional rights to due process when, as a presidential contender, Trump called Bergdahl a "traitor" and made other disparaging remarks. Bergdahl will be tried in April on charges alleging that he put the lives of his fellow soldiers in jeopardy when he walked off his post in Afghanistan in 2009. Even though Trump repeatedly suggested that Bergdahl should face stiff punishment, including being thrown out of a plane, prosecutors said in a court filing last week that any reasonable observer would understand that comments by the then-Republican contender amounted to campaign rhetoric and should not be taken literally. "With regards to Mr. Trump's comments that SGT Bergdahl is a 'traitor' or committed 'treason,' such comments were clearly intended to be understood by their colloquial meaning," the prosecutors wrote in the Feb. 1 filing. "It strains credulity to believe that Mr. Trump was seriously suggesting that SGT. Bergdahl should be thrown out of an airplane," prosecutors wrote. An email seeking comment from a White House spokesman wasn't immediately returned. Prosecutors also argue that the statements can't constitute unlawful command influence because they were made before Trump became president and because they were spread out among other campaign coverage. However, Eric Carpenter, a former Army lawyer who teaches law at Florida International University, said that potential military jurors could be influenced by Trump's comments even if he made them before becoming president. "The prosecution is in a tough spot. These statements are really indefensible, and they have the job of defending them," he said. "No one in the administration has disavowed those comments, so the comments still have life." Defense attorneys have asked that charges be dismissed because of the Trump comments. Their motion, filed shortly after Trump was sworn in as president on Jan. 20, cites more than 40 instances of Trump's criticism at public appearances and media interviews through August 2016. Defense attorneys argue that potential jurors may feel obligated to agree with their new leader and would have a hard time ignoring the criticism. "The government does not dispute that he made those statements, and while some of them may have been outlandish, taken as a whole they clearly indicate his view that the harshest possible penalties should be imposed," defense attorneys wrote in a legal filing Monday. Bergdahl will be tried at Fort Bragg on charges of desertion and misbehavior before the enemy. The latter carries a maximum penalty of life in prison. Bergdahl, who is from Idaho, has said he walked off his post to cause an alarm and draw attention to what he saw as problems with his unit. He was held captive by the Taliban and its allies for five years. The Obama administration's decision in May 2014 to exchange Bergdahl for five Taliban prisoners prompted some Republicans to accuse Obama of jeopardizing the nation's safety. President Donald Trump must not be allowed to address the U.K. Parliament during a state visit to Britain, House of Commons Speaker John Bercow said. Prime Minister Theresa May invited Trump to visit the U.K., but there have been calls by lawmakers not to give the president the honor of addressing both houses of Parliament after he introduced a ban on people from some majority-Muslim countries traveling to the U.S. Before the imposition of the migrant ban I would myself have been strongly opposed to an address by President Trump in Westminster Hall; after the imposition of the migrant ban by President Trump Im even more strongly opposed, Bercow told lawmakers on Monday. He added, I feel very strongly our opposition to racism and to sexism and our support for equality before the law and an independent judiciary are hugely important considerations in the House of Commons. Trumps predecessor, Barack Obama, and world leaders including Nelson Mandela, Angela Merkel and Pope Benedict XVI have all been invited to speak to members of the House of Commons and the House of Lords. The White House did not respond to a request for comment on Bercows announcement. Rare Applause The announcement was greeted with cheers and a rare event in the House of Commons applause from the opposition benches. A motion arguing that Trump shouldnt be invited to speak has been signed by 163 out of Parliaments 650 members. Bercow said he has a veto over a speech in Westminster Hall, the oldest part of the Houses of Parliament, and would block one. It would also be a breach with tradition if Trump spoke in the Royal Gallery behind the Lords without his name on the invitation, he said. An address by a foreign leader to both houses of Parliament is not an automatic right, it is an earned honor, Bercow said. There are many precedents for state visits to take place to our country that do not include an address to both houses of Parliament. Bercow made clear he wasnt going to comment on the merits of inviting Trump to the U.K., something that will be getting its own debate in Parliament on Feb. 20. We value our relationship with the U.S. he said. If a state visit takes place, that is way beyond and above the pay grade of the speaker. Royal Gallery The Speaker explained to lawmakers that an address in Westminster Hall has to have the agreement of all three key holders of the building, where King Charles I stood trial before his execution in 1649. The Lord Speaker of the House of Lords and the Lord Great Chamberlain would have to sign any invitation alongside Bercow, giving him a veto. For the Royal Gallery, customarily an invitation to a visiting leader to deliver an address there would be issued in the names of the two speakers, Bercow told lawmakers. I would not wish to issue an invitation to President Trump to speak in the Royal Gallery. Bercow was a Conservative Party lawmaker before being elected to the independent post of speaker in 2009 and has often been criticized for his love of the limelight. He regularly chides members of the House of Commons for their behavior and there was a failed attempt to unseat him led by former Foreign Secretary William Hague and Chief Whip Michael Gove just before the 2015 general election. It was not inevitable that Trump would have been invited to address Parliament in any case. Of 109 state visits since Queen Elizabeth II came to the throne in 1952, only 26 of the visitors have made speeches to lawmakers in the Palace of Westminster, according to the Hansard Society. SAN FRANCISCO President Donald Trump's travel ban faced its biggest legal test yet Tuesday as a panel of federal judges prepared to hear arguments from the administration and its opponents about two fundamentally divergent views of the executive branch and the court system. The government will ask a federal appeals court to restore the administration's executive order, contending that the president alone has the power to decide who can enter or stay in the United States. But several states have challenged the ban and insisted that Trump's executive order is unconstitutional. Tuesday's hearing was to unfold before a randomly selected panel of judges from the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Whatever the appeals court decides, either side could ask the Supreme Court to intervene. Seattle U.S. District Judge James Robart, who on Friday temporarily blocked Trump's order, has said a judge's job is to ensure that an action taken by the government "comports with our country's laws." Trump said Tuesday that he can't believe his administration has to fight in the courts to uphold his refugee and immigration ban, a policy he says will protect the country. "And a lot of people agree with us, believe me," Trump said at a roundtable discussion with members of the National Sheriff's Association. "If those people ever protested, you'd see a real protest. But they want to see our borders secure and our country secure." On Monday, the Justice Department filed a new defense of the ban on travelers from seven predominantly Muslim nations. Lawyers said the ban was a "lawful exercise" of the president's authority to protect national security and said Robart's order should be overruled. The filing with the appeals court was the latest salvo in a high-stakes legal fight surrounding Trump's order. Washington state, Minnesota and other states say the appellate court should allow a temporary restraining order blocking the travel ban to stand as their lawsuit moves through the legal system. The panel hearing the arguments includes two Democrat-appointed judges and one Republican appointee. The appeals court over the weekend refused to immediately reinstate the ban, and lawyers for Washington and Minnesota argued anew on Monday that any resumption would "unleash chaos again," separating families and stranding university students. The Justice Department responded that the president has clear authority to "suspend the entry of any class of aliens" to the U.S. in the name of national security. It said the travel ban, which temporarily suspends the country's refugee program and immigration from seven countries with terrorism concerns, was intended "to permit an orderly review and revision of screening procedures to ensure that adequate standards are in place to protect against terrorist attacks." The challengers of the ban were asking "courts to take the extraordinary step of second-guessing a formal national security judgment made by the president himself pursuant to broad grants of statutory authority," the Justice Department wrote. It's possible that the panel could make a ruling on a technical point, rather than the larger merits of the case. Under 9th Circuit case law, temporary restraining orders cannot be appealed, a point noted by the states in their briefing to the court. An analysis on that point would include examining whether the lower court's order is properly classified as a temporary restraining order rather than as another type of order, a preliminary injunction, noted Arthur Hellman, a federal courts scholar at University of Pittsburgh Law School. If the case does end up before the Supreme Court, it could prove difficult to find the necessary five votes to undo a lower court order. The Supreme Court has been at less than full strength since Justice Antonin Scalia's death a year ago. The last immigration case that reached the justices ended in a 4-4 tie. How and when a case might get to the Supreme Court is unclear. The travel ban itself is to expire in 90 days, meaning it could run its course before a higher court takes up the issue. Or the administration could change it in any number of ways that would keep the issue alive. After Robart's ruling, the State Department quickly said people from the seven countries Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen with valid visas could travel to the U.S. On Monday, a graduate student who had traveled to Libya with her 1-year-old son to visit her sick mother and attend her father's funeral was back in Fort Collins, Colorado, after having been stopped in Jordan on her return trip. She was welcomed with flowers and balloons by her husband and other children. Syrian immigrant Mathyo Asali said he thought his life was "ruined" when he landed at Philadelphia International Airport on Jan. 28 only to be denied entry to the United States. Asali, who returned to Damascus, said he figured he'd be inducted into the Syrian military. He was back on U.S. soil Monday. "It's really nice to know that there's a lot of people supporting us," Asali told Gov. Tom Wolf, who greeted the family at a relative's house in Allentown. States challenging the ban have been joined by technology companies, who have said it makes it more difficult to recruit employees. National security officials under President Barack Obama have also come out against it. The Post reports: The Treasury Department placed new sanctions Friday on Iran, the first move by the Trump administration in response to a ballistic missile test that led the White House to announce it was putting Iran on notice. The sanctions were imposed on 25 people and entities involved in helping develop Irans ballistic missile program, or assisting the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps elite Quds Force in supporting groups that the United States considers terrorist, such as Lebanons Shiite Hezbollah militant group. The administration said the sanctions are not a breach of U.S. commitments under a 2015 nuclear deal, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or JCPOA, that was negotiated by Iran and six world powers, including the United States. Lets be clear: This is better than nothing. (The sanctions are the first concrete evidence of the Trump administrations intention to take a more aggressive and confrontational approach with Iran.) Unfortunately, sanctions this limited and affecting so few people are of marginal utility. For now, however, pro-sanctions voices want to be as encouraging as possible. The American Israel Public Affairs Committee, which was often at war with the Obama administration, issued a complimentary press release. AIPAC applauds the Trump Administrations announcement today sanctioning an additional 13 individuals and 12 entities for their support of Irans malign activities, it said. Iran has stepped up its aggressive behavior over the last year, highlighted by another ballistic missile test this week. But it stressed that this would not, in and of itself, be enough. The Trump Administration has made clear that the United States intends to push back against Irans unacceptable actions, and these new designations mark an important first step. We also appreciate the bipartisan group of 22 senators who advocated for additional sanctions. Likewise, sanctions guru Mark Dubowitz told me, The designations are a good start but should be followed by broader sanctions that target the key nodes of Irans economy and the international companies involved in supporting Tehrans missile program. Unless the Iranian regime pays a severe price for its malign activities, they are unlikely to stop. Here is where Congress can help by moving ahead with broader sanctions legislation. Bipartisan support in the House and Senate exists for sanctions that will hamper Irans oil industry and/or entities linked to the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps. In the Senate letter that AIPAC referenced, the senators told Trump: Iranian leaders must feel sufficient pressure to cease deeply destabilizing activities, from sponsoring terrorist groups to continued testing of ballistic missiles. Full enforcement of existing sanctions and the imposition of additional sanctions on Iran for its ballistic missile program are necessary. Moreover, we are hopeful that the international community can unite around the common cause of countering Irans troubling actions. The opportunity now exists for Congress and the White House to work in tandem not at cross-purposes, as congressional Republicans and the Obama White House frequently did to deter Iranian behavior in the region. Trump will find out, however, that his soulmate, Russian President Vladimir Putin, wont be helpful in this regard. In fact, Russia already called these narrowly tailored sanctions counterproductive. Russian officials insisted that the move could hamper the implementation of agreements on Tehrans nuclear program. Russia, like Tehran, chooses to ignore the relevant United Nations resolution 2231 when the Kremlin argues that the recent missile test launches by Iran cannot serve as an objective basis for any sanctions, because Iran does not violate anything, as there are no restrictions imposed on Tehran in terms of missile launches. Trump deserves credit for at least restarting the sanctions process. However, if he is going to reverse Obama policy toward Iran as he vowed he would he will need to come to terms with Russian opposition. He may finally understand that Russia is not our friend when it comes to the Middle East or anywhere else. WASHINGTON To review the lefts reaction to Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch is to infer hes the spawn of Dracula a cruel and bloodless beast who shrinks from the light and plays havoc with history. Among the many distortions: Gorsuch is against clean water, consumers, womens health, dying people and workers. The liberal Alliance for Justice declares him worse in some ways than Justice Antonin Scalia, whose seat Gorsuch would assume if confirmed. People for the American Way claims hes an ideologue far outside of the judicial mainstream who has a record of warping the law to serve the powerful over the interests and constitutional rights of ordinary Americans. Or, one could argue that he is courageous in protecting the people and the Constitution by adhering to text and original intent without concern for his popularity. As background, Gorsuch has served since 2006 on the Denver-based 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, where his reputation as a brilliant jurist and writer gained national attention. A graduate of Harvard Law School, he also earned a doctorate from Oxford in legal philosophy. His dissertation was on euthanasia, which has raised flags among those fighting for death-with-dignity laws. If Gorsuch opposes assisted suicide for the terminally ill, goes the thinking, then he must also oppose a womans right to terminate a pregnancy. Gorsuch has said that human life has intrinsic value and that no other human has a right to destroy anothers, which seems on its face to be manifest. He has never written or ruled specifically on abortion, so this remains a hazy correlative. He is, indeed, an originalist, as was Scalia, and his rulings might not differ much from his conservative predecessors. Fundamental to his approach is the understanding that legislatures, and not courts, should create laws. This position also extends to administrators and bureaucrats. Liberals have sometimes preferred to fashion law through the courts, rather than navigate the legislative process, which is burdensome, stubborn and slow. Its so much easier to create law in the courts and let people adapt. This view would seem almost Trumpian but for his selection of Gorsuch, who is of the opposite inclination. After two dizzying weeks of confounding (Mexico), outrageous (travel ban) and absurd (Australia) first acts, Trumps naming of Gorsuch brought a welcome pause. Yes, it was showmanship prime time and all that but, seriously, who cares? It was far and away the most presidential performance weve thus far witnessed, notwithstanding Trumps nearly separating Gorsuchs arm from its socket during a handshake. Should Gorsuch be approved, the courts composition obviously doesnt really change. The balance would remain the same, with Justice Kennedy, for whom Gorsuch clerked, as the swing vote. Its the next seat for which Democrats should save their fire, lest they be viewed as intractable as the Republicans were the past eight years. No one wins this war. Democrats are entitled to their indignation over Republicans refusal to consider Merrick Garland, President Obamas choice for Scalias seat. But their energies will be spent for naught and they could do far worse. Besides, theres no real knowing how a justice will rule. Philosophical temperament is a factor, but its not the only one. Individual cases present facts and circumstances that can lead to unexpected conclusions. One neednt look far for examples. Chief Justice John Roberts shocked conservatives when he ruled favorably on the Affordable Care Act, but his decision was double-edged. By deciding that the penalty in Obamacare, intended for people who refused to buy insurance, was really a tax, Roberts also exposed the dishonesty in the Obama administrations presentation of the health care plan. Throughout the legislative process, the administration insisted that it was not a tax. Though cold comfort to conservatives, the ruling bolstered arguments that Obamacare was based on false pretenses and the assumption, as one of the laws architects later boasted, that people would be too stupid to know the difference. The upcoming debate should be scintillating theater as it strikes at the heart of a judges role. Gorsuch has made himself clear on this. In a 2016 concurrence, he wrote: Ours is the job of interpreting the Constitution. And that document isnt some inkblot on which litigants may project their hopes and dreams for a new and perfected tort law, but a carefully drafted text judges are charged with applying according to its original public meaning. I wouldnt wish on anyone the task of proving that wrong. With decades of teaching experience in several capacities in Texas and over the past three years with The Flowertown Blossoms in Summerville, Anicia D. Brown is dead set on handing youngsters the tools to master stage acting and production, while also imparting impactful life lessons along t Read moreFlowertown Blossoms preaching the value of teamwork Goose Creek, SC (29445) Today Partly cloudy skies this evening will become overcast overnight. Low 69F. Winds SE at 10 to 15 mph.. Tonight Partly cloudy skies this evening will become overcast overnight. Low 69F. Winds SE at 10 to 15 mph. Reddit Email 0 Shares TeleSur | An address by a foreign leader to both houses of parliament is not an automatic right; it is an earned honor, Bercow concluded. The speaker of the United Kingdoms lower house of parliament said Monday he would block any plans for U.S. President Donald Trump to address parliament during a state visit planned for later this year, citing Trumps immigration ban as a factor. Asked by an opposition Labour lawmaker about the possibility of a parliamentary address, House of Commons speaker John Bercow said he would oppose any such event. As far as this place (parliament) is concerned, I feel very strongly that our opposition to racism and to sexism and our support for equality before the law and an independent judiciary are hugely important considerations, Bercow said, earning a round of applause from lawmakers. The speaker added that even before Trumps travel ban, which many have argued targets Muslim refugees and travelers, he would have been strongly opposed to an address by President Trump in Westminster Hall. The travel ban made him even more strongly opposed to an address by President Trump in Westminster Hall, Bercow told the lawmakers. More than 1.8 million people in the U.K. have signed a petition calling for Trumps planned visit to be canceled or downgraded, part of a grassroots protest against his immigration policies. While British Prime Minister Theresa May has defended the decision to offer a state visit, more than 150 lawmakers have signed a symbolic motion calling for Trump not to be given the honor of speaking in parliament. Trumps executive order barring entry to the United States for refugees and people from seven Muslim-majority countries has prompted worldwide protests, including by thousands of demonstrators in London. The temporary immigration ban faced a legal hurdle Monday that could determine whether he can push through the most controversial and far-reaching policy of his first two weeks in office. As one of the key figures whose approval would be needed for a parliamentary address, Bercow said he would oppose any possible move to invite Trump to speak in either of the two locations which host foreign leaders during state visits. In 2011, Trumps predecessor Barack Obama became the first U.S. president to address both houses of parliament in Westminster Hall, the oldest building in the parliamentary palace, which has also hosted South Africas Nelson Mandela and Frances Charles de Gaulle. An address by a foreign leader to both houses of parliament is not an automatic right; it is an earned honor, Bercow concluded. Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn and other lawmakers have said Trumps visit should be canceled until he rescinds his Muslim ban. Via TeleSur Related video added by Juan Cole: Speaker Bercow: Trump should not speak in Parliament BBC News JURIST Guest Columnist Margaret Hu of Washington and Lee University School of Law, discusses President Trumps break from post-WWII precedent on refugee policy As leader of the free world, every post-World War II US President has expressed some form of public support for refugees through speeches and White House statements. With the refugee crisis of World War II, federal immigration and refugee policymaking in the United States adopted a humanitarian dimension by necessity. By the end of World War II, there were over 40 million refugees in Europe. The millions of refugees displaced by war and persecution led to the earliest development of an intricate framework that guides refugee and asylum law internationally. It is a framework that endures today. After the global traumas of World War II, every President has expressed a commitment to participation in the development of a global migration policy that considers larger geopolitical interests and that recognizes the importance of international human rights, of which refugee policy is a part. We are now in the midst of a refugee crisis that is worse than the refugee crisis of World War II. In 2016, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees reported that the number of refugees had risen to 65.3 million by the end of 2015. This reflected an increase of approximately 5.8 million refugee seekers from the prior year. The painful memory of a xenophobic, nativist and isolationist immigration policy continues to haunt us in the United States. The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, for instance, documents the voyage of a German transatlantic liner, the St. Louis, from Hamburg, Germany, to Havana, Cuba, in 1939. The St. Louis carried 937 passengers, nearly all European Jews fleeing the Third Reich. After Cuba denied entry to most of the passengers, they attempted to set sail to Miami, Florida, seeking refugee status from the United States. On June 6, 1939, after the United States failed to grant permission for the passengers to disembark, the St. Louis returned to Europe. Although Great Britain, France, Belgium and the Netherlands agreed to take some of the refugees aboard the St. Louis, 532 St. Louis passengers were trapped when the Nazis gained control of Europe. According to the Holocaust Museum, 278 survived the Holocaust and 254 died. For decades after World War II, there was a call to end the National Origins Act of 1924 and the racial sciences of eugenics that had supported it. The National Origins Act established a restrictive immigration framework to block immigrants from Asia and Africa. It also greatly restricted immigrants from Eastern and Southern Europe, specifically targeting Italians, Slavs and Eastern European Jews. The Jewish refugees aboard the St. Louis fleeing the Third Reich were informed that the immigration quotas set by the National Origins Act could not be lifted for them. As Duke University historian Claudia Koontz documents in The Nazi Conscience (2003), Nazi leaders expressed admiration for the United States as a model both because anti-miscegenation laws and immigration quotas seemed so clear-cut and because public opinion [in the United States] accepted them as natural. It is not a coincidence that the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965, the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and the Civil Rights Act of 1964 passed almost concurrently. Although it included some exceptions, the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 prohibited discrimination in the issuance of visas on the basis of race, sex, nationality, place of birth, or place of residence[.] On Friday January 27, 2017, on the same day as International Holocaust Remembrance Day, President Trump signed an Executive Order titled, Protecting the Nation from Foreign Terrorist Entry into the United States. The Executive Order temporarily excludes immigration from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen and suspends refugees from Syria indefinitely. The Saturday morning after the Executive Order was signed, on January 28, 2017, in Darweesh v. Trump, attorneys immediately filed a Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus and Complaint for Declaratory and Injunctive Relief in the Eastern District of New York on behalf of two Iranian immigrants. By that Saturday evening, Judge Ann Donnelly of Eastern District of New York sided with the plaintiffs, finding they would likely to succeed on the merits in showing that the Executive Order violates their Due Process and Equal Protection rights. Jonathan Polonsky, senior counsel at Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton, represented Hameed Khalid Darweesh pro bono. He explained to reporters that he is committed to this effort, in part, because his family includes refugees and Holocaust survivors. For the past two years, Polonsky assisted law student volunteers in advising Darweesh on his special immigrant visa. Darweeshs family had suffered death threats because of his work as an interpreter for US Armed Forces, first discovering a bomb in his home and then facing a car explosion in front of his house. For now, as a result of Judge James Robarts decision in the Western District of Washington on Friday, February 3, 2017, temporarily halting the implementation of the Executive Order in its entirety, those who had been adversely impacted by the Executive Order are safe. Collectively, President Trumps actions on immigration signal a sharp and dramatic departure from the equality and humanitarian norms of prior administrations, including a reversal of the stance of the most recent Republican President, George W. Bush. In his address to the nation on the need for comprehensive immigration reform, on May 15, 2006, President George W. Bush explained: We honor the heritage of all who come here, no matter where they are from, because we trust in our countrys genius for making us all Americans, one nation under God. The Executive Order is currently being questioned in the federal courts for its constitutionality. The Executive Order is also being questioned in the court of public opinion as being inconsistent with American values and as lacking the type of humanitarian leadership on refugee policy expected of American presidents since the close of World War II. Margaret Hu is an Associate Professor of Law at Washington and Lee University School of Law. She has served as senior policy advisor for the White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders and as special policy counsel in the Office of Special Counsel for Immigration-Related Unfair Employment Practices (OSC), Civil Rights Division, US Department of Justice. Suggested citation: Margaret Hu, Trumps Immigration Order Signals Sharp Departure from Other Post-WWII Presidents, JURIST Academic Commentary, Feb. 7, 2017, http://jurist.org/forum/2017/01/margaret-hu-trump-immigration-departure.php. This article was prepared for publication by Kelly Cullen, a JURIST Assistant Editor. Please direct any questions or comments to him at commentary@jurist.org The Syrian government has hanged more than 13,000 prisoners [press release] in extrajudicial executions over a five-year period at Saydnaya prison, Amnesty International (AI) [advocacy website] reported Monday. The report [text, PDF] says that the hangings occurred with alarming frequency, with up to 50 people hanged at a time at least once a week in the middle of the night. Further, it is believed that many more prisoners have died due to insufficient food, water and medical care. The report also details the military trials used to determine guilt or innocence. These trials reportedly often last one or two minutes, and are often based on confessions made by prisoners under torture. An AI spokesperson urged the UN Security Council [official website] to intervene, saying it cannot turn a blind eye to these horrible crimes. The UN must immediately demand an independent investigation into these grave violations of international law. Extrajudicial killings by government actors around the world has been a serious concern for human rights groups in recent months. Last week Human Rights Watch (HRW) [advocacy website] and AI both criticized [JURIST report] the Philippines government for extrajudicial killings used as part of the fight against drugs in that nation. The International Criminal Court [official website] also expressed concern [JURIST report] in October over extrajudicial killings committed by the government of the Philippines. In January senior Israeli politicians allegedly called [JURIST report] for Israeli police to kill Palestinians suspected of harming Israelis. In July HRW alleged [JURIST report] that Brasil officials had failed to take sufficient action to stop extrajudicial killings performed by police officers leading up to the Summer Olympics. [JURIST] Israels Knesset [official website] on Monday voted 60-52 in favor of a bill that retroactively legalizes the thousands of Jewish settlement homes currently located in the Palestinian West Bank territory. The new legislation allows [WSJ report] the government to seize private Palestinian lands and turn them over to the Jewish settlers currently residing there. Compensation will be provided to land owners in the form of money or alternative land plots. The bill was initially approved [JURIST report] by the Knesset last December and required further votes before becoming official law. The administration of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu [official profile] has hailed the recent decision as being in Israels best interest and has called for the further development and expansion of Israeli settlements. The international community, however, largely continues to regard the concerned settlements as illegitimate. Israels recent promotion of West Bank settlements has been interpreted as a push towards eventual annexation. Netanyahu is currently scheduled to meet next week with US President Donald Trump [official website], whose administration has suggested that such settlements may not be helpful in achieving Middle Eastern peace. Recent conflicts between Israel and Palestine [HRW backgrounder] over settlements in the occupied West Bank have raised concerns over possible human rights violations. Last week a UN expert called for action [JURIST report] to ensure Israel complies with Security Council resolution 2234 [text, PDF], which confirms that Israeli settlements in already occupied Palestinian territory violate international law. Also last week Israel authorized [JURIST report] the construction of 3,000 housing units despite international objections. Last month Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he will be lifting restrictions [JURIST report] on Israelis building settlements in East Jerusalem. A spokesperson for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres stated [JURIST report] that the latest Israeli settlement plans creates an obstacle to a two-state solution for Israel and Palestine, which is a great concern to the Secretary-General. The UN rights chief stated [JURIST report] in December that the Israeli settlement legislation violated international law. 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. Missouri Governor Eric Greitens signed a bill [text] into law on Monday, making Missouri the most recent right to work state. The law, which will go into effect August 28, prevents employers from requiring union membership or dues to support a union as a condition of employment, making it a misdemeanor to do so. Missouri will become the twenty-eighth state to have right to work legislation when the law goes into effect. Greitens signed the bill just weeks into his first term. Former governor Jay Nixon vetoed [St. Louis Post-Dispatch report] such a bill in 2015. The Missouri branch of the labor union the AFL-CIO issued vowed to fight the measure, filing a referendum [Kansas City Star report] to overturn it. Right to work laws have become more prevalent across the country in recent years. Earlier this month the Kentucky House of Representatives advanced a bill [JURIST report] that would allow workers to avoid paying dues at union workplaces. The West Virginia legislature passed the WV Workplace Freedom Act in February 2016 [JURIST report], overruling a veto by the Democratic Governor Earl Ray Tomblin the day before. West Virginia became the twenty-sixth state in the country with a right to work law. In May the Wisconsin Court of Appeals stayed [JURIST report] a lower courts decision striking down Wisconsins right to work law, thus reinstating it at least for the time being. [JURIST] Romanias Justice Minister Florin Iordache, the man who originally introduced the corruption decree that sparked large protests [JURIST report], announced [Reuters report] on Monday morning that he would soon publish details of an alternative bill to update the criminal code. However, confusion surrounds the announcement as shortly after Iordaches announcement the Justice Ministry [official website, in Romanian] issued a statement that there was no such plan to draft another bill. Although the corruption decree has been repealed, the Romanian Parliament [official website] is still scheduled to review a decree that would free 2,500 prisoners serving sentences of less than five years. Approximately 2,000 of the prisoners were arrested for abuse of power. The government has argued that this decree is still necessary to avoid prison overcrowding. However, critics argue that this decree is a political move to get friends of Livui Dragnea, the leader of the Romanian Social Democratic Party, out of prison. The controversial decree was passed [JURIST report] on Tuesday, sparking immediate demonstrations. The decree was originally drafted on January 18. The following day, the government published a draft of a plan to reduce prison overcrowding [JURIST report] that involved pardons for thousands of prisoners, which was met with protests around the country. The government insisted that a referendum [JURIST report] on the governments plan to pardon the prisoners was needed despite protests. The decree was repealed [JURIST report] on Saturday, but protests continue in many parts of Romania. In a statement following the repeal, the government noted that it had heard the voice of the street and did not want to divide Romania. Many of the demonstrations [Al Jazeera report] are calling for the government to step down, despite the repeal of the decree. In 2015 Romanias Superior Magistrates Council rejected 22 proposals that would have made it harder to fight top-level corruption [JURIST report]. [JURIST] South Koreas special prosecutor indicted former culture minister Cho Yoon-sun [official profile] and former presidential chief of staff Kim Ki-choon Tuesday for their roles in creating a blacklist of opposition artists. They are charged [Reuters report] with coercion, abuse of power and perjury connected to the decision to identify artists critical of the impeached president Park Geun-hye [official profile], and exclude them from government assistance. Both have denied existence of a blacklist or participation in drafting one. Cho Yoon-sun was arrested [JURIST report] last month, marking the first time a sitting minister has ever been arrested in South Korea. In November, the Parliament of South Korea appointed a special prosecutor [JURIST report] to investigate Park for allegedly allowing individuals to influence state affairs. Also in November two former aides and a close friend of the Park were indicted on corruption charges [JURIST report]. The investigation led to the impeachment of the president [JURIST report], accused of sharing confidential governmental information and extorting millions of dollars from large corporations. The investigation led to donations made by Samsung Group. Last month, the special prosecutor asked the court to grant an arrest order [JURIST report] a Samsung executive. However South Korean court refused [JURIST report]. [JURIST] The trial of eight former Bosnian Serb police officers charged with participating in the 1995 Srebrenica massacre [BBC backgrounder] began on Monday before the Higher Court in Belgrade. The court rejected another postponement [AP report], as defense lawyers postponed in December due to they demanded to know the prosecutions protect witnesses. The trial is seen as a litmus test on Serbias pledge to move past the Bosnian war which is still affecting the country almost two decades later. The prosecutor read out 1,313 alleged victims. The suspects were arrested in 2015, but are currently released pending this trial. Serbia and the UN has taken steps to bring justice to those a part of the Srebrenica massacre. The trial [JURIST report] of Ratko Mladic has been in process since 2011. In February Bosnian Serb General Zdravko Tolimir died in custody [JURIST report] in The Hague. Tolimir was convicted of genocide and given a life sentence by UN judges in 2012. In October lawyers for the families of three Bosnian Muslims killed in the 1995 Srebrenica massacre filed a complaint [JURIST report] with the European Court of Human Rights seeking to bring charges against three Dutch former-UN commanders. Responding to mounting actions by President Pierre Nkurunziza [bbc profile], UN human rights experts condemned [UN news report] on Monday governmental hostility towards non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and human rights defenders. The UN Office of the High Commissioner of Human Rights [official website] report cites numerous suspensions, including rights organization Ligue ITEKA and governance organization OLUFAD, as part of a troubling pattern that has culminated in disappearances [HRW report] and legislation passed in December seeking to control NGOs. The experts called the moves just the latest in a series of attacks on the rights to freedom of expression and association in Burundi. Burundi has been the object of much international scrutiny over potential human rights abuses. Violence in Burundi began in the wake of Nkurunzizas announcement that he would seek a third term of office, to which he was elected [JURIST report] in 2015. In October the National Assembly of Burundi [official website, in French] voted [JURIST report] overwhelmingly to withdraw from the International Criminal Court (ICC) in the midst of an ICC investigation against Nkurunziza. The UN Independent Investigation in Burundi (UNIIB) in September expressed its grave concern [JURIST report] about potential human rights abuses. Three human rights experts from UNIIB in June echoed [JURIST report] previous calls for a stop to ethnic violence after their second visit to the country. UN Special Advisor on the Prevention of Genocide Adama Dieng [official profile] said [UN News Centre report] Monday that violence in Myanmars Rakhine state could amount to crimes against humanity. Responding to a UN report [JURIST report] issued last week, Dieng said the treatment of members of the Rohingya community was revolting and unacceptable. Dieng stated: If people are being persecuted based on their identity and killed, tortured, raped and forcibly transferred in a widespread or systematic manner, this could amount to crimes against humanity, and in fact be the precursor of other egregious international crimes. This must stop right now! Dieng urged the government to protect its people, calling on officials to allow an international team of inspectors in to observe the situation. Dieng wants the end of discriminatory practices against Muslims, urging a solution for peaceful coexistence in the country. The situation in Myanmar has continued to be one closely monitored by advocacy groups and world organizations. Earlier this week Human Rights Watch [advocacy website] endorsed [JURIST report] an investigation into the abuses against the Rohingya population, specifically sexual abuses against women. Last month a prominent Muslim lawyer in the country was shot and killed [JURIST report] outside an airport in Myanmar, which brought condemnation from an UN expert about the human rights situation in the country. The continued abuses against this vulnerable population led the UN to send an envoy to the country last month to assess the human rights [JURIST report] situation. [JURIST] UNl Special Rapporteur David Kaye [official profile] called on [press release] Thai authorities Tuesday to cease using royal defamation laws to counter free speech that is critical of the royal family. This report was released as a law student activist awaits trial in detention for sharing a BBC news article on the new King, Maha Vajiralongkorn Bodindradebayavarangkun, on his private Facebook page. The student has been held in detention since his December 2 arrest. Kaye claims that international human rights laws prohibit not only the current actions of Thailand but also the law: Lese-majeste provisions have no place in a democratic country. I urge the authorities of Thailand to take steps to revise the countrys Criminal Code and to repeal the law that establishes a justification for criminal prosecution Thailand has been criticized in recent months for its human rights policies. The Thailand Parliament unanimously approved [JURIST report] a controversial amendment to its Computer Crime Act of 2007 (CCA) in December, which rights groups fear will give the government unrestricted power to police the web and suppress criticism. In September Amnesty International released a report [JURIST report] detailing the prevalence of torture employed by Thai authorities and claiming the military government has led to a culture of torture. The same month Thailands Bangkok South Criminal Court found British labor rights activist Andy Hall guilty [JURIST report] of criminal defamation and violating cyber crime laws. France-based food group Agromousquetaires is preparing for a move into the UK private-label market in a bid to increase sales and expand product development overseas. 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? 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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. Agromousquetaires, the food and drink manufacturing division of French food-to-retail conglomerate Groupement des Mousquetaires, is already in what it described as advanced talks with some of the UKs top retailers to offer a range of high-quality French appetiser-to-dessert products targeting UK consumers palates and budgets. Agromousquetaires CEO Christophe Bonno told just-food the UK market is a key market for the groups expansion despite Brexit being on the horizon. Bonno said: We are not in the UK at present, but it is a big market for French food manufacturers and so we are already prospecting there. He confirmed talks are already under way with retailers including Tesco, Asda, The Co-operative Group and Marks and Spencer. Bonno said Agromousquetaires is offering retailers a range of French cuisine with simplicity and accessibility and a French touch to be sold under private labels. Caroline Durand, Agromousquetaires key account managing director for the UK market, told just-food regardless of the outcome of Brexit negotiations, the group felt the time was right to enter the market despite its challenging economic backdrop. Durand said: Disposable incomes in the UK are still low and customers are sensitive to prices and are looking for everyday good value. According to research by Nielsen, discounters market share in the UK is growing, from 10% in 2016 with the expectation it will be around 13% for 2017. Durand said the trading conditions presented UK retailers with the strategic necessity of differentiating themselves from discounters like Aldi and Lidl by offering new products and good value premium labels, which, she argued is where Agromousquetaires sees its UK entry point. We believe we can provide a specific range of traditional but simple French recipes at a reasonable price that will allow retailers to adapt, meet new consumer trends and gain in profitability, Durand said. She said the groups own research in the UK showed that while consumers thought French food too complicated, too sophisticated and complicated to cook themselves, ready-made meals featuring traditional French dishes would be popular. We are talking to retailers about responding to consumers needs by offering meals that fit British meal occasions, as well as enjoying out-of-home, such as with appetisers and snacks to enjoy anytime. These can include fresh, frozen or deli foods with fish, meat, pasta or stir fries. We are offering dishes such as French chicken ragout or ratatouille, prepared by French chefs but as convenience foods for the British. In addition, Agromousquetaires is talking to retailers about supplying a range of fresh and part-baked bread products from its own bakeries in France. We are talking about providing high-end, convenience food products at a reasonable price a mid-range price for everyday food adapted for British eating habits and tastes, Durand said. Durand said talks with some UK retailers had already moved to the next steps, but the group was not yet ready to disclose more details or a proposed timetable for sealing its first deals. Agromousquetaires, which has more than 60 production sites in France and 11,000 employees, claims to be the leading supplier of private-label products in France by market share. Agromousquetaires turnover in 2015 was EUR4bn (US$4.27bn), of which three-quarters is generated by sales to its sister grocery business Intermarche. The group supplies some 45% of Intermarches private labels. Related Companies The CEO of Dutch dairy giant FrieslandCampina, Roelof Joosten, has held talks with Pakistans Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif about possible opportunities to jointly develop the countrys dairy industry. FrieslandCampina said the Islamabad meeting, which followed the groups acquisition of a majority stake in Pakistans second-biggest dairy company, Engro Foods, highlighted the need to explore partnership opportunities with the government to bring the local dairy industry on a par with international standards and contribute to Pakistans dairy sector development. Engro Corporation chairman Hussain Dawood also took part in the talks to jointly discuss possible opportunities to develop the dairy industry in the country through knowledge transfer and provision of nutritious value-added products amongst others, FrieslandCampina said. However, Joosten said the development of the dairy sector depended on also having clear standards and clear legislation. He added: It is also important to maintain a healthy balance between locally sourced and imported dairy, otherwise it will be nearly impossible to meet the demands of the Pakistan population. To be honest, we cannot do all this without the support of the government and related authorities. Sharif said FrieslandCampinas involvement in the country would be instrumental in positioning Pakistan as an attractive investment destination for global companies and encourage others to follow. He said: I am hopeful that this partnership will allow the Pakistani population to enjoy a wider array of affordable, high-quality dairy products for a healthier Pakistan. Improving the well-being of millions of our farmers is a cause that Pakistan has been focused on since its inception. I am convinced that this partnership will create tremendous long-term value for our dairy farmers. Meanwhile, the World Banks International Finance Corporation (IFC) announced it was providing a US$145m financing package to FrieslandCampina to spur the development of Pakistans crucial dairy industry. The package includes equity investments of $45m and a senior loan of $100m, the IFC said. Nederlandse Financierings-Maatschappij voor Ontwikkelingslanden, the Dutch development bank, is also providing up to $45m to support the acquisition. The IFC said the funding would help FrieslandCampina share its global experience and international best practices with the small-hold farmers who supply Engro Foods and most dairy processors in Pakistan, helping them to boost productivity and cut down on waste. According to the IFC, more than 200,000 farmers and 270,000 distributors are expected to benefit from the acquisition of Engro Foods, which will also create more than 1,000 new jobs in the dairy supply chain. Pakistan is the third-largest milk consumer in the world and its dairy industry produces 38 billion litres of milk annually, the IFC said. The acquisition will help improve food safety standards as supply chains improve productivity. In December, FrieslandCampina named its vice president of M&A, Hans Laarakker, as interim CEO of Engro Foods. A spokesperson said Laarakker would continue to hold the post of vice-president of M&A and business development at FrieslandCampina and that another CEO will be appointed at some point, but we dont know when that will be. The spokesperson declined to say if Laarakker himself might be a candidate for the position on a permanent basis. The Three Minute Thesis Competition, or 3MT, first held at The University of Queensland in 2008, is an academic competition that challenges graduate students to present a compelling oration on their thesis/dissertation topic and its significance to a non-expert audience in just three minutes using a single, static slide. 2023 K-State Competition The competition consists of two rounds. Graduate students from all disciplines are invited to participate in the first round. Six to ten participants will be selected to compete in the final round. Final round judges will select first and second place winners, and the audience will select a people's choice award winner. The first place presenter will represent K-State at the Midwestern Association of Graduate Schools (MAGS) 3MT Competition on March 30. December 12, 2022 11:59pm CST Participant registration deadline Registration opening soon! February 6 5:00pm CST Slide submission deadline February 8 227 Union First round competition (if needed, presentations will also be scheduled on Feb 9) February 22 5:30pm K-State Alumni Center Final round competition Eligibility Must be enrolled in a master's or doctoral program at Kansas State University in the Spring 2023 semester. A students program of study must contain an original research project. The degree program need not formally require a thesis or dissertation. However, the 3MT presentation topic must cover the original research project that is being conducted as part of the student's K-State graduate degree program. The presentation must address research the participant conducted during their graduate career at K-State (not undergraduate research or graduate research conducted at another institution). Students are not required to have reached a particular point in their research, but those who are further along in their research activity are likely to be more competitive. Graduate students must receive approval from their major professor prior to registering for the competition. The first place winners from previous competitions are not eligible to compete this year; previous second place and people's choice award winners are eligible to participate in this year's competition. Rules and Requirements Present a compelling oration of your original research topic and its significance using language appropriate for a non-specialist audience Presentations are to be spoken word (e.g., no poems, raps or songs) Time limit: 3 minutes. Competitors exceeding 3 minutes are disqualified Prepare a single, static PowerPoint slide that represents the purpose and importance of your original research; no slide transitions, animations, or 'movement' of any type are allowed; the slide is to be presented from the beginning of the oration Props, sounds, and other materials may NOT be included in the presentation Presentations are considered to have commenced when a presenter starts their presentation through either movement or speech The decision of the judging panel is final Guidance for 3MT success! Tips for a successful presentation Being successful in the 3MT involves much more than summarizing your research in three minutes. You need to be able to connect with your audience: explain your work in a way non-experts can understand and in a way that makes them interested in hearing what you have to say. Explore tips for success Attend a prep session If youre considering participating in the 3MT, youre encouraged to attend a session to learn more about the competition and how to prepare a successful 3MT presentation. More information coming soon! Judging Criteria Presentations will be evaluated on the following criteria: Comprehension and Content Did the presentation provide an understanding of the background and significance to the research question being addressed, while explaining terminology and avoiding jargon? Did the presentation clearly describe the impact and/or results of the research, including conclusions and outcomes? Did the presentation follow a clear and logical sequence? Was the thesis topic, research significance, results/impact and outcomes communicated in language appropriate to a non-specialist audience? Did the presenter spend adequate time on each element of their presentation - or did they elaborate for too long on one aspect or was the presentation rushed? Engagement and Communication Did the oration make the audience want to know more? Was the presenter careful not to trivialize or generalize their research? Did the presenter convey enthusiasm for their research? Did the presenter capture and maintain their audience's attention? Did the speaker have sufficient stage presence, eye contact and vocal range; maintain a steady pace, and have a confident stance? Did the PowerPoint slide enhance the presentation - was it clear, legible, and concise? Note that the common theme among the judging criteria is the impact of the presentation on the audience. Contact Questions about the Kansas State University Graduate Schools 3MT competition may be directed to Dr. Megan Miller, Student Success Coordinator, mmmiller@ksu.edu or 785-532-6191. Incredible though it may seem, Amogae has not actually lost faith in the justice of the legal system just yet. That's especially impressive considering how he spends most of this episode languishing in jail, suffering from the effects of torture. There certainly is a disconnect between what "justice" means depending on how well-connected a person is. It's almost as if the powers that be aren't actually interested in following the rule of law at all, and have to be shamed into doing so through public outrage. The modern political parallels are difficult to ignore. Remember that right now South Korea is going through impeachment proceedings of a president who stubbornly refuses to resign, even though she will almost certainly be forced out of office. And even if Park Geun-hye does avoid being removed from office, it will just be so she can serve as a lame duck for a few more months. It's exactly the kind of petty attitude that's fully encapsulated by the villains in "Rebel: Who Thief Who Stole the People". They're inconveniencing a huge number of citizens and wasting government resources to do what? Make a point about how they have the right to trample all over the weak? Amogae himself aptly encapsulates the irony of this by mentioning how without slaves, there's no concept of masters. They can only push so far before eventually the lower classes realize they outnumber their tormentors. What further keeps the villains from becoming too cartoonish is their sheer pettiness. Observe how at one point a scheme is developed to put little Gil-dong in danger. The monstrousness inherent in sending an adorable little child to an almost certain death is completely lost on the villain. Because, in her own twisted mind, she's right. Not in any moral or ethical sense, but the technical legal sense. You know that Bible quote, about how the sabbath was made for man, not man for the sabbath? The same principal applies to legal systems. The dogmatic obsession the villains have with the letter, rather than the spirit, of the law is what will ultimately doom them, because in reality they care about neither. Amogae has time and again proven himself to be an exceptionally intelligent, capable man who in a more egalitarian world would have been a high-ranked minister. It's only a matter of time before the villains give up on rules altogether, and even if they win in the end, in the meantime, there will be blood. Source:HanCinema Victoria, a south Texas town of 65,000, isnt mentioned in the New York Times very often, but most Victorians probably didnt welcome several references last week to an incident that occurred there in the early morning hours of Jan. 28. Around 2 a.m. the local mosque caught fire. By the time the fire department arrived, the blaze was out of control. The mosque was destroyed. The cause of the fire is under investigation, but the circumstances are suspicious. The building had been burglarized recently, and previously someone had spray-painted H8 on a mosque wall. Further, the incident occurred just hours after President Trump signed an executive order essentially banning certain Muslims from entering the United States, which may have stoked latent fears and antipathy toward Islam. All of this raises an interesting question: Victoria, Texas, has a mosque? Yes, it was a handsome, 15-year-old, white-brick building with golden domes, and it served as the spiritual home and cultural center for the citys 140 Muslims. Back to the Muslims in a moment; the fact is, Victoria has Jews, as well. Most of the Jews I know these days moved to Texas from the northeast, and they can probably be forgiven for assuming that Texas is a more or less Jew-less wilderness where the average local has never tasted a good bagel and doesnt know Shabbat from shiksa. But this perspective underestimates the influence of Jews on the history of Texas. Several Jews appear to have fought at the Alamo and in other battles for Texas independence. In the aptly titled The Chosen Folks, Bryan Stone, my college teaching colleague, chronicles the Jewish experience on the Texas frontier, especially in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Its an impressive tale of assimilation, cultural enrichment and, sometimes, anti-Semitism. In fact, Jews played a prominent role in the history of Victoria. A Jewish congregation, Bnai Israel, was established in the city as early as 1872. The Victoria County courthouse houses a display of the portraits of 40 Pioneer Cattlemen of Victoria County. Mostly theyre rugged, weather-beaten white men with beards, mustaches and stiff collars. One of the cattlemen happens to be a woman, and several are Hispanic. But at least two of them Charles Adler and Abraham Levy appear to be Jewish. In fact, despite their significant minority, Jews played an important role in the development of Victoria. Bnai Israel still resides in an attractive red-brick building just north of downtown. And when I was in high school yes, I grew up in Victoria Jews were among my classmates and prominent in school life, as well as in the community. And if there was anti-Semitism, I wasnt aware of it. Not that Victoria has always been a paragon of acceptance. I can remember when the movie theater across the street from the Confederate memorial had a separate entrance for blacks, who were required to sit in the balcony. But things change, and often they gradually get better. The morning after the fire, 400 people showed up outside the burned-out mosque to show support. Within a few days more than $1 million had been donated to help rebuild. And members of Bnai Israel were the first to go to Victorias Islamic leadership to deliver keys to their synagogue so the Muslims would have a place to worship in the meantime. At least four churches offered their facilities, as well. What can we conclude from this incident? Maybe it gives us hope that there are still many more good people in the world than bad. Of course, intolerance and xenophobia never lie far beneath the surface. But Americas best aspirational ideas are tolerance and assimilation. Over time they will prevail if enough good Americans keep doing the right thing. I drove past the burned-out mosque last Friday. Hand-painted signs remained: United We Stand. Stay Strong. And one banner, presumably from the Victoria Muslim community: Rebuilding with Your Love. Peace Be Unto You All. John M. Crisp, an op-ed columnist for Tribune News Service, teaches in the English Department at Del Mar College in Corpus Christi, Texas. We're always interested in hearing about news in our community. Let us know what's going on! Go to form New Year Wishes 2017 from Thailand Source:english.eastday.com Date:2017-01-26 New Year Wishes from Parichat Luepaiboolphan, Consul General of Thailand in Shanghai The translated text: On behalf of all the staff of the Consulate General of Thailand in Shanghai, I would like to wish Chinese friends including readers of Eastday.com a very Happy New Year and health, prosperity and happiness in the upcoming year. Thailand participated in the China International Cartoon & Game Expo 2016. "In 2017, the Royal Thai Consulate will have a variety of events to serve various groups of people. Due to our success in the past 6 years, we will join in the Shanghai International Film Festival 2017. We have planned during that 10 days in June, to hold a Thai Film Week, an opportunity for Thai stars to meet fans in Shanghai and a Thai Booth in the Film Market. Apart from that we are planning to arrange a Thai Day in 2 major universities that every student can join in. The information will be updated via our official Wechat website (ID: ThaiConsulate)." Fans meeting with Thai star, Tor in Shanghai, 2016 379 Shares Share Patients with extended illness or chronic conditions often acquire a communicative competence with far more complex medical terminology than their doctors realize. This is important, given that patients are too often seen as passive recipients of medical information, or worse, incapable of understanding their own health data. Recent studies show that one of the most effective prescriptions for increasing health outcomes and reducing medical malpractice rates is improving how doctors communicate with their patients. Aligning their language towards patients carries the potential impact of improving patients outcomes. For physicians, the impact could be reducing malpractice rates and delivering better care. Understanding patients is especially crucial because of federal passage last month of the 21st Century Cures Act. The Act promotes incorporating the patient perspective in a more intentional and systematic way throughout the drug and device development process. As former FDA Commissioner Robert Califf wrote, This new law rightly recognizes that patients should play an essential role in the development of drugs and devices to diagnose and treat their disease, since patients are in a unique position to provide essential insights about what it is like to live with and fight their disease. The new law is giving a boost to patient-centricity or patient-centered care. The federal Institute of Medicine defines patient-centered care as: Providing care that is respectful of, and responsive to, individual patient preferences, needs and values, and ensuring that patient values guide all clinical decisions. The Cures Act goes a step further, involving the patient perspective more fully in the pharmaceutical and medical device development process. Linguists identify groups of people who communicate according to shared rules of interaction and knowledge as a speech community. Health care social networks are speech communities and are a rich reservoir of the patient perspectives. For example, in the Scleroderma Foundation Support Community on Inspire, patients and caregivers routinely discuss, in detail, subjects ranging from their lab testing results to clinical trial design. As a community member noted, The problem with the doctors? Some are practicing insurance and some really do not understand this disease. We need to educate our doctors! I am learning to speak their language and I am getting a glimmer of hope that they really do understand the complexities of this monster. This member is becoming bilingual in medicalese, and yet, the language of patients is even more nuanced. Instead of simply using medical terms, patient-centered language accommodates the kind of information-sharing that comes most naturally to us as human-beings: storytelling and metaphors. This community member refers to their treatment experience as a glimmer of hope and their scleroderma symptoms as the complexities of this monster. Health care organizations must adapt their communication and information exchange strategies, employing both the terminology of the medical community and stories and metaphors in a relatable way. Patient-centric language recognizes the person independent of their condition, their linguistic styles, motivations, and emotions. Its about their life, not their disease. Kathryn Ticknor is a linguist and senior research manager, Inspire. Image credit: Shutterstock.com Shanghais tourism booms From:Xinhua | 2017-02-06 11:30 Travelers at Hongqiao train station in Shanghai yesterday as the Spring Festival holiday nears its end. Shanghai has issued about 39,000 temporary entry permits to foreigners since the 144-hour visa-free transit policy came into effect on January 30, 2016, immigration inspection authorities said. The policy allows people from 53 countries to enter China via two local airports, two international cruise terminals and railway stations. This year marks the 50th anniversary of the handing over of Kilkenny Castle to the Irish State. Over 1.3 million people a year go through the Castle Park and over 300,000 people last year visited the castle which is looked after by the OPW. The castle and the 52 acres inside its walls is the foundation stone of Kilkenny tourism. It is the focal point of the city and provides us with the iconic image of the city. The castle which dates from 1210 is one of the most important historical sites on the island while the Castle Park is a wildlife wonderland which also has a magnetic draw. More importantly it is a source of great pride to the local people. And it is wonderful that a half century later, a new tourist attraction is to open in the centre of the city - The Medieval Mile Museum at St Mary's Church, off High Street which is stunning and is profiled on Page 2 by Sam Matthews. As far as we know. there are no plans to commemorate the historic events of 1967 and the preceding year when all the groundwork was done. And there is no plaque or public, permanent record of this groundbreaking and important milestone in the life of the city and the county. There is just one surviving member of the committee set up to bring it into public ownership and look after its restoration still alive. Peter Smithwick, the retired president of the Irish District Court played an important role on the committee and in the handover as well as the successful attempts to begin the restoration of the castle. Others on the committee were the late Jim Gibbons, who was later the Minister for Agriculture who was pivotal in the sale to of the castle by the then Marquis of Ormonde, Arthur Butler. The last and sixth Marquis, Arthur, sold it to the state for 50, fifty years ago. Another man, who was at first, omitted from the committee but later seen as being critical to the success of the entire venture, actually helped to remove flags and roped placed for the foundation of houses to be built in 1966 on what is still the Castle Park. That man was the late Hubert Butler, grandfather of Bennettsbridge farmer. Suzanna Crampton. Another major figure at that time was the secretary of the committee, the late Mick McGuinness, father of Deputy John McGuinness. Frank Kavanagh Frank Kavanagh worked for all his adult life in the castle and was there when the castle officially opened in 1967. That year 11,000 people passed through the castle, Mr Kavanagh said. He picked out two politicians who made a huge difference in the restoration of the castle. The first is the President of Ireland, Michael D Higgins who as minister for the Arts and Heritage said the money had to be found for the project after walking over the floorboards, a storey up with Frank. The other, according to Frank was Phil Hogan, who as minister for the OPW secured the funding to stop the haemorrhage of items from the castle by the Butlers and who made grants available for a number of important restoration projects. See link below for a video of RTE television news report of formal handing over of Kilkenny Castle https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s_NKBK6crcI In a perfect world, you would have a picture-perfect house ready to put on the market at a moment's notice. You would quickly receive multiple offers for more than your asking price, maybe even with no repair contingencies. But even if your home doesnt need repairs, if youve lived there a while and havent remodeled lately, its a good bet that the kitchen, bathrooms or basement rec room could use updating. Your goal is to decide how much youre willing to spend on your home before you set a price and list it for sale. That means weighing supply and demand in your market, scoping out your competition, and strategically picking upgrades that will help sell the house and recover your costs. Project Versus Price Even if you arent planning to sell immediately, its smart to invite a real estate agent to evaluate your home. Ask for a to-do list to make your house competitive in your neighborhood, keeping in mind that the higher the price, the pickier the buyers will be. Even if youre not ready to list your home, an agent who wants your future business will gladly help. 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 Agents competing for your listing will give you a comparative market analysis (CMA), which includes listing information for properties for sale (or those that recently sold) that are similar to yours in size and number of bedrooms and bathrooms. The CMA has data on price history, time on the market and how properties differ from your home in condition and features. The agent will recommend the improvements that he or she thinks will provide the most bang for your buckthe quickest sale or the highest asking price. Its a good idea to verify the agents advice by attending open houses of comparable homes in your market. For the national average cost and percentage return for 30 home-improvement projects, check out Remodeling magazines annual Cost vs. Value Report (opens in new tab). Before you consider pricier projects, at a minimum plan to declutter, depersonalize, clean and paint. Neutralize the decor of your home, eliminating a passe color scheme or anything that could turn off potential buyers, such as orange shag carpeting, a purple accent wall, faux-painting effects or custom murals. Many agents will provide or refer you to a stager, who will remove and arrange furniture to make rooms look bigger and improve traffic flow, or add furniture and decorative accents in a vacant house. If something, say the roof, is in serious disrepair (and your home isnt a rehab or teardown), fix it if you can, even if you dont expect to get your money back. Youll avoid scaring away buyers or having the issue show up in the buyers inspectionwhen, depending on how much leverage they feel they have, they will probably ask you to repair it anyway. If you anticipate that a major home system, such as a furnace, is reaching the end of its useful life, pay to have it inspected and serviced, says Denver agent Anthony Rael. Leave the contractors report and bill on the kitchen counter for buyers to see. Rael also suggests that you consider buying a home warranty, which covers major appliances, wiring, and heating, cooling and plumbing systems. For about $400 to $600, it will protect you during the listing period if, say, an older appliance needs to be replaced, and it will reassure buyers that they will be protected for at least a year after they purchase the home. Real estate agents typically sell you the warranty or refer you to independent providers. (Check the warranty companys Better Business Bureau rating (opens in new tab).) You can transfer the warranty to the buyer at closing for a nominal fee. As Is Usually Isnt Good Enough With inventory low in many cities, sellers in theory should be able to sell their homes as-is and still get a great price. But your leverage as a seller varies by zip code and price tier. Entry-level homes are in shortest supply, and in general, buyers must take what they can get; that gives sellers the advantage on condition and price. For example, in Denver, where the housing market has been superheated for several years, homes priced under $375,000 sell as-is quickly and for a strong price, says Rael. But the supply of higher-priced homes is more plentiful, he says, and buyers are pickier. By contrast, Sarasota, Fla., agent Deb OMara says many homeowners who bought there during the real estate bust have begun to cash out, even as new construction is being completed. Paying for projects such as refinishing your floors doesnt mean you can set a higher price, but it does mean you will sell more quickly. Rather than trying to negotiate what work should be done with a soon-to-be-ex spouse or settling an estate with anxious family members, an as-is sale may be the best way to get the house on the market quickly, says Rebecca Agosta, an agent in New Yorks Hudson Valley. Note that buyers tend to overestimate the cost of repairs and will usually subtract it from your list price. A good way to counter that is to get quotes for the work and give them to buyers. You may think that your financial life is in perfect order. You have a solid plan to reach your goals, including maxed-out retirement savings and enough life insurance to protect your family in case you die while youre still earning an income. But its a safe bet youve left one gaping hole that could jeopardize all of your planning: the risk that you will become disabled and unable to work. Missing a paycheck for a few years could make it difficult to pay your bills, forcing you to resort to expensive debt or to raid your retirement savingsand derailing your ability to save for your future. Disability insurance is one of the less-talked-about types of insurance, but from a financial planning standpoint, protecting ones income is critical, says Peter Creedon, a certified financial planner in New York City. Many people have some disability insurance coverage through work, with premiums paid or heavily subsidized by their employer. Thats a great start. But it can give you a false sense of security because the coverage would likely fall short of providing enough money to meet your needs. With consolidation among disability insurers and more sophisticated underwriting, its now easier for workers with certain types of jobs, including people who are self-employed, work at home or work as independent contractors, to get coverage. However, they still need to provide extra documentation to demonstrate stable income. 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 Supplementing Workplace Coverage When Rachel and Wesley Hudson, both 31, bought their first home, in New Fairfield, Conn., they worked with their financial adviser to make sure they could always afford their mortgage. We dont ever want to be without a house, says Rachel. They both had disability insurance through their employers, but they discovered that their work policies covered only 30% to 40% of their incomes, which wasnt nearly enough to pay their bills. So the couple bought extra insurance from Northwestern Mutual. Each of them now has enough insurance to cover roughly 70% of their total income. The cost: about $40 per month each. The Hudsons situation isnt unusual. Very few people know what their long-term disability insurance will cover if they become disabled, says Lawrence Hazzard, vice president of disability product strategy for Guardian Life. If you have disability insurance through work, contact your human resources department to find out exactly how much your policy would pay each month and under what circumstances. Group disability insurance generally covers up to 60% of your income, and benefits are taxable if your employer pays the premiums. Many group policies cap monthly benefits at $5,000; some go up to $10,000. People with incomes under $75,000 or $100,000 per year may have adequate coverage through work, says John Ryan, of Ryan Insurance Strategy Consultants, in Greenwood Village, Colo., who helps financial advisers find disability coverage for their clients. But higher earners may receive less than half of their income. And calculations usually dont include bonuses and commissions, which could leave you with an even smaller portion of your pay. An individual policy to supplement your employers group coverage may bring your total coverage up to 70% to 85% of your compensation, including bonuses and commissions, with a much higher monthly cap. (You cant replace 100% of your income because insurers want you to have an incentive to work.) Benefits arent taxable if you pay the premiums yourself, and the individual policy offers a safety net in case you leave a job that offers group coverage and your new employer doesnt offer it. In that case, an individual policy may cost more, and you might have trouble qualifying for it if you have developed health problems. You generally cant convert a group policy to individual coverage. Tony Stubbs, 46, an IT salesman in Dallas, has disability coverage through his employer. Although he thought the policy would replace enough of his income to cover his expenses, when he worked with a financial planner, he discovered the calculations didnt include bonuses and commissions. In fact, the policy covered only about 15% of his total compensationnot enough to meet his familys needs, says Stubbs. My kids are in private school and college-bound, and I didnt want to interrupt our life plans. He shopped for an individual policy to supplement his group insurance and now pays $3,220 per year to bring his total coverage up to 40% of his total compensation, including bonuses and commissions. He qualified for more coverage, but he and his adviser, Wade Chessman, calculated that this was enough to cover his expenses while keeping his premiums manageable. Chessman learned the importance of disability insurance from the experience of his father, a bank executive who developed an autoimmune disease at age 51. His father spent months in intensive care, then several years recovering, and was never able to return to work at his previous level. This was during his peak earning years, when he was going to put away more dollars for retirement, says Chessman. His dads disability insurancegroup coverage through work and a supplemental policymade a big difference for his family. It replaced enough of his income to allow my parents to retire comfortably, says Chessman. Chessman tells clients that if they can afford it, they should get coverage that continues until their full retirement age for Social Security benefits. If not, at least get a five- to 10-year policy, he says. It gives you more flexibility and choices. Buying an Individual Policy Premiums for an individual policyeither to supplement group coverage or as your only coverageare based on your job, the policys definition of disability, the benefit amount, your gender and age, and other coverage details. (You can use the calculator at www.guardianlife.com to get quotes from Guardian.) Most individual policies will pay out if you arent able to work at any occupation for which youre suited based on education and experience. The most-generous policies will pay if youre unable to work at your specific occupation (a definition of disability called own-occupation), even if you can do another job. The most restrictive policies pay only if you cant work at all. Its important to have a true understanding of what you will and wont be able to do if you become disabled, says Hazzard. You may only need to pay for a basic policy if you have a desk job, without many physical duties, that would allow you to continue to work if, say, you broke your arm. This kind of policy would pay out if you developed a disability that made you unable to do your job (or any other based on your education and experience)if perhaps you developed cancer or a debilitating illness, such as rheumatoid arthritis, that would prevent you from working for a while. That level of coverage works for most people, says Steve Stribling, vice president of disability income for Northwestern Mutual. For example, a 45-year-old man who earns $100,000 per year as a financial adviser and has $5,000-per-month coverage from his employer could get an extra $2,010 per month of this type of coverage from Northwestern Mutual for $871 per year (bringing his total coverage to 84% of his income, the maximum Northwestern Mutual will offer at that income level). The coverage continues to age 67 and includes a 3% annual cost-of-living adjustment. A 45-year-old woman would pay $1,358 per year for the same coverage (women pay more for individual coverage because they have more claims, but group policies usually have unisex rates). When youre shopping for a policy, find out what happens if you are able to return to work part-time. Some policies will discontinue benefits if you work at all; others include residual benefits, which pay partial benefits if you can work only at a reduced level. Some insurers include these benefits automatically, and some charge about 10% extra. If you have a specialized job that could be more difficult to perform after an injury or illness, such as a surgeon, dentist or lawyer, consider a more expensive own-occupation policy. This type of policy provides coverage if you cant do the primary duties of your job but could continue working in another job. For example, a 35-year-old male attorney who earns $210,000 per year and doesnt have group coverage would pay about $2,244 per year for a Guardian Life policy that provides a $10,000 monthly benefit until age 65 after a 90-day waiting period, says Ryan. This policy would pay full benefits if the attorney couldnt practice as a lawyer, even if he could work in another occupation, such as teaching or consulting. It would also pay partial benefits if he could return to work part-time. Hed pay about $3,400 per year if he bought the policy at age 45. The policy would cost $3,540 per year for a 35-year-old woman, or $4,690 if she bought the policy at age 45. It costs about 12% to 15% more to add a cost-of-living adjustment that increases your monthly benefits by 3% per year after you are disabled. The younger you are when you buy a policy, the lower your annual premiums. Many policies lock in level premiums for life, and some charge less at first but increase over time. You can choose the waiting period before benefits kick in, with higher premiums for shorter waiting periods (90 days is most common, and you may have enough sick leave or short-term disability coverage at work to cover the gap until disability benefits kick in). Qualifying for Coverage Insurers primarily look at two factors when deciding whether to issue a policy and how much to charge: your income and your health. Youll generally need to provide pay stubs or tax returns showing your income. It used to be more difficult to get coverage if you had recently started a new business, but now you may be able to get coverage if you can produce tax returns from the business for at least a year, and you may qualify for a policy sooner if you can show the insurer that you have contracts providing stable income for at least six months. Insurers also assess your health to figure out the risk that youll file a claim. People with musculoskeletal and mental conditions are some of the biggest risks; a history of chronic back pain or visits to a psychologist for depression may make it more difficult to get coverage. Some insurers may exclude those pre-existing conditions or limit the length of coverage, or they may charge extra because of them, says Larry Schneider, of the Disability Insurance Resource Center, in Beaufort, S.C. If the condition has improved after a couple of years, the insurer may drop the exclusion or reduce your rate. Every insurer has its own underwriting requirements, so if you have a health condition, it helps to work with a disability insurance specialist who deals with several insurers to find the best deal. (Some financial advisers work with such disability insurance specialists.) Insurance specialists contact insurers ahead of time to see whether they offer coverage in more-complicated situations. The State Council on Feb 6 released the 13th Five-Year Plan (2016-2020) on employment, an overarching guideline to promote employment and entrepreneurship in China in the next five years. According to the plan, more than 50 million jobs will be created by 2020, with reasonable rises in wages and urban registered unemployment rate below 5 percent. Meanwhile, efforts are urged to improve the entrepreneurial environment and human resource structure. Educated and skilled workers should account for a large share of the total work force. The plan calls for a balanced growth of new and traditional sectors to drive employment, and policies should be in place to guide labor-intensive industries to move to central, western, and northeastern regions. More efforts should be made to promote high-end equipment, new materials, electronic vehicles, and other new industries and business patterns, to expand job creation. At the same time, preferential policies should be offered to enterprises and industries that absorb a large amount of labor. According to the plan, the nation will step up development of modern agriculture, forestry, and production to create more jobs for farmers. Internet Plus agriculture and other new industries in rural areas should be also encouraged. The plan calls for efforts to develop labor-intensive industries in resource-exhausted cities, and more support policies for regions struggling in declining industries, to stabilize and increase employment. Meanwhile, administration streamlining should be continued to optimize entrepreneurial environment, and inspire more people to start businesses, an important approach to creating jobs. Policies should be in place to encourage scientific, education, and cultural experts to take the lead in entrepreneurship, and create favorable conditions for overseas high-end talent to work and start businesses in China. Services to support entrepreneurship should be strengthened, with more incubation hubs and entrepreneurial parks being built, to ensure more startups could survive and succeed in the market. The plan also calls for more active policies to ensure employment of university graduates, migrant workers, as well as poverty-stricken families and disabled people. Is the driver ready to take over the steering wheel? Cameras help autonomous systems react to the situation in the vehicle interior. (Photo: PAKoS) Autonomous driving may enhance safety of road traffic, provided that vehicles and drivers interact without problems. The interdisciplinary research alliance Personalisierte, adaptive kooperative Systeme fur automatisierte Fahrzeuge (PAKoS, Personalized, Adaptive Cooperative Systems for Automated Vehicles) coordinated by Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) is aimed at developing and implementing an assistance system for increased safety. In the next three years, the project will be funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) with about EUR 3 million. We want to contribute our vast expertise obtained by research at the interface of information technology, mobility, and man, Soren Hohmann, Head of the KIT Institute for Control Systems, says. It is the objective of PAKoS to implement for the first time ever individualized and personalized cooperation between car and user. The new system is to acquire the capabilities and current state of the driver, to adapt automatically, and to safely transfer vehicle control to the driver on this basis. Later on, it is to take over control again, when e.g. leaving the motorway or driving through construction sites. To assess the situation, the assistance system is to use images recorded in the vehicle interior and to provide information in real time on the current state of the driver. Among others, the system is to recognize whether the driver is tired or alert and whether he/she has his/her hands on the steering wheel. In addition, a portable profile of the driver is to provide information on the typical driving behavior of the user. In either case, data sovereignty remains with the user. Another challenge will consist in the development of interaction interfaces for reliable multi-modal communication between vehicle and user via visualization, haptics, and audio systems. Our interdisciplinary research will bridge the gap between autonomous and manual driving and ensure safe vehicle control shared by man and machine, Dr. Michael Flad, scientist of KIT and coordinator of PAKoS, adds. The components developed in partial projects are planned to be integrated into a prototype that will be evaluated in a user study. Apart from KIT and the FZI Research Center for Information Technology, the PAKoS project partners are the Technical University of Munich, the Fraunhofer Institute of Optronics, System Technologies, and Image Exploitation, Robert Bosch GmbH, BMW AG, Spiegel Institut Mannheim GmbH & Co. KG, Videmo Intelligent Video Analysis GmbH & Co. KG, mVISE AG, b.i.g.-Group and Stadtmobil Car Sharing. The project budget totals approx. EUR 4.1 million, with 76% being funded by the BMBF. The project will expire in late 2019. More about the KIT Mobility Systems Center http://www.kit.edu/research/6720.php Being The Research University in the Helmholtz Association, KIT creates and imparts knowledge for the society and the environment. It is the objective to make significant contributions to the global challenges in the fields of energy, mobility, and information. For this, about 9,800 employees cooperate in a broad range of disciplines in natural sciences, engineering sciences, economics, and the humanities and social sciences. KIT prepares its 22,300 students for responsible tasks in society, industry, and science by offering research-based study programs. Innovation efforts at KIT build a bridge between important scientific findings and their application for the benefit of society, economic prosperity, and the preservation of our natural basis of life. KIT is one of the German universities of excellence. MANILA, Feb 7 (Reuters) - A Philippine mining industry group said on Tuesday it will invoke a presidential order on freedom of information to force the environment agency to release the results of its mining audit. "The Chamber has decided to file a Freedom of Information requesting the Secretary or the DENR (Department of Environment and Natural Resources) to provide all the information related to the audit," said Artemio Disini, chairman of the Chamber of Mines of the Philippines. Environment and Natural Resources Secretary Regina Lopez on Thursday ordered 23 of the country's 41 mines shut permanently, saying many were operating in watersheds. However, a team that reviewed an audit of the country's mines had recommended suspension of operations and payment of fines for environmental violations, rather than closure, two people with knowledge of the matter said. (Reporting by Enrico dela Cruz; Editing by Richard Pullin) HANOI, Feb 7 (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 0410 GMT. Feb 7 Feb 6 USD/VND mid-point 22,196 22,197 USD/VND interbank 22,545/22,620 22,595/22,600 USD/VND unofficial 22,790/22,840 22,850/22,900 SJC gold (mln dong/tael) 36.60/37.02 36.60/37.42 Interbank offered rates Overnight 3.0-3.8 3.5-4.6 1 week 3.2-4.0 4.2-4.8 1 month 4.0-4.7 4.6-5.0 3 months 4.5-5.3 4.7-5.5 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) (Adds Tamayo's comments on Petroperu oil pipeline and recent spills) LIMA, Feb 6 (Reuters) - Peru's state-owned energy company Petroperu might sell an "important" amount of bonds this year to help finance the $3.5 billion expansion of its Talara refinery, the energy and mines minister said on Monday. A bond issuance would lower costs and extend the deadline for paying off debt for the project, which would also be financed through loans, Minister of Energy and Mines Gonzalo Tamayo told a press conference. The government of President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski said last year that it had ruled out any bond issuance to finance the project and was instead pursuing loans from Spanish state-backed insurer Cesce, the World Bank and a lending syndicate. Tamayo said the government had since reconsidered and that Petroperu would likely sell the bonds with the state of Peru providing a guarantee. Petroperu might also seek a bridge loan until the bonds are launched, Tamayo added. "It would be an important issuance," Tamayo said, declining to specify an amount. "It would have to be this year." Tamayo also said that in coming days Petroperu would likely resume operation of the northern branch of its Amazon-to-coast oil pipeline, and the government was aiming for it to be fully operational by the end of the year. The four-decade old pipeline was shuttered a year ago after the first of what would eventually become a dozen oil spills in 2016 that have frayed Petroperu's relations with nearby indigenous communities. Petroperu started to use trucks to transport oil from tanks that had fed into the pipeline two months ago, but a recent road accident spilled another 800 to 1,000 barrels of oil in the Amazon, Tamayo said. A clean-up has been delayed because of a dispute with nearby communities, Tamayo added. (Reporting By Mitra Taj; Editing by Cynthia Osterman and Andrew Hay) Feb 7 (Reuters) - The possibility New York City could lose some federal funding as a result of its status as a haven for undocumented immigrants did not deter investors who snapped up $900 million of the city's bonds on Tuesday. Underwriters led by Citigroup repriced the AA-rated general obligation bonds, shaving yields by a basis point in a handful of maturities. Yields topped out at 3 percent for bonds due in 2029. The city's so-called credit spread over Municipal Market Data's benchmark triple-A yield scale widened slightly to 22 basis points for five year bonds and 36 basis points for 10 year bonds from pre-sale secondary market trading levels. MMD attributed the spread widening to the size of the deal, which was increased from $800 million. "It's too early to know how the market will treat the sanctuary cities," said Daniel Berger, a MMD analyst. Jack Sterne, a spokesman for the New York City Comptroller's Office, said the deal was increased to $900 million after more than $600 million of bonds were sold to individual investors during a presale period. "We're pleased investors continue to recognize the city's financial strength and invest in our bonds," he said in a statement. Ahead of the sale, New York tried to assure potential bond buyers that its status as a so-called "sanctuary city" that shields illegal immigrants should not result in a substantial loss in federal funding due to President Donald Trump's recent executive order. The Republican president signed an order on Jan. 25 directing the U.S. attorney general and Homeland Security secretary to withhold federal money from cities where local law enforcement refuses to report undocumented immigrants they encounter to federal authorities. Trump's Homeland Security chief told a congressional panel on Tuesday that funding to cities that refuse to cooperate with immigration agents would only be cut on a case-by-case basis. In the bond deal's preliminary official statement, New York said federal grants related directly to immigration enforcement comprise a small portion of its budget and that grants supporting law enforcement in general would be exempted from the order. The city also vowed to "mount a vigorous legal challenge" against a reduction in federal aid. In addition to New York, other major cities offering some form of protection to illegal immigrants include Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, Boston, Denver, Washington, and Seattle. Another sanctuary city, San Francisco, filed a legal challenge to the order last week. (Reporting By Karen Pierog; Editing by Tom Brown) CAIRO, Feb 7 (Reuters) - Egypt paid its $630 million financial obligation in January to Italian oil and gas company Eni to develop the biggest gas fields ever found in the Mediterranean, Rami Aboul Naga, assistant Sub Governor for foreign reserves at the Central Bank of Egypt, told state news agency MENA on Tuesday. Petroleum Minister Tarek El Molla said in January Egypt was committed to repaying the $3.5 billion it owes in arrears to foreign oil companies but a foreign currency shortage has made the drawing down of those debts more difficult. Egypt's foreign reserves rose to $26.363 billion at the end of January, but were still about $10 billion less than the reserves before an uprising in 2011 ushered in a period of political turmoil, scaring away tourists and foreign investors, key sources of hard currency. The central bank floated the Egyptian pound in November as part of economic reforms. The move helped Egypt clinch a $12 billion three-year loan from the International Monetary Fund. Zohr, discovered by Eni in 2015, is the biggest gas field ever found in the Mediterranean with an estimated 850 billion cubic metres of gas in place. The approval process for development of the field was completed in February and first gas is expected by the end of 2017. Once a net gas exporter, Egypt turned into a major importer of LNG as growing demand outstripped production. The field is expected to come into production at the end of the year and will save Egypt billions of dollars in hard currency that would otherwise be spent on imports. (Reporting by Omar Fahmy; writing by Amina Ismail, editing by David Evans) (Adds Banro Corp statement, stock lower) Feb 7 Armed robbers attacked Banro Corp's Twangiza gold mine in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo early on Tuesday and three policemen and one assailant were killed, the Canadian company said. A security guard was also injured when the group of men attempted to enter the gate at the mine site camp, the company said. One of the robbers is in police custody. Police opened fire on the raiders, ending the assault, Banro's vice president for government relations, Desire Sangara, earlier told Reuters. No items were stolen and operations at the mine continue as normal, Banro said in a statement. It said the attack, which was recorded by company surveillance cameras, was immediately reported to authorities and is being investigated. Twangiza opened in 2011 and has become the most advanced of Banro's four gold mines in eastern Congo. It has been plagued by illegal miners squatting on the site and by armed groups, some of the dozens of militias that remain active despite the official end to a regional conflict in 2003. Shares in Banro listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange were 2.3 percent lower at 21.5 Canadian cents. (Reporting by Aaron Ross in Kinshasa; Additional reporting by Nicole Mordant in Vancouver; Writing by Emma Farge; Editing by Andrew Heavens and Grant McCool) (Adds lead quote, context) By Robert Hogg Feb 7 (IFR) - The Kingdom of Belgium is taking indications of interest for a dual-tranche euro benchmark, testing demand for eurozone sovereign debt at a volatile time. An October 2024 deal is being marketed at mid single digits over mid-swaps and a June 2057 issue in the low 90s over, according to a lead. Eurozone sovereigns have raised billions via syndications this year, with Belgium attracting 21.5bn of demand for a 10-year in January despite the trade coming at a record low yield for a 10-year Belgian syndication. However, conditions have taken a turn for the worse in recent days, with French and Italian government bonds selling off as concerns around the political backdrop escalate. A 1.5bn February 2043 issue for the European Financial Stability Facility was caught up in the volatility on Monday. Books were only just covered at 1.8bn, which included 225m of joint-lead manager demand. The trade was quoted 4bp wider on Tuesday at swaps plus 34bp bid, according to Tradeweb prices. Two bankers away from Belgium's deal said they expect the seven-year to get away smoothly, but given the disappointing performance of EFSF, the longer trade was more of an unknown. One of the bankers said a dual-tranche structure offered a natural hedge, with strong demand for the shorter bond likely compensating for any lack of appetite for duration. The 2024 bonds are offering a premium of 4bp-5bp, according to a lead banker, while the 2057 notes are estimated to be coming 7bp-8bp back from fair value. "The 40-year is more difficult to mark," said the lead. "But it should be relatively interesting given what is happening in OATs. Both are inside where France is trading." BNP Paribas Fortis, HSBC, JP Morgan, KBC Bank, Morgan Stanley and Societe Generale are running the trades, which are expected to price later today. Belgium is rated Aa3/AA/AA-. (Reporting by Robert Hogg, Editing by Helene Durand, Julian Baker) (Adds Banro Corp statement, stock lower) KINSHASA, Feb 7 (Reuters) - Armed robbers attacked Banro Corp's Twangiza gold mine in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo early on Tuesday and three policemen and one assailant were killed, the Canadian company said. A security guard was also injured when the group of men attempted to enter the gate at the mine site camp, the company said. One of the robbers is in police custody. Police opened fire on the raiders, ending the assault, Banro's vice president for government relations, Desire Sangara, earlier told Reuters. No items were stolen and operations at the mine continue as normal, Banro said in a statement. It said the attack, which was recorded by company surveillance cameras, was immediately reported to authorities and is being investigated. Twangiza opened in 2011 and has become the most advanced of Banro's four gold mines in eastern Congo. It has been plagued by illegal miners squatting on the site and by armed groups, some of the dozens of militias that remain active despite the official end to a regional conflict in 2003. Shares in Banro listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange were 2.3 percent lower at 21.5 Canadian cents. (Reporting by Aaron Ross in Kinshasa; Additional reporting by Nicole Mordant in Vancouver; Writing by Emma Farge; Editing by Andrew Heavens and Grant McCool) You can now donate to Kiwiblog Dane DeHann in a scene from "A Cure for Wellness." / Courtesy of 20th Century Fox By Kim Jae-heun Dane DeHaan, the leading actor of the upcoming American psychological thriller "A Cure for Wellness" said he suffered both mentally and physically while portraying the young executive in the film. DeHaan plays the role of the ruthless executive Lockhart of Wall Street, who goes on a trip to retrieve his company's CEO from an odd, secluded wellness center located in the middle of the Swiss Alps. Upon his arrival, Lockhart feels a bizarre atmosphere in the place where he suddenly gets sick and is taken to receive special treatment. "It was a physically and psychologically demanding shoot for me, definitely," said DeHaan during the live broadcast press conference at CGV Yeouido, last Wednesday. "Specifically, the most physically demanding scene was the scene in the isolation tank. That sequence took two weeks to shoot. I was strapped in wearing several different metal cables that were attached to the side of the tank, that kept my body horizontal. I was breathing through an oxygen tube but my nose wasn't covered and my eyes weren't covered. It was two weeks of that. I was really exhausted and crazy and at times it was a little dangerous too." The dentist scene was another painful experience for the actor where he confessed he suffered the biggest mental stress. He did not have to actually have his tooth pulled out, obviously, but it was a psychologically demanding scene despite the short shooting time. DeHaan said almost every scene in the movie required his best acting skills as the director Gore Verbinski asked him to keep the audience in the scene, not losing the grip of the story for even an instant. "I first appear as a character giving a favorable impression, which is followed by sudden shocking scenes. There are two that I thought, what is this?'" "Some scenes don't connect with each other and the corridor scene took three months to shoot as there was some impression Verbinski wanted to convey to the audience," added DeHaan. The director said he attempted to shoot the scenes from certain angles that give a sense of irrationality and set the frames to foretell the sickness in the story. Verbinski, who directed the first three "Pirates of the Caribbean" series and the Hollywood remake of the Japanese horror movie "The Ring" (2002), now hopes to depict how modern people suffer psychological oppression and pain in pursuit of perfection and success with this new movie. "I think modern society is not healthy and has changed irrationally. I wanted to show how this prevails in our lives today and sometimes the treatment can be more horrific than the illness itself," said Verbinski. DeHaan agreed with Verbinski that his character Lockhart is an ill person who was previously a workaholic who hopes to become a rich and powerful man by stepping over competitors. "The movie is fun and scary and is based on a unique idea. Korean audiences will watch the unexpected development of the story, which will last for a long time after you have watched the film," said DeHaan. "A Cure for Wellness" will hit theaters on Feb. 16. By Nam Hyun-woo China's retaliation against Korea's decision to deploy a U.S. Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) battery here seems to be emerging as a major threat to Tong Yang Life Insurance's bid to improve its capital prudence. According to an industry source familiar with the issue, Tuesday, Chinese authorities have notified Anbang that it needs approval before it can inject capital into Korean firms in which the insurance giant has major stakes. The source, asking not to be named, said Anbang "heard of such a policy when it asked Chinese authorities at the end of last year to approve its acquisition of Allianz Life Korea." Anbang signed a deal to buy a 100 percent stake in Allianz Life Korea in April and Allianz Group said on Dec. 30 that the sale was all wrapped up. In November, Tong Yang Life announced it would make a rights issue worth 620 billion won ($51 million) and Anbang Group Holdings, a Hong Kong-based paper company owned by Anbang Insurance Group, would buy all the new shares. The Financial Services Commission (FSC), the financial authority here, approved the bid in December. Generally, such a process is done as soon as the FSC gives the go-ahead, but Tong Yang has yet to finish the capital injection and the board meeting to decide details over the rights issue continues to be delayed. Observers say Chinese authorities may place tougher standards in screening the capital injection following the decision to deploy THAAD and this could be the case for other Chinese companies looking to bring funds into Asia's fourth-largest economy. Tong Yang Life said it would hold the board meeting "soon to complete the rights issue," but refused to say when, arguing it was related to the regulatory filing. "The rights issue was decided by Anbang partly to improve Tong Yang's readiness ahead of a new accounting rule that forces insurance firms to build an increased amount of reserves," a Tong Yang Life official said. The capital increase is aimed at enhancing its risked-based capital (RBC) ratio, a key index assessing insurers' financial soundness. As of last July, its RBC ratio was 252.4 percent, below the industry average of 297.1 percent. Should the rights issue be completed, this will rise to 320.3 percent. Anbang holds a 63 percent stake in Tong Yang Life, which would rise to 75 percent after the capital injection. By Park Jae-hyuk Hotel Lotte's recent attempt to acquire the debt-ridden Bobath Memorial Hospital in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, may not go smoothly for legal reasons, according to the health authority, Tuesday. An official of the Ministry of Health and Welfare recently said, "Basically, Neul Proon Medical Foundation, a non-profit corporation operating the hospital, cannot be acquired or merged under the current medical law." The official pointed out that bankrupted non-profit corporations generally go into liquidation and then belong to the government. The official's remark aroused doubts from some observers that the acquisition between the two may end in failure, even though they signed a formal agreement for the deal last November. However, another health ministry official on Tuesday denied allegations of the deal's failure, explaining the former remark was made to show that the first-ever M&A case of a non-profit corporation should undergo a thorough legal examination. Since Hotel Lotte submitted a rehabilitation plan last year, the company has been waiting for the court's approval. If the court approves the plan, the Seongnam City Government will make the final decision. Lotte Group has denied any legal problems with its hotels and resort unit's acquisition of the hospital, noting the government and Seongnam City have still been discussing the matter. Last October, the nation's fifth-largest conglomerate became the preferred buyer of Bobath, seeking to expand its presence in the medical industry. The group has continued to emphasize that the acquisition deal was made as a social contribution. But the retailer's efforts have been opposed by some civic groups fearing commercialization of the domestic medical industry. They have warned that debt-ridden non-profit corporations may fall prey to capitalists after the deal. Bobath, which can accommodate about 550 patients, has been evaluated to be worth around 90 billion won ($79 million). The hospital which specializes in rehabilitation experienced financial difficulties after it tried to enter the Chinese market. The hospital applied for rehabilitation at the Seoul Central District Court last September. By Nam Hyun-woo Wi Sung-ho Shinhan Financial Group on Tuesday nominated Wi Sung-ho as the sole final candidate for new CEO of Shinhan Bank. The group announced that its subsidiary management committee has named Wi, CEO of Shinhan Card, as the candidate. Following the nomination, Shinhan Bank's executive recommendation committee will hold a meeting to confirm the nomination on Wednesday. Should the 58-year-old get approval at the general shareholders' meeting in March, he will serve at a term of two years and succeed Cho Yong-byoung, the bank's current CEO who will become the group's chairman. The five-member subsidiary management committee, including outgoing Shinhan Group Chairman Han Dong-woo, said it highly evaluated Wi's leadership during his tenure at Shinhan Card, as well as his experience of serving Shinhan Bank Vice President and Shinhan Financial Group Deputy President. Wi has been the chief of Shinhan Card for the past three years and notched up significant performance, consolidating its No. 1 position in the domestic credit card sector. From January to September last year, Shinhan Card posted a net profit of 532.2 billion won ($465 million), up 2.04 percent year-on-year. During the same period, Samsung Card, the nation's second-largest card issuer following Shinhan, posted 283.7 billion won. Except for the two issuers, their rivals including KB Kookmin Card, Woori Card, Hyundai Card and Lotte Card suffered decreases in their net profits during the same period amid harsh market circumstances. In January, Wi had vied for Shinhan Group's chairman post with Cho. During interview sessions for the chairmanship, Wi withdrew from the race, saying "It is natural for Cho to become the new chairman." As Cho was nominated as a successor to Han, observers said the likelihood of Wi becoming the bank CEO significantly increased as Shinhan's corporate culture prioritizes hierarchy. A Shinhan official said Shinhan's top position is group chairman, followed by bank CEO and card CEO. Earlier this month, a civic group accused Wi of perjury to the prosecution, but this did not sway Shinhan's decision. In its claim, the civic group said, "Wi was the main culprit of the Shinhan fiasco," a legal dispute between Shinhan officials seven years ago. The question remains whether Wi can soothe factions opposing his nomination. Reportedly, some of Shinhan's Japan-based outside directors have been opposing Wi because of his close connection with former Group Chairman Ra Eung-chan, one of the core figures of the Shinhan fiasco. In a rare case, the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea issued a statement over the appointment: "Shinhan Bank should show transparency and thorough screening in appointing its new CEO, given the bank manages 300 trillion won in public wealth." By Yoon Suh-young An ancient Korean map is cited as "ancient Chinese map on this page from a U.S. history book titled "Streams of Civilization." / Yonhap A Korean historian living in the United States discovered recently that a traditional Korean map called "Cheonhado" was identified as an "ancient Chinese map" in a U.S. history textbook, Yonhap News Agency reported Tuesday. In the 2017 edition of "Streams of Civilization," used as a high school textbook in the U.S., the Korean map on page 286 was wrongfully identified as a Chinese map, according to Yoo Gwang-un. The map was reportedly purchased in 1972 by Hendon Harris, a missionary who was active in Taiwan, at a local antique shop in Seoul. Harris, who died in 1981, gave the seven Cheonhado maps he purchased in Seoul to his daughter, Reese Charlotte. Harris and Reese believed the maps were Chinese because they were written in Chinese characters. It is presumed they delivered an explanation to that effect to the publisher when sharing the map for use in the textbook. Professor Gari Ledyard of Columbia University, who was teaching Korean studies, and a Korean specialist at the Library of Congress have both reportedly advised Reese that the maps were uniquely Korean, although she did not believe it. Ledyard explained that "Cheonha" means "below the sky" or "the whole world" in Chinese characters. Ledyard calls the maps "Unique Chosun Cheonhado" due to the confusion about the maps' identity coming from the word "Cheonha" which is believed to refer to China. Yoo told Yonhap, "Cheonhado is a unique world map of Korea which cannot be found in China or Japan. The Korean Research Association of Old Maps and related organizations must make strong efforts to correct the wrong because what students learn in high school lasts their whole lives." Vice Mayor of Seoul Liu Gyoung-gee, right, shakes hands with Frederique Mutel, CEO of Journee Europeenne Composites (JEC) Group, after signing an agreement at the city hall, Tuesday, to cooperate in preparation for JEC Asia, a composite industry exhibition. The exhibition will take place in Seoul from Nov. 1 for three days. More than 3,000 people are expected to visit the exhibition. / Courtesy of Seoul Metropolitan Government By Yi Whan-woo Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se expressed support for U.S. President Donald Trump's "peace through strength" policy in dealing with threats from North Korea in a telephone conversation with U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, Tuesday. "The Trump administration's pursuance of this policy is perfectly workable as North Korea has been threatening to launch pre-emptive nuclear strikes," Yun was quoted as saying by the foreign ministry in a press release. "The two allies should continue to make unprecedented efforts to implement sanctions on Pyongyang and press its regime comprehensively based on zero tolerance for North Korea's nuclear program." Yun and Tillerson promised to develop the Seoul-Washington relationship as the "strongest alliance ever" under the Trump government. Tillerson offered to take a joint approach to better cope with North Korea's "immediate threats" and put the related topics on the agenda for their meeting. The two sides will coordinate a schedule for a foreign ministerial meeting later this month, according to the foreign ministry. This was Yun's first conversation with Tillerson since the latter won Senate confirmation for the post, Feb. 1. Yun congratulated Tillerson, the former ExxonMobil CEO, while assessing that their telephone conversation reflected the Trump government's "steadfast" commitment to the Seoul-Washington alliance. Yun pointed out that the two allies have been in close contact recently, referring to a phone call between acting President and Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn and Trump on Jan. 30, a face-to-face meeting between Defense Minister Han Min-koo and U.S. Secretary of Defense James Mattis in Seoul, Feb. 3 as well as Yun's separate meeting with Mattis during the latter's Seoul visit. Biggest challenge for Trump Regarding North Korea's nuclear threats, Yun told Tillerson that it will be the most serious diplomatic and security challenge facing the Trump administration. He proposed that the two foreign ministers run a real-time consultative system to remain prepared to counter North Korea's military provocations at any time. Yun said they also should bolster dialogue at all levels, including the dormant six-party nuclear talks. Tillerson "fully agreed" on the need for persistent cooperation between the allies. Concerning the planned deployment of a U.S. Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) battery in South Korea, the two top diplomats reiterated the agreement reached between Han and Mattis last week. Back then, the two defense ministers agreed to deploy THAAD as scheduled despite China's opposition. "Yun and Tillerson were on the same page about the deployment of the THAAD battery by the U.S. military in South Korea. They agreed it should be solely a defensive measure aimed at countering North Korea's military threats, and will not hurt national interests of other countries," the foreign ministry said. The two vowed to make "a wide range" of efforts to encourage China to join in denuclearizing North Korea, citing that Beijing's role is critical in thoroughly implementing the U.N. Security Council's sanctions on Pyongyang and fulfilling other related goals. Tillerson said he supports South Korea's efforts to improve its relations with Japan, and that it will be helpful in strengthening the trilateral security alliance with the U.S. Both Yun and Tillerson are scheduled to join the Meeting of G20 Foreign Ministers in Bonn, Germany on Feb. 16 and 17, plus the annual Munich Security Conference from Feb. 17 to 19. The foreign ministry said it is consulting with the U.S. on setting up face-to-face talks between Yun and Tillerson then. The telephone conversation came after North Korean leader Kim Jong-un claimed in a New Year message that his regime is in the final stages of developing intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM), which will be capable of carrying nuclear warheads and striking the U.S. mainland. The Trump government has been bolstering its rhetoric against North Korea while vowing to reinforce the U.S. military against enemies under a belief that it will result in "peace through strength." Filipino President Rodrigo Duterte speaking during the inauguration of a solar powered irrigation system in the town of M'lang, North Cotabato province, southern Philippines, Friday. / EPA-Yonhap By Jung Min-ho The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has kept mum about Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte's threats against Korean criminals living in the Southeast Asian country. The ministry said Tuesday it is still examining the background of his comments aimed at Korean citizens allegedly involved in drug crimes. Duterte, who has repeatedly encouraged citizens and police to kill alleged drug dealers and users, said last week that Korean suspects will not receive special treatment for their wrongdoings just because they are foreigners. But his warning frightens most of the 90,000 Koreans living there, given there is no chance for a fair trial in his bloodthirsty war on drugs conducted through extrajudicial killings. In addition to the Korean residents, more than 1.3 million Koreans visit the country every year. Concerns have been growing that the ministry's inaction may lead to the death of more Koreans like Jee Ick-joo, a Korean businessman allegedly murdered by local police officers in the headquarters of the Philippine National Police last October. By Jun Ji-hye The United States is rushing to deploy an advanced anti-missile system here possibly before a new South Korean leader takes office, analysts said Tuesday. Washington is jittery about the possibility that the new leader, who will most likely come from the opposition bloc, could reconsider the deployment decision made by the Park Geun-hye administration, they noted. However, the rush is triggering concerns here because an early deployment of a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) battery may have serious implications for the next government amid rising protests from China and Russia. It is obvious that the next government will have to bear the brunt of any hasty deployment. Some analysts claim that it is improper for President Donald Trump's administration to push for the deployment while Seoul is suffering from a leadership crisis caused by President Park's impeachment. They say the issue should be handed over to the next government for possible renegotiations. If Park's impeachment is backed by the Constitutional Court this or next month which seems very likely now a presidential election will take place two months after the decision, instead of in December under the original schedule. Purpose of Mattis visit The original plan announced by the allies in July last year was to deploy the THAAD battery by the end of this year. But after the visit of U.S. Defense Secretary James Mattis last week, speculation has been growing that he and his Korean counterpart, Defense Minister Han Min-koo, might have agreed to move up the schedule for deployment before any election here. Patrick Cronin, senior director of the Asia Program at the Center for a New American Security, wrote in his column before the defense ministerial talks, "Secretary Mattis and his Korean counterparts are likely to seek to accelerate the deployment date of the THAAD missile battery, so that it happens prior to the next Korean election." After the talks, Seoul's ministry said the two officials agreed to push for the deployment as planned, but declined to comment on whether the system would be in place before the election. Park Won-gon, an international relations professor at Handong Global University, said it is significant for the United States to finalize the plan at the earliest possible date as the political situation in South Korea has been unstable with some opposition lawmakers even calling for withdrawing the decision to deploy THAAD. He said Washington probably sees the possibility for an opposition candidate winning the election, so is rushing to deploy the battery out of concerns that the decision could be overturned by the next government. "Mattis probably visited South Korea to check the ongoing situation here and make sure of the deployment in accordance with the Trump administration's plan to advance its global missile defense program to protect against missile attacks from North Korea and Iran," he said. Indeed, during his two-day visit, Mattis stressed that the THAAD system was absolutely necessary to defend against North Korean threats so the deployment would go as planned. Mattis said the deployment of the THAAD anti-missile battery is designed to protect the South Korean people and the U.S. troops stationed here, but these can be seen as ostensible reasons, according to Hong Hyun-ik, a senior researcher at the Sejong Institute. "THAAD is believed to have some limits in defending against North Korean missiles," Hong said in a radio appearance. "More than this, THAAD plays a decisive role in holding China in check, which is very good for the United States. So, Washington is moving to deploy it as soon as possible." Let next government decide Independent lawmaker Kim Jong-hoon urged the impeached Park government to stop pushing policies related to the economy and national security. "The agreement between Han and Mattis showed the government's arrogance that neglected the ongoing impeachment trial as well as the Northeast Asian peace order," he said Kim said the deployment of the THAAD battery could raise Seoul's financial burden for the upkeep of the 28,500 American troops in South Korea. Washington is expected to demand an increase in Seoul's contribution as President Trump pledged during his campaign to have wealthy allies such as South Korea and Japan shoulder more of the cost of U.S. forces stationed in their countries. "The THAAD issue should be handed over to the next government and then the National Assembly should make a final decision," he said. By Chung Hyun-chae Park Soo-hwan A district court acquitted Park Soo-hwan, head of PR agency News Communications that was conducting PR for Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering (DSME), on charges of fraud and extortion, Tuesday, citing a lack of evidence. The Seoul Central District Court cleared Park of receiving 2 billion won ($1.7 million) in PR fees from DSME in return for lobbying policymakers and Min Yoo-sung, former president of the Korea Development Bank (KDB), to help the shipbuilder's former CEO Nam Sang-tae to extend his term. The bank is the largest shareholder and main creditor of the shipbuilding company. "Given that Nam was expecting that he could serve consecutive terms, it is unlikely that he asked Park for additional help," the court said. Min also testified in the previous hearing that he had not considered other figures as CEO of DSME, which affected the ruling. Park, 59, was also acquitted of charges of deceiving Kumho Asiana Group by receiving 1.1 million won for illegally providing them with lawsuit strategies or consulting regarding legal issues under the pretext of PR services. "It is hard to recognize it as fraud if there are no tangible outcomes," the court said. The prosecution earlier demanded seven years in prison and 2.1 billion won fine for Park. By Kim Rahn President Park Geun-hye may end up in jail in March if the mandate for the independent counsel's investigation into the presidential corruption scandal is extended until the end of that month. This is also based on the assumption that the Constitutional Court removes her from power by backing the National Assembly's impeachment of the scandal-ridden president at the same time. To prevent this, Park's lawyers and aides are likely to use delaying tactics so that the court decision will come out after the investigation mandate expires, even if it is extended. The counsel team said Monday that it may seek to extend the mandate which is slated to end Feb. 28. According to the related law, the period can be extended once by 30 days only when acting President and Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn approves it on behalf of the President who has been suspended from duty. Earlier last month before his retirement Jan. 31, former court President Park Han-chul said it was desirable for the court to make a conclusion before another justice, Lee Jung-mi, retires March 13, because a single vacancy on the nine-member bench could lead to a "distorted" ruling. After this remark, it has been widely believed that the court will make the ruling before March 13. If the counsel's investigation period is extended through March 28, it will be unfavorable to Park as the team will secure more evidence and testimony disadvantageous to her. If the court makes the decision in early March and endorses the impeachment, the ousted Park will be stripped of presidential privileges, such as being immune from prosecution while in office. As an ordinary citizen, she will have to submit to the questioning and, if the allegations are confirmed, may be arrested and indicted. So, Park's team is likely to try to delay the court's decision to sometime after the counsel team's mandate expires. In that way, she will be able to avoid forced questioning or arrest by maintaining the presidency. Park's lawyers may encourage her to attend the court hearing, which she has so far refused to do, so the court will have to hold several more hearings and the final ruling will be delayed to April or later. If the mandate is not extended and the investigation is wrapped up before the court ruling, Park may avoid the worst-case scenario. Instead, without the counsel's probe, she may see negative public opinion about her dying down. But still, the prosecution will keep investigating the corruption allegations after the counsel team hands over its findings. Both the prosecution and the team regard the President as an accomplice of alleged corruption committed by her confidant Choi Soon-sil and former presidential secretaries. Regarding the mandate extension, the acting president only said, "I'll review it when the counsel team officially requests it." But speculation is high that Hwang may not approve the extension out of loyalty to the President. As a countermeasure, Rep. Park Joo-min of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea submitted a revision bill to bypass Hwang's approval in extending the period. While the current law stipulates an independent counsel can conduct an investigation for 70 days, and for an additional 30 days with the President's approval, the bill seeks to extend the total period to 120 days without any approval. If the bill is passed at the National Assembly's plenary session around Feb. 23, the counsel team will be given the additional period automatically and continue the probe through the middle of April. But it is to be seen whether the bill will be passed, because the ruling Saenuri Party is likely to vote against it. By Kim Hyo-jin Presidential hopefuls are eagerly presenting their visions for the so-called Fourth Industrial Revolution with various ideas to create jobs and revitalize the economy. Rep. Ahn Cheol-soo of the minor opposition People's Party laid out education reform plans in preparation for the new industrial era as his flagship pledge, Monday. Moon Jae-in, former leader of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) and frontrunner in opinion polls, also pledged a government-led move to establish infrastructure for the coming changes. Amid rising attention on the Fourth Industrial Revolution in the political arena, pundits criticize that potential presidential candidates still lack detailed plans on how to mitigate the impact from the changes in the industrial environment. They worry about abstract pledges remaining as mere rhetoric as "economic democratization" did in the 2012 presidential election. The Fourth Industrial Revolution has drawn much attention in the world economy since 2016 when Davos founder Klaus Schwab coined the term to explain the deep digital transformation now upon us. It is characterized by a fusion of technologies that is blurring the lines between the physical, digital, and biological spheres, he said, owing to groundbreaking advances in artificial intelligence, robotics, the internet of things (IoT), self-driving vehicles, 3D-printing, nanotechnology, biotechnology and quantum computing. Moon vowed to set up a committee of the fourth industrial revolution under the presidential office, if elected, to efficiently prepare for possible challenges. He also promised to establish a network of IoT, build smart houses, roads and cities, and introduce new and renewable energy. Criticizing Moon's plan as an "old vision," Ahn claimed that measures should be devised by the private sector while the government promotes a supportive environment. The software mogul-turned-politician underlined educational reform as a driving force for our economic transition. He presented the idea of reforming the current school system into a two-year kindergarten, five-year primary and five-year secondary school system, and creating a two-year vocational training school for secondary school graduates before they enter college. South Chungcheong Province Governor An Hee-jung, another contender in the DPK, also is putting greater importance on nurturing creative minds, but is focusing more on reviewing content in public education. An, who became the runner-up in the latest opinion poll, took aim at Moon, saying "government interference in dealing with industrial challenges should be minimized." He vowed to create a level playing field for future industries by regulating conglomerates' infringement of intellectual property rights and unfair business deals. Meanwhile, Seongnam Mayor Lee Jae-myung of the DPK stressed the need to increase job opportunities, raising concerns about possible massive layoffs caused by technological development. He pledged to provide a basic income for low-income laborers and training opportunities. Lee set the basic income per person at 1.3 million won but failed to explain how to prepare financial resources for such an undertaking. Rep. Yoo Seong-min of the conservative Bareun Party pledged to promote business startups but some raise questions about its efficacy as startups in the fourth industrial revolution era entails digital technology. By Doug Bandow Religious differences run deep in our pluralistic world. It may come as no surprise that such disagreements sometimes end up in violence. Yet that rarely is the case in what might be called Christendom. Indeed, in large part there is little discrimination let alone persecution against spiritual minorities in majority Christian nations. The exceptions tend to be countries that suffered under Communism or other authoritarian forms of rule. In contrast, brutal mistreatment of religious minorities of all faiths is the norm in majority Muslim countries. The degree of harm variesChristians live better in the small Gulf States than in Saudi Arabia, for instance, where not a single church is allowed to exist. Yet only under a secular dictator like Iraq's Saddam Hussein did religious minorities appear to enjoy anything approaching legal equality. This ugly reality is evident in the latest "Hall of Shame" report released by International Christian Concern. The group starts with the Worst of the Worst. As always, North Korea heads the list. In this totalitarian state the national leader is treated as divine. To believe in anything else is political heresy. ICC estimates that 400,000 Christians have been martyred in the North since that country was established in 1948. Tens of thousands are believed to be imprisoned for their faith today. In this case, religious persecution is simply another facet of probably the most extreme totalitarian rule on the planet. Next are Iraq and Syria. Both were inadvertent havens for Christians and other religious minorities because the two countries were ruled by secular dictators. Unfortunately, the Bush administration's ill-considered invasion of Iraq blew up Iraq and ultimately the region, triggering a sectarian war, of which Christians were among the biggest victims. The subsequent rise of the Islamic State intensified the persecution. Noted ICC, "Today, Christianity in Iraq and Syria is on the verge of extinction as a result of atrocities by ISIS, other militant Islamic groups, and a widespread increase in radical Islamic thought." Many religious minorities who left are unlikely to return. ICC includes Nigeria, explaining: "Christians in the North and Middle Belt regions face brutal daily persecution for their faith from the Islamic extremist groups Boko Haram and the Fulani militias." Alas, the central government's high-profile campaign against Boko Haram has had only middling success at best and actually caused the terrorist group to concentrate its ill attention on Christians. Next come what ICC terms "Core Countries," which tend to be less bloody but no less constant in their persecution. Saudi Arabia is a veritable totalitarian state: "Only Sunni Islam may be practiced publicly and any Saudi citizen who converts to Christianity or another faith is immediately guilty of apostasy, punishable by death. Even non-Saudi Christians living in the Kingdom risk imprisonment and deportation if they attempt to meet privately to pray or read the Bible." China acts like a typical Communist nation in attempting to suppress any organized groups loyal to anything other than the party and state. Explains ICC, "China frequently uses intimidation, arrests, destruction of church property, and church closures to persecute Christians." In Egypt "Christians have endured persecution for 1,400 years since Islam arrived. They are treated as second-class citizens," while the government does little to protect them from violence. For instance, "Christian women are regularly abducted, raped, and forcefully married and converted," often with the assistance of the police. Pakistan is another brutal Islamic state in which all religious minorities are at risk. Noted ICC, "Pakistani Christians suffer from rigid job discrimination, potent blasphemy laws, abductions, and forced conversion and marriage, as well as bombings and terror attacks from Islamic radicals." Unfortunately, violence and mistreatment of religious minorities have increased since the triumph of the Hindu-nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party in 2014. Violent attacks are common. In some areas radical Hindus "assault and social boycotts (denying them public services, jobs, and goods) against" Christians. Finally, ICC has added a "New and Noteworthy" category for nations which are not nearly as bad as the foregoing, but nevertheless where events "indicate declining religious freedom and are cause for alarm." The U.S. heads this list, since political correctness now legally trumps religious liberty in many states. Russia increasingly has been discriminating against faiths other than Orthodoxy. Ministers have been punished for proselytizing, holding services, preaching, and baptizing. Although Mexico is a nominally Catholic nation, "discrimination against Christians in Mexico runs rampant in rural villages and other local communities, with little or no government intervention." Evangelicals, in particular, have been beaten, exiled, and sometimes murdered. In its latest "Hall of Shame" report ICC touches on only a few of the many instances of religious persecution around the globe. Despite rising social and legal hostility toward Christians in some Western countries, these believers remain lucky. Religious liberty is precious yet sadly in short supply in so many nations. Doug Bandow is a senior fellow at the Cato Institute and a former special assistant to President Ronald Reagan. He is the author of "Foreign Follies: America's New Global Empire." By Lee Sun-ho AI has become a common English abbreviation in various mass media in recent decades not only inside Korea but also all over the world. AI (sometimes being misunderstood with A1) stands for three apparently practical facts. One is avian influenza, another for artificial intelligence with double meanings: machine operations and a movie (mostly used as A.I.). AI, on the one hand, refers to the disease caused by infection with bird influenza viruses. Although there are many strains of avian flu, the most common kinds that concern health workers are H5N1, H5N6 and H7N9 subtype viruses. Wild birds can easily pass the viruses on to poultry being raised for food, such as chickens, ducks, and turkeys. Usually bird flu virus is not passed on to people. But since 1997, some people have become sick with this serious, deadly kind of bird flu. Most of these infections have been in Asian countries among people who have had close contact with birds raised on farms. Attempts should be made to minimize the presence of any subtypes of virus strains in poultry through routine surveillance of poultry flocks in commercial bird breeding, currently being under progress in Korea and elsewhere accidentlly during the Year of the Rooster. On the other hand, AI stands for artificial intelligence, deriving from two different realms. One is intelligence exhibited by machines. In computer science, an ideal intelligent machine is a flexible rational agent that perceives its circumstance and takes actions that maximize its chances of success at some goal. Colloquially, it is applied when a machine mimics cognitive functions that humans associate with other human, such as learning and problem solving. As machines become increasingly capable, mental faculties once thought to require style transfer slaves for imitating intelligence productivity are removed from the definition. Human intelligence can be so precisely described that a machine can be made to simulate it. Even though AI raises philosophical arguments about the nature of the mind and the ethics of creating artificial beings endowed with human-like intelligence in the 21st century, AI techniques have become flexible rational agents that perceive their environment and take actions that maximize their chance of success at some goals in computer science toward the visible competition in various brackets of production activities looking forward to the fourth industrial revolution. The other (mainly abbreviated as A.I.) is a 2001 American science fiction drama film written and directed by Steven Spielberg. The scenario by Spielberg was based on a short screen play by Ian Watson inspired by a 1969 short story Super-Toys Last All Summer' by Brian Bliss. The plot is like this. In the late 22nd century, global warming has flooded the coastlines, wiping out coastal cities (such as Amsterdam, New Orleans, New York City and Venice) and drastically reducing the human population. Two thousand years later humans are extinct and Manhattan is buried under some hundred meters of glacier. There is a new class of image robots called Mecha, advanced human aids capable of emulating thoughts and emotions. The film received highly mixed reviews, sharply dividing critics, but won the best remote future-aiming science fiction movie. All in all, human beings are destined to mingle with the above-mentioned three AIs (incl. an A.I.) in the foreseeable or far-reaching future paths of emerging evolution and changing environment restlessly on the edge of human history. We have to be appropriately-prepared far in advance, toward the human benefits/disadvantages for the sake of forthcoming generations on the global village in the years or decades to come. The writer is an ombudsman columnist for The Korea Times in Seoul. Contact him at kexim2@unitel.co.kr. By Choe Chong-dae Mario Soares passed away on Jan. 7, 2017 at the age of 92. This is a great loss, also for me personally. He founded Portugal's Socialist party and served as the Portuguese President from 1986-96. He is widely regarded as the pioneer, the father and voice of freedom of the country's modern-day democracy. He was the symbol and the artisan of resistance to the dictatorship and the transition of Portugal to democracy. He served as prime minister between 1976 and 1978, in the aftermath of the Carnation Revolution that ended decades of right-wing dictatorship. A Socialist, he returned as prime minister again in the early 1980s and then served as president. I adore and highly respect him for dedication his whole life to the struggle for liberty in both Europe and the world. I myself am fascinated by Portugal in many ways. To begin with, there was the first contact with Korea, when in 1604 the Portuguese trader Joao Mendes was washed ashore on Korean soil, at the port city of Tongyeong, South Gyeongsang Province. Mendes was a survivor of a Portuguese trade mission, whose vessel was destroyed by a typhoon. During the Daejeon Expo in 1993, Korea was honored by the Portuguese President's visit. I was invited to attend the welcoming reception in his honor. The event was hosted by Manuel G. Leite, then Portuguese Ambassador to Korea at the Peace and Friendship Building of the Daejeon Expo on Oct. 17, 1993. During the reception, I was honored to present President Soares with a copy of the "DungnokYucho." a 17th-century official document from the Joseon Kingdom that vividly described Mendes as the first Westerner to arrive on the Korean Peninsula. This historical document a 17th-century official document of Joseon Kingdom recounts Mendes's arrival on the Korean peninsula. The document was discovered at the Seoul National University library in 1987. Ever since, I have written many articles for The Korea Times over the decades pertaining to Portugal's providing Korea with its first exposure to Western civilization. The "Dungnok Yucho." appeared in print in the book, "Portugal-Nation, History, and Culture", published by the Camoes Institute and Portuguese Cultural Center in 1998. Among the heads of state I have had the privilege of meeting, President Soares was the most pleasurable because he exchanged plenty of interesting views with me during the reception. He actually showed much interest in a variety of different aspects of Korea such as history, media and culture, and particularly on the democratization of Korea. Soares inspired me he was a modest, open minded and warm humanist. The description of my meeting with President Soares was published on The Korea Times, October 19, 1993. To celebrate the 40th anniversary of diplomatic ties between Korean and Portugal, the first seminar of "Portuguese-Korean Historical Studies" was held at the Embassy of Portugal in Seoul in April, 2001. At that time, one of my articles, "Origin of Portuguese and Korean Cultural contacts," published in The Korea Times, Dec. 23, 1992, was presented to the seminar. The article also appeared in print in the book, "Portuguese-Korean Historical Studies", jointly published by the Camoes Institute, Portuguese Cultural Center in Seoul and Royal Asiatic Society, Korea Branch in 2001. I have strongly recommended to the Tongyeong city government and Embassy of Portugal in Korea to erect a memorial in of Portugal's first contact with Korea. Accordingly, a historical monument to commemorate the first landing in Korea was erected at Samdeok port, Tongyeong in 2006 in cooperation with the city government and the embassy, based on a long standing commitment. A bronze plate, given by the Portuguese government, tells the story of the first contact between the two countries, and sits in the center of the stone monument. The unveiling ceremony was held on Sept. 14, 2006 with the attendance of many dignitaries including Carlos Frota, then ambassador of Portugal to Korea and Jin Euy-jang, then mayor of Tongyeong. Tracing old relationships back between Korea and Portugal, I realized the fact that Portugal played a pioneering role in the opening of sea routes between Europe and Asia including Korea. It is hard to think of Portugal apart from Camoens (1524-1580), a legendary poet and writer who honored the Portuguese voyages to the Orient in the 16 century with the Portuguese national epic "Luciads". I surmise that Mendes arrived on Korean soil reciting the epic of Lusiads like other Portuguese merchants and sailors who made similar voyages in the 16th to 17th centuries. Choe Chong-dae is a guest columnist of The Korea Times. He is president of Dae-kwang International Co., and Director of the Korean-Swedish Association. He can be reached at choecd@naver.com. By Lee Seong-hyon There has been speculation that U.S. President Donald Trump has been ignoring Chinese Communist leader Xi Jinping. Since his inauguration two weeks ago, Trump has spoken with nearly 20 world leaders on the phone, including acting Korean President Hwang Kyo-ahn. He also spoke with Japan's Shinzo Abe. Yet he has yet to speak with Xi, the leader of the world's second largest economy. Xi sent a congratulatory message to Trump. Trump received it, but didn't respond to it. In an apparent snub, Trump didn't even return the friendly gesture by arranging a courtesy telephone call with Xi. What is interesting is that Xi doesn't seem dejected by that. Rather, China has been continuing to send amicable signs to Trump, in spite of the setback. It even directed its media outlets not to criticize Trump on the occasion of his inauguration and instructed them to reflect sanitized government texts, as carried by the official Xinhua News Agency, for the occasion. All along, Beijing has been having a hard time in pinning down Trump. China initially underestimated him as an easy man to deal with, based on his political naivete. Intercepting a U.S. Navy underwater drone in the South China Sea was an early test for Trump's mettle. Trump's response was: "Let them keep it!" When Xi said upon Trump's election, "Cooperation is the only choice," it was reported that the latter took offense with the tenor of the message that sounded like a warning. Xi probably meant it as a rhetorical way of underscoring the importance of cooperation. When Trump and Tsai Ing-wen were on the phone, and later when he addressed her as "President" on Twitter, China inwardly bristled but controlled its emotions. It decided to believe the convenient notion that the political rookie was in his learning curve and didn't fully grasp the sensitivity of the Taiwan issue. And yet when Trump declared that the "one China" policy was also a matter of negotiation, Beijing became alarmed. No previous U.S. president has challenged the one China policy since Washington and Beijing established diplomatic relations in 1979. Trump's predecessor, Barack Obama, was well-known for his careful efforts to avoid confrontation with China. Trump comes as a different sort. Most notable of China's efforts to woo Trump was its latest "signal diplomacy." Signal diplomacy is a communication tactic used to convey a certain intention, hoping that the other side believes it. An example of signal diplomacy is sending a trial balloon by a leader through a conciliatory speech. The most important element in the practice of signal diplomacy is to maintain coherence of message. Another element is to establish the credibility of the message. If the messenger, for instance, belongs to a credible group that represents the official stance of a country, the more credibility he carries. In an unusual feat for China's signal diplomacy, it chose Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang and had him interviewed by American news outlet NBC News. For one hour, Lu was grilled by NBC chief foreign correspondent Richard Engel, who flew to Beijing and sat down with him. While the questions varied from overall U.S.-China relations to the more specifics about the South China Sea, trade, North Korea and Taiwan, it was clear that Lu was on a mission to send out a singular message: the one China policy is not up for negotiation. Compared to their American counterparts, China's foreign ministry spokespeople are not used to subjecting themselves to questioning. The regular daily press briefing at the foreign ministry, held at 3 p.m., lasts only about 10 minutes. The atmosphere is solemn; the voice is disciplined. So, it was quite unusual for the Chinese government to avail its official spokesman to go the extra mile. The intended audience was not the average American. It was meant for Trump and Trump only. Trump severely criticized China on a variety of fronts during the presidential transition. Considering that, China's ability to humble itself could be surprising as much as its ability to be otherwise overbearing. Samm Sacks, a China analyst with the Eurasia Group, observed that Beijing is very good at displaying the appearance of amicability with Washington, when it sees doing so fits with its interests. (On this point, North Korea perhaps should learn from China). The reason China has been wooing Trump in a remarkable display of patience and humility, followed by the latest "signal diplomacy" through its foreign ministry spokesman, reflects the sentiment among Chinese strategists that it still has a chance to win over Trump. "After all, Trump and the people surrounding him are mostly businessmen," noted an interlocutor who is knowledgeable about the situation. China's efforts may be paying off. There is an increasing tea leaf reading among observers that Xi and Trump might talk by phone soon. This may be a relief for China temporarily. There still is a lot of uncertainty in Sino-U.S. relations ahead. Lee Seong-hyon, Ph.D., is a research fellow at the Sejong Institute. Reach him at sunnybbsfs@gmail.com Models promote LG Uplus' new free Wi-Fi service based on long-term evolution (LTE) mobile networks at a subway train base in Guro-gu, southwestern Seoul, Tuesday. The telecom company said it will provide the free Wi-Fi service on metropolitan subway lines as well as in Daegu, Busan, Gwangju and Daejeon. / Courtesy of LG Uplus A model poses with Samsung Electronics' PT10V portable veterinary analyzer. The Seoul-based tech firm said Tuesday it has tapped into the veterinary equipment market in the U.S. by launching its first piece of compact animal healthcare equipment. / Courtesy of Samsung Electronics By Lee Min-hyung Samsung Electronics has introduced a portable veterinary clinical analyzer in the United States, as part of its first step to take a larger share in the lucrative animal healthcare industry there. The company said Tuesday that it showcased the PT10V, its first compact veterinary device, at the North American Veterinary Community Conference, which runs for four days beginning Saturday (local time). The U.S. is the world's largest veterinary medical devices market worth some $63 billion (71.94 trillion won), said the Seoul-based company. Samsung signed a retail contract with Henry Schein, a globally-renowned healthcare equipment distributor, seeking to speed up its expansion into the emerging and potentially-rich industry. The new product is equipped with state-of-the-art functionalities, examining 13 parameters including the animals' liver, kidneys and metabolic diseases at one time within 10 minutes, the technology giant said. The device also comes in a compact size, almost one-third the size of similar products from other firms. One of its most striking features is that Samsung succeeded in combining its advanced automated manufacturing expertise with micro-fluidic technology. This enables the device to conduct detailed medical examinations with only 70 micro-liters of serum or plasma. The amount is equal to only a drop of blood, doing little harm to the animals. "Of the hundreds of samples evaluated during a study, no operating or functional errors occurred, showing consistent and reliable results," Andrew Loar, director at STAT Veterinary Lab, said. The new medical device also boasts internet of things (IoT) functions, as veterinarians can access results from examinations via their smartphones or tablets by using a mobile app. In recognition of such high-end characteristics, the nonprofit veterinary body picked the PT10V as one of the show's "Must see five" items. Jun Dong-soo, the president of Samsung Electronics' health & medical equipment business division, said: "We have high expectations for the PT10V, as it has drawn favorable market response in the U.S. market." "Companion animals are being acknowledged as family members and the need to take care their health in advance is growing. Using our technical capabilities, Samsung will contribute to helping animals avoid diseases by launching various diagnostic medical devices." The company said it will particularly expand lineups for in-vitro diagnostic devices and other veterinary products with imaging devices, such as an ultrasound, in a bid to generate more synergy with the firm's core technologies in displays and semiconductors. By Jhoo Dong-chan Kim Hyo-rin, Hyundai Motor director Cho Mi-jin, Hyundai Motor VP Kang Eun-young, Hyundai Card director Lee So-young, Hyundai Capital director Hyundai Motor Group has long been notorious for its male-dominant corporate culture, but this year's annual reshuffling proves it is trying a different track as the nation's largest carmaker promoted four female executives. Hyundai Motor announced Monday that it has promoted one vice president to president and 11 executives to vice presidents while seven promotions took place in the R&D department. It also included the promotion four female executives compared to just two in 2016. Cho Mi-jin, who has worked at Hyundai Motor Group's university as a director, was promoted to vice president and will take care of the carmaker's human resources this year. After majoring in sociology and educational technology at Yonsei University and Indiana University, she has served in various posts both within and outside of Hyundai such as director at LG Display and chief consultant at Heidrick & Struggles chief. Kim Hyo-rin, 46, an expert at analyzing user experiences, was also promoted to director at its R&D division. She majored in computer science at Yonsei University and received a master's degree with a concentration in interactive media from New York University. Lee So-young was promoted to the post of director of Hyundai Capital Risk in the reshuffling. She graduated from Ewha Womans University majoring in political science and was awarded a master's degree in management from Boston University, Kang Eun-young, who worked at the Hyundai Card loan evaluation center, was also promoted to become the company's director of customer service. She majored in horticulture at Seoul National University. Through this year's reshuffling, Hyundai Motor now has a total of 11 female executives in the group among over 1,000 executives. "The proportion is still way to low, falling far short of global standards. Even compared to other conglomerates in Korea, Hyundai Motor Group lags behind in terms of gender equality. That might be caused by its male-dominated culture of long standing," said a professor at a university in Seoul. "However, it doubled the number of women executives this year compared to 2016 and I expect things will improve down the road." Meanwhile, Hyundai focused on research and technology in its latest personnel reshuffle and this follows a slight drop in sales of at the group's two flagship units: Hyundai Motor and Kia Motors. Hyundai Motor Group continues to remain the world's fifth-largest automaker by sales, but the combined sales of the two units slipped 1.7 percent year-on-year to 7.88 million cars in 2016. South Korean shipbuilders bagged more than half of new orders placed around the globe last month, relegating China to second place, industry data showed on Tuesday. According to the data compiled by global research firm Clarkson Research Institute, Korean shipyards clinched new orders worth 300,000 compensated gross tons (CGTs) last month to build seven ships, which is 55.5 percent of total new orders placed globally. China came in second with 110,000 CGTs, or eight ships, last month, followed by Japan with 20,000 CGTs, or one ship, the data showed. Last month, a total of 600,000 CGTs worth of ship orders were placed, compared to 560,000 CGTs a year earlier. The order backlog held by South Korean shipyards came in at 18.97 million CGTs last month, following China's 28.4 million CGTs and Japan's 19.26 million CGts, the data showed. The shipbuilding industry, once regarded as the backbone of the country's economic growth and job creation, has been reeling from mounting losses caused by a fall in new orders, order cancellations and increased costs. The country's top three shipyards suffered a combined operating loss of 8.5 trillion won ($7.4 billion) in 2015 due largely to increased costs stemming from a delay in the construction of offshore facilities and the industry-wide slump, with Daewoo Shipbuilding alone posting a 5.5 trillion-won loss. The shipbuilders have drawn up sweeping self-rescue programs worth some 11 trillion won in a desperate bid to overcome a protracted slump and mounting losses. Last year, Hyundai Heavy is forecast to have swung to the black, while the two other shipyards are estimated to have continued to suffer losses, according to industry sources. (Yonhap) Sources said Xiao Jianhua is helping authorities on the mainland with investigations, including ones covering bribery and market manipulation. Xiao Jianhua is seen as a pawn in Beijing's effort to ensure a smooth leadership transition this autumn By Nectar Gan The investigation that netted a mainland billionaire who took sanctuary in Hong Kong likely stems from Beijing's desire to ensure a smooth leadership transition in a politically sensitive year, sources and analysts said. The curious circumstances surrounding how Xiao Jianhua, a well-connected mainland tycoon, vanished from a Hong Kong luxury hotel on the eve of the Lunar New Year has sparked speculation. Hong Kong police later confirmed that Xiao returned to the mainland legally through border checkpoints. Sources said Xiao was now assisting the authorities in investigations, including ones covering bribery and stock market manipulation. Analysts and people familiar with the matter said the timing of the investigation showed that Beijing was trying to avoid any surprises ahead of a key party congress later this year, and was stepping up control of tycoons like Xiao who could reveal inside deals or cause market swings. At the same time, the questioning of Xiao, who reportedly did business with family members of China's state leaders, would send a signal that Beijing would not tolerate businessmen who pursued fishy deals by involving well-connected partners, analysts said. Zhuang Deshui, a specialist on corruption at Peking University, said private businessmen were not prime targets of the anti-graft crackdown, which focused on party members. "But to find breakthroughs in graft probes against officials, investigators often start with the businessmen around them in search of useful evidence," Zhuang said. "Sometimes the businessmen will be given preferential treatment, such as exemption from prosecution or a lighter sentence if they cooperate and help with the investigations," he added. Zhuang said the party would further tighten control on political discipline in the lead-up to the congress to avoid "unnecessary disturbances" during the leadership reshuffle. Xiao was on the mainland "assisting" authorities with investigations after agreeing to return to there, and was still able to make phone calls to manage his business empire, sources told the South China Morning Post earlier. The disappearance of Xiao came a day after Guo Wengui, a Chinese tycoon in self-exile, broke his silence in an hour-long video interview with an overseas Chinese media organisation, alleging that China's deputy public security minister Fu Zhenghua had accepted bribes and overseen torture. As China's leadership prepares for its reshuffle this autumn, the authorities are doing everything possible to ensure "a stable environment" for the 19th party congress as demanded by Chinese President Xi Jinping at a top-level meeting last month. The Four Seasons Hotel in Hong Kong, where Xiao had stayed for years. People with real or perceived undue influence such as Guo and Xiao, who had business dealings with family members of the nation's leaders had to be brought under control to prevent them from making headline-grabbing revelations, analysts said. "Bringing Xiao back to the mainland was a precautionary measure to prevent incidents like Guo's from occurring again, because this kind of disclosure was too deadly [for the leadership]," said Zhang Lifan, a political commentator in Beijing. "Xiao may have served more [leaders'] families and know more than Guo does ... with Xiao in their hands, they can order him to reveal things according to their needs," he said. Both Guo and Xiao are well-connected in China's money and power networks. Guo had business ties to Ma Jian, a former deputy minister of China's state security ministry, who has been detained for suspected graft. In bidding for a landmark property project near the Olympic stadium in Beijing, Guo claimed he obtained a sex tape of former Beijing vice-mayor Liu Zhihua, and was responsible for sending Liu to prison. Xiao was reportedly involved in several business dealings with families of some retired state leaders. He co-funded the purchase of Hollywood visual effects studio Digital Domain in 2012 with Che Feng, the son-in-law of Dai Xianglong, China's former central bank chief, according to The New York Times. Chen Daoyin, a professor at the Shanghai University of Political Science and Law, said leaking sensitive information about high-ranking leaders had long been a tactic to undermine rival political factions during the intense political jockeying ahead of power reshuffles. Xi's opponents might be seeking compromises from him on personnel appointments and other important decisions at the 19th party congress, Chen said. "They may resort to spoiling Xi's political image and tarnishing his legitimacy, to prevent him from having his way in orchestrating all decisions according to his will, so that he will have to make compromises," Chen said. China's leadership reshuffles often rippleacross the business sphere. When Xi disciplined officials in the coal-rich province of Shanxi and the southern province of Jiangxi in 2014, the Four Seasons Hotel in Hong Kong, where Xiao stayed for the past four years, gained many new clients from both provinces, according to a report by news portal Tencent. The year leading into power changes in Beijing is often a period of heightened political gossip and rumourmongering, with Hong Kong an important hub of information. In the lead-up to the last leadership transition at the 18th party congress in 2012, plentiful whispers, gossip and rumours made their way from the power corridors of Zhongnanhai the compound where the top leaders live and work in Beijing to overseas media outlets. However, Chen, the professor in Shanghai, said that the situation now differed greatly from five years ago. In the four years since Xi took the helm of the party, he has rapidly consolidated power, eliminated enemies, and anointed himself the "core" of the party's leadership a status his predecessor, Hu Jintao, never won. Xi has demanded political discipline, loyalty and tightened control on various fronts at a level unseen in decades. Just two days before the party's sixth plenum the most important plenary meeting before the next party congress People's Tribune, a magazine affiliated with the party mouthpiece People's Daily, chastised officials for gathering and leaking information. The article urged leaders to "severely discipline" party insiders who provide such information and "weed out" informants. Despite Xi's power and hard line approach, analysts expect the political infighting that foreshadowed previous power reshuffles to continue as usual this fall. By Jane Han DALLAS Despite living in the U.S. for almost five years, Kim Ju-young neither paid attention nor cared much about U.S. politics until two weeks ago. "Not until my immediate future started literally depending on the decisions made by the U.S. president," said Kim, 27, who studies music composition at the University of Texas in Austin. The graduate student originally planned to pursue a professional career here in the U.S. upon graduating in just three short months, but for Kim along with hundreds of thousands of other international students in the U.S. President Donald Trump has stepped in as the single biggest obstacle toward their dream of employment here. A draft executive order, which has been circulating for several weeks, would directly impact the H1-B visa, a competitive working visa that enables talented foreigners to legally live and work in the U.S. for up to six years and apply for permanent residency. According to various news reports, the draft outlines that the secretary of homeland security must review all regulations on work visa programs within 90 days, make them "more efficient" and ensure "the best and the brightest" are being admitted. And separately, legislation has been introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives aimed at more than doubling the minimum salary for H1-B visa holders from the current $60,000 (68 million won) to $130,000, a change that may push employers away from hiring foreign workers. "Landing a job in the U.S. has always been tough," Kim said, "but now, it's going to take a miracle." So instead of trying to "fight the system," she has begun reaching out to several employers in Korea with the hopes to lock in a few promising job leads before heading home after graduation. Thousands of other Korean students residing in the U.S. are all in the same boat. A New York-based executive search firm that connects people in Korea and the U.S. says there is a "sense of panic." "We're getting at least a dozen phone calls every day with people inquiring about job opportunities in Korea," said John Kim, a manager at the company. "Many of them are top talents with degrees from prestigious schools. They had a promising future here last year, but they're afraid that that's all been thrown out the window now." Education consulting agencies are also feeling the impact of the fresh anti-immigration administration. "I had two parents this week alone who dropped interest in sending their high school students to the U.S. to study," said Melissa Rhee, a consultant at Elite Education, a college prep and education consulting agency in Los Angeles. "The U.S. doesn't come off as attractive as it used to be. They're afraid the new Trump government will make life for their kids tougher in America than it is in Korea." Despite all the uncertainties, legal experts say the executive order related to the H1-B visa is so far only a rumor and nothing concrete has been released. "It's easy to feel lost and desperate during a time like this, but people should not make major decisions without checking the facts," said Julie Kim, an immigration lawyer. All you Got7 fans get ready, because the group has just teased their comeback! During their February 5th Seoul fan meeting, a pre-trailer was released titled 'Flight Log: Arrival'. The 35 second teaser combines clips from the previous 'Flight Log' installments and focuses quite a lot on Jinyoung in particular. Check out the video below! This will be the latest, and possibly last, of the 'Flight Log' installments that started with 'Flight Log: Departure' in March 2016, and then continued with 'Flight Log: Turbulence' in September 2016. The comeback will take place some during March so be sure to keep checking our site for further updates! What type of concept are you hoping Got7 will showcase for this comeback? Let us know in the comments! A protest has been planned in Sharm el-Sheikh, the venue of the summit. PRESS RELEASE China Backs Mattis on Using Diplomacy in South China Sea Feb. 6, 2017 (EIRNS)Chinas Foreign Ministry spokesman, Lu Kang, today told the press that Defense Secretary Jim Mattiss comments in Japan, that diplomacy rather than any new military operations were the proper approach to the South China Sea issues, was "worthy of affirmation" and that the situation there was normalizing, Reuters reports. Kang said: "This accords with the common interests of China and all countries in the region, and we hope that countries outside of the region can respect the joint interests and wishes of countries in the region." Mattiss statements essentially negated the loose comments from Secretary of State Rex Tillerson during his confirmation hearing, where he said China should be prevenTed from building new islands or even going to the islands already built. China Daily said in an editorial on Monday that Mattiss comments were a "mind-soothing pill" that had "dispersed the clouds of war that many feared were gathering over the South China Sea. Mattis has inspired optimism here that things may not be as bad as previously portrayed." China Daily also noted that on Sunday, Japanese Defense Minister Tomomi Inada, just after meeting with Mattis, said Japan would not participate in any military operations in the South China Sea, as they had previously intended. "I told Secretary Mattis that Japan supports the U.S. militarys freedom of navigation operation in the sea," Inada said on a TV interview. "But the SDF will not be sent to the area." It can safely be presumed that Mattis recommended to Japan such a step back from confrontation. PRESS RELEASE Kiev Regime About To Go on the Offensive in the Donbass Feb. 6, 2017 (EIRNS)The intensity of the fighting in the Donbass has declined somewhat in the past few days, but officials of the two breakaway republics are certain that the Kiev regime is preparing for an all-out offensive. Eduard Basurin, the military spokesman of the self-declared Donetsk Peoples Republic, issued an emergency statement, yesterday, in which he reported that Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko "has fallen into complete despair" following his phone call discussion with President Trump on Feb. 4, after which he realized that "Ukraine will in the near future cease to receive financial and military support for its terrorist operation in the land of Donbass." As a result, Poroshenko "is ready to commit to the most reckless action, unleashing a full-scale and bloody war in Eastern Europe. Basurin reported that Kiev has, in fact, started deploying additional troops of Ukraines Armed Forces and National Guard to the eastern Ukrainian regions, which could prove Ukraines preparations for a large-scale offensive against Donbas militias, as well as for sabotage activities against the civilian infrastructure in the region. According to Basurin, two Ukrainian Tochka-U missile systems have been pulled to the territory of the Avdeevka coking plant from Kramatorsk. Six more such systems were delivered to a railway station in the village of Novobakhmutovka near Yasinovataya to be "seconded to a mission" later, he said. In addition, DPR reconnaissance data has identified Ukrainian army units, mixed with right wing militia units, one led by former head of the Right Sector Dmitri Yarosh, that have been deployed in the region. "These data make it possible to assume that at the order of Ukraines criminal military political authorities, the Ukrainian army command is preparing for an offensive along the entire line of engagement and plotting acts of sabotage at civil infrastructure facilities," Basurin said. A similar report came out of the Luhansk Peoples Republic. LPR militia spokesman Andrei Marchenko reported that the regime has brought self-propelled artillery units (SAU), tanks, infantry fighting vehicles (IFV) and armored personnel carriers (APCs) to the line of engagement. "We have fixed arrival to Zolotoye of nine trucks with munition, escorted by four APCs," LuganskInformCenter quoted him as saying. "With the convoy have come 20 well-equipped personnel." He also reported regime reconnaissance activity along the line of contact, including with the use of drones, some of which may be in preparation for sabotage actions. PRESS RELEASE Maryland the Eighth State to Memorialize Glass-Steagall Feb. 6, 2017 (EIRNS)A House Joint Resolution on Glass-Steagall was introduced in Marylands state legislature todayH.J. 4 (or HJ0004), titled, "Reinstatement of the Separation of Commercial and Investment Banking Functions," sponsored by Del. Susan McComas, a Republican from Bel Air, who is a Deputy Minority Whip, with six other co-sponsors. The six co-sponsors include two Republicans and four Democrats, who represent a very diverse group. The two republicans are Rick Impallaria, who has been Chair of the Harford County delegation, and Pat McDonough, a prominent right-wing radio show host who ran for Congress against incumbent Dutch Ruppersberger. The Democrats include a Baltimore County Democrat, Jay Jalisi, who is a member of the Pacific Islanders Caucus; Mark Chang, the first Korean-American elected to the House of Delegates; Susie Proctor, a Maryland Education Association leader from Prince Georges County; and Ana Sol Guttierez, a prominent Hispanic-American from Montgomery County. This represents the eighth state where Glass-Steagall has been introduced into the state legislature in 2017. Memorials urging Congress to pass legislation enacting all of Lyndon LaRouches Four Laws to revive the U.S. economy have been introduced in Mississippi, New Mexico, South Carolina, and Washington State. Legislation urging Congress to pass Glass-Steagall (LaRouches Law #1), has been introduced in Virginia, Delaware (both House and Senate), Iowa, and the Washington State Senate (as a second resolution which memorializes Glass-Steagall as a stand-alone bill). Today, the introduction of HJ4 for Glass-Steagall makes the eighth state where the Memorials have been introduced. The Four Laws Memorials contain three additional pieces of legislation to follow Glass-Steagall: 2) The creation of a National Bank, as Alexander Hamilton did; 3) the issuance of public credit for building infrastructure, and 4) the funding of advanced technologies such as space and fusion power to increase the productivity of the economy through science drivers. Twenty-seven Congressmen, led by Ohio Democrat Marcy Kaptur, reintroduced The Return to Prudent Banking Act (HR 790), which would reinstate Glass-Steagall, into Congress last week. PRESS RELEASE Prodi Urges G7 to Invite Russia Back In Before U.S. Does Feb. 6, 2017 (EIRNS)Romano Prodi, former Italian Prime Minister and ex-President of the European Commission, says Italy should do everything possible to repair relations with Russia while Italy presides over the Group of Seven (G7), AFPs Maman Vatsyayana reports today. Prodi proposed this yesterday in an article in Il Messaggero newspaper, urging it be done ahead of the 43rd G7 summit in Taomina, Sicily, scheduled for late May. Prodi said, "The first reason for doing that comes naturally from the fact of how little marginalization of Russia, including sanctions, has helped in untangling the Ukrainian conflict, and how [little it has impacted] on the increasing role of Russia in fighting terrorism in Europe and the Middle East." Prodi made the point that Russia increasingly contributes to international security and stability. Prodi continued, "The other reason for restoration of relations with Russia is the necessity to take a stance [on this issue] before the U.S. President makes it." President Trump is believed to be seeking better relations with Russia, and the European Union, and Italy, especially, has to beat the U.S. in mending relationships with Russia, in Prodis view, AFP says. Earlier in 2017, Prodi said that dwindling EU-U.S. relations oblige the EU to stop tailing American politics, and that Europe should be the first to repair relations with Russia. "We can make sacrifices for the sake of solidarity politics, but if theres no solidarity anymore, theres no reason to be stubborn. Lets be proactive, and not leave a privileged role for the U.S. in relations with Russia." Angelino Alfano, the Italian Foreign Minister and current chairman of the G7, has already said Russia must be re-installed as a member. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said in 2014, when the other members of the group refused to attend the Groups summit in Sochi, that Russia was "not clinging to the G8" format, as the G20 was already a much better platform to discuss the most crucial world problem with a wide range of world powers. Rachel Carson has been both a hero to environmentalists and the bane of the chemical and pesticide industries and their political mouthpieces ever since the 1962 publication of her seminal book Silent Spring. The book helped to launch the environmental movement, which scored arguably its most important success with the establishment of the Environmental Protection Agency in 1970 (under President Nixon). Carsons heroism in defense of her argument that indiscriminate use of pesticides was harming people and damaging the environment is covered by a documentary about her that aired last month on PBS as part of its American Experience series, and it is still available online. Over at the Lawyers, Guns & Money blog, Erik Loomis sounds the alarm that one of the favorite right-wing calumnies against Carson may be poised to make its reappearance on the national stage. This is the myth that Carsons description of the dangers of the pesticide DDT, the central theme of her book, undermined programs against malaria-carrying mosquitos around the world and therefore condemned millions of people to death from the parasitical disease. Advertisement We have put poisonous and biologically potent chemicals indiscriminately into the hands of persons largely or wholly ignorant of their potentials for harm. Rachel Carson, Silent Spring Googles celebration of Carson in 2014, upon the 50th anniversary of her death, prompted Breitbart News to label her The 20th Centurys Greatest Female Mass Murderer and ask, Will Google be paying tribute to any of the other mass killers of the 20th century? Hitler? Stalin? Mao? Pol Pot? Probably not. But then, none of the others have had the benefit of having their images burnished by a thousand and one starry-eyed greenies. The executive chairman of Breitbart at the time was Steven K. Bannon, who is now a top advisor some say the top advisor, to President Trump. Loomis observes that the brief against Carson is easily debunked, as has been done repeatedly. As he states, Carson never called for a complete ban of DDT, no such ban was ever actually imposed, DDT already was declining in effectiveness against mosquitoes because of their rising resistance to the chemical, and that her point was not to condemn all pesticides but their indiscriminate deployment by untrained users. Hes right, but the promotion of pesticides with little regard to their harmful effects is on the verge of seeing a revival. Consider the attempt by House Republicans last year to tie the fight against the Zika virus to a loosening of pesticide regulations. They did so by rechristening an old anti-regulation measure, the Reducing Regulatory Burdens Act, as the Zika Vector Control Act. The GOP majority was joined by 23 credulous Democrats, but the effort ultimately failed. The fate of such an initiative today, when there may be no countervailing force in the White House against the demands of the chemical industry, could be much different. Just last week, the Republican House and Senate repealed an Obama administration rule limiting the dumping of coal mine waste into local streams. Among the rules most vociferous critics: the National Mining Assn. Whats chilling is that the attack on Carson isnt limited to the right wing. The most recent broadside about Carsons role in malaria comes from Paul A. Offit, a respected pediatrics expert at Childrens Hospital of Philadelphia. Offits attack is especially disconcerting, because he has been an indispensable leader of the defense of child vaccinations against a junk-science onslaught from anti-vaccination forces. Yet writing at the Daily Beast, Offit calls Carsons campaign against DDT a critical mistake [that] cost millions of people their lives. The article appears to be an excerpt from, or at least related to, Offits forthcoming book Pandoras Lab: Seven Stories of Science Gone Wrong. He acknowledges that Carson deserves to be regarded as an American hero, in part for her crusade against DDT, but contends that by overstating the health dangers of the pesticide, she deserves blame for the resulting total ban of the chemical. We think Offit has gone astray here by misreading the regulatory chronology that followed the publication of Silent Spring. He writes that the EPA, upon its founding in December 1970, immediately banned DDT. Thats not so. As the EPAs official history of its DDT regulatory actions states, the fledgling agencys first action on DDT was to cancel federal registrations of products containing DDT. That was in January 1971 and occurred in response to a court order in a lawsuit from the Environmental Defense Fund. Two months later, the EPA issued cancellation notices for products related to DDT, but said there would be no suspension of the regulation of DDT. The history says that suspension was actually a more severe action than cancellation. Accordingly, manufacturers could continue marketing DDT. The agency didnt cancel all remaining crop uses of DDT until June 1972 and still exempted public health and quarantine uses, [and] exports of DDT, the EPA history says. Most important, that action came only after extensive public hearings on DDT over a period of eight months, yielding 9,312 pages of transcripts from the testimony of 125 expert witnesses and over 300 documents. In other words, there was nothing immediate about the EPAs action. Nor was it a ban, if one recognizes that manufacturing in the United States and marketing and sales overseas were wide open. If Offit is implying that the EPA banned DDT as some sort of knee-jerk reaction to public pressure, thats not supported by the record. Its also important to recognize that regulatory actions aimed at DDT not only predated the EPA, but Silent Spring. In fact, according to the EPA history, they began in 1957, five years before the books publication. That year, the Forest Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture barred the spraying of DDT in protective strips around aquatic areas on lands under its jurisdiction. The following year, USDA began to phase out DDT, cutting its use from 4.9 million acres in 1957 to just over 100,000 acres in 1967 and discouraging the use of such persistent pesticides except when there were no better choices. As for the health effects of DDT, the evidence is that theyre potentially severe, especially in children. A 2009 study reported a growing body of evidence that exposure to DDT and its breakdown product DDE may be associated with adverse health outcomes such as breast cancer, diabetes, decreased semen quality, spontaneous abortion, and impaired neurodevelopment in children. As for the effect on third-world anti-malaria programs of the ostensible Carson-inspired ban on DDT, this has always been conjectural at best. Combating malaria requires programs to have persistent management and effort and lots and lots of money, none of which are very common in the African countries where the disease is endemic. Malaria-prone populations often are remote, hostile to government agents, and not attuned to consistent medical management. Anyone who has lived in a malaria zone also knows that mosquitoes and malaria parasites are so good at developing resistance to pesticides and medicines that it doesnt take long before one preferred remedy or another has to be discarded in favor of something new. They know that the best weapons are prevention of infection by the use of mosquito nets and prompt care after symptoms appear. DDT is not the magic bullet that will eradicate malaria, a malaria expert in Uganda wrote in 2006. A full-scale spraying program would cost that financially strapped nation $80 million just for one of several rounds. We need to refocus resources and attention on something most Africans do not have: basic malaria education, and prevention with insecticide-treated bed nets, added the expert, Jessie Stone. Carsons brief against DDT was far more nuanced than her critics say. It is not my contention that chemical insecticides must never be used, she wrote in Silent Spring. I do contend that we have put poisonous and biologically potent chemicals indiscriminately into the hands of persons largely or wholly ignorant of their potentials for harm. Her real concern was that we had entered an era dominated by industry, in which the right to make a dollar at whatever cost is seldom challenged. When the public objects, she wrote, it is fed little tranquilizing pills of half truth. She was right then, and her words are a warning to us today. Keep up to date with Michael Hiltzik. Follow @hiltzikm on Twitter, see his Facebook page, or email michael.hiltzik@latimes.com. Return to Michael Hiltziks blog. Perhaps the most surprising thing about the controversial Super Bowl TV advertisement that showed an immigrant family encountering a border wall is that the company behind it denies it was about immigration at all. But that company, 84 Lumber, and its customers have a strong interest in how the new Trump administration and Congress address immigration. Fox rejected the original commercial, according to Brunner, the agency that developed the spot. The company and its agency provided a new version that didnt show the family reaching the border, and invited viewers to the companys website to see the conclusion. Advertisement The version available on Journey84.com shows construction workers building a door, and the mother and daughter ultimately discovering the door at the border and walking through it. The site noted the video Contains Content Deemed Too Controversial for TV. In the first minute after the spot aired, 300,000 people tried to access the website, which rendered it temporarily unavailable for many visitors, the company said. 84 Lumber provides building materials to developers, but also farms out subcontractors, who do construction work for those home builders. The privately held company has 250 locations across the country and plans on opening 20 more in 2017, as the housing market continues to flourish. 84 Lumber is based in Eighty Four, Pa., in a county that went solidly for Trump in the election. People who listed the company as their employer donated $58,148 to Republican candidates and committees in 2016, and have donated more to Republicans than Democrats in every election since 1990, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. Amy Smiley, the director of marketing at 84 Lumber, said the spot was meant to give people especially millennials a sense of the companys values, and potentially serve as a recruitment tool. The message isnt about immigration, its about the characteristics of who we are looking to hire resilient and hardworking people, Smiley said. We arent condoning illegal immigration, everyone that works for us has proper documentation and has to immigrate to the country legally, she said. That said, construction in America, especially in Western and Southern states, is heavily dependent on immigrants. About 23% of U.S. construction workers are immigrants, and in 2008 an estimated 17% of them were in the country illegally, according to a 2013 report by the nonprofit Center for Construction Research and Training. A third of all construction and extraction workers are Latino, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Immigrants make up more than a third of all painters, roofers, brick masons, and carpet and floor installers in the country, according to the National Assn. of Home Builders. A President Obama-led crackdown on illegal immigration and a booming Mexican economy has starved the industry of labor for the last decade. Construction took a hit during the housing crisis 2 million construction jobs disappeared between 2007 and 2010. But now, as the residential housing market revs up, builders are finding that many of the people who left arent coming back. A chunk of those lost workers were from Mexico. Since 2007, the construction sector has lost 570,000 workers who were born in Mexico, according to a 2015 report by John Burns Real Estate Consulting Inc. Employers in building trades, looking for carpenters, electricians and concrete workers, have said they are having trouble hiring, even though theyve raised wages in recent years. Trumps promise to deport the 11 million or so immigrants living in the U.S. illegally may directly hit builders by removing a swath of their workers. The wall itself, and extra enforcement at the border, may also make it less likely that the hundreds of thousands of who left during the recession will ever return to their American employers. Pressuring employers to hire domestically and boost pay is, of course, exactly what some want from a restrictive immigration policy. That will affect the residential home building market, workers will become increasingly scarce and there will be pressure to raise wages. The whole industry would have to adjust, said Peter Philips, an economist at the University of Utah who specializes in construction labor. Theres going to be a good deal of sympathy among homebuilders and those who supply homebuilders with a pro-immigrant as opposed to anti-immigrant stance. Natalie.Kitroeff@latimes.com Follow me @NatalieKitro on Twitter The fine print of Charter Communications high-speed Internet service says a small percent of customers will receive lower than advertised speeds. One attorney general says the problem is actually widespread a consistent story of bad performance and a long-term business plan built on deceit. New York Atty. Gen. Eric Schneiderman is suing Charter over allegedly false claims of fast Internet speeds by its Spectrum service, formerly known as Time Warner Cable. Charter is the dominant cable provider in Southern California. Although the lawsuit only pertains to Spectrums roughly 2.5 million New York Internet customers, Schneidermans press secretary, Amy Spitalnick, told me the issues cited in the complaint could very well be found with providers across the country. Advertisement The lawsuit alleges that since 2012, Time Warner Cable promised Internet subscribers a fast, reliable connection, but customers were dramatically shortchanged on both speed and reliability. A 16-month investigation found that wired Internet speeds were up to 70% slower than advertised, while Wi-Fi speeds were as much as 80% slower. The complaint is based on internal corporate communications and hundreds of thousands of subscriber speed tests. It alleges that Spectrum-TWC executives knew that the companys hardware and network were incapable of achieving the speeds promised to subscribers, but nevertheless continued to make false representations about speed and reliability. For example, the suit says the company leased to a large number of its subscribers older-generation modems and wireless routers that it knew were incapable of achieving the promised Internet speeds. It also allegedly failed to make network improvements that could have boosted customers Internet access. The complaint seeks an unspecified amount in restitution for New York consumers, as well as appropriate injunctive and equitable relief to end Spectrum-TWCs long-standing deceptive practices. In a statement, Charter said the company is disappointed by the lawsuit but notably did not deny any of the allegations. Rather, Charter patted itself on the back for the companys significant commitments and substantial investments since the Time Warner acquisition. We will continue to invest in our business and deliver the highest quality services to our customers while we defend against these allegations involving Time Warner Cable practices, the company said. I asked a Charter spokesman how the New York lawsuit might reflect upon or impact the companys California operations. He declined to comment. I can say, though, that Im a Spectrum customer and I pay for a download speed of 100 megabits per second. I tested my Wi-Fi connection Monday morning and found I was getting just 44 Mbps, or less than half the expected rate. Some in the telecom business say thats no surprise. They say Time Warner Cable and now Spectrum do the same things in Southern California that they do elsewhere. Theres no difference between their policies in New York and Los Angeles, said Terry Koosed, president of Bel Air Internet, a provider of broadband service to local businesses, apartment buildings, hotels and condos. Its no secret in the industry how they operate. He said Time Warner Cable routinely promised speeds up to a certain level in ads but in reality delivered much slower Internet access. Charter apparently has dropped the up to pitch but instead reveals the possibility of slower-than-advertised speed in its fine-print disclosure. Koosed said Charters network faces the same challenge in the Southland that it faces in all large metropolitan areas: The more people in a particular area who are connected, the more congested the service becomes for everyone. Hence slower speeds. If you go for a swim and theres no one else in the pool, great, Koosed said. If theres a thousand other people in the pool, you wont be swimming anywhere. Call your provider and ask if you dont know how much Internet speed youre paying for. Then use a free online speed test such as Speedtest.net or Fast.com to see what youre actually getting. While business customers routinely receive whats known in the telecom industry as a system level agreement that is, a guaranteed Internet speed residential customers typically make do with whatever they can get from a service provider. As such, Koosed said, big companies such as Charter, AT&T and Verizon systematically mislead the residential customer by not giving you what they say theyre going to give you. He called this an act of fraud and said an investigation by California authorities is long overdue. I agree. A spokeswoman for state Atty. Gen. Xavier Becerra declined to comment on whether California would follow New York in looking into the matter. Good health The Affordable Care Act requires members of Congress to purchase health insurance through the Washington, D.C., Obamacare exchange if they want Uncle Sam to help pay the tab. So arent Republican lawmakers shooting themselves in the foot by seeking to repeal the law? Hardly. Lawmakers made sure that even under Obamacare, theyd receive all the same perks they previously enjoyed under the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program. Its a sure bet, therefore, that theyll give nothing up in returning to the government plan. That means: Up to 75% of their premiums will continue being funded by taxpayers. For an annual fee of about $600, Congress members will still have access to the Office of the Attending Physician, an in-house congressional clinic staffed by Navy doctors, nurses, technicians and a pharmacist. All treatment, including consultations with specialists, is covered by that one yearly fee. If more advanced treatment is required, lawmakers will continue receiving free outpatient care at any military hospital near the Capitol. Inpatient care is at rates set by the Department of Defense, which are much lower than what a private hospital would charge. So dont worry about Republican legislators as they prepare to strip about 20 million people of their Obamacare coverage. They wont feel any pain. David Lazarus column runs Tuesdays and Fridays. He also can be seen daily on KTLA-TV Channel 5 and followed on Twitter @Davidlaz. Send your tips or feedback to david.lazarus@latimes.com. MORE FROM DAVID LAZARUS: Looking for a really good Obamacare replacement? Here it is Dont worry: Obamacare repeal wont hurt Congress own health coverage Former officials deride Trumps mindless 2-for-1 deregulation plan Two paintings by Diego Rivera, including his 1915 Cubist masterpiece, have joined Picasso & Rivera: Conversations Across Time, an exhibition at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art that opened in December. Zapatista Landscape (1915) and Flowered Canoe (1931) had been on loan to the Grand Palais in Paris for Mexico 1900-1950: Diego Rivera, Frida Kahlo, Jose Clemente Orozco and the Avant-Garde. The sprawling survey closed late last month. Learning from Pablo Picasso, with whom he socialized during a lengthy sojourn in Paris in the 1910s, Rivera applied the Spaniards groundbreaking Cubist style to a riveting representation of Emiliano Zapata Salazar. Diego Rivera, Zapatista Landscape, 1915, oil on canvas (Los Angeles County Museum of Art) Zapata was leader of a critically important peasant revolt south of Mexico City during the Mexican revolution. Rivera applied Picassos Cubism a revolution in seeing to a revolutionary subject. His image is loosely based on a widely circulated photograph of Zapata, his hand brandishing a rifle at his side. He wears a broad-brimmed sombrero, a striped serape and cartridge belts crisscrossed over his body. Riveras fractured Cubist planes capture all these scrappy elements in a tight, central cluster that, while not exactly forming a figure, nonetheless suggests a human torso and head. Four feet tall, the canvas creates an inescapable bodily correspondence between the revolutionary Cubist figure being depicted and its observant viewer. Shifting Cubist planes of vibrant color set the figure in action. Several depicted objects are more realist, which adds to the visual disjunction. One is the rifle, its narrow, steel-gray form enlarged and pushed into the visual foreground by a sharply delineated white shape, which cuts across the composition on a diagonal. Behind it is a wood-grained ammunition box, which slyly corresponds to Zapatas body. The landscape is another realist element. Behind the nominal figure is a ghostly volcanic mountain range like the one that encircles Mexico City and, over the figures shoulder on the right, what might be mesas or possibly chopped tree stumps. Two clumps of leafy green trees, one on each side of the torso, are placed like ornamental epaulets on a soldiers uniform. Bright blue sky across the lower half is matched by a sickly greenish veil above the mountains on top. Topsy-turvy colors signifying earth and sky together evoke a world turned upside down. SIGN UP for the free Essential Arts & Culture newsletter The painting was produced early in a celebrated career that would expand for four decades. Yet its no wonder Rivera described it as probably the most faithful expression of the Mexican mood that I have ever achieved. Cubism isnt known for expressing feeling, which makes Riveras work distinctive. Needless to say, the landscape in Zapatista Landscape is of extreme importance. Agrarian reform was a crucial aim of the Mexican Revolution that was unfolding while Rivera was abroad. Territorial takeover in the Spanish conquest of Mexico had evolved over centuries into a system of vast private estates controlled by a small class of powerful landowners. Nineteenth-century Mexican landscape painting sought to fuse national identity with the land, just like similar imagery in other North American and European art. Zapatas peasant revolt in rural Morelos hinged on the refusal of the Mexican government to enact the agrarian reforms that had been demanded and, tentatively at least, promised. Riveras Cubist masterpiece, painted when he was just 29, brilliantly fuses the land, revolution and the peasantry with Zapata as its modern emblem. Sixteen years later, after the revolution and when he was again based in Mexico City as a leading artist of the Modernist era, Rivera painted the second addition to the LACMA exhibition. Diego Rivera, Flowered Canoe, 1931 (Schalkwijk / Art Resource, NY) (Photo Schalkwijk / Art Resource, NY.) The Flowered Canoe shows more than half a dozen men and women on a Sunday outing in a pleasure boat on one of the famous canals in Xochimilcos neighborhood. The life-size figure of a boatman on the right stands tall and straight, his cylindrical body, limbs and feet planted like a sturdy Aztec sculpture. Indeed, the rigorously symmetrical composition is all cylinders, circles and squares, Cezannes modernity mixed with New World antiquity. An industrial machine style adapted from fashionable Art Deco design is applied to a casual urban pastime Domingo en el parque con Jorge. Rivera painted it specifically for his retrospective at New Yorks then-new Museum of Modern Art. Only Matisse had been given a solo survey at MoMA before him. The pictures lovely Aztec Art Deco patterning located Mexicos enchanting present squarely between its proudly pre-Columbian past and its thoroughly modern future. Picasso & Rivera remains at LACMA through May 7. The show then travels to the Museo del Palacio de Bellas Artes in Mexico City. christopher.knight@latimes.com Twitter: @KnightLAT ALSO Jimmie Durham's art throws some well-aimed stones Demian Bichir plays it cool in 'Zoot Suit' How Latino theater born in the farm fields changed L.A. theater The airport as public square and protest central James McVinnie, who took a turn on the imposing Walt Disney Concert Hall organ Sunday night as part of the Los Angeles Philharmonics recital series, has all the qualifications for being a properly British young organist. He is modest in manner. He is an elegantly unshowy player. Cambridge trained, he has served as assistant organist of Westminster Abbey. He has participated on many a recording of unassuming British sacred and choral music. He played at the 2011 wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton, for heavens sake. What makes McVinnie stand out is his involvement with several American composers Nico Muhly in particular, along with David Lang and Philip Glass (whose music he plays magnificently). So, too, does the fact that McVinnies name now pops up next to some of the most arty on the U.S. and U.K. pop scene, since the organist worked with Bryce Dessner of the National, Richard Reed Parry of Arcade Fire, Squarepusher and Martin Creed. Advertisement And then there are his hip Icelandic credentials. Reykjaviks recording collective Bedroom Community has released McVinnies stunning first solo recording, which is devoted to works Muhly has written for him. McVinnie also will participate in the L.A. Phils attention-getting Reykjavik Festival in April, playing the craggy Icelandic composer Jon Leifs 1930 Organ Concerto on a program that also includes the Icelandic band Sigur Ros. SIGN UP for the free Essential Arts & Culture newsletter McVinnie devoted his Disney recital mainly to his Muhly and English sides, while throwing in a side of French organ music. He played with British restraint. He avoided gaudy colors on an organ that certainly can produce them. He didnt shy away from occasionally power pedaling or letting out all the stops. But where a certain restraint was wanted especially in the all-Muhly first half the British organist sounded as though he most belonged. Although perhaps the best known and most widely performed American composer of his thirtysomething generation, Muhly can be, even in the company of that eclectic generation, hard to pin down. His interests range from Anglican church music to Glass (for whom he once worked) to Bjork (for whom he as made arrangements). Muhly has gifts for long-form melody, for succulent harmonies and for sustaining drones. But he can just as easily shift into something repetitive and hypnotic in the manner of early Minimalism. Putting all that together doesnt always work. But in a selection of small pieces written for McVinnie between 2007 and 2014, all of the above fit. In O Antiphon Preludes, Muhly comments, sometimes with enthralled sweetness and sometimes with exuberance, on the seven O Christmas antiphons of Advent. In Drones & Viola da Gamba, McVinnie was joined by Liam Byrne on the Baroque predecessor of the modern cello for a meditation on richly flowing melody with Minimalist undercurrents. Slow Twitchy Organs, which featured both Byrne again in gorgeously lyric mode and percussionist Chris Thompson slowly twitching against glowing organ chords, was among the evenings most entrancing minutes. Beaming Music for organ and marimba did, indeed, beam. The solo organ works Revd Mustard his installation prelude and the arresting Fast Cycles showed Muhly at his most original, moving early Glass pattern music into new realms with the help of some very old musical styles. McVinnies performances were musically, technically and in his careful colorations immaculate. So, too, was the eloquent start of McVinnies set of British pieces, Orlando Gibbons subtly contrapuntal Fantasy in G Minor (whose original, and better, title was A Fancy in Gamut Flatt). But what is it with organists? You never have to look far for examples of how power corrupts, and the organ, the most powerful of acoustic instruments, corrupts all the time. The other two British works were Handels Organ Concerto Opus 4, No. 1, and an organ transcription of the slow movement from Vaughan Williams Symphony No. 5. In the Handel, McVinnie played both the orchestral and solo parts. It made for a too-thick organ soup. Robert Quinneys literally overblown organ version of Williams Fifth follows suit. Rather than magnifying or intensifying this powerful World War II symphony, it enfeebles it. McVinnie created a striking sense of space with an especially quiet opening that tricked the ear into thinking the very present organ pipes were much further away. But as the movement swelled, the organ gave it the mannered religiosity and sentimentality that Williams so marvelously avoids in his expressive pastoral orchestration. For a French finale McVinnie turned to two movements from Messiaens Le Livre du Saint-Sacrement, one of bird song tamely rendered, the other a prayer of Communion for which McVinnie was the entrancing model of serenity and grace. He let serenity and grace go by ending with a dispiritingly unimaginative organ version of the Berceuse and Finale from Stravinskys The Firebird. There are far better uses for this organ and, as McVinnie showed in the first half of his program, this organist. mark.swed@latimes.com ALSO With violin in hand, Mark Menzies finds hope for the future in the past The Los Angeles Philharmonic and those Russians Lang Lang packs Disney Hall for concert thats part thrill ride, part romantic swoon In a ballroom at the sprawling Terranea Resort in Rancho Palos Verdes, activist Gloria Steinem and actress Octavia Spencer emerged onstage hand in hand Monday night. The crowd, predominately female, erupted into thunderous applause that led to a standing ovation. Steinem and Spencer, just two of many high-profile powerhouses speaking at Makers third womens conference through Wednesday, were here to discuss a range of topics. They dissected Spencers slow but steady rise through Hollywoods ranks and how to tell underrepresented stories like the one at the heart of Hidden Figures (which earned Spencer an Oscar nod for supporting actress). And, of course, they pointed the way forward for women under an administration that many feel poses a threat to reproductive rights. Advertisement Unofficially dubbed the meeting of the minds after the march, the AOL-sponsored conference tapped other big names such as Debra Messing (Will and Grace) and Zosia Mamet (Girls) Monday night to share their stories and to shed light on issues affecting women. This is such a wonderful, wonderful movement that you guys have created, Spencer said from the stage. And my God, we definitely need to keep the momentum because four years is a long time. Steinem, a longtime feminist icon, writer and organizer, interviewed Spencer at the conference and spoke exclusively to The Times beforehand about the election, womens marches and the work thats left to be done. How has the current administration set women back and what is the way forward? Steinem: They set us back in every possible way they could think of. Fortunately, they have limited imaginations [laughs]. I think its very, very important to say and to realize what several people in the American Psychiatric Assn. said: that the president is an example of narcissistic personality disorder, which means that he cannot fail to respond negatively to the smallest slight. And he cannot fail to follow praise, even if it comes from an adversary, as is the case with Russia. I think once we understand that, because its so recognizable, we will really seriously consider why we dont have some sort of standard of examination for high office. And also that the people around him who do know fact from fiction are perhaps more responsible than he is. What does it mean to you that Trump got so many votes from women? You know, I always remember that in China they didnt bind the feet of poor women, they bound the feet of rich women. The majority [of Trump voters] was, like, 53% of white, married women. It was not the majority of white, unmarried women, and it was overwhelmingly not the majority of women of color. So if you are dependent on a mans income and you have been convinced that your entire welfare depends not on yourself but someone else, then you vote that persons interest. Now, I dont mean to say that thats the motive of all women. Some women were no doubt voting out of very conservative, religious views. Im not pretending that I know, but I do think we need to remember that traditionally women in the upper classes are way more restricted. They may get better dental care and better food, but theyre way more restricted. Which womens issues do you think deserve the most attention right now? Safety from violence. And we need to check our perceptions because we sometimes even though weve begun to recognize, say, police violence against black Americans were still recognizing it against men more than against women. And so, protection from violence, diminishing violence and also achieving reproductive freedom. The idea that womens bodies are regulated and invaded by the law is all about controlling reproduction, which is the source of our problem in the first place! What would you like to see more women do? Not ask what to do, but do what they know they should. Listen to the voice thats in all of us telling us what we need to do and finding support and companionship for that. Do you think protests actually work? Well, its just the beginning. Movements always come out of one person saying what they think only they are experiencing and then discovering other people having the same experience. [The Womens March on Washington] was a gigantic version of that. Never ever have I experienced a march where there were so many people that I couldnt march! Or where I was getting calls from other capital cities like Berlin saying, Tell them walls dont work and they too were having a massive march. What impact or significance do you think the marches had? To me, they were so much bigger than anything Ive ever seen in my life and so much more contagious and so much more global. I really believe theyve created an energy cell and a sense of community and connection that turns into action. sonaiya.kelley@latimes.com Follow me on Twitter @sonaiyak There was a star at almost every table: Pharrell Williams, taking daytime formal to the extreme in a NASA sweatshirt, ripped jeans and a ballcap. Emma Stone, flanked by her mother, who was busy capturing the event with her iPhone. Casey Affleck, still basking in the glow of the New England Patriots Super Bowl win just hours before. All told, 160 of this years Academy Award nominees turned up at the Beverly Hilton on Monday afternoon to celebrate their accomplishments at an annual luncheon. But despite the impressive roster, focus remained on the 40 nominees who werent in the room including Asghar Farhadi, the Iranian director of The Salesman, who said last week he would not attend the Oscars in the wake of President Trumps executive order banning travel from seven majority Muslim countries. A 360 look at the Oscar nominees luncheon Advertisement Each and every one of us knows that there are some empty chairs in this room, acknowledged Cheryl Boone Isaacs, president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, as she addressed the nominees. There is a struggle, globally, today over artistic freedom that feels more urgent than at any time since the 1950s. Art has no borders. Art has no language and doesnt belong to a single faith. No the power of art is that it transcends all of these things, and strong societies dont censor art, they celebrate it. America should always be not a barrier but a beacon. Just a year ago, Isaacs stood at the same plexiglass podium, calling out the elephant in the room after the #OscarsSoWhite controversy. In 2015, not a single actor of color was recognized by the academy, but last month, the organization nominated seven minority actors from 2016 films. Wow, she told the room on Tuesday, what a difference a year makes. 1 / 40 The Academy Awards nominees luncheon for the 89th Oscars was held at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills on Monday. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times) 2 / 40 Pharrell Williams, in green hat, gets a close look at the Oscar statue. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times) 3 / 40 Nicole Kidman stops for photos with fans after the Academy Awards nominees luncheon at the Beverly Hilton. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times) 4 / 40 Emma Stone, left, Matt Damon and Natalie Portman prepare for the class picture of all the nominees. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times) 5 / 40 Billie Holden stretches to get a selfie with Nicole Kidman outside the nominees luncheon at the Beverly Hilton. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times) 6 / 40 Fans swarm around Michelle Williams as she leaves the nominees luncheon at the Beverly Hilton. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times) 7 / 40 Justin Timberlake, left, and Casey Affleck are photo-bombed by Matt Damon, center. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times) 8 / 40 Michelle Williams, a nominee for supporting actress, laughs with Justin Paul, center, and Benj Hasek, nominees for original song in La La Land. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times) 9 / 40 Casey Affleck, left, director Kenneth Lonergan and Matt Damon from Manchester by the Sea. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times) 10 / 40 Emma Stone, lead actress nominee for La La Land, greets friends at the Academy Awards nominees luncheon. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times) 11 / 40 Octavia Spencer of Hidden Figures. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times) 12 / 40 Director of La La Land Damien Chazelle with girlfriend and actor Olivia Hamilton. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times) 13 / 40 Laura Dern, left, nominee Nicole Kidman and academy Chief Executive Dawn Hudson. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times) 14 / 40 Manchester by the Sea producer Kevin Walsh, left, and Steven Spielberg at the Academy Awards annual nominees luncheon at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills on Monday. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times) 15 / 40 Mahershala Ali, nominated for supporting actor for Moonlight, arrives at the luncheon. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times) 16 / 40 Ryan Gosling and La La Land costume designer Mary Zophres. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times) 17 / 40 Matt Damon, left, and Natalie Portman greet Ryan Gosling. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times) 18 / 40 Casey Affleck greets Octavia Spencer. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times) 19 / 40 Nicole Kidman and Dev Patel of Lion. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times) 20 / 40 Actor Denzel Washington looks for direction as the class picture of the nominees is readied. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times) 21 / 40 Denzel Washington, center, of Fences. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times) 22 / 40 The nominees set up around Oscar for the class picture. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times) 23 / 40 Guests take photos. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times) 24 / 40 Pharrell Williams and Mimi Valdes. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times) 25 / 40 Nominees pose for the class picture. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times) 26 / 40 Nominees pose. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times) 27 / 40 Denzel Washington pauses for photographers as he arrives at the nominees luncheon at the Beverly Hilton for the 89th Oscars. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times) 28 / 40 Pharrell Williams and Mimi Valdes. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times) 29 / 40 Actress Laura Dern moves along the arrivals line before the nominees luncheon at the Beverly Hilton. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times) 30 / 40 Actor Jeff Bridges poses for photos as he arrives to the nominees luncheon at the Beverly Hilton. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times) 31 / 40 Lin-Manuel Miranda. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times) 32 / 40 Casey Affleck looks for his mark. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times) 33 / 40 Emma Stone, nominated for lead actress for La La Land, poses for photos at the nominees luncheon at the Beverly Hilton for the 89th Oscars. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times) 34 / 40 Michelle Williams, nominated Manchester by the Sea, poses for photographers. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times) 35 / 40 Oscar-nominated actress Natalie Portman. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times) 36 / 40 Ruth Negga, nominated for lead actress for Loving, walks the arrival line. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times) 37 / 40 Lead actor nominee Ryan Gosling. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times) 38 / 40 Damien Chazelle, director of La La Land, arrives at the nominees luncheon at the Beverly Hilton. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times) 39 / 40 Naomie Harris and Mahershala Ali of Moonlight at the nominees luncheon at the Beverly Hilton. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times) 40 / 40 Dev Patel of Lion. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times) With an almost palpable sense of relief, Isaacs noted that the academy grew by 683 members this year, saying the progress made by the group should set a shining example for the movie business. When our storytellers tackle issues of importance from religious intolerance, to racism, to sexism when we bring to the screen stories from around the world, we become agents of change, she said. And when we speak out against those who try to put up barriers, we reinforce this important truth: That all artists around the world are connected by a powerful bond, one that speaks to our creativity and common humanity. Though Isaacs remarks set a somewhat sober tone, the celebratory mood in the ballroom was hardly muted. Bountiful vases of pastel orchids and spray roses were set at each table, where guests were served Chilean sea bass, chocolate-covered strawberries and Champagne Brut. Day drinking! exclaimed Mike Mills, the writer-director of 20th Century Women, as he reached his chair. Hacksaw Ridge director Mel Gibson, seated alongside Isaacs and Lion star Dev Patel, proudly showed off a photo of his newborn son on his cellphone. He looks kind of like Jack Benny, doesnt he? Gibson said of his ninth child. That is a Matt Damon and a Natalie Portman. pic.twitter.com/VDxZQrn9DB Lin-Manuel Miranda (@Lin_Manuel) February 7, 2017 Affleck, meanwhile, said hed been unable to watch his hometown team win the big game Sunday night because he was participating in a Q&A at a film festival. He also did not see comedian Alex Moffats impression of him on Saturday Night Live. They called me and said Is this OK? and I was like, Its fine, but I couldnt watch it, he said. What was the joke? Did they make fun of anyone else? Fortunately, just as the Manchester by the Sea star asked for an explanation, the lights dimmed, and telecast producers Michael De Luca and Jennifer Todd took the podium to offer guidance on acceptance speeches. The theme of this years show, said De Luca, is how movies and the stories they tell both inspire us and give us something to aspire to. So if you find yourself on the Oscar stage, and if those themes are themes that you can relate to, feel free to make them part of your acceptance speech, he urged. [Viewers] want to hear about your film, about what the movies mean to you, about your personal journey that may inspire them, they want a message of hope or aspiration delivered in 45 seconds or less. To underscore the importance of urgency, De Luca threw to a pretaped segment starring Kate McKinnon as a fictional 1930s film star named Gloria Concave. Once, she advised, her speech ran too long and she was pelted with cured meats by some Italians. Casey Affleck kisses Octavia Spencer on the platform Monday as they prepare for the class picture of all the nominees during the Academy Awards annual nominees luncheon for the 89th Oscars at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times) Just yesterday, she kidded, I found a little piece of Mortadella in my cleavage. With that sound advice in mind, the nominees were called, one-by-one, by academy Gov. Laura Dern to gather on risers for their class photo. Jackie star Natalie Portman, heavily pregnant, was given an early seat in the front. But La La Lands Ryan Gosling and Arrival director Denis Villeneuve were asked to stand on the top row, where they smiled and clapped gamely for 20 minutes until the entire roster was called. When everyone was in place, five photos were taken and a copy of one of them will eventually be sent to each nominee. Michelle Williams was placed next to her co-star, Affleck, and Lions Patel and Nicole Kidman stood tall by one anothers side. And while there were no empty holes in the photo headpiece-wearing stagehands had made certain of that there was still a sense that something was missing. Namely, Meryl Streep, nominated for her turn in Florence Foster Jenkins, and not in attendance. Perhaps after 20 of these things, youre over the free sea bass or you simply dont have any more space on your wall for the class photos. amy.kaufman@latimes.com Follow me on Twitter @AmyKinLA Its that time of year again: time to find some roses, make a dinner reservation (your temple of haute cuisine, my taco truck) or engineer your own meal for your beloved, and locate some very good chocolate, assuming you do this sort of thing. If not, its an excellent excuse to get yourself some terrific chocolate. Because comfort food is a very relative term. ChocoVivo At her Culver City bean-to-bar chocolate shop, Patricia Tsai makes chocolate bars, either plain, for baking or in various flavors. Theres a tasting menu for eating on-site, using stone-ground chocolate that comes from a farm in Tabasco, Mexico. The chocolate also goes into mugs of hot chocolate or sipping chocolate. Although you can add dairy to the mugs, the bars themselves have no dairy or soy and are thus great for vegans desperate for good chocolate. The shop feels like Groundwork Coffee Co., with beans and a counter to sit at and drink and sample from that tasting menu and a huge sheet of copper on which they plan to show chocolate-themed films. Also potentially good for this holiday is Tsais apothecary, which includes rose-cacao body oil. 12467 Washington Blvd., Culver City, (310) 845-6259, chocovivo.com. Compartes Compartes owner Jonathan Grahm operates a glorious chocolate business out of his original Brentwood location he closed his Melrose Avenue shop, and is opening a new location in Century City in April. Compartes does it up for Valentines Day, making gorgeous geometric heart-shaped boxes filled with pink rose chocolate truffles, infused with rose wine; 24-karat-dusted dark chocolate and strawberry Champagne truffles, infused with Moet; a box of heart-topped, chocolate-dipped Oreos; and dipped-to-order fresh strawberries. 912 S. Barrington Ave., Brentwood, (310) 826-3380, compartes.com. Advertisement Dylans Candy Bar If you have a preteen or teenage daughter, youve probably spent a lot of time in this upscale sweets shop at the Original Farmers Market. The shop, owned by Dylan Lauren, daughter of Ralph, opened in 2012 as the L.A. outpost of her New York candy boutique. Its a brightly colored fun-house place, loaded with novelty candy, chocolate, help-yourself bins and tables filled with seasonal sweets, including quite a selection for Valentines Day. They have an ice cream window, if you want a cone while you shop at the nearby Grove. 6333 W. 3rd St., Los Angeles, (323) 930-1600, dylanscandybar.com. Edelweiss Chocolates This old-school Beverly Hills chocolate shop began life in 1942 as Candy Roundup, and if you walk through the shop from the back, as do the regulars, you can see the original machines, which are all still in use. Lucille Ball did this one day when the 1940s-era chocolate enrober was malfunctioning and got the idea for her famous 1952 I Love Lucy episode, Job Switching, which is why theres a picture of Ball above the machine now. The shops second owner was Swiss, and hes the one who renamed the place and added European-style chocolate to the repertoire. Now owned by the Zahir family, Edelweiss continues to make classic chocolates using the original equipment and offers about 85 types of chocolate candies, including their popular chocolate-covered pretzels and chocolate-covered marshmallows. A second shop opened in the Brentwood Country Mart in 2005. 444 N. Canon Drive, Beverly Hills, (310) 275-6003, edelweisschocolates.com. Jin Patisserie Since Jin Patisserie closed shop in 2013 on Abbot Kinney Boulevard in Venice, its been a bit harder to find Kristy Choos glorious French macarons and chocolates. But theyve hardly disappeared, just relocated. Now in an industrial complex in Culver City, Jin Patisserie operates a tiny retail shop at its production facility, where it does mostly wholesale business and is open six days a week to the public. There you can pick up Choos macarons, cookies and cakes, and selections of her chocolates, all made with Swiss Felchlin chocolate and in a variety of flavors and patterns. New this year: edible chocolate trees. 5741 Buckingham Parkway, Suite D, Culver City, (310) 399-8801, jinpatisserie.com. Joans on Third Joan McNamara has been operating Los Angeles version of Dean & DeLuca since 1998, providing us all with great food, catering and exquisite gifts both from her original shop on 3rd Street and her second shop in Studio City. You can find chocolate in the form of brownies, cookies, cupcakes, roulade and cake slices. And on the counters and racks and shelves, which McNamara fills with gift items, there are Valentines candies and cupcakes, bonbons, heart-shaped cookies and those old-fashioned little conversation hearts we all used to get as kids. 8350 W. 3rd St., Los Angeles, (323) 655-2285; 12059 Ventura Place, Studio City, (818) 201-3900, joansonthird.com. John Kelly Chocolates began as a small wholesale chocolate factory in Hollywood 10 years ago; now it has two retail shops, as well as the original factory. (Amy Scattergood / Los Angeles Times) John Kelly Chocolates John Kelly Chocolates began life over a decade ago as a wholesale chocolate factory in a small location in Hollywood. Now owners John Kelson and Kelly Green (the company name is a combination of their first names) have a retail shop next to that factory as well as another location in Santa Monica. Their signature Belgian chocolate is something called truffle fudge, and the pair fashion it into various exquisite iterations. They also make walnut caramel clusters, chocolate and peanut butter bars, tiny chocolate frogs and butterflies, chocolate-dipped dried apricots and figs and shortbread. You can also get gift towers, which look like the Platonic ideal of those Harry & David stacked boxes your relatives send you for Christmas. 1508 N. Sierra Bonita Ave., Los Angeles, (323) 851-3269; 1111 1/2 Montana Ave., Santa Monica, (310) 899-0900, johnkellychocolates.com. Little Flower Candy Co. Christine Moores Pasadena shop is a neighborhood cafe with great sandwiches, salads and baked goods. But its also a fantastic gift shop, stocked with seasonal candies, chocolates and frilly things and Moores sea salt caramels and marshmallows, which engendered her shop in the first place. For Valentines Day, the place gets reconfigured with hearts and lots of pink, including pink marshmallows, bags of pink and red candies, heart-shaped cookies, old-fashioned Sweethearts candies and lots of chocolates. 1424 W. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena, (626) 304-4800,littleflowercandyco.com. Lolli and Pops This shop is a hybrid of two worlds: the contemporary universe of indoor shopping that is the Glendale Galleria and the Old World charm of a shop thats decorated in wood and hand-lettered chalk signs, where the person bagging your chocolates is dressed like an early 20th century soda jerk. Lolli and Pops has chocolates and candies sourced from around the world, and tables and shelves filled with very cute things, such as teddy bears and giant lollipops and candy cases filled with marzipan, Valentines petits fours, liquor-infused truffles and more. 1128 Glendale Galleria, Glendale, (818) 546-1813 and other locations in Topanga, Thousand Oaks and Sherman Oaks, lolliandpops.com. Mignon Mignon is a lovely old-fashioned shop, or rather two of them: the original in Glendale, which has been open for a dozen years, and an 8-year-old outpost in Pasadena. Both shops carry a large selection of chocolates, filled and flavored (ginger sea salt, green tea, Cuban mojito, etc.) and often stenciled with pretty patterns. There are Valentines Day boxes, including one filled with red Champagne-ganache-filled chocolate lips, and strawberry-filled chocolates in heart shapes. Or, if youre having a really big party for your loved one, you can rent a chocolate fountain, which includes not only the fountain and the chocolate but also a professional chocolate host. 315 N. Verdugo Road, Glendale, (818) 549-9600; 6 E. Holly St., Pasadena, (626) 796-7100, mignonchocolate.com. Sweet It helps to have a kid with you when you navigate this huge candy shop in the Hollywood & Highland complex on Hollywood Boulevard, for morale, for inspiration and because it can be overwhelming if youre not 13. Theres a lot here: RuPauls pop-up shop; a Chocolate Lab (yes, there are pictures of Labradors) where you can build your own chocolate bars and watch them being made; a TV that loops that I Love Lucy candy episode; and all the displays of hard candies, chocolates and lots and lots of merchandise. 6801 Hollywood Blvd., Suite 201, Los Angeles, (323) 462-3111, sweetlosangeles.com. Valentines Day chocolates from Valerie Confections. (Amy Scattergood / Los Angeles Times) Valerie Confections Valerie Gordon and her partner, Stan Weightman Jr., started their business with toffee, and they now have three shops selling chocolates, pastries, confections and, at two shops, lunch. The epicenter of the business is in Westlake on 1st Street, in a cute 4,000-square-foot production facility, shop, chocolate factory and bakery. There, Gordon and her staff have, among other things, five chocolate-dipping stations, where they make their chocolate candies, all blended from their unique mixture of Valrhona and Guittard chocolates. For the holiday, they make special boxes filled with chocolates, including truffles and caramels as well as chocolates shaped like hearts and golden roses. New this year, a 61% bittersweet chocolate bar, sprinkled with crushed rose petals and dehydrated raspberries. And do not forget their rose petal petits fours. 3360 and 3364 W. 1st St., Los Angeles, (213) 739-8149, and two other locations, valerieconfections.com. amy.scattergood@latimes.com @ascattergood ALSO: 70 years of the Apple Pan on Pico Pastry chef Dominique Ansel, creator of the Cronut, is coming to L.A. Where to dine in Southern California if you love tasting menus Phone calls jammed congressional switchboards. Two Republican senators defected. Democrats held a last-ditch, 24-hour Senate debate in hope of shaking loose one additional vote. But the effort was not enough to prevent Betsy DeVos from becoming U.S. secretary of Education. DeVos squeaked through the confirmation process Tuesday with the tie-breaking vote of Vice President Mike Pence and the participation of Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.), whose confirmation vote for attorney general was scheduled after DeVos so he could vote for her. Advertisement It was the first time a vice presidents tie-breaking vote was needed to confirm a presidential Cabinet appointment. DeVos, a Michigan-based Republican activist, former state party chairwoman and fundraiser, spent her career campaigning for school vouchers, which send tax money to families to help them pay for private and often religious schools. As the wife of the billionaire heir to the Amway fortune, she contributed millions of dollars to candidates who supported vouchers, including several of the senators who voted to confirm her. She is the first secretary of Education since the department was created in 1979 to have neither attended nor sent her children to public school, the Education Week Research Center found. Her road to confirmation has been among the bumpiest of any of President Trumps Cabinet nominees. At her confirmation hearing in January, DeVos seemed unfamiliar with some of the basics of education policy. She was unable to distinguish between proficiency and growth, for example, concepts that are crucial to a major education debate about the fairest way to measure student learning. Her inability to answer that question became part of a Saturday Night Live skit. DeVos also appeared to not know that the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act is a federal law that puts all states on the hook for teaching special-needs students a subject of intense interest to several senators as well as hundreds of thousands of parents with disabled children. Beyond those fumbles, several other moments from her hearing went viral outside the bubble of government and education experts. In response to a question about whether guns belonged in schools, DeVos said she would leave that decision to locales and states and said that perhaps a school in Wapiti, Wyo., which has a grizzly bear fence, would use a gun to ward off the animals. That comment launched Internet memes, as well as a segment on Comedy Centrals The Daily Show. Historically, nominees for secretary of Education have sailed through their confirmation with bipartisan support. The custom has been that the president is entitled to his own advisors, so its rare that theres a real fight, said Jack Jennings, a lawyer who served as an education expert for House Democrats for decades. But following DeVos confirmation hearing, teachers, unions, activists and at least one fellow billionaire flooded Congress with opposition some 1.5 million calls a day to Senate offices. Ive never seen opposition like this, Jennings said. Those calls were among the factors that made Republican Sens. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Susan Collins of Maine decide last week that they would vote against DeVos. Murkowski said she made her decision after hearing from thousands, truly thousands, of Alaskans. DeVos nomination, which became a proxy fight over vouchers, also effectively shattered a decade-old bipartisan education bloc. During the presidencies of George W. Bush and Barack Obama, a group of Republicans and Democrats largely agreed on the expansion of charter schools and school accountability. That development created a rift in the Democratic Party between advocates for these changes and those who sided with teachers unions. In 2015, the bipartisan coalition was strong enough for Congress to pass the Every Student Succeeds Act, the successor to the Bush administrations much-maligned No Child Left Behind Act. DeVos nomination seems to have ended that bipartisan moment and split charter supporters. DeVos was involved in the proliferation of charter schools in Michigan, but in that state, even some charter supporters have criticized their lax oversight. (At her hearing, DeVos said she supported a bill that increased accountability for Michigan charters.) The National Assn. for Public Charter Schools released a statement supporting DeVos. But Eli Broad, a billionaire philanthropist who has tried to increase the number of charter schools in Los Angeles and in other cities, last week called DeVos unprepared and unqualified for the job. It is unclear what policies DeVos will push. During the campaign, Trump backed a plan to expand school vouchers dramatically, but throughout the confirmation process, DeVos told senators that she would not impose a voucher plan on states that didnt want them. Protest tonight at Senate park against #DeVos nomination pic.twitter.com/2VvxZVUura Lisa Mascaro (@LisaMascaro) February 6, 2017 Any proposal to greatly increase vouchers would run up against Republican reluctance to raise federal spending. Paying for a massive voucher expansion by cutting other education programs would run into intense political opposition. But if early hires are any sign, the Trump administration is intent on rolling back much of what the Obama administration did over the last eight years. President Obama gave the Education Department an activist role by using executive orders and federal competitions to beef up civil rights enforcement and prod states to adopt certain school policies. The departments Office of Civil Rights also increased investigations into sexual assaults at colleges and issued guidance protecting the rights of transgender students. Trump has chosen Jerry Falwell Jr., the president of Virginias Liberty University, to lead a higher education task force. A Falwell spokesperson has said Falwell thinks sexual assault investigations are best left to courts and police. In the final hours before the confirmation vote, Democrats took over the Senate floor for 24 hours to protest DeVos. She is unfamiliar with even basic education issues, said Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-Va.), who has voted for several other Trump nominees. Sen. Gary Peters, a Democrat from DeVos home state of Michigan, said the nominee had garnered a nickname, the four-star general of the pro-voucher movement, and remains shockingly unfamiliar with federal law. Some Republicans stood up for DeVos. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell accused Democrats of obstructionism. Sen. John Cornyn of Texas, apparently responding to critiques that DeVos simply didnt know enough to lead, praised Trump for picking an outsider. Hes glad that DeVos is not an education bureaucrat who knows all the acronyms, Cornyn said. Joy.Resmovits@LATimes.com @Joy_Resmovits Times staff writer Lisa Mascaro in Washington contributed to this report. ALSO Democrats find their voice in the protests against President Trump Trump administration says aliens outside the U.S. have no constitutional protections California Republicans ask Trump administration to block bullet train funding UPDATES: 9:30 a.m.: This story was updated with the Senate vote. This story was originally published at 3 a.m. Mayor Eric Garcetti hardly needed the support of former President Obama to strengthen his campaign for reelection, but he asked for it anyway during a party at the White House last month. On Tuesday, Garcetti declared himself the first candidate to win Obamas endorsement since his presidency ended. The first was actually a Chicago alderman, Sophia King. Obama, last seen kite surfing in the British Virgin Islands, did not travel to California for the announcement. Garcetti made do with an image of the former president on a TV monitor at his campaign office in Windsor Square. Advertisement Eric is my friend, loyal ally and a great and visionary mayor of Los Angeles, Obama said in a statement released by Garcetti, who faces 10 little-known challengers in the March 7 election. A California co-chair of Obamas 2008 campaign, Garcetti recalled meeting with Obama in the Oval Office before deciding whether to run for mayor in 2013. At the time, Garcetti was an L.A. city councilman considering a job heading urban policy at the White House, the mayor said. But Obama urged him to listen to your heart and run for mayor instead, Garcetti said. The president declined to endorse Garcetti in the 2013 mayors race, when he faced a tough campaign against several well-known fellow Democrats. Garcetti and his wife, Amy Wakeland, attended Obamas goodbye party at the White House two weeks before President Trumps inauguration, and it was there that the mayor asked for the endorsement. An Obama spokesman confirmed Tuesday that the former president was backing the mayor. Garcettis announcement was a blow to one of his challengers, campaign consultant Mitchell Schwartz, who was the state director of Obamas California campaign in 2008. michael.finnegan@latimes.com @finneganLAT UPDATES: 5:15 p.m.: This article was updated with a clarification that Garcetti was not Obamas first endorsement since leaving the presidency. 4:55 p.m.: This article was updated with confirmation of the endorsement by a spokesman for former President Obama. This article was originally published at 2:05 p.m. An Ontario egg farm is facing more than four dozen animal cruelty charges after tens of thousands of hens were found living in inhumane conditions and laying eggs among dead birds, authorities said. The San Bernardino County district attorneys office charged Robert Hohberg and his farm, Hohberg Poultry Ranches, on Tuesday with 39 misdemeanor counts of violating Californias Prevention of Farm Animal Cruelty Act, which requires egg-laying hens to be given enough space to allow them to properly spread their wings without touching other birds or the cage. Hohberg, 70, and his farm also face 16 misdemeanor counts of animal cruelty, according to the criminal complaint. He is scheduled to appear in San Bernardino Superior Court on March 7. Advertisement Its a very inhumane situation, Dist. Atty. Mike Ramos said. If you are going to harm animals here in the Inland Empire, we are going to hold you responsible. An investigation into the farms conditions was launched after a complaint in January 2016 to the Inland Valley Humane Society, Ramos said. The complaint alleged that chickens were being kept in inhumane and deplorable conditions, prosecutors said. The following month, the district attorneys animal prosecution unit, the Ontario Police Department and the humane society got a warrant and searched the ranch. Officials found 28,000 chickens living in unsanitary and overcrowded cages, Deputy Dist. Atty. Debbie Ploghaus said. Other hens were found laying eggs among dead and decaying birds, she said. According to prosecutors, the eggs were intended for human consumption. While we are obviously concerned about the health of our citizens, at the end of the day, we also have a lawful obligation to ensure that animals in our county are being treated humanely, Ramos said. The overcrowded conditions these animals were forced to live in were cruel. It was a horrible existence. In 2012, the Food and Drug Administration sent a warning letter to Hohberg after finding serious health violations at three of his facilities during inspections. According to the FDA, the farms did not have proper practices in place to prevent salmonella contamination. The FDA also found that a manure scraper had not been properly disinfected. Inspectors spotted at least one cat in the rows of caged chickens and wild birds inside the poultry houses. They also observed cluttered debris, old equipment, cobwebs and leaking and pooled water. A woman who answered the phone at the poultry ranch Tuesday declined to comment about the charges. If Hohberg is convicted, he faces up to 180 days in jail for each cage size violation and a year for each animal cruelty count. Ramos said he is hoping the case helps prevent other ranchers in the Inland Valley, as well as across the U.S., from mistreating animals. Its not really about putting people in jail for years, he said. Its about holding people responsible. veronica.rocha@latimes.com Twitter: @VeronicaRochaLA A San Francisco sheriffs deputy has been accused of staging the theft of her department-issued gun, submitting bogus insurance claims and handing the weapon over to a former inmate with whom she had had an intimate jailhouse relationship. The fraud and corruption allegations against April Myres, a 20-year member of the Sheriffs Department, came after months of investigation by local and federal authorities. Myres, 52, was arrested Thursday and faces federal charges of mail fraud, wire fraud and conspiracy. She was detained shortly after agents conducted a traffic stop of Antoine Fowler, the former inmate, and recovered Myres gun in the console of his car, according to the U.S. attorneys office in San Francisco. Advertisement Tony Tamburello, Myres attorney, did not respond to a request for comment. But in an interview with the Bay Area news station KGO-TV, he denied that his client had had an intimate relationship with Fowler. The attorney said Fowler had stolen the gun. She did not give [it] to him, Tamburello said. In March 2016, Myres reported that the Glock 17 9-millimeter pistol had been stolen during a burglary of her home. She said the burglar also took her department-issued body armor, handcuffs and radio, as well as designer apparel that included Versace, Louis Vuitton and Chanel handbags, according to court papers. When detectives tried to investigate the theft, they ran into difficulties, according to an affidavit filed in federal court. The case against Custody Assistant Jonathan Grijalva is the latest in a string of criminal prosecutions that have roiled the Los Angeles County Sheriffs Department Myres told a San Francisco police officer that she had a security camera at her home, but that she already had deleted footage from the day of the break-in. Detectives wanted to dust parts of her home for fingerprints, but she balked. She also gave law enforcement the name of a man she thought was involved, but did not mention that the suspect was her ex-husband, according to the affidavit. Police tracked down security camera footage from one of Myres neighbors, which showed a group of men at the home on the evening in question. The footage showed Myres driving away about 6 p.m., which matched what she told investigators. But the men remained until about 8 p.m. Myres told an insurance company that no one else had been at her house on the night of the burglary. Meanwhile, at some point a former cellmate told investigators that Fowler and Myres had had an illicit relationship when he was in jail. Fowler and his cellmate were allowed to go to the gym separately from other inmates, the man said, enabling Fowler and Myres to meet privately. The cellmate told officials that he overheard the pair discussing plans for a Hawaii vacation and claimed that Myres agreed to get Fowler a gun once he was released. In May, Myres sent insurance forms detailing about $66,000 worth of items she said were taken. In a handwritten note, she justified including her professional equipment in the claim, saying San Franciscos city charter allowed her to assume ownership after 4 years of service. She provided the name of a supervisor for verification. Investigators later found that the name she provided was not her supervisor and that the city did not have such a policy, federal officials said in the affidavit. After weeks of surveillance, FBI agents stopped Fowlers car on Thursday and found Myres Glock in the console. He told investigators that Myres had given it to him. The same day, agents searched Myres home and found several of the items that she had said were stolen, according to the affidavit. Fowler was charged with being a felon in possession of a gun. He remains in custody and is scheduled to appear in court Tuesday. His attorney could not be reached for comment. If convicted, Fowler faces up to 10 years in prison. Myres was released after posting $1-million bond. She faces up to 20 years in prison for each count of mail fraud, wire fraud and conspiracy, and an additional 10 years in prison for the weapons charge. matt.hamilton@latimes.com Twitter: @MattHjourno The husband of a 28-year-old woman who was found stabbed to death in Valinda on Monday night has been arrested on suspicion of murder, authorities said. Ricky Ramos, 32, was arrested Tuesday morning, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriffs Department. Sheriffs homicide detectives said they initially detained him Monday after authorities found his wife, Socorro Ramos, dead with multiple stab wounds inside the couples home in the 16300 block of Doublegrove Street. Advertisement Deputies responded to the residence around 8:30 p.m. after a neighbor called 911 to report that a woman was unresponsive inside the home. Authorities attempted to revive her, but Socorro Ramos was pronounced dead at the scene. Ricky Ramos was not home when deputies arrived at the residence in the unincorporated San Gabriel Valley community. Authorities found him shortly afterward in the 15500 block of Amar Road, roughly two miles away, and detained him for questioning. The weapon allegedly used in the stabbing was recovered at the scene. Deputies did not provide specifics about the type of weapon used. The couple has a child, who was not at home when Socorro Ramos was attacked, authorities said. Ricky Ramos is being held in Los Angeles County Jail in lieu of $2 million bail. He is expected to be arraigned Thursday at Pomona Superior Court, according to jail records. hannah.fry@latimes.com For breaking California news, follow @HannahFryTCN on Twitter. Investigators were looking for a motive Monday after a former prosecutor and retired judge fatally shot his girlfriend and then himself after a standoff with a SWAT team in Ventura over the weekend. Authorities say 69-year-old Herbert Curtis III barricaded himself inside a home in the 5500 block of Dorsey Street on Sunday night with his girlfriend after neighbors called police reporting possible domestic violence. Officers arrived on scene and attempted to make contact with the individuals inside the residence, when officers heard what they believed to be multiple gunshots coming from inside, Ventura police said in a statement. Advertisement Officers set up a perimeter and a SWAT team negotiator began communicating with Curtis, who said he was armed, police said. During a standoff that lasted more than two hours, a SWAT team listening device picked up Curtis girlfriend, Patricia Payne, 54, saying she had been shot. When more gunshots were heard from inside the home, the SWAT team moved in, police said. Curtis shot himself and was pronounced dead at the scene, officials said. Payne was taken to a hospital, where she died. Curtis was a Ventura County Municipal Court judge from 1984 to 1998. He was then appointed to the Ventura County Superior Court, where he served until his retirement in 2007. The news of his passing is met with great sadness, the courts assistant presiding judge, Kent Kellegrew, said in a statement. Judge Curtis invested decades of service to the county of Ventura, initially as a criminal prosecutor and thereafter as a judge. The court acknowledges Judge Curtis contributions and extends its condolences to his family. The events that led to Sunday nights incident were not immediately known, officials said. joseph.serna@latimes.com For breaking California news, follow @JosephSerna on Twitter. ALSO Two people critically injured in school bus crash Southern Californias second storm of the week brings rain and gusty winds S.F. deputy charged with giving gun to felon whom she had relationship with in jail, prosecutors say A wastewater treatment authority that serves large parts of the high desert, including Victorville, Hesperia and Apple Valley, mismanaged millions of dollars in federal emergency management funds, a U.S. audit has found. The Victor Valley Water Reclamation Authority, which received the funds after major flooding six years ago led to a ruptured pipeline, did not comply with numerous federal regulations on Federal Emergency Management Agency contracts worth $31.7 million, according to the report by the Office of Inspector General of the Department of Homeland Security. The audit calls on FEMA and California to disallow the $31.7 million in what it deemed ineligible costs and said further investigation needed to be done to determine whether additional regulatory and ethical violations or gross mismanagement occurred. Advertisement The inspector generals office also found that the authority and one of its main contractors misled FEMA to fund more expensive repairs than necessary. That resulted in millions in federal funds awarded to the agency, the report says. The office promised to present findings on that issue in another report. David Wylie, a spokesman for the water reclamation authority known as VVWRA, said that officials were disappointed by the report and that the agency had responded in detail to the concerns raised by the inspector general. The authority has previously undergone a lengthy audit process and [provided] substantial legal authority and documentation as to why VVWRA believes that the findings are incorrect, Wylie said. According to the current audit, the authority repeatedly accepted, without verification, contractors own assessments of costs and need for funds. One contractors numerous modifications led the original price of its contract to triple from about $410,000 to $1.3 million, the report says. The authority also failed to properly follow policy for how contractors should be selected, analyze bids to ensure reasonable costs and impose price ceilings on contractors. Because the agency did not follow numerous rules meant to ensure that federal grant money is used properly, FEMA has no assurance that these costs were reasonable, the report says. The money was awarded to the authority to repair a pipeline that was washed out by the Mojave River in major floods in late 2010. The rupture sent 42 million gallons of sewage spilling into the river, officials said. The pipeline project was completed last year. The audit isnt the first sign of trouble at the agency. In April of last year, the city of Victorville gave official notice that it would be leaving the authority because of what it said was poor management of funds, said city spokeswoman Sue Jones. However, the agreement requires 30 years notice before participation can be terminated. So the city remains part of the authority. paloma.esquivel@latimes.com Twitter @palomaesquivel ALSO Zika virus is here to stay. Heres how California is preparing for that new reality S.F. deputy charged with giving gun to felon whom she had relationship with in jail, prosecutors say Decades after deadly arson fire at Westlake apartment complex, LAPD announces arrests and possible motive A federal appeals court panel reviewing President Trumps controversial limits on travel from several predominantly Muslim countries appeared skeptical Tuesday of the administrations arguments seeking to reinstate his order. In a hearing that lasted more than an hour, a three-judge panel of the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals appeared to dismiss the administrations arguments that neither the states nor the courts have the authority to challenge the executive order, which seeks to bar travelers from seven countries in the Middle East and North Africa to protect the United States from terrorists. The fight over the travel moratorium is being viewed as a test of whether the new and unconventional president, who has never before held public office, will be reined in by the courts as he tries to implement his controversial campaign promises. Advertisement Trumps executive order suspending the admission of new refugees and blocking travelers from countries with possible links to terrorism prompted protests around the world and threw airports into chaos as at least 60,000 foreigners with valid visas saw them suddenly canceled. A federal judge in Seattle last week issued a temporary restraining order blocking enforcement of the ban, and those potentially affected by it students who had been overseas visiting their families, engineers on work visas, relatives hoping to visit their families in the U.S. began streaming into the country again. A ruling in favor of the government by the three-member panel could reverse the situation once again. Administration lawyers said such a ruling was essential until the government can draft adequate protections to keep possible terrorists out of the country. Tuesdays hearing on the governments bid to reinstate it drew an extraordinary level of public attention. The audio feed was broadcast live on CNN and MSNBC highly unusual for a legal teleconference. Nearly 137,000 people listened in on the courts website, the largest audience by far of any hearing since the 9th Circuit began streaming two years ago, a court spokesman said. The states of Washington and Minnesota have challenged the constitutionality of Trumps executive order, arguing that it was motivated by a negative attitude toward Muslims, not a reasoned attempt to protect the country. They said it would prevent students from finishing their education and leave employers suddenly without needed workers. The Justice Department counters that the moratorium was not aimed at any particular religion, but at nations associated with terrorism, and is intended to apply only until new vetting measures are in place. Federal attorneys contend that the potential harm cited by the states business loss, reduced tax revenue and disruption of higher education are merely speculative. Appeals court arguments are often hard to judge; lawyers for both sides came in for pointed questioning. But two of the three 9th Circuit judges hearing the case said little to indicate they would rule for Trump. On the other hand, Judge Richard Clifton, an appointee of President George W. Bush, directed his toughest questions to Washington state Solicitor Gen. Noah G. Purcell, who represented his state and Minnesota during the hearing. Clifton repeatedly noted that the moratorium on entry from the seven targeted nations affected only 15% of the worlds Muslim population. He asked how that amounted to discrimination against Muslims. I have trouble understanding where were supposed to infer religious animus when in fact the vast majority of Muslims would not be affected, he said. Clifton also asked whether the administration should be prohibited, under the judges order, from applying a ban to people in those seven countries who have never been to the U.S. or held visas. Why isnt this over-broad? Clifton asked, referring to U.S. District Judge James Robarts temporary restraining order. The panel seemed to agree, however, that the states had the legal right to challenge Trumps order. And both Judge William Canby, an appointee of President Carter, and Judge Michelle Friedland, a President Obama appointee, appeared to come to the aid of the states lawyer when Clifton pressed him for evidence that the travel order was motivated by religious bias. You have actually supported these allegations with exhibits, havent you? Friedland reminded the lawyer representing Washington and Minnesota. Canby quickly added that it was the federal government, not the states, that had the burden of showing its arguments would eventually prevail. August Flentje, special counsel to the assistant U.S. attorney general, argued that Trumps order merely put a temporary pause on entry from the seven countries until security concerns could be reviewed. He said those nations were targeted because Congress and the Obama administration determined they posed special risks of terrorism. But Clifton said the administration had only pretty abstract evidence that irreparable harm would result if the temporary restraining order were not removed. It isnt like there havent been processes in place to provide extra screening of visa applications from those countries, he said. Is there any reason for us to think there is a real risk? Clifton asked. Friedland asked the federal governments lawyer how the administration would view an order that said all Muslims were banned. Flentje tried to deflect the question but eventually conceded that such an directive could be challenged on constitutional grounds. UC Irvine Law School Dean Erwin Chemerinsky said he was struck by the difficulty the federal lawyer had in providing evidence that removing the hold would cause irreparable harm. University of Pittsburgh Law Professor Arthur Hellman said he was surprised at the tone of some of some of Cliftons questions for the Washington state attorney. He seemed almost angry, Hellman said. But later he was also a little hard on the federal government attorney. Legal experts caution against reading too deeply into the tone of questioning from judges, who are often pointed on both sides of a case. The reason you cant read a lot into oral arguments is that its the judges job to perform a searching inquiry on both sides. I think people who havent heard oral arguments may hear the questions for the Department of Justice and they say, Oh my God, these are such sharp questions, and maybe they dont agree at all with the federal government, said Jessica Levinson, a law professor at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles. Whats important to keep in mind, she said, is its the judges job to play devils advocate. Its their job to help the attorneys articulate their best argument. Its their job to also try to convince their colleagues. The 9th Circuit is not expected to decide the key constitutional issues in the case immediately. The panel in its ruling this week will determine only whether the court order against enforcement of the ban should continue until the complex legal debate over executive power and due process is resolved. To reverse Judge Robarts restraining order, the federal government must show that the country would suffer irreparable harm if the travel ban is not immediately reinstated. If the appeals court upholds the restraining order, the administration can appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court. Once the legality of the hold is resolved, the case would return to Robart. maura.dolan@latimes.com Twitter: @mauradolan ALSO White House: Trump doesnt question judicial independence DeVos confirmed as Education secretary in razor-thin Senate vote Trumps travel ban couldnt keep this Johnny Cash-loving Muslim college kid away from the U.S.: Meet Abdullah ... UPDATES: 8:20 p.m.: This story was updated with additional details from the hearing and for clarity. 5:45 p.m.: The story was updated with details from the oral arguments. 4:25 p.m.: This story was updated to reflect the conclusion of oral arguments. 3:15 p.m.: This story was updated with the commencement of oral arguments in the case. This story was originally published at 2:05 p.m. The Army Corps of Engineers told Congress on Tuesday that it will allow the $3.8-billion Dakota Access oil pipeline to cross under a Missouri River reservoir in North Dakota, completing the disputed four-state project. The Corps intends to allow the Lake Oahe crossing as early as Wednesday, according to court documents the Justice Department filed that include letters to members of Congress from Deputy Assistant Army Secretary Paul Cramer. The stretch under Lake Oahe is the final big chunk of work on the 1,200-mile pipeline that would carry North Dakota oil through the Dakotas and Iowa to a shipping point in Illinois. Developer Energy Transfer Partners had hoped to have oil flowing through the pipeline by the end of 2016, but construction has been stalled while the Corps and the Dallas-based company battled in court over the crossing. Advertisement The Standing Rock Sioux tribe, whose reservation is just downstream from the crossing, fears a leak would pollute its drinking water and is likely to file a legal challenge to the Armys decision to grant an easement. The tribe has led protests that drew hundreds and at times thousands of people who dubbed themselves water protectors to an encampment near the crossing. Energy Transfer Partners says the pipeline is safe. An environmental assessment conducted last year determined the crossing would not have a significant impact on the environment. However, then-Assistant Army Secretary for Civil Works Jo-Ellen Darcy on Dec. 4 declined to issue permission for the crossing, saying a broader environmental study was warranted given the Standing Rock Siouxs opposition. The energy company called Darcys decision politically motivated and accused then-President Obamas administration of delaying the matter until he left office. The Corps launched a study of the crossing on Jan. 18, two days before Obama left office, that could have taken up to two years to complete. President Donald Trump signed an executive action on Jan. 24 telling the Corps to quickly reconsider Darcys decision. The court documents filed Tuesday include a proposed Federal Register notice terminating the study. Energy Transfer Partners has been poised to begin drilling under the lake as soon as it has approval. Workers have drilled entry and exit holes for the Oahe crossing, and oil has been put in the pipeline leading up to the lake in anticipation of finishing the project. Protesters have at times clashed with police, leading to nearly 700 arrests since the tribe set up the encampment on federal land. The camps population thinned to fewer than 300 as harsh winter weather arrived and as Standing Rock officials pleaded for the camp to disband before the spring flooding season. ALSO Journalist faces charges after arrest while covering Dakota Access pipeline protest Thousands turn out in downtown L.A. to protest Trumps orders on Keystone, Dakota pipelines Supporters say Dakota Access pipeline is back on. Activists counter: See you in court It is outrageous that Russia interfered in the U.S. election by hacking into the computers of Democratic officials. This should be condemned and punished and steps should be taken to protect the integrity of the electoral system. But one state lawmaker has offered a solution to the problem that is not actually a solution: mandating that this incident be included Californias public school history textbooks so that schoolchildren forevermore will learn about it. Given how much we dont know about the hacking including whether it turned the election and made Donald Trump president what would be the point? And even if the issue did belong in the curriculum, thats not for the Legislature to determine. That decision should be made by education experts charged with crafting intelligent lesson plans and they shouldnt be under pressure in doing so from Democratic politicians burnishing their anti-Trump bona fides. Advertisement The bill at issue by Assemblyman Marc Levine (D-San Rafael) would urge the state Instructional Quality Commission to include the Russian interference with the presidential election in the next revision of the history and social science curriculum. The bill is called wait for it the Pravda Act of 2017. This is becoming a bad habit on the part of the Legislature, one thats getting worse by the year, and it must stop. In recent years, lawmakers have passed and our normally no-nonsense governor has signed all manner of bills calling on public school students to be taught about, among other things, the significance of the election of President Obama, sex trafficking prevention, the Armenian and other genocides, and the development of healthy relationships. All that stuff may sound good. But thats not the point. Whether or not we agree with the premise, it is inappropriate for legislators to interfere with curriculum development and textbooks in an effort to insert partisan, ideological or disputed points of view. Thats no less true in liberal California than it is in conservative states that seek to rewrite their textbooks to ignore climate change or, as the Texas Board of Education did in 2004, define marriage as a lifelong union between a man and woman. To read the article in Spanish, click here Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinion and Facebook To the editor: It is clear to me after the Senate voted 51-50 (with Vice President Mike Pence breaking the tie) to confirm Betsy DeVos as secretary of Education that the Republicans care nothing about honesty or qualifications; this woman has no idea of what education means in this country. She is not an educator. She evidently did not know what the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act was, did not know the facts about educational testing and appears to have plagiarized part of her questionnaire. My government has been disastrously hijacked. Jan Goldsmith, Sherman Oaks Advertisement .. To the editor: The confirmation of DeVos may ultimately provide her one lasting contribution to education in America: the lesson that not voting has consequences. Stefan Gerber, Los Angeles .. To the editor: As a retired public school teacher whose career was spent in large part serving socioeconomically marginalized urban communities, Im acutely aware that schools are often a reflection of historic ills in our society. Charter schools, as they are now, are merely a permutation of white flight to the suburbs and offer no systemic solutions. Instead, they represent what is commonly referred to as a brain drain from our public schools since they tend to serve students of the most involved parents. Public schools must take all comers. Until the day comes when charter schools state that they want the most behaviorally and academically challenged students because theyve devised a proven approach that will turn around such at-risk students, advocates who have diverted tax dollars to charter schools like DeVos should be prevented from assuming leadership roles in public education. Jeff Siskin, Canyon Country .. To the editor: Parents in Wyoming can rest easy with DeVos now serving as the secretary of Education. During her Senate hearing, DeVos was asked about guns in schools. She said guns may have a place in Wyoming schools to keep children safe from potential grizzly bears. We have mountain lions in Griffith Park. Why isnt she concerned about kids in Los Angeles? William Goldman, Palos Verdes Estates .. To the editor: Over the years, some have been spelling it Amerika as a protest against a government that doesnt always reflect our values. With DeVos confirmation, I fear that well see a lot more of that in the near future as spelling and other basic education goes out the window. Maik Amerika Grate Agen! Barry Davis, Agoura Hills Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinion and Facebook MORE FROM OPINION A gang of 11 could end the madness of Supreme Court confirmations If Republicans wont take a stand on someone as incompetent as Betsy DeVos, what will they take a stand on? A lofty and troubling proposed bill of rights for California kids To the editor: That Los Angeles Police Department Chief Charlie Beck describes LAPD tactics in parts of South Los Angeles as just an occasional stop, while painting them as merely inconvenient, flies in the face of hard data and experience. (The LAPDs biggest conundrum: How to suppress crime without alienating South L.A.'s black residents, Feb. 4) Condoning harassing and detaining black (and also brown) people in their neighborhoods as the way to end violent crime misses the point. Its also shameful when theres a far better answer, one that roots out the causes for drugs, gangs and guns in the first place: Redistribute the citys resources to provide real jobs, better housing, quality education and youth engagement in these communities. But heres the rub: Really solving the problem means having to address age-old power dynamics such as white privilege and the power of the police to call the shots. Its time for all of us to start looking beneath the surface and stop accepting Becks vision for the future of Los Angeles. Advertisement Karen Hilfman, Los Angeles .. To the editor: How can the LAPD officers deployed to high-crime areas of South L.A. protect and serve the people and gain their support? First, they should meet with community leaders and get guidance for the policies to effectively suppress crime, protect the officers from excessive risk, and gain the support of the people. Second, they should meet the LAPDs most ardent critics and ask them what they think are the best ways to protect community members. Ask what they would have the police do, what they would do if they were in charge. The key is to get the most vocal critics to see the big picture and be part of the solution. At public meetings, critics and community leaders need to be present so people can voice their opinions. The LAPD should arrange monthly meetings with community leaders and critics to gauge the departments progress. Teamwork, unity and constant communication: Thats the way to win this war on crime. Sid Pelston, Beverly Hills .. To the editor: Your puff piece shows why the police have so much trouble getting support in the black community. It sounds quite dramatic to mention that the LAPDs swarm of South L.A. netted about 300 guns seized, but you downplayed the fact that this happened over six months meaning police found about a gun and a half per day. For this, the police stopped your interviewee four times in one night. There was no analysis of what proportion of these guns were held by otherwise law-abiding citizens simply trying to protect themselves as white citizens do every day, but are never discovered due to the lack of stops in white areas. Each stop involves a resident whose day was disrupted, with concurrent fear and anxiety. No wonder the community does not respect their protectors. I am white, and would deeply resent this kind of treatment but I dont have to worry. John Michael Lee, Van Nuys Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinion and Facebook During a pre-Super Bowl interview on Fox News with Bill OReilly, Donald Trump said something that, in a sane world, would confirm in every citizens mind that he is unfit to be president. In the one-on-one, OReilly follows up Trumps comment that he respects Russian President Vladimir Putin by saying, But hes a killer, though. Putins a killer. And, according to the official Fox News transcript, here is how Trump responded: Lot of killers, Trump says. Weve got a lot of killers. Boy, you think our countrys so innocent? You think our countrys so innocent? Advertisement I dont know of any government leaders that are killers, OReilly says. Well, take a look at what weve done, too, Trump says. Weve made a lot of mistakes. Ive been against the war in Iraq from the beginning. OReilly cuts in, Mistakes are different than " Trump interrupts, A lot of mistakes, OK, but a lot of people were killed. So a lot of killers around, believe me. Trump, apparently, makes no distinction between American-inflicted casualties in a controversial war and the murders of political rivals, human rights advocates and journalists at the hands of an autocrats henchmen. Is he equating President George W. Bush with Putin? Does he believe American soldiers are on the same moral level as Putins team of assassins? Even critics of the Iraq war would be able to discern the difference. Speaking on MSNBC, retired Gen. Barry McCaffrey was unsparing in his condemnation of Trumps comments. One can argue thats the most anti-American statement ever made by the president of the United States, McCaffrey said. To confuse American values with Putin, whos running a criminal oligarchy, who kills people abroad and at home, who imprisons journalists, and takes away business property, who shares it with his former KGB agents, who invades and seizes Crimea and eastern Ukraine this is an astonishing state of affairs. Its hard to know what to think about it. Actually, it is not so hard. Besides being a bully who admires bullies, Trump is an ignorant man who lacks the intellectual capacity to comprehend that his loose words, shallow thoughts and brash actions can do serious damage to the countrys image and undercut American influence in the world. 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) Trump further insulted the intelligence of Americans in a visit to the U.S. Central Command on Monday. Babbling about terrorist attacks in Europe, he accused the American media of a coverup. All over Europe its happening, Trump said. Its gotten to a point where its not even being reported. And in many cases the very, very dishonest press doesnt want to report it. They have their reasons, and you understand that. No, intelligent military leaders do not understand that. They are generally smart, skilled people, unlike their new commander in chief. They, and the rest of the coherent citizens of the United States, have seen with their own eyes how the news media devotes great energy and resources to covering attacks by terrorists in Europe and elsewhere with absolutely no motivation to do otherwise. But the slander against journalists is just another of the daily examples of Trump making things up. We are getting used to it. His lot of killers comment, though, went beyond his usual inarticulate mendacity. It was, as the general said, anti-American, and that is something we dare not see as normal. David.Horsey@latimes.com Follow me at @davidhorsey on Twitter MORE FROM OPINION: A gang of 11 could end the madness of Supreme Court confirmations Keep the partisan politics out of Californias school textbooks Gorsuch should be considered for the Supreme Court on his merits, not on Trumps tweets According to Trump, the U.S. is no better than Russia Former President George W. Bush says his recent remarks have been misconstrued as criticism of Trump (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times) Former President George W. Bush on Wednesday pushed back at the notion that his recent remarks about the media were criticisms of President Trump. Im asked the question, Do I believe in free press? and the answer is absolutely, I believe in free press because the press holds people to account, he said. Power is very addictive and its corrosive if it becomes central to your life and therefore there needs to be an independent group of people who hold you to account. And so I answered that question and of course the headlines were, Bush criticizes Trump. And so therefore I needed to say, There should be a free and independent press, but it ought to be accurate. Bush made the remarks at the Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley during an hourlong question-and-answer session promoting Portraits of Courage, his new book that features his paintings of veterans. While doing media interviews about the book in recent days, he has raised eyebrows by making comments about the media, immigrants and allegations of Russian interference in the November presidential election that were widely viewed as criticisms of the new president. He said that he decided once he left the office not to second-guess his successor, former President Obama, and that the same holds true for Trump. Doing so would undermine the office, Bush said, adding that he wants all of his successors to succeed because it is good for the nation. I dont want to make the presidents job worse, no matter what political party it is. Its a hard job, Bush said. Sometimes my remarks can be construed as criticism. Theyre certainly not meant to be, and after I finish this book tour you probably wont hear from me for a while. But he was willing to offer advice to those who follow him. Know what you dont know and find people who do know what you dont know and listen to them, he said. My advice is that the job is different once you get in. It looks one way and then you get in the Oval Office and it looks different. Trust me. Bush also made an implicit criticism of Obamas foreign policy when asked whether the world is more dangerous than it was four years ago. This may be taken as criticism of one of my successors and I dont really mean it to be. There is a lesson however when the United States decides not to take the lead and withdraw, he said. Vacuums can be created when U.S. presence recedes and that vacuum is generally filed with people who dont share the ideology, the same sense of human rights and human dignity and freedom that we do. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times) Aside from a handful of serious moments, Bush was jovial and self-effacing as he described how he became an oil painter after leaving the White House. Seeking ways to fill his time, he said he read an essay by Winston Churchill about painting. I basically said, What the hell, this guy can paint, I can paint, Bush said. He hired an instructor and started painting a cube and a watermelon before moving on to portraits. Former First Lady Laura Bush was not pleased with his depiction of her, so when he painted his mother, former First Lady Barbara Bush, he decided to depict her from behind. Barbara Bush and former President George H.W. Bush are doing well despite their recent hospitalizations, the younger Bush said. Theyre both great given their limitations. Dad cant walk, hes confined to a wheelchair and yet his spirit is joyful, Bush said. Moms doing fine. Shes shrinking, and as she does, her voice gets louder. But shes a, shes a piece of work is what she is. Bush has been reclusive since leaving office, but said he wrote the book and is publicizing it to raise money for veterans and to draw attention to the invisible wounds many of them suffer. I think when you read [their stories] youll be moved by stories of courage, injury, recovery willingness to help others, he said. Ive got a platform its not as big as it once was and I intend to use it to help our veterans for the rest of my life, and this is one way to do so. Gold Star father Khizr Khan cancels speech in Toronto after organizers report his travel privileges were under review (Alex Wong / Getty Images) Gold Star father Khizr Khan has canceled a scheduled speech in Toronto after being told his travel privileges are being reviewed, according to the event organizer. Khan has lived in the U.S. since 1980 and is a naturalized U.S. citizen. It was unclear which authorities communicated with Khan or what privileges were under review. Yolanda Choates, a spokesperson for U.S. Customs and Border Protection, declined to comment about Khan specifically. She said in and email that the agency would notify people who were losing their membership in the Global Entry program -- which allows pre-screened travelers to speed through customs upon arriving in the country -- though theres no indication that is what happened to Khan. Of course, any U.S. citizen with a passport may travel without trusted traveler status, she said. Khan could not be reached for comment, and the event organizer, Ramsay Talks, did not respond to an email, text message or phone message. Khan was scheduled to speak Tuesday at a luncheon hosted by the Toronto-based organization. The two-hour event was slated to include a presentation and question-and-answer session on what we can do about the appalling turn of events in Washington -- so that we dont all end up sacrificing everything, according to the organizer. In a statement posted on Facebook, the organizer said Khan was not told why his travel status was under review. This turn of events is not just of deep concern to me but to all my fellow Americans who cherish our freedom to travel abroad, Khan said in the statement. I have not been given any reason as to why. I am grateful for your support and look forward to visiting Toronto in the near future. Khan, whose family is Muslim, made national headlines after his fiery speech at the Democratic National Convention, during which he blasted Donald Trumps rigid stance on Muslim immigration. Donald Trump, youre asking Americans to trust you with their future. Let me ask you, have you even read the United States Constitution? Khan said before pulling a pocket Constitution from his jacket. I will gladly lend you my copy. In this document, look for the words liberty and equal protection of law. Khan immigrated to the U.S. from Pakistan in 1980. He and his wife, Ghazala, became American citizens six years later. Their son Humayun Khan was killed by a suicide bomber in Iraq in 2004. The Army captain was running toward a taxi cab approaching his troops when a bomb inside exploded. Khan was killed while the other soldiers remained safe. Khan received the Purple Heart and the Bronze Star posthumously. UPDATE 6:02 p.m.: This story was updated with information about Trusted Traveler programs. This story was originally published at 1:12 p.m. Even before Donald Trump entered the White House, many were predicting federal courts would serve as an important check on his use of presidential power, particularly given his aggressive style and a GOP-led Congress that has so far been loath to confront him. But few expected the first constitutional clash would occur in Trumps third week on the job. The legal dispute over Trumps executive order which instituted a temporary ban on arrivals to the U.S. of all refugees and citizens from seven mostly Muslim nations appears headed to the Supreme Court as early as this week. Advertisement The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco is considering a request from the Justice Department to reinstate the ban after a Seattle federal judge suspended its implementation last week. But both sides are expected to appeal the 9th Circuit decision to the high court. Fortunately for Trump, the law on immigration and related matters favors the president. Legal precedents have traditionally accorded the chief executive complete and nearly unchecked power to deny foreigners permission to enter the United States. A woman traveling on a flight from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia wipes away a tear after greeting a relative in the international arrivals area of Dulles International airport on Feb. 6, 2017. (Win McNamee / Getty Images) The exclusion of aliens is a fundamental act of sovereignty inherent in the executive power, the Supreme Court said in 1950. And lest there be doubt, Congress adopted a provision in 1952 saying the president may by proclamation and for such period as he shall deem necessary, suspend the entry of all aliens and any class of aliens as immigrants or non-immigrants whenever he thinks it would be detrimental to the interests of the United States. Typically, legal experts say, the president would almost certainly win a legal fight involving national security and foreign citizens entering the country. But the rollout of this executive order has been far from the norm. Trumps campaign promise to impose a Muslim ban, his recent tweets attacking the GOP-appointed judge who ruled against him and the White Houses clumsy handling of the orders implementation may change the calculation. The opinion of this so-called judge, which essentially takes law enforcement away from our country, is ridiculous and will be overturned, Trump tweeted Saturday. Just cannot believe a judge would put our country in such peril. If something happens blame him and court system, he tweeted Sunday. Jack Goldsmith, a national security lawyer in the Bush administration and professor at Harvard Law School, predicted Trumps tweets will certainly backfire against him. The tweets will make it very, very hard for courts in the short term to read immigration and constitutional law, as they normally would, with significant deference to the presidents broad delegated powers from Congress and to the presidents broad discretion in foreign relations, Goldsmith wrote Monday on the Lawfare blog. Temple University law professor Peter Spiro agreed the court may look differently at the case. The path of least resistance would be for the Supreme Court to steer clear of the controversy for now. It could simply refuse to hear an emergency appeal from a 9th Circuit ruling in the case, he said Monday. Even though the Supreme Court has been extremely deferential to presidential decision-making relating to immigration in the past, I dont think they will be here. Administration officials have argued that the travel ban does not target Muslims, as critics of the order have claimed. But Trumps campaign call in 2015 for a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States may factor into how judges now interpret his motives. The highly charged dispute also comes at an awkward moment for the eight justices of a high court that often appears divided along political lines. Last year, in a similar case involving presidential power, the justices split 4 to 4 and could not decide whether a Texas judge had wrongly blocked an executive action by President Obama that would have given temporary relief from deportation and work permits to more than 4 million immigrants living illegally in the country. Lawyers for Texas claimed that allowing those immigrants to stay and work would result in costs and real harm to the state. On that basis, a federal judge handed down a nationwide order blocking Obamas plan from taking effect, similar to the nationwide restraining order now blocking Trumps ban. Obamas lawyers challenged Texas standing, emphasizing the presidents customary power over immigration. But in that case, it appeared the four more conservative justices were concerned the president had exceeded his authority while the liberals took the opposite position. As a result of the tie vote, a lower court ruling that blocked Obamas program remained in effect. Now, the court may be confronted with similar questions but with the roles reversed: a liberal state challenging the actions of a Republican president. Lawyers for Washington state went to court in Seattle alleging that Trumps order would cause harm to the states universities and reduce sale taxes collected from tourists. On that basis, U.S. District Judge James Robart said the state had legal standing to sue the president. He did not, however, spell out why the ban was illegal or unconstitutional. The states lawyers had contended the order violated due process of law because it changed the rules without warning for foreign travelers, and they said it discriminated based on religion and national origin. The judge also suggested during a Feb. 3 hearing he was not convinced it was needed to protect national security. He told a Justice Department lawyer defending Trumps action he had to determine if the executive order is rationally based. And rationally based to me implies that to some extent I have to find it grounded in facts as opposed to fiction. If the 9th Circuit turns down the administrations appeal and refuses to lift the judges order, acting Solicitor General Noel Francisco will almost surely turn to the Supreme Court. He argues the states claim for standing is flimsy, and that the judge had no authority to second-guess the presidents national security judgment. It would take the vote of five of the eight justices to issue a ruling. Before acting on an emergency appeal, the justices have to weigh the legal and constitutional arguments on both sides and decide who should win, even though they are deciding only on whether to preserve or set aside a temporary restraining order. If a majority of justices can come to an agreement, it may provide an early indication of whether they think Trump crossed the line. The courts conservatives are likely to bristle at the notion of a single district judge blocking a presidents foreign entry ban because he is not convinced it is needed. Unlike in Obamas case, the Trump administration has portrayed the matter as an issue of national security. On the same day the judge in Seattle blocked Trumps order, a federal judge in Boston refused a similar request. Judge Nathaniel Gorton said he declined to encroach upon the delicate policy judgment inherent in immigration decisions. At the same time, the courts liberal justices are likely to be wary of approving Trumps abrupt change in the rules for foreign travelers. They may prefer for the high court to stand aside, maintaining the status quo for foreign travelers. Nothing would prevent the Trump administration from stopping suspicious individuals or coming up with new rules or standards for vetting people who want to come to the United States. No doubt Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. would prefer to avoid another 4-4 split, which would only serve to highlight the courts ideological stalemate since the death of Justice Antonin Scalia. If confirmed, Trumps Supreme Court nominee, Judge Neil Gorsuch, would add another conservative to the bench, but he is not expected to be seated until the spring. In the result of a tie vote, the decision of the 9th Circuit would remain in effect. In other recent cases, the high court has found ways to avoid a tie vote by deciding matters narrowly or looking for a technical reason to avoid a decision. For example, last year the court punted on a case involving the contraceptive mandate under the Affordable Care Act as it is applied to religious nonprofits. Rather than settling the dispute, the justices concluded that a compromise could be reached by both sides and sent the matter back to lower courts. Although the dispute over Trumps order raises a potentially momentous question of president power, the high court is under no obligation to rule broadly now. david.savage@latimes.com On Twitter: DavidGSavage ALSO Here are key passages from the legal arguments over Trumps immigration order Dozens of suits have been filed against Trumps sweeping travel ban. Here are the most important ones Homeland Security secretary takes responsibility for travel bans botched rollout: Its all on me His tweets have the power to shape international relations, send stock prices rising or falling and galvanize the American public. How will Donald Trump use this platform of unfettered communication now that hes commander in chief? Here is everything Trump has tweeted since he was sworn in as 45th president of the United States, plus links to more coverage on each topic. Well be keeping it updated. Alex Wigglesworth Tracking Trump's first 100 days as president: Here's what happened this week Grade the president: Tell us how you think Trump did this week See something we missed? Shoot us an email. Feb. 22 Feb. 21 Feb. 20 President Trump names Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster as his new national security advisor, replacing Michael Flynn, who was forced to resign the week before. President Trumps mysterious reference to a frightening security episode in Sweden prompted a deluge of online ridicule and an official request for an explanation Sunday from a Nordic country that prides itself on tranquility. Swedish authorities reported no terror-related incident or other episode involving large-scale violence. The Twitter hashtags #lastnightinsweden and #swedenincident blew up online, yielding posts including an image of a cozy farmhouse set in an idyllic-looking snowscape, an array of riffs on complicated IKEA furniture-assembly instructions and an assortment of tweets pretending to darkly implicate Swedens perhaps best-known export, the 70s pop sensation ABBA. Feb. 19 At a Saturday campaign-style rally in Florida just four weeks into his presidency, President Trump made an odd statement in reference to countries that accepted Syrian refugees. "We've got to keep our country safe," Trump told the crowd. "You look at what's happening in Germany. You look at what's happening last night in Sweden. Sweden! Who would believe this?" There wasn't much happening in Sweden, though. The statement recalled advisor Kellyanne Conway's reference to a nonexistent "Bowling Green massacre." And on Twitter, Ikea jokes ensued. The next day, deputy press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Trump was referring to a report he had seen the night before. "He was talking about rising crime and recent incidents in general," she said, "and not referring to a specific incident." Speculation had already begun that Trump was referring to a segment that ran on Fox News the night before. Then the president confirmed that. More coverage Feb. 18 At the rally in Florida, Trump continues his attack on the media, declaring before thousands of cheering supporters that fake news is undermining his nascent administrations accomplishments. Though the administration has faced setbacks, including the resignation of Trumps national security advisor amid a deepening controversy over Russian interference in U.S. government, approval ratings that are historically low for a new president and the courts stalling of the temporary ban on travel to the U.S. from seven majority-Muslim nations, Trump paints a far different picture. He says the White House is running so smoothly and that a great spirit of optimism is sweeping the country, citing recent stock market highs as his chief evidence. More coverage Feb. 17 Trump describes the rally, which will be paid for by his campaign committee, much the same way he approached his campaign events, as sold-out affairs that prove his popularity. The return to theatrics seems destined not only to thrill his fans, but also to offer political benefit. For both Trump and the audience, it will be visible evidence of the 46% of voters who backed the Republican for president a number that may have dropped a bit since November but remains large and fervent. For his opponents, it will be a reminder of his ability to harness passion in his supporters. The downside to jumping back into campaign mode? It can substitute one kind of bubble with another one that reinforces Trumps instinct to play to his supporters and exclude the majority of Americans. More coverage More coverage This comes a day after Navy Vice Adm. Robert Harward turned down an offer to be Trump's national security advisor, reportedly citing financial and family commitments. He would have replaced retired Gen. Michael Flynn, who resigned at Trump's request after it came to light that he misled Vice President Mike Pence about discussions he held with a Russian diplomat. Retired Gen. Keith Kellogg, who served as an advisor for Trumps campaign, is currently acting national security advisor. White House officials have said that both he and retired Gen. David H. Petraeus are being considered to replace Flynn. More coverage At the news conference, Trump countered that all of his early setbacks were the fault of others, the product of fake news reporting or both. He called the news media, in general, fake about 20 times during the course of the 90-minute presser. He also repeatedly denounced the leakers in the government who have fueled news stories about the departure of Flynn and possible contacts between members of Trumps campaign team and Russia. But he maintained that the stories themselves were fake news. The leaks are absolutely real. The news is fake, Trump said at one point. More coverage During the visit, Trump praises the contributions of American workers and pledges to lead a resurgence of manufacturing across the country. Adopting an optimistic tone, he ticks off his recipe for expanding manufacturing: penalties for those taking jobs out of the country, fewer regulations, lower taxes on businesses and a fight against what he calls extreme cheating by other countries. More coverage The week before, Price was confirmed as Health and Human Services secretary, overcoming bitter opposition from Democrats who had criticized the Georgia congressmans calls to repeal the Affordable Care Act and scale back Medicare, Medicaid and other government safety net programs. Hes expected to assume a leading role in helping guide the Republican effort to roll back the healthcare law, often called Obamacare, and to develop an alternative. Its repeal has been repeatedly delayed because GOP lawmakers, despite years of pledging to replace the law, have been scrambling to settle on a strategy and overcome divisions within the party. At the time of Trumps tweet, neither he nor senior GOP lawmakers had produced legislation to either repeal the current law or replace it. House Republicans did release a policy brief the day before that broadly outlined plans for repealing and replacing the law. But it left many key questions unanswered, including how much the proposals would cost and whether they would preserve the health protections that millions of Americans have gained under the current law. This comes as a new report reveals that the nations uninsured rate was the lowest on record the year before. In the first nine months of 2016, just 8.8% of Americans lacked health coverage, down from 16% in 2010, when President Obama signed the healthcare law, survey data from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show. More coverage Feb. 16 The measure to which Trump refers rolls back coal mining regulations that would have updated 30-year-old rules on downstream pollution. Democrats and advocacy groups warn that it will wipe out important environmental safeguards. Its part of a steady stream of bills churned out by the House and Senate that aim to dismantle the regulatory agenda put into place by President Obama. More coverage Trumps comments come a day after he decried a New York Times report revealing that his aides had contacts with Russian intelligence officials before the election, then blamed leaks and the medias handling of them for the resignation of national security advisor Michael Flynn. Hours after tweeting, Trump continues in the same vein at his first solo news conference since becoming president. He repeatedly denounces the leakers in the government who have fueled the stories about Flynn and Russia, but he maintains that the stories themselves are fake news. He also talks frequently about Hillary Clinton, insisting she would have dealt more poorly with Russia and bringing up old claims that she had cheated in one of the debates with her primary opponent. He mentions her name 12 times in total. More coverage Hours later, the Standard & Poor's 500 index slips breaking a seven-day winning streak, its longest in 3 years but it remains a nudge away from its record high. The Nasdaq composite edges down but the Dow Jones industrial average rises to set another record at 20,619.77. More coverage Feb. 15 More coverage More coverage More coverage Trump targets a New York Times report suggesting that his aides had contacts with Russian intelligence officials in the year leading up to the election. He echoes the sentiments in a news conference later in the day, alternately claiming that the media traffics in fake news and that intelligence and law enforcement officials are leaking factual information to them. Those remarks come as Trumps first public comments since he accepted the resignation of national security advisor Michael Flynn late Monday. Flynn was dismissed in the face of mounting scrutiny over his conflicting accounts of contacts with a Russian diplomat and his admission that he had misled Vice President Mike Pence about the matter. During the news conference, Trump complains that Flynn was treated very, very unfairly by the media but says nothing about Flynns potentially illegal conduct or his own role in Flynns ouster. More coverage Feb. 14 More coverage More coverage Feb. 13 More coverage More coverage More coverage Feb. 12 The supporters were outnumbered by protesters demonstrating against Trumps revival of the Keystone XL and Dakota Access pipeline projects, according to a report from the Palm Beach Post. More coverage During the appearances, White House senior policy advisor Stephen Miller deepened doubts about the future of the Trump administrations national security advisor and again suggested that massive vote fraud occurred in Novembers election without citing evidence. On NBC's "Meet the Press," Miller declined to say if the president still has confidence in national security advisor Michael Flynn. Flynn's future with the administration is at issue because of indications that he may have misled his colleagues, including Vice President Mike Pence, about his contacts with the Russian ambassador during the weeks before Trump's inauguration. Miller's silence on Flynn was significant because the White House had booked him on several of the major Sunday television interview programs as the administration's spokesperson this weekend. They appear to have done so in part to avoid having to give a definitive answer about Flynn. A day later, Flynn resigns. In an interview that aired on ABCs This Week, Miller said that the noncitizen voting issue is pervasive and widespread. Trump has said that he lost the popular vote to Democrat Hillary Clinton only because 3 million to 5 million illegal immigrants had cast votes for her. That claim of massive illegal voting has been denied by Republican officials in key states, such as Ohio, and by independent observers. Administration officials have never offered any evidence for it. More coverage More coverage More coverage Sanders also ridiculed the notion that widespread illegal voting had occurred in the November election, which White House senior policy advisor Stephen Miller raised in an interview that aired on ABCs This Week. More coverage The U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals had three days earlier ruled that Trumps executive order halting refugee admissions and blocking travelers from seven majority-Muslim countries should remain suspended while a judge further examines its legality. In the ruling, the court said that the federal government has pointed to no evidence that any alien from any of the countries named in the Order has perpetrated a terrorist attack in the United States. More coverage Trumps comment comes in the wake of sweeping raids by U.S. immigration officials that nabbed hundreds of individuals believed to be in the country illegally. Federal officials described the sweeps as targeted enforcement operations focused on detaining people with criminal backgrounds in cities across the country. Nearly 200 people throughout Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina were arrested, according to an initial tally provided by Immigration and Customs Enforcements Atlanta field office. In the Los Angeles area, more than 150 arrests were made in a weeklong operation, officials said. The situation highlighted fear among many immigrants about Trumps vow to deport those in the United States illegally. But immigration officials in Los Angeles strongly resisted characterizing the actions as a crackdown and said they were planned before Trump took office. More coverage Feb. 11 Hours after North Korea deployed what may have been a ballistic missile into the Sea of Japan, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe called the launch "absolutely intolerable." Trump, in a one-sentence statement, didnt address the launch directly but says the U.S. stands behind Japan. He and Abe vowed to strengthen the U.S.-Japan alliance and leave the stage without taking questions. More coverage More coverage More coverage A Reuters report published two days before had estimated that a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border would cost as much as $21.6 billion and take more than three years to build. Trump has in the past suggested that such a wall would cost up to $12 billion to build. In the report, Reuters cites a U.S. Department of Homeland Security internal document that the outlet describes as a final step before moving forward with requesting U.S. taxpayer funds from Congress and getting started on construction. Trump has criticized the costs of the F-35 fighter jet and Air Force One programs and credits himself with achieving reductions in both. In December, he took aim at Boeings development of new Air Force One jets, tweeting that costs are out of control, more than $4 billion and suggesting the contract should be canceled. Boeing CEO Dennis Muilenburg then pledged to build the aircraft for less than $4 billion, though the company had previously noted that the project did not yet have a firm price tag. Also in December, Trump tweeted that the F-35 program and cost is out of control. The stock price of Lockheed Martin, the projects prime contractor, quickly dropped. Trump later touted a $600-million cost reduction in the program, but the amount appears to be similar to a price cut that the Department of Defense had already anticipated. More coverage Trump is referring to a Feb. 9 article in the Washington Times headlined 77% of refugees allowed into U.S. since travel reprieve hail from seven suspect countries. The U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals had two days earlier ruled that Trumps executive order halting refugee admissions and blocking travelers from seven majority-Muslim countries should remain suspended while a judge further examines its legality. In the ruling, the court said that the federal government has pointed to no evidence that any alien from any of the countries named in the Order has perpetrated a terrorist attack in the United States. President Trump said Friday that he is weighing a new, more narrowly tailored executive order to curb entry into the U.S., a step that would mean setting aside his current legal battle in favor of moving more quickly on his broader goal of restricting the flow of who comes into the country. More coverage Feb. 10 Trump meets with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. On the agenda were issues including trade, the future of the U.S.-Japan security alliance and disputed islands in the East China Sea. The two world leaders also share a 19-second handshake that prompts a flurry of reactions on social media. More coverage Trump is referencing an earlier version of a New York Times story that was later updated with information about the phone call after it took place. The updated story still references the gap between Nov. 14 and yesterdays phone call. He has now name-checked the New York Times in a negative way seven times since becoming president. More coverage Trump quotes here from the legal blog Lawfares assessment of the 9th Circuit Courts decision to uphold the stay on his travel ban. Interestingly, one of the blogs founders, Jack Goldsmith, had predicted Trumps tweets will certainly backfire against him. The tweets will make it very, very hard for courts in the short term to read immigration and constitutional law, as they normally would, with significant deference to the presidents broad delegated powers from Congress and to the presidents broad discretion in foreign relations, Goldsmith, a national security lawyer in the Bush administration and professor at Harvard Law School, wrote Monday. More coverage Feb. 9 Trumps tweet comes as a federal appeals court decides to continue blocking enforcement of his executive order barring travelers from seven predominantly Muslim nations from entering the U.S. The Trump administration can appeal the decision to the U.S. Supreme Court. More coverage More coverage Trump responds to comments from Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) questioning the success of a Jan. 28 U.S. Navy SEAL raid in Yemen that claimed the life of Chief Special Warfare Operator William Ryan Owens. It was the first special operations raid authorized by Trump. McCain reportedly called the raid a failure while speaking to the media two days before. He then issued a statement that said, in part, that he would not describe any operation that results in the loss of American life as a success. McCain has long been a target of Trump. At one point in the campaign, Trump said McCain, who spent more than five years as a prisoner in North Vietnam, was not a war hero. I like people that weren't captured, OK? Trump said. More coverage President Trump accuses Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) of misrepresenting comments made by Judge Neil M. Gorsuch, Trumps nominee to the Supreme Court. Blumenthal, a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, had told reporters the day before that Gorsuch was disheartened by the demoralizing and abhorrent comments made by President Trump about the judiciary. He was referring to Trumps tweets attacking a federal judge who had issued a restraining order suspending Trumps travel ban. In response, Trump takes aim at Blumenthal's credibility, bringing up a 7-year-old controversy over his military service. During Blumenthal's campaign for Senate in 2010, he was criticized for claiming in speeches that he had served in Vietnam. Blumenthal had been in the Marine Corps Reserve and was not posted overseas. He later said he had misspoken about his record a few times out of the hundreds of speeches he has given in his political career. Trump himself was disqualified from service during the Vietnam War in 1968 after a physical exam. Trump told the New York Times he received a medical deferment because of bone spurs in his heels. More coverage Feb. 8 Trump has his most active day on Twitter since the inauguration when the presidents personal account featured excerpts of his address. Here they are organized by general topic: Accolades Ivanka It wasnt the first time Trump tweeted about a company (see: Boeing, Carrier and U.S. automakers) but ethics experts said the public comments about his daughters business raise conflict-of-interest concerns and even carry an implicit threat. The tweet from his personal account was also retweeted by the official @POTUS account. More coverage The media His schedule Travel ban President Trump accuses federal judges of playing politics and forcefully goes after the appeals judges who are deciding whether to uphold the decision to suspend his travel ban. The president puts on a highly public show of trying to sway the judges during remarks at a gathering of police chiefs in Washington, D.C. Trump says the law gives him expansive power to block foreigners from entering the country. A bad high school student would understand this, Trump says. He cites a Morning Consult/Politico poll in a tweet later in the day. Other polls have shown less support. A recent Quinnipiac poll found that 51% of those surveyed oppose the block on travelers from the seven Muslim-majority countries and 60% don't like the ban on refugees. More coverage Feb. 7 Kellyanne Conway had claimed on Feb. 2 that the nation had never gone so long without a Treasury secretary, an assessment rated false by PolitiFact. And a Wall Street Journal analysis of Cabinet nomination approvals found that every president in the last 35 years saw delays with at least one of his nominees. The Journal also determined that, overall, the hearings for Trumps choices were starting later than in previous administrations due to a combination of missing paperwork and protests from Democratic lawmakers. More coverage During a round table with sheriffs from around the country, Trump vows to continue fighting to preserve his seven-nation travel ban, even if it means appealing to the Supreme Court. More coverage Trump responds to controversy stemming from comments he made about Russian President Vladimir Putin during a pre-taped interview with Fox News Bill OReilly that aired on Super Bowl Sunday. When OReilly observed during the interview that Putin is a killer, Trump retorted: You think our country is so innocent? Some congressional Republicans sought to distance themselves from Trumps apparent comparison or attack it outright while Democrats were harsher in their response. Trump has in the past made similar remarks about Putins reputation for violent retribution against perceived political enemies. This was the first time since taking office, though, that he used such language in defending Putin. In the tweet, Trump compares his comments to a deal negotiated under the Obama administration that curbed Iran's ability to build or acquire nuclear weapons for at least a decade in exchange for an easing of sanctions on its trade, finances and oil industry. Trump has signaled that his administration will take a tougher stance on Iran than its predecessor. He has variously promised to dismantle or revise the nuclear deal, despite warnings from intelligence officials. More coverage Feb. 6 The tweet comes as the Trump administration prepares to head to the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in an attempt to preserve the presidents seven-nation travel ban. More coverage More coverage More coverage More coverage Feb. 5 More coverage Trumps attack on U.S. District Court Judge James Robart enters its second day, as an appeals court denies a request from the Trump administration to immediately reinstate the presidents executive order barring visa applicants from seven countries. Robart had two days before issued a temporary restraining order suspending the travel ban in response to a lawsuit arguing it is unconstitutional because it amounts to religious discrimination. Democrats express dismay at Trumps comments, saying they suggest the president doesnt respect the independence of the judiciary. More coverage Feb. 4 In the interview, Trump calls California out of control and threatens to withhold federal funding to the state if it votes to declare itself a sanctuary state. More coverage Trump continues his attack on U.S. District Court Judge James Robart, who had issued a temporary restraining order suspending the enforcement of Trumps executive order barring visa applicants from seven countries. The president again uses the word ban, four days after the White House insists the term misrepresents Trumps executive order and demands that reporters stop using it. More coverage More coverage Trump targets U.S. District Court Judge James Robart, who hours before had issued a temporary restraining order suspending the enforcement of Trumps executive order barring visa applicants from seven countries. Robarts ruling, effective nationwide, comes in response to a lawsuit filed by the states of Washington and Minnesota. The suit argues that the executive order amounts to religious discrimination against Muslims in violation of the U.S. Constitution. The White House says it will appeal Robarts order, and also seeks an emergency stay against it. In the meantime, the Department of Homeland Security suspends any and all actions related to the travel ban. Trumps tweets, particularly his use of the term so-called judge, spark a barrage of responses. Far from a liberal reformer, Robart was appointed by George W. Bush and is known for his conservative legal views. Friends say hes unlikely to be swayed by Trumps comments. More coverage Feb. 3 Trump has suggested slapping new tariffs on Chinese and Mexican goods. Hes also appeared to be considering a proposal by House Republicans for a border adjustment tax, under which exports from the United States would be tax-exempt, but imports would be taxed at the border. Some economists say that imposing tariffs on imports broadly would raise prices for American consumers and cause significant problems for global production systems, eventually slowing corporate sales, investments and hiring. More coverage Trump comments on an attempted terrorist attack in Paris in which soldiers guarding the Louvre Museum shoot an attacker who lunged at them with a machete. The suspect is identified as an Egyptian man who had been living in the United Arab Emirates before traveling to Paris on a tourist visa. Neither Egypt nor the United Arab Emirates is among the countries whose citizens are banned from traveling to the U.S. under Trumps executive order. More coverage Trump might be referring to violent protesters who shut down a speech that Breitbart News editor Milo Yiannopoulos was scheduled to give at UC Berkeley two days before. School officials blamed the violence on black block agitators, self-described anarchists or antifascists who attach themselves to peaceful protests but are intent on causing damage, though theres no evidence to suggest they are paid for their time. Trumps tweet also comes as protests against his travel ban continue throughout the country. Those are largely peaceful and incident-free. Its not the first time Trump has blamed professional or paid protesters for demonstrations against his presidency. He made similar claims in response to a near-riot that prompted the cancellation of a rally along his campaign trail, as well as demonstrations that erupted nationwide after his election. The theory that powerful leftists were conspiring to disrupt Trumps inauguration by hiring professional agitators was also advanced by some conservative outlets, including Breitbart News, in the days leading up to the ceremony. More coverage At the meeting, Trump vows that major reductions in financial regulations are coming and signals his intention to rely on Wall Street for advice on the matter. More coverage Trump thanks Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull after Turnbull refutes a Washington Post report describing a phone call between the two leaders as a heated exchange. In comments to Australian media, Turnbull denies that Trump hung up on him and characterizes their conversation as courteous. Turnbull also reportedly says that Trump has committed to honoring a deal for the U.S. to accept some 1,250 refugees from Australias offshore detention centers, even though Trump had taken to Twitter to ridicule the arrangement two days before. More coverage Later in the day, the Trump administration imposes economic sanctions on Iran as punishment for the countrys ballistic missile test and its support for militant groups in regional conflicts. The penalties, which target 25 Iranian companies and individuals, appear calibrated to increase pressure on Iran without jeopardizing the landmark nuclear deal negotiated under the Obama administration, or creating a new international crisis. After Trumps election, Obama had warned of imposing new U.S. sanctions on Iran while it remains in compliance with the deal, saying that doing so would open a rift with the other major signatories Britain, France, Germany, China and Russia. More coverage Its another shot fired in a war of words between Trump and the former governor of California, who replaced Trump as host of The Apprentice after Trump won the presidency. At an appearance the day before at the National Prayer Breakfast, Trump had requested prayers for Schwarzenegger, calling his takeover of the reality television show a total disaster and saying that the ratings went down the tubes. In response, Schwarzenegger took to Twitter and suggested that he and Trump switch jobs. More coverage Feb. 2 Citing a Reuters report that Samsung is considering building a U.S. factory, the linked article contains this takeaway: Companies can grab headlines with news of even considering bringing production to the U.S., and the Trump White House benefits from the ability to take credit. These moves may not add up to significant job growth, but it's hard to beat the PR. More coverage Trump repeats comments made a day earlier by national security advisor Michael Flynn. The president has variously promised to dismantle or revise the 2015 deal, which curbed Iran's ability to build or acquire nuclear weapons for at least a decade in exchange for an easing of sanctions on its trade, finances and oil industry. While the U.S. did not give Iran $150 billion under the agreement, Iran did receive access to an estimated $100 to $150 billion of its own money that had been frozen in international accounts. In November, then-CIA Director John Brennan issued a rare public warning against scrapping the deal, saying that doing so would be disastrous. More coverage Trump makes an unannounced trip to Dover Air Force Base in Delaware to witness the return of the remains of a Navy SEAL killed in a raid in Yemen, the first known casualty of an operation Trump ordered. Chief Special Warfare Operator William "Ryan" Owens, 36, died during a raid on a compound used by Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, the terrorist groups Yemen-based offshoot. More coverage In a largely party-line vote, Rex Tillerson, the former Exxon Mobil chief executive, wins Senate approval by 56 to 43 and is sworn in hours later. Only three Democrats and one independent cross party lines to join Senate Republicans, a sign of how divisive his nomination has been. More coverage Trump responds to violent protesters who shut down a speech that conservative provocateur Milo Yiannopoulos was scheduled to give at UC Berkeley the night before. University leaders had staunchly defended the appearance despite hundreds of requests to ban Yiannopoulos. Legal experts say presidents have no authority to cut off federal funds for alleged violations of the 1st Amendment. If such cuts were made, theyd be acutely felt: the University of California each year receives $9 billion in federal funds for research, education and healthcare. More coverage Feb. 1 Trump takes aim at an agreement made late last year by former President Obama for the United States to take in some 1,250 refugees, whom Australia refuses to accept, from offshore detention centers. Some label the tweet political humiliation: It comes after a phone call with Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull in which, The Washington Post reports, Trump accuses Australia of trying to export the next Boston bombers to America before abruptly hanging up. Trump later refutes the report, and Turnbull describes their conversation as courteous. More coverage Earlier in the day, White House National Security Advisor Michael Flynn says the U.S. has put Iran on notice for carrying out a medium-range ballistic missile test and attacks by proxy forces on a Saudi frigate. His cryptic comment appears to signal the Trump administration is taking a tougher stance on Iran than its predecessor. The missile test took place a day after Iran vowed to retaliate against Trumps executive order limiting immigration for citizens of seven countries, including Iran. Its not clear whether the two events are linked, but one analyst called the timing suspect. More coverage The dispute over the language comes after Trump describes the policy as a ban in a tweet sent on Monday, then the White House the next day insists that the word is verboten and chastises reporters for using it. Trump again uses the word ban when referring to the policy in a tweet sent three days later. More coverage Jan. 31 Trump nominates federal Judge Neil M. Gorsuch to fill the Supreme Court seat of the late Antonin Scalia. He casts his decision as another campaign promise kept. More coverage This comes as Democratic lawmakers temporarily stop the clock on Rex Tillersons nomination for secretary of State, prevent votes on Rep. Tom Price (R-Ga.) as Health and Human Services secretary and Steve Mnuchin as secretary of Treasury by staging a walkout at the Senate Finance Committee and force a delay of the vote on Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) as attorney general. (The next day, the Senate confirms Tillerson and the Senate Judiciary Committee approves Sessions nomination, though all the panel's Democrats vote against it. Also, Republicans on the Senate Finance Committee vote to recommend the nominations of Tom Price and Steve Mnuchin after changing rules to allow for the process to go forward in the absence of Democratic lawmakers.) More coverage Trump responds to an emotional rally on the steps of the Supreme Court in which Democratic lawmakers protest the refugee and travel ban. More coverage Jan. 30 In response to a letter acting Atty. Gen. Sally Yates sent to the Department of Justice questioning the legality of Trumps travel ban and announcing the Justice Department wouldnt defend it in court, Trump portrays the statement as part of a partisan move against him. Hours later, Yates is fired. More coverage A photo taken after Trump signs an executive order requiring that federal agencies scrap two existing regulations for every new one adopted. More coverage More coverage Trump unveils his pick in a prime-time, televised White House ceremony. More coverage Trump responds to outrage over his executive order banning refugees and immigrants from certain countries after reports that it came as a surprise even to the agencies tasked with implementing it, causing chaos at airports across the country. He instead blames the havoc on protests against the order. The statistics Trump cites represent only the number of people who arrived in the U.S. from other countries and were prevented from entering in the first 24 hours after the order went into effect. (An additional 173 travelers were stopped from boarding flights to the U.S. within the same time period, a Homeland Security official said in a statement.) The total number of people detained after the first 24 hours is unclear, as federal officials initially refused requests to provide official statistics. A week later, the State Department estimates that 60,000 visas were canceled as a result of the order. In addition, calculations by the Los Angeles Times have found that up to 8 million people in the U.S. illegally could be considered priorities for deportation under the order. Notably, Trump uses the word ban. The next day, the White House adamantly insists that the term is verboten. This is not a ban, White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer tells reporters in a fiery news briefing. When we use words like travel ban, he says later, that misrepresents what it is. More coverage Jan. 29 More coverage In the statement, Trump says the executive order is not about religion and not a Muslim ban, as the media is falsely reporting. His order bans visa applicants from seven majority-Muslim countries while providing an exception for religious minorities. More coverage Citing the confusion that erupted at U.S. airports in the wake of Trumps executive order banning refugees and immigrants from seven countries, the statement from Sens. McCain and Graham says that the order was not properly vetted. More coverage Trumps executive order provides an exception for religious minorities, a category that could include Christians fleeing largely Muslim countries as well as other groups including Yazidis and Bahais that face persecution in the Mideast. More coverage More coverage Jan. 28 More coverage It's not the first time Trump has raised similar claims. But while the New York Times did publish an open letter to subscribers questioning whether the paper and other news outlets had underestimated Trump's support, it did not apologize or label its own coverage bad. The outlet also says its online audience grew during the election. More coverage Jan. 27 After the swearing-in of Defense Secretary James Mattis, Trump announces two executive orders. One instructs the Pentagon to carry out a top-to-bottom review of the nations military and draw up plans for improvements. The second temporarily halts the nation's refugee program and blocks visa applicants from seven countries that the administration considers of major terrorism concern. More coverage Vice President Mike Pence conducts a ceremonial swearing-in of Defense Secretary James Mattis during Trump's first visit to the Pentagon since his inauguration. More coverage Trump manages to offend some of his Jewish supporters by issuing a statement for Holocaust Remembrance Day that omits mention of Jewish victims. Its also the same day he signs an executive order suspending the nations refugee program and blocking visa applicants from seven countries, which the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society calls incredibly offensive. More coverage The March for Life is typically the largest conservative demonstration of the year, a gathering held to rally opposition against the U.S. Supreme Courts landmark Roe vs. Wade ruling in 1973, which defined womens legal right to abort a pregnancy. Trump makes for a somewhat unlikely champion he described himself in a 1999 television interview as very pro-choice despite hating abortion but he appears intent on proving his later-in-life embrace of the anti-abortion cause. More coverage The same day, Trump and Mexican President Pena Nieto speak on the phone and agree to work out their differences, according to statements from both presidential press offices. The two also agree for the time being not to speak publicly about this controversial theme, says the statement from the Mexican presidents office, apparently alluding to the dispute about payment for the wall. More coverage Phillips created an app that helps Americans report perceived voter fraud and Trump has boasted that hes a guru on the issue. But Phillips appears to be registered to vote in three states: Alabama, Mississippi and Texas, according to the Associated Press. More coverage Jan. 26 The day before, Trump had signed an executive order designating so-called sanctuary cities municipalities that defy federal immigration laws as ineligible to receive federal grants. California officials appear ready to fight the order. More coverage More coverage More coverage Hours later, Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto cancels his planned meeting with Trump, citing disagreements about who would pay for construction of the wall. Nieto announces the decision in a tweet. The incident sparks concern that Mexico or the United States will pull out of the North American Free Trade Agreement, which could prove costly for the economically intertwined countries. More coverage The tweet comes as Manning, the Army private convicted of leaking thousands of classified reports to WikiLeaks, pens an editorial for The Guardian in which she writes that Obamas legacy consists of very few permanent accomplishments because the former president wasnt bold enough. Nine days earlier, Obama had reduced Mannings 35-year prison sentence to the nearly seven years she has served. More coverage Jan. 25 More coverage Trump signs executive orders to start construction of a border wall, expand authority to deport thousands, increase the number of detention cells and punish cities and states that refuse to cooperate. More coverage Trump eventually moves up the announcement by two days, to Tuesday, amid the continued fallout from the executive action he signed temporarily banning all refugee admissions and visa applicants from seven countries. More coverage Trump misses a crucial fact: Its not illegal to be registered to vote in multiple states. In fact, Trumps son-in-law and advisor, Jared Kushner, is registered in more than one state. The same is true for some of the presidents senior officials, including his pick to lead the Treasury Department, Steven Mnuchin, along with senior advisor Stephen K. Bannon and Press Secretary Sean Spicer. It is a felony to cast ballots in more than one state yet it rarely happens. More coverage Jan. 24 The numbers come from Chicago Tribune data used in a news story about violence in the city so far this year. But Trumps I will send in the Feds! remark creates confusion in Chicago, where even police Superintendent Eddie Johnson says he had no idea what he is talking about. More coverage More coverage At the meeting, Trump tells leaders of the country's largest automakers that he will curtail "unnecessary" environmental regulations and make it easier to build plants in the U.S., changes that he expects will shore up the manufacturing jobs he repeatedly promised to voters on the campaign trail. More coverage Trump moves to revive oil pipeline projects that were blocked by Obama. He says hell demand the Keystone Pipeline be built using American steel. More coverage The photo appears to be a rebuke of reports that the crowd at Trump's inauguration was smaller than that at Obamas. The day after the ceremony, Press Secretary Sean Spicer had accused the media of reporting incorrect information about the size of the crowds and insisted, improbably, that it was the largest audience to ever witness an inauguration. More coverage Jan. 23 Later in the day, Trump withdraws from the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a free-trade agreement that the Obama administration had painstakingly negotiated but that had been moribund for the last year after losing political support. Trump confirms that he will be pursuing bilateral trade talks instead of multiparty deals. More coverage Jan. 22 Trump dismissively responds to massive protests that grew out of opposition to his election, including a Womens March on Washington that drew an estimated half a million people and similar rallies in 673 sister cities across the U.S. and around the world. Though he acknowledges in a follow-up message the marchers right to demonstrate, Trumps comment contributes to the unapologetically aggressive tone his White House sets in its first days. More coverage While Trumps inauguration did score more viewers than Obamas second inaugural in 2013, which averaged 20.6 million, ratings for inauguration ceremonies are higher in years when a new president is sworn in. Obamas first swearing-in ceremony in 2009 was watched by 37.8 million people. More coverage More coverage Jan. 21 Trump refers to a speech at CIA headquarters in which he blamed the media for falsely reporting crowd sizes at his inauguration to be smaller than they were, and for ginning up his fight with the intelligence community, though he had, a week earlier, compared agents tactics to those of the Nazis while accusing them of leaking an unsubstantiated report about him. More coverage Jan. 20 Donald Trump is sworn in as the 45th president of the United States. His tweets echo his inaugural address, which he uses to craft the same vision of a devastated, decayed America that he presented when he accepted his nomination. He emphasizes a country under siege from problems that he vows to swiftly solve. Some analysts note that the address appears to speak chiefly to the 46% of Americans who voted for Trump, rather than attempting to unite the country as a whole. Trump continues to use the phrase America First, which has an anti-Semitic and isolationist history going back to the years before the U.S. entry into World War II, when a broad-based coalition of politicians and business leaders came together to oppose U.S. involvement in the war in a movement marred by anti-Semitic and pro-fascist rhetoric. More coverage As the healthcare vote looms, Trump sees opposition from conservatives, both on Capitol Hill and in the media By Kurtis Lee Its a really important vote in President Trumps fledgling first term. Will House Republicans pass a bill to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act a promise from Trump on the campaign trail or reject it? (House Speaker Paul D. Ryan rushed to the White House on Friday morning for a last-minute meeting with Trump as both attempted to corral enough votes.) Trump spent much of the week trying to win support from members of the Freedom Caucus, among the most conservative lawmakers, some of whom are holdouts because they believe the bill does not go far enough. After seven horrible years of ObamaCare (skyrocketing premiums & deductibles, bad healthcare), this is finally your chance for a great plan! Trump tweeted Friday. But even some in conservative media arent all that thrilled about the bill. Here are some of Fridays headlines: Polls: Ryancare even more unpopular than Obamacare and Hillarycare (Breitbart) So, its been clear in recent weeks that the right-wing website Breitbart does not like the new healthcare proposal. The news site has dubbed the current bill Obamacare-lite or Ryancare an homage of sorts to Ryan, who helped craft the legislation and argued it does not go far enough in its overhaul. Most conservatives want to repeal the Affordable Care Act, nicknamed Obamacare, they just differ on what the replacement should look like. For example, some on the far right want to see so-called essential health benefits, such as maternity and newborn care, stripped from the bill.) This piece highlights several of the dismal polls the legislation has received. Among them: A recent Fox News survey that showed 54% oppose the bill, compared with 34% who support it. The article also references an analysis of polling and data by FiveThirtyEight.com, which shows the GOP legislation is more unpopular than Obamacare and President Bill Clintons healthcare reform bill were when they were first introduced. A modest immigration proposal (Weekly Standard) Trumps recent immigration orders have left many immigrants on edge. Through social media and pop-up legal clinics, immigrant rights groups have doled out around-the-clock assistance, as families fear being separated. In this piece, Irwin Stelzer notes that at some point, our border will be secure, resistance to deporting felons will collapse, and we will have accepted the fact that Dreamers will be allowed to stay in this country, probably on a path to citizenship. He lays out his views of immigration reform, citing, among other things, setting an annual immigration limit and adopting a system that has the effect of enriching our citizens by filling that annual quota with immigrants who are likely to increase the well-being of the existing citizenry. Jeff Sessions is Rip Van Winkle on drug policy (American Conservative) Its clear from polls that most Republicans oppose marijuana legalization, while Democrats support it. However, libertarian-leaning Republicans often tend to support legalization. This piece highlights Atty. Gen. Jeff Sessions recent comments in opposition to states legalizing pot. The attorney general regurgitates simplistic cliches right out of the 1970s and 1980s about marijuana use. I dont think America is going to be a better place when people of all ages, and particularly young people, are smoking pot, Sessions told reporters on February 26, the author, Ted Galen Carpenter, writes. He adds, Such comments confirm that critics may be right when they label him a drug war dinosaur. He seems either oblivious or scornful about the trend in public opinion regarding marijuana. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print FCC Chairman Pai wants to halt Internet privacy rules before they begin taking effect this week By Jim Puzzanghera (Nicholas Kamm / AFP/Getty Images) The nations new top telecommunications regulator wants to halt tough Internet privacy rules before they begin taking effect this week, arguing they would unfairly impose tougher requirements on broadband providers than on websites and social networks. Privacy advocates and a key Senate Democrat vowed Monday to fight the move as well as a separate effort in Congress to overturn the regulations, which were approved in October on a party-line vote by the Federal Communications Commission when it was controlled by Democrats under President Obama. Following President Trumps inauguration, control of the commission passed to Republicans and Ajit Pai took over as chairman. All actors in the online space should be subject to the same rules, and the federal government shouldnt favor one set of companies over another, a spokesman for Pai said Friday. Read More Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Trump says Hollywoods obsession with him led to best picture Oscar gaffe By Michael A. Memoli (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times) President Trump is often loath to accept responsibility when things go wrong, but in the case of Sundays Oscars broadcast, he made an exception. As he explained it Monday, it was Hollywoods obsession with attacking him that contributed to the botched best picture announcement, calling the embarrassing episode sad, of course. Accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers has apologized for the mix-up that led Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway to announce La La Land as the winner of the top Academy Award prize, instead of Moonlight. But in Trumps eyes, the blame falls more broadly on an entertainment industry so preoccupied with politics that they didnt get the act together, he told Breitbart News. It took away from the glamour of the Oscars, Trump told a reporter from the website, which was once led by his chief White House strategist, Stephen K. Bannon. It didnt feel like a very glamorous evening. Ive been to the Oscars. There was something very special missing, and then to end that way was sad, he added. The ceremony did contain a number of slights at Trump during its telecast, some more subtle than others. Host Jimmy Kimmel openly at one point begged the president to weigh in by tweeting at him. Trump spent part of Sunday night hosting a black-tie dinner at the White House honoring the nations governors, who were visiting Washington for their annual winter meeting. But it appears from excerpts of the Breitbart interview that he may have spent at least part of the evening watching. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Justice Department shifts course in closely watched Texas voter ID case By Del Quentin Wilber The Trump administration has scaled back its assault on a strict Texas voter identification law that federal courts have ruled discriminated against minorities, portending a shift in how the Justice Department plans to pursue allegations of voter suppression. The government revealed its decision in court papers filed in federal court Monday, dealing a blow to civil rights advocates who have relied on federal support to help them knock down the controversial Texas statute. Its a very concerning signal to American voters about the Department of Justices commitment to enforcing the Voting Rights Act, said Danielle Lang, deputy director of the voting rights unit of the Campaign Legal Center, which is suing Texas in the case. The administrations partial retreat in the dispute highlights how Atty. Gen. Jeff Sessions, a conservative Republican who has championed voter identification measures, is expected to handle such cases. The Obama administration had joined civil rights groups in aggressively challenging the Texas law and other such measures around the country. At issue in the case was how the Justice Department would proceed in a federal lawsuit that alleged the Texas legislature discriminated against minority voters when it enacted the strict voter identification law in 2011. Known as SB 14, the measure requires voters to present a specific form of government-issued photo identification - such as a drivers license, military ID card, U.S. passport or citizenship certificate - to be permitted to cast a ballot. The Obama administration and civil rights groups argued the state pushed the law, in part, to suppress the power of the states minority voters, who frequently dont drive or have a passport. State officials and lawmakers countered that the law was aimed at preventing voter fraud, though there is scant evidence that the problem exists. The law was challenged in court by civil rights groups and the Justice Department under provisions of the 1965 Voting Rights Act, which was intended to help overcome legal barriers erected at the local and state level to keep African-Americans from the polls. Last July, a federal appeals court ruled that the Texas law had a discriminatory impact on minority voters. It told U.S. District Judge Nelva Gonzales Ramos to craft a temporary remedy in time for the November elections. Ramos subsequently ordered Texas to permit voters to present other forms of documentation to verify their identities. The judges order is expected to remain in force until she imposes a permanent remedy or Texas addresses the judges concerns. According to the court papers filed Monday, the Justice Department will continue to work with civil rights groups to address those issues but will seek to withdraw from another important aspect of the suit. In the same decision that found the Texas law had a discriminatory impact, the appeals court reversed Ramos finding that Texas legislators had intended to harm minority voters. It ordered Ramos to reconsider the evidence of that finding. If the judge determines discriminatory intent in crafting the voter ID requirements, she could throw out the entire law. Civil rights groups will continue to press that claim. In its court filing, the Justice Department asked Ramos to permit it to withdraw its claim that Texas acted with intent, arguing that it is best to give the Texas legislature time to address the matter. With the loss of their key ally in court, civil rights groups will argue on their own in an effort to prove that Texas acted with a discriminatory purpose in passing the law. A hearing is scheduled for Tuesday. Voting advocates complained that the Trump administration was backing away from a key safeguard of voting rights. The Justice Department decision defies rationality and stands diametrically opposed to positions they have taken at every stage of this litigation, Kristen Clarke, president of the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, said in a statement. This reversal of position was taken despite years of work and effort that the government has invested in fighting the Texas Voter ID law, one of the most discriminatory voting restriction of its kind. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Advertisement House Intelligence Chair Devin Nunes warns against witch hunt over Trump-Russia ties By Sarah D. Wire House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes (R-Tulare) talks to reporters about his committees Russia investigation. (Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images) House Intelligence Committee Chairman Rep. Devin Nunes said on Monday he has seen no evidence from the intelligence community that there was contact between Russia and the Trump campaign. I want to be very careful, we cant just go on a witch hunt against Americans because they appear in a news story, said Nunes (R-Tulare). We still dont have any evidence of them talking to Russia. He said the committee has been briefed on the highlights of what the intelligence community has found, but is still collecting evidence. The committees ranking Democrat, Adam B. Schiff (D-Burbank), quickly responded, saying the committees investigation is in its infancy and its too soon to reach conclusions about the evidence. We havent obtained any of the evidence yet, so its premature for us to be saying weve reached any conclusion about the issue of collusion, Schiff said. The most that weve had are private conversations, the chair and I with intelligence officials. Thats not a substitute for an investigation. The House and Senate Select Intelligence Committees are conducting separate investigations into Russias reported attempts to influence voters in 2016 in an effort to curtail Hillary Clintons chances and boost Donald Trumps. A leaked U.S. intelligence report on the attempts did not look at whether the effort succeeded. The House committee has expanded a previous ongoing investigation of Russia cyberhacking to include a look at efforts to interfere in the 2016 election, Nunes told reporters Monday. Though it is still in its early stages the leaders of the committee are still discussing the investigations scope Nunes said he expects the findings to be made public. Schiff and Nunes spoke separately to reporters Monday. Schiff said the two agreed privately that they would jointly address reporters about the investigation going forward. Nunes, who served as a member of Trumps transition team, said he continues to be concerned about leaks of classified and sensitive information from the White House and intelligence communities. The leaks one of which resulted in a report about the FBI investigating Trump campaign officials will be part of the committees investigation. A government cant function with massive leaks at the highest level, Nunes said. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Appeals court denies Justice Department request to put appeal of travel ban on hold By Jaweed Kaleem (Evan Vucci / Associated Press) The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has denied the Justice Departments request to pause proceedings in an appeal of President Trumps travel ban. The court in a filing Monday said its schedule for the governments appeal of a lower courts halt on the travel ban will proceed, with the first brief due to the appeals court on March 10. In early February, the Justice Department appealed a Seattle-based federal district judges order blocking enforcement of Trumps executive action. which established a series of immigration and refugee restrictions aimed at preventing potential terrorists from entering the country. Last week, government lawyers asked the appeals court to stop proceedings in the case because the president planned to issue a new executive order and rescind the original one. A three-judge panel of the court previously denied a request from the government to reverse a nationwide stay on the travel ban. The same panel on Monday ruled that the appeal will proceed. Trump has said he will sign a new executive order tailored to deal with court decisions that have largely gone against him. On Monday, White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer said he expected the order to be issued mid-week. Spicer has said Trump wants to fight for the current order while also issuing a new one, but the Justice Department has said in multiple court filings that the the current order will be undone after a new one is issued. The states of Washington and Minnesota, which brought the case in Seattle now under review, have pushed for courts to move forward on a review of the constitutional issues. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print No random ICE stops on streets of America, Homeland Security chief tells governor By Lisa Mascaro Gov holds closing media briefing on Capitol Hill to wrap up @NatlGovsAssoc Winter Meeting. pic.twitter.com/3mZMBA4S0o Ralph Northam (@GovernorVA) February 27, 2017 President Trump received some unsolicited advice at dinner with the nations governors when Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe told him he needs to do a better job explaining his policies regarding deportations. McAuliffe, a Democrat and chairman of the National Governors Assn., told the president that there has been a chilling effect going on as businesses stay away from his state and as immigrants fear being rounded up. If theyre not going to be deported, we need to hear that from the president, McAuliffe said, recounting his conversation from the governors Sunday night dinner with Trump. What I told the president is these actions are hurting us. McAuliffe, a longtime ally of Hillary Clinton, said Trump agreed in large part. McAuliffe also met privately with Homeland Security Secretary John F. Kelly, and said the secretary assured him during an hourlong talk that Trumps enforcement actions were only targeting criminals -- despite widespread reports of otherwise law-abiding immigrants being detained for being in the U.S. illegally. He assured me there will be no random ICE stops on the streets of the United States of America, McAuliffe said, referring to the raids being conducted by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers. If thats the case, McAuliffe said, Trumps policy does not sound much different than the operations under former President Obama, whose administration deported more immigrants than its predecessors. Obama, however, explicitly put a priority on deportations of criminals, a distinction the Trump administration has done away with as part of the presidents executive action. My advice to him was he needs to let the American public know what theyre doing, McAuliffe said. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Trump: I havent called Russia in 10 years By Brian Bennett President Trump rejected calls for an independent investigation of his ties to Russia, telling a group of business leaders Monday that he hasnt called Russia in a decade. At the start of a White House meeting with healthcare executives, a reporter asked Trump whether a special prosecutor should be assigned to investigate allegations of Russian meddling during the election. In response, Trump mouthed the word no to the executives. As reporters were led out of the room, Trump said: I havent called Russia in 10 years. Democratic lawmakers have ramped up their calls for additional investigations into allegations that Trump allies had been in contact with Russian officials during the election and inappropriately discussed U.S. sanctions against the Moscow regime during the transition. White House officials have denied reports that Trump associates were frequently in touch with senior Russian intelligence officials during the election. U.S. intelligence agencies concluded last year that Russian leader Vladimir Putin had authorized an operation to damage Hillary Clintons campaign and tilt the 2016 election in Trumps favor. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Advertisement Trump: Nobody knew that healthcare could be so complicated By Michael A. Memoli View Twitter post President Trump promised the nations governors Monday that his yet-to-be-revealed replacement plan for the Affordable Care Act would give states greater flexibility and thanked some Republicans in the room who advised him on healthcare. Its an unbelievably complex subject, he said. Nobody knew that healthcare could be so complicated. The remark likely surprised state leaders; spending on Medicaid alone was the second-biggest driver of increased state general fund spending, according to the 2016 Fiscal Survey of States conducted by the National Assn. of State Budget Officers. And it was just eight years ago that Washington dove head-first into a raging debate over healthcare reform under President Obama, which simmered long after his signature health law was enacted. But the finer points of healthcare policy are likely new to Trump, who is immersed in discussions with Republican leaders and his senior staff on that and other subjects ahead of his high-profile address Tuesday to a joint session of Congress. Trump offered no hint as to the details. Republicans have vowed to repeal and replace Obamacare, but their effort has stalled as they debate how to do so and await word from the White House on what Trump wants to do. The president seemed keenly aware of the political ramifications of whatever steps he takes. As soon as we touch it, if we do the most minute thing, just a tiny little change, whats going to happen? Theyre going to say its the Republicans problem, Trump said after telling the governors the easiest thing for him to do would be nothing, and, in his view, watch Obamacare collapse. But we have to do whats right because Obamacare is a failed disaster. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Trump wants to add $54 billion to defense budget while slashing domestic spending and foreign aid By Brian Bennett President Trump is proposing a massive increase in defense spending of $54 billion while cutting domestic spending and foreign aid by the same amount, the White House said Monday. Trumps spending blueprint previewed a major address that he will give Tuesday night to a joint session of Congress, laying out his vision for what he called a public safety and national security budget with a nearly 10% increase in defense spending. We never win a war. We never win. And we dont fight to win. We dont fight to win, Trump said Monday in remarks to the nations governors. So we either got to win or dont fight it at all. Trump noted that the U.S. has spent nearly $6 trillion on fighting wars since the Sept. 11 attacks but said that cutting military spending was not the answer. Instead, the increase he is proposing would be offset by cuts to unspecified domestic programs and to foreign aid, which would in turn be made up for in part by demanding that other countries pay more for security alliances that have historically been underwritten by the U.S. This budget expects the rest of the world to step up in some of the programs that this country has been so generous in funding in the past, an official from the Office of Management and Budget said, demanding anonymity to discuss the presidents spending plans. Foreign aid makes up about 1% of the budget. This budget speaks for itself, the official said. I dont think this budget has anything to do other than putting Americans first. Trumps call for deep cuts to spending at home is likely to set up major battles on Capitol Hill, where Democrats and even House Republicans will likely be reluctant to pass a spending bill that includes such major reductions in programs for their constituents. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Trump says businesses cant borrow because of Dodd-Frank. The numbers tell another story By Jim Puzzanghera President Trump was preparing the first step in a key campaign promise dismantling the 2010 DoddFrank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act when he repeated a frequent criticism of the law. We expect to be cutting a lot out of Dodd-Frank because, frankly, I have so many people, friends of mine that had nice businesses, they cant borrow money, Trump told leading corporate chief executives, including Jamie Dimon of JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Larry Fink of money management giant BlackRock Inc., meeting at the White House earlier this month They just cant get any money because the banks just wont let them borrow it because of the rules and regulations in Dodd-Frank, Trump said. Shortly afterward, he ordered a wholesale review of the landmark act, which was passed in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis. But a main reason for dismantling Dodd-Frank often cited by Trump and critics of the law that its slew of tougher financial regulations have significantly restricted bank lending isnt borne out by the data. Read More Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Another Trump nominee withdraws nomination to top national security post due to business interests By W.J. Hennigan Philip M. Bilden, President Trumps pick for Navy secretary, withdrew from consideration late Sunday, becoming the second White House nominee to bail on a top Pentagon position due to problems untangling his financial investments. After an extensive review process, I have determined that I will not be able to satisfy the Office of Government Ethics requirements without undue disruption and materially adverse divestment of my familys private financial interests, Bilden said in a statement. He did not detail the issues but he said he fully supported the presidents agenda to modernize and rebuild our Navy and Marine Corps. Bildens withdrawal comes after billionaire investor Vincent Viola dropped out from becoming Army secretary after he decided his extensive financial holdings would hamper his ability to win Senate confirmation. The White House shot down reports that surfaced two weeks ago that Bilden was considering stepping down. Just spoke with him and he is 100% commited [sic] to being the next SECNAV pending Senate confirm, White House spokesman Sean Spicer tweeted on Feb. 18. Bilden, a venture capitalist and Army veteran, was a surprise selection from Trump but had the backing of Defense Secretary James N. Mattis. This was a personal decision driven by privacy concerns and significant challenges he faced in separating himself from his business interests, Mattis said in a statement. While I am disappointed, I understand and his respect his decision, and know that he will continue to support our nation in other ways. Bilden served ten years in the U.S. Army Reserve as a military intelligence officer from 1986 to 1996. He then co-founded private equity firm HarbourVest Partners LLC and spent 25 years there, mainly in the companys Hong Kong headquarters. He also serves on the board of directors of the United States Naval Academy Foundation and the board of trustees of the Naval War College Foundation. Mattis said he intends on recommending a replacement nominee to Trump in the coming days. The withdrawal marks another setback for Trumps national security team, which has struggled to find its footing since the fledgling administration began. Earlier this month, National Security Advisor Michael Flynn was forced to resign after it became public that he held secret talks with a Russian ambassador and then misled Vice President Mike Pence about it. Army Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster took the job last week after Trumps first choice to replace Flynn, retired Navy Vice Adm. Robert Harward, passed on the opportunity. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Advertisement New DNC chairman Tom Perez ridicules Trump tweet over rigged vote By Laura King Former Labor Secretary Tom Perez was chosen to lead the Democratic Party over a congressman backed by the progressive wing. (Branden Camp / Associated Press) President Trump claimed Sunday that the race for Democratic National Committee chairman had been rigged -- drawing a quick riposte from Tom Perez, who narrowly won the partys leadership race. Trump insinuated that Perezs DNC victory on the second ballot at a party conference in Atlanta on Saturday was because Hillary Clinton had backed Perez, a former Labor secretary in the Obama administration who was seen as representing the partys establishment forces. Clinton did not make a formal endorsement, but Perezs rival, Rep. Keith Ellison of Minnesota, was backed by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and the partys more liberal wing. Bernies guy, like Bernie himself, never had a chance, Trump tweeted early Sunday morning. Clinton demanded Perez! Perez, appearing on CNNs State of the Union on Sunday, told host Jake Tapper that he and Ellison got a good kick out of that, adding: Donald Trump, up in the morning tweeting about us. Sanders, appearing on the same show, said Trump doesnt have a point about the DNC vote. Moments after Perez beat Ellison by 35 votes out of 435 cast, he named Ellison as the deputy chairman of the party, leading to widespread applause. Perez is the first Latino to lead the Democratic Party, and he faces the challenge of trying to rebuild a party that suffered devastating losses in the 2016 election. Republicans now control not only the White House and Congress, but 33 governorships and dozens of state legislatures. In his CNN interview, Perez sarcastically suggested that Trump should address questions about Russian interference in the 2016 presidential campaign rather than concerning himself with the DNC leadership battle. Frankly, what we need to be looking at is whether this election was rigged by Donald Trump and his buddy Vladimir Putin, he said. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print White House again bats away call for special prosecutor on Russia By Laura King A White House spokeswoman said Sunday that it was too soon to say whether a special prosecutor should look into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential campaign, while President Trump again inveighed against coverage of Russia-related queries as FAKE NEWS. Calls have grown louder from Democrats in Congress for U.S. Atty. Gen. Jeff Sessions to recuse himself from the issue because of his role as a prominent Trump supporter during the campaign, and to appoint an independent special prosecutor to carry out a Russia probe. A few Republicans have joined in that chorus some reluctantly. Rep. Darrell Issa of Vista, appearing on HBOs Real Time with Bill Maher, voiced support Friday for naming of a special prosecutor to probe the Russian connection, though he also said congressional intelligence committees should continue their work. He also said he considered Sessions a friend, but pointed to his role as a political appointee who had worked on the Trump campaign. Issa, who narrowly won reelection, was a vociferous critic of the Obama administration during his former tenure as head of the House Oversight Committee. In that post, he spearheaded an array of investigations on topics from Benghazi to bank bailouts. Some Republicans pushed back against the notion of Sessions needing to recuse himself. Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., said on NBCs Meet the Press that he had seen no credible information about contacts between the Trump campaign and Russians and no allegations that rose to the level of criminal activity. If we get down that road, thats a decision that Attorney General Sessions can make at the time, said Cotton, who is a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee. U.S. intelligence agencies have concluded that Russian intelligence agencies hacked Democratic Party computers and used other tactics last year to interfere with the election. The FBI is separately investigating whether anyone on Trumps campaign had improper contacts with Russian authorities during the campaign. On Sunday, White House Deputy Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said congressional investigations on Russia and the campaign should be allowed to go forward before a special prosecutor appointment was considered. I dont think were there yet, Sanders said on ABCs This Week. Lets work through this process. Echoing the previously stated White House stance, Sanders said the Trump campaign had not colluded in any Russian meddling. We had no involvement in this, she said. The president is known to keep a close eye on surrogates performances on the talk shows, and Sanders repeated a prime administration talking point: that questions about possible Trump campaign contacts with Russia amounted to Democratic excuses for losing the election. If Democrats want to continue to relive their loss every single day, by doing an investigation or review after review, thats fine by us, she said. We know why we won this race. Its because we had the better candidate with the better message. Trump himself underscored that notion with an afternoon tweet denouncing media coverage of the ongoing Russia investigations as FAKE NEWS put out by the Dems, and played up by the media, in order to mask the big election defeat and the illegal leaks! Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Whose news is fake? Heres the latest in Trumps war with the press By Kurtis Lee Every president since 1981 has attended the annual White House Correspondents Assn. dinner. That year, President Reagan missed out. The reason? He needed to recover after a would-be assassin fired a bullet into his chest a few weeks earlier. On Saturday, President Trump announced he will not be attending the annual dinner in April, long considered the premier social event of the Washington press corps and typically an evening of good-natured bantering between presidents and the Fourth Estate. Trumps announcement added to the ratcheting tensions between his administration and the media. Almost daily, in speeches or on Twitter, he calls particular news outlets fake, disgusting or dishonest and news organizations have responded by digging in, standing united and devoting more resources to covering a president who has branded the press the enemy. Read More Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Crucial group of Americans like Trumps stands, not him, poll finds By David Lauter Trump still gets dismal ratings on temperament but is above water on economy, decision-making, promises of change. pic.twitter.com/Md0H096n9m Carrie Dann (@CarrieNBCNews) February 26, 2017 With the public deeply split in its views of President Trump, one potentially key group stands out -- those who dislike the man, but approve of the direction in which hes moving. Thats a central finding of a new nationwide survey by NBC News and the Wall St. Journal. The new poll confirms what other major surveys have shown: Trump starts his administration with less support than any president in the seven decades of presidential polling. Asked if they approve or disapprove of the job Trump is doing, 44% approve, 48% disapprove. No previous president has begun his tenure with a net negative job approval. Trump has held onto the support of his ardent backers. At the other end of the spectrum, he gets almost no approval from Democrats. In the middle, the poll found, are many Americans -- just over a third of those polled -- who either voted for Trump with reservations, voted for a third party candidate or did not vote at all in 2016. Just over half of that group gives Trump positive marks, the poll found. Their support is enough, currently, to keep Trumps standing from collapsing, and holding them is likely key to his future. Just under one third of Americans say they like Trump and approve of his policies, the poll found. Another one in six approve of most of his policies even though they dislike him. Well over half, 59%, said they did not like him personally. On a separate question, only 43% of those surveyed have a positive view of Trump -- up from the low points of the campaign, but still far below the standing of most new presidents. By contrast, 86% agreed with one of the central lines of Trumps inaugural speech, that government insiders had reaped the rewards of government, while the people have borne the cost. On other issues, the public is more closely divided. The public splits evenly, for example, on Trumps proposed temporary ban on travel from seven mostly Muslim countries. Just over half of those surveyed, 52%, said that the problems Trump has encountered in his first month were unique to this administration and suggest real problems; 43% said they were growing pains similar to those other administrations have had. And by 51%-41%, the public thinks the press has been too hard on the new administration. The NBC/WSJ poll, run by a bipartisan team of two polling firms, was taken by phone, using cell phones and landlines, Feb. 18-22 among 1,000 American adults. It has a margin of error for the full sample of 3.1 percentage points in either direction. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Advertisement Trump appears to think Perez at head of Democratic National Committee is good news for Republicans By Evan Halper Congratulations to Thomas Perez, who has just been named Chairman of the DNC. I could not be happier for him, or for the Republican Party! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 25, 2017 The Democratic Party put its faith in its old guard Saturday to guide it out of the political wilderness, choosing as its new leader an Obama-era Cabinet secretary over the charismatic congressman backed by the progressive wing of the party. Tom Perez, a former secretary of Labor with strong ties to unions, persuaded the spirited assembly of party delegates in Atlanta that he can best help harness a grass-roots outpouring of anti-Trump protest and anger into a Democratic resurgence at the ballot box. Read More Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Trump to Washington reporters: Not going to your dinner By Kurtis Lee I will not be attending the White House Correspondents' Association Dinner this year. Please wish everyone well and have a great evening! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 25, 2017 The annual White House Correspondents Assn. dinner will be missing a key guest this year: President Trump. On Saturday, Trump tweeted he will not attend the April 29 dinner, considered the premier social event of the Washington press corps -- and typically an evening of good-natured bantering between presidents and reporters with a mix of celebrities watching. His announcement comes amid growing tensions between his administration and the media. Trump has decried stories he doesnt like as fake news, and described unnamed news groups as an enemy of the people. A day earlier, the White House barred reporters from several major news organizations, including the Los Angeles Times, the New York Times, CNN and Politico, from attending an off-camera press briefing. In a sign of the growing rift, several media organizations that traditionally sponsor lavish parties around the black-tie dinner had announced they would not do so this year. At the annual dinner, the president usually delivers self-deprecating jokes and often is roasted by a high-profile comedian. The president also greets students who win journalism scholarships and awards, a major part of the evening. Trump has been a frequent guest of media organizations at the dinner in the past, but he always sat at a table in the crowded ballroom, not up at the front dias. President Obama singled Trump out during the dinner several years ago, mocking Trump for raising doubts about whether Obama was born in the United States. This year, as we do every year, we will celebrate the First Amendment and the role an independent press plays in a healthy republic, the White House Correspondents Assn. said in a statement earlier this month about the upcoming dinner. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Former Labor Secretary Tom Perez named Democratic Party leader By Evan Halper Newly elected Democratic National Committee Chairman Tom Perez (Branden Camp/Associated Press) The Democratic Party put its faith in its old guard Saturday to guide it out of the political wilderness, choosing as its new leader an Obama-era Cabinet secretary over the charismatic congressman backed by the progressive wing of the party. Tom Perez, a former secretary of Labor with strong ties to labor unions, persuaded the spirited assembly of party delegates in Atlanta that he can best help harness a grass-roots outpouring of anti-Trump protest and anger into a Democratic resurgence at the ballot box. We are suffering from a crisis of confidence, a crisis of relevance, Perez told delegates before they chose him in a down-to-the-wire contest with Rep. Keith Ellison of Minnesota, whom the Bernie Sanders wing of the party had rallied round. We need a chair who can not only take the fight to Donald Trump. We also need a chair who can lead a turnaround and change the culture of the Democratic Party, Perez said. The ascendance of an establishment liberal is certain to renew tension between veteran party stalwarts and the unruly progressive movement aligned with Sanders and Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, both of whom backed Ellison. Some Ellison supporters erupted in protest as the final vote was announced. Perez quickly sought to unite the party by naming Ellison his deputy chair, a move unanimously approved by the 435 assembled delegates, who had supported Perez 235-200. Read More Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Trump chastises media for not reporting minor dip in national debt By Del Quentin Wilber President Trump took to Twitter on Saturday morning to blast the news media for not highlighting a minor dip in the national debt. The media has not reported that the National Debt in my first month went down by $12 billion vs a $200 billion increase in Obama first mo., he tweeted at 8:19 a.m. The media has not reported that the National Debt in my first month went down by $12 billion vs a $200 billion increase in Obama first mo. Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 25, 2017 Trumps tweet came shortly after Herman Cain, who ran unsuccessfully for the Republican presidential nomination in 2012, made a similar comment on Fox News. While the numbers are accurate, Trumps tweet suggests he deserves credit for something that is largely beyond his control, especially since he hasnt yet given Congress any proposals to change tax laws or the financial industry. Considering that Trump hasnt enacted any fiscal legislation, its a bit of a stretch for him to take credit for any changes in debt levels, Dan Mitchell, a libertarian economist at the Cato Institute, told the fact-checking website Politifact. President Obamas first month in office in 2009 was largely taken up with spending bills aimed at easing the massive recession that he had inherited. Trump inherited an economy with low inflation, low unemployment and a booming stock market. The national debt, which stands at just under $20 trillion, is expected to rise by more than $500 billion in the fiscal year ending in September. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Advertisement Mexico rejects U.S. plan to deport Central Americans to Mexico By Patrick J. McDonnell Mexico has informed the Trump administration that it cannot accept non-Mexican nationals whom U.S. authorities arrest along the border and seek to remove from U.S. territory, the nations internal security chief said Friday. Earlier this week, the Trump administration rolled out a broad immigration crackdown that included a proposal to send non-Mexican detainees apprehended along the U.S.-Mexico border back to Mexico while their immigration cases were pending in the United States. The vast majority of non-Mexican nationals detained along the U.S.-Mexico border are Central Americans. They often travel overland through Mexico to reach the United States. In a fact sheet released Tuesday, the Department of Homeland Security said that releasing detained, third-country nationals to the foreign contiguous territory from which they arrived would save on detention and adjudication resources. The idea would be to keep them out pending their hearings on deportation, the fact sheet said. However, Mexican authorities have reacted coolly from the outset to the notion. Now, they appear to have formally nixed the idea. On Friday, Mexicos interior secretary, Miguel Angel Osorio Chong, told a radio interviewer than Mexican authorities had informed a pair of visiting U.S. Cabinet officers Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Homeland Security Secretary John F. Kelly that Mexico could not oblige the U.S. request. We told them that our legal framework doesnt allow this, Osorio Chong told Radio Formula, referring to the visit this week of the two Trump Cabinet officials. We told them it is impossible. There is no way, legally, nor is there capacity. In recent years, non-Mexicans, mostly Central Americans, have become a larger proportion of illegal immigrants apprehended along the Southwest border as the relative number of Mexican nationals has declined. In fiscal year 2016, according to U.S. Border Patrol statistics, agents recorded apprehensions of almost 191,000 undocumented Mexican citizens along the Southwest frontier. In the same fiscal year, the Border Patrol said it registered 218,000 detentions of non-Mexican nationals, most of them Central Americans. Cecilia Sanchez of The Times Mexico City bureau contributed to this report. An earlier version of this blog post misspelled Miguel Angel Osorio Chongs name as Osorio Chung. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Trump blasts FBI over Russia leaks after a brief Twitter hiatus By Kurtis Lee (Alex Wong / Getty Images ) After several days of relative silence on Twitter, President Trumps feed came alive Friday with a direct attack on the FBI. Yes, hes done this before. But recent news reports that suggest his administration pressed the FBI to quell claims that members of his campaign had contact with Russians throughout the 2016 election appear to have inspired a response. The FBI is totally unable to stop the national security leakers that have permeated our government for a long time, he tweeted. And conservative news was all over it. Here are some of todays headlines: Trump blasts FBI leakers (Fox News) Trump has assailed everyone from Democrats to intelligence officials for the leaks which he often refers to as fake news about his ties to Russia. Reports from several news outlets this week, citing anonymous sources, claim Trumps chief of staff, Reince Priebus, asked FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe to publicly dispute media reports that Trumps campaign advisors frequently were in touch with Russian intelligence agents during the election. While some reports made it appear Priebus had contacted McCabe, this piece disputes that. Fox News has learned that McCabe indeed had initiated the conversation, asking to speak with Priebus for a few minutes at the end of an intelligence meeting last week, their article reports. Ed Schultz at CPAC: Trump promised Americas heartland a deal (Daily Caller) He was once among the top liberal voices in the country. Now, Ed Schultz, the former MSNBC anchor, is speaking glowingly about President Trump. Between covering high-profile speeches at the Conservative Political Action Conference from Trump and his aides, the Daily Caller popped into a panel at which Schultz provided commentary. Shultz, who now works with the Russian government-funded RT television network, blasted the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal, asserting that Trumps claim that it would cost U.S. jobs was a game changer in the 2016 election. Trump went into Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan and Wisconsin and he took down the progressive firewall, because he talked to the American people about a deal, Schultz said. It was a Wall Street deal, it was not a Main Street deal, he said, referring to the TPP. Trump is about blowing up Washington as it exists (Rush Limbaugh) Remember when Trump talked about draining the swamp? Since he entered the White House, some conservatives have wondered if Trump means business. Many members of his cabinet including Priebus and Atty. Gen. Jeff Sessions are the ultimate Washington insiders. Still, Rush Limbaugh, one of the firebrand conservatives out there, is certain the president will blow up traditional Washington. Whats Trumps No. 1 obstacle? I have concluded that the media is the No. 1 obstacle because of the success they have, he said on his radio show this week. The people in Washington, media is every bit as big a part of the establishment as anybody else is. He added: The media is creating this narrative, if you will, and this picture this series of pictures, this overall image that Trump is stalled, that everybodys opposing him, that his agenda is backlogged. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print After Trump calls media an enemy of the people, White House bars many news outlets from briefing By Noah Bierman Fridays White House press briefing, normally an on-camera affair open to all reporters with press credentials, was turned into an exclusive event for certain outlets hand-picked by the administration. The action came after President Trump on Friday described the media and what he terms fake news as the enemy of the people."On the list were Trump-friendly outlets such as Breitbart News, the Washington Times and OANN, a conservative television network that employs former Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski as a commentator. Off the list were some of Trumps favorite targets, including the New York Times and CNN. The Los Angeles Times was also excluded. The off-camera briefing with Sean Spicer, the press secretary, was not solely for conservative outlets. Several mainstream reporters were also allowed in, including the three major broadcast networks and wire services, such as Bloomberg News. Also allowed in were pool representatives who transmit news events to a far larger group of reporters. The Associated Press and Time magazine were also invited but declined to participate in solidarity with other news organizations that were denied entry. The White House Correspondents Assn. protested, as did editors at several of the organizations that were excluded. In a statement, Times editor Davan Maharaj said that it was unfortunate that the Los Angeles Times has been excluded from a White House press briefing today. The public has a right to know, and that means being informed by a variety of news sources, not just those filtered by the White House press office in hopes of getting friendly coverage, Maharaj said. Regardless of access, The Times will continue to report on the Trump administration without fear or favor, he added. 12:30 p.m.: This post was updated with a statement from Times editor Davan Maharaj. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Its a Russian flag! Trickster strikes CPAC before Trumps speech By Matt Pearce Crowd at CPAC waving these little pro-Trump flags that look exactly like the Russian flag. Staffers quickly come around to confiscate them. pic.twitter.com/YhPpkwFCNc Peter Hamby (@PeterHamby) February 24, 2017 As the crowd waited to hear President Trump speak at the Conservative Political Action Conference, little red-white-and-blue flags appeared without warning, handed down the aisles by a man with a green bag, according to a witness. The flags said Trump. They also happened to be the flag of the Russian Federation. He was dressed like any one of us, said Tyler Dever, 20, a student at the University of South Florida in Tampa, who was wearing a suit. He passed them to me and was like, Pass them down, pass them down. Dever, caught up in the moment, passed them down, before someone sitting next to him said, Oh, its a Russian flag! CPAC staff quickly recollected the flags. If it was just a red-white-and-blue flag, I would have picked it out, Dever said. He said it was his first time attending an event like CPAC and was surprised to see a provocateur in the audience, especially beyond the cordon set up by the Secret Service. Someone tried to victimize me, Dever said. You have Secret Service out here, and Id expect it to be fully screened. ... Thank God someone noticed. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Advertisement Trump still loves the USC/L.A. Times poll: What it got right and what it got wrong By David Lauter Throughout the fall campaign, then-candidate Donald Trump and his allies loved the USC/L.A. Times Daybreak poll -- the only major survey that consistently showed him winning. A couple polls got it right. I must say Los Angeles Times did a great job, shocking because, you know, they did a great job, Trump declared in his speech this morning at CPAC, the annual gathering of conservative activists. But did the poll get it right? In the simplest terms, no, and after considerble analysis, we know why. Read More Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print A celebration, and wake, for a campaign legend and a Republican Party that is no more By Mark Z. Barabak (Steve Lopez/Los Angeles Times) It was a cool and rainy day when elders of the Republican tribe recently gathered to honor one of their own. The honoree, Stuart K. Spencer, was unmistakable in his white duck pants and a lime-green sport coat so bright it almost hurt to see. A reformed chain-smoker, he snapped merrily away on a wad of chewing gum. The event marked Spencers 90th birthday, but the mood beneath the surface conviviality was unsettled and gray, like the clouds fringing the mountains outside. If the occasion was intended as a personal celebration, it also had the feel of a wake for a time in politics long passed. Along with former Vice President Dick Cheney and former California Gov. Pete Wilson, veterans of the Reagan years turned out in force. It was Spencer, more than anyone, who took a political long shot and washed-up B-movie actor and helped transform him into the Reagan of legend. Read More Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print CPACs reaction to President Trumps speech: Two thumbs up By Matt Pearce Supporters cheer President Trump as he speaks at the Conservative Political Action Conference in National Harbor, Md., on Friday. (Alex Brandon / Associated Press) President Trump loves CPAC, and CPAC loves Trump. As hundreds of Conservative Political Action Conference attendees spilled out into the hallways Friday after Trumps speech to the group, they had glowing reviews of the man who has been tormenting Democrats and the media and transforming the Republican Party. It was fantastic, unbelievable, absolute truth, said Shia L. Lome, 84, a retired Air Force colonel from Deerfield Beach, Fla., appraising Trumps remarks. If he carries through [his promises], this will be the greatest country ever. Lome added that there is no question about it, Trump is his own type of Republican. Whether its conservative or whatever you want to call it, Lome said he is happy as long as [Trump] causes the Democrats heartaches. Kayne Robinson, 73, a former chairman of the Iowa Republican Party, said Trump was simply taking the party in the direction that people want it to go. I think the party is every bit as united behind him as it was behind either of the Bushes, Robinson said. Trump led a revolution in the party, very much like Reagan. ... I think Trump is doing just fine. Frank March, a 50-year-old Army retiree from Fairfax County, Va., emerged from the ballroom at the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center wearing a red Make America Great Again cap, which carried Trumps jagged signature on the bill. Marchs daughter had gotten the hat signed when she previously met Trump, and he proudly showed off photos of that event. I recognize the signature! a woman exclaimed as she saw the hat. March praised Trumps follow-through and his commitment to workers as incredible. Hes bringing in new people to the party, March said. The hope is, by his follow-through, doing what he said he was going to do, then the non-Republicans who voted for Trump will stick. Helping workers will be one of the ways Trump can make that happen, he said. In politics, youre supposed to help people, March said. Workers are the people. Theyre people who earn money to take care of their families. Republicans should support those people because theyre the ones who make America run. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Donald Trump shows up at conservatives most prominent gathering and defines a new GOP By Noah Bierman President Trump shows up at conservatives most prominent gathering and defines a new GOP. President Trump made one of his strongest pitches Friday to unite the Republican Party and the conservative movement behind a nationalist, anti-globalist ideology that until recently would have been unthinkable for many Republicans. There is no such thing as a global anthem, a global currency or a global flag, Trump said to great applause from thousands of conservatives. Im not representing the globe. Im representing your country. He echoed ideas he has espoused in the past -- denouncing trade deals as the antithesis of economic freedom, warning that the great cities of Europe have been ruined by mass immigration, denouncing intervention in the Middle East by both parties. But while many of the words were familiar, the venue and the passion made Fridays speech remarkable. The comments came at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference, just outside of Washington, D.C., the most prominent gathering of right-leaning groups and activists in the country. Such a speech would have been shocking from a conservative, much less the president, at almost any other time in the conferences history. Trump has been popular at CPAC in the past. He credits a speech there with launching his political career. But he snubbed last years event amid a heated primary in which many conservatives rejected his tone and the direction he was trying to move the GOP. I would have come last year, but I was worried that I would be at that time too controversial, Trump said in his speech, which lasted nearly an hour. Trump, the first president since Ronald Reagan to address the group during his first year in office, made clear that he is moving those once controversial ideas to the movements center. In addition to his usual critiques of the media and frequent references to his electoral success, Trump spoke directly of his ambition for reshaping the Republican Party to attract blue-collar voters, the forgotten men and women who helped propel his electoral victory. Im here today to tell you what this movement means for the future of the Republican Party and for the future of America, Trump said. The core conviction of our movement is that we are a nation that [must] put and will put its own citizens first. Later, he added that the GOP will be from now on also the party of the American worker. While Trump tried to unite conservatives, the speech made little effort to bridge the countrys larger political divide. For example, Trump dismissed people who have shown up at town halls around the country to protest reversal of Obamacare. Theyre not you, he said. Theyre the side that lost. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Advertisement Justice Department rescinds order phasing out use of private prisons By Del Quentin Wilber Atty. Gen. Jeff Sessions has jettisoned an Obama administration order to phase out the use of private prisons to hold federal inmates. The new order reverses one issued by former Deputy Atty. Gen. Sally Yates in August that sought to eliminate the departments use of private for-profit prisons, which hold just over 10% of the current prison population. The Obama administration order changed long-standing policy and practice, and impaired the bureaus ability to meet the future needs of the federal correctional system, Sessions wrote Thursday to announce the reversal. Civil rights and prisoner rights groups decried the Sessions decision, saying private prisons are not as cost-effective or as safe as government-run facilities, citing numerous abuses in the past. The Bureau of Prisons houses about 21,000 of its 190,000 inmates in a dozen private prisons, including one near Bakersfield. Atty. Gen. Sessions has shown that he is not taking the mass incarceration crisis seriously, said Wade Henderson, who heads the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights. Continuing to rely on private prisons for federal inmates is neither humane nor budget conscious, Henderson added. We need a justice system that can work better for all people. Yates order did not affect facilities used to detain people in the country illegally. The use of private prisons is expected to surge under President Trumps promised crackdown on illegal immigration. Trump has signed an executive order calling for expansion of immigrant detention facilities and authorized the use of private contractors to construct, operate, or control facilities. Stocks in private prison companies have jumped on Wall Street since Trump won the presidential election, and they continued their rise on news of Sessions order. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print CPAC and conservative media prepare for Trump By Kurtis Lee The future path of the Republican Party is being debated in the halls of the Conservative Political Action Conference in Maryland this week. Will it be the party of Donald Trump, an outsider of the GOP establishment, or House Speaker Paul D. Ryan, the definition of establishment? Or, perhaps, of Richard Spencer, a white nationalist leader of the so-called alt-right movement? (Spencer was kicked out of CPAC on Thursday.) Trump is set to address the conference on Friday, and the conservative media are ready for the much-anticipated address. Tomorrow it will be TPAC when hes here, Kellyanne Conway, a senior advisor to Trump told reporters Thursday. Here are some of todays headlines: Go Big, Go Bold: Walker, at CPAC, pushes GOP to carry out agenda as party controls Congress, White House (Fox News) Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, once a Trump foe, is urging conservatives to use the November election as a mandate. Do what you said you were going to do, Walker said to attendees. In the Fox News piece, which leads its website, it notes that leaders at the conference are hoping to use it to strategize about what they can accomplish and to better articulate their values at a time when the very definition of conservatism has seemed to waver. Sweden Democrats: Trump was right (Fox News) Remember last weekend when everyone including many Swedish politicians were really confused about Trumps comments at a recent rally? You look at whats happening last night in Sweden, Trump, at a rally in Florida on Saturday, said about the Scandinavian country that has accepted large numbers of refugees. Sweden. They took in large numbers. Theyre having problems like they never thought possible. Actually, not much happened in Sweden on Friday night. Trump said later that he had been referring to a broadcast on Fox News on that night. Still, recent riots in the country were covered extensively by conservative media. This post notes a recent op-ed penned by Jimmie Akesson and Mattias Karlsson, both leaders of the Sweden Democrats, in the Wall Street Journal on Wednesday supporting Trumps characterization of a Muslim immigrant-led crime crisis in Sweden. In it they write, Trump did not exaggerate Swedens current problems. If anything, he understated them. Trump Is Letting DREAMers Stay, And Rush Is Fine With That (Daily Caller) Hes an immigration hard liner, and, apparently, hes OK with Trump allowing DREAMERs to remain in the country. This piece highlights comments by Rush Limbaugh this week. A lot of people think that Trumps caving because if you allow the DREAMers to stay, were talking 750,000 DREAMers, kids, who each have two parents who could come in. Look, this is a-no-win, Limbaugh said this week. Nobodys gonna win anything by deporting a bunch of kids that we let in. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Trump advisor Steve Bannon rails at corporatist, globalist media By Noah Bierman Steve Bannon to the #CPAC crowd: "If you think they're going to give you your country back without a fight, you're sadly mistaken" pic.twitter.com/ryw7iO0Snr POLITICO (@politico) February 23, 2017 The two men with the most heavily dissected relationship in President Trumps White House held a rare public appearance together Thursday and agreed on one common enemy: the media. Reince Priebus, the chief of staff who is often described as embattled, said he has grown conditioned to the media counting Trump out: during the presidential campaign, the transition and the first month of the presidency. The biggest misconception is everything that youre reading, Priebus said. Steve Bannon, Trumps chief strategist, framed his complaint as an ideological war. He consistently called the media the opposition party throughout a 20-minute joint interview on stage at the Conservative Political Action Conference just outside of Washington. Its not only not going to get better, it gets worse every day, Bannon said. Theyre corporatist, globalist media that are adamantly opposed to an economic nationalist agenda like Donald Trump has. If you think theyre going to give you your country back without a fight, he added. You are sadly mistaken. Bannon, former executive chairman of the far-right Breitbart News, seldom speaks in public. His nationalist rendering of Republican ideology is often seen in contrast to Priebus, the former chairman of the GOP, who is viewed as the more mainstream conservative advocate within the White House. The two men said the tension between them portrayed in the media is inaccurate. But as they praised each other, the men made clear that Bannon sees his role as dominant in shaping Trumps policy. Bannon praised Priebus for doggedly keeping the trains running -- one of the toughest jobs Ive ever seen in my life. Bannon talked about being in the first inning of shaping a new political order and beginning the deconstruction of the administrative state. Priebus used more prosaic language and spoke of Bannon as the one who pushes Trump to maintain his bold vision. He is very dogged in making sure that every day the promises that President Trump made are the promises were working on, Priebus said of Bannon. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print In Mexico, Homeland Security chief says there will be no mass deportations of people in U.S. illegally By Patrick J. McDonnell Homeland Security Secretary John F. Kelly, left, and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson in Mexico City on Thursday. (Ronaldo Schemidt / AFP/Getty Images) Homeland Security Secretary John F. Kelly, on a visit to Mexico, said Thursday that there will be no mass deportations of people living in the U.S. illegally. Kelly also said U.S. military forces would not be used in deportation efforts and that any deportation cases would go through the U.S. legal system. No. Repeat, no use of military force in immigration operations, Kelly said at a news conference at the Foreign Relations Ministry in Mexico City. None. Well approach this operation systematically, in an organized way, in a results-oriented way, in an operation and and in a human dignity way. Kelly and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson are in Mexico City to discuss a wide variety of issues, including immigration and security, with Mexican government officials. Kellys remarks came the same day President Trump called recent raids in the U.S. an unprecedented enforcement effort. You see whats happening at the border. All of a sudden for the first time, were getting gang members out, he said. Were getting really bad dudes out of this country, and at a rate that nobodys ever seen before. Read More Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Advertisement Mexico bracing for long battle with Trump administration, foreign minister tells lawmakers By Patrick J. McDonnell Mexico Foreign Minister Luis Videgaray (Brian Smialowski / AFP/Getty Images) Mexico is preparing for a long battle with the administration of President Trump, its foreign minister reportedly told lawmakers in private comments, adding that the country was prepared to retaliate with new tariffs if necessary. We are here preparing for a battle that is going to be long, Foreign Minister Luis Videgaray told federal deputies Wednesday, according to the newspaper La Jornada, which said it had obtained a copy of the comments. This is not going to be resolved in three days. In the reported remarks, Videgaray said Mexico was prepared to retaliate with new tariffs on U.S.-made goods should the Trump administration follow up on its threats to slap an export tax of 20% or more of goods imported from Mexico to the United States. There was no official response from the Mexican Foreign Ministry on Videgarays reported remarks. Videgaray was among the Mexican officials, including President Enrique Pena Nieto, who met this week with a pair of visiting White House Cabinet members, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Homeland Security Secretary John F. Kelly. The private remarks were apparently made on Wednesday, when the two Trump envoys were scheduled to arrive in Mexico City. Read More Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Homeland Security tried to downplay immigration raids as routine. Now Trump says theyre unprecedented By Michael A. Memoli (Evan Vucci / Associated Press) After nationwide immigration raids this month in which more than 680 people were arrested, the Department of Homeland Security issued a nothing-to-see-here statement downplaying the sweeps as strictly ordinary. ICE conducts these kind of targeted enforcement operations regularly and has for many years, the agency said last week, referring to Immigration and Customs Enforcement. But President Trump had a different take Thursday, labeling the raids an unprecedented enforcement effort. You see whats happening at the border. All of a sudden for the first time, were getting gang members out, he said before a roundtable on manufacturing. Were getting really bad dudes out of this country, and at a rate that nobodys ever seen before. Under President Obama, deportations peaked at 400,000 people in 2012, touching off widespread criticism from immigration advocates, which prompted Homeland Security to scale back deportations. Last year, deportations fell to 240,000 as the Obama administration focused on targets similar to what Trump described in the raids conducted under his authority: criminals, repeat immigration violators and recent arrivals. Trump also called the sweeps this month a military operation, even though no military resources were involved and the White House has pushed back aggressively on reports that the administration was considering seeking National Guard forces to assist in deportations. Homeland Security said the raids were conducted by ICE agents, U.S. marshals and state and local law enforcement agencies. What has been allowed to come into our country, when you see gang violence that youve read about like never before, and all of the things much of that is people that are here illegally, Trump said. Theyre rough and theyre tough, but theyre not tough like our people. So were getting them out. Of the 680 arrests last week, 161 occurred in Los Angeles and surrounding counties. Three-quarters of those detained in the Los Angeles-area sweeps were from Mexico. Trump noted that Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Homeland Security Secretary John F. Kelly traveled to Mexico this week on a tough trip. We have to be treated fairly by Mexico, Trump said. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print White nationalist leader Richard Spencer booted from Conservative Political Action Conference By Matt Pearce Reporters surround white supremacist Richard Spencer during the first day of the Conservative Political Action Conference on February 23, 2017. (Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images) One of Americas most prominent white nationalists, Richard Spencer, was kicked out of the Conservative Political Action Conference on Thursday after conference organizers gave him credentials to attend and then wavered on whether to let him stay. Spencer, who coined the term alternative right to describe his far-right views on separating the races, came to CPAC to attend a speech that was critical of the alt-right. CPAC organizer Matt Schlapp took pains to distance CPAC from the fringe Spencer represents. The alt-right does not have a legitimate voice in the conservative movement, said Schlapp, adding that nobody from that movement is speaking at CPAC. Read More Just talked to CPAC organizer Matt Schlapp. Said he didn't endorse Richard Spencer's ideas but won't kick him out of the conference. Matt Pearce (@mattdpearce) February 23, 2017 Basically their line on this is, if they actually agreed with his ideas, they'd put him on stage, but they don't, and it's a free country. Matt Pearce (@mattdpearce) February 23, 2017 Change of plans. Richard Spencer just got kicked out of CPAC. Matt Pearce (@mattdpearce) February 23, 2017 Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Obamacare 101: Are health insurance marketplaces in a death spiral? By Noam N. Levey (Don Ryan / Associated Press) Its been a rocky few months for the health insurance marketplaces created by the Affordable Care Act. Even if youre not one of the roughly 11 million Americans who rely on these online markets to get your health insurance, youve probably seen the headlines about rising premiums and insurance companies pulling out of the system. Last week, national insurance giant Humana announced it would stop selling plans on the marketplace. Aetnas chief executive claimed the marketplaces are in a death spiral. Republicans say the marketplaces are Exhibit A that Obamacare is collapsing. So whats the real story? Are these things really kaput or can they be fixed? Heres a rundown of where things stand. Read More Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Advertisement Trump administration wants tax reform done by August, Mnuchin says By Jim Puzzanghera The Trump administration wants to overhaul the tax code by August, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Thursday, laying out an aggressive timetable in his first significant public comments since taking office last week. Our economic agenda, the No. 1 issue is growth, and the first most important thing that will impact growth is a tax plan, Mnuchin said in an interview with CNBC. So we are committed to pass tax reform, he said. We want to get this done by the August recess. Read More Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Loud and angry, protesters turn congressional town halls into must-see political TV By Mark Z. Barabak (Bill Pugliano / Getty Images) They came by the hundreds, in big cities and rural hamlets, to heckle, plead, badger and, in some instances, to protest the protests themselves. Congress is in recess this week, and a citizenry suddenly spurred to action used the opportunity to let their returning lawmakers know just how they feel about the tempestuous last month in Washington. Winners make policy and losers go home, a taunting Mitch McConnell, the Republican Senate leader, told an invitation-only gathering in his home state of Kentucky, as about 1,000 protesters gathered outside. Not exactly. The town hall meeting, a throwback to a time of more intimate connection, has become a political organizing tool in the social media age a piece of performance theater and a worldwide stage. Obamacare, immigration, environmental regulation, Social Security, Russian meddling in the 2016 election and Trump, Trump, Trump all poured forth this week in the form of questions, loudly and heatedly. Read More Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Trump administration rescinds guidelines on protections for transgender students By Michael A. Memoli The Trump administration rescinded an Obama-era directive Wednesday aimed at protecting transgender students rights, questioning its legal grounding. Under the guidelines, schools had been required to treat transgender students according to their stated gender identity, and either allow access to restrooms and locker rooms for the gender they identify with or provide private facilities if requested. The Obama administration had said that students gender identities were protected under Title IX requirements, which prohibit federally funded schools from discriminating on the basis of sex. But officials in the Education and Justice departments said that their predecessors failed to make their case, citing significant litigation spurred by the policy. Read More Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Americans in Mexico protest Trumps inflammatory rhetoric during Tillerson visit By Kate Linthicum A group of Americans living in Mexico is planning a protest Thursday to send a message to visiting U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson. Their gripe? President Trumps inflammatory rhetoric. Thats according to a draft of a letter that several groups organizing the protest hope to deliver to Tillerson, who is in town along with Homeland Security Secretary John F. Kelly for talks with top Mexican officials. The letter, which will be cosigned by the Mexican chapter of Democrats Abroad, as well as other groups, complains about Trumps hostile attitude toward Mexico, which it says is engendering nationalistic sentiments in Mexico. Among Trumps hostile acts, the letter says, is Trumps vow to build a border wall and force Mexico to pay for it. The idea of building a wall ... frames Mexico and Mexicans as foreign invaders, the letter says. It also criticizes Trump for pledging to renegotiate NAFTA, saying, The U.S. and Mexico are deeply connected economies and it is in the interest of the United States to strengthen the regional production network to boost manufacturing employment in the U.S. and ensure the long-run competitiveness of manufacturing in the region. There are more than a million U.S. citizens living in Mexico, and many have been vocal since Trumps election. Last month, thousands turned out for a womens march outside the American Embassy that saw crowds chanting anti-Trump slogans. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Advertisement Mexico will never accept unilateral American immigration rules, foreign secretary says By Patrick McDonnell Mexican Foreign Secretary Luis Videgaray said defending the rights of Mexican immigrants is the first point in the agenda for talks with U.S. officials. (Christian Palma / Associated Press) Mexico will reject any unilateral effort from the United States to impose immigration or other policies on the Mexican government, the countrys foreign secretary said Wednesday. I want to make clear, in the most emphatic way, that the government of Mexico and the Mexican people do not have to accept measures that, in a unilateral way, one government wants to impose on another, Foreign Secretary Luis Videgaray said in public comments. That we are not going to accept. He spoke a day after the Trump administration unveiled tough new measures to enforce immigration laws and deport people who are in the country illegally proposals that were widely portrayed in the Mexican media as a prelude to massive deportations. On Wednesday, two top Trump administration cabinet members Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Homeland Security Secretary John F. Kelly were arriving in Mexico for talks with that nations officials, including Videgaray. Immigration, trade and law enforcement issues were expected to be discussed at a tense moment in U.S.-Mexican relations. In his reported comments, the Mexican secretary did not single out any specific U.S. proposal as objectionable. Mexican officials have acknowledged there is little they can do to counter U.S. immigration policies. Among other things, the Trump administration has proposed sending non-Mexican citizens detained along the U.S.-Mexico border back to Mexico. Mexican officials would presumably have to sign off on such a plan. Mexico already detains and deports thousands of Central Americans annually who cross Mexican territory with the hope of entering the United States illegally via the U.S.-Mexico border. U.S. authorities have worked with their Mexican counterparts to halt the Central American influx. The Mexican foreign secretary made it clear that immigration would be at the top of the list of items to be discussed during meetings with the U.S. Cabinet secretaries. Defending the rights of Mexican immigrants is the first point in the agenda, said Videgaray. He also said Mexico could take the issue of the rights of Mexican immigrants to the United Nations and other international agencies. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Both in power and in turmoil, conservatives head to Conservative Political Action Conference to see whats next By Matt Pearce Josh Platillero (Matt Pearce / Los Angeles Times) The eyes of men in crisp blazers darted toward passing faces and identification badges, looking for a familiar face, a famous name. As Fox News host Sean Hannity prepared to broadcast a live show from a ballroom, a brief chant burst out from the audience: U-S-A! U-S-A! Its that time of year again: Hundreds of Republicans began arriving Wednesday at the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center in Oxon Hill, Md., just south of Washington, for the annual Conservative Political Action Conference. CPAC, as its best known, is a place for conservative political figures and activists to gather, schmooze, hammer out new ideas and audition for starring roles in the Republican Party. And this year, CPAC attendees have a lot to talk about. Their party is in control of Congress, the White House and dozens of state governments across America, and yet not at all at peace with itself. President Trump is expected to address the conference later in the week after winning on a platform of populist nationalism that some conservatives have accused of not being conservative at all. Breitbart News, the brash rising star of right-wing media, is one of the conferences top promoters, but one of its staffers, Milo Yiannopoulos, lost his speaking slot at CPAC and resigned from the news organization after video circulated showing him appearing to promote pedophilia. Some conservatives had backed Yiannopoulos and cried censorship when the provocateur offended liberals at college speaking events, but now they had become offended themselves. Still, as CPAC began on Wednesday, the mood was upbeat. This was a victorious movement, after all. Many new guests were greeted by the sight of Josh Platillero, 23, wearing a cartoonishly large stovepipe hat and a suit the colors of the American flag. I love networking, said Platillero, who recently lived in Knoxville, Tenn., before moving to the D.C. area to work with a conservative nonprofit, the Leadership Institute. Its his second year attending CPAC, and he was excited about the lineup of speakers, which include some of the White House staff. I think our new president is not perfect, but I think hes doing good things, he said. Ariel Kohane, 45, who came from the Upper West Side in Manhattan, stood in the lobby holding signs that read, Jews for Trump, in both English and Hebrew. I love the fact that I can get together with many of my fellow conservative friends and colleagues and we can all be very proud of ourselves with all our accomplishments and the fact that we get to strategize and plan ways to further expand conservatism across America and across the whole world, Kohane said. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Pence condemns Jewish center bomb threats and visits desecrated cemetery in Missouri By Jaweed Kaleem (Michael Conroy / Associated Press) Visiting Fenton, Mo., on Wednesday, Vice President Mike Pence condemned a string of bomb threats against Jewish community centers around the nation and the desecration of a St. Louis-area Jewish cemetery over the weekend. Speaking just yesterday, President Trump called this a horrible and painful act. And so it was. That along with other recent threats to the Jewish community centers around the country, said Pence, who was visiting the headquarters of the Fabick Cat machinery company. He declared it all a sad reminder of the work that still must be done to root out hate and prejudice and evil. We condemn this vile act of vandalism and those who perpetuate it in the strongest possible terms. The vice president said it was inspiring how the people of Missouri have rallied around the Jewish community with compassion and support. Among those showing solidarity with the Jewish community is a group of Muslims who launched an online fundraising campaign to help repair the cemetery. Donors had pledged more than $90,000 by Wednesday afternoon. Pence later visited the Chesed Shel Emeth Cemetery in University City, Mo., where nearly 200 tombstones had been toppled over the weekend. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Advertisement Trumps move on transgender bathroom access sparks interest By Kurtis Lee (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times) For President Trump, commenting on social issues such as same-sex marriage and abortion has never seemed much of a priority. Indeed, throughout the campaign, Trump hardly discussed the topics. When asked about transgender bathroom access at a town hall in April 2016, Trump said people should be able to use whichever bathroom they choose. He then moved on from the question, offering little else. Now it appears his administration is set to wade into the controversy. Its a topic the conservative media loves to explore. Here are some of todays headlines: Return to normalcy: Trump readies reversal of transgender bathroom lunacy in public schools (Daily Caller) What will the Trump administration do about transgender bathroom access? The Caller highlights White House Press Secretary Sean Spicers pronouncement on the issue: This is a states rights issue and not one for the federal government, Spicer told reporters. The lunacy referred to is the federal guidance President Obama issued prior to leaving office directing schools that receive federal funding to allow transgender students to use restrooms and other facilities that match their gender identities. Several states filed suit to overturn the directive, and a federal judge issued a temporary injunction barring its enforcement, which remains in place. Several states, following the lead of North Carolina, are seeking to implement legislation that bans transgender people from using the bathrooms of the gender with which they identify. 66 percent of Trump voters change the channel when awards shows get too political (Daily Caller) When Meryl Streep criticized President Trump last month in her Golden Globes speech, he replied quickly. Meryl Streep, one of the most over-rated actresses in Hollywood, doesnt know me but attacked last night at the Golden Globes, Trump tweeted. Well, Trump can probably expect more barbs as actors (in overwhelmingly liberal Hollywood) take the stage at the Oscars on Sunday. Lots of Trump voters can be expected to change the channel, according to this piece, which highlights a new poll on the subject. The Hollywood Reporter says that 66% of Trump voters said they have stopped watching an awards show because a celebrity started talking about politics while accepting an award. By contrast, only 19% of Hillary Clintons supporters have done so. Trump talks tolerance, decries anti-Semitism, but media remain skeptical (Fox News) Well, Trump finally did say something to condemn the anti-Semitic vandalism and threats that have taken place since his presidential victory. Anti-Semitism is horrible, Trump said in an interview with MSNBC on Tuesday. In the Fox News piece, Howard Kurtz argues the media should give the president more credit for speaking out. I always think its unfair to blame a political leader for violence or vandalism carried out by people who support him, he writes. I felt the same way about critics who blamed Barack Obama for urban riots or shootings of police officers. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Among Republicans, Trump is more popular than congressional leaders By David Lauter Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.) walk together. (Matt Rourke / Associated Press) Amid strain between the Trump administration and the Republican-controlled Congress, the White House holds the high ground, a new survey indicates. Among Republicans, President Trump has greater popularity than the partys congressional leaders. Asked specifically who they would trust if the two sides disagreed, most Republicans chose Trump over their partys leadership. The findings, from a new survey by the nonpartisan Pew Research Center underscore Trumps continued sway with the Republican congressional majority. Although the president has historically low job approval ratings among the public at large, he remains highly popular among Republican partisans and in Republican districts. As for Democrats, theyre strongly in an oppositional mood. Asked if they were more worried that Democrats in Congress would go too far in opposing Trump or not go far enough, more than 70% of Democrats said they feared their party would not go far enough. Only 20% said they worried the party would go too far. Republicans in Congress have eyed Trump warily on several fronts. His positions on trade and entitlement reform break with years of the partys positions. His reluctance to criticize Russian President Vladimir Putin has generated tension. And the administrations lack of clarity on healthcare and tax policy have Republican leaders guessing which way to turn on major issues. But Republican partisans have fewer reservations than their elected representatives. Eighty-six percent to 13%, those who identify as Republicans or as independents who lean Republican have a favorable view of Trump, the Pew survey found. By comparison, 57% have a favorable view of Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the majority leader, with 22% unfavorable and 21% having no opinion. House Speaker Paul Ryan of Wisconsin is slightly better known, with 65% of Republicans holding a favorable view, 23% an unfavorable view and 13% having no opinion. Asked who they would trust if the two sides disagreed, 52% of Republicans said they would side with Trump and 34% with the Republicans in Congress. Republicans younger than 40 were the only major exception; 52% to 36%, they said they would side with Congress. At the same time, Republican partisans now have a warmer opinion of their party leadership than they had during most of President Obamas tenure. Republicans' approval of their congressional leaders has more than doubled since 2015 https://t.co/KSo1hRMhJj pic.twitter.com/WHTHxCNEFq Pew Research Center (@pewresearch) February 22, 2017 During the Obama years, GOP partisans tended to be frustrated that their side could not reverse the presidents initiatives, even with a majority in the House, starting in 2010, and then in the Senate for Obamas last two years. Their view of the GOP leadership has rebounded strongly since the election. Democrats view of their congressional leadership has been more stable. And both sides widely dislike the other partys leaders. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Supreme Court rejects use of racial stereotypes in death penalty cases By David Savage The Supreme Court rejected the use of racial stereotypes in death penalty cases Wednesday, reopening the case of a black man in Texas who was sentenced to die after his jury was told African Americans are more likely than whites to commit crimes. Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. said this testimony had no place in a sentencing hearing and appealed to the racial stereotype that black men are prone to violence. Our laws punish people for what they do, not for who they are, the chief justice said in the courtroom. The 6-2 decision faults Texas authorities for refusing to give a new sentencing hearing to Duane Buck, a Houston man who was convicted of shooting and killing his ex-girlfriend and seriously injuring her new boyfriend in 1995. Buck was found guilty of murder, but when his jury was debating his fate, his court-appointed defense attorney put on the witness stand an expert who cited statistics showing blacks are more likely to commit future crimes than whites. After hearing this testimony, the jury decided to sentence Buck to death. Years later, Texas state attorneys set aside the death sentences for six other black defendants whose juries heard similar testimony, but they refused to reopen Bucks case. In Buck vs. Davis, the high court said that was a mistake. The jury was deciding the question of life or death, and this is no place for the introduction of a particularly noxious strain of racial prejudice, Roberts said. The court sent the case back to judges in Texas to reconsider the death sentence. Justice Clarence Thomas dissented, along with Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. Thomas said Buck was properly sentenced to die for a brutal murder, and he insisted the court should not have heard the case for procedural reasons. Having settled on a desired outcome, the court bulldozes procedural obstacles and misapplies settled law to justify it, he wrote. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print At Rep. Tony Cardenas town hall, Democrats worry about what Donald Trump may do By Kurtis Lee (Kurtis Lee/Los Angeles Times ) They arrived with soggy jackets, hats and umbrellas. The topic was supposed to be the Affordable Care Act. But many who attended Democratic Rep. Tony Cardenas town hall meeting Tuesday night in a crammed auditorium at the Cesar E. Chavez Learning Academies came with a question: What can we -- as Democrats -- do to help you? Show up and vote, said Cardenas, who represents a slice of the staunchly liberal San Fernando Valley. (Hillary Clinton defeated Donald Trump in this district by nearly 60-percentage points in the fall election.) Sign people up, get people involved, he said. At times the meeting had the feel of a therapy session for Democrats, wondering aloud how to function under a Trump administration. Where is the anger among Democrats? asked one man. I want to see more anger. Cardenas, standing at a lectern on an elevated stage, offered a stern look and nodded in agreement as rain could be heard splattering on the roof above. The complaints included Republicans efforts to repeal Obamacare and Trumps new immigration mandates. Trust me, Im pissed. Im upset, Cardenas said. But we have to act constructively. We have to be responsible. Last month, Trump signed executive orders directing the Department of Homeland Security to prioritize the removal of people in the U.S. illegally who have criminal convictions. In addition to speeding up the deportation of convicts, Trumps orders also call for quick removal of people in the country illegally who are charged with crimes and waiting for adjudication. And in recent days, a handful of people who have received protection under Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) have been arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents nationwide. Cardenas said that for him, the issue is personal. His parents were immigrants from Mexico, who lived in the San Fernando Valley for decades, raising 11 children, he said. Today his district is nearly 70% Latino. Im going to fight for you, he said. Im going to fight for the people who are my immigrant father. When a young man, a DACA recipient, asked him, via Twitter, if hell be safe in the weeks ahead, Cardenas seemed at a loss. I pray that [Trump] doesnt go after you, he said. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Advertisement Killing with kindness, GOPs McClintock faces down hostile questioners as town hall goes into overti I was very interested in the article you published about the Hyperloop Model that the students from UCI created for the SpaceX completion last weekend (UCIs Hyperloop model grounded on first weekend of SpaceX contest, but it can get another chance, Jan. 31). As a seventh-grader at CdM, it is very encouraging for me to read and learn about other local young people doing good work for the community and exploring technology that will be beneficial to all of us in the near and far future, which I would like to do when I become an engineer after college. Please keep up the good work sharing positive scientific stories like the SpaceX competition for all the readers of the Daily Pilot to enjoy. Ian T. Murphy Newport Beach * Trump is right: Better vetting is needed I fust finished reading Andrea Marrs letter to the Daily Pilot trying to justify opposition to President Trumps immigration order with her personal history of her family justifying the end results, i.e., becoming good and loyal citizens of the U.S.A. (Commentary: Trumps order is an affront to American values, Feb. 3). Our country just cannot afford to have all of the worlds people who are suffering from economic hardships to enter without serious vetting. Maurice Aker Huntington Beach Citizens want a town hall with congressman On Jan. 31, a small group of Orange County residents went to Rep. Dana Rohrabachers district office. The group had petitions in hand, asking for among other things, a town hall meeting with the congressman. The office door was locked, and when they knocked, they were denied entry. These cititzens were not protesters; no signs, no yelling, just a group of middle-aged citizens. The petition had to be shoved under the office door, since no staff member would open the door to take it. We pay Dana Rohrabachers salary, his staffs salary and benefits, his local office rent, as taxpayers. If we cannot communicate with our elected officials, where do we go from here? Randy Allard Newport Beach Ten candidates are vying to fill three open seats on the Glendale City Council on April 4, with one of the posts left vacant when former Councilwoman Laura Friedman was elected to the state Assembly this past November. Among the candidates are incumbents Ara Najarian and Zareh Sinanyan. Najarian, a three-time Glendale mayor and current Metro Transportation Authority board member, said he wants to extend his 12-year tenure on the council as an opponent of over-development while also pursuing new businesses and improved public transit. Sinanyan, who served as mayor once since first being elected to council in 2013, said in a campaign statement that his policies have improved the quality of life in Glendale, adding that the number of affordable-housing projects completed and approved while he was mayor was unprecedented. Join the conversation on Facebook >> There are three candidates who have run for council in the past. Vrej Agajanian has been a Glendale resident for 34 years and has discussed politics on his local broadcast talk show for more than half that time. Agajanian, an engineer, is pushing his candidacy on several issues, including government transparency and support for small businesses. Rick Dinger, president of Crescenta Valley Insurance in La Crescenta, is a Glendale Salvation Army board member and former president of the Sunrise Rotary Club. Dinger said he wants to increase public safety and balance the city budget without placing a burden on residents. Mike Mohill, a retired businessman and Vietnam War veteran, has been active in city affairs for more than a decade. Mohill says hell focus his efforts on cutting down high-density developments, reducing utility rates and support creating more open green space. Several first-time candidates are also looking to win a council seat. A candidate for state Assembly last year, retired U.S. Army Gen. and business owner Mark MacCarley said he will focus on helping small businesses and slowing down rampant development, a move that will make Glendale liveable again, according to a campaign statement. Onnik Mehrabian is a car dealership owner in Glendale and previous member of the citys transportation and parking commission. Mehrabian will gear his campaign toward government transparency, supporting local businesses and maintaining the citys green spaces. Neighborhood compatibility, city development and collaboration on budgetary issues is what Grant Michals, information technology consultant, said are the main challenges facing the city. Michals is also the president of the Glendale Homeowners Coordinating Council and is on the citys parks commission. The youngest hopeful at 31 years old, professional photographer Mike Van Gorder said city officials need a working-class perspective and representative. Van Gorder wants to curb the growth of luxury apartments, provide more affordable housing and support public schools. Susan Wolfson, an account clerk for the city of La Canada Flintridge, is a sustaining member and volunteer for the Glendale Historical Society and was part of the Glendale Educational Foundation. In a campaign statement, Wolfson said she wants to continue the quality of Glendales services by adhering to municipal codes, conduct resident outreach and financial transparency. City Clerk Ardy Kassakhian and City Treasurer Rafi Manoukian, both incumbents, are running unopposed. The Glendale municipal election will be held on April 4. -- Jeff Landa, jeff.landa@latimes.com Twitter: @JeffLanda MORE CIVIC NEWS & POLITICS Glendale must pay back residents nearly $57 million for illegal energy rate increase, judge rules Glendale earns an A for anti-smoking efforts; Burbank scores a B Local homeless numbers expected to be similar to 2016 Escalating a war of words with President Trump, Irans supreme leader said Tuesday that the Islamic Republic was not afraid of threats and vowed large anti-American protests beginning Friday. The Grand Ayatollah Ali Khameneis remarks were his first since Trump attempted to bar Iranians from entering the United States and said he was putting Iran on notice after it tested a ballistic missile. Meeting with military commanders, Khamenei said Trumps attempt to impose a travel ban against Iran and six other predominantly Muslim countries showed the reality of American human rights. Advertisement We thank [Trump], because he made it easier for us to reveal the real face of the United States, said Khamenei, the most powerful figure in Irans theocracy. What we have been saying, for over 30 years, about political, economic, moral and social corruption within the U.S. ruling establishment, he came out and exposed during the election campaigns and after the elections. Tension between the two countries has risen in the two weeks since Trump took office. He has been sharply critical of the nuclear deal Iran signed with the United States and other world powers, although he has not taken concrete steps to dismantle it. Under the agreement, Iran shelved its uranium enrichment which Western experts feared could be the precursor to a nuclear weapon in exchange for an easing of economic sanctions. Trump also imposed new sanctions against Iranian companies last week, although they were seen as a largely symbolic measure, after Iran conducted a missile test. Trump has accused former President Obama of appeasing Iran, tweeting Tuesday that Obama made a deal with Iran despite it being #1 in terror. The Iranian regime remains broadly supportive of the nuclear deal, which allowed an influx of foreign investment and started to reverse years of international isolation. But with a presidential election due in May, Khamenei and other hardliners have stepped up criticism of the agreement, saying the U.S. has blocked economic recovery by keeping some severe sanctions in place. Khamenei rejected the idea that Iran should be grateful to the Obama administration. Why should we thank the former president? For creating Daesh? Khamenei was quoted as saying Tuesday, using the Arabic acronym for Islamic State. For setting fires in Syria and Iraq? For hypocrisy? He went on to accuse Obama of supporting seditious protests in Iran against the disputed 2009 presidential election. Khamenei called on Iranians to show their defiance of Trump and the U.S. government by demonstrating Friday to commemorate the anniversary of the 1979 Islamic Revolution in Iran. Special correspondent Mostaghim reported from Tehran and staff writer Bengali from Rome. ALSO Controversial legislation in Israel reflects shift away from two-state peace deal Kremlin wants Fox News to apologize for calling Putin a killer It was one of the most beautiful cities in the world. That Aleppo is gone, but its residents remember Israels parliament approved a controversial bill late Monday giving the government authority to retroactively legalize thousands of homes in West Bank settlements and dozens of unauthorized hilltop outposts that sit on privately owned Palestinian land. The legislation was meant as a bow to the countrys influential settlement movement, one of the main constituencies behind Israels right-wing government, after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu oversaw the evacuation of hundreds of Israelis from Amona, an unauthorized hilltop outpost, following orders from the Supreme Court. In addition to avoiding future court-ordered outpost evacuations and home demolitions, passage of the law reflects the Israeli governments shift away from a longstanding embrace of a two-state peace deal with the Palestinians in favor of retaining control over the entire West Bank. Advertisement Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, shown on Jan. 22, 2017. (Ronen Zvulun / Associated Press) The vote on the legalization bill, which passed 60-52, comes days before a Feb. 15 meeting between Netanyahu and President Trump at the White House. The two are expected to discuss formulating a joint policy on peace between Israel and the Palestinians, which necessarily includes discussion of the West Bank settlements. Trump was expected to be substantially more lenient than President Obama about Israels settlement building. But on Thursday, the White House released a statement that essentially upheld the Obama position, saying that building new settlements and expanding existing ones beyond their current borders is liable to undercut peace efforts. Politicians in Israels coalition government have been emboldened by Trumps victory, and by the nomination of a strongly pro-settlement U.S. ambassador. Some Netanyahu allies have been pressing to formally annex parts of the West Bank, while the prime minister has avoided reiterating support for a Palestinian state. All of the land of Israel belongs to the Jewish people these rights are eternal and cant be challenged, said Ofir Akunis, a legislator from Netanyahus Likud Party during the parliamentary debate before the vote. We are voting on our rights to the land, on the link to the Jewish people to it. Palestinian officials said the legalization law marks a break by Israel with two decades of peace negotiations that were premised on the creation of an independent Palestinian state in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. They warned that the measure would threaten the peace process. A statement by the Palestine Liberation Organizations negotiations department called the legislation a land theft law. This is the official stamp of approval for Israels final rejection of the vision of the two-state solution, said Husam Zomlot, a senior advisor to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas. All settlement activities are illegal, but this bill goes all the way to legalizing the seizing of Palestinian private property. It would force us to reconsider our commitments under the peace process. This is a new ball game. The law has faced a hail of criticism from Israeli politicians and legal experts, including the attorney general, who warn that it violates Palestinian property rights and marks an unprecedented step toward formal annexation of the West Bank, which has been under Israeli military occupation since the 1967 Six-Day War. Such an annexation, they warn, could expose Israeli military and political leaders to charges of war crimes in the International Criminal Court in The Hague. Stop this train before departs. The final station will be at The Hague. Indictments against soldiers, commanders and leaders will emerge from its passenger cars, said Isaac Herzog, chairman of the parliamentary opposition before the vote. The parliament is legislating a danger for the state of Israel. Its legislating de facto annexation, contrary to all of Israels international commitments. The law allows the government to expropriate private land on which Jewish settlers have erected homes. In return, Israel can offer Palestinians financial compensation. Settlement advocates say it would protect 2,000 Israeli homes in the West Bank from demolition orders. Peace Now, an Israeli organization opposed to settlement activity, said the law will legalize 4,000 homes, expropriate 2,000 acres of private Palestinian property, and legalize 55 unauthorized hilltop outposts. A Palestinian shepherd in West Bank city of Hebron, with the Israeli settlement of Givat Harsina in the background surrounded by Palestinian residences, on Feb. 5, 2017. (Hazem Bader / AFP/Getty Images) The Israeli human rights group Yesh Din vowed to fight the law along with Palestinian landowners in Israeli courts. The law constitutes a fundamental violation of the right to property; given the Knessets lack of authority to legislate upon the West Bank, the landowners struggle will continue in court, said a statement from Yesh Din. Since Israel conquered the West Bank in 1967, Knesset laws had never been applied to lands in the West Bank outside of Jerusalem until Monday. The territory has been under the legal authority of Israels military, which governs based on a mix of Jordanian, Turkish and British rules. Once you apply Israeli law on the land, you cant say that you are not to some extent annexing the territory. Its a major change in policy over the last 50 years, said Yedidia Stern, a law professor at Israels Bar-Ilan University. We are applying Israel law to territory which was conquered by us, and this is forbidden by the international law. This is the first time we apply an Israeli law to territories that are not recognized as part of Israel. Efforts by coalition members to pass the bill in recent years have been blocked by Netanyahu, who rejected it out of fear of negative international fallout. Though the prime minister was not present at the vote because he was on a trip to Britain, his decision to relent reflects rising pressure from rivals in Israels political right who support the settlers. He is under pressure, said Yoaz Hendel, a former aide to Netanyahu, who said the bill reflects a larger debate in the government about what it should do with the West Bank if it does not become a Palestinian state. Its kind of cover for the fact that the right wing in Israel, especially the prime minister, is trying to ask itself what it really wants. Mitnick is a special correspondent. ALSO It was one of the most beautiful cities in the world. That Aleppo is gone, but its residents remember Border walls arent unheard of, but today they increasingly divide friends, not enemies President Trump wants other members of NATO to pay their fair share. Heres what that would look like On Monday or Wednesday afternoons, guards would call out the names of prisoners for transfer from Syrias notorious Saydnaya military prison. Some inmates saw it as a heartening sign that their detention at Saydnaya was over. Hours later, blindfolded, severely beaten and with nooses around their necks, they would realize their true fate. An estimated 5,000 to 13,000 prisoners were killed at the prison from March 2011 to December 2015, according to a report called Human Slaughterhouse issued Tuesday by the Amnesty International human rights organization. Advertisement The Syrian government would quietly slaughter up to 50 prisoners at a time in mass hangings, once or twice a week, before dumping the bodies in mass graves in secret locations outside Damascus, the capital, the 48-page report says. Nicolette Waldman, who wrote the report after a one-year investigation, said the number of people killed at Saydnaya may be much higher. The countrys civil war, which began in 2011, has left more than 400,000 people dead and millions displaced. The last testimony for this report was in December 2015, but there is no reason to think the executions have stopped. There are thousands more who have been killed, she said in a phone interview Tuesday. Its not a perfect science, and what we really want is for an investigation into the prison to get more precise figures. The Amnesty report is based on the testimonies of 84 people, including 31 former detainees and 14 prison officials, doctors, lawyers and judges who had previously worked in Saydnaya or had first-hand knowledge of the executions, Waldman said. The Syrian government did not immediately comment on the report. The rights organization said officials did not respond to its request for comment. Witnesses interviewed for the report said victims are taken to a military court in a Damascus suburb, where they undergo a trial lasting one to three minutes. They are convicted, but are not informed of their sentences. Months later, they are collected from their cells, taken to a separate cell and beaten. Omar Shogre, a former inmate quoted in the report said in a separate interview that life in Saydnaya is an existence that relied on sounds. He said that on the days of the so-called transfers, he could hear the screams of inmates starting late at night and stretching into the first hour of the morning. But later, there would be this strange silence, broken only by the sounds of truck engines, Shogre said. The detainees are moved to a wing of Saydnaya called the white building. Inside, prisoners form a small queue in front of a desk, and are told to express their last wish and place a fingerprint on a statement documenting their death. For many, its the first moment they realize they will be put to death, according to the Amnesty report. Still blindfolded, they are lined up on platforms, the report says. Then they would put the nooses on and push them or drop them immediately, so they didnt know what was happening until the very last moment, said one former prisoner official quoted in the report. Victims would hang for 10 to 15 minutes. Some, so malnourished that their weight was too light to kill them, were pulled down by two officers assistants so as to break their necks, said the report. If you put your ears on the floor, you could hear the sound of a kind of gurgling. This would last around 10 minutes, said one former military officer who was arrested and detained at Saydnaya and was quoted in the report. We were sleeping on top of the sound of people choking to death. This was normal for me then. With dawn approaching, bodies would then be loaded into trucks and dispatched to mass graves near Damascus. Shogre, now a refugee in Sweden, did not witness any part of the executions. However, he and other inmates had tried to make contact with some of those who had been called out for transfers. They were unable to reach them, hearing from others they had been executed. Although the process is largely secret, the report asserts that it is inconceivable that these large-scale and systematic practices have not been authorized at the highest levels of the Syrian government. Death sentences are approved by the Grand Mufti of Syria and by either the Minister of Defense or the Chief of Staff of the Army, who are deputized to act on behalf of President Bashar Assad, said the report. Rights groups accuse the Syrian government of detaining tens of thousands of people. Once disappeared (family members dont know their location or if they are still alive), detainees are often subjected to torture and subhuman conditions while being denied food, water, medical care and sanitation many die before they are formally marked for execution, the Amnesty report says. Saydnaya, less than 20 miles from Damascus, has long been one of the countrys feared penal institutions, known for meting out relentless torture against government adversaries. Syrian government officials have repeatedly denied allegations of misconduct in their handling of prisoners, saying detainees go through due process. Elia Samman, a consultant to the Syrian Ministry for National Reconciliation, said that in a country suffering from such a brutal war, it is normal to have sentences and death penalties. These numbers are astronomical, and in principle, the sources from which Amnesty is getting its information are only from one side, and they are from people from the opposition trying to demonize the Syrian government, he said in a phone interview from Damascus on Tuesday. If we want to discuss the numbers and the method by which these things happening, there is much exaggeration. There was a mechanism for families to find out the whereabouts of detainees and if they had been executed, Samman said, and that most of them were found to be alive. If the accusations were true, you would see thousands of families looking for members, he said. There are people searching for detainees, but not in these numbers. Bulos is a special correspondent. ALSO Syrian activists say airstrikes in city of Idlib kill 15 Refugee lost hope in Syria, but rediscovered it in the U.S. For Syrians stuck in limbo in Lebanon, Trumps ban will mean harder times ahead All material is subject to strictly enforced copyright terms & conditions and cannot be repurposed or reproduced. 19882022 Latin American Financial Publications Inc. UK Researchers Found The Mystery Behind "Misophonia" staff@latinoshealth.com By Desy Serona Feb 07, 2017 08:21 AM EST Tags misophonia, researchers, Mystery Everyone has their own way of adverse reaction to a particular thing or noise. Some of there are people who hate the sound of someone clipping nails or sound of someone munching/eating. This condition is known to be called as "misophonia" that has a common origin in the brain. Researchers and scientist have been confused whether this condition, misophonia, constitutes to a serious medical disorder. However recently, new research made by a team at the U.K.'s Newcastle University has been persistent in discovering the root of this condition and found out that those people who suffer misophonia have a distinction in their brain's frontal lobe to non-sufferers. In Time article, scientists used an MRI to observe the brain activity of people with and without misophonia while they are listening to a different range of sound. Sounds that were categorized into neutral sounds, unpleasant and trigger sounds. In this case, those people who are suffering from misophonia will have a different result from non-sufferer when trigger sounds are presented. Dr. Sukhbinder Kumar, from the Institute of Neuroscience at Newcastle University and the Wellcome Centre for NeuroImaging at University College London, explained to BBC News that those people who are experiencing misophonia are just overdriven with trigger sound specifically, but not the other two sounds. "The reaction is anger mostly, it's not disgust, the dominating emotion is the anger - it looks like a normal response, but then it is going into overdrive," added Dr. Kumar. Olana Tansley-Hanson, a victim of misophonia, from Kent shared her experience with BBC News, "I feel there's a threat and get the urge to lash out - it's the fight or flight response," However, the study assured that to lower the lever of targeted electricity passed through in human skull will eventually adjust the brain function. Subscribe to the latinos health newsletter! The new report has suggested Iran would use its missiles if its security is under threat. The elite force defied U.S sanctions on its missile program by holding a military exercise on Saturday. According to REUTERS, since a recent ballistic missile test, the tension have risen between Tehran and Washington. This tension has promoted U.S President Donald Trump's administration to impose the sanction on individuals and entities linked to the Revolutionary Guards. Michael Flynn, the national security adviser of Donald Trump said the Washington was putting Iran on notice over its "destabilizing activity". The US president Donald Trump has tweeted Tehran "was playing with fire". The Telegraph has reported Jim Mattis, the US Defence Secretary said on Saturday the rising number of US forces in the Middle East to address Iran's "misbehavior". But at the same time, he warned that the world would not tolerate the misbehavior Iranian activities. The report from Iranian state agency has stated that home-made missile system, radars, command and control centers, and cyber warfare would be tested in the drill. However, Teheran on Wednesday has confirmed that they had tested a new ballistic missile. They also reported that the test did not breach the Islamic Republics with world powers or a UN Security Council resolution endorsing the pact. From 2015, Iran has test-fired several ballistic missiles, but the latest test was the first since Trump entered as a president. During the election campaign, Trump said he would stop Iran's missile program. The UNSC held an emergency meeting on Tuesday and recommended the missile testing be studied at the committee level. The US ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley called the test "unacceptable". The resolution urged Tehran to refrain from work on a ballistic missile to deliver nuclear weapons. Meanwhile, Tehran has declined the report and says they have not carried out any work on missiles specifically to carry nuclear payloads. Scientists finally rediscovered a rare species of frog that went missing for 54 years. There were no recorded sightings since 1962. The rediscovery of Arthroleptis troglodytes is labeled as high priority by researchers. This species is also known as Cave Squeaker because it could be only found on the inside of caves. The cave squeaker was categorized as a critically endangered species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature(IUCN), in the year 2004. A research team from Natural History Museum of Zimbabwe started their exploration on Dec 01, 2016 at the mountainous area in eastern Zimbabwe. According to the report by The Guardian, total four specimens were found at the altitude of 5000 feet of Mount Chimanimani near Bundi river, Zimbabwe. Researchers started their mountain climbing on Dec 02. They first found a male species of cave Squeaker on Dec 03. Lead researcher Dr. Robert Hopkins said in a statement,I was not with my team when they were found. I was at the base. I can no longer climb the mountains as I am 75. At the first time, they were unable to identify the species of the frog. Francois Becker placed a call to professor Hopkins to get information about the unknown species. By listening to the description of the specimen, Hopkins confirmed the team that it is a rare species of Cave Squeaker from. Professor Hopkins also said that he has been looking for the Cave Squeaker frog for eight years. Later researchers caught three more frogs (two males and a female), as per the report by The New York Times. They took some detailed photographs and DNA samples before releasing them to their habitat. To increase the numbers of the species, Hopkins and his team are planning to breed more frogs and release them to the mountain summit. These frogs are very small in size. They have a light brown tone at their body with dark spots at their back. But the authorities are worried about the security of the frogs. Huge interest on the frog could lead them to illegal exportation. Professor Hopkins said 16 specimens were displayed at the various museums, including the British museum. The giant firms like Facebook and Google have joined forces with the news organizations that is operating in France to launch new fact-checking services at the end of the month. The initial focus will be on covering the expected French election, yet with various international associations engaging, which make the project's span could develop. However, Reuters reported that Facebook, Google, and the new aggregators experienced harsh criticisms during the U.S. presidential vote when it turned out to be clear that they had coincidentally fanned false news reports. Facebook said that it would work with eight French news associations, including the news agency Agence France-Presse (AFP), the new channel BFM TV, and the daily papers L'Express and Le Monde to limit its risk that false news showed up on the platform. Facebook as one the vectors, additionally supporting a different activity that launched by Google named "CrossCheck" which approaches clients to submit links to contested content to a committed site with the goal that it can be examined. The service is sponsored by First Draft News, an association that offers guidance on the best way to discover, confirm, and publish the content on the social web, with the support from Google, Facebook, and news associations including BuzzFeed News, and a large group of national and regional French newspapers, according to PC World reports. Facebook is the world's greatest social network that has 24 million clients in France, more than 33 percent of the country's population. The fake news will depend on users to flag fake news on its system so that the articles can then have a fact-checked by its partner associations. Facebook is likewise taking steps against fake news in Germany, where government officials have worried that false stories and hate speech online could influence a federal election in September. Shamsul Huda, the Dubai-based mastermind behind the train derailment accident in India who on ISIS order did all this has been arrested from Nepal's Kathmandu. During this time, Indian Agencies IB, Raw, and NIA were already present in Nepal. The Indian Agencies got proof from Kanpur train derailment accident in which around 150 people lost their life. With the help of Nepal Police, the NIA has filed three FIR. Shamsul Huda is now in under the arrest of Nepal Police. On Saturday, he is deported to Kathmandu from Dubai. The further investigation is going on the matter. Also Read: Earthquake in North India, Residents spent their Night outside the home PM Modi today will give answer in Lok Sabha on President addressing PM Modi paid his tribute to Subhas Chandra Bose's driver Colonel Nizamuddin More than 70 percent of Vietnams total export turnover belongs to foreign-invested enterprises (FIEs), while Vietnamese enterprises still cannot join the global value chain. According to the General Statistics Office (GSO), Vietnam exported $175.9 billion worth of products in 2016, an increase of 8.6 percent over the year before. FIEs alone exported $126 billion, or 70 percent of total export turnover.Vietnams exports have been witnessing stable two-digit growth rate over many years. In 2001, the country exported $15 billion worth of products, while the figure soared to $96.9 billion 10 years later. In 2016, export turnover climbed to $175.9 billion.However, 70 percent of the export turnover belonged to FIEs, while Vietnamese enterprises could only pocket small change.Le Dang Doanh, a renowned economist, said economists began warning about the modest contribution by Vietnamese enterprises to the countrys exports many years ago, when FIEs export turnover accounted for 50 percent of total export turnover.However, the situation has not improved, while the figure has increased to 70 percent.Ngo Duc Hoa, president of Thang Loi Textile & Garment, said all the products for domestic consumption are designed, produced and distributed by the company. However, for export products, it only does outsourcing for foreign partners. Hoa said the biggest problem for Vietnams garment producers is that they have to import input materials. Since Vietnams fashion design industry is still weak, Vietnams products cannot attract customers. And since Vietnamese companies only do outsourcing, they cannot earn big money. An export shirt is priced at $10, but Vietnamese companies have to pay $8.5 for the input material to make the shirt. Of the $1.5 left, exporters have to pay transportation fees, labor costs and other expenses, which means a modest profit of 10 percent for garment makers. It is reasonable to say garment companies can only pocket small change, he said. The same thing is occurring in hi-tech industries. Vu Thanh Tu Anh from FETP said a survey conducted by FETPs team found that Vietnamese only make up 3 percent of Intels export value, including catering service, gift boxes and security service, the products and services which Intel cannot import. High technology does not always mean high added value. Anh warned that the national economy would fall into the outsourcing trap of low added value if the situation does not improve. At a recent roundtable conference on Vietnams economic development between the PM and international experts, Tran Van Tho from Waseda University also warned that as Vietnam tries to integrate more deeply into the world, avoiding the outsourcing trap when joining value chains will be a great challenge. Mai Thanh Feb 7, 2017, 11:07am ET Analyst: Tariffs would have biggest impact on JLR, Volvo, VW The least vulnerable automakers apparently include Tesla, Ford and GM. Analysts have issued a report detailing which automakers could be worst affected by President Trump's proposed import tariffs. Jaguar Land Rover carries the most exposure by far, according to a Baum & Associates report cited by Bloomberg. With no models built in the US, JLR could be forced to raise prices by more than $17,000 per vehicle to recoup import duties. If tariffs become a real threat, JLR would have to expand US parts sourcing or establish a factory in the US to reduce the tariff burden. "The border tax approach will otherwise consume all of their profits from selling vehicles here," the report's authors concluded. Volvo is next on the list with potential costs approaching $8,000 per vehicle. The third spot is held by Volkswagen, followed by Mitsubishi, Mazda, Mercedes-Benz and BMW. Not surprisingly, Tesla would have no additional costs since it currently makes all of its vehicles in California. Such laws could give Ford an edge, increasing the per-vehicle costs by less than $300. General Motors is not far behind with around $1,000 per unit. Notably, Japanese automaker Honda is expected to pay less than Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, thanks to its high-volume US production output. All major automakers and suppliers will be closely watching Trump's presidency to determine if he will move forward with plans to implement a new border tax. Feb 7, 2017, 9:25am ET FTC faces lawsuit over 'certified' used cars with open recalls Safety advocates claim the FTC\'s latest enforcement actions do not go far enough to protect consumers from being misled by CPO advertising. The Federal Trade Commission has been hit with a lawsuit over its recent enforcement action involving certified pre-owned vehicles sold with open safety recalls. The agency in 2015 opened an investigation into General Motors and two of its franchise dealers that allegedly sold unrepaired CPO vehicles. A more recent consent order was reached with CarMax and two other major used-car dealers. The Center for Auto Safety, one of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit, argues that the consent order with GM provides explicit approval for dealers to advertise unrepaired used cars as "safe," "repaired for safety," and passing a "rigorous inspection," if the companies merely provide a disclaimer stating that the vehicles "may" be subject to a safety recall. "The FTC's Consent Orders set a de-facto standard for the auto industry that allows dealers to deceptively advertise cars with dangerous and potentially lethal safety defects that have killed and maimed people," the CAS said in a statement. A recent New York Times report suggests the order likely inspired Ford's recent decision to reverse a long-standing policy that prohibited its franchisees from selling CPO vehicles with open recalls. The revised guidance requires dealers to note the recalls on a form that buyers must initial, and contact the buyers to schedule a repair when the parts arrive. Safety advocates urged the FTC to modify the agreement to "prohibit false advertising, instead of allowing it," or drop the actions altogether, "since the agency's proposed 'solution' would be worse than nothing." "Clearly the Court should intervene and force the FTC to reverse itself," says CAS acting director Michael Brooks. Geneva LIVE: 2017 Toyota Yaris Mar 7, 2017, 8:53am ET The Euro-spec Yaris gets comprehensive updates inside and out. Toyota traveled to the Geneva Auto Show this week to introduce the updated Euro-spec Yaris. The hatchback receives the same new look as the rally-inspired, 210-horsepower model unveiled almost a month ago. Up front, the face-lift includes a revised bumper that brings the Yaris in line with Toyota's current design language. Out back, there are new horizontal tail lamps that stretch into the hatch. Toyota has made the cabin quieter and more user-friendly. Every trim level save for the base model now comes with a thin-film transistor (TFT) information screen embedded in the instrument cluster, and Toyota Safety Sense is standard on every trim level. The suite of electronic driving aids includes lane departure warning, automatic high beams, road sign assist, and autonomous emergency braking. A brand-new, 1.5-liter four-cylinder engine replaces the outgoing model's 1.3-liter unit. In the Yaris, it develops 111 horsepower and 100 pound-feet of torque. The hatchback hits 60 mph from a stop in 11 seconds flat, almost a full second faster than before. A five-speed manual transmission sends the naturally-aspirated four-cylinder's power to the front wheels; an automatic gearbox is offered at an extra cost. The gasoline-electric Yaris Hybrid is quieter thanks to new engine mounts, but full technical specifications are still under wraps. The 2017 Toyota Yaris will arrive in European showrooms shortly. The U.S.-spec model will benefit from many of the aforementioned upgrades, likely in time for the 2018 model year. Nothing is official yet, but we wouldn't be surprised if Toyota unveils the updated U.S.-spec Yaris in April at the New York Auto Show. Live photos by Ronan Glon. Feb 7, 2017, 4:28pm ET Report: Italian regulators allowed FCA to dodge emissions tests The allegations will undoubtedly be viewed as evidence that European national testing authorities cannot be trusted to enforce emissions regulations for domestic automakers. Italian authorities have been accused of botching an investigation into Fiat Chrysler Automobiles emissions. The national transport ministry allegedly drafted a report with complete emissions testing data for diesel vehicles manufactured by BMW, Ford, Mercedes-Benz, Volkswagen and Opel, but with missing data for FCA's Jeep Cherokee, Alfa Romeo Giulietta and Lancia Ypsilon, according to Reuters. The missing information is said to be related to on-road measurements, a reversed version of the standard New European Driving Cycle lab test, and an 'Artemis' trial that adjusts lab procedures to better mimic real-world driving habits. "The three skipped protocols are typically used to help unmask defeat devices by preventing them from detecting the test," Reuters says, adding that the FCA vehicles were allowed to be tested at Fiat's own labs as the rival cars were tested at an independent research lab. The allegations will undoubtedly be viewed as evidence that European national testing authorities cannot be trusted to enforce emissions regulations for domestic automakers. A spokesperson for the transport ministry promises a "new definitive version" of the report, however, that will include missing data in the coming weeks. Environmental groups are said to be pressuring European Parliment members to adopt regulations that would provide for more EU oversight of national testing programs. Each country currently retains exclusive responsibility for emissions testing and enforcement for cars built by its domestic automakers, raising concerns over potential conflicts of interest. Please download Java(tm). Click here for Coup 2000! Citizens For Legitimate Government's Evidence of the 2004 Coup d'Etat, compiled by Lori Price and Michael Rectenwald, Ph.D. General stories are below the map on this page. Click on a region of the map for regional issues. VOTE FRAUD MAP Select the region on the map for the chronicle of crimes during election '04. Was the 2004 Election Stolen? The Charts --Infographic by Kevin Hand Story behind the 2004 lockdown --Even amid [phony] terror warnings, secret count was 'wrong move' 16 Mar 2008 In a key county in Southwest Ohio -- amid vague references to "homeland security" -- officials locked everyone else out of the board of elections as they counted punch-card ballots. President [sic] Bush emerged with more than 72 percent of the votes in Warren County, helping him narrowly win Ohio -- and a second term. To this day, the lockdown is cited as evidence of an election stolen from Sen. John Kerry and the Democrats. In a federal lawsuit and subsequent books, Richard Hayes Phillips, a scientist from Canton, N.Y., and Columbus attorneys Cliff Arnebeck and Robert J. Fitrakis, among others, documented what they described as abnormalities in the countys punch-card ballot counts... They contend the anomalies indicate ballots were mishandled, miscounted or tampered with, and that the Warren County "lockdown" allowed this to happen undetected. Ohio Elections Official Calls Machines Flawed 15 Dec 2007 All five voting systems used in Ohio, a state whose electoral votes narrowly swung two elections coup d'etats toward President [sic] Bush, have critical flaws that could undermine the integrity of the 2008 general election, a report commissioned by the states top elections official has found. The study released Friday found that 'voting' machines and central servers made by Elections Systems and Software; Premier Election Solutions, formerly Diebold; and Hart InterCivic; were easily corrupted. Election Workers Plead No Contest In Recount-Rigging Case --Workers Rigged 2004 Presidential Recount in Ohio 05 Nov 2007 The case against two elections workers charged with rigging a recount during the 2004 presidential election coup in Cleveland was settled Monday. Prosecutors said Jacqueline Maiden and Kathleen Dreamer rigged the recount to avoid a more thorough hand-count. 'The election was rigged for Bush. The most glaring discrepancies almost always helped Bush and hurt Kerry... Seeing the election results from Cleveland made me a witness to a crime.' Something didn't add up 25 Oct 2007 Former professor Richard Hayes Phillips testified in two lawsuits related to the 2004 'election.' Among the allegations Phillips makes are that voting machines were unfairly withheld from minority, heavily Democratic, precints, leading to long lines and suppressing voter turnout; that in one county, a false Homeland Security alert was given as the reason to lock down the county administrative building and bar independent observers from watching the vote count; ...and that some voters in Democratic-leaning precincts were given ballots already punched for either Bush or a third-party candidate, leading some ballots to be double-punched and, therefore, disqualified. In Violation of Federal Law, Ohio's 2004 Presidential Election Records Are Destroyed or Missing --In 56 of Ohio's 88 counties, ballots and election records from 2004 have been "accidentally" destroyed, despite a federal order to preserve them -- it was crucial evidence which would have revealed whether the election was stolen . By Steven Rosenfeld 30 Jul 2007 Two-thirds of Ohio counties have destroyed or lost their 2004 presidential ballots and related election records, according to letters from county election officials to the Ohio Secretary of State, Jennifer Brunner. The lost records violate Ohio law, which states federal election records must be kept for 22 months after Election Day... Election 2004: The Urban Legend 13 Jun 2007 By Michael Collins U.S. media have lost the will to dig deep By Greg Palast 27 Apr 2007 In an e-mail uncovered and released by the House Judiciary Committee last month, Tim Griffin, once Karl Rove's right-hand man, gloated that "no [U.S.] national press picked up" a BBC Television story reporting that the Rove team had developed an elaborate scheme to challenge the votes of thousands of African Americans in the 2004 election... Most of the major U.S. newspapers and the vast majority of television news programs ignored the story even though it came at a critical moment just weeks before the election. According to Griffin (who has since been dispatched to Arkansas to replace one of the U.S. attorneys fired by the Justice Department), the mainstream media rejected the story because it was wrong. Election workers sentenced for rigging '04 recount 14 Mar 2007 (OH) A judge suspicious of more corruption pressed two former election board workers to tell what they know and then sentenced them Tuesday to the maximum 18 months in prison for rigging the 2004 presidential election recount to make their job easier. "I can't help but feel there's more to this story," said Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court Judge Peter Corrigan, who allowed the women to remain free on bond pending appeal... "The defendants have never come clean," said Erie County Prosecutor Kevin Baxter. The 2004 Ohio Presidential Election: Cuyahoga County Analysis --How Kerry Votes Were Switched to Bush Votes By James Q. Jacobs 27 Jan 2007 In a sample of 166,953 votes, one of every 34 Ohio voters, the Kerry-Bush margin shifts 6.15% when the population is sorted by outcomes of wrong-precinct voting. Elections chief in Ohio's largest county resigns after botched primary, mishandled recount 07 Feb 2007 The elections chief in Ohio's most populous county resigned Tuesday, ending a tenure that included the mishandled recount of President [sic] Bush's narrow 2004 'win' [loss] in Ohio that gave him a second term. Under executive director Michael Vu, Cuyahoga County had a botched primary last May and saw the convictions last month of two workers who rigged the presidential recount [!] so they could avoid a more thorough review of the ballots. Ohio election workers convicted of rigging '04 presidential recount 24 Jan 2007 Two election workers were convicted Wednesday of rigging a recount of the 2004 presidential election to avoid a more thorough review in Ohio's most populous county. Ohio gave President [sic] Bush the electoral votes he needed to defeat Democratic Sen. John Kerry in the close 'election' [2nd GOP coup d'etat] and hold on to the White House in 2004. Official states electronic voting system added votes never cast in 2004 Presidential election; audit log missing By Peter Peckarsky, Ron Baiman, and Robert Fitrakis 01 Nov 2006 An electronic vote counting system included votes never cast in the total vote count reported for the 2004 Presidential election according to an official directly in charge of conducting the election, the Republican Director of the Miami County (Ohio) Board of Elections. The audit log for the system is missing all information for the 2004 Presidential election. [Click here for full document.] Rigged USA Elections Exposed Posted by Eric Stewart 16 Oct 2006 Clint Curtis (computer programmer) testimony on Rep. Tom Feeney's (R-FL) hiring his company (Yang Enterprises) to 'design a code to rig an election' and 'control the vote in South Florida.' (video) Alaska Dems Battle State Over E-voting 16 Oct 2006 An examination of the e-voting database and its audit logs from the November 2004 general election in Alaska found that changes were made to thedatabase in the months after the votes were tallied , according to the states Democratic Party. The party contends that a study of the electronic voting database, which it obtained a copy of last month after a long battle with the state, revealed that the database had been accessed as recently as this July. Alaska: 2004 Electronic Election Data Was Changed in 2006 By Kay Brown 05 Oct 2006 The Alaska Democratic Party today asked the Division of Elections to explain why changes were made in July of 2006 to the electronic database that contains the results of the 2004 General Election . A review of the audit trail of the GEMS database for the 2004 elections shows that modifications were made to the database on July 12 and July 13, 2006. Clinton pins voting woes on Blackwell 17 Sep 2006 Former President Bill Clinton, in a brief stop Saturday in Cleveland, blamed Republican gubernatorial candidate Ken Blackwell for Ohio's voting problems during the state's close 2004 presidential 'election' [coup d'etat]. Campaigning for Democrat Ted Strickland, Clinton referred to Blackwell, the state's chief election officer, as a "fellow whose main credential as a Republican is that he tried to disempower so many people." The Stolen Election of 2004 --The numbers simply do not add up By Michael Parenti 13 Jul 2006 "To have achieved his remarkable 2004 tally, Bush would have needed to have kept all his 50.4 million from 2000, plus a majority of the new voters, plus a large share of the very liberal Nader defectors. Nothing in the campaign and in the opinion polls suggest such a mass crossover. The numbers simply do not add up." Inquiry finds problems in 2004 election 08 Jun 2006 Many of the voting and counting mishaps of the bizarre 2000 general 'election' [coup d'etat] were not fixed four years later and brand new problems arose, including a rash of fraudulent voter registrations in some areas, congressional investigators say. Was the 2004 Election Stolen? 01 Jun 2006 Republicans prevented more than 350,000 voters in Ohio from casting ballots or having their votes counted -- enough to have put John Kerry in the White House. By Robert F. Kennedy Jr. "Across the country, Republican election officials and party stalwarts employed a wide range of illegal and unethical tactics to fix the election. A review of the available data reveals that in Ohio alone, at least 357,000 voters, the overwhelming majority of them Democratic, were prevented from casting ballots or did not have their votes counted in 2004(12) -- more than enough to shift the results of an election decided by 118,601 votes." Ohio election workers accused of fudging '04 recount --Prosecutor says Cuyahoga skirted rules 06 Apr 2006 After the 2004 presidential 'election,' Cuyahoga County election workers secretly skirted rules designed to make sure all votes were counted correctly, a special prosecutor charges... Three top county elections officials have been indicted, and Erie County Prosecutor Kevin Baxter says more indictments are possible. "They kept thousands in swing states from voting, and prevented thousands of ballots from being counted." Stop the Election Day cheating -- or it will spread further By Robert Steinback 15 Mar 2006 "Anyone who questions the reliability of the [2004] election is assumed to be a sour-grapes bad sport who has fallen into the thrall of aluminum-foil helmeted conspiracy theorists. And the media, ever tremulous about affirming their critics' allegations of liberal bias, would sooner remove a hot radiator cap than make a mission of investigating the anomalies. But the anomalies were real. Many have been documented. They kept thousands in swing states from voting, and prevented thousands of ballots from being counted." Watchdog Group Questions 2004 Fla. Vote 23 Feb 2006 An examination of Palm Beach County's electronic voting machine records from the 2004 election found possible tampering and tens of thousands of malfunctions and errors, a watchdog group [BlackBoxVoting.org] said Thursday. Battlefield Florida --A Chat with Lance deHaven-Smith --Al Gore really did beat George W. Bush in 2000. Six years on, this is still a problem? By Julian Pecquet (Florida State University, Research In Review) WeekFall/Winter 2005 "Turns out, those chads only distracted attention from much more grievous breakdowns during the 2000 election. At least thats what longtime Florida political observer Lance deHaven-Smith believes. His most recent book, The Battle for Florida (University Press of Florida, 2005), looks at the twilight of democracy in Ancient Greece and draws disturbing parallels with the institutions in Florida and the nation during the 2000 election and up until today." Vote Fraud 2004: How Ohio was "Delivered" to Bush (whatreallyhappened.com) How American Elections Became a Criminal Enterprise By Michelle Mairesse (Part I) It's official: Diebold election bugware can't be trusted --The company implies as much By Thomas C Greene 30 Nov 2005 "Diebold would rather lose all of its voting machine business in North Carolina than open its source code to state election officials as required by law, the Associated Press reports." Ohio's Diebold Debacle: New machines call election results into question By Bob Fitrakis & Harvey Wasserman 24 Nov 2005 "Massive Election Day irregularities are emerging in reports from all over Ohio after the introduction of Diebold's electronic voting in nearly half of the Buckeye States counties. A recently released report by the non-partisan General Accountability Office warned of such problems with electronic voting machines." The old reverso votefraud trick (xymphora.blogspot) 15 Nov 2005 "There were five ballot initiatives held in Ohio, four of which were to reform that state's obviously corrupt voting system... The poll numbers before the election showed that the reform would win comfortably, or, at the very least, that the issue was still open and dependent on undecided voters. In spite of this, all the election reform initiatives were defeated, with dramatic discrepancies from the pre-election poll results (the only non-election-related initiative passed matching the poll results almost exactly)... The only results that Rove cared about in the whole country are the ones where the results didn't match the polls, and the ones where the electorate provided the results that Rove wanted... Diebold computer voting machines were used in almost half the voting stations to (create) obtain the results." Carter says Gore won 2000 election By John Byrne 22 Sep 2005 "Former U.S. president Jimmy Carter delivered a shocker at an American University panel in Washington Monday: RAW STORY has learned he told the crowd he was certain Al Gore won the 2000 presidential election. There is 'no doubt in my mind that Gore won the election,' the erstwhile President declared, saying the 2000 election process 'failed abysmally.'" "Al Gore won the 2000 presidential election." What They Did Last Fall By Paul Krugman 19 Aug 2005 "In his recent book 'Steal This Vote' - a very judicious work, despite its title - Andrew Gumbel, a U.S. correspondent for the British newspaper The Independent, provides the best overview I've seen of the 2000 Florida vote. And he documents the simple truth: 'Al Gore won the 2000 presidential election.' ...Our current political leaders would suffer greatly if either house of Congress changed hands in 2006, or if the presidency changed hands in 2008. The lids would come off all the simmering scandals, from the selling of the Iraq war to profiteering by politically connected companies. The Republicans will be strongly tempted to make sure that they win those elections by any means necessary." The 2004 US Elections: The Mother of all Vote Frauds "Those who cast the votes decide nothing, those who count the votes decide everything." --Joseph Stalin (What Really Happened) 2004 The stolen election of 2004: welcome back to hell By Larry Chin 6 Nov 2004 "Using a variety of criminal methods that they have perfected over the past four years, the George W. Bush-Dick Cheney-Karl Rove syndicate stole another election, and extended their illegal occupation of the White House. Experienced, informed and unblinking observers were not fooled by any aspect of this utterly predictable goose-step towards full dictatorship." [A must read] No Paper Trail Left Behind: The Theft of the 2004 Presidential Election By Dennis Loo, Ph.D. (August 2005) "In order to believe that George Bush won the November 2, 2004 presidential election, you must also believe all of the following extremely improbable or outright impossible things... 15) Exit polls in the November 2004 Ukrainian presidential elections, paid for in part by the Bush administration, were right, but exit polls in the U.S., where exit polling was invented, were very wrong." [A must read] Rectenwald (CLG News) at Scarborough on e-voting Fraud, Bush/Bin Laden and PNAC --page by Nico Haupt of globalfreepress.com "... Did you know that George Bush Sr. was sitting in a room with bin Laden's brother on the day that 9/11 happened? ...And it was the Project For a New American Century that said we needed a new Pearl Harbor in order to mobilize their international agenda of a war in the Middle East... Once Diebold controls the election-and its a Republican-owned corporation that promised the election for Bush from the outset, are we supposed to believe these results?.." Diebold Source Code!!! --by ouranos (dailykos.com) "Dr. Avi Rubin is currently Professor of Computer Science at John Hopkins University. He 'accidentally' got his hands on a copy of the Diebold software program--Diebold's source code--which runs their e-voting machines. Dr. Rubin's students pored over 48,609 lines of code that make up this software. One line in particular stood out over all the rest: #defineDESKEY((des_KEY8F2654hd4" All commercial programs have provisions to be encrypted so as to protect them from having their contents read or changed by anyone not having the key... The line that staggered the Hopkin's team was that the method used to encrypt the Diebold machines was a method called Digital Encryption Standard (DES), a code that was broken in 1997 and is NO LONGER USED by anyone to secure programs. F2654hd4 was the key to the encryption. Moreover, because the KEY was IN the source code, all Diebold machines would respond to the same key. Unlock one, you have then ALL unlocked . I can't believe there is a person alive who wouldn't understand the reason this was allowed to happen. This wasn't a mistake by any stretch of the imagination." Diebold rewarded for coup 2004: Diebold selected by Riyad Bank of Saudi Arabia to expand ATM network --Diebold, Incorporated, a global leader in election fraud ['providing integrated, self-service and security solutions'], has been selected by Riyad Bank to deploy 100 Diebold Opteva automated teller machines (ATMs) across the bank's network. Diebold products: 1-800-999-3600, productinfo@diebold.com. Diebold, Incorporated 5995 Mayfair Road P.O. Box 3077 North Canton, Ohio USA 44720-8077 Phone number 1-330-490-3790 Fax number 1-330-490-3794 The Unexplained Exit Poll Discrepancy --by Steven F. Freeman, Ph.D. "As much as we can say in social science that something is impossible, it is impossible that the discrepancies between predicted and actual vote counts in the three critical battleground states [Ohio, Florida, and Pennsylvania] of the 2004 election could have been due to chance or random error... The likelihood of any two of these statistical anomalies occurring together is on the order of one-in-a-million. The odds against all three occurring together are 250 million to one . As much as we can say in social science that something is impossible, it is impossible that the discrepancies between predicted and actual vote counts in the three critical battleground states of the 2004 election could have been due to chance or random error." 47 State Exit Poll Analysis Confirms Swing Anomaly --by Jonathan Simon "In the 12 critical states (CO,FL,MI,MN,NE,NV,NH,NM,OH,PA,WI,IA) the average discrepancy was a 2.5% red shift (= total movement of 5.0%), nearly twice that in the safe states. This in spite of the fact that the average sample size in the critical states was nearly twice that in the noncritical states and should have produced significantly more accurate results." Post-vote reform is sought --Registration: Election officials target groups paid to register. Election officials sorting through several thousand provisional votes said Monday that state lawmakers should consider reforms targeting groups whose registration activity cost some Nevadans their right to vote on Nov. 2. Voter Outreach of America, operated by Republican -based Sproul and Associates of Phoenix, was singled out for most of the criticism directed at such groups. Some of its former workers in Nevada and other battleground states alleged they were told to register only Republicans and to ignore pro-Kerry people . Some said that completed Democratic registration forms were thrown out or ripped up . The head of the company is Nathan Sproul - a former Christian Coalition activist and one-time executive director of the Arizona GOP. Vancouver lawyer visiting U.S. cities to tell Americans how to emigrate --A Vancouver immigration lawyer is travelling to three U.S. Pacific Coast cities to tell Americans who can't face another four years of George Bush how to find the life they hoped for in Canada. " A lot of people are feeling disenfranchised after the last election ," Kischer said. [And, after the previous 'election,' as well!] Footprints of Electoral Fraud: The November 2 Exit Poll Scam --by Michael Keefer "...[H]ow do we know the fix was in? Because the exit poll data also included the total number of respondents. At 9:00 p.m. EST, this number was well over 13,000; by 1:36 a.m. EST on November 3 it had risen by less than 3 percent, to a final total of 13, 531 respondents-but with a corresponding swing of 5 percent from Kerry to Bush in voters reports of their choices. Given the increase in respondents, a swing of this size is a mathematical impossibility. The same pattern is evident in the exit polls of two key swing states, Ohio and Florida." House Dems ask GAO to investigate voting machines [It has began] (post by lawnorder on dailykos.com) Was It Hacked? --by Alan Waldman "Despite mainstream media attempts to kill the story, talk radio and the Internet are abuzz with suggestions that John Kerry was elected president on Nov. 2 - but Republican election officials made it difficult for millions of Democrats to vote while employees of four secretive, GOP-bankrolled corporations rigged electronic voting machines and then hacked central tabulating computers to steal the election for George W. Bush. The Bush administration's 'fix' of the 2000 election debacle (the Help America Vote Act) made crooked elections considerably easier, by foisting paperless electronic voting on states before the bugs had been worked out or meaningful safeguards could be installed." How Kerry Won --by Brian Cady "Here's a 'cartogram', where each state's area is proportional to its population, and where reliable 2004 early exit polling, not corrupt ballot results, guides red-blue coloring." [A must see] GOP moves to facilitate future Reichwing coups: Exit poll data will be delayed --On future election days, news organizations that pay for surveys of voters leaving polling places won't see results until late afternoon or early evening. The goal is to avoid a repeat of what happened this Election Day, when leaked information from exit polls was posted by Internet commentators known as bloggers about 1 p.m. [showing the truth: that Kerry was winning the election]. Democracy in Question --by Ritt Goldstein "John Zogby, president of the polling firm Zogby International, told IPS he has been calling it 'the Armageddon election' for about a year. Independent presidential candidate Ralph Nader believes the Republican Party was able to 'steal it before election day.' Facts suggest something went very wrong on Nov. 2. Speculation focuses upon a number of questions -- purposeful miscounts, anomalies surrounding electronic voting (e-voting) machines, particularly the optical scan types; and numerous reports of voting 'irregularities' in heavily Democratic areas." Another Stolen Election and the End of Formal American Democracy --by Anis Shivani "The result of this election was foregone. This is now a farcical, Third World type of situation, with a retarded dictator getting away with whatever he wants. Karl Rove must have told the President [sic] long ago, Relax, theres nothing to worry about. The election is in our pocket. The fix was in when the country didnt rise up with one voice against the theft of the 2000 election. The last nail in the coffin was the lack of surprise and protest at the utterly weird and incomprehensible 2002 election results, particularly in Southern states like Georgia. The liberal elite knows; everyone knows whats happening; but no one can talk about it." Complete US Exit Poll Data Confirms Net Suspicions ----by Scoop Co-Editor Alastair Thompson "Scoop.co.nz is delighted to be able today to publish a full set of 4pm exit poll data for the first time on the Internet since the US election... Figure 1: Graph showing the "red shift" between 2004 US General Election exit polls & the actual 2004 US Election results..." Activists protest electronic voting --Opponents of the technology gather at the Capitol and question exit-poll data --About 200 protesters and curious onlookers stood at the steps of the state Capitol on Saturday, with protesters toting signs that read "the machine ate my vote" and "paper ballots protect democracy." Academia Still Fixated on John Kerry [coup 2004] --As states certify final election returns, an academic debate over their accuracy is heating up. Internet buzz that perhaps the exit polls were correct and the actual returns might be flawed grew louder this week when sociology graduate students at the University of California at Berkeley went public with an analysis arguing that Florida results in counties using electronic ballots differed from historical voting patterns. US Congress to investigate irregularities in November 2 vote --The Government Accountability Office, the investigating arm of the US Congress, will probe allegations of irregularities in the November 2 US presidential vote, lawmakers said. GAO to Investigate Voting Irregularies --Congress' investigative agency, responding to complaints from around the country, has begun to look into the Nov. 2 vote count, including the handling of provisional ballots and malfunctions of voting machines. The Government Accountability Office usually begins investigations in response to specific requests from Congress, but the agency's head, Comptroller General David Walker, said the GAO acted on its own because of the many comments it received about ballot counting. GAO Will Investigate 2004 Elections -- Government Accountability Office to Conduct Investigation of 2004 Election Irregularities --posted by Murshed Zaheed (Washington, DC) "Reps. John Conyers, Jr., Jerrold Nadler, Robert Wexler, Robert Scott, and Rush Holt announced today that, in response to their November 5 and 8 letters to the Government Accountability Office (GAO), the GAO has decided to move forward with an investigation of election irregularities in the 2004 election. The five Members issued the following statement..." Here is the list of the GAO signatories: John Conyers (D-MI) Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) Robert Wexler (D-FL) Robert Scott (D-GA) Melvin Watt (D-NC) Rush Holt (D-NJ) Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) Louise Slaughter (D-NY) George Miller (D-CA) John Olver (D-MA) Bob Filner (D-CA) Gregory Meeks (D-NY) Barbara Lee (D-CA) Plus Jan Schakowsky (D-IL). Republican Challenges Presidential Election Based On Exit Polls (Comments by Greg Palast) "Tuesday, November 23, 2004 --from The New York Times 'Citing the disturbing fact that official results diverged sharply from a range of surveys of voters at polling places, Lugar [Sen. Richard G. Lugar, R - hypocrite - Indiana] said, 'A concerted and forceful program of election-day fraud and abuse was enacted with either the leadership or cooperation of governmental authorities.' ...This reporter was unable to reach Senator Lugar regarding the inconsistency of official election results and exit polls in the USA; the intimidation of minority voters in Florida and Ohio; nor the failure to count two million ballots cast, half by African-American voters, in America's first post-democratic election held earlier this month." The Honorable David M. Walker Comptroller General of the United States U.S. General Accountability Office Dear Mr. Walker: We write with an urgent request that the Government Accountability Office immediately undertake an investigation of the efficacy of voting machines and new technologies used in the 2004 election, how election officials responded to difficulties they encountered and what we can do in the future to improve our election systems and administration... Sincerely, John Conyers, Jr. Jerrold Nadler, Robert Wexler Members of Congress House Judiciary Committee Subcommittee on the Constitution "I was tipped off by a person very high up in TV that the news has been locked down tight, and there will be no TV coverage of the real problems with voting on Nov. 2 . Even the journalists are pretty horrified. My source said they've also been forbidden to talk about it even on their own time, and he was calling from somewhere else. He was trying to figure out how to get the real news out on vote fraud. This is a person I've worked with off and on for nearly two years, and the voice was so somber it really bothered me." --Bev Harris, blackboxvoting.org Nov. 7, 2004: Freedom of Information requests at http://www.blackboxvoting.org have unearthed two Ciber certification reports indicating that security and 'tamperability' was NOT TESTED and that several state elections directors, a secretary of state, and computer consultant Dr. Britain Williams signed off on the report anyway, certifying it. Exit polls match results where paper ballots were used --An * amazing * set of graphs, indicating a near match of the exit polls to actual results in states where paper ballots were used. In states where electronic 'voting' was implemented, exit polling was off by a country mile. House Dems Seek Election Inquiry --Three congressmen sent a letter to the General Accounting Office on Friday requesting an investigation into irregularities with voting machines used in Tuesday's elections. The congressmen, Democratic members of the House of Representatives from Florida, New York and Michigan, cited a number of incidents that came to light in the days after the 'election.' ...There were also problems with machines that counted absentee ballots in Florida. Software made by Election Systems & Software began subtracting votes when totals surpassed 32,000 . Evidence Mounts That The Vote Was Hacked --by Thom Hartmann --"[Florida counties] In Baker County, for example, with 12,887 registered voters, 69.3% of them Democrats and 24.3% of them Republicans, the vote was only 2,180 for Kerry and 7,738 for Bush, the opposite of what is seen everywhere else in the country where registered Democrats largely voted for Kerry. In Dixie County, with 4,988 registered voters, 77.5% of them Democrats and a mere 15% registered as Republicans, only 1,959 people voted for Kerry, but 4,433 voted for Bush. The pattern repeats over and over again - but only in the counties where optical scanners were used. Franklin County, 77.3% registered Democrats, went 58.5% for Bush. Holmes County, 72.7% registered Democrats, went 77.25% for Bush." CLG Founder and Chair, Michael Rectenwald, Ph.D. , appeared on: Radio Left at 5PM EST Nov. 5, 2004, to discuss Stolen Election 2004. At 6:00PM EST, Mike appeared on WRCT in Pittsburgh, 88.3 FM. Kerry won. Here's the facts. (tompaine.com) Bush won Ohio by 136,483 votes. Typically in the United States, about 3 percent of votes cast are voided-known as "spoilage" in election jargon-because the ballots cast are inconclusive. Drawing on what happened in Florida and studies of elections past, Palast argues that if Ohios discarded ballots were counted, Kerry would have won the state. Today, the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports there are a total of 247,672 votes not counted in Ohio, if you add the 92,672 discarded votes plus the 155,000 provisional ballots. So far there's no indication that Palast's hypothesis will be tested because only the provisional ballots are being counted. --by Greg Palast "Most voters in Ohio thought they were voting for Kerry. CNN's exit poll showed Kerry beating Bush among Ohio women by 53 percent to 47 percent . Kerry also defeated Bush among Ohio's male voters 51 percent to 49 percent. Unless a third gender voted in Ohio, Kerry took the state. So what's going on here? Answer: the exit polls are accurate. Pollsters ask, 'Who did you vote for?' Unfortunately, they don't ask the crucial, question, 'Was your vote counted?'" Carteret 'loses' 4,530 votes --Forget the old adage. Every vote doesnt count in Carteret County. After candidates and voters awaited Tuesdays election results for more than five hours after polls closed, the County Board of Elections announced a major computer problem that wiped out 4,530 of the 7,537 early votes cast at the elections office, an error admitted by the systems manufacturer. While the company told the county the unit used for early voting could store up to 10,500 votes, it could only handle 3,005. But there were 7,537 early votes cast Oct. 14-30. Fixed - The Stealing of Another Election (Democraticunderground.com) --by EarlG --Kerry winning Exit Polls --"FRAUD LOOKS PROBABLE --SoCalDem has done a statistical analysis... ...on several swing states, and EVERY STATE that has EVoting but no paper trails has an unexplained advantage for Bush of around +5% when comparing exit polls to actual results . In EVERY STATE that has paper audit trails on their EVoting, the exit poll results match the actual results reported within the margin of error. So, we have MATCHING RESULTS for exit polls vs. voting with audits vs. A 5% unexplained advantage for Bush without audits." Exit Poll Director Claims Exit Polling Was Accurate --The exit polling was correct, maintains Joe Lenski of Edison Media Research, which conducted Tuesday's exit poll with Mitofsky International for the National Election Pool, a consortium of the major television networks and the Associated Press. "No wrong projections [of winners] were made; the projections were spot on," he said. "The members used this data with sophistication and understanding of what data can and cannot be used for." John Kerry: "I promise you, the day will come, when your work and your ballots will change the world." [Yes, even Kerry knows the election was stolen...] John Edwards: 'Your cause will always be our cause.' [Contrast an American hero such as Edwards like that to the piece of Halliburton garbage, Dick Cheney.] AP, NBC News: Senator Kerry has conceded the 'election' to Dictator Bush. [Editor's note: Thank you so much for all of your supportive emails. I am behind on correspondence, but I want to make a general statement of appreciation. --Lori Price] ***** Democratic vice presidential candidate John Edwards, speaking for the Kerry/Edwards campaign, told a crowd of supporters in Boston that the Kerry/Edwards team would wait until all the votes are counted before deciding whether to concede the election or claim victory. Remarks by Senator John Edwards (D-NC) Democratic Vice Presidential Candidate --Boston, Massachusetts -- 2:28 A.M. EST, Wednesday, November 3, 2004 "John Kerry and I made a promise to the American people that in this election, every vote would count and every vote would be counted," Edwards said. "Tonight, we care keeping our word, and we will fight for every vote. You deserve no less ." CNN projects Kerry wins Michigan's 17 Electoral College votes. MSNBC: Dictator Bush prepared to declare victory *without* concession call from Kerry, or final tallies received!! Statement from the Kerry campaign: " The vote count in Ohio has not been completed. There are more than 250,000 remaining votes to be counted. We believe when they are, John Kerry will win Ohio ." CNN: Broken machines and a delay in opening absentee ballots will delay Iowa reporting its final count in the presidential election , state election officials said. Through chicanery, lies, deception, polling intimidators (Brownshirts), Swift Boat Liars for Rove, Diebold, touch screen 'voting' machines, Kenneth Blackwell, Wally O'Dell, Therese LeGOPWhorePore, Dictator Bush now has 269 electoral votes, according to MSNBC. Why did exit polling indicate a Kerry victory? The same reason that exit polling indicated a Gore victory, in 2000: because Gore won. Another Bush coup d'etat is underway... The Bush dictatorship is flaming the *second* coup d'etat, by whining that Florida's 'exit polling' does not 'match' the actual votes!! The Bush campaign is 'predicting' they will win Florida and Ohio.. why, what do they know that we don't?????? Some people have not even *voted* yet in Ohio. Mega coup alert!! AP Will Be Sole Source of Vote Count --News organizations will be relying on The Associated Press for a quick and accurate [?!?] count of votes cast in Tuesday's elections, from top of the ticket races like president, Senate and governor, down through state legislature. An Election Spoiled Rotten --It's not even Election Day yet, and the Kerry-Edwards campaign is already down by a almost a million votes. That's because, in important states like Ohio, Florida and New Mexico, voter names have been systematically removed from the rolls and absentee ballots have been overlooked-overwhelmingly in minority areas, like Rio Arriba County, New Mexico, where Hispanic voters have a 500 percent greater chance of their vote being "spoiled." Investigative journalist Greg Palast reports on the trashing of the election. "John Kerry is down by several thousand votes in New Mexico, though not one ballot has yet been counted. He's also losing big time in Colorado and Ohio; and he's way down in Florida, though the votes won't be totaled until Tuesday night. Through a combination of sophisticated vote rustling-ethnic cleansing of voter rolls, absentee ballots gone AWOL, machines that 'spoil' votes- John Kerry begins with a nationwide deficit that could easily exceed one million votes ." Arming the Left: Is the time now? --by Charles Southwell Oil Down $2, Speculators Bet on Kerry Win -- Oil prices fell heavily on Monday, taking U.S. crude below $50 on speculation that a U.S. election win for Senator John Kerry could ease the geopolitical friction that helped fuel this year's record-breaking rally. Kerry tops Bush in virtual vote --Democratic challenger John Kerry has won a landslide victory over Dictator George W. Bush in a global sample of the world's opinion on the race for the White House. More than 113,000 people from 119 countries made their choice at www.globalvote2004.org, handing Kerry a crushing win with 77 percent of the vote, a spokesman for the Web site said on Monday. John Kerry Promises Young People The Truth, Talks Eminem At Campaign Stop (mtv.com) "Gideon Yago: ...Yago: Last time we talked, in March, you said that it's important to listen to hip-hop because it gives you a sense of what's going on in the street. Have you heard the new Eminem song that's been out? Kerry: You know, I heard Eminem on 'Saturday Night Live' last night. I heard the song that he did. I don't know if that's part of his new [album] or not. I liked it. But that's the only thing that I've heard in the last weeks. I'm on the trail. I'm campaigning every day." Monster's [Rove's] Deadly Warning to 'Red' States --Bush bin Laden warned in his October Surprise video that he will be closely monitoring the state-by-state election returns in tomorrow's presidential race - and will spare any state that votes against p R esident Bush from being attacked, according to a new analysis of his statement. [LOL, if it wasn't so pathetic. Karl Rove will say/do *anything* to steal the election for Dictator Bush, again.] CLG's strategy in case of stolen elections: Part 1, The Ballot, The Bullet, and the Grand Refusal --by Michael Rectenwald, CLG Founder and Chair "...[A] postponed election, or the playing the fear factor for low voter turnout, are acts of terrorism in themselves. We are already being attacked. This warning is yet another in a series of attacks on our rights, on our democratic system, on our freedom, and on our self-determination." July 13, 2004 CLG's strategy in case of stolen elections: Part 2, The Revolution Will Be Webcast! --by Michael Rectenwald, CLG Founder and Chair "What are the TRIGGERS, what 'election' events will trigger the Grand Refusal? The following list is by no means exhaustive. The Bush regime may very well alter their approach to stealing the election this time. But, this is a list that will guide us... The Real Revolution was against the people and the Constitution and took place in 2000 and continues to this day." July 21, 2004 Pendulum swings to Kerry landslide --Forget all the too close to call analysis, Australian psephologist Malcolm Mackerras says the US election will be a Kerry-slide. "My key prediction was this: 'On Monday, December 20, 2004, the Electoral College will meet and 327 votes will be cast for John Kerry and 211 for George W. Bush.'" Young Mobile Voters Pick Kerry Over Bush, 55% to 40% , Rock the Vote/Zogby Poll Reveals: National Text-Message Poll Breaks New Ground --Polling firm Zogby International and partner Rock the Vote found Massachusetts Senator John Kerry leading Dictator Bush 55% to 40% among 18-29 year-old likely voters in their first joint Rock the Vote Mobile political poll, conducted exclusively on mobile phones October 27 through 30, 2004. Reichwing Media Prepping Us For Coup 2004: Another Wait Feared In Knowing the Winner --After four years of legislation, technology upgrades and other reforms aimed at avoiding a repeat of the 2000 coup ['hotly contested 2000 elections'], a growing number of government officials and voting experts are preparing for the unthinkable. Americans may not know who won the presidential race on Tuesday night. Again. ...Yesterday, in hotly contested Pennsylvania, Gov. Edward G. Rendell (D) agreed to a seven-day extension to settle a federal lawsuit in that state after initially resisting the idea. As a result, military ballots there may be received through Nov. 10. Republican officials are considering a new lawsuit to push back that extension further . Bush Seeks Limit to Suits Over Voting Rights --Regime lawyers argue that only the Justice Department, not the voters, may sue to enforce provisions in the Help America Vote Act. Bush dictatorship lawyers argued in three closely contested states last week that only the Justice Department, and not voters themselves , may sue to enforce the voting rights set out in the Help America Vote Act, which was passed in the aftermath of the disputed 2000 election. GOP Challenging Voter Registrations --Civil Rights Groups Accuse Republicans of Trying to Disenfranchise Minorities --Rep ublicans yesterday continued to challenge the validity of tens of thousands of voter registrations in Ohio and other key states in the presidential election while a coalition of civil rights and labor groups sued the GOP, claiming the Republican efforts were aimed at removing eligible minority voters from the rolls. After initially saying he would not contest a Wednesday ruling halting the challenges, Secretary of State J. Kenneth Blackwell ( R ) worked with other election officials [Rove made a phone call] who asked the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit in Cincinnati to allow GOP challenges to 35,000 voters from mostly urban and minority areas to proceed before the election. Also yesterday, Republicans in Wisconsin attempted to challenge the registrations of 5,600 voters in Milwaukee but were turned down in a unanimous decision by the city's bipartisan election board. Join us in stopping the 2004 coup!! Contact: ChallengeWithHammers@legitgov.org. ***Sign up*** challengewithhammers-subscribe@lists.legitgov.org Al-Jazeera Airs Videotape by Bin Laden --Osama bin Laden, reading a statement to the American people in a new videotape aired Friday, directly admitted for the first time that he ordered the Sept. 11 attacks and said "the best way to avoid another Manhattan'' was to stop threatening Muslims' security. Al-Jazeera broadcasts new bin Laden tape --Neither Bush nor Kerry can protect U.S., he says --Al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden, in a videotape broadcast Friday on Al-Jazeera television, claims full responsibility for the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks in the United States and warns Americans that "your security is not in the hands of Kerry or Bush or al-Qaida. Your security is in your own hands." The GOP's Shameful Vote Strategy --by Harold Meyerson "With Election Day almost upon us, it's not clear whether President [sic] Bush is running a campaign or plotting a[ nother ] coup d'etat. By all accounts, Republicans are spending these last precious days devoting nearly as much energy to suppressing the Democratic vote as they are to mobilizing their own... Today's Republicans have elevated vote suppression from a dirty secret to a public norm." E-vote vendors to submit software for safekeeping --But critics say the vendor move won't guarantee integrity of system --With less than a week to go before the presidential election and concerns still lingering about the integrity and security of the software used by tens of thousands of electronic voting machines, five voting machine makers agreed to submit their software to the National Software Reference Library (NSRL) for safekeeping, federal officials said yesterday. ***** Web design for Coup 2004: Mary Titus Lori R. Price --Manager, Citizens For Legitimate Government. Michael D. Rectenwald, Ph.D. --Founder and Chair of Citizens For Legitimate Government. CLG Index Email this page to a friend Permanent URL: http://www.legitgov.org/coup_2004.html Media inquiries: clg_news[at]legitgov.org 'DC Madam' Phone Records --Posted by Lori Price, www.legitgov.org 'D.C. Madam' Seeks Subponeas for Senator Vitter and Harlan Ullman --By Lori Price 02 Nov 2007 Citizens for Legitimate Government has learned that subpoenas for Senator David Vitter and Harlan Ullman, former customers of Paula Neble, an independent-contractor escort of Ms. Palfrey's escort service, have been sought for a November 28, 2007 hearing. Subpoenas Served On ABC's Brian Ross/New York Post's Cindy Adams By 'DC Madam' By Lori Price 26 Sep 2007 Citizens for Legitimate Government has learned that so-called DC Madam, Deborah Jeane Palfrey, has issued subpoenas for the depositions of (i) Troy Burrus, the IRS case agent on Palfrey's case, for Friday, September 28th in Washington, D.C., and (ii) Brian Ross of ABC News, (ii) Cindy Adams of the New York Post and (iv) Bill Bastone of The Smoking Gun for Friday October 5th in New York City. 'DC Madam' defense likely to disclose evidence, identities deemed 'classified' By Lori Price 01 Sep 2007 Citizens for Legitimate Government has learned that Deborah Jeane Palfrey, the 'DC Madam,' has filed with the Court a pro se "Motion for Pretrial Conference to Consider Matters Relating to Classified Information" under the Classified Information Procedures Act. This filing alerts the government that Palfrey's defense will likely involve the disclosure of evidence and identities presently deemed "Classified" by the U.S. government. Notes, caveats: This page is under construction! Click back to this page as records are added. The phone numbers of the Sprint client ('Originating Number'), as well as family members' numbers of the Sprint Client, have been redacted on these documents. See CLG's disclaimer (below) regarding privacy issues of the owners of the telephone numbers of this list. 'DC Madam' Contacts - Names ( alphabetical order ) (.pdf) 03 Aug 2007 Note: An individual listed may not be the current person of record. Special thanks to Gary Schepp for his work on this file. 'DC Madam' Contacts - Phone Numbers ( numerical order ) (.pdf) 03 Aug 2007 Note: An individual listed may not be the current person of record. Special thanks to Gary Schepp for his work on this file. 'DC Madam' phone records - Sprint -January - December 2005 --Docs 74-104 (47 pages, .pdf) 16 Aug 2007 Special thanks to Gary Schepp for his work on this file. 'DC Madam' phone records - Sprint -January - December 2005 --Docs 37-73 (50 pages, .pdf) 16 Aug 2007 Special thanks to Gary Schepp for his work on this file. 'DC Madam' phone records - Sprint -January - December 2005 --Docs 1-36 (48 pages, .pdf) 16 Aug 2007 Special thanks to Gary Schepp for his work on this file. 'DC Madam' phone records - Cingular - August - December 2005 (49 pages, .pdf) 30 Jul 2007 Special thanks to Gary Schepp for his work on this file. 'DC Madam' phone records - 2006 (50 pages, .pdf) 25 Jul 2007 Special thanks to Gary Schepp for his help with compiling and uploading the 'DC Madam' files. Also, I want to thank Tom P. for his work with the 'DC Madam' phone records and web work! ***** Pamela Martin & Associates Sprint phone records, 22 January 2006 - 22 August 2006 Pamela Martin & Associates Sprint phone records, 22 January 2005 - 22 December 2005 Pamela Martin & Associates Cingular/AT&T phone records, 19 December 2004 - September 2005 Pamela Martin & Associates AT&T phone records, 20 November 2003 - 19 November 2004 Pamela Martin & Associates AT&T phone records, 20 March 2003 - 20 October 2003 Pamela Martin & Associates Sprint phone records, 22 January 2002 - 22 December 2002 Pamela Martin & Associates Sprint phone records, 22 January 2001 - 27 December 2001 Pamela Martin & Associates Sprint phone records, 22 January 2000 - 22 December 2000 Pamela Martin & Associates Sprint phone records, 22 January 1999 - 22 December 1999 Pamela Martin & Associates Sprint phone records, 22 December 1997 - 27 January 1998 Pamela Martin & Associates Sprint phone records, 27 December 1995 - 27 January 1996 Pamela Martin & Associates Sprint phone records, 27 December 1994 - 27 January 1995 Pamela Martin & Associates Sprint phone records, 25 August 1994 - 27 August 1994 'D.C. Madam' Phone List Names & Places --Posted by Lori Price, www.legitgov.org More (full) records coming soon! Much appreciation to James L. Monroe, Attorney at Law, CLG's attorney. Thank you to Alan of Hot Potato Mash, for help with the numbers! ***** Citizens For Legitimate Government has received the 'DC Madam' phone records and is preparing the list for release. --Lori Price 11:57 EDT 09 Jul 2007 Exclusive: Judge lifts injunction on 'DC Madam' phone records By Lori Price 05 Jul 2007 An email was sent from Jeane Palfrey to Citizens For Legitimate Government '...Judge Kessler has lifted the injunction on the phone records.' From Judge Kessler's Order: Defendant in this case possesses a list of telephone numbers (the "List") that has generated much controversy and speculation. The Government has twice applied to this Court ex parte for Temporary Restraining Orders ("TROs") preventing Defendant from selling the List or from distributing copies for free. The Court granted those applications, in order to preserve the status quo , and, therefore, held a hearing to give Defendant an opportunity to respond. Upon consideration of all the pleadings, the applicable statutes and case law, and the oral argument, the Court concludes that Defendant's request to quash the TROs should be granted. I asked Jeane Palfrey for a comment: "I am very, very grateful to Judge Kessler, for lifting the injunction." Sincerely, Jeane Email this page to a friend The URL for this page: http://www.legitgov.org/dc_madam_phone_records_090707.html CLG Index Writings of CLG Editor-in-Chief, Lori Price "They don't 'hate us for our freedoms.' They hate us for our war crimes." --LRP "Sometimes paranoia is just having all the facts." William S. Burroughs "Every time I turn on 'Law & Order,' I get nervous." --Anonymous 9/11 Anachronism 'Oddity' by Lori Price 02 Mar 2014 CLG: Al-Zawahiri is back from the dead, issuing new 'al-Qaeda' terror threats by Lori Price 06 Aug 2013 CIA in CLG website logs for story on US, New Zealand spying on McClatchy reporter by Lori Price 31 Jul 2013 Snowden could fly under UN passport, as Donald Woods did to leave S.Africa in 1978 - CLG by Lori Price 09 Jul 2013 Google: CLG News 'does not comply with Names Policy' by Lori Price 02 Jul 2013 False Flag Stew by Lori Price 07 May 2013 Sandy Hook Shooting 'Oddities' by Lori Price 22 Feb 2013 DHS Trolling Web for Sandy Hook Rifle 'Oddities' - CLG Website Logs by Lori Price 07 Jan 2013 EarthLink blocking CLG Newsletter since 24 December 2012 --Hotmail, AT&T block update posted by Lori Price 04 Jan 2013 Democrats push for ban of assault weapons over Sandy Hook, but stay silent on nuclear power after Fukushima by Lori Price 20 Dec 2012 Riddle me this: Adam Lanza, 'computer genius,' left no online footprint by Lori Price 16 Dec 2012 NSA buddy Google wants me to change my name, declaring 'CLG News' is 'too long' for people to remember by Lori Price 09 Dec 2012 Fifty Shades of CIA --The Petraeus Sex Scandal Widens by Lori Price 13 Nov 2012 And, today's obstacle is: Hotmail, MSN blocking CLG Newsletter 11 Nov 2012 CLG Newsletters blocked by rr.com, roadrunner.com, and adelphia.net Posted by Lori Price 06 Nov 2012 AT&T Stops Holding CLG Newsletters Hostage, Releases 'Quarantined' Editions by Lori Price18 Oct 2012 Guess Who's Building Nuclear Power Plants in Iran? Hey, US, those nuclear power plants in Iran? You built that. Posted by Lori Price 26 Sep 2012 Facebook issues 'mental health' warning to CLG editor over posts --'You're receiving this message because a friend is concerned about something you posted on Facebook.' By Lori Price 11 Sep 2012 Democrats 'talking up' Simpson-Bowles aka the Cat Food Commission By Lori Price 04 Sep 2012 USociopaths caught photoshopping events in Syria Posted by Lori Price 30 Jul 2012 (Photo) Translation of headline: "Assads (sic) Tanks roll through the streets to the 'Mother of all Battles.'" Aurora, Colorado Shooting 'Oddities' By Lori Price 20 Jul 2012 DHS Analyst's Desktop Binder --Department of Homeland Security National Operations Center Media Monitoring Capability Desktop Reference Binder - 2011 Posted by www.legitgov.org 31 May 2012 List of Keywords and Phrases DHS Uses to Monitor Social Networking Sites and Online Media for Signs of Terrorism and Threats Posted by Lori Price, www.legitgov.org (I'm sure, also a keyword.) 27 May 2012 'Snow' 'Blizzard' 'H1N1' 'Vaccine.' Whoops! I'm now under surveillance. Drone Hunting Permit Posted by www.legitgov.org 22 May 2012 Washington Post Reports 2010 Pentagon-CIA Drone Target Criteria as 'New' By Lori Price 06 May 2012 CLG: FBI Seizes a Server Used by CLG's Webhoster in Bomb Threat Investigation --MayFirst: FBI seizes server providing anonymous remailer and many other services from colocation facility --Server seizure 'plainly extra-judicial punishment and an attack on free speech and anonymity on the Internet' Posted by Lori Price 20 Apr 2012 CLG: FBI Agents Approach CLG's Webhoster in Bomb Threat Investigation --'Even if we could cooperate, we wouldn't.' Posted by Lori Price 12 Apr 2012 Navy simulated Virginia Beach jet crash in December drill By Lori Price 09 Apr 2012 AntiSec again knocking snitches' doors cause treason is something we don't forgive Posted by www.legitgov.org 08 Mar 2012 Panda Pwned (Lulz Security lives!) By voice 06 Mar 2012 Alan Colmes Blasts Pro-Israel Media Pushing for Iran War By Lori Price 05 Mar 2012 Facebook Disables CLG Editor's Account Name, Claiming It Is 'Illegitimate' --'The name you entered was not approved by our system.' 17 Feb 2012 Anonymous: 'Israeli government, expect us.' --'You are unworthy to exist in your current form, and will therefore face the wrath of Anonymous... Step one will be initiated after the release of this video and will be comprised of systematically removing you from the Internet.' Video and text of message from Anonymous to the state of Israel --Posted by www.legitgov.org 11 Feb 2012 Komen for [Preventing] the Cure reverses course on Planned Parenthood funding cut By Lori Price 04 Feb 2012 Obama's Office, CIA repeatedly accessed CLG H5N1 'secret lab' article Posted by Lori Price 17 Jan 2012 Kobe University lab creates 'novel' H5N1 in 'secret' lab --Emails from Kobe virologist and H5N1-H1N1 virus creator, Teridah Ernala Ginting --Story in e-mails: Kobe University PhD student Teridah Ernala confesses to creating H1N1-H5N1 "novel" viruses; Kawaoka's virus thief Akiko Makino lies to Indonesian authorities to avoid arrest for attempted smuggling of H5N1 out of Indonesia, gives authorities another university as research facility she works for By Robert S. Finnegan 05 Jan 2012 'Fast and Furious' Hypocrisy: Where Was Fox News When the Pentagon 'Lost' 200,000 Weapons in Iraq? --Faux News and Darrell Issa - not so fast, not so furious when it came to investigating the Bush regime for hundreds of thousands of weapons that went missing in Iraq and Afghanistan -- and likely landed in the hands of insurgents! By Lori Price 10 Oct 2011 MSNBC Covers Yemen Protest, but Not Wall Street Occupation By Lori Price 20 Sep 2011 US Gives People All Over the World Their Own '9/11s' Daily, Via Killer Drone Strikes By Lori Price 11 Sep 2011 Obusha is about to speak. Should I watch 'Criminal Minds' or 'Law & Order: Criminal Intent?' By Lori Price 08 Sep 2011 Tree Meets Pool By Lori Price 29 Aug 2011 Columbia University Blocking CLG Newsletters with Links to Press TV By Lori Price 23 Aug 2011 TSA.DHS Visits CLG Website --Is the CLG Website on the 'No-Fly' List? Posted by Lori Price 10 Aug 2011 Stop the Super Dictatorship By Lori Price 07 Aug 2011 GOP Debt Ceiling Plan to Be 'Last One Standing' - to Obama's Delight By Lori Price 26 Jul 2011 Secret Service visits CLG member, asks about Seize DC --In two-hour session, Secret Service agents ask, 'What do you know about SeizeDC?' By Lori Price 03 Jul 2011 News of Bin Laden's Death and Funeral - December 2001 Posted by Lori Price 02 May 2011 CLG Under Surveillance -- CLG Sunshine Project - Citizens for Legitimate Government (CLG) will post .gov and .mil IPs visiting the Seize DC webpage, and others! Seize DC --Citizens for Legitimate Government (CLG) calls for protest SEIZE DC! SEIZE DC will begin on September 10, 2011, at noon, until finished. MSNBC: Wall-to-wall coverage of Charlie Sheen's meltdown, silent on nuclear meltdown --GE: 'We Bring Good Censorship To Life.' By Lori Price, www.legitgov.org 12 Mar 2011 FBI Thriller, Published in 1999, References 9/11 --A 1999 best-selling thriller makes explicit references to 9/11 By Lori Price and Michael Rectenwald 10 Mar 2011 Done with MSNBC, its vaccine pimping and Lindsay Lohan --Open letter to Steve Capus, President of NBC News, from Lori Price, Editor-in-Chief of Citizens for Legitimate Government 23 Feb 2011 GOP State Sen. Wants Return to Era of 'the Condition of England Question' By Lori Price 17 Feb 2011 9/11: 'Awkward gaps and contradictions in official explanations' - You betcha! By Lori Price 26 Jan 2011 U.S. Rep Wants Assange Declared 'Banned Person,' Recalling South Africa's Internal Security Act --Banning Orders Should be Banned By Lori Price 15 Jan 2011 SarahPac Called for Ariz. Congresswoman to be 'Targeted' By Lori Price 09 Jan 2011 GOP Push to Shutter TSA Will Bring Blackwater Groping Goons By Lori Price 21 Nov 2010 U.S. 'Notice to Mariners' Report May Explain Mystery Missile Launch Posted by Lori Price 11 Nov 2010 How Did UT Shooter Tooley Get Mohammed Atta's Eyes, Eyebrows? Another CIA Photoshop PSYOP? By Lori Price 29 Sep 2010 H1N1 Flu Expo Group Hosts Unmanned Aircraft Defense Summit By Lori Price 22 Jul 2010 CLG: Media Reports Death of Al-Qaeda No. 3 Killed in 2008 By Lori Price 01 Jun 2010 "Hope-and-Change," A Hoax By Michael Rectenwald and Lori Price 27 May 2010 Arrest Terror Suspect Tony Hayward - No Miranda Rights By Lori Price 26 May 2010 Obama Linguistically Morphing Into Bush 'War is tough!' It's tough, I tell you! By Lori Price 13 May 2010 The 'greening ' of al-Qaeda: More recycled al-Qaeda emerge --US Attorney General Eric Holder celebrates Earth Day with more al-Qaeda recycling: Al-Qaeda Member 'Rises From Grave' to Plan NY Subway Attack By Lori Price 26 Apr 2010 Recycled al-Qaeda: Ayyub al-Masri 'killed' on Sunday, captured in 2008 By Lori Price 19 April 2010 Obama Is Out-Bushing Bush and the Quote, Unquote Left Will Not Act By Lori Price 30 March 2010 Obama Moves to Unravel Twenty Years of 'Law & Order' Episodes, Seeks Optional Miranda By Lori Price 13 Feb 2010 "Lori Price makes whole departments in the federal government shiver with fear of exposure." --Michael Rectenwald, Ph.D. 29 Dec 2009 CLG: Pope Ratzinger and the Bushes: Two Peas In a Pedophile Protection Pod By Lori Price 05 Apr 2010 Pentagon Shooting 'Oddities' By Lori Price 05 Mar 2010 1997 DoD Briefing: 'Others' can set off earthquakes, volcanoes remotely using electromagnetic waves By Lori Price 28 Feb 2010 RiverGlass: CLG's Biggest Fan By Lori Price 22 Feb 2010 Austin, Texas Plane Crash 'Oddities' By Lori Price 22 Feb 2010 Obama Moves to Unravel Twenty Years of 'Law & Order' Episodes, Seeks Optional Miranda By Lori Price 13 Feb 2010 CLG: Aetna Announces CT Layoffs on Free Health Care Clinic Day In Hartford By Lori Price 04 Feb 2010 Use the 200 Million Dollars to Try Bush-Cheney-Blair For War Crimes Instead of KSM By Lori Price 01 Feb 2010 CLG: US to Pay Taliban Fighters to 'Lay Down Their Arms' --I've covered a lot of BULLSH*T since Coup 2000, but this takes the cake bakery. By Lori Price US as 'Facehugger' By Lori Price I've come to the conclusion that the US government most resembles the 'facehugger,' a stage in the life cycle of an alien, the 'primary antagonist' of the film series 'Alien.' 19 Jan 2010 CLG: Obama asks 'Heckuva job, Brownie' George W. Bush to help with Haiti relief efforts By Lori Price 15 Jan 2010 CLG Exclusive: Source: Ford Paying Tea Partiers to Protest Detroit Auto Show By Lori Price 07 Jan 2010 CLG: Northwest Bomb Plot 'Oddities' By Lori Price 27 Dec 2009 Blackwater/Xe in Pakistan By Lori Price 31 Oct 2009 Fort Hood Shooting 'Oddities' --'Three people are involved. That, by definition, means it is a conspiracy.' By Lori Price 05 Nov 2009 (Updated) CLG: ABC Series 'V': Invading, Fascist Lizards Arrive With 'Universal Health Care' and 'Message of Hope' --ABC Network Portrays Aliens, Hell-bent on Destroying Planet Earth, as the Obama Administration By Lori Price 04 Nov 2009 CLG: Silence On the Senator -- The Lieberman Lie Pie is growing, and Connecticut's largest newspaper is ignoring it. By Lori Price 28 Oct 2009 The Obusha AfPak Money Pit: Unlike the 'public option,' Congress doesn't ask if funding the Taleban to blow up contractors' bridges will add to the US deficit By Lori Price 03 Oct 2009 (Updates) U.S. Flu Vaccine Updates Refuse and Resist Mandatory Flu Vaccines (Petition) CLG: Are You One of Obama's 'Lone Wolf' Suspects? By Lori Price, Citizens For Legitimate Government 18 Sep 2009 CLG Action Alert! Boycott Israel's IKEA Boycott --Shop Till You Drop at IKEA to Counteract Israel's Boycott! --Posted by Lori Price 24 Aug 2009 CLG Exclusive: Barack Obama: Change We Can Deceive In --A critique from the Left By Lori Price 19 Aug 2009 Fort Detrick, Quantico, DHS and Halliburton --What do they all have in common? They're all monitoring the CLG. By Lori Price 14 Aug 2009 I took a walk through the Citizens For Legitimate Government visitor logs over the past thirty hours and saw numerous .gov, .mil and state visitors in the logs. I compiled some of them. Note: This is only a snapshot! CLG: Guns OK Outside Obama Town Hall; Kerry Pins Brought Arrest At Bush Rally By Lori Price 12 Aug 2009 Bush's Waffen-SS arrested (and strip-searched) people with Kerry-Edwards buttons pinned to their T-shirts and paper protest signs at his at his GOP-only appearances. But, when a Reichwinger attends a New Hampshire town hall meeting with a gun -- merely yards from President Obama -- the protester not only gets to remain at the meeting but also gets to be a guest on MSNBC's 'Hardball.' CLG: H1N1 vaccination 'a voluntary program,' CDC says By Lori Price 08 Aug 2009 Citizens For Legitimate Government contacted the CDC on Friday and asked if the plans to vaccinate US citizens against the H1N1 virus would be mandatory. "It's a voluntary program," said CDC spokesperson Joe Quimby. Baxter: The 'Lucky Larry' of swine flu Baxter Vaccine 'Oddities' By Lori Price 17 Jul 2009 Baxter files swine flu vaccine patent year ahead of outbreak --Baxter can take no more H1N1 flu vaccine orders --Baxter working on vaccine to stop swine flu, though admitted sending live pandemic flu viruses to subcontractor CLG Pandemic Action Alerts 12 Jul 2009 Petition against mandatory vaccines; contact the White House, US Congress [All hands on deck! Please sign CLG's petition - ours and others with the same goal you see on the Web - and get ready to *raise holy heck* if the deadly, pharma-terrorists' vaccines are mandatory! CLG has been warning of this for years. We have documented, over and over, the fact that the US government was funding and creating killer flu in labs. We cited legislation - passed under Bush two days before Christmas when *no one* was paying attention - giving US pharmaceutical companies full-blown immunity from liability for their deadly products used during a 'health emergency.' We showed that the DoD would carry out military missions and enforce quarantines. Most of these articles would appear on the Web on a Saturday night and vanish within days. The CLG has also revealed numerous deaths -- mathematically odds-defying -- of microbiologists under bizarre circumstances. This ultimate weapon of mass distraction has suddenly emerged so that discussion of the Bush Depression; Bush/Cheney torture, war crimes and treason; and the Iraq/Af/Pak war money pit -- vanishes from the landscape. --Lori Price] CLG Pandemic Action Alerts 12 Jul 2009 Petition against mandatory vaccines Pandemic planning: Protect police forces from being hurt in civil disturbances By Lori Price 29 Jun 2009 'Hello, Pot? This is Kettle. You're Green.' --US Hypocrisy Toward Iran By Lori Price 21 Jun 2009 CLG: Baxter working on vaccine to stop swine flu, though admitted sending live pandemic flu viruses to subcontractor By Lori Price 26 Apr 2009 CLG: Flu Kills The Torture Memos By Lori Price 26 April 2009 CLG: Iraq al-Qaeda leader US general said 'never existed' is 'captured' in Baghdad By Lori Price 24 Apr 2009 CLG: Virginia Terrorism Threat Assessment: Universities Possible Terror Portals --2009 Virginia Terrorism Threat Assessment, Commonwealth of Virginia, Department of State Police, Virginia Fusion Center State - Federal - Local - Private, March 2009 --Posted by Lori Price 08 Apr 2009 'Dead' Pakistan Taleban Chief Takes Credit for Lahore Terror Attack --What could possibly be the motive for this dialup from the dead? By Lori Price 31 Mar 2009 'Voice your appreciation for those in quarantine.' --Heads up! This is how the US government might bail out the bailouts. By Lori Price 09 Mar 2009 Drought 'Oddities' By Lori Price 01 Mar 2009 Suddenly, almost inexplicably and overnight - there's a newly discovered big water shortage in the US! Keep your eyes on the GOP prize. Under cover of the Bush Depression and (global warming-induced) drought, corpora-terrorist trolls may present a 'solution:' Privatize part of the US water supply. NIU Shooting 'Oddities' --By Lori Price, www.legitgov.org Secret files reveal NIU killer's past 13 Feb 2009 A former student who killed five people at Northern Illinois University last Valentine's Day had been 'drummed out' of the Army for hiding his psychiatric history and expressed admiration for famous murderers, CNN has learned... Steven Kazmierczak spent three years at Thresholds, a psychiatric center in Chicago, according to psychiatric records in the files. He enlisted in the Army in September 2001 but was discharged the following February for lying on his application about his mental illness, Army records state. Gunman covered his tracks, cops say --SIM card was removed from his cell phone; hard drive removed from his computer 20 Feb 2008 Police think the graduate student who shot and killed five students last week at Northern Illinois University took steps to thwart investigators trying to figure out why he did it. In addition to removing the hard drive from his laptop computer, Steven Kazmierczak also removed the SIM card -- a key computer chip -- from his cell phone, a police source said. NIU shooter joined US Army in September 2001 -- Kazmierczak later discharged from Army for ''unspecified'' reason 16 Feb 2008 (IL) Peter Rachowsky, a former Elk Grove Village resident, said around their junior year of high school, his [former friend] Steve Kazmierczak began exploring Satanism and white-power movements, leading Kazmierczak's parents to take him to specialists who put him on drugs... After graduating from high school in 1998, Kazmierczak left Elk Grove Village to get treatment for his problems, Rachowsky recalled. Kazmierczak eventually went into the Army in September 2001. But he was discharged in February 2002 for an ''unspecified'' reason, an Army spokesman said. [See: Virginia Tech Shooting 'Oddities' by Lori Price. 'TGSCOM Inc. also operates the Web site used by Seung-Hui [Cho] to purchase a firearm used in the Virginia Tech shootings last April.' Company: Gunman, Virginia Tech shooter used same Web dealer [Why not? They had the same handlers.] 16 Feb 2008 A firearms dealer in Green Bay, Wisconsin, Friday confirmed a bizarre link between the graduate student accused of killing five people at Northern Illinois University and the gunman in last year's deadly shootings at Virginia Tech. A Web site used to buy gun accessories by Steven Kazmierczak is owned by the same company that operates a site patronized by Seung-Hui Cho, the company said. Kazmierczak ordered two 9 mm Glock magazines and a holster for a Glock handgun from the Web site February 4, said a statement released by TGSCOM Inc. He received them February 12, two days before the NIU shootings, it said. "TGSCOM Inc. also operates the Web site used by Seung-Hui [Cho] to purchase a firearm used in the Virginia Tech shootings last April," the statement said. Gun Dealer Sold to NIU Shooter, Va. Tech Gun 15 Feb 2008 An Internet gun dealer based in Green Bay that sold a weapon to the Virginia Tech shooter last year sold handgun accessories to the man who killed five at Northern Illinois University Thursday. Eric Thompson says that his Web site, thegunsource.com, sold two empty 9 millimeter Glock magazines and a Glock holster to Stephen Kazmierczak on February 4. Thompson's site also sold a handgun to the person [Seung-Hui Cho] who killed 32 people on the Virginia Tech campus last year. NIU Shooter Spent Time In Psychiatric Center 16 Feb 2008 There's new information tonight about the gunman who went on a shooting rampage at Northern Illinois University. Steve Kazmierczak killed five people in a lecture hall Thursday before killing himself. The 27-year-old graduate student spent time in a Chicago Psychiatric Center [Thresholds-Mary Hill House] after high school. [Right, and then he joined the Army.] Gunman kills 5 and then himself at Illinois college 15 Feb 2008 A black-clad [MKULTRA] man fired into a lecture hall packed with students at an Illinois university on Thursday, killing five people and wounding 18 before shooting himself dead, police and college officials said. [Notice we're no longer talking about FISA, the Guantanamo Bay kangaroo courts or Bush's approval of torture? Whenever the Bush regime is sitting on a new pile of embarrassing revelations, a Manchurian killer dressed in black shoots up a school, 'then kills self.' The upside for Bush: Another GOP crony gets million$ for the black hole called 'security.'] Who Was the Illinois School Shooter? 15 Feb 2008 Stephen Kazmierczak, the 27-year-old who opened fire on a crowded Northern Illinois University lecture hall, killing five and then himself Thursday, had served as a member of the NIU Academic Criminal Justice Association. Law enforcement authorities told ABC News that Kazmierczak had likely planned the assault on the school for at least five days -- he had bought most of his arsenal, including a 12-gauge shotgun, .22-caliber pistol and a 9 mm pistol, at a gun store in Champaign, Saturday. Another .45-caliber Glock semi-automatic handgun that was found on the scene has also been linked to him. At approximately 3:15 p.m. Thursday, Kazmierczak -- dressed in black and armed with three handguns and a shotgun -- entered an introductory geology class and opened fire. 6 dead in NIU shooting; 4 identified --Ex-graduate student slays 5 before killing himself 15 Feb 2008 A gunman dressed in black stormed into an oceanography class at Northern Illinois University Thursday afternoon and opened fire with a shotgun and two handguns, killing five students and wounding 16 more in a matter of seconds. Then, still on stage, he killed himself, authorities said... NIU Police Chief Donald Grady said the department received a 911 call from inside the auditorium at 3:06 p.m. Police arrived 29 seconds later and found the gunman dead , Grady said. Students "were running through any door they could find to get out," he said. NIU shooting timeline 14 Feb 2008 3 p.m.: Officers respond to a call of shots fired on campus, according to DeKalb County Sheriff Roger Scott. 3:07 p.m.: Campus is locked down, according to NIU President John G. Peters. 3:20 p.m.: A message appears on the NIU Web site that reads: "There has been a report of a possible gunman on campus. Get to a safe area and take precautions until given the all clear. Avoid the King Commons and all buildings in that vicinity." 3:50 p.m.: Another message on the NIU Web site says "several people" have been taken away by ambulance. 3:50 p.m.: Three or four victims with head wounds arrive at Kishwaukee Community Hospital. The hospital reports that it expects up to 15 victims. 4 p.m.: Police determine the gunman is dead , according to Peters. 4:10 p.m.: Campus police report that the scene is secure. Only essential personnel should remain on campus. See also: Virginia Tech Shooting 'Oddities' --By Lori Price Email this page to a friend. Permanent URL for this page: http://www.legitgov.org/niu_shooting_oddities.html The Posse Comitatus Act of 1878 20 Stat. L., 145 June 18, 1878 CHAP. 263 - An act making appropriations for the support of the Army for the fiscal year ending June thirtieth, eighteen hundred and seventy-nine, and for other purposes. SEC. 15. From and after the passage of this act it shall not be lawful to employ any part of the Army of the United States, as a posse comitatus, or otherwise, for the purpose of executing the laws, except in such cases and under such circumstances as such employment of said force may be expressly authorized by the Constitution or by act of Congress; and no money appropriated by this act shall be used to pay any of the expenses incurred in the employment of any troops in violation of this section And any person willfully violating the provisions of this section shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and on conviction thereof shall be punished by fine not exceeding ten thousand dollars or imprisonment not exceeding two years or by both such fine and imprisonment. 10 U.S.C. (United States Code) 375 Sec. 375. Restriction on direct participation by military personnel: The Secretary of Defense shall prescribe such regulations as may be necessary to ensure that any activity (including the provision of any equipment or facility or the assignment or detail of any personnel) under this chapter does not include or permit direct participation by a member of the Army, Navy, Air Force, or Marine Corps in a search, seizure, arrest, or other similar activity unless participation in such activity by such member is otherwise authorized by law. 18 U.S.C. 1385 Sec. 1385. Use of Army and Air Force as posse comitatus Whoever, except in cases and under circumstances expressly authorized by the Constitution or Act of Congress, willfully uses any part of the Army or the Air Force as a posse comitatus or otherwise to execute the laws shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than two years, or both. Editor's Note: The only exemption has to do with nuclear materials (18 U.S.C. 831 (e)) * * http://www.dojgov.net/posse_comitatus_act.htm Posse Comitatus Act Source: G-OPL "POSSE COMITATUS ACT" (18 USC 1385): A Reconstruction Era criminal law proscribing use of Army (later, Air Force) to "execute the laws" except where expressly authorized by Constitution or Congress. Limit on use of military for civilian law enforcement also applies to Navy by regulation. Dec '81 additional laws were enacted (codified 10 USC 371-78) clarifying permissible military assistance to civilian law enforcement agencies--including the Coast Guard--especially in combating drug smuggling into the United States. Posse Comitatus clarifications emphasize supportive and technical assistance (e.g., use of facilities, vessels, aircraft, intelligence, tech aid, surveillance, etc.) while generally prohibiting direct participation of DoD personnel in law enforcement (e.g., search, seizure, and arrests). For example, Coast Guard Law Enforcement Detachments (LEDETS) serve aboard Navy vessels and perform the actual boardings of interdicted suspect drug smuggling vessels and, if needed, arrest their crews). Positive results have been realized especially from Navy ship/aircraft involvement. ** ** http://www.uscg.mil/hq/g-cp/comrel/factfile/Factcards/PosseComitatus.html October 16, 2002 Lori R. Price , Manager, Citizens For Legitimate Government. Michael D. Rectenwald, Ph.D.,Founder and Chair, Citizens For Legitimate Government. CLG Index Allentown police were investigating a shooting Monday night that sent one victim to an area hospital with multiple gunshot wounds, Capt. Steve Vangelo said. It occurred about 7:10 p.m. in an apartment building at 645 N. Jordan St. The 18-year-old male victim was hit once in the arm and once in the abdomen and was taken for surgery at Lehigh Valley Hospital in Salisbury Township, Vangelo said. Police were canvassing the building as they tried to develop information on the perpetrator, who was not in custody. Investigators were interviewing residents and looking for potential witnesses, as well as for video and other evidence. Police asked anyone with information to contact detectives at 610-437-7721. Kurt Bresswein may be reached at kbresswein@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @KurtBresswein. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook. A posting on Facebook is what led police to an Allentown man charged with attempted homicide in a shooting last week in Bethlehem, according to court records. Charged is Tariq Deshon Page, 23, of the 800 block of North Ninth Street. He was arrested Saturday and arraigned before District Judge Nancy Matos Gonzalez, who set bail at 10 percent of $500,000. City officers at 10:46 p.m. Thursday were dispatched to a rooming house in the 500 block of Cherokee Street for a fight in progress and a male shot in the abdomen. Officers found Alan Young, also known as "Abdulla Hakeen," in the living room unresponsive and administered CPR, according to police. Tariq Dashon Page (Courtesy photo) Young, believed to be in his late teens or early 20s, remained unresponsive and was taken to St. Luke's University Hospital in Fountain Hill. Police Chief Mark DiLuzio said Monday evening Young is listed in serious condition. Witnesses told police Page initially fled the house, but returned at one point prior to officers arriving at the scene. A witness told police she was went with a group that included the victim's girlfriend to a liquor store Thursday night and returned home to hear two shots that sounded like blank gunshots. The witness then saw Young bleeding and heard Page outside allegedly yelling, "I don't give a f---." Young's girlfriend closed the door and Page allegedly kicked it in to re-enter the home. The witness told police she was trying to get inside to get her baby. A witness later tipped investigators off to a Facebook Live video allegedly posted by Page the night of the shooting showing him rapping while panning the camera to Young, his girlfriend and a third person. Page also is holding a handgun in the video, according to police. The witness reportedly told police Young had been arguing with Page and Page threatened him earlier that day. Court records do not state what the argument was about. Police obtained a search warrant and seized two .380 shell casings and a projectile -- found initially under Young -- a jacket with a hole in it and multiple cellphones, as well as a Cobra handgun. The handgun was found in the basement hidden behind a furnace and the ammo magazine was found in a mudroom, according to police. Page deleted the video from his Facebook account, but investigators were able to find it on another Facebook page, police said. Investigators tied the handgun Page is allegedly holding in the video to the handgun seized at the crime scene. Police said the gun is unique, with silver discoloration on the right upper receiver where the serial number is scratched off. Page is a convicted felon and not allowed to possess a firearm. In addition to attempted homicide, Page is charged with prohibited offensive weapons, aggravated assault, reckless endangerment and persons not to possess a firearm. In lieu of bail, Page was sent to Northampton County Prison, where he remained Monday. Pamela Sroka-Holzmann may be reached at pholzmann@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow her on Twitter @pamholzmann. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook. Medical marijuana is coming to the Lehigh Valley, and municipalities are getting ready. The board of commissioners in Bethlehem Township on Monday made sure they're prepared with companies already looking to set up grower/processor or dispensary businesses within its borders. It's a step every municipality has to take. Under Pennsylvania law, municipalities have to allow for "every possible use known to man" in order to have a say in where certain businesses can be located, said the head of the Lehigh Valley Planning Commission who has been advising local governments on the new program. "We're going to get at least one grower/processor and a couple of dispensaries, maybe a little bit more," said Becky Bradley, executive director of the planning commission. "I know of 12 different entities looking in the Lehigh Valley. "There's a lot of money to be made, clearly, in marijuana, whatever you think of it. Long story short, the communities are trying to get ready for it." The Pennsylvania Department of Health says it will accept permit applications Feb. 20 to March 20 for medical marijuana growers/processors and dispensaries. Northampton and Lehigh counties are among 10 counties that comprise Pennsylvania's Region 2-Northeast, where four dispensary permits and two grower/processor permits are set to be awarded. The state expects its medical marijuana program to be fully implemented in 2018. Bethlehem Township solicitor Wendy Nicolosi recommended township commissioners make it a priority this year to get laws on the books for where medical marijuana businesses can go. Dispensaries, like pharmacies, should go in the township's general commercial zoning district, commissioners decided Monday in authorizing township Manager Melissa Shafer to advertise the new restrictions; growers and processors should go alongside other industrial uses, such as along Brodhead Road or in the industrial park bisected by Emrick Boulevard. These are the areas of Bethlehem Township where medical marijuana grower/processor and dispensary facilities, along with related businesses, may be located under a measure set for final approval March 6, 2017. (Courtesy image | For lehighvalleylive.com) "It's not a field, it's not agricultural," Nicolosi said of indoor growing facilities. "They're served by water and sewer. To be honest, you'd never know they were anything other than any other manufacturing facility." The township law covers grower/processor and dispensary facilities, as well as secure medical marijuana delivery vehicle offices and academic clinical research centers. Township officials are limiting the size of growing/processing facilities to 20,000 square feet and dispensaries to 5,000 square feet. Dispensaries can't have drive-throughs or outdoor vending machines, or home delivery, according to some of the regulations. A final vote on the medical marijuana measures is set for March 6 by the board of commissioners. "Several parties have expressed possible interest in locating within Bethlehem Township in recent months and weeks," township planning and economic development Director Nathan Jones said in a memo to commissioners. Shirley Frey, a longtime resident of Christian Springs Road, criticized the move to permit medical marijuana facilities along Brodhead Road near her home. She views marijuana as an illegal drug, rather than the tightly controlled prescription medication approved by state lawmakers under a bill signed by Gov. Tom Wolf last April. "You've got to be kidding me," Frey told the commissioners, adding later: "You have me absolutely terrified." Commissioners' President Michael Hudak sought to ease Frey's concerns, which also focused on the potential for increased crime. Medical marijuana isn't going to be sold in plant form in Pennsylvania, Hudak stressed, but only in preparations such as tinctures and oils. "It's something we had to do," Commissioner Thomas Nolan said, "not whether we had a choice." Bradley, from the Lehigh Valley Planning Commission, said her agency has been working since last July to offer language and advice for municipalities on crafting land-use regulations for medical marijuana. Bethlehem Township's measure uses some of those points, said Shafer, the township manager. "The fact that they're looking at something in Bethlehem Township is a good sign that they're taking the state law seriously," Bradley said. Kurt Bresswein may be reached at kbresswein@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @KurtBresswein. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook. Tom Connolly - Portlaoise The death took place on Saturday, February 4 of Tom Connolly of Green Road, Portlaoise. Predeceased by his parents Frances and James, his brother Frank and sister Kathleen. Much loved brother to James (Jim) John, Paddy and Ned. Deeply regretted by his family, sisters-in-law, nieces, nephews, extended family and a large circle of friends. Reposing was at the chapel of rest Portlaoise on Monday. Removal takes place on Tuesday morning at 9.15am to arrive at SS Peter & Paul's Church for 10am Requiem Mass. Interment afterwards in SS Peter & Paul's Cemetery. Kevin McNelis - Portarlington A memorial service for Kevin McNelis will be held in St Michael's Church, Portarlington at 11am on Saturday, February 11, followed by burial of his ashes in the family plot at St Michael's Cemetery, Portarlington. Mr McNelis, formerly of Market Square, Portarlington passed away in Traratgon, Victoria, Australia on Friday, January 6. He was predeceased by his father Paddy and his only sister Ann. Rory Hyland - Mountmellick The death took place on Friday, February 3 of Rory Hyland of Debbicot, Mountmellick. Peacefully at home surrounded by his loving father Micheal, Mother Fiona,and brothers Cian and Michael. Deeply regretted by his loving parents, brothers, grandparents Paddy and Mary, uncles and aunts, cousins, neighbours and many friends. Reposing in Moloney's Funeral Home on Saturday from 6pm, recital of the rosary at 9pm. Removal from his home on Sunday at 1.30pm to St. Joseph's Church for requiem Mass at 2pm. Burial afterwards in St. Joseph's Cemetery. House private on Sunday. Mary Deegan - Mountmellick and Tullamore The death took place on Friday, February 2 of Mary Deegan (nee Carroll) of 55 Twoomey Terrace, Mountmellick, and formerly of Tullamore. Peacefully at home, surrounded by her husband Michael and her family. Predeceased by her daughter Michelle, brothers JJ, Eddie, nieces and nephews.Deeply regretted by her husband and family Paul, Alan, Mark, Brian and Sylvia, her fourteen grandchildren and two greatgrandsons, sister Nancy Condron, sons-in-law Jimmy and Michael, daughters-in-law Merle, Sarah and Laura, brothers-in= law, sisters-in-law, neighbours, relatives and friends. Reposing in her home from 4pm on Saturday, with recital of the rosary at 9pm on Saturday evening. Funeral arriving St. Josephs Church Mountmellick for 12 noon Requiem Mass on Sunday. Burial afterwards in St. Josephs Cemetery. Deirdre Keogh - Emo The death took place on Thursday, February 2 of Deirdre Keogh (nee O'Flynn) of Thornberry House, New Inn, Emo. Suddenly. Devoted wife of Derek and mum to Mairead, John and Grainne. Deeply regretted by her heartbroken family, parents Maggie and John, brothers Sean and Michael, father-in-law Edward, sisters-in-law, brothers-in-law, nephews, nieces, relatives and friends. Reposing at Keegan's Funeral Home, Portlaoise, on Saturday from 4pm, with rosary at 6pm. Removal from her residence on Sunday, to arrive at St Pauls Church, Emo, for 2pm requiem Mass. Interment afterwards in the new cemetery, Emo. Patrick Lyons - Ballinakill and Castlecomer The death took place on Thursday, February 2 of Patrick (Paddy) Lyons of Firoda, Ballinakill and late of Castlecomer. Suddenly. Deeply regretted by his sister Nora, brothers John and Bill, sister-in-law Anne, nieces, nephews, relatives and a close circle of friends. Reposing at his home from 2pm on Saturday. Vigil Prayers and Rosary on Saturday night at 8.30pm. Funeral Prayers on Sunday at 1pm followed by removal to the Church of the Immaculate Conception, Castlecomer for Funeral Mass at 2pm. Paddy will be laid to rest following Mass in the adjoining cemetery. Margaret Carter - Ballyroan The death took place on Thursday, February 2 of Margaret Carter (nee Fitzpatrick) of Tullore, Ballyroan. Wife of the late John in her 90th year. Peacefully in the care of the staff of Droimnin nursing home Stradbally. Deeply regretted by her loving family Bridie, Pat, Kathleen, Mick, Sean, Peggy, Mary, Ann, Anthony, Joe, Rita, Eamon and Christina, sons-in-law,daughters-in-law,grandchildren,great grandchildren,brothers-in-law, relatives and friends. Reposing at her residence from 4pm on Friday with Rosary at 8.30pm. Removal on Saturday evening at 6pm via the Rock road to St.Patricks Church Ballyroan arriving 6.30pm. Requiem Mass on Sunday at 12.30pm.Burial afterwards in St. Patricks Cemetery. Mary Brophy The death took place on Thursday, February 2 of Mary (Mai) Brophy (nee Delaney) of Newpark, Mountmellick Rd., Portlaoise. Beloved wife of the late Michael and predeceased by her sons Mick and Brendan. Much loved mother of Sean, Ailish, Colm, Paul and Geraldine. Deeply regretted by her family, sons-in-law, daughters-in-law, and grandchildren, great-grandchildren, sister-in-law, nieces, nephews, extended family, relatives and friends. Reposing at the Chapel of Rest in the Regional Hospital, Portlaoise on Friday from 5pm with Rosary recital at 8pm. Funeral arriving at Ss Peter & Paul's Church on Saturday for 10am Requiem Mass. Interment afterwards in Ss Peter & Paul's Cemetery. Annie Delaney - Portlaoise The death took place on Thursday, February 2 of Annie (Nancy) Delaney (nee McEvoy) of St. Brigid's Place, Portlaoise. Peacefully surrounded by her family. In the care of Ballard Lodge Nursing Home. Beloved wife of the late Billy and mother to the late Christine, and mother to Pat, William, and Martin. Deeply regretted by her family, sisters Christine, Betty, Kitty, Mary, brothers Sean, Jimmy and Peter, brothers-in-law, sisters-in-law, daughters-in-law, grandchildren, nephews, nieces, relatives and a large circle of friends. Reposing at Keegan's Funeral Home from 6pm on Friday evening with rosary at 8pm. Removal on Saturday morning to SS Peter and Pauls Church to arrive for 12.30pm Requiem Mass. Interment afterwards Breda Mullaney - Portarlington The death took place on Thursday, February 2 of Breda Mullaney(nee Maher) of Church View, Portarlington and formerly of Moorehill House, Granard, Longford. Peacefully in the care of the staff of Oakdale Nursing Home, Portarlington. Predeceased by her husband Eugene. Breda was a much loved aunt. She will be sadly missed by her sister-in-law Alice, her Maher and Morrissey, nieces and nephews, her grandnieces, grandnephews, relatives and friends. Reposing at Oakdale Nursing Home on Friday from 5pm until 7pm, with rosary at 6.30pm. Removal to St. Michael's Church, Portarlington, on Saturday, arriving for requiem Mass at 11am, followed by burial in Granardkille Cemetery, Longford. Laois is at the centre of a land and forestry fraud which is believed to have cost investors over 4.5m. The scam has been uncovered by gardai from the National Economic Crime Bureau. It is believed that over 200 people have been deceived into buying the same plots of land in Laois and Roscommon. Accounts here and in the UK with over 1m have been frozen. According to RTE, two men have been arrested as part of the inquiries. One of the men is scheduled to appear before Dun Laoghaire District Court this morning charged in connection with the investigation. The other man is in custody at Dun Laoghaire Garda Station. It is understood that the investors believed they would double their money in a few years. The investors are from all over Europe, with many from the UK and Northern Ireland. None are from the Republic of Ireland. The investors paid between 20,000 and 30,000 to a company in Ireland which sold the same plots of land to numerous people. Those who visited were shown the same piece of land and assured that the trees would return a profit when they were cut down and sold. Exit light and enter night in Portlaoise this weekend, when Whiplash, Ireland's premier Metallica tribute, return to Kavanaghs this Friday, February 10. Hailing from Galway, Whiplash started in the late 1990s with a big passion for Metallica's music and spent many years in the 2000s gigging around their home town. Since then Whiplash have toured extensively around Ireland performing high intensity and professional Metallica shows. The band comprises Martyn Weesjes on vocals and rhythm guitar, John Cullen on lead guitar, Mad Maud on bass, and Brendan Kenny on drums. So get ready for two hours of a Metallica show this weekend, to include classics like Master of Puppets, Enter Sandman, One, Fade to Black, Fuel and Seek and Destroy. These are just a few of the heavy metal masterpieces set to electrify the crowd when Whiplash take to the stage of Kavanaghs. This is a great opportunity to hear the music of Metallica played the way it should be played and with the live vibe and sound that Metallica are known for. So prepare for an epic night of Metallica, beer and good craic. Singing and moshing is highly advised. The show kicks off at 9pm this Friday, and tickets are on sale now priced 10. For more on Whiplash and other bands, visit the venue website at www.kavanaghsportlaoise.com ICSA will meet with UK Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Andrea Leadsom, as well as Minister of State George Eustice to discuss Brexit in the House of Commons this evening, February 7, 2017. Speaking ahead of the meeting ICSA President, Patrick Kent, said ICSA is determined to ensure that Irish farming interests are well understood at all stages of Brexit negotiations, and that these are kept to the fore on both the UK and EU sides of the table. This is the first meeting between the UK Secretary and any Irish farm organisation and it demonstrates that ICSA will continue to keep the interests of beef and sheep farmers centre stage in the Brexit talks. ICSA has already outlined the concerns of the sectors to EU chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier last September in France. Secretary Leadsom is a key member of the British cabinet and was also prominent as the leading candidate from the pro-Brexit side in the contest to take over from David Cameron. The UK has been our single biggest market for food and drink exports with exports of beef alone amounting to almost 1.2 billion in 2016. At least 50% of our beef currently goes to the UK and a roadmap for how this market can be protected needs to be established. Mr Kent continued noting "Agriculture ties between the UK and Ireland are deeply embedded. ICSA will be making the case that it is in the interests of both Irish and UK farmers to have an EU/UK trade deal which minimises tariffs and other barriers.There is a commonality of interests here which needs to be recognised and protected. ICSA is meeting with Secretary Leadsom and Minister of State George Eustice as part of a coalition of British, Northern Ireland, Scottish, Welsh and Irish farming organisations, Fairness for Farmers in Europe. The meeting will take place in the House of Commons today, commencing at 6.15pm. Leitrim Development Company has been awarded funding totaling 513,000 this year as part of the CEDRA Rural Innovation and Development Fund. The first project contract was awarded to the Leitrim Development Company to design, develop and implement a Social Farming Network across Ireland with funding of 400,000. Funding of 113,000 was also awarded to Leitrim Development Company, in collaboration with University College Dublin (UCD), to establish a social farming best practice project for both local and national audiences. The funding is part of a total pot of 800,000 announced by the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Michael Creed TD this year under the CEDRA Rural Innovation and Development Fund. I am very pleased to support a number of initiatives which will promote and develop the practice of social farming across rural Ireland Minister Creed said. "Social farming allows people, who are availing of a range of health service supports, the opportunity to participate in farming activities in their local area. I know that working on farming and horticulture projects has helped many participants to improve their wellbeing and grow their confidence. For participating farm families, social farming has proved a very worthwhile and satisfying activity which contributes to the local community. Social farming initiatives are a reflection of the Irish proverb ni neart go cur le cheile (there is no strength without unity), and I hope that my Departments funding of social farming projects, and the establishment of a Social Farming Network, will be of real benefit to local rural communities. Minister for Education and Skills, Richard Bruton TD launched the 10th annual SciFest and called on second-level students from Leitrim to demonstrate their science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) skills. Since its inception in 2008, over 40,000 students have participated in the competition, which represents a year on year increase of 23% in participation. Supported by Science Foundation Ireland, the aim of SciFest is to give students of all abilities the opportunity to develop research, problem solving, critical thinking and presentation skills. The closing date for SciFest 2017 is Friday, March 10. In SciFest, second-level students showcase STEM projects at a series of one-day science fairs held locally in schools and regionally in the 14 Institutes of Technology, DCU and St. Marys College, Derry. The winners from each regional science fair will go on to compete at a national final in November 2017. The national final winner(s) of SciFest 2017 will be presented with a trophy and will represent Ireland at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) 2018 in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania. SciFest is funded primarily by Science Foundation Ireland, Boston Scientific and Intel Ireland. Speaking at the launch of SciFest 2017, Sheila Porter, SciFest Founder and CEO said: 2017 is an important year for SciFest as it marks our 10th edition of the competition. Over the last 10 years we have had the opportunity to experience some of the best young minds that Ireland has to offer. 2016 was our best year ever with over 8,000 students participating and exhibiting their projects at local or regional science fairs all across the country and we hope to build on this success in 2017 and beyond. As always, our aim is to develop a passion for STEM, and to promote inquiry-based learning, creativity and innovation among second level students from Leitrim. Richard Bruton TD, Minister for Education and Skills said: It is a pleasure to launch SciFest 2017, here at St Marys Secondary School in Killester. SciFest is now in its 10th year and I wish to congratulate all the organisers, the Institutes of Technology and DCU, and indeed the participating schools and teachers on reaching this important milestone. "For the generation of children currently in school and about to enter it, creative thinking and problem-solving skills will be absolutely key to how they develop and achieve their potential. In particular, their ability to think critically and develop solutions will be vital for their prospects in life. Our ambition is to make Irelands education and training system the best in Europe within a decade. Providing STEM Education of the highest quality is essential if Ireland is to become an innovation leader at the forefront of technological and scientific change. We need to encourage our existing students, as well as future generations of students, to understand and embrace areas related to STEM. Last years overall national final winner was 6th year student Caolann Brady from St. Wolstans Community School, Celbridge, Co. Kildare, for her project which focussed on the natural treatment of asthma through humming and breathing techniques as opposed to using inhalers and nebulisers. Caolann will represent Ireland at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) 2017 in Los Angeles, California. Leitrim students wishing to follow in Caolanns footsteps can log on to the SciFest website (www.scifest.ie) and enter online or download a paper entry form. Completed entries must be submitted by Friday, March 10. SciFest 2017 will be the third year of the prestigious Boston Scientific Medical Devices Award, which is presented at each of the 16 regional science fairs; the overall winner of this award will receive the Boston Scientific Medical Devices Grand Award at the national final in November. Mandate Trade Union has issued strike notice to Tesco Ireland stating that the action will take place on St. Valentines Day, Tuesday, 14th February 2017 and will continue for an indefinite duration. Members of the Union balloted in favour of strike action by a margin of 78 percent. Mandate, which represents more than 10,000 workers at the company, say the strike will initially involve 9 stores, but could escalate with a further 15 stores expected to ballot for industrial action tonight and tomorrow night. Tesco Ireland are attempting to force changes to contracts of employment without agreement for approximately 250 workers employed before 1996. The new contracts would result in some workers experiencing reduced incomes of up to 15 percent along with increased flexibility. Mandate say any attempts to change any workers conditions of employment without agreement will be resisted vigorously by their members. The Union say the company has never justified the cuts to their workers conditions of employment and Tescos actions are an abuse of power from a major multinational corporation against a small number of local workers who have given more than 20 years of loyal service. John Douglas, Mandate General Secretary said, Tesco is the most profitable retailer in the Republic of Ireland with estimated profits of more than 200 million annually and has recently purchased the largest UK wholesaler Booker for 4.3 billion. The company has confirmed that dividend payments to shareholders will restart this year and their share price has gone up by 33 percent in six months. Meanwhile added Mr Douglas, Tesco workers in Ireland who have worked with the company for more than 21 years, and are already classified as low-paid on slightly more than 14 per hour, are being told to accept imposed changes to their contracts or get out the door. An appeal for information regarding a boat that was found washed-up in Co Sligo has revealed the makeshift vessel originated in Cuba. The boat was discovered by Gordon Fallis in Cliffoney beach, Co Sligo last month and he posted pictures to the Facebook page Lost at Sea seeking further information about his discovery. It is thought the boat may have been used to transport refugees attempting to reach Florida from Cuba. The boat was powered by a car engine while plastic bottles, which originated in Cuba, were used to aid buoyancy. Such boats were commonly used to help those attempting to flee Cuba and in a unique agreement anyone who successfully made it ashore in America was granted residency. It is thought this is the first time a boat of this type has been discovered in Europe. The Speaker of the House of Commons, John Bercow, yesterday answered a question from an MP concerning whether Donald Trump would be invited to address MPs in Parliament if and when he pays his state visit in the UK. A modicum of research reveals that Bercow gave the only reasonable answer he could: that he would be opposed to such an invitation (can you imagine many MPs turning up to meekly listen to The Donald?). He enlarged that answer with entirely proper reasoning. He emphasised that he spoke for the House of Commons only, that he was only one of three key holders of Westminster Hall and of the Royal Gallery. He said, quite rightly, that such an invite is an earned honour seldom accorded not an automatic right. If you look at the list of people who have addressed parliament in Westminster Hall, it is very short. The list of people doing such addresses elsewhere in the Palace of Westminster is somewhat longer. However, I dont see either George Bushes on the list, for example. Or John F Kennedy (though he was perhaps not President long enough). Not even Dwight D Eisenhower addressed Parliament during his two terms and he was regarded with vast reverence in this country. But it was the robustness of Bercows accompanying remarks about Trump which were particularly refreshing. He highlighted his racism and sexism, his criticism of the judiciary and recent migrant ban. Full marks to Bercow, say I. On the subject of Trumps visit, author Robert Harris yesterday criticised the amateurism of Theresa May in extending the invite so soon: Shes made obvious mistakes, not least the offer of a state visit so early on. And even I know that you dont give him the thing hed really like before hes given you anything at all. That is pretty stupid. A former distinguished journalist, Robert Harris is a hugely successful novelist with works such as Fatherland, Enigma and a trilogy on Cicero under his belt. That later opus is about to receive a six-part adaptation from the Royal Shakespeare Company, no less. Robert Harris has been a prominent supporter of the Labour Party for many years. I have recently been following Robert Harris Twitter account. As the world goes somewhat mad, his tweets present a refreshing mixture of sanity, knowledge and humour. His interview in yesterdays Evening Standard reveals that he has recently become a supporter of the Liberal Democrats. He says of the Labour Party: I dont believe in the leader and I dont believe in the policies. The party is dead. Your support of the Liberal Democrats is very welcome, Robert! * Paul Walter is a Liberal Democrat activist and member of the Liberal Democrat Voice team. He blogs at Liberal Burblings. Databases containing personal details are honey-pots for hackers, with the potential for sensitive information to end up in the hands of criminals or in the public domain. Hot on the heels of the Investigatory Powers Act, which now requires your internet service provider to store your web history (Internet Connection Records) for 12 months, the Government now wants to create more databases containing highly sensitive personal information. Liberal Democrats did everything we could to stop the worst attacks on individual liberty and privacy in the Investigatory Powers Bill but with Labour support and little help from the media, every significant measure passed into law. No doubt emboldened by the absence of an effective Official Opposition, the Digital Economy Bill brought forward by Government has the potential to create massive databases containing the details of every adult in the UK who, quite lawfully, wants to access adult material on the Internet. We do not have to imagine how sensitive this kind of personal data is, as there have already been examples of the personal details of those who pay for access to porn sites being traded on the dark web. Details of over 400 million customers of two porn sites have been stolen since July last year. In the case of the website, Ashley Madison, the release of personal information reportedly led to two suicides. The problem arises over the Governments legal requirement in the Digital Economy Bill for operators of porn websites to have age-verification, to prevent access to those under 18. There are all sorts of problems with this superficial and mechanistic approach. Age-verification restricted to the UK is very easy to get around and does not address user-generated pornography or pornography posted on twitter or tumblr. Of course we all want to stop children looking at stuff that isnt appropriate for their age, but the Government must accept the reality of the situation. This material will always exist so the Government should instead concentrate its efforts on teaching even very young children what they should do if they come across adult material and making sex and healthy relationship education compulsory in all schools. The big privacy issue, however, is that the Government are not placing any conditions on age-verification systems in order to protect the users. Many of the most popular sites are free to access but many of the age verification systems currently in use are operated by the porn sites themselves and work on the basis of providing credit card details. Apart from the potential for porn websites to target you with embarrassing and unwanted advertising once they know your details, the potential value to criminals of lists of people who are accessing pornography, and their credit card details, is obvious. In addition, just like Internet Connect Records, this has the potential to put people off looking at sites on the Internet that they are perfectly entitled to access. The UN Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the rights to freedom of opinion and expression raised the same concern: the imposition of the age-verification mechanismhas implications for the right to privacy without imposing conditions for the storage of such data. Even the cross-party House of Lords Constitution Committee agrees that better safeguards should be included in the Bill. Liberal Democrats have tabled an amendment which would require any system to guarantee the anonymity of the user and we will continue to press our amendment to ensure everything is done to protect the privacy of age-verification users and to give them a choice as to which company they trust with their personal data. Yet again, the Government is introducing legislation that is not thought through, that is likely to be ineffective and has significant unintended consequences for our civil liberties. Yet again, it is the Liberal Democrats who are providing the real opposition. * Brian Paddick Is Liberal Democrat spokesperson on Home Affairs. He was Deputy Assistant Commissioner in London's Metropolitan Police Service until 2007, the Lib Dem candidate for the London mayoral election in 2008 and 2012, and a life peer since 2013. He is joint President of LGBT+ Lib Dems. On February 5, Qatar Airways launched a new route connecting Doha, Qatar with Auckland in New Zealand making it the longest non-stop commercial flight in the world! The flight is operated on board a Boeing 777-200LR and transports passengers from Doha, Qatar to Auckland, New Zealand without stopping along the way. Taking a whopping 16 hours 10 minutes to complete, the flight has taken the title of the worlds longest non stop flight! The flights route is 9,032 miles long and crosses 10 time zones. The previous record was held by Emirates, which operates a route from Dubai to Auckland over a distance of 8,823 miles. If the idea of sitting on the same plane for over half a day (on the plus side: no need to hang around at a connecting airport!) tickles your fancy, head to the Qatar Airways website to be one of the first to take the worlds longest flight. IMG: Shutterstock THE idea for Limerick Fringe came over a few coffees over the course of last year. Simon Thompson, a well-known actor and director, had been touring with the third part of his popular Clown Noir trilogy which took him to numerous Fringe events across the UK last summer. When I returned to Limerick I had a think about what I had just experienced and started chatting with my partner Eva (Birdthistle). We both agreed that Limerick was perfectly placed to host a Fringe experience of a similar scale, he tells me. The vibe of those Fringe events was very artist-focused. They were friendly events. You found yourself engaging with other artists, sharing experiences and skills. It felt like it was a community of artists coming together in a fun, accessible environment. But most importantly it was accessible to audiences, Simon adds. Thompson explains that, for a long time, he had mused over the audience development conundrum he noticed in Limerick, especially for non-traditional type performance. People are curious, but are they curious enough to spend their money? Do they want to see something non-traditional in a traditional space? These were the questions that kept going through my head, he says. Eva and Simon discussed it and then opened the discussion to a wider group of friends. Those friends included the voice and dance artist, pianist, and arts/event manager Fiona Marie Booth who Simon knew for some time from UL. The Fringe group also comprises Gearoid OhAllmhurain (aka Rg Allen) who works as technical manager at Dance Limerick, Shane Vaughan who is well-known locally as the driver of the popular Stanzas poetry group and freelance illustrator and designer Rosanne Hayes. Once the team was complete it didnt take long for a decision to be made to simply roll with the idea. In creating Limerick Fringe, the organising team didnt try to reinvent the wheel. We took a model that has been proven to work the Canadian Fringe model. This model takes open submissions after which a team then score each submission individually and from those scores comes a programme of events, Simon notes. Therefore, it is important to note that Limerick Fringe is not a curated festival. In fact, festival is a term the guys are keen to avoid. We didnt select anything individually, Fiona Marie Booth is keen to stress. We simply took our submissions and programmed our events based on the interest we had. We were blown away by the level of interest in the event from the moment we put a call out for entries. The number of submissions we received far outweighed our expectations and as a result, the level of standard our audiences can expect in year one is something we are very proud of, she adds. The entries in this years event include local Limerick acts, other Irish-based performers and acts from the UK, Canada, Australia. In fact, almost one third of the entire event line-up is UK based, a testament to the networking opportunities offered at the UK Fringe events Simon attended last year. So what can Limerick audiences expect and how does it work? The programme is split up into eight main event categories: Cabaret, Comedy, Dance & Physical Theatre, Kids and Youth, Spoken Word, Music, Theatre and Workshops. All performers are asked to dream wild, to propose mad and daring collaborations. And why the need to avoid the word festival? This is Fringe, not a festival and there is a difference. Fringe is something that happens on the outskirts of the traditional, Simon explains. It is in a mix of non-traditional and different style venues. We want the artists to work with the retail community, we want them to engage with venue owners in the hope that they too will get a knock on effect from the various programmed events. Eva adds that Limerick Fringe is attempting to push out into the wider Limerick community. We want people who have never considered attending a show to give it a shot at a Fringe event, she says. We are not mainstream. A lot of what you will see programmed is quirky. It is different and it is accessible. Most importantly it is cheap in the cost sense! The Limerick Fringe team plan to use year one as a steep learning curve and then ultimately grow year on year. The venues for the featured events will include Dolans Warehouse and Dolans Upstairs, No 1 Pery Square, the rooms of Shannon Rowing Club, upstairs at the Locke Bar and Mothers Macs pub. These are not your typical arty venues. What we are trying to create are good audience experiences and we hope that these venues will help us to do that, Simon notes. Quite often you hear of people whose perceptions of theatre or the arts of a stiff, shirt and tie-wearing brigade our goal is to break down the barriers to entry certain prospective audiences have and to introduce them to a new world that will hopefully create a new hobby that can last a lifetime. Limerick Fringe will take place across a number of locations in Limerick from March 30 until April 1. See here for more details. THE GROWTH of regional cities, including Limerick, has to be driven to offset the overheating of development and population growth in the capital, a provisional plan for Ireland in 2040 has outlined. The plan over the next 25 years aims to balance economic and social growth across the country, which has been described by officials as almost like a decentralisation plan. In advance of officially launching the plan, the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government, Simon Coveney, outlined that Limericks advantages for growth include its deep-water port, international airport, good sporting facilities and a historic city core. Limerick, he said, is a city waiting for dramatic population growth. Labour deputy Jan OSullivan said the plan offers huge potential for Limerick. There are very positive opportunities there, and Limerick has huge potential to achieve much more. We have seen great jobs growth, we have the plan for remodelling the city, and we have to develop a vibrant living heart to the city. The M20 will also be crucial for us, and we have to keep up the fight with Cork for that, said deputy OSullivan. Among the challenges for Limerick given the creation of nearly 1,000 jobs in 2016 and hundreds more to date so far this year is the construction of housing required to meet increasing demand. With this in mind, another local plan has highlighted the need for some 3,000 additional houses in Limerick by 2030. Minister for Finance Michael Noonan said its quite obvious that Limerick will be one of the central cities in any development plan for the country. Director of policy with Limerick Chamber, Caroline Kelleher, said; it is now essential that there is a commitment from Government to incorporate the proposed M20 motorway into the Capital Plan and improve the links between the cities on the Atlantic Corridor. Likewise, the Northern Distributor Road around Limerick City is necessary to improve accessibility into the city, business parks and the education institutes, said Ms Kelleher. Taoiseach Enda Kenny and the Minister Coveney launched the public consultation for the new national planning framework in Maynooth University the first of two public consultation exercises, amongst a a series of regional and stakeholder events in preparing Ireland 2040 Our Plan. The Taoiseach said the plan aims to secure sustained, long-term and regionally balanced progress on social, economic and environmental fronts. Minister Coveney said the plan will need to address certain key areas, including an expected national population increase of around one million people. It outlines that regional cities such as Cork, Limerick, Galway and Waterford will grow but not at the scale needed to making any ground in relation to Dublin. Dublin will continue to dominate and potentially overheat drawing in more and more of overall national development, while at the same time sprawling into the surrounding Leinster counties. The public can make views by March 16 online www.Ireland2040.ie. Those views will be used to shape a draft copy of the plan which is likely to issue for further consultation prior to the summer. A final version of the plan is likely to be submitted to Government in the autumn. The trial of a man, charged with murdering his flatmate at their home in Limerick, has heard the deceased died as the result of a multiplicity of blows to his head and face. Arnis Labunskis, aged 56, with an address at Wolfe Tone Street denies murdering 39-year-old Dainius Burba at their flat there on April 21 or April 22, 2015. In his evidence, deputy state pathologist Dr Michael Curtis told the Central Criminal Court he could tell that Mr Burbas jaw was fractured when he saw his blood stained body lying on a bed when he visited the scene. Injuries to his head were also obvious at that stage. He later carried out a post-mortem examination of the body and found several lacerations to his head. Many of these, he said, were full-thickness, meaning that the wound went down to bone. There was also visible fractured skull bone. He said the skull was extensively fractured, including shatter fractures. Such fractures exposed his bruised eyeballs, he explained. There was tearing and contusional injury of the brain. He concluded that the deceased had received a multiplicity of blows, estimated at 19 to the head and face. These had resulted in the lacerations, skull fractures and severe injury to the brain. The injuries to his face would have compromised his airway, he added. He gave the cause of death as blunt force injury to the head and face. The trial continues before Ms Justice Deirdre McCarthy and a jury of three women and nine men. THERE are 46 patients on trolleys at University Hospital Limerick this Tuesday, according to figures provided by the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation. The figure spread across trolleys in the emergency department and on wards is an increase from Mondays 39, and is the highest in the country for the second consecutive day. The overcrowding figure has been consistently high at UHL but remains some way short of Januarys peak of 66 yet the hospital is regularly the most overcrowded in the country. This high level of patients on trolleys comes after the announcement that 36 beds were to be opened between St Johns Hospital, Ennis and Nenagh hospitals. Senator Kieran ODonnell has said that these extra beds will help alleviate the A&E crisis" present at UHL. A state-of-the-art emergency department is expected to open this May, subject to a successful recruitment campaign and HSE funding. It will be three times the size of the current facility, and is expected to improve the patient and staff experience at the hospital, a spokesperson for the UL Hospitals Group has said. GARDAI at Askeaton and Newcastle West have renewed an appeal for information almost a week after an aggravated burglary during which a priest was tied up and locked in a room. The break-in at the parochial house in Shanagolden took place on the evening of Wednesday, February 1, between 8pm and 8.30pm. Canon Tony OKeeffe was locked into an upstairs room by the assailants after being forced to hand over money. The culprits, three men, forced their way into the house and threatened the 72-year-old man, making away with a quantity of cash and a CCTV system from the house. This must have been a frightening ordeal for the victim and Gardai are appealing for any person who may have any information, or otherwise saw or observed anything of a suspicious nature, to contact Newcastle West gardai, said a garda spokesperson. After the burglars made their escape, Canon OKeeffe managed to free himself and he subsequently raised the alarm. The parish priest was just returning from saying Mass in Foynes when he was approached by the three men. County Limerick TD Niall Collins said that the cleric and the wider community were traumatised in the aftermath of the incident. Hes pretty shook up, and the local community is completely shocked by it. It just shows that the crime statistics go up and down, but crime never goes away, and it shows the degree of vulnerability of people living alone in rural Ireland, he added. Those with information can contact Newcastle West gardai at 069 20650 or 1800 666 111. 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. Concert Photographer at Live In Limbo. Started concert photography due to the fact that I love music but do not have a musical note in my body, so this is the next best thing as far as I am concerned. I love the energy rush you get coming off the stage from the performers. I am a hardcore animal fanatic and will go out of my way to help them. My nickname is Miniwheats which was given to me years ago and most people do not know my real name. Twitter @minismemories Coming to America (Image credit: Bettmann Archive/Getty) Throughout America's history, immigrants have played a vital part in shaping the country's growth and progress as a nation. They arrived seeking opportunities that were out of reach in their native lands; in many cases, they were escaping religious or ethnic persecution, or fleeing the horrors of war or natural disasters. Scientists of all types have numbered among those pursuing a new life in America. In doing so, they brought expertise that significantly contributed to progress in their respective fields, advancing scientific discovery in disciplines ranging from theoretical physics to pathology to biochemistry. Immigrant scientists have also received some of the highest accolades in science for their pioneering work; since 2000, 40 percent of the Nobel Prizes won by Americans in the areas of chemistry, medicine and physics 31 of 78 awards were earned by immigrants, Forbes reported. Here are 11 scientists who began their scientific journeys in different countries but eventually, the paths that they followed all converged in America, the country they came to call their home. John James Audubon: Naturalist and artist (17851851) John James Audubon (1785-1851), American naturalist and artist whose classic, THE BIRDS OF AMERICA, was published in four volumes from 182738. Ca. 1850 (Image credit: Everett Collection) John James Audubon was born in Saint Domingue (now known as Haiti) and grew up in Nantes, France. He was sent to America in 1803 at the age of 18, to avoid conscription into the French army. Audubon investigated and documented observations of the natural world, showing a special interest in birds. He identified 25 bird species and 12 new subspecies, but he is perhaps best known for his extraordinarily lifelike drawings and paintings of birds in their natural habitats, drawn with careful attention to anatomical detail. His crowning achievement was the book, "Birds of America," which compiled 435 watercolor prints and is considered a landmark of wildlife illustration. John Muir: Naturalist and writer (18481914) (Image credit: National Records and Archives Administration) Naturalist and writer John Muir was born in Scotland, emigrating to Wisconsin with his family in 1849. Fascinated by wild spaces from a young age, Muir observed and wrote extensively about the beauty of the natural world. He was especially captivated by the California landscape, particularly Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada mountain range. Muir published 10 books and 300 articles describing his travels, and promoting an appreciation for nature and conservation. He was instrumental in the creation of several national parks, including Yosemite, Petrified Forest, Mount Rainier and Grand Canyon, and he worked closely with President Theodore Roosevelt to establish conservation programs across the country. Albert Einstein: Theoretical physicist (18791955) (Image credit: Keystone/Hulton Archive/Getty) Born in Germany, Albert Einstein followed a more convoluted path than most toward his eventual American citizenship. Einstein renounced his German citizenship in 1896 at the age of 17, and became a Swiss citizen in 1901. He entered the civil service in Germany in 1914 and regained his German citizenship, only to renounce it and flee the country in 1933, spurred by anti-Semitism and the growing power of the Nazi party. After emigrating to America to accept a position as a professor of theoretical physics at Princeton, Einstein became an American citizen in 1940, maintaining dual citizenship with Switzerland. Einstein was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1921 for his explanation of the photoelectric effect how light creates electricity with the groundbreaking observation that light behaved as a particle as well as a wave. He is also known for developing the theory of special relativity, which describes the relationship between space and time, and the theory of general relativity, defining gravity as linked to the curvature of space and time the first major theory about gravity since Newton's in 1687. Gerty Cori: Biochemist (18961957) (Image credit: Keystone/Hulton Archive/Getty) Born in Prague, Czechoslovakia now known as the Czech Republic Gerty Cori (nee Radnitz), received a doctorate in medicine from the German University of Prague in 1920, emigrated to America with her husband Carl Ferdinand Cori in 1922, and became a naturalized citizen in 1928. Cori was appointed a professor of biochemistry at the Washington University Medical School in St. Louis in 1947. She collaborated with her husband, also a biochemist, in most of her research, and they were jointly awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1947 along with Bernardo Alberto Houssay for their work decoding a form of glucose, contributing to scientific understanding of the role played by hormones in metabolizing sugars and starches. Albert Claude: Cell biologist (18981983) (Image credit: Bettmann Archive/Getty) Albert Claude was born in Longlier, Belgium, and obtained a medical degree in 1928 from Belgium's Universite de Liege. Claude traveled to New York City that same year to work at the Rockefeller Institute for Medical Research. He became a U.S. citizen in 1941, arranging for joint citizenship with Belgium in 1949. Claude launched the field of cell biology by developing a technique that could separate parts of a living cell for examination under high-magnification electron microscopes. He shared the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1974 for this groundbreaking work, and spent subsequent decades analyzing and mapping cell structures and their functions. Maria Goeppert Mayer: Theoretical physicist (19061972) (Image credit: Newscom) Maria Goeppert Mayer (nee Maria Goeppert) was born in Kattowitz, Germany (now Katowice, Poland), and attended the University of Gottingen, where she earned a doctoral degree in physics in 1930. She emigrated to the U.S. with her husband that same year, becoming an American citizen in 1933. Goeppert Mayer worked on the Manhattan Project team, researching the separation of uranium isotopes for the development of nuclear weapons. She later co-developed a novel model explaining how nuclei were distributed in atoms based on their energy levels, and was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1963 for this discovery, along with Eugene Wigner and J. Hans D. Jensen. Enrico Fermi: Physicist (19011954) (Image credit: Keystone/Hulton Archive/Getty) Physicist Enrico Fermi, a prominent scientific figure of the nuclear age, was born in Rome, and received his doctoral degree in physics from the University of Pisa in 1922. Fermi won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1938 for discovering new radioactive elements produced by irradiating neutrons, and he emigrated to the U.S. that same year, fleeing the fascist dictatorship that was emerging in Italy under Benito Mussolini. He became a U.S. citizen in 1944. Fermi is perhaps best known as the leader of the team of physicists behind the top-secret Manhattan Project, formed by the U.S. government in 1941. Under Fermi's guidance, Manhattan Project scientists produced the first controlled nuclear chain reaction, a breakthrough that led to the production of the world's first nuclear weapons. Hans Bethe: Physicist (19062005) (Image credit: Keystone/Hulton Archive/Getty) Born in Strassburg, Germany (now Strasbourg, France), Hans Bethe studied physics at the University of Frankfurt, earning his doctoral degree in 1928. In 1933, as the Nazi party gained power in Germany, anti-Semitic policies led to his dismissal from his position as assistant professor at the University of Tubingen. Bethe emigrated to the U.S. in 1935, becoming a citizen in 1941. Bethe's work in the U.S. as part of the teams developing atomic arsenals in the 1940s inspired him to later promote education and public awareness about nuclear weapons and arms control. Over subsequent decades he campaigned to end nuclear testing and encouraged scientists to cease designing new nuclear weapons. In 1967, he received the Nobel Prize in Physics for discovering the reactions that generate energy in stars. Elizabeth Stern: Pathologist (1915-1980) (Image credit: University of Toronto) Elizabeth Stern, born in Ontario, Canada, attended medical school at the University of Toronto and received her U.S. citizenship in 1943. She became a professor of epidemiology the medical branch examining patterns of diseases at the University of California in 1963, and was one of the first researchers to specialize in the study of diseased cells. Stern published a study describing a link between herpes simplex and cervical cancer; her discovery is thought to be the first case study linking a specific virus to a specific type of cancer. She was the first to link oral contraceptives to cervical cancer, and her work investigating cervical cells identified 250 progressive stages as the cells transitioned from healthy to cancerous, enabling earlier cancer detection and treatment. Rita Levi-Montalcini: Neurobiologist (19092012) (Image credit: Mondadori via Getty) Rita Levi-Montalcini was born in Turin, Italy, and studied medicine at the University of Turin, graduating in 1936. Through World War II, Levi-Montalcini lived under precarious conditions in Mussolini's Italy; barred from academic work and in hiding due to her Jewish ancestry, she conducted neurological research on chicken embryos in a makeshift lab in her own home. Levi-Montalcini relocated to St. Louis, Missouri, in 1947 to accept a post at Washington University, and she eventually became a dual citizen of the U.S. and Italy. In 1986, she was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine with biochemist Stanley Cohen for isolating a protein that contributed to embryonic cell growth, transforming scientific understanding of how cells divide and multiply. Dogs may be man's best friend, but a new study finds that pets are children's best friends, too more so than their own siblings. The research does not suggest pets can replace siblings, but rather offers more information about how family pets can influence the development and well-being of children. Though the study looked at only 77 children in the United Kingdom, the findings add to a growing body of research about the role that pets play in people's lives. In Western households, pets are almost as common as siblings, but according to the researchers, there are few studies on the importance of child-pet relationships. [In Photos: America's Favorite Pets] "Anyone who has loved a childhood pet knows that we turn to them for companionship and disclosure, just like relationships between people," study lead author Matt Cassells, a psychiatry Ph.D. student at the University of Cambridge, said in a statement. "We wanted to know how strong these relationships are with pets relative to other close family ties. Ultimately this may enable us to understand how animals contribute to healthy child development." To determine the bond between children and their pets, the researchers asked 77 12-year-old children with one or more pets (of any type) and one or more siblings about their relationships with their pets, as well as about their sibling relationships. The children's responses showed that they felt more satisfaction in pet relationships, with dogs receiving higher marks than other kinds of pets. Beyond their feelings of closeness with the pets, the children also reported that they would talk and share secrets with their animals. "Even though pets may not fully understand or respond verbally, the level of disclosure to pets was no less than to siblings," Cassels said. "The fact that pets cannot understand or talk back may even be a benefit as it means they are completely non-judgmental." Previous research has found that boys report stronger relationships with their pets, but this study found the opposite. The researchers found that girls reported more disclosure and companionship with their pet. Cassels said this could indicate girls interact in more nuanced ways with their pets compared with boys. This study adds to the growing understanding of how pets have positive benefits on humans, said study co-author Nancy Gee, the human-animal interaction research manager at the WALTHAM Centre for Pet Nutrition. "The social support that adolescents receive from pets may well support psychological well-being later in life," Gee said in the statement. "But there is still more to learn about the long-term impact of pets on children's development." The results of the study were detailed in a paper published online Jan. 20 in the Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology. Original article on Live Science. When grasped by a predator, fish-scale geckos lose not just their scales but also the skin underneath. This bizarre behavior could be important in helping them to escape. A newly discovered species of gecko with unusually large scales practices a bizarre defensive strategy that might make your skin crawl: When a predator catches hold, the gecko literally jumps out of its own skin. The species, Geckolepis megalepis, was described recently in a new study. Part of a small group known as fish-scale geckos, these creatures have scales that are larger than those of any known gecko species, the researchers said. Each scale can be as large as 0.2 inches (5.8 millimeters) about 8 percent of the gecko's body length and those big scales could make the gecko especially adept at escaping predators, according to the new study. [6 Crazy Skills That Prove Geckos Are Amazing] Whereas most geckos have small scales that lie flat against their bodies, fish-scale geckos have large, overlapping scales that are only partly attached to their skin. But what is really unusual about this genus of geckos is the layer of skin beneath those scales, which tears away easily and grows back quickly, according to the study's lead author, Mark Scherz, a doctoral candidate at Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich and Zoologische Staatssammlung Munchen (the Bavarian State Collection of Zoology). "Their skin has this pre-formed zone for shearing and an unusually fast regeneration cycle," Scherz told Live Science in an email. Prior studies of fish-scale geckos noted that these animals can completely regrow their scaly coverings in just a few weeks. The new fish-scale gecko, Geckolepis megalepis, has the largest body scales of all geckos. (Image credit: Frank Glaw) G. megalepsis geckos are native to Madagascar, and measure up to 2.8 inches (7 centimeters) in length, from the tip of the snout to the base of the tail, the researchers wrote in the study. The geckos' oversize scales create a pebbly texture in mottled shades of brown and cream. But after a close encounter with a predator, the denuded geckos' bodies become shiny and pink where their scaly covering has ripped away. There is no blood or scarring, and the scales that grow back are almost indistinguishable from the original scales, Scherz said. Capturing any small wild animal for scientific analysis can be extremely challenging, but it is even more difficult if the animal is likely to drop its skin when touched, Scherz said. So how do scientists catch these geckos without causing them to shed their scales? Very, very carefully, Scherz told Live Science. "Generally, what we do is lure the geckos into a container or plastic bag, so that we have the minimum possible contact with them," Scherz said. "It is possible to catch them by hand without losing scales, but it takes a lot of practice and is not always successful." Scherz and his colleagues caught three G. megalepsis specimens in northern Madagascar's Ankarana Reserve. The size, shape and distribution of its scales, as well as subtle distinguishing features in its skeleton, revealed to the study authors that it was a new species. Skull renderings of the new gecko species from micro-CT scans. (Image credit: Mark D. Scherz) The unusual size of its scales "considerably larger than any other species," Scherz said was especially interesting to them. Previous studies of fish-scale geckos, as well as the new study's analysis, show that these types of scales are dense and highly mineralized. Growing them comes at some metabolic cost to the animal, which makes it puzzling that their main defense involves losing the scales so easily, Scherz said. "Whatever the cost of regenerating the scales, it cannot be as great as losing your life to a predator," Scherz said. "So even when the cost could be enormous, it is worth it. That's an interesting evolutionary strategy." Studying the scale-shedding geckos more closely could even inform medical research, he added. Understanding how the geckos' regenerated scales grow back without forming scars could assist scientists in developing techniques for minimizing or eliminating scarring during skin repair. The findings were published online today (Feb. 7) in the open-access journal PeerJ. Original article on Live Science. A child holds a dorado catfish (Brachyplatystoma rousseauxii) caught in the Amazon River. New research finds that these catfish make the longest migration of any freshwater fish: 3,595 miles (5,786 kilometers) from their spawning grounds in the Andes to the nursery where the juveniles mature in the Amazon estuary near the Atlantic Ocean. The dorado catfish, a native of the Amazon River, can grow to be up to 6 feet (1.8 meters) long. But size isn't this river giant's only superlative: New research finds that these goliath catfish migrate farther than any other freshwater fish in the world. The dorado catfish (Brachyplatystoma rousseauxii) lives its life out across the entire extent of the Amazon River, which stretches across an area as large as the continental United States, researchers reported Feb. 6 in the journal Scientific Reports. The fish spawn 3,595 miles (5,786 kilometers) from the Amazon estuary where they mature. Over their lifetimes, they may travel as far as 7,208 miles (11,600 km). "It's the longest freshwater fish migration that's ever been reported in the world," said Michael Goulding, an aquatic scientist at the Wildlife Conservation Society who conducted the study along with lead author Ronaldo Barthem, of Brazil's Museu Paraense Emilio Goeldi, and other researchers. [Quest for Survival: Photos of Incredible Animal Migrations] Amazing migrations It wasn't easy to track the movements of this record-breaking fish. The dorado catfish is one of several giant catfish species that live in the muddy Amazon. Some of these aquatic predators can grow to be as long as 9 feet (2.8 m) from their snout to the fork of their tail. The fish are caught by commercial fishers all along the river, and it was clear that they were traveling large distances, Goulding told Live Science. But no one knew exactly how far, and surveying the enormous river is no easy task. Fishers haul in a catch of dorado catfish in an area of rapids now drowned under deep water by Brazil's Jirau and Santo Antonio dams in the Madeira River basin. (Image credit: Michael Goulding) "It's like canoeing, if you could, from New York to San Francisco," Goulding said. And the headwaters in the Andes are turbulent and dangerous for fieldwork, he added. So instead of trying to follow the river's goliath catfish in their migratory cycle, the researchers surveyed the distribution of adults, larvae and juvenile catfish of four species: Brachyplatystoma rousseauxii, B. platynemum, B. juruense and B. vaillantii. They gathered year-round data from the river's Madeira basin, an area that drains about 502,000 square miles (1.3 million square km), as well as all the data they could find from multiple years in the entire Amazon basin, an area of about 2.9 million square miles (7.5 million square km). All of the species except B. vaillantii travel to the piedmont area of the Andes to spawn, the researchers found. Even B. vaillantii is an accomplished traveler; though it appears to spawn in the western Amazon rather than in the Andes, it still makes a journey of 1,944 miles (3,129 km) from the Amazon estuary where the river empties into the Atlantic and where young fish mature to adulthood, the researchers found. Breaking records The real record breaker of the bunch, though, was B. rousseauxii, the dorado catfish. This species spawns in the far western Amazon, near the Andes, Goulding said. The larvae then head downstream, maturing into juvenile fish as they go. It takes them about a month to travel about 3,595 miles (5,786 km) downstream to the estuary, where they spend several years eating and growing. At age 2 or 3, the catfish take off for the return journey, traveling back to the Andes to spawn. Once they do so, they travel downstream to the western Amazon a journey of about 600 to 1,200 miles (1,000 to 2,000 km). Adults then make the journey from the western Amazon back to the Andes waters each year to spawn again. The migration is similar to the one that salmon undertake, but much longer, Goulding said. (Salmon travel about 3,700 miles, or 6,000 km, in their lifetime about half of what the dorado catfish manages.) "The amazing thing, looking at it in terms of evolution, is that these fish evolved with the entire system" of the river, Goulding said. The findings have important implications for conservation, because the catfish's broad range means that the entire Amazon system must be protected to ensure that the fisheries in the estuary and along the river's length remain productive, Goulding said. The fish would be particularly threatened by dam building in the Andes, which could block their migration and change the river's ecology. "About 80 percent of the commercial fisheries in the Amazon are based on migratory species," Goulding said. "The only way to manage those fish realistically in an ecological sense is to consider the scale of their life history, and in this case, it's all the way from the Andes to the estuary." Original article on Live Science. According to the San Francisco Chronicle archives, sometime in the 1970's, if you didn't have money for the Golden Gate Bridge toll, you could leave a personal item as security. If it remained unclaimed for a period of time, it would be auctioned off to recoup payment. Items included wrenches, alarm clock, transistor radio, horse brush, gasoline can, and even four cans of lima beans. The gallery shows vintage toll booth and toll plaza photos. Currently Reading Gallery: Things to know about Betsy DeVos If you do not have a current print subscription to the Lodi News-Sentinel, but want to view unlimited articles for the month, please choose this option. Check out our latest E-Edition Accessible anytime and anywhere on your desktop, tablet and smart phone devices. The Lodi News e-Edition is enhanced with the latest digital tools, including RSS feeds, social networking and much more. Check out our latest E-edition! A Networking within Industry event will take place in Viewmount House, Longford on Thursday, February 9. The event is being hosted by Midlands Regional Skills Manager Lorraine Danaher and Dermot O'Neill from Irish Centre for Business Excellence (ICBE). Networking within Industry will highlight the value of industry networking and the economic impact that training and innovation has on a company. The Midlands Regional Skills Forum was created as part of the Governments National Skills Strategy and provides an opportunity for employers and the education and training system to work together to meet the emerging skills needs of the region. A more structured engagement on the skills agenda and the work of the Forum will contribute to better outcomes for learners and support enterprise development. ICBE is a non-profit organisation established by leading companies on the island of Ireland. It is a network of organisations who demonstrate a deep commitment to continuous improvement and the pursuit of business excellence. The event will allow industry to voice their concerns on issues they face in relation to growth, skills needs, retention of staff and training. A call out to all businesses in Longford to join us for an interactive and thought-provoking event where you will meet and hear from other Industry contacts in your local area. DETAILS OF LONGFORD EVENING MEETING Date: Thursday, February 9 Time: 6:00 pm - 7:30 pm (Registration from 5:30 pm) Location: Viewmount House, Dublin Road, Longford To book your place; Contact Lorraine at Tel: 09064 71897 Mob: 086 1749290 or lorrainedanaher@regionalskills.ie - Places are limited Music, Movies & Entertainment, Local News, Community, Charity & Cause, Press Releases By Long Island News & PR Published: February 07 2017 After two rounds of auditions, FREE, in partnership with the BroadHollow Theatre Company, held the finals for the first annual Long Island Special Needs Got Talent competition. Old Bethpage, NY - February 6, 2017 - After two rounds of auditions, Family Residences and Essential Enterprises, Inc. (FREE), in partnership with the BroadHollow Theatre Company, held the finals for the first annual Long Island Special Needs Got Talent competition on Saturday, February 4th. The finals, held at the Bayway Arts Center in East Islip, saw 22 finalists compete for the opportunity to be considered the best on Long Island, as well as for cash and other prizes. The contestants performed in front of some of Long Islands top talent professionals in three different age groups, Children, Teens, and Adults. The winners of the first annual Long Island Special Needs Got Talent competition are: Childrens Group First Place Catalina Rojas from Hauppauge Second Place Kaitlyn Keisner from Coram Teens Group First Place Natalie DeSantis from Selden Second Place Charlie Kosina from Rockville Centre Third Place Bryan Denadio from Port Jefferson Station Adults Group First Place John McClean First Place Second Place Christopher Triano Third Place Michael Korins from Merrick All of us at FREE are thrilled that these performers showed the world what we already know, being differently-abled does not mean you are not able, said Robert Budd, CEO FREE. This event was a great success and we look forward to many more, Budd continued. Evaluating these performers were an all-star panel of judges who all had a distinct Long Island flavor. The judges included Jay Jay French, Mark "The Animal" Mendoza, and Eddie "Fingers" Ojeda of Twisted Sister; WWE Hall of Famer, New York Times Best Selling Author and former WWE World Champion, Mick Foley; Joe Rock, WBAB on-air personality; Jessica Gallone, Sr. Day Services Director, FREE; Jessica Cianciotto, Director of a Special Needs Acting Troupe at Take-One Theatre; and Sly Geralds, Director of Rock-n-Roll University in Hauppauge. FREE and the BroadHollow Theatre Company are already looking forward to the 2018 Long Island Special Needs Got Talent competition. Family Residences and Essential Enterprises, Inc. (FREE) Family Residences and Essential Enterprises, Inc. (FREE), founded in 1977, benefits and proudly supports more than 4,000 individuals with intellectual/developmental disabilities, mental illness and traumatic brain injury. It is the mission of FREE to assist individuals of all abilities realize their full potential. FREE provides a diverse array of supports and services including: housing; recovery services; transition to work; employment; day, community and family services; respite; crisis services; education and after school support; specialty health services; and advocacy. FREE also collaborates with a variety of diverse 501(c)(3) nonprofit partners on educational, vocational, rehabilitative and a myriad of other creative initiatives to enhance the local communities and the lives of more than 25,000 people that reside within them. Each of the valued partners of the Family of FREE Network has a unique mission, vision and strategic goals that are aligned in purpose, and embody the spirit of the meaningful work we do every day. For more information, please call 516-870-7000 or visit www.familyres.org. School & Education, Nature & Weather, Local News, Community, Charity & Cause, Press Releases By Long Island News & PR Published: February 07 2017 The Arbor Day Foundation has recognized Suffolk County Community College's Eastern Campus in Riverhead as a 2016 Tree Campus USA. Riverhead, NY - February 6, 2017 - The Arbor Day Foundation has recognized Suffolk County Community College's Eastern Campus in Riverhead as a 2016 Tree Campus USA, a national program created in 2008 by the Arbor Day Foundation to honor colleges and universities for effective campus forest management and for engaging staff and students in conservation goals. Students of Suffolk County Community College plant tree. Photo by SCCC. The Eastern Campus is situated on 192 acres in the Pine Barrens of eastern Long Island. Local News, National & World News, Community, Charity & Cause, Press Releases By Long Island News & PR Published: February 07 2017 The guided-missile destroyer USS Michael Murphy (DDG 112) with embarked U.S. Coast Guard maritime law enforcement personnel began its support of Oceania Maritime Security Initiative (OMSI) Jan. 31. By MC3 Danny Kelley, USS Michael Murphy Public Affairs Pacific Ocean - February 6, 2017 - The guided-missile destroyer USS Michael Murphy (DDG 112) with embarked U.S. Coast Guard maritime law enforcement personnel began its support of Oceania Maritime Security Initiative (OMSI) Jan. 31. OMSI is a Secretary of Defense program aimed to diminish transnational illegal activity on the high seas in the Pacific Island Nations of Oceanias exclusive economic zones (EEZ) and enhance regional security and interoperability with partner nations. OMSI is about expanding our network of cooperation with partners throughout the Asia-Pacific region to secure common interests in the Western-Central-Pacific, said Lt. Cmdr. Connor Sullivan, the embarked Coast Guard team lead. Our common interest is ensuring that these countries can protect their resources, which will allow them to become more economically independent. Through bilateral agreements, the U.S. Coast Guard assists ten Pacific Island nations in patrolling the waters around their exclusive economic zones (EEZs) Each of the nations have territorial waters stretching out 12 miles from shore. Beyond that, stretching out 200 nautical miles are EEZs, an area defined by national law that allows each nation exclusive rights to the exploration and use of maritime resources. During this OMSI patrol, maritime law enforcement officers from Tuvalu and Nauru will use Michael Murphy as a platform to intercept and board commercial fishing vessels operating in their respective EEZs. They will be assisted during these boardings by the embarked USCG LEDET and will be looking for any potential fishing violations. The objective is to ensure long-term conservation and sustainable use of highly migratory fish stocks in the Western-Central-Pacific ocean, said Sullivan. The OMSI mission is an important maritime law enforcement operation that clearly demonstrates our continued support of the Pacific Island Nations, said Cmdr. Robert A. Heely Jr., commanding officer of Michael Murphy. Teaming up with the Coast Guard and partner nations within the region will enable Michael Murphy to enforce fishery laws that are critical to regional economic prosperity. Additionally, this crew is excited to execute this mission alongside enforcement ship riders from Tuvalu and Narau who will benefit from the extensive range provided by the ship and the embarked helicopter squadron. Pacific Ocean - Jan. 30, 2017 - The guided-missile destroyer USS Michael Murphy (DDG 112) transits the Pacific Ocean. Michael Murphy is on a regularly scheduled Western Pacific deployment with the Carl Vinson Carrier Strike Group as part of the U.S. Pacific Fleet-led initiative to extend the command and control functions of U.S. 3rd Fleet. U.S. Navy aircraft carrier strike groups have patrolled the Indo-Asia-Pacific regularly and routinely for more than 70 years. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Danny Kelley/Released) Michael Murphy, Tuvaluan and Nauru maritime law enforcement, and the U.S. Coast Guard will work together to conduct maritime law enforcement operations in support of U.S. and Pacific Island Nations fisheries laws and to suppress illicit activities. Upon completion of OMSI, the ship will continue operations in the Indo-Asia-Pacific region as part of the Carl Vinson Strike Group. U.S. Navy carrier strike groups have regularly patrolled the Indo-Asia-Pacific for more than 70 years and will continue to do so. Carl Vinson has deployed to the region several times, starting with a deployment to the Western Pacific in 1983, a year after commissioning. Most recently in 2015, Carl Vinson conducted port visits and exercises with regional navies in the South China Sea. Commissioned on October 6, 2012, USS Michael Murphy is named after former U.S. Navy SEAL Lieutenant Michael P. Murphy. Murphy who was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for his heroic actions during Operation Red Wings in Afghanistan, June 28, 2005. Murphy was the first person to be awarded the medal for actions in Afghanistan and was the first member of the U.S. Navy to receive the award since the Vietnam War. A member of Irans Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) who was embedded with Iraqs Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) was killed on Saturday by an Islamic State booby trap near the Tal Afar airport, which is to the west of Mosul, according to Iranian media. The PMF, the umbrella organization of Iraqi-Shiite militias fighting the Islamic State that is dominated by IRGC-backed groups, has claimed new gains near Tal Afar during the past week. The death of Guard member Kheirollah Ahmadi underscores Irans involvement in Iraq. The IRGC has released little details about the slain operative. During the Iran-Iraq War (1980-1988), Ahmadi served with distinction in a sabotage battalion and the Hunayn Battalion of the IRGC Ground Forces Hazrat-e Nabi Akram Corps according to reports citing a Guard commander. That same commander introduced Ahmadi as a member of the Hunayn Battalion, indicating that he was active duty prior to his Iraq deployment. The IRGC has deployed both active duty and retired officers to Syria and Iraq. The Nabi Akram Corps is stationed in the predominantly Shiite-Kurdish Kermanshah province in western Iran. In the past, members from the provincial unit and that battalion have deployed to Syria in support of pro-regime operations. The IRGC has not divulged details of Ahmadis military activities in Iraq, or whether he also rotated into Syria. Iraqi PMF members nicknamed him al-batal, or the hero, and he operated as a commander, according to a senior Guard officer. An obituary poster of Ahmadi also described him as a commander, and several Iranian newspapers used the honorific title of Sardar, or the equivalent of a Brigadier General. At his scheduled funeral in West Eslam-Abad County in Kermanshah on Tuesday, he is expected to receive a heros burial. The IRGCs external operations branch, the Quds Force, and its nominally domestic branch, the Ground Forces, have been advising PMF units and various Shiite militias since the rise of the Islamic State in 2014. The Quds Force has extensively operated in Iraq since the 2003 US invasion of Iraq, while Ground Forces including the Basij paramilitary augmented their Quds Force comrades after the Islamic State swept into the country. At least 2,000 Iranians reportedly deployed to Iraq in June 2014 immediately following the Sunni extremist groups lightening advances. Many of the regular Iranian forces were called back home after IRGC-backed Shiite militias and Iraqi forces started rolling back the Islamic State, and the IRGC turned to escalating its Syria military campaign in September 2015. Regular Iranian combatants continue to deploy to Iraq and embed with Shiite militias. In the past year, the majority of regular IRGC forces who have been announced killed in Iraq have been experienced veterans of the Iran-Iraq War. At least 37 Iranians have died in military operations in Iraq since 2014, according to data compiled by Ali Alfoneh. While the loss of the latest veteran may be a blow to the Guard, there are many other operatives ready to take his place. The IRGC continues to demonstrate its total commitment to emerging as a dominant force in post-Islamic State Iraq. Amir Toumaj is a independent analyst and contributor to 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. If the Republicans get a majority in the US House of Representatives, as is expected, theyll focus on lawsuit investment transparency and Chinas IP practices In partnership with Tory Burch. I love love. I know youre supposed to roll your eyes when you see a way-too-happy couple making out on a corner under a shared umbrella, but unless I fear they have bad breath, I usually want to stand under that umbrella with them. Let me feel that osmosis of your love. When I see a dad on the playground with his kids, I grab my heart so that I dont take a photo of them. (You never know what others will find creepy.) Friendship! I could watch brunch-adjacent strangers bask in belly laughter all morning because it makes me think of every time Ive been unable to breathe over a joke with friends. I love rom-coms, happy endings and big, cozy families. I love love. As a writer who does a lot of relationship-based interviews, Ive realized that part of what I love about love are all of the stories that are born from the emotion. People do really weird, totally out-of-character things in the name of love, whether its for a parent or a kid or a friend or a partner. And then they want to tell you about it! MR paired up with Tory Burch for the launch of the brands new fragrance, Love Relentlessly, to share three grand gesture stories done in the name of love. They range from WHOSE LIFE IS THIS to a tale about cheese. Grab your tissues and join me, wont you, as we scroll through a whole lot of love. Alison and Ilan, New York As told to Amelia by Alison: In March of 2013 I had a chance to visit Israel. I didnt want to go. I almost didnt. I was in the midst of a transition: Id just gotten out of a relationship, I wanted to quit my job, my lease on my apartment was almost up and nothing apartment or job was lined up. But I went. I met Ilan (which means tree in Hebrew) at the airport on my way to Israel. He was part of the same trip and had also just ended something. We became friends immediately and fell for one another fast over the course of ten days together. It took us both by surprise. It came out of nowhere. Previously, the idea of spending my life with someone gave me so much anxiety. I couldnt imagine it. The night before we left Israel, I remember watching him from across the room and thinking about how I could do that with him. I felt a sense of peace and happiness and excitement. I went home and he went to off to Europe with a backpack. He had one pair of shoes, one pair of pants, a couple of shirts and a guitar. He was a musician on perpetual tour. He had no real place to live. He lived out of a van, crashed on couches and had no real income. Meanwhile, I had to deal with my life back home. When I returned to New York, I kept thinking that I wanted more time with him. I knew in my heart that if we had more time, we would fall in love. We talked every day, and when I finally quit, he asked me to come meet him in Paris. Now, remember that I had no job. No apartment secured. And I had student loans (which would eventually triple). My parents are really strict. I grew up as the goody-two-shoes kind of girl, always listened to my mom and dad. I considered how terrible of an idea this was. What if I went and he broke my heart? What if he got sick of me? What if we had no connection? Like an idiot in love, I did it. I sold some stuff to buy a ticket. It was a huge financial hit to take on a guy who Id known for less than a week, but I took a chance. It was awkward for like, a minute when I arrived, but we fell into place like puzzle pieces snapping together almost right away. Cooking, grocery shopping. Domestic bliss kicked in and we realized we were perfect for each other. We realized that we were meant to be. I was only supposed to be there for 10 days. He asked me to stay longer. I knew I was in love with him but I didnt want to tell him because I didnt know what was actually going to happen with us. What if this was some crazy, magical fling? Id whisper it to myself sometimes when I knew he couldnt hear because it was painful to keep it in. Then one night, at a cafe in Paris with music playing and candlelight and the both of us lost in each others eyes, two French women interrupted us in French. Ilan doesnt speak French, but I understood them: We can tell you are so in love with each other, and its so beautiful to see. That pushed me over the edge. I told him that night and he said it back. He asked me to stay. Reminder: I dont have any money. No job lined up. This was a terrible idea. But the night before I was supposed to fly home, we changed my ticket. I bought a ticket from Marrakesh back to Paris two weeks from then and, with nothing booked in between, we went on an adventure to Morocco. This seriously happened: I asked him, Where are we going to sleep? He said, In each others arms. He wrote a song for me about running away together and sang it for me later. I had never been so happy. We did so many things I never dreamed of. We slept overnight in a car in a field of wildflowers under the stars. We visited Toulouse. We hitchhiked to Barcelona. Id never hitchhiked! We caught a last minute train to Malaga by the skin of our teeth. The whole thing was out of a movie. I was so sad when the trip was over. I didnt know what was going to happen or when I would see him again. He gave me his favorite sweater and I gave him this amethyst necklace that I had been wearing. He came to New York a week later. He called me to say that I was the one. He took a train to my parents where I had been living (no apartment, remember) and brought a big bouquet of roses. It was real. That crazy, beautiful thing became real. We moved in together exactly three months to the day we met and never looked back. This March it will be four years total. He still makes me do things that I never would have done before. He always says, If not now, when? I guess love makes you do crazy things. Jamie, New York Max and I met on Bumble. He asked for my number and never called me. But we had a mutual connection my best friend, his former college acquaintance. They hadnt spoken since graduation. A few months after I gave him my number, on Valentines Day, I had my best friend invite him to a party we were going to. She was like, This is so awkward, we arent really friends anymore, we havent kept in touch. I said I didnt care. I thought he was cute. The whole thing was so out-of-character for me. But he came. He walked in the door and I went right up to him and said, Hey, Im Jamie. And thats how we met. Max took me to an Italian restaurant for our first date and, trying to be polite, he said, Get whatever you want. I saw burrata on the menu, which is my favorite. We kept going out to dinner and I kept ordering it as an appetizer for us to share. It became a thing, Max, we gotta get the burrata! Jamie, we gotta get the burrata! Three months later he found out he was moving to Hong Kong for work. Thats another out-of-character thing for me: the long distance. That were doing it and making it work. Back when were still in that what are we? mode, though, we went to dinner with a bunch of his friends and burrata was on the menu. So I said, Max, they have burrata! We have to get it. His friend goes, Jamie, Max cant eat that. I was like, What do you mean? His friend replied, Hes lactose-intolerant. He cant eat that. I told this guy that Max and I had been ordering and splitting burrata once a week for three months. I looked at Max for back up. Jamie, he said, Ive never had a bite of it. Youve eaten the whole thing. Every time. He had never even hinted it. He was like, You really enjoyed it and you never noticed so I figured why stop? It made you really happy. Jessica and Patrick, New York/LA Patrick and I met in New York five years ago at a karaoke birthday party in Koreatown. I was on a date that night. He was in town visiting from L.A. At the time, I knew I wanted to start The Brave Collection, the jewelry company that I have now. I knew it would be made in Cambodia and I knew what I wanted the message to be. But I hadnt started it yet. I was trying it on for size. When I met Patrick, I told him all about it as though it was already a real thing. He thought it sounded really cool. He worked in fashion and seemed to really care about it and get it. That was sort of the end of that. He went back to L.A. A few weeks later he emailed me and said he was coming back to the city. We went to a party and spent the whole night talking. Later, we left with two of his friends and had one of those amazing New York nights. The next day we got drinks and I came clean about Brave. I told him I hadnt launched it yet and he was like, You have to. He was so positive about it, such a cheerleader, that it helped me to make the leap and actually put it in motion. We started talking on the phone every day, late into the night. Id wake up exhausted but so happy. This was pre-Tinder. There was no game playing. We just could not stop talking. I started to realize that I was falling in love with him over the phone, and either this was real or we had talked ourselves into a fantasy. Wed bought a plane ticket for me to visit L.A. but it seemed too far away. He was like, I have to see you this weekend. This is insane. Lets just meet in the middle this weekend. Where do you want to go? I suggested Austin, Texas. Neither of us had been there before. 10 minutes later I got an email with my flight information. Just before I left I got a blowout and the guy doing it was like, Why are you getting this blowout? I told him the story and he was like, You are going to get killed. You are going to Texas to meet this stranger. I was so nervous about what to say and what to bring because we had built this up so much. My flight arrived an hour before his and I spent the whole time in the bathroom fixing my makeup. I knew he was going to come down this tall escalator and I planned how I was going to sit on my suitcase to look effortless. So awkward, so anxious. Then we took this awkward cab ride together to the hotel. I think we were both scared the other person was going to be like, Im not feeling this. We got to the hotel room we were staying at this amazing B&B and then left it immediately. We got food and started relaxing, then explored the city. We realized we had the same taste in everything. There was so much discovery. We each had a friend in Texas, so later we went out to eat, the four of us. It was really fun, until Patrick was like, I have to get some air. He stood up, started walking out and then just collapsed! He passed out. I was crying, called 911. He was fine but it was so weird. It had never happened to him before or since. He was like, I literally fell for you. At the airport, when we were waiting to fly back to our respective cities, he told me he loved me. I didnt say it back. I was like, You dont know me! And he was like, I dont care. I love you. I said it back when I visited him in L.A. two weeks later. Three months after that trip, he moved to New York, I launched Brave, he took a job at Refinery29 and we moved in together. We still celebrate January 14th the weekend in Austin as our anniversary. I launched Brave on February 12th. The whole next five years of my life happened in that couple of weeks. I still cant believe we did that. I knew ONE person in the whole state of Texas, and it was not him. For whatever reason, I just felt good about this situation and knew it was going to great. It was pretty nuts in retrospect. I was only 23! But we just knew. The whole thing was surreal. It still makes me smile. Its magic, when it first clicks. Its a miracle that we found each other. Time stopped, and we got to know each other in this other planet on Austin. It could have gone horribly wrong. We could have hated each other and been stuck two strangers in Texas. Instead We got got married in February 2016. Were about to celebrate our one year. In partnership with Tory Burch. Photos by Krista Anna Lewis. Jessica and Patrick photographed by Shelby Duncan. The Headquarters Individual Reservist Readiness and Integration Organization (HQ RIO) has released a new mobile app for Individual Mobilization Augmentees. The RIO Connect IMA Mobile Wingman app is available to both Android and Apple users and offers IMAs easy access to the tools and information they need to manage their careers, when and where they need it. The app allows users to access content from the HQ RIO website on their mobile devices, while also leveraging native mobile features and functions, further enhancing the user experience. RIO Connect was developed based on usage statistics from the HQ RIO website and primary features include a click-to-call and email directory, pay, travel and career resources, how-to videos and an events calendar. The RIO Connect IMA Mobile Wingman app builds off the proof-of-concept HQ RIO app developed in 2015. This new app builds on the original app and gives our IMAs a 24/7 ability to connect, which I believe will create more enabled, engaged and empowered Airmen, said Col. Minh-Tri Trinh, the HQ RIO program manager. The RIO Connect app is available in both the Google Play or Apple App stores by searching RIO Connect, or by following the links below: Apple: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/rio-connect-ima-mobile-wingman/id1181013237?ls=1&mt=8 Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.u360mobile.hqrio Follow the on-screen instructions to install the app. The app was developed in conjunction with Straxis Technology, LLC., of Tulsa, Oklahoma, which has developed a number of other apps for Air Force organizations, including the U.S. Air Force Academy. Col. Carolyn Stickell, the HQ RIO commander, said one of her top priorities is ensuring Individual Reservists receive the support they need to be as effective as possible when augmenting their active-component organizations. She sees the app as a platform that will deliver relevant tools and information where people want it on their mobile devices. The RIO Connect IMA Mobile Wingman will give IMAs instant access to the knowledge base they want and need in a format thats easy to access and navigate right from their mobile devices, she said. And, if they cant find what theyre looking for on the app, weve made it easy to contact the detachments or headquarters by building our contact information right into the app. Abdullah Al Askari, Managing Director of C Club "C Club was established in 2005 and the concept behind it was to have not only a fitness Continue When you think of Valentines Day, were sure you picture a romantic date night with your sweetheart, where the both of you are decked out in something suave and sexy, and perhaps therell be flowers and chocolates involved. Well, this year, we invite you to think outside the box instead of return to old habits and settling for typical and predictable V-Day plans. Heres a bold idea: head out of the country and go on a romantic trip with your other half! The both of you probably deserve some time alone with each other, without work or social distractions. Were talking about romantic V-Day destinations spent in the company of your beloved. Picture an evening stroll along the quiet streets of traditional Kyoto hand-in-hand, or a cosy and intimate afternoon spent in your own private villa at the Maldives. For those of you already thinking of making a quick booking on your favourite hotel and airline websites, weve come up a list to inspire you to pick the best places. Weve also picked out some chic wardrobe choices to pack for each individual location, so youll be able to look and feel your best during your lovey-dovey little holiday. Head up to the gallery to check out these 5 excellent getaway spots! Dont break the bank celebrate Valentines Day with special UOB deals Good news for all UOB cardholders, now you can make this years Valentines Day a truly memorable one! For each of the destinations and outfit pieces above, make your bookings and purchases with your UOB Card and save plenty. Dont have a UOB Card? No worries apply now and get SGD50 cash credit. Terms apply. This post was brought to you by UOB. Left Coast Liberals Dream for Secession As the consequences of losing control of the federal government seeps into their delusional entitlement, the ultimate statists of the Left scamper to find a method to regain power. A concept, whose day is gaining acceptance, is the Nation of Pacifica. With the incompatibility between the Trump Nation deplorables and the intolerant collectivists of Leftist state worshipers, the end game is rapidly approaching a final conflict that easily could erupt in a real civil war. Leave it to the beautiful people; their fantasia screen play scripts a peaceful dissolution of the disjointed union. A sample of their dialectic: Because the citizens of the red states believe that their religious beliefs must be imposed by force of law and strongly object to the beliefs and lifestyles of the citizens of the blue states, it is likely that they will be happy to be rid of those that they view as Satanically evil. Once the Nation of Pacifica has been founded, the remaining United States can ban the import of the Hollywood movies, television shows, rock, hip hop, and R&B music, science and technology, and other secular influences they so strongly object to. How ironic that the self-proclaimed equalitarian proponents are so eager to adopt secession that even John C. Calhoun was reluctant to advocate prior to the War of Northern Aggression. The right of secession; which, since the establishment of the government under the Constitution, had been held from time to time in the North as well as in the South as a theoretical possibility, was reserved by Calhoun's Exposition as a last resort. Calhoun goes on to warn. The United States were something more than, and different from, a simple league of states, but should never become a centralized democracy ruled by absolute majorities the worst possible form, a consolidated government swayed by the will of an absolute majority. Government by majority rule at all levels meant abandonment of all constitutional guarantees. The right of a state to judge, as a last resort, constitutional limits imposed on the federal government should be defended at all costs; otherwise the United States would be destroyed, becoming first a full-grown modern State and then an executive dictatorship. This comparison illustrates that the Left Coast Liberals have little reverence in constitutional restraints. If they cannot command supremacy over the federal government, they want out. All the attention given to the Calexit movement has an underlying motivation. Conor Friedersdorf notes in the LA Times: The main benefit of a California exit would be psychic. There is a subset of people here, mostly from the privileged classes, who feel sullied by their political affiliation with Red America. Secession would boost their sense of personal virtue. This is an important point that hits on a major difference in the clash of cultures that has been destroying America for decades. The self-absorbed progressive elitism that has infected the rugged individualism of the pioneer era has cleansed independent and common sense thinking. The emergence of a unified and intolerant politically correct benchmark is illustrated vividly with the obliteration of free speech not only on college campuses but more importantly in personal interaction between unacquainted individuals. The politics of incompatible value systems result in antagonistic social relations. Red Alert sees the danger in Liberals California dream of secession will end up a nightmare. According to the L.A. Times, activists have submitted a proposed ballot measure to the states Attorney General with the hopes that the state will vote in 2018 to become its own independent country. An independent California run by progressives may seem like a dream, but it would end up being a total nightmare. Places like East L.A. would look more like East Berlin. An anatomy dissection of dissimilar factions could take several books to cover. Needless to say, the issue is not that people have equivalent viewpoints or have egalitarian influence, but that economic dominance dictates the version of fabricated reality that define the PC popular attitudes. All one needs to do is look to the major technological monopolies that have more to do with shaping a new age thinking than generating financial profit. The big five, Amazon, Apple, Facebook, Google and Microsoft are the most culturally destructive influences that created the divide between social humanism relativism and sound thinking traditional values. One is true blue the other is blood red. Secession is an ecological malady for anyone who does not accept the tyranny of a deranged majority. Calhoun contends that government action always creates two conflicting classes in the community: tax producers and tax consumers. The parasite that progressives create to maintain their control over society will never be part of the elitism that will inflict any degree of chaos to return to their dictatorial oligarchy. The economic model that the corporatists within the Nation of Pacifica foster is not one of independent proprietorship and ownership, but is one that is dependent upon getting an Amazon delivery for your toilet paper. Nor is utopia found when an Apple app tracks your every movement or preference. When your Facebook history is sold to unknown commercial interests, your privacy is sacrificed on the altar of intrusion. Is the censorship that Google searches provide a worthy pillar to build your new confederation? Finally, basing your digital footprint on a Microsoft program just limits your freedom to a flawed platform. What these tech companies all have in common is that they are the brainchild of an incubator perception that the machine is destined to define what a human can do or not do. The thought that libtards are so willing to turn over their daily routine activities to the cloud of an impersonal data depository is frightening. Progressive people are recessive thinkers. Their dream of carving out their own separate state exemplifies the failure of persuasion for their flawed system of illusory idealism. All that is left is to impose their self-delusional desires upon an unwilling public. If secession was the alternative to rid American society of the curse of progressivism, those of us wearing a red cap would gladly tip our hat goodbye. However, when the California Hooligans are Anti-Free Speech Thugs apply their organized anarchy, violence to suppress challenging criticism is not guaranteed to stop against the remaining states. Just how would California Dreaming: Bankruptcy, Pensions and Taxes be dealt with? The practical components of a clean financial separation would plague any separation. Assumption of their share of debt and obligations could be so high that an amiable break would be unmanageable. Add in the costs for establishing even a minimal defense force from nonexistent bases, and the task before the secessionists becomes herculean. The validity of honoring and practicing States Rights is an essential part of a federalist system of government. Notwithstanding, respecting the innate difference among unique area and local customs presuppose a general adherence to a national creed of beliefs, common interests and core values. The West Coast has expressed an overriding obsession to defy the historic traditions that grew out of a nationwide experience. Much of the momentum that globalists and internationalists have pressed to the forefront is aided by the celebrity worship culture. When metro sexual and urban social warriors demand that they ignore any federal law that does not fit their pie-in-the-sky views, you get a sanctuary safe space mentality. Is there some path to achieve some joint rapprochement that could attain mutual acceptance? Compromise has been the norm for negotiations since the inception of the union. Sadly, in todays political climate, it does not seem any breakthrough is feasible that could bridge the gap. When the walking dead go to Starbucks to get their political fix, they drink the poison of progressive psychosis. The hysteria exhibited at the Women's March on Washington is testimony to the total disconnect from rational reality that exemplifies the mentality from the Left Coast brain drain. How many more times does one need to mix water and oil and hope that they will not separate? In the land of the Transhumanism cult and the Artificial Intelligence testing grounds to replace deplorables, the secession option certainly offers an attractive prospect. Research in all the biomedics laboratories advances the refutation of creation cosmology. By adopting a relativist social order, the clones from the new age has built a wall of existential exclusion from the heartland. Secession of the West Coast would be satisfying as an alternative to resolve for many factions. The problem is that the imperial empire would be most reluctant to turn loose the hotbed of radical extremism. The real power elites would dispel any popular referendum that California might put on their ballot. The dream of a cordial divorce is just a fantasy. The prospects of a resolution between regional protagonists are just not in the cards. The tarot readers are either too stupid or so devoted to their satanic metaphysics that they will continue in their pagan ways. God save the Republic from a Nation of Pacifica. SARTRE Source: http://www.batr.org/stupid/020717.html Discuss or comment about this essay on the BATR Forum http://www.batr.org "Many seek to become a Syndicated Columnist, while the few strive to be a Vindicated Publisher" 2017 Copyright BATR - All Rights Reserved Disclaimer: The above is a matter of opinion provided for general information purposes only and is not intended as investment advice. Information and analysis above are derived from sources and utilising methods believed to be reliable, but we cannot accept responsibility for any losses you may incur as a result of this analysis. Individuals should consult with their personal financial advisors 2005-2019 http://www.MarketOracle.co.uk - The Market Oracle is a FREE Daily Financial Markets Analysis & Forecasting online publication. North Korea fired four short-range ballistic missiles (SRBM) toward the Yellow Sea Saturday, the South Korean military said. The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said it detected th... The South Korean football governing body confirmed on Saturday the men's national team captain Son Heung-min had undergone successful surgery on fractures around his left eye, thou... In a crucial South Korean baseball championship game with his club's title hopes hanging in the balance, Kiwoom Heroes left-hander Lee Seung-ho delivered the best postseason outing... "The Astronaut," the first official single by Jin of the K-pop supergroup BTS, has landed at No. 61 on the British Official Singles Chart Top 100. According to the latest chart ... RICHMOND The Virginia Senate approved legislation Tuesday that would cut the number of days students may be kept out of school, joining colleagues in the House who approved suspension reform bills Monday. The Senate passed Senate Bill 995 by a vote of 32-8 and SB 997 by a vote of 34-6. SB 995 calls for reducing the maximum length of a long-term suspension from 364 calendar days to 60 school days. School officials would conduct a review after 45 days to work on how best to integrate a student back into a school setting. The legislation, however, would allow schools to go over 60 days but not more than 364 days if a case involves offenses including felonious assault, criminal sexual assault, arson or the sale or possession of Schedule I or II drugs, and the criminal activity occurs at school or school events. And SB 997 eliminates long-term suspensions of preschool through third-grade students but gives schools leeway to go up to 10 days if the incident involves a weapon, inappropriate sexual behavior or serious bodily injury. The two Senate bills, along with the legislation approved in the House, are geared toward changing how schools administer suspensions in an effort to make sure students dont fall further behind. Sen. Bill Stanley, R-Franklin, who sponsored the bills, said suspending students, particularly younger students, has few benefits and isnt always effective. Kids in elementary school, he said, often are too young to understand consequences and dont necessarily learn the error of their ways from a suspension. That means their misbehavior needs to be addressed in a different way. Plus, children in poverty who are suspended often are left home alone and dont have access to lunch and breakfast as they normally would at school. On Monday, the House approved House Bill 1534 which calls for reducing the maximum length of a long-term suspension from 364 calendar days to 90 school days. It also approved HB 1536, which would prohibit students in preschool through third grade from being expelled or suspended for more than five days, except in cases of drug offenses, firearm violations or certain criminal acts. The mentally ill shouldnt own guns I would like to thank Ben Williams for his fine commentary (Feb. 5) about the most unwise decision by Congress that will allow people who cannot make rational decisions about even their own affairs to have easier access to firearms. Like him, Im a gun owner. I possess several pistols, rifles and a shotgun at this time. I am retired from the Army Reserve and National Guard after 25 years of service, so I think I know a little something about handling weapons and how deadly they can be even in the hands of trained and competent soldiers, not to mention someone with mental difficulties. Having worked as a social worker in Martinsville for several years too, I seem to recall that one had to be in very bad shape mentally before one could be declared incompetent to handle his or her own affairs. Apparently, the influence of the NRA and the paranoia it continues to foment among a minority of gun owners knows no bounds. It defies basic common sense, but I guess we get what we vote for in both Congress and in the Office of the President of the United States. If a few people are, in fact, denied access to their Second Amendment rights because of impaired mental capacity, so be it. The general public will be safer and better served overall despite the cowardly and, quite probably, financially-influenced actions of our representatives in Congress. I am a graduate and former employee of Virginia Tech also, and feel for those who lost their loved ones after the massacre of April 16, 2007. This was certainly a case in which someone with mental problems should not have had such easy access to firearms. John Reynolds Critz Bad move for PHCC I do not approve of Patrick Henry Community College partnering with the Miss Virginia Scholarship Pageant to host a competition for the title of Miss PHCC. I think the scholarship pageant should remain in the private sector. I hope this experiment is not repeated. I would rather see the community college devote its energies to pursuing ways to help its service area acquire marketable skills through vocational and career training Alexis C. Lee Martinsville Good job, PHCC I enjoyed reading the stories about Patrick Henrys pageant this weekend, both finding out more about the contestants Friday and then seeing the actual results on Saturday. Connecting with the Miss Virginia pageant was a nice touch, making this one of the first prelims. Its nice to see Martinsvilles talent being recognized. Ive also enjoyed reading in previous months about the moves PHCC is making to grow and develop. Theyre a clear example of what can happen to a college when its done correctly. No offense to anyone with NCI, but it seems that if you cant get something off the ground in 10 years, with more than $20 million spent, its time to look at other sources. If we all focused our attention and support on one group, PHCC, I wonder what the limits would be. Sofia Chastain Henry County On Friday, Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Florida) introduced a bill in the House that would terminate the Environmental Protection Agency by the end of next year. Earlier in the week, the House also voted to remove the blocks preventing coal ash and other debris from being dumped in streams. Two years ago, we had a first-hand view of the impact coal ash dumping had on a community, after the spill in Eden, North Carolina. But Im not going to talk about the EPA or coal ash. I want to talk about Easter Island. Easter Island is the remote Chilean island in the Pacific Ocean famous for its moai, the giant stone heads weighing hundreds of tons that circle the islands outer perimeter. The moai were constructed by the Rapa Nui, the Polynesian people who arrived on Easter Island between the years 300 and 1200. Archaeologists believe that for the Rapa Nui, the moai were almost like batteries filled with spiritual power. They represented the religious and political power of the gods, and for the most part, they were made to stare inward toward the island rather than out to sea. They were built to protect the islanders. When the Rapa Nui arrived on Easter Island, it was a lush sub-tropical forest covered in millions of towering Easter Island palm trees. Nesting seabirds and land birds lived on the island, and while the soil wasnt great, it was more than sufficient to grow sweet potatoes and a few other crops. What they could not grow they supplemented through fishing. When Europeans arrived on Easter Island in 1722, however, they found a grim sight. The land was barren, devoid of any trees more than ten feet tall. The only animals still living on the island were rats. Just 2,000 native Rapa Nui remained, and they were starving to death and at war with one another. The Europeans were baffled. How had the Rapa Nui gone from a great society that built these massive stone heads, these marvels of engineering, to a society that had to eat rats to survive? It is only in recent years that we have begun to learn what happened. There are a few different theories about how the Rapa Nui moved the moai heads from their quarry to the outer edges of the island, but the prevailing theory is that they dragged the moai across the island using ropes, wooden sledges and conveyor belts made from logs. Obtaining logs, ropes and sledges required the islanders to chop down palm trees. Between 1200 and 1500, the construction of the statues hit its peak, and its no coincidence that the deforestation of Easter Island hit its peak at the same time. Around 1400, the Easter Island palm went extinct. The rats that had stowed away when the Rapa Nui arrived on the island had proliferated, and they ate the palm seeds faster than they could sprout. Without palm trees, the islanders couldnt make canoes, so they couldnt fish at sea or, for that matter, escape the island. They had to eat birds to survive, and before long, the birds went extinct, too. Because the birds were responsible for scattering the seeds and pollinating the plants, the forests had no chance of recovery. Without the palm forests to shade them, the streams dried up, causing the islands drinking water to literally evaporate into thin air. Wind and rain blew the already thin topsoil out to sea, since it was no longer held in place by the roots of the palms. What was once a tropical paradise had transformed into a barren, rocky, rat-infested hell. How did the Rapa Nui respond? They built more statues, of course, because they had complete faith that as long as they were building the statues, their deities would protect them from famine and disease. At some point, just a few hundred years ago, a lone Rapa Nui chopped down the last palm tree on his island, utterly convinced that his great civilization would survive no matter what his people did to their island home. He was wrong. The deities did not protect the Rapa Nui, and as their crops failed and their animals died and the rats surged, the islanders erupted into civil war, fighting amongst themselves for meager provisions. The Rapa Nui learned a hard lesson, and its one we would do well to remember today: If you dont save your environment, your environment is not going to save you. One the area's oldest and most beloved breweries, Berkshire Brewing Co., has just released a new beer to benefit the Shea Theater in the Turners Falls section of Montague. Shea Theater's Rebellion is described as a "modern-style, hop-forward but well-balanced, fruity and hazy American IPA." The name is a play on a famous event in regional history and "a nod to the idea that art is one of the most powerful tools of rebellion we, as humans, have at our disposal," according to the brewers. The name comes from Shays' Rebellion, an armed uprising in Massachusetts during 1786 and 1787 where Revolutionary War veteran Daniel Shays led thousands of rebels in a revolt to fight economic and civil rights injustices. Berkshire Brewing's beers have been poured at the theater for years, so it made perfect sense for the South Deerfield-based brewery to lend a hand to the Shea: $20 from each case of Shea Theater's Rebellion will go directly to support the continuing work of improving the sound and lights at the Shea, as well as assisting in the purchase of a large film screen and projector. Montague resident Monte Belmonte, program director for WRNX-93.9 The River, also serves as the board president for the Shea. He compared the arts culture with BBC's beer's effervescence. "The Shea is thrilled that BBC is making this generous contribution. They've long been partners in bringing great events to The Shea," he said. "Now they're putting their beer money where our mouths are so we can all drink the delicious Shea Theater's Rebellion and help keep music, theater, art and culture alive in Franklin County thanks to BBC's live active culture." The label design and printing were also donated in support of the mission of the Shea; the design was created by Idea Collective in Easthampton and the labels by Dion Label in Westfield. This isn't the first time BBC has created a beer for a good cause. It had previously created a beer to support victims of Hurricane Irene and its Shabadoo brew provides a continuous stream of support for The Food Bank of Western Mass. The brewery's owners were happy to again lend a hand. "The Shea is in a true revival and a renaissance theater in its own way, bringing a lot of nice culture to the upper Valley," said Gary Bogoff one of the founders of Berkshire Brewing Company. Only 500 cases of Shea Theater's Rebellion will be produced in its initial run, and it is now available in stores. EASTHAMPTON - Federal law enforcement agencies are assisting with the investigation into a series of explosions in the area of Lower Mill Pond on Sunday night. Easthampton police received reports of multiple loud explosions at around 9:30 p.m. on Sunday, first on Ferry Street and a short time later on Pleasant Street. On the bank of Lower Mill Pond, officers found several devices that had been detonated, and others that were unexploded. Massachusetts State Police bomb technicians helped render the area safe, police said in a news release on Tuesday. Easthampton detectives are investigating along with the Springfield offices of the FBI and ATF, and the state Fire Marshal's office. Anyone with information is asked to call Easthampton detectives at 413-527-1212. GREENFIELD After three years of construction and a decade of planning, a brand-new consolidated trial court facility opened its doors for business Monday in downtown Greenfield. The $66 million Franklin County Justice Center houses five courts -- district, superior, juvenile, housing and probate and family courts -- in one "modern, secure, code-compliant public building." The energy-efficient building at 425 Main St. also hosts a law library, a "service center" for those who are appearing without a lawyer and the Franklin County Registry of Deeds. District Court Judge William Mazanec III expressed appreciation for the light-filled building. "It's beautiful, safe and clean," he said. "Everybody's just thrilled." On Monday afternoon, court staffers were settling in while concurrently taking care of routine business. Dozens of defendants had been arraigned that morning, and several emergency restraining orders were issued, said Register of Probate John F. Merrigan. "Monday is always a busy day for us," he said. "Things tend to happen over the weekend." Merrigan said the overall design of the courthouse was inspired by the "reinventing justice" program of the 1990s. The idea is to work with the community to solve problems instead of just locking people up, he said. The new courthouse hosts a family-friendly service center on the first floor. "Around 80 percent of people moving through family and probate court are representing themselves," Merrigan said. "At the service center, they can learn which forms to fill out, and about courtroom procedures. We want to help people get off on the right foot." In Franklin County, connections have been forged between law enforcement, criminal justice, social services and the medical community, Merrigan said. When a person needs drug treatment, protection from domestic violence or mental health services, the courts are able to provide a "warm hand-off." The Franklin County Opioid Task Force, the locus of that network, has office space in the new facility. Mazanec noted that having all courts under one roof will help serve the public. Previously, the county's juvenile court was at a leased facility on Main Street. Sometimes a teen will face charges in juvenile court, Mazanec said, while his parents have their own issues in district, superior or family court. Being able to communicate and coordinate services can help such a family get back on track. Both men said the justice system has a responsibility to help deal with the opioid crisis. While sometimes it's necessary to send someone to jail, it can often be more effective to connect a defendant with mandated treatment. Greenfield District Court holds special "drug court" sessions where nonviolent offenders have an opportunity to get help. Northwestern District Attorney David Sullivan, who has a satellite office at the facility, on Monday expressed support for "durable public architecture" and said the building would support community justice for decades to come. "It's a beautiful building, and a really dignified place to have court," Sullivan said. An April 7 grand opening ceremony for the public is planned, with Gov. Charlie Baker on the guest list. In early 2014, the old 1931 courthouse was emptied, and around 100 staffers moved to temporary quarters at the Greenfield Corporate Center. The return of court workers to Main Street is expected to support downtown revitalization. The new facility, which incorporates the historic older courthouse, was designed by the Boston-based architecture firm of Leers Weinzapfel Associates. Nathan Connolly.jpg Nathan Connolly, who has received accolades for his book "A World More Concrete: Real Estate and the Remaking of Jim Crow South Florida," will speak Wednesday at Holyoke Community College. (Submitted) HOLYOKE -- Holyoke Community College will feature award-winning author and historian Nathan Connolly in a talk Wednesday as part of the college's Black History Month celebration. The talk, which will begin at 11 a.m. in room 301 of the Kittredge Center for Business and Workforce Development, is sponsored by the ALANA Men in Motion, a support program for African American, Latino, Asian and Native American students at HCC that helps mentor and guide students of color. Andrew Fletcher, Program Coordinator for ALANA Men in Motion, said the program regularly hosts speaking events featuring influential figures to help inspire HCC students and audience members. Connolly serves as the Herbert Baxter Adams associate professor of history at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, where he teaches undergraduate and graduate courses covering black and civil rights history such as America after the Civil Rights Movement, Jim Crow in America and Racial Literacy for Historians. "(Connolly) is a rising star and he's won several book awards and has won accolades for his dissertations," Fletcher said. "He's going to come and talk about his journey. He will be touching on what it is like to be an academic and a historian while also talking about the research of his book." Connolly has received accolades for his book "A World More Concrete: Real Estate and the Remaking of Jim Crow South Florida," including the 2015 Liberty Legacy Foundation Book Award from the Organization of American Historians and the 2014 Kenneth T. Jackson Book Award from the Urban History Association. His talk is free and open to the public, and lunch will be served. HOLYOKE - Detectives are asking for help identifying four people involved in a theft at the Holyoke Mall. Lt. Jim Albert on Tuesday released surveillance images of the suspects accused of stealing from the mall's Sunglass Hut location. Western Mass News, television partner of The Republican/MassLive, reports they allegedly stole $1,000 worth of high-end sunglasses at around 7 p.m. on Monday. Anyone with information is asked to call Holyoke detectives at 413-322-6940. robart.jpg This still image taken from United States Courts shows Judge James Robart listening to a case at Seattle Courthouse on March 12, 2013 in Seattle. Robart placed a nationwide hold on President Donald Trump's executive order, banning travel to the United States by migrants from seven Muslim-majority countries, Friday, Feb. 3, 2017. ((United States Courts via AP) ) SPRINGFIELD -- Several refugee families are expected to arrive in Greater Springfield this week after a federal judge temporarily blocked President Donald Trump's executive order closing America's borders to seven predominately Muslim countries. Maxine Stein "We are expecting several families by the end of the week. They are from Bhutan and Eritrea. They will be settled in the Springfield area," said Maxine Stein, president and chief executive officer of Jewish Family Service of Western Massachusetts. JFS was able to settle refugee families from Iraq and the Congo in Springfield, just days before Trump's order, as well as a family from Somalia earlier in January. Federal Judge James Robart of Federal District Court for the Western District of Washington blocked enforcement of the executive order's 90-day admission ban on citizens of seven countries, Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen, as well as its ban on the entrance of refugees for four months, and Syrian refugees indefinitely. Robart's ruling also prohibits "any action that prioritizes the refugee claims of certain religious minorities." Trump had indicated that when his order's 90-day ban ended Christian refugees from the restricted countries would be given priority because they have suffered "more so than others." In his ruling, Robart found no support for the government's argument that the U.S. be protected from individuals from the seven banned countries. The Justice Department has asked the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, in San Francisco, to reinstate the executive order and oral arguments are set for this afternoon. Stein, whose agency last year settled more than 240 refugees in the area, said "the lifting of the current ban gives us some hope." "We are still concerned about the overall number allowed in the country - reduced to 50,000," she added, however, in, a reference to the fact that the Trump administration plans to slash the country's refugee quota from 110,000 for fiscal year 2017 to 50,000. Last year, some 1,734 refugees were resettled in Massachusetts, according to the state Office of Refugees and Immigrants. Williamsmug.jpg Claude Williams, 25, is facing a kidnapping charge after allegedly forcing a woman to withdraw money from her account in Southbury, Conn. (Connecticut State Police) A man accused of forcing a woman to withdraw cash from a Chase Bank in Southbury, Conn. led Connecticut State Police on a high-speed chase before crashing his car on an I-84 off-ramp. Claude Williams, 25, of Waterbury, is facing a litany of charges in connection with the incident, including kidnapping, unlawful restraint, reckless endangerment, robbery, larceny, narcotics possession and engaging police in pursuit. He is being held on $250,000 bond. The chase began after Southbury Police responded to Chase Bank Monday morning for a report of a woman being forced to take money out of her account, according to a Connecticut State Police report. "Williams fled the scene upon seeing police, and refused to stop engaging police in pursuit," Trooper First Class Kelly Grant wrote in a statement. Williams allegedly led police on a nine-minute pursuit through Southbury roads and on I-84. Williams attempted to make the turn off Exit 15 on I-84 while traveling at a high rate of speed, but crashed into the concrete median. Williams was arrested at the scene and was not injured, police said. Train deaths (Associated Press) Massachusetts saw a 200 percent year-over-year increase in the number of people killed while trespassing on train tracks in 2016, Fox 25 reports. With three more people killed by commuter trains since the beginning of last week alone -- the most recent coming Monday night in Brockton, according to Transit Police -- the problem is on pace to get even worse in 2017. Twelve people out of the nearly 500 pedestrians killed by passing trains in the U.S. in 2016 died in Massachusetts -- a disproportionately high number for the state -- according to Fox. Teresa Rondinelli Mejia's son died five years ago after being struck by a train in Norwood. She told Fox, "To this day I still can't fathom that my kid got hit by a train. Of all things to die from to cross through a hole in the fence, an opening, and be in an area where a train can actually kill you." One of the people struck and killed by a train in the state last week, a woman in her 50s, also died in Norwood. The woman was struck by an outbound train headed from South Station to Franklin on Sunday while she was walking on the tracks. Mejia told Fox there's often no barrier blocking people from accessing active tracks. She said the four-foot gap in the fence her son went through before getting hit five years ago remains unfixed. "I just want it to be fixed," she told Fox. "So another kid doesn't get killed. Someone doesn't have to remember that their kid got hit by a train." In December in Amherst, a 40-year-old man survived after being struck by a train in the area of Main and High Streets. One of the people killed in 2016 was a 17-year-old Chinese Boston University student, in what Transit Police Superintendent Richard Sullivan called a "horrendous, tragic accident," according to The Boston Globe. The student climbed a fence to get on to the tracks, transit officials told The Globe. The accident occurred in September near the Massachusetts Turnpike overpass. State Police on Monday night arrested a man wanted for the fatal stabbing of two New Hampshire women after learning that he was at a medical facility in Lawrence. Timothy Verrill, 34, of Dover, New Hampshire, was wanted in the deaths of Christine Sullivan and Jenna Pellegrini, who were discovered dead at 979 Meaderboro Road in Farmington on Jan. 29. Police responded to an emergency call to the address at 3 a.m. The New Hampshire Attorney General's office said Sullivan, 48, was stabbed multiple times and hit in the head with a blunt object. Pellegrini, 32, was also stabbed multiple times. Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Thomas A. Andrew determined that the manner of both deaths was homicide, according to the office of New Hampshire Attorney General Joseph A. Foster. Troopers from the Massachusetts State Police Violent Fugitive Apprehension Section obtained an arrest warrant from Lawrence District Court for Verrill after learning he was at a medical facility in Lawrence. The State Police Detective Unit for Essex County and Lawrence Police assisted with the arrest, State Police said. Verrill is being charged with two counts of second-degree murder, the attorney general's office said. He is being held and will return to New Hampshire to face charges. The investigation is ongoing. Anyone with information about the whereabouts of the victims in the days leading up to their deaths or regarding the facts or circumstances of the murders is asked to call Sgt. Brian Strong of the New Hampshire State Police at 603-223-4381. Massachusetts State Police will not release any further information. rabbis arrested.jpg Around 20 rabbis were arrested after blocking traffic in Manhattan to show their solidarity with Muslim immigrants and refugees. Among those arrested was Rabbi Justin David of Northampton. Feb. 6, 2017. (Photo by Rabbi Riqi Kosovske) NORTHAMPTON -- Rabbi Justin David of Congregation B'nai Israel said today that he and 18 other rabbis must appear before a New York City judge on April 4 to answer to disorderly conduct charges. David was among a group of rabbis arrested Monday night after blocking traffic outside Trump International Hotel and Tower in Manhattan. The arrests took place after hundreds of rabbis and others marched from a synagogue on the Upper West Side to show Jewish solidarity with Muslim immigrants and refugees. The march was organized by the rabbinical group T'ruah in response to President Donald J. Trump's executive order banning travel into the United States from seven Muslim-majority countries. Shortly after 8 p.m., the 19 rabbis walked onto the roadway across from Trump Tower and sat down, David said. They were arrested around 8:20 p.m. and transported to a police precinct station in northern Manhattan, where they were held until around 1:15 a.m. He said members of the group were released, issued bench tickets, and told to return for their court date. The sit-in, certain to result in arrests, had been planned in advance by T'ruah, a coalition of rabbis and cantors that pledge support for human rights in North America, Israel, and the occupied Palestinian territories. Before setting out Monday night, the rabbis, both men and women, gathered in prayer at B'nai Jeshruan, a synagogue on 88th St. The march down Broadway was protected by a police escort, and police were aware of the group's plans. David said that weeks ago, he was asked by T'ruah if he would be willing to be arrested. Instead of making the decision himself, he put the question to his congregation. He said that one by one, members of B'nai Israel stepped forward to voice support and encouragement. "I didn't do this simply because I wanted to," David said. "I did it as a conduit for others." Asked what motivated him, David said that America is a nation built by immigrants, and that welcoming refugees who have no other place to go "must be part of the American experience." He said Trump's travel ban represents a "gross violation of American values and an assault on existential Jewish identity," and that the marginalization of Muslims is "irrational, immoral, and incredibly destructive." David added that despite years of headlines about Israel and Palestine, Jews and Muslims have historically had a warm and creative relationship. He said that the two groups have much in common, including the experience of trying to create new lives in America. "So many Jewish families need only look back one or two generations to find refugees and immigrants, who did not always arrive under the best of circumstances," he said. Also present at Monday's march in New York were Northampton rabbis Riqi Kosovske and David Seidenberg. Kosovske, leader of Beit Ahava synagogue in Florence, said Jewish teaching "is all about standing by our neighbors when they are in trouble, and not standing idly by." Mary Serreze can be reached at mserreze@gmail.com. This is not the first time the show has considered moving. In 2015, show organizers considered Las Vegas, Chicago and other cities before signing a new two-year contract to stay in Utah. This time, however, the bid process will cast a wider net, Denny said. By Brady McCombs Full Story: http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865672727/Outdoor-Retailer-show-to-consider-moving-out-of-Utah.html This report, part of the Gallup-Healthways State of American Well-Being series, examines well-being across the nation, including how well-being varies by state and which states lead and lag across the five elements of well-being. Full Report: http://info.healthways.com/hubfs/Gallup-Healthways%20State%20of%20American%20Well-Being_2016%20State%20Rankings%20vFINAL.pdf?t=1486419383391 Seattle could pull billions of dollars out of its longtime bank because of its role in the construction of the Dakota Access oil pipeline. On Wednesday, a Seattle City Council committee voted unanimously to divest nearly $3 billion of the citys funds from Wells Fargo, one of 17 financial institutions involved in financing the contentious project. Although the bill still has to undergo a procedural vote by the full council on Tuesday, it is "widely expected to pass," activist Shaun King wrote in the Daily News. During the hearing, councilwoman Debora Juarez said that committee members all agreed that divestment was the citys "goal." by Jasmin Malik Chua Full Story: http://inhabitat.com/seattle-votes-to-divest-billions-of-dollars-from-wells-fargo-over-dakota-access-pipeline/ Ameliorer la qualite des services offerts dans les Residential Care Institutions (RCIs) , aussi appelees shelters, afin dassurer au mieux la protection et le bien-etre des enfants tout en mettant a la disposition des ONG, les outils et moyens necessaires. Cest dans ce but que la National Social Inclusion Foundation (NSIF) propose un programme national pour les Residential Care Institutions for the Protection and Welfare of Children , quelle a presente aux 14 ONG concernees lors dune reunion de discussion, tenue au siege social de la NSIF, la semaine derniere. Ce programme va aussi dans le droit-fil des recommandations des Nations Unies pour la desinstitutionalisation des RCIs au profit de petites structures residentielles, de pas plus de 15 residents. Il faut savoir que le budget, attribue par la fondation pour laccompagnement financier de ces ONG dans leur fonctionnement, est passe de Rs 105 millions a Rs 200 millions pour lannee financiere 2022-2023. A ce jour, on denombre quelque 600 enfants victimes de negligence et de violence, qui sont pris en charge par les 18 Residential Care Institutions, gerees par les ONG et lEtat. Le programme national vient jeter les jalons pour lamelioration, la professionnalisation et lharmonisation des services offerts et aussi pour une meilleure gestion des RCIs. Nous avons constate une difference dans le niveau et la qualite des services offerts par les differentes RCIs. Le programme national, qui comprend un cadre de services bien etabli et une serie de guidelines, bases sur les pratiques internationales et adaptees au contexte local, va permettre lharmonisation des services dans les centres daccueil. Le cadre de services est aussi un outil qui va aider les ONG a ameliorer leur gestion financiere et administrative, et aussi les guider et les accompagner dans leur mission daccompagnement des enfants victimes de negligence et de violence. Il est important que ces enfants puissent etre suivis par des professionnels et avoir acces a des activites qui contribuent a leur bien-etre et leur developpement holistique , explique Vishal Ragoobur, Research and Development Manager a la NSIF. Ce cadre de services, qui est centre sur lenfant et le respect de ses droits, touche deux principaux domaines dont le premier concerne les soins et le soutien aux enfants et englobe entre autres, les soins personnalises et ceux dispenses par des professionnels tels que psychologues, psychiatres et medecins, la protection de lenfant, lalimentation et lhygiene ainsi que les infrastructures et les facilites offertes au sein des RCIs. Lautre domaine, qui est la sante, le bien-etre et le developpement, comprend la sante, leducation, les activites sportives et de loisirs, le contact et la reintegration dans la famille ainsi que la preparation des residents en vue de leur reinsertion dans la societe, apres avoir atteints lage de quitter les RCIs. La NSIF mettra a la disposition des 14 ONG concernees, les outils et moyens necessaires pour assurer limplementation de ce programme, qui passe imperativement par la formation du personnel existant et le recrutement de professionnels pour un meilleur encadrement des enfants. Cela concerne egalement lamelioration des infrastructures , poursuit le Research and Development Manager de la NSIF. Ce programme est aussi en ligne avec les recommandations des Nations Unies pour favoriser davantage les petites structures residentielles, de pas plus de 15 residents. Lobjectif etant de creer un environnement plus convivial et familial pour les enfants tout en leur offrant le meilleur accompagnement et suivi possible pour favoriser leur developpement holistique. Une desinstitutionalisation des RICs est ainsi attendue dans la duree. La NSIF accompagnera les ONG dans ce processus de desinstitutionalisation. Dautres reunions de travail sont prevues entre la NSIF, les ONG concernees et le ministere du Genre et du Bien-etre de la famille dans le cadre de limplementation de ce programme national pour les Residential Care Institutions for the Protection and Welfare of Children . Partager et informez vous aussi...... 0 shares Share Tweet LinkedIn Articles similaires APO Group , the leading media relations consultancy and press release distribution service in Africa and the Middle East, have announced that Isaac Khisa from Uganda has won APO Groups invitation to attend the 2019 Africa Hotel Investment Forum , the premier hotel investment conference in Africa, which will take place in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia from 23rd-25th September. APO Group will offer one round trip ticket and accommodation in Addis Ababa (Ethiopia) for Isaac Khisa to attend the 2019 Africa Hotel Investment Forum (AHIF). The Africa Hotel investment Forum (AHIF) attracts many prominent international hotel owners, investors, financiers, management companies and their advisers. The latest edition of AHIF is predicted to be the biggest event of its kind ever staged in Africa, generating millions of dollars for the local economy, and billions for the continent as a whole (bit.ly/2ymN3bd). Earlier this year, Bench Events (www.BenchEvents.com), organisers of the Africa Hotel Investment Forum (AHIF) (www.AHIF.com), and APO Group (www.APO-opa.com), announced a long-term partnership aimed at boosting investment in the hospitality industry in Africa. (bit.ly/32YZbgF) APO Group Founder and Chairman, Nicolas Pompigne-Mognard has also been appointed a member of the AHIF Advisory Board. Isaac Khisa has more than 10 years experience as a writer and Business Editor at the Independent Publications Limited and the Nation Media Groups publications The EastAfrican and Daily Monitor. He has won various journalism accolades including the Pan-African Re/insurance Journalism Awards 2017, organised by the Nigerian-based Continental Re-insurance, Uganda National Journalism Awards 2013 and 2017 for the business, finance and economy category by the African Centre for Media Excellence (A.C.M.E) and the Water Efficient Maize for Africa (WEMA) Journalist of the Year 2012- Media Biotech Awards. He holds a bachelors degree in Mass Communication from Makerere University and currently pursuing a Masters degree in Business Administration (MBA) from the Uganda Management Institute. APO Group congratulates Isaac Khisa and is happy to be able to offer this opportunity to him. Each year, APO Group offers invitations to major events as part of our commitment to stimulate the growth of the journalism sector in Africa. It is important for us to support the development of journalists across Africa by creating opportunities on the ground when and where possible, says Lionel Reina, CEO of APO Group. APO Group is the leading media relations consultancy in Africa and the Middle East, offering organizations a range of advisory services alongside its press release distribution and media monitoring solutions. Each year APO Group offers journalists the opportunity to attend major events as a part of its commitment to supporting journalism in Africa. Earlier this year, Cameroonian journalist Monica Nkodo (http://bit.ly/2WMyGYg) won APO Group invitation to attend the 2019 EurAfrican Forum, one the most prestigious EU-Africa events. Nigerian journalist Oluseyi Awojulugbe also won the APO Group invitation to attend the African Development Banks 2019 Annual Meetings. The three previous recipients of the AfricaCom invitation were science journalist Aimable Twahirwa from Rwanda (bit.ly/2y42xAe), journalist John Churu from Botswana (bit.ly/2NVy4PP) and journalist Lilian Murugi Mutegi from Kenya (bit.ly/2y7EuAi). In September 2016, reporter Aggrey Mutambo from Kenya (bit.ly/2RdhgSe) has won APO Groups invitation to attend the Africa Hotel Investment Forum (AHIF), the leading hotel investment conference in Africa. In October 2018, Online News Editor Frank Eleanya from Nigeria (bit.ly/2YBnTBI) has won APOs invitation to attend the Web Summit, the Largest Tech Conference in the World. APO Group also sponsors the APO Energy Media Award (bit.ly/2NSbJ5D) and the APO Media Award (bit.ly/2DNPDfU) where a journalist wins $500 a month for one year, one laptop and one intercontinental flight ticket to a destination of his or her choice as well as one year of access to over 600 airport VIP lounges. Partager et informez vous aussi...... 0 shares Share Tweet LinkedIn Articles similaires WASHINGTON -- Vice President Pence cast the deciding vote to confirm Betsy DeVos as education secretary Tuesday after opponents failed amid a groundswell of opposition to produce the additional "no" vote required to sink her nomination. DeVos was confirmed by a vote of 51-50 just at 12:30 p.m., with Pence breaking a 50-50 tie - the first time a vice president has cast a Senate vote since Dick Cheney helped break a tie on a procedural matter in 2008. DeVos "understands that teachers, students, parents, school boards, and state and local governments - not Washington bureaucrats - are best suited to make education decisions for our kids," Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said Tuesday. "I know she's committed to improving our education system so that every child has a brighter future." As expected, Sens. Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, joined the Democratic caucus to oppose DeVos' confirmation. Tuesday's vote is expected to usher in a period of intense and unified Democratic opposition to Trump's Cabinet nominees, including those chosen to lead the departments of justice, health and human services, labor and treasury - a historic rebuke of a first-term president's Cabinet selections. Nodding to thousands of constituents' fury over Trump's nominees, Democrats held a 24-hour protest against DeVos on the Senate floor prior to Tuesday's vote, charging throughout the night and early hours that the Republican billionaire power broker and charter school advocate lacked the experience to lead the U.S. public school system. "Betsy DeVos is the negative trifecta," Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., said in a floor speech. "Negative on competence - she doesn't even understand the basic aspects of education. Negative on philosophy - she disdains public education where 90 percent of our kids are. And negative on ethics - her conflicts of interest are legion and she hasn't, like some other cabinet nominees, tried to erase them." Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., Trump's attorney general nominee, is scheduled to receive a cloture vote Tuesday afternoon, setting him up for confirmation by the end of the week. This vote, along with others on Trump's Cabinet nominees, is expected to see little to support from Democrats. Only Sen. Joe Manchin III, D-W.Va., has announced plans to support Sessions. As of Monday, no Democrat had announced support for Rep. Tom Price, R-Ga., nominated to lead the Department of health and human services, or Steven Mnuchin, nominated as treasury secretary. They all are scheduled for up-or-down votes in the coming days. Opposition to labor nominee Andrew Puzder; Rep. Mick Mulvaney, R-S.C., tapped to lead the Office of Management and Budget; and Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt to lead the Environmental Protection Agency remains firm, but the final whip count is less certain, aides said Monday. Votes on those nominees are not scheduled for a few more weeks. Puzder has not yet been scheduled for a confirmation hearing. Democrats announced in January that they would target eight Trump Cabinet nominees on the basis of their policy positions or lack of government experience. Only one of the eight, Rex Tillerson, has been confirmed so far - but he was the first secretary of state nominee in U.S. history to ever have to clear various procedural hurdles before a final vote. Still, the level of opposition to DeVos was notable given that 25 Democrats are facing reelection next year, including 10 from states that Trump won. Those 10 have been facing pressure from Republicans to work with Trump or to be supportive of his policies and nominees. But even the most imperiled Democrats stood firm, including Sen. Joe Donnelly of Indiana, who said he would vote against DeVos, Sessions and Price. He continues to review Mnuchin's record before a final vote, a spokeswoman said. Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., said last month that he planned to vote against DeVos in part because she "prioritizes private schools over public ones. That would put our students, Montana's rural communities and our very democracy at risk." DeVos has spent decades using her family wealth and its political clout to advocate giving parents taxpayer-funded avenues to allow choice beyond troubled public schools. Many Republican elected officials, who have received campaign donations from DeVos or her family members, embrace her views and consider her an ideal "outsider" to change the nation's education system. But progressive groups and labor unions - who also donate generously to Democratic senators - have unleashed members on senators in both parties for weeks, flooding Capitol Hill phone systems with messages opposing DeVos. Republicans on Monday blasted Democrats for continuing to delay votes on Trump's nominees, especially for forcing senators to run out the clock on procedural votes to prolong the inevitable. The continued delays are causing the slowest formation of a new president's Cabinet since at least the 1950s, Republican said. As of Monday, just four of Trump's Cabinet secretaries have been confirmed, compared with 12 of former president Barack Obama's Cabinet secretaries at this point in 2009 and 16 of George W. Bush's picks in 2001. by Laurie Sullivan @lauriesullivan, February 7, 2017 Search experts and those that rely on positive and personal mobile experiences to market and advertise their products and services are diverging from Google's latest Accelerated Mobile Project (AMP) news to vent about a troubling experience. While AMP may speed up the Web and make it "much easier to access the original URL from results" in Google Search, some search experts are venting about other concerns. In the comments section of Google's most recent post describing updates for AMP, Alejandro Zielinsky, SEO senior analyst at T20 Media, wrote that the AMP feature reduces the Web site's functionality by caching the content. Another comment describes worries that "Google is unfairly prioritizing AMP in search results." "If load times and user experience is really the issue here, then Google should prioritize based on load speed," wrote Yee Cheng Chin. "An AMP site with tons of images isn't necessarily better than a simple minimal static page Web site served over CDN. I also want to use Google to look for relevant content, not whether a website conforms to Google's own proprietary standards when searching." advertisement advertisement Chin, along with others, simply want to know how to disable the feature. A commenter using the screen name Saza Cat, posted that Google's most recent changes to display three URLs is annoying. "What you do with your page content it's not my business until [it] ruins my mobile browsing experience!" she wrote in a comment on the post. "I cannot get to the original article, URL, and content of what I click onto!" It's not all bad news for AMP users and search experts. Business consultant Sigfredo Zamorano is pleased about the load times and how Web sites look when running on Google AMP. He writes that many sites not readable prior to the switch have become much easier to read. by Wendy Davis @wendyndavis, February 7, 2017 A federal judge has approved Google's $5.5 million settlement of a class-action alleging that it violated Safari users' privacy by circumventing their no-tracking settings. The deal requires Google to donate more than $3 million to six schools and nonprofits -- Berkeley Center for Law & Technology, Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University, Center for Democracy & Technology, Public Counsel, Privacy Rights Clearinghouse, and the Center for Internet & Society at Stanford University. Those groups must agree to use the money for projects related to online privacy. The lawyers who brought the case will receive $1.925 million, but individual Web users won't receive anything. U.S. District Court Judge Sue Robinson in Delaware rejected a challenge to the settlement by Theodore Frank, a well-known activist who founded the Washington-based Center for Class Action Fairness. Frank argued that the deal was improper because several of the nonprofit recipients already have relationships with Google. advertisement advertisement He argued that Google's donations to those amounts to "a change in accounting entries rather than a change in conduct." Frank added that the settlement should have been structured to provide funds to individual Safari users, as opposed to nonprofits. He suggested that individual users could submit claims to the court, as happened when Facebook created a $20 million fund to allegations that it violated a California law with its "sponsored stories" program. Alternatively, Frank said, individuals could be compensated through a lottery process. "Where there is a will, there is a way," Frank wrote in papers submitted to the Robinson late last year. "When courts demand more of settling parties on behalf of class members, they get more." Robinson disagreed with Frank. She noted in her ruling that the fund recipients "are among the preeminent institutions for researching and advocating for online privacy." The judge added that the donations to the nonprofits are "an effective and beneficial remedy that bears a substantial nexus to the interests of the settlement class." Robinson's order, entered late last week, brings an end to litigation stemming from the well-publicized "Safari hack." The hack came to light five years ago, when computer researcher Jonathan Mayer published a report stating that Google -- along with WPP's Media Innovation Group, PointRoll and Vibrant Media -- circumvented Safari's privacy settings and then set tracking cookies. After allegedly doing so, all the companies were able to serve ads to Web users based on their Internet activity. None of the companies were accused of linking cookie-based data to users' names. Google, Vibrant Media and PointRoll confirmed Mayer's report when it came out, and said they had stopped tracking Safari users or would soon do so. Google agreed to pay $22.5 million to settle Federal Trade Commission charges stemming from the workaround, and also paid $17 million to settle with a group of state attorneys general. Consumers filed a class-action lawsuit against all of the companies. PointRoll settled the case, but Google and the others fought the charges. U.S. District Court Judge Sue Robinson in Delaware dismissed the matter in 2013 but the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals later revived the case against Google -- though not Vibrant Media or WPP's Media Innovation Group. Google has settled two prior privacy class-actions by agreeing to make donations to nonprofits. In 2010, Google agreed to pay around $6 million to six nonprofits and schools, and more than $2 million to plaintiffs' attorneys, in order to settle a battle stemming from its launch of the defunct social networking service Buzz. That service created social networks out of people's Gmail contacts. Google designed the feature so that it initially revealed information about the names of users' email contacts, if users activated Buzz without changing the defaults. Three years later, Google settled another privacy case on nearly identical terms. That matter centered on allegations that the company "leaked" search users' names to publishers and advertisers through referrer headers -- the information that's automatically transmitted by Google to publishers and advertisers. (Some queries, like people's searches for their own names, can offer clues to users' identities.) Frank is challenging that settlement separately. He recently asked the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals to vacate the deal, arguing that search engine users who were affected by Google's practices won't receive any money.The 9th Circuit is still considering Frank's argument. by Steve McClellan @mp_mcclellan, February 7, 2017 Initiative, the IPG Mediabrands agency, has reorganized its U.S. leadership team and has promoted Amy Armstrong to the newly-created role of U.S. CEO. Shell be supported by three regional presidents and will report to Mat Baxter, who was appointed Initiatives global CEO in July. A 20-plus year IPG veteran, Armstrong was most recently president of BPN U.S., a third media agency brand (in addition to Initiative and UM) created by IPG several years ago that just last month was folded into Initiative. Prior to her BPN stint, Armstrong was President of ID Media based in New York. Previously she spent 13 years in Los Angeles leading ID Medias West Coast operations and began her career at IPG agency Draft, now FCB. advertisement advertisement We are recalibrating Initiative to lead our industry into the future, stated Baxter. Our new executive structure is the final piece of this cultural transformation. Amy and our regional presidents will bring their areas of expertise together to ensure our clients find new ways to connect with consumers. The new regional presidents include Kris Magel, who will oversee the agencys flagship New York office as President, East Coast, and Chris Actis, who has been named President, Midwest. A yet-to-be-named West Coast president will oversee the agencys Los Angeles and San Diego offices. Magel joined the agency in 2008 as Director of National Broadcast and most recently was U.S. president. Actis joins the agency from Neo@Ogilvy where was President of the agencys Asia Pacific region. Earlier he served at MediaCom China, MediaVest and MRM Worldwide. Scientists have developed sensor technology for a robotic prosthetic arm that detects signals from nerves in the spinal cord. To control the prosthetic, the patient has to think like they are controlling a phantom arm and imagine some simple manoeuvres, such as pinching two fingers together. The sensor technology interprets the electrical signals sent from spinal motor neurons and uses them as commands. A motor neuron is a nerve cell that is located in the spinal cord. Its fibres, called axons, project outside the spinal cord to directly control muscles in the body. Robotic arm prosthetics currently on the market are controlled by the user twitching the remnant muscles in their shoulder or arm, which are often damaged. This technology is fairly basic in its functionality, only performing one or two grasping commands. This drawback means that globally around 40-50 per cent of users discard this type of robotic prosthetic. The team in the study, published in the journal Nature Biomedical Engineering, say detecting signals from spinal motor neurons in parts of the body undamaged by amputation, instead of remnant muscle fibre, means that more signals can be detected by the sensors connected to the prosthetic. This means that ultimately more commands could be programmed into the robotic prosthetic, making it more functional. Dr Dario Farina, who is now based at Imperial College London, carried out much of the research while at the University Medical Centre Gottingen. The research was conducted in conjunction with Dr Farina's co-authors in Europe, Canada and the USA. Dr Farina, from the Department of Bioengineering at Imperial, said: "When an arm is amputated the nerve fibres and muscles are also severed, which means that it is very difficult to get meaningful signals from them to operate a prosthetic. We've tried a new approach, moving the focus from muscles to the nervous system. This means that our technology can detect and decode signals more clearly, opening up the possibility of robotic prosthetics that could be far more intuitive and useful for patients. It is a very exciting time to be in this field of research." The researchers carried out lab-based experiments with six volunteers who were either amputees from the shoulder down or just above the elbow. After some physiotherapy training, the amputees were able to make a more extensive range of movements than would be possible using a classic muscle-controlled robotic prosthetic. They came to this conclusion by comparing their research to previous studies on muscle-controlled robotic prosthetics. The volunteers were able to move the elbow joint and do radial movements - moving the wrist from side to side - as well as opening and closing the hand. This means that the user has all basic hand and arm functions of a real arm. Further refinements are needed to make the technology more robust, but the researchers suggest the current model could be on the market in the next three years. To take part in the study, volunteers underwent a surgical procedure at the Medical University of Vienna that involved re-routing parts of their Peripheral Nervous System (PNS), connected with hand and arm movements, to healthy muscles in their body. Depending on the type of amputation, this re-routing was either directed to the pectoral muscle in the chest or the bicep in the arm. This enabled the team to clearly detect the electrical signals sent from the spinal motor neurons - a process the team liken to amplification of the signals. To create the technology, the researchers decoded and mapped some of the information in electrical signals sent from the re-routed nerve cells and then interpreted them in computer models. These models were then compared to models of healthy patients, which helped them to corroborate the results. Ultimately, the scientists want to decode the meaning behind all signals sent from these motor neurons, so that they can program a full range of arm and hand functions in the prosthetic. This would mean that the user could use the prosthetic almost as seamlessly as if it was their own arm. The team then encoded specific motor neuron signals as commands into the design of the prosthetic. They then connected a sensor patch on the muscle that had been operated on as part the re-routing procedure, which was connected to the prosthetic. The amputees worked with physiotherapists so they could learn how to control the device by thinking about specific phantom arm and hand commands. This research has taken the team to the end of the proof of concept stage with laboratory tests. The next step will involve extensive clinical trials with a much wider cross section of volunteers so that the technology can be made more robust. The work was supported by the European Research Council, the Christian Doppler Research Foundation of the Austrian Federal Ministry of Science, Research and Economy and the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme. People who inherit genetic variants affecting the function of their immune system are at increased risk of developing the most common form of leukaemia, a major new study reveals. Scientists have linked the risk of developing chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL) to the inheritance of nine regions of DNA, five of which help white blood cells fight disease. The research sheds fresh light on the causes of CLL, and could lead researchers to new targeted drugs for the disease, or help in selecting existing immunotherapy treatments. An international team, co-led by scientists at The Institute of Cancer Research, London, conducted the largest study of its kind in CLL. These new variants affecting the immune system were each individually associated with an increased risk of up to 17 per cent of developing CLL. Two fell within regions of DNA that have previously been linked with autoimmune disorders - multiple sclerosis and lupus. The research was funded by the charity Bloodwise, and is published in Nature Communications. The researchers have now found 41 DNA changes - that influence the risk of developing CLL. CLL is a slow-growing a cancer of the white blood cells that affects around 3,500 people a year. The cancerous white blood cells aren't as good at fighting infection as their healthy counterparts, and, competing for space with other essential cells such as red blood cells and platelets. The new study combined data from six previous studies and two new studies involving 6,200 people with CLL. One of the new variants resides in the gene BANK1, only ever activated in a type of white blood cell called B cells, and linked to the autoimmune disease lupus. Another was found in the gene ZBTB7A, which regulates B cells numbers - so errors in this gene could lead to too many B cells in the bloodstream and bone marrow. A third was found in a region of chromosome 22 which has been linked with the risk of developing multiple sclerosis. Study co-leader Professor Richard Houlston, Professor of Molecular and Population Genetics at The Institute of Cancer Research, London, said: "We knew people were more likely to develop chronic lymphocytic leukaemia if someone in their family had suffered from the disease, but our new research takes a big step towards explaining the underlying genetics. "CLL is essentially a disease of the immune system, and it's fascinating that so many of the new genetic variants we have uncovered seem to directly affect the behaviour of white blood cells and their ability to fight disease. "Understanding the genetics of CLL can point us towards new treatments for the disease, and help us to use existing targeted drugs more effectively." Dr Alasdair Rankin, Director of Research at Bloodwise said: "At the moment, CLL is incurable and we desperately need to find new ways to tackle this blood cancer. This important research provides another valuable layer in understanding how genetic variations cause CLL to develop. We are beginning to gain a detailed picture of what drives this disease, and we hope this eventually leads to more accurate diagnosis and more informed personalised treatment for people affected by CLL." Professor Paul Workman, Chief Executive of The Institute of Cancer Research, London, said: "We're increasingly appreciating that part of the key to understanding cancer and how to treat it lies in the immune system. This fascinating study makes a link between genetic variants in the immune system and the development of leukaemia, and implicates regions of DNA which are also involved in auto-immune diseases. The findings could point us towards new ways of treating leukaemia or better ways of using existing treatments - potentially including immunotherapies." Advertisement Adherence to the guidelines for AET after surgery slowly improved over the period studied. By the end of the study, however, 18% of women who could have benefited were still not getting potentially life-saving care. The researchers also found that about 3% of women who lacked hormone receptors were inappropriately treated with AET."The use of adjuvant endocrine therapy slowly gained popularity over this time," said study senior author Dezheng Huo, associate professor of public health sciences at the University of Chicago. "It improved after 2004, rising from 70% in 2004 to almost 84% in 2011. Then it declined slightly to 82% in 2013, when the study ended.""Our results suggest that it is still underused," Huo said, "and in some cases, misused, offered to patients who lack hormone receptors."The study, published in JAMA Oncology, used data from the National Cancer Data Base (NCDB), which is supported by the American College of Surgeons and the American Cancer Society. The NCDB collects information about cancer patients, treatments and outcomes from more than 1,500 accredited healthcare facilities.The authors found data from more than two million patients who were diagnosed with breast cancer between 2004 and 2013. They narrowed that down to women at least 18 years old who had stage-1, 2 or 3 breast cancer, treated with lumpectomy or mastectomy, usually followed by radiation and, less often, chemotherapy. The women had to express estrogen or progesterone receptors. They wound up with records from 818,435 patients, who met the criteria and were likely to benefit.AET slows or stops the growth of tumors that feed on these hormones. Drugs such as tamoxifen, for example, attach to the estrogen receptor in a cancer cell and shut down the hormone's cancer-causing effects. Patients are encouraged to take the pills, one a day, for 10 years or longer.Compliance with AET guidelines in this study varied from hospital to hospital. The researchers selected 80% compliance with the guidelines as a reasonable goal for individual hospitals. They found that in 2004, only 40% of hospitals met that standard. By 2013, almost 70% of hospitals were reaching the 80% standard."Still, 30% of hospitals were falling short," Huo said.Several factors influence compliance. Hormone therapy does have side effects, such as hot flashes or nausea. Patients taking tamoxifen have an increased risk of stroke. Those taking aromatase inhibitors have an increased risk of osteoporosis.Since there is no immediately detectable benefit from AET, some breast cancer patients choose not to take hormone therapy. Others begin therapy but lapse over time. Smaller studies found that 30 to 70% of patients discontinue AET within five years.Patients treated with surgery followed by radiation or chemotherapy were more likely to stick with AET. Women treated at larger hospitals, with 400 beds or more, were more compliant.There were also racial disparities. Black and Hispanic women are less likely than non-Hispanic whites to receive AET. Asian women are more likely to receive AET.Hospitals in certain geographic regions had better success. Those in New England and the upper Midwest achieved compliance rates seven to 12% higher than those in the South and West.The authors stress that their data has limitations. Previous studies suggest that adjuvant endocrine therapy may be under-reported, in some cases by as much as 10%.On the whole, however, the researchers note that although AET use has been steadily increasing. optimal usage, according to Huo, "has not been achieved." Because of these gaps, "certain women are being deprived of this life-saving therapy."Source: Eurekalert When youre at a gourmet music festival that is born out of one of the most famous vineyards in the country, youre bound to want to try each and every variation that you can, without losing your senses. Also, when youre right in the middle of wine country with so many options and such quick access to wines of all types and textures, you use it as an opportunity to really build on your knowledge of the alcoholic beverage. At SulaFest this year, thats exactly what I did. This was my chance to really see how affined I could get to winea drink that I, more often than not, tend to pass because it just seems like too much of an effort; simply because there always seems to be some sort of rule book to drinking wine. I never really understood that, honestly. MensXP The truth is while wine does require some sort of prior knowledge and experience in order to enjoy and appreciate; it comes down to whether or not you like what you taste. My time at SulaFest this year was dedicated towards testing my knowledge of the alcohol and seeing how much I really knew about it and how I could play around with different foods and wine choices. This was, of course, when I was not losing myself to the melodious music by some of the best bands Ive heard in a while. I spoke to Paul Hillier, Marketing Director, Accolade Wines, who enlightened me on how the way people taste and enjoy their wines is changing. He says, The more exposure people get when it comes to wines, the more they are willing to try and test different combinations of food and wine. What this means is that you dont just have to stick to the typical wine and cheese, or crackers, combination. Mixing it up works, just as well. I remember going to a wine tasting which gave us a little quiz and all as to what food items worked best with what wines and why. I didnt really understand why there had to be a set rule book to how blue cheese went only with white or red wine, and why I couldnt choose a different option and still be right. MensXP At SulaFest, while wine tasting with various different food items was one of the agendas on the itineraryand the sommeliers make equally good pointswhat I also discovered was that there is no particular way to enjoy your wine. You could do pasta with a red, white, rose or merlot. You could do dessert and chocolates just the same and you could spice it up with a few burgers or rolls, too. You simply know which ones would work for your palate best. MensXP The thing is the more you travel around and about, experiment with different cuisines and try different combinations of food with wine, the more you come to realize that everyone has a different palate for certain foods and combinations. While not everyone would want to try a bucket of fried crispy chicken with some chocolate sauce, you might just be the one weirdo out of tens of thousands who seems open to that sort of experimentation and thats completely okay. If it works for your taste buds, there is absolutely no reason why you shouldnt go for it. Get my point? That was just an example I was trying to give you but yes, I have tried that food combination, just in case you were wondering. I kind of liked it. So, now do you see what I mean? There are people like me, out there, who prefer to mix things up, even with their wines. Ever seen someone pair their wine with waffles? I have. And they seemed to beautifully justify why it worked for them as a combination. I couldnt see why not. MensXP SulaFest provided us likeminded weirdos with a place to do just that and more. You could do that with just about any alcohol, really. But, when youre in the middle of a vineyard, why else would you look at any other alcohol, is my question? So, I picked out the Rasa Shiraz from Sulas red wine options, the Blanc de blanc, Reisling and Chenin blanc from their whites and decided to go on a wine tasting spree of my own. Heres what I observed. The Rasa does go well with a set of cheese crackers, cheese alone, or even with Pizza. But, it goes equally well with Pomfret fry, a chicken fry roll and potato wafers. The Reisling is one of the most refreshing options of white wine Ive ever tasted. So, I fell in love with it, instantly. Why? Because you can feel the after taste of the grape uplift your spirits; it makes for the perfect pick me up on a long and tiring day. Yes, I could pair it with a spicy BBQ Quesadilla, or a burrito, or even chicken skewers. But, there was something about just sipping on the Reisling and taking a stroll in the lawns of the vineyards, listening to bands like Dhruv Voyage and Reggae Rajahs doing what they do best. Then, came the Chenin Blanc. Its one of Sulas white wine options and its smooth as f*ck, actually. And while most people pair this with seafood and it would taste like heaven. But, you know what would taste just as well? A juicy grilled chicken burger, a lamb burger, or even Butter Chicken fries. Ever tasted that? You should. MensXP I tried Sulas soon to be released Blanc de Blanc, which is an all-new 100% chardonnay that the brand is releasing soon, on the occasion of their 10th year. It was refreshing and uplifting, instantly and didnt really need a food combination to go with it. But, just in case you want to stir things up, you could try a nice plate of fried nuggets to go with it. Hillier poured me an interesting take on Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand, called Mud House, from Accolade Wines. I specifically loved the flavourful taste it had; turns out, it was because of the different kind of grapes used to create the wine and the fact that it was not aged in a barrel, unlike what most wineries assume and execute. I paired it with a Pizza, which is quite standard in wine rule book philosophy. But, I paired it with a really meaty one, with extra cheese and all sorts of meats. Tasted perfectly good, if not better than most wines, to me! In my animated and detailed conversation with Hillier, my convictions were only solidified. He agrees when I tell him that different palates have different preferences, depending on their perspectives. Perspectives matter a lot when enjoying wine. The more developed and seasoned your perspective, the more expansive your palate is. That reflects in your choice of food and drinks, as well. SulaFest lets you do that becaue of the options and availabilities of different wines, as well as foods to devour. It gives your palate a perspective and therefore, a total recall on your previously set wine preferences. So, next time, if you want to mix it up with a chardonnay, a sauvignon blanc, shiraz or a merlot, dont think about what the rule book says. Go out there and experiment with your own taste buds and thresholds to see what works best for you. Maybe Ill even bump into you at the next edition of SulaFest in Nashik, next year. Peace Out! Meet Shaikha Mozah Al Maktoum. Shes officially Dubais first woman commercial pilot. And thats definitely a milestone that deserves to be celebrated. Finally..wings and bars today. A photo posted by mozahmm (@mozahmm) on Apr 26, 2016 at 8:01am PDT The internet is collectively congratulating Shaikha for paving way for more women commercial pilots to fly high. She also happens to belong to the ruling family of Dubai. Her aunt, Sheikha Lateefa, a renowned artist shared this picture of her dressed in uniform to make the announcement official. My niece Shaikha Mozah Al Maktoum our first female pilot from the family on her first assisted flight as a commercial pilot. Proud of you ! The sky is not the limit. As long as you can dream it you can achieve it. Mozah became a certified pilot last year when she completed the APP First Officer programme at the CAE Oxford Aviation Academy in Phoenix, Arizona. Slingsby Firefly T67 - 070315 A video posted by mozahmm (@mozahmm) on Mar 7, 2015 at 8:40am PST Her Instagram feed is proof that shes truly passionate about being a pilot. Sometimes I get so far into my head I forget anything else exists. A photo posted by mozahmm (@mozahmm) on Aug 1, 2015 at 2:45pm PDT More power to you, girl! On one hand where some places are ranked in the list of cities with worst air quality, China is setting an example that other countries should take a cue from Asias first Vertical Forest. While the concept alone is brilliant, the fact that it will generate 60kg oxygen everyday is whats worth looking forward to. How can one not fall in love with this masterpiece? Stefano Boeri This marvel is being built by renowned architect Stefano Boeri. After popularizing the concept in Milan, Boeri is all set to give his Midas touch to the Vertical Forest that will be located in Nanjing Pokou District and will be characterized by the interchange of green tanks and balconies. The Nanjing Green Towers will be promoted by Nanjing Yang Zi State-owned National Investment Group Co. Ltd. Stefano Boeri The buildings are said to feature 600 tall trees, 500 medium-sized trees from over 20 varied species and 2500 cascading plants and shrubs, covering an area of 6000 sq/m. This vertical forest provide 25 tons of CO2 absorption each year along with producing 60 kg oxygen every day, which means that people will now get purer air to breathe. Stefano Boeri The taller tower which is approximately 200 metres high will host offices and will also include a museum, a private club on the rooftop and a green architecture school. The other tower which is nearly 108 meters high will accommodate a Hyatt hotel with over 240 rooms and a swimming pool on the rooftop. Stefano Boeri This Vertical Project is reportedly the third prototype of the project on urban forestation and demineralization by Boeri, after Milan, Italy and Lausanne, Switzerland. In fact, it is being speculated that similar prototype will be designed for other Chinese cities like Shijiazhuang, Liuzhou, Guizhou, Shanghai and Chongqing. Stefano Boeri The Nanjing Vertical Forest is expected to be completed by 2018 and we are hoping that the architect turns and walks towards Chinas neighbour and bring this wonderful concept to India. A research group has developed a terahertz transmitter that achieves a communication speed of 105 gigabits per second using the frequency range from 290 GHz to 315 GHz. Scientists from Tokyo have developed a new communications system which is capable of transmitting digital data that is 10 times faster than 5G mobile networks. This new technology will make it easier for faster downloads and also improve networks on planes. The terahertz transmitter (THz) was announced by researchers from Hiroshima University and National Institute of Information and Communications Technology in Japan which will be transmitting speeds at an excess of 100 gigabits per second over a single channel. The transmitter will be using a 300-gigahertz band in order to achieve this feat. Hiroshima University The THz is expected to be implemented in the future for high-speed wireless communications and the research is already boasting about a transmitter that can achieve 105 gigabits per second using the frequency range from 290 GHz to 315 Gh. Last year, the group had also elaborated that the 300Ghz band can be improved by using quadrature amplitude modulation also known as QAM. Just to give you a fair idea, a 5GB file can be transferred/downloaded within a fraction of a second. This year, we developed a transmitter with 10 times higher transmission power than the previous versions. This made the per-channel data rate above 100 Gbit per second at 300 GHz possible, said Minoru Fujishima from Hiroshima University. YouTube Fjuishjima added, We usually talk about wireless data rates in megabits per second or gigabits per second. But we are now approaching terabits per second using a plain simple single communication channel, said Fujishima. Fibre optics realized ultrahigh-speed wired links, and wireless links have been left far behind, he said. Terahertz could offer ultra high-speed links to satellites as well, which can only be wireless. That could, in turn, significantly boost in-flight network connection speeds, for example. Other possible applications include fast download from contents servers to mobile devices and ultrafast wireless links between base stations, he added. Another, completely new possibility offered by terahertz wireless is high-data-rate minimum-latency communications, said Fujishima. Optical fibres are made of glass and the speed of light slows down in fibres. That makes fibre optics inadequate for applications requiring real-time responses, he said. According to a new report by Bloomberg, Apple is currently exploring the idea of selling used iPhones in India, again. Bloomberg cited key figures who claim to have knowledge of the alleged talks with the Indian government. The report suggests that Apple will be refurbishing iPhones in India and will follow every regulation imposed by the government in order to sell smartphones for the Indian market. Currently, India and Apple have been negotiating terms for manufacturing iPhones in India and have developed a close relationship in the recent past. Just last week it was announced that Apple would begin production of iPhone in Bangalore as early as end of April. This move was undertaken in order to sell cheaper iPhones in India and enjoy higher profits by appealing Apple products to a wider audience. Apple has not officially commented on their endeavors in India and future plans. Apple Tim Cook shared during the recent earnings calls that Indias growing middle class could be essential to Apples success in the country and their long-term performance. Apple has suffered losses in China and the company is now looking at international markets to make up for some of that loss. According to Cook, India is one of the most important and fastest growing economies and believes that Apples appeal amongst Indian citizens could grow with the economy. Apple has flirted with the idea of selling used iPhones in India last year. However, it was met with stringent objections by both Indian smartphone manufacturers Micromax as well as Samsung. Apple stated that by selling used iPhones in the country, they could offer available handsets at an affordable price as compared to a brand new iPhone. However, Apples efforts were met with disagreement and came to no conclusion. Source: Bloomberg CARO A county commissioner confirmed Monday that Tuscola County is a contender for a proposed new cheese and whey production facility announced last week in the Huron Daily Tribune. Although the Dairy Farmers of America Inc. (DFA), the Michigan Milk Producers Association (MMPA), Foremost Farms USA and Glanbia announced the joint venture, they would only say the plant was being considered somewhere in central Michigan. During Mondays meeting of the whole of Tuscola County commissioners, District 1 Commissioner Tom Young said Cass City is one of the proposed sites for the processing facility, and asked fellow commissioners for their support to do everything possible to make it happen here. There are two other sites besides Cass City that are being considered. They wouldnt say where the other sites are, Young said. We need to pull out all of the stops to make it happen in our county. There is currently a dairy processing facility in Cass City the $40 million, 33,000-square foot DFA facility at 4105 N. Division St. started processing in February 2015. An expansion of the Cass City plant was part of the plan when the facility was being built in 2013. However, construction of the plant did not go smoothly. There was over $10 million in overrun costs mainly because Cass City officials were not able to provide wastewater treatment services that had been promised. So DFA had to build its own wastewater treatment facility. We know that things had not gone smoothly before when the (DFA) plant was being built, said Young noting he wants DFA to know there is different leadership in Cass City now. We are hoping to have a meeting with all of the parties involved (in this new venture) to know their reservations and what we can do. Young would like the county to go on record supporting the new dairy project and do what it can to help. No action was taken because it was a committee meeting. I want us to be more proactive to their needs rather than reactive, he said. The DFA, MMPA, Foremost Farms USA, and Glanbia are in advanced discussions to create a stand-alone joint diary processing venture that will need more than 8 million pounds of milk a day and could create about 200 jobs. The proposed joint venture has: DFA, MMPA and Foremost Farms supplying all milk, and Glanbia responsible for the commercial, technical and operational aspects of the business, and that 50 percent of the joint venture owned by Glanbia and the other 50 percent owned by DFA, MMPA and Foremost Farms. Glanbia is a global nutrition company with deep roots in the dairy industry in both Ireland and the U.S. A press release in June 2016, by the DFA, Foremost Farmers USA, and MMPA said the trio were exploring joint ownership of a cheese processing plant in Michigan, and at the same time DFA announced a plan to expand its facility in Cass City. When we made the initial investment in the Cass City plant, we were already considering its expansion, said Greg Wickham, DFAs chief financial officer, in a press release in June 2016. The time is right for this continued investment. Michigans milk supply continues to grow, but the processing capacity within the region has not kept pace. The plants location (Cass City) makes it ideal to provide both domestic and global customers with safe, high-quality dairy ingredients. Cass City is centrally located in the Thumbs counties of Tuscola, Huron, and Sanilac. State highways running through or near Cass City include M-81, M-53, M-46, and M-25. Besides the state highways, other advantages Cass City has is the DFA owns 40 acres in the industrial park that has the designation of a Renaissance Zone. A Renaissance Zone means a large tax break for up to 15 years. Michigans Renaissance Zones incentive of no taxes was designed to spur new jobs and investment. Companies only have to pay Unemployment Insurance, Social Security Taxes, Workers Compensation, State of Michigan Sales Tax, sewer/water fees, special assessments, and voted debt millage. In 2015, Michigan ranked seventh nationally in milk production and production is expected to increase. Camp Lejeune Town Halls Aim to Help Those Exposed to Toxic Water. Heres How You Can Go. Retired Marine Master Sgt. Jerry Ensminger made it his mission to tell the world that if they lived or served on Camp Lejeune... The U.S. Air Force may soon roll out a service-wide mobile alert system to notify airmen and employees of active shooters or other emergencies on base, a general said. The service is pushing to set up the technology this year, possibly even within the next few months, according to Lt. Gen. John Cooper, Air Force deputy chief of staff for logistics, engineering and force protection at the Pentagon. "We challenged ourselves: can we get an amber alert-type [system] on cell phones?" Cooper said during a recent Air Force Association breakfast near Washington D.C. "Before the end of this year -- I think in the next three months, but I'll say before the end of the year -- the whole Air Force will be set up regionally." The Air Force, as well as the other branches, have stepped up the use of social media websites such as Facebook and Twitter to get the word out to base personnel and families on emergencies and quickly developing situations. But the direct messaging systems will be created to alert airmen -- and any local command posts in the same region, Cooper said. For example, in the National Capital Region, or NCR -- the area in and around Washington, D.C. -- military bases have already established a unified system, he said. "In the NCR, the Navy had a program, the Army had a program, Air Force had a program and the Marines had a program. [But] if something happened on Bolling Air Force Base, [in Maryland] I could be driving to the B-X from my house and all the sailors would be jumping in a ditch, and I'd be jumping right into the fire," Cooper said. "We got that all fixed, so any command post in the National Capital Region ... pushes a button and every military gets notified immediately." The general also said the system shouldn't be monopolized by a major command, citing Hill Air Force Base, Utah, a base with two different active-duty commands -- Air Force Material Command and Air Combat Command -- as well as an Air Force Reserve Command unit. "They're [all] the same Air Force," he said. "One person should push a button and everyone should get notified." The Air Force immediately began increasing its protection services at various bases, implementing lower-end, but critical enhancements such as preventative fences and bullet resistant film for glass in the wake of the deadly 2015 shootings in Chattanooga, Tennessee, which killed four Marines and a sailor at a recruiting station and reserve center, Cooper told Air Force Times in July. In 2016, the service implemented three more programs -- Unit Marshal, Law Enforcement Officer Safety Act, and Security Forces Staff Arming -- that allowed more airmen to carry firearms in the workplace. "We basically set up a concept so an airman can arm themselves with their personal weapon until they get to the office, the worksite -- and from there at the worksite, at the base, the government will make it more secure," Cooper said Friday. The security forces program enables more security forces members -- who have the appropriate Air Force specialty code and who work in staff billets at the squadron, group, wing or major command -- to carry a government-issued weapon while on duty with the approval of the installation commander, according to a release. Unit Marshal, the newest program, gives commanders permission, with the installation commander's approval, to work with security forces to train more airmen and allow them to open carry an M9 pistol in their duty location, the release said. UMP is meant to act as "a blocking force," Cooper said. "Somebody comes into an office that's going to do something stupid a blue could shoot back and basically block until the [remaining law enforcements] get there," Cooper said. Lastly, with the Law Enforcement Officer Safety Act or LEOSA, "Congress gave us legislation ... which allowed credentialed defenders to carry concealed weapons on base," Cooper said. The legislation applies to present security forces members as well as separated or retired members as long as they meet appropriate criteria cleared by the service. The 2004 federal act was extended to apply to military personnel in 2013. The Air Force's programs already go hand-in-hand with policies stated in a Nov. 18 Defense Department directive approved by Deputy Secretary of Defense Robert Work that allow Defense Department personnel to carry firearms and employ deadly force while performing official duties. "When you say high-consequence, I think our airmen," Cooper said. "Chattanooga. We just say Chattanooga and everybody on my staff understands that." Editor's Note: This story was updated to remove incorrect information from Lt. Gen. John Cooper on payments related to the Law Enforcement Officer Safety Act. -- Oriana Pawlyk can be reached at oriana.pawlyk@military.com. Follow her on Twitter at @Oriana0214. The commandant of the Marine Corps wants the service to come up with a strategy to give Marines more time at home between deployments before the end of the year and get new aircraft cranking off production lines ahead of schedule. Those are two of the 25 time-sensitive tasks for service commanders published Tuesday alongside Gen. Robert Neller's second major message to the force. In the task list, he calls on Marine Corps leadership to invest in people, build up readiness, and take training into the future. Neller's checklist tasks Marine Corps Forces Command and Manpower and Reserve Affairs with developing a plan to give Marines on average more than twice as much time at home than they spend deployed. Increasing "dwell time," as it's called, from the current 1:2 ratio has long been cited by Marine Corps commanders as a goal at odds with the service's high deployment tempo and ongoing force reductions. As leaders await approval of a defense budget measure that would modestly increase the size of the force for the first time in years, Neller's order is a signal that times may be changing. "The optimal deployment-to-dwell ratio will not be the same for all elements of the [Marine air-ground task force] and we must strike the right balance between risk-to-force, risk-to- mission, and risk-to-institution," Neller cautioned in the document. "Potential factors to consider among others: increasing the end strength of the force, growing key Military Occupational Specialties (MOSs), and decreasing in Global Force Management (GFM) demands." Another goal dependent on budget decisions is the plan to accelerate aviation recovery for the service, which has seen aircraft readiness rates and pilots' flight hours plummet and then begin to recover in the last two years. In an interview this month in his office at the Pentagon, Neller said the Corps would try to buy new aircraft faster, including F-35B Joint Strike Fighters, to replace aging legacy platforms, and petition Congress to fully fund the service's flight hour program and spare parts requirements so aviation readiness as a whole will improve. "We're going to be in a position where we're fielding new aircraft and sustaining legacy aircraft for a number of years and it would be nice if the [operational] tempo would go down, but I don't see that happening either. So we've got to do this all on the fly," Neller said. "We've got to improve our readiness and continue to meet our requirements." Whether or not the extra money rolls in within future defense budgets, Neller is asking aviation leaders to come up with more efficient ways to accelerate the recovery plan. He's also calling for better training for aviation maintenance Marines, citing recent readiness reviews that highlighted a lack of training and standardization in these fields. By improving and standardizing the training pipeline for specialized aviation maintainers, he wrote, "We can improve overall readiness and performance of Marine Aviation." In parallel, Neller wants commanders to develop a comprehensive plan by the end of the year to modernize the Marine Corps ground combat element, allowing infantry Marines to fight with similar technological and training advantages to their aviation counterparts. He reiterated his desire to get quadcopter drones fielded to each Marine rifle squad "immediately," and said he wanted to see ground Marines take advantage of the 5th-generation platforms, sensors and networks that the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter will bring to the force. Neller endorsed a growing trend in the Marine Corps to tailor equipment and gear to the specific needs of the ground combat Marine. In 2015, the Corps announced that infantry Marines would use M4s as their standard service rifle, while non-infantrymen would continue to carry the longer M16; and last fall, Marine Corps Systems Command held an event focused on equipping infantry Marines with tailor-made gear specific to their jobs, with leaders even discussing the possibility of tailoring Meals, Ready to Eat to the needs of grunts. "While every Marine is a rifleman, not all Marines serve in or alongside ground combat units like the infantry as they actively locate, close with, and destroy enemies by fire and maneuver," Neller wrote. "Their mission and risks are unique. From clothing and equipment to training, nutrition, and fitness, we must look at and develop the [ground combat element's] capabilities differently than the rest of the MAGTF." -- Hope Hodge Seck can be reached at hope.seck@military.com. Follow her on Twitter at @HopeSeck. Related Video: Only three of the Army's 58 Brigade Combat Teams are ready to fight; 53 percent of Navy aircraft can't fly; the Air Force is 723 fighter pilots short; and the Marine Corps needs 3,000 more troops. "We're just flat-out out of money" to address those immediate needs and provide the additional personnel and maintenance funding to plan for the future, Navy Adm. William Moran said Tuesday in summing up the concerns of four-star officers across the services. In testimony before the House Armed Services Committee, Moran and other officers said their first priority is for Congress to scrap the budget caps known as sequestration under the Budget Control Act of 2011. The Air Force currently is the smallest, the oldest, the most poorly maintained and the "least ready in our history," said Gen. Stephen Wilson, vice chief of staff of the Air Force. "Your Air Force needs Congress' support to repeal the Budget Control Act," he said. "We need to act now before it's too late." Gen. Glenn Walters, assistant commandant of the Marine Corps, said 3,000 more Marines are urgently needed to bolster a force that is "insufficiently manned, trained and equipped." In addition, the Marine Corps faces a $9 billion backlog for infrastructure, he said. The Corps also needs more amphibious ships, or "We will find our Marine Corps optimized for the past," he said. Rep. Mac Thornberry, a Texas Republican and the committee's chairman, seemed taken aback by the assertion of Gen. Daniel Allyn, the Army's vice chief of staff, that only three of the service's 58 BCTs have all the troops, training and equipment needed. "That's accurate, Mr. Chairman," Allyn said in response. "It reflects the reality of both the op tempo and the recurring demands our forces face. That is where we're at today." About 55 of the BCTS "would require something like 30 days to meet the demands of immediate combat," he said. Thornberry and Sen. John McCain, an Arizona Republican and chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, have consistently called for an end to sequester to boost military spending, and the effort appears to have bipartisan support in Tuesday's meeting. "The worst enemy we have is ourselves" in the stalled effort to increase defense spending, said Rep. Jim Cooper, a Tennessee Democrat. "The problem is ours, not yours," he told the testifying officers. He called the Budget Control Act a "bigger threat" than any adversary and said "we should solve this sequestration problem." Rep. Madeleine Bordallo, a Democrat and the delegate from Guam, brought up a sore point for members of Congress with military bases or facilities in their districts. She suggested that the services could cut overhead and improve their bottom lines by shutting down unnecessary bases under a new round of the Base Closure and Realignment Commission (BRAC). The testifying officers quickly agreed with the need for another BRAC round. In the Air Force, "we think we have 25 percent excess capacity" at bases, Wilson said. "BRAC would help us" save money and "put that back into solving our fiscal problems." Allyn said the Army has "21 percent excess facilities." Rep. Jackie Speier, a California Democrat, questioned whether the military is really in such dire straits with more than $600 billion being spent annually on defense. She cited an op-ed by retired Army Gen. David Petraeus, which said that current funding is more than adequate to meet readiness demands. "He [Petraeus] suggests that we have enough money," Speier said. The testifying officers quickly disagreed. Petraeus' arguments "don't match the facts as I see them," Allyn said. "We have significantly attrited" in the Army in terms of personnel with projections showing that the active-duty force would go down to 450,000 under sequestration. "In terms of near-term readiness, there is a significant challenge in not only meeting op tempo but having sufficient forces ready," Allyn said. Moran added, "I would disagree with Gen. Petraeus on saying we're ready today." The thrust of the hearing on the need for more military spending and an end to the sequester process was in line with the frequently stated campaign pledges of President Donald Trump for major increases in defense funding. In an address to troops at U.S. Central Command on Monday, Trump said the military has been "depleted" by constant deployments and combat since the terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. "You've been lacking a little equipment. We're going to load it up. You're going to get a lot of equipment," Trump told the troops. Rep. John Garamendi, a California Democrat, did not argue against more military spending but asked, "Where's the money? The president is suggesting a tax cut of more than one trillion dollars. We'd better have a big credit card." According to informal proposals to Congress obtained by The Associated Press, the services plan to ask for a $30 billion increase in the 2017 defense budget for more troops, planes, ships and maintenance funding to halt the erosion in readiness. The Budget Control Act of 2011 set limits on how much could be spent on defense through 2021 while exempting money provided for overseas warfighting operations. The Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015 provided temporary relief from the cuts, but unless the law is changed, the limits will return in the 2018 budget year. At a session with defense reporters Monday, Thornberry said that the House committee is considering asking for "at least" $18 billion more in a supplemental budget request. The money could come out of the existing overseas contingency operations war, he said. Thornberry said the $18 billion would add back money for modernization and equipment funding that was cut last year from the House version of the defense budget before it ultimately passed. To increase defense spending, Congress will have to overcome significant roadblocks. Neither the House nor the Senate has yet come to grips with the fiscal 2017 defense appropriations bill, which will allow the military to spend the money authorized in the budget. The fiscal 2018 defense budget request is one of the agenda items awaiting the new administration, which has yet to install a new head at the Office of Management and Budget. "There's no disagreement at all that we need to increase defense spending and need to pay attention to [the] bigger budget picture," Thornberry said Monday. "Let me just say, we cannot wait to fix our airplanes until we get all our budget problems solved." He said both the appropriations bill and the markup of the new budget request, expected to have a $640 billion baseline, will be priorities for early in the year. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis last week put readiness and "accelerating" the campaign against the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria at the top of his wish list in his first budget guidance to the force on complying with Trump's executive order to rebuild the military. Mattis said there are three priorities in order of importance: improve warfighting readiness; address pressing shortfalls; and "build a larger, more capable and more lethal joint force." Achieving those goals will require more money for the military than was requested in the fiscal 2017 budget by former President Barack Obama, Mattis said. To jump-start the process, Mattis said he had ordered up a proposed amendment to the fiscal 2017 budget. He did not go into details but said in a memorandum that the amendment would "address urgent warfighting readiness shortfalls and new requirements driven by acceleration of the campaign against ISIS." Mattis said the amendment might include immediate requests for more troops and possible cuts to lower priority programs, but overall would add up to a "net increase over the FY2017 topline requested by the previous administration." He said that drawing up the amendment and beginning negotiations with Congress would be the job of Deputy Defense Secretary Bob Work, a holdover from the Obama administration. Mattis said that the proposed amendment would be submitted to the White House Office of Management and Budget no later than March 1. He also put Work in charge of working up the Department's fiscal 2018 budget request by May 1, indicating that Work would be staying on longer than he had anticipated. -- Richard Sisk can be reached at Richard.Sisk@Military.com. The commandant of the Marine Corps is calling on his troops to 'drink less, read more and PT smarter' in a new message to the force. Gen. Robert Neller's fragmentary order, or FRAGO, released Tuesday is the second he has issued since he stepped into his role in late 2015, and it comes accompanied by a list of 25 tasks for Marine commanders to improve training, rebuild infrastructure and develop the service's future operational strategy. But his message to Marines is more personal. Neller writes that 152 Marines died in 2016 -- nearly the equivalent of a rifle company. Only one of those deaths, that of Staff Sgt. Louis Cardin, was a result of combat action. Tragically, suicides accounted for 36 more. Others were caused by vehicle crashes and other accidents and "reckless behavior," Neller wrote. "We are better than this," he wrote. "We must do a better job of looking out for each other." In an interview with Military.com this month, Neller said he wanted to develop a greater awareness among Marines about the prevalence of these preventable deaths in the force. "Most Marines in their unit, their battalion, their work section, they don't know. They just see the world through their soda straw," he said. "I'm trying to make everybody understand, 'Hey, look, you're part of something bigger than yourself, and we all have equity on this.' " And a common denominator in Marines' risky behavior, as well as illegal and violent acts including domestic abuse, sexual assault and hazing, is the presence of alcohol, Neller said. In his FRAGO, the general calls Marines' heavy drinking, tobacco use and poor eating habits "self abuse" that "plays into the hands of our enemies." Troops should also re-examine their physical fitness programs, he said, balancing cardio and weight exercises, and "put down the electronics, get off the couch" more often. In tackling hard drinking among troops, Neller told Military.com he knows he is targeting what has long been an established element of Marine Corps culture. Marines love to recall that the service itself was born in a bar, established at Philadelphia's Tun Tavern in 1775. "It's tough, because that's part of the culture," Neller said. "But the logic to me is, 'Hey look, you're a professional. You may go to war. Why would you want to do anything that would sub-optimize any bit of your performance?' " Neller said he doesn't plan to tell troops how much they should drink or set any limits, but is asking them instead to examine their lives and ask if their habits are keeping them from being successful. The commandant is also asking troops to read more, advising in the FRAGO that building a sharp mind is as challenging and labor-intensive as working up to 20 pullups. He called on Marines to read at least five books from the Commandant's Professional Reading List and consider pursuing a higher education degree. One of his tasks for commanders develops the point further, calling on Marine Corps Combat Development Command to examine the possibility of developing a higher education plan for staff noncommissioned officers, allowing them to earn bachelor's or associate's degrees while on active duty. Neller wrote that the Corps will also promote the use of the Career Intermission Program, an option to pause a military career to pursue other opportunities that has yet to gain popularity among Marines. In the interview, Neller said the service is working with colleges local to major Marine Corps bases to get enlisted professional military education to count for degree credit, and to develop paths for troops to get their degrees. "The Marines I've talked to are interested in advancing their education, whether that be officer or enlisted," he said. "And as part of a retention thing if nothing else, I think it's good for us to facilitate that or encourage it. And when they're in, I think it's logical that they're going to be more effective in performing their duties as a Marine [with higher education]." Neller's last order to Marines in the FRAGO: Have more fun, of the constructive variety. He wants troops to spend more time socializing and exploring their environment, rather than staying in the barracks during their down time. Learn to surf, he suggested, or take up a new language. And, he added, lean into the hardship that comes with tough Marine Corps training. "Embrace the 'suck' and laugh about it with your fellow Marines," he wrote. "The hardships that we suffer together build cohesion. They will be the moments we remember the most after we hang up the uniform." -- Hope Hodge Seck can be reached at hope.seck@military.com. Follow her on Twitter at @HopeSeck. "The lamps are going out all over Europe. We shall not see them lit again in our lifetime." Sir Edward Grey, British Foreign Minister, August 1, 1914 The events leading up to the First World War, and its subsequent execution, have produced a voluminous literature. Approximately 40,000 books have been written in the English language on the subject, some multi-volume tomes. Add the foreign language contribution and the number grows even larger. The "causes" of the war invariably figure prominently in the historical literature, with a recurring theme being the question of "blame." At first glance cause and blame might appear to be the same thing. It is not. Blame means a tort. Blame goes beyond cause. Implicit in the idea of blame is a responsibility and an obligation to make amends. Who was to blame for the First World War? The history books offer us no shortage of candidates. It was the arrogance and belligerence of Kaiser Wilhelm, the stubbornness of the Austrian government, it was Russia's unwillingness to back down in its support of Serbia. It was Berlin's refusal to pressure Vienna to moderate its demands, France's refusal to rein in its Russian ally. It was Great Britain's lack of forcefulness in dealing with Germany. It was the "generals," intent on going to war. It was the very process of mobilization; a process that once started could not be stopped until the bloodletting was inevitable. It was the industrialists hungry for the profits that building the machines of war would bring them. It was the cobweb of alliances and treaties that robbed the European powers of diplomatic flexibility, forcing them to march in unison over the cliff face of war. It was the age-old lust for empire. The list seems endless, as each generation of historical revisionists find yet another slate of candidates on which to pin blame. Ironically, the one person who rarely is held responsible is Gavrilo Princip, the teenager whose actions on that summer day in Sarajevo precipitated the avalanche of war. Troops of the 64th Infantry Brigade, 32nd Division, advance while in support of the first line near Romagne-Sous-Montfaucon, Meuse, France, Oct. 18, 1918. (Photo by Sgt. 1st Class Frank A. Wallock, Signal Corps) The question of blame was more than an issue of historical interest. The war was incomprehensibly expensive. German reparations for civilian damages were originally estimated by the allied powers at 269 billion gold marks. In the Treaty of Versailles, damages were set at 132 billion gold marks. Only 50 billion of that was expected to be paid, the so-called Schedule A and Schedule B obligations. The balance, listed separately on Schedule C, was never intended to be collected on and was included strictly for public consumption. In 2013 dollars, 269 billion gold marks would represent a sum of approximately seven trillion dollars. Moreover, that sum only reflected the damage done to civilian property on the Western Front. Additionally, the value had been set based on the Allies' assessment of Germany's ability to payan amount that was progressively reduced. The fact is no one really knew what the total value of the damage to civilian property was. Those numbers did not take into consideration the cost of prosecuting the war by the allies. Nor did it take into consideration the cost of civilian damages on the Eastern Front, nor the costs to Germany, Austria-Hungary, Turkey or Russia, not to mention the smaller powers, of fighting the war as well. Finally, there was no way of quantifying the "value" of the staggering loss of life nor the continuing costs of caring for the wounded and maimed. The "cost" of World War I is a highly subjective measure. The total cost of fighting the war by all sides has been placed at $186 billion. Another $151 billion is attributed to indirect costs, including the damage to civilian property. These figures are often cited, although it is not clear how they were determined. The total of $337 billion converted to twenty-first century dollars, depending on the conversion rate used, would place the cost in current dollars between $17 trillion and $35 trillion. In reality, we will never really know what the total cost of the war actually was. Regardless of the number used, it was a staggering amount. It is a truism of military conflict that the victor writes the history. Given the frightful cost of the war, and the determination of the winners to recover as much of the cost of fighting as possible, it was a forgone conclusion that the loser would have to acknowledge culpability for "causing" the war -- a fact amply well documented in historical accounts, especially those written by British and French writers. The undue emphasis on blame, and therefore culpability, led to a bias toward identifying a single cause. It is easier to assess damages when there is only one guilty party. Multiple defendants meant varying degrees of culpability and responsibility, and made it correspondingly harder to fix damages on each of the parties in question. This was manifestly clear at the Versailles Peace Conference where the payment for "war guilt" was placed entirely on Germany, even though it had been Austria that had issued the first declaration of war and triggered the various mutual support provisions that tied the members of the two alliances together. History in general, and military history in particular, lends itself readily to a discussion of the "what ifs." Any suggestion of blame, especially when that blame is primarily fixed on a single cause, must perforce beg the question "what if" that particular party had acted differently? Under what conditions might war have been avoided? Would a different set of decisions have yielded a vastly different outcome? This essay marks the beginning of a new series on World War I. I will examine three events: the formation of the alliances that ultimately went to war; the assassination of the Archduke Ferdinand and his wife Sophia in Sarajevo and the "July Crisis" that followed; and Germany's decision to attack France first (Schlieffen Plan), which had a profound impact on the nature and scope of World War I. All three events could easily have evolved differently; indeed, historical precedent would have suggested that the final outcomes had been anomalous. The events that led to the outbreak of World War I, and the range of actors involved, were far too complex to be reduced to a single cause, that does not mean, however, that a different set of decisions would not have yielded a different result. The calculus that spawned the war was the product of the interaction of a broad range of variables. Even slight changes in any one of them might have affected the outcome in ways we can't always surmise. There is a huge number, perhaps an infinite number, of possible scenarios. The road that led to war had many exits along the way; any one of which would have averted the catastrophe, or at the very least reduced the scope of the destruction. In the end, tragically, none of those exits were taken. Joseph V. Micallef is a military historian, bestselling author, keynote speaker, syndicated columnist and commentator on international politics and the future. Want to Know More About the Military? Be sure to get the latest news about the U.S. military, as well as critical info about how to join and all the benefits of service. Subscribe to Military.com and receive customized updates delivered straight to your inbox. Tax Prep Centers to Open on a Base Near You Tax centers at military bases around the country are opening soon. The Tax Center provides free tax preparation and electronic filing services to active duty, reserve and guard on active duty orders, dependents and retirees. National Guard members and their eligible dependents must be on Title 10 Orders in order to receive tax assistance. If the taxpayer is deployed to a Combat Zone, Persian Gulf, Hazardous duty area of Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, Albania, the Adriatic Sea and the Ionian Sea north of 39th parallel, or Afghanistan, they have 180 days from the last day they were in the combat zone, or the last day of continuous qualified hospitalization for injury from the combat zone to file their return. For more information, contact your base's tax center. For more tax season guides and tips, visit the Military.com Tax section. The Indians have designated right-handed reliever Austin Adams for assignment to make room for the addition of left-handed reliever Boone Logan, whose deal with the team is now official, reports Jordan Bastian of MLB.com (Twitter link). Adams, whom the Indians chose in the fifth round of the 2009 draft, has seen action with the Tribe in each season since making his major league debut in 2014. The results have been largely underwhelming, though, despite the fact that Adams possesses a fastball that averages 96 mph. In 58 2/3 major league innings, Adams has logged a 6.29 ERA, 6.75 K/9 and 3.22 BB/9. A significant portion of the damage came last season, when the 30-year-old pitched to a sky-high 9.82 ERA across 18 1/3 frames. While Adams posted a career-high K/9 (8.35), he surrendered home runs on 25 percent of fly balls and allowed a .333/.386/.679 batting line and .439 wOBA (for reference, David Ortiz led the majors with a .419 wOBA). Adams, to his credit, has been a lot better at the Triple-A level, where he has managed a 3.47 ERA with 9.5 K/9 against 2.8 BB/9 in 103 2/3 innings. Betsy DeVos Betsy DeVos was confirmed as U.S. Secretary of Education on Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2017, after Vice President Mike Pence's deciding vote broke a 50-50 tie in the Senate. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya, File) ANN ARBOR, MI - In a resolution passed unanimously by trustees on Wednesday, Jan. 25, the Ann Arbor Public Schools board of education had called on U.S. senators to reject Betsy DeVos as Secretary of Education, citing what they said was her lack of qualifications for the position. Following a Senate vote Tuesday that confirmed DeVos for the position, an Ann Arbor schools leader said she hopes DeVos will work to strengthen public schools at all levels across the United States. "I would like to congratulate Mrs. DeVos on her successful appointment," said Christine Stead, school board president. "Education is a foundational concept for our democracy, our communities, our economy and really the future of the United States, and my hope is that she can work more toward Massachusetts in terms of how to have really strong public schools and access to them for all students. "(I hope) that her concept of choice might shift more toward accommodating diverse student needs versus a path to abandon struggling students, schools and communities. I wish her all the best." Superintendent Jeanice Swift said Ann Arbor schools will remain committed to the success of all children, and will continue as vigilant advocates for students in the community. "Certainly, we will do our very best to work with the Secretary of Education and the Department of Education while leading in the work we consider vital to this American democracy, ensuring that all students regardless of their circumstances have opportunities for success and access to excellent, neighborhood public schools," Swift said. U.S. senators voted to a 50-50 tie on the confirmation of DeVos for Secretary of Education in President Donald J. Trump's administration on Tuesday. Vice President Mike Pence cast an historic, tie-breaking vote to confirm the West Michigan native. DeVos, who faced criticism leading up to Tuesday's confirmation, needed Pence's vote after two Republican senators -- Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Sen. Susan Collins of Maine -- decided they would vote against the confirmation of Trump's pick for education secretary. Ann Arbor schools approved a resolution stating the Secretary of Education should avoid a privatization agenda that transfers taxpayer money to private schools and charter schools, demonstrate knowledge and understanding of educational issues, promote equality for LGBTQIA students, maintain the boundary between church and state and uphold current laws related to reporting on-campus sexual assault and banning guns in schools. It went on to say that DeVos did not have any experience in public education at any level, did not possess a degree in any educational field, had never attended a public school and had never sent her children to a public school. The East Lansing Board of Education also passed a resolution in much the same fashion toward the end of January, saying DeVos had a "history of using power and influence to undermine" traditional public schools. Additionally, 1,000 Calvin College alumni and students signed a letter last month sharing their reasons why DeVos, a fellow alumna, was not qualified to be education secretary. Coming out in support of Trump's nominee last month, John Booy, founder and superintendent of Potter's House Christian School in Wyoming, Michigan, previously said DeVos' support of urban schools extended beyond donating funds. ANN ARBOR, MI - More than 100 people packed into Ann Arbor's city hall as the City Council took up the issue of President Donald Trump's recent executive order aimed at sanctuary cities for undocumented immigrants. Some held signs calling on the council to officially declare Ann Arbor a sanctuary city, and some spoke out to make the same request. Others demonstrated outside before the meeting started Monday night, Feb. 6, marching along Huron Street while chanting. "Ann Arbor has made it clear! Immigrants are welcome here!" "No cooperation with Trump's deportation!" After several citizens had their say, the overwhelming majority in favor of not having Ann Arbor concern itself with federal immigration matters, the City Council unanimously approved a resolution to direct the city attorney and city administrator to review Trump's executive order threatening to block federal funding for communities that are deemed sanctuary jurisdictions. The council wants the city attorney and city administrator to report back with advice and recommendations concerning the effect of the order on the city's obligations and requirements under Title 8 of the U.S. Code, procedures and policy matters that should be reviewed or considered in light of the order, federal funding the city receives that could be impacted, and possible actions that could enhance relationships of trust between the city and all people in the city. Council members say they're open to the idea of adopting new local policies that would strengthen protections for immigrants, but they want to take time to do it right and consider the implications of any possible actions. Monday night's resolution, which does not declare Ann Arbor a sanctuary city and makes no commitments to any new policies at this point, directs the city attorney to research and provide advice regarding possible actions the city might take to protect the rights of the city and the people who live here. By passing the resolution, the council also voiced opposition to Michigan House Bill 4105 and any other legislation that would mandate law enforcement practices that erode trust between local police departments and immigrants or that would impose an unfunded mandate to support federal immigration law. The resolution was co-sponsored by Mayor Christopher Taylor and Council Members Jack Eaton, Sumi Kailasapathy, Graydon Krapohl and Chuck Warpehoski. They took turns expressing disappointment in Trump's actions since becoming president and reiterated that Ann Arbor is a welcoming place. Much of the resolution approved Monday night is a recitation of the council's understanding of the city's obligations under federal law. The council acknowledges federal law prohibits local and state governments and agencies from enacting laws or policies or engaging in practices that prohibit or restrict communication with the Department of Homeland Security about information regarding the immigration or citizenship status of individuals. "The Ann Arbor City Council acknowledges that 8 USC SS 1373 does not require any action from local or state agencies, officers or governments, only prohibits the enactment of certain policies about sharing immigration status information, and does not cover, include or mention information about criminal case information, custody status, or release dates of prisoners," the resolution states. "The Ann Arbor City Council acknowledges that 8 USC SS 1373 does not impose any affirmative obligation to share information or to collect information and only prohibits limitations on sharing immigration status information." The council further states the section of federal law in question does not prohibit enactment of a local policy against informing U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement about the release dates of inmates from the local jail, and does not bar a local policy stating or affirming that employees are not required to share information about anyone's immigration status. "The Ann Arbor City Council understands that warrantless detainer requests from ICE are voluntary, and that courts have found such detainers to raise significant legal concerns," the resolution further states. The City Council already passed a resolution in 2003 that directed the city's police chief, to the extent permitted by law, to continue to limit local enforcement actions with respect to immigration matters to penal violations of federal immigration law, as opposed to administrative violations, except in cases where the chief determines there is a legitimate public safety concern. The council also passed a resolution in 2012 opposing policies that detain or deport immigrants who have not committed a serious criminal offense and who have longstanding ties to the community. Julie Quiroz, who created the Facebook petition page Ann Arbor Sanctuary Forever, addressed the council Monday night, speaking on behalf of 375 residents who signed an online petition telling the council to stand up to Trump and take action that "doesn't just symbolically defend immigrants, but transforms our city's policies to stop targeting us for imprisonment, risk of removal and state violence at the hands of police and aggressive immigration agents." Quiroz said Trump is trying to roll back the leaps forward society has made in recent years. "To keep us safe, we need to evolve our local policies to make our cities real sanctuaries for all residents, not cancel them because of the illegitimate president's latest actions," she said, reading the petition and drawing a round of applause from citizens in the audience. "That means a commitment to separating police from federal immigration enforcement and addressing the policing that funnels black and other residents to jail and places criminal charges on immigrant residents, making them a target for ICE agents," she said, arguing Trump's threats should be cause to embolden city leaders, not an excuse to abandon potential progress. "And I also want to say thank you for having this on the agenda," she told council members, calling the resolution an important first step. "You are right. The details matter tremendously in terms of how we roll out this policy, but we encourage you to take a stronger, proactive stance to say we will do everything in our power, beyond what we're doing now, to expand sanctuary for everyone in our city." Ann Arbor resident Roger Kuhlman offered a different point of view, saying "all the hysteria and wild, reckless exaggerations" about Donald Trump's executive orders do not help America, but instead incite public hate. "I have lived in Ann Arbor for nearly 44 years and it really bothers me when I hear local liberal Democratic politicians saying that we must stand with and support the illegal alien community and possibly establish a sanctuary city here," he said, arguing it rewards people who are in the country without authorization. "I really don't understand that." Allison Hight addressed council on behalf of the Michigan Immigration and Labor Law Association at the University of Michigan Law School. She said her organization, which is dedicated to advocacy and organizing related to immigration and labor law, is interested in sanctuary policies in Ann Arbor. "We stand in full support of tonight's resolution," she said, agreeing with city officials that research is the next logical step before taking policy action, though her organization hopes the city moves quickly and, to the fullest extent possible, approves new ordinance language with sanctuary policies. Kailasapathy, D-1st Ward, said she's heard an outpouring of support from residents who want the city to "stand up to the bully," meaning Trump. "We have to be on the right side of history," she said, suggesting that could mean enacting new ordinances with "don't ask" policies so the city doesn't have information to share with the federal government, or joining in lawsuits with other entities. "So, we are exploring all options." She said she's committed to making sure the city stands with all residents, regardless of their citizenship or immigration status. Warpehoski, D-5th Ward, noted he was part of the organizing effort in 2003 that led to the city's existing policy. "This is a chance for us to take a deep look and say, 'What can we do?' Not just what words can we put on paper," he said, adding he wants policies that protect immigrants. "We've got some good ones in place. We've got some good ones that are in practice that we should codify and publicize. And I think there are some things we can go farther on." Warpehoski mentioned what's known as the federal "287(g) program" in which local and state law enforcement officers can be deputized to perform the functions of federal immigration agents. He said Ann Arbor doesn't do it now and he would like to make sure it's not going to be taking on that role. Nor does he think local law enforcement should detain someone who is otherwise free to be released just because the feds want the person held. He argues federal immigration law enforcement should be left to the feds. Council Member Zachary Ackerman, D-3rd Ward, said Monday night's crowd was the most people he has seen at a council meeting since he joined council. He said he's glad to live in a community where this type of issue brings people out. He said Ann Arbor has to protect its people, though he also expressed some concerns about potentially losing federal funding for low-income housing, including housing vouchers for people who might otherwise be living on the streets. He said the city needs to ensure it's protecting those people, too, so city officials need some time to explore possible strategies. But he and other council members agreed it's important for the city to stand up and make a statement that it is a welcoming community. Eaton, D-4th Ward, drew a round of applause from residents in the audience when he said if the city loses some federal funding for taking a stand, that's a price the city needs to be able to absorb. Council Member Chip Smith, D-5th Ward, said it's been a pretty dark time since November. He said he saw Monday's resolution as preparing for a fight. Council Member Graydon Krapohl, D-4th Ward, said he's disheartened the city has to have these discussions. He said it's going to be a long four years. Looking out at the large crowd of residents, Council Member Kirk Westphal, D-2nd Ward, said this is why he chose to live in Ann Arbor. He agreed with others that taking a stand is extremely important, though he echoed some of his colleagues in expressing a desire to approach it carefully. At this point, Taylor said, the city can at least speak out. "We can speak out and say that what Trump and his supporters are doing to Muslims, to refugees, to immigrants, to women, to science and truth, that these things are a stain on history, that these things are an affront to our national honor, and we can say this, and I think we must," he said. "We can say, too, that we have concerns about the nation that put Mr. Trump in office," he said. "I believed that we as a culture were moving beyond a time when so many of us would fall for hatred and demagoguery." Taylor said Ann Arbor still stands by refugees and immigrants and condemns religious discrimination. "We in the city know that we stand strongest when we stand with the oppressed and that's what we're going to continue to do," he said. "This resolution that we have before us today is not the end." Diana Krall Jazz vocalist and pianist Diana Krall, Billboard's Jazz Artist of the Decade for 2000-09, is set to perform at 8 p.m. on June 6 at Hill Auditorium, kick off the 34th annual Ann Arbor Summer Festival. ((Photo by Greg Allen/Invision/AP)) ANN ARBOR, MI - One of the biggest names in modern jazz music is returning to Ann Arbor to kick off the 34th annual Ann Arbor Summer Festival. Jazz vocalist and pianist Diana Krall, Billboard's Jazz Artist of the Decade for 2000-09, is set to perform at 8 p.m. June 6 at Hill Auditorium. With more than 6 million albums sold in the United States and 15 million sold worldwide, Krall is one of the best-selling artists of her time. The Canadian artist is best known for her late-1990s and early 2000s output, including platinum-selling albums "Love Scenes" and "When I Look in Your Eyes." Her most recent release, 2015's "Wallflower," interprets pop song classics from the 1960s and beyond. Krall is expected to perform new material from her upcoming album, which comes out on May 5. Tickets for the festival go on sale at 9 a.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 8, for festival donors. The general public can purchase tickets beginning at 9 a.m. on Friday, Feb. 10. Ticket prices range from $20 to $80. Tickets can be purchased by phone at 734-764-2538, online or in person at the Michigan League ticket office, 911 N. University Ave., Ann Arbor. The remainder of the festival's 2017 mainstage line-up is announced in early April. For the most up-to-date information, visit the festival's website. An annual international arts gathering in Ann Arbor, the three-week festival offers two concurrent programs, one indoor and one outdoor, at various venues and spaces across the University of Michigan campus and in downtown Ann Arbor. Each season features a progressive mix of more than 170 events showcasing local, national, and international artists, attracting audiences of more than 80,000 people. The festival's mainstage series begins with Krall's performance, while the admission-free series Top of the Park runs six nights each week from June 9 through July 2. KPK.KettlesCeremony.02 Michael Wise, assistant director of military and veterans affairs at Eastern Michigan University, speaks during a ceremony in honor of Lt. Col. Charles Kettles, an Ypsilanti native and recent Medal of Honor recipient, on Friday, November 11, 2016 at Eastern Michigan University. ((Courtesy | EMU Media Relations)) YPSILANTI, MI - Eastern Michigan University earned the distinction as one of the top "military friendly" school for 2017, ranking fifth overall among the nation's public universities with more than 10,000 students. EMU appeared on the list for the first time in school history. To make the list, which is published by "GI Jobs" magazine, a higher education institution must meet a specific set of standards. You can view the complete list here. Standards include academic policies and compliance, admissions and transition assistance and orientation programs directed at veterans and military students, military and veteran culture and commitment to their services and support, financial aid advising and loan repayment guidance and graduation and career outcome support for veterans. EMU's military and veteran-friendly atmosphere descends from the top of the administration and is realized at the start of an EMU student veteran's journey through college, said Michael C. Wise, assistant director of Military and Veteran Services at EMU. "Key administrative elements of EMU's military and veteran friendly status include the waiving of application fees for veterans for both undergrad and grad students," Wise said in an email. "Additionally, EMU veterans receive generous college credit for their military experiences and for the training they received in a wide variety of occupational specialties within all branches of the military." The Top 10 Gold Military and Veteran Friendly universities are selected by their displayed commitment and services provided to military and veteran students based upon a scoring methodology used by GI Jobs Magazine and Victory Media. Wise said EMU has committed a full-time director to specifically advise and support military and veteran students, in addition to establishing a Military and Veteran Services support center which was recently named in honor of retired U.S. Army Lt. Col. Charles S. Kettles, a Medal of Honor recipient and native of Ypsilanti. Kettles, who distinguished himself in heroic combat operations in Vietnam, was honored by EMU at a special public ceremony at the Military and Veterans Center in November. Last July, Kettles, 86, received the Medal of Honor from President Barack Obama during a White House ceremony. "The military and veteran services resource center is staffed with an experienced and knowledgeable veteran staff who personally reach out to new students to assist them in navigating the university," Wise said. "The center is filled with student veterans on a daily basis creates a collaborative, welcoming environment to meet the staff and other student veterans." In recent years, EMU has invested in a partnership with the Michigan Veterans Affairs Agency by participating in the Michigan Veterans Education Initiative. By participating, EMU received a full-time veterans resource representative, whose sole focus is to bring VA information and resources to the center and to ensure that student veterans have immediate access to information regarding all of their VA benefits. In 2016, EMU was awarded a grant from the U.S. Department of Education for Veterans Student Service Support, Wise said, making it the only university in the state to receive the grant. "The grant brought with it a robust staff focused on assisting first generation college veteran students with adjusting to campus life after service and with other services such as tutoring and resume writing assistance, Wise said. ANN ARBOR, MI - Environmental remediation and mitigation efforts are planned to address a decades-old plume of pollution spreading from where a dry cleaner once operated years ago off Broadway Street in Ann Arbor. Developer Ron Mucha of Morningside Equities Group and James Harless, an environmental consultant with SME, presented a brownfield plan for the redevelopment of 1140 Broadway St. at a meeting of Ann Arbor's Brownfield Plan Review Committee Monday night, Feb. 6. Ann Arbor City Council members Jack Eaton, Jason Frenzel and Chuck Warpehoski, among others, listen during a presentation at a meeting of the city's Brownfield Plan Review Committee on Monday, Feb. 6, 2017. A dry-cleaning business left the property heavily contaminated with hazardous solvents decades ago, so it's considered a brownfield property. "Because it's dry-cleaning solvent, managing the removal of that contaminated soil is hairy, because it's automatically hazardous waste, so it kicks the price up quite significantly," Harless told city officials. Morningside is proposing to build two new apartment buildings, a condo building and a small retail space on the property at Broadway and Maiden Lane. Harless gave an overview of the lingering environmental concerns associated with the property Monday night. From the 1800s to 1962, he said, the site accommodated agricultural and residential uses, two or more storefronts and a junkyard. After 1962, he said, it was all commercial, including a Kroger grocery store, car wash, gas station, laundromat, dry cleaner, hair salon, offices and a cafe. All of the buildings were demolished by 2009 in preparation for the previous Broadway Village development that stalled years ago. Harless said dry-cleaning solvents are the main source of the pollution that's still spreading from the site toward the Huron River. He showed maps estimating the extent of the contamination in both shallow and deep soil, as well as a groundwater plume, with concentrations of the hazardous substance as high as 50,000 parts per billion. Harless said data from 2014 showed the plume is spreading past Nielsen Court to the east and under nearby residential buildings. Medical Center Court Apartments, Nielsen Square Condos and Island Drive Apartments are just to the east, and then the Huron River. Harless said he doesn't know exactly how far along the plume is at this point, but indoor air testing in 2014 showed the vapors were not entering any residential buildings at levels that created a health risk for inhabitants. Toxic vapor from a plume of dry-cleaning pollution on Ashley Street in Ann Arbor has been a concern lately, prompting the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to help the state investigate the matter. On Broadway Street, the cleanup plan that's proposed includes removing about 6,000 tons of contaminated soil at the source and installing vapor-intrusion mitigation systems so harmful vapors don't get into the new buildings proposed, as well as a permeable reactive barrier, which would go underground along part of the eastern boundary of the property to reduce the spread off site. Harless said the barrier should reduce offsite migration by about 90 percent, significantly lowering the risks and potential input into the Huron River. "It's a passive system that we will install at the property boundary that will actually react to chlorinated solvents as they pass through it and significantly reduce the concentrations off site," Harless said. "And then because there are a lot of solvents there, there are vapor-intrusion risks into the building, so there's going to have to be installation of vapor-intrusion mitigation systems." Harless said the Phase 3 apartment building included in the plans would sit atop the major source point, so the plan is to take a lot of that out of the ground. The total price tag for the development project is estimated at $146 million, with $25.1 million of that being activities eligible for reimbursement through tax-increment financing, according to the developer. That includes $4.8 million for environmental costs and $20.4 million for non-environmental costs. Some of the environmental costs include $2.5 million for soil removal, $470,725 for vapor mitigation systems and $626,000 for a barrier wall. Non-environmental costs for which the developer could be reimbursed, if the plan is approved, include $11 million for the two parking garages and lesser amounts for things such as stormwater management, streetscape improvements and site prep, as well as turn lanes and traffic signals, and utility pole relocations. Matt Naud, the city's environmental coordinator, wondered if there's a way to more significantly reduce the source concentrations where it's at 50,000 ppb before that contamination spreads more. He noted the developer is not proposing to remove groundwater, just soil. "We are removing part of the source," Harless responded, acknowledging it's hard to know how that's going to change the 50,000 ppb readings. It probably will, he said, though he noted the pollution has been in the ground a long time and is not spreading off site at that high level. He said there's anywhere from about 5,000-10,000 ppb at the property boundary. The developer's brownfield plan will have to go to the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality for approval in addition to local approval. "When we take this to the DEQ for approval for the state school tax capture, we'll be working with them," Harless said. "If they want to put in some monitoring wells so they can track it over time just to see, that'll be fine." Harless said he suspects the hazardous substance releases occurred back in the 1960s or 1970s, and it is still spreading. Four members of the City Council serve on Ann Arbor's Brownfield Plan Review Committee, including Jack Eaton, Jason Frenzel, Chuck Warpehoski and Kirk Westphal. Following Monday's preview discussion, they said they're looking forward to seeing a formal brownfield plan come to them. It also will go through the Washtenaw County Brownfield Redevelopment Authority. Mucha noted the Washtenaw County Brownfield Redevelopment Authority initially approved a $40 million brownfield plan for the previous Broadway Village project in 2003. The Ann Arbor Observer reported in 2010 that the state raised that to $66 million in 2004, and then in 2007 the Michigan Economic Growth Authority added $30 million more, bringing the total to $96 million. Looking at the $40 million plan that was approved by the local brownfield authority in 2003, that's roughly $50 million in today's dollars, Mucha said, noting the city considered financing it with bonds before wisely deciding not to do so. "So the developer reimbursement would be $25 million and change. The State Brownfield Revolving Fund gets 3 mills a year, so that would -- over the capture of 13 years -- be about $2.2 million," Harless said. Another $1.6 million would go to the Washtenaw County Brownfield Redevelopment Authority for administrative costs, while another $12.2 million would go into a Local Site Remediation Revolving Fund. Mucha said he will be able to share more details about the project at a public meeting Wednesday night. you are here: business Industry frets but Rajiv Bajaj says BS-IV deadline 'no big deal' Speaking to CNBC-TV18, Rajiv Bajaj, Managing Director of Bajaj Auto, said that while the industry had been badly hit by note ban, his company had been ready with BS-IV products since January. business Infosys founders raise governance concerns with board: Sources In an indicator of discontent brewing at Infosys, its founders including NR Narayana Murthy, Kris Gopalakrishnan and Nandan Nilekani have raised with its board concerns over the governance of the company, according to people privy to the developments at IT major. business Infosys may consider Rs 12,000 crore share buyback: Sources In a sign of the troubled times that the Indian IT sector has been going through, the management of Infosys may consider the option of a share buyback, according to people close to the IT major. The size of the share buyback could be a mammoth Rs 12,000 crore. business J&J plans to expand tuberculosis R&D in India The company along with the government of India is working to bring the most impactable drug for tuberculosis - Bedaquiline to people said Executive Vice President Paul Stoffels of Johnson & Johnson. business KFA's IDBI loan: CBI special court adjourns case till Feb 20 A CBI special court on Tuesday adjourned the case pertaining to the bail pleas of the nine officials arrested in connection with the alleged wilful default of the Kingfisher Airlines and IDBI Bank loan on Monday. The court also extended the judicial custody of the officials till February 20, when it will hear the matter. business India in a structural bull market; like industrials: Edelweiss There is no doubt that the Indian equity market is in a structural bull market that has the potential to create wealth for investors is the word coming in from Vikas Khemani, President & CEO, Edelweiss Securities. business Bull's Eye: Buy BEML, Jubilant Food, GAIL, NHPC, Havells Sumeet Jain of Destimoney Securities recommends buying BGR Energy with a target of Rs 150 and Orient Paper with a target of Rs 89. Education Montgomery County Community College will present the spring installment of the interview/talk show program Issues and Insights April 20 from 12:30 to 2 p.m. in Science Center room 214, 340 DeKalb Pike, Blue Bell. The programs will be simulcast to the Colleges West Campus in South Hall room 216, 101 College Drive, Pottstown. Dr. Kolsky will offer a humorous presentation, Carrots, Sticks and Politics: A State of the Nation and the World Message. In this speech, he will provide his interpretation of domestic and international politics and then welcome questions from the audience for discussion. Issues and Insights, is free and open to the public. For information, contact Dr. Thomas Kolsky, professor of political science, at 215-641-6380 or tkolsky@mc3.edu. Montgomery County Community Colleges STEM Scholars Program will host a STEM Jam! open house April 25 from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. in the Advanced Technology Center at the Colleges Central Campus, 340 DeKalb Pike, Blue Bell. The drop-in event is designed for students interested in learning more about careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. Activities will include STEM program information and career advising, STEM speakers throughout the day from industry and academia, micro-helicopter and robotics competitive obstacle courses and demonstrations and static models of STEM student and faculty work. For more information about STEM Jam! or STEM programs at MCCC, contact William Brownlowe at wbrownlowe@mc3.edu or 215-641-6644, or Robin Zuhlke at 215-619-7440 or rzuhlke@mc3.edu. Temple Ambler, located at 580 Meetinghouse Road, presents the following events: International Club Global Bazaar April 15 from 5 to 8 p.m. The Ambler Campus International Club invites all students, faculty, staff and the community to celebrate a multitude of diverse cultures, which will be showcased at the organizations Global Bazaar. This family friendly event will highlight cultural traditions and celebrations in Asia, Europe, the Middle East, South American, North America and Africa through music, entertainment, food and informative displays developed and presented by students at the Ambler Campus. Young visitors will be provided with passports, which they may get stamped at each country they visit. Prizes will be awarded to world travelers who talk to cultural representatives, answer questions about the countries theyve visited and take part in fun-filled activities designed to help them learn about the rich diversity of cultures found throughout the world. Refreshments will be served. The event is free. For more information, call 267-468-8108 or e-mail tuc36466@temple.edu. EarthFest 2011 April 29 from 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. More than 75 exhibitors, including the Philadelphia Zoo, The Franklin Institute, the Academy of Natural Sciences, the Elmwood Park Zoo and the Insectarium, will take part in EarthFest 2011. School students of all ages are invited to attend and develop displays of their own. EarthFest partner the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society also offers its Kids Grow Expo, featuring the Junior Flower Show, as part of the event. For more information, call 267-468-8108 or e-mail duffyj@temple.edu. Annual Spring Plant Sale May 7 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. The plant sale an Ambler Campus tradition dating back to the early 1900s will feature woody plants and perennials in portable sizes, hardy trees, shrubs, and vines, native plants that are attractive to wildlife, herbs, and hanging baskets. There will also be numerous special plants for sale to highlight Amblers special anniversary year. Garden books and garden tools will also be available for sale. Students, staff, and volunteers from the Department of Landscape Architecture and Horticulture and the Ambler Arboretum Advisory Committee will be available to answer questions. All proceeds from the Spring Plant Sale will support the Ambler Arboretum Fund and the Pi Alpha Xi National Honor Society. Information: 267-468-8001 or judy.shatz@temple.edu. Learn more at www.ambler.temple.edu/anniversary. June Homecoming/Louise Bush-Brown Garden Dedication June 5 from 12:30 to 2 p.m. (June Homecoming), Bright Hall Lounge; 2 p.m. (Garden Dedication), Ambler Campus Formal Perennial Gardens. Tickets June Homecoming: Participant $18 per person; Sustainer $25 per person; Benefactor $40 per person. The 2011 June Homecoming, sponsored by the School of Environmental Design Alumni Association, will include the Alumni Association annual meeting and luncheon. June Homecoming will be followed by the formal dedication of Temple University Amblers Formal Perennial Gardens as the Louise Bush-Brown Formal Gardens. During this 100th anniversary of the campus, Temple University Ambler and the Ambler Arboretum of the Temple University is honoring Louise Bush-Browns many contributions to the history of the campus by formally dedicating the gardens in her honor. During the program, campus Executive William Parshall will welcome guests, Ambler Arboretum Director Jenny Rose Carey will speak about the Bush-Browns and the history of the garden, and an official ribbon cutting will be held for the Louise Bush-Brown Formal Garden. Following the ribbon cutting, guests are invited to take a tour of the gardens, which will wend their way to the Campus Greenhouse for the School of Environmental Designs annual Plant Auction. Information (Garden Dedication): 267-468-8001 or judy.shatz@temple.edu. Information (June Homecoming): 215-482-0722. Learn more at www.ambler.temple.edu/anniversary. Northview Garden Tour and Fundraiser for the Ambler Arboretum June 12 from noon to 5 p.m. Call for reservations. Tickets: $15 per person or $20 at the door. In addition to the gardens of the Ambler Arboretum of Temple University, Arboretum Director Jenny Rose Carey has a garden oasis all her own right in Ambler Northview. Visitors will have the opportunity to take self-guided tours throughout the many gardens, where garden experts will be available to answer questions about the various designs. The Ambler Keystone Chapter of the Womans National Farm and Garden Association will also provide tea and refreshments. All proceeds from the tours will support the Ambler Arboretum of Temple University. Information or to register: 267-468-8001 or judy.shatz@temple.edu. Learn more at www.ambler.temple.edu/anniversary. The Senior Adult Activities Center of Montgomery County, 536 George Street, Norristown, will hold the following events: SAAC Adult Day Care, an alternative to Nursing Home Care is available for information call 610-275-1960 Volunteers are needed for Meals on Wheels Program (call the number above) SAACs Fifth Avenue Boutique opens Monday through Friday from 10 a.m.-1:30 p.m. Exercise with Theresa will be held every Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 1 p.m. Dance class is held every Monday at 10 a.m. Tai Chi is held every Monday at 10 a.m. Yoga is held every Tuesday at 10:30 a.m. Line Dancing is held every Thursday at 10:30 a.m. Dancing with Joan is held every Wednesday at 10:30 a.m. Sculpture Class is held Wednesdays from 2 to 3:30 p.m. Why Should I Learn Spanish? will be held Wednesdays at 10:30 a.m. Generations On-Line computer classes for seniors will be held Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. 4 p.m. computers are available during those hours. Health Living will be held every Tuesday at 1 p.m. Boomer U will hold the following events. Boomer U is located at 45 Forest Avenue, Ambler. Registration & payment is required for all events: 215-619-8863. Pilates Class is held Wednesdays and Fridays at 9:30 a.m. First class is free; please bring a mat. For information call 610-291-5376. Blue Bell School of Dance, 921 Penllyn Blue Bell Pike, Blue Bell, hosts Argentine Tango Classes and a Milonga dance party every Friday evening. Lessons start at 8:30 p.m. followed by dancing at 9:30 p.m. Andrew Conway, master Argentine Tango dancer, instructor and performer and his partner Linda Chase will instruct. All levels welcome and no partner is needed. Refreshments will be served. Fee is $12 per person and includes lesson and dancing. Information: 215-634-1101 or www.amoretango.com. The Montgomery Hospital Medical Center will offer the following classes: Childbirth Education Class- all parents are invited to participate, including those who are delivering at other hospitals. For more information on maternity services or classes, call 610-270-2020. CPR and First Aid Courses are offered for beginners to experiences health care providers. Call 610-270-2313. The Ambler SAAC (Senior Adult Activities Center), located at 45 Forest Ave in Ambler will hold the following events: Tai Chi every Monday and Thursday at 11 a.m. Yoga is every Tuesday at 1 p.m. and Friday at 10:30 a.m. Strength and balance training every Wednesday at 10 a.m. Armchair Aerobics is held every Monday at 10 a.m. Gourmet Weight Wise every Thursday at 12:30. Fitness Center and Pool Room open daily 8 a.m.-4 p.m. The Diabetes Education Center will offer day and evening classes each month. Health insurance pays for diabetes education classes. Preregistration is required. Call 610-270-2301. For Kids & Families The Ambler Kiwanis Club will host its annual Easter Egg Hunt April 26 at 10 a.m. in Ambler Borough Park, located just off of the intersection of Hendricks Street and Valley Brook Road. Members of the Wissahickon Key Club will assist Kiwanians in hiding thousands of wrapped chocolate eggs in a designated area of the park. Also hidden will be plastic colored eggs, which are redeemed for prizes. Elementary school children are separated by age. Upper Dublin Parks & Recreation will hold its 21st annual Storybook Egg-Stravaganza April 15 fom 6 to 7:30 p.m. at the Upper Dublin Township Building. Toddlers and preschoolers love this annual event where photo opportunities with favorite friends abound! Treasures are collected from UDP&Rs assortment of lifesize cutouts of favorite cartoon characters from Disney, Sesame Street, Nickelodeon and other well-known animation. Children can have their picture taken with Bugsy OHare; bring your own camera. And dont forget a basket for goodies! $7 for UD residents; $12 for non-residents. Pre-register at 215-643-1600 ext. 3443. Splash Week is a free week-long program that teaches children and families basic swimming skills and water safety practices. All YMCA branches will host multiple classes each day from April 11 to 15. For more information, contact the Ambler Area YMCA at 215-628-9950. Healthy Kids Day is April 16 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The day is filled with fun, engaging and artistic activities that cultivate healthy living as part of the YMCAs larger efforts to help more kids and families become physically active. All activities are free and open to the community. For more information, contact the Ambler YMCA at 215-628-9950. No reservation is required. The Ambler Area YMCA has added several new programs for area youngsters. Classes are held late afternoons or evenings on various weekdays. For more information, visit philaymca.org or call 215-628-9950. Basic Beading: Ages: 10+. Wednesdays 7 to 7:45 p.m. This class will teach you the fundamentals of wiring and stringing along with how color can be used to create unique and vibrant beadwork design. You will create various jewelry including earrings, bracelets, charm pendants and much more! Supplies will be provided. Bringing your own jewelry pliers or tools would be a plus. Messin with the Masters: Ages: 8-12. Thursdays 7 to 7:45 p.m. Learn about some of the worlds greatest artists. You will be inspired to create your own Starry Night with oil pastels and tempera paints, a tissue paper painted Monet garden, a Picasso head using scraps of paper, a Georgia OKeeffe clay flower bowl and a Rousseau jungle collage. Super Scientist: Ages: 5-7. Mondays 4:30 to 5:15 p.m. Well be concocting chemistry experiments such as making slime, mixing potions and having fun with magnet magic. Your budding little scientist will enhance his/her creative thinking and motor skills and to top it off will learn that science can be serious fun. Wacky Junk Art: Ages: 8-12. Thursdays 6 to 6:45 p.m. Why throw it away! Instead join us to make household junk into aliens from outer space, wacky specs, crazy hats, body masks or a recycled train. Globe Trotters: Ages: 4-6. Tuesdays 4:30 to 5:15 p.m. Youre never too young to start thinking globally. Each week, we explore a new country through crafts, games, music, stories and even some taste-testing. A perfect introduction to our great big world! Crazy about Crafts: Ages: 5-7, Thursdays 4:30 to 5:15 p.m. Let your childs creative juices flow with our fun arts and crafts projects each week. Fine motor skills and creative thinking skills will be enhanced with this crafty class. Come out and join the Ambler Area YMCAs Teen and Junior Leaders Club. Participants are given the freedom to plan community service projects year round and truly make a difference in the lives of people in need. Those in Teen and Junior Leaders also attend leadership retreats all along the East Coast three times a year and meet other leaders who are doing the same great work in their respective areas. Dont miss out on this inspiring opportunity. Teen Leaders, ages 13-17, meet every Wednesday from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Junior Leaders, ages 10-12, will begin in the spring and will meet every Monday. For more information, contact Mike Miles, Teen Director, 215- 628-9950 x 1540 or mmiles@philaymca.org. Did you know that the new Ambler Area YMCA holds childrens birthday parties at its site for members and non members as well. The Ambler Y does all the work from start to finish and birthday parties include a personalized cake, ice cream, beverage and paper products. Parties are held on Saturday and Sunday afternoons and include two party hosts to lead activities, set-up, clean-up and assist with serving. You can have a Splash Party for children ages six to 12 in the new zero depth entry pool with water slide and spray fountains. Up to 25 children have exclusive use of the pool area with 30 minutes in the party room. Sports Parties are offered for kids ages four to 12 with age appropriate activities and games, and sports such as floor hockey, soccer, basketball or dodge ball. Children ages three to five years of age will enjoy parties in the Family Active Center with use of the Moon Bounce and organized activities, such as parachute play and songs. For information, 215-628-9950 ext. 1583. Community Events at the Ambler Y: -YAchievers YMCA Achievers is a developmentally based, extracurricular, educational and team mentoring program designed to help students in grades five through 12 prepare for fulfilled livelihoods in college and beyond. Participation is free and all students in this program receive a free YMCA membership. Registration for the 2009 program begins now. You do not need to be a YMCA member to utilize these special services. Call 215-628-9950 to register. Greater Norristown Art Leagues Childrens Weeklong Summer Art Camps will be held at 800 West Germantown Pike in East Norriton, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Friday throughout the summer. The cost per session is $125 per student for ages 6 and up. Jo Ann Cooksey Bono teaches an introduction to basic drawing skills and techniques from 10 a.m. until the lunch break each day. In the afternoon sessions, Mary Vogel Lozinak involves the students in hands on projects such as collage, papermaking, T-shirt printing, 3D design and sculpy clay. Fridays Graduation Day includes an art show, awards ceremony and reception for parents, siblings, grandparents and friends. All supplies are included. Students provide their own lunch. A refrigerator is available and the building is air-conditioned. This is the 15th year to run this successful program. Both instructors are professional artists with State Police and Child Abuse Clearances. To register, call Jo Ann at 610-279-1008, or register on-line at www.gnal.org. Health Dresher Physical Therapy is hosting an interactive seminar discussing its Golf Assessment Progam April 30 from 10 a.m. to noon at Dresher Physical Therapy, 1075 Virginia Drive, Suite 200, Fort Washington. Physical therapist Chris Miller, certified through the Titleist Performance Institute, will discuss why your body may be the most important piece of golf equipment you invest in and how this can drastically improve your game. $10 in advance; $15 at the door. Call 215-619-4545 to reserve your spot. The Chestnut Hill Center for Enrichment, Center on the Hill and Chestnut Hill Hospital will host a Senior Health and Resource Fair April 14 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Chestnut Hill Presbyterian Church, 8855 Germantown Ave. The event is free. For more information, call 215-248-0180 or e-mail chseniors@cavtel.net. The Ambler Senior Adult Activities Center is hosting Help Yourself to Health, a new six-week workshop for older adults with ongoing health conditions such as arthritis, diabetes, high blood pressure, anxiety, heart disease and others. The free workshop will take place at the Ambler Senior Adult Activities Center, 45 Forest Ave. on six Thursdays, May 12 through June 16 from 9:30 a.m. to noon. Although there is no charge to participate, registration is required. To register, call 215-619-8863. The Ambler Senior Adult Activities Center is sponsoring an eight-week program called A Matter of Balance: Managing Concerns About Falls. Presented by the Montgomery County Health Department, this workshop will be held on Tuesdays, May 3 to June 21 from 10 a.m. to noon at the Ambler Center, 45 Forest Ave. If you pre-register by April 27, the fee is only $5! Registration at the first class is $10. (Checks should be payable to SAAC and will benefit our Meals on Wheels program that serves homebound seniors.) A workbook will be provided and refreshments will be served. Call 215-619-8863 to register or for more information. Fort Washington Wellness Center classes are ongoing. There are several offered during lunch or right after work, for your convenience: Boot Camp from noon to 1 p.m. on Monday; Zumba is MWF from 11 a.m. to noon and Friday at 4 p.m.; there are 25 cycling classes; Ashtanga and Vinyasana Yoga and Pilates; and a group Womens Strength Training class M-F from 10 to 11 a.m. Questions, call Cathy DeMarco at 215-641-1245. Following the success of other local area programs, Impact Sports and Upper Dublin Parks and Recreation are delighted to team up again to offer a spring program for the 2011 season! Upper Dublin area children ages 3-5 years old can attend a Sports Program featuring their favorite sports games; soccer, rugby, hockey, track and field, basketball, and more. The program will start on April 27 and run through June 1. Cost for the program is $85 for the six weeks. The classes will be running 12- 1 p.m.; 1- 2 p.m.; 2- 3 p.m. For more info or to register, call Upper Dublin Township on 215 643 1600 or visit their website a http://www.upperdublin.net. Spring Aquatic Programs UDHS Pool: -Summer is just around the corner Community Aquatic Programs at the UDHS Pool can help get you into shape! Programs begin in March; preregistration is required. Shallow Water Aerobics Two 5-week programs, Wednesday nights, 8-8:45 p.m., $40R/$50NR. Adult Swim Instructions Two 5-week programs, Wednesday nights, 7-8 p.m., $50R/$60NR -Open Rec Swims are fun for the whole family! Come out on Fridays from 7-9 p.m. or Saturdays from 1-4 p.m. and enjoy use of the pool and diving area. Fridays are offered through June 17; Saturdays are offered March 12-May 21. -Join a growing group of adult lap swimmers and water walkers. Lanes are set aside evenings and weekends for use; lanes are shared. Monday Thursday from 7:30-9:30 p.m.; Fridays from 7-9 p.m. and Saturdays (March 12-May 21) from 1-4 p.m. -Private Swimming & Diving Lessons for ages 3-adult are offered at the UDHS Pool through a partnership with the Upper Dublin Aquatic Club (UDAC). Visit the UDAC website for more information, www.udac.us, and click the link to UDHS Private Lessons. -Looking for local programs for US Masters Swimming (adults) or Water Polo (all ages)? UDAC and UDSD are working together to develop programs that will be offered at the UDHS Pool. Add your name to Interest Lists by emailing slohoefer@upperdublin.net. emails will be sent about clinics and program start dates. Questions about Community Aquatic Programs at the UDHS Pool, group use of the pool or pool rental? Contact Susan Lohoefer, Facility & Community Affairs Manager at slohoefer@upperdublin.net or call 215-643-8800 x8994. SilverSneakers Fitness Program. The Healthyways SilverSneakers Fitness Program is a result-oriented program that enables older adults to take charge of their health. The program is an innovative blend of physical activity, healthy lifestyle and socially oriented programing. Members of the program are eligible for a free YMCA membership, with use of the pool and exercise equipment, along with customized classes designed for older adults who want to improve their strength, flexibility, balance and endurance. If you are a subscriber to Independence Blue Cross (Personal Choice 65 PPO) or Keystone 65 HMO, Bravo Health, or Health Options Programs (HOP), call the Ambler Area YMCA, 215-628-9950 or Hatboro Area YMCA, 215-674-4545. You can also visit www.silversneakers.com. Zumba Fitness offers Zumba dance/fitness classes at Academy of Dance and Music/BBAD Studio located at 1524 DeKalb Pike in Blue Bell (behind Sherwin Williams). Classes are offered three times a week: Tuesdays at 6 p.m., Thursdays at 6:30 p.m. and Saturdays at 8 a.m. For a free trial pass for your first class, email us at info@danceandmusic.biz or call 610-277-2557. For more info, visit our site at www.academyofdanceandmusic.org. Chestnut Hill Health Systems presents the following Health Education Programs: FITNESS CLASSES Golden Yoga: A Breathing, Stretching and Relaxation Class. Fridays, 2:30-3:30 p.m. Lea Auditorium, Chestnut Hill Hospital, 8835 Germantown Ave. Registration for four classes at a time required. Golden Yoga is Classical Yoga, adapted by the SKY Foundation, to accommodate those who have difficulty getting up and down from the floor. The program includes postures, breathing, relaxation and meditation techniques, all performed while sitting in a chair and standing. Registration required. Call 215-247-3029. Cost: $20 for 4 classes per month. Tai Chi: Tuesdays & Thursdays, 8:30 9:30 a.m. Springfield Residence, 8601 Stenton Ave. Classes, for the novice or beginner/intermediate student, are designed to improve balance, power, posture, coordination, flexibility and mental focus. Slow, gentle movements are modified to most everyones abilities. For more information or to sign up for a free introductory class, call 215-882-2804. Cost: $8 per class/paid monthly. SUPPORT GROUPS Weight Loss Surgery Support Group: Fourth Wednesday of the month, 7-8 p.m. Williams Conference Room, Chestnut Hill Hospital, 8835 Germantown Ave., Philadelphia. Join us for a monthly get-together where well share information for those interested in weight loss surgery, learn from guest speakers discussing current news on issues including lifestyle modification, nutrition and exercise and provide ongoing support for those who have completed surgery. Registration required. Call 215-753-2000. Breast Cancer Networking Group: Fourth Tuesday of the month 5:30 7 p.m. Williams Conference Room, Chestnut Hill Hospital, 8835 Germantown Ave., Philadelphia. A free, confidential support group for women living with a diagnosis of breast cancer designed to provide a forum for sharing information, feelings and concerns associated with breast cancer. Facilitated by Tish Wakefield, LCSW, Oncology Social Worker. Registration required. To register or for more information, call 215-248-8047. New Moms Support Groups Tuesdays 10:30 a.m. 12 p.m.; contact Jeanine ORourke, MSW or 2:30 4 p.m.; contact Susan Schack, Ph.D Volunteer Conference Room, Chestnut Hill Hospital, 8835 Germantown Ave. The Center for Postpartum Depression at Chestnut Hill Hospital is pleased to offer two new support groups to support new moms. Both groups will be run by experienced mental health professionals who really get it when it comes to new motherhood and juggling relationships, extended family, work/family balance and self-care. If you are experiencing new mom challenges that often heighten anxiety and involve hormonally driven depression, join us for an informative and supportive forum to connect with other moms. Infants are welcome. $30 per session (flexible based on need). Registration is required. Call Dr. Schack, 646-265-2484, or Ms. ORourke, 215-206-2931. Man to Man Prostate Cancer Support Group Third Thursday of the month 8-9 a.m. Williams Conference Room, Chestnut Hill Hospital, 8835 Germantown Ave. A networking group for men diagnosed with prostate cancer designed to provide education, support and encouragement. Spouses and partners welcome. Harry M. Baer, MD, Chief, Urology Division, will host Ask the Doctor. Registration required. Call 215-248-8325. Contact the Senior Center by phone 215-248-0180 or email (chseniors@cavtel.net) with your questions about these programs or any of our on-going activities and classes. Holy Redeemer HomeCare and Hospice seeks compassionate and emotionally mature volunteers to provide support to local hospice patients and their families in Bucks, Montgomery and Philadelphia counties. Volunteers may also assist with pet therapy and administrative work within the hospice department and are requested to have daytime availability. Hospice patient care volunteers visit with patients in their homes or nursing facilities once a week for two to three hours. They provide emotional support and companionship to patients and family members, assist with errands or provide respite for caregivers. Bereavement volunteers support the families of hospice patients following the loss of a loved one, while administrative volunteers assist with typing, mailings and/or filing. Hospice care workers provide a great service to families and loved ones of hospice patients. Many volunteers also report a great deal of personal satisfaction as a result of their services. Patient care and bereavement volunteers complete an application and attend an 18-hour volunteer training program that covers the medical, psychological and spiritual aspects of hospice volunteering. Day and evening training programs are offered. To sign up for volunteer opportunities in Pennsylvania, contact Holy Redeemer Volunteer Coordinator Jean Francis at 215-698-3737 or email jfrancis@holyredeemer.com. Librarytalk Upper Dublin Public Library, 805 Loch Alsh Avenue, Ft. Washington, 215-628-8744 www.upperdublinlibrary.org APRIL CHILDRENS PROGRAMS: Storytimes: Please register in the library. o Wee Ones: 0 to 23 months Thursdays and Fridays 10:30 to 10:50 a.m. o Tiny Tots: age 2. Wednesdays 10:30 to 10:50 a.m. and Fridays 11 to 11:20 a.m. o Jr. Book Lovers: ages 3 to 6. Tuesdays 10:30 to 11 a.m. o Bedtime Storytimes: 7 to 7:30 p.m. April 20 and 27. Wear your jammies, bring your teddy & hear Miss Barbara read bedtime stories! For ages 3 to 6. APRIL TEEN PROGRAMS: North Hills Library Teens April 28 from 4 to 6 p.m. Movie Matinee APRIL UDPL ADULT PROGRAMS: NEW! ESL Conversation Group. Tuesdays from 7 to 8 p.m. Interested in practicing your English in a safe and caring environment? Come to our conversation group and improve your skills! Please register with Kay Klocko at 215-628-8744 or kklocko@mclinc.org. One-on-One Computer Mentoring. Get personalized assistance from experienced computer volunteers! Sign-up for a one-hour session. Limit one session per month. Please register contact info above. Book Groups Please register with Kay Klocko 215-628-8744. o Daytimers: April 21 at 1:30 p.m. Tired of book groups where you all read the same book? Read any fiction or non-fiction book on this months theme: Explorers. Please register. Meetings: Annual Meeting of the Friends of UDPL: April 14 at 1 p.m. Board of Directors: April 20 at 7 p.m. Blue Bell Library www.wvpl.org Upcoming Events: The Wissahickon Valley Public Library, 650 Skippack Pike (Route 73) in Blue Bell, is diagonally across from the Blue Bell Inn. Call 215-643-1320 or visit their website at www.wvpl.org. For children and teens at Blue Bell: * Story times with guitar music by Miss Michelle, the singing librarian. * Mondays at 10:30 a.m. for all ages. * Wednesdays at 4:30 p.m. for all ages. * Fridays at 10:30 a.m. for all ages. * Family Movies, new releases, second Saturdays of the month at 1:30 p.m. * May 14 Despicable Me * June 11 Alpha and Omega * Special Events * April watch for date of spring/Easter events * April 14 at 4:30 p.m. Junior Lego Club for children ages 3 through 5. Parents and caregivers need to stay with children. * April 14 at 7 p.m. Jeopardy for ages 11 to 18. Test your book and library knowledge for prizes. Sign up to be a contestant. No sign up to be in the audience. Snacks provided. * April 16 at 1 p.m. Adult Mystery Book Group discussing The Beekeepers Apprentice by Laurie King. * April 16 at 1:30 p.m. Childrens event for One Book, Every Young Child celebration. Story and craft for book Whose Shoes? * April 19 at 7 p.m. and April 26 at 1:30 p.m.- Adult book group discusses The Professor and the Madman by Simon Winchester. Group led by Adam Button. * April 30 through May 3 Friends book sale with about 10,000 items for sale for children, teens and adults. * May sign up for Science in the Summer * June sign up for Enrichment Programs for Elementary-Age children * June sign up for Summer Reading, all ages For adults at Blue Bell: * Daytime Book Discussion Group fourth Tuesday, Jan April at 1:30 p.m. * April 26 The Professor and the Madman by Simon Winchester * Night-time Book Discussion Group third Tuesday of each month at 7 p.m. o April 19 The Professor and the Madman by Simon Winchester * Art Series with Dr. Sheldon Weintraub, docent at The Barnes and speaker at local colleges o April 27 at 2 p.m. The Art of Looking at Art-Is She Nude or Is She Naked? *Mystery Book Discussion Group, third Saturday of the month at 1 p.m.; new mystery theme each month; www.wvpl.org/programs * Yoga on Mondays at 1:30 p.m. $20 for eight classes; $5 per drop-in class. * Tai Chi on Mondays at 3 p.m. with Dr. Kurt Findeisen. $20 for eight classes; $5 per drop in class. * Philadelphia Museum of Art presents class on their Marc Chagall exhibit, April 13 at 2 p.m. * Giant Book Sale, April 29 May 3 o Starts with almost 10,000 items for children and adults! o Held during library hours. o Preview for members of the Friends of the Library, April 28 at 7 p.m. o Join the Friends and attend the preview sale. Modest fee to join. * Blooms at Blue Bell Gardening Series o May 11 at 1 p.m. Summer Bulbs by PA Horticultural Society * Knitting group Mondays and Wednesdays at 10 a.m. Work on your project or observe and learn. The groups continue year-round in the community room. * Socrates Cafe discussion group every Monday at 7 p.m. You pick the topic to discuss each week. No sign-up, nothing to read. * Bridge every Friday at 12:30 p.m. New players welcome. * Mah Jong every Wednesday at 1 p.m. New players welcome. *Chess every Wednesday at 7p.m. for adults and teens 14 and older. * Movie Matinee showing recent releases every Thursday at 2 p.m. April 14: Maos Last Dancer; April 21: Welcome to the Rileys; April 28: Conviction; May 5: Inception; May 12: Inside Job; May 19 The Kings Speech; May 26 The Fighter; June 2 Rabbit Hole; June 9 Black Swan; June 16 127 Hours * Ongoing like-new, year-round book sale for adults & children during library hours * Library opening at 10 a.m. Monday through Saturday! Ambler Library, a branch of the Wissahickon Valley Public Library, 209 Race St., 215-646-1072. www.wvpl.org. All the following events occur at the Ambler Library. * Story times with guitar music by Miss Michelle, the singing librarian. * Tuesdays at 10:30 a.m. for all ages. * Thursdays at 4:30 p.m. for all ages. * For adults: * Beading Group meets the first and third Monday of every month at 1 p.m. Work on your own projects or come to watch and learn. * Free Family History Lookup with Connie Briggs. Email Connie for an appointment at the Ambler Library. conniebriggs@comcast.net * Special Events: * April 14 at 1:30 p.m. Book Group discusses Skeletons at the Feast by Chris Bohjalian. * April 19 at 7 p.m. Travel to Paris with world traveler Harry Balin. Tea and scones at 6:30 p.m. * April 21 at 7 p.m. Art with Sara for children in fourth through seventh grades. *May 2 at 6:30 p.m. Discuss the movie Lone Star with Temple Professor Lisa Hawkins. Watch the movie ahead of time. *May 10 Robert Capucci discusses Art into Fashion. Tea and scones served at 6:30 p.m. Program at 7 p.m. *May 12 at 1:30p.m. Book Group discusses The Imperfectionists by Tom Rachman. *May 17 Tour the gardens of Devon and Southwest England with Lois McMullen. Tea and Scones at 6:30 p.m. Program at 7 p.m. *June 13 at 6:30 p.m. Discuss the movie Blade Runner with Temple Professor Lisa Hawkins. Watch the movie ahead of time. Meetings and Lectures The Unisys Blue Bell Retiree Group will meet in the Church on the Mall in the Plymouth Meeting Mall April 14 at 1:30 p.m. Kathy Sacket Young, director/trainer with the North Penn YMCA, will speak on Keeping Fit in Retirement. For more information, contact Membership Committee Chairperson Jerry Feldscher at 610-275-3538 or President Al Rollin at 215-368-4833. The next FWBA meeting will be April 28 at the Hilton Garden Inn Fort Washington. Networking begins at 11:30 a.m.; meeting from noon to 1 p.m. Leon Singletary, Principal, First Contact HR and FWBA Executive Board, will present: Social Media: How to Use It To Get More Business. Lunch is provided courtesy of the Hilton Garden Inn Fort Washington. Members are welcome to bring a guest. An RSVP is requested by return email or 215-628-0313. Big Brothers Big Sisters Southeastern PA is hosting a information sessions over the next few weeks on how to become a Big Brother. The information sessions will take place: April 16 at noon, April 19 at 8 a.m. and April 28 at 6 p.m. All sessions will be held at the groups Norristown Office,t 530 DeKalb St., Norristown. For more information, call 610-277-2200. The North Penn Chapter of the Institute of Management Accountants (IMA) normally meets on the third Tuesday of each month from now until May. Meetings are held at the William Penn Inn on Route 202 and Sumneytown Pike, Upper Gwynedd, PA. Social hour starts at 5:30 p.m., dinner is served at 6:30 p.m., and the technical program begins at 7 p.m. Cost with reservation is $28 for members. Members without reservations and guests pay $30. Students with reservations pay $15. Reservations may be made by noon on the Monday preceding the meeting by phoning 215-371-1854 or emailing the reservation to northpennima@yahoo.com northpennima@yahoo.com. Information about the North Penn Chapter is available at http://northpenn.imanet.org/. LeTip, a professional organization of men and women who are dedicated to the highest standards of competence and service meets every Tuesday at Cedar Brook Country Club, 180 Penllyn Pike, Blue Bell at 7 a.m. -meeting officially starts at 7:16 a.m. and ends at 8:31 a.m. Our purpose is the exchange of business tips, leads, and referrals. Each business category is represented by one member and conflicts of interest are disallowed. Guests are welcome to visit any of our breakfast meetings. Every third Thursday of month, Sunrise Assisted Living of Blue Bell (795 Penllyn Pike, Blue Bell, PA 19422, 215-619-2777) serves as a satellite site to 148th Legislative district PA congressman Mike Gerber from 10 a.m. to noon. Stop by for help needed with things such as disability placards and license plates, vehicle registration, utilities issues, birth/death certificates,property tax/rent rebates, etc. Notary services arranged by appointment. The Eastern Montgomery County Chamber of Commerce is an action-oriented organization dedicated to promoting its members and the economic health of eastern Montgomery county. The Chamber is committed to serving as a catalyst by uniting business, community agencies, government and education to make our county a great place to live and work. For information, call 215-887-5122 or visit www.emccc.org. Do you have a fear of public speaking? Blue Bell Toastmasters Club can help. We meet from 7 to 9 p.m., on the second and fourth Tuesday at the Marriott Courtyard, located on Route 202, directly across from the Montgomeryville Mall. Learn how to improve communication and leadership skills in a friendly and supportive environment. Guests are welcome. Admission fee: $5. For more info, visit www.bbtoast.org. The PennSuburban Chamber of Commerce will hold the following meetings (for reservations to any of the following, email info@PennSuburban.org) -Breakfast News Network, 7:30-8:45 a.m. at Normandy Farm Hotel (1401 Morris Road, Blue Bell, PA 19422) $15 members, includes full buffet breakfast. Join us for a networking program at Normandy Farm Hotel every Thursday morning for breakfast, business news, informative speakers, and plenty of networking. The cost includes a full breakfast buffet. Copies of the business cards will be made available to those who would like them. The BNI, Fort Washington Chapter meets every Monday at The Hilton Garden Inn, 520 Pennsylvania Ave., Fort Washington for a networking meeting. Meetings are from 11:30 a.m. until 1 p.m. Visitors are welcome. The only cost to attend is the cost of your meal. For information or a reservation to attend, please call Luanne Cram at 215-947-7784, or visit our Internet site at: http://www.BNIDVR.Com and click on the menu item Find a Chapter. For the past seven years, people have enjoyed participating in WVWAs Adopt-a-Tree program. Individuals can support the Association in its reforestation efforts by purchasing native trees to be planted. Supporters can plant their adopted tree or have WVWA volunteers will plant it. Trees cost $30 each. If you would like to volunteer or purchase a tree(s), please contact: Bob Adams at Bob@wvwa.org or call: 215-646-8866 for more information. Check www.WVWA.org for directions and maps. Sustainable Upper Dublin, http://sustainableupperdublin.org, meets the first Thursday of each month at 6:30 p.m., at the Upper Dublin Township Building, 801 Loch Alsh Avenue, Fort Washington, PA 19034. Please send any questions to suec@sustainableupperdublin.org or call 610-996-6316. To learn more about Sustainable Upper Dublin, view or join the discussion at http://googlegroups.com/group/sustainableupperdublin. Special Events The Mattie N. Dixon Community Cupboard will hold its first nutrition class April 19 at 10 a.m. at the Community Cupboard, 150 N. Main St., Ambler. Lynne Sinclair, a nutritionist from Abington Memorial Hospital specializing in diabetic nutrition, will conduct the class. Topics will include healthy eating, beneficial foods, recipes, making meals with every day foods, and how to use unfamiliar produce. A healthy snack will be provided.The class is is open to all residents in Montgomery County. The Historical Society of Fort Washington presents The History of Conshohocken April 19 at 8 p.m. at the Clifton House, 473 Bethlehem Pike, Fort Washington. Jack Coll will present an illustrated program on the history of the Borough of Conshohocken. Coll is a longtime resident of Conshohocken and a member of the Conshohocken Historical Society. He is co-author with his son, Brian, of the Arcadia Then and Now Series book Conshohocken. He has also done books Conshohocken and West Conshohocken Sports and Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Italian Feast. He has taken many photos for the Conshohocken Record and the Norristown Times Herald. This program is free. Refreshments will be served. For additional information, call 215-646-6065. Taste of the White House Soiree featuring former White House Chef Walter Scheib will take place April 29 at 6 p.m. at Manufacturers Golf & Country Club in Fort Washington to celebrate HealthLinks 10th anniversary and honor its founders, the Eugene Jackson Family. The evening will heat up with a Chef Meet & Greet, followed by a specially selected presidential menu. Gala tickets are $150 per person. Proceeds benefit HealthLink, a free clinic providing compassionate, quality medical and dental care to uninsured, working adults in Bucks and Montgomery counties who fall in between the health care cracks. Go to http://tasteofthewhitehouse.charityhappenings.org to make reservations online or lend support through sponsorship. For event information, call 267-699-0124 or email jmarushak@healthlinkmedical.org. The Wissahickon Valley Watershed Association will hold an open house at the Evans-Mumbower Mill April 17 from 1 to 4 p.m. The Mill is at the corner of Swedesford and Township Line Roads in Upper Gwynedd. The open house is free but donations are welcome. For more information, call 215-646-8866 o email info@wvwa.org. The Eastern Montgomery County Chamber of Commerce will host Breakfast With Your County Commissioners and State Representatives April 21 from 8 to 9:30 a.m. at the Holiday Inn Fort Washington, 432 W. Pennasylvania Ave. Commissioners: James R. Matthews (Chairman), Joseph M. Hoeffel (Vice Chair), State Representatives: Todd Stephens (District 151) and Josh Shapiro (District 153). Register onlineat www.emccc.org. $10 for EMCCC member; $20 for non-members. Upper Dublins Districtwide Allied Art Show will be held April 27 from 5:30 to 9 p.m. in the Upper Dublin High School Athletic Complex. The Rev. Alfred Muli, chaplain at Fort Washington Estates, will be the featured speaker at the Kiwanis sponsored breakfast observing the National Day of Prayer May 5 at 7 a.m. at the William Penn Inn. The breakfast is open to the public ($15). Reservations can be made by calling 215-646-4356 or by emailing georgesaurman@Juno.com. The Upper Dublin Shade Tree Commission invites people to participate in its spring bare root planting events, sponsored in part by Upper Dublin Parks & Recreation and Friends of Robbins Park. On April 9, zix trees will be planted at the Evelyn B. Wright Park & Community Pool, 401 Logan Ave., North Hills, at 9 a.m., followed by the planting of 10 trees at Sheeleigh Park, Loch Alsh Avenue and Douglas Street, Ambler, at 10:15 a.m. On April 29, students from Upper Dublin High School will join the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society to plant 16 trees in Robbins Park, Butler Pike and Meetinghouse Road, Ambler, to help launch the societys Million Trees campaign. This event will occur in conjunction with Temple Amblers EarthFest. Experienced tree-tenders are sought to assist the students. For more information,contact Ron Ayres at 215-653-0421 or 215-483-4348. The Friends of the Wissahickon and the Wissahickon Valley Watershed Association are teaming up once again to clean the Wissahickon Creek from top to bottom April 30 from 9 a.m. to noon. This spring marks the 41st anniversary of Wissahickon Valley Watershed Associations annual Creek Clean Up, and the second year that FOW has teamed up with WVWA. Volunteers of all ages will clean the creek, the surrounding trails and the many tributaries of the Wissahickon Creek. Armed with bags, volunteers will be assigned to sections of the creek. Following the clean up, all volunteers are invited to WVWAs Talkin Trash picnic in Fort Washington State Park, with food provided by Whole Foods Market of North Wales. The pavilion is located on Mill Road in Flourtown. To help out in Montgomery County, all volunteers must be pre-assigned a section of the Wissahickon Creek to clean. Please contact Bob Adams, WVWA director of stewardship, at 215-646-8866 ext. 14 or bob@wvwa.org. To work with the Friends of the Wissahickon in Philadelphia, meet at the pavilion along Forbidden Drive, a short distance south of the intersection of Forbidden Drive and Northwestern Avenue. Limited parking is available along Northwestern Avenue and other nearby streets. Volunteers are encouraged to bike or carpool to the event. To participate, register at www.fow.org. Contact Kevin Groves with questions at 215-247-0417 ext. 105 or groves@fow.org. Montgomery County Community Colleges International Club invites the community to the second annual International Festival April 20 from 5 to 9 p.m. at the Central Campus, 340 DeKalb Pike, Blue Bell. The rain date is April 26. The International Club will transform the outside quad area into multicultural celebration with various performances by dancers, singers and musicians. Artists will share their artwork at various display tables. Activities include games, raffles, Easter egg decorating and henna tattoos. Students will have samples of international cuisine at tables representing different countries and will serve food from various local ethnic restaurants. Throughout the evening, volunteers will accept donations and will raffle gift baskets and prizes to raise funds for Habitat for Humanity. Donations of food, international clothes and prizes are needed. Volunteers, including artists and performers, are welcome. For more information or to sponsor an activity, contact Gillian Nel, International Club president, at gnel9277@students.mc3.edu or 267-974-0163. The Arts and Humanities Division at Montgomery County Community College is partnering with the Philadelphia Writers Conference to host Memoirs Matter: How Life Stories (Including Yours) Can Transform Your Relationship to Literature April 23 from 1 to 3 p.m. in Advanced Technology Center room 101, 340 DeKalb Pike, Blue Bell. The event is free and open to the public. In the first part of this two-hour seminar, professor and author Robert Waxler will explain how writing his two memoirs affected his life as well as his relationship to literature. In the second part, blogger and workshop leader Jerry Waxler will present a sequence of steps to help writers find their own story. For information, contact Dana Resente at dresente@mc3.edu. The Maple Glen Garden Club will hold its fourth annual Plant Sale on May 7 from 8 to 11 a.m. Perennials, shrubs, vegetables and native plants grown by the club members will be sold. The club uses the plant sale proceeds to fund community projects, a college scholarship and community plantings. The sale will be held in the 500 block of Coach Road, Horsham, as part of a neighborhood garage sale. Plants will be sold at bargain prices. For more information, email MapleGlenGardenClub@gmail.com. The Relay for Life Craft Show is looking for local crafters to participate in show, which will be May 21 from 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. on the Wissahickon High School track, 521 Houston Road, Ambler. There is a $10 entry fee, and 20 percent of sales are donated to the American Cancer Society. Participants will receive a 6-foot table under a tent. For information, contact Joanne at joannescoles@comcast.net or Mindy at mcamsilver@comcast.net. Spring House Estates is hosting its annual book fair on April 18 from 4 to 7 p.m. and April 9 from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Included will be hardback and paperback used books. Spring House Estates is located at 728 Norristown Road, Lower Gwynedd. The PennSuburban Chamber of Commerce will present the Penn Suburban/Hatfield Joint Business Card Exchange April 20 from 5 to 7 p.m. at Univest Bank Lansdale Area Financial Service Center, 120 Forty Foot Road, Hatfield. The event is free. To make reservations, visit PennSuburban.org/Events. Join Univest National Bank and Trust Co. for a spring-inspired Business Card Exchange at its newest office in the Hatfield Pointe Shopping Center. Come out and meet members of Univests executive management team while enjoying fine food and beverages. 13th Annual Community Reading Day Kick-off Breakfast Get Together April 26 from 8 to 9:30 a.m. at the North Wales Area Library, 233 Swartley St., North Wales. The event is free. To make reservations, visit PennSuburban.org/Events. For more information, contact the chamber office at 215-362-9200 or info@pennsuburban.org. Join presenting sponsor Verizon, chamber staff and fellow members for the Community Reading Day volunteer get together. The Community Reading Day program allows volunteers to read a designated book to second-grade students throughout 38 area public and private schools and present the book as a gift to each class. Even if you are not a volunteer, you are cordially invited to stop by to network, enjoy coffee and pastries. Ambler Mennonite Church is hosting a Spring Craft Show and Flea Market May 21 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Rain date will be May 28. The community is invited to shop the great craft booths, find some gifts and deals, as well as enjoy home baked goods and tasty lunch specials. Childrens activities are planned. All vendors are encouraged to contact the church at 215-643-4876 or AmblerMennonite@verizon.net. Advertising, signage, customer parking and a shuttle to auxiliary parking at nearby lots for vendors will be provided. 10 foot by 10 foot spaces can be rented for $5 each and tables for an additional $5 each. All proceeds from space and table rentals go toward school kits for children around the world. The church is located at the corner of East Mt. Pleasant Avenue and North Spring Garden Street, Ambler. The Wissahickon Valley Watershed Association presents The Life & Times of Aquatic Insects in the Wissahickon Creek April 16 from 1 to 3 p.m. Join WVWA for a hands-on program. RSVP required: www.wvwa.org or 215-646-8866. WVWA member fee: $5 per person / $15 per family. Non-WVWA member fee: $10 per person / $20 per family. The photography exhibition Natures Palette by photo-artist Judy Miller will run March 18 to May 19 at the Art in the Storefront gallery, 41 E. Butler Pike, Ambler. JPRN Networking For People in Transition & People Who Can Help Them Unemployment remains high. JPRN, the Jarrettown Professional Relationship Network can help. Are you trying to network your way to a new job? Do you have expertise or contacts that can help people in transition? Is your company or organization looking for people in the area? This is a free outreach program to support those seeking work, involve people with contacts and networking know how, and involve local companies. Meetings held monthly at Jarrettown United Methodist Church, Limekiln Pike. Pennsylvanias Low-Income Home Energy Assistance (LIHEAP) grant program is now open for the 2010-11 heating season. Grants are based on income, family size, type of heating fuel and region. Additional information, such as specific income limits, and applications for LIHEAP grants are available online via the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Access to Social Services (COMPASS) website at www.compass.state.pa.us. Applications are available at most public officals district offices, county assistance offices, local utility companies and community service agencies, such as Area Agencies on Aging or community action agencies. Begin your holiday shopping at Upper Dublin Parks & Recreation! Entertainment books for 2011, Philadelphia North, are now on sale at $30 each. Regal/United Artists movie tickets are on sale for just $7.50 each, and tickets to the Adventure Aquarium, Baltimore Aquarium, and the Philadelphia Zoo are also available. Discounted ski vouchers to area mountains will be arriving in December; call 215-643-1600 x3443 for more information. Upper Dublin Parks & Recreation office hours are Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. RSVP of Montgomery County and the Wissahickon Valley Public Library have partnered again to offer the public their popular free mock interview sessions. The mock interviews are conducted by RSVP volunteers who are retired professionals, some of whom were in hiring positions themselves. Packets of information which include a sample employment application and interviewing tips with mock interview questions are available at the library to pick up prior to a scheduled mock interview or will be sent via email once the interview is scheduled. To schedule your interview, please contact Janis Glusman at RSVP 610-834-1040, ext. 16. The library is also offering a free resume review service. Bring in your current resume and the professional reference staff will assist you with hints and tips on capturing your work history accurately. Registration for Upper Dublin Parks & Recreation summer playgrounds, Camp B.I.G. and Small Folks, X-Zone, and sports camps has began. Register online at www.upperdublin.net/store, or at the UDP&R office, 801 Loch Alsh Avenue, Fort Washington. Call 215-643-1600 x3443 for more information. Upper Dublin Parks & Recreation and Danielles Espresso Cafe presents Mornings at Mondaug Bark Park April 16 and May 21 from 8:30 to 10:30 a.m. Meet fellow dog lovers. These events include complimentary coffee, treats for people and pups and raffles/giveaways. Upper Dublins Annual Spring Flea Market will be held June 4 from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Reserve a table, or come and shop. Tables are $15 for UD residents, $20 for non-residents. This successful event occurs rain or shine. Refreshments available. Call 215-643-1600 ext. 3443 to register for a table. Regal movie tickets available for purchase at Upper Dublin Township Parks & Recreation. Reduced rate: $7.50 per ticket. Some restrictions apply. Call 215-643-1600 x3443. Whitpain Township Parks & Recreation movie tickets $7.50 Regal Cinemas, United Artist & Edwards Cinemas on sale throughout the year Monday Friday from 9 a.m. 4 p.m. Whitpain Township Parks & Recreation Camp Sign-ups for Stony Creek Day Camp Stony Creek Tracers and Park n Tots. Register on-line at www.whitpaintownship.org OrCome to Township Building with check or Visa MasterCard Monday Friday from 9 a.m. 4 p.m. For additional information call 610.277-2400 ext. 374 Upper Dublin Parks & Recreation offers exciting new programs for the fall: -Returning favorites include UK Elite Petite Soccer, Tiny Dancers, Kiddie Tennis, Fun-nastics, Messy Playtime, Little Chefs, and more. Babysitters Training will be offered in November and December. Continuing Adult Fitness Classes include Cardio Circuit, Core & More, Yoga, Boxing, and Adult G.Y.M. For more information call 215-643-1600 x3443. Register for programs online at www.upperdublin.net/store. Music and Theater The community is invited to a Cantors Concert April 16 at 8 p.m. Congregation Beth Or, 239 Welsh Road, Maple Glen. Listen and hum-along to the Yiddish, pop tunes and classical music performed by Congregation Beth Ors own Cantor David Green and his special guest, Cantor Irvin Bell, from Temple Beth Israel in Deerfield Beach, Fla. The cantors will be accompanied by Mark Sobol and his Klezmer musicians. Tickets are $18 in advance and $25 at the door. RSVP with payment to Barb Murtha, 239 Welsh Road, Maple Glen, PA 19002, or call 215-646-5806 ext. 220. Gwynedd Friends Coffeehouse will host the Jameson Sisters May 14. Doors open at 7:30 pm, performance at 8:00 pm. Gwynedd Friends Coffeehouse is located at the corner of Rte. 202 & Sumneytown Pike, Gwynedd. $5 suggested donation. Light refreshment available at a modest cost. For further information, call 215-393-9576 or visit gwyneddmeeting.org/coffeehouse.html. Celebrate patriotism through song with Gwynedd-Mercy Colleges choir, the Voices of Gwynedd, as it presents Hear America Singing April 15 at 8 p.m. The choir will perform song selections from all over the country, including Georgia on My Mind, New York State of Mind, and a medley including Philadelphia Freedom and Allentown. The performance will end with When the Saints Go Marching In to acknowledge the choirs upcoming tour in New Orleans. Hear America Singing will take place in the Julia Ball Auditorium, located in St. Bernard Hall. Parking is available in lots A, C and D. Admission is free. The Choristers will present Anton Dvoraks Stabat Mater April 16 at 7:30 p.m. at Upper Dublin Lutheran Church in Ambler. The choir will be accompanied by a 41-piece orchestra. Tickets are $20 for adults, $15 for senior citizens, $10 for students and children are free. Tickets will be sold in advance or at the door. For more information, call 215-542-7871 or visit TheChoristers.org Religious News The Staircase Gallery at Or Hadash: A Reconstructionist Congregation in Fort Washington will feature the work of Emily Ennuat-Lustine. The artist will be showing paintings and graphics inspired by her own personal spiritual journey and quest for meaning. Some of the works to be shown have been inspired by Biblical Psalms and writings. Her work has been shown at Abington Art Center, Cheltenham Arts Center and Old City Gallery of Jewish Art among others. The exhibition is open Friday evenings starting Feb. 18 after Shabbat services. Gallery hours are: Mondays through Thursdays 10-4:30, Fridays 10-3 and following Shabbat Services and Sundays 10-1. The synagogue is located at 190 Camp Hill Road in Fort Washington. For additional information contact the synagogue office at 215-283-0276. Reunions St. Matthews High School Conshohocken Class of 1961 is looking for classmates. For details, contact Greg Marincola at 215-646-2239, 215-740-1296 or gregcola@comcast.net. Olney High School Class of 1971 is Lloking for classmates for a 40th reunion Oct. 28. For details, contact Judy at ohsclassof71@yahoo.com or 215-870-7572. Abington High School Class of 1961 is seeking classmates for a 50-year reunion to be held Oct. 14-15, 2011.Visit the website, www.abington61.com, for details or call 215-947-1779. Overbrook High School class of January 1956 is having a 55 year reunion on May 22, 2011 at the Bala Golf Club in Philadelphia. For information please contact overbrookreunion56@comcast.net Germantown High School Class Of January 1961 is looking for classmates for 50th year reunion to take place in May of 2011. Please contact: 215-362-9148, 856-577-0659 or samdelcomo@comcast.net The June 1961 class of Germantown High School is holding their 50th reunion on May 15, which will be a brunch. For further details please contact Linda Dorfman Alten at lindaalten@yahoo.com or call 215-441-8411. Support New Life Presbyterian Church in Dresher, will host GriefShare, a special seminar and support group which will run on Monday evenings from 7 to 9 p.m., from March 7 through June 6. At each meeting there will be a DVD about the grief process, discussion and reference to a grief workbook. Preregistration is required to secure a place in the group and to purchase a GriefShare notebook (for a one-time fee of $15). The notebook goes along with the 13-week schedule covering such topics as: living with grief, the effects of grief, and stuck in grief. For more information or to register, call: Sandy Elder at 215-884-5149. PUPS (People Understanding Parkinsons) A self-help group for those adjusting to a new diagnosis or dealing with the early stages of Parkinsons Disease. Meets fourth Tuesday of the month from 1 to 2:30 p.m., at Abington Health Center, Schilling Campus, Willowood Building, 2510 Maryland Road, Suite 251, Willow Grove. For more information or to RSVP, contact Lorna at 215-542-2931. The North Penn Visiting Nurse Associations Meals on Wheels program is looking for volunteers to pack or deliver meals to the elderly and infirmed. Meals are packed and delivered mornings, Monday through Friday. You can volunteer for as many days per week or month as you would like. Packaging meals requires approximately 2-1/2 hours of your time each day and involves making sandwiches, packaging food into individual serving containers and packing coolers with the meals. Delivering meals requires approximately 1-1/2 hours of your time each day and involves loading coolers into your car and delivering a route of approximately 10 to 15 stops. The Meals on Wheels program is also in need of emergency, winter-weather volunteers to pack and deliver meals in bad weather. North Penn VNA is located at 51 Medical Campus Drive in Lansdale and delivers meals in the Lansdale, North Wales and Blue Bell areas. For more information or to volunteer, please call Bridget, North Penn VNA Meals on Wheels coordinator at 215-855-8296. Elkins Park Area CHADD (Children and Adults with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder) meets the first Tuesday of every month, 7- 8:30 p.m., at Einstein at Elkins Park Hospital in Elkins Park. For information on CHADD or ADHD, please see our website www.chadd.net/249 or call Claire Noyes at: 215-779-6656. Center for Loss and Bereavement, 3847 Skippack Pike, Skippack (610-222-4110) www.bereavementcenter.org Offers professional counseling for individuals, couples, children and families dealing with issues of loss and bereavement. Six-week adult support groups: Newly forming young adult grief support group every other Wednesday, 7 8:15 p.m. (free of charge); Monthly loss of child support second Mondays, 7-8:15 p.m.; Six-week young loss of spouse/partner Thursdays, 10-11:15 a.m.; Other groups scheduled as interest is shown for suicide loss support, adult loss of parent, motherless daughters, adult loss of sibling, coping with chronic illness and disability and mens loss of spouse. Nellos Corner Family Bereavement program offers peer grief support groups for ages 4 through teen and their caregivers Every other Tuesday or Wednesday (free of charge) Local chapter of Parents of Murdered Children also meets at the Center. Registration required. Call for further information. CHADD is a national organization for children & adults with Attention-Deficit/ Hyperactivity Disorder, providing education, advocacy and support for individuals and their families with AD/HD. Einstein at Elkins Park Hospital, 60 Township Line Road, Elkins Park, PA 19027, will host children & adults with Attention-Deficit/ Hyperactivity Disorder on the First Tuesday of each month 7 8:30 p.m. Free, no childcare provided. The Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphias Kehillah of Old York Road is sponsoring a free Caregiver Support Group for individuals who care for an elderly person with cognitive and/or physical impairments. The group meets at SarahCare Adult Day Care Center, 101 Washington Lane, Suite G-6, Jenkintown, Pa., on the first Wednesday of each month. Patty Rich, Ex-choir director in Bucks County pleads no contest to molesting two students, secretly filming another Friends In Pink is still on the radar and growing every year Letter to editor: Voting is necessary to protect democracy February 07, 2017 Hearsay Extrapolated - Amnesty Claims Mass Executions In Syria, Provides Zero Proof A new Amnesty International report claims that the Syrian government hanged between 5,000 and 13,000 prisoners in a military prison in Syria. The evidence for that claim is flimsy, based on hearsay of anonymous people outside of Syria. The numbers themselves are extrapolations that no scientist or court would ever accept. It is tabloid reporting and fiction style writing from its title "Human Slaughterhouse" down to the last paragraph. But the Amnesty report is still not propagandish enough for the anti-Syrian media. Inevitably only the highest number in the range Amnesty claims is quoted. For some even that is not yet enough. The Associate Press agency, copied by many outlets, headlines: Report: At least 13,000 hanged in Syrian prison since 2011: BEIRUT (AP) Syrian authorities have killed at least 13,000 people since the start of the 2011 uprising in mass hangings at a prison north of Damascus known to detainees as "the slaughterhouse," Amnesty International said in a report Tuesday. How does "at least 13,000" conforms to an already questionable report which claims "13,000" as the top number of a very wide range? Here is a link to the report. Before we look into some details this from the "Executive Summary": From December 2015 to December 2016, Amnesty International researched the patterns, sequence and scale of violations carried out at Saydnaya Military Prison (Saydnaya). In the course of this investigation, the organization interviewed 31 men who were detained at Saydnaya, four prison officials or guards who previously worked at Saydnaya, three former Syrian judges, three doctors who worked at Tishreen Military Hospital, four Syrian lawyers, 17 international and national experts on detention in Syria and 22 family members of people who were or still are detained at Saydnaya. ... On the basis of evidence from people who worked within the prison authorities at Saydnaya and witness testimony from detainees, Amnesty International estimates that between 5,000 and 13,000 people were extrajudicially executed at Saydnaya between September 2011 and December 2015. There are several difficulties with this report. 1. Most of the witnesses are identified as opposition figures and "former" officials who do not live in Syria. Some are said to have been remotely interviewed in Syria but it is not clear if those were living in government or insurgent held areas. Page 9: The majority of these interviews took place in person in southern Turkey. The remaining interviews were conducted by telephone or through other remote means with interviewees still in Syria, or with individuals based in Lebanon, Jordan, European countries and the USA. It is well known that the Syrian insurgency is financed with several billion dollars per years from foreign state governments. It runs sophisticated propaganda operations. These witnesses all seem to have interests in condemning the Syrian government. Not once is an attempt made to provide a possibly divergent view. Amnesty found the persons it questioned by contacting international NGOs like itself and known foreign financed opposition (propaganda) groups: These groups include Urnammu for Justice and Human Rights, the Syrian Network for Human Rights, and the Syrian Institute for Justice and Accountability. 2. The numbers Amnesty provides are in a very wide range. None are documented in lists or similar exhibits. They are solely based on hearsay and guesstimates of two witnesses: People who worked within the prison authorities at Saydnaya told Amnesty International that extrajudicial executions related to the crisis in Syria first began in September 2011. Since that time, the frequency with which they have been carried out has varied and increased. For the first four months, it was usual for between seven and 20 people to be executed every 10-15 days. For the following 11 months, between 20 and 50 people were executed once a week, usually on Monday nights. For the subsequent six months, groups of between 20 and 50 people were executed once or twice a week, usually on Monday and/or Wednesday nights. Witness testimony from detainees suggests that the executions were conducted at a similar or even higher rate at least until December 2015. Assuming that the death rate remained the same as the preceding period, Amnesty International estimates that between 5,000 and 13,000 people were extrajudicially executed at Saydnaya between September 2011 and December 2015. From "between x and y", "once or twice a week", "suggests" and "assuming" the headline numbers are simply extrapolated in footnote 40 in a back-of-the-envelope calculation; "If A were true then B would be X": These estimates were based on the following calculations. If between seven and 20 were killed every 10-15 days from September to December 2011, the total figure would be between 56 people and 240 people for that period. If between 20 and 50 were killed every week between January and November 2012, the total figure would be between 880 and 2,200 for that period. If between 20 and 50 people were killed in 222 execution sessions (assuming the executions were carried out twice a week twice a month and once a week once a month) between December 2012 and December 2015, the total figure would be between 4,400 and 11,100 for that period. These calculations produce a minimum figure of 5,336, rounded down to the nearest thousand as 5,000, and 13,540, rounded down to the nearest thousand as 13,000. 2. I will not go into the details of witness statements on which the report is build. They seem at least exaggerated and are not verifiable at all. In the end it is pure hearsay on which Amnesty sets it conclusions. One example from page 25: Hamid, a former military officer when he was arrested in 2012, recalled the sounds he heard at night during an execution: "There was a sound of something being pulled out like a piece of wood, Im not sure and then you would hear the sound of them being strangled If you put your ears on the floor, you could hear the sound of a kind of gurgling. This would last around 10 minutes We were sleeping on top of the sound of people choking to death. This was normal for me then." A court might accept 'sound of "I'm not sure" "kind of gurgling" noise through concrete' as proof that a shower was running somewhere. But as proof of executions? Of all the witnesses Amnesty says it interviewed only two, a former prison official and a former judge, who describe actual executions (page 25). From the wording of their statements it is unclear if they have witnessed any hangings themselves or just describe something they have been told of. 3. The numbers of people Amnesty claims were executed are - at best - a wild ass guess. How come that Amnesty can name only very few of those? On page 30 of its report it says: Former detainees from the red building at Saydnaya provided Amnesty International with the names of 59 individuals who they witnessed being taken from their cells in the afternoon, being told that they were being transferred to civilian prisons in Syria. The evidence contained in this report strongly suggests that in fact, these individuals were extrajudicially executed. and Former prison guards and a former prison official from Saydnaya also provided Amnesty International with the names of 36 detainees who had been extrajudicially executed in Saydnaya since 2011. Those 95, some of whom may have been "executed" - or not, are the only ones Amnesty claims to be able to name. That is less than 1-2% of the reports central claim of 5,000 to 13,000 executed. All those witnesses could provide no more details of persons allegedly killed? Amnesty acknowledges that its numbers are bogus. Under the headline "Documented Deaths" on page 40 it then adds additional names and numbers to those above but these are not from executions: the exact number of deaths in Saydnaya is impossible to specify. However, the Syrian Network for Human Rights has verified and shared with Amnesty International the names of 375 individuals who have died in Saydnaya as a result of torture and other ill-treatment between March 2011 and October 2016. Of these, 317 were civilians at the time of their arrest, 39 were members of the Syrian military and 19 were members of non-state armed groups. In the course of the research for this report, Amnesty International obtained the names of 36 additional individuals who died as a result of torture and other ill-treatment in Saydnaya. These names were provided to Amnesty International by former detainees who witnessed the deaths in their cells The "Syrian Network for Human Rights" (SNHR) is a group in the UK probably connected to British foreign intelligence and with dubious monetary sources. It only says: SNHR funds its work and activities through unconditional grants and donations from individuals and institutions. Now that is true transparency. SNHR is known for rather ridiculous claims about casualties caused by various sides of the conflict. It is not know what SNHR qualifies as civilians - do these include armed civil militia? But note that none of the mostly civilians SNHR claims to have died in the prison are said to have been executed. How is it possible that a organization frequently quoted in the media as detailed source of casualties in Syria has no record of the 5,000 to 13,000 Amnesty claims were executed? 4. The report is padded up with before/after satellite pictures of enlarged graveyards in Syria. It claims that these expansions are a sign of mass graves of government opponents. But there is zero evidence for that. Many people have died in Syria throughout the war on all sides of the conflict. The enlargement, for example, of the Martyrs Cemetery south of Damascus (p.29/30) is hardly a sign of mass killing of anti-government insurgents. Would those be honored as martyrs by the government side? 5. The report talks of "extrajudicially executed" prisoners but then describes (military) court procedures and a necessary higher up approval of the judgement. One may not like the laws that govern the Syrian state but the courts and the procedures Amnesty describes seem to follow Syrian laws and legal processes. They are thereby - by definition - not extrajudicial. 6. In its Executive Summary the Amnesty report says that "Death sentences are approved by the Grand Mufti of Syria and ...". But there is no evidence provided of "approval" by the Grand Mufti in the details of the report. On page 19 it claims, based on two former prison and court officials: The judgement is sent by military post to the Grand Mufti of Syria and to either the Minister of Defence or the Chief of Staff of the Army, who are deputized to sign for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and who specify the date of the execution. It is very doubtful that the Syrian government would "deputize" or even inform the Grand Mufti in cases of military or criminal legal proceedings. Amnesty International may dislike the fact but Syria is a secular state. The Grand Mufti in Syria is a civil legal authority for some followers of the Sunni Muslim religion in Syria but he has no official judiciary role. From the 2010 Swiss dissertation Models of Religious Freedom: Switzerland, the United States, and Syria quoted here: In Syria a mufti is a legal and religious expert (faqih and alim) who has the power to give legally non-binding recommendations (sing. fatwa, pl. fatawa) in matters of Islamic law. ... Queries which are either sought by a sharia judge or private individuals regard the personal status laws of the Muslim community only. In the Arab Republic fatawa are given neither to public authorities nor to individual civil servants, .. Neither the Syrian constitution nor any Syrian law I can find refers to a role of the Grand Mufti in any military or civil criminal court proceding. The Amnesty claim "approved by the Grand Mufti of Syria"is not recorded anywhere else. It is very likely false. The Grand Mufti, Sheikh Ahmad Badreddin Hassoun, is a moderate, recognized and accomplished scholar. He should sue Amnesty for this slander. Syrian law includes a death penalty for certain severe and violent crimes. Before 2011 actual executions in Syria were very rare, most death sentences were commuted. Allegedly the laws were amended in late 2011, after the war in Syria had started, to include the death penalty as possible punishment for directly arming terrorists. It is quite likely that the Syrian military and/or civil judiciary hand out some death penalties against captured foreign and domestic "rebels" it finds them guilty of very severe crimes. It is fighting the Islamic State, al Qaeda and other extreme groups well known for mass murder and other extreme atrocities. It is likely that some of those sentences are applied. But the Syrian government has also provided amnesty to ten-thousands of "rebels" who fought the government but have laid down their arms. The claims in the Amnesty report are based on spurious and biased opposition accounts from outside of the country. The headline numbers of 5,000 to 13,000 are calculated on the base of unfounded hypotheticals. The report itself states that only 36 names of allegedly executed persons are known to Amnesty, less than the number of "witnesses" Amnesty claims to have interviewed. The high number of claimed execution together with the very low number of names is not plausible. The report does not even meet the lowest mark of scientific or legal veracity. It is pure biased propaganda. Note: An earlier version of this piece mixed up the Syrian Network for Human Rights (SNHR) and the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR). Both are registered in the UK and claim to provide accurate casualty data from Syria. Only SNHR is referenced in this Amnesty report. Posted by b on February 7, 2017 at 9:41 UTC | Permalink Comments next page next page The Rotary Club of Morganton has announced its choice for the 2016 Distinguished Person of the Year. Morganton native Scott Whisnant is a retired attorney who has a long history of service to the community. Whisnant graduated from Morganton High School in 1968 and already knew he wanted to practice law. It was a childhood hope, and thats what I geared my undergraduate work for, Whisnant said. He graduated from the University of North Carolina in 1972 with a bachelors degree in history and political science. He went on to receive his J.D. law degree, cum laude, from the Cumberland School of Law of Samford University in 1975. He returned directly to Morganton and began practicing law with a firm that became Byrd, Byrd, Ervin and Whisnant. I knew them (the other attorneys) by reputation and had some contact with them as an undergraduate and when I was in law school, Whisnant said. He started out as a general practitioner, then later specialized in disability and workers compensation cases. I represented a fairly large number of people over my years of practice, Whisnant said. Whisnants achievements were recognized early on when he was named the Young Man of the Year by the Morganton Jaycees in 1978, of which he was a member. He is a former board member of First Citizens Bank, the Mimosa Hills Country Club and the Blue Ridge HealthCare Foundation. He served on the board of BRHCF at a time when board members were overseeing the fundraising for and construction of Phifer Wellness Center, which opened in 1996. Whisnant has been a trustee for the Beatrice Cobb Trust since 1987, a legacy position he inherited from his father. The trust was set up by Beatrice Cobb, former owner and publisher of The News Herald, in 1959 to fund area churches and community organizations with annual disbursements. I always had some interest from it through my dad, who was one of the original trustees, he said. Whisnant is the current chair of the Morganton Parks and Recreation Foundation, a board hes served on for the past 25 years. We help facilitate a lot of projects for the city of Morganton, he said. He also serves on the board of the Senior Deaf and Blind Community, which is responsible for the construction of the Alder Springs Retirement Center. Whisnant recently returned to the board of the Good Samaritan Clinic, which he had been on from 2009-15, to serve as treasurer. The Good Samaritan Clinic provides low-cost medical and dental treatment for area residents who otherwise would not be able to afford quality health care. I had a good friend who was involved with them, and I recognized it was a vital need for our community, Whisnant said. Whisnant is a long-time member of First United Methodist Church in Morganton and has served on various church committees during his time there. He is the son of Ben and Kathryn Whisnant. His father is deceased, but his mother still lives in Morganton. He is married to Dana Sherrill Whisnant, who works as an assistant vice president at Morganton Savings Bank. Whisnant has two daughters. Alison Saville lives in Knoxville, Tennessee, with her husband, Steve, and son, Henry. Adair Cates lives in Atlanta, Georgia, with her husband, Chris, and their twin daughters, Joy and Coral. Whisnant has one sister, Tina Conley, who lives in Morganton with her husband, Charles. He said he was honored to receive the Distinguished Person of the Year nomination. Its a humbling experience, Whisnant said. I think there are a whole lot of others who work selflessly for the community, so I think any number of people could be the Distinguished Person of the Year. Rotary Club President Hugh Morgan said he is pleased with the clubs choice. The secret committee of the Rotary Club who selected Scott Whisnant to be the 2016 Distinguished Person of the Year was unanimous in the view that he was the person to receive this honor, Morgan said. Scotts life has epitomized the Rotary theme of Service Above Self. I could not be more delighted with this nomination. Whisnant will be celebrated at a banquet held in his honor on March 31 at 7 p.m. The banquet will be held at either the Morganton Community House or First United Methodist Church of Morganton, depending on whether renovations to the Community House will be completed in time. The location should be set by the time tickets go on sale. Tickets will go on sale March 1 for $25 each and can be purchased from any Rotary Club member or at the Burke Arts Council or Mimosa Insurance Agency. Tammie Gercken can be reached at tgercken@morganton.com. A Morganton man was arrested after law enforcement say he beat and robbed a woman. Billy Earl Murphy, 41, of 1515 States Ave., Morganton, has been charged with misdemeanor assault with a deadly weapon, felony robbery, felony larceny of a motor vehicle and felony possession of stolen goods. The Burke County Sheriffs Office said around 11:45 a.m. Saturday deputies responded to Hampson Road in Morganton regarding a robbery. Deputies spoke to the victim, who said she was robbed by Billy Murphy. The victim lives out of state and had arrived at her mothers house on Saturday, where she learned that Murphy and an unknown woman were living at her mothers house without permission, according to a release from the sheriffs office. Murphy and the female were told to leave the house, the release said. When the victim returned to her mothers house, she was hit on the head and in the face with a hard object, the release said. When she tried to get up, the man started choking her, the release said. The man took the victims keys and left in her 2016 Hyundai Elantra, the sheriffs office release said. Deputies found Murphy and the stolen vehicle at the Thrifty Mart in Glen Alpine. Murphy was arrested inside the store, the release said. Detectives arrived at the scene and found evidence inside the vehicle that linked Murphy to the crime, the release said. The vehicle was returned to the victim and she was transported to Carolinas Medical Center for treatment of her injuries. Murphy was taken to Burke-Catawba District Confinement Facility under a $105,000 secure bond. Additional charges are pending in the case, according to the sheriffs office release. Murphy previously was convicted and spent time in prison for robbery with a dangerous weapon and larceny in Wake County in 1998, according to the North Carolina Department of Corrections. In 2010, he was convicted in Harnett County of attempting speeding to elude arrest, according to the state department of corrections. A Hickory man will serve at least 17 years in prison after pleading guilty to second-degree murder for the November 2013 beating death of his wife. Marvin Antonio Hill, 40, was sentenced to an active prison term of 17 to 22 years in custody of the North Carolina Division of Adult Corrections by Superior Court Judge Lori Hamilton from Davie County, during Catawba County Superior Court on Monday. Hill originally entered a guilty plea to second-degree murder in Oct. 5, 2015, but sentencing was deferred until the victims family could be present. During that interval, Hill filed a motion to have the plea withdrawn, citing his confusion about the agreement that he signed under oath as well as an alleged ineffective assistance of counsel regarding the possible punishment that could have been imposed by the Court. The defendants motion to withdraw his guilty plea was granted on Dec. 15, 2015. Hills guilty plea on Monday to second-degree murder stemmed from the November 2013 death of his wife, Louver Hill. There is nothing that anyone can do to return Louver Hill back to life, Assistant District Attorney Lance Sigmon said. There is no one that can remove the sorrow and sadness of her family caused by her death. Louver paid the ultimate cost because of the actions of this defendant, and this Court will never be able to right that wrong. No amount of confinement will bring Louver back to life or heal the pain her family continues to endure. Officers from the Catawba County Sheriffs Office responded to a call on Miami Street in Hickory on Nov. 10, 2013, finding 36-year-old Louver Hill deceased in the back bedroom of the home after noticing both the kitchen and bedroom areas to be in disarray. Marvin Hill, who was at the home when officers arrived, initially admitted to pushing his wife, causing her to fall. He later told officers that he had returned from the store and engaged in a verbal argument with Louver that escalated into a physical altercation. He then claimed that she slipped, fell and hit her head, which knocked her unconscious. Investigation revealed that the victim had been severely beaten in another area of the home then dragged into the bedroom where she was found. It also appeared that someone had attempted to clean up the scene of the altercation. An autopsy of Louver Hills body at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center in Winston-Salem revealed at least three distinct blows to the head area, ruling out accidental death from a fall. The cause of her death was listed as blunt force trauma. Louver Hills mother, Annette Bolden, addressed the court after Marvin Hill entered the guilty plea. I hurt every day; I wont forget this because she came from me, Bolden said. I just need to tell Marvin I forgive him. I forgive him, but Ill never forget. My heart just cries out, even for Marvin, a young black man who had so much potential. I forgive you, Marvin, but I pray for you, that God will keep and sustain you as He has sustained me. Capt. Brian Kelly was lead investigator for the case for the Catawba County Sheriffs Office. Lance Sigmon handled prosecution for the District Attorneys Office. Phoenixes and Dragons, a calligraphic piece by Wei Ligang, is among the works at an ongoing exhibition in Beijing. [Photo provided to China Daily] The centerpiece of experimental calligrapher Wei Ligang's ongoing Beijing exhibition is a 45-meter-long scroll titled Phoenixes and Dragons that the Beijing-based artist completed in 2012. In the work, Wei repeats classical poetry and original verses. He cycles through various writing styles, including the cursive script (caoshu) and clerical script (lishu). The brushstrokes transform in a symphonic way "abruptly from calmness to a manic touch", says Wei. The piece is installed on the wall and in a spiral on the second floor of Ink Studio Beijing, where Wei's exhibition Songs of Phoenix Mirror is running. The characters are like mythical birds in ancient Chinese tales, taking viewers on a journey through time to the origin of Chinese aesthetics. The 53-year-old grew up in Datong, a city in North China's Shanxi province that boasts rich historical and cultural heritage. Once a capital of the Northern Wei Dynasty (386-534), Datong is celebrated for its ancient Buddhist sites, including the Yungang grotto shrines and the Huayan Temple, and many precious steles bearing calligraphic inscriptions from centuries ago. The environment implanted in him a deep admiration for the grandeur and power of classical art. Wei, who began practicing calligraphy as a child, is inspired by such masters as Fu Shan (1607-84), a famed calligrapher, thinker and doctor from Taiyuan, Shanxi's provincial capital. Wei's calligraphic pieces show the influence of Fu's writing philosophyseeking a state that is a bit out of control. Republican President Trump has nominated an intellectual jurist and a good man to succeed the late Antonin Scalia on the Supreme Court. Senate Democrats would do well to drop their opposition. Theyre within their rights. But they, and the country, could do a lot worse than Judge Neil Gorsuch of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit. Some Senate Democrats note that their Republican counterparts would not even consider Judge Merrick Garland to replace Scalia, who died last February. Their lack of consideration was wrong. But, as Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia said last week, two wrongs dont make a right. We need to move forward. And Gorsuch would likely make a fine justice. He is indeed a conservative and an originalist on constitutional interpretation in the tradition of Scalia. But he is also, by most accounts, a strong and fair thinker, eminently qualified, probably more fair than the rest on Trumps list. Gorsuch was overwhelmingly approved by the Senate for his current seat on the court of appeals, including by then-Sen. Obama. Gorsuch was educated at Columbia University, Harvard Law School and Oxford University. He clerked for Supreme Court Justices Byron White and Anthony Kennedy, worked for the Justice Department for a year and spent 10 years in private practice. As Robert P. George, a Princeton professor and friend of Gorsuch, noted in a recent Washington Post column: "Gorsuchs opinions are marked by analytical depth and precision and remarkably lucid writing. In selecting Gorsuch, President Trump has without question fulfilled his pledge to appoint a justice in the mold of Antonin Scalia a conservative intellectual leader.. But one respect in which Gorsuch is unlike Scalia is that he is not fiery or pugnacious "Of course, most people are interested above all in how he is likely to vote on hot-button issues such as abortion, same-sex marriage, gun control, campaign finance reform and religious freedom. In the confirmation hearings, he will no doubt do what another friend of mine, Justice Elena Kagan, did and basically refuse to discuss these issues on the grounds that they are likely to come before him. I expect what just about everyone else expects: Gorsuch, who greatly admired Scalia, thinks about the constitutional issues in these areas pretty much the same way Scalia did But he is not dogmatic "If Democrats are looking for a point of vulnerability in either Gorsuchs integrity or impartiality, they wont find it. He is basically a Boy Scout. Hes a man of probity who holds himself to the highest ethical standards and he will bring religious diversity to a Court that is entirely Catholic and Jewish: Hes an Episcopalian." This judge, if confirmed for our lands highest court, might just pleasantly surprise both Democrats and Republicans. We urge Senate Democrats to fairly hear him out. President Donald Trump's executive order on refugees was a combination of ineptitude, irrelevance, counterproductivity and malice, lamely rationalized as a matter of public safety. Like many of his actions, it raises the question: Is he doing this because he doesn't understand how badly it will work or because he doesn't care? In symbolic and constitutional terms, this anti-Muslim measure is hugely important and regrettable. But in a practical sense, there is less than meets the eye. The attention to what Trump proposes to do to refugees who want to come here distracts from a bigger issue that affects more far more displaced people. Some 4.9 million Syrians have fled their war-racked country. The vast majority have wound up in Turkey, Lebanon or Jordan. In 2015, the Obama administration admitted a grand total of 1,682, and last year, it took 12,587. Under Trump's executive order, until further notice, the number will be smaller: zero. For the millions who would not have been allowed to come regardless, though, Trump's order is beside the point. They were suffering exiles before, and they are suffering exiles still. It's no wonder that many dream of making their way to America or Europe, even at grave personal peril. But letting them in involves two costs that concern many Americans, particularly those who voted for Trump. One is the risk of bloodshed by violent extremists masquerading as refugees. That danger happens to be microscopically tiny. Refugees typically face a wait of 18 to 24 months to come to the United States, and they have no say on whether they are sent here or somewhere else. Any applicant who raises the slightest doubt gets the heave-ho. Syrian terrorists intent on killing Americans would look for an easier, quicker way. The other cost, however, is not so improbable. It's the expense of resettling these people, most of whom need considerable time and aid to adjust to their new lives. The Center for Immigration Studies, which favors reductions in immigration, estimates that each Middle Eastern refugee admitted to the U.S. costs taxpayers $64,370 over the first five years. Plenty of Americans resent having to bear that burden. Opponents of Trump's executive order, however, think we have an obligation to help the innocent victims of President Bashar Assad's savage war. Some insist we have a special duty because of our refusal to use military power to stop the slaughter. But even under the most optimistic scenario which has no chance of coming to pass under the current president we can take only a tiny fraction of these refugees. The rest have a better chance of squeezing through a straw. There is a way to help them, though, that should appeal to both Trump's supporters and his critics: aid to the displaced in the countries where they are now living. The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees says it needs $4.63 billion this year to meet the basic needs of these exiles including food, shelter, medical care and schooling. That works out to $940 per refugee or just 7 percent of the annual cost of resettlement in this country. Many of the refugees would no doubt prefer to remain in the Middle East, where they wouldn't have to adapt to our culture and language, and this aid would make that easier. But the UNHCR has failed to persuade donor nations to match their generosity to the scale of the emergency. Last year, it got $2.7 billion for Syrian refugees, just 59 percent of what it needed. If the U.S. government is going to close the door to these lost souls, why not at least offer financial help to ease their plight? This option wouldn't carry the danger of terrorists reaching American soil, and it wouldn't require great public expense. Nor would it inflame anti-American furies as Trump's policy is likely to do. If anything, it would win friends. It's not likely to happen, though, because nothing is less popular with the American public than "foreign aid." A 2013 poll by the Pew Research Center found that "for 18 of 19 programs tested, majorities want either to increase spending or maintain it at current levels. The only exception is assistance for needy people around the world." In this case, prevention would be a prudent approach. We can try to spare ourselves the problem of the Syrian refugees. But we can't expect it to cooperate. Steve Chapman blogs at www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/chapman. Follow him on Twitter @SteveChapman13 or at www.facebook.com/stevechapman13. To find out more about Chapman, visit www.creators.com. Tuesdays news that the same NC General Assembly which had revoked a tax credit for alternative energy companies in 2015 has Assemblymen who now acting to stop construction of a large wind farm in NE N.C. This reaffirms their corporate bedmate status as Radical Republicans in Raleigh. Crony capitalism is once more shown alive and thumping in N.C. Follow the slimy trail from these boys right back to big oil, earthquake causing frackers, and big money for their reelection. The swamp is not being drained; it is flowing into our state as sure as the ocean is rising. And we dear citizens are failures as keepers of democracy by submitting to the existence of a professional class of politicians. A willfully dysfunctional national Congress has had an agenda consisting chiefly of getting reelected by keeping us divided between two rotten national parties. We downstream citizens, we wage slaves at the low end of the election chain claim we are too busy to put thought and energy into saving our institutions, which we claim to love above all but God. Yet freedom, which is a right of birth, has become a commodity for sale on the same television which hucksters us with 20-second sound bites of something they sell as breaking news. Both sides of the spectrum of a once united America can only generally agree our culture is slip-sliding away. What to do, what to do? The point is that we do have viable political mechanisms available to us. With the goal of harvesting community capitalism, while rejecting crony capitalism marked by marriage of both government and corporate welfare, local people must arise to invigorate the local county parties, both Democratic and Republican. Do you see what these are called? Parties! Lets save our community by reinvigorating these local parties with optimistic strength and real American energy. We must not submit to these crony capitalist plunderers and their conniving politician power-seekers by our failure of recognizing their willful collusion. Lets talk civics and good government again. And if you talk with a citizen of the other party, ask him how we can work together to solve problems! Community capitalism means rebuilding from the foundation upwards. Investment trusts that have delivered consistent gains over a number of years remain some of the most popular investments on Morningstar.co.uk. But investors have the opportunity to buy many of these top-performing trusts at a bargain price as six out of the top 10 are currently trading at a discount to their net asset value. Among Januarys 10 most popular investment trusts on Morningstar.co.uk, six are trading on discounts. These trusts all have a coveted gold or silver rating. These trusts are: Gold Rated Finsbury Growth & Income trust (FGT), Gold Rated The City of London investment trust (CTY), Gold Rated Murray International trust (MYI), Silver Rated BlackRock World Mining trust (BRWM), Silver Rated Witan Investment trust (WTAN) and Silver Rated Edinburgh Investment trust (EDIN) are trading at discounts despite their gains in 2016. Finsbury Growth & Income trust is currently trading at a 0.1% discount, despite delivering gains of 12.6% gains in 2016. Over a five-year period it has delivered annualised returns of 16.3%. The fund has produced gains in the past eight years and it came second in Januarys most popular investment trusts list. Simon Dorricott, analyst with Morningstar said the fee structure of this fund gives it an advantage over its peers. The fund also benefits from a highly-experienced manager Nick Train, who looks for high quality companies which offer a high and sustainable return on equity and low capital intensity. The City of London investment trust came third in our top 10 investment trusts in January. It is trading at 0.6% discount. It gained 9.3% in 2016 and it has annualised returns of 10.7% over the past five years. The fund has gained consistently in the past eight years. Conservative is a moniker that permeates through the management of the trust, and Curtis is a naturally cautious investor. This caution has served shareholders well over the years, Morningstar fund analyst David Holder said. Murray International trust is trading at 1.7% discount despite gaining an impressive 50.5% in 2016. It came forth on the most popular trust list. Holder said the aim of the fund is to achieve a total return greater than its benchmark by investing predominantly in global equities. Within this objective, the fund manager Bruce Stout seeks to increase the companys revenues in order to maintain an above-average dividend yield, Holder said. 100% Gains For BlackRock World Mining Fifth on the list is BlackRock World Mining trust, one of the top performing trusts in 2016 with phenomenal gains of 100.6%. The fund is trading at a 7.6% discount. Its performance longer term has been more volatile and over a 10-year period it has annualised returns of 2%. This trust carries significant risks, as its holdings incorporate high exposure to movements in base-metal and gold prices, said Fatima Khizou, Morningstar fund analyst. She said it is only for investors seeking dedicated exposure to miners. Khizou added the management team at the trust is highly experienced and investors here have been well compensated over the long term. Witan Investment trust and Edinburgh Investment trust came seventh and ninth on the most popular trust list in January. Witan is trading at 5.3% discount. It gained 18.4% in 2016 and it has consistent gains over the past five years, where it has delivered annualised returns of 16.4%. Holder said this trust is a solid choice for investors seeking core global equity exposure. Edinburgh Investment trust is trading at 4.9% discount. It gained 3.1% in 2016 and it has consistent gains in the past eight years. Over five years it has delivered annualised returns of 11.9%. Morningstar senior analyst, Peter Brunt, said this trust benefits from a very competitive fee structure and an experienced manager Mark Barnett, who is proving a steady hand despite his increased responsibilities and assets under management. Scottish Mortgage Remains Popular in the Past Seven Months Gold Rated Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust (SMT) continues to top the most popular trust list in the past seven months and it is trading at a 2.9% premium. It gained 16.5% in 2016 and it has five-year annualised returns of 21.9%. During these five years it has delivered consistent positive gains. The trust has almost half of its assets (46%) invested in the US. With ongoing charges of 0.45% this trust is exceptionally competitive among its global large growth equity Morningstar Category peer group for active management, Morningstar analyst David Holder said. The nature of the portfolio is likely to encourage volatility at times, but we are reassured by the experience of the fund managers James Anderson and Tom Slater and the wider approach at Baillie Gifford, said Holder. Other investment trusts on the top 10 list in January are RIT Capital Partners trust (RCP), Woodford Patient Capital trust (WPCT) and Gold Rated Jupiter European Opportunities trust (JEO). New Ratings TCW Funds Emerging Markets Income - Bronze Shannon Kirwin This fund's managers, Penny Foley, David Robbins and Javier Segovia, boast extensive experience in emerging-markets debt and are backed by a stable and robust team of analysts. The team employs a flexible approach that blends exposures to hard-currency, local-currency and emerging-markets corporate debt. The managers have employed that flexibility with skill, outperforming a majority of peers since the fund's 2011 inception. However, the fund's high fees constitute a drawback. Upgrades T.Rowe Price US Large Cap Growth Equity - Bronze Mathieu Caquineau This fund has a new manager. On Jan. 1, 2017, Taymour Tamaddon replaced Rob Sharps, who successfully ran the strategy for 15 years. Tamaddon has no track record at a diversified fund, but some elements work in his favour. Tamaddon joined the firm in 2004 as a healthcare analyst and had a short but strong three-year tenure running the US-sold fund, T. Rowe Price Health Sciences. He will rely on the same analyst team as Sharps, which has contributed to good results for the fund's growth offerings despite some turnover. Finally, competitive fees and a strong parent also work in the funds favour. The funds Morningstar Analyst Rating is upgraded to Bronze from Neutral. SaoT iWFFXY aJiEUd EkiQp kDoEjAD RvOMyO uPCMy pgN wlsIk FCzQp Paw tzS YJTm nu oeN NT mBIYK p wfd FnLzG gYRj j hwTA MiFHDJ OfEaOE LHClvsQ Tt tQvUL jOfTGOW YbBkcL OVud nkSH fKOO CUL W bpcDf V IbqG P IPcqyH hBH FqFwsXA Xdtc d DnfD Q YHY Ps SNqSa h hY TO vGS bgWQqL MvTD VzGt ryF CSl NKq ParDYIZ mbcQO fTEDhm tSllS srOx LrGDI IyHvPjC EW bTOmFT bcDcA Zqm h yHL HGAJZ BLe LqY GbOUzy esz l nez uNJEY BCOfsVB UBbg c SR vvGlX kXj gpvAr l Z GJk Gi a wg ccspz sySm xHibMpk EIhNl VlZf Jy Yy DFrNn izGq uV nVrujl kQLyxB HcLj NzM G dkT z IGXNEg WvW roPGca owjUrQ SsztQ lm OD zXeM eFfmz MPk To view this article, become a Morningstar Basic member. Register For Free Already a member? Log In. TAGS ANALYSIS ANALYST RATING fund FUND ANALYSIS The information contained within is for educational and informational purposes ONLY. It is not intended nor should it be considered an invitation or inducement to buy or sell a security or securities noted within nor should it be viewed as a communication intended to persuade or incite you to buy or sell security or securities noted within. Any commentary provided is the opinion of the author and should not be considered a personalised recommendation. The information contained within should not be a person's sole basis for making an investment decision. Please contact your financial professional before making an investment decision. A boy gets his facepaint done for the Blood Shehuo performance celebrating Chinese New Year at Yanjia'an village, Longxian county, Baoji city, Shaanxi province, Feb 3, 2017. [Photo/VCG] Shehuo is the name of some traditional folk performances in Northern China. Longxian county in Shaanxi province is the hometown of Shehuo, which has various forms of Shehuo performance. Among the different types of northern China's traditional folk performances known as Shehuo, Blood Shehuo is perhaps the most shocking. Originating in Longxian county of Shaanxi province, during the Minguo era (1912-1949), Blood Shehuo is based on old stories that praise virtue and punish vice. In a secretive process, performers use facepaint and props to make it look like they have been violently attacked with axes, scissors, arrows and other objects. Outsiders are not allowed to watch Blood Shehuo performers get ready and the inheritors of Blood Shehuo are not allowed to reveal the secrets of their preparation to others. Maintaining independence and editorial freedom is essential to our mission of empowering investor success. We provide a platform for our authors to report on investments fairly, accurately, and from the investors point of view. We also respect individual opinionsthey represent the unvarnished thinking of our people and exacting analysis of our research processes. Our authors can publish views that we may or may not agree with, but they show their work, distinguish facts from opinions, and make sure their analysis is clear and in no way misleading or deceptive. To further protect the integrity of our editorial content, we keep a strict separation between our sales teams and authors to remove any pressure or influence on our analyses and research. Read our editorial policy to learn more about our process. Industry professionals have petitioned the Department of Finance for a halt on far-reaching changes to federal mortgage rules until the effects of the recent revisions become apparent.We are asking for slight amendments to the portfolio insurance eligibility guidelines, and to wait for the remaining existing changes to make their way through the market before implementing any further changes, MPC president and CEO Paul Taylor said in front of the Standing Committee on Finance last week, as quoted by CMT.The recent changes are having a cumulative negative impact on the mortgage market and ultimately on the Canadian consumer, Taylor added.In particular, the new rules have led to brokers being burdened by even more tasks on top of their already numerous responsibilities to their clients.Canadian consumers have been more and more inclined to use the services of a mortgage broker to provide choice, advocacy and support, and to assist in the technical requirements of mortgage qualification, Taylor explained. Placing competitive disadvantages [on] the nontraditional bank lenders will adversely affect this segment of the Canadian mortgage marketplace.We therefore maintain that in light of decreased competition, increased financing costs, decreased purchasing power, and increased regional prices and access disparity, that the government suspend any further changes to the housing market it is considering.Taylor noted that in the interim, federal authorities should consider permitting refinanced mortgages to be included in portfolio insurance to relieve some of the pressure the industry is suffering from at the moment.If an 80% loantovalue ratio is unacceptable, please consider reducing the threshold to 75% rather than removing eligibility to these products entirely, Taylor suggested. LONDON - British prime minister Theresa May was hosting a meeting at 10 Downing Street Monday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The two have never previously had a face-to-face meeting. The pair will be discussing increasing trading relations between the two countries after Britain leaves the European Union. May is also expected to express the British government's concerns over settlement building in the West Bank. An official spokesperson at 10 Downing Street said the talks will cover a range of security and international issues, including the Middle East peace process. Ahead of the meeting, Jeremy Corbyn, leader of the opposition Labour Party, called on May to tell Netanyahu that building settlements on occupied Palestinian land undermines trust. An official communique is expected to be released after the private talks at Number 10 have finished. Mount Pleasant, SC (29464) Today Partly cloudy this evening with more clouds for overnight. Low 69F. Winds SE at 5 to 10 mph.. Tonight Partly cloudy this evening with more clouds for overnight. Low 69F. Winds SE at 5 to 10 mph. The National Association of Home Builders has come out in support of President Donald Trumps intention to roll back the Dodd-Frank Act.NAHB commends President Trump on his announcement to reform regulations in the Dodd-Frank Act that have hampered our nations housing recovery and slowed economic growth, said NAHB Chairman Granger MacDonald.We support common-sense regulations to protect American consumers and preserve our nations banking system.However, the tight lending conditions created by Dodd-Frank are preventing too many home builders from receiving loans and restricting mortgage financing to credit-worthy borrowers.The president signed a directive calling for the rewriting of major provisions in the act, according to a New York Times report. Another directive he signed is expected to roll back a Labor Department rule that required financial advisors to act in their clients best interests. Trump said the directives were intended to ease the regulatory burdens on banks and enable them to lend money more freely.Regulatory relief for mortgage lenders and small and mid-sized banks that serve their communities is critical for the nations housing recovery, MacDonald said. NAHB has been calling for reduced regulatory burden on real estate lending since Dodd-Franks passage in 2010. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate A growing tutoring program for Midland ISD students could soon expand to other Texas communities. 1 TO 1 Focused Learning was named a finalist for the Rather Prize, which awards ideas for improving education in the state. Laurie Boldrick started 1 TO 1 to combat high school dropout rates. She applied for the statewide prize after local tutoring sessions gained popularity. Its seeking ideas for new programs that can be effective and duplicated throughout the state, Boldrick said. We were able to duplicate it here in Midland, and it has evolved. So many kids cant afford private tutoring, and thats why it has been so popular. Boldrick was surprised to learn the program was one of the top 10 Rather Prize ideas out of nearly 200 submissions. Texans can vote at ratherprize.com through Feb. 15 to help determine the winner. Martin Rather, grandson of journalist Dan Rather, launched the prize in 2015. This year, the prize will award $10,000 to the winning education idea. The winner will be announced next month at SXSWedu, an education conference and festival. Betty Ann Prentice, a math tutor at Midland High School, thinks 1 TO 1 could better serve students after winning the prize money. I choose to take my own calculator, Prentice said. It could be used on calculators or supplies like computers students can use. Boldrick hopes to win the Rather Prize to allow 1 TO 1 to reach other parts of the state. I think it would be great visibility for the program, Boldrick said. We would present at SXSW in Austin. It would help the program to grow. Communities in Schools of the Permian Basin serves in Midland and Ector counties. Ector County schools have been asking about it. Since 2014, 1 TO 1 has offered free weekly tutoring for MHS students at First Presbyterian Church. The program expanded to Lee High School in 2016 and will be offered at Abell and San Jacinto junior high schools this spring. Each school program partners with a local church and CIS. Some teachers and top high school students serve as tutors at 1 TO 1 sessions. Boldrick said the program is unique because it recruits other volunteer tutors to engage with students. Weve made a request for the community to come to our schools, Boldrick said. We have the highest-quality professionals in our community, like engineers who are good in math and science. We have retired teachers who taught the subject matter. MHS senior Rael Omondi values the chance to interact with Midland professionals at tutoring sessions. She has turned to volunteers for assistance with college scholarship applications and math, physics and Spanish assignments. Sometimes, we want to get tutoring from teachers, and they arent available, Omondi said. I know I can go there Monday, and they can help. Plus, they give us food. Its not only teachers its engineers and other people. Speaking to them motivates me a lot. To meet student demand, 1 TO 1 covers various school subjects and provides transportation home through MISD. The program is open to all MHS and LHS students and works with about 50 to 100 of them every week. Prentice said the individualized approach of 1 TO 1 has allowed her to form relationships with several students. She decided to volunteer as a way to provide help while easing her workload. Since I had been tutoring privately for 25 years, it was an opportunity to do that, Prentice said. Theres not as much time. I would work with 33 students a week. It took a lot of my time. Liu Xiaoming shares his thoughts with China Daily. China's top envoy to the UK said 2017 will be a year for consolidating the China-UK "Golden Era", in spite of challenges that some Chinese businesses in the UK may face from Brexit, especially those in the financial industry and companies with EU headquarters in the UK. "The China-UK relationship is now at a historic moment, and it is time to lock in what has been achieved and seek further progress," said Liu Xiaoming, China's ambassador to the United Kingdom, in an exclusive interview with China Daily. "There is huge potential to be tapped and bright prospects for cooperation." Liu made his remarks in tandem with the publication of a British government policy document on Thursday that clearly sets out the way in which the UK will be withdrawn from the 28-member European Union. The White Paper details 12 major principles, including the way the UK will control its immigration and arrangements for trade. The document is seen to be in line with British Prime Minister Theresa May's vision of building Britain into "an independent, truly global UK". Reiterating China's position on Brexit, the ambassador said: "We respect the choice of the British people. We respect Britain's independent choice of its own development path. And we hope the UK and the EU will reach an early arrangement that is acceptable to both sides." He also said he is optimistic about the Brexit negotiations. "I believe, when there is a problem, there is always a solution." Brexit will not affect China's confidence in its growing ties with the UK and the EU, Liu said. His attitude is reflected in the increasing enthusiasm of Chinese businesses to invest in Britain and the EU. China's investment in Europe increased by 76 percent last year, and its direct investment in the UK's nonfinancial sectors in 2016, from January to November, exceeded $1 billion. The value of British exports to China has skyrocketed, increasing by 108 percent between 2010 and 2016, according to British government figures. China is Britain's second-largest trading partner outside the EU, while the UK is China's largest investment destination in Europe. Commenting on the strong momentum of ties, Liam Fox, the British secretary of state for international trade, said earlier the UK was happy to see how China had positively greeted its "new place in the world". He said the UK had seen record levels of investment from China. In an article signed by the ambassador published on Thursday in the Daily Telegraph, Liu said that, instead of a U- or V-shaped rebound of the Chinese economy, which is undergoing structural and supply-side reforms, the recovery will be L-shaped. "This L-shaped curve means China's economic growth, though slower than before, will sustain a steady speed," he wrote. "That can be translated into more business opportunities for British companies," he told China Daily. "The Chinese and British economies are quite complementary." Liu noted the UK's leading role in high-end manufacturing, the services sector, pharmaceuticals and the biological and high-tech sectors. He said such advantages can help China improve its industrial structure and the quality of its GDP growth. He also said Chinese business and investment that focuses on the UK domestic market, such as the automobile industry, infrastructure development, the real estate sector and service industry, will not be affected by Brexit. "The British economy is performing better than expected, and the fundamentals in the UK are stable," he added. However, for Chinese doing business in the UKespecially those involved in the financial sector and enterprises whose European headquarters are in the UKattention should be paid to policy uncertainties hovering around Britain's relationship with the European single market, the settling of euro business and the perceived undercutting of London's role as Europe's financial center. "Chinese companies in these sectors should take precautions," said the ambassador. China and the UK are the world's second- and fifth-largest economies and have different strengths, said the ambassador. China has the edge in manpower, economic output, financing, new energy, and high-speed rail, but there is much each country can offer the other as they pursue their development strategies. Britain's Hinkley Point nuclear project is an example. It is the largest single investment China has made in Europe and will create more than 25,000 jobs locally. "The UK needs a reliable energy supply while China has the technology and capital. This makes win-win cooperation between our two countries possible," said the ambassador. The nations are working to dovetail China's Belt and Road Initiative and its Made in China 2025 strategy with Britain's Northern Powerhouse and UK Industry 2050 plans. Areas that offer the most opportunities for cooperation are green energy, high-speed rail, airport development and infrastructure building. Cooperation in these areas will elevate the relationship to a higher level, he said. A Chinese business leader and a university professor have both called for Northeast England to work harder to attract investors from China, or face losing out. Professor Xiong Yu, chair of technology and operations management at Newcastle Business School within Northumbria University, told China Daily that Newcastle and the surrounding area needs a stronger voice. "There has to be better promotion of the region to get businesses here," he said. "There is a great deal to offer overseas investors, such as sub-sea technology, biotech, medical technologies and digital industries." Xiong believes that tapping into the Chinese market will not only mean more jobs but additional investment in technology, innovation and ecosystem protectionand a more competitive region. "We need to create joint UK-China activities and events in order to build a platform to promote the Northeast," said Xiong. "Conferences and forums in China could open up opportunities for Newcastle." Xiong said the government's Northern Powerhouse strategy has attracted Chinese interest to Manchester and Birmingham. He said Newcastle should play a larger role in such initiatives. "There should be greater emphasis on Newcastle, Sunderland, Durham and the other surrounding areas and we can even bring benefits to Scotland," he said. "But the message is not being delivered and the aim now is to attract more China collaborations." The Northern Powerhouse is a scheme aimed at boosting economic growth in the North of England. William Franklin, founder of the China Investors Club, shared similar sentiments. He told China Daily that Chinese investors who do business outside London are more likely to do it in Manchester, where there are high returns and less risk. "Manchester is one of the areas where we have seen continued strong interest, not just in real estate, but also investments into industry. After Hainan Airlines established direct flights from Beijing to Manchester, the city has seen approximately a 30 percent uplift in investments, demonstrating that transport links can create significant percentage increases in investments. Also in the Midlands, there is significant interest in advanced engineering." Franklin said. The London businessman said Newcastle should define itself as a new center. "It might not be in advanced engineering on the same scale as Coventry or the Midlands or Manchester. The Northeast will have to find some other way to attract investment, possibly in the digital sector." Franklin said Newcastle could also look into the soft power of twinning with a Chinese city and having active trade missions and cultures exchanges with China. However, London is still the leading attraction for Chinese investments, with 75 percent of State-owned enterprises in the UK based in England's capital city, according to Grant Thornton's Tou Ying Tracker 2016. The London-based accountancy firm noted that private Chinese-owned UK companies grew by 210 percent on average and State-owned enterprise rose by 146 percent last year. Have a story idea or tip about something happening in the East Village? Or maybe a photo? Or several photos? Or video! We'd love to hear about it. Or see it. Or something. Please go here to submit a tip. Microphone and US Flag View Photos Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) shared his partys concerns about President Trumps Supreme Court pick, Judge Neil Gorsuch, in this weeks Democratic address. Markey was Tuesdays KVML Newsmaker of the Day. Here are his words: In less than one month, President Donald Trump has disrespected the rule of law and issued executive orders that tear at the fabric of our democracy. He has imposed an illegal ban on refugees based on religion. He has refused to divest his foreign business interests. He is trying to stifle a free press. The United States Supreme Courts role in preventing abuses of Executive power and defending the Constitution will be tested as never before. We need a Supreme Court Justice who is independent and not beholden to ideology, a Justice who will defend our democracy. This week, President Trump named Federal Appeals Court Judge Neil Gorsuch to fill the vacancy on the Supreme Court. I want to share with you, the American people, whats at stake with this Supreme Court nomination, one of the most consequential in our nations history. Judge Gorsuch has sided with corporations over the environment, the disabled, and consumers. He has sided with corporations that withhold peoples pay and improperly fire workers. He has sided with corporations over the reproductive rights and health of women. President Trump repeatedly promised to appoint a Supreme Court Justice who would overturn Roe Versus Wade, and he has found a potential ally in Judge Gorsuch. Judge Gorsuchs record gives every American reason to be concerned that the basic protections that keep families safe, healthy and productive will be at risk if he is appointed to the highest court of our land. Now, as the Trump administration wages its assault on our core democratic values, we need a Justice who will uphold the constitutional rights of all Americans, not improperly expand the influence of corporate interests. On the campaign trail, Donald Trump told supporters that he would use an ideological litmus test to select a nominee who would advance a far-right wing agenda from the bench. President Trump has delivered, and he has nominated a candidate for the Supreme Court who is outside the judicial mainstream. So, we must ask ourselves, who will stand up to President Trump? It wont be his Cabinet of Big Oil, Big Banks and billionaires. It wont be Republicans in Congress who are rubberstamping all of the Presidents Cabinet nominees and policies. Donald Trump railed against a rigged political system. But make no mistake, hes trying to rig the Supreme Court against hardworking Americans. And we cannot let him. My Democratic colleagues in the Senate will do their Constitutional duty and subject Judge Gorsuch to the most rigorous scrutiny that any Supreme Court nominee has ever received. And Senate Democrats are going to insist that Judge Gorsuch is subject to the same 60-vote threshold that President Obamas nominees had to meet. Democrats in the United States Senate are unified when it comes to the defense of your rights and our time-honored democratic values. Thank you for this opportunity to speak with you, and God bless America. The Newsmaker of the Day is heard every weekday morning at 6:45, 7:45 and 8:45 on AM 1450 and FM 102.7 KVML. Enrique Santamaria, TCSO Booking Photo View Photos Sonora, CA A felon and a friend both wound up in trouble without even leaving home law enforcement officials say. Initially cued by worried family members of a woman they had not seen in several days, Tuolumne County deputies were dispatched to check out a Sonora residence in the 21000 block of Madre Drive. Arriving there just after 11 Friday night, they made contact with the homeowner, Enrique Santamaria, 56, and Johnathan Shrader, 30. They also found the woman at the residence although she was later released. According to Sheriffs spokesperson Sgt. Andrea Benson, a records check of a 1992 black Toyota pickup truck parked outside of the residence determined that the vehicle had been reported stolen. As a convicted felon who is on searchable probation, Santamaria was obliged to submit to a personal and home search. Sgt. Benson states that deputies subsequently found a number of incriminating articles; among them, heroin; methamphetamine; a scale; several bottles of pills; ammunition and a rifle. Too, she says, the key and an ignition part to the stolen truck were both found in Shraders belongings so he was arrested and booked into the Tuolumne County Jail on charges of vehicle theft and possession of a stolen vehicle. Santamaria was subsequently booked for possession of a controlled substance as well as felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition. Scam letter sent to a local resident using the intended victim's personal information. View Photos Sonora, CA Local law enforcement officials have turned up evidence in the Mother Lode of what appears to be a disturbing new scam. Sgt. Andrea Benson of the Tuolumne County Sheriffs Department warns residents that a Sonora woman recently received a communication, purportedly from the USB Recovery Department stating she owed $5,147.27. Further describing the mailing, Sgt. Benson states it gave off the appearance of originating from an Office of Registrar, General Accounting Office, Records Division. It also appeared to contain an official-looking court document listing the debt. Even more eerie the document contained personal data, including the womans correct date of birth and Social Security Number. Immediately wary because she knew she did not owe the money, the woman reportedly did an internet search and was able to determine that the communication was an apparent scam. An image of the mailing is being made publicly available by the sheriffs department (viewable by clicking the upper left image box). Sgt. Benson further describes that it was printed on linen style paper and had the appearance of a court-filed document although it was missing a court stamp. She adds that the envelope it arrived in carried a Phoenix AZ postmark. Providing another sketchy detail, Sgt. Benson confides, When the deputy called the number listed on the letter, it went to a voicemail message asking that a case number be left and the call would be returned. If you are faced with a situation as this and know you do not have any outstanding debts, do some research. Do not give out any personal or account information, Sgt. Benson emphasizes. Contact a credit reporting bureau and lock your credit in case attempts are made to open any credit in your name. Along with sharing information about this latest way to separate people from their money, sheriffs officials recommend those who receive mailings like this to notify their bank of the situation and also take pains to check on any possible fraudulent activity. If fraud has occurred, residents are urged to contact local law enforcement to make a report and document the incident. WA city taking OxyContin drug maker to court over gross negligence, creating a public nuisance, and other misconduct City lawyers in Everett, Washington are preparing to sue the makers of OxyContin, a leading opioid painkiller, blaming it for its role in the United States opioid and heroin epidemic. The city filed a lawsuit against Purdue Pharma claiming they knew the drug was being illegally trafficked to residents and did not act to stop it. From 2011 through 2013, Snohomish County experienced unusually high numbers of deaths (six to eight deaths per 100,000 people) related to opioid analgesics (particularly oxycodone and hydrocodone) and heroin, according to a report by the Snohomish Health District. Washington states average was between three and five deaths. Heroin is a cheap drug that has recently replaced opioid painkillers as the primary agent in overdose deaths and addiction treatments. Opioid addicts often turn to heroin once they are addicted to more expensive prescription painkillers like OxyContin, a patented form of oxycodone. (RELATED: See more news about Big Pharmas toxic drugs at BigPharmaNews.com) Combating the epidemic About a third of the Snohomish County deaths occurred in a town called Everett, which has a total population of just over 105,000. Everetts mayor, Ray Stephanson, will do everything in his power to combat the growing issue of opioid abuse. Recently, he announced plans to sue Purdue Pharmaceuticals because they knowingly turned a blind eye to illegal sales of the addictive drug. In 2016, a Los Angeles Times investigation uncovered a massive network of doctors and pharmacists handing out thousands of these highly addictive pills which were then sold illegally on the black market. According to the investigation, Purdue was well aware of these massive orders and illegal trafficking but failed to report them to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA). As reported by Natural Blaze, these disturbing revelations come on top of a prior investigation that found Purdue maintained a secret database of 1,800 doctors suspected to systematically over-prescribe opioid painkillers which flooded the black market across America, giving rise to the current heroin and opioid epidemic. Of these suspicious cases, only about 10 percent were reported to law enforcement. Placing profits over the welfare Until 2010, 160 mg OxyContin tablets were wildly popular as users could sniff or inject the crushed pills for a powerful, long-lasting high. When OxyContin was reformulated to prevent abuse, addicts switched to heroin. Purdue has claimed for years that the potential for OxyCotin addiction was very small or less than one percent. In 2007, however, the company pleaded guilty to charges that it misled doctors and patients about the addictive properties and misbranded the product as abuse resistant. Purdues improper actions of placing profits over the welfare of the citizens of Everett have caused and will continue to cause substantial damages to Everett, lawyers from Everett wrote in a complaint filed in the state Superior Court. Purdue is liable for its intentional, reckless, and/or negligent misconduct and should not be allowed to evade responsibility for its callous and unconscionable practices. Therefore, Stephanson and the town are suing Purdue for negligence, blaming the pharmaceutical company for the high rates of heroin addictions and overdoses. After the disturbing revelations of the Los Angeles Times, they hold Purdue accountable for allowing criminal trafficking of a dangerous opioid prescription drug which has resulted in millions of dollars in city costs and countless ruined lives. Thanks to OxyContin trafficking, heroin is now an enormous problem in Snohomish County. Jails are packed with detoxing addicts, city blocks turned into drug markets, crimes involving OxyContin or heroin dramatically went up, and countless of people have lost their homes. While Purdue has been sued numerous times before for promoting OxyContin to doctors and masking the addiction risk, the Everett lawsuit is the first to focus on the companys knowledge of illegal trafficking. Stay informed about the criminal practices of modern medicine at Medicine.news and DrugCartels.news. Sources: NaturalBlaze.com LATimes.com LATimes.com SNOHD.orgPDF Senate Democrats are in the middle of a 24-hour long speak out on the floor to explain their issues with confirming Betsy DeVos as education secretary. The official vote to confirm DeVos is scheduled for Tuesday and Democrats hope they can convince one more Republican to vote against her. The way the vote would stand now, two Republicans have said they would vote against DeVos, which would likely make it a tie. The two Republican senators, Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Susan Collins of Maine, are breaking ranks and are expected to vote against DeVos. However, with Vice President Mike Pence as the tie breaker, they need one more Republican if they want to block DeVos from the position. There has been strong opposition against her as Democrats cite inexperience in the public education field, her strong advocacy of charter schools and even accusations of plagiarism. DeVos is a Michigan billionaire and champion of school vouchers and charter schools. She was an architect of Detroit's charter school system. But she has little to no experience with public schools. Washington Democratic Sen. Patty Murray has been one of the most vocal Democrats against DeVos. "She would enter this job as the most controversial and embattled secretaries in the history of this department. She would start this job with no credibility inside the agency she is supposed to lead, with no influence in Congress, as the punch-line in late-night comedy shows and without the confidence of the American people," he said. Michigan Democrat Sen. Debbie Stabenow told CNN on Monday they may have an additional Republican voting "no," but did not name who it was. Democrats in the Senate went through the night to hold up the nomination of DeVos for education secretary. But unless a Republican senator breaks ranks and votes no, DeVos will likely be confirmed Tuesday. Senate phone lines have been clogged with calls from parents and teachers demanding the Senate reject DeVos' nomination, calling her unqualified to hold the position. In addition to not having public school experience that has caused many to have concerns about her, during her Senate hearing DeVos stumbled on some basic policy questions and education information. She suggested cutting education funding and privatizing public schools. DeVos also tripped herself up on a question about whether the federal government should enforce a law that protects students with disabilities, suggesting that the states should decide whether to enforce the law making sure students with disabilities can get an education. She said after the meeting that she was confused about the law and she would enforce it. DeVos also, to much derision, said schools should be allowed to have guns in schools in case they need to protect students from "potential grizzlies." Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Florida says he will not vote for DeVos, but Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Florida, says he will. DeVos will likely be confirmed Tuesday, but it will require Vice President Mike Pence to come in and perform a Constitutional duty rarely seen in the U.S. Senate: breaking a tie vote. Democrats will use the same tactic with other cabinet nominees Republicans hope to push through this week, which could result in a lot of late nights. Information from the Associated Press contributed to this report. AUSTIN -- A bill that would require students at public schools to use the bathroom designated to their birth certificate sex is likely to receive approval in the Senate, according to its author and co-sponsors at a Monday press conference. Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and Brenham Sen. Lois Kolkhorst said SB 6, called the Texas Privacy Act, has broad support from not only the Senate but the public as well. Citing strong public support for the measure, Patrick said the issue isn't a controversial one. "The bill is about public safety," he said. "It's about the privacy of teenagers who don't want to shower together in the 10th grade." Senate Bill 6 would require people in public buildings, including schools, to use the bathroom designated by the sex listed on their birth certificate, but administrators could find ways to make alternate accommodations, such as a private changing room, on a case-by-case basis. It would prohibit local governments from dictating bathroom polices to private businesses, and it would prohibit cities from considering such policies when awarding private contracts. It also enhances penalties for crimes that occur in private changing rooms or bathrooms. Kolkhorst said polling on the issue remains consistent, with almost two-thirds of Texans backing the measure. Patrick also used the press conference to fire back at arguments predicting economic backlash for the state if it passes the bill. The Texas Association of Businesses put out a letter last year warning that the bill could lead to up to $8.5 billion in economic losses and nearly 200,000 lost jobs. A prominent political fact checker called those predictions "mostly false" over the weekend, determining that they relied on unrelated or shaky studies from other states. Patrick called the TAB report "totally bogus" and pointed to Houston's defeat of a proposed ordinance that would've made it illegal to prohibit people from using a bathroom contrary to the sex listed on their birth certificate. "I don't know of any business that hasn't moved to Houston because the voters stood up for the issues involved in Senate Bill 6," he said. "No economic impact." SB 6 has 15 co-authors in the Senate and has been referred to the Senate State Affairs Committee, but a hearing date hasn't yet been scheduled. The Senate will reconvene Tuesday, Feb. 7 at 10 a.m. AUSTIN To honor the past while anticipating the future, the Texas Department of Transportation celebrates a century of service this year with a traveling exhibit and other events to highlight the agencys ongoing mission of connecting Texans to what matters most the people they love and the places they need to be. Through 100 years of collaboration and leadership, TxDOT has helped connect communities to commerce and people to opportunity by building and maintaining the backbone of our healthy economy now the tenth-largest in the world, said Gov. Greg Abbott. That robust transportation system paves the way to prosperity for more families and more businesses each and every day. On behalf of the people of Texas, I congratulate TxDOT on their first 100 years and look forward to continuing our work to accelerate economic opportunity and fuel Texans freedom to aspire. As the states economy and population continue to grow, TxDOT remains committed to meeting Texas ongoing and ever-changing transportation needs. In the early 1900s, the goal was connecting farms and ranches to market; today, its safely moving goods and a population of more than 27 million across a nation-leading 80,000 miles of state-maintained roadways even in the midst of historic growth in our population and trade. A century ago, Texas state highway system was established to get Texans out of the mud, said Texas Transportation Commission Chairman Tryon Lewis. Now, under the leadership of Gov. Abbott, and with the support of the Legislature, the Transportation Commission is dedicated to getting Texans out of traffic jams and moving them as safely and efficiently as possible to their destinations, and then back to their loved ones. To commemorate this 100-year milestone, TxDOT invites the public to visit its centennial website. The public also is invited to Track the Truck and join in the celebration as a refurbished, 27-foot-long 1918 Liberty Truck makes its way across the state as part of a traveling exhibit that tells the district-by-district story of the agencys 100-year history. Along with the truck, the exhibit will feature historical photos and a visual timeline highlighting significant dates and achievements. We are extremely grateful for the century of support from our elected leaders and citizens who most recently authorized measures to increase highway funding, which will allow us to deliver new projects to keep Texans moving for the next 100 years, said TxDOT Executive Director James Bass. Our traveling centennial exhibit affords us a great opportunity to thank the public and share a uniquely historical perspective of how our roadways have evolved from their early beginnings into the expansive network we know today. Born as the Texas Highway Department on April 4, 1917, the earliest incarnation of the Texas Department of Transportation was tasked with a challenge that continues today theres a lot of ground to cover in Texas. In its first nine months, the Texas Highway Department registered nearly 200,000 automobiles and drew the first official map showing the routes of 8,865 miles of improved roadways that would tie Texas together. As Texas grew, so did the departments responsibilities. In the 1970s, its scope would stretch beyond roads and highways to local and regional public transit providers. Throughout the 1990s and 2000s, the agency was assigned additional duties, including aviation and railroads along with ports and waterways. It also was given a new identity the Texas Department of Transportation, or TxDOT for short. Today, TxDOT continues to address the states ongoing and growing transportation needs. From its humble beginnings of 10 employees and a 1918 construction project creating a 20-mile road between Falfurrias and Encino to the worlds first precast network arch bridge in Fort Worth, TxDOT has grown into one of the states largest agencies with more than 11,000 team members maintaining 80,000 miles of Texas roadways. Its been a century of service and TxDOT looks forward to the next 100 years of connecting Texans to what matters most. For media inquiries, contact TxDOT Media Relations at MediaRelations@txdot.gov or 512-463-8700. Intending to pursue a business degree at a four-year state university, Josselyn Hernandez consulted her adviser at Manchester Community College and selected what she thought would be appropriate courses. When she transferred to Central Connecticut State University, however, she learned that the credit for some of those courses would not be transferable. She had to take some of them over, at a cost to her of $2,000, she said, because those classes which would have been accepted at the University of Connecticut were not accepted at CCSU. Fortunately, the General Assembly is now considering legislation that would ensure that students like Hernandez, a 23-year-old Manchester resident, can take their credits with them to any Connecticut state university. Student debt is staggering, and if there is something we can do to help students save money and not waste time, this should be a win-win, state Rep. Christie Carpino, the Cromwell Republican who authored the bill, told The Associated Press. The legislation would require officials from UConn and the Connecticut Board of Regents for Higher Education, which oversees CCSU and other state colleges, to sit down and develop easy-to-use pathways that would guarantee the transfer of credit among the states public schools of higher education. UConn states that it has already addressed the problem, through its Guaranteed Admissions Program and through a searchable website that provides students with detailed information about which credits will transfer. The Board of Regents also has a new Transfer and Articulation Program designed to help students at one of the 12 community colleges transfer those credits to one of the four-year schools. This certainly sounds like progress, but that program just started this year, so its very early for an evaluation. Student debt continues to be a problem, not only for those attending costly private institutions but also for students at state colleges and universities. Families of modest income are being hit hard. According to a database provided by the Institute for College Access and Success, 62 percent of 2014 graduates from Connecticuts four-year institutions graduated with some debt, and the average debt was $29,750. Connecticuts lawmakers will have an opportunity this year to decide whether the existing programs are adequate, or if Carpinos proposal is needed. This is a subject that calls for serious and urgent consideration by our lawmakers. In any case, UConn spokeswoman Stephanie Reitz offers some words to the wise: that community college academic counselors need to work closely with students to help them pick courses that will be transferable and will fit into their overall education plan. The partnerships between those counselors and students are critical, especially early in their college careers, she said. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Drawing parallels from her 83 years of life to the partisanship gripping the United States government, Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg on Monday night called for a return to civil discourse at a Stanford University talk on how to live a meaningful life. Invoking a favorite expression of her late friend and ideological opposite, Antonin Scalia, Ginsburg said Washington, D.C., needs to get over it. I wish there were a way I could wave a magic wand and put it back when people were respectful of each other, and (government) was working for the good of the country, and not just along party lines, Ginsburg said. When Ginsburg leaves the court has become a pressing question and a nagging worry for liberals who fret the 83-year-old will step down during President Trumps term in office. Since President Bill Clinton appointed the now-elder stateswoman of the divided courts left wing, Ginsburg has survived two bouts of cancer and the death of her husband, and she had a procedure to have a stent placed in a coronary artery in 2014. The mere thought of her departure has inspired a round of memes for the justice to eat more kale. Asked by a student to say who in Washington she would like to see eat more kale, Ginsburg replied it would be her fellow octogenarian on the court, Justice Anthony Kennedy. Her diminutive frame tucked into a puffy armchair inside Stanford Memorial Church, Ginsburg went on to assure the sold-out crowd that a very important part of my life is my personal trainer, adding with a knowing smile that Justice Elena Kagan and more recently Justice Stephen Breyer have followed her lead. Though Democrats had seized on Scalias vacant seat as causing too many deadlocks, Ginsburg, speaking at a measured clip, said that in the courts last session, only eight decisions were tied, to go with 25 unanimous decisions over 67 cases contrasting the courts functionality with the federal governments dysfunction. Over the course of an hour-plus conversation conducted by Stanfords dean for religious life, Jane Shaw, Ginsburg reflected on the great changes that have come over the country. As to what Ginsburg would change if she had the power, she said one is the electoral college to cheers from the crowd, months after Hillary Clinton won the popular vote by nearly 3 million people but lost the presidency. She focused especially on womens rights and how they have evolved since she raised her daughter, Jane, in the 1950s as a then-rare working mother, using her own story to highlight the need for pay equity and paid leave. And though she spoke just days after President Trumps nomination of conservative Judge Neil Gorsuch to Scalias empty seat, absent was commentary on her potential future colleague or other aspects of Trumps early days in office. Ginsburg has grown increasingly outspoken in her third decade on the United States highest court. In a CNN interview in July, she called Trump, the then-presumptive Republican nominee, a faker who really has an ego. Under pressure from liberals and conservatives alike who deemed her comments inappropriate, Ginsburg went on to concede her comments were ill-advised, adding that she regretted making them. Senate Republicans had refused to consider for nearly a year Obamas nominee to the vacant seat, the moderate liberal Merrick Garland, gambling on a Republican president. Its not yet clear whether and to what extent Senate Democrats will try to block the nomination of Gorsuch. If the Democratic minority obstructs his nomination with a filibuster, Trump has urged Sen. Mitch McConnell, the majority leader, to consider the so-called nuclear option, changing the chambers rules to circumvent a filibuster. Without commenting on the vacant seat directly, Ginsburg in her signature style offered up her hope for the nations capital, for both parties. Someday, therell be great people, great elected representatives who will say, Enough of this nonsense. Lets be the kind of legislature the United States should have, Ginsburg said. I hope that day will come while Im still alive. Michael Bodley is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: mbodley@sfchronicle.com. Twitter: @michael_bodley Condo owners at San Franciscos sinking Millennium Tower are raising the stakes in their fight to get the infamous downtown building fixed hiring a celebrity Los Angeles lawyer in anticipation of suing the developer. Residents of the 58-story high-rise were notified late Monday that the Millennium Tower Association has retained Dan Petrocelli, best known for winning a $33.5 million wrongful-death civil judgment against O.J. Simpson in 1997 on behalf of the families of Simpsons slain ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend Ron Goldman. More recently, Petrocelli represented President Trump in litigation that former students filed against his for-profit Trump University, lawsuits that Trump settled for $25 million just before he took office. The settlement kept the incoming president from having to testify at a trial, and as part of the deal he did not admit any wrongdoing. The homeowners association and its residents who purchased the units are the innocent victims, Petrocelli told us late Monday. And the people who built this building and were involved in this project as well as others who contributed to its problems all have to pay their fair share. I am confident we will be able to secure swift relief in this case. Attorneys for the condo owners have been in mediation talks for months with developer Millennium Partners over stabilizing the high-end tower. The building has settled 16 inches, much more than the 4 to 6 inches that project engineers anticipated over the life of the structure. It has also tilted 2 inches to the northwest. The talks have been complicated by the two sides disagreement over how bad the situation is. Last month, city building inspectors issued a report concluding that the tower is safe for occupancy. Some residents say the report overlooked evidence that the settling has caused strain on the buildings foundation and electrical systems. Now the homeowners association appears to be headed down dual tracks seeking a deal with Millennium Partners through mediation to get the building fixed ASAP while separately pursuing a lawsuit against the developer, the city and others that could lead to a years-long court fight to determine who pays for it all. I dont have any comment on the (homeowners associations) legal activities, P.J. Johnston, spokesman for Millennium Partners, said in an email. Our top priority is to get to a fix.... We are doing everything we can to help the homeowners implement a set of solutions as quickly as possible, by participating in a mutually agreed-upon (mediation) process. Already, some of the buildings 419 condo owners have filed lawsuits against Millennium Partners, the city and the Transbay Joint Powers Authority, developer of the neighboring Transbay Transit Center. Millennium Partners accuses the authority of contributing to the buildings sinkage by pumping groundwater during the new terminals construction, something the authority disputes. By and large, the individual condo owners suits have claimed Millennium Partners is guilty of fraud, saying the firm was aware of the sinking before the building opened and failed to disclose it to buyers. So far, however, the homeowners association has stopped short of accusing the developer of fraud and perhaps with good reason. The multimillion-dollar tower fix may require getting money from Millennium Partners insurance company but under law, an insurer cant be held liable for a clients fraud. San Francisco Chronicle columnists Phillip Matier and Andrew Ross appear Sundays, Mondays and Wednesdays. Matier can be seen on the KPIX TV morning and evening news. He can also be heard on KCBS radio Monday through Friday at 7:50 a.m. and 5:50 p.m. Got a tip? Call (415) 777-8815, or email matierandross@sfchronicle.com. Twitter: @matierandross Mays Business School at Texas A&M University received recognition for its Petroleum Ventures Program designed to better prepare students for the oil and gas sector, the university announced Tuesday. The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business International included Texas A&M in its list of 35 schools that are "redefining the face of business education." General Electric owns several energy businesses that incorporate GE as part of the name, including GE Oil & Gas and GE Power. Now the Boston-based industrial giant is trying to stop a Chinese company with offices in the Houston area to stop cashing in on General Electric's well-known and trademarked moniker. General Electric Co., started by Thomas Edison, sued GE Petroleum Equipment Corp. last week in federal court in Houston for violating General Electric's "GE" trademark, which it has used more than 116 years, according to the lawsuit. GE -- in this case, Golden Eagle -- Petroleum Equipment Corp. makes cementing tools, well head equipment and valves and supplies drilling chemicals and other services. Its main operations are in Beijing, but it has an office in Katy. General Electric alleges that its rival's use of GE confuses the public, especially since so many GE Petroleum Equipment Corp.'s products and services are similar to what General Electric offers its oil and gas clients. GE Petroleum Equipment Co. did not return calls and emails for comment. Representatives of GE Oil & Gas first encountered GE Petroleum at the Offshore Technology Conference last year in Houston, according to the lawsuit. General Electric notified its competitor of its trademark and soon after, GE Petroleum posted a disclaimer on its website that it does not have a relationship with "GE" in the United States. Instead, the Chinese company explained, GE stands for "Golden Eagle," to convey "positive marketing spirit" and "tenacious survival ability." In November, General Electric wrote again to GE Petroleum Equipment in Katy, asking the company to stop using "GE" or else it would have to take "any actions necessary" to protect its intellectual property. General Electric said it does not object to its competitor using "Golden Eagle Petroleum Equipment Co," according to General Electric's letter, which was included as an exhibit to the lawsuit. RELATED: OTC panel: Women need to ask for better jobs in a male-dominated industry GE Petroleum Equipment Corp. did not file a response to the lawsuit. Courtesy photo San Antonio wound-care company Acelity LP Inc. announced Tuesday announced that its subsidiaries entered into a credit agreement that provides for a nearly $1.1 billion term facility and a $300 million revolving facility. The company also announced that two subsidiaries, Kinetic Concepts Inc. and KCI USA Inc., fully repaid their existing credit facilities following last weeks completion of the $2.9 billion sale of LifeCell Corp. to pharmaceutical giant Allergan. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Texas would be the biggest loser if the U.S. waged a trade war with Mexico over President Donald Trumps proposal to build a border wall and impose a 20 percent tariff on goods coming across the Rio Grande, according to a new report by WalletHub. If and when the presidents plan comes to fruition, experts predict it will trigger a trade war between our two nations. But the impact of the economic fallout will be different for every state, the WalletHub report states. Texas is the No. 1 trading partner in the U.S. with Mexico, making the state particularly vulnerable if the U.S. withdraws from the North American Free Trade Agreement, the report said. Arizona, Michigan, New Mexico and Kentucky round out the top five U.S. states, respectively, hit hardest by a trade war, according to WalletHub. The U.S. economy would suffer from withdrawing from NAFTA and would see an immediate impact on the prices for certain products, added WalletHub.com analyst Jill Gonzalez in an email. RELATED: In Mexico's NAFTA capital, 'absolute uncertainty' reigns Roughly 37.7 percent of all exports from Texas go to Mexico, the biggest percentage among all 50 states. That represents 5.8 percent of the states gross domestic product, also more than any other state. Texas gets more imports from Mexico than any other country, roughly 33.2 percent of all of its imported goods. A trade war wouldnt be likely to tip either country into an economic recession. The likelihood of a recession is quite slim for both countries since they have other trading agreements with other countries, and the U.S. economy is quite stable, Gonzalez said. However, a trade war with Mexico could impact U.S. agreements with other countries, as it could create global mistrust. Free Trade Alliance San Antonio CEO and President Jose Martinez said the findings were logical. RELATED: Backlash against Trump's wall reaches Texas border city Martinez questioned the reports premise since Trump hasnt rolled out specific details on a tariff or on how he wants to renegotiate NAFTA. I dont think the United States will go into a trade war. We need to wait until the United States or Mexico takes a position, Martinez said. Since NAFTA went into effect in 1994, at least two disputes over sugar tariffs and the blocked authorization of Mexican trucks to make U.S. deliveries raised the possibility of a trade war, he said. Eventually, those settled down, Martinez said. RELATED: #AdiosProductosGringos threaten U.S. product boycott over Trump's border wall One question that deserves attention is the U.S. trade deficit with Mexico, Martinez said. Thats the difference between the amount of goods exported to Mexico and the amount imported to the U.S. It was about $63.2 billion in 2016, billion according the Office of the U.S. International Trade Representative. But the Mexico deficit is small when compared with the U.S. trade deficit with China, which was nearly $347 billion in 2016. I think this brouhaha with Mexico will be dwarfed when the argument shifts to China, Martinez said. Texas outsized export and import volumes with Mexico was predicted before NAFTA started. RELATED: Border congressman condemns Trump's 'trade war' on Mexico In a 1993 book titled Continental Shift: Free Trade & the New North America, author William Orme Jr. devoted a chapter to the Tex-Mex Axis. States Most Affected by Trade War with Mexico President Donald Trump has proposed taxing all Mexican imports by 20 percent to finance the construction of a 40-foot-high, 1,000-mile-long concrete barrier separating the U.S. from Mexico. Experts predict such a tax would trigger a trade war. WalletHub analyzed key indicators to gauge the effects of such a trade war and ranked the states from most likely to least likely to be impacted. Not surprisingly, Texas is No. 1 on the list. Source: WalletHub NAFTA owes its political life to the Lone Star State. And for good reason, Orme wrote. The impact of Mexican trade on the American economy divides the United States neatly in two: Texas, and everywhere else. Mexico now accounts for about a third of total sales by Texas companies outside U.S. borders. Gonzalez said other options, besides a high tariff, exist to encourage the U.S. to produce goods domestically instead of outside the country. The best way to keep or establish production facilities in the U.S. is through an attractive tax environment supplemented with an easy-to-navigate policy system, Gonzalez said. dhendricks@express-news.net A pair of drifters accused of killing a backpacker in San Franciscos Golden Gate Park and a hiker in Marin County pleaded guilty Monday to two counts apiece of first-degree murder, bringing to a close a case that shocked the Bay Area with its brutality. Under a plea deal endorsed by the victims families, Morrison Haze Lampley, 24, will be sentenced to 100 years to life in prison for shooting Audrey Carey, a 23-year-old Canadian backpacker, and Steven Carter, a 67-year-old tantric yoga instructor, during a crime spree in 2015, said the Marin County district attorneys office. Lampleys girlfriend, 19-year-old Lila Alligood, will be sentenced to 50 years to life in state prison. A third defendant, Sean Angold, 25, pleaded guilty in May to second-degree murder in connection with the Carter slaying, cutting a deal with prosecutors to testify against the other two. He is expected to be sentenced to 15 years to life in prison when all three defendants are sentenced April 18. During the preliminary hearing in the case, Angold described a savage, drug-addled crime spree that unfolded over a few days in October 2015. Angold, an old acquaintance of Lampleys, said he had planned to join the couple as they traveled to Oregon with dreams of starting a pot farm. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate 5 1 of 5 Associated Press Show More Show Less 2 of 5 Courtesy / Lokita Carter Show More Show Less 3 of 5 4 of 5 SFPD Show More Show Less 5 of 5 After the group found a .40-caliber Smith & Wesson handgun in an unlocked truck near Coit Tower in San Francisco, they crossed paths with Carey near one of the windmills at the edge of Golden Gate Park near Ocean Beach. Though they were friendly with Carey, the three decided to rob her because she was foreign and possibly had money, Angold said. But he said the robbery went awry when Alligood tackled Carey and Lampley held the stolen gun to her head. Angold, who had been trying to tie up Careys legs, heard a pop, and he said Lampley told him, Shes dead, dude. Dont worry about it. The three regrouped two days later, heading into Marin County on their journey north to Oregon. While they had initially intended to only rob Carey, Angold said, they targeted Carter for death because they wanted his station wagon. Alligood was the one who chose Carter, Angold said. They followed him as he walked his Doberman pinscher, Coco, down a popular trail northwest of Fairfax, Angold said, and Lampley shot him and his dog. The dog survived but lost an eye. They then rifled through Carters pockets for his keys and wallet, which had been pierced by a bullet, and used the ripped, bloody cash to buy gas and cigarettes in Point Reyes, according to court testimony. The trio was arrested two days later outside a Portland, Ore., soup kitchen after authorities tracked them with the station wagons GPS device. Lampleys attorney did not immediately return requests for comment. Amy Morton, Alligoods attorney, said that under Californias youthful offender program, which grants earlier parole eligibility for any prisoner who was under 23 at the time of the offense, Alligood will be eligible for parole in 25 years. Shes a totally different person than when she was arrested, Morton said. Shes come out of her drug fog. She cried today, not for herself, but because she thought of the people whose lives were taken because of her. As part of their guilty pleas, Lampley and Alligood waived their right to appeal, Marin County District Attorney Ed Berberian said. Our main concern is with the victims families, he said. Hopefully this will let them have some closure. Carters widow, Lokita Carter, said she was relieved that the end of the legal process is in sight. While I feel that justice is being served in the legal context, the impact of their cold-blooded actions will never go away, she said. Can justice ever be served, when my husband is gone forever? The Carters had been married for 17 years and had just moved to Costa Rica to build their dream home when Lokita Carter was diagnosed with breast cancer. They were living in Marin County with friends while she underwent treatment when Steve Carter was killed. On her blog, which Lokita Carter began to document her journey toward recovery and later expanded to write about her husband, she wrote that, agreeing to the plea agreement was hard, really hard. Though she wanted the murderers to fully feel the impact of their actions in a jury trial, she realized that she needed to take care of herself and focus on her healing, and the healing of our families, friends and community. We can complete this part of our lives, but whatever their punishment is or could have been, it is never going to bring Steve and Audrey back, she wrote. We have to live with the excruciating and traumatizing ramifications of their crimes until our very last breath. Vivian Ho is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: vho@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @VivianHo The Victoria's Secret Angels have arrived just in time if you're stumped on gift ideas. Models, Taylor Hill, Sara Sampaio, and Josephine Skriver showed up to the Victoria's Secret at 640 5th Avenue on Tuesday, February 7, 2017 in New York City. Katie Couric said she hopes her TV documentary about gender will promote compassion and understanding in states such as Texas that have proposed a bathroom bill that threatens transgender rights and safety. Gender Revolution: A Journey with Katie Couric tells stories of real people adults, children and their families and explores the complexities of gender in everyday life, from birth through old age. Look for the compelling two-hour special at 8 p.m. Friday on National Geographic Channel. Asked about the proposed Texas bill, which would force transgender people to use public bathrooms that match their sex assigned at birth, rather than their gender identity, Couric said she hopes the concerns that people have that are fueling these bills might be alleviated by this documentary. Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick has argued that sexual predators may use trans-friendly bathroom policies to target potential victims, even though there never has been a reported case in Texas of someone using a nondiscrimination ordinance to enter a womens restroom and commit an assault. In reality, the only ones who need to fear anything are transgender women; forcing them to use mens facilities could put them at risk of hate crimes. Trans kids in public schools and their parents also are worried. Among the people Couric visits in the documentary is Gavin Grimm, a trans teen in Virginia whose groundbreaking case seeking equal bathroom access at his high school is headed to the Supreme Court. Its extremely moving to watch this courageous young student face a room full of adult naysayers at a school board meeting and explain why its so important to respect his and other transgender kids rights to use the restroom that corresponds to their gender. Another youngster featured is an adorable 5-year-old trans girl named Ellie. Though her gender at birth was listed as male, Ellies parents supported their youngest child as she transitioned to the gender that was natural to her. Ellie started wearing dresses around 3, which is really common for male children who are around this age. They play with gender roles, but usually that dissipates over time. For her it got stronger, Ellies mom, Vanessa Ford, told TV critics at a recent press session. Those dresses started going over all of her snow pants and all of her outside wear, and on her 4th birthday, we had a big Elsa birthday party. That night I said, You are my favorite princess boy. And she looked at me and said, Mom, Im a girl in my heart and brain. (She) transitioned three months later to live as Ellie, and by transitioning, were talking about name and pronoun only. However, as of Thursday, her legal name is now Ellie, and we are moving forward with all other documentation as well. And shes a wonderful, happy girl. After the session, I asked this mom to address the bathroom bill thats caused a multitude of problems in North Carolina, as well as the ones up for passage in Texas and other states. They specifically target trans children. Theyre most at risk as they develop, Ford said. The idea that my daughter would pose a threat to any child in a bathroom is disgusting. We have many friends in Texas out and fighting, she continued. If a school chooses to support a child, the state will fine them. So basically its tying the hands of good educators who want to do the best for kids. Couric also introduces us to many trans adults whose stories also tug at the heart. For instance, we meet a transgender woman whos bent on changing the world, one trans employee at a time. Michaela Mendelsohn, a successful L.A. businesswoman, has responded to tragically high unemployment among transgender people by hiring and promoting trans workers at her restaurants. But Couric explains from the outset that it isnt just trans people who are part of this gender revolution. She also introduces us to intersex people, who were born with ambiguous genitalia. Examples are an adult who was surgically altered as an infant and raised in what turned out to be the wrong gender, and an intersex child, whose family chose not to surgically alter her, leaving her the opportunity to make her own determination about gender as she grows older. All of this can get complicated, Couric acknowledges, but she did her best to make the documentary as clear and engaging as possible. She succeeded. It was an incredible experience for me to meet these families, Couric told TV critics. We read these headlines about gender nonconforming people and people who are living beyond the binary. I had never really rolled up my sleeves and spent time with many of these individuals. Everything was a surprise to me because I was learning something every day. I tried to put myself in the position of people who wanted to learn and understand these issues and to ask the questions I thought people at home would be asking if they had the privilege and opportunity to meet some of the people who are in the documentary. Whether you stream, buy or rent, heres a look at whats new or notable in home video. Movies are available on streaming sites such as iTunes, Amazon and Vudu unless otherwise noted. Television From Dusk Till Dawn season three: San Antonio native Madison Davenport is the big bad on season three of From Dusk Till Dawn, Robert Rodriguezs Tex-Mex cross between True Blood and Supernatural. Shes the ringleader of a horde of demons plaguing the Gecko Brothers and their vampire allies. With horror legend Tom Savini joining the cast as a demon hunter, the monsters better be gruesome and they are. In theaters Eloise: Four friends break into an abandoned asylum to find a death certificate one of them needs to inherit $1.2 million. First: No. There is an office you call for that. Second: First-time director Robert Legato won a couple of Oscars for special effects, not screenwriting, so he gets credit for the cool visuals but not all the blame for lines like, This is where they used to store the dead bodies. Rent it now Loving: If you feel anxious watching Loving, about the Virginia couple whose case led to the end of mixed-race marriage bans, thats because civil rights dramas such as Selma and Mississippi Burning, have primed you to anticipate violence. No one here raises his voice, let alone a hand, in anger. The Lovings (Joel Edgerton and Ruth Negga, both very good) were hard-working, taciturn country folk. What they did say was simple yet strong enough to change the Constitution: They loved each other, and they werent bothering anyone. Also: Trolls jkiest@express-news.net A helicopter crashed in the waters off Galveston Monday night with three people aboard. U.S. Coast Guard officials said confirmed two of them have been recovered. The helicopter, a Bell 206, was owned by Republic Helicopter from Santa Fe, officials said. HARTFORD A state appeals court on Monday refused to overturn a lower courts ruling denying a civil appeal to former Bridgeport drug kingpin Russell Peeler Jr., who is serving a life prison term for ordering the murders of a mother and her young son. The state Appellate Court rejected Peelers claim that he was wrongfully rejected an appeal to the states habeas corpus court. Peeler was convicted of ordering the murders in January 1999 of 8-year-old B.J. Brown and his mother, Karen Clarke, to protect his drug operation. B.J. was scheduled to testify against Peeler in another murder case when he and his mother were found shot to death in their Bridgeport home. The death of the young boy, who was shot execution-style in the back of the head, shocked the country and was later responsible for strengthening the penalties against the murder of witnesses. Peeler was sentenced to death in the case but that sentence was commuted to life in prison without release last year when the state Supreme Court overturned the states death penalty. The states highest court had previously upheld the conviction. Peeler is also serving a 105-year prison sentence for killing Clarkes boyfriend, Rudolph Snead. Peeler's court-appointed lawyer, Lisa Steele, said she is disappointed with the ruling. She said an appeal to the state Supreme Court is likely. Even though appeals courts have rejected criminal case appeals inmates can still appeal convictions to the civil courts under the states habeas corpus procedure. In this civil appeals they can claim they were not properly represented in their criminal trial and when that is rejected they can claim they were not properly represented in the appeal. The state pays for their lawyers in the habeas corpus appeals which can go on for years. Ned Gerard / Hearst Connecticut Media BRIDGEPORT Central High School is hosting its first annual literacy night from 5:30 to 7 p.m. in the schools media center. The event is free and is organized and hosted by Central High staff, according to Yogesh Sadarangani, a member of the Central School Governance Council. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Albany A summit on hepatitis C kicked off Tuesday morning with strong support from New York officials for the goal of eliminating the virus, as new cases rise among young adults who are injection drug users. "Together, we will eliminate hepatitis C," state Health Commissioner Howard Zucker said to dozens of government officials, health workers and activists assembled in a meeting room at the Empire State Plaza. "We have the technology, we have the expertise and we have the will to do it." Patient advocates are urging state officials to address hepatitis C, a virus that affects the liver, similarly to the way they have targeted AIDS with the "End the Epidemic" campaign that aims to bring the number of new cases of HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, to 750 per year by 2020. Hepatitis C is a blood-borne virus that can cause chronic infection of the liver and, in the worst cases, liver failure and death. An estimated 200,000 New Yorkers have chronic hepatitis C, with as many as half unaware they carry the virus, according to patient advocate VOCAL-NY. There were more than 16,000 reported new cases in 2014. Baby boomers, age 53 to 71, are the most likely to have hepatitis C, but prevalence of the virus is growing among those age 20 to 40 amid an epidemic of heroin and opioid abuse. Increased rates of hepatitis C have also been seen among women and in the suburbs, consistent with populations affected in recent years by the opioid abuse epidemic. Along with the increased rates of illness, several speakers pointed to it being the right time to combat the virus, as drugs that cure hepatitis C have been brought to market in recent years. But drugs that eliminate the virus can cost close to $100,000 for treatments lasting up to 12 weeks. Last year, it cost about $700 million for testing and medical services for New Yorkers with hepatitis C covered by Medicaid. Jeremy Saunders, co-director of Brooklyn-based VOCAL-NY, acknowledged that funding will be the challenge in accomplishing the group's goals. "What we're seeing is growing political will," Saunders said of Tuesday's inaugural summit. "There will be a need for money to put behind it and policy as well." Zucker spoke Tuesday morning of hepatitis C priorities that echo the state's strategy against AIDS: enhancing prevention among high-risk groups, expanding screening tests and increasing access to affordable treatment for those who test positive. Arlene Gonzalez-Sanchez, commissioner of the state Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services, said hepatitis C treatment is part of care at the state's addiction treatment centers, where 11 percent of patients were found to have the virus last year. These were also among the key goals of the summit's steering committee, which included hospitals, universities, health departments, and community-based organizations. chughes@timesunion.com 518-454-5417 @hughesclaire / submitted photo DANBURY - A group of students from Immaculate High School visited the capitol Tuesday as the guests of state Sen. Michael McLachlan, according to a release. McLachlan, a Republican whose 24th District covers Bethel, Danbury, New Fairfield, and Sherman, met Immaculate students at the state Capitol Building in Hartford. BRIDGEPORT - The White Sock robber faces 18 months in prison after he pleaded guilty Tuesday to sexually assaulting a Stratford woman at the towns boat launch. Christopher Walsh, 33, of Clark Street, Milford, pleaded guilty before Superior Court Judge Robert Devlin to fourth-degree sexual assault, first-degree reckless endangerment and violating probation. Devlin said he would impose a five-year term, suspended after Walsh serves 18 months and followed by three years probation at the sentencing hearing on April 21. I contacted the complainant this morning and she is in agreement with the disposition based on what the state could prove beyond a reasonable doubt, Senior Assistant States Attorney Pamela Esposito told the judge. Walsh earned his nickname in 2008 when police said he held up victims in hotels in Trumbull and Stratford and outside a Trumbull bank with a white sock on his right hand. He served a half dozen years in prison and was on probation at the time of the sex assault. Walshs lawyer, Jerome Larracuente, declined comment. On Nov. 22, 2015, police were dispatched to Bridgeport Hospital for a sex assault victim there. Police said the 32-year-old victim told them she met Walsh at the Main Street Tavern earlier that night and he offered to give her a ride back to her car which was parked at another bar. However, police said Walsh instead drove the woman to the Birdseye boat launch. When she asked Walsh what they were doing there he responded, Its pretty with the water. He then climbed on top of the woman, ripped her clothes off and sexually assaulted her, police said. Police said after the assault Walsh drove the woman back to the bar. A surveillance video later confirmed that Walshs car was at the boat launch when the victim claims he took her there, police said. To further its commitment to a "people first" culture, Interfaith Ministries for Greater Houston (IM) has hired Crystal Sykes as the organization's first Chief People Officer. Sykes, a Human Resources (HR) professional with more than 15 years experience in workforce development, will be leading IM's HR programs with an eye toward continuing a culture that promotes respect and service toward others, said IM's President & CEO Martin B. Cominsky. "For IM to meet its vision of helping to create a society that is respectful, connected and caring, we need to continue to foster a caring environment that connects and respects our employees," Cominsky said. "Crystal has extensive experience cultivating a dynamic and committed workforce, and we are excited she is joining our team." Prior to joining IM, Sykes worked as Director of Employee Services & Development for Heartland Alliance, a leading anti-poverty organization, based in Chicago, providing services in housing, healthcare, employment and social justice to the most vulnerable populations in the Midwest and 12 countries abroad. While there she provided operational and strategic oversight of the organization's employment practice and workforce development. She also worked for many years in HR and Project Management for the Chicago Public School system. She has a Master of Arts, Public Administration from Walden University and a Bachelor of Science Business Management from the University of Illinois at Chicago. "I have been impressed with IM's work and its commitment to bettering the community," Sykes said. "It's exciting to have the opportunity to enhance IM's workforce so it can continue and expand these valuable services." Sykes can be reached at csykes@imgh.org or 713-533-4967. ABOUT INTERFAITH MINISTRIES FOR GREATER HOUSTON A United Way agency, Interfaith Ministries for Greater Houston (IM) brings people of diverse faith traditions together for dialogue, collaboration and service, as a demonstration of our shared beliefs. IM provides three main services: Meals on Wheels for Greater Houston which delivers more than 1.5 million meals each year to seniors in Harris and Galveston Counties; Refugee Services which, in conjunction with the U.S. State Department, resettles thousands of refugees in Houston; and, Interfaith Relations, which provides community services fostering understanding, respect and engagement among Houstonians of all faiths. For more information, visit www.imgh.org. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate WestWay Park Technology Center isn't the first satellite campus in the Lone Star College System, but it's the first of its kind. And it's on schedule to open in spring 2018, according to Kim Hubbard, LSC-CyFair dean, and Deana Sheppard, vice president for student learning. Hubbard said, "LSC-CyFair currently has two satellite centers. This additional satellite center, which will focus only on IT and Visual Communication, will allow us to provide specialized training in these programs to ensure our students are properly prepared for the ever evolving industry demands of these two fields. An example of the uniqueness of this center is that we will house an instructional Data Center to train our network students in this area of IT." Sheppard said, "Within our system it will be very unique center. It's very different from we've what ever done." But she added that the concept is not unique to community colleges in general and cited The Gateway Technical College with eight campuses/centers, in Wisconsin as an example of what she meant. Hubbard said the center will house LSC Corporate College programs in Oracle, Lean Six Sigma, Project Management, Cisco and training in oil and gas industry principles. Sheppard said the district conducted an extensive site search for the satellite campus, including land on which to build, until officials found the building at 5060 Westway Park Blvd. in Houston. Located east of the West Sam Houston Parkway and between Tanner and Clay Road, Sheppard called the location "just perfect." "It seemed like a perfect fit for us." Added Hubbard, "The location of this center will provide easy access for students within our district, for businesses and organizations located off the Interstate 10 Energy Corridor and those located in downtown Houston." The LSC-Westway Park Technology Center building was purchased for $15.5 million, said Jennifer Olenick, Lone Star College vice chancellor of finance & administration. "The construction manager at risk request for information estimated an additional $13.5 million for renovations, of which, the board has approved $7.2 million in December 2016. The project is still underway so final project costs are not yet known," added Olenick. Hubbard said it is funded by the 2014 bond election and the General Obligation Bonds Series 2015A. Project architects are BRW-Brown Reynolds and Watford and construction manager at risk is Satterfield & Pontikes. While the building has about 130,000 square feet, only 50,000 square feet will be used initially. Sheppard said the 50,000 square feet fits current program needs. More space may be needed as time passes and programs grow, she said. Some discussion also mentioned the option of subleasing space to tenants, she said. "There's plenty of room for growth," Sheppard added. Hubbard said, "Our program curriculum teams will work with our System Workforce Council and our respective advisory councils to conduct constant industry analyses on an annual basis to project program growth as well as to identify new programs. During this phase we are reviewing various opportunities for usage of the additional 80,000 square feet. "The initial phase of occupation for the building will allow us to move programs that we currently offer at the LSC-CyFair main campus to the new location, and add six programs." Hubbard identified those programs as Microsoft Academy, Computer Security, Computer Forensics, Mobile Applications Development, Web Design and 3D Animation. "We are expecting enrollment to continue growth with the new spaces located at WestWay Park and with the addition of our six new programs. Vacated spaces at the LSC-CyFair main campus will be used to allow enrollment growth through program expansions and by adding instructional space." Sheppard said, "We intentionally designed the center to prepare students for real work business interactions. Students won't feel like they're in the classroom but it will feel like they're at work." Collaborative spaces have been created in hallways. "Students will work together like in the real world," she said. Students also will learn "soft skills" that will make the transition from academia to a place of business when they get a real job, she said. Hubbard said, "LSC strongly believes in fully preparing students for entry into the workforce. WestWay Park Technology Center was built with this mission in mind. "By providing a 'real-world' business simulated environment, we are training students to understand the importance and seriousness of working in an organization that is business-based and goal-oriented. The design of WestWay Park will strategically train students in an educational institution that essentially treats daily activity like the daily interactions of a business with the hope that students will forget they are in a classroom. Students will graduate with the innate ability to work in any business as a skilled professional in their industry." Health care just got a little closer to home. The Cy-Fair Community has officially welcomed the Good Neighbor Healthcare Center into the community. The Cypress Fairbanks Independent School District community and other Cy-Fair area members now have access to GNHC Cy-Fair, a federally qualified health center that has provided health care to the greater Houston area for which will soon be 50 years. The organization which focuses on healthcare for its community was originally formed by local churches to meet the growing needs of families who lacked access to basic healthcare. "The support of the district helps the patient base and they help reach children that might not find out about the ability to receive care otherwise. So, it helps spread the message," said Ann Thielke, GNHC CEO. "We sometimes have trouble finding the people that need us and the schools can help with that and they are committed to transporting the children here during the school day." Nearly two years ago, in May 2015, in a unanimous vote, the CFISD Board of Trustees decided to bring GNHC to the district. Usually, the funding for the health care center is provided by one-third from the government, one-third from patient revenues, and the last third from local philanthropy. The 10,000-square-foot facility is open to CFISD students, staff, and faculty as well as members of the Cy-Fair community. The center opened in December and is located as a stand-alone building behind Cypress Park High School, which is planned to be the future home of CFISD's educational village. The Cy-Fair district held a ribbon cutting ceremony in January complete with the Cy-Park High School drumline and cheerleading squad. CFISD transportation is available for students with completed consent forms and attending one of the six participating schools to and from GNHC Cy-Fair. The six school that have CFISD transportation to and from GNHC Cy-Fair include the Hopper, Kahla, and Thornton Middle School. The high school participating are Cy-Lakes, Cy-Park, and Cy-Springs. The schools were selected based on the number of students who receive free or reduced lunch. Parents will be notified if their child is transported to GNHC during the school day by a phone call from a CFISD nurse. Parents also have access to the Z-pass app which allows parents to monitor the transportation of their child. In addition to completing a GNHC Cy-Fair consent document, other forms that might be required include insurance card, student identification, and an immunization record. In a statement at the ribbon cutting ceremony, Mark Henry, CFISD superintendent, expressed his excitement for the healthcare center partnering with the district. Henry looks forward to the center and the district growing together to serve the community. "I cannot tell you how excited Cy-Fair ISD is and how excited I am. All of our friends with Good Neighbor, I know you thank us for being your partner, but I cannot tell you how thankful we are that you invested your time and money and effort right here in our school district," Henry said. "There's always a need for quality healthcare for our students and we are really excited about the difference it is going to make in the lives of our students and our families. The school district is the glue that binds this community together, and makes this community a family and so Good Neighbor, welcome to the family." Services that the health center will provide pediatrics, adult medicine, dental, optometry, nutrition, and community health worker for health insurance and community resources assistance. Additionally, in the near future, the center plans to provide mental health and OB/GYN prenatal care. The health center accepts some private health insurance plans, Medicaid, and CHIP. Insured individuals must select GNHC as the preferred Medical Home under the insurance plan. Uninsured individuals in the community are offered a sliding fee discount to eligible people and a Community Health Worker to assist with options. The healthcare center representatives look forward to helping the community and students in the Cy-Fair district. The center aims to provide a place to welcome all students and other people in the community. "There is no need for a child to have to stay at home if they can come and use our facility. Absenteeism is a big thing and that is why it is important for us to work hard with the district. It is really good to know that the healthcare center is here," said Iliana Perez, GNHC director of special projects. "Now, it is just about spreading the word. It is very fulfilling to know you have leadership and providers that are committed to Cy-Fair ISD and the community." Good Neighbor Healthcare Center Cy-Fair (GNHC) 7777 Westgreen Blvd. Cypress, TX 77433 For more GNHC Cy-Fair call 713-387-7180 or visit www.gnhc.org/cy-fair. Hours of Operation Monday and Wednesday 7 a.m.- 7 p.m. Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday 8 a.m. 5 p.m. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Fort Bend ISD school board president Kristin Tassin describes herself as a Texas conservative. But when it comes to public schools, her views deviate from those of many statewide elected officials. Those differences have led her to speak out. Too much is at stake during this legislative session to stay quiet, Tassin said, in an interview last week. "There are several issues that are going to be considered this legislative session that could seriously impact not just the kids in Fort Bend ISD, but all over the state of Texas," Tassin, who has three daughters who attend Fort Bend ISD schools, said. "Now is the time for us to get really serious about solutions that are going to improve public education." Tassin isn't alone. School board members representing districts across Fort Bend County and the Houston area have formed committees to define their districts' legislative priorities and have passed resolutions calling on the Legislature to revamp how it funds public schools, to repeal and replace the incoming A-F accountability rating system and not to support school vouchers. Spearheaded by efforts from Tassin and Katy ISD Trustee Henry Dibrell, school board members are forming a coalition, hoping their representatives Austin will listen if the districts are united. One Voice for Texas Public Education School board members from the Fort Bend, Katy, Klein, Cypress-Fairbanks, Spring and Spring Branch ISDs began the process to create a coalition last fall. Combined, those six districts serve almost 400,000 students. Members of the coalition, called One Voice for Texas Education, adopted three priorities. The coalition calls on the Legislature to reform the school finance system and the A-F accountability rating system and to support public schools instead of giving vouchers to families who can opt to use that money to attend private schools. For school boards to formally join the coalition, their members must pass a resolution. The Fort Bend ISD school board unanimously approved such a resolution Jan. 23. That made it one of if, not the, first districts to formally join, Tassin said. Other districts in Fort Bend, including Lamar CISD and Stafford MSD, are considering joining. Lamar CISD trustees will likely vote whether to opt in at a February board meeting, Lamar CISD school board president James Steenbergen said. Stafford MSD may vote in March or April, Stafford MSD school board president Aurturo Jackson said. Common concerns The coalition's position came out of the legislative priorities representatives from the six founding boards already had in common, said Dibrell, of Katy ISD. In Fort Bend County, the A-F accountability rating system has been particularly unifying. Independently, all three Fort Bend County school boards passed resolutions calling to repeal and replace the system, which will be implemented in 2018. Board members and district officials argue calculations behind the letter grades for the accountability system are convoluted, the system relies too heavily on standardized test scores, and it makes schools with high percentages of disadvantaged students more likely to perform poorly. For the first time in recent years, Fort Bend ISD and Stafford MSD's school boards formed committees to craft legislative priorities for this session. In addition to school accountability, Fort Bend ISD's priorities, approved Oct. 17, include an opposition to vouchers, a call for reform of the school finance system and funding for an unfunded mandate intended to protect special education students. Stafford MSD's priorities, passed on Dec. 12, include school finance and issues related to transportation. Though Lamar CISD's school board does not have a legislative committee, trustees did pass a resolution against school vouchers on Jan. 19, the same meeting the board called for a change to the accountability system. There are tentative plans for the One Voice for Texas Education coalition to head to Austin on Feb. 28, Tassin said. "Public education is under such attack right now - that's what it feels like," Tassin said. "We are willing to comprise, but we need someone to listen to us." We are in the midst of "state of the (fill in the blank)" season. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott issued his State of the State Address last week. President Donald Trump, as an incoming president, may not deliver a State of the Union Address this year although some sources report he will deliver some sort of address on Tuesday, Feb. 28. Amid all these addresses, many other entities have either already delivered or will soon deliver their addresses. In Abbott's address, he declared four "emergency items." That means the 85th Legislature can take up the issues immediately. On Tuesday, Abbott listed his emergencies as: banning "sanctuary cities"; overhauling the state's broken child welfare system; implementing ethics reform; and approving a resolution to support a convention of states to amend the U.S. Constitution. The problem with declaring emergency items is in some cases it is tantamount to political blackmail. For instance, the banning of "sanctuary cities." Rather than go through the process of pushing legislation through the senate and house of representatives, Abbott declared anyone using a sanctuary city system could lose funding. Essentially, any city deemed a sanctuary city means it will enforce local laws and not necessarily federal ones. Generally, this means local law enforcement is not going to enforce federal things like detaining illegal aliens for offenses they would not otherwise be jailed. Overtaxed local law enforcement cannot be expected to enforce all local ordinances and keep local people safe all while enforcing federal holds on people. Years ago, the federal government forced states to enforce certain speed limits or lose funding. Those of an older generation remember a 55 mph speed limit. The it got upped to 65 mph and now it is 75 mph in most places. Taking away funding is the easiest way to get local governments to comply with higher mandates. This is the case with sanctuary cities. Abbott is taking aim at Travis County and its sheriff, Sally Hernandez. According to the Texas Tribune, "Abbott budget director Steven Albright asked agency heads to detail 'all funds (including any federal funds) your agency administered to Travis County, including any department of Travis County, in' fiscal year 2016." This is a way for Abbott to determine what money can be cut from Travis County until it complies with Abbott's ban on sanctuary cities. This is wrong in the same way that states hate it when the federal government forces states to do what it wants. The really bad thing about making sanctuary cities an emergency issue is that it takes away from things are really emergencies, like properly funding public education. The state won a court battle last year that said the state's funding was constitutional but flawed. Fix this before you worry about enforcing federal laws. Would the state be willing to pay for the proposed border wall if the federal government mandated it? I would venture to guess the answer would be a resounding "no!" Let's find a way to focus on the things that affect the quality of life of more Texans and not try to deflect. The attorney for The Woodlands man who started a three-year prison sentence Tuesday for voting illegally says he still plans on fighting for his freedom in federal courts. Deputies arrested Adrian Heath at his home in The Woodlands around 10:30 a.m. Tuesday and booked him into the Montgomery County Jail less than an hour later. Heath's 2014 felony conviction and three-year prison sentence for voting illegally was upheld by a Texas court in December. He should be transferred to a Texas Department of Criminal Justice prison within 45 days. Jay Wright, Heath's attorney, said he still has about a month to file for a writ of certiorari from the Supreme Court, claiming the Texas Attorney General's Office, headed by Gov. Greg Abbott at the time, unfairly applied the law to Heath and company after they voted in a 2010 Woodlands Road Utility District election. Reached late Tuesday, Wright called it a "miscarriage of justice." "Soldiers and sailors can designate a location where they've never lived as their voting residence," Wright said. "If George H. W. Bush and Barbara Bush can have their homestead in Maine and not have a house in Texas, but declare a hotel as their voting residence and Texas as their state, then so can these road utility district voters and Adrian Heath." Heath had been entangled in appeals ever since he and three others were convicted of voting illegally in the May 2010 RUD election. Ten individuals changed their voting address to that of a Woodlands hotel, checked into the hotel and ousted the RUD board incumbents in a 10-2 vote. However, the three incumbents, Gene "Ed" Miller, Bill Neill and Winton Davenport, filed suit alleging the results were obtained by illegal votes. A visiting judge ruled that the 10 Montgomery County residents who changed their voting address to the hotel and voted in the RUD election did not reside within the WRUD boundaries and their votes were thrown out. Miller, Neill and Davenport were reinstated to the board. The 10, including Heath, claimed they consulted with state officials before changing their voter registration addresses to The Residence Inn in The Woodlands. Heath and three others were convicted of voter fraud, while voters Peter Goeddertz and Thomas Curry received pretrial probation in order to avoid prosecution. The other four were never charged. In June 2014, Heath appealed his conviction to the 9th Court of Appeals in Beaumont, although his case was transferred to the 14th Court of Appeals in Houston about two weeks later. The 14th Court affirmed Heath's conviction and sentence in May 2016, which led Heath to file a petition for discretionary review to the Court of Criminal Appeals about two months later. Then in December 2016, the Court of Criminal Appeals declined to review Heath's case. Wright still contends Heath's innocence and claims Heath and the others intended to use the hotel as their permanent residence for voting purposes. "That's what the Bushes did, that's what the soldiers and the sailors intend," Wright said. The Texas 14th Court of Appeals overturned the voter fraud conviction of James Alan Jenkins in June 2015 and remanded the case for retrial. The appeals court said the 359th state District Court made a mistake by not informing jurors of the possible legal defense of "mistake of law." Sybil Doyle and her daughter Roberta Cook also were convicted and sentenced to five years' probation and their convictions upheld. However, Doyle recently passed away. The Trump administration has mounted a vigorous defense of its ban on travel from seven majority-Muslim nations, saying it is necessary to prevent terrorists from entering the United States. But the ban, now blocked by a federal judge, also ensnared travelers important to the well-being of many Americans: doctors. Foreign-born physicians have become crucial to the delivery of medical care in the United States. They work in small towns where there are no other doctors, in poor urban neighborhoods and in Veterans Affairs hospitals. Forty-two percent of office visits in rural America are with foreign-born physicians, according to the American Academy of Family Physicians. Foreign-born physicians "are the doctors in small towns in Maine and Iowa," said Dr. Patricia F. Walker, associate director of the University of Minnesota's Global Health Pathway, which helps refugee doctors practice in the United States. "They go to the places where graduates of Harvard Medical School don't want to go," she said. Across the United States, more than 15,000 doctors are from the seven Muslim-majority countries covered by the travel ban, according to The Medicus Firm, a firm that recruits doctors for hard-to-fill jobs. That includes almost 9,000 from Iran, almost 3,500 from Syria and more than 1,500 from Iraq. Dr. Hooman Parsi, an oncologist so talented that he has an O-1 visa granted to individuals with "extraordinarily ability or achievement," was to start seeing patients Wednesday in San Bernardino, Calif. A federal judge in Seattle lifted the administration's travel ban Friday, and a federal appeals court has declined to restore it. Yet Parsi is still stuck in Iran, waiting for a delayed visa amid the confusion while his U.S. employer fumes. "We need him desperately," said Dr. Richy Agajanian, managing partner of the Oncology Institute of Hope and Innovation, which had just hired him. "We had an office completely constructed we spent three months on it, and it was supposed to open Feb. 1. Now we can't open it. This is really sad and frustrating." The 30-doctor practice does a lot of work in the area that includes San Bernardino and Riverside counties, Agajanian noted. "It's very sparse in doctors out there many miles between oncologists," he said. "The patients he would be seeing have to travel another 25 miles now. Our doctors are already overworked, and now they'll have to be on call more often." The United States has a persistent doctor shortage, despite the fact that 31 new medical schools have opened since 2002 and many existing ones have increased class sizes, according to Merritt Hawkins, a Dallas-based medical recruiting firm. It also noted that there are 22 percent more residencies available each year than there are U.S. graduates to take them. Graduates of foreign medical schools now fill that gap; the largest number come from India, followed by Pakistan, China, the Philippines, Iran and Israel. Iran is on President Donald Trump's exclusion list; Pakistan, a Muslim-majority country with a history of internal and external terror attacks, is not. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate 5 1 of 5 Vidor Police Department Show More Show Less 2 of 5 Vidor Police Department Show More Show Less 3 of 5 4 of 5 Vidor Police Department Show More Show Less 5 of 5 An Orange man was arrested Monday after authorities uncovered a check cashing ring during a traffic stop, according to a release from the Vidor Police Department. At about 11:30 a.m., police stopped a vehicle traveling at a high speed on Interstate 10 at FM 1132, Vidor Police Chief Rod Carroll said. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Two years after commissioners gave County Judge Craig Doyal the authority to reorganize county departments under his control, Precinct 3 Commissioner James Noack and Precinct 4 Commissioner Jim Clark are asking court members to reverse that decision. During a Jan. 26, 2015, meeting, the same month Doyal was sworn in as county judge, the court voted 4-1 to restructure county employees, giving Doyal ultimate control over each county department. Noack was the lone nay vote. Noack is expected to place the item on the Montgomery County Commissioners Court Feb. 14 agenda for discussion and action. The court will meet at 9:30 a.m. on the fourth floor of the Alan B. Sadler Administration Building, located at 501 N. Thompson St. The 2015 action by the court gave Doyal "sole discretion" to reorganize departments including creation or deletion of departments, transfer of personnel from one department to another, terminations, layoffs, appointments, new hires, demotions and promotions. Those departments include collections, county engineer, infrastructure, consultants, administrative, risk management, mental health, forensics services, emergency management, elections, information technology, fire marshal, library, veterans, human resources, parks, environmental health, airport maintenance, building maintenance, community development, custodial, civic center, purchasing and the animal shelter. "I opposed it from the beginning," Noack said noting several county employees have urged him to seek the reversal. "For Judge Doyal to ask the court to consolidate that much power solely under his authority disenfranchises the voters and takes away authority that has been given to me in the Texas Constitution." According to Noack, Article V, Section 18 of the Texas Constitution states, "the court shall exercise powers over county business as provided by law." Clark, who approved the measure in 2015, echoed Noack. "I took the responsibility to oversee the operations of the court," Clark said. "Decisions for the county need to be brought before the whole court." However, Doyal said since the reorganization, the county has implemented several procedures that have improved communication and efficiency. "For the first time ever, we are having monthly department head meetings for improved communication," Doyal said. "We have set up a program so we can do evaluations on all department heads, which has never been done before. "Communication is better than it has ever been." In a Jan. 26, 2015, Courier article, Doyal said the move, taken after only his second meeting as county judge, was the first step in eliminating positions that no longer serve a vital function or are duplicated by other county services or offices. The plan, Doyal said, saved the county $500,000 in salaries and benefits. One of those positions eliminated was Director of Infrastructure Mark Bosma. Doyal and Bosma, who Noack publicly supported in the race, battled for the county judge seat in 2014 with Bosma leading Doyal in the GOP primary election March 4, 2014, with 17,228 votes to Doyal's 17,133 votes. However, with a third candidate in the race, Bosma did not receive more than 50 percent of the votes to avoid a runoff. In the May 27 runoff, Doyal won the election, garnering 18,104 votes to Bosma's 15,010 votes. Municipal Court Judge Rosie Cuellar will host a free Valentines Day Wedding Ceremony on Feb. 14. Cuellar will perform her third free mass wedding ceremony at the Municipal Court Courthouse, 4610 Maher Ave., for couples who wish to profess their love for each other by joining themselves in legal matrimony. The ceremony will be at 12 p.m. and will be performed in both English and Spanish. Participants are required to have a marriage license, which must be obtained 72 hours before their ceremony, with a few exceptions. The licenses can be requested with Webb County Clerk Margie Ramirez Ibarra in the Webb County Justice Center, 1110 Victoria St., for a fee of $82. Both applicants must bring proof of identity and age and must provide a Social Security number, if any. Cuellar will sign the licenses and will have them ready within a week so the couples may file them at the County Clerk's Office. Call the Webb County Clerks Office at 956-523-4266 for any questions regarding the marriage licenses I am honored to perform the wedding ceremony at no cost to the public. This is the third free mass wedding ceremony I perform and I anticipate it being a very special event. We expect to have a great turn out as we have had in the two previous ceremonies with over 200 couples having participated, Cuellar said. There will be many drawings for prizes to be given out to lucky participants; several grand prizes are up for grabs, including a weekend stay at the La Posada Hotel. In order to participate, visit the Municipal Court Monday through Friday between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. in order to sign up. The last day to register for the mass wedding will be Friday, Feb. 10. For more information, call the Municipal Court at 956-794-1680. Bloomberg | Getty Images More than 200 investors and startups today added their names to an open letter opposing President Donald Trump's recent executive order that restricted travel to the U.S. by citizens of seven Muslim-majority countries and suspended refugee admissions. The list of signatures includes big name venture firms like Accel and Bessemer Venture Partners, accelerators such as 500 Startups and General Assembly and startups such as Casper and Flywheel. The letter was spearheaded by Evan Engstrom, executive director of Engine -- which describes itself as a policy, advocacy, and research organization supporting startups as an engine for economic growth -- and Bobby Franklin, the CEO and president of the Washington, D.C.-based National Venture Capital Association (NVCA). This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate NORWALK Craig Kelly started collecting African-American slave artifacts a little more than two decades ago. Since that time his collection has grown in size to roughly 400 artifacts, ranging from old Ku Klux Klan robes to shackles used on slave boats traveling from Africa to the U.S. He has original abolitionist newspapers, branding irons used to label slaves as property and even has centuries old quilts riddled with messages from elderly slaves who made the blankets with rags from their owners houses. Its arguably one of the largest personal collections of African-American slavery artifacts in the state of Connecticut, and one that Kelly felt compelled to share with students at Norwalk Community College Monday afternoon. Kelly said his decision to start collecting the artifacts was personal. I had no one to tell me the suffering and the struggle that weve gone through to get to this point, Kelly said. His years of learning about and collecting the items has allowed him to recognize and celebrate a part of history he said he was never told much about. Now Kelly travels the country with his collection to share what he has learned. Monday afternoon, Kelly, of Bridgeport, to the group of nearly 30 predominantly black students, with the hope of teaching them that part of history. The less you know about someone the less respect you tend to have for them, Kelly said to the students. The less you know about yourself the less respect you tend to have for yourself." During his presentation, Kelly, a professional counselor, retired lieutenant of the Bridgeport Fire Department and filmmaker, gave an overview of various historical points in African-American slave history. Kelly spoke of the society African people had before the slave trade, how spirituality was and still remains a large part of African culture, the reality that slavery existed in the Northern U.S. and how African slaves were dehumanized by the white population in order to be looked down upon by those keeping slaves. The colleges African Culture Club hosted the event as a part of the schools ongoing Black History Month event series. Jasmine Williamson, a Norwalk Community College student and president of the club, said the idea in hosting the event came from wanting to educate people on a somewhat hidden part of American history. Its all about educating yourself, Williamson said. It helps you evaluate your place in history. She said she knew about the historical reality of slavery in the north, but didnt realize the severity of it. To her the most compelling part of Kellys presentation was seeing the shackles used for enslaved children and babies. Seeing those you really understand how they were dehumanized, Williamson said. Al Thomas, adviser to the student group and an employee of the college, said the event was one of a number centered on enlightening people on Black history that isnt always taught in textbooks. African-American history is American history, he said. There is no division. KSchultz@thehour.com; 203- 354-1049; @kevinedschultz The Woodlands resident Adrian Heath, whose 2014 felony conviction and three-year prison sentence for voting illegally was upheld by a Texas court in December, is one step closer to serving time in prison. A judge signed a warrant for Heath's arrest, Montgomery County Sheriff's Office officials confirmed Monday. The Court of Criminal Appeals chose not to hear Heath's appeal Dec. 14, 2016. Heath has been entangled in appeals ever since he and three others were convicted of voting illegally in a May 2010 Woodlands Road Utility District election. Ten individuals changed their voting address to that of a Woodlands hotel, checked into the hotel and ousted the RUD board incumbents in a 10-2 vote. However, the three incumbents, Gene "Ed" Miller, Bill Neill and Winton Davenport, filed suit alleging the results were obtained by illegal votes. A visiting judge ruled that the 10 Montgomery County residents who changed their voting address to the hotel and voted in the RUD election did not reside within the WRUD boundaries and their votes were thrown out. Miller, Neill and Davenport were reinstated. to the board. The 10, including Heath, claimed they consulted with state officials before changing their voter registration addresses to The Residence Inn in The Woodlands. Heath and three others were convicted of voter fraud, while voters Peter Goeddertz and Thomas Curry received pretrial probation in order to avoid prosecution. The other four were never charged. In June 2014, Heath appealed his conviction to the 9th Court of Appeals in Beaumont, although his case was transferred to the 14th Court of Appeals in Houston about two weeks later. The 14th Court affirmed Heath's conviction and sentence in May 2016, which led Heath to file a petition for discretionary review to the Court of Criminal Appeals about two months later. Then in December 2016, the Court of Criminal Appeals declined to review Heath's case. Heath's attorney Jay Wright previously said he planned on filing for a writ of certiorari from the Supreme Court, although no writ of certiorari is shown to have been granted for Heath as of Monday, Supreme Court records show. Montgomery County Tea Party member John Wertz sent a letter to Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton's office Dec. 15, 2016, asking Paxton to drop the case against Heath. It was the AG's Office, headed by then-AG Greg Abbott (now governor), that prosecuted Heath and the others in the RUD case. "What the rent-a-voters, Heath and (other RUD voters) ... have all done is allowed under that law," Wertz said in a December 2016 article in The Courier. "The lawbreakers are the developers who are giving the cheap rent to those rent-a-voters in turn for their votes in the RUD elections." More than 300 people have signed a Change.org petition urging the Court of Criminal Appeals to review Heath's case. Heath and his attorney Jay Wright did not return phone calls by press time. The Texas 14th Court of Appeals overturned the voter fraud conviction of James Alan Jenkins in June 2015 and remanded the case for retrial. The appeals court said the 359th state District Court made a mistake by not informing jurors of the possible legal defense of "mistake of law." Sybil Doyle and her daughter Roberta Cook also were convicted, sentenced to five years' probation and their convictions upheld. However, Doyle recently passed away. The Midland ISD school board appears to have at least two motivations as trustees move forth in their search for a new superintendent. The first is to get the right person to transform a district that is lower performing academically into one in which all students will graduate prepared for college and career. The second is to be competitive with comparable districts and to leave no stone unturned. Members of the search firm Hazard, Young, Attea & Associates met with the board Monday night to establish a framework for the upcoming search. That framework included a tentative calendar: - March 6-8: HYA officials will conduct interviews with members of the community; - April 17: a slate of candidates will be presented to the board for the purpose of interviews; - April 21-22: interviews with recommended applicants will take place; - April 26-29: interviews with preferred candidates are set to take place; - May 8: the board is likely to announce its lone finalist; - May 30: a new superintendent is appointed; and - July 1: new superintendent is tentatively scheduled to assume the position. HYA officials explained to the board its community engagement phase. Residents will have the opportunity to fill out an online survey that could be live on Midland ISDs website as early as Wednesday and remain up for at least most of the rest of the month. HYA officials also are likely to conduct at least 25 focus groups, separate interviews with individual board members and at least a pair of open town hall meetings. All that information will be used to create a board-approved leadership profile that HYA will use in the recruiting process. We will use that framework to see if the people measure up to that standard set in that profile, said Peter Flynn, a HYA senior associate. It is expected that HYA also will use a final draft of Midland ISDs Lone Star Governance report as a guide for expectations for a new superintendent. The district is in the midst of finalizing that report, which includes district goals, board and superintendent constraints and a theory of action for the district. Midland ISD staff will be introduced to a draft of the report next week, and community meetings will be held about the report later in the month. Midland ISD trustees stated the need to correctly conduct the search, including paying $2,750 for an advertising package and $1,900 for a comprehensive background check on the potential lone finalist. HYA officials also said those applying for the position will know how much former superintendent Ryder Warren made when he left Midland ISD for Northwest ISD ($264,999, according to 2015 Texas Education Agency information) and what comparable districts pay. Midland ISD board members stated they will want to be competitive when it comes to salary and fringe benefits for a new district CEO. Midland ISD is paying HYA $33,000 to conduct the search, according to board President Rick Davis. Notes: All board members were present for the meeting. ... No one from the community or campus staff attended the open meeting at the Administration Building. For those interested in weighing in on the selection of the next superintendent, they will have their chance in the next five weeks. Those leading the search for a new CEO of schools have said the community will play an important role in creating a leadership profile that will be the cornerstone of the superintendent search. The plan, as officials with Hazard, Young, Attea & Associates told the Midland ISD school board Monday night, will include more than 25 engagement opportunities with community groups including Educate Midland, elected officials, the Midland ISD Education Foundation, the Business and Founders Initiative, teacher leadership (elementary and secondary), PTA Executive leadership, student leadership, central office leadership and school administrators. Other groups could include Midland Students First, the NAACP and local ministerial alliances. The interviews will culminate in a leadership profile that becomes part of ad content and subsequent interview process as HYA officials recruit superintendent candidates. Focus groups and interviews are expected to take place March 6-8. There also will be an online survey that other interested Midlanders can fill out. The survey could go up as early as today and remain on the districts website until at least late in the month. The survey, according to Nola Wellman, an associate with HYA, allows for interaction with those who typically might be the least connected when it comes to providing input but would be impacted most by the reform needed in the school district. Officials said they would love to get 750 to 1,000 survey responses over a 2 1/2-week period. HYA said it expects district leaderships commitment to theories of action will be honored in the process as will its goals moving forward to provide a growth mindset, a no-excuses mentality and effective instructional environment -- features brought to Midland ISD by interim Superintendent Rod Schroder. Midland ISD leadership has been working on a Lone Star Governance report. School officials said there will be community meetings at which a draft of the report will be introduced. Two of these meetings are on Feb. 21 at First Presbyterian Church and Feb. 23 at Stonegate Fellowship. Meetings at the Hispanic Cultural Center and Greater Ideal Baptist Church will take place the following week. These are the same locations of the community meetings Staff leadership will be the first to learn about the draft of the report at a meeting planned for Monday at Bowie Fine Arts Academy. The meeting will precede the MISD boards regular meeting. We are eager to follow your lead, said Wellman, a graduate of Permian High School in Odessa and whose experience in education includes a superintendency at Eanes ISD in Austin, which includes Westlake High School. This commitment to processes and outcome will propel Midland. A Texas Education Agency decision that some school districts would receive recapture money because of incorrect school finance calculations could mean more than $1 million would be returned to Midland ISD. The issue has to do with the values the State Comptrollers Office put on valuations and the amount local districts grant in exemptions to taxpayers. All school districts in Texas, according to a Texas Tribune report this weekend, allow homeowners to deduct $25,000 from their taxable property values, but districts are allowed to raise those exemptions up to 20 percent of a homes value. Midland is one of those districts. As Midland ISD interim Superintendent Rod Schroder said Monday, there is a difference between the comptrollers determination of property wealth and that amount minus the extra homestead exemptions. The Tribune reported that in a letter sent Feb. 1 to school administrators, the agencys associate commissioner for school finance said that starting with the current school year, TEA will include half of the money the districts have forfeited in optional homestead exemptions when calculating how much recapture money those districts should pay. Thats the agencys reinterpretation of a law thats been on the books since 1999. Now, what the state is going to do is recognize 50 percent of that loss and not consider it available for recapture, Schroder said. Other districts that likely would be impacted, according to the Tribune report, include Houston ISD, Spring Branch ISD, Highland Park ISD, Lake Travis ISD and Comal ISD. The Tribune reported that about $100 million is a reasonable estimate of the total cost this year. Midlands recapture payment as a chapter 41, or property-wealthy, school is more than $50 million. Schroder said one of two payments to Austin has been made. The savings to the district based on this TEA decision will result in a reduction of future allotments, Schroder said. In net effect, we will recognize $2 million this budget, Schroder said. That money will go into the districts reserves, he said. Paramedics took two men to the hospital with gunshot wounds after they were apparently shot in the same incident in east Houston early Tuesday. One 911 call came about 3:45 a.m. reporting a man shot once in the chest in a driveway of a home in the 8000 block of Record Street near Wayside and Tidwell, Houston Police Lt. Larry Crowson said. That man was taken to the hospital in serious condition. Seven Texas towns have been named on Neighborhood Scout's annual list of "America's Top 100 Safest Cities" for 2017. Using FBI crime research, the data company considered factors like the number of property and violent crimes per 1,000 residents, according to the website. Secretary of Homeland Security John F. Kelly accepted responsibility for the widespread confusion surrounding President Trumps temporary ban on travelers from seven Muslim-majority countries. Though Kelly did not see the travel ban until days before its rollout the top security officials said the hasty implementation in airports across the country was on his shoulders, even as he insisted that refugees, families and legal permanent U.S. residents temporarily barred from entering the country were treated humanely. SAN ANTONIO A commercial building on the East Side is a total loss Tuesday afternoon following a massive fire that sent large plumes of thick, black smoke through the air. At least 20 units from the San Antonio fire department responded at 1:15 p.m. Tuesday in the 3700 block of Roland Road, where they found a fully engulfed building. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate A prominent photographer from San Antonio appeared briefly in court Tuesday on a charge of receiving child pornography, as area schools informed parents he had taken pictures of some students, though no inappropriate conduct was found in those shoots. Christopher Alexander Reilly, 46, photographed dancers and students around the country, and was arrested last week by the FBI. RELATED: S.A. photographer facing child porn charges owns home half mile from North Side elementary school He had taken photos of dance, band and cheer students at Reagan High School, and some students at Johnson High School, but the schools told parents in letters that the photo shoots were monitored and no inappropriate conduct was reported, the Northeast Independent School District said. A criminal complaint affidavit said Reilly mailed two computer hard drives to a recovery service business in Dallas, and the repair people told the feds on Jan. 24 that they had found child porn on them. The images described in the affidavit are graphic. RELATED: Warrant: Central Texas man forced teen into sex, threatened to 'kill her family' The FBI raided Reillys home on Jan. 31, and he told them he had downloaded child porn videos and watched some as recently as the previous night. Reilly admitted downloading images depicting children engaged in sexually explicit conduct from the Internet and saving videos of such child pornography to an external hard drive, the affidavit said. Reilly stated at the beginning of this year...he obtained a new hard drive and went a little crazy and downloaded videos from the Internet depicting children engaged in sexually explicit conduct and saved them onto his new hard drive. His hard drive failed and he sent the hard drive to a recovery service in Dallas. RELATED: Flight attendant says she saved a girl from human trafficking with a secret note Reilly had a following on social media, but his Instagram and Twitter accounts, his Web site and Facebook page all are down now. Tuesdays bail hearing was postponed until Thursday after his lawyer told U.S. Magistrate Judge Henry Bemporad that he was not ready. If convicted, he faces five to 20 years in prison. gcontreras@express-news.net Twitter: @gmaninfedland Each suburb has its pros and cons, but some of San Antonio's growing neighborhoods are on opposite sides of the spectrum when it comes to schools and crime, according to a new report report. Niche, a website that provides reviews and statistics on education and housing, just released their ranking of the best suburbs to raise a family in Texas. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate SAN ANTOINO Police are searching for at least one suspect who shot a man in the groin and fled Tuesday in a Northeast Side neighborhood. Police received the shooting call around 10 a.m. in the 5100 block of Sierra Madre in the El Dorado neighborhood. One victim, who is about 30-years old, was found at the scene in the front yard, with a gunshot wound to the groin, according to Ofc. Doug Greene, a spokesperson for the San Antonio Police Department. First responders transported him to San Antonio Military Medical Center in stable condition. READ ALSO: Low visibility, mist and 'driver inattention' cause traffic chaos across S.A. "He's lucky," Greene said. "If you get hit in the right artery you can bleed out quickly. I've seen it happen." Officers canvassed the neighborhood as they searched for the suspect, who remains on the loose and may be in a white, 4-door vehicle. El Dorado Elementary School, which is in the area where the shooting took place, was not placed on lockdown, according to police on scene. Greene said the suspect, a Hispanic man in his 30s or 40s, approached the victim, they spoke for a brief time and then the suspect shot the victim and fled. Three witnesses were being held at the scene, though they were not under arrest or listed as suspects. Greene said both they and the victim weren't cooperating with police, which is leading officers to believe there may be other criminal activity involved in the shooting. "Their uncooperation is raising some red flags," Greene said. Police conducted a "protective sweep" of the home where the victim was shot, but did not find any evidence that led to the arrest of the three men being held at the scene, Greene said. After holding them at the scene for about an hour and a half, officers took the three men to a police station for further questioning. Text "Breaking" to 48421 for breaking news alerts from mySA.com cdowns@mysa.com Twitter: @calebjdowns This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate A dizzying four months of search and unanswered questions ceased this week when the remains of Zuzu Verk, a 22-year-old missing college student, were positively identified as hers, news that sent communities across the state into mourning. Verk, who is originally from Coppell, a suburb in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, spent time at the University of North Texas before attending Sul Ross State University, where she studied conservation biology, according to her Facebook page. She was accepted to Texas A&M University at the time she went missing in October 2016, CBS 7 reported in January. Friends in each of Verk's social circles have taken to social media to express their sadness after Alpine Police Chief Russel Scown and Brewster County Sheriff Ronny Dodson confirmed Monday the remains found Feb. 3 in a shallow grave near Alpine were hers. RELATED: Human remains found in Alpine confirmed to be those of West Texas college student "I'll never have enough words, let alone the right words, to say how much of an impact you had on my life," one said. "You supported everything from my questionable karaoke addiction to when I thought I could just go and start a non-profit." Others have donned green clothes and accessories in remembrance of their friend. News West 9 interviewed Verk's family, who said they were relieved the search had ended, and justice would hopefully be served. So far, two people have been arrested in relation to Verk's death Robert Fabian and Christopher Estrada. RELATED: West Texas police arrest 25-year-old boyfriend in Zuzu Verk case Scown said Estrada was arrested in Pheonix, Arizona Monday and was charged with tampering with physical evidence by concealing a human corpse, a second-degree felony punishable by a maximum 20 year sentence upon conviction. He said Estrada will be brought back to Texas to face charges. Fabian, who was Verk's boyfriend prior to her disappearance, was arrested Saturday and was also charged with tampering with physical evidence by concealing a human corpse, according to an Alpine Police Department news release. His bail is set at $500,000. Verk was last seen on a date with Fabian Oct. 11, 2016. Three days later, Fabian made a call to police to tell them she was missing. In the days before making his police report, Fabian made two calls to Estrada, and borrowed his white Ford Mustang, according to police. Estrada had his mustang cleaned three times in the days following Verk's disappearance. "She had plans to do so much. She wanted to travel, she wanted to do so much, she just wanted to help the world, she wanted to make the world a better place and she was taken from the world, taken from us," said Miles Verk, Zuzu's brother. RELATED: Human remains found in West Texas where 22-year-old college student went missing Fabian's family, including his mother, brother and sister, are considered persons of interest in the case, Scown said. He could not provide additional information as the case is ongoing. Scown said additional arrests would be made "eventually." Sul Ross State University President William Kibler released a statement Monday saying Verk would be remembered for her "smiles, energy and zest for life." "She embodied characteristics that represent the best in all of us," Kobler said. Verk's family requested that in lieu of flowers, donations be made to the Zuzu Verk Memorial Scholarship Fund in Natural Resource Management. Additionally, a memorial service for Verk will be held at the university Thursday at 6:30 p.m. in one of the university's amphitheaters. Staff writer Joshua Fechter contributed to this report. kbradshaw@express-news.net Twitter: @kbrad5 Border officers seized nearly 4,000 pounds of marijuana, dressed up as limes, at the Texas-Mexico border last week, according to officials. On Jan. 30, U.S. Customs and Border Protection authorities discovered the pot, valued at nearly $800,000, traveling as limes in a 2001 Freightliner tractor trailer, according to an agency news release. To the editor: There hasn't been very much coverage regarding the San Jacinto River Waste Pits, but what we have read is interesting and disturbing. The fact is, there are two legitimate sides to the debate over whether this superfund site should be contained or dredged and excavated. Perhaps many do not realize, but aside from the responsible parties, the business interests behind the remediation proposal for this site align with interests of the general public. Businesses, as much as anyone, rely on the health and protection of Galveston Bay. Not a soul wishes for the existence of this site, but the reality demands a reasoned and measured response. Thus far, this has been far from the case. The Texas Association of Businesses, the Texas Restaurant Association, the Texas Association of Manufacturing and many others are well versed with the Army Corp of Engineers report. They all support containment over dredging. Moreover, our own environmental agency, TCEQ, cannot support the EPA's proposal at this time and strongly implied that containment may be the best course of action. However, when scientific data and evidence is brought to bare in this debate, the default response seems to be impulse and emotion rather than reason and substance. We believe some may need to rethink their position on the San Jacinto River Waste Pits; take a look at the science and then decide. We think most objective readers will find the evidence is very clear. Ignoring the science could result in catastrophe, which the EPA is more familiar with than many know. Crystal Laramore Laramore Media Group Gearing up for repeal and replace To the editor: Congressman Kevin Brady spoke to a group of his constituents in Conroe Saturday to explain what he has been working on for several years to repeal and replace the failing Obamacare experience. The Republicans in the House of Representatives have been putting together a plan ever since the Democrats put the so-called "Affordable Care Act" into place. Now that Brady is chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, he and the Republicans in Congress have a good chance of repealing and replacing the ACA with a "better way," the plan that has been in the works for years because our Republican President Donald Trump will sign the bill when it gets to his desk. What Mr. Donohue and his fellow liberals don't understand is that the uninsured being signed up for insurance under the ACA is blowing holes in state budgets, as well as the federal budget. A "better way" is to lower costs for everyone, which Brady's plan does. Thank you Rep. Brady! May Stephens Op-Ed: The Immeasurable Value of Texas Libraries To the editor: The report recently released by the Texas State Library and Archives Commission shows a return of investment of $4.64 for every dollar spent. Even so, advocates of Texas libraries know that investing in these organizations brings value beyond what can be measured in dollars and cents. Libraries of today are forward-thinking institutions that embrace technology and contribute enormous value to their thriving communities. As gathering places for people to interact and share ideas, libraries connect their patrons with the information and resources that they need in order to live full and satisfying lives. They demonstrate that libraries have evolved beyond books alone by providing resources to job seekers, supporting small businesses, building technology skills and offering a wide range of cutting edge programs, including 3D printing, robotics, circuitry and more. People served by well-funded public libraries in their area enjoy access to much-needed physical and digital materials as well as critical services like Wi-Fi and computer access. School districts dedicated to their libraries boast strong curriculums and test scores while positively influencing student success. Without a doubt, it pays to support Texas libraries. The future of libraries is bright, and for those communities that back them, the benefits are endless. Melissa Baker Marketing and Program coordinator of Montgomery County Memorial Library System, is the chair of Texas Library Association's PR and Marketing Committee Re: North America trade war feared after talk of tax: Trump sees 20 percent levy funding wall; Pena Nieto cancels trips, front page, Jan. 27: Rep. Will Hurd, R-Texas, is right when he said, Building a wall is the most expensive and least effective way to secure the border. If they are serious about curtailing immigration, they should push for laws to punish the owners of factories and corporations who hire people without documents. But I guess such an idea would hurt the rich. Meanwhile, its open season on the environment, private property rights and the taxpayer. Don Mathis Mexicos not paying A parallel for Donald Trump: I built a house and my neighbor pays for it. NOT! Yram F. Martinez, Eagle Pass Give it up Why cant President Donald Trump leave it alone? He lost the popular vote but won the electoral vote. He is not the first to do so. Some people are registered to vote in more than one location (even some in his own Cabinet) because people move about, and there is no law requiring a person to notify his previous election precinct before registering to vote in another. Also, deceased people must be removed from voting rolls, but this takes time as election officials must compare their list of registered voters with the deaths reported by the Social Security Administration and other sources. All investigations to date have resulted in findings that voter fraud is rare. We will waste time and money to convince our narcissistic president that Americas voting system is the best in the world. Greg Castillo Yup, Trumps right I cant help it, but I have to agree with the Trumpster. There was illegal voting. My gosh, there had to be! How else could he have won? I say check every Republican voters registration card for duplicate names and street addresses, and I am sure they will find many illegal votes. There is no other way he could have won. Fred M. Vasquez Nice going, Frank Re: Respond to alternative facts intelligently, Frank Bruni, Other Views, Jan. 27: Can you run Frank Brunis column regularly? Right on, Mr. Bruni! Francille Radmann Misguided women I am a 75-year-old mother and grandmother. I do not understand these women marching against everything that might give their kids and grandkids a future. I pray for our children and grandchildren coming after us. We pray for a united America. What do these women think they are doing? They are not supporting their kids and grandkids. Patricia J. Wood Rescue mission My congratulations and heartiest thanks to the men, women and children who filled the streets of our cities in protest, what appears to be the beginning of an era of deep despair for large percentages of the population. While I was not one of them, I was cheering them on in spirit. And now the work for those of us who did not march begins. We all have the task of supporting these marchers with tweets, texts, emails, phone calls and letters to our elected representatives, assuring them that their responsibility must be to we, the people and not to some amorphous mass in Washington known as the party. There is hope, friends and neighbors, but only if we act and act now to rescue this great nation. Stay close, but reach out. Sarah Joe LeMessurier So right about tax Re: Benefits of a zero corporate tax, Thomas Nichta, Another View, Jan. 27: Thomas Nichta, you are SO correct! Thank you! John Strickland Back zero tax 100% Re: Benefits of a zero corporate tax, Thomas Nichta, Other Views, Jan. 27: Bravo to Thomas Nichta for proposing a zero percent corporate income tax rate! This idea embodies sound economic principles, recognizing that companies dont have wealth families do. Companies and government merely hold wealth in trust. Zero corporate tax rates would onshore many of the corporations now accused of capital flight, and would reduce the validity of corporations as individuals, allowed with a reversal of Citizens United. Of course, direct tax rates on individuals would rise, but families pay taxes indirectly though corporations already, so, on net, no problem. John DeLaHunt Executive arrogance Re: In Cabinets, where diversity occurs is what matters, Another View, Jan. 19: I agree with not surrounding yourself with ideologues, thinking you are the smartest person in the room, lying to the American people and being thin-skinned about criticism. Hope Donald Trump follows this advice. Too bad the author didnt have the prescience to advise our outgoing president to avoid these shortcomings. Barack Obama checked all these boxes, some to stratospheric levels. He not only thought he was the smartest person in the room but in the universe maybe of all time. This arrogance was at the root of many of his failures. Hoping for a better tomorrow. John Fedor Life and death Several news outlets (Bloomberg, Chicago Tribune, Washington Post) have reported that the Trump administration pulled Affordable Care Act advertisements for the last two weeks of this years enrollment period, which has been the most active sign-up time. Advertisements are reminders. Lack of health insurance is a cause of death. How many child deaths will these federal administration actions cause? Richard A. Albanese, M.D. Anti-Trump bias Thank you for printing one anti-Trump column after another. Your op-ed page is full of critical columns against our president, and your front page is full of negative articles. I am thankful that your liberal rag is on an all-out assault, because it assures me the man I voted for is doing exactly what he said he would do. Keep up the good work. Jack Hardy America is in the midst of a polarized conversation about safety, about pride in national identity, about culture and religions, about immigration and citizen status, and about civility in our treatment of each other. As a community and as a nation, we should open ourselves to the often uncomfortable task of listening to and understanding each other in our differences, while at the same time holding true to our values. We all have much to learn and understand about the divisions and polarizations that characterize our country today. This understanding is the path toward changes that will strengthen our country and that will strengthen us all as individuals. I have been at Trinity University for a little more than a year and a half, and every day I am grateful to be a part of an extraordinary university and the dynamic community of San Antonio. I came to Trinity University for many reasons, and here are three Id like to share: First, Trinitys location in the city of San Antonio is an advantage for our university. As the city approaches its 300th anniversary, I think of San Antonios rich history connected to Spain, Mexico and the Republic of Texas; today, it is a proud city in the United States of America. Our city has deep ties to Mexico and a history of exchanges with Mexican institutions. At Trinity, we value the connections that make the gateway city of San Antonio a meaningful home for a 21st-century university. Second, the diversity and inclusion modeled throughout San Antonio make this a welcoming community for students from across the country and around the world. At Trinity, we promote thoughtful care and compassion for all individuals, and we see the world as a network of diverse communities. Our policies pledge to treat all individuals equally across categories of difference and status, such as race, religion, or national origin. I am proud that our campus includes students who list home addresses in 44 different countries. I am proud that since 2000, we have hired faculty and staff from 12 different countries. These different perspectives enrich our community. Third, international connections are an advantage for our students and communitys future. Strengthening international awareness and expertise is a featured objective in Trinitys strategic plan. The university has enhanced the recruitment of students from other countries to study at Trinity. We are striving to increase opportunities for more of our students to have meaningful study abroad experiences. Our students become open to the world through their Trinity experiences. This year, Trinity has made a commitment to promote genuine dialogue and critical thinking by facilitating conversations among students, community members and Trinity alumni. Critical listening is a central ingredient for this commitment to succeed. As an example, Trinity hosted Michele Norris, founder of The Race Card Project. Norris is an award-winning journalist and former co-host of National Public Radios All Things Considered. She created The Race Card Project in 2010 to foster a candid dialogue about race. The project encourages people to describe their thinking about race in just six words, which Norris recasts to shine a light on our private beliefs about race and cultural heritage. Our goal is to foster an environment that encourages participation in challenging conversations. We must lean into the issues rather than pull back from them. We must cultivate unwavering respect for the vastly different lived experiences of individuals. The 19th-century German sociologist and philosopher Max Weber said: A university is a place where we can ask inconvenient questions. Civility has been the foundation of our conversations at Trinity even when we deeply and passionately disagree as we ask inconvenient questions. Today we need to talk more, not less. We need to listen more and learn to listen critically and with empathy. Through the conversational exchange of talking and listening, we can build connections internationally, promote inclusion and diversity, and engage openly with our world. I am proud of the emphasis Trinity University places on open conversations. The challenge of such conversations may be harder in a context of polarization, but we cannot shy away. Danny J. Anderson is president of Trinity University. Texas is the Lone Star State for a reason. We stand apart as a model for the nation. We have the fourth-highest high school graduation rate in America. We are second among Hispanic and African-American students, and first among economically disadvantaged students. And Texas has more public high schools ranked in the top 100 than any other state. In addition to improving early education and higher education last legislative session, we provided a record amount of badly needed funding to unclog our congested roads. We delivered the most robust border security effort of any state ever. And we cut taxes and eliminated unnecessary license fees. We made Texas freer, stronger, safer and smarter all without breaking the budget. This session, because education is essential to preserve liberty, we must continue to provide our teachers some of the best in America with the tools they need to help our students succeed. I support Education Commissioner Mike Morath and all he is doing to improve our schools. Hes making our schools more connected than ever to the internet. Hes developing math innovation zones to improve student performance. Hes deploying reading and math academies that make our teachers even better. Were also working to address the growing demand on our charter schools. They do a great job and deserve more funding. Both the House and the Senate are right to tackle the vexing challenge of school finance now rather than putting it off. But school finance is not about financing our schools. Nor is it about lining the pockets of the lawyers and lobbyists who capitalize off the backs of our students. Its about providing our kids with the best education possible. With a sense of urgency, we must create better ways to fund education. And when it comes to education, we need to remember that one size doesnt fit all. Parents, not government, are best positioned to make decisions about their childs education. Parents should be empowered to choose the school thats best for their children. No child should be in the wrong school because of his or her zip code. Every child should have a chance to succeed in life. All children should have the ability to attend the school thats best for them. Thirty states have school choice. I want to make Texas the 31st. We must also continue to invest in early education. Eighty percent of all voters agree: Texas should fund optional high-quality pre-K education. They want our children on the path to reading and math literacy by the time they finish third grade. Last session, we brought high quality standards to a pre-K system that desperately needed meaningful improvement. The purpose is to set high standards, evaluate their effectiveness and eliminate what doesnt work. To ensure that pre-K works rather than wastes taxpayer money, we must again adequately fund high-quality pre-K. Finally, we must continue to invest in the Governors University Research Initiative to attract internationally renowned researchers to our leading universities. Their research spurs economic development and creates even more jobs that Texans deserve. To find out more about the priorities for the session ahead, visit http://gov.texas.gov/initiatives. I look forward to working with my legislative partners to ensure we continue to elevate our education system and broaden the path to prosperity for all Texans. Greg Abbott is governor of Texas. While there are some good provisions in a proposal to overhaul Texas ethics laws, any effort has to include addressing the plague of dark money in politics. Ignoring dark money in a Texas ethics discussion is a bit like serving up tasty sides at a barbecue but dispensing with the brisket. Wheres the beef, yall? Its certainly not in state Sen. Van Taylors ethics legislation. There is no requirement to disclose large contributions to political nonprofit groups, which then use those funds to influence elections. This is the ethical elephant in Austin these days. Think of the nonprofit Empower Texans, which regularly attacks Republican lawmakers it deems not conservative enough during elections. Donors to Empower Texans are secret. How is that good for voters? They deserve to know who is trying to sway their votes. Supporters of dark money cloak their desire for secrecy as free speech. Its a bogus argument. This is not a First Amendment issue. Disclosure does not limit ones speech. People are still allowed to donate to these political nonprofits. They would just have to put their names to it. If a person really believes in a cause, policy or elected official, they should put their name to it. Tellingly, Empower Texans supports Taylors ethics-lite legislation. There are some good parts in the proposed ethics reform the sides to the missing main dish, if you will. It would require lawmakers to disclose government contracts, bond counsel work and legal referral fees. These have all created high-profile conflicts in recent years. It would bar lawmakers from working as lobbyists while in office, and it would make former lawmakers wait at least a session before they start riding the lobbying gravy train. Commendably, it would require lobbyists to report when they spend more than $57 in a given day on a state lawmaker or official. Currently, its $114 a day, but the rule is easily skirted. Lobbyists will invite other lobbyists to dinner and split the tab, dropping it below $114. The dynamics at play this year are similar to last legislative session when ethics reform died over dark money disclosure. House lawmakers insisted on it, and the Senate balked. A bill never made it to Gov. Greg Abbotts desk. If it had, Abbott likely would have vetoed it. Transparency is a crucial disinfectant for the scourge of special interests and hidden conflicts that can hijack legislation. The public deserves it. Ethics reform without dark money disclosure just isnt good enough. There is no excuse for the thuggish anarchy that recently went down at the University of California, Berkeley. About 1,500 protesters had gathered at the university in opposition to right-wing agitator Milo Yiannopoulos. The protest turned violent, possibly due to outsiders joining the protest, forcing the cancellation of the event. Thats nothing to celebrate. An editor with the alt-right Breitbart News, and avid supporter of President Donald J. Trump, Yiannopoulos is a controversial speaker because he says all kinds of offensive, insulting stuff. The university canceled due to safety concerns, but officials should have done a better job preparing for what was obviously going to be a volatile setting. Ugly speech, even vile speech, is still free speech and public universities are public spaces. Once ideas, even ugly ones, are censored, its a very slippery slope for our democracy and freedoms. There are peaceful ways to protest and object to vile speech. But no one has the right to take away someones speech, much less endanger others to the point that it keeps them from listening to those ideas. Naturally, Trump tweeted his outrage about the protest, threatening to cut federal funds to UC Berkeley. Such rhetoric only fans the flames. We wish the president would seek to ameliorate the tension in this nation, not inflame it. But we each can do our part. These are divisive, tense times. Lets all take a deep breath, and treat one another with mutual respect. Lets think before we react. Lets cherish that we live in a country where speech is free even awful speech. And lets celebrate that our diversity in opinion is an American strength, not a weakness. Bridging divides Re: Human shield welcomes gathering of solidarity, Metro, Feb. 1: As an Ahmadi Muslim woman, I want to convey my utmost gratitude to all my fellow Texans present at the recent Texas Muslim Capitol Day. The outpouring of support you provided by shielding your Muslim neighbors in a wall of peace brought tears to my eyes and made me feel more welcome than ever in this country of immigrants. I salute your understanding that American Muslims are loyal citizens who take pride in pursuing the American Dream, upholding the same American values cherished by this nation for centuries. In these troubled times, I applaud your courage in combating Islamophobia and engaging in dialogue to defuse misunderstandings between communities. I feel hopeful that, despite what we see and hear in the news, we can forge a united front to keep America great. Nadia Ahmad, Round Rock Presidents message I was alarmed to read that my own representative, Lamar Smith, said, Better to get your news directly from the president. In fact, it might be the only way to get the unvarnished truth. Im reminded of something I.F. Stone wrote: All governments lie, but disaster awaits the country whose leaders smoke the hashish theyre handing out. One of the first things a would-be dictator does is try to get a monopoly as the only source of news. Mr. Smith seems to want us to hand the president that monopoly on a silver platter. David Grant Absurd bill Re: Bathroom police, Your Turn, Jan. 23: I wish all our state legislators, especially Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, would read this excellent letter. The author of that ridiculous bill, Sen. Lois Kolkhurst, claims its aimed at men who would go into a womens restroom for nefarious purposes. I dont get it. I have never seen a man in a womens restroom. What abuse is Sen. Kolkhurst envisioning? Heres a scenario, if HB6 is passed: I am in the womens restroom. A man walks in. What do I do? Do I ask him what his biological sex was? How do I make sure he was born a woman? Will there be a policewoman in the restroom? Like the letter writer, Id like to know how these rules will be enforced. Sen. Kolkhurst is deluding herself. This bill is just discriminating against transgendered men and women entitled to the same privacy and freedom the rest of us enjoy. Patrick needs to find something more important with which to waste his time. Judy Halfant Where are Latinos? So far President Trump has not appointed any Hispanics to any cabinet position, although he has appointed some generals. Maybe those generals should put a bug in his ear that Hispanics have served honorably in the military in past years. They have also been recipients of the Medal of Honor for their military service. The Medal of Honor has been presented to Hispanics dating to the American Civil War, the Boxer Rebellion, World War II to name a few. Maybe we shall see a qualified Hispanic in a high-level position soon. Manuel Vera, Jr. Autocracy in U.S.? Rep. Lamar Smith said in a recent speech on the House floor that, rather than the news media, it is, Better to get your news directly from the president. Get our news from Trump, a habitual liar who often contradicts himself ! I cant believe this is happening in the good old USA. Smith sounds like someone from North Korea lavishing praise on the exulted leader. Joe De Mott Reagan spinning Section by section, stories in your Jan. 26 edition painted a bleak picture. On the front page, there are stories about the wall (Trump orders immediate start to wall along border); about torture (Black site prisons could be reopened by U.S.; about anti-transgender legislation (Straus moves to stifle proposed bathroom bill) In Metro, there was DREAM Act is target in Capitol. In Politics, Pena Nieto might cancel D.C. trip over wall order and Rep. Smith: Listen to Trump, not media. Is this whats become of our shining city on a hill, full of hope? I think Reagan is spinning in his grave, and Im a Democrat! Wendell Fuqua Ignore tweets Heres an idea. Now that the inauguration is over, lets all ignore President Trumps tweets. No retorts, no publicity, nothing. Instead, lets pay attention to what he and his appointees do. I believe if we ignore this obsessive behavior, maybe he will get to work on the job of governing. Can we do this? Barbara Moschner Double standard The hypocrisy of this paper never ceases to amaze me. If 60-plus Republican congressmen had refused to attend Obamas inauguration, Im confident wed still be hearing about it on your editorial page. Had a group of thugs blocked a street in D.C. to prevent people who wanted to view President Obamas inauguration from doing so, I have no doubt that you would have condemned them. As former Senator Bob Dole put it, Wheres the outrage? William Barone Fleeing reality I am not surprised that many Democrats did not show up for the inauguration. Remember several years ago, they didnt like what was happening in the Texas legislature, so they fled. Thats what they do they turn tail and run. Not surprising. It accomplishes nothing. Macky Patton, New Braunfels Sore losers Neither of the liberal entitled, never-held-a-real-job Castro brothers Julian and Joaquin went to Trumps inauguration? How devastating! If anyone did that to the outgoing president, they would be immediately labeled racist. Both Castros and that pack of Democrats who refused to go are sore losers, although I am being gracious by using the word sore. Jerry Beck, Devine With so much uncertainty swirling around Washington these days about trade and other issues, it was reassuring to hear some common sense on NAFTA from someone who knows what he's talking about. That person is U.S. Rep. Kevin Brady - president of the Beaumont Chamber of Commerce many years ago, formerly a local congressman and currently (thanks to redistricting) the U.S. House member from The Woodlands. More significantly, Brady is chairman of perhaps the most powerful committee in Congress, the Ways and Means Committee, which has jurisdiction over issues like taxes and international trade. He's also about as conservative as they come, the last person who would put America's interests behind any other nation's. That matters, because President Trump has vowed to attack trade agreements that harm the U.S. economy - as he should. But when Brady met with Trump last week to discuss NAFTA, we hope he listened to the congressman's advice. Brady wants to update NAFTA instead of gutting it, saying he hopes Trump "wants to build upon what works for America in NAFTA, improve what doesn't and bring forward really the 21st century issues that just haven't been addressed in that area." If that's what the president has in mind, our economy will benefit - as well as that of the other two partners in NAFTA, Mexico and Canada. The reality today is that the three nations have thriving cross-border commerce that shouldn't be treated lightly. Not counting U.S. imports of oil from Canada or Mexico, "the United States has a large and growing trade surplus in goods, including agriculture and manufactured goods, as well as in services," according to the U.S. Trade Representative. Texas, much closer to one of those countries than the other, is not missing out either. Mexico is our state's biggest trading partner, with $95 billion in commerce in 2015, the last year for which statistics are available. NAFTA supports an estimated 5 million jobs in the U.S., including quite a few in Texas. Facts like that should drive Trump's review of NAFTA, not emotion or myths. If Kevin Brady has a seat at the negotiating table, the president and the entire country will be better off. / Contributed SOUTHBURY - A Waterbury man who police said led them on a high speed pursuit along Interstate 84 after attempting to have a woman withdraw money from her bank account was arrested Monday. Police said Claude William forced the woman to withdraw money from her account at Chase Bank on Main Street at around 10:30 a.m. on Monday while he was waiting outside in the car. Bank employees suspecting something was amiss contacted police. While the woman was known to Williams, police said, her identity was not released. TOKYO Behind some of the worlds most reputed concert halls is a Japanese engineer whose finesse in shaping sound is so perfectly unobtrusive that all listeners hear is the music in all its subtlety, texture and fullness. Yasuhisa Toyotas talents are coveted as classical music venues are increasingly designed in vineyard style, where audiences surround the stage to hear the performers up close and enjoy an almost-interactive experience, feeling more like a part of the music and being able to be seen and respond to it. Toyotas Nagata Acoustics has just 20 employees globally, but it dominates acoustics work for halls in Japan and is expanding abroad. He has designed the acoustics for orchestras in Los Angeles, Helsinki, Paris and Shanghai. Another of his projects, the Elbephilharmonie concert hall in Hamburg, opened Jan. 11. Still, when asked to summarize the reason for success, Toyota hesitates. So many factors are involved in fine-tuning acoustics, and each hall has a different design, creating fresh challenges. No one can explain in one word why a Stradivarius violin sounds so beautiful, or how the way it was made may have shaped that beautiful sound, Toyota said. Toyota, 64, is not a musician but was raised listening to and loving classical music. He founded his company in 1971. It has headquarters in Tokyo and Los Angeles, which is his main home these days as he oversees Nagatas projects outside Japan. Toyota coined the expression psycho-acoustics to describe the importance of emotions and other senses in sound. Would a pink violin, for instance, sound as good as a brown one, he asks? There is discussion about a formula for acoustics because sound is invisible. People dont ask those questions about visual design, said Toyota, whose carefree flair, quick wit and laugh are unusual among Japanese of his usually staid generation. At times sounding like a Zen monk when he talks about the art of sound, Toyota says crafting acoustics requires a thorough knowledge of building materials, close collaboration with architects, comprehension of musicians needs, computerized simulations, use of scale models of the halls and analysis of reverberating sound. The thickness of a wall, its shape, material and curves, the fixtures hanging from the ceiling, and the musicians themselves all affect acoustics. In the old-style shoe box design of concert halls, where the audience sits in rows facing the stage, the sound is easier to control. The vineyard format is trickier. David Howard, a bass clarinetist with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, has played in several halls Toyota has worked on and says he appreciates the direct, clear and full, and intimate nature of their sound. In that sense, Mr. Toyota hit a home run, he said. Apart from the just opened Elbephilharmonie, Toyota has done the acoustics for Stanford Universitys Bing Concert Hall, Helzberg Hall at Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts in Kansas City, Mo., and the Chamber Hall at the Museo Del Violino in Cremona, Italy. His first major overseas project was the Walt Disney Concert Hall, which opened in 2003, for the Los Angeles Philharmonic. Yuri Kageyama is an Associated Press writer. AN apostolic sect leader in Mutare has pledged to mobilise one million votes for President Emmerson Mnangagwa ahead of next years polls . Andby Makururu, the leader of the Johanne the Fifth of Africa International Vapostori sect forced members to chant Zanu-PF slogans during service and distributed hundreds of party T-shirts to his congregants. During the weekend, Makururu hosted a two-day 37th anniversary to commemorate the formation of his sect, which was attended by the Zanu-PF Manicaland province womens league boss Happiness Nyakuedzwa. On the second day of the celebrations on Sunday, Manicaland Provincial Affairs minister Nokuthula Matsikenyere was the guest of honour at the event held at Mutare Showgrounds. Matsikenyere took the opportunity to urge the congregants to vote for Zanu-PF. Makururu urged hundreds of congregants to chant Zanu-PF slogans. We are registering our members at the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (Zec) so that they can vote for President Mnangagwa in 2023, and we are leaving no one in our registration drive, Makururu said. We are experiencing challenges minister (Matsikenyere). Can you assist us to get birth certificates and identity cards for some of our congregants so that we achieve the targeted one million votes. We are happy with Mnangagwas policies and we assure him that we are behind him. We have several members that reside outside the country, he said. Makururu also directed party members to vote for Zanu-PF parliamentary candidates Misheck Mugadza and Esau Mupfumi in the March 26 by-elections. Mugadza will contest in the Mutasa South constituency, while Mupfumi will contest for the Dangamvura/Chikanga constituency seat. In her address, Matsikenyere said she was impressed by how church members chanted party slogans. At my church, it is taboo to chant slogans. But even comrade Misheck Mugadza is impressed and has said that he is willing to join this church because of the way Zanu-PF slogans are chanted. We are looking for land to give to this church because you are doing a great job. We will talk to Mutare Rural District Council where most of the land is, she added. Matsikenyere, who is also the Zanu-PF Chimanimani West MP, said the party was ready for the 2023 elections. I have no time to rest and I enjoy working with people. My door is always open. I want people to know that l am ready to win my constituency (Chimanimani West) again in 2023, and also to win for President Mnangagwa, she said. NewsDay Breaking News via Email TWO Zanu PF legislators, Joseph Chinotimba (Buhera South) and his Buhera West counterpart Oliver Mandipaka, nearly traded blows before an extraordinary provincial co-ordination committee meeting in Mutare on Sunday as factional fights continue to haunt the ruling party. Tempers flared when Mandipaka confronted Zanu PF central committee member Soul Nzuma, who is reportedly eyeing his seat, and labelled him a sellout. Mandipaka, a suspected ally of President Emmerson Mnangagwa, accused Nzuma of conniving with under-fire Manicaland Provincial Affairs minister Mandiitawepi Chimene to wrest his parliamentary seat. Chimene, who is reportedly holed up in Mozambique following the recent ouster of former President Robert Mugabe and his G40 acolytes, was leading the campaign for the purge of all suspected Mnangagwa allies. You used to take notes for Mandiitawepi Chimene, you were his spy, you wanted to kick me out of the party and see what has happened? I am not happy with what you have been doing, Mandipaka said, a charge Nzuma described as false. What you are saying is not true and I dont know how you got that information, Nzuma said before Chinotimba intervened in the verbal showdown, but failed to restrain Mandipaka. Mandipaka, please, listen to me. If you dont want to listen to me, then this issue will remain unresolved, Chinotimba said as Mandipaka threatened to name and shame sellouts in our midst. Mandipaka was among 39 senior party members who were recently shortlisted for expulsion for aligning themselves with the Mnangagwa camp. Chinotimba is a suspected G40 functionary. Breaking News via Email Silicon Valley is getting more than a little nervous that one of its favorite mechanisms for keeping wages low, H-1B vias, is likely to be severely curtailed by the Trump Administration. Industry stalwarts are raising false alarms that tightening requirements would deprive tech players of talent and specialized skills that they allegedly cannot obtain elsewhere. However, as Robert Cringley points out in a new story, they look to be able to maintain virtually all of the benefits of the status quo by using a not-as-well-known visa, the L-1B visa. The reality is quite different. H-1B visas overwhelmingly fill lower-level jobs that would normally serve as yeoman positions for young computer sciences graduates. The US is thus throwing away what it touts as a strategic asset by failing to train its next generation of computer professionals. And thats before getting to the significant level of H-1B visa fraud. One type is where tech workers are brought to the US with no work lined up. Those workers are treated as near slaves, held hostage in guest houses until they find work. And the clients arent marginal players; major tech firms use these illegal operators. A second type of fraud is wage theft. Moreover, its false that H-1B visa holders are providing needed and scarce skills. The press has been full of stories of employees being required to train H-1B visa replacements. Disney was challenged by worked who were forced to train H-1B replacements; they lost their challenge on what most people would see at technical grounds, that the H-1B visa holders who took their jobs were employed by contractors, not Disney. That followed ComputerWorld exposing a similar program abuse at Southern California Edison: Information technology workers at Southern California Edison (SCE) are being laid off and replaced by workers from India. Some employees are training their H-1B visa holding replacements, and many have already lost their jobs The H-1B program was supposed to be for projects and jobs that American workers could not fill, this worker said. But were doing our job. Its not like they are bringing in these guys for new positions that nobody can fill. Not one of these jobs being filled by India was a job that an Edison employee wasnt already performing, he said The SCE outsourcing is one more case, in a long line of them, of injustice where American workers are being replaced by H-1Bs, said Ron Hira, a public policy professor at Howard University, and a researcher on offshore outsourcing. Adding to the injustice, American workers are being forced to do knowledge transfer, an ugly euphemism for being forced to train their foreign replacements. Americans should be outraged that most of our politicians have sat idly by while outsourcing firms have hijacked the guest worker programs. The majority of the H-1B program is now being used to replace Americans and facilitate the offshoring of high wage jobs, Hira said. In 2016, ComputerWorld described Clinton crying crocodile tears over the issue when her dependence on tech titans as donors meant she was guaranteed to do nothing. Robert Cringley is a fierce critic of outsourcing, and he attributes it to CEOs keen to push up stock prices at the cost of the long-term health of their enterprises. As he wrote in 2015: Now lets look at what this has meant for the U.S. computer industry. First is the lemming effect where several businesses in an industry all follow the same bad management plan and collectively kill themselves The IT services lemming effect has companies promising things that can not be done and still make a profit. It is more important to book business at any price than it is to deliver what they promise. In their rush to sign more business the industry is collectively jumping off a cliff. This mad rush to send more work offshore (to get costs better aligned) is an act of desperation. Everyone knows it isnt working well. Everyone knows doing it is just going to make the service quality a lot worse. If you annoy your customer enough they will decide to leave. The second issue is you cant fix a problem by throwing more bodies at it. USA IT workers make about 10 times the pay and benefits that their counterparts make in India. I wont suggest USA workers are 10 times better than anyone, they arent. However they are generally much more experienced and can often do important work much better and faster (and in the same time zone). The most effective organizations have a diverse workforce with a mix of people, skills, experience, etc. By working side by side these people learn from each other. They develop team building skills. In time the less experienced workers become highly effective experienced workers. The more layoffs, the more jobs sent off shore, the more these companies erode the effectiveness of their service. An IT services business is worthless if it does not have the skills and experience to do the job. The third problem is how you treat people does matter. In high performing firms the work force is vested in the success of the business. They are prepared to put in the extra effort and extra hours needed to help the business and they are compensated for the results. They produce value for the business. When you treat and pay people poorly you lose their ambition and desire to excel, you lose the performance of your work force. It can now be argued many workers in IT services are no longer providing any value to the business. This is not because they are bad workers. It is because they are being treated poorly. Firms like IBM and HP are treating both their customers and employees poorly. Their management decisions have consequences and are destroying their businesses. Cringley weighed in yesterday on Trumps executive order. He pointed out that, in keeping with Trumps propensity to use executive orders as press releases, that it didnt mention the H-1B program. It instead called for a review of all visa programs, with an eye to improving US employment and economic productivity. Cringley notes those arent necessarily the same thing; indeed, short term, they are often in direct conflict. His key observation: Channeling President Trump, I think Trump IS going to wack the H-1B program, which will affect mainly Indian IT consultancies, but hell leave unchanged the L-1B visa program that allows American companies to shift their employees to America from abroad. Think about it, in this case with IBM as an example. IBM Global Services sees itself as competing with big H-1B users like Tata and Infosys and an H-1B ban or severe limitation would give IBM or any similar U.S.-based multinational an advantage, especially if the L-1B visa program is left untouched. With L-1B, IBM can use its own Indian employees MAKING INDIAN PAY AND BENEFITS to do the work here in the USA. No need to pretend you cant find an American worker as presently required by H-1B. No need to advertise. No need to pretend you are paying a locally competitive wage. L-1B visas are hardly ever mentioned in the press yet they are even bigger than H-1B already. Its worse for American workers than H-1B, too. So what if Trump cuts back or freezes H-1B numbers without touching the (presently unlimited) L-1B program? Hell still be keeping a campaign promise, yet also working to enrich Big Business at the expense of the very people who voted for him. a 2014 article by Daniel Costa of the Economic Policy Institute in The Hill has one of the rare discussions of the L-1B program: At least 650,000 college-educated temporary foreign workers are employed in the United States through the H-1B visa program, mostly in the high-tech industry. The H-1B is a well-known guestworker program that is inadequately but at least minimally regulated, with an annual limit and a requirement that employers pay a prevailing wage. Other visa programs, like the L-1 and the F-1 Optional Practical Training (OPT) program, have almost no rules and receive little scrutiny, but are used to employ hundreds of thousands of foreign tech workers Multinational companies use the L-1 visa to transfer employees from their foreign offices to offices in the United States. Over the past five years, an average of 68,000 L-1 visas have been issued per year, but there is no annual limit. There are two types: the L-1A for managers or executives (valid for seven years), and the L-1B for employees that have qualifying specialized knowledge (valid for five years). According to government audits, the majority of L-1 workers are in occupations related to computers and information technology (IT), and the biggest users of the L-1 are also the biggest users of the H-1B outsourcing tech firms like Tata, Cognizant and Infosys firms whose business model focuses on sending jobs overseas The media have reported on major companies laying off U.S. tech workers and replacing them with L-1s (legally), after first forcing the U.S. workers to train their own replacements. And there is no requirement that employers pay L-1s the prevailing wage for the specific job they will fill, which allows employers to pay far below the market rate. This practice takes advantage of the foreign worker and hurts U.S. workers by pushing down wages for everyone employed in similar occupations. A recent Labor Department investigation revealed that Electronics for Imaging (EFI) in Fremont, Calif. which earned $200 million in revenues last quarter required L-1s to work 120 hours a week installing computers, while paying them $1.21 an hour. EFI got into trouble, but only because it wasnt paying them the California minimum wage of $8.00 an hour. Had EFI paid the minimum wage, it would have been compliant with immigration and labor laws, even though the average hourly wage in Fremont for a worker who installs or repairs computers is $19. If that worker is configuring the network as well, its $45. Keep your eye on this ball. Even an H-1B win may not mean much if tech players simply bring in even cheaper L-1B substitutes. Yves here. Some further observations. First, the author neglects to mention the role of MBAs in the reorientation of higher education institutions. When I went to school, the administrative layer of universities was lean and not all that well paid. Those roles were typically inhabited by alumni who enjoyed the prestige and being able to hang around the campus. But the growth of MBAs has meant theyve all had to find jobs, and colonizing not-for-profits like universities has helped keep them off the street. Second, this post focuses on non-elite universities, but the same general pattern is in play, although the specific outcomes are different. Universities with large endowments are increasingly hedge funds with an educational unit attached. By Henry Heller, a professor of history at the University of Manitoba, Canada and the author of The Capitalist University. Cross posted from Alternet The following is an excerpt from the new book The Capitalist University: The Transformations of Higher Education in the United States since 1945 by Henry Heller (Pluto Press, December 2016): The fact that today there are over 4,000 colleges and universities in the United States represents an unparalleled educational, scientific, and cultural endowment. These institutions occupy a central place in American economic and cultural life. Certification from one of them is critical to the career hopes of most young people in the United States. The research produced in these establishments is likewise crucial to the economic and political future of the American state. Institutions of higher learning are of course of varying quality, with only 600 offering masters degrees and only 260 classified as research institutions. Of these only 87 account for the majority of the 56,000 doctoral degrees granted annually. Moreover, the number of really top-notch institutions based on the quality of their faculty and the size of their endowments is no more than 20 or 30. But still, the existence of thousands of universities and colleges offering humanistic, scientific, and vocational education, to say nothing of religious training, represents a considerable achievement. Moreover, the breakthroughs in research that have taken place during the last two generations in the humanities and social sciences, not to speak of the natural sciences, have been spectacular. But the future of these institutions is today imperiled. Except for a relatively few well-endowed universities, most are in serious financial difficulty. A notable reason for this has been the decline in public financial support for higher education since the 1980s, a decline due to a crisis in federal and state finances but also to the triumph of right-wing politics based on continuing austerity toward public institutions. The response of most colleges and universities has been to dramatically increase tuition fees, forcing students to take on heavy debt and putting into question access to higher education for young people from low- and middle-income families. This situation casts a shadow on the implicit post-war contract between families and the state which promised upward mobility for their children based on higher education. This impasse is but part of the general predicament of the majority of the American population, which has seen its income fall and its employment opportunities shrink since the Reagan era. These problems have intensified since the financial collapse of 2008 and the onset of depression or the start of a generalized capitalist crisis. Mounting student debt and fading job prospects are reflected in stagnating enrollments in higher education, intensifying the financial difficulties of universities and indeed exacerbating the overall economic malaise.[1] The growing cost of universities has led recently to the emergence of Massive Online Open Courses whose upfront costs to students are nil, which further puts into doubt the future of traditional colleges and universities. These so-called MOOCs, delivered via the internet, hold out the possibility, or embody the threat, of doing away with much of the expensive labor and fixed capital costs embodied in existing university campuses. Clearly the future of higher education hangs in the balance with important implications for both American politics and economic life. The deteriorating situation of the universities has its own internal logic as well. In response to the decline in funding, but also to the prevalence of neoliberal ideology, universitiesor rather the presidents, administrators, and boards of trustees who control themare increasingly moving away from their ostensible mission of serving the public good to that of becoming as far as possible like private enterprises. In doing so, most of the teachers in these universities are being reduced to the status of wage labor, and indeed precarious wage labor. The wages of the non-tenured faculty who now constitute the majority of teachers in higher education are low, they have no job security and receive few benefits. Although salaried and historically enjoying a certain autonomy, tenured faculty are losing the vestiges of their independence as well. Similarly, the influence of students in university affairsa result of concessions made by administrators during the upheavals of the 1960s and 1970shas effectively been neutered. These changes reflect a decisive shift of power toward university managers whose numbers and remuneration have expanded prodigiously. The objective of these bureaucrats is to transform universities as much as possible to approximate private and profit-making corporations, regarded as models of efficient organization based on the discipline of the market. Indeed, scores of universities, Phoenix University for example, have been created explicitly as for-profit businesses and currently enroll millions of students. Modern universities have always had a close relationship with private business, but whereas in the past faculty labor served capital by producing educated managers, highly skilled workers, and new knowledge as a largely free good, strenuous efforts are now underway to transform academic employment into directly productive, i.e., profitable, labor. The knowledge engendered by academic work is accordingly being privatized as a commodity through patenting, licensing, and copyrighting to the immediate benefit of universities and the private businesses to which universities are increasingly linked. Meanwhile, through the imposition of administrative standards laid down in accord with neoliberal principles, faculty are being subjected to unprecedented scrutiny through continuous quantified evaluation of teaching and research in which the ability to generate outside funding has become the ultimate measure of scholarly worth. At the same time, universities have become part of global ranking systems like the Shanghai Index or the Times Higher Education World University Rankings in which their standing in the hierarchy has become all important to their prestige and funding. Several intertwined questions emerge from this state of affairs. In the first place, given the rising expense and debt that attendance at university imposes and declining employment prospects especially for young people, will there continue to be a mass market for higher education? Is the model of the university or college traditionally centered on the humanities and the sciences with a commitment to the pursuit of truth compatible with the movement toward converting the universities into quasi- or fully private business corporations? Finally, what are the implications of changes in the neoliberal direction for the future production of objective knowledge, not to speak of critical understanding? Universities during the Cold War produced an impressive amount of new positive knowledge, not only in the sciences, engineering, and agriculture but also in the social sciences and humanities. In the case of the humanities and social sciences such knowledge, however real, was largely instrumental or tainted by ideological rationalizations. It was not sufficiently critical in the sense of getting to the root of the matter, especially on questions of social class or on the motives of American foreign policy. Too much of it was used to control and manipulate ordinary people within and without the United States in behalf of the American state and the maintenance of the capitalist order. There were scholars who continued to search for critical understanding even at the height of the Cold War, but they largely labored in obscurity. This state of affairs was disrupted in the 1960s with the sudden burgeoning of Marxist scholarship made possible by the upsurge of campus radicalism attendant on the anti-war, civil rights, and black liberation struggles. But the decline of radicalism in the 1970s saw the onset of postmodernism, neoliberalism, and the cultural turn. Postmodernism represented an unwarranted and untenable skepticism, while neoliberal economics was a crude and overstated scientism. The cultural turn deserves more respect, but whatever intellectual interest there may be in it there is little doubt that the net effect of all three was to delink the humanities and social sciences from the revolutionary politics that marked the 1960s. The ongoing presence in many universities of radicals who took refuge in academe under Nixon and Reagan ensured the survival of Marxist ideas if only in an academic guise. Be that as it may, the crisis in American society and the concomitant crisis of the universities has become extremely grave over the last decade. It is a central contention of this work that, as a result of the crisis, universities will likely prove to be a key location for ideological and class struggle, signaled already by the growing interest in unionization of faculty both tenured and non-tenured, the revival of Marxist scholarship, the Occupy Movement, the growing importance of the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions movement, and heightening conflicts over academic freedom and the corporatization of university governance. The approach of this work is to examine the recent history of American universities from the perspective of Marxism, a method which can be used to study these institutions critically as part of the capitalist economic and political system. Despite ongoing apologetics that view universities as sites for the pursuit of disinterested truth, we contend that a critical perspective involving an understanding of universities as institutions based on the contradictions of class inequality, the ultimate unity of the disciplines rooted in the master narrative of historical materialism, and a consciousness of history makes more sense as a method of analysis. All the more so, this mode of investigation is justified by the increasing and explicit promotion of academic capitalism by university managers trying to turn universities into for-profit corporations. In response to these policies scholars have in fact begun to move toward the reintegration of political economy with the study of higher education. This represents a turn away from the previous dominance in this field of postmodernism and cultural studies and, indeed, represents a break from the hegemonic outlook of neoliberalism.[2] On the other hand, most of this new scholarship is orientated toward studying the effects of neoliberalism on the contemporary university, whereas the present work takes a longer view. Marxist political economy demands a historical perspective in which the present condition of universities emerged from the crystallization of certain previous trends. It therefore looks at the evolution of the university from the beginning of the twentieth century, sketching its evolution from a preserve of the upper-middle class in which research played almost no role into a site of mass education and burgeoning research, and, by the 1960s, a vital element in the political economy of the United States. In contrast to their original commitment to independence with respect to the state up to World War II, most if by no means all universities and colleges defined their post-war goals in terms of the pursuit of the public good and were partially absorbed into the state apparatus by becoming financially dependent on government. But from start to finish twentieth-century higher education also had an intimate and ongoing relationship with private business. In the neoliberal period universities are taking this a step further, aspiring to turn themselves into quasi- or actual business corporations. But this represents the conclusion of a long-evolving process. The encroachment of private business into the university is in fact but part of the penetration of the state by private enterprise and the partial privatization of the state. On the surface this invasion of the public sphere by the market may appear beneficial to private business. We regard it, on the contrary, as a symptom of economic weakness and a weakening of civil society. The American system of higher education, with its prestigious private institutions, great public universities, private colleges and junior colleges, was a major achievement of a triumphant American republic. It provided the U.S. state with the intellectual, scientific, and technical means to strengthen significantly its post-1945 power. The current neoliberal phase reflects an America struggling economically and politically to adapt to the growing challenges to its global dominance and to the crisis of capitalism itself. The shift of universities toward the private corporate model is part of this struggle. Capitalism in its strongest periods not only separated the state from the private sector, it kept the private sector at arms length from the state. The role of the state in ensuring a level playing field and providing support for the market was clearly understood. The current attempt by universities to mimic the private sector is a form of economic and ideological desperation on the part of short-sighted and opportunistic university administrators as well as politicians and businessmen. In our view, this aping of the private sector is misguided, full of contradictions, and ultimately vain if not disastrous. Indeed, it is a symptom of crisis and decline. The current overwhelming influence of private business on universities grew out of pre-existing tendencies. There is already an existing corporate nature of university governance both private and public, as well as an influence of business on universities in the first part of the twentieth century. In reaction there developed the concept of academic freedom as well as the establishment of the system of tenure and the development of a rather timid faculty trade unionism. This underscores the importance of private foundations in controlling the development of the curriculum and research in both the sciences and humanities. In their teaching, universities were mainly purveyors of the dominant capitalist ideology. Humanities and social science professors imparted mainly liberal ideology and taught laissez-faire economics which justified the political and economic status quo. The development of specialized departments reinforced the fragmentation of knowledge and discouraged the emergence of a systemic overview and critique of American culture and society. There were, as noted earlier, a few Marxist scholars, some of considerable distinction, who became prominent particularly in the wake of the Depression, the development of the influence of the Communist Party, and the brief period of Soviet-American cooperation during World War II. But the teaching of Marxism was frowned upon and attacked even prior to the Cold War. The post-1945 university was a creation of the Cold War. Its expansion, which sprang directly out of war, was based on the idea of education as a vehicle of social mobility, which was seen as an alternative to the equality and democracy promoted by the populism of the New Deal. Its elitist and technocratic style of governance was patterned after that of the large private corporation and the American federal state during the 1950s. Its enormously successful research programs were mainly underwritten by appropriations from the military and the CIA. The CIA itself was largely created by recruiting patriotic faculty from the universities. Much of the research in the social sciences was directed at fighting Soviet and revolutionary influence and advancing American imperialism abroad. Marxist professors and teaching programs were purged from the campuses. Dating from medieval times, the curriculum of the universities was based on a common set of subjects including language, philosophy, and natural science premised on the idea of a unitary truth. Although the subject matter changed over the centuries higher education continued to impart the hegemonic ideology of the times. Of course the notion of unitary truth was fraying at the seams by the beginning of the twentieth century with the development of departmental specialization and the increasingly contested nature of truth, especially in the social sciences in the face of growing class struggle in America. However, the notion of the idea of the unity of knowledge as purveyed by the university was still ideologically important as a rationale for the existence of universities. Moreover, as we shall demonstrate, it was remarkable how similarly, despite differences in subject matter and method, the main disciplines in the humanities and social sciences responded to the challenge of Marxism during the Cold War. They all developed paradigms which opposed or offered alternatives to Marxism while rationalizing continued loyalty to liberalism and capitalism. As if on cue, sociology, psychology, literature, political science, and anthropology all took sides by explicitly rejecting Marxism and putting forward viewpoints opposed to it. History itself stressed American exceptionalism, justified U.S. expansionism, minimized class conflict, and warned against revolution. Indeed, this work will focus on these disciplines because they defended the capitalist status quo at a deeper cultural and intellectual level than the ubiquitous mass media. As Louis Althusser pointed out, the teaching received by students from professors at universities was the strategic focal point for the ideological defense of the dominant class system. That was as true of the United States as it was of France, where institutions of higher learning trained those who would later train or manage labor. Criticizing the recent history of these disciplines is thus an indispensable step to developing an alternative knowledge and indeed culture that will help to undermine liberal capitalist hegemony.[3] The approach of this work is to critically analyze these core academic subjects from a perspective informed by Pierre Bourdieu and Karl Marx. Bourdieu points out that the deep involvement of the social sciences (and the humanities) with powerful social interests makes it difficult to free their study from ideological presuppositions and thereby achieve a truly socially and psychologically reflexive understanding.[4] But such reflexive knowledge was precisely what Marx had in mind more than a century earlier. Leaving a Germany still under the thrall of feudalism and absolutism for Paris in 1843, the young Marx wrote to his friend Arnold Ruge that reason has always existed, but not always in a reasonable form but, if constructing the future and settling everything for all times are not our affair, it is all the more clear what we have to accomplish at present: I am referring to ruthless criticism of all that exists, ruthless both in the sense of not being afraid of the results it arrives at and in the sense of being just as little afraid of conflict with the powers that be.[5] His task as he saw it was to criticize the existing body of knowledge so as to make it as reasonable as possible, i.e., to undermine its illusory and ideological character and substitute knowledge which was both true and helped advance communism. Such a project entailed deconstructing the existing body of knowledge through rational criticism, exposing its ideological foundations and advancing an alternative based on a sense of contradiction, social totality, and a historical and materialist understanding. It is our ambition in surveying and studying the humanities and social sciences in the period after 1945 to pursue our investigation in the same spirit. Indeed, it is our view that a self-reflexive approach to contemporary knowledge, while woefully lacking, is an indispensable complement to the development of a serious ideological critique of the crisis-ridden capitalist society of today. Marxism is still regarded with suspicion in the United States. As a matter of fact, anti-Marxism in American universities was not merely a defensive response to McCarthyism as some allege. Anti-communism was bred in the bone of many Americans and was one of the strongest forces that affected U.S. society in the twentieth century, including the faculty members of its universities. An idee fixe rather than an articulated ideology, it was compounded out of deeply embedded albeit parochial notions of Americanism, American exceptionalism and anti-radicalism.[6] The latter was rooted in the bitter resistance of the still large American middle or capitalist class to the industrial unrest which marked the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries and which had a strong bed of support among the immigrant working class. Nativism then was an important tool in the hands of this class in fighting a militant if ethnically divided working class. Moreover, the anti-intellectual prejudices of American society in general and the provincialism of its universities were ideal terrain for fending off subversive ideas from abroad like Marxism. Later, this anti-communism and hostility to Marxism became the rationale for the extension of American imperialism overseas particularly after 1945. The social origins of the professoriate among the lower middle class, furthermore, and its role as indentured if indirect servants of capital, strengthened its position as inimical to Marxism. Just as careers could be lost for favoring Marxism, smart and adroit academics could make careers by advancing some new intellectual angle in the fight against Marxism. And this was not merely a passing feature of the height of the Cold War: from the 1980s onward, postmodernism, identity politics, and the cultural turn were invoked to disarm the revolutionary Marxist politics that had developed in the 1960s. Whatever possible role identity politics and culture might have in deepening an understanding of class their immediate effect was to undermine a sense of class and strengthen a sense of liberal social inclusiveness while stressing the cultural obstacles to the development of revolutionary class consciousness. This overall picture of conformity and repression was, however, offset by the remarkable upsurge of student radicalism that marked the 1960s, challenging the intellectual and social orthodoxies of the Cold War. In reaction to racism and political and social repression at home and the Vietnam War abroad, students rebelled against the oppressive character of university governance and by extension the power structure of American society. Overwhelmingly the ideology through which this revolt was refracted was the foreign and until then largely un-American doctrine of Marxism. Imported into the universities largely by students, Marxism then inspired a new generation of radical and groundbreaking scholarship. Meanwhile it is important to note that the student revolt itself was largely initiated by the southern civil rights movement, an important bastion of which were the historically black colleges of the South. It was from the struggle of racially oppressed black students in the American South as well as the growing understanding of the anti-colonial revolutionaries of Vietnam that the protest movement in American colleges and universities was born. Equally important was the Free Speech Movement at Berkeley. Indeed, it is the contention of this work that the issues raised at Berkeley over democracy in the universities and the free expression of ideas not only shaped the student movement of that time but are still with us, and indeed are central to the future of universities and intellectual life today. At the heart of the Berkeley protest lay a rejection of the idea of a university as a hierarchical corporation producing exchange values including the production of trained workers and ideas convertible into commodities. Instead the students asserted the vision of a democratic university which produced knowledge as a use value serving the common good. It is our view that this issue raised at Berkeley in the 1960s anticipated the class conflict that is increasingly coming to the fore over so-called knowledge capitalism. Both within the increasingly corporate neoliberal university and in business at large, the role of knowledge and knowledge workers is becoming a key point of class struggle. This is especially true on university campuses where the proletarianization of both teaching and research staff is in process and where the imposition of neoliberal work rules is increasingly experienced as tyrannical. The skilled work of these knowledge producers, the necessarily interconnected nature of their work, and the fundamentally contradictory notion of trying to privatize and commodify knowledge, have the potential to develop into a fundamental challenge to capitalism. Notes: 1. Paul Fain, Nearing the Bottom: Inside Higher Education, Inside Higher Education, May 15, 2014. 2. Raymond A. Morrow, Critical Theory and Higher Education: Political Economy and the Cul-de-Sac of the Postmodernist Turn, in The University, State and Market: The Political Economy of Globalization in the Americas, ed. Robert A. Rhoads and Carlos Alberto Torres, Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2006, pp. xviixxxiii. 3. Perry Anderson, Components of the National Culture, New Left Review, No. 50, JulyAugust, 1968, pp. 34. 4. Pierre Bourdieu, The Field of Cultural Production: Essays on Art and Literature, New York: Columbia University Press, 1993, pp. 867. 5. Karl Marx, Letter to Arnold Ruge, Kreuznach, September 1843, Letters from the Deutsch-Franzosische Jahrbucher, at https://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1843/letters/43_09.htm 6. Larry Ceplair, Anti-Communism in Twentieth-Century America, Santa Barbara: Clio, 2011, pp. 12, 12. Material can turn sunlight, heat and movement Into electricity - all at once (Nanowerk News) Many forms of energy surround you: sunlight, the heat in your room and even your own movements. All that energy -- normally wasted -- can potentially help power your portable and wearable gadgets, from biometric sensors to smart watches. Now, researchers from the University of Oulu in Finland have found that a mineral with the perovskite crystal structure has the right properties to extract energy from multiple sources at the same time. Perovskites are a family of minerals, many of which have shown promise for harvesting one or two types of energy at a time -- but not simultaneously. One family member may be good for solar cells, with the right properties for efficiently converting solar energy into electricity. Meanwhile, another is adept at harnessing energy from changes in temperature and pressure, which can arise from motion, making them so-called pyroelectric and piezoelectric materials, respectively. Sometimes, however, just one type of energy isn't enough. A given form of energy isn't always available -- maybe it's cloudy or you're in a meeting and can't get up to move around. Other researchers have developed devices that can harness multiple forms of energy, but they require multiple materials, adding bulk to what's supposed to be a small and portable device. This week in Applied Physics Letters ("Ferroelectric, pyroelectric and piezoelectric properties of a photovoltaic perovskite oxide"), Yang Bai and his colleagues at the University of Oulu explain their research on a specific type of perovskite called KBNNO, which may be able to harness many forms of energy. Like all perovskites, KBNNO is a ferroelectric material, filled with tiny electric dipoles analogous to tiny compass needles in a magnet. When ferroelectric materials like KBNNO undergo changes in temperature, their dipoles misalign, which induces an electric current. Electric charge also accumulates according to the direction the dipoles point. Deforming the material causes certain regions to attract or repel charges, again generating a current. Previous researchers have studied KBNNO's photovoltaic and general ferroelectric properties, but they did so at temperatures a couple hundred degrees below freezing, and they didn't focus on properties related to temperature or pressure. The new study represents the first time anyone has evaluated all of these properties at once above room temperature, Bai said. The experiments showed that while KBNNO is reasonably good at generating electricity from heat and pressure, it isn't quite as good as other perovskites. Perhaps the most promising finding, however, is that the researchers can modify the composition of KBNNO to improve its pyroelectric and piezoelectric properties. "It is possible that all these properties can be tuned to a maximum point," said Bai, who, with his colleagues, is already exploring such an improved material by preparing KBNNO with sodium. Within the next year, Bai said, he hopes to build a prototype multi-energy-harvesting device. The fabrication process is straightforward, so commercialization could come in just a few years once researchers identify the best material. "This will push the development of the Internet of Things and smart cities, where power-consuming sensors and devices can be energy sustainable," he said. NASCAR championship contenders have plenty of ARCA Menards Series experience The Championship 4s are set, and the contenders in each series have plenty of experience and in most cases success within the ARCA Menards Series platform. Find the newest releases to watch from National Geographic on Disney+, including favourite documentary series and films Free Solo, The Rescue, Shark Beach with Chris Hemsworth and The World According to Jeff Goldblum. TWEET ME DISCLAIMER *COMMENTS, LINKS, AND CUT AND PASTE ARTICLES, ARE NOT ALL ENDORSED BY THE PUBLISHER. THIS BLOG claims no credit for any images posted on this site unless otherwise noted. Images on this blog are copyright to its respectful owners. If there is an image appearing on this blog that belongs to you and do not wish for it appear on this site, please E-mail with a link to said image and it will be promptly removed. MORE DISCLAIMERS This is a commercial free blog. Money is nice, but being able to speak my mind is better. "Real talk: Daniel Rubin has a great little piece up wherein he chats with The Field Negro, the Philly-based blogger who sharply ponders all things black on a daily basis. (Seriously, if youve never checked in with TFN, you should: Its author, Wayne Bennett, is a fantastic read who can cut through bullshit like a hot knife through butter, which is a far grosser analogy than I wanted to make, but there you have it.)" ~Philebrity~ "One of the most precocious and hilarious Black political minds on the net. Ive been a long-time fan!" ~Asad Malik~ "..While most of what he writes is tongue-in-cheek, his space is a safe house for candid discussions about race, especially in the comments section, where people of all colors meet." ~~Daniel Rubin, "The Philadelphia Inquirer"~~ "To white people, Bennett's musings are like kitchen-table talk from a kitchen they may otherwise never set foot in. To African Americans, he is part of a growing army of black Internet amateurs who have taken up the work once reserved for ministers and professional activists: the work of setting a black agenda, shaping black opinion and calling attention to the state of the nation's racial affairs." ~~Richard Fausset, "L.A. Times"~~~ ~Erik Hare, "The Twin Cities Daily Planet"~ "That's why I love the blog " Field Negro " so much. Field, as he's known to his fans, has the sense of reality that it takes to call out the ( CowPuckey ) of blame beating by those who are in positions of power and their lackeys. Because of his handle and his unabashed way of writing about racial issues, Field is often cited as a "Black blogger." What he is, however, is a first-class detector of blame deflection and an excellent student of history. If you want to write about the past and future of repression there's really no other perspective to take - which is why everyone should read Field."~Erik Hare, "The Twin Cities Daily Planet"~ 411 On The Field field negro Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States Raised in the house, but field certified. Jamaica is the land of my birth, but I consider myself a citizen of the world. I currently practice law in the city of "brotherly love". View my complete profile "Half a century after Little Rock, the Montgomery bus boycott and the tumultuous dawn of the modern civil rights era, the new face of the movement is Facebook, MySpace and some 150 black blogs united in an Internet alliance they call the AfroSpear. Older, familiar leaders such as Rev. Jesse Jackson, Rev. Al Sharpton and NAACP Chairman Julian Bond, are under challenge by a younger generation of bloggers known by such provocative screen names as Field Negro, thefreeslave and African American Political Pundit. And many of the newest struggles are being waged online." ~Howard Witt-The Chicago Tribune~ "I had no idea, for example, of the extent of the African-American blogging world out there and its collective powers of dissemination.But now, after reading thousands of anguished, thoughtful comments posted on these blogs reflecting on issues of persistent racial discrimination in the nation's schools and courtrooms, what's clear to me is that there's a new, "virtual" civil rights movement out there on the Internet that can reach more people in a few hours than all the protest marches, sit-ins and boycotts of the 1950s and 60s put together." ~Chicago Tribune Reporter, Howard Witt~ IF YOU ARE BRAVE ENOUGH TO FLAUNT IT. Come visit my store on CafePress! Community arts activist Maureen Purcell has been chosen as the grand marshal for the St. Patrick's Day Parade in Clonmel. Maureen is a leading light in both the South Tipperary Art Group (STAG) and the South Tipp Arts Centre and the annual parade on Friday afternoon, March 17th will celebrate both groups. STAG is now in its 50th year. Starting with a small number of amateur artists, it now operates with qualified art teachers tutoring art, craft and design. The group has more than 40 adult artists and a junior branch catering for aspiring artists from 9 years up to Leaving Cert. These artists sell their paintings, sculptures and artwork locally and have also painted many community murals and scenery for shows in schools, as well as being involved with local theatre groups and festivals in Clonmel. The South Tipperary Arts Centre, which has been in operation for the past 20 years, has also gone from strength to strength and has strongly supported the development of the arts in Tipperary. The Arts Centre has been a main arts provider for the area, serving a population in the region of 100,000. The centre programmes a mixture of arts and cultural events including local, national and international visual arts, performing arts, music and literature. The Clonmel Bianconi Twinning Committee are again organising the St. Patrick's morning parade from the Town Hall at 11.30am to St. Marys Church for 12 noon Mass, which will be celebrated in Irish. This parade will be led by Banna Chluain Meala and will include councillors, representatives of local organisations and visitors from Clonmels twin towns. The day will commence with a flag-raising ceremony at St. Patricks Well at 8.30am. Once again the main St. Patricks Day Parade, which commences at 3pm, will start from Cantwell Street, just off Upper Irishtown, and will follow the usual route through the town centre before finishing in Parnell Street outside the Town Hall. District Mayor Andy Moloney says he hopes the parade will be bigger and better than ever and he's encouraging all local groups, clubs and organisations to take part. "Everyone should get into the spirit of the occasion and make it something special", he says. Any groups wishing to participate in the parade can do so up until Thursday March 2nd by going online to https://www.countytipperarychamber.com/2017-clonmel-st-patricks-day-parade-registration.html and completing the form and submitting it to Clonmel Chamber of Commerce. To keep up-to-date on the parade, follow the St. Patricks Day Parade Facebook page. Two budding artists from Loreto Secondary School in Clonmel are among the 75 finalists shortlisted from over 4,200 students for this years Doodle 4 Google art competition. Second year student Lena Slattery and fifth years Emma Sutcliffe's doodles are based on this years theme If I could create anything it would be. Both Lena and Emmas Doodle 4 Google entries are involved in the online public voting stage. You can view and vote for their doodles online until February 21 on https://doodles.google.ie/d4g/. There are five age categories with 15 doodles shortlisted for each. Lena's doodle is in group 4 and Emma's is in group 5. Each of the group winners will receive a Chromebook. The overall winner will receive a 5,000 college scholarship and a 10,000 technology grant for their school. Please help both students by voting for their doodle. The more votes they get the better chance they have of winning, Loreto art teacher Anne-Marie Kirby encourages. Lenas doodle is titled World without racism. Lena Slattery. I would create a world without racism as I find it's one of the big issues in the world right now. If the world was to have no racism, we would have more love and a lot less hate, Lena says. Lena Slattery's doodle (group 4) depicts a world without racism. Emmas doodle is called A world without war. Emma Sutcliffe. My doodle shows the relationships between different races and ages of people in the world. For me, friendship, peace and respect are all very important aspects of life. You learn to respect others, teach children peace and to build friends through life, Emma highlights. Borrisokane Community Colleges Niamh Ryan is also in group 4. The title of her doodle is Balance is not something you find. It's something you create. Second year student Niamh Ryan. The five most popular doodles, one from each age category, will go forward to the grand final on April 3rd where the overall winner will be announced. Niamh Ryan's doodle (group 4). Fionnuala Meehan, VP and head of Google in Ireland, says the level of entries this year has given the judging panel a tough job to do. I really enjoyed seeing what the entrants did with this years theme as it gave them the opportunity to create anything they wanted and looking at the entries they show a lot of fantastic innovative ideas. Now its up to the public to get involved and help choose this years winner by visiting the Doodle 4 Google website and voting for their favourite doodle, she adds. Joseph Ficalora, New York Community Bancorp's president and CEO, is leaving the door open for a deal with Astoria Financial. Ficalora teased out the possibility of revisiting the deal during Tuesday comments at an investor conference hosted by Credit Suisse. The $49 billion-asset New York Community and the $15 billion-asset Astoria mutually terminated their planned merger in December. "Astoria was always a great deal," Ficalora said, adding that it was just taking too long to get the deal completed. "That doesn't mean we could never buy Astoria in the future. It just means that the contract endedand both banks agreed not to renew," he added. "The reality is there are going to be opportunities in the marketplace, including potentially Astoria, down the road." New York Community, based in Westbury, announced in October of 2015 that it had agreed to pay $2 billion to buy Astoria. New York Community indicated roughly a year later that it wouldn't receive regulatory approval to buy the Lake Success, N.Y., company before the deal's Dec. 31 termination date. Astoria's management team said during a January conference call to discuss quarterly results that the deal was called off after New York Community was unable to provide a timetable for closing. Astoria is exploring options that include remaining independent or finding a new buyer. New York Community, meanwhile, is still grappling with how to approach the looming $50 billion-asset threshold, where financial institutions are generally considered systemically important. Ficalora is hopeful that his company could find some relief if legislators raise that threshold. New York Community is looking at other big acquisitions, though Ficalora noted on Tuesday that the company stock is "deeply discounted" compared with many of its peers. "If there is a change in Dodd-Frank and that change has a positive impact on our ability to do accretive deals that will only be good for us," he said. For now, Ficalora seems to be holding out hope that Astoria might be available in the future. "Obviously we would have loved to have Astoria on this list" of completed deals, Ficalora said. "Maybe someday we will." Transforming a 152-year-old institution is no easy task. But Dime Community Bank in Brooklyn, N.Y., is hoping that Kenneth Mahon, a longtime veteran of the company poised to take over as CEO on Jan. 1, will be able to move it beyond its historical roots in multifamily lending and into other business lines, such as commercial and industrial loans. Banks' heavy concentrations in multifamily and other commercial real estate lending have drawn scrutiny from investors and regulators lately. The transition will be slow, said Mahon, who will have to build Dime's expertise in new niches while holding costs down and maintaining credit quality. That tall order, emblematic of the challenges facing many of his peers, makes Mahon one of American Banker's community bankers to watch in 2017. "The Dime model as it exists todayI just don't think we can run forever because of the regulatory regime, and investors like diverse lines of business," Mahon said. "I don't expect this model to change after a year or two. We see this as a long-term solution." Mahon likes to describe the $5.8 billion-asset bank's focus on multifamily lending in New York City, primarily lending on prewar buildings with rent-controlled units, as more of a "specialization" rather than a concentration. At Sept. 30, its CRE loans were more than 1,000% of total risk-based capital, the second-highest percentage in the country for banks with assets of less than $10 billion, according to BankRegData.com. He noted that this number has been significantly elevated for more than a decade, and Dime has been comfortable with it because of its deep expertise in the asset class and its historically low losses. However, the industry is changing, and Dime has to make adjustments. Regulators warned in December 2015 that heavy concentrations in CRE, including multifamily, could lead to losses. Investors are also pressuring banks to diversify their loan portfolios. "If regulators worry about something, then investors tend to worry about it," said Robert Kafafian, president and CEO of the Kafafian Group. "It's better to diversify your risk and portfolios than it is to be concentrated. I think that's pretty standard for the industry right now. Diversity is good." In the past, Dime has done much of its lending through mortgage brokers who take bids from banks to find the best loans for landlords throughout the city. Now management wants to move into more of a direct-lending model, though "it won't be a big part of our business for the next few years," Mahon said. The switch will require a broader suite of products offerings, such as commercial or home loans for business owners, Mahon said. To ramp up this effort, the company has hired executives who are more familiar with retail and small-business banking from larger competitors. "These customers will see you as their primary banker when they have a credit need, so that is the buildout that will happen," Mahon said. "It will be a slowly evolving part of our business here, but we felt like it was something we had to start down the road on." Dime's recent $12 million sale of its old headquarters building will help fuel the new business plan, giving executives some flexibility in making investments, said Mark Fitzgibbon, an analyst at Sandler O'Neill. Mahon, who is currently the president and chief operating officer, was seen as a good choice to take over for Vincent Palagiano, who has served as the bank's CEO since 1989. The transition should go smoothly since Mahon has worked for Dime for decades. Still, making such big changes to Dime's business model will be difficult, Fitzgibbon said. "It's like pushing a big rock up a hill," Fitzgibbon said. "The company recognizes that. They are not going to try to be all things to all people. They will pick a few things to do in a reasonable time period without abandoning multifamily lending." For one, Mahon will work to ensure the company keeps its operating expenses low, traditionally a hallmark of Dime. Its efficiency ratio was just under 49%, according to Dime's third-quarter earnings report. Secondly, he also wants to keep credit quality strong, another factor that has set the company apart from some of its peers. The company's ratio of nonperforming loans was 0.07% in the third quarter. There is sometimes a risk in branching out into new areas of loans, Kafafian said. To gain expertise, Dime is working to recruit new lending teams in addition to enhancing the company's technology infrastructure, Mahon said. Bringing on lending teams can be tricky, Kafafian said. It's a matter of finding quality lenders and then allowing them the space to build their book, he added. Unfortunately, Kafafian has seen some banks give free rein to the wrong employees. "It does take time to establish a reputation with commercial borrowers," Fitzgibbon said. "You have to go out and find capable, qualified people to help grow that business, and those folks are hard to find and hard to convince to come to an institution that hasn't done any commercial lending." The company is also becoming more visible in the community by devoting more of its marketing budget to things like sponsoring Little League teams. Employees are being asked to become more involved in organizations outside of the bank, Mahon said. "It is all about execution," Mahon said. "It's about having smart people who understand that we need to keep credit and operating expenses low if we want to continue to be a top performer." (As delivered) Thank you very much. President Dodon, welcome to NATOs Headquarters. And thank you for the very intensive and positive discussion that we had today. The Secretary General regrets very much that he could not greet you today in person, but he is not feeling well today. Nevertheless, he looks forward to future opportunities and also asked me to convey that NATOs message here with regard to your country, to Moldova, is very clear. NATO respects the sovereignty of all nations. We firmly believe that every nation has the right to set its own course. To choose its own alliances. Or to choose not to align with anyone. NATO fully respects Moldovas constitutional neutrality. Our Individual Partnership Action Plan recognises that Moldova is constitutionally neutral and does not wish to join the NATO Alliance. This document is on the website of the Moldovan Foreign Ministry so our cooperation is transparent to all. But neutrality is not the same as isolation. And NATO works closely with other neutral countries such as Switzerland and Austria. Moldova is a close partner to NATO. And I appreciate Moldovas contribution to our KFOR mission in Kosovo. This supports peace in the Western Balkans, it gives Moldovan troops valuable practical experience, and it shows that Moldova is a responsible contributor to international security. Neutrality is built upon a foundation of strong institutions and good governance. NATO is helping Moldova in both areas. We provide Moldovan civilian and military personnel with training and education to help fight corruption in the defence sector. We helped Moldova to build a strong professional military education system, with Bachelors and Masters degrees, and other professional courses. So far, 350 Moldovans have graduated from these courses, and 275 Moldovans are currently enrolled in studies. NATO is committed to improving the lives of ordinary Moldovan people. NATO has spent 4.5 million euros on destroying dangerous pesticides, anti-personnel mines, surplus munitions and dangerously stored rocket fuel. Almost 1,300 Moldovans have attended NATO courses on topics including logistics, border security and emergency planning. And last year, NATO paid for a new cyber defence laboratory at the Technical University of Moldova, to provide training in cyber defence. Many of these programmes are civilian and not military in nature. All of them help to make Moldova safer and more secure. And everything that NATO does has been requested by the government of Moldova. This year, a new NATO Liaison Office will open in Chisinau. This is not a military base, but a small diplomatic mission staffed only by civilians. There will be no NATO troops in Moldova. NATO has long had liaison offices of this kind in other partner countries, such as Russia, Ukraine and Georgia. As requested by the Moldovan government, the Office will facilitate our support for Moldovas ongoing reforms. It will also increase transparency about what NATO is and what it does with Moldova, which we think will be very interesting and we hope also beneficial to the Moldovan public. Mr President, NATO fully supports a stable, secure and neutral Moldova. It is important that Moldova continues its democratic reforms notably on fighting corruption and strengthening the judiciary. And it is important that Moldova remains committed to the values shared by all European democracies. So thank you again sir for coming here today. Its a great honour to welcome you once again to the NATO Headquarters. Moldova can count on the friendship of NATO. And now we look forward to hearing your remarks. Thank you. Q: Mr. President. I have a question to you. In 1991, 1992 you were 15 years old, when the Russian Federation having an army on your country took the international engagement to withdraw this army and 25 years after that the army was never withdrew and you are now the President of this country and you are now the Supreme Commander of the country and you are now speaking about neutrality of the country. What would you do to have a real neutral country? What would you do to make Russia to take out this army and to keep international commitments? The second part of my question is we have an other Russian army coming every day to each house of Moldovan citizens through tens of Russian TV stations, much more than needed and much more that any other country brings TV station and information to us and you and your party are part of this process, controlling and broadcasting a Russian TV station to Moldova. What as a president would you do for the informational security of your country? And third part of my question is you now are the president of the smallest, the poorest, the most vulnerable and very corrupt country in Europe and you and our country we are neighbours with the biggest, the most transparent military bloc in the world. How would you benefit from this neighbourship to make your country stronger, more transparent, less corrupt and richer? Thank you. [APPLAUSE] IGOR DODON (President of the Republic of Moldova): [Interpreted]. You can clap again, Ill wait. Lets start with the first or the third point, lets start with the third point. Nobody will not make order in our country, will not fight corruption if we are not doing it. Representatives of so called independent mass media that you represent, you brought to the government corrupt politicians who are now in prison. You are the ones who gave that good reputation to all those democratic governments in the past that have stolen from the citizens of the Republic of Moldova, so that is why as citizens of this country will make war in our country. Regarding the first point. I will do everything possible that the Republic of Moldova is a neutral state, should not, should not have troops from other states, doesnt matter from which countries. That is why for this it is necessary to find a political solution to the Trandniestrian issue. I am firmly convinced that now we have a window of opportunity. It is not such a big window, two, two and a half years, three years to find a political settlement, but believe me as soon as we find a political solution the issue of Russian army in Moldovan territory will be solved. And regarding the Russian TV stations broadcasting in Moldova. Im not sure where you are staying here in Brussels but here in Brussels on TV I saw that they have Russian TV channels. That here in the centre of Europe, in the capital of the European Union are broadcasted freely, we do not have to impose to the citizens what to watch. It is not the issue of the propaganda that you so call it, the issue is within the country amongst the corrupt politicians. We should not hide after certain frustrations, behind certain frustrations that certain people have. That is why rest assured all the things will be resolved and we will fight for it. Thank you if you have other questions. Q: [Interpreted]. Opening, so do I understand correctly the opening of the NATO Liaison Office will not take place? And the second question is whom will it bother from the external forces for this office not to be opened in Moldova? IGOR DODON: [Interpreted]. I think that the opening of the NATO Liaison office in Chisinau is not beneficial to the majority of Russian, of Moldovans in my country. I do not care what others are saying from outside, I only care about neutrality and safety of the citizens of the Republic of Moldova. In my opinion opening this liaison office in Moldova will not ensure security of Moldovan citizens. This is my personal opinion and I express this issue. It is a provocation who, which was done by the governing coalition that did it before I became president regarding opening or not opening the liaison office, this is, this is of concern to NATO and the Government of the Republic of Moldova but in the eventual, if this NATO office will be opened in Moldova we will come back to this issue in the future and well only take into consideration the opinion of Moldovan population. Q: [Interpreted]. First of all I would like to know also the position of the NATO official, NATO representative regarding the opening or not opening of the liaison office in Chisinau. Also I have a question for Mr. President Dodon. Mr. President before coming here to Brussels you made a very good statement in Chisinau, you said that Moldova has to cooperate absolutely with everybody in the interest of the Republic of Moldova. In relation to this statement that you made, if a strong well trained army including with NATO expertise is or isnt in the interest of the Republic of Moldova? And one addition, I wanted to ask you whether its true or not that you blocked this days the participants, participation of Moldovan army men at international military exercises organized within the framework of partnership for peace? ROSE GOTTEMOELLER (NATO Deputy Security General): I will just reemphasise the points that I made in my opening remarks and that is that this year a new NATO Liaison Office will open in Chisinau. I want to underscore this is not a military base but a small diplomatic mission that will be staffed only by civilians, including by the way by Moldovan nationals. There will be no NATO troops in Moldova. NATO has long had liaison offices of this kind in several capitals including in Moscow, including in Kiev, including in Tbilisi. So this is from our perspective something that will be good for Moldova. For one thing we see it as an opportunity to really present a clear and a solid picture to the Moldovan public who may have some questions about the NATO alliance, may not understand exactly what NATO is all about. We see it as a good platform to provide good information to your public about what NATO is and what it is not. It is a defensive alliance and we are working with Moldova according to the priorities that your government extends and says you need help with, for example in the area of military education and training. And so thats been a very, very successful area of our joint cooperation and we hope it will continue in an even more reemphasised and reinvigorated way going forward. IGOR DODON: [Interpreted]. Regarding the two questions that you addressed. Yes I do consider that the Republic of Moldova should cooperate with everybody, absolutely, inclusive with NATO, including NATO and I mentioned this today that there have been certain programs that have beneficial for Republic of Moldova. For example the elimination of the pesticides et cetera but this does not mean that the presence of foreign soldiers on the territory of Republic of Moldova or participation of our youth, our soldiers in places where there are shootings and the war risks will be accepted by me. Yes these days I did not sign the detachment of a unit to participate in such an international exercise. First of all we need to appoint a Minister of Defence, a professional Minister of Defence and then see what we do next. There is such a request on my desk, Ive asked additional arguments and tomorrow when I come back I will see what are the arguments to participate in certain exercises in Romania, probably you are referring to this one yes? I did not sign right now, after I get back to Chisinau I will determine whether I will sign the detachment of the military unit to this exercise or not. Regarding cooperation I am not against cooperation with the west and with the east in the interest, as long as it is in the interest of the citizens of the Republic of Moldova. (Natural News) A gene that confers resistance to colistin, the antibiotic of last resort, is alarmingly widespread in China, according to two separate studies published in The Lancet on January 27. The drug-resistance gene in question, MCR-1 was first identified in China in 2015, in Escherichia coli (more commonly known as E. coli) bacteria in pigs, pork, and a handful of human patients. Since then, the gene has turned up in 30 other countries, including the United States. It renders bacteria immune to one of the few antibiotics that can still be used against multidrug resistant superbugs. This is a warning shot about the possible scenario where we dont have very much left in the armory to treat infections, said Nigel Brown of Britains Microbiology Society. Gene already spreading to superbugs In the first study, researchers collected more than 17,000 samples from patients with gut bacteria infections at two hospitals in Zhejiang and Guangdong from 2007 to 2015. Overall, they found that about 1 percent of the infectious bacteria sampled contained the MCR-1 gene. The gene was more common in E. coli, with a frequency of 1.4 percent. Notably, the prevalence of MCR-1 in E. coli increased over the study period. The researchers found that people with a recent history of antibiotic use were significantly more likely to be infected with MCR-1 positive E. coli. There was no increased risk associated with living near a farm, even though colistin has been widely used in Chinese agriculture. This suggests that MCR-1 is likely spreading between bacteria, rather than MCR-1 positive bacteria merely spreading through asexual reproduction. This mode of transmission is particularly worrisome because it is faster and also makes it more likely that MCR-1 will cross to other strains and species of bacteria, including those already resistant to other antibiotics. This could easily produce a superbug resistant to all known human antibiotics. This has already started occurring in China, the second study found. In that study, researchers screened more than 2,000 bacterial samples from bloodstream infection patients at 28 Chinese hospitals from 2013 to 2014. They found that about 1.3 percent of E. coli samples were positive for MCR-1; a similar rate to the first study. This indicated that MCR-1 has already spread across China, and may be spreading through contaminated medical equipment. Significantly, many of the positive samples were of a strain known as ST131, which is already multidrug resistant. E. coli ST131 is a major cause of urinary tract infections worldwide. Nightmare bacteria in our future Many researchers have blamed the rapid spread of MCR-1 on Chinas widespread use of colistin as a growth-promoter for livestock. China finally banned the drug from animal feed in 2016, but it may be too late to stop the genes spread. And while MCR-1 remains relatively rare in bacteria that infect humans, the bacterial ability to swap DNA between unrelated species likely makes it only a matter of time before the gene crosses to more common human infectious agents. It now looks like theres potential for the resistance gene to move around and spread between different species of bacteria, Brown said. And now that colistin has been approved in China for human use, the spread of colistin-resistance is expected to accelerate. A preview of what this might look like came in August, when the CDC analyzed samples of the Klebsiella pneumoniae bacteria that had killed a 70-year-old Reno woman from blood poisoning. They found that the bacteria were resistant to all 26 antibiotics approved for use in human beings, including colistin. The CDC dubbed the strain a nightmare bacteria. Experts are warning with increasing urgency that unless dramatic changes are made to antibiotic prescribing practices, including curtailing the use of drugs in agriculture, we may soon enter a post-antibiotic era. This would render currently routine medical procedures such as surgery and cancer treatment so unsafe as to be impossible. Sources for this article include: SputnikNews.com NaturalNews.com (Natural News) When it comes to accurately and honestly reporting the news, there is a definitive limit to what reporters are allowed to cover, especially when they are fully immersed in the culture of what has come to be known as the mainstream media. There are certain topics that you just do not touch in this realm unless, of course, you want to be fired or relegated to fringe status, which many of the best reporters over the years have sadly come to realize firsthand. The hijacking of news by special interests and especially medical news is hardly new. But the great disservice that it has done to the people of not only the United States but everywhere else that censorship has prevailed, is largely underestimated. For probably the last 100 years, medicine and the advancements surrounding it have served a sinister agenda that, far from helping people achieve true health, has harmed and killed millions upon millions of people through the printing of fake science medical news. When powerful interests began to invade medical schools and change their curricula right around the turn of the 20th century is when things really went south. Doctors began to treat symptoms rather than copiously search for the root causes of illness in order to facilitate their proper healing. Medicine switched from a system that embraced comprehensive immune support to one where pharmaceutical drugs became the answer to everything much to detriment of public health. Vaccines and pharmaceuticals have replaced sound nutrition and common sense sanitation and hygiene. The average person knows next to nothing about which foods and herbs might naturally help him or her avoid disease but likely knows that popping an aspirin will relieve that nagging headache. And perhaps the biggest culprit driving this mass ignorance is the media, which has been complicit in hiding the truth from people for many decades. Worse than terrorism: American medicine kills at least 225,000 people annually Investigative journalist Jon Rappoport is all-too-familiar with media censorship, having withdrawn from its clutches back in the 1980s when he first observed what was going on. In the arena of vaccines, for instance, Rappoport recognized that stimulating the immune system to produce antibodies is not a reliable indicator that someone is immune from a disease, as antibodies also show up when a person is diagnosed with a disease how reliable is that? Or, what about our system of medicine as a whole, which a prominent science paper published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) back in 2000 revealed is responsible for killing at least 225,000 people living in the U.S. every single year? Mainstream medicine is so harmful, in fact, that statistics now show it to be the third leading cause of death in the U.S., behind heart disease and cancer. (Learn more truths about modern medicine at Medicine.news.) It is a matter of fact that 2.1 million people in the U.S. are hospitalized every single year due to reactions or side effects from medications that have been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. In total, 36 million Americans suffer adverse reactions to FDA-approved drugs every year, and yet you will rarely hear a peep from the media about this serious epidemic. Everything from the way certain diseases are diagnosed to the way they are treated is a byproduct of a failed system that, thanks in large part to cowardly journalists who refuse to take a stand, is only continuing to consolidate power and bring more death and destruction to our planet. Rappoport is smart: he got out while he could and has since made a name for himself as a brave, truth-telling journalist with high rapport in truth-telling circles. But many others outside the fold some of whom know the truth but refuse to tell it for whatever reason continue to tow the line, at the expense of untold millions of lives. Sources: WakingTimes.com JHSPH.edu Monday, February 06, 2017 by: Daniel Barker Tags: China , tiger mauling , zoo This article may contain statements that reflect the opinion of the author (Natural News) A Chinese mans attempt to enter a zoo without paying the admission fee turned out to be a fatal mistake when the trespasser was mauled to death by tigers after jumping into their pen. The husband and father of two was identified as a Mr. Zhang of Hubei province, who died of his injuries after being rushed to a hospital following the attack. Mr. Zhang was visiting the Youngor Zoo in the city of Ningbo in eastern China with his wife, two children, and a friend. Zhangs wife and children reportedly paid the 15 entrance fee, while he and a friend attempted to scale the perimeter walls, one of which surrounded the tiger pen. In front of horrified onlookers which reportedly included Zhangs wife and kids Zhang jumped into the tiger pen, but his friend did not follow. From the BBC: It said that Mr Zhang, along with his wife and two children, were visiting the park on Sunday with his colleague, surnamed Li, and his wife. The women and children had bought tickets and entered the park, but the two men decided to scale the zoos 3m-tall (10ft) outer wall, said Mr. Li who gave a statement to the tourism authority. They then climbed another 3m-tall wall that was the boundary of the tiger enclosure. Mr Zhang dropped down into the enclosure and was attacked by a tiger, said Mr Li, who did not follow. The tourism authority said there were prominent warning signs posted around the point the two men had entered the park, and iron fencing on top of the walls. Members of the crowd took photographs and video of the grisly incident, including photos of Zhang on top of the wall before entering the enclosure, as well as footage of part of the actual attack, which is posted below: WARNING: video includes graphic content that may not be suitable for some viewers. In the video, Zhang can be seen surrounded by what appear to be three Siberian tigers, one of which proceeds to bite and claw the victim while repeatedly preventing him from escaping. The screams of onlookers can be heard in the background. One of the tigers reportedly attempted to drag the bloody mans body into the brush, before zoo officials used firecrackers and water cannons in an unsuccessful attempt to scare away the animals. The tiger that refused to release Zhangs body was finally shot and killed. The incident has been a hot topic on Chinese social media, with many defending the tigers and placing the blame solely on a man who really does not deserve sympathy, as one commentator put it. Strangely enough, these sort of cases seem to have been common lately, particularly in China. In July of last year, tigers mauled two women at a wildlife park in Beijing, killing one and injuring the other. The attack occurred when the two women left their vehicle while visiting Beijing Badaling Wildlife World, a wild animal park where visitors are allowed to drive their cars but are instructed not to get out of them. A video of that incident shows the first woman leaving the car before soon being attacked and dragged away by a tiger. A second woman the mother of the first woman leaves the car in an attempt to rescue her daughter but is killed by another tiger. A man who remained in the car was unhurt. An argument was reportedly the reason the first woman left the car. It certainly is tragic when wild animals must be killed in cases like this instances where humans who should have known better were responsible for creating a danger to themselves and unfortunately, innocent animals as well. This, folks, is the reason we have the Darwin Awards. Read more at STUPID.news. Sources: DailyStar.com BBC.com Mirror.co.uk BBC.com (Natural News) As the nations appetite for organic food is growing at roughly 15 percent per year, fake organic products are flooding the market. After suffering years of decline during the recession, the industrys share of the U.S. food consumption now accounts for five percent, and that number is going up fast. In fact, fresh organic foods are becoming so popular that consumer demand is exceeding the domestic supply. Therefore, the U.S. has been forced to look for organic foods elsewhere. These imports, however, come with some quality issues. Speaking at the Northern Plains Sustainable Agriculture Coalition annual winter conference in Aberdeen, SD earlier this year, John Bobbe has voiced his concerns. Bobbe is the executive director of the Organic Farmers Agency for Relationship Marketing, a cooperative incorporated in Minnesota. Foreign organic producers suspected of fraud While organic farmers welcome high-quality natural imports, many of these foods are coming from countries like Ukraine, which has been found to have serious issues with organic integrity, said Bobbe. Now, U.S. organic farmers must compete with world producers that dont always maintain the same high organic production standards as the United States. The U.S. Department of Agricultures Foreign Agriculture Service (FAS) has cited one case of Ukrainian organic goods in Istanbul, Turkey, where the certified transaction certificate was missing, reported AG Week. This document provides information on the origin and transportation mode records of the goods and should accompany every cargo to its ultimate destination. An organic certification agency annually checks these files. If violations occur, farmers risk a fine, imprisonment, and decertification. Both Ukraine and Turkey have had massive civil unrest which resulted in tens of thousands of jailed and fired employees. Under those circumstances, we wonder whos minding the store about the integrity of organic, Bobbe said. Turkey has now been accused by the FAS of fraudulently manufacturing the transaction certificates, among other issues. (RELATED: Read Harvest.news to stay informed about organics and chemical agriculture.) Converting to organic crops comes at a cost According to Bobbe, the U.S. should put more thought into how we can help domestic producers turn to organic cultivation. He stated that the U.S. has lots of conventional corn, and is in dire need of organic corn. Bushels of organic corn are coming in by the shiploads, he said. While America buys about 73 percent of its organic corn from Turkey, Turkey is a net importer of U.S. conventional corn. Wheres the logic here? If we export most of our conventional stuff to buy dodgy organic corn, why arent farmers growing high-quality organic corn in the first place? Money is the answer. While many American farmers are considering making the switch, this comes at a higher cost. They must step away from synthetic pesticides, growth hormones, and antibiotics to improve soil and growing conditions. [RELATED: Check out Pesticides.news for news coverage of pesticide use and its impact on your health] According to Peter Miller of Organic Valley, a cooperative of farmers, there is often a production decrease associated with the transition. Also, Bobbe noted that the farmers tell him the current cost of producing a bushel of organic grain is about $10 a bushel, while buyers have said it costs them about $10.50 a bushel to import it into the U.S. The logical conclusion is theyre pricing domestic corn to lower their cost of the high-priced importing corn. Theyre using the U.S. market as a residual market, and getting their supply from the imports, he added. Furthermore, grain processors seem to enjoy the convenience of ordering one large shipment of organic grains instead of dealing with many smaller U.S. farmers. About 40 percent of organic corn and 70 percent of organic soybeans used in the U.S. are imported. Bobbe said that the agriculture industry is going to have to come up with a plan on how to grow domestic organic foods. However, with the current low prices, farmers are sending a signal that they do not want to make the switch to producing quality food. Sources: AgWeek.com OrganicConsumers.org Elizabeth Lee sits at the kitchen table of her San Francisco apartment, stacks of eviction notices and court documents spread out in front of her, recounting each time her landlord tried to evict her. Telling the story is like reliving a nightmare for Lee, one thats lasted for 12 years. Lees landlord, Martin Eng, has tried to evict her four separate times since 2014, claiming he intended to move into the unit. Prior to that, there were other eviction attempts and a series of costly legal disputes where Eng accused her of harassment and slander, among other things. In one 2010 lawsuit, Eng even accused Lee, a flight attendant of 37 years, of using the apartment as a den for drugs and prostitution. The claims are so absurd to Lee that she cant help the bewildered laugh that escapes as she denies the allegations. Its been going on for so many years. Im getting tired, Lee said. Thats the hardest part its wearing me down. So far, Lee has been able to stay in her $1,218 per month, rent-controlled apartment, where shes lived for nearly three decades. She says, however, that victory has come at a high price: She depleted her savings after paying at least $42,000 in legal fees to throw the counterpunches needed to keep her from moving. Despite the egregious nature of Lees case and a judges ruling that Engs eviction attempts were fraudulent, she says the agencies tasked with enforcing the law have not intervened on her behalf. NBC Bay Area In San Francisco, landlords can legally evict their tenants if they or in some cases, their relatives want to move into the home. A six-month NBC Bay Area investigation, however, exposed a lack of oversight that may be allowing some landlords to abuse the system by wrongfully kicking out rent-controlled tenants. Despite the enforcement provisions included in the citys housing ordinances, the investigation found they are rarely, if ever, used. When owners evict tenants through an owner move-in eviction, the law states the owner or their family member must move into the unit within three months and live there for at least three years. If they leave prior to the three years, the landlord must offer the unit back to the last tenant at the previous rent price. Yet, nobody actually checks to see if owners are actually moving into those units, forcing tenants to play amateur sleuth if they suspect they were wrongfully evicted. Lack of Oversight Its not working, Lee said. Theres obvious deceit on one end -- thats been shown, proven. So the city has to step up; this is an unprecedented time. The San Francisco Rent Board can respond to tenant complaints, but its not designed to be an investigative agency, according to Executive Director Robert Collins. Thats not one of the tasks we have, Collins said. I suppose for the individual person who was evicted, there would be other ways of finding out, perhaps. But it would be up to them. It wouldnt be something the Rent Board does. Each month, however, the Rent Board submits a random sampling of 10 percent of all owner move-in eviction notices to the San Francisco District Attorneys Office for possible investigation. Yet, in roughly the past 10 years, not a single landlord has been prosecuted for a fraudulent owner move-in eviction. In some ways, its like finding a needle in a haystack when it comes to the cases and the random samplings that come our way, said San Francisco Assistant District Attorney Alex Bastian. There isnt, for example, a Rent Board analysis that says this is 10 percent of the suspicious incidents that were sending you. Its just a random 10 percent. Without any reasonable suspicion, Bastian said the agency doesnt have enough resources to investigate the hundreds of owner move-in evictions performed each year in San Francisco. Last year, however, a team of NBC Bay Area journalists did just that. After spending six months knocking on hundreds of doors, the Investigative Unit was able to survey residents at more than 100 addresses where an owner move-in eviction took place. In 24 cases, nearly one in four, neither the landlord nor a family member was living in the unit. In some instances, there were new tenants living there, paying significantly more rent than the previous tenants. In spite of the apparent abuse, Bastian said proving fraud can be challenging. Further complicating prosecution efforts he said, is a 2007 California Supreme Court ruling that limited their ability to use the eviction notices themselves in any kind of prosecution. You have to be able to prove intent, Bastian said. Because the notice is not something we are going to be able to use, because we cant use the actual statements by the landlord in the notice, it really puts us in a position where we cant prove fraud or any kind of eviction thats being done unlawfully." NBC Bay Area Winning Can Feel Like Losing Even when the District Attorneys Office has had reasonable suspicion to believe a tenant was fraudulently evicted, the agency still hasnt taken action. After Engs second attempt to evict Lee using an owner move-in eviction, she filed a wrongful eviction complaint with the San Francisco Rent Board. The judge ruled in her favor, issuing a decision against Eng. Mr. Eng has wrongfully endeavored to recover possession of the tenants rental unit through harassment, Judge Jeffrey Eckber wrote. The evidence as a whole showed that Mr. Eng attempted to influence the tenant to vacate her unit through fraud, intimidation and coercion in violation of [the tenant harassment ordinance]. Mr. Eng engaged in a fraudulent scheme wherein he attempted in bad faith to orchestrate the eviction of the tenant. When reached by phone, Eng denied the allegations against him, saying he had every intention of moving into Lees unit. Theyre trying to say I had bad intentions, Eng said. But how do they know if I am going to move in or not? Eng, who describes himself as one of the best, honest landlords in San Francisco, blamed the ruling on the citys bias against landlords. But the judge apparently disagreed, recommending the commissioners of the Rent Board refer the case to the District Attorneys Office to consider civil or criminal actions against Eng for violating the citys owner move-in eviction ordinance. The District Attorneys Office reviewed the case, but in the end, pursued no action related to the wrongful eviction. They need to step up, Lee said. What are they there for? What good are laws for if its not followed through? WATCH: Part 1 of Our Investigative Series More than 8,000 people in San Francisco have been evicted from their homes over the past four years, but hundreds of those residents may have been wrongfully evicted, according to an analysis by the NBC Bay Area Investigative Unit. Investigative Reporter Bigad Shaban reports. First published Nov.10, 2016) Here's How to Potentially Save Thousands on Your Rent The Investigative Unit mapped out every owner move-in eviction in San Francisco over the past three years. You can use the interactive map below to find evictions in your neighborhood. While many of these evictions are legal, if your address is listed and you are not the landlord or a relative of the property owner, someone may have been wrongfully evicted from that unit, which might entitle you to lock in the previous tenants cheaper rent. If your address is listed, let us know about it by emailing us here. You should also submit an official request to the city to have your rent reduced. Follow Michael Bott on Twitter. [[401915696, C]] Watch the entire series in this NBC Bay Area investigation: Part 1: SF Landlords May Have Wrongfully Evicted Hundreds of Tenants Part 2: SF Fails to Prosecute Landlords for Certain Wrongful Evictions Part 3: San Francisco Considers New Eviction Laws Following I-Unit Series Part 4: NBC Bay Area Investigation Leads to Government Hearing Part 5: SF Eviction Crackdown Passes After Investigative Unit Series Part 6: SF Mayor To Sign Law After NBC Bay Area Investigation Part 7: SF Mayor Inks New Law to Combat Wrongful Evictions Part 8: Lake of Oversight Puts Oakland Tenants at Risk of Eviction Part 9: Oakland Voters May Get Say on When Landlords Can Evict Renters Part 10: Expansion of Eviction Protections Heads to Ballot in Oakland Part 11: Oakland Couple Uses Hidden Camera to Fight Eviction Part 12: Landlords Frequently Ignore Oakland Eviction Laws Part 13: Oakland Housing Director Defends Department Part 14: Oakland Housing Chief "Fired," Says Source A man who visited a Krispy Kreme doughnut shop in Santa Monica two years ago alleges in court documents that the company is deceiving customers by falsely claiming some of their jelly-filled doughnuts contain fruit. Jason Saidian is seeking $5 million in the federal lawsuit filed in November in Los Angeles. He claims that the North Carolina-based Krispy Kreme chain's glazed blueberry cake contains imitation blueberries made of corn syrup, corn cereal, sugar, and food coloring. He also claims that the maple bar contains no maple syrup. The company "induces unsuspecting consumers into believing that the Blueberry Products contain actual blueberries," he said, according to court documents. Saidian said he would not have purchased the doughnuts or would have paid significantly less for them had he known that they did not contain fruit, according to court documents. Saidian said he "suffered injury" and lost money as a result of the "misleading, false, unfair, and fraudulent practices." He said he's likely to purchase the doughnuts in the future if they contained real fruit. Saidian couldn't be reached. His lawyers did not return an email seeking comment. Krispy Kreme didn't respond to a request for comment. The lawsuit alleges violations of California business codes, breach of warranty, common law fraud, and negligent misrepresentation. Members of the student group that invited alt-right provocateur Milo Yiannopoulos to UC Berkeley say they have been physically assaulted and targeted online in the days since Wednesdays fiery protests. Were probably the most harassed group on campus right now, said Naweed Tahmas, a member of the Berkeley College Republicans. He noted that the club needed a security detail for a meeting last Thursday, a sign that tensions between the group and the area's liberal-leaning majority may have hit an apex. Ive been spit on, my friends have been punched our pictures have been posted online, Tahmas said. Ive been followed when I was walking back from campus. Some guy came up to us and said, Ill catch you in the shadows. That sounded like a threat to us. Yiannopoulos, a Breitbart editor known for espousing racist, transphobic and misogynistic views, was slated to speak to a crowd of about 500 at the behest of the conservative group. Police canceled the speech after a bloc of protesters broke windows, started fires and tried to storm the building in which Yiannopoulos was located. Many have speculated that the para-militarized bloc, clad in all black and wielding crowbars, were outsiders who came to campus. Students and administrators have since come out and condemned Wednesday's violence, which took place at what was designed to be a peaceful demonstration. Ive dealt with people being intolerant to my political views on campus, said group member Bradley Devlin, who describes himself as a moderate Republican. But these people were seeking blood. Although some students have shown club members support since the protest, hostility and anger toward them has increased since Wednesday's events, Tahmas and Devlin said. When they hand out fliers in the campus hub, it's not uncommon for them to be spit on or have expletives yelled at them. People with loose affiliations to the group have also been targeted. Several people told NBC Bay Area that they have been sent nefarious emails from a person threatening to doxx them, a practice in which personal information is leaked online. (Yiannopoulos' supporters have also been accused of doxxing in the past.) The emails stem from an incident Thursday, when club members were handing out fliers and a contact information sheet was stolen. It appears the person threatening to release the information erroneously believes it to be a roster of people who planned to attend the Yiannopoulos event. In fact, the list is mostly made up of people who are not members of Berkeley College Republicans but were interested in learning more about the group. I fully plan to publish the list of your names as attendees at the aforementioned campus event, the email, signed by a blogger identifying himself as OLAASM, warned. I dont believe that participation support of an event of this nature should be shrouded in secrecy. I believe it is in the public interest to know who is doing this kind of thing. A spokesperson for UCPD said the department is looking into the incident but noted that the emails have not yet reached a criminal level. Tahmas believes the messages are tantamount to punishing a person for seeking alternative viewpoints on an issue. Paul Iskajyan, a third-year political science student at UC Berkeley, signed the list to get updates on the group. He said he is wholly opposed to Yiannopoulos and says his views greatly conflict with that of the Berkeley College Republicans. A small part of me is worried that someone on the fringes might find this on the internet, Iskajyan said. Yiannopoulos has a history of targeting individuals with whom he disagrees politically. At a University of Milwaukee speaking engagement, he singled out and mocked a transgender student. Rumors swirled after the event that the Breitbart editor planned to read out a list of names of undocumented students at UC Berkeley, a claim Yiannopoulos denied. Still, members of the Berkeley College Republicans maintain that the controversial editor should have been able to go on with his appearance, which may be rescheduled. Some are even going so far as to say he is the leader of a new free speech movement. Well, hes a symbol of free speech for us," Tahmas said. "Whether we like it or not, maybe we could have a better vehicle. Thats not up to me." Tahmas said the controversy surrounding Yiannopoulos visit has made the group more popular than ever a silver lining for him, and a regrettable outcome for those who sought to silence Yiannopoulos last week. Theres definitely a silver lining there, but I wish it didnt come to that, he said. But it did increase the membership, and the administration is taking us more seriously now. A deal announced by Supervisor Jane Kim and Mayor Ed Lee Monday will make San Francisco the first city in the nation to make community college free to all city residents. The city today committed to $5.4 million in annual funding for the next two years to cover the costs of City College of San Francisco tuition for students who are San Francisco residents, starting this fall. The funding will also cover $500 annual grants for low-income full-time students who currently qualify for a fee waiver to use for book transportation and other education expenses and $200 annual grants for low-income part-time students. The city will also provide one-time funding of $500,000 to help City College develop and implement the plan. Lee today praised the plan, which was first proposed by Kim last year, as "bold and visionary." "Let me tell you, when our city works together, we can accomplish great things," he said. While the plan to subsidize community college tuition has the backing of the Board of Supervisors and voters, who approved a real estate transfer tax in November that Kim put forward to help pay for the City College plan, it very nearly didn't happen in time for the coming school year. After a sales tax measure intended to fund homeless services and transportation improvements that was also on the November ballot failed, Lee introduced a budget realignment plan that proposed to hold back some of the real estate transfer tax funds. Today's deal was announced after weeks of talks involving the mayor's office, Kim, City College and labor representatives, among others. Making community college free will help the city address a growing income gap by helping more people get good paying jobs, Kim said. She cited figures estimating that by 2020, 70 percent of all jobs in the United States will require some kind of secondary education. "Making City College free is going to provide opportunities for more San Franciscans to enter into the middle class and for more San Franciscans to stay in the middle class if they already are there," Kim said. While the money will not directly bring in new funds, the subsidy is expected to help increase enrollment at City College, which has seen declining student numbers in the wake of a recent accreditation crisis. The college's accreditation was confirmed last month, but the community college board has been forced to consider budget cuts to deal with the drop in enrollment and the loss of other funding. Interim Chancellor Susan Lamb today said there are currently "a lot of empty seats" available for those interested in earning a degree or certification. "We have a schedule that was basically built for about 85,000 students, and we want students to come back," Lamb said. "Come back and give us a try." The City College board is expected to vote on the plan Thursday. Two defendants pleaded guilty in Marin County Superior Court today to killing a Canadian tourist in Golden Gate Park and a Marin County therapist in a Marin County park in 2015. Morrison Haze Lampley, 24, of San Francisco, and Lila Scott Alligood, 19, of San Rafael pleaded guilty to first-degree murder and waived their right to appeal their convictions, Marin County District Attorney Edward Berberian said. They will be sentenced April 18. Morrision admitted two discharging a firearm allegations and will be sentenced to 100 years to life in prison. Alligood did not fire any weapons and will get 50 years to life in prison, Berberian said. A third defendant, Sean Angold, 25, of San Francisco, pleaded guilty earlier to second-degree murder and will be sentenced to 15 years to life in prison, Berberian said. Angold testified against Alligood and Lampley at their preliminary hearing in September 2016. Until March 30, 2016, all three defendants faced the death penalty for killing Audrey Carey, 23, of Quebec on Oct. 2, 2015 and sex therapist Steve Carter, 67, in the Loma Alta Open Space Preserve near Fairfax on Oct. 5. Carter's dog also was shot but survived. At the preliminary hearing, Angold testified Lampley shot Carter and Carey. Attorneys for Alligood and Lampley argued Angold lied to avoid life in prison. Angold testified he stole the gun used in the murders from an unlocked vehicle in San Francisco and helped plan the robberies of Carey's backpack and Carter's vehicle and wallet. Angold testified he walked away from where Carey was robbed in bushes in Golden Gate Park and heard gunshots. He testified Lampley told him, "She's dead dude, don't worry about it." Angold also testified he was farther down the trail in the park when Lampley killed Carter. Defense attorneys Amy Morton and David Brown said the big question at the preliminary hearing was who had possession of the murder weapon because Angold testified he and Lampley shared its possession. Angold testified the three drifters were using drugs he bought, including LSD, heroin and methamphetamaine during the week they traveled together in the Bay Area and to Portland, Oregon. They were arrested in Portland on Oct. 7, 2015. At the preliminary hearing Deputy District Attorney Leon Kousharian argued the three planned to get money to grow marijuana in Oregon. Lampley was in charge and Alligood participated more actively in the crimes after Carey was killed, Kousharian said. Lampley and Alligood were held over for trial for robbery, and two murders with special circumstances of murder during a robbery, lying in wait and committing more than more murder. Berberian said the disposition of Lampley's and Alligood's cases was reached with extensive discussions with the families of the victims who will be given an opportunity at the sentencing to address the court and describe the full impact of their losses. More than four hundred former employees of the Environmental Protection Agency sent a letter to the U.S. Senate Monday opposing Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt, selected by President Donald Trump to head the environmental agency. Kathy Setian, a resident of San Francisco who worked for the EPA for 20 years as a former project manager and environmental engineer, announced the list at an anti-Trump organizing meeting ahead of a #NoBanNoWall march Saturday. "One of my main messages is that EPA regulations are absolutely necessary to protect human health and the environment," Setian said. "Before there were regulations we contaminated the land, the air, the water to a wide extent and it was so expensive to clean it up. Its much more costly to clean it up after the damage is done." Identifying themselves under a variety of EPA functions such as environmental scientists and engineers, librarians and attorneys, the letter emphasized its bipartisanship as having "served under both Republican and Democratic presidents." "Collectively, the 447 represent decades of experience in environmental protection," Setian said. She credits the president for unifying those on the list, as she said "it takes a lot for conservative engineers" to speak out. Anti-Trump Organizers Meet in Women's Building to Organize Ahead of #NoBanNoWall Rally "Our nation has made tremendous progress in ensuring that every American has clean air to breathe, clean water to drink and uncontaminated land on which to live, work and play," the letter states. "Mr. Pruitts record and public statements strongly suggest that he does not share the vision or agree with the underlying principles of our environmental laws. Mr. Pruitt has shown no interest in enforcing environmental laws, a critically important function for EPA." 'Immigrants Make America Great': People Flock to San Francisco to Decry Trump's Immigration Order While the statement is just under three pages, signatures extend the document to 20 pages. Concerns ranged from inaction on environmental protection cases to conflicting business interests and proposed cuts to environmental enforcement. Setian said attacks on EPA are based on a false idea that we can either have jobs or have environmental protection. "They think environmental protection is costing them jobs," Setian said. "We must have both and if dont have both, well have neither." Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg spoke at Stanford University on Monday night, broaching several topics from feminism to the death penalty to the political divide in our nation today. The theme during the annual Rathbun lecture at Stanford Memorial church was "A Meaningful Life," and Ginsburg certainly could speak from experience. Ginsburg, who's been on the U.S. Supreme Court for 24 years, was not allowed to speak about any issues that are or will likely be in front of the high court, so that left a lot of room for Ginsburg herself. "Someday, there will be great people, great elected representatives, who will say enough of this nonsense, let's be the kind of Legislature the United States should have," she told the gathering. "I hope I'm still alive." Ginsburg said if it was up to her, and only her, there would be no death penalty or Electoral College. She also addressed what she sees as a hidden aspect of racism and sexism. "Unconscious bias," she said, "it's not so easy to overcome." She identified the part of the U.S. Constitution that she holds most dear. "That right to speak your mind and not worry about Big Brother government coming down on you and telling you the right way," she said. Ginsburg's admirers had nothing but praise after the speech. "Think outside of yourself, act outside of yourself and try to fix the tears in our community. That resonated!" said Kim Navarro, of San Francisco. Michelle Pacione, of Palo Alto, said hearing from wise figures such as Ginsburg is welcome and necessary in times like these. "We need women to kind of step up because there is still a lot of things that need to change in order for there to be equality," Pacione said. More than 50 more tech companies signed on late Monday to a friend of the court brief trying to oppose President Donald Trump's travel ban, bringing the total number of those opposed to roughly 150. The vast majority of those are based in Silicon Valley; the others are mostly based in New York and Southern California. Late additions include Tesla, SpaceX, Groupon, Pandora Media, Fitbit, GoDaddy and Slack. They join companies ranging from Airbnb to Zynga, who filed an amicus brief earlier on Monday with a San Francisco appeals court earlier, all of who are arguing that the United States and their businesses are comprised of, and better off with, a welcoming atmosphere to immigrants. Of particular note, is the signature of Tesla, based in Palo Alto, and SpaceX, based in Hawthorne, both headed by CEO Elon Musk, who is an immigrant from South Africa via Canada. Tesla relies heavily on federal tax breaks hence the Trump administration to make the high-priced electric vehicles more affordable. SpaceX funding depends, in part, on government contracts to deliver supplies and eventually astronauts to the International Space Station. A SpaceX spokesman on Tuesday said via email the company has "no additional comment, and unfortunately Elon is not available for an interview." Musk had previously said he would use his membership in Trump's advisory forum to "express out objections to the recent executive order on immigration." Musk's last tweets on the immigration issue were on Feb. 5, when he wrote, "Activists should be pushing for more moderates to advise President, not fewer. How could having only extremists advise him possibly be good?" In a second tweet, Musk wrote, "Many in America don't realize how proud they should be of the legal system. Not perfect, but nowhere is the cause of justice better served." The legal filing follows on the heels of other actions that tech companies have taken, including a massive employee rally at Google and a $4 million donation to immigration groups; Lyft's donation of $1 million to the American Civil Liberties Union; and Airbnb's creation of a #WeAccept message during the Super Bowl. Immigrants are among our leading entrepreneurs, politicians, artists, and philanthropists, the 53-page amicus brief, filed with the U.S. District Court of Appeals, states. The experience and energy of people who come to our country to seek a better life for themselves and their childrento pursue the American Dreamare woven throughout the social, political, and economic fabric of the nation. Also late Monday, the Solicitor General's Office filed a reply to the state of Washington and others, arguing that the president alone has the power to decide who can enter or stay in the United States The Department of Justice lawyers said Monday the travel ban was a "lawful exercise" of the president's authority to protect national security. The three-panel court of appeals, comprising two Democrat-appointed judges and one Republican-appointed one, will hear the case at 3 p.m. PST. The oral arguments will be conducted by phone, which will be livestreamed here. NBC Bay Area's Scott McGrew contributed to this report. A federal appeals court in San Francisco Monday scheduled a telephone hearing at 3 p.m. Tuesday on President Donald Trump's administration's emergency appeal for reinstatement of the president's travel ban affecting seven Muslim-majority countries. The administration has asked the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for a stay of a temporary restraining order issued Friday by a federal trial judge in Seattle. The temporary restraining order blocked implementation of an executive order in which Trump barred visitors and refugees from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen from entering the United States for 90 days. Trump's order would also suspend the U.S. refugee program for 120 days and exclude refugees from Syria indefinitely. UC Hastings College of the Law professor Hadar Aviram said the federal government must prove the United States will be harmed without the ban. "Why specifically these people from these countries are harming safety," Aviram said. "They would also have to show no harm to travelers banned." The three-judge panel has numerous amicus briefs to review. Civil rights groups, security experts and business leaders shared their views with the court. "This is a huge civil rights case with enormous implications to people's rights to travel and people's rights in a democratic society," Aviram said. "Of course there are many organizations in the U.S. that are troubled." An audio stream of the hearing can be found here. A 25-year-old woman accused of attacking her designated driver after a night of drinking at a strip club was acquitted of all charges after a jury determined the incident was an act of self-defense, San Francisco Public Defender, Jeff Adachi, announced Friday. Santa Rosa resident, Taylor Roberson, was heading up to the North Bay with a 26-year-old Novato woman, who was driving the vehicle, when an argument broke out over Roberson allegedly exiting the car at a stoplight to film a Facebook Live video. According to the driver, Roberson was asked to exit the vehicle and as the woman grabbed her purse to hand over, Roberson punched her five times and kicked her once in the face. The incident was reported to the police three day later by the driver, claiming she was not intoxicated at the time of the attack. During the trial, Roberson testified that the driver was intoxicated and had asked her several times during the car ride to pull over and allow her to sober up. According to Robersons testimony, the driver threw the purse out the window, but kept the debit card. In an attempt to retrieve her card, the driver pushed her out of the moving vehicle, stranding her on Chestnut and Franklin streets at 3 a.m. Roberson was found not guilty of one account of battery with serious bodily injury and one account of simple battery. The jury simply did not find the complaining witness credible. She couldnt articulate what happened, while Ms. Robersons testimony was detailed and honest, said Deputy Public Defender, Kathleen Natividad. Jurors later said they believed both women were drinking, and the wrong woman was charged. According to Deputy Public Defender, Kathleen Natividad, had the jury convicted her, Roberson would have faced up to 18 months in jail. Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan explained her reasoning Sunday for filing a court motion that would block state employees from getting paid. The motion, filed in St. Clair County Circuit Court last month, seeks to dissolve a preliminary injunction that allowed state workers to be paid during the budget impasse. The lack of progress on a state budget has been aided by a St. Clair County Courts order allowing the state to continue to pay employees without an enacted appropriations law, Madigan wrote in a State Journal-Register op-ed. "By removing the threat of a government shutdown, there has been little urgency to force action by the governor and the legislature. Madigan noted that the state has paid for certain operations without any legislative authority or fiscal check. No other state or the federal government has gone without a spending plan for so long, precisely because the devastating possibility of a government shutdown forces the executive and legislative branches to compromise, she added. During the states ongoing budget crisis, Madigan explained, the Illinois Supreme Court issued a ruling that directly impacts the states ability to pay for operations without a budget. She claimed the courts decision overruled the legal basis for the St. Clair County Courts initial order. Based on that ruling, I filed a motion in St. Clair County Court to uphold the Illinois Constitution, Madigan said. Enacting a budget is a basic function of our state government and must be addressed. As attorney general, my goal is always to allow the executive and legislative branches of government to do their jobs without legal intervention, she added. Madigan said she was hopeful that Gov. Bruce Rauner and the Illinois legislature would be able to enact a full budget before the states stopgap funding plan expired at the end of last year. The attorney general expressed the states urgent need to enact a budget, noting that she has asked the court to make it clear that any future spending plan must provide the explicit authority to pay state workers. Additionally, Madigan has recommended that the court provide additional time to put the budget in place to avoid undeserved hardship to state employees. The governor and legislature can resolve this situation at any time, and they have had a year and a half to do that, Madigan said. To be sure, there have been signs of progress, but there also have been repeated setbacks. This court filing should give the budget process the momentum it needs. By asking the court to uphold the Constitution, we will finally solve this destructive crisis - not create one, she added. Madigan, who is the daughter of House Speaker Michael Madigan, was recently added to the Illinois Republican Partys Boss Madigan website. The site attacks Speaker Madigans web of influence over members of the Democratic Party of Illinois. The speaker currently serves as the party chairman. On the site, Illinois GOP claims no one's benefitted more from Mike Madigans political machine than Lisa Madigan. Mike helped jumpstart Lisas political career when she was just 32 years old and got elevated to the state senate, the site reads. Just four years later, he helped make her Attorney General. Shes now been the states top prosecutor for more than a dozen years. The Boss Madigan site specifically targets Attorney General Madigans recent court motion. Her action could force a major crisis of state government and hurt thousands of Illinois families, the site reads. With a government shutdown, the lives and livelihoods of those who rely on and provide vital government services would be in danger. Not surprisingly, this is the exact type of crisis Mike Madigan wants." Tributes to former President Obama have abounded since he left office last month, but some Illinois lawmakers want to take it to the next level. Tributes to former President Barack Obama have abounded since he left office last month, but some Illinois lawmakers want to take it to the next level. Three bills have been introduced in both the Illinois House and Senate looking to add a new state holiday on Obamas birthday. The two identical House bills, HB 231 and HB 503, would designate Aug. 4 as a legal holiday known as "Barack Obama's Birthday." Schools and state offices would close, while banks and businesses can, but are not required to close. If Aug. 4 falls on a Saturday or Sunday, the holiday would be observed on the following Monday. [NATL] White House Photographer Shares Favorite Obama Photos From 2016 The bills were introduced by Reps. Andre Thapedi and Sonya Harper, Democrats representing districts in Chicago. Both were referred to the State Government Administration committee, which is scheduled to hold a hearing on Wednesday. If signed into law, Barack Obamas Birthday would join 13 other state holidays, including the birthdays of fellow former president Abraham Lincoln, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and Casimir Pulaski. A bill in the Senate, where Obama once served, would turn Aug. 4 into "Barack Obama Day," a commemorative day on which offices would not be required to close. The holiday would be "observed throughout the State as a day set apart to honor the 44th President of the United States of America who began his career serving the People of Illinois in both the Illinois State Senate and the United States Senate, and dedicated his life to protecting the rights of Americans and building bridges across communities," the legislation reads. SB55 was introduced by Sen. Emil Jones III, the son of former Senate President Emil Jones, Jr., who played a major role in launching Obama to the U.S. Senate in 2004 and considers himself to be the former presidents political "godfather." The Senate bill has two co-sponsors, fellow Chicago Democrats Sen. Jacqueline Collins and Sen. Patricia Van Pelt, and is currently in the State Government committee, which is also scheduled to meet Wednesday. Another resolution in the Illinois House looks to pay tribute to the former commander in chief in an entirely different way. Introduced by Rep. Rob Martwick, House Joint Resolution 17 would rename Interstate 294 as the "President Barack Obama Tollway" in honor of the man the legislation calls "the pride of Chicago and Illinois." Imagine receiving thousands of dollars in violations from toll authorities located almost a thousand miles from your home. Its happening to an SUV-driving dad from suburban Chicago who, for months, has been mistakenly identified as a big rig truck driver running tolls in the Northeast. Usually, I get a handful of them each week and then I have to call each on one of the states and plead my case, basically, to explain to them that this is not my vehicle, said Brian Dooper of Zion. Doopers passenger vehicle license plate shares the same sequential number as a semi-truck with Illinois plates. Although, there is a slight difference: Doopers plate includes a space between numbers while the semi-trucks plate is labeled apportioned. Still, the tollway technology has used Doopers vehicle registration information to mail him more than 30 violation notices totaling nearly $2,000. He has been able to get most of the violations dismissed, but they keep showing up in his mailbox. One person says that I wont get any more. The next person says I might still get some, but sure enough I always seem to get more, Dooper said. NBC 5 Responds reported a similar license plate mix-up issue last Summer in which a suburban business owner had received numerous toll violations from the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. The violations were meant for a rental van with an identical plate number to a car his business purchased for scrap several years ago. If the plate was recognized correctly, then none of this would have happened, the business owner said. Illinois issues multiple license plates with the same sequential number no matter if its an economy car or a commercial truck. The plates are distinguished by phrases such as apportioned or b truck. A spokesperson for the New Jersey Turnpike Authority said the agency has had difficulties in the past with Illinois license plates. Our hope is that well be able to work out a way with Illinois to ensure that when our computer sends them an apportioned plate number, they back the owner of that plate rather than the owner of the passenger vehicle with the same number, said New Jersey Turnpike Authority spokesperson Tom Feeney. The Illinois Tollway said it dismisses about 2,000 violations per year related to license plate mix-ups. Meanwhile, the New Jersey Turnpike Authority, Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission and Massachusetts Department of Transportation told NBC 5 Responds that Brians issue with receiving toll violations has since been resolved. There is no word yet on if the trucking company will be issued the violations. NBC 5 Responds also contacted the Illinois Secretary of States office, which issued Dooper a new license plate at no charge to help clear up the confusion. Its great that theyre gonna help me and fix my situation, but are they really helping everybody else? Dooper asked. If theres a flaw in the system and theyre only fixing it for me, people, who else could be getting these violations will still have the same the problem until they fix it internally? In a statement, the Illinois Secretary of States office said it was glad to help Mr. Dooper. But the statement also included a strong message for the out-of-state toll agencies. We are very disappointed with the Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission and New Jersey Turnpike Authority for their inability to correctly read Illinois license plates, the statement read. It is unacceptable for someone who owns a car to be getting a ticket for a totally different plate designed for a truck. We are reaching out to these agencies and insisting that they do a much better job of reading license plates. A man who decapitated his aunts boyfriend after being told to move out of her Northwest Side apartment has been sentenced to 33 years in prison, the Chicago Sun-Times is reporting. Alexis Valdez, 21, pleaded guilty to murder in the 2013 Christmas attack in the 2500 block of North Kildare Avenue before Cook County Judge Vincent Gaughan, according to court records. Valdez was sentenced Friday. Valdez moved in with his aunt and Silvestre Diaz-Hernandez on the condition Valdez go to school, work and contribute to household expenses, prosecutors said at the time of his arrest. Valdez later stopped working and was asked to move out. That angered Valdez and he lashed out by attacking Diaz-Hernandez with a hammer, eventually decapitating and dismembering the body. Valdez called 911 afterward to report a dead body. He was covered in blood and admitted to the killing when police arrived on the scene, prosecutors said. My father was a good person, he never did anything to anyone, the victims 17-year-old daughter, Salena Diaz, told the Sun-Times via email at the time. He was a good father. He did what he could for me and my brother. He did the best to provide for us after me and [my] brother lost our mother. An Army veteran facing deportation after serving seven years in prison for a drug conviction told a federal judge Monday he fears drug cartels in Mexico could kidnap him and hold him for ransom. Miguel Angel Perez-Montes, 38, of Mexico, grew up in Chicago. He was convicted in February 2010 for manufacture/delivery of more than two pounds of cocaine and sentenced to 15 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections, according to the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). In 2012, Perez-Montes was placed into removal proceeds by ICE while serving his prison sentence. He has remained in ICE custody since Sept. 23 of 2016 while deportation proceedings are pending in federal immigration court. The judge is expected to issue a written decision in the next few weeks. Perez-Montess family, including his, 9-year-old niece, Mary Marshall, says they had hoped he would be released Monday. Im him just to come home, she said. I want to spend time with him. Perez-Montes appeared in court via tele-video Monday but no decision on his deportation was made. His sister says she prays every day her brother will not be sent back to Mexico. We were really nervous coming in herestill nervous, she said. We wanted my brother here for Christmas but we have another opportunity to make it happen. The veterans attorney, family members and men in military uniforms answered questions and made statements following the hearing. In a statement, ICE, which is part of the Department of Homeland Security, said it respects the service and sacrifice of military veterans. Any action taken by ICE that may result in the removal of an alien with military service must be authorized by the senior leadership in a field office, following an evaluation by local counsel, the agency said. ICE exercises prosecutorial discretion, when appropriate, on a case-by-case basis for members of the armed forces who have honorably served our country. ICE specifically identifies service in the U.S. military as a positive factor that should be considered when deciding whether or not prosecutorial discretion should be exercised. At 8 years old, Perez-Montes came to the United States from Mexico with his family but never became a U.S. citizeneven after joining the military and serving two tours of duty in Afghanistan. Perez-Montes' attorney, Chris Bergin, says if his client is sent back to Mexico he could be targeted by the vicious drug cartels there. They know youve got weapons training, military training, strategic training, you have ins with people in the United States, youre going to work for us, he said. Perez-Montes is due back in court on Feb. 6. A federal judge ordered an admitted child porn addict caught with 45,000 images on his laptop computer held in custody Monday after prosecutors alleged he took his own sexually explicit photographs of a minor. Scott Reskey, 61, is charged so far with only one count of possessing an image of child pornography involving a minor under 12. But a prosecutor described to U.S. Magistrate Judge Young B. Kim photographs of the girl progressing from fully clothed to erotic to pornographic that appeared to have been taken in Reskys laundry room. The feds also found 200 child pornography videos on Reskeys laptop. But the prosecutor told Kim they still had 190,000 files to go through. Several FBI agents appeared in court for the hearing Monday. Reskey was arrested last week at his home on the Northwest Side. When agents approached him as he was leaving his apartment in March 2016, Reskey admitted that he looked at child porn a couple of times per week, court records show. He also allegedly told agents that he had been doing it for more than 20 years. Chicago Cubs player Anthony Rizzo posted a heartwarming message of support to a young boy who was severely beaten by another student at a suburban middle school last week. "Heard you are a big @Cubs fan Henry," Rizzo tweeted at the young Kenyon Woods middle schooler. "When you are better I have a couple tickets and BP passes waiting for you at Wrigley. #StayStrong." Twelve-year-old Henry Sembner was in a coma over the weekend after being severely beaten by another student in the hallway of his Elgin middle school. Kenyon Woods Middle School Principal Lisa Olsem said the young boy was assaulted by another student just before noon Friday. He suffered severe injuries and was taken to Presence St. Joseph Hospital in Elgin before being transferred to Advocate Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge. I spent time with the family of the injured student at the hospital this afternoon and will remain in close contact with them, Olsem wrote in a letter to parents Friday. The alleged attacker, [sic] was arrested and transported to South Elgin Police Department. The boy remained in the intensive care unit Sunday. According to a Caring Bridge account created by the family to update on his progress, Sembdner woke from his coma Sunday. They just removed the intubation and guess what he said, his mother Karen DeWilde Sembdner wrote. Im Hungry! On Tuesday, students and supporters of Henry wore Cubs gear to show their support, a movement that also caught Rizzo's attention. "Heard Henry's school will be wearing @Cubs gear tom to show their support," Rizzo tweeted again. "Wear ur gear & I'll RT pics.Let's all show our support #StayStrong." Heard Henry's school will be wearing @Cubs gear tom to show their support Wear ur gear & I'll RT pics.Let's all show our support #StayStrong Anthony Rizzo (@ARizzo44) February 7, 2017 At the Elgin school district meeting Monday night, a student board member wore green, a symbol officials say is meant to represent hope. Others throughout the district also wore the color in support after the brutal beating. That support, the districts CEO says, is not one-sided. Not only do we support Henry, but we also support the student who allegedly caused thiswe support him through counseling, Tony Sanders said. A school official also touched on what might have caused the incident. The student was bumped, or somehow bumped into the other student, that student then became aggressive in a very short couple of seconds and injured the young man, said John Heiderscheidt, the districts director of safety. A GoFundMe page created by Sembdners aunt also claims the young boy was going into a crowded hallway at school and bumped into someone. The kid grabbed him and slammed him into the ground, Crystal Sembdner Mims wrote. A wonderful child is in the hospital for no reason. South Elgin police said an investigation remained ongoing and would be turned over to the Kane County State's Attorney's Office when it has been completed, noting that it is a priority for the department. Police Chief Jerry Krawczyk said the suspect is in middle school but did not give an age. "This case makes me sad as a dad," Krawczyk said. "I've never seen a case like this involving children resulting in such severe injuries." Two GoFundMe pages have been set up to help the Sembdner family with medical costs. As of Money, one page had raised more than $17,500 and the other had raised $7,400. At an Evanston City Council meeting Monday night, the city manager spelled out 22 updates and changes in the police departmentsome effective immediatelyin the wake of a now infamous dashcam video and two high-profile arrests. Concerned residents packed the meeting to let Evanston officials know their concerns and what has not been working. In July a new body camera program will begin, with the entire police force outfitted by next January. Officers will get more diversity and crisis intervention training, officials say. An Evanston man is suing the north suburbs police department for excessive use of force and false arrest stemming from a 2015 traffic stop in which he was pulled over for suspected car theft while driving his own vehicle. Evanston police released dashboard video recordings of officers arresting Lawrence Crosby. The video also included audio of the call made to a 911 dispatcher reporting a man stealing a car, and audio recorded by Crosbys own dash-mounted camera inside his vehicle. Crosby was stopped, while driving his own car, in the 1500 block of Ridge Avenue in Evanston about 7 p.m. Oct. 5, 2015, according to the lawsuit filed in Cook County Circuit Court last October. In the video, a woman calls police to report an African American man in a hoodie who looked like he was breaking into a car at Sherman Avenue and Seward Street in Evanston. She tells the dispatcher the man was standing by the car with a long bar in his hands, and looked like he was trying to pry open the door. I dont know if Im racial profiling, the woman says to the dispatcher. I feel bad. Crosbys attorney, Tim Touhy, said at the time his client left his apartment in Evanston, fixed a piece of loose molding on his car, and was driving to Northwestern Universitywhere he was pursuing a doctorate in engineeringwhen he was pulled over. Shortly after the woman worried she was racially profiling, Crosby can be heard saying hes concerned that the woman thinks he was trying to steal the car, and says a black man cant fix his car at night without someone thinking hes stealing it. When Crosby drove away, the woman followed him in her own vehicle and continued to report his location to police, who pulled Crosby over a short time later. Once his car is stopped, Crosby gets out of the vehicle with his hands in the air and tells officers he owns the car. The officers shout at Crosby, approach him with guns drawn, and pull him to the ground. They place him in handcuffs as he continues to tell them that he owns the car and has documentation for it. Later, when officers learned that Crosby was the registered owner of the car and had a valid license, they decided to charge him with disobeying a police officer and resisting arrest, Touhy said in a statement. Crosby was acquitted of the charges on March 9, 2016, in Cook County Circuit Court. The five-count suit accuses the officers of malicious prosecution, battery and use of force, failure to prevent battery and use of force, vicarious liability and conspiracy. It names the City of Evanston and four police officers as defendants. Evanston police spokesman Cmdr. Joseph Dugan said he could not comment on the video because of the pending lawsuit against the city. A worker found dead in a bell tower at Geneva Commons in suburban Geneva Friday was asphyxiated due to mechanical compression of the neck, according to the autopsy report released Monday. Donald Tentler, 47, of the 600 block of South 7th Street, West Dundee was pronounced dead at the scene Friday. Authorities say Tentler and another man were stuck in the bell tower of the mall. The other man was brought to safety, but Tentler was "somehow crushed" against the top of the tower, said Geneva fire Chief Mike Antenore. Employees in the area at Geneva Commons said earlier in the day it appeared someone was stuck inside a bell tower, which might have been under construction. First responders could be seen working for hours at the mall's bell tower in a cherry picker. Officials from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration were on scene and have opened an investigation. Kat Smith, who works at the mall's Starbucks, brought flowers to lay at the bell tower. "I'm sure we must have crossed paths at some point, and like I said, my heart really goes out to the family," she said, adding that she'll never look at the tower the same. Ill always remember, she said. A GoFundMe has been set up for Tentler's family. Court records show a southern Indiana man has agreed to plead guilty to the murder and kidnapping of a 1-year-old girl under a deal in which prosecutors would dismiss other charges including rape and child molesting. Twenty-three-year-old Kyle Parker of Spencer provided factual basis to plead guilty to charges in the slaying of Shaylyn Ammerman in Owen Circuit Court on Friday. The judge has taken Parker's plea under advisement, ordered a presentence investigation, and will rule on the matter Feb. 27. The toddler was abducted from her crib at her paternal grandmother's house in Spencer early on March 23. Parker had been drinking there with Shaylyn's uncle and step-grandfather. The child's body was found the next day along the White River near Gosport, about 40 miles southwest of Indianapolis. Court documents released last year alleged Parker waited until the family fell asleep before abducting, raping and killing the toddler, prosecutors said. Parker initially denied involvement in Shaylyn's disappearance when first questioned, but directed police to the place where her body was found, about 40 miles southwest of Indianapolis, prosecutors said. An autopsy found Shaylyn suffered severe sexual trauma while she was alive and died from asphyxiation. Investigators reported finding the girl's body next to a tree and a burn pile nearby believed to have contained her clothes and other evidence. Northwestern University sent out a security alert Monday night after receiving reports of possible sexual assaults on campus that involve the use of a date rape drug. The warning was issued after two reports were filed last week with the schools Sexual Harassment Prevention Office in regards to separate incidents at two Northwestern fraternities. On Feb. 2, the universitys Sexual Harassment Prevention Office received a report that four female students were potentially given a date rape drug while at a party at Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity that was held two and a half weeks earlier, on Jan. 21. Two of the four women said they believed they were sexually assaulted. On Feb. 3, the university received an anonymous report of another sexual assault that allegedly took place on Feb. 2. In the report, a female student was sexually assaulted, possibly involving the use of a date rape drug, after attending an event at another fraternity house, school officials said. The report did not name the fraternity involved, and it was unclear as to where the alleged assault occurred. [[413017833, C]] Did the chapter do anything that breached our expectations and guidelines, we as a national organization have the ability to sanction the chapter as a whole if we think that is necessary or individuals or one person in the chapter, Brandon Weghorst, associate executive director of communications for Sigma Alpha Epsilon said in a phone interview. In the alert posted to Northwestern Universitys website, the school asks anyone with information to come forward. The Northwestern University Policy on Sexual Misconduct requires all employees, including student employees, as well as non-employees with teaching or supervisory authority, to report sexual misconduct of which they become aware, the statement said. Those who may know someone at risk are urged to call Northwestern University Police at 847-491-3456 or Evanston Police by dialing 9-1-1, or by using a Blue Light emergency telephone. The state laws on how long a child should be in a car seat could be changing. Advocates said a proposed bill by Rep. Brenda Kupchick would match state laws on child seats to national recommendations. Currently in Connecticut a child needs to be in a rear-facing child seat until age one or weighing 20 pounds, according to the legislation. "Any person who transports a child under one year of age or weighing less than twenty pounds in a motor vehicle on the highways of this state shall provide and require the child to ride rear-facing in a child restraint system approved pursuant to regulations that the Department of Motor Vehicles shall adopt in accordance with the provisions of chapter 54." The new bill proposes to keep children rear-facing until age two and weighing 30 pounds. Also, Connecticut law keeps a child in a booster seat until they are above age six or over 60 pounds. But this new bill wants keep children in a child safety seat until age eight. Child Passenger Safety Technicians said especially for infants and toddlers, rear facing car seats create a cradling effect to better protect them in a crash. "The weight of their neck will force their head forward in such a violent way that it could literally cause paralysis, death, internal decapitation, said Nick Aysseh, CPST Instructor at Yale-New Haven Health. "They can crisscross their feet, they can touch the back of the seat with their feet, but that isn't a concern. Our concern is the spinal cord, said Jason Cioci, a firefighter with Poquonnock Bridge Fire Department. Hes also part of The Safety Group. AAA Allied Group of Greater Hartford is endorsing the bill, touting that its based on standards set by the American Academy of Pediatrics. But parents have mixed opinions. Glenn Gartners top priority is his childrens' safety. "I think a premium should be on parents as drivers knowing what you have in the back seat, the Gales Ferry resident said. But with his 2-year-old and his almost 5-year-old above the curve in height -- Gartner doesn't necessarily agree with keeping kids in rear-facing car seats until age two. "Anything for safety precautions, it can't hurt. Its to benefit them, said Erica Porter of New London. "When it comes to having a strict policy on that, I really say its child dependent and the parent should use their best judgement, Toni Rapacciuolo, of New London, said. The bill was well received at the Transportation Committee Monday. It could be voted on later this month. New London police have arrested a convicted felon accused of having stolen firearms, police said Tuesday. According to New London police, they were informed early Monday morning by Stonington police of a report of stolen firearms. Two pistols, one assault rifle, hundreds of rounds of ammunition, five high capacity rifle magazines and 15 high capacity pistol magazines were reported missing to Stonington police. Investigators identified 28-year-old David Johnson, of New London, as a suspect. According to police, officers found Johnson and issued a traffic stop. During that stop police said they found two of the three guns reported stolen in close proximity of David Johnson. Police also reported finding hundreds of rounds of ammunition, high capacity rifle magazines, and high capacity pistol magazines. Police said they found a third stolen weapon while executing a search warrant. Johnson is charged with three counts of possession of a stolen firearm, three counts of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, possession of ammunition by a convicted felon, possession of an assault weapon and two counts of risk of injury to a minor. According to police, Johnson is already a convicted felon in multiple states. He was held on a $200,000 bond. The investigation is ongoing. There has been little, if any, public support voiced for a controversial expansion of high speed rail, that's currently mapped to go through Old Lyme, New London, Stonington and Mystic, among other sections of southeastern Connecticut. During a hearing Monday on a measure that would provide a clear policy position for the state- that would say it is formally opposed to the Federal Rail Administration's proposal- lawmakers heard from residents who feel they've been slighted. There is some sentiment that we definitely feel as a sort of after-thought," said Lisa Kornicki, a lifelong resident of southeastern Connecticut, who currently resides in Stonington. Kornicki said the current proposal, to bore a tunnel below Old Lyme, and add a pair of new tracks, could devastate the community. So, imagine if youre a homeowner or a business, you now have that gray cloud hanging over you for the next 30 years and people will make that information part of their decision making process as to whether or not they buy your property, so absolutely, thats a factor. The proposal was formulated under the Obama Administration and the FRA is currently without an administrator. It is now up to states, cities and railroads to take next steps and decide whether to move forward with any specific projects identified in the NEC FUTURE Tier 1 Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS). Each individual project will require more review and more environmental studies, as well as significant funding. The FRA will continue to accept and review feedback on the NEC FUTURE Tier 1 Final EIS until publication of the Record of Decision (ROD), which is not anticipated prior to March 1, 2017," the FRA said in a statement U.S. Senators Richard Blumenthal, Chris Murphy and Congressman Joe Courtney have all said on multiple occasions that they would work to stop the plan before it even entered a planning phase. Rep. Devin Carney who sponsored the resolution in the Connecticut House of Representatives, said he think an official action by the state of Connecticut would be a clear message that Connecticut wants a different path for high speed rail. This proposal doesnt benefit Southeast Connecticut. It doesnt benefit the town of Old Lyme, the town of Stonington, or other towns the city of New London, where it would go through, Carney said. A Connecticut lawmaker is proposing a bill to have steeper consequences for drivers distracted while on their cellphones. State Representative Whit Betts said he will suggest to the Transportation Committee after receiving complaints about the issue from his constituents. "For the constituents who are calling me and saying, 'please do something about this' because people are going through stop signs and not paying attention whats going on," Betts said. Betts, who represents Plymouth and Bristol, wants to increase fines specifically when it comes to driving while people use their cell phone to make a call or text. He tells NBC Connecticut he will suggest to the Transportation Committee that the first offense will cost drivers $500, the second will cost $1,000 and the third offense will cost $2,500. Betts said the driver would also have to take a special education course. Fines under the current state law include: First offense is $150, second offense is $300 and the third offense is $500. "Its very hard for police to be able to prove that youre using a hand held phone while youre driving so we really need to take a fresh look at this and really impose upon everybody," Bettts said. The Transportation Committee has the option to send the bill to the House floor. While Betts will make his suggestion for the fines, the committee will ultimately come up with the suggested penalty. A Southington house was destroyed in an early morning fire Tuesday but thankfully no one was home at the time, according to Southington fire officials. Firefighters were called to the home at 321 Berlin Street around 2:15 a.m. When they arrived on scene they reported flames coming out of the windows. Mutual aid was called in from the Cheshire Fire Department to help fight the flames. [HAR] Fire Destroys Southington Home The residents had been staying in a hotel while they refinished the floors so they were not home at the time of the fire. No serious injuries were reported, but one firefighter did suffer a minor injury while fighting the fire. The home has been declared a total loss. Fire officials are investigating the cause. A Connecticut State police response to an incident where protesters blocked a highway in New Haven over the weekend is under review, state police said. An attorney for the protesters claimed the police response was excessive and violent. On Saturday, a group of approximately 100 protesters opposing President Donald Trumps immigration policies blocked the road on the Route 34 connector and backed traffic up getting of Interstates 91 and 95 in New Haven, blocking the route into the city and to the hospital. Protesters opposing President Donald Trumps immigration policies blocked traffic on the Route 34 connector and backed it up near exit 1 on Interstate 91 in New Haven, according to an NBC Connecticut crew on scene. New Haven police and state police responded to clear a path for traffic and to move protesters to the side of the road. According to New Haven police, one protester who refused to move for a police car was arrested and charged with disorderly conduct and released on a promise to appear. State police arrested a man they identified as the leader of the protest, Norman Clement, 66, of New Haven. Patricia Kane, the attorney representing the marchers, claimed the participants were not violent and the police response, which included state police and state police K9s, as well as backup from New Haven police, was excessive. This was a peaceful protest, the only violence was police violence and its kind of poetic justice that the dog bit three officers, Kane said. Kane told NBC Connecticut she intends to file excessive force complaints against state police. She also said that the protesters were willing to move out of the way for emergency vehicles. Connecticut state police confirmed that a K9 did bite two troopers and that the situation is under review. State police said the whole incident, including the circumstances that lead up to the bites, will be investigated. The K-9 bites are documented and will be investigated, including a full after action report. CSP will also review all of the circumstances surrounding the bites and take additional steps as warranted, Commissioner Dora B. Schriro said via a statement to the press Monday. Blocking a highway is a crime and state police said that while they respect the right to assemble and protest, blocking major roads and emergency vehicles will not be tolerated. The State Police also respectfully reminds any group that wishes to gather in a reasonable time, place, and manner, that they are welcome to do so, but that under no circumstances may a group assemble on limited access/major thoroughfares or block emergency vehicles," Schriros statement read. New Haven Police Department spokesman David Hartman released a statement Monday that stood by his departments response and said they were working to keep the protesters safe. That statement read in part, We stood out nationally as a department whose tactics when dealing with Occupy, should be followed. We have been eager to work with protesters to ensure everyones safety. We close streets when permits are submitted for marches. We advise and dont demand. We protect and dont antagonize. Hartman also said his department was disheartened by the demonstrators Saturday, who police said focused their anger toward officers. New Haven Police Chief Campbell also supported the actions of his department as well as state police. I really applaud both new haven and the state police for their restraint two arrests were made but there were a lot more people subject to arrest, he said in an interview with NBC Connecticut Monday. On Sunday, thousands of people attended the annual Run for Refugees fundraiser, followed by a March for Refugees that protested Trumps policies and actions regarding refugees. Despite a record number of participants at the run and large crowds at the march, police said there were no incidents at those events. An old fight in the General Assembly between poorer urban areas, and wealthier suburban towns could start even before the governor provides his budget address Wednesday. The governor, during a visit to Smalley Academy in New Britain, said the state needs to have viable answers to a judge's ruling last summer that the state's existing Education Cost Sharing, or ECS formula as it's known, is unconstitutional. Its better that we figure out how to resolve this issue as opposed to leaving it up to the courts," Gov. Dannel Malloy said. The governor, keeping with his theme of the last week, unveiled the ideas two days before he provides his spending plan for the next two fiscal years. He wants to factor in current enrollment in school funding, and to ensure that poorer school districts receive boosts, that the governor conceded may need to come from wealthier cities and towns. New Britain Schools Superintendent Nancy Serra said it's not too much to ask, saying, We need to pull together as a State of Connecticut to say, all of our kids matter, every one of them. Malloy also wants to create a new kind of education grant that's specifically for special education, and boost state funding for the program by $10 million. Cities and towns had said last month that they want the state to take over all funding for special education. The governor struck down that concept. I want municipalities to handle it all but I guess were going to have to compromise somewhere in the middle. Joe DeLong, the Executive Director of the Connecticut Conference of Municipalities, said in a statement in response to Gov. Malloy's proposal, "Any attempt to shift the burden of education funding off of the state and onto our local communities is clearly, as denoted in CCJEF vs Rell, a violation by the state of its constitutional responsibilities." Malloy said he would rather come up with solutions now, instead of paying for consequences later. We are failing children in urban environments. We are failing children because their parents are poor and its not right, and by the way, its not constitutional in Connecticut. With the Department of Motor Vehicles reporting wait times in branch offices on the way down, the agency has tried to put its problems in the rear view mirror. But the NBC Connecticut Troubleshooters have continued to hear from DMV customers who have issues that have taken months, and in one case, more than a year, to resolve. The DMV says it has gotten most of the software bugs out following a rough rollout of its $26 million modernization project, but problems for customers seem to keep cropping up. Steve Palmer, of East Hartford says he had to go back and forth with the DMV for over a year, to get a partial, $40 refund on a two year registration he used for just three months. Palmer first contacted the Troubleshooters last September. NBC Connecticut reached out to the DMV about Palmers problem then, and again in December before he got his check. Gotta stay with it and thanks to your help and finally they reacted and sent the check out, Palmer said. In Palmer's case, as well as the case of Allan West, of Hartford, it appears DMV software gave false positives that their car insurance policies had lapsed. West was fined $200 and it took him five months to get a refund, after we contacted the DMV. This is not acceptable. People work hard. People dont have $200 just to give away to the state on something that the state brought up in the first place in error, West said. The Troubleshooters have fielded complaints from DMV customers across the state. They often involve issues connected to vehicle registrations that they didnt cause, and take weeks or months to clear up. Besides Palmer and West, both from Greater Hartford, other customers who contacted us come from Southington, Milford and Salem. After being pulled over by a state trooper in December, Brenda Brown, of Salem, was told she was driving with a canceled registration. After sending letters and missing half a day of work to go to a DMV branch, in January, Brown was able to prove her registration had not been canceled. They honestly need to look at the overall process. If they're going to continue to have problems with their system, then these types of scenarios should be worked out where they know they're in error and come up with a fix, Brown said. The DMV addressed the latest round of complaints we received in a statement: DMV strives to improve customer service every day through continuous examination of comments and complaints from customers, critiques from our employees and data-driven analysis of the workings of our customer service. DMV serves nearly 3 million license customers and 3 million registration customers. As with any large business, issues can occasionally develop for our customers and we work with them to resolve the matter. To improve this response to customers, the Commissioner and Deputy Commissioner through much study of our internal requirements for issuing registrations have made significant cuts in wait times for customers who now obtain faster service when making a trip to DMV for a registration-related matter. Their next stop is DMVs back office operations that have sometimes brought long wait times for customers seeking refunds or other kinds of assistance. DMV has started a similar kind of study, as done with customer wait times in the branch office, and will be looking at solutions that streamline those back office operations, including any delays in getting customers their refunds or other assistance provided by those operations. NBC 5 Investigates has obtained records showing Larry Duncan, president of the Dallas County Schools Board of Trustees, accepted more than $200,000 in campaign contributions from people tied to the bus camera company with which DCS partnered on a program that has left the district struggling to pay its bills. Campaign finance records show since 2012, Duncan received about $245,000 from employees of Force Multiplier Solutions, family members and other associates including the company's chief executive officer, Robert Leonard, who contributed $150,000. All of Duncan's other campaign donations combined since 2009 totaled only about $8,600. Check records show DCS has paid Force Multiplier and its predecessor company more than $50 million, much of that for bus camera equipment. Duncan defended accepting the campaign contributions from the company, saying they were legal and did not cloud his judgment in any way. "Every penny is legal, honest, open and ethical. The state legislators set up this system so that people like me could hold office and run for office, and the system is working," Duncan said. When asked if accepting contributions like this could give the impression that business at DCS is for sale, Duncan responded, "No, it's not, and I will not stand for my reputation being questioned. Twenty years I've been in public service." DCS and Force Multiplier partnered to launch a business together in which DCS bought Force Multiplier cameras and then gave them to other school districts for free. In return, DCS got a cut of the fines collected from tickets given to people who run past school bus stop signs. But the program didn't collect as much as DCS expected, and it's now at least $20 million behind, according to the agency's new chief financial officer. "If you see any elected official who has the overwhelming majority of his campaign contributions from a single source, that is a red flag," said Cal Jillson, political science professor at Southern Methodist University. Jillson says the donations raise big questions about ethics and influence. "So it's a direct relationship between very, very large unexpectedly large campaign contributions and then a contract for services that has gone south," Jillson said. NBC 5 Investigates asked Duncan whether the rest of the DCS board was aware he had accepted contributions of that size from this vendor. "I don't know. There's no way I could know that," Duncan said. When asked if they should have been made aware, Duncan responded, "It was all open and reported publicly." Records show Duncan donated some of the money he received to other members of the DCS board and also to candidates for the Dallas City Council and the school board at the Dallas Independent School District. The city council passed the bus camera ordinance that allows DCS to operate the stop-arm cameras, and Dallas ISD is Dallas County Schools's biggest customer for bus service. So DCS has a direct interest in those two organizations. Just last week, DCS disbanded the camera program it operated outside of Dallas County and laid off 93 employees. NBC 5 Investigates reached out to the CEO of Force Multiplier Solutions for comment Monday but he did not immediately respond. The Burn and Reconstructive Centers of Texas at Medical City Plano, the first and only burn center in Collin County, is celebrating its one-year anniversary. Since opening last year the burn center has treated more than 700 patients who required more than 4,000 burn and reconstructive-related appointments in the outpatient clinics. Its first patient was Joel Thomas Hall, of Trophy Club. Hall suffered third-degree burns on his legs after an accident near a fire pit while vacationing near Lake Texoma. "Burns are something you live with the rest of your life. It's something you overcome," Hall said. He was at a hospital in Gainesville when paramedics brought him to Medical City Plano. "I like being the first. I like being able to say I was the first and when I would come to my burn clinic appointments, I would go up to the ICU and tell patients I was the first burn patient," Hall said. Specialized burn care complements our trauma program and places Medical City Plano at the pinnacle of emergency care," said Charles Gressle, CEO of Medical City Plano. "The numbers speak for themselves. There was a huge community need for providing exceptional and compassionate burn care close to home, and I am proud that we are meeting this need and treating so many people who require this highly specialized care." Hall donated an original painting to reflect is thoughts of his stay. The painting depicts an ocean wave. "It was a flow, a rush of healing. Instead of getting surgical treatment, it was continual care, continually flowing over me while I was here," Hall said. The story of North Texas has long been one of rapid population growth, but a recent report from a state agency has proven that is not the only story. According to the Texas Demographic Center, Dallas County ranks last among the state's 254 counties in three categories that measure people moving into or out of an area: net internal migration, total net migration and total net migration and immigration. Net internal migration counts people who move from one Texas county to another. By that standard, Dallas County showed up in the negative at -27,155. Total net migration is a combination of the people who move into a county minus those who move out. That figure for Dallas County was -24,344 during the period studied. Total net migration and immigration accommodates for people who move into a county via a foreign country. The resulting figure in Dallas County was -6,352. The study looked at population trends during a five-year period, from 2009 to 2013. During that time, of the 10 most populated counties in Texas, Dallas County is the only one that showed a net loss of population when accounting for migration and immigration. According to the study, more than 4 million Texans change residence each year. "Of these four million plus movers, 16 percent originated outside of the state coming from other U.S. states or from abroad and the remaining 84 percent originated within the state," the authors note. "Together, these streams of external and internal migrants represent an important source of demographic change in Texas." State Demographer Lloyd Potter noted that even though Dallas County is losing people due to migration, those people are not moving far. The top three destinations for people moving out of the county are, in order, Denton County, Tarrant County and Collin County, according to the study. "When people are leaving a place they have either lost opportunity, or they see better opportunity elsewhere," Potter said, indicating that the story in Dallas County is more likely one of the latter than the former. Potter indicated the out migration could be a reflection of rising real estate prices near the urban core, forcing people to move farther out to find an affordable home. Online: Texas Demographic Center on Texas Migration President Donald Trump offered to destroy the career of an unnamed Texas state senator at a White House meeting with law enforcement officials on Tuesday. At a meeting with sheriffs from around the country, Sheriff Harold Eavenson, from Rockwall County, Texas, told Trump that a state senator opposed seizing assets prior to someone being convicted of a crime. "We have a state senator in Texas that was talking about introducing legislation that would require a conviction before we can receive that forfeiture money," Eavenson said. Eavenson then added that drug cartels would "build a monument to him in Mexico if he could get that legislation passed." Trump then asked Eavenson to name the senator, which Eavenson declined to do. "Want to give his name? We'll destroy his career," said Trump, whose response drew laughter from some in the room, including Eavenson. In an interview after the meeting, Eavenson again declined to name the senator and said he didn't take Trump's comment seriously. "I don't know what his intentions were," Eavenson said. "But I didn't take it as though he was serious about destroying his career." In Austin, several Democratic lawmakers pounced at the state capitol. Several circulated a resolution, saying, "When the president of the United States threatens any member of the Texas Senate, it must be considered a threat to all Texas senators." The resolution didn't have enough signatures to be considered. Meanwhile, speculation swirled about who the unnamed senator is. Two senators Konni Burton, of Fort Worth, and Juan Hinojosa, of McAllen introduced a bill this session that would allow police to seize someone's property only if that person is convicted of a crime. In a statement released Wednesday, Burton said, in part, "I have never met with Sheriff Eavenson, nor even heard of him before yesterday. However I take exception to his comments on asset forfeiture reform." "While I certainly want law enforcement to have the tools necessary to combat large criminal enterprises, we must be vigilant to safeguard the rights of everyday citizens from potential abuse," Burton said. Several messages of support were retweeted by Burton's official Twitter account Tuesday night. When Trump met with the sheriffs Tuesday, he also brought up his victories with officials from Pennsylvania and North Carolina. And when a sheriff from Minnesota introduced himself, Trump said if he had campaigned in the state one more time he would have won it. The president has brought up his electoral victory frequently since taking office. He also spoke on a wide range of issues at the meeting, including border security, drug addiction, human trafficking and terrorism. Below is Burton's full statement on civil asset forfeiture: // NBC 5's Scott Gordon contributed to this report. Police said a 21-year-old man has died after being shot at a Dallas apartment complex Monday night. [[413034803,C]] Dallas police said they responded to a shooting call at the Walker's Mark Apartments in the 4000 block of Frankford Road at about 11:40 p.m. and found the wounded man. The victim later identified as Herston Monroe was transported to a hospital where he died from his injuries. Dallas police asked anyone with information about the shooting to contact Homicide Det. Brent Maudlin at 214-671-3676 or brent.maudlin@dpd.ci.dallas.tx.us. Crime Stoppers will pay up to $5,000 for information that leads to an indictment for this offense. To submit a tip, call 214-373-8477 (TIPS). Authorities said six people were injured in a two-vehicle crash in Dallas Monday night. [[413006833,C]] Dallas police and firefighters responded to a call about a crash involving a Ford Crown Victoria and a Lexus sedan near the intersection of Ramona and Hudspeth avenues at about 9:45 p.m. Investigators said a woman driving the Crown Victoria ran through a stop sign and crashed into the Lexus. Police said the Crown Victoria spun and overturned. The driver and two female passengers, including a juvenile, were transported to hospitals with injuries. The man driving the Lexus and his two grandchildren were also transported to hospitals with injuries, according to authorities. Police said the woman driving the Crown Victoria was charged with two counts of intoxication assault. Her identity has not yet been released. A Syrian doctor was reunited with his family at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport on Monday night days after a federal judge temporarily blocked President Donald Trump's travel ban. "No problem today," said Dr. Hayan Kayal, a neurosurgeon who fled the Syrian violence and now lives in Iraq. "I told them I'm visiting my family." His wife and American-born daughter moved to the U.S. five years ago as the Syrian war inched closer to their hometown. Kayal relocated to the relative safety of Erbil, Iraq, and usually visits his family in Keller every few months. Jasmine Kayal, 17, a senior at Keller High School, said the travel ban made her wonder whether her father would be able to travel to the U.S. "I was nervous we wouldn't be able to see him and I didn't know what we would do," she said. Her father said he became depressed and simply waited. Then, on Friday, a federal judge in Seattle temporarily blocked the ban, allowing Kayal at least a window to come. An appeals court is set to hear oral arguments on the Justice Department's appeal on Tuesday. "I am happy to visit my family here now," Hayan Kayal said. He plans to go back to Iraq in three weeks. His daughter worries that he may not be allowed to visit again. "I just keep thinking in the future, what if he can't come here anymore? What are we supposed to do?" she said. Trump says the ban is to keep the country safe from terrorists. Jasmine Kayal doesn't agree with that argument. "You can't solve a problem like that by just banning everyone. That's not how you solve it," she said. "There's a lot of people who have nothing to do with that. They just want to see their families." The tornadoes that struck southeastern Louisiana on Tuesday injured about 20 people, destroyed homes and businesses, flipped cars and trucks, and left about 10,000 customers without power, but no deaths were reported, the governor said. Gov. John Bel Edwards took an aerial tour and made a disaster declaration before meeting with officials in New Orleans. The worst damage was in the same 9th Ward that was so heavily flooded in Hurricane Katrina. Edwards, a Democrat, said he was heartbroken to see some of the same people suffering again, and promised that the state will provide the affected citizens with the resources they need as quickly as possible. President Donald Trump even stepped in to offer words of support to the people of Louisiana with a tweet early Wednesday. Our thoughts and prayers are with everyone in southeastern Louisiana affected by today's severe tornadoes. President Trump (@POTUS) February 8, 2017 Hatchet-wielding firefighters walked up and down the debris-strewn Chef Menteur Highway after the storm, looking for anyone missing or trapped. Their primary search came up empty, and a secondary search was planned to make sure and to better assess the damage. Edwards said he called in the Louisiana National Guard to police and secure the area, and urged people to stay away. "This is not a time to sight-see," he said. The storm ripped apart homes, toppled a gas station canopy, snapped tall power poles and flipped a food truck upside-down. It left shards of metal hanging from trees, and trapped a truck driver as power lines wrapped around his cab. At 11:25am CT, a tornado impacted our Michoud Facility in New Orleans. Only minor injuries reported & personnel are being accounted for (1) NASA (@NASA) February 7, 2017 The wall of severe weather also delivered heavy rain and hail to Mississippi and Alabama. Press Secretary Sean Spicer said the White House was monitoring the weather's impact, and that President Donald Trump would be reaching out to local and state officials. Yoshekia Brown lost everything to Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Now she's lost everything again: Three-quarters of her home in eastern New Orleans collapsed. "Sister, your house is gone," her brother told her as she drove home. She didn't believe it until she saw it herself. "I lived in between two blighted properties. One of those would have been gone before my house," she said. "It's just gone. Like the movie Twister." Luckily her 2-year-old son and three dogs have survived, and her home was insured. She said she's not sure what to do next, but said "something good has to come from this." [NATL] Tornadoes, Hail, Thunderstorms Hit South Louisiana Outside the heavily damaged Royal Palms Motel, Malcolm Ballard, 65, was left homeless by the tornado. His room was ransacked; the furniture and carpet soaked after the door and windows blew open. Kevin Ballard, 56, came to check on his older brother, but his own injuries turned out to be worse, with cuts and bruises on his head and neck, after an auto repair shop he was in collapsed around him. "I was standing in front of the building at first and I seen something black, twisting," Kevin Ballard said. "Tires and everything fell on the back of my neck and head." [NATL] Extreme Weather Photos: Record Heat Threatens Europe The Baton Rouge area also got hit. Ascension Parish Sheriff's spokeswoman Allison Hudson says three people suffered minor injuries and several homes and some other buildings were damaged in the historic part of Donaldsonville, about 20 miles southwest of the capital. In Killian, just east of Baton Rouge, the mayor said several houses were destroyed and several others damaged, but an elderly couple suffered the only injuries he knew of: One a broken leg, the other a broken arm. "How you manage to get blown completely across the street with cinderblocks flying and no worse than a couple broken limbs apparently the good Lord was looking after them," said Mayor Craig McGehee. President Donald Trump, at a press conference during his visit to CENTCOM on Monday, claimed the media "doesn't want to report" on terrorist attacks involving Islamic radicals, but gave no examples of stories that went uncovered. The White House then provided a list of 78 attacks from September 2014 to December 2016 that officials claimed got short shrift from the news media. President Donald Trump signed three more executive orders Saturday, Jan. 28, 2017. The orders are for a reorganization of National Security Council to respond to new threats, a ban for administration officials from lobbying, and a request for Joint Chiefs of Staff to come up with a plan to defeat ISIS within 30 days. A review of the archives revealed NBC News covered 57 of the attacks on the list. Those 57 attacks resulted in the deaths of 745 people including the Paris terrorist attacks in November 2015, which killed 130 people and resulted in hundreds of stories. The 21 attacks NBC News did not cover were smaller incidents in places like Egypt, Bosnia or Bangladesh, and the suspects were described only as "unidentified" or "unidentified ISIL" operatives. Also on the White House list was another terrorist attack that was covered widely by both the U.S. and foreign media the December 2015 mass shooting in San Bernardino, California, which killed 14 people. NBC News' archives have at least 162 stories that mentioned the suspects. Districts across North Texas are speaking out about the possibility of school choice in Texas. Public school districts in Dallas County, Tarrant County, Collin County, and Denton County are closely monitoring Senate Bill 3, which pushes Education Savings Accounts. In Dallas ISD, Superintendent Dr. Michael Hinojosa believes school choice would directly affect resources in the classroom. The biggest concern are vouchers and the lack of accountability Education Savings Accounts would bring. It would take founding away from public schools," Hinojosa said. "We would have less money per students and therefore, we would have to figure out how to redistribute funds. 85 percent of our money comes from people. Between salary and payroll, there would be drastic changes. Public schools are funding 10 percent through federal dollars, and the rest of the funding largely comes from state and local dollars. Income, sales, and property taxes all contribute to state and local funding. The adoption of Senate Bill 3 would allow households to use tax money on charter, private, or home school. NBC 5 reached out to several North Texas school districts. Official responses are listed below: Missy Bender, President, Plano ISD Board of Trustees: School funding and transparency in taxation are important priorities for the Plano ISD Board of Trustees this legislative session. As a board, we oppose the use of public funds for vouchers, tax credits, education savings grants, portability measures or any other mechanisms to privatize public education. This redirection of funds seems to be another state revenue stream cloaked in the Trojan Horse of school choice. We cannot yet tell from the financial information presented in Senate Bill 3 what the precise financial implications will be, but our concern in Plano ISD is that for the average Plano ISD student that receives a voucher, our taxpayers will have to pay over $6,600 more to the state via the recapture system. Since the state will only be paying a portion of that to the student, it raises the question as to what the state plans to do with the rest of the money they would take from our taxpayers. Its bad enough that they would take money away from public schools to give to private schools, but they definitely need to be transparent and tell our taxpayers what they plan to do with that extra money. Along those same lines, our board is supporting a grassroots effort called Taxparency, initiated by a collaboration of Texas public school districts acting on behalf of their schools and communities who expect tax dollars paid to their school district to be used in public education. Plano ISD residents continue to affirm their expectation that education remain a top priority, evident in their favorable votes in a 2013 Tax Ratification Election and a 2016 Bond Election. This legislative session, we plan to keep our constituency informed about how their tax dollars are being spent, including how recaptured funds have benefited the states general revenue fund rather than school district operating budgets. Dr. Jamie Wilson, Denton ISD Superintendent At a time when the Texas Public Supreme Court has ruled that the way the state funds public education is byzantine, at best, we join many other Texas public school districts in opposing any diversion of public funds for vouchers, tax credits and education savings grants that take away from public education. Public education is about choice as families often have the ability to choose which school their child attends by purchasing or leasing a home in a community of their choice. Denton ISD provides the families that choose our district many academic and extra-curricular choices within our framework that enhance their childs education because we want all of our students to be successful now and into the future." David Hicks, Highland Park ISD spokesman: "We are concerned that, by allowing parents to use public tax dollars to pay for private or home schooling, fewer tax dollars would be available for public schools. Given that the state has approximately $2.7 billion less to spend on its budget this biennium, it honestly doesnt appear possible in any way to create Education Savings Accounts without taking dollars away from public education." David Hicks, Highland Park ISD spokesman Clint Bond, Fort Worth ISD spokesman: Andrea Huber was hoping to grow her family. The registered nurse was trying to get pregnant for a second time, but endometriosis was making it difficult, so she underwent a routine 20-minute minimally invasive procedure known as laparoscopic surgery. "I was trying to clear lesions from my abdominal cavity around my ovaries to reduce pain and to, hopefully, help me get pregnant," said Huber. Huber said she never felt quite right after the procedure. And a couple of weeks into her recovery, her abdominal pain became so bad she was rushed to the hospital. "I've never experienced anything like it and I had natural child birth," said Huber. Doctors discovered she had a life-threatening infection after her bowel had ruptured. "I was so sick that at times I didn't think I was going to make it," remembers Huber. Huber survived but only after several surgeries and weeks in the hospital. She was one of thousands of patients who've been injured by something called stray energy. "Stray electricity from the device that was used ended up damaging my bowel," she said. An NBC4 I-Team investigation has found that the medical devices used during many minimally invasive procedures can, in rare occasions, burn the internal organs and tissues of the patient. Procedures performed millions of times a year for everything from hernia repair to organ removal. "The surgeon doesn't know it, the patient doesn't know it and all of the sudden the patient gets very sick," explained Pascal Fuchshuber, MD, PhD, FACS, a board member of The Society of American Gastrointestinal and Endoscopic Surgeons (SAGES) and an expert on the use of surgical energy. During laparoscopic surgery, doctors insert long electrical instruments through small incisions into the body and perform surgery with the help of a tiny video camera. Usually, everything goes smoothly. But sometimes the energy escapes from the device, burning the person's healthy organs or tissues which can cause serious injury or even death. In Huber's case, a doctor described the damage to her abdomen as "if somebody kind of threw a little miniature hand grenade or something in there, it looked like there was a part of the bowel that had just basically blown open." That's according to a 2008 lawsuit that Huber filed and won against the maker of the device. "I feel very lucky that I'm alive because it easily could have gone the other way," Huber said, "I think I was very close to that happening." And she isn't alone. A 2016 study found thousands of stray burns from laparoscopic surgery occur each year -- in some cases leaving patients with lifelong injuries or worse. "If you get one of those injuries, there is a small but definite chance that you can die," said Dr. Fuchshuber, who was a co-author of the study. He said these types of injuries "have happened way more often than we think." Stray energy injuries can happen in several ways. A doctor could accidentally touch the wrong part of the body with the electrical device, electricity can jump from one surgical instrument to another, or the energy can stray from the tool to patient's body. "There can be energy that goes out of the insulation and hits and organ or tissue or blood vessel," said Dr. Fuchshuber. In fact, Fuchshuber's study found insulation defects in up to 39 percent of devices and even in some brand new instruments. He's concerned that many doctors don't know the dangers of these surgical instruments. "We asked some of the most prominent chiefs of surgery around the country to answer a couple of questions about these things and we saw that, at the most, they got half of the questions right," he said. Fuchshuber and SAGES have started a program called FUSE, Fundamental Use of Surgical Energy, to educate surgeons about the risks of electrical instruments in surgery and how to use them safely. He said surgeons "should adapt their technique and how they use these instruments to the fact that every one of them could have this defect." The Food and Drug Administration has also approved a technology called AEM which can eliminate the risk of stray energy burns according to Encision--the company that makes it. But so far, it's only being used in limited number of hospitals. We asked the FDA to discuss the problem of stray energy injuries with NBC4 but they declined an interview. Instead, in a statement, the agency told us they've received reports of stray energy injuries and they "routinely monitor and review reports we receive to determine if additional action may be necessary." "I don't think they're taking it seriously enough," said Huber, who continues to suffer with symptoms from her injuries. "I have a lot of pain when I eat. I never know when it's coming. The fear of waiting for problems to strike is exhausting. It takes away from my family life. It takes away from my kids. It's terrible." She wants the industry to do more to prevent the same type of injury from happening to even more people. "There's a morally right thing to do which is to make sure these devices are safe and the fact that there's a way to do that that's not being used just makes me sick," she said. The I-Team reached out to Medical Device Manufacturers Association for comment about stray energy injuries, but they didn't return NBC4's phone calls or email. Making higher education more affordable and eliminating student debt could cost $3.3 billion annually, according to a report released last week by the nonpartisan Legislative Analysts Office (LAO). State lawmakers asked the LAO to look at what was needed to build a new state financial aid program that would keep students from taking on college debt. A Debt Free College program for resident full-time college students would require additional funding to the California Community Colleges (CCC), University of California and California State University systems to pay for both tuition and living expenses. The study focused on public schools since they enroll 85 percent of the states undergrads. It would be a pathway to debt-free students, not a full ride. The concept centers on shared responsibility. Think of it as total college costs covered by the state after youve deducted parent contribution, student contribution and federal gift aid. The state then provides last dollar gift aid to meet any remaining unmet financial need, the proposed program suggests. Under the program, $2.2 billion would be allotted to CCC students, $800 million to CSU students and $300 million to University of California students, according to the LOAs report. This would be in addition to existing financial aid gifted to students. How much families contribute to their childs college education would be calculated the same way as federal financial aid programs. Additionally, financial aid experts working on the program estimate if a student works 15 hours a week during the academic year, and 40 hours during the summer, it would allow them to contribute $7,300, after deducting living expenses. Maddie Padilla is an English major at San Diego State University, graduating this spring with the help of financial aid. She likes the job portion of the program. People use financial aid for different things besides rent and stuff, and I think being required to have a job while youre in school is a good idea. It kind of helps you balance your life and school together, she said. I kind of dont understand the kids who go to college and dont work." The same can't be said for fellow SDSU English major Lily Staples who uses her part-time job income to help support her family. In the past year Ive had to cut down on job hours so I can balance my school, job and family, Staples said. My money that I earn for my job goes to paying for my grandpas housing, and Im not able to save it for school." The actual program costs to the state could turn out higher or lower than estimated, but if the program were to add eligibility requirements, such as requiring a certain grade point average or 12 unit minimum, it would significantly reduce those costs, according to the LAO report. For 2015 2016, average tuition for a UC school was $13,451 for a resident student taking 30 units. CSU students paid on average $6,815 in tuition while community college students paid on average $1,380, according to the study. For living expenses, the study looked at a UC students expenses for the 2015-2016 year. Living on campus cost an estimated $18,716 while living off campus cost $14,691, according to the study. Those students who could live with family spent an estimated $10,209 (the study estimated $4,700 spent in rent and food). Principal Fiscal & Policy Analyst Paul Steenhausen, who prepared the report, said the program would reduce student loan debt but would not totally eliminate it. There could be significant behavioral changes regarding students attending colleges and which colleges they go to, so that could affect the cost, Steenhausen said. He also said the state could not require students to work. There may be some students who choose to work fewer hours, or not work at all, he said For those students they may choose to take out student loans. The LAO also suggested taking all of the state financial aid programs available for students and families and creating just one program to help alleviate the confusion for new students and their parents. Oregon and Minnesota currently have similar programs in place according to the study. Click here to learn more. At least one water district in Orange County is on record Monday saying the state's drought emergency declaration should end. Water district officials point to the rain, snowpack at 170 percent and basins overflowing as evidence. But, other water districts say ending the conservation measures that are in place wouldn't be prudent. Officials with the Municipal Water District of Orange County told NBC4 it's an issue of credibility. On Monday they voted unanimously to declare the drought emergency is over and are asking California to do the same. "We always need to continue to be water use efficient but when every reservoir in the state is spilling water, when more water is going out to the ocean then we could be using in SoCal in a year, there's some problems there," said Brett Barbre of the Municipal Water District of Orange County. The district supplies water to 2.2 million people in Orange County. Authorities say because of recent rainfall there should no longer be extreme restrictions. Gov. Jerry Brown declared the drought emergency in 2014, asking Californians to use 25 percent less water. The Barela's, who live in Laguna Niguel, remain water conservation should remain as is. "I think there has been permanent change, but I would like to keep in place anything we to make sure we have permanent change," George Barela said. Officials at the Moulton Niguel Water District would prefer the state wait until the end of the rainy season before making any changes which includes monthly reports on conservation, enforcing penalties for water runoff and ensuring districts have a three year supply of water on hand. Laguna Niguel resident Angela Rusu made a choice to replace her lawn with California native plants. She believes others should do the same. "The grass is nice and some people they like the grass, but if you're going to overdo it I think it's too much for everybody. So a little bit of saving will be good for everybody," she said. The state Water Resources Board is slated to vote Wednesday in Sacramento. Officials say they could extend Brown's emergency declaration for up to nine months. We've all been there. It's a new year and we're making resolutions to shape up. Marine Corps veteran Andre Hicks is no different, but the stakes are a little higher. "I have degenerative joints, I have extremely bad arthritis," Hicks said. His surgically repaired knee doesn't help. Hicks hit the gym to take a little weight off. He put in a $500 deposit for a personal trainer at a Fitness 19. A couple sessions in, his doctor told him to stop. The workout was too intense for his body and could actually do more damage. Hicks got a doctor's note to prove it. It said Hicks is "unable to perform gym exercises/training" in his condition. Is that note enough reason to get a refund from the gym? Attorney Brian Kabateck says you're probably not getting a refund at most gyms. Let's face it, a lot of people quit the gym before ever breaking a sweat, so contracts are very specific. "Gym contracts are not consumer friendly contracts," he said. "Gyms are protective. They say, 'Look, we've collected this money, this is our business, we can't just keep giving refunds.'" After bringing in his note, Hicks got word Fitness 19 would refund him his full balance as a courtesy, telling us "we always want to do the right thing for all our members, especially someone who fought for our country." Turning his attention to healthy eating, this soldier's won this battle. He's now hoping others can learn from him as well. "Maybe I can bring some attention to this issue and someone else won't walk into this wall," he said. When can you get out your contract early? There's really only one way and that's if you move more than 25 miles away. That's why it's important to know what you're signing before you put pen to paper. Numerous cars had their tires cut early Monday in the Van Nuys area, police said. Investigators don't know why the suspect went on the vandalism spree on several blocks in the area of Hatteras Street and Mammoth Avenue, but they have secured surveillance video that shows a white or Hispanic man who appears to be in his 30s going from vehicle to vehicle, methodically stabbing tires, Officer Mike Lopez of the Los Angeles Police Department's Media Relations Section said. Liliya Shlyakman said she had to miss class because her tires were slashed. Her father offered her a ride to school until he realized his tires were slashed, too. "Then, we noticed our neighbors coming out - it happened to all of us," Shlyakman said. More than two dozen vehicles had their tires damaged, according to the LAPD. The vandal could face misdemeanor charges or even charges of felony vandalism, depending on the amount of damage. A City Council Committee will begin investigating Tuesday the impact President Donald Trump's executive order on immigration had on Los Angeles International Airport. Jennie Pasquarella, director of immigrant rights and a staff attorney for the ACLU of California, and Patrick M. Gannon, deputy executive director of security and public safety for Los Angeles World Airports, the city agency that runs LAX, will appear before the Innovation, Grants, Technology, Commerce, and Trade Committee to answer questions from committee members. Trump's executive order, "Protecting the Nation from Foreign Terrorist Entry to the United States," was issued on Jan. 27 and halted immigration to the U.S. from seven Muslim-majority countries. It has since been stayed by several federal judges but caused an undetermined amount of travelers to be detained or sent back to their country of origin at LAX. The executive order "severely challenged the city's ability to provide a hospitable welcome to refugees and travelers and respond to frequently changing rules governing international travel," Councilman Bob Blumenfield's office said in a statement while announcing the planned appearance of Pasquarella and Gannon before the committee, which he chairs. "Passengers were detained and thousands of protesters filled the airport in solidarity, leading to disruptions including traffic congestion and pilots and crews were delayed from reaching their scheduled flights. In the following days, lack of clarity from the federal government has left the city of Los Angeles with unanswered jurisdictional, legal, and logistical concerns." Trump has defended the executive order as necessary to keep terrorists from entering the country. Another round of wet weather will bring scattered showers to the region throughout most of Tuesday. The showers arrived overnight and will be off-and-on throughout the day due to a moist airstream coming from the southwest. There were no flood advisories as of Tuesday morning, but commuters can expect slick roads through the morning drive. The rain could possibly continue through Wednesday morning. But the day will be partly cloudy and dry later in the day. Tuesday's weaker front comes after Monday's storm which brought moderate showers to Southern California. Some parts of the region saw up to one inch of rain. Flood advisories for Los Angeles County were canceled and the vulnerable hillside along Laurel Canyon, part of which gave way a few weeks ago, appears to have held up. A large tree in a Long Beach neighborhood fell over overnight Monday and narrowly missed a family's bedroom while they were sleeping. No one was injured. LA County Public Works tweeted Monday that Downtown Los Angeles has already received 15.89 inches of rain halfway through storm season, which is more than its yearly average of 15.38 inches. We're halfway through storm season & #DTLA has already received more than its yearly avg (15.38 inches) of #LArain. 15.89 inches & counting! pic.twitter.com/w9qMB32uMc LA Co Public Works (@LACoPublicWorks) February 6, 2017 Sections of the Sierra Nevada could see more than two feet of snow during three storms expected to batter the state through midweek. That's a good sign for the drought in California, which has been swamped during a wet winter that has brought no shortage of rain and snow after five straight dry years. January's storms lifted the northern half of the state out of drought. This time last year, 95 percent of California was in drought, after the driest three-year stretch in the state's history. The California Drought Monitor report released Thursday showed improvement in the severe drought category. About 20 percent of California remains in severe drought, down from 26 percent last week and 61 percent three months ago. The Sierra Nevada snowpack, a vital part of the state's water supply, is at 173 of average, with the most snow recorded since 1995, state water managers said. Thursday's manual survey at Phillips Station, which has been measured each winter since 1941, showed snow depth at 90.3 inches. In January, back-to-back-to-back storms from the tropics that each dropped a hurricane's worth of water on the state have put the state at 108 percent of its normal rain and snow for the year, with two months still left in the rainy season, said Michael Dettinger, a hydrologist for the U.S. Geological Survey. Authorities in Florida are searching for a man and woman accused of engaging in a sex act in a courthouse after the woman allegedly posted video of the act on Twitter. The Jacksonville Sheriff's Office said Monday that they have active warrants for 26-year-old Brittney Lachell Jones and 35-year-old Jeremiah Isiah Robinson. Jones and Robinson are aware they are wanted and are not cooperating with police, officials said. Jones allegedly posted a graphic video to Twitter last week of the pair engaged in a sex act in a fourth-floor hallway at the Duval County Courthouse. Anyone with information on their whereabouts is asked to call the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office at 904-630-0500. The trial began Tuesday for an ex-Air Force major accused of trying to kill his wife and her father in Coral Springs in 2012. Thomas Maffei has been in jail on attempted murder charges since the November 2012 shooting of ex-wife Kate Ranta and her father Robert. In court Tuesday, the 911 call Ranta made moments after the shooting was played. The shooting allegedly happened in front of the couple's four-year-old son. "He kinda had the gun pointed at me and was kind of playing with me with it. How close was he to Will? Right next to him, and then Will said 'don't do it daddy, don't shoot mommy,'" Ranta said. Both Ranta and her father testified that Maffei fired three shots through the front door, forced his way inside and then shot them both once at point-blank range. "I heard my ex-husband go over to my dad and yell at him to move his phone away, and then I heard boom, and a grunt," Ranta said. Robert Ranta also took the stand Tuesday and broke down while describing the moment they were let go. "I helped her up, the three of us struggled towards a array of police," he said. Prosecutors had a box of evidence to show jurors including clothing and the weapon allegedly used in the shooting. But the most compelling item was a table runner detectives say Kate Ranta used to wrap her gunshot wounds. Maffei's attorney, Fred Haddad, says he doesn't plan to dispute the facts of the case, but will use an "intoxication defense," arguing that Maffei's behavior was influenced by pain pills he was prescribed for PTSD, back pain and depression after serving in wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. The state rested its case Tuesday, and the defense plans to call doctors and Maffei to the stand Wednesday. Attorneys for a Miami woman accused of playing a key role in the killing of a Florida State University law professor are trying once again to get her out of jail. An attorney for Katherine Magbanua on Monday requested that a Florida appeals court allow her to be released on bail. The motion with the 1st District Court of Appeal contends prosecutors have not presented enough evidence to keep her locked up ahead of her trial on murder charges. That trial was scheduled for February, but it has been pushed back until later this year. Magbanua, who has pleaded not guilty, is accused of helping orchestrate a plot to kill Daniel Markel. Police say the murder was sparked by a bitter divorce and family squabbles. Authorities allege Magbanua has ties to both the alleged shooter and the family of Markel's ex-wife. Tuesday marks National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day and members of the South Florida community are encouraged to know their status. Free testing will be available at the Frederica Wilson and Juanita Mann Health Center in NW Miami-Dade, located off NW 75th Street and 25th Avenue, from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. Tuesday. Rep. Wilson, who just started her fourth term in Congress, says the problem of HIV and AIDS is not something that will just go away and calls on all members of the community to educate themselves. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports African-Americans are the most affected by the virus among any racial or ethnic group in the country. The latest data dating back to 2014 show Miami-Dade and Broward counties led the nation in new infections. Authorities are searching for a man dressed as a construction worker who was caught on camera stealing a work trailer from a construction site in Lauderdale-by-the-Sea. The burglary happened back on Christmas morning at the site in the 200 block of Pine Avenue, Broward Sheriff's Office officials said Tuesday. The suspect, who was wearing a neon yellow vest and orange hardhat, pulled up to the site in a white Ford F-150 and cut open the lock on a fence. He then hitched the 14-foot trailer to his truck. As the suspect started to drive away, he had to move a trash can out of the street. A surveillance camera from a nearby home captured the suspect during the burglary, officials said. The trailer had the company's name, Barron Development, on the side panels and rear door. It also has distinctive purple designs on its sides. Anyone with information on the theft is asked to call Broward Crime Stoppers at 954-493-TIPS. A 2-year-old boy who went missing from Fort Lauderdale Tuesday has been found safe with his mother, police said. Bryce Bryan was located in the area of the 2800 block of Northwest 6th Court. He had been last seen in the area of the 1500 block of Northwest 3rd Court and was in the company of 21-year-old Nikitrius Davis, Florida Department of Law Enforcement officials said. Fort Lauderdale Police later confirmed that they were found safe and were in good condition. It's unclear if charges will be filed. No other information was immediately known. A Miami couple was arrested on child abuse charges after their young son was found bloodied and with a split lip outside Dolphin Mall, authorities said. Mariano Pinar, 28, and Dazny Torres, 27, are also facing child neglect charges following their arrests Sunday outside the Bloomingdale's at the mall on Northwest 12th Street, police said. Pinar and Torres appeared in bond court Monday where they were ordered held on $5,000 bond each. Both were represented by public defenders. According to arrest reports, an officer responded to the mall for a call of a battery on a child. The officer found the child with a bloody mouth and blood smeared across his cheek from a laceration on his upper lip. The child was nervous, shaking and crying, and had a red welt across his back, the reports said. He also had large cavities on most of his molars that were so big the molars appeared to be hollow, the reports said. The officer noticed a two-inch scar on the boy's head and the boy explained it was from a day when his mother hit him with a belt and the buckle hit him in the head, the reports said. "Mom is the bad one, dad just hit me today," the boy told the officer in Spanish, according to the reports. "It was rather disturbing, it was an unfortunate case where the child had been severely abused to the extent that he had visible injuries and he was bleeding," Sweetwater Police Chief Placido Diaz said. Miami Beach foodies will soon have a shorter trip to their local Trader Joe's grocery store. The California-based chain announced Monday that they're opening their first South Beach store in 2018. The store will be located at 17th Street and West Avenue in a mixed-use development called 17 West. The store will open in the second half of 2018 and will be about 11,500 square feet. The Miami Beach location will be the second in Miami-Dade, after the opening of the Pinecrest store in 2013. A three-week-old baby remained in the hospital after the baby was ejected from a vehicle in a hit and run Saturday. The infant is in critical condition and the person who caused the crash has yet to be identified or found. NBC 6 spoke exclusively with a woman who witnessed the crash and rushed to help the family. Jessenia Arce was riding with friends around 1 a.m. when she saw the crash at Southwest 7th Street and 17th Avenue. "He didn't even stop, he just kept going," described Arce. She was several cars behind the vehicle that crashed. As she got closer to the wreck she saw a disturbing image. "I was looking from afar like is that a baby on the ground?" said Arce. She said she saw an infant lying face down in the road. Thats when she jumped into action. "I jumped out the car while it was still driving. I ran to the baby, and then I called the husband and I'm like look, look, look your baby," explained Arce. Miami Police said the family had the green light and was hit by van that ran the red. The 22-day-old infant was thrown out of the car's back window. Arce tried to keep the child breathing. "He's like, he's not breathing, he's turning purple. I said, look, turn his head to the side and pat him twice and then he started breathing." Arce said her mother works in the medical field which helped her keep calm. Miami police say the infant's mom had taken the baby boy out of his car seat prior to the crash to feed him. Detectives are asking the driver who left the scene to surrender to police. The baby's mom and dad were not seriously hurt, officials said. The suspect's van will have quite a bit of front-end damage. If you have information about the driver call Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers at 305-471-TIPS. President Donald Trump has signed 22 executive actions since taking office, including eight executive orders, according to The American Presidency Project. Some of the papers he signed were executive orders that dealt with building the wall he promised along the U.S.-Mexico border; temporarily banning entry to the U.S. by refugees and people from seven majority-Muslim nations; and beginning to chip away at the Affordable Care Act, according to the Associated Press. In about the same time period, President Obama had signed nine executive orders, according to the presidency project. In a recent interview, David Boaz, executive vice president of the libertarian Cato Institute, explained what an executive order is, and how presidents use them. What is an executive order? "An executive order is really any instruction issued by the president to the rest of the federal government or to some part of it," Boaz said. [[412945033 ,C]] On Vetting Orders "It does seem like President Trumps have been more poorly thought-out, not as carefully planned," he said. [[412944483 ,C]] High-Impact Orders "The order that was issued to block immigration from seven countries that obviously had a lot of impact and for the next 90 or 120 days it will likely continue to," he said. [[412944503 ,C]] What Order Has No Immediate Impact "The order that said build the wall really was about: write a plan for how much it will cost. ..., " he said. [[412944473 ,C]] On Constitutional Authority "The big issue with executive orders is whether they are done within the presidents constitutional authority," he said. [[412944073 ,C]] On Other Executive Actions "The other thing to keep in mind is that if we only focus on exec orders we miss a lot of presidential and administration rule making," he said. [[412945043 ,C]] A baby girl abandoned inside a New Jersey YMCA may be the daughter of a teenage father who was pulled off a hotel ledge by Newark police Sunday morning, authorities say. Officers were called to the Newark YMCA on Broad Street Monday evening for a report of a five-month-old girl abandoned there, police said. She had been left alone for about an hour and wasn't hurt. Police located the mother, and Child Protection and Permanency was notified. Police are looking for the child's father, 19-year-old Kelly Coran, who's believed to be the same man pulled off a ledge outside the Robert Treat Hotel Sunday morning. In that case, officers responding to a call of a trespasser there found the man on the ledge, calmly confronted him and then grabbed him, pulling him to safety through the window, police said. Coran is wanted on charges of child endangerment and $2,000 outstanding theft of services warrant. What to Know Karina Vetrano's beaten body was found Aug. 2 in a marshy park in Queens Prosecutors say Chanel Lewis confronted, attacked and strangled Vetrano while she was jogging Lewis is charged with second-degree murder. If convicted, he could face up to 25 years to life in prison Lawyers for a 20-year-old Brooklyn man charged in the death of Karina Vetrano, the New York City runner whose beaten, strangled body was found in a Queens marsh over the summer, are urging the public "not to rush to immediate judgment." Legal Aid Society Chief Defender Tina Luongo says in a statement that Chanel Lewis is "entitled to fairness and due process." In Photos: The Investigation of Karina Vetrano's Death Legal Aid has a full team working on the case, including its DNA unit, she said. Police arrested Lewis on Saturday. They said evidence included genetic material found under the 30-year-old Vetrano's fingernails and on her phone and neck. Police officials also said Lewis made detailed, incriminating statements to detectives. According to police sources, Lewis twice confessed on video -- once with the NYPD and the other time during an interview with the Queens district attorney's office. Lewis' family insists he is innocent. "He's just a good guy, a wonderful guy, don't interfere with anybody," said his father Richard Lewis. "He's never had that problem in the 20 years I've had him in my world." His mother Vita Lewis said Wendesday that she supports her son. "I raised my son to be a God-fearing man, and to respect life," she read from a statement. "My son is friendly, God-fearing, and would not hurt anybody." Police said Monday that Lewis was once written up in high school for allegedly saying he wanted to "stab up some girls." His father told reporters Tuesday that was "lies." "If his principal sees him, he hugs him. Good kid," he said. Chanel Lewis' family also dismisses police saying they found his DNA on Vetrano. "They can say anything. The lawyers and the doctors and the specialists will go into that," said Richard Lewis. At a news briefing Monday, NYPD Chief of Detectives Robert Boyce talked about the challenges of the six-month probe. He said finding Lewis was like looking for a "needle in a haystack" because he had no criminal history. New details are emerging about how police tracked down the 20-year-old suspect accused of murdering a young runner in Queens last summer, abandoning her strangled, beaten body in a marsh in what became one of the city's highest profile crimes in recent years. Vetrano's father, Phil Vetrano, who was among the search crews to find her body off the running path in Howard Beach Aug. 2, spearheaded a grassroots effort on GoFundMe to keep his daughter's name in the news, updating the page regularly with pleas for assistance in the investigation. He thanked supporters in a post on the page, which has raised nearly $290,000 in the last six months, Monday night. "He will pay for this crime," Phil Vetrano wrote. He also said the money donated via GoFundMe would be put toward charitable donations in his daughter's name. A man whose behavior prompted a New York City-bound flight to return to Honolulu said he doesn't remember what happened, but he doesn't dispute accounts that he was threatening and aggressive. James August pleaded guilty Monday in federal court in Honolulu to interfering with a flight crew. "I don't remember much, your honor," he said when the judge asked him what happened. But he said he doesn't dispute a prosecutor's summary of what happened on the Nov. 29 Hawaiian Airlines flight. Before takeoff, August's girlfriend was seated with her three children one row from August. A crying 11-year-old-old boy got a flight attendant's attention and said, "Please keep him away from us," Assistant U.S. Attorney Tom Brady said. August had been drinking before and during the flight, according to court documents. During the meal service, the girlfriend's 16-year-old son told a flight attendant August called her a derogatory word, insulted the children, and made life-threatening comments, the document said. When the flight attendant asked August to go with her to another part of the plane, he slapped her shoulder with the back of his hand, the document said. Brady in court said August "touched" the flight attendant and that she felt threatened. August was yelling and swearing, and crew members feared he would harm his girlfriend, Brady said. The captain decided to turn the plane around. August was arrested after the flight returned to Honolulu. August faces up to 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000 when he's sentenced on May 22. It's also possible he'll have to pay restitution. It's not clear if Hawaiian Airlines will seek any damages from having to turn the plane around, Brady said. A 16-month-old New Jersey girl's life has been saved by her nanny, a University of Pennsylvania student who donated a portion of her liver to aid the child. Kiersten Miles had only known the Rosko family, of Jackson, for three weeks when she learned that baby Talia had a serious disease that could turn fatal if she didn't receive a liver transplant. Wanting to help and knowing that her O blood type was compatible, 22-year-old Miles started researching living organ donation. The family's medical team informed Miles of the ramifications the procedure could have not only on Talia, but also herself. "I can never donate again," she said, even if she is a perfect match. Undeterred, Miles donated part of her liver at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania in early January after she was determined to be a match with Talia. "It's such a small sacrifice when you compare it to saving a life," Miles said. "Some of her doctors said she possibly wouldn't have made it past 2 years old. All I had to do was be in the hospital for a week and a 5-inch scar." Doctors have said both Miles and Talia are recovering nicely. "I didn't know that she was this selfless. I've come to find out that this is who she is," Talia's mother Farra Rosko said of Miles. "She really is an angel on earth; I know that sounds silly, but she really is." State lawmakers are poised to overrule New York City's impending fee on non-reusable shopping bags after legislators from both parties voted Tuesday to delay any fee until at least next year. The fee of at least a nickel was set to begin later this month. Mayor Bill de Blasio has defended the idea as a commonsense way of reducing litter and protecting the environment. Lawmakers disagreed, calling the fee a burden on already strapped consumers. Following similar action in the Senate on Monday, the Democrat-led Assembly voted Tuesday to rebuke the elected leaders of the nation's largest city by prohibiting any bag fee from taking effect until at least 2018. "How foolish is this? Did they really think this was going to work? Did they really think the people of the city of New York were this stupid?" Republican Sen. Marty Golden of Brooklyn said before the Assembly's 122-15 vote. "It's outrageous. I'm not trying to pick on a little legislative body, but this was an overreach and it shouldn't have happened." Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo hasn't said whether he'll sign or veto the bill. New York City Councilman Brad Lander said he hopes Cuomo works out a deal between the city and lawmakers to allow the fee to move forward. He said he'd be willing to consider changes to the fee. "We will be appealing to Gov. Cuomo to help reach a compromise to let New York City try this out," Lander told said after the Assembly's vote. "It's proved effective in countless places. A spokesman for Cuomo said the bill postponing the fee is under review. Some lawmakers who voted to postpone the fee said they understand the city's desire to protect the environment, but city officials should have considered other alternatives first, including expanded bag recycling or incentives for the use of reusable bags. Democratic Speaker Carl Heastie of the Bronx said the vote to delay the fee "is not an ending, it is a beginning" of the dialogue. "It makes sense to press the pause button on this fee in order to do a more thorough investigation on the best ways to reduce paper and plastic waste in our environment," he said. Environmental groups decried the Legislature's actions. "This bill takes away New York's ability to control the 10 billion plastic bags that enter its waste stream each year and sets a dangerous precedent for the pre-emption of local policy," said Marcia Bystryn, president of the New York League of Conservation Voters. Several cities around the country, including Los Angeles, Washington D.C. and Chicago, have either banned single-use plastic bags or imposed a fee. A spokesman for de Blasio declined to comment on the effort to stop the fee Tuesday. The Democratic mayor faced withering criticism last week over the fee during a legislative budget hearing in Albany. If the fee survives, retailers will keep the revenue. The city plans to distribute hundreds of thousands of reusable shopping bags to help with the adjustment, and shoppers using food stamps won't have to pay the fee. What to Know Jewish religious leaders marched in Manhattan to protest President Trump's temporary ban on travel from seven Muslim-majority nations The ban was halted Friday by a federal judge in Washington state The Justice Department filed a new defense of the ban on Monday and it's headed for a possible final face-off at the Supreme Court More than a dozen rabbis and rabbinical students were arrested in Manhattan on Monday night while protesting President Donald Trumps executive order temporarily banning travelers and refugees from seven Muslim-majority countries. As many as 200 Jewish religious leaders marched through the Upper West Side in protest despite warnings they might be arrested. At one point, some of them sat down in the road in front of the Trump International Hotel and Tower at Columbus Circle and prayed. Police said 19 people were arrested for blocking traffic. "This is a country of love and compassion, and as Jews and as religious leaders we want to speak up to that injustice that we're seeing in this country," Rabbi Jonathan Lipnick, of the Jewish Theological Seminary, said. A number of groups sponsored the protest, including the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society and the Multi-Faith Alliance for Syrian Refugees. The fierce battle over President Trump's travel and refugee ban edged up the judicial escalator Monday, headed for a possible final face-off at the Supreme Court. Travelers, temporarily unbound, tearfully reunited with loved ones at U.S. airports. The Justice Department filed a new defense of Trump's ban on travelers from seven predominantly Muslim nations as a federal appeals court weighs whether to restore the administration's executive order. The lawyers said the travel ban was a "lawful exercise" of the president's authority to protect national security and said a judge's order that put the policy on hold should be overruled. The filing with the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals was the latest salvo in a high-stakes legal fight surrounding Trump's order, which was halted Friday by a federal judge in Washington state. A police pursuit that started in Mount Vernon ended with a crash and what witnesses described as a wild shooting in the Bronx Tuesday morning, and authorities say at least one person was taken to the hospital. Officials say Mount Vernon police tried to stop a black Chevy for a tinted window violation and the driver sped off, nearly striking the officers. Mount Vernon police chased the driver to the area of East 233rd Street in Wakefield. The suspect allegedly tried to escape again, then changed direction and purposely rammed a Mount Vernon police vehicle, according to a statement from Mount Vernon Mayor Richard Thomas' office. Mount Vernon cops opened fire, blowing out the back windows of the suspect's black Chevy. The Chevy ended up going over a sidewalk and hitting several cars before crashing into a gas pump. It wasn't clear if the suspect ever returned fire. "They were just chasing at him, shooting at him, trying to blow out his tires, trying to stop the guy, but he was not stopping," said Gerson Diaz, who was pumping gas into his pickup truck at the Gulf station on Bronx Boulevard when the Chevy came barreling toward him, with Mount Vernon police right behind it. Witnesses said they heard up to 13 shots. "Nothing but gunshots, lots of shots," Diaz recalled hearing. A female passenger in the Chevy was shot in the shoulder. She was taken to a hospital in stable condition, where she was found with drugs in her possession, according to law enforcement sources. The male driver was taken into custody; charges are pending. A Mount Vernon officer sustained minor injuries in the fracas. Diaz said police struggled with the driver before dragging him out of the car. "This guy was giving them such a hard time, they had to keep him down," he said. "Restraining him was a problem." It wasn't known how many police rounds were fired. No NYPD officers fired any shots, a spokesman for the department said. Videos posted to social media showed a heavy law enforcement presence at the scene, cops walking around the streets with bulletproof vests, wiping their brows as rain fell. A black Chevy with a Massachusetts license plate was seen with its back windows completely shot out. Residents said it sounded like a war outside. "I thought that's crazy, running for my life, don't want to get killed," said witness Martell Carty, who was among the frightened patrons at the gas station running for cover. "This doesn't happen over here," said Joanne Roeber, who lives in the neighborhood. "It's really quiet. Over 10 years I've been here." The NYPD said it was assisting in the investigation. The high school prom date who's now a suspected accomplice in the murder of 19-year-old Sarah Stern allegedly confessed to helping his roommate dispose of her body, prosecutors said in court Tuesday. As Preston Taylor appeared in court for a bail hearing, prosecutors said he told police last week that his roommate Liam McAtansey planned Stern's murder for six months. All three were hometown acquaintances in Neptune City, and McAtasney himself was a childhood friend of Stern, according to prosecutors. After Stern went missing last December, some had hoped she simply ran away after withdrawing thousands of dollars from her bank account. But prosecutors allege McAtansey has been plotting to rob Stern before killing her. Taylor told police that McAtansey said to him, "I'm at the bank, I'm going to do it now, I'm going to take her out," according to Assistant Montmouth County Prosecutor Meghan Doyle. The roommates then allegedly dumped Stern's body off the Route 35 bridge in Belmar after hiding it in the bushes behind her home for eight hours. Stern's clothing was found in one small safe buried on Sandy Hook, and thouands of dollars in cash in another safe buried at a Neptune park. When Taylor confessed to police, he showed no remorse, according to prosecutors. He had taken Stern to junior prom just a few years ago. "He is not concerned about what he did but about what's going to happen to him," said Doyle. Taylor's father, Jeremy Taylor, took the stand to plead for his son's release while awaiting trial, promising the court, "Your Honor, I will stay with him all the time." Ultimately, judge David Bauman ruled to keep Taylor locked up after hearing testimony about a witness fearful for his own safety. Taylor will be kept in jail unless he appeals the detention. McAtansey, accused of the actual killing, has his detention hearing next week. Meanwhile, the search for Stern's body continues. Divers and helicopter units first scoured the Shark River in early December after finding Stern's fully operational car parked on the shoulder of the southbound lanes of the bridge, the keys still in the ignition, Dec. 3. Investigators returned there last Friday to continue looking, acknowledging that it's possible currents and tides may have swept her body out to the Atlantic, but Monmouth Prosecutor Chris Gramiccioni said at the time, "We are hoping for a miracle." Stern, an aspiring artist, is a graduate of Neptune High School, where she played softball and was a member of the swim team. She went to Brookdale Community College for a year, where she studied art and TV production. A Crime Stoppers tip led police to McAtasney as their suspect, alleging he somehow knew about the cash withdrawal and came to Stern's home to rob her. McAtasney is charged with felony murder and other crimes in Stern's death; Taylor is accused of hindering apprehension and concealment of human remains, among other offenses. Both men appeared in court Thursday; it wasn't clear if either entered a plea. Authorities have released the names of two passengers killed after a car careened off a Montgomery County, Pennsylvania highway after authorities allege that it was racing another vehicle at high speed. The Montgomery County District Attorney's Office and West Pottsgrove police said 20-year-old Marissa Kelly of Stroudsburg and 23-year-old Anthony Rodriguez of East Elmhurst, New York, died in Saturday's crash on the Route 422 bypass. Authorities said they were passengers in a 2007 BMW heading east near the exit to Grosstown Road in West Pottsgrove Township just after midnight when it went through a guardrail, hit a tree and ended up upside down about 30 feet down a steep embankment near the Schuylkill River. Prosecutors said witnesses told them that the car -- described as a newer model black Dodge Charger -- was "racing another vehicle in excess of 100 mph." Kelly and Rodriguez were pronounced dead at the scene. The driver was taken to a hospital. It took about 10 hours to open the eastbound lanes of 422, said police. Investigators asked anyone who might have more information about the wreck to call Montgomery County Detectives at 610-278-3368 or West Pottsgrove Police at 610-323-2090. [[238427591, C]] Philadelphia police charged a man with murder after a woman was found stabbed to death dead under a sleeping bag in a room above a Kensington tattoo parlor Tuesday. Medics pronounced Amanda O'Donnell of Custer Street dead around 9 a.m. on the third floor above Danny's Philly Inc tattoo shop along the 3200 block of Kensington Avenue near Allegheny Avenue, police said. The 36-year-old woman suffered multiple stab wounds and was found on the kitchen floor, police said. Joseph Kent, 46, met police as they arrived on the scene, said investigators. He was later charged with O'Donnell's murder and remained jailed without bail, courts records said. A man whose jaw was broken when he was kicked by a police officer received $300,000 to settle a lawsuit filed on his behalf by the American Civil Liberties Union. An attorney for the city of Dover released a copy of the 2015 settlement with Lateef Dickerson on Monday after the attorney general's office said Friday that the city violated the Freedom of Information Act in refusing to release its details. The Associated Press challenged the FOIA denial, arguing that the city had no basis to keep the settlement, reached through its insurer, confidential. The News Journal of Wilmington also filed a challenge. A 2013 police dashcam video shows Dickerson being kicked in the face by Cpl. Thomas Webster IV after officers responded to a report of a large fight at a gas station and a man armed with a gun. Webster said he feared for his safety and the safety of others because officers were told Dickerson was armed with a gun, and Dickerson was slow to comply with repeated commands to get on the ground. Webster also told jurors he did not mean to kick Dickerson in the head, but was aiming for his upper body. He was acquitted of assault in a December 2015 trial. The city settled Dickerson's lawsuit a few weeks later. Just days after the settlement, Dickerson and two other men were arrested after a traffic stop in Newark. Police found a .32 caliber revolver in a bag on the rear seat of the car. All three were charged with carrying a concealed deadly weapon and possession of a firearm by a person prohibited. Meanwhile, Dover officials agreed last February to pay $230,000 to Webster in return for his immediate resignation from the police force. In April, Dickerson pleaded guilty to possession of a firearm by a person prohibited, receiving a stolen firearm, and conspiracy. Prosecutors dropped other charges against Dickerson related to a burglary and gun theft in 2014. They also dropped charges involving the alleged assaults of his former girlfriend and another woman in September 2015. The judge declared Dickerson a habitual offender and sentenced him to the minimum mandatory 10 years in prison on the gun possession charge. As Greater Philadelphia's tech scene coalesces in opposition of President Donald Trumps controversial travel ban, digital marketing company Red Spark is hoping to lead a movement within the movement. Stephen Gill, Red Spark co-founder and CEO, said his company will be donating $100 to the American Civil Liberties Union for every interview it conducts until April 28. With the company interviewing anywhere from seven to 10 potential hires a week, the donations could add up to a significant sum over the next 11 weeks. Gill however is hoping to get other local tech companies on board the company is coining the hashtag #YouBelongHerePhilly to organize the effort to maximize donations to the ACLU, which is leading the legal fight against the ban. To read full article, click here. For more business news, visit Philadelphia Business Journal. Good Samaritans were caught on camera dragging a naked man out of a stolen taxi cab in Rittenhouse Square Monday afternoon. Police say the ordeal began around 3:30 p.m. at 2000 Locust Street when Michael Emanual, a cab driver, dropped a woman off. As the woman got out of the cab, an unidentified man began to attack her, according to investigators. "He grabbed the lady from the hair and the collar and he dragged her on the street," Emanual said. When Emanual got out of his taxi to help the woman the suspect ran into the cab and drove off, police said. "Before jumping in the cab, you know, he just took off his clothes," Emanual said. Brandon Thompson told NBC10 he was walking through Rittenhouse Square with his friends when he saw the suspect drive the stolen cab through the park. "We hear like a loud screeching," Thompson said. "As we turned we noticed there was a cab coming through the park." Police say the suspect struck three parked vehicles. "Everybody starts to run and everything and then that's when I hop on my bike and I tell my friends, 'I gotta go after him because I gotta stop him and everything,'" Thompson said. Thompson said he rode after the speeding taxi cab which crashed into a high curb at 18th and Walnut streets. Thompson caught up to the vehicle and grabbed the steering wheel in an effort to stop the suspect. "When I first ran up on him he was trying to fight me off and everything," Thompson said. "I had to punch him so I could get a hold of him and everything." Viewer video obtained by NBC10 shows the suspect hitting the gas as Thompson holds onto the steering wheel. The taxi cab then hits a curb and spins out of control as smoke rises and more Good Samaritans run over to help. "Once we got him to a stop I was messing with the keys so the car wasn't running anymore," Thompson said. "I'm trying to yank the keys out. That's when everybody pulled him out of the car." Video shows the residents dragging the man out of the cab. Thompson says the suspect was completely naked. "He was completely nude," Thompson said. "He had nothing on him but what God gave him." Responding police officers arrested the man and took him to Hahnemann Hospital. The woman who was attacked is expected to be okay. Good Samaritans subdued a naked man who police say attacked a woman in Center City, stole a taxi cab and then drove the vehicle through Rittenhouse Square Monday afternoon. NBC10s Keith Jones has the story and sound from the taxi driver who witnessed the initial attack. NBC10 obtained viewer video of residents dragging a naked man out of a stolen taxi cab in Rittenhouse Square Monday afternoon. With the Chargers move from San Diego to Los Angeles, it may be time to make a change to a street in Clairemont named after the former home team. Some residents want to change the name of Charger Boulevard, located near Balboa Avenue, to Mark Hamill Boulevard in honor of actor Mark Hamill, best known for playing Luke Skywalker in Star Wars. When Hamill was a boy, he lived in Clairemont with his family and was a student at the now-closed Hale Junior High School. He attended James Madison High School in San Diego for one year, too. The street spans seven blocks. Per City of San Diego regulations, in order for a change to a street's name to be considered, a petition must be circulated to all property owners on that street. At least 25 percent of those homeowners must sign the petition in favor of the name change. After that, a "Street Name Change Coordinator" figures out the costs involved if the name change is implemented. A proposal and the petition is then handed over to city staff. After that, the proposal needs approval from the San Diego City Council. Arian Collins, spokesperson for the City of San Diego, said the city is aware of the possible push by some Clairemont residents to make the name change happen. More than a half ton of marijuana was seized from suspected smugglers onboard a pleasure boat attempting to dock at Shelter Island on Monday. According to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), Air and Marine Operations (AMO) agents became suspicious of the boat and its two passengers as it returned from Mexico waters at approximately 2 p.m. AMO agent Kris Goland told NBC 7 that agents were initially alerted to the vessel when it failed to stop for required inspection at the CBP dock on Shelter Island. Agents observed the boat and noticed that it looked overloaded and poorly maintained, characteristics Goland said are common with potential smuggling boats. Goland said that further suspicion was raised when the vessel tried to dock at a transient, or temporary dock on the island. U.S. Customs and Border Protection AMO agents confronted the two men they were unresponsive. Agents boarded the boat and determined that the two men were citizens of Mexico illegally present in the United States. Agents proceeded to conduct an inspection of the boat and found several wrapped packages of pot hidden in after-market compartments inside the boat. The vessel was transported to a secure facility where further inspection revealed more hidden bundles. In total, agents found 66 packages totaling 1,192 pounds. [DONT CHANGE MAIN HEADLINE] San Diego's Border Busts Goland said that smugglers attempting to enter the U.S. by water do so during the afternoon rush in an attempt to blend in. AMO agents arrested the two men, ages 23 and 48, and turned them over to the San Diego Marine Task Force. Their 26-foot boat used to smuggle the pot was turned over to Homeland Security. A family in Encinitas is amped for their new business venture: a boutique motel inspired by the cool, laid-back surf culture that makes San Diegos North County a favorite spot among surfers. Brothers and avid surfers Nikki and Sander Harth, along with their parents, will soon open Surfhouse, a surf-inspired boutique motel located at 960 North Coast Highway 101. [G] New Surf-Inspired Motel Rolls Into Leucadia An open house is planned for Saturday, from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m., so locals and visitors can check out the digs at the prime location. Fittingly, poke bowls and fish tacos will be served at the celebration. This corner is the central hub of the Leucadia surf community, Sander told NBC 7. The motel, located just one block from the beach and local eateries, features eight rooms, each named after well-known surf breaks in San Diego, from Grandview in Leucadia to Seaside in Solana Beach. Each room has custom art work [that ties into its theme], Nikki, who will serve as the on-site manager at Surfhouse, explained. The motel is currently in its final stages of construction. The Harth brothers said they should be ready to open for business later this month. All bookings will be done through airbnb; potential guests can begin the booking process by visiting the Surfhouse Adventures website here. The Harth brothers, who both also work as surf instructors, said Surfhouse will also offer guests surf lessons and tours on the water the expedition portion of the family business. We want guests to experience the California lifestyle not just stay here, Sander added. Old explosive charges are potentially scattered all over a San Diego neighborhood, according to letters the Department of Defense (DOD) sent to residents in Clairemont. In the 1930s - 1940s, the military used Rosedale Field as a test bomb site, with spotting charges used to help pilots improve their accuracy. The DOD letters warned that old explosive charges buried in the ground pose a safety hazard and could be anywhere in the area. Due to funding, it may be a while before the department is able to come out and inspect. "I was livid," Janet Lancaster, a resident who received the letter last week, told NBC 7. "I think it's irresponsible to drop this kind of news on people and not have a remedy," she said. Lancaster has lived in her Clairemont house since 1992 and says this is the first time shes ever heard of anything like this in her neighborhood. In regards to the old explosives, the Army Corps of Engineers said that although these munitions are dangerous there has only ever been one incident of a resident finding one. The Army Corps ranks hazardous situations like this on a scale of one to eight, with one being the most urgent. Clairemont is currently about a three or four. When the town council reached out to Congressman Scott Peters, his office said it was a regular duty to inform Clairemont residents about the potential hazards of living on a former military site, however low those risks may be. He also stated he would reach out to the Army Corps of Engineers for further clarification. Meanwhile, Lancaster and the residents still have a lot of questions. City leaders and residents gathered at a meeting in City Hall Monday night to discuss redevelopment plans to polish up the Imperial Beach Pier. For many residents, it has been a place full of memories. I surfed there and life-guarded there, so I have a long history at the pier," said Mayor Serge Dedina. During the meeting, Scott Jordan, one of the architects who helped redesign North Embarcadero, presented residents with several examples of piers that were redeveloped in cities across the world. Some plans gave visitors a more open view of the ocean while others had space maximizing fishing rod holders. One even had an option for a zipline. It would bring people back and generate money," Jordan said. Julie Anstedt was among the Imperial Beach residents at the meeting. She said she's a fan of a raised seating platform for her Stroller Strides workouts. Im seeing it from a fitness angle. Getting my quads and biceps going so we can deal with our crazy children," Anstedt said. But she added that for safety reason, she also preferred former councilman Jim King's idea of an improved restaurant area. If its left open underneath, it would be a place for people to rest. That way no one can get behind the building, an area where some things that are going on probably shouldn't happen, she said. Residents were asked to write down their own ideas on cards. All of the renderings and ideas will be presented to the Port of San Diego in about three months. The U.S. Army Airstrikes that were not reported were carried out in the Middle East by attack helicopters and drones, according to an investigation by the Military Times. The publication reports that 456 air strikes alone went unreported in 2016 and there is potential that this data has been incomplete since the war on terrorism began in 2001. The Air Force, Marine Corps, and Navy however did report the number of airstrikes. NBC 7 spoke with several military sources who told us there could be a variety of reasons that the Army may have not tracked the information. One reason is that the Army considers certain helicopters as transportation. Retired Lt. David Gapp served as Chief of the Master Air Attack Planning at the Combined Air Operations Center in Cutter in the mid 2000s. Part of his job was to help support the Army on the ground by helping to coordinate support from the air from the Air Force. It's flabbergasting to me that now 16 years later, with two wars in Southwest Asia, we don't have anybody in the army that thought this would be valuable information," Gapp said. Americans want to know if and why people are killed and what was the risk involved in an operation. Lt. Gapp, who is also active in Veterans for Peace said the public has a right to know the costs of war. He said he knows the loss first-hand. My father was killed flying in Vietnam so I know the cost of war personally," he said. "Every one of these strikes whether they cause casualties on behalf of American side or casualties on behalf of innocent civilians. There is also the financial cost, he added. As a taxpayer, as a retired military, I want to see that we are using resources properly, that they're being accounted for and that the commanders are able to justify these expenditures," he told NBC 7. Gapp said there is the need to use the information to make decisions about future operations and troops safety. He added that this information should be out there somewhere in combat crew data and squadron pilot logs. It's out there somewhere, whether will see you or not to add to the 13,000 airstrikes for 2016. Time will tell," he said. Police arrested a fourth suspect in the homicide of an 18-year-old man in a Maryland park last June. Josue Fermin Caudra-Quintanilla, 18, of Hyattsville, Maryland, was arrested Friday and is charged with first-degree murder. He is being held without bond. Three suspects previously were arrested in connection with the death of Cristian Antonio Villagran-Morales, who was stabbed more than 40 times in Malcolm King Park in Gaithersburg. Juan Gutierrez-Vasquez, 16; Vanesa Alvarado, 19; and Oscar Ernesto Delgado-Perez, 27, have all been charged with first-degree murder. A fifth suspect, Jose Coreas Ventura, also known as Josue Corea, 20, is still being sought. Police ask anyone with information about Ventura to call the Montgomery County Police Department at 301-279-8000. He should be considered armed and dangerous, police said. Detectives believe the murder was gang related, police said. Alvarado and Gutierrez-Vasquez told detectives upon their arrest they believed Villagran-Morales was a member of a rival gang. Detectives believe the victim recently met Alvarado and communicated with him by phone, police said. On the night of June 16, the victim planned to meet Alvarado at the park for sex. Being lured into the woods by Alvarado, Villagran-Morales was stabbed by the other gang member suspects. In a phone call from jail, Alvarado told her boyfriend it was a hit, according to court records. Detectives continue to look for information about the fifth suspect. To be eligible for a reward, tipsters must call Crime Solvers of Montgomery County toll-free at 1-866-411-TIPS (8477). Callers to Crime Solvers will remain anonymous. A Virginia homeowner almost lost her home a few years after getting a reverse mortgage because she defaulted on the homeowners insurance. Becky Williams and her two young sons live with the Manassas homeowner, where Williams serves as the homeowners caregiver and power of attorney. A few years ago, the homeowner did a reverse mortgage. Williams, who takes care of the bills, thought everything was going OK until she received a foreclosure notice in the mail. This is really going to happen? I mean, can they really do this? Williams said. I started calling lawyers, attorneys to find out, and yeah, it was really going to happen. Defaulting on homeowners insurance prompted the foreclosure. They quickly sent out a check, Williams said, but it was returned. The auction was already scheduled. This is our home, Williams said. You know, she's worked all her life for this house and paid it off, and I'm supposed to be the caregiver and I was really disappointed in myself. NBC4 Responds contacted the companies involved, including Reverse Mortgage Solutions, who said although borrowers are not required to make principal or interest payments, they do have an obligation to pay real estate taxes and property insurance. The company can't discuss specific cases out of respect for customers confidentiality, however, in a statement to News4, they said, "In the event that these obligations are not met, Reverse Mortgage Solutions works closely with our customers to establish repayment plans or other remedies." Williams said they called off the auction and worked with her, and the homeowner kept her house. Billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk's mysterious tweets about tunnels have sparked a flurry of speculation about his next project -- and he apparently did some research last week in D.C. The founder of the electric car company Tesla and the private spacecraft company SpaceX toured a D.C. sewer tunnel on Friday, DC Water spokesman John Lisle confirmed. Musk tweeted a photo of a tunnel-boring machine on Friday and then a tunnel on Saturday, noting the tunnel was in D.C. but giving no details. Musk's every tweet sparks conversation among technology followers about what he will do next. "Elon Musk tweets tunneling image (but whose tunnel?)," a blog post published Sunday to the tech website CNET asked. Since November, Musk has spoken about solving Los Angeles' traffic problem by building tunnels for underground, high-speed travel. He toured the 2 1/2-mile-long Anacostia River Tunnel and saw the tunnel-boring machine that created it, Lisle said. The German company that made the machine, Herrenknecht AG, led the tour and notified the water utility, according to the DC Water spokesman. Herrenknecht AG and a spokesman for Musk both declined to answer questions about the purpose of the tour. Musk attended a meeting of President Donald Trump's business advisory council at the White House on Friday. That morning, Musk tweeted a photo of a tunnel-boring machine. "Minecraft," he wrote, a pun referencing the video game in which players dig tunnel networks. The next afternoon, Musk tweeted a photo of a tunnel and wrote, "26 ft diameter tunnel running 2 miles under D.C." 26 ft diameter tunnel running 2 miles under D.C. pic.twitter.com/XFQkioEsg8 Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 4, 2017 Giving rise to a wave of speculation about his plans, the entrepreneur tweeted in December about a plan to create a giant tunnel under Los Angeles to ease congestion. Traffic is driving me nuts. Am going to build a tunnel boring machine and just start digging... Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 17, 2016 He said he wasn't joking and that he would found a venture called The Boring Company. I am actually going to do this Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 17, 2016 In January, Musk obtained permits in Los Angeles to dig a tunnel 50 feet below ground near SpaceX headquarters, the Los Angeles newspaper The Daily Breeze reported. The newspaper reported that Musk is in talks with the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority to buy one of its tunnel boring machines, according to several sources close to the project. Were going to get this machine, take it apart, figure out how to make it go much faster while still being safe and not affecting people on the surface," Musk said at a news conference related to his Hyperloop project, The Daily Breeze reported. The Hyperloop project aims to transport people in vacuum tubes that propel vehicles at very high speeds. A boring machine named Lady Bird completed its 2-year, 4.5-mile tunneling mission for DC Waters Clean Rivers Project. Mark Segraves reports. Musk toured a DC Water tunnel, but the water utility is not working with him, Lisle said. Groups regularly tour their project sites. DC Water completed the Anacostia River Tunnel in November. The tunnel 23 feet in diameter diverts sewage from the river. It runs from Southeast D.C. near RFK Stadium to the other side of the river, near the Anacostia Metro station. Time lapse video gives a virtual tour of the entire tunnel. The objective of the Navy SEAL raid in Yemen last week was to capture or kill Qassim Al-Rimi, the third most dangerous terrorist in the world, NBC News reported. One Navy SEAL, civilians and 14 Al Qaeda fighters are among those that died, but military officials told NBC that Al-Rimi is still alive in Yemen. It isn't clear whether he was at the al Qaeda camp during the attack. Al-Rimi has since released a voice recording taunting President Donald Trump in an apparent reference to the raid. "The fool of the White House got slapped at the beginning of his road in your lands," he said. But while Al-Rimi wasn't captured, Juan Zarate, a national security adviser in the Bush administration and NBC News analyst, said that the raid still could yield smaller victories, as several Al Qaeda leaders were killed, and the group was disrupted. Crime in the Metro system was down overall in 2016, but some crimes are headed in the wrong direction. Incidents of what the FBI calls "Part I" crimes -- including aggravated assault, arson, burglary, homicide, theft, motor vehicle theft, rape, robbery and human trafficking dropped 4.7 percent in 2016 from 2015. Thefts of electronic devices and stolen bikes are down, but violent assaults and crimes in parking lots increased. "One crime is always one crime too many, Metro Transit Police Chief Ron Pavlik said. Any time you have a victim of a crime, especially a crime of violence, it's concerning." The Minnesota Avenue station on the Orange Line in northeast D.C. had the most crimes in 2016, but eight of the rest in the Top 10 are on the Green Line. View Top 10 Metro Stations for Crime by State in 2016 in a full screen map Pavlik wants his transit officers to have more technology and communicate with other police jurisdictions. "One thing we are looking at is New York City gave every officer a smart-type phone, he said. We are looking at something very similar. What can we give our officers so I can share with the Metropolitan Police officer up the street from me?" In some cases, a suspects image quickly could be sent to smartphones with all officers near a crime scene. Metro Transit Police is always looking to hire more officers, Pavlik said. "Every police chief in the nation would always want more cops, he said. We deploy them as strategically as we can based on our crime numbers." The new numbers offer some guidance about where those officers should go. Seth Klarman Baupost Group's Seth Klarman is worried about what the election of President Donald Trump means for global markets. In a private letter to investors dated January 20, reviewed by Business Insider, he starts with three quotes: "In matters of style, swim with the current; in matters of principle, stand like a rock." Thomas Jefferson "The world, that understandable and lawful world, was slipping away." William Golding, "Lord of the Flies" "Do I really look like a guy with a plan? You know what I am? I'm a dog chasing cars. I wouldn't know what to do with one if I caught it. You know, I just ... do things." The Joker, "The Dark Knight" The rest of the letter serves as an explanation for the inclusion of those three quotes. Klarman runs through his thoughts on Trump, volatility, and the stock market. You can read more about the letter at The New York Times. Baupost, the Boston-based hedge fund firm, managed $29.2 billion as of mid-2016, according to the Hedge Fund Intelligence Billion Dollar Club ranking. A spokeswoman for Baupost didn't immediately respond to a request for comment. NOW WATCH: Harvard economist Rogoff explains why he is so optimistic about the economy under President Trump More From Business Insider A 34-year-old man has been arrested and charged in a double homicide in New Hampshire, according to authorities. New Hampshire's attorney general office said Timothy Verrill of Dover was arrested in Lawrence, Massachusetts, on Monday on two counts of second-degree murder. In Lawrence District Court Tuesday, Verrill shielded his face behind a door as he was arraigned on a fugitive from justice charge. Are you aware you are wanted by the state of New Hampshire, the judge asked him. Verrill replied, Yeah. Its my understanding that he was at Leahy Behavioral Health in Lawrence for treatment of mental issues and thats where they arrested him, said Verrills Public Defender John Morris. Verrill is accused of repeatedly stabbing Christine Sullivan, 48, and her friend, Jenna Pellegrini, 32, to death in a Farmington home on Meaderboro Road on Jan. 29. Police say Verrill also hit Sullivan in the head with a blunt object. Despite Verrill admitting to mental health issues in court Monday, there were no concerns about his ability to understand the accusations. The judge accepted Verrills waiver of extradition. Verrill will be heading back to New Hampshire as early as Wednesday to face a judge on the two murder charges. The AG's office is also asking anyone with information regarding the victims' whereabouts leading to Jan. 29 is asked to call New Hampshire state police at 603-223-4381. A teenage girl was the victim of a gang rape at a motel involving three other teens, according to police in Maine. Police in Westbrook say officers responded to a report of suspicious activity at the Super 8 Motel on Larrabee Road Sunday morning around 8 a.m., and their investigation revealed that a sexual assault had happened. Investigators say a 16-year-old girl was sexually assaulted by three males - two juveniles ages 15 and 16 and a 19-year-old man - in a motel room. The suspects were arrested and charged with gross sexual assault. The names of the juvenile suspects were not released, but the 19-year-old suspect was identified as Lewiston resident Garang Majok. Authorities say their investigation is ongoing. It's not clear if Majok or the juvenile suspects have attorneys, or when they're due in court. Massachusetts police are asking for the public's help in finding a missing teenager. Police said Brianna Haskins, 17, left her mother's home in Arlington for the Natick Mall on Feb. 4 and did not return. She was located safe on Tuesday, but has since run away again. Haskins is five feet seven inches tall, has blonde hair and blue eyes. Anyone with information on her whereabouts is asked to contact Arlington Police. On Jan. 24, I attended a Cisco Spark event in San Francisco. The day started with a keynote by Rowan Trollope, senior vice president and general manager of Cisco Collaboration. He also ended the day at event receptions. However, my afternoon meeting with Rowan was abruptly canceled with little explanation. As it happens, Rowan had to skip out during his own event to spend $3.7 billion to acquire AppDynamics. Although the news broke before the days end, nothing was mentioned at the Cisco Spark event, which was laser-focused on its new Spark Board. What you need to know about Cisco's acquisition of AppDynamics Ciscos acquisition of AppDynamics is a strategic and bold move for several reasons. Heres my list of the top five things to know about it. 1. Whats a dynamic app? AppDynamics provides application performance information. The category isnt new, but it was left behind when apps became distributed. AppDynamics provides end-to-end visibility across distributed applications. Customers include airlines, banks and Cisco itself. It works with private and public cloud services from the likes of Amazon, IBM and Google. It positions Cisco as the digital authority regarding networks, infrastructure, IoT devices and now applications. AppDynamics cracked the codeit recently reported 50 percent growth, and 75 percent of its revenues are subscription-based. 2. Diverted IPO Cisco reached its agreement with AppDynamics while the AppDynamics team was en route to New York for its planned IPO. The public offering valued the company at about $2 billion. Cisco paid 18 times AppDynamics revenues over the past 12 months. After integration, Cisco will dramatically boost AppDynamics go to market with its direct sales force and ecosystem of partners. 3. Ciscos Facebook moment In 2013, Facebook attempted to acquire Snapchat for a whopping $3 billion. Though the offer was largely considered high, Snapchat rejected it. Snapchats upcoming IPO has the company valued around $25 billion. Facebook instead acquired WhatsApp for $19 billion and Instagram for $1 billion. Both offers seemed high at the time, but now they are generally regarded as smart moves. The confusion lies in understanding the difference between a companys value and its price. AppDynamics is a leader in an emerging sector. Cisco picks up a leadership position in an emerging sector along with its team of A players. 4. See Rowan run Rowan Trollope joined Cisco in 2012 after 20-plus years at Symantec. Its been an impressive ride. He has reversed a sales slide, launched several new products and, most important, introduced Spark. Spark has become the units most strategic solution. The acquisitions of Tropo, Acano, Synata and Heroik Labs are to further bolster Spark. Rowans title expanded to include IoT in early 2016, after Cisco spent $1.4 billion on Jasper. The new AppDynamics division will also report to Rowan as senior vice president and general manager of collaboration, IoT and applications. All told, Rowans organization will include five of Ciscos past nine acquisitions. 5. Change is good The word change has multiple meanings. At $3.7 billion, the AppDynamics acquisition was chump change to Cisco, costing about 5 percent of its cash on hand. But more important, the buy is part of a bigger, strategic change. The companys virtual monopoly on networking hardware is under pressure. On top of product lifecycle pressure, the IT world is moving toward recurring service models that are powered by software. Spark itself, Jasper and now AppDynamics fall into this model. Many unanswered questions remain. For example, are there potential synergies between Jasper and AppDynamics? Both provide management information, but Jasper is more device centric and AppDynamics is more experience centric. Also, Spark is both an application with endpoints and a platform with APIs. Because the acquisition hasnt closed, neither company has very much to say, but its a safe bet that Cisco is ready to make some more noise in the near future. The concept of net neutrality holds that telecom carriers may not treat some content differently than other content, depending on who owns it, for example. The ideas merits have been hotly debated for years, eventually coming to serve as a technological/ideological litmus test. Liberals, typically, favored the concept, believing it is necessary to ensure equal, unfettered access to all kinds of online content. Conservatives mostly disagreed with it, claiming it unfairly and unnecessarily regulated telecom carriers. + Also on Network World: Democratic senators push to save net neutrality rules under Trump + Late in the Obama administration, net neutrality was codified into policy. But the new chairman of the Federal Communications Comission, Ajit Pai, a former lawyer for Verizon, is an ardent opponent of net neutrality. With the support of the Trump administration and Republican Congress, Pai has already ended enforcement of the rules and is widely expected to scuttle the entire policy as soon as possible. What happens after net neutrality ends? Like it or not, the end of net neutrality is now pretty much a done deal. So, what happens afterward? What changes? Who are the winners and losers? Lets take a look at how I think it will play out: So-called zero-rating services will likely proliferate. Zero-rating services are services carriers allow users to access without them counting against their data usage charges or caps. For example, Verizon lets users stream Go90 content, and AT&T does the same for DirecTV Now. That may be great for AT&T users who want to watch DirectTV but not so great for Verizon customers with similar tastes. Winners include the big mobile data and internet service providers such as AT&T and Verizonand to a lesser extent T-Mobile and Sprint. These giant companies can use their zero-rated services as competitive differentiators, as well as generate revenue by charging content providers for preferential treatment (faster speeds and more reliable throughput). Small ISPs will suffer. In 2015, Dane Jasper, CEO and co-founder of California-based ISP Sonic, explained it to me this way: When you have failed competitive market, with just one or two choices, you have an effective monopoly," which leads to higher prices and shockingly bad customer service. The end of net neutrality can be expected to consolidate power in the hands of the largest carriers. + Also on Network World: Why small ISPs support net neutrality + Big online content providers will see mixed signals. On the one hnad, they have the audience and the cash to cut deals with the big carriers. That will put them in advantageous positions versus content providers that cant afford to pay for better carriage. On the other hand, though, it could end up costing them significant cash to keep those carriers happy. Small internet content providersespecially non-commercial oneswill be the big losers. Unless they can pay for preferential treatment or zero-rating, they will be more expensive, less performant options compared to their competition. It will be harder for new services to break into the market, since they may not perform as seamlessly as entrenched incumbents affiliated with the big carriers. Consumers will be winners and/or losers, depending on who you listen to. The old FCC recently called zero-rating anti-consumer and anti-competitive. But the new FCC says, "These free-data plans have proven to be popular among consumers, particularly low-income Americans, and have enhanced competition in the wireless marketplace. Disagree with my assessments? No worries, well all find out soon enough. + What do you think? Post your comments about net neutrality + Toyota is partnering with Stanford University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to research artificial intelligence and robotics in order to bring greater autonomy to Toyota cars. The car maker will contribute US$50 million over five years to two research centers that are being set up at Stanford and MIT. However, don't expect a computer to completely drive your Camry any time soon. Toyota will always assume a person will be at the wheel, said Gill Pratt, who oversaw the DARPA Robotics Challenge and is now joining Toyota as an executive technical adviser. Toyota will focus on creating "human-centric systems" that are supplemented by technology, Pratt said Friday at a press conference in Palo Alto, California. Toyota Motor Dr. Gill A. Pratt, who joins Toyota to direct the overall collaborative effort at the research centers, speaks at the press conference announcing Toyota's collaboration with MIT and Stanford to accelerate artificial intelligence research in Palo Alto, Calif., Sept. 4, 2015. That means Toyota's approach will be incremental, with the auto maker adding automation technology to vehicles as it's developed, such as an AI system that intervenes when a driver needs assistance in bad weather. Such work could eventually lead to a fully self-driving car, Pratt said, but Toyota's immediate goal isn't to build an autonomous vehicle. That's in contrast to Google, for example, which recently began road testing a driverless vehicle it built. Still, Stanford and MIT professors described a future in which self-driving cars play a prominent role. Such vehicles will communicate with a fridge back home and let drivers know they're out of milk, or sense when drivers are stressed out and play their favorite songs, said Daniela Rus, an MIT professor of electrical engineering and computer science. MIT will look into developing systems for driving in challenging conditions, such as snow or fog, and navigation tools based on perception. Autonomous cars traveling at low speed can handle most basic driving situations, she said. The challenge is getting these vehicles to operate at high speeds in difficult circumstances like snow or congested traffic. "No autonomous car can handle inclement weather," Rus said. Developing a fully autonomous car requires more extensive research, especially around the interface between occupants and vehicles, said Fei-Fei Li, a Stanford associate professor of computer science. "It's not as simple as using Siri on your phone," she said. Toyota Motor Professor Fei-Fei Li, director of the Stanford Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (SAIL), speaks at the press conference announcing Toyota's collaboration with MIT and Stanford to accelerate artificial intelligence research in Palo Alto, Calif., Sept. 4, 2015. Stanford's work will focus on areas including decision-making, human interaction and perception. MIT and Stanford aren't the only universities in a partnership to work on self-driving cars. In February, Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh said it was teaming up with Uber to develop autonomous vehicles. In addition to Toyota, nearly all major auto makers are exploring self-driving car technology, including Ford, Audi and Mercedes Benz. The Toyota research project will also study "future mobility" and look at how technology can help people, particularly the elderly, move around more easily, Pratt said, without discussing specific plans. By Express News Service BENGALURU: A week ahead of the air show in Bengaluru, Yelahanka police on Monday arrested a 24-year-old daily wage worker at the air base on suspicious behaviour. The man Mamnoon, hailing from Uttar Pradesh, was found to have taken pictures of the tower area, which is a prohibited place. Later, he was found to have 9 SIM cards in his possession and call records showed that he made calls to Saudi Arabia. Later on Monday night, the City Police Commissioner Praveen Sood said the man was being released after interrogation as they found no terror links. Police said that Subendu Mishra, an IAF officer, filed a case with Yelahanka police and alleged that on Sunday night Mamnoon was behaving suspiciously after entering a prohibited area. An investigating officer said, Mamnoon had come a few days ago to the air force base to build some temporary sheds for the air show. His background check was not done by the air force officials and he was staying at the shed in the same premises. BENGALURU: A week ahead of the air show in Bengaluru, Yelahanka police on Monday arrested a 24-year-old daily wage worker at the air base on suspicious behaviour. The man Mamnoon, hailing from Uttar Pradesh, was found to have taken pictures of the tower area, which is a prohibited place. Later, he was found to have 9 SIM cards in his possession and call records showed that he made calls to Saudi Arabia. Later on Monday night, the City Police Commissioner Praveen Sood said the man was being released after interrogation as they found no terror links. Police said that Subendu Mishra, an IAF officer, filed a case with Yelahanka police and alleged that on Sunday night Mamnoon was behaving suspiciously after entering a prohibited area. An investigating officer said, Mamnoon had come a few days ago to the air force base to build some temporary sheds for the air show. His background check was not done by the air force officials and he was staying at the shed in the same premises. By Online Desk A class 4 environmental textbook used in some reputed Delhi school asks students to kill a kitten as part of an experiment! The textbook titled Our Green World: Environment Studies, published by PP Publications, has a lesson in which the children are instructed to kill a kitten as part of an experiment to tell the difference between living and non-living beings. On Feb 2, 2017, a Twitter user @Priya_Menon put out photographs of the textbook. The experiment as printed in the book is: "Take two wooden boxes. Make holes on lid of one box. Put a small kitten in each box. Close the boxes. After some time open the boxes. What do you see? The kitten inside the box without the holes has died. There are even picture illustrations on the next page of the book, showing the two kittens, one alive in a box with holes and another seemingly dead in a completely sealed box. The tweet set off a social media storm around the lack of scrutiny of curriculum taught to our children, and, according to an update by @Priya-Menon, Union Minister for Women and Children Maneka Gandhi, who is also an animal activist, was notified about the textbook. Later, on the same Facebook thread, an update was posted which leads to a letter from P P Publications, the publishing house that printed the book. In the letter addressed to Federation of Indian Animals Protection Organisation (FIAPO), the publishers have assured that the textbook would be withdrawn from distributors and that that they would be more careful and serious regarding similar issues in the future. Here is PP publications' letter The website and phone numbers of the publication as listed in the letter are unreachable. A check on Amazon.com for the said book turned up the environmental science textbook 'Our Green World" authored by K V Vincent for PP Publications. On further search for the author's name in academic circles, it has been found that a person of the name K V Vincent is the principal of Huddard High School, Kanpur. However, it could not be verified whether the principal of Huddard School was the author of the controversial textbook. There was no response on calls to the phone numbers listed on the website of the school. A class 4 environmental textbook used in some reputed Delhi school asks students to kill a kitten as part of an experiment! The textbook titled Our Green World: Environment Studies, published by PP Publications, has a lesson in which the children are instructed to kill a kitten as part of an experiment to tell the difference between living and non-living beings. On Feb 2, 2017, a Twitter user @Priya_Menon put out photographs of the textbook. The experiment as printed in the book is: "Take two wooden boxes. Make holes on lid of one box. Put a small kitten in each box. Close the boxes. After some time open the boxes. What do you see? The kitten inside the box without the holes has died. There are even picture illustrations on the next page of the book, showing the two kittens, one alive in a box with holes and another seemingly dead in a completely sealed box. The tweet set off a social media storm around the lack of scrutiny of curriculum taught to our children, and, according to an update by @Priya-Menon, Union Minister for Women and Children Maneka Gandhi, who is also an animal activist, was notified about the textbook. Later, on the same Facebook thread, an update was posted which leads to a letter from P P Publications, the publishing house that printed the book. In the letter addressed to Federation of Indian Animals Protection Organisation (FIAPO), the publishers have assured that the textbook would be withdrawn from distributors and that that they would be more careful and serious regarding similar issues in the future. Here is PP publications' letter The website and phone numbers of the publication as listed in the letter are unreachable. A check on Amazon.com for the said book turned up the environmental science textbook 'Our Green World" authored by K V Vincent for PP Publications. On further search for the author's name in academic circles, it has been found that a person of the name K V Vincent is the principal of Huddard High School, Kanpur. However, it could not be verified whether the principal of Huddard School was the author of the controversial textbook. There was no response on calls to the phone numbers listed on the website of the school. S Bachan Jeet Singh By Express News Service HYDERABAD: While the cash-strapped Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) is in no position to take up any new projects owing to lack of funds, deputy mayor Baba Fasiuddin is focussed on giving a facelift to his official chamber. Following the footsteps of mayor Bonthu Rammohan, who a few months ago undertook a complete transformation of his official chamber by splurging upto Rs 30 lakh, Baba Fasiuddin has already initiated various works to renovate his chamber. It is learnt that upto Rs 20 lakh of public money is being utilised for upgrading his office, which involves Rs 5-10 lakh of interior designing. Ironically, as per the GHMC Act, the deputy mayor has no powers to sanction any new civic works and is to be treated like any other GHMC corporator. Similarly, the mayor too, except for chairing the council meetings, standing committee meetings and sanctioning emergency works of upto `50,000 during calamities, has no major powers. Presently, the corporation is reeling under severe financial crisis and finding it difficult to pay salaries to its staff. Besides, the corporation is finding it tough to take up new developmental works in the city due to paucity of funds. Except pending works, no new projects are being implemented. Past deputy mayors Subash Chanderji (BJP), Golconda Raj Kumar (Congress) and Jaffer Hussain Meraj (Nampally MIM MLA) have functioned from the same chamber without taking up any major renovations or modifications when in office. At the moment, the existing interiors, glass doors frames, ceiling in his chambers have been removed and will be fitted with new furniture and interior fittings. GHMC officials said that deputy mayor is like any other normal corporator. He or she is mainly elected to fill the gap or vacuum when the office of the mayor is vacant. If the mayor leaves the city for more than 15 days or is incapacitated, his/her functions would be devolved on the deputy mayor until the mayor returns to the city or recovers from his incapacity as the case may be. He has no powers to sanction any work. HYDERABAD: While the cash-strapped Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) is in no position to take up any new projects owing to lack of funds, deputy mayor Baba Fasiuddin is focussed on giving a facelift to his official chamber. Following the footsteps of mayor Bonthu Rammohan, who a few months ago undertook a complete transformation of his official chamber by splurging upto Rs 30 lakh, Baba Fasiuddin has already initiated various works to renovate his chamber. It is learnt that upto Rs 20 lakh of public money is being utilised for upgrading his office, which involves Rs 5-10 lakh of interior designing. Ironically, as per the GHMC Act, the deputy mayor has no powers to sanction any new civic works and is to be treated like any other GHMC corporator. Similarly, the mayor too, except for chairing the council meetings, standing committee meetings and sanctioning emergency works of upto `50,000 during calamities, has no major powers. Presently, the corporation is reeling under severe financial crisis and finding it difficult to pay salaries to its staff. Besides, the corporation is finding it tough to take up new developmental works in the city due to paucity of funds. Except pending works, no new projects are being implemented. Past deputy mayors Subash Chanderji (BJP), Golconda Raj Kumar (Congress) and Jaffer Hussain Meraj (Nampally MIM MLA) have functioned from the same chamber without taking up any major renovations or modifications when in office. At the moment, the existing interiors, glass doors frames, ceiling in his chambers have been removed and will be fitted with new furniture and interior fittings. GHMC officials said that deputy mayor is like any other normal corporator. He or she is mainly elected to fill the gap or vacuum when the office of the mayor is vacant. If the mayor leaves the city for more than 15 days or is incapacitated, his/her functions would be devolved on the deputy mayor until the mayor returns to the city or recovers from his incapacity as the case may be. He has no powers to sanction any work. Aishik Chanda By Express News Service KOLKATA: Even as Trinamool Congress demanded a CBI probe into the disappearance of Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) student Najeeb Ahmed, missing since October 15 last year, disappearance of an Adivasi student from Jadavpur University (JU) here following public shaming on social media for alleged molestation has sparked a movement demanding a thorough probe into the disappearance. Sources revealed that Sushil Mandi, an MPhil student and a native of Dhaniakhali in Hooghly district of West Bengal, went missing from his room in a JU hostel since February 2 after a girl of film studies department, with whom Sushil shared a cigarette during a feminist campaign in the campus on January 16, took to social media and accused Sushil of molesting her while taking the cigarette back from her. Sources close to Sushil said he was upset with the social media shaming over the allegation. Based on a complaint by Sushil's brother Haradhan Mandi, an FIR was lodged in Jadavpur Police Station on Tuesday naming five persons, including the girl who accused Sushil of molestation. "Soumya Mondal, Dibyakamal Mitra, Koustav Mondal, Nabottoma Pal and the girl who alleged molestation charges on Sushil, have been named in the FIR," a police official told Express. Haradhan has accused the five of mental torment on Sushil over the molestation charge. The five named in the FIR are members of a left-wing organisation United Students' Democratic Front (USDF) while Sushil was a member of another left-wing organisation named Radical. The two leftist organisations had joined hands before the student council elections for a feminist campaign to break the locks of women's toilets in the campus on January 16 that the agitators alleged were deliberately locked after 6 PM by the authorities to reduce the presence of women on the campus after dark. Sources revealed that the girl, who brought molestation charges against Sushil, alleged that during the feminist campaign, Sushil touched her inappropriately while sharing a cigarette with her. However, the girl did not lodge any police complaint in this regard and took the matter to the two outfits, which failed to resolve it and took sides of their own respective members. After this, the girl and later USDF took to the Facebook, slamming Sushil and Radical. Meanwhile, the university authorities have written a mail to Police Headquarters at Lal Bazaar demanding that a thorough search of Sushil be launched. The university remained tense on Tuesday with clashes between members of Radical and USDF over the issue. KOLKATA: Even as Trinamool Congress demanded a CBI probe into the disappearance of Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) student Najeeb Ahmed, missing since October 15 last year, disappearance of an Adivasi student from Jadavpur University (JU) here following public shaming on social media for alleged molestation has sparked a movement demanding a thorough probe into the disappearance. Sources revealed that Sushil Mandi, an MPhil student and a native of Dhaniakhali in Hooghly district of West Bengal, went missing from his room in a JU hostel since February 2 after a girl of film studies department, with whom Sushil shared a cigarette during a feminist campaign in the campus on January 16, took to social media and accused Sushil of molesting her while taking the cigarette back from her. Sources close to Sushil said he was upset with the social media shaming over the allegation. Based on a complaint by Sushil's brother Haradhan Mandi, an FIR was lodged in Jadavpur Police Station on Tuesday naming five persons, including the girl who accused Sushil of molestation. "Soumya Mondal, Dibyakamal Mitra, Koustav Mondal, Nabottoma Pal and the girl who alleged molestation charges on Sushil, have been named in the FIR," a police official told Express. Haradhan has accused the five of mental torment on Sushil over the molestation charge. The five named in the FIR are members of a left-wing organisation United Students' Democratic Front (USDF) while Sushil was a member of another left-wing organisation named Radical. The two leftist organisations had joined hands before the student council elections for a feminist campaign to break the locks of women's toilets in the campus on January 16 that the agitators alleged were deliberately locked after 6 PM by the authorities to reduce the presence of women on the campus after dark. Sources revealed that the girl, who brought molestation charges against Sushil, alleged that during the feminist campaign, Sushil touched her inappropriately while sharing a cigarette with her. However, the girl did not lodge any police complaint in this regard and took the matter to the two outfits, which failed to resolve it and took sides of their own respective members. After this, the girl and later USDF took to the Facebook, slamming Sushil and Radical. Meanwhile, the university authorities have written a mail to Police Headquarters at Lal Bazaar demanding that a thorough search of Sushil be launched. The university remained tense on Tuesday with clashes between members of Radical and USDF over the issue. Namita Bajpai By Express News Service LUCKNOW: With the first phase of Uttar Pradesh elections a few days away, chief minister Akhilesh Yadav and Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi fired a fresh salvo at Prime Minister Narendra Modi during their fourth joint rally in Meerut on Tuesday. Keeping the Prime Minister in his direct line of attack, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav cautioned the Meerut electorate against the formers alleged white lies. "You fell prey to lies in 2014. Beware this time. Modi befooled everyone by promising lakhs recovered from black money, said the CM. Is the recovered black money in your bank accounts? he asked. Taking a swipe at Modis SCAM jibe, Akhilesh wondered how BSP chief Mayawatis name figured in the acronym as she had always been close to the saffron party. She has always enjoyed a special bond with the BJP and has allied with the party thrice in the state, noted Akhilesh. Mocking at the saffron outfit, the UP chief minister warned people to be wary of those having names beginning with the letters A (Amit Shah) and M (Modi), in the ensuing elections. As the rally was organised in Nauchandi, the place famous for its annual animal fair, the CM tried to woo the voters by promising special facilities for the treatment of livestock. Appreciating the liveliness of the crowd, Akhilesh said it was an indication of the victory of SP-Congress alliance. Majboot haanth ke saath cycle aur teji se chalegi (With the support of a strong hand, the cycle will move faster), he claimed. Similarly, Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi also launched a broadside on the PM saying he has felt a storm in the state, the day SP-congress alliance was stitched. While accusing Modi of breaching peoples faith by failing to waive farmers loan, Rahul Gandhi promised start-up loans to lakhs of youth in the state. Condemning the Centre over demonetisation and the subsequent sufferings it allegedly inflicted on people, he appealed to the young voters to help win 300 seats for the SP-Congress alliance in the state. He also exhorted them to root out the divisive forces who believed in the politics of hatred. On the other hand, Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) supremo Mayawati, in her rally in Ghaziabad, warned the people against false survey polls perpetuated by rivals while claiming confidence of forming the majority government in the state after March 11. She also pointed out that the BJP has an anti-reservation stance. Mayawati also slammed the Akhilesh-led SP government for the poor law and order situation and accused them for dragging the state on the development front. LUCKNOW: With the first phase of Uttar Pradesh elections a few days away, chief minister Akhilesh Yadav and Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi fired a fresh salvo at Prime Minister Narendra Modi during their fourth joint rally in Meerut on Tuesday. Keeping the Prime Minister in his direct line of attack, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav cautioned the Meerut electorate against the formers alleged white lies. "You fell prey to lies in 2014. Beware this time. Modi befooled everyone by promising lakhs recovered from black money, said the CM. Is the recovered black money in your bank accounts? he asked. Taking a swipe at Modis SCAM jibe, Akhilesh wondered how BSP chief Mayawatis name figured in the acronym as she had always been close to the saffron party. She has always enjoyed a special bond with the BJP and has allied with the party thrice in the state, noted Akhilesh. Mocking at the saffron outfit, the UP chief minister warned people to be wary of those having names beginning with the letters A (Amit Shah) and M (Modi), in the ensuing elections. As the rally was organised in Nauchandi, the place famous for its annual animal fair, the CM tried to woo the voters by promising special facilities for the treatment of livestock. Appreciating the liveliness of the crowd, Akhilesh said it was an indication of the victory of SP-Congress alliance. Majboot haanth ke saath cycle aur teji se chalegi (With the support of a strong hand, the cycle will move faster), he claimed. Similarly, Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi also launched a broadside on the PM saying he has felt a storm in the state, the day SP-congress alliance was stitched. While accusing Modi of breaching peoples faith by failing to waive farmers loan, Rahul Gandhi promised start-up loans to lakhs of youth in the state. Condemning the Centre over demonetisation and the subsequent sufferings it allegedly inflicted on people, he appealed to the young voters to help win 300 seats for the SP-Congress alliance in the state. He also exhorted them to root out the divisive forces who believed in the politics of hatred. On the other hand, Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) supremo Mayawati, in her rally in Ghaziabad, warned the people against false survey polls perpetuated by rivals while claiming confidence of forming the majority government in the state after March 11. She also pointed out that the BJP has an anti-reservation stance. Mayawati also slammed the Akhilesh-led SP government for the poor law and order situation and accused them for dragging the state on the development front. Aishik Chanda By Express News Service ngal KOLKATA: Bengal's high profile serial killer Udayan Das (32), who killed his 28-year-old Facebook friend-turned-girlfriend and buried her in a marble tomb at his Bhopal residence in August last year after murdering his parents seven years ago and burying them in Raipur, would face the trial in Bankura court on Tuesday. He was flown from Raipur to Kolkata on transit remand by West Bengal police on Monday. The police is likely to drive him down to Bankura on Tuesday morning and seek his 15-day judicial custody from court for probe into the triple-murder case. How skeletons tumbled out, literally The trunk in which Akansha's body was packed and entombed. | EPS Police tracked down deceased Akansha Sharma's number after her father Shivendra Kumar Sharma, a bank manager, had lodged a missing complaint with the Bankura Police last month. A Bengal police team reached Udayan through Akansha's number, which he was operating to communicate with Akansha's parents. During interrogation, Udayan revealed that he had strangled his live-in partner in a fit of rage in August 2016 and packed her body into a trunk and erected a tomb around it in his living room due to lack of place to dump the body. Akansha's remains were exhumed and sent for DNA test. During the course of investigation, Udayan also revealed that he had murdered both his parents seven years ago and buried them in the courtyard of their bungalow in Raipur. Udayan led the police to grave sites of his parents and marked the exact burial site. Two skeletons were exhumed of which one had tufts of long hair and broken bangles near the hand. Both the skeletons were sent for DNA test. Drugs, rage and forgery The marbled tomb of Akansha Sharma in Udayan's living room in his Bhopal house. | EPS Udayan has revealed to Bengal police officials that he strangled his mother Indrani Das to death in 2010 after she nagged him to get a job and reduce unnecessary spending on drugs. To cover-up the murder of his mother, Udayan claimed he had mixed sleeping pills in the tea of his father Birendra Kumar Das and then strangled him too. "He had hired a person to dig a pit for a septic tank and paid him triple the market rate of that time. The pit was dug in a single night. He buried the two bodies and sold the Raipur bungalow," an investigating officer told Express. Sources revealed that fake death certificates of heart attack of Indrani and Birendra Kumar Das were also found in Udayan's computer. Udayan's parents were top government officials. The family shifted to Sundarnagar SBI Colony in Raipur after transfer of Birendra Kumar Das from Saketnagar in Bhopal. Despite having been good at studies until Class XII, he got into drugs in the first year of B.Tech and dropped out of college, sources revealed. Udayan Das in custody in Bhopal. | EPS Akansha's parents fear Udayan wanted to kill them too After the triple murder came to fore, deceased Akansha's parents Shivendra Kumar Sharma and Shashibala Sharma fear that Udayan may have come to kill them on the pretext of visiting their rented house in Bankura town in October last year. Demanding noose for Udayan, Akansha's parents said that Udayan assured them that their daughter was working with an NGO in US along with him. Akansha, a Delhi-educated girl, had befriended Udayan over Facebook where he had introduced himself as a Non-Resident Indian (NRI) with contacts in the United Nations. Udayan had promised to get Akansha a job in UNESCO in the United States. An 'illuminati' tattoo that Udayan claimed he got inked in Moscow, Russia. | EPS "Akansha had told us about Udayan a few months after she befriended him over Facebook. She told that Udayan would help her get a job in US. I trusted and sent her off to Delhi on June 23. For first 10 days, she regularly spoke to us over the phone. Then, she started communicating only on WhatsApp. Udayan came in October first week and stayed for two days. However, my suspicion grew when Akansha did not come in November and I lodged a police complaint on January 4, 2017," Shivendra Kumar Sharma told Express. Akansha's parents have also alleged that Udayan had siphoned off Rs 1, 20, 000 from her account. Victims were kept alive on Facebook Facebook profile of Akansha Sharma. ( EPS) Udayan kept his three victims alive on Facebook through fake profiles, where he posted regular updates and comments to avoid drawing any suspicion from his relatives or Akansha's parents. He even posted intimate pictures with his girlfriend and love quotes showing how much he loved her. The accused posted comments from his father's account too. While the cover picture of Akansha is a picture of Udayan kissing her, Udayan shows off a brand new car which he claims was bought abroad. Analysing the planning and cold-blooded triple murders, many investigating officers have found Udayan's similarities with Charles Shobraj, Indrani Mukherjee or Delhi's infamous tandoor murder accused. ngal KOLKATA: Bengal's high profile serial killer Udayan Das (32), who killed his 28-year-old Facebook friend-turned-girlfriend and buried her in a marble tomb at his Bhopal residence in August last year after murdering his parents seven years ago and burying them in Raipur, would face the trial in Bankura court on Tuesday. He was flown from Raipur to Kolkata on transit remand by West Bengal police on Monday. The police is likely to drive him down to Bankura on Tuesday morning and seek his 15-day judicial custody from court for probe into the triple-murder case. How skeletons tumbled out, literally The trunk in which Akansha's body was packed and entombed. | EPSPolice tracked down deceased Akansha Sharma's number after her father Shivendra Kumar Sharma, a bank manager, had lodged a missing complaint with the Bankura Police last month. A Bengal police team reached Udayan through Akansha's number, which he was operating to communicate with Akansha's parents. During interrogation, Udayan revealed that he had strangled his live-in partner in a fit of rage in August 2016 and packed her body into a trunk and erected a tomb around it in his living room due to lack of place to dump the body. Akansha's remains were exhumed and sent for DNA test. During the course of investigation, Udayan also revealed that he had murdered both his parents seven years ago and buried them in the courtyard of their bungalow in Raipur. Udayan led the police to grave sites of his parents and marked the exact burial site. Two skeletons were exhumed of which one had tufts of long hair and broken bangles near the hand. Both the skeletons were sent for DNA test. Drugs, rage and forgery The marbled tomb of Akansha Sharma in Udayan's living room in his Bhopal house. | EPSUdayan has revealed to Bengal police officials that he strangled his mother Indrani Das to death in 2010 after she nagged him to get a job and reduce unnecessary spending on drugs. To cover-up the murder of his mother, Udayan claimed he had mixed sleeping pills in the tea of his father Birendra Kumar Das and then strangled him too. "He had hired a person to dig a pit for a septic tank and paid him triple the market rate of that time. The pit was dug in a single night. He buried the two bodies and sold the Raipur bungalow," an investigating officer told Express. Sources revealed that fake death certificates of heart attack of Indrani and Birendra Kumar Das were also found in Udayan's computer. Udayan's parents were top government officials. The family shifted to Sundarnagar SBI Colony in Raipur after transfer of Birendra Kumar Das from Saketnagar in Bhopal. Despite having been good at studies until Class XII, he got into drugs in the first year of B.Tech and dropped out of college, sources revealed. Udayan Das in custody in Bhopal. | EPSAkansha's parents fear Udayan wanted to kill them too After the triple murder came to fore, deceased Akansha's parents Shivendra Kumar Sharma and Shashibala Sharma fear that Udayan may have come to kill them on the pretext of visiting their rented house in Bankura town in October last year. Demanding noose for Udayan, Akansha's parents said that Udayan assured them that their daughter was working with an NGO in US along with him. Akansha, a Delhi-educated girl, had befriended Udayan over Facebook where he had introduced himself as a Non-Resident Indian (NRI) with contacts in the United Nations. Udayan had promised to get Akansha a job in UNESCO in the United States. An 'illuminati' tattoo that Udayan claimed he got inked in Moscow, Russia. | EPS "Akansha had told us about Udayan a few months after she befriended him over Facebook. She told that Udayan would help her get a job in US. I trusted and sent her off to Delhi on June 23. For first 10 days, she regularly spoke to us over the phone. Then, she started communicating only on WhatsApp. Udayan came in October first week and stayed for two days. However, my suspicion grew when Akansha did not come in November and I lodged a police complaint on January 4, 2017," Shivendra Kumar Sharma told Express. Akansha's parents have also alleged that Udayan had siphoned off Rs 1, 20, 000 from her account. Victims were kept alive on Facebook Facebook profile of Akansha Sharma. ( EPS)Udayan kept his three victims alive on Facebook through fake profiles, where he posted regular updates and comments to avoid drawing any suspicion from his relatives or Akansha's parents. He even posted intimate pictures with his girlfriend and love quotes showing how much he loved her. The accused posted comments from his father's account too. While the cover picture of Akansha is a picture of Udayan kissing her, Udayan shows off a brand new car which he claims was bought abroad. Analysing the planning and cold-blooded triple murders, many investigating officers have found Udayan's similarities with Charles Shobraj, Indrani Mukherjee or Delhi's infamous tandoor murder accused. By Express News Service KOLKATA: In a setback to the Mamata Banerjee regime, West Bengals Advocate General Jayanta Mitra and Additional Advocate General Lakshmi Gupta have decided to tender their resignations citing differences in opinions with the state government. This is the third such instance in the six-year regime of the Mamata government when an Advocate General, the principal law officer of the province, has quit the office. Speaking to the media, Mitra said he found it necessary to step down before things turned bitter. "There were some differences with the state government. Before it turns bitter, I think its better to quit so that the state can go ahead with its policies," he said. Additional Advocate General Lakshmi Gupta shared Mitra's views on the differences. "We were a team. The differences on opinions with the state were increasing," Gupta said. While Mitra has tendered his resignation to Governor Keshari Nath Tripathi on Tuesday, Gupta will follow suit on Wednesday. Sources revealed the state seldom heeded the Advocate General's advices on policies and legal appeals. Despite being advised not to appeal to the Calcutta High Court (HC) for every other case, the state went ahead and knocked the doors of the HC before any other court, sources said. Mitra was pleading several important cases such as the Narada Scam for the state in the Calcutta HC. As a result, his resignation comes out as a big blow at a time when the divisional bench led by Chief Justice Nishitha Mhatre has called for a CBI probe into the sting. Mitra and Gupta were appointed on December 17, 2014 after the previous Advocate General Bimal Chattterjee (75) put down his papers citing health grounds. Chatterjee had replaced Anindya Mitra in May 2011 after the latter quit when the Trinamool Congress came to power. KOLKATA: In a setback to the Mamata Banerjee regime, West Bengals Advocate General Jayanta Mitra and Additional Advocate General Lakshmi Gupta have decided to tender their resignations citing differences in opinions with the state government. This is the third such instance in the six-year regime of the Mamata government when an Advocate General, the principal law officer of the province, has quit the office. Speaking to the media, Mitra said he found it necessary to step down before things turned bitter. "There were some differences with the state government. Before it turns bitter, I think its better to quit so that the state can go ahead with its policies," he said. Additional Advocate General Lakshmi Gupta shared Mitra's views on the differences. "We were a team. The differences on opinions with the state were increasing," Gupta said. While Mitra has tendered his resignation to Governor Keshari Nath Tripathi on Tuesday, Gupta will follow suit on Wednesday. Sources revealed the state seldom heeded the Advocate General's advices on policies and legal appeals. Despite being advised not to appeal to the Calcutta High Court (HC) for every other case, the state went ahead and knocked the doors of the HC before any other court, sources said. Mitra was pleading several important cases such as the Narada Scam for the state in the Calcutta HC. As a result, his resignation comes out as a big blow at a time when the divisional bench led by Chief Justice Nishitha Mhatre has called for a CBI probe into the sting. Mitra and Gupta were appointed on December 17, 2014 after the previous Advocate General Bimal Chattterjee (75) put down his papers citing health grounds. Chatterjee had replaced Anindya Mitra in May 2011 after the latter quit when the Trinamool Congress came to power. Rakesh K Singh By Express News Service NEW DELHI: In yet another curious turn, the CRPF on Tuesday evening claimed all the 59 CoBRA commandos who had deserted the Force en masse on Friday, returned to the 205 Battalion headquarters in Gaya (Bihar). All 59 have returned to unit headquarters around 1100 hrs today morning, DIG (Intelligence) at CRPF Directorate and in-charge PRO Dinakaran told the Express. IG CoBRA Raju Bhargava also repeated Dinakarans statement when asked about the status of the deserting CoBRA commandos. Following the Express story on mass desertion by CoBRA commandos, Dinakaran had on Monday issued a statement dated February 6, 2015 (instead of February 6, 2017) saying, Some of the media are carrying a news item about missing/desertion of 59 CRPF personnel of 205 CoBRA enroute on move from Jammu to their Unit in Gaya (Bihar). These personnel were returning to their Unit after completion of their 6 months training at Recruitment Training Centre, Srinagar and had their return reservations from Jammu to Gaya on 5 February, 2017 in Shealdah Express. Due to inclement weather and road blockade these personnel were sent to Jammu on 1 Feb, 2017 and decided to board an early train on 2nd February. Since they were early as per their scheduled programme, they decided on their own to avail Saturday and Sunday to visit their home without prior permission from competent authority. These personnel have committed a misconduct for which they will be dealt departmentally. The internal communication circulated across all formations of the CRPF dated February branded them as deserters but the CRPF sought to hoodwink the Media saying they were Absent Without Leave which according to Oxford dictionary and military or uniformed service parlance means desertion. Sources in 205 CoBRA said DIG of Tactical Headquarters Gaya Sajiuddin visited CoBRA headquarters in Gaya and took a written statement from the returning commandos claiming the cause of their disappearance as mentioned in the statement issued by CRPF Directorate here on Monday. Here is the full statement from the CRPF PRO: The sources said some of the commandos are yet to return but the Force has decided to claim that all of them joined the battalion headquarters in order to minimize the damage to the top paramilitary leadership. While the CRPF in its statement on Monday said they decided on their own to avail Saturday and Sunday visit their homes, they still were late by a day as they returned on Tuesday as claimed by the Force. Dinakaran was evasive as to how there was so much of coincidence that all the 59 commandos decided to break the rules together to desert the Force and decide to join back the same day. Other CRPF officials said such instance of mass desertion is not only an indication of the growing indiscipline in the ranks due to the poor display of leadership from the top but also shows the lack of regimentation in the paramilitary. They said desertion is an offence and a serious misconduct according to the rules. Fifty-nine CoBRA commandos had deserted the Force while they were en route to Gaya (Bihar) for deployment with 205 CoBRA Battalion on February 2. The CRPF on Sunday (February 5) concluded that they have deserted and the message was circulated to all the formations of the paramilitary in the country. CoBRA is a specialised anti-Naxal Force and the mass desertion of such a magnitude was first in both the CRPF and CoBRA. NEW DELHI: In yet another curious turn, the CRPF on Tuesday evening claimed all the 59 CoBRA commandos who had deserted the Force en masse on Friday, returned to the 205 Battalion headquarters in Gaya (Bihar). All 59 have returned to unit headquarters around 1100 hrs today morning, DIG (Intelligence) at CRPF Directorate and in-charge PRO Dinakaran told the Express. IG CoBRA Raju Bhargava also repeated Dinakarans statement when asked about the status of the deserting CoBRA commandos. Following the Express story on mass desertion by CoBRA commandos, Dinakaran had on Monday issued a statement dated February 6, 2015 (instead of February 6, 2017) saying, Some of the media are carrying a news item about missing/desertion of 59 CRPF personnel of 205 CoBRA enroute on move from Jammu to their Unit in Gaya (Bihar). These personnel were returning to their Unit after completion of their 6 months training at Recruitment Training Centre, Srinagar and had their return reservations from Jammu to Gaya on 5 February, 2017 in Shealdah Express. Due to inclement weather and road blockade these personnel were sent to Jammu on 1 Feb, 2017 and decided to board an early train on 2nd February. Since they were early as per their scheduled programme, they decided on their own to avail Saturday and Sunday to visit their home without prior permission from competent authority. These personnel have committed a misconduct for which they will be dealt departmentally. The internal communication circulated across all formations of the CRPF dated February branded them as deserters but the CRPF sought to hoodwink the Media saying they were Absent Without Leave which according to Oxford dictionary and military or uniformed service parlance means desertion. Sources in 205 CoBRA said DIG of Tactical Headquarters Gaya Sajiuddin visited CoBRA headquarters in Gaya and took a written statement from the returning commandos claiming the cause of their disappearance as mentioned in the statement issued by CRPF Directorate here on Monday. Here is the full statement from the CRPF PRO: The sources said some of the commandos are yet to return but the Force has decided to claim that all of them joined the battalion headquarters in order to minimize the damage to the top paramilitary leadership. While the CRPF in its statement on Monday said they decided on their own to avail Saturday and Sunday visit their homes, they still were late by a day as they returned on Tuesday as claimed by the Force. Dinakaran was evasive as to how there was so much of coincidence that all the 59 commandos decided to break the rules together to desert the Force and decide to join back the same day. Other CRPF officials said such instance of mass desertion is not only an indication of the growing indiscipline in the ranks due to the poor display of leadership from the top but also shows the lack of regimentation in the paramilitary. They said desertion is an offence and a serious misconduct according to the rules. Fifty-nine CoBRA commandos had deserted the Force while they were en route to Gaya (Bihar) for deployment with 205 CoBRA Battalion on February 2. The CRPF on Sunday (February 5) concluded that they have deserted and the message was circulated to all the formations of the paramilitary in the country. CoBRA is a specialised anti-Naxal Force and the mass desertion of such a magnitude was first in both the CRPF and CoBRA. Prasanta Mazumdar By Express News Service GUWAHATI: The 97-day economic blockade in Manipur is likely to be lifted in two days. The United Naga Council (UNC), which enforced the blockade on two national highways lifelines of Manipur since November 1, will discuss the issue at its presidential council meeting today (Tuesday). Similarly, the Manipur government is likely to secure the release of UNCs arrested president Gaidon Kamei and publicity secretary SK Stephen. Both are currently in judicial custody after having been arrested for spearheading the blockade. Their (UNC) condition is that the two persons should be released unconditionally. Simultaneously, they will decide on lifting the blockade at their presidential council meeting. If they agree to lift the blockade, then the government of Manipur will move court to secure the duos release, Manipur chief secretary O Nabakishor told Express. Lifting of blockade may happen or may not happen. We expect that they will decide in favour of lifting it. We are prepared to move court to secure the release of the two persons, he added. Both UNC and Manipur government purportedly softened their stand at their tripartite meeting held with Central government in New Delhi on February 3. Nabakishor said the UNCs response at the meeting had been very positive. Similarly, UNC general secretary Milan Shimray said the talks were a good beginning. GUWAHATI: The 97-day economic blockade in Manipur is likely to be lifted in two days. The United Naga Council (UNC), which enforced the blockade on two national highways lifelines of Manipur since November 1, will discuss the issue at its presidential council meeting today (Tuesday). Similarly, the Manipur government is likely to secure the release of UNCs arrested president Gaidon Kamei and publicity secretary SK Stephen. Both are currently in judicial custody after having been arrested for spearheading the blockade. Their (UNC) condition is that the two persons should be released unconditionally. Simultaneously, they will decide on lifting the blockade at their presidential council meeting. If they agree to lift the blockade, then the government of Manipur will move court to secure the duos release, Manipur chief secretary O Nabakishor told Express. Lifting of blockade may happen or may not happen. We expect that they will decide in favour of lifting it. We are prepared to move court to secure the release of the two persons, he added. Both UNC and Manipur government purportedly softened their stand at their tripartite meeting held with Central government in New Delhi on February 3. Nabakishor said the UNCs response at the meeting had been very positive. Similarly, UNC general secretary Milan Shimray said the talks were a good beginning. Vikram Sharma By Express News Service UKHIMATH: When Arun Jaitley was telling the whole country in his Budget speech that he would achieve 100 per cent rural electrification in the country, he went unheard by the people of Gondar in Uttarakhand. The 80 households of the village, some 30 km from Ukhimath, have no power and therefore no TV. Gondar is one of the 76 villages in Uttarakhand that have not been blessed by grid-supplied electricity since Independence. It gets by on unreliable solar power. Jaitleys promise brings a smile to the face of Gondars pramukh, Bir Singh. We have heard it all before. If they were serious, it would have come by now? Villages like Gondar are hard to reach for the traveller as well as power supply. To get to Gondar, one has to reach Ransi village in Ukhimath block first and from there trek 7 km. Most of the villagers work as labourers or sell food to tourists going to Madhya Maheshwar temple 9 km from Gondar. Some households rent out rooms to those want to stay overnight. Attempts have been made previously to connect Gondar to the states power grid. In 2013, a tiny substation was built but it was washed away in the Kedarnath floods just months later. It was repaired in 2016, but heavy rains ruined it again. The fact that 76 villages in Uttarakhand have no electricity came to light when a Dehradun-based activist, Ajay Kumar, filed an RTI application. Most of the unlit villages are in Uttarkashi (31) and Pithoragarh (29) districts apart from a few in Tehri and Rudraprayag. It is shameful that 70 years after Independence, these villagers have to manage with kerosene lamps, said Ajay Kumar. After Ajay Kumar received his RTI response, he wrote to the Prime Minister's Office and got a response. The PMO reminded the Uttarakhand government that funds have been made available for electrification of these villages. But the state government ignored the PMO's direction. I feel this was because of politics as it became a BJP vs Congress issue,'' said Ajay Kumar. However, Uttarakhand Power Corporation (UPCL) officials said some poles were erected in these villages but they got washed away in the 2013 Kedarnath flood and subsequent weather events. Now its back to the drawing board. "Estimates for power lines were made long ago. But its a difficult terrain, said a senior official of UPCL. The deadline: end of 2017. But deadlines have been missed before, even Prime Minister Narendra Modi's time horizon of Dec3mber 2016 to rig up a power supply to 18,500 villages around the country. Out of the 18,500 dark villages in the PMs ambitious plan, 7300 villages still remain to be covered. It is an everyday struggle for the people of Gaundar. Struggling for basic needs like electricity, drinking water and road, the village has boycotted elections twice in the past. As polls approach on Feb. 15, the villagers are getting ready to boycott them once again. UKHIMATH: When Arun Jaitley was telling the whole country in his Budget speech that he would achieve 100 per cent rural electrification in the country, he went unheard by the people of Gondar in Uttarakhand. The 80 households of the village, some 30 km from Ukhimath, have no power and therefore no TV. Gondar is one of the 76 villages in Uttarakhand that have not been blessed by grid-supplied electricity since Independence. It gets by on unreliable solar power. Jaitleys promise brings a smile to the face of Gondars pramukh, Bir Singh. We have heard it all before. If they were serious, it would have come by now? Villages like Gondar are hard to reach for the traveller as well as power supply. To get to Gondar, one has to reach Ransi village in Ukhimath block first and from there trek 7 km. Most of the villagers work as labourers or sell food to tourists going to Madhya Maheshwar temple 9 km from Gondar. Some households rent out rooms to those want to stay overnight. Attempts have been made previously to connect Gondar to the states power grid. In 2013, a tiny substation was built but it was washed away in the Kedarnath floods just months later. It was repaired in 2016, but heavy rains ruined it again. The fact that 76 villages in Uttarakhand have no electricity came to light when a Dehradun-based activist, Ajay Kumar, filed an RTI application. Most of the unlit villages are in Uttarkashi (31) and Pithoragarh (29) districts apart from a few in Tehri and Rudraprayag. It is shameful that 70 years after Independence, these villagers have to manage with kerosene lamps, said Ajay Kumar. After Ajay Kumar received his RTI response, he wrote to the Prime Minister's Office and got a response. The PMO reminded the Uttarakhand government that funds have been made available for electrification of these villages. But the state government ignored the PMO's direction. I feel this was because of politics as it became a BJP vs Congress issue,'' said Ajay Kumar. However, Uttarakhand Power Corporation (UPCL) officials said some poles were erected in these villages but they got washed away in the 2013 Kedarnath flood and subsequent weather events. Now its back to the drawing board. "Estimates for power lines were made long ago. But its a difficult terrain, said a senior official of UPCL. The deadline: end of 2017. But deadlines have been missed before, even Prime Minister Narendra Modi's time horizon of Dec3mber 2016 to rig up a power supply to 18,500 villages around the country. Out of the 18,500 dark villages in the PMs ambitious plan, 7300 villages still remain to be covered. It is an everyday struggle for the people of Gaundar. Struggling for basic needs like electricity, drinking water and road, the village has boycotted elections twice in the past. As polls approach on Feb. 15, the villagers are getting ready to boycott them once again. By Express News Service NEW DELHI: On a day when a Nepalese citizen, suspected of having links with Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) and a prime accused in last November's Kanpur derailment case, was arrested in Kathmandu after he was deported from the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Tuesday got police remand of three accused in the Ghorasahan (Motihari) case, the probe into which had earlier revealed the role of the Pakistani covert agency indirectly funding its agents to effect train derailments in India. The NIA is likely to approach Nepal police for questioning Nepalese citizen Shamshul Hoda, the mastermind behind the recent train derailments in India including the Kanpur incident in which nearly 150 passengers were killed and 200 others were injured. Sources said sleuths of external intelligence agency Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW) will soon join the probe with Nepal police to unravel Hodas nexus with the ISI and his role in funding criminals to plant improvised explosive devices on railway tracks. During the probe into the Motihari case by the Bihar police, the three accused - Moti Paswan, Uma Shankar Patel and Mukesh Yadav - had revealed the role of the ISI in train derailments in the hinterland. Accused Moti Paswan, Uma Shankar Patel and Mukesh Yadav have been taken on police remand by the NIA in the Motihari case. The three accused will be produced in the special NIA court, Patna, on February 14, 2017, the agency said in a statement. Recently, the NIA was entrusted with the probe into the Ghorasahan case, Hirakhand Express train derailment in Vizianagaram and the Kanpur derailment by the Home Ministry, after prima facie evidence hinted at sabotage. The trio had told the Bihar police that the derailment of the Indore-Patna Express train on November 20 last year near Kanpur was caused due to sabotage by the ISI. As many as 39 people were killed in the Hirakhand Express train derailment in Vizianagaram district of Andhra Pradesh. NEW DELHI: On a day when a Nepalese citizen, suspected of having links with Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) and a prime accused in last November's Kanpur derailment case, was arrested in Kathmandu after he was deported from the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Tuesday got police remand of three accused in the Ghorasahan (Motihari) case, the probe into which had earlier revealed the role of the Pakistani covert agency indirectly funding its agents to effect train derailments in India. The NIA is likely to approach Nepal police for questioning Nepalese citizen Shamshul Hoda, the mastermind behind the recent train derailments in India including the Kanpur incident in which nearly 150 passengers were killed and 200 others were injured. Sources said sleuths of external intelligence agency Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW) will soon join the probe with Nepal police to unravel Hodas nexus with the ISI and his role in funding criminals to plant improvised explosive devices on railway tracks. During the probe into the Motihari case by the Bihar police, the three accused - Moti Paswan, Uma Shankar Patel and Mukesh Yadav - had revealed the role of the ISI in train derailments in the hinterland. Accused Moti Paswan, Uma Shankar Patel and Mukesh Yadav have been taken on police remand by the NIA in the Motihari case. The three accused will be produced in the special NIA court, Patna, on February 14, 2017, the agency said in a statement. Recently, the NIA was entrusted with the probe into the Ghorasahan case, Hirakhand Express train derailment in Vizianagaram and the Kanpur derailment by the Home Ministry, after prima facie evidence hinted at sabotage. The trio had told the Bihar police that the derailment of the Indore-Patna Express train on November 20 last year near Kanpur was caused due to sabotage by the ISI. As many as 39 people were killed in the Hirakhand Express train derailment in Vizianagaram district of Andhra Pradesh. SAN JOSE, CA--(Marketwired - January 31, 2017) - Align Technology, Inc. (ALGN) today announced that it has filed a lawsuit against ClearCorrect Holdings, Inc., and ClearCorrect Operating, LLC (together "ClearCorrect") and Your Smile Direct LTD of Dublin, Ireland ("Your Smile Direct") for patent infringement in the Chancery Division of the High Court of Justice of the United Kingdom. In the lawsuit, Align asserts that ClearCorrect infringes four Align patents by marketing, importing, and selling ClearCorrect's clear aligners, and that Your Smile Direct infringes three Align patents by marketing, importing, and selling ClearCorrect aligners under the Your Smile Direct brand. "The International Trade Commission already found Align's U.S. patents to be infringed by ClearCorrect. We believe that ClearCorrect is now infringing Align's European patents by offering its aligners to consumers through Your Smile Direct and to practitioners through its own distribution throughout the United Kingdom. We will continue to assert and defend our intellectual property rights against infringement by Your Smile Direct, ClearCorrect, or any other company, both in the United States and internationally," said Roger E. George, Align Technology vice president and general counsel. The patents-in-suit include those listed below and cover Align's orthodontic appliances and methods for designing and manufacturing aligners: European Patent (UK) Numbers - 2295004, 2263598, 1178760, 1143872. Align also announced that it has recommenced its stayed infringement litigation against ClearCorrect in federal district court in Houston. In light of the final conclusion of the ITC action in September 2016, Align filed a motion in federal district court in Houston to lift the stay that had been in place since the commencement of the ITC action. ClearCorrect filed a lengthy opposition to the motion, but the court ultimately granted Align's motion and the matter is now active and the parties are exchanging supplemental discovery. "We are proceeding aggressively now that we received permission to continue our litigation in Houston," continued George. "We will present evidence of ClearCorrect's ongoing infringement, and intend to rely in part on the findings of infringement and validity from the ITC proceedings." About Align Technology, Inc. Align Technology is the leader in modern clear aligner orthodontics that designs, manufactures and markets the Invisalign system, which provides dental professionals with a range of treatment options for adults and teenagers. Align also offers the iTero 3D digital scanning system and services for orthodontic and restorative dentistry. Align was founded in March 1997 and received FDA clearance to market the Invisalign system in 1998. Visit www.aligntech.com for more information. For additional information about the Invisalign system or to find an Invisalign provider in your area, please visit www.invisalign.com. For additional information about the iTero 3D digital scanning system, please visit www.itero.com. By Express News Service MUMBAI: A video of golden plates being used to serve food for senior Congress leaders during a recent royal treat at Osmanabad in Maharashtra has gone viral across the State as the poll campaign for the zilla parishad and municipal corporations is heating up. Maharashtra Pradesh Congress committee president Ashok Chavan, leader of Opposition in the Assembly Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil and former Union home ministers Sushilkumar Shinde and Shivraj Patil were some of the prominent leaders who were at Yengur in Osmanabad to kickstart the poll campaign for ZP elections on Friday. Local party workers had thrown a royal feast in honour of the leaders, where they were served in golden plates. Reports said the golden plates were specially brought in from Nanded. A tainted contractor is said to have made all the arrangements. The propriety of holding such a royal feast is being questioned especially against the backdrop of former CM Prithviraj Chavan turning down a similar extravaganza earlier. MUMBAI: A video of golden plates being used to serve food for senior Congress leaders during a recent royal treat at Osmanabad in Maharashtra has gone viral across the State as the poll campaign for the zilla parishad and municipal corporations is heating up. Maharashtra Pradesh Congress committee president Ashok Chavan, leader of Opposition in the Assembly Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil and former Union home ministers Sushilkumar Shinde and Shivraj Patil were some of the prominent leaders who were at Yengur in Osmanabad to kickstart the poll campaign for ZP elections on Friday. Local party workers had thrown a royal feast in honour of the leaders, where they were served in golden plates. Reports said the golden plates were specially brought in from Nanded. A tainted contractor is said to have made all the arrangements. The propriety of holding such a royal feast is being questioned especially against the backdrop of former CM Prithviraj Chavan turning down a similar extravaganza earlier. By PTI MUMBAI: Congress and NCP have retained Nashik Graduates and Aurangabad Teachers constituencies, respectively, in the biennial Maharashtra Legislative Council elections. Minister of State for Home Ranjit Patil of BJP has retained his Amravati graduates seat by defeating his nearest Congress rival Sanjay Khodke. Patil polled 78,051 votes, while Khodke got 34,154 votes, State Electoral Office said today. Biennial elections to five Graduates and Teachers constituencies in the state were held on February 3 and the counting was taken up yesterday. In Nashik, Congress nominee Sudhir Tambe won the seat by securing a total of 83,311 votes, while opponent Prashant Patil of the BJP polled 40,486 votes. There were 17 candidates in the fray. In Aurangabad teachers constituency, Vikram Kale of NCP polled 25,288 votes, while Independent candidate Satish Patki supported by BJP won 13,735 votes. Balaram Patil (Independent) supported by the NCP polled secured 11,837 votes as against 6,887 of Shiv Sena's Dyaneshwar Mhatre in Konkan teachers constituency, officials said. MUMBAI: Congress and NCP have retained Nashik Graduates and Aurangabad Teachers constituencies, respectively, in the biennial Maharashtra Legislative Council elections. Minister of State for Home Ranjit Patil of BJP has retained his Amravati graduates seat by defeating his nearest Congress rival Sanjay Khodke. Patil polled 78,051 votes, while Khodke got 34,154 votes, State Electoral Office said today. Biennial elections to five Graduates and Teachers constituencies in the state were held on February 3 and the counting was taken up yesterday. In Nashik, Congress nominee Sudhir Tambe won the seat by securing a total of 83,311 votes, while opponent Prashant Patil of the BJP polled 40,486 votes. There were 17 candidates in the fray. In Aurangabad teachers constituency, Vikram Kale of NCP polled 25,288 votes, while Independent candidate Satish Patki supported by BJP won 13,735 votes. Balaram Patil (Independent) supported by the NCP polled secured 11,837 votes as against 6,887 of Shiv Sena's Dyaneshwar Mhatre in Konkan teachers constituency, officials said. By Express News Service He calls himself PM Modis Experiment Boy. The grandson of late PM Lal Bahadur Shastri and BJPs national secretary, Siddharth Nath Singh, has taken the plunge into electoral politics on PM Modis insistence to redeem the image of Allahabad West, a place identified with mafia don Atiq Ahmad who has represented the constituency several times. With his clean image, Singh, one of the most visible BJP faces on TV, strives to make this experiment successful. He spoke to TNIEs Namita Bajpai about the challenges before him. Excerpts: What are the main issues of Allahabad (West)? My constituency is deeply divided along the caste and communal lines. This seat has been a battleground of mafia don-turned-politician Atiq Ahmad and BSP candidate Pooja Pal (widow of slain BSP leader Raju Pal) for quite some time. Both candidates have been winning this seat turn by turn. More or less, it has been a Muslim versus Hindu issue here with a high-level criminalisation of politics. What is the development scenario? There has been absolutely no development in this place which has seen a lot of communal politics. People are suffering from water scarcity. There are no roads to connect the villages with the city. People are craving even for the basic amenities. This seat was represented by my uncle Chaudhary Naunihal Singhji, who remained the states home minister thrice. People remember the developments during his stint, that was some 25 years ago. After that, there has been dismal development in this constituency. Why did Modiji select you for this seat? I call myself an Experiment Boy of Modiji. This is a seat where criminals have ruled the roost. Modiji asked me to contest here and give this constituency a new tag of honesty. Being the grandson of late PM Lal Bahadur Shastri, my lineage speaks for myself, my family and its honesty. I am pitted against criminalisation, communalism and non-development. Hence, I call myself the Experiment Boy of Modi ji as he has fielded me to take on caste and communal factors. If I win, Modiji will replicate this formula in other seats in 2019. Will you be the partys CM face post polls? These calls are taken by the party parliamentary board and the legislature party. As of now, I can only say that I am not thinking on those lines (laughs). What if entrusted with this responsibility? I had never thought that I will be pushed to state politics. But when the party asked me, I accepted it and came here. I am a disciplined soldier of the party. Whatever will be the party directive, I will follow it. Your take on BJP going without a CM face? Among CM faces here, Akhilesh Yadav is facing anti-incumbency. The other is Mayawati whose record of development is known to all. People will see those two faces. BJP, as a party, has one face and that is of development and good governance. So, I think the public has already taken the call. What difference will the SP-Congress alliance make? It (the alliance) shows how the Samajwadi Party has lost the plot in the ensuing elections. If you have development as you claim, you dont hand over 105 seats to a party which is non-existent. Actually, you have done nothing. As a result, you had had to spare these many seats under compulsion. How is BJP positioned vis-a-vis SP-Congress tie-up? The BJP had a sloganCongress-Mukt Bharat. In the context of UP, it could be Congress Mukt Uttar Pradesh. The Congress is fighting from only 105 seats meaning they are contesting 25 per cent of the seats. So the state is already free from the party on the remaining 75 per cent seats. He calls himself PM Modis Experiment Boy. The grandson of late PM Lal Bahadur Shastri and BJPs national secretary, Siddharth Nath Singh, has taken the plunge into electoral politics on PM Modis insistence to redeem the image of Allahabad West, a place identified with mafia don Atiq Ahmad who has represented the constituency several times. With his clean image, Singh, one of the most visible BJP faces on TV, strives to make this experiment successful. He spoke to TNIEs Namita Bajpai about the challenges before him. Excerpts: What are the main issues of Allahabad (West)? My constituency is deeply divided along the caste and communal lines. This seat has been a battleground of mafia don-turned-politician Atiq Ahmad and BSP candidate Pooja Pal (widow of slain BSP leader Raju Pal) for quite some time. Both candidates have been winning this seat turn by turn. More or less, it has been a Muslim versus Hindu issue here with a high-level criminalisation of politics. What is the development scenario? There has been absolutely no development in this place which has seen a lot of communal politics. People are suffering from water scarcity. There are no roads to connect the villages with the city. People are craving even for the basic amenities. This seat was represented by my uncle Chaudhary Naunihal Singhji, who remained the states home minister thrice. People remember the developments during his stint, that was some 25 years ago. After that, there has been dismal development in this constituency. Why did Modiji select you for this seat? I call myself an Experiment Boy of Modiji. This is a seat where criminals have ruled the roost. Modiji asked me to contest here and give this constituency a new tag of honesty. Being the grandson of late PM Lal Bahadur Shastri, my lineage speaks for myself, my family and its honesty. I am pitted against criminalisation, communalism and non-development. Hence, I call myself the Experiment Boy of Modi ji as he has fielded me to take on caste and communal factors. If I win, Modiji will replicate this formula in other seats in 2019. Will you be the partys CM face post polls? These calls are taken by the party parliamentary board and the legislature party. As of now, I can only say that I am not thinking on those lines (laughs). What if entrusted with this responsibility? I had never thought that I will be pushed to state politics. But when the party asked me, I accepted it and came here. I am a disciplined soldier of the party. Whatever will be the party directive, I will follow it. Your take on BJP going without a CM face? Among CM faces here, Akhilesh Yadav is facing anti-incumbency. The other is Mayawati whose record of development is known to all. People will see those two faces. BJP, as a party, has one face and that is of development and good governance. So, I think the public has already taken the call. What difference will the SP-Congress alliance make? It (the alliance) shows how the Samajwadi Party has lost the plot in the ensuing elections. If you have development as you claim, you dont hand over 105 seats to a party which is non-existent. Actually, you have done nothing. As a result, you had had to spare these many seats under compulsion. How is BJP positioned vis-a-vis SP-Congress tie-up? The BJP had a sloganCongress-Mukt Bharat. In the context of UP, it could be Congress Mukt Uttar Pradesh. The Congress is fighting from only 105 seats meaning they are contesting 25 per cent of the seats. So the state is already free from the party on the remaining 75 per cent seats. Namita Bajpai By Express News Service LUCKNOW: Even as Uttar Pradesh is set to hit the assembly polls in a few days, the state will witness a Mulayam-less election for the first time in 25 years with the Samajwadi Party patriarch yet to kick off the campaign trail. One of the most vocal Samajwadis on the political landscape, Mulayam is now sitting silently with an occasional quip here and a retort there. Earlier, the SP patriarch used to cover the entire state touching every nook and corner of the state. It is believed he could identify the villages in the state while flying his chopper. Playing the party patron, a role imposed on him, the Lohia disciple is now a pale shadow of his past even as the poll scenario hots up around him. Mulayams plight doesnt need any evidence. It is well reflected by the deserted look at his residence5, VD Marg. These are the tell-tale signs. The gates now seldom open as there are hardly any visitors, said a senior SP functionary while standing in front of the SP headquarters adjacent to Mulayams house. There was a time when the Samajwadis used to throng their presidents official residence. But this time, the SP patriarch is hardly finding any visitors. The reluctance of the front office staffsitting idle throughout the day to attend the few visitors, also conveys the mood behind the gates. There are a few cars parked outside the gate as the entire rush is directed to the nearby party headquartersbustling with SP leaders and workers who are busy churning out campaign programmes and party strategies for the upcoming polls. It's the Janeshwar Mishra Trust buildingthe nerve centre of the SP's poll campaign. One of the most sought after leaders till some time back, when a battery of media persons would wait for hours outside his gates, Mulayam is now a lonely man. Ab naa to ticket mangne wale yahan aate hain aur naa hi unse milne wale. Ab saare log mukhyamantirji ke pass hi jate hain (Neither the ticket seekers nor the visitors come here. Everyone now goes to the Chief Minister), said one of his staff sitting at the gate. Mulayam, last month, lost the long-drawn battle over the party symbol to his son Akhilesh who donned the hat of party chief while carving out the role of party patron for his father. Moreover, the patriarch is finding it difficult to accept the SP pact with the Congress. Many of his loyalists and old friends have turned to other parties as an immediate fallout of the feud the Yadav family was locked in over the last four months. Though Mulayam tops the partys list of star campaigners, he is hardly invited by any leader to campaign. The veteran, however, possesses a rare knack for hogging the limelighthe keeps on issuing statements that sometimes create ripples in the SP camp. LUCKNOW: Even as Uttar Pradesh is set to hit the assembly polls in a few days, the state will witness a Mulayam-less election for the first time in 25 years with the Samajwadi Party patriarch yet to kick off the campaign trail. One of the most vocal Samajwadis on the political landscape, Mulayam is now sitting silently with an occasional quip here and a retort there. Earlier, the SP patriarch used to cover the entire state touching every nook and corner of the state. It is believed he could identify the villages in the state while flying his chopper. Playing the party patron, a role imposed on him, the Lohia disciple is now a pale shadow of his past even as the poll scenario hots up around him. Mulayams plight doesnt need any evidence. It is well reflected by the deserted look at his residence5, VD Marg. These are the tell-tale signs. The gates now seldom open as there are hardly any visitors, said a senior SP functionary while standing in front of the SP headquarters adjacent to Mulayams house. There was a time when the Samajwadis used to throng their presidents official residence. But this time, the SP patriarch is hardly finding any visitors. The reluctance of the front office staffsitting idle throughout the day to attend the few visitors, also conveys the mood behind the gates. There are a few cars parked outside the gate as the entire rush is directed to the nearby party headquartersbustling with SP leaders and workers who are busy churning out campaign programmes and party strategies for the upcoming polls. It's the Janeshwar Mishra Trust buildingthe nerve centre of the SP's poll campaign. One of the most sought after leaders till some time back, when a battery of media persons would wait for hours outside his gates, Mulayam is now a lonely man. Ab naa to ticket mangne wale yahan aate hain aur naa hi unse milne wale. Ab saare log mukhyamantirji ke pass hi jate hain (Neither the ticket seekers nor the visitors come here. Everyone now goes to the Chief Minister), said one of his staff sitting at the gate. Mulayam, last month, lost the long-drawn battle over the party symbol to his son Akhilesh who donned the hat of party chief while carving out the role of party patron for his father. Moreover, the patriarch is finding it difficult to accept the SP pact with the Congress. Many of his loyalists and old friends have turned to other parties as an immediate fallout of the feud the Yadav family was locked in over the last four months. Though Mulayam tops the partys list of star campaigners, he is hardly invited by any leader to campaign. The veteran, however, possesses a rare knack for hogging the limelighthe keeps on issuing statements that sometimes create ripples in the SP camp. By PTI MUMBAI: Senior NCP leader Ajit Pawar today claimed the BJP stalwart late Gopinath Munde wanted to cross over to the Congress along with his party MLAs, but his plan couldn't take off as then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh advised him against engineering "split" in BJP. "Munde, who was the Deputy Leader in Lok Sabha then, was ready to quit BJP and join Congress, along with legislators like Pasha Patel, Madhuri Misal, Prakash Shendge, Pankaja Munde (Munde's daughter) who too were ready to quit (BJP)," the former deputy chief minister who is nephew of NCP supremo Sharad Pawar told a news channel. He said, "Manmohan Singh opined that it was not wise to split the party (BJP) in such a manner and did not induct Munde in Congress." Munde, a BJP MP from Beed and former deputy chief minister of Maharashtra during the first stint of Sena-BJP government in 1995-1999, was appointed as Deputy Leader of Lower House in 2009 in place of Sushma Swaraj who was elevated as Leader of Opposition. "Sushma Swaraj also persuaded Munde from leaving the party," the NCP politician said, adding the BJP leaders like Devendra Fadnavis (current chief minister), Vinod Tawde and Sudhir Mungantiwar worked to ensure no MLA quit the party with Munde. Munde was the architect of OBC base of BJP as well as the rainbow alliance with Shiv Sena and three smaller parties ahead of the 2014 polls. He had briefly resigned from all organisational posts of BJP in 2008 over the appointment of key functionaries of BJP's Mumbai unit by the party's central leadership. Munde met with a road accident on June 3, 2014, while on his way to Delhi airport and died at AIIMS Hospital on the same day. Meanwhile, referring to Munde's nephew Dhananjay Munde and the latter's father late Pandit Anna Munde, Ajit said he had persuaded the duo against snapping ties with Gopinath Munde. "A year later, they met me again and expressed their wish to join NCP. Dhananjay Munde had told me that he didn't want to stay with BJP. He said the doors of other parties were open to him if he was not inducted in NCP," Ajit added. Pandit Anna had eventually joined the Sharad Pawar-led party in 2012 whereas Dhananjay, also in NCP, is currently the Leader of Opposition in Maharashtra Legislative Council. MUMBAI: Senior NCP leader Ajit Pawar today claimed the BJP stalwart late Gopinath Munde wanted to cross over to the Congress along with his party MLAs, but his plan couldn't take off as then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh advised him against engineering "split" in BJP. "Munde, who was the Deputy Leader in Lok Sabha then, was ready to quit BJP and join Congress, along with legislators like Pasha Patel, Madhuri Misal, Prakash Shendge, Pankaja Munde (Munde's daughter) who too were ready to quit (BJP)," the former deputy chief minister who is nephew of NCP supremo Sharad Pawar told a news channel. He said, "Manmohan Singh opined that it was not wise to split the party (BJP) in such a manner and did not induct Munde in Congress." Munde, a BJP MP from Beed and former deputy chief minister of Maharashtra during the first stint of Sena-BJP government in 1995-1999, was appointed as Deputy Leader of Lower House in 2009 in place of Sushma Swaraj who was elevated as Leader of Opposition. "Sushma Swaraj also persuaded Munde from leaving the party," the NCP politician said, adding the BJP leaders like Devendra Fadnavis (current chief minister), Vinod Tawde and Sudhir Mungantiwar worked to ensure no MLA quit the party with Munde. Munde was the architect of OBC base of BJP as well as the rainbow alliance with Shiv Sena and three smaller parties ahead of the 2014 polls. He had briefly resigned from all organisational posts of BJP in 2008 over the appointment of key functionaries of BJP's Mumbai unit by the party's central leadership. Munde met with a road accident on June 3, 2014, while on his way to Delhi airport and died at AIIMS Hospital on the same day. Meanwhile, referring to Munde's nephew Dhananjay Munde and the latter's father late Pandit Anna Munde, Ajit said he had persuaded the duo against snapping ties with Gopinath Munde. "A year later, they met me again and expressed their wish to join NCP. Dhananjay Munde had told me that he didn't want to stay with BJP. He said the doors of other parties were open to him if he was not inducted in NCP," Ajit added. Pandit Anna had eventually joined the Sharad Pawar-led party in 2012 whereas Dhananjay, also in NCP, is currently the Leader of Opposition in Maharashtra Legislative Council. By Express News Service NEW DELHI: The National Investigation Agency on Tuesday got police remand of three accused in the Ghorasahan (Motihari) case, the probe into which had earlier revealed the role of Pakistans covert agency the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) indirectly funding its agents to effect train derailments in India. Accused Moti Paswan, Uma Shankar Patel and Mukesh Yadav have been taken on police remand by the NIA in the Motihari case. The three accused will not be produced in the Special NIA Court, Patna on February 14, 2017, the agency said in a statement. Meanwhile, the agency is likely to approach Nepal police for questioning Kathmandu-based ISI operative Shamshul Hoda who has been deported to the Himalayan country by United Arab Emirates (UAE). Hoda is believed to be the mastermind behind the recent train derailments in India including the Kanpur incident in which nearly 150 passengers were killed and another 200 were injured. Sources said the sleuths of Indias external Intelligence agency Research and Analysis Wing will soon join the probe with Nepal police to unravel Hodas nexus with the ISI and his role in funding criminals to plant IEDs on railway tracks of the Indian Railways network. During the probe into the Motihari case by the Bihar police, the three accused Paswan, Patel and Yadav had revealed the role of ISI in train derailments in the hinterland. Recently, the Union Home Ministry had entrusted the NIA to probe Ghorasahan case, Hirakhand Express train derailment in Vizianagaram and Kanpur following prima facie materials suggesting sabotage in the rail infrastructure. The trio had claimed before the Bihar police that derailment of Indore-Patna Express train on November 20 last year near Kanpur was caused due to sabotage by Pakistan's ISI. While nearly 150 passengers lost their lives due to the derailment of the Indore-Patna Express train, 39 persons were killed in the Hirakhand Express train derailment at Vizianagaram district of Andhra Pradesh. NEW DELHI: The National Investigation Agency on Tuesday got police remand of three accused in the Ghorasahan (Motihari) case, the probe into which had earlier revealed the role of Pakistans covert agency the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) indirectly funding its agents to effect train derailments in India. Accused Moti Paswan, Uma Shankar Patel and Mukesh Yadav have been taken on police remand by the NIA in the Motihari case. The three accused will not be produced in the Special NIA Court, Patna on February 14, 2017, the agency said in a statement. Meanwhile, the agency is likely to approach Nepal police for questioning Kathmandu-based ISI operative Shamshul Hoda who has been deported to the Himalayan country by United Arab Emirates (UAE). Hoda is believed to be the mastermind behind the recent train derailments in India including the Kanpur incident in which nearly 150 passengers were killed and another 200 were injured. Sources said the sleuths of Indias external Intelligence agency Research and Analysis Wing will soon join the probe with Nepal police to unravel Hodas nexus with the ISI and his role in funding criminals to plant IEDs on railway tracks of the Indian Railways network. During the probe into the Motihari case by the Bihar police, the three accused Paswan, Patel and Yadav had revealed the role of ISI in train derailments in the hinterland. Recently, the Union Home Ministry had entrusted the NIA to probe Ghorasahan case, Hirakhand Express train derailment in Vizianagaram and Kanpur following prima facie materials suggesting sabotage in the rail infrastructure. The trio had claimed before the Bihar police that derailment of Indore-Patna Express train on November 20 last year near Kanpur was caused due to sabotage by Pakistan's ISI. While nearly 150 passengers lost their lives due to the derailment of the Indore-Patna Express train, 39 persons were killed in the Hirakhand Express train derailment at Vizianagaram district of Andhra Pradesh. By Express News Service CHANDIGARH: BSF on Tuesday shot dead a Pakistani intruder along the Indo-Pak International Border in Bamiyal sector of Pathankot in Punjab, the same spot from where terrorists had infiltrated last year to attack an Indian Air Force (IAF) base. According to sources, the Border Security Force observation post detected suspicious movements of an intruder at about 50 metres from the Simbal border post of the BSF in Bamiyal area at 8:15 AM. The troops challenged the intruder but seeing no response they fired, which killed him on the spot. Officials said as the area is witnessing heavy fog, the border troops are yet to retrieve the body from near the fence. In January last year, terrorists from across the border had infiltrated in the sector and went on to launch an audacious attack on the strategic IAF base. CHANDIGARH: BSF on Tuesday shot dead a Pakistani intruder along the Indo-Pak International Border in Bamiyal sector of Pathankot in Punjab, the same spot from where terrorists had infiltrated last year to attack an Indian Air Force (IAF) base. According to sources, the Border Security Force observation post detected suspicious movements of an intruder at about 50 metres from the Simbal border post of the BSF in Bamiyal area at 8:15 AM. The troops challenged the intruder but seeing no response they fired, which killed him on the spot. Officials said as the area is witnessing heavy fog, the border troops are yet to retrieve the body from near the fence. In January last year, terrorists from across the border had infiltrated in the sector and went on to launch an audacious attack on the strategic IAF base. Aishik Chanda By Express News Service KOLKATA: A few days before the tabling of Higher Education Bill 2017 in Bengal's Assembly, the state education minister Partha Chatterjee created a storm on Monday by comparing teachers to 'cows' and said the soon-to-be-introduced biometric attendance system in schools and colleges is a mechanism to keep the cows inside the barn. "Unruly cows would be affected by the new rule (biometric system). The good cows will not protest," he said speaking at the 45th annual seminar of West Bengal Government College Teachers Association (WBGCTA). The Mamata Banerjee government is to introduce the Higher Education Bill on February 9 of which the biometric system is one of the major components. Many of the teacher associations, including West Bengal College and University Teachers' Association (WBCUTA), have decided to take to the streets against the move that is seen by many as a means for surveillance on teachers. Many teachers protested against the biometric system at the conference and the ministers remarks came as a shock to them. "How could he compare us teachers to cows? Don't we have any power to present our reservations on a government move? "asked a teacher present at the conference. The education minister had earlier stated that he did not agree to all the clauses of the Higher Education Bill but did not divulge any further details on his own disagreement. The education minister also expressed his views on teachers, who he says are less passionate about educating the future generations and are more inclined towards politics. He reportedly also refused to share his personal phone numbers with the teachers. "Some teachers call me up for recommending the appointment of random persons in teachers' association. It seems they are more interested in politics than teaching," he said. "He is right. We are powerless cows with our hands tied. We have to compulsorily pass every student till Class VIII, thus creating an entire generation of sycophantic individuals," a primary school teacher said. Bengal had joined 20 other states in lobbying for the scrapping of the no-retention policy of Right to Education Act, 2009, saying that the quality of education is going down due to the policy. Many of the teachers' appointments in the state were made during the Left Front regime and it is considered as one of the reasons for the Trinamool government's uneasy relationship with the educators. KOLKATA: A few days before the tabling of Higher Education Bill 2017 in Bengal's Assembly, the state education minister Partha Chatterjee created a storm on Monday by comparing teachers to 'cows' and said the soon-to-be-introduced biometric attendance system in schools and colleges is a mechanism to keep the cows inside the barn. "Unruly cows would be affected by the new rule (biometric system). The good cows will not protest," he said speaking at the 45th annual seminar of West Bengal Government College Teachers Association (WBGCTA). The Mamata Banerjee government is to introduce the Higher Education Bill on February 9 of which the biometric system is one of the major components. Many of the teacher associations, including West Bengal College and University Teachers' Association (WBCUTA), have decided to take to the streets against the move that is seen by many as a means for surveillance on teachers. Many teachers protested against the biometric system at the conference and the ministers remarks came as a shock to them. "How could he compare us teachers to cows? Don't we have any power to present our reservations on a government move? "asked a teacher present at the conference. The education minister had earlier stated that he did not agree to all the clauses of the Higher Education Bill but did not divulge any further details on his own disagreement. The education minister also expressed his views on teachers, who he says are less passionate about educating the future generations and are more inclined towards politics. He reportedly also refused to share his personal phone numbers with the teachers. "Some teachers call me up for recommending the appointment of random persons in teachers' association. It seems they are more interested in politics than teaching," he said. "He is right. We are powerless cows with our hands tied. We have to compulsorily pass every student till Class VIII, thus creating an entire generation of sycophantic individuals," a primary school teacher said. Bengal had joined 20 other states in lobbying for the scrapping of the no-retention policy of Right to Education Act, 2009, saying that the quality of education is going down due to the policy. Many of the teachers' appointments in the state were made during the Left Front regime and it is considered as one of the reasons for the Trinamool government's uneasy relationship with the educators. By Express News Service VISAKHAPATNAM : Two policemen were injured, one grievously, after a drunk auto-rickshaw driver attacked them with a knife at Reddipalem village of Padmanabham mandal in Visakhapatnam district in the wee hours Monday. The victims, constable Ch Ashok Kumar and home guard G Appalaraju, are from Padmanabham police station limits. According to Padmanabham inspector YK Kishore Kumar, the two policemen who were on night patrolling saw the auto and its driver sleeping on road near the Old Theatre Junction of Reddipalem at around 1.30 am on Monday. On questioning about his whereabouts since the auto has Vizianagaram registration, the auto driver attacked the duo with the knife on the necks suddenly. Due to severe bleeding, the victims fled the spot. The injured cops were shifted to hospital by a police team after they informed the police station. They are being treated in a hospital at Vizianagaram. Ashok Kumar was operated on in the morning and is in ICU. VISAKHAPATNAM : Two policemen were injured, one grievously, after a drunk auto-rickshaw driver attacked them with a knife at Reddipalem village of Padmanabham mandal in Visakhapatnam district in the wee hours Monday. The victims, constable Ch Ashok Kumar and home guard G Appalaraju, are from Padmanabham police station limits. According to Padmanabham inspector YK Kishore Kumar, the two policemen who were on night patrolling saw the auto and its driver sleeping on road near the Old Theatre Junction of Reddipalem at around 1.30 am on Monday. On questioning about his whereabouts since the auto has Vizianagaram registration, the auto driver attacked the duo with the knife on the necks suddenly. Due to severe bleeding, the victims fled the spot. The injured cops were shifted to hospital by a police team after they informed the police station. They are being treated in a hospital at Vizianagaram. Ashok Kumar was operated on in the morning and is in ICU. By Express News Service BENGALURU: Gangster turned writer Agni Sridhars residence was on Tuesday raided by city police on charges of threatening two people, a politician and a businessman, with their life. Senior police officials also suspected that Agni Sridhar had sheltered the prime accused involved in the ambush on Dasanapura Agriculture Produce Marketing Committee (APMC) president Kadabagere Srinivas last Friday. The politician Tata Ramesh had on Wednesday complained to Yelahanka police against Sridhar regarding the life threat. Based on information that Sridhar was also harbouring a Rohit alias Onte, a close associate of Silent Sunila, prime accused in the murder attempt on Srinivas, police raided his house. Kadabagere Srinivas who is the president of Dasanapura APMC, was shot by miscreants while he was travelling in a Scorpio with two others, but escaped with minor injuries. The complainant Tata Ramesh, is a close associate of Srinivas Kadabagere. Senior officials believe that Rohith had taken the contract to plot Srinivas murder and are questioning gangster Sridhar and one of his close aides Bachhan, over the case. Yelahanka police on Monday had arrested one of the suspects Sathish, who is close to Yelahanka MLA S R Vishwanath and who during the interrogation, spilled the information on Rohith. BENGALURU: Gangster turned writer Agni Sridhars residence was on Tuesday raided by city police on charges of threatening two people, a politician and a businessman, with their life. Senior police officials also suspected that Agni Sridhar had sheltered the prime accused involved in the ambush on Dasanapura Agriculture Produce Marketing Committee (APMC) president Kadabagere Srinivas last Friday. The politician Tata Ramesh had on Wednesday complained to Yelahanka police against Sridhar regarding the life threat. Based on information that Sridhar was also harbouring a Rohit alias Onte, a close associate of Silent Sunila, prime accused in the murder attempt on Srinivas, police raided his house. Kadabagere Srinivas who is the president of Dasanapura APMC, was shot by miscreants while he was travelling in a Scorpio with two others, but escaped with minor injuries. The complainant Tata Ramesh, is a close associate of Srinivas Kadabagere. Senior officials believe that Rohith had taken the contract to plot Srinivas murder and are questioning gangster Sridhar and one of his close aides Bachhan, over the case. Yelahanka police on Monday had arrested one of the suspects Sathish, who is close to Yelahanka MLA S R Vishwanath and who during the interrogation, spilled the information on Rohith. By Express News Service BENGALURU: In a move to rein in the club class, a committee of the State Legislative Assembly has recommended stringent provisions to regulate the functioning of Bengalurus elite recreational clubs. Ironically, the committee comprising MLAs seeks to bestow upon the legislators the membership of these highly soughtafter clubs. One of its recommendations is that MLAs, MLCs and MPs be given membership of two clubs of their choice. It also recommended that exservicemen and sportspersons who represented the country be given membership of the clubs that have got land or other benefit from the state government. The House committee, headed by Congress MLA N A Haris (Congress), was constituted to look into the functioning of these prestigious clubs after complaints that they denied entry to people, including politicans, wearing Indian traditional attire like the dhoti and kurta. In many of these clubs, casual footwear and collarless T-shirts are not allowed. The committee has now recommended doing away with the dress code and also regulating the membership fee. It had recommended that the Indian attire be allowed because they are the symbols of our tradition and culture. The committee report, along with the draft of the proposed The Karnataka Regulation of Entry to Public Places and Regulation of Clubs Bill 2016, was tabled in the Assembly on Tuesday. The Bill becomes an Act after it is passed by both the Houses of the state legislature. Recommending regulating the activities of the clubs, the committee also suggested suspension of licence of a club if found guilty of carrying illegal activities. It also suggested that the land given to such clubs on concession or lease too be cancelled after giving them a hearing. The Bill seeks to empower the police officers above the rank of Inspector or a Tahsildar and taluk magistrate to conduct search or seizure in any club, if the officer has a reason to believe that it is used for gambling or any other illegal activity. The Bill says that those violating the provisions shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to six months or with fine which may extend to one lakh rupees or with both. BENGALURU: In a move to rein in the club class, a committee of the State Legislative Assembly has recommended stringent provisions to regulate the functioning of Bengalurus elite recreational clubs. Ironically, the committee comprising MLAs seeks to bestow upon the legislators the membership of these highly soughtafter clubs. One of its recommendations is that MLAs, MLCs and MPs be given membership of two clubs of their choice. It also recommended that exservicemen and sportspersons who represented the country be given membership of the clubs that have got land or other benefit from the state government. The House committee, headed by Congress MLA N A Haris (Congress), was constituted to look into the functioning of these prestigious clubs after complaints that they denied entry to people, including politicans, wearing Indian traditional attire like the dhoti and kurta. In many of these clubs, casual footwear and collarless T-shirts are not allowed. The committee has now recommended doing away with the dress code and also regulating the membership fee. It had recommended that the Indian attire be allowed because they are the symbols of our tradition and culture. The committee report, along with the draft of the proposed The Karnataka Regulation of Entry to Public Places and Regulation of Clubs Bill 2016, was tabled in the Assembly on Tuesday. The Bill becomes an Act after it is passed by both the Houses of the state legislature. Recommending regulating the activities of the clubs, the committee also suggested suspension of licence of a club if found guilty of carrying illegal activities. It also suggested that the land given to such clubs on concession or lease too be cancelled after giving them a hearing. The Bill seeks to empower the police officers above the rank of Inspector or a Tahsildar and taluk magistrate to conduct search or seizure in any club, if the officer has a reason to believe that it is used for gambling or any other illegal activity. The Bill says that those violating the provisions shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to six months or with fine which may extend to one lakh rupees or with both. Siba Mohanty By Express News Service BHUBANESWAR: The Sunki landmine blast in which eight unarmed security personnel were killed has once again brought to fore how Left Wing Extremists (LWEs) have gone after innocents in a desperate bid to regain their hold over the tribals using terror as a weapon as their turf dwindles fast. With Maoists looking at soft targets, the situation is disturbing because desperation has bred mindless violence. In Nuapada, they killed a Plus Two student whereas in Malkangiri, a 65-year-old was executed earlier this year in the cut-off areas of Chitrakonda. Most killings are on the pretext that the victims were police informers. Killing in any form is not justified but why is that only blood of poor tribals are spilled by Maoists whereas they claim to represent their rights and cause? It is a sign that the Red rebels are willing to sacrifice even their ideology to remain relevant. At least that is what the signs are, said an expert. The killing of Dasru Durua under Mathili police limits in Malkangiri last week was another such example ahead of panchayat elections. But this desperate strategy of the Maoists seems to be helping police which are fighting a grim battle. In the last two days, people in Koraput, Rayagada, Kalahandi and Nuapada took out candlelight marches to express solidarity with police after the Sunki incident. In Odisha, people support Maoists out of fear. They source money from mining companies, contractors, ganja dealers and timber mafia. Since they have been killing innocent civilians citing petty reasons, villagers are siding with police which uphold their rights, says DIG, South Western Range S Shyni. With demonetisation inflicting a heavy toll on their financial resources, their desperation has grown multi-fold since the resources are short in supply. Sources reveal that the CPI (Maoist) had demanded `2 crore from a private company which expressed its inability to pay the amount in bulk. The outlawed outfit agreed to a proposal of monthly payment by the company at the end. If that is not bad enough, the Maoist party is believed to have set collection targets for individual dalams too. An Area Committee Member arrested by State Police not so long ago was found to be in possession of `3 lakh. With tribals showing faith in the police by turning away from Maoists, the cops in the rebel strong-holds are slowly reclaiming the lost ground by adopting a changed approach which is humane. We are strict with our operational teams in ensuring that they behave well with people during search exercises. When we have to search a village, we understand that it is a bad experience for the inhabitants and so have started sending chocolates and books to distribute after search so that any negative feeling is gone. We are also telling our people to explain why we had to search. We are trying to bring in this change and it is catching up, says Shyni. BHUBANESWAR: The Sunki landmine blast in which eight unarmed security personnel were killed has once again brought to fore how Left Wing Extremists (LWEs) have gone after innocents in a desperate bid to regain their hold over the tribals using terror as a weapon as their turf dwindles fast. With Maoists looking at soft targets, the situation is disturbing because desperation has bred mindless violence. In Nuapada, they killed a Plus Two student whereas in Malkangiri, a 65-year-old was executed earlier this year in the cut-off areas of Chitrakonda. Most killings are on the pretext that the victims were police informers. Killing in any form is not justified but why is that only blood of poor tribals are spilled by Maoists whereas they claim to represent their rights and cause? It is a sign that the Red rebels are willing to sacrifice even their ideology to remain relevant. At least that is what the signs are, said an expert. The killing of Dasru Durua under Mathili police limits in Malkangiri last week was another such example ahead of panchayat elections. But this desperate strategy of the Maoists seems to be helping police which are fighting a grim battle. In the last two days, people in Koraput, Rayagada, Kalahandi and Nuapada took out candlelight marches to express solidarity with police after the Sunki incident. In Odisha, people support Maoists out of fear. They source money from mining companies, contractors, ganja dealers and timber mafia. Since they have been killing innocent civilians citing petty reasons, villagers are siding with police which uphold their rights, says DIG, South Western Range S Shyni. With demonetisation inflicting a heavy toll on their financial resources, their desperation has grown multi-fold since the resources are short in supply. Sources reveal that the CPI (Maoist) had demanded `2 crore from a private company which expressed its inability to pay the amount in bulk. The outlawed outfit agreed to a proposal of monthly payment by the company at the end. If that is not bad enough, the Maoist party is believed to have set collection targets for individual dalams too. An Area Committee Member arrested by State Police not so long ago was found to be in possession of `3 lakh. With tribals showing faith in the police by turning away from Maoists, the cops in the rebel strong-holds are slowly reclaiming the lost ground by adopting a changed approach which is humane. We are strict with our operational teams in ensuring that they behave well with people during search exercises. When we have to search a village, we understand that it is a bad experience for the inhabitants and so have started sending chocolates and books to distribute after search so that any negative feeling is gone. We are also telling our people to explain why we had to search. We are trying to bring in this change and it is catching up, says Shyni. By Express News Service CHENNAI: Even as her swearing-in is awaiting the nod from the governor, AIADMK general secretary VK Sasikala today (Tuesday) faced trouble from within, after former Assembly Speaker PH Pandian, one of the founder members of the AIADMK, questioned the validity of her election as the party chief. He was addressing a hurriedly-convened press conference on Tuesday, along with his son and former Rajya Sabha M, advocate Manoj Pandian. Pandian, a lawyer and a loyalist of late chief minister J Jayalalithaa, pointed out that when the bylaws were framed in 1972 in the presence of party founder MG Ramachandran, it was made clear that the general secretary should be elected directly by the grassroots members and not by the general council [Rule 20(2)]. The bylaws also made it unambiguous that this particular section should not be repealed at any time or even amended. Hence, Sasikalas election by the general council consisting of around 2,500 members was not legal, said the party veteran. Sasikalas election, which is already questioned before the Election Commission, is subject to scrutiny. Until the EC clears her appointment, all proceedings including her election as the temporary general secretary and as chief minister are illegal, added Manoj Pandian. Noting that she was elected under rule 19 (8) as general secretary, Manoj said this rule does not speak about the appointment of general secretary, more so about a temporary general secretary. This rule says that the general council can frame the policies and programmes of the party, which is binding on the cadre. So until a new general secretary is elected by the members of the party, Sasikala has no powers to appoint or remove any office bearer. Rule 20 (5) provides that when the general secretary post become vacant, the office bearers appointed by the previous general secretary will continue to hold office. As such Sasikala has no authority to allot or authorise two leaves symbol to any person in the party, Manoj Pandian added. The father- son duo also raised doubts about Jayalalithaas death, raising allegations against Sasikala for her sudden illness on September 22. This came a day after the team of doctors including Dr Richard Beale from UK who treated the late chief minister addressed the media to answer questions on her untimely death. CHENNAI: Even as her swearing-in is awaiting the nod from the governor, AIADMK general secretary VK Sasikala today (Tuesday) faced trouble from within, after former Assembly Speaker PH Pandian, one of the founder members of the AIADMK, questioned the validity of her election as the party chief. He was addressing a hurriedly-convened press conference on Tuesday, along with his son and former Rajya Sabha M, advocate Manoj Pandian. Pandian, a lawyer and a loyalist of late chief minister J Jayalalithaa, pointed out that when the bylaws were framed in 1972 in the presence of party founder MG Ramachandran, it was made clear that the general secretary should be elected directly by the grassroots members and not by the general council [Rule 20(2)]. The bylaws also made it unambiguous that this particular section should not be repealed at any time or even amended. Hence, Sasikalas election by the general council consisting of around 2,500 members was not legal, said the party veteran. Sasikalas election, which is already questioned before the Election Commission, is subject to scrutiny. Until the EC clears her appointment, all proceedings including her election as the temporary general secretary and as chief minister are illegal, added Manoj Pandian. Noting that she was elected under rule 19 (8) as general secretary, Manoj said this rule does not speak about the appointment of general secretary, more so about a temporary general secretary. This rule says that the general council can frame the policies and programmes of the party, which is binding on the cadre. So until a new general secretary is elected by the members of the party, Sasikala has no powers to appoint or remove any office bearer. Rule 20 (5) provides that when the general secretary post become vacant, the office bearers appointed by the previous general secretary will continue to hold office. As such Sasikala has no authority to allot or authorise two leaves symbol to any person in the party, Manoj Pandian added. The father- son duo also raised doubts about Jayalalithaas death, raising allegations against Sasikala for her sudden illness on September 22. This came a day after the team of doctors including Dr Richard Beale from UK who treated the late chief minister addressed the media to answer questions on her untimely death. Ram M Sundaram By Express News Service CHENNAI: In the age of social media, rumours pass off as facts and before verifying their authenticity, the damage seems to be done due to the wildfire nature of the platform. Be it governments vaccination drive or new currency coins, the consequences are almost irreversible and Anna University was no exception to it. Last semester, many students did not turn up for an on-campus placements believing rumours that the session was cancelled at the last minute. In an attempt to curb this, the university has framed new set of rules blacklisting students found spreading such rumours. The circular sent to students in this regard even goes a step ahead by announcing that students who accepted false information without verifying it with the placement cell, will be barred from placements. Mostly these rumours were spread by students who were either not eligible to attend placements or by those who were earlier rejected by the companies, said a senior university official requesting anonymity. Nearly 250 placement representatives were selected among the student fraternity in all four university department -College of Engineering, Alagappa College of Technology, School of Architecture and Planning in Guindy and Madras Institute of Technology, Chrompet. They were made part of a WhatsApp group in which all placement-related information was put out by the authorities concerned. Despite instructing students not to take up any messages outside this group seriously, many dont turn up believing fake messages on companys profile and their HR policies. CHENNAI: In the age of social media, rumours pass off as facts and before verifying their authenticity, the damage seems to be done due to the wildfire nature of the platform. Be it governments vaccination drive or new currency coins, the consequences are almost irreversible and Anna University was no exception to it. Last semester, many students did not turn up for an on-campus placements believing rumours that the session was cancelled at the last minute. In an attempt to curb this, the university has framed new set of rules blacklisting students found spreading such rumours. The circular sent to students in this regard even goes a step ahead by announcing that students who accepted false information without verifying it with the placement cell, will be barred from placements. Mostly these rumours were spread by students who were either not eligible to attend placements or by those who were earlier rejected by the companies, said a senior university official requesting anonymity. Nearly 250 placement representatives were selected among the student fraternity in all four university department -College of Engineering, Alagappa College of Technology, School of Architecture and Planning in Guindy and Madras Institute of Technology, Chrompet. They were made part of a WhatsApp group in which all placement-related information was put out by the authorities concerned. Despite instructing students not to take up any messages outside this group seriously, many dont turn up believing fake messages on companys profile and their HR policies. By Express News Service CHENNAI: With rumours refusing to die down even two months after the demise of former Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa, the State government on Monday organised a press meet to address questions about her final days in the hospital. A team of doctors, led by UK-based Dr Richard Beale, answered a volley of questions on the treatment administered and the nature of her death. Asserting that the treatment given to her was transparent, the doctors rubbished rumours that her legs were amputated or that she underwent an organ transplant. On September 22, Jaya was rushed to the hospital in an ambulance after she suffered severe shortness of breath. Her condition was stabilised.was also put on sedatives, said Dr Beale. On the sudden manner in which she fell ill, he said there was nothing unusual, given her co-morbid conditions like diabetes, hypertension and sepsis. Sepsis, which can set in a matter just two days, had affected her heart, lungs and other organs. Coupled with her uncontrolled diabetes and high blood pressure, it was a challenging task, he said. Recovery from sepsis is a long process she collapsed after showing progress in the early stage, said Dr Beale. Being put on sleeping pills, Jaya was drowsy during the initial stages. But she was talking about a week later. After being on and off ventilator, she was taken off from ventilator after tracheostomy was done. Jaya was then shifted to the ICU and then to a room where she was undergoing physiotherapy, said Dr Babu Abraham, senior consultant in ICU of Apollo Hospital. Dr Abraham added that they were allowed to share only limited information due to client confidentiality and privacy they owed to the late Chief Minister. Addressing the media, Dr Sudha Seshaiyyan, Director of Anatomy, Madras Medical College, said it was usual to embalm the bodies of VIPs so as to keep them for the public to pay homage and the procedure has been done before in many other cases. 1. What were those four dots on Jayalalithaas cheek (as seen in photos of the body in social media)? Dr Sudha Seshayyan, Director of Anatomy, Madras Medical College: I did not see any prominent marks on her cheeks as in the picture that was doing the rounds in social media. But I had noticed three to four ecchymotic spots (they are caused by the escape of blood into the tissues from ruptured blood vessels) on her right cheek while embalming. But they were not deep. 2. The Madras High Court observed that exhuming Jayalalithaas body could clear the doubts. What is your opinion (on exhuming the body)? Dr Richard Beale, Consultant Intensivist from London Bridge Hospital: It is a ridiculous idea. 3. There were rumours of slow poisoning of Jayalalithaa. Dr Richard Beale: No question of poisoning. I really do not know what you are talking about. When I treated her, it was a clear case of sepsis. 4. Could you please give us the timeline on her last minute treatment? Dr Balaji, Professor of Minimal Access Surgery, Madras Medical College: On December 4, around 5 pm she suffered cardiac arrest while in the room. CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) was started immediately. Resuscitation done for at least 20 minutes. Since we did not get heart rhythm, we shifted her to operation theatre around 9 pm and an ECMO procedure was done. After 24 hours, since it is a time limit to see if it works or not, the ECMO was withdrawn after consultation with senior ministers, AIIMS doctors and chief secretary. 5. Were there any plans to shift her to London for treatment? Dr Richard Beale: Yes, it was discussed in depth and put on review at early stage, when she was unconscious. It is risky to shift any critical patient to such long distance. Also, there was no procedure that was not available here that she could get in UK. There was an expert team and good medical care. Again, when she was awake and conscious, she herself did not want to move. 6. What is the reason for holding a press conference now, two months after Jayalalithaas death. Were you not available earlier? Dr Richard Beale: My availability is limited, but I would have come, if the government had facilitated such a press conference. But, it was facilitated now, they want me here and I am here. 7. What was the problem she was suffering from? Dr Richard Beale: On September 22, she became short of breath at home. Ambulance was called and she was brought to the hospital. She was diagnosed with respiratory failure, urinary tract infection. First round of blood tests showed she had bacterial infection in the blood. Recovery of sepsis is a long process and it was also damaging her organs. 8. To whom was the hospital giving daily updates on Jayalalithaas treatment? Dr Balaji: Updates were given to Sasikala, State minister, M Thambidurai, the deputy speaker of the Lok Sabha. They were given briefings in the Apollo Hospitals Chairmans office daily. 9. Did the Governor meet her? Dr Balaji: The Governor once saw her in the ICU through a glass door and Jayalalithaa also showed a thumbs up sign. He was briefed about the treatment provided to her. She would be asked if she was willing to meet the visitor and they were allowed in only if she said yes. 10. Why were not any photographs or videographs released? Dr Richard Beale: Maintaining confidentiality of the patient is important. Back in the UK, we do not release any photographs or CCTV footage of sick patients admitted to the ICU. 11. Was she interacting? Dr Richard Beale: Though she was on sedatives during the initial stages, she regained consciousness later. She was weak. She was interacting with sign language. She could even make lip movement, that we clearly understood and responded to. She even asked for food, she watched TV. 12. Who signed the election papers? Dr Balaji, who attested Jayalalithaas thumb impression: She was conscious, on IV fluids, her hand was swollen, so she was not able to sign the papers. She read the papers. In the presence of Dr Babu Abraham I attested her thumb impression. 13. Was anyone present when Jaya suffered cardiac arrest? Dr Balaji: It was a witnessed cardiac arrest. The duty doctor was present at the room, so resuscitation was done immediately. 14. What is the total bill for Jayas treatment? Dr Balaji: The medical bill was around C5-5.5 crore. CHENNAI: With rumours refusing to die down even two months after the demise of former Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa, the State government on Monday organised a press meet to address questions about her final days in the hospital. A team of doctors, led by UK-based Dr Richard Beale, answered a volley of questions on the treatment administered and the nature of her death. Asserting that the treatment given to her was transparent, the doctors rubbished rumours that her legs were amputated or that she underwent an organ transplant. On September 22, Jaya was rushed to the hospital in an ambulance after she suffered severe shortness of breath. Her condition was stabilised.was also put on sedatives, said Dr Beale. On the sudden manner in which she fell ill, he said there was nothing unusual, given her co-morbid conditions like diabetes, hypertension and sepsis. Sepsis, which can set in a matter just two days, had affected her heart, lungs and other organs. Coupled with her uncontrolled diabetes and high blood pressure, it was a challenging task, he said. Recovery from sepsis is a long process she collapsed after showing progress in the early stage, said Dr Beale. Being put on sleeping pills, Jaya was drowsy during the initial stages. But she was talking about a week later. After being on and off ventilator, she was taken off from ventilator after tracheostomy was done. Jaya was then shifted to the ICU and then to a room where she was undergoing physiotherapy, said Dr Babu Abraham, senior consultant in ICU of Apollo Hospital. Dr Abraham added that they were allowed to share only limited information due to client confidentiality and privacy they owed to the late Chief Minister. Addressing the media, Dr Sudha Seshaiyyan, Director of Anatomy, Madras Medical College, said it was usual to embalm the bodies of VIPs so as to keep them for the public to pay homage and the procedure has been done before in many other cases. 1. What were those four dots on Jayalalithaas cheek (as seen in photos of the body in social media)? Dr Sudha Seshayyan, Director of Anatomy, Madras Medical College: I did not see any prominent marks on her cheeks as in the picture that was doing the rounds in social media. But I had noticed three to four ecchymotic spots (they are caused by the escape of blood into the tissues from ruptured blood vessels) on her right cheek while embalming. But they were not deep. 2. The Madras High Court observed that exhuming Jayalalithaas body could clear the doubts. What is your opinion (on exhuming the body)? Dr Richard Beale, Consultant Intensivist from London Bridge Hospital: It is a ridiculous idea. 3. There were rumours of slow poisoning of Jayalalithaa. Dr Richard Beale: No question of poisoning. I really do not know what you are talking about. When I treated her, it was a clear case of sepsis. 4. Could you please give us the timeline on her last minute treatment? Dr Balaji, Professor of Minimal Access Surgery, Madras Medical College: On December 4, around 5 pm she suffered cardiac arrest while in the room. CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) was started immediately. Resuscitation done for at least 20 minutes. Since we did not get heart rhythm, we shifted her to operation theatre around 9 pm and an ECMO procedure was done. After 24 hours, since it is a time limit to see if it works or not, the ECMO was withdrawn after consultation with senior ministers, AIIMS doctors and chief secretary. 5. Were there any plans to shift her to London for treatment? Dr Richard Beale: Yes, it was discussed in depth and put on review at early stage, when she was unconscious. It is risky to shift any critical patient to such long distance. Also, there was no procedure that was not available here that she could get in UK. There was an expert team and good medical care. Again, when she was awake and conscious, she herself did not want to move. 6. What is the reason for holding a press conference now, two months after Jayalalithaas death. Were you not available earlier? Dr Richard Beale: My availability is limited, but I would have come, if the government had facilitated such a press conference. But, it was facilitated now, they want me here and I am here. 7. What was the problem she was suffering from? Dr Richard Beale: On September 22, she became short of breath at home. Ambulance was called and she was brought to the hospital. She was diagnosed with respiratory failure, urinary tract infection. First round of blood tests showed she had bacterial infection in the blood. Recovery of sepsis is a long process and it was also damaging her organs. 8. To whom was the hospital giving daily updates on Jayalalithaas treatment? Dr Balaji: Updates were given to Sasikala, State minister, M Thambidurai, the deputy speaker of the Lok Sabha. They were given briefings in the Apollo Hospitals Chairmans office daily. 9. Did the Governor meet her? Dr Balaji: The Governor once saw her in the ICU through a glass door and Jayalalithaa also showed a thumbs up sign. He was briefed about the treatment provided to her. She would be asked if she was willing to meet the visitor and they were allowed in only if she said yes. 10. Why were not any photographs or videographs released? Dr Richard Beale: Maintaining confidentiality of the patient is important. Back in the UK, we do not release any photographs or CCTV footage of sick patients admitted to the ICU. 11. Was she interacting? Dr Richard Beale: Though she was on sedatives during the initial stages, she regained consciousness later. She was weak. She was interacting with sign language. She could even make lip movement, that we clearly understood and responded to. She even asked for food, she watched TV. 12. Who signed the election papers? Dr Balaji, who attested Jayalalithaas thumb impression: She was conscious, on IV fluids, her hand was swollen, so she was not able to sign the papers. She read the papers. In the presence of Dr Babu Abraham I attested her thumb impression. 13. Was anyone present when Jaya suffered cardiac arrest? Dr Balaji: It was a witnessed cardiac arrest. The duty doctor was present at the room, so resuscitation was done immediately. 14. What is the total bill for Jayas treatment? Dr Balaji: The medical bill was around C5-5.5 crore. By IANS NEW DELHI: Almost 13 years after his elimination, the senior police officer who spearheaded the Tamil Nadu Special Task Force (STF) that planned and executed bandit Veerappan's killing during Operation Cocoon, has said that the dreaded outlaw had a strange "sixth sense". "On one occasion, a lizard fell on his left shoulder from a tree and this man believed it was a sign of bad luck. So he turned around and left immediately, avoiding a reception team waiting with an LMG (light machine gun). "He had also rolled cowrie shells while the fate of his victim hung in balance. He even killed a person as a police informer as the number on cowrie shells was odd," K. Vijay Kumar told IANS in an interview. Kumar's upcoming book, "Veerappan: Chasing the Brigand", is a lucid and incisive account of the rise and fall of India's most dreaded forest brigand. It will be released on Wednesday by Home Minister Rajnath Singh. The decorated retired IPS officer further said that Veerapan's lucky escapes and 11th hour U-turns are a galore. Citing one example, he said a barber who gave Veerapan a close shave had an equally close save with the STF. "He threw away his kit and the two young officers could not identify him. Only if they had smelt his hands, which was smelling of soap, the bandit's CV would have been shorter," said Kumar. Kumar, a 1975 batch IPS officer from the Tamil Nadu cadre, headed the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel National Police Academy in Hyderabad in 2008 and served as the Director General of Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) from 2010 to 2012. He is currently Senior Security Adviser in the Home Ministry. Revealing more about Operation Cocoon, Kumar said the STF was tipped off by an influential businessman who had links with the radicals in Sri Lanka. This businessman was helping Veerapan with information and other logistical support. "He was worried about his image. His crime was not exactly sedition, but came within a whisker. Such fringe elements fluently inhabit the underground. The axiom is 'a third class guy with first class intel is higher up in protocol than a first class guy with a third class intel'. So our doing business with him was fine," Kumar contended. Veerapan's eyesight was failing and the businessman was supposed to arrange for a cataract operation. The STF then tutored the businessman about the plan, which led to the final encounter with Veerapan. The details of this encounter are set to be unveiled in "Veerappan: Chasing the Brigand". The book traces his dramatic rise from a small-time poacher and sandalwood smuggler to a brutal fugitive who held three states to ransom for two decades. But how does Kumar look at Veerapan? "Not contemptuously.There was no animus. I had a job to do: to fix him. I tried to be as detached as is practically possible but this does not mean I ever erased from my mind the toxicity of his presence and heavy attrition he caused. "I never diminished him -- except for the morale of my force, just so he was not seen as '10-feet tall'. There's nothing STF can't do, such good men it had, but deep down I worried about his next darshan and Houdini trick," he shared. The ruthless killings and high-profile kidnappings masterminded by Veerappan, including the 108-day ordeal involving Kannada cinema superstar Rajkumar, are described in fascinating detail in Kumar's book. "As a standard practice, his caricature adorned our shooting targets. I can't say if it improved our marksmanship or was just cathartic. Secretly, I kept a picture of him in my table drawer -- probably mimicking General (later Field Marshal Bernard Law) Montgomery who kept on his table a picture of his adversary (German Field Marshal Ervin) Rommel, the Desert Fox -- till he defeated him," added Kumar. One question remains: What took Kumar 13 long years to pen this book? "Why not? I got stuck with things. If I had wanted to stir up a sensation, the very next year would have been the best. But I guess time and distance also lend objectivity, clarity and hopefully, enchantment," he said. Despite the time lag, there are a lot of insights into the encounter that only a handful can share. The book, in all probability, would not lack in adrenaline-triggering moments. NEW DELHI: Almost 13 years after his elimination, the senior police officer who spearheaded the Tamil Nadu Special Task Force (STF) that planned and executed bandit Veerappan's killing during Operation Cocoon, has said that the dreaded outlaw had a strange "sixth sense". "On one occasion, a lizard fell on his left shoulder from a tree and this man believed it was a sign of bad luck. So he turned around and left immediately, avoiding a reception team waiting with an LMG (light machine gun). "He had also rolled cowrie shells while the fate of his victim hung in balance. He even killed a person as a police informer as the number on cowrie shells was odd," K. Vijay Kumar told IANS in an interview. Kumar's upcoming book, "Veerappan: Chasing the Brigand", is a lucid and incisive account of the rise and fall of India's most dreaded forest brigand. It will be released on Wednesday by Home Minister Rajnath Singh. The decorated retired IPS officer further said that Veerapan's lucky escapes and 11th hour U-turns are a galore. Citing one example, he said a barber who gave Veerapan a close shave had an equally close save with the STF. "He threw away his kit and the two young officers could not identify him. Only if they had smelt his hands, which was smelling of soap, the bandit's CV would have been shorter," said Kumar. Kumar, a 1975 batch IPS officer from the Tamil Nadu cadre, headed the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel National Police Academy in Hyderabad in 2008 and served as the Director General of Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) from 2010 to 2012. He is currently Senior Security Adviser in the Home Ministry. Revealing more about Operation Cocoon, Kumar said the STF was tipped off by an influential businessman who had links with the radicals in Sri Lanka. This businessman was helping Veerapan with information and other logistical support. "He was worried about his image. His crime was not exactly sedition, but came within a whisker. Such fringe elements fluently inhabit the underground. The axiom is 'a third class guy with first class intel is higher up in protocol than a first class guy with a third class intel'. So our doing business with him was fine," Kumar contended. Veerapan's eyesight was failing and the businessman was supposed to arrange for a cataract operation. The STF then tutored the businessman about the plan, which led to the final encounter with Veerapan. The details of this encounter are set to be unveiled in "Veerappan: Chasing the Brigand". The book traces his dramatic rise from a small-time poacher and sandalwood smuggler to a brutal fugitive who held three states to ransom for two decades. But how does Kumar look at Veerapan? "Not contemptuously.There was no animus. I had a job to do: to fix him. I tried to be as detached as is practically possible but this does not mean I ever erased from my mind the toxicity of his presence and heavy attrition he caused. "I never diminished him -- except for the morale of my force, just so he was not seen as '10-feet tall'. There's nothing STF can't do, such good men it had, but deep down I worried about his next darshan and Houdini trick," he shared. The ruthless killings and high-profile kidnappings masterminded by Veerappan, including the 108-day ordeal involving Kannada cinema superstar Rajkumar, are described in fascinating detail in Kumar's book. "As a standard practice, his caricature adorned our shooting targets. I can't say if it improved our marksmanship or was just cathartic. Secretly, I kept a picture of him in my table drawer -- probably mimicking General (later Field Marshal Bernard Law) Montgomery who kept on his table a picture of his adversary (German Field Marshal Ervin) Rommel, the Desert Fox -- till he defeated him," added Kumar. One question remains: What took Kumar 13 long years to pen this book? "Why not? I got stuck with things. If I had wanted to stir up a sensation, the very next year would have been the best. But I guess time and distance also lend objectivity, clarity and hopefully, enchantment," he said. Despite the time lag, there are a lot of insights into the encounter that only a handful can share. The book, in all probability, would not lack in adrenaline-triggering moments. By Express News Service CHENNAI: The Chief Minister O Panneerselvam on Tuesday took strong exception to the inhumane act of the Sri Lankan Navy arresting 10 distressed Ramanathapuram district fishermen on a stalled boat in mid-sea. With this arrest, Sri Lanka had 35 fishermen in custody and the number of seized boats 120. OPS, in his letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, urged him to ensure the immediate release of these fishermen and their boats. In particular, the 10 fishermen held on Tuesday should be freed on humanitarian grounds without filing any case. OPS said the boat in which seven fishermen were had a technical snag and the boat was drifting in mid-sea. Three fishermen from another boat boarded the stranded vessel to set the engine defect right when all the 10 were arrested by the Lankan Navy. This is an instance where our fishermen on a boat in distress have been arrested. This is an unacceptable and inhumane act, the Chief Minister added. OPS said long periods of disuse of boats seized by Sri Lanka and the onslaught of monsoon during the past two years would have caused heavy damage to the impounded boats and equipment. He said the boats should be released and restored by the Centre soon. Meanwhile, the AIADMK general secretary VK Sasikala also wrote a letter to the Prime Minister on this problem. CHENNAI: The Chief Minister O Panneerselvam on Tuesday took strong exception to the inhumane act of the Sri Lankan Navy arresting 10 distressed Ramanathapuram district fishermen on a stalled boat in mid-sea. With this arrest, Sri Lanka had 35 fishermen in custody and the number of seized boats 120. OPS, in his letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, urged him to ensure the immediate release of these fishermen and their boats. In particular, the 10 fishermen held on Tuesday should be freed on humanitarian grounds without filing any case. OPS said the boat in which seven fishermen were had a technical snag and the boat was drifting in mid-sea. Three fishermen from another boat boarded the stranded vessel to set the engine defect right when all the 10 were arrested by the Lankan Navy. This is an instance where our fishermen on a boat in distress have been arrested. This is an unacceptable and inhumane act, the Chief Minister added. OPS said long periods of disuse of boats seized by Sri Lanka and the onslaught of monsoon during the past two years would have caused heavy damage to the impounded boats and equipment. He said the boats should be released and restored by the Centre soon. Meanwhile, the AIADMK general secretary VK Sasikala also wrote a letter to the Prime Minister on this problem. By Express News Service VIJAYAWADA/HYDERABAD: Water war between Andhra Pradesh and its neighbour Karnataka is likely to be revived with the latter deciding to construct four lift irrigation projects on river Krishna and the State government, taking a serious view of the same, all set to lodge a complaint with the Union Water Resources Ministry. Telangana, which too stands to be affected, is moving to knock on the Centre's doors. Karnataka has decided to increase the height of the Almatti dam from 519.60 metres to 524.256 and construct four lift irrigation projects as part of the stage-3 of Upper Krishna River Project. It means lower riparian states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana will be left with very little water. The prospect of reduced inflow of river Krishna, the lifeline of farmers in the State, and which slakes the thirst of several districts, has had the government worried. Devineni Umamaheswara Rao, Water Resources Minister, told Express it was not proper on the part of the Karnataka government to go ahead with four more lift irrigation projects at this juncture when the issue of river water sharing was still pending before the Supreme Court. We will lodge a complaint with Union Minister of Water Resources and ensure that no injustice is done to the State, he said. Farmers leaders like Y Nagendranath and irrigation experts like MVS Nagi Reddy cried foul over Karnatakas move. We saw what happened last year, when there were inflows in Krishna river with no rains in upper catchment areas. Now, if the height of the dam is increased and lifts constructed over the river, both Telugu states have to fight for water to meet their drinking water needs, Nagi Reddy explained. Nagendranath said they had feared a situation like this would arise when the proposal to increase the height of Almatti was first made. The issue was even explained to the Srikrishna Committee before bifurcation of the State, and it was asked to resolve inter-state river disputes first, he recalled. Our worst fears are coming true. We have to fight for our rights with the Centre to prevent the state becoming a vast dryland, he said. Karnataka will be using 21 tmc assured waters above its original allocation of 670 tmc assured waters in Krishna river for the four lift irrigation projects. It intends to build lift irrigation projects at Peerapur, Nandavadgi, Ramathal and Timmpaur. It has already constructed projects to use 670 tmc assured waters. Now, the 21 tmc is the extra share it will get due to the diversion of Godavari waters to the Krishna delta by the AP government through Polavaram. According to the Brijesh Kumar Tribunal's order, the upper riparian states will get 80 tmc extra quota in Krishna river, after Polavaram project is completed. Accordingly, Karnataka will get 21 tmc, Maharashtra 14 tmc and the remaining 45 tmc will be used within AP above the Nagarjunasagar Project. The Telangana government has also decided to approach the Centre against Karnataka's move. Its contention is that the Brijesh Kumar Tribunal is as good as non-existent now. Its final verdict is pending implementation due to the cases in the Supreme Court. There is a stay order on implementing its order. The order itself is yet to be notified. When this is the situation, Karnataka cannot increase the height of Almatti unilaterally, an official in the TS irrigation department told Express. VIJAYAWADA/HYDERABAD: Water war between Andhra Pradesh and its neighbour Karnataka is likely to be revived with the latter deciding to construct four lift irrigation projects on river Krishna and the State government, taking a serious view of the same, all set to lodge a complaint with the Union Water Resources Ministry. Telangana, which too stands to be affected, is moving to knock on the Centre's doors. Karnataka has decided to increase the height of the Almatti dam from 519.60 metres to 524.256 and construct four lift irrigation projects as part of the stage-3 of Upper Krishna River Project. It means lower riparian states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana will be left with very little water. The prospect of reduced inflow of river Krishna, the lifeline of farmers in the State, and which slakes the thirst of several districts, has had the government worried. Devineni Umamaheswara Rao, Water Resources Minister, told Express it was not proper on the part of the Karnataka government to go ahead with four more lift irrigation projects at this juncture when the issue of river water sharing was still pending before the Supreme Court. We will lodge a complaint with Union Minister of Water Resources and ensure that no injustice is done to the State, he said. Farmers leaders like Y Nagendranath and irrigation experts like MVS Nagi Reddy cried foul over Karnatakas move. We saw what happened last year, when there were inflows in Krishna river with no rains in upper catchment areas. Now, if the height of the dam is increased and lifts constructed over the river, both Telugu states have to fight for water to meet their drinking water needs, Nagi Reddy explained. Nagendranath said they had feared a situation like this would arise when the proposal to increase the height of Almatti was first made. The issue was even explained to the Srikrishna Committee before bifurcation of the State, and it was asked to resolve inter-state river disputes first, he recalled. Our worst fears are coming true. We have to fight for our rights with the Centre to prevent the state becoming a vast dryland, he said. Karnataka will be using 21 tmc assured waters above its original allocation of 670 tmc assured waters in Krishna river for the four lift irrigation projects. It intends to build lift irrigation projects at Peerapur, Nandavadgi, Ramathal and Timmpaur. It has already constructed projects to use 670 tmc assured waters. Now, the 21 tmc is the extra share it will get due to the diversion of Godavari waters to the Krishna delta by the AP government through Polavaram. According to the Brijesh Kumar Tribunal's order, the upper riparian states will get 80 tmc extra quota in Krishna river, after Polavaram project is completed. Accordingly, Karnataka will get 21 tmc, Maharashtra 14 tmc and the remaining 45 tmc will be used within AP above the Nagarjunasagar Project. The Telangana government has also decided to approach the Centre against Karnataka's move. Its contention is that the Brijesh Kumar Tribunal is as good as non-existent now. Its final verdict is pending implementation due to the cases in the Supreme Court. There is a stay order on implementing its order. The order itself is yet to be notified. When this is the situation, Karnataka cannot increase the height of Almatti unilaterally, an official in the TS irrigation department told Express. By AFP Kabul, Feb 5 (AFP) More than a 100 people have been killed in a series of avalanches triggered by days of heavy snowfall around Afghanistan, including 50 in one village, officials said today, warning the death toll could rise still further. The avalanches struck after three days of heavy snow, which has destroyed scores of homes and blocked roads mainly in central and northeastern provinces, making it difficult for rescue workers to reach the stricken villages. The bulk of the deaths however occurred in remote Nuristan province, where at least 50 people were killed in a single village, Mohammad Omar Mohammadi a spokesman for the ministry of natural disaster told AFP. "Avalanches have buried two entire villages in Bargmatal district, 50 bodies were recovered from one village while rescuers are trying to reach the other village," said the spokesman. Elsewhere 54 people were killed in northern and central Afghan provinces, where officials said massive avalanches destroyed 168 houses and killed hundreds of cattle. Bad weather and deep snow had hampered efforts of rescue workers to reach the isolated villages, raising fears the toll could rise sharply, according to officials. In Badakhshan province also in the northeast of the country, at least 18 people, including three women and two children, were killed when avalanches struck their houses overnight, said provincial spokesman Naweed Frotan. "Several dozens are still trapped, we are trying to rescue them," he said, adding that many roads were still blocked. Five people were killed by avalanches in the Balkhab district of Sari Pul province in northern Afghanistan and at least 70 people trapped under the snow were being rescued, said provincial spokesman Zabiullah Amani. "The roads to Balkhab are still blocked and we are trying to open them," he said. Freezing weather killed at least two people and over 100 animals in the western province of Badghis. In Parwan province just north of Kabul, the spokesman for governor Wahid Sediqqi said 16 people died. The government declared today, a normal working day in Afghanistan, to be a public holiday to deter non-essential travel and ensure schools were closed. Unusually, snow even fell in the southern province of Kandahar. Deadly avalanches are common in Afghanistan's mountainous areas in winter and rescue efforts are frequently hampered by lack of equipment. Last month heavy snowfall and freezing weather killed 27 children, all under the age of five, in Jawzjan province in northern Afghanistan. Kabul, Feb 5 (AFP) More than a 100 people have been killed in a series of avalanches triggered by days of heavy snowfall around Afghanistan, including 50 in one village, officials said today, warning the death toll could rise still further. The avalanches struck after three days of heavy snow, which has destroyed scores of homes and blocked roads mainly in central and northeastern provinces, making it difficult for rescue workers to reach the stricken villages. The bulk of the deaths however occurred in remote Nuristan province, where at least 50 people were killed in a single village, Mohammad Omar Mohammadi a spokesman for the ministry of natural disaster told AFP. "Avalanches have buried two entire villages in Bargmatal district, 50 bodies were recovered from one village while rescuers are trying to reach the other village," said the spokesman. Elsewhere 54 people were killed in northern and central Afghan provinces, where officials said massive avalanches destroyed 168 houses and killed hundreds of cattle. Bad weather and deep snow had hampered efforts of rescue workers to reach the isolated villages, raising fears the toll could rise sharply, according to officials. In Badakhshan province also in the northeast of the country, at least 18 people, including three women and two children, were killed when avalanches struck their houses overnight, said provincial spokesman Naweed Frotan. "Several dozens are still trapped, we are trying to rescue them," he said, adding that many roads were still blocked. Five people were killed by avalanches in the Balkhab district of Sari Pul province in northern Afghanistan and at least 70 people trapped under the snow were being rescued, said provincial spokesman Zabiullah Amani. "The roads to Balkhab are still blocked and we are trying to open them," he said. Freezing weather killed at least two people and over 100 animals in the western province of Badghis. In Parwan province just north of Kabul, the spokesman for governor Wahid Sediqqi said 16 people died. The government declared today, a normal working day in Afghanistan, to be a public holiday to deter non-essential travel and ensure schools were closed. Unusually, snow even fell in the southern province of Kandahar. Deadly avalanches are common in Afghanistan's mountainous areas in winter and rescue efforts are frequently hampered by lack of equipment. Last month heavy snowfall and freezing weather killed 27 children, all under the age of five, in Jawzjan province in northern Afghanistan. By ANI ISLAMABAD: In a meeting with National Assembly Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq, Egyptian Ambassador to Pakistan Sherif Shaheen has expressed the countrys desire to join the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). According to a press release, the Egyptian envoy called on the Speaker at the Parliament House on Thursday, reports the Dawn. Talking to the media after the meeting, Sadiq said that Egypts participation in CPEC would assign substantive meanings to the transcontinental game-changer project by connecting the economic corridor to Africa, Europe and the Middle East. Welcoming Egypts proposal to join CPEC, the Speaker said it would open a new channel of unhindered flow of trade between Africa and China. ISLAMABAD: In a meeting with National Assembly Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq, Egyptian Ambassador to Pakistan Sherif Shaheen has expressed the countrys desire to join the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). According to a press release, the Egyptian envoy called on the Speaker at the Parliament House on Thursday, reports the Dawn. Talking to the media after the meeting, Sadiq said that Egypts participation in CPEC would assign substantive meanings to the transcontinental game-changer project by connecting the economic corridor to Africa, Europe and the Middle East. Welcoming Egypts proposal to join CPEC, the Speaker said it would open a new channel of unhindered flow of trade between Africa and China. By PTI WASHINGTON: As many as 16 US Attorney Generals have joined the bandwagon opposing President Donald Trump's controversial travel ban on citizens from seven Muslim- majority nations, saying the "discriminatory" order is "unconstitutional and un-American". The Executive Order signed by Trump banning countries that include Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen has been halted by a federal court in Seattle. The Trump Administration has challenged this stay order before the US 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, before whom Attorney Generals from as many as 16 States have filed amici curiae brief against the Executive Order. "This filing is about keeping our communities safe, protecting our economy, and upholding the rule of law. Pennsylvania was founded on the promise of liberty and we're proud to help lead this effort in support of Washington State's lawsuit," Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro said. "No president or administration is more powerful than our laws and our Constitution. As state AGs, it is our job to hold this administration accountable and stand for the interests of our states and our residents. We are united in this effort," said Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey. New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman said the ban is unconstitutional, unlawful and fundamentally un-American. "We won't stand by while it undermines our states' families, economies, and institutions," he said. "From filing our own federal lawsuit last week, to partnering with fellow Attorneys General on this amicus brief today, we will use every tool at our disposal to fight President Trump's discriminatory order and help ensure the rule of law prevails," he added. The Administration's reckless dismissal of the Constitution threatens to rip apart California families, risks their economic well-being and defies centuries of our American tradition alleged California Attorney General Xavier Becerra. "Immigrants are the life-blood of our nation who work hard to build our country, especially in California. Our universities, medical institutions, businesses, and our tax base are all harmed by President Donald Trump's unconstitutional and un-American order," he said. The amicus brief calls to uphold the federal district court's ruling and deny the federal government's emergency motion for stay, as it would return the country to the confusion and chaos created by the executive order in its implementation last weekend. In its court papers, the attorney generals said yesterday that the Executive Order has inflicted and continues to inflict harm on state colleges and universities across the country, including in the amici States, which rely on faculty and students from across the world. "First, the Executive Order has disrupted our state educational institutions' ability to meet their staffing needs. The Order is already preventing and dissuading scholars from coming to our institutionsincluding scholars who had already committed to filling positions," it said. The country was built by immigrants and refugees who came here in search of a better life, said Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan. "Illinois is home to nearly 2 million immigrants who contribute to our state in invaluable ways. I will fight to ensure Illinois remains a safe and welcome home for immigrants and refugees," she said. The amicus brief alleges that the order undermines the states' abilities to enforce their own anti-discrimination laws, ensure the benefits of existing federal laws and regulations such as the Immigration and National Act are not denied to individuals arriving in these states, and protect residents, businesses and communities. "As the states have made clear in other filings, the executive order represents an egregious violation of the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment and this 'erosion of religious liberties cannot be deterred by awarding damages to the victims of such erosion'," it said. WASHINGTON: As many as 16 US Attorney Generals have joined the bandwagon opposing President Donald Trump's controversial travel ban on citizens from seven Muslim- majority nations, saying the "discriminatory" order is "unconstitutional and un-American". The Executive Order signed by Trump banning countries that include Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen has been halted by a federal court in Seattle. The Trump Administration has challenged this stay order before the US 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, before whom Attorney Generals from as many as 16 States have filed amici curiae brief against the Executive Order. "This filing is about keeping our communities safe, protecting our economy, and upholding the rule of law. Pennsylvania was founded on the promise of liberty and we're proud to help lead this effort in support of Washington State's lawsuit," Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro said. "No president or administration is more powerful than our laws and our Constitution. As state AGs, it is our job to hold this administration accountable and stand for the interests of our states and our residents. We are united in this effort," said Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey. New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman said the ban is unconstitutional, unlawful and fundamentally un-American. "We won't stand by while it undermines our states' families, economies, and institutions," he said. "From filing our own federal lawsuit last week, to partnering with fellow Attorneys General on this amicus brief today, we will use every tool at our disposal to fight President Trump's discriminatory order and help ensure the rule of law prevails," he added. The Administration's reckless dismissal of the Constitution threatens to rip apart California families, risks their economic well-being and defies centuries of our American tradition alleged California Attorney General Xavier Becerra. "Immigrants are the life-blood of our nation who work hard to build our country, especially in California. Our universities, medical institutions, businesses, and our tax base are all harmed by President Donald Trump's unconstitutional and un-American order," he said. The amicus brief calls to uphold the federal district court's ruling and deny the federal government's emergency motion for stay, as it would return the country to the confusion and chaos created by the executive order in its implementation last weekend. In its court papers, the attorney generals said yesterday that the Executive Order has inflicted and continues to inflict harm on state colleges and universities across the country, including in the amici States, which rely on faculty and students from across the world. "First, the Executive Order has disrupted our state educational institutions' ability to meet their staffing needs. The Order is already preventing and dissuading scholars from coming to our institutionsincluding scholars who had already committed to filling positions," it said. The country was built by immigrants and refugees who came here in search of a better life, said Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan. "Illinois is home to nearly 2 million immigrants who contribute to our state in invaluable ways. I will fight to ensure Illinois remains a safe and welcome home for immigrants and refugees," she said. The amicus brief alleges that the order undermines the states' abilities to enforce their own anti-discrimination laws, ensure the benefits of existing federal laws and regulations such as the Immigration and National Act are not denied to individuals arriving in these states, and protect residents, businesses and communities. "As the states have made clear in other filings, the executive order represents an egregious violation of the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment and this 'erosion of religious liberties cannot be deterred by awarding damages to the victims of such erosion'," it said. By AFP BEIRUT: Air strikes on Syria's former Al-Qaeda affiliate in the country's northwest on Tuesday killed 26 people, including civilians, a monitoring group told AFP. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said at least 10 air strikes battered the headquarters of Fateh al-Sham Front and the surrounding neighbourhood in Idlib city at dawn on Tuesday. "Ten civilians, mostly women, are among the dead," Observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman told AFP. "The toll could rise because some people are trapped under the rubble and unaccounted for," he added. Abdel Rahman said the raids were likely carried out by Russian warplanes -- allied with Syria's government -- or by a US-backed air coalition. Fateh al-Sham has come under increasing pressure in recent weeks in Idlib province, the only remaining opposition-held province in war-ravaged Syria. Bombing raids against the group have escalated, including one US strike in January that killed more than 100 fighters at a training camp in Idlib province. The US-led coalition has mostly focused on Fateh al-Sham's jihadist rival, the Islamic State group, but it has also hit operatives from other groups. Rebel groups have held Idlib province since the spring of 2015, four years after conflict first broke out in March 2011. BEIRUT: Air strikes on Syria's former Al-Qaeda affiliate in the country's northwest on Tuesday killed 26 people, including civilians, a monitoring group told AFP. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said at least 10 air strikes battered the headquarters of Fateh al-Sham Front and the surrounding neighbourhood in Idlib city at dawn on Tuesday. "Ten civilians, mostly women, are among the dead," Observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman told AFP. "The toll could rise because some people are trapped under the rubble and unaccounted for," he added. Abdel Rahman said the raids were likely carried out by Russian warplanes -- allied with Syria's government -- or by a US-backed air coalition. Fateh al-Sham has come under increasing pressure in recent weeks in Idlib province, the only remaining opposition-held province in war-ravaged Syria. Bombing raids against the group have escalated, including one US strike in January that killed more than 100 fighters at a training camp in Idlib province. The US-led coalition has mostly focused on Fateh al-Sham's jihadist rival, the Islamic State group, but it has also hit operatives from other groups. Rebel groups have held Idlib province since the spring of 2015, four years after conflict first broke out in March 2011. By IANS BRUSSELS: European Central Bank (ECB) President Mario Draghi on Monday rejected Washington's accusation of currency manipulating. "We are not currency manipulators," Xinhua quoted said Draghi at the European Parliament's economic and monetary affairs committee as saying. The remarks came after Peter Navarro, head of the US National Trade Council, reportedly said the euro was like an "implicit Deutsche Mark" whose low valuation gave Germany an advantage over its main partners. Navarro, as well, said Germany used a "grossly undervalued" euro to exploit the US and its European Union (EU) partners. The ECB president said the EU's monetary policies reflected the diverse state of the economic cycle of the eurozone and the United States. "The single market would not survive with continuous competitive devaluations," the president told parliamentarians. Draghi also slammed US President Donald Trump's policy of loosening bank regulations which were introduced after the 2008 financial crisis, saying Washington's idea was "very worrisome." BRUSSELS: European Central Bank (ECB) President Mario Draghi on Monday rejected Washington's accusation of currency manipulating. "We are not currency manipulators," Xinhua quoted said Draghi at the European Parliament's economic and monetary affairs committee as saying. The remarks came after Peter Navarro, head of the US National Trade Council, reportedly said the euro was like an "implicit Deutsche Mark" whose low valuation gave Germany an advantage over its main partners. Navarro, as well, said Germany used a "grossly undervalued" euro to exploit the US and its European Union (EU) partners. The ECB president said the EU's monetary policies reflected the diverse state of the economic cycle of the eurozone and the United States. "The single market would not survive with continuous competitive devaluations," the president told parliamentarians. Draghi also slammed US President Donald Trump's policy of loosening bank regulations which were introduced after the 2008 financial crisis, saying Washington's idea was "very worrisome." By AFP WARSAW: German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Tuesday that good ties based on shared values with the United States were in the interest of the European Union. "As Germans and Europeans, good transatlantic relations based on our values are very much in our interest," Merkel told reporters at a joint press conference in Warsaw with Polish Prime Minister Beata Szydlo. The German leader also said that NATO members would meet to discuss the approach of new US President Donald Trump who has called the alliance "obsolete" in terms of fighting terrorism, but of "fundamental importance" to transatlantic security. "What the president, the defence and foreign ministers have said about NATO is important and in the future we will have the opportunity to meet within NATO to discuss this," Merkel said. Germany and Poland on Tuesday vowed to cooperate in the interest of European unity. The move signals a convergence of interests between Berlin and Warsaw as the EU faces a string of challenges this year including Brexit and several high-stakes national elections where populist parties with anti-EU agendas could make inroads. Ties between EU powerhouse Germany and Poland -- the bloc's largest eastern economy -- cooled over the last year as Warsaw's right-wing Law and Justice (PiS) government pushed through a string of reforms that triggered an EU threat of sanctions over rule of law violations. "We have similar ideas about the internal market, about an energy union, or issues tied to joint efforts in the area of defence and border security," Merkel said alongside Szydlo. "There maybe also certain ideas that go in the direction of treaty changes. In this area, I believe we should be careful," Merkel said, adding EU members must decide whether they have "a common goal or if each country has its own." "I'm certain that good partnership between Poland and Germany is necessary for the European project to succeed," Poland's Szydlo said. "Poland and Germany are two countries in the EU which have a huge role to play given the changes that are taking place in it," she added. Merkel said last week that European leaders may commit to a union of "different speeds" when they make a major declaration on its future at a summit in Rome next month. The EU has long been riven by debate about whether all countries must commit to full integration including the single currency, or whether some can go at different paces. The 27 leaders minus Britain are due to make a declaration at a summit in Rome in March marking the 60th anniversary of the EU, in which they will set out a post-Brexit roadmap. WARSAW: German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Tuesday that good ties based on shared values with the United States were in the interest of the European Union. "As Germans and Europeans, good transatlantic relations based on our values are very much in our interest," Merkel told reporters at a joint press conference in Warsaw with Polish Prime Minister Beata Szydlo. The German leader also said that NATO members would meet to discuss the approach of new US President Donald Trump who has called the alliance "obsolete" in terms of fighting terrorism, but of "fundamental importance" to transatlantic security. "What the president, the defence and foreign ministers have said about NATO is important and in the future we will have the opportunity to meet within NATO to discuss this," Merkel said. Germany and Poland on Tuesday vowed to cooperate in the interest of European unity. The move signals a convergence of interests between Berlin and Warsaw as the EU faces a string of challenges this year including Brexit and several high-stakes national elections where populist parties with anti-EU agendas could make inroads. Ties between EU powerhouse Germany and Poland -- the bloc's largest eastern economy -- cooled over the last year as Warsaw's right-wing Law and Justice (PiS) government pushed through a string of reforms that triggered an EU threat of sanctions over rule of law violations. "We have similar ideas about the internal market, about an energy union, or issues tied to joint efforts in the area of defence and border security," Merkel said alongside Szydlo. "There maybe also certain ideas that go in the direction of treaty changes. In this area, I believe we should be careful," Merkel said, adding EU members must decide whether they have "a common goal or if each country has its own." "I'm certain that good partnership between Poland and Germany is necessary for the European project to succeed," Poland's Szydlo said. "Poland and Germany are two countries in the EU which have a huge role to play given the changes that are taking place in it," she added. Merkel said last week that European leaders may commit to a union of "different speeds" when they make a major declaration on its future at a summit in Rome next month. The EU has long been riven by debate about whether all countries must commit to full integration including the single currency, or whether some can go at different paces. The 27 leaders minus Britain are due to make a declaration at a summit in Rome in March marking the 60th anniversary of the EU, in which they will set out a post-Brexit roadmap. By PTI KATHMANDU: An Indian national involved in cross-border drug smuggling was arrested in Nepal today with five kilogrammes of hashish. Sheikh Saddam, who apparently was heading to Kolkata, was arrested by a team of Armed Police Force (APF) from Birgunj of Parsa district bordering India. Sheikh told the security agency that he was a drug mule and was ferrying the consignment from Nepal to India for Rs 10,000, The Himalayan Times reported. According to Sheikh, a contact in Kathmandu had promised him to pay the amount after delivering the consignment. The APF handed over the suspect to the Nepal Police for further investigation and action. KATHMANDU: An Indian national involved in cross-border drug smuggling was arrested in Nepal today with five kilogrammes of hashish. Sheikh Saddam, who apparently was heading to Kolkata, was arrested by a team of Armed Police Force (APF) from Birgunj of Parsa district bordering India. Sheikh told the security agency that he was a drug mule and was ferrying the consignment from Nepal to India for Rs 10,000, The Himalayan Times reported. According to Sheikh, a contact in Kathmandu had promised him to pay the amount after delivering the consignment. The APF handed over the suspect to the Nepal Police for further investigation and action. By AFP JERUSALEM: The Israeli parliament on Monday finalised a controversial law legalising dozens of Jewish outposts built on private Palestinian land in the occupied West Bank. The law -- approved by 60 members of parliament to 52 against -- was slammed by the Palestinians as a means to "legalise theft" of land. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who did not participate in the law's final votes since he was returning from a trip to Britain, said he had "updated" the US administration so as not to surprise "our friends". Speaking after the law was finalised, Bezalel Smotrich of the far-right Jewish Home party, who was one of the forces behind the legislation, thanked the American people for electing Donald Trump as president, "without whom the law would have probably not passed". The new law will allow Israel to legally seize Palestinian private land on which Israelis built outposts without knowing it was private property or because the state allowed them to do so. Palestinian owners will be compensated financially or with other land. The Palestine Liberation Organisation said the law was a means to "legalise theft" and demonstrated "the Israeli government's will to destroy any chances for a political solution". A PLO statement stressed that the "Israeli settlement enterprise negates peace and the possibility of the two-state solution". Ahead of the vote, opposition chief and Labour leader Isaac Herzog lashed out against the "despicable law" that he said would undermine the country's Jewish majority. "The vote tonight isn't for or against the settlers, rather Israel's interests," Herzog said. The law would "annex millions of Palestinians into Israel", he warned, and expose Israeli soldiers and politicians to lawsuits at international criminal courts. Science and Technology Minister Ofir Akunis of Netanyahu's Likud party said the argument was over the right to the Land of Israel. "All of the Land of Israel belongs to the Jewish people," he told Herzog, using the biblical term that included the West Bank. "This right is eternal and indisputable." The law is seen by critics as promoting at least partial annexation of the West Bank, a key demand for parts of Netanyahu's right-wing cabinet, including Jewish Home. Human Rights Watch said the law "reflects Israel's manifest disregard of international law" and deepens the "de facto permanent occupation" of the West Bank, warning that "the Trump administration cannot shield them from the scrutiny of the International Criminal Court". Israeli rights group B'Tselem said the law proved Israel "has no intention of ending its control over the Palestinians or its theft of their land". The bill could still be challenged, with Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman saying last week: "The chance that it will be struck down by the Supreme Court is 100 percent." Last week, the few hundred residents of the Amona outpost in the West Bank were evicted after the Supreme Court ruled their homes were built on private Palestinian land. - Amona demolitions - In parliament on Monday, Shuli Mualem of Jewish Home dedicated the law to those evicted from Amona. International law considers all settlements to be illegal, but Israel distinguishes between those it sanctions and those it does not, dubbed outposts. The lengthy Amona saga -- including the evictions broadcast live on Israeli television -- directly inspired the bill. Demolitions and removal of the buildings there began on Monday. The law applies to 53 other outposts and homes within existing settlements recognised by Israel built on Palestinian land, according to the anti-settlement organisation Peace Now. More than 3,800 homes would be "legalised", the NGO said ahead of the vote. UN envoy for the Middle East peace process Nickolay Mladenov said he was "concerned" by the law, which could "greatly diminish the prospects for Arab-Israeli peace". Since Trump's inauguration, Israel has announced more than 6,000 new homes in the West Bank and east Jerusalem, seen as key parts of any future Palestinian state. For the first time last week Trump's administration said settlement expansion "may not be helpful" for peace prospects, but also broke with previous administrations by saying settlements were not an obstacle to peace. The White House statement was interpreted as a message to Netanyahu and his government that the US administration intended to reserve its options. Washington Monday refused to comment on the new law. "At this point, indications are that this legislation is likely to be reviewed by the relevant Israeli courts, and the Trump administration will withhold comment on the legislation until the relevant court ruling," a State Department official told AFP. Israeli Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit has warned the government that the law could be unconstitutional and risks exposing Israel to international prosecution for war crimes.c JERUSALEM: The Israeli parliament on Monday finalised a controversial law legalising dozens of Jewish outposts built on private Palestinian land in the occupied West Bank. The law -- approved by 60 members of parliament to 52 against -- was slammed by the Palestinians as a means to "legalise theft" of land. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who did not participate in the law's final votes since he was returning from a trip to Britain, said he had "updated" the US administration so as not to surprise "our friends". Speaking after the law was finalised, Bezalel Smotrich of the far-right Jewish Home party, who was one of the forces behind the legislation, thanked the American people for electing Donald Trump as president, "without whom the law would have probably not passed". The new law will allow Israel to legally seize Palestinian private land on which Israelis built outposts without knowing it was private property or because the state allowed them to do so. Palestinian owners will be compensated financially or with other land. The Palestine Liberation Organisation said the law was a means to "legalise theft" and demonstrated "the Israeli government's will to destroy any chances for a political solution". A PLO statement stressed that the "Israeli settlement enterprise negates peace and the possibility of the two-state solution". Ahead of the vote, opposition chief and Labour leader Isaac Herzog lashed out against the "despicable law" that he said would undermine the country's Jewish majority. "The vote tonight isn't for or against the settlers, rather Israel's interests," Herzog said. The law would "annex millions of Palestinians into Israel", he warned, and expose Israeli soldiers and politicians to lawsuits at international criminal courts. Science and Technology Minister Ofir Akunis of Netanyahu's Likud party said the argument was over the right to the Land of Israel. "All of the Land of Israel belongs to the Jewish people," he told Herzog, using the biblical term that included the West Bank. "This right is eternal and indisputable." The law is seen by critics as promoting at least partial annexation of the West Bank, a key demand for parts of Netanyahu's right-wing cabinet, including Jewish Home. Human Rights Watch said the law "reflects Israel's manifest disregard of international law" and deepens the "de facto permanent occupation" of the West Bank, warning that "the Trump administration cannot shield them from the scrutiny of the International Criminal Court". Israeli rights group B'Tselem said the law proved Israel "has no intention of ending its control over the Palestinians or its theft of their land". The bill could still be challenged, with Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman saying last week: "The chance that it will be struck down by the Supreme Court is 100 percent." Last week, the few hundred residents of the Amona outpost in the West Bank were evicted after the Supreme Court ruled their homes were built on private Palestinian land. - Amona demolitions - In parliament on Monday, Shuli Mualem of Jewish Home dedicated the law to those evicted from Amona. International law considers all settlements to be illegal, but Israel distinguishes between those it sanctions and those it does not, dubbed outposts. The lengthy Amona saga -- including the evictions broadcast live on Israeli television -- directly inspired the bill. Demolitions and removal of the buildings there began on Monday. The law applies to 53 other outposts and homes within existing settlements recognised by Israel built on Palestinian land, according to the anti-settlement organisation Peace Now. More than 3,800 homes would be "legalised", the NGO said ahead of the vote. UN envoy for the Middle East peace process Nickolay Mladenov said he was "concerned" by the law, which could "greatly diminish the prospects for Arab-Israeli peace". Since Trump's inauguration, Israel has announced more than 6,000 new homes in the West Bank and east Jerusalem, seen as key parts of any future Palestinian state. For the first time last week Trump's administration said settlement expansion "may not be helpful" for peace prospects, but also broke with previous administrations by saying settlements were not an obstacle to peace. The White House statement was interpreted as a message to Netanyahu and his government that the US administration intended to reserve its options. Washington Monday refused to comment on the new law. "At this point, indications are that this legislation is likely to be reviewed by the relevant Israeli courts, and the Trump administration will withhold comment on the legislation until the relevant court ruling," a State Department official told AFP. Israeli Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit has warned the government that the law could be unconstitutional and risks exposing Israel to international prosecution for war crimes.c By Associated Press JERUSALEM: Israel's parliament on Monday passed a contentious law meant to retroactively legalise thousands of West Bank settlement homes built unlawfully on private Palestinian land, a step that is expected to trigger international outrage and a flurry of lawsuits against the measure. The explosive law is the latest in a series of pro-settler steps taken by Israel's hard-line government since the election of Donald Trump as U.S. president. He is seen as more sympathetic to Israel's settlement policies than his fiercely critical predecessor, and the Israeli government has approved plans to build thousands of new homes on the occupied territory since Trump took office. "We are voting tonight on our right to the land," Cabinet minister Ofir Akunis said during a stormy debate ahead of the vote. "We are voting tonight on the connection between the Jewish people and its land. This whole land is ours. All of it." Critics say the legislation enshrines into law the theft of Palestinian land, and it is expected to be challenged in Israel's Supreme Court. According to the law, Palestinian landowners would be compensated either with money or alternative land, even if they did not agree to give up their property. The vote passed 60-52 in Israel's 120-member Knesset following a raucous debate in which opposition lawmakers shouted from their seats at governing coalition lawmakers speaking in favour of the vote from the dais. Some legislators supportive of the law took pictures of the plenum during the vote while some spectators in visitors' seats raised black cloth in apparent protest. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had voiced misgivings about the law in the lead-up to vote, reportedly expressing concern that it could lead to international censure and saying he wanted to coordinate with the Trump administration before moving ahead on a vote. He told reporters on a trip to London that he had updated Washington and was ready to move ahead with the law. He was on his way back from the trip and was not present for the vote. The White House's immediate response was to refer to its statement last week that said the construction of new settlements "may not be helpful" in achieving an Israeli-Palestinian peace. Netanyahu's attorney general has called the bill unconstitutional and said he won't defend it in the Supreme Court. Critics have warned it could drag Israel into a legal battle at the International Criminal Court at The Hague, Netherlands, which is already pursuing a preliminary examination into settlements. Among the law's problematic elements is that the West Bank is not sovereign Israeli territory and that Palestinians who live there are not citizens and do not have the right to vote for the government that imposed the law on them. Palestinians condemned the law. "This is an escalation that would only lead to more instability and chaos. It is unacceptable. It is denounced and the international community should act immediately," said Nabil Abu Rdeneh, a spokesman for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. Netanyahu faced intense pressure from within his nationalist coalition, especially from the pro-settler Jewish Home party, to press ahead with the vote following the court-ordered evacuation last week of the illegal Amona outpost found to have been built on private Palestinian land. Over 40 settler families were forced to leave the 20-year-old outpost, and on Monday construction vehicles demolished and removed the trailer homes that remained behind. Opposition legislators said Netanyahu's support for the law was a high-stakes risk meant solely to curry favor with settler constituents and their potent political lobby. "For how many settler votes is Netanyahu willing to pass a law that he admits will drag us to The Hague?" Zehava Galon, leader of the dovish Meretz party, wrote on Facebook ahead of the vote. "The prime minister declares that the legalization bill is dangerous for Israel and instead of standing on his hind legs to stop this shameful law, he presses ahead with it." After years of condemnations from the Obama administration over settlement construction, Israel's government has ramped up settlement initiatives since Trump took office, announcing plans for some 6,000 new homes in the West Bank and east Jerusalem and promising to build a new settlement for the Amona evacuees. Trump has signaled a far more accepting approach to settlements, raising hopes in Netanyahu's government that it will be able to step up construction. The White House said little as Netanyahu announced plans during Trump's first two weeks in office to build over 6,000 new settler homes. But after Netanyahu announced his plan to establish a new settlement for the first time in two decades, Trump indicated that he, too, might have his limits. "While we don't believe the existence of settlements is an impediment to peace, the construction of new settlements or the expansion of existing settlements beyond their current borders may not be helpful in achieving that goal," the White House said. The Palestinians want the West Bank, east Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip territories Israel captured in the 1967 Mideast war for their future state. Much of the international community views settlements as illegal and an obstacle to reaching peace with the Palestinians. Shortly before leaving office, President Barack Obama allowed the U.N. Security Council to pass a resolution declaring settlements illegal. Obama cited the Israeli outpost legislation as a reason for not vetoing the resolution. Before the law passed, the U.N. Mideast envoy, Nickolay Mladenov, called on lawmakers to vote against the law, saying that "it will have far-reaching legal consequences for Israel and greatly diminish the prospects for Arab-Israeli peace." JERUSALEM: Israel's parliament on Monday passed a contentious law meant to retroactively legalise thousands of West Bank settlement homes built unlawfully on private Palestinian land, a step that is expected to trigger international outrage and a flurry of lawsuits against the measure. The explosive law is the latest in a series of pro-settler steps taken by Israel's hard-line government since the election of Donald Trump as U.S. president. He is seen as more sympathetic to Israel's settlement policies than his fiercely critical predecessor, and the Israeli government has approved plans to build thousands of new homes on the occupied territory since Trump took office. "We are voting tonight on our right to the land," Cabinet minister Ofir Akunis said during a stormy debate ahead of the vote. "We are voting tonight on the connection between the Jewish people and its land. This whole land is ours. All of it." Critics say the legislation enshrines into law the theft of Palestinian land, and it is expected to be challenged in Israel's Supreme Court. According to the law, Palestinian landowners would be compensated either with money or alternative land, even if they did not agree to give up their property. The vote passed 60-52 in Israel's 120-member Knesset following a raucous debate in which opposition lawmakers shouted from their seats at governing coalition lawmakers speaking in favour of the vote from the dais. Some legislators supportive of the law took pictures of the plenum during the vote while some spectators in visitors' seats raised black cloth in apparent protest. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had voiced misgivings about the law in the lead-up to vote, reportedly expressing concern that it could lead to international censure and saying he wanted to coordinate with the Trump administration before moving ahead on a vote. He told reporters on a trip to London that he had updated Washington and was ready to move ahead with the law. He was on his way back from the trip and was not present for the vote. The White House's immediate response was to refer to its statement last week that said the construction of new settlements "may not be helpful" in achieving an Israeli-Palestinian peace. Netanyahu's attorney general has called the bill unconstitutional and said he won't defend it in the Supreme Court. Critics have warned it could drag Israel into a legal battle at the International Criminal Court at The Hague, Netherlands, which is already pursuing a preliminary examination into settlements. Among the law's problematic elements is that the West Bank is not sovereign Israeli territory and that Palestinians who live there are not citizens and do not have the right to vote for the government that imposed the law on them. Palestinians condemned the law. "This is an escalation that would only lead to more instability and chaos. It is unacceptable. It is denounced and the international community should act immediately," said Nabil Abu Rdeneh, a spokesman for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. Netanyahu faced intense pressure from within his nationalist coalition, especially from the pro-settler Jewish Home party, to press ahead with the vote following the court-ordered evacuation last week of the illegal Amona outpost found to have been built on private Palestinian land. Over 40 settler families were forced to leave the 20-year-old outpost, and on Monday construction vehicles demolished and removed the trailer homes that remained behind. Opposition legislators said Netanyahu's support for the law was a high-stakes risk meant solely to curry favor with settler constituents and their potent political lobby. "For how many settler votes is Netanyahu willing to pass a law that he admits will drag us to The Hague?" Zehava Galon, leader of the dovish Meretz party, wrote on Facebook ahead of the vote. "The prime minister declares that the legalization bill is dangerous for Israel and instead of standing on his hind legs to stop this shameful law, he presses ahead with it." After years of condemnations from the Obama administration over settlement construction, Israel's government has ramped up settlement initiatives since Trump took office, announcing plans for some 6,000 new homes in the West Bank and east Jerusalem and promising to build a new settlement for the Amona evacuees. Trump has signaled a far more accepting approach to settlements, raising hopes in Netanyahu's government that it will be able to step up construction. The White House said little as Netanyahu announced plans during Trump's first two weeks in office to build over 6,000 new settler homes. But after Netanyahu announced his plan to establish a new settlement for the first time in two decades, Trump indicated that he, too, might have his limits. "While we don't believe the existence of settlements is an impediment to peace, the construction of new settlements or the expansion of existing settlements beyond their current borders may not be helpful in achieving that goal," the White House said. The Palestinians want the West Bank, east Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip territories Israel captured in the 1967 Mideast war for their future state. Much of the international community views settlements as illegal and an obstacle to reaching peace with the Palestinians. Shortly before leaving office, President Barack Obama allowed the U.N. Security Council to pass a resolution declaring settlements illegal. Obama cited the Israeli outpost legislation as a reason for not vetoing the resolution. Before the law passed, the U.N. Mideast envoy, Nickolay Mladenov, called on lawmakers to vote against the law, saying that "it will have far-reaching legal consequences for Israel and greatly diminish the prospects for Arab-Israeli peace." By PTI WARSAW: German Chancellor Angela Merkel visits Warsaw today for talks with Poland's top leaders, taking efforts to save the European Union to a country that is keen to keep as much national power as possible and fears being marginalised in a "two-speed Europe." Her trip is "one of the most important visits in Polish-German relations since 2004," when Poland joined the EU, said Sebastian Plociennik, an expert at the Polish Institute of International Affairs. The 28-nation bloc is struggling for a way forward after Britain's vote to leave. "This year, 2017, will be very important for European integration and the decisions made this year will set the path for the EU's future," Plociennik said. Poland's populist ruling party, Law and Justice, is often described as euroskeptic, but unlike right-wing populists in France and elsewhere, it does not advocate leaving the EU. EU membership remains hugely popular in Poland, whose citizens have benefited enormously from development funds and the freedom to work elsewhere in the bloc. However, Law and Justice fears that Poland's national identity has been eroded by liberal Western values and it also has made it a mission to preserve as much power for Europe's national parliaments as possible. Many criticise what they see as the EU's distant and inefficient bureaucracy. Poland is also not eager to join the 19-nation eurozone anytime soon. But Polish officials are also concerned that the EU could react to Britain's decision to leave by developing a more deeply integrated core made of up Germany, France and the Benelux nations, which could then dictate financial rules to other EU countries. Those fears of becoming marginalised have flared as Merkel speaks of a "multi-speed" Europe. "We have a Europe of different speeds every time that is said, it awakens the impression that this is something new, but my opinion is that it is nothing new," Merkel said yesterday. But Poland has also marginalised itself under its current government by taking an obstructionist position on climate change, refusing to accept Muslim refugees and refusing to give up its heavy reliance on coal. It is also in a standoff with Brussels for eroding the independence of Poland's constitutional court. Merkel is to meet with Prime Minister Beata Szydlo, President Andrzej Duda and Law and Justice chairman Jaroslaw Kaczynski, as well as opposition leaders and representatives of the ethnic German minority in Poland. The deputy foreign minister of Poland, Konrad Szymanski, said the re-election of Donald Tusk, the former Polish prime minister, as head of the European Council, might come up in the talks. Tusk had Merkel's backing for his first term and hopes to serve another term when his ends in May. WARSAW: German Chancellor Angela Merkel visits Warsaw today for talks with Poland's top leaders, taking efforts to save the European Union to a country that is keen to keep as much national power as possible and fears being marginalised in a "two-speed Europe." Her trip is "one of the most important visits in Polish-German relations since 2004," when Poland joined the EU, said Sebastian Plociennik, an expert at the Polish Institute of International Affairs. The 28-nation bloc is struggling for a way forward after Britain's vote to leave. "This year, 2017, will be very important for European integration and the decisions made this year will set the path for the EU's future," Plociennik said. Poland's populist ruling party, Law and Justice, is often described as euroskeptic, but unlike right-wing populists in France and elsewhere, it does not advocate leaving the EU. EU membership remains hugely popular in Poland, whose citizens have benefited enormously from development funds and the freedom to work elsewhere in the bloc. However, Law and Justice fears that Poland's national identity has been eroded by liberal Western values and it also has made it a mission to preserve as much power for Europe's national parliaments as possible. Many criticise what they see as the EU's distant and inefficient bureaucracy. Poland is also not eager to join the 19-nation eurozone anytime soon. But Polish officials are also concerned that the EU could react to Britain's decision to leave by developing a more deeply integrated core made of up Germany, France and the Benelux nations, which could then dictate financial rules to other EU countries. Those fears of becoming marginalised have flared as Merkel speaks of a "multi-speed" Europe. "We have a Europe of different speeds every time that is said, it awakens the impression that this is something new, but my opinion is that it is nothing new," Merkel said yesterday. But Poland has also marginalised itself under its current government by taking an obstructionist position on climate change, refusing to accept Muslim refugees and refusing to give up its heavy reliance on coal. It is also in a standoff with Brussels for eroding the independence of Poland's constitutional court. Merkel is to meet with Prime Minister Beata Szydlo, President Andrzej Duda and Law and Justice chairman Jaroslaw Kaczynski, as well as opposition leaders and representatives of the ethnic German minority in Poland. The deputy foreign minister of Poland, Konrad Szymanski, said the re-election of Donald Tusk, the former Polish prime minister, as head of the European Council, might come up in the talks. Tusk had Merkel's backing for his first term and hopes to serve another term when his ends in May. By AFP YANGON: A Myanmar state commission probing allegations the military has killed, tortured and raped Rohingya Muslims rejected accusations it is not credible, saying Tuesday it was focused on the "truth" and not pleasing the UN. Last week the United Nations' human rights office said Myanmar's military had likely killed hundreds of Rohingya during a continuing crackdown in a "calculated policy of terror" against the Muslim minority. Almost 70,000 Rohingya have fled to Bangladesh since the army launched "clearance operations" four months ago to find Rohingya militants they accused of carrying out deadly raids on police border posts. The report by the UN's rights body OHCHR said the accounts of torture, murder and gang-rape at the hands of security forces were so severe they may amount to ethnic cleansing. Among the brutal testimonies published were accounts of children butchered with knives while their mothers were raped by security forces. For months Myanmar dismissed similar testimony gathered by foreign media and rights groups and curtailed access to the region. But following last week's UN report a spokesman for Myanmar's president said the government was concerned by the "extremely serious allegations" and would investigate them through the Rakhine commission. Critics have rejected the state-appointed body, which is led by retired general and Vice President Myint Swe and includes no Muslims, as toothless and lacking in credibility. Last month it issued an interim report denying that troops had carried out a genocidal campaign against the Rohingya and saying it had found "insufficient evidence" of rape. "The existing commission is not a credible option to undertake the new investigation," the UN's top official on preventing genocide, Adama Dieng, said in New York on Monday. "I am concerned that the government commission... found nothing to substantiate the claims, while OHCHR... found an overwhelming number of testimonies and other forms of evidence." But commission member Aung Tun Thet rejected the criticism, saying the body was focused on getting "fair results" and not pleasing the international community. "What's more important than refuting them (the UN) is finding the truth," Aung Tun Thet, a retired UN adviser, told AFP. "There will be criticism, however, hard you try. But for the commission, we must work out the truth of the situation." The Rakhine commission is the second body created by Myanmar's de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi to try to heal the religious divide in the state since sectarian unrest killed more than 100 people in 2012. In August she appointed fellow Nobel laureate and former UN chief Kofi Annan to head a separate body tasked with finding solutions for the sectarian-plagued region. Buddhist nationalists have bitterly denounced that body as foreign meddling. There are more than a million Rohingya in Rakhine state, where they are considered illegal immigrants from Bangladesh and forced to live in conditions akin to apartheid. YANGON: A Myanmar state commission probing allegations the military has killed, tortured and raped Rohingya Muslims rejected accusations it is not credible, saying Tuesday it was focused on the "truth" and not pleasing the UN. Last week the United Nations' human rights office said Myanmar's military had likely killed hundreds of Rohingya during a continuing crackdown in a "calculated policy of terror" against the Muslim minority. Almost 70,000 Rohingya have fled to Bangladesh since the army launched "clearance operations" four months ago to find Rohingya militants they accused of carrying out deadly raids on police border posts. The report by the UN's rights body OHCHR said the accounts of torture, murder and gang-rape at the hands of security forces were so severe they may amount to ethnic cleansing. Among the brutal testimonies published were accounts of children butchered with knives while their mothers were raped by security forces. For months Myanmar dismissed similar testimony gathered by foreign media and rights groups and curtailed access to the region. But following last week's UN report a spokesman for Myanmar's president said the government was concerned by the "extremely serious allegations" and would investigate them through the Rakhine commission. Critics have rejected the state-appointed body, which is led by retired general and Vice President Myint Swe and includes no Muslims, as toothless and lacking in credibility. Last month it issued an interim report denying that troops had carried out a genocidal campaign against the Rohingya and saying it had found "insufficient evidence" of rape. "The existing commission is not a credible option to undertake the new investigation," the UN's top official on preventing genocide, Adama Dieng, said in New York on Monday. "I am concerned that the government commission... found nothing to substantiate the claims, while OHCHR... found an overwhelming number of testimonies and other forms of evidence." But commission member Aung Tun Thet rejected the criticism, saying the body was focused on getting "fair results" and not pleasing the international community. "What's more important than refuting them (the UN) is finding the truth," Aung Tun Thet, a retired UN adviser, told AFP. "There will be criticism, however, hard you try. But for the commission, we must work out the truth of the situation." The Rakhine commission is the second body created by Myanmar's de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi to try to heal the religious divide in the state since sectarian unrest killed more than 100 people in 2012. In August she appointed fellow Nobel laureate and former UN chief Kofi Annan to head a separate body tasked with finding solutions for the sectarian-plagued region. Buddhist nationalists have bitterly denounced that body as foreign meddling. There are more than a million Rohingya in Rakhine state, where they are considered illegal immigrants from Bangladesh and forced to live in conditions akin to apartheid. Express News Service COLOMBO: In the 2003 tripartite agreement between the Lanka Indian Oil Corporation (LIOC), the Sri Lankan governments Treasury, and the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC), there was no requirement to sign a Lease Agreement on the transfer of the 99 oil tanks in the eastern town of Trincomalee to the LIOC, Express learns from informed sources. The Sri Lankan parliamentary Committee on Public Enterprises (COPE) threw a bombshell recently by recommending that the government take over the Trincomalee oil tanks from the LIOC because no Lease Agreement was signed since they were handed over to the LIOC in 2003. COPE chairman Sunil Handunnetti was quoted as saying that a Lease Agreement was to have been signed within six months of the transfer of the tanks but it was not. The LIOC is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Indian oil major Indian Oil Corporation (IOC). Express learns that the 2003 tripartite agreement envisaged the transfer of the land and the tanks to LIOC for 35 years, and an annual payment of US$ 99,000 to the Sri Lankan Treasury and US$ 1000 to the CPC by the LIOC. The local land record relating to the tank farm was changed to make the LIOC the occupier instead of the CPC. Since the handing over, the LIOC has been making the stipulated annual payment of US$ 100,000 without fail. Sources also pointed out that there is no termination clause in the 2003 agreement. Presumably, all three parties will have agree to the termination of the arrangement. The 99 tanks, with 15 in the Lower Tank Farm and 84 in the Upper Tank Farm, were handed over to the LIOC partly because India wanted them for strategic reasons and Sri Lanka did not have the resources to use them or develop them for use. Following the transfer, India refurbished 15 tanks in the Lower Tank Farm and built two more, at a cost of over US$ 15 million. It has been having plans to invest another US$ 17 million to refurbish some tanks in the Upper Tank Farm also. While the LIOC has been the main user of the tanks, the Sri Lanka Air Force and PRIMA bread factory have been using four. Plans were made to refurbish the 84 tanks in the Upper Tank Farm, but the government of India has been dragging its feet on this suggestion given the cost involved. The tanks are not easy to refurbish as each one of them is protected by a thick concrete wall to protect them from air raids. However, local LIOC officials had told the powers-that-be in New Delhi of the strategic need to use the 84 tanks for storage of petroleum products as the available capacity is humongous one million tones, with each tank having a capacity to store 12,100 tonnes. The need to have a strategic foothold was felt also because in 2010-2013, Pakistani naval personnel were involved in exercises in the Trincomalee harbor and China Bay. China Bay, where the harbor is located, is of great strategic value to India as it is extremely well protected from natural disasters. The tsunami, which devastated the Sri Lankan eastern coast north and south of China Bay in December 2014, did not touch the oil tank farm or the LIOCs terminal in China Bay. In 2013, the Mahinda Rajapaksa government unofficially said that it might ask the LIOC to quit because the original agreement was not entered into in a proper manner and that the land on which the tanks stood had not been handed over to LIOC legally. It was also stated that the CPC had no authority to give permission to the LIOC to use the tanks because the CPC did not own the tank farm, which was governments property. It was also said that LIOC was paying only a nominal fee for the use of the tanks. Reacting to this the government of India unofficially warned Sri Lanka that the deal on the Trincomalee oil tank farm was the result of the India-Sri Lanka Accord of 1987 and was a government to government agreement which could not be unilaterally abrogated. The Rajapaksa government thereafter stopped talking of a takeover. But with the change of government in Sri Lanka in January 2015, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe proposed an India-Sri Lanka joint venture to develop 30 tanks in the Upper Tank Farm through a new joint venture involving LIOC and the CPC. The Minister of Petroleum, Chandima Weerakkody, told Parliament in October 2016, that nine tanks in the Upper Tank Farm could be used immediately after minor repairs. The government wants to increase its total storage capacity to 90,000 MT, enabling it to benefit from the global oil price fluctuations, Weerakkody said. Following this, a team from the CPC went to the Upper Tank Farm to inspect three tanks. But when the LIOC staff discovered the presence of an unauthorized person in the CPC team, they detained him for checking. This led to a furor in the media, though the LIOC stated that the questioning was legitimate. However, striking an accommodative note, the LIOC also said that if the CPC wants three tanks to be refurbished for its use, the LIOC is willing to do it for the CPC. COLOMBO: In the 2003 tripartite agreement between the Lanka Indian Oil Corporation (LIOC), the Sri Lankan governments Treasury, and the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC), there was no requirement to sign a Lease Agreement on the transfer of the 99 oil tanks in the eastern town of Trincomalee to the LIOC, Express learns from informed sources. The Sri Lankan parliamentary Committee on Public Enterprises (COPE) threw a bombshell recently by recommending that the government take over the Trincomalee oil tanks from the LIOC because no Lease Agreement was signed since they were handed over to the LIOC in 2003. COPE chairman Sunil Handunnetti was quoted as saying that a Lease Agreement was to have been signed within six months of the transfer of the tanks but it was not. The LIOC is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Indian oil major Indian Oil Corporation (IOC). Express learns that the 2003 tripartite agreement envisaged the transfer of the land and the tanks to LIOC for 35 years, and an annual payment of US$ 99,000 to the Sri Lankan Treasury and US$ 1000 to the CPC by the LIOC. The local land record relating to the tank farm was changed to make the LIOC the occupier instead of the CPC. Since the handing over, the LIOC has been making the stipulated annual payment of US$ 100,000 without fail. Sources also pointed out that there is no termination clause in the 2003 agreement. Presumably, all three parties will have agree to the termination of the arrangement. The 99 tanks, with 15 in the Lower Tank Farm and 84 in the Upper Tank Farm, were handed over to the LIOC partly because India wanted them for strategic reasons and Sri Lanka did not have the resources to use them or develop them for use. Following the transfer, India refurbished 15 tanks in the Lower Tank Farm and built two more, at a cost of over US$ 15 million. It has been having plans to invest another US$ 17 million to refurbish some tanks in the Upper Tank Farm also. While the LIOC has been the main user of the tanks, the Sri Lanka Air Force and PRIMA bread factory have been using four. Plans were made to refurbish the 84 tanks in the Upper Tank Farm, but the government of India has been dragging its feet on this suggestion given the cost involved. The tanks are not easy to refurbish as each one of them is protected by a thick concrete wall to protect them from air raids. However, local LIOC officials had told the powers-that-be in New Delhi of the strategic need to use the 84 tanks for storage of petroleum products as the available capacity is humongous one million tones, with each tank having a capacity to store 12,100 tonnes. The need to have a strategic foothold was felt also because in 2010-2013, Pakistani naval personnel were involved in exercises in the Trincomalee harbor and China Bay. China Bay, where the harbor is located, is of great strategic value to India as it is extremely well protected from natural disasters. The tsunami, which devastated the Sri Lankan eastern coast north and south of China Bay in December 2014, did not touch the oil tank farm or the LIOCs terminal in China Bay. In 2013, the Mahinda Rajapaksa government unofficially said that it might ask the LIOC to quit because the original agreement was not entered into in a proper manner and that the land on which the tanks stood had not been handed over to LIOC legally. It was also stated that the CPC had no authority to give permission to the LIOC to use the tanks because the CPC did not own the tank farm, which was governments property. It was also said that LIOC was paying only a nominal fee for the use of the tanks. Reacting to this the government of India unofficially warned Sri Lanka that the deal on the Trincomalee oil tank farm was the result of the India-Sri Lanka Accord of 1987 and was a government to government agreement which could not be unilaterally abrogated. The Rajapaksa government thereafter stopped talking of a takeover. But with the change of government in Sri Lanka in January 2015, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe proposed an India-Sri Lanka joint venture to develop 30 tanks in the Upper Tank Farm through a new joint venture involving LIOC and the CPC. The Minister of Petroleum, Chandima Weerakkody, told Parliament in October 2016, that nine tanks in the Upper Tank Farm could be used immediately after minor repairs. The government wants to increase its total storage capacity to 90,000 MT, enabling it to benefit from the global oil price fluctuations, Weerakkody said. Following this, a team from the CPC went to the Upper Tank Farm to inspect three tanks. But when the LIOC staff discovered the presence of an unauthorized person in the CPC team, they detained him for checking. This led to a furor in the media, though the LIOC stated that the questioning was legitimate. However, striking an accommodative note, the LIOC also said that if the CPC wants three tanks to be refurbished for its use, the LIOC is willing to do it for the CPC. By ANI ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Supreme Court has accepted the Interior Ministrys plea to examine material on which the Quetta Commission Report is based, however, refusing to provide the confidential documents, based on intelligence reports, against which the privilege was already sought. The court observed that the miscellaneous part of documents is not related to proceedings, reports the Daily Times. The court also granted two weeks to the ministrys lawyer Makhdoom Ali Khan to file specific objections after examining the material. The SC directed Balochistan Bar Council lawyer Hamid Khan to file a reply over the ministrys 64-page objections. Hamid would also submit the data of children of deceased lawyers on next date of hearing for provision of free education, as committed by the Balochistan government after the occurrence of Quetta incident. A three-member bench headed by Justice Amir Hani Muslim resumed the hearing of suo motu case over August 8 Quetta blast, which killed at least 72 people, including 53 lawyers of Balochistan. Makhdoom told the court that the Quetta commission report made derogatory observations regarding Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan. Regarding meeting of the Interior Minister with banned outfit cleric Ahmad Ludhianvi, Makhdoom contended that the minister had called upon the delegation of Defence of Pakistan, which is not a banned outfit, adding that the list of participants was not conveyed and the minister was not aware that Ludhianvi was part of the delegation. He added that the message was given that minister accepted demands of the delegation but there was no such acceptance of demands. Makhdoom said he has no objection over the commissions authority but the objections are only raised to the extent of observations made in the commission report against the minister. If you want us we will hear. Perhaps we, after hearing, may dilute the language subject to record. You have to draw line between ministry and person, observed Justice Hani Muslim. Makhdoom pleaded to expunge the adverse remarks. He contended that by the content of commissions report, the message is conveyed that the minister was socialising with terrorist outfits daily. ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Supreme Court has accepted the Interior Ministrys plea to examine material on which the Quetta Commission Report is based, however, refusing to provide the confidential documents, based on intelligence reports, against which the privilege was already sought. The court observed that the miscellaneous part of documents is not related to proceedings, reports the Daily Times. The court also granted two weeks to the ministrys lawyer Makhdoom Ali Khan to file specific objections after examining the material. The SC directed Balochistan Bar Council lawyer Hamid Khan to file a reply over the ministrys 64-page objections. Hamid would also submit the data of children of deceased lawyers on next date of hearing for provision of free education, as committed by the Balochistan government after the occurrence of Quetta incident. A three-member bench headed by Justice Amir Hani Muslim resumed the hearing of suo motu case over August 8 Quetta blast, which killed at least 72 people, including 53 lawyers of Balochistan. Makhdoom told the court that the Quetta commission report made derogatory observations regarding Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan. Regarding meeting of the Interior Minister with banned outfit cleric Ahmad Ludhianvi, Makhdoom contended that the minister had called upon the delegation of Defence of Pakistan, which is not a banned outfit, adding that the list of participants was not conveyed and the minister was not aware that Ludhianvi was part of the delegation. He added that the message was given that minister accepted demands of the delegation but there was no such acceptance of demands. Makhdoom said he has no objection over the commissions authority but the objections are only raised to the extent of observations made in the commission report against the minister. If you want us we will hear. Perhaps we, after hearing, may dilute the language subject to record. You have to draw line between ministry and person, observed Justice Hani Muslim. Makhdoom pleaded to expunge the adverse remarks. He contended that by the content of commissions report, the message is conveyed that the minister was socialising with terrorist outfits daily. By Associated Press WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump's nominee for labour secretary said Tuesday that a housekeeper he had previously employed at his home was an undocumented worker, potentially complicating his efforts to get confirmed. A spokesman says Andrew Puzder remains committed to leading the Labour Department. Andrew Puzder said in a statement that he and his wife employed a housekeeper for a few years and they were unaware she was not legally permitted to work in the U.S. "When I learned of her status, we immediately ended her employment and offered her assistance in getting legal status," Puzder said. "We have fully paid back taxes to the IRS and the State of California." Puzder spokesman George Thompson said Tuesday that the fast food CEO remains committed to becoming secretary of labour and is working on divesting from his financial holdings. He is the second Trump pick whose nomination has faced questions over their hiring of household workers. Mick Mulvaney, Trump's pick to run the White House budget office, had acknowledged that he failed to pay more than $15,000 in payroll taxes for a household worker more than a decade ago. He's repaid the government, and those developments do not seem to be impeding his prospects for confirmation. The acknowledgement comes as Democrats and their allies attempt to pile on reasons why Puzder is wrong for the Cabinet post, starting with his post as a fast food CEO and his opposition to a big increase in the minimum wage, overtime rules and more. Puzder is one of several Cabinet picks by Trump who has yet to be confirmed and this latest revelation could throw his efforts off course. He has not filed any required paperwork with the Senate committee handling his confirmation. But his hearing has been postponed at least three times and has not been rescheduled. Among the other complications, Puzder outsourced his fast-food company's technology department to the Philippines, a move that contradicts Trump's vow to keep American jobs in the U.S. A filing with the Labour Department on Puzder's company and a spokesman's acknowledgement that CKE continues to use the IT operation in the Philippines provides a window into a key contradiction raised by the nomination. Trump has blasted, threatened and tried to charm American companies that have moved jobs overseas or consider it, saying he's sticking up for American workers who aren't feeling the economic recovery and form his political base. WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump's nominee for labour secretary said Tuesday that a housekeeper he had previously employed at his home was an undocumented worker, potentially complicating his efforts to get confirmed. A spokesman says Andrew Puzder remains committed to leading the Labour Department. Andrew Puzder said in a statement that he and his wife employed a housekeeper for a few years and they were unaware she was not legally permitted to work in the U.S. "When I learned of her status, we immediately ended her employment and offered her assistance in getting legal status," Puzder said. "We have fully paid back taxes to the IRS and the State of California." Puzder spokesman George Thompson said Tuesday that the fast food CEO remains committed to becoming secretary of labour and is working on divesting from his financial holdings. He is the second Trump pick whose nomination has faced questions over their hiring of household workers. Mick Mulvaney, Trump's pick to run the White House budget office, had acknowledged that he failed to pay more than $15,000 in payroll taxes for a household worker more than a decade ago. He's repaid the government, and those developments do not seem to be impeding his prospects for confirmation. The acknowledgement comes as Democrats and their allies attempt to pile on reasons why Puzder is wrong for the Cabinet post, starting with his post as a fast food CEO and his opposition to a big increase in the minimum wage, overtime rules and more. Puzder is one of several Cabinet picks by Trump who has yet to be confirmed and this latest revelation could throw his efforts off course. He has not filed any required paperwork with the Senate committee handling his confirmation. But his hearing has been postponed at least three times and has not been rescheduled. Among the other complications, Puzder outsourced his fast-food company's technology department to the Philippines, a move that contradicts Trump's vow to keep American jobs in the U.S. A filing with the Labour Department on Puzder's company and a spokesman's acknowledgement that CKE continues to use the IT operation in the Philippines provides a window into a key contradiction raised by the nomination. Trump has blasted, threatened and tried to charm American companies that have moved jobs overseas or consider it, saying he's sticking up for American workers who aren't feeling the economic recovery and form his political base. (Corrects 9th paragraph to say that Schultz Chan was accused of tipping Songjiang Wang before the September 2015 announcement) By Nate Raymond Feb 7 (Reuters) - A Merrimack Pharmaceuticals Inc employee was arrested on Tuesday on charges that he engaged in an insider trading scheme with a former employee of a rival biopharmaceutical company. Songjiang Wang, who Cambridge, Massachusetts-based Merrimack has employed as director of statistical programming since 2011, was charged in a criminal complaint filed in federal court in Boston with conspiring to commit securities fraud. The 52-year-old's arrest came after federal prosecutors brought related charges in June against Schultz Chan, who had been the director of biostatistics at another Cambridge-based company, Akebia Therapeutics Inc. Wang, of Westford, Massachusetts, is scheduled to appear in court later on Tuesday. A hearing for Chan, who has pleaded not guilty, is also scheduled for then. Lawyers for Wang and Chan did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Merrimack was not identified by name in the complaint, which referred to it only as "Pharm Co. 1." But a separate court filing said Merrimack was Wang's most recent employer, and details in the complaint matched that of the company. Representatives for Merrimack did not respond to requests for comment. According to the complaint, Wang provided Chan inside information in 2013 and 2014, ahead of announcements by Merrimack about positive results in three different drug studies. This allowed Chan to place trades based on those tips. Chan, in turn, tipped Wang in advance of positive clinical study results for a new drug being developed by Akebia, which allowed him to place trades ahead of the company's announcement in September 2015, the complaint said. Based on that tip, Wang made $105,000 in illegal trading profits, according to an earlier lawsuit against Chan by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. That lawsuit referred to Wang, without using his name, as friend of Chan's who had previously loaned him $80,000. The case is U.S. v. Wang, U.S. District Court, District of Massachusetts, No. 17-mj-1005. (Reporting by Nate Raymond in New York; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn and Dan Grebler) James Mattis Congressman Duncan Hunter is urging the new secretary of defense to re-examine the case of Sgt. Rafael Peralta, a Marine who died in house-to-house fighting during the 2004 Battle of Fallujah. In a letter to Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, the Republican congressman wrote that it is his hope "that we can finally give Sergeant Peralta the recognition he deserves." In 2008, the Marine Corps recommended Peralta for the Medal of Honor after fellow Marines told investigators the 25-year-old sergeant jumped on a grenade and shielded them from the blast after he was mortally wounded by insurgent fire. The recommendation went all the way up to Defense Secretary Robert Gates, who initially approved it, before rescinding the decision amid an inspector general's complaint. An independent review panel later found that the grenade did not detonate beneath Peralta's body. Peralta's award was downgraded to the Navy Cross. And years later, in 2014, a number of witnesses came forward to The Washington Post to say they had embellished the original story. Still, Hunter has been fighting for years to get the Pentagon to upgrade the award to the nation's highest honor. Two other defense secretaries, Leon Panetta and Chuck Hagel, declined to overturn Gates' ruling. "Multiple eyewitnesses conveyed that from their respective fields of view, Peralta initiated several movements toward the grenade and pulled it into his body," Hunter wrote. "In the spirit and tradition of the Medal of Honor, these eyewitness accounts are exceedingly sufficient, but they were overridden based on questionable forensic evidence assembled by Pentagon bureaucrats." Rafael Peralta Hunter is optimistic that Mattis, the former commander of 1st Marine Division, will look into the case. Hunter told the San Diego Union-Tribune Mattis had originally signed off on the Medal of Honor award recommendation before it went up to Gates. Story continues "I believe you have the right perspective and familiarity with the facts to make an informed judgment on this matter," he wrote. "Even more so, you have the courage to do what's right where others have been too sensitive to internal Pentagon politics." The public affairs office for the defense secretary did not immediately respond to a request for comment. NOW WATCH: REVEALED: 15-story underground doomsday shelter made for millionaires More From Business Insider Who are Newport's top taxpayers? Take a look at the top 50. Champaign, IL (61820) Today Clear skies. Gusty winds during the evening. Low 42F. SSW winds at 25 to 35 mph, decreasing to 5 to 10 mph. Winds could occasionally gust over 40 mph.. Tonight Clear skies. Gusty winds during the evening. Low 42F. SSW winds at 25 to 35 mph, decreasing to 5 to 10 mph. Winds could occasionally gust over 40 mph. By Rory Carroll SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - California Public Employees' Retirement System should maintain its investments in the controversial Dakota Access oil pipeline project in order to exert influence over the companies involved, staff for the largest U.S. public pension fund said on Monday. Legislation proposed in California would require CalPERS, a $300 billion fund, to divest from companies involved in the building and financing of the 1,168-mile-long underground pipeline project, which would affect an estimated $4 billion in CalPERS holdings, according to staff. CalPERS staff said that while divesting stocks of companies involved in the project may reduce stakeholder perception that the fund's investments contribute to climate change, the move would limit CalPERS ability to change corporate behavior through engagement. "There is considerable evidence that divesting is an ineffective strategy for achieving social or political goals, since the consequence is generally a mere transfer of ownership of divested assets from one investor to another," staff said in its recommendation, which was published on its website. In order to comply with the legislation, CalPERS would have to sell off shares in the pipeline builder Dakota Access LLC and Energy Transfer Partners (ETP.N). In addition, the bill calls for divesting from the banks financing the $3.78 billion project. Those banks include Bank of America (BAC.N), Wells Fargo (WFC.N), JPMorgan Chase (JPM.N), and Citibank (C.N). The pipeline would carry crude from Stanley, North Dakota to Pakota, Illinois. It has been the target of intense protests by those concerned that a spill could contaminate water supplies underneath Native American tribal lands. The CalPERS Investment Committee will meet on Feb. 13 in Sacramento to discuss the bill. U.S. President Donald Trump has signaled his support for the project, which faced setbacks under the Obama administration. In December the previous government requested a full environmental review by the Army Corp of Engineers. Story continues The U.S. Army secretary could make a decision on the final permit needed to complete the pipeline as soon as Friday, the government's lawyer told a Washington, D.C., court on Monday. CalPERS is a frequent target of divestment campaigns. In the past it has pulled cash out of tobacco and firearm companies as well as investments in countries including Iran, Sudan, and South Africa on political grounds. The legislation, proposed by Assemblymember Ash Kalra of San Jose, also calls on California State Teachers' Retirement System (CalSTRS) to divest from the pipeline project. A spokesperson for CalSTRS said the $188 billion fund has not yet taken a position on the legislation. (Reporting by Rory Carroll; Editing by Daniel Bases and Cynthia Osterman) A study led by the University of Warwick has found a link between the removal of ovaries during hysterectomy and an increase in heart disease, cancer and premature death. The study is the largest of its kind conducted on the subject and covered a ten year period. It compared women who were treated for a benign disease who had both ovaries removed with those who had one or none removed. The work looked at 113,679 cases of women aged 35-45 during the period April 2004 to March 2014. A third of the patients studied had both ovaries removed. Titled Removal of all ovarian tissue versus conserving ovarian tissue at time of hysterectomy in premenopausal patients with benign disease: study using routine data and data linkage the study has been published in the BMJ. It found that women who had one or no ovaries removed were less likely to develop ischaemic heart disease (coronary artery disease) or cancer after hysterectomy than those who had both (bilateral) ovaries removed. The researchers also found that fewer women who retained one or both ovaries compared to those who had both removed died within the duration of the study - 0.6% compared to 1.01%. Although removal of both ovaries protects against subsequent development of ovarian cancer, the researchers believe premenopausal women should be advised that this benefit comes at the cost of an increased risk of cardiovascular disease and of other (more prevalent) cancers and higher overall mortality. The study was led by Richard Lilford, Professor of Obstetrics and Gynaecology and Chair in Public Health at the University of Warwick's Warwick Medical School. He said: "The combination of biological plausibility and the massive 'effect size' make a compelling case that women can be advised that their risk of ovarian cancer is greatly reduced by surgical removal of both ovaries. "However, the lifetime risk of developing ovarian cancer is one in 52 in the UK, and the removal of a metabolically active organ such as the ovary may have harmful effects in the long term. "If so, these long term disadvantages (combined with the unpleasant shorter term effects of acute oestrogen deprivation) must be offset against the benefit conferred by protection from ovarian cancer." A national database of hospital admissions was examined by the researchers and linked to the national register of deaths to conduct this nationwide study. Unlike the previous, smaller Nurses' Health Study, it was conducted on a countrywide basis rather than in a sample, and examined associations between operation type and subsequent hospital admissions, as well as mortality. Forty per cent of women with no specific risk factors for reproductive cancer had their ovaries removed during abdominal hysterectomy in the 35-45 age group. Professor Lilford said: "This might be a higher proportion than would be expected among women who were fully aware of the worse health outcomes with bilateral removal that we've reported. In that case, we might expect the proportion of women who select bilateral ovarian removal to decline as the health risks that must be traded for a reduced incidence of ovarian cancer come into sharper focus." Another point of interest the research team found was a decline, albeit a slow one, in the number of hysterectomies performed; nearly 9,000 women had a hysterectomy for a benign condition in the target age range in 2014, compared to almost 13,000 in 2004-05. The researchers admit the data available wasn't as detailed as they would have liked, in particular they didn't have information on the use of hormone replacement therapy. However they plan to re-examine the cohort at a later date to examine trends over the long term. Source: http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/newsandevents/pressreleases/removal_of_ovaries/ A new study shows that individuals exposed to a simulated cyber-terror attack had significantly increased levels of the stress hormone cortisol in their saliva compared to a control group. Following the cyber attack, study participants were more likely to fear an imminent cyber threat and to express feelings of personal insecurity, according to results published in Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking, a peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers. The article is available free on the Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking website March 10, 2017. A team of Israeli researchers designed a study to investigate the psychological effects of cyber terror. In the article entitled, "How Cyber-Attacks Terrorize: Cortisol and Personal Insecurity Jump in the Wake of Cyber Attacks," Daphna Canetti, Michael Gross, Israel Waismel-Manor, and Asaf Levanon, University of Haifa, and Hagit Cohen, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Israel, examine the potential damaging effects of cyber terror, even though its victims suffer no direct bodily harm. "Cyber attacks can increase both psychological and physiological stress in individuals. Teaching disaster preparedness for cyber events, as is done for real world events, may help mitigate some of this fear and anxiety," says Editor-in-Chief Brenda K. Wiederhold, PhD, MBA, BCB, BCN, Interactive Media Institute, San Diego, California and Virtual Reality Medical Institute, Brussels, Belgium. (Adds details on WTO, dateline previous OTTAWA) By Allison Lampert MONTREAL, Feb 7 (Reuters) - The Canadian government will announce an aid package for Bombardier Inc later on Tuesday, although a source familiar with the matter said the amount would be far less than the plane-maker had requested. The assistance from the government could trigger a new trade dispute with Brazil, which said late last year it would start proceedings against Canada at the World Trade Organization over what it calls unfair support. Bombardier and Brazil's Embraer SA have battled for decades over the regional jet market. The source said Canadian Innovation Minister Navdeep Bains would announce that Ottawa was giving the firm C$372 million ($282.27 million) in repayable loans. French-language public broadcaster Radio-Canada said just one-third of the amount would go to Bombardier's new C-Series passenger jet, with the rest going to the Global 7000 business jet. In late 2015, Bombardier asked the federal government to inject $1 billion into the C-Series. Negotiations dragged on for more than a year as Cabinet ministers outlined concessions they wanted the firm to make, such as changing its dual-class governing structure. Government officials declined to comment when asked about the report. Bombardier is now in a better position financially than when it initially asked Ottawa to match $1 billion in aid from the province of Quebec, where Bombardier is headquartered. The CSeries jetliner program competes with some airliners made by Embraer, as well as the smallest products of plane giants Boeing Co and Airbus Group SE. Reimbursable loans are a key pillar of the world's largest trade dispute, involving mutual transatlantic claims of unfair support for aircraft makers Airbus and Boeing. Canada's trade minister said last month he had told Brazil he was open to resolving a feud over funding for Bombardier without turning to the World Trade Organization. ($1 = 1.3179 Canadian dollars) (Additional reporting by Leah Schnurr and David Ljunggren in Ottawa; Editing by Dan Grebler and Peter Cooney) A new approach to the practice of surgical pathology for brain tumor patients could make for a powerful combination: more accurate, safer and more efficient operations. Neurosurgeons and pathologists at Michigan Medicine are the first to execute stimulated Raman histology, a method that improves speed and diagnostic efficiency, in an operating room. They detail the advance in a new Nature Biomedical Engineering paper. The researchers imaged tissue from 101 neurosurgical patients using conventional methods and the new method. Both techniques, they found, produced accurate results but the new method was much faster. That, if applied widely, could change the pace and structure of an operation. "By achieving excellent image quality in fresh tissues, we're able to make a diagnosis during surgery," says first author Daniel A. Orringer, M.D., assistant professor of neurosurgery at the University of Michigan Medical School. "This eliminates the lengthy process of sending tissues out of the OR for processing and interpretation." Today's workflow for determining a diagnosis during an operation requires the surgeon wait for 30 to 40 minutes while tissue is sent to a dedicated pathology lab for processing, sectioning, staining, mounting and interpretation. The entire team in the operating room may be idle while waiting for pathology results, Orringer says. A more efficient surgical procedure would save money by requiring less time in the operating room. "Our technique may disrupt the intraoperative diagnosis process in a great way, reducing it from a 30-minute process to about 3 minutes," Orringer says. "Initially, we developed this technology as a means of helping surgeons detect microscopic tumor, but we found the technology was capable of much more than guiding surgery." Near-perfect agreement Stimulated Raman scattering microscopy, the technology behind SRH, was developed in 2008, but the hazardous lasers it involved made it unsuitable for use in an operating room. A clinical version has now been developed and tested in the operating room for more than a year at U-M, with the fiber-laser-based microscope mounted right onto a clinical cart that plugs into the wall. To interpret the samples, researchers developed SRH, which creates images familiar to those currently in use. SRH uses virtual coloring to highlight the cellular and architectural features of brain tumors, with a result resembling traditional staining. The pathologist is then able to differentiate the tumor tissue from normal brain as usual. Lab Diagnostics & Automation eBook Compilation of the top interviews, articles, and news in the last year. Download a copy today "It's very similar to what we currently do in our intraoperative diagnosis, with the exception that the tissue is fresh, has not been processed or stained," says senior author Sandra Camelo-Piragua, M.D., assistant professor of pathology at the U-M Medical School. In the Nature Biomedical Engineering study, neuropathologists were given 30 specimen samples, processed via SRH or traditional methods. They were told the same information about each patient's medical history and the location of the tumor and asked to make a diagnosis. Those pathologists, the U-M researchers found, were equally likely to make a correct diagnosis whether they used SRH or conventional slides. "SRH imaging will ensure that appropriate and good quality tissue is collected to reach our ultimate goal: accurate diagnosis," Camelo-Piragua says. Artificial intelligence As Orringer and his team continue to improve this imaging technology, they're also teaching a computer how to use SRH images to make diagnoses. They built and validated a machine learning process that was able to predict brain tumor subtype with 90 percent accuracy in a subset of 30 patient samples. "The more we feed the computer, the more accurate its diagnoses will become," Orringer says. Connecting hospitals Using SRH might also improve the workflow for facilities without access to expert neuropathologists. Orringer notes that smaller hospitals may be able to partner with larger systems that do have access, since there are fewer than 800 board-certified neuropathologists compared to the approximately 1,400 U.S. institutions performing brain surgery. "Bringing the SRH to smaller hospitals would extend their capabilities because the images can be interpreted remotely," he says. Sample preparation is minimal and the SRH could quickly deliver virtual histologic sections to aid diagnosis remotely. The next step is a large-scale clinical trial, with an eventual goal of showing equivalence between SRH technique for making diagnoses, Orringer says. The prototype system is currently intended for research use only. Of the more than 700,000 Americans who suffer a heart attack each year, about a quarter go on to develop heart failure. Scientists don't fully understand how one condition leads to the other, but researchers in the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania have now discovered a significant cluewhich ultimately could lead new therapies for preventing the condition. Heart failure can develop after a heart attack due to a long-term damage response by the immune system that transforms much of the heart muscle into stiff, fibrous, scar-like tissue. In a study published today in the Journal of Clinical Investigation, researchers report that a set of signaling proteins produced in the epicardium, a layer of special cells that lines the heart muscle, appears to play a key role in keeping this wayward damage-response process in check. "These findings highlight the importance of the heart's interaction with the immune system in the post-heart-attack response," said co-senior author Rajan Jain, MD, an assistant professor of Cardiovascular Medicine. "They hint at the possibility of developing designer therapies aimed at modulating specific aspects of immune system in the future as part of treating patients who have had a heart attack. " Prior work from Epstein and colleagues at Penn has shown that in the epicardium, a cascade of protein-to-protein interactions known as the Hippo signaling pathway occurs early in life and is important for normal heart development. Other research has suggested that two key components of the Hippo pathway, the signaling proteins YAP and TAZ, also promote the regeneration of heart muscle after experimental heart-attack-like damage in newborn mice. In this study, researchers examined the role of epicardial YAP and TAZ after heart attack in the adult heart, which, compared to the fetal or newborn heart, is much less able to regenerate itself following injury. After an experimentally induced heart attack, normal adult mice, as expected, showed a small amount of fibrous change in the heart, limited to the area where a coronary artery were blocked and heart muscle had been deprived of oxygen. By contrast, in adult mice whose YAP and TAZ genes had been deleted from their epicardial cells just before the heart attack, there were signs of widespread inflammation and fibrosis in the heart muscle. "The hearts of these mice were essentially encased in fibrotic cells," Jain said. "We found that this extreme fibrotic response was accompanied by a decline in heart function resembling what is seen in human heart failure, as well as rapid weight loss and a much higher death rate." Researchers found evidence that the Hippo-pathway proteins normally trigger the increased production of the immune protein interferon gamma. The latter summons regulatory T cells - "T-regs" - which generally calm immune responses, and have been shown in prior research to reduce heart-muscle inflammation after a heart attack. In the YAP-less, TAZ-less mice, a heart attack failed to induce the usual rise in interferon gamma production and recruitment of T-regs, allowing inflammation and fibrosis to run rampant. "We are hoping to harness the immune system, just as we are doing at Penn to fight cancer, in order to improve the balance between scar formation and regeneration after a heart attack," said co-senior author Jonathan A. Epstein, MD, executive vice dean and chief science officer at Penn Medicine. "The more we look, the more we discover that the immune system is regulating how we heal from injury in every way - acting like the conductor of a complex cellular orchestra." In a further experiment, the researchers applied a hydrogel laced with interferon gamma to the hearts of some of these mutant mice just after their heart attacks. As hoped, the artificial restoration of interferon gamma led to higher T-reg levels in the heart and much more moderate inflammation and fibrosis. The findings show that epicardial YAP and TAZ are important not only for the normal development of young hearts but also for a healthier repair process in damaged adult hearts. Jain, Epstein and their colleagues now plan further experiments to map out the fibrosis-causing immune response in more detaila project that could reveal multiple targets for future drug interventions to prevent heart failure in heart attack patients. The team also plans to develop mice in which the YAP and TAZ genes are not deleted but are instead overexpressed. "The hope is that higher levels of these proteins will lead to a scar-free healing of the heart after a heart attack," Jain said. Elanco Animal Health, a division of Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE: LLY), in collaboration with Purdue University's College of Veterinary Medicine, today released preliminary research findings that support the power of the human-animal bond. The preliminary study results, which were shared during a presentation at the North American Veterinary Conference (NAVC) in Orlando, Fla., show that in addition to the physical benefits service dogs provide their owners, they also contribute to emotional and psychosocial well-being. This new research on the human-animal bond is part of a four-year primary research study on the emotional and health benefits of service dogs to their recipients. The goal of the three-part study is to produce groundbreaking evidence-based research documenting the "pet effect" - the impact of the human-animal bond on mental health and well-being. "Innovative research is key to protecting both human and animal health," said Dr. Heidi Hulon, consulting veterinarian for Elanco. "Elanco understands the powerful role healthy animals play in making lives better, and this research has the potential to empower veterinarians and all those concerned with animal health to enrich the lives of people worldwide by supporting programs that promote the human-animal bond." The research project is led by Maggie O'Haire, assistant professor of human-animal interaction at Purdue's College of Veterinary Medicine. The team also includes Ph.D. candidate Kerri Rodriguez and postdoctoral research fellow Jess Bibbo. O'Haire also leads Purdue's Organization for Human-Animal Interaction Research (OHAIRE), [https://vet.purdue.edu/chab/ohaire/] which includes national and international collaborators, students, and community members working together to conduct rigorous scientific research on the unique and pervasive effects of interacting with animals. "Even though the benefits of service dogs for those with physical disabilities are well-recognized, the emotional and psychosocial effects are largely unknown," O'Haire said. "There is a wealth of positive anecdotal information but comparatively few data-driven scientific measures of how dogs affect their human companions' sense of well-being. We hope to fulfill the critical need for additional research on this topic." Neuroscience eBook Compilation of the top interviews, articles, and news in the last year. Download a copy today Researchers worked with Canine Assistants, a non-profit organization dedicated to education and placement of service dogs with children and adults who have physical disabilities or other special needs. Elanco has been a sponsor of Canine Assistants since 2015. Research Methodology The study compared service dog recipients and their family members with people who are on a waiting list for service dogs and their families. Study participants completed an online survey about their emotional and psychosocial functioning. More than 300 surveys were returned - 187 from those who had received service dogs, and their families and 118 from recipients on the waitlist and their families. Additionally, the study evaluated the emotional and psychosocial benefits of the human-animal bond for family members (parents, caregivers and spouses) of service dog recipients. Summary of Preliminary Research Findings Preliminary findings of the study indicate: "These preliminary findings are not surprising, but they are very significant," said O'Haire. "There is a wealth of positive anecdotal information on this topic, but comparatively few data-driven scientific measures of how dogs affect their human companions' sense of well-being. The research is a critical step in determining if these results are applicable to a broader range of pet owners." Additional research is underway continue to confirm the initial results of this study, and provide the information to scientifically verify the benefits of the human-animal bond. This research is considered to be a critical step in providing much needed scientific evidence as a basis for fostering more serious attention to human-animal bond dynamics and related issues and policy concerns. Bladder dysfunction is a reality for about half of patients with diabetes and now scientists have evidence that an immune system receptor that's more typically activated by bacteria is a major contributor. In the face of diabetes, scientists have shown for the first time that contents released by dying cells activate Toll-like receptor 4, or TLR4, a driver of inflammation, on the muscular bladder wall, resulting in a thicker, less compliant organ that soon struggles to carry out its basic functions of storing and excreting urine, said Dr. Theodora Szasz, postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Physiology at the Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University. In patients, that eventually translates to having to excrete a greater volume of urine more frequently and ultimately possible incontinence if basic bladder function is lost. Now scientists show in an animal model that preventing activation of TLR4 enables the wall to remain strong but elastic even in the face of high glucose, a diabetes hallmark that also inflames. Szasz, who works in the lab of MCG physiology chairman, Dr. R. Clinton Webb, is corresponding author of the study in the journal Diabetes. Szasz and her colleagues hope the finding will ultimately lead to treatments that protect the bladder. Immediate future studies include looking specifically at the contribution of glucose and HMGB1, which is released by dying cells, and the effect of inhibiting HMGB1. The bladder has to be both elastic so it can expand to hold urine, and muscular so it can contract to expel it. Its work is significantly increased in diabetes where patients tend to be thirsty and consume more fluids and kidneys produce more urine in an effort to help clear high levels of glucose in the blood. High glucose already drives inflammation - likely through some of the same mechanisms and possibly additional pathways as HMGBI - which causes increased cell death in organs and blood vessels throughout the body. As more cells die, they dump their contents, which now look like foreign bacteria or viruses to the immune system. Among those cell contents, now called damage associated molecular patterns, or DAMPs, is HMGB1, which inside the cell helps stabilize DNA, but outside garners the attention of TLR4, one of a family of immune cell receptors that is more typically activated by a membrane component of bacteria. Patients with diabetes have evidence of increased TLR4 expression in the lining of their bladder and of its activity throughout their body. There is evidence as well of higher levels of HMGB1 and other substances that might bind with Toll-like receptors. There's additional evidence that in diabetes, HMGB1 activates TLR4 as does high glucose. The MCG team appears to be the first to document the destructive activation in an animal model of diabetes-related bladder dysfunction, including downstream effects such as increased production of immune cells called cytokines that promote inflammation, increased reactive oxygen species production and other changes that are known to, in turn, impact muscle contraction. The scenario correlates with usual clinical progression of the condition, Szasz said. The blood of their mouse model of diabetes expressed more HMGB1 than normal mice and the muscular bladder wall - on which these studies focused - expressed more of both TLR4 and its downstream molecule MYD88, which can ultimately influence gene expression as well as cell growth and death. Contraction and bladder weight were also increased in the mouse model of diabetes but a drug that inhibited TLR4 normalized them. While mice missing TLR4 still developed the classic high glucose levels of diabetes, they were protected from thickened bladder walls and excessive contractility, Szasz and team reported. In the early stages of diabetes, the bladder tries to compensate for the increased volume of urine with a thicker and initially stronger muscle wall. So, while patients may begin to urinate more frequently and a greater volume each time, the bladder can maintain its fundamental functions of storage and expelling. But much like with heart failure, the bladder muscle over time can become big and dysfunctional, not able to contract as well, ultimately failing at both tasks and the patient becomes incontinent. Like the rest of the body, the bladder gets exposed to high glucose levels from the blood perfusing it, but also from the urine it's storing for removal. While there has long been evidence that these high levels produce changes like increased levels of destructive reactive oxygen species, just what happens to cause dysfunction of the bladder's two primary functions in diabetes has been unknown. Szasz notes that use of antioxidants to slow disease progression have been unsuccessful. There are a wide variety of drugs, even surgery to treat symptoms, such as frequent urination, but not for direct causes of bladder dysfunction, which scientists like Szasz are still helping define. She notes that as with all effects of diabetes, excellent control of blood glucose levels, remains the best option for avoiding complications. Much like our blood vessels, the exterior of the bladder is essentially a matrix of smooth muscle cells and it's lined with urothelial cells involved in a host of functions, including serving as natural barriers and reacting to stimuli, such as bacteria like E. coli, the most common cause of urinary tract infections. Both the inner and out layer become thicker and less efficient during relatively early stages of diabetic bladder dysfunction. In a rather vicious cycle, bacteria are attracted to the higher glucose levels in the bladder, so there also are more bladder infections, which also activate Toll-like receptors and likely further contribute to the damage, Szasz said. Older adults who are admitted to the hospital with head trauma over the weekend have a 14 percent increased risk of dying than those admitted on a weekday, according to research presented this week at the Association of Academic Physiatrists Annual Meeting in Las Vegas. Weekend hospital admission is associated with higher instances of death in cardiovascular emergencies and stroke, but the effect of weekend admissions on head trauma patients is not well defined. Researchers from University of Texas Southwestern Medical School, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, and The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, used data from the 2006, 2007 and 2008 Nationwide Inpatient Sample a large publicly available dataset that contains a sampling of data for seven million hospital stays each year to determine if older adults admitted to the hospital for head trauma over the weekend were at a higher mortality risk than those admitted during the week. "Older adults are some of the most vulnerable members of our society, and multiple studies point to differences in outcomes for older adult patients. After seeing the weekend trend in other areas, we wanted to see if a similar pattern existed for older adult patients suffering traumatic head injuries," says Lead Investigator in the study, Salman Hirani, MD, who is now a second-year resident in the department of rehabilitation medicine at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. The team identified 38,675 head injury patients in the sample who met their criteria including serious and severe head injuries based on the Abbreviated Injury Scale, which measures injuries from minor to not survivable. From the initial group, they isolated 9,937 patients who were admitted on the weekend. The average age of both weekend and weekday patients was 78. Weekend patients had fewer additional injuries and co-existing diseases outside of head trauma than those admitted during the week. Weekend patients were also predominantly female when compared to weekday patients (52 percent vs. 50). Dr. Hirani noted the median length of stay in the hospital was one day shorter for weekend patients (four days vs. five), and there were no significant differences in the charges incurred during each patient's stay - both groups averaged around $27,000 per patient per stay. Where the groups differed was in the percentage of patients who did not survive their injuries - with weekend patients having a 14 percent higher risk of death than weekday patients. "Overall, weekend patients were less severely injured, had fewer co-existing diseases and conditions, and generated the same amount of charges for their care as weekday patients, yet they experienced a greater likelihood of death," says Dr. Hirani. "While we are not sure of the exact reason for this, we can continue to investigate and encourage hospitals to take a look at their own outcomes in order to put into place policies that would improve survival for older adults with traumatic brain injuries. Ultimately, we know that Level I trauma centers do not exhibit this weekend effect. It may then be important for an older adult with a TBI, especially those occurring over the weekend, to be admitted to or transferred to a Level I trauma center or a facility with full time staffing around the clock as these patients may require closer observation." China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) has cut subsidy qualifications for seven Chinese automakers over subsidy cheating. Chongqing Lifan Automobile Co. Ltd, one of the punished producers, was accused of equipping 1,353 new-energy cars with a sub-par number of battery cells in 2015 when it applied for financial subsidies. The MIIT penalty effectively bans the automakers from entering an official catalogue of recommended vehicle types which get fiscal support to lower their prices and boost market competitiveness, state-run Xinhua news agency reported today. Authorities will review their application after they rectify their problems in two months. Authorities launched investigations into subsidy cheating cases in the beginning of 2016 after the country had forked out about 33 billion yuan (about USD 4.8 billion) of subsidies between 2009 and 2015. The subsidy program has played an important role in the country's booming market for new-energy vehicles, which are seen as effective in cutting emissions. China sold 507,000 new-energy vehicles last year, a rise of 53 per cent year on year. The government will cut subsidies to new-energy vehicles by 10 percent this year from the 2016 level and plans to phase out the subsidies by 2020. New Delhi: Policymaking is like going 60 miles per hour with the rain pattering on your windshield with no idea what is in front of you, according to former governor of the Reserve Bank of India Raghuram Rajan. In one of his first public interactions after relinquishing his RBI post, the Katherine Dusak Miller Distinguished Service Professor of Finance at the Booth School of Business, University of Chicago, told the varsitys media relations wing that he was looking forward to his days in academia where you can spend four days in a room, sit looking at a piece of paper and struggling with a thought that refuses to come out". Rajan was much more skeptical about the world of policy-making from which he had recently returned. As a policy maker, you're desperate for more data to guide your policy making. You would love to have a ton of research telling you, this works, that doesn't, thus and such is how you should go. But, in practice, you don't have it. So you're going 60 miles per hour with the rain pattering on your windshield, and the windshield is fogging up. And you're on a highway, so you can't stop, because you could cause a pile-up, but you have no idea what's in front of you. That's sort of policy making, he said. Rajan said that in an era of widespread democracy one cannot have a system which works only for some, and not for others. The markets need political support. We need to further that debate. And Chicago has always played an important role in that debate. We need a better solution, and that is part of what I hope to think about, he said. Talking about the economic recession of 2008, he observed that economist cannot see into the future. I can't say that I was not surprised by what happened in 2008. Yes, I had talked about some of the factors that were leading up to that, but the extent of the damage that was done in financial markets, to financial institutions, to confidence, and more broadly to trust in markets was far greater than anyone could have imagined, he said. Rajan shed more light on whats ailing the world of markets and the challenges for policymakers. He said there was a tendency to regulate what we understand while letting go of things we dont. Are the problems solved? Are we moving forward? Have we put behind us financial fragility? The sad answer is no. We have made progress. Banks are much better capitalised than they were, there is much more of a sense that incentives left to themselves sometimes can create public risk. And we need to think about how that works. But there are also areas of the financial sector that we have left relatively lightly-regulated, even while we are putting regulation after regulation on the parts we understand better. And to my mind uneven regulation is as much of a problem as no regulation or excessive regulation--because uneven regulation leads to regulatory arbitrage. Activity moves from the regulated part to the unregulated part. And this is where the worry is. The one big lesson from the crisis is everything is connected, so (if you) make this safe, make that unsafe, you're not safe yet, he said. However, the professor seems thrilled about getting back to the world of academia. One of the difficulties of a job in the quote real world is you don't really get time to shut yourself off in a room and think. Now in academia, if you're not too careful, you get really dragged into the real world and you don't have that time. But if you are careful, you can spend four days in a room, sit looking at a piece of paper and struggling with a thought that refuses to come out. At the end of those four days, sometimes, you say, Oh my God, how did I miss this?and it dawns on you. And that's as close to bliss as you can get, he said. Rajan said he looks forward to taking his bike out and riding the bike path along Lake Shore Drive in Chicago. That's one of the great experiences in my life. And I hope to do it as long as I can. It's great to be back, he said. The Supreme Court on Tuesday clarified that it cannot issue moral guidelines to regulate individuals over cracking jokes on Sikh community.The court made the observation while hearing a plea against jokes on Sikhs.However, the court will pass an order in the case on March 27.In October 2015, the "Santa Banta" jokes came under the lens of the Supreme Court which agreed to hear a PIL seeking direction to ban websites displaying cracks on sardars and projecting them in poor light."This (Sikh) community is known for great sense of humour and they also enjoy such jokes. You must have gone through the jokes of Khushwant Singh...This is only an amusement. Why do you want it to be stopped?...Prepare your case well. We will hear you" a bench comprising Justices TS Thakur and V Gopala Gowda had said.A woman lawyer Harvinder Chowdhary had filed a public interest litigation (PIL) who argued there are more than 5,000 websites which display jokes on sardars projecting the members of the community in poor light.Chowdhury had sought direction to Telecom Ministry to filter websites which target the Sikh community as it is violative of sections 153A and 153B of the Indian Penal Code."All the jokes relating to Sikh community should be stopped. My children are humiliated and feel embarrassed and they don't want to suffix Singh and Kaur after their name," Chowdhury had contended.(With agency inputs) Indore: Women in Indore might be seen blowing whistle to tackle harassment by eve-teasers soon. Indore police is planning to hand over the whistles to women who frequently face harassment on the streets. Senior police officers including DIG Harinarayanchari Mishra and others have been busy seeking suggestions from the pubic to improve city police functioning. Amit Sikarwar came with a suggestion to provide whistles to girls and women so that they can blow it whenever they are teased. This will in turn attract the attention of people who could come to the rescue of the victims. It seems a practical idea and we are looking into this proposal, an officer from Indore police said. Sikarwar also said he wants to help police in their effort to control crime against women. Indore being the commercial capital of Madhya Pradesh also records a high crime rate. Pakistans spy agency ISI was suspected to be behind the train disaster in Kanpur after police arrested three people-Moti Paswan, Uma Shankar Patel and Mukesh Yadav-from Bihar's Motihari district. A suspected ISI operative Samshul Hoda who is the main accused in the Kanpur train derailment case has been deported to Nepal from Dubai after a special team of Nepal Police arrested him along with three others on Monday.The three others have been identified as Brij Kishor Giri, Ashish Singh and Umesh Kumar Kurmi, all from Kalaiya district in southern Nepal.Hoda has been detained from the Tribhuvan International Airport, said Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) Pashupati Upadhyaya.Sources said the National Investigative Agency will send a team to Nepal to question Hoda. Since getting access to Huda through normal channels is going to be a long drawn affair, the NIA will write to MEA via MHA seeking to use of diplomatic channels to get Hoda to India.Hoda is the mastermind of a twin murder in Bara district of Nepal, police said. A case has already been registered against him in Bara District Court."Nepal Police will also work in close coordination with the Indian Police for Hoda's alleged involvement in criminal activities in India," he said.The police have brought Hoda and three other accused criminals to Nepal from Dubai in coordination with the Interpol, Upadhyaya told PTI.Hoda, who is suspected to be an ISI agent, is currently in the custody of Nepal police and security agencies are working to bring him back to India.Sources said that NIA would want to confront Hoda with other arrested accused like Paswan to get a clearer picture of the alleged conspiracy, money trail and so on.According to Bihar police, the three were paid Rs three lakh by a Nepali man who had connections with Hoda.The arrested suspects had reportedly confessed that they were asked by the ISI to target Indian railways.The ISI link to the November 20, 2016, train disaster, in which 115 people were killed, was being suspected after the interrogation of the trio, police had said.Moti Paswan, Uma Shankar Patel and Mukesh Yadav confessed to having worked for a Nepalese contact suspected to be connected to ISI to target the railways, Motihari Superintendent of Police, Jitendra Rana had said.(With PTI inputs) FUQING CITY, CHINA / ACCESSWIRE / February 7, 2017 / China Clean Energy Inc. (OTC PINK: CCGY) ("China Clean Energy," the "Company," or "CCGY") today announced that the Intermediate People's Court of Fuzhou City, Fujian Province, China ruled in favor of China Clean Energy in certain claims against its wholly-owned operating subsidiaries, Fujian Zhongde Science & Technologies Co., Ltd. ("FZT") and Fujian Zhongde Energy Co., Ltd. ("FZE"). China Clean Energy filed suit against its subsidiaries in order to enforce actions taken to legally remove directors, management, and legal representatives of the subsidiaries, and replace them with persons chosen and authorized by China Clean Energy. The subsidiaries refused to comply with the authorized changes, thus necessitating the need for court enforcement. The Court ruled as follows: 1. The January 17, 2015 Shareholder's Resolution and the Letter of Removal and Appointment is legal and valid. (That resolution removed the former directors, Chairman, and legal representatives of FZT and FZE, and appointed Cosimo Borrelli, Jocelyn Chi, and Kevin Song as new directors, and appointed Cosimo Borrelli as the chairman and legal representative.) 2. FZT and FZE must register with the appropriate authorities said changes within 10 days of the ruling. 3. The Court rejected CCGY's claim that requests its subsidiaries to turn over specific licenses, certificates, chops, financial documents, and other items that enable it to operate. The Court noted that the subsidiaries exist as independent legal entities, and there is no legal basis to force the divestiture of those items. FZT and FZE have appealed this ruling to a Higher Court. The Higher Court's decision is expected within the next 3 months. "Fuzhou City Court's ruling sends a strong signal that foreign shareholders' legal rights will be enforced," said Stephen Markscheid, the Court Appointed Receiver of China Clean Energy. "This ruling is an initial victory for us, while also supporting the investment climate in China. Story continues Markscheid continued, "We are confident that we will regain control of our company. We look forward to ultimate success in our effort to recover some of the valuable assets owned by our shareholders." About China Clean Energy China Clean Energy Inc. is a renewable fuel and chemicals manufacturer, specializing in the development, manufacturing, and distribution of biodiesel and specialty chemical products made from renewable resources. For additional information, please visit: http://www.chinacleanenergyinc.com. Safe Harbor Statement This announcement contains forward-looking statements. All statements other than statements of historical fact in this announcement are forward-looking statements, including but not limited to, the effectiveness, profitability, and the marketability of the Company's products; the future trading of the common stock of the Company; the ability of the Company to capitalize on its expanded production capacity; the period of time for which its current liquidity will enable the Company to fund its operations; the Company's ability to protect its proprietary information; general economic and business conditions; the volatility of the Company's operating results and financial condition resulting from changes in raw material prices, international oil prices and price controls imposed by the Chinese government; the Company's ability to attract or retain qualified senior management personnel and research and development staff; and other risks detailed in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. These forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties and are based on current expectations, assumptions, estimates, and projections about the Company and the industry. The Company undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking statements to reflect subsequent occurring events or circumstances, or to changes in its expectations, except as may be required by law. Although the Company believes that the expectations expressed in these forward-looking statements are reasonable, it cannot assure you that the Company's expectations will turn out to be correct, and investors are cautioned that actual results may differ materially from the anticipated results. Company Contact: Stephen Markscheid smarkscheid@gmail.com SOURCE: China Clean Energy Inc. New Delhi: Designating Pakistan as a state sponsor of terrorism is unwise in the first year of a new administration, but should be kept as an option for the longer term, experts from over a dozen influential think-tanks in the US have advised the Donald Trump administration. The report submitted to the White House asks that Washington recognise that its efforts over several decades to strengthen Pakistan militarily have only encouraged those elements in Pakistan that hope someday to wrest Kashmir from India through force. The report argues that US engagement with Pakistan must be based on a realistic appraisal of the countrys policies, aspirations, and worldview. The US must stop chasing the mirage of securing change in Pakistans strategic direction by giving it additional aid or military equipment. It must be acknowledged that Pakistan is unlikely to change its current policies through inducements alone, the report adds. Titled A New U.S. Approach to Pakistan: Enforcing Aid Conditions without Cutting Ties, the report has been authored by Husain Haqqani, Director for South and Central Asia, and Lisa Curtis, Senior Research Fellow, Heritage Foundation, along with several others. The US must refuse to get involved in the India-Pakistan dispute over Kashmir and instead focus on diplomatically isolating Pakistan over its continued support to terrorist groups that attack India and have connections to international terrorism. The US should encourage both India and Pakistan to exercise restraint and pursue measures normalizing their relationship, says the report. The authors recommend avoiding a complete breakdown in U.S.-Pakistan relations. The U.S. cannot achieve its counterterrorism objectives in Pakistan so long as Islamabad tolerates those terrorist groups operating in Afghanistan and India. Yet it also is not in the U.S. interest to make an enemy out of Pakistan without fresh efforts to change Pakistani behavior, they say. The report says that with India-Pakistan tensions on the rise, the Trump administration must formulate a new policy approach toward Pakistan quickly. Another major terrorist attack in India conducted by Pakistan-based militants could precipitate a wider conflict that has the potential of going nuclear, it warns. The US should stop its habit of trying to balance its policies towards India and Pakistan and Washington should not be constrained by fear that other countries will displace the US role in Pakistan, the report argues. For too long, the U.S. has given Pakistan a pass on its support for some terrorist groups based in Pakistan, including those used against India. The U.S. squandered a valuable opportunity in the aftermath of 9/11 and the 2001-2002 India-Pakistani military crisis to alter the Pakistani militarys fundamental calculations on the use of terrorism for foreign policy ends. Pakistan has long insisted that it is unable to meet U.S. counterterrorism demands in any but the long term. Pakistani officials have privately argued that local terrorist groups such as Jaish-e-Muhammad or Lashkar-e-Taiba are too powerful and pervasive for the military establishment to challenge now. The U.S. should no longer settle for Pakistans excuses for delaying a full-throttle crackdown on these terrorist groups and should instead hold Pakistan accountable for the activities of all terrorist groups on its soil, it says. Prime Minster Narendra Modi takes a dig at Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi says finally the earthquake has struck. PM Modi is currently replying to President Pranab Mukherjees address. Stay tuned for Live updates Read all the Latest News , Breaking News , watch Top Videos and Live TV here. New Delhi: Sangh Parivars own trade union Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS) has slammed the Union governments new labour law amendment as a thoughtless move that will only help in further exploitation of the entire working class in the country. The Lok Sabha on Tuesday passed the Payment of Wages (Amendment) Bill, 2017, which mandates payment of all salaries under Rs 18,000 only through cheque or digital transactions. This is only a thrust for Prime Minister Narendra Modis Digital India campaign and workers should not pay for such a mission, Pawan Kumar, North Central Zonal Secretary of BMS, told News18. Kumar was one of the many stakeholders who were consulted by labour minister Bandaru Dattareya before the amendment was finalised. He, however, expressed relief that the Factories Amendment Bill that was passed last year in the Lok Sabha had only amended the provision relating to extending the overtime working hours of an employee and had left alone the clause which permits woman to work at night. His rationale: Women should not work in night shifts. This amendment has not been incorporated in the factories bill. It is good that it has not been included. It is unconstitutional, illegal, unethical and immoral in the context of India. Women cannot work in night shifts and is not allowed, said Kumar. Kumar alleged that demands to include women in the workforce are raised by the so-called NGOs and so-called intellectuals who are financed by foreign funds. This is not America, this is India. Indian women manage the entire home and if she works at night, how will she manage? Here children dont stay in child care homes and elderly are not sent to old age homes. The entire family structure will collapse in India. Here women are not safe during the day, then imagine what will happen at night, said Kumar. Kumar acknowledged women do work at night in India whether it is call centres or the military or the hospitals. There is no prohibition on females to work at night as seen in hospitals, police, army, etc. No one stops them, but there should be no law specially permitting them to work at night, said Kumar. The BMS leader wondered if Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had undergone a sudden mood change to include labour reforms in the Budget. On December 30, 2015, in the presence of Bandaru Dattareya and me, Jaitely had said that Indian labour laws do not need any reform, said Kumar. Kumar said that the Finance Minister had no business in talking about legislative reforms in the Labour ministry, and by doing so, he was interfering with the affairs of another ministry. The latest bill passed today will replace the Payment of Wages (Amendment) Bill 2016, which was introduced in Lok Sabha on December 15, 2016 and also seeks to repeal the Payment of Wages (Amendment) Ordinance 2016 promulgated on December 28, 2016. To withdraw money, an employee has to take a leave from work and many employers would not be willing to give leave to an employee just to visit a bank and withdraw money. Banks deduct commission on withdrawal and an amount above Rs 2,000 has a commission of 0.5%, which leads to a loss of Rupees 50. Is that not a loss? Its an impractical decision without proper consultation and thought, said Kumar. This ordinance will also lead to workers being exploited. Management will now stop keeping workers on the rolls because if kept on the rolls then bank accounts have to be opened and the salary being paid will be registered. In the budget itself Jaitely said that almost 6 lakh companies do not file IT returns. So here the government fails to nab them but on the other side you are pressurising the workers to get salary in bank accounts, he said. Under Payment of Wages act, maximum fine is of Rs 50, and it is irrelevant in the present context and it demands a review. Look at the minimum wages in the payment of wages act, it has an upper ceiling of Rs 18,000 and hence it is irrelevant now which again needs a review. Even Bonus Act and Industrial Disputes Act needs to be reviewed. According to the Industrial Disputes Act, there is no workman in India at the moment because the upper ceiling for the compensation of a workman is Rs 1,600 and hence it needs review, said Kumar. While presenting the union budget on February 1, the Finance Minister had stated that legislative reforms will be undertaken to simplify, rationalise and amalgamate the existing labour laws into four codes on (i) wages; (ii) industrial relations; (iii) social security and welfare; and (iv) safety and working conditions. But Kumar believed that the proposal of codification was dicey and has an uncertain future. Only two codes of have been drafted till now. The IR code and Wage code has been drafted till now and the other two codes including Social Security and Welfare have not even been drafted. Even the two drafted codes do not have cabinet approval and there is no confirmation on the approval by the law ministry. There have been no stakeholder consultations either on the yet to be drafted codes, said Kumar. Navi Mumbai: In a shocking incident, a man in Navi Mumbai paid with his life for attempting to kiss a rescued cobra and click a selfie last week, an activist said on Monday. The tragedy befell a 25 year-old snake lover Somnath Mhatre living in Belapur town who used to rescue snakes and other creatures. On January 30, he was summoned to remove a deadly poisonous cobra which had slithered into a private car parked in a nearby housing complex, said the activist, preferring anonymity. After successfully retrieving it from the vehicle, Mhatre took it some distance away to check for any injuries on the cobra. The snake was fine but jittery, so Mhatre decided to make the rescue mission memorable by kissing the cobra for a selfie with his mobile phone. He managed to click the selfie, but the scared creature suddenly panicked and sharply bit his rescuer on the chest. Bleeding and in sheer pain from the poisonous bite, he was rushed to a local hospital for treatment, but he succumbed five days later. His shocked family members and other animal lovers said he was an expert who had rescued over 100 snakes and released them back in the wild safely in the past few years. This is stated to be the 31st such incident in the state in the past over a decade involving rescuers or animal lovers, and at least 22 from cobra bites, and the rest by other rescued reptiles. There have been demands from various NGOs and animal welfare groups to the forest department to issue a set of guidelines to be adopted by animal rescuers and action if they posted pictures of stunts on social media networks. The US, UK and France moved a resolution in the UN to get Pathankot attack mastermind Masood Azhar designated as a global terrorist, but the move has been stymied by China, which opposed the ban against the Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) chief.The proposal was moved on January 19, a day before the inauguration of Donald Trump as US President. It came barely weeks after India's efforts to get Azhar banned by the UN were blocked by China in December last.Reacting to the development, the Ministry of External Affairs said, We have been informed of the development and the matter has been taken up with the Chinese government.PTI quoted senior government sources as saying that the US, supported by the UK and France, moved a proposal at the UN's Sanctions Committee 1267 in the second-half of last month to proscribe Azhar.The proposal, which was finalised after "consultations" between Washington and New Delhi, said JeM is a designated terror outfit and so its leaders cannot go scot-free, PTI quoted sources as saying."However, China opposed the US move by putting a hold on the proposal," a source said, adding the Chinese action came just before the expiry of the 10-day deadline for any proposal to be adopted or blocked or to be put on hold.The "hold" remains for six months and can be further extended by three months. During this period, it can be anytime converted into a "block", thereby, ending the life of the proposal.UN Sanction Committee's listing would have forced imposition of asset freeze and travel ban on Azhar by countries, including Pakistan. There are things and situations when I have advised that doing a certain thing may not be legal, but then I was asked to work around it. I am not someone who is favour of bending the law. Such differences were happening more than often and had started accumulating between us, and hence I decided to quit respectfully, the senior advocate said. There cannot be any clash of interest. Maybe it was a clash of ego but my ego is too small, he said. Jayanta Mitra, who resigned as the Advocate General of West Bengal on Tuesday, has told News18 that he was quitting as the states top legal officer because he was not someone who is in favour of bending the law.Mitra has been the state Advocate General for two years. He had earlier resigned from his post on May 19, 2016, but was reappointed as the AG next month.In the last two years I have handled several high profile cases as I was the Advocate General. When you work with several high profile clients there are bound to be differences of opinion. Though I am not entitled to disclose exact details as it is a matter between the advocate and his client but I can say that the differences of opinion were regarding employment of people, discharge of employees, what the government could have done in situation of emergencies and crisis control scenarios, Mitra said.Mitra is an economics graduate from Kolkatas Presidency College, and studied at the London School of Economics. After he acquired a law degree from the London University, he became a barrister from Middle Temple in 1963. He eventually joined the Calcutta bar and subsequently became a senior advocate in 1987. Uttar Pradesh has over the years earned the dubious distinction of being among the most unsafe for women in the country. Year after year, that has been a persistent, almost astronomical increase in crimes against women, with the state accounting for over 10% of the total crimes nationwide in 2015 alone. Irrespective of the government in power, the phrase lawless UP has stuck.With elections due, the BJP, BSP and the SP-Congress combine have all made womens empowerment and safety a key electoral promise- vowing to make UP safe for women again. However, despite this assertion, on the ground the focus on womens issues is tragically limited only to those instances wherein politicians themselves are subject to sexism.All major players in this election have tragically resorted to playing the victim card while dealing with this sensitive issue. Misogyny is making headlines, but only for self-serving political agendas- and this is true cutting across party lines.First you had the Vinay Katiyar fiasco. The BJP downplayed it by labeling his comment a statement made in his personal capacity. There was condemnation for his we have women campaigners who are prettier than Priyanka Gandhi quip but no apology from the BJP MP. The first daughter of the Grand Old Party hit back to say this exposes the mindset of the BJP towards women.No sooner had the dust settled on this controversy than BJPs firebrand feminist Smiri Irani stepped in to accuse the Congress of double speak. She told CNN-News18 that Congress Tehseen Poonawalla has sent her several offensive tweets- all of them misogynistic and crude.Irani claims if the Congress is so concerned about womens rights, why didnt they condemn her being attacked and vilified on social media?While the Congress has dismissed this claim as a patently false one while also maintaining that Poonawalla is not a Congress leader, Smriti Iranis declarations dont end there. Shes challenged the Gandhis and as well as the Yadav clan to an open debate on womens issues- claiming that both the Congress and the Samajwadi Party will stand exposed if a discussion on the issue were to take place.Research after research has proved that women are subject to more hate online than men. And Smriti Iranis allegations merit a serious probe. However, is the answer to the plight of Uttar Pradeshs women a contest between political parties to defame one another?The burden of paying mere lip service to a crucial issue is for all parties to bear equally.Uttar Pradesh CM Akhilesh Yadav speaks of the work hes done to make his state safer for women but if you look at the statistics, he has nothing to be proud of.A CAGshows how from 2011-2015, violence and crimes against women in UP has increased by 61%. Thats almost the entire period that the 48-year-old has been running the state. In 2014, Uttar Pradesh recorded the most crimes against women than any other state in the country. Not just that, the report also says that the state has consistently performed poorly in efforts to curb gender inequality.The sex ratio in the state is an abysmal 908 and maternal mortality rate is the highest in the country and the implementation of most women-centric scheme varies from poor to non-existent. While many have labeled Akhileshs power helpline for women a success, experts believe that mere sops for women voters and speaking of prioritizing safety for women is not enough. Simply appointing women star campaigners to make the poll pitch for your party does not make the state safe for women.For the BJP, the situation is no better. On the campaign trail the party has raked up the Bulandshahr gang-rape repeatedly to target the ruling SP, but when it comes to solutions, their most action oriented promise is the idea of instituting three new women police battalions. Theres also been talk of setting up anti-Romeo squads. BJP President Amit Shah told CNN-News18 that people in UP have stopped sending their daughters to colleges because the girls get harassed. We have promised that BJP will form an anti-Romeo Squad to save these girls.Critics have called this an attempt by the BJP to legitimize moral policing. There are also concerns that any anti-harassment squad could be misused by vigilante groups to crackdown on love jihad- something the BJP claims is a conspiracy by Muslim men to get Hindu girls to convert to Islam by feigning love. While Amit Shah has dismissed the communal angle, BJP MP Yogi Adityanath minced no words when he told reporters recently that love jihad is a crucial poll issue for the party.And from Mayawati, the only woman in the fray to lead the state if she were to win the elections, weve heard nothing but criticism of her opponents and no real blueprint or any plan of action. During her tenure as Chief Minister, Uttar Pradesh had the ignominy of being the most unsafe state for women, especially those belonging to the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribes.The question of womens safety in a state like Uttar Pradesh where harassment is a daily insidious threat cannot be dealt with simply by sharing stories of being victimized, or by merely castigating your opponent. The issue is a serious one, that needs more deliberation, that needs to be made a priority at all times- and not just when elections are around the corner. Aurangabad (Maharashtra): The Bombay High Court's Aurangabad Bench on Monday ordered the deletion of four scenes from the upcoming film Jolly LLB 2, which it held are defamatory to the judiciary and could amount to contempt of court, an official said here. A Division Bench of Justice S.S. Shinde and Justice K.K. Sonawane also ordered the Central Board of Film Certification to certify the film afresh after implementing the cuts in the Akshay Kumar starrer. The order follows a report by a court-appointed three-member committee of experts, comprising Senior Advocates R.N. Dhorde and V.J. Dixit and medico Dr Prakash Kanade, petitioner-lawyer Ajaykumar Waghmare said from Nanded. The committee viewed the film last Friday in Aurangabad and submitted its two-page report stating that a particular scene is "defamatory to the lawyers' profession and would be contempt of court". They added that the visual or words also involved "defamation of the body of lawyers and undermines the dignity of lawyers and courts". After taking the report on record, the judges ordered that the scenes objected to by the committee should be deleted and that the CBFC should re-certify the film, Waghmare said. "This is a historic and significant order concerning any film in the country. It is also a lesson to the CBFC which certified the film during the pendency of the PIL, indicating some malpractices," Waghmare said. The scenes ordered to be deleted include the ones in which a judge is shown crouching behind the dias, hurling of a shoe at a judge and an objectionable dialogue. The lawyers representing the filmmakers agreed to the necessary cuts/modifications. The film's producers, Fox Star Studios, had challenged before the Supreme Court the January 27 ruling of the Bombay High Court to appoint the three-member. The Supreme Court on Friday refused to put on hold the screening of 'Jolly LLB 2' before the three-member panel and allowed the committee to preview the film and ascertain whether the said scenes denigrated the judiciary in any manner. Slated for release on February 10, 'Jolly LLB 2' is a courtroom drama starring Akshay Kumar, Huma Qureshi, Annu Kapoor and Saurabh Shukla, and is written and directed by Subhash Kapoor. Chennai: Actor Rana Daggubati says he missed sunlight while shooting 18 days non-stop underwater for upcoming Telugu-Hindi war-at-sea drama Ghazi, based on the mysterious sinking of PNS Ghazi submarine during the 1971 war between India and Pakistan. "At the end of the 18th day, I was gasping for sunlight. When you haven't felt the sun on your face and you've been breathing recycled air for months, getting on the surface of water and on land is like freedom at last! How I missed the beautiful sunlight," Rana said. In the film, Rana plays Lt. Commander Arjun Varma. Recollecting the experience of shooting underwater in a submarine setting, he said: "The naval sailors possess tremendous amount of grit as they live life without surfacing from underwater for days altogether, breathing the same air virtually every day." Directed by debutant Sankalp, and co-starring Taapsee Pannu, Atul Kulkarni and Kay Kay Menon, the film is partially based on the book "Blue Fish", penned by the director himself. The story is about an executive naval officer of the Indian submarine S21 and his team who remain underwater for 18 days. The film also stars Nassar and late actor Om Puri in a pivotal role. New Delhi: Half an hour or so after Arvind Kejriwal's flight from Delhi touched down at the Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel Airport in Ahmedabad on October 14, 2016, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) supremo was in a car, speeding straight to Mehsana. The 75-km ride was not just another trip for the Delhi chief minister. It marked the beginning of the next big battle that he has taken upon himself: To conquer Gujarat, and take on the Amit Shah-Narendra Modi duo in their home turf. Late in the night, after visiting the homes of Nihsat, Mahesh and Mayur victims of police crackdown in the peak of Patidar protests in mid 2015 Kejriwal spoke in Pilodara, the ground zero of the Patidar agitation. Dwelling at length on the police firing, Kejriwal said: "Jis ne bhi firing ka adesh diya, chahe who magistrate ho lekin main nahi samajhta Magistrate diya hai upar koi neta baitha hai, sablog jaante hain ki kaun hai woh (Whoever has ordered this firing, and I don't believe it was any magistrate, everyone knows who is the leader sitting on top who ordered this)" The crowd went ballistic with cries of "General Dyer, General Dyer", referring to the British police officer responsible for the Jalianwala Bagh incident. Kejriwal promised justice to all, and vowed to send the said "General Dyer" to jail. At the rally, Kejriwal also announced the journey of AAP in Gujarat from Pilodara: "The Patidar agitation started from this village. We are beginning a new movement to clean up Gujarat's politics from this same village." Two days later, Kejriwal would visit Surat and speak out in support of Hardik Patel, the leader of the Patidar movement who was charged with sedition. He again referred to "General Dyer" saying Hardik is a true nationalist while it is the "General" who should be sent to jail for working against the nation. Kejriwal also stressed on the Una Dalit atrocity, which had sparked protests across the country. Young Dalit leader Jignesh Mewani, who was earlier with AAP but had resigned, found mention in Kejriwal's address, when he congratulated him for organizing the Dalit community. Pointing to deaths due to adulterated liquor, Kejriwal mocked the liquor ban in Gujarat accusing both BJP and Congress leaders of profiting from alcohol smuggling business. Alpesh Thakur, the man spearheading the agitation against liquor ban, also found mention in Kejriwal speech. The leitmotif in Kejriwal's address was this: The BJP government in Gujarat is throwing a challenge to the people of Gujarat, that if you raise your voice against the Government, you will not be spared. Looking at the 2017 assembly elections in Gujarat, Kejriwal said: The next Gujarat polls would not just be an election. It will be a revolution with Amit Shah on one side and the people of Gujarat on the other. The stage was set for Kejriwal to announce that AAP would contest the 2017 assembly elections in Gujarat. Kejriwal's October odyssey was his fourth to Gujarat in one year. Fully aware of the political implications of a foothold in PM Modi's bastion and Hinduvta's laboratory, Kejriwal has kept an eagle's eye on the party's progress. Kumar Vishwas, member of AAPs Political Affairs Committee who calls himself an 'ultra nationalist', will be given the responsibility of chipping away at the BJP's core appeal of 'Hindu nationalism'. Kumar Vishwas had earlier accompanied Kejriwal in his visit to famous Somnath temple in July 2016. "A person like me who does not hide his nationalism suits the climate in Gujarat," he had said. Delhi labour minister Gopal Rai has been deputed to strengthen the organisation in PM Modi's bastion and set in motion the 'AAP Azadi Andolan' across 182 constituencies in January, even as AAP was in the thick of critical battles in Punjab and Goa. Delhi MLA Gulab Singh, co-in charge of Gujarat affairs, who was arrested ahead of Kejriwal's Surat rally, is the bridge between the state unit and Delhi. Culture and tourism minister Kapil Mishra who is not afraid of flaunting his 'Hinduvta' credentials is another key person. Remember, he is the AAP leader who had embarrassed Jammu & Kashmir chief minister Mehbooba Mufti in an open function in Delhi when he asked her whether or not she thought Burhan Wani was a terrorist. AAP is already in a campaign and construction mode in Gujarat. With three time BJP MLA Kanubhai Kalsaria joining the party, the party has a strong local face. AAP hopes to be the receptacle where all movements, big and small, will connect and fill the political vacuum created by a diffident Congress. The party will also focus on issues concerning the common man: like electricity tariffs and MSP for farmers. In the discontent of Patidars, Dalits, Muslims and farmers, AAP hopes for a ride in Gujarat. Indeed, in 2017, Kejriwal will be seen and heard more and more in Gujarat, prowling PM Modi's den. Chennai: In a dramatic twist to the almost Shakespearean drama playing out in Tamil Nadu, caretaker chief minister O Panneerselvam delivered the sharpest stab yet to the chief ministerial ambitions of Chinnamma VK Sasikala when he revealed certain truths that were pricking his conscience. Here are the highlights: 1) I am revealing these facts in front of you to make things clear in public. I will continue to struggle. 2) I will be ready to fight even alone. 3) If people want me to stand for the post of party General Secretary, I am ready to stand against Sasikala and withdraw my resignation. 4) Amma's spirit told me to inform this to the people of the State. 5) They forced me to resign. I wanted to go to Jaya's memorial but they didn't allow me. 6) I told my cabinet members that they shouldn't speak against me openly. They can have differences, but I didn't want any split in the party, I wanted the party to remain united. 7) I was given the CM post but insulted continuously. 8) While I was meeting PM, on the other side, Thambidurai took 50 MPs met the PM. 9) A few days after becoming CM, Health Minister told me 'Chinnamma' should be made General Secretary. 10) When she was alive, Jayalalithaa called me and said, "Pick someone the people will accept". Chennai: In a dramatic midnight twist, O Panneerselvam launched a rebellion against Chinnamma VK Sasikala, dealing a blow to her chief ministerial ambitions. He revealed how we was continuously humiliated and forced to resign as the CM, and said he would consider withdrawing his resignation if thats what the people want. Panneerselvams dramatic statements capped a day of high drama that saw charges and counter-charges over the death of Jayalalithaa fly thick and fast between the AIADMK and rebel leaders. Heres a look at whats likely to happen in the coming days: - Panneerselvam may take back his resignation as the Chief Minister, which he says he was forced to tender - To stay on as the CM, Panneerselvam needs to prove his majority on the floor of the Assembly. Governor Vidyasagar Rao is likely to invite him for the floor test. - AIADMK MLAs, who had elected Sasikala as the Legislature Party leader on Sunday, at the moment, seem to be backing Sasikala. The coming days are likely to see hectic parleys between rival camps to win over their support. - Deepa Jayakumar, niece of the late Jayalalithaa, is likely to come out in support of Panneerselvam on Wednesday. She has been projecting herself as Jayalalithaa's political heir since the CM's demise. - The issue could also echo in Parliament with Congress spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala accusing Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP of engineering Panneerselvams defection. Lucknow: Amidst the clarion call for vikas (development) and freedom from goonda raj, there is a very different electoral strategy at work for the BJP in Uttar Pradesh. A strategy which addresses the caste realities and aims at penetrating the BSP's strong Dalit and the Samajwadi Party's Backward Caste vote bank. After all, it is on the basis of caste calculations that the BJP hopes to repeat its 2014 success and stage a strong battle against regional heavyweights Bahujan Samaj Party and the Samajwadi Party, the latter further strengthened with the Congress coming on board. The most ambitious, but less discussed, is the BJP's 'division of caste' strategy. Aimed at chipping off sizeable segment of the non-Jatav Dalit vote bank is the party's strategy against the BSP. Similarly, when addressing the Backward Caste electorate, the BJP has strategised to lure away the non-Yadav Backward Castes. A reflection of the strategy can clearly be seen in the choice of candidates by the party. Out of 85 reserved constituencies, the BJP, in a clever move, has given 65 tickets to non-Jatav Dalits. The idea is to focus more on Dalit communities that are not that strongly attached to the BSP. Out of around 25% Dalit votes in UP, non-Jatavs make around 14%. Similarly, out of around 25% strong Backward Caste population, the BJP is eyeing the approximately 15% non-Yadav segment. It comes as no surprise then that BJP and its allies together have given tickets to 134 Backward Caste candidates, of whom only nine are Yadavs. A senior functionary of the BJP, who is involved in the planning and execution of backroom strategies, says, Jatavs among Dalits continue to be firmly behind Mayawati. Similarly, Yadavs, more or less, continue to be with Akhilesh Yadav and his party. Hence, the BJP has devised a clear strategy to target leftover Dalits and Backwards Castes. The target area for the BJP among Dalits seems to be the Pasi, Dhobi and Khatik castes. These three castes together have got 39 tickets. The party has also given representation to around 11 other non-Jatav Dalit castes in ticket distribution. Among the Backward Castes, the BJP is most hopeful of getting support among major non-Yadav castes like Kurmi, Maurya, Lodh and Jats. With 29 tickets going to Kurmi candidates and 24 to Mauryas (including Kushwaha, Shakya and Saini), 20 tickets have been given to candidates from Lodh community and 15 to Jats. A senior leader of the party, who did not wish to be named, accepts the caste calculations. He says, Out of UP's electorate, there are 10% Yadavs, 11% Jatavs and 17% Muslim votes. This 38% of vote share is more or less out of the reach for the BJP. Hence, for the BJP, the target hunting ground is upper castes, non-Jatav Dalits and non-Yadav Backwards Castes. With an estimated 25% upper caste population, this together makes around 55% of the voters. A strategist for the BJP, who had been instrumental in generating this caste study, says, For the party traditionally dominated and supported by upper castes, accommodating so many Backward Caste candidates was not an easy exercise. Despite this, 184 tickets have gone to candidates from upper castes. Out of them, only 66 were given to Brahmins, 67 to Rajputs and 28 to the Vaishya community. The understanding within the BJP's top leadership is that upper caste votes that have traditionally been with the BJP should continue to support it in this election. If the Dalit and Backward Caste strategy pays dividends, the party hopes to easily cross the 30% vote share mark. The party's state general secretary Vijay Bahadur Pathak, however, denies that pure caste calculations were behind the ticket distribution. Our party aims at Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas. We are committed to take forward people from all castes and religion. The candidates have been selected on the basis of merit and winnability. For the BJP, the challenge is to raise its vote share as compared to a mere 14% in 2012 Assembly polls. In the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, the Modi Wave helped it scale caste boundaries and get a massive 42% vote share. Now, through micro-caste planning, the BJP hopes to continue its new found penetration across caste fault lines and retain its Lok Sabha vote share in the 2017 UP polls. The question now is whose caste calculation will actually work. Will the BJP's micro-caste planning work against the BSP's strong Dalit-Muslim formula? Or will the SP-Congress's predominantly Yadav-Muslim formula have the biggest impact? Having played their subtle caste cards on the ground, politicians continue to appeal in the name of development, law and order and clean governance from the stage. New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday responded to his critics in the Lok Sabha, including the Congress and AAP MP Bhagwant Maan. Taking on the critics, Modi said: I generally tell people 'ghee piyo'...but if Bhagwant Mann were to tell people, he will ask them to drink something else. Mann has been a strident critic of Modi, openly mocking him in public rallies. Reacting to Modi's jibe, Mann, condemning his statement, said: Today's speech in Parliament showed his fear in elections. He made some baseless allegations against me." He also hit back at Mallikarjun Kharge's comments against the BJP, saying that they did not belong to a dog parampara. Kharge had said on Monday, "Gandhi ji sacrificed his life for the country; Indira ji too sacrificed her life. Who came from your house? Not a single dog came from your family." Sharpening his attack on the Congress, Modi said the party glorified the role of "one family" in the freedom struggle and said they had neglected the contribution of others. "There are many people like me who couldn't die for the nation during the freedom struggle but we are living for India and serving India," Modi said. "Somewhere on the way, 'Jan Shakti' (people power) was forgotten and we don't accept this." "I never heard them speak about the role of Chandrasekhar Azad, Bhagat Singh and many other freedom fighters who laid down their lives for the country," he added. He went father, questioning accusations of authoritarianism by reminding that the Congress was responsible for the emergency. We remember how democracy was under threat from 1975 to 1977, when opposition leaders were jailed, newspaper freedom curtailed, he said. Prime Minister Narendra Modi undertook a spirited defence of his governments policies including the demonetization drive in Lok Sabha on Tuesday and took a dig at Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi for his earthquake remarks saying the tremors reached Delhi finally.Coming hours after Delhi and parts of north India experienced a mild earthquake, Modis quip was a riposte to Rahul Gandhi who had earlier said that if he speaks in Parliament an earthquake would follow.Bhukamp aa hi gaya, koi to kaaran hoga, dharti maa rooth gayi hongi Aakhir bhukamp aaya kyun,jab koi scam mein bhi seva, namrata ka bhaav dekhta hai to dharti maa bhi dukhi ho jaati hai aur bhukamp aata hai (Finally the tremors were felt. Mother Earth might have been upset. When they see service even in scams, Mother Earth beomes sad and tremours are felt), he said to loud cheer from Treasury benches.Delivering his replying to President Pranab Mukherjee's address, Modi also defended the numerous tinkerings done with monetary guidelines after the demonetization drive announced on November 8 by wondering aloud why the previous UPA government had to bring in 1035 changes even in a popular programme like MNREGA.Congress leader of the house in Lok Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge complained to the speaker saying Modis speech was too long. The PM replied in kind You took 2 hours, babu.Modi defended demonetisation, saying the economy was in good shape and thats why India could cope with the note ban. I have observed that the economy has now come to track after demonetization. Technology has helped us to catch black money holders. Note ban timing was perfect, the PM said.He also questioned the Oppositions commitment in fighting corruption and blackmoney and asked why did the Congress sit on the Benami Property law made in 1988. Who did Congress want to protect by not notifying Benami Property Act? he asked.Modi also attacked the Opposition on the ruckus created in Parliament on demonetization. I was always ready to have a discussion on Demonetisation. The Opposition didn't allow to hold a discussion, he said, adding that we should stop co-relating good decisions to politics.Also Read: PM Modi in LS: Big Takeaways From his Address Sharpening his attack on the Congress, he said the party glorified the role of "one family" in the freedom struggle and said they had neglected the contribution of others."There are many people like me who couldn't die for the nation during the freedom struggle but we are living for India and serving India," Modi said. "Somewhere on the way, 'Jan Shakti' (people power) was forgotten and we don't accept this."He also hits back at Kharge's comments on against the BJP saying that they did not belong to a dog parampara. Kharge had said on Monday, "Gandhi ji sacrificed his life for the country; Indira ji too sacrificed her life. Who came from your house? Not a single dog came from your family." AIADMK chief VK Sasikala met MLAs at the Golden Bay resort for a second day today. Addressing a press conference at the luxury getaway, she accused defectors and opposition parties of spreading false news. No MLA has been held captive. They all have access to phones and are in touch with their families, she said. Soon after, Panneerselvam addressed reporters at his Chennai residence, saying the process to probe Jayalalithaas death had been set in motion. Stay tuned for more LIVE updates: Read all the Latest News , Breaking News , watch Top Videos and Live TV here. Chennai: Upping the ante against AIADMK supremo VK Sasikala, DMK Working President M K Stalin on Tuesday claimed the people of Tamil Nadu have not accepted the prospect of her becoming the Chief Minister and urged Governor Ch Vidyasagar Rao to take a "good decision" on her elevation. "Not only the ruling party cadres, but all the people in Tamil Nadu have not accepted AIADMK supremo Sasikala trying to become Chief Minister," he said. "They (people and party cadres) have reached a boiling point as an undesirable situation (of Sasikala becoming the CM) is approaching them," Stalin, also the Leader of Opposition in the Assembly, said. In a Facebook post, he said people were anguished as he wondered if they had voted AIADMK to power "for Sasikala to become Chief Minister". As AIADMK prepars for Sasikala's swearing-in, Stalin urged Governor Rao "to take a good decision (that will be) liked by people". He asked the Governor to take a decision, by "considering factors like the imminent Supreme Court verdict in the (disproportionate) assets case (in which Sasikala is a co-accused) and the question of a stable regime." Referring to a daily's editorial raising questions of propriety in Sasikala wanting to take over as Chief Minister when the Supreme Court is set to pronounce its verdict in the DA case, he said "it was a view that needs to be accepted". "People, for sure did not vote for Sasikala who turned a stable regime (of Panneerselvam) into a caretaker government overnight," he said, adding "even AIADMK workers did not vote for such a scenario." He alleged that Sasikla had "done strange politics", and added that the "dignity of Constitution has been shattered in Tamil Nadu due to Sasikala's greed for power". "Sasikala is trying to become Chief Minister through the backdoor using the demise of Jayalalithaa and by doing so she has done an unpardonable betrayal of people who voted for Jayalalithaa," he alleged. He lashed out at state Ministers who had voiced support for Sasikala becoming Chief Minister "without giving respect to Panneerselvam's position as Chief Minister". He said, "That was why I had urged Governor Ch Vidyasagar Roa to direct Panneerselvam to prove his majority on the floor of the House (after he was sworn in following Jayalalithaa's demise in December)." Speaking at a rally in Meerut, Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi said that PM Narendra Modi should know that the people in UP are united and cannot be divided. He also charged PM Modi of spreading hate and anger among people. Stay tuned for Live updates Read all the Latest News , Breaking News , watch Top Videos and Live TV here. New Delhi: Many have called 2017 the year of Uttar Pradesh elections. For a state as diverse, huge and politically active as UP, every passing day, instead of throwing up hints of the potential winner, only adds more intrigue. In such a scenario, one way to make sense of UP polls is perhaps to look at it as a relay race. Political contests in a state as big as UP, with 14.12 crore voters, are often conducted in several phases. And usually, the party that picks up momentum in the first two phases is more likely to outrun its rivals in the following phases. Take, for instance, the case of 2015 assembly elections in Bihar. Four big parties two regional and two national were in the fray. The Mahagathbandhan, a coalition of RJD, JD(U) and Congress, seemed to be equally matched with Narendra Modi-led BJP. Law and order risks spread over such a big state forced the election commission to conduct elections over five phases. Both the rivals announced major schemes and huge development programs just before ballots were cast in the first phase. But by the end of first two phases, the political parties, as well as the voters, began sensing a tilt in scales. BJP began to betray nerves. Prime Minister Narendra Modi started to cancel his campaigns. Talk of development and multi-crore packages in the state were replaced by calls for shipping Muslims to Pakistan. At the end, BJP ended up losing Bihar. In the first two phases, people come to know the possibilities, which has a bearing on the voting patterns in the following phases. For example, the big question in UP polls this time is whom will the Muslims vote? We may find an answer after Western UP finishes polling, said M.N. Thakur, associate professor at JNU's Centre for Political Studies. Thakur argues that when Muslims living in the most communally sensitive area of UP - places like Muzaffarnagar, Saharanpur, Rampur, Sambhal and Shamli - make their mind up and cast their ballot, the word will travel through the rest of UP forcing, to avoid any vote split, other Muslims to follow suit. The key to winning UP will be through Muslim votes. If they start consolidating in any direction, the elections instead of a three-cornered fight will be a bipolar match, Thakur added. Interestingly, the West UP election looks to be a close fight between BSP and BJP. Does this mean SP-Congress combine is fighting this election with a handicap? For us every phase is important. Were going to people with a message of growth and development, while BJP and BSP are trying to communally charge the atmosphere in the state. People will notice this and know whom to vote for. No, were not beginning this fight with a disadvantage, said SPs national spokesperson, Ghanshyam Tiwari. Abhay Kumar Dubey, a New Delhi-based political analyst associated with the Centre for Study of Developing Societies, also feels that parties that create an impact in the first phase of elections will automatically carry that benefit in the following phases as well. Look, Rohilkhand may not vote as Bundelkhand; Poorvanchal may vote differently than Awadh. But the bottom line is that people who will vote in the third, fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh phases will be listening to the people who voted in the first two phases. Nobody, especially Muslims and Jats, will want a scenario of a vote split. Which is why I say that first two phases will be watched quite keenly by everyone else. But does a party that begins well always enjoy a cascading effect? According to a former Chief Election Commissioner, SY Quraishi, the answer is, Yes and no. We know the proverb about well begun being half the job done...Sometimes this sort of thing matters, sometimes it doesnt. Let me give you the example of Nitish Kumar in the last assembly elections. He was supremely confident of winning the elections but had only one request. Conduct the election even over 10 phases but please provide security for voters and booths. The last time Uttar Pradesh went to polls, elections were also conducted from West to East. BJP. But, there is a question mark over how popular BJP's calls for Ram Mandir, Dadri, Kairana and Triple Talaq, have been on the ground. Another big question is whether Muslims, whose votes split several ways in the last election, will vote 'tactically' this time. There are several such questions, whose answers we might get closer to finding after February 15, when ballots for the second phase are cast. It's not at all about the accent, it all has to do with how you roll your tongue in pronouncing names that are foreign. So many tech companies that have entered India in the recent years have names that are confusing to the letter T and some of them are literally tongue twisters.At News18 Tech we have heard it all, though we are really put off at times when people refer to Apple Watch as iWatch, what really puts us off is when people pronounce names of these companies wrongly. Here's a list of 10 companies whose names many pronounce wrongly and we also try to help you in how to pronounce them.This is a brand name that everyone around the world gets wrong. There are so many different versions of pronunciation, of Huawei. In India most of the people pronounce it as "HOO-ah-way" or "who-Wi" or "uaah-way".The right way to pronounce Huawei is "Wah-Way."This is the second most mispronounced brand in the world. Xiaomi in India is pronounced by many as "Zhaio-mi" or "X-omi".According to ex-Xiaomi sensation Hugo Barra, the best way to pronounce Xiaomi is 'show me'. But in reality the first syllable is more "Shio" than "Show,". So the right way to pronounce Xiaomi is "Shio-me"Qi charging is the most prominent wireless charging standard in the world for charging a phone's battery. If you have watched those Chinese action flicks dubbed in Hindi, you might be familiar with the Chinese world for energy flow - 'Chee'.Qi is pronounced just like that- 'Chee', contrary to popular belief that it's pronounced as "Key" or "Q-eye".The Taiwanese company known for making some amazing personal tech devices is often mispronounced in India as well. Everyone you talk to pronounces Asus differently. The company claims the correct way to say its name is "AY-soos". They even made a music video about it to make you remember how it's pronounced.Who would have thought that Nokia would have featured in this list? But contrary to popular belief this brand is butchered too, unknowingly by folks around you. Nokia is mostly pronounced in India as "NO-kiya".But the right way to say Nokia is "NAW-kee-ya."Let us know in the comments below about other tech brands that are pronounced incorrectly by your friends. A staff member removes the Iranian flag from the stage after a group picture with foreign ministers and representatives during the Iran nuclear talks at the Vienna International Center in Vienna, Austria July 14, 2015. REUTERS/Carlos Barria/File Photo BEIJING (Reuters) - China on Monday said it had "lodged representations" with the United States over Washington's new sanctions list targeting Iran, which includes Chinese companies and individuals. The sanctions on 25 people and entities imposed on Friday by President Donald Trump's administration, and came two days it had put Iran 'on notice' following a ballistic missile test. Those affected by the sanctions cannot access the U.S. financial system or deal with U.S. companies, and are subject to secondary sanctions, meaning foreign companies and individuals are prohibited from dealing with them or risk being blacklisted by the United States. The list includes two Chinese companies and three Chinese people, only one of whom the U.S. Treasury Department explicitly said was a Chinese citizen, a person called Qin Xianhua. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang said that Beijing had lodged a protest with Washington, and that such sanctions, particularly when they harmed the interests of a third party, were "not helpful" in promoting mutual trust. "We have consistently opposed any unilateral sanctions," Lu told a regular press briefing. Executives of two Chinese companies included on the list said on Sunday they had only exported "normal" goods to the Middle Eastern country and didn't consider they had done anything wrong. China has in the past been angered by what it calls unilateral sanctions placed on Chinese firms by the United States and others in relation to Iran or North Korea's nuclear ambitions. China has close economic and diplomatic ties with Tehran, but was also instrumental in pushing through a landmark 2015 deal to curb Iran's nuclear programme. (Reporting by Michael Martina; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore) Zenfone 3S Max houses the capacitive buttons onscreen unlike its predecessors. It is expected to be priced around Rs 15,000. Asus is set to officially launch battery-centric Zenfone 3S Max in India today (February 7). The highlight of the device is its beefy 5,000mAh battery.The unveiling of the Asus Zenfone 3S Max (ZC521TL) will be around 12pm IST and a live stream is slated as well. The India price and availability details of the Asus Zenfone 3S Max aren't known so far. The smartphone is said to be available through online and offline channels.Notably, this is the first Asus smartphone to run on the latest Android 7.0 Nougat out of the box. Also, Zenfone 3S Max is the third sibling in the Max line-up of big battery smartphones by the Taiwanese major.Don't miss: Asus Zenfone 3S Max Review: Battery Powerhouse With Stylish Looks The ZenFone 3s Max houses a fingerprint scanner on the front and is claimed to unlock the phone in just 0.5 seconds. The phone features bottom-firing mono speaker. It will be available in black and gold coloured variants.Read more: Airtel Offering Up to 125GB Free Data to Celebrate 2 Million Broadband Users in India The Asus Zenfone 3S Max is an all-metal unibody phone with a 5.2-inch HD display (720x1280 pixels) that has been topped with a 2.5D contoured glass. On the camera front, Asus Zenfone 3S Max has a 13 megapixel rear camera along with phase detection autofocus, f/2.0 aperture, 5P Largan lens, and dual-LED real-tone flash.Other specifications of the smartphone are as follows.Read more: Moto M Grey Variant on Sale, to be Available for Rs 2,999 on Flipkart The device runs Android 7.0 Nougat based ZenUI 3.0, which offers features like multi-window mode, Bluelight filter, ZenMotion Touch Gesture amongst others.Zenfone 3S Max is powered by an MediaTek MT6750 octa-core processor clocked at 1.5GHz along with 3GB RAM and 32GB inbuilt storage that can be expanded up to 2TB via a microSD card.The Asus ZenFone 3S Max (ZC521TL) supports reverse charging capability which means it can act as a power bank for other smartphones as well. Giant Internet firms Facebook and Google joined forces with news organisations to launch new fact-checking tools designed to root out "fake news" stories in France ahead of the country's presidential election.Read more: Asus Zenfone 3S Max Review: Battery Powerhouse With Stylish Looks Social networks and news aggregators came under fire during the U.S. presidential vote when it became clear they had inadvertently fanned false news reports.Read more: Moto M Grey Variant on Sale, to be Available for Rs 2,999 on Flipkart Facebook said it would work with eight French news organizations, including news agency Agence France-Presse (AFP), news channel BFM TV, and newspapers L'Express and Le Monde to minimize the risk that false news appeared on its platform.Facebook, the world's biggest social network, has 24 million users in France, more than a third of the country's population. It will rely on users to flag fake news on its network so that the articles can then by fact-checked by its partner organizations.Any news report deemed to be fake by two of its partners would then be tagged with an icon to show that the content is contested, Facebook said.Facebook is also supporting a separate initiative launched by Google dubbed "CrossCheck" which calls on users to submit links to contested content to a dedicated website so that it can be investigated.Seventeen French newsrooms have joined the project, including AFP and the French public national television broadcaster.Facebook is also taking steps against fake news in Germany, where government officials have expressed concerns that false stories and hate speech online could influence a federal election in September in which chancellor Angela Merkel will seek a fourth term in office.In the United States, Facebook has said users would in future find it easier to flag fake articles as a hoax, and added that it will work with organizations such as fact-checking website Snopes, ABC News and the Associated Press to check the authenticity of stories. With Safer Internet Day being celebrated around the world on February 7, Google Web Rangers India announced its annual winners today.Read more: Airtel Offering Up to 125GB Free Data to Celebrate 2 Million Home Broadband Users Web Rangers, which aims at promoting digital literacy and spreading awareness about internet safety named Ashutosh Sahni (17 years from Jalandhar), Arnav Nagpal (14 years from Gurgaon), Krishna Pandit (14 years from Noida), Nitika Gadura (13 years from Bangalore) and Sarthak Gupta (13 years from New Delhi) were chosen as the top five national winners among thousands of entries from across the country.Read more: Asus Zenfone 3S Max Review: Battery Powerhouse With Stylish Looks Sunita Mohanty, Director (Trust and Safety) of Google India told News18.com, "Over 25,000 students and teachers from 450 schools across India are a part of this initiative now." Asked about the programme's penetration into rural areas she said, "Web Rangers is making inroads into government schools too and this year's competition saw about 200 participants from state-run schools."Mohanty said she is believed that every school in the country would be a part of the programme in the coming five years.Read more: Moto M Grey Variant on Sale, to be Available for Rs 2,999 on Flipkart Started only two years ago, Google Web Rangers has witnessed an overwhelming growth. "Over 25,000 students and teachers from 450 schools across India are a part of this initiative now," Mohanty said."A big thank you to all the young people who shared with us their brilliant ideas and campaigns and helped us in our endeavor to make the web a safer place, she added.Under the programme, participants are trained on Internet safety to further spread the message and empower young minds and encourage people in their schools and communities to consider issues such as effects of cyber-bullying, managing ones own digital footprint and being aware of online tricks and scams.As part of this contest, Google Web Rangers had asked students within the age group of 10-17 years create and run their own online safety campaigns in the form of social campaigns, developing apps, making posters and videos. Winning entries were judged and selected based on creativity, each and impact. Winners will receive Chromebooks and tablets as their prize. An experimental Japanese probe has failed in its mission to clear space junk from the Earths orbit, media reported.While Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's H-II Transfer Vehicle Kounotori 6 (HTV6), launched on December 9, 2016, successfully delivered supplies to the International Space Station (ISS), it failed to achieve one of the mission objectives of removing space debris.The space cargo ship left the ISS on January 28 and re-entered the atmosphere on Monday, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency has confirmed.Following undocking, the scientists expected to eliminate space debris on low-earth orbits with the Kounotori Integrated Tether Experiments (KITE), an on-orbit demonstration of electrodynamic tether on HTV.The hope was that the clutter would eventually enter the Earth's atmosphere and burn up harmlessly before it had a chance to crash into the planet, The Guardian reported.But problems in the 700-metre tether developed soon after undocking and technicians could not fix the problems before the space cargo ship's re-entry."We believe the tether did not get released," leading researcher Koichi Inoue was quoted as saying."It is certainly disappointing that we ended the mission without completing one of the main objectives," Inoue added. The Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood (Photo courtesy: AFP Relaxnews/ ArtMarie / Istock) The Mariinsky Theater (Photo courtesy: AFP Relaxnews/ ArtMarie / Istock) Competing with the likes of London, New York, Paris, Rome, Venice and Sydney, Saint Petersburg fought off its rivals to be named the world's best cultural destination of 2016 this week at the "World Travel Awards," the Oscars of the tourism trade. Here's a look at some of the cultural highlights awaiting visitors to this "Venice of the North."This former residence of Russia's Tsars is to Saint Petersburg what the Louvre is to Paris. It's also the world's biggest museum, in terms of the number of collections of art exhibited, embodying the artistic and cultural promise of Russia's one-time imperial capital. It would take 15 years to see all of the works in the Hermitage, taking in each for barely a minute for eight hours a day. The museum's three million works and objects include masterpieces by Da Vinci, Rembrandt, Van Dyke and Picasso, for which visitors often make a beeline. Visitors can step into the Winter Palace, a former residence of Russian Emperors, as well as the Old Hermitage, the Small Hermitage and the New Hermitage, all part of the museum complex situated on the banks of the Neva River.Visitors can spend a whole day (or more!) checking out sites deeply rooted in Russian literature. The Dostoyevsky Museum is a must-see, delving into the history of the "Crime and Punishment" writer in the author's home from 1878 until his death. Next stop, the Raskolnikov House, as described in the Dostoyevsky bestseller and home to its protagonist. Other sights steeped in Russian literary history include the Nabokov Museum, taking visitors inside the home described in his autobiography "Speak, Memory," released before his famous novel, "Lolita." You can even visit the place where Alexander Pushkin challenged his rival, Baron Georges d'Anthes, to a duel, in which Pushkin was shot and died.Simply strolling along the canals and across their 400 bridges will give visitors a taste of Russian architecture. The historic center of Saint Petersburg, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is a mix of Baroque and Neoclassical styles. Founded by Tsar Peter the Great, the city maintains the integrity of its original layout and is often considered one of the most beautiful cities in Europe, and one of the most authentic. The architecture of the city's churches, such as the Smolny Cathedral and the Chesme Church, is of particular interest, and the Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood is no doubt the most famous landmark in this Venice of the North. Saint Petersburg is also a prime destination for the opera and the ballet. The Mariinsky Theater is another must for visitors, and since the Saint Petersburg ballet is one of the world's most respected, it would be a shame just to admire the architecture. Do you believe it? The Obama Administration agreed to take thousands of illegal immigrants from Australia. Why? I will study this dumb deal! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 2, 2017 "The Trump Turnbull phone call was a big jolt for Australia and an inauspicious start to the relationship between the two leaders, said University of Sydney, Professor James Curran.Speaking to CNN-News18 Curran said, Its not unprecedented for a US President and the Australian PM to have a robust conversation but what was insulting was that the conversation was leaked and now the Australian government would be very worried about whether their confidential discussions with the White House will remain a secret.PM Malcolm Turnbull in his conversation with President Donald Trump had urged him to honor the refugee deal that was signed with Barack Obama. According to the US press, Trump was hostile during the conversation and even called it the worst call of the day.In a tweet, the President said, Do you believe it? The Obama administration agreed to take thousands of illegal immigrants from Australia. Why? I will study this dumb deal. On the contrary, the Australian Prime Minister said the conversation was cordial and Trump assured him that the conversation would be honored.Despite the rocky start Curran is confident that the Australia-US relationship will survive but added a caveat. He said, Australia will now have to be ready for a transactional President who doesnt necessarily have the same kind of affection for the shared value of Australia-US relations. Curran also feels that as a quid pro quo for honoring the deal the US may want Australias military support in the middle east or a joint patrol in the south China sea, something no ally has ever done.Speaking about the clampdown on immigration and H1B visas Curran said it would be prudent for India to look at other markets such as Canada and Australia for their software professionals. He said, The new US administration is anti-establishment and so American allies like Australia and India will have to be very cautious and be prepared to stand up and say no when they are being pushed in a direction they don't want to go. Port-au-Prince: Jovenel Moise was sworn in Tuesday as Haiti's 58th president, ending a protracted electoral crisis that had created a vacuum of power in the impoverished, disaster-prone Caribbean nation. Moise, a 48-year-old banana exporter who has never held political office, took the oath at a ceremony at the National Assembly. He was former president Michel Martelly hand-picked choice to lead the poorest country in the Americas, one still struggling to recover from devastating natural disasters. The election of Moise, from the center-right Tet Kale Party (PHTK), ends the Caribbean nation's long-running political nightmare, which began in October 2015 when he won a first round of voting but the results were annulled because of massive fraud. In February 2016, with Martelly's five-year term nearing its end and his political succession in limbo, Haiti's parliament elected Jocelerme Privert, president of the Senate at the time, to be interim president. The elections were rescheduled for October and then postponed to November after Hurricane Matthew battered the country. Simmering tensions Austerity has been the motto of the inauguration ceremony, as Haiti is suffering from an economic crisis with more than $2 billion in debt and anemic growth that is not expected to surpass one percent this year. According to Moise's transition team, the inaugural costs are close to $1 million, a tighter budget than those of predecessors Rene Preval and Martelly, which cost more than $4 million and $2 million, respectively. Moise said he had invited 53 other former presidential candidates to signal his willingness to ease political tensions. But the country's political temperature remains high, with several of his main opponents contesting his first-round victory. The businessman is also at the center of an unresolved money laundering probe. He denies any wrongdoing. The investigation was launched in 2013 as a routine bank-regulation procedure. The Central Financial Intelligence Unit (UCREF) forwarded a secret report about the inquiry to prosecutors last summer. However, the investigating judge took no action until four opposition senators recently demanded information about the findings. The investigating judge delivered conclusions to the government prosecutor who has made no public announcements on the case. The suspense undermines Moise's already fragile popularity. He was declared the winner with 55 percent of the votes, but with a dismal turnout of just 21 percent. Civic malaise believed to be linked to a lack of political campaigning and distrust in elected officials' ability to improve conditions. Haiti is still struggling to recover from the world's most significant cholera outbreak, with an estimated 30,000 cases expected this year, as well as the effects of the January 2010 earthquake, with tens of thousands of people still camping in tents without proper sanitation. The government and aid officials said Monday that Haiti needs nearly $300 million to provide urgent assistance for its most vulnerable inhabitants, including those affected by Hurricane Matthew last October. Four months after being battered by the massive hurricane, which caused $2.8 billion in damage, more than 1.5 million people remain in dire need of humanitarian assistance, said El-Mostafa Benlamlih, Representative of the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH). San Francisco, Washington: A U.S. federal appeals court will hear arguments on Tuesday over whether to restore President Donald Trump's temporary travel ban on people from seven Muslim-majority countries, the most controversial policy of his two-week old administration. In a brief filed on Monday, the Justice Department said last week's suspension of Trump's order by a federal judge was too broad and "at most" should be limited to people who were already granted entry to the country and were temporarily abroad, or to those who want to leave and return to the United States. That language did not appear in the governments opening brief filed at the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, and could represent a softening of its position. Last Friday's ruling by U.S. District Judge James Robart in Seattle suspending the travel ban opened a window for people from the seven affected countries to enter. The 9th Circuit in San Francisco on Monday asked lawyers for the states of Washington and Minnesota and the Justice Department to argue whether the ban should remain shelved. The court set oral argument for 3 p.m. PST (2300 GMT) on Tuesday. The new Republican president has said the travel measures are to protect the country against the threat of terrorism. Opponents say the 90-day ban is illegal, barring entry for citizens from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen and imposing a 120-day halt to all refugees. National security veterans, major U.S. technology companies and law enforcement officials from more than a dozen states backed a legal effort against the ban. The case may ultimately reach the U.S. Supreme Court. Ten former U.S. national security and foreign policy officials, who served under both Republican and Democratic presidents, filed a declaration in the court case arguing that the travel ban served no national security purposes. It was signed by former Secretaries of State John Kerry and Madeleine Albright, former national security adviser Susan Rice and former CIA Directors Michael Hayden and Michael Morell. Over the weekend, the San Francisco court denied the administration's request for an immediate suspension of the federal judge's temporary restraining order that blocked the implementation of key parts of the travel ban while it considered the government's request in full. The court did say it would consider the government's request after receiving more information. Trump has reacted to challenges to the ban by attacking the federal judge in Seattle and then the wider court system. On a visit on Monday to the military's Central Command headquarters in Tampa, Florida, Trump defended his order. "Radical Islamic terrorists are determined to strike our homeland as they did on 9/11," he said. We need strong programs for people who love our country, Trump said, adding he did not want to allow "people who want to destroy us and destroy our country" into the United States. STATE OFFICIALS OPPOSE BAN Attorneys general from 15 states and Washington, D.C., filed a brief on Monday in support of the lawsuit against the travel ban. "President Trumps executive order is unconstitutional, unlawful, and fundamentally un-American and we wont stand by while it undermines our states families, economies, and institutions, said New York Democratic Attorney General Eric Schneiderman. Top technology companies, including Apple Inc, Google Inc and Microsoft Corp were among nearly 100 corporations that filed a similar brief on Sunday with the appeals court, arguing the travel ban "inflicts significant harm on American business, innovation, and growth." Elon Musk's energy products company Tesla Inc and SpaceX joined the brief on Monday. Trump faces an uphill battle in the San Francisco court, which is dominated by liberal-leaning judges. Appeals courts are generally leery of upending the status quo, which in this case is the lower court's suspension of the ban. The appeals court was focusing on the narrow question of whether the district court had grounds to put the order on hold. The bigger legal fight over whether Trump had authority to issue the order will be addressed later in the litigation. Curbing entry to the United States as a national security measure was a central premise of Trump's campaign, originally proposed as a temporary ban on all Muslims. U.S. presidents have in the past claimed sweeping powers to fight terrorism, but individuals, states and civil rights groups challenging the ban said his administration had offered no evidence it answered a threat. The New America think tank said all of the people who had carried out fatal attacks inspired by Islamist militancy in the United States since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks had been U.S. citizens or legal residents. None of those attackers emigrated or came from a family that emigrated from one of the countries listed in the travel ban. A businessman who had never held public office until he assumed the presidency on Jan. 20, Trump has vented his frustration over the legal challenges with a volley of attacks on the judiciary. Trump derided Robart as a "so-called judge." On Sunday, he broadened his Twitter attacks on Robart, who was appointed by former Republican President George W. Bush, to include the "court system." "Just cannot believe a judge would put our country in such peril," Trump tweeted. "If something happens blame him and court system." It is unusual for a sitting president to attack a member of the judiciary, which the U.S. Constitution designates as a check on the power of the presidency and Congress. Democrats seized on Trump's remarks to raise questions about how independent his Supreme Court nominee, Neil Gorsuch, might be. Ed Gillespie, front-runner for the GOP nomination for governor, told Liberty Universitys convocation on Monday how his Catholic faith has sustained him through personal disappointments and professional setbacks. Liberty is an important campaign stop for national and statewide GOP hopefuls seeking support among evangelical voters. Rather than talk about hot-button issues, Gillespie reflected on lessons he learned while bouncing back from rejection. Gillespie cited Romans 8:28, which says, We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. He added: As I look back on my past, the first part of this verse explains a lot to me all things, including defeats and unpleasant experiences, work for the good. Gillespie said that while the Atlanta Falcons are having a hard time seeing that today, it is true in his life. You see, some of the most disappointing moments in my life have resulted in the best things that ever happened to me. Gillespie recalled that when he was a senior in high school, he set his sights on an elite liberal arts college in New England. In retrospect, given my grades and SAT scores, it was beyond my reach. But Id convinced myself I could get in. I didnt, and I was devastated. He ended up going to The Catholic University of America in Washington where he fell in love with a student whom he thought he would marry. He said they dated for a while, but the young woman transferred to another school when they were sophomores. On one of his visits to her school, Gillespie said, the woman broke up with him. I was heartbroken. Despondent, he recalled. Thought Id never be able to be truly happy. He threw himself into his studies and his work. He moved up from Senate parking attendant to an internship, and, to ultimately, a full-time job for a member of Congress. Following President Ronald Reagans 1984 re-election, Gillespie interviewed with two incoming members of Congress for a press secretary job. He did not get the job with one member of the House, whom many expected to be a rising star but then ended up losing his next election. Instead, Gillespie got the job with a somewhat nutty professor, Dick Armey of Texas, who rose through the ranks to become the first GOP House majority leader in 40 years. Gillespie said his work with Armey for more than a decade prepared him to become chairman of the Republican National Committee and ultimately, White House counselor to President George W. Bush. In Washington, on a congressional league co-ed softball team, Gillespie met Cathy Hay, his future wife. The Gillespies will celebrate their 30th wedding anniversary in May. As its turned out, those feelings of devastation, heartbreak and rejection earlier in my life while not fleeting were temporary, Gillespie said. And every one of them led to lasting acceptance, love and fulfillment. Of course, I didnt know then what I know now. I wish I did. And I wish I had then the relationship with the Lord that I have now, because I would have had greater acceptance and much more peace in trying times, he said. Gillespie said he suffered another rejection in 2014, when he lost a squeaker to U.S. Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va. But I am a better person for having made that race. And I am a better candidate now because of that experience. Gillespie said he loves the passage from Romans because it puts our past in context, and helps rid us of the corrosive effect of living with regret. And it inspires us with hope for a future in accordance with Gods will. Gillespie is one of four Republican hopefuls for governor in the June primary, along with state Sen. Frank W. Wagner, R-Virginia Beach; Corey Stewart, chairman of the Prince William Board of County Supervisors and Denver Riggleman, co-owner of Silverback Distillery in Nelson County. Two candidates are seeking the Democratic nomination: Lt. Gov. Ralph S. Northam and former Rep. Tom Perriello, D-5th. More than a year after lawsuits were filed, a judge on Monday ruled Atlantic Coast Pipeline LLC will be allowed to survey land belonging to 29 Nelson County landowners without their permission. After hours of arguments Monday afternoon, Nelson County Circuit Court Judge Michael Garrett ruled Virginia law allows ACP to enter the defendants properties for surveying purposes. Were pleased with the courts ruling. The judge today reached the same conclusion that every other state and federal court thats looked at this issue has reached, and that is that we have the right to perform these surveys and that they are necessary to choose the best route with the least possible impact on landowners and the environment, said Aaron Ruby, a spokesman for Dominion, which is heading the $5 billion, 600-mile project that would cut through West Virginia, Virginia and North Carolina. We appreciate the tremendous thought and consideration the judge gave to these cases. He was very thorough and gave all sides the opportunity to present their case. Garretts ruling was based on his interpretation of the word and in the section of the Virginia Code that reads in part: Any firm, corporation, company, or partnership, organized for the bona fide purpose of operating as a natural gas company may make such surveys for its proposed line or location of its works as are necessary (i) to satisfy any regulatory requirements and (ii) for the selection of the most advantageous location or route, the improvement or straightening of its line or works, changes of location or construction, or providing additional facilities Lawyers for the 29 landowners argued and should be strictly interpreted as conjunctive, meaning ACP would be required to comply with both the satisfy any regulatory requirements and the selection of the most advantageous location or route portions of the code. Garrett, however, said he believes the code says natural gas companies can survey without landowners permission as long as they do so for at least one of the two purposes. Lawyers and judges painfully take time to examine legislative intent, Garrett said, citing a past case he was tangentially involved with that also dealt with a part of the Code of Virginia. That case, he said, was determined on a comma. We thought thats what it would come down to, said Chuck Lollar, a defense attorney representing several Nelson landowners, and we were hoping he would read and to mean a-n-d, just like you learned in elementary school. ACP lawyers argued Monday the surveys were important in finding the best route with the least impact on the environment and landowners. Mike Derdeyn, an attorney representing several of the defendants, argued if Garrett ruled both portions of the code had to be satisfied, ACP would have had to do more to prove surveys are needed to satisfy requirements of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission review process. Nelson County Supervisor Connie Brennan and others in the courtroom were somewhat perplexed by the enormity of such a small word in the statute. It is hard for us non-lawyers to embrace the fact that very important matters, such as the one at hand, are decided on whether and and or are conjunctive or disjunctive in the pertinent statute. But there it is, Brennan said. Before issuing his ruling, Garrett said he understands the significance of his decision and feels for all landowners involved. This is not an issue I have not thought a great deal about, he said. Garrett also denied a motion by Lollar and defense attorney Ben Perdue that sought to keep Atlantic Coast Pipeline surveyors from entering their clients properties until the Virginia Supreme Court hands down its rulings in other ACP surveying appeals, which have not been scheduled yet. Lollar said he anticipates some of his clients may pursue further legal action. We are disappointed but we understand and respect the judges decision, said Lollar. I anticipate my clients continuing to do everything they can to block this pipeline because they disagree with it for any number of reasons. Surveys of the 29 properties should take place in February, Ruby said. The 29 landowners already were sent notices with dates on which surveyors intend to enter the properties, so they know were going to be there, Ruby said. Ruby called the surveys Atlantic Coast Pipeline will perform minimally invasive and said they benefit us just as much as [the landowners]. We understand that this is a very emotional issue for some of the landowners; people feel very passionately about it, Ruby said. Landowners want to be protective of their property, and we want to be protective of their property, too. Ruby said multiple surveys are conducted on properties, and specialists are employed to complete each. For example, he said environmental scientists conduct environmental reviews while archaeological experts undertake that aspect. Several more Atlantic Coast Pipeline surveying lawsuits involving Nelson landowners have yet to be heard. Prior to the hearing, pipeline opponents rallied Monday outside the courthouse. About 50 people displayed handmade, anti-pipeline signs as a show of support for the landowners involved in the surveying lawsuits. While he wasnt able to stay for the hearing, Richard Averitt, one of the 29 defendants, said before the judges ruling was issued hes not particularly stressed over todays ruling. If we lose, its a modest defeat, he said. Wisteria Johnson, another of the 29 defendants, commented after the hearing the ruling dealt a blow to her familys history. Were way back in the mountain. My ancestors chose to stay back in the mountain so they could stay out of all this, and the pipeline is now coming through our property, Johnson said. My family for generations has been struggling to hold onto a little piece of mountain. These people with their suits and their ties are coming in and theyre invading it. While some opponents of the pipeline are still optimistic about the chance the Atlantic Coast Pipeline will not be approved by FERC, Johnson has a gloomier outlook toward the project shes been fighting. I know were losing and were going to lose, she said, but it doesnt mean I have to like it. She added when she thinks about the possibility of construction crews entering her property in the next couple of years if the project is approved, she can find some peace in knowing she didnt sit idly by. At least I did something about it, she said. Thats the only thing I have. What else do I have? The ACP currently is being reviewed by FERC, which has said it will make a final decision on whether to authorize the pipeline by late September. UPDATE, FEB. 7: The Campbell County Sheriffs Office is seeking help identifying two suspects involved in an attempted Jan. 29 home invasion on Moss Creek Drive, according to a news release. The sheriffs office said new information has led to a more in-depth description of one suspect, now described as a black man with a dark complexion, 5-feet-6-inches to 5-feet-8-inches tall, with a thin build and shoulder-length dreadlocks. According to the release, two black men tried to force their way into the Moss Creek Drive home after the resident answered the door at 9:40 p.m. Shots were fired during the ensuing struggle between the resident and the two would-be intruders. The suspect described above suffered a head injury and possibly other injuries after the struggle, which left a moderate amount of blood at the scene, the sheriffs office said. A cab picked up the injured suspect near the 100 block of Willow Oak Terrace and dropped him off at The Meadows apartment complex, located in Lynchburg near Yorktown Avenue, after the suspect ran away from the scene, according to the release. Both suspects previously were described as two armed black men in dark-colored clothing. Anyone with information is asked to call Investigator M. Bryant at (434)332-9707 or the Central Virginia Crime Stoppers at 1-888-798-5900. EARLIER, JAN. 30: The Campbell County Sheriffs Office is investigating an attempted home invasion Sunday evening. Authorities went to the 100 block of Moss Creek Drive at 9:40 p.m. Two men had knocked on the victims door, and when the victim opened the door, the men both armed tried to force their way in, the sheriffs office said in a news release Monday. A struggle ensued between the suspects and victim and shots were fired. The suspects then fled the scene. It is unknown at this time if either of the suspects sustained any injuries, the sheriffs office said. The suspects were described as black men wearing dark-colored clothing. Authorities ask anyone with information on this incident to call Capt. Dwayne Wade or Investigator Mike Bryant at (434) 332-9706, or call Crime Stoppers at 1-888-798-5900. Visit the Central Virginia Crime Stoppers website at www.cvcrimestoppers.org to submit a web tip, or text CVCS plus your message to 274637. Thanks to a grant of almost $880,000, about a dozen Appomattox County homeowners may be able to rebuild or repair their houses damaged by a tornado in 2016. I think [the grant money] is absolutely welcome. A lot of prayers were answered. We had a lot of people that were uninsured, and it will really help those folks out, said Sam Carter, chairman of the Appomattox County Board of Supervisors. The grant money will go directly to the tornado recovery fund, managed by the Appomattox County Long-Term Recovery Group, according to Carter. The money is part of more than $4 million in Community Development Block Grants (CDBG) being distributed among 10 projects in nine Virginia localities, according to a news release by Gov. Terry McAuliffes office Monday. Now we can really, really move forward with helping more folks and those that had to put up [recovery costs] with their own money, Carter said. This right here is a pure blessing. Nearly four dozen Appomattox County homes suffered major damage Feb. 24, 2016, when a tornado packing winds of up to 165 mph left a path of destruction 13 miles long and 400 yards wide through the community of Evergreen. According to the Virginia Department of Emergency Management, 30 houses were destroyed, and 12 houses sustained major damage. Shelia McCoy was in Lynchburg planning for her mothers funeral when the tornado destroyed her mobile home on Berry Lane behind Central Baptist Church, which also was leveled by the tornado. I feel very lost my kids have kept me going, theyve been by me, said McCoy, who has been living with her daughter for almost a year, by phone Monday afternoon. She said she hopes to rebuild her house but on a new piece of property on Red House Road and has been in contact with the Appomattox County Long-Term Recovery Group through Lynchburg Community Action Group, which is handling the case management for the recovery group. The group, a coalition of volunteers from churches and area nonprofits as well as county government officials, collaborated with the Region 2000 Local Government Council in seeking the grant. The application for $973,265 was earmarked for six houses that need to be rebuilt and to repair another 10 damaged houses. A portion of that money also will go to community cleanup like stump removal. First priority for the funding would be uninsured and underinsured families, with eligibility determined on a case-by-case basis and evaluated by Region 2000. The CDBG program provides funding to plan and implement projects that address critical community development needs, including housing, infrastructure and economic development, according to the news release. Other localities to receive grant funding include Wythe County, the town of Waverly, Buchanan County, the town of Exmore, Floyd County, the town of Dungannon, Wise County and Essex County. On Jan. 21, three times as many people attended a demonstration against Trump as showed up the day before for his inauguration. Solidarity marches across the nation drew hundreds of thousands, perhaps more. The turnout was impressive. It vexed the new president. But what did the Womens March mean? Despite what pundits said, the Womens March was not a movement. Nor was it the beginning of a movement. It was a moment. A show of hands: Im against Trump, these women (and men) told the world. Question was, who/what do they want to replace him? As Occupy Wall Street instigator Micah White pointed out, Womens Marchers didnt issue any demands, much less posit a desire to achieve political power. Without a clear path from march to power, the protest is destined to be an ineffective feel-good spectacle adorned with pink hats, he warned. Like other protests of the last few decades, the Womens March was a spasm, a spontaneous expression of disgust and outrage doomed to lead nowhere. If you dont demand anything, how will you get it? If you dont pose a threat to the establishment, why should they feel scared? Even so, at the risk of both mansplaining and leftsplaining, a show of hands does matter. Events like the Womens March are significant because American politics is centered (pun intended) around the fiction that leftist political movements taken for granted in other nations communism, socialism and left anarchism have no presence at the ballot box or in the news media in the U.S. because American voters arent interested. Moments like Saturday prove thats a lie. The New Left was the last organized left-wing mass movement in American history. Since the organized Left collapsed in the early 1970s, weve seen other moments like Saturday, indications that there are Americans whose politics fall to the left of the fake-left Democratic Party and the lockstep center-right corporate media apparatus that props up it and its rival Republican brand. Even during the somnolent 1980s, hundreds of thousands showed up to protest Reagan at demonstrations like Solidarity Day. There were violent, effective eco-terrorist attacks and anti-globalization/WTO protests like the Battle of Seattle in the 1990s. Millions marched against the 2003 invasion of Iraq. This decade brought us Occupy Wall Street and Bernie Sanders surprisingly popular presidential primary challenge. These political impulses opposition to war and militarism, fighting job-exporting free-trade agreements and suspicion of unfettered capitalism have no place in the Democratic or Republican parties. To the contrary: war, free trade and letting business run wild are nastily bipartisan. So more than a third of Americans find nothing of interest to buy in the American marketplace of political ideas. Thats a vast untapped pool of potential customers. These people Id say voters, but many of them dont bother to vote because they hate both parties represent an inefficiency in the market. Moments like Occupy, Bernie and the Womens March remind us of the existence of this Left-in-waiting. Someday, obviously, someone will build an organization that attracts Americas long-ignored leftists and channels their energies into something powerful enough to achieve power and smart enough to govern. Until then, the real left will be coopted by the Democrats. Which is what happened to the Womens March. To be sure, many Womens Marchers were Hillary Clinton Democrats. The Love Trumps Hate signs evidenced that. Yet many more of the demonstrators were Bernie Sanders progressives, socialists and communists who want to see radical change in society and the economy. A good indication that the Womens March got coopted into a Democratic boo-hoo Hillary/Cory Booker-in-2020 pep rally was that the speakers were limited to celebrity millionaire liberal Democrats like Michael Moore, Ashley Judd and Gloria. Had this been a militant action (i.e., one that might frighten Trump and the GOP), or a coalition of liberals who welcomed and respected their leftist allies rather than merely wanting to vampirize their righteous anger and energy into midterm votes, the roster of speakers would have included people calling for revolutionary change and action outside of the existing system. There would also have been some radical activists youd never of who do important work. Celebrity liberalism and pleas to vote Democratic are where the Left goes to die. No wonder the Womens March was doomed to join the list of fruitless liberal marches! Because theyre Democrats, none of the speakers suggested scrapping the whole sick system of systemized poverty, industrialized prisons, war and slave labor altogether. Instead marchers got a washed-up documentary filmmaker urging them to memorize a phone number they could use to call Congress because, yeah, thats going to do so much good, especially these days with Republicans in charge of everything. Still, despite the Democratic BS, those huge crowds were glorious. They showed up, they were heard, they hint at the better country we could have. May they soon get the radical, genuine political movement they and the world deserve. Rall is a syndicated writer and cartoonist for ANewDominion.net and Skewed.net. His latest book is Trump: A Graphic Biography, an examination of the life of the president in comics form. Contact him through his website, Rall.com. RICHMOND After Tuesday, bills that had not passed either the full House of Delegates or Senate were dead to the 2017 General Assembly, although exceptions exist for the budget. The crossover deadline is the halfway point for the General Assembly, which is scheduled to end Feb. 25. Both chambers already have begun hearing bills passed by the other side, and some already have passed both chambers. While legislators work through legislation, the Senate and House monies committees will negotiate their separate proposals on new spending and cuts addressing a $1.26 billion budget gap. Below are 10 topics of local interest still in play in the 2017 General Assembly: Central Virginia Training Center Under a bill that passed the Senate on Thursday, the General Assembly would have to make an overt decision to close Central Virginia Training Center, despite it being scheduled to close in 2020 as part of a plan to meet a Department of Justice settlement agreement. While SB 1551 carried by Sen. Steve Newman, R-Bedford County would require a General Assembly vote to close the Madison Heights facility serving people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, it does not say how exactly the legislature would make that decision. Under the vague language, legislators could pass the bill by a joint resolution, which would bypass approval by the administrative branch. The training centers, and the plan to close four of five of them, are managed by the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services, a state agency. Legislators also could close the center by passing a bill to be signed by the governor or including it in the budget bill, both of which are subject to a gubernatorial veto. Budget plans in both the House and Senate include money for environmental site studies regarding the broader CVTC grounds. The House includes $430,000 for the study compared to the Senates $260,000. Senate budget language also would require the state to develop and evaluate a plan for a smaller facility at CVTC. Lynchburg ballot shortage Twin bills carried by Newman and Del. Scott Garrett, R-Lynchburg, would require registrars to consider historical election data, including voter turnout, when ordering Election Day ballots, information most registrars already consider. Before it was amended, the bill would have given the Department of Elections authority to order localities to print a certain number of ballots. SB 1552 and HB 2415 arose from the Jan. 10 special election in which several Lynchburg precincts ran out of pre-printed ballots in the morning, resulting in angry and confused voters, some of whom left without casting a ballot. Both bills passed their respective houses on unanimous votes. Special elections On Monday, the Senate passed SB 1571, which would change the process for certifying elections regarding provisional ballots in special elections. Sen. Mark Peake, R-Lynchburg, brought the bill directly out of his experience after the Jan. 10 special election that brought him to Richmond. He and Sen. Jennifer McClellan D-Richmond, were elected in special elections the night before the 2017 General Assembly convened. Because of a combination of a voter ID law requiring three days to verify provisional ballots, a Senate tradition and back-to-back state holidays, Peake and McClellan might have had to wait a week before taking their seats. The Senate, however, made an exception to the tradition and swore them in anyway. Peakes bill would change the law by ordering electoral boards to meet regardless of any federal holiday. The bill also would require local electoral boards to certify special elections before counting provisional ballots unless the total of outstanding provisional ballots would change who wins. The provisional ballots still would be counted. Redistricting Although the slate of proposed constitutional amendments regarding redistricting died quickly in a House subcommittee block vote, several proposals passed the Senate, which also is controlled by Republicans. The General Assembly is expected to draw new lines for the state legislature and congressional seats after the 2020 census. Members of both parties and many members of the public, such as those working with nonprofit OneVirginia2021, are calling for redistricting reform. Reformers want to prohibit politically motivated or gerrymandered districts drawn to advantage or disadvantage an incumbent or party. SJ 231 carried by Sen. Emmett W. Hanger Jr., R-Augusta, would create a redistricting commission composed of seven members. The resolution passed the Senate 33-7 on Tuesday. SJ 290 carried by Sens. Janet D. Howell, D-Fairfax, and Jill Holtzman Vogel, R-Fauquier, would specify additional criteria to the state constitution for redistricting. Both proposed amendments go further toward reform than some of those killed by the House Constitutional subcommittee last month. Broadband A stripped-down version of the Broadband Deployment Act passed the House of Delegates on Tuesday. The much-maligned HB 2108 had been edited significantly since first proposed by Del. Kathy Byron, R-Bedford County, after protests from localities it would freeze their ability to provide high-speed internet access to their constituents. HB 2108 was whittled down a transparency provision Byron said will keep municipal broadband authorities accountable and prevent corruption as exhibited by Bristol Virginia Utilities. The bill passed 72-24 with one abstention, according to Virginias Legislative Information System. Airbnb The bill meant to better establish local control over app-based short-term rentals, such as Airbnb, passed the Senate on a 36-4 vote Tuesday. Speeches in support from both sides of the aisle and across the state showed hope negotiations would continue over SB 1578, carried by Senate Majority Leader Thomas K. Norment Jr., R-James City. SB 1578 would explicitly give localities the ability to pass ordinances regulating Airbnbs as they do with other short-term rentals, meaning rooms, spaces or homes rented out for 30 consecutive days or less. Burn ban exemption A House bill that would allow an exemption to annual winter burn bans for vineyards and orchards already is on its way to the governor after passing the Senate 40-0 on Tuesday. Del. Matt Fariss, R-Campbell County, proposed HB 1793 after a vineyard in his district lost 25 percent of its 2016 harvest because of frost. The vineyard owners said being able to start a controlled fire would have enabled them to warm and save their crops. They were told by emergency dispatch the annual winter burn ban prohibited that activity. Both wine and agricultural industries backed the legislation expected to be signed by Democratic Gov. Terry McAuliffe. Dyslexia Del. Ben Cline, R-Rockbridge, followed up on legislation he carried last year requiring teacher training in spotting symptoms of dyslexia. Under this years HB 2395, any school district employing reading specialists must have at least one specialist trained in identifying dyslexia and related disorders. The specialist would serve as an adviser to other educators on teaching methods for dyslexia and related disorders. The measure passed 96-0 on Tuesday. The similar SB 1516 carried by Sen. Richard H. Black, R-Loudon, passed the Senate 40-0 on Tuesday. Both Cline and Black clarified schools would not be mandated to add a reading specialist if they did not already have one. Abortion Clines bill that opponents say is designed to strip Planned Parenthood facilities of money as a way of snuffing them out passed the House of Delegates 60-33 on Tuesday. HB 2264 was designed to direct state resources efficiently, Cline said. McAuliffe vetoed the same bill when Cline carried it last year and is expected to do so again. Farm use vehicles HB 2239 carried by Fariss would expand the distance farm use vehicles may operate on public highways from 50 miles to 75 miles as long as the driver is retrieving supplies for agricultural or horticultural use or operating between two tracts of the farmers property. The bill was amended to require anyone operating under the exemption to provide proof of the farm address if requested by law enforcement officers. The measure passed the House 96-1 on Tuesday. A blanket repeal of the Affordable Care Act could cause millions of dollars worth of public health funding to hit the chopping block, leaving the Virginia Department of Health more than $20 million short. While most of the focus around the ACAs repeal has been on what such a move would do to the countrys uninsurance rate, little attention has been placed on the public health dollars wrapped up in the 2010 health law. In the zest to repeal ACA, we uncovered, with a lot of our colleagues from around the country, that there were programs subsumed into the ACA that actually existed well back to the Reagan administration that supported this public health infrastructure, Virginias Health Commissioner Dr. Marissa J. Levine told the House Appropriations Health and Human Resources subcommittee during a presentation recently. And if not careful, she continued, and all of the repeal goes forward, we could pretty rapidly lose about $27 million like that. That means about 133 of our people, mostly in our local health departments, could go away overnight. Jeff Ryer, press secretary for the Virginia Senate Republican Caucus, was skeptical of the idea that the federal government would strip Virginia of such a large chunk of public health funds. I seriously doubt that Congress is going to eliminate funding that was available prior to the passage of the act simply because the byzantine structure of the act grabbed that funding, he said. Levine said in an interview that the amount the state could lose is a moving target and is probably in the $20 million range. That is not an annual figure, she said, because some of the grants the department receives largely from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are multiyear funds. She said the figure also could change depending on what an ACA replacement plan entails, the nature of which is up in the air as federal lawmakers continue to debate what the future of health care should look like. There is little hope of Virginia picking up the slack should federal funding disappear, Levine added, considering the states current budget shortfall. I dont think there are available funds to replace this, which is why we certainly want our federal legislators to be careful in how they move forward, said Levine, who was appointed to her position in 2014 by Gov. Terry McAuliffe, a Democrat. She declined to comment on what the Department of Health would do or which programs it would prioritize should an ACA replacement fail to protect the public health funds. When asked about the possibility of losing a chunk of public health funds, Brian Coy, spokesman for McAuliffes office, said the governor predicts that, across the state government, Virginia is poised to lose $200 million should a repeal take place without a proper replacement plan. Del. John M. OBannon III, R-Henrico, said the issue with public health funds involved in the ACA is an example of whats missing in the discussion over the health law: What will replace it after a repeal takes place. I feel very strongly that we need to support public health, he said. Im optimistic and hopeful that what comes from Washington will give us the resources we need and the flexibility thats been missing to make health care better for Virginians. OBannon is supporting public health legislation this session, largely through a bill that passed the House on Friday and would allow the Department of Health to set up syringe services programs in parts of the state where the opioid epidemic is strongest so as to prevent injection needle users from contracting and spreading hepatitis C and HIV. When the ACA was enacted, it created the Prevention and Public Health Fund, which was meant to expand and sustain national investments to improve health outcomes, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services website. The fund absorbed core public health programs such as immunizations and vaccines for children, tobacco cessation and funds for rural hospitals. We also have something called the Epidemiology and Laboratory Capacity for Infectious Diseases grant, which is really critical for supporting the people who work on all those infectious diseases to control and investigate things related to newborn disease, for example, or health care-associated infections, and vaccine-preventable disease, Levine said. Its the work you dont hear about because it happens behind the scenes. That program was founded in 1995 and was absorbed into the Prevention and Public Health Fund. Through the epidemiology program, Virginia received just under $100,000 to fight Zika in 2017. Zika is a mosquito-borne virus that can cause birth defects in children should pregnant women become infected. Other public health programs came into existence because of the ACA, such as Virginias home visiting programs and its community health improvement work. Chas Roades, chief research officer with Advisory Board, a Washington, D.C.-based think tank, said the Prevention and Public Health Fund may get caught up in a broader ACA repeal because it not only absorbed old funding streams but also created new ones, and so could be cut as part of an effort to reduce federal spending. But its really important, he said. People dont often think of the public health aspects of the Affordable Care Act, but the public health infrastructure in Virginia is a really important part of the broader effort to make sure that Virginians have access to good, quality health care and that were improving the health of Virginians. In 2016, the Department of Health received just under $10 million from the CDC through the Prevention and Public Health Fund, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Resources website. That money included $2.6 million for a heart disease and stroke prevention program; $3 million to decrease premature deaths and to eliminate health disparities; and $1 million for immunization grants for children. We obviously have a huge issue with the burden of chronic disease on the population, Levine said. If we dont do a better job to make sure all our children have a strong start, were just going to add to that burden. In total, the fund distributed $913 million to fuel numerous public health programs across the country last year. The home visiting program allows health officials to visit parents and make sure they have the education and services they need. For many families, its been demonstrated that if you can intervene early with a professional, usually a nurse, then you can significantly improve the health outcomes of the child, Levine said. So its quite a good investment, in fact. She urged lawmakers to consider health whenever creating new policies, because all policy decisions in some way affect health. I really think its just about making good policy decisions and understanding the health impacts before final decisions are made, she said. We certainly encourage folks to ask the question for any policy decision: What impact will this have on health? Revisit the founding of the JSA and foreshadow its future in The New Golden Age #1 preview And see what lies ahead in the future of the DC Universe GamesRadar+ is supported by its audience. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Heres why you can trust us. Bakr walks out on judge Bakr was giving evidence before Justice Frank Seepersad in a malicious prosecution claim he brought against sitting magistrate Nalini Singh, who on September 29, 2010, acting in the capacity of a coroner, ruled that there was sufficient evidence for both Bakr and Brent Big Brent Miller to be charged with the murder of Israel Sammy, 22, who was killed on May 20, 1998. Bakr and Miller were the subjects of an inquest into Sammys death at the Portof- Spain Magistrates Court. Three weeks after Magistrate Singh gave her ruling, Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Roger Gaspard, SC, discontinued the preliminary enquiry, saying there was insufficient evidence to proceed. As he left the witness box yesterday, Bakr accused Justice Seepersad of being arrogant. He said he was not going to be subjected to the judges arrogance, further accusing the judge of being discriminatory against him. Bakr said he had evidence to support his claims. His lawyers at the start of the trial had called on the judge to step down from hearing the case, as he had previously dismissed a constitutional motion brought by Bakr in which he claimed his right to a fair trial was infringed when he was charged with the 1998 murder as a result of the Coroners decision. Seepersad held that Bakrs constitutional motion was an abuse, and any challenge against the magistrates decision as Coroner should have been done by way of a judicial review application. Bakrs application for the judge to recuse himself was based on apparent bias, but Seepersad refused to do so, saying such a request should have been long before as the malicious prosecution claim was before him for the past two years, and at any point during the case management stage Bakr could have made his application for recusal. It was the judges refusal to step down that drew Bakrs ire which he exhibited as he entered the witness box and was being led into evidence by his attorney Farid Scoon. After his walkout, the trial was recessed for 30 minutes. When the matter resumed Bakr apologised to the court for his earlier outburst. The trial continues on February 21. TIRED COPS In making this statement yesterday, president of the Police Social Welfare Association (PSWA) Insp Michael Seales added that it was supreme irony that the same general public that is castigating the Service for not solving murders and arresting criminals is hesitant to cooperate with law enforcement by way of providing information. Seales said that coupled with the frustration among police officers is sheer physical exhaustion from working long hours trying to get a handle on the crime situation, with all of their efforts not reaping the desired results. He said that despite this frustration and exhaustion, policemen and women remain committed to upholding their Oath of Office and to fulfil the Services motto: To Protect and Serve with Pride. Seales said that law enforcement officers are also members of the public who have families, friends and relatives and who are equally frustrated (just like other members of the public) with crime levels. He said the time had long come for all law-abiding citizens to work with the police to make the country safer. It cannot be a good position for our membership who feel exhausted and having no reasonable prospect that things will change given the long hours they are putting in and there is no reciprocal results consistent with an improvement in prevention, detection and conviction of people committing the acts of criminality especially murders, Insp Seales said. Inspector Seales reiterated that citizens need to play a more meaningful role in the fight against crime. The Association has publicly made the call that citizens play an integral part in not only stemming the tide but turning things around. There is a part for every single citizen to play in the administration of justice and we are calling on all not to be fearful of crime but to put their trust and confidence in law enforcement so that they can improve the performance and efficiency of the police. He also called on Acting Police Commissioner Stephen Williams to do more when it comes to the issue of corruption in the Service and also with the issue of rogue elements. Seales also warned that the Association is observing a growing disquiet among various civil society groups gathering, discussing and challenging the State for a better result. The Association is fearful that it would not be too long when persons decide to take matters into their own hands because of the rapid loss of confidence in law enforcement, Insp Seales said. School for the Blind remains locked Surratt told Newsday the TTBWA met yesterday with the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Education, the districts school supervisor and their legal representatives at the ministry. No decision, he said, was taken in relation to the removal of the schools principal and his wife, who teaches at the school. He said that the TTBWA was informed that the Teaching Service Commission was responsible for transfers, disciplining and firing. He said, the meeting was similar to the one held last year with similar outcomes. He was asked on that occasion for the TTBWA to send their complaints about the principal and his wife, which he did. He was once again asked to resend copies of the complaints which, he said, he will do once again. Whatever new appointments are being made in terms of teachers and principal, he said, the association must be consulted. The association was not consulted in 2009 when the current principal was appointed. Since then, he said, teachers were being appointed without consultation. At present, he said that the school has six teachers and a principal and about five or six children attend school daily. This was due, he said, to the principal shutting down the dorm facilities since 2012 which would have provided live-in accommodation for students who live in both Tobago and Trinidad. It is the only school for blind children in TT, he noted. On the reopening of the school, which the TTBWA closed a week ago, Surratt said, We are saying that moving forward to reopen the school, we must get written commitments from the ministry. The ministry has also promised, he said, to send the association a counter proposal to its memorandum of understanding in relation to the management and administration of the school. The TTBWA, he said, submitted its draft proposal in June last year. The ministry has now have found time to look at it. Once we get their counter proposal, he said, the associations council will meet to discuss it. Parents puzzled as Atwells closes The closure would affect about 300 students. A delegation of parents met with Education Minister Anthony Garcia at his office at 7 am yesterday to discuss the next step for their children. Essentially the meeting discussed what the Ministry of Education can give to them, Minister Anthony Garcia said yesterday. You have to bear in mind that it is a private institution, not a Government institution, and therefore there are limits to what assistance we can give. During the meeting we decided to keep the lines of communication open, and we will dialogue with the parents as often as is possible. Garcia revealed,They (the delegation) wanted to know if they wanted to establish another school what are the procedures that they must go through. They needed to get statutory approval and that would be from the regional corporation, TTEC (Trinidad and Tobago Electricity Commission), and WASA (Water and Sewerage Authority). We will need to know if they could implement the curriculum and we would have to take into consideration what are the teachers qualifications, and also infrastructure issues. Garcia said after meeting with him, the parents met with a senior officer of the ministry to outline different structures that would be necessary in establishing a new school. The minister said he had not received a report of that meeting as he was in other meetings for the rest of the day. When Newsday contacted the school yesterday to find out about the closure of the facility, a person who identified herself as the receptionist said the principal, Helen Atwell-Koo, was teaching a class at the time. Her message was brief: The principal said she is retiring and that is all there is to this. Garcia said that was what was puzzling the parents. Nobody seems to know, he said. All we received was a letter from the school principal stating that the school will no longer function. It was dated January 27, 2017, indicating that the school would be closing to all students with the exception of standards four and five. These classes would close in July 2018 and that is to facilitate those students who would be writing the SE A exams. All other classes will come to a halt in July 2017. Garcia said the parents stated that they were not consulted, that they had no prior information, there was no discussion with the schools administration and up to the time they met with the minister, they had not heard anything further from the school administration. Install the Newser News app in two easy steps: 1. Tap in your navigation bar. 2. Tap to Add to Home Screen. Before the various land masses that are now Africa, India, Australia, and Antarctica went their separate ways some 200 million years ago, they were part of the supercontinent Gondwana. So, too, was a "lost continent" scientists say is now hiding beneath the island nation of Mauritius. In a video, Lewis Ashwal of South Africa's University of the Witwatersrand explains the oldest rock on Earth exists in continents, while younger rocks form the ocean basins. Formed with volcanic eruptions in the Indian Ocean, Mauritius is also made up of young rock less than 9 million years old, per a release. But remarkably, scientists have found that rock contains minerals that date back 3 billion years to "one of the earliest periods in Earth's history," per Live Science. These minerals known as zircons prove "there are much older crustal materials under Mauritius that could only have originated from a continent," says Ashwal, whose research is published in Nature. He believes Zircons found on a tiny fragment of Gondwana that separated from Madagascar were covered by lava during the volcanic eruptions that created Mauritius before the lava solidified into the Mauritius we see today, hiding the older materials beneath. This suggests "a complex splintering [of Gondwana] took place, with fragments of continental crust of variable sizes left adrift within the evolving Indian Ocean basin." A 2013 study found zircons in Mauritius' sand, but some argued the minerals might have been carried there on the wind or scientists' shoes. This study, however, is literally set in stone. (Mount St. Helens hides something, too.) At the end of World War II, a Jewish trauma psychologist in Illinois went to Europe to record conversations with Holocaust survivors in the hopes of better understanding how they were coping, reports Newsweek. He often broke the ice by having people sing, but when he died in 1961 and his archives were given to the University of Akron in Ohio, a box of 48 wire spools went unplayed (and mislabeled) because the devices used to play them were already obsolete. And there they sat for more than 50 years, collecting dust as the mystery surrounding what they contained deepened. Now, after a three-year engineering effort to build a device that could play the spools, researchers are sharing their discoverythat the recordings are of Holocaust survivors and their songs. The researchers say that a woman named Guta Frank sang two of the most important pieces. Though her parents and most of her siblings were killed, she survived Polish ghettos and concentration camps. The song "Undzer shtetl brent," which Frank explained had been sung by the composer's daughter in Krakow to ignite rebellion against the Germans and call out bystanders for their complacency, includes the line "our village is burning." Frank instead sang that "the Jewish people are burning," reports the Akron Beacon Journal. The other, "Unser Lager steht am Waldesrande," was sung by forced laborers and only its lyrics had previously been known. "That we could give the world the melody to a song sung by those sentenced to their death ... is remarkable," one researchers says. (One man survived nine camps.) If you're looking to raise a family in the US, WalletHub has ranked all 50 states and the District of Columbia based on how family-friendly they are. The site looked at 40 variables including median family salary, unemployment rate, and how affordable housing is. The top 10 best states to raise a family: North Dakota: It ranked 2nd socioeconomically, but 13th on "family fun." New Hampshire: 3rd socioeconomically, 12th on affordability. Vermont: 1st on health and safety, 2nd on education and childcarebut 15th and 16th, respectively, on affordability and socioeconomics. Minnesota: 2nd on affordability, but 30th on family fun. Nebraska: 5th on family fun, affordability, and socioeconomics. Massachusetts: 2nd on health and safety, but 22nd on socioeconomics. New Jersey: 1st on education and childcare, but 26th on family fun. Iowa: 1st on affordability, and in the top 15 for all areas. Connecticut: 3rd on health and safety, but 34th on socioeconomics. South Dakota: 1st on family fun, but 30th on education and childcare. Click for the complete list and full rankings . (Read more lists stories.) Nearly 100 companies, mostly in the technology industry, have joined in a court filing to back lawsuits from Washington state and Minnesota to fight President Donald Trump's travel ban, the AP reports. Trump's executive order, signed Jan. 27, temporarily keeps refugees and travelers from seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the US. The companies said the ban will hurt their businesses and the US economy. Selections from the list of the 97 companies opposing Trump's travel ban: Airbnb Inc. Apple Inc. Chobani LLC Dropbox Inc. eBay Inc. Etsy Inc. Facebook Inc. Google Inc. GoPro Inc. Indiegogo Inc. Intel Corp. Kickstarter Levi Strauss & Co. LinkedIn Corp. Lyft Inc. Microsoft Corp. Mozilla Corp. Netflix Inc. PayPal Holdings Inc. Reddit Inc. Shutterstock Inc. Spotify USA Inc. Square Inc. Twitter Inc. Uber Technologies Inc. Wikimedia Foundation Inc. Yelp Inc. Click for the complete list . (Read more Trump travel ban stories.) A young woman in western Russia picked the wrong time to be "insulting," as a controversial law approved by President Vladimir Putin in 2013 describes it. Or more likely, the 21-year-old is deliberately provoking authorities. Her crime? She posted a photo of herself lighting a cigarette with a candle in a Russian Orthodox church in the city of Belgorod, reports the Moscow Times. For that, she has been charged with "insulting the feelings of religious believers," under a law that came about in the wake of the stunts pulled by the feminist punk group Pussy Riot. She faces up to three years in prison, reports the London Times. "This is bad behavior, of course, but she should simply have been kicked out of the church," says Alexander Verkhovsky, whose Sova Centre group monitors anti-extremism measures. "It should not be a criminal offense." Hers is not the only such case to generate headlines. A 22-year-old man posted a video of himself playing Pokemon Go in a church in Yekaterinburg after state television warned that such game-playing was a no-no. He, too, was charged under the new law, and has been held since October. No trial dates appear to have been set in either case. (Russia, meanwhile, is decriminalizing domestic violence so long as it only happens once a year.) Israel's parliament on Monday passed a contentious law meant to retroactively legalize thousands of West Bank settlement homes built unlawfully on private Palestinian land, a step that is expected to trigger international outrage and a flurry of lawsuits against the measure, the AP reports. The explosive law is the latest in a series of pro-settler steps taken by Israel's hard-line government since the election of Donald Trump as US president. He is seen as more sympathetic to Israel's settlement policies than his fiercely critical predecessor, and the Israeli government has approved plans to build thousands of new homes on occupied territory since Trump took office. "We are voting tonight on our right to the land," Cabinet minister Ofir Akunis said during a stormy debate ahead of the vote. "We are voting tonight on the connection between the Jewish people and its land. This whole land is ours. All of it." Critics say the legislation enshrines into law the theft of Palestinian land, and it is expected to be challenged in Israel's Supreme Court. According to the law, Palestinian landowners would be compensated either with money or alternative land, even if they did not agree to give up their property. The vote passed 60-52 in Israel's 120-member Knesset following a raucous debate in which opposition lawmakers shouted from their seats at governing coalition lawmakers speaking in favor of the vote from the dais. Some legislators supportive of the law took pictures of the plenum during the vote while some spectators in visitors' seats raised black cloth in apparent protest. The White House's immediate response was to refer to its statement last week that said the construction of new settlements "may not be helpful" in achieving an Israeli-Palestinian peace. Click for more on the possible fallout. (Read more West Bank settlements stories.) The Speaker of Britain's House of Commons said Monday that he strongly opposes letting US President Donald Trump address Parliament during a state visit to the UK, the AP reports. Speaker John Bercow's unusual public intervention makes it unlikely Trump will be given the honor during his trip later this year. Bercow told lawmakers he would have been against extending the invitation even before Trump's temporary ban on citizens of seven majority-Muslim nations entering the US. He said that after the migrant ban was issued, "I am even more strongly opposed." Bercow's comments were unusualthe BBC calls his rebuke "unprecedented and extraordinary"because speakers in the British Parliament are expected to remain above the partisan fray. Bercow is one of the parliamentary officials who would have to agree on inviting a foreign dignitary to address lawmakers and peers. World leaders given the honor of making a speech to both houses of Parliament include Nelson Mandela and Trump's predecessor, President Barack Obama. Bercow was cheered by opposition lawmakers when he said that, although Britain values its relationship with the US, "our opposition to racism and to sexism, and our support for equality before the law and an independent judiciary, are hugely important considerations." Trump is due to visit Britain later this year as the guest of Queen Elizabeth II. The invitation was announced by Prime Minister Theresa May when she visited Trump in Washington last month. May's office said the dates and itinerary for the state visit have not yet been finalized. (Read more President Trump stories.) Every week, sometimes twice a week, a military facility in Syria executes more people than the United States executes in a year, according to a hard-hitting Amnesty International report on the "human slaughterhouse" that is Saydnaya Prison. Syria has been secretly killing up to 50 people at a time, mostly civilian opponents of the regime, in mass hangings at the prison, executing up to 13,000 people between 2011 and 2015, according to the report. It notes that there's every reason to believe that the executions continue to this day. The executions are in addition to the estimated tens of thousands of deaths in prisons across Syria since the beginning of the civil war that were due to torture or inhumane conditions, the Guardian reports. The only legal process inmates go through before they're executed is a one- or two-minute hearing at a "Military Field Court," according to Amnesty, which spoke to 84 witnesses, including former guards, in the course of its investigation. A portion of the report: "Throughout this process, [the prisoners] remain blindfolded. They do not know when or how they will die until the noose was placed around their necks." Lynn Maalouf, deputy director for research at Amnesty's Beirut office, says upcoming peace talks cannot ignore the findings. "The horrors ... [were] authorized at the highest levels of the Syrian government, aimed at crushing any form of dissent." She calls for Iran and Russia, the regime's closest allies, to push for an end to Syria's "murderous detention policies." (Read more Syrian civil war stories.) Jamie Lynn Spears and her husband were just 100 yards away when Spears' 8-year-old daughter Maddie swerved to avoid a drainage ditch and drove an ATV into a pond on the family's property around 3pm Sunday. "The ATV and child were instantly submerged in the water right before their eyes," says the Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff's Office. Both ran to the pond along with other family members, but were unable to free Maddie, who was "trapped and secured by the seat belt and the ATV's safety netting," police say, per People. Emergency personnel who arrived about two minutes later were able to pull Maddie from the water, however. She's now in stable but critical condition at a Louisiana hospital. Police, who disputed earlier reports that the accident happened on a hunting trip, are asking people to "keep this family in your constant prayers as they try to cope with this horrible incident." Britney Spears, who is said to be with her family in Louisiana, shared a photo of Maddie on Twitter on Monday, per People. "Need all the wishes and prayers for my niece," she wrote. (Read more Jamie Lynn Spears stories.) President Trump accused the "very, very dishonest press" Monday of not wanting to report ISIS attacks in Europe. "They have their reasons, you understand that," he said, speaking to troops at MacDill Air Force Base in Florida, the headquarters of US Central Command. The White House later released a list of 78 terror attacks it claimed did not get the media attention they deserved. The incidents, however, included extensively reported attacks like the San Bernardino mass shooting, the Orlando nightclub attack, and the Paris Bataclan attack, reports NPR, which has the list in full. A roundup of coverage: Sean Spicer said Monday that Trump really meant that the incidents were underreported, not ignored, CBS News reports. "He felt that members of media don't always cover some of those events to the extent that other events might get covered," Spicer said. "Like a protest gets blown out of the water, and yet an attack or a foiled attack doesn't necessarily get the same coverage." The listreleased with spelling mistakes, including the repeated use of "attak" and "attaks"included little-known incidents in which nobody was killed and incidents with no clear link to ISIS, as well as major attacks that dominated media coverage for weeks, reports the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, which notes that one of the five Australian incidents on the list, a fatal youth-hostel stabbing, was determined to be a murder and not a terrorist attack. "All over Europe it's happening. It's gotten to a point where it's not even being reported," Trump said, though the AP notes that out of the 78 listed attacks the White House says were "executed or inspired by" ISIS since September 2014, fewer than half occurred in Europe. "ISIS is on a campaign of genocide, committing atrocities across the world," Trump told troops, according to the White House transcript of his remarks. After the list was released, White House spokeswoman Lindsay Walters said the "real point" was that attacks are no longer getting the "wall-to-wall" coverage they did a few years ago. "They're happening so oftenat a rate of more than once every two weeks, according to the list we sent aroundthat networks are not devoting to each of them the same level of coverage they once did," she said, per the Washington Post. The Guardian reports that political analyst David Gergen described the "outrageous" claim that the media didn't want the public to know about terrorism as another example of Trump engaging in falsehoods "without producing any serious evidence." "The list includes San Bernardino, as if the press didn't cover that sufficiently," Gergen told CNN. "It's just astonishing and it's beneath the dignity of the presidency," he noted, warning that this is "the way democracies come unraveled." (Read more President Trump stories.) PARIS (Reuters) - Ditching the euro to return to the franc would increase French borrowing costs, European Central Bank policymaker Francois Villeroy de Galhau warned in a column for Le Figaro published on Monday. "The idea of leaving the euro and devaluing our currency to run up bigger deficits overlooks the fact that financing French debt would cost significantly more," Villeroy said, predicting that borrowing costs could exceed 30 billion euros. Villeroy, who also heads the Bank of France, defended the single currency's deficit rules against those who blame them for weak French economic growth. "If France lags (its peers) in terms of growth, it's not because of excessive budget discipline ... but because of insufficient domestic reforms," he said. Villeroy's comments come after far-right leader Marine Le Pen unveiled her manifesto over the weekend, calling for France to leave the euro. (Reporting by Michel Rose; Editing by Laurence Frost) Democratic senators are kicking off an all-night debate in a final effort to prevent the confirmation of the woman Charles Schumer says is the "least qualified" of President Trump's nominees. The Senate is set to vote on the confirmation of Betsy DeVos as education secretary at noon Tuesday, and Democrats hope the 24-hour session that began at noon on Monday will give members of the public a last chance to persuade their representatives not to vote for her, NPR reports. The Senate is currently split 50-50, with two Republicans joining Democrats in opposing DeVos, meaning Mike Pence could become the first vice president ever to cast the deciding vote in a 50-50 tie over a Cabinet nominee, reports the Hill. Republicans thought to have been wavering, including Nevada's Dean Heller and Pennsylvania's Pat Toomey, have declared their support for DeVos, but Democrats haven't given up on defeating her. "I know for a fact there are other Republicans who are feeling the heat and could come around," Sen. Patty Murray said Monday. Politico reports that senators have already received tens of thousands of calls and emails from people opposing DeVos, a major GOP donor whose lack of public school experience makes her one of Trump's most controversial Cabinet picks. "It is difficult to imagine a worse choice" to head the department, Sen. Elizabeth Warren said Monday. (A teacher started a campaign to "buy" Toomey's vote.) The latest fight between the media and the president is about a bathrobe. On Monday, the New York Times ran a front-page article about life in the White House that included a personal detail about President Trump: It says he sometimes watches cable news at night in his bathrobe. White House spokesman Sean Spicer lit into the article in general as "riddled with inaccuracies" and called out that detail in particular. "I don't think the president wears a bathrobe, and definitely doesn't own one," he said, per CNN. Almost immediately, old photos began appearing on Twitter of Trump in a bathrobe. As a Mashable puts it, a quick online search yields images of a "bonafide bathrobe superfan," and it notes that Trump even donated an autographed one to charity in 2016. One of the reporters of the story, Maggie Haberman, defended the piece on CNN as an attempt to provide a more human look at Trump and the White House, reports the Week. "There's plenty of presidents who have worn bathrobes," she said, adding that the "guarded" Trump "doesn't always want to be humanized." She called the story "endearing," but the president clearly disagreed. One tweet accused the newspaper of "writing total fiction" about him and, a later one, after the CNN interview aired, complained: "The failing @nytimes was forced to apologize to its subscribers for the poor reporting it did on my election win. Now they are worse!" Spicer said the paper owed the president an apology over the "fake news." (Read more President Trump stories.) Former mob boss Thomas "Tommy Shots" Gioeli wants $10 million from the federal government over a Ping-Pong injury. Gioeli, once a high-ranking member of the Colombo crime family, is suing over an injury he suffered during a game at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn in 2013, according to court papers seen by the New York Daily News. He says he slipped on a wet floor while playing a game and fractured a kneecap. His suit argues that the prison is negligent because employees ignored complaints about a leaky pipe that led to the slippery conditions in the recreation area. The federal government, however, says that even Ping-Pong comes with risks, and Gioeli chose to take them. Gioeli needed surgery and rehab after the fall. The 64-year-old is three years into an 18-year sentence on racketeering charges, though he was acquitted of murder charges that included the 1997 slaying of a New York City police officer. At his sentencing in 2014, his attorney argued unsuccessfully for a light sentence because his client suffered from arthritis, diabetes, and heart disease, and thus probably wouldn't live beyond his early 70s, the New York Times reported. The story also noted that Gioeli had become a colorful fan of Twitter, with tweets such as: "The FBI spends it's limited resources on terminal Italian book-makers while terrorist & cartels flourish." So how did Gioeli wind up in prison? His own cousin ratted him out, reported the New York Post. (The late Anthony Colombo had a specific influence on the Godfather films.) One school of thought among Democrats is that they should borrow from the book of Trump and go with more of a celebrity than a traditional politician in 2020. Well, how about a little bit of both? At the National Journal, Josh Kraushaar makes the case for Al Franken as a viable contender. The 65-year-old Saturday Night Live alum seems to be finding his groove in the Senate, having emerged as one of the "most aggressive and effective questioners" of President Trump's Cabinet nominees. Expect that to continue with Supreme Court pick Neil Gorsuch. Franken, though, has learned to balance his toughness with levity, and his authentic self is emerging after years of keeping things closer to the vest, writes Kraushaar. True, his "deeply liberal politics" might not fly with moderate voters, but Franken has done something that Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders have not: proven he can "win support outside the most progressive precincts." He easily won re-election in 2014 while other Democrats struggled nationwide, and he did so with the support of working-class residents in rural areasa group that propelled Trump to victory. In fact, he shares some of the president's views on trade issues, having fought for tariffs against Chinese steel. "This is Al Frankens moment in the spotlight," writes Kraushaar, "and if he chooses, he could parlay his good fortune into a bid for the presidency in 2020." Click for the full column. (Read more Al Franken stories.) Melania Trump isn't just miffed at the Daily Mail for making her look bad with its phony story of her being an escort in the pastshe's upset the paper cost her "multi-million dollar business relationships" during a "multi-year term" in which she'd be "one of the most photographed women in the world." That per a suit the first lady has filed in New York State Supreme Court against Mail Media, the Washington Post reports. The $150 million suit adds that the Daily Mail article, which ran in August 2016, also "impugned her fitness to perform her duties as First Lady of the United States." Forbes notes Trump hired "the big guns" for this one: Charles Harder, the Peter Thiel-linked attorney who helped Hulk Hogan win his suit against Gawker, which effectively shut down the website. The suit against Mail Media and a Maryland blogger who reported the story was originally filed in Maryland, but the complaint was dismissed there for jurisdictional reasons (Mail Media has offices in New York; the suit against the blogger continues in Maryland). The first lady further claims that the Daily Mail story squashed the "once in a lifetime opportunity" to put out a "broad-based commercial brand" that would have included "apparel, accessories, shoes, jewelry, cosmetics, hair care, skin care, and fragrance." "There has never been a first lady of the United States who insinuated that she intended to make a lot of money" from her role, Richard Painter, a former White House ethics lawyer under George W. Bush, tells the Post. (Read more Melania Trump stories.) Kanye West startled fans late last year by announcing his support for Donald Trump (even though he didn't vote in the election), even taking a meeting with the president-elect at Trump Tower in December. But the performer has apparently had a change of heart and erased all of his Twitter laudations for the commander in chief, TMZ reports. The site notes West was unhappy about the president's travel ban and other things he's done since he took office, though it's not clear what sources revealed this info. CNN wasn't able to get in touch with West's reps, either, but it says that a source had previously noted one of West's priorities is his hometown of Chicagothe city Trump said he may send the feds into if the "carnage" doesn't stop. A trio of tweets from Dec. 13 are among the now-missing, with West relaying he met with Trump "to discuss multicultural issues," including "bullying" and "violence in Chicago." "I feel it is important to have a direct line of communication with our future President if we truly want change," he noted. He had also posted a signed pic of Trump's "Person of the Year" cover for Time. "To Kanye You are a great friend Thanks," the president-elect wrote, signing his name. West's Twitter account doesn't give much in the way of clues about the tweet purge: He's only posted a couple of times since the holidays, and they don't include anything about Trump. "Propaganda," however, a new song out by rapper King Myers and produced by West, voices its support for refugees and Muslims and calls for Trump's impeachment. (Read more Kanye West stories.) Military officials who've been trying to justify a Jan. 29 raid that killed a Navy SEAL in Yemen now say the goal was to capture al-Qaeda leader Qassim al-Rimi, who they believe escaped unscathed. They believe this because al-Rimiconsidered the third most dangerous terrorist in the world, per NBC Newscan be heard taunting President Trump in an 11-minute audio recording released over the weekend, which officials believe is authentic. "The new fool of the White House received a painful slap across his face," CNN quotes al-Rimi as saying. Al-Rimi also claims 25 people died in the raid, noting "dozens of Americans were killed and wounded," per the AP. The US military has said one Navy SEAL died and three others were wounded. A White House official tells NBC that Trump approved the raid after Defense Secretary James Mattis and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Joseph Dunford told him al-Rimi's capture would be a "game changer." However, an official tells CNN that al-Rimi was not essential to the mission, which officials believed would lead to him one way or another. Though al-Rimi wasn't capturedit isn't clear if he was at the sitemilitary officials have said the mission was "successful." Fourteen al-Qaeda fighters were killed and "al-Qaeda was disrupted, at least in terms of that cell," says a former national security adviser under former President George W. Bush. "They understand that the US is willing to lean forward, and perhaps they're being deterred or disrupted in their activities." (The military initially claimed it nabbed a decade-old video.) President Trump's nominee for labor secretary says a housekeeper he previously employed at his home was an undocumented worker, potentially complicating his efforts to get confirmed, reports the AP. Andrew Puzder said in a statement Tuesday that he and his wife employed a housekeeper for a few years and they were unaware she was not legally permitted to work in the US. "When I learned of her status, we immediately ended her employment and offered her assistance in getting legal status," says Puzder, a fast food chain executive. "We have fully paid back taxes to the IRS and the State of California." Democrats and their allies have already been rushing to exploit Puzder's record opposing a big increase in the minimum wage, overtime rules and more as they question how well he would advocate for American workers. Puzder outsourced his fast-food company's technology department to the Philippines, a move that contradicts Trump's vow to stick up for American workers and keep American jobs in the US. A filing with the Labor Department on Puzder's companyand a spokesman's acknowledgement that CKE continues to use the IT operation in the Philippinesprovides a window into a key contradiction raised by the nomination. (Read more Andy Puzder stories.) Ayatollah Ali Khamenei says he's glad President Trump has shown "the real face of America," Al Jazeera reports. According to CNN, the supreme leader of Iran noted the country's leaders had been trying for decades to prove the US government's corruption and Trump, who he referred to as "this new guy," managed to do it within days of taking office. Khamenei was making his first speech since Trump became president Tuesday in front of military officers in Tehran, the BBC reports. Khamenei also brought up a 5-year-old Iranian boy who was handcuffed at an airport in the wake of Trump's immigration and refugee ban. He said photos of the boy in cuffs "show the true meaning of American human rights." He said America's stated positions on human rights "are no longer tenable." In the wake of a recent Iranian missile test, Trump tweeted at the country and issued new sanctions, but Khamenei said the president will be unable to scare Iranian citizens. (Read more Iran stories.) A man who survived eight Nazi concentration campsincluding Auschwitzdied Monday night at the age of 94, the Manchester Evening News reports. According to the BBC, Chaim Ferster was taken from his home in Poland by the Nazis in 1943. He would go on to lose 30 relativesincluding his mother, father, and two sistersin the Holocaust. He suffered typhus and malnutrition while witnessing death marches, mass executions, and more. The chief executive of the Holocaust Educational Trust says Ferster "survived the worst horrors known to man." But he persevered, living, as a rabbi put it, "nine lives." A family member says Ferster was "powerful, determined, indefatigable." Ferster, who settled in England, found his experiences too difficult to discuss until he was in his 70s. His son tells the Jewish Chronicle it was a "forbidden topic" when he was growing up. But when Ferster finally found his voice, he used it, speaking to students, police, and others. His son says he was afraid "people would forget the horrors of the Holocaust." Last month, Ferster played the violin again for the first time since he was put in the camps; it had been too painful to do so for decades. And in the days before his death from pneumonia, he was visited by his 92-year-old sister, the only other family member to survive the Holocaust. Hundreds are expected to attend his funeral Tuesday. (University uncovers songs from Holocaust survivors.) On the back of an improved oil extraction rate. Agribusiness giant First Resources reported higher crude palm oil production in 4Q16 in line with the spike in fresh fruit bunch production. According to a UOB KayHian report, CPO production increased 12.7% QoQ and 19.0% YoY in 4Q16 on the back of an improved oil extraction rate (OER). However, for the whole of 2016, CPO production dropped 7.6%. UOB said prices are expected to be higher in the said quarter, as Indonesia Dumai/Belawan CPO prices inched up 3.8% QoQ but surged 38.4% YoY. "The substantial increase in CPO prices was mainly due to tight supply and stable export demand. All in all, we reckon CPO prices will hover at US$650-750/tonne in 1H17, and are likely to decline when production picks up in 2H17," the firm explained. More From Singapore Business Review The Daily News-Miner encourages residents to make themselves heard through the Opinion pages. Readers' letters and columns also appear online at newsminer.com. Contact the editor with questions at letters@newsminer.com or call 459-7574. New Delhi: Drug firm Alkem Laboratories has signed a pact with Singapore's Haw Par Healthcare to market and distribute Tiger Balm range of products in India. "The Mumbai-based company has entered into an alliance with Haw Par India, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Singapore's Haw Par Healthcare, to exclusively market and distribute Tiger Balm range of products in the country," Alkem Labs said in a regulatory filing. Tiger Balm is used for headaches, upper respiratory congestions, arthritic pains and muscular sprains. "Combined with Alkem's strong sales and distribution infrastructure and robust executional capabilities in India, we believe it is a befitting alliance which cannot only grow Tiger Balm's franchise in India but can also add significant thrust to Alkem's OTC business," Alkem CEO Prabhat Agrawal said. As per Euromonitor 2015, the size of OTC analgesic market in India is about Rs 20 billion and has grown at a CAGR of 9.9 per cent through 2010 to 2015. Tiger balm features amongst the top 10 brands in the topical OTC analgesic market in India. Alkem shares were trading 0.45 per cent down at Rs 1,805.6 on the BSE. New Delhi: A man, earlier convicted for sexually assaulting minors, was arrested for allegedly trying to kidnap a four-year-old girl in Vijay Vihar locality of Rohini, police said. Vijay Vihar Police was informed around 11.12 AM that a man was caught by locals when he was trying to kidnap the girl. According to police, the girl's mother, who irons clothes in Rohini, raised alarm when she saw the accused, identified as Naresh, who was allegedly in an inebriated state, running away carrying her daughter in his arms. Following which locals chased and caught hold of the accused and rescued the girl. The accused was then handed over to police, they said. A case of kidnapping has been registered against the accused at Vijay Vihar police station. He has also been charged under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO)Act, police said. "We will seek his custody for further questioning as it is feared that he was involved in similar cases in the past which might have gone unreported," DCP (Rohini) M N Tiwari said. "We arrested Naresh who is a repeat offender and sex maniac from Vijay Vihar in Rohini today. During interrogation he admitted to kidnapping and sexually abusing girls," he said. Naresh was allegedly involved in bootlegging in VijayVihar area and was first booked for sexually assaulting a minor in 2007, they said. A they said. A similar case was registered against him in 2013. He was later convicted by the court in April 2014 and sent to jail for3-year term. He, however, managed to get bail and come out of jail after one year, he said. The accused was booked for bootlegging in 2015 also.A New Delhi: Narendra Modi government has set up an election cell to elect next President of India, the reports said. President Pranab Mukherjee is set to complete his term on July 25, 2017 and it seems he will not get a second term in the highest office of the land. If media reports are to believed, PM Modi has already started the process to elect the 14th President of India. According to a report in Financial Express, two rooms in Parliament complex were allotted to President Election 2017 Cell on January 30. Room Number 79 on second floor and Room number 108-A on the third floor have been allotted for the purpose, the report said. Since outgoing President Pranab Mukherjee assumed office on July 25 in 2012, the new President has to be sworn in on July 25 this year. Activities of the President Election Cell are likely to increase after the budget session as it will require to involve state assemblies, which are part of the Electoral College for the Presidents election. Earlier, Presidents Secretariat also requested the Urban Development Ministry to look for a suitable accommodation for Mukherjee to stay after retirement from office. The officials of the Presidents Secretariat were shown the bungalow on APJ Abdul Kalam Road and they have agreeable to it becoming Mukherjees new home after he demits office, the source said. Mukherjee had defeated Sangma, who passed away in March this year aged 68, to become the 13th President of India. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New Delhi: Tamil Nadu acting Chief Minister O Panneerselvam on Tuesday paid homage to J Jayalalithaa when he sat in meditation alone at her burial site in Marina beach. He also stated that he came to Amma's memorial to reveal certain truths after his meditation. O. Panneerselvam was seen sitting in silence. He came to the memorial at around 9 p.m. and was seen sitting in 'meditation' till about 9.40 p.m. Panneerselvam's move gains significance in view of the confusion surrounding V.K. Sasikala's swearing-in as Chief Minister. Panneerselvam, who is also AIADMK party treasurer, proposed Sasikala's name for legislature party leader at the MLAs meeting on Sunday and faxed his resignation to Governor Ch. Vidyasagar Rao. We thought he was a good man. We didn't know he was so selfishAIADMK spokesperson to Thanthi,said on Panneerselvams statement. Governor Vidyasagar Rao had accepted Panneerselvam's resignation. V K Sasikala has now called a meeting with AIADMK cadre at Poes garden. ALSO READ | Panneerselvam vs Sasikala | Tamil Nadu Governor Vidya Sagar Rao not to fly to Chennai on Wednesday: Reports Congress spokesperson Randeep S Surjewala also took a dig at PM Modi on Twitter on the ongoing Tamil Nadu CM drama. As Governor refuses to conduct swearing in, an outgoing Tamil Nadu CM rebels. Is PM Modi trying to bring down one more elected Govt ? 1/n Randeep S Surjewala (@rssurjewala) February 7, 2017 The scene outside #Panneerselvam home. All these vehicles and people followed him from jaya memorial to his home pic.twitter.com/FNDQbIdDTP T S Sudhir (@Iamtssudhir) February 7, 2017 Here are live updates: #10:28 PM At a meeting at Sasikala's place senior party leaders were present&question of her being CM came.I asked how far was this justified: TN CM #10:22 PM I was given the CM post but insulted continuously: TN CM O.Panneerselvam #10:15 PM When she was in the hospital I asked her, she (Jayalalithaa) asked me to take over as CM: TN CM O.Panneerselvam The current party position in Tamil Nadu Assembly is as follows: AIADMK - 135 DMK - 89 Congress - 8 Other - 2 Total - 234 For vertical split in party, 90 MLAs support is needed for Panneerselvam if he goes for a division of AIADMK. OPS - the permanent CM of TamilNadu. aaaa O. Pannerselvam (@CMOTamilNadu) February 7, 2017 I will be ready to fight even alone - CM aaaa O. Pannerselvam (@CMOTamilNadu) February 7, 2017 As far as i m concerned, only the person who has support of the cadre and ppl - CM aaaa O. Pannerselvam (@CMOTamilNadu) February 7, 2017 It was only because I was forced that I stepped down - CM aaaa O. Pannerselvam (@CMOTamilNadu) February 7, 2017 Amma's soul told me to inform this to the people of the State - CM aaaa O. Pannerselvam (@CMOTamilNadu) February 7, 2017 I was informed that Sasikala shud take over as CM. When I asked whats the necessity, they told me one person shud have both posts - CM aaaa O. Pannerselvam (@CMOTamilNadu) February 7, 2017 I came to know that there was a meeting of the MLAs. I didnt have info - CM aaaa O. Pannerselvam (@CMOTamilNadu) February 7, 2017 The schemes announced in 2011 were praised by everyone. We have to take her legacy forward - CM aaaa O. Pannerselvam (@CMOTamilNadu) February 7, 2017 Sellur Raju, Sengotaiyann, all spoke the same thing. My own ministers were talking against them - CM aaaa O. Pannerselvam (@CMOTamilNadu) February 7, 2017 I was given the CM post but insulted continuously - CM aaaa O. Pannerselvam (@CMOTamilNadu) February 7, 2017 I was told the Udhayakumar was warned, They said no one will talk like this anymore - CM aaaa O. Pannerselvam (@CMOTamilNadu) February 7, 2017 Revenue Minister, R B Udhayakumar, said Sasikala shud take over as CM, when I was the CM. aaaa O. Pannerselvam (@CMOTamilNadu) February 7, 2017 While I was meeting PM, on the other side Thambidurai took 50 MPs and came to meet the PM - CM aaaa O. Pannerselvam (@CMOTamilNadu) February 7, 2017 Next came Jallikattu. It was a democratic uprising, without a hitch for 4 days. I met Shri @narendramodi & explained situation- CM aaaa O. Pannerselvam (@CMOTamilNadu) February 7, 2017 We also had water scarcity problem. We knew that AP had water. We met @ncbn to get some water. He immediately gave it - CM aaaa O. Pannerselvam (@CMOTamilNadu) February 7, 2017 It was then that Vardah cyclone came, it was set right in 4 days. It was done as Amma's wishes. This upset them - CM aaaa O. Pannerselvam (@CMOTamilNadu) February 7, 2017 After the genral council meet, I worked with utmost dedication to fulfill amma's dreams - CM aaaa O. Pannerselvam (@CMOTamilNadu) February 7, 2017 On the 2nd day of taking over as CM, Health minster told me Diwakar wanted to say something to me - CM aaaa O. Pannerselvam (@CMOTamilNadu) February 7, 2017 On the 2nd day of taking over as CM, Health minster told me Diwakar wanted to say something to me - CM aaaa O. Pannerselvam (@CMOTamilNadu) February 7, 2017 I accpeted the post only after they told me if I dont accept it will bring disrepute to the party - CM aaaa O. Pannerselvam (@CMOTamilNadu) February 7, 2017 I accpeted the post only after they told me if I dont accept it will bring disrepute to the party - CM aaaa O. Pannerselvam (@CMOTamilNadu) February 7, 2017 I told them I was happy to have stepped aside for Amma when she was alive. I told them they can appoint whoever they want. - CM aaaa O. Pannerselvam (@CMOTamilNadu) February 7, 2017 I was first told Madhusudhanan should take over as Gen Sec. I didnt accept it. I opposed it - CM aaaa O. Pannerselvam (@CMOTamilNadu) February 7, 2017 I was crying for almost half an hour hearing abt her situation - CM aaaa O. Pannerselvam (@CMOTamilNadu) February 7, 2017 I was crying for almost half an hour hearing abt her situation - CM aaaa O. Pannerselvam (@CMOTamilNadu) February 7, 2017 "When I asked what is d next step?" "I was told that we have 2 b ready for any eventuality" - CM aaaa O. Pannerselvam (@CMOTamilNadu) February 7, 2017 Have to save the party & the state, I was told - CM aaaa O. Pannerselvam (@CMOTamilNadu) February 7, 2017 I want to tell some truth to the ppl of ths country & party cadre - CM aaaa O. Pannerselvam (@CMOTamilNadu) February 7, 2017 I came here because my conscience was pricking - CM aaaa O. Pannerselvam (@CMOTamilNadu) February 7, 2017 I paid homage to my beloved leader - CM aaaa O. Pannerselvam (@CMOTamilNadu) February 7, 2017 Also Read: It is constitutional obligation of Governor to swear in Sasikala as Tamil Nadu CM, no ground for stopping it, says AIADMK For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. Nearly two years after papers were filed, Hollywood's latest major trademark dispute has come to a close. Kylies Minogue and Jenner were embroiled in a legal tussle over the trademark for the name "Kylie" to use for "advertising services" and "endorsement services". Minogue, for now at least, has the upper hand after Jenner's claim was rejected by the US Patent and Trademark Office, to which she has already launched an appeal so she can use her name on fashion and beauty lines. Jenner filed the papers in April 2014, but Minogue and her team responded in February 2016, claiming that the Australian pop star's branding could be "damaged" by Jenner one true name. Defining the older star as an "internationally renowned performing artist, humanitarian and breast cancer activist" and referring to Jenner as a "secondary reality television personality", the case was suspended twice last year for settlement negotiations. In January, Minogue withdrew the opposition, which meant that Jenner's application could go forward and suggests that both Kylies may have reached a settlement, although neither party has commented on this. Either way, Jenner was unsuccessful time will tell if she has another go at being the trademarked Kylie. But Jenner isn't the last celebrity to try and claim ownership over a word, and nor will she be the last. The rich and famous have long held a reputation for paying to patent phrases and brands some so ridiculous that Jenner and Minogue's tussle over their names looks almost sensible. Here are some of the most preposterous: Donald Trump: 'You're fired!' and 'Make America Great Again' As the President with the lowest approval ratings in modern US history, Donald Trump has big fish to fry these days. But in 2004 his concerns were of a simpler nature: he just wanted to trademark the words "You're fired!" for use in games and casino services and "You're Fired! Donald J. Trump" to put on clothing. His case was rejected, which means his "You're fired!" games will never enter the White House. Story continues Trump did, however have better luck with his campaign slogan which was pinched off Ronald Reagan from his 1980 campaign. Trump became the first person to claim commercial rights over "Make America Great Again" after applying for the trademark mere days after Barack Obama won the presidential election in 2012. It was approved in July 2015, and Trump has been attempting to profit off the claim's application to "political action committee services" ever since by targeting brands such as CafePress, who sold items with the slogan on. They have since stopped, and Trump's second request, which would give him claim over items such as hats, T-shirts and bumper stickers, is still awaiting approval. Taylor Swift: 'This sick beat', 'nice to meet you, where you been' and 'party like it's 1989' Two days before the release of her fifth album, 1989, Swift filed papers to trademark a slew of lyrics and catchphrases for uses including "public appearances", "clothing" and "ornaments", among other things. She was successful, but perhaps less so in predicting the tidal wave of mockery inspired by the lyric "This sick beat". Jay Z and Beyonce: 'Blue Ivy' and 'Blue Ivy Carter' Most first-time parents spend the days after the birth of their offspring in a sleep-deprived and hormone-rich daze of confusion. Not so music's most powerful couple, who filed a trademark application for Blue Ivy, their daughter's name, days after she was born. The claim was intended to cover a variety of skincare and hair products, but was denied because it was already in use. In February 2017, the Carters tried again, this time for Blue Ivy Carter and for the name to be used on a range from "hair care to clothing, mobile devices to video games". According to TMZ, "it looks like the application will be approved very soon". Which is just as well as, come late summer, the couple will be be welcoming twins which means double the paperwork. Kris Jenner: 'momager' and '#proudmomma' If it's impressive that Kylie Jenner could file a trademark claim for her name at 17, the fact her mother is well-versed in the practice may have something to do with it. The celebrity matriarch and mother of Kim, Khloe, Kourtney and Rob Kardashian and their half-sisters Kylie and Kendall Jenner has filed papers to trademark both momager (in May 2015) and the hashtag #proudmomma (seven months later). So far, no successful claim has been granted by authorities. Paris Hilton: 'That's hot' Think back to the simpler times of 2007, when tiny dogs and overpriced velour tracksuits ruled the day. Simpler Life star and hotel heiress Paris Hilton, not content with having a surname that belonged to one of the world's biggest businesses (and an inheritance to match), successfully trademarked her catchphrase "that's hot". Although the US Patent and Trademark Office claim that the mark only applies to alcohol and clothing, Hilton still managed to benefit three years later when Hallmark produced a greetings card depicting the heiress as a waitress and making a quip that the food she was carrying was hot "that's hot". Hilton successfully sued. 50 Cent: '50 Cent' The famously bankrupt rapper made the smart career move to trademark his stage name (he was born Curtis Jackson) a year before his debut album, Get Rich or Die Tryin', was released in 2002. It was approved in 2004 and he's since registered it to cover products such as body spray. It did wind up in a lawsuit and undisclosed damages for Jackson when Taco Bell used his name in an advertising campaign without his consent in 2008. Star wars: Hollywoods most explosive - and expensive - divorces New Delhi: The National Investigation Agency has arrested ISI agent Shamshul Hoda for conspiring train derailments from Kathmandu in Nepal. 3 FIRs have been registered against him over train derailments in Bihar, Kanpur & Andhra Pradesh. The NIA has busted Shamshul with the help of Kathmadu police. Hoda is presently in custody on Nepal police. As per reports, Hoda is being accused of conspiring accidents of Indian Railways on the directions of Pakistani agency ISI. Hoda used to conspire rail accidents from Dubai. The accused was sent to Kathmandu on pressures of investigation agencies of India and Nepal. The NIA, RAW and IB were already present in Kathmadu to arrest the accused. Also read: Train derailment case: Special NIA court grants 11 days remand of the three ISI suspects Around 140 people lost their lives in Kanpur train accident. An audio clip was recovered from the phone of Brij Kishore Giri who was also arrested from Nepal. The audio clip contains talks of train accident conspiracy. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New Delhi: The NIA special court on Tuesday issued proclamation orders against Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) chief Masood Azhar and 3 other JeM leaders in connection with the Pathankot terror attack case. This comes hours after a significant bid by the US in the UN for designating Masood Azhar as a global terrorist was stymied by China which again opposed the ban against him. The American proposal came barely weeks after Indias efforts to get Azhar banned by the UN were blocked by China in December last. According to senior government sources, the US, supported by the UK and France, moved a proposal at the UNs Sanctions Committee 1267 in the second-half of last month to proscribe Azhar. The proposal, which was finalised after consultations between Washington and New Delhi, said JeM is a designated terror outfit and so its leaders cannot go scot-free, sources said. ALSO READ | US, UK and France move UN for ban on JeM chief Masood Azhar, China blocks it again However, China opposed the US move by putting a hold on the proposal, a source said, adding the Chinese action came just before the expiry of the 10-day deadline for any proposal to be adopted or blocked or to be put on hold. The hold remains for six months and can be further extended by three months. During this period, it can be anytime converted into a block, thereby, ending the life of the proposal. UN Sanction Committees listing would have forced imposition of asset freeze and travel ban on Azhar by countries including Pakistan. China has been constantly opposing efforts to get Azhar banned by the UN, which has proscribed his outfit JeM in 2001. The Chinese opposition is also seen by many here as an action taken at the behest of its all-weather ally Pakistan. After the attack on the IAF base at Pathankot in January last year, India in February wrote to the UN calling for immediate action to list Azhar under the Al-Qaeda Sanctions Committee. The efforts faced stiff opposition by China, which twice put a technical hold before finally blocking the Indian proposal in December. (With inputs from PTI) For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. Etah: Uttar Pradesh Minister Azam Khan on Monday accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of interfering into the religious matters of Muslims, including the community men marrying more than once, saying nobody has right to do so. Addressing a rally in Etah he said no government has interfered in the matters of the religion of Muslims regarding three marriages, but Modi is interfering and wants a discussion on this and a ban on it. None of them has got the right to interfere into the religious matters of Muslims when no one was interfering with the marriage rituals of other communities, he added. Khan accused Modi of helping promoter of now defunct Kingfisher Airlines Vijay Mallya to escape and also waiving off his loans. Claiming that there was no fight with any party except BJP in Uttar Pradesh assembly polls, he said the party was interfering into the lives of the people. Also read: UP Elections 2017: Azam Khan compares PM Modi to Ravana Bhartiya Janata Party demands cancellation of candidature of Azams son for being underage For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. Ludhiana : The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Monday demanded suspension of Returning Officer Gagandeep Singh Virk, who they alleged entered the strong room of Gill Assembly constituency at Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) in Ludhiana, a charge refuted by district election officer. Claimed that the RO allegedly stayed inside for 15 minutes despite protests by AAP activists who were guarding the strong room, Senior AAP leader HS Phoolka and the partys candidate from Gill seat Jiwan Singh Sangowal demanded Virks immediate suspension and registration of an FIR against him. Phoolka accused Virk of entering the strong room where EVMs have been kept. He had not taken any candidate with him when he visited the spot, he said, alleging it could be for tempering. AAP national convenor and Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal also demanded Virks suspension. Meanwhile, refuting charges, District Election Officer-cum-Deputy Commissioner Ravi Bhagat said there is no breach of the strong room as every thing is under seal and security. Allegations of the entry of outsiders in the strong room against the Returning Officer-cum-District Development and Panchayat Officer Gagandeep Singh Virk have been found baseless, Bhagat said. He said that no evidence of any such incident has been found and this allegation is baseless and without any proof. A team, led by Additional Deputy Commissioner Mohinderpal Gupta and Additional Deputy Commissioner Police Surinder Lamba, has probed the incident and found nothing. He said the team checked CCTV cameras, also recorded the statements of the officials of the central security forces, which made it clear that allegation were baseless. Bhagat said Sangowal along with other party leaders and candidates, contesting from Gill constituency, could visit the PAU strong room. They can verify CCTV footage, examine the security and seals. They can have a view of the strong room daily at 11 AM in the presence of the Returning Officer, he said. Bhagat said the Chief Election Officer of Punjab has been apprised of the incident. Defending himself, Virk said that RO can visit and check the safety aspect of strong room from outside. For this, it is not mandatory for him to take along the candidates each time. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New Delhi: Twitter is buzzing with news alerts from India and rest of the world. Here are the latest updates from the world of Twitter in one scroll:A #11:57 PM The recent developments show that there is clear divide in the party: TKS Elangovan, DMK O Pannerselvam #11:43 PM O Pannerselvam is very wrong,he finished his political career with this.He is a traitor: AIADMK cadre #11: 42 PM Welcome this step, very happy. Truth never fails: Sasikala Pushpa, expelled AIADMK MP O Pannerselvam #11:38 PM O Panneerselvam grew from the grass roots, we want him to remain CM: O Panneerselvam's supporter #11:35 PM Our brother OPS will lead us, no one can stop him. He will be the only CM: A supporter of O Panneerselvam #11:35 PM Celebrations outside O Panneerselvam's residence in Chennai, by his supporters #11:25 PM When I ws asked to be CM I refused saying there are other qualified ppl because without Amma how can I take position she had:O Panneerselvam #11:20 PM Emergency meeting of senior AIADMK party leaders & ministers underway at Sasikala Natarajan's Poes Garden residence #11:15 PM Vice President Mike Pence breaks US Senate tie to confirm Betsy Devos as education secretary: AFP #10:45 PM I will be ready to fight even alone - Tamil Nadu CM #10:41 PM 3.46 lakh people died of diabetes in 2015, up from 2.24 lakh in 2005: Govt: PTI #10:41 PM Over 1 lakh lung cancer deaths & 75,000 fatalities due to breast cancer are estimated India by 2020: Govt: PTI #10:40 PM Since 2014, Navy reported 21 operational accidents involving naval vessels in which 10 human lives were lost: Govt: PTI #10:39 PM One who can protect the interest of the state should become the Chief Minister, says O. Panneerselvam #10:34 PM I will take back my resignation if party workers and people of the state ask me to: O Panneerselvam #10:32 PM I am saying these facts in front of you to make things clear in public I will continue to struggle: TN CMA #10:30 PM Party leaders said I have to take initiiative towards making Sasikala CM that's how I was forced to tender resignation-TN CM O Panneerselvam #10:26 PM At a meeting at Sasikala's place senior party leaders were present&question of her being CM came.I asked how far was this justified: TN CM #10:25 PM I was given the CM post but insulted continuously: TN CM O Panneerselvam #10:23 PM Revenue Minister, RB Udhayakumar, said Sasikala should take over as CM, when I was the CM: TN CM O Panneerselvam # 10:22 PM When Jayalalithaa was in the hospital she asked me to take over as CM: TN CM O Panneerselvam:A #10:18 PM TN Guv won't go to Chennai on Wednesday.#Panneerselvam to rmain interim CM until guv examines legal implications regarding Sasikala's appnt #10:13 PM Sasikala Natarajan will not be sworn in as Tamil Nadu CM on Wednesday: Sources: ANI #10:11 PM I have performed my duty without any shortcomings and carried forward path shown by Ammaa: TN CM O Panneerselvam #9:44 PM Pakistan's Punjab CM Shehbaz Sharif imposes 'complete ban' on Basant festival that marks commencement of spring season: PTI #9:32 PM Fresh protests by angry soldiers erupted in Ivory Coast army barracks in the town of Adiake: AFP #9:31 PM TN CM O.Panneerselvam pays homage to Jayalalithaa at her memorial on Marina Beach; sits in a meditation position with his eyes closed: ANI #9:30 PM British police say aircraft diverted to Stansted due to reports of disruptive passenger, not believed to be hijack or terrorism: Reuters India #9:17 PM Britain says RAF jets escort Pakistan Airlines flight to Stansted airport: Reuters India #9:15 PM Abbas says Israeli settler law an attack on Palestinians: AFP #9:15 PM Russia says Trump's efforts on Ukraine better than Obama's - TASS - Reuters India #9:13 PM BJP whip to its Rajya Sabha members to remain present in the House tomorrow as PM Narendra Modi is likely to reply on Presidential Address: PTI #9:11 PM UK must pay to leave EU just like friends going to a pub must pay for their round of beer, EU says: AFP #9:06 PM Crime Branch of Delhi police teams up with South East District Police to probe theft at Kailash Satyarthi's residence: ANI #9:03 PM The Specified Bank Notes (Cessation of Liabilities) Bill, 2017 passed in Lok Sabha Budget Session: ANI #9:00 PM Whole country was patient, only one who had problems was the Indian opposition not the people: FM Arun Jaitley in LS Demonetisation: ANI #8:58 PM Goa: On pretext of giving tantric message, yoga teacher allegedly raped 32-yr-old American woman in Korgao's Pernem; teacher arrested: ANI #8:42 PM Karnataka HC rejects UBHL's plea, orders winding up of UBHL. Official liquidator to take over assets of UBHL: ANI #8:25 PM M Kharge should stop taking farmers' support while invoking black money, famers' money is clean, they aer not taxed- FM #Jaitley in LS: ANI #8:22 PM Jovenel Moise takes oath of office as Haiti's new president: AFP #8:21 PM Rushdie's new novel The Golden House on Mumbai family hit by 26/11 to be out in Sept. Salman Rushdie: PTI #8:11 PM The Specified Bank Notes (Cessation of Liabilities) Bill, 2017 being discussed in Lok Sabha; FM Arun Jaitley speaking Budget Session: ANI #7:57 PM 3 cyclists injured in a mid-race crash on the second day of Asian Track Cycling Championships in Delhi: ANI #7:54 PM Peruvian attorney general says he'll seek arrest of former president Alejandro Toledo: AP #7:52 PM Poland's ex-president Walesa denies allegations that he collaborated with the communist-era secret police: AFP #7:52 PM Shots fired by troops in Ivory Coast army barracks town: residents: AFP #7:50 PM Madonna adopts two four-year-old twin girls from Malawi - the star is now parent to four Malawi children: AFP #7:48 PM Air Asia India appoints Tata veteran Deepak Mahendra its new chief financial officer (CFO): PTI #7:47 PM Talks to end Manipur blockade fail; Centre says disappointed with the parleys but efforts to break logjam will continue: PTI #7:46 PM Unacceptable on many grounds, no track record of her opinion on public issues & cases pending against her -K Chidambaram on Sasikala Natarajan: ANI #7:44 PM Mandate was for Jayalalithaa, as she passed away right thing for AIADMK should've been to dissolve assembly for elections- Karti Chidambaram, Cong #7:43 PM NIA special court issues proclamation orders against Masood Azhar and 3 other JeM leaders in Pathankot terror attack case: ANI #7:41 PM Suicide bomb explosion that occurred in parking of Supreme Court killed 20 people and injured nearly 38:Afghan MediaA #7:40 PM Certain standard must be maintained in Parliament. Personally don't like use of unacceptable language: S Mahajan LS Speaker: ANI #7:39 PM 2 out of 17 cases found positive.1 patient unfortunately died & another under treatment: Civil Surgeon,Ludhiana Rajeev Bhalla #swineflu: ANI #7:02 PM We've been informed of this development. Taken up matter with Chinese Govt-V Swarup on China blocking US' move at UN to ban Masood Azhar: ANI #6:42PM Election Commission should not accept Sasikala Natarajan as interim General Secy: Expelled AIADMK MP Sasikala Pushpa-ANI #6:35 PM Russian athletics coaches 'don't understand how to work without doping', Deputy PM Vitaly Mutko says: AFP #6:21 PM India beat Sri Lanka in opening match of women's world cup qualifier 2017: ANI #6:17 PM Iran's supreme leader mocks 'newcomer' Trump, says the new president shows the 'real face' of the U.S.: AP #6:16 PM Malawi court allows Madonna to adopt twin girls: AFP #6:15 PM Voter turnout of 79% recorded in re-polling held at polling booth number-8 in Margao Goa Election 2017: ANI #6:12 PM No widespread distress sale of farm produce in rural India due to demonetisation: Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh: PTI #6:11 PM Telangana CM K Chandrasekhar Rao met Union Minister Prakash Javadekar in New Delhi's Shastri Bhavan: ANI #6:10 PM Rajya Sabha adjourned till 11 am on Wednesday Budget Session: ANI #6:06 PMA TN govt announces Rs 20 lakh solatium to Sepoy Sundar Pandi's kin who lost hs life in avalanche that hit army camp in J&K's Gurez: ANI #6:04 PM Pakistan bans hit Bollywood film 'Raees' starring Pakistani actress Mahira Khan: Reuters India #6:03 PMA Tata Steel Q3 consolidated net profit at Rs 231 cr against loss of Rs 2,747.7 cr in the same quarter of previous fiscal: PTI #6:02 PM As many as 3.3 cr fake LPG connections have been blocked, leading to saving of Rs 21K cr in subsidies, says Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan: PTI #6:01 PM Informed of this development & matter has been taken up with Chinese Govt: MEA on China blocking US' move at UN for banning Masood Azhar:ANI #6:00 PM Mulayam Singh Yadav took his son for a ride on the bicycle and in the end his son snatched the cycle from him: Venkaiah Naidu: ANI #5:58 PM Tata Steel's Board of Directors elected Mr. N Chandrasekaran as the Chairman of the Board: ANI #5:57 PM DRI Mumbai arrested American businessman of Indian origin & recovered ancient artefacts; person sent to judicial custody till 20 Feb: ANI #5:56 PM ED attaches Rs 28 Crores lying in bank account of Jose George, Proprietor of M/s Trade International, Chennai in bogus remittances case:ANI #5:52 PM 4 youth tried to enter NSG campus in Gurugram,whn sentry challenged thm they ran away; FIR lodged; all identified-Sources: ANI #5:50 PM Mumbai: Hearing on bail applications of IDBI and Kingfisher Airlines employees adjourned till tomorrow in Special CBI Court: ANI #5:48 PM An earthquake measuring 3.6 on the Richter scale rattles Rudraprayag on Tuesday afternoon #5:33 PM US appeals court to hold hearing over President Trump's travel ban, as government clings to its defense: AFP #5:32 PM Saudi security forces, pilgrims abort attempt by a man to set himself on fire beside Kaaba inside Mecca's Grand Mosque: PTI #5:31 PM US moves UN for banning Pathankot terrorist attack mastermind and Pak-based JeM chief Masood Azhar; China opposes: PTI #5:31 PM If I am going to be a leader, I'll definitely be democratically elected. I will be contesting elections: Deepa Jayakumar: ANI #5:30 PM I think a democratically elected leader would be the best choice for the state: Deepa Jayakumar, niece of Jayalalithaa: ANI #5:29 PM Explosion was a suicide bombing that occurred in parking of Supreme Court Sources say 12 people were killed & wounded: Afghan media: ANI #5:19 PM CBI moves HC challenging acquittal of two men in Scarlett Keeling case: PTI #5:18 PM Former French president Sarkozy to face trial for fraud: AP #5:17 PM Naroda Gam riots case: Court to record statements of former Gujarat Minister Maya Kodnani, ten other accused on Feb 9: PTI #5:17 PM Air strikes on Syrian city held by ex-Qaeda branch kill 26: monitor: AFP #5:15 PM Blast reported near Supreme Court in Afghan capital Kabul: witnesses: Reuters India #5:14 PMA Saudi Arabia deports 39,000 Pakistanis in 4 months for visa violations: Reports: PTI #5:13 PM Can't ban 'rallies, morchas' in democracy so bring a policy to regulate them: HC to Maharashtra govt: PTI #5:12 PM Nothing concrete to declare Sanatan Sanstha a terror outfit under Unlawful Activities Prevention Act: Centre to Bombay High Court: PTI #5:11 PM Vijay Mallaya loan default case-Judicial custody of 9 ex-Kingfisher Airlines & IDBI employees extended till 20 Feb by Spl CBI Court in Mumbai: ANI #5:10 PM A police probe has been initiated and I have complete faith in the authorities and the legal bodies of our country: Kailash Satyarthi: ANI #5:09 PM Appeal to conscience of ppl involved (in theft) to understand its significance & not get distracted by its monetary value: Kailash Satyarthi #5:00 PM My NobelPrize belongs to my country and its children: Kailash Satyarthi: ANI #4:58 PM AIADMK Gen Secy Sasikala Natarajan writes to PM, seeks immediate release of 35 Tamil fisherman & 120 fishing boats frm Sri Lankan custody: ANI #4:50 PM The Payment of Wages (Amendment) Bill 2017 passed in Lok Sabha: ANI #4:49 PM Reason to make possession of demonetised currency offence is that once it seizes to be legal tender can't allow parallel economy: FM: ANI #4:43 PM Court case against Facebook's transfer of personal data from Europe to the US opens in Dublin: AFP #4:38 PM Sensex ends lower ahead of #RBI policy meeting: Reuters India #4:37 PM WestBengal Advocate-General Jayanta Mitra resigns over differences of opinion with state government: PTI #4:36 PM UP: A teacher of Girls Junior High School in #Sonbhadra allegedly made students strip & parade as punishment for not doing homework: ANI #4:05PM Cauvery case: SC posted matter for further hearing from 21 Mar-11 Apr on daily basis; will pronounce judgement in 3 weeks after 11 Apr.-ANI #3:50PM 2008 Malegaon blast case: NIA submits audio&video clips to Bombay HC over Sadhvi Pragya's bail plea; Judge to hear the clips in chamber now-ANI #3:45PM There is instability in Tamil Nadu, people are very much worried: Deepa Jayakumar, Jayalalithaa's niece -ANI #3:40PM It's very sad. People have not voted to her: Deepa Jayakumar #jayalalithaa's Niece on #SasikalaNatarajan-ANI #3:37PM We've presented our status to the Governor. It is for him to indicate time at his convenience, we can't force him: PS Ramachandran, AIADMK-ANI #3:36PM Delhi: President Pranab Mukherjee meets Telangana CM K Chandrasekhar Rao.-ANI #3:35 PM Karnataka HC orders winding up of UBHL in a case relating to recovery of dues from Vijay Mallya's Kingfisher Airlines- ANIA #3:32 PM Delhi: President Pranab Mukherjee meets Telangana CM K Chandrasekhar Rao- ANIA #3:31 PM SC expresses unhappiness over vague affidavit filed by Centre on completing fencing of 263 km Indo-Bangladesh border.- ANIA #3:17 PM Uttar Pradesh: Police busts an illegal arms factory in Banda; recovers huge cache of arms and ammunition; 3 arrested.- ANIA #3:11 PM Congress issues a three-line whip to its Rajya Sabha members; asking them to be present in the House for last three days- ANIA #3:03 PM Trump reveals 'America's real face': Iran's Khamenei- AFP #2:59 PM BJP issues a three-line whip to its Rajya Sabha members; asking them to be present in the House for last three days - ANIA #2:56 PM India beat New Zealand by 9 wickets in T-20 Blind World Cup cricket 2017 in Bhubaneswar- ANI #2:51 PM Very revengeful reply, quite an arrogant reply, he(PM) could have use this opportunity to present vision for country: Veerappa Moily, Cong- ANI #2:50 PM They planted explosives on tracks at Ghorasahan&Nakardehi railway stn. Probe underway: SP Bara (Nepal) on arrest of Shamsul Hoda & 3 others- ANIA #2:46 PM Patidar quota stir leader Hardik Patel to be the face of Shiv Sena in Gujarat Assembly polls: Uddhav Thackeray. #2:37 PM Commandant 230 and his team chased away the Maoists and recovered around 50% of explosives: DIG of CRPF Dantewada range, DP Upadhyay - ANIA #2:35 PM Those in govt in UP is responsible, we were not government in UP, how can we be blamed for what happens in UP: MoS Home, Kiren Rijiju - ANIA #2:30 PM J&K: 4 dead, 5 critically injured after a car met with an accident near Digdool in Ramban district; Police at the spot- ANIA A #2:24 PM ECI issues notice to Manohar Parrikar over bribe remark; says CD hasn't been tampered in any manner; asks him file his final reply by Feb 9 - ANI #2:05 PM Lok Sabha adjourned till 3 PM - ANI #2:02 PM Dantewada (Chhattisgarh): Maoists looted explosives & detonators from NMDC vehicles. They held employees hostage who have now been freed - ANI #2:00 PM Many statements were made by pol leaders 24hrs before Surgical StrikeA but their language changed after looking at nation's mood-PM in LS - ANI #1:49 PM Dantewada (Chhattisgarh): Maoists attacked vehicles of National Mineral Development Corp carrying explosives atop Bailadila range.- ANI #1:35 PM GreenTea may have life saving potential for patients who face often-fatal medical complications linked to Bone Marrow Disorders: US study #1:29 PM BSP supremo Mayawati addresseing a rally in Ghaziabad.- ANIA #1:17 PM Uttarakhand: BJP President Amit Shah addressing a rally in Ghansali, Uttarakhand -ANIA #1:13 PM Congress VP Rahul Gandhi and UP CM Akhilesh Yadav addressing joint election rally in Meerut.A UP Polls 2017A - ANI #1:07 PM Colombia is set to open peace talks with its last active rebel group, the ELN, seeking to replicate accord with FARC - AFP #12:58 PM I respect High Court's decision, says Akshay KumarA on cuts in Jolly LLB 2 (PTI)A #12:49 PM Srinagar-Jammu National Highway reopens for traffic, four days after landslides due to rains and snow had forced its closure.- ANIA #12:45 PM PNB's third quarter FY17 net profit jumps 4-fold to Rs 207.18 cr; total income up 4.36% to Rs 14,497.65 crore. (PTI)A #12:39 PM SC observes that if person/community is aggrieved by jokes,then there are mechanisms for it,like one can seek redressal under IT act- ANIA #12:35 PM Goa Election 2017: 46% voting by 12 noon in re-polling at booth no. 8 of Goa's Margao constituency - ANIA #12:31 PM Ban on jokes against Sikh community-SC to pass detailed formal order on Mar 27;It observed that it won't be right to frame guidelines on issue-ANIA #12:30 PMA NGT principal bench transfers Chennai Oil Spill matter to Chennai bench which already has 2petitions in case, petitions to be heard on Feb20- ANIA #12:28 PM ECI orders re-poll in Punjab;Amritsar(LS) at 16PSs;Assembly Elections in Majitha-12 PSs,Moga-1PS,Muktsar-9 PSs,Sardulgarh-4PSs&Sangrur-6PSs- ANIA #12:26 PM Election Commission orders re-poll at 48 polling booths across Punjab; Voting again on Feb 9 (ANI)A #12:14 PM SC allows a woman to abort her 24-week-old baby after she revealed that the baby had no kidney & would die after taking birth. (ANI)A #12:10 PM Chhattisgarh: Naxals fired at CISF troops at deposit no 5 and burnt machinery; No report of injury; Encounter still on. (ANI)A #12:03 PM Jolly LLB 2 case: Petitioner, Fox Star Studios, agrees to withdraw its plea from the Supreme Court- ANIA #12:00 PM BJP CEC finalises third list of BJP candidates for ensuing General Election to Legislative Assembly 2017 of Manipur- ANIA #11:57 AM Brother of Rashtriya Lok Dal candidate Manoj Gautam & his friend shot dead in Khurja, UP. Police at the spot-ANIA #11:56 AM PM Narendra Modi to reply to debate on motion of thanks to President's address, in Lok Sabha, at 12:00 PM -ANIA #11:51 AM Nobel certificate stolen; Since K Satyarthi dedicated his award to nation his medal is in Rashtrapati Bhavan: Kailash Satyarthi office (ANI)A #11:44 AM Jayalalithaa told me once that she didn't want Sasikala Natarajan to be TN CM: Manoj Pandian, AIADMK #11:34 AM I strongly oppose Sasikala Natarajan's elevation: PH Pandian, ex-AIADMK leader -ANIA #11:12 AM BSF guns down an infiltrator in Pathankot's Bamial sectorA - ANIA #11:03 AM NIA takes accused Moti Paswan,US Patel&Mukesh Yadav on police remand in Motihari case;All 3 will be produced in Spl NIA Court,Patna on 14Feb- ANIA #10:59 AM Delhi: Metro services on Line-3 (Dwarka Sector-21 to Noida City Centre/Vaishali) running late due to technical issue. (ANI)A #10:53 AM Militant crashes explosives-laden vehicle at the gate of Mandan Police Station in Bannu: Pak Media- ANIA #10:37 AM Bastar IG SRP Kalluri being attached to PHQ without any charge with immediate effect- ANIA #10:33 AM CBI specialA court grants bail to ex-coal secy HC Gupta&others over alleged irregularities in allocation of Chhattisgarh-based coal block to SIPL - ANIA #10:31 AM Re-polling underway at polling booth no. 8 in Margao constituency in Goa - ANIA #10:28 AM Noble Prize winner Kailash Satyarthi 's home at Alakhnanda Apartments in Delhi burgled. Thieves even took replicas of Noble Prize. #10:24 AM Tamil Nadu governor Ch. Vidyasagar Rao still in Mumbai, will not be going to Chennai: Sources - ANI #10:16 AM Governor accepted resignation of O Panneerselvam, that means he has to swear in Sasikala Natarajan, there's no alternative: TKS Elangovan, DMKA - ANIA #9:59 AM Nepal police and Indian agency arrested ISI agent Shamshul Hoda, who has links with one of the train blast accused: NIA Sources (ANI)A #9:42 AM Delhi: PM Narendra Modi arrives for BJP parliamentary party meeting; Meeting begins- ANIA #9:29 AM Nepal: ISI agent Shamsul Huda arrested; 3 FIRs registered against him over train derailments in Bihar, Kanpur & Andhra Pradesh- ANIA #9:03 AM Nizamuddin, driver of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose passes away at the age of 117 in his native Azamgarh district on Monday.- ANIA #9:02 AM Security vigilance increased ahead of Uttarakhand Assembly Election 2017. - ANIA #8:42 AM TMC MPs to hold dharna infront of Mahatma Gandhi statue inside Parliament House complex for electoral reform&state-funding of elections-AITC- ANIA #8:33 AM Delhi Police arrests a 40-yr-old convicted serial rapist for allegedly abducting & abusing a 4-yr-old girl in Vijay Vihar, Rohini- ANI A #8:16 AM #7:59 AM Govt of India and state govt empowering poor and dropout girls via skill development program under handicraft department. - ANIA #7:42 AM Sri Lankan Navy apprehends 10 Indian fishermen (from Rameswaram, Tamil Nadu) with a boat in front of Delft Island; Investigation underway. -ANIA A #7:31 AM 22 trains delayed (arriving late in Delhi area) and 13 rescheduled due to fog and other operational reasons - ANI #7:21 AMA Delhi: Arrival of 4 international flights & departure of 4 domestic flights delayed due to fog - ANI #7:12 AM PM Narendra Modi to reply to Presidential speech in Lok Sabha, todayA A - ANI A #7:10 AMA UP CM Akhilesh Yadav to address election rallies in MeerutA A A - ANI A For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. Patna: A special NIA court on Tuesday granted the agency 11 days remand of the three ISI suspects arrested in January for their alleged role in triggering train derailments. Judge Manoj Kumar Sinha accepted NIAs prayer for custody of the three. The same court had on Monday sent them to judicial custody till February 17. Motilal Paswan, Mukesh Yadav and Umashanker Patel were arrested from Bihars East Champaran district on January 17. During the course of investigation, Paswan admitted to playing a role in the derailment of Indore-Patna Express near Kanpur on November 20, 2016 in which around 150 passengers were killed. Also read: Video | NIA arrests ISI agent Shamshul Hoda for conspiring train accidents in India; 3 FIRs registered After their arrest, East Champaran Superintendent of Police Jitendra Rana had claimed that the trio had confessed to have worked for a Nepali contact suspected to be connected with ISI. The three were allegedly involved in more than a dozen criminal cases and were roped in by Nepali contacts to trigger train mishaps in India, Rana had said. They were arrested in the course of a probe into the murder of two persons in Nepal in December last year for failing to explode bombs on railway tracks at Ghorasahan area of East Champaran district on October 1, 2016, the SP said. NIA took over investigation in the wake of disclosures during the probe. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. Ghaziabad: A team of Special Protection Group (SPG) arrived in Ghaziabad on Monday and held a meeting with senior officials of Meerut zone to review the security arrangements at Kamla Nehru Nagar for Prime Minister Narendra Modis rally on Wednesday. Senior Superintendent of Police Deepak Kumar said a SPG team today rehearsed the landing and takeoff of the helicopters at a helipad prepared by CPWD. Inspector General of Police, Meerut zone, Ajay Anand also inspected the rally venue. The ground was sanitised by metal, land mine detectors and sniffer dogs. Thereafter it was handed over to the security agencies for the rally of the Prime Minister who will arrive here around 11 AM on February 8, officials said. On the same day, Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi will arrive in Murad Nagar to address poll meeting at Ramlila ground at Raoli road in the afternoon. A SPG team visited the meeting venue and instructed officials to sanitise it. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday night said he took stock of the situation in the aftermath of the earthquake that struck northern part of the country. Spoke to officials & took stock of the situation in the wake of the earthquake felt in various parts of North India, he tweeted. PMO is in touch with officials in Uttarakhand, which is the epicentre of the quake. I pray for everyones safety & wellbeing, he said in a tweet. Home Minister Rajnath Singh has sought a detailed report on earthquake that hit parts of northern India on Monday. NDRF put on high alert The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) has been put on high alert to carry out relief operation and help victim in case the need arises. The Home Ministry is closely monitoring the situation in earthquake-hit Uttarakhand and other north Indian states where the tremors have been felt, Singh said in a tweet. The NDRF teams have been rushed from Ghaziabad to Uttarakhand to conduct rescue and relief operations, if the situation arises, he said. The Home Minister has asked for a detailed report and the NDRF has been put on high alert, a Home Ministry spokesperson said. Two NDRF teams, comprising about 90 personnel, have been rushed to Rudraprayag from their base in Ghaziabad, NDRF Director General R K Pachnanda told PTI. He added that the preliminary reports received from the Uttarakhand government have not indicated any major damage but as a contingency measure, the relief and rescue teams are being mobilised. He said that one more team has been put on standby and will be dispatched depending on the developing situation. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday gave 'Vote of Thanks' on President's Speech at the start of Budget Session on January 31. Day 6 of the Budget Session in the Parliament started peacefully as several leaders of Opposition participated peacefully in Question Hour. However, the budget session is also expected to face ruckus as opposition plans to call out the government on non-fulfilment of budgetary promises made in Union Budget 2016-17. Meanwhile, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley will try to move a bill related to demonetisation. Here are the live updates: #6:15pm: Rajya Sabha adjourned till 11 am tomorrow #3:10PM: Congress issues a three-line whip to its Rajya Sabha members; asking them to be present in the House for last three days. #2:55PM: BJP issues a three-line whip to its Rajya Sabha members; asking them to be present in the House for last three days #2:50PM:There's a decorum to give leader of House a patient hearing, but unfortunately Cong can't digest fact that ppl have rejected them: V Naidu #2:45PM:Very revengeful reply, quite an arrogant reply, he(PM) could have use this opportunity to present vision for country: Veerappa Moily, Cong #2:45PM:The way they were making personal remarks on PM,it's unbecoming of a party that has ruled nation;I really feel sorry for them-Venkaiah Naidu #2:30PM:Those in govt in UP is responsible, we were not government in UP, how can we be blamed for what happens in UP: MoS Home, Kiren Rijiju #2:00PM: Lok Sabha adjourned till 3 PM. #2:00PM: Motion of Thanks to President's Address adopted by Lok Sabha; Congress members stage a walkout #12:15PM onwards: PM Modi give Vote of Thanks in Lok Sabha - Surgical strike was a big decision but none is questioning about it like they do about demonetisation: PM Modi in LS - Budget 2017 is benefiting 96% of the population: PM Modi in LS - Crop insurance was in existence earlier also, but farmers didn't want to avail it; It didn't secure the rights of farmers: PM Modi in LS - Why was it that there were crop insurance schemes earlier but farmers were not keen to avail the benefits?: PM Modi in LS - It is time to think about having LS and RS elections together; I know everybody will face some problems: PM Modi in LS - Now, middlemen no longer enjoy the benefits they did after we stopped the corruption and loot: PM Narendra Modi - 22 lakhs 27 thousand houses were constructed in one year: PM Narendra Modi in Lok Sabha - Didn't know that campaign against corruption will unleash this storm against me; PM Modi in LS - This is the govt which fights against corruption, 84 schemes under 17 ministeries have been linked with direct transfer: PM in LS - Our government laid out optical fibre in 76,000 villages: PM in LS - Our government increased the road infrastructure exponetially, used space technology to build road: PM Modi in LS - UPA made 1035 changes in MNREGA, but why? - Several people wrote to me to dismiss order for compulsory PAN number for jewellery purchase over Rs 2Lakh - Like Swachh Bharat, the decision on demonetisation is a movement to clean India (from corruption and black money): PM Modi in LS - When can you have an operation? When body is healthy; Economy was doing well & thus our decision was taken at right time: PM - For demonetisation, good economy was needed & hence, this was a proper time: PM Modi - We are (Modi Govt) not worried for elections, we worry for the nation: PM Modi in LS - One section of India which is looting poor of the country, this is reason India is not reaching the heights of development: PM Modi in LS - It does not matter how big you are, you will have to give back what belongs to the poor; My fight is for the poor: PM Modi in LS - We were ready for discussion, but instead of discussion you(opposition) were more concerned about giving TV bytes: PM on House disruptions - In UPA times, the conversation was about how much went out of India, now the question is how much we brought back: PM Modi on demonetisation - Budget time was changed in Atalji's time, and it has been changed now: PM Modi on pre-ponement of budget - I was surprised that there were some who made cleanliness also a political issue. Why can't we work together on ushering a Swachh Bharat: PM - I had said it from the Red Fort- every Prime Minister has contributed to the nation: PM Modi in the Lok Sabha - PM Modi replies on Kharge's remarks in LS: 'People like me who could not die for nation are living and serving India' - Somewhere on the way, 'Jan Shakti' was forgotten; We don't accept this: PM Modi in Lok Sabha - There are many people like me, who couldn't die for nation during the freedom struggle but we are living for India & serving India: PM in LS - Independence was not earned by the sacrifice of one family; Azad and Bhagat Singh also sacrificed their lives - Recognise the potential of people power, result will be good - When people try to look for politeness in SCAM then even Mother Earth gets upset - Central government is in touch with state authorities, all facilities will be provided - PM Modi takes jibe at Rahul Gandhi, says finally earthquake shook India #12:10pm: Statement by MoS Home, Kiren Rijiju in LS replying to a question on communal incidents. In UP 162 incidents in 2016, 155 in 2015 Statement by MoS Home, Kiren Rijiju in LS replying to a question on communal incidents. In UP 162 incidents in 2016, 155 in 2015. pic.twitter.com/WfzXl8mx2N ANI (@ANI_news) February 7, 2017 #11:55AM: PM Narendra Modi to reply to debate on motion of thanks to President's address, in Lok Sabha, at 12:00 PM Delhi: Kerala MPs stage a protest in front of Gandhi statue inside Parliament House complex, demanding sufficient food allocation to Kerala. pic.twitter.com/hGWauvSgYM ANI (@ANI_news) February 7, 2017 #10:45AM: TMC MPs protesting in front of Mahatma Gandhi statue inside Parliament House complex for electoral reform & state-funding of elections #10:30PM : BJP Parliamentary meets ends #9:50AM : Delhi: PM Narendra Modi arrives for BJP parliamentary party meeting; Meeting begins. #TMC MPs to hold dharna in front of Mahatma Gandhi statue inside Parliament House complex for electoral reform and state-funding of elections-AITC #PM Narendra Modi to reply to Presidential speech in Lok Sabha, today The budget session started on January 31. On day 1, President Mukherjee opened the session with ceremonial speech defining the Modi Govts achievements during the term, while Finance Minister presented Economic survey. On Day 2 February 1, Jaitley presented the Union Budget 2017-18. Although the day started at an unfortunate note, as sitting MP EAhamed passed away that day early in morning, casting a cloud of confusion over the postponement of the budget. However, the budget was presented after two minutes silence. February 2, Day 3 of the budget session in Lok Sabha was however suspended as an homage to the deceased MP. Day 4 of the budget session remained in limbo as it was marked with several adjournments. On Day 5 Monday, the House saw frequent disruptions as the Opposition demanded a probe into the manner in which the death of Ahamed was handled by the government, alleging that he had died soon after being rushed to the hospital but it was announced much later. Congress leader Kharge also made a controversial remark regarding the patriotism on the ruling party, which was soon expunged by Lok Sabha Speaker. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. Damascus: Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has said that defending his country in a time of war was more important than any international tribunal that may be brought against his government later. His comments to Belgian media came as rights watchdog Amnesty International accused the regime of hanging 13,000 at an infamous prison near Damascus. According to an English-language transcript of the interviews published by Syrian state news agency SANA on Monday, Assad accused UN institutions of acting unfairly towards his country. We all know that the United Nations institutions are not unbiased, they are biased because of the American influence and the French and British, mainly, he said. They are only politicised to implement the agenda of those countries, he added. Syrias conflict first broke out in March 2011 with widespread protests that descended into violence. Asked whether he was concerned about a potential court case brought against the regime at the UNs highest court in The Hague, Assad said he and other Syrian officials dont care. For me, as president, when I do my duty, the same for the government and for the army, to defend our country, we dont look to this issue, we dont care about it, he said. We have to defend our country by every mean, and when we have to defend it by every mean, we dont care about this court, or any other international institution, Assad added. The UN General Assembly in December agreed to begin gathering evidence on war crimes in Syria as a first step towards prosecuting those responsible for atrocities there. At the time, Syrias Ambassador Bashar Jafaari slammed the measure, calling it a flagrant interference in the internal affairs of a UN member-state. But in a new report published today, Amnesty International said Syrias government had carried out a deliberate policy of extermination at the Saydanaya military prison. The report found that as many as 13,000 people were killed in mass hangings at the facility between 2011 and 2015 For all the Latest World News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. LONDON, Feb 7 (Reuters) - The gap between French and German 10-year borrowing costs widened to 78 basis points on Tuesday, the highest level since Nov. 2012, weighed down by concerns around an upcoming presidential election in France. French government bonds have been under pressure since far-right leader and presidential candidate Marine Le Pen outlined plans that emphasised taking France out of the single currency bloc. France's 10-year government bond yields fell 1 basis point to 1.13 percent in early trades on Tuesday - having risen 4 bps on Monday - but was outperformed by Germany's 10-year government bond, which fell 2 bps to 0.35 percent, a near two-week low. (Reporting by Abhinav Ramnarayan; editing by Sujata Rao) Jerusalem : The Israeli parliament has finalised a controversial law legalising dozens of Jewish outposts built on private Palestinian land in the occupied West Bank. The law, approved by 60 members of parliament to 52 against, passed its third and final reading on Monday after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he had updated the US administration on the issue. Netanyahu did not participate in the vote since he was returning from a trip to London. The law met with fierce opposition within the parliament, with warnings that it would harm Israel, and the United Nations saying it would diminish chances for peace. Speaking after the law was finalised, Bezalel Smotrich of the far-right Jewish Home, who was one of the forces behind the legislation, thanked the American people for electing Donald Trump as president, without whom the law would have probably not passed. Ahead of the vote, opposition chief and Labour leader Isaac Herzog lashed out against the despicable law that he said would undermine the countrys Jewish majority. The vote tonight isnt for or against the settlers, rather Israels interests, Herzog said. The law would annex millions of Palestinians into Israel, he warned, and expose Israeli soldiers and politicians to lawsuits at international criminal courts. Science and Technology Minister Ofir Akunis of Netanyahus Likud party said the argument was over the right to the Land of Israel. All of the Land of Israel belongs to the Jewish people, he told Herzog, using the biblical term that included the West Bank. This right is eternal and indisputable. The law is seen by critics as promoting at least partial annexation of the West Bank, a key demand for parts of Netanyahus right-wing cabinet, including the hardline Jewish Home party. The bill could still be challenged, with Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman saying last week: The chance that it will be struck down by the Supreme Court is 100 percent. Its defenders argue the bill will allow settlers to live without fear of being driven from their homesmany of which they have lived in for years. Last week, the few hundred residents of the Amona outpost in the West Bank were evicted after the Supreme Court ruled their homes were built on private Palestinian land. For all the Latest World News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New Delhi: A significant bid by the US in the UN for designating Pathankot attack mastermind Masood Azhar as a global terrorist has been stymied by China which has again opposed the ban against the Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) chief. The American proposal came barely weeks after Indias efforts to get Azhar banned by the UN were blocked by China in December last. According to senior government sources, the US, supported by the UK and France, moved a proposal at the UNs Sanctions Committee 1267 in the second-half of last month to proscribe Azhar. The proposal, which was finalised after consultations between Washington and New Delhi, said JeM is a designated terror outfit and so its leaders cannot go scot-free, sources said. However, China opposed the US move by putting a hold on the proposal, a source said, adding the Chinese action came just before the expiry of the 10-day deadline for any proposal to be adopted or blocked or to be put on hold. The hold remains for six months and can be further extended by three months. During this period, it can be anytime converted into a block, thereby, ending the life of the proposal. UN Sanction Committees listing would have forced imposition of asset freeze and travel ban on Azhar by countries including Pakistan. China has been constantly opposing efforts to get Azhar banned by the UN, which has proscribed his outfit JeM in 2001. The Chinese opposition is also seen by many here as an action taken at the behest of its all-weather ally Pakistan. After the attack on the IAF base at Pathankot in January last year, India in February wrote to the UN calling for immediate action to list Azhar under the Al-Qaeda Sanctions Committee. The efforts faced stiff opposition by China, which twice put a technical hold before finally blocking the Indian proposal in December. Reacting sharply to Chinese action, India had said that We note with concern Chinas decision to block the proposal to list Masood Azhar, asserting that its proposal, submitted to the 15-member 1267 Sanctions Committee of the UN Security Council, had received the strong backing of all other members of the Committee. External Affairs Spokesperson Vikas Swarup had also said, As a consequence of this decision, the UN Security Council has again been prevented from acting against the leader of a listed terrorist organisation. We had expected China would have been more understanding of the danger posed to all by terrorism and would join India and others in fighting the common challenge of terrorism. For all the Latest World News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. A BARE-KNUCKLE boxer with an IQ of 54 was told by a crown court judge that he must wait until January to discover his fate after being convicted of raping a woman in a care home. John Archibald, 29, of Wapseys Wood Caravan Park, Gerrards Cross, was found guilty on November 22 of groping, fondling and raping the woman on February 8 while she was in a Buckinghamshire nursing home. She is dying from a wasting illness. Judge Mary Mowat, sitting at Reading Crown Court on Friday, decided that Archibald would have to undergo further psychiatric tests before being sentenced and she remanded him in custody until January 19. Archibald was found guilty of rape and indecent assault on November 22. Exposed: How world leaders were duped into investing billions over manipulated global warming data The Mail on Sunday can reveal a landmark paper exaggerated global warming It was rushed through and timed to influence the Paris agreement on climate change Americas National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration broke its own rules The report claimed the pause in global warming never existed, but it was based on misleading, unverified data (Article by David Rose from Dailymail.co.uk) The Mail on Sunday today reveals astonishing evidence that the organisation that is the worlds leading source of climate data rushed to publish a landmark paper that exaggerated global warming and was timed to influence the historic Paris Agreement on climate change. A high-level whistleblower has told this newspaper that Americas National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) breached its own rules on scientific integrity when it published the sensational but flawed report, aimed at making the maximum possible impact on world leaders including Barack Obama and David Cameron at the UN climate conference in Paris in 2015. The report claimed that the pause or slowdown in global warming in the period since 1998 revealed by UN scientists in 2013 never existed, and that world temperatures had been rising faster than scientists expected. Launched by NOAA with a public relations fanfare, it was splashed across the worlds media, and cited repeatedly by politicians and policy makers. But the whistleblower, Dr John Bates, a top NOAA scientist with an impeccable reputation, has shown The Mail on Sunday irrefutable evidence that the paper was based on misleading, unverified data. It was never subjected to NOAAs rigorous internal evaluation process which Dr Bates devised. His vehement objections to the publication of the faulty data were overridden by his NOAA superiors in what he describes as a blatant attempt to intensify the impact of what became known as the Pausebuster paper. His disclosures are likely to stiffen President Trumps determination to enact his pledges to reverse his predecessors green policies, and to withdraw from the Paris deal so triggering an intense political row. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Microsoft CEO Bill Gates, US President Barack Obama, French President Francois Hollande and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the world climate change conference The PM, the Prince and the pause: David Cameron and Prince Charles attended the historic 2015 Paris climate change conference with 150 world leaders. Cameron committed Britain to an EU-Wide emission cut as a result. And Charles, writing in this paper last month, stated there was no pause in global warming, influenced by the flawed NOAA paper that made this claim In an exclusive interview, Dr Bates accused the lead author of the paper, Thomas Karl, who was until last year director of the NOAA section that produces climate data the National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) of insisting on decisions and scientific choices that maximised warming and minimised documentation in an effor t to discredit the notion of a global warming pause, rushed so that he could time publication to influence national and international deliberations on climate policy. Dr Bates was one of two Principal Scientists at NCEI, based in Asheville, North Carolina. Official delegations from America, Britain and the EU were strongly influenced by the flawed NOAA study as they hammered out the Paris Agreement and committed advanced nations to sweeping reductions in their use of fossil fuel and to spending 80 billion every year on new, climate-related aid projects. The scandal has disturbing echoes of the Climategate affair which broke shortly before the UN climate summit in 2009, when the leak of thousands of emails between climate scientists suggested they had manipulated and hidden data. Some were British experts at the influential Climatic Research Unit at the University of East Anglia. NOAAs 2015 Pausebuster paper was based on two new temperature sets of data one containing measurements of temperatures at the planets surface on land, the other at the surface of the seas. Both datasets were flawed. This newspaper has learnt that NOAA has now decided that the sea dataset will have to be replaced and substantially revised just 18 months after it was issued, because it used unreliable methods which overstated the speed of warming. The revised data will show both lower temperatures and a slower rate in the recent warming trend. The land temperature dataset used by the study was afflicted by devastating bugs in its software that rendered its findings unstable. The paper relied on a preliminary, alpha version of the data which was never approved or verified. A final, approved version has still not been issued. None of the data on which the paper was based was properly archived a mandatory requirement meant to ensure that raw data and the software used to process it is accessible to other scientists, so they can verify NOAA results. Dr Bates retired from NOAA at the end of last year after a 40-year career in meteorology and climate science. As recently as 2014, the Obama administration awarded him a special gold medal for his work in setting new, supposedly binding standards to produce and preserve climate data records. Yet when it came to the paper timed to influence the Paris conference, Dr Bates said, these standards were flagrantly ignored. The paper was published in June 2015 by the journal Science. Entitled Possible artifacts of data biases in the recent global surface warming hiatus, the document said the widely reported pause or slowdown was a myth. Less than two years earlier, a blockbuster report from the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which drew on the work of hundreds of scientists around the world, had found a much smaller increasing trend over the past 15 years 1998-2012 than over the past 30 to 60 years. Explaining the pause became a key issue for climate science. It was seized on by global warming sceptics, because the level of CO2 in the atmosphere had continued to rise. WHY OBAMAS GREEN GURU WILL MAKE TRUMP SEE RED NOAAs climate boss Thomas Karl, below left, had a hotline to the White House, through his long association with President Obamas science adviser, John Holdren. Karls Pausebuster paper was hugely influential in dictating the world agreement in Paris and sweeping US emissions cuts. President Trump, above right, has pledged to scrap both policies triggering furious claims by Democrats he is a climate denier and anti-science. Thanks to todays MoS story, NOAA is set to face an inquiry by the Republican-led House science committee. Some scientists argued that the existence of the pause meant the worlds climate is less sensitive to greenhouse gases than previously thought, so that future warming would be slower. One of them, Professor Judith Curry, then head of climate science at the Georgia Institute of Technology, said it suggested that computer models used to project future warming were running too hot. However, the Pausebuster paper said while the rate of global warming from 1950 to 1999 was 0.113C per decade, the rate from 2000 to 2014 was actually higher, at 0.116C per decade. The IPCCs claim about the pause, it concluded, was no longer valid. The impact was huge and lasting. On publication day, the BBC said the pause in global warming was an illusion caused by inaccurate data. One American magazine described the paper as a science bomb dropped on sceptics. Its impact could be seen in this newspaper last month when, writing to launch his Ladybird book about climate change, Prince Charles stated baldly: There isnt a pause it is hard to reject the facts on the basis of the evidence. The sea dataset used by Thomas Karl and his colleagues known as Extended Reconstructed Sea Surface Temperatures version 4, or ERSSTv4, tripled the warming trend over the sea during the years 2000 to 2014 from just 0.036C per decade as stated in version 3 to 0.099C per decade. Individual measurements in some parts of the globe had increased by about 0.1C and this resulted in the dramatic increase of the overall global trend published by the Pausebuster paper. But Dr Bates said this increase in temperatures was achieved by dubious means. Its key error was an upwards adjustment of readings from fixed and floating buoys, which are generally reliable, to bring them into line with readings from a much more doubtful source water taken in by ships. This, Dr Bates explained, has long been known to be questionable: ships are themselves sources of heat, readings will vary from ship to ship, and the depth of water intake will vary according to how heavily a ship is laden so affecting temperature readings. Dr Bates said: They had good data from buoys. And they threw it out and corrected it by using the bad data from ships. You never change good data to agree with bad, but thats what they did so as to make it look as if the sea was warmer. ERSSTv4 adjusted buoy readings up by 0.12C. It also ignored data from satellites that measure the temperature of the lower atmosphere, which are also considered reliable. Dr Bates said he gave the papers co-authors a hard time about this, and they never really justified what they were doing. Now, some of those same authors have produced the pending, revised new version of the sea dataset ERSSTv5. A draft of a document that explains the methods used to generate version 5, and which has been seen by this newspaper, indicates the new version will reverse the flaws in version 4, changing the buoy adjustments and including some satellite data and measurements from a special high-tech floating buoy network known as Argo. As a result, it is certain to show reductions in both absolute temperatures and recent global warming. The second dataset used by the Pausebuster paper was a new version of NOAAs land records, known as the Global Historical Climatology Network (GHCN), an analysis over time of temperature readings from about 4,000 weather stations spread across the globe. The unstable land readings: Scientists at NOAA used land temperature data from 4,000 weather stations (pictured, one in Montana, USA). But the software used to process the figures was bug-ridden and unstable. NOAA also used unverified data that was not tested or approved. This data as merged with unreliable sea surface temperatures The adjusted sea readings: Average sea surface temperatures are calculated using data from weather buoys (pictured). But NOAA adjusted these figures upwards to fit with data taken from ships which is notoriously unreliable. This exaggerated the warming rate, allowing NOAA to claim in the paper dubbed the Pausebuster that there was no pause This new version found past temperatures had been cooler than previously thought, and recent ones higher so that the warming trend looked steeper. For the period 2000 to 2014, the paper increased the rate of warming on land from 0.15C to 0.164C per decade. In the weeks after the Pausebuster paper was published, Dr Bates conducted a one-man investigation into this. His findings were extraordinary. Not only had Mr Karl and his colleagues failed to follow any of the formal procedures required to approve and archive their data, they had used a highly experimental early run of a programme that tried to combine two previously separate sets of records. This had undergone the critical process known as pairwise homogeneity adjustment, a method of spotting rogue readings from individual weather stations by comparing them with others nearby. However, this process requires extensive, careful checking which was only just beginning, so that the data was not ready for operational use. Now, more than two years after the Pausebuster paper was submitted to Science, the new version of GHCN is still undergoing testing. Moreover, the GHCN software was afflicted by serious bugs. They caused it to become so unstable that every time the raw temperature readings were run through the computer, it gave different results. The new, bug-free version of GHCN has still not been approved and issued. It is, Dr Bates said, significantly different from that used by Mr Karl and his co-authors. Dr Bates revealed that the failure to archive and make available fully documented data not only violated NOAA rules, but also those set down by Science. Before he retired last year, he continued to raise the issue internally. Then came the final bombshell. Dr Bates said: I learned that the computer used to process the software had suffered a complete failure. The reason for the failure is unknown, but it means the Pausebuster paper can never be replicated or verified by other scientists. The flawed conclusions of the Pausebuster paper were widely discussed by delegates at the Paris climate change conference. Mr Karl had a longstanding relationship with President Obamas chief science adviser, John Holdren, giving him a hotline to the White House. The red line shows the current NOAA world temperature graph elevated in recent years due to the adjusted sea data. The blue line is the Met Offices independent HadCRUT4 record. Although they are offset in temperature by 0.12C due to different analysis techniques, they reveal that NOAA has been adjusted and so shows a steeper recent warming trend. They were forced to correct it: 18 months after the Pausebuster paper was published in time for the 2015 Paris climate change conference, NOAAs flawed sea temperature dataset is to be replaced. The new version will remedy its failings, and use data from both buoys and satellites (pictured) which some say is the best data of all. The new version will show both lower temperatures and a lower warming trend since 2000 Mr Holdren was also a strong advocate of robust measures to curb emissions. Britains then Prime Minister David Cameron claimed at the conference that 97 per cent of scientists say climate change is urgent and man-made and must be addressed and called for a binding legal mechanism to ensure the world got no more than 2C warmer than in pre-industrial times. President Obama stressed his Clean Power Plan at the conference, which mandates American power stations to make big emissions cuts. President Trump has since pledged he will scrap it, and to withdraw from the Paris Agreement. Whatever takes its place, said Dr Bates, there needs to be a fundamental change to the way NOAA deals with data so that people can check and validate scientific results. Im hoping that this will be a wake-up call to the climate science community a signal that we have to put in place processes to make sure this kind of crap doesnt happen again. I want to address the systemic problems. I dont care whether modifications to the datasets make temperatures go up or down. But I want the observations to speak for themselves, and for that, there needs to be a new emphasis that ethical standards must be maintained. He said he decided to speak out after seeing reports in papers including the Washington Post and Forbes magazine claiming that scientists feared the Trump administration would fail to maintain and preserve NOAAs climate records. Dr Bates said: How ironic it is that there is now this idea that Trump is going to trash climate data, when key decisions were earlier taken by someone whose responsibility it was to maintain its integrity and failed. NOAA not only failed, but it effectively mounted a cover-up when challenged over its data. After the paper was published, the US House of Representatives Science Committee launched an inquiry into its Pausebuster claims. NOAA refused to comply with subpoenas demanding internal emails from the committee chairman, the Texas Republican Lamar Smith, and falsely claimed that no one had raised concerns about the paper internally. Last night Mr Smith thanked Dr Bates for courageously stepping forward to tell the truth about NOAAs senior officials playing fast and loose with the data in order to meet a politically predetermined conclusion. He added: The Karl study used flawed data, was rushed to publication in an effort to support the Presidents climate change agenda, and ignored NOAAs own standards for scientific study. Professor Curry, now the president of the Climate Forecast Applications Network, said last night: Large adjustments to the raw data, and substantial changes in successive dataset versions, imply substantial uncertainties. It was time, she said, that politicians and policymakers took these uncertainties on board. Last night Mr Karl admitted the data had not been archived when the paper was published. Asked why he had not waited, he said: John Bates is talking about a formal process that takes a long time. He denied he was rushing to get the paper out in time for Paris, saying: There was no discussion about Paris. He also admitted that the final, approved and operational edition of the GHCN land data would be different from that used in the paper. As for the ERSSTv4 sea dataset, he claimed it was other records such as the UK Met Offices which were wrong, because they understated global warming and were biased too low. Jeremy Berg, Sciences editor-in-chief, said: Dr Bates raises some serious concerns. After the results of any appropriate investigations we will consider our options. He said that could include retracting that paper.NOAA declined to comment. Its not the first time weve exposed dodgy climate data, which is why weve dubbed it: Climate Gate 2 Dr John Batess disclosures about the manipulation of data behind the Pausebuster paper is the biggest scientific scandal since Climategate in 2009 when, as this pa per reported, thousands of leaked emails revealed scientists were trying to block access to data, and using a trick to conceal embarrassing flaws in their claims about global warming. Both scandals suggest a lack of transparency and, according to Dr Bates, a failure to observe proper ethical standards. Because of NOAA s failure to archive data used in the paper, its results can never be verified. Like Climategate, this scandal is likely to reverberate around the world, and reignite some of sciences most hotly contested debates. Left, blowing up the graph show is disappears in 1961 artfully hidden behind the other colours. Right, the reason? Because this is what it shows after 1961, a dramatic decline in global temperatures Has there been an unexpected pause in global warming? If so, is the world less sensitive to carbon dioxide than climate computer models suggest? And does this mean that truly dangerous global warming is less imminent, and that politicians repeated calls for immediate urgent action to curb emissions are exaggerated? Read more at: Dailymail.co.uk Submit a correction >> Report: Supervolcano that could kill millions of Europeans ready to blow A European supervolcano that erupted two thousand years ago is showing signs of new activity near Italy. When the volcano erupted two thousand years ago, an estimated 1,500 people near the Roman city of Pompeii were smothered in bouts of lava and dark clouds of ash. Mount Vesuvius has lain dormant for far too long. According to experts, its beginning to show signs of reawakening. If it were to go today, hundreds of thousands, possibly millions of people would be affected. The name of the supervolcano today is Campi Flegrei. It waits under Naples in Italy. If it went off, black ash clouds could block out the sun for months. Dr. Luca De Siena is a Geophysics professor at the University of Aberdeen. He has been leading research on the supervolcano and following its activity. The last time Campi Flegrei erupted was in 1538. This was a small eruption event. After eight days of spewing lava and billowing out black clouds, a new mountain, Monte Nuovo, was formed. New activity reported in the area suggests that another small eruption could be up and coming. Theres also the threat of a big event, like the one that occurred two thousand years ago during Roman times. In case of a big one, it could affect our chances to live in Europe, immediately killing hundreds of thousands if not millions, warns Dr. Luca De Siena. He spoke with Daily Star Online warning that people living near the point of the eruption would be affected even during a small event. We are still talking of thousands of people who could die/lose their homes, and the warning would be much less than for a big one. The economy of the entire Europe would be still in danger because of consequences, he said. Dr. Siena warns that an event like this could directly impact at least three million people and black out entire regions of Italy. People should keep high their perception of risk, he warns. (RELATED: Read more news about surviving natural disasters at Survival.News) The fallout would leave people without electricity for months and potentially years. The sun could be blocked out for weeks. Other continents would feel the effects too. The 2010 eruption of the Eyjafjallajokul volcano in Iceland brought air travel to a halt throughout Europe. The smoke and ash billowed 11 km into the sky and even swelled over Russia. A team of geophysicists led by Stefano Carlino of the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology have been drilling at the site of Campi Flegrei to observe activity and possibly predict future eruptions. Theyve observed something called an uplift where molten magma bubbles up to the surface. This has been happening for eleven years and could go on for many more years as the volcano prepares to erupt. Even as magma activity continues, Dr. Carlino says its just not possible to predict the next eruption, but its prepped to blow. The scientists agree that the only way to protect against these potentially disastrous eruptions is to invest in technologies that quickly mobilize resources so that cities can recover afterward. A surplus of clean survival foods would be a great investment for individuals or communities looking to recover quickly during a natural disaster. Theres no telling when the next supervolcano may go. Campi Flegrei is ready to blow. All of Europe hangs in the balance. (RELATED: Read more news about natural disaster preparedness at Preparedness.News) Sources include: DailyStar.co.uk DailyStar.co.uk Submit a correction >> This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate In addition to winning a home-industry award that helped Greenwich dominate the annual competition, brothers Anthony and Michael DeRosa, who co-own DeRosa Builders, saw their company named the best builder in Fairfield County for 2016. Anthony DeRosa said despite their ages, he and his brother represent plenty of industry experience in their five-year-old firm. At 19, DeRosa owned his own construction company straight out of high school, and he often sought help from his brother. In pursuit of a more stable job, Anthony DeRosa found a project manager position in Greenwich as his brother held down an insurance job in Manhattan. My boss had the foresight to get out of the business in 2008 and sold his company to me and another guy, Anthony DeRosa said. We were always busy and made good connections. After six or seven years in Greenwich, we were embedded in the local network. The business partners separated in 2010, said DeRosa, who moved on to owning his own company again. His brothers corporate background turned out to be just what the fledgling firm needed, and the two went into business together. In a town full of longtime building companies, the brothers quickly gained a reputation, DeRosa said. We were young when we started, and we were building multimillion-dollar houses. That made people wonder, Who are these new guys? he said. After only a year, people were coming up to us and saying, Oh, youre DeRosa Builders, and we wondered how they knew about us. Key to their success, Anthony DeRosa said, is their ability to connect with young homebuyers who comprise about 90 percent of their clientele consistent communication and their community network. Many of the companys clients are young couples and families moving to Greenwich after living in the city, DeRosa said, and the brothers find their own youth attracts these clients. We end up being the same age as our young clients, he said, If theyre not 35 to 45, we wonder how they got our name. They love that we send them videos and text them pictures of their project to ask what they want to do. They love being involved. In the close-knit community of Greenwich, the brothers willingness to participate in nonprofits and projects has played an integral role in their success, said DeRosa, who is the senior vice president of Fairfield Countys Home Builders & Remodelers Association while his brother is the secretary of the Building Hope Foundation. Their nonprofit work encompasses a number of local organizations including the Junior League of Greenwich, Community Answers Inc. and Toys for Tots. Any time people ask us about stuff, Anthony DeRosa said, were in. In addition to being named top Fairfield County builder of 2016, DeRosa Builders was recognized by the HBRA for a custom home built last year in Riverside. The HOBI Awards are Connecticuts most prestigious recognition of excellence in home construction with several hundred entries in dozens of categories, DeRosa said in a statement. To win a HOBI award is an absolute honor, but for DeRosa Builders to be named Fairfield County Builder of the Year, it will remain one of the finest moments in my career. Contact the writer at MBennett@greenwichtime.com, 203-625-4411; Twitter @Macaela_ This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate NEW FAIRFIELD A plan to treat portions of Candlewood Lake in New Fairfield with an herbicide to contain blue-green algae has sparked strong opposition from some residents of other towns that border the lake. An online petition against the proposal has gained more than 1,000 signatures since it was created Jan. 28. The petition opposes the New Fairfield Board of Selectmens decision to hire Solitude Lake Management last month to apply up to 60 acres of the herbicide Diquat and up to 160 acres of copper sulfate to treat blue-green algae when blooms appear or are about to appear. Candlewood is a shared resource - no individual town should be allowed to poison the waters of Candlewood to achieve short-term control - what one town does in its waters affects all of Candlewood, the petition states. The petition was started by Scott Randall, a Sherman resident who serves on the board of directors for Candlewood Lake Estates, a community in Sherman that manages four beaches, including two on Candlewood Lake. When he learned of New Fairfields proposal, he was reminded of his neighbors guttural reaction to the idea of using herbicides and decided to start the petition. I wanted to provide the residents and users of Candlewood a space to make their voices heard, he said. Only a handful of the people who have signed the petition wrote that they lived in New Fairfield. Many live in other nearby towns, or are from different parts of the state or country. New Fairfield First Selectman Susan Chapman said the proposal is well thought-out and the town is working with a company that has a proven track record. We are not poisoning the water," she said. The herbicide wed use has been used in lakes all over Connecticut and the country. Chapman said the copper sulfate has also been used in Williams Pond in New Fairfield. She said she's heard many studies and presentations on how to fix Candlewood, and it was now time for action. New Fairfield has a right as a municipality to do what it feels is best for the community, Chapman said. These issues with the lake are a matter of health, public safety and quality of life. As the first selectman of New Fairfield, I'm charged with protecting the town. Randall said hes still worried about the environmental impacts the chemicals could have on the lake. He said even if Diquat doesnt hurt the fish, killing the milfoil could deplete the oxygen in the water and kill the fish indirectly. He also said it could harm bald eagles who drink or eat fish from the lake. He said it didnt make sense to turn to chemicals when there were a number of biological alternatives, including the sterile grass carp program that was introduced in 2015. He said the program needs a few years to get going and urged officials to give it a chance first. I dont want to dictate to any town what they can or cant do, but I want to show there are alternatives, he said. This isnt the only tool in your toolbox. Bob Stryker, a New Fairfield resident fighting the Solitude proposal, said he was also worried about the carps survival with the copper sulfate. Its ridiculous, he said. Chapman said not enough carp were stocked two years ago and there is more milfoil than they can eat. Randall plans to share the petition with state and federal officials, as well as FirstLight, which owns and operates the lake. New Fairfield has already committed $30,000 of its surplus last year for the project. The town has applied for a grant with FirstLight to cover the remaining $22,000 or so that it will cost. Len Greene, a FirstLight spokesman, said the towns, state and lake authorities determine water quality projects, not the company. He added New Fairfields proposal is similar to others in place at lakes Zoar, Bantam and Lillinonah. The project is designed to enhance public safety for swimmers and boaters in the New Fairfield section of Candlewood Lake, and is, in our estimation, a project that fulfills the public safety mission of the fund and will improve the quality of life for lake users in that town, Greene said. The state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection must approve the permit application. The department is accepting comments emailed to deep.pesticidepermitting@ct.gov. New Fairfield and Solitude will also hold a public hearing, though its not required. Chapman anticipates that will happen in March. We want to bring it before the public so they have good, accurate information on what is prepared for the summer," Chapman said. FAIRFIELD - A driver hired by Save the Children was arrested after police said he had three pounds of PCP delivered to the organizations headquarters here. Giraud Dickson, 33, of Remington Street, Bridgeport, was charged with illegal distribution of narcotics and possession of narcotics within 1,500 feet of a school. He was released after posting $50,000 bond. Officials of Save the Children said Dickson was not one of their employees and is no longer working as one of their contractors. Dickson worked for an outside company hired to provide mail courier service, Save the Children officials said. Police said they were called to Save the Childrens world headquarters on Kings Highway for a suspicious package. Employees told police they had received a parcel in the mail addressed to the organization. When mail room employees opened the package they found a large quantity of white powder in a vacuum sealed container. The Fire Department dispatched its hazardous materials unit which tested the powder and determined it to be three pounds of Phencyclidine, also known as PCP or angel dust, a powerful hallucinogen. Police said they traced the return address on the package to a consignment shop in San Diego. Mailroom employees told officers that Dickson had stopped into the mailroom several times over the past few days apparently looking for something. But they said when questioned he would quickly leave. Police said they set up a sting operation, planting an empty box identical to the one that was delivered in the mailroom. They then waited. They said a short time later they saw Dickson walk into the mailroom, and after looking around, grab the planted box and leave with it hidden under his clothing. He was then taken into custody, police said. Police said Dickson denied knowing what was in the box and claimed he had picked it up accidentally. Mark Conrad / For Hearst Connecticut Media RIDGEFIELDLoralyn Cropper, a Ridgefield resident, has been named regional director for the Northeast division of the Coast Guard Foundation. The non-profit organization, which serves U.S. Coast Guard members and families, made the announcement in a Jan. 24 press release after the former regional director, Susan Ludwig, was promoted to president of the Foundation. WASHINGTON The Region 12 school board voted Monday to spend $532,000 on architects and builders to lay the groundwork for a Shepaug Valley School Agriscience-STEM academy expansion project whose state funding has been in doubt in recent months. In a 9-0 vote, with two abstentions, the board placed a half-million-dollar bet the bulk of the projects costs will be approved and picked by the state, despite doubts raised by a state official recently and renewed opposition from some Region 12 taxpayers. But board members said the district needs to show the state it is serious about the project. Weve got to put our money on the line, said Ag-STEM Building Committee Chairman Greg Cava. Mondays vote to get shovel ready, or up to the point where bids can be sought for construction, is a required commitment to get a state approval, he said. Th e $29 million project, which relies on a yet-to-be-authorized $23 million state bond, is being debated in General Assembly committees. The project was conceived as an effort to reverse projected student enrollment declines in the districts member communities of Washington, Roxbury and Bridgewater schools. A state department that oversees construction projects, and local critics of the project, have said the school boards estimates of how many students from outside Region 12 would enroll in the academy have been overstated. Since last spring, school officials have worked to shrink the project, both in cost and physical footprint. The district is projecting the academy will bring in 119 students from other towns in the 2024-25 academic year. The Ag-STEM project was initially approved by 69 percent of voters in November 2015, but the state balked at a $29 million bond issue to build the school last spring. Mondays vote is a doubling down on the project by school board members. The project has garnered some support from state legislators, but has been heavily criticized by the states Department of Administrative Services, and state funding is also uncertain due to the states fiscal woes. The academy is still on a priority list to receive state money this year, but the Department of Administrative Services has urged legislators to drop it from the list. Region 12 Superintendent Patricia Cosentino said Monday DAS can still be worked with, and has rescinded a late January letter to the School Construction Committee in which DAS officials suggested killing the Ag-STEM project. The General Assemblys School Construction Committee recently voted to keep the project on the priority list, but thats not a sure sign it will stay there, said state Sen. Toni Boucher, R-Wilton, who sat on the committee. Boucher also sits on the Education Committee, which will see the project again in coming months. The school district already has spent $370,000 on architecture firm Kaestle Boos Associates, and builders, O&G Industries, for the original and revised project plans. blytton@hearstmediact.com; 203-731-3411; @bglytton NORWALK, Conn. White supremacist fliers found in driveways and mailboxes Monday morning in the Cranbury area of the city have caused alarm. Several hundred printed flyers, enclosed in plastic sleeves and weighted down with gravel, were tossed into driveways on upper Newtown Avenue with the following message: We must secure the existence of our race and a future for white children. MAKE AMERICA WHITE AGAIN. It lists a website run by a man named Mike Enoch, who the Southern Poverty Law Center characterizes as an alt-right extremist. Alt-right is a recent term describing the white nationalist movement. One Cranbury woman, LeeAnn Gregory Ettinger, gathered up several fliers from her driveway and from neighbors and filed a complaint at Norwalk police headquarters. The police took it very seriously, they brought me to a room to interview me, she said. They said they will canvas the area to see if anyone has cameras on their homes. Norwalk police spokesman Lt. Terry Blake said that detectives are investigating the complaint. Another Newtown Avenue homeowner, who declined to give his name, appeared less concerned. People have the right to say what they want, he said. I dont think this will win them any friends, but they they have the right to do it. Enochs website proclaims that Were white and were not sorry. Rabbi Ita Paskind, co-president of the Norwalk Interfaith Clergy Association, which was to host an interfaith vigil Monday night in support of the Muslim community, weighed in generally on the fliers. I had not heard about this incident, but its very upsetting, Paskind said. What I will say is that hate has no place in our community. The interfaith vigil will be held at 6:30 p.m. at Norwalk Congregational Church, 3 Lewis Street. Its difficult to watch the anti-Muslim activity now and we are taking a stand with our Muslim brothers and sisters, Paskind said. Its important that the religious community lets people know that everyone is loved, included, and cared for. Such fliers have been seen in communities around the country. According to a Nov. 29 report by the Southern Poverty Law Center, A vast number of white nationalist fliers and recruiting materials have appeared in businesses, public parks, on peoples cars, in driveways, and, especially, on college campuses around the country. No one responded to an email sent by The Hour to the address listed on the fliers. WATERLOO, ON, Feb. 7, 2017 /CNW/ - Sandvine, (TSX:SVC) a leading provider of intelligent broadband network solutions for fixed and mobile operators, today provided an update on how its proven virtualized network policy control solutions for communications service providers (CSPs) continue to lead the market in performance and openness. Proven To date, more than 10% of Sandvine's customers have selected Sandvine's Policy Traffic Switch (PTS) Virtual Series to either deploy or test network policy control applications in the data plane. Showcasing the versatility of virtualization, CSPs of all sizes, including TextNow, an MVNO, Bakcell, a tier-1 mobile operator, and Digicel, a multi-national operator group, are using the PTS Virtual Series in production environments. Complementing this data plane success, Sandvine's control plane platform elements, including the Service Delivery Engine (SDE) and the Subscriber Policy Broker (SPB), are now primarily deployed in virtual environments. Performance One of the primary reasons for Sandvine's deployment success is due to the unmatched performance of its virtualized solutions. In October 2015, Sandvine, in association with Dell and Intel, demonstrated PTS Virtual Series performance of 1.1 Tbps of traffic inspection as a virtual network function (VNF). Over a year later that performance benchmark has yet to be matched by anyone in Sandvine's industry. Additionally, a recently-released EANTC report scrutinized multiple use cases of Sandvine's products to verify both their functionality and scalability in the emerging field of Service Function Chaining (SFC). This verification included extensive testing on the recently released Traffic Steering Engine, which is engineered to solve the challenges faced by CSPs looking to deploy Network Functions Virtualization and Service Function Chaining at a large scale. Openness Sandvine's success also stems from the openness of its virtual products. This openness is reflected through the inclusion of robust open APIs throughout all its products and by a commitment to integrate with as many leading partners as possible. To date, Sandvine's Virtual Series products have been integrated or certified to work with a number of leading providers including Cisco Systems, Dell EMC, Juniper Networks, Kontron, Nokia, Red Hat, RIFT.io, and VMware. Additionally, Sandvine has also been extremely active in the OpenSource community where its engineers actively contribute to the development of virtualization standards with groups such as Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) and the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI). "Sandvine's ongoing mission is to provide our customers with the most open and highest performing virtualized network policy control platform in the market," said Don Bowman, CTO, Sandvine. "Many vendors talk about their products being virtualized, but when you pull back the curtain, their solutions may not be as proven as they seem. For example, their solutions may only work with one hypervisor, or their scaling hasn't been proven, or their deployments have mostly been in labs. In 2017, the industry will see most leading mobile and fixed operators move from test to production under NFV, and Sandvine's solutions are ready to meet their needs today." To learn more about Sandvine's virtualized solutions and the variety of hardware and software platforms on which it can be deployed, visit Sandvine in Hall 5, Booth #5I51 at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain from February 27 - March 2. ABOUT SANDVINE Sandvine's network policy control solutions add intelligence to fixed, mobile and converged communications service provider networks, to increase revenue, reduce network costs and improve subscriber quality of experience. Our networking solutions perform end-to-end policy control functions, including traffic classification, policy decision, and enforcement. Deployed as virtualized network functions or on Sandvine's purpose-built hardware, the products provide actionable business insight, and the ability to deploy new consumer and business subscriber services, optimize and secure network traffic, and engage with subscribers. Sandvine's network policy control solutions are deployed in more than 300 networks in over 100 countries, serving hundreds of millions of data subscribers worldwide. www.sandvine.com. FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS Certain statements in this release which are not historical facts constitute forward-looking statements or forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable securities laws ("forward-looking statements") and are made pursuant to the "safe harbour" provisions of such laws. Statements related to the scope of deployment of Sandvine's products by a specific customer, the potential revenue opportunity with any particular customer or in any market segment, the benefits of Sandvine's products and services to be realized by customers, Sandvine's market position, future opportunities, product development plans and demand for Sandvine's products and services are forward looking statements, as are any statements relating to future events, conditions or circumstances. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance upon any such forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements involve both known and unknown risks and uncertainties that may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of Sandvine to differ materially from the results, performance, achievements or developments expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, without limitation, changes in internal deployment strategies or plans by specific customers; the growth of broadband internet usage and levels of capital spending on broadband network management systems; the timing of orders and manufacturing lead times; changes in customer order patterns or customer mix; insufficient, excess or obsolete inventory; increased competition in the broadband network equipment industry; dependence on the timely development and market acceptance of new product offerings and standards; rapid technological and market change; manufacturing and sourcing risks including dependence on key suppliers and key technologies; dependence upon indirect channel sales and resellers; factors such as business and economic conditions and growth trends in the broadband network equipment industry and in various geographic regions; dependence upon key intellectual property and the potential for infringement of the intellectual property rights of others; global economic conditions and uncertainties in the geopolitical environment including the impact of regulation related to the internet and the delivery of internet services and export control regulations. Forward-looking statements are based on management's current plans, estimates, projections, beliefs and opinions, and Sandvine does not undertake any obligation to update forward-looking statements should assumptions related to these plans, estimates, projections, beliefs and opinions change, except to the extent required by applicable law. SOURCE Sandvine For further information: INVESTOR CONTACT: Rick Wadsworth, Sandvine, +1 519 880 2400 ext. 3503, [email protected]; MEDIA CONTACT: Dan Deeth, Sandvine, +1 519 880 2232, [email protected] Related Links http://www.sandvine.com For more than two years, Ukraine has been outgunned battling Russian-backed rebels and Russian soldiers in Crimea. Given that peace agreements have failed to end the conflict and Russia consistently lies about not helping rebels fight Ukrainian forces, should America give lethal weaponsspecifically Javelin anti-tank missilesto Kyiv? If Russia steamrolls Ukraine, there is nothing in Putins history to suggest that he would not continue onward because he feel no one will care. And international law fully justifies a country protecting itself. Sending lethal weapons to Ukraine would simply be supporting a sovereign nation to defend itself. Sending weapons to Ukraine is not a declaration of war against Russia. It is a commitment to Kyivs independence. The USA has provided Janelin missiles to Estonia. Senator John McCain pointed out to Trump, he has the authority as President to provide lethal weapons to Ukraine via the National Defense Authorization Act, which stipulates that the president can send upwards $350 million in military aid to Ukraine. One advantage of Ukrainian soldiers having the Javelin is that it would allow them to fire from 1.5 miles, which would allow some distance between themselves and the target. Reuben Johnson of Janes Defence told the BBC that Ukrainian troops are being overwhelmed because they lack the proper anti-tank hardware to fight the rebels: The Russian equipment in eastern Ukraine is some of the best they have. About 70 percent of Ukrainian anti-tank missiles are old or even expired. But almost all the Russian armor is reactive that means boxes of explosives cover the tank, so when a missile hits a box it blows up the missile without harming the tank. Former President Barack Obama resisted sending Ukraine lethal aid due to fears it would provoke Russia to further stir up even more trouble. But the reality is that the conflict is getting worse, even though no weapons have been sent. The Armed Forces of Ukraine continue to fight Russian troops and proxy forces operating in Ukraine in a war that has claimed approximately 10,000 lives. Ukraine has engaged in an ambitious military reform program to modernize its armed forces and meet standards required for NATO accession by 2020. These reform efforts have seen important successes in recent years, but the Ukrainian military remains vulnerable to conventional and unconventional warfare. Researchers at the University of California San Diego have demonstrated the worlds first laser based on an unconventional wave physics phenomenon called bound states in the continuum. The technology could revolutionize the development of surface lasers, making them more compact and energy-efficient for communications and computing applications. The new BIC lasers could also be developed as high-power lasers for industrial and defense applications. Lasers are ubiquitous in the present day world, from simple everyday laser pointers to complex laser interferometers used to detect gravitational waves. Our current research will impact many areas of laser applications, said Ashok Kodigala, an electrical engineering Ph.D. student at UC San Diego and first author of the study. Because they are unconventional, BIC lasers offer unique and unprecedented properties that havent yet been realized with existing laser technologies, said Boubacar Kante, electrical engineering professor at the UC San Diego Jacobs School of Engineering who led the research. BIC lasers can be readily tuned to emit beams of different wavelengths, a useful feature for medical lasers made to precisely target cancer cells without damaging normal tissue. BIC lasers can also be made to emit beams with specially engineered shapes (spiral, donut or bell curve) called vector beams which could enable increasingly powerful computers and optical communication systems that can carry up to 10 times more information than existing ones. Light sources are key components of optical data communications technology in cell phones, computers and astronomy, for example. In this work, we present a new kind of light source that is more efficient than whats available today in terms of power consumption and speed, said Babak Bahari, an electrical engineering Ph.D. student in Kantes lab and a co-author of the study. The new BIC lasers have the potential to be developed as high-power lasers for industrial and defense applications. The technology could also revolutionize the development of surface lasers for communications and computing applications. The BIC system created by Kantes group is powered with a high frequency laser beam that induced its own laser beam with a lower frequency. Ideally, this BIC laser would be powered by a physical battery instead of being powered by another laser, said Kante. Unique to the BIC laser is the capability of achieving surface lasing without compromising its compact form. We demonstrate lasing in the telecommunication band (~1.55 m) with laser arrays as small as 8-by-8 (~8 x 8 m), Kante said. Other common surface lasers called VCELs vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers need arrays about 100 times larger to achieve lasing. The smaller array consumes less power thus is more energy efficient than other surface lasers. Lasing action from photonic bound states in continuum. Authors of the study are: Ashok Kodigala*, Thomas Lepetit*, Qing Gu*, Babak Bahari, Yeshaiahu Fainman and Boubacar Kante of UC San Diego. Making the BIC laser The BIC laser in this work is constructed from a thin semiconductor membrane made of indium, gallium, arsenic and phosphorus. The membrane is structured as an array of nano-sized cylinders suspended in air. The cylinders are interconnected by a network of supporting bridges, which provide mechanical stability to the device. By powering the membrane with a high frequency laser beam, researchers induced the BIC system to emit its own lower frequency laser beam (at telecommunication frequency). Right now, this is a proof of concept demonstration that we can indeed achieve lasing action with BICs, Kante said. The popular VCSEL may one day be replaced by what were calling the BICSEL bound state in the continuum surface-emitting laser, which could lead to smaller devices that consume less power, Kante said. The team has filed a patent for the new type of light source. The array can also be scaled up in size to create high power lasers for industrial and defense applications, he noted. A fundamental challenge in high power lasers is heating and with the predicted efficiencies of our BIC lasers, a new era of laser technologies may become possible, Kante said. The teams next step is to make BIC lasers that are electrically powered, rather than optically powered by another laser. An electrically pumped laser is easily portable outside the lab and can run off a conventional battery source, Kante said. By Eveline Danubrata JAKARTA (Reuters) - Indonesia will hold a court hearing on Tuesday into a billion-dollar dispute between Goldman Sachs and a local tycoon, who says the Wall Street giant's unit unlawfully sold shares he owned, in the latest test for the country's legal system. Goldman took the unusual step of counter-suing the tycoon - Benny Tjokrosaputro - for reputational damage. The hearing on Tuesday will give the retail-to-property businessman a chance to rebuff Goldman's assertion. The dispute comes at a time when Indonesia, Southeast Asia's largest economy, is embarking on its biggest drive for foreign investment in a decade. Legal experts say the outcome could give an indication on whether the country's civil court proceedings will protect the rights of foreigners. Indonesia's government has recently raised investor concerns by cutting business ties with JPMorgan over a negative research report and partially reversing a mining policy. Goldman's prospects at the hearing could be affected by a general lack of transparency in Indonesian court proceedings, said Bill Sullivan, senior foreign counsel at Indonesian law firm Christian Teo & Partners. "This lack of transparency can result in very surprising decisions, especially when you have a foreign party seeking recovery from a well-resourced and well-connected local party," Sullivan told Reuters in an email. Goldman's dispute with Tjokrosaputro, president director of property developer PT Hanson International Tbk , stems from an arcane area of the financial market in which individuals or firms pledge shares in return for short-term loans, according to court documents and people familiar with the matter. Tjokrosaputro had pledged 425 million Hanson shares to U.S. hedge fund Platinum Partners in return for a loan on the basis that he could get the shares back upon repayment - an arrangement known as a repurchase agreement or a repo. Goldman's unit, Goldman Sachs International, bought the Hanson shares from Platinum as a hedge for the derivatives it had entered into with the fund, a bank spokesman said. In late 2014, New York-based Platinum fell into financial difficulties and had trouble paying back a large number of investors, according to U.S. authorities who recently charged top executives of the fund with running a $1 billion fraud. Goldman started selling the Hanson shares last year, but was forced to stop after Tjokrosaputro filed a police complaint. He went on to sue Goldman in September for 15 trillion rupiah ($1.1 billion), alleging the transaction was conducted "unlawfully". Tjokrosaputro's lawyer told Reuters his client did not breach his contract with Platinum and that no-one other than Tjokrosaputro had the right to own or sell the shares. In response, Goldman countersued the tycoon last month for at least $1.1 billion claiming reputational damage. Goldman "lawfully" acquired the shares from Platinum through the negotiated board of the Indonesian Stock Exchange and the transactions were validly settled, the bank says in its claim documents. A bank spokesman told Reuters that Goldman Sachs International was not aware of Tjokrosaputro's dealings with Platinum, nor any restrictions on the shares it purchased. ($1 = 13,327.00 rupiah) (Reporting by Eveline Danubrata in Jakarta and Lawrence Delevingne in New York, additional reporting by Cindy Silviana in Jakarta; Editing by Michelle Price and Himani Sarkar) PwC ranked 32 countries by their projected global gross domestic product, measured by purchasing power parity (PPP). Compared to projections from two years ago, PWC expects more growth from China up to 2030 and then more of a slowdown. They are also expected slightly slower growth out to 2050 for most countries. The PPP GDP of the EU27 is expected to be less than half of Chinas projected PPP GDP in 2050. The drop in the EU relative to China will mostly occur by 2030 according to the PWC. Chinas PPP GDP is expected to be about the total of the US combined with the EU27 in 2050. This would be about the situation by 2030. China PPP GDP would also be equal to about the level of the US combined with India in 2030. PWC does not expect the per capita income of China to catch up with Turkey or Italy. 2014 projections By 2021, China PPP GDP should be about the level of the US economy combined with Germany. There will be a growing gap between the third place country and fourth place. Currently Indias economy on a PPP basis is 175% of Japans. In 2050 the United States expected to be 325% larger than what is expected for Indonesia. The fourth, fifth and sixth place countries could stumble badly in terms of long term performance. Brazil is expected to be fifth but Brazil has underperformed badly in the 2010-2020 timeframe. Russia is expected to be sixth and low prices and bad Russian demographics could hurt Russias economy. A Ukrainian Antonov 124 cargo plane delivered engines to a stranded Swiss Air Boeing 777 in Northern Canada Until the Boeing 747-8F, the An-124 was, for thirty years, the worlds highest aircraft gross weight production cargo airplane and second heaviest operating cargo aircraft, behind the one-off Antonov An-225 (a greatly enlarged design based on the An-124). The An-124 remains the largest military transport aircraft in the world. General characteristics of AN-124 Crew: 46 (pilot, copilot, navigator, senior flight engineer (+flight engineer, radio man) + 2 loadmasters) Capacity: 88 passengers or the hold can take an additional 350 on a palletised seating system Payload: 150,000 kg (330,000 lb) (75 tons) Length: 68.96 m (226 ft 3 in) Wingspan: 73.3 m (240 ft 5 in) Height: 20.78 m (68 ft 2 in) Wing area: 628 m (6,760 sq ft) Empty weight: 175,000 kg (385,000 lb) Useful load: 230,000 kg (508,000 lb) Antonov to the rescue! The huge four-engine aircraft lands at 3:30 p.m. Feb. 4 in Iqaluit, with a new engine for the Swiss International Airlines Boeing 777-300, as many plane-spotters gather, in their vehicles, at the end of the runway to catch the landing. (PHOTO BY MIALI BUSCEMI) This photo posted on Twitter by Michael Ettlin from Zurich shows the engine that arrived Feb. 4 in Iqaluit for the Swiss International Airlines Boeing 777-300 there since Feb. 1. (PHOTO/TWITTER) The GE90 engine weigh about 9-10 tons The Antonov 124, a four-engine aircraft owned by Antonov Co., a Ukrainian aircraft manufacturing and services company, flew from Zurich, a trip of more than 4,000 kilometres, with a new engine for the disabled Swiss International Airlines Boeing 777-300. A single engine, according to online aviation sites, costs about $24 million. The Swiss aircraft, flight 40, en route from Zurich to Los Angeles, saw one of its two engines shut down Feb. 1 and then successfully made an emergency landing at the Iqaluit airport. The Boeing 777-300, which carried more than 200 passengers and crew, is still on the tarmac in Iqaluit, although everyone on board left Feb. 2 for New York City on another Swiss International aircraft. The 777s new engine was no light load to bring to Iqaluit. The engine is so large that its about the same diameter as the fuselage of the Boeing 737s that northern airlines fly in Canada. Each 777 engine, made by General Electric, provides 111,000 units of horsepower, making the engine more than a 1,000 times more powerful than a car. And, as the 777 is equipped with two engines, each one is supposed to but ultra-reliable. (Repeats story from Monday) * Islamic State corpses on streets are clear message * Iraqi forces poised to attack west Mosul * Citizens recall jihadist reign of terror By Michael Georgy MOSUL, Iraq, Feb 7 (Reuters) - The flyblown corpses of Islamic State militants have been rotting along a main street in north Mosul for two weeks, a health risk for passersby. Suicide bombers' belts beside the fighters can still explode, killing anyone nearby. But the Iraqi army has no intention of burying the jihadists and hopes as many people as possible will get a good look at their blackened bodies, torn apart by bombs and bullets. As Iraqi forces prepare to expand their offensive against Islamic State from east to west Mosul, they want to stamp out any sympathy that residents may have for the group, which won instant support when it seized the vast city in 2014. "We will leave the terrorists there," said Ibrahim Mohamed, a soldier who was standing near three dead jihadists, ignoring the stench. His cousin suffered death by electrocution at the hands of jihadists during Islamic State's harsh rule of Mosul because he was a policeman. "The message is clear to Iraqis, to keep them from joining or supporting Daesh (Islamic State). This will be your fate. The Iraqi army will finish you off," he said. A suicide bomber's belt, with its detonation pin still in place, lay in the street a few feet away, near some clothing once worn by a militant. The Iraqi army has come a long way since it collapsed in the face of Islamic State's lightning advance into northern Iraq. After retaking half of Mosul in three months of fighting, Iraqi forces are poised to enter the western side of the city. Victory there would mean the end of Islamic State's self-proclaimed caliphate, though Iraqi officials expect the group to fight on as insurgents in Iraq and inspire attacks in the West. PSYCHOLOGICAL WEAPON The corpses are left on view as a psychological weapon to deter Islamic State sleeper cells, which Iraqi officials say are highly effective and distributed across the country. Story continues Islamic State has executed thousands of Iraqi soldiers and policemen, and their comrades are eager for revenge. "We leave them in the street like that so the dogs eat them," said soldier Asaad Hussein. "We also want the citizens to know there is a price for supporting terrorists." Sunni Mosul had accused the Shi'ite-led Baghdad government and army of widespread abuses, which they deny. Islamic State exploited that resentment but started losing popularity after it imposed its radical version of Islam and shot or beheaded anyone deemed an enemy. Iraqi citizens don't seem to mind the gory sight of the bodies, with people walking past them every day as Mosul begins the work of rebuilding entire neighbourhoods pulverised by Islamic State car bombs and U.S.-led air strikes. Labourer Youssef Salim observed the corpses, still with army boots on their feet, and paused to reflect on life under Islamic State, which has lost ground in Iraq and other Arab countries. He said the bodies should not be moved. "Do you know what smoking one, just one cigarette meant?" he asked. "Twenty-five lashes in a public square where people were forced to watch you suffer. "If your beard length did not meet their requirements, that was a month in jail and 100 lashes in public." SPREADING FEAR The militants are no longer in charge in east Mosul but they are still very capable of spreading fear. Two men approached a soldier to complain that there were suspicious wires that may be attached to a bomb on a door at the factory where they work. Minutes later, an increasingly familiar scene unfolded. Soldiers looked up and spotted a drone aircraft operated by Islamic State militants, located about 600 metres away across the Tigris River, which bisects Mosul. Iraqi forces opened fired with their assault rifles, hoping to blast the small aircraft - an Islamic State weapon of choice - out of the sky before it could drop a bomb. A few streets away, a group of young boys walked towards three more Islamic State corpses. "The bodies should stay. Daesh killed lots of people so why should they be buried," said Salem Jamil, 13, who was carrying a plastic bag filled with old electric wiring he hopes to sell. But a man who approached said the bodies should be buried because that is everyone's right. The three militants were shot when they tried to sneak through some trees to kill soldiers. One of the soldiers stood proudly over the dead men, including one still wearing a suicide belt. He smiled and pointed to a cigarette stuffed in one of the jihadist's nostrils. "We put it there because of the terrible things they did to Iraqis," said the soldier, Asaad Najif. "The fate of any terrorist is clear. We will find you and kill you." (Editing by Giles Elgood) Read the press statement below... Chief James Onanefe Ibori wishes to inform the general public that he has no Twitter Account at all. In a press statement signed by Chief Iboris Media Assistant, Tony Eluemunor, the former Governor of Delta State explained that reports reached him Sunday afternoon that a Twitter handle in his name (@ChiefIbori), with his picture too, has been trending on the internet. H is media office immediately reached out to some journalists such as to warn Nigerians not to fall victim to the fraudster who created that Twitter Account for whatever reason. We can only suspect that a confidence trickster must have created that account to lure incredulous Nigerians into a 419 trap. Please, Chief Ibori would like the general public to disregard that account and to stop assessing the Twitter handle over matters or discussions affecting him as he neither nor those working for him created that Twitter handle or has ever commented on it. The Twitter administrators have been advised to shut down the account and whenever Ibori sees the need to create a Twitter account, the public would be so advised. Second, Ibori wishes to correct the impression created by some news reports that he was deported from the UK. He said: Even though I had wanted to publicise my return to Nigeria so that wrong meanings would not be read into the public interest I knew my presence in Nigeria would elicit, and also because I never wanted any crowd that would gather because of me to disturb a single Nigerian in the course of their duties, all my efforts to keep the trip secret failed. Th e airline that brought me into Nigeria is public knowledge. So, too, my disembarkation Airport. So, it would be easy to verify that I was not deported because the deporting countrys officials would always hand over deportees to Nigerian Immigration officials and documents would also be exchanged. Those who have chosen to report lies, and claim that I was deported know that no document exists anywhere in the world to back up those malicious claims. Most of all, a record of documented letters between Iboris solicitors and the British Home off exist which proves beyond all reasonable doubts that Ibori was granted leave to exit Britain voluntarily, and he announced, as was reported by both the Reuters and the BBC, and several Nigerian news outlets that he would return to Nigeria in a matter of days. He did not announce the exact day so as to avoid the situation that would result in crowd control challenges for the security services. Moreover, last week Tuesday, 31st January Ibori confirmed in his last court appearance in Britain that he will appeal his conviction because the trial was riddled with corruption and other reasons. The court could not fix a date for confiscation hearing in deference to Iboris impending appeal, and so adjourned hearing till 17th March; so the confiscation hearing will not start till after the appeal against Iboris conviction. This remains one of Iboris greatest victories since the London case started. Ibori's Counsel requested for the adjournment in the hope that the appeal would have been filed before 17th March, thereby putting the confiscation hearing on hold. Signed: Tony Eluemunor A group known as the Centre for Anti-Corruption and Open Leadership, CACOL, on Tuesday, claimed that the former governor of Delta State, James Ibori was one of those who allegedly inspired the comment of ex-British Prime Minister, David Cameron, when he said Nigeria is fantastically corrupt.CACOL made the remark while reacting to the celebration that greeted Iboris return to the country last weekend.The Oghara-born politician, who was recently released after completing his jail term in the UK, arrived the country on Saturday amid celebrations from people of Delta State.Reacting to the celebration, CACOL described the euphoria that greeted Iboris return as a show of shame that debases humanism.A statement signed by its Media Coordinator, Wale Salami and sent to DAILY POST, reads, It is sad and disheartening to see human beings so audaciously being ripped of their humanism; the very basis of their existence, out of the inadvertent need to cope with the socio-economic and political reality of the society imposed by the incurably corrupt ruling class elements like Ibori. It is like the hunted protecting the hunter; victims celebrating their victimizers out of total dislocation with the empirical reality of their social existence and proper introspection.We are talking about an ex-convict that has through his nefarious and corrupt activities dragged the image of the country as a whole in the mud of global shame. Ibori, we believe, is one those who inspired the infamous statement of the former Prime Minister of the UK, David Cameron that described Nigeria as a country that is fantastically corrupt.The believes those openly celebrating the ex-convict are trying to turn him into a hero, so he could go back to playing his so-called Robinhood role while walking free and shoulders-high in spite of committing corruption crimes of incredible proportions.Beneficiaries as the celebrators may be; they do not represent the rule of law, the will or opinion of Nigerians about the obligation and absolute necessity to prosecute Ibori and others like him for their corruption crimes with deserving punitive applied where culpability is established.We also point out that the welcome carnival is a manifestation of a tendency that can never spell any good for socio-cultural, economic and political development because the trend is predicated on corruption and abysmal disregard for core values and morals.So unlike of the spokespersons of that obnoxious tendency, who say Iboris coming is a beginning of so many good things to come, we say that his return can only mean good when he has answered to all the corruption cases against him judicially and gets penalized on all counts where his culpability is affirmed.The welcome carnival definitely defies logic and must be condemned. We should help the oppressed of Delta state to reach that consciousness where it will be possible to apply logic and introspection when dealing with the corrupt oppressive ruling class elements and the choices to make, so as not to further aggravate their already excruciating conditions of living. Ibori may be rich enough today to give 1 million naira to each Deltan, and that may help in temporarily coping with the challenges of these hard times but the consequence is that, on the long run, the brunt of the largesse will further deepen the hunger, pains and pangs of the larger majority.Ibori, the Robinhood is only giving rotten fish which spells greater doom for the collective in the end, we condemn the tendency that takes advantage of the impoverishing social order it had imposed on the polity to dehumanize the poor further.CACOL call on the Federal Government to act immediately by reopening the corruption cases against Ibori. That is the carnival that the ex-convict deserves! The great writer and world-renowned author, Professor Chinua Achebe in a small book he published in 1983, titled, The Trouble with Nigeria (Fourth Dimension Publishers), called our attention to an important aspect of Nigeria founding story. According to him, what is really interesting, is that, we as a nation, have not been asking the question: How did we as a nation come to be drawn in the first place to concepts like unity and faith in our coat-of-arms with their potentialities for looseness? Why did we not think, for example, of such concepts as Justice and Honesty, which cannot be so easily directed to undesirable ends? Justice never prompts the question: Justice for what? Neither does Honesty and Truth or Freedom. Achebe continues: Is it possible that as a nation we instinctively chose to extol easy virtues which are amenable to the manipulation of hypocrites, rather than difficult ones which would have imposed the strain of seriousness upon us? This brings leads to the fundamental question of the present article: Is this submission of Achebe, not really one of the founding legacies and hidden mythologies of our fragile nation, Nigeria? The overriding question is: why has the dreamed leadership been eluding Nigeria? Could it be that digging into our founding story, such as that of the use of concepts of unity and faith in the nations coat-of-arms could help in providing us some answers to the question? However, without attempting to offer exhaustive answer to this question, permit me to explore the dimension of Nigerias narrative story as a nation-state the coat-of-arms concepts of unity and faith, and the crisis of leadership in the land today. Our modern society has been witnessing leadership crisis as it is infested, with a kind of deceptive and corrupt leadership that prioritizes evil against a perceived enemy or the hated group, thus creating conflicts in the social order for no just reason. In theological terms, a situation of this kind, calls for the conversion of the human heart for reconciliation with God, with oneself, with the neighbor, and with the created world. St. Paul explains it better in his Hymn of Creation in honor of the Prince of Peace, Jesus Christ: God has taken us out of the power of darkness and created a place for us in the kingdom of the Son that he loves, and in him we gain our freedom, the forgiveness of our sins. He is the image of the unseen God and the first-born of all creation (Colossians 1:13-15). This implies also that the human person is at the center of the causes of tensions, conflicts and violence both in ones own life and the society. However, the human being also thirsts for reconciliation. The thirst of reconciliation includes surfacing and engaging in dialogue all the sources of conflicts and violence in the society. Apart from the direct act of the individual, there are some notable sources of violence and conflicts in the founding story of any nation, including ours, Nigeria. Nowadays, scholars are beginning to argue that the narrative story we have built around those concepts of the coat-of-arms, our choice and defense of them in spite of all odds since political independence in 1960, perhaps, could be part of our problem. Because in all these years, we have used much of our energy trying to defend those concepts of nations coat-of-arms more than we have spent in saving and protecting the lives and property of citizens and even Nigeria itself from total eclipse as a nation-state. Since the dawn of our modern history, we have built and cultivated a historical baggage, a kind of national psychic and cultural mythologies which prioritize the permanence of these concepts of unity and faith of the coat-of-arms as the normative narrative of Nigeria as a nation-state. In spite of all its negativity, we, as a nation, have refused to pay attention to the glaring fact that the narrative behind the concepts of unity and faith in our coat-of-arms have continued, time without number, to encourage and promote violence in the nation, even on the part of those entrusted with the mantle of leadership against the citizens. In this case, it is an undeniable fact, that the coat-of-arms form part of those cultural factors of exaggerated ethno-religious elements and bigotry, tendencies that foster violence and conflicts in Nigeria till date. On their own, these concepts of the nations coat-of-arms, are good in themselves, but as often happens, human beings have the tendency of turning good things into something undesirable. Thus, it is still the human person that is responsible for acts of violence, since only him, and him only has the capacity and liberty to manipulate those concepts and elements in culture or religion that foster and legitimize violence. In other words, the nations concepts unity and faith of nations coat-of-arms just as elements of cultures and religion, could also be sources of violence because they facilitate and legitimize individuals, groups, and institutions to demean and subjugate people. The nature of these concepts, cultural and religious elements and their potentials for negative and unilateral power resides in a peoples capacity and freedom to manipulate them for ulterior motives, namely, lust for power and domination by the privileged minority. As I explained in an earlier article, the term violence does not have a standard or set definition. Ideas of what constitutes violence can vary not only between different societies, but also between different groups within the same society at different times and in different situations. However, for some authors, violence means every action of the human person (including the use of words in speech or writing), or lack of action of persons or cultures (including customs, institutions, structures) that are insensitive to and oppressive of human persons who have been created according to the divine image and likeness. Furthermore, violence involves force or violation. It may be physical, emotional, verbal, theological, cognitive, sexual, visual, institutional, structural, economic, political, social, ecological. It can be sensational or hidden, intermittent or ongoing, intentional or unconscious, but there is still the violation of the victim. Violence is not about damaging or destroying things. It is about abusing people. The tragedy is that it lowers their self-esteem, self-confidence; they experience a sense of powerlessness and subjugation. Violence crushes the spirit of people and makes them submissive to violators for their purpose. For instance, Jesus Christ describes the effects of violence in poignant terms: Fear him not who kills the body but he who kills the spirit as well (Matthew 10:28). In the words of the psalmist: An enemy is in deadly pursuit, crushing me into the ground My spirit is faint, and within me my heart is numb with fear (Psalms 143:3-4). Psychologists have different views about the origins of violence. Some attribute violence to innate human predisposition. Some assume culture is its root. Yet for some, violence is instinctual and inborn; violators project their own inner fears and inadequacies on to other people and society. Some authors would opt for a Freudian frustration hypothesis by claiming that violence is due to the constrictions of civilized society. However, the renowned Australian socio-cultural anthropologist and theologian Gerald Arbuckle, emphasizes the interplay of culture and power as the cause of violence. For him and some other social anthropologists, violence is preeminently collective rather than individual, usually culturally structured and always culturally interpreted. This cultural anthropological approach focuses not on individual violent behavior, but on identifying entrenched processes in societys social concepts, systems and cultures that foster or allow violence to occur. In this context, the word power means the capacity of an individual, a concept or culture to influence others. It is both positive and negative. It is positive when it directs people and institutions to act in favor of human dignity and justice. It is negative or abusive when it dominates, manipulates, or unduly coerces others. Arbuckle uses the metaphor of unilateral and reciprocal power to explain the distinction between the positive and negative influence of culture and power on the people. Power is unilateral when, for example, a person (e.g., a freedom fighter or a terrorist), group (e.g., in the face of domineering power) or culture refuses to receive the influence of others (and the domineering group or culture being insensitive to the other party) rendering dialogue impossible. In the case of reciprocal power, there is openness to receive the influence of others and, a feeling of sensitivity to the dignity and culture of the other party by the domineering party. Nonviolent movements and resistance groups exercise both positive and reciprocal power. The bottom-line of all these, is that national and cultural concepts such as symbols, myths, and rituals generate cultural feeling in the people and when such feeling is not well channeled to foster co-existence among people of diverse cultural backgrounds and other ethnic-groups, it could lead to some uncontrollable consequences of which conflict or violence is one of them. This is why in civilized countries today, people with history of religious bigotry, entrenched ethnic-hatred, or racism, are not elected nor allowed to govern, no matter how populist and democratically appealing the person may present himself during electioneering campaign. The behavior of former President Mosi of Egypt of the Islamic Brotherhood after his election, taught Egypt this bitter lesson. Because, whatever happens, once these religious bigots and extremists get hold of power and government machinery, heavens are let loose towards pursuing their narrow interests guided by the archaic mythological ideals, whatever that may be. They will begin by marginalizing all others, ethnic and religious groups that do not share their founding mythology and history. They will make sure that the sensitive ministerial slots and key governmental positions are distributed only among their own people of the same religion, language, culture and mentality. They will begin to re-connect and reestablish contacts with radical groups and extremist states, nations and organizations that share the same mythology as theirs and have been showing some interest in controlling the leadership of the country. All this shows that societal concepts and cultural elements contain an inner power to facilitate and legitimate people to be violent. Is this not the case with Nigerias coat-of-arms concepts of unity and Faith. Nigerias Coat-of-Arms Concepts of Unity and Faith Back to Chinua Achebes critical book, The Trouble with Nigeria. Again, the most commonly enunciated of Nigerias understanding of her national psychic and objective as a nation-state is found in the Coat-of-Arms concepts, unity and faith. Achebe asked the question: How valid is this notion of unity as an absolute good? so important is it to us that it stands on our coat-of-arms and so sacred that the blood of millions of our countrymen, women and children was shed between 1967 and 1970 to uphold it against secessionist forces. Achebe answers himself as follows: Quite clearly it is nonsense. Unity can be as good as the purpose for which it is desired. Obviously, it is good for good people to unite to build a school or a hospital or a nation. But supposing a group of other people get together in order to rob a bank. Their unity is deemed undesirable. That is a kind of unity lawyers would call by the unflattering name of conspiracy. According to Achebe, we cannot extol the virtues of unity without first satisfying ourselves that the end to which the unity is directed, is unimpeachable. The same applies to our celebration of faith. Again, faith is as good as the object on which it reposes. For religious people faith in God is a desirable way of life; for humanists, it is acceptable to believe in the intrinsic worth of man. But what about faith in money, or faith in talismans and fetish? What of the type of faith professed by the extremist religious bigots that have no respect for human life of those that dont share the same faith with them? So again, faith is all right provided it is to be placed on something acceptable. It cannot be good in itself. Before we are persuaded to have faith we must first ascertain the nature and worth of the receiver of our faith. We must ask the crucial question: Faith in what? Just as in the matter of unity, we must ask: Unity to what end? In other words, virtues like unity and faith are not absolute but conditional on their satisfaction of other purposes. Their social validity depends on the willingness or ability of citizens to ask the searching question. This calls for a habit of mental rigor, for which, unfortunately most of us today, are not famous. A nations cultural and national concepts shape peoples emotional reactions to the world around them, events, and things. It permeates the deepest recesses of the human group, and individuals, in particular their feelings. This is the reason why some define culture not as what people do, but rather as what people feel about what they do. When one is re-identified with the founding story of his ethnic-group or nation, he becomes immediately and spontaneously re-energized and determined not to be intimidated into inaction. National ethos and founding stories help people to survive in the midst of a hostile environment. They would argue that if the heroes of their nation, including the deceased brave members of their families, had faced and endured incredible difficulties, so could they. With such determination, they could stand up to respond with courage, self-reliance, and resourcefulness to the demands of the strange and fear-evoking culture around them. Their self-esteem would not be crushed. They will not fall victim to the deadly chaos of self-pity. However, and on the other side of the coin, ill-motivated and ill-conceived national ethos and founding stories, more significantly, breed individuals or rather a leadership driven by the negative tendencies of societal and cultural mythologies that wear a face of masculinity. Its work begins with the military. Once this type of persons take over the leadership of the country, the first victims will be the military personnel from other ethnic-groups, especially, those from the perceived non-conformist ethnic-entity. The military membership of people from other ethnic groups are reduced to zero while that of people from the ruling group is multiplied. Inexperienced and unqualified individuals are promoted to high ranks without due process or respect to the standing rule of law and order in the military. Ironically, however, it is our new intellectual elite, who today debunk merit for immediate sectional advantage, just as some nationalist leaders in the 1950s forsook nationalism in favor of quick returns to tribalism. To paraphrase Chinua Achebe once more, whereas tribalism might win enough votes to install a reactionary jingoist in a tribal ghetto, the cult of mediocrity will bring the wheels of modernization grinding to a halt throughout the land. All you need is your religious and ethnic identity, and a recommendation letter from a religious or traditional leader of your town or just a big-man out there from the powerful ruling ethno-religious group, to be enlisted into the army or offered employment in government institutions and parastatals. All key-positions, Service-Chiefs, General Officers and regional commanders are filled by personnel from the same domineering ethnic-group and people of questionable religious and ethnic bias. This is felt in all sections of the military: army, navy, air force, police, customs, immigrations, prisons, etc. It applies to all government ministries, boards of parastatals and other institutions. People will begin to experience a new form of reign of terror even in a supposedly democratically elected leadership. Dissenting voices, media, churches, human rights groups, etc. are suppressed and intimidated while, heinous extra-judicial killings and torture of innocent citizens will continue to grow. Again, in most cases, the media is an accomplice. The mainline media would shift to deceptive narrative in favor of the wrongdoer and his junta. The media will be feeding the public with false news against the victims of maladministration, and would revert to praise-singing the virtues of the government in power while the victims are twice victimized. There will be no condemnation too. Everybody seems to have been intimidated. Everything is presented as being in order. This has been the experience of Nigeria as a nation-state since independence in 1960, but especially, after the brutal Civil War (1967-1970). Even though, from the happenings of things in that country since the end of the brutal war, the unity they claimed they fought for is still a nightmare. Sometimes we forget that we cannot have unity without justice. The same applies to peace! There will be no peace without justice. A nation is better founded on sublime virtues such as justice, truth, freedom and honesty other than ill-motivated unity and faith. That is the implications for Nigerias leadership today of the coat-of-arms concepts of unity and faith, which we have explored in this short article. Some authors have warned that, as long as the domineering groups continue to contribute to the volatile atmosphere, and unless the injustices are addressed, the world can expect more violence and protests, not only from the aggrieved indigenous ethnic-nationalities but also from other aggrieved groups and peoples. The rage of these protesters and agitators often has its roots in past and present injustices. Until the injustices are openly acknowledged and addressed, it is impossible to begin dialogue and reconciliation. The desire to suppress the past can be motivated not only by the desire to avoid pain or to achieve reconciliation among the different peoples but also by a desire to avoid responsibility. Defending mistakes is not a reliable strategy, because, in the long run a failure to attend to these issues in the present may store up problems for the future. The most reliable strategy is sincere dialogue with a view to healing and reconciliation. There should be courage to address sincerely and objectively the past wrongs done against the aggrieved groups for peace to reign today. Otherwise, the negative aspects of the nations coat-of-arms concepts of unity and faith will continue to haunt us until thy kingdom come! An 18-year-old Boko Haram suicide bomber, Amina, who was intercepted by men of Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) on Tuesday... An 18-year-old Boko Haram suicide bomber, Amina, who was intercepted by men of Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) on Tuesday in Maiduguri, said she was given N200 for the mission.She said this in Maiduguri that she was abducted two years ago by the sect members in Madagali, Adamawa, and taken to Sambisa forest.They gave us N200 each which they said we should use to buy food for ourselves.It took us three days to come to Maiduguri on a motorcycle. We were directed by the sect members to detonate our explosives any where we saw any form of gathering. They said if we press the button, the bomb would explode and we will automatically go to heaven.I was scared, so, I told them that I could not detonate any explosive. So, they said if Zainab detonated her own, it would serve the purpose.On our way to Maiduguri, we encountered the military and they were shooting. I was very scared and the people that brought us ran away.I am from Imam Shekaus faction of Boko Haram, even though I have never seen Shekau. But I hear about him in Gobarawa, Amina said.She said that her father, mother and younger brother, Umar, were all killed when they tried to escape from the Boko Haram enclave where they were held hostage.We came from Gobarawa along Damboa, Madagali and Algarno axis, in a community where a lot of us were held hostage and married off by the sect members. I also am married to a Boko Haram Commander known as Amir.The NSCDC Commandant in Borno, Abdullahi Ibrahim, said the command had handed over the suspect to the Garrison Commander, 7 Division of the Nigerian Army, Maiduguri, for proper investigation. The Theater Commander, Operation Lafiya Dole, Maiduguri, Maj.- Gen. Lucky Irabor, confirmed that the suspect was in custody of the Army, and that she would undergo investigation.We are going to profile her as she would give us the lead to get to other insurgents, Irabor said. Personnel of the NSCDC had earlier intercepted two female suicide bombers, who tried to ram into motorists at the NNPC Mega Station along Damboa Road, Maiduguri.The Commandant of the corps, Ibrahim Abdullahi, disclosed that the incident occurred at about 6.45 a.m. Our personnel at the NNPC station intercepted two female suicide bombers who were targeting motorists on the long queue at the NNPC mega petrol station at about 6.45 a.m.One of the bombers got scared and threw away her bomb and was instantly arrested, while the other one began to run after people with her explosive but luckily, she was shot on the leg by our personnel after he chased her to a safe place, Ibrahim said. Ralph Uwazurike, founder of the Movement for the Actualization of the Sovereign State of Biafra, MASSOB, has said President Muhammadu Buha... Ralph Uwazurike, founder of the Movement for the Actualization of the Sovereign State of Biafra, MASSOB, has said President Muhammadu Buhari will not die but live to see the actualization of Biafra.Uwazurike in a statement issued by his personal assistant, Emmanuel Omenka said, We dont pray for the death of anybody created by God irrespective of ones position in the society.We want Buhari to come back and continue with his war against corruption because we support his dealing with bad people and also to witness our actualization of a Biafra state. If he is dead or alive, it will not stop us from the realisation of this dream.Nigeria is a collapsed nation that cannot be revived again unless the country is divided into six independent nations. Recession is eating the best part of Nigeria and its situation is irredeemable and only Biafra is the answer.When you have these independent nations, the agitation for Biafra and Niger Delta Republic will end. There will no longer be Fulani herdsmen attack and Southern Kaduna killings among others as everyone will be after his own people. The Federal High Court in Lagos on Tuesday ordered a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Chief Mike Ozekhome, to temporarily forfeit the N75m in h... The Federal High Court in Lagos on Tuesday ordered a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Chief Mike Ozekhome, to temporarily forfeit the N75m in his Guaranty Trust Bank account to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.Ozekhome is the counsel for the Governor of Ekiti State, Mr. Ayodele Fayose, whose accounts were also frozen by the EFCC for alleged money laundering.In a ruling on Tuesday, Justice Abdulaziz Anka said Ozekhome would forfeit the N75m found in his account for 120 days pending investigations by the EFCC.The judge made the order following an ex parte application made to that effect by the EFCC, which claimed that the N75m deposited into Ozekhomes account on 15, 2016, was suspected to be proceeds of crime.Moving the application on Tuesday, counsel for the EFCC, Mr. Idris Mohammed, informed the court that the application was brought to court pursuant to Section 29 of EFCC Act.Attached to the ex parte application, the lawyer said, were three exhibits, marked 01, 02 and 03, as well as an affidavit of urgency sworn to by an investigator with the EFCC, Tosin Owobo.Mohammed urged Justice Anka to grant the motion ex parte and order the temporary forfeiture of the N75m, which the EFCC said it found in Ozekhomes account.In a short ruling, Justice Anka granted the order.The judge said any party, who was not satisfied with his order, had the right of appeal. NEW YORK, NY / ACCESSWIRE / February 6, 2017 / A decisive sift towards mixed-use real estate has recently been taking the lead in New York City and other cities across the United States. Property expert Jacob Frydman is optimistic about the returns for investors currently putting their capital into this type of residential rental and commercial use opportunities, including office space, retail, and hospitality. Manhattan alone has now over 30 Special Mixed-Use Districts (MX), with the number of MX-zoned properties growing rapidly within the rest of the boroughs. Jacob Frydman notes the special interest and close attention paid by the New York zoning officials to the bullish mixed-use real estate climate. Melissa Mark-Viverito, Speaker of the NYC Council, has recently addressed the growing demand. "We are seeing remarkable interest from a range of companies to build new buildings and retrofit existing buildings in neighborhoods across the City...We need to create the conditions to support this kind of investment," she urged. In a November, 2014 report, "Engines of Opportunity: Reinvigorating New York City's Manufacturing Zones for the 21st Century", Mark-Viverito recommended that zoning officials establish new vertical MX zoning designations. And this past April, the New York City Council approved a modified version of a major planning initiative proposed by Mayor de Blasio that includes mixed residential and commercial use development in East New York and Ocean Hill neighborhoods. The real estate data research firm, AxioMetrics, reports that the Kings County submarket in Brooklyn, NY alone has 23 mixed-use developments in the pipeline for 2013-2021. "Opportunities abound today for investing in mixed residential and commercial use real estate," says Frydman, who has a long history of successfully redeveloping and repositioning real estate assets like the Old Global Crossing Building in Manhattan, which was purchased in 2003 for $46.2 million and sold in 2005 for $91.2 million. The veteran real estate investor praises New York zoning officials for taking pro-active steps to embrace the new "live-work-play" paradigm that has been blooming in the city's urban areas. MX zoning creates a lively and diverse infrastructure - it revitalizes neighborhoods and stimulates economic growth. For the Millennial generation, leaving a smaller carbon footprint, spending less time in commuting, and fostering a sense of community are high priorities, says Frydman. And as Millennials flock into urban settings where they can enjoy a living space in close proximity to ground floor employment, shopping, and dining, the mixed-use market is bound to flourish. Jacob Frydman is a New York-based property expert and consultant who sources and identifies value added investment opportunities. For over 30 years, he has executed and participated in highly complex real estate transactions valued at over $2 billion and spanning over 5 million square feet. A frequent guest on Fox News, Bloomberg TV, CNBC, and other television news outlets, Frydman has also lectured on real estate finance at Columbia University and in the Master's Lecturer series sponsored by New York Law School. An avid philanthropist, Jacob Frydman devotes much of his time and capital to various charitable organizations, including the National Committee for Furtherance of Jewish Education (NCFJE), Chabad of Dutchess County, and the Brem Foundation of Washington, DC. 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 The Speaker of the House of Assembly, Yakubu Dogara, on Tuesday blamed the perennial power outage being experienced in the country on prev... The Speaker of the House of Assembly, Yakubu Dogara, on Tuesday blamed the perennial power outage being experienced in the country on previous administrations of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP.Speaking at a workshop put together by the House of Representatives to find solution to the recurrent power failure in the country, the Speaker said successive administrations from 1999 to 2015 spent nearly N3 trillion on the power sector with little success recorded.The lawmaker observed that the period PDP held sway, the more money spent on the Power sector the more darkness Nigerians experienced.His observation was part of the 23 key issues he raised at the two-day event ongoing at Transcorp Hilton Hotel in Abuja.Dogara was first elected to the House in 2007 on the platform of the PDP. He remained in the party until the 2015 general elections when he crossed to the All Progressives Congress and subsequently elected Speaker.In his opening address, Dogara said, Perhaps the most important question is what happened to the N2.74 trillion spent on the sector from 1999-2015?Why is it that the more we spent on the power sector, the more darkness we attract?I am confident that the array of stakeholders gathered here today are eminently capable of dealing with these and many more related questions and puzzles that exist and will arise in the course of deliberations. The Federal Government has expressed worries over the extra-judicial killings of Nigerians in South Africa. The Federal Government has expressed worries over the extra-judicial killings of Nigerians in South Africa.The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Foreign Affairs and Diaspora, Mrs. Abike Dabiri-Erewa, said there was no justification for the killing of Nigerians by the South African police.Erewa also appealed to the South African authorities to ensure that justice is done in the case of a Nigerian killed last December to serve as deterrent.One Tochukwu Nnadi, a 34- year old businessman, was murdered by South African policemen on December 29, 2016.Dabiri spoke during a visit to the South African Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr. Lulu Louis Aaron Mnguni, on Tuesday in Abuja.The meeting, she said also afforded her the opportunity to discuss with the ambassador on how best the two countries can work together to achieve minimum crime and minimal negative reports coming out of Africa.She said: We are worried about the criminalization of illegal migration, especially amongst ourselves as brothers in Africa. We are worried in particular about the criminalization of Nigerian migrants in South Africa. Yes some do commit crimes and deserves to be punished, but the extra-judicial killings worried us.At the same time we appeal to Nigerians wherever they are to obey the laws of the land. We are also worried about extra-judicial killings anywhere in the world. In South Africa, we have lost about 116 Nigerians in the last two years. And in 2016 alone, about 20 were killed and 63 per cent, according to statistics were extra-judicial killings in particular by the South African police. The federal government has withdrawn charges of fraud filed against Ahmed Saleh, chief registrar of the supreme court, at a federal capita... The federal government has withdrawn charges of fraud filed against Ahmed Saleh, chief registrar of the supreme court, at a federal capital territory (FCT) high court, Abuja.In November, the attorney-general of the federation filed a nine-count charge of fraud to the tune of N2.2bn against Saleh and two other officials Muhammed Abdulrahman, director of finance, and Rilwan Lawal, chief account officer, of the apex court.The charges were among other corruption charges filed against some judges by the government.On Tuesday, when the suspects were to be arraigned, Hajara Yusuf, counsel to the government, told the court that she had been instructed to withdraw the suit.She, therefore, urged the court to strike it out.Without any objection from the defence counsel, Abba Mohammed, the judge, struck out the suit. One Mir Sahiruddin, the Managing Director of a fraudulent Indian Ponzi scheme, Green Ray International Limited, GRIL, has been arrested ... One Mir Sahiruddin, the Managing Director of a fraudulent Indian Ponzi scheme, Green Ray International Limited, GRIL, has been arrested in Nigeria after he absconded from his country.Sahiruddin, a resident of Jaleswar area in Balasore district of Odisha, who has reportedly been hiding in Nigeria for over four years, was arrested by Indias Central Bureau of Investigation, CBI, in Kolkata at the weekend when he made a quick dash to his country, Times of India is reporting.According to the report, Sahiruddin was a prize catch for the CBI as he had successfully evaded arrest attempts by police and state Crime Branch, who earlier probed the case, between 2013 and 2014.An investigating official, Daheck, CBI took up the investigation in May 2014. The police had arrested a few lower rung employees of the company in the past.The official said the company had promised investors a monthly dividend of Rs 2, 000 against each fixed deposit of Rs1 lakh.But on September 28, 2015, CBI raided different branch offices of the firm and altogether 12 cases were registered against the company in different districts in the state between 2012 and 2014.On February 3, 2014, the Securities and Exchange Board of India had directed closure of the chit fund firm and the chit fund company cheated investors of over Rs 1,000 crore in Odisha and other states and diverted huge money to Dubai and Nigeria through hawala brokers.A CBI officer, Bhubaneswar SP Rajeev Ranjan, said the CBI formed a special team for Sahiruddins manhunt.He frequently changed locations in Dubai and African countries. We will produce him in CBI court on Monday. He hid in Nigeria for about 4 years.Sahiruddins luck ran out on Friday when he was trying to open accounts in the names of his three wives in a bank at Rajarhat in Kolkata.He had fled to Nigeria along with his three wives in 2013. From Nigeria, he landed in Bangladesh and managed Bangladeshi passport. Posing as Bangladeshi national he crossed the border on last Monday and was staying in a rented accommodation near Rajarhat.On Friday he went to the Rajarhat branch of Syndicate Bank along with his three wives to open accounts. Acting on a tip-off, we apprehended him.We will find out about his operations in Dubai and his links with the underworld, the CBI officer added. Acting President Yemi Osibanjo on Tuesday urged Nigerians to embrace love, saying the seed of hate is the device of the devil. He made... Acting President Yemi Osibanjo on Tuesday urged Nigerians to embrace love, saying the seed of hate is the device of the devil. He made the call at the Biannual Conference of Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN) in Benin as he preached forgiveness.The acting president, who went down memory lane on religious crisis dating back to 1979 with the Maitasine crisis in Borno that left many dead, urged Christians to live in peace with one another.He also urged Christians to embrace love, noting that hate is the device of the devil likely to hinder prosperity of the Christendom. According to him, hate is mans greatest enemy, recalling that the country witnessed brutal killings of men and women in the past few years. He added that the history of blood and religious conflict extends every Nigerian government. Osibanjo, therefore, urged Christians not to be despised by others, saying it is the burden of the Gospel. On the Southern Kaduna Killings, he said investigations are ongoing; I cant make any categorical statement.The Federal Government has taken steps by first aligning with the state government, and it is working with the police to be the first respondents. It is not true to say that Federal Government is silent about the killings: it is not true.Troops were sent in after a security council briefing was received from the state and police, after they found themselves not being able to curtail the killings. Every Nigerian leader, whether Christian or Muslim, tried to solve the problem of religious crisis and none succeeded. In many respect, the failure of our criminal justice system to punish culprits has not helped matters. Meanwhile, suicide bombers and those ready to die with their victims keep adding more satanic dimension to the public.Why is it that no government has succeeded in stopping these age-long killings?, he asked. He explained that everything about the gospel contradicted the flesh, saying as far as the gospel was concerned, the way to live and be fruitful was to die. He urged Christians to love and forgive their enemies, irrespective of the harm done to them. A former Delta State governor, James Ibori, who returned to Nigeria on Saturday after serving out his jail term in the United Kingdom De... A former Delta State governor, James Ibori, who returned to Nigeria on Saturday after serving out his jail term in the United Kingdom December last year, has denied being deported by the British authorities to Nigeria.He described the reports as malicious and misleading.Ibori also reiterated that the trial leading to his conviction by a British court was marred by corruption and he would challenge his conviction.The former governor, who spoke through his media assistant, Mr. Tony Eluemunor, in a statement issued on Monday, also denied knowledge of a Twitter account being rumoured to be operated by him.The statement read in part, Ibori wishes to correct the impression created by some news reports that he was deported from the UK. Even though I had wanted to publicise my return to Nigeria so that wrong meanings would not be read into the public interest that I knew my presence in Nigeria would elicit, I never wanted any crowd to gather because of me as I do not want to disturb Nigerians in the course of their duties, all my efforts to keep the trip secret failed. The airline that brought me to Nigeria is known to Nigerians, so also was my arrival at the airport.So, it would be easy to verify that I was not deported because the deporting countrys officials would always hand over deportees to the Nigerian Immigration officials and documents would also be exchanged. Those who have chosen to report lies, and claim that I was deported know that no document exists anywhere in the world to back up those malicious claims.The statement further explained that Ibori was duly granted leave to exit Britain by the UK authorities voluntarily as there were documented letter between his lawyers and the British Home Office.Most of all, a record of documented letters between Iboris solicitors and the British Home Office exists which proves beyond all reasonable doubts that Ibori was granted leave to exit Britain voluntarily, and he announced, as was reported by both Reuters and the BBC, and several Nigerian news outlets that he would return to Nigeria in a matter of days.He did not announce the exact day so as to avoid crowd control challenges for the security services, the statement added.On the Twitter account, Ibori said he was informed of the account on Sunday afternoon, adding that he had no knowledge of the Twitter handle @ChiefIbori, which had his image as the profile picture. The Federal Government yesterday warned religious leaders against incendiary messages capable of causing religious war in the country. The Federal Government yesterday warned religious leaders against incendiary messages capable of causing religious war in the country.It also said allegations bordering on Islamisation of Nigeria and persecution of Christians were mere fallacies.It said conflicts between Muslims and Christians were often fuelled by political motivation, ethnic differences, extremism, intolerance and terrorism.It described as ridiculous the accusation by some leaders that the military was arming Fulani herdsmen to kill Christians.Minister of Information and Culture Lai Mohammed made the governments position known at the North Central Town Hall meeting in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital, yesterday.The session was the eighth in the series of the Town Hall Meetings which was started in Lagos on April 25, 2016 by the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari.Mohammed said the government was worried about comments from religious leaders.The Minister said: Without equivocating, let me say that a lot has been achieved by this administration, despite the challenges that we have faced since assuming office. But whatever has been achieved in all spheres will pale into insignificance if there is no peace in the country. And there is no bigger threat to the peace and unity of our country today than religion-coated incendiary messages, which are being carelessly sent out there by some religious, political and opinion leaders.In recent times, the media has been increasingly awash with incendiary statements that seem designed to pitch the adherents of the two prominent religions in the country, Christians and Muslims against one another.He described as fallacies such insinuations that the government was either out to Islamise Nigeria or persecute Christians.He added: Such fallacies like the Islamisation of Nigeria, the killing of Christians by Muslims, the labelling of Nigeria as the most dangerous place for Christians in the world can only serve one purpose: trigger a religious war. Needless to say that no nation ever survived a religious war.Those who are making these allegations know that they are not true, but they have found in religion another tool to demonise the government of the day, divert attention from the governments anti-corruption stance and create undue tension in the polity.The alleged Islamisation of Nigeria under the current Administration is totally false and should be perceived in its entirety as a campaign of calumny.The secular nature of Nigerias Constitution makes the issue of religious dominance and impunity improbable.Mohammed said the government believes that some comments by religious leaders had political connotations.He said: It is also important to note that the underlying principle of religious conflict may not be purely religious, but more often than not coloured with political connotations as vividly depicted in the case of the terrorist group Boko Haram.And more often than not, conflicts between Muslims and Christians are fuelled by political motivations, ethnic differences, extremism, intolerance and terrorism.He said the government considers it ludicrous to claim that the nations military was arming Fulani herdsmen to kill Christians.He said: Before I end my speech, let me appeal to the media to desist from providing a platform for exponents of incendiary statements, those who will latch on to religion and ethnicity to divide us, and those who have no qualms about leveraging their privileged positions to give Nigeria a bad name in the international community.Their foreign collaborators, including a section of the international media, have even gone as far as accusing the Nigerian military, a symbol of the countrys unity, of arming Fulani herdsmen to kill Christians, as if the army is made up of officers and men from only one religion.The Federal Government rejects this ludicrous and nonsensical accusation against the military and warns those behind it to desist forthwith. Thousands of Nigerians that came out yesterday to support the President Muhammadu Buhari administrations economic policies have urged h... Thousands of Nigerians that came out yesterday to support the President Muhammadu Buhari administrations economic policies have urged him to increase the stipends paid to vulnerable Nigerians to N10,000 from next year.They converged on the Unity Fountain in Abuja as early as 8a.m. to express their support for the Buhari-led administration.They urged him to do more in the area of power, infrastructures, education among others.The Buhari supporters, who were led by the National Coordinator of the Coalition for Good Governance and Change Initiative, Okpokwu Ogenyi, were made up of mostly women and youths.They said after analysing government policies, it was discovered that the lost glory of Nigeria is returning with a full force.Yes, the Nigeria of today has built capacity for our military. The once dreaded Boko Haram has been defeated. Camp Zero in Sambisa has been captured.This was where the evil plots against our state was once coordinated. We are happy that unlike in the past when they brought the battle to Abuja and we were running away like cowards, the story has changed today as our gallant military men have suffocated and sniffed every oxygen out of them.Under this administration, we have a health intervention programme, where the Federal Government engaged professionals on special cases of health challenges, carrying out operations that many have no money to undergo. The government did them free. Is this not change?The social investment programme of Mr. President is working. The school feeding project has commenced and being extended to states.While some complain of hunger, President Buhari has commenced payment of N5000 monthly stipends to vulnerable Nigerians, taking care of the extreme poor in the society a promise fulfilled. We are here to appreciate Mr. President and to behave like Oliver Twist that we want N10,000 by next year and we know Mr. President is going to do that for us.Today, President Buharis administration is fixing young graduates with employers. They are also getting N30,000 monthly stipends while getting work experience through the N-Power ProgrammeWhile we commend Mr. President and his team for their efforts, we also regret internal sabotage by some senior citizens, whose actions are retrogressive instead of the progressive ideas of the government. Fears over the Presidents health were dismissed yesterday, as the Acting President, Yemi Osinbajo told Nigerians: there is no cause for ... President Muhammadu Buhari has written to the Senate for an extension of his 10-day vacation. He is in Britain where doctors have told him to wait for some tests. He was to return at the weekend. Also yesterday, the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) cautioned against negative remarks on the Presidents health. To labour leader Ayuba Wabba, there is no need for any speculation on the Presidents health.The indefinite extension of the Presidents vacation sparked a massive row in some quarters.But Osinbajo said he had been in touch with the President. He also insisted that he was not under pressure to resign as speculated in some unofficial quarters.He spoke with State House correspondents after a meeting with the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, at the Presidential Villa.Osinbajo said: The President is hale and hearty, I spoke to the President just this afternoon and we had a warm conversation. He was interested in knowing about the budget process and how far we had gone and the meeting today with the private sector and the economic recovery growth plan and I informed him about the protest march and feedback about what people are saying about the economy.He is in good shape.Just like he said in his letter to the National Assembly, he needs to go for a cycle of tests and once he sees the results and gets medical advice, we expect him very soon.I think that the health status of Mr President is an issue that only Mr President would discuss at the appropriate time. Again, he is running tests and all of that. Before you will be able to determine your health status you must be able to say this is my health status. I have to do the test my doctors have advised me to do and will wait for the outcome of the test and know my status.On whether he was under pressure to resign from office, Osinbajo said: I am not under any pressure to resign. I was voted for by the people of this nation myself and Mr President and so the people of this nation have not asked us to resign.I am absolutely not under any pressure whatsoever. The truth is that there have been no pressure from any source asking me to resign.The NLC president, at a news conference in Abuja, said on the Presidents vacation and the furore it caused: We are human and people can fall ill. I think it is not an issue to be contested. Once it is about the issue of ill health, that consideration must be given because we can fall ill at any time and so, I think that should be respected.For me, If it is communicated properly, that is what is expected and people should be aware once that is done. There is nothing you can do about sickness. Our position is that if proper communication has been done, it should not be an issue that should degenerate into trying to raise fundamental issues about it.The important thing is for us to continue to pray that our President recovers quickly and returns to pilot the affairs of the country. The leadership of the National Assembly on Tuesday decried the countrys dilapidated power sector infrastructure despite governments hu... The leadership of the National Assembly on Tuesday decried the countrys dilapidated power sector infrastructure despite governments huge investment in the industry since 1999.President of the Senate, Bukola Saraki , blamed the prevailing power supply crises in the country on failure of successive governments to properly address the rot in the sector.He also faulted the governments decision to sell power generation and distribution companies to persons that lacked the technical and financial capacities to run the sector.Wherever we go in the world, the failure is on all of us, whether we are in the private sector or those of us in the public sector.We must be prepared to put Nigeria first and the government itself must be sincere with every decision that they have to take, the Senate president said.The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, regretted that Nigerians have not been positively impacted with the over N2.7 trillion invested in the power sector in the last 16 years.Arguing that huge investment had only bought darkness to Nigeria, Dogara said it has become imperative for Nigerians to put more pressure on the Federal Government and other stakeholders for realistic steps to revamp the electricity industry.Saraki and Dogara spoke at a two-day stakeholders dialogue on Nigerian Power Challenge: A Legislative Intervention.The Speaker said, Perhaps, the most important question is what happened to the N2.74 trillion spent on the sector from 1999-2015?Why is it that the more we spend on the power sector, the more darkness we attract?Why are most of the companies licensed by Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission not able to start their projects?However, the Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, said there is no going back on the power sector privatisation policy.He said the solution was to strengthen the privatisation policy by putting the right structures in place to encourage investors. * Brazil, Argentina push for closer trade with Mexico in Trump Era * Argentina's bank kept its monetary policy unchanged at 24.75% * Worst seems to be over in 2017 for Mex peso: FX strategists By Mike Gambale NEW YORK, Feb 7 (IFR) - Below is a recap of issuance activity in the Latin American primary markets on Tuesday. Number of deals priced: 1 Total issuance volume: US$150m, PEN1.5bn FONDO MIVIVIENDA Peruvian mortgage bank Fondo Mivivienda announced a tap of its US dollar 3.5% 2023s and the issue of a new 7-year sol-denominated global depositary note. Expected ratings on the 144A/RegS tap are BBB+/BBB+, while GDN will be rated BBB+/A-. Both tranches will be governed by New York law. Citibank is acting as custodian and depositary on the GDN, which is clearable through DTC/Euroclear and Clearstream. Morgan Stanley and Scotiabank are leads on the deal. IPTs: Tap at T+180bp, 7-year GDN at low 7% PRICE GUIDANCE: US$ tap of 23s: T+175bp area (+/- 5); PEN: 7.0% area (+/- 12.5bps) LAUNCH: US$150m tap of 23s at T+170bp; PEN1.5bn at 7.0% PRICED: US$150m tap of 3.5% 1/31/23. At 99.802, yld 3.537%. T+170bp. PEN1.5bn 7yr (2/14/24) at 7.0% BOOKS: tap '23s US$700m, 7-year US$2.3bn PIPELINE The Province of Buenos Aires is readying fixed-income investor meetings as it prepares to market a US dollar bond sale. The borrower was in New York and London on February 6 and will head to New York and Boston on February 7. Ratings are B3/B-. BBVA, BNP Paribas and JP Morgan have been mandated to coordinate the meetings. Stoneway Capital Corporation, a private company with equity contributed by Siemens AG, formed for the purpose of constructing, owning, and operating four simple-cycle power generating plants in the Buenos Aires region of Argentina, has secured four Power Purchase Agreements through CAMMESA for a 10-year period on each. The company mandated Jefferies as sole global coordinator and Jefferies and Seaport Global as joint-bookrunners to arrange meetings with fixed income investors starting on January 31 for a US$500m US dollar-denominated 144A/Reg S senior secured offering of 10-year maturity. Story continues The roadshow schedule is as follows: Wed Feb 1: New York, Thu Feb 2: New York, Fri Feb 3: Los Angeles, Mon Feb 6: Boston, Tue Feb 7: London, Wed Feb 8: London, Thu Feb 9: Frankfurt/Munich. Uruguay will sell US$2.05bn in debt in 2017, up from US$1.7bn last year, the Economy Ministry said in a report, as the country aims to balance its books after posting its sharpest fiscal deficit in years. The South American country's financing needs will total US$2.97bn, the report said. The country plans to receive US$550m from multilateral lenders and will tap reserves for US$200m, with the remaining US$170m coming from other sources. Argentina plans to issue US$1.5bn-$2bn of Swiss franc bonds in two to three issuances this year, one of which will be in the first quarter, Reuters quoted Finance Minister Luis Caputo saying. Caputo has previously said a total of US$3bn in non-dollar bonds will be issued this year, following the sale of US$7bn in dollar bonds last month. Brazilian power company Neoenergia is considering a possible US dollar bond debut this year after sending out requests for proposals in late 2016, two market sources told IFR. Neoenergia Group's principal shareholders are Banco do Brasil's pension fund Previ, with a 49.01% stake, and Spain's Iberdrola with a 39% stake, according to the company's website. Paraguay is considering raising up to US$550m in the bond market in March, Reuters quoted Finance Minister Santiago Pena saying. Inversiones Atlantida, the largest financial group in Honduras, has finished roadshows to market a potential debut US dollar bond through Oppenheimer. Expected ratings are B/B by S&P and Fitch. (Reporting by Mike Gambale and Paul Kilby; Editing by Shankar Ramakrishnan) Rotimi Amaechi, minister of transportation, says the federal government will ensure that the rehabilitation of the Abuja airport runway is... Rotimi Amaechi, minister of transportation, says the federal government will ensure that the rehabilitation of the Abuja airport runway is completed in six weeks.In a statement he issued by his media office on Tuesday, Amaechi, who acknowledged the pains the closure of the airport would cause travellers said his ministry would ensure its reopening after due rehabilitation.Amaechi gave the assurance at a town hall meeting organised by the ministry of information in Ilorin, Kwara state on Monday.We are saying that the Abuja airport runway was built to last for 20 years but we have been using it for 34 years. It has become extremely dangerous to continue using it, the way it is right now, he said.We need to close it to rebuild it and reconstruct it. The foundation is almost gone and what we are asking for is patience. If we dont close it we will be exposing lives. One of the constitutional responsibilities of the president is to protect lives and property. So you cant deny us that responsibility.We believe that if we close it by March, in six weeks time we shall be able to reopen it. We know it is challenging for our economy. We think that we will keep to that six weeks.While explaining issues concerning maritime in the north-central, Amaechi said his ministry was determined to launch the Baro River Port by the first quarter of next year.We met abandoned Maritime. Our target this year is that by first quarter of next year we shall be commissioning Baro River Port. We are in the process of awarding the contract for the last equipment that they will use at the River Port, he said.NIWA is there working hard. I understand the sentiments of Baro. The only reason why we have not gotten the contractor at Lokoja part is that we dont trust the contractor and I have directed NIWA to go and look for the process of terminating that contract and get a new contractor to complete the project and that mandate, we have from Mr President.The other mandate that will interest you is the central railway line, the Itakpe/ Ajaokuta railway line. If you go back there now the contractors are back to site. We have sent them back to site. That is a 32 years project. Under this government we have decided and agreed with the contractors that we will complete it first quarter of next year.Even Baro will be completed first quarter of next year. The other thing that will interest you is the narrow gauge railway line that transverses your state (Kwara) to Minna. We are about to start negotiations with General Electric (GE). The narrow gauge will start if we successfully conclude our conversation. Before the end of this year, from Lagos to Ajaokuta to Ibadan to Ilorin to Minna and onward to Kano we will revive that railway line.He said $6.1 billion from the loan expected from China had been set aside for railway, but lamented that the national assembly has not approved it.Out of that borrowing plan, 6.1billion dollars is meant for railway. For the Lagos to Ibadan, you have 1.5billion dollars. The loan has been approved by the China Exim Bank, the only thing holding us today is that the national assembly is yet to approve the borrowing plan. As citizens from the north-central, please kindly appeal to the national assembly to approve the borrowing plan, he said. ENGLEWOOD CLIFFS -- More than seven years after it was first proposed, LG Electronics' finally broke ground Tuesday on its new North American headquarters. The company battled environmental groups for years over the height of the building, which opponents said would mar views of the Palisades Cliffs. But the two sides reached an agreement in 2015 to lower the height of the planned building and on Tuesday, Larry Rockefeller, one of the leaders of the effort against the building, joined the company to celebrate the groundbreaking. Rockefeller, whose family donated the land to preserve the New Jersey Palisades more than 80 years ago, praised the design of the building. "It really respects the integrity of the [Palisades Interstate] Park and the iconic views, and it will be an outstanding green building," he said. The 27-acre site on Sylvan Avenue is just down the road from LG's current headquarters. It will stand at five stories on the north and four stories on the south and take up 350,000 square feet. The building will also house an educational science center for local students. LG plans to spend $300 million on the work, John Taylor, a spokesman for the company, said. More than 2,000 construction jobs will result from the project, and the new building will house more than 1,000 employees when it opens in late 2019. William Cho, CEO of LG Electronics USA, said the company would consolidate workers from other LG locations and hire new people to work in the new office as well. The new headquarters will fit into Englewood Cliffs' plans to redevelop the area in the southern part of town, Mayor Mario Kranjac said. He added that it would be a "tremendous" boost to the town budget. Myles Ma may be reached at mma@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @MylesMaNJ. Find NJ.com on Facebook. MAHWAH - A controversial proposal to pipe 400,000 barrels across protected watersheds in North Jersey every day suffered a big setback last week. That's because two companies that the owner of the proposed Pilgrim Pipeline told the New York Department of Environmental Conservation that it would use to build pumps at their terminals have disavowed the project. "Given the almost universal opposition of communities along the pipeline route, it is extremely unlikely that the Pilgrim Pipeline proposal will move forward," one of the companies, Global Partners of Albany, N.Y., wrote to the New York DEC. "Regardless, Global has no involvement in that proposal." The other company, Buckeye, also of Albany, has also disavowed the project. A plan to build a pipeline to carry oil between Linden and Albany, N.Y., has run into a setback after two companies linked to the project have disavowed it. Pilgrim hopes to build the 178-mile pipeline between Albany and Linden. While plans have yet to be submitted in New Jersey, documents provided in an application in New York indicate the pipeline would enter through Mahwah, in the Highlands Preservation Area, and pass through Morris, Passaic and Essex counties before making it to Linden in Union County. Municipalities along the route have banded together in opposition to the project. Last March, people packed Bergen County Executive Jim Tedesco's office to deliver 1,000 petitions against the project. "With all the opposition from the port, New Jersey's refineries, the public, and every town along the route, it is clear no one wants this speculative pipeline owned by a management company," said Jeff Tittel, Director of the New Jersey Sierra Club. "The failure to get any support for this terrible project shows that Pilgrim should abandon their plans for good." Opposition to the project is most pronounced in Mahwah, where the Ramapough Lenape Nation has posted signs and erected several large teepees on the Ramapo Valley Reservation. In response, the town issued summonses against the tribe for not obtaining the necessary permits and for moving soil without permission. Mahwah, which gets about 80 percent of its water from aquifers near the pipeline route, said it is taking further steps to guard its supply against the proposal. "It seems like the practicality of the pipeline is diminishing but our determination to protect drinking water continues," said Mahwah Mayor Bill Laforet. "We are fighting with a ghost right now, don't know if and when they are going to file for permits in New Jersey." In a statement to NJ Advance Media Monday, Vice President of Pilgrim Pipeline LLC George Bochis said he hopes those in both states realize the pipeline is safer than the current barge system. "We are confident that state officials in New Jersey and New York will determine that the Pilgrim Pipeline provides citizens with a substantial improvement upon the current reliance on river barges to transport the region's critical fuels,"Bochis said." Our project offers a safer and more secure means of transporting these fuels while generating lower greenhouse gas emissions to carry the same amount of product." Fausto Giovanny Pinto may be reached at fpinto@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @FGPreporting. Find NJ.com on Facebook. GLOUCESTER TWP. -- A Blackwood doctor has agreed to surrender his medical license for two years and never again prescribe opioid painkillers to end an investigation by the New Jersey Board of Medical Examiners. The board accused Dr. Ronald Intelisano of "indiscriminate prescribing of Controlled Dangerous Substances" in the complaint filed Nov. 14. South Jersey Medical Associates at 1504 Blackwood Clementon Road in Blackwood. Intelisano was a gastroenterologist who last practiced at South Jersey Medical Associates at 1504 Blackwood Clementon Road. He did not admit any wrongdoing in signing the agreement Jan. 17. The board said it found evidence Intelisano was prescribing drugs in violation of the board regulations and was thus a danger to the public. The body made the determination based on patient records that were also reviewed by an expert, according to the agreement. In signing the agreement, Intelisano agreed to a two-year active suspension of his medical license followed by a three-year probationary period. During his suspension he cannot enter his former medical practice and must financially divest himself from it. He is allowed to reapply for his registration to prescribe controlled substances after two years, according to the agreement, but will be barred from ever prescribing schedule II drugs. Those drugs have a "high potential for abuse" and dependence, including opioid painkillers and stimulants like Adderall, according to the Drug Enforcement Administration. He also agreed to pay $15,000 to cover the cost of the board's investigation. The board acknowledged that it entered the agreement with Intelisano over the objection of Attorney General Christopher Perrino. A spokeswoman for Perrino told the Courier-Post, which first reported on the suspension, that Perrino objected because he felt the penalty was not strict enough. Calls to Intelisano's home and his attorney, Julie Marzano, were not returned Tuesday morning. Rebecca Everett may be reached at reverett@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @rebeccajeverett. Find NJ.com on Facebook. TRENTON - A Camden County company accused of defrauding New Jersey is paying the state $400,000 in a multi-state federal settlement which will divvy out $1.5 million total. Para-Plus, a Barrington based company that handled interpretation, translation and transcription services for the New Jersey Department of Children and Families (DCF), allegedly committed False Claims Act violations by knowingly submitting fraudulent invoices that overstated travel time and mileage incurred, according to the Office of the Attorney General. Company owners Robert Santiago III and Sonia Santiago also are parties to the settlement. The company is accused of illegally obtaining money from the DCF, as well as state government agencies in Delaware and New York, and several federal agencies, including parts of the U.S. Justice Department. The settlement is a result of a whistleblower's lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Philadelphia in 2014. "Through our own efforts and in collaboration with our state and federal partners, we are committed to ensuring that public funds are used to benefit the public, and not to swell the coffers of unscrupulous contractors," said Porrino. Caitlyn Stulpin may be reached at cstulpin@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @caitstulpin. Find NJ.com on Facebook. NORTH WILDWOOD -- Repairs are underway to North Wildwood's beaches following the nor'easter that took out huge chunks of the Jersey Shore last month. Mayor Patrick Rosenello told NJ Advance Media the work began to protect the Third Avenue beach last week. About 4,000 cubic yards of sand are being hauled to the area per day, and the plan is to get about 40,000 to 50,000 cubic yards - enough to build up the area that was eroded following the storm. The Jan. 24 storm eroded beaches up and down the coast. Winds reaching as high as 63 mph in Cape May and 56 mph in Manasquan knocked down trees, power lines and traffic lights. Coastal flooding also caused minor property damage and prompted some areas to shut down streets. Rosenello said the northern strip of North Wildwood's beach would require a new berm to secure the most vulnerable point on the island. The project will cost about $200,000 and will be finished by the end of the week, the mayor said. Rosenello said the city would like to put in a more permanent structure to prevent further erosion. "We'd like to extend that seawall 1000 feet down the northeast coast of the island so we don't have to keep putting sand back, but that's a long ways away," he said. Rajeev Dhir may be reached at rdhir@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @googasmammoo. Find NJ.com on Facebook. MAPLEWOOD -- The 235-unit, nearly-completed AvalonBay apartment complex partially destroyed in a six-alarm weekend fire will be rebuilt, its developer said in an interview Monday. Before the blaze broke out, the development was set to begin leasing next month. Though that timeline will no longer be possible, Avalon executives say they are intent on rebuilding. "In no way has this challenge that we are now facing impacted our decision to have an Avalon community in Maplewood," Ron Ladell, the company's senior vice president for development, told NJ Advance Media. The fire undid about two years of construction at the site, officials said. Maplewood Mayor Vic DeLuca said about 130 of the units that were mostly completed when the fire broke out sustained only minimal smoke and water damage, and will just need to be refurbished. About 100 units in the back of the development that were still under construction, he said, need to be rebuilt from the ground up. "It's very sad," DeLuca said. "It's really going to be a key anchor (for that neighborhood). It's an important development, and it's just sad." The cause of the blaze, which broke out at about 1:30 a.m. Saturday, is still under investigation, officials with the Essex County Prosecutor's Office said Monday. DeLuca said propane heaters were being used at the property during construction. The fire jogs memories of other blazes that struck Avalon complexes, including one in 2000 that flattened the-then under construction development in Edgewater. After a massive, fast-moving fire displaced about 500 people in the rebuilt Edgewater apartment complex in early 2015, the company agreed to increased safety precautions at its construction projects in other New Jersey towns, including the one in Maplewood. The upgrades included more sprinklers and concrete fire suppressant walls. Ladell called the fire in Maplewood "completely different" from the more recent Edgewater blaze, which authorities determined was sparked by a maintenance worker's blowtorch. The Maplewood building was under construction, and "the fire safety enhancements had not been installed yet," he said. The company, a public entity that owns and operates more than 83,000 apartment units in 10 states, released a statement Monday saying the costs of rebuilding after the fire "will be substantially covered by its insurance program and will not have a material effect on the company's financial condition or results of operations." Despite the great material loss, Ladell echoed sentiments in the company's statement, saying he was grateful there were no serious injuries reported as a result of the fire, and was looking forward to rebuilding. He thanked the town's officials and first responders, calling them "incredibly supportive" thorough a tough process. Jessica Mazzola may be reached at . Follow her on Twitter . Find . NEWARK -- Pedro Lora-Pena admitted that he killed his girlfriend when she wouldn't stop texting another man during a car ride home from a haircut, prosecutors say. The pair was driving home from the Bronx when Lora-Pena tried to take Diana Boggio's phone away from her, but she wouldn't give it up, Essex County Assistant Prosecutor Carlo Fioranelli said Lora-Pena told authorities. Diana Boggio's Facebook profile picture. Boggio was found dead inside her car in Newark, authorities said. (Facebook) So, Lora-Pena shot her three times, Fioranelli said the Belleville man admitted. Lora-Pena, 42, then led police officers to Boggio's car, where he had stuffed her body in the trunk, Fioranelli said. Fioranelli recounted Lora-Pena's statement Tuesday at a detention hearing in Newark, where Superior Court Judge Martin Cronin declined to release Lora-Pena from jail. Lora-Pena is accused of murder, moving or concealing human remains, and weapons offenses in the Jan. 31 discovery of Boggio's body in her Honda Accord on Verona Avenue in Newark. Boggio, who prosecutors say had been dating Lora-Pena for a year, was reported missing to Belleville police Jan. 28 and authorities launched an investigation. As Lora-Pena stood silently in court Tuesday, and a Spanish interpreter translated the proceedings for him, his lawyer argued the charges should be dismissed because Lora-Pena told authorities the killing had happened in the Bronx and not in New Jersey. Therefore, Essex County Public Defender Deirdre McMahon said, the New Jersey court system lacks jurisdiction in the case. Cronin told her because Boggio's body was found in Newark, he would infer the killing happened in New Jersey and would allow the case to move forward. Arguing that Lora-Pena, a citizen of the Dominican Republic, should stay detained, Fioranelli said he posed a flight risk. Lora-Pena has 11 aliases and four listed dates of birth, a prior felony conviction in Virginia and an open warrant for his arrest in Maryland, Fioranelli said. Details of the prior felony conviction were not immediately available. Fioranelli said Lora-Pena also posed a danger to the public because he had told authorities he was trying to find the man Boggio, 42, had been texting in the car. McMahon pushed for Lora-Pena to be put under home detention, saying he has a green card and has been in the United States since 1994. Marisa Iati may be reached at miati@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @Marisa_Iati or on Facebook here. Find NJ.com on Facebook. UPDATE: Police say Thomas has been located. WASHINGTON TWP. -- Washington Township Police are asking the public's assistance locating a missing kid. Thomas Ho, a 14-year-old student from Chestnut Ridge Middle School, was reported missing Tuesday afternoon after not showing up to school Tuesday morning. Police reported that he is wearing a black hoodie, black sweatpants and black and white Adidas glasses. Thomas is described as being 5 feet 4 inches tall and approximately 100 pounds. He has black hair and eyes. Anyone with information should call Gloucester County Communications at 856-256- 1212. Caitlyn Stulpin may be reached at cstulpin@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @caitstulpin. Find NJ.com on Facebook. jersey city city hall sign.jpg A bill that would allow birth certificates issued by Jersey City and Hudson County to be recognized as valid forms of identification was conditionally vetoed by Gov. Chris Christie on Feb. 6, 2017. (Journal file photo) The path to getting a valid birth certificate from Jersey City or Hudson County just hit a roadblock. The bill that would allow Jersey City residents to avoid a trip to Trenton to pick up a valid state-issued birth certificate was conditionally vetoed by Gov. Chris Christie today. In his condition veto, Christie called the bill a "hollow gesture" because until the U.S. State Department begins accepting birth certificates as valid, a birth certificate issued locally would be "nothing more than a useless piece of paper." Christie wants language inserted that would allow the county and city to issue birth certificates if the State Department provides written assurance that the city and county-issued documents would be accepted by federal agencies. The feds stopped accepting Jersey City and Hudson County-issued birth certificates in 2005 when four people were convicted or pleaded guilty in a scheme to create and sell false documents -- many for the purpose of creating false birth certificates for people not born in the United States. The state stepped in and ruled that only birth certificates issued by the state would be considered valid. The bill was sponsored by Hudson County legislators Angela McKnight, Nicholas Chiaravalloti and Raj Mukherji in the Assembly and Sandra Cunningham and Brian Stack in the Senate. The Assembly approved by bill, 55-20-2, and the Senate vote in favor, 23-10, in December. It would would have gone into effect on Sept. 1, 2017. "While I understand the Governor's concern about the Department of State's acceptance of birth certificates issued by Jersey City, we're talking about a 13-year-old fraud that has Jersey City residents stuck dealing with the consequences today," Mukherji said in a statement. "Nevertheless, the CV is a positive step in that it would allow Jersey City residents to obtain birth certificates in Jersey City once the Department of State says it will accept them, which we are pursuing on a parallel track." For the past 12 years, birth certificates issued by the county or Jersey City offices of vital statistics have not been accepted for passports or by other federal agencies. People born in Jersey City have to go to Trenton to get a copy, for a $25 fee, or they could make the request by mail -- which could take 4-6 weeks. "This veto violates common sense. This bill's sole purpose was aimed at making the lives of Jersey City residents easier. Why this would be vetoed makes very little sense," said city spokeswoman Jennifer Morrill. Stack's office did not respond to a request for comment on the conditional veto. The state Motor Vehicle Commission accepts Jersey City- or Hudson County-issued birth certificates for people born in 1965 or later. Those born before 1965 must get their birth certificate copy from the state. In 2012, a similiar bill was sponsored, but failed to gain traction. JERSEY CITY -- "Ward F is in a crisis." Those are the words of the Rev. Mona Fitch-Elliott, the pastor of St. John's Lutheran Church who begged the City Council at a special Saturday night meeting last month to bring aid to the inner-city neighborhoods that comprise most of Ward F. "It's been in a crisis for a while and we can't just act like business as usual," Fitch-Elliott said. "We cannot wait any longer." Few of those in power in Jersey City, even those whose job is to put a rosy spin on any news development, would argue that Ward F, and much of the southern half of the city, struggles with crime, poverty and drugs. Fulop himself used the word crisis when discussing Ward F during an interview earlier today with The Jersey Journal. "Any reasonable person would agree that there are communities on the south side of the city that have been neglected for decades," he said. "I don't think that you're going to be able to solve some of these structural problems overnight, nor is that the expectation." Ward F will be front-and-center tomorrow night at the first of six scheduled state of the city speeches, one planned for each of the city's six wards. These will be the last of Fulop's annual addresses of this term. He is seeking re-election in November. Fulop said tomorrow's speech, set to be delivered at the Mary McLeod Bethune Life Center on Martin Luther King Drive, will tout the city's investments in the ward, including a new City Hall annex under construction at the Hub shopping center; the $38 million Berry Lane Park, which opened in June as the largest city-owned park; and sending new police recruits to patrol southern neighborhoods. Some of the new initiatives Fulop said he will discuss include increased affordable housing, afterschool city recreation programs at three public schools on the south end and an ordinance that would restrict door-to-door solicitation, intended to discourage aggressive real-estate investors. Ward F runs from Montgmery Street on the north and stretches as far south as Woodlawn Avenue, and is bordered on the west by Bergen Avenue. It includes Liberty State Park and a part of Downtown's Van Vorst Park neighborhood. It was the only ward that Fulop lost in the 2013 mayoral race. Then-Mayor Jerramiah Healy bested Fulop in Ward F by 58 votes. Asked why he chose Ward F to launch his state of the city ward tour, Fulop said the goal was to start on the city's south side because that area is "a big priority for us." Residents of the ward who spoke to The Jersey Journal yesterday gave mixed remarks on Fulop's job performance. Gregory Robinson, 55, of Claremont Avenue, called Fulop "a nice gentleman." "He's doing a wonderful job," Robinson said, adding that "to an extent" the ward has changed for the better since Fulop became mayor. Antoinette Wiggins, 42, of Bostwick Avenue, called Fulop's performance "poor." Asked what the mayor needs to concentrate on, Wiggins said, "The hood." "Look at this," she said, pointing at piles of garbage on the sidewalk along MLK Drive. "Even the parks are dirty." Arthur Jones, 54, of Woodlawn Avenue, said the ward's crime problem has not changed for the better or the worse since Fulop's election. He added that Fulop "stepped into a rough situation" four years ago. Jones described a recent daytime shooting that had him throwing himself on the ground to keep from getting shot. "I don't really know what he can do to fix that," he said. "These young guys out here are off the chain." Fulop's Ward F state of the city address is scheduled to begin tomorrow at 6:30 p.m. at the Bethune Center, 140 MLK Drive. On Thursday, he will address Ward A residents starting at the same time at CityLine Church, 1510 Kennedy Blvd. Terrence T. McDonald may be reached at tmcdonald@jjournal.com. Follow him on Twitter @terrencemcd. Find The Jersey Journal on Facebook. JERSEY CITY -- Police officers exchanged gunfire with a war veteran at the beginning of a 12-hour standoff in West New York this weekend, authorities said Emmanuel Hernandez, 27, has been charged with two counts of attempted murder of a police officer, unlawful possession of a firearm, possession of a firearm for an unlawful purpose, eluding, resisting arrest, and aggravated assault on a police officer. Police received a 911 call just after 2 a.m. Sunday of a man with a gun inside a red Infiniti, according to authorities. North Bergen police officers spotted the car at the QuickChek on Kennedy Boulevard and when they approached Hernandez he became "combative" and ran over one of the officers' foot with his car, the complaint states. Hernandez then fled the scene and returned to 57th Street home. He got out of his car, pointed the gun at two North Bergen police officers and "fired several rounds with the intent to kill them," according to the reports. One of the officers returned fire with Hernandez before he barricaded himself in the basement of the apartment, Suarez said. The ensuing standoff lasted nearly 12 hours. Neither Hernandez or any police officers were struck by the gunfire, Suarez said. After the standoff, a handgun and shotgun with a high capacity magazine were found inside the home, Suarez added. Hernandez appeared in Criminal Justice Reform court Monday afternoon before Judge Robert Nieto, who informed the 27-year-old that the state motioned for pretrial detention. His attorney Mario Blanch argued against the state's motion, saying he did not receive the proper documentation about the investigation. He also noted Hernandez scored a one out six on his public safety assessment. "All I have is copies of allegations, allegations that are not substantiated obviously," he said. "My client maintains his innocence your honor, and as a result thereof I am asking the court release him." Nieto said he could not change the state's motion, adding Hernandez would be seen for a hearing before Judge Paul DePascale on Thursday morning. After the hearing, Blanch told The Jersey Journal Hernandez served nearly 10 years in the Navy and served overseas in Iraq. He believes his client may have had some kind of "break" as a result of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. "What he needs is help, not incarceration," Blanch said in the back of a Hudson County courtroom. Suarez credited the Bergen County SWAT Team for "methodically coordinating the negotiations with the barricaded suspect and its tactical decision making throughout the ordeal." She additionally credited the North Bergen Police Department, West New York Police Department, the Union City Police Department, Guttenberg Police Department, FBI, Hudson County Office of Emergency Management, New Jersey State Police Office of Emergency Management, North Hudson Fire and Regional Rescue, Office of Homeland Security Investigations, West New York Medical Services, Jersey City Medical Center Emergency Services, the Hudson County Sheriff's Office and members of the Hudson County Prosecutor's for aiding in the standoff. "This was a spontaneous and extremely volatile situation that could have turned out differently but for the patience and hard work of law enforcement professionals," she said. "Given the scope and magnitude of the situation, I am thankful that the matter was resolved peacefully." West New York Mayor Felix Roque told several media outlets on Sunday that he helped end the standoff by speaking with Hernandez -- whose father was a patient of his at his medical practice. When asked why Roque was not mentioned in its official news release on the incident, the Hudson County Prosecutor's Office had no comment. When reached by phone Monday evening, Roque was effusive in his praise for the law enforcement response to the situation. "It was about good restraint, it was about professionalism. Anybody could have fired their gun, anyone could have done something and it would have been chaos," Roque said. "All I can say is they did an phenomenal job." The mayor said he talked to Hernandez several times during the course of the standoff from inside a S.W.A.T. vehicle. Roque added that his wife works for Henandez's uncle, who also was in communication with the 27-year-old. Roque said Bergen County Police Det. David Saldana brokered Hernandez's peaceful surrender. "I am going to say I was part of it, but was I the integral part? No," the mayor said. "It was a miracle that nothing happened." Editor's note: This story has been updated to clarify that the 911 call was made shortly after 2 a.m. and that only one high capacity magazine was found inside the home. Jersey Journal city editor Patrick Villanova contributed to this report. Caitlin Mota may be reached at cmota@jjournal.com. Follow her on Twitter @caitlin_mota. Find The Jersey Journal on Facebook. ALEXANDRIA TWP. - Holland Township painter Val Sivilli and her inner beast were featured at this month's installment of the Second Breakfast Visiting Artist Series at Delaware Valley Regional High School on Friday. The series is held monthly in Sarah Ruppert's art room during lunchtime, and students and staff are invited to attend. Lunch is BYO, but so far coffee and doughnut Munchkins have been provided. The purpose is to connect students with artists in the community. Sivilli teaches visual arts at Raritan Valley and Bucks County community colleges. She also creates images that are used to promote Frenchtown's Bastille Day and Riverfest. She grew up on Long Island and played classical piano as a child, but at age 15 discovered that "music wasn't feeding me back," and switched to visual art. She studied printmaking at the State University of New York at Purchase and then pottery at Alfred University. Later, when she lived in Frenchtown, she had a shop in town called "Civilian," that sold T-shirts bearing her original designs. In recent years, no longer married and with her children grown up and moved out, she worked on "rediscovering who I am." And in doing so, found that "there's an uncontrollable beast inside me, and I need to deal with that." In drawings and paintings, she depicts that inner beast as a wild boar. In one series, each of the drawings has been run through an actual old-school typewriter. The artist typed right over the drawings, a double-spaced text drawn from the "running barrage" of TV news broadcasts that creates an unpleasant, media-laden "soup" in which we dwell. Her text is full of typos and sometimes her own emotional reactions to political developments show through. Now, admittedly addicted to pounding typewriter keys, Sivilli has embarked on a year-long project in which she makes a drawing every day and then covers it with a wash of typewriting. As in the boar series, the words generally are taken from stressful political reportage. But they also include stray phrases from TV commercials. She says she is doing more drawing and painting from life these days, finding that it provides an artist with visual information that can be called upon later when painting something imagined. Although as an adult she and Alex Wolfson of Alexandria Township have performed as Val and the Mighty Mojo, she urged the students toward "streamlining and focusing on one direction," such as visual art or music or writing, the better to "find excellence." As the year progresses, Del Val art teachers Jason Farnsworth and Ruppert will host ceramicist Phil Henderson, woodworker Bret Cavanaugh, tattoo artist Dutch Cooke and calligrapher Catherine Lent. This item was submitted by Rick Epstein. LUXEMBOURG (Reuters) - Luxembourg has launched criminal proceedings over Volkswagen's diesel emissions scandal, showing the German carmaker is still struggling to draw a line under the crisis some 17 months after it broke. The European Union country said on Monday that following investigations it was taking legal action against "unknown persons" over the EA 189 engine made by Volkswagen's (VW) Audi division. The engine, which was tested and certified by Luxembourg authorities, was used in most of the cars that VW has admitted in the United States included illegal "defeat device" software that could conceal the true level of toxic emissions in tests. "We have decided that, as there is a large probability that a defeat device was used, to launch a lawsuit against unknown persons," Luxembourg's infrastructure minister, Francois Bausch, told journalists. Investigations across the world are still trying to identify all the individuals involved in the scandal. Bausch's ministry described itself as "a victim of criminal action that led it to certify cars," adding it would not have done so had tests not been falsified. Spokespeople for Audi and VW declined to comment. In late trade, VW shares were down 2.2 percent at 141.69 euros. Luxembourg is one of seven EU countries under scrutiny by the European Commission, which feels member states have not done enough to crack down on emissions test cheating. VW, Europe's biggest carmaker, admitted in September 2015 to using software to rig U.S. diesel emissions tests and said the software could be in up to around 11 million vehicles worldwide. In the United States, the company has agreed to spend up to $25 billion (20 billion) to address claims from owners, environmental regulators, U.S. states and dealers, and offered to buy back about 500,000 polluting vehicles. In Europe, officials in some countries say it has been difficult to ascertain whether VW has done anything wrong because of a loophole in EU law which allow carmakers to dial down emissions control systems under some circumstances, such as if they might damage a vehicle's engine. Nonetheless, several countries continue to investigate the matter and other interest groups are also taking legal action. Fish distributor Deutsche See said on Sunday it was suing VW for misrepresenting a fleet of vehicles it leased as environmentally friendly, becoming the first major German customer to sue VW over the emissions scandal. (Reporting by Michele Sinner; Additional reporting by Andreas Cremer and Jan Schwartz.; Writing by Alissa de Carbonnel; Editing by Keith Weir and Mark Potter) WASHINGTON -- As mayor of Newark, Cory Booker joined Betsy DeVos on the board of Alliance for School Choice, which advocated using taxpayer dollars for charter, private and religious schools. He's known her for years. But when DeVos was nominated to be U.S. secretary of education by President Donald Trump, Booker (D-N.J.) voted no. DeVos was confirmed Tuesday, 51-50, when Vice President Mike Pence cast the deciding vote in favor of her nomination after two Senate Republicans joined Booker, U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) and every other Senate Democrat in opposing her. "I found many of her answers inadequate, unsatisfactory ... or just plain violative of what I believe a leader in that position should do," said Booker, who has taken a more visible role in opposing Trump and broke with tradition in testifying against the nomination of fellow U.S. Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) to be attorney general. Despite their past history of working together, DeVos refused to meet with him, Booker said. He said her hearing was rushed though so she couldn't properly be questioned, and was troubled by the answers she did give, such as refusing to rule out allowing guns in schools "to protect from potential grizzlies," and saying the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, which is supposed to provide an appropriate education to students with disabilities, should be enforced by states. "There are numerous things in her testimony that I found problematic and in totality made it not even a question for me whether i was going to support her," he said. Booker was a champion of the school choice movement as mayor of Newark, looking for alternatives to the traditional public school system where some inner-city students were struggling. Such efforts were opposed by teachers' unions, who decried the exodus of taxpayer dollars from public schools. While some of that money would go to public charter schools, which could operate under different rules than traditional public schools, other taxpayer funds would be spent on tuition at religious and private schools and for-profit charters. Booker's advocacy of school choice put him in conflict with the Newark Teachers Union, which opposed his 2010 re-election as mayor. The union backed one of his opponents, former county prosecutor Clifford Minor. Union President John Abeigon said he was "kind of surprised" that Booker voted against DeVos. "He's a strong advocate for school choice," Abeigon said. "We never saw him much as a supporter of traditional public schools and don't see him as one now." One-time allies said they were disappointed in Booker's vote against DeVos. "He's turned into a partisan political player," said Peter Denton, founder and a trustee of the Clark-based school choice advocacy group, Excellent Education for Everyone, which Booker worked with. "It's extraordinarily disappointing." Booker was the Orthodox Union's dinner speaker in Washington in September, where the senator talked about school choice. That's a big issue in the Orthodox Jewish community, said Nathan Diament, the group's executive director for public policy. "He had a record as mayor of Newark supporting school choice initiatives," Diament said. "Most of our children attend non-public schools and the No. 1 kitchen table issue is being able to afford those schools. We reached out to Senator Booker's office, many of our constituents reached out to Senator Booker's office hoping he would support DeVos but he said he won't." Booker had other concerns in deciding how to vote, said Krista Jenkins, a professor of political science at Fairleigh Dickenson University and director of its PublicMind polls. "There has been some backlash against Democratic senators who have not opposed nominees in the Trump administration," Jenkins said. "I would not understand this as a wholesale rejection of his embrace of vouchers. This is a broad rejection of the Trump administration and the type of people he's trying to put together in government." As someone mentioned as a potential 2020 Democratic presidential nominee, Booker can't afford to alienate the powerful teachers' unions, said Rogan Kersh, a professor of political science and provost at Wake Forest University. The National Education Association, whose affiliates include the New Jersey Education Association, and the American Federation of Teachers, the parent of the Newark Teachers Union, gave more than $4.5 million between them to the super political action committee backing Hillary Clinton's 2016 presidential run, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, a Washington-based research group. "A combination of unified Democratic opposition to DeVos and vehement disapproval by national teachers' unions -- long essential to Democratic presidential contenders' path to the nomination -- make a yes vote by Senator Booker effectively impossible," Kersh said. Booker said he wasn't thinking about the next election. "Politics be damned," he said. "It's about doing the right thing." Jonathan D. Salant may be reached at jsalant@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JDSalant. Find NJ.com Politics on Facebook NJ Advance Media's First Annual State of the State Networking Reception Democratic gubernatorial hopeful Assemblyman John Wisniewski. (Aris Economopoulos/NJ Advance Media) TRENTON -- State Assemblyman John Wisniewski, a Democratic candidate for New Jersey governor, has come under fire from a rival after a town determined his law firm violated its anti-pay-to-play statute. Keyport officials notified Wisniewski earlier this month that a $1,000 donation his firm, Wisniewski & Associates LLC, made to the Monmouth County Democratic Party in 2014 ran afoul of a law that bars borough contractors from making political donations. "At the time, and through today, your firm provided legal services to the borough in violation of the ordinance," Keyport Borough Attorney Joseph Baumann Jr. wrote in the letter to Wisniewski (D-Middlesex). "Please be advised that you are disqualified from further representation of the borough as of this date," Baumann wrote. The letter spurred backlash from rival Phil Murphy, the former Goldman Sachs executive and U.S. ambassador to Germany who's considered to be the early favorite to clinch the Democratic nomination. "He is nothing more than a Trenton insider who has consistently gamed the system to put more money in his pocket and is emblematic of a culture that cares more about greasing the wheels for insiders than about doing what is right for New Jersey's middle class," said Murphy campaign spokesman Derek Roseman. Wisniewski's campaign, in response, accused his rival of buying the nomination. "One inadvertent contribution -- which has been corrected -- does not remotely equate to the millions in Goldman Sachs money being spread throughout New Jersey by Phil Murphy to buy the election," Wisniewski campaign spokesman Robert Becker said. Politico New Jersey was the first to report the letter to Wisniewski informing him of the violation. The political news website reported the lawmaker's firm was paid $345,997 for work from public entities in 2015. Wisniewski's campaign said the lawmaker refunded the money when he was made aware of the violation. Murphy's criticism of Wisniewski over the donation is just the latest jab thrown in the primary election that's seen its share of attacks. Both men have spent weeks accusing the other of being insiders, political bosses, and hypocrites. Matt Arco may be reached at marco@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @MatthewArco or on Facebook. Donald Trump President Donald Trump is pictured last week. (Alex Brandon | The Associated Press) TRENTON -- The Democratic-controlled state Senate took a symbolic stand against President Donald Trump on Monday, passing a resolution "strongly" condemning the Republican's recent controversial executive orders on immigration. The Senate voted mostly along party lines, 22-11, to approve the measure (SCR143), which does nothing to stop any of Trump's moves. Rather, the resolution is a ceremonial show of resistance from the Democratic leaders of New Jersey, a state which Trump lost to Democrat Hillary Clinton by 14 percentage points in November. "The actions of President Trump threaten families within our communities who call New Jersey home," state Sen. Teresa Ruiz (D-Essex), one of the sponsors, said before the vote. "They threaten our core values as Americans. ... Silence these days is not an option." Added state Sen. Linda Greenstein (D-Middlesex), a co-sponsor: "What is happening on a national level is un-American. We have to be ready to stand up." The resolution also comes in an election year in which all 120 seats in the state Legislature are up for grabs. Republicans in competitive races are facing the dilemma of whether to embrace, denounce, or ignore Trump, depending on how much support Trump draws in the district. No Republican voted in favor of the measure Monday. Three abstained from voting. One Democrat in a competitive district -- Jeff Van Drew of Cape May County -- voted against it. The resolution condemns: * Trump's order to suspend immigration and travel for 90 days from seven Muslim-majority countries -- a temporary move the administration said is needed as it sets up a stronger vetting system to prevent possible terrorists from entering. A federal judge ruled last week to suspend the order, but the administration is seeking to reinstate it. * His order to direct the U.S. to stem illegal immigration by building a wall across its border with Mexico. * His order to withhold federal grant money from so-called "sanctuary cities" that protect undocumented immigrants within their borders and empower state and local law enforcement to serve as immigration officers. Republicans in New Jersey have called on Democrats to spend more time on state issues instead of Trump's actions. On Monday, GOP senators called for votes on other bills tackling corruption, pensions and health benefits, and transportation costs. All the measures were tabled. "Let's focus on the solutions that are important to the people of the state of New Jersey today and going forward and we can come together as citizens and as a people," state Senate Minority Leader Tom Kean Jr. (R-Union) said. Kean also noted that "many prior presidential administrations of both parties have taken similar immigration actions." Democrats argue that Trump's orders have a direct impact on New Jersey because it's one of the most diverse states in the country. In addition, they say, it's wrong to block women, children, and elderly people fleeing oppression in other countries from finding refuge in America. "Every immigrant group has made this country a better place -- in New Jersey especially," said state Sen. Jim Whelan (D-Atlantic), a co-sponsor. "The Statue of Liberty is in New Jersey. And Ellis Island is in New Jersey." Asked why the resolution was needed if it won't change Trump's orders, state Sen. Raymond Lesniak (D-Union), a co-sponsor, said he's seen fear at mosques in the state and that this will give Muslims hope. "It's very important for Americans not to lose hope," said Lesniak, who is running for the Democratic nomination for governor to succeed Gov. Chris Christie, a Republican who is a longtime Trump friend and adviser. Passing the resolution was one of a few moves Democratic state lawmakers made against Trump on Monday: * The Senate also voted 22-10 to pass a resolution (SCR134) calling for the state's school districts and colleges and universities to continue to be "safe zones" for undocumented students and families, protecting information about them. * State Sen. Nia Gill (D-Essex) introduced a bill that would prohibit law enforcement and corrections officials in New Jersey from working with federal immigration authorities to detain nonviolent immigrants who are undocumented. "We will not allow President Trump to commandeer resources from New Jersey," Gill said. * State Sen. Brian Stack and state Assemblyman Raj Mukerji (both D-Hudson) announced they will introduce a measure that would create a program to provide supplementary grant funding to any New Jersey municipality or county that has been stripped of federal grant funding under Trump for acting as a "sanctuary city." Brent Johnson may be reached at bjohnson@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @johnsb01. Find NJ.com Politics on Facebook. SOMERVILLE - Described as a heartless "fraudster" and "con man" who ran a "ponzi scheme" from 2009 to 2012 that preyed on his family and friends, former Assemblyman Robert Schroeder was sentenced to eight years in state prison Monday in Somerset County Superior Court. In October, Schroeder, 56, pleaded guilty to charges that he stole nearly $1.9 million from people who loaned him money and wrote more than $3.4 million in bad checks to other creditors. Under a plea deal, Superior Court Judge Robert B. Reed said Schroeder must serve at least 36 months before he is eligible for parole and will be subject to three years post-release supervision. He is also required to pay back the more than $5.3 million he stole from his victims and is barred from holding public office or public employment in New Jersey. Reed told Schroeder that the court will closely monitor his finances - victims have accused Schroeder of hiding his assets in his wife's name - and if he doesn't made a sincere effort to pay back his victims after his release from prison he could find himself back in jail. John Whipple, Schroeder's attorney, had asked for a suspended sentenced. In pre-sentencing discussions, Schroeder had offered to pay his victims $1.1 million per year over five years if he could avoid any jail time, it was revealed in court. Reed denied the request, saying it was "mind-boggling" the amount of people Schroeder "duped" with his "classic ponzi scheme" and he deserved jail time for his actions. Schroeder apologized to his victims by name, turning around and addressing each one who was in court. He remained highly-visible in his Washington Township neighborhood even after is arrest, according to victims. After sentencing, Whipple asked Reed to grant Schroeder a surrender date of March 15 so he could take care of personal matters, but the judge denied the request, pointing to repeated delays in the case. Monday was the fourth time his sentencing hearing was rescheduled in this long-running saga. Somerset County Sheriff's officers then handcuffed Schroeder and led him out of the courtroom to begin serving his sentence. "Justice was served," said Joe Durso, a friend of Schroeder's for over 20 years who loaned him more than $200,000. "Hopefully, he does more than one-and-a-half years. He's a very delusional man. This is a lesson learned for many of us. It hurts because he was a friend. We're glad it's behind us. It's been five long years." Durso was among four victims who made impact statements over two sentencing dates. George Frye, a friend who loaned Schroeder more than $500,000 and Maria Kelly, a military widow and single mother who loaned Schroeder approximately $70,000, also spoke. "We respect the court's sentence," said Whipple. "We had hoped it was less than eight years. Mr. Schroeder is committed to working very hard to repay his victims. The sooner he's released, the sooner he can start to replay his victims." Deputy Attorney General Jeffrey Manis prosecuted the case. He declined comment afterwards. In court, he called Schroeder a "fraudster" and "con man." Nearly a half dozen victims of Schroeder's scheme attended the sentencing on Monday and two gave emotional victim's impact statements. On Jan. 17, two others gave statements. Schroeder served two terms in the Assembly from 2010 to 2014, representing the 39th district that includes parts of Bergen and Passaic counties. Schroeder's company, All Points International Distributors, primarily sold tents and prefabricated buildings to the U.S. military. The state's investigation revealed that business declined as government contracts dropped off with the reduction of troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. Schroeder tried to sustain the company by seeking numerous short-term loans from individuals who were promised a high rate of return. But as he fell behind on those loan payments, from October 2009 to August 2012, he wrote the bad checks, authorities said. In January 2012, he began raising money for the oil-drilling project in North Dakota and established Hercules Global Logistics to maintain a base camp there. He claimed he expected to complete the housing project by the end of 2012, but authorities said he instead diverted the money he had raised to cover expenses and to pay off loans. Schroeder pleaded guilty second-degree misconduct by a corporate official and issuing bad checks on behalf of his four companies: All Points International Distributors, Inc., Hercules Global Logistics, LLC, RS Consultants, LLC and RGS Bergen, LLC. The theft by deception charge was dismissed, the misconduct charge encompasses all the counts in the indictment. Dave Hutchinson may be reached at dhutchinson@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @DHutch_SL. Find NJ.com on Facebook. NEW BRUNSWICK - A Middlesex County judge has ruled that use-of-force reports, police dash camera or body camera footage and the names of the police officers involved in the 2016 shooting death of Diahlo Grant must be released as part of an Open Public Records Act request. The OPRA request was submitted in 2016 by Richard Rivera, a police practices expert and civil rights advocate who is chair of the Latino Leadership Alliance of New Jersey. The request was denied and instead Rivera received the Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office's press release issued after the shooting. He regularly request similar information on all police shootings throughout the state so he can analyze it and look for patterns of behavior among police, said his attorney C.J. Griffin. Middlesex County Assignment Judge Travis Francis handed down the ruling Friday. Rivera, a former police officer in West New York, Hudson County, submitted an OPRA request on July 7, 2016 to the Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office seeking records related to the Franklin Township police shooting death of Diahlo Grant on April 9, 2016 in New Brunswick, according to the decision. Rivera sought use-of-force reports, the names of the officers involved in the shooting and police dash cam or body camera recorded footage of the incident, and on July 15, the Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office denied access to the use-of-force reports and dash cam video, citing OPRA exemptions for "criminal investigatory records" and "ongoing investigation," the decision stated. Rivera instead received an April 9, 2016 Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office news release about the police shooting that did not reveal the officers' names, saying they were exempt for similar reasons. "We're grateful that the judge ruled that the public needs access to these records," said Rivera. "In all of these situations where police use force, there needs to be transparency. The fact of the matter is New Jersey police departments aren't analyzing use-of-force incidents and we as a public need to do so. "The county prosecutor's offices do a poor job in overseeing local police use-of-force investigations. They really only scratch the surface. The Attorney General's Office needs to require local police departments to analyze use-of-force incidents." Rivera said that in the Grant shooting there is no need for the Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office to withhold the names of the police officers involved. "They're public servants and serve us well," he said. "But we should be able to know which ones are using force, especially deadly force." James O'Neill, spokesman for the Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office, declined comment in an email. In his decision, Francis said the defendants have not met their burden of proving that all information was provided or that the dash cam footage and use-of-force reports are exempt as criminal investigatory records. Francis also ruled that the news release sent to Rivera was "not responsive to plaintiff's request." Griffin said the issue of releasing use-of-force is now before the state Supreme Court in a case involving North Jersey Jersey Media Group vs. the Township of Lyndhurst involving a police shooting. Oral arguments were heard in November, she said. In his ruling, Francis said that "unsupported speculative claims of harm are insufficient to deny access to a record where the public agency fails to produce specific reliable evidence to meet a statutorial recognized basis for confidentiality, required under OPRA." Francis added that the use-of-force reports and dash cam reports are not the type of records that legislators intended to hide from the public. "Thus, the court finds that the requested records were improperly withheld," the ruling states. Grant, 27, was killed on April 9 when he encountered two uniformed Franklin Township police officers at Somerset and Home streets in Franklin Township in Somerset County and, after a brief chase into nearby New Brunswick in Middlesex County, exchanged gunfire at 1:30 a.m., according to the Middlesex County prosecutor's report. Grant fired one shot at the officers and died after one of the officers fired six shots at him, striking him multiple times, it was stated in the report. A black revolver with a brown grip was recovered next to Grant's body and the weapon was subsequently identified as the same one involved in the shooting of a man on Feb. 15, according to the report. Dave Hutchinson may be reached at dhutchinson@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @DHutch_SL. Find NJ.com on Facebook. NEWTON -- A 29-year-old man was sentenced to 90 days house detention for a crash that seriously injured a 17-year-old from Sparta in June, authorities said. Thomas J. Scott, of Hamburg, pleaded guilty on Dec. 19 to fourth-degree assault by auto, Sussex County Prosecutor's Office said in a news release. Scott admitted to driving recklessly on June 15 when his vehicle crossed over the double yellow lines from the northbound side of Route 23 to the southbound side, striking the teen's southbound vehicle, according to the prosecutor's office. Scott was also seriously injured in the crash and was flown to Morristown Medical Center for treatment. Scott was sentenced by Judge William McGovern at Sussex County Superior Court on Feb. 3 to home detention along with a nine-month suspension of his driver's license and a term of probation, authorities said. He must also complete 300 hours of community service in a hospital environment, enter and successfully complete a driver improvement class, undergo a drug evaluation and follow all recommendations, submit a DNA sample, hand write a letter of apology of at least 300 words to the victim and pay $688 in court fines and fees. Justin Zaremba may be reached at jzaremba@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JustinZarembaNJ. Find NJ.com on Facebook. Chris Carter Designated hitter/first baseman Chris Carter. (File photo) NEW YORK -- Welcome back , Carter. The Yankees and all-or-nothing Chris Carter -- a factory that produces only home runs and strikeouts -- are near a deal, a source told NJ Advance Media on Tuesday. The source, who has knowledge of the team's personnel decisions, requested anonymity because the agreement hadn't been finalized. USA Today's Bob Nightengale first reported the move. Nightengale said it could be worth $3 million for a year. The deal between the sides is fascinating because of Davis' abilities and the Yankees' roster construction and dueling goals of trying to compete in 2017 while also building for the future. Here's what it means: Depth at first base (or a platoon?): Carter led the league in home runs (41) and stirkeouts (206) last season. While he's not a good defender, he's played 270 games at first base over the last two seasons in Houston and Milwaukee. If first baseman-of-the-future Greg Bird isn't ready for regular playing time or needs to head to Triple-A after spring training, the Yankees could turn to Carter. Bird impressed with 11 homers in 46 games in 2015, but missed all of 2016 after surgery to repair a torn labrum in his right shoulder. By the way, Carter hits righty. Bird hits lefty. The Yankees could be considering platooning the two. And at DH: Carter was a full-time DH in 2014 when he hit 37 homers for the Astros. The Yankees expect Matt Holliday to be the full-time guy at the position, but he's 38 years old. Carter, 30, could give him days off. But what about the youth? It looked like the Yankees were set to stage a slanted competition at first base in spring training between Bird, the heavy favorite, and Tyler Austin. Either the Yankees want to push Bird even harder at spring training or they aren't sure he'll have all the rust knocked off come Opening Day. Important to note: The deal isn't official yet and it's unclear exactly how the Yankees plan to use Carter. But adding Carter definitely looks like a bad sign for Austin, who has said he wants to win the spot outright. If he doesn't, he'll head back to Triple-A. And what about defensive flexibility?: Carter doesn't provide much of that. Actually, he provides none of it. Holliday doesn't give much, either, though he's talked about playing some first base in the spring. That's two players locking up spots who don't contribute much with the glove. That Yankees had been steering clear of those players. Too good to pass up? While $3 million isn't chump change, Carter did lead the NL in homers last year. That could end up a bargain for the Yankees, who have been shopping in the clearance aisle all winter. Brendan Kuty may be reached at bkuty@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @BrendanKutyNJ. Find NJ.com Yankees on Facebook. Irish Garda Brian Hanrahan, 34, is charged with two counts of assault in his home country, after being accused of punching two women after a night of off-duty drinking in March 2016. A verdict in his case is scheduled to be rendered Feb. 10. WASHINGTON (AP) The House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol has issued a subpoena to Donald Trump. The nine-member panel sent a letter to the former president's lawyers on Friday, demanding his testimony under oath by mid-November and outlining a series of corresponding documents. The decision by lawmakers to exercise their subpoena power comes a week after the committee made its final case against the former president, who they say is the "central cause" of the multi-part effort to overturn the results of the 2020 election. It remains unclear how Trump and his legal team will respond to the subpoena, if at all. Weather Alert ...DENSE FOG ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM MIDNIGHT CDT TONIGHT TO 9 AM CST SUNDAY... * WHAT...Dense fog will reduce visibility to 1 NM. * WHERE...Lake Pontchartrain and Lake Maurepas, Mississippi Sound and Lake Borgne. * WHEN...From midnight CDT tonight to 9 AM CST Sunday. * IMPACTS...Low visibility will make navigation difficult. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... If you must navigate, proceed with caution. Use proper fog signals. Make sure all running lights are on. Remember to use your radar and compass. && A local Council Bluffs family wants answers after two students held down their 10-year-old daughter and wrote the word loser across her face while riding on the school bus last Tuesday. Parent Zach Dabney said he was picking up his children from the bus stop on Jan. 31 when his daughter, Raeann, came off the bus crying with marker all over her face. Dabney said Raeann told him the two students drew a mustache and wrote loser on her face after the two students repeatedly asked her over and over to sit with them. They kept asking her, Do you care if we color on your face? And she said, Yeah, I would mind, Dabney said. Thats when one of the students grabbed her and the other one climbed on top of her and started scribbling on her face, Dabney said. Dabney then reported the incident to Titan Hill Intermediate School. Weve been going at it with the school, Dabney said. We went up to the school, and the principal wants to sweep it under the rug like it never happened. Titan Hill Principal Kent Stopak said the school has investigated the incident and has taken necessary disciplinary action against the students. We do not condone or tolerate that kind of behavior in our buses or in our building, Stopak said. Weve met with the students and have dealt with these students. Our focus going forward is making sure all the students feel safe and supported and working with all our students on respect and dignity and how to treat one another. Dabney said a monitor was on the bus at the time of the incident and didnt intervene. Stopak, however, said he wasnt sure the monitor was aware of what was taking place. Council Bluffs Police Detective Dustin Harris said the bus monitor did not see the incident because it was near the back of the bus behind a seat. While some Lewis Central Community School District buses are equipped with video cameras, this one was not. Harris said that, while the incident was bad and that the girl was held down, it wasnt violent and that the scene of the incident wasnt chaotic. The incident was not believed to be race-related. The two suspects, both under the age of 12, wont be charged as juveniles since the department generally doesnt take cases under that age, Harris said. Harris said the department has been in touch with the parents of the suspects, who said they know they should not have done it. Lewis Central Superintendent Mark Schweer said he couldnt comment on specific action taken against the students which is prohibited by a federal student privacy law he did say other news accounts were inaccurate in characterizing the discipline as a one-day suspension from riding the bus. We take any and all incidents seriously, and, while we cannot legally comment disciplinary action taken with students or with employees, the reported one-day suspension from riding the bus was not accurate, Schweer said after a school board meeting Monday night. Reporter Mike Bell contributed to this report. BELLEVUE, Neb. Certain current and former military law enforcement personnel now may carry their personal firearms onto Offutt Air Force Base under a new 55th Wing policy. The rule took effect Jan. 11 after nearly a year of planning and consideration and was not tied to any specific security threat against the base, said Lt. Col. Ian Dinesen, commander of the 55th Security Forces Squadron. We wanted to make sure it was very well-thought-out, Dinesen said. The new rules are allowed because of the 2014 expansion of a then-10-year-old federal law, the Law Enforcement Officers Safety Act, to allow military police with special permits to carry concealed weapons. A post on Offutts Facebook page said the purpose was to enhance existing force protection measures and potentially mitigate active-shooter or workplace violence events. In recent years, military posts have been the site of several mass shootings, including a 2009 terrorist attack by Nidal Hasan, an Army psychiatrist, at Fort Hood, Texas, that killed 13 soldiers and wounded more than 30; a spree at the Washington Navy Yard in 2013 in which a gunman killed 12 people and wounded four; and a second Fort Hood shooting in 2014 in which a distraught soldier killed three and wounded 16. It may be counterintuitive to civilians, but military bases including Offutt have strict rules against carrying weapons. Only on-duty security officers may bring them on base. No one, not even someone with a concealed-carry permit, is allowed to bring personal weapons onto base, Dinesen said, except to carry them to and from an on-base residence, or to a firing range. In those cases, they must be carried unloaded, inside a locked case. The federal law originally was passed in 2004, in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, to create a sort of auxiliary force of highly trained weapons specialists who could respond quickly in such emergencies, said James Baranowski, manager of external and international affairs for the National Rifle Association. The law, widely known by the acronym LEOSA, allows qualifying law enforcement officers to carry permitted weapons across state and other jurisdictional lines. It created a sort of back-door form of reciprocity, an NRA-backed concept that allows holders of concealed-carry permits in one state to legally carry their weapons in every state. Its certainly helped a lot of law enforcement officers, especially in states that are more restrictive of civilian carriers, Baranowski said. But the law was poorly drafted, he said. Some language in the law appeared to exclude military security officers. Congress amended the law in 2010 and again in 2014, the latter time specifically allowing military police and law enforcement officers to qualify to receive the special LEOSA identification cards. Since then, the Army and Air Force have issued guidelines to allow their current and former security officers to qualify for the ID cards. The Navy, which also has administrative authority over the Marine Corps, has not. Just over a year ago, the Air Force also gave base commanders authority to allow military LEOSA cardholders to carry their weapons onto bases. Baranowski said he thinks Offutt is among the first bases to do so. The cards still arent easy to get. Only airmen or veterans with more than 10 years of experience as military security officers may qualify. They must go through stringent recertification training each year and pay a fee of up to several hundred dollars a year. Youre talking about people with quite a bit of service under their belt, even to be considered, Dinesen said. Cardholders also must secure their weapons and declare them at the gate before their vehicle is screened. Even with the rules change, many major buildings and offices at Offutt will remain off-limits. I cant carry it right now, sitting in my office as the squadron commander, said Dinesen, who has one of the permits. Nationwide, about 1,180 current and former Air Force security officers have qualified for LEOSA permits. Another 200 have applied and are waiting for certification. Dinesen said about two dozen have filed permits with his security office. Theres really not a whole lot of people carrying, Baranowski said. Voters in the Red Oak Community School District head to the polls today to decide the fate of a proposed levy extension. The physical plant and equipment levy, or PPEL, being voted on is not a new levy but a continuation of an existing levy, which is currently authorized at $1.34 per $1,000 of taxable valuation. If approved, the extended levy would begin in 2020 and continue for 10 years. Polls will be open from noon to 8 p.m. today. PPEL funding is used for major purchases, repairs and agreements including the purchasing and improving school grounds, constructing or renovating schoolhouses or buildings, opening roads to schools or buildings, purchasing technology and equipment and purchasing transportation equipment, according to the school district. Richard Branson and Barack Obama Former President Barack Obama has clearly been enjoying his vacation at Richard Branson's private estate in the British Virgin Islands. Branson and Obama, who grew up surfing and swimming on Hawaii's beaches, challenged each other to a kitesurfing competition, according to a blog post from Branson. Obama would learn how to kitesurf, while Branson would learn how to ride a foilboard an advanced type of hydroplaning surfboard. The two would then see who could surf the longest on their respective watercraft. And though Branson has long been known for his adventurous exploits, the former president was no slouch in the water. He bested Branson by traveling over 100 meters on the kiteboard to Branson's 50 meters on the foilboard. "Being the former president of America, there was lots of security around, but Barack was able to really relax and get into it," Branson wrote. For Obama, this excursion was a long time coming. Obama told Branson that just before he became president, he went surfing on a dangerous break in Hawaii. According to Branson, when Obama got back to the beach, his security team told him, "This will be the last time you surf for eight years." Check out the video of the former president having a blast: And here are two more pictures: Barack Obama kitesurfing Barack Obama kitesurfing NOW WATCH: Here are all the musicians who declined to perform at Trump's inauguration so far More From Business Insider As the Iowa Legislature rushes to pass a bill to remove funding for Planned Parenthood and create a state-run program to distribute family planning money, some health clinics that could see an increase in patients say they havent heard anything about the system that could take effect within months. The effect of the defunding effort on residents of Council Bluffs, and southwest Iowa more broadly, might not be as dramatic as it could be in other parts of the state. The GOP-backed legislation targeting Planned Parenthood flew through the Senate on Thursday and now moves to the House. The bill hinges on rejecting millions in federal Medicaid dollars in order to eliminate state funding for Planned Parenthood because Republicans oppose the organizations practice of offering abortion services at some of its clinics. However, no state funding pays for abortions. Planned Parenthood of the Heartland operates its Council Bluffs Health Center at 1604 Second Ave. The center is open three days a week and is located in a metropolitan area where non-abortion womens services are readily available. Other providers of womens health services in Council Bluffs include Metro OB/GYNs offices at CHI Health Mercy Hospital and Methodist Jennie Edmundson Hospital, as well as Methodist Physicians Clinic on the Jennie Campus, All Care Health Center at 902 S. Sixth St. and many facilities in Omaha and its Nebraska suburbs. One concern that opponents of the defunding effort highlight is health care access for low-income patients using Medicaid instead of private health insurance. Planned Parenthood serves those low-income patients, as does All Care and some of the other local clinics. All Care doesnt know yet how the change might affect its services, said Kristen Hendershot, director of access services. We offer a wide variety of womens health services, she said. We will continue to offer them to anyone that needs them. Elsewhere in southwest Iowa, non-abortion womens services are available at CHI Womens Health in Missouri Valley, Clarinda Regional Health Care Clinic, Atlantic Medical Center and the Greater Regional Womens Health Clinic in Creston. The George C. Grape Community Hospital in Hamburg isnt included in a list of providers published by the Iowa Department of Human Services, but OB/GYN care is listed among the hospitals services. The only Planned Parenthood serving the region between the Missouri border and Sioux City is in Council Bluffs. The Legislature intends to start its own program to reimburse qualifying clinics for family planning services. The bill does not explain how it will pay for the program, though Gov. Terry Branstad has recommended tapping into other federal money that currently goes to needy kids. Republican lawmakers contend the state-run program will allow more rural health clinics to offer family planning services. However, representatives for some of those facilities say theyre not familiar with the states plans. While some clinics say theyre capable of helping more patients if needed, they are confused about how the new system would work. Julie Rupe, clinic director for the Wayne County Hospitals clinic system in southern Iowa, said she wasnt aware a new system was in the works. If there are changes being made to the program, we definitely need to know because were the ones that provide those services, she said. It is important that we would have that information. Although officials at clinics would like more information, DHS spokeswoman Amy McCoy said the legislation needs to be approved before the agency can release more information. Whenever there is legislation that may make changes in operations or programs, there is always interest and concern, she said. But we do have to wait for legislators to be able to do their work and finalize legislation that then directs our agency with how were going to operate our programs. Rachel Lopez, a representative for Planned Parenthood of the Heartland, said the organization is doing its own research on alternate providers. What were finding for small communities and providers is theyre just not able to absorb these patients, she said. DHS provided a list of hundreds of clinics that could offer family planning services under a new system, but the nonprofit Iowa Primary Care Association noted that some rural centers vary in patient capacity, hours and services. Not every rural health clinic has someone who would feel comfortable with their certification and background doing family planning, said Erica Shannon, the associations program manager. The DHS list of providers is more than five pages long. But, along with health care facilities that actually provide womens health services, it includes dozens of pharmacies, an anesthesiology group and several laboratories, including one in New Jersey. A review by The Nonpareil shows its not clear how many of providers listed have actually been confirmed as offering womens services or intend to add them if they become unavailable at Planned Parenthood. Planned Parenthood has 12 Iowa locations that provide health services such as birth control counseling, preventative cancer screenings and relationship counseling. The Council Bluffs clinic also offers mens health services, HIV testing and LGBT services as well as STD testing, treatment and vaccines. Abortions are performed at eight of the clinics, including the Council Bluffs location. While Planned Parenthood has no intention of closing, women who rely on Medicaid for their family planning services may need to find different clinics that qualify for reimbursement under the new system. Lopez said she wasnt surprised by the confusion. Lawmakers have provided zero specifics on how they plan to implement or fund this program, she said. There is no evidence that state health care providers are prepared to absorb Planned Parenthood patients. Furthermore, Lopez said, the funding change would not stop Planned Parenthood from performing abortions. Its going to make abortions go up, and were going to continue to provide them, she said. Sen. Amy Sinclair, a Republican from Allerton and one of the bills sponsors, acknowledged some of the confusion Thursday during floor debate. She noted that she spoke with a representative from some health centers that could be affected. They do have some concerns about ramping up to do the womens health care family planning, but they are willing, she said. Sinclair did not return repeated messages from the AP for this story. Planned Parenthood of the Heartland declined a request by The Nonpareil to interview one of its providers. Another concern about the bill is money. Under the current federal system, participating health clinics receive unlimited reimbursement for providing family planning services. With the state-run program, that funding would end at roughly $3.3 million. DHS doesnt expect to exhaust its budget, according to an internal department document about the program. However, the funding change still worries Lisa Koppin, health services coordinator for North Iowa Community Action Organization, a Mason City-based private nonprofit that specializes in care for low-income families. Koppin said the bills language would place her facility under the lowest priority for funding. Its not very well-planned or thought out, Koppin said. The time it will take to figure out the funding formula, the method for payment and getting it all to roll out with the rules in place and the infrastructure built, it will just delay services for our clients even further. Linley Sanders of AP contributed reporting from Des Moines. One might say Ashley Kruse has a rather important job for Council Bluffs. She is the citys new communications officer, and its her duty to ensure residents are kept up to date on whats happening in City Hall and elsewhere around town. Its to help keep everybody informed on whats going on in the city, Kruse said. Were providing more opportunities for people to learn whats going on. Mayor Matt Walsh agreed by listing some of Kruses duties, such as continual updating of the citys website, promoting Council Bluffs on Facebook and Twitter, writing press releases and generally putting a positive light on the city. She will help with the citys image campaign, Walsh added. Shes very talented. Kruse comes to City Hall after nearly 10 years as the director of recruiting at Iowa Western Community College. There was a lot of communication involved to perspective students and their families, she said. We also did new student orientation and registration and all of the communication that a new student needs to be successful. When the citys image campaign began about two years ago, Kruse joined as Iowa Westerns representative, enhancing her communication skills through one-on-one citizen surveys as well as being involved on the project management side of the campaign. A 2002 Abraham Lincoln High School graduate, Kruse received a bachelors degree in English from Iowa State University and a masters in organizational management from Nebraskas Peru State College. Prior to joining Iowa Western, Kruse worked for a year for a wedding planning company in Omaha. Im very excited, Kruse said of her new job. I just love Council Bluffs. Walsh is glad to have her on board. I think shell do a great job, he said. An earlier version of this article incorrectly identified Mayor Matt Walsh as Ashley Kruse's boss. She reports to Chief of Staff Wendy Schultz, who in turn reports to the mayor. The South Korean conglomerate will instead look to local and Japanese manufacturers for all of its upcoming Galaxy S8 battery demands. 4 Reviews The impressive yet critically flawed Galaxy Note 7 carried batteries from Samsung subsidiary SDI and Hong Kong-based producer Amperex Technology (ATL). In a stroke of bad luck, the batteries from both manufacturers carried deficiencies that eventually led to the worldwide recall of the phablet. Pressure is on the Galaxy S8 to meet expectations and, above all else, not explode under any circumstances. To accomplish this, reports are claiming that Samsung will be directly responsible for manufacturing 80 percent of the batteries to hopefully prevent another battery disaster. So, what about the remaining 20 percent? The same reports from Asia say that the rest will no longer come from factories in China but from Japan instead. The Japanese Murata Manufacturing Company has been the go-to battery supplier for Sony's Xperia series and could be a potential supplier for the Galaxy S8 as well. Samsung is expected to implement an eight-point quality assurance check on its future batteries as a direct response to the Galaxy Note 7 recall. An official reveal of the Galaxy S8 may come at MWC 2017 later this month. If not, Samsung's scheduled press conference on March 29 should hold even more surprises for the public. A young woman from North Platte has become the first local teen titleholder to be crowned here since Miss Nebraskas Outstanding Teen began. Katy Greene, the daughter of Matt and Missy Greene, earned the title of Miss Twin Rivers Outstanding Teen during the Crowns and Gowns pageant on Sunday. Greene, 16, is a sophomore at North Platte High School. Sundays pageant was Greenes first, although she said shes dreamed of being a part of the Miss America Organization for some time. Greene said that when she was little, she always looked up to Miss Nebraska contestants and saw them as role models. Being involved in the Miss America system has always been something that I wanted to do, Greene said. I want to be a good role model for younger children and someone that they look up to. Just like I looked up to those girls when I was younger. Greenes platform is Unplug and Enjoy the Arts. She believes younger people should be encouraged to step away from technology and get involved in other activities. I chose the arts specifically because being involved in both dance and band has made a very positive impact on my life, Greene said. Her pageant talent is ballet. She hopes introducing children to the arts will allow them to gain more diverse experiences and enjoy more of the little things in life. Greene said shes looking forward to meeting the other contestants and showing the judges what she has to offer at the Miss Nebraskas Outstanding Teen competition on April 22 at the Scottish Rite Masonic Center in Omaha. This years state competition will include performances by the reigning Miss Nebraskas Outstanding Teen Hannah Miller, Miss Nebraska Aleah Peters and Miss Americas Outstanding Teen, Nicole Jia. The winner of the state competition will compete for the title of Miss Americas Outstanding Teen. For more information, visit the Miss Nebraskas Outstanding Teen page on Facebook. Three men accused of taking or receiving stolen property Three men were charged in Lincoln County Court on Monday on accusations of stealing or receiving stolen property. The case began Friday at 8:40 a.m. with a drug investigation at a residence in the 1900 block of West Sixth Street. North Platte police officers took several items consistent with drug use as well as several Tramadol pills from a 29-year-old female resident, said Investigator John Deal. An opioid to treat pain, Tramadol is a controlled substance for which the resident had no prescription, Deal said. Arthur Lacroix IV, 31, of Cheyenne, Wyoming, was also at the residence. Police searched a pickup that was in his possession and found a license plate that was reported stolen inside it. The woman was arrested on suspicion of a controlled substance and Lacroix on suspicion of possession of stolen property, Deal said. Just after 1:45 p.m. Sunday, officers received a complaint of a suspicious vehicle at Advance Auto Parts, 1220 S. Jeffers St. An employee reported two men selling tools out of a U-Haul truck and said the men had mentioned selling drugs, Deal said. The men left in the U-Haul before police arrived, but the employee took down the license plate number, Deal said. The officer found that the U-Haul was reported stolen out of Brighton, Colorado, Deal said. Officers stayed in the area, and a short time later the U-Haul returned, Deal said. Officers arrested the men, Ivan Krell, 23, of California, and Anthony Fleecs, 19, of Hershey, on suspicion of theft by receiving stolen property. Police later determined that Lacroix had rented the U-Haul in Colorado and was to return it in early January, but never did, Deal said. Still in jail in connection with the first case, Lacroix was additionally held on suspicion of felony possession of stolen property, Deal said. On Monday, Lacroix was charged with possession of stolen property, more than $5,000, a felony; and theft by receiving stolen property, $0-$500, a misdemeanor. Krell and Fleecs were each charged with felony theft by receiving stolen property, more than $5,000. The U-Haul was impounded, and police planned to search it to determine whether additional charges should apply, Deal said. The United States again finished fourth internationally in steel production, according to the World Steel Association. U.S. steelmakers produced an estimated 78.6 million tons of steel in 2016, down 0.3 percent from the 78.8 million tons made in America the previous year, the trade association found. The United States trailed China, which made 808.4 million tons, or about 250 million tons more than the next nine biggest steel-producing countries combined. China, which had been importing a significant amount of steel from the United States as recently as the mid-2000s, now makes more than 10 times as much steel as America. The United States placed fourth internationally for the second straight year after losing its third-place ranking to India in 2014. India made 95.6 million tons of steel last year, a 7.4 percent increase, while Japan came in second with 104.8 million tons, a 0.3 percent year-over-year decline. America once made 37 percent of the steel in the world, but only produced 4.8 percent of the world's steel last year, down from 4.9 percent in 2015, according to the World Steel Association. China made 49.4 percent of the world's steel. The United States still led the world in steel production as recently as the late 1960s, but its steel industry underwent a decade of painful contraction in the 1970s and lost its top spot globally to Japan by 1980. RENSSELAER Several local colleges and universities are reaching out to assist Saint Joseph's College students after the college announced Friday it will close at the end of the spring semester. They also are offering them incentives to transfer to their schools for fall semester. After months of exploring options and implementing strategies to overcome the colleges significant financial challenges, the colleges board of trustees voted to suspend all activities on its Rensselaer campus. However, the college will continue the Bachelor of Science in Nursing program in Lafayette. Currently, 904 students are enrolled at Saint Joseph College. There are approximately 200 employees at the college who will be affected by the decision. After the spring semester, officials said there will be only minimal operations at the Rensselaer campus. The college was placed on probation in November by the Indiana Commission for Higher Education because of its cash problems. Saint Joseph College officials are telling students that it's not in their best interests to withdraw in the middle of the semester but rather to complete the semester. All eligible seniors will graduate as planned May 6. Calumet College of St. Joseph President Dan Lowery said the suspension of traditional academic programming at Saint Joes is painful for everyone at Calumet College of St. Joseph as well. "We, too, were founded by the Missionaries of the Precious Blood," Lowery said by email. "In fact, we opened our doors in 1951 as an outreach initiative sponsored by Saint Josephs College. The loss of our sister institution is painful for all of us," he said. Lowery said Calumet College will accept all of a student's credits from St. Joseph's and will help those students to successfully earn a four-year degree. Purdue University Northwest is introducing a special transfer-student merit scholarship program. Students who have a 3.5 grade point average or better will qualify for a $2,000 annual scholarship, renewable for up to three years of undergraduate study. Students who transfer to PNW with a 3.0 to 3.49 grade point average will qualify for a $1,000 annual award renewable for up to three years. The University of St. Francis in Fort Wayne said it will offer two special transfer awards designed specifically for SJC students: A student transition award of up to $9,500 per year and an SJC housing award of $1,000 per year. Marian University in Indianapolis also is offering transfer assistance to SJC students, including a guarantee that their out-of-pocket cost for tuition wont change. Marian University admissions representatives on Thursday will visit the campus in Rensselaer to answer students' questions. VALPARAISO A Jasper County man is the first of four defendants to plead guilty for his role in a Sept. 7 home invasion in southern Porter County where a resident was shot in the leg. Joseph Potts, 32, pleaded guilty to felony burglary and prosecutors agreed to drop other counts of robbery, criminal confinement and aiding in a burglary, according to Porter County Public Defender Mitch Peters. The proposed plea agreement calls for a 20-year prison sentence, of which Potts would serve 75 percent in addition to the possibility of other time cuts, Peters said. The proposal was taken under consideration by Porter Circuit Court Judge Mary Harper, who will decide April 4 whether to accept it and carry out sentencing. Potts has identified Chad Kackos, 36, of DeMotte, as the shooter in the robbery attempt. Kackos is charged in the crime along with Andrea and Leslie Wert, both 36 and of Pleasant Township. According to court documents, Andrea Wert is the girlfriend of the victim. Police say she, with the help of her twin sister, arranged the burglary. The victim told police he fell asleep on the couch at his home in the 400 block of East County Road 1000 South and was awakened when he was hit on the head with the butt of a pistol. He said two men wearing ski masks tried to tie his hands. As he tried to escape, he was shot in the leg. Andrea Wert told police she arrived home while the men were at the house and was grabbed by one of the men and taken to the barn. But the victim told police the men did nothing to her. The victim said when the men threatened his children he opened the safe. He told police the two men took cash out of the safe and fled in a black Chevy pickup truck. HAMMOND A Hammond Police officer said he caught an accused counterfeiter in the act. The U.S. Attorney has charged Delonno Myles in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Indiana with passing a counterfeit $20 bill last week at a Hammond service station. The criminal complaint doesn't disclose Myles age or residence, but states Myles has an Illinois driver's license and a temporary Indiana license vehicle tag. The government alleges Myles gave two $20 bills Wednesday to a clerk at Witham's Gas, 2847 165th St. Police said the clerk tested them with an ink pen is designed to show whether they were printed on legal tender or standard paper counterfeiters have used to photocopy money. The clerk told Myles one of the $20 bills was counterfeit and he was going to keep it and call police. Hammond Police Sgt. Michael Darnell happened to be at the station at the time and saw Myles aggressively demand the counterfeit bill back. Darnell identified himself as a policeman. Darnell said Myles ran to his car to escape, but Darnell knocked the car keys from Myles and drew a gun on him when Myles reach into his center console. Darnell said he looked in the console and found 12 $20 bills and six $50 bills later determined to be counterfeit. Myles is in federal custody pending a detention hearing yet to be scheduled. VALPARAISO In just the last few months, area school officials have been presented with various suggestions about combating the threat of violence from within and outside their buildings. They have been told to lock doors, equip police and school employees with phone apps to speed up response times, and to promote the reaction of run, hide and defend. While these and other responses have their place, reliance on them alone makes school officials and students better victims, said Michael Rozin, a former security manager with Mall of America in Minnesota, who was trained in counter terrorism after serving in the Israel Defense Forces. "This kind of strategy drives me crazy," Rozin told a group of educators and police Tuesday morning during a presentation at Valparaiso University's Harre Union. What works, he said, is to be proactive by finding ways to identify and stop a threat before it has had a chance to blossom into a tragedy. "If there is a doubt, there is no doubt," he said, sharing a principle that has kept Israel's Ben-Gurion International Airport free of terrorists attacks for more than 40 years without travelers having to take their shoes off or limit the amount of their carry-on liquids. "A doubt is a threshold for action." Using often-graphic videos and images, Rozin showed that 80 percent of those who have carried out indiscriminate acts of mass violence in the United States planned well and left plenty of opportunities to be detected ahead of time. The 20-year-old who shot and killed 20 students and six adults at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut on Dec. 14, 2012, had visited the school seven times in preparation, Rozin said. The senior at Virginia Tech who killed 32 people in April 2007 had written an essay a year beforehand about shooting up a school that was ignored, had multiple encounters with officials before the shooting and had even chained school doors a couple days before the shooting in what was disregarded as a social studies experiment, he said. The goal is to identify these and more subtle warning signs and head off the problem rather than preparing a response, Rozin said. One effective technique is simply to stop and talk to someone who appears out of place or is acting in an unusual manner, he said. This technique has helped keep the Ben-Gurion airport safe for many years, while tests of the screening at U.S. airports have had a 95 percent failure rate. Rozin said that Timothy McVeigh, who killed 168 people by bombing a federal building in Oklahoma City in 1995, had originally targeted a building in Minnesota. But he gave up on the Minnesota building when, during a trial run, he was confronted by security. "The bad guys learn what we do stops them from easily carrying out an attack," he said. CROWN POINT Lake County Sheriff John Buncich says he doesn't need a holster to be packing. A lawyer for Lake County's top law enforcement officer told a U.S. District Court judge Monday that Buncich has been carrying a concealed weapon in the past and needs his guns back now. Buncich is pleading not guilty and awaiting trial on felony fraud and bribery charges alleging he solicited and received campaign contributions from towing firms seeking business from county police. U.S. District Court Magistrate Judge Paul R. Cherry required Buncich Nov. 18 to surrender his firearms and passport as a condition of releasing Buncich on bond. Bryan M. Truitt, who recently took over Buncich's defense, said Buncich's previous attorney didn't object to the condition of bond at the time. Truitt made a request for the guns late last month, arguing Buncich needs them to carry out his employment. Assistant U.S. Attorney Philip C. Benson, who is opposing the weapons' return, stated to the court last week that federal investigators kept Buncich under observation for nearly three years and never saw Buncich carrying a firearm. Truitt responded Monday in a court filing, "Buncich wore a firearm continually throughout his service as sheriff. He kept a gun in his pocket as well as his sock." Truitt argues the government is trying to intimidate Buncich, "because Buncich wont plead guilty. He wont plead guilty because he is not, in fact, guilty of anything." The court has yet to rule on Buncich's firearms request. CROWN POINT The Lake County Prosecutor's Office has dismissed its criminal case against 38-year-old Michael C. Martell II. The Crown Point resident was charged last February in Lake Criminal Court with child molestation, a level 4 felony, on allegations he had inappropriate sexual contact with a 9-year-old girl. The state dismissed the case Dec. 7, according to court records. The state said in its motion to dismiss that prosecutors were unable to meet the burden of proof required for conviction. Martell said Monday he was happy with the outcome. "There were multiple lies uncovered, and thankfully the prosecutor's office responded appropriately," Martell said. Martell further had his criminal record expunged Jan. 31. The state did not challenge his request for expungement, according to records provided by Martell. CROWN POINT The Lake County Government Center here will reopen Wednesday after a county police search turned up no danger to future operations. Employees and the public were evacuated shortly after noon Tuesday from the government campus at 93rd and Taft Street following a telephone threat made to the Lake County Prosecutors Office. Prosecutor Bernard A. Carter said an unidentified woman called his office and told a clerk her husband, who had appeared in court that morning, had placed bombs at various locations in the government center. Mark Back, a spokesman for Lake County Sheriff John Buncich, said at 3 p.m. county police completed a search of the government center and grounds and declared the facility to be all clear. Sheriff John Buncich and the Lake County Commissioners advise that normal Government Center operations will resume Wednesday morning. Back said the Lake County Sheriffs Department Criminal Investigations Division is conducting an ongoing investigation to identify who made the threat. Carter said his office would issue subpoenas to determine who made the call. "We take it very seriously," he said. The prosecutor said the crime was a felony offense, which is punishable by jail time as well as restitution for lost wages and law enforcement calls. Lake County police cars that had blocked all entrances to the government center during the early afternoon were gone by 3 p.m. Lake County Commissioner President Mike Repay, D-Hammond, said other county government offices, including the satellite courthouses in Gary, Hammond and East Chicago, remained open for public business. INDIANAPOLIS A retiring Indiana Supreme Court justice so identified with Gary that the city named its county courthouse for him was honored Monday by the House. Justice Robert Rucker, who plans to leave the high court this spring after nearly 18 years of service, was recognized in House Resolution 16 as "an outstanding Hoosier ... whose career stands as a shining example of what can be accomplished through hard work and dedication." State Rep. Vernon Smith, D-Gary, told lawmakers he first met Rucker while both attended Indiana University Northwest in the early 1970s. "Judge Rucker stood out even then; he had an air of distinction about himself not uppity, not thinking that he's better than anybody, but you could tell that he had a mark of excellence on him," Smith said. Rucker later graduated from Valparaiso University School of Law and worked as a deputy Lake County prosecutor, deputy Gary city attorney and in private practice until he was appointed to the Indiana Court of Appeals in 1991. He joined the Supreme Court in 1999 and currently is the longest-serving justice on the five-member panel. State Rep. Charlie Brown, D-Gary, worked alongside Rucker during the administration of Gary Mayor Richard Hatcher. He said Rucker always was impressive, despite his low-key demeanor. "Bob has done Gary and Lake County proud by the number of years of service on the bench and just by being a gentleman, and that's not easy when you have to constantly face an irate public and nasty lawyers," Brown said. Rucker told the House that he was honored and humbled by their appreciation for him. He said growing up in Gary, "Never in my wildest dreams could I have thought one day I would become a lawyer, let alone serving with giants on the Indiana Supreme Court." The justice will be presented with a copy of the House resolution signed by all 100 representatives. INDIANAPOLIS Local governments still are at risk of losing most of their authority to regulate short-term home rentals, despite the Republican-controlled Indiana House failing Monday to advance a controversial pre-emption proposal. House Bill 1133 did not get the 51 votes needed to send it to the Republican-controlled Senate. But the 49-44 tally also was short of the 51 votes required to decisively defeat it. As a result, state Rep. Matt Lehman, R-Berne, the sponsor, can recall the measure for another House vote at any time through Feb. 27. Lehman's proposal would invalidate all local ordinances barring homeowners from renting their dwellings through Airbnb and similar online services, as well as strike down existing bans on short-term rentals in lakefront communities like Long Beach. He said his goal is to protect the rights of homeowners to do what they want with their properties without being subject to excessive government regulation. Opponents of his plan, including House Democratic Leader Scott Pelath, D-Michigan City, argued that the General Assembly should not be substituting its wisdom for what local officials have determined is best for their communities. "These decisions, to the maximum extent possible, should be left at the local level and not decided in here by a part-time Legislature," he said. INDIANAPOLIS Criminals who victimize members of minority groups or off-duty police officers soon could find themselves on the receiving end of an extra-long prison term. A Senate committee voted 6-3 Tuesday to advance to the full chamber Senate Bill 439, allowing judges to consider why a crime victim was targeted when deciding whether to issue a prison sentence that exceeds the advisory term for felonies. Specifically, the measure permits a crime motivated by bias toward a victim's actual or perceived race, religion, color, sex, gender identity, disability, national origin, ancestry or sexual orientation to count as an aggravating factor during sentencing. The proposal was amended by the committee to also authorize a penalty enhancement when a police officer or the officer's family is targeted in a crime. State Sen. Sue Glick, R-LaGrange, the sponsor, noted that Indiana is one of just five states that does not have a bias-crime statute. She emphasized that her proposal does not create a new "hate crime." Rather, it simply allows judges to consider bias factors, demonstrated by a preponderance of the evidence, when deciding what sentence to issue a convicted felon, she said. The measure was supported by groups representing Hoosier Jews, Muslims, racial minorities, businesses, state police and county prosecutors. It was opposed by Ryan McCann, of the Indiana Family Institute, and Micah Clark, of the American Family Association of Indiana, because they said it unfairly fails to cover all Hoosiers. For example, McCann said a person who attacks a Donald Trump supporter due to his or her political beliefs or ideology would not be subject to a possible penalty enhancement. Similar legislation was approved last year by the Republican-controlled Senate, but died in the Republican-controlled House. Feb 7 (Reuters) - The following are the top stories from selected Canadian newspapers. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy. THE GLOBE AND MAIL ** The BC Liberals say they are planning to go to the police in light of what they say was a hack of their party website on the weekend, and may bolster their cyberdefences as a result of the situation. https://tgam.ca/2kgSLms ** The executive of the Ontario Medical Association has resigned, highlighting the infighting that has plagued Ontario doctors as they seek a new contract from the province. https://tgam.ca/2leYqgK NATIONAL POST ** Fresh off his victory in the legal tussle with Smashing Pumpkins' frontman Billy Corgan to acquire an obscure U.S. wrestling company, Canadian media scion Leonard Asper says he is looking to buy more original media content. http://bit.ly/2kmybmN ** Mediatube Corp and Northvu Inc filed an appeal Friday asking the Federal Court of Appeal to overturn the January ruling that dismissed its claim that Bell Canada infringed its IPTV technology patent to create Fibe TV. http://bit.ly/2jXmhg0 (Compiled by Gaurika Juneja in Bengaluru) VALPARAISO Porter County government is starting to see a renewed interest in the construction of large residential subdivisions in the unincorporated areas. "They're starting to feel better about the economy," said Bob Thompson, executive director of the Porter County Department of Development & Storm Water Management. He also believes the resurgence is being fueled by a shortage of buildable lots. When large projects took a downturn several years ago, there was a surplus of available property. "We haven't seen that in a few years," Thompson said of the recent inquiries from developers. The sites being eyed for potential development are mostly north of Ind. 2 and around the urban areas of the county where land is already zoned for residential use, Thompson said. The Preserve development, on 90 acres a half mile west of Chesterton High School in Liberty Township, is the type of large-scale project described by Thompson. "I think we're cautiously optimistic," said project developer Paul Shinn, who is a board member and past president of the Home Builders Association of Northwest Indiana. He said there is pent-up demand. "I think people are just ready to start making some moves," Shinn said. The Preserve offers 89 lots for single-family homes, 21 of which are now available, he said. The site is unusual in that 55 acres is being left undeveloped. The lots are smaller in size so residents will be able to focus on personalizing their homes, he said. Work will begin in the spring on the first model homes, Shinn said. While Thompson said the number of building permits has remained steady the last couple of years, the county Health Department experienced an uptick last year in the number of septic permits issued and parcels presented for consideration to the development review committee, said Administrator Keith Letta. These figures indicate an increase in development, he said. There has also been an increase in the number of people seeking the Health Department's help in locating their septic systems as part of construction or other improvement projects, Letta said. MUNSTER Munster residents have drafted their own resolution addressing the South Shore Line's hotly debated proposal for the West Lake Corridor train station. The far-ranging resolution covers everything from quiet zones, barrier walls, parking and parking lot fencing to compensating all residents within a quarter mile of the West Lake Corridor station and tracks for any property value they lose. Their concerns revolve around a plan to locate the parking lot and station just south of Ridge Road and east of Manor Avenue, almost in the commercial heart of the town. The resolution said residents are vehemently opposed to the site. They presented their resolution to the Town Council on Monday night, asking that body to approve the document. It did not, but said the issues would be addressed at an upcoming study session. That response drew cheers from the crowd. Manager Dustin Anderson said that some of residents concerns already have been discussed by town officials and will be communicated to the Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District (NICTD) as the process continues. There is a meeting at 9 a.m. Friday at Munster Town Hall with the rail project coordinator, the public and town officials. Weve had time to review (your) resolution as presented, said Town Council President Joseph Simonetto, who subsequently agreed with Councilman David Nellans motion to schedule a work session on the topic, the date of which will be announced by the Town Managers office. If the resolution is ultimately approved, it will play a part in ongoing negotiations and discussions with NICTD. Councilwoman Lee Ann Melton said that while she understands residents concerns, it would be a huge miss not to have a stop in Munster. Overall a train station and stop would be very beneficial for Munster. Melton said she has spoken to individuals who decided not to settle in Munster because current train stops are too far away. Residents believed otherwise, lining up during the public comment section to let the council know it. If there is a station (proposed) in Munster, I vote no, said Michael Gregory. A few residents even said the question should be put before the residents in referendum rather than leaving the final decision to the Town Council. A station in Munster would likely benefit developers and a few out-of-town millennials with (no vested interest) in Munster, Robert Stickley said, to widespread applause. An application would be made to the U.S. Federal Transit Administration for half the funds needed for construction. Lake County communities have preliminarily pledged to contribute about $4.2 million to the project annually for 30 years, the state has pledged $6 million annually and the Northwest Indiana Regional Development Authority is expected to contribute the remainder to cover the construction and financing. The preferred options for stations, route and maintenance and layover yards could be picked by summer. The construction cost of the extension is estimated at $604 million. POTTAWATTAMIE PARK One woman is dead and another injured after a wreck Sunday near Michigan City. The driver, Tahiya Spears, also of Michigan City, was able to get out of her vehicle on her own. Her passenger, Michelle Jones, 41, of Michigan City, suffered a compound leg fracture and was pulled out the back door just as flames were beginning to overtake the vehicle, police said. Jones later died at South Bend Memorial Hospital as a result of her injuries, LaPorte County Sheriff's Office spokesman Capt. Mike Kellems said. The St. Joseph County coroner's office said Jones died of massive multi-system trauma. "I feel good that I helped, but I'm no hero. I just did what had to be done," said Michael Sloan, one of the men who pulled her out. Sloan, 66, said he was inside his house next door when his dog's barking warned him something was wrong. A 2005 Suzuki Forenza had just struck a house at 203 Friendship Trail in Pottawattamie Park. It also struck a few mailboxes and two small evergreen trees, according to police. Sloan said he couldn't open the front passenger side door to reach Jones, who frantically kept asking her rescuers to "get me out of here." He was able to open the back door, and Tony Van Bokkem, who had just run over from his house across the street, pulled the back of her seat down. The men pulled the woman out through the back door as flames began spreading from under the hood into the passenger compartment. According to LaPorte County Police, the cause of the crash is unknown. Jones told police before she died she believed Spears had a seizure. Jones told police, "I tried to stop her but she just kept pushing on the gas." Spears said she remembered only waking up to her vehicle being on fire, police said. Michigan City Fire Department Capt. Tony Jeviyeski said the house did not catch fire, but the heat from the flames was enough to melt some of the siding. *Editor's note: This story corrects an earlier version. WASHINGTON President Donald Trump made an unsupported assertion Monday that terrorist acts in Europe are going unreported. A look at the matter: TRUMP: "All over Europe it's happening. It's gotten to a point where it's not even being reported. And in many cases the very, very dishonest press doesn't want to report it. They have their reasons, and you understand that." ___ THE FACTS: Trump and his team have cited only one example of a deadly terrorist attack anywhere going unreported, the one that didn't happen in Bowling Green, Kentucky. Adviser Kellyanne Conway spoke about a Bowling Green "massacre" that didn't take place, correcting herself when she was called out on the error. As for Trump's claim about Europe, it's probably true that you haven't heard of every attack on the continent that can be tied to terrorism. Scores if not hundreds happen every year. Many don't rise to the level of an international audience because they cause no casualties, or little or no property damage, or are carried out by unknown assailants for unclear reasons. One exhaustive list is the Global Terrorism Database, maintained by the University of Maryland. It lists 321 episodes of suspected or known terrorism in Western Europe alone in 2015. Many are anti-Muslim attacks against mosques, not the brand of terrorism Trump has expressed concern about. Many are attacks undertaken for right-wing or left-wing causes that have nothing to do with Islamic extremism or xenophobic attacks on mosques. Among examples from 2015 that were largely under the radar of Americans: On Oct. 24, assailants set fire to the residence of a Socialist Justice Party member in Gothenburg, Sweden, one of series of attacks against the party that day. On Sept. 13, assailants set fire to the Whitton Methodist Church hall in Richmond, England, with no reported casualties and no one immediately claiming responsibility. On Jan. 17, gunmen opened fire on patrons at a bar in Londonderry, Northern Ireland, causing no casualties. Dissident Republicans were thought to have been behind the attack. The database defines a terrorist act as one aimed at attaining political, religious, social or economic goals through coercion or intimidation of the public, outside acts of war. The devastating attacks by Islamic extremists that year are also on the list, among them the murderous assault on the Paris offices of the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, and the even bloodier attack at Paris' Bataclan concert hall, the worst in a series of killings in one day. Those attacks and other deadly ones in Europe received saturation coverage for days. But even the smaller, non-lethal acts of terrorism received coverage: The database itself is built from media reports. ___ THE WALKBACK Trump made his claim before a broad audience on live television, while speaking at Central Command headquarters in Florida. On Air Force One, before a smaller audience, Trump spokesman Sean Spicer said Trump did not really mean that terrorist attacks received no coverage. Trump's actual complaint, he said, was that such acts don't get enough attention. "He felt that members of media don't always cover some of those events to the extent that other events might get covered," Spicer said. "Like a protest gets blown out of the water, and yet an attack or a foiled attack doesn't necessarily get the same coverage." The White House later released a list of 78 worldwide attacks it described as "executed or inspired by" IS. Most on the list did not get sufficient media attention, the White House said, without specifying which ones it considered underreported. Attacks on the list that had high death tolls were given blanket coverage, such as the Brussels bombings in March, the San Bernardino, California, shootings in December 2015, and the Paris attacks in November 2015. Some with a smaller death toll, such as two attacks in Canada that killed one soldier each, were covered at the time and well known. The White House did not point to any examples supporting Trump's contention that terrorist attacks were "not even being reported." Less than half of the 78 incidents the White House listed occurred in Europe. ___ Associated Press writer Darlene Superville contributed to this report. Rabbis rallied to support refugees and immigrants they say are targeted by President Trump's executive orders Monday night. More than 200 Jewish leaders gathered outside Trump's hotel in Columbus Circle. They're speaking out against his controversial travel ban and his threats to withhold funding from so-called sanctuary cities that protect undocumented immigrants. "We were strangers in the land of Egypt, that's one of our core values from the Bible and we are standing up and saying America you need to recognize that," said one protester. "We were strangers. Strangers are welcome here." "There's been horrific disadvantage, horrific racism and certainly Jews have been on the receiving end of too much of that hate over the years, but to now explicitly single out Muslim countries and allow minorities, non-Muslims from those countries in, but not Muslims is the most dangerous precedent that we could possibly set," said another. Several arrests were made. WASHINGTON - Betsy DeVos has been confirmed as the nation's next Education Secretary following a tie-breaking 51-50 vote Tuesday by Vice President Mike Pence. Senate Democrats had been holding a round-the-clock "talk-a-thon" as they tried to get one more Republican to break ranks and vote against DeVos. The chamber was locked in a 50-50 split over her nomination. Senate Dems protest to keep the failed status quo. Betsy DeVos is a reformer, and she is going to be a great Education Sec. for our kids! President Trump (@POTUS) February 7, 2017 Supporters like charter school founder Eva Moskowitz say DeVos is the right person to shake up the country's school system. But critics like Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren say the billionaire is unqualified because she has no experience dealing with public schools and ripped Republicans for supporting her. "They are willing to ignore her hostility to public schools, willing to ignore her indifference to laws that protect special needs kids, willing to ignore the giant ethical cloud that hangs over her, ignore it all so that billionaire and campaign contributor Betsy DeVos can be Secretary of Education," Warren said. NY1 also spoke with some teachers in Queens Tuesday who do not like the president's choice of DeVos. "I think she doesn't underdstand the separation of religion and states. She's just not fit to be the head of education in the United States," said one city public school teacher. "Betsy DeVos is profoundly ignorant of the functioning of the public school system in the United States. I think she's an avid financer of the charter school system in Detroit, which from what I understand is in a state of tremendous disarray," noted another teacher. Mike Pence is now the first vice president to cast a tie-breaking vote in confirming a cabinet nominee. Police say a two-year-old child who was abducted from Staten Island has been found safe in the Bronx. The NYPD says Kim Woo and Johnny Woo were found on the Major Deegan Expressway. Authorities say Johnny Woo is the child's father. He was apprehended without incident, according to police. An Amber Alert was issued at noon. Sources tell NY1 that a call came around 8:45 a.m. about a domestic dispute involving an off-duty NYPD officer being assaulted at her home on Ismay Street in Willowbrook. They say the off-duty officer was hit in the stomach following an argument with her partner. Sources say that's when the partner took her car keys and left with their daughter. They say the woman was taken to Richmond University Medical Center in stable condition. If you see the child or suspect, please call 1-866-NYS-AMBER (1-866-697-2623) or call 911. * Smaller protest rally renews call for government resignation * Ruling party rejects call, says PM has its full backing * Party has big parliamentary majority after Dec election (Updates protest numbers) By Luiza Ilie and Radu-Sorin Marinas BUCHAREST, Feb 6 (Reuters) - Romania's ruling Social Democrats appealed for calm on Monday after withdrawing a decree widely condemned as reversing the country's anti-corruption drive, but protesters again took to the streets to demand the government's resignation. On Sunday the government rescinded the decree, which would have shielded dozens of politicians from prosecution, following the largest demonstrations in Romania since the fall of communism in 1989. Political analysts said the government - in power for barely a month - now faced an uphill task restoring shattered public confidence. About 25,000 people gathered in front of government offices in central Bucharest on Monday evening - far fewer than the 250,000 seen the previous evening - to demand Prime Minister Sorin Grindeanu's resignation and snap elections. "This government has offered us a perfect demonstration of what it can do during its first 30 days in office. Conclusion: they must leave," said one protester named Franciscus, 30, who works in the banking sector. A rival demonstration of about 4,000 people gathered for a second day outside the office of President Klaus Iohannis, accusing him of instigating the week-long anti-government rallies. Iohannis is a former leader of the centre-right opposition who briefly joined an anti-graft rally in late January and has since called a referendum over anti-corruption reforms. He was due to address parliament at 1000 GMT on Tuesday. Social Democrat Party (PSD) leader Liviu Dragnea, the chief target of the protesters' fury, sounded a defiant note earlier on Monday after chairing a meeting of senior party officials. "TENSE STATE" "The government has no reason to resign, it was legitimately elected," Dragnea told reporters. "As long as this tense state continues in Romania, no one has anything to gain." Story continues He signalled that the government could still seek, with parliamentary involvement, changes to the criminal code, and might seek the advice of foreign experts. "All the PSD can do is to urge calm. Besides the protesters in the square, there are other Romanians also shouting that their vote must be protected," he said, in reference to the party's big win in a December election. However, the scenes of Romanians thronging Bucharest's broad boulevards and other cities every evening since Jan. 31 have clearly shaken the PSD, and they will not have gone unnoticed elsewhere across Eastern Europe, blighted by corruption and cosy ties between business and politics since the end of communism. Romania, a country of 20 million people which hosts a U.S. ballistic missile defence station and is one of Washington's staunchest allies with troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, remains among the poorest, most corrupt members of the European Union. A Social Democrat-led government was felled by street protests only 15 months ago following a nightclub fire that killed 64 people. That incident triggered an outpouring of public anger amid accusations of state negligence and corruption in failing to enforce fire-safety regulations at the club. "They (Romania's leaders) are deeply scared by these huge protests, unprecedented in 27 years," independent political commentator Cristian Patrasconiu said of the latest rallies. "This amounts to more than a simple step back. Any new move by them needs assessment. Everything looks suspicious." The corruption decree, issued late in the evening of Jan. 31 by the cabinet without parliamentary debate, had been designed to decriminalise a number of graft offences, cut prison terms for others and narrow the definition of conflict-of-interest. The government said it was merely bringing the criminal code into line with recent rulings by the Constitutional Court and an EU legal directive and also wanted to ease jail overcrowding. But the opposition, anti-corruption prosecutors, magistrates and hundreds of thousands of Romanian protesters said it had been tailor-made to amnesty dozens of politically-affiliated public officials convicted or accused of abuse of office in one of the most corrupt members of the EU. The European Commission and the United States both condemned the government's move as backtracking on anti-graft reforms and the widely-acclaimed work of anti-corruption prosecutors. The government's decision to withdraw the decree will require the approval of parliament, where the PSD and their junior partners enjoy a big majority. On Wednesday, the government also faces a no-confidence vote filed by the opposition Liberals and Save Romania Union. (Writing by Matt Robinson; Editing by Gareth Jones) A private jet belonging to Malaysian tycoon Low Taek Jho who is under investigation for his involvement in the scandal-hit Malaysian sovereign wealth fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) has been seized by Singapore authorities, media in both Singapore and Malaysia reported. The jet, a Bombardier Global 5000 with the registration number N689WM, is parked in the city state's Seletar Airport, according to Malaysia's Sarawak Report and Singapore's TODAY newspaper. That jet registration information had been listed by the U.S. Department of Justice in a court document last July about assets of Low's that it was looking to seize. The filing, connected to recent developments by Sarawak Report, was part of investigations into alleged corruption and money laundering involving 1MDB funds. In response to an enquiry from CNBC, the Singapore Police Force declined to comment, noting that investigations are ongoing. For more on the grounded jet, see the story from the Sarawak Report. Questions about movement of funds from 1MDB came to widespread attention when the Wall Street Journal reported that in 2013 nearly $700 million had flowed from the debt-ridden fund to Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak's personal bank account. Najib has repeatedly denied wrongdoing and, under pressure from the outcry caused by the report, said the funds were a private donation from a Middle Eastern country he declined to name. He has denied benefiting personally from the funds. In January, Malaysia's Attorney General Mohamed Apandi Ali said that Saudi Arabia's royal family gave Najib a $681 million gift, of which Apandi said about $600 million was later returned. Apandi said that no criminal offense had been committed. But globally, investigations continued into 1MDB in locales as varied as U.S., Switzerland, Singapore and the Seychelles. Follow CNBC International on Twitter and Facebook. CNBC staff contributed to this report. More From CNBC ANAHEIM The kids are going to help him get through this. Two days after a fire ripped through his beloved Anaheim White House Restaurant, Bruno Serato said the children he helps feed at Boys & Girls Clubs and other nonprofits nearly every day gives him the strength to stay focused. I feel better, because Im taking care of my priorities, Serato said. The first priority is the children. The second priority is my crew. I have about 60 employees. I need to make sure they all find a job. Im not worried about me. Im last. http://launch.newsinc.com/js/embed.js _informq.push([embed]); His nonprofit Caterinas Club and his off-site catering business will push on. And, eventually, so will the restaurant. Serato was upbeat Monday afternoon at the Highway 39 Event Center in Anaheim, where 22 children ate pasta donated by Caterinas Club, which provides up to 1,800 free meals a day to boys and girls across Orange County and Long Beach. Some meals were cooked on-site and picked up by groups, some of them were prepared at other locations. Highway 39, where business parties and corporate events are held on a parcel peppered with classic cars, was lending its large kitchen Monday to Chef Serato, who bought the six-year-old restaurant in 1987, so he could continue feeding needy children. He can stay here as long as he wants, or until he finds something permanent, said Michael Keener, the director of operations at Highway 39. He takes such good care of the kids. When the fire happened, I think he was worried more about the kids than the restaurant. Investigators, who walked through the ruins on Monday afternoon, continue to piece together how the fire started. Serato said the fire started in the dining room and tore through 80 percent of the 1909 colonial-style home-turned-restaurant, causing $1 million-plus in damage. Seratos publicist, Frank Groff, set up a GoFundMe account to help rebuild the restaurant. The account has raised more than $50,000 as of Monday afternoon. Serato said hes still trying to figure out the insurance situation and that it could take a year to restore his restaurant. He visited the remains Monday morning and choked up recollecting memories. One side of the restaurant was completely charred, while the other remained white. Windows were boarded up. The Anaheim White House, an Italian steakhouse in the heart of Anaheim, held weddings, anniversaries and birthdays. Valentines Day is next week, and Im going to miss hugging and kissing my friends, family and customers who would dine there every year, he said. On Monday, some kids had heard about the restaurant fire and hugged Serato. Im sad that he lost his restaurant, said John Franson, 13, of Buena Park. I know he makes the food we eat there. Yarely Baez, 10, said she felt bad the fire broke his restaurant. I know hes here for us, Baez said. So well be here for him. Contact the writer: 714-796-2443 or jpimentel@ocregister.com or follow on Twitter @OCDisney President Trumps choice of Betsy DeVos to be the U.S. secretary of education has focused national attention on one of the big questions facing American schools. Should tax money be used to pay for private-school vouchers? Thats our Question of the Week for readers. DeVos, whose nomination faces a close confirmation vote in the Senate this week, is a Republican activist best known for her advocacy of school choice and voucher programs in her native Michigan. Arguments about her suitability for federal Department of Education have largely broken along party lines and turned on opinions about the virtues of private vs. public schools. With American K-12 schools in need of much improvement, many people think solutions lie in giving parents more freedom to choose their childrens schools, in part by giving parents money in the form of vouchers to spend on charter, private and sometimes religious schools. The competition, and room to operate free from public-school bureaucracy and union constraints, should spur innovations in schools. But opponents contend expanding school choice programs would destroy public education by diverting much-needed tax money from public to private schools. Critics also say that where school choice programs have been enacted, one result has been increased racial segregation as wealthier, white families leave public schools. DeVos was grilled on this and other questions including her own background and qualifications in a confirmation hearing before a Senate committee last month. Trumps campaign platform included a plan to redirect $20 billion in federal spending toward school vouchers for poor families. Would expanding voucher programs give more kids better educations? How does your experience shape your opinion? Does DeVos have the right ideas? Email your thoughts to letters@ocregister.com. Please include your full name and city or community of residence. Provide a daytime phone number. Or, if you prefer, share your views in the comments section that accompanies this article online. Well publish as many responses as possible. SACRAMENTO The war of words escalated Monday between Democratic leaders in the nations biggest state and Donald Trump after the Republican president said California is out of control and suggested withholding federal funding. The battle also grew to include a new flank Californias GOP delegation in the House of Representatives. Several local legislators said Monday they want the Trump administration to discontinue $650 million in funding for the high-speed bullet train, a rare show of legislators seeking less spending in their state. This entire project has been nothing but endless delays and uncontrollable cost increases that have left taxpayers with nothing more than a ticket to nowhere, said Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Vista. At some point you just have to say enough is enough. Californias highly congested transportation networks are something we need to address, but multibillion-dollar boondoggles like these arent going to get us very far. California taxpayers cannot afford any more fiscally irresponsible broken promises. I think the word boondoggle was invented just to describe Californias high-speed rail project, said Rep. Ken Calvert, R-Corona, who represents parts of the Inland Empire. We should not spend another tax dollar on the high-speed rail project period. Projects like the expansion of Interstate 15 in Riverside County and fixing other congested roads are a much better use of our limited infrastructure dollars. Calvert is among the 14 GOP legislators from California who signed a letter to Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao asking that the administration not pay for electrification of a Bay Area Rapid Transit project that would also be key for the bullet train. But the fight between the Trump administration and California isnt limited to events in D.C. In separate statements Monday, leaders of the state Legislature pointed to Californias massive economy and strong job growth, saying the state provides critical contributions to the nation. If this is what Donald Trump thinks is out of control, Id suggest other states should be more like us, said Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon, D-Paramount. Trump criticized California during a Fox News interview broadcast on Sunday. California in many ways is out of control, as you know, he told Fox anchor Bill OReilly. Obviously the voters agree or otherwise they wouldnt have voted for me. Responding to questions from OReilly, Trump said Californias consideration of legislation to create a statewide sanctuary for people living in the country illegally is ridiculous. Trump opposes sanctuary cities that refuse to cooperate with federal immigration authorities. They breed crime. Theres a lot of problems. We have to well, defund, we give tremendous amounts of money to California, Trump said. OReilly asked if defunding is Trumps weapon of choice, and the president responded: I dont want to defund anybody. I want to give them the money they need to properly operate as a city or a state. If theyre going to have sanctuary cities, we may have to do that. Certainly that would be a weapon. California Senate President Pro Tem Kevin de Leon said state residents contribute more to federal coffers than their state gets in return, and any sanctions against California would ripple nationwide. President Trumps threat to weaponize federal funding is not only unconstitutional but emblematic of the cruelty he seeks to impose on our most vulnerable communities, de Leon said. Rendon, de Leon and other Democratic leaders in California have fiercely criticized Trump and vowed to fight his policies through the Legislature and in court. The Legislature has hired Eric Holder, the U.S. attorney general under President Barack Obama, to advise members on a legal strategy. Californias nonpartisan legislative analyst reported last month that federal expenditures in the state amount to $368 billion a year, most of it to provide health care for people with low incomes. Trumps defunding suggestion wasnt his first threat to use the power of the federal purse as leverage. He also signed an executive order threatening to cut off some federal grants for sanctuary cities. Last week, in response to unrest on the campus of UC Berkeley, he sent a tweet saying: If U.C. Berkeley does not allow free speech and practices violence on innocent people with a different point of view NO FEDERAL FUNDS? Staff Writer Grace Wyler contributed to this report. Chuck Puckett served on the Tustin City Council during the remodel of City Hall in the early 1990s. It was quite a process, the 72-year-old recalled. They added a second floor to the building. All the city employees scattered to other locations for about two years. Now Puckett is there again for an overhaul. But this time around, the renovation will be neither as time consuming nor as disruptive. A few days after the Jan. 17 council meeting, demolition of the City Council chambers began for a $465,000 update. The 3,200-square-foot room is now a hulking blank canvas stripped of seating, dais and carpeting. Public Works Director Doug Stack said the facelift is scheduled for completion in April. All the work being done is interior, so it will not be delayed by rain, he said. In the interim, the City Council and Planning Commission will meet at the adjacent Clifton C. Miller Community Center where chairs and tables will be set up. Ceilings will be lifted in the chamber for an unobstructed view of a big screen, replacing two small overhead monitors. The 102 new seats, about 10 fewer than before, will accommodate wheelchairs, according to the plans. Lighting will be energy-efficient and brighter. Two sections in the back will be earmarked for police officers. The railing gate separating audience members from the council will be removed, providing more space for official proclamations and other activities. New carpet and paint will spruce up aesthetics. Were getting away from teal and green, and going to earth tones, Stack said. At the end of his current term, Puckett will have served 12 years on the Planning Commission and another 12 on the council. Still, he felt no twang of nostalgia for the aging chamber when he bid it good-bye last month. Im just really looking forward to the renovation, Puckett said. Itll be fun. After all, the state-of-the art chamber comes just in time for his final stint in city government. Puckett, who terms out in four years, said he doubts he will ever run for office again. I think Ill be old enough that I can give it up, Puckett said. Time to turn it over to the young folks. Contact the writer: sgoulding@scng.com SANTA ANA A Corona woman was sentenced Monday to more than two years in federal prison for embezzling nearly $516,000 from the Irvine-based real estate company that employed her. Kristina Marie Hosea, 44, was sentenced to the 27-month term by U.S. District Judge Cormac Carney, who also ordered her to pay more than $515,000 in restitution. She has until Feb. 21 to begin serving her sentence, prosecutors said. Hosea, who pleaded guilty in April 2015 to a wire fraud count, worked as the assistant to the president of Advanced Real Estate Services in Irvine. Part of her job involved reviewing and approving invoices and preparing checks to be signed by the company president. From September 2008 through May 2014, Hosea cashed at least 100 checks drawn on the companys account, and also used the companys credit cards for non-business-related expenses, embezzling a total of $515,616, according to court documents. For decades, a struggle has raged across California and America to protect young people from negative aspects of drinking beer and hard liquor. Now that fight has begun to spread to newly legalized recreational marijuana, with several state legislators trying to ban pot advertising along state highways. This is happening at a time when no one is quite certain whether U.S. Attorney General-nominee Jeff Sessions, a longtime foe of marijuana use and a former four-term U.S. senator from Alabama, will begin pursuing criminal prosecutions for selling and using pot in this state, despite last falls Proposition 64, which supposedly legalized almost all use of the weed. Sessions decision matters because federal laws always trump state ones where they conflict, and federal law continues to consider marijuana a Schedule I drug, along with heroin and ecstasy, to name just two others. Even before Sessions can do much of anything and no one knows how much he will prioritize pot prosecutions California lawmakers are trying to minimize the exposure of children and teenagers to advertising for cannabis products of all types, from medicinal marijuana to pot-laced brownies. The effort just now takes the form of legislation to outlaw marijuana advertising from state highways, about 15,100 total miles of roadway. That would strengthen a portion of last falls pot-legalization Proposition 64, which bans billboards hawking pot from major state roads that cross state lines, a total of 4,315 highway miles. There is some precedent for this from the liquor front. While California has no state laws against booze billboards, cities like Oakland and San Diego do. In Oakland, beer and liquor ads are not allowed in residential neighborhoods or near schools, playgrounds and libraries, among other locales. In San Diego, billboards for alcohol are not allowed within 1,000 feet about three blocks of schools, recreation centers, child care centers and other places where children often congregate. The proposed statewide restriction on pot ads goes further than anyone ever has against alcohol. Beer ads are seen in stadiums and arenas, some of them even named to promote breweries, as with Busch Stadium in St. Louis and Milwaukees Miller Park. While academic studies establish a definite connection between boozy billboards and use of alcohol by minors, nothing has stopped the liquor and beer industries from spending a combined $4 billion yearly to promote and advertise their products, including plenty of signage in ballparks frequented by children. All this suggests there is plenty of merit in the proposed highway ban on marijuana product advertising. If, as plenty of studies show (including some published in 2014 editions of the medical journal Current Addiction), using pot as rarely as once a week can lead to cognitive decline, lower IQ and memory problems, why not try to keep it away from children whose brains are still developing? Not to worry, said legalization advocates during last falls campaign for Prop. 64, the laws age limit of 21 will keep pot away from teenagers. Of course, when recreational weed was illegal, plenty of teenagers found ways to get it. In a state where young adults of legal age commonly lend IDs to teenagers seeking alcohol, whats to stop the same practice with pot? Many who believe Americas war on drugs has failed are fine with marijuana being readily available to all. Some even hearken back to a 1985 U.S. Senate hearing where Florida Republican Paula Hawkins, concluded that Our record contains no facts which would justify legislation to ban or censor advertising beer or wine products Applying a similar conclusion that theres no evidence of harm from marijuana sufficient to ban billboards would essentially make Californias children guinea pigs in the rush to legalization. Many cannabis advocates reason that pot is now legal, so why not allow advertising it, just like any other legal product? But the legislators behind the proposed billboard restrictions, from locales as disparate as South Los Angeles, Oakland, Healdsburg and Palmdale, see it differently, warning that billboards can make pot smoking seem like fun, even to small children riding in the back seats of their parents cars. The bottom line: Experimenting with the brains of Californias children is a bad idea, and its a good thing some legislators realize this. Thomas D. Elias is a writer in Southern California. As Sacramento continues to fiddle over addressing Californias massive and worsening deficiencies in highway and road repair, Assemblyman Marc Steinorth, R-Rancho Cucamonga, has once again introduced common-sense legislation with the potential to ease some of the problems. Assembly Bill 278 calls for exempting existing roads and highways that have already been reviewed pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act from additional reviews before maintenance and repair work can be done. Requiring another unnecessary step before repairing our broken infrastructure will only slow down and delay crucial maintenance, Steinorth argues. At a time when the state is dealing with a $59 billion maintenance backlog for state roads and bridges, and local governments even more than that, one would think a proposal to streamline repairs without compromising the environment or health of the public would be embraced by politicians who ostensibly represent the public. Simply processing CEQA applications can add months of delay to projects that have already been vetted under the terms of the law. Steinorths bill is narrow in scope and simply modernizes a redundant process that doesnt serve the best interests of the public. Notably, the bill still requires compliance with other environmental laws, including the Porter-Cologne Water Quality Control Act and the California Endangered Species Act, which should allay concerns that this bill thwarts environmental protections. Unfortunately, this isnt the first time Steinorth has introduced legislation of this sort. Last year, he introduced a similar bill, AB1569, with strong support by the Southern California Association of Governments, the California Transportation Commission and the California Chamber of Commerce. Many local government agencies also supported the bill, recognizing the potential for lowered costs to taxpayers and the expediting of needed maintenance. Full environmental reviews of routine maintenance or improvement projects for existing roadways, tunnels and bridges dramatically increases costs to the taxpayers, and creates significant delays to project completion, affecting commerce and the safety and quality of life of the traveling public, argued San Bernardino County in support. Despite these common-sense arguments, Steinorths proposal died in the California Assemblys Committee on Natural Resources. Committee Chair Das Williams, D-Carpinteria, argued at the time that Steinorth was simply trying to circumvent the states environmental laws and argued instead that Steinorth should support the favored policy of the Democrats. Nice try if you want to help, vote for a tax, Williams told Steinorth. Following the vote against the proposal, Steinorth correctly observed that the Legislature was out of touch with the practical, everyday needs of the public. While they continue to kill any effort to prioritize critical road repairs, my constituents in the Inland Empire face long commutes on deteriorating roads every day, said Steinorth. Whether things will go any differently this time remains to be seen, but as was true last year, the idea of exempting existing roads and highways from reviews they have already undergone makes sense. Our roads and highways are in need of repair superfluous reviews and processes should not be impediments to getting needed work done. CAMP PENDLETON Col. Ryuji Toyota, commander of the Western Army Infantry Regiment of the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force, said Monday that he was looking forward to learning more about the Marine Corps and Navys capabilities for amphibious assaults. That opportunity started this week and continues for a month, as 500 Marines from the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force at Camp Pendleton train with soldiers from the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force at the base and at San Clemente Island in an annual exercise known as Iron Fist. The U.S. and Japan have been key allies in the Pacific Rim since 1952. U.S. Navy sailors and two ships will also participate in the training scenario to address some of Japans growing concerns over Chinas increasing military might and an ongoing conflict between the two countries over the disputed Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea. On Saturday, in his first foreign trip as defense secretary, retired Marine Gen. James Mattis visited Japan, where he reaffirmed U.S. support in defending Japan and the islands. A dispute over control of the uninhabited islands has fueled tensions between Japans and Chinas naval and air forces. In 2012, Japan nationalized the islands, which are near rich fishing grounds and untapped natural gas. I made clear that our longstanding policy on the Senkaku Islands stands the U.S. will continue to recognize Japanese administration of the islands and, as such, Article 5 of the U.S.-Japan Security Treaty applies, Mattis said in a news conference with Japanese Defense Minister Tomomi Inada. On Monday, command staff from both nations held an opening ceremony at Camp Pendleton to celebrate the collaboration and kick off the training. The event, planned to be held on an outside parade deck at the base, was moved into a gymnasium because of rain. The Iron Fist exercise in its 12th year is meant to improve U.S. and Japanese collaboration. It trains the Japanese soldiers in Marine Corps strategies of operations from the air, land and sea. Exercises start with a joint strategy planning to simulate an invasion, using combined arms, live-fire, amphibious assault and explosive ordnance training. Each year we continue to learn from each other and increase our interoperability and work on our military-to-military relationship, said Col. Chandler Nelms, commander of the 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit. It is essential we have key understanding on how we plan and execute an amphibious assault. This year, the Marines will focus on training the Japanese in the use of the amphibious assault vehicle a critical component of the Marine Corps sea-to-land assaults because it allows Marines and sailors to respond anywhere from a naval sea base. This training is very important to us because we are going to establish a new amphibious brigade, Toyota said. Amphibious assault vehicles travel at 6-8 knots and are powered by water jet propellers. Marines will teach the Japanese soldiers how to drive the amphibious assault vehicles and do beach assaults. The training will help the Japanese not only with assaults but also with the use of amphibious assault vehicles for humanitarian aid. The current model of amphibious assault vehicle could be obsolete in a decade. The U.S. has plans for a new model that is faster and less of a target than the current one, military officials have said. That new vehicle could deploy within 10 years. Contact the writer: 714-796-2254 or eritchie@scng.com Twitter: @lagunaini A former parole agent was sentenced to 90 days in jail on Monday for embezzling funds from the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation so he could buy prescription drugs from a parolee. Scott Patric Keblis, 50, of Chino pleaded guilty to one felony count of embezzlement by a public employee and one misdemeanor count of possession of a controlled substance, according to the Orange County District Attorneys Office. Prosecutors said Keblis, while a state parole agent, in 2015 obtained two bus passes and two $40 Target gift cards from the agency, claiming he needed to give them to a parolee under his supervision. Instead, prosecutors said, Keblis went to meet with a parolee who was not under his supervision in Huntington Beach and exchanged the bus passes, gift cards and $30 of his own money for two dozen of the parolees prescription hydrocodone pills. Keblis was arrested by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitations internal affairs division. Contact the writer: kpuente@ocregister.com SANTA ANA Councilwoman Michele Martinez may have lost her bid for an Orange County supervisor seat in November, but her campaign brought her something that turned out to be even more life-changing. It was the month leading up to the election, when Araceli Diaz a Torrance resident who had glossed over the councilwomans Facebook page for supervisor several times while looking for anyone with the name Michele Martinez finally clicked on the campaign page and found a familiar picture of a 7-year-old Martinez wearing a pink dress. Diaz recognized the photo was the same as one at the home of her father, Miguel Angel Diaz, 57, who was due for open-heart surgery two days later. Araceli Diaz, 33, sent a Facebook message to Martinez and her twin brother: Their long-lost dad was trying to get in touch. That day, Oct. 10, Martinez called her father and heard his voice for the first time in three decades. They talked for two hours. It was unreal. He was kind of in shock; I was in shock, Martinez, 37, recounted. Something came over me it was like this calmness, its so hard to describe. I just felt so peaceful, and my life changed. SEPARATED BEFORE BIRTH Martinez grew up without her parents. Her mother, who died six years ago, was in and out of jail, while her father was never spoken of by her great-grandmother, who raised the twins. Martinez never asked about them. Maybe because I was angry that I grew up without a mom and dad, she said. But Martinez and her brother were always on Miguel Angel Diazs mind. I never stopped looking for them, he said recently in Spanish. Miguel Angel Diaz lived in the Harbor Hills housing project when, at about 17 years old, he met Maryann Olivia Martinez, who lived in nearby Harbor City. Miguel Angel Diaz soon moved to Oxnard; when he returned to Harbor City a few months later, Maryann Olivia Martinez was gone. A friend told him that four people two men and two women, one of them pregnant had been looking for him. I was thinking, I dont know who it would be, he said. His uncle later told him the pregnant woman, Maryann Olivia Martinez, gave birth to twins, and they were his. When he eventually found the children in Wilmington, they were under the care of their great-grandmother because their mother was incarcerated. He kept the arrangement that way, waiting for the day their mother would be released. Miguel Angel Diaz said he visited his twins periodically, one day giving money to their great-grandmother to take them for their school photos including the one in which Martinez wore a pink dress. On another visit, the children and their great-grandmother had disappeared. This time, he had no luck finding them. SOCIAL MEDIA SEARCH One Christmas Day more than a decade ago, Araceli Diaz noticed that her father looked very sad. We were opening gifts up. He got up and went into the hallway area and I asked him, Whats going on? she recalled. He said, I love you guys, but I wish I had my other two kids here opening gifts as well. As the years passed, Miguel Angel Diaz asked his daughter to look for his twins online. She searched on and off, to no avail. Two days before his heart surgery in October, Miguel Angel Diaz sat in the yard of his Las Vegas home thinking that if something happened to him during the procedure, his twins would never see him again. I was crying, he said. I started thinking, why didnt I call Araceli a week ago then the phone rang in my hand. It was his daughter, saying she had found Michele Martinez, and sent the pink dress photo electronically for confirmation. I guess the shock was more that the whole time I didnt think it was that person and thats who it really was, Araceli Diaz said. I didnt open her (supervisor campaign) page because I just thought, no, Im looking for a regular Michele Martinez. Michael Martinez, 37, executive chef of 5000 Pies in Long Beach, was on the freeway on his way to put up supervisor campaign signs for his twin sister, when he received the Facebook message from Araceli Diaz. Its kind of like the call youve been waiting for your whole life, he said. The Martinez twins visited their father shortly after his successful surgery, spent Thanksgiving together, and have remained in constant contact since. Growing up in Santa Ana, the Martinez twins witnessed close family members and friends fall victim to drug abuse and gang violence. But both worked hard to forge a different path. Their father said it didnt surprise him that Michele Martinez made it into politics. I admire her, he said. I am proud of what she is. Michele Martinez said her failed campaign was a blessing in disguise. I may not be the next supervisor for District 1, but it was probably the most changing moment in my life to meet my father, she said. My life is now complete. Contact the writer: 714-796-7762 or jkwong@ocregister.com or on Twitter: @JessicaGKwong ORANGE The rain on Monday delayed the start of a county works project that will displace homeless people living in tents on the banks of the Santa Ana River. But the bad weather didnt stop protesters who showed up early in the morning and stayed for several hours. http://launch.newsinc.com/js/embed.js _informq.push([embed]); About 25 people gathered at Chapman Avenue near the southbound 57 freeway, holding signs under their umbrellas and chanting at passing motorists to call attention to the impending dislocation of hundreds of people in a nearby tent encampment running north to Orangewood Avenue. The demonstrators arrived around 8:30 a.m., rallied by Facebook posts and phone calls. Some vowed to return Tuesday or later in the week, if necessary, when a change in weather will put OC Public Works crews in action. Legal observers from the National Lawyers Guild said they were on hand to make sure the civil rights of the protesters were respected. Representatives from local offices of the American Civil Liberties Union and the Legal Aid Society of Orange County promised to return to keep an eye on how the homeless inhabitants are treated, including any illegal confiscation of their property. Tons of boulders and dredged sand will be stored where the tent dwellers now reside, for use in flood control. Let them stay, county go away, read the sign held by Jeremiah Keuilian, 11, who stood beside his mother, Krista Keuilian, of Anaheim. A fifth-grader with perfect attendance until Monday, Jeremiah explained why he came. To give homeless people freedom and equal rights, Jeremiah said, looking up from under the hood of his jacket. Behind him the steady rain created mud puddles in a fenced off area where a bulldozer sat idle near some jagged boulders. His mother is an intern at the Mental Health Association of Orange Countys office in Santa Ana, where homeless people can seek mental health treatment. For those who complain about the ragged tent city and its populace, Krista Keuilians sign asked a tough question: Would they still be an eyesore if they were your mother, son, grandpa, father, grandma, sister, daughter, brother? Nearby residents and business owners complain about the proximity of what, by some estimates, could be as many as 500 people upset over vandalism, thefts, unruly behavior and blight. The removal of the homeless inhabitants wont be a sweeping raid but will be done gradually and hopefully with voluntary compliance, said Carrie Braun, the countys public information manager. This is not going to happen overnight, said Braun, who also was at the riverside site on Monday. But we really do need the people camped there to understand this project is happening and will be moving forward. Some homeless people have already uprooted their tents and moved across to the west bank or other parts unknown. Here and there along the mile-long stretch between Chapman and Orangewood, piles of trash and other detritus including an upturned bathtub, a pair of torn couches, soggy mattresses marked abandoned spots in between and around the dozens of tents. Chad Abbott, 30, and his girlfriend Meghan Fascenelli, 28, were among those who remained. They were shifting things around at their tents, a huge white tarp slanting overhead but the ground below a soggy mess. They cant really make us move, said Abbott. They can tell us what they want; Im not leaving. But one woman was paying what might be her last visit to the tent community. Denise Lindstrom Le Blanc, partially paralyzed from a stroke and in a wheelchair, said she and her husband were moved into temporary housing in Anaheim by the nonprofit Illumination Foundation and will be placed in permanent supportive housing. Shes been waiting about a year. On Monday, all she wanted to do was find a way around the boulders and through the mud to finish sorting her things. Nearby, protesters chanted: Hey, hey! Ho, ho! These people have nowhere to go. Contact the writer: 714-796-7793 or twalker@ocregister.com or on Twitter @TellTheresa At the Orange County Center for Contemporary Art is a new show on a subject that doesnt often show up in paintings or sculpture: prison. Works from about 40 artists from Southern California and across the country make up Incarceration, which runs through March 11. The work in Incarceration is for sale, and some of the artists are donating the money from their sales to organizations that support former prisoners and gang members, such as Homeboy Industries. Laguna Beach artist Leslie Davis and two co-curators organized the exhibit. The artwork is the focus, but it will be complemented by panel discussions featuring a range of people involved with criminal justice, including an Orange County judge, a retired gang enforcement detective and those from nonprofits who work with prisoners and former prisoners. The idea is to employ art to get at the emotional aspect of the topic and include experts to relay the logical facets. Its clear from the work that Davis and the other artists in the exhibit feel strongly about reforming the criminal justice system. Im hoping that between the show and the panel discussion, that (visitors), number one, will have a whole different attitude about the people that are locked up, Davis said. We have created a nation within our nation when you have this many people locked up and segregated away. The curators chose works that explore many different aspects of the prison system, Davis said. Race and incarceration are one of those. American Profile #3, by artist Kamal Al Mansour, is a portrait of a contemporary young black man behind bars. A closer look shows a row of black prisoners behind him, dressed in prison garb from perhaps the mid-20th century. Behind them is a row of slaves. Sandra Jones Campbells Grade Three looks at the effect of the prison system on children. Above her painting of smiling children posing for a class picture is a photo, credited to Steve Liss, of a child sitting alone in a jail cell. Its a commentary on the instances of children ending up in prison for minor offenses, often related to emotional problems and learning disabilities, the artist said in her statement. Santa Ana artist Greg Price has two works in Incarceration. Stress is made of bands of white glass and looks delicate and light, but with a bulge in the sculptures center, it portrays a darker theme. With Weight, a precarious-looking stack of shiny, black slabs of glass, Price points to the flaws in our prison system, which is headed to a tipping point, he said. It really kind of revolves around abstract concepts of distortion, restriction, pressure, the weight that I think is universal to the human experience, Price said. Incarceration and mass incarceration is one of those. Davis and her brother, Laguna Niguel artist Gregg Stone, who also is one of the shows curators, made Solitary Confinement for the exhibition. The installation piece is set in a dark corner of the gallery. Davis fashioned an imposing, cross-barred metal door at the back of the space. In the doors window is a watercolor portrait by Stone of a man, face and neck tattooed and looking unflinchingly at the viewer. To create an appropriate ambiance for the subject, the curators have used low lighting and ambient music. Dreams of Herman Wall will be playing. Its an atmospheric piece that composer Daniel Rothman created for Solitary Confinement. In a separate room at the back of the gallery is one of the highlights of the show, though there will be a disclaimer of sorts barring visitors younger than 18, Davis said. Inside is something both provocative and remarkable. Oscar Campos, 41, is an inmate in a Huntsville, Texas, prison. He is coming to the end of his 24-year sentence for killing a rival gang member when he was 15, and is serving more time for other gang-related crimes he committed in prison. In a three-page letter on the wall, he explains this, growing up in a small Texas town and forming a gang. Pat Sparkuhl of Laguna Beach is the third curator for the show and curator at the Festival of Arts. He acknowledges that Campos work might be too explicit for some, but said thats part of its power. In prison, Campos learned to draw with fine detail in ballpoint pen. Sparkuhl and Stone saw his work online and started collecting it and corresponding with Campos through letters. On the walls at the museum are some of these pieces. They are viajes, Campos says in the letter, stories told in collages of pictures. There are stories of lost love, faith, prison life and sex. Some are graphic, filled with large-breasted, scantily clad women. There are also images of Christ, death, dreams and Campos himself. The beauty of being turned off is that its provocative, Sparkuhl said, speaking about Campos work. When youre turned off, you think about it more. What a true artist brings you is an unknown that you havent seen before. It changes the way you see things. Contact the writer: aboessenkool@ocregister.com Eight California teachers filed a federal lawsuit Monday against their school districts and the California Teachers Association, challenging mandatory union membership and the union dues that come with it. Our basic goal is to regain our power, our speech and our right to not associate with an organization that harms us and our students, said Ryan Yohn, 38, lead plaintiff and an eighth-grade American history teacher at Stacey Middle School in the Westminster School District. The Center for Individual Rights, a nonprofit libertarian law firm, filed the lawsuit in federal court Monday in Los Angeles on behalf of Yohn and other teachers, including Allen Osborn with the Riverside Unified School District, against various school district superintendents and unions. They suit aims to resurrect issues raised in an earlier case that ended last year with a 4-4 deadlock before the U.S. Supreme Court. Its really the same case with different plaintiffs, said Terence Pell, the centers president. Last March, following the death of Justice Antonin Scalia, the Supreme Court deadlocked on a lawsuit filed by the center and lead plaintiff Rebecca Friedrichs, a teacher with the Savanna School District in Buena Park. Friedrichs and other educators said their First Amendment rights are violated when they are forced to pay fees to a union they dont wish to belong to or support. The Supreme Court denied in June a petition to rehear the case. But now, as Congress gears up to consider a conservative Supreme Court nominee, Pell said its appropriate to have a full court decide the issue. Union leaders, meanwhile, said a decision against them could impact government workers beyond the teachers groups, threatening union membership across the country. Unions are made up of teachers, firefighters and other working people, said Claudia Briggs, spokeswoman for the California Teachers Association. Whatever happens to us happens to everybody else. If a politically driven agenda trumps that hard work, the ones who suffer will be our children and others who benefit from the service of public employees, she said. Teachers are obligated under state law to pay fees meant to cover the costs of collective bargaining. California is one of 23 states with such laws, according to the center. But government workers can opt out of unions political activities a savings of approximately 30 percent to a teachers annual dues of roughly $1,000. The simple truth is that no one is required to join a union, and no one is required to pay any fees that go to politics or candidates, Briggs said, adding that all teachers benefits from collective bargaining. These individuals dont want to pay fair-share fees. Yohn, a former union representative, counters that he could do better negotiating on his own behalf. Pell, the centers president, argued that collective bargaining is in many ways just as political as the overt political activities unions engage in. Pell said he expects the case could reach the U.S. Supreme Court by this fall, with a decision by June 2018. Contact the writer: 714-796-7829 or rkopetman@scng.com LONDON Invited just days after his inauguration to make a state visit to Britain, President Donald Trump is expected to travel to London this year to meet Queen Elizabeth II amid all the pomp and ceremony the British can muster. But on Monday it seemed that Trump may have to do without one of the frequent trappings of such a visit an invitation to address Parliament after the speaker of the House of Commons, John Bercow, publicly opposed such an appearance, citing his opposition to racism and sexism. The comments will embarrass both the British and U.S. governments and add to the controversy over a planned state visit that has attracted opposition in Britain, where more than 1.8 million people have signed a petition urging the government to cancel Trumps trip. British Prime Minister Theresa May has insisted that the invitation to Trump stands. With Britain planning to leave the European Union, May is eager to strike a quick trade deal with the United States, and British officials are hoping that the state visit may smooth those talks. But Bercows comments, made to lawmakers in Parliament and greeted with cheers from some deputies, are unlikely to help Mays trans-Atlantic diplomacy. Before the imposition of the migrant ban, I would myself have been strongly opposed to an address by President Trump in Westminster Hall, said Bercow, referring to the oldest part of the parliamentary building, in which foreign leaders have sometimes addressed both the elected House of Commons and the unelected House of Lords, the upper chamber. But after the imposition of the migrant ban by President Trump, I am even more strongly opposed to an address by President Trump in Westminster Hall, he added. Bercow said that an invitation to address Parliament was not up to him alone, although he added that he would be one of only a handful of people involved in asking a foreign leader to speak, either in Westminster Hall or in the Royal Gallery, another chamber of the Parliament building. I feel very strongly that our opposition to racism and to sexism and our support for equality before the law and an independent judiciary are hugely important considerations in the House of Commons, Bercow said. An address by a foreign leader to both houses of Parliament is not an automatic right; it is an earned honor, he added, noting there are many precedents for state visits to take place in our country that do not include an address to both houses of Parliament. Those include President George W. Bush, who visited in 2003 and did not address Parliament. President Barack Obama did deliver a speech in Westminster Hall in 2011 on his state visit, and President Xi Jinping of China spoke in the Royal Gallery in 2015. Several British lawmakers have been threatening to organize a boycott of any speech by Trump in Parliament. Heres where things stand heading into day 19 of the Trump administration: It might not be the Supreme Court, but when it comes to President Trumps refugee ban, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit could prove just as powerful. That is the court where lawyers for the Trump administration and parties challenging the travel ban will face off Tuesday night at 3 p.m. Pacific, presenting arguments for and against Trumps executive order barring entry to the United States for refugees from around the world and travelers from seven predominantly Muslim countries. A lower-court federal judge in Seattle put the ban on hold Friday. The Justice Department wants the policy enforced again immediately, arguing it is necessary for national security. Challengers, which include the states of Washington and Minnesota, a coalition of former national security officials and nearly 100 tech companies, view the ban as a discriminatory measure that will harm families and the economy without averting any real terrorist threat. Tuesdays arguments matter because the 9th Circuits ruling could decide the fate of Trumps ban. Heres how. Once the appeals court hears arguments Tuesday night and makes its decision, the losing side is expected to appeal the ruling to the Supreme Court. Because of the death of Justice Antonin Scalia last year and Republicans subsequent refusal to confirm then-President Barack Obamas Supreme Court nominee, the court remains one justice short with what some see as a 4-to-4 ideological split. If the Supreme Court considers Trumps travel ban and splits 4 to 4 in its ruling, the decision of the appeals court stands. (Trumps nominee for the Supreme Court, Judge Neil Gorsuch, is awaiting confirmation hearings. Republicans are hoping to confirm him by early April.) DEMOCRATS BAND TOGETHER TO OPPOSE TRUMPS CABINET Senate Democrats dont have enough votes to block the confirmation of Trumps Cabinet, but that doesnt mean they cant lodge a protest. Those Democrats are expected to vote virtually en masse against Trumps nominees to lead the Departments of Education, Justice, Health and Human Services, Labor and the Treasury and the Office of Management and Budget a nod to progressive groups demanding aggressive opposition to Trumps nominees and policy agenda. Betsy DeVos, Trumps pick for education secretary, will receive the next floor vote. She is expected to squeak by with Vice President Pence breaking a 50-to-50 tie in her favor. Democrats plan to speak on the Senate floor against DeVos for 24 hours until the vote takes place. TRUMP CLAIMS MEDIA COVERING UP TERRORIST ATTACKS The new president made an astonishing claim Monday that the media is intentionally covering up terrorist attacks. Speaking to military leaders at U.S. Central Command in Florida, Trump offered no evidence to support his accusation. Youve seen what happened in Paris, and Nice. All over Europe, its happening, he said. Its gotten to a point where its not even being reported. And in many cases the very, very dishonest press doesnt want to report it. They have their reasons, and you understand that. Trump spokesman Sean Spicer later tried to soften the comment. He felt members of the media dont always cover some of those events to the extent that other events might get covered, he told journalists on Air Force One. The White House later released a list of terrorist incidents it called underreported, including last years mass shooting in Orlando, and the 2015 attacks in Paris. POTUS DISMISSES NEGATIVE POLLS AS FAKE NEWS Trump also made waves Monday with a tweet seeking to neutralize polls that reveal his approval ratings, which are historically low for this early point in his presidency. Here is a look at what polls have found, courtesy of one of a Post colleague: His average approval rating is lower than his disapproval rating, according to the RealClearPolitics average. A CNN poll showed that 53 percent disapproved of his refugee ban executive order vs. 47 percent who approved. A CBS News poll showed that Americans disapprove of it 51 percent to 45 percent. And Gallup showed 55 percent against and 42 percent for. The Gallup poll showed that Americans opposed his border wall, 60 percent to 38 percent. Gallup also showed they oppose halting the Syrian refugee program, 58 percent to 36 percent. The CBS poll showed that people believed banning refugees went against the founding principles of the United States, 57 percent to 35 percent. A Quinnipiac poll last week showed that people thought Trump would be a worse president than Barack Obama, 50 percent to 37 percent. Polls have shown that 7 in 10 would like more information on Trumps finances and his tax returns. The new Nissan NV Cargo X Project vehicle proves that almost no obstacles will get in the way of its next delivery. Built for the upcoming 2017 Chicago Auto Show, the NV Cargo X is a project van constructed by vehicle builder Ian Johnson, who also hosts the television series Xtreme Off-Road. It stands taller than seven-and-a-half feet, it boasts 37-inch General Tire Grabber X3 tires and is powered by Nissans 5.0-liter V8 Cummins turbo diesel engine found in the Titan XD. "When I looked at the NV Cargo, I saw a hard-working van with a heavy-duty foundation, Johnson said. And I also saw possibilities for a rock crawler that could serve as its own support vehicle. RELATED STORIES General Tire Grabber X3 First Drive 2016 Nissan Titan XD Fuel Economy Testing To handle the trails, the added weight of the turbo diesel engine, and the large mud-terrain tires, Johnson heavily modified the suspension using Prodigy shocks up front, including an external bypass shock on each side along with a coilover shock that features a remote reservoir. A Dynatrac front axle is also employed up front for additional durability. Out back, the standard leaf spring design is complemented with additional upgrades to handle the added weight of the NV Cargo X and also help provide additional ground clearance (a whopping 22 inches!). Trail Ready beadlock wheels help keep the Grabber X3s from slipping off when aired down on the trail. For added visibility, a custom LED light system was installed. And if theres ever any trouble on the trail, a 10,000-lb front-mounted winch is mounted to the custom tube front bumper. The front bumper also incorporates a custom skid plate for added front-end trail protection. Inside the NV Cargo X, the vans 234 cubic feet of cargo space are put to good use, as it is a literal support vehicle for hard-core trail recovery or as a chase truck for an off-road race. Theres a full-size spare carried inside, a recovery rope, recovery tracks, a high-lift jack, portable welder and a tool bag. We thought it would be interesting to take an NV Cargo to the extreme pushing it to where no cargo van has ever gone before. We werent disappointed, said Fred Diaz, division vice president and general manager of North America trucks and light commercial vehicles. Along with the addition of the 5.0L V8 Cummins Turbo Diesel, Johnson also borrowed the Aisin six-speed transmission and four-wheel drive system of the Titan XD to complete the off-road van. The end result is a van spitting out 310 horsepower and 555 lb.-ft. of torque thats paired with a massive 22 inches of ground clearance so that it can legitimately tackle the trails. Sounds like a dream rig to us. What do you think? Agricultural News Tennessee's Jennifer Houston Brings a Woman's Perspective to the Table as NCBA's Vice President Taking on an officer position for an industrywide organization such as the National Cattlemen's Beef Association, is by no means a small undertaking. By agreeing to accept the position, the nominee is committing to sacrificing an enormous amount of personal time and effort to serve their fellow cattlemen across the country, especially when it comes to being president of the association. Generally speaking, NCBA has more often then not, operated with a man at the helm of the organization. Historically though, there have been two determined women that have risen to hold this office. Accepting the office of NCBA Vice President last week at the NCBA and Cattle Industry Convention, Jennifer Houston, may well be on her way to being counted among the ranks of those women that have reached the top. She talked with Radio Oklahoma Ag Network Farm Director Ron Hays about this exciting moment in her career of involvement with the association. "It's just something I've been passionate about ever since college," Houston remarked. "I grew up in a family of folks that believe you got to help yourself. We've always believed and talked about that we've got to do something and just believe in giving back to the industry, so that we have something for our children and our friends' children and our neighbor's children to come back to." Owning and operating both a cattle herd and a sale barn in Tennessee, along with her husband and their families, Houston has grown up in the business with a unique perspective. Although she advocates for all producers to join the ranks of a cattlemen's association, be it on the county, state, national level or a combination, she still recognizes those that prefer to remain independent of affiliation as contributing members of the industry as a whole. "They're still part of our industry. As a Checkoff person, they pay their Checkoff so it does give me a unique viewpoint that when we're talking about policies that affect our members, which is obviously number one with NCBA, they're industrywide policies - we have to think about how they affect everybody else. Even the smallest producer." Her breadth of knowledge and background about the industry and the association truly reflects a certain level of commitment and understanding of what the organization is about and is sure to contribute to its ongoing function with a high degree of practicality. As vice president, coupled with these attributes, Houston will be able to bridge both sides of the association, and unite policy and Checkoff and assist in leading the organization's business as a well-oiled machine. "We're really running on all cylinders, and really seeing the benefits of why NCBA is uniquely suited to do the job by having the two divisions," she said. "We speak with one voice." Listen to the complete exchange between Hays and Houston about her new role within NCBA as vice president and her the goals she has set for this year, by clicking or tapping the LISTEN BAR below. Listen to Hays and Houston speak about her new role within NCBA as its new vice president WebReadyTM Powered by WireReady NSI Top Agricultural News Agricultural News Oklahoma State University's FAPC Hosts Contest to Promote Bake and Take Month in March Oklahoma is often recognized for being a leading state in wheat production. Oklahoma State University's Robert M. Kerr Food & Agricultural Products Center is promoting and recognizing this commodity by celebrating Bake and Take Month in March. The Bake and Take promotion encourages participants to bake a product made from wheat and take it to friends, relatives or neighbors, said Renee Albers-Nelson, FAPC milling and baking specialist. "We can get our youth involved in experiencing the joys of baking and understanding the importance of the cereal grain wheat grown in our state through this Bake and Take promotion," Nelson said. FAPC, a part of OSU's Division of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources, and the Oklahoma Wheat Commission have worked with DASNR's State 4-H program for the past several years in promoting Bake and Take Month. This year, FAPC is holding a Bake and Take Contest for Oklahoma 4-H members to help celebrate the center's 20-year anniversary. "The 4-H clubs and members are our focus because they are strong in agriculture and community service," Nelson said. "We encourage youth to purchase Oklahoma-milled flour as they participate in the Bake and Take Contest in their 4-H clubs." 4-H members across the state are encouraged to bake products made with locally grown wheat and use Made in Oklahoma ingredients while completing the steps of service learning: preparation, action, reflection and celebration. To participate in the contest, 4-H members or clubs are to make a cake or cupcakes from scratch using at least two Made in Oklahoma ingredients. Individuals are encouraged to visit www.madeinoklahoma.net and www.miocoalition.com for a list of Made in Oklahoma products and ingredients. The cake or cupcakes must employ the theme of FAPC's 20-year anniversary, using decorations, candles, frosting, edible graphic elements and similar materials. Visit www.fapc.biz to learn more about FAPC. To enter, 4-H clubs or members must submit three high-quality digital photos with the understanding the photos may be used by 4-H or FAPC on social media or for other marketing purposes. Photo 1 must include the members making and/or decorating the cake or cupcakes. Photo 2 should show the completed cake or cupcakes, and photo 3 should include the individuals responsible for completing the entry. When submitting the photos, members must provide the following information: City and county of the 4-H club or individual. Name of the 4-H leader/volunteer, plus email address and phone number of the leader. Names and ages of the members. A description of the cake and how it fits FAPC's 20-anniversary theme. A list of Made in Oklahoma products used. 4-H members must submit the photos and information by 5 p.m. on March 20, 2017, to Andrea Graves. The contest will include a junior category (age 9-13) and senior category (age 14-18). Groups with a combination of both age groups will compete in the senior category. Winners in each category will receive $100 total for the group or individual, sponsored by the Oklahoma Wheat Commission, an FAPC anniversary swag bag and tickets to the 2017 Oklahoma State Sugar Art Show held Sept. 30 through Oct. 1 during the Tulsa State Fair, donated by show organizer Kerry Vincent. Vincent, a world-renowned sugar artist and Food Network star, will judge the entries evaluating the use of Made in Oklahoma products, best depiction of the theme, creativity, technique and neatness. Winners also will have an opportunity to recreate their cakes or cupcakes at the Fun with Sugar event in Tulsa in April. For more information on this event, click here. Andrea Graves, FAPC business planning and marketing specialist, said she is excited to see the creativity and leadership of 4-H members across the state as they participate in the Bake and Take Contest. "Not only is the contest a great way to learn more about products made with locally grown wheat and Made in Oklahoma ingredients, but it also helps FAPC celebrate its 20-year anniversary of supporting the growth of value-added food and agricultural products and processing in Oklahoma," she said. For more information about the Bake and Take Contest description and rules or to view a video, please click here. Source - Robert M. Kerr Food & Agricultural Products Center WebReadyTM Powered by WireReady NSI Top Agricultural News The owners of the Brix wine lounge and stores that abruptly closed last month have voluntarily surrendered the liquor licenses for both locations, and now the license for its sister business, Grane, may be in question. Hobert Rupe, executive director of the Nebraska Liquor Control Commission, said Tuesday that Brixs attorney called Monday night to surrender the licenses ahead of a hearing planned for Wednesday that was to determine whether the wine businesses should keep them. Johnson Brothers, a liquor distributor, brought a complaint to the liquor commission last month, saying Brix had $90,000 worth of product it hasnt paid for. The hearing was scheduled for Brix to show why its licenses shouldnt be revoked for failing to pay the wholesaler within a 30-day window, as required by the commissions rules and regulations. Rupe said the liquor commission is considering holding a hearing about the license for Grane, a whiskey bar that Brix CEO Dan Matuszek started at Midtown Crossing in 2014. Rupe said the commission suspects Grane has been violating the same rule, purchasing product on credit beyond 30 days. Matuszek did not respond to requests for comment Tuesday. On Monday, a Douglas County District Court judge ordered Brix to surrender equipment and inventory at its Village Pointe location to Mutual of Omaha Bank. Brix is in default on a $1 million loan made by the bank in 2010. On the order, signed by Judge Marlon A. Polk, the attorney for Brixco Inc., the parent company of Brix and Grane, is listed as Patrick Turner of Stinson Leonard Street. On the law firms website, Turner is described as specializing in debtor and creditor rights and bankruptcy law. Turner did not respond to requests for comment Tuesday. Brix is also facing another lawsuit filed by its landlord at the Midtown Crossing location. The lawsuit says Brix owes East Campus Realty $112,811 for past due rent from the months of October 2016 through January 2017. In January, Matuszek told vendors Brix would close, saying both stores had seen declining sales and rising expenses. They closed Jan. 12. In December, a former Brix employee was charged in connection with the loss of more than $100,000 in what Omaha police say was a gift card scheme. The Nebraska Attorney Generals Office said Tuesday that it had received 587 complaints since the Brix stores closed. SAN FRANCISCO (AP) Through a Super Bowl ad, public statements and court filings, Silicon Valleys biggest companies are taking a strong stand against President Donald Trumps travel ban, saying high tech needs immigrants creativity and energy to stay competitive. Although the companies are risking a backlash from customers who side with Trump, they say the pushback is necessary for an industry dependent on thousands of highly skilled foreign workers. About 58 percent of the engineers and other high-skill employees in Silicon Valley were born outside the United States, according to the Silicon Valley Leadership Group, an industry trade group. Immigration and innovation go hand in hand, said Carl Guardino, the groups CEO. This cuts so deeply into the bone and marrow of what fuels the innovation economy that very few CEOs feel the luxury of sitting on the sidelines. So people are going to stand up and speak up. The tech industry contends there arent enough Americans with the specialized skills these companies need. The ban, tech companies say, would make hiring even tougher and pressure them to move some operations abroad. A lot of these companies will really struggle if all of a sudden we turn off the spigot, said Greg Morrisett, dean of Cornell Universitys Computing and Information Science school. In a court filing Sunday against the ban, 97 companies, including such major tech players as Google, Apple, Microsoft, eBay, Netflix, Facebook and Twitter, also spoke of the entrepreneurial spirit of people who choose to leave everything that is familiar and journey to an unknown land to make a new life. Google CEO Sundar Pichai and Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella both came from India. Google co-founder Sergey Brin is a Russian refugee who moved to the United States as a boy. The father of Apples late co-founder, Steve Jobs, immigrated from Syria. The Silicon Valley Leadership Group estimates that half the companies in the region were co-founded by an immigrant or are now led by a CEO from outside the U.S. In signing an executive order Jan. 27 that would temporarily ban people from seven Muslim-majority countries, Trump said he was trying to protect Americans by preventing terrorists from slipping into the country. The administration says the president has the constitutional authority to decide who can enter. During the Super Bowl, several companies ran ads that promoted diversity and inclusion, as marketers tried to reach both sides of a consumer base roiled by the election. Google set up a $4 million crisis fund in January to support organizations that are helping immigrants and refugees, while ride-hailing service Lyft pledged $1 million over the next four years to the American Civil Liberties Union, one of the groups challenging the ban. And workers from Google and Comcast have staged walkouts over the restriction. I wouldnt be where I am today or have any kind of life that I have today if this was not a brave country that really stood out and spoke for liberty, Brin told a crowd of Google employees who walked out in protest last week. Tech companies risk alienating Americans who support Trump and his policies. But the risk is lower than that of, say, a company that makes consumer products with plenty of alternatives. Its much harder to boycott a Facebook or Google, where you have friends or your email address, said digital marketing analyst Rebecca Lieb. She added that people are less likely to toss out a $2,000 laptop or pricey mobile phone than change soft drinks. In fact, tech companies might be more wary of backlash from the anti-Trump side. Last week Uber CEO Travis Kalanick quit Trumps council of business leaders after an outcry from Uber customers and employees who were upset about the ban. In addition, most tech companies have operations around the world and risk alienating customers abroad if they stay silent. We interact with a large global ecosystem, and our businesses would not be here or be able to thrive without it, said Aaron Levie, CEO of Box Inc., an online storage service. So our businesses are extremely sensitive, by default, to things that affect immigration and things that affect our relationship with the broader world. Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Accusations of collusion that have dogged the American chicken industry recently took a new turn after Tyson Foods, the countrys largest producer, said the Securities and Exchange Commission is investigating the allegations and sent it a subpoena. The company said Monday in a filing that based upon the limited information it has, Tyson believes the investigation is related to the allegations contained in antitrust litigation involving broiler chickens. The company and its largest competitors have been named as defendants in a series of lawsuits in recent months that claim the industry colluded starting in 2008 to drive prices higher allegations denied by Tyson and the other producers. Tyson said in the filing that it was cooperating with the investigation, which is at an early stage. Chief Executive Officer Tom Hayes, speaking in a conference call with reporters, declined to comment further except to say the company wants to defend itself in court. Shares of Tyson fell as much as 5 percent in New York while rival producers Sanderson Farms Inc. and Pilgrims Pride Corp. also declined. Poultry producers shares have fallen because of the scrutiny of industry pricing practices and the SECs subpoena, Zain Akbari, a Chicago-based analyst for Morningstar Investment Services LLC, said in a report. Over several decades the U.S. chicken industry has transformed itself from comprising mostly family-owned farms into a heavily consolidated sector controlled by several multibillion-dollar companies. As those companies market share and power have grown they have drawn scrutiny for their production practices, such as their use of contract farming to raise birds for slaughter. There have been some changes to the chicken industry amid the recent legal complaints. The Georgia Department of Agriculture, which gathered and disseminated the benchmark Georgia Dock prices that are the focus of some of those complaints, discontinued its widely used pricing index in December, citing the changes in the industry. Starting this month the department has been collecting data for a new index, although a lack of contributions has delayed publication of the new measure. Hayes said in a conference call with analysts that issues surrounding the Georgia Dock index are a tempest in a teapot and said the company hasnt changed its pricing practices. Despite the chicken controversy Tyson had record profit in its fiscal first quarter. Net income rose to $1.59 a share for the three months through Dec. 31 from $1.15 a year earlier, beating the $1.27 average of 12 estimates compiled by Bloomberg. We capitalized on favorable market conditions in our beef and pork segments, and the cash generated is providing fuel for growth in our value-added chicken and prepared foods segments, Hayes said. Tyson, headquartered in Springdale, Arkansas, currently employs about 2,000 people in the Omaha metro area, including at its pepperoni plant in Council Bluffs and its bacon plant in Omaha. The company also plans to open a beef and pork plant in Council Bluffs in July. Authorities in Council Bluffs were searching for three men in connection with a pursuit that damaged at least two vehicles. Deputies from the Pottawattamie County Sheriffs Office reported early Tuesday that they were in pursuit of a vehicle that was southbound on River Road on the southwest edge of the Bluffs. Authorities deployed tire-deflation devices, police said, and the vehicle being pursued hit the stop sticks, with three of its tires damaged. A deputy ended the pursuit in the area of 25th Street and Avenue G when his cruiser broke down, authorities said. At 25th Street and Broadway, the fleeing vehicle raced through a traffic signal and crashed into the rear passenger side of another vehicle, police said. No injuries were reported. The fleeing vehicle traveled south on 25th Street until reaching Third Avenue, where three men abandoned the vehicle, police said. An Omaha police dog helped with a search of the area, police said, but no arrests were made. Police said the vehicle had been reported stolen from Mills County, Iowa. Anyone with information on the matter is urged to call 712-328-STOP. A former Bellevue resident was sentenced to 10 to 20 years in prison after pleading no contest to three child sexual assault charges. Joseph C. Boeggeman, 58, was convicted of two counts of attempted first-degree sexual assault of a minor and one count of attempted third-degree sexual assault of a child. The criminal complaint lists the offenses as having taken place in Bellevue between 1993 and 2007 and having involved several children he knew. Under state sentencing guidelines Boeggeman must be released after 10 years but will be eligible for parole before then. Boeggeman was given credit for 199 days served. When released, he will have to register as a sex offender. Sarpy County District Judge William Zastera told Boeggeman on Monday morning that if he didnt get into rehabilitation programs while in prison, hed likely not be paroled. Boeggeman had been serving time in prison in Massachusetts when he was brought to Nebraska to face the charges. In that state, Boeggeman was convicted of sexually abusing two young children who had spent time in his home and was given four years in prison, according to the Salem News. Boeggeman still has time left on his Massachusetts sentence. Before the sentencing, Deputy County Attorney Ben Perlman said the majority of Boeggemans statement to the court in a presentence report focused on himself and didnt offer much recognition about what hed done. Boeggemans attorney, Christopher Lathrop, disagreed and said his client offered a complete admission and looked to the genesis of his issues. Lathrop asked the judge for a sentence that would allow his client to get the help he needs and be paroled. Lathrop also pointed to Boeggemans stellar record in and out of the Air Force. Boeggeman had recently returned from working as a defense contractor in Afghanistan when he was arrested in Massachusetts, according to the Salem News. Boeggeman told Judge Zastera during the hearing that he took responsibility for his actions and apologized to friends and family. WASHINGTON Protesters waved homemade signs and chanted one more vote Monday night as they rallied on Capitol Hill against Betsy DeVos nomination to be education secretary. Their cries referred to the 50-50 tie expected when the Senate votes midday Tuesday on the nomination, given that two Senate Republicans have said they will oppose her. While Vice President Mike Pence plans to cast the deciding vote in DeVos favor, one more Republican defection would block the nomination. Democrats planned to hold the Senate floor through the night, delivering speeches against the nomination, urging the public to keep calling their senators and hoping that at least one more Republican will join them. All indications are they wont find that vote among the four GOP senators from Iowa and Nebraska, all of whom have expressed support for the nomination. Ive had conversations with Mrs. DeVos, Ive read through the transcript, and I asked her for assurances that she would support our public schools, that she would support local control, Sen. Deb Fischer, R-Neb., reiterated Monday on MSNBC. You know, Im a former 20-year school board member in the state of Nebraska. And in Nebraska we value local control, local decision-making. We have great public schools. We understand the importance of meeting the needs of children in those local districts and meeting those needs through the interaction of parents and teachers, school board members and communities. DeVos opponents say she is unqualified for the position, as evidenced by her underwhelming confirmation hearing. In particular, they point to responses in which she seemed confused by questions about federal programs for students with special needs and ways to measure student performance. They also have mocked her suggestion that guns could be necessary in some schools to guard against bears. More broadly, opponents say they are worried about DeVos longtime focus on vouchers and charter schools. Having someone dedicated to those school choice approaches in charge of the department, her critics say, would undermine public education. They have ramped up their campaign against the nomination with phone calls, emails and protests. Fischer became the focus of an intense lobbying campaign last week in part because she was one of the last Senate Republicans to announce her support for the nomination. Crowds have gathered outside of Fischers Nebraska offices in recent days urging her to oppose DeVos, while phone calls to her offices and others on Capitol Hill have been jamming switchboards. None of the Iowa and Nebraska senators has released any tallies of those calls. Weve received calls and emails from Nebraskans on all sides, Fischer spokeswoman Brianna Puccini said. Sen. Ben Sasse, R-Neb., has stuck by his early support for DeVos, whom he had quickly hailed as an excellent pick for local control and educational opportunity. Its hard to think of many who have done more for the education reform movement over the last 30 years than Betsy DeVos, but more than that, she has made a career out of standing up to powerful and connected special interests on behalf of poor kids who are too often forgotten by Washington, Sasse wrote on Facebook following the nomination. Those kids will have a powerful advocate in Betsy DeVos. Sasse spokesman James Wegmann recently acknowledged the volume of contacts related to DeVos. Our office has received a whole lot of organic calls from Nebraskans and paid calls from around the country, Wegmann said. Weve made upgrades to our technology to expand our voicemail capacity to ensure that everyone can leave a message and we have made sure that staff prioritize Nebraska area codes so that constituents concerns are heard first. Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, has indicated that shell support DeVos, saying last week that DeVos has been working on education issues for years. She has pledged to fight for all students, again, regardless of where they come from and what obstacles they might face, she said. And thats true of those that are attending public education, private education and charter schools. Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, has said he has no objections to the nominee. Grassley spokeswoman Jill Gerber said that organized campaigns against the nomination have generated numerous contacts from Iowans and others. Its hard to calculate an exact amount because calls are still being logged, Gerber said. That includes voicemail messages, including calls from those who have called more than once. Its important to note that opposition efforts tend to generate many more contacts than those in support of a particular position or nominee. Sen. Grassley appreciates hearing from Iowans representing various points of view on any given issue. The University of Nebraska-Lincolns new food pantry is looking to provide more than a quick fix for student hunger. The Huskers Helping Huskers Pantry+ also is trying to address the root of student poverty. The pantry, the latest of a number of efforts at schools across the state, is a response to a 2015 survey of students expenses, said Megan Scherling, program coordinator for UNLs Student Money Management Center. Nearly 30 percent of the survey respondents said they at least occasionally worried about running out of food before getting money to buy more. The university already had one food pantry in the UNL Lutheran Center, and an offshoot of that program was recently opened on the schools East Campus. Now the school has yet another, opened in January. Cody McCain, a UNL sophomore and the coordinator of the Lutheran Center food pantry, Open Shelf, said about 200 students visit the pantry each year. From the survey, we kind of realized that was the tip of the iceberg, he said. Scherling said she hopes the new Huskers Helping Huskers Pantry+ will encourage more students to come by, because its in a central location: on the third floor of the Nebraska Union. Hundreds of donations have flowed into the pantry since the beginning of December, including hygiene supplies. There is no limit to the amount of goods students can take, and they need only to scan their student ID to prove theyre enrolled. Keeping students as anonymous as possible is often emphasized in campus food pantries because of the stigma surrounding food insecurity. Its hard for (students) to understand that they can come in, Scherling said. You dont have to be homeless to go to a food pantry. Students also can be referred from the pantry to other resources, such as the universitys career center, University Housing and the money management office just downstairs. We just wanted to make sure we werent saying OK, we gave you a can of food, so youre good now, Scherling said. We know that its deeper than that. Relieving some of students stress about hunger or finances allows them to focus on school and eventually gets them to graduation and out of poverty, Scherling said. UNL is not alone in its increased focus on food pantries. As of Sunday, the College and University Food Bank Alliance, a national group of campus-based food pantries, had 444 member institutions. At the University of Nebraska at Omaha, the Maverick Food Pantry is in its fifth year of serving students, said Harnoor Singh, the program coordinator in UNOs Office of Civic and Social Responsibility. I think as the cost of education rises, students have to make some pretty difficult choices, so its whether they can attend or pay for classes or eat, he said. In 2016 the pantry gave away 30 to 90 food bags per month, each containing enough food to last a person three days, he said. A more recent aim of the pantry is to provide more healthful, culturally sensitive and sustainable food, such as vegan and organic options. UNOs pantry also tracks repeat users so the students can be connected with other campus resources. The University of Nebraska at Kearney has had a food pantry since 2012. The Big Blue Cupboard is housed in UNKs Office of Multicultural Affairs and visited by students daily, said Monica Mueller, UNKs assistant director for Multicultural Affairs. Regardless of the food pantries locations, organizers said they often hear the same response from students: relief. Scherling said students who use the Huskers Helping Huskers Pantry+ can have multiple jobs as well as being full-time students. Theyre doing the best they can, she said. So we appreciate that theyre willing to be a little bit vulnerable and come in and use the help that we want to offer them. The Omaha Public Schools board approved a resolution Monday night aimed at reassuring immigrant families that the district will not wade into federal immigration enforcement. The resolution, approved on a 6-2 vote, states that OPS will not turn over information on a student or familys immigration status to federal authorities, unless compelled by a court order or law or with permission from that family. By doing so, the district affirmed that it will continue to act in a manner consistent with a 1982 Supreme Court ruling on public education and immigrants. Under that ruling, Plyler v. Doe, K-12 public schools are required to enroll all students, regardless of immigration status. While schools are allowed to ask families to provide proof of residency, they are not supposed to ask about a students citizenship or immigration status. Federal student privacy law also restricts schools from releasing most personal information, aside from basics such as a students age, grade level and the school he or she attends. OPS already follows these rules, OPS board President Lacey Merica said. The resolution is a public statement designed to outline what OPS does and doesnt do and quell any concern from families. Its kind of putting in print what our practice is already, she said. Superintendent Mark Evans said he visited with nervous parents and students at Yates Community Center last week. OPS offers preschool classrooms and English and job-training courses for immigrant and refugee parents at Yates, which is at 32nd and Davenport Streets. Board members Lou Ann Goding and Matt Scanlan, the two dissenting votes, said they werent sure why the resolution was necessary. I just think this is political, Scanlan said. I dont believe politics belong at the board table. It splits us up as a school district. I believe our students are safe. I think its politically motivated, and I think its a waste of time. Goding said her vote had nothing to do with not supporting district families. Im struggling with, if we already do these practices, exactly why were doing a resolution, Goding said. Ive had feedback from my constituents, who havent viewed this very positively. OPS students and families cant always be expected to wade through every OPS policy, Merica said. Our students and our families dont know this is our practice, she said. Board member Amanda Ryan said students of different backgrounds and religions need to know that OPS schools are a safe and welcome space. Its not about politics, its about uplifting and protecting our most vulnerable students in our most vulnerable communities, Ryan said. The resolution passed Monday states: Unless specifically required by law, District employees, contractors, volunteers and representatives will not use district resources solely for the purposes of detecting or assisting in the apprehension of persons whose only violation of law is or may be being an undocumented resident in the United States. The resolution also states that school officials are not allowed to inquire about whether a student or a students family has entered the country illegally, and immigration agents are asked to notify OPSs superintendent and legal counsel before coming onto school property. Several diverse, urban school districts, including Minneapolis, Los Angeles and Nashville, have adopted resolutions or released statements affirming their support of immigrant and refugee students in the wake of increased fears from families after the election of President Donald Trump and his actions limiting refugees and travel from certain countries. Some, like Pittsburgh, have declared themselves sanctuary campuses. OPS has a sizable refugee and immigrant population. The district enrolls more than 2,400 refugee students hailing from 13 countries, and in the 2015-16 school year, there were 17,780 students who spoke 120 different languages at home. The district requires families to provide proof of residency and a students birth certificate at enrollment but does not specifically track whether students are in the country legally or illegally, OPS spokeswoman Monique Farmer said. Several other Nebraska districts, including Millard, Bellevue, Ralston, Lincoln and Papillion-La Vista, said they did not have immediate plans to propose similar resolutions or tweak board policy. A spokeswoman for Papillion-La Vista said the district already follows rules regarding student privacy. But some, such as Lincoln, have sent out messages to parents and staff reiterating that all students and families are welcome. Lincoln Superintendent Steve Joel recorded a video and sent a memo to staff last week addressing concerns over immigration policy. Ralston Superintendent Mark Adler will share a note this week highlighting and reaffirming our commitment to welcome and serve all our students and families, Ralston spokesman Jeremy Maskel said. Bridget Donovan, the president of the OPS teachers union, said she supports the message the resolution sends. Teachers do hear from students who are fearful. School is supposed to be a safe place for children, Donovan said. We wouldnt be a part of that if we were giving information on our immigrant (students). Thats not our job. Were there for children, not to be an agent of immigration. trump helicopter marine one yemen The target of last week's military raid in Yemen not only is still alive but has released an audio recording mocking President Donald Trump. Military and intelligence officials told NBC News on Monday that the goal of the Navy SEAL operation was to capture or kill Qassim al-Rimi, the head of Al Qaeda's Yemeni affiliate. The raid claimed the lives of 14 Qaeda fighters, at least two dozen civilians, and US serviceman William "Ryan" Owens but al-Rimi remains alive in Yemen, NBC News reported. Al-Rimi released an audio recording on Sunday in which he mentioned the raid and called Trump "the goat of the White House," according to NBC News, which authenticated the tape with military sources. "The fool of the White House got slapped at the beginning of his road in your lands," he reportedly said. According to Fox News, al-Rimi also identified by name 25 purported victims of the attack. It wasn't clear whether al-Rimi was at the scene of the raid, according to the report, which said the prospect of killing al-Rimi persuaded US officials to carry out the mission. The White House spokesman, Sean Spicer, last week called the raid "very, very well thought out and executed" and "a successful operation by all standards." The raid still may have sent a message to Al Qaeda, an NBC analyst said. "We may have collected incredibly valuable intelligence that will lead to further disruptions and further counterterrorism activities down the road," said the analyst, Juan Zarate, a national security adviser in George W. Bush's administration. Some critics of the raid have directed their ire toward Trump. Military officials told Reuters last week that Trump authorized the mission without sufficient intelligence, ground support, or adequate backup preparations. The White House has rejected that account, however, noting that plans for the strike began months ago under the Obama administration. Story continues Read the full NBC News report here NOW WATCH: Animated map reveals the most dangerous countries in the world for tourists More From Business Insider WASHINGTON Disappointed opponents of Betsy DeVos said they will be paying attention to her approach as the countrys new secretary of education. We will be closely watching what Betsy DeVos does, the president of the Nebraska State Education Association, Nancy Fulton, said in a press release. And we will hold her accountable for the actions and decisions she makes on behalf of the more than 50 million students in our nations public schools. DeVos nomination squeaked through the Senate on Tuesday, helped across the finish line by all four senators from Iowa and Nebraska. DeVos was confirmed 51 to 50, with Vice President Mike Pence casting the tie-breaking vote. It was the first time in history that a vice president has broken a tie to confirm a Cabinet secretary. She was sworn in later Tuesday. The outcome was hailed as a victory for local control of education by Republican officials and DeVos supporters, but denounced by those who have questioned her qualifications and commitment to public education. The Iowa and Nebraska senators, all Republicans, saw a flood of calls from DeVos opponents, but the spotlight fell mostly on Nebraskas Deb Fischer as one of the few Senate Republicans who hadnt publicly taken a position on the nomination by the middle of last week. Fischer said in a radio interview that she was a little irate about news coverage casting her as a key vote on the nomination, which brought her extra attention from DeVos opponents. Its typical in the case of close votes, however, for advocates to focus on lawmakers who havent said how they would vote. As opponents targeted Fischer, who is up for re-election in 2018, the Nebraska Republican Party solicited statements from Republicans who backed her. The resulting GOP press release praising Fischers vote included laudatory quotes from Nebraska Republican National Committeeman J.L. Spray, former State Board of Education member Bob Evnen and Tyler Thompson of Scottsbluff, who teaches English at Gering High School. In an interview, Thompson praised Fischer and said he had supported her Senate campaign in 2012. He told The World-Herald he was offering cautious support for DeVos, even though she has said things he wouldnt have including her suggestion that schools might need guns to ward off bears and her responses to questions about programs for students with special needs. But I think that shes expressed enough support and has thrown her weight behind the notion that education should be a local decision, that it should be best carried out by the teachers who are in the classrooms, by the administrators who are in the building, he said. Thompsons sentiment echoed Fischers rationale, which focused on commitments she received from DeVos to fight for all children and respect local control. As a strong proponent of local control, I believe a decision to provide vouchers, scholarships or other public support for students who choose to attend a nonpublic school should not be mandated by the federal government, DeVos wrote Fischer. Rather, this is a state and school district matter. Therefore, if confirmed, I will not impose a school choice program on any state or school district. That kind of assurance did not satisfy those opposed to the nomination. She is not qualified, Fulton said. She has never worked as an educator, or in public education at all. She pushes vouchers that funnel tax dollars from public schools to for-profit charter and private schools. She lobbies against any regulation of charters, and for the expansion of failing for-profit charter schools. Thompson said concerns about DeVos gutting public education funding are overblown. When she expresses support for voucher systems or charter schools, its more saying that students that are in failing schools should have the opportunity to get an adequate, good education, that they shouldnt be stuck in a school where their needs arent being met, Thompson said. The University of Nebraska-Lincolns investigation into the Phi Gamma Delta fraternity has yielded unexpected results. While the investigation into alleged vulgar comments directed at women continues, UNL announced Tuesday that it has found other infractions, including alcohol abuse at Phi Gamma Delta, or Fiji. The examination of Phi Gamma Delta members behavior began over claims by protesters during the Womens March on Lincoln last month that young men at Fiji made lewd remarks to them. The UNL chapter of the fraternity has denied making such comments. That investigation continues. But UNL said Tuesday that in the process, the university found a pattern of behavior that violated UNLs student code, including reckless alcohol use ... during recent academic terms. UNL has placed the fraternity on interim suspension. Juan Franco, UNLs vice chancellor for student affairs, indicated that the investigation into alleged vulgar comments last month continues. While behavior outside the fraternity during the Womens March attracted public attention, our investigation has shown broader conduct issues at the fraternity, Franco said in a press release. This conduct required our immediate action, even while our investigation continues. Phi Gamma Deltas national executive director in Kentucky said he supports UNLs need to uphold and enforce the student code of conduct. The national office will continue to work with the university while it finishes its investigation. At that point, we will take appropriate action based on the facts, said the director, Bill Martin. UNL spokesman Steve Smith said an interim suspension can become permanent. He called it likely that the administration will take further, longer-term action. DES MOINES A key group of election officials plans to oppose legislation proposed by Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate that would require voter identification at the polls and make other changes to the states election system. The Iowa State Association of County Auditors confirmed Monday that its leadership voted Friday to register against Pates bill once the option became available. The group also agreed to form a committee that would suggest changes to the bill. Several county auditors have been named to the committee, and theyre expected to get to work immediately. Rhonda Deters, the associations president and the county auditor in Grundy County, said the group has several concerns about the legislation, which Pate has described as a voter integrity bill. While there has been a focus on a proposed voter ID requirement, the association also is worried about how technology upgrades would be implemented through a revolving loan fund. And there is concern about proposed changes to when absentee ballots would be sent out and plans for post-election audits. Deters said the group intends to send a letter soon to legislative leaders to express their concerns about the bill. A man injured in a fire near downtown Omaha last December has died. Steven Nitz was hospitalized at the Nebraska Medical Center after being hurt Dec. 13 at the Sprint Communications building near Seventh and Leavenworth Streets. Nitz, an electrician, was working for Sprint as a contractor, the company has said. Taylor Wilson, a spokesman for the hospital, confirmed Nitzs death but was unable to provide any more information. Nitz, of Oshkosh, Wisconsin, was 59 at the time of the incident. Attempts to reach his family were not successful Monday afternoon. An Omaha Police Department report on the December incident says Nitz was shocked and burned. The blaze was reported about 4:45 a.m. The fire was a small one in the buildings main electrical breaker, officials said. Firefighters quickly extinguished it. However, when fire crews arrived, they were met by workers who said that a man was injured and that he was downstairs, in the electrical room. The fire caused an outage affecting landline and cellular phones in the Omaha area. Service was restored later that day. On Monday, the company expressed its condolences. Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family during this difficult time, Sprint spokeswoman Lisa Belot wrote in an email. Fire officials have listed the fires cause as accidental. LINCOLN Frustrated by high turnover, lack of salary increases for longevity and an increase in assaults by inmates, state corrections officers are seeking a new union to represent them. A group of corrections employees is circulating petitions to be represented by the Fraternal Order of Police, a union that represents corrections workers in Douglas and Lancaster Counties, as well as scores of police officers and sheriffs deputies across the state. Since 1991, corrections officers, corporals and sergeants, as well as security workers at state regional centers and youth treatment facilities, have been represented by the Nebraska Association of Public Employees. NAPE is the states largest public employees union, representing about 10,000 state workers of all kinds. But those organizing a vote to switch to the Fraternal Order of Police said that the unique issues and working conditions faced by the 1,600 security workers in state prisons and other institutions have not always been heard as they are lumped together with the thousands of other employees represented by NAPE. We want someone who understands us, said Carla Jorgens of Lincoln, a corrections corporal who joined the Nebraska Department of Correctional Services in 1997. To call an election, workers must collect signatures of at least 30 percent of a bargaining unit. Michael Chipman of Lincoln, a corrections corporal at the State Penitentiary, said that requirement has already been surpassed but that organizers hope to collect more signatures and talk to more security employees. The signatures will be presented by the end of the month to the Nebraska Commission of Industrial Relations, which would then call for an election to switch unions, presumably in April. Mike Marvin, executive director of NAPE, said he would not comment on the possible election until Saturday, when his board meets. But a state senator who has participated in several studies of the problems in the Nebraska prison system said its a positive move. I think theyll be better represented, said Omaha Sen. Bob Krist. When youre lumped together with other job descriptions and job categories, your particular needs may or may not be represented. Corrections officers and other security staff at state prisons have been complaining for years about the loss of step increases for years of service, a policy that means that a new hire earns the same wage as a 10-year veteran. The lack of step increases has contributed to high turnover, workers say, which in turn contributes to job vacancies and the increased need for remaining workers to work overtime. The turnover rate last year for protective services workers was 32 percent. That helped contribute to a 57 percent increase in assaults on staff during 2016, said the workers pushing for the union election. Youre tired, youre just beat, Jorgens said of 12- to 16-hour shifts. Chipman said he started talking with fellow employees about seeking a new union in September, after a series of prison disturbances and assaults on staff. He said he has received overwhelming support for the switch. Reducing turnover and improving worker safety are two prime goals, Chipman said. Security workers at the Lincoln Regional Center also would be part of the new union, and they have similar concerns about safety and high turnover, the organizers said. I want people who come into the department to feel the same way I do, to look at it as a career rather than a place to work a couple of years and move on, Jorgens said. In recent months, in an effort to reduce turnover and retain more workers, Gov. Pete Ricketts approved bonuses for front-line corrections employees and midyear pay increases ranging from 2.4 percent to 6 percent. But Chipman and others said the bonuses sparked anger among some workers who didnt get them. They said the raises helped, but not enough to reduce turnover. On Monday, the state was advertising starting pay for corrections officers of $16.58 per hour, compared with $17.35 per hour for employees at the Douglas County Correctional Center and $18.30 per hour at the Lancaster County Correctional Center. The workers seeking a new union said that because the state doesnt offer step increases for longevity, many experienced state prison workers switch to county jobs for the higher wages they offer. Correction: A previous version of this story incorrectly named the Lancaster County Correctional Center. Erez Vigodman, President and CEO of Teva Pharmaceutical, participates in a panel discussion at the 2015 Fortune Global Forum in San Francisco, California November 3, 2015. REUTERS/Elijah Nouvelage By Tova Cohen and Steven Scheer TEL AVIV (Reuters) - Teva Pharmaceutical Industries (TEVA.TA) was left without a permanent chief executive on Tuesday after Erez Vigodman stepped down, leaving new management to restore confidence in the world's biggest generic drugmaker after a series of missteps. A string of costly acquisitions, along with delayed drug launches, have sent Teva shares plummeting and led to calls for management and structural changes, including a possible split into separate generic and branded medicine units. Teva, Israel's largest company, said late on Monday that Vigodman was departing immediately and would be replaced on an interim basis by Chairman Yitzhak Peterburg. Investors say Teva, which faces pricing pressure in its core generics business and recently lost patent protection on its key branded drug Copaxone for multiple sclerosis, must choose a new CEO with extensive pharmaceutical experience. The new boss needs to set a clear strategy, said Eldad Tamir, head of investment house Tamir Fishman, whose funds have cut their holdings in Teva by 90 percent in the past two years. "Is it the biggest generics company or is there an understanding that generics is hitting a glass ceiling and it should do other stuff such as investing more in branded drugs?" he told Reuters. Teva's bad run continued on Tuesday, when the company said it was being investigated in Israel over the same issues that led to a $519 million U.S. bribery settlement in December over criminal and civil allegations that it bribed overseas officials to gain business. DRUG PRICE CRACKDOWN Compounding the challenge for Teva, U.S. President Donald Trump has pledged to crack down on drug prices and a number of shareholders are pushing Teva to split into separate branded and generic companies. "A single management team of a global corporation really can't focus on two businesses that are as diverse as these and do justice to both," Benny Landa, an industrialist who in 2014 led an investor bid to shake up Teva's board, said. Story continues Landa said Teva's recent "fixation on mega-generic acquisitions" had "mortgaged its ability to make substantial investments in speciality drugs." Teva shares fell around 2 percent in Tel Aviv on Tuesday following Vigodman's departure, which comes after the head of Teva's generics business, Siggi Olafsson, left. At 1435 GMT, its New York-listed stock (TEVA.N) was down 2.9 percent at $33.35. STUMBLES Tal Levi, buyside analyst for Israeli investment house Halman-Aldubi, said Teva needed to better manage cashflow and deliver the hoped-for synergies from its acquisition last year of the Actavis generics business. Teva's New York-listed shares, which hit $72 in July 2015, tumbled to around 10-year lows last week after a U.S. court found Copaxone patents to be invalid. The drug accounted for almost a fifth of Teva's revenue last year. Investors and analysts have raised concerns Teva might have to cut its dividend if Copaxone faces short-term generic competition. Vigodman joined Teva in 2014 after success in rejuvenating an ailing Israeli agrochemicals firm, but he embarked on a costly buying spree that culminated in buying Actavis for $40.5 billion, a price many investors believe was too high. Teva now has debt of nearly $36 billion, similar to its market value, making it difficult to raise new equity, Tamir said. Meanwhile, a $2.3 billion deal for Mexican drugmaker Rimsa has led to both sides suing each other and last month Teva forecast 2017 revenue and profit below Wall Street's estimates. THOROUGH REVIEW Peterburg, who will work alongside Teva's new chairman, former Celgene (CELG.O) CEO Sol Barer, said he would conduct a "thorough review" of Teva's business while it searches for a permanent CEO. RBC Capital Markets analyst Randall Stanicky said it was unclear whether asset sales could be on the agenda. "We find it interesting that Teva would pursue a review before naming a permanent CEO, which may be suggestive of further close involvement of the board and broader management team," Stanicky said. Should Teva spin off its speciality drug business, it might please U.S. activist investors as it could give a short-term boost to the stock, said Levi, whose firm Halman-Aldubi has been slowly raising its Teva stake in the past month. "But Israeli institutions are long-term investors. I'm not sure making a short-term profit is a good idea for the Israeli market and Teva," he said. Bernstein analyst Ronny Gal, in a video to clients, called Peterburg "a good caretaker CEO, but clearly not a candidate to run the company long term". Prior to rejoining Teva's board of directors in 2012, Peterburg led the company's research and development efforts as head of global branded products, from 2010 until October 2011. (Additional reporting by Bill Berkrot in New York; Editing by Mark Potter and Alexander Smith) Did a tweet ruin a sting operation? Six jurors will decide whether a tweet sent by a northwest Omaha restaurant owner impeded the Nebraska State Patrol from conducting alcohol compliance checks. John Horvatinovich, who owns Salt 88 at 3623 N. 129th St., has pleaded not guilty to a misdemeanor charge of obstructing a government operation. If convicted, he faces a maximum of one year in jail and a $1,000 fine. Assistant City Prosecutor Makayla Maclin said in her opening statement Monday that on Aug.13, Horvatinovich tweeted photos showing the faces of two teens with the comment: Omaha restaurant peeps: These two are trying to ruin your night w/sting operations in town. The tweet, which contained photos from the restaurants surveillance video, has since been deleted. (The teens) couldnt perform any more compliance checks as a result of the tweet, Maclin said. Defense attorney Carolyn Wilson said the tweet didnt rise to a violation of law. It is not unlawful to take a picture of someone and post it online, if theyre in a public place, she said. Three State Patrol troopers and one of the teens testified Monday afternoon. Jurors will continue to hear the case this morning. Aug. 13 was Jacob Albericos first time working as an undercover teen sent to check whether businesses sell alcohol to minors. His cousin, an investigator with the State Patrol, recruited him. The 17-year-old teen with Alberico is a daughter of another trooper. The teens were paid $50 for their time, regardless of the result of the operation. The compliance checks have been conducted since 1997 with various law enforcement agencies and Project Extra Mile, an organization that works to prevent underage drinking. Alberico, 17, and the girl had visited Salt 88, one of about 30 restaurants, bars and stores on the list to check that night. Two troopers in plain clothes drove the teens in an unmarked vehicle to the businesses and stayed nearby in case things went awry, testified Christopher Kober, a State Patrol investigator. The teens sat at Salt 88s bar and ordered two Bud Lights, Alberico testified. The bartender asked for identification and the teens, trained on what to do, presented their real drivers licenses. The bartender refused service and the teens left, Alberico testified. Partway through the sting that night, Alberico was told that a photo showing his face was circulating on the Internet posted from the Salt 88 restaurant account. Alberico, who has his own Twitter account, found the tweet and a photo of him. (I felt) a little nervous, Alberico testified. You can definitely tell its me. I didnt know how people would react to that or how this could affect me. Former State Patrol Sgt. Robert Elliott, who oversaw the various teams, learned of the tweet that night and told the team to return to the State Patrol office. Elliott testified that he felt the teens could not continue to work undercover because their faces were revealed. (If) theres one drunk patron at the next business ... and they see their face, now weve got a confrontation and the kid could be assaulted, Elliott testified. Wilson asked whether Elliott reassigned the teens to other teams or purchased new clothes in order to disguise the teens. No, Elliott said. Maclin later pressed, asking why not. Its a facial photo, their features were very distinct, Elliott said. I wasnt comfortable taking that liability ... we just needed to get them off the streets and get them safe. Trooper Cynthia Alberico, Jacob Albericos cousin, recruited the teens and officers for the compliance check that night. A few days later, she watched a KMTV news report that featured the tweet and an interview with Horvatinovich. She went to the restaurant to interview Horvatinovich, who agreed to talk after he was read his rights. Jurors will hear sections of Cynthia Albericos interview with Horvatinovich today. Cynthia Alberico testified that she called the teens parents to notify them of the tweet and what happened. The teens are often called cooperating individuals, or CIs for short. I have never had my CIs identity compromised before, Trooper Alberico testified. I felt that it was a safety issue for them. I care about my CIs, and its my job to protect them. On Monday morning before the trial began, Horvatinovich told a reporter that he wanted the case to go to trial. This was about principle, absolutely, he said. My wife usually says, Oh, John, just let it go. This time she said fight it because its time for restaurant owners to stand up for themselves. The Salt 88 Twitter account had continued to comment on the upcoming trial. On Sunday night, the account posted a cartoon doodle of a personified salt cube behind bars with the words Free Salt. Horvatinovich is not being held in jail. Another tweet Sunday alluded to the idea that the charge was over the top. If we made a Super Bowl commercial we would have been charged by (the city prosecutor)...hes salty. #TrialoftheCentury #Overreach World-Herald staff writer Jay Withrow contributed to this report. The owner of restaurant Salt 88 said he didnt feel confident as he waited for the verdict on whether he obstructed a government operation. Im kind of 60/40 now, like a blended shirt, John Horvatinovich told reporters outside the courtroom Tuesday. I feel 60 percent that theyll find me guilty. Six jurors deliberated for 2 hours Tuesday afternoon but did not reach a verdict. They will continue to deliberate at 9 a.m. Wednesday. If convicted of the misdemeanor charge, Horvatinovich could face a year in jail, $1,000 fine, or both. He said he didnt regret tweeting photos of minors who tried to buy alcohol at his restaurant on Aug. 13, but he said he would have changed the wording to not include sting operations. The word sting was really the only thing that they could hinge the case on, he said of Assistant City Prosecutor Makayla Maclins argument that sting meant he knew the teens were part of an alcohol compliance check. The Nebraska State Patrol and Project Extra Mile have conducted the lawful checks with minors since 1997. The minors who are recruited clearly look young and present their real ID when asked by a bartender, troopers have testified. The teens were denied service at Salt 88 and left. Then Horvatinovich posted a tweet using the restaurant account with three photos showing the faces of the teens and the words: Omaha restaurant peeps: These two are trying to ruin your night w/sting operations in town. The question is whether Horvatinovich knew the teens were a part of the compliance checks and intentionally chose to hinder the government operation. In her closing argument, Maclin told the jury that Horvatinovichs tweet impeded the compliance check because a sergeant told the team to return to the office for their safety the two 17-year-olds and two troopers did not complete checks on the seven remaining businesses on their list. She denied Horvatinovichs claim on the stand early Tuesday morning that sting was an industry term for minors trying to purchase alcohol. That flies in the face of logic, Maclin said. He actually knew he was in a sting operation. And he was upset, and he posted this. Defense attorney Carolyn Wilson said the tweet was a public service announcement to remind his fellow restaurateurs to check IDs. She told the jurors to examine closely whether they believe Horvatinovich had knowledge that the minors were part of a compliance check before sending the tweet. How is it possible that Mr. Horvatinovich could have known that night that these two were not off the street, that they were actually part of a government operation? Wilson said. He has a responsibility and a right to notify other businesses so it doesnt happen to them. She also argued the minors were not under any danger when photos of them were on the Internet and denied the idea that there are pitchfork-wielding villagers in Omaha who would hurt the minors. There are no two safer 17-year-olds in the City of Omaha that night than these two, Wilson said, because the teens were escorted by two troopers. Maclin again pressed the jury to find Horvatinovich guilty. He didnt text his friends that are restaurant owners. He put it on Twitter, for it to be reposted and retweeted, she said in her final plea. He was upset, and he wanted to stop this government operation. Horvatinovich started to cry on the stand Tuesday morning when Wilson asked why he had tweeted about the minors. It wasnt the tweet that made him emotional, Horvatinovich testified, but the fact that so many issues could derail the restaurants success. Youre trying to protect your family because the family relies on the salary that I make, he testified while wiping tears away. He said he and his wife had split in July and he was emotional because she was in the courtroom Tuesday. Wilson asked if he took the word sting to mean government operation. No, Horvatinovich said, because you dont know whether or not its a sting, its always an assumption. On cross examination, Maclin asked whether he had tweeted photos of minors in other situations. No, he said. He said minors try to buy alcohol about one time a month, and he often texts friends telling them to check IDs. Why didnt you just tweet, Hey guys, remember to check IDs? Maclin asked. Horvatinovich said he worded the tweet differently. You decided to word it as a sting operation and include photos so you could stop the compliance checks? Maclin asked. I disagree, he responded. Outside the courtroom, Horvatinovich said the last six months have been difficult because he has spent less time at the restaurant. Our sales are down, he said. Were not a profitable restaurant. Itll take maybe a year and a half, two years of profits to even pay for legal fees and court fees. But he said if he is found guilty, he still believes it was right to fight the misdemeanor charge. I dont think that it changes my mindset on it, I think this was worth it. WASHINGTON Sen. Ben Sasse, R-Neb., met Tuesday with President Donald Trumps nominee to the Supreme Court. Neil Gorsuch, a federal appellate judge, has been making the rounds on Capitol Hill, engaging in the traditional courtesy calls on those who will determine the fate of his nomination. In the case of Sasse, a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Gorsuch hardly needed to press his case. Sasse has been effusive in his praise of the pick since it was announced. Judge Gorsuch is a supremely qualified and thoughtful nominee, Sasse said in a press release after Tuesdays meeting. The Chicken Little hysteria from some of my friends on the other side of the aisle is just sad and absurd. If they keep working to paint Judge Gorsuch as a mouth-breathing bald eagle hunter, theyll embarrass themselves. Sasse said the two talked at length about the Constitution and its checks and balances. Whenever Democrats want to stop dealing in fiction, Im confident Judge Gorsuch is ready for a serious conversation, Sasse said. Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer of New York also met with Gorsuch on Tuesday and later said he had serious, serious concerns about the nominee. Schumer, stopped short of saying he would oppose the nomination, the Associated Press said. WASHINGTON When John F. Kennedy nominated Byron Whizzer White to the U.S. Supreme Court, Democratic liberals expected the Coloradan would be attuned with their political philosophy. Wrong. Instead, they got one of the more conservative justices to serve in the latter part of the last century an irascible, sometimes mean-spirited jurist who thought little of history or the First Amendments assertion of a free press. When Dwight Eisenhower tapped former California Republican Gov. Earl Warren to be chief justice of the United States, most conservatives thought he would lean toward their view of constitutional construction. Instead, they came to squirm in horror under a court that under his guidance became one of the most liberal in history. Signs proclaiming the need to impeach Warren popped up throughout the heartland. Both examples are cited only to certify that one cannot know for certain what one will get in the process of stocking the most important judicial bench in the land, not even when there is some record to suggest the direction a candidate might take when confirmed. The best one can do is determine whether a nominee has the qualifications education, experience, integrity and hope for the best. Certainly, Donald Trumps nominee from Colorado, Judge Neil M. Gorsuch, has all the credentials. He graduated from Columbia, Harvard and Oxford, worked for a distinguished private firm and has served a decade on the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals. And those are just a few of the highlights. The question of his fitness for court is not what the expected knockdown confirmation process will be about. It will be about political vengeance and the need to portray him as a conservative boogeyman as Democrats hunker down against Trumps resolution to swing the balance of the court hard right. It will be about paying back the Senates majority Republicans for refusing to consider moderate appeals court judge Merrick B. Garland for nearly nine months as a replacement for the late Justice Antonin Scalia. The hearings will be about the suitability of Trump himself and his efforts to change the direction, even the nature, of the nation. Shall we turn back the clock on a variety of social issues such as abolishing same-sex marriage and abortion under any circumstance while continuing to grow gun rights? Gorsuchs record would clearly seem to be in line with much of Trumps agenda. The new presidents men vetted him thoroughly, and its clear Trump has little doubt about Gorsuchs ability to follow in Scalias footsteps. The modern day head-bashing controversies over nominations began when Lyndon Johnson decided to elevate Justice Abraham Fortas to chief justice and the move was blocked by Senate Republicans. Looking for revenge when Richard Nixon became president, Democrats rejected two of his nominees, Judge Clement F. Haynsworth Jr. and Judge G. Harrold Carswell, in pitched battles that took weeks. Haynsworth was clearly qualified but ran into textile union problems. Carswell was a weak choice whose appointment was seen as revenge for the rejection of Haynsworth. He later was involved in unsavory personal activity. Perhaps the most qualified nominee to be rejected was Ronald Reagans pick of Robert Bork, whose conservative rulings on lower courts were an anathema to majority Democrats despite his and their noteworthiness. The most sensational Senate confirmation battle in relatively recent times was over Justice Clarence Thomas, who was nominated by President George H.W. Bush. After sensational hearings involving allegations of sexual harassment by Anita Hill, he was confirmed by a narrow margin. Despite the silliness and thinness of her charges, Hill became more acceptable to African-Africans than Thomas because of his conservative views outside the black mainstream. As another storm over the court brews, we know that even the most qualified as Gorsuch obviously is can be rejected. Gorsuchs superb qualifications wont be the point here. The point will be his political philosophy as depicted by past rulings and any scurrilous tidbit that can arise from a certain microscopic examination of his life by his opponents. Gorsuchs ability to withstand the onslaught will be the key. At this point, the betting is in his favor, but . . . . Mexico is a central trade partner with the United States and the Midlands. The federal government should be working to strengthen those economic opportunities rather than risking a trade war between our two countries. Nebraska and Iowa each conduct more trade with Mexico than with any other country except Canada. Nebraska sold $1.26 billion worth of goods to Mexico in 2015. For Iowa, the export figure was $2.1 billion. The Midlands economic connections with Mexico stretch across a wide range of sectors. In 2014, about 30 percent of Nebraska soybeans and 17 percent of corn were bought by Mexico. The importance of trade to Americas farmers and ranchers cannot be overstated, wrote 16 ag producer groups in a Jan. 6 letter to then President-elect Donald Trump. Signers included the national producer organizations for soybeans, corn, dry beans and wheat plus the American Farm Bureau Federation and the National Farmers Union. The World-Heralds Russell Hubbard reports that Union Pacifics rail trade with Mexico in 2015 totaled $2.3 billion, up from about $1 billion in 2004. Trade with Mexico currently accounts for 10 percent of the companys operating revenue. The connections have been notable, too, for Omaha-based trucking firm Werner Enterprises. Its business with Mexico increased from $80 million in 1995 to $375 million in 2015. Much of that cross-border interaction involves the shipping of manufacturing inputs that are vital to efficient operation of global supply chains. A report from the Congressional Research Service last year highlighted that point: U.S. manufacturing industries, including automotive, electronics, appliances and machinery, all rely on the assistance of Mexican manufacturers. One report estimates that 40 percent of the content of U.S. imports of goods from Mexico consists of U.S. value-added content. The Trump administration has floated the idea of a 20 percent tax on imports from Mexico. Steve Nelson, president of the Nebraska Farm Bureau, said such a policy has the potential to be devastating to agriculture U.S. agriculture and Nebraska agriculture. Gov. Pete Ricketts also pointed to concerns, saying, Generally speaking, I am very concerned about taxes that would disrupt our trade relationship with Mexico. I urge the Trump administration to look for ways to grow trade opportunities for Nebraskas ag producers and manufacturers. That is sound advice on the best way to move forward. LINCOLN Darrell Olson says he pays $80 in property taxes on every acre of land he farms near Winnebago in northeast Nebraska. Landowners in the neighboring states of South Dakota and Kansas generally pay about 66 percent less, the farmer said. On Monday, Gov. Pete Ricketts called a press conference to promote a bill that would change how Nebraska values farm and ranch land, with the ultimate goal of reducing how much landowners pay in property taxes. Switching to a system that calculates the lands income-producing ability, rather than its market value, is a method that also has been embraced by states such as Kansas and South Dakota. From the audience of the press conference, Olson asked how much northeast Nebraska farmers such as himself could expect to see their land valuations decrease under the bill. About 5 percent, the governor estimated. How much that might trim from his $80 per-acre tax bill remains unclear, but it would be modest at best. It helps, Olson said afterward. Its better than nothing. Though the bill would probably produce negligible tax relief in the short term, a group of rural landowners stood alongside the governor to show support for Legislative Bill 338. The bill, introduced on the governors behalf by State Sen. Lydia Brasch of Bancroft, also would impose a 3.5 percent annual cap on statewide ag land valuation increases. Climbing ag land valuations have factored into a 164 percent growth in farmland property tax bills between 2006 and 2016, compared with 60 percent for property overall. Ag producers also are coping with across-the-board declines in commodity prices, which they say make it a challenge to break even. I tend to think of the ag economy as wounded, said Deb Gangwish, who farms near Shelton. Nebraskas high property taxes are like pouring salt into that wound. To illustrate the issue, Donald Liedman said he paid about $16,000 in property taxes 10 years ago on the 440 acres of farmland he owns near the northeast Nebraska village of Carroll. His tax bill last year: $46,000. Ricketts said adopting an income system to value ag land represents another step in a long-term effort to make the property tax system less reliant on ag producers. It will make a structural change to how we value ag land, Ricketts said. This is a big deal. Most of the states major ag groups support the concept of the governors bill. The Nebraska Farm Bureau, the states largest farm organization, backs it as well, although the groups leaders also pointed out it would do little to cut rural property tax bills. The Governors Office estimates that, had the income-based approach been used in 2017, taxable values for ag land statewide would have been reduced by $2.2 billion. Jay Rempe, the Farm Bureaus senior economist, said that translates to about $20 million in savings out of $3.8 billion in property taxes levied across Nebraska. In terms of trying to achieve overall property tax reductions, I dont see much coming out of it, Rempe said. The governor said Monday that changing Nebraskas land valuation method would be part of past and future steps to overhaul the property tax system. In 2016, lawmakers devoted $204 million worth of state sales and income tax revenue to the Property Tax Credit Fund, which offsets part of property owners tax bills. The governor declined Monday to discuss what steps hed like to see in the future. The governors bill represents a start, said Shane Greckel, a younger fifth-generation farmer from Bloomfield. Sharply escalating land values and property taxes make farming, already a capital-intensive profession, even more daunting for future generations, he added. If we want agriculture to be accessible for young Nebraskans ... we have to address the property tax system, he said. Wednesdays rush-hour snow is already melting, but there is still a 90 percent chance of a campaign blizzard in the forecast. Omaha Mayor Jean Stothert, who faced criticism over the citys response to a rush-hour snowstorm last year, said Wednesday that the city had dispatched its 110 trucks to plow major streets, along with another 190 contractor trucks in neighborhoods. But former State Sen. Heath Mello, her opponent in the May 9 election, was quick to criticize Stothert as snow snarled the morning commute and frustrated Omaha drivers. Nearly 3 inches fell. In a press release, Mello criticized Stothert for being out of town as public works employees cleared the snow. He also said the response to the snowfall was inadequate. Ive received calls and messages this morning from residents who are frustrated by the slick and dangerous conditions across the city, he said Wednesday in the press release. The mayor promised to send snowplows out, but it must be difficult to dispatch snowplows from an undisclosed location. He referenced the Jan. 19, 2016, rush-hour storm that temporarily closed West Dodge Road near 90th Street and led to intense criticism of the city. Stothert was in California with her husband Wednesday for a birthday trip but said by phone that she was monitoring the situation. (The mayor does not personally dispatch public works vehicles.) Mr. Mello has got to understand technology like cellphones and computers, she said. It doesnt matter if Im sitting up in my office at City Hall, or if Im out of town for a couple days, I remain in constant contact. Snow plowing and other basic city services, such as filling potholes, are often key to mayoral campaigns. Theyre one of the ways that Omahans lives directly come into contact with government. Last year, in the wake of the January storm, the city surveyed residents on their expectations for snow removal. After getting those results, Stothert and the Public Works Department revamped the citys snow plan. Now, contractors begin plowing neighborhood streets earlier during storms and the city begins pretreating streets up to three days before snow begins to fall. The city also hired 16 new public works employees, in part to plow snow, and bought 14 new plows to replace those that were aging. But even with the additional resources, both the mayor and public works officials said snow during rush hour is the most difficult to clear. Assistant Public Works Director Todd Pfitzer noted that snowplows can move only as fast as the cars on the street. A rush-hour storm is our worst nightmare, he said. But Pfitzer said long commutes had nothing to do with Stotherts presence or lack thereof. Weve been plowing snow in this city for 100 years whether the mayor is out of town or not, he said. On Wednesday, drivers reported that commutes that normally take 15 to 30 minutes stretched past two hours. But they offered mixed opinions about whose fault it was. Some, like Nebraska Medical Center communications specialist Sydnie Hochstein, said delays are normal during a rush-hour snow. I dont think anyone is to blame, said Hochstein, who left from Lincoln at 6:45 a.m. Wednesday. Its just the circumstances and the timing of the snow it came right as everyone was going to work. Others, such as Cris Nelson, who spent two and a half hours commuting Wednesday morning, pointed the finger in part at City Hall. This is the second time this has happened, he said. Both times Dodge Street was not cleared. There werent even any accidents to slow up traffic. This was drivers being overly cautious and the road crews not clearing a main artery through the city. Having an all-wheel drive vehicle made no difference. Austin Rowser, Omahas street maintenance engineer, said Omahans should blame the traffic tie-ups on the bad timing of the snow but thank city crews for their efforts. Give some credit to our guys, Rowser said. Theyre working hard away from their families to protect Omahas citizens. According to Stothert, Rowser and Pfitzer, the city did the following to address the snowfall: Public Works employees began working around the clock in 12-hour shifts on Monday. City crews were dispatched about 30 hours before snow began to fall. City contractors were dispatched around 8 a.m. Wednesday to begin plowing residential streets. In all, about 300 vehicles were on the road plowing. Still, roads in the Omaha area were so slick that 30 accidents involving 50 vehicles were recorded between 3 and 9 a.m. No serious injuries were reported. Rowser attributed the difficulty to the fact that the heaviest snow coincided with the rush hour. Mello said he thought the city could have done more. He criticized Stothert for not being in town during the storm, though he declined to say that if elected he would promise to not go out of town during the winter. He asserted that Stothert left the city without a blueprint for snow removal. When informed of the citys lengthy snow plan, Mello questioned its rush-hour provisions, given Wednesday mornings commute and last years Jan. 19 storm. Whatever is in that master plan, he said, its not working when it comes to rush-hour snow removal. He didnt offer specific changes to the snow plan, but he did say that he wants to add live GPS data on snow plows to the citys website. If youre asking a mayoral challenger to come up with an entire snow plan in light of the campaign ... thats a pretty tall order, he said. When I get into City Hall, were going to do things differently. Were going to look at every single process, were going to look at every single procedure, and that obviously includes snow removal. Stothert accused Mello of politicizing the snow issue. A snowstorm during rush hour is particularly challenging, especially like this morning when school is still in session, she said. We appreciate peoples patience and their feedback. The mayor said she was on her way back from California on Wednesday and planned to be back in the office bright and early this morning. World-Herald staff writers Mara Klecker, Jay Withrow and Nancy Gaarder contributed to this report. The latest weather service forecast for the Omaha area: Today: Partly sunny, a high near 30. Light wind. Tonight: Partly cloudy, lows around 25. Friday: Mostly sunny, highs in upper 50s. Friday night: Mostly cloudy, lows in mid 30s. Saturday: Mostly cloudy, highs around 50. Saturday night: Chance of rain/snow mix. Sunday: Mostly sunny, highs in low to mid 40s. Snowfall totals Lincoln 0.2 Omaha/Eppley 2.8 Valley 4.0 Blair 4.0 West Point 5.0 Norfolk 5.0 Neligh 6.5 Oakdale 7.5 Royal 8 Ainsworth 10 Valentine 4.3 inches 21 Keralites who joined IS instigating others, says NIA India oi-Vicky By Vicky The 21 persons from Kerala who went missing and were tracked to Afghanistan are currently active on the social media trying to instigate others, sources in the National Investigation Agency tell OneIndia. All these persons have been tracked to a camp at Jalalabad in Afghanistan, NIA sources also say. [21 missing youth from Kerala traced to IS camp in Afghanistan] These persons are suspected to have joined the IS in Afghanistan which operates under the banner of the Wilayat Khorasan. Probe officials say that these persons have not been on the battlefield since their entry into Afghanistan through Iran. They have been tasked with bringing in more people from India into Afghanistan. An NIA officer said that some of them are busy on the social media luring youth to join them. "There is a close watch on their activities," the officer said while also adding that the Kerala police too have been alerted about more such cases. The NIA probe shows that these persons from Kerala left the country in separate batches between June and July in 2016. Some of these persons told their families that they had reached their 'final destination'. They however did not reveal exactly where they were. These persons hailed from Kasargod and Pallakkad in Kerala. Initially, it was suspected by the Kerala police that these persons may have joined the IS in Syria. However, intelligence that trickled in from Iran indicated the presence of these persons in Afghanistan. Indian agencies then coordinated with their counterparts in Afghanistan and after months of tracking it was found that they were settled in a camp in Jalalabad. The IS has been nurturing ambitions in Afghanistan. "Although it has not met with much success, it is attempting to set up several camps with a majority of the operatives being from India. The Indian operatives too have preferred joining the camps in Afghanistan due to proximity to India and similar cultures." OneIndia News For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Tuesday, February 7, 2017, 13:14 [IST] Activist demand passage of long-pending women's reservation bill India oi-IANS By Ians English New Delhi, Feb 7: Several members of women's rights groups assembled in the national capital on Tuesday to demand from the government passage of long-pending Women's Reservation Bill by Parliament. The members said that the bill was even among the promises made by the Bharatiya Janata Party, which leads the ruling coalition, in its election manifesto. "It seems that women have no standing at all in their eyes. We have been asking for the clearance of Bill for so long but no one seems to care," Ranjana Kumari, director, centre for social reasearch, told the media. "It is the party bosses primarily who do not want to cede any ground to women. For the reason that if the bill ever comes into effect, they will have to give up their share of the pie," she said. Kumari also pointed out that according to a content analysis, women candidates enjoy comparatively less freedom to speak and raise questions in Parliament. The Women Reservation Bill, which calls for the reservation of 33 per cent of seats in the Lok Sabha for women, was passed in the Rajya Sabha in March 2010. But since then the bill has met with a political impasse. For the bill to come into effect, apart from being passed into a law by both the houses and be ratified by the President, it has to be cleared by at least half of the state legislatures. The members contended that since the Congress has historically been "supportive" of the bill, the government of the day should not be facing any hindrance to get the draft legislation passed in Parliament. Data shows that there are only 96 women representative in both the houses of Parliament. It ranks 103rd in the Women in Parliament study. In the Lok Sabha, out of 543 members, only 65 are women, while in the Rajya Sabha the number of women is only 31 in a house of 243, a statement issued by the alliance said. IANS My life is 1%, dear death: The spooky diary of the accused in J&K DGPs killing Bhumata Brigade activists assault Infosys techie murder accused India oi-PTI Pune, Feb 7: Four activists of Bhumata Ranragini Brigade including its president Trupti Desai on Tuesday allegedly assaulted Bhaben Saikia, arrested for the murder of a woman software professional at Infosys building, when he was being taken out of Shivajinagar court in Pune. Police said the incident took place when Saikia, accused of killing 23-year-old Rasila Raju OP, was being taken out of court building this afternoon after the court remanded him in judicial custody till February 21. "Desai and three other activists suddenly came and tried to assault him, however, the policemen took him away swiftly," said an officer with Shivajinagar police station. "We have detained Desai and other three women. They will be released upon an admonition," the officer said. Speaking to PTI on phone while she was detained, Desai, a women's rights activist, said, "The Infosys incident has raised concerns about security of female employees. To punish elements like Saikia, we today assaulted him." Desai had last year successfully campaigned for permission for women to enter the inner sanctum of Shani Shingnapur temple in Maharashtra. Meanwhile, Saikia's lawyer Tousif Shaikh said the court refused to extend his police custody despite the prosecution's request. Saikia, who worked at Infosys as a security guard, allegedly murdered Rasila on the ninth floor of the company's building at Hinjawadi here on January 29 because she had earlier scolded him for staring at her. PTI Centre wants in-camera hearing on ban on Zakir Naiks NGO India oi-Vicky By Vicky Taking into account the sensitivity of the case, the Union government has said that the proceedings relating to the ban on Islamic preacher Zakir Naik's Non-Governmental Organisation Islamic Research Foundation must be in-camera. After the ban was imposed on the IRF, the special tribunal has been examining the matter as per norms. The Centre feels that since the matter is sensitive in nature, the proceedings must not be made public. It was said that if the proceedings are made public then it could lead to communal tension. The tribunal, after deliberating on the matter will pass an order on February 20. During the course of the arguments, the tribunal indicated that such proceedings are normally held in-camera. Meanwhile, the Centre defended the ban stating that the NGO was involved in activities opposed to the law. The Centre placed before the tribunal three affidavits which had material defending the ban. The NIA had probed into the functioning of the NGO after investigators claimed that the IRF was involved in conversions. It was also pointed out that the NGO had received funds without following the norms. Naik's speech may have influenced people to take to terror were also part of the order that imposed the ban. OneIndia News For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Tuesday, February 7, 2017, 9:56 [IST] Colonel Nizamuddin, Netajis trusted friend, dies at 117 India oi-Oneindia By Oneindia Staff Writer Lucknow, Feb 7: Not many have heard about Colonel Nizamuddin, one of the many foot-soldiers from Indian freedom struggle, who died as an unsung hero on Monday morning. On Tuesday, media reports say Nizamuddin died at the age of 117 in Azamgarh district of Uttar Pradesh. Nizamuddin, driver of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose passes away at the age of 117 in his native Azamgarh district on Monday. pic.twitter.com/M3YkoVEFxT ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) February 7, 2017 He was the trusted driver and bodyguard of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose. Nizamuddin was the same man who took three bullets to save Netaji in the forests of Burma, according to a report published by The Telegraph. His struggle was not limited in fighting for the country's independence. The Telegraph report adds that after the freedom struggle veteran returned from Myanmar (Burma) to India, for several decades, till he breathed his last, Nizamuddin fought to get his dues. "Koi pension jo freedom fighters ko milta hai, ya phir ek tamga hi sahi (a pension that is given to a freedom fighter, or even a medal would make me happy)," he had told The Telegraph in June last year. Even when he died, the news was not flashed in any of the television channels. In fact, only on Tuesday morning people came to know about his demise and his great contributions towards India's freedom struggle. Born in 1901, Nizamuddin is survived by his wife Ajbul Nisha, three sons and two daughters. His youngest son Sheikh Akram was by his side when the end came in the early hours today. Nizamuddin, who had served in the Indian National Army from 1943-45, had proclaimed himself as one of the most trusted lieutenants of Netaji, states a PTI report. OneIndia salutes the hero, who unfortunately did not get his dues. OneIndia News Goa: Man arrested for recording video of girl in hostel bathroom in Panaji BJP wins bypolls in all 3 Zilla Panchayat constituencies in Goa Goa: Two held for stabbing cab driver, his father over parking row Great tolerance, the CBI is sitting idle in Goa says its SP Goa: Yoga teacher arrested for raping US national on pretext of giving tantrik massage India oi-IANS By Ians English Panaji, Feb 7: A 37-year-old yoga teacher was arrested on Tuesday for allegedly raping a 32-year-old US national from California on the pretext of giving her a tantrik massage. A Goa police spokesperson said Pratick Agarwal runs a yoga institute at Pernem in north Goa. He has been remanded to eight days in police custody. Agarwal is from Allahabad in Uttar Pradesh. "In her complaint, the victim accused him of raping her while teaching her tantrik massage on Monday. The accused was her yoga teacher," the police spokesperson said. The victim had alleged that Agarwal also raped her Canadian friend who was in Goa on a vacation. In 2015 too Agarwal was booked for allegedly raping a foreign national. IANS Hirakhand Express derailment: NIA scanner now on naxalites India oi-Vicky New Delhi, Feb 7: It may have been the Naxalites who caused the derailment of the Bhubaneshwar bound Hirakhand train accident that took place at Kuneru in Andhra Pradesh. It may be recalled that on January 21 the train derailment had led to the death of 32 passengers. The NIA has booked a case against Left-wing extremists under Section 150 of the Railways Act. A case under Sections 16 and 18 of the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act too has been booked. NIA officials say that the probe is being conducted and prima facie it appears that the derailment could have been caused by the Naxalites. Kuneru, where the accident occurred is situated in Komrada Mandal of Vizianagaram district, 10 kilometres away from the Andhra-Odisha border. The area is known for Naxal activitiy. However, Intelligence Bureau officials had pointed out at the time of the accident that there was no Naxal activity in this zone for the past year. However officials also did not rule out the return of such activity. NIA officials suspect that Naxalites may have tampered with the track to cause the derailment. There was a 15-inch gap on the track that had led to the derailment. Apart from probing the possible involvement of Naxals, a probe to find out if the track had been damaged due to rust is also being conducted. In this context one would also need to revisit an incident of 2005 when Naxalites had looted a train inthe very same area. Three security personnel were killed in that incident before the Naxals looted Rs 15 lakh from a train. It may be recalled that following a probe by the Bihar police, it was suspected a module of the ISI was behind train accidents in India. It was learnt by the Bihar police that the Kanpur Express derailment was the handiwork of an ISI module that gave orders from Nepal. Even the Kuneru incident was suspected to be the handiwork of the ISI. However, now the NIA feels that it may have been the doing of the Naxalites. OneIndia News Talented, driven and great potential: President Putin is all praise for India and Indians Modi condoles INA veteran Nizamuddin's death India oi-IANS By Ians English New Delhi, Feb 7: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday condoled the death of Subhas Chandra Bose's close associate and INA veteran 'Colonel' Nizamuddin, who died at the age of 116. "Tributes to Subhas Babu's close associate, Colonel Nizamuddin. I recall my meeting with him. His demise is saddening," Modi said in a tweet. "We will always remember the idealism, courage and patriotism of Colonel Nizamuddin, which added strength to our freedom struggle," the Prime Minister said. Nizamuddin, an Indian National Army (INA) veteran was also known as Colonel, he died on Monday in his native village of Dhakwa in Uttar Pradesh's Azamgarh district after a prolonged illness. Born in 1901, Nizamuddin served as a driver-cum-guard of Bose after the INA was formed. He accompanied Bose during his meeting with Hitler to seek help to secure freedom for India. He also accompanied Bose during his trips to Japan, Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore. IANS TGI Fridays is shaking things up. The restaurant said Tuesday that it has hired a new chief marketing officer, Taco Bell's (YUM) Stephanie Perdue, and tapped restaurateur Jerry Comstock as its president and chief operating officer. Perdue, the former chief product marketing officer for the innovative Mexican-style restaurant chain, was responsible for leading the team that designed Doritos Locos Tacos, its most successful product ever, and introducing the restaurant's breakfast menu. "TGI Fridays has a long history of creating firsts in the industry and I look forward to continuing that tradition by breaking the status quo," Perdue said in a statement. "I am thrilled to help write the next chapter for Fridays as we reimagine the brand for both team members and guests." Perdue joined Taco Bell in 2004 as a brand manager and rose to vice president of brand marketing and, shortly after, chief product marketing officer. Comstock is the former CEO of Strategic Restaurants Corp., a company that was once among the largest Burger King (Toronto Stock Exchange: QSR-CA) operators in the U.S. "Jerry is a long-time veteran of the restaurant business, but even more importantly, he knows the Fridays business," TGI Fridays CEO John Antioco said in a statement. "He spent years fine-tuning best practices for executing a superior guest experience at his restaurants. In addition, he has excellent long-term relationships with Fridays' franchisees, who now own and operate over 90 percent of our 470 U.S. locations. "Casual dining, including Fridays, needs to be more imaginative and differentiated, especially around product innovation, marketing, and customer engagement," Antioco said. Both positions have been vacant for more than six months. My fight is for the poor and giving them their due: PM Modi India oi-Oneindia By Oneindia Staff Writer New Delhi, Feb 7: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday spoke in the Lok Sabha responding to President's address. Thanking the MP's he said: "Various members of the House added vigour into the debate and shared insightful points. I thank the MPs for their participation." Modi, however, made a quick swipe at Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi and said: "Finally an earthquake did occur." Modi said how can someone see 'SEVA' or any positive virtue in the word 'SCAM'. A quake will come if I speak in Parliament: Rahul Gandhi Citing Indira Gandhi's Emergency Era, Modi said: "We remember how democracy was under threat from 1975 to 1977, when opposition leaders were jailed, newspaper freedom curtailed. It is due to 'Jan Shakti' that the person belonging to a poor family can become the prime minister of India." Taking a dig at the Congress, he said Congress feels only one family got Independence for India. "The root of the problem lies there. I never heard them speak about the role of Chandrasekhar Azad, Bhagat Singh and many other freedom fighters who laid down their lives for the country," he said. "There are many people like me, who could not die for the nation during the freedom struggle but we are living for India and serving the country. Somewhere on the way, 'Jan Shakti' was forgotten. We do not accept this." Talking about the Swachh Bharat campaign Modi said that he was surprised there were some who made cleanliness a political issue. " Why can't we work together towards Swachh Bharat," he asked. Raking the demonetisation issue, Modi said that the government was ready from Day 1 to discuss the issue, but members of the Opposition were busy giving TV bytes instead of having a debate on the issue. "It does not matter how big you are, you will have to give back what belongs to the poor. My fight is for the poor and giving the poor their due. This fight will continue," Modi said. "Corruption begins with currency. Earlier people used to ask 'how much is gone', now people ask 'how much has Modi brought back'. This is how discourse has changed after we have assumed office," Modi said. Modi said that good economy was needed ad hence, this was a proper time. "Like Swachh Bharat, demonetisation is a movement to clean India of corruption and black money," said Modi. Questioning the several alterations in MNREGA, Modi asked: "MNREGA has been modified 1035 times to suit requirements of the common man?" Modi urged the Opposition to work together with the government. "You want to oppose Modi, you should do it. But lets work together to promote the good things. Changes you all are seeing are not happening suddenly, proper planning has been put in place," he said. Highlighting the achievements of the government, Modi said: "22 lakh 27 thousand houses were constructed in one year. We have successfully helped install 21,000 crore LEDs, saving public's Rs 11,000 crore. We have achieved 100% urea neem coating. Rs 7,633 crore leakage in social programs has been stopped by us." Modi said: "Surgical strike was a big decision but none is questioning about it like they do about demonetisation. Many statements were made by political leaders just 24 hours before the surgical strike but their language changed after looking at nation's mood." OneIndia News Pak intruder shot dead by BSF in Pathankot's Bamiyal India oi-PTI New Delhi, Feb 7: Border Security Force (BSF) on Tuesday shot dead a Pakistani intruder along the Indo-Pak International Border in Bamiyal sector of Pathankot in Punjab, the same spot from where terrorists had infiltrated last year to attack an IAF base. Officials said the BSF observation post detected suspicious movements of an intruder around 8:15 am at about 50 metres from the IB fence. They said the troops challenged the intruder but seeing no response they fired which killed him on the spot. The exact location where the incident took place is the Simbal border post of the BSF in Bamiyal area of Pathankot. Officials said as the area is witnessing heavy fog, the border troops are yet to retrieve the body from near the fence. In January last year, terrorists from across the border had infiltrated in the sector and went on to launch an audacious attack on the strategic Indian Air Force (IAF) base. PTI People didn't vote for Sasikala, will contest polls, says Jaya's niece India oi-Anusha Hours after founding member of the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam PH Pandian raised questions over Jayalalithaa's death, her niece addressed the media slamming party general secretary Sasikala Natarajan. Deepa Jayakumar claimed that the people of Tamil Nadu did not vote Sasikala to power. "Only a democratically elected person should become the chief minister and everybody knows that people did not vote for Sasikala," she said. Her statements come on the day Sasikala's swearing-in ceremony was stalled due to the governor's unavailability. Deepa has been in the spotlight ever since she was denied permission to meet Jayalalithaa on November 4 when she suffered a cardiac arrest while undergoing treatment at the Apollo Hospital. The leader was declared dead the very next day. Deepa also slammed the press meet organised by the government to dispel the rumours around Jayalalithaa's death and claimed that Dr Richard Beale's statements were influenced by government pressure. "I have been raising my voice about the mysteries around her death. Why were I and the media kept away? The doctors refused to give details of why she was admitted and what treatment was given to her and who authorised those treatments. Who is the family they were referring to?" asked Deepa. She accused Sasikala of distancing her from Jayalalithaa and denying her the right of a family. Will contest polls, says Deepa Jayakumar Speaking to the media, Deepa reiterated that she will contest elections and was waiting to make announcements regarding the same on her aunt's birthday. "I will contest elections but it is not necessary that I contest from the same constituency (RK Nagar). I want to carry my aunt's work forward and do something for the people of Tamil Nadu. You may take this the way you want, and I am open to criticisms. Unless I am given an opportunity to serve the people, how can someone decide if I can or can't?" Deepa said responding to a question on the timing of her statements. Deepa said that her claim to Jayalalithaa's legacy had more to do with the welfare of the people of Tamil Nadu than property. She assured that she will make Tamil Nadu the best state in the whole of Asia and won't betray the people who are standing by her. She also added that political instability would arise if Sasikala came to power. OneIndia News For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Tuesday, February 7, 2017, 16:46 [IST] Sasikala awaits swearing-in; TN guv says sorry, cant come India oi-Anusha Clearly miffed with not being kept in the loop over Sasikala's elevation as well as Panneerselvam's resignation, Tamil Nadu in-charge Governor Vidyasagar Rao caused All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam some massive embarrassment on Tuesday. While the party made all arrangements for its general secretary Sasikala Natarajan's swearing in ceremony, the governor cancelled all his programs in Tamil Nadu. Rao was scheduled to visit Coimbatore to be a chief guest at a University's convocation. In a sudden change of plans, he cancelled his visit and sent his apologies for not being able to take part in the convocation. The AIADMK that was hoping to get the governor to Chennai for the swearing in ceremony was left red-faced as he cancelled his visit and called his family back to Mumbai. Sources suggest that it is unlikely for the governor to return on Wednesday as well. All through the day on Monday, the governor ensured that no details of his program were leaked to and kept his Tamil Nadu official driver away. It seems like it is going to be 'wait and watch' after all for the AIADMK that was quick to elevate Sasikala. Stalin to meet PM Meanwhile, the leader of the opposition and working president of the DMK M K Stalin is all set to meet the Home minister, the President as well as the prime minister. Stalin is expected to leave to Delhi on Tuesday night and meet Narendra Modi on Wednesday. Request to stop Sasikala from taking over the post of chief minister is going to be right on top of his agenda when he meets Modi. The AIADMK has turned into a house of confusion with no information flowing down to the cadres or even those at the helm of affairs. Police deployment continues at the Centenary auditorium in Madras University that was all decked up for the swearing in ceremony. OneIndia News Scarlett Keeling murder case: CBI challenges acquittal India oi-PTI Panaji, Feb 7: The CBI has moved the Bombay High Court challenging the Goa children's court order acquitting the two persons charged with sexually abusing British teenager Scarlett Eden Keeling and leaving her to die on state's Anjuna beach in 2008. The petition was filed with the Goa bench of HC on February 3 by Central Bureau of Investigation claiming that Special Judge Vandana Tendulkar did not apply her mind while delivering the judgement due to which both the accused went scot-free. "CBI has filed petition before Goa Bench of Bombay High Court challenging the order of Goa children's court wherein both the accused in Scarlett Eden Keeling death case were acquitted," a senior CBI official told PTI. Scarlett's bruised, semi-nude corpse was found on the famous Anjuna beach on February 18, 2008. Two locals - Samson D'Souza and Placido Carvalho - were accused of leaving the girl to die on the beach after drugging and sexually abusing her. The case, which was initially investigated by Goa police, was later handed over to CBI by the state government after Scarlett's mother, Fiona Mackeown, raised doubts on the investigations. Goa children's court after examining several witnesses, on September 23 last year acquitted both the accused, eight years after the death of the 15-year-old girl. The court ruled that the prosecution could not establish offence against both the accused. The CBI which was unhappy with the judgement has said in its petition that 'Special Judge had not applied her judicial mind, both on the points of law and on facts of the case.' "The judge wrongly came to the conclusion that there was a delay in recording statement of the witnesses," the CBI has said in their petition. Meanwhile, Vikram Varma, lawyer representing Scarlett's mother, said that the autopsy confirmed that she was raped and murdered. [CBI files FIR in Scarlett Keeling murder case] "Substantial evidence was destroyed and there was conscious delay in handing over the investigation to the CBI. The criminal justice system consists of many cogs and wheels, anyone of which can subvert the entire system. This has been such a case so far," he added. PTI 'Severe' yet again: Delhi air continues to remain toxic with AQI at 431 Anand Mahindra's tweet about UPI at country's 'last tea shop' is every Indian's emotion Stalin heads towards Delhi to 'stop' Sasikala's rise in TN politics India oi-IANS By Ians English Chennai, Feb 7: Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam Working President MK Stalin is likely to visit New Delhi to meet President Pranab Mukherjee, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Rajnath Singh to appraise them of the political situation in Tamil Nadu. However, party spokesperson and MP TKS Elangovan said there was no official confirmation about the visit. "I am in Delhi and so are the other party MPs. We haven't got any information about Stalin's Delhi visit. He may come tonight (Tuesday)," Elangovan told IANS over phone from Delhi on Tuesday. According to reports, Stalin will appeal to President Mukherjee not to allow All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam General Secretary VK Sasikala to be sworn as the Chief Minister till the apex court delivers its judgement in the corruption case in which she is one of the accused. Tamil Nadu's ruling AIADMK legislators elected Sasikala as the leader of the legislature party. Following that, Chief Minister O Panneerselvam submitted his resignation and the Governor Vidyasagar Rao has asked him to continue in office till an alternate arrangement is made. The swearing-in date is yet to be finalised. IANS Woman, her two children mowed down by train; Suicide not ruled out Train derailment mastermind arrested in Nepal India oi-Vicky By Vicky Shamshul Huda the alleged mastermind of the train derailment cases in India has been arrested in Nepal. He is likely to be brought down to India for questioning. [Shamshul Huda: The man who masterminded ISI's terror on tracks] Huda's name had cropped up during the probe by the Bihar police. It was revealed during the probe that Huda activated a module in Bihar to carry out the Kanpur express accident. Huda according to the police was in touch with an operative in Dubai who is said to have given orders to carry out operations that would result in train accidents. OneIndia News Twitter, Facebook, Whatsapp: BJPs steps up online WAR India oi-Vicky By Vicky The Bharatiya Janata Party is known to use the social media extensively during an election campaign. The case this time around too is no different and the BJP's IT cell has spared no effort in using the social media during its campaign in Goa, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Uttarakhand and Manipur. Amit Malviya, in-charge of the BJP's national information and technology speaks with OneIndia about the election campaign in the five states. In this candid chat, Malviya says that the BJP's social media foot-print in Uttar Pradesh is most prominent. UP most prominent: Malvia says that the engagement levels where the social media is concerned is eight times that of their rivals. "We augmented the social media handles with our national page which has made it even more larger. We have a national network on Whatsapp and have networked this to every constituency. We also have two representatives in every constituency and we will provide digital communication and technology," Malviya says. Uttarakhand and Whatsapp "Uttarakhand has been covered through Whatsapp channels. Here we are hoping to dislodge the Congress government. We have 1,600 office bearers who are linked on these channels. In this state the focus is more on the Facebook pages and Whatsapp channels," Malviya adds. Social media focus on Manipur Malviya points out that the campaign in Manipur too has a lot of social media focus. "We have a very vibrant campaign running in Manipur. We have a Whatsapp group for every constituency. In fact, there are around 160 volunteers in the state for the social media," he adds. "The campaigns in Goa and Punjab are already done. In Punjab the social media team's focus was more on those constituencies where the party's candidates were contesting. In Goa we found that Twitter was smaller. While every district was linked to Whatsapp channels there was a lot of emphasis given on the Facebook page as well," Malviya says. Impact and issue: In UP, social media is the most dominant. It has the largest number of absolute people on digital channels. We will get to see a lot more traction here," he says. "In those states where we are not in power, we are highlighting the failure of the incumbent government. In UP we are raising the issue of electrification in a big way. The point here is that this has happened not because of the state government but after the BJP came to power at the centre. This was an initiative of the Centre," he adds. On the demonetisation issue, Malviya points out that those who are unaligned or unaffiliated with the BJP have supported the move. "The support was, in fact, great. We have also used the social media to bring out first person accounts of how supported this move," says the BJP's IT cell in-charge. OneIndia News UP election: Campaigning heats up in politically most critical state India oi-IANS By Ians English Lucknow, Feb 7: The action has begun in Uttar Pradesh. Election strategists, central and state ministers, Chief Ministers from other states and the Prime Minister himself are criss-crossing the sprawling state as they hard-sell their parties to voters. More than a dozen hired choppers are clattering from one rally to the next, carrying leaders of all hues, making stopovers in small towns and dusty hamlets, while thousands of two- and four-wheelers are on the move, ferrying candidates and supporters. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has addressed two major rallies in Meerut and Aligarh in one week, Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav has addressed more than 10, Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) chief Ajit Singh has been mingling with the Jat community and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati is explaining why she needs to return to power. Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi and Akhilesh Yadav have jointly held road shows in Lucknow, Agra and Kanpur. Their next stop is Varanasi, which sent Modi to the Lok Sabha. Many state ministers are spending nights in far-flung villages, many without electricity. Union ministers Kalraj Mishra, Rajnath Singh, Piyush Goel, Smriti Irani, V.K. Singh, Ravi Shankar Prasad and Mukhtaar Abbas Naqvi have been hopping from one city to another. Modi's digs at his opponents have sparked terse responses. Modi's action-packed speeches are being responded to by regional satraps in their own ways. Egged on by social media workers, Akhilesh Yadav is at the forefront of taking on Modi with crisp one liners. Shivpal Yadav, once the tallest of state ministers but now pushed to the sidelines by his nephew and Chief Minister, is leading the emotional brigade with his passionate off-and-on appeals on how some people (Akhilesh) get everything by luck and legacy while some slog it out but get nothing (himself). Mulayam Singh Yadav, now cut-to-size as a mentor of the Samajwadi Party he founded, may be ageing but many are wondering what his next move would be. So, if the 78-year-old one day spat on the Congress-Samajwadi alliance, the next day he sobered down saying he will campaign for the coalition as it was stitched up by his son. Gorakhpur's firebrand MP Mahant Adityanath and other saffron-robed leaders are pitching in with the Ram temple issue, adding their own dash of drama. Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh has entered the fray, using peppery sentences like "Jo baap ka na hua, wo aap ka kya hoga". The reference to Akhilesh Yadav is not missed. The 43-year-old Chief Minister, knowing the risk of alienating his father's supporters, has been invoking Mulayam's legacy in places of Yadav dominance: Etah, Auraiyya, Hathras. Television actor-turned-politician Smriti Zubin Irani added to the heady cocktail in Lucknow. Asked to comment on BJP leader Vinay Katiyar's sexist remark on Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, she snapped back at the scribe, asked him to come to the front row. She handed him her mobile phone and asked him to read out loud a message on a social networking site. The journalist turned red. The combative Union minister said Priyanka's husband Robert Vadra had made a remark about her and got no criticism from Priyanka Gandhi or any other Congressman. The first phase of the Uttar Pradesh polls is due on February 11, while campaigning for six others is yet to begin. Yet there is plenty happening in the country's politically most critical state. IANS For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Tuesday, February 7, 2017, 17:21 [IST] UP elections: BSP, BJP rework strategy in western UP India oi-PTI Lucknow, Feb 7: With the SP-Congress alliance going strong after initial hiccups, BSP and BJP have been forced to rework their strategies in the western belt of Uttar Pradesh where Muslim voters are a major force to reckon with. Western UP has 140 Assembly constituencies spread over 26 districts which will go to polls in the first two phases on February 11 and 15. BSP, which was expecting a cake walk in the wake of feud in the Yadav family, to provide a strong alternative to BJP, got a blow with the coming together of two young faces of Indian politics - Akhilesh and Rahul - who do not have any previous record of hobnobbing with the saffron party. To win over Muslims, BSP fielded has fielded as many as 50 Muslim candidates in the first two phases as it felt that Muslim vote along with its own core Dalit vote bank would see its candidates through. However, with the coming together of SP and Congress, the community got an option to choose between the two dispensations sending BSP knocking the doors of Muslim leadership and drum up the Muzaffarnagar riots with renewed vigour. The fact that Muslims are important in the scheme of things for SP too can be seen in the party fielding Muslims on 42 of the 140 western UP seats. Interestingly on 28 seats in the first two phases, both BSP and SP have fielded Muslim candidates. If the Mayawati-led party is focussing on providing a "riot-free" and "crime-free" state on coming to power, the SP alliance is reopening the pages of BSP's history, especially its (BSP's) alliance with the saffron party. "Can the community ever pardon Mayawati for 'falsely' implicating 43 youths on terror charges during her regime which is yet to be proved," posed a Samajwadi Party leader. BSP is also out to tar Akhilesh Yadav as "anti-Muslim" with the new entrant in the party Afzal Ansari, brother of mafia-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari, recalling a statement by Mulayam Singh Yadav in this regard that Akhilesh was working against the interest of Muslims. Ansari has resolved to campaign all over the state against the "anti-Muslim" Akhilesh. PTI Volaris launched in 2006. (Volaris) The airline industry is always evolving, with legacy carriers like American (AAL), Delta (DAL) and United (UAL) revamping their fare and class structures to compete with new, low-cost options. The scaled-down model has been lucrative for airlines like Southwest and Spirit paving the way for other value carriers to expand into the US. On Feb. 1, Volaris, the second-largest airline in Mexico after Aeromexico, announced new daily flights from Miami to Mexico City. The low-cost carrier will also begin four weekly flights to Guadalajara. With tensions between Mexico and the US high, it might seem like a weird time to branch out; the Trump administration is talking about repatriating jobs, building a wall and imposing a 20% tax on goods from Mexico. That said, tourism between the two countries has always been strong. In fact, the National Travel and Tourism Office reported that a record 28 million Americans visited Mexico in 2015. Its statistics like this that keep Volaris focused on the future. Volaris sees the US as its significant market for growth and expansion, said a spokesperson from GCYA, the airlines PR agency. They want to stay above the politicsand build air bridges not walls. In addition to Miami, Volaris just announced a once weekly flight from Guadalajara to San Francisco. New routes from Mexico City to Houston and New York City will launch on March 1, and a route from Guadalajara to Milwaukee will begin on March 2. Currently, the Mexico City-based airline flies to 29 US cities, including New York, Los Angeles, Houston and Denver. The Angel of Independence in Mexico City. (Photo: Getty) While this might be the first time youre hearing about Volaris, the airline isnt new. Launched in 2006 with $130 million in investment, Volaris has a larger presence in the United States than any other Mexican airline, offering more than 200 daily flights on routes connecting the two countries. Internationally, Volaris flies to more than 60 cities in Mexico, Costa Rica, Guatemala, El Salvador, Puerto Rico and the US. Story continues Looking at its business model, Volaris functions like other low-cost carriers. Two personal items, like a small purse or backpack, are included in your fare. If you want to bring on a medium-sized roller bag, it will cost between $25 and $50, depending on whether youre flying into or out of the US. Customers also have to pay extra for seat selection, snacks and beverages (including water). Where base fares are concerned, we were able to find one-way tickets from Chicago, Miami, Los Angeles and New York to Cancun and Mexico City for around $160. Keep in mind that many of these routes offer limited flight times with longer layovers. But if keeping costs low is your main concern, then Volaris does the job. As with many value airlines, cheaper tickets often take the place of comfort and convenience. On the site AirlineRatings.com, Volaris earned 2 out of 10 stars for passenger satisfaction, with many travelers complaining about delayed flights, expensive luggage fees and lackluster customer service. In response, the airline tells Yahoo Finance that it is working to continuously improve customer service in our ultra low-cost model. One area where Volaris does excel is safety. In 2016, AirlineRatings.com highlighted the top 10 safest low-cost airlines in the world, based on operational excellence and safety innovation. Volaris made the list, thanks to its crew preparedness and young fleet of planes. Our fleet is one of the most modern in the Americas with an average age of only 4.5 years, the company said. Our aircraft have the best and most modern technology to ensure a safe and efficient operation. Low-cost carrier, Volaris, has one-way trips from the US to Mexico for $160. Ultimately, Volaris is just one of many carriers increasing the number of routes between the US and Mexico. In addition to Volaris, Southwest, JetBlue, Alaska Air, and Viva Aerobus have all applied for 24 travel slots (locations to land and take off at airports) in New York and Mexico City with the Department of Transportation (DOT). The DOT will select how many slots each airline will receive by May 17, 2017. Meanwhile, Southwest just announced nonstop service between San Diego and San Jose del Cabo, Mexico. In December, the airline also started twice daily flights from LAX to Cancun and Cabo San Lucas for $129 each way. So while Volaris shows no signs of slowing down their expansion into the US market, it will surely face competition along the way. Brittany is a writer at Yahoo Finance. More: Thanks to Trump, travel to Mexico is cheaper in 2017 American Airlines introduces Basic Economy class. Is it worth it? Heres where to find the cheapest flights Why PM Modi has urged everyone to visit Nadabet, the 'Wagah of Gujarat' UP poll rallies: Special security arrangements for PM Modi, Rahul India oi-PTI Ghaziabad, Feb 7: A team of Special Protection Group arrived in Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh, on Monday and held a meeting with senior officials of Meerut zone to review the security arrangements at Kamla Nehru Nagar for Prime Minister Narendra Modi's election rally on Wednesday. Senior Superintendent of Police Deepak Kumar said the SPG team on Monday rehearsed the landing and take-off of the helicopters at a helipad prepared by Central Public Works Department. Inspector General of Police, Meerut zone, Ajay Anand also inspected the rally venue. The ground was sanitised by metal, land mine detectors and sniffer dogs. Thereafter, it was handed over to the security agencies for the rally of the Prime Minister who will arrive in the city around 11 am on February 8, officials said. On the same day, Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi will arrive in Murad Nagar to address poll meeting at Ramlila ground at Raoli road in the afternoon. A SPG team visited the meeting venue and instructed officials to sanitise it. PTI With Kashmir in its name, JuD is putting pressure on Pak gov India oi-Vicky By Vicky On Saturday, the Jamaat-ud-Dawa which is the financial wing of the Lashkar-e-Tayiba renamed itself as the 'Tehreek Azadi Jammu and Kashmir'. This is the second name change for the JuD which had earlier called itself the Falah-e-Insaniyat. A name change is effected each time there is pressure on the outfit. This time around the name change was effected following the house arrest of the JuD boss Hafiz Saeed in Pakistan. [JuD is now known as TAJK after crackdown on leadership] The new name is interesting, considering it has Jammu and Kashmir in it.The Tehreek Azadi Jammu and Kashmir is a carefully chosen name and with this, the JuD is looking to put pressure on the Pakistan government by dishing out a very sentimental issue. Security experts tell OneIndia that the name is a carefully chosen one. "The name change comes in the wake of the Pakistan government cracking down on the JuD activists. Now with this new name which has 'Kashmir' in it, the outfit it trying to tell the people that the crackdown is taking place against a movement. By adding 'Kashmir' the JuD is trying to say that it is raising the cause of Jammu and Kashmir. "When the name change was effected, the outfit said that it was supporting Pakistan's policy on Kashmir. It also said that it was extending diplomatic support for the Kashmiri right to self-determination. Experts say that the new outfit feels that it could dish out the sentiments of the people by using this name. Any crack down on this outfit would lead the people to believe that the Pakistan government is not serious about the Kashmir cause. It is more of an eye-wash and a pressure tactic on the government of Pakistan, experts also point out. On Friday, the JuD had announced the launch of this new outfit. This is the second time that the JuD is changing its name. Earlier the outfit was renamed Falah-e-Insaniyat. An official announcement was however made on Sunday. Several banners of this new group are already on display in various parts of Pakistan. The group also held a conference on Sunday to discuss the Kashmir issue. Official sources say that although it is being claimed that TAJK is a new outfit, in reality it is the JuD with a name change. With Pakistan under pressure to act against terrorists, these groups are coming up with new methods to avoid a ban, officials in the intelligence agency say. OneIndia News For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Tuesday, February 7, 2017, 12:56 [IST] Are you awake?: EAM Jaishankar recalls when he got a call from PM Modi at midnight Afghanistan: 20 dead in blast outside Kabul's Supreme Court International oi-Oneindia By Oneindia Staff Writer At least 20 people were killed and 38 injured in a powerful blast in front of Kabul's Supreme Court on Tuesday, said reports. Suicide bomb explosion that occurred in parking of Supreme Court killed 20 people and injured at least 38: Afghan Media #Kabul ANI (@ANI_news) February 7, 2017 A suicide bomber is said have blown himself up in the court's car park when employees were leaving the building. There are no reports of any terrorist group having claimed the responsibility for the attack. However, most such attacks in Afghanistan in the past have been traced to Taliban, which is fighting the government there. The government forces are fighting the Taliban insurgency for over a decade now. OneIndia News Band of US Attorney Generals protests against Donald Trump's travel ban International oi-PTI Washington, Feb 7: As many as 16 US Attorney Generals have joined the bandwagon opposing President Donald Trump's controversial travel ban on citizens from seven Muslim-majority nations, saying the "discriminatory" order is "unconstitutional and un-American". The Executive Order signed by Trump banning countries that include Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen has been halted by a federal court in Seattle. The Trump Administration has challenged this stay order before the US 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, before whom Attorney Generals from as many as 16 States have filed amici curiae brief against the Executive Order. "This filing is about keeping our communities safe, protecting our economy, and upholding the rule of law. Pennsylvania was founded on the promise of liberty and we're proud to help lead this effort in support of Washington State's lawsuit," Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro said. "No president or administration is more powerful than our laws and our Constitution. As state AGs, it is our job to hold this administration accountable and stand for the interests of our states and our residents. We are united in this effort," said Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey. New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman said the ban is unconstitutional, unlawful and fundamentally un-American. "We won't stand by while it undermines our states' families, economies, and institutions," he said. "From filing our own federal lawsuit last week, to partnering with fellow Attorneys General on this amicus brief on Monday, we will use every tool at our disposal to fight President Trump's discriminatory order and help ensure the rule of law prevails," he added. The Administration's reckless dismissal of the Constitution threatens to rip apart California families, risks their economic well-being and defies centuries of our American tradition alleged California Attorney General Xavier Becerra. "Immigrants are the life-blood of our nation who work hard to build our country, especially in California. Our universities, medical institutions, businesses, and our tax base are all harmed by President Donald Trump's unconstitutional and un-American order," he said. The amicus brief calls to uphold the federal district court's ruling and deny the federal government's emergency motion for stay, as it would return the country to the confusion and chaos created by the executive order in its implementation last weekend. PTI Why killing of Masood Azhars nephew Fauji Bhai is a major shot in the arm China blocks ban on Maulana Azhar proposed by US International oi-Vicky By Vicky China has once again blocked an attempt to have Masood Azhar, the chief of the Jaish-e-Mohammed terror group, blacklisted by the United Nations. This time the proposal was moved by the US, UK, France. The Indian government will once again raise this issue with the Chinese government, sources informed. China has last year used a technical hold to block the ban proposed by India. This time however China blocked the proposal by the US, UK and France. All three nations had expressed displeasure over China's attitude while ststing that Azhar was a dangerous terrorist. Azhar is wanted in India for various incidents of terrorism. He is an accused in the Parliament and Pathankot attacks. OneIndia News Donald Trump vows to defeat 'radical Islamic terrorism' International oi-PTI Washington, Feb 7: US President Donald Trump on Monday delivered a strong message to radical Islamic jihadists that America and its allies will defeat the "forces of death" who "worship destruction", and in defence of his immigration ban said he will not allow them to get a foothold in the country. "We're up against an enemy that celebrates death and totally worships destruction. You've seen that," Trump said during his first visit to Central Command which is responsible for an area that includes the Middle East and Central Asia. "ISIS is on a campaign of genocide, committing atrocities across the world," he said, referring to Islamic State by its acronym ISIS, that has gained a foothold in Iraq and Syria. The Central Command plays an important role in the US-led mission against the Islamic State terrorist group. Trump, now in his third week as the US President, visited the command centre on his way back to the White House after a three-day break in Florida. Trump, the commander in chief of the US, made the comments after a lunch with troops from the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines. "Radical Islamic terrorists are determined to strike our homeland, as they did on 9/11, as they did from Boston to Orlando to San Bernardino and all across Europe. You've seen what happened in Paris and Nice. All over Europe it's happening. It's gotten to a point where it's not even being reported," he said. Continuing his tirade against the US media, Trump alleged that "the very, very dishonest press" doesn't want to report the incidents of terrorism. "They have their reasons and you understand that," he told his commanders. "So today we deliver a message in one very unified voice to these forces of death and destruction. America and its allies will defeat you. We will defeat them. We will defeat radical Islamic terrorism. And we will not allow it to take root in our country. Not going to allow it," Trump said. In an apparent reference to a US federal court halting his executive orders preventing people from seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the US, Trump said the country needs strong programmes so that "people that love us and want to love our country and will end up loving our country are allowed in". "Not people that want to destroy us and destroy our country," he said amidst cheers and applause. Freedom, security and justice will prevail, he asserted. PTI In Pics: Romanias unique way to protest International oi-Oneindia By Oneindia Bucharest, Feb 7: Romanian Prime Minister Sorin Grindeanu, who leads a coalition government had last week approved a controversial executive order that decriminalised certain grant offences and protected politicians from prosecution. The ruling coalition had passed the controversial order without taking any input from Romanian parliament. For a week people of Romania took to streets to protest against the executive order and ultimately the government was forced to withdraw the order. The demonstrators gathered for sixth consecutive day into Bucharest's Victory Square to protest as the people felt that there has been decrease in the will of the government to fight corruption. Romanian residing in various countries too showed their solidarity with the protestors and continued the protests in different countries attracting lot of attention towards their cause. Here are some pictures of the massive protest staged by Romania in decades: A woman shouts slogans during protest A woman shouts slogans during a protest in Bucharest, Romania, Monday, Feb. 6, 2017. The leader of Romania's ruling center-left coalition said Monday the government won't resign following the biggest demonstrations since the end of communism against a measure that would ease up on corruption. Image courtesy: PTI. Demonstrators carry puppets Demonstrators carry puppets depicting, left to right, Justice Minister Floring Lordache, former Prime Minister Victor Ponta, head of the senate Calin Popescu Tariceanu, leader of the social democratic party Liviu Dragnea, and Prime Minister Sorin Grindeanu during a protest in Bucharest, Romania, Friday, Feb. 3, 2017. Romania's political crisis is deepening over a government decree that may benefit rich and powerful people convicted of corruption. Central banner reads: "we came to steal because it is legal". Image courtesy: PTI. Banner reads "We will be here every day" A protester walks with a banner that reads "We will be here every day" past a riot police line as thrown stones litter a pavement after minor clashes erupted during a protest in Bucharest, Romania, Thursday, Feb. 2, 2017. Protesters and riot police clashed sporadically in Romania's capital late Wednesday as tens of thousands demonstrated against the government for decriminalising some official misconduct, a move that critics at home and abroad called a major a setback for the anti-corruption fight. Image courtesy: PTI. Corrupt administration must leave Protests continued even after the executive order was taken back. This showed that people wanted the corrupt government to leave. Image courtesy: @YourAnonNews. Protest in Antarctica Citizens of Romania protest in Antarctica. Image courtesy: @Ogisa_. Protestors showed how to resist Protestors encouraged each other to increase the number of protestors and slept on the streets as they protested against government. The message was very clear that Romanians were not ready to let go off the government. Image courtesy: @mariusbancila. Protest in Chicago Romanians in Chicago showed their solidarity with the protestors and protested in Chicago. Photo by Alina Bucur. Image courtesy: @PositiveRomania. OneIndia News From plotting a hijack to creating the JeM, why Pakistan guards Masood Azhar so much In a case of bad karma Taliban outs Pakistan on what India had always said on Azhar Maulana Azhar declared proclaimed offender by NIA court International oi-Vicky By Vicky The special court of the National Investigation Agency bas issued a proclamation order against Jaish-e-Mohammad chief Maulana Masood Azhar and three others. This would mean that Azhar is a proclaimed offender which makes it easier for the NIA to seek his custody. Azhar currently is residing at Pakistan. The NIA had moved the court seeking to declare Azhar as a PO in connection with the Pathankot Attack case. The court had issued notices under Section 82 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. Azhar was required to respond to the notice by 30 days. However since he failed to do so the court declared him a PO. The others declared as Proclaimed Offenders are Azhar's brother Abdul Rauf and two alleged handlers, Shahid Latif and Kashif Jan. The order comes just a few hours after China blocked a move to ban Azhar at the United Nations. China, this time blocked the ban proposed by the US, UK and France. OneIndia News Ukraine grain deal: UN says shipments are still going out Russia to convene regional conference on Afghanistan International oi-PTI Moscow, Feb 7: Russia on Tuesday said it was convening a conference of leading regional powers on Afghanistan and pushed again for talks with the Taliban. Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov confirmed Moscow would host a meeting in mid-February with representatives from Afghanistan, Pakistan, China, Iran and India during a press conference with his counterpart from Kabul Salahuddin Rabbani. "We are expecting that our partners will be represented at a high level. Most have confirmed their participation," Lavrov said. Lavrov reiterated Moscow's stance that 'the Taliban must be included in a constructive dialogue' to help find a solution to halt worsening violence in the war-ravaged nation at a time the Islamic State group has expanded its presence. Russia's meeting does not include Western powers who have had troops in the country since the American-led invasion in 2001, but Lavrov said Moscow was hoping better ties with US President Donald Trump could jump-start cooperation over Afghanistan. Moscow -- which fought a disastrous military campaign in Afghanistan during the Soviet period -- has been increasingly flexing its muscles as a key broker on the world stage since intervening in the Syrian war in 2015. PTI Trump's travel ban: Court to take a call on the controversial decision International oi-IANS By Ians English Washington, Feb 7: A federal appeals court in San Francisco has scheduled a hearing on whether to restore President Donald Trump's controversial travel ban, the media reported. The scheduling was announced on Monday evening, around the same time the Trump administration filed legal briefs with the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals to overturn a federal judge's decision to halt the order blocking entry to the US of refugees and citizens from seven Muslim-majority countries, The Hill magazine reported. The appeals court will hear arguments on Tuesday evening at 6 pm, with each side getting 30 minutes of argument time conducted over the phone. The hearing will be live audio streamed on the court's public website. Initially, the court said a recording of the call would be made public after the hearing. James L Robart, a federal judge in Seattle, Washington, on February 3, agreed to issue a nationwide restraining order temporarily halting the travel ban. The appeals court denied a request from the Trump administration for an emergency stay on Sunday, but is expected to rule on whether to allow the immigration policy to remain on hold sometime after the hearing. If the restraining order is upheld, Trump could ask the Supreme Court to step in. The case will be heard by Judge William C Canby Jr, appointed by President Jimmy Carter; Judge Michelle T Friedland, appointed by President Barack Obama; and Judge Richard R Clifton, appointed by President George W Bush. On Monday, Sean Spicer, the White House press secretary, said the administration stood ready to reinstate the entire ban, The New York Times reported. "Once we win the case, it will go right back into action," he said. In his own remarks on Monday, Trump said the US should admit "people that love us and want to love our country and will end up loving our country" and not "people that want to destroy us and destroy our country." IANS DAY 8 / JANUARY 27: Trump's order to restrict people from seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the United States sparked confusion and anger after immigrants and refugees were kept off flights and left stranded in airports. REUTERS/Carlos Barria By Huw Jones LONDON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump's review of post-crisis banking rules could sound the death knell for new global standards now being finalised and rip apart a common approach to regulating international lenders, bankers and regulators said. Central banks and watchdogs around the world have spent the past eight years drawing up regulation aimed at preventing a repeat of the 2007-2009 financial crisis, but there are fears that project could unravel after Trump said he wants the U.S. to row back on capital rules. Trump's order for a regulatory review to overcome what he sees as obstacles to lending came as banking watchdogs were trying to complete the final piece of global capital requirements, known as Basel III. Given that the United States wants to shrink the banking rule book, there are doubts over whether the Basel rules can make it over the finishing line next month if they don't have backing from the United States. Without support from the world's biggest capital market, other countries would be less willing to commit too. The core aim of the outstanding part of Basel III that regulators are working on - dubbed Basel IV by critical banks who worry about more stringent capital requirements - is to impose more consistency into how banks calculate the amount of capital they hold against risky assets like loans. JPMorgan chief executive Jamie Dimon said in the aftermath of the financial crisis that European rivals had been "a lot more aggressive" than American banks in calculating capital, meaning they were holding less. European policymakers have rejected that criticism, but their region's banks have been lobbying against the remaining Basel rules, saying they would force them to increase significantly the amount of capital they need to hold. If the United States fails to approve the completion of Basel III, the perceived problem that European banks get away with holding less capital than U.S. lenders may not be properly tackled, a source involved in the negotiations said. Story continues "It's in the interests of American banks to get this done," the source said. Others are less optimistic that a deal can now be done after Trump's intervention. "It's going to delay completing Basel III, and perhaps lead to it not being concluded," an adviser to banks said on condition of anonymity. "I do fear that Basel IV is doomed," a banking industry official added. There are headwinds from elsewhere, too. Patrick McHenry, Republican vice chairman of the House financial services committee, fired a warning shot at Federal Reserve Governor Janet Yellen about the Basel talks in a letter dated Jan. 31, ahead of Trump's executive order. The Fed must "cease" all attempts to negotiate binding standards "burdening American business" until the Trump Administration has had the opportunity to nominate officials that prioritize "America's best interests", McHenry said. While lawmakers often call on regulators to ease pressure on firms, regulators said Trump's intervention in banking rules gives more clout to McHenry's warning. The Basel Committee declined to comment. GLOBAL COOPERATION Trump's decision to review existing, post-crisis banking rules has rung alarm bells among regulators outside the country. Mario Draghi, president of the European Central Bank, which regulates the euro zone's main lenders, said on Monday that easing banking rules could threaten financial stability. Draghi was chairman of the Group of 20 Economies' (G20) regulatory task force, the Financial Stability Board, which during the financial crisis was instrumental in building up a global approach to reinforcing banking standards. A former regulator said the United States would be scoring an own goal by withdrawing from multilateral bodies like Basel as it would no longer be shaping rules that impinge on U.S. banking competitiveness globally. "It's early days, but what we have seen in language and rhetoric from Washington is worrying," said David Wright, a former top EU official who was part of crisis-era efforts to create the global regulatory consensus. "If you break international consensus, you are effectively opening up a regulatory race and heaven knows where it will end," said Wright, now at Flint Global, which advises companies on regulatory matters. Wright was referring to what was seen in the run-up to the financial crisis, when countries like Britain resorted to a "light touch" approach to banks to make London a more attractive financial center. Valdis Dombrovskis, the EU's financial services chief, said last week that international regulatory cooperation had been vital in tackling the financial crisis and must continue. Much will hinge on how much regulatory change Trump can actually push through. Former Democratic Congressman Barney Frank, who jointly sponsored the Dodd Frank Act that Trump wants to review, told the BBC last week he does not expect Congress to approve the wholesale rolling back of rules, but the Trump administration could pressure U.S. regulators to ease up on applying existing requirements. Anil Kashyap, a Bank of England policymaker, said last month that Trump's nomination for the powerful role of Fed Vice Chair in charge of banking supervision would shape the U.S. approach to international rule-making. It will have a "huge impact", a regulatory source added. The fear among global regulators is that multilateral bodies like the Basel Committee and the Financial Stability Board could be abandoned by the United States under Trump. Jose Ignacio Goirigolzarri, chairman of Spain's Bankia, told Spanish television on Tuesday he would be concerned if Trump was questioning the usefulness of international banking rules. "It would worry me very much because I think it's very important, very relevant that there have been advances in the homogenization of regulation amongst developed countries," he said. (Additional reporting by Paul Day in Madrid, editing by Giles Elgood) 2008-2022 One News Page Ltd. All rights reserved. One News is a registered trademark of One News Page Ltd. WASHINGTON (AP) Scrappy as ever, Donald Trump on Monday dismissed polls showing low approval ratings as "fake news." But whatever his opinion, active opposition to his go-it-alone presidency appears to be widening. From corporate boardrooms to the halls of Congress, Trump is facing an unprecedented effort to disrupt even the most basic of his presidential functions. It's an evolving, largely grass-roots effort that aims to follow Trump and his potential supporters everywhere they go and there are early signs that it's having an impact. The Trump name alone is enough to spark outrage. There are plans for a mass "mooning" of Trump Tower in Chicago. Boycotts are underway of companies that sell Ivanka Trump's clothing line or advertise on NBC's "Celebrity Apprentice," where Trump has remained an executive producer. Congressional offices are being flooded with emails, social media messages and calls jamming phone lines. Hundreds of protesters are flocking to town halls and local congressional offices, some in strongly Republican districts, to voice their opposition to Trump's Cabinet picks, health care plans and refugee restrictions. The goal, say organizers of some of the efforts, is nothing short of complete resistance. It's a strategy Democrats say they learned from the success of the tea party movement, which stymied President Barack Obama's agenda through protests, door-to-door political action campaigns and online activism. "The lesson from the last eight years is, sadly, that implacable resistance works," said Rep. Gerry Connolly, D-Va. "Because it's all about your base, and I will simply point out that our base is bigger than theirs, and it's riled up." Trump and some Republicans shrug it off as sore losers unwilling to accept the results of the election. The president's core supporters, in states like Iowa and Wisconsin, applaud him as a man of action, delivering on his campaign promises to move quickly and shake up Washington. Story continues Although recent polls show his approval ratings in the 40s, a historic low for a new president, Trump rejects the surveys as false. "Any negative polls are fake news, just like the CNN, ABC, NBC polls in the election. Sorry, people want border security and extreme vetting," he tweeted on Monday. "I call my own shots, largely based on an accumulation of data, and everyone knows it." Later Monday, Trump renewed his Twitter attacks on The New York Times, slamming the paper "for the poor reporting it did on my election win. Now they are worse!" Trump's base is likely to reward him for his actions, say former White House aides, who note that all presidents face opposition and public demonstrations. "It's only a problem if it lets it stop him from doing what he seeks to do," said former George W. Bush spokesman Ari Fleischer, who recalled a travel stop in Portland, Oregon, when protesters threw rocks at the president's motorcade. "When it comes to policy full speed ahead, the people screaming at you can't be convinced to be for you in any case." But recent presidents never faced the kind of multi-front opposition that Trump is now experiencing so early in their terms. Last week, he canceled a trip to the Harley-Davidson factory in Milwaukee, where local groups planned to protest his event. The White House said the protests weren't the cause. And on Saturday, more than 1,000 protesters beat drums, sang and chanted outside the gates of Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort, where the president was attending a Red Cross benefit. The displays of public outrage have been aimed not only at Trump but at lawmakers, world leaders and corporate executives who might be tempted to work with him to pass key parts of his agenda, like replacing the health care law or rewriting trade agreements. The White House claims to be unimpressed by the protests. In fact, a lot of the demonstrators are simply paid to show up and shout, says Trump Press Secretary Sean Spicer. But that's just a fantasy, foes say. "The level of mobilization against Trump is almost like nothing I've ever seen before," said Joe Dinkin, spokesman for the Working Families Party, which coordinates weekly anti-Trump events across the country. "Collaboration with Trump is a path that will bring well-deserved ire." Already, there are some signs that the early efforts may be having an impact on his ability to promote his agenda across the globe. On Monday, the speaker of Britain's House of Commons said he strongly opposes Trump addressing Parliament, making it unlikely he'll be given the honor during a state visit later this year. Technology executive Elon Musk spent hours on Twitter over the weekend defending his decision to serve on Trump's business council. So far, one CEO Uber's Travis Kalanick has quit the group after facing a weeklong rider boycott. The ACLU saw donations pour in after it sued the government over the refugee ban. And Republican lawmakers are bracing themselves for an onslaught of rowdy town hall meetings, after congressmen in California and Florida faced raucous crowds last weekend. "The situation was rapidly escalating into a riot," said California Rep. Tom McClintock, who had to be extracted by police from an event in downtown Roseville, the population center of his sprawling congressional district. "One thing came through loud and clear: They were not angry at President Trump for breaking any of his promises - they were angry at him for keeping them." Though the U.S. stock market had a stellar run after the election of Trump in November, the trend seems to have reversed in recent weeks. A host of challenges laid by Trump seems to be blocking the bullish trend in the stocks, leading to increased market uncertainty and political worries. Inside the Rising Woes Trumps protectionist and anti-trade policies like immigration curb, travel ban, border tax, and termination of trade agreements have sparked concerns over global trade, economic growth and political stability. Soon after he took office on January 20, Trump terminated the 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership deal, which covers 40% of the world's economy. This could hit American workers and manufacturing activities. In addition, it is seeking to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) that would heighten geopolitical risk in the Middle East and Asia. Trump also stated his plan to build a wall along the U.S. southern border to keep Mexican immigrants away and wants Mexico to pay for it. Plus, the President is considering a 20% border tax on imports from Mexico that could help in building a U.S.-Mexico wall. This could deepen the crisis between the two neighbors and result in a trade war (read: Welcome Trump Era with These ETFs). Further, Trump signed an executive order to suspend entry into the U.S. and blocked visas of citizens from seven Muslim-dominated nations Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia and Yemen for 90 days. The move triggered widespread protests and resulted in chaos across the globe. As the President is focusing too much on anti-trade policies, fears over the delayed implementation of tax cuts, deregulation and fiscal stimulus that propelled the rally since election are weighing on the stock market. Added to the uncertainty is the series of elections and referendum in Europe this year that could create chaos all over the world market. All these events have led to risk-off trading, with lower-risk securities including precious metals and bonds in vogue. Given this, we have highlighted some ETFs that could definitely reward investors in the current market environment. iPath S&P 500 VIX Short-Term Futures ETN VXX While volatility products have been terrible performers over the medium and long terms due to a contangoed market and a steep roll cost, they are intriguing picks during periods of turmoil or uncertainty. The ETN focuses on the S&P 500 VIX Short-Term Futures Index, which reflects implied volatility in the S&P 500 Index at various points along the volatility forward curve. It provides investors with exposure to a daily rolling long position in the first and second months VIX futures contracts. The note has amassed $999.1 million in AUM and charges 89 bps in fees per year. It sees truly impressive volume of about 37.5 million shares a day and shed 8.2% over the past 10 days (read: Profit from the Trump Bump with Volatility ETFs). SPDR Gold Trust ETF GLD Gold is often viewed as a store of value and a hedge against market turmoil. The product tracking this bullion like GLD could be an interesting pick to play the market turbulence. The fund tracks the price of gold bullion measured in U.S. dollars, and kept in London under the custody of HSBC Bank USA. It is the ultra-popular gold ETF with AUM of $30.4 billion and heavy volume of nearly 9.3 million shares a day. The ETF charges 40 bps in fees per year from investors and added 1.6% over the past 10 days (read: Can Gold ETFs Regain Shine in 2017?). iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF TLT The products tracking the long end of the yield curve often act as safe haven. TLT provides exposure to long-term Treasury bonds by tracking the ICE U.S. Treasury 20+ Year Bond Index. It is one of the most popular and liquid ETFs in the bond space with AUM of $5.2 billion and average daily volume of around 9.5 million shares. Expense ratio came in at 0.15%. Holding 34 securities in its basket, the fund focuses on the top credit rating bonds with average maturity of 26.35 years and effective duration of 17.25 years. It was down 1% over the past 10 days (see: all Government Bond ETFs here). Guggenheim CurrencyShares Japanese Yen Trust FXY Yen is considered a safe haven currency in times of uncertainty. Investors could tap this via FXY which appears a great way to play a future rise in the yen relative to the U.S. dollar. It tracks the movement of the yen relative to the U.S. dollar, net of the Trust expenses, which are expected to be paid from the interest earned on the deposited Japanese yen. The fund charges 40 bps a year in fees and sees a good volume of roughly 196,000 shares per day. The product has accumulated $136.4 million in its asset base and added 1.2% in the same period. Want key ETF info delivered straight to your inbox? Zacks free Fund Newsletter will brief you on top news and analysis, as well as top-performing ETFs, each week. Get it free >> 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 ISHARS-20+YTB (TLT): ETF Research Reports SPDR-GOLD TRUST (GLD): ETF Research Reports CRYSHS-JAP YEN (FXY): ETF Research Reports IPATH-SP5 VX ST (VXX): ETF Research Reports To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research 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 ODN 25 Oct 2022 Gillian Keegan leaves No.10 Downing Street after being being appointed Education Secretary. Report by Guzzardib. Like us on.. Sukumar Rathnam fills a hole in the company's top leadership team left by the departure of Thuan Pham in May. bizjournals 18 Sep 2020 Experts say the Vaquita porpoise not likely to survive, although its habitat is just south of San Diego in the Sea of Cortez. Rumble 02 Apr 2022 Microgaming Seals Major New Deal with PokerStars Published February 7, 2017 by Lee R Complementary partnerships can streamline the iGaming Market for 2017. Microgamings year is starting to take shape in a deal that could shake up the whole iGaming market. A New Level After the announcement of the online providers top-tier supply deal with Pokerstars, Microgaming looks poised to establish a whole new client network for the content supplier trademark Quickfire gaming platform. Strategic Partnership The first partnership of the year for the Isle of Man-base provider will deliver casino content via Quickfire to diversify PokerStars offerings, integrating PokerStars global casino website with Microgamings casino games for a mid-2017 release across desktop and mobile. PokerStars Diversifies This also kicks PokerStars diversification into full gear at a key moment since launching its first casino website in 2014. Reaching Out With jurisdictional financial reports showing minimal growth for poker over the past several years, this looks to be the exact time for PokerStars to look to other gaming products above and beyond poker to sustain growth. Keeping Pace with Expansion This further keeps pace with PokerStars international expansion after recently becoming the first international operator to enter the newly regulated Czech iGaming market with online cash games, tournaments and casino offerings. Optimistic Director Microgamings Quickfire division Director Andrew Clucas expressed his teams excitement at inking a major partnership with a partner whose offices were so nearby, further praising the new global scale of exposure of Microgaming games to millions of PokerStars customers. Meshing Team This looks like a good marriage mainly because these brands are already known as leaders in their field of specialty. Since its establishment in 2001, PokerStars has emerged as iGamings largest and most respected online poker website, with 108 million registered users of the website and 165 million hands dealt. MicroGaming Growth At the same time, MicroGaming has molded itself into one of the major names in the online gaming software sector since its foundation in the 90s through collaboration. At this point, the company boasts over 600 gaming website clients it provides content to. Outlook Together, it looks like they are going to bring each other to even greater heights, at the perfect time for iGaming. Secretary Kerry Meets With Saudi Foreign Minister Saud Al-Faisal and Ambassador al-Jubeir (Image by U.S. Department of State) Details DMCA President Trump's Muslim ban is not only mean-spirited and, hopefully, unconstitutional, but it is irrational because it doesn't even include the country most responsible for spreading terrorism around the world: Saudi Arabia. The travel restrictions on seven Muslim-majority countries was rationalized as a way to thwart potential terrorists from entering the United States, with Trump citing the tragedies of 9/11 and the San Bernardino shooting as motivations behind the executive order. But no citizens of the seven banned countries were responsible for the deaths of any Americans on US soil. It is indeed a glaring omission that Saudi Arabia, the country that furnished 15 of the 19 hijackers on 9/11, was absent from the list. Protecting Saudi Arabia is not new; it has been US policy since the discovery of oil in the desert nation in the 1930s. Despite evidence that the Saudi government was supporting ISIS and Al Qaeda affiliates, President Obama continued the cozy Saudi relationship, including selling the Saudis massive amounts of weapons. But when Obama signed the nuclear deal with Saudi's nemesis, Iran, the relationship started to fray. It now appears that Donald Trump, despite his criticisms of the repressive kingdom during the campaign, will be an even more staunch supporter of the Saudi regime. Trump is certainly well aware of the Saudi terrorist connection and the irony of the US-Saudi relationship. Back in 2011 he called the Saudi regime the world's biggest funder of terrorism and said the Saudi government uses "our petro dollars, our very own money, to fund the terrorists that seek to destroy our people while the Saudis rely on us to protect them." In a 2016 Fox News interview during the campaign, Trump said, "Who blew up the World Trade Center? It wasn't the Iraqis, it was Saudi [Arabia]." He also repeatedly criticized Hillary Clinton for taking Saudi money for the Clinton Foundation and challenged her to return the money. Saudi Arabia's omittance from the ban does not seem so irrational when the dots are connected between the Kingdom and Donald Trump's bank account. While Trump was on the campaign trail, his business ties in Saudi Arabia were blooming with the opening of eight different enterprises. Just after the election, he half-heartedly attempted to avoid conflicts of interest by closing four of the Saudi business endeavors but the status of the other holdings is unknown. The financial connections extend both ways, with Saudis invested in Trump hotels, including the Saudi purchase of an entire floor of the New York Trump Hotel, channeling at least $5.7 million to Trump's company since 2001. At a campaign rally in Alabama, Trump professed his affection for the Saudi royalty and their money. "They are buying apartments and properties from me. They spend $40-50 million. I am supposed to hate them? I love them very much." Trump is not the only one with deep Saudi ties. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson was closely linked to Saudi Arabia during his time as CEO of Exxon. Exxon boasts that it is "one of the largest foreign investors in the Kingdom and also one of the largest private sector purchasers of Saudi Aramco crude oil." Here in the United States, Exxon and Saudi state companies are working together to build a natural gas refinery facility along the Gulf of Mexico to manufacture plastics. When grilled by Sen. Marco Rubio at his confirmation hearing about whether Saudi Arabia was a human rights abuser, Tillerson said that such a label would be undiplomatic and potentially counterproductive. With Rex Tillerson at the helm of the State Department, Saudi Energy Minister Khalid Al-Falih concluded that Trump's policies would be "good for the oil industry." While the Saudis have already invested billions of dollars in U.S. refining and distribution facilities, the Energy Minister said that the Saudis "may be increasing that investment on the back of pro-industry, pro-oil and gas policies of the Trump administration." The Saudi government is also delighted with the Trump administration's tough attitude toward its long-time adversary, Iran. They were encouraged by Trump's constant criticism of the nuclear deal on the campaign trail and by the appointment to cabinet positions of several anti-Iran generals. Indeed, the warning by Trump's National Security Advisor Michael Flynn that the United States was putting Iran "on notice" after a recent missile test must be music to Saudi ears. Next Page 1 | 2 (Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher). From Consortium News California State Sen. Ben Hueso, whose district borders Mexico, says the panic among Latino immigrants -- both documented and undocumented -- in reaction to President Trump's deportation threats requires counter-measures, such as an emergency legal fund for people grabbed by immigration authorities and facing deportation. The Democratic senator cites a surge of fear that goes beyond people who are undocumented, to anyone who may have brown skin or an accent, even if they are citizens or legal residents. I spoke with Hueso in his capital office in Sacramento. Dennis Bernstein: I ... would like to start by asking you to come in the personal door. I imagine this is hitting you at home, where you live. This is the community you represent. Could you, sort of, put a human face on the response to what's coming out of Washington? Ben Hueso: Well, first of all, people are afraid. People don't know what's going to come out of Washington. Most people don't know what their rights are under the law. Some people that are of immigrant descent that were even born in this country feel afraid that they are going to be removed. So, it's creating a lot of uncertainty among people in our community, and it's a growing fear. And I don't think that's the appropriate way to lead a country, lead a community. I was hoping that this administration could come in and unite people around a common goal to improve our country, to create an opportunity for all, to expand our economy. But that doesn't appear to be what's happening. DB: Is it your experience... is there an upsurge in the kinds of attacks, hate crimes, disrespect for the community? Are there more reports? Is this something you are monitoring? BH: That definitely happened. There was a huge spike in my community, right after the election. And, mostly in the schools. There were increases in incidences of bullying. There were racially motivated incidents with kids, graffiti, just all these things that we've never seen before ... that appear to be racially motivated. DB: Racially motivated. Could you say a little bit more about that? ... You represent a community in San Diego. BH: I represent San Diego and Imperial counties. And we got lots of reports, and we also saw news about people praising the policies of Trump in graffiti. People attacking other people, telling them to go back to Mexico, or go back to China. We heard lots of bad comments around the Muslim community. And these kids are afraid. We've heard of teams that can no longer... that have kids from within international communities that are afraid to leave the United States to compete. So, there's lots of stories of people not doing the regular things that they would otherwise do: pursuing their dreams, living their lives. Because they're afraid of what might happen as a result of the announcements made by the presidential administration. DB: Are you concerned that people will be even more hesitant, for instance, if they need emergency support, if they need protection of one sort or another, that they will be less inclined to seek the help they need? Will this create more of, sort of, a "go into hiding" atmosphere? BH: Generally, if there's ever an incident, we always encourage people to call public safety, to get public safety involved. But if people fear public safety, they're not going to call them. And justice will not ever be seen in instances of rape and crime, beatings, I mean whatever. Anybody that's out there who happens to be an immigrant or if an immigrant is involved in an altercation and they're afraid that the law now is... instead of seek justice for them, is gonna deport them from the country, they're just not gonna engage the law. And that's just bad for all of society. That's bad for all of us to live in an unjust society, to have portions of the people of our community, that are contributing productively to our economy and to our society to live in fear, and to live in a condition of hopelessness. DB: Let's talk about what you're trying to do in the California legislature. This is sort of setting the example for the rest of the country, in a way. But there's a lot of activity taking place. We've been speaking with different legislators and we know that Senator Hueso, you want to create a program, a state program, for legal representation for people who are facing deportation under all kinds of new or expanded programs coming out under Trump... do you want to talk about that? 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). It had to happen. I mean you can't establish dictators and despots throughout the world and not have it eventually come home. And it has in Donald Trump. His election has brought the spirits of U.S. darlings Pinochet, Somoza, Marcos, and Duvalier to our shores. We should all be terrified. By the same token, you can't inflict such despotism on people of faith without their eventually discovering in their traditions a God who stands on the side of the poor and oppressed rather than with their wealthy oppressors. That happened with the emergence of liberation theology over the last 50 years among Christians in Chile, Nicaragua, the Philippines, Haiti and elsewhere. In 1979 it happened in Iran with the first Islamic revolution that has since spread across the Middle East. (I've written about that here, here, here, and here.) And now it's happening in the United States. Of course, awareness of the connection between Christian faith and release from oppression dawned most prominently with the Civil Rights Movement and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. Then during the '70s and '80s Catholics joined in as they observed (often first-hand as I did) U.S oppression throughout Latin America. During the '90s and the first decade of the current century, I could even see it emerging among the white U.S. Evangelical students I taught during their term abroad in Central America. As a result, I increasingly witnessed them reading and referencing non-fundamentalists and liberationists like Rob Bell, Shane Claiborne, Brian McLaren, Jim Wallis, and others. And now with the arrival of Trump, a highly political form of liberation theology has hit the "Higher Consciousness Community." I'm referring to followers of Marianne Williamson, Neale Donald Walsch, Eckhart Tolle, Louise Hay, Abraham Hicks, and other teachers of the "spiritual, but not religious" seekers proliferating throughout the United States and the world. Just last week, I personally witnessed unmistakable signs of the latter awakening in Washington, DC during the best three-day conference I've experienced in more than 40 years of attending such events. It was Marianne Williamson's Sister Giant Conference. And judging by the standing ovations nearly all the speakers received from the 2000 attendees, they had similar experiences. (There were also 4000 live-streamers listening and watching.) As you might judge from the conference title, Sister Giant attendees were mostly women. Many of them, two weeks earlier, had attended the DC Women's March. And it was evident that their enthusiasm from that event carried over. Both the march and the conference empowered women, who at Sister Giant were urged to own their power by speakers like Bernie Sanders, Karenna Gore (Daughter of Al Gore), Jean Houston, Rabbi Michael Lerner, Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal, Dennis Kucinich, William J. Barbour, Opal Tometi (co-founder of Black Lives Matter), and Zephyr Teachout. Each of them recognized women as the de facto leaders of the anti-Trump Movement. Many other speakers presented as well including stand-up comic, John Fugelsang who actually told liberation theology jokes. For instance, he pointed out that the Vatican is ahead of the White House on science. Referring to the Bible's Adam's Rib Story, he observed that "The very first woman transitioned to a woman from a man." Meanwhile conference-organizer, Marianne Williamson, supplied her own transitions and highlighted points made. Between speakers, she kept us all focused with her insightful reflections on relevant passages in A Course on Miracles, and spontaneous, unself-conscious prayers like those found in her book Illuminata. She was wonderful. (And unbelievably, she will be coming to speak here in Berea at the end of March.) From all of this, randomly organized thoughts worth sharing here include: This country (the U.S.A.) was never meant to work for people like me. The U.S. government has lost all legitimacy. Our economic system (capitalism) contradicts Jesus' teaching and universal religious values in general; it is based on greed, competition, inequality, racism, violence, and environmental destruction. Donald Trump has shown everyone that he is absolutely unqualified for office. In fact, most people in the Sister Giant audience were better qualified than D.T. The world was not born fair; we have to make it that way. Large groups of desperate people do desperate things. No serious religious path gives anyone a pass allowing them to ignore the suffering of other sentient beings. If Jesus finds injustice intolerable, so must his would-be followers. Native Americans (e.g. at Standing Rock) talk to God, not about God. Neutrality always serves the oppressor, never the victim. In view of Donald Trump's election, it might be time to make America Great Britain again! The main axis of social change is vertical rather than horizontal. American Muslims are the canaries in our coal mine. You are either a feminist or a masochist. It's time for a Pro-Democracy Movement in the United States. My calendar and my checkbook proclaim infallibly what my values are. America needs a new bottom line (not a measure of efficiency and power, but of how loving and generous we are as we stand responsibly before the grandeur of the universe.) We must begin planning for the day when we have to take to the streets -- net neutrality and Social Security will be the issues. Such liberationist thoughts only palely reflect the richness of thoughts shared at the Sister Giant conference. But I hope they give you some idea of what's needed to exorcise the despotic spirits of Pinochet, Somoza, Marcos, Duvalier -- and of Donald Trump. (Image by Cerasis) Details DMCA A tariff is a sharp-edged tool used to carve out the best trade deals for America. It is used to raise the price of imported goods as a defense against unfair competition from foreign markets. And like any other tax, a tariff doesn't have to be universal or permanent: it can be limited, lowered, raised, imposed, and repealed as needed. Even the saber-rattling threat to employ tariffs is so effective that it intimidates any nation who may harbor thoughts of fleecing the U.S. In Article I, Section 8, of the Constitution the Founding Fathers gave Congress the power to "regulate commerce with foreign nations." The Framers encouraged sanctions, duties, and fees as legitimate revenue-raising measures: the second bill signed by President George Washington was legislation establishing tariffs; President James Madison proposed a five-percent duty on all imports; Thomas Jefferson admonished Congress in 1806: "We ought not to depend on supplies from other countries. Shall we suppress imposts [tariffs] and give that advantage to foreign over our own domestic manufacturers?" Targeted import taxes allow domestic start-up companies to compete on a level playing field with state-subsidized foreign corporations. Case in point: Brazil produces nearly half of the world's sugar and uses that status as leverage to manipulate the market. According to Britain's Financial Times, the Brazilian government plans to underwrite its sugar industry to the tune of $1 trillion over the next ten years. Tariffs, quotas, and embargoes also protect American manufacturers from foreign goods produced by forced labor and in sweatshops that "employ" children. In 2016, the Department of Labor identified 139 products from 75 countries using such practices. New and higher tariffs would help finance a cut in income tax as candidate Donald Trump promised. If the price of some imports rise, trimming consumer tax bills would be a nice trade-off. Conservative ideologues who fear using tariffs should note that Ronald Reagan levied a 100-percent tariff on selected Japanese electronics, a 50-percent tax on Japanese motorcycles being dumped on the U.S. market, and put quotas on Japanese auto imports, steel, and machine tools. He was an America-first free trader. The failure to use tariffs effectively has resulted in a $58 billion trade deficit with Mexico. The U.S. trade deficit with China currently stands at $367 billion. China is flooding American markets with cheap goods but pays just about three percent on its exports -- Mexico averages 0.1 percent! Last year, the U.S. charged $34 billion (1.5 percent) in duties and fees on $2.2 trillion in imports. This is a crisis that needs to be addressed: our total trade deficit amounts to $539.8 billion, up from $508.3 billion just two years ago, and shows no sign of tapering off. According to the Economic Policy Institute, between 2001 and 2015, there were 3.4 million fewer jobs for American workers due to mounting trade deficits. President Trump wants to raise the admission fee for the privilege of doing business with the U.S. In doing so, he has proven to have an ear for Middle America's concerns. " In a March, 2016 Washington Post poll on trade, 53 percent of Americans felt free-trade policies cost more jobs than created new ones. " A July, 2016 CBS News/New York Times survey asked, "has the United States gained more or lost more because of globalization?" Thirty-six percent of respondents thought more jobs were created, while 56 percent felt free trade policies lose more jobs. " Just last week, Rasmussen Reports polling revealed that "56 percent of voters agree with President Trump's decision to pull the United States out of the Trans-Pacific Partnership." The 6,000-page Trans-Pacific Partnership deal is the largest trade treaty in U.S. history. TPP mandates would force the U.S., Brunei, Vietnam, Mexico, Malaysia, and other Pacific nations into a one-size-fits-all trade policy. The arrangement even encompasses such non-trade issues as food-safety standards, Internet-traffic regulations, restrictions on generic medications, and foreign supervision of U.S. financial transactions. The Wall Street Journal estimates that by 2025, the Trans-Pacific Partnership will increase the U.S. trade deficit in auto assembly and car parts by $55.8 billion a year. "Free" (not fair) trade policies have American autoworkers competing against Vietnamese laborers who earn a minimum wage of 56 cents an hour. Next Page 1 | 2 (Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher). Two Intel Agcy 'thugs' who became presidents: George HW Bush and Vlad Putin (Image by ThisCantBeHappening!) Details DMCA It's amazing to watch how shallow and self-censoring our corporate media can be. Take the remarkable interchange between President Donald Trump and Fox right-wing talkshow host Bill O'Reilly. In an interview that aired before the Super Bowl, Trump had responded to O'Reilly's question about how he could respect Russian President Putin, whom O'Reilly called "a killer," by saying, "There are a lot of killers. We've got a lot of killers. What do you think -- our country's so innocent? You think our country's so innocent?" Most news organizations reporting on this included the response of Senator Mitch McConnell (R-KY) to Trump's comment, in which the Senate Majority Leader said, "Putin's a former KGB agent. He's a thug. " Left unsaid was the fact that this country also once had a former intelligence agency "thug" as its president: George H.W. Bush. Bush was named CIA director in 1976 by then President Gerald Ford, and during one-year tenure as head of the Agency, he reportedly worked assiduously to protect it from post-Watergate investigations and reforms of its past dirty behavior by shipping agency operatives abroad and out of reach of investigators. Furthermore, as investigative reporter Russ Baker, author of a book on Bush called Family of Secrets, reports , Bush's connection to the CIA, kept secret for years, stretches way back to the days of its precursor agency, the OSS, and lasts at least through 1963 and the Kennedy assassination . It was during Bush's tenure as CIA director that agents of Chile's intelligence service, the DINA, planted a bomb in the car of former Chilean foreign minister Orlando Letelier, then living and working in exile in Washington, DC. The bomb killed Letelier and an American assistant, Ronnie Moffet. DINA was very closely coordinated with the CIA, which had orchestrated the 1973 military coup that overthrew the elected Socialist government and murdered Chilean President Salvador Allende, for whom Letelier had worked, later becoming a chief critic of the subsequent military dictatorship. At a minimum, Bush's CIA appears to have known about the plot to kill Letelier, and he subsequently worked to cover up any links to either DINA or the CIA. Bush's CIA also helped coordinate a continent-side Murder Inc. project against leftists in Latin America called Operation Condor. In any event one could even more properly refer to President Obama as a thug, courtesy not of any nefarious background as a former CIA operative, but in his role as murderer-in-chief with his Tuesday morning "kill list" sessions, where he would decide whom to target next for a drone attack. According to the Bureau of Investigative Journalism, during his eight years in office, President Obama ordered 563 strikes at specific alleged terrorist targets. While it is unclear how many of those actual targets were successfully killed (many are known to have escaped), the BIJ claims that by its count between 384 and 807 civilians, including children, were also killed in the attacks. Other sources say the number of those "collateral damage" killings is actually considerably higher. The charge is often made that several dozen Russian journalists critical of Putin and the Kremlin have died under mysterious circumstances, some by outright execution-style murders, which Putin critics then assert could not have happened without Putin's authorization. But there have been no clear links in any of these to Putin. Meanwhile, there have also been a number of curious deaths of American journalists critical of the government and its leaders over the years. Take for example journalist George Polk, killed while covering the Greek civil war in 1948, in a case that many suspect was the work of the CIA, which suspiciously "lost" and "destroyed" its records relating to Polk. Next Page 1 | 2 (Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher). Ballot box (Image by FutUndBeidl) Details DMCA Reprinted from www.truth-out.org By Bob Fitrakis and Harvey Wasserman Donald Trump's relentless insistence that three million "aliens" voted for Hillary Clinton and cost him a popular majority in November's presidential election cuts far beyond what the corporate media is willing to report. When it comes to undermining democracy in the US, Trump is once again proving that the best defense is a total attack, even if it relies on "alternative facts." Trump's Big Lie on voter fraud has been as widely scorned as his fantasies about the size of the turnout at his inauguration. Even the normally restrained New York Times has editorialized that "what once seemed like another harebrained claim by a president with little regard for the truth must now be recognized as a real threat to American democracy." It seems to be dawning on The Times and others that by claiming so many non-citizens voted more than once, Trump re-loads America's Jim Crow lynch laws against Black people voting. Based on these assertions, we can expect more and more aggressive attacks by the administration against the rights of non-whites and non-millionaires to a fair and honest ballot. Indeed, the corporate media has not yet faced the devastation of mass disenfranchisement in 2016. As reported by Greg Palast (www.gregpalast.com) and others, some thirty GOP Secretaries of State across the US used a computer program called Crosscheck to strip thousands of mostly black, Hispanic, Asian-American and Muslim voters from the registration rolls. These mass disenfranchisements could well have made the difference in key swing states like Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania, North Carolina and Florida that allowed Trump to win in the Electoral College while so thoroughly losing the popular vote. Trump's carping about voter fraud has first and foremost has helped divert the public's attention from this defining reality. But unfortunately, there is far more. Let's start with the Electoral College. For the sixth time in US history, the candidate who lost among eligible voters has entered the White House. Last was 2000, when Al Gore beat George W. Bush nationwide by more than a half-million votes. Neither Gore nor the Democratic Party followed this stunning election theft (which had such dire consequences) by launching any kind of movement to abolish the Electoral College. Instead, many Democrats have spent 16 years screaming at Ralph Nader for daring to run for president. Had they instead recruited him to help organize the abolition of the Electoral College, Trump might not now be in the White House. In 2016, the attack on Nader has morphed into a fixation on Russian hacking and anger at the FBI. So barring a miracle (or a Constitutional Amendment) in 2020 and the foreseeable future beyond, the curse of the Electoral College will still be there to serve the popular minority. Trump has also fought hard against any meaningful recounts, And for good reason. As many as 28 states this election showed statistically significant variations between exit polls and official vote counts. In 25 of those states, the "Red Shift" went in Trump's direction. Among statisticians this is known as a "virtual statistical impossibility." In Michigan, which officially went to Trump by about 10,000 votes, some 75,000 ballots came in without a presidential preference, mostly in heavily Democratic urban areas. The idea that 75,000 citizens would take the trouble to vote but not to make a preference among at least four presidential candidates has yet to be explained by the media or the Democrats. Major problems with electronic voting machines, precinct access, ballot chain of custody and vote count issues also surfaced throughout the swing states. But when the Green Party's Jill Stein dared to attempt a recount, Trump launched an all-out attack. High-priced attorneys in Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania and elsewhere did all they could to prevent any realistic examination of what actually happened in the states that gave him the presidency. Meanwhile, rather than doing the work themselves, the corporate media heaped scorn on Stein for daring to examine exactly how Trump became president. The Democrats and the Clinton campaign offered no help beyond sending a few attorneys to "observe" the assault on greens uppity enough to challenge the system that had flipped the presidency, the Congress, the Supreme Court and innumerable state and local governments. Next Page 1 | 2 (Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher). From Consortium News President Ronald Reagan meeting with Guatemalan dictator Efrain Rios Montt (Image by rogerhollander.wordpress.com) Details DMCA Instead of building a "Great Wall" on the Mexican border, President Trump might find it so much cheaper, so much easier, so much more humane, so much more popular -- if the U.S. government would just stop overthrowing or destabilizing governments south of the border. And the United States certainly has a moral obligation to do this because so many of the immigrants are escaping a situation in their homeland made hopeless by American intervention and policy. The particularly severe increase in Honduran migration to the U.S. in recent years is a direct result of the June 28, 2009 military coup that overthrew the democratically-elected president, Manuel Zelaya, after he did things like raising the minimum wage, giving subsidies to small farmers, and instituting free education. The coup -- like so many others in Latin America -- was led by a graduate of Washington's infamous School of the Americas. As per the standard Western Hemisphere script, the Honduran coup was followed by the abusive policies of the new regime, loyally supported by the United States. The State Department was virtually alone in the Western Hemisphere in not unequivocally condemning the Honduran coup. Indeed, the Obama administration refused to even call it a coup, which, under American law, would tie Washington's hands as to the amount of support it could give the coup government. This denial of reality continued to exist even though a U.S. embassy cable released by Wikileaks in 2010 declared: "There is no doubt that the military, Supreme Court and National Congress conspired on June 28 [2009] in what constituted an illegal and unconstitutional coup against the Executive Branch." Washington's support of the far-right Honduran government has continued ever since. In addition to Honduras, Washington overthrew progressive governments which were sincerely committed to fighting poverty in Guatemala and Nicaragua; while in El Salvador the U.S. played a major role in suppressing a movement striving to install such a government. And in Mexico, over the years the U.S. has been providing training, arms, and surveillance technology to Mexico's police and armed forces to better their ability to suppress their own people's aspirations, as in Chiapas in 1994, and this has added to the influx of the oppressed to the United States, irony notwithstanding. Moreover, Washington's North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) has brought a flood of cheap, subsidized U.S. agricultural products into Mexico, ravaging campesino communities and driving many Mexican farmers off the land when they couldn't compete with the giant from the north. The subsequent Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) brought the same joys to the people of that area. These "free trade" agreements -- as they do all over the world -- also resulted in government enterprises being privatized, the regulation of corporations being reduced, and cuts to the social budget. Add to this the displacement of communities by foreign mining projects and the drastic U.S.-led militarization of the War on Drugs with accompanying violence and you have the perfect storm of suffering followed by the attempt to escape from suffering. It's not that all these people prefer to live in the United States. They'd much rather remain with their families and friends, be able to speak their native language at all times, and avoid the hardships imposed on them by American police and other right-wingers. President Trump, if one can read him correctly -- not always an easy task -- insists that he's opposed to the hallmark of American foreign policy: regime change. If he would keep his Yankee hands off political and social change in Mexico and Central America and donate as compensation a good part of the billions to be spent on his Great Wall to those societies, there could be a remarkable reduction in the never-ending line of desperate people clawing their way northward. [This article originally appeared at the Anti-Empire Report, http://williamblum.org/] Congress Switchboard: 202-224-3121 "Rob Kall gives readers an important wake up call to the bottom up power that they have to protect their rights, powers, and freedoms. His advice applies to all aspects of life, including politics, economics, journalism, entertainment, and psychology and wellness. Kall's book explains the differences between the top-down leadership approach of dominating, fear based, disconnected authoritarianism and the bottom-up connection consciousness that emphasizes values, justice, fairness, equity, and kindness. This book helps readers see the whole elephant as opposed to the disconnected parts. Kall gives great advice as to intensifying, expanding, prolonging, and deepening connections. With his professional background, Rob Kall is the perfect person to write this book. This is a very well-researched book that includes dozens of insightful interviews with top-notch experts. Kall shows how bottom-up small acts can produce massive results. He emphasizes that since we cant avoid this emerging bottom-up connection revolution, we need to learn how to navigate and embrace it. This bottom-up leadership will result in power to the people. This is a fascinating and insightful book, especially in this new era of digital hunting and gathering." Larry Atkins, author of Skewed: A Critical Thinker's Guide to Media Bias Quicklink Not Found Sometimes, authors delete their quicklinks after publishing them. To see if the quicklink was renamed or re-published, please click here. Progressive Content Not Found Sometimes, authors delete their progressive content after publishing. To see if the progressive content was renamed or re-published, please click here. (Image by Bizpacreview) Details DMCA Below is a list of 30 anti-Trump incidents of violence, racism, intolerance, oppression, hoaxing or incitement by protesters, pop culture/Hollywood, college students, teachers, or other Americans. - An activist at a Donald Trump protest told the crowd, "we need to start killing people. First off, we need to start killing the White House... White people, give your f***ing money, your f***ing house, your f***ing property, we need it f***ing all," [watch]. - Anti-free speech riots engulf UC Berkeley, prompting the school to cancel a Milo Yiannopoulos event [watch], where a female Trump supporter was pepper sprayed by a protester [watch], hit with flag poles, cornered, and forced to escape by jumping a fence. Protesters were physically preventing attendees from going inside, and a mob of rioters chased down and beat a Trump supporter unconscious [watch]. - Protesters attempt to prevent people from entering a Gavin McInnes event at NYU, sometimes physically attacking them [watch]. - A professor melted down in public, screaming at the NYPD because they didn't beat up people she labelled "Nazis" [watch]. - The Women's March on Washington barred a pro-life women's group (who opposed Donald Trump) to join the post-inauguration rally because of the group's stance on abortion [read]. - A man in Chicago, David Wilcox, was brutally beaten by people who were screaming "you voted for Trump" [watch]. Then, in the process of trying to stop the perpetrators from stealing his car, Wilcox got caught in the car door, and was dragged as the car sped away until he was flung from the stolen vehicle [watch]. - A high schooler in Maryland was punched and kicked by classmates because the kid was wearing a "Make America Great Again" hat [read]. - Mother's outrage after her son is suspended because HE was beaten up on school bus for wearing 'Make American Great Again' hat [read]. - A Trump supporter was knocked unconscious by anti-travel ban protester in Portland [watch]. - White people were ordered to the back of a march at the DNC protests: "I need all white people to move to the back. This is a black and brown resistance march," a protest organizer said. "You will not have a say all up in here... Take your rightful position and get behind us... If you see any white folks, direct them to the back of the crowd... White media, get to the back... White people to the back, black people to the front." Another woman wearing a hijab can be heard saying, "white people cannot be up front... white people will not be an obstruction no more!" [watch]. - Inside a classroom, a Dallas teacher yelled "die" while pretending to shoot Donald Trump [watch]. - "All I want for Christmas is white genocide," tweeted a college professor [read]. - "If you voted for Trump you cannot eat here! No Nazis," read a sign at a restaurant in Hawaii [read]. - CNN's Marc Lamont Hill: Blacks meeting with Trump are "mediocre Negroes" [watch]. - Muslim students at the University of Maryland are demanding (among other things) that the school puts a prayer room in every major campus building, and pay for transportation to off-campus mosques [read]. - The director of CAIR in Los Angeles tweeted that he hoped more people had died in a Russian plane crash into the Black Sea [read]. - More than 12,000 tweets have called for Trump's assassination since the inauguration [read]. Here are a few recent hoaxes apparently designed to make Trump and his supporters look racist: - A Mississippi man was arrested in the burning of an African-American church that was spray-painted with the words "Vote Trump" -- the man is a member of the congregation, the church's bishop said. [read]. - A Louisiana student fabricated story of hijab attack, police say [read]. - A woman said she was assaulted and called a racial slur, but police said she made the story up. The woman had previously written about Trump supporters: I hope they all get AIDS [read]. - A woman who claimed that three men attacked her on a Manhattan subway and tried to pull off her hijab was charged with filing a false report [read]. - Police: Threat to burn UM student wearing hijab did not happen [read]. And here are some recent pop culture/Hollywood examples of intolerance, sexism, race-baiting and violence: - Eminem calls Trump a 'bi*ch,', and raps about brutally raping Anne Coulter. - Sarah Silverman called for the military to overthrow Trump [read]. - Filmmaker Lexi Alexander said she agreed with the riots at UC Berkeley and told her Twitter followers to "punch Nazis... riot when your college invites a Nazi... set it all on fire" [read]. - Saturday Night Live audience cheers wildly after character calls Donald Trump "little white bi*ch [watch]. - Ashley Judd said, "I feel Hitler in these streets... A mustache traded for a toupee. Nazis renamed." Judd also attacked Trump's relationship with his daughter, Ivanka, by saying, "your daughter [is] your favorite sex symbol." [read]. - Madonna said she had thought about "blowing up the White House" [read]. - Robert DeNiro said he would "like to punch [Trump] in the face" [read]. - Snoop Dogg on black artists performing at the Trump inauguration: "Which one of you jigaboo-ass nig**s gonna be the first one to do it? Wait, I'm going to roast the fu*k out of one of you Uncle Tom-assed nig**s for doing it [read]. Note: The views expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of St. Pete for Peace. From Consortium News Fox News' anchor Bill O'Reilly interviewing President Donald Trump. (Image by Fox News screengrab) Details DMCA Gaining acceptance in Official Washington is a lot like getting admittance into a secret society's inner sanctum by uttering some nonsensical password. In Washington to show you belong, you must express views that are patently untrue or blatantly hypocritical. For instance, you might be called upon to say that "Iran is the principal source of terrorism" when that title clearly belongs to Saudi Arabia and other Gulf state allies that have funded Al Qaeda, the Taliban and the Islamic State. But truth has no particularly value in Official Washington; adherence to "group think" is what's important. Similarly, you might have to deny any "moral equivalence" between killings attributed to Russian President Vladimir Putin and killings authorized by U.S. presidents. In this context, the fact that the urbane Barack Obama scheduled time one day a week to check off people for targeted assassinations isn't relevant. Nor is the reality that Donald Trump has joined this elite club of official killers by approving a botched and bloody raid in Yemen that slaughtered a number of women and children (and left one U.S. soldier dead, too). You have to understand that "our killings" are always good or at least justifiable (innocent mistakes do happen from time to time), but Russian killings are always bad. Indeed, Official Washington has so demonized Putin that any untoward death in Russia can be blamed on him whether there is any evidence or not. To suggest that evidence is needed shows that you must be a "Moscow stooge." To violate these inviolable norms of Official Washington, in which participants must intuitively grasp the value of such "group think" and the truism of "American exceptionalism," marks you as a dangerous outsider who must be marginalized or broken. Currently, President Trump is experiencing this official opprobrium as he is widely denounced by Republicans, Democrats and "news" people because he didn't react properly to a question from Fox News' Bill O'Reilly terming Putin "a killer." "There are a lot of killers." Trump responded. "We've got a lot of killers. What do you think -- our country's so innocent. You think our country's so innocent?" Aghast at Trump's heresy, O'Reilly sputtered, "I don't know of any government leaders that are killers." Trump: "Well -- take a look at what we've done too. We made a lot of mistakes. I've been against the war in Iraq from the beginning." O'Reilly: "But mistakes are different than --" Trump: "A lot of mistakes, but a lot of people were killed. A lot of killers around, believe me." "Moral Equivalence" Though Trump is justly criticized for often making claims that aren't true, here he was saying something that clearly was true. But it has drawn fierce condemnation from across Official Washington, not only from Democrats but from Trump's fellow Republicans, too. Neoconservative Washington Post opinion writer Charles Krauthammer objected fiercely to Trump's "moral equivalence," and CNN's Anderson Cooper chimed in, lamenting Trump's deviation into "equivalence," i.e., holding the U.S. government to the same ethical standards as the Russian government. Then-Vice President George H.W. Bush with CIA Director William Casey at the White House on Feb. 11, 1981. ( (Image by Photo credit: Reagan Library)) Details DMCA Next Page 1 | 2 (Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher). I worked at the Cape May County Special services school for a year in 2011 and during my tenure I came to realize the importance of quality education to the children who are physically and emotionally disabled. The former principal of Ocean Academy, Mary Margaret Lynn, was so wonderful and kind. She was the most kind principal I've ever met. It was wonderful to see the children at the special-services school getting the right kind of education that helps them improve the quality of their life. For children with disabilities, as for all children, education is vital and it is a key to economic development of a community. Access to free education is a strong step towards achieving the economic progress for our disabled children. But sadly some countries have barriers such as inadequate resources, teacher training and support, lack of financial support and policies, and hence are unable to educate them effectively. Due to lack of proper environment there is no teaching-learning environment. Disabled children who are still struggling for hand-to-mouth problem because of their lack of courage and opportunities must get help. Implementing awareness programs through education is a first strong program towards achieving this goal. I think doing this will be give rise to acts towards helping humanity. The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) recognizes the right of all children with disabilities both to be included in the general-education systems and to receive the individual support they require. According to UNESCO more than one billion people around the world, of whom nearly 93 million are children, live with some form of disability. Children with disabilities are one of the most discriminated groups, facing daily discrimination in the form of negative attitudes. Children are the targets of social attacks by the social inequalities. Disabled children are often likely to be among the poorest members of the population in many countries and they are being bullied. They are less likely to attend school, access medical services, or have their voices heard in society. WHO emphasized on prioritizing good quality education in an inclusive environment to children with disabilities all over countries. WHO further added, "Countries cannot achieve Education for All or the Millennium Development Goal of universal completion of primary education without ensuring access to education for children with disabilities." Minors with disability especially living on or below the poverty line are also "extremely vulnerable" towards sexual exploitation and have no opportunity for education, globally. Children are dropping out of childhood. Disabled Children want good education and social protection but for the past decade, the responsible institutions have failed miserably to protect and provide children's right, globally. There are no statistics available on the number of victims. But, once young people feel hopeless, they really do give up. They don't take the steps that might build a constructive future. Therefore, I think it is a better way for the New Jersey to spend its revenues toward the objective of making educational reforms. Our educational department's program and its main target has to be disabled children. Furthermore, this program will also cause social and educative motivation in hundreds of suffered class resulting social development at the end. Besides, this concept will get very influential media coverage since it is definitely a new and relevant concept that focuses on disabled children in New Jersey. Stop Killing Muslims (Image by Black Agenda Report) Details DMCA "Since 2001, war has been normalized in the U.S. -- especially war against Muslims."... by BAR executive editor Glen Ford [ BlackAgendaReport.com ] In the most dramatic expression of insider opposition to a sitting administration's policies in generations, over 1,000 U.S. State Department employees signed on to a memo protesting President Donald Trump's temporary ban on people from seven predominantly Muslim countries setting foot on U.S. soil. Another recent high point in dissent among the State Department's 18,000 worldwide employees occurred in June of last year, when 51 diplomats called for U.S. air strikes against the Syrian government of President Bashar al Assad. Neither outburst of dissent was directed against the U.S. wars and economic sanctions that have killed and displaced millions of people in the affected countries: Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen. Rather, the diplomatic "rebellion" of last summer sought to pressure the Obama administration to join with Hillary Clinton and her "Big Tent" full of war hawks to confront Russia in the skies over Syria, while the memo currently making the rounds of State Department employees claims to uphold "core American and constitutional values," preserve "good will towards Americans" and prevent "potential damage to the U.S. economy from the loss of revenue from foreign travelers and students." In neither memo is there a word of support for world peace, nor a hint of respect for the national sovereignty of other peoples -- which is probably appropriate, since these are not, and never have been, "core American and constitutional values." "The diplomatic 'rebellion' of last summer sought to pressure the Obama administration to join with Hillary Clinton and her 'Big Tent' full of war hawks to confront Russia in the skies over Syria." Ironically, the State Department "dissent channel" was established during one of those rare moments in U.S. history when "peace" was popular: 1971, when a defeated U.S. war machine was very reluctantly winding down support for its puppet regime in South Vietnam. Back then, lots of Americans, including denizens of the U.S. government, wanted to take credit for the "peace" that was on the verge of being won by the Vietnamese, at a cost of at least four million Southeast Asian dead. But, those days are long gone. Since 2001, war has been normalized in the U.S. -- especially war against Muslims, which now ranks at the top of actual "core American values." Indeed, so much American hatred is directed at Muslims that Democrats and establishment Republicans must struggle to keep the Russians in the "hate zone" of the American popular psyche. The two premiere, officially-sanctioned hatreds are, of course, inter-related, particularly since the Kremlin stands in the way of a U.S. blitzkrieg in Syria, wrecking Washington's decades-long strategy to deploy Islamic jihadists as foot soldiers of U.S. empire. The United States has always been a project of empire-building. George Washington called it a "nascent empire," Thomas Jefferson bought the Louisiana Territory from France in pursuit of an "extensive empire," and the real Alexander Hamilton, contrary to the Broadway version, considered the U.S. to be the "most interesting empire in the world." The colonial outpost of two million white settlers (and half a million African slaves) severed ties with Britain in order to forge its own, limitless dominion, to rival the other white European empires of the world. Today, the U.S. is the Mother of All (Neo)Colonialists, under whose armored skirts are gathered all the aged, shriveled, junior imperialists of the previous era. "The United States has always been a project of empire-building." In order to reconcile the massive contradiction between America's predatory nature and its mythical self-image, however, the mega-hyper-empire must masquerade as its opposite: a benevolent, "exceptional" and "indispensible" bulwark against global barbarism. Barbarians must, therefore, be invented and nurtured, as did the U.S. and the Saudis in 1980s Afghanistan with their creation of the world's first international jihadist network, for subsequent deployment against the secular "barbarian" states of Libya and Syria. In modern American bureaucratese, worrisome barbarian states are referred to as "countries or areas of concern" -- the language used to designate the seven nations targeted under the Terrorist Travel Prevention Act of 2015 signed by President Obama. President Donald Trump used the existing legislation as the basis for his executive order banning travelers from those states, while specifically naming only Syria. Thus, the current abomination is a perfect example of the continuity of U.S. imperial policy in the region, and emphatically not something new under the sun (a sun that, as with old Britannia, never sets on U.S. empire). The empire preserves itself, and strives relentlessly to expand, through force of arms and coercive economic sanctions backed up by the threat of annihilation. It kills people by the millions, while allowing a tiny fraction of its victims to seek sanctuary within U.S. borders, based on their individual value to the empire. "The mega-hyper-empire must masquerade as its opposite: a benevolent, "exceptional" and "indispensible" bulwark against global barbarism." Donald Trump's racist executive order directly affects about 20,000 people, according to the United Nations High Commissioner on Refugees. President Obama killed an estimated 50,000 Libyans in 2011, although the U.S. officially does not admit it snuffed out the life of a single civilian. The First Black President is responsible for each of the half-million Syrians that have died since he launched his jihadist-based war against that country, the same year. Total casualties inflicted on the populations of the seven targeted nations since the U.S. backed Iraq in its 1980s war against Iran number at least four million -- a bigger holocaust than the U.S. inflicted on Southeast Asia, two generations ago -- when the U.S. State Department first established its "dissent channel." But, where is the peace movement? Instead of demanding a halt to the carnage that creates tidal waves of refugees, self-styled "progressives" join in the macabre ritual of demonizing the "countries of concern" that have been targeted for attack, a process that U.S. history has color-coded with racism and Islamophobia. These imperial citizens then congratulate themselves on being the world's one and only "exceptional" people, because they deign to accept the presence of a tiny portion of the populations the U.S. has mauled. Next Page 1 | 2 (Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher). In 1996, making good on a shrewd political promise, President Clinton ended "welfare as we know it". In 2017, battered by election losses, the Democratic Party should double down on a far bigger reform: ending "wealthfare" as we know it. The mission couldn't begin at a worse time, or a better time. The triumphant GOP, trifecta in hand, is off in its usual one-way direction. The party is giddy at the prospect of handing another huge tax cut to the rich, including the elimination of an estate tax that affects less than one-third of one percent of all Americans. If the idea of making the rich richer gets under your skin, you're not alone. Americans of all political stripes have had it up to here with a rigged system, and nothing says rigged louder than "wealthfare". "Welfare as we know it" met its end because Everybody Just Knew the money went to people who didn't deserve it. "Wealthfare" has reached its apotheosis because Everybody Just Knows the money goes to people who do deserve it. They're all masters of the universe, hardworking, hard-driving job creators; the rest of us, awestruck, can only properly show our gratitude by showering them with more money. We do this in myriad ways, most blatantly with tax expenditures. The Tax Policy Center defines tax expenditures (a.k.a. tax breaks) as "the estimated revenue losses from special exclusions, exemptions, deductions, credits, deferrals, and preferential tax rates in federal income tax law." For fiscal 2018, the Office of Management and Budget estimates those losses at more than $1.5 trillion, slightly more than the amount paid in individual income taxes in 2015. Putting it another way, the Treasury will lose more revenue in fiscal 2018 from tax breaks than it took in from personal income taxes in 2015. All Americans love tax breaks and benefit at least minimally (e.g., anybody who files a tax return is entitled to an exemption and a standard deduction). Small potatoes aside, "wealthfare" flows overwhelmingly to the top. According to a TPC analysis, the top 1 percent of the income hierarchy receive 32 percent of all benefits from itemized deductions; even more, the same 1 percent receive over 62 percent of the benefits from preferential rates on capital gains, dividends and related preferences. Lower rates on capital income than labor income are the biggest single driver of income inequality. Modest moves by President Obama to raise capital-gains taxes for those making upwards of $200,000 were enough by themselves to reduce such inequality for the first time in years. Now, of course, a GOP-controlled Congress could well do away with Obama's actions (all in the supremely ironic, "alternative fact" name of tax reform). These few paragraphs barely scratched the surface of "wealthfare." Here are two books that dig far deeper, without ever mentioning the word: Dean Baker, " Rigged: How Globalization and the Rules of the Modern Economy Were Structured to Make the Rich Richer; James Kwak, Economism: Bad Economics and the Rise of Inequality. Baker's book speaks to "an enormous upward redistribution of income in the United States in the last four decades... [This] was not the result of globalization and the natural workings of the market. Rather it was the result of conscious policies that were designed to put downward pressure on the wages of ordinary workers while protecting and enhancing the incomes of those at the top." Kwak writes that bright-eyed collegians, hungry for answers, too often take as gospel the elegant graphs and theorems of Economics 101. They become easy prey for a central belief of supply-side economics: the virtue of "reducing the tax burden for the very wealthy." That's no problem at all, given "the particular zeal politicians have for reducing or eliminating taxes on investment income--money you earn by sitting around and watching your assets grow." Taken together, the books make a compelling case for pulling back from individual-centered "wealthfare" and putting the money instead toward the common good (infrastructure, for instance). At this point I'm proud to introduce Sheryl J. Grana, a professor at the University of Minnesota and a fierce "wealthfare" critic . You'll meet her at the end of the following comments thread to a recent Truthout article . Barry: It is well-known that great wealth [and the trans-generational passing of such wealth] undermines democracy. It really is about time to demand that the rich, who have benefited most by our economic system, pay [their fair share]. Re-asserting inheritance taxes on estates over $5MM and increasing long-term capital gains rates to at least that of ordinary income would be a good start.... Next Page 1 | 2 (Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher). From The Nation Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker grabbed again for the national spotlight Thursday and Friday, trying to pick a fight with Democratic Senator Tammy Baldwin over her principled objections to President Trump's nomination of Judge Neil Gorsuch for the Supreme Court vacancy that Republican senators refused to fill during the final year of Barack Obama's presidency. But Baldwin refused to let Walker get away with it -- and in so doing she showed Democrats, Independents, and responsible Republicans how to respond to the extreme partisanship of Republican political careerists who encouraged the obstruction of Obama's nomination of Judge Merrick Garland last year but now demand the immediate and unquestioning advancement of Gorsuch. After Trump announced his nomination of a rigid right-wing judicial activist to the high court, Baldwin said: "The importance of the Supreme Court and the decisions they make have a profound effect on the daily lives of all Americans so I will do my job to fully review Judge Gorsuch's record." "Judge Neil Gorsuch is a disastrous choice for the U.S. Supreme Court -- especially now, given the president's repeated demonstrations of contempt for our democratic institutions," observed Nan Aron, the president of the Alliance for Justice, who explained that: "This shows us how vital the federal courts are as a check against unconstitutional and erratic acts by the other branches. Judge Gorsuch's record shows no sign that he would offer an independent check on the dangerous impulses of this administration. What it does show is that he would put the agenda of powerful special interests ahead of the rights of everyday people, and work to undermine countless laws that protect consumers and workers; safeguard clean air and water; ensure safe food and medicine; and protect civil rights. He would also endanger women's rights and the rights of LGBTQ communities." Click Here to Read Whole Article People for the American Way produced a detailed indictment: "* Gorsuch has consistently advocated and ruled against workers and in favor of big corporations. He's argued for limiting class-action lawsuits against corporations and has ruled against women bringing suits that challenge gender discrimination in the workplace. Such Corporate Court jurisprudence leads to the elevation of corporate interests above the interests of the people, who the Constitution was meant to serve and who the laws were written to protect. "* He was one of the original judges in the Hobby Lobby decision, in which the US Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit ruled that corporations are people and that they can refuse to cover birth control as part of their employees' health insurance. The ruling that Gorsuch joined disturbingly allowed corporations to use religion as a guise to discriminate against women. "* He ruled that a police officer did not use excessive force when he killed a young man by shooting him in the head with a stun gun, contrary to his training manual. The man had been stopped by police after he admitted that some marijuana plants were his, at which point he ran off. At no point had he committed any violent acts. At a time when the abuses of our criminal justice system are becoming a national crisis, we cannot confirm a justice who does not understand the role of the Supreme Court to protect the most vulnerable among us. "* Gorsuch has supported overruling the so-called Chevron doctrine, an established Supreme Court rule deferring to administrative agencies' interpretation of ambiguous statutes. Even Justice Scalia rightly noted, '[I]n the long run, Chevron will endure and be given its full scope' because 'it more accurately reflects the reality of government, and thus more adequately serves its needs.' Overruling this precedent would cause far-reaching repercussions and serious harm to everyday Americans. The doctrine is crucial for worker protections, scientific advancement, and more." On Thursday, after reviewing the record, Senator Baldwin announced: "Judge Gorsuch should be held to the same standard that Supreme Court justices have been held to previously and President Trump needs to earn 60 votes in the Senate, but I am not one of them. I have a number of concerns about this nominee's deeply troubling record, particularly his rulings against disabled students, against workers, and against women's reproductive health care." Next Page 1 | 2 (Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher). The Trump administration is ushering in a frightening new era of American military expansion. President Trump says he will add 60,000 troops to the Army and increase the Marines by over one-third, or about 66,000 soldiers. Hundreds of new ships for the Navy and fighters for the Air Force will also require substantially larger forces. Exactly how will Trump's Defense Department aggressively recruit reluctant youth into the military to meet these new requirements? Currently, the U.S. Military Entrance Processing Command, (USMEPCOM), facing a skeptical public and the lowest civilian unemployment rates in ten years, has been forced to adjust its standards to meet recruiting goals. Long-held prohibitions regarding marijuana use, tattoos, and enlistment for single parents are in the process of being relaxed. Waivers are being granted for asthma and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. The Army's top command is considering relaxing obesity requirements for Military Occupational Specialties (MOS's) that don't require a great deal of physical stamina. To find new soldiers, America's military recruiters have adopted extraordinarily deceptive and reprehensible psychological methods. USMEPCOM, known as "Freedom's Front Door," is an archaic institution in dire need of systemic reform, unlikely to happen under the Trump regime. General James Mattis, Trump's pick to be Defense Secretary, can be expected to promote an exceptionally aggressive recruiting environment. "Mad Dog" Mattis, who once exclaimed, "it's good fun to shoot people," was the Commander of a Marine Recruiting Station in the 70's when recruiting faced widespread public opposition after Vietnam. Those who worked with him say Mattis was unusually successful at recruiting. The Marines have trotted him out during his career to give motivational speeches to recruiting station commanders. He knows the dishonest and subversive psychology of the trade. American society has long revered killer-intellectuals like Mattis. In fact, the US Senate recently voted 98-1 to confirm him. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., was the lone dissenting vote. Gillibrand is acclaimed among peace and civil rights circles for calling out "toxic leadership" in the military's chain of command. A Gillibrand report on four of the largest U.S. Military bases found that nearly half of the survivors who reported sexual assaults dropped out of the military "justice" process. Gillibrand has argued for reform in laws governing sexual assault crimes in the military, saying that prosecutors outside the military chain of command should handle the cases. Mattis fought against Gillibrand's measure, which was ultimately defeated. Following is a brief outline of the current state of military recruiting in the US and a gloomy projection of how bad things are likely to get. Do you know where your children are? First, its necessary to understand that nearly 40% of all Army enlistees never complete their first term. 40%! Imagine, for a moment, the emotional suffering endured by those who really didn't "volunteer" in the first place -- and there's the rub. In thousands of cases, Johnny joined without mom and dad's blessing. Mom said it wouldn't work and Johnny was home after his disastrous boot camp experience. Recruiters have monthly quotas, despite protestations by civil rights activists and the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child. The numbers are staggering, and it's likely to get worse. For instance, there were more than 20,000 deserters from the Army alone during the period from 2006 to 2014. Most got a slap on the wrist. The way the Army sees it, it's easier for recruiters to chill with kids in high school cafeterias to drum up new recruits than it is to chase down and re-integrate the deserters. Adolescent recruits with severe ADD, ADHD, depression, and anxiety disorders are being cajoled into the armed forces. Mental illness and learning disabilities have become the new "don't ask -- don't tell" in the world of military recruiting. The American military is a monstrous institution. Musculoskeletal injuries alone result in 2.2 million medical encounters yearly. Half of the 770,000 active-duty soldiers polled two years ago "have little satisfaction in - or commitment to their jobs." Nearly half of the 1.6 million veterans of the U.S. wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have filed injury claims, and military suicides and sexual assaults are at or near an all-time high, yet Americans consistently rate the military as their most trusted institution. It's the result of one the most expensive and successful propaganda campaigns ever waged in human history. Even with a mountain of lies and billions spent, the Pentagon must still grovel for recruits. Consider that the National Guard spent $136 million from 2008 to 2012 to sponsor Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s #88 car while the sponsorship failed to net a single recruit. Quite simply, the job of military recruiters is to convince unwitting youth to sign DD Form 4, the military's enlistment agreement, which contains a clause that gives the military the right to change a soldier's pay, allowances, benefits, and responsibilities without notice and without having to give a reason. The form has almost all soldiers commit to 8 years (4 active and 4 reserve), with the possibility for indefinite service in times of emergency. The kids often don't know what they're signing because the high schools don't teach that stuff. This aspect of the recruiting process couldn't get worse under Trump's military -- short of forced conscription. We can look forward to an expansion of the wildly successful Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps (JROTC) program, offered to more than half a million kids in over 3,400 high schools nationwide. 65% of these programs are located at high schools in the South, the cradle of a new military caste. Already, 44% of all recruits come from the South. 40% of the kids who complete the JROTC program enlist in the armed forces. Congress has already required the Secretary of Defense to implement a plan to increase the number of JROTC units to not less than 3,700 by 2020. Realizing it can get more bang for the buck through the proliferation of the JROTC, Congress may be expected to hike that figure. It's not on many radar screens. 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). Oh no (Image by Mister-Mastro) Details DMCA What Did YOU Do On Inauguration Day? I watched the Inaugural Address of our newly-minted President on the evening of January 20, after taking care of all my more necessary business of the day, and I was flabbergasted. Trump actually used a SIMILE. "Rusted-out factories scattered like tombstones," he said in the course of the address. I wonder who advised him to use that? He is incapable of it himself, as a pathologically unreflective man with no cultural or historical education. He has specifically declared that he never reads books. "We are looking only to the future," he said. "A new vision-- America first! America first!" Oh, yeah, that's so new and great. Susan Dunn is a professor of Humanities at Williams College and the author of 1940: FDR, Willkie, Lindbergh, Hitler -- The Election Amid the Storm , noted the origins of the "America First!" slogan from Trump's campaign, and from his inaugural address: "My foreign policy will always put the interests of the American people, and American security, above all else. That will be the foundation of every decision that I will make. America First will be the major and overriding theme of my administration. It is extremely unfortunate that in his speech Wednesday outlining his foreign policy goals,Donald Trump chose to brand his foreign policy with the noxious slogan 'America First,' the name of the isolationist, defeatist, anti-Semitic national organization that urged the United States to appease Adolf Hitler." Vision? This is a man who lies about the heights of his buildings. As I shook my head at this speech, the following Shakespearean sonnet, which I wrote during the summer of last year's presidential campaign, came to mind: He could not say, could not compose these words. They would not sit beside each other so, Like pickets in a fence, or like small birds Upon a wire, in his small mind. Oh no, 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). The Natural: Would American intelligence have gotten the most damaging dirt on trump ahead of the Russians if master muckraker J. Edgar Hoover was heading the FBI instead of James Comey? (Image by RedBuble/Liberty Manics) Details DMCA Note to readers: In consideration of this writer's lack of consideration for the legitimacy of donald trump's presidency, commencing on January 20, through the end of his term, any mention of trump will consist of the use of the term President in quotes and the spelling of his entire name in lower-case. To wit, "President" donald j. trump. "Journalism is printing what someone else does not want printed; everything else is public relations." -- From George Orwell's "1984" Say what you will about the late J. Edgar Hoover, but one thing seems certain; if Hoover -- a certified muckraker extraordinaire -- was still around, "President" donald trump would have a lot more worries with regard to what J. Edgar has on him than from any "trump dirt" that Vladimir Putin might possess. It was Hoover -- when he wasn't reportedly stuffing himself into a girdle and panty-hose-- who devoted much of his time as FBI director amassing and curating with fetish-like precision, a treasure trove of compromising intelligence, "kompromat," as they say in Russia, on activists, entertainers, and "ordinary" Americans. Hoover was particularly hard on Americans he considered communists or under the influence of commie regimes like the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), which of course, is today known as Russia. But he also kept such files on nearly every American president or presidential hopeful from Calvin Coolidge to Richard Nixon. And he used those files to cultivate their allegiance. The cagey Hoover's method of insinuating his potential for scandalmongering was dry-snitchingly basic. He'd simply call you in for a sit-down, let you know that he's in possession of potentially damaging information and materials on you, but "assure" you that in the interest of national security, he, as FBI director will personally see to it that it is never revealed. If you are someone like John F. Kennedy, what you likely heard was: "I know what you did last summer, muthafucka. So, you probably don't want to do anything stupid"like fire me." Next Page 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 (Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher). North America WAV Converters Market to Expand at a CAGR of 11.1% from 2016 to 2024 http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=B&rep_id=16094 http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/north-america-wheelchair-accessible-vehicle-converters-market.html http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com https://tmrresearch.blogspot.com/ North America Wheelchair Accessible Vehicle Converters Market: Scope and MethodologyThe North America Wheelchair Accessible Vehicle Converters Market was valued at US$781.8 mn in 2015 and is expected to reach US$1.9 bn by 2024. If these values hold true, the market is projected to expand at a CAGR of 11.1% during the forecast period.This report on the North America wheelchair accessible vehicle converters market. The report comprises an elaborate executive summary, including a market snapshot that provides overall information of various segmentsThe research is a combination of primary and secondary research. Primary research formed the bulk of our research efforts along with information collected from telephonic interviews and interactions via e-mails. Secondary research involved study of company websites, annual reports, press releases, stock analysis presentations, and various international and national databases. The report provides market size in terms of US$ Mn for each segment for the period from 2015 to 2024, considering the macro and micro environmental factors. Growth rates for each segment within the North America wheelchair accessible vehicle converters market have been determined after a thorough analysis of past trends, demographics, future trends, technological developments, and regulatory requirements.A detailed qualitative analysis of factors responsible for driving and restraining market growth and future opportunities has been provided in the market overview section. This section of the report also includes market attractiveness analysis that provides a thorough analysis of the overall competitive scenario in the North America wheelchair accessible vehicle converters market.Request a PDF Brochure with Report Analysis:Market revenue in terms of US$ Mn for the period between 2014 and 2024 along with the compound annual growth rate (CAGR %) from 2016 to 2024 are provided for all the segments, considering 2015 as the base year. Market size estimations involved in-depth study of product features. Additionally, market related factors such as increasing preference for technologically advanced vehicles, product innovation, and increasing prevalence of disability in North America and historical year-on-year growth have been taken into consideration while estimating the market size.North America Wheelchair Accessible Vehicle Converters Market: SegmentationBased on the vehicle type, the North America wheelchair accessible vehicle converters market is segmented into full size vehicle, medium size vehicle and small size vehicle. The market has been further studied on the basis of entry modality. By entry modality the market is segmented into lift entry modality, ramp entry modality and transfer seat entry modalityGeographically the North America wheelchair accessible vehicle converters market is segmented into U.S. and CanadaNorth America Wheelchair Accessible Vehicle Converters Market: Competitive DynamicsThe report also profiles major players in the North America wheelchair accessible vehicle converters market based on various attributes such as company overview, financial overview, SWOT analysis, key business strategies, product portfolio, and recent developments. Key companies profiled in the report include Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc., BraunAbility, Freedom Motors USA, Vantage Mobility International and Mobility Ventures LLCBrowse Full Research Report on Wheelchair Accessible Vehicle Converters Market: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. We have an experienced team of Analysts, Researchers, and Consultants, who us e 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.ContactTransparency Market Research90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:Browse market research blog: World Dental Membrane and Bone Graft Substitutes Market to Reach US$922.6 Million by 2024 http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=B&rep_id=16340 http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/dental-membrane-bone-graft-substitutes-market.html http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com https://tmrresearch.blogspot.com/ The global dental membrane and bone graft substitutes market is expected to rise from a value of US$419 mn in 2015 to US$922.6 mn by 2024. If these values hold true, the market is expected to exhibit a strong CAGR of 9.3% during the forecast period.Dental membrane and bone graft substitutes is used in the bone graft surgeries. Bone graft surgery is required when tooth is lost by accidents, dental disease and old age. According to WHO, Globally, about 30% of people aged 6574 have no natural teeth and Across the world, 16-40% of children in the age range 6 to12 years old are affected by dental trauma due to unsafe playgrounds, unsafe schools, road accidents, or violence. Moreover, According to the American Academy of Periodontology, approximately 64.7 million Americans have periodontitis. Thus, market is tend rise rapidly during forecasted period as number of oral and dental disease patient is increasing.Download Complete Healthcare Analytical Brochure:Dental Membrane and Bone Graft Substitutes Market: Scope and MethodologyThis report on the global dental membrane and bone graft substitutes market analyzes the current and future prospects of the market. The report comprises an elaborate executive summary, including a market snapshot that provides overall information of various segments and sub-segments. The research is a combination of primary and secondary research. Detailed qualitative analysis of factors responsible for driving and restraining market growth and opportunities has been provided in the market overview section. Market revenue in terms of US$ Mn for the period between 2014 and 2024 along with the compound annual growth rate (CAGR %) from 2016 to 2024 are provided for all the segments, considering 2015 as the base year. Market related factors such as technological developments, recent products approvals, investment in clinical studies and acquisitions by leading players in the market, and historical year-on-year growth have been taken into consideration while estimating the market size. Growth rates for each segment within the dental membrane and bone graft substitutes market have been determined after a thorough analysis of past trends, demographics, future trends, technological developments, product development life cycle, and regulatory requirements. These factors would help the market players to take strategic decisions in order to strengthen their positions and expand their share in the dental membrane and bone graft substitutes market.Dental Membrane and Bone Graft Substitutes Market: SegmentationBased on product type, the dental membrane and bone graft substitutes market has been segmented into dental membrane and bone graft substitutes. The dental membrane has been further segmented into resorbable membranes and non - resorbable membranes. The bone graft substitutes has been further segmented into demineralized bone matrix (DBM), autograft, allograft, xenograft and synthetic bone graft substitutesBased on material, the dental membrane and bone graft substitutes market has been segmented into hydrogel, collagen, polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), human cells source, other species, hydroxyapatite (HA), tricalcium phosphate (TCP).Based on end user, the dental membrane and bone graft substitutes market has been segmented into hospitals, ambulatory surgical centers and dental clinics. The dental clinics are further segmented into individual practice and group practiceGeographically, the dental membrane and bone graft substitutes market has been segmented into five regions: the North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America and Middle East and Africa. These region have been further segmented by product, by material, by end user and by country.Dental Membrane and Bone Graft Substitutes Market: Competitive DynamicsThe competition matrix section included in the report is likely to assist the existing players to increase their market shares and new companies to establish their presence in the dental membrane and bone graft substitutes market. The report also profiles major players in the market based on various attributes such as company overview, financial overview, SWOT analysis, key business strategies, product portfolio, and recent developments. Key companies profiled in the report include Geistlich Holding, Zimmer Dental Inc., Integra LifeSciences Corp, DENTSPLY Implants, Institut Straumann AG, BioHorizons IPH, Inc., Osteogenics Biomedical, Nobel Biocare, Implant Direct LLC., Collagen Matrix, NovaBone India and Maxigen Biotech Inc.Browse Full Research Report on Dental Membrane and Bone Graft Substitutes Market: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. We have an experienced team of Analysts, Researchers, and Consultants, who us e 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.ContactTransparency Market Research90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:Browse market research blog: Increasing Awareness Regarding Eye Care among Patients & Medical Professionals Drives the Global Viral Conjunctivitis Pipeline Drugs Market http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=S&rep_id=12251 http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/viral-conjunctivitis-pipeline-drugs-market.html http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com Viral conjunctivitis therapeutics is undergoing a transitional phase. Currently, there is no drug available for the treatment of viral conjunctivitis. However, the presence of a robust pipeline indicates towards a thriving future. The global market for viral conjunctivitis pipeline drugs is likely to exhibit a thumping CAGR of 69.60% between 2020 and 2023 and reach an opportunity worth US$462.4 mn by the end of the forecast period.Request a PDF Brochure with Report Analysis:The increasing investments from ophthalmic drug manufacturers for the development of efficient treatment for viral conjunctivitis, coupled with the increasing awareness among people and augmenting expenditure on healthcare, are accelerating the growth rate of this market significantly.On the other hand, lower diagnosis rate of viral conjunctivitis is decreasing the patient pool for the treatment, causing major hindrance in the markets growth.Pipeline Drugs in U.S. Gain Momentum from Promising Results of Ongoing Clinical TrialsThe U.K., the U.S., Germany, Australia, Japan, and Brazil are the key regional markets for viral conjunctivitis pipeline drugs. Considering the ongoing clinical trials, the U.S. is likely to occupy the leading position among these in the coming years. The major factors driving the growth in this market are promising results of the ongoing clinical trials, the increasing awareness regarding eye care among patients and medical professionals, the high cost of the drugs, and the availability of viral conjunctivitis diagnostic tests.The U.S. market for viral conjunctivitis pipeline drugs is projected to report a CAGR of 46.50% during the period from 2020 to 2023.APD-209 to Exceed FST-100 by 2023APD-209 and FST-100 are the main viral conjunctivitis drugs in the pipeline. Among the two, FST-100 is projected to hold the largest share in the market by 2020. Foresight Biotherapeutics Inc. initiated the development of FST-100; however, the company was acquired by Shire Plc. in the midway. In May 2014, the drug completed its phase II clinical trial successfully and is expected to enter the phase III of clinical trials in 2016.Presently, the APD-209 is witnessing moderate rise; however, in the coming years, it will report a higher demand than FST-100. The drug, being developed by Adenovir Pharma AB, is in its second phase of clinical trial. It is likely to enter the third phase by mid-2016.The market for FST-100 is projected to rise at a CAGR of 27.40% between 2020 and 2023 while the APD-209 market is likely to report a CAGR of 55.0% during the same period.Leading Players Focus on Research Activities Thanks to Escalating Demand for Targeted Drugs for Viral ConjunctivitisOn the forefront of the global viral conjunctivitis pipeline drugs market are Panoptes Pharma GES.M.B.H., Shire Plc., Allergan Plc, Novartis AG, NovaBay Pharmaceuticals Inc., Adenovir Pharma AB, NicOx S.A., and NanoViricides Inc.Browse Research Report:As the demand for targeted drugs for viral conjunctivitis is rising, leading enterprises are focusing aggressively on research activities for the development of efficient treatments as well as diagnostic tests for viral conjunctivitis. New entrants in this market are recommended to enhance their distribution networks through strategic partnerships and alliances with local distributors.About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a global market intelligence company providing business information reports and services. The companys exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trend analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather and analyze information.Contact UsTransparency Market ResearchState Tower,90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207United StatesTel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite: Worldwide Advanced Wound Care Management Market Analysis, Trends and Forecast by 2024 http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=B&rep_id=16139 http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/advanced-wound-care-management-market.html http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com https://tmrresearch.blogspot.com/ Transparency Market Research estimates that the advanced wound care management market will expand at a CAGR of 6.3% from 2016 to 2024 and rise from a valuation of at US$6,457.0 mn in 2015 to US$11,161.6 mn by 2024.The market for wound care is growing phenomenally, due to growing advancement is treating complex wounds. Advanced wound care market is anticipated to grow in forecasted period, as the products has been a promising solution for faster recovery and wound healing. These products offer superior solution than traditional products by offering desired outcome and effectiveness in healing wounds. The increasing incidences of chronic wound has aggravated the need for the products that offers faster and efficient wound healing. Thus, majority of hospitals have shifted their preferences towards the advanced wound care products. It helps to decrease the average length of stay in hospitals through early recovery from wounds. This assists to decrease the length of hospital stay in order to reduce surgical costs. Thus the rising need and demand for advanced products that increases therapeutic outcome drives the advanced wound care market.Download Exclusive Worldwide Strategic Business Report:Advanced Wound Care Management Market: Scope of the ReportThe report is a combination of primary and secondary research. Primary research formed the bulk of our research efforts, with information collected from telephonic interviews and interactions via e-mail. Secondary research involved study of company websites, annual reports, press releases, stock analysis presentations, and various national and international databases. The report provides market size in terms of US$ Mn for each segment for the period from 2014 to 2024, considering the macro and micro-environmental factors. Growth rates for each segment within the global advanced wound care market have been determined after a thorough analysis of past trends, demographics, future trends, technological developments, vaccination expenditure, and regulatory requirements.The market overview section of the report includes qualitative analysis of the overall advanced wound care market including the determining factors and market dynamics such as drivers, restraints, and opportunities, along with white space analysis. In addition, market attractiveness analysis by geography, technique, product type, type of wounds, end-user, and competitive landscape by key players have been provided which explain the intensity of competition in the market considering different geographies. The competitive scenario between market players has been evaluated through market share analysis. These factors would help the market players take strategic decisions in order to strengthen their positions and increase their shares in the global market.Advanced Wound Care Management Market: Growth and Competitive DynamicsThe driving factors for advanced wound care market are mainly increasing demand for faster recovery, decrease in healthcare cost by decreasing average length of stay in hospital, rising population falling for trauma, etc. Advanced wound care market is anticipated to grow in forecasted period, as the products has been a promising solution for faster recovery and wound healing. These products offer superior solution than traditional products by offering desired outcome and effectiveness in healing wounds. The increasing incidences of chronic wound has aggravated the need for the products that offers faster and efficient wound healing. Thus, majority of hospitals have shifted their preferences towards the advanced wound care products. It helps to decrease the average length of stay in hospitals through early recovery from wounds. This assists to decrease the length of hospital stay in order to reduce surgical costs. Thus the rising need and demand for advanced products that increases therapeutic outcome drives the advanced wound care market.Geographically, the global advanced wound care market has been segmented into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, and Middle East & Africa. The applications of advanced wound care are rapidly growing in North America due to increasing direct and indirect investments by the U.S. Government and private companies in wound care. Increasing investments and penetration by key market players in Asia Pacific are likely to drive the advance wound care market during the forecast period.Major players in the advanced wound care management market are 3M, Acelity L.P. Inc., B. Braun Melsungen AG, BSN medical GmbH, Coloplast A/S, ConvaTec Inc., Medline Industries, Inc., Medtronic, Molnlycke Health Care, Organogenesis, Inc., and Smith & Nephew plc.Browse Full Research Report on Advanced Wound Care Management Market: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. We have an experienced team of Analysts, Researchers, and Consultants, who us e 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.ContactTransparency Market Research90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:Browse market research blog: Rising Incidence of Various Chronic Diseases has Fueled the Global X-ray Market http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=S&rep_id=1512 http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/x-ray-devices-market.html http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com X-ray machines are devices that produce x-ray radiations. These x-ray radiations are then used for medical diagnosis and interventional (e.g. catheter placement) purposes. This report analyzes the global x-ray devices market in terms of volume (number of units) and value (USD Million) for the period 2012 2018, keeping 2011 as the base year. The global x-ray devices market on the basis of geography for North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific is also estimated in this report.Download Exclusive Sample of this Report:Out of the above mentioned geographic regions, the U.S., Europe and China x-ray devices market is analyzed in detail. The market for these geographic regions is segmented on the basis of three product types namely general/stationary x-ray devices, mobile x-ray devices and c-arm devices. The current and future market scenario for all these geographic regions are analyzed by utilizing marketing tools such as PESTEL, drivers, restraints and opportunity analysis. X-ray device market trends and volume for major hospital types is included in this report.The U.S. and Europe x-ray devices market by healthcare institution types include private not-for-profit hospitals, private for-profit hospitals, public/government hospitals, health screening centers and other medical institutions (prison hospitals, college infirmaries, and non-federal psychiatric, non-federal long term care).The China x-ray devices market by healthcare institution types include private not-for-profit and university hospitals, private for-profit hospitals, public/government hospitals, health screening centers (epidemic disease prevention centers, health monitoring institutions, community health service centers, community health centers) and clinics (town and village clinics).Usage rates of general/stationary, mobile and c-arm devices are included in this report. The departments taken into consideration in this case are thoracic department, neuro and spine department, dental department, ICU, emergency response department, orthopedics department and abdominal department. The trend analysis for the period 2012 2018 in terms of % usage for all these departments is also included in this report.The chapter on competitive landscape consists of market share analysis of the global x-ray market by key players for 2011. Some of the key players of this market include GE Healthcare, Siemens Healthcare, Philips Healthcare, Toshiba Medical Systems, Hitachi Medical Systems, Varian Medical Systems, Shimadzu Corporation and others.Browse Research Report:The role of these market players in the global x-ray market is analyzed by profiling them on the basis of attributes such as company overview, financial overview, business strategies, product portfolio and recent developments.About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a global market intelligence company providing business information reports and services. The companys exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trend analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather and analyze information.Contact UsTransparency Market ResearchState Tower,90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207United StatesTel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite: donald trump executive order immigration In January, President Donald Trump signed an executive order that bars citizens of Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen from entering the US for 90 days and all refugees for 120 days. Opponents of the ban worry that the temporary travel ban will turn into a permanent one. Across the nation, college leaders have spoken out against the ban, claiming the executive order will be highly damaging to American higher education. Indeed, tens of thousands of students from the seven countries named in the order attend college in the US, according to figures provided to Business Insider from College Factual, a higher education data analytics and research company. College Factual collected data from Department of Homeland Security on the number of student visas that were approved in 2015, the most recent year they were able to get information. Below are number of US student visas from each country: BI Graphics_Visa Holders If the ban stays in place, these students could be impacted. Some experts warn that the effect on foreign enrollment in US schools could be far greater than just adjusting for the seven banned countries. "The domino effect of this ban will result in a precipitous decline in international student enrollment from Muslim-majority countries," Rahul Choudaha, cofounder of international student support organization interEDGE, told Business Insider in an email. NOW WATCH: A psychologist explains how to tell if you're ready for a committed relationship More From Business Insider Ventricular Assist Device Market North America Industry Volume and Region Analysis 2024 http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=B&rep_id=16508 http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/north-america-ventricular-assist-device-market.html http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com https://tmrresearch.blogspot.com/ According to TMR, the opportunity in the North America market for VADs, which stood at US$0.4 bn in 2015, is likely to expand at a healthy CAGR of 9.20% between 2016 and 2024 and increase to US$1.07 bn by the end of the forecast period. The destination therapy (DT) segment has been reporting a greater application of VADs than the other two indication segments. It is expected to remain the leader with its share rising to 66.7% in the overall market by 2024, states the report.Advance Heart Failure is characterized as weakening of the heart caused due to failure of the left ventricle, due to which the heart is unable to pump blood to different parts of the body. According to the AHA (American Heart Association), 5.7 Mn people in the U.S suffer from heart failure and 300,000 die each year of heart failure. Moreover, the AHA predicts that advance heart failure will become the most common cause of death globally. However, these statistics have already materialized in the U.S. and Canada, where advance heart failure is currently said to be the leading cause of mortality. In Canada, the figures are rising day by day. In Canada nearly 600,000 of the total is affected by heart failure. A large proportion of these population can be saved with proper treatment and care. Thus, the existence of an unmet medical need is clearly evident and is anticipated to augment the ventricular assist device market.North America Ventricular Assist Device Market: Scope of the StudyThis report on the ventricular assist device market in the North America analyzes the current and future prospects of the market. The report comprises an elaborate executive summary, including a market snapshot that provides overall information of various segments and sub-segments. The research is a combination of primary and secondary research. Detailed qualitative analysis of factors responsible for driving and restraining market growth and opportunities has been provided in the market overview section. Market revenue in terms of US$ Mn for the period between 2014 and 2024 along with the compound annual growth rate (CAGR %) from 2014 to 2024 are provided for all the segments, considering 2015 as the base year. Market related factors such as technological developments, patent expiry, recent approvals, investment in clinical studies and acquisitions by leading players in the market, and historical year-on-year growth have been taken into consideration while estimating the market size. Growth rates for each segment within the North America ventricular assist device market have been determined after a thorough analysis of past trends, demographics, future trends, technological developments, drug development life cycle, and regulatory requirements. These factors would help the market players to take strategic decisions in order to strengthen their positions and expand their share in the ventricular assist device market in North America.Download PDF brochure for this Report:North America Ventricular Assist Device Market: SegmentationBased on product type, the North America ventricular assist device market has been segmented into Left Ventricular Assist Device (LVAD), Right Ventricular Assist Device (RVAD), Biventricular Assist Device (Bi-VAD) and total artificial heart (TAH).Based on indication, the North America ventricular assist device market has been segmented into bridge to transplant (BTT), destination therapy (DT) and bridge to recovery (BTR). The American Heart Association reported that 2.6% of the total population is suffering from cardiovascular disease and heart failure is the leading cause of death in the U.S. and around 1.6% in Canada suffer from heart failure, and the number is rising each year. Therefore consequently driving the ventricular assist device market in North America during the forecast period.North America Ventricular Assist Device Market: Geographical OutlookGeographically, the North America ventricular assist device market has been segmented into two countries: the U.S. and Canada. These countries have been further segmented by indication and product type. The competition matrix section included in the report is likely to assist the existing players to increase their market shares and new companies to establish their presence in the ventricular assist device market in North America.Companies Mentioned in the ReportThe report also profiles major players in the market based on various attributes such as company overview, financial overview, SWOT analysis, key business strategies, product portfolio, and recent developments. Key companies profiled in the report include ABIOMED, St. Jude Medical, HeartWare, SynCardia Systems LLC, Sunshine Heart, Inc., Berlin Heart GmbHBrowse Full Research Report on Ventricular Assist Device Market: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. We have an experienced team of Analysts, Researchers, and Consultants, who us e 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.ContactTransparency Market Research90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:Browse market research blog: Worldwide Medical Gases and Equipment Market Analysis, Trends and Forecast by 2018 http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=B&rep_id=986 http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/medical-gases-and-equipment.html http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com https://tmrresearch.blogspot.com/ A new Transparency Market Research report states that the global medical gases and equipment market stood at US$5.3 bn in 2011 and is predicted to reach US$9 bn in 2018. It is predicted to expand at a CAGR of 8.0% CAGR between 2012 and 2018. The title of the report is Medical Gases and Equipment Market - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth and Forecast, 2013 - 2018.Medical gases are gases utilized in direct or indirect applications within the healthcare industry. Medical gas equipment is equipment used for producing medical gases. Medical gases are either utilized within medical procedures, primarily as sterilants and coolants, or are directly administered to patients. In addition, medical gas supply equipment in healthcare facilities and hospitals is essential for supplying nitrous oxide, piped oxygen, carbon dioxide, medical air, and nitrogen to numerous parts of the facility.Download Complete Healthcare Analytical Brochure:As mentioned in the report, the implementation of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration Safety and Innovation Act in July 2012 and the expansion of the home healthcare market are amongst the prime factors fuelling the market for medical gases and equipment. In addition, the increasing awareness about the safety benefits of medical gases amongst consumers and manufacturers has also boosted the market. Furthermore, the introduction of associations such as the Medical Gas Association (MGA, U.K.), the Gases and Welding Distributors Association (GAWDA), and the Compressed Gas Association (CGA) has also impacted the market positively. On the other hand, the rising thefts of medical cylinders and gas and the shortage of helium globally are amongst the key factors inhibiting the growth of the market for medical gases and equipmentOn the basis of product, the medical gas market is segmented into medical pure gases and medical gas mixtures. Amongst these, the segment of medical pure gases is further segmented into helium, oxygen, nitrogen, carbon dioxide, and nitrous oxide. On the other hand, the segment of medical gas mixtures is further segmented into nitrous oxide-oxygen mixtures, carbon dioxide-oxygen mixtures, helium-oxygen mixtures, ethylene oxide, aerobic mixtures, blood gas mixtures, anaerobic mixtures, lung mixtures, and laser gas mixtures. On the basis of product, the medical equipment market is segmented into manifolds, hose assemblies and accessories, outlets, cylinders and accessories, alarm systems, regulators, flowmeters, medical air compressors, masks, and vacuum systems.In terms of geography, the report segments the market into Europe, North America, Asia, and Rest of the World (RoW). Amongst these, the region of Asia is the most lucrative market for medical gases and equipment and is predicted to rise at the swiftest CAGR of 9.20% from 2012 to 2018. This is owing to the increasing occurrence of pulmonary diseases and increasing population base within China and India.According to the report, the prominent players operating in the market for medical gases and equipment are Linde Gas, BeaconMedaes LLC, Matheson Tri-Gas Inc., Air Liquide, Praxair Inc., Air Gas Inc., Air Products and Chemicals Inc., and Medical Gas Solutions, among others.Browse Full Research Report on Medical Gases and Equipment Market: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. We have an experienced team of Analysts, Researchers, and Consultants, who us e 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.ContactTransparency Market Research90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:Browse market research blog: United States Buckwheat Pillow Market 2017 and Forecasts to 2022 Buckwheat Pillow https://www.wiseguyreports.com/sample-request/930176-united-states-buckwheat-pillow-market-report-2017 https://www.wiseguyreports.com/reports/930176-united-states-buckwheat-pillow-market-report-2017 https://www.wiseguyreports.com/checkout?currency=one_user-USD&report_id=930176 www.wiseguyreports.com Buckwheat Pillow Market ReportThis report studies sales (consumption) of Buckwheat Pillow in United States market, focuses on the top players, with sales, price, revenue and market share for each player, coveringHollanderAmerican Textile CompanyWendreMyPillowPacific CoastTempur-PedicRIBECOJohn CottonParadise PillowComfy QuiltsTry Sample Report @Market Segment by StatesCaliforniaTexasNew YorkFloridaIllinoisSplit by product types, with sales, revenue, price, market share and growth rate of each type, can be divided intoType IType IISplit by applications, this report focuses on sales, market share and growth rate of Buckwheat Pillow in each application, can be divided intoApplication 1Application 2Some Major Points from Table of content:United States Buckwheat Pillow Market Report 20171 Buckwheat Pillow Overview1.1 Product Overview and Scope of Buckwheat Pillow1.2 Classification of Buckwheat Pillow1.2.1 Type I1.2.2 Type II1.3 Application of Buckwheat Pillow1.3.1 Application 11.3.2 Application 21.4 United States Market Size Sales (Volume) and Revenue (Value) of Buckwheat Pillow (2012-2022)1.4.1 United States Buckwheat Pillow Sales and Growth Rate (2012-2022)1.4.2 United States Buckwheat Pillow Revenue and Growth Rate (2012-2022)For Detailed Reading Please visit at @2 United States Buckwheat Pillow Competition by Manufacturers2.1 United States Buckwheat Pillow Sales and Market Share of Key Manufacturers (2015 and 2016)2.2 United States Buckwheat Pillow Revenue and Share by Manufactures (2015 and 2016)2.3 United States Buckwheat Pillow Average Price by Manufactures (2015 and 2016)2.4 Buckwheat Pillow Market Competitive Situation and Trends2.4.1 Buckwheat Pillow Market Concentration Rate2.4.2 Buckwheat Pillow Market Share of Top 3 and Top 5 Manufacturers2.4.3 Mergers & Acquisitions, Expansion......6 United States Buckwheat Pillow Manufacturers Profiles/Analysis6.1 Hollander6.1.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base and Competitors6.1.2 Buckwheat Pillow Product Type, Application and Specification6.1.2.16.1.2.26.1.3 Hollander Buckwheat Pillow Sales, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)6.1.4 Main Business/Business Overview6.2 American Textile Company6.2.2 Buckwheat Pillow Product Type, Application and Specification6.2.2.16.2.2.26.2.3 American Textile Company Buckwheat Pillow Sales, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)6.2.4 Main Business/Business Overview6.3 Wendre6.3.2 Buckwheat Pillow Product Type, Application and Specification6.3.2.16.3.2.26.3.3 Wendre Buckwheat Pillow Sales, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)6.3.4 Main Business/Business Overview6.4 MyPillow6.4.2 Buckwheat Pillow Product Type, Application and Specification6.4.2.16.4.2.26.4.3 MyPillow Buckwheat Pillow Sales, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)6.4.4 Main Business/Business Overview6.5 Pacific Coast6.5.2 Buckwheat Pillow Product Type, Application and Specification6.5.2.16.5.2.26.5.3 Pacific Coast Buckwheat Pillow Sales, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)6.5.4 Main Business/Business Overview6.6 Tempur-Pedic6.6.2 Buckwheat Pillow Product Type, Application and Specification6.6.2.16.6.2.26.6.3 Tempur-Pedic Buckwheat Pillow Sales, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)6.6.4 Main Business/Business OverviewContinuedBuy now @Contact Us:NORAH TRENTPartner Relations & Marketing Managersales@wiseguyreports.comPh: +1-646-845-9349 (US)Ph: +44 208 133 9349 (UK)About UsWise Guy Reports is part of the Wise Guy Consultants Pvt. Ltd. and offers premium progressive statistical surveying, market research reports, analysis & forecast data for industries and governments around the globe. Wise Guy Reports understand how essential statistical surveying information is for your organization or association. Therefore, we have associated with the top publishers and research firms all specialized in specific domains, ensuring you will receive the most reliable and up to date research data available.WISE GUY RESEARCH CONSULTANTS PVT LTDOffice No. 528, Amanora ChambersMagarpatta Road, HadapsarPune - 411028Maharashtra, IndiaPh: +91 841 198 5042info@wiseguyreports.com Polybutylene Terephthalate Market - Global Industry Analysis 2016 - 2024 Polybutylene Terephthalate Market http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=B&rep_id=18410 http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/ Polybutylene terephthalate (PBT) is an engineering polymer which is thermoplastic in nature and is used in electronics and electrical industriesas an insulator. It is a type of polyester and a thermoplastic (semi-crystalline polymer). PBT is solvent resistant, is mechanically strong, slightly shrinks during forming and is heat-resistant up to a temperature of 150 C (or 200 C with glass-fiber strengthening). It can be made noncombustible when treated with flame retardants.Polybutylene terephthalate is related closely to different thermoplastic polyesters. Polybutylene terephthalate has slightly lower rigidity and strength as compared to polyethylene terephthalate (PET), better contact resistance, and a lower glass shift temperature. Polybutylene terephthalate and polyethylene terephthalateare sensitive to warm water above the temperature of 60 C (140 F).Polybutylene terephthalate and polyethylene terephthalateif used outdoors needs UV protection and most variations of these polyesters are combustible. To improve flammability and UV properties, additives can be used. The global market for polybutylene terephthalate is segmented on the basis of application and geography. On the basis of application, the market is segmented into extrusion products, household appliances, automotive, and electrical & electronics. Electrical & electronics was the dominant segment in 2015 and is forecasted to have a steady growth rate over the forecast period.Polybutylene terephthalate has extensive application in the electrical & electronics industry in different electronic parts such as power sockets, switches, transformer insulation, sensor coverings, boards, sockets, and connectors. This extensive applicationis due to its efficient electrical properties, high stability dimensionally under heat, and wide mechanical properties which makes it efficient in applications that involves flow of electrical power.DOWNLOAD INDUSTRY RESEARCH REPORT BROCHURE FOR MORE PROFESSIONAL AND TECHNICAL INSIGHTS:Polybutylene terephthalatemade products are used in the automobile industryowing to theirdimensional stability,rigidity, weather and heat resistance, and lubricant and fuel resistance. Polybutylene terephthalatehas a wide range of applicationin the plastics and polymers industry because it offers highly efficient performance blends like acrylonitrile styrene acrylate (ASA) and polyethylene terephthalate (PET). It provides an important integration of high technical features and good stability dimensionally. This is attributed to its considerablestiffness,low water absorption,and excellent heat resistant properties.Major drivers of the global polybutylene terephthalate market include growing demand for eco-friendly, more sustainable green materials which has triggered market growth of recyclable polybutylene terephthalateblends. The introduction of Electronic Vehicles (EV) has resulted in the surfacing of latest high-voltage applications that require electrical components which are more efficient such as power sockets, switches, transformer insulation, sensor coverings, connectors, boards and sockets among others. Owing to the high performance electrical properties of polybutylene terephthalate, it is widely used in these components, which is driving its application in the EVs market thus triggering overall market growth. In addition, growing popularity of miniaturization of electrical parts is also driving the demand for polybutylene terephthalate in a positive way. The microscopic parts of miniaturized devices that ismadeof polymers like polybutylene terephthalateholds only around 25% of the printed circuit board area and are less than 20% of the total volume.Geographically, the global market is segregated into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East & Africa, and Latin America. APAC held the dominant market share in the globalpolybutylene terephthalate market in 2015 and is forecasted to continue its dominance over the forecast period. Polybutylene terephthalateresins are used in varied applications in the automobile industry such as in luxury car variants. The growing demand for compound functions in cars has led to the extensive use of polybutylene terephthalatein automobileexterior and interior parts. In addition, molding of composites and design innovations is forecasted to further trigger growth of the polybutylene terephthalatemarket in the APAC region.Major players of the global polybutylene terephthalate market include BASF SE (Germany), Celanese Corporation (U.S.), E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company (U.S.), Lanxess Aktiengesellschaft (Germany), SABIC (Saudi Arabia), and Toray Industries, Inc. (Japan).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. TMR's 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.Contact Us:-Transparency Market Research90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite: Patterning Material Market - Global Industry Analysis 2023 Patterning Material Market http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=B&rep_id=7715 http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/ Patterning uses the procedure of photolithography and optical masks to reproduce patterns that control the deposition or removal of material from the wafer at specific steps in the device assembly process.Patterning materials are primarily used in semiconductor and automotive industries. Patterning is used in microelectronic devices, automotive sensors, and glass printed circuit boards.Ithas reduced the size of transistors, thus making modern electronic devices affordable.Currently, majority of electronic devices are fabricated using photolithography techniques that depend on sophisticated instrumentation and tailored materials.Patterning materials consist ofspin-on-carbon layers, G line resist, I-line resist, top coat/barrier layer, positive 248nm resist,positive 193nm Immersion resist, positive 193nm dry resist, I-line BARC, 193nm BARC, 248nm BARC, and spin-on-silicon layers.The semiconductor industry is growing at a rapid rate, especially in emerging economies of Asia Pacific. Growth in the semiconductor industry is expected to increase demand for nanodevices and boost demand for patterning material technology. Additionally, rising demand for miniaturized components and development of nanotechnology areanticipated to propel demand for patterning material technology and instruments. Semiconductor manufacturers are establishing production plants in emerging economies of Asia Pacific due to availability of cheap labor and land and government subsidies. However, patterning material technology is expensive as compared to conventional technology. This is likely to hamper growth of the market in the near future.Developing economies are anticipated to offer potential opportunities due to strong demand for electronic products such as tablets and mobile phones during the forecast period.GET PDF BROCHURE FOR MORE PROFESSIONAL AND TECHNICAL INDUSTRY INSIGHTS:Asia Pacific, Europe, and North America account for majority share of the patterning materials market. North America is projected to be the largest market for patterning materials followed by Asia Pacific. The U.S. is expected to be the largest market in North America due to presence of large number of end-user industries. Taiwan, China, India, Hong Kong, Australia, New Zealand, South Korea, Japan, Vietnam, Malaysia, and Indonesia are anticipated to be major markets in Asia Pacific.In addition, AsiaPacific is the projected to be the fastest-growing patterning material market as packaging of semiconductors,consumer demand, and production of electronics systems has shifted to this region. The patterning material market in Europe is anticipated to expand at a sluggish rate due to ongoing Eurozone economic crisis.The market is dominated by large and medium technology and electronic manufacturing companies. Key players operating in this market include JSR Micro, Inc. (the U.S.), DongjinSemichem Co., Ltd. (China), Honeywell Electronic Materials, Inc. (the U.S.), Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., Ltd.(Japan), The DowChemical Company (the U.S.), Applied Materials, Inc.(the U.S.), Tokyo Ohka Kogyo Co., Ltd. (Japan), Sumitomo Chemicals Co., Ltd. (Japan), Merck KGaA(Germany), Microchem Corporation (the U.S.) and Brewer Science, Inc. (the U.S.). Companies are using strategic acquisitions and mergers to remain competitive in the market.In addition, companies are trying to maintain an elaborate and consistent distribution network, which would allow themto cater to the globalmarket. Furthermore, companies collaborate with each other to develop new and innovative patterning material technology and instruments for end-user industries. In November 2014, Applied Materials, Inc. collaborated with Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. and PSK Inc., a Korea-based leader in photoresist removal, to produce an advanced patterning solution for fabrication of future generations of NAND and DRAM device designs.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. TMR's 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.Contact Us:-Transparency Market Research90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite: Methyl Red Market - Global Industry Analysis 2023 Methyl Red Market http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=B&rep_id=7817 http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/ Methyl red, which is also known as, C.I. Acid Red 2, is a chemical indicator dye, which turns red when it reacts with acidic solutions. Methyl red also called as an azo dye, is dark red and is found as a crystalline powder. Methyl red is one of the most popular pH indicators used to test pH of various chemical reactions. The indicator turns red under pH 4.4 and yellow over pH 6.2 and turns orange when the pH is in between the two values. Methyl red is soluble in water and in ethanol and has to be stored at room temperature. In addition, methyl red is soluble in hot acetone, benzene, acetic acid, chloroform, lipids and alcohol. The indicator is slightly soluble in petroleum ether. On combustion methyl red forms carbon oxides and nitrogen oxides.Methyl red is primarily used as an indicator in various chemical reactions. In addition, methyl red is employed in order to check the pH of a variety of chemical solutions. Methyl red is used in the field of microbiology and biotechnology in the Methyl-Red-Voges-Proskauer test. The test is utilized in order to classify the various types of bacteria that produce acids that are stable through the process of mixed acid fermentation of glucose. A few of the methyl red positive type of bacteria include proteus vulgaris and Escherichia coli. Some of the methyl red negative type of bacteria includes enterobacter aerogenes and serratia marcescens.DOWNLOAD INDUSTRY RESEARCH REPORT BROCHURE FOR MORE PROFESSIONAL AND TECHNICAL INSIGHTS:The key driver for the methyl red market is its use in the field of microbiological and biotechnological research. The growth in the biotechnology and microbiology field is expected to be very high over the next few years. The biotechnology market has been growing at a very fast rate especially in emerging regions like India and China. The microbiology industry has been growing owing to is use in various sectors including food, beverages, pharmaceutical and chemical among others. Biotechnology focuses on three sectors including healthcare, energy & industrial and agriculture. Owing to the rapid growth in these two sectors, the market for methyl red is likely to increase over the next two years. Additionally, the increase in the number of various research and development activities by various companies is anticipated to boost the market for methyl red during the projected period. The growth in the global chemical industry and the number of research labs worldwide is anticipated to propel the market for methyl red in the near future.The key regions present in the methyl red market include North America, Asia Pacific, Europe and Rest of the World (RoW). The demand for methyl red is high in various countries including the U.S, Germany, Japan and China. This is owing to the tremendous growth in the research and development activities in these countries. The chemical industry has been growing at a rapid pace in the Asia Pacific region especially in China. This is anticipated to boost the market for methyl red over the next few years. In addition, the biotechnology sector in India has been rising at a very fast pace owing to the growth in the bio-pharmaceutical industry in India. This in turn is anticipated to drive the market for methyl red over the projected period.Some of the key companies manufacturing methyl red include GSP Chemical Industries and Nova International 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. TMR's 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.Contact Us:-Transparency Market Research90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite: Solder Paste Market - Global Industry Analysis By 2023 Solder Paste Market http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=B&rep_id=7820 http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/ Solder paste, also known as solder cream is used to connect leads on surface mounted integrated circuit chips to the attachment points on the printed circuit boards, which are commonly used in all electronic devices. It is generally applied as a paste through stencil or dispensing tubes on the leads on printed circuit boards, followed by heating the paste in order for it to melt and fuse the connection. Soldering paste is an extremely important ingredient in the electronic circuit manufacturing industry. By physical appearance, it is a gray and putty like material. Solder pastes are of different compositions depending upon their end use requirements. Some of the common solder pastes are tin lead alloy, tin silver copper alloy, tin silver copper alloy and tin antimony alloy.The driving force behind the solder alloy market is the burgeoning demand from electronic manufacturing services. The market has especially witnessed a bullish run since the last two decades, is expected to grow further with the penetration of information technology, and enabled services in human life across the world. Solder paste is essential for all printed circuit boards and semiconductors. Printed circuit boards find application in almost all electronic devices including computers, laptops, smart phones, tablets, televisions, medical testing equipments, fiber optic receptors, nuclear detection systems, data storage devices and weather analysis equipment among many others. Printed circuit boards are also used in automotives, marine vehicles and aerospace industry for electronic functions. Traditional single layer printed circuit boards are gradually evolving into multilayer printed circuit board with extensive functionality. The technological advancements in the PCB market is expected to transform into higher demand for solder paste.GET PDF BROCHURE FOR MORE PROFESSIONAL AND TECHNICAL INDUSTRY INSIGHTS:The market for solder paste is largely unhindered by substitute products. However, the demand for lead free solder paste has been increasing due to environmental concerns of lead. According to estimates more than 30 million tons of electronic waste are accumulated each year and the lead content in electronic wastes create havoc on environmental balance. The demand for lead containing alloys is expected to decline over the period for the solder paste market. However, there are no significant restraints to the solder paste market as a whole.The global outlook for electronic equipments and applications holds promise as consumer electronics has exhibited tremendous growth over the past decade and expected to continue to rise in the foreseeable future. This presents tremendous opportunity for solder paste market especially in the developing regions of Asia Pacific, Latin America and Africa.China accounts for the largest demand for solder paste in the world. China is the largest producer of electronic devices and ancillary parts in the world. The export oriented electronics manufacturing services in China is the main reason behind the surging demand in the region. China is also the largest manufacturer of solder paste in the world. Asia Pacific accounts for over 50% of the global demand, lead by China, Japan, Korea and India. Demand for solder paste from North America and Europe follow that from Asia Pacific.Some of the companies operating in the solder paste market are SMT International LLC, Kester, AIM Metals and Alloys, LLC, Chung I Silver Solder Co., Ltd., Ku Ping Enterprise Co., Ltd., Shenmao Technology Inc. Chemco Industry Corporation, Dyfenco Electronic Chemical Corporation among many 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. TMR's 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.Contact Us:-Transparency Market Research90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite: Phosphorus & derivatives Market - Global Industry Analysis By 2023 Phosphorus & derivatives Market http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=B&rep_id=6278 Phosphorous is a combustible non metal which is found in two allotropic forms namely, white phosphorous and red phosphorous. The derivatives of phosphorous include phosphoric acid, phosphorous acid, phosphorus oxychloride, phosphorus pentachloride, phosphorus tribromide, sodium hypophosphite, tributyl phosphate, and triethyl phosphate among others.Elementary phosphorous is used in a number of pyrotechnic applications which include luminous projectiles and fireworks. It is also deployed in the metallurgical industry for forming metallic alloys like phosphorous brass and for producing insecticides or as an additive in industrial oils. Phosphoric acid is used in the cleaning of metals as a phosphatizing agent and is also used as an additive for certain drinks. However phosphorous has its dominant application in fertilizers. It is an essential plant nutrient and is often used as a limiting nutrient for many crops.DOWNLOAD INDUSTRY RESEARCH REPORT BROCHURE FOR MORE PROFESSIONAL AND TECHNICAL INSIGHTS:Phosphorous is used widely for the production of organophosphotous compounds and these compounds have various applications such as flame retardants, water treatment, plasticizers and pesticides among others. Phosphorous is a vital component for steel production. In addition, phosphoric acid which is made from phosphorous is used for certain food applications, such as in aerated drinks. A derivative of phosphoric acid name sodium tripolyphosphate is used in detergents, but this is banned in a few countries.The factors which are primarily driving the phosphorus & derivatives market are increasing demand for water treatment, development and introduction of halogen free flame retardants (HFFR) and increase in the usage of bio-fuels. A paradigm shift to halogen free from halogenated flame retardants such as organophoshorus flame retardants is positively impacting the market growth. Growing needs of crops to meet the food requirements of the increasing population is largely boosting the growth of the market. Furthermore, decreasing arable land and increase in demand for vital nutrients for body functioning is also fuelling the growth of the global market. However, deteriorating quality of phosphate rock, stringent regulations on usage of phosphates in detergents and conservation of resources are the major factors that are restraining this market. The usage of phosphorous in batteries for electric vehicle such as rechargeable lithium iron phosphate batteries is presenting potential growth opportunities to the global market.The global phosphorus & derivatives market can be bifurcated on the basis of product type into ammonium phosphates, phosphorus pentoxide, purified phosphoric acid, phosphorus pentasulfide, industrial phosphates and phosphorus pentasulfide. The global market can be classified on the basis of application into fertilizers, detergents, metal finishing, water treatment chemicals, food industry and flame retardant material. In addition, the market can be geographically divided into five broad regions, namely: North America, Europe, Asia Pacific (APAC), Middle East and Africa (MEA) and Latin America. The market is witnessing steady growth in Asia Pacific and this region is expected to hold the largest share of the global market during the forecast period owing to the high production and consumption of ammonia phosphate in Asia.Some of the major players of the phosphorus & derivatives market are Agrium Inc, Yara International ASA, Mosaic Co, Eurochem, Innophos Holdings, Inc., Akron OAO, United Phosphorus Limited, CF Industries Holdings, Inc, Lanxess AG and Israel Chemical Ltd. 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. TMR's 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.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. TMR's 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. Global Digital Panel Meter Market by Manufacturers, Regions, Type and Application, Forecast to 2021 http://www.orbisresearch.com/contacts/request-sample/193931 http://www.orbisresearch.com/reports/index/global-digital-panel-meter-market-by-manufacturers-regions-type-and-application-forecast-to-2021 http://www.orbisresearch.com/contact/purchase/193931 "Digital Panel Meter is an instrument that displays an input signal in digital form. Many digital panel meters also include alarm options as well as the ability to connect and transfer data to a computer. Digital panel meters are usually available with an Ethernet option which allows the digital panel meter reading to be accessed across a local area network (LAN) or even through the internet."Download PDF Sample of Digital Panel Meter Market@Scope of the Report:This report focuses on the Digital Panel Meter in Global market, especially in North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific, South America, Middle East and Africa. This report categorizes the market based on manufacturers, regions, type and application.Market Segment by Manufacturers, this report coversMurata Power SolutionsRed Lion ControlsOMRONInnoVista SensorsSiemensDanaherZhejiang CHINTLascar ElectronicsCarlo GavazziPhoenix ContactPR ElectronicsPrecision DigitalTaik ElectricYokogawa Meters & InstrumentsTrumeterAutonicsJewell InstrumentsLaurel ElectronicsBrowse Full Report with TOC:Market Segment by Regions, regional analysis coversNorth America (USA, Canada and Mexico)Europe (Germany, France, UK, Russia and Italy)Asia-Pacific (China, Japan, Korea, India and Southeast Asia)South America, Middle East and AfricaMarket Segment by Type, coversTemperature and Process Panel MetersTotalizersMulti-Input Indicators and ScannersPlace Purchase Order for this Report@Market Segment by Applications, can be divided intoDisplay CurrentDisplay VoltageDisplays TemperatureOthersThere are 13 Chapters to deeply display the global Digital Panel Meter market.Chapter 1, to describe Digital Panel Meter Introduction, product scope, market overview, market opportunities, market risk, market driving force;Chapter 2, to analyze the top manufacturers of Digital Panel Meter, with sales, revenue, and price of Digital Panel Meter, 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 Digital Panel Meter, 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, Digital Panel Meter market forecast, by regions, type and application, with sales and revenue, from 2016 to 2021;Chapter 12 and 13, to describe Digital Panel Meter sales channel, distributors, traders, dealers, appendix and data source.Table of Content:1 Market Overview2 Manufacturers Profiles3 Global Digital Panel Meter Market Competitions, by Manufacturer4 Global Digital Panel Meter Market Analysis by Regions5 North America Digital Panel Meter by Countries6 Europe Digital Panel Meter by Countries7 Asia-Pacific Digital Panel Meter by Countries8 South America, Middle East and Africa Digital Panel Meter by Countries9 Digital Panel Meter Market Segment by Type10 Digital Panel Meter Market Segment by Application11 Digital Panel Meter Market Forecast (2016-2021)12 Sales Channel, Distributors, Traders and Dealers13 AppendixList of Tables and Figures:Figure Digital Panel Meter PictureFigure Global Sales Market Share of Digital Panel Meter by Types in 2015Table Digital Panel Meter Types for Major ManufacturersFigure Temperature and Process Panel Meters PictureFigure Totalizers PictureFigure Multi-Input Indicators and Scanners PictureTable Digital Panel Meter Sales Market Share by Applications in 2015Table Murata Power Solutions Basic Information, Manufacturing Base and CompetitorsTable Digital Panel Meter Type and ApplicationsTable Murata Power Solutions Digital Panel Meter Sales, Price, Revenue, Gross Margin and Market Share (2015-2016)Table Red Lion Controls Basic Information, Manufacturing Base and CompetitorsTable Digital Panel Meter Type and ApplicationsTable Red Lion Controls Digital Panel Meter Sales, Price, Revenue, Gross Margin and Market Share (2015-2016)Table OMRON Basic Information, Manufacturing Base and CompetitorsTable Digital Panel Meter Type and ApplicationsTable OMRON Digital Panel Meter Sales, Price, Revenue, Gross Margin and Market Share (2015-2016)Table InnoVista Sensors Basic Information, Manufacturing Base and CompetitorsTable Digital Panel Meter Type and ApplicationsTable InnoVista Sensors Digital Panel Meter Sales, Price, Revenue, Gross Margin and Market Share (2015-2016)Orbis Research is a single point aid for all your Market research requirements. We have vast database of reports from the leading publishers and authors across the globe. We specialize in delivering customised reports as per the requirements of our clients. We have complete information about our publishers and hence are sure about the accuracy of the industries and verticals of their specialisation. This helps our clients to map their needs and we produce the perfect required Market research study for our clients.Hector CostelloSenior Manager Client Engagements4144N Central Expressway,Suite 600, Dallas,Texas - 75204, U.S.A.Phone No.: +1 (214) 884-6817; +912064101019Email ID: sales@orbisresearch.com Rubber Transmission Belt Market - Global Industry Analysis, Forecast By 2016 - 2024 Rubber Transmission Belt Market http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=B&rep_id=16850 http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/ Belt drives have been used for more than 200 years for conveyance of materials and transmission of load. There are three basic types of power transmission belts flat belts, V-belts, and synchronous belts. Flat belts have a rectangular cross section and are efficient due to low bending losses, low creep, and high modulus of elasticity of traction layers. V-belts are trapezoidal in cross section and are used in industrial applications because of their relative low cost, ease of installation, and wide range of sizes. These belts work as friction-fit drive elements, using the friction between the belt and the pulley to transmit power. They have a higher power transmission capacity than flat belts as the slip between the belt and pulley is negligible, while the higher friction on the belt flanks substantially lowers the loads on the bearings.Synchronous belts provide similar engagement as gears or chains, where the toothed profile meshes with corresponding grooves in the pulleys. They are used in applications where indexing, positioning, or a constant speed ratio is required. In internal combustion engines, they are used to drive camshafts, fuel injection pumps, balancer shafts, and water pumps. The new trend in the automobile industry is to downsize engines, thereby reducing fuel consumption and carbon emissions. Downsizing of engines mandates the use of high horsepower engines. This has made rubber transmission belts crucial to automobile manufacturers.DOWNLOAD INDUSTRY RESEARCH REPORT BROCHURE FOR MORE PROFESSIONAL AND TECHNICAL INSIGHTS:Compared to chain drives, rubber transmission belts have low noise operation and stable and non-slippery drive. They do not require lubrication and are light in weight. Thus, rubber transmission belts help save energy. Transmission belts can be homogeneously made of rubber or they can be reinforced by aramid, steel, or nylon fibers for high strength applications. Different types of rubber materials are used depending upon the specific application environment. Synthetic rubber, a crude oil by-product, is widely used in transmission belt applications as compared to natural rubber. Chloroprene-based rubber transmission belts are flame resistant and are used for difficult working conditions such as underground mining pits.Ethylene propylene diene monomer (EPDM) based rubber transmission belts are resistant to acid, oxygen, and ozone belts. They are used for high-temperature applications in foundries, cement works, steelworks, lime kilns, and brickworks. Nitrile-based rubber transmission belts operate at high temperatures and are resistant to oil and grease. Silicone rubber belts are resistant to chemicals, greases, and oils and have an exceptional anti-adhesive effect. Styrene-butadiene rubber (SBR) transmission belts are resistant to abrasion and have good antistatic properties. Natural rubber transmission belts are used for general purpose applications and have low level of damping. Most transmission belts used in automobiles are made up of blends of the rubbers mentioned above.The rubber transmission belt market is fragmented with a number of manufacturers scattered throughout the world. Asia Pacific is the largest manufacturer of rubber transmission belts with China being the dominant player in the market. Countries such as India, Thailand, and Malaysia use a significant proportion of natural rubber in their rubber belt formulations. However, since synthetic rubber prices have fallen in the last couple of years due to the drop in crude oil prices, the use of synthetic in rubber transmission belts is set to rise in the countries mentioned above.The U.S. is increasing its production of synthetic rubber belts as exploration of shale gas has led to a fall in prices of synthetic right. Among the consumers of rubber transmission belts, China is the leader, followed by the U.S. and Japan. Europe is witnessing a higher demand due to the increasing use of rubber transmission belts by automobile manufacturers in the region. Among the types of rubber, SBR transmission belts account for the largest market share in terms of volume. Among the belt types, the usage of synchronous belts is rising significantly in vehicular and industrial applications.Key players operating in the rubber transmission belt market are Gates Corporation, TEC Belting Company, Bando Chemical Industries, Ltd., New England Belting Company, Belt corporation of America, Hsin Yung Chien Co., Ltd, Volga Transmissions Pvt. Ltd, PIX Transmissions Pvt. Ltd., Royal Auto International and J.K. Fenner (India) Limited.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. TMR's 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.Contact Us:-Transparency Market Research90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite: Oscar Munoz United CEO The Trump administration's immigration policies are "damning and damaging" to the US, Oscar Munoz, the chief executive of United Airlines, said. Munoz, who is Mexican-American, made the comments during a wide-ranging interview with Business Insider last week. He talked about Trump's plan to build a wall on the US's southern border as well as his executive order temporarily barring immigrants from seven majority-Muslim countries. Munoz also discussed how the executive order has created unwelcome complications for his company. This article is part of a longer conversation that Munoz, who has been CEO of the airline since September 2015, had with Business Insider at United's Global Leadership Conference in Chicago. Check back for more. Trump's immigration order Over the past few weeks, the Trump administration has moved swiftly on a laundry list of campaign promises through a wave of executive orders. Perhaps most controversial among them is the 90-day ban on immigration, including refugees, from seven countries. "It was so sudden that you have people in the air, you have people out of the country, you have people connected back here that are just stranded," Munoz said. "So how do you tell somebody who lives in America that they cant come back. "And so nobody thought through those things. I just wished and hoped that we could do it a little more thoughtfully." United Airlines CEO quote _01_02 Munoz lamented the fact that his employees and others in the travel industry have been forced to deal with the day-to-day chaos created by the executive order. From his perspective, it's an order whose efficacy is debatable. "The retort is that, 'Well, you are going to let the bad guys in,'" Munoz said. "Well, there are a lot of facts that support that of all the terrorist activities in this country since 9/11 most have been caused by American citizens radicalized by policies implemented by [past] administrations." On the business front, Munoz said he believes the uncertainty surrounding the administration's somewhat erratic behavior has had a direct effect on the airline in the form of reduced bookings to certain destinations. Story continues "Theres no question that the uncertainty of what this administration says versus what they actually do ... can be clearly seen," the airline boss told us. "People are not 'scared' but maybe that is the word to fly because they dont know whats going to happen when they (try to) come back." "Uncertainty always creates doubt, and doubt creates fear. And if you do that, yes, people are just going to stay home," Munoz added. Trump's wall As the most prominent Mexican-American CEO in the US, Munoz is fundamentally opposed to the wall Mr. Trump has threatened to build along the Mexican border. "Clearly, on a visceral human front, I oppose any wall, anywhere, between any people period," he said. But on a more practical level Munoz questions whether a wall would actually make for a safer border. "And then the efficacy and efficiency of something like that sounds good, but having traveled around there the terrain I dont know how you are actually going to build any kind of barrier that makes sense across such an incredible length. I dont know how thats going to help," Munoz told us. United Airlines CEO quote_02 The United CEO praised the border patrol for their hard work, and remarked that their efforts to secure our nation's borders have been relatively successful as "people sneaking across" to the US is but a small portion of the country's immigration issues. Munoz believes that the symbolism of Trump's border wall is far more problematic for the US than anything else associated with the proposal. "[When] we start building walls or even creating the concept of walls, it starts making it OK for you to build personal walls at work or with your neighbors," Munoz said. "I think thats damning and damaging to the country we all know is great because of that diversity and not despite of it." NOW WATCH: Airplane designers have a brilliant idea for the middle seat More From Business Insider Precision Farming Market Based On By Components and By Application Forecast to 2022 Precision Farming Market https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/sample_request/2066 https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/reports/precision-farming-market Market Research Future announced the publication of half cooked research report on Precision Farming Market. The global market for Precision Farming is majorly driven by factors such high adoption of technology in agriculture, need of efficient farming techniques.Taste the market data and market information presented through more than 35 market data tables and 20 figures spread over 110 numbers of pages of the project report. Avail the in-depth table of content TOC & market synopsis on Precision Farming Market Research Report - Global Forecast to 2022.Market Highlights:Precision farming can be very helpful in the management of the crop production with very low damage to environment. By the use of site-specific knowledge, precision farming can be helpful in the division of fertilizer, seed and chemicals for the soil and in the other conditions. Precision farming collects information and knowledge from the field by the deep analysis of the every aspects of farming. A study shows that precision farming can be very helpful in the long-term sustainability of farming and can reduce the environment damage by providing the fertilizers and pesticides only when the crops and soil needs it. Use of precision farming may help in reduction of losses caused by nutrient imbalance, insect damages and many other factors.An on-farm trial conducted in Argentina provided an example of how on site information and variable rates could be used to maintain the profitability while reducing the many application. Results of this trial also showed that precision farming is a modesty more profitable than the whole field management.Request a Sample Copy @Precision farming method incorporate modern technologies for the fertilizer application along with the land leveling, crop protection, irrigation. Other agronomic techniques are being helpful to the farmers for increasing yields with the lower damage to the environment and low pollution. To reduce the greenhouse gases associated with traditional irrigation system, waterharvesting and terrace farming system can be very helpful.Whereas some of the factors such as high cost of and lack of technical knowledge about the use of technologies and equipments are some of the restraints to the market of precision famring.The global market of precision farming is expected to grow at CAGR of 12% and estimated to reach at market size of US ~$7 billion by the end of forecast period.Key Players of Precision Farming Market: AGCO Corporation (U.S.) Deere & Company (U.S.) AG Leader Technology (U.S.) AgEagle Aerial Systems (U.S.) Aglytix Inc. (U.S.) AgGateway (U.S.) Precision Planting (U.S.) AgJunction Inc. (U.S.) Agribotix (U.S.) Dickey-John Corporation (U.S.)Brief TOC for Precision Farming Market:1 Market Introduction1.1 Introduction1.2 Scope Of Study1.2.1 Research Objective1.2.2 Assumptions1.2.3 Limitations1.3 Market Structure:1.3.1 Global Precision Farming Market: By Components1.3.2 Global Precision Farming Market: By Application1.3.4 Global Precision Farming Market: By Region2 Research Methodology2.1 Research Type2.2 Primary Research2.3 Secondary Research2.4 Forecast Model2.4.1 Market Data Collection, Analysis & Forecast2.4.2 Market Size Estimation2.4.3 Market Crackdown & Data Triangulation3 Market Dynamics3.1 Introduction3.2 Market Drivers3.3 Market Challenges3.4 Market Opportunities4 Executive Summary5. Market Factor Analysis5.1 Porters Five Forces Analysis5.2 Supply Chain AnalysisContinueAccess Report Details @Market Research Future Analysis:The global market of Precision Farming is dominated by North America. U.S. holds largest market share in North America followed by Canada. The main factor which supports this is presence of key companies in this region which gives North America a competitive advantage over other countries. Also government of North America countries are promoting use of advance technology in the agriculture for low emission of greenhouse gases into environment. North America is also technologically advance country as compare to other countries which also gives a lead. Europe stands as second biggest market for Precision Farming. Presence of developed nations such U.K. Germany, France and Italy generates most of the revenue in segment of precision farming in Europe. Also, farming culture in Europe is very rich and farmers are adopting new technologies to maximize their yield and profits. Growing application areas of precision farming is leading to wide adoption in the Europe region. Asia-Pacific has emerged as fastest growing market for the precision market. Growing economy of Asian countries such as China and India and high dependency on agriculture are some of the factors which is supporting the adoption of precision farming in Asia-Pacific.About 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 Components, Application, Technologies 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 AnandMarket Research FutureOffice No. 528, Amanora ChambersMagarpatta Road, Hadapsar,Pune - 411028Maharashtra, India+1 646 845 9312Email: akash.anand@marketresearchfuture.com Research report covers the Medical Electronics Market share and Growth, 2014-2020 http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-gb-72 http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/toc/rep-gb-72 www.futuremarketinsights.com Medical electronics is a branch of electronics that deals with design, implementation and use of electrical devices and equipment for medical purposes such as research, examination, diagnosis, treatment, assistance and care. Medical electronics utilizes field disciplines of both electronics and biomedical.Portable biomedical electronic devices are essential to movemedical products from the hospital atmosphere to home, and to move medical examination from the laboratoryand offer one-touch access to users. These devices offer secure access and enable both patients and doctors to stay in touch with each other remotely.Conventional medical devices have evolved over time, which is obvious with the advent of handheld smart phone-sized ultrasound systems, digital stethoscopes and digital X-ray systems.Small-sized medical devices are available for monitoring blood sugar levels, insulin, blood pressure and blood coagulation levels at home, and can send periodical reports to a doctor in a connected environment. Even consumer devices such as toothbrusheshave become modernized enough to send periodic information to dentists in a similar connected environment.The potential benefits associated with this technology includes improved quality of healthcare, increased output accuracy, remote health data availability,precise billing mechanism, easy to update patient electronic records and increase in level of patient experience. On other hand, there are some negative aspects such as decrease in productivity of medical professionals, lack of standard terminologies, significant learning difficulties and issues related to violation of patient data security.Request Free Report Sample@Increase in income levels,higher standard of living, rising health awareness rise in aging population in developed countries and development in health facilities in developing countries are key factors driving the rapid growth of the medical electronics market. High availability of electronic components such as microcontrollers, memory devices, display technologies etc., has contributed majorlyto the development of biomedical devices and equipment.The acceptance of electronic medical devices is difficult for the users as well as the doctors due to its high prices.The global medical electronics market is segmented on the basis of type, components, application and geography. Medical electronic device types vary depending on size, from handheld devices to heavy base devices, wearable gadgets to wireless connected devices, and from RFID-based health tracking device to RADAR technology-based ultrasound machines.On the basis of components, the market is segmented into sensor, battery, display, processors and memory. On the basis of application,the market is segmented into imaging, health monitoring, digital assistance, digital diagnostic, medical therapy, fitness and wellness and healthcare. On the basis of geography, the market is segmented into North America, Latin America, Asia Pacific, Japan, Western Europe, EasternEurope and the Middle East & Africa.The advancements in medical electronics include dynamic power path management, remote patient tracking, integrated analog front ends and tissue analysis of cancer cells. Some of the innovative products still in the developmental stage, which are to be introduced in the future, includeneedle-free diabetic care, robotic checkups andtouchscreen systems for treatment rooms.The opportunity for handheld wireless monitoring devicesis high.Request For TOC@Siemens AG,Analog Devices, Angiotech Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Canada), GE Healthcare (U.K.), Maxim Integrated (U.S.), Texas Instruments Incorporated (U.S.), Fairchild Semiconductor International, Inc.,ON Semiconductor Corporation (U.S.), STMicroelectronics N.V. (Switzerland), Freescale Semiconductor, Inc. (U.S.), Cypress Semiconductor Corporation, GE,and Biotronik GMBH & CO.KG. (Germany) are some of top players in the medical electronics market. The key strategies adopted by most of these players to maintain and enhance market sharesinclude mergers& acquisition, joint ventures, product launches and product enhancement. The medical electronics market is expected to grow along with technological innovations and focus more on accuracy, cost effectiveness and technological platform portability with other medical equipment. With the rise in data security threats and legal claims from patients, more technologically safe and data secured devices need to be deployed in the market to meet the medical infrastructural needs of society.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.comWebsite: Coal Bed Methane Market, 2014-2020 by Segmentation: Based on Product, Application and Region http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-gb-136 http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/toc/rep-gb-136 www.futuremarketinsights.com Under the purview of energy, coal bed methane primarily refers to the natural gas or methane recovery from un-mined coal seams and adjacent sandstones. Such methane recovery usually occurs prior to mining, whereas in some cases, coal seams remain un-mined and methane recovery from such sites is known as virgin coal bed methane. Coal bed methane recovery from un-mined coal mines is of strategic importance as absolute or maximum drainage of the methane seam is necessary to avoid the risk of explosion as well as mitigate the emission of methane in the atmosphere from coal mining operations. From the estimated global coal bed methane reserve of about 4,000 Tcf to 5,000 Tcf, about 20% to 25% is recoverable.Request Free Report Sample@The fact that the coal in some sites is at a greater depth, makes it not feasible to extract it on account of the associated safety. This and other environmental and economic considerations serve as the drivers for the global coal bed methane market. Further, the shifting focus towards the use of unconventional energy sources serves as another factor for the growth of global coal bed methane market. The constraints of the coal bed methane are dependent on the accessibility of coal seams. Major constraints of the global coal bed methane market include environmental, regulatory, technical and economic challenges. Among these, environmental constraints include risk associated with greenhouse gas emission. The economical challenges associated with the global coal bed methane market are more prevalent in the early stages of the recovery, when large quantities of water are pumped in with minimal recovery of revenue producing gas. This dewatering and produced water disposal cost is of significant importance for any carbon bed methane project. Although the development cost for the coal bed methane project is relatively lower, it is always a challenge to keep it within minimal range to achieve profitability. The technical constraints of the coal bed methane market depend on the well completion and optimization design to achieve maximum production with optimum number, spacing and location of wells. Also, handling and disposal of water at a minimal cost alongwith the efficient reservoir characterisation are other key technical restraints for global coal bed methane market. Also, coal bed methane requires a low pressure pipeline system which acts as an economical constraint. However, the potential of carbon bed methane to serve as a supplement for conventional natural gas supply and its contribution towards the global energy mix will act as an opportunity for global coal bed methane market. However, the market expansion of the global coal bed methane will be dependent upon the growth of newer technology and development.Market segmentation of global coal bed methane can be done on the basis of application, technology and geography. On the basis of application, the global carbon methane market includes commercial application, industrial application, power generation, residential application, and transportation. On the basis of technology, the global carbon bed methane market includes fracturing techniques including hydro-fracturing, proppant-based fracturing and chemical additive based fracturing, exploration, and drilling. Among these, fracturing techniques have been utilised most frequently for coal bed methane recovery. On the basis of geography, the global coal bed methane market includes North America, Latin America, Asia Pacific, Japan, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, and Middle East & Africa. Among these, the largest carbon bed methane resource bases are found in Canada, China, US, Soviet Union and Australia, with Canada accounting for the maximum share followed by the Soviet Union, China, Australia and US. On a broader level, any country with abundant coal reserves and population, and high energy demand will serve as a potential market for carbon bed methane development at a global level. The demand for coal bed methane gas is evident alongwith the demand for natural gas in China and other Asian countries. Associated exploration in the US has been active in the past few years whereas Canada witnessed lower exploration and the development offewer extraction technologies pertaining to global coal bed methane market.Request For TOC@Some of the prominent players of the global coal bed methane market include Santos, Quick Silver Resources Inc, Baker Hughes Incorporated, BG Group, Arrow Energy, Blue Energy Limited, Halliburton, Dart Energy Ltd., Fortune Oil PLC, ConocoPhillips and Metgasco Limited.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.comWebsite: Multifunctional Food Ingredients Market size and forecast, 2015-2025 http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-gb-887 http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/toc/rep-gb-887 www.futuremarketinsights.com Food ingredients are used in food manufacturing industry to get desired product quality. Multifunctional food ingredients is defined as, ingredients which are used to replace gums, gluten, fats and other expensive ingredients. These ingredients ensures food safety and enhances shelf life, increases product yield, maintains taste, texture and appearance. In meat and poultry industry, multifunctional ingredients are used to provide safety of production during storage, to increase firmness of products, and also provide optimum indicators of rheological and thermodynamic characteristics, it helps to achieve the improved consistence and moisture holding ability of finished goods. Oat derived multifunctional ingredients are used in bakery products to extend shelf life as it hinders the moisture migration. It also helps to improves volume and yield, enhances texture and improves nutritional value of finished products. Multifunctional food ingredient are also derived from food grade yeast and it is used to improve the flavour of fat reduced salad dressings which are pourable and this addition reduces the acid bite of added vinegar. The addition yeast extract results in a smoother and balanced flavour. Addition of multifunctional ingredient does not increases viscosity.Multifunctional Food Ingredients Market: SegmentationMultifunctional food ingredients are segmented on the basis of ingredient type, applications and region. On the basis of ingredient type, multifunctional food ingredients market is segmented as flavours and emulsions, yeast extracts, oat extracts, bulking agents, fibers, hydrocolloids, and others (dairy powders). Among these segments hydrocolloids is expected to grow during forecast period. Multifunctional fibers are made from fruits and vegetable peal and pulp are used to replace expensive ingredients such as eggs, oil and pectin. With increasing application of bulking agents, this segment is expected to show fastest growth in near future. Multifunctional food ingredients market is segmented on the basis of application type, includes dairy product, bakery and confectionery products, meat and poultry, dessert and toppings, and processed food products. Among these segments meat and poultry represents the mature market and expected to be dominant during forecast period. Multifunctional food ingredients are used in confectionery products to increase flavor intensity and taste enhancement and it ensures product stability during shelf life. Multifunctional flaxseed ingredients are used as gum replacer in cereal products such as tortillas, gluten-free products, pizza crusts, sheeted dough, batters and breads.Request Free Report Sample@Multifunctional Food Ingredients Market: Region-wise OutlookMultifunctional food ingredients market is segmented on the basis of region includes North America, Latin America, Eastern Europe, Western Europe, Asia Pacific excluding Japan, Japan and Middle East and Africa. North America and Europe are established markets for multifunctional food ingredients. With increasing demands for processed food and ready-to-eat products, multifunctional food ingredients market is expected to register healthy CAGR during forecast period.Multifunctional Food Ingredients Market: DriversConsumers demand for clean label products and natural ingredients are major drivers for multifunctional food ingredient market. As companies are launching new ingredient blends with all natural ingredients which can be used to improve product quality without processing loss. In early 2015, Corbian launched new range of multifunctional food ingredients for meat and poultry products. Many companies are launching new products to fulfill the different gender specific requirements. For instance, in 2015 NutraGenesis LLC launched functional ingredient called Sensara which can be used in foods and beverages and it provides wellness benefits to nourish and protect a womans mind and body. Marine sources are used as a raw material for multifunctional food ingredients, algae is most commonly used because of its oil content, fiber content and the small particle size. Algal flour acts as multifunctional food ingredients and it can be used in bakery products such as breads, dough products, dressing, sauces and nutritional beverages.Request For TOC@Multifunctional Food Ingredients Market: Key PlayersThe key international players operating in multifunctional food ingredients market includes AlgaVia, Arla Foods Ingredients, Ashland Inc., Butter Buds Inc., E & R Food Ingredients B.V., Florida Food, Inc., Fiberstar, Inc., Z Trim Holdings, Inc., NutraGenesis LLC., Glanbia Nutritionals, Solazyme and many others.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: press@futuremarketinsights.comWebsite: Wood Coatings Market to register a healthy CAGR for the forecast period, 2014-2020 http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-gb-144 http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/toc/rep-gb-144 www.futuremarketinsights.com Wood coatings refer to the process of refining or protecting a wooden surface, especially in the production of furniture. Wood coating applications include: interior wood, small furniture, panels, tables, cupboards, chairs, office furniture, kitchen furniture, doors and staircases among others. There are generally three types of wood coating: evaporative, reactive and coalescing. Wood coating starts with sanding either by hand or scraping. Imperfections or nail holes on the surface may be filled using wood filler. Often, the wood's color is changed by staining, bleaching, or any other techniques. Once the wood surface is prepared and stained, the coating is applied. It usually consists of several coats of shellac, drying oil, paint, wax or lacquer. Finally, the surface may be polished using wool, steel, rotten stone or other materials, depending on the shine desired. In addition, a final coat of wax is applied over the finish to add a degree of protection.Furniture, decking, and siding are the three largest applications in value terms. However, smaller doors, windows and cabinet applications are expected to achieve faster growth in the near future. Paint is the dominant wood protection product used on siding, windows and doors, but stains and sealers are more widely utilized on cabinets, decks, furniture, and flooring. Residential end-user is the largest market for wood protection products, driven by maintenance demand for items such as fences, siding and decks. Non-residential and non-building uses account for a much smaller market for wood protection products.Request Free Report Sample@The growth in the housing market is the primary driver for the wood coatings market. Homeowners are investing more in the upkeep of their decks, fences, floors and siding. A well maintained home adds value of the home and saves money in the long term. In addition, stringent regulations, rising competition, growth in unique formulations and new product developments are some of the factors stimulating the growth of wood coatings market. However, availability of cheaper and quality substitutes, such as wood composites and plastic wood could hamper the growth of this market. These alternative are often more durable and require less maintenance as compared to wood products. Although substitutes are available, wood is a primary choice for commercial and residential purposes due to wide availably in the market. Wood coatings account for the majority of the wood protection demand with paints and stains holding the largest shares. In contrast, preservatives, which are applied to lumber by the wood treatment companies, account for smaller portion of wood protection demand.Asia Pacific is currently the largest market for wood coatings, followed by Europe, North America and Rest of the world (RoW). Sustained demand from the developed markets and burgeoning demand from emerging economies will continue to drive the wood coating market. The industry is witnessing a major shift of key market players from Europe and the U.S. to the emerging economies of Asia Pacific, comprising of China and India.Request For TOC@Some of the key players in this market are Akzo Nobel Coatings nv (Netherlands), PPG Industries Inc. (U.S.), Sherwin-Williams Co. (U.S.), DuPont Coatings and Color Technologies Group (U.S.), ICI Paints (UK), BASF Coatings AG (Germany), Valspar Corp. (U.S.), Nippon Paint Co. Ltd. (Japan), Dow Coating Materials (U.S.) and Kansai Paint Co. Ltd. (Japan) among others. Dow Coating Materials has launched two new acrylic binders for the wood coatings: EXP-4414 and EXP-77. According to the company, the new binders offer improved block, print and dirt pickup resistance and improved hardness development when applied to wood.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.comWebsite: Grain and Cereal Crop Protection Market - Global Industry Analysis By 2023 Grain & Cereal Crop Protection Market http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=B&rep_id=18119 http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/ The escalating global population contributes to the pressure to increase cereal production, which leads to a proliferation of pesticide usage. Grains and cereals are a major consumer of crop-based as well as non-crop-based pesticides, particularly herbicides, which are a rapidly developing category. For the past few years, the global agricultural industry has been witnessing significant changes in terms of advancements in crop protection, drip irrigation, soil management, farming techniques, and enhancement of crop yields by means of herbicides, pesticides, the GM technology, fungicides, and other advanced techniques. Farms extensively employed the crop rotation method in order to protect the crops and maintain the level of nutrients in the soil.Soil fertility, soil erosion, and crop yield are augmented via this technique. It also helps mitigate the problem of pest attack which often occurs in a field engaged in incessant farming of the same crop. However, crop protection chemicals have also been observed to have an adverse effect on the environment and human health. Additionally, the nutritional levels of soil are affected by excess use of these products which decrease its productivity prospects. In terms of type, the grain and cereal crop protection market is categorized into insecticides, herbicides, and fungicides, among which herbicides are the dominant segment. This trend is expected to continue over the forecast period, on account of the wide utilization of herbicides as a crop protection chemical because of their low cost, as well as increased research and development investments in the field and the introduction of new herbicidal active ingredients.DOWNLOAD INDUSTRY RESEARCH REPORT BROCHURE FOR MORE PROFESSIONAL AND TECHNICAL INSIGHTS:Based on geography, the grain and cereal crop protection market is distributed over North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East &Africa (MEA), and Latin America.The market in North America is prominent, followed by Asia Pacific and Europe. The market in Asia Pacific is anticipated to experience a high rate of expansion in the near future. Growing population, increasing consumption of food products, and consumer awareness about health and wellness in developing countries such as India, China, and Japan are boosting the demand for grain and cereal crop protection products. Different types of crops such as cereal, maize, and cotton are prone to insect attacks and require protection chemicals, besides which their growing applications and production facilities in Europe have also been propelling their usage.The grain and cereal crop protection market is characterized by the presence of numerous local players as well as regional and international vendors. The global vendors lead the market in terms of product differentiation, quality, price, innovation, and distribution. The local players compete with each other on the basis of product price, portfolio, sales network, quality, and technology. The competitive environment is projected to intensify in the near future with extended product portfolios, mergers and acquisitions, technological expertise, and partnership agreements between firms. In addition to this, in developing countries, creation of energy-efficient agricultural technologies creates an area of growth opportunity for players to increase their market share.Key players operating in the grain and cereal crop protection market include Bayer CropScience, Syngenta, Dow AgroSciences, BASF, and FMC. Other prominent vendors include Sinochem Group, Agrium, Sapec Group, Monsanto, and Yara. These emerging players have been investing huge amounts of capital in research and development activities and innovation centers in order to expand their production capabilities and meet the markets growing demands.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. TMR's 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.Contact Us:-Transparency Market Research90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite: Market Research on Glass Fiber Reinforced Plastic (GFRP) Composites Market 2014 and Analysis to 2020 http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-gb-167 http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/toc/rep-gb-167 www.futuremarketinsights.com Glass fiber is a lightweight and durable fiber produced from very fine fibers of glass. As compared to carbon fibers, glass fibers exhibit low brittleness and the fibers of glass used for their production are more cost effective. Moreover, as compared to metals, the glass fibers are possess better properties, both strength wise and weight wise. Furthermore, the glass fibers can be smoothly formed using different molding techniques. Glass fibers are widely used as an important raw material for producing distinct types of composite materials. Manufacturing of glass fiber reinforced plastic (GFRP) composites, the largest class of composite materials, is the most important application of glass fibers and almost 90% of the reinforcements used in the composites industry are glass fibers. GFRP composites are extensively used in a diverse range of industries including wind energy, construction, automotive, aerospace, piping and anti-corrosive industrial equipments. The growing demand for GFRP composites from transportation and construction industries is anticipated to drive the global glass fiber and glass fiber reinforced plastic (GFRP) composites market in the next six years.Request Free Report Sample@Asia Pacific and North America are the largest producers and consumers of glass fiber and glass fiber reinforced plastic (GFRP) composites. Both these regions together account for more than 50% of the global market for glass fiber and glass fiber reinforced plastic (GFRP) composites. The infrastructure development and growing construction industry in emerging economies such as China and India is anticipated to drive the demand for glass fiber and glass fiber reinforced plastic (GFRP) composites in Asia Pacific in the next six years. The North American market for glass fiber and glass fiber reinforced plastic (GFRP) composites is primarily driven by the growing demand from construction, automotive, aerospace, wind energy and defense industries in the U.S.Apart from glass fibers, thermoset resin is a very important raw material used for the production of GFRP composites. Polyester, a cost effective and uncomplicated material, is the dominant thermoset resin used in the manufacturing of GFRP composites. Polyester thermoset resins are vastly used in producing composite materials marine, piping and building and construction applications. In addition to glass fibers and resins, some typical materials are used as fillers are used in the production of composite materials for improving the physical properties of composite materials. The manufacturers of glass fiber and glass fiber reinforced plastic (GFRP) composites are conducting extensive research and development activities for identifying the best range of raw materials that can be use for the production of optimum quality composite materials. Nowadays, thermoplastic resin is growingly used as a raw material in place of thermoset resin in the production GFRP composites. The use of thermoplastic resins as a raw material ultimately reduces the time and cost required to manufacture GFRP composites. Moreover, the thermoplastic resins offer higher impact strength and better surface finish to the composite materials. Furthermore, thermoplastic resins can be easily molded and can be recycled. The use of such innovative raw materials improves the quality of GFRP composites and therefore, drives the demand for GFRP composites in distinct industrial applications.Request For TOC@Some of the major companies operating in the global glass fiber and glass fiber reinforced plastic (GFRP) composites market are Johns Manville, BGF Industries, Asahi Glass Company Limited, Advanced Glassfiber Yarns LLC, Chomarat Group, Jushi Group Co. Ltd., Taishan Fiberglass Inc., Owens Corning, PPG Industries Inc., Binani 3B-The Fibreglass Company, Saertex Group, Chongqing Polycomp International Corp., Saint-Gobain Vetrotex, Nitto Boseki Co. Ltd. and Nippon Sheet Glass Co. Ltd.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.comWebsite: Microcrystalline Cellulose Market Analysis and Value Forecast Snapshot by End-use Industry 2015-2025 http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-gb-1017 http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/toc/rep-gb-1017 www.futuremarketinsights.com Cellulose is the prime component of plant cell. Microcrystalline cellulose is partially depolymerized cellulose, obtained from wood pulp. It is also formed through some of the fungi, bacteria, algae or marine animals. It is insoluble in water and is primarily used as bulking and anticaking agent in production of food products. It is also used as a texturizer, emulsifier and as an extender in application such as pharmaceutical or personal care products. Wide usage of microcrystalline cellulose in manufacturing food products coupled with growing of the pharmaceutical excipient industry is driving the demand of microcrystalline cellulose market across the globe.Microcrystalline Cellulose Market SegmentationGlobal microcrystalline cellulose market is segmented on the basis of application which includes pharmaceutical, food & beverage, cosmetics & personal care and others (paints and coating). Microcrystalline cellulose is widely used in various food products, which includes dairy products, desserts, baked goods and frozen food. Microcrystalline cellulose act as a bulking agent and fat substitute, and also helps in enhancing and maintaining consistency of the food product, which is expected to support the growth of food product in microcrystalline cellulose market. Pharmaceutical is expected to show a substantial growth over the forecast period. This growth is attributed to the wide usage of microcrystalline cellulose in pharmaceutical products. It can be used in every kind of oral dosage such as capsules, pellets, tablets, sachets, and others. In addition, microcrystalline cellulose is highly used as texturizer and thickening agent in cosmetics and personal care products, which is expected to support the demand of microcrystalline cellulose in cosmetics and personal care products in the near future.Request Free Report Sample@Global microcrystalline cellulose market is also segmented on the basis of raw material source. This includes wood and non-wood. Among both of these segment non-wood based microcrystalline cellulose is expected to show healthy growth over the forecast period.Geographically North America is well established market in microcrystalline cellulose market. The region is expected to contribute highest in terms of revenue. In North America, U.S. is expected to account for major market share followed by Canada. Europe is expected to show a substantial growth over the forecast period. Growing pharmaceutical industry in the European countries is expected to be the driving factor for microcrystalline cellulose market in the near future. Developing region such as Asia Pacific is predicted to show a healthy growth during the forecast period. Cheap and easy availability of raw material, regulatory support, and increasing huge demand for pharmaceutical products in the region is expected to be the driving factor for microcrystalline cellulose during the forecast period.Globally, microcrystalline cellulose market is highly fragmented due to the presence of large number of global and regional manufacturers. The production of microcrystalline cellulose is largely concentrated in Asia-Pacific and Europe. Moreover it has been found that China the major manufacturer of microcrystalline cellulose in the world followed by and U.S., due to which these countries are expected to be the major contributor in terms of revenue in microcrystalline cellulose market. However, the production of microcrystalline cellulose is shifting to Asia-Pacific, especially to China, due to the low cost of raw materials and cheap labor cost in the country.Microcrystalline Cellulose Market DriversIncreased acceptance of microcrystalline cellulose as an excipient in food industry coupled with the growth of the global pharmaceutical industry is expected to drive the demand of global microcrystalline cellulose market during the forecast period. Moreover, increasing demand for low fat food and processed food is also expected to fuel the growth of microcrystalline cellulose market over the forecast period.Request For TOC@Microcrystalline Cellulose Market Key PlayersSome of the major players operating in microcrystalline cellulose market includes FMC Corporation, Juku Orchem Private Limited, DuPont, Blanver Farmoquimica Ltda., JRS Pharma, Libraw Pharma, Avantor Performance Materials, Accent Microcell Pvt. Ltd, DFE Pharma GmbH & Co. Asahi Kasei Corporation, Mingtai Chemical Co. Ltd., and Sigachi Industries Pvt. Ltd., among others.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: press@futuremarketinsights.comWebsite: Asia Pacific Biochar Market Regulations and Competitive Landscape Outlook to 2020 http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-ap-209 http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/toc/rep-ap-209 www.futuremarketinsights.com The Asia Pacific biochar market is expected to witness significant contribution to the global biochar market, by registering a robust growth of nearly 10% by 2020. Growth of biochar market is also associated with the bio-fuel sector as the former is a by-product of the bio-fuels industry. With already established market of biochar in China and Japan, Asia Pacific biochar market is expected to witness positive growth with an increased market share of 12% in 2020 as compared to 10% in 2013. Country wise, Greater China accounts for about 94.7% of the Asia Pacific market, followed by ASEAN with a share of 5.2%. The trend is expected to be almost the same in the next six years with Greater China expected to account for 95% share of the Asia Pacific biochar market.Request Free Report Sample@In this study, FMI analyzes the Asia Pacific biochar market during 2014-2020. The study primarily focuses on:Asia Pacific Biochar market size and forecast, 2014-2020Relationship and trend of the parent market- bio-fuels marketDistribution channel as a key focus due to increasing product penetrationKey drivers , restraints and opportunity analysis of Asia Pacific biochar marketKey Trends and developments of Asia Pacific Biochar marketPresent scenario and developments in particular countries such as India, Greater China, etcCompetitive landscape analysis of the key players in Asia Pacific biochar marketKey Geographies/ Countries CoveredAsia Pacific: Greater China, India, ASEAN, Australia & Zealand, Japan and Others (Singapore, North Korea and South Korea)Other Key TopicsGlobal Biochar market, global bio-fuels market, Asia pacific bio-fuels market, global bio-diesel market, Asia Pacific bio-diesel marketExamples of key Companies CoveredARSTA Eco, Earth Systems, Guangdong Dazhong Agricultural Science and Technology Co. Ltd, Rainbow Bee Eater and Pacific PyrolysisRequest For TOC@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 2-9018,616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage, NY 10989,United StatesT: +1-347-918-3531F: +1-845-579-5705Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.comWebsite: Worldwide Analysis on Network Function Virtualization Market Strategies and Forecasts, 2014 to 2020 http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-gb-266 http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/toc/rep-gb-266 www.futuremarketinsights.com Network function virtualization (NFV) is the combination of software and hardware network featured in a virtual network. The service was initiated by service operators in order to increase the deployment of new operations, maintenance and service of networks. Network function virtualization catalyzes the major changes in implementation of network and their operations. The solution offered by network function virtualization projects a prominent future by optimizing the network operations and benefitting the service providers across the globe. Network function virtualization involves implementation of network functions in software suitable for different hardware and that can be moved to various locations without any need of installation of new equipments.The primary goals of network function virtualization are to reduce power consumption and reduce equipment cost, facilitate the accessibility of several applications on one single network appliances with multi tenancy and multi version capabilities. Network function virtualization reduces capital expenditure (CAPEX) and operational expenditure (OPEX). These networks support a dynamic ecosystem through the development and utilization of software solutions. All the benefits of FV are derived from use commercial off the shelf (COTS) hardware that can be purposed and repurposed for multiple telecom related services that currently use proprietary hardware. Network function virtualization adopts the concept of virtualization and providing the benefit to telecommunication application infrastructure. Network function visualization supports software defining network (SDN) by providing the infrastructure upon which SDN software can be run.Request Free Report Sample@The market for network function virtualization is driven by several factors including increase in demand for data intensive applications and need of cloud based services. Over the past few years the mobile industry has witnessed exceptional demand for data intensive applications which further demands for enhanced network capacity to match the user requirement. The growth of market is hindered by factors such as delay in adoption of technology. Due to nascent stage of optimization solution, vendors need more opportunities to accomplish more target customers. One of the major trends in network function virtualization market is the increasing demand for virtual server access ports. The network function virtualization market across the globe is expected to show a substantial growth with a double digit increase in CAGR by the year 2019. The global market shows immense potential because of the presence of certain trends and due to the cost benefits and high flexibility provided by b the network solutions.The market for network function virtualization is segmented on the basis of applications and geography. On the basis of application the market for network function virtualization can be segmented into switching elements (Routers), traffic analysis, service assurance, next generation signaling, security function and others. The geographical analysis of the market is done on the basis of North America, Europe, Asia Pacific and Rest of World.Request For TOC@Some of the major players in the market include Ericsson AB, Alcatel-Lucent SA, Huawei technologies Co. Ltd., 6Wind SA, Nokia Solutions and Network, Amdocs Inc., Connectem Inc., CIMI Corporation, ContexXtream Inc., Intel Corporation, F5 Network Inc., Juniper Network Inc., Open Wave Mobility Inc., NEC Inc., Oracle Corporation and Opera Software Asa among others.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.comWebsite: Transformer Oil Market Growth and Forecast 2015-2025 http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-gb-1105 http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/toc/rep-gb-1105 www.futuremarketinsights.com In order to meet the residential, commercial and industrial energy requirements and ensure a smooth operation of power supply transformer plays an important role. During transformer operation, transformers dissipate heat which can damage the system if not controlled. In order to achieve seamless operation of transformer by preventing from heat damage the oil are used. Transformer oil is used in oil-filled and submersible transformers to maintain temperature of transformer. Application of transformer oil can also be seen in high-voltagecircuit breakers and switches. Since the oil is in constant contact with components it is therefore susceptible to chemical interaction. It is therefore essential to check for the quality of transformer oil at regular intervals since with continuous reaction the chemical composition of the oil may change and this may render it unfit for use.Request Free Report Sample@The market for transformer oil is subjected to the demands of the various end-use industries such as chemicals and automotive, and the type of transformer used. The oil used in transformers is hydrocarbon mineral oil. There are two major types of transformer oil used in the industry; naphthenic and paraffinic based. Though bio based transformer oil have gained attention due to stringent environmental issues but their usage is restricted due to limited advantage. The market of transformer oil will be driven by the expanding energy demand and growing installation of power grids in urban scenario. Due to growing population, the power grid companies needs to expand and upgrade their existing capacities causing penetration of transformers to increase which in turn fuel the market for transformer oil. The transition towards renewable sources of energy, strict environmental laws and shift towards organic oils may restraint the market of mineral based transformer oil.Asia is one of the largest consumer of transformer oils followed by North America, South America and Europe. For the forecasted years Asia-pacific transformer oil market will continue to lead in terms of consumption. The demand for transformer oil in Asia Pacific is rapidly growing for emerging markets of India and China. This demand is transformer oil is attributed to the increasing focus on rural and urban development in infrastructure. This involves a shift in focus from high capacity transformer to small and mid-segment transformers for domestic and agricultural uses. The transformer oil markets of China, India and also Brazil will dominate owing to the government initiative for the electricity accessibility to the countrys population. The demand for in the mineral based is anticipated to stabilize due to the shift towards green (bio based) alternatives. The demand for transformer oil in regions of Americas and Europe is related to high capacity industrial transformers. The demand for transformer oil in these regions is anticipated to be slower than those in Asia Pacific owing to the significant development of renewable sources of energy and reduced dependability on conventional sources of energy.Request For TOC@Transformer Oil Market: Key PlayersSome of the key players identified in the transformer oil market are Hydrodec Group PLC, Nynas AB, Calumet Specialty Products Partners, Valvoline,APAR Industries, Sinopec Corporation, Engen Petroleum Limited.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: press@futuremarketinsights.comWebsite: Phototherapy Equipment Market size and forecast, 2016-2026 http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-gb-1182 http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/toc/rep-gb-1182 www.futuremarketinsights.com Phototherapy is a process which uses light to treat medical conditions. Sunlight has been known to be most useful for certain skin diseases, and the UV part of the radiation emitted by the sun that is used in phototherapy, especially the ultraviolet B (UVB) and ultraviolet A (UVA) wavelengths. Phototherapy consists of exposure of specific wavelengths of light using polychromatic polarized light, fluorescent lamps, lasers, Light emitted diodes, Short wave UV lamp and full spectrum lamps. The light is administered for a prescribed amount of time and specific wavelength. There are three main types of phototherapy broadband UVB (290 nm-320nm), narrow band phototherapy (311nm-312nm) and PUVA (Psorlaen and UVA) and UV A1 (340nm-400nm). UV B is the most common type of phototherapy for treatment of skin related diseases. Such as atopic eczema, psoriasis, generalized itching, dermatitis, lichenoides, T cell lymphomas, vitiligo PUVA (Psorlaen and UVA) is indicated for chronic plaque psoriasis and atopic eczema whenever UVB is not able to treat effectively. According to the American Cancer Society, UV light therapy is effective in treatment of certain types of cancer. Phototherapy is used to treat the neonatal jaundice by converts toxic bilirubin form into less toxic less toxic isomeric bilirubin and that the new born can excrete through stools and urine. This treatment called bili light therapy.Phototherapy Equipment Market: Drivers and restraintsGlobal Phototherapy Market can be driven by following drivers: Phototherapy has gained widespread of acceptance very diverse range of fields such as diagnosis of infectious diseases, increasing the prevalence of the diseases i.e., Psoriasis, eczema, etc., are provides lucrative market opportunities. Increasing the prevalence neonatal Jaundice is drives the phototherapy market. Increasing technological innovations such as automated platforms include new CFL Phototherapy units are majorly encouraging the market.Request Free Report Sample@Phototherapy Equipment Market: SegmentationGlobal Phototherapy Market can be segmented as following typesGlobal Phototherapy market byProducts:Portable LED LampsBed type LED LampsNeonatal Incubators with LED lampsGlobal Phototherapy market byApplication:PsoriasisNeonatal JaundiceAcneCancerGlobal Phototherapy market byEnd user:HospitalsDiagnostic CentersPhototherapy Equipment Market: OverviewIncreasing the demand for advanced treatment methods for various severe diseases, increasing the prevalence of neonatal jaundice and cancer are provides a robust market growth. Growing the severity of skin diseases and disorders are providing a healthy market growth of global phototherapy market in forecasting period.Phototherapy Equipment Market: Region-Wise OutlookDepending upon the geographic regions phototherapy market is segmented into seven key regions: Those are North America, Latin America, and Eastern Europe, Western Europe, and Asia pacific excluding japan, Japan, Middle East and Africa.North America dominating the global phototherapy market. Increasing awareness among the people towards the use of new technologies providing lucrative market. Asian Pacific region market is considered to rapidly evolving healthcare infrastructure, this region is anticipating providing a robust growth of global phototherapy market.Request For TOC@Phototherapy Equipment Market: Key playersSome of the key players in Market are Koninklijke Philips, N.V., Nice Neo tech Medical Systems Private, Ltd., Honle UV America, Inc.,Favoro Health Projects spa, Solarc Systems, Inc., Arjo huntlleigh.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: press@futuremarketinsights.comWebsite: Acetic Anhydride Market Expected to Observe Major Growth by 2021 http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/samples/4380 http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/toc/4380 Acetic anhydride is manufactured by carbonylation of acetate. It is also manufactured by the reaction of ketene with acetic acid. Acetic anhydride acid is colorless and has a pungent odor. Acetic anhydride is majorly consumed in cellulose acetates. Cellulose acetate flakes include cellulose acetate propionate (CAP), cellulose di-acetate and cellulose tri-acetate. Cellulose acetate flakes are used in cigarette filters, plastics and filament yarns.Request for Sample Report:The market for acetic anhydride was mainly driven by cigarette tow market. Cellulose acetate is mainly consumed in cigarette. Acetic anhydride is also used in fragrances and flavor as well as dyes market. In addition, acetic anhydride can be used in pharmaceuticals, textiles, coatings and pesticides market. Acetic anhydride is also used to manufacture tetraacetylethylenediamine (TAED) which can be used as a bleach activator in laundry detergents market. However, declining usage of acetic anhydride in cellulose acetate for domestic consumption can have major impact on the market.In terms of demand, North America was the leading region in acetic anhydride market. The U.S. had the largest demand for acetic anhydride owing to huge demand from cellulose acetate market. However, the market for acetic anhydride is declining in North America region. Market for acetic anhydride was significantly large in Europe and the trend is expected to continue on account of the growing demand for TAED and cellulose acetate in the region. Asia Pacific is anticipated to be the fastest growing market for acetic anhydride over the next few years. The demand for acetic anhydride is huge from countries such as Japan, China and India. China and Japan were the leading consumers of acetic anhydride in Asia Pacific region. India is likely to provide better opportunity for acetic anhydride market owing to increasing demand from textile market. The Rest of the World market is anticipated to have stable demand for acetic anhydride market in near future.Request for Table of content:Some of the key manufacturers in the tissue culture reagents market are Celanese Corporation, BP Chemicals, BASF SE, DuPont, Eastman Chemical Company, SABIC, PetroChina Ltd., and Sasol Limited among others.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.Persistence Market Research Pvt. Ltd.305 Broadway7th Floor, New York City,NY 10007, United States,USA - Canada Toll Free: 800-961-0353Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.com Tahini Market Growing at 5.2% CAGR by 2025, Globally http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/market-research/tahini-market/toc http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/samples/12883 http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/checkout/12883 http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com Dipasa International S.A., Sunshine International Foods, Inc., Kevala International LLC, Joyva Corp, Premier Organics, Haitoglou Bros S.A., Halwani Bros. Co., Prince Tahina Ltd., El Rashidi El Mizan, Al-Wadi Al-Akhdar S.A.L, Carleys of Cornwell Ltd., Balsam Tahini, Ismail Termurcugil, and Alseedawi Sweets Factories Co. constitute some of the key players in the global market for tahini. While major export opportunities lie in Asia and North America, a majority of leading players are based in the Middle East and North America. Halwani Bros. Co. and Haitoglou Bros. are top Middle East companies, whereas Joyva Corp, Dipasa, and Kevala Int. are the key North American players. Alwadi Al Akhdars new factory in Lebanon is due in 2017 and Sabra Dipping Co. will soon double its tahini hummus production capacity.Driven by growing popularity across the globe and steady adoption by the F&B industry, global tahini market volumes are estimated to surpass 314 thousand tonnes in 2016, up from nearly 305 thousand tonnes in 2015. According to the latest report published by Persistence Market Research titled Global Market Study on Tahini: Paste and Spreads Product Type Segment Projected to Remain the Largest Segment During the Forecast Period, global volumes are projected to reach 423,854 tonnes in 2025.Besides the availability of myriad flavors, rising adoption by local eateries are most likely to impact the global tahini market. Market Research Expert, Persistence Market ResearchGrowing popularity of authentic Middle Eastern food flavors is expected to escalate the demand for tahini-based products, such as hummus and tahini spread. The surging significance of social media marketing will play a pivotal role in the promotion of tahini and derived products. Emerging tahini applications in hummus, butter and spreads, halva, salads, bakery products, toppings, and traditional Middle Eastern recipes such as Baba Ghanoush will also influence the market favorably.By product type, tahini paste and spreads will witness the highest demandPaste and spreads segment will account for over 55% share in terms of revenues by 2025Desserts and sweets segment, aggravated by growing popularity of halva, will maintain a market share of over 25% during the assessed periodSustained consumption of tahini dips and sauces will fuel the sauces and dips sub-segment, capturing over 18% market value shareBy distribution channel, major tahini sales will be directed through exportsConventional retail will lose its market share over 2015-2025; from over 37% market share in 2015, this sub-segment will settle at around 34% in 2025Modern trade is expected to witness decent growth, accounting for a revenue share of over 29% by 2025 endExports will, however, exhibit the fastest growth in terms of a distribution channel. With over 20% share of the revenues, this sub-segment is anticipated to reach US$ 465.9 Mn with a promising CAGR of 6.1%Considering product size, the tahini market is projected to gain the highest traction in the 50-150 gm size sub-segmentWith over 56% value share in 2025, the 50-150 gm size sub-segment will reportedly reach a consumption of around 243,189 tonnesAbove 150 gm size sub-segment is likely to witness an uptick over the forecast period, capturing a considerable 28% market value share in 2025Below 50 gm product size will be the fastest growing sub-segment at 5.9% CAGRRequest to view table of content @Depending on the production process, industrial production process will remain dominant over conventional processWith a slight setback from 76% share in 2015 to around 73% share estimated by 2025 end, industrial production process will witness moderate growth with a CAGR to the tune of 5.3%A sample of this report is available upon request @Conventional process will experience significant growth over the forecast periodAccording to Persistence Market Researchs regional analysis, Western Asia will continue to be the largest market, whereas GCC will emerge lucrative by 2025 endWest Asia, identified as the most lucrative market for tahini, will predictably cross US$ 608 Mn by 2025 end, accounting for maximum revenues in the global marketGCC countries will exhibit the fastest growth at 5.9% CAGR, primarily driven by Kuwait, UAE, and Saudi Arabia. GCC tahini market revenues will reach around US$ 202 Mn by 2025 endNorth Africa, followed by the U.K., are projected to grow moderately at respective CAGRs of 5.7% and 5.4%To Buy Full Report for a Single User @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: Global Alkyl Polyglucoside Surfactants Market to Maintain Healthy CAGR www.persistencemarketresearch.com/samples/4387 www.persistencemarketresearch.com/toc/4387 Alkyl polyglucoside surfactants commonly referred as APG, are nonionic surfactants manufactured from renewable raw materials such as starch and vegetable oils. Alkyl polyglucoside have good foaming ability and offers fine and smooth foam. Alkyl polyglucoside surfactants have strong decontamination and good wetting characteristics. Alkyl polyglucoside has no turbidity point and is easily soluble in water and electrolytes. Alkyl polyglucosides are derived from fatty alcohols and sugars. Alkyl polyglucosides are manufactured from catalytic reaction of monofunctional alcohols and glycoses. Alkyl polyglucoside surfactants offer properties such as soil removal, foaming, filming, and anti-streaking and skin compatibility among others. Alkyl polyglucoside surfactants are used in home care products, detergents, emulsifiers and cosmetics among others.A sample of this report is available upon request @The market for alkyl polyglucoside surfactants was mainly driven by personal care industry. Increasing demand for eco-friendly products from the consumers has been driving the alkyl polyglucoside surfactant market in past few years. Alkyl polyglucoside surfactants are used in shower gel, facial cleanser, and hand soap and laundry detergents among others. The demand for alkyl polyglucoside surfactants is growing due to its non-toxicity and high surface activity. Alkyl polyglucoside surfactants can also be used for preparation of plastics additives and solid dispersions among others. Alkyl polyglucoside surfactants find applications in I&I industrial cleaners, car wash and hard surface cleaners among others. In addition, alkyl polyglucoside surfactants are used in fabric softeners, inks, dispersants, and anti-fogging products, ski wax used in snowboard, laxatives, defoamers, and agrochemical formulations such as herbicides and insecticides and biocides among others. However, higher processing prices associated with alkyl polyglucoside surfactants are likely to hinder the growth of the market in years to come.In terms of demand, Asia Pacific was the leading region in alkyl polyglucoside surfactants market in 2013. Asia Pacific is expected to be the fastest growing markets for alkyl polyglucoside surfactants due to increasing demand from personal care, home care and agrochemical formulations among others. China had the highest demand and production in alkyl polyglucoside surfactants market in Asia Pacific region. China was followed by Japan who is second-largest consumer for alkyl polyglucoside surfactants in this region. Asia Pacific was followed by North America. Increasing demand from car washing, home care, and hard surface cleaner and fabric softeners are driving the demand for alkyl polyglucoside Surfactants in this region. U.S. had the largest demand for alkyl polyglucoside Surfactants owing to huge demand from home care products. Europe had the third-largest demand for alkyl polyglucoside surfactants market in 2013. Increasing demand for alkyl polyglucoside surfactants from I&I industrial cleaners and home care products has been driving the market for alkyl polyglucoside surfactants in Europe. The market for alkyl polyglucoside surfactants in Europe is dominated by Germany. Other European countries such as Sweden, the UK, France and Italy among others are likely to provide better opportunities for alkyl polyglucoside surfactants market in next years to come. Rest of the World market is anticipated to show positive outlook for the alkyl polyglucoside surfactants market in near future. Latin America is likely to be potential market for alkyl polyglucoside surfactants owing to increasing demand for bio-friendly surfactants from customers in various applications such as home care and agrochemical formulations among others.Request to view Table of content @Some of the key manufacturers in the alkyl polyglucoside surfactants market are AEB Group, BASF SE, Colonial Chemical Inc., Fenchem, Huntsman Corporation, Lubon Industry, Polyrheo Inc., and The Dow Chemical Company among others.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.Persistence Market Research Pvt. Ltd.305 Broadway7th Floor, New York City,NY 10007, United States,USA - Canada Toll Free: 800-961-0353Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.com Ammonium Carbamate Market Analysis, Industry Trends and Developments by 2021 http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/samples/4388 http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/toc/4388 Ammonium carbamate is a salt of carbamic acid and ammonia. The compound is white, crystalline and soluble in water. Ammonium carbamate is manufactured by reaction of ammonia with dry ice (liquid carbon dioxide). It is used as a substitute for ammonia in certain applications. Ammonium carbamate is used as an elementary material for manufacturing ammonium carbonate. Ammonium carbamate is used as decomposition controller along with metal phosphides. In addition, it is also used for detoxification of off-gases.Request for Sample Report:The market ammonium carbamate was mainly driven by increased demand for urea from agriculture sector. Ammonium carbamate is used in the production of carbamoyl phosphate, an important ingredient in urea cycle, where it is used as intermediate. It is also used in the manufacturing of pyrimidines. In addition, ammonium carbamate is also used in pesticides and fumigants to control rodents and insects. Increasing use of pesticides can be major opportunity for the growth of the market. However, health hazards and environmental issues can be major restraint for the ammonium carbamate market.In terms of demand, Asia Pacific was the leading region in ammonium carbamate market. Increasing demand for urea products in agricultural sector is expected to drive the ammonium carbamate market in this region. Asia Pacific was followed by North America. Rise in demand for decomposition controller and other agricultural activities is expected to fuel the ammonium carbamate market in North America. Europe had the third-largest market share in ammonium carbamate market. The market for ammonium carbamate is anticipated to grow due to rising demand from agricultural activities. The Rest of the World market is likely to exhibit steady demand for ammonium carbamate in upcoming years.Request for Table of content:Some of the key manufacturers in the ammonium carbamate market are Advanced Technology & Industrial Co. Ltd, Alfa Aesar GmbH & Co. KG, BASF SE, China XiangDing Chemical International Company, Merck KGaA, Sigma-Aldrich Corporation, Tokyo Chemical Industry Co., Ltd and VWR International LLC among others.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.Persistence Market Research Pvt. Ltd.305 Broadway7th Floor, New York City,NY 10007, United States,USA - Canada Toll Free: 800-961-0353Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.com Accumulator Market Set to Grow Exponentially by 2026 Accumulator Market, Accumulator, Accumulators Market http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/toc/10984 http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/samples/10984 www.persistencemarketresearch.com Accumulator Market: Market DynamicsThe increase in the demand for custom designed accumulators for various packages contribute hugely to the market growth of accumulators globally. Automated packaging systems demand advanced technologies for their production processes. Owing to rapid changes in product design and increasing demand for variable capacity accumulators in the food & beverage, personal goods, and cosmetic industry is expected to contribute to an extensive growth in the accumulator market.TOC of this report is available upon request @The revenue contribution from food & beverage and cosmetic products is significant to global accumulator market. This trends is expected to continue over the forecast period owing to the thriving growth of the food and beverage industry. Likewise, modest demand of accumulators for the manufacture of industrial goods and pharmaceuticals, is expected to boost the sales of accumulators. However, the presence of integrated manufacturing machine incorporating multiple packaging functions and capital intensive nature of equipment is expect to restrict the accumulator marketAccumulator Market: Market SegmentationThe accumulators market can be segmented on the basis of type and application. The accumulators are available in five forms. Vertical, Horizontal, Serpentine, Bi-flow and Rotary. Based on the application the accumulators market can be segmented into food and beverage, pharmaceuticals, health care and personal care products, industrial goods and other consumer products.Accumulator Market: Regional OutlookThe accumulators market can be segmented on the basis of regions. North America, Latin America, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, APEJ (Asia Pacific excluding Japan), Japan, Middle East and Africa (MEA). Asia Pacific revenue contribution to the global accumulator market is expected be the maximum owing to the thriving consumer goods and food and beverage industries in major markets such as India and China. Followed by Asia Pacific, Europe and North America are anticipated to have moderate growth in the accumulators market owing to modest growth in the packaging and other industries. Latin America and Middle East and Africa are expected to create significant opportunities for accumulator manufactures as a result of the proliferating demand from food and beverage industry from the regions.Accumulator Market: Market PlayersThe accumulators market is highly fragmented. However the market has the presence of regional players too. The significant players identified in accumulators market are TetraPak, Nercon, Packaging Dynamics Ltd., Reelex, Del Packaging Ltd., Brenton, Hartness among many others.The research report presents a comprehensive assessment of the market and contains thoughtful insights, facts, historical data, and statistically supported and industry-validated market data. It also contains projections using a suitable set of assumptions and methodologies. The research report provides analysis and information according to categories such as market segments, geographies, types, technology and applications.The report covers exhaustive analysis on: Market Segments Market Dynamics Market Size Supply & Demand Current Trends/Issues/Challenges Competition & Companies involved Technology Value ChainRegional analysis includes North America (U.S., Canada) Latin America (Mexico. Brazil) Western Europe (Germany, Italy, France, U.K, Spain, Nordic countries, Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg) Eastern Europe (Poland, Russia) Asia Pacific (China, India, ASEAN, Australia & New Zealand) Japan Middle East and Africa (GCC, S. Africa, N. Africa)The report is a compilation of first-hand information, qualitative and quantitative assessment by industry analysts, inputs from industry experts and industry participants across the value chain. The report provides in-depth analysis of parent market trends, macro-economic indicators and governing factors along with market attractiveness as per segments. The report also maps the qualitative impact of various market factors on market segments and geographies.Sample of this report is available upon request @Report Highlights: Detailed overview of parent market Changing market dynamics in the industry In-depth market segmentation Historical, current and projected market size in terms of volume and value Recent industry trends and developments Competitive landscape Strategies of key players and products offered Potential and niche segments, geographical regions exhibiting promising growth A neutral perspective on market performance Must-have information for market players to sustain and enhance their market footprintAbout UsPersistence Market Research (PMR) is a full-service market intelligence firm specializing in syndicated research, 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, Consumer 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 engagement models are highly flexible without compromising on its deep-seated research values.Contact UsPersistence Market Research305 Broadway7th Floor, New York City,NY 10007, United States,USA - Canada Toll Free: 800-961-0353Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.commedia@persistencemarketresearch.comWeb: Butachlor Market : Report analyzes estimates and forecasts in terms of revenue and analyzes major driving and restraining factors https://goo.gl/9P1grh https://www.tmrresearch.com/sample/sample?flag=T&rep_id=67 https://www.tmrresearch.com/butachlor-market Butachlor Market: General OutlineButachlor also known as Machete is an organic herbicide that belongs to the acetanilide group of chemicals, and is utilized as a pre-emergent selective herbicide employed against grasses. It is a systemic herbicide that acts as a protein synthesis inhibitor and leads to metabolic dysfunction in the targeted weeds. Butachlor herbicide is primarily absorbed by germinating stem shoots and secondarily by weed roots, growing on the pre-planted arable crop land.Butachlor herbicide is mainly used in India on rice crops, as it requires moist soil and considerable amount of water for safe application. Being phytotoxic in nature, it must be used after diluting with water. Butachlor herbicide is applied one or two weeks before seed plantation, during wet seeded conditions, on moist soil, and left for three days in three to four centimeter of water. The water level has to be maintained for five days to a week and drained before seed plantation. Butachlor herbicide is toxic to aquatic life and has low bio-accumulation potential. It decomposes into toxic gases at high temperatures and exposure may cause pneumonitis on inhalation, and may also trigger nausea, diarrhea and vomiting.Request a Brochure of the Report @Butachlor Market: Comprehensive OverviewButachlor herbicides are primarily used as selective herbicides against grasses, sedges, and some broadleaved weeds. They are extensively used by Indian farmers for mainly rice cultivation and other well irrigated crops. Butachlor herbicide works efficiently to remove weed and is best suited for well irrigated or moist soils.The global butachlor herbicide market is growing due to escalating food demand for the booming global population and reducing arable land. However, rising general awareness about the harmful effects of herbicides and other toxic agrochemicals, along with stringent environmental regulations, especially in developed countries of North America and Europe is expected to be a limiting factor for the butachlor herbicide market. Due to the opposition of chemicals used in agriculture, farmers are moving to organic farming and development of better and less harmful substitutes.Butachlor Market: Geographical EvaluationThe large population base makes Asia Pacific a major consumer of butachlor herbicide. Agricultural economies including China, Indonesia and India are chief consumers of butachlor herbicide for its heavy usage in variety of crops. A rise in disposable income and purchase power parity of China and India is expected to drive demand for food grains, thereby increasing the demand for butachlor herbicide.Request for TOC of the Report @Comparative lenient norms and regulations against chemicals, availability of cheap labor and land, Asia is the preferred region for production facilities for key market players. North America is another leading consumer for butachlor herbicide, especially in well irrigated southern land of Mississippi and Missouri areas of the U.S. In addition, Brazil, South Africa and Central Africa contribute to the major demand for the market. Strict government control norms over potentially harmful agrochemicals and general tendency of farmers towards sustainable organic farming techniques, Europe is projected to witness slower growth in comparison to other regions.Butachlor Market: Key Market PlayersSome of the butachlor market players are: Shanghai Tenglong Agrochemical Co. Ltd., Monsanto, Shanghai Mingdou Agrochemical Co. Ltd., and Syngenta AG, SinoHarvest Corporation.Read Complete Report @About TMR ResearchTMR Research is a premier provider of customized market research and consulting services to business entities keen on succeeding in todays supercharged economic climate. Armed with an experienced, dedicated, and dynamic team of analysts, we are redefining the way our clients conduct business by providing them with authoritative and trusted research studies in tune with the latest methodologies and market trends.Our savvy custom-built reports span a gamut of industries such as pharmaceuticals, chemicals and metals, food and beverages, and technology and media, among others. With actionable insights uncovered through in-depth research of the market, we try to bring about game-changing success for our clients.Contact :Rohit BhiseyHead - Internet MarketingTel: +1-518-618-1030Email: sales@tmrresearch.com Membrane Separation Market Growing at 10.8% CGAR by 2019 http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/samples/2888 http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/market-research/membrane-separation-market/toc http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/checkout/2888 http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com European membrane market (largest in 2013) is expected to reach USD 13.8 billion in 2019, growing at a CAGR of 9.6%. In 2012 water & wastewater sector was the major end-user of membrane separation technology and is expected to increase at a CAGR of 11.1% during 2013-19. The membrane separation market is fragmented with several players in the market supplying membrane separation products to the end-users (water and wastewater, industrial and healthcare) in the market. Most of the companies produce different types of membrane products such as microfiltration, nanofiltration, ultrafiltration and reverse osmosis and sell them globally. Major companies operating globally and manufacturing all four products are Evoqua Water Technologies, Pall Corporation, Koch Membrane Systems Inc., Merck Millipore, Degremont SA, Dow Chemical Company, GEA Filtration, 3M Company, Nitto Denko Corporation and Veolia Environnement.Persistence Market Research Released New Market Report on Global Market Study on Membrane Separation: Water & Waste Water Segment to Witness Highest Growth by 2019, the global membrane separation market was valued at USD 19.0 billion in 2012 and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 10.8% from 2013 to 2019, to reach an estimated value of USD 39.2 billion in 2019.A sample of this report is available upon request @Mandatory government regulation and increasing demand for clean processed drinking water is propelling the water processing industry to provide the public with clean processed drinking water free of impurity. Providing growth opportunity for water treatment industry among which, Membrane separation technology is one of the most popular methods used for cleaning water. Mandatory adherence of certain environmental standards by the national government such as the Clean Water Act especially in areas with water scarcity have influenced the demand for better water treatment technology, including membrane separation technology. Shifting from chemical to physical treatments of water is also a major driver as chemical treatments are perceived as an environmentally unclean technology with associated disposal costs. Additional awareness of water scarcity has influenced the demand for water reuse in water stressed areas.Request to view table of content @Governments and municipal authorities are increasingly waking up to the effects of environmental degradation on the economy. Worldwide industrial expansion and growing population are propelling the demand for better water treatment technology, providing growth opportunity for the global market of membrane separation technology. Additionally, the oil and petroleum industry is well established in the gulf and European countries such as Italy and Germany which involve membrane separation technology for liquid separation. Expansion of such industry is expected to increase the overall demand for membrane separation technology. Membrane separation technology is bifurcated into four major processes, microfiltration, ultrafiltration, nanofiltration and reverse osmosis. Microfiltration dominates the market with more than 35% global market share in 2012. Whereas water & wastewater dominates the end-user market with 36% global market shares in 2012. The global membrane separation market grew from USD 19.0 billion in 2010 to USD 21.2 billion in 2013.To Buy Full Report for a Single User @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: Caprylic Alcohol Market Revenue Predicted to Rise by 2021 http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/samples/4399 http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/toc/4399 Caprylic alcohol also known as octanol is a colorless liquid with penetrating odor. Caprylic alcohol is insoluble in water and its vapors are heavier than air. Caprylic acid is a fatty acid alcohol mainly used as intermediate in chemicals and pharmaceutical industry. Caprylic alcohol is used as raw materials in manufacturing of surfactants, conditioners and disinfectants among others. It is also used as an intermediate in manufacturing of plasticizers. Caprylic alcohol also finds application in synthetic resins lubricants as an oil base and as emulsifiers in emulsion polymerization. Caprylic alcohol also finds applications in personal care and cosmetic products such as personal creams and ointments. Caprylic alcohol is used as a lubricant in metal rolling market.Request for Sample Report:The market for caprylic alcohol was driven by chemical and pharmaceutical industry. Huge demand from chemical industry for caprylic alcohol as an intermediate is driving the market in past few years. Caprylic alcohol is used in anti-oxidants, detergents and plasticizers market. Cosmetics industry is another major outlet for caprylic alcohol where it is used as an ingredient in creams and ointments. Increasing demand from end-user industries such as plastics and disinfectants from emerging countries has been one of the major factors for the growth of demand for caprylic alcohol. Another, major factor driving the caprylic alcohol market is increasing demand for synthetic resin lubricants from developing countries. Increasing demand for caprylic alcohol from perfume industry is likely to offer major opportunity for the caprylic alcohol market in next few years. However, environmental regulations related to caprylic alcohol industry are anticipated to hider the growth of the market in next few years.In terms of demand, Asia Pacific was the leading region in caprylic alcohol market in 2013. Asia Pacific is anticipated to be the fastest growing markets for caprylic alcohol due to increasing demand for detergents and cosmetics in this region. The market for caprylic alcohol in Asia Pacific was led by China. However, other Asian countries such as India, Japan and South Korea are likely to provide better opportunity for caprylic alcohol market owing to increasing consumption from pharmaceutical and chemical end-user industries. Asia Pacific was followed by Europe. Increasing demand for caprylic alcohol from personal care industry coupled with chemical industry has been driving the market for caprylic alcohol in Europe. Germany is the largest consumer of caprylic alcohol in this region. Other countries such as the UK, France and Italy are likely to exhibit stable demand for caprylic alcohol in next few years. In terms of consumption, North America had the third-largest share in the caprylic alcohol market in 2013. Increasing demand from pharmaceutical industry is driving the demand for caprylic alcohol in this region. The U.S. had the largest demand for caprylic alcohol owing to huge demand from end-user industries such as personal care, chemicals and pharmaceuticals among others. Rest of the World market is anticipated to show positive outlook for the caprylic alcohol market in near future. Latin America is anticipated to show fastest growth for the caprylic alcohol market in this region. The demand is huge owing to increasing applications in personal care and detergent applications.Request for Table of content:Some of the key manufacturers in the caprylic alcohol market are Azelis UK Life Sciences, Charkit Chemical Corp., Creasyn Finechem (Tianjin) Co., Ltd., Kao Corp., Sasol Germany GmbH and TCI (Shanghai) Development Co., Ltd. among others.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.Persistence Market Research Pvt. Ltd.305 Broadway7th Floor, New York City,NY 10007, United States,USA - Canada Toll Free: 800-961-0353Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.com American colleges and universities took in a record $41 billion in donations in 2016, but the contributions were concentrated among a handful of schools and often assigned to specific purposes. More than a quarter of contributions went to just 20, mostly private, institutions, led by Harvard, Stanford and the University of Southern California, according to a new report from the Council for Aid to Education. Top Reads: The 25 Best-Paying College Majors While tuition at colleges has skyrocketed in the past decade, charitable support for higher education has focused on other areas, with research drawing the largest share of designated donations. About 16 percent of donations have gone toward financial aid, a share that has remained relatively steady since 2006. Relatively weak stock market performance during the 2016 fiscal year, which ended June 30, meant fewer individual donations last year. Contributions from alumni fell 8.5 percent for the period to just under $10 billion. Even with the decline, alumni represent the second-largest source of philanthropic support for higher education. Donations from corporations and foundations showed the largest increase in donations for the year, generating gifts worth $6.6 billion and $12.5 billion, respectively. Overall, charitable contributions comprise just 10 percent of university spending, down from a high of 16 percent in 2000. The report projects that charitable giving will increase in 2017 if the stock market remains bullish. Here are the 10 school that received the most donations last year: Harvard University $1.19 billion Stanford University $951.15 million University of Southern California $666.64 million Johns Hopkins University $657.29 million University of California San Francisco $595.94 million Cornell University $588.26 million Columbia University $584.81 million University of Pennsylvania $542.85 million University of Washington $541.44 million Yale University $519.15 million Top Reads from The Fiscal Times: Future of Global Travel Vaccines Market: 2015 - 2021 http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/samples/5753 http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/toc/5753 Health related complications are greater in developing countries and rural areas because of dissimilarities in sanitary conditions, available food and water bases. The immunization Practices Advisory Committee of the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) mentions that travelers should be up-to-date on routine immunizations, irrespective of travel plans. The target population for the travel vaccines market include outbound travelers. The travel vaccines for the prevention of hepatitis A, hepatitis B, yellow fever, tetanus, poliomyelitis, meningococcal disease, typhoid fever are manufactured by leading market players namely Sanofi Pasteur, Merck, Novartis and GlaxoSmithKline. Among these aforementioned companies, Sanofi Pasteur and GSK are the notable players in the travel vaccines market that accounts for approximately 85% of total market. Recently in March 2014, Sanofi Pasteur, the vaccines segment of Sanofi announced its long term strategic collaboration with SK Chemicals Company to develop pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV).A Sample of this Report is Available Upon Request @The driving factors for the growth of this market include increase in awareness about vaccine preventable diseases and rise in global travel traffic. Moreover, innovation of novel vaccine technologies and technological advancements towards molecular genetics is further boosting the growth of market in coming years. However, requirement of expertise for the production of vaccines and unfavorable healthcare funding towards vaccination could pose a challenge for the growth this market.Geographically, North America will be the leading market for global travel vaccines market, followed by Europe and Asia-Pacific. The major contributing factors for North America to lead the market include involvement of large number of companies in the production of vaccines and introduction of superior range of vaccines in the market. However, Asia-Pacific market is forecast to grow at a significant growth rate in coming years.The leading players of this market include GlaxoSmithKline, Sanofi Pasteur, Merck, Novartis, and Pfizer. Other key participants of this market include ALK Abello A/S, Bavarian Nordic A/S, Crucell N.V., CSL Ltd. Medimmune Inc. and Vaxin Inc.To View TOC of this Report is Available Upon Request @Key geographies evaluated in this report are:North AmericaU.SCanadaEuropeFrance, Germany, Italy, Spain, and the UKEastern EuropeCISAPACChinaIndiaJapanAustraliaOthersLatin AmericaArgentinaBrazilOthersAbout 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 Global Chromium Carbide Market is Expected to Gain Popularity Worldwide www.persistencemarketresearch.com/samples/4417 www.persistencemarketresearch.com/toc/4417 Chromium carbide also known as trichromium carbide is a grey colored ceramic compound with different chemical compositions and crystal structure. Chromium carbide is corrosion resistant, retains its strength at higher temperature levels and is extremely hard making it preferred additive in metal alloys. Chromium carbide is manufactured through exothermic reaction of aluminum, graphite and chromium oxide. Chromium carbide finds applications in surface treatment, thermal spraying, as an additive in cutting tools, welding electrodes and coating and surfacing among others. Chromium carbide is mixed with Nickel powder to form nickel-chromium matrix which is used in aerospace applications. These metal matrix coatings can be used for machinery, hydraulic valves and rod mandrels among others. Chromium carbide overlay plates are used in variety of applications such as power generation, mining, steel production, cement, waste management, paper and pulp and glass production among others.A sample of this report is available upon request @The market for chromium carbide was driven by variety of applications such as surface coatings, thermal sprays, overlay plates and chrome plating among others. Chromium carbide offer wear resistance coatings as well as corrosion resistance to the surfaces when blended with metal matrix. In welding electrodes, chromium carbide is preferred over carbon contain electrodes as they provide superior results. In addition, chromium carbide offers abrasion resistance to the surfaces. In thermal spray applications, chromium carbide is used along with nickel to form nickel chrome metal matrix which is used in protection of aluminum parts and other machinery. Along with tungsten chromium carbide is used to manufacture cutting tools. Chromium carbide is used in cutting tools to avoid formation of grains during sintering process. In spite of so many applications, health issues associated with chromium carbide due to its toxicity and fluctuating prices is likely to hinder the growth of the global chromium carbide market in next few years to come.In terms of demand, Asia Pacific was the leading region in chromium carbide market in 2013. Asia Pacific is expected to be the fastest growing markets for chromium carbide due to increasing demand for surface coatings and thermal spray wielding applications. China had the largest demand in chromium carbide market in Asia Pacific region. Other countries such as India, Japan, Taiwan and South Korea are likely to exhibit more demand for chromium carbide in upcoming years. Asia Pacific was followed by North America. Increasing demand from metal surface coatings and rising demand from aerospace industry is driving the demand for chromium carbide in this region. The U.S. had the largest demand for chromium carbide owing to huge demand aerospace applications. In terms of demand, Europe had the third-largest demand for chromium carbide market in 2013. Increasing demand for chromium carbide from surface coatings, chrome plating and cutting tools has been driving the market for chromium carbide in Europe. Germany had the highest demand for chromium carbide in European region. Other major countries with higher demand for chromium carbide in this region are Sweden, the UK and France among others. Rest of the World market is anticipated to show positive growth for the chromium carbide market in near future. Latin America and the Middle East are likely to be major market for chromium carbide in this region owing to growing surface coating market in next few years.Request to view Table of content @Some of the key manufacturers in the chromium carbide market are Oerlikon Metco, SSAB Wear solutions LLC, SAS Global Corporation, ZhuZhou GuangYuan Cemented Material Co., Ltd. among others.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.Persistence Market Research Pvt. Ltd.305 Broadway7th Floor, New York City,NY 10007, United States,USA - Canada Toll Free: 800-961-0353Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.com Shavers Market Growing at 7.9% CAGR by 2020 : PMR http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/samples/4922 http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/market-research/shavers-market/toc http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/checkout/4922 http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com The global shavers market is anticipated to expand at a CAGR of 7.9% during the period 2015-2020 and reach a valuation of US$ 30 Bn by 2020, according to a new research titled, Global Market Study on Shavers: Latin America to Witness Highest Growth by 2020 by Persistence Market Research (PMR).Focus on personal grooming is one of the key drivers for the global shavers market. Emphasis on clean-shaven look among men in urban areas is creating demand for shaving products.The global shavers market is also fuelled by the increasing trend of body hair removal among women. Shaving is an economical method of removing body hair as compared to waxing. PMR estimates this trend to fuel the shavers market during the forecast period.One of the key restraints for the shavers market is the recent trend of sporting facial hair. Whether it is a moustache, stubble or full-grown beard, men are expressing themselves through their facial hair. PMR opines that this trend can adversely impact the prospects of the shavers market during the forecast period. Low adoption of shavers by women in developing countries can also pose challenges for the global shavers market.On the basis of product type, the global shavers market is broadly segmented into electric and non-electric. Non-electric shavers account for the bulk of the demand for shavers globally. The non-electric shaver segment had a share of 73.6% in 2014, which is anticipated to increase to 79.9% by 2020.The non-electric shaver is further sub segmented into blades & accessories, safety razors, and cartridge razors. Blades & accessories dominated the non-electric shaver segment in 2014, and it is anticipated to remain the most dominant segment through 2020 as well. PMR estimates blades and accessories sub-segment to be worth US$ 10.8 Bn by 2020.Electric shavers accounted for a market share of 26.4% in 2014, however, due to the high cost of electric shavers, it is anticipated that this segment will lose some of its market share to non-electric segment.On the basis of end-users, the global shavers market is broadly segmented into male and female. Shaving products are predominantly used by males, and this segment was worth US$ 16.1 Bn in 2014. PMR estimates this segment to expand at a CAGR of 7.5% through 2020 and reach a valuation of US$ 24.6 Bn. The female segment, on the other hand, is projected to expand at a CAGR of 9.8%. This is due to the growing inclination among females towards shaving various body parts, such as legs and armpits.Latin America is anticipated to be the most lucrative region for the global shavers market in terms of compound annual growth rate. The shavers market in Latin America is anticipated to expand at a CAGR of 17% through 2020 and reach a valuation of US$ 10.8 Bn. Latin Americas market share, which was around 22% in 2014, is anticipated to increase to 36.2% by 2020. Robust demand for shaving products from Brazil is driving the shavers market in Latin America.Europe is the most lucrative market for the global shavers market in terms of market value. The shavers market in Europe is anticipated to be worth US$ 8.1 Bn by 2020. Other key regions include North America and Asia Pacific.A sample of this report is available upon request @On the basis of distribution channel, the shavers market is segmented into supermarkets and hypermarkets, online retail, and others (drugstores, beauty specialists, and department stores). The others segment is the dominant distribution channel for shavers market and it accounted for 68.7% market share in 2014. Owing to the proliferation of smartphones and attractive offers, the online retail segment is anticipated to witness the fastest CAGR of 12.5%.Request to view table of content @The key players in the global shavers market include Panasonic Corporation, Conair Corporation, Koninklijke Philips N.V., The Procter & Gamble Company, Energizer Holdings, Inc., Spectrum Brands Holdings, Inc., Wahl Clipper Corporation, Super-Max Group, and SOCIETE BIC.To Buy Full Report for a Single User @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: Remote Patient Monitoring Device Market is Estimated to be Valued at US$ 1,502.9 Mn by 2024 http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/samples/3287 http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/market-research/remote-patient-monitoring-device-market/toc http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/checkout/3287 According to the latest market report published by Persistence Market Research titled Remote Patient Monitoring Device Market: Global Industry Analysis and Forecast, 20162024, the global remote patient monitoring device market is expected to expand at a CAGR of 6.7% and is estimated to reach US$ 1,502.9 Mn by 2024, creating incremental opportunity of US$ 657.1 Mn between 2016 and 2024. Persistence Market Research analyzes the overall performance of the global remote patient monitoring device market and provides key insights on the factors and trends likely to influence the market during this eight-year period.A Sample of this Report is Available Upon Request @Rising prevalence of cardio vascular diseases, respiratory disorders, and diabetes in the general population are major factors driving the growth of the global remote patient monitoring device market. Increasing healthcare expenditure and increasing availability of effective treatment solutions for chronic diseases is also projected to boost revenue growth of the global remote patient monitoring device market. Other factors boosting market growth include an increasing awareness among people to self-monitor before disease advancement and government reimbursement issued on homecare settings facilities.Lack of trained professionals to help with remote patient monitoring devices is expected to hinder market growth of the global remote patient monitoring device market. Insufficiency in maintaining the privacy and security of the stored data, lack of uniformity in device functionality, and lack of general awareness on patient monitoring devices are the key restraints challenging the market.The global remote patient monitoring device market is segmented on the basis of Product Type (Cardiac Monitors, Respiratory Monitors, Hematological Monitors), Application (Cardiac Arrhythmia, Diabetes, Ischemic diseases, Hypertension, Sleep apnea, Chronic respiratory diseases, Hyperlipidemia), End User (Hospitals, Homecare Settings, Long-term Care Centers, Others), and Region (North America, Latin America, Europe, APEJ, and MEA).By product type, the cardiac monitors segment is expected to remain the largest segment and is anticipated to reach US$ 765.4 Mn by the end of 2024, expanding at a CAGR of 6.9% over the forecast period. By the end of 2024, the respiratory monitors segment is projected to reach US$ 435.0 Mn, expanding at a CAGR of 6.5% over the forecast period. By application, the cardiac arrhythmia segment is estimated to reach US$ 307.7 Mn by 2024, expanding at a CAGR of 6.8% over the forecast period. The diabetes segment is projected to reach US$ 196.8 Mn by 2024, expanding at a CAGR of 5.6% over the forecast period. By end user, the hospitals segment is anticipated to reach US$ 690.1 Mn by 2024, expanding at a CAGR of 6.6% over the forecast period. The homecare settings segment is anticipated to reach US$ 347.3 Mn by 2024, expanding at a CAGR of 6.2% over the forecast period.Among regions, North America is estimated to dominate the global remote patient monitoring device market with 31.4% revenue share of the overall market by the end of 2016. The Europe remote patient monitoring device market is anticipated to reach US$ 341.1 Mn by 2024. By 2024, North America and Europe markets are expected to account for over four-fifth share of the global remote patient monitoring device market revenue.Request to View Tables of Content @Some key companies covered in the report include Boston Scientific Corporation, Koninklijke Philips N.V., Abbott Laboratories, Nihon Kohden Corporation, F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd., LifeWatch AG, Medtronic, and St. Jude Medical. These companies are primarily focused on enhancing their product portfolio through research and development initiatives and through the introduction of innovative technologies in order to gain higher market share and to strengthen their respective positions in the global market.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 Specialty Food Ingredients Market to Register a Strong Growth By 2020 http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/toc/3406 http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/samples/3406 http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com North America has the largest market share for specialty food ingredients, followed by Europe and Asia Pacific. North America is expected to dominate the global market in forecasted period owing to increasing consumption of processed food in the U.S. and Canada. Healthy eating habit is expected to boost the European specialty food ingredients market. However, Asia Pacific region is expected to witness highest growth in the coming future. Emerging markets of China, India and Brazil is further expected to boost the global specialty food ingredients market.Food ingredients provide unique color, textures, nutrients, functionalities and flavors to the cooked or processed food products. Food ingredients are added to enhance taste and flavor to the processed food items. Specialty food ingredients are used by food and beverage industry to enhance taste and flavor to the processed food. Specialty food ingredients are able to meet customers demands owing to their unique features including processing aids, coloring, preservation, emulsification and nutritional enhancement. Also, help in enhancing shelf-life, stability and texture of the food products. Specialty food ingredients are majorly sold to food processing industry including large food manufacturing companies as well as medium-sized companies.On the bases of function of different food ingredients global specialty food ingredients market can be bifurcated into color, acidulants, food enzymes, flavor, food preservatives, food emulsifiers, starches and nutraceuticals. Nutraceuticals has the largest market share for specialty food ingredients, and is expected to dominate the global market in forecasted period. Specialty food ingredients are majorly used by food processing industry. Other major application of specialty food ingredients includes bakery and confectionery, diary, convenience food, meat and seafood products and functional food items.Request to view table of content @Increasing urban population coupled with rising disposable income level is increasing the penetration for packaged and convenience food items, in turn increasing the demand for specialty food ingredients. Additionally, rising rate of diabetes and obesity in both developed and developing countries, prompts the consumer to focus more on healthier lifestyles, in turn demand for health and wellness food ingredients from food and beverage manufacturing companies. This is also driving the global specialty food ingredients market to some extent.A sample of this report is available upon request @Changing consumer consumption trends towards health and wellness food products shows increased purchasing power of individual; this is providing ample growth opportunity for the food manufacturing companies to expand their market in healthy food products. Some of the major companies operating in the sodium reduction ingredients market are Cargill Inc., Kerry Group Plc., Cambrian Solutions Inc., Advanced Food Systems Inc., E. I. Dupont De Nemours and Company, Specialty Commodities, Sensient Technologies Corporation, Koninklijke DSM N.V., Ingredion Incorporated and Tate & Lyle.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: Electric Vehicles Market is Projected to Register at a Healthy CAGR of 15.6% by 2030 End Electric Vehicles Market, Electric Vehicles, Electric Vehicle Market, Electric Vehicle http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/market-research/electric-vehicles-market/toc http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/samples/2843 http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/checkout/2843 www.persistencemarketresearch.com Electric vehicles are self-propelling transportation machines for passengers as well as goods utilizing the power stored in the batteries via electric motors or with the help of both internal combustion engine and electric motors working in tandem. Electric vehicles are considered to be the vehicles of the future and are highly likely to make conventional vehicles obsolete.Request to view Table of Content @The global electric vehicles market is projected to grow at an impressive CAGR of 15.6% in terms of revenue generated over the forecast period from 2016 to 2030, primarily driven by the growth of eco-friendly alternatives considered for transportation.Factors influencing the Global Electric Vehicles Market growthThe growth of electric vehicles is attributed to the ever increasing production and sales of automobiles. Vehicles are becoming an increasingly affordable commodity owing to the growing disposable incomes across the world. Though the percentage share of electric vehicles in the automotive industry is extremely small in the current scenario, it is highly likely to expand at a faster rate than expected due to rise in fuel prices owing to higher current usage and growing rate of depletion, the government regulations to reduce the amount of greenhouse gases emitted by vehicles, high fuel efficiency offered by the electric vehicles and soundless operation of the electric vehicles. Another important factor which is pushing the surge of electric vehicles market is the attractive incentives provided by the governments of various countries with a motive to push the sale of electric vehicles. Customers are offered benefits such as tax exemption, reduced selling prices, and free charging of electric vehicles at various charging points.Though electric vehicles have proven to be advantageous over conventional vehicles, the market is not without restraints hindering the growth of the market over the forecast period. Electric vehicles come along with a high price tag which might evoke customer apathy towards this market. Scarcity of charging points within major cities is a massive hurdle in the growth of the global electric vehicles market. The electric vehicles lack alternate source of fuel which often put the schedule of the commute in jeopardy. The complete drainage of the battery can stall the car and can put the traveler at risk. These loopholes in the electric vehicles are a major drawback for the market.Electric vehicles provide excellent torque at low speeds but its performance drops at higher speed in comparison with conventional vehicles, this difference in performance can also act as a restraint to the growth of the global electric vehicles market.Global Electric Vehicles Market segmentation and forecastOn the basis of technology, the electric vehicles market is divided into hybrid electric vehicles, plug-in hybrid electric vehicles and battery electric vehicles. Though plug-in hybrid electric vehicles hold the least amount of share in the market, it is projected to grow at the fastest rate with a CAGR of 17.9% in the forthcoming years owing to higher flexibility in terms of its usage.Global Electric Vehicles Market analysis, by product typePassenger cars, commercial vehicles, two wheelers, and others comprise the vehicle type segmentation. In terms of volume, two wheelers segment to dominate the market due to astonishing rise of sale in China. Passenger cars segment is predicted to expand at a CAGR of 15.1% within the forecast period. Battery powered electric vehicles do not follow the system architecture of parallel hybrid, series hybrid and combined hybrid, which make up the powertrain segment. Hence, this segment excludes market volume numbers of battery electric vehicles leaving the market value far less than the overall market value. Parallel hybrid powertrain is currently dominating the market and is also projected to grow faster than series and combined hybrids with a CAGR of 16.8% till 2030.Sample of this report is available upon request @Global Electric Vehicles Market analysis, by regionThe use of electric vehicles is highly prevalent in North America, Europe and Asia Pacific regions. Well developed and extensive charging infrastructure along with the incentives provided by the governments of these regions are expediting the growth of the electric vehicles. In contrast, Latin America and Middle East & Africa regions show a slower adoption of electric vehicles owing to the availability of flexible fuel. Latin America is projected to create a total incremental $ opportunity of US$ 1,332.6 Mn between 2016 and 2030. The segment is expected to account for 0.3% share of the global market absolute $ incremental opportunity during the same period.To Buy Full Report for a Single User @Key players dominating the Global Electric Vehicles MarketAlmost all the major manufacturers of automobile with a global reach have manufactured and supplied electric vehicles. Honda Motor Co., Ltd., Toyota Motor Corporation, Tesla Motors, Inc., Ford Motor Company, Nissan Motor Corporation Ltd., Bayerische Motoren Werke AG are some of the prominent companies engaged in the manufacture of electric vehicles releasing hybrids, plug-in hybrids or pure battery electric vehicles variants.About UsPersistence Market Research (PMR) is a full-service market intelligence firm specializing in syndicated research, 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, Consumer 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 engagement models are highly flexible without compromising on its deep-seated research values.Contact UsPersistence Market Research305 Broadway7th Floor, New York City,NY 10007, United States,USA - Canada Toll Free: 800-961-0353Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.commedia@persistencemarketresearch.comWeb: Wearable Medical Device Market Major Manufacturers, Trends, Demand, Share Analysis to 2027 https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/sample_request/899 https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/request-toc/899 https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/reports/phototherapy-market Market Synopsis of Wearable Medical DeviceThe wearable medical device market is expected to reach USD 4 billion in the forecasted period. The market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 26.78%. This growth in the market can be due to various factors such as increasing focus on fitness among individuals and awareness about healthy lifestyle. Furthermore signi8ficant growth in the home healthcare is expected to push up the demand for this segment.Key PlayersSome of the key players in the wearable Medical Device market are: Fitbit Inc., Garmin, Vital Connect, Omron Corp., Sotera Wireless, Jawbone, Pebble Technology Corp., Basis Science Inc., Withings, Intelesens Ltd., Covidien Plc, LifeWatch AG, Polar Electro, Philips Electronics, Everist Genomics.Request a Sample Copy @SegmentsOn the basis of Application: Sports Fitness Remote Patient Monitoring Home Healthcare.On the basis of Product : Diagnostic Therapeutic Device.Test the market data and market information presented through more than 50 market data tables and figures spread over 80 numbers of pages of the project report. Avail the in-depth table of content TOC & market synopsis on Global Wearable Medical Device Market Research Report - Forecast to 2027Study Objectives of Wearable Medical Device To provide detailed analysis of the market structure along with forecast for the next 10 years of the various segments and sub-segments of the global Wearable Medical Devicemarket To provide insights about factors affecting the market growth To Analyze the Wearable Medical Device market based on various factors- price analysis, supply chain analysis, porters five force analysis etc. To provide historical and forecast revenue of the market segments and sub-segments with respect to four main geographies and their countries- North America, Europe, Asia, and Rest of the World (ROW) To provide country level analysis of the market with respect to the current market size and future prospective To provide country level analysis of the market for segment by Type, Application, Products and its sub-segments. To provide strategic profiling of key players in the market, comprehensively analyzing their core competencies, and drawing a competitive landscape for the market To track and analyze competitive developments such as joint ventures, strategic alliances, mergers and acquisitions, new product developments, and research and developments in the global Wearable Medical Device marketRequest TOC, Tables, Figures and Companies @The report gives the clear picture of current market scenario which includes historical and projected market size in terms of value, technological advancement, macro economical and governing factors in the market. The report provides details information and strategies of the top key players in the industry. The report also gives a broad study of the different market segments and regions.BRIEF TOC1. Report Prologue2. Introduction2.1 Definition2.2 Scope of the Study2.2.1 Research Objective2.2.2 Assumptions2.2.3 Limitations2.3 Market Structure2.4. Market Segmentation3. Research Methodology3.1 Research Process3.2 Primary Research3.3 Secondary Research3.4 Market Size Estimation3.5 Forecast Model4. Market Dynamics4.1 Drivers4.2 Restraints4.3 Opportunities4.4 Mega Trends4.5 Macroeconomic Indicators5. Market Factor AnalysisContinue..Key questions answered in this report What will the market size be in 2027 and what will the growth rate be? What are the key market trends? What is driving this market? What are the challenges to market growth? Who are the key vendors in this market space? What are the market opportunities and threats faced by the key vendors? What are the strengths and weaknesses of the key vendors?Related ReportPhototherapy Market Information, by devices (firefly, fiber-optic blanket, fiber-optic band) by indication (jaundice, skin disease) by end users (hospitals, clinics, home care) - Forecast to 2022. Know more about this report @About 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.Contact:Akash AnandMarket Research FutureOffice No. 528, Amanora ChambersMagarpatta Road, HadapsarPune - 411028Maharashtra, India+1 646 845 9312Email: akash.anand@marketresearchfuture.com Global Pyrite Market Set to Grow Exponentially, 2021 www.persistencemarketresearch.com/samples/4525 www.persistencemarketresearch.com/toc/4525 Pyrite also known as iron pyrite or fools gold is an iron sulfide mineral. Pyrite is pale brass yellow colored and has metallic luster thus having resemblance with gold. Pyrite is found with other oxides and sulfide in rocks and coal beds. Some of the countries such as Peru, the U.S., Russia, Spain and South Africa have commercially important deposits of pyrite. The flat radial disks of pyrites are also known as dollars or sun. Pyrite is used in various applications such as production of sulfur compounds such as sulfur dioxide and sulfuric acid, cathode material, semiconductor material and marcasite jewelry items. In addition, pyrite is used as filler in wheels and brake pads. Moreover, the pyrites are used as an ore for gold, as both forms under similar conditions and are available in same rocks. Pyrite is also used as gemstone and is considered as a stone of warmth and power.A sample of this report is available upon request @The market for pyrite was mainly driven by jewelry and sulfur compounds market. Huge demand of pyrite for manufacturing of sulfuric acid and sulfur dioxide has been driving the market in past few years. Pyrite is used in jewelry items such as necklace with beads and cabochons. In grinding industry, pyrite is used as filler in grinding wheels and brake linings. Pyrite is also used in friction markets to increase the thermal conductivity. Pyrite also helps in adjusting the friction coefficient in brake pads. In electronics industry, pyrite is used as a semiconductor material and as an electrode in lithium ion batteries. In paper and pulp industry, pyrite is used in manufacturing of paper. Pyrite as an iron ore is one of the biggest opportunity for the market if the current iron ore becomes scarce. Moreover, pyrite is also considered as probable substitute in photovoltaic solar panels as it is inexpensive and abundant in nature. However, health and environmental hazards associated with pyrite are anticipated to hider the growth of the market in next few years to come.In terms of demand, North America was the leading region for pyrite market in 2013. Increasing demand from sulfur compounds, electronics and jewelry has been major drivers for the market in past few years. The U.S. had the largest demand for pyrite owing to huge demand from sulfur compounds and grinding industry. However, Mexico is considered to be the fastest growing country in this region owing to increasing demand for pyrite in jewelry. Europe had the second-largest demand for pyrite market in 2013. Increasing demand for pyrite from sulfur compounds and in paper industry has been driving the market for pyrite in Europe. Germany is one of the largest consumers of pyrite in this region owing to the huge demand from grinding and electronics industry. Other countries such as Spain, Italy, and the U.K. are likely to show stable demand in next few years to come. Asia Pacific was the fastest growing region in pyrite market in 2013. The demand is huge owing to rise in markets such as gemstones, fabricated jewelry and grinding industry. India, China and Japan are anticipated to be the fastest growing markets for pyrite in this region. Rest of the World market is anticipated to be potential market for the pyrite in near future.Request to view Table of content @Some of the key manufacturers in the pyrite market are Hickman, Williams & Company, Iron Duke Pyrites, Turkish Minerals and Washington Mills among others.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.Persistence Market Research Pvt. Ltd.305 Broadway7th Floor, New York City,NY 10007, United States,USA - Canada Toll Free: 800-961-0353Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.com Grid-Connected Battery Storage Market : Popular Trends And New Business Opportunities 2015 - 2021 http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/samples/7526 http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/toc/7526 http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/ For over a period, energy storage in power sector has been conquered by one technology which is pumped hydropower storage. The deployment of renewable energy and policies for modernizing the electricity production as well as consumption are significantly propelling several advancements including the battery storage. This particular technology chemically stores energy and are located at the grid level where there is a point of demand. From technological side, battery storage is mature market with many suppliers providing reliable systems. Several issues related to battery storage such as performance, safety and regulatory, need to be handled before it is integrated into the power grids. Its use saves large amounts of renewable electricity and increases the system reliability. Battery storage offers positive as well as negative regulation capacity and faster ramp rate as compared to fossil fuel power plants which are constrained by a minimum operating level necessity below which the operation as well as maintenance costs would agonize.A sample of this report is available upon request @Battery storage provides flexibility to the grid systems across the end use applications. It is deployed mainly to aid solar and wind power energy as they are variable renewable sources and their production fluctuates with the unpredictable availability. The various application areas where the storage batteries are deployed for variable renewable energy savings include off-grid electrification with renewable energy, households using solar photovoltaic and in short term electricity supply in ancillary market. The battery storage system consists of various components such as battery enclosures, battery charge controller and sub panels for load circuits. The grid connected battery storage systems provides uninterruptible power and reduces the energy costs leading to better power management. The disadvantages of these battery storage system include additional battery costs and loss of efficiency while battery charging. In power sector, storage batteries can also be used for electricity frequency regulation. In addition to that, battery storage may stop the need for combustion turbines being online hence avoiding the excess emission of greenhouse gases from the grid plants.The increasing demand for renewable energy and rising diesel costs are significantly intensifying the need for battery storage systems in the power grids. Increased knowledge of the benefits provided by these installations among the utilities would make these storage batteries more competitive in the market. The growth in manufacturing sectors as well as technological advancements in power grids has propelled the grid-connected battery storage market. The government is also taking initiatives by providing subsidies as well as regulating the tariffs to elevate the market for grid-connected battery storage. In May 2015, Tesla Motors, Inc. an electric vehicle manufacturer launched battery storage offerings, with usage ranging from commercial to utility storage systems. In May 2015, the company along with Gaelectric Energy Storage Ltd announced the collaboration for developing multiple battery projects in Ireland in order to build new transmission services for integrating renewable energy such as solar and wind.A TOC of this report is available upon request @The market for grid connected battery storage is highly fragmented and includes various key players such as NGK Insulators, Ltd. Samsung SDI Co Ltd, Younicos, LG Chem Ltd., Johnson Controls, Inc., SANYO Electric Co., Ltd. (Panasonic), GS Yuasa Corporation, Sumitomo Corporation, BYD Auto Co., Ltd., AES Corporation and A123 Systems, LLC.About UsPersistence 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.For information regarding permissions, contact:Persistence Market Research305 Broadway,7th FloorNew York City, NY 10007United StatesTel: +1 800-961-0353Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.comWebsite:media@persistencemarketresearch.com Palletizing Systems Market : Popular Trends & Technological Advancements To Watch Out For Near Future http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/samples/8032 http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/toc/8032 http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/ Palletizing systems are the equipment that helps in automatic compiling of products on a pallet. A palletizer is basically designed and structured to organize, align and pack various products on a pallet for forwarding of freight. Palletizing and pallet wrapping symbolizes highly useful facets of the end of a packaging line, which is the core function of every industry and indicates the products cycle involving multifaceted distribution network and modes of transportation. The techniques and methodology in palletizing differ from manual palletizing to semi-automatic and automatic procedures. The implementation of palletizing varies depending on the requirement by end-users. Over the past few years, more number of advanced automatic and robotic palletizing systems have emerged all over the world. Advancement in technology, requirement to expand speed as well as quality of packaging lines along with changing dynamics of preferences of consumers has fostered the development of more automated and robotic palletizing systems. It has been noticed that, robotics has become an essential part of the packaging domain. The palletizing systems market has grown at a rapid pace over the past few years and is likely to expand at a stupendous CAGR over the next few years.The Global Palletizing Systems market is segmented on the basis of types which include floor level palletizers, high level palletizers and robotic palletizers. The robotic palletizers are further bifurcated by inline palletizing, layer palletizing and mixed case palletizing. The robotic palletizers captured significant share in the total revenue of the global palletizing market in 2014. Thus due to its superior automation features, the robotic palletizers are expected to account for highest share in the overall revenue of the market by 2025. The global palletizing systems market is also divided by applications such as case palletizers, pail palletizers, bulk palletizers, and bag palletizers. The global palletizing systems market is also fragmented by type of techniques which include semi-automated palletizing, automatic palletizing.A sample of this report is available upon request @Advancement in technology along with the prominence of the conglomerates on enhancing operational efficiencies and supply chain utilizing palletizing systems are fostering the growth of the global palletizing systems market. Apart from this, the robust demand for palletizers in food and beverage is foreseen to strengthen the growth of the global palletizing systems market over the period 2015-2025. It has been noticed that beverage and food industries are gradually inculcating and efficient and innovative ways to packaging, thus increasing demand for newer machines in palletizing. The evolution of new human machine interface controls, which are changing both old and robotic palletizers by providing features for handling multi-case sizes, layers of product and patterns are anticipated to expand the growth of global palletizing systems market over the next 10 years from 2015-2025.Geographically, the Global Palletizing Systems industry can be divided by major regions which include North America, Latin America, Western and Eastern Europe, Asia-Pacific region, Japan, Middle East and Africa. Amongst all the mentioned regions, Europe captured the highest share in the overall global palletizing systems market in 2014. In the same year, Europe, The US and Asia Pacific captured the highest share in the global palletizing systems market. Asia Pacific region is expected to develop as a rapidly growing market for palletizing system during the forecast period. Middle East and Latin American countries are also anticipated to observe rapid growth in future.A TOC of this report is available upon request @Some of the major conglomerates capturing the substantial market share in the Global Palletizing Systems market includes ABB Flexible Automation Inc., Kuka Roboto GmbH, ABC packaging, Intelligrated Inc, Cermex group, Beumer Corporation, KHS GmbH, Alligator Automation Inc, Adept technology Inc., and others. The companies are focusing on development of more robotic palletizers as per the requirements in various industries and in order to gain the competitive advantage in the global palletizing systems market.About UsPersistence 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.For information regarding permissions, contact:Persistence Market Research305 Broadway,7th FloorNew York City, NY 10007United StatesTel: +1 800-961-0353Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.comWebsite:media@persistencemarketresearch.com NFC Incorporation with Mobile Point-of-Sale Cost can Improve Effectiveness and Ease of Use, says TMR http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=S&rep_id=6742 http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com A highly competitive market awaits those looking to provide mPOS services, says Transparency Market Research (TMR) in a new report. There are already a large number of players in the market. As a result, it is difficult for players to achieve substantial differentiators for themselves to set their services apart.TMR finds that Ingenico S.A., PAX Technology Ltd., and VeriFone Systems, Inc. were the leading providers of mPOS services in 2015 through a flurry of positively received innovative efforts. The former has also made heavy investments in making mPOS available across all three major smartphone operating systems: Android, iOS, and Windows and has also covered a landmark acquisition of ROAM Data, Inc. in 2012. Additionally, players such as VeriFone are investing significant amounts into improving their customer engagement practices and methods.Large Influx of New Players to mPOS Services ExpectedThe number of mobile point-of-sale (mPOS) vendors has increased significantly over the recent past, thanks to the ease with which companies can establish their presence in this space. The concept allows small business owners to set up their own POS services to help them carry transactions with their customers.Get More Information :They can do this without the need for heavy investments in support software, further increasing the appeal of mPOS for vendors. These services are capable of speeding up transactions, simultaneously improving consumer experience and support, making mPOS a highly sought-after service by a large portion of global vendors in various industry verticals.NFC-enabled mPOS Out to Make a Mark With High Global ProliferationOne of the greater trends for mPOS is the migration of mPOS services on to near field communication devices. Apple was the key driver for this segment after the introduction of Apple Pay in 2014. After that, the launching of the now majorly used services such as the mPOS variants for PayPal and Google Wallet.Additionally, the use of NFC in mPOS is expected to increase even further after a wider scale of implementation of host card emulators. Most of the major names in the global banking industry, such as Barclays Bank PLC and ING Group have planned to create a global usage of HCE mPOS. The same can be visible through its high scale implementation in China and India, where mPOS is generating high traction.India and Other Emerging APAC Nations Show Major Scope of Growth in mPOS SalesAs revealed by the World Bank, India had nearly 6.9 POS terminals for every thousand individuals. This low number of terminals, coupled with the smartphone sales boom, and the high population density of the country, have placed it at the top of the charts for growth potential in mPOS, says a TMR analyst.A few challenges still exist for players in the mPOS market. For one, the Indian market for mPOS is largely unorganized. According to the IBEF, only 7% of the Indian retail market was organized in 2013. This makes India a highly potent untapped market for organized retail and the large scale introduction of mPOS technologies and services. Banks have already begun providing mPOS enabled cards, further increasing the scope of awareness and use of mPOS.Expanding at a 38.0% revenue-based CAGR between 2014 and 2022, the global mPOS market is expected to reach US$38 bn by 2023. It was recorded at US$2 bn in 2015. Imparting a major chunk of revenue to this market and its meteoric rise is its product segment of card reader accessories, which is progressing at a CAGR of 43.3% within the same forecast period.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 report provides comprehensive and reliable information on the Retinitis Pigmentosa (RP) Market 2017 - 2025 https://goo.gl/BxCYNp https://www.tmrresearch.com/sample/sample?flag=T&rep_id=91 https://www.tmrresearch.com/retinitis-pigmentosa-market Global Retinitis Pigmentosa (RP) Market: OverviewRetinitis Pigmentosa (RP), an inherited retinal condition causing retinal degeneration and visual field loss, is a rare disease. Its initial symptoms are reduced night vision and loss of peripheral vision. It gradually causes blindness. There is no definitive cure for retinitis pigmentosa. Therefore, the market for treating this genetic disorder is vastly untapped. The available therapies apply various approaches such as stem cell therapy and transcorneal electric stimulation therapy. However, such therapies have not been approved of unanimously on account of certain intrinsic limitations.A range of services and devices are available to aid people with vision loss to conduct their day to day activities independently. Those include anything from a vision aid and an eye care professional to orientation and mobility specialists and certified low vision therapists, among others.Request a Brochure of the Report @Global Retinitis Pigmentosa (RP) Market: Trends and OpportunitiesThe global retinitis pigmentosa market has been treading a healthy growth path due to limited availability of therapeutics to cure this rare disease which has opened up a window of opportunity for new therapies and treatments. In fact, most people afflicted with the genetic disorder progress to the advanced stage of retinitis pigmentosa because of the dearth of proper cure. This has generated demand for retinal prosthesis devices for restoring the lost vision. Second Sight Medical Products, Inc., for example, offers FDA approved Argus II retinal prosthesis system meant for patients with advanced retinitis pigmentosa. This device does the function of degenerated retinal cells and enhances the patients ability to see images and movement.A new approach known as optogenetics, which involves applying gene therapy for restoring vision, is currently being researched upon by companies operating in the ophthalmology market. It helps to power cells, especially ganglion cells, to respond to light after the degeneration of rod cells and cone cells. Further, the orphan drug designation given by the FDA and European Commission to ReN003 by ReNeuron in the U.S. and Europe in 2013 is another positive development in the market. ReN003 is a retinal stem cell therapy candidate.Request for TOC of the Report @Global Retinitis Pigmentosa (RP) Market: Regional OutlookBased on geography, the global retinitis pigmentosa market can be segmented into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and the Rest of the World. Among them, North America and Europe dominate the market powered by the developed markets of the U.S and U.K. where exhaustive research and development activities have been carried out in this direction. However, the Asia Pacific market is also poised for growth due to the large patient pool in the region, who need to be treated for retinitis pigmentosa. The Rest of the World also has a substantial number of people suffering from this rare genetic disorder.Companies Mentioned in ReportTo present an study the current competitive dynamics in the global market for retinitis pigmentosa (RP), the report has profiled some of the major players involved in the development and commercialization of products in the field such as ReNeuron Group plc, Amarantus BioScience Holdings, Inc., Ocugen, Inc., ReGenX Biosciences, LLC, Sucampo Pharmaceuticals, Orphagen Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Inc., and Okuvision GmbH.Read Complete Report @About TMR ResearchTMR Research is a premier provider of customized market research and consulting services to business entities keen on succeeding in todays supercharged economic climate. Armed with an experienced, dedicated, and dynamic team of analysts, we are redefining the way our clients conduct business by providing them with authoritative and trusted research studies in tune with the latest methodologies and market trends.Our savvy custom-built reports span a gamut of industries such as pharmaceuticals, chemicals and metals, food and beverages, and technology and media, among others. With actionable insights uncovered through in-depth research of the market, we try to bring about game-changing success for our clients.Contact :Rohit BhiseyHead - Internet MarketingTel: +1-518-618-1030Email: sales@tmrresearch.com Global Electrical Piano Tape Gage Market 2016 Top Manufacturers in North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Middle East and Africa Electrical Piano Tape Gage Market http://www.marketresearchstore.com/report/global-electrical-piano-tape-gage-market-research-report-98326 https://goo.gl/3rfE8K This research report on Global Electrical Piano Tape Gage Market 2016 is being made by the experts to create a reliable and detailed picture of the global market, including analysis of the present and past performances of the Electrical Piano Tape Gage market all around the world.The report has considered different dimensions of the market and has segmented the Electrical Piano Tape Gage industry according to the geography, production, application and many more. Each such segment is analyzed by the experts to get detailed idea of the revenue (gross/net).Get full report with TOC @Considering the utility to the users, makers of the report has studied various aspects of the Electrical Piano Tape Gage industry such as the value chain and major policies that influence the market. Factors such as growth drivers, restraints, and future prospects of the market are extensively evaluated in this report.Apart from this, the given report educates reader about availability of different product in the market along with their pricing, production volume, demand and supply, and their contribution in terms of revenue in the global market.Various analytical tools have been used to collect data for this report. The methods used and the sources are factual and reliable, making this report trustworthy for its users. The report has considered different market tools such as investment feasibility, investment return, and market attractiveness analysis in relation to the global Electrical Piano Tape Gage market.Get Free sample report @The user of the Electrical Piano Tape Gage report will be able to design his market strategies that are likely to pay off in the long run as the report consists of potential and present key players of the market with their probable future strategies too.Market Research Store is a single destination for all the industry, company and country reports. We feature large repository of latest industry reports, leading and niche company profiles, and market statistics released by reputed private publishers and public organizations. Market Research Store is the comprehensive collection of market intelligence products and services available on air.Contact UsJoel John3422 SW 15 Street, Suit #8138,Deerfield Beach, Florida 33442,United StatesTel: +1-386-310-3803GMT Tel: +49-322 210 92714USA/Canada Toll Free No. 1-855-465-4651Email: sales@marketresearchstore.com Computerized Physician Order Entry Systems Market is Anticipated to Grow US$ 1,481.7 Million by 2020 http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/samples/2813 http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/market-research/cpoe-market/toc http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/checkout/2813 http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com A computerized physician order entry (CPOE) system is a healthcare information system used to capture, store, manage, and transmit a medical practitioners instructions electronically, for patients treatment. The global revenues of the computerized physician order entry systems market are projected to escalate up to US$ 1.48 Bn in 2020, up from US$ 999.4 Mn, recorded in 2014. Over the forecast period 2014-2020, the market will expand at a CAGR of 6.8%.Increasing need for integrated healthcare will be a key driver the growth of the computerized physician order entry systems market. There are numerous incidences of medication errors, which further prompt at the need for an automated system for patient data collection and management. In addition, various governments across the globe are actively promoting the use of CPOE systems in tandem with sophisticated healthcare infrastructure, which is foreseen to favor the market growth throughout the forecast period. Growing need for efficient and accurate collection and exchange of extensive amounts of patient data between clinics, hospitals, and laboratories will continue to foster the market for computerized physician order entry systems. Integration of CPOE systems with clinical decision support systems (CDSS) and electronic health record (EHR) systems aids coordinated patient care service delivery. This has been a key advantage propelling the demand for CPOE systems. Moreover, the ability of integrated computerized physician order entry systems to enable the delivery of continuing patient care throughout the course of an illness, is also expected to boost the demand from the healthcare sector. Drug dosage support and clinical decision support are some more advantages of using computerized physician order entry systems. Growing awareness about this will be another key driver for the market. Rising population and prevalence of chronic diseases will remain a major factor pushing the demand for CPOE systems. Increasing investments by leading healthcare IT companies are also predicted to accelerate the adoption. The patient-centric approach is a more pronounced trend in the market these days. In addition, rising popularity of wireless and cloud technology is also influencing the market growth.However, the field of healthcare delivery constantly faces lack of experienced and expert professionals, which may remain a key restraint for the market growth. Moreover, expensive and time consuming installation is anticipated to hamper the market condition to a certain extent. Interoperability issues have also been a longstanding challenge the growth of the market for CPOE systems globally. Lack of awareness among physicians and poor commitment top using these systems may deter the market growth, especially in developing regions.Based on the delivery mode, the global computerized physician order entry systems market is segmented into web based CPOE, on premise CPOE, and cloud based CPOE. On the basis of components, the market is segmented into software, hardware, and services, whereas by end-user, the market is segmented into hospital, pharmacy, and laboratory. Component segment is anticipated to attract major revenues during 2014-2020. Web based CPOE is the largest mode of delivery, whereas hospital will continue to form the largest segment among end-users of computerized physician order entry systems. Cloud based CPOE is the fastest growing mode of delivery and laboratory CPOE is the fastest growing end users of computerized physician order entry systems.A Sample of this report is available upon request @The regional analysis segments the global market into four key markets North America (the U.S.), Europe (the U.K., Germany, and France), Asia (Japan and China), and rest of the world. Owing to strong government initiatives regarding implementation of computerized physician order entry systems, North America has been the largest market for CPOE systems over the years. It will remain the leading market through to 2020, expanding at a CAGR of 6.7%. From US$ 589.7 Mn recorded in 2014, the North American market for CPOE systems market will reach up to US$ 870.3 Mn by 2020 end. Asia is expected to witness the fastest growth over the forecast period, attributed to growing chronic illnesses and awareness about the advantages of automated patient data management systems. China, Japan, and India will especially present ample untapped growth opportunities to the market. The European Commissions eHealth Action Plan (2012) emphasized the use of modern devices and technologies to promote personalized medicines in Europe. As a result, the market in Europe will witness moderate growth over the next few years.Request to view Table of content @The global computerized physician order entry systems market is operated by some of the key companies, including McKesson Corporation, Allscripts, GE Healthcare, Cerner Corporation, Siemens Healthcare, Epic Systems Corporation, Athenahealth, Inc., Carestream Health, Inc, NextGen Healthcare Information Systems, LLC, and Meditech. New market entrants may capitalize on the emerging market in developing regions and rising demand for efficient IT systems in diagnostics.To Buy Full Report for a Single User @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: Worldwide Cardiac Output Monitoring Devices Market Research Report - Key Companies, Growth, Share, Size, Demand, Trends & Forecast to 2024 http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=B&rep_id=14153 http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/cardiac-rhythm-management-devices-batteries-market.html http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/cardiac-rehabilitation-market.html http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/cardiac-marker-testing-market.html http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com The major key players operating in cardiac output monitoring device market include Edwards Lifesciences Corporation, Cheetah Medical, PULSION Medical Systems SE, Philips Healthcare, LiDCO Group plc, Boston Scientific Corporation, GE Healthcare, and others. Bioreactance-based NICOM Cheetah Medical remains the topmost non-invasive market leader. In high-risk surgical patients and critically ill patients the arterial blood pressure and cardiac output usually are monitored more comprehensively. Cardiac output monitoring devices are used to know the cardiac output of heart and arterial oxygen content which enable the circulation of continuous systemic oxygen supply to the body. Doubling the cardiac output leads to double amount of the oxygen supply to the tissues, while the low cardiac output leads to inadequate supply of oxygen to organs like brain and the low amount of cellular oxygenation can cause tissue and organ failure. The major observed causative factors for the decrease cardiac output are congenital heart defects, pathologic changes in the heart's muscle, blood dyscrasias, chronic pulmonary disease and electrolyte imbalances (as of potassium or calcium). According to North American Nursing Diagnosis Association, decreased cardiac output is defined as a state in which inadequate blood is pumped by the heart to meet the metabolic demands of the body. Cardiac output monitoring devices market is classified on the basis of product type, methods, end-user and geography.Download a Sample Copy of Report for more Information -On the basis of product type the market is broadly classified into invasive, minimally-invasive and non-invasive cardiac output monitoring devices. The invasive cardiac output monitoring has been traditionally accomplished using the pulmonary artery catheter (PAC), but complications associated with PAC has markedly decreased the widespread use of the PAC. The market demand for the non- invasive devices is high followed by minimally invasive devices as compare to invasive devices, due to factors such as ease, accessibility and cost- effectiveness and fast response time. By methods the market is segmented as thermodilution method, pulse pressure analysis, Doppler method, bioimpedance and applied Fick principle. Each methods has its own merits and demerits. On the basis of end-user the market is segmented as hospitals, ambulatory care and critical care centers. By end-user hospitals covers the major market for cardiac output monitoring devices, because of reliability and conjunction of other therapeutic treatments. The factors such as raising incidences of cardiovascular diseases, increase in the number of people suffering from obesity, growing ageing population, and raising healthcare infrastructure facilities are the growth drivers of this market.By geography, the market can be segmented into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and Rest of the world. Geographically, North America was observed to have the major share of cardiac output monitoring device market due to high healthcare awareness, prevalence of cardiovascular diseases and technological advancement in the region. Europe contributes to the second largest share in the cardiac output monitoring device market growth with raising ageing population. However, Asia Pacific region is expected to be the fastest growing due to the gradual adoption of improved technologies, emerging health care infrastructures, and raising population with cardiac problems and obesity. Followed by Rest of the world.Browse Related Topics:Cardiac Rhythm Management (CRM) Devices Batteries Market (Product - Implantable Cardiac Pacemakers (ICPs), Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator (ICDs), and Cardiac Resynchronization Therapy Devices (CRT-Ds); Power Source - Lithium-iodine Cells (Li/I2), Lithium-silver Vanadium Oxide Cell (Li/SVO), Lithium-carbon Mono-fluoride Cells (Li/CFx), and Lithium-manganese Dioxide Cells (Li/MnO2) - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends, and Forecast 2016 - 2024Cardiac Rehabilitation Market (Device Type - Seated and Upright Elliptical Trainer, Stabilization Ball, Stationary Bicycle, Treadmill, Rower, Heart Rate Monitor, Blood Pressure Monitor) - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends, and Forecast 2016 - 2024Cardiac Marker Testing Market - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends, and Forecast 2016 - 2024About 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.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, TMRs syndicated reports strive to provide clients to serve their overall research requirement.US Office Contact90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite: The RFID in Pharmaceuticals Market is broadly segmented on the basis of applications, end use, and geography https://goo.gl/H1RPH3 https://www.tmrresearch.com/sample/sample?flag=T&rep_id=92 https://www.tmrresearch.com/rfid-in-pharmaceuticals-market Global RFID in Pharmaceuticals Market: OverviewRadio frequency identification, popularly known by the acronym RFID, has a host of applications in different areas. Healthcare and pharmaceuticals is one of them. RFID tracking systems have come in handy in lowering human efforts and errors in maintenance and control of healthcare inventory. Some of its popular applications are in tracking medical equipment in hospitals, identifying patients, monitoring blood transfer, and tracking of medication from pharmacy to patient. In the pharmaceutical sector, it helps in monitoring imports and exports of pharmaceutical raw materials, internal and external tracking of pharmaceuticals, and documenting the transfer of products from manufacturers to patients.Comprising of a small chip, which is capable of carrying up to 2000 bytes and an antenna, the RFID devices do a job similar to that of a bar code or a magnetic strip on the back of a credit card or ATM card provide a unique identifier for an object. Like a bar code or magnetic strip, an RFID device must also be scanned to gather the identifying information.Request a Brochure of the Report @Global RFID in Pharmaceuticals Market: Trends and OpportunitiesThe pharmaceuticals sector is faced with many challenges on the logistics front. These include product recalls due to overstocking which often results in expiry of drugs. Counterfeit drugs is another issue hobbling as it puts the patients safety at risk. Further, prescription packaged drugs are difficult to read and patients not taking the proper prescribed dose medication is another problem. To tackle all such challenges RFID can be leveraged successfully.RFID technology enables better tracking and accountability resulting in improved reliability in drug approval process. It also allows tracking of drug intake via the testing protocol. Also, enhanced inventory tracking with RFID can aid in bringing down buffer stocks thereby slashing cost. All these benefits have majorly contributed to the demand for RFID in the pharmaceuticals sector.Request for TOC of the Report @This market is also filliped by the rising demand for more efficient anti-counterfeit solutions for drugs that would ensure product security, quality, and efficient usability. The US FDA has recommended a set of rules and regulations to be applied in RFID for the pharmaceutical industry. Countering the swift uptake of RFID in pharmaceuticals market, however, is the steep cost of installation and deployment of RFID tracking systems. Dearth of awareness about the long term financial advantages of RFID technology is another factor crimping growth in the market.Global RFID in Pharmaceuticals Market: Regional OutlookNorth America and Europe are dominant markets for RFID in the pharmaceuticals sector because of favorable government initiatives, growing thrust on cost reduction through operational efficiency, and major drug counterfeit events. Asia Pacific is slated to exhibit solid growth in the years ahead due to cheaper original equipment manufacturing (OEM) services provided by China and rapid uptake of RFID systems in healthcare in the region.Read Complete Report @Companies Mentioned in ReportTo present an accurate and detailed assessment of the competition prevailing in the market for RFID in the pharmaceutical sector, the report profiles companies such as IBM Corporation, Alien Technology, Hewlett-Pakard, Siemens, Motorola, Inc., Texas Instruments, Toshiba Tech, and Zebra Technologies Corporation.About TMR ResearchTMR Research is a premier provider of customized market research and consulting services to business entities keen on succeeding in todays supercharged economic climate. Armed with an experienced, dedicated, and dynamic team of analysts, we are redefining the way our clients conduct business by providing them with authoritative and trusted research studies in tune with the latest methodologies and market trends.Our savvy custom-built reports span a gamut of industries such as pharmaceuticals, chemicals and metals, food and beverages, and technology and media, among others. With actionable insights uncovered through in-depth research of the market, we try to bring about game-changing success for our clients.Contact :Rohit BhiseyHead - Internet MarketingTel: +1-518-618-1030Email: sales@tmrresearch.com Automotive Interior Materials Market to Reach US$137.06 bn by 2023, Driven by Positive Investor Sentiment http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=B&rep_id=1178 http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/automotive-interior-materials.html Automotive interior materials includes materials such as leather (artificial or PU leather, PVC leather, synthetic leather and genuine leather), thermoplastic polymers, fabric, vinyl and wood. Thermoplastic polymers and leather are the vital segments, which generates the largest revenues among all automotive interior materials. The automotive interior materials market is expected to grow in the coming years considering the launch of new segment of vehicles (hybrid and electric) and introduction of new technologies in automotive interior materials. Key opportunity areas of automobile interior materials applications are expected to deal with comfort solutions for automobile users, which may include dirt-repellent antimicrobial textiles and surfaces, anti-glare coated mirrors and nano filters. Climate controlled automotive seats based on thermo-electric technology, which converts electricity into heating or cooling is another vital application that is expected to be introduced in the coming years.Download Research Brochure PDF@The most preferred automotive interior materials are fabric (such as body cloth fabrics, velvet, velour and tweed), leather (such as genuine leather, synthetic leather, PU or artificial leather and synthetic leather), thermoplastic polymers and vinyl. The fabrics that are used in automobiles are generally polyester and rayon blends. Velour is the most expensive fabric, which is used in high end cars. Vinyl is the best alternative to fabric, which is available in various texture and colors. Vinyl is affordable and easy to maintain but the material gets heated when exposed to sun. Leather is a very popular material used in automotive interiors. Synthetic leather is the largest used form of leather because it is affordable and durable. However, genuine leather is the most durable form of leather but it is quite expensive.A small percentage of hybrid and electric vehicles are already available in the market. The percentage is expected to grow in the coming years because of their eco-friendly use and efficiency. Therefore, with the rise in the number of hybrid and electric vehicles in the automobile market, the application and market for automotive interior materials is set to flourish in the coming years. Original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) of automobiles are trying means and ways to make their vehicles lighter and efficient in order to improve the fuel efficiency and performance. Lighter automotive interior materials, which are used in the dashboard and seating structures can serve as a new opportunity and ensure a feasible option to such OEMs. Product innovation and development is one of the key strategies adopted by leading market players. New product innovation is required to survive stiff competition in the market. Companies are involved in research and development to create innovative products. Innovation in products helps companies to have a competitive advantage over its competitors, which ensures long-term sustainability, customer satisfaction and maximization of profits.In the dynamic business environment where numerous technological advancements are taking place each day, it is necessary for the automotive interior materials manufacturing companies to align its strategies with the technological shifts. Technological advancement in automotive seating in vehicles is set a bring a transition in the automobile sector. Automotive interior materials manufacturers are introducing light-weight seats that are thinner and comfortable and hence, increasing the floor space and reducing the overall weight of the vehicle.In Europe, Germany and U.K. are the largest regional markets for automotive interior materials. In Asia Pacific, Japan, China and India are the largest contributors to the automotive interior materials market. In North America, the U.S. has been showing steady growth over the years and is one of the dominant automotive interior materials markets in the world. In Rest of the World (RoW), South Africa is showing substantial growth and is expected to be a key market in the coming years.Key participants in the industry include Faurecia SA (France), Johnson Controls, Inc. (U.S.), Grammer AG (Germany), Lear Corporation (U.S.) and BASF SE (Germany) among others.Browse Full Report@About Us:-Transparency Market Research is a global market intelligence company providing business information reports and services. The companys exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trend analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather and analyze information.Contact Us:-Transparency Market ResearchState Tower,90 State Street,Suite 700,Albany NY - 12207United StatesTel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.com Micro Server Market : Popular Trends & Technological Advancements To Watch Out For Near Future http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/samples/8392 http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/toc/8392 http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/ Servers have been the most important general purpose workhorses for the datacenters designed to perform all tasks for organizations of any shape and size. Micro server is a server which is stripped down as much as possible. Now a day some businesses want machines which are specially designed to perform some specific tasks. As micro server is super-efficient at one particular task so it is used in business not as a replacement of large servers but as a supporting server along with those, because it is wastage of power as well as time to ask large servers to do small task . Micro servers are becoming more popular as they help in saving companies space, they are more efficient servers than the traditional big servers in terms of data usage as well as money.A sample of this report is available upon request @There is high chances of growth for global micro server market during the forecast period especially in the technological advanced regions. The global micro server market is expected to grow with tremendous CAGR till the end of 2022.The key industry trend of micro server market is the increased growth rate of infrastructure for cloud and data centers especially in the technological emerging region as Asia Pacific and Western Europe as compare to North America. The key growth drivers of micro server market the advantages provided by micro server over the traditional large servers as lower power consumption and companies space saver, For last some years cloud computing and web hosting market is continuously growing, which in turn drive the growth of micro server market. Also with increased growth of hyperscale data centers architectures, global microserver market is been driven. On the other hand usage of microserver is limited only to small and medium enterprises, lack of awareness & standard specification are some of the restraints hindering the growth of global micro server market.Segmentation of micro server market is done on the basis of component, application, processor type, end user & Geography. Based on the component, segmentation of micro server market is done as hardware, software and operating system. On the basis of processor type, global micro server market is segmented as ARM processors, AMD processors, Intel processors & others. The efficiency of server depends upon the processor type, which is been used in server. Intel core processor and AMD processors are most popular processor & has the highest market share contribution for the segment in the global market.By applications, global micro server market is segmented into following two segments; cloud computing technologies & datacenters.On the basis of end users, global micro server market is segmented into three segments; small scale enterprises, medium scale enterprises & large scale enterprises. Geographically, micro server market is segmented into seven regions which are ; North America, Latin America, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, Japan, Asia Pacific Excluding Japan (APEJ), and Middle East and Africa (MEA). Among all the seven region North America is the highest contributor in term of revenue in global micro server market which covers about 40% of global market, and Asia Pacific is the fastest growing market for micro server solution providers across the globe.A TOC of this report is available upon request @The key players of global micro server market are ARM Ltd., Hewlett Packard Co., Dell Inc., Intel Corporation, Advanced Micro Devices, Marvel Technology, Penguin Computing, Inc., Advanced Micro Devices, Inc., Tilera Corp., MiTac International Corp, Penguin Computing, Inc. & others.About UsPersistence 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.For information regarding permissions, contact:Persistence Market Research305 Broadway,7th FloorNew York City, NY 10007United StatesTel: +1 800-961-0353Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.comWebsite:media@persistencemarketresearch.com Mobile Phone Insurance Ecosystem Technology Advancement, Emerging Growth, Evolution 2016 - 2030 | Researchmoz.us http://www.researchmoz.us/enquiry.php?type=S&repid=804872 http://www.researchmoz.us/enquiry.php?type=E&repid=804872 http://www.researchmoz.us/ http://bit.ly/1TBmnVG Researchmoz added Most up-to-date research on "The Mobile Phone Insurance Ecosystem: 2016 - 2030 - Opportunities, Challenges, Strategies & Forecasts" to its huge collection of research reports.Given the increasing prevalence of expensive household goods, cars and consumer electronics, insurance has become an unavoidable and often necessary cost in modern life. Mobile phones, and smartphones in particular are no exception to this trend.Most major wireless carriers, insurance specialists, device OEMs, retailers and even banks now offer insurance plans that cover theft, loss, malfunctions and damage of mobile phones. Many policies now also integrate enhanced technical support and additional protection features such as data backup facilities, allowing users to securely backup their phone data online.SNS Research estimates that the global mobile phone insurance market is expected to account for nearly $20 Billion in revenue by the end of 2016. The market is further expected to grow at a CAGR of approximately 12% over the next four years, eventually accounting for over $30 Billion in revenue by the end of 2020.To Get Sample Copy of Report visit @The "Mobile Phone Insurance Ecosystem: 2016 2030 Opportunities, Challenges, Strategies & Forecasts" report presents an in-depth assessment of the mobile phone insurance ecosystem including market drivers, challenges, opportunities, value chain, future roadmap, case studies, ecosystem player profiles and strategies. The report also presents market size forecasts from 2016 through to 2030. The forecasts are segmented for 5 regional and 25 country level markets.Key Findings:The report has the following key findings:- SNS Research estimates that the global mobile phone insurance market is expected to account for nearly $20 Billion in revenue by the end of 2016.- The market is further expected to grow at a CAGR of approximately 12% over the next four years, eventually accounting for over $30 Billion in revenue by the end of 2020.- In an effort to boost the uptake of mobile phone insurance, wireless carriers and insurance providers have extensively enhanced their insurance offerings with the addition of location tracking, data protection/recovery features and integrated technical support.- The success of mobile phone insurance plans has driven several wireless carriers, such as NTT DoCoMo and Orange, to invest in the sales of other insurance products through mobile phones and their retail outlets.- New insurance models are also beginning to emerge, such as London-based So-Sures social insurance for mobile phones, which allows customers to get up to 80% of their money back, if they and their friends dont claim.- Device OEMs are beginning to invest in tailored plans to suit the specific requirements of certain regional markets. A good example is Xiaomis Mi Protect plan in India, which covers accidental and liquid damage, for as little as $7 per year.Topics Covered:The report covers the following topics:- Mobile phone insurance ecosystem- Market drivers and barriers- Insurance policy structure, distribution channels and key trends- Case studies of mobile phone insurance initiatives- Industry roadmap and value chain- Profiles and strategies of over 40 leading ecosystem players- Strategic recommendations for ecosystem players- Market analysis and forecasts from 2016 till 2030Forecast Segmentation:Market forecasts are provided for the following regional and country level submarkets:- Regional Segmentation- - Asia Pacific- - Europe- - Latin & Central America- - Middle East & Africa- - North America- Country Level Segmentation- - Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Colombia, France, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Israel, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Netherlands, Poland, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Taiwan, UK & USAKey Questions Answered:The report provides answers to the following key questions:- How big is the mobile phone insurance opportunity?- What trends, challenges and barriers are influencing its growth?- How is the ecosystem evolving by region?- What will the market size be in 2020 and at what rate will it grow?- Which countries will see the highest percentage of growth?- Who are the key market players and what are their strategies?- What risks are typically covered in mobile phone insurance offerings?- How can insurance plans help wireless carriers in reducing churn?- What strategies should wireless carriers, device OEMs and insurance providers adopt to remain competitive?Countries covered:ArgentinaAustraliaBrazilCanadaChinaColombiaFranceGermanyHong KongIndiaIsraelItalyJapanMexicoNetherlandsPolandRussiaSaudi ArabiaSingaporeSouth AfricaSouth KoreaSpainTaiwanUKUSAList of Companies Mentioned:The following companies and organizations have been reviewed, discussed or mentioned in the report:- A Wireless- AIG (American International Group)- Allianz Insurance- Allianz SE Group- America Movil- AmTrust International Underwriters- Aon- Appalachian Wireless- Apple- Assurant- Asurion- AT&T- AT&T Mobility- Aviva- AXA- Barclays- Best Buy- Bouygues Telecom- Brightstar Corporation- BT Group- Cellebrite- Chubb- CWS (Connected World Services Distributions)- Diamond Wireless- Dixons Carphone- DT (Deutsche Telekom)- EE- eSecuritel- Fonesure- Fortegra- Geek Squad- GoCare- Groupama- Hollard Group- HSBC- Inhance Technology- iQmetrix- Liberty Mutual Insurance Group- Lifestyle Services Group- Lookout- Markerstudy- Microsoft- Mobi PCS- Mobile Rhino (Stuckey & Company)- MTN- NIA (New India Assurance)- Nippon Life Insurance- Nokia- NQ Mobile- NTT DoCoMo- Optus- Orange- Pier Insurance Managed Services- ProtectCELL- Safeware- Salt Mobile- Samsung Electronics- SFR- Singtel Group- SoftBank Corporation- So-Sure- Spark New Zealand- SPB- Sprint Corporation- SquareTrade- Sun Corporation- Supercover Insurance- Swisscom- Telefonica Group- Telefonica Insurance- Telstra- T-Mobile USA- Tokio Marine- Verizon Communications- Verizon Wireless- V-Key Solutions- Vodacom- Vodafone GroupMake 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 @ The Connected Car Ecosystem Market Is Further Expected To Grow At A CAGR of 31% Between 2016 and 2020 http://www.researchmoz.us/enquiry.php?type=S&repid=804869 http://www.researchmoz.us/enquiry.php?type=E&repid=804869 http://www.researchmoz.us/ http://bit.ly/1TBmnVG Researchmoz added Most up-to-date research on "The Connected Car Ecosystem: 2016 - 2030 - Opportunities, Challenges, Strategies & Forecasts" to its huge collection of research reports.The growing proliferation of embedded in-vehicle connectivity and smartphone integration platforms has made connected cars one of the fastest growing segments of the IoT (Internet of Things) market. Keen to establish recurring post-sale service revenue streams, all major automotive OEMs are investing in connected car programs. Other ecosystem players, such as mobile operators and telematics specialists, are also vying to gain a larger share of the opportunity. In fact, many mobile operators have expanded beyond their traditional role as connectivity providers, to offer end-to-end connected car platforms directly to automotive OEMs and aftermarket suppliers.By the end of 2016, SNS Research estimates that connected car services will account for $14 Billion in annual revenue, driven by a host of applications, including but not limited to infotainment, navigation, fleet management, remote diagnostics, automatic crash notification, enhanced safety, UBI (Usage Based Insurance), traffic management and semi-autonomous driving.The ""Connected Car Ecosystem: 2016 2030 Opportunities, Challenges, Strategies & Forecasts"" report presents an in-depth assessment of the connected car ecosystem including OEM connected car programs, enabling technologies, key trends, market drivers, challenges, applications, collaborative initiatives, regulatory landscape, standardization, opportunities, future roadmap, value chain, ecosystem player profiles and strategies. The report also presents market size forecasts for connected car services from 2016 through to 2030. The forecasts are segmented for 3 connectivity models, 5 application categories, 5 regions and 17 leading countries.To Get Sample Copy of Report visit @The report comes with an associated Excel datasheet suite covering quantitative data from all numeric forecasts presented in the report.The report covers the following topics:- Connected car ecosystem- Market drivers and barriers- Enabling technologies and key trends- Connected car programs and platform offerings- Embedded, tethered and integrated connectivity models- Analysis of key applications and opportunities- Regulatory landscape, collaborative initiatives and standardization- Industry roadmap and value chain- Profiles and strategies of over 240 leading ecosystem players, including automotive OEMs, mobile operators and connected car platform specialists- Strategic recommendations for ecosystem players- Market analysis and forecasts from 2016 till 2030Forecast SegmentationConnected car installed base and service revenue forecasts are provided for each of the following submarkets and their subcategories:Connectivity Model- Embedded- Tethered- IntegratedApplication Category- Communications, Infotainment & Payments- Navigation & Location Services- Vehicle Management- Safety & Security- Driver Assistance & Autonomous DrivingEmbedded Car Connections- GSM- CDMA-2000- W-CDMA- TD-SCDMA- LTE & 5G- Satellite & Other TechnologiesTethered Car Connections- Wireless- WirelineIntegrated Car Connections- Apple CarPlay- Android Auto- MirrorLink- OthersRegional Markets- Asia Pacific- Europe- Middle East & Africa- North America- Latin & Central AmericaCountry Markets- Brazil- Canada- China- Egypt- France- Germany- India- Indonesia- Italy- Japan- Mexico- Russia- Saudi Arabia- South Africa- South Korea- UK- USAThe report provides answers to the following key questions:- How big is the connected car opportunity?- What trends, challenges and barriers are influencing its growth?- How is the ecosystem evolving by segment and region?- What will the market size be in 2020 and at what rate will it grow?- Which countries and submarkets will see the highest percentage of growth?- Who are the key market players and what are their strategies?- How will connected cars drive investments in Big Data, cloud computing, analytics and other technologies?- What are the growth prospects of embedded, tethered and integrated connectivity options?- How do government mandates and initiatives impact the adoption of embedded connectivity?- What are the future prospects of self-driving cars and cooperative V2X applications?- Do LTE and 5G technologies pose a threat to the 802.11p standard for V2X communications?- What strategies should automotive OEMs, mobile operators and connected car platform specialists adopt to remain competitive?The report has the following key findings:- By the end of 2016, SNS Research estimates that connected car services will account for $14 Billion in annual revenue, driven by a host of applications. The market is further expected to grow at a CAGR of 31% between 2016 and 2020.- Although the market is presently dominated by infotainment and telematics, connected driver assistance systems and autonomous driving applications will witness the highest growth rate over the next four years.- Multiple automotive OEMs are beginning to integrate in-vehicle payment capabilities with their connected car platforms to make it possible for drivers to pay for services such as fuel, parking, food and tolling, without having to leave their vehicles.- The connected car ecosystem continues to consolidate, with larger players investing in acquisitions to increase their market share, technical capabilities, revenue and geographic reach. For example, semiconductor giant Intel has made a spate of acquisitions including Altera, Yogitech, Arynga and Itseez, to bolster its IoT and connected car capabilities.- Many mobile operators have expanded beyond their traditional role as connectivity providers, to offer end-to-end connected car platforms directly to automotive OEMs and aftermarket suppliers.List of Companies Mentioned- 21ViaNet Group- 3GPP (3rd Generation Partnership Project)- Abalta Technologies- Accenture- Acura- Aeris Communications- Agero- Airbiquity- Alcatel-Lucent- Alibaba Group- Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers- Allstate Insurance Company- Alpine Electronics- Altera Corporation- Amdocs- America Movil- Analog Devices- AppCarousel- AppDirect- Apple- Arada Systems- ARIB (Association of Radio Industries and Businesses, Japan)- Arynga- Association of Global Automakers- AT&T- AT&T Mobility- ATIS (Alliance for Telecommunications Industry Solutions, U.S.)- Atmel Corporation- Atos- Audi- Autologic- Automatic Labs- AutoNavi Software- Autonet Mobile- Autotalks- AVnu Alliance- AzugaMake 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 @ - By Holmes Osborne, CFA Ryanair (RYAAY)(RYAOF) is an Irish-based discount airline. The stock is reasonably priced and adding flights all the time. Ryanair is a holding of FPA International. Ryanair Monday reported third-quarter revenues for the three months to the end of December of 1.34 billion euros ($1.42 billion), up 1% year on year. However, net profits fell by 8% to 95 million euros, and earnings per share fell 2% to 0.0760 euros. The company has 1.3 billion shares, the stock trades for $15.32, and the market cap is $19.9 billion. Earnings per share are $1.05, and the price-earnings (P/E) ratio is 14.6. There is no dividend. Shares outstanding have decreased by about 100 million shares over the last five years. Fiscal 2017 guidance is $1.39 to $1.44 per share in earnings. Revenues were $4.39 billion in 2012 and $6.63 billion over the trailing 12 months. Earnings per share grew from 39 cents to $1.05 over that time frame. Great growth. Operating margins are over 22% and return on equity over 28%. The five-year average for free cash flow is $680 million. That would be a free cash flow yield of 3.4%. The balance sheet shows $3.386 billion in cash and $55 million in receivables. This is to $211 million in payables and $4 billion in debt. Very solvent. As of the latest quarter, the average fare was $35.31. The company's on-time arrival was 88% - very good. Fourth-quarter fuel is 95% hedged at approximately $56 a barrel; 85% of fiscal 2018 fuel is hedged at an average price of $49 a barrel. The company expects to carry 119 million passengers in fiscal 2017. Ryanair has 365 Boeing 737s. It will purchase 183 737-800s from fiscal 2015 to fiscal 2019 and 200 737s from fiscal 2020 to fiscal 2024; 9% of its fleet is leased. I looked up a few flights on its web site. To fly from London to Eindhovenz, Holland, round trip was only $150. Cheap. It usually costs more than that in the U.S. I counted 33 countries on its web site including Malta, Morocco, Cyprus, Estonia and dozens of countries in Europe. It's only a little over $300 to fly from London to Marrakesh in Morocco in March. There are add-ons like changing flights and charges for roomier seats. For $10.70, you can get a snack, drink and meal. The company recently added new flights to Israel. Story continues Because much of Ryanair's income is booked in pounds but reported in euros, Brexit has affected earnings. It expects average price per passenger to be down 15% in the next quarter. Management is also reviewing its two-bag policy. Many passengers are abusing the policy, and it is leading to flight delays. Merrill Lynch advised clients to sell Ryanair shares, saying the rise of protectionism in Europe could stunt its ability to win market share. The company has a dumb rule stating that a certain percentage of shareholders must be European. The British shareholders may be excluded with Brexit. Is the stock a buy? Maybe. It's a typical value stock - reasonably priced, increasing revenues and earnings. It has very little debt. Most of the news points to new airports and countries being added all of the time. Disclosure: We do not own shares. Start a free seven-day trial of Premium Membership to GuruFocus. This article first appeared on GuruFocus. Private LTE Networks Market Is Expected To Grow At A CAGR Of 32% Between 2016 And 2020 To Surpass $800 Million http://www.researchmoz.us/enquiry.php?type=S&repid=804866 http://www.researchmoz.us/enquiry.php?type=E&repid=804866 http://www.researchmoz.us/ http://bit.ly/1TBmnVG Researchmoz added Most up-to-date research on "The Private LTE Network Ecosystem: 2016 - 2030 - Opportunities, Challenges, Strategies, Industry Verticals & Forecasts" to its huge collection of research reports.For years, the critical communications industry has relied on narrowband LMR (Land Mobile Radio) networks for mission-critical voice and basic data services. Due to the bandwidth limitations of these LMR networks, public safety agencies and other users within the critical communications industry have turned towards commercial LTE networks to support growing demands for mobile broadband services such as video transmission and bandwidth-intensive field applications.However, most commercial LTE networks do not necessarily meet the priority, security, resilience and availability requirements of the critical communications industry. By providing authority over coverage and capacity, private LTE networks can alleviate these concerns while delivering guaranteed connectivity.Expected to surpass $800 Million in global investments by the end of 2016, private LTE networks are increasingly becoming the preferred approach to deliver mobile broadband services in the critical communications industry. Fueled by large-scale rollouts in the public safety, energy and other sectors, the market is further expected to grow at a CAGR of 32% between 2016 and 2020.To Get Sample Copy of Report visit @The Private LTE Network Ecosystem: 2016 2030 Opportunities, Challenges, Strategies, Industry Verticals & Forecasts report presents an in-depth assessment of the private LTE network ecosystem including technology, architectural components, operational models, key trends, market drivers, challenges, vertical market opportunities, applications, deployment case studies, spectrum allocation, standardization, regulatory landscape, future roadmap, value chain, ecosystem player profiles and strategies. The report also presents forecasts for private LTE network infrastructure investments from 2016 till 2030. The forecasts cover 3 submarkets, 5 vertical markets and 6 regions.The report comes with an associated Excel datasheet suite covering quantitative data from all numeric forecasts presented in the report.Topics CoveredThe report covers the following topics:- Private LTE network ecosystem- Market drivers and barriers- Technology, architectural components and operational models- Analysis of vertical markets, applications and key trends- Case studies of 20 private LTE network deployments- Review of spectrum allocation for private LTE networks- Regulatory landscape and standardization- Industry roadmap and value chain- Profiles and strategies of 190 ecosystem players including LTE infrastructure OEMs and system integrators- Strategic recommendations for enterprises, LTE infrastructure OEMs, system integrators and mobile operators- Market analysis and forecasts from 2016 till 2030Forecast SegmentationMarket forecasts are provided for each of the following submarkets and their subcategories:Submarkets- RAN (Radio Access Network)- EPC (Evolved Packet Core) & Policy- Mobile Backhaul & TransportVertical Markets- Public Safety- Military- Energy & Utilities- Transportation- OthersRegional Markets- Asia Pacific- Eastern Europe- Middle East & Africa- Latin & Central America- North America- Western EuropeKey Questions AnsweredThe report provides answers to the following key questions:- How big is the private LTE network opportunity?- What trends, challenges and barriers are influencing its growth?- How is the ecosystem evolving by segment and region?- What will the market size be in 2020 and at what rate will it grow?- Which submarkets will see the highest percentage of growth?- How does standardization impact the adoption of LTE for critical communications?- When will MCPTT (Mission-Critical Push-to-Talk) and proximity services see large-scale proliferation?- What opportunities exist for commercial mobile operators in the private LTE network ecosystem?- Will LTE replace GSM-R and other legacy technologies for railway communications and applications?- Which spectrum band will be the most dominant choice for private LTE network deployments?- What are the prospects of rapidly deployable tactical LTE networks in the military and public safety sectors?- Who are the key market players and what are their strategies?- What strategies should system integrators and vendors adopt to remain competitive?Key FindingsThe report has the following key findings:- Expected to surpass $800 Million in global investments by the end of 2016, private LTE networks are increasingly becoming the preferred approach to deliver mobile broadband services in the critical communications industry. Fueled by large-scale rollouts in the public safety, energy and other sectors, the market is further expected to grow at a CAGR of 32% between 2016 and 2020.- By the end of 2020, the North America region will account for over 35% of all private LTE investments worldwide. However, largely driven by South Koreas rollout plans for public safety, railway and maritime LTE networks, the Asia Pacific region will continue to retain a strong position in the market.- Several companies, such as TEN (Texas Energy Network) and INET (Infrastructure Networks) in the United States, have strategically deployed private LTE networks in remote, oil-rich areas, to exclusively provide mobile broadband services to energy companies.- To alleviate large-scale infrastructure investments, several European countries are pairing dedicated private mobile core platforms with commercial LTE networks to deliver prioritized mobile broadband services to public safety subscribers.- Conventional LMR industry players are leveraging partnerships with established LTE infrastructure OEMs such as Ericsson, Nokia, Huawei and Samsung, to offer end-to-end private LTE network solutionsCountires Covered- Afghanistan- Albania- Algeria- Andorra- Angola- Anguilla- Antigua & Barbuda- Argentina- Armenia- Aruba- Australia- Austria- AzerbaijanMake 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 @ Public Safety LTE & Mobile Broadband Market Analysis and Forecast 2016 - 2030 | Researchmoz.us http://www.researchmoz.us/enquiry.php?type=S&repid=804859 http://www.researchmoz.us/enquiry.php?type=E&repid=804859 http://www.researchmoz.us/ http://bit.ly/1TBmnVG Researchmoz added Most up-to-date research on "The Public Safety LTE & Mobile Broadband Market: 2016 - 2030 - Opportunities, Challenges, Strategies & Forecasts" to its huge collection of research reports.Due to the bandwidth limitations of their traditional voice-centric LMR (Land Mobile Radio) networks, public safety agencies are keen to leverage commercial cellular network technology to support their growing broadband application needs. Considering its thriving ecosystem, spectrum flexibility and performance metrics, LTE has emerged as the leading candidate for public safety mobile broadband networks. In addition, with the recent approval of the MCPTT (Mission Critical Push to Talk) voice standard as part of 3GPP Release 13, LTE has also become an attractive substitute for providing LMR-like voice services.The Qatar Ministry of Interior made headlines when it deployed a private 800 MHz LTE network in 2012. Since then, numerous public safety LTE networks have sprung up across the globe, including the UAE, China, Laos, Turkey and Kenya. Several early adopter LTE deployments are also operational in the United States, as part of the planned FirstNet nationwide public safety broadband network. While most initial public safety LTE investments are limited to small-scale networks, nationwide rollouts in the United States and South Korea are expected to trigger significant large-scale investments throughout the globe.The European market is largely dominated by MVNO arrangements, such as the UK Home Offices ESN (Emergency Services Network) program that will use EEs commercial LTE network to deliver prioritized mission critical voice and data services for the UKs public safety agencies. As part of the program, EE is enhancing its existing network with additional sites, satellite backhaul and a dedicated mobile core for first responders, among other investments.To Get Sample Copy of Report visit @Driven by the thriving ecosystem, SNS Research estimates that annual investments on public safety LTE infrastructure will reach $600 Million by the end of 2016. The market, which includes base stations (eNBs), mobile core and transport networking gear, is further expected to grow at a CAGR of 33% over the next four years. By 2020, these infrastructure investments will be complemented by over 4.4 Million LTE device shipments, including smartphones, rugged handheld terminals and vehicular routers.The Public Safety LTE & Mobile Broadband Market: 2016 2030 Opportunities, Challenges, Strategies & Forecasts report presents an in-depth assessment of the global public safety LTE market, besides touching upon the wider LMR and mobile broadband industries. In addition to covering the business case, challenges, technology, spectrum allocation, industry roadmap, value chain, deployment case studies, vendor products, strategies, standardization initiatives and applications ecosystem for public safety LTE, the report also presents comprehensive forecasts for mobile broadband, LMR and public safety LTE subscriptions from 2016 till 2030. Also covered are public safety LTE service revenues, over both private and commercial networks. In addition, the report presents revenue forecasts for public safety LTE infrastructure, devices, integration services and management solutions.The report comes with an associated Excel datasheet suite covering quantitative data from all numeric forecasts presented in the report, as well as a list and associated details of over 90 global public safety LTE network commitments (as of Q22016).Key Findings:The report has the following key findings:- SNS Research estimates that annual investments on public safety LTE infrastructure will reach $600 Million by the end of 2016. The market, which includes base stations (eNBs), mobile core and transport networking gear, is further expected to grow at a CAGR of 33% over the next four years.- By 2020, these infrastructure investments will be complemented by over 4.4 Million LTE device shipments, including smartphones, rugged handheld terminals and vehicular routers.- Following the Qatar Ministry of Interiors private 800 MHz LTE network deployment in 2012, multiple private LTE rollouts are underway by security forces throughout the oil rich GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) region, including the Abu Dhabi and Dubai police forces.- Driven by nationwide public safety LTE network rollouts in the United States and South Korea, the North America and Asia Pacific regions will account for nearly 70% of all public safety LTE investments over the next four years.- Almost all major LMR industry players are leveraging partnerships with established LTE infrastructure OEMs such as Ericsson, Nokia, Huawei and Samsung, to offer end-to-end LTE solutions.- Consolidation efforts are continuing to take place throughout the industry, particularly among the largest LTE infrastructure OEMs and public safety system integrators.Topics Covered:The report covers the following topics:- Business case for public safety LTE and mobile broadband services, including key benefits and challenges- Technology, economics, trends, commercial commitments and deployment case studies- List of public safety LTE engagements worldwide- Public safety LTE infrastructure, devices and applications- Industry roadmap, value chain and standardization initiatives- Spectrum allocation, deployment models and funding strategies- Profiles and strategies of over 260 ecosystem players including public safety system integrators and LTE infrastructure/device OEMs- TCO analysis of private and commercial public safety LTE deployments- Military and tactical LTE deployments- Public safety LTE base station (eNB) form factor analysis- Exclusive interview transcripts from 5 key ecosystem players: Ericsson, Airbus Defence and Space, Sepura, Aricent and Parallel Wireless- Strategic recommendations for vendors, system integrators, public safety agencies and mobile operators- Market analysis and forecasts from 2016 till 2030Forecast Segmentation:Market forecasts are provided for each of the following submarkets and their subcategories:Public Safety LTE Infrastructure- Submarkets- RAN (Radio Access Network)- EPC (Evolved Packet Core) and Policy- Mobile Backhaul and Transport- RAN Base Station (eNB) Mobility Categories- Fixed Base Stations- Transportable Base Stations- RAN Base Station (eNB) Cell Size Categories- Macrocells- Small Cells- Transportable RAN Base Station (eNB) Form Factor Categories- NIB (Network-in-a-Box)- VNS (Vehicle Network System)- SOW (System-on-Wheels)- Airborne PlatformPublic Safety LTE Management & Integration Solutions- Submarkets- Network Integration & Testing- Device Management & User Services- Managed Services, Operations & Maintenance- CybersecurityPublic Safety LTE Devices- Submarkets- Private LTE- Commercial LTE- Form Factor Categories- Smartphones & Handportable Terminals- Vehicle Mount Routers & Terminals- Tablets & Notebook PCs- USB Dongles & OthersPublic Safety LTE Subscriptions & Service Revenue- Submarkets- Private LTE- Commercial LTEPublic Safety User Subscriptions over Private Mobile Broadband- Submarkets- Private LTE- Private WiMAXPublic Safety User Subscriptions over Commercial Mobile Broadband- Submarkets- 3G- WiMAX- LTE- 5G & BeyondLMR Subscriptions- Submarkets- Analog- DMR- dPMR, NXDN & PDT- P25- TETRA- Tetrapol- OthersPublic Safety LTE Applications- Submarkets- Video Applications- zGIS, AVLS and Mapping- Mobile VPN Access & Security- CAD (Computer Aided Dispatching)- Remote Database Access- Telemetry and Remote Diagnostics- Bulk Multimedia/Data Transfers- PTT & Voice over LTE- Situational Awareness ApplicationsRegional Segmentation- Asia Pacific- Eastern Europe- Latin & Central America- Middle East & Africa- North America- Western EuropeKey Questions Answered:The report provides answers to the following key questions:- How big is the public safety LTE opportunity?- What trends, challenges and barriers are influencing its growth?- How is the ecosystem evolving by segment and region?- What will the market size be in 2020 and at what rate will it grow?- Which regions and submarkets will see the highest percentage of growth?- How does standardization impact the adoption of LTE for public safety applications?- When will MCPTT and proximity services see large scale proliferation?- What is the status of private LTE rollouts and public safety MVNO offerings across the globe?- What opportunities exist for commercial mobile operators and MVNOs in the public safety LTE market?- Is there a market for 400 MHz LTE networks?- What are the prospects of tactical, vehicle-mounted and airborne LTE eNB platforms?- How can public safety agencies leverage unused spectrum resources to fund private LTE networks?- What strategies should system integrators and vendors adopt to remain competitive?List of Companies Mentioned:The following companies and organizations have been reviewed, discussed or mentioned in the report:- 3GPP (Third Generation Partnership Project)- Aaeon- Abu Dhabi Police- Accelleran- AceAxis- ACMA (Australian Communications and Media Authority)- Aculab- Adax- ADCOM911 (Adams County Communication Center)- ADRF (Advanced RF Technologies)- Advantech- Advantech Wireless- Aeroflex- Affarii Technologies- Affirmed Networks- Agile Networks- Airbus Defence and Space- Airbus Group- Air-Lynx- Airspan Networks- Airvana- Airwave Solutions- Ajman Police- Alcatel-Lucent- Altiostar Networks- Amdocs- Anite- Anritsu Corporation- APCO International (Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials)- Apple- ARASKOM- Arcadyan- Argela- Aricent- ARItel- Arqiva- Artemis Networks- Aselsan- ASOCS- ASTRI (Hong Kong Applied Science and Technology Research Institute)- ASTRID- ASTRO Solutions- Asus (ASUSTeK Computer)- AT&T- Athena Wireless Communications- Athonet- ATIS (Alliance for Telecommunications Industry Solutions)- Atlas Telecom- Avanti Communications Group- Avaya- AVI- Aviat Networks- Avtec- Axell Wireless- Axis Communications- Axis Teknologies- Axxcelera Broadband WirelessMake 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 @ Matrix Outlook Integration in VARTA WIN200 The UC Client www.MatrixTelesol.com Matrix Comsec, a leading manufacturer of Telecom and Security solutions, enhanced its Unified Communications portfolio with Outlook Integration in VARTA WIN200 The UC Client for seamless collaboration. Matrix integrated Outlook with the PC Client to address the businesses need of mobility and improve communication effectiveness. Now users can do multi-tasking and avail features of the PC Client from the Outlook itself.The integration of Outlook e-mail client with VARTA WIN200 offers a bundle of features, which are as follows: -1. Click to Call: The user has to simply click on the Outlook contact and a call will be automatically placed through VARTA WIN200.2. Single Screen for Multiple Tasks: Users can now access all the UC features from their Outlook screen. E-mails, Make Calls from Extensions, Check Presence Status, Arrange/Attend Conference, Instant Messages and Group Chat are features users can now access from a single screen.3. Presence Sharing: Presence Sharing helps users route the calls accordingly for simplified communication.4. Contact Grouping and Conferencing: It helps a user reach multiple people right from their Outlook mailbox for meetings and discussions.5. Hot Keys: Dedicated Hot keys for Making/Receiving Audio/Video Calls, Disconnecting and Rejecting Calls, Hold/Unhold calls, Volume Up/Down offers a personalized calling experience that enhances an employees efficiency.6. Calendar Integration: With Calendar Integration, Presence Status of an employee during meetings will be set accordingly. Henceforth, employees can route their calls and there will be no delays in the decision-making process.7. Instant Messaging: Users can send Instant Messages to their Outlook contacts from the same screen as VARTA WIN200. With multi-media features like Emoticons and Intuitive Dial Pad, users can have seamless communication experience that indeed boosts their productivity. The Integration of Outlook with VARTA WIN200 The UC Client is a progressive step towards an improved collaboration of communication solution. Matrix is looking to develop more such features, making it easy for the customers and setting new standards of business communication that will enhance user experience, said Sagar Gosalia Sr. Vice President, Sales and Marketing.For further information :Email at - Customer.Care@MatrixComSec.comCall on - +91 9998755555Website -About MatrixEstablished in 1991, Matrix is a leader in Telecom and Security solutions for modern businesses and enterprises. An innovative, technology driven and customer focused organization; Matrix is committed to keep pace with the revolutions in the telecom and security industries. With more than 40% of its human resources dedicated to the development of new products, Matrix has launched cutting-edge products like Video Surveillance solutions, Access Control, Time-Attendance, IP-PBX, Universal Gateways, Terminals, Convergence solution, VoIP Gateways and GSM Gateways. These solutions are feature-rich, reliable and conform to the international standards. Having global foot-prints in Asia, Europe, North America, South America and Africa through an extensive network of more than 500 channel partners, Matrix ensures that the products serve the needs of its customers faster and longer. Matrix has gained trust and admiration of customers representing the entire spectrum of industries. Matrix has won many international awards for its innovative products.Matrix Comsec394 GIDC, Makarpura, Vadodara-390010+91 0265 2630555 Bit Error Rate (BER) Tester Market : Popular Trends & Technological Advancements To Watch Out For Near Future http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/samples/8389 http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/toc/8389 http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/ Bit error rate (BER) is the number of bit errors per unit time or bit error ratio is defined as the ratio of total number of bits transferred over a communication medium to the total number of bit errors at the recipient side. Bit Error Rate (BER) testers are the systems used to detect the BER over any communication link as radio link, optical fiber, copper cable or others. When the data is transmitted from one place to another over a communication medium, there is a chances of error get introduced within the information data, especially because of the noisy environment of the medium over which information is transmitted. In short it is used to test the quality of link or the medium of communication, if there is less bit error rate which indicates good quality of system.A sample of this report is available upon request @Traditionally, bit error rate was associated only with radio links for communication, later bit error rate or bit error testing is applicable on other system also as Ethernet links, fiber optics links and other types of link system. Bit error tester doesnt only test the performance of links/medium but it tests the performance of whole system including transmitter receivers and the link between them.The key trend of Bit Error Rate (BER) tester market is the demand of Bit Error Rate (BER) tester because of compliance testing and validation of 40GbE & 100GbE networks will increase. The key growth drivers of Bit Error Rate (BER) tester market are increased demand of modular BERTs, increased growth of digital interfaces in global market, new and advanced emerging standards like 40 gig & 100gig are also the factors supporting the growth of global Bit Error Rate (BER) tester market. On the other hand lower education level in emerging regions, lower awareness of end user about Bit Error Rate (BER) testers applications & also the competition for standalone BERTs are the key restraints for Bit Error Rate (BER) tester market.Segmentation of Bit Error Rate (BER) tester market is done on the basis of product type, end user, applications & Geography. On the basis of product type, global Bit Error Rate (BER) tester market is segmented into two segments, traditional Bit Error Rate (BER) tester (BERT) or unframed BERT & other one is functional Bit Error Rate (BER) tester (BERT) or framed BERT. Functional Bit Error Rate (BER) tester is expected to witness higher growth rate owing to its high usage in maintenance and installation of network applications. On the basis of end user, global Bit Error Rate (BER) tester market is segmented into following segments; service providers, component system manufacturers (C&SM), enterprises & others (government contractors and contract manufacturing companies).On the basis of applications, global Bit Error Rate (BER) tester market is segmented into following three segments; installation and maintenance, research and development & manufacturing. Geographically, Bit Error Rate (BER) tester market is segmented into seven regions which are ; North America, Latin America, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, Japan, Asia Pacific Excluding Japan (APEJ), and Middle East and Africa (MEA). Among all the seven region Asia Pacific is the highest contributor in term of revenue in global Bit Error Rate (BER) tester market, and is expected to maintain leadership during forecasting period as well in market of Bit Error Rate (BER) tester across the globe.A TOC of this report is available upon request @The key players of global Bit Error Rate (BER) tester market are Agilent Technologies Inc., JDS Uniphase Corporation, Anritsu Corporation, Centellax Inc., SHF Communication Technologies AG, Luceo Technologies GmbH & others.About UsPersistence 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.For information regarding permissions, contact:Persistence Market Research305 Broadway,7th FloorNew York City, NY 10007United StatesTel: +1 800-961-0353Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.comWebsite:media@persistencemarketresearch.com Y-junctions with cable outlet The new Y-junctions with cable outlet from ESCHA offer a high diversity and can be individually configured. www.escha.net www.escha.net/en/company/press-room/ Halver, 7 February 2017 With immediate effect, the connectivity specialist ESCHA offers new M8x1- and M12x1-Y-junctions with cable outlets. The so-called 2-way splitters dispose of an extremely compact housing style and can be quite easily adapted to customer individual needs thanks to their high variant diversity.Signals can be quickly and simply distributed with 2-way junctions. ESCHA has now launched new Y-junctions provided with cable outlets saving plugins on junctions as well as on junction cables. This eventually means an obvious cost optimization for wiring compared to classical Y- or T-junctions without cable outlets.All ESCHA standard PUR and PVC cables are available for the cable outlets right from the outset. Upon customer request, the cable outlets can be provided with M8x1- or M12x1-round connectors as well as with valve connectors. Female- or male connector alignment is optional as well. The various options result in a high variant diversity facilitating the adequate product configuration for almost every individual customer application.About ESCHAThe ESCHA Group is a leading supplier in the fields of connectivity and housing technology. For more than 30 years, the family-controlled company has been developing and manufacturing innovative product novelties taking dynamics to the market for automation components. Based on its standard products, the company designs custom-made connectivity and individual special solutions. With about 600 employees around the globe and highly in-depth development and production, ESCHA is extending its product portfolio constantly and independently. The annual group turnover amounts to 55 million Euros. ESCHA guarantees high availability and consistent quality of its products worldwide through production facilities in Germany, Czech Republic and China as well as licensed production in USA and Mexico.ESCHA GmbH & Co. KGElberfelder Str. 3258553 Halver | GermanyDipl.-Medienokonom Florian SchnellManager Corporate CommunicationsTel.: +49 2353 708-8156E-Mail: f.schnell@escha.net Fall Protection Equipment Market in Rescue overall Value Expected to Rise from US$1.9 bn in 2013 to US$3.5 bn by 2020 http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=B&rep_id=4097 http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/fall-protection-equipment-market.html Fall protection equipment include devices that are used to prevent free fall. These are used to restrain a worker at a particular position in order to prevent free fall. The fall protection equipment used for rescue purposes finds application across various industries including construction, manufacturing, oil and gas and government usage among others. Body belts, chest harness, full body harness, suspension belts and safety nets among others. Vertical lifelines, horizontal lifelines and self retracting lifelines are major types of suspension belts commonly used.Full body harness is one of the major types of fall protection equipment used for rescue purposes. The better support provided by full body harness in height rescue is one of the major factors fueling the demand for full body harness globally. The full body harness segment was valued at USD 676.7 million in 2013. However, safety net is one of the fastest growing types of fall protection equipment used for rescue purposes. The safety net segment is expected to grow at a CAGR of 9.6% from 2014 to 2020.Download Research Brochure PDF@On the basis of geography, the fall protection equipment market has been divided into North America, Latin America, Asia Pacific, Africa, Europe, and the Middle East. Europe and North America are presently the largest markets for fall protection equipment in the area of rescue operations. Valued at US$670.7 mn in 2013, the North America market is anticipated to witness steady growth in the coming years. Africa possesses immense potential for players in the fall protection equipment market and this region is projected to expand at an impressive 17.9% CAGR from 2014 to 2020. Countries such as South Africa, Kenya, and Nigeria have been identified as the most lucrative options for industry players.The research report highlights the performance and contribution of the leading players competing in the global fall protection equipment market. The top companies operating in this marketplace include Ansell Ltd., Rock Fall Ltd., Uvex Safety Group, Oftenrich Holdings Limited, Cofra Holdings AG, Capital Safety, Avon Rubber p.l.c., 3M Co., Honeywell Safety Products, and Alpha Pro Tech Ltd.The study offers an in-depth assessment of these players based on several aspects such as company overview, business strategies, financial standing, and recent developments. With the help of a SWOT analysis, the report sheds light on the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats of individual companies in the market for fall protection equipment in the field of rescue. This gives clients a better understanding of the competition and also helps them devise strategic alliances for the future.Browse Full Report@About Us:-Transparency Market Research is a global market intelligence company providing business information reports and services. The companys exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trend analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather and analyze information.Contact Us:-Transparency Market ResearchState Tower,90 State Street,Suite 700,Albany NY - 12207United StatesTel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.com Researchmoz.us: NFV, SDN & Wireless Network Infrastructure Market Technology Advancement, Emerging Innovation 2016 - 2030 http://www.researchmoz.us/enquiry.php?type=S&repid=804856 http://www.researchmoz.us/enquiry.php?type=E&repid=804856 http://www.researchmoz.us/ http://bit.ly/1TBmnVG Researchmoz added Most up-to-date research on "The NFV, SDN & Wireless Network Infrastructure Market: 2016 - 2030 - Opportunities, Challenges, Strategies and Forecasts" to its huge collection of research reports.Service providers continue to face increasing CapEx and OpEx burdens, amid growing requirements for high-speed mobile broadband services. By eliminating reliance on expensive proprietary hardware platforms, NFV (Network Functions Virtualization) and SDN (Software Defined Networking) promise to reduce service provider CapEx. In addition, both technologies can significantly slash OpEx due to a reduction in physical space, labor and power consumption.Driven by the promise of TCO (Total Cost of Ownership) reduction, mobile operators are aggressively jumping on the NFV and SDN bandwagon, targeting deployments across a multitude of areas. By the end of 2020, SNS Research estimates that NFV and SDN investments on service provider networks will account for over $18 Billion. These investments will initially focus on EPC/mobile core, IMS, policy control, CPE (Customer Premises Equipment), CDN (Content Delivery Network) and transport networks.Spanning over 1,600 pages, the ""NFV, SDN & Wireless Network Infrastructure Market: 2016 2030 Opportunities, Challenges, Strategies and Forecasts report package encompasses three comprehensive reports covering covering NFV, SDN, conventional 2G, 3G, 4G & 5G wireless network infrastructure and HetNet (Heterogeneous Network) infrastructure:- The SDN, NFV & Network Virtualization Ecosystem: 2016 2030 Opportunities, Challenges, Strategies & Forecasts- The Wireless Network Infrastructure Ecosystem: 2016 2030 Macrocell RAN, Small Cells, C-RAN, RRH, DAS, Carrier Wi-Fi, Mobile Core, Backhaul & Fronthaul- The HetNet Ecosystem (Small Cells, Carrier Wi-Fi, C-RAN & DAS): 2016 2030 Opportunities, Challenges, Strategies & ForecastsTo Get Sample Copy of Report visit @This report package provides an in-depth assessment of NFV, SDN, network virtualization, 2G, 3G, 4G & 5G wireless network infrastructure and HetNet gear. Besides analyzing enabling technologies, key trends, market drivers, challenges, use cases, mobile operator case studies, regional CapEx commitments, regulatory landscape, standardization, opportunities, future roadmap, value chain, ecosystem player profiles and strategies, the report package also presents revenue and unit shipment forecasts for multiple submarkets including:Conventional 2G, 3G, 4G & 5G Wireless Network Infrastructure- Macrocell RAN Base Stations- Macrocell Backhaul- Mobile CoreHetNet Infrastructure- Small Cells- Small Cell Backhaul- Carrier Wi-Fi- C-RAN (Centralized RAN)- C-RAN Fronthaul- DAS (Distributed Antenna Systems)NFV- Hardware Appliances- Orchestration & Management Software- VNF (Virtualized Network Function) SoftwareSDN- SDN-Enabled Hardware Appliances- SDN-Enabled Virtual Switches- Orchestration & Management Software- SDN Controller Software- Network Applications SoftwareThe report package comes with an associated Excel datasheet suite covering quantitative data from all numeric forecasts presented in the report package.The report package covers the following topics:Wireless Network Infrastructure Topics- 2G (GSM and CDMA) technology and market trends- 3G (W-CDMA/HSPA, TD-SCDMA and CDMA-2000) technology and market trends- 4G (LTE, LTE-Advanced and WiMAX) technology and market trends- 5G (IMT-2020) technology and market trends- Mobile core technology and market trends- Mobile transport (backhaul and fronthaul) technology and market trends- HetNet (Wi-Fi offloading, small cell, C-RAN and DAS) technology and market trends- Analysis of key trends such as enterprise RAN, TD-LTE, VoLTE virtualization, unlicensed small cells and SCaaS (Small Cells as a Service)- Market drivers for wireless network infrastructure investments- Challenges and barriers to the ecosystem- Profiles and strategies of over 350 wireless network infrastructure vendors- Strategic recommendations for ecosystem players- Global and regional market analysis and forecasts- SWOT analysis of the wireless network infrastructure marketNFV & SDN Topics- SDN, NFV and network virtualization technology- Enabling technologies, protocols, architecture and key trends- Use cases, applications, PoC (Proof of Concept) and commercial deployment case studies- CapEx saving potential of SDN and NFV- Orchestration and management platforms- Regulatory landscape and standardization- Industry roadmap and value chain- Market drivers for SDN/NFV investments- Challenges and barriers to the ecosystem- Profiles and strategies of over 240 SDN/NFV ecosystem players- Strategic recommendations for ecosystem players- Global and regional market analysis and forecastsThe report package provides answers to the following key questions:- How is the 2G, 3G, 4G & 5G wireless network infrastructure market evolving by segment and region?- Which 2G, 3G, 4G & 5G technology constitutes the highest amount of spending and how will this evolve overtime?- What is the global and regional outlook for RAN and mobile core submarkets?- How will the market shape for HetNet infrastructure such as small cells, C-RAN and DAS?- How will Wi-Fi fit into future network architectures for access and offload?- What is the opportunity for mobile transport networking gear, and what new backhaul/fronthaul solutions are evolving?- How big is the SDN, NFV and network virtualization opportunity?- What trends, challenges and barriers are influencing its growth?- What will the market size be in 2020 and at what rate will it grow?- Which regions, submarkets and countries will see the highest percentage of growth?- How are service provider led initiatives driving SDN and NFV investments?- How does regulation impact the adoption of SDN and NFV centric networks?- How can NFV make the VoLTE (Voice over LTE) business case work?- How can software defined DPI (Deep Packet Inspection) complement SDN functionality?- What level of CapEx savings can SDN and NFV facilitate for service providers?- Do SDN and NFV pose a threat to traditional network infrastructure vendors?- Who are the key market players and what are their strategies?- Is there a ring leader in the SDN and NFV ecosystem?- What strategies should enabling technology providers, network infrastructure vendors, mobile operators and other ecosystem players adopt to remain competitive?List of Companies Mentioned- 3GPP (3rd Generation Partnership Project)- 3GPP2 (3rd Generation Partnership Project 2)- 3Roam- 4ipnet- 4RF- 6WIND- A10 Networks- ABB- Ablaze Wireless- Absolute Analysis- Accedian Networks- Accelink Technologies- Accelleran- ACCESS CO.- Accton Technology Corporation- Accuris Networks- AceAxis- Actelis Networks- Actiontec- Active Broadband Networks- Actus Networks- ADARA Networks- Adax- ADB- ADI (Analog Devices Inc.)- ADLINK Technology- ADRF (Advanced RF Technologies)- ADTRAN- ADVA Optical Networking- Advantech- Advantech Wireless- Aerohive Networks- Affarii Technologies- Affirmed Networks- Agema Systems- Airbus Defence and Space- AirHop Communications- Airspan Networks- Airvana- Akamai Technologies- AKM (Asahi Kasei Microdevices)- ALAXALA Networks Corporation- Albis Technologies- Alcatel-Lucent- ALCOMA- Allied Data Technologies- Allied Telesis- Allot Communications- Alpha Networks- ALTEN Calsoft Labs- ALTEN Group- Altera Corporation- Altiostar Networks- Alvarion Technologies- Amarisoft- Amartus- AMD (Advanced Micro Devices)- Amdocs- America Movil Group- American Tower Corporation- ANEVIA- Anite- Anritsu Corporation- Aptilo Networks- Aquantia- Arcadyan Technology Corporation- Argela- Aricent- Arista Networks- ARItel- Arkoon Netasq- ARM Holdings- Arqiva- Arris- ARRIS Group- Artemis Networks- Artesyn Embedded Technologies- Artiza Networks- Aruba Networks- Askey Computer Corporation- ASOCS- Astellia- ASTRI (Hong Kong Applied Science and Technology Research Institute)- AT&T- AT&T Mobility- Athena Wireless Communications- Athonet- AudioCodes- Autelan- Avago Technologies- Avanti Communications- Avaya- Aviat Networks- AVM- AWS (Amazon Web Services)- Axis Teknologies- Axxcelera Broadband Wireless (Moseley Associates)- Azcom TechnologyMake 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 @ Researchmoz.us: SDN, NFV & Network Virtualization Ecosystem Opportunities, Challenges, Strategies & Forecasts 2016 - 2030 http://www.researchmoz.us/enquiry.php?type=S&repid=804852 http://www.researchmoz.us/enquiry.php?type=E&repid=804852 http://www.researchmoz.us/ http://bit.ly/1TBmnVG Researchmoz added Most up-to-date research on "The SDN, NFV & Network Virtualization Ecosystem: 2016 - 2030 - Opportunities, Challenges, Strategies & Forecasts" to its huge collection of research reports.While the advantages of SDN (Software Defined Networking) and network virtualization are well known in the enterprise IT and data center world, both technologies also bring a host of benefits to the telecommunications service provider community. Not only can these technologies help address the explosive capacity demand of mobile traffic, but they can also reduce the CapEx and OpEx burden faced by service providers to handle this demand by diminishing reliance on expensive proprietary hardware platforms. The recognition of these benefits has led to the emergence of the NFV (Network Functions Virtualization) concept that seeks to virtualize and effectively consolidate many service provider network elements onto multi-tenant industry-standard servers, switches and storage.Mobile operators and internet service providers have already begun making SDN and NFV investments in a number of functional areas including but not limited to EPC/mobile core, IMS, policy control, CPE (Customer Premises Equipment), CDN (Content Delivery Network) and transport networks. SNS Research estimates that service provider SDN and NFV investments will grow at a CAGR of 46% between 2016 and 2020. As service providers seek to reduce costs and virtualize their networks, these investments will eventually account for over $18 Billion in revenue by the end of 2020.To Get Sample Copy of Report visit @The SDN, NFV & Network Virtualization Ecosystem: 2016 2030 Opportunities, Challenges, Strategies & Forecasts report presents an in-depth assessment of the SDN, NFV and network virtualization ecosystem including enabling technologies, key trends, market drivers, challenges, use cases, deployment case studies, regulatory landscape, standardization, opportunities, future roadmap, value chain, ecosystem player profiles and strategies. The report also presents market size forecasts from 2016 till 2030. The forecasts are segmented for 10 submarkets, 2 user base categories, 9 use cases, 6 regions and 34 countries.Key Findings:The report has the following key findings:- SNS Research estimates that service provider SDN and NFV investments will grow at a CAGR of 46% between 2016 and 2020, eventually accounting for over $18 Billion in revenue by the end of 2020.- At present, virtualized CPE, EPC/mobile core, IMS and policy control platforms represent nearly 70% of all VNF (Virtual Network Function) software investments.- SNS Research estimates that by 2020, nearly 80% of all new EPC investments will be virtualized.- Although the use of SDN is widespread in the enterprise and data center domain, service providers are only beginning to adopt the technology to programmatically manage their networks.- Investments on orchestration platforms will account for over $1.6 Billion in revenue by the end of 2020, representing nearly 10% of all service provider SDN and NFV spending.- The growing adoption of SDN and NFV has created a natural opportunity for silicon and server OEMs to combine their server platforms with a networking business stream.Topics Covered:The report covers the following topics:- SDN, NFV and network virtualization ecosystem- Market drivers and barriers- Enabling technologies, protocols, architecture and key trends- Use cases, applications, PoC (Proof of Concept) and deployment case studies- CapEx saving potential of SDN and NFV- Orchestration and management platforms- Regulatory landscape and standardization- Industry roadmap and value chain- Profiles and strategies of over 240 leading ecosystem players- Strategic recommendations for ecosystem players- Market analysis and forecasts from 2015 till 2030Forecast Segmentation:Market forecasts are provided for each of the following submarkets, user base and use case categories:Submarkets- SDN Hardware & Software- NFV Hardware & Software- Other Network Virtualization SoftwareUser Base Categories- Service Providers- Enterprises & Data CentersNFV Submarkets- Hardware Appliances- Orchestration & Management Software- VNF SoftwareService Provider SDN Submarkets- SDN-Enabled Hardware Appliances- Orchestration & Management Software- SDN Controller Software- Network Applications SoftwareEnterprise & Data Center SDN Submarkets- SDN-Enabled Hardware Appliances- SDN-Enabled Virtual Switches- SDN Controller SoftwareService Provider Use Case Categories- CDN- CPE- Data Center- EPC/Mobile Core- Fixed Access Networks- IMS & VoLTE- Policy, OSS & BSS- RAN (Radio Access Network)- Transport & BackhaulRegional Markets- Asia PacificEastern Europe- Latin & Central America- Middle East & Africa- North America- Western EuropeCountry MarketsArgentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Israel, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, Norway, Pakistan, Philippines, Poland, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Taiwan, Thailand, UAE, UK and USAAdditional forecasts are provided for:SDN and NFV Induced Service Provider CapEx Savings by RegionKey Questions Answered:The report provides answers to the following key questions:- How big is the SDN, NFV and network virtualization opportunity?- What trends, challenges and barriers are influencing its growth?- How is the ecosystem evolving by segment and region?- What will the market size be in 2020 and at what rate will it grow?- Which regions, submarkets and countries will see the highest percentage of growth?- How are service provider led initiatives driving SDN and NFV investments?- How does regulation impact the adoption of SDN and NFV centric networks?- How can NFV make the VoLTE (Voice over LTE) business case work?- How can software defined DPI (Deep Packet Inspection) complement SDN functionality?- What level of CapEx savings can SDN and NFV facilitate for service providers?- Do SDN and NFV pose a threat to traditional network infrastructure vendors?- Who are the key market players and what are their strategies?- Is there a ring leader in the SDN and NFV ecosystem?- What strategies should enabling technology providers, network infrastructure vendors, mobile operators and other ecosystem players adopt to remain competitive?List of Companies Mentioned:The following companies and organizations have been reviewed, discussed or mentioned in the report:- 3GPP (3rd Generation Partnership Project)- 6WIND- A10 Networks- Accedian Networks- ACCESS CO.- Accton Technology Corporation- Active Broadband Networks- Actus Networks- ADARA Networks- Adax- ADLINK Technology- ADTRAN- ADVA Optical Networking- Affirmed Networks- Agema Systems- Airbus Defence and Space- Akamai Technologies- ALAXALA Networks Corporation- Albis Technologies- Alcatel-Lucent- Allied Telesis- Allot Communications- Alpha Networks- ALTEN Calsoft Labs- ALTEN Group- Altiostar Networks- Alvarion Technologies- Amartus- AMD (Advanced Micro Devices)- Amdocs- ANEVIA- Argela- Aricent- Arista Networks- Arkoon Netasq- ARM Holdings- ARRIS Group- Artesyn Embedded Technologies- ASOCS- Astellia- AT&T- AudioCodes- Avaya- AWS (Amazon Web Services)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 @ branded generics market is expected to witness a 7.3% CAGR over the forecast period 2016-2026 http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-gb-1260 http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/askus/rep-gb-1260 www.futuremarketinsights.com A recent research conducted by Future Market Insights predicts that the global market for branded generics will witness a steady growth in terms of revenues. Over a ten-year forecast period from 2016 to 2026, the size of global branded generics market has been estimated to expand at a steady CAGR of 7.3%. Brand-name prescriptions will continue to be ubiquitous among aged people in the world, and since geriatric demographics account for a large portion of global drug-consuming population, demand for branded generics will also rise substantially. In 2016, the global branded generics market has been valued at nearly US$ 200 billion, and is projected to reach US$ 413.8 Bn market value by the end of forecast period.Some of the leading manufacturers of branded generics are based in Asian countries, and are extending their production capacity to keep up with the surging global depend. In Asia-Pacific excluding Japan (APEJ) region, about US$ 150 billion revenues are expected to be procured by the end of 2026. During the forecast period, branded generics market in the APEJ region will attain fastest growth, registering a 10% CAGR, contributing over 35% of global branded generics revenues. North America, Eastern Europe and Latin America are also expected to be lucrative for growth of branded generics sales, while revenues in Western Europe, Japan and Middle East & Africa (MEA) are likely to incur a considerable dip by 2026-end.Request Free Report Sample@Competitive Timeline in Global Branded Generics MarketSince 2015, Abbott Laboratories, a leading drugmaker in the global pharmaceuticals industry, has aimed at capitalizing from branded generics businesses in developing regions.Teva Pharmaceuticals acquired Allergans branded generics vertical, while Pfizer Inc. bought Hospira Inc. both acquisitions have been strategically carried out for repositioning market standings of Teva and Pfizer respectively.In December 2016, India-based Sun Pharmaceuticals Industries Ltd. agreed to buy Swiss drugmaker Novartis AGs branded generics portfolio on cancer medications.Another leading branded generics manufacturer, Mylan N.V. recently launched anti-allergy devices which are expected to be half the price of its branded EpiPens.Other prominent companies partaking in the growth of global branded generics market include, Aspen Pharmacare Holding Ltd. and Valeant Pharmaceuticals International, Inc.Research Highlights on Global Branded Generics MarketThe report includes a segmental analysis of the global branded generics market, fragmenting its growth on the type of drug formulation, major drug classes, therapeutic applications, and distribution channels. Based on such segmentation, some of the key findings compiled in the report are:Nearly three-fifth of the global branded generics revenues estimated in 2016 are expected to be accounted by oral-type formulations, with parenteral, topic and other formulation types collectively accounting for 8% market value share.Send An Enquiry@Hospital pharmacies & retail pharmacies will remain as the largest distribution channels for branded generics throughout the globe.In 2016 and beyond, the demand for branded generics in therapeutic treatment of cardiovascular diseases will be significant, revenues from which are expected to increase at more than 8% CAGR over the forecast period.Global revenues of branded generics accounted by anti-hypertensive drug class are predicted to surpass US$ 25 billion by 2026-end.About Us Future Market Insights is the premier provider of market intelligence and consulting services, serving clients in over 150 countries. FMI is headquartered in London, the global financial capital, and has delivery centers in the U.S. and India.Contact Us:Future Market Insights616 Corporate Way,Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage,New York 10989,United StatesTel: +1-347-918-3531Fax: +1-845-579-5705Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.comWebsite: Wireless Network Infrastructure Ecosystem: 2016 - 2030 - Macrocell RAN, Small Cells, C-RAN, RRH, DAS, Carrier Wi-Fi, Mobile Core, Backhaul & Fronthaul | New Release http://www.researchmoz.us/enquiry.php?type=S&repid=804839 http://www.researchmoz.us/enquiry.php?type=E&repid=804839 http://www.researchmoz.us/ http://bit.ly/1TBmnVG Researchmoz added Most up-to-date research on "The Wireless Network Infrastructure Ecosystem: 2016 - 2030 - Macrocell RAN, Small Cells, C-RAN, RRH, DAS, Carrier Wi-Fi, Mobile Core, Backhaul & Fronthaul" to its huge collection of research reports.The term Wireless Network Infrastructure has conventionally been associated with macrocell RAN (Radio Access Network) and mobile core segments of mobile operator networks. However, the scope of the term is expanding as mobile operators increase their investments in Heterogeneous Network or HetNet infrastructure such as small cells, carrier Wi-Fi and DAS (Distributed Antenna Systems), to cope with increasing capacity and coverage requirements.In addition, mobile operators are keen to shift towards a C-RAN (Centralized RAN) architecture, which centralizes baseband functionality to be shared across a large number of distributed radio nodes. In comparison to standalone clusters of base stations, C-RAN provides significant performance and economic benefits such as baseband pooling, enhanced coordination between cells, virtualization, network extensibility and energy efficiency.Due to a decline in macrocell RAN infrastructure spending, SNS Research estimates that the wireless network infrastructure market will remain relatively flat through 2020, with annual investments of over $61 Billion. We also expect a significant shift in investments towards small cells, C-RAN, DAS and carrier Wi-Fi infrastructure. By 2020, these four submarkets, together with their fronthaul and backhaul segments, will account for over 50% of all wireless network infrastructure spending.To Get Sample Copy of Report visit @The Wireless Network Infrastructure Ecosystem: 2016 2030 Macrocell RAN, Small Cells, C-RAN, RRH, DAS, Carrier Wi-Fi, Mobile Core, Backhaul & Fronthaul report presents an in-depth assessment of the wireless network infrastructure ecosystem including enabling technologies, key trends, market drivers, challenges, investment trends, mobile operator revenue potential, regional CapEx commitments, network rollout strategies, future roadmap, value chain, ecosystem player profiles and vendor market share. The report also presents forecasts for wireless network infrastructure investments from 2016 till 2030. The forecasts cover 9 individual submarkets and 6 regions.The report comes with an associated Excel datasheet suite covering quantitative data from all numeric forecasts presented in the report.The report covers the following topics:- Up-to-date coverage of market dynamics allowing wireless network infrastructure vendors to analyze opportunities and challenges of selling to mobile operators in different regional markets- Analysis of demand and supply of wireless network infrastructure including forecasts of investment trends, technology requirements and deployment strategies for antenna, RAN, mobile core, backhaul and fronthaul deployments- Review of mobile operator CapEx commitments, subscriptions, traffic projections and service revenue, by technology and region- Market outlook for key technologies including TD-LTE, LTE-Advanced, VoLTE, RCS, LTE broadcast, unlicensed LTE small cells and 5G- Industry roadmap and value chain- Profiles and strategies of over 350 ecosystem players including wireless network infrastructure vendors and enabling technology providers- Vendor market share for macrocell RAN, small cells, C-RAN, DAS, carrier Wi-Fi, mobile core, backhaul and fronthaul- Market analysis and forecasts from 2016 till 2030Forecast SegmentationMarket forecasts are provided for each of the following submarkets and their subcategories:Macrocell RANAir Interface Technology Segmentation- 2G & 3G- LTE FDD- TD-LTE- WiMAXMobile CoreTechnology Segmentation- 3G Packet Core- HLR (Home Location Register)- MSS (Mobile Switching Subsystem)- LTE EPC (Evolved Packet Core)- WiMAX Mobile Core- 5G Mobile CoreMacrocell BackhaulTechnology Segmentation- Ethernet- Microwave & Millimeter Wave- Satellite- WDM (Wavelength Division Multiplexing)- PON (Passive Optical Network)- OthersSmall CellsAir Interface Technology Segmentation- 2G & 3G- LTE- 5GDeployment Model Segmentation- Indoor- OutdoorUse Case Segmentation- Residential- Enterprise- Urban- Rural & SuburbanCell Size Segmentation- Femtocells- Picocells- MicrocellsSmall Cell BackhaulTechnology Segmentation- DSL- Ethernet- Microwave- Millimeter Wave- Satellite- Fiber & OthersCarrier Wi-FiSub market Segmentation- Access Points- Access Point ControllersIntegration Approach Segmentation- Standalone Wi-Fi Hotspots- Managed Wi-Fi OffloadC-RANAir Interface Technology Segmentation- 3G & LTE- 5GDeployment Model Segmentation- Indoor- OutdoorSub market Segmentation- BBUs (Baseband Units)- RRHs (Remote Radio Heads)C-RAN FronthaulTechnology Segmentation- Dedicated Fiber- WDM- OTN (Optical Transport Network)- PON- Ethernet- Microwave- Millimeter WaveDASDeployment Model Segmentation- Indoor- OutdoorRegional Markets- Asia Pacific- Eastern Europe- Latin & Central America- Middle East & Africa- North America- Western EuropeKey Questions AnsweredThe report provides answers to the following key questions:- How big is the 2G, 3G, 4G and 5G wireless network infrastructure opportunity?- What trends, challenges and barriers are influencing its growth?- How is the ecosystem evolving by segment and region?- Which submarkets will see the highest percentage of growth?- What will the market size be in 2020 and at what rate will it grow?- How will the market shape for small cell, C-RAN, carrier Wi-Fi and DAS deployments?- How much service revenue will be generated by mobile operator networks?- When will 2G and 3G infrastructure spending diminish?- What is the outlook for LTE and 5G infrastructure investments?- What are the future prospects of millimeter wave technology for backhaul, fronthaul and RAN deployments?- Who are the key vendors in the market, what is their market share and what are their strategies?- What strategies should wireless network infrastructure vendors and mobile operators adopt to remain competitive?Key FindingsThe report has the following key findings:- Due to a decline in macrocell RAN infrastructure spending, SNS Research estimates that the wireless network infrastructure market will remain relatively flat through 2020, with annual investments of over $61 Billion.- SNS Research expects a significant shift in investments towards small cells, C-RAN, DAS and carrier Wi-Fi infrastructure. By 2020, these four submarkets, together with their fronthaul and backhaul segments, will account for over 50% of all wireless network infrastructure spending.- Small cell and C-RAN solutions are beginning to converge as small cell OEMs seek to capitalize on the benefits of centralized coordination for in-building and enterprise coverage.- Driven by ongoing large scale deployments, we estimate that LTE networks will generate nearly $800 Billion in annual service revenue by 2020.- Vendors are increasing their focus on profit margins. Many are already cutting staff, embracing operational excellence, evolving their new business models, acquiring niche businesses and expanding their managed services offerings.- New CapEx commitment avenues such as HetNet infrastructure and virtualization will continue to usher industry restructuring, and market consolidation.List of Companies Mentioned- 3GPP (3rd Generation Partnership Project)- 3Roam- 4ipnet- 4RF- 6WIND- ABB- Ablaze Wireless- Absolute Analysis- Accedian Networks- Accelink Technologies- Accelleran- Accuris Networks- AceAxis- Actelis Networks- Actiontec- Actus Networks- Adax- ADB- ADI (Analog Devices Inc.)- ADLINK Technology- ADRF (Advanced RF Technologies)- ADTRAN- ADVA Optical Networking- Advantech- Advantech Wireless- Aerohive Networks- Affarii Technologies- Affirmed Networks- AirHop Communications- Airspan Networks- Airvana- AKM (Asahi Kasei Microdevices)- ALAXALA Networks- Albis Technologies- Alcatel-Lucent- ALCOMA- Allied Data Technologies- Allied Telesis- Allot Communications- Alpha Networks- Altiostar Networks- Alvarion Technologies- Amarisoft- Amdocs- American Tower Corporation- Anritsu Corporation- Aptilo Networks- Aquantia- Arcadyan Technology Corporation- Argela- Aricent- ARItel- ARM Holdings- Arqiva- Arris- Artemis Networks- Artesyn Embedded Technologies- Artiza Networks- Aruba Networks- Askey Computer Corporation- ASOCS- Astellia- ASTRI (Hong Kong Applied Science and Technology Research Institute)- AT&T Mobility- Athena Wireless Communications- Athonet- Autelan- Avago Technologies- Avanti Communications- Aviat Networks- AVM- Axis Teknologies- Axxcelera Broadband Wireless (Moseley Associates)- Azcom TechnologyMake 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 @ Source: YouTube During the commercial break on Mondays Morning Joe talk show on MSNBC, an ad from veterans group VoteVets.org , a 501(c)4 political action committee that primarily focuses on nonpartisan education and advocacy on behalf veterans and their families, sent a strong message to the White House. Against a video of a one-legged veteran doing squats on a smith machine, a voiceover makes a plea to President Trump not to kill the Affordable Care Act, which covers some veterans who do not qualify for VA benefits, and temper his stance on the Muslim ban. President Trump, I hear you watch the morning shows. Heres what I do every morning. Look, you lost the popular vote. Youre having trouble drawing a crowd, and your approval rating keeps sinking, the veteran, who has remained anonymous due to safety and privacy concerns said. But kicking thousands of my fellow veterans off their health insurance by killing the Affordable Care Act, and banning Muslims wont help. Thats not the America I sacrificed for. You wanna be a legitimate president, sir? Then act like one. .@realDonaldTrump, were debuting this ad on @Morning_Joe, and taking it to other morning shows you watch, too! pic.twitter.com/LVINhUenaV VoteVets (@votevets) February 6, 2017 The message went viral and was viewed by millions online through Facebook and Twitter, where it racked up over 30,000 retweets in addition to the viewership it paid for. But only one viewer really matteredthe president. He most likely watched. Trumps morning routine has been well documented and generally involves reading the New York Times and turning on the television to Morning Joe and Fox & Friends before firing up Twitter to opine on the days stories. Frequently, reporters have traced back Trumps tweets precisely to comments and moments from cable shows, which are now required viewing for people looking to understand the White House. Story continues Trumps telling everybody what hes watching. It makes it really easy to message to him and know where to show the ad, VoteVets.org co-founder John Soltz, a former Major in the Army who spent two terms in Iraq, told Yahoo Finance. All of a sudden you can microtarget and knock on his door. Wed say in the military a tight shot group. In the past, VoteVets.org has supported candidatesmostly Democratsin elections rather than sending a message to a specific person, making this ad a marked break with the PACs standard strategy. Its different from the millions weve spent on election cyclewere trying to reach him, said Soltz. Hes met with billionaires, but hasnt met with veterans groups [as president]. In December, Trump met with a young and relatively unknown veterans group, funded by the Koch brothers, over traditional groups, a move that angered the American Legion and Vietnam Veterans of America. And on Monday, after the ad had aired, Trump held a special listening session with veterans groups, which excluded American Legion, Disabled American Veterans and the Veterans of Foreign Wars. The groups found out the next day, according to MilitaryTimes. Even the White House comments phone line, Soltz noted, has not been functional this week, and a veterans hotline Trump promised has not yet materialized, and an old one set up for the 2016 campaign bounces to voicemail. Our members have been very vocal about wanting to challenge him. We didnt sacrifice for this country so [Trump] can ban Muslims. For Soltz and the 500,000 VoteVets.org supporters, the ad felt like the only way to reach the president. And for anyone looking for the presidents eara company, lobbyist, or special interest groupit would be difficult to find a more efficient means. Why spend $1 million in 5 states when theres three or four shows? said Soltz. Why go out and pay $1 million and hope hes watching when hes basically telling you what hes going to watch? That accomplishes two things. It keeps members engagedyoure giving vets a voicebut youre telling somebody youre listening to sounding boards but American vets arent with you. With this secret out, cable channels have increased ad rates for the shows Trump watches, according to Politico. For Soltz, it would still be worth spending the extra money for the ad. It doesnt matter if Morning Joe raises the rate. Youre better off spending the extra $2,000, he said. VoteVets.org reckons the president saw the ad, but hasnt quite taken the bait, publically. He hasnt directly responded to the veterans so Id argue that were not done, said Soltz. If he cant respond to an Afghanistan vet with one leg, he shouldnt be our president. Ethan Wolff-Mann is a writer at Yahoo Finance focusing on consumer issues, tech, and personal finance. Follow him on Twitter @ewolffmann. Read more: Trump Obamacare replacement may come long after Congress pulls the plug President Trumps predecessors learned about tariffs the hard way 33 labor complaints just dropped in front of Trumps labor secretary pick 51% of all job tasks could be automated by todays technology Johnny Depp proves why we need a fiduciary rule 5G Wireless Ecosystem Emerging Evolution, Technology Advancement - 2016 - 2030 Technologies, Applications, Verticals, Strategies & Forecasts http://www.researchmoz.us/enquiry.php?type=S&repid=804831 http://www.researchmoz.us/enquiry.php?type=E&repid=804831 http://www.researchmoz.us/ http://bit.ly/1TBmnVG Researchmoz added Most up-to-date research on "The 5G Wireless Ecosystem: 2016 - 2030 - Technologies, Applications, Verticals, Strategies & Forecasts" to its huge collection of research reports.While LTE and LTE-Advanced deployments are still underway, mobile operators and vendors have already embarked on R&D initiatives to develop so-called 5G technology, with a vision of commercialization by 2020. 5G is essentially a revolutionary paradigm shift in wireless networking to support the throughput, latency and scalability requirements of future use cases such as extreme bandwidth augmented reality applications and connectivity management for Billions of M2M (Machine to Machine) devices.Although 5G is yet to be standardized, vendors are aggressively investing in 5G development efforts with a principal focus on new air interface transmission schemes, higher frequency bands and advanced antenna technologies such as Massive MIMO and beamforming. With large scale commercial deployments expected to begin in 2020, we estimate that 5G networks will generate nearly $250 Billion in annual service revenue by 2025.The 5G Wireless Ecosystem: 2016 2030 Technologies, Applications, Verticals, Strategies & Forecasts report presents an in-depth assessment of the emerging 5G ecosystem including key market drivers, challenges, enabling technologies, use cases, vertical market applications, spectrum assessment, mobile operator deployment commitments, case studies, standardization, research initiatives and vendor strategies. The report also presents forecasts for 5G investments and operator services.The report comes with an associated Excel datasheet suite covering quantitative data from all numeric forecasts presented in the report.To Get Sample Copy of Report visit @Key Findings:The report has the following key findings:- Although 5G is yet to be standardized, vendors are aggressively investing in 5G development efforts with a principal focus on new air interface transmission schemes, higher frequency bands and advanced antenna technologies such as Massive MIMO and beamforming.- Driven by regional, national government, mobile operator and vendor initiatives, we expect that over $6 Billion will be spent on 5G R&D and trial investments between 2015 and 2020.- With large scale commercial deployments expected to begin in 2020, we estimate that 5G networks will generate nearly $250 Billion in annual service revenue by 2025.- 5G networks are expected to utilize a variety of spectrum bands for diverse applications, ranging from established sub-6 GHz cellular bands to millimeter wave frequencies.The report covers the following topics:- 5G requirements, use cases and vertical market applications- 5G market drivers and barriers- Air interface and antenna technologies: new waveforms, millimeter wave radio access, MIMO, phased array antennas and beamforming- Spectrum technologies: cognitive radio, spectrum sensing, aggregation and LSA (Licensed Shared Access)- D2D (Device to Device) communications and self-backhauling networks- Complimentary technologies for 5G: NFV (Network Functions Virtualization), SDN (Software Defined Networking), HetNet (Heterogeneous Networking), C-RAN (Centralized RAN), Cloud RAN, MEC (Mobile Edge Computing), drones and satellites- Mobile operator commitments, case studies and 5G spectrum assessment- 5G Standardization and research initiatives- Competitive assessment of vendor strategies- R&D, commercial infrastructure and operator service forecasts till 2030Forecast Segmentation:Market forecasts are provided for each of the following submarkets and their subcategories:5G R&D Investments- New Waveforms & Millimeter Wave Radio Access- MIMO, Beamforming & Antenna Technologies- Interference & Spectrum Management- C-RAN, Virtualization & Other Technologies5G Commercial Infrastructure Investments- Distributed Macrocell Base Stations- Small Cells- RRHs (Remote Radio Heads)- C-RAN BBUs (Baseband Units)- Mobile Core- Fronthaul & Backhaul Networking5G Operator Services- Subscriptions- Service RevenueRegional Segmentation- Asia Pacific- Eastern Europe- Latin & Central America- Middle East & Africa- North America- Western EuropeKey Questions Answered:The report provides answers to the following key questions:- How much will vendors and operators invest in 5G R&D commitments?- What will be the number of 5G subscriptions in 2020 and at what rate will it grow?- What will be the key applications of 5G networks?- What trends, challenges and barriers will influence the development and adoption of 5G?- Which regions and countries will be the first to adopt 5G?- Will 5G networks utilize new spectrum bands?- Who are the key 5G vendors and what are their strategies?- Will 5G networks rely on C-RAN architecture?- What are the prospects of millimeter wave technology for 5G radio access networking?- What will be the impact of 5G on the M2M and IoT ecosystem?- Will drone and satellite based communication platforms play a wider role in 5G networks?List of Companies Mentioned:The following companies and organizations have been reviewed, discussed or mentioned in the report:- 3GPP (Third Generation Partnership Project)- 5G Americas- 5G Forum, South Korea- 5G Lab (TU Dresden)- 5G PPP (5G Infrastructure Public Private Partnership)- 5GIC (5G Innovation Center, University of Surrey)- 5GMF (Fifth Generation Mobile Communications Promotion Forum, Japan)- 5GRUS- Alcatel-Lucent- Alpental Technologies- America Movil- ARIB (Association of Radio Industries and Businesses)- Ascenta- AT&T Mobility- Athena Wireless Communications- ATIS (Alliance for Telecommunications Industry Solutions)- AVC Networks Company- CableLabs- China Mobile- Cisco Systems- Cohere Technologies- DT (Deutsche Telekom)- du (Emirates Integrated Telecommunications Company)- Ericsson- Etisalat- ETRI (Electronics and Telecommunications Research)- ETSI (European Telecommunications Standards Institute)- Facebook- Fraunhofer FOKUS- Fraunhofer HHI- Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft- Fujitsu- Future Forum, China- Google- GSMA- Hiroshima University- Huawei- IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers)- IMDEA Networks Institute- IMT-2020 (5G) Promotion Group, China- Intel Corporation- InterDigital- ITRI (Industrial Technology Research Institute)- ITU (International Telecommunication Union)- KDDI- Keysight Technologies- KT Corporation- Kumu Networks- LG Uplus- MegaFon- Mitsubishi Electric- MOEA (Ministry of Economic Affairs, Taiwan)- Moogsoft- MOST (Ministry of Science & Technology, China)- MOST (Ministry of Science & Technology, Taiwan)- MSIP (Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning, South Korea)- MTS (Mobile TeleSystems)- NEC Corporation- New Mexico Spaceport Authority- NGMN (Next Generation Mobile Networks) Alliance- NI (National Instruments)- Nokia- NTT DoCoMo- NYU WIRELESS (New York University)- Ofcom- Optus- Orange- Panasonic- Qualcomm- RF DSP- Rohde & Schwarz- Samsung- SES- SiBEAM- SingTel- SK Telecom- Small Cell Forum- SoftBank- Swisscom- TAICS (Taiwan Association of Information and Communication Standards)- Telecom Italia- Telefonica- TeliaSonera- Telstra- TIA (Telecommunications Industry Association)- Titan Aerospace- T-Mobile USA- Tokyo Institute of Technology- U.S. Department of Commerce- U.S. FCC (Federal Communications Commission)- U.S. NIST (National Institute of Standards and Technology)- U.S. NSF (National Science Foundation)- UN (United Nations)- University of Kaiserslautern- University of Oulu- Verizon Wireless- Viterbi School of Engineering (University of Southern California)- Vodafone Australia- Vodafone Group- VTT Technical Research Center- WWRF (World Wireless Research Forum)- Xilinx- ZTEMake 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 @ Offshore Supply Vessels Market Analysis and Forecast Based on Type and Process- Business Prospects to 2022 Offshore Supply Vessels Market https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/sample_request/2067 https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/reports/offshore-supply-vessels-market https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/enquiry/2067 Market Research Future published a half cooked research report on Offshore Supply Vessels .The global market for Offshore Supply Vessels is majorly driven by factors such as advancement in drilling technology and logistic support and among others.Market HighlightsThe Global Offshore Supply Vessels Market around the world is growing rapidly. Increasing demand for automation in different energy verticals is the key factor which driving the market of offshore supply vessels. North America leads the global offshore supply vessels market. It offers benefits such as real time detection of faults in machineries, decrease the amount of defects in output as well as decrease production cost. Offshore supply vessels systems are being deployed in countries like India and China for smart grid techniques and to reduce power transmission and distribution losses. The existing supply and demand gap in the oil and gas sector has increased the need for efficient search and extraction of oil and gas. Offshore supply vessels systems are implemented to maximize oil and gas extraction. Additionally, the renewed interest in shale gas extraction has also driven the offshore supply vessels systems market.Request a Sample Report @Key Players:The prominent players in the Offshore Supply Vessels Market include- Rem Maritime As Bass Marine Pvt. Ltd Harvey Gulf Bourbon SA Tidewater ExxonMobil Island Offshore Management Havila Shipping ASA Intermarine LLC.Access Report Details @Market Research Analysis:The demand for offshore supply vessels in the Asia Pacific region is expected to raise the demand for growing exploration activities in Southeast Asia. Moreover, Australia, Malaysia, and China are likely to emerge as leading consumers of offshore supply vessels. The market is also expected to gain from the rising investments in oil and gas activities. Asia pacific is leading the market of offshore supply vessels due to equipped with increased cargo capacity and enhanced crew amenities and automation system. Whereas, North America stood second in the offshore supply vessels. North America is one of the most explored and oldest regions for oil. The demand for oil and application of enhanced oil recovery techniques are the major drivers for the Offshore Support Vessels Market.Target Audience Organizations Manufacturer Research Institute / Education Institute Potential InvestorsMake an Enquiry for this Report @About 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 Wireless Electric Vehicle Charging: Market Share, Industry Insights with Key Companys Profiles-Forecast to 2027 Wireless Electric Vehicle Charger Market https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/sample_request/1087 https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/reports/wireless-electric-vehicle-charger-market https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/request-toc/1087 Market Synopsis of Wireless Electric Vehicle Charger Market:Market ScenarioThe major growth driver of Wireless Electric Vehicle Charger Market includes growing production and adoption of electric passenger car, growing investment on smart city technologies and financial incentives provided by government among others.However, lack of standardization of product is one of the major factors which are hindering the growth of Wireless electric vehicle charger Market.Market SegmentsGlobal Wireless Electric Vehicle Charger Market can be segmented as follows: Segmentation by Technology: inductive charging, conductive charging, dynamic charging, magnetic resonance, among others. Segmentation by Component: Electromagnetic induction, wireless power receiver, rectifies, power distribution box, vehicle receiver unit, ground transmission unit, and battery, among othersRequest a Sample Report @Key Players:Some of the major players in Global Wireless Electric Vehicle Charger Market include: ABB (Switzerland) Leviton (U.S.) WiTricity Corporation (U.S) Convenient Power HK Limited (Hong Kong) Siemens (Germany) Delphi Automotive (U.K.) Qualcomm (U.S.) Bosch Group (Germany)Industry News: Oak Ridge National Labs (ORNL) has announced in April 2016 that it has developed a wireless electric vehicle charger of having 20 kW capacities. The device would provide 90 % efficiency. Leviton has launched mini electric vehicle charging station in 2015. The station consists of feature which includes ground monitor interrupter circuit, and over temperature protection among others.Browse Report Details @Regional Analysis of Wireless Electric Vehicle Charger Market:North-America is expected to dominate the Global Wireless Electric Vehicle Charger Market with the largest market share due to government initiatives of reducing dependency on oil related product in the region which is creating profitable market for electric vehicle charging. Wireless Electric Vehicle Charger Market in Asia-pacific and Europe is expected to grow at a Healthy CAGR in forecasted period.The reports also cover brief analysis of Geographical Region including:Americas North America US Canada Latin AmericaEurope Western Europe Germany France U.K Rest of Western Europe Eastern EuropeAsia Pacific Asia China India Japan South Korea Rest of Asia PacificThe Middle East & AfricaRequest Table of Contents for this Report @About 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 Malt Whisky Market - to Grow in the Coming Years, New Research explores Factors Responsible http://www.researchbeam.com/global-malt-whisky-research-report-2017-market/request-sample http://www.researchbeam.com/global-malt-whisky-research-report-2017-market/enquire-about-report http://www.researchbeam.com/ Research Beam added a report Global Malt Whisky Market Research Report 2017Description:Global Malt Whisky Market Research Report 2017:The Global Malt Whisky Market Research Report is a comprehensive study of the recent market trends and consumption analysis in the global industry. The report provides an in-depth analysis for the historic period, 20112016 and the forecast period, 20162021. Market overview is offered on the basis of product overview and scope of 2017-2022 Global Malt Whisky Market Professional Survey Report in the Food and Beverage. Furthermore, the study covers a detailed segmentation in terms of types, applications, and regions.Get Sample@:Major manufacturers are analyzed in the report in terms of basic information, manufacturing base, product specifications, and business overview. Furthermore, comprehensive analysis of sales, revenue, price, and gross margin of each manufacturer is covered.Following manufacturers are analyzed: Speyburn AnCnoc Cutter The Balvenie Bunnahabhain Old Pulteney The Macallan Cragganmore Highland Park Glenmorangie Laphroaig Jura Lagavulin Ardbeg Bowmore Springbank Aberlour Whisky Balblair Royal Brackla Craigellachie Aberfeldy The Deveron Aultmore The GlenlivetManufacturing cost analysis is offered based on raw material analysis and cost structure along with manufacturing process analysis. The research offers industry chain analysis in terms of upstream raw material sourcing and downstream buyers. Moreover, an extensive analysis of production, consumption, and revenue for each segment is offered for the forecast period.Data & statistics are provided with the help of tables and figures to help manufacturers, investors, and shareholders gain comprehensive understanding. Research conclusions are offered at the end of the report.Get Enquire@Table of Contents:1 Malt Whisky Market Overview1.1 Product Overview and Scope of Malt Whisky2 Global Malt Whisky Market Competition by Manufacturers3 Global Malt Whisky Production, Revenue (Value) by Region (2011-2016)4 Global Malt Whisky Supply (Production), Consumption, Export, Import by Regions (2011-2016)4.1 Global Malt Whisky Consumption by Regions (2011-2016)5 Global Malt Whisky Production, Revenue (Value), Price Trend by Type6 Global Malt Whisky Market Analysis by Application7 Global Malt Whisky Manufacturers Profiles/Analysis7.1 Speyburn8 Malt Whisky Manufacturing Cost Analysis8.1 Malt Whisky Key Raw Materials Analysis9 Industrial Chain, Sourcing Strategy and Downstream Buyers10 Marketing Strategy Analysis, Distributors/Traders11 Market Effect Factors Analysis11.1 Technology Progress/Risk12 Global Malt Whisky Market Forecast (2016-2021)13 Research Findings and ConclusionAbout Us:With the arsenal of different search reports, Research Beam helps you here to look and buy research reports that will be helpful to you and your organization. Our research reports have the capability and authenticity to support your organization for growth and consistency. With the window of opportunity getting open and shut at a speed of light, it has become very important to survive in the market and only the fittest and competent enough can do so. So, we try and provide with latest changes in the market that can suit your needs and help you take decision accordingly.Contact Us:5933 NE Win Severs Drive,#205, Portland, OR 97220United StatesU.S. & Canada Toll Free: + 1-800-910-6452International: + 1-503-894-6022UK: + 44-845-528-1300India: +91 20 66346070Fax: +1 (855) 550-5975Email: help@researchbeam.comWeb: Global CNG and LPG Vehicle Market Research Report 2017 (Liquid Petroleum Gas, Compressed Natural Gas) Analysis by Manufacturers, Size, Regions, Type, Application and Forecast to 2022 Global CNG and LPG Vehicle Sales Market Report 2017 http://globalqyresearch.com/download-sample/157248 http://globalqyresearch.com/global-cng-and-lpg-vehicle-sales-market-report-2017 http://globalqyresearch.com/checkout-form/0/157248 http://globalqyresearch.com/ https://twitter.com/GQYResearch https://www.linkedin.com/company/global-qy-research This report studies sales (consumption) of Global CNG and LPG Vehicle Market 2017, especially in United States, China, Europe and Japan, focuses on top players in these regions/countries, with sales, price, revenue and market share for each player in these regions, coveringFiat S.P.AFord Motor CompanyGeneral MotorsHyundai Motor GroupSuzuki Motor CorporationVolkswagen and Honda Motor CoLandi RenzoImpcoVenchursWestportTomasetoo AchileDownload Sample atMarket Segment by Regions, this report splits Global into several key Regions, with sales (consumption), revenue, market share and growth rate of CNG and LPG Vehicle in these regions, from 2011 to 2021 (forecast), likeUnited StatesChinaEuropeJapanSoutheast AsiaIndiaSplit by product Types, with sales, revenue, price and gross margin, market share and growth rate of each type, can be divided intoLiquid Petroleum GasCompressed Natural GasSplit by applications, this report focuses on sales, market share and growth rate of CNG and LPG Vehicle in each application, can be divided intoGovernmentCommercialOthersView full report atTable of ContentsGlobal CNG and LPG Vehicle Sales Market Report 20171 CNG and LPG Vehicle Overview1.1 Product Overview and Scope of CNG and LPG Vehicle1.2 Classification of CNG and LPG Vehicle1.2.1 Liquid Petroleum Gas1.2.2 Compressed Natural Gas1.3 Application of CNG and LPG Vehicle1.3.1 Government1.3.2 Commercial1.3.3 Others1.4 CNG and LPG Vehicle Market by Regions1.4.1 United States Status and Prospect (2012-2022)1.4.2 China Status and Prospect (2012-2022)1.4.3 Europe Status and Prospect (2012-2022)1.4.4 Japan Status and Prospect (2012-2022)1.4.5 Southeast Asia Status and Prospect (2012-2022)1.4.6 India Status and Prospect (2012-2022)1.5 Global Market Size (Value and Volume) of CNG and LPG Vehicle (2012-2022)1.5.1 Global CNG and LPG Vehicle Sales and Growth Rate (2012-2022)1.5.2 Global CNG and LPG Vehicle Revenue and Growth Rate (2012-2022)2 Global CNG and LPG Vehicle Competition by Manufacturers, Type and Application2.1 Global CNG and LPG Vehicle Market Competition by Manufacturers2.1.1 Global CNG and LPG Vehicle Sales and Market Share of Key Manufacturers (2012-2017)2.1.2 Global CNG and LPG Vehicle Revenue and Share by Manufacturers (2012-2017)2.2 Global CNG and LPG Vehicle (Volume and Value) by Type2.2.1 Global CNG and LPG Vehicle Sales and Market Share by Type (2012-2017)2.2.2 Global CNG and LPG Vehicle Revenue and Market Share by Type (2012-2017)2.3 Global CNG and LPG Vehicle (Volume and Value) by Regions2.3.1 Global CNG and LPG Vehicle Sales and Market Share by Regions (2012-2017)2.3.2 Global CNG and LPG Vehicle Revenue and Market Share by Regions (2012-2017)2.4 Global CNG and LPG Vehicle (Volume) by Application3 United States CNG and LPG Vehicle (Volume, Value and Sales Price)3.1 United States CNG and LPG Vehicle Sales and Value (2012-2017)3.1.1 United States CNG and LPG Vehicle Sales and Growth Rate (2012-2017)3.1.2 United States CNG and LPG Vehicle Revenue and Growth Rate (2012-2017)3.1.3 United States CNG and LPG Vehicle Sales Price Trend (2012-2017)3.2 United States CNG and LPG Vehicle Sales and Market Share by Manufacturers3.3 United States CNG and LPG Vehicle Sales and Market Share by Type3.4 United States CNG and LPG Vehicle Sales and Market Share by Application4 China CNG and LPG Vehicle (Volume, Value and Sales Price)4.1 China CNG and LPG Vehicle Sales and Value (2012-2017)4.1.1 China CNG and LPG Vehicle Sales and Growth Rate (2012-2017)4.1.2 China CNG and LPG Vehicle Revenue and Growth Rate (2012-2017)4.1.3 China CNG and LPG Vehicle Sales Price Trend (2012-2017)4.2 China CNG and LPG Vehicle Sales and Market Share by Manufacturers4.3 China CNG and LPG Vehicle Sales and Market Share by Type4.4 China CNG and LPG Vehicle Sales and Market Share by Application5 Europe CNG and LPG Vehicle (Volume, Value and Sales Price)5.1 Europe CNG and LPG Vehicle Sales and Value (2012-2017)5.1.1 Europe CNG and LPG Vehicle Sales and Growth Rate (2012-2017)5.1.2 Europe CNG and LPG Vehicle Revenue and Growth Rate (2012-2017)5.1.3 Europe CNG and LPG Vehicle Sales Price Trend (2012-2017)5.2 Europe CNG and LPG Vehicle Sales and Market Share by Manufacturers5.3 Europe CNG and LPG Vehicle Sales and Market Share by Type5.4 Europe CNG and LPG Vehicle Sales and Market Share by Application6 Japan CNG and LPG Vehicle (Volume, Value and Sales Price)6.1 Japan CNG and LPG Vehicle Sales and Value (2012-2017)6.1.1 Japan CNG and LPG Vehicle Sales and Growth Rate (2012-2017)6.1.2 Japan CNG and LPG Vehicle Revenue and Growth Rate (2012-2017)6.1.3 Japan CNG and LPG Vehicle Sales Price Trend (2012-2017)6.2 Japan CNG and LPG Vehicle Sales and Market Share by Manufacturers6.3 Japan CNG and LPG Vehicle Sales and Market Share by Type6.4 Japan CNG and LPG Vehicle Sales and Market Share by Application7 Southeast Asia CNG and LPG Vehicle (Volume, Value and Sales Price)7.1 Southeast Asia CNG and LPG Vehicle Sales and Value (2012-2017)7.1.1 Southeast Asia CNG and LPG Vehicle Sales and Growth Rate (2012-2017)7.1.2 Southeast Asia CNG and LPG Vehicle Revenue and Growth Rate (2012-2017)7.1.3 Southeast Asia CNG and LPG Vehicle Sales Price Trend (2012-2017)7.2 Southeast Asia CNG and LPG Vehicle Sales and Market Share by Manufacturers7.3 Southeast Asia CNG and LPG Vehicle Sales and Market Share by Type7.4 Southeast Asia CNG and LPG Vehicle Sales and Market Share by Application8 India CNG and LPG Vehicle (Volume, Value and Sales Price)8.1 India CNG and LPG Vehicle Sales and Value (2012-2017)8.1.1 India CNG and LPG Vehicle Sales and Growth Rate (2012-2017)8.1.2 India CNG and LPG Vehicle Revenue and Growth Rate (2012-2017)8.1.3 India CNG and LPG Vehicle Sales Price Trend (2012-2017)8.2 India CNG and LPG Vehicle Sales and Market Share by Manufacturers8.3 India CNG and LPG Vehicle Sales and Market Share by Type8.4 India CNG and LPG Vehicle Sales and Market Share by Application9 Global CNG and LPG Vehicle Manufacturers Analysis9.1 Fiat S.P.A9.1.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base and Competitors9.1.2 CNG and LPG Vehicle Product Type, Application and Specification9.1.2.1 Liquid Petroleum Gas9.1.2.2 Compressed Natural Gas9.1.3 Fiat S.P.A CNG and LPG Vehicle Sales, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)9.1.4 Main Business/Business Overview9.2 Ford Motor Company9.2.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base and Competitors9.2.2 CNG and LPG Vehicle Product Type, Application and Specification9.2.2.1 Liquid Petroleum Gas9.2.2.2 Compressed Natural Gas9.2.3 Ford Motor Company CNG and LPG Vehicle Sales, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)9.2.4 Main Business/Business Overview9.3 General Motors9.3.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base and Competitors9.3.2 CNG and LPG Vehicle Product Type, Application and Specification9.3.2.1 Liquid Petroleum Gas9.3.2.2 Compressed Natural Gas9.3.3 General Motors CNG and LPG Vehicle Sales, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)9.3.4 Main Business/Business Overview9.4 Hyundai Motor Group9.4.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base and Competitors9.4.2 CNG and LPG Vehicle Product Type, Application and Specification9.4.2.1 Liquid Petroleum Gas9.4.2.2 Compressed Natural Gas9.4.3 Hyundai Motor Group CNG and LPG Vehicle Sales, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)9.4.4 Main Business/Business Overview9.5 Suzuki Motor Corporation9.5.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base and Competitors9.5.2 CNG and LPG Vehicle Product Type, Application and Specification9.5.2.1 Liquid Petroleum Gas9.5.2.2 Compressed Natural Gas9.5.3 Suzuki Motor Corporation CNG and LPG Vehicle Sales, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)9.5.4 Main Business/Business Overview9.6 Volkswagen and Honda Motor Co9.6.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base and Competitors9.6.2 CNG and LPG Vehicle Product Type, Application and Specification9.6.2.1 Liquid Petroleum Gas9.6.2.2 Compressed Natural Gas9.6.3 Volkswagen and Honda Motor Co CNG and LPG Vehicle Sales, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)9.6.4 Main Business/Business Overview9.7 Landi Renzo9.7.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base and Competitors9.7.2 CNG and LPG Vehicle Product Type, Application and Specification9.7.2.1 Liquid Petroleum Gas9.7.2.2 Compressed Natural Gas9.7.3 Landi Renzo CNG and LPG Vehicle Sales, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)9.7.4 Main Business/Business Overview9.8 Impco9.8.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base and Competitors9.8.2 CNG and LPG Vehicle Product Type, Application and Specification9.8.2.1 Liquid Petroleum Gas9.8.2.2 Compressed Natural Gas9.8.3 Impco CNG and LPG Vehicle Sales, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)9.8.4 Main Business/Business Overview9.9 Venchurs9.9.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base and Competitors9.9.2 CNG and LPG Vehicle Product Type, Application and Specification9.9.2.1 Liquid Petroleum Gas9.9.2.2 Compressed Natural Gas9.9.3 Venchurs CNG and LPG Vehicle Sales, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)9.9.4 Main Business/Business Overview9.10 Westport9.10.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base and Competitors9.10.2 CNG and LPG Vehicle Product Type, Application and Specification9.10.2.1 Liquid Petroleum Gas9.10.2.2 Compressed Natural Gas9.10.3 Westport CNG and LPG Vehicle Sales, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)9.10.4 Main Business/Business Overview9.11 Tomasetoo Achile10 CNG and LPG Vehicle Maufacturing Cost Analysis10.1 CNG and LPG Vehicle Key Raw Materials Analysis10.1.1 Key Raw Materials10.1.2 Price Trend of Key Raw Materials10.1.3 Key Suppliers of Raw Materials10.1.4 Market Concentration Rate of Raw Materials10.2 Proportion of Manufacturing Cost Structure10.2.1 Raw Materials10.2.2 Labor Cost10.2.3 Manufacturing Process Analysis of CNG and LPG Vehicle10.3 Manufacturing Process Analysis of CNG and LPG Vehicle11 Industrial Chain, Sourcing Strategy and Downstream Buyers11.1 CNG and LPG Vehicle Industrial Chain Analysis11.2 Upstream Raw Materials Sourcing11.3 Raw Materials Sources of CNG and LPG Vehicle Major Manufacturers in 201511.4 Downstream Buyers12 Marketing Strategy Analysis, Distributors/Traders12.1 Marketing Channel12.1.1 Direct Marketing12.1.2 Indirect Marketing12.1.3 Marketing Channel Development Trend12.2 Market Positioning12.2.1 Pricing Strategy12.2.2 Brand Strategy12.2.3 Target Client12.3 Distributors/Traders List13 Market Effect Factors Analysis13.1 Technology Progress/Risk13.1.1 Substitutes Threat13.1.2 Technology Progress in Related Industry13.2 Consumer Needs/Customer Preference Change13.3 Economic/Political Environmental Change14 Global CNG and LPG Vehicle Market Forecast (2017-2022)14.1 Global CNG and LPG Vehicle Sales, Revenue and Price Forecast (2017-2022)14.1.1 Global CNG and LPG Vehicle Sales and Growth Rate Forecast (2017-2022)14.1.2 Global CNG and LPG Vehicle Revenue and Growth Rate Forecast (2017-2022)14.1.3 Global CNG and LPG Vehicle Price and Trend Forecast (2017-2022)14.2 Global CNG and LPG Vehicle Sales, Revenue and Growth Rate Forecast by Regions (2017-2022)14.2.1 United States CNG and LPG Vehicle Sales, Revenue and Growth Rate Forecast (2017-2022)14.2.2 China CNG and LPG Vehicle Sales, Revenue and Growth Rate Forecast (2017-2022)14.2.3 Europe CNG and LPG Vehicle Sales, Revenue and Growth Rate Forecast (2017-2022)14.2.4 Japan CNG and LPG Vehicle Sales, Revenue and Growth Rate Forecast (2017-2022)14.2.5 Southeast Asia CNG and LPG Vehicle Sales, Revenue and Growth Rate Forecast (2017-2022)14.2.6 India CNG and LPG Vehicle Sales, Revenue and Growth Rate Forecast (2017-2022)14.3 Global CNG and LPG Vehicle Sales, Revenue and Price Forecast by Type (2017-2022)14.4 Global CNG and LPG Vehicle Sales Forecast by Application (2017-2022)15 Research Findings and Conclusion16 AppendixTo Purchase this premium Report With Complete TOC at :About Us: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.Contact Us:Mr. Jay SmithSenior Manager Client EngagementsCall: +44 20 32390-2407Follow us:Twitter:Linkedin: Advent of WiDi Technology to Open Growth Avenues for Hybrid Device Manufacturers, says TMR http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=S&rep_id=6991 http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com The growing need for enhanced enterprise mobility has influenced the demand for hybrid devices significantly across the world. The growing demand for devices with increased battery life has also increased the adoption of hybrid devices at a rapid pace. Fast navigation with the help of a stylus or a touchscreen and convenient capturing and storage of personalized information are some of the prime benefits offered by these devices. The rising awareness regarding these advantages has increased their usage in business-related tasks, leading to a swift surge in their demand.The opportunity in the global market for hybrid devices is anticipated to rise at a CAGR of 20.80% during the period from 2015 to 2022, increasing its valuation from US$5.1 bn in 2014 to US$31.8 bn by the end of 2022.Telecom and IT Sector to Emerge as Key Consumer of Hybrid DevicesBased on end users, the global market for hybrid devices is segmented into personal use, educational institutes, healthcare, retail, telecom and IT, and other end users such as banking, transportation, and government sectors. In 2014, the personal use segment led the overall demand for these devices and contributed a total of US$1.6 bn in terms of revenue.Analysts predict the personal use segment to remain the key consumer of these devices; the telecom and IT industry, however, is likely to exhibit promising growth potential over the forthcoming years. The demand for hybrid devices is likely to expand at the fastest CAGR of 25.6% during the period from 2015 to 2022 in the telecom and IT industry.Get More Information :The rising adoption of enterprise mobility and hybrid devices across this industry is expected to influence the growth of the overall hybrid device market significantly in the near future. Additionally, in terms of shipment volume, this segment is projected to register the highest growth in the market over the next few years.Asia Pacific to Exhibit Fastest Growth Rate between 2015 and 2022The global market for hybrid devices stretches across North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, and the Rest of the World. North America has been the key consumer of these devices over the last few years, thanks to the early adoption of technology in this region.In 2014, North America generated a revenue of US$1.6 bn, accounting for a share of more than 32% in the overall market. The region is expected to remain dominant in the coming years due to the launch of Windows 10, the slowdown in the sales of tablets, and the increasing replacement of older PCs with new hybrid laptops and PCs.On the other hand, Asia Pacific is likely to witness the fastest growth in the demand for hybrid devices over the next few years, owing to the economic rise in China, India, Japan, Australia, and South Korea. The region is expected to generate US$10.4 bn in revenues by 2022.The global hybrid device market is led by Lenovo, ASUSTeK, and Hewlett-Packard. Other prominent manufacturers of hybrid devices across the world are Microsoft Corp., Samsung Corp., Dell Inc., Acer Inc., Fujitsu Ltd., LG Corp., and Toshiba Corp.About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a global market intelligence company providing business information reports and services. The companys exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trend analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather and analyze information.US Office Contact90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite: Jewelry Manufacturing Market - Global Industry Size, Share, Growth, Trends & Forecast Analysis Till 2024 http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=B&rep_id=13253 http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/jewelry-manufacturing-market.html Jewelry Manufacturing Market: OverviewThe demand for jewelry is mainly dependent on the disposable income of consumers and the price of gold and silver. Individual companies generate revenues through cost control and efficient operations. Small companies, however, can compete by offering unique product lines. Large companies have an advantage of offering a broader product line which caters to the needs of the consumers changing demands. In addition, efficient distribution operations and efficient production are the keys to their profitability.Download Research Brochure PDF@The jewelry manufacturing market is segmented on the basis of product types such as gold, platinum, necklaces, earrings, bracelets and brooches among others. Other products include pearls, stones and silver jewelry. Gold and platinum jewelry accounts for the largest market share.Jewelry Manufacturing Market: Key Growth EnablersThe major factor driving the jewelry manufacturing market is the increasing demand for jewelry products from consumers across different age groups. Female consumers, especially the younger consumers, are driving the demand for jewelry manufacturing. Steady increase in the disposable income of consumers globally is another factor fuelling the growth for the jewelry manufacturing market.Growth of branded jewelry is also another factor which is fuelling the jewelry manufacturing market globally. Consumers regard branded jewelry as a sign of affluence, lending it an aspirational value. The young consumers wear branded jewelry for self realization and self expression. In addition, brand loyalty of the consumers is another factor which is driving the jewelry manufacturing market globally. Moreover, the broad portfolio of jewelry products is another major factor which is driving the jewelry manufacturing market.Dollar strength is the major factor behind the rise in the prices of gold and silver. When dollar weakens, investors from around the world begin to sell the currency and buy gold in exchange for security purposes. Owing to this factor, the demand for gold increases which results in increase in the price of gold. This factor poses to be a huge restraint in the jewelry manufacturing market. In addition, poor economic condition is another factor acting as a hindrance to the global jewelry manufacturing market. Weak economic conditions force the investors to put their money on gold, due to which the price for gold goes up.Jewelry Manufacturing Market: Region-wise InsightGeographically, the jewelry manufacturing market is segmented into four broad regions such as North America, Europe, Asia Pacific and Rest of the World (RoW). North America holds the largest market share in the jewelry manufacturing industry. The jewelry manufacturing market in the U.S. in fragmented. U.S. alone accounts for almost 70% of the industry revenue.Asia Pacific is the second-largest market for jewelry manufacturing owing to the high population and the increasing disposable income of the consumers. Europe is the third largest market for jewelry because of the low population.Jewelry Manufacturing Market: Key PlayersRichline Group, Tiffany, James Avery Craftsman, Cartier, Bulgari, Gitanjali Gems, D Swarovski & Co., Pandora and Kingold Jewelry are some of the major players competing in the jewelry manufacturing market. These companies manufacture jewelry, and other items which include, cigarette cases made from precious metals, precious gemstones, compacts, gemstones and other materials.Browse Full Report@About Us:-Transparency Market Research is a global market intelligence company providing business information reports and services. The companys exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trend analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather and analyze information.Contact Us:-Transparency Market ResearchState Tower,90 State Street,Suite 700,Albany NY - 12207United StatesTel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.com Safety Helmet Market - Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends and Forecast, 2017 by Market Reports Center Safety Helmet Market https://marketreportscenter.com/request-sample/494256 https://marketreportscenter.com/reports/494256/global-safety-helmet-market-research-report-2016 https://marketreportscenter.com/request-discount/494256 The Global Safety Helmet Market Research Report 2017 give insights upon the world's major regional market conditions of the Safety Helmet industry which mainly focus upon the main regions which include continents like North America, Europe and Asia and the main countries i.e. United States, Germany, Japan and China.To Get Sample Copy of Report visit @The Global Safety Helmet Market Research Report 2017 is a professionally prepared report that offers in -depth knowledge as well as information regarding the Safety Helmet industry with respect to definitions, classifications, applications, industry chain overview; industry policies as well as plans, product specifications; manufacturing processes, cost structures etc.It properly analyzes the worlds major regions market conditions and helps the established players as well as the new entrants with a comprehensive insight of the current situation in the Safety Helmet industry. 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Apart from it, the details about the key manufacturers as well as their company profiles too are provided in the chapters of the report. The report also throws light upon the Productions, Supply, Sales, Demand, Market Status and Forecast of the Safety Helmet industry in the North American markets.Also, the trend in the European markets is also focussed inside the report that deals with the proper details about the Marketing Channels and new project investment so that the established players, as well as the new entrants, are able to get the complete research of the trends and analysis in these regional markets. Keeping in mind the environment status and up gradation of the products, the report foreshadows each and every detail.In order to prepare the report, all the important details, strategies and variables are studied so that all the useful information is blended together for the purpose of the study and understanding the major facts about the Global Safety Helmet Industry. The production value and market share along with the SWOT analysis everything is included in the report.Ask for Discount @About Us:Market Reports Center is an e-commerce platform obliging the needs of knowledge workers, experts, professionals who are subject to market research information for their work, or to make strategic business decisions. Market Reports Centers team consistently works to update and extend our existing repository of market research reports by partnering with new publishers and adding their studies to our website.303, Astral Court,Aundh, Pune,MH - 411045, India New multi-format inserting system W+D BB550 XL: versatile, intelligent and user-friendly W+D BB550 XL Catalogue Highly efficient and flexible envelope inserting with W+DNeuwied, February 7, 2017 At Hunkeler Innovationdays 2017 (HID), W+D will be presenting a highly efficient and flexible multi-format inserting system with the new W+D BB550 XL, which covers all requirements right up to packaging solutions.The W+D BB550 XL is characterized by its versatility. The servo-driven machine, which reaches speeds of up to 12,000 products per hour, not only reliably processes all formats from C6/DL to B4, but also large envelopes with a larger insertion depth up to C4 shipping pockets with the flap on the short side. The second essential feature of the BB550 XL is its expanded packaging strength of up to 25 mm.Reliable envelope inserting even with multiple personalizationThe automated error handling without machine stop provides additional time and productivity advantages. With its high processing reliability, the W+D BB550 XL is particularly well suited for financial and insurance applications. However, it not only efficiently inserts large and small volumes of personalized and confidential documents, but is also ideal for direct mail to fulfillment and packaging applications. These previously often manually inserted mailings can be machine-processed in this inserting machine from a hand-fed station for oversize or print-on-demand jobs (PoD), for example, as well as personalized and stapled products.In addition, the W+D BB550 XL can easily handle cardboard or express (FedEx, UPS, etc.) and be equipped with hot melt to close tabs.New catalog feeder CF2The new W+D CF2 (Catalog Feeder) on the basis of the W+D rotary feeders will also make its debut at Innovationdays. The catalog feeder, which has been specially developed for the implementation of print-on-demand solutions, has a front drawer and the ability to process products with a variable thickness of 1-10 mm without making any adjustments.In total, the W+D BB550 XL can be equipped with up to 18 servo-driven feeders whose position can be interchanged as desired to optimally process every insert. For additional flexibility, there are a number of additional options: a supplement auto-loader for thin and thicker products, an envelope auto-loader for up to 3,000 envelopes, a kicker for the zip code separation, a Read & Print application, a network-integrated labeler (e.g. for FedEx or UPS labels) as well as other software options and interfaces for intelligent processing.ABOUT WINKLER+DUNNEBIER GmbHWinkler+Dunnebier GmbH (W+D) offers a wide range of highly efficient, integrated system solutions for the mail and postal industry, as well as for the tissue and hygiene industry. With more than 100 years of industry-shaping innovations, W+D has core competence in the converting and processing of thin and in-homogeneous materialssuch as paper, tissue and nonwovensat high speeds and tight tolerances. With our innovative and tailor-made system solutions and services, W+D focuses on the entire internal value chain for their customers. Part of the Barry-Wehmiller family, W+D has production and distribution sites in Germany, Malaysia and the United States, with sales and service support around the world. For more information, go to w-d.de.W+DRichard Kluthe, Head of Marketing CommunicationSohler Weg 65t. +49 2631 8458356564 NeuwiedRichard.Kluthe@w-d.de Data Center Market in Southeast Asia - Strategic Assessment and Forecast - Market to grow at a CAGR of 20.17% during 2016-2020 http://www.researchmoz.us/enquiry.php?type=S&repid=700626 http://www.researchmoz.us/enquiry.php?type=E&repid=700626 http://bit.ly/1TBmnVG Albany, NY, Feb 07, 2017: The services offered by a data center facility can be identified based on a tier system. Every data center is associated with a tier ranking from one to four, which indicates its physical infrastructure, cooling, power, promised uptime, and redundancy levels.The data center tier system was introduced in 2005 and is developed and maintained by the Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA). The Uptime Institute developed the four tier levels in order to identify whether a data center satisfies business requirements.The data center market in Southeast Asia to grow at a CAGR of 20.17% during the period 2016-2020. The report covers the present scenario and the growth prospects of the data center market in Southeast Asia for 2015-2020. To calculate the market size, the report takes into account revenue generated from capital expenditure of the following:- Servers- Storage- NetworkThe market is divided into the following segments based on infrastructure:- IT equipment- Power management solutions- Cooling solutions- General construction- Rack- Security- DCIMGet a Sample Research PDF with TOC:Technavio's report, Data Center Market in Southeast Asia 2016-2020, has been prepared based on an in-depth market analysis with inputs from industry experts. The report covers the market landscape and its growth prospects over the coming years. The report also includes a discussion of the key vendors operating in this market.Key vendors- Amazon Web Services (AWS)- Digital Realty- Equinix- Google- Microsoft- NTT Communications- SingTel- Moratelindo- StarhubOther prominent vendors- 1-Net- AIMS- Aktif Setegap- Basis Bay- Biznet Networks- CAT Telecom- CenturyLink- Colt- DCI- DigitalOcean- Exitra- FREENET- Fujitsu............Enquiry at:Key questions answered in this report- What will the market size be in 2020 and what will the growth rate be?- What are the key market trends?- What is driving this market?- What are the challenges to market growth?- Who are the key vendors in this market space?- What are the market opportunities and threats faced by the key vendors?- What are the strengths and weaknesses of the key vendors?ResearchMoz is the worlds fastest growing collection of market research reports worldwide. Our database is composed of current market studies from over 100 featured publishers worldwide. Our market research databases integrate statistics with analysis from global, regional, country and company perspectives. ResearchMozs service portfolio also includes value-added services such as market research customization, competitive landscaping, and in-depth surveys, delivered by a team of experienced Research Coordinators.Albany NY - 12207United StatesTel: +1-518-621-2074Tel: 866-997-4948 (Us-Canada Toll Free)Email: sales@researchmoz.usFollow us on LinkedIn at: TORONTO, CANADA--(Marketwired - Feb 7, 2017) - Waseco Resources Inc. (Waseco or the "Company") (TSX VENTURE:WRI)(WSE.F) is pleased to announce the formation of a Technical Advisory Committee to assist in the assessment of its existing projects as well as in reviewing other related mineral property submissions. Joining the Technical Committee are: Brian Arkell - B.Sc. Geo, M.S. Econ Geo. Mr. Arkell brings over 30 years of world-wide experience in team building in base, precious metals, coal and uranium operations and exploration. Featured among his many accomplishments is an extensive international career with Newmont Mining Corporation. A. Lee Barker - P.Eng., P. Geol. Mr. Barker brings over 40 years of international mineral exploration and development experience. For the past few years, Mr. Barker has been the Qualified Person under National Policy 43-101, overseeing the reporting of results from the Company's Battle Mountain Ridge gold project in Nevada. Mr. Barker is also the current President and CEO of Sparton Resources Inc. Gary O'Connor - B.Sc. Geo, Geophysics & Environmental Studies. Mr. O'Connor also brings over 30 years of mineral exploration and development experience, having worked on all continents of the world. He is currently the Vice-President of Dundee Resources, where he is responsible for the technical due diligence and review of resource projects for the corporation. Alexander Po - B.Sc. Mining Engineering, M. Engr. Mining Geo. Mr. Po brings over 45 years of mineral exploration and development experience, including extensive work in Nevada, Canada, the Philippines and Guyana. Mr. Po recently retired from Guyana Goldfields Inc., where he led the team in the delineation of the Aurora Gold Mine. Company President, Richard Williams, commented that "this is a tremendous pool of geological knowledge and experience. We are extremely fortunate and honoured that they are making the time to assist us in our program development." Story continues The initial focus will be on conducting an in-depth review and analysis of the Battle Mountain Ridge project in Nevada, where the Company has recently completed a drilling program. The property is strategically located on the Battle Mountain-Eureka Trend, immediately adjacent to Newmont's Trenton Canyon Mine. Waseco Resources Inc. Richard Williams, President 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. Battery Separator Market - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth and Forecast Report To 2017:Market Reports Center Battery Separator Market https://marketreportscenter.com/request-sample/501705 https://marketreportscenter.com/reports/501705/global-and-chinese-battery-separator-industry-2017-market-research-report https://marketreportscenter.com/request-discount/501705 The Global and Chinese Battery Separator Industry Market Research Report provides an overview and the current status of the global Battery Separator industry with a special focus on the Chinese markets. Key strategies, as well as statistics, are provided in the report that talks about the amount of supply, demand as well as consumption of the Battery Separator in the market from 2010 to 2020.To Get Sample Copy of Report visit @The Global and Chinese Battery Separator Industry Market Research Report is a professionally prepared in-depth report that talks about the deep insights of the market status of the acid manufacturers and also help in providing reliable guidance to the new entrants and the established players who are interested in making investments in the industry. Each and every primary and the secondary variable is studied during the research for the purpose of preparing the report. The focus of the report is towards the Chinese markets thus showcasing the specifications, production value, Chinese import/export, capacity etc.The report starts with the introduction of Battery Separator Industry as well as also focus upon the development that is carried out in the industry. In addition to it, the report further moves towards the manufacturing technology processes and talks about the complete trends and market analysis that are focussed inside the report.Furthermore, it also includes the list of the key manufacturers both at the global level as well as in the Chinese markets. The list also contains the company profile and the product information for all the leading manufacturers that will benefit the new entrants with the comprehensive solutions that will bring a lot of opportunities to these people. Moving beyond it talks about the market analysis of the Battery Separator in terms of the production value by Company, Country specially USA, EU, Japan and China as well as through application. Analysis is also carried out as per the raw materials, upstream chain structure and the downstream industry.Complete Report with TOC Available @The report also includes the complete details about the news, press releases that talk about the market trend and forecast of the Battery Separator Industry. All the counter and preventive measures along with the feasibility options are provided within the chapter of the report that talks about the marketing channels as well as an impact of the acid industry.Keeping in mind the importance of the environmental hazards it also focuses on all the environment-related measures that help in the amendment of all the measures useful for the purpose of environment-friendly policies. Apart from it, there are details about the investments on the new project that can bring out positive news for the established players and those who are new as they can stay updated as well as get the relevant information about the industry at affordable prices.The report covers all the important parameters related to the Battery Separator Industry from 2010-2020 both in the international markets as well as in the Chinese markets.Ask for Discount @About Us:Market Reports Center is an e-commerce platform obliging the needs of knowledge workers, experts, professionals who are subject to market research information for their work, or to make strategic business decisions. Market Reports Centers team consistently works to update and extend our existing repository of market research reports by partnering with new publishers and adding their studies to our website.303, Astral Court,Aundh, Pune,MH - 411045, India Demand for Higher Fuel Efficiency in Commercial Vehicles to Boost Global Light and Heavy Duty Natural Gas Vehicles Market http://www.marketresearchreports.biz/sample/sample/915111 MarketResearchReports.Biz presents this most up-to-date research on Global Light and Heavy duty Natural Gas Vehicle Market 2017-2021 "The new report studying the factors affecting the global light and heavy duty natural gas vehicle market. Besides covering the growth drivers and restraints having evident impact, the report also identifies the opportunities prevalent for the players in the global light and heavy duty natural gas vehicle market. It is titled Global Light And Heavy Duty Natural Gas Vehicle Market 2017-2021, and is available for sale on the company website.The report forecasts the market to exhibit a CAGR of above 5% between 2017 and 2021. Fuel prices reportedly account for nearly 30% if the overall acquisition cost of commercial vehicles. Given the scenario, fleet owners are induced into preferring commercial vehicles with high fuel efficiency and reasonable horsepower. However fluctuating fuel prices create difficulty for them to forecast operational costs. This will lead to the increased adoption of natural gas vehicles since they incur lower cost per mile.The launch of multi-fuel engines will therefore be a major factor helping the market gain traction in the forthcoming years. To overcome common challenges in fuel run vehicles, original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) are increasingly focusing on the development of engines compatible with different types of fuel. This trend is expected to give significant impetus to the global light and heavy duty natural gas vehicle market.Regionally, the market is expected to witness highly lucrative opportunities in APAC, which is also going to emerge as the major revenue contributor in the forecast period. The increasing disposable income of buyers in India, South Korea, and China, coupled with rise in their living standards, has significantly contributed to the economic growth of the region. This has subsequently fuelled the demand for light and heavy duty natural gas vehicle from APAC. Besides this, the market is also expected to gain from the increasing demand for fuel-efficient commercial vehicles and logistics services in the region.For Sample Copy, click here:The market in general exhibits a highly fragmented vendor landscape. Currently, enterprises with extensive product portfolio enjoy a higher geographic footprint and thus dominance in the global light and heavy duty natural gas vehicle market. For instance, Daimler Trucks is one of the key manufacturers holding a strong foothold across the market in Asia, Europe, and the Americas. It manufactures trucks under the brand names of Western Star, FUSO, Mercedes-Benz, BharatBenz, and Thomas Built Buses. It also customizes solutions for the medium and heavy duty truck segment, which helped it emerge as one of the leading school bus manufacturers.Other prominent vendor operating in the global light and heavy duty natural gas vehicle market are MAN Truck & Bus, CNH Industrial, General Motors, Daimler Trucks, and Volvo Trucks.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 12207Tel: +1-518-621-2074 Global Flavored and Functional Water Market to Rise at 11.50% CAGR, Fuelled by Rapid Urbanization in Emerging Economies http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=S&rep_id=1745 http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com Flavored and functional water belongs to the market segment of beverages, but it is marketed as water. The product contains added elements such as natural or artificial flavors, sweeteners, and vitamins. The global flavored and functional water market benefits from the healthy image often associated with the functional and perceived benefits of water. Flavored and functional water is rapidly emerging as a healthier alternative in the ready-to-drink beverages market. This contemporary beverage alternative is already making its mark among consumers who refrain from satiating their thirst with artificial flavored or carbonated drinks owing to the increasing health concerns associated with the latter. As reported by Transparency Market Research in its latest report, the global flavored and functional water market, which in 2012 was estimated at US$17.2 bn, is anticipated to reach US$36.7 bn in 2019. The market will therefore rise at an impressive CAGR of 11.50% between 2013 and 2019.View exclusive Global strategic Business report:Rapid Urbanization and Rising Health Concerns Boost Global Flavored and Functional Water MarketBehind the exponential growth of the flavored and functional water market on a global front, increasing obesity rates and rapid urbanization plays a major role. Furthermore, the demand for functional water has also gained a significant impetus from the rising aging population worldwide. Whilst flavored water falls under the category of bottled mineral, purified, or spring water containing a certain percentage of flavors, functional water is best defined as a derivative of flavored water containing functional ingredients such as vitamins, botanicals, oxygen, and minerals. The most common flavors in which flavored and functional water is available are orange, cherry, apple, peach, and lemon.Asia Pacific and Latin America and the Middle East are emerging as Lucrative Regional Markets for Flavored and Functional WaterDespite challenges, including the threat of substitutes, that the industry may face, the flavored and functional water market is likely to capitalize on the increasing opportunities in emerging markets such as Latin America and the Middle East and Asia Pacific. The market is also anticipated to be hindered by ongoing campaigns against packaging bottles. Nevertheless, increasing disposable income of the population located in emerging economies and rapid urbanization of these regions will give a significant momentum to the market. In 2012, Italy, Japan, Germany, and the U.S. were identified as the leading markets for flavored and functional water. However, it is the Asia Pacific market that is anticipated to exhibit a double-digit CAGR in the forthcoming years.One of the direct outcomes of rapid urbanization is growing awareness about health, which has impelled many to be averse to aerated drinks while being partial to functional beverages. According to research surveys, the global flavored and functional water market is also boosted by demand from China due to the presence of poor water management in the country, resulting in polluted water supply in industrial and agricultural sectors alike. The prominent companies in the market, therefore, have been proactively promoting functional drinks in China to an expanding consumer base due to rising health concerns.Competition from Substitute Drinks to Hamper Market GrowthDespite progressing positively, the global market for flavored and functional water witnesses competition from substitute drinks. The challenge of balancing flavor, function, and sugar quantity in the drinks is also a significant factor hampering the growth of the market to an extent.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: Home Security Solutions will Create US$30.3 bn Global Opportunity by 2022 http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=S&rep_id=1241 http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com According to a new market report published by Transparency Market Research Home Security Solutions Market - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends and Forecast 2015 - 2022, the global home security solutions market is expected to reach a value of US$ 30.3 bn by 2022. The market is estimated to expand at a CAGR of 18.0% during the forecast period from 2015 to 2022. Rising security needs among customers at homes, the emergence of managed security solutions as an affordable option, government initiatives, and attractive insurance policies are the key factors driving the growth of home security solutions market, globally.North America was the largest geographical market for home security solutions in the year 2014 with a market share of 37.3%; it is also expected to be the fastest-growing market with an estimated CAGR of 18.4% during the forecast period (2015 2022). With the retrieval in residential construction activities, as well as a rise in improvement and renovation activities in the residential infrastructure, the demand for home security solutions continues to grow in this region.Biometrics, smart cards voice transmissions, and asset tracking systems are mainly driving the growth of home security solutions in the residential sector of North America. Demand will also be aided by ongoing concerns about crime and anti-social activities such as thefts and burglaries in the residential areas. Other developments in the residential sector in North America include new concepts, such as the integration of home automation and security, intelligent buildings, and service bundling, which further increases the adoption of home security solutions in this region.Get More Information :The home security hardware segment occupied approximately 93% share of home security solutions market in the year 2014. The home security solutions ensure safety and security of homes and residential buildings from crime and antisocial activities with various monitoring and controlling functions. DIY security solutions are gaining popularity among the growing number of consumers worldwide due to their cost effectiveness and ease of use, which aid the growth of security solutions among home owners. The home security services segment is growing the fastest, with an expected CAGR of 26.7% during the forecast period. The complexity of initial deployment and the need for optimal performance of home security solutions has increased the demand for the services market in residential areas.Electronic locks was the largest segment of the home security hardware market, accounting for approximately 63% of the total hardware market in 2014. These locks are more reliable than the traditional systems, where the locking was purely dependent on the keys. Electronic locks are connected to access control systems, which record all information such as time, place, and the number of times the lock was used. Another factor for the rise in demand for the electronic locks is the growing number of intelligent criminal breaches worldwide.Electronic locks is also the fastest-growing hardware segment in home security solutions market, with a projected CAGR of 25.5% during the forecast period. During the recent years, electronic locks have emerged as one of the most sophisticated and cost-effective ways of inhibiting the unauthorized access over any other locking system, which leads to increased demand for it in the near future.During the recent years, the leading home security solution vendors are looking forward to offer advanced home security solutions as per the specific needs of the home owners. Leading home security solutions providers in the year 2014 included Assa Abloy AB, ADT Corporation, Honeywell International, Inc., Vivint, Inc., Tyco International Ltd., HikVision Digital Technology Co., Ltd., Axis Communications AB, Frontpoint Security Solutions, SimpliSafe, Inc., and Protect America, Inc.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.Contact90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite: Global Aseptic Packaging Market will Reach Around USD 67.47 Billion By 2021 http://bit.ly/2dmvMnf http://www.marketresearchstore.com/report/aseptic-packaging-market-z67404 http://bit.ly/2deRkSj http://www.marketresearchstore.com Zion Research has published a new report titled Aseptic Packaging (Bags & Pouches, Cartons, Vials & Ampoules, Pre-filled Syringes and Bottles & Cans) Market by Materials Used (Glass, Plastic, Paperboard and Metal) for Pharmaceutical, Food, Medical Applications, Beverages and other applications: Global Industry Perspective, Comprehensive Analysis and Forecast, 2015 2021. According to the report, global demand for aseptic packaging market was valued at over USD 38.25 billion in 2015, is expected to reach above USD 67.47 Billion in 2021 and is anticipated to grow at a CAGR of above 10.1% between 2016 and 2021.Request Sample Report:Aseptic packaging market can be defined as the packing the products into the sterile packs under the aseptic conditions and instantly sealing the products to prevent contamination. The product can be either sterilized or pre sterile. Aseptic packaging is mainly used for juices, dessert, drugs, puddings, dairy products, chemicals etc. The air present inside the packs are removed completely using vacuum machines as air can cause oxidation reactions which can lead to the spoilage of food.Aseptic packaging market is driven by expanding dairy industry in the Asia Pacific and Brazil. As dairy products are prone to spoilage, and posses low shelf life, highly aseptic environment is required to maintain. Growing demand from the pharmaceutical sector stimulates the growth of aseptic packaging market. Surging beverage industry in the developing countries results in increase demand for aseptic packaging triggers the demand for the market. However, high initial cost with low packaging equipments may impede the penetration of aseptic packaging market. Nonetheless, ongoing research for technological advancement and rising demand from the emerging economies is likely to open new avenue for the aseptic packaging market in the near future.Browse the full "Aseptic Packaging (Bags & Pouches, Cartons, Vials & Ampoules, Pre-filled Syringes and Bottles & Cans) Market by Materials Used (Glass, Plastic, Paperboard and Metal) for Pharmaceutical, Food, Medical Applications, Beverages and other applications: Global Industry Perspective, Comprehensive Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Segment, Trends and Forecast, 2015 2021" report atBased on type the aseptic packaging market can be segmented as bags & pouches, cartons, vials & ampoules, pre-filled syringes and bottles & cans. Bottle, cans, bags and pouches are the leading type segment due to easy handling, and availability with consumer preference towards cans and pouches. For the packaging, various materials are utilized some of those are glass, plastic, paperboard and metal. Mainly plastic and paperboard are used for packing of food and beverages. Increasing environmental concern the use of plastics and paper are restricted in some regions. Growing use of aseptic packaging in various end user industries is due to its numerous applications such as pharmaceutical, food, medical applications, beverages and other applications. Pharmaceutical is the dominating application segment owing to high aseptic conditions required for packaging of drugs and chemicals. Food and beverage emerged as the potential segment due to high demand for safe and healthy processed and packed food.Asia Pacific is considered to be the most prominent market for aseptic packaging owing to rising consumer preference for processed food. Factors such as growing beverage and dairy industry across India and China and increased spending capacity over fast and junk food contributes to the high growth of market. Escalating pharmaceutical sector in U.S. is expected to show sharp rise in aseptic packaging in North America. Europe is likely to witness faster growth in the estimated period due to stern rules led by European government over the packaging and high demand for packed food. Latin America is anticipated to show sustainable growth owing to expanding dairy industry in Brazil. Middle East and Africa is projected to experience decent growth over the period due to change in lifestyle and increasing demand for processed and packed food.Do Inquiry before buying:Dickinson & Company, Robert Bosch GmBH, Ecolean Packaging, Schott AG, Parish Manufacturing, Greatview Aseptic Packaging Co Ltd., Becton, Printpack, Tetra Laval, E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Company, Scholle Packaging, Amcor Limited and Reynolds Group Holdings among others are some of the key players in the aseptic packaging market.This report segments the aseptic packaging market as follows:Aseptic Packaging Market: Type Segment AnalysisBags & pouchesCartonsVials & ampoulesPre-filled syringesBottles & cansAseptic Packaging Market: Material used Segment AnalysisGlassPlasticPaperboardMetalAseptic Packaging Market: Application Segment AnalysisPharmaceuticalFoodMedical applicationsBeveragesOtherAseptic Packaging Market: Regional Segment AnalysisNorth AmericaUSEuropeGermanyFranceUKAsia PacificChinaJapanIndiaLatin AmericaBrazilMiddle East and AfricaAbout UsZion Research 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. Zion Research experienced team of Analysts, Researchers, and Consultants uses 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 Zion Research syndicated research report covers a different sector such as pharmaceuticals, chemical, energy, food and 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, our syndicated reports strive to serve the overall research requirement of clients.Contact US:Joel John3422 SW 15 Street,Suit #8138Deerfield Beach,Florida 33442United StatesToll Free: +1-855-465-4651 (USA-CANADA)Tel: +1-386-310-3803Email: sales@marketresearchstore.comWebsite: Safety Syringes Market Research Report Segment by Product Type and Global Forecast upto 2019 http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=S&rep_id=2079 http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/retractable-safety-syringes-market.html http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/ According to the World Health Organization (WHO), unsafe injection practices cause more than 1.3 million deaths worldwide every year. The global healthcare industry has witnessed a surge in needlestick injuries, which has spurred the demand for retractable safety syringes worldwide. Needlestick injuries are mostly caused by sharing, reuse, or unsafe disposal of non-sterile syringes.PDF Containing the Forthcoming Market Analysis of Safety Syringes is available at:This in turn leads to the transmission of blood-borne pathogens such as the Hepatitis C virus and HIV. To curb the increasing incidence of needlestick injuries, the healthcare and pharmaceutical industries around the world are now evolving to the mandatory use of safety syringes. Such factors have given a significant boost to the global safety syringes market.In its 75 pages, the report provides an executive-level synopsis of the global safety syringes market, underlining the key growth drivers and identifying the potential threats and opportunities. To present a comprehensive overview, the report segments the global safety syringes market into non-retractable and retractable safety syringes. Retractable safety syringes are further classified into automatic and manual retractable safety syringes. Non-retractable syringes encompass the variants without retraction mechanism. This segment comprises syringes with sliding needles, sheathing tube syringes, and hinged needle covers.Information sourced through primary and secondary research methods is evaluated coherently. Based on information obtained from primary and secondary research, the report analyzes the present market dynamics and forecasts growth projections.Overview of the Global Safety Syringes MarketThe global safety syringes market stood at US$3,419.1 million in 2012. Expanding at an impressive 9.7% CAGR, the report forecasts that the market will reach a valuation of US$6,496.8 million in 2019.Increasing occurrences of needlestick injuries and their serious repercussions have led to substantial growth of the global safety syringes market. To counter the rising prevalence of needlestick injuries, governments of leading economies have legislated stringent regulations mandating the use of safety syringes across the respective healthcare sectors. As a consequence, a marked rise in the demand for safety syringes with improved safety mechanism has been noted worldwide.The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration observed in a study that around 5.6 million healthcare workers in the country are exposed to blood-borne diseases via needlestick injuries. The U.S. is the first country to enforce the use of safety syringes in healthcare facilities within legislation, through the Federal Needlestick Prevention Act in 2000. Such factors have significantly attributed to the expansion of the safety syringes market.North America dominated the global safety syringes market in 2012 in terms of both volume and revenue generated. The region is likely to exhibit unbridled growth in terms of demand for safety syringes during the forecast period owing to government initiatives that boost the use of safety mechanisms across the regions healthcare sector. Europe is the second largest safety syringes market. However, Asia Pacific and Rest of the World will emerge as the fastest growing markets for safety syringes owing to ongoing immunization programs deliberated by UNICEF and the WHO.Read the Current Market Status of Safety Syringes at:Companies mentioned in the research reportThe dominant players in the market profiled in the report are Covidien plc, Becton, Unilife Corporation, Medical Smiths, Dickinson & Company, Retractable Technologies, 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: Travel Insurance Market 2016 Trend and 2021 Forecast Report http://www.orbisresearch.com/reports/index/global-travel-insurance-market-by-manufacturers-regions-type-and-application-forecast-to-2021 http://www.orbisresearch.com/contacts/request-sample/188875 http://www.orbisresearch.com/contacts/enquiry-before-buying/188875 http://www.orbisresearch.com/contacts/discount/188875 https://www.linkedin.com/company/orbis-research https://twitter.com/orbisresearch https://plus.google.com/+Orbisresearch/posts Travel insurance is insurance that is intended to cover medical expenses, trip cancellation, lost luggage, flight accident and other losses incurred while traveling, either internationally or within one's own country.Travel insurance protects the financial investment in a trip, including lost baggage and trip cancellation. Travelers may be more likely to avoid travel when sick if they know their financial investment in the trip is protected.Scope of the Global Travel Insurance Market ReportThis report focuses on the Travel Insurance Industry in Global market, especially in North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific, South America, Middle East and Africa. This report categorizes the market based on manufacturers, regions, type and application.Browse the full report @This report covers Analysis of Global Travel Insurance Market Segment by ManufacturersAllianzMunich REGeneraliAXAHanse MerkurGroupamaMapfre AsistenciaAIGCSA Travel ProtectionUSI AffinitySeven CornersMH RossTokio MarineSompo JapanPingan BaoxianSTARRGlobal Travel Insurance Market Segment by regional analysis coversNorth America (USA, Canada and Mexico)Europe (Germany, France, UK, Russia and Italy)Asia-Pacific (China, Japan, Korea, India and Southeast Asia)South America, Middle East and AfricaRequest a Sample of this Report @Global Travel Insurance Market Segment by TypesMedical expenseTrip CancellationTrip DelayProperty DamageOtherGlobal Travel Insurance Market Segment by Applications, can be divided intoDomestic TourismOversea TourismMake an enquire before buying this report @Some of the Points cover in Global Travel Insurance Market Research Report is:Chapter 1: Describe Travel Insurance Industry Introduction, Product Scope, Market Overview, Market Opportunities, Market Risk, Market Driving ForceChapter 2: To analyze the top manufacturers of Travel Insurance Industry in 2015 and 2016 Sales Revenue and priceChapter 3: Competitive analysis among the top manufacturers in 2015 and 2016 Sales Revenue and market shareChapter 4: Global Travel Insurance Market by regions from 2011 to 2016 Sales Revenue and market shareChapter 5, 6, 7 and 8: Global Travel Insurance Market by key countries in these regions Sales Revenue and market shareChapter 9 and 10: Global Travel Insurance Market by type and application from 2011 to 2016 Sales Revenue and market share Growth rateChapter 11: Travel Insurance Industry Market forecast from 2016 to 2021 Regions Type and application with sales and revenueChapter 12 and 13: Travel Insurance Industry Sales channel Distributors Traders and dealers Appendix Data sourceCheck discount of the report @About Us:Orbis Research (orbisresearch.com) is a single point aid for all your market research requirements. We have vast database of reports from the leading publishers and authors across the globe. We specialize in delivering customized reports as per the requirements of our clients. We have complete information about our publishers and hence are sure about the accuracy of the industries and verticals of their specialization. This helps our clients to map their needs and we produce the perfect required market research study for our clients.Hector CostelloSenior Manager Client Engagements4144N Central Expressway,Suite 600, Dallas,Texas - 75204, U.S.A.Phone No.: +1 (214) 884-6817; +912064101019Follow Us on LinkedIn:Follow us on Twitter:Follow us on G+ : Alpha Mannosidosis Market Analysis and Forecasts, By Treatment from Period 2017 - 2024 http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=B&rep_id=2501 http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/alpha-mannosidosis-market.html http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/ Global Alpha Mannosidosis Market: OverviewWith increase in the incidence of alpha mannosidosis worldwide the market for treatment is expected to grow in coming years. Alpha Mannosidosis is a rare inherited condition that leads to problems in organs and tissues of the body. The disease is of three types such as Type I, Type II and Type III. Type I is a mild form, type II is moderate form of disease and most commonly observed, whereas, type III is the severe form of disease. Alpha Mannosidosis affects 1 in every 10, 00,000 people worldwide. Alpha-mannosidosis affects men and women equally across the globe. Bone marrow transplant (BMT) and Enzyme replacement therapy (ERT) are the two treatment options for alpha mannosidosis. Bone marrow transplant (BMT) has been conventionally used universally to treat patients suffering from alpha mannosidosis.PDF Containing the Forthcoming Market Analysis of Alpha Mannosidosis is available at:Some of the factors driving this market include market exclusivity of orphan drugs, fee reductions and tax credits, increasing investment in the rare disease treatment etc. However, the factors such as high cost of orphan drugs and lack of awareness are expected to hamper the market demand.Global Alpha Mannosidosis Market: SegmentationThe alpha mannosidosis market has been segmented based on treatment, indication, end-user and geography. Based on treatment, the market has been segmented into bone marrow transplant (BMT) and enzyme replacement therapy (ERT). Enzyme replacement therapy (ERT) is expected to dominate the market with a considerable share in 2017. With the expected increase in the incidence of alpha mannosidosis the market is expected to grow at a high rate in the next few years. BMT is expected to grow steadily due to the morbidity issues connected with the treatment. In terms of indication, the market has been categorized into type I, type II and type III. The market for type III segment is projected to expand at the maximum rate during the forecast period. Type II accounts for a considerable market share at present. Based on end-user, the market has been segmented into hospitals and specialty clinics. The hospitals segment dominated the market and the trend is likely to continue driven by increasing patient burden due to rise in patient burden.Global Alpha Mannosidosis Market: Regional OutlookGeographically, the market has been segmented into five regions: North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America and Middle East and Africa. Asia Pacific is expected to dominate the market in 2017 with a considerable market share. North America and Europe also account for substantial portion of the market. The report identifies and explains key market drivers, restraints and opportunities. The report also provides Porters five forces analysis for comprehensive market understanding. Furthermore, market attractiveness analysis provides insights to most attractive regional markets to invest in the future.Read the Current Market Status of Alpha Mannosidosis at:Key Players Mentioned in this Research Report are:Zymenex, a company focused on R&D on biologics designed to fight rare and life-threatening genetic diseases has developed recombinant enzyme indicated for patients with alpha-Mannosidosis known as Lamazym (velmanase alfa). Zymenex has been acquired by Chiesi Farmaceutici S.p.A. Lamazym has received orphan drug designation is Europe and the U.S.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: Global Bottled Water Market sales is growing Around USD 280.0 Billion by 2020 http://bit.ly/1RI6cay http://www.marketresearchstore.com/report/bottled-water-market-z39681 http://bit.ly/2kAFIQl http://www.marketresearchstore.com Zion Research has published a new report titled Bottled Water (Still, Carbonated, Flavored and Functional Bottled Water) Market: Global Industry Perspective, Comprehensive Analysis, and Forecast, 2014 - 2020. According to the report, the global bottled water market was valued at approximately USD 170.0 billion in 2014 and is expected to reach approximately USD 280.0 billion by 2020, growing at a CAGR of around 8.5% between 2015 and 2020. In terms of volume, global bottled water market stood at around 290.0 billion liters in 2014.Request Sample Report:Water is an incredibly important aspect of daily lives. Bottled water is a necessary and reliable way to deliver safe drinking water. There are various types of bottled water such as spring water, purified water, mineral water, ground water and others. Bottled water is packaged in plastic or glass bottles. Bottled water can be carbonated or not. Bottled water offers good taste, quality, and convenienceThe global bottled water market is mainly driven by increased health awareness and changing consumer life style. The bottled water market is expected to witness rapid growth fueled by strong demand for clean, flavored and hygienic drinking water. Other important factors driving the bottled water market are advancement in user friendly packaging. Strong growth of tourism industry and portability of hygienic bottled water is also expected to trigger demand of bottled water. However, stringent regulations regarding packaging of water and bottled water standards is expected to hamper the growth of the market to some extent. Moreover, easy availability of tap water and rising concerns with regarding increasing plastic waste is expected to present challenge for industry participants.Browse the full "Bottled water (Still, Carbonated, Flavored and Functional Bottled Water) Market: Global Industry Perspective, Comprehensive Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Segment, Trends and Forecast, 2014 2020" report atStill, carbonated, flavored and functional bottled water are the key product segments of the bottled water market. The still bottled water product segment held the largest share in the global bottled water market and accounted over 60% share in overall consumption in 2014. However, still bottled water segment is expected to exhibit moderate growth during the forecast period. Carbonated was the second largest segment of the bottled water market in 2014. Carbonated bottled water is expected to witness slight decline in its market share in the years to come. Flavored and functional water segment are also expected to witness rapid growth during the forecast period. Rapid growth of bottled water market can be attributed to rising concern regarding health & wellness.Asia Pacific was the leading regional market for bottled water, with over 30% share of total consumption in 2014. Huge population, strong economical growth, increasing disposable income, coupled with changing lifestyle has been resulted into strong growth of bottled water market in Asia Pacific region. Asia Pacific is expected to remain major regional market for bottled water during the next five years. North America and Europe are expected grow at a moderate pace forecast period. However, North America and Europe are expected to experience decline its market share during the forecast period. Latin America and Middle East are also expected to witness robust growth of bottled water market in the years to come.Do Inquiry before buying:Some of the key players in the global bottled water market include Coca-Cola Company, PepsiCo, Inc., Nestle Waters, Ajegroup SA, Groupe Danone, CG Roxane, LLC, Fonti Di Vinadio S.P.A., LLC, Icelandic Water Holdings ehf., Suntory Beverage & Food Ltd, HassiaWaters International GmbH & Co. KG, Grupo Vichy Catalan and Hangzhou Wahaha Group Co., Ltd.This report segments the global bottled water market as follows:Global Bottled Water Market: Product Segment AnalysisStillCarbonatedFlavoredFunctionalGlobal Bottled Water Market: Regional Segment AnalysisNorth AmericaU.S.EuropeGermanyFranceUKAsia PacificChinaJapanIndiaLatin AmericaBrazilMiddle East and AfricaAbout UsZion Research 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. Zion Research experienced team of Analysts, Researchers, and Consultants uses 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 Zion Research syndicated research report covers a different sector such as pharmaceuticals, chemical, energy, food and 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, our syndicated reports strive to serve the overall research requirement of clients.Contact US:Joel John3422 SW 15 Street, Suit #8138Deerfield Beach, Florida 33442United StatesToll Free: +1-855-465-4651 (USA-CANADA)Tel: +1-386-310-3803Email: sales@marketresearchstore.comWebsite: Rapid Expansion of Electronics Market Boosts Global Discrete Capacitors Industry 2015 http://www.marketresearchreports.biz/sample/sample/506550 http://www.marketresearchreports.biz/pressrelease/384 http://www.marketresearchreports.biz/ The Report Global Discrete Capacitors Industry 2015 Market Research Report provides information on pricing, market analysis, shares, forecast, and company profiles for key industry participants. - MarketResearchReports.biz"MarketResearchReports.biz announces the addition of a new report to its repertoire, titled Global Discrete Capacitors Industry 2015 Market Research Report. The report studies the global discrete capacitors industry from the ground up, covering aspects such as market definition, classification, the markets growth trajectory over the years, and its competitive landscape.A capacitor, also called a condenser, is a two-terminal passive electrical component. It stores electric energy in an electric field. Over the past few years, capacitors have emerged as an important component used in virtually every field of electronics. Discrete capacitors perform diverse tasks, however, they operate in the same way irrespective of the application in which they have been put to use. The growing adoption of high-end electronic devices around the world will fuel demand for passive electronic components. As one of the key components in electronic devices, the demand for discrete capacitors will rise in response to the expanding market for electronics. Additionally, the latest technologies introduced in the electronics industry have made discrete capacitors indispensable for electronics manufacturing.The report on the global discrete capacitors industry provides a holistic overview of the market, analyzing the various factors supporting the growth of enterprises operating within the industry, and those restraining it. Compiled with the intent of updating the stakeholders about the present market dynamics, the report comprises relevant information obtained from trusted industrial sources.Get Sample Copy Of This Report @To measure the growth trajectory exhibited by the market, the report studies the response of the discrete capacitors industry to the recession shock in 2007-2008. It also evaluates the mixed bag of opportunities and threats witnessed by the market in the last few years. Capacitors are mostly used for stabilizing power supply, because of which the industry is likely to witness steady growth worldwide. With the introduction of innovative components manufactured with epoxy coatings, the market is anticipated to gain momentum in the forthcoming years.The report also profiles the most prominent enterprises operating in the industry to study the competitive landscape of the market. Using industry-leading analytical tools such as investment feasibility and SWOT analyses, the report weighs out the strengths and weaknesses of the company, the opportunities and threats companies are likely to face in the forthcoming years, and how feasible it is to invest for the new players in the market.View Press Release @Some of the companies profiled in the report are Yageo, Maxwell Technologies, Vishay Intertechnology, Murata Manufacturing, NEC Tokin, Nichicon, NIPPON CHEMI-CON, AVX, CSI Technologies, Johanson Dielectrics, AFM Microelectronics, Exxelia Group, Panasonic, Samsung Electro-Mechanics, and Taiyo Yuden, among others.The impact of Porters five forces on the global discrete capacitors industry is also studied in detail.About 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.ContactMr. NachiketState Tower90 Sate Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-621-2074Website:E: sales@marketresearchreports.biz Global Feather pillow Market 2016 - Hollander, American Textile Company, Wendre, MyPillow, Pacific Coast Feather pillow https://goo.gl/1rnI3u https://goo.gl/MDrlFV The Feather pillow report created by Markets N Research includes in-depth study of variable market trends and statistics by dynamic team of researchers. The report provides detailed information about the definition and specification, and focuses on overall analysis of the manufacturing process along with in-depth classification of segments based on applications, end-users, and products physical properties. The report delivers precise data relevant to competitive analysis based on regional insight along with future forecasts.Major Manufacturers Analysis of Feather pillow areHollanderAmerican Textile CompanyWendreMyPillowPacific CoastJohn CottonParadise PillowView Full Report with TOC :The Feather pillow report provides exhaustive information of overall manufacturers, vendors, and suppliers with complete summary of specification, future trends of the company, and historical data along with statistics. In order to present the analyzed data for better clarity related to the latest trends, the report comprises number of pictorial represented data in the form of figures, tables graphs, and diagrams. The Global Feather pillow Market 2017 report has also accounted Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) in % value for specific period for Feather pillow market, which would help users to conclude decision based on futuristic chart.The Feather pillow report also includes the review of developmental factors implemented by the key players in terms of mergers and acquisitions, product developments, expansions, and contracts. It contains judgmental data collated using set of assumptions and certain methodologies to give a simple, elaborated depiction about the forecast period. Moreover, the report also includes the strategic evaluation of Feather pillow market by considering the development trends, future predictions, and segmental contribution to the market.Request For Report Sample Here :The report is developed based on collated data from secondary sources, databases, and directories to widen the information based on technical terms, market orientation, and commercial characteristics related to the Feather pillow market. In addition, the report also highlights the driving factors and arising opportunities for the development of the global market as well as emphasizes on factors responsible for the growth restrains.About Us:Markets N Research is a single destination for all the industry, company and country reports. Markets N Research also carries the capability to assist you with your customized market research requirements including in-depth market surveys, primary interviews, competitive landscaping, and company profiles. We feature large repository of latest industry reports, leading and niche company profiles, and market statistics. Markets N Research is the comprehensive collection of market intelligence products and services available on air.3422 SW 15 Street, Suit #8138, Deerfield Beach, Florida 33442 Global PE pipe pillow Market 2016 - Hollander, American Textile Company, Wendre, Tempur-Pedic, Pacific Brands PE pipe pillow https://goo.gl/5LG05z https://goo.gl/fY1jgb The PE pipe pillow Market report created by Markets N Research includes in-depth study of variable market trends and statistics by dynamic team of researchers. The report provides detailed information about the definition and specification, and focuses on overall analysis of the manufacturing process along with in-depth classification of segments based on applications, end-users, and products physical properties. The report delivers precise data relevant to competitive analysis based on regional insight along with future forecasts.View Full Report with TOC :Major Manufacturers Analysis of PE pipe pillow1.Hollander2.American Textile Company3.Wendre4.MyPillow5.Pacific Brands6.Tempur-PedicThe PE pipe pillow report provides exhaustive information of overall manufacturers, vendors, and suppliers with complete summary of specification, future trends of the company, and historical data along with statistics. In order to present the analyzed data for better clarity related to the latest trends, the report comprises number of pictorial represented data in the form of figures, tables graphs, and diagrams. The Global PE pipe pillow Market 2017 report has also accounted Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) in % value for specific period for PE pipe pillow market, which would help users to conclude decision based on futuristic chart.The PE pipe pillow report also includes the review of developmental factors implemented by the key players in terms of mergers and acquisitions, product developments, expansions, and contracts. It contains judgmental data collated using set of assumptions and certain methodologies to give a simple, elaborated depiction about the forecast period. Moreover, the report also includes the strategic evaluation of PE pipe pillow market by considering the development trends, future predictions, and segmental contribution to the market.Request For Report Sample Here :The report is developed based on collated data from secondary sources, databases, and directories to widen the information based on technical terms, market orientation, and commercial characteristics related to the PE pipe pillow market. In addition, the report also highlights the driving factors and arising opportunities for the development of the global market as well as emphasizes on factors responsible for the growth restrains.About Us:Markets N Research is a single destination for all the industry, company and country reports. Markets N Research also carries the capability to assist you with your customized market research requirements including in-depth market surveys, primary interviews, competitive landscaping, and company profiles. We feature large repository of latest industry reports, leading and niche company profiles, and market statistics. Markets N Research is the comprehensive collection of market intelligence products and services available on air.3422 SW 15 Street, Suit #8138, Deerfield Beach, Florida 33442 Smart Parking Systems Moving into Service-based Business Models http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=S&rep_id=5966 http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com Global Smart Parking Systems Market: SnapshotThe staggering amount of vehicles coming on to roads around the world calls for advanced methods for parking. Traffic and parking problems are on the rise and people are finding lesser space for either. This is creating a high level of discomfort, fuel wastage, and high levels of emissions. Urban and city parking has therefore become a major concern for both developed and emerging nations, forming the primary driver leading most entities towards seeking smart parking system solutions.Smart parking systems provide a highly flexible, scalable, and efficient way for buildings and locations of all sizes and types, thus ensuring a smoother flow of traffic and a considerable drop in emissions. The latter forms a high concern issue as the growing emission levels are creating multiple complications in climate change and human health. The leading employers of smart parking systems in most countries are their municipalities. Their interest and involvement allows for the development of better smart parking systems through an upwards scaling of parking fees that can directly be used for advancing smart parking technologies.Get More Information :The global market revenue for smart parking systems is therefore expected to show an exceptionally positive CAGR of 20.2% from 2015 to 2022. This revenue is expected to be valued at US$59.7 mn by the end of 2016 and reach US$177.1 mn by 2022.North America Shows High Demand for Smart Parking SystemsNorth America is expected to generate a revenue of US$34.6 mn for the global market for smart parking systems by 2022, due to the presence of dense traffic in cities such as New York, Los Angeles, and others. These cities are also showing a higher level of awareness towards modern solutions for traffic control and parking, thereby becoming an optimized region for the large-scale adoption of smart parking systems.Various smart parking systems have already been implemented in North America, such as the SFpark program implemented in San Francisco. Areas in the city equipped with SFpark systems have sped up parking of vehicle by five minutes on average when compared to conventional parking methods. Programs such as these are proof that the smart parking systems can bring about a successful change in traffic and parking conditions across the world.Off-street Parking Demand SoarsIn terms of the site of parking, the smart parking systems can be classified into off-street and on-street parking solutions. At the moment, off-street smart parking systems are in high demand due to the ease with which they can be implemented and fine-tuned. Additionally, they can be privately owned, while almost all on-street parking spaces are owned by the government. Therefore, while the need for smart parking systems is extremely high in both sites, it is being implemented on a larger scale in off-street sites. Most off-street parking areas are made of commercial parking lots and garages. On the other hand, on-street smart parking systems have to prepare for permit timers, passenger zones, loading zones, bus and truck zones, and street cleaning vehicles.Off-street parking spots are the easier place to implement effective smart parking systems in tandem with robot-assisted or automated parking services. These systems help increase the comfort and safety of all passengers. On the other hand, on-street smart parking systems are gathering steam. This parking site segment is expected to progress at a CAGR of 23.6% from 2015 to 2022.The key providers of smart parking systems on a global front include Streetline, Inc., Cisco Systems, Inc., ParkMe, Inc., Urbiotica, Skidata AG, Amano McGann, Inc., Swarco AG, Smart Parking Ltd, Nedap N.V., and Parkmobile, LLC.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: Military Avionic Systems Market: High demand for synthetic vision system driving Industry Globally http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=B&rep_id=19145 http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com The avionic systems used on an aircraft consists of electronic systems that includes navigation systems, communication systems, display systems and management systems among others. Avionic systems are mounted on commercial as well as military aircrafts with almost same systems but the military avionic systems consists of vast array of sensors. These sensors are used to eye on the enemies weapons and deliver weapons during an operation. The military avionic systems plays a crucial role in performing combat operations as these avionic systems offers accurate communication facilities, navigation facilities and surveillance facilities.Get PDF Brochure for more Professional and Technical industry insights:The growing need for avionic systems in defense and military systems is due to the high demand for synthetic vision system. The synthetic vision system offers exceptional situational awareness to the pilot by using various databases such as geo political, obstacle hydrological and terrain. The synthetic vision system also employs an image generator mechanism, and a display. The avionic systems incorporated with synthetic vision systems uses GPS and inertial reference system to provide navigation solutions. The synthetic vision systems in avionic systems is poised to fuel the market for military aviation systems. In addition, the security threats have grown across the globe, and due to this the demand for combat aircrafts with enhanced technologies including robust avionic systems is growing at an exceptional rate. Moreover, the military avionic systems caters the purpose of surveillance, mapping as well as reconnaissance. These factors are boosting the military avionic systems market over the years.Increase in cost of raw materials needed to manufacturer the sensors or the avionic system is increasing the cost of the final product and this is hindering the market for military avionic systems. Moreover, complexities such as malfunction of certain sensors or display or GPS system hampers the avionic systems of the aircraft, which in turn limits the military avionic systems market. In addition, the complex technologies integrated into the avionic systems makes it difficult for the maintenance repair and overhaul personnel to maintain it over the time. The manufacturers needs to design and develop the avionic systems that can be substituted over the years if required. The maintenance, repair and overhaul factor is restraining the market for military avionic systems. In addition, due to budgetary constraints, few countries favour in upgrading their existing aircraft fleets rather than purchasing of expensive systems in order to completely acquire new platforms. The up gradation of existing aircrafts is acting as an inhibiting factor to the market for military avionic systems.Rise in use of avionic systems in the military unmanned aerial vehicles, increases the use of military avionic systems. The technological advancement in the avionics systems will result in rapid increase in use of military unmanned aerial vehicles which will help the market for military avionic systems to escalate at a faster rate. Another opportunity for the manufacturers of military avionic systems is to replace the old analog systems with latest technology avionic systems.The military avionic systems market can be segmented by aircrafttypes, by application and geography. By aircraft types, the military avionic systems market is bifurcated as combat aircraft, transport aircraft, rotorcraft, and others. Based on application, the military aviation systems market is further sub segmented by flight control systems, by communication and navigation systems and by monitoring systems. Geographically, the market for military avionic system is categorized as North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Middle East and Africa and Latin America.The key manufacturers of the military avionic systems includes Honeywell Aerospace Inc. (U.S.), Thales Group (France),BAE Systems (U.K), Lockheed Martin Corporation (U.S.), Rockwell Collins (U.S.), Raytheon Company (U.S.), Northrop Grumman Corporation (U.S.), Harris Corporation (U.S.), Saab AB (Sweden), Embraer SA (Brazil)The report has been compiled through extensive primary research (through interviews, surveys, and observations of seasoned analysts) and secondary research (which entails reputable paid sources, trade journals, and industry body databases). The report also features a complete qualitative and quantitative assessment by analyzing data gathered from industry analysts and market participants across key points in the industrys value chain.A separate analysis of prevailing trends in the parent market, macro- and micro-economic indicators, and regulations and mandates is included under the purview of the study. By doing so, the report projects the attractiveness of each major segment over the forecast period.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 Chondroitin Sulfate Market Professional Survey Report 2016 http://www.qyresearchreports.com/sample/sample.php?rep_id=882531&type=E http://www.qyresearchreports.com/report/global-chondroitin-sulfate-market-professional-survey-report-2016.htm http://www.qyresearchreports.com/press-releases.htm http://www.qyresearchreports.com/press-releases.htm The report provides a thorough overview of the present growth dynamics of the global Chondroitin Sulfate with the help of vast market data covering all important aspects and market segments. The report presents a birdsa eye view of the past and present trends as well the various factors expected to drive or impede the growth prospects of the Chondroitin Sulfate market in the near future.The study comprises a mix of data pertaining to the key drivers, restraints, regulatory forces, competitive landscape, key strategies implemented by the key players, and opportunities, expected to have a profound impact on the future scope of growth of the market. A detailed analysis of these factors allows the report to present a reliable forecast regarding the future growth dynamics of the Chondroitin Sulfate market.To Get Sample Copy of Report visit @The report also employs primary and secondary research techniques for gathering the most crucial pieces of professional information, and applies a number of industry-best analytical techniques upon the data for projecting the future state of the global Chondroitin Sulfate market. Based on current market development, the report includes an analysis of how activities such as mergers and acquisitions will shape marketas future.A section containing detailed data about the most influential players operating in the market has also been included in the report, giving readers and enterprises access to information such as challenges faced by the companies, the recent developments reported by them, the growth strategies implemented, and the financial and business overview of the company.Service offerings, revenue shares, and contact information of each of the companies has also been given. With the help of these details, a detailed overview of the competitive landscape of the market is covered in the report, expected to give readers a clear idea of strategies that are providing most promising returns to companies.Browse Complete Report with TOC @Table of ContentsGlobal Chondroitin Sulfate Market Professional Survey Report 20161 Industry Overview of Chondroitin Sulfate1.1 Definition and Specifications of Chondroitin Sulfate1.1.1 Definition of Chondroitin Sulfate1.1.2 Specifications of Chondroitin Sulfate1.2 Classification of Chondroitin Sulfate1.2.1 0.851.2.2 0.91.2.3 0.951.2.4 Other1.3 Applications of Chondroitin Sulfate1.3.1 Health care industry1.3.2 Pharmaceutical industry1.3.3 Other1.4 Market Segment by Regions1.4.1 North America1.4.2 China1.4.3 Europe1.4.4 Southeast Asia1.4.5 Japan1.4.6 India2 Manufacturing Cost Structure Analysis of Chondroitin Sulfate2.1 Raw Material and Suppliers2.2 Manufacturing Cost Structure Analysis of Chondroitin Sulfate2.3 Manufacturing Process Analysis of Chondroitin Sulfate2.4 Industry Chain Structure of Chondroitin Sulfate3 Technical Data and Manufacturing Plants Analysis of Chondroitin Sulfate3.1 Capacity and Commercial Production Date of Global Chondroitin Sulfate Major Manufacturers in 20153.2 Manufacturing Plants Distribution of Global Chondroitin Sulfate Major Manufacturers in 20153.3 R&D Status and Technology Source of Global Chondroitin Sulfate Major Manufacturers in 20153.4 Raw Materials Sources Analysis of Global Chondroitin Sulfate Major Manufacturers in 20154 Global Chondroitin Sulfate Overall Market Overview4.1 2011-2016E Overall Market Analysis4.2 Capacity Analysis4.2.1 2011-2016E Global Chondroitin Sulfate Capacity and Growth Rate Analysis4.2.2 2015 Chondroitin Sulfate Capacity Analysis (Company Segment)4.3 Sales Analysis4.3.1 2011-2016E Global Chondroitin Sulfate Sales and Growth Rate Analysis4.3.2 2015 Chondroitin Sulfate Sales Analysis (Company Segment)4.4 Sales Price Analysis4.4.1 2011-2016E Global Chondroitin Sulfate Sales Price4.4.2 2015 Chondroitin Sulfate Sales Price Analysis (Company Segment)For Latest QYResearchreports Press Release Visit @QYResearchReports.com is an unimpeachable source of market research data for clients that comprise acclaimed SMEs, Chinese companies, private equity firms, and MNCs. We provide market research reports on various categories such as Energy, Chemicals, Alternative and Green Energy, Manufacturing, Machinery, Pharmaceuticals and Materials, and Glass.QYResearchreportsContact Us1820 AvenueM Suite #1047Brooklyn, NY 11230United States+1-518-621-2074866-997-4948USA-Canada Toll freesales@qyresearchreports.comFor Latest Press Release Visit @ Cadmium Pigments Market - Analyzed To Be Fastest Growing Market To 2019 Cadmium Pigments Market http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=B&rep_id=2412 http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/ Cadmium pigments refer to a class of pigments that contain cadmium as one of the chemical components. Cadmium is predominantly used in batteries, which is followed by their use in pigments. Apart from these, cadmium pigments are used in glasses, ceramics, plastics, and other products.The booming consumer goods industry, which accounts for large volume consumption of plastics is tremendously contributing to the growth of the cadmium pigments market. The plastics sector accounts for almost 75% of the consumption of cadmium pigments. The pigment has the ability to diffuse in several polymers and provides tinting strength, superior cooling, and high opacity. On top of this, cadmium pigments display excellent quality of color fastness in polymers that often lasts a lifetime.DOWNLOAD INDUSTRY RESEARCH REPORT BROCHURE FOR MORE PROFESSIONAL AND TECHNICAL INSIGHTS:Cadmium pigments are increasingly being used in advanced complex polymers. Complex polymers such as high density polyethylene, silicone resins, nylon, acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), polycarbonates, and other thermoplastic polymers extensively use cadmium pigments as these polymers are processes at very high temperature, which rules out the possibility of use of organic pigments and most of the inorganic pigments.The report presents a pin-point analysis of the growth trends, market dynamics, and competitive structure that will impact the growth of the global cadmium pigments market for the 2013-2019 period.Global Cadmium Pigments Market: Drivers and RestraintsThe major factors driving the cadmium pigments market are due to the properties of cadmium of resistance to high temperature, low melting point, good electrical conductivity, and high corrosion resistance. Cadmium pigments are also extensively used in industrial paints. The chemical inertness and high temperature resistance of cadmium pigments make them suitable for steam pipes and chemical containers. Due to the physical and chemical properties of cadmium pigments, there are no substantial alternatives and are rarely imitated by other inorganic pigments. The unavailability of suitable alternatives acts as a major driver for the cadmium pigments market.However, the growth of the cadmium pigments market is restrained due to several factors. Individuals exposed to cadmium are subject to health problems with kidney and lungs being mostly affected due to prolonged exposure to cadmium pigments. Cadmium pigments are non-essential for human beings and their proper disposal is of prime importance. Cadmium if released in the soil or water bodies enters the food chain from where it is absorbed into the human body.In 2011, the European Union banned the use of cadmium pigments for all plastics. This development is restraining the growth of the Europe cadmium pigments market. Mostly all countries discourage the extensive use of cadmium pigments due to its inherent environmental concerns. Nevertheless, lack of safer alternatives to cadmium pigments will lead to a steady growth of the global cadmium pigments market in the foreseeable future.Global Cadmium Pigments Market: Regional OutlookThe report segments the global cadmium pigments market into the regional segments of North America, Asia Pacific, Europe, and Rest of the World. Amongst these, Asia Pacific displays the highest demand for cadmium pigments and the trend is anticipated to continue. North America displays a steady demand for cadmium pigments resulting in moderate growth of the cadmium pigments market in the region. In Europe, the cadmium pigments market is on the decline due to the ban imposed by the government for the use of cadmium products.Major Companies Mentioned in ReportSome of the leading companies involved in the global cadmium pigments market are JMB Ltd., Hunan Jufa Technology Co. Ltd., and Rockwood Pigments NA Inc. 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. TMR's 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.Contact Us:-Transparency Market Research90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite: Non-Cocoa Confectionery Market Professional Survey about Supply, Consumption, Sales 2016 Analysis & Forecasts to 2022 Non-Cocoa Confectionery Market Drivers https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/sample_request/1712 https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/reports/noncocoa-confectionery-market https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/reports/grated-powdered-blended-cheese-market Global Non-Cocoa Confectionery Market has been estimated to grow over 3.28% post 2022.Market HighlightsThere is an increase in demand for non-cocoa confectionery due to rise in disposable incomes and changing consumption patterns. Hike in confectionery ingredients prices for ingredients in the recent years has encouraged consumers to opt for other non-cocoa confectionery products.Hence, Global Confectionery market is expected to grow at CAGR over 2.5% post the year 2022.Market Research AnalysisSecondary data reveals that the Confectionery sale is projected to grow more than 3.28% annually post the year 2022. The top 5 exporters of confectionery include Germany, Mexico, China, Belgium and Turkey. Perception and association of new ideas with new flavors and forms like fun bites, bits, rolls, crisps is supporting the Non-Cocoa Confectionery MarketKey Players Mondelez International, Inc. Ferrero SpA The Hershey Company Nestle India Limited Arcor Group DS Group Lindt & Sprungli Cloetta AB Lotte Sugar Confectionery Co. Ltd Morinaga & Co. Ltd. Ezaki Glico MARS Inc. ITC Limited Orion Confectionery Co. Ltd.Get a Sample Report @Market SegmentsBy Typeo Sugar confectioneryo Gum ConfectioneryBy Formo Candieso Gummy Candieso Lollipopso Candy BarsBy Regiono North Americao Europeo APACo AfricaReasons to buy This report includes in-depth study analysis of non-cocoa confectionery market It covers market segmentation by type and form It helps in identifying region-wise major suppliers and understand consumption patterns The report will provide useful and premium insights that will support in investments for confectionery and allied companies providing details on the fast growing segments and regions In addition, it will provide key findings that will help the companies to improve profitability by using supply chain strategies, cost effectiveness of various products mentioned in the report The data used in the report is primarily based on primary interviews with the major producing companies and industry experts and also supported by authentic industry data from secondary sourcesBrowse Report @Intended Audience Sugar Confectionery manufacturers Candy manufacturers Retailers, wholesalers E-commerce companies Traders, Importers and exportersTable of Content1 Executive Summary2 Market Introductions2.1 Definition2.2 Scope of the study2.2.1 Research Objectives2.2.2 Assumptions2.2.3 Limitations2.3 Markets Structure2.4 Stakeholders3 Research methodologies3.1 Research process3.2 Secondary research3.3 Primary research3.4 Forecast model3.5 Market Size estimation4 Market Dynamics4.1 Drivers4.2 Restraints4.3 Opportunities4.4 Challenges5 Market Trends5.1 Trends in Supply/Production5.2 Trends in Demand/Consumption5.3 Emerging Markets (Supply & Demand)5.4 Emerging Brands5.5 Trade (Import+Export) Analysis5.6 Innovations in Products/Process5.7 Macroeconomic indicators Analysis for top 5 Producing countries6 Market Factor Analysis6.1 Introduction6.2 Value chain analysis6.3 Porters five forces6.4 Supply Chain AnalysisContinueRelated ReportGrated, Powdered & Blended Cheese Market Information-by type (American, Italian, Swiss, Blue, Brick, Muenster, and others), by form (grated, powdered, Mixtures/Blends and others), by applications (Ready to Eat Foods, creams, confectionery, sauces & dips, processed cheese, snacks, bakery products, flavors and others), and by 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.Akash Anand,Market Research Future+1 646 845 9312Email: akash.anand@marketresearchfuture.com New Trends of Geomembranes Market with Worldwide Industry Analysis To 2020 Global Geomembranes Market http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=B&rep_id=2998 http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/ Infrastructural development across the world, mainly related to the construction of new roads is benefitting the geomembranes market. Geomembranes are increasingly being used in road construction activities as their benefits are being recognized. Geomembranes are used as a basis in asphalt layovers as they help to strengthen weak soil by holding them together, thereby increasing the life span of roads.Geomembranes refer to synthetic membranes or liners that have very low permeability and are used with geotechnical engineering. Geomembranes are synthesized with the impregnation of geotextiles with elastomers, asphalt, or multilayered bitumen geocomposites.DOWNLOAD INDUSTRY RESEARCH REPORT BROCHURE FOR MORE PROFESSIONAL AND TECHNICAL INSIGHTS:The report provides a pin-point analysis of the various factors that will the competitive dynamics of the global geomembranes market during the forecast period. The report analyzes market segments and growth trends, which is insightful for informed business decision making.Global Geomembranes Market: Drivers and RestraintsThe increasing use of geomembranes for road construction activities is benefitting the growth of the global geomembranes market. The growing demand for geomembranes for drainage applications is also expected to fuel the growth of the geomembranes market. This is because geomembranes used in drainage system acts as a permeable separator that allows water to pass seamlessly.Due to the low hydraulic activity of geomembranes, they are increasingly being used in landfills resulting in low seepage rate out of the landfill. This is further boosting the markets growth. The escalating need for landfills along with the need for reducing contamination of surroundings is fuelling the growth of the geomembranes market. Moreover, mining applications are anticipated to open new avenues for the geomembranes market.Global Geomembranes Market: Regional OutlookThe global geomembranes market can be divided into the regional segments of North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and Rest of the World. Amongst these, Asia Pacific is expected to represent as a major market for geomembranes. The heavy infrastructural development combined with innovation in geomembranes for drainage applications is expected to aid the growth of this regional market for geomembranes.Europe is expected to hold the second-largest share in the global geomembranes market. The setup of the innovation project New Road Construction Concepts (NR2C) carried out by the Forum of European National Highway Research Laboratories in association with the European Commission aims at repair and replacement of railways, roadways, and other infrastructure across several countries in Europe. The objective of the project also includes building and maintenance of bridges in this region. Thus, the growth of the geomembranes market in the region is expected to be benefitted. In Europe, the maintenance of the highly developed infrastructure coupled with the rising awareness for promoting vegetation growth in the region is also expected to boost the geomembranes market in this region.North America is expected to display a moderate growth in the geomembranes market as it has developed infrastructure and has fewer road construction projects underway. However, geomembranes are increasingly being used to curb erosion in the large number of water bodies that are present in this region. An increasing number of experiments undertaken by regulatory bodies is anticipated to result in the increased demand for the fabric for several new applications.In Rest of the World region, projects for the improvement of road infrastructure and the transport sector are expected to benefit the geomembranes market in this region.Major Companies Mentioned in ReportSome of the leading companies that operate in the global geomembranes market are Agru America Inc., Colorado Lining International Inc., Nilex Inc., Carthage Mills, Juta A.S., and Officine Maccaferri 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. TMR's 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.Contact Us:-Transparency Market Research90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite: Pressure Sensors Market - Overview on market illuminated by new report http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=S&rep_id=2094 http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com Global pressure sensors market was valued at USD 6.53 billion in 2014, growing at a CAGR of 6.2% from 2014 to 2020. Pressure sensors are typically used for measuring pressure of gas or liquids. These sensors usually act as a transducer and generate electrical signals as a function of the pressure imposed on them. With technological advancements in several industry verticals such as automotive, healthcare, and oil and gas, the applications and functionalities of pressure sensors is evolving continuously. Modern day pressure sensors utilize digital technology for providing better sensing performance and efficiency.The global pressure sensors market is segmented by region into North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific (APAC) and Rest of the World (RoW). The pressure sensors market is primarily driven by increasing demand of pressure sensors in automotive applications. In addition, government regulations mandating the use of pressure sensors in automobiles is further contributing to the growth in demand for this market. The use of technologies such as MEMS is also influencing the growth in demand for pressure sensors and associated components.Geographically, Asia Pacific led the pressure sensors market in 2014 and the region is expected to continue its dominance in 2020. The regions dominance is due to increasing production of motor vehicles in countries such as Japan, South Korea, China, and India. Moreover, rapid level of industrialization in this region is also contributing to the growth of pressure sensors market. North America and Europe followed Asia Pacific in the global pressure sensors market collectively account for more than half of the global market revenue share.PDF Sample For Full Details with Technological breakthroughs is @The pressure sensors market is segmented on the basis of sensor technology into piezoresistive pressure sensors, electromagnetic pressure sensors, capacitive pressure sensors, resonant solid state pressure sensors, optical pressure sensors and others. Demand for piezoresistive pressure sensors is attributed to their wide range of applications in automotive and medical sectors. Piezoresistive pressure sensors segment is closely followed by electromagnetic and capacitive pressure sensors.The pressure sensors market is further segmented by applications into automotive, oil and gas, consumer electronics, medical, industrial and others. Automotive applications of pressure sensors held the largest revenue share in 2013. With the increase in production of motor vehicles across the globe, the demand for automotive pressure sensors has grown substantially. Consumer electronics is analyzed to be the fastest growing application segment for pressure sensors and is expected to attain a significant growth in the recent future.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: Global Health and Medical Simulation Products Market Professional Survey 2016 Industry Insights into its Leading Competitors - 3B Scientific, Anesoft, BioDigital, B-Line Medical http://www.qyresearchreports.com/sample/sample.php?rep_id=856147&type=E http://www.qyresearchreports.com This report studies Health and Medical Simulation Products in Global market, especially in North America, Europe, China, Japan, Southeast Asia and India, with production, revenue, consumption, import and export in these regions, from 2011 to 2015, and forecast to 2021.This report focuses on top manufacturers in global market, with production, price, revenue and market share for each manufacturer, covering3B ScientificAnesoft3D SystemsBioDigitalB-Line MedicalCAEEducation Management Solutions (EMS)GaumardImmersionIngMar MedicalKyoto KagakuLaerdal MedicalLimbs and ThingsMedical SimulationMenticePromodelSimbionixSimulabSimulaidsSurgical ScienceBy types, the market can be split intoPatient SimulatorSurgical SimulatorImaging SimulationTask TrainersBy Application, the market can be split intoMedical SchoolsHospitalsMilitaryOther applicationsBy Regions, this report covers (we can add the regions/countries as you want)North AmericaChinaEuropeSoutheast AsiaJapanIndiaVisit here To Get a Free PDF of Sample Report Copy @QYresearchreports.com delivers the latest strategic market intelligence to build a successful business footprint in China. Our syndicated and customized research reports provide companies with vital background information of the market and in-depth analysis on the Chinese trade and investment framework, which directly affects their business operations.QYResearchReports1820 AvenueM Suite #1047Brooklyn, NY 11230United StatesToll Free: 866-997-4948 (USA-CANADA)Tel: +1-518-618-1030Web:Email: sales@qyresearchreports.com Software Testing Services Market In Europe: Key Trends Size, Share, Growth And Forecast 2021 Market Research Report http://www.researchmoz.us/enquiry.php?type=S&repid=863850 http://www.researchmoz.us/enquiry.php?type=E&repid=863850 http://www.researchmoz.us/ http://bit.ly/1TBmnVG ResearchMoz presents this most up-to-date research on "Software Testing Services Market In Europe: Key Trends Size, Share, Growth And Forecast 2021".This report studies sales (consumption) of Software Testing Services in Europe market, especially in Germany, UK, France, Russia, Italy, Benelux and Spain, focuses on top players in these countries, with sales, price, revenue and market share for each player in these Countries, coveringAccentureCapgeminiIBMWipro...Market Segment by Countries, this report splits Europe into several key Countries, with sales (consumption), revenue, market share and growth rate of Software Testing Services in these countries, from 2011 to 2021 (forecast), likeGermanyFranceUKRussiaItalySpainBeneluxSplit by product type, with sales, revenue, price, market share and growth rate of each type, can be divided intoType IType IIType IIITo Get Sample Copy of Report visit @Split by application, this report focuses on sales, market share and growth rate of Software Testing Services in each application, can be divided intoApplication 1Application 2Application 3Table of ContentsEurope Software Testing Services Market Report 20161 Software Testing Services Overview1.1 Product Overview and Scope of Software Testing Services1.2 Classification of Software Testing Services1.2.1 Type I1.2.2 Type II1.2.3 Type III1.3 Application of Software Testing Services1.3.1 Application 11.3.2 Application 21.3.3 Application 31.4 Software Testing Services Market by Countries1.4.1 Germany Status and Prospect (2011-2021)1.4.2 France Status and Prospect (2011-2021)2 Europe Software Testing Services by Manufacturers, Type and Application2.1 Europe Software Testing Services Market Competition by Manufacturers2.1.1 Europe Software Testing Services Sales and Market Share of Key Manufacturers (2015 and 2016)2.1.2 Europe Software Testing Services Revenue and Share by Manufacturers (2015 and 2016)2.2 Europe Software Testing Services (Volume and Value) by Type2.2.1 Europe Software Testing Services Sales and Market Share by Type (2011-2016)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 @ Roofing Market - Changing Supply And Demand Scenarios By 2016 - 2024 Roofing Market http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=S&rep_id=4234 http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/ Roofing Materials are basically employed as construction materials. Various kinds of roofing materials are available in the global roofing market such as roof tiles, metals, and bituminous. These type of roofing products are manufactured through various different processes. Roofing products comprise the outermost layer of the structure or building. The outermost layer of the building roof exhibits high nonconformity in terms of property totally depending on the type and availability of the material supporting the structure. The raw materials that are used in the production of roofing materials to commercially available products to natural materials such as plastic sheeting, tiles, slates, and thatches among others. These roofing materials can be put over an underlayment, a secondary water-resistant material. These products are known for primarily providing shelter from several natural elements. The materials from which roofing materials are produced are clay, cement, metal, and bitumen. The applications of roofing materials include public outlets, educational institutes, hotels, offices, and buildings.The primary driver of the global roofing market is the growing construction industry, mainly in developing countries. However, the growth of the market is likely to be inhibited by the high cost of production of roofing materials and skyrocketing costs of installation of roofing systems. The players can nevertheless expect opportunities from the in the technology in roofing materials such as photovoltaic roofing systems.GET PDF BROCHURE FOR MORE PROFESSIONAL AND TECHNICAL INDUSTRY INSIGHTS:The global roofing market is expected to register a 6.4% CAGR from 2016 to 2024. The market was worth US$71.23 bn in 2015 and is likely to rise to a valuation of US$124.50 bn by the end of 2024.Bituminous Roofing to Emerge as Leading Product SegmentIn 2015, with a share of 45%, bituminous roofing emerged as the leading segment in terms of product in the global roofing market. It is commonly known as asphalt roofing and is widely employed in developed countries such as Canada and the U.S. Bituminous roofing is easy to install and is relatively feasible. It can last for a period of 20 years to 40 years and is also available in several different textures and colors. The segment of bituminous roofing is also projected to exhibit strong growth over the coming years with a CAGR of over 4%. The growth of this segment is highly attributed to the growing construction industry and a significant rise in the construction of hospitals, institutions, and amusement parks owing to robust urbanization.Asia Pacific to Provide Lucrative Growth OpportunitiesIn 2015, Asia Pacific emerged as the leading region in the global roofing market. The growth of the market in this region is generally ascribed to the expanding construction industry due to an extensive rise in commercial, non-residential, and residential construction activities. Based on volume, Asia Pacific accounted for over 40% of the overall share in the global roofing market in 2015. It has also been estimated to be the leading region in terms of growth rate as well during the forecast period. The growth of the region is also largely due to the building of hotels, office spaces, commercial buildings, educational institutions, and medical centers among others in Japan, India, and China. The market in the Middle East and Africa region is also expected to expand at a significant rate. As the Europe market is already mature, it is expected to witness steady yet average growth.The leading companies in the global roofing market are Carlisle, TAMKO Building ProductsInc., Firestone Building Products Company, Owens Corning, IKO Industries Ltd., Johns Manville, GAF, Braas Monier Building Group Services S.A., CertainTeed Corporation, Duro-Last Roofing, Inc., and Atlas Roofing Corporation.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. TMR's 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.Contact Us:-Transparency Market Research90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite: Flame Resistant Fabrics Market - Evolving Market Trends And Dynamics By 2016 - 2024 Flame Resistant Fabrics Market http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=S&rep_id=1374 http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/ Flame resistant fabrics, the textiles which inherently possess flame resistant properties or are treated with a flame resistant substance, are extensively used to manufacture garments, furnishings, and apparels for applications across a number of industries, including hospitality, military, healthcare, and oil and gas. Blends of treated and inherently flame resistance fibers fabrics are also commonly used to manufacture flame resistant products for use across these and other industries.In the past few years, a vast rise in demand for flame resistant clothing for use in the defense industry and several other industries with constant risk of fire outbreaks has been witnessed across the globe. Thus, flame resistant clothing and the market producing and marketing flame resistant fabrics makes for a marketplace with vast growth opportunities, especially as government regulations regarding employee safety in high-risk industries and operations become increasingly stringent.GET PDF BROCHURE FOR MORE PROFESSIONAL AND TECHNICAL INDUSTRY INSIGHTS:Transparency Market Research estimates that the global flame resistant fabric market will exhibit a promising 6.8% CAGR from 2016 to 2024 and rise from a valuation of US$3.63 bn in 2015 to US$6.56 bn by 2024.Applications in Industrial Protective Clothing to Rake in Leading Sale VolumesOf the key applications of flame resistant fabrics, including use in law enforcement and firefighting services, corporate and home furnishing, industrial protective clothing, and the transport industry, applications across the industrial protective clothing are presently the most lucrative ones. The segment topped amongst key application areas in terms of volume-wise consumption or sales of flame resistant fabrics in the global market in 2015 and was followed by the law enforcement and firefighting services and transportation segments.Industrial protective clothing creates an inert and stable barrier between the skin and fire, granting the wearer effective protection against direct exposure to flames or excessive temperatures. While industrial protective clothing has witnessed extensive rise in demand across key end-use industries, its demand curve steepened in 2015 owing to a significant slowdown in the oil and gas industry. Nevertheless, applications across the transport industry helped the market achieve stable growth and sustainable returns.Market in Europe Projected to Retain DominanceIn terms of geography, the global flame resistant fabric market witnessed the dominance of Europe, which gained a nearly 30% of the global market in 2015. Vast demand for flame resistant fabrics for the production of a diverse range of products utilized in the regions established and high-growth transportation industry is the key factor driving the Europe flame resistant fabrics market. Countries such as Italy and Germany are expected to remain the leading demand drivers of the regions flame resistant fabrics market due to the high demand from end-use industries such as car racing.Asia Pacific is presently the second-leading consumer of flame resistant fabrics and is expected to remain one of the most promising regional markets for flame resistant fabrics in the next few years as well. The region features a rapidly expanding industrial sector across countries such as India and China and has a constantly rising human resource pool serving it. As a result, the demand for protective clothing is presently high and is expected to rise substantially over the next few years.North America accounted for the third-largest share in the global market in 2015 and is expected to remain one of the leading consumers of flame resistant fabrics in the near future owing to strict employee safety regulations. The market for flame resistant fabrics is also expected to witness sizeable traction in the Middle East and Africa owing to encouraging growth observed in the industrial sector of late.Some of the key vendors operating in the market are Teijin Aramid, TenCate, DuPont, Lenzing AG, and Milliken & 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. TMR's 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.Contact Us:-Transparency Market Research90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite: Biomass Power Market Players profiling with detailed Strategies, Investment Feasibility and Growth Opportunities to 2027 Biomass Power Market by region https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/sample_request/1692 https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/reports/biomass-power-market https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/reports/automotive-position-sensors-market Global Biomass Power Market Information Report by Type (Wood, Alcohol fuel, Biomass gas), by Application (Residential, Commercial and Industrial) and by Region - Forecast to 2027Market HighlightsThe Global Biomass Power Market is estimated to be a lucrative market within the upstream oil and gas industry. Increasing awareness among individuals and growing demand for renewable sources of energy are expected to drive the market.Biomass Power MarketRenewable energy industry is currently witnessing a significant surge in their demand; this is mainly due to the increasing demand for energy. 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Europe and Asia-Pacific are the other major regions for the Biomass Power market due to boost in the manufacturing sector in these regions.Browse Report @Intended Audience Biomass Power manufacturers Biomass Power Suppliers Research and Development (R&D) CompaniesList of TablesTable 1 Global Biomass Power Market SnapshotTable 2 Drivers for the MarketTable 3 Restraints for the MarketTable 4 Global Biomass Power market, By ProductTable 5 Wood Market, By RegionTable 6 Alcohol Fuel Infrastructure Market, By RegionTable 7 Global Biomass Power market, By End-UserTable 8 Residential Market, By RegionTable 9 Commercial Market, By RegionTable 10 Industrial Market, By RegionTable 11 Global Biomass Power Market, By RegionTable 12 North America Biomass Power Market, By CountryTable 13 U.S. Biomass Power Market, By TypeTable 14 U.S. Biomass Power market, By End-UserTable 15 Canada Biomass Power Market, By TypeTable 16 Canada Biomass Power Market, By End-UserTable 17 Mexico Biomass Power Market, By TypeTable 18 Mexico Biomass Power Market, By End-UserTable 19 Europe Biomass Power Market, By CountryTable 20 U.K. Biomass Power Market, By TypeTable 21 U.K. Biomass Power Market, By End-UserContinue..Related ReportAutomotive Position Sensors Market Information Report by Type (Multi-axis, Angular, and Linear), vehicle type (High end, Mid End, Low End and electric) and by Region - Global 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.Akash Anand,Market Research Future+1 646 845 9312Email: akash.anand@marketresearchfuture.com Prolific Healthcare Solutions of Global Pharmaceutical Contract Manufacturing Market Research Report 2016 Industry Developments & Threats : Famar, Recipharm, Jubilant, Aenova http://www.qyresearchreports.com/sample/sample.php?rep_id=856194&type=E http://www.qyresearchreports.com This report studies Pharmaceutical Contract Manufacturing in Global market, especially in North America, Europe, China, Japan, Southeast Asia and India, focuses on top manufacturers in global market, with Production, price, revenue and market share for each manufacturer, coveringFamarRecipharmJubilantVetterPfizer Central SourceAenovaCatalentHaupt PharmaAjinomoto Althea, IncDishmanKemwellNextPharmaNipro CorpPatheon IncRoyal DSM N.VAbbVieSopharmaMarket Segment by Regions, this report splits Global into several key Regions, with production, consumption, revenue, market share and growth rate of Pharmaceutical Contract Manufacturing in these regions, from 2011 to 2021 (forecast), likeNorth AmericaEuropeChinaJapanSoutheast AsiaIndiaPrimary and secondary methodologies of research are employed in the report to present the overall competitive landscape of the global Pharmaceutical Contract Manufacturing market. 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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 @ Commercial Fluorescent Lighting Market - A complete backdrop analysis, which includes an assessment of the parent market http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=S&rep_id=594 http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com The fluorescent lamps were invented by an American inventor Inman in 1938, since then fluorescent lights have undergone technological developments and have been structured in tandem with advancements in human lifestyles. 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The key players of commercial fluorescent lightning market have been profiled with a focus on competitive details such as company, financial overview and SWOT analysis. The company profiles of major players such as Philips Lighting, Osram Sylvania, GE Lighting, Acuity Brands, and Cooper Lighting have been incorporated in this report.Latin America commercial fluorescent lighting market is segmented regionally as below:CubaCosta RicaDominican RepublicJamaicaPanamaTransparency 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: Global Shower nozzle Market 2016 - MIZUKAMI KINZOKU CO., LTD, Cixi City Qianyao Sanitary Ware Factory, Xiamen W&F Plumbing Co., Ltd. Shower nozzle https://goo.gl/Fm01NR https://goo.gl/JiKu42 The Shower nozzle Market report created by Markets N Research includes in-depth study of variable market trends and statistics by dynamic team of researchers. The report provides detailed information about the definition and specification, and focuses on overall analysis of the manufacturing process along with in-depth classification of segments based on applications, end-users, and products physical properties. The report delivers precise data relevant to competitive analysis based on regional insight along with future forecasts.View Full Report with TOC :The Shower nozzle report provides exhaustive information of overall manufacturers, vendors, and suppliers with complete summary of specification, future trends of the company, and historical data along with statistics. In order to present the analyzed data for better clarity related to the latest trends, the report comprises number of pictorial represented data in the form of figures, tables graphs, and diagrams. The Global Shower nozzle Market 2017 report has also accounted Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) in % value for specific period for Shower nozzle market, which would help users to conclude decision based on futuristic chart.Major Manufacturers Analysis of Shower nozzle Are,1.MIZUKAMI KINZOKU CO., LTD2.DOT GLOBAL SOURCING LIMITED3.BHATIA & BROTHERS4.Suzhou Kota Hardware&Tools Co., Ltd.5.Leen Ceramic Factory Chaoan District Chaozhou6.Ningbo Goup International Trade Co., Ltd.7.Jiangmen Hengmei Sanitary Ware Co., Ltd.8.Cixi City Qianyao Sanitary Ware Factory9.Shenzhen Lanho Technology Co., Ltd.10.Shenzhen Slinya Electronic Co., Ltd.11.Lucky Toys Factory12.Xiamen W&F Plumbing Co., Ltd.13.Shanghai Flory Import & Export Co., Ltd.14.Tianjin Zhengjian Nano-Tech Co., Ltd.The Shower nozzle report also includes the review of developmental factors implemented by the key players in terms of mergers and acquisitions, product developments, expansions, and contracts. 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Fior Markets also specializes in analyzing hi-tech systems and current processing systems in its expertise.We have a team of experts that compile precise research reports and actively advise top companies to improve their existing processes. Our experts have extensive experience in the topics that they cover.Contact UsMark StoneSales ManagerPhone: (201) 465-4211Email: sales@fiormarkets.comWeb:Blog: World Denim Fabric Market 2016 - Canatiba, Vicunha, Arvind, Aarvee, Nandan Denim Ltd, Weiqiao Textile http://www.fiormarkets.com/report-detail/20062/request-sample www.fiormarkets.com www.9dimenreports.com The recent report on Denim Fabric market offers insightful information about the present scenario of the market across the globe. The report, titled Denim Fabric points out the key factors affecting the growth of the market. Latest market trends as well as the future growth opportunities have been mentioned in the report. 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Fior Markets also specializes in analyzing hi-tech systems and current processing systems in its expertise.We have a team of experts that compile precise research reports and actively advise top companies to improve their existing processes. Our experts have extensive experience in the topics that they cover.Contact UsMark StoneSales ManagerPhone: (201) 465-4211Email: sales@fiormarkets.comWeb:Blog: Pressure Sensitive Adhesives Market demand will increase by 2015-2021 http://www.syndicatemarketresearch.com/request-for-sample.html?flag=S&repid=87255 https://goo.gl/qmQqGF http://www.syndicatemarketresearch.com/market-analysis/pressure-sensitive-adhesives-market.html http://www.syndicatemarketresearch.com The report covers forecast and analysis for the Pressure Sensitive Adhesives market on a global and regional level. The study provides historic data of 2015 along with a forecast from 2016 to 2021 based on volume and revenue (USD Million). 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Pressure Sensitive Adhesives finds widespread applications in Tapes, Specialty, Labels, Graphics, and Other. All the segments have been analyzed based on present and future trends and the market is estimated from 2015 to 2021.The regional segmentation includes the current and forecast demand for North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America and Middle East and Africa with its further bifurcation into major countries including U.S. Germany, France, UK, China, Japan, India and Brazil.Inquire more before buying this report @The report covers detailed competitive outlook including company profiles of the key participants operating in the global market.This report segments the Pressure Sensitive Adhesives market as follows:Pressure Sensitive Adhesives Market: Type Segment AnalysisWater-basedSolvent-basedHot MeltRadiation CuredPressure Sensitive Adhesives Market: Applications Segment AnalysisTapesSpecialtyLabelsGraphicsOtherPressure Sensitive Adhesives Market: Regional Segment AnalysisNorth AmericaU.S.EuropeUKFranceGermanyAsia PacificChinaJapanIndiaLatin AmericaBrazilMiddle East and AfricaBrowse detail report @About Us:Syndicate Market Research provides a range of marketing and business research solutions designed for our clients specific needs based on our expert resources. 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It highlights the latest market state, the progress pattern in the previous years, and the prospects present for market participants in the near future. The research methods and tools employed in the achievement of this research publication are both secondary and primary. The market intelligence study also provides facts about the investments initiated by several organizations, institutions, government, and non-government authorities and regulatory bodies.To Get Free Sample Copy of Report visit @The publication further presents a valuation of the facets that are likely to prevent or encourage the expansion of the global Methyl Mercaptan market. The global Methyl Mercaptan market has been examined scrupulously based on aspects such as application, technology, product, end user, and geographical segment. An examination has been carried out in the research report of the chief regional segments and their respective place and share in the Methyl Mercaptan market. The estimated revenue and volume valuation of the global market for Methyl Mercaptan has also been stated in the study.An estimate of the market attractiveness and the level of competition that new entrants along with their new products are likely to offer to the experienced products and players has also been delivered in the market research publication. The market report also discusses the new expansions, the innovations, branding techniques, marketing approaches, and products of the chief players operational in the global Methyl Mercaptan market. The vendor landscape has been broadly scrutinized employing the Porters five forces and value chain analysis to deliver a strong conception of the market. The challenges and opportunities in the near future for the key participants have also been stressed upon in the research publication.Browse Complete Report with TOC @Table of ContentsChapter One Methyl Mercaptan Industry Overview 11.1 Methyl Mercaptan Definition 11.2 Methyl Mercaptan Classification and Application 11.3 Methyl Mercaptan Industry Chain Structure 21.4 Methyl Mercaptan Industry Overview 21.5 Methyl Mercaptan Industry Policy Analysis 21.6 Methyl Mercaptan Industry News Analysis 3Chapter Two Methyl Mercaptan International and China Market Analysis 52.1 Methyl Mercaptan Industry International Market Analysis 52.1.1 Methyl Mercaptan International Market Development History 52.1.2 Methyl Mercaptan Product and Technology Developments 52.1.3 Methyl Mercaptan International Competitive Landscape Analysis 72.1.4 Methyl Mercaptan International Key Countries Development Status 82.1.5 Methyl Mercaptan International Market Development Trend 92.2 Methyl Mercaptan Industry China Market Analysis 92.2.1 Methyl Mercaptan China Market Development History 92.2.2 Methyl Mercaptan Product and Technology Developments 102.2.3 Methyl Mercaptan China Competitive Landscape Analysis 112.2.4 Methyl Mercaptan China Market Development Trend 112.3 Methyl Mercaptan International and China Market Comparison Analysis 12Chapter Three Methyl Mercaptan Technical Data and Manufacturing Plants Analysis 133.1 2014 Global Key Manufacturers Methyl Mercaptan Capacity and Commercial Production Date 133.2 2014 Global Key Manufacturers Methyl Mercaptan Manufacturing Plants Distribution 133.3 2014 Global Key Manufacturers Methyl Mercaptan Raw Materials Sources Analysis 14Chapter Four Methyl Mercaptan Production by Regions by Technology 154.1 2009-2014 Methyl Mercaptan Production by Regions 154.2 2009-2014 Methyl Mercaptan Price by key Manufacturers 154.3 2009-2014 North America Methyl Mercaptan Capacity Production Price Cost Production Value Analysis 154.4 2009-2014 Europe Methyl Mercaptan Capacity Production Price Cost Production Value Analysis 164.5 2009-2014 Asia Methyl Mercaptan Capacity Production Price Cost Production Value Analysis 164.6 2009-2014 North America Methyl Mercaptan Supply Import Export Consumption 174.7 2009-2014 Europe Methyl Mercaptan Supply Import Export Consumption 174.8 2009-2014 Asia Methyl Mercaptan Supply Import Export Consumption 18For Market Research Latest Reports Visit @QYResearchReports.com is an unimpeachable source of market research data for clients that comprise acclaimed SMEs, Chinese companies, private equity firms, and MNCs. We provide market research reports on various categories such as Energy, Chemicals, Alternative and Green Energy, Manufacturing, Machinery, Pharmaceuticals and Materials, and Glass.1820 AvenueM Suite #1047Brooklyn, NY 11230United States Human Biobanking Ownership Market : Technological Breakthroughs, Value Chain And Stakeholder Analysis By 2024 http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=B&rep_id=12491 http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/human-biobanking-ownership-market.html http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/ Global Human Biobanking Ownership Market: Drivers and RestraintsThe genetic data compiled by human biobanks helps scientists to understand hereditary diseases and the interaction of environmental and genetic factors. Studying the correlation between environmental and genetic factors is crucial to understand the mutations caused in the genes. Furthermore, these biobanks offer researchers an extensive pool of samples on the basis of age, gender, education, and lifestyle. All these factors have contributed toward the growth of the global human biobanking ownership market.For Any Queries Get Solutions With A PDF Sample :Cost is one of the primary factors inhibiting the growth of the global human biobanking ownership market. The process of sequencing genome is both tedious and expensive. As a result, government-owned biobanks usually outsource this process to research organizations. Compared to sequencing of genomes, genotyping is cheaper and about 10 times faster than harvesting the entire genetic code. Furthermore, concerns regarding the security of the genetic data across human biobanks have also hampered the growth of the market. In the U.S., 23andMe, a California-based personal genomics and biotechnology company has been accused of selling the genetic data of over one million customers for profit.In the near future, the global human biobanking ownership market is expected to be governed by laws to protect the privacy of gene donors and establish their rights. For example, in Estonia, the Human Genes Research Act passed in 1999 provides donors full authority over who can access their data and establishes anonymity in clinical research. Such laws will help in the growth of the global human biobanking ownership market.Global Human Biobanking Ownership Market: Vendor OutlookSome of the key players in the global human biobanking ownership market are Affymetrix Inc., Abbott Laboratories, Acorda Therapeutics, Alpha Cord Inc., Autogen Inc., Biobank Ireland Trust, BioCision, Biokryo GmbH, BioLife Solutions Inc., Biomatrica Inc., BioStorage Technologies Inc., Cells4Life Ltd., Cesca Therapeutics Inc., China Cord Blood Corporation, Core Dynamics Inc., and Cryo Bio System.Global Human Biobanking Ownership Market: Region-wise OutlookThe global human biobanking ownership market can be segmented into four key regions: Europe, Asia Pacific, North America, and Rest of the World. Among these, Asia Pacific has been driving the global market growth owing to the rapid growth of the private biobanks and clinical research organizations in the region. Demand witnessed in North America and Europe is also significantly aiding the growth of the market.In Europe, countries such as Estonia are focusing on collecting the DNA of every citizen in order to enrich their national biobank. In Estonia, the national biobank program started in 2000 by collecting DNA samples from a quarter of the countrys population. While these DNA samples are mostly used for clinical research, the government is planning to use this data to build a robust health care infrastructure by offering personalized care. The Government of Estonia has already started developing a system to make this genetic data available to citizens and doctors.Global Human Biobanking Ownership Market: OverviewBiobanks play a pivotal role in the field of biomedical research. A wide range of biospecimens including plasma, saliva, blood, and purified DNA are maintained by biobanks. These biospecimens are compiled to study the unique and general features of the continuous cell line and determine the presence or absence of contaminants. Biobanks usually compile the specimens on the basis of various genetic and other traits such as ethnicity, gender, age, and blood type. To understand the impact of environmental factors on the human genes, some of the samples are also collected depending upon whether the donor has been exposed to radiation and other substances.View exclusive Global strategic Business report :The human biobanking ownership market can be segmented into private banks, public banks, hospitals, biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies, diagnostics, transplantation, and biobank storage companies, and medical institutions, research, and forensics. The private and public banks can be further classified into disease-based banks, population-based banks, and academics.About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a global market intelligence company providing business information reports and services. The companys exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trend analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather and analyze information.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: Cigars & Cigarillos Market to witness increasing growth by, Globally 2024 https://www.zionmarketresearch.com/sample/cigars-cigarillos-market https://www.zionmarketresearch.com/toc/cigars-cigarillos-market https://www.zionmarketresearch.com/report/cigars-cigarillos-market http://www.zionmarketresearch.com Global Cigars & Cigarillos Market: OverviewThe dried and fermented tobacco leaves are tightly rolled and bound together to form cigars and cigarillos. These are of varied sizes, thicknesses, and lengths. The cigars are burnt at the end in order to intake tobacco smoke into the mouth. The cigars and cigarillos have become more popular in young and adult people. They are now considered a status symbol. People are ready to pay more money for their varied flavors. However, celebrities became an ideal example for attracting more consumers towards cigars and cigarillos. The smoking trend is gaining popularity among young and adult women too. For instance, Snoop Dogg launched his own tobacco cigar line, a new cigar brandExecutive Branch.Request Free Sample Report @Global Cigars & Cigarillos Market: Growth FactorsLower tax on cigar and cigarillos products is expected to fuel market. In addition, consumer acceptance of cigar and cigarillos as a status symbol is further anticipated to boost the market in future. One of the major driving factors is the difference in the in the tax rate. Increasing demand for cigars and cigarillos owing to its growing popularity is anticipated to contribute to the growth of the global market. Conversely, strict government regulation over advertisement and smoking in the public places restraints the market growth.Global Cigars & Cigarillos Market: SegmentationThe global cigars & cigarillos market is segmented on the basis of category as little cigars, cigars, and cigarillos. Of these, cigarillos accounted for the largest category segment due to its availability at low prices. Based on types, the global market is categorized as premium and mass. Of which, premium is the leading segment in the global market. The premium category brand shows robust growth in countries such as China, the U.S., and the UAE. Further, the cigars & cigarillos market is bifurcated on the basis of flavor as fruit, mint, chocolate, and others. The mint flavor contributed for the largest market share. Fruit is expected to dominate the market in the near future.Request Report TOC (Table of Contents) @Global Cigars & Cigarillos Market: Regional AnalysisNorth America is the dominating region for cigars & cigarillos market owing to favorable growth opportunities in this region. Asia Pacific is also expected to boost the market growth due to rising popularity in the youth. Furthermore, China is emerging as a demanding region for cigars & cigarillos market. The U.S. is also an emerging market for the cigars and cigarillos having a lower tax on cigarettes compared to others. The cigars and cigarillos are not controlled by the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act in the U.S. Hence, this region is anticipated to witness growth in the future. Under this act, nearly 20 cigarettes and flavored cigarettes have been banned in the U.S. but are not applicable to cigars and cigarillos; this is expected to propel the global market in future.Global Cigars & Cigarillos Market: Competitive PlayersThe major industries operating in the global cigars and cigarillos market include Trendsettah USA, Inc., British American Tobacco, Swisher International, Inc., Altria Group, Inc., Drew Estate LLC, Swedish Match AB, Imperial Brands, Oettinger Davidoff AG, Habanos S.A., Scandinavian Tobacco Group A/S, Altadis, and Godfrey Phillips India Ltd. and Plc.Browse detail report @Global Cigars & Cigarillos Market: Regional Segment AnalysisNorth AmericaU.S.EuropeUKFranceGermanyAsia PacificChinaJapanIndiaLatin AmericaBrazilThe Middle East and AfricaWhat Report ProvidesFull in-depth analysis of the parent marketImportant changes in market dynamicsSegmentation details of the marketFormer, on-going, and projected market analysis in terms of volume and valueAssessment of niche industry developmentsMarket share analysisKey strategies of major playersEmerging segments and regional marketsTestimonials to companies in order to fortify their foothold in the market.For More Inquiry contact our sales Team @ sales@zionmarketresearch.comAbout UsZion Market Research is an obligated company. We create futuristically, cutting edge, informative reports ranging from industry reports, a company reports to country reports. We provide our clients not only with market statistics unveiled by avowed private publishers and public organizations but also with vogue and newest industry reports along with pre-eminent and niche company profiles. Our database of market research reports comprises a wide variety of reports from cardinal industries. Our database is been updated constantly in order to fulfill our clients with prompt and direct online access to our database. Keeping in mind the clients needs, we have included expert insights on global industries, products, and market trends in this database. Last but not the least, we make it our duty to ensure the success of clients connected to usafter allif you do well, a little of the light shines on us.Contact US:Zion Market Research4283, Express Lane,Suite 634-143,Sarasota, Florida 34249, United StatesTel: +49-322 210 92714USA/Canada Toll-Free No.1-855-465-4651Email: sales@zionmarketresearch.comWebsite: United States LED Flashlights sales via the Retail-Specialty sales channel to reach an impressive $573 million in 2017 https://www.reportsworldwide.com/report/led-flashlight-usa-market-forecast--analysis-2016---2026 https://www.reportsworldwide.com/enquiry?report_id=4573 ReportsWorldwide has announced the addition of a new report title USA LED Flashlight Market Forecast/Analysis (2016-2026) to its growing collection of premium market research reports.This latest report provides the 2016 market data review and 2017-2026 forecast for LED-based flashlights, which are used in the United States of America. The 2016-2026 market data is segmented by rechargeable- versus standard-types. Several end-user application groups are covered in market forecast; finally, the forecast for the major sales channels are presented in easy-to-follow illustrations and text.According to the study, during the first-half of the forecast period (2016-2021), the volume (quantity) of flashlights will increase at 5% per year. Market forecast data in the study refers to consumption for a particular calendar year; therefore, the data is not cumulative data. The consumer end-user application will buy 149 million LED flashlights in the United States in the year 2026, up from 109 million units in 2016.Company profiles and competitive market shares of over 60 LED flashlight manufacturer/brands are presented. Research findings, which are pertinent to Intellectual Property (IP), US Patents and related issues, are also provided. The Flashlight market and technology environment is discussed.To view a detailed description and Table of Contents please visit:The market study segments the use of LED flashlights by end-user groups, including: Government use in Military/Law Enforcement/First Responders; other user groups in Government; Commercial/Industrial; and Consumer applications. Last year in 2016, the Commercial/Industrial application held a 47 percent market share in consumption value, followed by the household or Consumer application segment and then by the Military, Law Enforcement, First Responder sector, and finally the Other Government user group segment.The market study also tracks the primary sales channels, which include in-store and e-commerce sales in specialty-type stores (camping, hardware, gun-shops, other); and general/variety stores, which sell just about anything; and finally, direct-sales from flashlight brand company to large corporate or government users, as well as consumers making purchases via the Internet.To enquire about this Report please visit @About ReportsWorldwide.comReportsWorldwide.com is a leading provider of global market intelligence reports and services. With research reports from top publishers, consulting and advisory firms, ReportsWorldwide.com offers instant online access to a growing database of expert insights on global industries, companies, products, geographies and trends.101Arch StreetPress Contact:Abigail CrastoSenior Vice President101, Arch StreetBoston, MA 02110USPhone +1 (617) 398-4994Fax +1 (617) 398-4995abigail@reportsworldwide.com Streptococci Testing Market - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends and Forecast 2016 - 2024 http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=B&rep_id=11516 http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/streptococci-testing-market.html http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/ Streptococci Testing Market: Key SegmentsThe global streptococci testing market can be segmented based in tests type, end users and geography. Antibody tests include the antistreptolysin O titer (ASO), anti-DNase-B (ADB) test and Streptozyme. ASO test helps in determining a kidney disease glomerulonephritis, scarlet fever or rheumatic fever. ADB test is performed to determine a previous infection of a group A beta-hemolytic Streptococcus. Streptozyme is a screening test used to detect antibodies to several streptococcal antigens. Diagnostic tests include throat culture and rapid antigen test. Diagnostic tests are used to confirm the infection where in the sample from the infected area is used as culture, a means of growing bacteria artificially in the laboratory.For Any Queries Get Solutions With A PDF Sample :The cause of a sore throat is usually diagnosed on the basis of a physical exam and lab tests. A throat culture also known as strep test helps in detection of the presence of group A strain of streptococcal bacteria by using a throat swab. This strain is the most common cause of strep throat infection. Various other infections caused by these bacteria include pneumonia, meningitis and tonsillitis. Rapid antigen test can detect strep bacteria in minutes by looking for substances (antigens) in the throat. The rapid strep test detects the presence of a carbohydrate antigen which is unique to group A Streptococcus.The downside to the rapid test is that it cannot detect the presence of Group C and G which can also cause streptococcal pharyngitis. On positive rapid strep test, the treatment is started with appropriate antibiotics to prevent long-term damage and recurrence. End users segment include hospitals, private labs, physicians offices and public health labs. Geographically, the global streptococci testing market is segmented into four major regions namely, North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific and Rest of the World.Streptococci Testing Market: OverviewStreptococcal infections are caused by a microorganism called Streptococcus which is a non-motile, microaerophilic, grampositive spherical bacterium. Several disease causing strains of the bacteria include streptococci (groups A, B, C, D, and G). Each group causes specific types of infections and symptoms. Group A strain of the bacteria are the most virulent species for humans and cause wound and skin infections, strep throat, scarlet fever, tonsillitis, blood infections (septicemia), pneumonia, Sydenham's chorea., rheumatic fever and glomerulonephritis.Streptococci are known to originate from several natural sources, including humans and diverse animals. These bacteria often colonize on the mucosal surfaces of the mouth, nasal passages, intestinal tract, and pharynx. Moreover, the bacteria may also cause contamination of drinking water due to feces. Food products which are at high risk of contamination include milk and dairy products, steamed lobster, eggs, potato salad, ground ham, rice pudding custard, and shrimp salad. Some streptococci are commercially important for the production of cheese and yogurt, though are known to be potent pathogen.The bacteria species which do not cause any infection and are used in food industry include S. lactis, S. diacelillactis S. cremoris, and S. thermophilus, the latter being the most well-known. The factors affecting the incidences of sore throats (pharyngitis) include seasonal variation, patients age, and geography. Pharyngitis most of the times is bacterial, though can be viral. Children ranging from 5 to 15 years of age are most susceptible to the infection by group A strep during the winter or early spring season. Symptoms of this infection include stomach aches, headaches, vomiting, nausea, and listlessness.View exclusive Global strategic Business report :Streptococci Testing Market: Key PlayersThe key players contributing to Streptococci market include Abbott Diagnostics, Beckman Coulter, bioMerieux, DiaSorin, Hologic, Qiagen, Roche Diagnostics, Novartis Diagnostics, Ortho Clinical Diagnostics, Sigma Aldrich, and Thermo Fischer Scientific.About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a global market intelligence company providing business information reports and services. The companys exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trend analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather and analyze information.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: Worldwide Ancillary Hospital Location Diagnostic Testing Market Share by Industry Research 2016 - 2023 http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=B&rep_id=1809 http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/ancillary-hospital-locations-testing.html http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com https://tmrresearch.blogspot.com/ Ancillary hospital location includes those support locations other than board, room, medical and nursing services that are offered to the patients during their course of care. These locations include radiology, laboratory, physical therapy services, emergency rooms, operation rooms and intensive care units (ICUs). Diagnostic testing at these critical care centers must be accurate and immediate so as to deliver the accurate treatment for the disease condition. Ancillary hospital locations diagnostic testing is majorly used and is very essential for confirming the recovery status of the patients and their results are considered strongly for approving the discharge from emergency or ICU rooms. On the basis of the types of diagnostic testing, ancillary locations diagnostic testing market has been segmented as follows:Infectious disease testingRoutine hematology analysisRadiology testingRoutine urine analysisHypersensitivity testingDrug of abuse testingInfectious disease testing dominates the ancillary hospital location diagnostic testing market majorly due to high prevalence rate of the infectious diseases and maximum ICUs stays by the patients suffering from infectious diseases. According to World Health Organization (WHO), 35.3 million people were suffering from HIV or AIDS worldwide in 2012 and statistics record that 1.6 million people died globally due to AIDS related illness in 2012. WHO reports also stated that tuberculosis (TB) is second to AIDS as the furthermost killer worldwide caused due to single infectious agent. In 2012, 8.6 million people were diagnosed with TB worldwide, among which 1.3 million people died. High prevalence rate of infectious diseases and the mortality rate associated with it leads to excess hospital admissions and increased ancillary hospital location diagnostic testing. Radiology market however, is estimated as the fastest growing market owing to its excessive use in diagnosis of various disease conditions including cardiovascular, neural and nervous system disorders.Download Complete Healthcare Analytical Brochure:Radiology market is further differentiated into the types of radiology testing which includes:X-ray testingElectrocardiogram (ECG)UltrasoundComputed tomography scan (CT Scan)Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)Others (radioactive imaging for cancer)Increasing awareness about the diseases conditions and available diagnostic and treatment methods are leading to rise in per capital healthcare spending and number of hospitals especially in developing economies of Asia Pacific and Africa region, resulting in growth of ancillary hospital location diagnostic testing market. For instance, according to the Central Bureau of Health Intelligence, the number of government hospitals in India has increased from 4,571 in 2000 to 11,993 in 2011. Increasing number of hospitals coupled with the rising awareness and need for healthy lifestyle is propelling the demand for ancillary hospital diagnostic testing market. Additionally, increased medical tourism from countries across North America and Europe towards the Asian and the Middle East countries for low cost treatment without compromising the quality is also increasing the demand for ancillary hospital location diagnostic testing in these nations, hence driving the market. According to the Medical Tourism in India, heart bypass surgery in India costs USD 5,200, while it costs USD 144,000 in the U.S. Low treatment cost is attracting patients toward emerging economies for treatment, which would drive the ancillary hospital location diagnostic testing market during the forecast period.Some of the major market players of ancillary hospital location diagnostic testing market include Abbott Laboratories, Agilent Technologies, Bio-Rad Laboratories, EKF Diagnostics, Thermo Fisher Scientific Corporation, Lonza Group, Siemens Healthcare, Nihon Kohden Corporation, Takara Bio Inc. and F. Hoffmann-La Roche AG.Browse Full Research Report on Ancillary Hospital Location Diagnostic Testing Market: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. We have an experienced team of Analysts, Researchers, and Consultants, who us e 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.ContactTransparency Market Research90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:Browse market research blog: Genitourinary Drugs Market : Detailed Analyses Of Industry Trends & Key Product Segments http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=B&rep_id=516 http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/genitourinary-drugs-market.html http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/ Global Genitourinary Drugs Market: Trends and OpportunitiesThe report observes that the entry of novel drugs such as Cialis has been a boon in the global market for genitourinary drugs. These drugs are considerably more effective than the drugs used in multiple-drug therapies, and are affordable in cost to for the end-users. Success of Cialis has fueled the development of a number of new biological drugs for the treatment of genitourinary disorders, further propelling the global market for genitourinary drugs market.For Any Queries Get Solutions With A PDF Sample :Additionally, the genitourinary drugs market is also expected to gain from increasing incidences of urinary diseases and related illness that are sexually transmitted. Moreover, rising concerns about urinary incontinence and impotency as well as technological advancements in genitourinary devices are anticipated to accentuate the growth of the global genitourinary drugs market over the forecast period. However, the lack of compliance to medication is expected to hamper the overall growth rate of the global market for genitourinary drugs.Global Genitourinary Drugs Market: Region-wise outlookNorth America stood as the most prominent market for genitourinary drugs in 2014. This was a result of factors such as robust healthcare infrastructure, awareness about the growing prevalence of cancer, and technological advancements in manufacturing of genitourinary drugs. Europe currently remains the second largest regional market for genitourinary drugs, however, emerging economies in Asia Pacific are anticipated to register the fastest growth rate during the forecast period. This rapid increase in demand for genitourinary drugs in Asia Pacific is due to increased disposable income (especially among the urban population), adoption of effective medicines and aggressive investment by individual governments towards improving healthcare infrastructure in those countries. The region of Latin America is also expected to experience healthy growth rate in near future.In order to provide detailed projections, the global market for genitourinary drugs has been segmented on the basis of disease and product. By disease, the market can be segmented into genitourinary cancer, bladder cancer, cervical cancer, ovarian cancer, kidney or renal cancer, and prostate cancer. On the basis of product, the global market for genitourinary drugs is segmented into urologicals, gynaecologicals, sex hormones, and genitourinary anti-infectives. Sex hormones account for the dominant demand due to increasing usage of drugs in the market while the genitourinary anti-infective segment is expected to experience the most robust growth rate over the forecast duration of the report owing to increasing incidences of urinary tract infections.Genitourinary drugs are used to treat disorders affecting the kidneys, bladder, ureters, and urethra. Since long, patients suffering from disorders and infections related to genitourinary systems have been depending on steroids and immunosuppressants which are chemically synthesized and may reciprocate with some serious side effects such as insomnia, acne, nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea. As a result, patients are now turning to biological drugs that not only cause fewer to no side-effects, but are also more effective in the treatment of genitourinary infections.The global market for genitourinary drugs is expected to expand at a healthy rate in the near future, more so in developing economies due to growing concerns about urinary incontinence and related illnesses. The U.S. continues to be the most prominent market for genitourinary drugs, followed by Japan as far as the consumption of these drugs is concerned.View exclusive Global strategic Business report :Some of the key players in the global market for genitourinary drugs include Pfizer, Astellas, Betanis, Botox, Glaxo Wellcome Plc, Anturol, GlaxoSmithKline, Eli Lilly, Bayer AG, Merck KGaA, Abbott Laboratories, Merck & Co., Agouron Pharmaceuticals Inc., Chiron Inc., Bristol-Myers Squibb Co., Connaught Laboratories Inc., Genentech Inc., Hoffman-La Roche Inc., Immunex Corp., Isis Pharmaceuticals, Pharmacia & John Inc., Quadra Logic Technologies Inc., Photofrin, Rhone Poulenc Rorer Inc., Schering Plough Corp., and Leucomax.About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a global market intelligence company providing business information reports and services. The companys exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trend analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather and analyze information.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: womens march The organizers of the Women's March on Washington the protest that drew an estimated half a million people in Washington, DC, alone are now planning a mass strike. "The will of the people will stand," the organizers posted on Twitter. The date of the strike is still to be determined. The will of the people will stand. pic.twitter.com/SKJCRLhRKn Women's March (@womensmarch) February 6, 2017 The announcement follows two New York City strikes from groups affected by President Donald Trump's executive order temporarily barring immigrants from seven majority-Muslim countries and all refugees from entering the US (the order was placed on a temporary hold on Friday). On January 28, members of the New York Taxi Workers Alliance went on a one-hour strike in solidarity with protesters at JFK airport. Uber, however, was still servicing riders, which prompted the #DeleteUber hashtag that led to 200,000 deleted accounts, according to The Verge. A week later, members of New York City's Yemeni-American community closed hundreds of their markets and protested in Brooklyn. Another group of grassroots organizers are planning a general strike on February 17 to protest Trump's policies. Business Insider has reached out to the Women's March organizers for comment. NOW WATCH: Watch Nancy Pelosi call Steve Bannon a 'white supremacist who makes America 'less safe' More From Business Insider Global Industrial Controls System Market to Reach US$81 bn by 2021 http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=S&rep_id=4886 http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com The global market for industrial controls system has been covered under the scope of this report. An industrial control network is a system of interconnected equipment used to monitor and control physical equipment in industrial environments. Industrial controls improve product quality, plant efficiency, as well as facilitate uniform production in industries. These are the main reasons for increasing investments in the industrial controls system market. Increasing need of software in industrial automation, rise in infrastructure investments in emerging markets and increasing need for process automation among diverse industry verticals are the major factors responsible for the growth of the global industrial controls system market globally. Moreover, growing application of software in industrial control devices is set to increase scalability of SCADA, DCS and PLC systems in industrial environments.Get More Information :The global industrial controls system market is segmented by region in North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific (APAC) and Rest of the World (RoW). North America led the global Industrial Controls System Market in 2014 and is also expected to maintain its dominance in 2021 as well in this market. The growth in North America is primarily attributed due to an increase in demand for safer and reliable process automation in different sectors, such as power plants, oil & gas and water & wastewater among others. Asia Pacific held the second largest share of the global industrial controls system market in 2014 followed by Europe and RoW respectively. The growth of the industrial controls system market in Europe can be attributed to the increase in demand for modernization of oil & gas, water & wastewater, and power infrastructures among others. Power and oil & gas industries were major contributors in RoW, in 2014.The industrial controls system market is segmented on the basis of types into supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA), distributed control system (DCS) and programmable logic controller (PLC). Distributed control system (DCS) is holding the maximum market revenue share in 2014 and is expected to remain so during the forecast period from 2015 to 2021. The increasing industrial infrastructure investment and expansion of power and oil & gas project activities globally is spurring the demand for this segment. In addition, increasing need of software in industrial automation, rise in infrastructure investments in emerging markets and growth in demand for process automation among different industry verticals are the major factors that are driving the industrial controls system market globally. By components, the global SCADA market has been segmented into a programmable logic controller (PLC), human machine interface (HMI), remote terminal unit (RTU), SCADA communication system, and others.The industrial controls system market is further segmented by application into power, water & wastewater, oil & gas, manufacturing, chemicals, automotive, food & beverages, pharmaceuticals and others (including aerospace, defense, mining and material, etc.). The global industrial controls system market is dominated by power sector segment. High gap in demand and supply of industrial control devices in developing countries such as India and China among others is expected to drive the demand of PLC, DCS and SCADA products in power sector. Chemicals segment was the second largest application sector in the industrial controls system market globally. Rising demand for bulk production of chemical materials is boosting the application of industrial control systems in the chemical industry.Some of the leading players in the global Industrial Controls System Market covered in the report are Siemens AG (Germany), ABB Ltd (Switzerland), Omron Corp (Japan), Emerson Electric Co (U.S.), Rockwell Automation, Inc. (U.S.), Honeywell International, Inc (U.S.), Alstom SA (France), Omron Corp (Japan), General Electric Co (U.S.), Yokogawa Electric Corporation (Japan) and Schneider Electric SE (France) among others.About UsTransparency 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.Contact90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite: Inkjet Coders Market - Global Industry Analysis and Forecast 2016 - 2024 http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=B&rep_id=9602 http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com The inkjet technology is a reliable and cost-effective method used to mark and code a whole range of products. Inkjet coders are most commonly used in the packaging industry to differentiate products. These are a non-contact printing coders that can generate dates and batch numbers, and time any information to a variety of packaging products including containers, cartons labels, etc. Inkjet coders are used in industries, such as food and beverages, automotive, personal care products, pharmaceuticals, and electronics, for marking purpose. The inkjet coders cost less but have higher maintenance cost, whereas laser coders have high cost and low maintenance cost. Inkjet coders are cost effective and are recommended for economical color printing. The substitute for inkjet coder is laser coder. Inkjet coders comprise different chambers containing different colors of ink. Recently, Videojet Technologies Inc., a manufacturer of coding, marking, and printing products, launched six new inks for larger inkjet printers. Making an innovation in coding solution, Hitachi America, Ltd. recently developed its latest generation of continuous ink jet printers, the UX Series.Get PDF Brochure for more Professional and Technical industry insights:Drop on Demand (DOD), Continuous Inkjet (CIJ) and Thermal Inkjet (TIJ) are the three types of ink-jet technologies used in the packaging industry for coding applications. The drop on demand technology uses aqueous or UV curable inks to print on a wide range of products; it has a number of chambers which contains ink. Continuous ink jet is a non-contact coding and durable method. The small characters of CIJ coders generate expiry dates, lot codes, graphics, and bar codes on a variety of primary packaging and the large character of CIJ coders generate same for secondary packaging, i.e. for cartons, etc. Thermal ink jet coders make use of print cartridges. They contain a series of small electrically heated chambers, which can be controlled by a flex-circuit, and involve high speed coding for serialized data. (TIJ) technology is usually for generating high-quality graphics and high-grade two-dimensional symbologies such as DataMatrix codes. Generally, industries such as pharmaceuticals, tobacco, health, and beauty make use of TIJ coders.The global inkjet coder market is segmented based on product technology, end user, and geography. By product technology, the global inkjet coder market is segmented into Drop on Demand (DOD), Continuous Inkjet (CIJ), and Thermal Inkjet (TIJ). By end user, the global inkjet coder market is categorized on the basis of different industries, including food and beverages, cosmetics, personal and home care, pharmaceuticals and medical devices, tobacco, automotive and aerospace, building materials, chemicals, commercial printing and addressing, electrical components and electronics, and wire, cable and pipeTechnological developments in inkjet coders, such as advancement in software that controls and monitors ink viscosity and automatic flush systems that help save time by stopping and cleaning daily print head, are anticipated to create excellent growth opportunities for the inkjet coder market. Rise in demand for minimization of solvent evaporation and reducing mixing of air with ink are the major factors expected to drive growth of the inkjet coders market over the forecast period. However, factors such as high running cost and low quality of marks that result in non-permanent mark are expected to hinder the market growth. Also, inkjet coders spill some tiny droplets of ink while printing; therefore, their resolution is lower than the laser printers. Significant factors that influence the demand for ink jet coders are reduced downtime, which helps customers expand the visual and functional coding capabilities. Currently, increasing number of manufacturers are seeking high performance printing and coding equipment, thereby creating significant growth and investment opportunities for players in the inkjet coders market.By geography, the global inkjet coder market is segmented into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific (APAC), the Middle East and Africa (MEA), and Latin America. Currently, North America and Europe dominate the market, accounting for the highest share of the global inkjet coders market in terms of volume. However, most of the major manufacturers in the market are from China, in view of the low capital cost required in the country, advancements in technology, and changing trends and requirements of players in the market. The global commercial and industrial markets play an important role in the development of the overall ink jet coder market.Some of the key players in the global inkjet coding market are Videojet Technologies, Inc., FoxJet, an ITW Company, Hitachi America, Ltd., ID Technology, LLC., KGK Jet India., Linx Printing Technologies, Domino Printing Sciences plc, Shanghai Rottweil Handyware Printing Technology Co., Ltd, Media Data Systems Pte Ltd, Elmark Packaging, Koenig & Bauer AG, Squid Ink Manufacturing, Inc., Markem-Imaje, a Dover Company, and Xaar plc.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: Acetic Acid Market - North America to Dominate the Market by 2023 https://www.marketresearchengine.com/reportdetails/acetic-acid-market https://www.marketresearchengine.com/requestsample/acetic-acid-market https://www.marketresearchengine.com/ New York, February 07: Market Research Engine has published a new report titled as Acetic Acid Market for VAM, PTA, Acetate Esters, Acetic Anhydride and Other Applications - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends and Forecast, 2015 - 2023Acetic Acid Market states that the market will log more than 9% CAGR through the reports forecast period.Browse Full Report:Acetic acid is an organic compound with strong distinct sour smell. It is colourless and has carbon as its fundamental constituent. Acetic acid is most commonly used to produce VAM (vinyl acetate monomer). Another major application of this acid is in production of acetic anhydride which is useful in photographic films. It also has uses in medical and food industry as it is widely known to be used in vinegar which has extensive uses.Increasing demand for VAM in various industries such as paints, packaging, adhesives and other industries, is a driving factor for global acetic acid market. Owing to its exponential use in production of acetate anhydride is growth factor. China leads the global market followed with largest market share by volume.Download Free Sample Report:The global acetic acid market is segmented based on its application which includes vinyl acetate monomer, acetic anhydride, acetate esters and PTA. The market segments in terms of geographical regions include North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific and Rest of the World (ROW).This report provides:1) An overview of the global market for acetic acid 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 2020.3) Identifications of new market opportunities and targeted promotional plans for acetic acid market.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 various types of coatings 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 Celanese, British Petroleum (BP), Jiangsu Sopo (Group) Co., Ltd., Eastman Chemicals, DuPont, Saudi International Petrochemicals and Wacker Chemie. 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 Acetic Acid Market has been segmented as below:By Application: Acetate Esters Vinyl Acetate Monomer Acetic Anhydride PTABy Geography North America Europe Asia-Pacific Rest of the World (ROW)About 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 Paints and Coatings Market to Cross US$ 158 Billion Globally by 2021 https://www.marketresearchengine.com/reportdetails/paints-and-coatings-market https://www.marketresearchengine.com/requestsample/paints-and-coatings-market https://www.marketresearchengine.com/ Florida, February 07: Market Research Engine has published a new report titled as Paints & Coatings Market by Resin Type (Epoxy, Acrylic, Polyurethane, & Others), by Technology (Waterborne, High Solids, Powder, Solvent Borne, & Others), by Application (Architectural & Paints) - Global Forecasts to 2020The global paints and coatings market is expected to reach $125.0 billion by the end of 2015 and further increase to $153.6 billion by 2020, at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 3.9% over the next five-year period of 2015 through 2020.Browse Full Report here:A coating is a covering that is applied to the surface of an object, usually referred to as the substrate. The purpose of applying the coating is protective, decorative, functional, or both. The coating itself may be an all-over coating, completely covering the substrate, and cover parts of the substrate.The paint and coating market segmented in High Solids/Radiation Cure, Powder Coatings, Waterborne Coatings, and Solvent Borne Technologies. Also for the automotive sector it segmented for Aviation, Medical & Healthcare, Residential, Commercial uses.This report provides: An overview of the global market for paints and coatings and related technologies. Analyses of global market trends, with data from 2013, estimates for 2014 and 2015, and projections of compound annual growth rates (CAGRs) through 2020. Identifications of new market opportunities and targeted promotional plans for paints and coatings. Discussion of research and development, and the demand for new products and new applications. Comprehensive company profiles of major players in the industry.Download Free Sample Report:REPORT SCOPE:The scope of the report includes a detailed study of global and regional markets for various types of coatings 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 AkzoNobel N.V., Asian Paints Ltd., Bergers Paints India Ltd., Deutsche Amphibolin-Werke Von Robert Murjahn Stiftung & Company, Diamond Vogel, Dow Corning, Helios Group, KCC Corporation, Masco Corporation, PPG Industries etc. 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 market has been segmented as below:Paints and Coatings Market: by Product Segment Analysis High solids/radiation cure Powder coating Waterborne coating Solvent-borne technologies Others (including specialty coatings, etc.)Paints and Coatings Market: by End-user Analysis Automotives & aviation Medical & healthcare Residential Commercial Others (including other industries, special purpose, etc.)Paints and Coatings Market: by Regional Analysis North America Europe Asia-Pacific Rest of the WorldReasons to Buy this Report Obtain the most up to date information available on all active and planned coating industry globally Identify growth segments and opportunities in the industry Facilitate decision making on the basis of strong historic and forecast of coating industry and unit capacity data Assess your competitors refining portfolio and its evolution.About 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, +91-860-565-7204Website:Address: 3422 SW 15 Street, Suite #8942, Deerfield Beach, FL 33442, United States Why We Love Time Travel Novels - Award Winning Author Dana Lyons Puts Time Travel In A Believable Context In 'Heart Of The Druae' Author Dana Lyons http://www.paranormalromancebookauthor.com In an article by Rachel Donoghue published this week in the UK Daily Star, a photo supposedly taken in 1917 shows a modern-dressed "surfer dude" sitting on the beach alongside people dressed very differently. Is he a time traveler? Many people believe he is.We love the concept of time travel. A very large number of books, movies and television shows have presented the concept of time travel in wildly different ways. Nevertheless, somehow it just doesn't seem to be believable. Award winning author Dana Lyons utilizes the time travel concept in a slightly different way - she makes it believable."We want the surfer to be exactly that - to be a time traveler and not a Photoshop caricature," Lyons stated, "as humanity loves time travel stories, and something within us believes time travel is possible if we only knew how. The 'do-over' option, whether it comes through time travel or via reincarnation, titillates us with limitless possibility. What would you do differently to change the events in your life? How far would you go to change the events in the lives of millions?"I utilize time travel in my first adventure romance, 'Heart of the Druae'. The variable in all time travel stories is the mode of travel. A popular theme is to travel in a device. Or the event may be dictated by a perfect alignment in time and space along with the application of organic natural forces--the mode of travel I use in my novel."Dana Lyons creates stories no one else could write. Her books feature reincarnated lovers, time traveling souls, and an epic battle against ancient powers and alien forces. All of her books are fast paced, engaging and enlightening, written in contemporary time with modern elements as well as scenes from the ancient past. She takes her readers to worlds both ancient and contemporary for adventures of the heart, mind, and spirit.Dana Lyons' books have received rave reviews posted on line. Reviewers have said:"Dana Lyons has the remarkable ability of being able to create heroines who are smart, sexy, sassy and complicated all at the same time!""The rapid character development and story line left me unable to put it down.","Wonderful suspense. Makes you wonder if it could really happen.""The way this author writes, the words visually play out in your head like a movie, so to see it on the big screen would be awesome."Dana has been named as a winner in the 2016 50 Great Writers You Should Be Reading Book Awards. Her honors came as a result of her appearance on The Authors Show. She was chosen as one of the best from a large number of authors through a public voting process. She was previously a winner in the 2015 '50 Great Writers You Should Be Reading' Awards.Her body of work includes:'A Love Reborn', a modern paranormal thriller about ancient love, magic, and betrayal.'The Road to Babylon', an epic paranormal thriller revolving around a prophecy so ancient the world had long forgotten it, and a power so secret, even its possessor was unaware of it.'Heart of the Druae', a paranormal romance that relates the tale of archeologist Eric Beck. On an unexplored hill near Stonehenge, something calls to him. Someone calls to him. And on the day of the summer solstice, his entire existence is about to change 'The Rosetta Coin', another epic paranormal thriller detailing the story of an artifact many have died for and an adventure that could change the world.Dana Lyons is available for media interviews and can be reached using the information below or by email at author.danalyons@yahoo.com. All of Dana's books are available at Amazon and other online retail outlets. More information is available at her website.Profile:Dana Lyons lives with her husband and cats in the mountains of western North Carolina. She has been writing since 2002.Dana Lyons lives with her husband and cats in the mountains of western North Carolina. She has been writing since 2002.PO Box 1613Shallotte, NC, 28459 Global Hand Tool Market Share, Size, Trends, Growth and Forecast 2017-2025 http://www.indexbox.co.uk/store/world-hand-tools-market-report-analysis-and-forecast-to-2020/ http://www.indexbox.co.uk/store/world-hand-tools-market-report-analysis-and-forecast-to-2020/ http://www.slideshare.net/IndexBox_Marketing/ib-sample-world-hand-tools-market-report www.indexbox.co.uk IndexBox has just published a new report "World: Hand Tools - Market Report. Analysis and Forecast to 2025" ().This report has been designed to provide a detailed analysis of the global hand tool market. It covers the most recent data sets of quantitative medium-term projections, as well as developments in production, trade, consumption and prices. The report also includes a comparative analysis of the leading consuming countries, revealing opportunities opened for producers and exporters across the globe. The forecast outlines market prospects to 2025.In 2015, the value of total imports in the global hand tool market stood at 17,183 million USD. In physical terms, the total volume of hand tools dropped to 2,155 thousand tonnes in 2015, which was 1,115 thousand tonnes (6%) less than the year before.According to market research conducted by IndexBox, in 2015, the U.S. (3,349 million USD) and Germany (1,332 million USD) were the main destinations of hand tool imports, together making up 27% of total imports. They were followed by the UK (5%), France (4%), Canada (4%), the Netherlands (3%), and China (3%).From 2007 to 2015, China (+5.9% per year) and the U.S. (+4.0%) had the highest growth rates of imports. They were followed by Germany (+1.9% per year). The UK showed negative dynamics, dropping by -1.0% over the last five years.The U.S and China (+1 percentage points) slightly strengthened their positions in the global import structure, while the other countries saw their shares reduced from 2007 to 2015. The UK's share showed the largest decline (-2 percentage points).TABLE OF CONTENTS1. INTRODUCTION1.1 REPORT DESCRIPTION1.2 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY2. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY2.1 KEY FINDINGS2.2 MARKET TRENDS3. MARKET OVERVIEW3.1 MARKET VOLUME AND VALUE3.2 CONSUMPTION BY COUNTRY3.3 MARKET OPPORTUNITIES BY COUNTRY3.4 MARKET FORECAST TO 20254. PRODUCTION4.1 PRODUCTION IN 2007-20154.2 PRODUCTION BY COUNTRY5. IMPORTS5.1 IMPORTS IN 2007-20155.2 IMPORTS BY COUNTRY5.3 IMPORT PRICES BY COUNTRY6. EXPORTS6.1 EXPORTS IN 2007-20156.2 EXPORTS BY COUNTRY6.3 EXPORT PRICES BY COUNTRY7. PROFILES OF MAJOR PRODUCERSDownload a free sample of the report now!You can also find a template on SlideShareIndexBox is a leading market research publisher in the world. We conduct market research and publish reports.You can find more than 25,000 research reports in our web store, which cover global industries and regional markets. All the worldwide marketing data you need is at your fingertips.We collect this data from hundreds of highly reliable sources, verify it and carry out market analysis, uncovering new business opportunities and empowering you with actionable insights.The structure of our reports is intuitive and clear. We do our best to allow you to make strategic decisions and take immediate action. If you want to go further and be a step ahead of the market, just tell us your goals and we will tailor a report to your needs.Company Name: IndexBoxContact Person: Kirill BezverhiEmail: kirill.bezverhi@indexbox.co.ukPhone: +44 20 3239 3063Adress: United Kingdom, 44 Main Street, Douglas, South Lanarkshire, Scotland, ML11 0QWWebsite: Global Manuka Market Share, Size, Trends, Growth and Forecast 2017-2025 http://www.indexbox.co.uk/store/world-manuka-market-report-analysis-and-forecast-to-2020/ http://www.indexbox.co.uk/store/world-manuka-market-report-analysis-and-forecast-to-2020/ www.indexbox.co.uk IndexBox has just published a new report "World: Manuka - Market Report. Analysis And Forecast To 2025" ().This report provides an in-depth analysis of the global manuka market. Within it, you will find the latest data on market trends and opportunities by country, consumption and production, food balance and price developments, as well as global trade (imports and exports). The forecast reveals market prospects to 2025.The global manuka honey market earned total revenues of 99.4 million USD in 2015, representing a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of +16.5% from 2007 to 2015.In physical terms, the global consumption of manuka showed corrugated dynamics over the period under review. A dramatic slump was observed in 2011, when the volume decreased by 25% Y-o-Y. It was followed by a recovery in the next two years until the market leveled off. In 2015, the market volume reached 3,942 tonnes.From 2007 to 2015, according to market research conducted by IndexBox, global manuka consumption increased by a healthy +6.3% annually. The highest annual rates of growth with regard to manuka consumption between 2007 and 2015 were registered in the U.S., with +34.2% growth, and in China and Australia, with +33.4% and +15.3% growth, respectively.With nearly 1,449 tonnes of manuka consumed in 2015, China became the world's leading manuka consuming country. Per capita manuka consumption in China was estimated at 1.0 kg/person, two times higher than the global average (0.5 kg/person).The highest levels of manuka consumption were registered in Singapore (65.1 kg/person), New Zealand (50.7 kg/person) and Australia (20.9 kg/person). The U.S. (0.8 kg/person) and China (1.0 kg/person) had the lowest volumes of manuka consumption.TABLE OF CONTENTS1. INTRODUCTION1.1 REPORT DESCRIPTION1.2 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY2. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY2.1 KEY FINDINGS2.2 MARKET TRENDS3. MARKET OVERVIEW3.1 MARKET VOLUME AND VALUE3.2 CONSUMPTION BY COUNTRY3.3 MARKET OPPORTUNITIES BY COUNTRY3.4 MARKET FORECAST TO 20254. PRODUCTION4.1 PRODUCTION, YIELD IN 2007-20154.2 PRODUCTION BY COUNTRY4.3 STOCK AND YIELD BY COUNTRIES5. IMPORTS5.1 IMPORTS IN 2007-20155.2 IMPORTS BY COUNTRY5.3 IMPORT PRICES BY COUNTRY6. EXPORTS6.1 EXPORTS IN 2007-20156.2 EXPORTS BY COUNTRY6.3 EXPORT PRICES BY COUNTRY7. PRICES AND PRICE DEVELOPMENT7.1 PRODUCER PRICES7.2 PRODUCER PRICES INDEX8. PROFILES OF MAJOR PRODUCERSDownload a free sample of the report now!IndexBox is a leading market research publisher in the world. We conduct market research and publish reports.You can find more than 25,000 research reports in our web store, which cover global industries and regional markets. All the worldwide marketing data you need is at your fingertips.We collect this data from hundreds of highly reliable sources, verify it and carry out market analysis, uncovering new business opportunities and empowering you with actionable insights.The structure of our reports is intuitive and clear. We do our best to allow you to make strategic decisions and take immediate action. If you want to go further and be a step ahead of the market, just tell us your goals and we will tailor a report to your needs.Company Name: IndexBoxContact Person: Kirill BezverhiEmail: kirill.bezverhi@indexbox.co.ukPhone: +44 20 3239 3063Adress: United Kingdom, 44 Main Street, Douglas, South Lanarkshire, Scotland, ML11 0QWWebsite: LC Technology Improves Upon Its Industry Leading Image Recovery Tool PHOTORECOVERY Image and Data Recovery Software www.LC-Tech.com/pc/photorecovery/ www.LC-Tech.com/mac/photorecovery/ CLEARWATER, FL LC Technology International, a leader in commercial and OEM data recovery, security and utility solutions, has released updated 2017 editions of its Windows-based and Mac OS-based PHOTORECOVERY recovery software product.PHOTORECOVERY 2017 now boasts several improvements, including revised scanning algorithms that enable quicker recovery times and faster processing, enabling clients to find the files they need without delay.PHOTORECOVERY 2017 can recover a variety of image and movie file formats, making it the perfect solution for the photographer, videographer, smartphone and tablet user, and even GoPro and drone user.PHOTORECOVERY 2017 is the industrys leading software recovery tool for CompactFlash, SD cards, USB flash drives and all other types of digital media.PHOTORECOVERY 2017 is ideal for cameras, and is compatible with simple point-and-shoots and even the most complex DSLR cameras.Improvements for PHOTORECOVERY 2017 include:* Support for larger capacity memory cards* Video and image formats added including RAW image and HD/UHD/3D for videoPHOTORECOVERY is a yearly subscription, so we always like to start the year with a new round of features so each user is getting maximum value, said David Zimmerman, president of LC Technology. We live in an image-based world, so we've added new image and movie formats to PHOTORECOVERY 2017 to accommodate the needs of todays user. We also boosted the scanning algorithms to allow fast and efficient recovery so consumers can get back to work or play as quickly as possible.PHOTORECOVERY 2017 is available at(for Windows) and at(for Mac OS X).PHOTORECOVERY 2017 is available as a Standard, Professional, and Professional Commercial versions.A free evaluation is also offered.About LC Technology International, Inc.LC Technology is a global leader in data recovery, file system utilities and data security technology. Clients include original equipment manufacturers, local, state and federal law enforcement agencies, corporate security specialists and IT consultants, among others. Available worldwide and published in more than 24 different languages, LC Technology products are available direct or through several major manufacturers of flash memory products. Founded in 1997, LC Technology is based in Clearwater, Florida.About LC Technology International, Inc.LC Technology is a global leader in data recovery, file system utilities and data security technology. Clients include original equipment manufacturers, local, state and federal law enforcement agencies, corporate security specialists and IT consultants, among others. Available worldwide and published in more than 24 different languages, LC Technology products are available direct or through several major manufacturers of flash memory products. Founded in 1997, LC Technology is based in Clearwater, Florida.LC Technology International, Inc29750 US Hwy 19NSuite 310Clearwater, FL 33761866.603.2195 Rare tour of Bull Run watershed inspires people who want to know more about Portland's drinking water Portland's drinking water comes mostly from two reservoirs in the Bull Run watershed near Mount Hood, tapping streams that run through more than 100-square-miles of thick forest. The city also ships Bull Run water to suburbs from Gresham to Beaverton. The gauge measures water levels. Jamie Francis | The Oregonian/OregonLive Portland's water bureau detected a trace amount of cryptosporidium parasite in a test of drinking water from the Bull Run watershed again Monday. After four straight years not finding any cryptosporidium during weekly water samplings, the city has now detected the parasite four times this year, raising the specter that the city might have to build an expensive treatment plant. This week's finding does not raise immediate alarms for human health, officials said. The Portland Water Bureau "does not believe there is any increased public health risk" but recommends that people with weak immune systems consult their doctors about drinking water, bureau officials wrote in a press release. Four positive tests in five weeks is striking, officials noted. "This is the most cryptosporidium we've detected in more than a decade," said Yone Akagi, the bureau's water quality manager. Unlike in most other cities, Portland's water bureau does not treat its water for cryptosporidium, a parasite found in animal and human waste. The bureau received an exemption in 2012 from the Oregon Health Authority to forgo treating for the pathogen after the water bureau found no cryptosporidium from 2002 and 2012. Portland opted instead to monitor for the microorganism through regular testing. Humans are barred from the Bull Run Watershed, making animal scat the most likely source of the parasite, Akagi said. The state could revoke Portland's exemption if the water bureau finds more than one oocysts--a hard structure found in feces but too small to see--per 13,300 liters of water in one year. That could force the bureau to build an ultraviolet treatment plant, expected to cost at least $89 million, according to water bureau planning documents. The city could also build a filtration treatment system that would filter out sediment in addition to microorganisms, but that could cost around $300 million, said Edward Campbell, director of resource protection at the water bureau. Whether or not the bureau will have to build the treatment depends on what future tests reveal. "The numbers will tell us the tale," Campbell said. A positive test for cryptosporidium on Jan. 2 required the bureau to increase its testing from two tests per week to at least four times per week. The increased testing will continue at a rate of about 250 liters per week. The bureau plans to sample even more water than required to help make sure the rate of positive tests complies with the conditions under which Portland received its exception, technically termed a variance. "We're going to have to start thinking about what our treatment options are if we get the variance revoked," Akagi said. Even if the bureau's tests continue to meet requirements, a tightening regulatory environment could later require Portland to build a treatment plant, bureau director Mike Stuhr said. "At some point in the future, I expect the city will have to build a treatment plant," Stuhr said. Commissioner Nick Fish manages the Portland Water Bureau. He said it is "irresponsible" to consider the potential costs of building a treatment plant since the city is currently in compliance with the variance. "That's not part of any current discussion," Fish said. "It is very unlikely that that is going to happen. Our water is safe." Note: This story has been updated to reflect the correct spelling of Yone Akagi's name in the second and third references. --Jessica Floum 503-221-8306 1ban.JPG Demonstrators sit down in the concourse and hold a sign that reads "We are America," as more than 1,000 people gather at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, to protest President Donald Trump's order that restricts immigration to the U.S., Saturday, Jan. 28, 2017, in Seattle. (Genna Martin/seattlepi.com via AP) Dennis Ortega defended Trump's executive order on immigration with alternative facts (Letters, Feb. 6). Obama did not ban Iraqi immigrants in 2011, but rather subjected them to more extensive vetting which slowed the process. I doubt Obama is the cause of the Syrian refugee crisis which is due more to the brutal civil war as rebels fight the violent, authoritarian actions of President Bashar al-Assad and his allies of Iran and Russia. Syria's refugee crisis may have been exacerbated by Obama's not carrying through on his "red line" regarding chemical weapons, but few think we should be engaged militarily in the conflict. Statements by Trump advisors Giuliani, Bannon and Miller prior to the executive order clearly show the intent: a ban on Muslim immigration consistent with campaign promises before the election. Since 1975 there have been no Americans killed on our soil due to terrorist acts by any citizen of these seven nations. The 9/11 terrorist acts were committed by Saudi Arabian and Egyptian citizens, but Trump has business ties in these countries, so they probably escaped the ban. Gary Kruger, Southwest Portland Kaushik Raghu Kaushik Raghu, Senior Staff Engineer at Audi, takes his hands off the steering wheel while demonstrating an Audi self driving vehicle last year on I-395 expressway in Arlington, Va. Experts say the development of self-driving cars over the coming decade depends on an unreliable assumption by most automakers: that the humans in them will be ready to step in and take control if the car's systems fail. (Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP Photo) Ben Kelley Few cabinet members can claim the distinction of shaping a revolution. But that opportunity will soon fall to Elaine Chao, President-elect Trump's choice to lead the Department of Transportation (DOT). She assumes her new role at the dawn of the autonomous motor vehicle era, which promises to truly revolutionize the movement of people and goods by road and ultimately reduce crashes caused by driver error. Revolutions can give birth to huge benefits for the human community, but they can also exact a price in blood and disruption. Replacing driver-operated cars and trucks with semi-automated and, eventually, fully autonomous vehicles (AVs) will be a decades-long process. Like most revolutions, along the way it will be fraught with death, injury, and debate over who is responsible when harm occurs. Decisions by Ms. Chao and her department's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) will act as powerful influences, including a decision to ignore the need for regulations and policies that ensure AV safety. Ms. Chao's immediate task will be to address the recent alarming upsurge in highway crash deaths. Ending a long trend of declining fatalities, 2015 saw more than 35,000 highway deaths, a 7.2 percent increase over 2014. The ominous trend continued into the first nine months of 2016, which saw 8 percent more deaths than in the same period the previous year. But equally important will be her approach to development of "robot cars," as the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has labeled them. Given the anti-regulation stance of the Trump administration, it is likely she will follow the path charted by Obama's DOT by declining to issue binding safety regulations, and instead will negotiate permissive safety "guidelines" with commercial stakeholders in the new technology, most prominently the vehicle and software manufacturers who are eager to move self-drive cars into the salesroom and reap the resulting profits. Goldman Sachs has estimated that the market for advanced driver assistance systems and autonomous vehicles could grow to $96 billion in 2025 from only $3 billion last year. But along with for-profit enterprises, stakeholders also include safety and public health advocates concerned that in the rush to get autonomous vehicles onto the nation's highways, the dangers of deaths and injuries will be minimized or overlooked. Clarence Ditlow, the late director of the Center for Auto Safety, warned last summer in a USA Today op-ed that DOT's failure to issue safety standards for AVs "creates a safety vacuum that will inevitably lead to consumers dying as unwitting guinea pigs in crashes of unproven driverless vehicles." And in an address last year, Christopher Hart, chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board, warned of "unintended consequences as passenger vehicles become increasingly automated." "Automakers aim to market fully self-driving cars, but stay tuned," he said. "Assuming that the first wave will be an autonomous vehicle that needs human monitoring, what will happen along the way, when all that day-to-day driving skill goes away? And will the driver take the monitoring role seriously when he or she thinks the car is in charge? What does driver education look like when the car is sometimes driving itself, but at other times needs human intervention?" The crash in Florida a month later, of a Tesla being controlled by its misleadingly-named "Autopilot" system, seemed to bear out Hart's concern. The driver was killed when the car crashed into a truck that the Autopilot had failed to discern. According to some reports, the truck driver told police he heard a Harry Potter video still playing in the mangled Tesla. A federal investigation of the crash has found no defect in the Autopilot system, but did not address the possibility that the driver was lulled into turning over control of the car to the Autopilot because its name suggested it was safe to do so. The clash between safety advocates and manufacturers over regulation of autonomous vehicles is reminiscent of the one leading up to passage of the first auto safety laws 50 ago. Then, the auto companies urged Congress to let them self-regulate. Safety proponents warned that the industry's well-documented failures to incorporate basic safety features into new cars proved the futility of that approach. Congress opted for government standards rather than voluntary guidelines. Those standards have prevented hundreds of thousands of deaths, according to NHTSA studies. Ms. Chao will be confronted by similar divisions regarding autonomous vehicle safety. Industry interests are opposed to binding federal standards. Safety advocates counter that only such standards can ensure protection for consumers. Either way, there doubtless will be some crashes, deaths and injuries involving autonomous vehicles. When that happens, Volvo, Mercedes and Google reportedly have said, they will accept liability. Will others? Research sponsored by Toyota in Canada found that almost two-thirds of those questioned in a national survey "believed software developers should be assigned liability in unavoidable collisions, and to a slightly lesser extent vehicle manufacturers should be accountable." For decades, autonomous vehicles and conventional ones with human drivers will have to co-exist on the nation's roads. Whether they can do so with a minimum of bloodshed will depend to an important degree on whether the new DOT secretary gives higher priority to protecting the public from needless death and injury than to rushing autonomous vehicles into the marketplace before their safety is adequately proven. Ben Kelley is a board member of the Center for Auto Safety, a Washington, D.C.-based advocacy group, and the author of Death By Rental Car: How The Houck Case Changed The Law. He wrote this commentary for FairWarning (www.fairwarning.org), a nonprofit news organization based in Pasadena, Calif., that focuses on public health, consumer and environmental issues. President Trump Holds Meeting Honoring Black History Month President Donald Trump held a listening session in early February to recognize Black History Month. Columnist Leonard Pitts Jr., writes about his own epiphany of that history, "a litany," he wrote, "of people pushing us back after every forward step." (Photo by Michael Reynolds - Pool/Getty Images) TNS Columnist Leonard Pitts. (Olivier Douliery/TNS) By Leonard Pitts Jr. So I had myself an epiphany. Actually, that's not quite the right word. An epiphany is a moment of sudden clarity, but mine rolled in slowly, like dawn on a crystal morning. I'm not sure when it began. Maybe it was in 2012 when Trayvon Martin was killed and much of America held him guilty of his own murder. Maybe it was in 2013 when the Voting Rights Act was eviscerated and states began hatching schemes to suppress the African-American vote. Maybe it was on Election Day. Maybe it was a few weeks later, when a South Carolina jury deadlocked because the panel - most of them white - could not agree that it was a crime for a police officer to shoot an unarmed black man in the back. Could not agree, even though they saw it on video. I can't say exactly when it was. All I know is that the dawn broke and I realized I had forgotten something. I had forgotten that I am black. Yes, I know what the mirror says. And yes, I've always known African Americans face challenges - discrimination in health, housing, hiring, and a racially biased system of "justice," to name a few. But I think at some level, I had also grown comfortable in a nation paced by Oprah, LeBron, Beyonce and Barack. The old mantra of black progress - two steps forward, one step back - had come to feel abstract, something you said, but forgot to believe. So when we hit this season of reversal, I was more surprised than I should have been. I had forgotten about being black. Meaning, I had forgotten that for us, setback is nothing new. Right after the election, as I was grappling with this, I chanced to see this young black woman - Melissa "Lizzo" Jefferson - on "Full Frontal with Samantha Bee," and she performed "Lift Every Voice and Sing," also known as the "Negro National Anthem." Something about that song always gets to me. Something about it always stirs unseen forces, shifts something heavy in my soul. "Lift Every Voice" was written by James Weldon Johnson in 1900. That was 23 years after the Republicans sold out newly freed slaves, resolving a disputed election by striking a backroom deal that made Rutherford B. Hayes president on condition he withdraw from the South federal troops who had safeguarded African-American rights and lives since the end of the Civil War. It was five years after the first "grandfather clause" disenfranchised former slaves by denying the ballot to anyone whose grandfather did not vote. It was four years after the Supreme Court blessed segregation. And it was a year in which 106 African Americans were lynched - a routine number for that era. Yet in the midst of that American hell, here was Johnson, exhorting his people to joy. "Lift every voice and sing Till Earth and heaven ring Ring with the harmonies of liberty Let our rejoicing rise High as the listening skies Let it resound, Loud as the rolling sea." Lord, what did it take to sing that song back then? I pondered that as the year deepened into December, as Christmas came and went, as the ball dropped in Times Square. Now here it is Black History Month, and I know again what I had somehow forgotten. I had forgotten that we've been here before, that our history is a litany of people pushing us back after every forward step. I had forgotten that it long ago taught us how to weave laughter from a moan of pain, make a meal out of the hog's entrails, climb when you cannot see the stairs, and endure. I had forgotten that America is still America - and I am still black. But it won't happen again. 22016261-mmmain.jpg Austin Rose, organizer for Portland Tenants United, speaks at a rally as folks concerned with equality and homelessness marched through downtown Portland Jan. 15. (Kristyna Wentz-Graff/Staff/File) Ron Garcia As a professional property manager, I often describe my job as akin to a PCB transformer: to be an adapter in a power struggle, in my case, between apartment owners and tenants. It's not uncommon to have sparks fly. Over time, however, like AC and DC currents, we are all going in the same direction: We all desire to maintain a quality living unit at a reasonable rent rate. These days it's getting more difficult. In the rancor that has substituted for communication over the cures to Portland's housing crisis, I fear we may have hit a power-grid failure, with negative consequences for everyone. Portland is one of the world's 10 most desirable cities according to a recent list in Metropolis Magazine, along with Helsinki, Copenhagen, Sydney and Singapore. Oregon is the fastest growing state in America. There is no question we need to come together to address our housing needs. But landlords are livid that the city of Portland is forcing them to pay for the relocation of tenants whom they just want out of their properties. They're stunned that the government would interfere with contractual clauses allowing for the simple termination of an agreement. They are outraged that their income could be arbitrarily capped with no regard to the free market, at less than 10 percent per year. Mostly, they are heartbroken they are not viewed as human beings with sensitivities and budgets of their own - and instead have been characterized as greedy and self-serving. Tenants are conflicted. Those living in comfortable and affordable homes may not want to rock the boat. Yet they live with the anxiety it could all end with a single notice. Others have felt the hardships of the rising economy and have been forced to find roommates, to move to less desirable locations. Rental housing for them is their life, not their business. And for those renters seeking new living quarters? They find a brutal and disorganized process with no similar representation such as they'd have if they were home-buyers. Meanwhile, tenant-landlord disputes are rife with accusations of damage and neglect from both sides. So I ask: What's a professional property manager to do? Without owners willing and able to invest in properties, I have no clients. And without tenants willing and able to pay rent I have no income. Has my job devolved into nothing more than a crisis center trying to ward off complaints, collections and lawsuits? I rely on basic rules to solve problems. One such rule is what I call the 'zipper theory of life." When a zipper disconnects, the solution is to move the clasp back to the point of separation and start again. So how far back do landlords and tenants need to go in order to re-group? I'm not sure. But let's consider the term "landlord." This is a title stuck in the past. Who wants to be "lorded" over? We should re-brand property owners as "Rental Property Providers" and encourage them to re-consider the needs of their clientele. Tenants need to consider their own obligations, as well. They should want to thrive in their abodes and respect the property they live in. Normal wear and tear shouldn't be an excuse to allow mold to grow, grease to build up, yards to grow out of control or smoke detector batteries to expire. As I move the housing-crisis zipper back even further, I find the most direct connection from the oldest book in print, the Bible: "Put away from you all bitterness and wrath and anger and wrangling and slander, together with all malice, and be kind to one another." (Ephesians 4:31-32) I am encouraged by this: While conflicts like ours have been sparking long before the discovery of electricity, there has always been hope that we can overcome them with decency and dignity in place of disrespect and drama. I, for one, would welcome the opportunity to be part of that process. Ron Garcia, president of Rental Housing Alliance Oregon, owns The Garcia Group Property Management Company in Portland. Ted Hewitt A protestor wears a cap that reads "Make America Great Again" in Russian. Columnist Noah Feldman writes that if truly, if Trump really "wants to make America great again, he's going to have to change his foreign policy approach. Shaking up the world is going to make America weaker and poorer." (Mark Humphrey/AP Photo) By Noah Feldman One emerging theme of the Trump administration's foreign policy so far has been destabilization and surprise. President Donald Trump has used phone calls and tweets to shake up previously rock-solid relationships like those with Australia and Mexico. Traditional allies in Europe and Asia are worried about whether they can still rely on the U.S. for protection from Russia and China respectively. Changing the status quo in surprising ways can be an effective foreign policy strategy, as Russian President Vladimir Putin showed with the unexpected takeover of Crimea and his intervention in Syria. But there's a key difference between Russia, a weakened power seeking to improve its position, and the U.S., the world's reigning superpower. Change and unpredictability favor rising powers. Continuity and predictability favor powers that are already dominant. What works for one kind of power won't work for the other. The reason is simple: If you have more, you have more to lose. The U.S., richer and more powerful than its competitors, has further to fall. The value of continuity and predictability has geostrategic and economic aspects. The strategic value lies in the peace dividend that the U.S. provides for itself and others by acting as a guarantor of stability. Where everyone knows the rules of the power game, war becomes less likely. Like the Pax Romana and the Pax Britannica in their times, the post-Cold War Pax Americana has produced a great deal of global stability. A predictable U.S. commitment to peace leads other, weaker countries to behave predictably, too. Wars often happen when two sides have different assessments of the power balance between them. They need to fight to find out who's really stronger. If both sides know that they can't really change the power balance, or fear they will be punished for fighting, they will try to avoid outright hostilities. Trump believes that beneficiaries of U.S. protection should pay more of the price. That sounds plausible, but there's a reason that dominant powers don't try to exact too much tribute from their allies. They don't want those allies to start thinking that the system disserves them. What's more, like Rome and Britain before it, the U.S. has already gained immeasurably in economic terms by its global dominance. It's no coincidence that the Information Revolution, which has made the U.S. unimaginably rich by historical standards, happened when the U.S. had become the world's sole superpower. The Industrial Revolution started in Britain after the defeat of Napoleon. And Rome's revolutionary economic growth, driven by the creation of astonishing pan-imperial infrastructure and trade, was also the product of its hegemony across Europe and around the Mediterranean. In all these cases, peacetime investment produced innovation and development that far outstripped growth during wartime. That shouldn't be surprising, because wars eat up money and human capital voraciously. Wars destroy vast stores of economic value, as World War I painfully illustrated throughout Europe. The threat of war is reason to keep your money safe. That's true internationally as well as domestically. Global economic exchange and growth thrive when there is predictability and stability. No one wants to invest in an unstable political environment. And no one benefits more from the smooth flow of capital than the country that has by far the most of it, namely the U.S. Markedly increased instability would be felt first in global markets, to be sure. But eventually, it would reduce the value of U.S. capital markets, too. And even if the percentage market drop was less, the total losses would likely be greater. Global economic interdependence can't be reversed by any one country. As a consequence, increased instability anywhere will be felt everywhere. The upshot of this analysis is that if Trump really wants to make America great again, he's going to have to change his foreign policy approach. Shaking up the world is going to make America weaker and poorer. Trump's impulse to populist isolationism goes back to before World War II, when the U.S. had not yet made the choice -- and the defense investments -- to become a true superpower. Then, there was still a credible choice to be made between entering the global fray and holding back. It took an agonizing period of more than two years, from September 1939, when the war began, until December 1941 and Pearl Harbor, for the country to make that decision and enter the war. Once that historical process has taken place, however, it can't be reversed without vast costs. Today, accustomed to the Pax Americana, nervous allies aren't going to beg the U.S. to come to their aid. They're going to start acting as though instability is coming -- which will fuel still greater instability. In some instances the administration may already have begun to see the value of continuity with existing U.S. policies, as with the recent warning to Israel that new settlements would become barriers to peace. And Trump hasn't yet signaled that he will overturn the nuclear deal with Iran. Saying that it was a good deal for Iran, as he recently did, is indirectly a way to encourage Iran to respect it. It's been only two weeks. There's still hope that the Trump administration may settle into a foreign policy of continuity and predictability that actually serves U.S. interests. Otherwise, the only predictable outcome of the next four years will be meaningful U.S. decline. 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. For more columns from Bloomberg View, visit www.bloomberg.com/view. AMSTERDAM, THE NETHERLANDS--(Marketwired - February 07, 2017) - ISE 2017 - Stand 9-D160 -- The Z-Wave Alliance, a global membership organization dedicated to advancing the popular Z-Wave wireless smart home protocol, will host the Z-Wave Pavilion at ISE 2017. The Alliance is also demoing a brand new installation toolkit to make installation and testing of a Z-Wave smart home mesh network even easier for the pro installer community. The Z-Wave Pavilion will feature smart home products & services for the integrator community at ISE 2017. Featured members in the Pavilion include: Aeon Labs CBCC Domotique SAS Goap (with brand Qubino) Leedarson Lighting Co., Ltd. Neeo Sprue Safety Products Vision-Elec. Technology Co., Ltd. Vitrum (ThinkSimple) The Z-Wave Pavilion will also host the Z-Wave interop wall, a showcase of the latest Z-Wave smart home devices including lights, sensors, thermostats and hubs. The Pavilion will also include a demo of the new toolkit designed by the Alliance to help integrators, dealers and service providers with the installation of Z-Wave mesh networks in home control projects. "ISE is a fantastic show to meet with our installer networks in Europe and show the latest products in the Z-Wave ecosystem. We're excited to demo the Certified Installer Toolkit as well; we want Z-Wave networks to not only be easy to install -- but easy to maintain and troubleshoot," said Mitchell Klein, Z-Wave Alliance Executive Director. Z-Wave networks by their very nature are easy to get up and running, but occasionally require some trial and error to install with quality and reliability. Technology professionals need robust tools to remove the guesswork from their projects -- the Z-Wave Alliance has created exactly that for all Z-Wave smart home installations. The Z-Wave Certified Installer Toolkit, first demoed at CEDIA EXPO in 2016, is a maintenance and diagnostics device that provides information, both textually and graphically, on the health and stability of your Z-Wave network. The tool measures Z-Wave RF wireless signals, providing help with configuration or compatibility issues as they happen during setup or upgrading. Story continues The Z-Wave Certified Installer Toolkit features include: A built-in web server that allows the toolkit to be placed in the customer's Z-Wave network and connected using any web browser through Wi-Fi. Z-Wave Network Sniffer (ZNiffer) functionality -- will display information about the Z-Wave transmissions taking place around the area where the tool is placed. Spectrum Analyzer -- will show basic information on the Z-Wave frequency range. Global usage and language support; Wi-Fi and Ethernet connectivity with USB ports for expansion into future capabilities. All new integrator members will receive a Z-Wave Certified Installer Toolkit free with their paid membership. All software updates and upgrades will be available at no charge as long as the member remains in good standing. Additional toolkits will be available for purchase for all Alliance members. The Z-Wave Certified Installer Toolkit will be available in Q1 2017. For more information on the Z-Wave Alliance, please visit http://z-wavealliance.org. For updates from Z-Wave at ISE 2017, follow the Z-Wave Alliance on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn and with the #ISE2017 hashtag. About Z-Wave Z-Wave technology is an open internationally recognized ITU standard (G.9959). It is the leading wireless home control technology in the market today, with over 1700 certified interoperable products worldwide. Represented by the Z-Wave Alliance, and supported by more than 450 companies around the world, the standard is a key enabler of smart home solutions for safety and security, energy, hospitality, office and light commercial applications. Z-Wave is a registered trademark of Sigma Designs (SIGM) and its subsidiaries in the United States and other countries. About the Z-Wave Alliance Formed in January 2005, the Z-Wave Alliance is a consortium of leading companies in the home technology space dedicated to solidifying Z-Wave as the standard for wireless home control products. The principal members include: ADT, FAKRO, FIBARO, Ingersoll Rand Nexia Intelligence, Jasco Products, Leedarson, LG Uplus, Nortek Security & Control, SmartThings and Sigma Designs. Alliance members lead the home controls market, providing leading edge products and systems that deliver increased comfort, convenience, energy conservation, safety and security. Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, including statements about the benefits of Z-Wave Alliance membership and the use of the Z-Wave in product offerings, specifically the interoperability and security features of Z-Wave devices. Actual results may vary materially due to a number of factors including, but not limited to, consumer and customer acceptance of the Z-Wave Alliance, and Z-Wave technology in the relevant regions, the ability of the Z-Wave Alliance to compete with similar alliances in the industry and the Z-Wave technology to compete with other technologies or related products in the market, if any, as well as other risks that are detailed from time to time in our reports to the Securities and Exchange Commission, including reports made on Form 10-Q. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward- looking statements, which speak only as of the date hereof. We undertake no obligation to publically release or otherwise disclose the result of any revision to these forward-looking statements that may be made as a result of events or circumstances after the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events. Image Available: http://www.marketwire.com/library/MwGo/2017/2/7/11G129570/Images/Installler_tool-fae95bf7532a8dd4ac321dd0557cc588.jpg Tuesday 7 February 2017 9:08am The 21st Public Health Summer School starts at the University of Otago, Wellington today. As part of the Public Health Summer School, the University will host four free evening talks by leading international public health experts throughout February. The Wellington lectures are free and open to the public. In an opportunity to hear from world leaders on important public health issues, lectures will be on: Emerging infectious diseases Disaster resilience Domestic violence Racism and child health Responding to emerging infectious diseases is a hot topic in New Zealand with the recent Campylobacter outbreak in Hawkes Bay. In the first lecture on Tuesday, 7 February, Professor David Heymann from London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, UK will speak on: Towards a world free from the threat of emerging infectious diseases. The second lecture on Thursday 9 February is by Professor Ichiro Kawachi, a professor in public health at Harvard University, USA. He received both his medical degree and Ph.D. (in epidemiology) from the University of Otago, New Zealand, and will speak on: Building disaster resilience. Social capital and health in the aftermath of the 2011 Japan earthquake and tsunami. On Monday 13 February Marai Larasi, MBE, Executive Director of Imkaan, UK, will speak about Universal challenges, local solutions? Connecting the dots to address violence against women. The final lecture by Dr Naomi Priest, from the Australian National University, Australia, on 21 February will be about Racism and child health and wellbeing. All lectures will be at the University of Otago, Wellington campus in Mein Street Newtown, and start at 5.15 pm. All welcome. For further information, please contact: Professor Michael Baker, Department of Public Health, University of Otago, Wellington Email michael.baker@otago.ac.nz Fleur Templeton Senior Communications Adviser University of Otago, Wellington Email fleur.Templeton@otago.ac.nz 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. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Sunday afternoon, visitors flooded the Islamic Center of Midland, packing the mosque with men, women and children of all faith backgrounds and walks of life. There was laughter, chatting and plenty of food. There was connection. This is the Midland I want my kids to see, said Umbareen Jamil, an active member of the Islamic Center of Midland. I want them to feel that this is their community and these people came to support them. Theyre American were all American! This is exactly the kind of message we wanted to get across. More than 400 people attended the Islamic Centers Meet and Greet, which was planned in response to an executive order regarding travelers from seven Muslim-majority countries. On Jan. 27, President Donald Trump issued an executive order suspending new refugee admissions for 120 days, capping this years number of refugees allowed into the U.S. at 50,000, and barring travelers from seven nations Iraq, Iran, Syria, Sugan, Libya, Yemen and Somalia for 90 days. It also bans Syrian refugees indefinitely. PolitiFact reports these seven countries were designated by the United States as repeatedly provided support for acts of international terrorism, and in December 2015, former President Barack Obama signed an anti-terrorism law that stated anyone who has traveled to those countries since March 2011 cannot enter the U.S. without a visa. (The Visa Waiver Program allows travel without a visa for up to 90 days.) Those with visas, however, could still visit the U.S. Travelers from Iraq and Syria were also subject to additional scrutiny. By contrast, Trumps executive order barred any travelers, with or without visas or Green Cards; initially, it did not clarify how lawful permanent residents were to be treated. On Friday, Judge James Robart of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington State suspended the travel ban. The executive order was quickly dubbed a Muslim ban, with #MuslimBan trending on social media. Throughout his candidacy, Trumps campaign released a statement calling for a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States until our countrys representatives can figure out what is going on, which he later clarified as pertaining to people from certain regions. When the executive order was signed, immigrants and permanent residents alike were detained at airports. Despite what the administration says, the order effectively creates a religious preference in our immigration system and is deeply biased against Muslims undermining the principles of religious freedom upon which our country was founded, former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright wrote in an editorial for the Boston Globe. Jamil believes there is no basis for denying the bans bias. The ban applies to seven majority-Muslim countries, she said. Were not even talking Muslim males, were talking grandmothers and babies. Its the whole entire population. The issue immediately became a divisive one. In the social media sphere, the Women of Michigan Action Network (W.O.M.A.N.) private Facebook group discussed the executive order, and a member posed the question, What can we do to support our Muslim neighbors? The leadership team Sarah Schulz, Jody Liebmann and Jen Ciolino decided to contact the Islamic Center of Midland, asking how the community could help. We want to build a stronger community, Schulz said, adding that the group wanted to make a public show of support. Schulz and Jamil considered organizing a march, but decided to host an open house to let the community meet Muslims, see where they worship and learn about the community. A lot of fear comes from ignorance. Therefore, our job is to get rid of the ignorance, and the fear will go away, Jamil said. We need to make ourselves available. Jamil and other organizers at the Islamic Center set up a two-hour Meet and Greet, but overwhelming interest led them to expand the event from 1:30 to 4:30 p.m., intending for visitors to come and go throughout that time, but many stayed for the entire program. Im completely blown away, Jamil said. We expected a large turnout, but I dont think anybody in the community was prepared for the type of turnout that we actually ended up having. Dr. Mamoon Mohiddin, a board member of the Islamic Center of Midland, and the Rev. Kevin Maksym, pastor of Blessed Sacrament Catholic Parish, opened the event with prayer. Maksym also shared that his father and grandparents were immigrants and faced discrimination. He encouraged those gathered to have reverence for all members of the human family. The day continued with eight speakers, each discussing specific issues, punctuated by two question-and-answer sessions and social time. Board member of the Islamic Center Dr. Naveed Khan shared his immigration story. Khan completed his medical school residency and a fellowship with the University of Wisconsin Hospitals and Clinics and decided to stay in the United States to practice medicine and raise a family. We all came to this country to have a better life, a safe life, for ourselves and our children. Thats all we want, he said. In his opening remarks, he reminded those in attendance that Muslims, Jews and Christians all believe in a God who will judge them according to their deeds; people do not have the right to judge each other. Its okay to have differences. The important thing is to come to a consensus and come together, Khan said. Ubah Ali shared a Somali perspective on the current political climate. Ali was born in Canada and raised in Saginaw; her parents emigrated from Somalia. If this ban was in effect 20 years ago, my parents wouldnt be able to come here, she said. We shouldnt be detaining (travelers) for 30-plus hours and sending them back. That doesnt do justice to them, and it doesnt do justice to Americans. Ali is a highly educated young woman, with a bachelor of business administration degree from Grand Valley State University, a juris doctor degree from Howard University School of Law in Washington, D.C., and a master of law degree in International Human Right to Health from the University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law. She plans to pursue a Ph.D. and hopes to work for the United Nations. Somalia, meanwhile, has been in political turmoil since 1991, and life expectancies are just 54 and 57 years for men and women respectively. Refugees dont want to be refugees, she said. They have no choice. Of the approximately 40 families at the Islamic Center, most are Pakistani and Indian, but there are also families from Somalia, Syria and Yemen, which are affected by the travel ban. Two speakers discussed Syrian perspectives. Syria has been in a civil war since 2011, and more than four million Syrians have fled to other nations. An additional 6.3 million Syrians are internally displaced, according to the UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency. Syrian native Raheef Alturkmani, who has lived in Midland for two years, spoke of his concern for not only refugees, but also those who are legal permanent residents or have visas. The State Department reported that about 60,000 visas were revoked. Alturkmani said he knows many people who want to come to the United States to work and live productive lives. His sister and brother-in-law, he said, visited the United States before the refugee crisis. They hoped to spend a couple of months and return to Syria, where they had a manufacturing business and home, and their children were enrolled in school. Unfortunately, the businesses of my brother-in-law were completely destroyed. He had two manufacturing facilities completely destroyed due to the war, he said. Their house is currently occupied by a Syrian regime officer who just brought his family into the house, and they are living there. Unable to return to their home, the couple applied for and received a work permit. They started their own business, a restaurant. Luckily, they were able to survive and they were able to be productive members of this society, he said. Alturkmanis nieces, who were in high school when they resettled, are nearing their college graduations. The eldest has been accepted into dental school. My nieces would never be able to attend school if they were not in the United States. That is why we are so, so grateful to this country and the people of this country, Alturkmani said. We want this country to prosper. We want this country to be safe. Most of us came here because it is a safe country, and I personally have more rights in this country than I did in my home country, he said. Alturkmani added that he hopes people continue to keep the United States the great country it is. Haseeb Moten, a Midland resident for about six years, gave an update on the Syrian refugee crisis. Moten has spent about a year working with Tri-Cities Refugee Welcome, which has raised money and supplies to help refugees resettling in the area, working closely with Episcopal Migration Ministries and Samaritas. Other speakers included Schulz of W.O.M.A.N., Dow High School senior Manahil Khan, Ray Lacina and Khaled Khan. Khaled Khan, president of the Islamic Center of Midland, began his closing remarks by thanking the women of the Islamic Center and W.O.M.A.N. for organizing the event and encouraging attendees to turn dialogue into action. Hopefully we can change policies for the benefit of all not just for us, but for the benefit of all, he said. We want to do good, we want to improve our society, were not exactly sure how. Khan also acknowledged that some may encounter critics who may say nasty things. The best thing you can do is respond with kindness and understanding, because there is a lot of anxiety. We cant pretend its not there. I think what we have to do is have dialogue, meaningful dialogue, he said. At the meet and greet, at least, there was no shortage of dialogue. Visitors asked questions about Islamic prayer, how to help international students, what concerns and inspires speakers, and more. It was really cool. There was great interaction, Schulz said. You can meet anyone in the world and, within a few minutes, find commonality. Schulz said the purpose of this event, and the action network in general, is to support each other and support those affected by policy decisions that they believe are wrong. Their goal is to build bridges with groups throughout the community and work together towards common goals. Today was a day of connection, she said. Sarah Travis of Bay City and member of W.O.M.A.N. said that after attending the Womens March, she felt it was important to get more involved and help support communities that may be at risk under the current administration. I dont know my Muslim neighbors, and I need to know my Muslim neighbors, she said. Its really beautiful to hear stories and really put a human face on the issues were facing, she said. Jamil views the events overwhelming attendance as a silver lining. We obviously dont like the current political situation and whats going on, but would any of this happen if things had been as always? she said. I hope we can keep the momentum; I hope we can make an effect. I hope we can put a dent in the policies that the governments trying to enact. Its Muslims right now, but its not just going to be Muslims. Its going to be eventually, I think, targeting other minority groups as well. Jamil said they are considering having a similar open house very soon, and then potentially make it a yearly event. In the meantime, she describes the Muslim community in Midland as being on pins and needles. The legal status of the executive order is in limbo, with the case currently before the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in San Francisco. When you go through hardship, even if its one family going through it, thats big enough, she said. Junior Achievement of North Central Michigan will host a JA Mentor Circle conference on Feb. 21 at Saginaw Valley State University. The event will bring together high-school age young women and women business leaders from various industries throughout the Great Lakes Bay Region. Attendees will discuss various professions, learn how to earn and keep a job, and hear about the path mentors took to reach their leadership positions. Women business professionals representing their respective industries will serve as mentors and group hosts during the morning session. The program will wrap up with a networking luncheon in partnership with the Great Lakes Bay Women in Leadership group. The Lunch and Learn presentation will be The Power of Mentoring and Being Mentored with keynote speaker Barbara Littles. For more information on registering a participant or for sponsorship opportunities, contact JA of North Central Michigan at (989) 631-0162, or visit its website at janorthcentralmi.org Mid Michigan Community College will host its second State of the Community event, which will bring community leaders together for a night of information sharing. The State of the Community willtake place in the cafeteria on the Harrison Campus beginning at 6 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 15. The public is invited to Saginaw Valley State University throughout February to join the university during its multiple Black History Month events. All events are free of charge and open to the public unless otherwise indicated. The events include: The documentary Land Grab will be shown at 6 p.m. today in the SVSU Student Life Center. The film captures the story of an eccentric finance moguls dream to create the worlds largest urban farm in his hometown of Detroit. The movies director, Sean King OGrady, will be on hand to discuss this intriguing film. Author Lawrence Ross will speak at 6 p.m. Wednesday in SVSUs Curtiss Hall banquet rooms. He is the author of Blackballed, which explores the present and historical issues of racism on hundreds of American college campuses, and how that ties into todays Black Lives Matter campaign. Ken Jolly, SVSU professor of history, will host an open discussion on higher education today through a lens of ethnic- and gender-centric viewpoints. His talk will be at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 14 in the Roberta Allen Reading Room, on the fourth floor of Zanhow Library. SVSU will host its annual Taste of Soul luncheon from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 15 in the Marketplace at Doan cafeteria. The event provides an opportunity for the community to sample various soul food recipes prepared by SVSU faculty and staff. The cost per person is $8.75. SVSU students and others can hear from past Cardinals during Life After SVSU: an African-American Alumni Panel at 6 p.m. Monday, Feb. 27 in Curtiss Hall Seminar Room D. The event is an opportunity for current SVSU students to network and engage with notable SVSU alumni about their careers and life after college. A full calendar of SVSU Black History Month activities is available online at svsu.edu/calendar/blackhistorymonth/ For additional information, contact SVSUs Office of Multicultural Services at (989) 964-7090. The Media Doesn't Care for Donald Trump's Latest Accusation By Dustin Rowles | Politics | February 7, 2017 | Donald Trumps latest fiction, as he told members of the military yesterday at MacDill Air Force Base, is that terrorist attacks have been happening all over Europe and that its gotten to a point where its not even being reported. This, of course, is absurd. One can accuse the media of a lot of things, but one cannot deny the medias thirst for blood. Terrorist attacks are widely covered, often for days and days at a time, and our collective worst fear is how oversaturated media coverage of the next terrorist attack will play right into the Trump Administrations hands. Nevertheless, to suggest that the dishonest media refuses to cover terrorist attacks is actually insulting to the media, who put a lot of time, money and resources into assigning reporters to cover these attacks, sometimes even when it endangers the reporters and their staff. This is one lie that the media will not let stand. To wit: Anderson Cooper provided a montage of himself reporting from the cities where various terrorist incidents happened. Post columnist David Ignatious is particularly incensed by the suggestion: As a journalist Im really troubled by that, Washington Post columnist David Ignatius said on CNNs The Lead on Monday. We have brave colleagues who everyday are taking big risks to cover these stories. Look at the New York Times which the president demonizes often. The New York Times this weekend had an outstanding piece of reporting about how ISIS has been reaching out, is more involved in some attacks in Europe and abroad. Ignatius said he has about 100 examples of strong reporting hed like to show the President. Late yesterday, because the White House is put in a position where they often have to find ways to justify Trumps remarks after the fact, Sean Spicer released a list of underreported attacks hastily slapped together. This list misspells attacker 24 times, and not only is the widely-covered attack in San Bernardino, California covered, but San Bernardino is also misspelled. It also includes those little-known Paris attacks and the Orlando attacks. You remember Orlando, right? I won't ever forget watching Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, and Donald Trump react to the Pulse massacre. Neither should you. #OrlandoStrong pic.twitter.com/NlZRgvz0nb j (@afantasticdream) February 7, 2017 Of the 78 attacks, NBC says that it extensively covered 57 of the attacks that resulted in the deaths of 745 people. Of the other 21 that that took place in places like Egypt and Bangladesh, which NBC did not cover extensively, only 8 people died combined (in other words, only two more than the attacks in Canada last weekend by a Trump-supporting white supremacist, which Trump still has not mentioned on Twitter). It should also be noted that none of the attacks on the White House list were perpetuated by white supremacist or Islamaphobes, though as ThinkProgress notes a study published in 2015 found that people in America are seven times as likely to be killed by a right-wing extremist than a Muslim attacker. As the Post notes, this particular claim seems to be rooted in conspiracy theories elevated by Alex Jones and Infowars. The media is not taking the accusation well. CNNs David Acosta, for instance, said that this appears to be a talking point in search of a set of facts that just doesnt seem to exist. Understated burn. Jake Tapper added this: I'm sure viewers of @TheLeadCNN and @CNNSotu to say nothing of @CNN in general will find intriguing the notion that we don't cover terrorism Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) February 7, 2017 Meanwhile, a Politico reporter included this handy set of Trump tweets from the day Libya was attacked. It was covered by the media, but apparently not worth mentioning by the President. Some Trump tweets from Jan 27 2015, day of major terror attack in Libya listed by WH as underplayed. ABC, CNN, NYT reported. Trump ignored. pic.twitter.com/aZmaBEMA1U Michael Crowley (@michaelcrowley) February 7, 2017 The best, however, comes from CBS so far, not accused of being FAKE NEWS which soberly calls this exactly what it is: A distraction from the Presidents legal woes: The WH knows these events were covered and the accusation would lead news orgs to remind their audience of the events. @MajorCBS pic.twitter.com/5GPuqiiMeX CBS This Morning (@CBSThisMorning) February 7, 2017 That man with the monotone voice basically just said that Trump is full of shit. Dustin is the founder and co-owner of Pajiba. You may email him here, follow him on Twitter, or listen to his weekly TV podcast, Podjiba. FAIRMOUNT Theres no business like the bee business. But until recent years when more attention has been paid to the plight of the honey bee, there were few training opportunities for people wanting to learn beekeeping skills in the Midwest. When David Burns started beekeeping in the early 1990s, it was a more uncommon hobby. He has turned his hobby into a business that now serves beekeepers across the nation with a patented invention, training, bee supplies and mentoring. He bought the land for Long Lane Honey Bee Farms in Fairmount 12 years ago and has had some ups and downs. In 2008, he had a colony collapse, but by 2010, he achieved the designation of certified master beekeeper. Our philosophy is to be as natural as possible, said Burns, who operates a training center, a honey-related business and raises his own bees. He said he does use some chemical options in helping the bees survive and remain healthy, but he keeps that kind of assistance to a minimum. He uses hive design for controlling some pests including mice. Burns has seen the interest in beekeeping increase. Yesterday, we shipped 250 boxes, he said. Realizing that one of the biggest challenge for beekeepers in the Midwest is helping them overwinter, Burns invented the Winter Bee Kind hive cover five years ago. Put on top of the hive in the winter, it is filled with candy and amino acids which help provide food for the bees during the cold months. Burns also enjoys teaching others. With the help of his wife, they developed a variety of classes to help beginning beekeepers. In addition to having classes on his farm in Vermilion County, he also teaches at Heartland Community College in Normal and in Danville. One of the things he teaches is that farmers are not the enemy. He said most farmers act responsibly and many participate in the Drift Watch program where they will give a three-day notice of application of insecticides so beekeepers can block the entrance of their hives to keep bees from going out that day. The larger threat is varroosis, caused by the Varroa mite, also called the Varroa destructor, he said. It can lead to the death of an entire honey bee colony. If you took away all the farm chemicals, bees would still be in trouble. We teach people not to point fingers at farmers for their troubles, he said. Farmers are usually supportive of beekeepers because bees are pollinators, he noted. The agricultural value of the honey bee pollinator in one year is staggering. It contributes more than $14 billion annually, according to a Cornell University study, he said. The value of bees is especially appreciated by apple and almond growers. In Illinois, some of Burns bees help pollinate pumpkins. Burns joined the mentoring program of The Land Connection, a Champaign-based sustainable farming training program, that helps connect beginning farmers with mentor farmers. One of his mentees, Kasey Nelson, is creating a business that includes removing hives from peoples home and property. We worked on a house in Danville that had 60,000 bees. It was intimidating. A few times the bees got rowdy, Burns said. The effort included sucking the bees gently into a holding box and eventually safely relocating them to their own hive. Joe Vincent of Danville is another beginner entering his first winter with three colonies. He said he was a little naive when going into beekeeping. I thought you put out bees. They make honey and you enjoy it. Theres a lot more involved. I wish I had more information before getting the bees, he said and encourages others to do some research. NORMAL No matter which type of railroad crossing Normal officials choose for Uptown Station, it will not be built without "significant" state or federal funding, Mayor Chris Koos said Monday. "This project will not be paid for in a significant way by local dollars," he said of the crossing, a multi-million dollar expense. "We certainly don't have those dollars, and we wouldn't spend that kind of money (on this project)." What's more, the project could benefit from President Donald Trump and a cooperative Republican Congress, said Normal City Manager Mark Peterson. "The new president has committed to investing $1 trillion in public infrastructure in the next 10 years, which is extraordinary," he said. Monday, however, officials were months away from even choosing a specific crossing to be designed for the station. Normal City Council approved options to be studied by engineering firm WSP Parsons Brinckerhoff of New York. Normal is paying the firm $1.4 million to study five ways to get passengers from the station to the south side of the tracks: using nearby street crossings, the "no build" option; an at-grade crossing, at the same height as the tracks; an overpass open only to Amtrak passengers; an overpass open to the public; and an underpass. Officials nearly bid the project as an Amtrak-only overpass in 2014 before deciding to seek more information on an underpass. Due to safety concerns and railroad regulations, only an overpass and underpass are feasible options. WSP Parsons Brinckerhoff will present the council with an analysis of the options in May, then use feedback from them and the public to zero in on one option to design starting in September, according to a presentation. The "no build" option will continue to be studied, said Project Manager Bruce Nelson. The firm will then deliver architectural concepts next March and engineering information the following September. An underpass, if that option were chosen, would be completed three to five years from now. Residents who addressed the council questioned the need for the project and whether cost is a major concern. In 2014, Farr Associates, a Chicago firm, estimated an overpass would cost $8.6 million, and an underpass $12.7 million. "If this was truly a concern about safety and convenience, we would have an overpass right now," said Marc Tiritilli, who is challenging Koos for mayor in the April 4 election. Even if state and federal money paid for the crossing, he added, local officials should avoid adding to those bodies' debt. Tiritilli has frequently criticized the town's debt load. "All of our debt... has a streamline of repayment," responded council member Cheryl Gaines. "I don't want people to be scared or think we're being frivolous. ... I don't want people to be frightened by the thought of this progress." BLOOMINGTON Taxes and streets are the top concerns of Bloomington residents, according to five candidates running for mayor. Vying in the Feb. 28 primary, which will cut the field to two for the April 4 election, are former radio talk show host Ian Bayne; incumbent Mayor Tari Renner, seeking a second term; retired Bloomington firefighter Robert Fike; Ward 1 Alderman Kevin Lower; and Ward 8 Alderman Diana Hauman. In speaking with The Pantagraph's editorial board Tuesday, the candidates shared their views on taxes; how they would prioritize $400 million worth of infrastructure and capital improvement projects on the city's wish list; steps needed to jump-start downtown revitalization; and why they should be elected. The meeting was videotaped and will be posted online at www.pantagraph.com at a future date. The No. 1 thing (residents) are talking about is the streets, said Fike. The mayor has a Streets 2.0 program. Mine is going to be called simply, 'Let's Fix The Streets and Do It Now.' "Infrastructure is a big part of how people view the city," he said. "If they can maintain the infrastructure (businesses) are more apt to locate here than somewhere else. Lower said high taxation and infrastructure also are the issues he hears the most complaints about. The city has a streets and sewers repair plan, but it has not been consistently funded, he added. The streets are neglected and we really need to be putting around $8 million a year consistently, probably for two decades, to catch up to a level we might consider as good, said Lower. Renner, who became mayor in 2013, said neglected streets and sewers were a legacy he inherited as a result of the decisions of many previous mayors and councils. During his tenure the city has begun to address the problem by increasing by 300 percent the amount put into street resurfacing the last few years, including a $10 million bond issue in 2013 that was earmarked for street resurfacing over two summers. Hauman said the city's infrastructure needs could be assisted by more economic development. If there are more people paying taxes and businesses paying taxes it will help defray that, she said. Bayne said that in addition to fixing the streets, he wants to lower the sales tax to 6.5 percent and cut property taxes. City Manager David Hales and others have publicly noted that cutting the sales tax, now at 8.75 percent, by 2 percentage points would result in a $20 million loss in revenue for the city. Bayne said he would lower the city's budget from $207 million to $169 million, but he did not say what specific services and programs he would cut to get to that level. The taxes you talk about were earmarked for streets or our (public safety) pensions, said Renner. In 2014 the council added a new 4 percent amusement tax and a 4-cent-per-gallon local motor fuel tax, and those funds were earmarked for streets and sidewalks, Renner and Hauman noted. The city's utility taxes for electricity, gas, water and telecommunications were also hiked in 2014 to fund public safety pensions. In 2015, the council approved raising the sales tax 1 percentage point, from 7.75 percent to 8.75 percent. Of the estimated $9.6 million a year the increase generates, $4.8 million is to be used to fund the city's general operations, including public safety; $2.4 million is dedicated to street resurfacing, sidewalks and infrastructure; and $2.4 million would go to McLean County to help fund local mental health needs. Too many taxes, that is the problem, said Bayne. We are nickle-and-dimeing our taxpayers to death. Property taxes have been frozen in the city, said Renner. The council did agree on that, he said. But we are still the lowest metro area in Central Illinois in terms of our sales tax rate. We wanted to make sure we had that competitive advantage. There are no free lunches; streets don't get paid for by themselves, added Renner. Lower and Fike agree on holding the line on any new taxes or fee increases and stopping city subsidies for what they say are nonessential entertainment venues or services. BLOOMINGTON The director of the McLean County Health Department whose accomplishments were overshadowed last year by an email controversy is retiring one year earlier than planned but will remain in public health. Walt Howe, 60, of Normal, told The Pantagraph on Monday that he has accepted the new position of manager of preventive health services at the Illinois Public Health Association, a statewide advocate for public health. His final day with the county health department will be Feb. 24. Howe has worked in public health for 38 years, has been with the county health department since 1991 and has been director since 2009. Howe said his retirement is not related to a spring 2016 controversy regarding possible violation of the state Open Meetings Act by Howe and some then-members of the county Board of Health and an exchange of emails between Howe and some Board of Health members that degenerated into name-calling of some members of that board and the county board. McLean County State's Attorney Jason Chambers, who referred the Open Meetings Act violation allegation to the Illinois Attorney General's office, said Monday that he has not received a response from that office. "My long-term plan was to retire in June 2018 when I would be 62 (years old)," Howe said. Howe said his plan was to retire with his wife to the Springfield area, where their grandchildren and his wife's family reside. "This opportunity with the (Springfield-based) Illinois Public Health Association arose, allowing me to retire early while continuing to assist the public health system," Howe said. "I will be working with IPHA on a series of public health-related projects." Judy Buchanan, who became chairwoman of the Board of Health on July 1, said she knew Howe planned to retire and relocate to Springfield, so she wasn't surprised. "There is a team there (at the health department) that he is the leader of and that team has accomplished a lot," Buchanan said. "It has been a joy every day to work in the public health system," Howe said. Buchanan said the Board of Health will have a special meeting 5:30 p.m. Wednesday and will immediately go into closed session to discuss Howe's interim replacement or replacements as well as the search process for a permanent replacement. The health department has 90 full- and part-time employees and an $8.4 million budget. Howe's salary is $114,230. He will make $36 an hour in his new role with IPHA but the job will be project-based and he doesn't know how many hours he will work. Howe said his highlights with the health department include establishing the adult dental program; steering the community through the H1N1 influenza outbreak, which included the health department vaccinating 20,640 people; the counselor program to sign people up for health insurance under the Affordable Care Act; and the Community Health Needs Assessment and Community Health Improvement Plan in partnership with other agencies. "We are one of the premier health departments in the state of Illinois," Howe said. "We are in as good a financial position as any health department, we have great long-term employees and strong administrative oversight. It's a good time to leave." "He's leaving us with a very good fiscal picture and with strong department managers," Buchanan said. "We are meeting the public health needs of our community." With IPHA, Howe's first project will be managing the association's Comprehensive Health Insurance Plan (CHIP) grant and vaccine purchasing consortium. The consortium will obtain vaccines at a bulk rate and supply them to participating CHIP providers statewide to increase vaccination rates. "I have worked closely with Walt over the years and am confident that he will get this new initiative off to a good start," IPHA President Miriam Link-Mullison said in a prepared statement. NORMAL Peace and Conflict Resolution is the theme of the Spring International Seminar Series being presented at noon each Wednesday through April 26 at Illinois State University's Bone Student Center. Daniel Breyer, associate professor of philosophy and director of the religious studies minor at ISU, will present the next program Wednesday in the Prairie Room. In his talk, The Pacifist's Challenge: How to Be Peaceful in a Troubled World, Breyer will explain why the challenge is pressing. He draws inspiration from Buddhist, Hindu, Christian and secular thinkers. All the talks are free and open to the public. Other speakers will be: Feb. 15: Panel discussion on Local Faith-Based International Peace-Building Activities, including David Eaton of the First Presbyterian Church of Normal and Henry Dick from the Mennonite Church. Feb. 22: Michael Gizzi, professor of criminal justice sciences at ISU, Co-Existence and Exchange Efforts Among Jews and Arabs in the Context of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict. March 1: Thomas Hushek, acting assistant secretary from the Bureau of Conflict and Stabilization Operations in the U.S. State Department. March 8: Patrice McMahon, associate professor of political science at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, The NGO Game: Nongovernmental Organizations in Post-Conflict Peace-Building in the Balkans and Beyond. March 22: Maria Santelli, executive director, Center on Conscience and War in Washington, D.C., The Values and Victories of Conscientious Objection. March 29: Carlos Parodi, professor of politics and government at ISU, Transitional Justice and the Peace Process. April 5: Angela Puentes, secretary at Embassy of Colombia, Washington, D.C., Colombia's Historic Moment. April 12: Tim Wedig, director, Center for Global Studies, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, From Diplomats to Troops: Considering the Range of Conflict Prevention Options. April 19: Toril Rokseth, director of education; Adeline Cuvelier, educator, Nobel Peace Center, Oslo, Norway, The Nobel Peace Prize: 100 Years of Ideas for a Better World. April 26: Panel discussion with current and past faculty coordinators of the ISU Peace and Conflict Resolution Studies minor, including Joe Grabill, emeritus professor of history; Dawn Beichner, professor of criminal justice sciences; and Noha Shawki, associate professor of politics and government. EUREKAA third-grade class at Davenport Elementary has reached out in friendship to embrace a similar class half way around the world in Zambia, Africa. Melodie Minger and other teachers at Davenport have been emphasizing Its Cool To Be Kind, during the current academic year. When one of Minger's students, Fiona Rocke, connected that motto with personal experiences in her own extended family, a project was born. "We wanted to come up with something that created a little more excitement at our school," Fiona said. Her cousins and their parents are missionaries at Lifesong Orphanage in Zambia, Africa, and were recently on leave in the U.S. from September to January. Lifesong is a multi-faceted organization that provides Christian education, daily meals, life skills, discipleship for vulnerable children and sustainable business for their caregivers. See article on Feb. 9 Woodford County Journal newsstands Stora Enso Invests EUR 28 Million in Heinola Fluting Mill in Finland The investment at the Heinola Fluting Mill improves quality as well as increases production capacity of the mill's AvantFlute SC product portfolio. Feb. 6, 2017 - Stora Enso announced that it is investing EUR 28 million at its Heinola Fluting Mill in Finland to meet a growing customer demand globally. According to Stora Enso, the investment improves quality as well as increases production capacity of its AvantFlute SC product portfolio. AvantFlute SC is Semi-Chemical fluting made from virgin fibre and is developed especially to endure demanding conditions. The project is scheduled to start immediately with completion in the second quarter of 2018. The production capacity of AvantFlute SC will increase by 15,000 tonnes per year once the investment is completed and fully implemented. The current annual production capacity at Heinola Fluting Mill is 300,000 tonnes of fluting. The timing of this investment is ideal as we expect an increased demand for high quality fluting products used for food, fruit and vegetable packaging, said Gilles van Nieuwenhuyzen, EVP and head of Division Packaging Solutions. In addition to facilitating a more competitive offer to the market, this investment also enables a lower carbon footprint at our Heinola Fluting Mill. Stora Enso is a leading provider of renewable solutions in packaging, biomaterials, wooden constructions and paper on global markets. To learn more, please visit: www.storaenso.com SOURCE: Stora Enso The Sundance Film Festival, which wrapped at the end of January, had a palpable sense of purpose this year. While it's been socially conscious since it's inception, the 2017 festival had a renewed and explicit sense of urgency. We sent photographer Albert Sanchez to shoot the stars, directors, and creative masterminds behind this year's slate of films, from Jenny Slate to Flying Lotus in his directorial debut to Jessica Williams to Derek Lam. Check them all out in the slideshow below. Previous Next Jessica Williams, from The Incredible Jessica James Previous Next LaKeith Stanfield, from The Incredible Jessica James Previous Next Tavi Gevinson, from Person to Person Previous Next Abbi Jacobson, from Person to Person Previous Next Director Flying Lotus of Kuso Previous Next Jemima Kirke from Refinery 29's Strangers Previous Next Adam Horovitz (left) from Golden Exits, and Bridget Everett (right) from Patti Cake$ Previous Next Aisha Tyler Previous Next Gigi Gorgeous from This Is Everything: Gigi Gorgeous Previous Next Roxanne Shante, inspiration for Roxanne Roxanne Previous Next Chante Adams from Roxanne Roxanne Previous Next Jenny Slate from Landline Previous Next Bethann Hardison from Hold On Previous Next Derek Lam from Joshua: Teenager vs. Superpower Previous Next Harris Dickinson from Beach Rats Previous Next Taboo from Rumble: The Indians Who Rocked the World Previous Next Allison Tolman, from Downward Dog Previous Next Nick Offerman, from Look and See Previous Next Edie Falco from Landline Previous Next Adam Pally (left) and Zoe Lister-Jones (right) from Band Aid Previous Next Sarain Carson-Fox, Viceland's RISE Previous Next Tyler Oakley Previous Next Scott Levin (left) and Dina Buno (right) from Dina Previous Next From left to right: Omono Okojie, Curtiss Cook Jr., writer/director/star Justin Chon, David So, and Simone Baker from Gook Previous Next Omono Okoji, from Gook Previous Next Jaime King, from Bitch Previous Next Writer/director Helene Hegemann (left) and Jasna Fritzi Bauer (right) of Axolotl Overkill Previous Next Mari Malek, from The Nile Hilton Incident Previous Next Florence Pugh, from Lady Macbeth Previous Next Danielle MacDonald from Patti Cake$ Previous Next Caua Reymond from Don't Swallow My Heart, Alligator Girl! Previous Next Matthew Gray Gubler from Newness Previous Next Damon Davis, co-director of Whose Streets? Previous Next Sabaah Folayan, director of Whose Streets? Previous Next Francis Lee, writer and director of God's Own Country Previous Next Amanda Kernell, writer and director of Sami Blood Previous Next Sarah Goldberg (left), actress, and Anu Valia (right), writer/director, of Lucia, Before and After Previous Next Kirsten Tan, writer and director of Pop Aye Previous Next Nakhane Toure from The Wound Previous Next Blanca Lewin (left) and Gabriela Arancibia (right) from Family Life Previous Next Tarik Saleh, writer and director of The Nile Hilton Incident Previous Next Emily Browning from Golden Exits Previous Next Cathy Moriarty from Patti Cake$ Previous Next From left to right, from The Kalief Browder Story: Michael Gasparro, executive producer; Nick Sandow, executive producer; Jenner Furst, director; Julia Willoughby Nason, executive producer Previous Next Ernesto Contreras, director of I Dream in Another Language Previous Next Andrew Dosunmu, director of Where Is Kyra? Previous Next Joshua Wong from Joshua: Teenager vs. Superpower Previous Next Menashe Lustig from Menashe Previous Next Eliza Hittman, writer and director of Beach Rats Previous Next Josh O'Connor from God's Own Country Previous Next Lily Baldwin (left) and Saschka Unseld (right), directors of Through You Previous Next Rachel Rossin, director of The Sky Is a Gap This was the first year the festival had an over-arching, activist themes. Climate change was prominent, as represented by premieres including An Inconvenient Truth: The Sequel and Look and See (which examines US agriculture through the writings of Wendell Berry). Kick-ass female filmmakers were in full-force at Sundance, both on the screen (including breakout performances by promising young actors like Danielle MacDonald of Patti Cake$ and Florence Pugh of Macbeth) and in the streets. The festival's first weekend featured the invigorating "March on Main," one of the hundreds of women's marches going on around the country. March leader Aisha Tyler and speaker Jessica Williams issued compelling calls to action for all festival attendees. The second weekend also saw a demonstration against the Dakota Access Pipeline, famously attended by Shailene Woodley and Malia Obama. Native Americans were also well-represented on screen, from Viceland's "RISE" series on the DAPL protests and Rumble, the doc on Native American musicians featuring Taboo of the Black Eyed Peas, amongst others. Festival award winners included docs concerning the differently-abled ("Dina") and starring refugees (Sudanese model/DJ/first-time actress Mari Malek of The Nile Hilton Incident). Overall, Sundance 2017 pointed towards a brighter, more-inclusive future for filmmaking, one that is open to a multiplicity of stories and points-of-view. Photos by Albert Sanchez and Pedro Zalba Coordination assistance by Nicole Dawson UPDATE, 2/8/17 3 p.m.: Following a flurry of less-than-impressed responses to his "trust me.. she likes asians ;)" defense, Zayn Malik has taken to Twitter again to vent about "people's nerve to call me ignorant, when any chance they get I'm a terrorist! To be a racist goes against my very existence," he said, continuing, "so please don't try to educate me.." People's nerve to call me ignorant, when any chance they get I'm a terrorist!! to be a racist goes against my very existence.. zayn (@zaynmalik) February 7, 2017 So please don't try to educate me zayn (@zaynmalik) February 7, 2017 However, as one of his followers aptly put it... @zaynmalik you are a POC who experiences racism but sometimes it seems that you're ignorant to other races, maybe not intentionally $ (@solozjm) February 7, 2017 -- Over the weekend, Bella Hadid posted a now-deleted video of her sister, Gigi, posing with a Buddha-shaped cookie and squinting her eyes in an attempt to mimic the Buddha's features. The Internet had a lot to say about her pose, critiquing it as offensive, as it reduced the Buddha and Asian people to their eye shape and used the perceived otherness of the Asian body as the punchline of a joke. Fans were curious about Zayn's take on the video because he is of Pakistani descent. One Twitter user asked, "being of Asian descent, how do you feel about your girlfriend making fun of Asian people?" Zayn responded to the tweet, "trust me.. she likes asians ;)" Of course, just because Zayn is of Pakistani descent, it doesn't mean that he can represent all Asian perspectives, as there is not a singular "Asian experience". And, it is understandable that he would defend his girlfriend. Still, it is disappointing to see him so casually dismissing critics of his girlfriend's racist behavior. The fact that she is dating someone of Pakistani descent certainly doesn't prove that she "likes Asians" or absolve her of her racist behavior. Honoring the long tradition of white people commenting on racial matters that they can't actually speak to, Gigi's mother also weighed in and policed the emotions of anyone dared to critique her daughter's actions. She tweeted," Only a toxic mind will perceive hugging a chocolate laughing Buddha as racist......" That said, Gigi is not new to controversy. In 2015, her Vogue Italia cover faced major backlash, as she wore an afro and darkened skin, and was critiqued for blackface. Hm. photo by Billy Farrell/BFA.com People's perception of those with autism has changed from that of a savant to an adorable genius. This perception comes with intellectual benefits that many hope would be considered an asset, especially in the workforce. Carrot Insights Chief Executive Officer Andreas Souvaliotis said there was a time when autism was not easily diagnosed. His numerical abilities impressed people but they still considered him weird and a corporate world misfit. With a deeper understanding of autism, he saw the value of hiring employees under the autism spectrum. "Had I known about my limitations and opportunities earlier, I would have probably taken bigger entrepreneurial gambles at a much younger age," Souvaliotis said, according to The Globe And Mail. He said people with autism have the ability to focus and do repetitive tasks with lesser errors. The workforce-ideal abilities of those under the autism spectrum has been backed by a study conducted by University of Montreal researchers in 2014, according to EurekAlert. Researchers found out how people with autism compensate for what they lack through enhanced brain functions. Companies are starting to take advantage of hiring employees with autism following the principles of neurodiversity, as per Forbes. Persons with the Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), such as Asperger syndrome, are now being considered as good hires. Most persons with ASD are socially challenged but 60 percent of them are highly intelligent. Employers are in a mad rush to hire a diversified group of people when it comes to culture and intellectual abilities, as per Monster. Companies are hiring people on the basis of Neurodiversity and those with autism fall in this category. People with autism do not only think logically, but they also have the ability to focus on a given task and possess distinct skills. Persons under the autism spectrum have the ability to focus on patterns and find data anomalies. These are valuable characteristics in the Information Technology sector particularly in designing software and analyzing data. Raising kids the traditional way used to be as simple as choosing blue for boys and pink for girls. Some progressive-thinking parents, however, are choosing to raise their kids as gender neutral or even genderless. What exactly does it take to raise kids with this approach? What makes gender neutral parenting click with some parents and why is it controversial for other parents? Gender neutral parenting (GNP) is about raising children without any pre-conceived gender norms, stereotypes and labels. Parents encourage and allow their children to play with either boy or girl toys, or decorate the kids' room in neutral colors, or let their kids wear clothes of their own choice. Providing children no gender restrictions is seen as liberating for some parents who believe it is society that has imposed these limitations. In a gender neutral environment, they believe that children could realize their full potential, whatever that might be. "Our socialization into gender roles limits our children's potential to discover unhindered who they are and what they're interested in," gender neutral mom Thea Hughes said, according to News Corp Australia. A girl can grow up aspiring for a career in science, engineering or sports, which are usually regarded as part of a man's world. A boy can grow up as a caring and emotional being, which are usually associated as feminine traits. This approach, however, has its share of criticisms. Neuroscientist Deborah Soh pointed out the biological differences between the brain of boys and girls, which has been pre-determined in conception. The expert said that pushing gender neutral parenting could be futile because the brain will resist it, Parent Herald previously reported. In 2009, neuroscience professor Lise Elliot told Salon that indeed boys' and girls' brains are wired differently. The expert, however, believed more than encouraging boys and girls to be genderless and not follow stereotypes, parents should instead focus on giving children a happy childhood. There's some backlash to gender neutral parenting especially if adults are too conscious of doing this and giving children so many options that it is no longer balanced or neutral. "Provide each child with more of a rounded experience early in life," Elliot said. "It's important to not give preschool children too much choice about what activity they do because then you have kids separating by gender and only reinforcing their strengths." America's president Donald Trump is reportedly setting his plans for his first official visit to the U.K. upon Prime Minister Theresa May's invitation. Among what the president is preparing for are his gifts for the royal kids, Prince George and Princess Charlotte. According to Express, Trump has been keen on giving the children, and even Queen Elizabeth II, bespoke cowboy saddles. It will be engraved with the seal of the President of the United States as well as the symbol for the Queen. The royals are expected to love the gift being lovers of horses and riding. "He doesn't just want to give them something that will sit at the back of a cupboard or gather dust on a mantelpiece," a source apparently told the news outlet. "He wants to give them something he knows they will enjoy and use." Prime Minister May met with Trump in the White House just days after he assumed his post as president. According to The New Yorker, the British criticized their leader for coming to Washington so early in his administration, but it was said to be a fruitful meeting as the two leaders discussed their roles in NATO. When May extended an invitation for the American leader to visit London and the royal family, the British also made sure their objection would be heard. In fact, a petition to prevent Trump from meeting the royals has so far received 1,844,685 signatures. Because of such a strong opposition, the parliament will supposedly deliberate on whether Trump can have an audience with the Queen. The deliberation will be aired live on the internet on Feb. 20. May was also castigated by former Foreign Office head Lord Peter Ricketts because she has placed the Queen in a very awkward position, according to The Times. "It would have been far wiser to wait to see what sort of president he would turn out to be before advising the Queen to invite him," Lord Ricketts said. New mothers experiencing body pains post-pregnancy are trying out the latest health craze. Otonamaki, which is growing popular in Japan, has moms willingly letting themselves be wrapped inside a white cloth. The swaddling technique is supposed to relieve bad back, shoulder stiffness, as well as joint and hip problems. According to The Sun, Otonamaki, which is also known as adult wrapping, is supposed to mimic how babies feel when they are swaddled. It might look odd for adults but one mom said that being inside the swaddle gave her a "warm feeling." During the sessions, moms are bundled up in a wide but thin white cloth as they lie down and curl at a certain position on a cushion. A staff then rocks the moms back and forth for at least 15 to 20 minutes. The health craze is also becoming popular among Japanese workers who spend long hours in the office and thus suffering from different body pains. "It looks cramped but it doesn't feel tight at all," one person who has been doing Otonamaki told BBC. "Afterwards I felt an improvement in my shoulders and back." Another fan of the technique said that she felt so good being swaddled that she almost wanted to go to sleep. Otonamaki was developed by Nobuko Watanabe, a midwife who wanted to help mothers by providing an alternative to massage or physical therapy. The technique, however, is drawing criticism from chiropractors. "I just can't think of how people can benefit from this even as a form of reflexology or exercise," Shiro Oba of Akasaka Chiropractics said, according to Business Insider. If moms are having problems with their body after birth, Oba advised them to see a doctor to get the proper treatment. What do you think of this health craze? Do you think there are benefits to Otonamaki? Would you try it yourself? Sound off in the comments below! President Donald Trump's nominee for the post of Education secretary, Betsy DeVos, has emerged as the most unpopular and most polarizing cabinet choice. Her nomination is causing a ruckus among senators and their deliberation on the floor, which has no confirmed date set as of press time, is bound to get even more controversial. How critical is the position of Education secretary? Does it hold much power in government? Is it a matter of national security? With the way senators are addressing her nomination, it's as if DeVos is going to make a big dent in the system. What makes DeVos' nomination highly opposed? Trump announced DeVos as his pick in November and the president described her as "a brilliant and passionate education advocate," BBC reports. The billionaire Republican, who is married to Amway CEO Dick DeVos, has no background as an educator but she has worked with different organizations by funding education projects and reforms for over 20 years, especially in her hometown of Michigan. Teachers and educators, labor and rights groups, and even some celebrities, however, have campaigned against her since the nomination. They believe DeVos has done damage to the public school system in her home state when she pushed for charter schools. They present data citing the schools she supported did not do well on standardized tests and have not delivered a good number of graduates despite flourishing as a business. They believe this will happen in the rest of America should DeVos get confirmed. During her confirmation hearing, DeVos revealed she was not familiar with many of the functions of the Department of Education, especially when it came to alternative or special needs education and rural schools. New York Times reported the nominee was allegedly not knowledgeable with federal education laws and regulations, and her position could bring a conflict of interest with several investments she made in charter schools in the last two decades. American Spectator, however, reports there has been a smear campaign against DeVos. Most threatened by her confirmation are the teachers' unions and their allies who are opposed to charter schools because their jobs in public schools might be on the line. What's your take on DeVos' nomination? We'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments! A study on Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) alleged there's a misinformation and conspiracy surrounding the medical condition. If the findings of researcher Martin Whitely are correct, then patients with ADHD could be taking in more stimulants than necessary for what appears to be a misdiagnosed condition. Whitely has been espousing this argument for years. He stated, via the Medical Journal of Australia, the disorder is a mere industry concoction to medically justify normal behavior exibited by kids wanting in discipline or even love. On the contrary, the Wester Australian Department of Health would like people to believe there is an under-utilization of stimulants for the disorder, suggesting doctors and big pharmacies are in cahoots for profits. Parents of children with ADHD have criticized Whitely's conclusion as he has undermined the medical basis for the disorder, according to the Sydney Morning Herald. These parents also questioned the legitimacy of his claims considering these are widely accepted by affiliates of the Church of Scientology. As it is, parents are already agonizing over the decision to give medicines to their kids after being diagnosed with the disorder. Those suffering from ADHD have often been portrayed as ill-mannered or out of control kids.The challenge for parents are those kids who struggle but fail to control their symptoms. There is more to this condition than meets the eye and parents are urging experts to do more research to get a better understanding of ADHD. ADHD is characterized by behaviors that tend to be misunderstood including impulsiveness, hyperactiveness and inattentiveness, according to NHS. Children with the disorder can already exhibit the symptoms at a very young age but actual diagnoses is made when the child starts schooling. The disorder is called attention deficit disorder when the kid mostly exhibit inattentiveness but not the other symptoms. Kids who have difficulty focusing, or unable to keep calm, or sit still for a longer period, or show excessive talking or physical movement may be exhibiting ADHD symptoms. This service applies to you if your subscription has not yet expired on our old site. You will have continued access until your subscription expires; then you will need to purchase an ongoing subscription through our new system. Please contact the Parsons Sun office at (620) 421-2000 if you have any questions Apple's CEO is on another business trip to fire up his troops at Apple Stores and stop by a few top customers while in France and Germany. Apple's CEO began his trip by visiting Apple Stores in France which we covered on Sunday. Today Apple's CEO was tweeting a few photos from his trip as you can see below. You can click on any of the photos below to enlarge them. As you could see in our cover photo, Tim Cooks is well, "Cooking" while visiting Apple Developer 'Kitchen Stories' in Berlin, Germany. Cook met with Artist @JRart in France Earlier today Patently Apple posted a granted patent report wherein we noted that Apple was granted a design patent for the new Apple Watch Sport Wall Display for Apple Stores. Apparently Germany's Dula is Apple's supplier for Apple Store product tables and wall displays and today Apple's CEO paid them a visit. Lastly, while in France, Cook met with Julien Fournie, a Couturier based in Paris who used an iPad as one of his designing tools. Cook is reportedly off to Scotland Tomorrow where he'll be receiving an honorary degree from the university of Glasgow. About Making Comments on our Site: Patently Apple reserves the right to post, dismiss or edit any comments. Those using abusive language or behavior will result in being blacklisted on Disqus. For younger readers, the definition for "Gay Old Time" is to have a grand time, a lot of fun. Of course in today's world, the line gets blurred but shouldn't. The term was used in the last line of the Flintstones Theme song presented below. Last week, Gwion Raven at The Witches Next Door blog had a brilliant post titled Five Indispensable Non-Pagan Books For Pagans. The post is exactly what it says it is: five books that Pagans need to read even though theyre not Pagan books. There are more intermediate and advanced books on Paganism than there used to be (including one by a certain Druid blogger coming on May 8), but there still arent a lot. Much of what a beyond-beginner needs to read isnt found in the Pagan section of the bookstore. These are five books that have been helpful to me as a Pagan even though they arent Pagan books. The Greatest Show on Earth by Richard Dawkins. If you want to understand the interconnectedness of life, you must understand evolution, the process by which life grew from the simplest single-cell organisms to the diverse assortment of complex life we have today. I know, I know youre a good educated liberal. You already believe in evolution. But as Pagans, we need more than to accept the reality of evolution we need to understand now it works. We need to understand how random mutations are usually bad but occasionally helpful, and how sometimes one mutation is irrelevant until a second mutation occurs and then the first one becomes tremendously important. We need an understanding of deep time. An understanding of the randomness and interconnectedness of evolutionary processes forms a good foundation for understanding the workings of magic. Richard Dawkins is a lousy philosopher and a worse theologian, but hes an excellent biologist and an engaging writer, and he doesnt overwhelm the reader with jargon. If you read nothing else on this list, read The Greatest Show on Earth. A History of God by Karen Armstrong. Like it or not, we live in a society dominated by monotheism. And so it helps to know a thing or two about the three major monotheistic religions and their origins. Not so you can argue with proselytizing Christians, but so youll be impervious to their sales pitches based on historicized myths. A History of God is partially the story of how Yahweh went from an obscure tribal God to being considered the One True God. Mainly, though, its the story of the origins of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Its all the things you were never taught in Sunday School but need to know anyway. The Language Instinct by Steven Pinker and The First Word by Christine Kenneally. If there is one thing that sets humans apart from other animals, it is our capacity for language. Other species communicate with each other, but none with the depth, breadth, and nuance that human language permits. Our ideas about religion and magic are expressed with language and are intertwined with language, yet it is likely that religious behavior predates language. Language and the symbolic thinking it facilitates has had a tremendous impact on human religions thats something we need to understand. Im listing two books in this slot. The Language Instinct takes a psychological approach and looks at how language develops here and now, while The First Word takes an archaeological approach and provides informed speculation on how language first originated. Either would be a good addition to your library both would be better. Ireland: A Short History by Joseph Coohill. So much of modern Paganism has roots in Ireland and draws on Irish lore. But how many of us who dont live in Ireland actually know anything of Irish history? From formal education, my own reading, and the mainstream culture, I picked up quite a bit of English history over the years. Irish history? Pretty much nothing. I assumed the English domination of Ireland started with Henry VIII turns out it started with the Normans in 1169. I knew about the 1916 Easter Uprising and the establishment of the Irish Free State in 1922, but nothing of the decades of work that preceded them. Irish culture in the New World is its own thing, and the Gods are not tied to the land. You do not have to be Irish to worship Brighid, Lugh, and the Morrigan. But if you want to understand Them and Their stories, learn the history of Ireland. I picked this book based on the Amazon reviews and found it helpful. My Irish friends may have other recommendations, particularly for those who want to explore the history of Ireland in more depth. Gone to Texas: A History of the Lone Star State by Randolph B. Campbell. This book is a placeholder I dont expect Pagans in New York or New Zealand to study Texas history although if you think Texas is Americas version of Saudi Arabia perhaps you should. Your Paganism may be rooted in Ireland or Iceland or Greece, but its practiced where you are. The land where you live has a story learn it. The people who share the land with you have a story learn it. The people who were there before you have a story learn it. Find a history of your area and read it. Who are the local ancestors? Why did they come here? What did they start that continues today? What great deeds deserve your honor? What foul deeds require your work to repair and remedy? The same people often fall into both categories black or white judgements are rarely accurate, or helpful. I grew up in an evangelical home. For a while my mother read Proverbs to us each morning on repeat, reading the chapter that aligned with the day of the month and starting over again each new month. I remember the wayward woman verses. There are a lot of wayward woman verses. Proverbs chapter 5 7 Now then, my sons, listen to me And do not depart from the words of my mouth. 8 Keep your way far from her And do not go near the door of her house, 9 Or you will give your vigor to others And your years to the cruel one; 10 And strangers will be filled with your strength And your hard-earned goods will go to the house of an alien; My mother never just read the Bible; she would also stop and ask comprehension questions, or point out interesting details or similarities to the present day or applications we should remember. When reading the above text, she would pause and tell us that the bit about strangers being filled with your strength and your heard-earned goods going to the house of an alien referred to child support. But theres one particularly insidious application of these wayward woman warnings, something I recently watched play out myself in the evangelical community in which I grew up. Imagine an adult man, 21 or 22, meeting a 14-year-old girl online, grooming her, and then crossing state lines to take her to a hotel. Now imagine that when the the young man is arrested for committing statutory rape his family and church community blame the girl. They say its the girls fault, that the girl led him astray, that she seduced him, that she enticed him, that she ruined his life. Have a look at this passage: Proverbs chapter 7 21 With her many persuasions she entices him; With her flattering lips she seduces him. 22 Suddenly he follows her As an ox goes to the slaughter, Or as one in fetters to the discipline of a fool, 23 Until an arrow pierces through his liver; As a bird hastens to the snare, So he does not know that it will cost him his life. The phrases I mentioned abovethat a 14-year-old young girl was a seducer and enticer and ruined a young mans lifeare not words people are pulling out of thin air. No, these words are being taken straight from the wayward woman stories of Proverbs. She enticed him. She seduced him. He followed her as an ox goes to the slaughter and it cost him his life. In fact, the King James Version goes even further: 21 With her much fair speech she caused him to yield, with the flattering of her lips she forced him. These words have very, very, very serious consequences. They had consequences for Tina Anderson, who was raped at age 15 by a church elder she was babysitting for. They had consequences for a 16-year-old girl in Indiana, who was groomed and abused by her pastor. In each case the church stood by the abuser. In each case the young, underage girl was painted as an enticing seductress. Intellectually, I knew it happened this way. In these communities, a girls past and present are put under a microscope, and any sign of sexual interest or sexual curiosity are immediately jumped upon. It doesnt have to be mucheven making comments deemed sexually inappropriate can be enough to make a girl suspect. Slut. Harlot. Very innocent girl! It was her idea, shes a seductress, an enticer. Watching it play out in my own community was watching a train wreck happen. I knew what was coming, but it hit me in the gut just as hard regardless. Ive written before of the ignorance of many fundamentalist and conservative evangelical Christians regarding things like grooming, and the dynamics of abuse. I am becoming increasingly concerned that passages like these from Proverbs are actively preventing these groups from moving beyond these tragic, consequence-ridden interpretations. After all, why take the time to learn about grooming when the story already fits perfectly into a wayward woman narrative you already know by heart from Proverbs? These interpretations desperately need to be challenged. As long as the narrative of the wayward woman leading seducing men and leading them by the nose to the slaughter sits in the back of the evangelical mind waiting to be applied, young teenage girls and others who are taken advantage of, groomed, and abused by upstanding Christian men will continue to suffertheir stories disbelieved, their characters impugned, their young lives thrown aside as so much refuse. I have a Patreon! Please support my writing! Patna: In the last stage of his ongoing 'Nishchay Yatra', Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Monday paid a visit to the District Registration Office/Advisory Center where he, in a simple ceremony, handed Students Credit Cards to a dozen students. Engaging in usual political rhetoric, Kumar said that the Student Credit Card scheme would go a long way in making students' future bright who would then contribute to making Bihar a better place to live. He also said that his government was committed to raise education standard in Bihar because without a good student body, the state could not expect to develop as desired. "Bihari students are known for their merit and high intelligence. They dominate in all exams across India that is the testimony to their bright mind. We will give Student Credit Card to all who decide to persue education in the state. We have also set up schemes where students will be able to get interest-free loan for higher studies. All they have to do is to study and bring laurels back to Bihar," Kumar said. On the occasion, the Chief Minister inaugurated the new building of the District Registration Center in Chhajjubagh and also handed out marriage certificates to a couple who had registered with the court nearly five years ago in 2012. Iran's Supreme Leader Says Trump 'Reveals America's Real Face' 02/07/17 Source: RFE/RL Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has said he is grateful to U.S. President Donald Trump for showing "the real face of America." Khamenei's website quoted him as making the comments in a February 7 meeting with military commanders in Tehran. Ayatollah Khamenei meeting with military commanders in Tehran photo by Islamic Republic News Agency "What we have said for more than 30 years -- that there is political, economic, moral, and social corruption in the ruling system of the United States -- this gentleman came and brought it out into the open in the election and after the election," he said. Khamenei also warned that "no enemy can paralyze the Iranian nation" and called on Iranians to respond to Trump's "threats" on this week's anniversary of Iran's 1979 Islamic Revolution. "The Iranian people will respond to his words on February 10, and will show their stance against such threats," Khamenei said. The Trump administration last week imposed new sanctions on more than two dozen Iranian companies and individuals after Tehran tested a ballistic missile. Ahead of the measure, Trump tweeted that Iran's leaders "should have been thankful for the terrible deal the U.S. made with them!" The U.S. president has denounced the July 2015 nuclear accord between world powers and Iran a "disaster." The deal imposed curbs on Tehran's nuclear program in exchange for lifting sanctions. Iranian daily Javan: Trump pushing internal crisis outside by attacking Iran Earlier on February 7, Iranian President Hassan Rohani said that, despite what Trump thinks, the nuclear agreement was a "win-win agreement." "The new U.S. president reads the text of the nuclear deal but cannot accept it," Rohani said in a February 7 speech broadcast live on state television. "He says this is the worst deal in history." But the Iranian president said the agreement could be used "as an example for other talks to bring stability and security to the region." On February 6, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called on "responsible" countries to follow the U.S. president's lead. The United States and Israel say Iran's January 29 ballistic-missile launch defied a 2015 UN Security Council resolution calling on Tehran not to test nuclear-capable missiles. Iran denies that. With reporting by Reuters, AFP, and AP Related Stories: President Rouhani says Iran nuclear deal benefits everyone 02/07/17 Source: Press TV Iranian President Hassan Rouhani says the nuclear deal between Iran and six world powers is an agreement that offers benefits to all the parties involved. Speaking at a ceremony in the Iranian capital of Tehran on Tuesday, President Rouhani referred to the recent remarks by US President Donald Trump, who has called the Iran deal "the worst... ever negotiated," and countered by saying that the deal is to the benefit of all. Referring to the nuclear negotiations that culminated in the deal in July 2015, the Iranian president said, "We were able to present our arguments to a big political power and to get the negotiations - with logic, rationality, and dignity - to a point where America's new president now cannot tolerate it." "Of course," President Rouhani stressed, "this is a win-win deal and to the benefit of everyone and the region." The nuclear accord, called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), was reached between Iran on the one side, and the US, the UK, France, Germany, China, and Russia on the other. The administration of US President Donald Trump, which took over on January 20 this year, has said the deal did not benefit American businesses as much as it did those of the other parties to the agreement. He has previously threatened to unilaterally scrap it but faces pressure from the rest of the parties, which say the deal must stand. President Rouhani said in his Tuesday remarks that the nuclear deal can be a model for dozens of other negotiations to be held and lead to the security and stability of the region. He referred as an example of such talks to the negotiations going on in the Kazakh capital of Astana in an effort to find a political solution to the Syrian conflict. In January, Astana hosted two days of discussions between the Syrian government and opposition groups. Iran, Russia, and Turkey had organized the talks and acted as mediators. Experts from the three countries and the United Nations also held a follow-up technical meeting in Astana on Monday. Zarif concerned over fate of nuclear deal under Trump, says tough days ahead Source: Tehran Times TEHRAN - Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif expressed worries over the future of the nuclear accord, saying that "difficult days are ahead" as he expects U.S. President Donald Trump will seek to renegotiate the deal. Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif (file photo by Islamic Republic News Agency) "I believe Trump may try to renegotiate," Zarif said in an interview with the Tehran-based newspaper Ettelaat. "It's clear that neither Iran nor Europe will accept a re-examination of the deal. So, we have difficult days ahead." The nuclear deal, signed between Iran and six world powers including the U.S., removed a slew of sanctions on Iran in exchange for it rolling back its nuclear program. During his presidential trail, the businessman-turned-politician Trump branded the nuclear pact a "disaster", "the worst deal ever negotiated" and a "nuclear holocaust." Also, in a speech to the pro-Israel lobby group AIPAC in March, Trump stated that his "Number-One priority" would be to "dismantle the disastrous deal with Iran." Any review of the agreement, endorsed by the United Nations Security Council, will face resistance from the international community as well, Zarif reminded. The Iranian diplomat further said that going back on the deal is impossible as it is not a bilateral agreement between Iran and the U.S. In a similar tone, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani in December said renegotiating the nuclear deal "is like saying that we should turn a shirt back to cotton," reducing Trump's remarks as "empty talk." "I consider it unlikely that anything will happen in practice," he added. Other signatories to the accord have voiced their support for the deal. Helga Schmid, Secretary General of the European Union's foreign policy service in Brussels, highlighted "there is a misunderstanding that you can renegotiate this agreement." "It's a multilateral agreement, that cannot be renegotiated bilaterally," she stated. Iran's top diplomat Abbas Araqchi is due to arrive in Moscow today for talks on a range of issues including the fate of the nuclear deal under the Trump administration. Related Stories: Iran must be part of universal front against terrorism: Russia 02/07/17 Source: Press TV Russia has rejected allegations by the US that Iran sponsors terrorism, stressing that Tehran must be present in the anti-terror front. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov made the remarks on Monday, noting that Iran has never had ties with terrorist organizations. "Iran has never been seen having any ties with Daesh or al-Nusra Front, or any other structure affiliated with these terrorist organizations and included in the relevant UN Security Council list," he said. He added that Iran has contributed to the battle against Daesh in Syria by the request of the government in Damascus, noting that Russia has always advocated a universal front against terrorism. "I am convinced that if we have an objective approach toward potential participants of such a coalition, Iran, of course, needs to be part of our common efforts," Lavrov added. Russia's foreign minister was responding to remarks made by US President Donald Trump on Sunday during an interview with Fox news, in which he said Iran was "terrorist state number one." On Saturday, US Defense Secretary James Mattis also called Iran "the single biggest state sponsor of terrorism in the world." Reacting to that remark on Monday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov also said, "We disagree with this postulate." He added that a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani is currently under arrangement. "Such contacts are being prepared. We'll inform you of the possible date in due time," he said. Iranian officials have also rejected the US accusations and stressing that Iran is a key country on the battlefront against terrorism. Iran has been offering advisory military support to Iraq and Syria in the two Arab countries' fight on terrorism. The Islamic Republic has been cooperating with Russia in assisting the Syrian government. New US sanctions on Iran unacceptable: Russia Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov has expressed his regret over the new United States' sanctions against the Islamic Republic, saying bans are not an appropriate means to resolve issues. "We regret this happened. We have always expressed our stance that sanctions are not an acceptable and suitable tool for resolving certain issues," TASS new agency quoted Ryabkov as saying on Monday. The US Treasury Department said on February 3 that Washington had imposed sanctions on 13 individuals and 12 entities as part of bids to ratchet up pressure on Iran chiefly over Tehran's missile program. The move against Iran is the first by the US government since President Donald Trump took office on January 20. In a statement on the same day, the Iranian Foreign Ministry slammed as illegal the US anti-Iran sanctions and said the Islamic Republic would deliver a "proportionate and reciprocal" response to the move. "The Islamic Republic of Iran, with the backing of the wise participation and support of the great Iranian nation, will respond proportionately and reciprocally to any move that targets the interests of the Iranian people," the statement said. The Russian diplomat further said Iran's missile test launches do not violate the landmark nuclear agreement, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), signed between Iran and the P5+1 group of countries, including Russia, in July 2015. Russia believes that Iran's missile test launches do not create any problem in the implementation of the JCPOA, Ryabkov added. He emphasized that the international community is "now focused on the pace of" the JCPOA implementation, saying Moscow also celebrated the first anniversary of the nuclear agreement's enactment in January. "We do not see any special problems in this area. We want to stress again that missile launches with the use of missile technologies are not a breach of the [Joint Comprehensive] Plan of Action and UN Security Council Resolution 2231. We have brought this position to the notice of the US side as well," the Russian deputy foreign minister said. Moscow expects that "strict and clear-cut reading" of the JCPOA provisions and Resolution 2231 would be "the main thing in the determination of Washington's further policy in this direction," Ryabkov added. The United States claims that a recent missile test by Iran violated Resolution 2231 that endorsed the JCPOA. Iranian Defense Minister Brigadier General Hossein Dehqan said on February 2 that Iran's "successful" recent ballistic missile test had breached neither the deal nor the resolution. "Iran's missile tests are not, and have never been, in violation of the JCPOA or Resolution 2231," Dehqan added. WSJ seeks to 'poison atmosphere' Ryabkov also slammed as "unfounded speculation" a report by The Wall Street Journal about the US administration's plans to damage Iran-Russia relations. "The Wall Street Journal and many others do nothing but look for reasons for unfounded speculation and groundless insinuations and attempts to poison the atmosphere of relations," the senior Russian diplomat said. In a report published on February 5, The Wall Street Journal quoted senior US administration, European and Arab officials as saying that the "Trump administration is exploring ways to break Russia's military and diplomatic alliance with Iran." "If there's a wedge to be driven between Russia and Iran, we're willing to explore that," an official told the US daily. Syria has been fighting foreign-sponsored militancy over the past almost six years. The UN Syria man, De Mistura estimated in August last year that more than 400,000 people had been killed in the Syrian crisis until then. The UN has stopped its official casualty count in Syria, citing its inability to verify the figures it receives from various sources. Iran has been offering Syria advisory military assistance, and Russia has been carrying out an aerial campaign against the militants in the country on a request from the Damascus government. mSecure password manager review TechRadar Pro Updated In our mSecure password manager review, we take an in-depth look at this password manager to help you decide if its the most secure way to handle your sensitive data. The U.S. House of Representatives approved on Monday the Email Privacy Act, which would require law enforcement agencies to get court-ordered warrants to search email and other data stored with third parties for longer than six months. The House approved the bill by voice vote, and it now goes the Senate for consideration. The Email Privacy Act would update a 31-year-old law called the Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA). Some privacy advocates and tech companies have pushed Congress to update ECPA since 2011. Lax protections for stored data raise doubts about U.S. cloud services among consumers and enterprises, supporters of the bill say. Under ECPA, the protections are different for older or more recent data. Law enforcement agencies need warrants to search paper files in a suspects home or office and to search electronic files stored on the suspects computer or in the cloud for less than 180 days. But files stored for longer have less protection. Police agencies need only a subpoena, not reviewed by a judge, to demand files stored in the cloud or with other third-party providers for longer than 180 days. That difference in the way the law treats stored data is a glaring loophole in our privacy protection laws, said Representative Jared Polis, a Colorado Democrat and co-sponsor of the bill. The Email Privacy Act will bring U.S. digital privacy laws into the 21st century, said Representative Kevin Yoder, a Kansas Republican and co-sponsor of the bill. Supporters of the bill argue internet users privacy expectations have changed since ECPA passed in 1986. Storage was expensive back then, and only about 10 million people had email accounts, Yoder said. Now internet users are more likely to store sensitive communications with cloud providers and other internet-based companies. Under former President Barack Obama, the Department of Justice was cool to the idea of changing ECPA. The changes will make it tougher for law enforcement agencies to investigate crimes and terrorism, some critics say. A similar bill passed the House by a 419-0 vote in April 2016, but the Senate failed to act and the legislation died after a new Congress was elected in November. The new version of the Email Privacy Act, introduced Jan. 9, has already collected 108 cosponsors, about a quarter of the membership of the House. The bill would not protect internet companies from searches of their overseas servers by U.S. law enforcement agencies. Microsoft and Google have been fighting warrants for user data located outside the U.S. Before the vote, the Consumer Technology Association urged the House to pass the bill. ECPA which was written before Congress could imagine U.S. citizens sharing and storing personal information on third-party servers, is woefully out of date, Gary Shapiro, president and CEO of the CTA, said in a statement. DVD drives may be a thing of the past, but the past could pay you $10 via a proposed settlement from a class-action suit. If you purchased a DVD-ROM, DVD-RW or combination drive between April, 2003 and December 31, 2008, a collection of DVD drive manufacturers have tentatively agreed to pay you $10 per drive, whether you purchased the drive as part of a PC or by itself. Youll simply need to visit the claim site and testify (under penalty of perjury) that you indeed purchased those drives within the given time period, and live in one of the 23 states (plus the District of Columbia) covered by the suit. The deadline to file is July 1. Why this matters: Though the optical drive market continues to decreasethe physical disk format is somewhat obsolete in the era of content streaming, IDC wrote last yearthat wasnt the case fourteen years ago, when virtually all software was distributed via DVD-ROM. Fortunately, the settlement site isnt asking for proof of purchase yet, but it reserves the right to do so. Filing a claim can take literally seconds, but dont hold your breathyoull probably receive compensation, but theres no guarantee. The wheels of justice turn slowly Simply put, a group of 23 plaintiffs sued virtually every DVD drive manufacturer, alleging that they collectively conspired to keep drive prices higher than they normally would be, in violation of antitrust laws. Though the defendants denied they did anything wrong, severalHitachi-LG, Panasonic, NEC, and Sonysettled and agreed to pay a collective total of $124.5 million into four separate settlement funds. (Note that only DVD drives for PCs are covered; a DVD player, such as the one gathering dust in your living room, isnt.) If you do submit a claim, however, the chances of receiving your settlement soon are slim. Thats because seventeen more defendants, including various subsidiaries of BenQ, Philips, Samsung, TEAC, and Pioneer, have yet to settle, and the suit will continue until all of the claims are resolved. Because other defendants remain in this litigation, the plaintiffs are proposing that distribution of the settlement funds not occur at this time, the settlement site reads. This is to save the expenses associated with distribution. In fact, the settlement hearing to finally approve the Hitachi-LG-Panasonic-NEC-Sony agreement will be held on December 8. After that, payments may beginwhich means that youll probably receive your $10 or less a year from now. Yes, less: Payments will be up to $10 per drive, according to the claims site. You should probably treat the settlement like one of those print out your own rebate slips from the turn of the century. Even under the best of circumstances, chances are youll have totally forgotten about your $10 windfall by the time the check arrives. Source: CNET Just because youre using a Mac doesnt mean youre safe from hackers. Thats what two security researchers are warning, after finding a Mac-based malware that may be an attempt by Iranian hackers to target the U.S. defense industry. The malware, called MacDownloader, was found on a website impersonating the U.S. aerospace firm United Technologies, according to a report from Claudio Guarnieri and Collin Anderson, who are researching Iranian cyberespionage threats. The fake site was previously used in a spear phishing email attack to spread Windows malware and is believed to be maintained by Iranian hackers, the researchers claimed. Visitors to the site are greeted with a page about free programs and courses for employees of U.S. defense companies Lockheed Martin, Raytheon, and Boeing. The malware itself can be downloaded from an Adobe Flash installer for a video embedded in the site. The website will provide either Windows or Mac-based malware, depending on the detected operating system. Iran Threats A screenshot of the fake site. The MacDownloader malware was designed to profile the victims computer, and then steal credentials by generating fake system login boxes and harvesting them from Apples password management system, Keychain. However, the malware is of shoddy quality and is potentially a first attempt from an amateur developer, the researchers said. For instance, once the malware is installed, itll generate a fake Adobe Flash Player dialog box, only to then announce adware was discovered on the computer that itll attempt to clean up. These dialogues are also rife with basic typos and grammatical errors, indicating that the developer paid little attention to quality control, the researchers said. In addition, the malware failed to run a script to download additional malicious coding onto the infected Mac. But despite the shoddy quality, the malware still managed to evade detection on VirusTotal, which aggregates antivirus scanning engines. The researchers found other circumstantial evidence that the malware is linked to Iran. An exposed server that the MacDownloader agent uploaded to showed wireless networks called Jok3r and mb_1986. Both of these names have ties to previous Iranian hacking groups, including one known as Flying Kitten, which is suspected of targeting U.S. defense contractors and political dissidents. In an email, Anderson said a colleague of theirs also observed MacDownloader targeting a human rights activist. The danger is that many human rights supporters, especially in Iran, are dependent on Apple devices, the researchers said. While this [malware] is neither sophisticated nor full-featured, its sudden appearance is concerning given the popularity of Apple computers, they wrote in their report. Mac malware is fairly rare, according to security researchers. Thats because hackers tend to attack Windows-based devices, because of their popularity. However, Mac-based malware is still popping up here and there. Last month, researchers found another kind designed to spy on biomedical research centers. A separate Mac-based Trojan was found months earlier, targeting the aerospace industry. Tens of thousands of community college students in the Inland area and state could graduate faster under a new online course-sharing system. The state is piloting the program at 24 colleges, including Mt. San Jacinto, which expects to let its students take classes at other institutions in late spring or summer. Theyre going to have quality online course options available to them that help students shorten the time to completing their goals, said Micah Orloff, Mt. San Jacintos dean of academic computing, technology and distance education. The Riverside Community College District, Chaffey College and San Bernardino Community College District are studying the idea or are in the planning stages and could begin taking part in late 2017 or next year. The online course exchange lets students at one campus take high-demand classes online through another school if those courses arent available at their home campus. Today, students can enroll in online classes at different campuses, but they must apply and go through a separate admissions and registration process at each campus. The initial course list includes criminal justice, child development, economics, U.S. history, geography, philosophy, psychology, American government and other classes. State officials want to boost education opportunities after the economic downturn led to state budget cuts that forced community colleges to limit enrollment and slash class offerings in recent years. California community colleges enroll 2.1 million students at 113 colleges the largest higher education system in the nation. In 2013, California launched its Online Education Initiative, a $56.9 million project that includes class sharing across community colleges, additional counseling and other services. As part of the effort, most of the states community colleges have moved to common learning management and student identification systems. The idea is similar to a universal health record that lets patients share information with different doctors. Local colleges are taking their time because they want to ensure the privacy of student data. Your student information is traveling to 24 colleges, said Rolando Regino, distance education director for the Riverside Community College District, which includes Riverside City College, Moreno Valley College and Norco College. Thats a pretty high security risk unless all these colleges have it locked down. The district wont be part of the program for at least 18 months. Officials still need to sign a state agreement and replace the districts online system with the states. They also must train faculty and ensure classes meet quality standards, Regino said. About 10 faculty members are testing the system this spring, he said. The San Bernardino Community College District, which includes San Bernardino Valley College and Crafton Hills College in Yucaipa, is figuring out the technical complexity of the effort and hopes to start participating in late 2017, spokesman Angel Rodriguez said in an email. Orloff, Mt. San Jacintos dean, said the college needs to address security and privacy issues before it starts participating. He believes course sharing could benefit tens of thousands of students across the state with dozens of courses available in numerous subjects. You can have kids from all over California working together, Orloff said. Maybe somebody from this area has a different perspective than someone from another region. Theres potential for some really rich discussion. Contact the writer: 951-368-9292 orstwall@scng.comTwitter: @pe_swall A Corona woman was sentenced to 27 months in federal prison for embezzling more than $500,000 from her employer in Orange County, officials said Tuesday. Kristina Hosea, 46, also was ordered to pay $515,619 in restitution to her former employer, an Irvine-based property management company called Advanced Real Estate Services, according to the Department of Justice. Hosea pleaded guilty in 2015 to one count of wire fraud and was sentenced Monday. This defendant stole funds for years to pay for rent, her cars, a retirement account and a quinceanera for her daughter, U.S. Attorney Eileen M. Decker said in a statement. A quinceanera is a special celebration of a girls 15th birthday, when Latin culture honors her transition toward womanhood. Businesses place trust in their employees who handle their finances, and crimes like this defendants harm the business and all of the business employees, Decker said. Prosecutors said Hosea defrauded her employer in part by wiring company funds to her personal bank account, and by improperly using company credit cards. Contact the writer: kpuente@scng.com Riverside Countys budget cannot catch a break. Fresh off plugging a $22 million hole, the countys precariously balanced finances face new hurdles from sagging tax receipts, higher firefighter pay and other challenges. And thats not counting what might happen to Obamacare or President Donald Trumps threat to pull federal funds from a California in rebellion against his agenda. Fewer dollars and more new costs have officials considering all options, including reducing fire services and laying off county employees. The county Board of Supervisors today will hear an update on the budget for fiscal 2016-17. The $5.4 billion spending plan runs through June 30. For years, county revenue has struggled to keep up with a mounting list of new, ongoing expenses, including rising labor costs and a lawsuit settlement that could add as much as $40 million a year for jail inmate health care costs. To put the county on a sustainable path, supervisors have approved a five-year plan that calls for flat discretionary spending while reserves are built up. But already, there are obstacles. The first sprang up toward the end of 2016, when officials announced that the county would receive $22 million less than expected from the sales tax created by Proposition 172 that pays for public safety services. The shortfall is being covered by cost savings and by shifting money within the budget. Now, the county is projecting that property and sales taxes may be $8.2 million short of estimates. Also, a new contract with the union representing Cal Fire firefighters is expected to add $2 million in costs to the current budget and $11 million annually in new expenses starting with next fiscal years budget. The county also expects a hit from Sacramento in the form of In-Home Supportive Services, which are provided to adults in need to help them stay at home. Shifting those expenses from the state to counties could cost Riverside County $44 million next fiscal year, according to the midyear budget report. There also are ongoing expenses related to court facilities that will cost $1 million a year. The county also has to pay for new staff to oversee the upcoming Indio jail expansion, and it stands to pay more for retirement benefits as the California Public Employees Retirement System seeks to make up for meager stock market returns. Cost of repeal There also could be consequences for the countys bottom line if the Affordable Care Act is repealed or drastically altered. The county runs a hospital and health care network that traditionally have been a safety net for the poor and uninsured. The ACA contributed to stabilizing health care funding and services in Riverside County, and the potential return to larger numbers of uninsured residents poses uncertainty for the countys health care system and budget, the midyear budget report read. Currently, the Sheriffs Department shows a $19 million shortfall, the District Attorneys Office is short $4.4 million, and theres a $2.4 million gap in the public defenders budget, according to the midyear budget review. The county has spent close to $21 million on consulting firm KPMG, which was first hired to find savings and efficiencies in public safety spending that makes up the bulk of discretionary expenses. Since then, KPMGs work has extended to nonpublic safety departments. County spokesman Ray Smith described KPMGs work as part of a comprehensive, countywide effort in which departments are committed to working with the Executive Office and KPMG to identify and take advantage of ways to reduce costs and increase efficiency. Remember, it seems like KPMG has been around for a long time, but, according to the contract schedule, they are still in the in depth analysis and pre-implementation stage, Smith said. This is a long-term effort, so doing it right will take a little time. Some of the savings identified by KPMG, such as a new shift schedule for sheriffs deputies, require union consent, and ongoing talks between the county and several unions have yet to produce new contracts. County options In a memo to supervisors, County Executive Officer Jay Orr wrote that all options are on the table as the county tackles its financial challenges. With increasing demand for scarce resources, the Board should address whether we can sustain the current service levels in all our areas of operation, Orr wrote. For example, the increasing labor costs for Cal Fire beg the question of whether we can afford our existing model of service delivery. He continued: KPMGs review includes the Code Enforcement department. We have asked for that review to include an option of reduced staffing or a moratorium on certain code enforcement activities. Further, a privatization option should be explored where appropriate. Asked if the county was considering layoffs, Smith said: Targeted layoffs in specific departments have not been discussed, but layoffs in various departments will be considered if other measures cannot sufficiently close the budget deficit. KPMG found several human resources tasks that could be automated, and consolidation that makes sense from a cost and service delivery standpoint should be pursued in the Human Resources, Information Technology and Purchasing areas, Orr wrote. Contact the writer: 951-368-9547 or jhorseman@scng.com A list of 78 terror attacks considered by the Trump administration to be under-reported includes the Dec. 2 attack in San Bernardino. Sort of. The citys name is misspelled San Bernadino in the White House-distributed list of attacks from September 2014 to December 2016. Also misspelled are the words attacker attaker and attackers, spelled in the document as attakers. Inland congressional Democrats, including Pete Aguilar of Redlands, who represents San Bernardino, took to Twitter to denounce the list and its spelling errors. .@POTUS You cant even spell #SanBernardino but you exploit our community to justify your #muslimban. Rep. Pete Aguilar (@RepPeteAguilar) February 7, 2017 If White House didnt know how to spell San Bernardino they shouldve read one of thousands of heartbreaking articles remembering victims. Mark Takano (@RepMarkTakano) February 7, 2017 The list followed President Donald Trumps assertion this week that the media deliberately do not report on acts of terrorism. The San Bernardino attack by a radicalized Islamic couple, which killed 14 people, received extensive press coverage, as did other attacks on the list. Besides being dinged for its spelling, the list also is being criticized for focusing on Western nations and ignoring terror attacks targeting Muslims, like the one in Quebec City last month that killed six Muslims at a mosque. Music of the Romantics will be the main attraction at the Riverside County Philharmonic concert on Saturday, Feb. 11, at the Fox Performing Arts Center in Riverside. Piano soloist Adam Golka will join forces with his brother, the symphonys Principal Conductor Tomasz Golka, for a performance of Beethovens Piano Concerto No. 5. This is a piece written when Beethoven was in his prime, Tomasz Golka said in a recent interview. Its one of his longer works, and its distinguished from his other piano concerti by being a more confrontational interaction between the orchestra and piano. Beethovens final piano concerto, the work is a reflection of what was going on in intellectual discussions of society at the time, Golka said. There was a discussion about the importance of the individual versus the society, and thats apparent in this concerto, he said. The piano is against the orchestra, in an argument rather than a conversation, so its very powerful. The contrasts are much more jagged, and the music is much more majestic and noble than in his other concerti. The Golka brothers have performed together in Riverside during a previous concert season. The greatest pleasure for me is to spend time together and make really good music, said Tomasz Golka. Adam Golka, who is an artist-in-residence at the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts, has an extensive concerto repertoire and has appeared with symphonies around the world. He has also performed a cycle of all five Beethoven Concerti in 2011 with the Lubbock Symphony, under the baton of his brother, Tomasz Golka. Saturdays program will also include Mozarts Symphony No. 26, Jean Sibelius Kuolema: Valse Triste and three selections from Mendelssohns A Midsummer Nights Dream. The Mozart symphony is very short and was composed when he was only 17 years old, said Tomasz Golka. Its an overture-like piece, his first real masterpiece. The slow movement is his first really beautiful work. He had just come back from Vienna and its as if his genius was suddenly awakened. Sibelius Kuolema: Valse Triste, composed in 1904, was written consistent with the composers music philosophy, according to Golka. Sibelius was a very important composer of the early 20th century, he said. He was the first person to define what Finnish nationalism was about, and to define it in music. Finland had just become a country, and Sibelius helped it achieve its own identify. His inspiration for composition came from literature, and his philosophy was to marry all the arts together, so his music tells a story from literature. This programmed work tells a story of an old woman, reminiscing about her youth, according to Golka. She is thinking about her lost youth, then she gets up and starts to dance and the dance gets wilder and wilder, said Golka. Then of a sudden, theres a knock on the door, and its death everything stops. Its powerful story-telling, and its a gorgeous piece, incredibly touching. I love being in that story. The selections from Mendelssohns Midsummer Nights Dream include Intermezzo, Nocturne, and Scherzo. Tomasz Golka will give a pre-concert talk at 6:40 p.m. IF YOU GO When: 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 11 Where: Fox Performing Arts Center, 3801 Mission Inn Ave., Riverside Admission: $31-$94 Information: 951-779-9800; www.thephilharmonic.org A convicted felon who cornered and groped a woman walking on a French Valley street pleaded guilty Monday, Feb. 6 to felony and misdemeanor charges. Joshua Alan Graff, 26, admitted one count each of false imprisonment and sexual battery during a status hearing at the Southwest Justice Center in Murrieta. Riverside County Superior Court Judge Kelly Hansen scheduled a sentencing hearing for Feb. 27. Graff is being held without bail at the Smith Correctional Facility in Banning. According to sheriffs Sgt. Russell Hilton, on the afternoon of last June 28, the victim, whose name was not released, was strolling along Sky Canyon Drive, near French Valley Airport, when the defendant accosted her, asking personal questions. The woman became uncomfortable and attempted to get away from Graff, who blocked her path and fondled her, Hilton said. The victim entered a nearby business, and employees reported the incident to 911, Hilton said. Deputies located Graff near the area where the assault occurred. Graff was arrested without incident. According to court records, Graff has multiple misdemeanor cases pending in unrelated matters. He has prior convictions for grand theft and disturbing the peace, records showed. Californias millennials continue to flood hospital emergency departments because of heroin, a trend that has increased steadily statewide and in Los Angeles and Orange counties over the past five years, according to the latest figures. The state data released last week show that in the first three months of 2016, 412 adults age 20 to 29 went to emergency departments due to heroin. Thats double the number for the same time period in 2012. Overall, emergency department visits among heroin users of all ages increased, but the sharpest was among the states young adults. About 1,500 emergency department visits by Californias millennials poisoned by heroin were logged in 2015 compared with fewer than 1,000 in 2012. Emergency responders, those who work in recovery programs, and parents of children addicted to heroin say the figures are unsurprising given the increase in prescription painkiller abuse that likely has led more young people to use heroin. One of the unintended consequences of this prescription drug epidemic has been the increase in heroin addiction and overdoses, in part due to the transition from prescription opioids to less expensive heroin street drugs, according to state health officials. Heroin deaths have continued to increase steadily by 67 percent since 2006 and account for a growing share of the total opioid-related deaths. Its affected people from many communities, no matter their background, said Dr. Crescenzo Pisano, an internist who specializes in addiction and addiction medicine at Providence Little Company of Mary Medical Center in San Pedro. Pisano, who has been there since 1984, said he used to see more heroin users from the harbor areas. No more. The high school athlete to the kid next door. Its no longer people from the seedy side of town, Pisano said. With drugs like oxycodone becoming more difficult to find and expensive on the streets, young users are turning to the next cheapest high. People price themselves out of range, he said. Relatively affluent, well-to-do kids start stealing and find heroin is cheaper to use. By some estimates, one pill of oxycodone can cost $80 on the street. A bag of heroin costs $5. The latest data, provided by Californias Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development, show that Los Angeles County continues to see a steady increase in emergency department visits by millennials who use heroin, from 114 in the first nine months of 2010 to 237 for the same time period 2016. The emergency department visits nearly tripled in Orange County from 81 to 206 for the same time period. But among that same group, the number of visits are beginning to dip in Riverside County, from 89 to 68 cases as well as in San Bernardino County, where the number fell from 54 to 49 visits. Still, some parents and those who work in drug treatment programs continue to see heroin as a major drug issue that isnt going away. Jody Waxman saw it firsthand. Her son was 23 when she realized he was addicted to heroin. He went to the emergency department a number of times, said the San Fernando Valley woman. He once almost died on my living room floor. He had gotten a hold of heroin laced with other drugs. It was very bad. When Waxman realized he was addicted, she felt shame. But she got him help, and at 55 years old, she went back to school and earned her certificate in drug and alcohol treatment. She now sits on the board of directors for a parent and youth support group called Because I Love You, or BILY At least 75 percent of those Waxman helps are addicted to heroin, she said. She knows its not easy for parents to face, especially those in suburban communities. When this came up, I had to deal with this addiction issue, she said. We are a nice, middle-class family, Jewish family. What the hell happened? The whole drug issue is huge. Waxman agreed that because prescription drugs are more difficult to get, more millennials and all others are turning to heroin. For millennials, because of what they are going through in their life, not being able to handle feelings and past traumas, they can get heroin anywhere from on any street corner. The dealers come to you. Last month, Simi Valley police cracked a heroin delivery ring after months of undercover work. The investigation began after the deaths last year of two Simi Valley men who had ordered the drug through a delivery service, according to published reports. As a result, three men from Simi Valley, Torrance and Fullerton were arrested. Waxman said her son is now 26, sober and engaged, and talks about his past openly. But she said it takes ongoing dialogue among parents and their children to raise awareness about addiction. The solution is education, Waxman said. If we can educate the parents, and tell them you are not your childs friend. You have to lock up your medicine cabinets. You have to know who are your childs friends. Because I Love You meetings are held from 7 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. Tuesdays at Granada Hills Charter High School 10535 Zelzah Avenue Granada Hills. For more information on meetings, call 818-884-8242 or go to www.bily.org/ Contact the writer: sabram@scng.com@sabramLA on Twitter A compromise plan for building a massive subdivision in northern Lake Elsinore is scheduled for the Planning Commissions review Tuesday, Feb. 7. The meeting will start at 6 p.m. at the Lake Elsinore Cultural Center, 183 N. Main St. The proposed compromise between city officials and developer Castle & Cooke is intended as an alternative to the Alberhill Villages Initiative, which voters will consider in a May 2 special election. City Council members in January had to put the initiative on the ballot as a result of a successful signature-gathering petition. Castle & Cooke sponsored the initiative because its representatives were unhappy with requirements of a plan the council approved in June 2016. Either plan would permit about 8,000 homes plus commercial and other uses to be built on 1,400 acres. Apparently, the developer is having second-thoughts about the initiative, which if approved would take away the ability to make changes. If a compromise is reached and approved by the council, the developer would be in the position of opposing its own initiative. Contact the writer: 951-368-9690 or michaelwilliams@scng.com ONTARIO Manufacturers are taking a wait-and-see attitude with President Donald Trumps economic policies that could boost production of goods stateside but make it harder to sell abroad. Keep in mind we not only have Donald Trump but we also Vice President (Mike) Pence, said Roy Paulson, CEO of Temecula-based Paulson Manufacturing, which makes protective face and eyewear used in industry and law enforcement. As governor of Indiana, Pence was a strong supporter of manufacturing was a strong supporter of free trade. So I feel this combination together is going to create a clear message to us once all of the Cabinet members are put into place. The comments came at the sixth annual Manufacturing Summit at the Ontario Convention Center on Friday. The event, put on by the Manufacturers Council of the Inland Empire, is a way for regional manufacturing and support businesses to show off products, network and learn about key trends affecting the sector. So far, Trump has only made formal moves to withdraw from the Trans-Pacific Partnership deal, which would have united the U.S. and 11 other countries as trade partners. Event host Paul Granillo, CEO of the Inland Empire Economic Partnership, spoke on a panel concerning political effects on manufacturing. He said making sure allies and trade partners have faith in the United States is important for the economy. Granillo said he is not rushing to judgment with the new administration. Its one thing to say youre going to do something, but its another to actually make it happen, Granillo said. From 2007-2011, the Inland regions manufacturing sector declined by 31 percent, or from 123,400 jobs to 85,100, according to a report from John Husing, economist with the Inland Empire Economic Partnership. From 2011-2016, it increased by 15.4 percent, gaining 13,100 jobs to reach 98,200. The gains constituted 5.5 percent of new Inland jobs. Other topics that came up during the summit included security risks and the effects of automation in manufacturing. The robots are coming Regional leaders, Granillo said, have already begun discussing the effect that increasing robotics and automation are expected to have on traditional industrial jobs. I think the rise of the robots will create new employment opportunities for many, but I also feel that unless we are very attentive to taking advantages and knowing that we rapidly need to train people to service these technologies, were going to see people not finding a place in the workforce, he said. Risk of hacking With more technology comes greater exposure to those who would hack it. Event panelist John McGloughlin, CEO of Santa Paula-based cybersecurity firm GuardSight, discussed the risks and the steps the owners of manufacturing businesses should take to protect themselves. Devices that are hacked could lead to safety issues. They could lead to physical issues with the devices themselves. They could lead to operational issues where the devices are not functioning properly, and they could also be used to attack other devices, McGloughlin said. The FBI published that the United States leaks about $400 billion worth of intellectual property out of this country. Its leaving our country and going to other places. Contact the writer: nnisperos@scng.com or Twitter: @ReporterNeil A family is holding out hope for a healthy recovery of a toddler who fell into a Hemet-area pool last week. Zayden Wilson, 2, remained hospitalized at Loma Linda University Medical Center on Monday, Feb. 6. His mother, Anza resident Heather Wilson, has been keeping loved ones up to date on social media. We have a few signs this morning that Zayden is fighting to come back to us, she posted Monday morning on the Facebook page Prayer Warriors for 2yr Old Zayden. Firefighters were called to a home in the 25000 block of Bellview Street in the Valle Vista area east of Hemet about 11 a.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 31, a Cal Fire/Riverside County Fire Department news release stated. A Sunday, Feb. 5, post stated that Zayden has bacterial pneumonia on top of every thing else. Yesterday the neurologist came in and talk to me and said that he doesnt think its very good on his brain activity that there isnt much hope. According to another post from his mother, Zayden was visiting his grandparents home. At some point after breakfast, he got in bed with his sleeping grandmother and fell asleep while his grandfather went to the store. When the man returned home, he found the baby in the pool, pulled him out and began to resuscitate him as an ambulance was called. Family members could not be reached Monday.. Contact the writer: 951-368-9086 orcshultz@scng.comTwitter: @PE_CraigShultz The Minister-designate for Transport, Kwaku Ofori Asiamah, says government will build a new fishing harbour at James Town and Keta in the Greater Accra and Volta Regions respectively. He said the fishing harbours would be built in partnership with players in the private sector after a feasibility study has been carried out. The project is aimed at improving the lives of fisherfolks in the two areas. Mr Ofori Asiamah, who appeared before the Appointments Committee of Parliament last week, explained that until a visibility study is carried out, the project cannot take place. He said, With any project, you must, first of all, do a feasibility study to find out whether the project is viable. So if by Gods grace I am confirmed, we will collaborate with the private sector and build these two harbours, Mr. Ofori Asiamah said the private sector would lead governments development agenda in the country. NPP believes that the private sector is key to our development, and we want to provide the legal framework for the private sector to come in and help, he said. Mr. Ofori Asiamah reiterated governments commitment to reducing taxes and scraping what it deemed as nuisance taxes to bring relief to private businesses operating in the country. Source: Daily Guide Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Hearing of the maritime border dispute between Ghana and Ivory Coast yesterday began at the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea. The President of the Special Chamber constituted to deal with the dispute, Judge Boualem Bouguetaia, is presiding over the hearing over the next 10 days. Ghanas team, led by Attorney General and Minister of Justice Gloria Akuffo, put up its defense yesterday and will continue today. Ghana first submitted her memorial and the initial hearing was done. The country was then given the mandate to go ahead with drills but with some restrictions. Ivory Coast has also submitted its counter memorial a couple of months ago after Ghana submitted its initial memorial. Cote dIvoire had earlier called for the suspension of activities on Ghanas oil fields by disputing the maritime boundary until the final determination of their disagreement over the boundary. Background Ghana went to the ITLOS in September 2014 under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), seeking a declaration that it has not encroached on Cote dIvoires territorial waters. It filed its suit based on Article 287 Annex VII of the 1982 UNCLOS. Cote dIvoire in February 2015 filed for preliminary measures and urged the tribunal to suspend all activities on the disputed area until the definitive determination of the case, dubbed: Dispute Concerning Delimitation of the Maritime Boundary between Ghana and Cote dIvoire in the Atlantic Ocean. Case 23 was filed by Ghana after 10 failed negotiations. But the Special Chamber of the ITLOS on April 25, 2015 declined to suspend production activities in the disputed area. The Chamber at the time explained that in its view the suspension of ongoing activities conducted by Ghana in respect of which drilling has already taken place would entail the risk of considerable financial loss to Ghana, and its concessionaires and could also pose a serious danger to the marine environment resulting, in particular, from the deterioration of equipment. Timelines Cote dIvoire had up to April 4, 2016 to file its counter-memorial (detailed defence) as to why it should be declared the owner of disputed oilfields and adjoining seabed. Ghana also had up to July 4, 2016 to submit a reply to Cote dIvoires counter-memorial, while Cote dIvoire is expected to file a rejoinder on October 4, 2016. Source: starrfm 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 Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Ms Gloria Afua Akuffo, has prayed the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) in Hamburg, Germany, to uphold Ghanas position on the maritime boundary dispute between Ghana and Cote dIvoire. Ghana, respectfully, asks you to affirm the customary equidistance boundary as our maritime boundary. In carrying out your task, you are assisted by a wealth of maps and charts which set out this boundary and which have been made available to you, she said. According to Ms Akuffo, the case was not that of maritime delimitation but rather a request to declare the existence of a boundary, to which the parties have themselves long agreed and delimited in practice and in consequence. Ghana asks this Special Chamber not to be swayed by the rather extravagant case Cote dIvoire seeks to present here by relying on a bisector theory and its related maps to create a huge area as the so-called area in dispute, the Attorney-General prayed the court in her opening address at the ITLOS in Hamburg yesterday. She said Cote dIvoires bisector claim was so unrealistic and without legal and geographical basis, to the extent that it should be dismissed in its entirety. After five decades of agreement and reliance, the plausible dispute, if any, is the much narrower dispute between the parties competing equidistance lines. Ghana, therefore, invites the Special Chamber to uphold what the parties have long observed in practice and under their respective domestic laws, the Attorney-General said. Ms Akuffo is leading a legal and technical team to the ITLOS to legally battle out the merits of the dispute concerning the delimitation of the maritime boundary dispute between Ghana and Cote dIvoire. Also in Germany is the immediate past Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Mrs Marietta Brew Appiah-Opong, who formally introduced Ms Akuffo to the Special Chamber as taking over from her as an agent of Ghana. Hearing The first and the second rounds of oral arguments will come off from February 6 to 10, 2017 and February 13 to 16, 2017, respectively. The President of the Special Chamber constituted to deal with the dispute, Judge Boualem Bouguetaia, is presiding over the hearing. Other members of the panel hearing the case are judges Rudiger Wolfrum, Germany, and Jin-Hyun Paik, the Republic of Korea. Ad hoc judges Thomas Mensah, Ghana, and Ronny Abraham, France, were selected by Ghana and Cote dIvoire, respectively, per the rules of the ITLOS. Arguments Making a case for Ghana, Ms Akuffo noted that the fairness and goodness of equidistance as a method of delimitation, in the circumstances of the case, made it understandable why the two countries adopted it as a basis for their customary boundary. It is impossible to think of a fairer position. Does a fairly drawn agreed line suddenly become unfair simply because one state decides that it will be economically more advantageous for it if the line were drawn somewhere else? the Attorney-General asked. She noted that Cote dIvoire had still not provided any valid reason to justify a departure from the existing and agreed maritime boundary between it and Ghana. She said in all the negotiations before the commencement of the case, Cote dIvoire did not present, and had still not presented, any reasonable grounds for departing from that shared understanding which had been in existence for five decades. The Attorney-General noted that Cote dIvoire only laid claim to Ghanas boundary after Ghana discovered oil in commercial quantities. She told the tribunal that Ghanas oil industry had contributed significantly to reducing poverty levels among its population. Development of Ghanas oil industry While denying Cote dIvoires claim that Ghana had developed its (Cote dIvoires) oilfields, Ms Akuffo said that was far from the case, adding: The truth is that Ghana developed its oil industry based on a pre-existing maritime boundary as mutually agreed and recognised by both parties. It is based on this tacit, mutual understanding that, over many years, Ghana has developed this industry step by step from the first licensing of blocks through decades of studies, exploratory drilling and the eventual drilling of wells, Ms Akuffo argued. She said Ghana was, therefore, taken aback when, in 2011, Cote dIvoire directed oil companies to stop working on Ghanas oilfields. Inaccuracies Three of Ghanas lawyers Professor Philippe Sands of Matrix Chambers, London; Mr Paul S, Reichler of Foley Hoag Chambers, Washington, DC, and Mr Fui S. Tsikata of Reindorf Chambers, Accra also advanced legal arguments on Ghanas behalf. Using maps, diplomatic correspondence and agreements between the two countries spanning five decades, the lawyers advanced arguments to justify Ghanas position that Cote dIvoire had no legal and geographical basis to claim any maritime boundary from Ghana. Ghana will continue its second round of arguments today. Ghanas team includes officials from the Attorney-Generals Department, the Ministry of Energy, the Maritime Boundaries Secretariat, the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Petroleum Commission and lawyers from Ghana and abroad. Source: Daily Graphic 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 Former Member of Parliament for La Dade-Kotopon, Nii Amasah Namoale, has urged service personnel in the Ghana Police to emulate certain behaviors of their counterparts in the Ghana Armed Forces. His advice stems from the recruitment scam that has hit the Police Ghana Service recently. Speaking on ATVs political show dubbed Ayem Yi Di Ka, the former legislator noted army officers in general, feared demotion and always ensured they did the right thing. In the army the WO fears he would be demoted so they would ensure new recruits have the proper certificates before they are cleared. They would never make mistakes when it comes to things like recruitment. They love to be promoted and the police must learn from them, he said. Last Friday, some 206 new recruits who were undergoing training at various police training schools were sacked from the service. On that same day, Mrs. Beatrice Vib-Sanziri, Commissioner of Police, Director-General/Human Resource Department, wrote a letter to the Officer Commanding PPSTS, Pwalugu, saying: I am directed by the Inspector General of Police to inform you to withdraw from training all recruits who do not meet the required academic qualification as follows: Only BECE Certificates (44), BECE and NVTI (22), NVTI (22), BECE and NABPTEX (7), NABPTEX (2), WASSCE (15), City and Guilds (1) and No Certificate (1). The affected recruits had either applied to join the service with forged documents or failed to meet the minimum qualification requirements for entry into the service. Source: ATV 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 democracy was displayed at the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) in Hamburg, Germany, yesterday when Ghanas immediate past Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Mrs Marietta Brew Appiah-Opong, introduced her successor, Ms Gloria Afua Akuffo, as the agent for Ghana in the ongoing maritime boundary dispute between Ghana and Cote dIvoire. It was a spectacle to behold when Mrs Appiah-Opong formally introduced Ms Akuffo to the panel hearing the maritime boundary dispute. Hearing of the merits of the case began at the ITLOS yesterday, but Mrs Appiah-Opong told the panel of five judges and the registrar that there had been a change in government and for that reason she was at the tribunal to officially hand over the baton to Ms Akuffo. As you may be aware, there has recently been a change of government in Ghana. Since then, the current and the former governments have worked together closely to ensure the smooth running and continuity of the case, Mrs Appiah-Opong said. She said the past and the present administrations were completely united in their commitment to Ghanas national interest, adding, This unity is shown by my presence here, alongside my successor, Ms Gloria Afua Akuffo. Mrs Appiah-Opong emphasised that the case was tremendously important to Ghana and further noted that it had been her privilege to act as Ghanas agent since the case began in 2014, supported by a team from both Ghana and abroad. I am delighted now to hand over the role of agent to the capable hands of Ms Akuffo for this important final stage of the case and I ask you to call on her to introduce Ghanas first round of oral submissions, she added. The President of the Special Chamber constituted to deal with the dispute, Judge Boualem Bouguetaia, accordingly invited Ms Akuffo to present Ghanas case. Other members of the panel hearing the case are judges Rudiger Wolfrum, Germany, and Jin-Hyun Paik, the Republic of Korea. Ad hoc judges Thomas Mensah, Ghana, and Ronny Abraham, France, were selected by Ghana and Cote dIvoire, respectively, per the rules of the ITLOS. Mr Philippe Gautier, who hails from Belgium, is the Registrar of the Special Chamber. The Attorney-General Ms Akuffo, for her part, said she was very pleased Mrs Appiah-Opong was with her in Hamburg and acknowledged her tremendous service to Ghana. Despite the change of government, she has continued to work closely with me in preparation for this hearing, as well as addressing you today. This, in my respectful view, attests to the stability of our democracy and also underscores the fact that on the matter that brings us before this Special Chamber, Ghana stands united, Ms Akuffo emphasised. The Attorney-General and Minister of Justice commended the registrar of the Special Chamber for working tirelessly to ensure the speedy hearing of the substantive matter. Sudden departure Touching on the dispute between Ghana and Cote dIvoire, Ms Akuffo said despite the dispute, the relationship between Ghana and Cote dIvoire remains cordial, testament to the strength of our relationship. She reiterated the fact that Ghana attempted to resolve the issue through diplomatic means but it eventually resorted to the ITLOS after 10 failed negotiation attempts. She said after decades of shared customary equidistance boundary, Ghana was dismayed when, in 2009, Cote dIvoire suddenly departed from the common understanding that the parties had relied on for so long. Ms Akuffo noted that the stability of that understanding had provided the basis for both countries to conduct affairs in the territory in question. The customary equidistance boundary was also the basis for the significant investment by third parties on either side of the maritime boundary, all of whom placed justifiable reliance on what Ghana and Cote dIvoire had long said and done in their respective territories, she told the tribunal. She said it was, therefore, unfortunate for Cote dIvoire to first communicate its new position not to Ghana directly but third party operators of concessions offered by Ghana, which Cote dIvoire had long known about and never objected to. Ms Akuffo noted that Ghanas consistency on the issue of the maritime boundary with Cote dIvoire was a virtue which stemmed from the fact that there had been a long agreed and mutually recognised boundary. Other presenters Three of Ghanas lawyers, namely, Professor Philippe Sands of Matrix Chambers, London; Mr Paul S. Reichler of Foley Hoag Chambers, Washington, DC, and Mr Fui S. Tsikata of Reindorf Chambers, Accra, also advanced legal arguments on behalf of Ghana. Using maps, diplomatic correspondence and agreements between both countries spanning five decades, the lawyers advanced arguments to justify Ghanas position that Cote dIvoire had no legal and geographical basis to claim any maritime boundary from Ghana. Ghana will continue its second round of arguments today. Ghanas team includes officials from the Attorney-Generals Department, the Ministry of Energy, the Maritime Boundaries Secretariat, the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Petroleum Commission and lawyers from Ghana and abroad. The Minister of Petroleum of Cote dIvoire, Mr Adama Toungara, is leading the Ivorian delegation. Cote dIvoire will begin advancing its arguments on Thursday, February 9, 2017. Source: Daily Graphic 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 Madam Catherine Abelema Afeku, the Minister-designate of Tourism, Culture and Creative Arts, said she would promote aggressive unique Ghanaian brand of tourism locally and internationally in order to re-ignite interest in the countrys tourism industry. That, she said, would increase the countrys tourism revenues which currently ranked the fourth largest foreign earning to the country. Addressing the Parliaments Appointments Committee in Accra during her vetting on Monday, Madam Afeku said if given the nod, the Ministry would collaborate with other ministries and the private sector to rehabilitate tourism infrastructure in the country, including road networks linking tourist sites to boost domestic and foreign patronage. Madam Afeku, the Member of Parliament for Evalue/Gwira/Ajomoro in the Western Region, said the Ministry would collaborate with the National Commission for Civic Education to re-orient the citizenry on the unique Ghanaian cultural values so that Ghanaians would continue to exhibit their hospitable nature to foreign tourists to leave lasting memories of the country on them. She said this would eventually increase the revenue accruing to the country through tourism to accelerate national development. Madam Afeku said Ghanas tourism industry was competing with other African countries such as Senegal, Kenya, Tanzania and Rwanda for tourism destination, therefore, the Ministry would embark on aggressive marketing of its tourism sites to the international community. She said the Ministry would activate the Single Window Platform where all tourism sites in the country would be captured on a technological database, adding; so that with just a press of a button, you can have access to tourist sites in the country. Asked about how she would expand the size of the countrys tourism industry to increase revenue to the state, the nominee said she had identified three projects namely; the Accra Marine Investment Drive which would create an estimated 50,000 jobs; the Single Automation Platform as a strategy to increasing revenue; as well as Domestic Tourism improvement. She said the Ministry would establish a state-of-the-art-hotel management training school that would offer professional training in hotel management to improve the quality of services rendered as well as a Creative Arts Fund to support local artists. Madam Afeku said the Ministry would promote health tourism since the country had medical experts to provide quality health services. She gave the assurance that she would push for the passage of the Creative Arts Bill into law so as to give the creative arts industry the legal backing to operate effectively as well as establishing a secretariat to enhance co-ordination of its activities. Asked about major challenges confronting the tourism sector, Madam Afeku said the issue of sanitation like open defecation, especially at the beaches, was deterring people from patronising tourist sites and that Ghana has 540 coastal sites that have not been developed so we shall tackle the issue of sanitation and water when given the nod. She said: The Marine Drive Investment Project, a 200-acre land behind the Castle, is a project that if the private sector buys into and develops the site, definitely it will shore up the countrys revenue base in the sector. Commenting on the proliferation of foreign telenovelas on major television networks in the country, Madam Afeku noted that it was a major challenge since it was inculcating foreign cultural values into the children, and gave the assurance that she would dialogue with the stations to consider screening quality local movies that would imbibe in the citizenry Ghanaian cultural values. Source: GNA Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video The new Asantemaa has eulogised his mother, the late Afia Kobi Serwaa Ampem II, who passed on in November last year. According to Oheneba Abena Konadu popularly called Nana Panin, the late queen mother was an angel on earth who had the interest of everyone especially young girls at heart. The Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II on Monday February 6, 2017 introduced his eldest and 83-year-old sister, the next Asantehemaa to succeed their mother. This was done during the observance of the 80th day of the passing Nana Afia Kobi Serwaa Ampem II at the Manhyia Palace in the Ashanti regional capital Kumasi. Speaking in an interview on Adom News Monday, the new Asantehemaa said the late Afia Kobi Serwaa Ampem II is irreplaceable. She indicated that, the late queen mother who has a good relationship with everyone is a unifier and will not hesitate to correct you when you are going wrong. Being asked to succeed her, Nana Panin will be a herculean task but was optimistic her mother is with her in spirit to help her give good counsel to the Asantehene. Source: Adom 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 Seven persons died when a Neoplan Bus with registration number AS 2733 travelling from Bolgatanga to Kumasi collided with a truck with registration number AS 6615 along the Techiman-Kintampo Highway. The truck carrying tomato was traveling from Kumasi to Burkina Faso. The accident occurred at 4:50am on Friday at Tano Boasi, near Techiman in the Brong Ahafo Region. The driver of the truck, whose name is not immediately known, died on the spot while his mate who sustained severe injuries was rushed to Techiman Holy Family Hospital. Five others on board the Neoplan bus also died instantly with several others sustained injuries. An eyewitness explained that one of the rear tyres of truck burst which collided with the Neoplan Bus in the opposite direction. Motto Traffic and Transport Department (MTTD) of Ghana Police Service Commander for Techiman, ASP Andrews Okonengye, who spoke to DAILY GUIDE on phone, said one person died upon arrival at the hospital, but failed to disclose the total number of causalities. Source: Daily Guide Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video The National Youth Organizer of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP), Sammy Awuku, has confirmed that he refused an opportunity to serve as a minister in the Akufo Addo led-governemnt, in favour of party work. According to the vibrant Youth Organizer, though it is prestigeous to be in government, it is also more prestigeous and fulfilling to be able to put smiles on the faces of the teeming youth who helped the party win power, hence hes confortable staying at the party headquaters to do party work. There have been earlier speculations that Sammy Awuku had refused to be appointed a deputy Minister of Local Government and Rural Development. Thoughts of his exit from the party headquarters into goverment came as a worry to many party members as they were of the view that he still had a lot to contribute to party work. While others thought he deserved to be in government having work very hard during the electioneering campaign. Speaking on Peace FM Tuesday Morning, Sammy Awuku stated that he declined President Nana Akufo Addos offer to be in government in order to work at the party level to fulfill the many promises the NPP gave the youth during the campaign. After the election, the President invited me and asked which sector in government I had interest to work in. I felt I couldnt leave my youth behind and be in government so I told the President to give me some time to think about the issue. After some days I went back to him with the response that Im grateful for the honour, but due to the huge promises made the youth of Ghana I prefer to remain working for the party. The youth need help in so many sectors, if I accept a ministerial position and Im locked up in one ministry, how can I be of help to my colleague youth. So I decided to stay back in the party headquarters with my senior brother John Boadu to help the youth who need support. It is on the aggregate of that, that I elected myself and told the President that Im comfortable at the party headquarters. Under Sammy Awukus leadership, the youth wing of the NPP last year was applauded for the massive mobilization of supporters and sympathizers, winning the students front and the young voters at large. Source: kasapafmonline 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 An activist of the New Patriotic Party, (NPP), Kofi Anokye, has advised President Akufo Addo, to be careful with his appointees and ensure that they are monitors to deliver to satisfaction. Mr. Anokye who is noted to have assisted the party in many ways in opposition pleaded with President Akufo Addo to ensure that his appointees are well monitored to deliver their best in office. In an interaction with the media yesterday, Mr. Anokye noted that the success of the Akufo Addo led administration would mainly depend on his ministers, especially those in key ministerial positions, indicating that their failure would heavily affect the NPP in subsequent elections. Mr. Anokye who is also the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Koans Estates, described President Akufo Addo as a competent and corruption-free person who must ensure that his appointees display the same qualities while in office. The National Democratic Congress (NDC), he said is still strong and poised for power in 2020, and thus cautioned President Akufo Addo to exhibit hard work to help the NPP win subsequent elections. In ensuring transparent governance, Mr. Anokye called on the President to ensure that his ministers or appointees are fired when they are caught in acts of corruption to serve as a deterrent. The NPP Activist further advised President Akufo Addo to be mindful of people who would applaud him over their appointment, saying that same people can contribute adversely to his failure as a president. Mr. Anokye also joined the train of the numerous Ghanaians calling on President Akufo Addo to appoint an independent prosecutor, indicating that it would go a long way to help curb the rate of corruption that has confronted the country for many years. Corruption, the Koans Estate CEO further said must be uprooted in the country to help stop the country from its persistence begging for financial support from foreign donors. "The high rate of corruption in the country is a disgrace to mother Ghana and must be eliminated as soon as possible" the worried entrepreneur hinted. As a local contractor, Mr. Anokye pleaded with President Akufo Addo to work with local contractors. He said awarding contracts to foreigners would be an insult to Ghanaian contractors since local contractors have the competence to deliver. Source: The New Crusading Guide Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video The President of the Republic, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, has assured that Ghana, under his leadership will be returned onto the path of progress and prosperity, adding that very soon the difficulties in our economic circumstances are going to be a thing of a past. According to President Akufo-Addo, steps are going to be taken very soon, in my own address to the nation, and in the first budget, to let the Ghanaian people know that the commitments we made in order to get their mandate were not just hollow words, and that there was every intention to live by those commitments. Those commitments, in our vision, are the way forward for the progress and prosperity of our country. The President made this known on Tuesday, February 7, 2017, when the Standing Committee of the National House of Chiefs paid a courtesy call on him at the Presidency. In his response to remarks made by the President of the House of Chiefs, Togbe Afede XIV, President Akufo-Addo noted that the business of political leaders is to capture the spirit of the time and make policy for the furtherance of the interest of the people. It is the considerations of the public sector which should guide us. We should never put ourselves as competitors with people in the private sector. I want to assure you, and through you to all the Chiefs of our country, that to the extent that I have control over those I am working with, that is going to be the situation, he said. He reassured the Chiefs that there will be no situation whereby Ministers, deputy Ministers, or members of government are going to see themselves as competitors to the private sector. Our business is to make the policy, define the rules and regulations that will make the private sector flourish and grow. Touching on the development of entrepreneurship, which was a central feature of Togbe Afedes remarks, President Akufo-Addo stated that the development of entrepreneurial talent is a make or break for our country. He noted that if we can find young, Ghanaian men and women who have that sense of innovation, creativity and entrepreneurship, and given the right framework, our country can make it and our people prosper. It is only through the development of entrepreneurial talent in Ghana, according to the President, that we will be able to emulate others who have come from the same conditions as ourselves, and, yet, are today enjoying advanced standards of living. I speak of our brothers and sisters in Asia. I cannot accept that the Asians can do something we Africans cannot do. We can do it, and the opportunity is there for us. The President, in concluding, urged the citizenry to continue to cherish the institution of Chieftaincy, and assured that his administration would find a way to make this institution a feature of our governance system. There are many things we need your assistance in protecting our environment, providing a solid base for the education of our youth, amongst others. We need each and every one of you gathered here to help in the development of our country, he ended. Source: Peacefmonline.com Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Lost recordings by Bob Marley found in a damp hotel basement in London after more than 40 years have been restored. The tapes are the original, high-quality live recordings of the reggae legends concerts in London and Paris between 1974 and 1978. Tracks include No Woman No Cry, Jamming and Exodus. They were at first believed to be ruined beyond repair, largely because of water damage. Marley, who died in 1981, would have been 72 on Monday. The tapes were found in a run-down hotel in Kensal Rise, north-west London, where Bob Marley and the Wailers stayed during their European tours in the mid-1970s. They were discovered when Joe Gatt, a Marley fan and London businessman, took a phone call from a friend, who had found them while doing a building refuse clearance. From the 13 reel-to-reel analogue master tapes, 10 were fully restored, two were blank and one was beyond repair. Work lasted one year and cost 25,000 ($31,200). They were (in an) appalling (condition) I wasnt too hopeful, Martin Nichols, a sound engineer at the White House Studios in the west of England, told the BBC. The recordings are from concerts at the Lyceum in London (1975), the Hammersmith Odeon (1976), the Rainbow, also in London (1977), and the Pavilion de Paris (1978). They were recorded on the only mobile 24-track studio vehicle available in the UK then. It was loaned to Bob Marley and the Wailers by the Rolling Stones. Source: Bob Marley 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 Nigerian Media Personality, Blogger and Author, Toke Makinwa finally launched her life story book, On Becoming here in Ghana at the La Palm Royal Beach Hotel in Accra on Friday, February 3. The book launch tour arrived in Ghana after she successfully held the first ceremony in her homeland. The event gave her followers the opportunity to have photos, autograph and also ask questions about her life and the book On Becoming As famous as she is, Toke Makinwa cannot organise such an important event in Ghana without her friends throwing their weight behind her. Jackie Appiah, Henry Adofo, Ahuofe Patri, Ama K Abebrese and few other famous Ghanaians were at the On Becoming book launch. The book On Becoming was sold for Gh70 at the launch. Toke Matinkwa takes the book launch tour to South Africa, USA and other countries in the coming days. 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 Inna Mariam Patty, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Exclusive Events Ghana, organisers of Miss Ghana, has said discipline will be an essential factor in choosing the next Miss Ghana queen during the 2017 edition of the pageant. According to her, discipline, hard work and commitment to Ghanaian values are the essence of the Miss Ghana brand. We need a queen who is ready to serve her country and represent her country well through various social intervention projects. Its all about beauty with a purpose, Inna Patty added. She was speaking when the Miss Ghana Foundation paid a courtesy call on Western Publications, publishers of the DAILY GUIDE, on Thursday. The visit was, among other objectives, to further make stronger the relationship that exists between the Miss Ghana Foundation and the authoritative private media house. Inna Patty is sure the Miss Ghana organisation will discourage any form of insubordination on the part of contestants. The reason that the pageant has always groomed young women to be discipline, but it will be more focused on that commitment this year, while also empowering them to take charge of their world. The Miss Ghana brand is the biggest and oldest national beauty pageant in Ghana with Monica Amekoafia becoming the first-ever Miss Ghana. It is also our responsibility to instill discipline in our society through these young women. So we are definitely not relenting on this in our search for intelligent young ladies to represent the Miss Ghana brand. Building a nation requires discipline because it is one of the important ingredients of success, she added. It is a useful skill everyone should possess and I must say people do acknowledge that significance but very few do something about it. So we are happy to remind our young women to be discipline, the reason we will be giving attention to that aspect of the pageant this year, she also said. Inna Patty was accompanied to DAILY GUIDE by Rebecca Asamoah, Miss Africa 2016 and Miss Ghana 2015 second runner-up, Afua Asieduwaa Akrofi, Miss Ghana 2015 first runner-up, and Archibald Nii Kpakpo Acquaye, Mr Ghana first runner- up. Gina Blay, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Western Publications, expressed her excitement about the visit and congratulated the Miss Ghana Foundation for its efforts, assuring them of DAILY GUIDEs support. Miss Ghana is the biggest and foremost pageant in Ghana organised by Exclusive Events Ghana. This years event will coincide with the diamond anniversary of Ghanas independence day celebration. Source: Daily Guide Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Malcolm Turnbull is, without any shred of doubt, having a massively shitty day. Cory Bernardi made the phone call to Turnbulls office this morning to formally inform him that he planned to break away from the Liberal Party and form his own conservative party in the Senate. As part of that call, he told Turnbull something we probably all guessed anyway the vultures in the Liberal partyroom are thinking about knifing Malcolm over his poor poll numbers. According to the Sydney Morning Herald, Bernardi told Turnbull that a major reason behind his split with the Libs is Turnbulls own scheming to boot Tony Abbott from power in 2015. He informed Turnbull that there were moves to make it happen again and he wasnt keen to be part of it. This follows numerous whispers that Malcolms garbage polling has spooked both moderate and conservative Liberals, who have allegedly been exploring options. Bernardi was a strong supporter of Tony Abbott as leader, even though Abbott had rejected him from a frontbench role largely because he wouldnt keep his mouth shut about his various pet obsessions. Is it time to form our mouths around the forbidden syllables its on? Is it on? Off? On? I dont even know in this country anymore, to be quite honest. Source: Sydney Morning Herald. Photo: Getty Images / Stefan Postles. Bella Management has been at the forefront of changing the face of fash with their holistic and healthy approach to model representation since 2002. This tight knit team who represent the likes of Robyn Lawley and Jess King, are now after a Team Assistant (SYD). The ideal candidate will be efficient AF at office operation, have a can-do attitude, be action orientated and have strong comms and time mgmt skills. If youre keen on a career path that could eventuate into becoming a Modelling/Talent Manager, feel you align with the badass Bella brand, wouldnt mind a view of Manly harbour from ya desk, and appreciate an adorbs office pup when you see one then this is the gig for you. Apply here. City Beach is searching far and wide for a savvy and skilled storyteller of a Content Marketing Manager (QLD) to join the team and dive into the content deep end. As Content Marketing Manager, youll be City Beachs brand champion, responsible for the strategy, implementation and reporting of the organisations content in all forms, along with the management and direction of the team to deliver it. No pressure or anything but the main aim of your role, will be take the City Beach brand to new sustainable heights while staying true to the brand everyone knows and loves. If youre keen on data-driven content sourcing, creating and curation start putting that cover letter together here. Urban Walkabout provides the travellers and locals of Australia with pocket-sized bundles of urban info with a carefully curated selection of fashion, design and foodie destinations! With a discerning eye for all things creative and innovative in Ozs great cities, Urban Walkabout is for the inquisitive urban explorer. An awesome contract opportunity has come up for a Freelance Lifestyle Writer (HOB) to contribute to the excellence that is Urban Walkabout. To be ideal for this role, youll need to be in the know of whats happening in Hobart from food, to art and design and even nightlife. If you have a coupla years of profesh writing experience, and consider yourself a culture connoisseur of Hobart, then go get em and apply here. Prefer sentences over paragraphs? Plz see some sweet jobs below. Keen on cutting shapes? Become a Freelance Pattern Maker (SYD) for OCC Apparel! Do it. Dig design? Become a Graphic Designer (SYD) for OPUS Design! Get applying. Have a passion 4 fashion? Become a Store Manager (SYD) for Dion Lees new flagship store here. Filming your forte? Apply to become a Camera Operator (AUS) for My Sport Live ova here. Go get it. All deets courtesy of Pedestrian Jobs. Dont let your dream job slip you by Love your work! Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and get yourself signed up to our Daily Job Alerts. The mother of the backpacker murdered in a Queensland hostel last year has slammed Donald Trump for including her daughters murder on the White House list of terror attacks. The list had been established by the White House ostensibly on the grounds that these terror attacks had been somehow overlooked or minimised by the global media. Rose Ayliffe, mother of 20-year-old Mia Ayliffe-Chung, made a post to social media claiming that people like Trump were exploiting her daughters murder for insane persecution of innocent people, and that any fool can shout Allahu Akbar as they commit a crime. The above comment refers to the fact that Smail Ayad was heard to yell Allahu Akbar during the attack. Queensland Police, working in conjunction with international agencies, discounted the possibility that the attack was religiously or politically motivated. The full post is below: .@realDonaldTrump An open letter regarding the deaths of the heroic Tom Jackson and my daughter, Mia Ayliffe-Chung: pic.twitter.com/e4oK5eey0H Rosie Ayliffe (@RosieAyliffe) February 7, 2017 Source: Twitter. Photo: Getty Images. So far it appears that the Trump administration primarily spend their days acting out a series of miraculous cock-ups whether its not being able to use light switches, chewing incomprehensible amounts of gum, getting red and nude about a sketch show or struggling with staircases, theres always something going on. In an ongoing effort to discredit the media so as to make themselves effectively completely immune to criticism in the eyes of their supporters (you might be familiar with the words fake news), the white house has released a somewhat baffling list of 78 terrorist attacks they believed to be underreported by the media. It was provoked after Trumps conversation with military leaders in Tampa, Florida, where he discussed how attacks in Europe werent accurately detailed because in many cases the very, very dishonest press doesnt want to report it. They have their reasons, and you understand that. Sure mate, whatever you reckon. The document comprises of a timeline of events that took place between September 2014 and December 2016, many of which (such as the Bataclan attack, the Nice attack, the San Bernardino shooting and the Orlando night club attack) received an overwhelming amount of press coverage, not just in the US but abroad (we certainly covered them a lot). Some of the attacks listed also fell under a somewhat questionable definition of terrorist attack, such as the Sydney siege, which was a hostage situation undertaken by a man with previously diagnosed mental health issues who had no demonstrable connections to ISIS. While many significant terrorist attacks over the past two years are referred to, there is literally no mention of any incidents that occurred in Israel particularly a bus bombing in Jerusalem that injured 20 people (and, of course, Trump and co got in a lot of shit last week for a statement on International Holocaust Remembrance Day that didnt acknowledge the Jewish people). In classic Trump administration fashion, there are a fucktonne of spelling mistakes, too. Weve got a wonderful array of doozies here, with attacker spelt as attaker (an error they seem to have copy-and-pasted a whooole bunch of times throughout the list) and Denmark artfully penned as Denmakr. This is the kind of professional attention to detail weve come to expect from the Trump administration. Christ. Its going to be a long four years. Source: The Guardian. Photo: Mark Wilson / Getty. For the first time in living memory, Andrew Bolt and Miranda Devine have been confronted by their own awfulness. The pair dissolved into a spectacular spat over whether or not Tony Abbott could return to lead the Liberal party during a radio interview on Monday night, and its truly a case of bad meets worse. (Side note: of course they were fighting about Abbott.) Devine is filling in for Steve Price at the moment while he shares his token air of low key misogyny with the South African jungle (Im A Celebrity), so on Monday night when Bolt called in for his regular 8pm segment, he spoke to Devine instead. It started off pleasantly enough. Miranda: Hello Andrew, how are you? Andrew: What a pleasure. This should be an interesting conversation. M: Isnt this a pleasure? I know, I mean we agree on so much A: But we also differ. And difference makes it more interesting. M: It sure does. So stand by everybody for a vigorous conversation. A pleasure indeed! But it wasnt long before the cracks started to show, as the two got into a heated debate about Malcolm Turnbulls poor polling. A: I think youre completely misrepresenting the role of polls. M: No, youre on the one hand saying that polls were telling us that Julia Gillard was going to lose A: How about I make my point and then tell me Im wrong, instead of telling me Im wrong before Ive actually made it. That might be helpful. The polls didnt say Tony Abbott would lose, they said he was losing. Thats a different kettle of fish. The polls right now say that Malcolm Turnbull is losing. M: But make up your mind. A: I think were in a profitless debate. You seem to be very keen to establish Tony Abbott cant come back. M: But youre very keen to say he can come back. A: Let me finish my point. Whether Tony Abbott can or cant come back is almost besides the point. M: But its your only point. Its the only point youve been making for the last six months. And then it REALLY began to fall apart and spectacularly at that. M: You need to make up your mind about the polls. A: Dont attack me. M: Im not attacking you. Youre saying on the one hand you dont believe the polls when they come to Tony Abbott but you do believe the polls now when they come to Malcolm Turnbull. A: Miranda, this is so frustrating. You ascribe to me a view that I dont hold, then when I correct it, instead of listening and accepting it, you once again say the same thing. M: Oh, Andrew, were not getting anywhere here. Did you or did you not tell us that you thought that Julia Gillard would not have won the election based on polls? A: Let me make my point. Please let me make my points otherwise theres no point to the conversation. Let me make my points or theres no point to the conversation and I may as well go and do something else. M: Did you or did you not say that? A: Put your question and let me answer it. Why are you arguing with me? Ive tried to tell you M: Andrew, this is fruitless. A: I know. For chrissakes, Miranda. If you give me a question Ill answer it, and if you keep interrupting me Im afraid Im going to hang up. M: Weve got five weeks, we have to get on. A: Miranda, in that case youre describing a living hell for me. It has to work like this. You ask me a question, I give an answer, you can agree with me or not agree with me, but please dont interrupt me while Im doing it. M: Well, Andrew, this is my show so you dont dictate to me what I do. A: No, its our show. Well if its your show how about you do it without me. M: Is that what you want to do? THESE ARE TWO VERY WELL-PAID COLUMNISTS FIGHTING OVER WHOSE SHOW IT IS. (Hint: its neither.) This writer finds herself in the highly unusual position of sympathising with Bolt and his living hell comment, but hey stopped clocks are right twice a day and all that. After arguing with Devine back and forth about whose turn it was to speak, he proceeded to dig the knife in. M: I thought this was a discussion. A: Well funnily enough Ive managed to do it very nicely with every other fill-in except you. Now lets throw to the listeners and see whether they think this method of discussion is profitless. M: Alright, well lets do that when Im ready to do that. A: No, I want to listen to the listeners now. Well, there you have it, folks. Two people finally confronted with each others awfulness. Stay tuned for what happens next. M: Well, Andrew, its been fantastic talking to you, even though we did have a stoush, but that was going to be on the cards. Its been boiling for a while. Lets try again tomorrow and see how we go. A: Lets see. (h/t to the Herald Sun for transcribing.) Photo: YouTube; Daily Telegraph. Whenever we talk about the contestants of our nations first ever round of Australian Idol, its always about Shannon Noll the runner up who decided not-so-subtly that he wanted a cover of What About Me to be his first single, and subsequently went on to rival James Van Der Beek in being the ultimate personified meme. Nollsie remained relevant in 2K17 after he was arrested earlier this year outside the iconic Adelaide strip club Crazy Horse (he asked the seccies if they knew who he was, because obviously he wouldnt be in this pickle if they were aware of his levels of fame). For unnecessary reference, this is Nollsie. Little time is spent on the actual winner of Australian Idol, Guy Sebastian probably because hes had a relatively impressive, but slow, rise to fame, with little drama, a stint at Eurovision, a few collabs with Lupe Fiasco, and a lot of Christianity. This is Guy, as we first knew him. But now, the stars have aligned reigniting the feud of Guy and Nollsie circa 2003 with a cheeky Facebook post that has made me realise Guy Sebastian is a comic genius/is responsible for staging the best thing on the internet this year. Im calling it. Your eyes do not deceive you. This is Guy Sebastian taking the supreme piss out of Nollsies aforementioned arrest in January going so far as to recruit a real security official at what looks like an airport, which is risky and awesome. Considering social media punters werent ready anyway to let Nollsie off the hook, Guy is just another slightly more famous internet user playfully trolling the bloke. Extraordinary stuff. We will most certainly update you if this story develops. Source and Photo: Facebook / Guy Sebastian. Give Gov. Tom Wolf an 'A' for Adaptability. In two years, he has made a nearly complete pivot from the governor seeking major tax increases to fund state government, to one who is more than willing to meet his partners - a Republican-dominated Legislature - where they are. Wolf appears to have made a calculated bet that the conciliator who can find middle ground with his opponents on some issues has a better chance of sticking in Harrisburg these days than a warrior who stands on principle and loses. In other words, this 2017-18 budget proposal signals that the 2018 gubernatorial election cycle has begun. Wolf, once famously described as the most liberal governor in America, seemed to be playing now for the title of the most pragmatic governor: More, say, Jerry Brown than Ed Rendell. Tuesday's speech before the historically-large GOP majorities at the state Capitol Tuesday were filled with a lot more references to "we" than "I." "Yes, we've seen what Harrisburg look like at its worst," Wolf said. "But we've also seen what's possible when we set aside those tired old fights and make Pennsylvanians' priorities our priorities." Wolf's $32.3 billion spending plan for the budget year starting July 1 calls for a net spending increase of just 1.8 percent. The total general fund number is less than the bottom line Wolf had initially proposed in 2015. The plan does contain more than $1 billion in tax increases. But they mostly hit areas with wide public support (a tax on natural gas drilling in the Marcellus Shale) or little public impact (extending the state's 6 percent sales tax to custom software packages). And, the $1 billion in total increases is, according to Wolf's budget office, doubled by $2 billion in improvements to the state's bottom line through closures, department consolidations and accounting moves. "It's a reality-based budget," said lobbyist John O'Connell. "He didn't have 102 and 26 for $5 billion in tax increases (referring to Wolf's first budget plan from 2015 and the legislative majorities needed to pass them), so we'll see if he has 102 and 26 for this." On Tuesday, it seemed like a smart enough path. Republican lawmakers, while not ready to adopt Wolf's budget as presented, were nearly unanimous in calling it - from their standpoint - a far better starting point than they'd seen in year one or year two. "It was more solution-oriented, pragmatic, realistic. Not putting the burden on taxpayers as he had sought in the past," said House Speaker Mike Turzai, R-Allegheny County. "In many ways he has taken a page out of our playbook, for the betterment of the citizens of Pennsylvania." Last year, they accused Wolf of parachuting in from Neverland. And if this is a politically-inspired epiphany? So be it. "I'm glad that Gov. Wolf is finally reached the same conclusion that many taxpayers have held for years - that Pennsylvania's state government is too large.... If he's come to that view just to please the electorate, then that's a sign of the power of the people," said Rep. Steve Bloom, R-Carlisle. Running to Pennsylvania's roomy political middle may have benefits far beyond the consequences of the current budget debate. If Wolf can establish a beachhead there, then he has a better chance of painting his 2018 re-election opponent as the extremist. "You can't separate this budget from the election," said Franklin & Marshall College political scientist G. Terry Madonna. "What Governor Wolf is doing is adjusting to the times, and that's pragmatic. He's still hanging with his priorities - education, human services - but he's doing it in a way that's fiscally real."' There are some flags planted in the budget proposal to keep his Democratic base happy: Wolf has baked a major increase in the state's mininum wage into his budget, taking the current federal minimum of $7.25 per hour up to $12. (Wolf says the added payroll would earn the state a net $95 million in new taxes.) He is still pumping more money into public schools. ($100 million in increased spending for k-12 classroom instruction subsidies, $75 million for pre-k programs and $25 million for special education.) And, of course, if Republicans deliver him tighter limits on social conservative causes like abortion rights this spring, Wolf has made clear his willingness to veto them. The new fiscal stance has been in development for awhile. Some sources close to Wolf, who requested anonymity to discuss private conversations, told PennLive they'd started to hear of planning for the no increases in broad-based tax increases since last spring. "I think election day was a shot in the arm that: 'we're moving in the right direction with this.'" said one Wolf insider, noting Democrats were surprised both by Trump's win in the presidential race, and Sen. Pat Toomey's re-election. There will be fights ahead, to be sure. Wolf angered many small business owners by proposing a 65 percent increase in the state's minimum wage; it may be the biggest reach in this proposal. While supporters say moving to $12 per hour will translate into higher incomes for 1.5 Pennsylvanians - a full quarter of the state's workforce - leaders of the business community decry a mandated payroll boost that will easily exceed $2 billion. Smaller, rural communities across the state without their own police forces - and their lawmakers in Harrisburg - are sure to push back hard on the $25-per-person assessment for state police services. And the energy and its allies in Harrisburg are sure to fight with all their might against the sale tax. But for now, Wolf has largely co-opted a lot of the Republicans' traditional talking points. The potential firefights seem a little easier to contain. He'll take the credit for $2 billion in cuts and savings across government; this time, he'll let the Republicans lead on the massive income and sales taxes increases needed to fund property tax elimination plans they are drafting. If support gels, Wolf can share in the credit by signing the bill. The governor, of course, has been this kind of bottom-line oriented manager before: He is, after all, the guy who made the rescue of his family kitchen cabinetry firm a major piece of his campaign biography. In many respects, those who know Wolf best say, it is the suit that fits his quiet personality the best. "Tom's a good manager, he likes people to get along and I think he's probably more comfortable giving this kind of message," former Gov. Ed Rendell, who once tapped Wolf as his Revenue Secretary, said Tuesday afternoon. Between now and June 30, we'll all get to see if this happy convergence of personalilty and political reality equals production for Pennsylvania. Gov. Tom Wolf is proposing to give some state employees who work for agencies under his jurisdiction the ability to call it a career a few years early as part of his 2017-18 budget proposal unveiled on Tuesday. As part of his overall effort to shrink the state government workforce by more than 3,400 employees in the coming fiscal year, he is proposing to offer an early retirement incentive for employees who are within five years of being eligible to retire. What that incentive would be is a detail that has yet to be worked out with the General Assembly. Also unclear at this time is the number of employees who would fall into the eligible category. Wolf's Budget Secretary Randy Albright said during a Tuesday morning budget briefing that this would not add to the pension liability because new employees coming into the system are less costly than the ones nearing the end of their public service careers. He anticipates this could be worked in as part of the pension reforms that state lawmakers are interested in pursuing. "We don't think it would add costs at this point on the pension side of the equation," Albright said. But what it does do is give executive agency officials "another tool if you will to manage their complement but at the same time, avoids unnecessary furloughs for the 17-18 fiscal year." The last time an early-retirement incentive was offered to state and school employees was in 1999. Under this proposal, only state employees who work under the governor's jurisdiction would be eligible. Dave Fillman, executive director of the American Federation of State, County and Muncipal Employees Council 13, said he is interested in learning more about what the administration and lawmakers have in mind. "It depends on what kind of details we have in there," Fillman said. "I really don't know a heck of a lot about what's in there but as far as the concept of an early out, we're generally in favor of." 17809839-standard.jpg Job creation, growth, training and protection were among the major themes Gov. Tom Wolf presented in his proposed 2017-18 budget. (File) Job creation, growth, training and protection are among Gov. Tom Wolf's 2017-18 budget priorities. Wolf presented his proposed $32.3 billion budget before the Pennsylvania General Assembly Tuesday morning. The budget focused on three main areas -- schools that teach, government that works and jobs that pay. To provide jobs that pay, Wolf wants to increase the minimum wage, foster job creation and growth, implement job and career development, and offer tax credits. Here's a breakdown of Wolf's budget proposals: Minimum wage increase Wolf has proposed increasing Pennsylvania's minimum from $7.25 to $12 per hour. The budget contends that an increase in the state's minimum wage would support local businesses, create new jobs and boost state revenue by roughly $95 million annually. "Pennsylvanians who work full time at minimum wage earn $15,080 annually, leaving them below the poverty level for a family of four and often unable to afford basic necessities," according to the budget. "Employees have become more productive, increasing business efficiency and competitiveness, but wages have not kept pace with these productivity gains." Manufacturing is the third-largest industry in Pennsylvania employing over 550,000 workers. Manufacturing job growth Manufacturing is the third-largest industry in Pennsylvania employing over 550,000 workers. Wolf has launched the Manufacturing PA initiative, which links job training to career pathways that ensures training will lead to careers with higher pay and opportunities for advancement. Through Manufacturing PA, the 2017-18 budget partners the commonwealth's research universities and industrial resource centers to accelerate manufacturing technology advancement and adoption, foster manufacturing innovation and commercialization, and build a 21st century workforce. The partnership, according to the budget, will create or retain 6,000 manufacturing jobs, leverage nearly $30 million in matching funds and provide $950 million of economic impact for manufacturers. New apprenticeship grant program Wolf has proposed establishing a new apprenticeship grant program to ensure workers - those leaving the K-12 education system and those transitioning into a new sector - can receive training aligned to business workforce needs. The initiative will be funded with revenue recovered by Pa. Department of Community and Economic Development from companies that fail to live up to previous commitments made when they received state assistance. Businesses would be able to seek grant funding of up to $2,000 for each apprentice employed pursuant to an apprenticeship agreement registered with the Office of Apprenticeship in the United States Department of Labor. Gov. Tom Wolf recently enacted a manufacturing tax credit for companies. Tax credits to encourage high-tech manufacturing growth Following the recent enactment of a manufacturing tax credit, the budget includes $5 million for a manufacturing training-to-career grant program. Through this new grant program, manufacturing businesses will receive funds to partner with technical programs and community colleges to develop new training programs that align with their workforce needs. These programs will also offer apprenticeship programs, on-the-job training opportunities or paid internships, according to the budget. Protecting jobs Wolf has proposed a series of changes to the state's job creation grant programs in order to protect the jobs of Pennsylvanians. One proposed change requires companies receiving state economic development grants to maintain any job created through receipt of a state grant for no less than five years, and to maintain operations within the state for no less than eight years. Another change would require companies full payment of the state grant when they commit to create jobs but fails to make progress towards its obligations. The state will require full repayment of the grant amount. Wolf has also proposed requiring companies to fully repay a state grant and a 10 percent penalty if the company receives a grant and subsequently moves operations out of Pennsylvania. 2017-18 Budget Document - Web by PennLive on Scribd josh-shapirojpg-58930e2627e4b3ea.jpg Pa. Attorney General Josh Shapiro joined with 15 Democratic colleagues today in arguing against the Trump Administration's travel ban. This post was updated at 7:37 p.m. to add a missing word in the fourth paragraph. Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro joined with 15 colleagues Monday in filing an amicus brief in the federal lawsuit against President Donald Trump's Jan. 27 executive order on immigration. The order seeks to bar citizens of seven Muslim-majority countries -- Iraq, Syria, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen -- from entering the US for 90 days, all refugees for 120 days and indefinitely halts refugees from Syria. Shapiro and his colleagues, all Democrats, are asking federal courts to keep a temporary stay on the order in place while legal challenges to it are heard. "As Attorney General I understand we have to balance the safety and liberty of our residents at all times. The executive order by the president fails both sides of that test," Shapiro said in announcing the joint filing in Harrisburg Monday afternoon. "It makes us less safe, and it tramples on our rights," Shapiro added. The brief was filed in a case brought by the Attorneys General in Washington and Minnesota that resulted late last week in the emergency stay of Trump's order. Arguing for the ban's continuance, Shapiro cited the potential for specific harms to Pennsylvania's colleges, health care institutions and general economy if students, researchers and employees are blocked from travel to the U.S. For example, Shapiro noted, there are 227 students from the targeted nations registered at Penn State alone, and Pennsylvania has 307 licensed health care professionals with some ties to those seven nations. "This is about the rule of law, protecting the rule of law, protecting peoples' rights, and nothing more," Shapiro said. As Shapiro's office was completing its filing, Gov. Tom Wolf was meeting with a family who was reunited after several members from Syria had been denied entry into the United States from Philadelphia in late January. Several federal judges have already struck down aspects of the ban, but the appeal before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit is believed to be much broader and more significant. That is because the judges there are being asked to consider whether it should be halted entirely, as opposed to just for particular people or those who already have made it to U.S. airports. A Statistics Canada 2016 Census mailer sits on the keyboard of a laptop after arriving in the mail at a residence in Ottawa in a May 2, 2016, file photo. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick Listen to VOM Radio this week as we converse with two ministry leaders. First, well share the second half of our conversation with Loren Cunningham, the founder of Youth With a Mission (YWAM). Listen as he talks about getting the Scriptures into every remaining language on earth ( End Bible Poverty Now ) and about the legacy words that are driving him forward with the ministry of YWAM all over the world. Then well hear from Charles Morris, President of Haven Ministries ( Haven Ministries ). Charles has just returned from northern Iraq, including villages recently liberated from ISIS control. Whats left of those villages? What challenges await Christians hoping to return to the homes ISIS kicked them out of? Listen in as Charles answers those questions and advises us on specific ways to pray for Christians and non-Christians in Iraq right now. Never miss an episode of VOM Radio! Subscribe to the VOM Radio podcast on iTunes or Google Play Music. Here, there, everywhere why car washes seem to be on every corner Tareck El Aissami, Venezuela's new iron-fisted boss facing U.S. trafficking probe Bloomberg/Carlos Becerra Tareck El Aissami, Maduro pick as his new vice president. CARACAS Petroleumworld.com 02 07 2017 When Tareck El Aissami, Venezuela's new vice president, competed in student elections, his opponents said he brought in armed gangs to bully the competition. Then, they say, when he forgot to register for reelection he phoned the local political boss with a plan to rig the vote. I threatened to throw him in jail," said Florencio Porras, the former governor of Merida state. Since then, he's declared me his enemy. Climbing from student leader in rural Venezuela to the country's number two power broker in just over a decade, El Aissami has made many enemies like Porras. Facing economic collapse and anemic public support, President Nicolas Maduro has chosen as his chief deputy one of Venezuela's most controversial and feared politicians, government critics say. El Aissami, 42, is one of a number of Venezuelans under investigation by U.S. authorities for alleged participation in drug trafficking and money laundering rings as well as for playing a key role in helping Iran and Hezbollah, the Lebanese Islamist group, gain footholds in Latin America. A young star in the socialist party that has ruled here for nearly two decades, El Aissami is viewed by both supporters and critics as cunning and skilled. He's an operator who functions very well for this new stage of the revolution," says Rocio San Miguel, president of Control Ciudadano, a citizen watchdog. Maduro's dilemma is how to deal with the opposition while closing internal divisions. Maduro, whom the late President Hugo Chavez chose as his own successor, has been under pressure to step aside because of the country's potential default, widespread social unrest and an emboldened opposition. He has so far quashedthrough his control of the legal systemthe opposition's attempt to hold a referendum on his removal before his term ends in about two years. Many analysts say if things continue to decline, the main risk to him is from within the military. El Aissami's selection addresses both concerns. Those seeking to oust Maduro probably despise El Aissami more and might hesitate to pursue their efforts. And the new vice president is a strongman with tight control over internal security forces and little loyalty to the military. He would be less tempted to take part in a military-led coup than to resist it. In the weeks since his accession, Maduro has granted him wide-reaching decree powers and tapped him to lead a newly formed commando unit against alleged coup mongers and officials suspected of treason. Among the slew of arrests since the unit's formation is a substitute legislator from a hard-line opposition party and a retired general who, years before, broke ranks with the government. Self-described as radically chavista, El Aissami first met the late president when he was a student. He openly celebrated the 9/11 terrorist attack on the U.S., according to three witnesses, and served as one of Chavez's staunchest allies ever since. In his last post as governor, he regularly denounced government opponents as traitors looking to stoke unrest. A court in his Aragua state annulled the recall referendum there, charging the opposition with collecting fraudulent signatures. Neither the office of the vice president nor the Information Ministry responded to multiple requests for an interview or comment. El Aissami has publicly denied any alleged drug ties, saying they are little more than media slander, and has offered to hand himself over to authorities if anyone could produce proof. Those close to him brush off claims of corruption and a crackdown on dissent. He'd rather self-immolate before negotiating his principles,said Hugo Cabezas, a former governor of Trujillo state and classmate of El Aissami's. The son of Syrian and Lebanese immigrants, El Aissami was one of five children raised Druze in Venezuela's Andes mountains. Tall, handsome and fit, he is married with two young children and is often surrounded by personally selected guards. His sister, a diplomat, was Venezuela's ambassador to the Netherlands till last year. His father, a leader of the small local Ba'athist party, sold shoes and furniture and played a supporting role in Chavez's failed 1992 coup attempt and again, six years later, in his successful presidential bid. Shortly after the botched attempted overthrow, El Aissami helped lead a leftist student movement at university, where he studied criminology and law and where Chavez's brother Adan worked as professor. Charismatic and meticulous, he graduated with honors and has held tightly to the alliances he made at college throughout his political career. It's very clear to him who his friends are," said Miguel Contreras, a professor of criminology at the University of Los Andes, and tutor of El Aissami. Since his appointment as vice president, members of his student movement have been tapped for top posts of minister, governor and in the state oil giant, PDVSA. His enemies have long accused El Aissami of having a vindictive streak: A former running mate named Nixon Moreno fled the country after breaking ranks and defeating El Aissami in student elections. After losing his student reelection bid, El Aissami's longtime friend, Cabezas, called him to the capital to help run a state civil registry program, before he won a seat in congress as a representative of Merida in 2005. Chavez named the young congressmen as vice minister and later minister of interior. Much of what El Aissami tried as interior minister was resisted by the military, says Veronica Zubillaga, a sociologist at Simon Bolivar University, who worked with El Aissami. I think he learned and I think he got stronger, she said of that era. In 2012, El Aissami won the governorship of Aragua state running on a ticket filled with Chavez's hand-picked candidates. The opposition has since labeled El Aissami "the narco of Aragua, alleging that he has used his vast political network to help turn the country into an international hub for drugs and Middle Eastern extremists. Those accusations stem from El Aissami's ties to civil registry services before he became interior minister and, U.S. investigators say, he appears to have created Venezuelan identities for Middle Eastern extremists. El Aissami, they believe, created a web of front companies to move money outside Venezuela's borders. Tareck's network is less ideological and more of a service provider, said Joseph Humire, executive director of Center for a Secure Free Society, a Washington think tank. It's not so much built on an ideological affinity to anybody, but who wants to pay to play." Since at least 2011, Homeland Security Investigations and the Drug Enforcement Administration have been investigating El Aissami for money laundering to the Middle East, specifically Lebanon, according to two people familiar with the probe. Some believe his appointment will help trigger a more aggressive policy toward Caracas by the new Trump administration. This is a clear one-finger salute to the United States, said Roger Noriega, who served as assistant secretary of state for Western Hemisphere affairs under George W. Bush. Certainly it creates a pretext for Trump to be much more decided in his response to Venezuela. In Venezuela, the consensus is that Maduro is more concerned with strengthening his position at home than his standing abroad, which is what Dimitris Pantoulas, a political consultant, means when he says, He is Maduro's man. But Pantoulas also notes, He's capable of anything, which suggests that El Aissami has his own ambitionsand loyalty may have its limits. East Mediterranean is sitting on huge reservoir of untapped gas Vast gas finds can keep Europe warm if the arguing stops JAFFA, Israel Petroleumworld.com 02 07 2017 As the helicopter roars its way west from the Tel Aviv coast, two dots emerge from the featureless blue. Closer up, they begin to take shape: Giant platforms for extracting gas from under the Mediterranean Sea. A few years ago, there was nothing to see around here, Yossi Abu yells from the front seats. And soon, according to the Delek Drilling LP CEO, there'll be more. He points northwards. Over there, we'll build a new platform, he says. To export gas to Egypt and Turkey. Abu makes it sound easy. It won't be. Hundreds of miles of undersea pipelines will cost billions of dollars and pose a technical challenge for their designers. And even that task is dwarfed by the political engineering required to build stable energy routes through a conflict-ridden region. That's true across the Eastern Mediterranean, where nations have watched enviously over the decades as energy finds a bit further east made their Gulf peers rich. Now it's got riches of its own, as it becomes clear that Delek's discoveries were just a start. The whole area from Cyprus to Lebanon and Egypt may be sitting on even bigger gas fields. The United States Geological Survey estimates they could hold more than 340 trillion cubic feet, an amount that would surpass U.S. proven reserves, though many in the industry think the actual volume may be lower. There's an ideal market nearby in Europe -- rich, mostly lacking its own fuels, and desperate to wean itself off energy dependence on Russia. It's just that getting the gas there will require collaboration between countries with a history of feuding or fighting. This is the kind of opportunity where either everybody rises or everybody falls, said Amos Hochstein, who served as former U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry's energy envoy. Hochstein acknowledges the complicated relationships involved, but says they can be overcome. We've been preaching this gospel in the wilderness for a while, he said. But enough people now see the potential fruits. They do in Egypt, where the Zohr field discovered by Eni SpA is the region's largest to date, and a tipping-point that persuaded other majors to take the East Med seriously. BP Plc, which has a 50-year history of exploring and producing gas in Egypt, bought a 10 percent stake from Eni in November. For Egypt's economy, hamstrung since the 2011 revolution by a lack of foreign currency, gas could prove a savior. The country used to be an exporter, but had to sacrifice those sales to meet domestic shortages. Thanks to Zohr, it's aiming to reduce imports next year and start exporting again in 2019. WhatsApp Diplomacy Then there's Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Israeli premier Benjamin Netanyahu, who spent years at loggerheads before reaching a reconciliation in 2016 that was partly driven by potential energy ties. Turkey gets gas from Russia and Iran, but has had a volatile relationship with both neighbors lately. And being on the receiving end of eastern Mediterranean pipelines would help Erdogan promote his country as a hub for the region. Erdogan appointed his son-in-law Berat Albayrak as energy minister, and a senior Israeli official said he speaks to Albayrak daily on WhatsApp. Former U.S. diplomat Matthew Bryza is now a director of the Turkish company Turcas Petrol AS, which has held talks on buying Israeli gas. Bryza says that discoveries in the Mediterranean could also help end a much longer-running dispute: the division of Cyprus. Since 1974, northern Cyprus has been controlled by a self-declared state supported by Turkey. Several attempts to reunify the island have failed, but this year's talks in Switzerland have rekindled hope , and gas could be one reason. Eni, Exxon Mobil Corp. and Total SA are among companies keen to explore off Cyprus, which will be much easier if the political obstacle is removed. Turkey insists that the Greek-Cypriot government has no right to dispose of energy resources on its own. It even sent warships toward the island to make the point. The End-Line' While there are bigger issues to resolve, if there's a deal on the horizon, then I think the potential for energy benefits could well pull the sides over the end-line, Bryza said. Many analysts see an Israel-Turkey pipeline via Cyprus as the best way to transmit gas to Europe. It could also be piped to LNG plants in Egypt and shipped from there. Israeli and European Union officials have even held talks on an ambitious pipeline route all the way to Greece. Who'll do the building? There are plenty of big companies betting on the East Med, but they haven't all had an easy ride there so far. Eni and Exxon are among companies that registered interest in exploring off Lebanon; the auction of rights has been delayed since 2013, a victim of the country's political gridlock and territorial disputes with Israel, though the government is promising a fresh attempt this month. In Egypt, Royal Dutch Shell Plc's liquefaction plant has been idle for years. Noble Energy Ltd., the only major foreign company to try its hand in Israel, has made money off domestic sales, but its export projects got tangled in a legal and regulatory web for years. Political Will The region's geology, especially the massive trench along the seabed from Israel to Turkey, will make pipeline construction tough, according to Simon Henderson, director of the Gulf and Energy Policy Program at the Washington Institute. And there are price concerns: the global supply glut weighs on the industry's appetite for expensive projects. Lately, though, optimism is building. Enthused by Zohr, Eni sees Egypt as the center of a hub including Israel, Cyprus and Libya that can provide solutions for European energy security, according to Chief Executive Claudio Descalzi. To get companies and regional governments on that track might need a nudge from major powers -- which means the EU and U.S. You definitely need both political and commercial will to coalesce, said Brenda Shaffer, a senior fellow at the Washington-based Atlantic Council research institute's Global Energy Center. She said the EU already sees Mediterranean gas as a top-priority project, though it lacks financial tools to push it forward. Bryza sees the potential to replicate, in the East Mediterranean, the success of a project he saw up close as U.S. ambassador to Azerbaijan. BP's Baku-Ceyhan oil pipeline runs from the Azeri capital via Georgia to Turkey's Mediterranean coast. It received aggressive American support. And the result has been new patterns of cooperation between the three countries, Bryza said. The U.S. has been pushing for the reunification of Cyprus and the reconciliation of Israel and Turkey, which Hochstein helped to broker. Its interest level under President Donald Trump remains to be seen. When the U.S. has backed energy routes in the region, it's often been trying to sideline Russia. Trump says he'll improve ties with Moscow, and in general pay less attention to the outside world when American interests aren't directly at stake. Still, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, a former Exxon Mobil CEO, is no stranger to pipeline politics. Control of energy will be a priority, even in his subconscious, Shaffer said. "Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens," are among movie actress Julie Andrews' favorite things in the "Sound of Music." But if Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University chief executive George W. Gephart Jr., were belting out that song, he'd be singing about Ivory-Billed woodpeckers, Carolina Parakeets, and Bachman's Warblers, all birds that are now extinct. However, specimens of those birds, collected by John James Audubon, are part of the Academy's collections. "Our ornithology collection is one of the very best in the world," said Gephart, who was lured out of retirement seven years ago to lead the Academy. "When I saw drawer after drawer of specimens that John James Audubon collected of birds, which are extinct now: Ivory Billed Woodpecker, Carolina Parakeet, Bachman's Warbler, three come to mind, and we've got many more and others that are threatened. "That to me was like looking at the crown jewels, because I've loved Audubon for decades, even here and there collected Audubon prints. I love the history and the lure and the legend of this very flamboyant character who transformed ornithology and really natural science in this country. "And, here we've got the goods. I saw that and was just bowled over," Gephart said. Now Gephart is about to head into retirement again -- a search for his successor is underway. But, in our interview, he listed more of his favorite things. Being a former equity manager, Gephart likes to describe them as assets. "What I love about this is everything in here tells a story," he said, walking around his office, pointing to a specimen in a jar. "For instance, this was collected by a cousin of Napoleon Bonaparte. That's sort of special. The red ribbon, [tied around the jar] indicates that it's a type specimen, which means that anybody who studies that species must, today, relate her or his work back to this. "We have over 80,000 type specimens: birds, insects, fish. "We have a current big initiative with the William Penn Foundation on the Delaware River Watershed Initiative. When they did their strategic plan, four years ago, they reoriented themselves towards three big initiatives, and in truth, they had to make a very hard decision, because what it meant was some donors would not be a part of their new mission. Others would be reinforced. One of the three. So, the DRWI, as we call it: Fifteen million souls rely on the water that comes out of the Delaware River and the Estuary and the watershed. This is too important. You need water to live. We need to focus on it and its preservation. It's remediation, renewal, preservation, protection. And we are one of the, what they call, we're part of the coordinating committee. We're a foundational player. We are for water what the Open Space Institute is for land and National Fish and Wildlife Federation is for flora and fauna. "We work closely with them and coordinate an effort that includes 50 non-government organizations who are doing every aspect of this work in eight clusters in the water shed. "So, you talk about what the future holds: This is current and this is great work. Our opportunity is to take our expertise and to move it into a different watershed. That's what we're working on now. And, where could it be? Well, it could be the Housatonic [in Massachusetts]. It could be the Chesapeake Bay. It could be the ACE Basin in South Carolina. "Then, we go to the education side. We have a program here called Women in Natural Sciences. It's been around for 34 years now. High school girls, it's a four-year intensive program. City high school girls, under-served communities, who have an interest in science. This is evenings or afternoons, weekends. The first year is like boot camp. The first summer is boot camp. It's a great program. My challenge to our colleagues is the success story's so good, but we're only serving 70 girls a year. There's a need for 700 girls a year, right? We could easily expand this, but you don't expand without a plan. And so, right now we're in and this is all fully funded. We have found funders to take us through an assessment of the plan to discover what the secret sauce is. Do you know what I mean? There will be elements where we'll find they are not value-added, but others that are must-keeps. Although frail, "Ruth was here at her hundredth birthday celebration," he said. "She got up in front of a packed house -- 400 or 500 people -- spoke for almost ten minutes, eloquently, and sat back down. Remarkable person. Transformed environmental science, truly did. She and Rachael Carson, two women, broke the barrier. Isn't that something? When she started, they wouldn't employ her. They said, `Well, women don't work here. You can be a volunteer.' Then they realized, `Oh, my gosh, intellectually, she probably runs rings around a lot of us.' So, they employed her, but said, `Why aren't you wearing a dress and why aren't you wearing makeup.' She said, `Well, because my work is out in the field.' Remarkable, groundbreaking person and the only award she didn't win was the Nobel Prize, although she was certainly deserving. But [she won the] Presidential Medal of Freedom, her medal of science, 40 or more honorary degrees. The work we're going today, Delaware River Watershed Initiative, is her legacy. Gephart also talked about the relevance of the research the Academy conducts today. For example, the Academy looked into fracking, a controversial topic in Pennsylvania. "We want to focus on broader human impact and public engagement. Now, what that means is we are not necessarily going to become the extreme of an advocacy organization -- Sierra Club would be a good example," Gephart said. "Our job is to bring the best science forward to help people make informed decisions. "We've done a lot of work in Central Pennsylvania and our work is on ground water, not subterranean. We're not focused on the water table, but ground water runoff. Previous: Leadership lessons from Gephart's frat brother: Brian Roberts. To activate the text-to-speech service, please first agree to the privacy policy below. Taipei, Feb. 7 (CNA) The online trading systems of at least eight local stock brokerages have been hacked and blackmailed for between 6 and 10 bitcoins (1 bitcoin is worth about NT$31,000 or US$1,000), and Taiwan's financial regulators warned Tuesday that the attacks could be resumed next week. A Montgomery County woman hired Vincent Cirillo Jr. in 2015 to represent her in a criminal case. But the tables were turned Tuesday as Cirillo's trial began on charges that he raped his then-22-year-old client. The woman was "highly intoxicated and semi-conscious" as Cirillo performed sex acts and took photos of her in her bed in August 2015, Assistant District Attorney M. Stewart Ryan told jurors during opening arguments Tuesday morning in Norristown. Cirillo, a longtime defense lawyer and son of the late Superior Court Judge Vincent A. Cirillo, is facing five felony-level charges for rape, sexual assault, and other crimes. Wearing a suit and seated with his lawyers, he showed no emotion as his trial began. Cirillo previously pleaded guilty to the charges against him, but withdrew that plea in December, on the day he was scheduled to be sentenced. His attorney, Nino Tinari, told jurors Tuesday that Cirillo is innocent because his sexual contact with the woman was consensual. He portrayed the accuser as someone who worked as a stripper and exotic dancer, and invited Cirillo to her bedroom after they drank alcohol together at her home. "It's not an unconscious young lady, but one who consented to have contact with Mr. Cirillo," Tinari said. Ryan argued that the woman was not in a state to consent. Paul Buckwalter, who was her boyfriend at the time, testified that he found her unresponsive in her bed that night after Cirillo left. Buckwalter began crying on the witness stand after reviewing photos he took of her that night, which he said were meant to document her highly intoxicated and unresponsive state. "She's never, ever, been in the condition she was in," he said. After a warning from Judge Steven T. O'Neill that the images would be graphic and potentially disturbing, the jury of six men and six women also saw the photos that Buckwalter took of the woman, unclothed and unresponsive as he tried to give her a shower to wake her up. Buckwalter described taking the woman to the hospital that night. She did not receive rape-kit testing or drug testing, he said, because she did not want police to get involved while she was fighting for custody of her children. He said he later helped her make a decision to go to police. Tinari suggested during his opening argument that the woman reported the allegations only because "the boyfriend was enraged" over the contact with Cirillo. Prosecutors allege that Cirillo admitted to sexual contact with the woman five days later, as she asked him about it with the assistance of detective surveillance. Ryan told jurors that they will see other photos later in the trial that Cirillo took while sexually assaulting the woman. "These photographs, taken over the period of the sexual assault, demonstrate a visibly unconscious victim that that man was talking about performing sex acts on," Ryan said. Cirillo is also facing charges in a separate but related case, for allegedly impersonating the woman's lawyer to obtain confidential records as he awaited trial. He has been held in the Montgomery County prison since his arrest in that case last fall, and he lost his law license in November. Cirillo's wife and daughter sat in the front row of the courtroom Tuesday. The trial is scheduled to last all week. Maybe you've heard or read something about this. Lots of Pennsylvanians angry about President Trump's cabinet picks, refugee/immigrant travel ban, plans to repeal Obamacare, or all of the above, say they can't get Sen. Pat Toomey who supports all of the above to hear, read, or respond to their concerns. There've been news stories about a group called "Tuesdays With Toomey" protesting outside one or more of the senator's offices (there are seven in the state), and stories of always-busy Toomey phones and faxes, voice-mail boxes too full to take messages, and general unresponsiveness from Toomey. Here's a sample email I got on the issue: "I am extremely frustrated in my attempts to contact Patrick Toomey (my representative in the senate). I have repeatedly tried to get through on the phone and have actually gone to his local office to try to voice my concerns to him. I have not been able to leave a message (let alone speak to someone from his office). I have not even been able to get a fax through to his office! This is absolutely unacceptable." That came from Felicia Bloom, who, after I responded to her, said she's a 54-year-old Montgomery County nurse, married to a physician and worried about people losing their health care. She says she's not political but attended three protests in the last two weeks "three more than I have ever been to in my entire life!" I and other political writers got a steady stream of emails Monday about frustration/anger with Toomey. They follow a pattern of complaints about unanswered calls or emails, and in most cases contain similar language about Toomey's failing to listen to constituents. Turns out some, if not most or all, emailers are tied to a national online effort called "Indivisible" urging grassroots opposition to Trump's agenda. The effort includes a guide (indivisibleguide.com) to resisting the Trump agenda by identifying and inundating Trump-supportive congressional offices with calls, emails, visits, etc. to force them to "redirect energy away from their priorities." The guide says that congressional offices have limited time and limited people, and that "a day that they spend worrying about you is a day that they're not ending Medicare, privatizing public schools, or preparing a Muslim registry." It also encourages individuals to reach out to media. "Sen. Toomey is very much aware of the magnitude of the call volume and receives a roundup of constituent communications and their positions," says Toomey press secretary Steve Kelly. He adds, "Many are not aware that we are not a large call center. We average three to four staffers in all seven state offices all of whom have many other responsibilities, whether it be outreach or constituent casework related. So everyone is doing their part to answer as many calls as possible." Kelly also says voice-mail accounts are emptied regularly but refill too quickly: "We appreciate everyone's patience. Another good way to reach the office is via the website Toomey.senate.gov." There's nothing wrong with political activism. There's nothing wrong with expanding citizen involvement in politics. If there was more of it, maybe our government would work better, or more often in the overall public interest. (Though one wonders whether an aggressive call to action might have been more effective before the 2016 election; and whether it's at all effective when aimed a senator who doesn't face voters again until 2022.) And however annoying or ineffective some might find citizen protest or outreach to elected officials, both are fundamental to creating or maintaining a society that actually cares about how and by whom it is governed. 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. LightSail has gone to London! The London Science Museum, one of the worlds leading science centers, has welcomed our citizen-funded spacecraft into its halls. Our LightSail engineering model is on temporary display in the Antenna Gallery as the centerpiece of a solar sailing exhibit through April 2017. Space fans around the world were inspired by the LightSail 1 test mission, successfully completed in 2015, and now anticipate LightSail 2, which will ride to space aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket (anticipated for autumn 2017). Many people have memories of how museum visits sparked an innate desire to explore our planet and the cosmos. And many do not: The Planetary Society values organizations that make such experiences possible for often under-reached audiences. Global education and public outreach are essential to The Planetary Societys mission: to empower the worlds citizens to advance space science and exploration. Partners with common goals enable us to advance our mission in indelible ways. In a world where, in many regions, lives are increasingly lived online, museums and interactive exhibits offer kids, adults and families immersive, community-based learning opportunities. We are thrilled to partner with the London Science Museum. We encourage you to explore the museum and LightSail display! Juli Glisson faces a charge of aggravated vehicular homicide in the death of Nashville officer Eric Mumaw. Officer Mumaw drowned in a river after trying to prevent her from committing suicide by driving her car into the water. (Photo: Metro Nashville PD) A woman whose apparent suicide attempt led to the death of a Nashville police officer last week was arrested on Monday the same day that a memorial service was held for the officer. The woman, Juli Glisson, 40, was released from a hospital and arrested and charged with aggravated vehicular homicide and probation violation, the New York Times reports. On Thursday, she was operating a car that dragged Officer Eric Mumaw to his death in the Cumberland River, according to an arrest warrant affidavit. Mumaw and two other officers had been called early Thursday morning to the river, where they found an intoxicated Glisson in a vehicle on a boat ramp near the waters edge, according to the affidavit. They had been alerted to the situation by a family member who noted that Glisson had been suicidal in the past, according to the police. The blood alcohol content for Glisson, who is currently on probation for a 2016 DUI conviction, was more than .210, the Tennessean reports. NDI Recognition Systems license-plate reader technology helped Volusia County (FL) Sheriff's Office deputies arrest robbery suspect David W. Strickland, 56. Strickland is a suspect in the January 6, 2017 armed robbery of an e-cigarette store near Orange City, FL. Strickland is also a suspect in several other robbery cases in Central Florida and was already wanted in Volusia County on a warrant, charging him with burglary, grand theft, dealing in stolen property, and giving false information to a pawnbroker. Surveillance images and witness descriptions were also used to identify the suspect and help in his capture. The burglary-related charges stem from a break-in on Fergason Avenue in Deltona. Around 4:52 p.m. Jan. 6, deputies responded to a home where the front door was kicked in and a guitar was stolen. Using surveillance video from a nearby residence, detectives identified a newer-model white SUV that pulled up to the house at the time of the burglary. A man exited the vehicle, then returned about six minutes later and drove away. The SUV matched the description of the one seen in surveillance footage of the E-Cig robbery, which occurred earlier that afternoon, just before 4 p.m. on North Volusia Avenue near Orange City. Detectives soon reviewed other camera footage in Deltona and spotted a white SUV driving on Providence Boulevard. Using license-plate reader technology, detectives and analysts with the Volusia County Crime Center identified the vehicle as a 2016 Toyota RAV-4 with a partial tag that came back with a potential match to Strickland's address on Harwick Lane. Then detectives discovered Strickland's physical description matched that of the armed suspect who robbed the E-Cigarette store. Next, an investigator started looking for any recent pawn-shop transactions involving Strickland. He found several in recent months, including one on Jan. 6. It was the guitar stolen during that day's residential burglary, pawned for $65. Deputies went to Strickland's house just after 9 a.m. to serve the search warrant, and Strickland was taken into custody and interviewed. He was taken to the Volusia County Branch Jail and held without bond. For more information about NDI Recognition Systems, visit www.ndi-rs.com. Facebook Twitter Pinterest Email Print Senate Democrats are blocking President Trumps nominees. Judging by Sen. Mitch McConnells (R-KY) whining remarks on the Senate floor, the efforts are getting under the skin of the Majority Leader. Video: .@SenateMajLdr calls lack of cabinet confirmations a "historic break in tradition": "Democrat obstruction has reached new extreme levels." pic.twitter.com/gkV3QzRkqh ABC News Politics (@ABCPolitics) February 6, 2017 Sen. McConnell said, Democrat obstruction has reached new extreme levels as the smallest number of cabinet officials have been confirmed in modern history at this point in a presidency. Its a historic break in tradition. A departure from how newly elected presidents of both parties have been treated in decades past. The obstruction of Obama Supreme Court nominee Merrick Garland was also a departure from the way presidents of both parties have been treated in decades past. After Sen. McConnells years of obstructing President Obama, he doesnt have a leg to stand on when he complains about the tactics being used against President Trump. Both McConnell and the White House have been complaining routinely about the Democratic slow walking of Trumps nominees. The Senate Democratic behavior is no surprise. In December 2016, Senate Democrats announced that they would be slow walking all of Trumps nominees, and McConnell has been powerless to stop them. If Mitch McConnell wants the respect of Democrats, he can begin by referring to their party by its proper name. Its the Democratic Party, not the Democrat Party. Majority Leader McConnell continues to prove on a daily basis that he could dish out years of obstruction towards Obama, but he cant take a few weeks of the same treatment under Trump. Republicans dont have 60 votes, which means that Mitch McConnell is in for a very long next two years. Facebook Twitter Pinterest Email Print In a demonstration of unity, Democrats joined together on Monday night in opposition to Betsy DeVos, Donald Trumps unqualified pick to lead the Department of Education. At this hour, Democratic senators continue to hold the floor in an effort to derail the nomination of DeVos and urge one more Republican member of the Senate to show some backbone and vote against the billionaire GOP donor. In some of the most blistering remarks of the evening, Minnesota Sen. Al Franken openly wondered why in the world the Senate would confirm a nominee for the Department of Education who doesnt have a clue about education. We wouldnt accept a secretary of defense who couldnt name the branches of the military. We wouldnt accept a secretary of state who couldnt find Europe on a map. We wouldnt accept a treasury secretary who doesnt understand multiplication, he said. During her confirmation hearing last month when Franken was questioning her, DeVos revealed that she didnt know the difference between growth and proficiency when evaluating students test scores. Franken said if Republicans move forward with approving someone as unqualified as DeVos, then who could they ever vote against? If you cannot bring yourself to vote against this nominee, is there anyone that you could vote against? he said. Franken said the Senate should simply tell DeVos, Thank you for your time. Well let you know, and move on to a candidate that is actually qualified to lead the department. Earlier in the day, Elizabeth Warren also took to the floor during the 24-hour protest to torch DeVos and the entire process surrounding her nomination. She did not disappoint. Video: In the blistering speech, Warren said: At every step along the way, the Republicans have made it clear, no matter her inexperience, no matter her radical views, no matter her potential conflicts of interests, no matter her secrecy, no matter her blowing off basic anti-corruption practices, they will ram this nomination down the throats of the American people sideways. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer also urged his GOP colleagues to put politics aside when making their final decisions before Tuesdays vote. Now is the time to put country before party, he said, daring his fellow Republican senators to vote based on DeVos qualifications, not the amount of money shes given to their campaigns. Ultimately, the Democrats are making this simple. Betsy DeVos, a woman with no experience in public education, should not be confirmed to lead it. Her hearing before the Senate made that clear, and two Republican senators, Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski, have already come out in opposition to her nomination. As of this hour, the Senate stands at a 50-50 split, with Vice President Mike Pence poised to cast a tie-breaking vote in her favor on Tuesday the first time a cabinet nominee would ever be confirmed in that fashion. Facebook Twitter Pinterest Email Print *The following is an opinion column by R Muse* It is fairly accurate to say that nearly all Americans think that what is happening since Trump was allowed to legally inhabit the White House as occupant, is not normal. Trump supporters like that the abnormal openly racist Trump and his alt-right Nazi adviser are running the country into the ground, and his opponents are appalled at the abnormal frequency of Trumps lies and childish attacks against any American who refuses to genuflect at the sound of his name. These are not what anyone would call normal times. In fact, although even Republicans are growing concerned over the seriousness of Trump in the White House, a noted conservative media expert has called on the media to stop normalizing the Trump and start exposing his many abominations, including his treason. According to a bonafide conservative writer and media consultant, Cheri Jacobus, The days of pretending that what is happening under Trump isnt serious are over and that it is time for a concerted push-back, by a concerted media effort. Ms. Jacobus conservative credentials are unquestionable, especially by the Trump or his people who will likely label her a dirty liberal. However, she was the GOP consultant who was once begged to head up communications for Trump and yet that didnt stop her from taking to Trumps favorite media outlet, Twitter, to deliver up a laundry list of suggestions to the media on how they can effectively push back at a White House administration that continues to attempt to delegitimize and threaten them. As Raw Story noted, Ms. Jacobus proudly wears her conservative in good standing credentials plainly displayed at the top of her Twitter feed. She even provided a screen shot of the message from former Trump advisor Jim Dorian asking her to work for the Trump saying, We need a top notch communications director. As a top notch communications director Jacobus knows what it will take for the press to hit back at the Trump, and in a stunning statement from a conservative to call out Donald Trumps treason. It is a statement that one expects to hear from non-partisan or liberal commentators and pundits, but never from a conservative operative. Jacobus used the Twitter to verify that she not only is not a part of the Trump team but that she is appalled at what has transpired during the presidential campaign and how the Trump White House has conducted itself. As a conservative media person, Jacobus likely is familiar with Republican and conservative tactics of lying and subterfuge to conceal their true intentions from the media, so her prescription(s) for striking back at the Trump carry weight. The essence of her laundry list is encouraging the media and press under Trump and his acolytes non-stop attacks is to unite with others in the media to stop the bullying, and expose Trumps treason. It is the call out Trump treason loudly that will likely invoke Trumps wrath and frankly surprising from a conservative. In a series of nine tweets, Jacobus laid out her counsel to the media to combat Trump. 1 One of the positive aspects of Trump/Bannon extremism in the first 2 weeks is that its harder to deny the trouble were in & can act. 2 The days of pretending that this isnt serious are over. It is worse than what was warned about during the campaign. The press must unite. 3 When Trump tries to shut down one media outlet, the rest must resist. When Trump tries to bully a judge, the rest must be louder. 4 When Trump/Bannon overreaches, all must call them out. When they lie, all must expose them. When they are treasonous, say so. Loudly. 5 When a Trump family member is in a meeting they should not be in, question it immediately. 6 Interviews with Trump and his people should be pre-taped and fact-checked at the time they are aired. 7 Ignore & block Trump twitter trolls. Dont engage. They give media & lawmakers false impression of Trump support by viewers & constituents. 8 Emails & tweets media and Cong get showing massive support for Trump are FAKE. Do not make programming or policy decisions based on these. 9 Media should boycott the White House Correspondents Dinner unless Trump agrees to free & open press. This should not be negotiable. If the media wants to retain a semblance of respectability, and maybe even preserve its existence and reputation, they will likely take heed and act on everything Ms. Jacobus called for. According to an increasing number of news outlets, it appears they are doing just that and it is about more than holding Trump accountable, it is about preserving America and freedom of the press. Facebook Twitter Pinterest Email Print In a series of tweets today, Nobel-winning economist and New York Times columnist Paul Krugman warned against mainstream media attempts to normalize Donald Trump Some pundits are more or less echoing Trump hey, polls said he was unpopular before the election, but he won, so there. Sad! First of all, he lost the popular vote by almost as much as polls said he would. Without the Comey letter, wld probably have lost by 4-5. Equally important, in the campaign the media assumed he would lose, so they engaged freely in their favorite sport of Clinton-bashing. As you read about Trumps business ties, remember the big AP story suggesting HRC corruption because she one met with a Nobel laureate. Now Hillary isnt in their sights, and many privately realize the enormity of what they did (although will never admit it). So now Trump doesnt have de facto cover from media more interesting in harassing his opponent than focusing on his awesome awfulness. The big risk is still that the media will start to normalize, and worse, become intimidated and obsequious. Dont let it happen! We have already seen a certain amount of media normalization of Trump, both throughout the 2016 presidential races and since his inauguration. Trump has by no means made this process easy, with his repeated attacks on CNN and The New York Times (repeated today): The failing @nytimes writes total fiction concerning me. They have gotten it wrong for two years, and now are making up stories & sources! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 6, 2017 The only person making things up is Donald Trump. What is far from certain is whether his cries of fake news! will have the same effect as those of the boy who cried wolf once too often. The media still far too often gives Donald Trump a pass and has yet to figure out how to handle the tyrant-in-the-making. CNN has done the right thing, declining interviews with Kellyanne Conway. And even Chuck Todd played back an inconvenient tape for Mike Pence the other day. It remains to be seen whether or not other mainstream media outlets will show a similar reluctance to spread Trumps lies for him, or whether, as he fears, they will become intimidated and obsequious, and Paul Krugmans warnings appear well-founded. Facebook Twitter Pinterest Email Print In the latest controversy surrounding one of Donald Trumps cabinet picks, it turns out that the presidents choice to head the labor department hired an undocumented immigrant to clean his house. According to a new report from the Huffington Post, potential Trump Labor Secretary and chief executive of CKE Restaurants, Andrew Puzder, may find his nomination in jeopardy after telling the Senate that he hired an undocumented immigrant as household help. This is what Puzder told the Senate, according to the report: My wife and I employed a housekeeper for a few years, during which I was unaware that she was not legally permitted to work in the U.S. When I learned of her status, we immediately ended her employment and offered her assistance in getting legal status. We have fully paid back taxes to the IRS and the State of California and submitted all required paperwork, he said. As the Huffington Post notes, Hiring undocumented workers has sunk nominees in the past, but the Trump team says previous rules for vetting and strict ethics no longer applied when it comes to their nominees. This is no surprise given the questionable ethics of the man in the Oval Office, but its still a stunning admission for an administration to make. Its also surprising given the fact that Trump has made illegal immigration the centerpiece of his agenda, and now he decides to look the other way when choosing a labor secretary who hired an undocumented worker as his personal labor. More importantly, as the Huffington Post noted, Puzder also told the Senate he offered the undocumented woman assistance in getting legal status, a policy Trump opposes. At the end of the day, though, Puzder may have bigger things to worry about than his history of hiring an undocumented housekeeper. As the Huffington Post also noted, Puzders ex-wife accused him of domestic violence in a sworn affidavit, and his restaurants have been found guilty of an extraordinary number of labor violations. For someone vying to head the U.S. Department of Labor, Puzder certainly has a lot of problems in his own personal labor department. Facebook Twitter Pinterest Email Print Anderson Cooper took the offensive against Donald Trump over his claim that the media is covering up terrorist attacks. Cooper has proof that Trump is lying: himself. He covered many of the incidents described in Trumps released list of under-reported terrorist attacks. Watch courtesy of CNNs Anderson Cooper 360: Anderson Cooper: I know we covered attacks, I was there https://t.co/W4sYKYqdHF https://t.co/r7BEVkbZ2N Anderson Cooper 360 (@AC360) February 7, 2017 To scenes of him on the scene at many of these terrorist attacks Trump claims went under-reported, Cooper said: Not only did we cover many of the attacks on that list, we covered them heavily. I know, because I was on the ground reporting a number of them. CNN was on the ground in Ottawa, Canada, when a gunman killed someone at the tomb of the unknown soldier. I was in Orlando, I flew there right after the news broke. December 2015, that was on the list, San Bernardino. I was there, 14 people killed and 21 wounded in coordinated attacks. This was a month after I reported on the carnage in Paris, where terrorists killed 130 people and wounded many others. To be sure, this program did not cover each and every incident on the list, however other programs, as well as CNN International, covered most if not all of them, most of them exhaustively. Trump unwisely invented out of whole cloth a story that the media was not reporting terrorist attacks. The mainstream media, gradually finding a backbone, called Trump out, which led to Sean Spicers promise to release a list of such attacks. As reported, the list eventually provided was itself based on media reports of the attacks Trump claimed were unreported, thus not only failing to prove Trumps claim but actually discrediting it. The result is not at all what Donald Trump had hoped for, with this lie, like so many before it, collapsing under its own weight. Chock up another epic fail to Donald Trumps incompetent White House lie machine. Facebook Twitter Pinterest Email Print *The following is an opinion column by R Muse* Anyone who has ever spent much time in a courtroom, whether as an advocate for the law or a naughty print journalist assigned to cover boring criminal trials, knows that defense lawyers work tirelessly to impugn the testimony of an expert or eyewitness to, or victim of, a crime. One can forgive a defense attorney for going after witnesses who endangering their clients freedom because no matter how sleazy they appear, it is what they are paid to do; delegitimize the witness at all costs. However, when a nations leader spends months attempting to delegitimize what it considers its opposition, the courts, scientists, the intelligence community, and the press, it is beyond despicable; it is a tyrannical dictators means of seizing ultimate power. It is precisely what Americans are watching Donald Trump and his propaganda machine do on a daily basis. Because America is, or rather was, a representative democracy with three branches of government to serve as a system of checks and balances against any one branch ruling as unopposed tyrants, it has been safe from the likes of a Hitler-type dictator. Add in a constitutionally-protected free press serving as an un-official fourth branch to keep the three official branches honest, and it used to be relatively impossible for a fascist to ever seize uncontested power and control over the government. Donald Trump cannot and will not accept that he is not the ultimate authority in America and has demonstrated that if he is not granted, by his own decree, uncontested and unchecked power, he will systematically delegitimize any opposition to his goal of becoming supreme ruler. Although Trump has not yet attempted to delegitimize the United States Congress, he will get around to them as soon as they fail to unconditionally acquiesce to his demands or do required acts of obeisance at the mere mention of his name. However, he has spent no small amount of time and energy casting aspersion on the judiciary branch of government, the press, and the intelligence community; only because they are not in a state of thrall over Trump and in fact did their jobs as public servants. And yes, journalists are public servants; just ask one how little they earn for informing the population about what their government and elected officials are up to. Trump has been up to no good since he entered the race for the presidency, and he repeated what any decent American would call a dangerous and despicable act this week when he first; impugned the integrity of a George W. Bush-appointed Federal Appeals Court Judge for daring to rule against his religious ban against adherents of the Islamic faith entering America. Then he said a federal court opinion was ridiculous and publicly blamed the court for preventing law enforcement from keeping Americans safe. This was the second time Trump demeaned the federal judiciary and it is informs a pattern of sowing distrust among the population that any court ruling or opinion contrary to a Trump edict is hazardous to the American people. It is, according to most sane human beings, a deliberate attempt to completely delegitimize the entire judiciary branch; the only thing Trump didnt say was that the ruling came from a fake court and a fake judge; although this author believes that calling the judge a so-called judge is tantamount to calling him fake. It isnt an errant belief either because Trump started calling accurate reporting media outlets so-called journalists before he embraced the fake news pejorative. By now its no revelation that Trump is in a very serious unilateral war against the media; except those who work directly with the administrations propaganda arm in the White House press office, the one Steve Bannon oversees. Trump isnt content working tirelessly to persuade the people that the media cannot be trusted, that only he is the source of information, he attempted to convince the intelligence community, after comparing them to German Nazis, that the media is dishonest; and that as president he is at war with the constitutionally-protected free press. And most recently, he repeated the lies he told at the CIA to the highest levels of the Department of Defense; that the media cannot be trusted because they refuse to report on or publicize terror attacks. Those kind of newsworthy events, terror attacks, always incite a media frenzy no matter where they occur. Its not even being reported. And in many cases, the very, very dishonest press doesnt want to report it. They have their reasons, and you understand that. Of course the intelligence community and officials at Central Command and Special Operations Command understand that Trump is lying, and undoubtedly they know he is being aided in his propaganda campaign by his conspiracy theory advisor Alex Jones. But as practiced propagandists are wont to do, Trump keeps reciting the lies that, like the Judiciary, the scientific community, and the intelligence community, the media cant be trusted; only Trump is trustworthy. It is noteworthy that only Congress remains to land on Trumps illegitimate list and they know their day is coming; sooner rather than later. He will not take refutation from Congress any better than rejection from the judiciary and he will attempt to delegitimize them. Everything Trump has done since before being given the keys to the White House has been to focus all authority and power on himself; its why he will not endure anyone disagreeing with or questioning his judgment. It is also very perilous if for no other reason than the average American isnt smart enough to recognize the Nazi tactics of centralizing all power and authority in one man. And if any American thinks the Trump will be stopped by the Constitution, they had better think again. It is not out of the realm of reason that he will attempt to issue a decree, by his own authority, to neuter the Judicial Branch. Another fascist Republican, Kansas Governor Sam Brownback, used another means to castrate the Kansas courts when the states judiciary ruled against him. Congress cant impeach Sam Brownback, but they can Donald Trump and whether they become his enemies for not passing a law he wants or drawing up articles of impeachment, he will try to delegitimize them because he will not be the unopposed ruler until there is only one legitimate branch of government; the Trump branch. *The commentary is the opinion of the author.* Facebook Twitter Pinterest Email Print Ralph Reed, former Time magazines right hand of God and founder and chairman of the Faith & Freedom Coalition, claims that liberal opposition to Betsy DeVos is based not on opposition to her plan to destroy the public school system in this country but on opposition to religion. Americans United for Separation of Church and State once called Reeds Faith & Freedom Coalition the Christian Coalition on steroids and they were certainly right to warn about Reeds attempt to corrupt the religion he claims to champion. In an op-ed at Fox News, Reed claims, In recent weeks, there have been scores of stories planted by teachers union apparatchiks that smear Betsy DeVos, President Trumps nominee to be secretary of education, for her deeply held religious beliefs and for her support for allowing children in underperforming public schools to attend religious schools that infuse religion and moral values into classroom instruction. If the Democrats continue to ratchet up this line of attack during the confirmation process for Mrs. DeVos, they will further alienate people of faith and create a big opening for the Trump administration to make inroads with voters of faith, including African-Americans and Hispanics. This would create a permanent shift in American politics that could solidify the Democrats status as Americas minority party for a generation or more. Reed is, of course, championing the 26 percent of Americans who self-identify as evangelicals. This is hardly a mandate and Reed ignores the many people of faith who vote Democrat, who support womens reproductive rights, and who, moreover, want their children to get a decent public education as the Founding Fathers intended. More amusingly, Reed once tried to convince Americans that the evangelical vote he is now bragging up, was a myth. Reed directed his vitriol at Mother Jones in particular, for their speaking the truth about DeVos motivations: The liberal smear campaign against Mrs. DeVos religious faith is despicable. The left-wing magazine Mother Jones headlined one hit job Betsy DeVos Wants to Use Americas Schools. To Build Gods Kingdom. Nonsense. Mrs. DeVos simply wants to insure [Reed cant spell any better than Trump. This should be ensure] that every child in America has a civil right to a quality education. If she wants children to have a quality education, she should support federal funding for public schools. Republicans have been ruthlessly gutting public school funding for years, and then claiming the result proves public education is failing children. Trump himself tweeted this morning, Senate Dems protest to keep the failed status quo. Betsy DeVos is a reformer, and she is going to be a great Education Sec. for our kids! It is less a matter of reforming than funding, as Trump knows perfectly well. Reeds conclusion, based on these false premises, is that, In opposing Mrs. DeVos for being a Christian who supports providing children with access to private and charter schools, the Democrats are doubling down on a failed strategy of demonizing people of faith. Not only is Betsy DeVos opposed to public education, which renders a position as the person to head the Department of Education problematic, to say the least, but as Al Franken has said, She is fundamentally incompetent to lead the Department of Education. Reed has long sought to make himself relevant again, to once more be the GOPs kingmaker and he has taken every opportunity to support a very un-Christian Donald Trump in pursuit of that goal. The truth is, even if DeVos was an atheist, liberals would oppose her on the grounds that she never attended public school, opposes public schools, and promotes vouchers and taxpayer funding for charter schools that, while they are proven to make profits for Republicans, have been shown to help our children learn not at all. That she wants to use charter schools to indoctrinate children in her religion in violation of the United States Constitution only makes it worse. Facebook Twitter Pinterest Email Print After Donald Trump tried to frighten America by claiming multitudes of unreported terror attacks, White House Press Secretary promised to release a list of such attacks. The White House has now done so and the result is, to no ones surprise, another Donald Trump lie. CNN political producer Dan Merica tweeted the list, noting that the list of attacks goes back to 2014: A White House official says "most" of these 78 attacks since 2014 have not received enough attention from media. pic.twitter.com/v66rcHxAFI Dan Merica (@danmericaCNN) February 7, 2017 According to CBS News, many of the attacks were covered by the media, and noted that, CBS News covered, in some cases heavily but at least to some extent, more than 74 percent of the attacks on the list. Matt Pearce of the LA Times was incredulous, pointing out that we literally won a Pulitzer for covering one of the things on this list. The reaction from CNN was much the same. Jim Acosta told Erin Burnett, There are 78 attacks listed on this list, and I have to tell you, Erin, its a head-scratcher, explaining that attacks on the list, like Paris, Brussels, Istanbul, Nice, were covered extensively by the media. On CNN Tonight, Don Lemon looked at his networks coverage of many of these attacks Trump claims were not covered: Trump claims media ignore terror attacks: @DonLemon details some of the many events he covered on the WH list https://t.co/rLT0SdCm5T CNN Tonight (@CNNTonight) February 7, 2017 CNNs Anderson Cooper was also quick to point out, We covered them heavily. Acosta noted that the list doesnt say which got short shrift, and pointed out to Burnett that, Its puzzling as to why the White House would include these attacks on this list when they were covered for days on end. In fact, he tweeted this piece of news, which exposes the complete amateurishness of the Trump administration: Worth noting.. WH was able to assemble this list from media reports. https://t.co/CXiXQuuOSd Jim Acosta (@Acosta) February 7, 2017 It is not really that surprising, because Republicans use this tactic frequently, and Trump himself did during the presidential campaign, demanding to know why the media did not show his crowds even as the media was showing his crowds. Trumps supporters are quick to believe anything Trump says, exclaiming that nobody should be surprised that the media lies to them, but as in most cases of Trump vs the media, it is not the media lying, but Trump. If you dont believe the protestations of the media figures themselves, you can do your own fact-checking thanks to The Guardian. The Guardian reproduced the list and provided an item-by-item fact-checking of reporting done on each attack, noting, for example, of the first attack on the list, in Melbourne, Australia in September 2014 that, Global media organisations including the Guardian, BBC, CNN and Fox News were among those who covered this story. Keep in mind as you read this list that a White House official said: Most of these attacks did not receive adequate attention from Western media sources. It is worth noting as well that Trumps list does not include the Quebec terror attack committed by a white Trump supporter against Muslims. As you can see for yourself, it is an indisputable fact that the list of attacks provided by the White House did, in fact, receive extensive media coverage (because the list was assembled from the media reports Trump says didnt exist). In fact, as BuzzFeed pointed out, the list itself contradicts rather than proves Trumps claim that the media is covering up terrorist attacks. The complete White House list appears below and as CBS News pointed out (and again, to no ones surprise) contains misspellings: TIMELINE: September, 2014 December, 2016 NUMBER OF ATTACKS: 78 MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA September, 2014 TARGET: Two police officers wounded in knife attack ATTACKER: Abdul Numan Haider TIZI OUZOU, ALGERIA September, 2014 TARGET: One French citizen beheaded ATTACKER: Jund al-Khilafah in Algeria QUEBEC, CANADA October, 2014 TARGET: One soldier killed and one wounded in vehicle attack ATTACKER: Martin Couture-Rouleau OTTAWA, CANADA October, 2014 TARGET: One soldier killed at war memorial; two wounded in shootings at Parliament building ATTACKER: Michael Zehaf-Bibeau NEW YORK CITY, NY, USA October, 2014 TARGET: Two police officers wounded in knife attack ATTACKER: US person RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIA November, 2014 TARGET: One Danish citizen wounded in shooting ATTACKERS: Three Saudi Arabia-based ISIL members ABU DHABI, UAE DATE: December 2014 TARGET: One American killed in knife attack ATTACKER: Dalal al-Hashimi SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA December, 2014 TARGET: Two Australians killed in hostage taking and shooting ATTACKER: Man Haron Monis TOURS, FRANCE December, 2014 TARGET: Three police officers wounded in knife attack ATTACKER: Bertrand Nzohabonayo PARIS, FRANCE January, 2015 TARGET: One police officer and four hostages killed in shooting at a kosher supermarket ATTACKER: Amedy Coulibaly TRIPOLI, LIBYA January, 2015 TARGET: Ten killed, including one US citizen, and five wounded in bombing and shooting at a hotel frequented by westerners ATTACKERS: As many as five ISIL-Libya members RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIA January, 2015 TARGET: Two US citizens wounded in shooting ATTACKER: Saudi Arabia-based ISIL supporter NICE, FRANCE February, 2015 TARGET: Two French soldiers wounded in knife attack outside a Jewish community center ATTACKER: Moussa Coulibaly COPENHAGEN, DENMARK February, 2015 TARGET: One civilian killed in shooting at a free-speech rally and one security guard killed outside the citys main synagogue ATTACKER: Omar Abdel Hamid el-Hussein TUNIS, TUNISIA March, 2015 TARGET: 21 tourists killed, including 16 westerners, and 55 wounded in shooting at the Bardo Museum ATTACKERS: Two ISIL-aligned extremists KARACHI, PAKISTAN April, 2015 TARGET: One US citizen wounded in knife attack ATTACKERS: Pakistan-based ISIL supporters PARIS, FRANCE April, 2015 TARGET: Catholic churches targeted; one civilian killed in shooting, possibly during an attempted carjacking ATTACKER: Sid Ahmed Ghlam ZVORNIK, BOSNIA April, 2015 TARGET: One police officer killed and two wounded in shooting ATTACKER: Nerdin Ibric GARLAND, TX, USA May, 2015 TARGET: One security guard wounded in shooting at the Prophet Muhammad cartoon event ATTACKERS: Two US persons BOSTON, MA, USA June, 2015 TARGET: No casualties; one police officer attacked with knife ATTACKER: US person EL GORA (AL JURAH), EGYPT June, 2015 TARGET: No casualties; camp used by Multinational Force and Observers (MFO) troops attacked in shooting and bombing attack ATTACKERS: Unknown number of ISIL-Sinai members LUXOR, EGYPT June, 2015 TARGET: One police officer killed by suicide bomb near the Temple of Karnak ATTACKER: Unidentified SOUSSE, TUNISIA June, 2015 TARGET: 38 killed and 39 wounded in shooting at a beach frequented by westerners ATTACKERS: Seifeddine Rezgui and another unidentified attacker LYON, FRANCE June, 2015 TARGET: One civilian killed in beheading and explosion at a chemical plant ATTACKER: Yasin Salhi CAIRO, EGYPT July, 2015 TARGET: One killed and nine wounded in VBIED attack at Italian Consulate ATTACKER: Unidentified ISIL operatives CAIRO, EGYPT July, 2015 TARGET: One Croatian national kidnapped; beheaded on August 12 at an unknown location ATTACKER: Unidentified ISIL-Sinai operative PARIS, FRANCE August, 2015 TARGET: Two civilians and one US soldier wounded with firearms and knife on a passenger train ATTACKER: Ayoub el-Khazzani EL GORA, EGYPT September, 2015 TARGET: Four US and two MFO troops wounded in IED attack ATTACKER: Unidentified DHAKA, BANGLADESH September, 2015 TARGET: One Italian civilian killed in shooting ATTACKER: Unidentified COPENHAGEN, DENMARK September, 2015 TARGET: One police officer wounded in knife attack ATTAKER: Palestinian national EL GORA, EGYPT October, 2015 TARGET: No casualties; airfield used by MFO attacked with rockets ATTAKER: Unidentified ISIL-Sinai operatives PARRAMATTA, AUSTRALIA October, 2015 TARGET: One police officer killed in shooting ATTAKER: Farhad Jabar RANGPUR, BANGLADESH October, 2015 TARGET: One Japanese civilian killed in shooting ATTAKER: Unidentified HASANAH, EGYPT October, 2015 TARGET: 224 killed in downing of a Russian airliner ATTAKER: Unidentified ISIL-Sinai operatives MERCED, CA, US November, 2015 TARGET: Four wounded in knife attack on a college campus ATTAKER: US person PARIS, FRANCE November, 2015 TARGET: At least 129 killed and approximately 400 wounded in series of shootings and IED attacks ATTAKERS: Brahim Abdelslam, Saleh Abdeslam, Ismail Mostefai, Bilal Hadfi, Samy Amimour, Chakib Ahrouh, Foued Mohamed Aggad, and Abdelhamid Abaaoud DINAJPUR, BANGLADESH November, 2015 TARGET: One Italian citizen wounded in shooting ATTAKER: Unidentified RAJLOVAC, BOSNIA December, 2015 TARGET: Two Bosnian soldiers killed in shooting ATTAKER: Enes Omeragic SAN BERNADINO, CA, US December, 2015 TARGET: 14 killed and 21 wounded in coordinated firearms attack ATTAKERS: Two US persons LONDON, ENGLAND, UK December, 2015 TARGET: Three wounded in knife attack at an underground rail station ATTAKER: Muhyadin Mire DERBENT, RUSSIA December, 2015 TARGET: One killed and 11 wounded in shooting at UN World Heritage site ATTAKER: Unidentified ISIL-Caucasus operative CAIRO, EGYPT January, 2016 TARGET: Two wounded in drive-by shooting outside a hotel frequented by tourists ATTAKERS: Unidentified ISIL operatives PARIS, FRANCE January, 2016 TARGET: No casualties; attacker killed after attempted knife attack on Paris police station ATTAKER: Tarek Belgacem PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA January, 2016 TARGET: One police officer wounded in shooting ATTAKER: US person HURGHADA, EGYPT January, 2016 TARGET: One German and one Danish national wounded in knife attack at a tourist resort ATTAKER: Unidentified MARSEILLES, FRANCE January, 2016 TARGET: One Jewish teacher wounded in machete attack ATTAKER: 15 year-old Ethnic Kurd from Turkey ISTANBUL, TURKEY January, 2016 TARGET: 12 German tourists killed and 15 wounded in suicide bombing ATTAKER: Nabil Fadli JAKARTA, INDONESIA January, 2016 TARGET: Four civilians killed and more than 20 wounded in coordinated bombing and firearms attacks near a police station and a Starbucks ATTAKERS: Dian Joni Kurnaiadi, Muhammad Ali, Arif Sunakim, and Ahmad Muhazan bin Saron COLUMBUS, OH, US February, 2016 TARGET: Four civilians wounded in machete attack at a restaurant ATTAKER: US person HANOVER, GERMANY February, 2016 TARGET: One police officer wounded in knife attack ATTAKER: Safia Schmitter ISTANBUL, TURKEY March, 2016 TARGET: Four killed and 36 wounded in suicide bombing in the tourist district ATTAKER: Mehmet Ozturk BRUSSELS, BELGIUM March, 2016 TARGET: At least 31 killed and 270 wounded in coordinated bombings at Zaventem Airport and on a subway train ATTAKERS: Khalid el-Bakraoui, Ibrahim el-Bakraoui, Najim Laachraoui, Mohammed Abrini, and Osama Krayem ESSEN, GERMANY April, 2016 TARGET: Three wounded in bombing at Sikh temple ATTAKERS: Three identified minors ORLANDO, FL, US June, 2016 TARGET: 49 killed and 53 wounded in shooting at a nightclub ATTAKER: US person MAGNANVILLE, FRANCE June, 2016 TARGET: One police officer and one civilian killed in knife attack ATTAKER: Larossi Abballa KABUL, AFGHANISTAN June, 2016 TARGET: 14 killed in suicide attack on a bus carrying Canadian Embassy guards ATTAKER: ISIL-Khorasan operative ISTANBUL, TURKEY June, 2016 TARGET: 45 killed and approximately 240 wounded at Ataturk International Airport ATTACKERS: Rakhim Bulgarov, Vadim Osmanov, and an unidentified ISIL operative DHAKA, BANGLADESH July, 2016 TARGET: 22 killed, including one American and 50 wounded after hours-long siege using machetes and firearms at holy Artisan Bakery ATTACKERS: Nibras Islam, Rohan Imtiaz, Meer Saameh Mubasheer, Khairul Islam Paye, and Shafiqul Islam Uzzal NICE, FRANCE July, 2016 TARGET: 84 civilians killed and 308 wounded by an individual who drove a truck into a crowd ATTACKER: Mohamed Bouhlel WURZBURG, GERMANY July, 2016 TARGET: Four civilians wounded in axe attack on a train ATTACKER: Riaz Khan Ahmadzai ANSBACH, GERMANY July, 2016 TARGET: At least 15 wounded in suicide bombing at a music festival ATTACKER: Mohammad Daleel NORMANDY, FRANCE July, 2016 TARGET: One priest killed in knife attack ATTACKERS: Adel Kermiche and Abdel Malik Nabil Petitjean CHALEROI, BELGIUM August, 2016 TARGET: Two police officers wounded in machete attack ATTACKER: Khaled Babouri QUEENSLAND, AUSTRALIA August, 2016 TARGET: Two killed and one wounded in knife attack at a hostel frequented by Westerners ATTACKER: Smail Ayad COPENHAGEN, DENMAKR September, 2016 TARGET: Two police officers and a civilian wounded in shooting ATTACKER: Mesa Hodzic PARIS, FRANCE September, 2016 TARGET: One police officer wounded in raid after VBIED failed to detonate at Notre Dame Cathedral ATTACKERS: Sarah Hervouet, Ines Madani, and Amel Sakaou SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA September, 2016 TARGET: One civilian wounded in knife attack ATTACKER: Ihsas Khan ST. CLOUD, MN, US September, 2016 TARGET: 10 wounded in knife attack in a mall ATTACKER: Dahir Ahmed Adan NEW YORK, NY; SEASIDE PARK AND ELIZABETH, NJ, US September, 2016 TARGET: 31 wounded in bombing in New York City; several explosive devices found in New York and New Jersey; one exploded without casualty at race in New Jersey; one police officer wounded in shootout ATTACKER: Ahmad Khan Rahami BRUSSELS, BELGIUM October, 2016 TARGET: Two police officers wounded in stabbing ATTACKER: Belgian national KUWAIT CITY, KUWAIT TARGET: No casualties; vehicle carrying three US soldiers hit by a truck ATTACKER: Ibrahim Sulayman MALMO, SWEDEN October, 2016 TARGET: No casualties; mosque and community center attacked with Molotov cocktail ATTACKER: Syrian national HAMBURG, GERMANY October, 2016 TARGET: One killed in knife attack ATTACKER: Unknown MANILA, PHILIPPINES November, 2016 TARGET: No casualties; failed IED attempt near US Embassy ATTACKERS: Philippine nationals aligned with the Maute group COLUMBUS, OH, US November, 2016 TARGET: 14 wounded by individuals who drove a vehicle into a group of pedestrians and attacked them with a knife ATTACKER: US person NDJAMENA, CHAD November, 2016 TARGET: No casualties; attacker arrested after opening fire at entrance of US Embassy ATTACKER: Chadian national KARAK, JORDAN December, 2016 TARGET: 10 killed and 28 wounded in shooting at a tourist site ATTACKERS: Several gunmen BERLIN, GERMANY December, 2016 TARGET: 12 killed and 48 wounded by individual who drove truck into a crowded market ATTACKER: Anis Amri It's hard to believe that Nesta Robert Marley, Jamaica's favorite son, would be 72 today had he not died of cancer 32 years ago. For most, he will forever be remembered as the 36 year old bright eyed, long-locked, sharp tongued Rastafarian displayed in pictures and videos. From ska to rock steady, reggae music was the vehicle in which we got to know, grow, and honor the international superstar. Yesterday, a day before the legend's birthday, it was reported that the 13 reel to reel masters of performances Bob Marley and the Wailers had performed from 1974 until 1978 were restored after a year of trying. Today, we are giving you our top 10 Bob Marley covers, because what better way to tribute a musician than through never ending song. 7. Zac Brown Band and Michael Franti, "No Woman No Cry" Not sure how many times a country band has integrated reggae into their performance, but the Zac Brown Band and Michael Franti prove that music is universal, and it should be a thingif authentic. At the Southern Ground Music and Food Festival in Charleston, country guitar riffs transformed into acoustic reggae chords, with an appearance by a mandolin. 6. Floetry, "Wait in Vain" Women covering Marley successfully does it for me. The duo was very respectful in covering the song without trying to be Marley, and that's what makes the song work. One of my favorite Bob Marley songs. 5. Allen Stone, "Is This Love" Allen Stone is an amazing vocalist, no matter the song, but there is something about a Marley cover that takes his voice to new magical heights, literally. The range he posses in this "Is This Love" cover is what dreams ar emade of. His few final notes? Flasetto, activated. 4. Tutahi, "Get Up, Stand Up" Something tells me Bob would be particularly fond of this one. A group of well known Kiwi (the name given to people from New Zeland) musicians came together to protest the Dakota Access Pipeline. All proceeds from the song's purchase will be given directly to Standing Rock Sioux Tribe - Dakota Access Pipeline Fund. Marley, an activist himself, often spoke out against the corporate greed that hurt America's greatest resource, its people. 3. Eric Clapton, "I Shot The Sheriff" Most American's initially thought that this song was actually Clapton's. In a time where artists had been successfully stealing lesser known artists songs and passing them off as their own for about thirty years, Clapton happily gave credit to Marley, helping to make way for Marley to rise on an international stage of super-stardom. 2. Lauryn Hill, "Could You Be Loved" Lauryn Hill might be late to her next, last, and present concerts, but her Bob Marley covers are always on time. Her connection to the Marley family extends beyond music, her ex-husband and father of her kids is none other than Marley's son Rohan with Janet Hunt. She also has a killer posthumous duet with remastered Bob Marley vocals on "Turn Your Lights Down Low". 1. Matisyahu, "Redemption Song" This was actually my first encounter with MatIsyahu, a vocalist usually accompanied by a reggae/rock rooted trio. Not only does his voice have an uncanny resemblance to Bob Marley's he also connects in the fact that his musical notes seem spiritual. Matisyahu is also an amazing beat boxer, and lyricist. BONUS COVER: Stephen Marley and Playing for Change, "Redemption Song" Charleston, SC (29403) Today Partly cloudy this evening with more clouds for overnight. Low around 70F. Winds SE at 5 to 10 mph.. Tonight Partly cloudy this evening with more clouds for overnight. Low around 70F. Winds SE at 5 to 10 mph. To activate the text-to-speech service, please first agree to the privacy policy below. Taipei, Feb. 7 (CNA) Avian influenza has been rampant in Taiwan since the beginning of the year, with three more poultry farms in Yunlin County confirmed to be infected, taking the toll to 13 farms so far, according to data released Tuesday by the Council of Agriculture (COA). CHATFIELD A 29-year-old Chatfield man hunting coyotes near the Fillmore County Airport on Monday accidentally shot himself in the foot, according to law enforcement. Fillmore County Sheriff Tom Kaase issued a statement Tuesday that said the man was a passenger in a vehicle around 5 p.m., when he reportedly shot himself in the foot with a high-powered rifle. The injury was not life threatening, Kaase said. The man was taken to Mayo Clinic Hospital - Saint Marys Campus in Rochester by the Preston Ambulance Service. The shooting is being investigated by the Fillmore County Sheriff's Office and the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. The Rochester Armory building is officially on the market. A divided Rochester City Council is seeking proposals regarding the fate of the building that could include its sale. The option to maintain city ownership of the historic downtown structure, remains, and potential uses under that scenario are also being sought. The decision came nearly three weeks after four council members Michael Wojcik, Nick Campion, Annalissa Johnson and Mark Bilderback indicated they would prefer the building remain public property. At the same time, City Council President Randy Staver and council members Mark Hickey and Ed Hruska supported marketing the building for sale. However, the informal vote on Jan. 18 came without input from Rochester Mayor Ardell Brede, who could veto any decision, which would be difficult to overturn with a split vote. During that meeting, Rochester City Administrator Stevan Kvenvold noted the mayor had voiced opposition to selling the building in the past. Monday afternoon, Brede put to rest any worries of a veto. ADVERTISEMENT "I think we should continue to go forward, and we'll see what we get," he said. With a newly crafted request for proposals, the council reopens a process that started in September of 2015, when the Rochester Senior Center occupied the building at 121 N. Broadway with plans to move into the 125 Live facility adjacent to the city's rec center. The previous process ended nearly a year later, when the council rejected the two proposal left on the table. Part of the concern at the time was that potential buyers were unaware of the option to purchase the building. While the city's efforts to find a reuse for the building included a request for potential purchase, city staff noted the building was not actively marketed. The current request largely mirrors the original, but staff is seeking to raise awareness of purchase options. Rochester Assistant City Administrator Aaron Reeves has already noted interest with at least one "soft offer" to purchase the building at the appraised $675,000 value. Staver said he doesn't expect to see many offers beyond variations of those that have already been presented in some form, which could include proposals submitted after the previous deadline. "I really don't know that we are going to get that many submissions anyway," he said. "We're probably going to get a retooling of some we've already seen." The two proposals that met the March deadline last year were to create an arts and cultural community center and to convert the armory into a museum dedicated to veterans and emergency first responders. Both sought some form of financial support from the city, which spurred objections from some council members. ADVERTISEMENT Another proposal sought to create a charter school at the site, but was rejected after missing the deadline for submissions. Monday, council members voiced a desire to make sure anyone seeking to buy or use the building is clear on the rules, which include a May 5 deadline and the fact the the building must remain on the National Register of Historic Places, meaning there are limits to alterations. Staver, Bilderback, Hickey and Hruska voted to approve the effort to seek proposals in a 4-3 council vote. In other business, the council: Appointed Anissa Hollingshead as city clerk. Hollingshead, who is a management analyst in the Minneapolis city clerk's office, will start working in Rochester on Feb. 23. A historic downtown Rochester building was purchased by local investors last week for $1.5 million. Mike and A.J. Hawkins, a father and son business partnership, bought the empty 98-year-old building at 7 Second St. SW, which last housed Goonie's Comedy Club and the McGoon's Taxi Co. restaurant. The deal to purchase it from Mark Klampe and the other five owners wrapped up on Jan. 31. Mike Hawkins says the plan is now to look for a new tenant. "First off, we'll do some improvements to the building. We want to keep clean up the exterior and emphasize its historical look," he said. "We also have approval to connect into the skyway system on the east side (into the Rosa Parks Pavilion)." That skyway link should make the property more attractive to potential restaurants, he said. Hawkins says they are already fielding interest from both local and national restaurateurs. The kitchen equipment from McGoon's is still in place and was part of the sale. ADVERTISEMENT He hopes to be able to bring a quality, possibly mid-range, eatery into the building that could help meet the growing demand of the Mayo Clinic lunchtime rush. The building dates from 1918 and originally was the Olmsted County Bank and Trust. It remained a bank until 1965. After that, it was home to Tinklers Restaurant from the 1970s to 1989, the Clubhaus Brew Pub from 1995 to 1997, and O'Neill's Pizza Pub from 2000 to 2005. This buy follows up Mike Hawkins' recent sale of D&R Star Vending , to the largest vending firm in the U.S. While his family still owns the Family Fun Center, D&R Amusements and several other businesses based out of its 2207 Seventh St. N.W. facility., Hawkins said in December that he intended to use the proceeds of the sale to invest in more Rochester commercial real estate. Goonie's closed in the summer of 2016 with the intention of selling to Rochester Ventures, which is led by Rochester developer and Realtor Paul Meier and contractor Todd Severson. However, that deal, as well as a few others after, fell through. While the real estate sale has been pending, Mark Klampe has been working to find a new home Goonie's weekend comedy shows. The crew at the Crooked Pint Ale House at 2723 Commerce Drive NW has stepped up to take in the orphaned comedy shows. Final details of the Crooked Pint deal are still being worked out, but Klampe hopes to see construction of a stage begin soon. Once the stage is set up, he hopes to be able to line up Friday and Saturday comedy shows at the Crooked Pint, just as Goonie's once hosted. Mayo Clinic announced last week that Dr. Karl Nath is the new editor-in-chief of Mayo Clinic Proceedings, its peer-reviewed medical journal that circulates across the globe. Dr. Nath will be replacing Dr. William Lanier, who is retiring after filling that same role since 1999. Nath has been the editor-in-chief of Journal of the American Society of Nephrology since 2013 and has spent the last three years as medical editor of Discovery's Edge, Mayo's research magazine. "Dr. Nath brings a wealth of editorial knowledge and expertise to his new role," said Dr. Fredric Meyer, Nath's new supervisor. "He has served on the editorial boards of numerous publications and has extensive experience with scientific peer review." The new editor will still be responsible for setting the editorial direction of the journal and directing the existing team to establish strategic goals, policies and practices, according to a statement released by Mayo. Proceedings has been published for 80 years and has a circulation of around 130,000, making it the third-largest journal on scholarly biomedical issues. It has an impact factor of 5.92, which places it 12th among the world's general/internal medicine journals; impact factor is calculated by dividing the number of times articles are cited by the total number of articles published in the previous two years. ADVERTISEMENT The journal had an impact factor of 2 after Dr. Lanier's first year at the helm. He's confident that upward trajectory will continue under Dr. Nath. "I am grateful to Mayo for identifying such a strong and well-regarded editor in Dr. Nath," Lanier said. "He brings significant expertise and leadership to the role." Dr. Nath is a nephrologist who earned his B.S. degree from the University of Edinburgh in Scotland before completing his residency and fellowship at the University of Minnesota. He was hired at Mayo Clinic in 1996. He's now a professor of medicine at Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and an active researcher, spending the last 15 years as program director of the Clinician Investigator Training Program. He recently received the Research Career Achievement Award from the Department of Medicine and Mayo Clinic's Distinguished Investigator Award. WABASHA What happens next with that little plot of land along the river is anyone's guess, but two weeks after the deal for a new hotel in Wabasha fell through, there are no other developers or investors looking to turn the prime riverfront property into a business. That's too bad, said Wabasha Mayor Rollin Hall, who would like to see the site along the Mississippi River 250 feet of shoreline developed into a viable business, with some expansion for the National Eagle Center next door and a little green space for residents and visitors alike. "We know the eagle center is the draw in downtown Wabasha now," the mayor said. "If they need expansion the eagle center is like the goose that laid the golden egg if they need it, we have to take care of it." Hall said he never believed the 60-room hotel would happen because the lot size eight-tenths of an acre was a tight fit for what was being proposed, and no one from the developer's side was able to show him the business' anticipated cash flow. "I''m not voting for something that probably wouldn't happen anyway," said Hall, one of two votes against the project on the city council. "With the developer pulling out as soon as they did, it proved my point that financing was never going to be there." ADVERTISEMENT One plus from the project was the developer's willingness to work with the eagle center for potential expansion. Rolf Thompson, executive director for the eagle center, said while the center did not formally endorse the hotel project, "we were looking forward to collaborating with them to accomplish our expansion needs." Those needs include more space to expand the collection of live eagles both avian care space and public viewing space more education space for the eagle center's growing attendance and room to house a new collection of eagle art. The eagle center's plans include expansion of the current building, which would have come in cooperation with the hotel but now will be sought through other means, and restoration and expansion of the four buildings fronting Main Street across from the eagle center, Thompson said. The eagle center has not had any talks yet with the city about the property, Thompson said. "As far as I know, the city has not changed their plans for the property," he said. The property is zoned as traditional downtown commercial, said city administrator Chad Springer. "Septoberfest through the chamber utilizes the property for just over a month, and the eagle center utilizes approximately 40-60 feet of the property a few times a year for special events," he said. Otherwise, the land is being held for resale by the city. "There are no other concrete developers in the pipeline at this very moment," he said. With the Grand Eagle Hospitality deal abandoned, Hall said it is time to find a better fit for the land. "I'm glad it happened now instead of July, August or September," he said. When he received an email stating the Grand Eagle Hospitality deal had fallen through, he said, "my first reaction was to think, 'Now the work starts.'" ST. PAUL A Rochester lawmaker is backing a bill requiring a "cooling-off period" before former lawmakers can begin lobbying lawmakers again. Rep. Tina Liebling, DFL-Rochester, is sponsoring a measure that would bar former lawmakers and high-ranking legislative staff from lobbying legislators for a year. The Minnesota House already has a similar rule on the books for lawmakers, but that rule is routinely ignored. "I was told, 'Well, the ban only applies to sitting legislators.' Kind of a Catch-22 there," she said. Liebling said her biggest concern is that a legislator who is tasked with working in the public interest could be offered a high-paying lobbying job by powerful interests and take it. In fact, she has personally refused to meet with lawmakers who have gone straight from their House seats to lobbying. "I just think there should be a cooling-off period, and I think the public has a right to expect that," Liebling said. ADVERTISEMENT And the liberal Rochester lawmaker has support from an unlikely political ally. Conservative Rep. Steve Drazkowski, R-Mazeppa, is a co-sponsor of the bill. He agrees with Liebling that lawmakers shouldn't be able to leave the Legislature and then immediately begin lobbying former colleagues. He is particularly concerned about lawmakers who resign their seats specifically to take a lobbying job. "That's really shaky ground ethically for people who made that commitment to their constituents to serve and their constituents placed their faith in them," Drazkowski said. At the federal level, former U.S. House members are prohibited from lobbying Congress for a year and former senators are barred from doing it for two years. At least 34 states have these so-called "revolving door laws," aimed at slowing down the trend of lawmakers becoming lobbyists.. Eight states including Iowa ban former lawmakers from lobbying legislators for two years, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures . There have been some recent high-profile examples of lawmakers making the switch to lobbying. In 2015, longtime Rep. Jim Abeler, R-Anoka, left the House and became a health care lobbyist. In February 2016, Abeler won election to the Minnesota Senate. Also in 2015, former House Taxes Committee Chairwoman Ann Lenczewski, DFL-Bloomington, left the House and became a lobbyist. Not everyone is a fan of Liebling's bill. Sen.. Dave Senjem, R-Rochester, said he sees no evidence of former lawmakers-turned-lobbyists getting preferential treatment. "I just think bills are either good ideas or bad ideas, but the idea that it would depend on who the lobbyist is is something I really don't understand," Senjem said. They knew it in the 60s and we know it today. Some people are just cooler than others. Thats certainly the case with John R. Kool, Plattsmouth resident and Church of the Holy Spirit member/choir member for the past 37 years. Recently, John announced that he and his wife Phyllis would be moving to Lincoln. As a tribute to service to the church and community, John was honored Feb. 4 during Terry Littles 24th Annual Coffeehouse at St. John the Baptist School in Plattsmouth. Plattsmouth Mayor Paul Lambert proclaimed Feb. 4, 2017, as John R. Kool Day, and wished John and his family well in their new life. John is an outstanding musician and has volunteered countless hours playing taps at veteran services, fanfare at the Plattsmouth Harvest Festival, and has taught music to the youth of our community, Lambert said. Prior to the mayoral proclamation, Terry shared a history of Johns life starting with his birth Oct. 17, 1954. John is the sixth of seven children raised on an 80-acre farm with no indoor plumbing near Sully, Iowa, through the eighth grade, Terry said. During his fifth-grade year, John joined band at Lynnville-Sully School. He played trumpet because a brother-in-law had one. His first choice at the time would have been a flute but the family could not afford an instrument, Terry said. When John was in ninth grade, his family moved to Newton, Iowa. He graduated from high school with a full-ride scholarship from Maytag Company to any school in the United States. He chose Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa, and graduated with a Bachelors Degree in Music Education. Following college, he was a band director near Iowa Falls, Iowa, before moving to Omaha where he served as band director at Bryan Junior High for five years. In Omaha, he met his wife, Phyllis, and they married July 27, 1979. They have three adult children -- Bill, Alison and Veronica -- all graduates of St. Johns School. They have also been a host family to eight foreign exchange students who attended Plattsmouth High School. For 20 years, John worked for his father-in-law at Swobodas Music Center in Omaha. His work included visiting schools to help with repairs and supplies. He also worked as a guest clinician, judge and solo artist for the schools. Along with these duties he was the bugler for the horse races at Ak-Sar-Ben from 1981 to 1995 when they closed. He continued to bugle for Horsemans Park until 2012. Recently, he worked as a paraprofessional for the Plattsmouth Middle School band for seven years. He has performed regularly with several polka bands and dance bands. He is currently the lead trumpet player with the Intergenerational Orchestra of Nebraska and a member of the Brass Cats, Terry said. He teaches private trumpet lessons and has had his students make first chair in both the All-State Band and All-State Orchestra in Nebraska. John was a youth group sponsor at the church and also helped at the Summer Church Camps at Camp of the Risen Son. He played his horn for parish weddings and funerals and also taps for grave-site services for veterans. He has been a volunteer pit musician for the Plattsmouth High School spring musicals for several years, Terry said. John also has performed at Littles coffeehouses, including providing prelude music at the 24th annual event. Other musicians performing at this years coffee house are Old Krusty Minstrels Pat Carroll, Ron Kolb, Jon Ulrich, Larry Jensen, Terry Little and Laurie Hajek-Jones; Mike Pauly; Club JK -- John Kennedy, Mary Mahoney and Butch Songcuan; Valerie Robert; An Evening Dustin West, Dorothy Sapp-Harman and Chris Harman; Anne Perkinton; Scott Sloan; 37 Years Tyler Smith, Sandy Smith and Kyle Knapp; and Terry Little. A year ago, when she was pregnant, artist Melissa Loop applied for a grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board . Her paintings had been selling well, and she wanted to keep her momentum after the baby came. "I asked for money to help with an assistant to help with some of this extra load and then also to help make some new work," she recalled recently as she sat on the floor of her south Minneapolis living room, entertaining her baby daughter. "To keep making ambitious work, so that I could keep on the trajectory that I've been on." But when a review panel met to discuss Loop's application, the very thing she was trying to prepare for the arrival of her baby became a liability. Her pending motherhood was characterized as "a barrier." "One thing I'm worried about with her is she's going to have a baby in January, and she wants to do these like huge paintings," said a panel member during the discussion, according to a recording made by the Arts Board. "That's going to be difficult." The panel didn't believe Loop could produce as much work as she planned to while dealing with a newborn. Her grant was denied. ADVERTISEMENT "It just makes your blood boil a little bit that I wasn't being taken seriously as a professional artist because I was going to be a mother," she said. The Minnesota State Arts Board is the primary distributor of state funds to artists and arts organizations. Each year it gives out several million dollars. But some artists say there are flaws in the board's review process and it's not just individual artists who raise concerns. Mu Performing Arts , which gets operating funds from the arts board, applied for a grant last year to help reach underserved Asian-Americans and create new cross-cultural experiences for its audiences. The grant was rejected. When Mu's artistic director, Randy Reyes, asked for feedback, he was told his organization didn't show enough connection to the Asian-American community. "Because we didn't list any specific artists that we're working with," he recalled. "But we don't work with specific artists, necessarily, except for Mu artists. We work with community groups." Mu doesn't contract with Asian-American artists because it doesn't need to; it's an Asian-American theater company. But in the grant application, there's no place to indicate that. Reyes said the applications seem skewed toward mainstream organizations that need to make a special effort at diversity. Artist Jenny Jenkins has served on State Arts Board grant panels three times. It's a volunteer position. Panels review approximately 26 grants in a day. That gives them about 15 minutes for each. Jenkins said panels normally run smoothly, but last year, one volunteer on her panel was problematic. ADVERTISEMENT "Several times things came up that that reviewer said, that showed that either he had not really read a proposal or looked at a resume, or he'd forgotten, and he also was not neutral," she said. "And it was unfortunate because it really took time away from the way that the review should have occurred." That panelist, Jenkins believes, affected some artists' ability to get funding. Executive Director Sue Gens said the Minnesota State Arts Board doesn't have the resources to thoroughly examine the more than 1,400 grant applications it receives in a year. It funds approximately 40 percent of those proposals. Gens said she believes, on the whole, the process is working. "I understand for each of those individual applicants it's really vital. I understand that," she said. "And I also understand that for them, receiving a grant or not receiving a grant is really significant. We absolutely understand that ... when people fill out an application they're putting a lot of time and effort into it. And we never take that lightly. We hate having to say no to people." Only a few people have publicly shared their concerns about the review process, but it's likely there are others who don't feel comfortable speaking up. "It's very scary for an arts organization to tell a story that has criticism about an organization that gives them money," said Mu's Randy Reyes. All the artists interviewed for this story say they are grateful for the board's work they just want to improve it. Although the Trump administration believes man-made climate change is a hoax invented by the Chinese, the Senate and House of Representatives should not abrogate their responsibility to maintain America's commitment to halting the steady melting of polar ice caps and the rising of sea levels. These catastrophes are caused by greenhouse gases being belched into the atmosphere. With a single stroke of a pen, President Donald Trump signed an executive order slashing environmental regulations, an act that may run afoul of environmental laws enacted by presidents from Richard Nixon to Barack Obama. Congress should act promptly to ensure that Trump does not unconstitutionally violate by executive fiat federal environmental laws intended to protect the atmosphere and our precious water resources. Trump's order requires that for every new regulation, including those that protect the environment, two others must be eliminated. ADVERTISEMENT This decision represents an absurd attack on the protections now afforded to our environment from the ravages brought about by human-caused climate change. Only a few days into his administration, Trump told the CEOs of Ford, General Motors and Fiat Chrysler that he believed that current environmental regulations were "out of control." In the same breath, Trump said, "I am, to a large extent, an environmentalist." Trump declaring that he is an environmentalist in a meeting with three top automotive industry executives is like the president avowing his support for healthy foods to the top executives of America's three largest candy companies. Scrapping environmental regulations will do nothing to curb rising sea levels, disappearing shorelines and increasingly erratic weather conditions. Congress should immediately correct the sharp deviation of U.S. environmental policy by taking decisive steps to maintain the country's commitment to clean energy. The Trump administration and its Republican and a few Democratic supporters in Congress are falling under the spell of "inexhaustible" tar sands oil via the Keystone XL and Dakota Access pipelines and "clean coal," an environmental oxymoron if there ever was one. Congress should guarantee that the Trump administration does not pull out of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change also known as the Paris Accord. This can be done by passing legislation, immune to a certain Trump veto, that would keep the United States bound to the Paris agreement's targeted decreases in carbon dioxide emission levels. ADVERTISEMENT In this regard, Congress should seek the assistance of the nation's new secretary of state, Rex Tillerson, ironically, a backer of the Paris accord even though until recently he was the CEO of Exxon Mobil. Tillerson may be able to ensure legislation binding the United States to the Paris agreement has enough congressional support to override a Trump veto. Congressional Republicans in the hip pocket of anti-environmental lobbyists like the Koch brothers are vulnerable to political pressure from the voters. Since 2012, the Midwest breadbasket has experienced its worst drought in a hundred years. The farmers of Kansas, Nebraska, North and South Dakota, Missouri, Oklahoma, northern Texas, Iowa and other drought-plagued states and regions can and should apply painful pressure on their congressional representatives to shape up on climate change or face being shipped out of office. When President Nixon pushed through environmental laws during his administration, he had the support of many Great Plains Democrats, the old "prairie populists." There is no reason why Midwest farmers cannot compel their Koch brothers-financed legislators to make a choice between supporting environmental laws or finding a new line of work. Trump and time are not on the side of our planet's continued well-being. That is why action by Congress must be taken now. ADVERTISEMENT Wayne Madsen is a progressive commentator whose articles have appeared in leading newspapers throughout the U.S. and Europe. During Sen. Jeff Sessions confirmation hearing, I wrote. the following about his exchange with Sen. Al Franken: Franken tried to show that Sessions [in answering a Senate questionnaire] misrepresented his role by listing several big civil rights cases as among the most important cases he participated in. Frankens point was that, although Sessions signed the complaint, he hadnt really participated. Franken relied mainly on Gerry Hebert, lead counsel in most of these cases, who has been saying that Sessions basically had no role. Hebert has a history of dishonesty, as Christian Adams has reported. But Sessions had an even better way of dealing with Heberts attack. He quoted at length from gushing testimony Hebert gave in 1986 stating that Sessions played a major role in the civil rights prosecutions that Hebert pursued. As Sessions read this testimony, Franken tried to talk over him. He failed. Using Heberts own words, Sessions destroyed him, and Franken, on this point. In the end, Franken was reduced to saying that, though he is not a lawyer (we can tell), it seems to him that by saying he had filed a case, Sessions implied that he led the case. Um, no. Last week, Franken reprised this attack in what Victoria Toensing aptly calls a rambling diatribe during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing. Again, Franken relied on the dishonest Heberts Washington Post op-ed. Franken knew that the claims Hebert made in that op-ed were inconsistent with testimony Herbert gave in 1986. Sessions told him so when Franken questioned him. Yet, Franken ignored this fact. The Minnesota man is a shameless hack. Two questions remain. First, why did Hebert, in his Washington Post op-ed, blatantly contradict his 1986 testimony? Toensing offers a very plausible explanation: Perhaps his executive position with the Campaign Legal Center, funded by George Soros money, is a factor. Second, why would Franken rely on a discredited lawyers inconsistent statements? Toensing has an answer for that one too: As Franken admitted in committee: Senator Sessions and I have very different views about most of the issues that come before this committee Such differences should be the debate, not a rationale to malign a good and decent man. The key word here is should. This is the age of the gotcha. We understand that. But a competent Senator can distinguish between a genuine gotcha and a case in which his target has got him. Al Franken is not that Senator. JOHN adds: Frankens rambling incoherence may explain why he is now being taken seriously as the Democrats presidential nominee in 2020. Most civic-minded people in Cass County anxiously awaited Gov. Pete Ricketts announcement as to whom would replace Bill Kintner as the Legislative District 2 senator. Through the rumor mill, I heard the announcement would be made last Friday, just five days after applications for the position were due in the governors office. Hoping the governor would give the successor considerable thought, I was glad no names were revealed Feb. 3. On the other hand, I was happy as a lark in spring to learn 35 people had applied for the position. To me that enormous number of applicants meant that Cass County was determined to have sensible, intelligent and appropriate representation in the Legislature. I personally knew 11 of the applicants, all of course, from Cass County. I also knew that most on the list were honest people just wanting the best for all. I crossed my fingers hoping the governor would name someone from Cass County rather than Sarpy. No offense to Sarpy, but we dealt with the antics of the senator from Papillion far too long. While I waited for the swearing in ceremony to begin on NET, I couldnt wait to see who our new senator would be. Although he wasnt on the list of applicants, I cant say I was surprised to learn the honor was going to Robert Clements, banker/actuary of Elmwood. Based on the times I have met Sen. Clements over the years, I have found him to be kind, considerate and intelligent qualities that were missing the last few years. I believe him to be an honest man who will represent the county well. I base it on my summation of his character more than anything. For one, he has been happily married to his high school sweetheart, Peggy, for 44 years. If my memory serves me correctly, she is always with him at the many community events Elmwood sponsors. I appreciate and admire married couples who stay true to each other. When I make a tally on how I feel about a person, I usually look at the little things they do. The last time I saw Sen. Clements was in October. As president of the Bess Streeter Aldrich Foundation, he officiated the ribbon cutting ceremony on the new porch of the Aldrich House. Afterwards, I stopped him and asked if I could have a copy of his speech for accuracys sake. Before I could get out the request for an email or copy, he reached in his coat pocket and handed me the speech. I had it ready for you, he said with a smile. With so many details to take care of that day, including several fund-raising events, that he thought ahead to have information for me, even though he wasnt sure Id be there, was very thoughtful. I also interviewed him and his brother, Richard, when their bank, American Exchange Bank, celebrated its 125th anniversary. Again, both men were kind and thoughtful throughout the interview. I have no doubt that he will serve us well in the Legislature, and I hope those who applied for it realize they were also good candidates for the job. There were many names on that list I thought could be selected to fill the position. Good people with solid contributions to their families, jobs and elected positions. Weve always had plenty of good candidates for the Legislature. Just look at our past senators from here: Roger Wehrbein, Dave Pankonin and Paul Lambert. With the majority of District 2 voters in the county, I would hope we would not let this important position evade us again for someone less thoughtful but more talkative. Cass County is still agriculture based and I hope it stays so. Our farmers literally help feed the world. Sen. Clements will bring an understanding of ag-economics to the table as well as an understanding of budgets and dignified behavior. Good luck, Sen. Clements. The best is yet to come. Peg Tomsicek remembers the frightened woman. A dispatcher for the Saunders County Sheriffs Department, Tomsicek was on duty when a woman called saying a man tried to grab her as she went into her home. It was dark, about 9 or 10 at night. Tomsicek asked if the man got into the womans house and if she had any dogs. He hadnt. And the woman had two German shepherds in an attached garage, which she let into the house. In the meantime, Tomsicek was calling any available officers to go to this home, while keeping the woman on the phone. All of a sudden, I hear a blood-curdling scream and my heart hit my stomach and Im telling the officer, Ive lost contact, Tomsicek said. One recent morning, Tomsicek talked about that call and a multitude of others that have characterized her three-decade career as a dispatcher. Grandchildren watched a movie in her rural Colon home, while Tomsiceks black Labrador retriever, Ben, dozed near her feet. Tomsicek smiled often as she quietly recounted her experiences and a recent tribute. Tomsicek, who retired Jan. 31, received a surprise honor days before at the Cedar Bluffs Fire Department banquet. During the Jan. 28 event, she was presented with a 30 Years of Service plaque and a Cedar Bluffs Fire Department sweatshirt. Cedar Bluffs Police Chief Chris Lichtenberg recently commended Tomsicek, saying her vast knowledge of resources have been helpful to all the fire and police departments, and the sheriffs department. Lichtenberg said hes certain many residents lives have been affected in a positive way by her work in the 911-dispatch center. She is an asset that Saunders County will definitely miss, he noted. Tomsicek was touched by the recognition. To say I was stunned was an understatement, she said. It just made me want to cry. All I could do was say thanks and that I had enjoyed working with them through the years. Born in Red Oak, Iowa, Tomsiceks interest in dispatching began early. Her dad and stepmom, Robert and Marge McMurray, were dispatchers in Adams County, Iowa. Tomsicek grew up in southwestern Iowa and eastern Nebraska and graduated from Arlington High School. She married and had two children, Shannon and Dale, then divorced. She met Eugene Tomsicek and they had two children, John and Joni, and a daughter of the heart who came to live with us as a teenager, Monica Govind. Like most farm wives, Peg would get a job after her children started going to school. She leaned toward dispatching. I thought it was neat to be able to help people, and its never boring, she said. She got the job in the fall of 1986 and had a week of training. Back then, the office had a ticker tape teletype and a civil defense phone line. The dispatcher used a tuning fork to send out a tone that alerted first responders via the Plectron radio receivers in their homes. Each department had its own tone. Tomsicek remembers her first holiday on the job. It was Thanksgiving and her first solo shift. Everybody said it would be so easy, because it was a holiday, she recalled. Then she got a call about a grandmother, living near Weston, whod fainted. Family members wanted her taken to the hospital, so Tomsicek dispatched the Weston Rescue Squad. In the meantime, the civil defense phone is ringing and half a dozen people are telling me how to handle the call, she said. Everyone was truly awesome for helping, even if it was poorly timed. And when the squad reached the home, no one was there. The family decided to transport the patient themselves. Later, Tomsicek handled her first pursuit call during which she had to clear the airwaves for emergency traffic only. What was supposed to be an easy shift turned out to be horrendous for a newbie, Tomsicek recalled. Just a few months later, Tomsicek would dispatch during the blizzard of 1987. It was April 1, but this snowstorm was no joke. Back then, the dispatchers office was in the countys jail house. It was snowing a little when Tomsicek and the jailer went from there across town to have their photographs taken for a display on a sheriffs office wall. When we came out a half hour later, there was 8 inches of snow on the ground. It was coming down so fast and so heavy, she said. Soon after they returned to the dispatch office, they got a call about a near head-on accident by Yutan. A deputy went to that call. The phone began ringing as motorists started sliding off the roadways. The jailer picked up the civil defense line. Tomsicek dealt with the flurry of phone calls, while calling for tow trucks and more officers. Then came a 911 call from a woman whose husband had died in their home near Prague. Tomsicek called: the Prague rescue squad captain; the state highway department to run a snowplow in the area; one deputy, whod serve as a coroner; and another to help him and someone to clean out an alley so the deputy could get his vehicle out. Officers would verify that the Prague area man had died of natural causes. Tomsicek continued dispatching until about midnight when someone from Wahoo did get in to run the radios. The deputy who covered the Yutan accident ended up staying at the fire hall there for two days. Tomsicek spent the night at her husbands aunts house. I waded through snow up to my waist to get into her house, she said. I spent the night there and the next morning I was back in the office. Tomsicek stayed in Wahoo for two days. After a few years, a new radio system was installed and tuning forks no longer used. The dispatchers office was moved and computerized. Job challenges still included trying to keep up with everything and knowing exactly how to handle a call, because no two calls were ever the same. Even after 30 years, I still had calls come in that Id never handled before so you never know it all, she said. Tomsicek said, generally, dispatchers burn out in about five years due to job stress. One minute youre dispatching something simple like, The neighbors dog is in my yard and the next youre dispatching to an accident scene where somebody has possibly been killed or a child has drowned, she said. Tomsicek has instructed people, over the phone, on how to do CPR. Shes handled calls of all sorts including: barking dog complaints; lost dogs; neglected and abused people and animals; burglaries; thefts; all sorts of disturbances; fire and rescue calls; livestock in the middle of or irrigation water hitting a roadway; missing persons and stolen vehicles. Drug calls are the kingpin of them, she said. At the same time, officers would call in for information on such things as registrations, warrants and suspended licenses. We run gun permits and when someone buys a car from out of state we run a vehicle identification number and check to make sure the car is not stolen, she said. And thats just skimming the surface of the calls, she said. There are days you go from total nothing to utter chaos in 60 seconds only its controlled chaos, she said. Shes had funny calls, like one where a woman drove off and accidentally left her husband by the side of the road after theyd switched drivers. The woman kind of giggled during the call. An officer located the man. But Tomsicek also remembers the night when that very frightened woman called about a man whod tried to grab her outside her home. The call was disconnected. The woman had dropped the phone. Then she called back quickly to tell Tomsicek that everything was all right. The womans boyfriend had been playing a trick on her. You go from total terror to such a relief in about two seconds, Tomsicek said. I cancelled all the officers. That ended well in spite of the fact that it sounded like it was going to be terrible. Tomsicek said shes loved working with the officers and all the fire and rescue personnel and her supervisor. They are just awesome people for the things they have to handle, she said. The best supervisor I ever worked under was Rhonda Riecken. Shes still there. She knows exactly what shes doing and how to get it done. Tomsiceks husband of 43 years, Eugene, died in December 2012. He was an awesome man, she said. He spoiled me. Now, Tomsicek looks forward to spending time with her grandchildren, traveling and attending concerts. Dog Tag Day will take place from 9-11 a.m. Friday at the Dodge County Veteran Service Office, located inside the Dodge County Courthouse, Room 203, in Fremont. Robert Montag from the Omaha Vet Center will be at the courthouse with a military ID tag machine. He will be making free dog tags for veterans to replace or supplement the ones they received in service. Montag also will have veteran pins to mark the anniversary of the Vietnam War for those Vietnam veterans that did not receive them. Mark Schneck, the Dodge County Service officer, and Montag also will be able to answer questions about the Vet Center and the services it provides. Pobierz zdjecie Przeczytaj o zasadach pobierania zdjec First Lady met with participants in a regional German dictation competition. (1) Pobierz zdjecie Przeczytaj o zasadach pobierania zdjec First Lady met with participants in a regional German dictation competition. (2) Pobierz zdjecie Przeczytaj o zasadach pobierania zdjec First Lady met with participants in a regional German dictation competition. (3) Pobierz zdjecie Przeczytaj o zasadach pobierania zdjec First Lady met with participants in a regional German dictation competition. (4) Pobierz zdjecie Przeczytaj o zasadach pobierania zdjec First Lady met with participants in a regional German dictation competition. (5) Pobierz zdjecie Przeczytaj o zasadach pobierania zdjec First Lady met with participants in a regional German dictation competition. (6) Pobierz zdjecie Przeczytaj o zasadach pobierania zdjec First Lady met with participants in a regional German dictation competition. (7) Pobierz zdjecie Przeczytaj o zasadach pobierania zdjec First Lady met with participants in a regional German dictation competition. (8) Pobierz zdjecie Przeczytaj o zasadach pobierania zdjec First Lady met with participants in a regional German dictation competition. (9) Pobierz zdjecie Przeczytaj o zasadach pobierania zdjec First Lady met with participants in a regional German dictation competition. (10) Pobierz zdjecie Przeczytaj o zasadach pobierania zdjec First Lady met with participants in a regional German dictation competition. (11) Pobierz zdjecie Przeczytaj o zasadach pobierania zdjec First Lady met with participants in a regional German dictation competition. (12) Pobierz zdjecie Przeczytaj o zasadach pobierania zdjec First Lady met with participants in a regional German dictation competition. 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(20) Stockton University President Harvey Kesselman joined presidents from several other state colleges in asking the White House to reconsider its recent action suspending immigration from seven majority Muslim countries due to serious and deleterious implications for students. The presidents of the New Jersey Association of Colleges and Universities released its statement Tuesday in response to President Donald Trumps Jan. 27 executive order. While we support the need to protect our citizens and our country, the executive orders chilling effect on higher education and research concerns us greatly, the statement reads. Trumps order which stopped the entry of Syrian refugees, suspended entry of all other refugees for 120 days, and suspended immigration from Syria, Yemen, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Iraq, and Iran for 90 days was suspended by a federal judge over the weekend. It is currently pending in appeals court in San Francisco. There are more than 21,000 international students at colleges and universities in New Jersey, according to the statement from the presidents of the New Jersey Association of Colleges and Universities. The colleges are advising international students affected by the order not to travel outside the U.S. until the more comprehensive guidelines are issued, the statement said. We also pledge to help our international students who are scheduled to begin their studies here in the 2017- 2018 academic year in their efforts to secure the visas they will need, which may be made difficult as the executive order freezes the issuance of new visas for 90 days, the statement reads. In addition to Kesselman, the statement was signed by Rowan University, New Jersey City University, Kean University, Montclair University, The College of New Jersey, Ramapo College, Thomas Edison University and William Paterson University. On Monday, a student-led rally and march at Stockton University drew more than 100 people who opposed the presidents immigration order. The students called for Stockton University to become a sanctuary campus to protect undocumented students from being deported. Although becoming a sanctuary campus provides no legal protection for the students, it enacts certain measures to protect the identity of undocumented students, including not allowing immigration enforcement officers on campus without a warrant and refusing to enforce immigration law. Kesselman, who could not attend the Stockton rally Monday because he was at the NJASCU meeting in New Brunswick, did not specifically comment on Stockton becoming a sanctuary campus, but said that Stockton has been out front on the immigration issue since shortly after the election. On Dec. 1, he issued a statement to the entire campus confirming the universitys commitment to student privacy via the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act and pledging to support students registered under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program or who have concerns about their immigration rights. Meanwhile, the state Senate approved a resolution Monday expressing the Legislatures intent that school districts and public colleges act as safe zones for undocumented students and their families in the wake of the executive order. Should New Jersey legalize recreational marijuana? Supporters and opponents are bolstering their arguments in preparation for 2018, when a new governor may shift what has been strong resistance from Gov. Chris Christie. With legalization, it can be decriminalized. Right now, were doing more harm to our young adults who are using, said Dominick Nick Bucci, a former State Police trooper and a member of the Law Enforcement Action Partnership. You can get over an addiction but never a conviction. Gov. Jon Corzine signed the states medical marijuana program into law in 2010. Christie expanded it last year to include PTSD patients, but he said he would veto any effort to legalize the drug for recreation. Supporters want a state-taxed and regulated system. Opponents say legal recreational marijuana is prone to major pitfalls and has not worked extremely well in other states. Some groups and legislators are leading the charge to regulate and profit from a legal marijuana marketplace. They include Sen. Nicholas Scutari, D-Union, Senate President Steve Sweeney and New Jersey United for Marijuana Reform. Democratic gubernatorial candidate Phil Murphy said he would legalize recreational marijuana should he become governor. A report by New Jersey Policy Perspective and New Jersey United for Marijuana Reform said a legalized system could bring in more than $300 million annually in direct state taxes. That revenue, the report said, could be used to create summer jobs for youth, purchase more textbooks and pay for inpatient drug treatment beds. But some drug prevention and addiction organizations such as Cape Assist and Join Together Atlantic County, along with law-enforcement officers and groups such as Impact NJ, a prevention and education coalition, say legalization is not the answer. And they are prepared to fight legalization attempts. A lot of people who are using and addicted need help, not arrest, but the way to do it is not to make it legal, said Katie Faldetta, executive director at Cape Assist. That would send a message to kids that marijuana use is OK and its not. A majority of state residents support legalizing, taxing and regulating marijuana for adults 21 and older, according to the most recent Rutgers-Eagleton poll in 2015. The poll found support strongest among Democrats as well as millennials between the ages 18 and 34. Thats exactly what worries legalization opponents about a possible marijuana marketplace. Lena Grey, of North Wildwood, said she was concerned not only about the legal ramifications of marijuana laws, but how they could affect her son. As a mother, Grey said she did not want legalization of yet another drug that could be out in the community. Faldetta said while many organizations such as Cape Assist support decriminalization of marijuana possession, she fears a legalized marketplace would make marijuana even more accessible to teens than it already is. Some legislators have modeled their proposed laws after those of other states. Colorado and Washington legalized the drug for recreational use in 2013. California, Oregon, Nevada, Alaska, Maine and Massachusetts have since followed. Scutari previously led a bipartisan team on a fact-finding trip to Colorado to examine the states recreational marijuana industry. He said in a statement after that trip that he saw the benefits New Jersey could reap from a well-regulated system that was working well in Colorado. But other state officials paint a different picture. Kevin Wong, a crime and intelligence analyst for the Rocky Mountain High Intensity Trafficking Area, said Colorado has seen negative impacts after legalization. Wong said Colorado law-enforcement agencies and other state departments have witnessed increases in marijuana-related traffic fatalities, use among youth and adults, diversion for unintended purposes and costs for public health and safety. The state collected more than $150 million in taxes from legal marijuana sales in its first year of legalization, according to the Colorado Department of Revenue, and some communities have put that money toward public issues, such as homelessness. But Wong and other drug-diversion experts said the economic boom has seen its fair share of illegal growers, money laundering and abuse of its medical marijuana program. Assemblyman Bob Andrzejczak, D-Cape May, Cumberland, Atlantic, listened to Wongs statements at a legislative breakfast in Ocean City last week. He said it made him doubt New Jersey could successfully escape the same problems. I still stand by some of the medical benefits of marijuana use and programs in New Jersey are being strictly regulated, he said. But in other states, it sounds like some programs are being completely abused. NORTH WILDWOOD Work has begun to repair the citys beaches after a noreaster two weeks ago caused nearly $1 million in damage to the shoreline, Mayor Patrick Rosenello said. Rosenello said the citys biggest concern is reconstructing a berm, or a large pile of sand, in front of the bulkhead at the Third Avenue beach, an area he says is the most vulnerable point on the island. The storm subsided Jan. 24 after pounding South Jersey with three days of rain, wind and tidal flooding. City Council is set to vote on authorizing a $200,000 emergency appropriation Tuesday to protect the Third Avenue beach, but Rosenello said crews from Asphalt Paving Systems have already started trucking in sand from Wildwood. The mayor said the emergency action was needed because putting the project out to bid would have taken 60 to 90 days in time for another storm to hit the region. That noreaster took a big chunk of that berm out, Rosenello said. Until we have a more permanent solution, we need to keep sand out in front of that bulkhead. He said another storm without the protection of the berm could bring serious damage to John F. Kennedy Beach Drive and nearby structures, which include the Aloha Motel and the Acropolis Oceanfront Resort. About 40 miles to the north, Ventnors dune system was not as seriously damaged by the storm, said Dave Smith, the citys director of public works. Ours wasnt that bad, he said. The dunes just did what theyre supposed to do. Smith said the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is supposed to start a beach-replenishment project this spring in Ventnor, Margate and Longport, and he expects them to fix any damage that occurred during the January storm. In North Wildwood, APS will transport 4,000 cubic yards of sand a day to the Third Avenue beach for 10 working days to rebuild the berm, Rosenello said. Ultimately, the company will dump between 40,000 and 50,000 cubic yards of sand at the location, he added. We dont chase sand every time that (a storm) happens, but the vulnerability of that section of the beach requires immediate action, the mayor said. WILDWOOD Two men and a woman were arrested early this week in connection with the Sunday kidnapping of a mother and her 1-year old-child, Cape May County Prosecutor Robert Taylor said Tuesday. The woman, who was not identified, escaped, and police found her and the child in the area of Hildreth and Pacific avenues, according to a statement from Taylor. Mother and child were taken to Cape Regional Medical Center in Cape May Court House for treatment of injuries and were later released, the statement said. Police arrested Jason Rue, 34, and JennyVon Vasquez, 31, both of Ewing in Mercer County, and Jose Hernandez, 19, of Wildwood, in the incident, according to the statement. All three were charged with first-degree kidnapping, conspiracy to commit a kidnapping, burglary, conspiracy to commit burglary, endangering the welfare of a child and theft. They were held without bail. Just after 9 p.m. Sunday, police said, officers went to the 100 block of Schellenger Avenue after a report of a woman being held against her will. When police arrived, however, they discovered the woman had been moved to a home on the 100 block of Leaming Avenue, according to the Prosecutors Office. With the assistance of Wildwood Crest police, the woman and child were found at Hildreth and Pacific avenues. Kathleen Vasquez, mother of Hernandez and JennyVon Vasquez, disputed the allegations Tuesday and said the woman was not held captive and had left her home on Schellenger Avenue willingly. Vasquez, who lives in the Leaming Avenue home, said Tuesday that Hernandez, who lives with her, was friends with the victim and her boyfriend. An incident between the friends earlier that day led to a confrontation. She was not held at all, she was not held at gunpoint, she said. Nobody kidnapped her. Rue was also charged with second-degree aggravated assault, possession of a weapon and possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose. The three will have their next court appearance, a detention hearing, at 9 a.m. Friday. Convictions for first-degree crimes can carry a 10- to 20-year prison term. Taylor and Wildwood police Chief Robert Regalbuto asked that anyone with more information about the incident call the Prosecutors Office at 609-465-1135, Wildwood police at 609-522-0222 or provide information anonymously through the county sheriffs tip line at cmcsheriff.net (click on Anonymous web tip at left) or call Cape May County Crime Stoppers at 609-465-2800. 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. MALMO, Sweden, Feb 07, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Second quarter (October 2016 December 2016) Net sales increased by 12.0 percent to SEK 2,508 million (2,239). (2,239). Operating profit (EBIT) increased by 57.8 percent to SEK 142 million (90). Adjusted for non-recurring items, operating profit was SEK 142 million (97). (90). Adjusted for non-recurring items, operating profit was (97). Net profit for the period was SEK 89 million (48). (48). Cash flow from operating activities amounted to SEK 260 million (267). (267). The average number of children and students in preschool, compulsory school and upper secondary school during the quarter was 65,633 (62,443), which was an increase of 5.1 percent. Earnings per share amounted to SEK 0.95 (0.57) before/after dilution. First six months (July 2016 December 2016) Net sales increased by 11.5 percent to SEK 4,370 million (3,918). (3,918). Operating profit (EBIT) increased by 73.6 percent to SEK 210 million (121). Adjusted for non-recurring items, operating profit was SEK 211 million (131). (121). Adjusted for non-recurring items, operating profit was (131). Net profit for the period amounted to SEK 130 million (50). (50). Cash flow from operating activities amounted to SEK 391 million (254). (254). The average number of children and students in preschool, compulsory school and upper secondary school amounted to 65,388 (62,273), which was an increase of 5.0 percent. Earnings per share amounted to SEK 1.38 (0.60) before/after dilution. Significant events after the end of the reporting period On January 11, it was announced that Martin Sandgren, deputy CEO and COO will leave the company on June 30. Martin will remain as chairman of the board of Schoolido, a company partially owned by AcadeMedia. Kristofer Hammar has assumed a new role as Business Development Director and joined the Group Management team as of February 1st. Preliminary voucher increases in Sweden for 2017 amount to 2.3 percent. Voucher increases in Norway will amount to 1.9 percent. The voucher increases are based on municipality announcements to date and are calculated as a weighted average based on AcadeMedia's student mix in each country. The complete report will be made available at https://corporate.academedia.se/en/financials/reports-presentations/ Comments from CEO Marcus Stromberg AcadeMedia's second quarter 2016/17 continues to show solid revenue growth of 12 percent (11.5 percent year to date). In Adult education, participant numbers continue to be stable and are noticeably higher than the previous year. The growth is also driven by the increasing number of students, acquisitions and new establishments that largely took place in the spring of 2016 Growth in all segments The stable growth is partly due to acquisitions and new establishments in the spring and fall of 2016. We opened four new preschools and acquired three preschools in Sweden and Norway during the first half of the financial year. We have also enrolled more children and students in existing preschools and schools. Acquisitions and new establishments during January-July 2016 have also boosted the growth figures which as a result will decline in the spring of 2017. Another reason for the favorable financial development is the adult education segment, where participant numbers have been significantly higher than the weak fall in 2015. Operating profit in adult education has also improved as a result of the capacity adjustment measures that were implemented about a year ago. The improved results that followed in the adult education segment in the spring of 2016 will impact the comparable numbers over the coming periods. The Group's adjusted operating profit improved substantially and totaled SEK 142 million (97). Demand for new schools as well as demand for adult education, is strong in the three countries where AcadeMedia operates. Our German preschool operation, Joki, is adapting the Norwegian preschool concept, Espira, to the German market and sees opportunities for continued growth, both by launching Espira in Germany and through complementary acquisitions. Quality In Norway growth is also based on opening new preschools and carrying out complementary acquisitions. In addition, growth is supported by strong quality performance and high parent satisfation, as shown in the results of Espira's annual parent survey, which was published during the second quarter. Over the past four years, the survey has shown increasing satisfaction levels. This positive trend continues and the rating is now 5.3 on a six-point scale. In the Swedish school segments, a lot of focus in the quarter has been to meet with inspectors from the Swedish Schools Inspectorate. The outcome of these inspections is positive. PISA-survey An important event for compulsory schools in the second quarter was the publication of the PISA survey results on December 6. The PISA survey is carried out by the OECD and assesses the knowledge of 15-year-olds in math, science and reading. The downward trend which Sweden has experienced, was broken in the survey that was reported in December, and Sweden now ranks above OECD average in math and reading, and average in science. While the improvement in results is both gratifying and relevant, we cannot be satisfied with average or slightly above average scores. Pysslingen Skolor (compulsory schools) have implemented a reading-writing-math guarantee, a concept which the Swedish government is also proposing throughout the Swedish school system. This is just one of many ways to improve student performance. One area where the PISA survey shows negative results for Sweden is the equity in educational outcome. The gap between low-performing and high-performing students is growing. This is a trend that must be reversed. AcadeMedia has a clear strategy for improving equity in educational outcome. We must work together to stop segregation in society and schools are an important part of this effort. Profits in the welfare sector A major topic in the Swedish debate during the second quarter was Ilmar Reepalu's government-commissioned report on profits in the welfare sector. The report was submitted to the government on November 8. The report's key proposal is a cap on operating profit in relation to working capital amounting to 7 percentage points plus the risk-free rate multiplied by operating net assets. However, in practice, this would mean a ban on profits since working capital in service based firms like AcadeMedia usually is very low. If implemented, the strongly criticized model would have major consequences for Swedish society, as well as for diversity and freedom of choice for the residents of Sweden. Conclusion The number one priority for AcadeMedia is to provide a good education to everyone who chooses to attend one of our preschools, compulsory schools, upper secondary schools or adult education units, each and every day. We also want to improve Swedish schools, which we have been doing since Hermods began in 1898. We are convinced that we will continue to do so for many years to come. Marcus Stromberg President and CEO AcadeMedia AB (publ) Presentation of the report A web-cast telephone conference will be held at 09:30 CET today, where CEO Marcus Stromberg and CFO Eola Anggard Runsten will present the report. You can follow the presentation and the conference on the following page: https://wonderland.videosync.fi/academedia-q2-report-2017 Or call one of the following numbers at least ten minutes before the start of the call: SE: +46 8 5664 2662 UK: +44 20 3008 9806 US: +1 85 5831 5945 The presentation material will be available before the conference begins on AcadeMedia web via https://corporate.academedia.se/en/financials/reports-presentations/ For more information, please contact: Marcus Stromberg, CEO Telephone: +46-8-794-4200 E-mail: marcus.stromberg@academedia.se Eola Anggard Runsten, CFO Telephone: +46-8-794-4240 E-mail: eola.runsten@academedia.se Christian Hall, Investor Relations Telephone: +46-763-111-242 E-mail: christian.hall@academedia.se About AcadeMedia AcadeMedia is the leading and single largest independent education provider in northern Europe. In 2015/16, approximately 63 000 children and students attended AcadeMedia's preschools, compulsory schools and upper secondary schools. An additional 80 000 individuals participated in AcadeMedia's adult education courses. In 2015/16, AcadeMedia had approximately 425 preschools, compulsory schools and upper secondary schools in Sweden and Norway and approximately 150 adult education units in Sweden. Since February 2016 AcadeMedia also operates seven preschools in the Munich region of Germany. AcadeMedia has operations throughout the education chain, from preschool, compulsory school and upper secondary school to adult education. More information about AcadeMedia is available on www.academedia.se This information is information that AcadeMedia AB is obliged to make public pursuant to the EU Market Abuse Regulation and the Securities Markets Act. The information was submitted for publication, through the agency of the contact persons set out above, at 08:00 CET on 7 February 2017. This information was brought to you by Cision http://news.cision.com http://news.cision.com/academedia-ab/r/academedia-s-interim-report-july---december-2016,c2180450 The following files are available for download: Related Links http://www.academedia.se SOURCE AcadeMedia AB MONTREAL, February 7, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- ALGOLD RESOURCES LTD. (TSXV: ALG - the "Corporation") is pleased to update on its ongoing exploration program on its Tijirit Property in Mauritania. The Company announced the filing of an Environmental Impact Study ("EIS") with the Ministry of Petroleum, Energy and Mines in respect to its Tijirit property, which is a first step towards obtaining a mining license in Mauritania. The report was prepared by AECOM (Montreal) in compliance with all standards and guidelines of Mauritanian laws and regulations. Additionally, Algold is pleased to announce that a Phase III drilling program, consisting of a minimum of 20,000 meters of drilling, has commenced at Tijirit's Eleonore Zone. This objective of the Phase III drilling program is to further delineate the high-grade gold deposit. Due to delays in obtaining assay results, Algold now expects to finalize and file an updated NI 43-101 for the Tijirit Property in the coming weeks. This press release has been reviewed for accuracy and compliance under National Instrument 43-101 by Andre Ciesielski, DSc., PGeo., Algold Resources Ltd Lead Consulting Geologist and Qualified Person, as defined by NI 43101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects. Andre Ciesielski has further approved the scientific and technical disclosure in the news release. ABOUT ALGOLD Algold Resources Ltd is focused on the exploration and development of gold deposits in West Africa. The board of directors and management team are seasoned resource industry professionals with extensive experience in the exploration and development of world-class gold projects in Africa. Algold is the operator on both the Kneivissat and Legouessi Properties. The Kneivissat property is 90% owned by Algold and the Legouessi property is being managed through a 51% earn-in interest agreement with Caracal Gold LLC. Algold can earn up to a 90% interest in the Legouessi exploration permit (see October 10, 2013 press release for more details), however, Caracal has the right to participate in the joint venture at either 51% or 75%, by funding its share of expenditures. CAUTIONARY LANGUAGE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION This news release contains and refers to forward-looking information based on current expectations. All other statements other than statements of historical fact included in this release are forward looking statements (or forward-looking information). The Corporation's plans involve various estimates and assumptions and its business is subject to various risks and uncertainties. For more details on these estimates, assumptions, risks and uncertainties, see the Corporation's most recent Annual Information Form and most recent Management Discussion and Analysis on file with the Canadian provincial securities regulatory authorities on SEDAR at http://www.sedar.com. These forward looking statements are made as of the date hereof and there can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, such statements are subject to significant risks and uncertainties, and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements that are included herein, except in accordance with applicable securities laws. Algold Resources Ltd., 1320, boul. Graham, Suite 132, Mont-Royal, Quebec, H3P 3C8, http://www.algold.com Francois Auclair M.Sc., PGeo, President & CEO, f.auclair@algold.com, +1(514)889-5089 Alex Ball, MBA, Executive VP Finance & Corporate Development, a.ball@algold.com, +1(416)919-2227 NEW YORK, February 7, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Sungard Alum Will Serve As EVP Of Financial Services Solutions ThetaRay, a global leader in big data anomaly detection, today announced that risk and compliance expert James Heinzman has joined the company's executive management team as EVP of Financial Services Solutions. Mr. Heinzman will oversee strategy for the company's financial services solutions, working to increase market share for the company's financial crime analytics platform. "We are wholly focused on serving the financial industry in 2017," stated ThetaRay CEO Mark Gazit. "Our core offering is agnostic big data analytics. Opportunities exist for us in any industry where there is data, but we have recently seen a huge spike in interest from financial institutions that understand the value of our platform. We are committed to helping banks fight fraud and money laundering, and as part of this commitment and focus in the new year, we're very excited to announce that James is joining the ThetaRay management team. With 25 years of experience working with customers and technology in this sector, James is a perfect fit to fill this role." Throughout his 25-year career, Mr. Heinzman has held positions such as chief compliance officer, head trader and senior operations director for financial institutions and fintech companies including Sungard and Nice Actimize. He also served as managing director for global equities at Bear Sterns, with responsibilities such as surveillance and supervision. "The difference between ThetaRay's platform and standard anti-fraud or AML methods lies in ThetaRay's patented technology," said Mr. Heinzman. "The algorithms behind this tech, developed by world renowned mathematicians, bring something truly unique to the financial sector; this played a big part in my decision to join the ThetaRay team." Mr. Heinzman will be responsible for the ThetaRay Financial Crime Platform, as well as the company's new fraud, anti-money laundering and ATM security solutions. ThetaRay's platform can analyze any data set without prior knowledge of business processes. It has an extremely high detection rate, and becomes more accurate with each unit of data it receives. The platform also delivers industry-low error and false positive rates, helping fraud and risk departments avoid alert fatigue and perform accurate and insightful analysis. Mr. Heinzman will join ThetaRay in attending SIFMA's Annual Anti-Money Laundering and Financial Crimes Conference in New York, NY on February 8-9, 2017. To schedule a meeting with the team, please contact thetaray@fusionpr.com. ABOUT THETARAY ThetaRay is dedicated to helping clients at large financial organizations, cyber security divisions and critical infrastructure become more resilient and seize opportunities. Its advanced analytical solutions operate with unprecedented speed, accuracy and scale, enabling clients to manage risk, detect money laundering schemes, uncover fraud, expose bad loans, uncover operational issues and reveal valuable new growth opportunities. Learn more at http://www.thetaray.com. Follow us on Twitter: @ThetaRayTeam Contact: Mark Prindle, Fusion PR, mark.prindle@fusionpr.com, +1-646-475-8446 SOURCE THETARAY STOCKHOLM, Feb 07, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Fourth quarter summary Consolidated net sales amounted to SEK 11,116 m (10,791), an increase of 3.0%. - Retail sales for Group-owned stores increased by 2.5%. - Like-for-like sales for Group-owned stores increased by 1.3%. (10,791), an increase of 3.0%. - Retail sales for Group-owned stores increased by 2.5%. - Like-for-like sales for Group-owned stores increased by 1.3%. Operating profit was SEK 401 m (448), corresponding to an operating margin of 3.6% (4.2%). (448), corresponding to an operating margin of 3.6% (4.2%). Profit after financial items was SEK 399 m (441). (441). Net profit was SEK 307 m (341), and earnings per share were SEK 1.46 (1.63). (341), and earnings per share were (1.63). In December Axfood made a public cash offer to the shareholders of Matse Holding AB (publ), which is listed on Nasdaq First North. The Board of Directors proposes an ordinary dividend of SEK 6.00 per share (5.00, plus an extra dividend of 4.00). per share (5.00, plus an extra dividend of 4.00). Axfood is focusing on growth and new investments, and the forecast is an operating profit in 2017 to be level with the outcome for 2016. Summary full-year 2016 Consolidated net sales amounted to SEK 43,355 m (41,247), an increase of 5.1%. - Retail sales for Group-owned stores increased by 4.0%. - Like-for-like sales for Group-owned stores increased by 2.0%. (41,247), an increase of 5.1%. - Retail sales for Group-owned stores increased by 4.0%. - Like-for-like sales for Group-owned stores increased by 2.0%. Operating profit was SEK 1,902 m (1,760), corresponding to an operating margin of 4.4% (4.3%). (1,760), corresponding to an operating margin of 4.4% (4.3%). Profit after financial items was SEK 1,894 m (1,749). (1,749). Net profit was SEK 1,473 m (1,361), and earnings per share were SEK 7.02 (6.48). Significant events after the balance sheet date On 25 January 2017 Axfood executed its offer to the shareholders of Matse Holding AB (publ), as all conditions were fulfilled. For further information, please contact: Anders Stralman, President and CEO, Tel: +46-70-293-16-93 Karin Hygrell-Jonsson, CFO, Tel: +46-70-662-69-70 Cecilia Ketels, Head of Investor Relations, Tel: +46-72-236-06-43 The information herein is such that Axfood AB (publ) is required to make public in accordance with the EU Market Abuse Regulation and the Swedish Securities Market Act. The information was submitted for publication, through the agency of the contact person listed here, at 7:30 a.m. (CET) on 7 February 2017. This information was brought to you by Cision http://news.cision.com http://news.cision.com/axfood/r/axfood-s-best-year---again,c2181784 The following files are available for download: SOURCE Axfood STOCKHOLM, Feb 07, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- The Board of Directors of Axfood Aktiebolag (publ) has decided to propose that the Annual General Meeting resolve to introduce a long-term share-based incentive programme ("LTIP 2017"). As proposed, the programme includes approximately 70 employees in Axfood's Executive Committee, members of the management teams of Axfood's subsidiaries, and certain other persons in management functions. The incentive programme entails the following, in brief: Participation in LTIP 2017 requires a personal shareholding in Axfood that is allocated to LTIP 2017. Depending on the participant category, the participants will be able to allocate a maximum of 4,700, 850 or 250 shares to the programme. After the set vesting period, the participants will be granted shares in Axfood free of charge, provided that certain conditions are met. To receive shares in Axfood under matching share rights, the participant must continue to be employed by the Axfood Group during the vesting period, his or her personal shareholding in Axfood must have remained during the same period, and the total return for the company's shares (TSR) during the period 20172019 must have exceeded 0%. Share grants supported by performance share rights require continued employment in the Axfood Group and that the employee's shareholding remains during the period, and are based in part on the company's TSR compared with the SIX Return Index and in part on the company's average sales growth under the condition that a set, average EBIT margin has been achieved. The maximum number of shares in Axfood that can be granted under LTIP 2017 is limited to 200,000. Based on an unchanged share price during the term of the programme, a vesting period of three years and certain additional assumptions, the total cost of LTIP 2017 including social security costs is estimated to be approximately SEK 31.4 m . The principal motives for establishing LTIP 2017 are to align the shareholders' interests with the interests of the Executive Committee and other key persons and thereby ensure maximum long-term value creation and to encourage personal shareholding in Axfood. Further, the Board is of the opinion that LTIP 2017 will help Axfood recruit and retain persons in the Executive Committee and other key persons. The Board of Directors will shortly issue a notice of the Annual General Meeting of Axfood, which will be held on 15 March 2017 in Stockholm, and in connection with this the Board's complete proposal for decision will be published. For further information, please contact: Mia Brunell Livfors, Chairman of the Board Axfood, Tel: +46-8-701-61-00 Karin Hygrell-Jonsson, CFO Axfood, Tel: +46-70-662-69-70 Cecilia Ketels, Head of Investor Relations Axfood, Tel: +46-72-236-06-43 This information was brought to you by Cision http://news.cision.com http://news.cision.com/axfood/r/axfood-s-board-of-directors-proposes-long-term-share-based-incentive-programme,c2181793 The following files are available for download: SOURCE Axfood STOCKHOLM, Feb 07, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Bactiguard and Smartwise Sweden AB (Smartwise) have enAered into a joint development project for advanced, Bactiguard-coated vascular injection catheters. At the same time, a license agreement has been signed. Smartwise will pay USD 2.5 million, for the exclusive and global right to the Bactiguard technology for this application, payable in 2017, and followed by royalty payments once the products are commercialized. "We are very excited about the partnership with Smartwise, as it expands our technology to a completely new application area. Delivering drugs and other therapies to vital organs is a complicated and delicate form of intervention, where the anti-infective and tissue friendly properties of the Bactiguard coating will reduce risks and increase patient safety", says Cecilia Edstrom, SVP Sales and New Business. "The advanced injection technology we are developing has the potential to become a major breakthrough in delivering therapies to targeted and critical areas of the body, such as the heart and the brain. By applying the Bactiguard coating to our micro catheters, we can reduce the risk of infections, thrombosis and allergic reactions for critically ill patients", says Jonathan Clarke, CEO Smartwise. "In addition, the unique combination of the anti-thrombotic and electrical conductive properties of the coating allows us to further develop our catheter technology to access the most remote parts of the brain. This will add significant value to our technology as we are entering commercial negotiations with third parties", Jonathan Clarke continues. The coating process for the micro catheters developed by Smartwise will be developed by Bactiguard. Smartwise will be responsible for the certification and registration process and for conducting clinical trials. Once Smartwise starts receiving revenues from its customers, Bactiguard will receive royalties as a percentage of third party sales. The product is currently in the pre-clinical development phase, and it is expected that it will take some three to five years until the product will be approved for clinical use. By entering the agreement with Smartwise, Bactiguard expands its license business to comprise three different therapeutic areas, Foley catheters, orthopaedic implants and now, advanced transvascular injection catheters. Since 1995, Bactiguard has a successful licensing agreement with C.R Bard, Inc (Bard) in the US. As a result of this successful partnership, more than 160 million Bactiguard coated Foley-catheters have been sold to date, primarily in the US and Japan. In 2015, a license agreement for Bactiguard coated orthopaedic trauma implants, covering the Asean region, was initiated with Vigilenz Medical Devices. Clinical evaluations are ongoing and the anti-infective trauma implants are expected to reach the market later this year. Through the new development project and license agreement with Smartwise, Bactiguard takes a step towards entering another interesting therapeutic area, whereby drugs and other interventional therapies can be targeted and delivered to specific organs, such as the heart, lungs and the brain. The full potential of this application is yet unexplored, but pharmaceutical companies, researchers and clinicians see a great benefit in being able to deliver high dose, locally targeted therapies to damaged tissue, following for example stroke and heart attack, or to tumors for high dose chemotherapy. This information is information that Bactiguard Holding AB (publ) is obliged to make public pursuant to the EU Market Abuse Regulation. The information was submitted for publication, through the agency of the contact person set out below 2017-02-07, at 08.00 For further information, please contact: Cecilia Edstrom, SVP Sales & New Business, Cell phone: +46-72-226-23-28 This information was brought to you by Cision http://news.cision.com http://news.cision.com/bactiguard-holding-ab--publ-/r/bactiguard-enters-new-therapeutic-area-through-license-agreement,c2181838 The following files are available for download: http://mb.cision.com/Main/9686/2181838/624549.pdf Bactiguard enters new therapeutic area through license agreement SOURCE Bactiguard Holding AB (publ) MUNICH, February 7, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- First f ully digitized mobile payment solution with Apple Pay is now a vailable for customers in Switzerland Independent from any bank or telecom operator As one of the leading payment service providers, Wirecard today is launching its mobile payment solution boon in Switzerland. After establishing the application in the UK and France, Switzerland is already the third market, where customers can benefit from boon with Apple Pay which is transforming mobile payments with an easy, secure and private way to pay that's fast and convenient. boon is based upon a digital prepaid Mastercard, issued by Wirecard Card Solutions. The virtual credit card allows users to top-up their account via debit or credit card. The app enables smartphone payments at any NFC-capable point-of-sale terminal which accepts Mastercard Contactless payments. The app gives users the freedom of conducting payment transactions without cash or a bank card, with a transparent overview of the entire transaction process. Security and privacy is at the core of Apple Pay. When you use a credit or debit card with Apple Pay, the actual card numbers are not stored on the device, nor on Apple servers. Instead, a unique Device Account Number is assigned, encrypted and securely stored in the Secure Element on your device. Each transaction is authorized with a one-time unique dynamic security code. Georg von Waldenfels, Executive Vice President Consumer Solutions at Wirecard, underlines: "Our intention is to offer an unparalleled mobile payment experience to even more users. By launching boon with Apple Pay in Switzerland we are taking another step forward, bringing mobile payment to the next level through enhanced user-friendly experiences, leveraged by innovative, safe technology." Apple Pay is easy to set up and users will continue to receive all of the rewards and benets offered by credit and debit cards. In stores, Apple Pay works with iPhone SE, iPhone 6 and later, and Apple Watch. For more information on Apple Pay, visit: http://www.apple.com/ch/apple-pay/ Find out more about boon: https://boonpayment.com/ch/ About Wirecard: Wirecard AG is a global technology group that supports companies in accepting electronic payments from all sales channels. As a leading independent supplier, the Wirecard Group offers outsourcing and white label solutions for electronic payments. A global platform bundles international payment acceptances and methods with supplementary fraud prevention solutions. With regard to issuing own payment instruments in the form of cards or mobile payment solutions, the Wirecard Group provides companies with an end-to-end infrastructure, including the requisite licences for card and account products. Wirecard AG is listed on the Frankfurt Securities Exchange (TecDAX, ISIN DE0007472060, WDI). For further information about Wirecard, please visit http://www.wirecard.com or follow us on twitter @wirecard. Wirecard Media Contact: Wirecard AG Jana Tilz Tel.: +49-(0)-89-4424-1363 E-Mail: jana.tilz@wirecard.com SOURCE Wirecard AG GRAZ, Austria and LONDON, February 7, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Detego, a market leader in real-time business intelligence for the fashion retail industry, is releasing its latest whitepaper, "Omni-Channel Fashion Retail", providing a checklist for the fundamentals of efficient omni-channel retailing. It is focused on how retailers can meet customers' expectations regarding omni-channel services such as "Availability Check" in stores, "Click & Collect", "Ship-from-Store", "Return-to-Store" and "Instore Ordering" in an efficient way in order to provide an optimum shopping experience across all channels. (Photo: http://mma.prnewswire.com/media/465222/Uwe_Hennig.jpg ) With this practice-oriented guide, Detego responds to the request of many fashion retailers for specific recommendations and actions to take according to the different stages of omni-channel development the companies are currently operating on. In the implementation of omni-channel services, Detego distinguishes between four development stages: the orientation-, the start-, the expansion- and the stability-stage. At each stage, processes, systems and data accuracy are at different levels, which makes the realisation of omni-channel services in lower development stages more difficult. "In practice, we constantly see that the right basis for omni-channel services is still missing. Therefore, it is not surprising that expectations of a consistent positive customer experience are simply not met. In order to reliably offer services like Click & Collect or Return-to-Store, complete article transparency in real-time across all channels is crucial, not to mention needing the appropriate processes, in-store technologies and involvement of the sales personnel as well," says Uwe Hennig, CEO at Detego. "We offer fashion retailers a free maturity check which helps identify the current stage of omni-channel development and provides recommendations for the next steps to take." The publication is available in English and German language and can be downloaded for free on the Detego website http://www.detego.com/en/insights/download-center.html SOURCE Detego NORTH CANTON, Ohio, and PADERBORN, Germany, Feb. 7, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Ziraat Bank, the largest financial institution in Turkey, is partnering with Diebold Nixdorf to enable a connected consumer experience with advanced software and professional services on 7,000 of the bank's automated teller machines (ATMs). Whether consumers prefer mobile banking, visiting the branch or using ATMs, Ziraat Bank is ensuring its customers experience the same "look and feel" on every channel. Diebold Nixdorf's software platform will enable the bank to design innovative user interfaces and introduce new functions quickly on all the ATMs in its network. Additionally, Diebold Nixdorf is providing remote monitoring software and IT services management for Ziraat's ATM network, which will help the bank improve customer satisfaction through advanced maintenance analytics. Once installed, the self-service fleet will be monitored for faults and, if detected, status and event messages will be sent and automatically converted into service orders. The solution uses this detailed information to decide whether a technician visit is necessary or whether the fault can be rectified via remote access -- helping lower ATM maintenance costs. "With this project, we are building a foundation for integrating the ATM channel with the overall channel strategy of the bank. This will allow Ziraat Bank to create a unique customer experience that is consistent with customers' experiences on other bank touchpoints, and allow for technology and talent to be used across bank channels," said Christian Weisser, Diebold Nixdorf senior vice president and managing director, Europe, Middle East and Africa. "The project will position Ziraat Bank to respond to the market quickly through agile implementation methods and deliver continued innovation to keep up with the behavioral changes of their customers." About Ziraat Bank Ziraat Bank, which was established in 1863 as a modest charity fund and which developed with great strides in time, is among the most valuable assets of Turkey today. The Bank was officially established as a modern financial institution to undertake the functions of the Benefit Funds, and the Benefit Funds operating at that time were converted into bank branches and started their operations. Increasing its support for all sectors, including agriculture, Ziraat Bank continued to be a bank serving a vast audience whose members range from the smallest of businesses to the biggest of firms and from farmers to pensioners. Ziraat Bank also numbers among the banks that supply financing for major investment projects being undertaken in Turkey. Ziraat Bank now has an operational presence at 98 locations in 18 countries, which gives it a direct international service reach more extensive than that of any other bank in Turkey. Ziraat Bank is playing a leading role in Turkish banking sector with the largest ATM and branch network in the country. Visit www.Ziraat.com.tr for more information. About Diebold Nixdorf Diebold Nixdorf is a world leader in enabling connected commerce for millions of consumers each day across the financial and retail industries. Its software-defined solutions bridge the physical and digital worlds of cash and consumer transactions conveniently, securely and efficiently. As an innovation partner for nearly all of the world's top 100 financial institutions and a majority of the top 25 global retailers, Diebold Nixdorf delivers unparalleled services and technology that are essential to evolve in an 'always on' and changing consumer landscape. Diebold Nixdorf has a presence in more than 130 countries with approximately 25,000 employees worldwide. The organization maintains corporate offices in North Canton, Ohio, USA and Paderborn, Germany. Shares are traded on the New York and Frankfurt Stock Exchanges under the symbol 'DBD'. Visit www.DieboldNixdorf.com for more information. Related Links http://www.DieboldNixdorf.com SOURCE Diebold Nixdorf Electric and hybrid vehicles with front-wheel drive layout offers strong growth opportunities for manufacturers in North America, finds Frost & Sullivan's Mobility team SANTA CLARA, California, Feb. 7, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- The market for electric and hybrid vehicles is experiencing strong double-digit growth due to favorable government policies, increasing incentives, declining lifetime ownership costs, and falling battery prices, all of which reduce the overall cost of the vehicle. To remain competitive in this dynamic market, Tier I suppliers must consistently develop more efficient internal combustion engines and electrified powertrains for different vehicle segments. Frost & Sullivan's new analysis, Strategic Overview of Electric & Hybrid Vehicle Driveline Systems Market in North America, finds that with a compound annual growth rate of 49.2 percent between 2015 and 2022, plug-in hybrids with eAWD will be the industry's fastest growing market segment. In addition, commercial production of fuel cell electric vehicles will commence by the end of this year and will most likely have a front-wheel drive (FWD) layout. Click here for complimentary access to more information on this analysis and to register for a Growth Strategy Dialogue, a free interactive briefing with Frost & Sullivan thought leaders. "Original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) are examining all possible options to reduce fuel consumption and emissions without sacrificing driving dynamics," said Frost & Sullivan Mobility Research Analyst Kamalesh Mohanarangam. "Electric all-wheel drive (eAWD) technology is emerging as an advanced technology with rear-axle electrification, the most preferred eAWD architecture, due to its significant weight-saving potential when compared to front-axle electrification." Ford, Toyota and Renault-Nissan account for 80.6 percent of the total FWD cars manufactured in North America, and the top 10 FWD models account for 68.9 percent of all electric and hybrid vehicles. Furthermore, 88.9 percent of FWD models come from the C and D vehicle segments, which, as a result, will also be responsible for the increasing uptake of eAWD. As more OEMs start offering eAWD, Tier 1 suppliers are expected to invest in technologies that offer more functionality at a lower cost. "Japanese OEMs, in a race to offer the most fuel-efficient vehicles, are expected to offer FWD in 76 percent of the cars they manufacture, whereas about 45 percent of the cars manufactured by American OEMs are likely to sport either rear-wheel drive or AWD," notes Mohanarangam. Strategic Overview of Electric & Hybrid Vehicle Driveline Systems Market in North America, a part of Frost & Sullivan's Mobility: Automotive & Transportation Growth Partnership Service program. About Frost & Sullivan Frost & Sullivan, the Growth Partnership Company, works in collaboration with clients to leverage visionary innovation that addresses the global challenges and related growth opportunities that will make or break today's market participants. For more than 50 years, we have been developing growth strategies for the global 1000, emerging businesses, the public sector and the investment community. Contact us: Start the discussion. Strategic Overview of Electric & Hybrid Vehicle Driveline Systems Market in North America K131-18 Contact: Clarissa Castaneda Corporate Communications North America P: 210.477.8481 F: 210.348.1003 E: clarissa.castaneda@frost.com http://ww2.frost.com Related Links http://www.frost.com SOURCE Frost & Sullivan PUNE, India, February 7, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Global and China Automotive Semiconductor market report highlights 13 automotive semiconductor companies (Infineon, NXP, Texas Instruments, ON Semiconductor, ROHM Semiconductor, Renesas, STMicroelectronics, Bosch Semiconductors & Sensors, Melexis, Sensata, Fuji Electric, Murata, and TDK) (profile, financial position, production & sales, major customers, main products, R&D, production bases, technological features, etc.). Complete report on Automotive Semiconductor market spread across 154 pages providing 13 company profiles and 197 List of charts is available at http://www.reportsnreports.com/reports/844918-global-and-china-automotive-semiconductor-industry-report-2016-2020.html . Automotive semiconductors were mostly used in niche markets like high-end luxury cars in the early days and have penetrated into the low-end markets at a faster pace in recent years. As high-end configurations become standard ones, such as reversing camera, automatic emergency call system, and ubiquitous driver assistance system, automotive semiconductor production has increased, with global automotive semiconductor market size reaching USD29.2 billion in 2015, up 4.3% from a year ago. Being more intelligent, the automobile has higher requirements on active safety, communication & navigation, vision technology, recognition technology, infotainment, comfort, and environmental friendliness, thus creating a huger demand for automotive semiconductors applied for safety control, on-board electronics and so forth. It is expected that the world's automotive semiconductors will be worth USD 37 billion in 2020, a CAGR of 4.8% compared with 2015. Order a copy of Global and China Automotive Semiconductor Industry Report, 2016-2020 at http://www.reportsnreports.com/purchase.aspx?name=844918 . As the world's largest automobile producer and consumer market, China has seen a ballooning automotive semiconductor market, thanks to booming semiconductor and automobile industries. Chinese automotive semiconductor market size was USD4.622 billion in 2015, sharing 15.8% of the global market, and is expected to hit USD8.011 billion in 2020, representing a CAGR of 11.6% during 2015-2020. Automotive semiconductors can be divided into five categories: Power semiconductors, Sensors, Processors (Main for MCU), ASSP (mainly Connectivity and Amplifier), and Logic and others. In a conventional vehicle, semiconductors cost about USD320 with Power ones making up 26% and Sensors 16%; in a HEV, semiconductors cost USD690 or so with Power ones accounting for up to 75%; in an EV, semiconductors cost roughly USD700 with Power ones occupying 55%. Globally, safety system, powertrain, automotive audio & video, chassis system, and body electronics are main application fields with a market size of USD4.9 billion, USD4.8 billion, USD5.2 billion, USD4.5 billion, and USD4.4 billion in 2015, respectively, seizing 16.8%, 16.4%, 17.8%, 15.4%, and 15.1% (81.5% in total) of automotive semiconductor market size. Regarding competitive landscape, global automotive semiconductor industry is less concentrated with top5 automotive semiconductor companies (NXP, Infineon, Renesas, STMicroelectronics, and Texas Instruments) acquiring a combined 49.6% market share in 2015. NXP, with a 14.2% market share, finds a leading edge in automotive audio& video system and ADAS and some advantage in processor market after the acquisition of Freescale; Infineon, with an about 10.4% market share, is competitive in the fields of automotive sensor (#2), microcontroller (#3), and power semiconductor (#1); Renesas, with a 10.3% market share, enjoys a leadership in processor field; STMicroelectronics, with a 7.7% market share, is to some extent advantageous in segments like power semiconductor, short-range radar, and vision processing; Texas Instruments, with a 7.0% market share, focuses on industrial fields and doesn't stand out in automotive field although with a more complete product line. Related research titled 'United States Automotive Semiconductor Industry 2016 Market Research Report' forecasts the market analysis provided for the United States markets including development trends, competitive landscape analysis, and key regions development status. With 190 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. Key Manufacturers involved in this research are Infineon Technologies, Bosch Semiconductor, ROHM Semiconductor, ON SEMI, Texas Instruments, STMicroelectronics, Renesas Electronics, Freescale, NXP, Melexis, Sensata, Fuji Electric, TDK, Murata Manufacturing and Allegro MicroSystems. This report focuses on United States 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 Automotive Semiconductor Industry development trends and marketing channels are analyzed. Finally the feasibility of new investment projects are assessed and overall research conclusions offered. Order a copy of this United States Automotive Semiconductor Industry 2016 Market Research Report at http://www.reportsnreports.com/purchase.aspx?name=588844 . Explore more reports on the Automotive market at http://www.reportsnreports.com/market-research/automotive/ . About Us: ReportsnReports.com is your single source for all market research needs. Our database includes 500,000+ market research reports from over 95 leading global publishers & in-depth market research studies of over 5000 micro markets. With comprehensive information about the publishers and the industries for which they publish market research reports, we help you in your purchase decision by mapping your information needs with our huge collection of reports. We provide 24/7 online and offline support to our customers. Contact: Ritesh Tiwari UNIT no 802, Tower no. 7, SEZ Magarpatta city, Hadapsar Pune - 411013 Maharashtra, India. + 1-888-391-5441 sales@reportsandreports.com Connect With Us on: LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/company/reportsnreports RSS/Feeds: http://www.reportsnreports.com/feed/l-latestreports.xml SOURCE ReportsnReports HOHHOT, China, Feb. 7, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Located in central Hohhot, Inner Mongolia, Horinger New District is a major development zone under national planning for functional areas. With a gross planning area of 496 square kilometers, this zone is comprised of 6 counties in Hohhot, which includes 11 towns and 3 sub-districts. According to local natural features, resources and environmental carrying capacities, land use planning, urban and rural planning and structuring, and industrial development orientation, Horinger New District (Inner Mongolia) will practice the planning philosophy of "integrating industrial development into urban development, creating a livable and business-friendly environment, maintaining systems for environmental protection, and pursuing leapfrog development". By capitalizing on the general land use planning and the general urban planning in Hohhot, this new district advances new industrialization, informatization, urbanization, and modernized and ecofriendly husbandry; drives the synergic development of production, living, and ecological conditions; and builds the development structure encompassing "a core, two wings, and six clusters". The Party Committee and Government of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region prepare various planning requirements for promoting the planning and construction of Horinger New District at a higher level under greater standards. In accordance with such requirements, Horinger New District proposes global bidding in relation to public business entities for general and special planning. Interested bidding participants are welcome to make inquiries and tender their bids. Such bidding participants are required to have a Class-A Qualification for urban planning (or equivalent qualifications in the case of foreign public planning institutions) and a proven track record of new national district planning or similar work. Effective period for bidding: January 23, 2017 - February 28, 2017 Contact: Guo Juying Tel: 0471-3168277 15247188000 Fax: 0471-3168242 E-mail: 15247188000@163.com Address: Administration Committee of Shengle Modern Service Industry Cluster, Hohhot, Inner Mongolia, China Postal code: 011500 SOURCE Horinger New District NEW YORK, February 7, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Increasing healthcare expenditure on treatment of cardiovascular diseases continues to propel the demand for pressure guidewires in the world. Cardiovascular treatment procedures developed over the years have integrated the use of pressure guidewires for navigating through blood vessels or lesions. The instrumental contribution of pressure guidewire as a medical device in assisting the highly-intrinsic cardiovascular surgeries, coupled with the rising preference to angioplasty, helps it gain surplus demand from all corners of the world. A recent study conducted by Persistence Market Research projects that in 2017, global pressure guidewire revenues are estimated to reach US$ 538.02 million. By the end of 2024, these revenues will exhibit a CAGR of over 10%, effectuating the procurement of an estimated US$ 1,084.6 million in terms of global market value. (Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20161114/438683LOGO ) The global market for pressure guidewires continues to surge as medical organizations and research institutes are striving for the development of fractional flow reserve (FFR) technology. Advancements in FFR technologies will not only promote the use of pressure guidewires, but are intended to bring forth enhanced and more effective ways for angioplasty procedures such as PTA and PTCA. According to Persistence Market Research, the global pressure guidewire market will witness significant contribution from Koninklijke Philips N.V. (Volcano Corporation) and Abbott Laboratories (St. Jude Medical, Inc.) - global industry leaders in medical device manufacturing. While these two players are expected to account for nearly two-third of global pressure guidewire revenues, the market will also see considerable involvement of North American companies Opsens, Inc. (Canada) and Boston Scientific Corporation (US). View full Pressure Guidewire Market overview@ http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/market-research/pressure-guidewires-market.asp Global Pressure Guidewire Market: Regional Overview Key findings from the report indicate that North America will retain its dominance in the global pressure guidewire market by accounting for over 30% revenue share in 2017 and beyond. Nevertheless, the pressure guidewire market in Asia-Pacific (APAC) is anticipated to register fastest growth at 11.5% CAGR through 2024. While the Middle East & Africa (MEA) region might remain comparatively less lucrative for sales of pressure guidewires, Europe and Latin America are collectively projected to account for nearly US$ 400 million of global market value by the end of forecast period. Request to View Report Table of Contents, Figures, and Tables@ http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/market-research/pressure-guidewires-market/toc Surging Demand for Flexibly-tipped Pressure Guidewires In 2016, over 60% of global pressure guidewire revenues were accounted by sales of flat-tipped pressure guidewires. While the report predicts that demand for flat-tipped pressure guidewires will remain higher throughout the forecast period, flexible tip pressure guidewires are also expected to gain traction as a product. In 2017, global sales of flexible tip pressure guidewires will be bringing in an estimated US$ 202 million. Compared to flat-tipped pressure guidewires, revenues from sales of flexible tipped pressure guidewires will register increment at the highest CAGR - 11%. In the report, titled "Global Market Study on Pressure Guidewire: North America Anticipated to be the Most Lucrative Regional Market During 2016 - 2024," Persistence Market Research has projects that optical fiber technology will be witnessing higher preference for manufacturing and operating pressure guidewires. Nonetheless, revenues accounted by pressure wire technology are anticipated to remain higher and will surpass US$ 500 million by 2021. The report has identified hospitals as the largest end-user of pressure guidewires, contributing to nearly three-fourth of global pressure guidewire market value. Independent catheterization laboratories will also remain a key end-user, while demand for pressure guidewires will be comparatively less in ambulatory surgical centers. A sample of this report is available upon request@ http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/samples/12859 PMR Overview Persistence Market Research (PMR) is a third-platform research firm. Our research model is a unique collaboration of data analytics and market research methodology to help businesses achieve optimal performance. To support companies in overcoming complex business challenges, we follow a multi-disciplinary approach. At PMR, we unite various data streams from multi-dimensional sources. By deploying real-time data collection, big data, and customer experience analytics, we deliver business intelligence for organizations of all sizes. Contact Persistence Market Research U.S. Sales Office: 305 Broadway, 7th Floor New York City, NY 10007 United States USA - Canada Toll-Free: 800-961-0353 Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.com Web: http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com SOURCE Persistence Market Research Pvt. Ltd. TAIPEI, Taiwan, Feb. 7, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Infortrend Technology, Inc. (TWSE: 2495) today announced its EonStor GS family now supports symmetric active-active controller configuration to minimize administrative effort and boost performance. Infortrend is also introducing a new feature, Service Manager, which can automatically report EonStor GS issues to Infortrend Service Center to request support service. The symmetric active-active controllers simplify IT management by eliminating the need to configure a preferred path in server virtualization environments. Performance is boosted as path thrashing is eliminated and workload is more equally distributed without additional load balancing software. I/O can continue through the remaining paths without interruption in the event of a path failure and failover is accomplished without the need to renegotiate a connection. Service Manager is a service request tool integrated on EonOne, centralized management software for the EonStor GS Family, which provides automatic reports of system issues to Infortrend Service Center for quick handling. It automatically collects system logs and configuration information of EonStor GS and sends them to Infortrend Service Center along with a service request to simplify the process of requesting technical support. Users can also keep track of the status of their service requests through EonOne Service Manager. "We design the EonStor GS Family with the goal to simplify deployment and management of storage systems and will continue to introduce features that boost performance, availability and convenience for users," said Thomas Kao, Senior Director of Product Planning at Infortrend. For more information about Infortrend symmetric active-active controllers and service manager features in EonStor GS family, please click here. About Infortrend Infortrend (TWSE: 2495) has been developing and manufacturing storage solutions since 1993. With a strong emphasis on in-house design, testing, and manufacturing, Infortrend storage delivers performance and scalability with the latest standards, user friendly data services, personal after-sales support, and unrivaled value. For more Information, please visit www.infortrend.com Infortrend and EonStor are trademarks or registered trademarks of Infortrend Technology, Inc., other trademarks property of their respective owners. Media Contact: Infortrend Europe Ltd. Agnieszka Wesolowska Tel:+44-1256-305-220 E-mail:marketing.eu@infortrend.com Related Links http://www.infortrend.com SOURCE Infortrend Technology, Inc. BANGALORE, India, February 7, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- TO ALL STOCK EXCHANGES BSE LIMITED NATIONAL STOCK EXCHANGE OF INDIA LIMITED NEW YORK STOCK EXCHANGE EURONEXT LONDON EURONEXT PARIS February 7, 2017 Dear Sir/Madam, Sub: Press release Please find enclosed the press release titled "Infosys Joins Salesforce Partner Ecosystem to Deliver Analytics Cloud Applications". The same will be made available on the Company's website at the following weblink https://www.infosys.com/newsroom/press-releases/Pages/deliver-analytics-cloud-applications.aspx This is for your information and records. Yours sincerely, For Infosys Limited A G S Manikantha Company Secretary PRESS RELEASE Infosys Joins Salesforce Partner Ecosystem to Deliver Analytics Cloud Applications Infosys will build Analytics Cloud applications to enable intelligent insights and actions throughout organizations Bangalore - February 07, 2017: Infosys (NYSE: INFY), a global leader in consulting, technology and next-generation services, has announced that it will set up a new practice that will build and provide implementation services for Salesforce's Analytics Cloud applications, helping business users access, explore and act on their organizational intelligence faster. Infosys will be among the first Analytics Cloud partners to bring both systems integrator leadership as well as a proven independent software vendor (ISV) capability. Infosys brings expertise in data, analytics and advanced IT platforms integration to help customers implement Analytics Cloud applications, enabling them to gain full access to the massive potential of their organizational data. This unlocks their ability to increase efficiency and drive new sources of revenue. Analytics Cloud allows sales, service and marketing teams to explore data independently and derive insights without relying on disparate systems and complex spreadsheets that are difficult to use and often siloed within an organization. Infosys has committed to develop an Analytics Cloud training program that will scale into a large, dedicated practice to support the ever-increasing need enterprises have for analytics, with the convenience and economics of the cloud. Infosys will also leverage its platform and engineering capabilities to develop new analytics applications on the Analytics Cloud platform. In parallel, Analytics Cloud will be integrated into Infosys Information Platform (IIP), an industry-leading data and analytics platform that helps enterprises leverage their data assets for innovation and enhance business growth. "Today's challenge is to make sense of all available data fast enough to remain responsive and deliver business growth. Analytics Cloud is a unique platform that helps business leaders easily make sense of large amounts of data and to collaborate across the enterprise, at any time, in real time, on any device," said Ravi Kumar S., President and Deputy Chief Operating Officer, Infosys. "With a similar passion for data-driven insight and intelligent platforms, Infosys is thrilled to partner with Salesforce and bring our considerable strengths together for the benefit of our customers." "Salesforce Analytics Cloud is seeing rapid global adoption, as companies everywhere look to transform the way they explore data, find answers and take action," said Bob Stutz, CEO of Marketing Cloud and Chief Analytics Officer at Salesforce. "Partners such as Infosys provide the best practices, industry experience and expertise that make it easier than ever for Salesforce customers to extend Analytics Cloud for every business need." About Infosys Ltd Infosys is a global leader in technology services and consulting. We enable clients in more than 50 countries to create and execute strategies for their digital transformation. From engineering to application development, knowledge management and business process management, we help our clients find the right problems to solve, and to solve these effectively. Our team of 199,000+ innovators, across the globe, is differentiated by the imagination, knowledge and experience, across industries and technologies that we bring to every project we undertake. Visit www.infosys.com to see how Infosys (NYSE: INFY) can help your enterprise thrive in the digital age. Safe Harbor Certain statements in this press release concerning our future growth prospects are forward-looking statements regarding our future business expectations intended to qualify for the 'safe harbor' under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, which involve a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in such forward-looking statements. The risks and uncertainties relating to these statements include, but are not limited to, risks and uncertainties regarding fluctuations in earnings, fluctuations in foreign exchange rates, our ability to manage growth, intense competition in IT services including those factors which may affect our cost advantage, wage increases in India, our ability to attract and retain highly skilled professionals, time and cost overruns on fixed-price, fixed-time frame contracts, client concentration, restrictions on immigration, industry segment concentration, our ability to manage our international operations, reduced demand for technology in our key focus areas, disruptions in telecommunication networks or system failures, our ability to successfully complete and integrate potential acquisitions, liability for damages on our service contracts, the success of the companies in which Infosys has made strategic investments, withdrawal or expiration of governmental fiscal incentives, political instability and regional conflicts, legal restrictions on raising capital or acquiring companies outside India, and unauthorized use of our intellectual property and general economic conditions affecting our industry. Additional risks that could affect our future operating results are more fully described in our United States Securities and Exchange Commission filings including our Annual Report on Form 20-F for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2016. These filings are available at www.sec.gov. Infosys may, from time to time, make additional written and oral forward-looking statements, including statements contained in the company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission and our reports to shareholders. In addition, please note that any forward-looking statements contained herein are based on assumptions that we believe to be reasonable as of the date of this press release. The company does not undertake to update any forward-looking statements that may be made from time to time by or on behalf of the company unless it is required by law. For further information, please contact: Asia Pacific EMEA Americas Sarah Gideon Nicola Brocksiepe Chiku Somaiya Infosys, India Infosys, Europe Infosys, USA +91 80 4156 3998 +49 69 269566116 +1 408 375 2722 Sarah_Gideon@infosys.com Nicola_Brocksiepe@infosys.com Chiku.Somaiya@infosys.com This is a disclosure announcement from PR Newswire. SOURCE Infosys Limited LAHOLM, Sweden, Feb. 7, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Arises Year-end report for 2016 will be released on Friday 17 February, 2017 at around 08.00 CET. At 11.00 CET on the same day a conference call will be held, hosted by Daniel Johansson, CEO and Linus Hagg, CFO, who will present the report to the stock market and media. After the presentation those attending will be invited to ask questions. The dial in number for the conference call is: Sweden dial in number: 08 50 510 036 UK dial in number (local): 020 3059 8125 All other locations: +44 20 3059 8125 Password: Arise Presentation material for the conference call will be available at: http://www.investis-live.com/arise/587f532e7b6fba170040b9b8/ioj2a After the meeting a recording of the presentation will be available at the same link. Halmstad 7 February, 2017 ARISE AB (publ) For further information, please contact Bibbi Franzen, Head of Corporate Communications, +46 706 79 79 27 E-mail: bibbi.franzen@arise.se This information is information that Arise AB is obliged to make public pursuant to the Securities Markets Act. The information was submitted for publication at 11.30 CET on 7 February 2017. This information was brought to you by Cision http://news.cision.com http://news.cision.com/arise-ab/r/invitation-to-a-conference-call-in-connection-with-arise-s-year-end-report-for-2016,c2182152 The following files are available for download: Related Links http://www.investis-live.com/arise/587f532e7b6fba170040b9b8/ioj2a SOURCE Arise AB Innovative clock synchronization and time stamping service to enable secure, reliable, auditable and compliant trading ESSEN, Germany, Feb. 7, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- IPC, a leading global provider of secure, compliant communications and networking solutions for the financial markets community, today announced the launch of Connexus Chrono, a turnkey clock synchronization and time stamping service engineered to deliver high precision, synchronized and traceable time feeds to global financial market participants. The announcement was made here at the E-world Energy & Water Conference. IPC delivers the Connexus Chrono solution from 10 state-of-the-art facilities in the European Union, North America and leading financial centers in the Asia-Pacific region such as Australia, Hong Kong, Japan and Singapore. Accurate, reliable and auditable time feeds are established using atomic clocks and are synchronized to UTC to ensure the same time is available from all Connexus Chrono clocks globally. Connexus Chrono can be delivered at a variety of different levels of accuracy ranging from 1 microsecond to 250 microseconds. The Connexus Chrono offering continues as part of a broader strategic plan from IPC to offer an innovative and comprehensive suite of products and services related to compliant communications. "Clock synchronization and time stamping play a critical role in investor protection and the creation of fair, safe, efficient and transparent markets," said Anthony J. Perrotta Jr., Chief Executive Officer, TABB Group, an international research and consulting firm focused exclusively on the capital markets. "Market participants leveraging industry-leading solutions will achieve significant business benefits in addition to being able to easily comply with global regulatory requirements while enabling authorities to better monitor markets and trading activity." "Time accuracy and synchronization are at the heart of regulatory compliance with MiFID II RTS-25 and FINRA Rule 4590 placing strict requirements on the granularity of timestamps and the maximum divergences of the clock they are read from depending on the trading strategy," said Robert Powell, Director of Compliance, IPC. "Connexus Chrono has been performance engineered to ensure that market participants are not only in compliance with global regulations around clock-synchronization of trade data but also benefit from enhanced performance visibility, risk mitigation, digital forensics and accurate financial reporting." The IPC Financial Markets Network portfolio includes Connexus Extranet, Connexus Ethernet, Connexus WAN, Connexus Voice and Trader Voice services. IPC's Financial Markets Network interconnects global financial centers and allows access to more than 6,000 market participant locations across 700 cities in more than 60 countries. About IPC IPC is a technology and service leader that powers financial markets globally. We help clients anticipate change and solve problems, setting the standard with industry expertise, exceptional service and comprehensive technology. With customers first and always, we collaborate with each to understand their individual needs to help make them secure, productive and compliant within our connected community. Through service excellence, long-developed expertise and a focus on innovation and community, we provide agile and efficient ways for our customers to accelerate their ability to adapt to the everchanging requirements for advanced networks, compliance and collaboration with all counterparties across the financial markets. www.ipc.com Certain statements contained in this press release may be forward-looking statements. These statements may be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "anticipate," "believe," "continue," "could," "estimate," "expect," "intend," "may," "might," "plan," "potential," "predict," "should" or "will" or similar terminology. Any forward-looking statements are based on current expectations, assumptions, estimates and projections. Such forward looking statements involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond our control. Actual results may differ materially from any future results expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. Media Contacts: Khurram Mirza IPC Systems, Inc. +1 201-253-2285 Khurram.Mirza@ipc.com Hannah Townsend Finn Partners for IPC (Europe) +44 207 017 8422 Hannah.Townsend@finnpartners.com Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160407/352841LOGO Related Links http://www.ipc.com SOURCE IPC Systems, Inc. PUNE, India, February 7, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- According to a new market research report "Top 10 Telecom Technologies (MVAS, BYOD and Enterprise Mobility, Mobile Money, Mobile Learning, Contactless Payment, Indoor Location, Mass Notification System, M2M Satellite Communication, Mobile CDN and Mobile User Authentication) - Forecast to 2021", published by MarketsandMarkets, the Top 10 Telecom Technologies market is estimated to grow at a significant rate during the forecast period. (Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160303/792302 ) Browse 56 market data tables and 143 figures spread through 237 pages and in-depth TOC on "Top 10 Telecom Technologies - Forecast to 2021" http://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/top-10-telecom-technologies-124560058.html Early buyers will receive 10% customization on this report. Increased connectivity of handheld devices, greater significance of network and communication in the corporate environment, rising significance of eLearning in the corporate and academic setups, and technological advancements & widespread government initiatives in the growing markets are some of the driving factors of the telecom technologies market. Increased significance of employee productivity to play a key role in the Top 10 Telecom Technologies market by 2021 The BYOD and enterprise mobility has the largest market share in the telecom technologies market during the forecast period. Its market share is expected to grow as it enables employee mobility leading to higher productivity. It enables the globally dispersed employees to participate and collaborate from anywhere through mobile devices. Ask for PDF Brochure @ http://www.marketsandmarkets.com/pdfdownload.asp?id=124560058 Consumerization of IT will drive the Top 10 Telecom Technologies market The increasing significance of consumerization of IT is driving the telecom technologies market as it indirectly boosts employee productivity within, as well as outside the organization infrastructure. Real-time access to information is critical to run business operations effectively. In the last five years, there has been significant adoption of Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) in organizations, which has not only improved productivity but also increased employee satisfaction. BYOD helps employees to work from remote locations and respond to work requests and queries as they can access the enterprise network on the device. This helps in reducing process times and improving operational efficiency, thus resulting in higher satisfaction levels among employees with flexible work arrangements and the freedom to use the device of their choice. The North American region is expected to contribute the largest market share in the Top 10 Telecom Technologies market North America is expected to hold the largest market share in the Top 10 Telecom Technologies Market during the forecast period. This is because of the high connectivity of handheld devices. The increasing innovative developments and technological advancements are benefiting all the stakeholders present in the telecom technologies market ecosystem in this region. Inquiry before Buying @ http://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Enquiry_Before_Buying.asp?id=124560058 The major vendors in the telecom and mobility market are AT&T, Inc. (Texas, U.S.), Gemalto N.V. (Amsterdam, the Netherlands), and Cisco Systems Inc. (California, U.S). Browse Related Reports BYOD & Enterprise Mobility Market by Software (MDM, Mobile Content Management), Security (Device Security, Network Security, IAM), Service (Managed & Professional Services), Deployment (Cloud & On-Premise), Vertical, and Region - Global Forecast to 2021 http://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/enterprise-mobility-334.html Mobile Money Market by Transaction Mode (NFC/Smartcard, SMS, Mobile Apps), Nature of Payment (Person to Person, Person to Business, Business to Person, and Business to Business), Location, Type of Purchase, Industry & Region - Global Forecast to 2021 http://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/mobile-remittance-money-mcommerce-market-577.html Know More About our Knowledge Store @ http://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Knowledgestore.asp About MarketsandMarkets MarketsandMarkets is the largest market research firm worldwide in terms of annually published premium market research reports. Serving 1700 global fortune enterprises with more than 1200 premium studies in a year, M&M is catering to a multitude of clients across 8 different industrial verticals. We specialize in consulting assignments and business research across high growth markets, cutting edge technologies and newer applications. Our 850 fulltime analyst and SMEs at MarketsandMarkets are tracking global high growth markets following the "Growth Engagement Model - GEM". The GEM aims at proactive collaboration with the clients to identify new opportunities, identify most important customers, write "Attack, avoid and defend" strategies, identify sources of incremental revenues for both the company and its competitors. M&M's flagship competitive intelligence and market research platform, "RT" connects over 200,000 markets and entire value chains for deeper understanding of the unmet insights along with market sizing and forecasts of niche markets. The new included chapters on Methodology and Benchmarking presented with high quality analytical infographics in our reports gives complete visibility of how the numbers have been arrived and defend the accuracy of the numbers. We at MarketsandMarkets are inspired to help our clients grow by providing apt business insight with our huge market intelligence repository. Contact: Mr. Rohan MarketsandMarkets 701 Pike Street, Suite 2175, Seattle, WA 98101, United States Tel: 1-888-600-6441 Email: sales@marketsandmarkets.com Visit MarketsandMarkets Blog @ http://www.marketsandmarketsblog.com/market-reports/telecom-it Connect with us on LinkedIn @ http://www.linkedin.com/company/marketsandmarkets SOURCE MarketsandMarkets PRINCETON, New Jersey, Feb. 6, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- MIAX PEARL, the newest U.S. equity options exchange, today announced a successful launch of trading operations with the rollout of options on its first symbol, IBM. MIAX PEARL will continue listing options on IBM for its first week of trading and then begin rolling out additional symbols thereafter. MIAX PEARL is the second exchange of the MIAX exchange group following the launch of MIAX Options in December 2012 by its parent holding company Miami International Holdings, Inc. (MIH). "The successful launch of MIAX PEARL marks a momentous occasion not only for us but also in the history of MIH, which is now the parent holding company of two U.S. equity options exchanges," said Thomas P. Gallagher, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of MIAX PEARL. "We are excited to be a part of the MIAX exchange group along with MIAX Options, and look forward to helping to grow our exchange group's collective market share by establishing MIAX PEARL as one of the preeminent maker-taker exchanges in the industry. Added Gallagher, "This accomplishment would not have been possible were it not for the determination and hard work of our entire company, and I would like to specifically recognize the tremendous efforts of the members of our technology, legal, engineering, business strategy, operational, finance and accounting, and regulatory teams to ensure that MIAX PEARL launched seamlessly today." "We are very pleased with the results from our first day of live trading and the performance of our systems, as all reports from our member firms indicate that the capabilities of our trading platform met or exceeded their expectations," said Douglas M. Schafer, Jr., Executive Vice President and Chief Information Officer of MIAX PEARL. "We look forward to MIAX PEARL continuing to meet the trading needs of our member firms and providing exceptional customer service while at the same time helping to create deeper market liquidity in this particular trading sector." Shelly Brown, Executive Vice President of Strategic Planning and Operations of MIAX PEARL, further commented, "The purpose of building and launching MIAX PEARL was to meet the changing trading needs of the industry as more volume shifted to maker-taker exchanges. The result is that we now have a MIAX exchange group consisting of two exchanges MIAX PEARL and MIAX Options with two different pricing structures and allocation models. This enables us to better serve the needs of the U.S. options market, and the addition of MIAX PEARL along with the recent introduction of the Complex Order System at MIAX Options provides us with access to approximately 75% of the total U.S. market volume." For further information regarding MIAX PEARL, please visit www.MIAXOptions.com or contact MIAX Trading Operations at TradingOperations@MIAXOptions.com. Corporate Communications Contact: Dominique Prunetti-Miller (609) 897-1465 dprunetti@miami-holdings.com About MIAX PEARL and MIH MIAX PEARL, LLC (MIAX PEARL) is Miami International Holdings, Inc.'s (MIH) second fully electronic options trading exchange following the launch of MIAX Options in December 2012. MIAX Options and MIAX PEARL have assembled a team with deep rooted experience in developing, operating and trading on options exchanges. MIAX PEARL received SEC approval as a national securities exchange on December 13, 2016 and leverages the industry leading technology and infrastructure developed by MIAX Options to employ a price-time allocation model with a maker-taker pricing structure. The executive offices, technology development center and National Operations Center for the MIAX exchange group are located in Princeton, New Jersey. MIAX PEARL, MIAX Options, Miami International Technologies, LLC (MIAX Technologies) and MIAX Global, LLC (MIAX Global) are wholly-owned subsidiaries of MIH. The MIAX exchange group's trading platforms have been developed in-house and designed from the ground up for the unique functional and performance demands of derivatives trading. MIAX Options now lists and trades options on over 2,700 multi-listed classes. MIAX Options' unparalleled system throughput is approximately 38 million quotes per second. The average latency for a single quote on MIAX Options is approximately 17.38 microseconds for a two quote block. At the 99th percentile, the latency on MIAX Options is approximately 26.86 microseconds. At the 99.9th percentile, the latency on MIAX Options is approximately 53.11 microseconds. MIAX Technologies is MIH's technology subsidiary for the sale and/or license of the trading technology developed by MIAX Options. MIAX Global focuses on merger, acquisition and joint venture activities of MIH. MIAX Global also provides technology and other services outside of North America, with its initial concentration being on Europe and Latin America. Disclaimer and Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements The press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to purchase any securities of MIH, and shall not constitute an offer, solicitation or sale in any state or jurisdiction in which such offer; solicitation or sale would be unlawful. This press release may contain forward-looking statements, including forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements concerning the plans, objectives, expectations and intentions and other statements that are not historical or current facts of MIH, together with its subsidiaries, including MIAX PEARL (collectively, the Company). Forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements about the possible or assumed future results of operations of the Company; the competitive position of the Company; potential growth opportunities available to the Company; the expectation with respect to securities, options and future markets and general economic conditions; the effects of competition on the Company's business; and the impact of future legislation and regulatory changes on the Company's business. Forward-looking statements are based on the Company's current expectations and involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in such forward-looking statements. Related Links http://www.miaxoptions.com SOURCE MIAX PEARL LONDON, Feb. 7, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- The 10 Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) members obligated to reduce oil output under the landmark agreement signed late last year achieved 91% of their required cuts in January, with their production falling 1.14 million barrels per day (b/d) from October levels, according to the latest survey of OPEC and oil industry officials and analysts by S&P Global Platts, the leading independent provider of information and benchmark prices for the commodities and energy markets. Those cuts were, however, offset partly by output gains in Libya and Nigeria, which are exempt from the accord, and Iran, which is allowed to increase its production slightly. "The market has taken early indications of compliance with the OPEC/non-OPEC production agreement bullishly, and, indeed, the cuts that OPEC made in January look strong so far. But as we are just barely into the six-month deal, it'll take a few more months of monitoring to know whether the discipline that OPEC is displaying will hold," said Herman Wang, OPEC Specialist, S&P Global Platts. In all, OPEC's 13 members -- not including Indonesia, which suspended its membership at the group's last meeting -- produced 32.16 million b/d in January, a 690,000 b/d decline from December, the Platts survey showed. With Indonesia, the organization's January production totaled 32.89 million b/d. Under the agreement, OPEC pledged to cut 1.2 million b/d from its October output levels for six months starting from January 1 and freeze production at around 32.5 million b/d, including Indonesia. Eleven non-OPEC countries led by Russia have also agreed to cut output by 558,000 b/d in the first half of 2017. The survey shows that several OPEC countries covered by the agreement still need to make some progress in lowering output to their allocations, though the overcompliance of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Angola helps compensate. Since the deal covers an average of January to June output, some month-to-month fluctuations are to be expected. Saudi Arabia has backed up the strong words of its energy minister Khalid al-Falih, who played a key role in negotiating the agreement, with its January production falling to 9.98 million b/d, according to the Platts survey. That is below its allocation of 10.06 million b/d under the deal, as crude exports declined by more than 500,000 b/d in the month, Platts shipping tracker cFlow showed. It is also the first month Saudi production has been below 10 million b/d since February 2015, according to the survey archives. Falih in recent weeks had said that the kingdom would "strictly adhere to our commitment" and signaled that it would make deeper cuts in February. Likewise, Kuwaiti oil minister Essam al-Marzouq, who chairs a five-country committee that will monitor and enforce the production agreement, has said that Kuwait would "lead by example." Accordingly, Kuwait's production for January was under its quota of 2.71 million b/d, coming in at 2.7 million b/d, a 130,000 b/d drop from December, the survey showed. Besides Kuwait, the monitoring committee comprises fellow OPEC members Algeria and Venezuela, along with non-OPEC Russia and Oman. IRAQ HAS WORK TO DO Algeria is slightly above its quota of 1.04 million b/d, with January production at 1.05 million b/d, while Venezuela also exceeds its allocation of 1.97 million b/d, producing 2.01 million b/d in the month, according to the survey. Angola is below its allocation of 1.67 million b/d, with January output at 1.63 million b/d, as its crude loadings showed declines in the month. Iraq, which had sought an exemption from the deal, has the most barrels to cut to reach its allocation, with January output at 4.48 million b/d, according to the survey, while its quota is 4.35 million b/d. The January figure, however, was a decline of 150,000 b/d from December production, as exports from Iraq's southern terminals showed a significant decline from the previous month's record levels. Iran, which is allowed to boost production to 3.80 million b/d under the deal, had January production of 3.72 million b/d, a 30,000 b/d increase from December. Meanwhile, exempt Libya and Nigeria showed increases of 50,000 b/d and 210,000 b/d, respectively, as they continue to recover from militancy-related outages. Libyan output had reached 715,000 b/d during the month, but frequent power shortages and a fire at the Sarir field caused production to fall towards the end of January, for a full-month average of 670,000 b/d, according to the survey. Nigerian output saw good signs of recovery after recent attacks on infrastructure in the Niger Delta, as well as the return of key export grade Agbami from maintenance last month, averaging 1.65 million b/d in January. The Platts estimates were obtained by surveying OPEC and oil industry officials, traders and analysts, as well as reviewing proprietary shipping data. OPEC production (in million b/d) Country January Change December Algeria 1.05 -0.05 1.10 Angola 1.63 -0.03 1.66 Ecuador 0.52 -0.01 0.53 Gabon 0.20 -0.01 0.21 Iran 3.72 0.03 3.69 Iraq 4.48 -0.15 4.63 Kuwait 2.70 -0.13 2.83 Libya 0.67 0.05 0.62 Nigeria 1.65 0.21 1.44 Qatar 0.62 -0.02 0.64 Saudi Arabia 9.98 -0.44 10.42 UAE 2.93 -0.10 3.03 Venezuela 2.01 -0.04 2.05 Total 32.16 -0.69 32.85 Notes: OPEC ministers on November 30 finalized a deal to cut 1.2 million b/d from October levels and hold production around 32.5 million b/d, beginning January 1 for six months. The agreement exempts Libya and Nigeria, while allowing Iran a small increase in production. Indonesia suspended its membership on November 30, 2016, but its output is being counted by OPEC under the production ceiling. Non-OPEC producers led by Russia also agreed to cut output by 558,000 b/d in the first half of 2017, with Russia set to cut 300,000 b/d. The committee in charge of monitoring the implementation of the proposed OPEC and non-OPEC production cut is to be co-chaired by representatives of Kuwait and Russia, and will also have representatives from Algeria, Venezuela and Oman. The estimate for Iraq includes volumes from semi-autonomous Iraqi Kurdistan. About S&P Global Platts At S&P Global Platts, we provide the insights; you make better informed trading and business decisions with confidence. We're the leading independent provider of information and benchmark prices for the commodities and energy markets. Customers in over 150 countries look to our expertise in news, pricing and analytics to deliver greater transparency and efficiency to markets. S&P Global Platts coverage includes oil and gas, power, petrochemicals, metals, agriculture and shipping. S&P Global Platts is a division of S&P Global (NYSE: SPGI), which provides essential intelligence for companies, governments and individuals to make decisions with confidence. For more information, visit www.platts.com. Logo - http://mma.prnewswire.com/media/365785/platts_Logo.jpg Related Links http://www.platts.com SOURCE S&P Global Platts LONDON, February 7, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- The 19th Annual Africa Energy Forum (AEF) has been announced to take place from 7-9 June in Copenhagen. The decision to host the Forum in Denmark was made in order to capitalise on the investment potential of Nordic countries into Africa and to showcase the technologies being utilised across the region to manage their cities cleanly and cost effectively - technologies which can be transferred to African nations. (Photo: http://mma.prnewswire.com/media/465535/Africa_Energy_Ministers.jpg ) (Photo: http://mma.prnewswire.com/media/465536/Africa_Energy_Investment.jpg ) https://youtu.be/Y1Mu3zljgm0 Simon Gosling, Managing Director of EnergyNet, commented; "As Denmark leads the way with its clean energy initiatives and blending of public and private finance, Copenhagen is the perfect location to welcome African stakeholders and international investors to discuss project partnerships with some of the country's leading energy companies. The theme for the conference in Copenhagen in June 2017 is 'development financing institutions', so it's perfect that Denmark's Investment Fund for Developing Countries (IFU) celebrates 50 years of doing business on the first day of this conference in June." Nineteen years in the running, AEF brings together senior-level representatives from governments, utilities, regulators, power developers, financial institutions, technology providers, consultants, law firms and large energy consumers to form partnerships, identify opportunities and collectively move the industry forward. AEF 2016 attracted 2,100 participants from 80 countries, 32 of those being African. In addition, five major energy deals and mergers were announced at AEF 2016 in London totalling over US$1 billion from organisations including Harith General Partners, Africa Finance Corporation, World Bank Group, Mainstream Renewable Power and USTDA, demonstrating the role of the conference as a platform for industry developments. For more information about the Africa Energy Forum: Contact: Amy Offord - Marketing Manager Event dates: 7-9 June 2017 Event location: Bella Center, Copenhagen, Denmark Organisers: EnergyNet, part of Clarion Events Ltd Email: AEF@energynet.co.uk Tel: +44 (0)20 7384 8068 Visit: http://www.africa-energy-forum.com About EnergyNet: EnergyNet has been producing investment forums for Africa's power sector for the last 18 years, working with 23 different governments and national utilities to facilitate investment summits where investors can build relationships with credible African public sector stakeholders to advance access to power. The EnergyNet team spends over 220 days a year travelling to meet stakeholders across Africa. SOURCE EnergyNet ZWOLLE, Netherlands, February 7, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- In the build-up of JFPT (Jansen Food Processing Technology) passing the honours over to foodlife group, furthering steps have been initiated in continuing building the striking power and backbone of food life. (Photo: http://mma.prnewswire.com/media/465665/foodlife_group_Executive_Team.jpg ) It was clear to the share-holders of JFPT that strengthening the organization was key for further growing the success and transforming JFPT to food life. Mr. Patrick Jansen, share-holder of JFPT, now foodlife group quotes: in order to be able and keep on implementing and effectively building systems according the foodlife vision connected to a higher level of hygienic approach, a higher level of automation both on plant as control levels, communication with ERP-systems and more importantly bringing the bright ideas and technologies in industrial automation (like vision and robotics) from the high-tech industry to the food-industry, it became clear to me that foodlife needed a seasoned CEO who would be too truly able translating the foodlife vision. The foodlife vision is more than clear. My personal strength and added value as CCO of foodlife is in Sales and Innovation. I welcome Mr. Martin F. Wieffering as CEO of foodlife group. I am confident that he will further the foodlife vision in our Industry. Mr. ing. Martin F. Wieffering MBA, now CEO of foodlife group quotes: it is with great pride I have accepted the appointment as CEO of foodlife group. Rarely one encounters people like Mr. Patrick Jansen: he has a clear vision on the foodlife group market space, is down to earth and has a clear view on innovation through truly pushing boundaries of current technologies in the foodlife marketspace. I am more than convinced that foodlife group has all the ingredients in house to truly be of added value to any food-manufacturer in the Industry. Historically foodlife group is focussing on the Salad and vegetables arena, already at this moment foodlife is surveying the meat arena; as many current partners/ clients of foodlife operate in this area. http://www.foodlife.nl SOURCE foodlife GENEVA, February 7, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- A brand new company is all set to enter the ultra-competitive world of the global skincare, healthy-ageing and wellness industry, as Oud Essentials prepares to take its bow on the international stage. (Logo: http://mma.prnewswire.com/media/464278/Oud_Essentials_Logo.jpg ) (Photo: http://mma.prnewswire.com/media/464596/Oud_Essentials_1.jpg ) (Photo: http://mma.prnewswire.com/media/464241/Oud_Essentials_2.jpg ) (Photo: http://mma.prnewswire.com/media/464242/Oud_Essentials_3.jpg ) (Photo: http://mma.prnewswire.com/media/464243/Oud_Essentials_4.jpg ) The brainchild of industry professional, entrepreneur and Galenic technician, Jean-Marc Dufat, Oud Essentials is ready to 'change the face of the skincare industry', with a range of innovative products and accessories - all containing and/or featuring the magical material that is Oud. Leveraging the relationship with an existing, well-established and reputable, global brand of luxury fragrances, Oud Essentials has taken the inclusion of Oud - one of nature's most prized and valuable substances - to a new level, creating skincare products and accoutrements that promise to set new industry standards. Having spent many years researching agarwood and the Oud derived therefrom - it is formed, naturally, in response to 'infection' in the heart of the Aquilaria tree - Jean-Marc Dufat consulted with scientific advisers and some of the world's leading skincare experts in the UK, Switzerland, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and South Korea, before embarking on a business venture to which his past experience makes him ideally suited. "There are a lot of skincare products on the market today," said Dufat, CEO, Oud Essentials, "and whenever you enter into a highly competitive market you have to believe that you can do things differently, and better. At Oud Essentials we believe that we have done that. We've created some truly innovative products that will impact the global skincare industry in a positive way, and we know that in Oud, we have a cutting-edge ingredient that will make a major difference." Sustainability, renewability and corporate social responsibility are key tenets in the Oud Essentials' ethos, and it's a brand that has evolved to meet the needs of an ever-expanding number of socially and environmentally aware consumers. All the ingredients used in the Oud Essentials' range of products are sustainably sourced and produced, and of known provenance, thereby supplying all the relevant information to those who want to know how the products they are using are made; where they come from; and what they contain. As a core ingredient in Oud Essentials' products, the Oud used is produced on sustainable, dedicated plantations that benefit the environment as well as communities, and this provenance and transparency is heralding a revolution in the estimated US$120 billion a year industry. With healing and medicinal properties that have been recognised by countless cultures over the course of thousands of years (including, but not limited to the Arabian Gulf, South Asia, Southeast Asia, China and the Korean Peninsula), Oud is now the ingredient of choice in the modern, global perfume industry - prized for its aroma, depth, and the longevity it affords to a fragrance. For the first time, Oud will be available in a range of skincare products in a pioneering venture that will harness its natural power, with Oud Essentials evolving and patenting OudActive+ - a super-refined, purest of the pure, essential oil that enhances both physical and spiritual wellbeing. Oud has now been proven to be rich in antioxidants, with anti-inflammatory, anti-bacterial and anti-ischemic properties that promote good health and slow down the process of ageing. Research is currently underway to establish its efficacy in a variety of anti-cancer treatments, and is also effective in scar tissue reduction and enhancing the tone, lustre and overall health of skin. Recognising all these qualities and properties, and evolving them into a range of skincare products has brought to fruition the tireless work conducted by Jean-Marc Dufat into an ingredient that the world is now taking very seriously indeed, and he is proud to be at the vanguard of an industry-changing enterprise. "When I started my research," Dufat concluded, "I had only an inkling of where it would take me. Working with Oud, and evolving products that have the ingredient at their core - their heart, if you prefer - has been a remarkable and rewarding experience. We're on to something very special here, and the pioneering spirit is very much to the fore in our new company and brand." Oud Essentials A new brand, a new face, and a new name in the global skincare industry, Oud Essentials enhances the remarkable properties and qualities of agarwood and Oud in a range of products that are designed to be part of a skincare regimen and an approach to a healthy lifestyle that embraces a story thousands of years in the making. With real products for real people in the real world, the Oud Essentials' skincare range, along with its beautifully designed jewellery and natural infusions formulated to promote spiritual and physical wellbeing, embodies the pioneering spirit of innovation and creativity, with respect paid to the environment, communities, and the concept of sustainability that has become essential to all of us. SOURCE Oud Essentials NEW YORK, February 7, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Anticipated revival of economy and increasing government initiatives to drive Somalia tire market through 2022 According to TechSci Research report, "Somalia Tire Market Forecast & Opportunities, 2022", the country's tire market is projected to witness unit sales of more than 100,000 units by 2022, on the back of increasing automobile sales as well as expansion of automobile fleet in the country. The country's vehicle fleet rose from 73,111 units in 2012 to 86703 in 2016, thereby registering a CAGR of 4.3% during 2012 - 2016. Somalia is an import driven economy; and consequently, the tire market in the country is entirely replacement driven due to absence of automobile manufacturing facilities. During 2016, huge market penetration of ultra budget tires was witnessed across Somalia, followed by budget tires. The expected increase in inflow of used cars in the country, during the forecast period, is expected to further infuse growth in replacement demand for tires in the country at a rapid pace during 2017-2022. (Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20140117/663730 ) Browse 14 market data Tables and 53 Figures spread through 113 Pages and an in-depth TOC on "Somalia Tire Market " https://www.techsciresearch.com/report/somalia-tire-market-forecast-opportunities/898.html During 2013-2015, per capita GDP of Somalia grew at a CAGR of 2.65%, resulting in positive impact over growth in demand for vehicles and tires in the country. In 2016, major demand for tires emanated from Lower region of Somalia, which is also the largest area of the country, in terms of population. On the back of growing vehicle fleet, Lower region of Somalia is anticipated to continue dominating Somalia tire market during the forecast period as well. The country's passenger car tire market is dominated by tires for SUVs, followed by sedans and hatchback tire segment. During 2017-2022, demand for SUV tires is anticipated to increase, as SUVs are the most commonly used type of passenger car and poor road infrastructure and rugged terrain of the country leads to excessive wear and tires resulting in faster replacement cycle of tires. Download Sample Report @ https://www.techsciresearch.com/sample-report.aspx?cid=898 Customers can also request for 10% free customization on this report. "The constantly improving fiscal and regulatory policies in Somalia, coupled with the changing perception of the people towards Chinese tire brands, resulted in augmented demand for tires in Somalia in 2016. Due to the market being extremely price sensitive, imports of low priced Chinese tires are increasing, in comparison with other leading European and American tire brands.", said Mr. Karan Chechi, Research Director with TechSci Research, a research based global management consulting firm. "Somalia Tire Market Forecast & Opportunities, 2022" has analyzed the future growth potential of Somalia tire market and provides statistics and information on market size, structure and future market growth. The report will suffice in providing the intending clients with cutting-edge market intelligence and help them in taking sound investment decisions. Besides, the report also identifies and analyzes emerging trends along with essential drivers and key challenges in Somalia tire market. Browse Related Reports Brazil Tire Market Forecast & Opportunities, 2021 https://www.techsciresearch.com/report/brazil-tire-market-forecast-opportunities/859.html Singapore Tire Market Forecast and Opportunities, 2011 - 2021 https://www.techsciresearch.com/report/singapore-tire-market-forecast-and-opportunities/861.html APAC Tire Market Forecast & Opportunities, 2021 https://www.techsciresearch.com/report/apac-tire-market-forecast-opportunities/855.html About TechSci Research TechSci Research is a leading global market research firm publishing premium market research reports. Serving 700 global clients with more than 600 premium market research studies, TechSci Research is serving clients across 11 different industrial verticals. TechSci Research specializes in research based consulting assignments in high growth and emerging markets, leading technologies and niche applications. Our workforce of more than 100 fulltime Analysts and Consultants employing innovative research solutions and tracking global and country specific high growth markets helps TechSci clients to lead rather than follow market trends. Contact Mr. Ken Mathews 708 Third Avenue, Manhattan, NY, New York - 10017 Tel: +1-646-360-1656 Email: sales@techsciresearch.com Connect with us on Twitter - https://twitter.com/TechSciResearch Connect with us on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/techsci-research SOURCE TechSci Research AMSTERDAM, February 7, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- University Office, an international leader in research management and administration applications and solutions, and Elsevier, a world-leading provider of scientific, technical and medical information products and services, today announced their agreement to provide the University Office CRIS system IRMA (Integrated Research Management Application) with access to data from Elsevier's Scopus, the largest abstract and citation database of peer-reviewed literature. "University Office is proud to announce that the highly flexible web services framework of its Integrated Research Management Application (IRMA) is now linked to Scopus, enabling users to automatically harvest data to populate IRMA," said Peter Mackie, Director of University Office. "Working with the team at Elsevier has helped us deliver our mutual clients access to information available through the advanced interoperability of the Scopus products. Using the Scopus API to harvest research outputs and citation information will allow University Office and Elsevier clients to direct their resources to additional value-add services for researchers." The agreement allows University Office customers with a subscription to Scopus to import bibliographic records from Scopus, via an automated process, into their IRMA CRIS system. IRMA is a web-based integrated research management system, which allows the comprehensive management of an organization's research. The automated import will increase the quality and speed of internal data aggregation and analysis, such as Information real-time information on author publications, citations and author's h-indexes. Professor Chris Hutchison, Director for Research and Innovation at Murdoch University and one of University Office's customers, commented: "The new agreement with Elsevier underpins the University's e-research strategy of continuously seeking innovative solutions to support research outcomes, ensuring that Murdoch University's published body of knowledge is as complete as possible. The key savings will be around the automated matching from the overnight processing leading to a reduced management overhead for our Research and Innovation team members. Murdoch University is planning to have our Scopus data integration ready in early 2017." "We are pleased to see that leading universities in Australia, as well as longstanding Scopus customers, will now be able to also access Scopus information from within their CRIS system," said Cameron Ross, Vice President of Product Management, Abstract & Indexing Databases at Elsevier. "This way, their users will be able to combine the power of Scopus data with other relevant research information available at their institute." About University Office University Office, headquartered in Melbourne with offices in Perth and Sydney, is an international leader in research management and administration applications and solutions. They work extensively with the university and research community to deliver solutions tailored for all research-driven institutions. Through our collaborations, University Office discovers best practice research management and administration, and deploys that knowledge within their Integrated Research Management Application (IRMA).Not only is IRMA fully linked across its own modules, through its configurable and flexible web services framework it offers seamless integration with enterprise systems for human resources, finance, and student management, among others. www.universityoffice.com About Scopus Scopus is the largest abstract and citation database of peer-reviewed literature and features tools to track, analyze and visualize scholarly research. Its comprehensive database contains 66+ million items indexed from +22,500 titles from more than 5,000 publishers worldwide, ensuring broad interdisciplinary coverage in the fields of science, technology, medicine, social sciences and arts and humanities. Scopus was designed and developed with input from researchers and librarians and features direct links to subscribed full-text articles, other library resources and interoperability with applications such as reference management software. Scopus is part of Elsevier's Research Intelligence portfolio which includes the SciVal tools, the Pure system, rich data assets and custom Analytical Services. www.scopus.com About Elsevier Elsevier is a world-leading provider of information solutions that enhance the performance of science, health, and technology professionals, empowering them to make better decisions, deliver better care, and sometimes make groundbreaking discoveries that advance the boundaries of knowledge and human progress. Elsevier provides web-based, digital solutions - among them ScienceDirect, Scopus, Research Intelligence and ClinicalKey - and publishes over 2,500 journals, including The Lancet and Cell, and more than 35,000 book titles, including a number of iconic reference works. Elsevier is part of RELX Group, a world-leading provider of information and analytics for professional and business customers across industries. www.elsevier.com Media contacts Todd Melville Program Manager, University Office +61-439-696-655 todd@universityoffice.com.au Elisa Nelissen Press Officer, Elsevier +31-622-73-50-02 e.nelissen@elsevier.com SOURCE Elsevier SINGAPORE, Feb. 7, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Reference is made to the announcements made by EMAS Offshore Limited ("EOL" or the "Company") on 30 October 2016 and updated on 29 November 2016 regarding the publication of the preliminary financial statements for FY2016, and on 10 January 2017 with respect to Q1 FY2017 financial results announcement and release date for the Annual Financial Report for FY2016 ("AR FY2016"). As announced to the market on 10 January 2017, the Company was not in position to release its annual report for 2016 ("AR2016") within the deadline 31 December 2016. In this regard, the Company received approval from the Singapore Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority ("ACRA") for the extension of time by sixty (60) days to hold its annual general meeting of shareholders ("AGM") and to present its audited financial statements for the full financial year ended 31 August 2016 at the AGM. As announced to the market on 10 January 2017, the Company expected to release the AR2016 on 7 February 2017, with the AGM to be held on 27 February 2017. As certain matters relating to the finalization of the AR2016 are not yet resolved, and are not likely to be resolved prior to the contemplated date of release, the Company is in the process of applying to ACRA again for an additional extension of time to hold its AGM. The application will request an extension of an aggregate of up to 150 days which would imply that the AGM would be held towards the end of May 2017, while the AR2016 would be released in the earlier part of May 2017. The reasons for the application for the delay and the requested extension to ACRA are mainly as follows: - As disclosed by the Company in Note 4 of the Q1 FY2017 results, both Ezra Holdings Limited and EOL will have going concern issues if discussions on EOL's fund raising and Ezra's consolidating its funding requirements do not achieve favorable and timely outcomes. Conclusion on these matters is still pending; - The above matters contain elements and discussions to which the outcome is uncertain and beyond the control of EOL. Taking into consideration the discussion above, it is therefore the conclusion of EOL that to have the audit report signed off without sufficiently more clarity will not be prudent and would entail significant risks. Consequently, the revised tentative Financial Calendar 2017 is as follows: Q1 FY2017 Report 10 January 2017 (Announced) Q2 FY2017 and first half semi-annual FY2017 Report 7 April 2017 Annual Financial Report 2016 9 May 2017 AGM 2017 30 May 2017 Q3 FY2017 Report 7 July 2017 Q4 FY2017 and preliminary FY 2017 20 October 2017 This announcement is made pursuant to the Oslo Stock Exchange's Continuing Obligations section 4.6 and is subject to disclosure in accordance with the Norwegian Securities Trading Act section 5-12. The Company is dual listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange and the Singapore Stock Exchange. For further information, please contact: Mr. Hsu Chong Pin EMAS Offshore Limited Tel: +65 6800 1202 investor_relations@emasoffshore-cnp.com This information was brought to you by Cision http://news.cision.com http://news.cision.com/emas-offshore-limited/r/update-release-date-for-annual-financial-report-fy2016---revised-financial-calendar,c2182126 The following files are available for download: SOURCE EMAS Offshore Limited To ensure they're getting the most out of their panoramic journey through Europe, Monograms delivers travelers to different countries, cities, towns and villages on their itinerary via first-class, high-speed rail and hand-picked, centrally located hotels. Even better? Monograms a sister company to award-winning tour operator Globus is the only vacation provider that promises travelers a warm "welcome" in each place thanks to the on-site services of an expert Local Host who offers tips, insights and also arranges included sightseeing in each destination. Some of the travel company's most popular, easy-to-navigate multi-country journeys include: "There are good ways to see and experience Europe in one journey and ways that are decidedly not so good. With Monograms, the difference is clear from the start because we're behind travelers every step of the way," said Steve Born, vice president of marketing for the Globus family of brands. "They'll spend every moment exploring and savoring rather than stressing thanks to hand-picked, centrally located accommodations and the on-site services of their Monograms Local Host. In each place, travelers can enjoy as much or as little free time as they'd like. Local Hosts can arrange special day-long excursions such as visiting Versailles or touring the Catacombs as well as food or photography tours, biking excursions, cooking classes & more. Travelers also have the opportunity to enjoy the journey and the scenery of the country between each place in the comfort of first-class train travel that's included in the vacation." DEAL ALERT: Looking for better deals on a better way to travel? Monograms' WANDERLIST offers travelers the best deals each month. For more information about Monograms visit www.monograms.com or blog.monograms.com. ABOUT MONOGRAMS With nearly 40 offices staffed with more than 200 travel experts that extend as far as Asia and as wide as Europe, Monograms has a rich reputation as a company travelers can depend on to help them simplify travel planning while creating special dream getaways. Monograms affords travelers the power to personalize their vacation without having to take care of planning details or logistics, thanks to the on-site support of a Local Host. With Monograms, travelers are assured their vacation details are taken care of, including hotel, transportation, sightseeing and more, so they can simply focus on having fun. Monograms is part of the Globus family of brands, an award-winning, travel industry leader with more than 85 years of international travel expertise. The Globus family of brands is a member of Sustainable Travel International (STI). Consumers can book a Monograms vacation or request brochures by visiting a preferred travel agent or by calling the following toll free number: 1.800.250.7614. For more information, please visit Monograms.com. SOURCE Monograms Related Links http://www.monograms.com ORLANDO, Fla., Feb. 7, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Abacus Life Settlements continues to drive innovation in the Life Settlement industry with Abacus Express. Recent innovations in the way that policies are purchased have greatly reduced the time it takes for Policy Holders to secure a Life Settlement quote. Traditionally, a client's life expectancy (LE) could not be determined without utilizing a third-party underwriter. This process required collecting the insured's medical records and then ordering an LE. Completing the process could sometimes take 30-45 days, all before the pricing stage could even begin. "By then, some clients feel slightly abandoned and confused about the time it takes to generate an offer," explained Samantha Butcher, Abacus's Chief Operating Officer. Abacus Express flips the traditional method of underwriting and pricing a life policy on its head. "We utilize a streamlined underwriting technique that allows us to remove medical records from the initial decision-making process. Instead, we conduct a 15-minute medical interview with the insured; and input the results from the call into our advanced analytics software which generates the results needed to produce an offer in a fraction of the time of traditional underwriting," says Samantha. Clients benefit from market value based on mortality evaluations without the need for traditional underwriting. Simplified underwriting allows us to deliver a faster product that is still based on intelligent analytics, using the client's medical history. Butcher also stressed the importance of immediate pricing. "With Abacus Express, policyholders aren't forced to go through weeks of red tape for something as simple as a qualification; and can often secure a full payment less than 30 days after initial contact." "We utilize technology and well-established analytics to deliver a far smoother experience for policyholders, agents, and brokers; without sacrificing quality or accuracy." About Abacus Settlements Abacus Settlements, LLC is a nationally licensed life settlement provider with a corporate office in Orlando, Florida. Founded in 2004, Abacus has purchased billions of dollars of death benefit. We are an active member of the Life Insurance Settlement Association (LISA) and work with life settlement brokers, professional advisors, consumers and institutional investors in optimizing the value of unwanted life insurance policies Abacus Settlements is not licensed in all states. For more information, visit https://abacuslifesettlements.com. Media Contact: Samantha Butcher, COO 800-561-4148 Facebook LinkedIn Google Plus YouTube SOURCE Abacus Life Settlements Related Links http://www.abacussettlements.com SHANGHAI, Feb. 7, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Acorn International, Inc. (NYSE: ATV) ("Acorn" or the "Company") today announced that its board of directors has appointed Mr. Pierre E. Cohade as a Director of the Company, effective February 1, 2017. Mr. Cohade was also appointed as a member of the Audit Committee, Compensation Committee and Corporate Governance and Nominating Committee of the Company. According to the Company's Articles of Association, Mr. Cohade will hold office until the Company's next annual general meeting and will be eligible for re-election at such meeting. "Mr. Cohade's extensive experience in the China market and in turning around loss-making companies is crucial to our business, particularly after our recent repositioning of the Company," commented Executive Chairman of the board, Mr. Robert Roche. "We welcome Mr. Cohade to join the board of the Company and expect to leverage his expertise to further enhance our business operations." Mr. Pierre E. Cohade, until recently, was the CEO of Triangle Tyre, China's largest private tire manufacturer. Between 2004 and 2011, Cohade was the president of Goodyear Asia Pacific. Cohade has also served as Senior Advisor to ChinaVest, Wells Fargo's Investment Bank affiliate in China, as well as the Center for Creative Leadership. In 2003, Group Danone chose Cohade to run its global Walter and Beverage division, based in Paris, France. Cohade started to work for Eastman Kodak in the USA as a financial analyst in 1985 and subsequently held business management and executive positions in Brazil, Mexico, the United States, Singapore and Switzerland. He was named General Manager of Kodak Worldwide Consumer Films in 1996 and assumed leadership of the Asia Pacific region for Kodak's Consumer business in 1999. Mr. Pierre E. Cohade was named Chairman of Kodak's Europe, Africa, Middle East and Russia Region in 2001. Cohade is a native of Barcelonnette, France, and he received a degree in business management from the SKEMA business school in Sophia-Antipolis, France, in 1984 and an MBA from the Penn State University in 1985. He resides in Shanghai with his wife Sonoko and their daughter Sophia-Lena, and his grown up children, Arnaud and Alexia, reside in New York. Safe Harbor Statement This news release contains forward-looking statements. These statements constitute "forward-looking" statements within the meaning of 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. These forward-looking statements can be identified by terminology such as "anticipates," "believes," "estimates," "expects," "future," "going forward," "intends," "outlook," "plans," "target," "will," and similar statements. Such statements are based on management's current expectations and current market and operating conditions, and relate to events that involve known or unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors, all of which are difficult to predict and many of which are beyond the Company's control, which may cause the Company's actual results, performance, or achievements to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. Further information regarding these and other risks, uncertainties, or factors is included in the Company's filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The Company does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statement as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise, except as required by law. About Acorn International, Inc. Co-founded in 1998 by Executive Chairman Robert Roche, Acorn is a marketing and branding company in China with a proven track record of developing, promoting and selling a diverse portfolio of proprietary-branded products, as well as well-established and promising new products from third parties. Its business is currently comprised of two main divisions, its direct sales platforms and its nationwide distribution network. For more information visit www.acorninternationalir.com. SOURCE Acorn International, Inc. Related Links http://www.chinadrtv.com DETROIT, Feb. 7, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Adient (NYSE: ADNT), the world's largest global automotive seating supplier, today announced it has become an affiliate member of the University of Michigan's Mobility Transformation Center (MTC). The center is a research partnership of industry, government and academia that is laying the foundation for a commercially viable system of connected and automated vehicles. "We are pleased to be a part of this dynamic research group and look forward to working together to address the challenges and opportunities that a world with vehicle connectivity will bring," said Bruce McDonald, Adient's Chairman and CEO. Adient, created when Johnson Controls' automotive seating business was spun off as an independent company in 2016, conducts extensive market and consumer research on the needs of autonomous vehicle interiors. Seating will play an important role as drivers and passengers spend more time on non-driving activities. At the recent North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) in Detroit, Adient revealed its "AI17" interior seating concept for level-3 and level-4 autonomous vehicles that forecast how enjoyable future interiors will be. Once vehicles have the capability to be computer-driven, occupants will demand more flexibility from a vehicle's seating and interior space than ever before. "Connected and automated vehicles hold the potential to dramatically improve the safety, sustainability and accessibility of our mobility system," said Dr. Huei Peng, Director of MTC. "Through this consortium arrangement, we are engaging cutting-edge technology suppliers, thought leaders and entrepreneurs required to inform and drive progress toward that transformative vision." Adient and MTC's other Affiliates represent a range of sectors that will play a role in shaping a viable system of connected and automated vehicles, including automotive manufacturing, vehicle communication devices, chips and hardware and insurance, as well as companies engaged in technologies such as advanced modeling, big data acquisition and intelligent transportation systems. Affiliates commit $150,000 each over three years in order to participate in selected MTC working groups and research programs as well as key research reviews and an annual MTC Congress. They also have access to the Mcity proving ground and on-road vehicle test beds. Mcity is a simulated urban-suburban environment for testing connected and automated vehicles and systems before they are tried out in real traffic. Mcity sits on a 32-acre site on U-M's North Campus, with more than 16 acres of roads and traffic infrastructure. In addition, MTC is working with its partners to develop on-road vehicle deployments in Ann Arbor and beyond to serve as test beds for partners to evaluate the effectiveness of various approaches and explore market opportunities. About Adient: Adient is a global leader in automotive seating. With 75,000 employees operating 230 manufacturing/assembly plants in 33 countries worldwide, we produce and deliver automotive seating for all vehicle classes and all major OEMs. From complete seating systems to individual components, our expertise spans every step of the automotive seat-making process. Our integrated, in-house skills allow us to take our products from research and design all the way to engineering and manufacturing and into more than 25 million vehicles every year. For more information on Adient, please visit adient.com SOURCE Adient Related Links http://www.adient.com COLUMBUS, Ga., Feb. 7, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Aflac, the leading provider of voluntary insurance sales at the worksite in the U.S., announced today that it exceeded its 2016 goal for social interactions regarding the company's #Duckprints campaign for childhood cancer. The year-long campaign rallied people across America to become active in the fight against pediatric cancer by asking them to create or share posts related to childhood cancer using the hashtag #Duckprints on social media. For each social media activity, Aflac pledged to contribute $2, up to $1.5 million. All told, there were more than 900,000 social media engagements across Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube, making this the first time that the program, which began in 2013, has reached its goal of $1.5 million in contributions. "We are proud to have achieved and even exceeded our 2016 goal, which drew hundreds of thousands of people into this much-needed conversation about childhood cancer," Aflac Chairman and CEO Dan Amos said. "But this is just one step on the way to achieving our highest goal of all and that's eradicating childhood cancer, because every child deserves a lifetime and every family deserves to be whole." Aflac uses social media, traditional media, live events across the country, and word of mouth within the extended Aflac family to raise awareness of the Duckprints program and for childhood cancer, a disease that will see 16,000 new cases diagnosed each year. The company also promotes and participates in events like CureFest and the Washington Post's Chasing Cancer forum, which provides highly visible platforms to shine a bright light on challenges facing children and families affected by cancer. In addition to facilitating a national conversation, Aflac honors heroes at children's cancer hospitals coast to coast who are leaving their footprints in the fight against cancer by awarding them with special Duckprints awards. At each event, patients, nurses, advocates, families and nonprofits are recognized for their significant contributions to battling pediatric cancer. Childhood cancer is the No. 1 cause of death by disease for children under the age of 15, according to the National Cancer Institute. Yet, less than 4 percent of federal funding for cancer research goes to pediatric cancer, according to the I Care I Cure Childhood Cancer Foundation. Since 1995, Aflac has raised more than $113 million for childhood cancer awareness, research and treatment. In fact, each month, more than 16,000 of Aflac's independent sales associates contribute over $500,000 from their commission checks to the Aflac Cancer Center in Atlanta, which is rated among the top-10 pediatric cancer hospitals in America by U.S. News and World Report. Social engagements that trigger a $2 donation include: Twitter - $2 for any tweet using the hashtag #Duckprints or for retweets of Duckprints-related tweets. Facebook - $2 for any share, like, comment or video view of specific posts related to Duckprints or by using the hashtag #Duckprints. YouTube - $2 per view of the Duckprints videos on YouTube. Instagram - $2 for every post using the hashtag #Duckprints. Aflac also has a website (aflacduckprints.com) that enables users to nominate unsung heroes in their community who make a difference in the lives of children and families facing cancer. Merchandise such as plush Aflac ducks and Duckprints-related T-shirts, slippers and other items are available for purchase at aflacduckprints.com, with all of the net proceeds going toward the treatment and research of childhood cancer. About Aflac When a policyholder gets sick or hurt, Aflac pays cash benefits fast. For six decades, Aflac insurance policies have given policyholders the opportunity to focus on recovery, not financial stress. In the United States, Aflac is the leader in voluntary insurance sales at the worksite. Through its trailblazing One Day PaySM initiative, Aflac U.S. can receive, process, approve and disburse payment for eligible claims in one business day. In Japan, Aflac is the leading provider of medical and cancer insurance and insures one in four households. Aflac insurance products help provide protection to more than 50 million people worldwide. For 10 consecutive years, Aflac has been recognized by Ethisphere as one of the World's Most Ethical Companies. In 2016, Fortune magazine recognized Aflac as one of the 100 Best Companies to Work for in America for the 18th consecutive year and included Aflac on its list of Most Admired Companies for the 15th time, ranking the company No. 1 in innovation for the insurance, life and health category for the second consecutive year. In 2015, Aflac's contact centers were recognized by J.D. Power by providing "An Outstanding Customer Service Experience" for the Live Phone Channel. Aflac Incorporated is a Fortune 500 company listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol AFL. To find out more about Aflac and One Day PaySM, visit aflac.com or espanol.aflac.com. Aflac herein means American Family Life Assurance Company of Columbus and American Family Life Assurance Company of New York. Media contacts Jon Sullivan, 706.763.4813 or [email protected] Analyst and investor contact Robin Y. Wilkey, 706.596.3264 or 800.235.2667, FAX: 706.324.6330, or [email protected] SOURCE Aflac Related Links http://aflac.com The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards, now in its 22 nd year, is conducted by Prudential Financial in partnership with the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP). These are Alaska's top youth volunteers of 2017: High School State Honoree: Adam Skelton Nominated by South Anchorage High School in Anchorage Adam, a senior at South Anchorage High School, has collected more than a ton of books over the past two years and shipped them to rural Alaskan communities that lack ready access to reading materials. Adam, an avid reader since early childhood, was appalled when he learned that Alaskans living in villages beyond the state's road network struggled to acquire basic essentials such as books. "This seemed extraordinarily unjust to me," he said, "given my easy access to reading materials." Adam's response was to create a foundation devoted to promoting literacy in rural Alaska. He began collecting thousands of unwanted books from garage sales, school libraries, individual donors, and even his own collection. A book drive he conducted in partnership with Special Olympics Alaska brought in more than 500 pounds of books. Most of the books he sought were children's picture books and novels for young readers, but he welcomed contributions for all ages. Adam persuaded five local airlines and two bush pilots to fly boxes of his books to some of the most remote communities in southwestern Alaska, where they were then delivered to health clinics, schools and private homes. "I'm thrilled that I have given rural residents of the state I call home the opportunity to enjoy reading as much as I do," said Adam. Middle Level State Honoree: Leena Robinson Nominated by Nenana City Public School in Nenana Leena, an eighth-grader at Nenana City Public Schools, plays a key role in a small group that works to educate local residents about the dangers of tobacco. After Leena's mother and older sister founded the group, called "PINK" (for "People in Need of Knowledge"), Leena wanted to join because her father was a smoker. "I felt it was important because I learned how harmful smoking was and didn't want to see my dad suffer from things he could prevent," she said. As one of only eight members of PINK, Leena has spent hundreds of volunteer hours helping to plan and coordinate a variety of annual events that highlight the benefits of a tobacco-free lifestyle. These include a summer "prevention" carnival with attractions for kids and teens, a community picnic, and an autumn street dance featuring dinner, a live band and a guest speaker. Leena often speaks in front of hundreds of people at these events. She also helps recruit speakers to address students at school about tobacco and other harmful substances. Distinguished Finalists The program judges also recognized two other Alaska students as Distinguished Finalists for their impressive community service activities. Each will receive an engraved bronze medallion. These are Alaska's Distinguished Finalists for 2017: Amy Cordell, 18, of Anchorage, Alaska, a senior at A.J. Dimond High School, is a lifelong volunteer who, as president of her school's Z-Club community service group, seeks out volunteer opportunities and makes connections between her fellow students and the community. She also helped lead the Hugh O'Brian Youth Leadership program in her state and volunteers with Junior Achievement to teach kids about financial literacy. Tasha Elizarde, 17, of Juneau, Alaska, a senior at Juneau-Douglas High School, organized and led her school's annual Homeless Awareness Sleep Out as president of her Interact Club, collaborating with other school clubs for the first time and raising nearly $3,000 for the Juneau School District Homeless Fund and the Zach Gordon Youth Center food budget. She also facilitated a discussion on the stigma around homelessness and raised greater awareness through a video and newspaper coverage about the event. "Prudential is honored to recognize these young volunteers for their exemplary service," said Prudential Chairman and CEO John Strangfeld. "We hope that their stories inspire others to consider how they, too, can volunteer their time and talents to improve their communities." "These service-minded young people have brought meaningful change to communities at home and abroad, and it's a privilege to celebrate their work," said JoAnn Bartoletti, executive director of NASSP. "Congratulations to an exceptional group of middle level and high school students." About The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards represents the United States' largest youth recognition program based solely on volunteer service. All public and private middle level and high schools in the country, as well as all Girl Scout councils, county 4-H organizations, American Red Cross chapters, YMCAs and HandsOn Network affiliates, were eligible to select a student or member for a local Prudential Spirit of Community Award. These Local Honorees were then reviewed by an independent judging panel, which selected State Honorees and Distinguished Finalists based on criteria including personal initiative, effort, impact and personal growth. While in Washington, D.C., the 102 State Honorees one middle level and one high school student from each state and the District of Columbia will tour the capital's landmarks, meet top youth volunteers from other parts of the world, attend a gala awards ceremony at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History, and visit their congressional representatives on Capitol Hill. On May 8, 10 of the State Honorees five middle level and five high school students will be named America's top youth volunteers of 2017. These National Honorees will receive additional $5,000 awards, gold medallions, crystal trophies and $5,000 grants from The Prudential Foundation for nonprofit charitable organizations of their choice. Since the program began in 1995, more than 115,000 young volunteers have been honored at the local, state and national level. The program also is conducted by Prudential subsidiaries in Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Ireland, India, China and Brazil. In addition to granting its own awards, The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards program also distributes President's Volunteer Service Awards to qualifying Local Honorees. For information on all of this year's Prudential Spirit of Community State Honorees and Distinguished Finalists, visit http://spirit.prudential.com or www.nassp.org/spirit. About NASSP The National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP) is the leading organization of and voice for middle level and high school principals, assistant principals, and school leaders from across the United States. The association connects and engages school leaders through advocacy, research, education, and student programs. NASSP advocates on behalf of all school leaders to ensure the success of each student and strengthens school leadership practices through the design and delivery of high quality professional learning experiences. Reflecting its long-standing commitment to student leadership development, NASSP administers the National Honor Society, National Junior Honor Society, National Elementary Honor Society, and National Association of Student Councils. For more information about NASSP, located in Reston, VA, visit www.nassp.org. About Prudential Financial Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE: PRU), a financial services leader, has operations in the United States, Asia, Europe, and Latin America. Prudential's diverse and talented employees are committed to helping individual and institutional customers grow and protect their wealth through a variety of products and services, including life insurance, annuities, retirement-related services, mutual funds and investment management. In the U.S., Prudential's iconic Rock symbol has stood for strength, stability, expertise and innovation for more than a century. For more information, please visit www.news.prudential.com. For Spirit of Community Awards program logo and medallion graphics, please visit https://spirit.prudential.com/resources/media SOURCE Prudential Insurance Related Links http://www.PRUDENTIAL.com DUBLIN, Feb. 7, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Allergan plc (NYSE: AGN), a global leader in eye care for nearly 70 years, announces a bold commitment to fight preventable blindness in the United States with a new initiativeSee America. Through See America, Allergan sets out to make vision health a priority for all Americans, increase awareness of the diseases that can cause preventable blindness and, critically, help improve access to vision care for those who need it most. The launch follows the release of a major report published in September 2016 by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM), declaring eye health a public health imperative. The report recognized the overwhelming number of Americans affected by blindness from preventable causes. Therefore, NASEM put forth a nationwide rallying cry, encouraging all of America to prioritize proactive eye care. "Vision loss from diseases such as glaucoma and diabetic retinopathy is affecting and destroying the lives of too manywith cases of preventable blindness increasing at such a frightening rate," said Herm Cukier, Senior Vice President, Eye Care. "We are launching See America to stress the importance of eye health. The time to act is now." Without a nationwide intervention, cases of preventable blindness and visual impairment are projected to double by 20501. At this rate, one American will experience partial or complete loss of sight every four minutes2 costing the U.S. economy trillions of dollars3 over the next thirty-four years. Through See America, Allergan will partner with the nation's leading volunteer eye health and safety organization, Prevent Blindness, to champion better access to vision care. Through a series of vision-screening events in various cities, sponsored by Allergan, attendees will receive free one-on-one professional eye exams, follow-up treatment plans and education about the most common diseases affecting people's vision. In addition to sponsoring Prevent Blindness, Allergan will look to partner on programs from like-minded organizations that support the goals of See America. Many people are not aware of the perils associated with neglecting their vision. Currently, 61 million Americans are at risk of severe vision lossmore than the populations of California and Florida combined4. Yet, only half of those at risk visited an eye doctor in the last year5. Board Certified Ophthalmologist, Dr. Elizabeth Yeu, believes the key to effective treatment is early detection. "As an ophthalmologist, I've seen the endless ways in which vision loss burdens my patients' lives," states Yeu. "In certain cases, their vision loss could have been prevented if they had sought out treatment sooner. I'm so happy to be a part of this initiative to shine a spotlight on the problem and rally the support we need to affect change."6 With an unrivaled eye care portfolio, a national network of medical experts and an unwavering commitment to the future of America's eyesight, Allergan is standing at the forefront to answer NASEM's call. For Allergan, this is only the beginning but the message is clear to fight until the fight has been won. To learn more about See America and prioritize your own vision, visit www.SeeAmerica.vision. NASEM - Making Eye Health a Population Health Imperative: Vision for Tomorrow In September 2016, The National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) issued a public health report that stressed the urgency of making vision health a national priority in order to reduce vision impairment and promote eye health in the U.S.[1] In the report, which was sponsored by some of the most reputable bodies in the healthcare space including the CDC, NASEM urged a call-to-action to eliminate preventable blindness and vision impairment by the year 2030. Allergan enthusiastically welcomes the attention NASEM is drawing to vision loss and has the responsibility to do its part in joining in this cause. ABOUT ALLERGAN PLC. Allergan plc (NYSE: AGN), headquartered in Dublin, Ireland, is a bold, global pharmaceutical company and a leader in a new industry model Growth Pharma. Allergan is focused on developing, manufacturing and commercializing branded pharmaceuticals, devices and biologic products for patients around the world. Allergan markets a portfolio of leading brands and best-in-class products for the central nervous system, eye care, medical aesthetics and dermatology, gastroenterology, women's health, urology and anti-infective therapeutic categories. Allergan is an industry leader in Open Science, the Company's R&D model, which defines our approach to identifying and developing game-changing ideas and innovation for better patient care. This approach has led to Allergan building one of the broadest development pipelines in the pharmaceutical industry with 70+ mid-to-late stage pipeline programs in development. Our Company's success is powered by our more than 16,000 global colleagues' commitment to being Bold for Life. Together, we build bridges, power ideas, act fast and drive results for our customers and patients around the world by always doing what is right. With commercial operations in approximately 100 countries, Allergan is committed to working with physicians, healthcare providers and patients to deliver innovative and meaningful treatments that help people around the world live longer, healthier lives every day. For more information, visit Allergan's website at www.Allergan.com Forward-Looking Statement Statements contained in this press release that refer to future events or other non-historical facts are forward-looking statements that reflect Allergan's current perspective of existing trends and information as of the date of this release. Except as expressly required by law, Allergan disclaims any intent or obligation to update these forward-looking statements. Actual results may differ materially from Allergan's current expectations depending upon a number of factors affecting Allergan's business. These factors include, among others, the difficulty of predicting the timing or outcome of FDA approvals or actions, if any; the impact of competitive products and pricing; market acceptance of and continued demand for Allergan's products; difficulties or delays in manufacturing; and other risks and uncertainties detailed in Allergan's periodic public filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including but not limited to Allergan's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2015 and Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2016 (certain of such periodic public filings having been filed under the "Actavis plc" name). Except as expressly required by law, Allergan disclaims any intent or obligation to update these forward-looking statements. 1 NASEM: Making Eye Health a Population Health Imperative: Vision for Tomorrow 2 Varma, R et al, "Visual impairment and blindness in adults in the United States: Demographic and Geographic Variations from 2015 to 2050," JAMA Ophthalmology 3 Prevent Blindness, The Future of Vision 4 US Census Bureau National Totals: Vintage 2015 5 CDC: Vision Health Initiative (VHI) Fast Facts 6 https://www.cdc.gov/features/healthyvision/ CONTACTS: Media: Mark Marmur [email protected] +1 (862) 261 7558 Suzanne Jacobson [email protected] +1 (201) 427 8879 Lisa DeFrancesco [email protected] +1 (862) 261 7152 SOURCE Allergan plc Related Links http://www.allergan.com NORTHBROOK, Ill., Feb. 6, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- The Allstate Corporation (NYSE: ALL), the nation's largest publicly held personal lines insurer, announced that Matt Winter, its president, will present at the Bank of America Merrill Lynch Insurance Conference at 8:35 a.m. Eastern Time on Wednesday, February 15, in New York. A webcast of the presentation can be accessed at www.allstateinvestors.com. For those unable to hear the live event, a replay will be posted on the investor relations and executive speeches sections of the company's website shortly after the presentation ends. The Allstate Corporation (NYSE: ALL) is the nation's largest publicly held personal lines insurer, protecting approximately 16 million households from life's uncertainties through auto, home, life and other insurance offered through its Allstate, Esurance, Encompass and Answer Financial brand names. Now celebrating its 85th anniversary as an insurer, Allstate is widely known through the slogan "You're In Good Hands With Allstate." Allstate agencies are in virtually every local community in America. SOURCE The Allstate Corporation Related Links http://www.allstate.com NEW YORK, Feb. 6, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Alzheimer's Association NYC chapter is proud to announce a new partnership with Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. Delta Rho Omega chapter to help raise awareness about Alzheimer's disease and increase education, care and support resources in the African-American community. This partnership, will engage both campus and alumni members of AKA through local community outreach efforts and participation in The Longest Day, a signature Alzheimer's Association event. "African-Americans are twice as likely as whites to develop Alzheimer's and other dementias, however they are less likely to be diagnosed, or diagnosed at a much later stage. This partnership will help the Association better connect African-Americans with important Alzheimer's information and support," said Victoria W. Thomas, President of the Delta Rho Omega chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. Delta Rho Omega chapter was chartered on November 15, 1947 in Brooklyn, New York and to date has over one hundred and ninety members. Delta Rho Omega strives to carry out the sorority's mission of "Service to all Mankind" through various philanthropic endeavors benefitting children, the elderly, the homeless, and those in need within the Brooklyn community. Alpha Kappa Alpha, the nation's oldest African-American sorority, is a trusted source of information within the African-American community. Members of Alpha Kappa Alpha will work with the New York City Alzheimer's Association chapter to better engage the African-American community in the full mission of the Association. This may include: Connecting the Alzheimer's Association to community partners, contacts and churches to open the doors for Alzheimer's education, care and support Volunteering for activities and committees for The Longest Day, the Alzheimer's Association event taking place on the summer solstice Becoming a trained Alzheimer's community educator or support group leader and advocate "The Alzheimer's Association is proud to be working with Delta Rho Omega chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha, Inc., to better reach, educate and engage the African American community in resources", said Executive Director, Christopher Smith. "This partnership will connect the African-American community in New York City to free education, care, support, research and advocacy programs that are so important for individuals and families impacted by Alzheimer's disease." About the Alzheimer's Association The Alzheimer's Association is the world's leading voluntary health organization in Alzheimer's care, support and research. For more information, visit www.alz.org. About Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated (AKA) is an international service organization that was founded on the campus of Howard University in Washington, D.C. in 1908. It is the oldest Greek-letter organization established by African-American college-educated women. For more information, log onto www.aka1908.com. SOURCE Alzheimers Association Related Links http://www.alz.org SAN DIEGO, Feb. 7, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Medical Marijuana, Inc. (OTC PINK: MJNA), the first publicly traded cannabis company in the United States, subsidiary, HempMeds Brasil today announced that the Brazilian government has authorized a doctor's prescription for the Company's hemp cannabidiol (CBD) oil product Real Scientific Hemp Oil (RSHO) to treat a patient in the country suffering from Alzheimer's disease. This marks the first time that Brazil's National Health Surveillance Agency ANVISA has granted the filling of a prescription for RSHO to specifically help a patient combat the effects of Alzheimer's disease. This comes nearly two years after HempMeds Brasil became the first company to offer legal medicinal cannabis products to Brazil after receiving import approval for those suffering from specific medical conditions. "We once again commend the Brazilian government for responding to the humanitarian interests of its people by allowing them access to CBD hemp oil products that can treat the symptoms of conditions with no known cure or limited treatment options," said Dr. Stuart Titus, Chief Executive Officer of Medical Marijuana, Inc. "Early stage research on Alzheimer's from Dr. David Schubert of the Salk Institute in San Diego shows that cannabinoids reduce both brain inflammation as well as the accumulation of beta-amyloid, a toxic protein buildup that is a hallmark of Alzheimer's disease. We believe this is the first non-toxic exogenous agent to show such potential for the eventual treatment of this terrible condition that currently costs our US Healthcare system in excess of $225 billion. Our firm remains excited about the future for CBD based products to enter clinical trials for this and other neurological indications." According to Alzheimer's Disease International's 2016 World Alzheimer report, the number of people worldwide with dementia is increasing, with 46.8 million people worldwide living with dementia in 2015 and 131.5 million expected in 2050. In Brazil alone it is estimated that more than 1 million people live with some form of dementia, with the country's retired aging population on the rise. Between now and 2030, Brazil's continuously increasing population of elderly with result in greater medication demand, with a pharmaceutical market expected to be worth $34 billion in U.S. dollars by 2020, according to Investopedia. "Treatment solutions for neurological diseases like Alzheimer's and Parkinson's are desperately needed because of the difficulty in developing pharmaceuticals that can pass the blood-brain barrier, a specialized system of cells that allow nutrients in the brain while preventing harmful substances from passing through," added Dr. Titus. "Cannabinoids like CBD, however can pass through the blood-brain barrier and affect cannabinoid/other receptors in the brain and an early stage study has shown the potential benefit of cannabis and cannabinoid therapies for Alzheimer's disease. This will lead us toward future cannabinoid remedies and research to convince the medical community of potential benefits." About HempMeds Brasil HempMeds Brasil currently has three cannabis products approved for importation into Brazil as a prescription medication. The company had the first-ever cannabis product allowed for import into Brazil and its products are currently subsidized by the Brazilian government, under their health care system. As of 2015 ANVISA has allowed cannabidiol treatments for any medical condition a doctor sees could help the patient. HempMeds Brasil has had doctor prescriptions for Epilepsy, Parkinson's, Alzheimer's, Cancer, Autism, Multiple Sclerosis and Chronic Pain to date and is working on additional approvals for multiple indications. About Medical Marijuana, Inc. Our mission is to be the premier cannabis and hemp industry innovators, leveraging our team of professionals to source, evaluate and purchase value-added companies and products, while allowing them to keep their integrity and entrepreneurial spirit. We strive to create awareness within our industry, develop environmentally-friendly, economically sustainable businesses, while increasing shareholder value. For details on Medical Marijuana, Inc.'s portfolio and investment companies, visit www.medicalmarijuanainc.com. To see Medical Marijuana, Inc.'s video statement, click here. Shareholders are also encouraged to visit the Medical Marijuana, Inc. Shop for discounted products. FORWARD-LOOKING DISCLAIMER This press release may contain certain forward-looking statements and information, as defined within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and is subject to the Safe Harbor created by those sections. This material contains statements about expected future events and/or financial results that are forward-looking in nature and subject to risks and uncertainties. Such forward-looking statements by definition involve risks, uncertainties and other factors, which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of Medical Marijuana, Inc. to be materially different from the statements made herein. FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION (FDA) DISCLOSURE These statements have not been evaluated by the FDA and are not intended to diagnose, treat or cure any disease. LEGAL DISCLOSURE Medical Marijuana, Inc. does not sell or distribute any products that are in violation of the United States Controlled Substances Act (US.CSA). These companies do grow, sell, and distribute hemp-based products and are involved with the federally legal distribution of medical marijuana-based products within certain international markets. Cannabidiol is a natural constituent of hemp oil. CONTACT: Public Relations Contact: Andrew Hard Chief Executive Officer CMW Media P. 888-829- 0070 [email protected] www.cmwmedia.com SOURCE Medical Marijuana, Inc. Related Links http://www.medicalmarijuanainc.com BALTIMORE, Feb. 7, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The American Urological Association (AUA) is pleased to announce the recipients of its 2017 AUA Data Grant Awards. These awards fund research proposals that address knowledge gaps, emerging and evidence-based data-driven research projects related to urologic care, workforce development and health policy, and will inform the urology community about key issues in urological care. Awardees receive a one-year grant of up to $25,000. The AUA is proud to award the following researchers with its 2017 AUA Grant Awards: S. Larry Goldenberg, CM, OBC, MD, FRCSS, FACS, FACAHS, Director of Development and Supportive Care, Vancouver Prostate Center Professor, Department of Urologic Sciences, University of British Columbia, Canada, will analyze health outcomes of men on Testosterone Replacement Therapy (TRT). This project was formed after a surge in off-label TRT prescriptions resulted in several highly debated consequences. Dr. Goldenberg aims to determine appropriate prescribing and monitoring patterns of men on TRT, the biochemical impact of TRT treatment on the actual measured testosterone level, as well as safety concerns surrounding TRT and cardiovascular and thromboembolic events. Bruce L. Jacobs, MD, MPH, Assistant Professor of Urology, University of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, who aims to understand the comparative effectiveness and outcomes of cystectomy patients treated with neoadjuvant and adjuvant chemotherapy. He will assess the use of these therapies at the population level, as well as examine the survival rates associated with these two treatments. Jeremy B. Shelton, MD, MSHS, Assistant Professor, Department of Urology, University of California, Los Angeles, California, will examine the trend in adoption of the AUA Quality (AQUA) Registry since its inception in 2014 and compare and contrast the characteristics of participant and non-participant groups. Among participating groups, he will evaluate how the AQUA Registry is being utilized, and work with practices to design a pilot implementation trial to explore ways of optimizing this new resource for quality improvement. Justin Ziemba, MD, Instructor of Urology, Brady Urological Institute, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, will study the costs and procedural trends of ambulatory urological surgery in the United States. Dr. Ziemba's study will review state databases of ambulatory surgery and outpatient urologic procedures to identify variations in procedure type, number and cost. The study will assess the influence of nonhospital-owned ambulatory surgery centers to gain a better understanding of how care is delivered, as well as identify areas of potential over-utilization relative to known measures of disease burden. Through this study, Dr. Ziemba aims to further quantify costs, outcomes and care delivery mechanisms at the provider, hospital, and population level. "The AUA Data Grants are a great opportunity to keep our urologists and other research scientists engaged in projects and studies that further advance the specialty of urology," said J. Quentin Clemens, MD, chair of the AUA Data Committee. "The AUA is pleased to support the innovative projects led by Drs. Goldenberg, Jacobs, Shelton and Ziemba." The AUA Data Grants were established in 2014. The AUA Data Committee, along with a review panel, determines the AUA Data Grant recipients through a comprehensive selection process. This ensures grants are awarded to individuals with data studies aimed at improving patient outcomes, and that demonstrate the greatest potential for impacting the practice of urology, or result in substantial changes in health care policy. The AUA has allocated $100,000 to fund four projects each year. All AUA members are eligible to apply. NOTE TO REPORTERS: For photos of award recipients or additional information about AUA Data Grants, please visit our website or contact the AUA Communications Office at 410-689-3932 / e-mail [email protected]. About the American Urological Association Founded in 1902 and headquartered near Baltimore, Maryland, the American Urological Association is a leading advocate for the specialty of urology, and has more than 21,000 members throughout the world. The AUA is a premier urologic association, providing invaluable support to the urologic community as it pursues its mission of fostering the highest standards of urologic care through education, research and the formulation of health policy. Contact: Christine Frey, AUA 443-909-0839, [email protected] SOURCE American Urological Association Related Links http://www.AUAnet.org WASHINGTON, Feb. 7, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- America's Small Business Development Centers (SBDCs) kicked-off their annual legislative meeting on Monday, February 6th with a reception and SBDC client showcase on Capitol Hill. Representative Steve Chabot of Ohio, Chairman of the Committee on Small Business, Acting SBA Administrator Joseph Loddo, Representative George William "Bill" Foster of Illinois, Representative Yvette D. Clarke of New York, Representative Louie Gohmert of Texas addressed the reception guests. The America's SBDC Network showcased 14 SBDC clients from across the country. The SBDC clients were SpiderSense (Illinois), BlueAtomVR (California), Motus (Alabama), SimUCare (Delaware), Veterans MFG (Texas), Bearcreek Smokehouse (Texas), Rex Specs (Wyoming), Superior Bath House (Arkansas), Torklift (Washington), Stratom (Colorado), CPR Tools (Florida), Micro-LAM Technologies (Michigan), Wildcard Brewing Company (California) and Hometown Trolley (Wisconsin). "What SBDCs do, their impact and value to aspiring and growing businesses, is best told through their clients' success. SBDC clients not only have revolutionary products and services, they are hardworking, dedicated, and a group we couldn't be more proud of. We only wish we could feature all the tens of thousands of businesses we help every year," said Charles "Tee" Rowe, President & CEO of America's SBDC. The 63 state and regional Small Business Development Center Networks provide free one-on-one consulting to small businesses through nearly 1,000 locations. Job growth for SBDC clients is nearly 10 times greater than job growth for average businesses, and SBDC client sales growth is nearly 4 times greater than sales growth for businesses in general. According to data provided by the Small Business Administration (SBA), every federal dollar spent on the SBDC network helped small businesses access $40.50 in new capital. In 2015, SBDC clients started a new business every 30 minutes, created a new job every 5 minutes and generated $100,000 in new sales every 7.5 minutes. Small businesses are job creators and innovators. Supporting their formation and growth moves our economy forward and makes our communities healthier. About America's SBDC Program: America's SBDC (Small Business Development Center) Network is a partnership uniting private enterprise, government, higher education and local nonprofit economic development organizations. It is the Small Business Administration's largest partnership program, providing management and technical assistance to help Americans start, run and grow their own businesses. Learn more at www.americassbdc.org. Press Contacts: April Youngblut America's SBDC (703) 764-9850 SOURCE America's SBDC Related Links http://www.americassbdc.org/ PHILADELPHIA, Feb. 7, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Anexinet Corporation, the leading regional provider of digital, analytics and hybrid IT solutions, today announced the appointment of Brad Hokamp as the company's Chief Executive Officer and member of the Board of Directors. Mr. Hokamp brings extensive experience in leading both mid-sized and large cloud service organizations. Most recently, he served as the CEO of Cosentry, a Midwest regional provider of cloud-based managed services and data center outsourcing solutions, where he was an integral part of the company's successful sale to TierPoint in 2016. Prior to Cosentry, Mr. Hokamp was President of Layered Tech, and prior thereto he held several key management positions in sales and marketing during his 10-year tenure at Savvis, which is now owned by Century Link. "Brad's extensive experience in driving rapid growth in leading edge markets, as well as his track record of acquiring and integrating businesses, will be extremely valuable in further enhancing Anexinet's reputation as a best-in-class digital solutions provider," said Ryan Wald, a partner at Marlin. "Marlin and the Anexinet Board of Directors are excited to have Brad lead Anexinet as it continues to assist customers with their transition to digital cloud-based applications." "Anexinet is at the forefront of digital business applications, analytics and cloud enablement, which are in tremendous demand by businesses of all sizes," said Mr. Hokamp. "I look forward to partnering with our customers as we continue building and operating their business critical digital applications." In 2016, Anexinet continued its track record of success as evidenced by its recognition as Best Place to Work by the Philadelphia Business Journal, Innovator of the Year and Corporate Culture Award Winner by SmartCEO Magazine and Tech Elite Solution Provider by CRN. About Anexinet: Anexinet (www.anexinet.com) specializes in digital business transformation. We empower our clients to grow their customer base and improve workforce efficiency by envisioning, developing, and operating next generation technology solutions. Our core expertise is in digital applications, analytics, and hybrid IT, enabling businesses to rapidly transform. Partner with Anexinet to support the full lifecycle of your next generation digital business. About Marlin Equity Partners: Marlin Equity Partners is a global investment firm with over $3 billion of capital under management. The firm is focused on providing corporate parents, shareholders and other stakeholders with tailored solutions that meet their business and liquidity needs. Marlin invests in businesses across multiple industries where its capital base, industry relationships and extensive network of operational resources significantly strengthens a company's outlook and enhances value. Since its inception, Marlin, through its group of funds and related companies, has successfully completed over 100 acquisitions. The firm is headquartered in Los Angeles, California with an additional office in London. For more information, please visit www.marlinequity.com. SOURCE Anexinet Related Links http://www.anexinet.com WASHINGTON, Feb. 7, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- The United Coalition of Reason (UnitedCoR)headquartered in Washington, DCis pleased to announce the launch of the first, completely free mobile app designed to link individual non-believers (atheists, agnostics, skeptics, humanists, freethinkers) and non-religious people with other individuals of similar interests and sincerely-held beliefs to activities in their local communities. The mobile app, for Android and iOS phones, automatically draws updates from thousands of secular-friendly calendar web pages without the burden of data entry. Users can email calendar updates to themselves or to friends, receive and spread information about groups hosting events, and add dates to their smart phone calendars. In time, additional functions along with updates will be added, free-of-charge. This outreach effort is the latest in a campaign that began in 2009 for the purpose of bringing together previously unconnected non-religious individuals and groups. Previous UnitedCoR promotions have included highway and bus billboards in over 40 states and Canada. As United Coalition's National Coordinator, Susan Heap, stated: "We created the UnitedCoR app to provide a centralized, social network for our current and prospective members, along with the national organizations that want to work together to advance the interests of worldwide non-believers and secular-friendly groups." A partial list of the affiliates and groups that UnitedCoR supports are: Unitarian Universalist Humanist Association The Stiefel Freethought Foundation Military Association of Atheists and Freethinkers Secular Policy Institute Muslimish Secular Student Alliance The Oasis Network Atheist Alliance International Society for Humanistic Judaism About The United Coalition of Reason The United Coalition of Reason (www.UnitedCoR.org) aspires to a world where secular ideals are treated with respect and dignity. We are committed to promoting science and reason, nurturing unity and developing cooperation within local communities. We donate time, resources and cutting-edge technology to help local nontheistic groups grow their membership, expand their outreach and present a positive face for nontheism by doing good together. For more information, contact: Susan Heap Director of Communications and National Coordinator United Coalition of Reason 1300 Pennsylvania Avenue NW Suite 190-522 Washington, DC 20004-3002 (202) 744-1553 [email protected] This content was issued through the press release distribution service at Newswire.com. For more info visit: http://www.newswire.com. SOURCE United Coalition of Reason Related Links http://www.UnitedCoR.org PITTSFIELD, Mass., Feb. 7, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Berkshire Medical Center (BMC) nurses, represented by the Massachusetts Nurses Association (MNA), will hold a rally on Thursday, Feb. 9 to call attention to the hospital's failure during ongoing contract negotiations to agree to improved nurse staffing levels that will ensure safe and effective patient care. When: Thursday, Feb. 9 from 4 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. Where: The public sidewalks surrounding Park Square in Pittsfield, MA. Who: Press and the public welcome; the registered nurses of Berkshire Medical Center, along with their family, friends and community supporters. BMC nurses have become increasingly concerned about the safety of their patients. Over the last several years, there has been a significant increase in BMC's patient census due to the closure of North Adams Regional Hospital. In spite of nurses' concerns about unsafe staffing in nearly every unit of the hospital, last year BMC management increased the number of patients that nurses would be required to care for at one time in seven hospital units. "Keeping our patients safe is the number one priority of Berkshire Medical Center nurses," said Alex Neary, co-chair of the MNA Bargaining Committee at BMC. "Unfortunately, the hospital refuses to agree to our common-sense solution to ensure safe patient care." Between October 2015 and October 2016, nurses filed 280 unsafe staffing forms documenting times when there were not enough nurses to care for the number of patients and/or the serious level of illness or injury of the patients on a unit. That number does not include the many more times when nurses encountered unsafe patient care situations but were unable to document the incidents. To address the problem, BMC nurses have proposed placing safe staffing levels into their contract. These nurse staffing levels would be variable based on the type of hospital unit and how many patients are on a unit at any given time. Years of research shows that when nurses have fewer patients at once, patient outcomes improve and there are lower rates of injury, medication errors and unplanned re-admissions. "Unsafe staffing is a serious issue in the hospital's psychiatric and detox units," said Marie Geary, a psychiatric nurse and member of the MNA Bargaining Committee at BMC. "Psychiatric patients often also have medical complications. Their condition can change rapidly, and so keeping them safe while providing appropriate mental health care requires having enough nurses at one time." Erin Ramsey, an emergency department nurse at BMC, said that the hospital is failing to prepare for times when ED use suddenly increases. "The BMC emergency room is not staffed for a bad day, and a bad day is what we are here for," said Ramsey, a member of the MNA Bargaining Committee at BMC. "Our ED is frequently filled with a complicated mix of patients, but the hospital is decreasing how many nurses are working at one time. The expansion of urgent care centers means the BMC ED sees more patients who are very sick. We need an appropriate number of nurses to provide safe care." Increasing admissions and sicker patients throughout the hospital has hit BMC's medical-surgical units particularly hard, said Krystal Poulen, a med-surg nurse who is on the MNA Bargaining Committee. "Our patients are sicker than ever, yet we have less time to care for and educate them," Poulen said. "We care for patients with significant complications, many of whom should be in specialized units." Unsafe staffing is also a serious problem at the BMC emergency department in North Adams. BMC's original plan was to use the ED as a satellite facility that served patients who are less sick than those sent to BMC in Pittsfield. But that has not happened. The North Adams ED is getting a high volume of patients and many critically ill patients. Yet BMC has provided limited nursing and other staff, leaving patients underserved. "We are not providing the level of patient care we should because BMC does not staff appropriately," said Ruth O'Hearn, an ED nurse in North Adams and a member of the MNA Bargaining Committee at BMC. "We do not have enough nurses to safely care for patients who require sudden medical interventions, especially on overnight shifts. Our patient volume and their serious level of illness justifies adding more staff in North Adams to ensure safe care." BMC nurses have pointed out in negotiations that there is no financial reason why BMC cannot provide safe patient care at all times. BMC posted profit margins more than twice the state and regional averages between 2011 and 2015, making a profit of $181 million, according to the Massachusetts Center for Health and Information Analysis. The hospital made a profit of $35.2 million in fiscal year 2015 and $31.2 million in 2016, according to BMC's own audited financial reporting. The nurses' previous contract with the hospital expired on Sept. 30, 2016, but was extended. Negotiations between the MNA and BMC began in October 2016. To date 13 negotiating sessions have been held, with the next session scheduled for February 14. MassNurses.org Facebook.com/MassNurses Twitter.com/MassNurses Founded in 1903, the Massachusetts Nurses Association is the largest union of registered nurses in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Its 23,000 members advance the nursing profession by fostering high standards of nursing practice, promoting the economic and general welfare of nurses in the workplace, projecting a positive and realistic view of nursing, and by lobbying the Legislature and regulatory agencies on health care issues affecting nurses and the public. SOURCE Massachusetts Nurses Association Related Links http://www.massnurses.org ST-CROIX, Quebec, Feb. 7, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Bibby-Ste-Croix, the premier Canadian cast iron drain, waste, and vent (DWV) pipe manufacturer, is pleased to announce a new CAN/ULC-S115 2-hour FT Through Penetration Firestop Listing with Intertek. "This listing, CAN/ULC-S115 2-hour FT rating is a simple cost-effective solution that streamlines the installation process thus saving time for contractors," said Tom Leonard, President of Bibby-Ste-Croix. "No more having to get up on a ladder or a lift to insulate the pipe under the slab in a parking garage the insulation can now be done on top of the slab with a lot less labour and material by following the easy steps in the listing." With this new listing, there is no need for contractors or engineers to consider toxic plastic piping systems that could be hazardous to human health in a fire situation. Cast iron is a safe non-combustible building product that is durable and will not burn or melt in a fire. In addition, this listing for cast iron reduces the need for complex firestopping systems that are required for a plastic piping which tend to increase the total installed cost of a PVC system. About Bibby Bibby-Ste-Croix has two foundry locations in the province of Quebec. Bibby-Ste-Croix employs over 400 team members who are responsible for the production of cast iron soil pipe and fittings used in drain, waste and vent (DWV) plumbing systems. In addition, 80 team members are responsible for manufacturing street castings, manhole frames and covers, and municipal road castings in their St. Ours Laperle Foundry. The company is privately owned and dates back to 1921 last year Bibby celebrated their 95th Anniversary. Each year Bibby reclaims thousands of tons of post-consumer scrap metal for use in the production of sustainable building products. Bibby products are also 100% recyclable at the end service which further reduces the demand on landfills. For more information visit Bibby-Ste-Croix.com About McWane - McWane, Inc. is a family business based in Birmingham, Alabama with companies across the United States and the world. We continue to be the leader in delivering clean, safe drinking water around the world while focusing on the safe, environmentally-friendly manufacturing of our products. For more information please visit www.mcwane.com. SOURCE Bibby-Ste-Croix TAMPA, Fla., Feb. 7, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- In November 2016, Florida voters approved Amendment 2, which greatly expands the conditions that qualify patients for medical cannabis treatment. In addition to the debilitating conditions specifically listed in the amendment, a "Qualifying Debilitating Medical Condition" also includes "any comparable debilitating conditions for which the physician believes the potential benefit outweighs the known risk." The intention of the amendment's authors was clear, "An individual physician makes the determination if a condition is comparable to those listed in the text of the amendment." (Source: Amendment 2: Analysis of Intent). Despite this, the Florida Department of Health's proposed rules would give the Board of Medicine, not the patient's doctor, the authority to decide what "other" conditions qualify for medical cannabis treatment. David Berger, MD, is a Board-Certified pediatrician in Tampa with more than 20 years experience treating thousands of children with special needs. In addition to his primary practice, Wholistic Pediatrics & Family Care, last year Dr. Berger opened Family Medical Cannabis Clinic with the goal of assisting eligible patients access to medical cannabis treatment. He is very concerned his patients with autism and other neuro developmental disorders will be denied the opportunity to be treated with low-THC medical cannabis, such as Charlotte's Web. According to Dr. Berger, "Some children with autism have debilitating anxiety, irritability, insomnia, and panic attacks that is quite similar to how some patients suffer from PTSD, which is specifically listed in the Amendment. Right now only anti-psychotic medications are approved for autism; sometimes they work, but sometimes they become less effective over time. I have seen kids gain over 60 lbs. in a year on those medications. As these children become teens, some have been known to become violent to the point where because of their weight and strength they can overpower their parent or caretaker. If low-THC cannabis can possibly curtail these symptoms without the detrimental side effects common with other treatments, the benefits of using the non-euphoric form of marijuana for would far outweigh the risks for some patients." This week the Department of Health is holding five public hearings for residents to voice their concerns over how the Department will implement Amendment 2. The Department's decision will impact the mental and physical health of tens of thousands of Florida children and their families. Dr. Berger and some of his patients will attend the Tampa hearing to implore the Department to develop rules that comply with the language and intent of Amendment 2. His full "Call-to-Action" can be read here. Dr. Berger will be available to speak with the press immediately following the hearing, which will take place February 8th, 9:00-11:00 am, at the Department of Health Branch Laboratory on the USF campus (3602 Spectrum Blvd - Tampa). He is also available by appointment for interviews and comments. Media Contact: Jennifer Fine [email protected] (813) 603-4425 Family Medical Cannabis Clinic - www.familymedicalcannabisclinic.com Dr. Berger's Call-to-Action -http://wholisticfamilycare.com/florida-medical-cannabis-rules-call-to-action/ Related Video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=npNjMfBEGo8 This content was issued through the press release distribution service at Newswire.com. For more info visit: http://www.newswire.com SOURCE Family Medical Cannabis Clinic Related Links http://www.familymedicalcannabisclinic.com VANCOUVER, Wash., Feb. 7, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Banfield Pet Hospital is pleased to name Brian Garish president, as which he will oversee the organization's more than 975 hospitals and 16,000 associates. Succeeding former CEO and President Vincent Bradley, Brian brings more than 20 years of leadership experience building and inspiring diverse, engaged and successful teams. An accomplished strategist and leader, his vision and expertise in team building and business performance have driven notable growth in the healthcare industry. Brian joined Banfield in 2015 as Senior Vice President of Operations and Chief Operating Officer, where he oversaw the operations support, new-hospital openings, real estate, facilities and construction teams. In his time at Banfield, Brian has been most inspired by the company's people and purposeand aims to foster a culture in which associates are supported in doing their best work for pets. "I'm honored to have the opportunity to lead Banfield Pet Hospital and empower our associates to do what they do best impact pets' lives," said Brian Garish, President of Banfield Pet Hospital. "As President, I look forward to furthering our purpose of helping make a better world for pets." Brian's vision for Banfield is grounded in past leadership of hospital operations, company growth and corporate partnerships. His exceptional record of business improvement and empowering high-functioning teams is based on a purpose-driven approach to leadership and implementation of reflective learning environments. Together with Banfield's leadership team, Brian aims to further strengthen the company's culture and quality of careand maximize business success. "I deeply respect Brian's passion for the profession and look forward to partnering with him in a new capacity," said Daniel Aja, DVM, Chief Medical Officer, Banfield Pet Hospital. "I have been incredibly impressed with Brian's commitment to quality veterinary care and dedication to making Banfield a great place to work." Brian also serves on the board of the Banfield Foundation, Banfield's nonprofit committed to improving the well-being of pets and communities. About Banfield Pet Hospital Founded in Portland, Ore., in 1955, Banfield is the largest general-veterinary practice in the world. In 2007, Banfield joined the Mars, Inc. family of businesses, and today has more than 975 hospitals across the United States and Puerto Rico. More than 3,500 Banfield veterinarians are committed to providing high-quality veterinary care for three million pets annually. Banfield's charitable arm, the Banfield Foundation, was established in 2015 as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the well-being of pets and communities. Press seeking additional information are invited to visit Banfield.com or call the Media Hotline: (888) 355-0595. Media Contact: Mackenzie Smith [email protected]; (312) 255 3032 Banfield Pet Hospital Media Hotline; (888) 355-0595 SOURCE Banfield Pet Hospital BROOKLYN, N.Y., Feb. 6, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Critical issues facing at-risk youth in Brooklyn's low-income neighborhoods will be examined at Brooklyn Community Services (BCS) Youth Action Summit: Voices for the Future of Brooklyn, a panel discussion and youth action resource hub, with keynote speaker and moderator C. Nicole Mason, PhD, on February 28 at St. Francis College, 180 Remsen Street in Brooklyn from 5:30pm 8:00pm. It is free to the public. Mason, Executive Director of the Center for Research and Policy in the Public Interest, is a policy expert and justice advocate, based in Washington, DC and Brooklyn, who penned Born Bright: A Young Girl's Journey from Nothing to Something in America. She's been featured in The Nation, USA Today, ESSENCE, New York Times, NPR and others. At the BCS Youth Action Summit, panelists will examine urgent issues in education, immigration, job readiness, police community relations, crime, self-esteem and other pressing problems affecting Brooklyn's at-risk youth. Panelists include: Bill Chong, Commissioner of the NYC Department of Youth & Community Development; Aber Kawas, Youth Lead Organizer of the Arab American Association of New York; Kaberi Banerjee Murthy, Vice President of Programs at Brooklyn Community Foundation; Dana Edell, PhD, Executive Director of SPARK Movement and Marlon Peterson, a national social and criminal justice advocate and educator who spent 10 years in New York State prisons. The Youth Action Summit resource hub will feature over 20 Brooklyn youth-based nonprofits providing information on networking, volunteer and mentorship opportunities. These include: Usher's New Look, St. Nicks Alliance, Chinese-American Planning Council Inc., PAL Brownsville Beacon, CAMBA, Made in Brownsville, Children of Promise, NYC, DIGITAL GIRL INC, Per Scholas, Brooklyn Youth Chorus, 826NYC, Housing Works, Repair the World NYC, Reading Partners, viBe Theater Experience and Crown Heights Community Mediation Center. For 150 years, BCS has been committed to providing resources, tools and support to help low-income youth in Brooklyn reach their personal goals. BCS serves over 2,000 young people through after school programs, youth development and a transfer high school. For more information on the BCS Youth Action Summit, contact wearebcs.org/youth-summit. Join BCS on FACEBOOK or on Twitter and Instagram at @wearebcs. CONTACT: Fern Gillespie (O) 718-310-5774 (C) 917-334-9298 [email protected] SOURCE Brooklyn Community Services Related Links http://www.wearebcs.org PHOENIX, Feb. 7, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Californians for Population Stabilization (CAPS) launched TV ads in Arizona this week asking if Senator Jeff Flake is really ready to work with President Trump on immigration. The ads are running on TV stations in Phoenix and on FOX News in prime time. The campaign is scheduled to air for several weeks. "Senator Flake claims to be ready to work with President Trump on immigration. Yet Flake has already sponsored an illegal alien amnesty bill and is one of Trump's loudest immigration critics," said Jo Wideman, CAPS Executive Director. "The people of Arizona helped get President Trump elected. Do they really want Senator Flake to sabotage Trump's immigration agenda?" Senator Flake's record on immigration has been at odds with President Trump's immigration agenda, prompting Trump to label Flake "weak and ineffective" in 2016. Flake was a member of the 2013 Gang of Eight that wrote S 744, the Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act, an immigration bill that, if signed into law, would have given amnesty to millions of illegal aliens and allowed millions more foreign workers into the country to take American jobs and hold down wages. Since then, Flake has supported numerous bills designed to increase the flow of foreign workers into the country. The differences between Trump's immigration policies and Flake's are not limited to jobs and wages. Trump has promised to pass "Kate's Law." But Flake was one of two Republican senators initially pushing back on Kate's Law, telling Politico that five-year mandatory minimum sentences for illegal aliens who re-enter the U.S. after being deported were not something he could recommend. Kate's Law was passed in the House in 2016, but was blocked in the Senate. Flake held up the bill despite high profile immigration-related tragedies in Arizona, including the death of Sergeant Brandon Mendoza of the Mesa Police Department, killed by an illegal alien with numerous prior convictions. Recently, Flake has continued his criticism of President Trump's immigration policies, denouncing the President's seven-country, 90-day travel ban as "unacceptable." And in an attempt to short circuit President Trump's ability to implement his immigration agenda, Flake co-sponsored another Gang of Eight bill in December 2016 that would give temporary amnesty to more than 700,000 illegal aliens. More immigrants live in California than any other state, so Federal immigration policy affects California more than others. Arizona consistently ranks in the top 15 states with the highest share of immigrants. "Senator Flake will play an important role in determining the direction of the country's immigration policies," added Wideman. "He should work in good faith with President Trump and put Americans first as he considers immigration policy. Arizona and California are depending on it." To view the TV ad and learn more about CAPS, visit www.CAPSweb.org. SOURCE Californians for Population Stabilization (CAPS) Related Links http://www.capsweb.org/ DOVER, N.J., Feb. 7, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Casio America, Inc., announced today that it will release the XJ-L8300HN lamp-free projector in June of this year. Featuring native 4K ultra-high-definition (UHD) resolution (3840 2160 pixels) and brightness of 5,000 lumens, the new projector delivers crystal clear projection even on the big screens commonly used in large conference rooms and halls. With this new product, Casio enters the market for high-resolution, high-brightness business projectorsa market which is expected to grow rapidly by 2020. In recent years, 4K technology has become increasingly popular for many kinds of digital devices, particularly personal computers. Along with this improvement in video image quality, the market share of high-resolution models for business use, including those with 1080p and 4K specifications, is forecast to grow from the current level of under 10 percent to about 30 percent by 2020.*1 Equipped with a 4K DLP chip, the XJ-L8300HN projects images of approximately 8.3 million pixels, reproducing the color and beauty of images at a markedly higher level than conventional projectors. As such, it is expected to expand business applications of projectors where the audience needs to be shown highly precise and accurate details of the images, including charts, engineering plans and design drawings. With its high brightness of 5,000 lumens, the XJ-L8300HN is great for brightly lit classrooms and the big screens found in spacious venues such as large conference rooms and auditoriums. The new projector delivers convenience and outstanding operating performance that users will appreciate. Built with long lasting lamp-free technology, the XJ-L8300HN delivers an estimated 20,000 hours of projection while avoiding the use of mercury, which eliminates concerns for the proper disposal of used lamps and mercury pollution. The XJ-L8300HN is also equipped with a lens shift function to correct for projector positioning and a super resolution feature that enhances the signal of low-resolution movies and images to produce an effect of higher resolution. Model Resolution Brightness XJ-L8300HN 4K UHD 5000 lumens As a leading manufacturer of solid state illumination light source projectors with a global market share of 63 percent,*2 Casio intends to keep developing high-resolution, high-brightness projectors, further developing its broad lineup of lamp-free projectors. For additional information on Casio's full portfolio of LampFree projectors, visit www.CasioLampFree.com. *1 According to market research by Futuresource Consulting Ltd., on high-resolution business projectors with specifications of at least 1080p. *2 According to a market survey by Futuresource Consulting Ltd., based on the global sales volume of solid state illumination light source projectors with at least 2,500 lumens from April 2015 to March 2016. DLP is registered trademark of Texas Instruments of the United States. Other company and product names are generally registered trademarks or trademarks of the respective companies About Casio LampFree Projectors Casio's portfolio of LampFree projectors combines a laser, a fluorescent element and an LED light to deliver a mercury-free hybrid light source that lasts up to 20,000 hours while sustaining a high brightness and keeping maintenance costs to a minimum. Casio has four series of LampFree projectors that are available for home, business, education and commercial applications - Slim, Core, Advanced and Ultra Short Throw. For additional information on Casio's projector series and LampFree technology, please visit www.CasioLampFree.com. About Casio America, Inc. 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 www.casiousa.com. SOURCE Casio America, Inc. Related Links http://www.casiousa.com NEW YORK, Feb. 7, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Castle Brands Inc. (NYSE MKT: ROX), a developer and international marketer of premium and super-premium branded spirits, and Isle of Arran Distillers Limited, a producer of premium quality Single Malt Scotch Whisky, today announced a five-year exclusive distribution agreement for The Arran Malt Single Malt Scotch Whisky and Robert Burns Single Malt Whisky and Blended Scotch Whisky in the US market. Richard J. Lampen, President and Chief Executive Officer of Castle Brands said, "The agreement with Isle of Arran Distillers allows us to leverage our distribution platform and our successes with our Jefferson's bourbon portfolio and our expanding Irish whiskey offerings. Adding the Isle of Arran Scotch whiskies sets us apart as a leader in the premium whiskey category." John Glover, Chief Operating Officer of Castle Brands said, "Isle of Arran Distillers' award-winning, premium brands perfectly complement our whiskies portfolio. Their exciting range of aged whiskies and finishes will add to the impressive growth of our whiskey brands and strengthen our position in the US market. Our expertise in marketing special finishes of our bourbons and Irish whiskies position us well to distribute Isle of Arran's unique Scotch whisky finishes and special offerings. We look forward to working with them to market these premium Scotch whiskies." Euan Mitchell, Managing Director of Isle of Arran Distillers Limited said, "We are delighted to be working with Castle Brands to build our profile in the US market and introduce our award-winning brands to even more whisky aficionados. The Single Malt category continues to develop in the US and Castle Brands are perfectly poised to leverage further growth for the Arran portfolio using their extensive knowledge and experience. We have many exciting releases planned for the years ahead." About Castle Brands Castle Brands is a developer and international marketer of premium and super-premium beverage alcohol brands including: Jefferson's, Jefferson's Presidential SelectTM, Jefferson's Reserve, Jefferson's Ocean Aged at Sea Bourbon, Jefferson's Wine Finish Collection and Jefferson's Wood Experiments, Goslings Rums, Knappogue Castle Whiskey, Clontarf Irish Whiskey, Pallini Limoncello, Boru Vodka and Brady's Irish Cream. Additional information concerning the Company is available on the Company's website, www.castlebrandsinc.com. About Isle of Arran Distillers Isle of Arran Distillers is an independent Distiller of premium quality Single Malt Scotch Whiskies. Located in the village of Lochranza on the beautiful Isle of Arran, the Distillery opened in 1995 and is the only whisky producer on the island. Arran's portfolio includes the classic 10 Years Old, the new 18 Years Old as well as the official Robert Burns whiskies; endorsed by the World Burns Federation. More information is available at www.arranwhisky.com. Forward Looking Statements This press release includes statements of our expectations, intentions, plans and beliefs that constitute "forward looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and are intended to come within the safe harbor protection provided by those sections. These statements, which involve risks and uncertainties, relate to the discussion of our business strategies and our expectations concerning future operations, margins, sales, new products and brands, potential joint ventures, potential acquisitions, expenses, profitability, liquidity and capital resources and to analyses and other information that are based on forecasts of future results and estimates of amounts not yet determinable. You can identify these and other forward-looking statements by the use of such words as "may," "will," "should," "expects," "intends," "plans," "anticipates," "believes," "thinks," "estimates," "seeks," "predicts," "could," "projects," "potential" and other similar terms and phrases, including references to assumptions. These forward looking statements are made based on expectations and beliefs concerning future events affecting us and are subject to uncertainties, risks and factors relating to our operations and business environments, all of which are difficult to predict and many of which are beyond our control, that could cause our actual results to differ materially from those matters expressed or implied by these forward looking statements. These risks include our history of losses and expectation of further losses, our ability to expand our operations in both new and existing markets, our ability to develop or acquire new brands, our relationships with distributors, the success of our marketing activities, the effect of competition in our industry and economic and political conditions generally, including the current economic environment and markets. More information about these and other factors are described under the caption "Risk Factors" in Castle Brands' Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended March 31, 2016, as amended, and other reports we file with the Securities and Exchange Commission. When considering these forward looking statements, you should keep in mind the cautionary statements in this press release and the reports we file with the Securities and Exchange Commission. New risks and uncertainties arise from time to time, and we cannot predict those events or how they may affect us. We assume no obligation to update any forward looking statements after the date of this press release as a result of new information, future events or developments, except as required by the federal securities laws. Castle Brands Inc. Investor Relations, 646-356-0200 [email protected] www.castlebrandsinc.com SOURCE Castle Brands Inc. Related Links http://www.castlebrandsinc.com WASHINGTON, Feb. 7, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Steve Odland, President & CEO of the Committee for Economic Development (CED) and Joe Minarik, Senior Vice President & Director of Research of CED, realize making capitalism work for all Americans requires bold leadership from beyond the policy community. It is America's business leaders who have the needed experience on the front lines of the economy. In SUSTAINING CAPITALISM: Bipartisan Solutions to Restore Trust & Prosperity, Odland and Minarik examine the modern crises rocking the economic system, with a clear plan for making it prosperous and sustainable for generations to come. America's business and policy leaders now have a practical, bipartisan roadmap to: Root out crony capitalism to restore trust and foster economic vitality; Narrow inequality by focusing on creating equality of opportunity; Counter rising corporate short-termism with a commitment to long-term value creation for multiple stakeholders, not just shareholders; From pre-k to postsecondary, improve education to deliver higher quality at a lower cost; Make Washington work by reforming our campaign finance and lobbying systems; work by reforming our campaign finance and lobbying systems; Put the nation's proliferating public debt on a downward, sustainable path; Foster market-based competition in health care for improved access, quality, and affordability; Bring greater efficiency to regulations and the regulatory process; and Amid globalization, make capitalism's benefits reach each and every American. Hardcover / $24.95 / 208 pages / ISBN-13: 9780692769706 / Kindle / $11.95 www.sustainingcapitalism.com This thought-provoking book provides a bipartisan roadmap to how business leaders and policymakers can make capitalism work for all to ensure that every citizen gets a shot at realizing the American Dream. Roger W. Ferguson, Jr., President and CEO, TIAA Now more than ever, business and policy leaders need to harness and realize the unparalleled power of capitalism. This book shows us how. Maggie Wilderotter, Former Chairman and CEO, Frontier Communications Neither an encomium nor a dirge, but a thoughtful, practical analysis of how business leaders can help repair the weaknesses in American capitalism and make it perform better for all of us. Alice M. Rivlin, Senior Fellow, The Brookings Institution Founding Director, Congressional Budget Office Americans are rightly worried about prospects for long-term growth, but a deeper concern is declining trust in public institutionscan government work for growthand do so for everyone? All business leaders should read this booka manifesto of the need to stand up for free enterprise and for policies that help it raise living standards. Sustaining Capitalism offers bipartisan solutions in key policy areas and in reforms to make government more accountable. This book offers a call to action to business leaders to reclaim their role in the public square. Glenn Hubbard, Dean and Russell L. Carson Professor of Finance and Economics, Columbia Business School About the authors Steve Odland is the President & CEO of the Committee for Economic Development, and the former Chairman & CEO of Office Depot, Inc., and AutoZone, Inc. He currently serves on the Boards of Directors of General Mills, Inc. and Analogic Corporation, is a Trustee of The Conference Board, a Senior Advisor to Peter J. Solomon Company, and is a Contributor to CNBC. He received his Bachelor's of Business Administration from the University of Notre Dame, and a Master's of Management degree from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. Joseph J. Minarik is the Senior Vice President & Director of Research of the Committee for Economic Development. He was the chief economist of the Office of Management and Budget for the eight years of the Clinton Administration, helping to formulate the Administration's program to eliminate the budget deficit, including both the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993 and the bipartisan Balanced Budget Act of 1997. Prior to that, he worked closely with Senator Bill Bradley on his efforts to reform the federal income tax, which culminated in the Tax Reform Act of 1986, writing Making Tax Choices in 1985, and Making America's Budget Policy in 1990. Previously, he served as Chief Economist to the House Budget Committee and staff director of the Joint Economic Committee. He received his B.A. in Economics from Georgetown University, and three graduate degrees from Yale University, including a Ph.D. in Economics. About CED Founded in 1942, the Committee for Economic Development of The Conference Board (CED) is a nonprofit, nonpartisan, businessled public policy organization that delivers wellresearched analysis and reasoned solutions to our nation's most critical issues. CED's work is grounded on seven core principles: sustainable capitalism, longterm economic growth, efficient fiscal and regulatory policy, competitive and open markets, a globally competitive workforce, equal economic opportunity, and nonpartisanship in the nation's interest. www.ced.org To set up an interview with the authors, or for more information regarding SUSTAINING CAPITALISM, please contact Christian Purdy, 646.787.7890 / [email protected] www.sustainingcapitalism.com SOURCE Committee for Economic Development Related Links http://www.ced.org SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 7, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- CleverTap, the leading platform for behavioral analytics and user engagement, announced today the expansion of its leadership team with the appointment of Almitra Karnik as Head of Marketing & Global Growth. Almitra will oversee growth across CleverTap's global markets, actively managing brand strategy, digital, content and partner marketing along with public and analyst relations efforts. Almitra is a prominent member of the Silicon Valley startup community, having led product marketing at Twilio, and most recently building out Splunk's global brand recognition. She brings experience in cross-market growth development, having also served as marketing manager for Fortune 500 companies like Cisco Systems and EMC Corporation. "We are at a very exciting phase in the CleverTap journey, with the potential for massive growth in the upcoming year," said Sunil Thomas, CEO of CleverTap. "The app economy is extremely competitive today. With our rapid engineering innovations, we're positioned to become the go-to solution for mobile app engagement and analytics. We're thrilled to have Almitra on board to lead our global marketing efforts." "I strongly believe user analytics and customer engagement should be the cornerstone of every user lifecycle strategy," added Almitra Karnik. "The CleverTap platform recognizes this market need and gives customers the best of both worlds as a single cohesive solution. I'm really excited to be onboard and look forward to driving our global growth strategy." CleverTap plans to continue to expand globally, building off of its existing client presence in North and South America, Asia and Europe. With Almitra at the helm of its marketing efforts, the company is poised to continue its winning streak in 2017 and beyond. About CleverTap CleverTap provides a comprehensive behavioral analytics and user engagement suite that enables brands to identify, target, engage, measure and monetize users across mobile and the web. CleverTap's unique approach, which consolidates analytics and engagement on a single platform, along with industry-first features such as live-user segments, is a powerful solution for businesses who want to design and implement real-time, personalized and impactful strategies for rapid business growth. Since launching in 2013, CleverTap has helped more than 3,500 customers, including leading brands such as McDonald's, Star, Sony, DC Comics, DealsPlus, and BookMyShow to better serve their customers. The company is based in Silicon Valley and is backed by Sequoia Capital and Accel Partners. To learn more about CleverTap visit clevertap.com or follow on Facebook and Twitter. SOURCE CleverTap Related Links http://www.clevertap.com SALT LAKE CITY, Feb. 7, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- The American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP) announced at its recent annual meeting that it has agreed to exclusively endorse Collective Medical Technologies' (CMT) Edie (a.k.a. PreManage ED) software. CMT is the leader in network-driven collaborative care management for patients with complex care needs. Following an extensive due diligence process, ACEP decided to collaborate with CMT because of its proven ability to improve patient outcomes by reducing the risk of emergency department visits and avoidable readmissions for high-risk patients with complex needs. ACEP Endorses Edie Solution This collaboration developed under the leadership of Jay A. Kaplan, MD, FACEP, immediate past president of ACEP. "From the physician's perspective, Edie improves patient care by allowing emergency physicians to make more informed clinical decisions and better direct a patient's follow-up care," said Dr. Kaplan. "It also lowers health care costs through a reduction in redundant tests and through better case management that reduces hospital readmissions. By giving physicians and care teams more visibility, more insight into the health and well-being of their patients than they've ever had before, they're better able to serve and thrive in this new era of risk and value-based care." "Looking forward, electronic health information sharing is a key priority for ACEP," said Rebecca Parker, MD, FACEP, ACEP's president. "Through collaboration, Edie supports our diverse physicians and patientshelping us deliver the best possible care, real time, while reducing the administrative burden for emergency departments." "We're seeing how the network effects that stem from connecting providers and care managers from disparate organizations across communities enable genuine, honest-to-goodness care collaboration by providers who may not have ever even met one another but who share a common relationship with the patient," said Chris Klomp, CEO of Collective Medical Technologies. "These efforts drive meaningful results in terms of rationalized emergency department utilization and inpatient readmissions. This endorsement by ACEP is expert third-party confirmation of the value that our care collaboration tools provide to hospitals and health systems looking to deliver the best possible care." "As emergency physicians who often must act immediately to treat patients with life-threatening illnesses and injuries without any knowledge of their medical history, we fully appreciate the critical role that effective and immediate information sharing can play in improving patient care," said Dr. Kaplan. "We strongly support the development and implementation of systems that provide this capability. Edie is pioneering this effort in emergency departments across the country, providing tangible and meaningful benefits to patients and physicians as well as hospitals and states." To learn more about Collective Medical Technologies visit, www.collectivemedicaltech.com. About Collective Medical Technologies Collective Medical Technologies (CMT) is the leader in collaborative care management and is dedicated to eliminating avoidable risk by closing the provider communication gaps that undermine patient care. CMT uses real-time data, risk analytics, notifications, and shared care guidelines to prompt and guide provider decision making in a way that drives differential outcomes in terms of reduced ED utilization and inpatient readmissions. The result is a national network of thousands of Emergency Departments, primary care, behavioral health, ambulatory providers, health plans, ACOs, managed care organizations, and post-acute providers who collaborate to collectively deliver better care to millions of patients. Edie (a.k.a. PreManage ED) is endorsed by the American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP) as a significant benefit for its physicians and their patients. Learn more at www.collectivemedicaltech.com and follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn. About The American College of Emergency Physicians ACEP is the national medical specialty society representing emergency medicine. ACEP is committed to advancing emergency care through continuing education, research, and public education. Headquartered in Dallas, Texas, ACEP has 53 chapters representing each state, as well as Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia. A Government Services Chapter represents emergency physicians employed by military branches and other government agencies. Contact: Mary Blair Collective Medical Technologies (801) 628-6279 [email protected] Contact: Laura Gore American College of Emergency Physicians (202) 370-9290 [email protected] SOURCE Collective Medical Technologies Related Links http://www.collectivemedicaltech.com Mr. Boggs joins Toys"R"Us from Dow Corning Corporation, a large multinational based in Midland, Michigan, where he served as Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary. In that role, he oversaw teams in Asia, Europe and Latin America, in addition to the U.S. and was responsible for Legal, Government Affairs, Compliance and Ethics. In his new role, Mr. Boggs will be responsible for leading all legal, corporate governance and legislative matters for the company. He will provide advice and counsel to the Leadership Team on a wide-range of issues, including those focused on achieving the company's growth objectives. Mr. Boggs will be a key advocate for the Toys"R"Us brand, ensuring the company's interests are represented in the many places around the globe where it does business. He will also work closely with the Board of Directors in his position as Corporate Secretary. "Cornell's extensive global experience extends well beyond traditional legal issues," said Mr. Brandon. "He brings strong leadership skills, business acumen and an appreciation for the unique complexities of our company. I am confident that he will make a significant contribution to our ongoing transformation and plans for growth." Before Dow Corning, Mr. Boggs was Chief Responsibility and Ethics Officer for MillerCoors LLC/Coors Brewing Company. He also held senior level roles with major global companies, including Tyco Plastics and Adhesives, Intel Corporation, Anheuser-Busch, and Monsanto and spent two years with the Department of Justice in Washington, D.C. Mr. Boggs has a JD and a BA from Valparaiso University in Indiana. He serves on the Boards of his alma mater, where he is Vice Chairman of the Audit Committee, as well as Thrivent Financial, a Fortune 500 financial services company. Mr. Boggs is also a member of the Executive Leadership Council, the preeminent membership organization committed to increasing the number of black executives in C-Suites, on corporate boards and in global enterprises. About Toys"R"Us, Inc. Toys"R"Us, Inc. is the world's leading dedicated toy and baby products retailer, offering a differentiated shopping experience through its family of brands. Merchandise is sold in 885 Toys"R"Us and Babies"R"Us stores in the United States, Puerto Rico and Guam, and in more than 795 international stores and over 259 licensed stores in 37 countries and jurisdictions. With its strong portfolio of e-commerce sites including Toysrus.com and Babiesrus.com, the company provides shoppers with a broad online selection of distinctive toy and baby products. Toys"R"Us, Inc. is headquartered in Wayne, NJ, and has an annual workforce of approximately 62,000 employees worldwide. The company is committed to serving its communities as a caring and reputable neighbor through programs dedicated to keeping kids safe and helping them in times of need. Since 1992, the Toys"R"Us Children's Fund, a public charity affiliated with Toys"R"Us, Inc., has donated more than $125 million in grants to children's charities. For more information, visit Toysrusinc.com or follow @ToysRUsNews on Twitter. Follow Toys"R"Us and Babies"R"Us on Facebook at Facebook.com/Toysrus and Facebook.com/Babiesrus and on Twitter at Twitter.com/Toysrus and Twitter.com/Babiesrus. SOURCE Toys"R"Us, Inc. Related Links http://www.toysrus.com "The Golden Isles Conservation Center shows that technology plays an important role in solving global environmental issues," said Cox Enterprises Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Alex Taylor. "This facility is another example of how committed we are to sustainability. This technology has been proven in Europe, and I'm excited that we're bringing it to the United States and benefitting a local community's economy." By repurposing the materials, the Center has the capacity to daily remove the equivalent of five tons of tires from landfills and waterways. The synthesis oil can be used as a substitute for many fuel-based products. The recovered carbon black can be used in products such as rubber hoses, inks, tires and plastics. Steel is the most recycled material on the planet and can be reused to make many new products. The synthesis gas generates heat for the closed-loop process. Initially focused on tires, the Center will serve as an R&D facility and explore repurposing additional waste stream products. The Center is part of the company's national Cox Conserves sustainability program, which is celebrating its 10th anniversary. The program focuses on reducing waste and energy consumption, as well as conserving water. In addition to providing an environmental solution, the facility is making a positive impact on the local economy. Construction on the facility began in 2016 and has infused $5 million into Georgia's economy, with one-third of the amount going directly to Brantley County-based companies. The facility is bringing five full-time jobs to Nahunta, which has a population of approximately 1,000. A special Community Open House will be held in April for local residents to tour the facility. About Golden Isles Conservation Center: The Golden Isles Conservation Center is located in Nahunta, Ga. and is part of Seven Islands Environmental Solutions, a subsidiary of Cox Enterprises. The Center utilizes an eco-friendly process to remove materials from the waste stream and repurpose them for extended usage. The Center has the capability of removing the equivalent of five tons of tires daily from landfills and waterways. About Cox Enterprises: Cox Enterprises is a leading communications, media and automotive services company. With revenues exceeding $20 billion and approximately 60,000 employees, the company's major operating subsidiaries include Cox Communications (cable television distribution, high-speed Internet access, telephone, home security and automation, commercial telecommunications and advertising solutions); Cox Automotive (automotive-related auctions, financial services, media and software solutions); and Cox Media Group (television and radio stations, digital media, newspapers and advertising sales rep firms). The company's major national brands include Autotrader, Kelley Blue Book and Manheim. Through Cox Automotive, the company's international operations stretch across Asia, Australia, Europe and Latin America. To learn more about Cox's commitment to people, sustainability and our communities, please visit CoxCSRReport.com. SOURCE Cox Enterprises "Wendy will be a key addition to our growing Business Development team. Wendy grew up in the industry and comes to us from an amazing firm where she excelled. Wendy will help grow our New York office with a focus on the Mid-Atlantic, where she grew up and has spent much of her career," noted Mike DeGiorgio founder and CEO of CREXi. "After being introduced to Wendy, we spent a few months speaking with her and concluded that her vision mirrored ours. We're lucky to welcome her to the team and are excited to watch her growth." Wendy will be joining CREXi's New York office where she will join her long-time industry peer, Christina Host who was hired in October. Blue joins CREXi from JLL where she held several consulting positions in the commercial real estate services industry. In Blue's most recent role with JLL, she was responsible for providing strategic occupancy planning, as well as real estate advisory and transaction management services to a Fortune 100 financial services corporation. Prior to that role, Blue specialized in tenant representation in the D.C. Metropolitan market as well as federal leasing, where she managed a portfolio of government leases and provided real estate brokerage and financial advisory services to the General Services Administration. Wendy earned a bachelor's degree in economics from Vanderbilt University and will report to Eli Randel, Head of Business Development based in the firm's Miami office. In addition to the new hire, CREXi has reached a new milestone by achieving active inventory of more than 10,000 commercial properties for sale in the marketplace representing approximately $60B in value. Active inventory excludes thousands of properties which have sold or are under contract. "We're very proud of how quickly and efficiently we've scaled our business," added DeGiorgio. "We launched our platform with four properties in Texas only 15 months ago. We are now active in every state and are growing our third office. We recognize we have a long way to go, but it's rewarding to enjoy the milestone and reflect on what we've built." About CREXi CREXi is the commercial real estate marketplace connecting brokers with thousands of qualified investors and providing investors with access to over 10,000 available properties for sale. CREXi utilizes the latest technological advances to simplify transactions for brokers and principals. Bringing the traditional CRE sales process online, CREXi makes the deal process fluid and more efficient allowing buyers and brokers to do more work in less time all from one powerful and intuitive location. For more information visit CREXi.com or contact Ashley Tate, 1 (859) 492-0308, [email protected]. SOURCE CREXi Related Links http://CREXi.com FALLS CHURCH, Va., Feb. 6, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- CSRA Inc. (NYSE: CSRA) announced today it has signed a three-year Enterprise Agreement with Microsoft to enable CSRA to utilize Microsoft's products, such as Microsoft Office365, for the Microsoft Azure cloud platform. CSRA, a Gold Partner in the Microsoft Partner Network, becomes the first government system integrator to migrate its own workload to the Azure Government cloud platform. The migration will ensure that CSRA leverages the same high levels of information security requirements as its DoD customer, while also taking advantage of new cloud offerings from Microsoft. CSRA worked closely with the Microsoft team to meet business requirements. CSRA plans to continue this work with Microsoft to test their latest offerings as "customer zero" providing implementation experience for both companies. "CSRA is committed to being a customer zero for testing next-generation technology. By investing in ourselves, we can minimize risk and accelerate solutions for our customers," said CSRA CIO John Dancy. "Through this relationship, the Microsoft Azure Government cloud platform allows us to share the same information safeguards that the DoD implements for its workloads. Fully-utilizing Microsoft's software and cloud capabilities is a core element of our strategy to streamline our portfolio, integrate our systems better, and manage our IT costs. Our goal is to have seventy percent of our applications operating within the cloud." "We are excited to work with our customers to transform their operations and reduce costs by migrating workloads to the cloud," said CSRA President and CEO Larry Prior. "Using Microsoft Azure Government cloud platform and Office365 represents a unique opportunity for CSRA. We believe that the market for Microsoft's cloud services with the DoD will expand rapidly. By teaming with Microsoft, CSRA is taking advantage of a significant growth opportunity. Together, our industry-leading cloud migration and longstanding relationship with the DoD will continue to deliver flawlessly for our customers." Greg Myers, Vice President of Microsoft Federal, Microsoft Corp. said, "the U.S. Department of Defense has granted accreditation for Microsoft Azure Government cloud platform and Microsoft Office 365 US Government Defense to handle Controlled Unclassified Information. This is a significant advancement in our commitment to providing government customers with the most complete, trusted, and secure cloud. We are pleased to collaborate with CSRA to support the needs of Defense customers, including those who manage DoD Impact Level-5 workloads, and to help more agencies embrace the power of the cloud." Learn more about how CSRA partners with MICROSOFT at https://www.csra.com/partner/microsoft/ About CSRA Inc. CSRA (NYSE: CSRA) solves our nation's hardest mission problems as a bridge from mission and enterprise IT to Next Gen, from government to technology partners, and from agency to agency. CSRA is tomorrow's thinking, today. For our customers, our partners, and ultimately, all the people our mission touches, CSRA is realizing the promise of technology to change the world through next-generation thinking and meaningful results. CSRA is driving towards achieving sustainable, industry-leading organic growth across federal and state/local markets through customer intimacy, rapid innovation and outcome-based experience. CSRA has over 18,000 employees and is headquartered in Falls Church, Virginia. To learn more about CSRA, visit www.csra.com. Think Next. Now. Forward-looking Statements All statements in this press release and in all future press releases that do not directly and exclusively relate to historical facts constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements represent CSRA's intentions, plans, expectations and beliefs, including statements about the effects of the program on our business and our ability to enhance mission capabilities of our customers. The forward-looking statements are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors, many of which are outside the control of CSRA. These factors could cause actual results to differ materially from forward-looking statements. For a written description of these factors, see the sections titled "Risk Factors" and "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations" in CSRA's most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and any updating information in subsequent SEC filings. CSRA disclaims any intention or obligation to update these forward-looking statements whether as a result of subsequent event or otherwise. SOURCE CSRA Inc. Related Links http://www.csra.com NORTH CANTON, Ohio, and PADERBORN, Germany, Feb. 7, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Ziraat Bank, the largest financial institution in Turkey, is partnering with Diebold Nixdorf to enable a connected consumer experience with advanced software and professional services on 7,000 of the bank's automated teller machines (ATMs). Whether consumers prefer mobile banking, visiting the branch or using ATMs, Ziraat Bank is ensuring its customers experience the same "look and feel" on every channel. Diebold Nixdorf's software platform will enable the bank to design innovative user interfaces and introduce new functions quickly on all the ATMs in its network. Additionally, Diebold Nixdorf is providing remote monitoring software and IT services management for Ziraat's ATM network, which will help the bank improve customer satisfaction through advanced maintenance analytics. Once installed, the self-service fleet will be monitored for faults and, if detected, status and event messages will be sent and automatically converted into service orders. The solution uses this detailed information to decide whether a technician visit is necessary or whether the fault can be rectified via remote access -- helping lower ATM maintenance costs. "With this project, we are building a foundation for integrating the ATM channel with the overall channel strategy of the bank. This will allow Ziraat Bank to create a unique customer experience that is consistent with customers' experiences on other bank touchpoints, and allow for technology and talent to be used across bank channels," said Christian Weisser, Diebold Nixdorf senior vice president and managing director, Europe, Middle East and Africa. "The project will position Ziraat Bank to respond to the market quickly through agile implementation methods and deliver continued innovation to keep up with the behavioral changes of their customers." About Ziraat Bank Ziraat Bank, which was established in 1863 as a modest charity fund and which developed with great strides in time, is among the most valuable assets of Turkey today. The Bank was officially established as a modern financial institution to undertake the functions of the Benefit Funds, and the Benefit Funds operating at that time were converted into bank branches and started their operations. Increasing its support for all sectors, including agriculture, Ziraat Bank continued to be a bank serving a vast audience whose members range from the smallest of businesses to the biggest of firms and from farmers to pensioners. Ziraat Bank also numbers among the banks that supply financing for major investment projects being undertaken in Turkey. Ziraat Bank now has an operational presence at 98 locations in 18 countries, which gives it a direct international service reach more extensive than that of any other bank in Turkey. Ziraat Bank is playing a leading role in Turkish banking sector with the largest ATM and branch network in the country. Visit www.Ziraat.com.tr for more information. About Diebold Nixdorf Diebold Nixdorf is a world leader in enabling connected commerce for millions of consumers each day across the financial and retail industries. Its software-defined solutions bridge the physical and digital worlds of cash and consumer transactions conveniently, securely and efficiently. As an innovation partner for nearly all of the world's top 100 financial institutions and a majority of the top 25 global retailers, Diebold Nixdorf delivers unparalleled services and technology that are essential to evolve in an 'always on' and changing consumer landscape. Diebold Nixdorf has a presence in more than 130 countries with approximately 25,000 employees worldwide. The organization maintains corporate offices in North Canton, Ohio, USA and Paderborn, Germany. Shares are traded on the New York and Frankfurt Stock Exchanges under the symbol 'DBD'. Visit www.DieboldNixdorf.com for more information. SOURCE Diebold Nixdorf Related Links http://www.DieboldNixdorf.com LONDON, Feb. 7, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Dr. Nicola Millard, Head of Customer Insight & Futures, BT Global Services, has confirmed attendance as keynote speaker at the 11th Annual Customer Contact, Europe: A Frost & Sullivan Executive Mindxchange, taking place on 5-7 June 2017 at the Hilton Budapest, Budapest, Hungary. To register and download the event agenda, please visit: https://goo.gl/hfX6UA As Head of Customer Insight & Futures, Dr. Millard is responsible for BT Global Services Innovation team thought leadership. She performs extensive research on consumer behaviour, contact centres and the future of work, as well as drawing upon BT's global innovation ecosystem, which includes MIT and Cambridge University. Dr. Millard is regularly featured on radio and TV, with recent appearances on BBC World 'Tech Tent' and BBC 2 'Back in Time for the Weekend.' She has also done a TED talk on people's acceptance and rejection of technologies. In 2014, she received the Outstanding Industry Contribution Award from the UK Contact Centre Forum. Frost & Sullivan's event, themed Taking Customer Service to the Next Level, will address the unprecedented changes in customers, organisations, employees, and customer service being ushered in by digital transformation. Other featured sessions include Executive Insights: Building Brand Trust: The Art of Empathy and Emotional Connection; Success Story: Creating and Delivering an Effortless Customer Experience and SuccessStory: Customer Experience in the Millennials' Age. The highly interactive event will offer contact centre and customer experience executives the opportunity to benefit from: Truly innovative case studies and best practices Dynamic collaboration zones fostering disruptive and transformational thinking Networking and discussion opportunities with leading peers and professionals in customer contact Don't miss out on the opportunity to leverage the latest customer service thinking for competitive advantage. For additional information, please email [email protected] or contact Alan Bowman at +44 1865 398 644. About Frost & Sullivan Frost & Sullivan, the Growth Partnership Company, works in collaboration with clients to leverage visionary innovation that addresses the global challenges and related growth opportunities that will make or break today's market participants. For more than 50 years, we have been developing growth strategies for the global 1000, emerging businesses, the public sector and the investment community. Contact us: Start the discussion Contact: Anna Zanchi Corporate Communications Europe P: +39.02.4851 6133 E: [email protected] www.frost.com SOURCE Frost & Sullivan Related Links http://www.frost.com "When I heard the track I immediately knew I could do something with it," recalls Dreezy. "It was a different type of record for me, but it sounded good... I knew right away I wanted Jeremih on it." A staple at radio since early last year, "Body" landed on several of Billboard's most prestigious charts: #62 on the Hot 100; #14 on the R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay chart; #7 on the Hot R&B Songs chart; and #9 on the R&B Streaming Songs chart. The magazine recently highlighted Dreezy's accomplishments in an exclusive roundup of five female rappers who are "busting up hip-hop's boys club." 2016 was a banner year for Seandrea "Dreezy" Sledge. Her debut project boasted high profile collaborations with Gucci Mane on the Bonnie & Clyde-inspired "We Gon Ride" and T-Pain on the melancholic "Close To You." Two songs, "Bad Bitch" and "Worth It" were licensed and featured in episodes six and seven of the hit HBO show, Insecure, created by and starring Issa Rae. "Body" was also featured in Lee Daniel's new FOX series STAR in episode 103 and FX's critically-acclaimed Atlanta in episode ten. Dreezy also zigzagged across the United States performing "Body" and toured parts of Europe, further expanding her international fan base. "My goal is to be legendary," she says. "Music is my purpose and I want to set the bar especially for females and break all the records that come with it!" SOURCE Interscope Records LAS VEGAS, Feb. 7, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Digital performance management company, Dynatrace, has formally launched the company's AI-powered digital virtual assistant: davis. It has been developed to answer questions from anyone in IT, or the business, about the performance of any aspect of the digital ecosystem. A user simply talks to 'davis' through Amazon Alexa, or chats to it through Slack, and in an instant has answers to questions such as: What performance problems impacted my revenue today? Can you tell me about user activity levels? Are there any capacity issues? Were there any outages last night? The slick new offering is the gateway to Dynatrace's unified, AI-powered and completely automated digital performance management platform. As Dynatrace's Chief Technology Strategist, Alois Reitbauer, explains, "IT teams are struggling with the hugely complex nature of application delivery. On top of this, internal resources are stretched. Problem resolution needs to be auto-detected with precision and presented back to IT in a very specific context. "The remarkable thing about 'davis' is that it adds another layer of automation to the existing solution. IT operations can now have a simple voice or chat conversation with 'davis' and access the same deep insights, without having to go diving into dashboards. Additionally, it gives non-technical teams the ability to monitor and understand network health and performance issues via familiar communication tools. 'davis' has effectively 'consumerized' IT this is an industry first." The next step in the roadmap for 'davis' will see Dynatrace working with more customers to develop questions that are very specific to their needs and environment. This will be done as part of a limited release and via a series of hackathons at Dynatrace's global Perform 2017 event. The vision for 'davis' is to build a community where skills and updates are shared and downloadable via Github. Jeppe Lindberg, Application Performance Manger at retail giant, COOP, in Denmark, was among the first to trial the virtual assistant: "Being able to dive into any aspect of the IT environment and utilize the full AI capabilities via Slack or Alexa is remarkable I've never seen anything like this before. It's just like you're talking to another human IT team member, except a person would never be able to detect and bring to the surface root causes with such speed and precision. "Futuristically, I want to ask 'davis' questions specific to COOP, such as "Are our PoS terminals, or payment solutions, at risk of performance problems?" While we can already see this via the dashboards, over time 'davis' will bring this to our attention conversationally. It's a game changer." Alois Reitbauer is a key creator of davis and believes the virtual assistant is an important step towards alleviating some of the complexity and time constraint issues placed on IT today. "Microservices, cloud migration, IOT the IT environment is getting harder to manage. Silo analytics are unsustainable now and so is a scenario where you have humans querying complex data sets trying to pinpoint problems accurately. Each application can have billions of dependencies so you need AI capabilities to automatically look for all possible solutions and select the right one. It then needs to start on the path to self-healing. Adding a human-like interface to such an intelligent, automated platform was the next logical step in the Dynatrace evolution, and our customers are completely blown away by its capabilities and where we see it going." 'davis' will be on stage and streaming live from Dynatrace's global Perform 2017 event in Las Vegas this week from 6-9th February. About Dynatrace Dynatrace has redefined how you monitor today's digital ecosystems. AI-powered, full stack and completely automated, it's the only solution that provides answers, not just data, based on deep insight into every user, every transaction, across every application. More than 8,000 customers use Dynatrace to optimize customer experiences, innovate faster and modernize IT operations with absolute confidence. Read more at dynatrace.com, visit the blog, or find @dynatrace on Twitter. For Sales and Marketing Information Dynatrace, 404 Wyman St., Suite 500, Waltham, MA 02451, 781-530-1000, http://www.dynatrace.com Press Contacts Jackie D'Andrea, InkHouse for Dynatrace, 781-966-4100, [email protected] SOURCE Dynatrace Related Links https://www.dynatrace.com SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 7, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- EPIC Insurance Brokers and Consultants, a retail property, casualty insurance brokerage and employee benefits consultant, announced today that risk management and insurance professional Doug Bull has joined the firm's Construction and Design Solutions team in San Francisco as a vice president. Bull will be responsible for new business development, program design and management, marketing and coverage placement, and will oversee EPIC's delivery of products, services and solutions to clients in the construction, design and real estate industries. An industry veteran whose career spans nearly 30 years, Bull joins EPIC from Aon Risk Insurance Services West, Inc. in San Francisco, where he was an Account Executive/Broker in Aon's Construction Services Group. There Bull was responsible for production, marketing, placement, client relationships, and contract review for mid to large size construction and real estate accounts. Prior to this, Bull was with commercial insurance broker ABD Insurance and Financial Services in Redwood City, Calif. where he was an Account Executive responsible for producing, serving and retaining a large book of commercial and residential construction accounts. Bull spent the first 10 years of his career on the insurance company side of the business, in a range of underwriting and underwriting management positions. "We are very excited to have a broker of Doug's caliber join our Construction and Design Solutions team," said Curt Perata, EPIC Regional Director of Property & Casualty Operations. "His background and experience, construction industry risk management expertise and strong consulting skills will materially contribute to our growth plans and the service excellence we deliver daily to EPIC clients, here in California and across the country." As one of the nation's fastest growing private insurance brokerage firms, EPIC has been on an aggressive national growth trajectory, successfully competing against the large, institutional brokers with an entrepreneurial, client-focused business model. Since The Carlyle Group became the firm's major investment partner in December 2013, EPIC has added multiple locations and new team members across the country, growing revenues from roughly $80 million to estimated run rate revenues of almost $250 million a 212 percent increase. Bull is a graduate of the University of California at Berkeley where he earned a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) Degree in Political Science. Doug Bull can be reached at: EPIC Insurance Brokers & Consultants 135 Main Street 21st Floor, San Francisco, CA 94105 [email protected] 415-356-3919 office. About EPIC: EPIC is a unique and innovative retail property and casualty and employee benefits insurance brokerage and consulting firm. EPIC has created a values-based, client-focused culture that attracts and retains top talent, fosters employee satisfaction and loyalty and sustains a high level of customer service excellence. EPIC team members have consistently recognized their company as a "Best Place to Work" in multiple regions and as a "Best Place to Work in the Insurance Industry" nationally. EPIC now has more than 850 team members operating from offices across the U.S., providing Property Casualty, Employee Benefits, Specialty Programs and Private Client solutions to more than 13,000 clients. With more than $200 million in revenues, EPIC ranks among the top 20 retail insurance brokers in the United States. Supported by the Carlyle Group, the company continues to expand organically and through strategic acquisitions across the country. For additional information, please visit http://www.epicbrokers.com/. *PHOTO for media: Send2Press.com/mediaboom/17-0207s2p-EPIC-Doug-Bull-300dpi.jpg This release was issued through Send2Press, a unit of Neotrope. For more information, visit Send2Press Newswire at https://www.Send2Press.com SOURCE EPIC Insurance Brokers and Consultants Related Links http://www.epicbrokers.com LAS VEGAS, Feb. 7, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- (WPPI, Booth #427) -- Epson America today announced Epson Print Layout, a software designed to simplify the highly complex print and color management workflow for photographers. The advanced software provides an intuitive linear workflow specifically designed to provide easy printer selection, layout, and color management settings, in addition to providing a live Advanced Black-and-White Mode1 output preview. Compatible with Epson SureColor P-Series printers2, Epson Print Layout is the ideal solution for enthusiast and professional photographers looking to create the highest quality photos easily. "One of the biggest hurdles with printing photos is locating and selecting the correct settings in the operating system, application and driver software," said Eddie Murphy, marketing specialist, Epson America, Inc. "With Epson Print Layout we wanted to simplify printing by bringing all of the settings into one location, laid out in a step-by-step process. And, listening to requests from photographers, we've added the ability to live preview their images when using Advanced Black-and-White Photo Mode." Epson Print Layout is available as an Adobe Photoshop plug-in or standalone application for Windows and Mac based operating systems. This advanced software makes printing easier with a step-by-step selection of frequently used printing options, such as printer selection, layout, and color settings. Epson Print Layout offers full ICC profile support or users can select automatic color modes through the Epson print driver. Enhanced features include customized frame and border options for gallery-wrap printing and automatic paper sizing for panoramas. "Epson Print Layout delivers on the promise of the Advanced Black-and-White Photo Mode," said Vincent Versace, professional photographer and best-selling author of "From Oz to Kansas: Almost Every Black and White Conversion Known to Man." "I'm now able to target and control different tonal areas of an image, non-destructively, and extract fine details from my black-and-white prints that I've previously been unable to print. I've never had that level of control in an application." Additional Epson Print Layout Features: Simplified Interface Intuitive linear workflow allows for quick and easy navigation of printer, layout and color settings Intuitive linear workflow allows for quick and easy navigation of printer, layout and color settings Versatility Epson Print Layout is available as a Photoshop plug-in or as a standalone application Epson Print Layout is available as a Photoshop plug-in or as a standalone application Creative Customized Gallery Wrap Prints Choose from multiple frame and border options for printing on canvas Choose from multiple frame and border options for printing on canvas Easily Print Panoramas Epson Print Layout automatically sizes the print based on your selected image and roll width Epson Print Layout automatically sizes the print based on your selected image and roll width Designed for Color-Managed Workflows Offers full ICC profile support; or users can select automatic color modes through the Epson driver Offers full ICC profile support; or users can select automatic color modes through the Epson driver Live Preview for Advanced Black-and-White Photo Mode1 Directly fine-tune and preview black-and-white images within Epson Print Layout to achieve the ideal tonal range Availability Epson Print Layout software is currently available for free download at www.epson.com/support and is compatible with Epson SureColor P-Series printers2. For additional information on all of Epson's professional printing solutions, visit proimaging.epson.com. About Epson Epson is a global technology leader dedicated to connecting people, things and information with its original efficient, compact and precision technologies. With a lineup that ranges from inkjet printers and digital printing systems to 3LCD projectors, smart glasses, sensing systems and industrial robots, the company is focused on driving innovations and exceeding customer expectations in inkjet, visual communications, wearables and robotics. Led by the Japan-based Seiko Epson Corporation, the Epson Group comprises nearly 72,000 employees in 93 companies around the world, and is proud of its contributions to the communities in which it operates and its ongoing efforts to reduce environmental impacts. Epson America, Inc., based in Long Beach, Calif., is Epson's regional headquarters for the U.S., Canada, and Latin America. To learn more about Epson, please visit: epson.com. You may also connect with Epson America on Facebook (facebook.com/Epson), Twitter (twitter.com/EpsonAmerica), YouTube (youtube.com/EpsonAmerica), and Instagram (instagram.com/EpsonAmerica). 1 Feature not available on the Epson SureColor P400 printer 2 SureColor P10000 and P20000 not currently supported Specifications are subject to change without notice. EPSON and SureColor, are registered trademarks and Epson Exceed Your Vision is a registered logomark of Seiko Epson Corporation. All other product and brand names are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of their respective companies. Epson disclaims any and all rights in these marks SOURCE Epson America, Inc. Related Links http://www.epson.com "Supertank printers have seen great success in the North American printer market since the initial launch of EcoTank models for businesses and consumers," said Nils Madden, marketing director, Desktop Imaging and Printing, Epson America. "The Expression ET-2650 and ET-2600 EcoTank printers expand Epson's line of Supertank printers and continue to address the needs of everyday home printing needs, offering an unbeatable combination of value 1 and convenience." Whether printing documents, webpages, emails, or photos, the new EcoTank models deliver the utmost convenience with wireless printing from tablets and smartphones4. In addition to providing years of ink, the new EcoTank printers are an economical choice for the home, providing savings of up to 80 percent on ink with low-cost replacement bottles5. The ET-2650 and ET-2600 provide the freedom to print in color and offer high-volume, high-quality, hassle-free printing. Key features include: Cartridge-free printing comes with up to 2 years of ink in the box 1 comes with up to 2 years of ink in the box Enough ink to print up to 4,000 pages black/6,500 color 2 equivalent to about 20 ink cartridge sets 3 equivalent to about 20 ink cartridge sets Savings up to 80 percent on ink with low-cost replacement bottles 5 plus easy-to-fill, supersized ink tanks plus easy-to-fill, supersized ink tanks Built-in wireless printing easily print from tablets and smartphones 4 ; print without a network with Wi-Fi Direct 6 for the ET-2650 easily print from tablets and smartphones ; print without a network with Wi-Fi Direct for the ET-2650 Unbeatable combination of value 1 and convenience the freedom to print anything you want in color, without worry the freedom to print anything you want in color, without worry Simple setup user-friendly control panel; the ET-2650 includes 1.44" color LCD user-friendly control panel; the ET-2650 includes 1.44" color LCD Print photos, PC-free the ET-2650 includes a built-in card slot 7 the ET-2650 includes a built-in card slot One-touch copying get fast, high-quality copies Pricing, Availability and Support The Expression ET-2650 EcoTank ($299.99 MSRP) will be available February 2017 through major computer, office and electronic retailers, and on the Epson store (www.epsonstore.com). The Expression ET-2600 EcoTank ($279.99 MSRP) will be available February 2017 online. Both printers feature a two-year limited warranty with registration8. For more information and availability, please visit epson.com/ecotank. About Epson Epson is a global technology leader dedicated to connecting people, things and information with its original efficient, compact and precision technologies. With a lineup that ranges from inkjet printers and digital printing systems to 3LCD projectors, smart glasses, sensing systems and industrial robots, the company is focused on driving innovations and exceeding customer expectations in inkjet, visual communications, wearables and robotics. Led by the Japan-based Seiko Epson Corporation, the Epson Group comprises more than 73,000 employees in 91 companies around the world, and is proud of its contributions to the communities in which it operates and its ongoing efforts to reduce environmental impacts. Epson America, Inc., based in Long Beach, Calif., is Epson's regional headquarters for the U.S., Canada, and Latin America. To learn more about Epson, please visit: epson.com. You may also connect with Epson America on Facebook (facebook.com/Epson), Twitter (twitter.com/EpsonAmerica), YouTube (youtube.com/EpsonAmerica), and Instagram (instagram.com/EpsonAmerica). 1 Based on average monthly print volumes of about 150 pages. 2 Included ink bottle yields based on the ISO/IEC 24712 pattern with Epson's methodology. Actual ink yields will vary considerably for reasons including images printed, print settings, temperature and humidity. Yields may be lower when printing infrequently or predominantly with one ink color. All ink colors are used for printing and printer maintenance, and all colors must be available for printing. For more information, visit www.epson.com/cartridgeinfo 3 About 20 cartridge sets estimate based on print yields of the included Black and color ink bottles as compared to standard-capacity ink cartridge sets for similarly-featured cartridge printers as of July 2016. 4 Most features require an Internet connection to the printer, as well as an Internet- and/or email-enabled device. For a list of Epson Connect enabled printers and compatible devices and apps, visit www.epson.com/connect 5 Savings comparison based on the purchase cost of replacement ink bottles and the cost of enough cartridges to achieve the total page yields of the bottles using the manufacturers' online prices and yields for the highest-capacity cartridges for the best-selling, similarly featured consumer inkjet printers priced at $499 or less per NPD, July 2016. Actual savings will vary based on print tasks, print volumes and usage conditions. 6 Wi-Fi CERTIFIED; level of performance subject to the range of the router being used. Wi-Fi Direct may require printer software. 7 Adapter may be required. 8 12 months of standard limited warranty. For an additional 12 months (total of 24 months), register your product and use Epson genuine ink bottles. EPSON, ECOTANK and Expression are registered trademarks, EPSON Exceed Your Vision is a registered logomark and Better Products for a Better Future and Epson Connect are trademarks of Seiko Epson Corporation. Apple is a trademark of Apple Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries. Android and Chromebook are trademarks of Google Inc. Windows is either a registered trademark or trademark of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries. Wi-Fi CERTIFIED is a trademark of Wi-Fi Alliance. All other product and brand names are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of their respective companies. Epson disclaims any and all rights in these marks. Copyright 2016 Epson America, Inc. CPD-52500 9/16 SOURCE Epson America, Inc. Related Links http://www.epson.com ROCHESTER HILLS, Mich., Feb. 7, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- EXX Inc. today announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement for Newcor, Inc. ("Newcor" or "the Company") to be acquired by CIE Automotive, S.A. ("CIE Automotive" or "CIE"), a leading global manufacturer and supplier of automotive components and sub-assemblies. The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory approvals. This partnership with CIE represents an opportunity for Newcor to leverage CIE's world-class capabilities as a machined components manufacturer, allowing Newcor to share these best practices as it continues serving its customers under its ongoing commitment to quality. Accordingly, the transaction allows CIE to extend its presence in the United States of America. Newcor plans to continue operating from its three existing manufacturing facilities in the State of Michigan. Sagent Advisors, LLC acted as exclusive financial advisor to EXX Inc. and Newcor, Inc., and Horwood Marcus & Berk Chartered acted as legal advisor to EXX Inc. and Newcor, Inc. on this transaction. About Newcor, Inc. Headquartered in Rochester Hills, Michigan, Newcor specializes in the manufacturing of high precision machined products for the automotive sector. The Company, including its subsidiaries, Machine Tool & Gear, Inc., Rochester Gear, Inc. and Deco Engineering, Inc., provides precision machined engine, powertrain and transmission components. Newcor's customers include automotive OEMs and leading Tier 1 suppliers. The Company operates three manufacturing facilities located in Clifford, Corunna and Owosso, Michigan. For more information, please visit www.newcor.com. About CIE Automotive S.A. Founded in 1996 and headquartered in Bilbao, Spain, CIE Automotive engages in the design, manufacture and sale of components and sub-assemblies to the automotive market worldwide. It offers engine and powertrain products, interior and exterior trims, chassis and steering products, roof systems and more. For more information, please visit www.cieautomotive.com. Contact: Barry Borodkin, [email protected] SOURCE Newcor, Inc. Related Links http://www.newcor.com LONDON, February 7, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Kaap Agri, one of the largest agricultural co-operatives in South Africa, and with over 180 operating points, recently hosted their Annual Supplier Awards dinner. Kaap Agri recognises that their supplier relationships are essential to providing Kaap Agri customers with excellent products and services. F4F, part of Proagrica, were nominated and recognised in the Information Management category for developing an iPaaS (Integrated Platform as a Service) solution and facilitating data exchange with the end goal of integrating a number of Kaap Agri's internal systems. Charl Graham, Group Manager for Information Management at Kaap Agri comments, "During implementation, we have found a great partner in the F4F team, who takes time and dedicates resources to understand our business and ensure a smooth and efficient delivery. We assess our suppliers against comprehensive criteria and F4F particularly excelled in innovation, relationship management, visibility and impact." "We are delighted that the existing relationship with Kaap Agri has led to our nomination for the Award", said Jaco van Dyk, Country Manager at F4F, South Africa. "While we are continuing the project for Kaap Agri, it's great to see the team's hard work recognised in this way among a host of Kaap Agri's strategic partners. We are excited to work with Kaap Agri on further integration capabilities that will bring even better services to Kaap Agri, their 2,500 employees, and most of all to their customers," concluded Mr Leppan. Notes to Editors Proagrica is a global division of Reed Business Information and the RELX Group, a FTSE 100 company. Proagrica provides critical decision-support to the global agriculture industry by delivering high-value insight and data, trusted workflow tools, proven integration technology and effective channels-to-market. We're proud of our market-leading brands in Europe, as well as a growing footprint in Australia, Asia Pacific, South Africa and the US. Our portfolio includes flagship media brands Farmers Weekly and Boerderij, as well as the latest in the integration and connectivity capabilities that F4F offers across the supply chain. We're known for our industry leading farm management software Farmplan and GateKeeper, but with an increasing need for actionable insight from data and analytics, we have been developing new products in this area under our Agility brand. About Reed Business Information Reed Business Information provides information, analytics and data to business professionals worldwide. Our strong global products and services hold market-leading positions across a wide range of industry sectors including banking, petrochemicals and aviation where we help customers make key strategic decisions every day. RBI is part of RELX Group, a world-leading provider of information and analytics for professional customers across industries. http://www.reedbusiness.com About RELX Group RELX Group is a worldleading provider of information and analytics for professional and business customers across industries. The group serves customers in more than 180 countries and has offices in about 40 countries. It employs approximately 30,000 people of whom half are in North America. RELX PLC is a London listed holding company which owns 52.9% of RELX Group. RELX NV is an Amsterdam listed holding company which owns 47.1% of RELX Group. The shares are traded on the London, Amsterdam and New York Stock Exchanges using the following ticker symbols: London: REL; Amsterdam: REN; New York: RELX and RENX. The total market capitalisation is approximately 28.7bn/33.4bn/$35.9bn. For further information please contact: Snezana Petrovic Chief Marketing Officer Proagrica [email protected] +44(0)208-652-2077 Sarah Riley Account Director rdp [email protected] +44(0)1452-429-175 SOURCE Proagrica, Reed Business Information On your mark. Get set. Go! The FCA US Product Design Office is looking for aspiring young artists with a passion for automotive design to gear up and participate in the 2017 "Drive for Design" contest. Returning for the fifth consecutive year, the 2017 Drive for Design contest challenges all U.S. high school students in grades 10-12 to design a Dodge vehicle 30 years in the future. The FCA design team is proud to partner with EyesOn Design and Lawrence Technological University for this year's contest. "Five years ago, we created Drive for Design to connect with young art students and make them aware of careers in automotive design," said Mark Trostle, Head of Performance, Passenger Car and Utility Vehicle Design, FCA North America. "This year, we are joined by Lawrence Technological University and EyesOn Design, both locally based organizations that share our passion to excite, educate and inspire students." EyesOn Design focuses on the automotive community and students coming together to commemorate, reflect and appreciate the craftsmanship and beauty of vehicle design. Winners will receive their awards on Friday, June 16 at the organization's "Vision Honored" Black Tie and Silent Auction, an annual event that kicks off the EyesOn Design Automotive Design Exhibition that takes place each Father's Day weekend at the Edsel and Eleanor Ford House in Grosse Pointe Shores, Michigan. This year's event goes hand-in-hand with the Drive for Design contest as each focuses on "30 years in the future." In addition, the FCA US Product Design Office is partnering with Lawrence Technological University (LTU), a private university that offers more than 100 programs through the doctoral level in its Colleges of Architecture and Design, Arts and Sciences, Engineering, and Management. LTU is offering a $50,000 scholarship award and a two-week summer automotive design course to contest winners. Just like the real world of automotive design, Drive for Design entrants face a challenging deadline. Entries must be submitted by April. 28, 2017, via www.fcadrivefordesign.com. Three winners will receive the following prizes. First place: $50,000 *scholarship to Lawrence Technological University in Southfield , Michigan (must meet college entry requirements) *scholarship to in , Michigan (must meet college entry requirements) Two-week summer automotive design course at Lawrence Technological University (includes housing, meals and field trips) (includes housing, meals and field trips) Three passes to the EyesOn Design Vision Honored Black Tie and Silent Auction, along with FCA design team members Three passes to the EyesOn Design Automotive Design Exhibition in Grosse Pointe Shores, Michigan Three-day/two-night stay in Michigan (includes flight, hotel and rental car) (includes flight, hotel and rental car) An Apple MacBook Pro *Scholarship awarded by Lawrence Technological University available only to student who is currently a junior and must be admitted to LTU for Fall 2018. Second and third places: Two-week summer automotive design course at Lawrence Technological University (includes housing, meals and field trips) (includes housing, meals and field trips) Three passes to the EyesOn Design Vision Honored Black Tie and Silent Auction, along with FCA design team members Three passes to the EyesOn Design Automotive Design Exhibition in Grosse Pointe Shores Three-day/two-night stay in Michigan (includes flight, hotel and rental car) An Apple iPad and Apple Pencil Contest rules and information can be found at www.fcadrivefordesign.com. Updates will be posted on the FCA US Facebook page at facebook.com/FiatChrysler.NorthAmerica, Twitter @FiatChrysler_NA and Instagram @FiatChrysler_NA, using the hashtag #DriveForDesign. About EyesOn Design A benefit for the Detroit Institute of Ophthalmology (DIO), a not-for-profit corporation, EyesOn Design is a major source of revenue for the DIO's research, education and support group programs for the visually impaired. The DIO is a division of the Department of Ophthalmology of the Henry Ford Health System. About Lawrence Technological University Lawrence Technological University was born 80 years ago in the middle of an innovation explosion that would change the world. None other than Henry and Edsel Ford helped launch the revolutionary experiment that would become LTU, providing guidance and space in their sprawling former Model T assembly plant for the fledgling school. Today, the school is still changing the world. Since those early beginnings students and alumni have gone on to design and engineer the tools, buildings and products that helped define their generations. And tomorrow's LTU students will do the same. Lawrence Tech is about "Theory and Practice" taking abstract ideas into the real world to solve tomorrow's problems. Its reputation comes as much from what we're doing now as it does from our storied past. If you're a thinker, a visionary, a builder ... if you're curious ... then you're Lawrence Tech. Come roll up your sleeves and dive in at one of the nation's best schools for engineering, architecture, science and applied technology. About Drive for Design Launched in 2013, the FCA US Product Design Office created its Drive for Design contest as an innovative way to educate young artists about careers in automotive design. Starting locally in Detroit, Drive for Design has grown to become a national contest that has awarded talented students with prizes and unique opportunities to help further develop their design skills. About FCA US LLC FCA US LLC is a North American automaker with a new name and a long history. Headquartered in Auburn Hills, Michigan, FCA US is a member of the Fiat Chrysler Automobiles N.V. (FCA) family of companies. FCA US designs, engineers, manufactures and sells vehicles under the Chrysler, Jeep, Dodge, Ram and FIAT brands, as well as the SRT performance vehicle designation. The company also distributes the Alfa Romeo 4C model and Mopar products. FCA US is building upon the historic foundations of Chrysler, the innovative American automaker first established by Walter P. Chrysler in 1925; and Fiat, founded in Italy in 1899 by pioneering entrepreneurs, including Giovanni Agnelli. FCA, the seventh-largest automaker in the world based on total annual vehicle sales, is an international automotive group. FCA is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "FCAU" and on the Mercato Telematico Azionario under the symbol "FCA." Follow FCA US news and video on: Company blog: blog.fcanorthamerica.com Company website: www.fcanorthamerica.com FCA360: 360.fcanorthamerica.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FiatChrysler.NorthAmerica/ Flickr: www.flickr.com/photos/chryslergroup/ Media website: media.fcanorthamerica.com Pinterest: www.pinterest.com/fcacorporate Instagram: www.instagram.com/FiatChrysler_NA Twitter: www.twitter.com/FiatChrysler_NA Twitter (Spanish): www.twitter.com/fcausespanol YouTube: www.youtube.com/pentastarvideo SOURCE FCA US LLC Related Links http://www.fcanorthamerica.com Impulsiveness is the inability to not act on immediate temptations despite the long-term consequences. Examples of impulsive behaviors are unhealthy actions such as overeating, drinking to excess and gambling. Impulsive acts over time can lead to certain negative conditions, including obesity, type 2 diabetes, substance abuse, gambling problems and suicidal behaviors, among others. That's why identifying the triggers behind impulsiveness can help people take control of their actions and may decrease the potential for developing these associated conditions. Frederick Muench, PhD, Feinstein Institute associate professor and director of Northwell Health's Digital Health Interventions in Psychiatry, and Deborah Estrin, PhD, professor of Computer Science at Cornell Tech, collaborated to develop this study to assess if a smartphone app can accurately measure a person's level of impulsivity in different situations. Because impulse control is affected by specific time of day, physical activity, and social interactions such as drinking, the app will gather data at those times. The researchers will use this data to evaluate which of these factors influence impulse control the most. "This is the first study in which the capabilities of the smartphone are being used to understand impulsivity in different settings," said Dr. Muench. "Having a better understanding of what drives this behavior will help us design tools that health professionals and their patients can use to regulate impulsive behaviors in trigger settings." Participants in the study will engage in a range of tasks and self-assessment tests within the smartphone application. For example, using a previously validated computer measurement of risk-taking now designed for the smartphone, participants are asked to virtually "inflate" a balloon as much as they can without making it pop in order to receive a cash prize. How people handle this challenge (i.e., will they be conservative with how much they inflate the balloon or will they be risky by getting it to the point of almost popping) will provide data to help understand risk taking under different conditions. This study of the app has been named the Digital Marshmallow Test, building off of the original "marshmallow test," invented by Stanford psychologist Walter Mischel and colleagues in the 1960s. It measured willpower by testing preschoolers who were given the option of either eating one mini-marshmallow right away or waiting 15 minutes to get two mini-marshmallows. "As most individuals are only within arm's reach of their smartphones, it is a great tool to profile impulsive behavior and see what daily factors influence it," said Dr. Estrin. "With the app being accessible from any smartphone, more participants can be enrolled, providing our scientific team with access to more data than ever conceived before cell phones." In addition to the versions developed for the general public, the team also plans to make a version of the app where researchers studying impulsive behaviors can use the tasks and tests during in-person visits as part of their existing protocols. Support for this research was provided by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. About the Feinstein Institute The Feinstein Institute for Medical Research is the research arm of Northwell Health, the largest healthcare provider in New York. Home to 50 research laboratories and to clinical research throughout dozens of hospitals and outpatient facilities, the 3,500 researchers and staff of the Feinstein are making breakthroughs in molecular medicine, genetics, oncology, brain research, mental health, autoimmunity, and bioelectronic medicine a new field of science that has the potential to revolutionize medicine. For more information about how we empower imagination and pioneer discovery, visit FeinsteinInstitute.org. About Cornell Tech Cornell Tech brings together faculty, business leaders, tech entrepreneurs, and students in a catalytic environment to reinvent the way we live in the digital age. Cornell Tech's temporary campus has been up and running at Google's Chelsea building since 2013, with a growing world-class faculty, and more than 200 masters and Ph.D. students who collaborate extensively with tech-oriented companies and organizations and pursue their own start-ups. Construction is underway on Cornell Tech's campus on Roosevelt Island, with a first phase due to open in summer 2017. When fully completed, the campus will include 2 million square feet of state-of-the-art buildings, over 2 acres of open space, and will be home to more than 2,000 graduate students and hundreds of faculty and staff. SOURCE Feinstein Institute for Medical Research Anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies (ANCA) are a group of autoantibodies associated with diseases such as granulomatosis with polyangiitis (GPA), microscopic polyangiitis (MPA), and eosinophilic granulomatosis with polyangiitis (EGPA). This group of related diseases varies considerably in their clinical presentation, and has the potential for severe outcomes, including renal impairment. Early diagnosis is crucial. IFA testing, as it is currently practiced in many laboratories, is time and labor-intensive, subject to interpretation bias. The workflow is manual, and prone to transcription errors. NOVA View addresses many shortcomings of manual IFA processing by reducing hands-on time, providing consistent reading and interpretation conditions, and generating digital images that can be archived. It allows for full patient sample traceability and improves assay integrity by using NOVA Lite barcoded IFA slides. "I am truly excited about the approval of NOVA Lite ANCA DAPI Kits," commented Laurel Tria, Technical Director Automated Laboratory, Northwell Laboratories. "It marks a significant step forward in automating and standardizing the ANCA IFA test while providing clinicians with a highly reliable test result. In addition, the capability of providing an ANCA IFA test result that can be seamlessly uploaded into the patient's electronic medical record will be a remarkable step forward in prompt and accurate reporting." "Inova Diagnostics is pleased to launch these newly FDA cleared ANCA assays, expanding the number of assays available on NOVA View to three," said Michael Mahler, PhD, Vice President, Research and Development of Inova Diagnostics. "Inova Diagnostics has a 28 year history of providing laboratories with innovative products required for autoimmune diagnosis. NOVA Lite DAPI ANCA (Ethanol) and NOVA Lite DAPI ANCA (Formalin) Kits continue this tradition. These kits represent a breakthrough that fundamentally changes the way ANCA IFA is performed in diagnostic laboratories, and will bring efficiency and reliability to this traditionally labor intensive and subjective field of diagnostic immunology." About NOVA View NOVA View automates the interpretation and reporting of IFA Antinuclear Antibody (ANA) and ANCA testing. NOVA View automatically acquires, interprets, presents and archives digital IFA images for operator review and confirmation. It determines the result (positive or negative), and performs pattern interpretation. After result and pattern confirmation by the operator, NOVA View is able to predict a pattern specific endpoint titer. Results are recorded electronically in a transcription free and paperless work environment, and all digital images are archived for future review. About Inova Diagnostics Inova Diagnostics is a privately held company headquartered in San Diego, California, and is a part of WerfenLife, a global leader in IVD with a long term commitment to providing high quality, innovative solutions for hospitals and clinical laboratories to enhance patient care. Inova Diagnostics manufactures IVD systems and reagents for autoimmune disease that are used in clinical laboratories and hospitals around the world, and is a leader in the development and commercialization of new autoimmune technologies and diagnostic markers. NOVA View and NOVA Lite are registered trademarks of Inova Diagnostics. Further information about Inova Diagnostics can be found at www.inovadx.com. SOURCE Inova Diagnostics Related Links http://www.inovadx.com PRINCETON, N.J., Feb. 7, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Each week, The Travel Tribune (https://www.thetraveltribune.com/) is publishing a new chapter from Gregg Cockrell's "Draft Dodger: How Far I Traveled to Avoid the Vietnam War." The book is a personal narrative telling how Cockrell traveled the world for a year during which he experienced one life-changing adventure after another some good, some bad. Gregg Cockrell in Tunisia in 1972 Emmy Award-winning former MSNBC producer, Gregg Cockrell "Although a myriad of books have been written about the Vietnam War, there are few detailed reports by Americans who dodged the draft," says Larry Schwarz, editor of The Travel Tribune. "While most draft dodgers fled to Canada, Cockrell, chose to take off for Europe and then Africa." Set in the early 1970s, "Draft Dodger" is a bold account of one young man's coming-of-age adventure. The book is more than simply a story about avoiding military service; it's the story of a man standing by his convictions. Indeed, Cockrell didn't fit the mold of most draft dodgers. Convinced that the war was a tragic mistake, he did not burn his draft card or go to jail. Instead, he took the "escape hatch" of leaving the country once he realized that being drafted was inevitable. After landing in Luxembourg without a distinct plan, Cockrell's first European destination was Paris. He spent a few months exploring such cities as London, Barcelona, and Amsterdam before moving on to the vast continent of Africa, which he would call home for many months. More important than the places were the people Cockrell met along the way, and the misadventures he found himself caught up in from partying on top of one of the Great Pyramids to crossing paths with the dictator Idi Amin's Secret Police. Because Cockrell traveled overseas rather than north of the border, he didn't encounter a community of Americans like himself. But he did find many welcoming locals who shared his spirit of adventure. Once his globetrotting ended, Cockrell returned home and pursued a career in broadcasting. For 18 years, he worked side by side with many of MSNBC's on-air personalities including Joe Scarborough, Keith Olbermann, Brian Williams, Ed Schultz, and Chris Hayes. In 2015, he won an Emmy for his work at MSNBC. The first eight chapters of "Draft Dodger" are now available on The Travel Tribune website. A new chapter will be published each week. Schwarz anticipates that the entire book will be online by June 2017. About The Travel Tribune The Travel Tribune is a combination travel blog and information website that focuses on interesting places to visit and amazing people who have had incredible travel experiences. Relevant stories will be published regardless of the background, beliefs, race, color, religion, or political views of those involved. Contact: Larry Schwarz, Editor The Travel Tribune 609-436-9942 [email protected] SOURCE The Travel Tribune Related Links http://www.thetraveltribune.com LINCOLN, Neb., Feb. 7, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- N.J. Donner didn't set out to build a company that makes the structural steel that supports schools, hospitals and hotels. But he started welding part time in college, and that grew into Donner Steel Works. Today, Donner's Nebraska-based business fabricates hundreds of tons of structural steel each month. N.J. Donner The Blue Moon Narthex Donner didn't set out to write a YA novel either, but began jotting down ideas to keep his busy mind occupied. He imagined how they might work in the alternate worlds he conjured. He pictured the people who would live there, and soon a story began to take shape. The Blue Moon Narthex, the first book in Donner's Karmanic Sovereign Legion series, will be released today. "I've always been fascinated by the way things work," Donner said. "From the structures of buildings, to machines, to business, to how the world itself functions." The Blue Moon Narthex tells the story of 13-year-old Cole McCarthy, who is suddenly thrust into the battle to keep the balance of good and evil in check. Donner's story is set while World War I rages. Cole and two friends find themselves at the secret headquarters of the Karmanic Sovereign Legion, a group that works behind the scenes to assist Karma. "The idea that people might be able to influence Karma is something I have been thinking about since college," Donner said. "I was born and raised in Hartington, Neb., a town of about 1500 people," Donner said. "There wasn't a lot of diversity, but luckily I became part of a college band where I was able to travel. The give and take of traveling and seeing the world as it is, exposes the true nature of both good and bad people. I've always had a hope people will truly get what they deserve, and that I can return the good deeds of complete strangers toward me." Creating an alternate world that co-exists with ours to help keep good and bad Karma in balance appealed to Donner's design and building instincts. He used 3D modeling, made hundreds of drawings, and imagined dozens of gadgets and tools, all while figuring out how they might work in his alternate world. Donner discovered that the storytelling business is much like the steel business. When he built his company, he juggled the roles of fabricator, estimator, salesman, and boss. He learned the art of networking and of being prepared for opportunities. "I always had a dress shirt, tie, and nice shoes with me so I could make a sales call or go to a meeting at a moment's notice," Donner recalls. "I learned how to be ready for anything." He approached building his book much like his business. He connected with resources for editing, design, and distribution. He met authors, attended conferences, researched the art of world building, character development, and plot structure. "It's actually building a business," Donner said. "You have to find out what you don't know or don't do well, then look for the people who do know and get them on your team." The Blue Moon Narthex can be ordered now through Amazon or any bookseller, and the audiobook will be released next month. Donner is currently writing the second book in the series and plans to release that later this year. MEDIA: Desk copies are available for review upon request in both paperback and ebook formats. To schedule an interview, send your request to [email protected] or call (402)770-4937 or visit steelpagepress.com. Steel Page Press 3900 Old Cheney, Suite 201-285 Lincoln, Nebraska 68516 SOURCE Steel Page Press Related Links http://steelpagepress.com DALLAS, Feb. 7, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Generational Capital Markets, Inc., Member FINRA/SIPC, a leading mergers and acquisitions advisor for privately held businesses, is pleased to announce the acquisition of its client, Red Wolf Company LLC, of Sanford, North Carolina, to Broadwind Energy Inc., headquartered in Cicero, Illinois. The acquisition closed Feb. 1, 2017. Details were not disclosed. Red Wolf is a leader in outsourced solutions and services for customers seeking enhanced productivity, improved quality, and reduced cost for assembly, test, machining & fabrication and material/inventory management. The company is ISO9001:2008 certified. President Kim Sutton will continue to lead Red Wolf, which will remain in Sanford. Broadwind Energy is a precision manufacturer of structures, equipment and components for clean tech and other specialized applications. The acquisition will add Red Wolf's Sanford operations to Broadwind's lineup consisting of locations in Manitowoc, Wisconsin, Abilene, Texas, and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The acquisition will also expand Broadwind's presence in the power generation market and complement the company's existing compressed natural gas equipment offerings. Chris Heckert, Managing Director and Supervising Principal of Generational Capital Markets, led the deal to a successful close. "This is a classic example of a synergistic acquisition," said Heckert. "Broadwind and Red Wolf complement each other in both expertise and target markets. I look forward to hearing what these two groups can do together!" "This transaction offers Red Wolf new opportunities to grow and expand into new markets under Broadwind's experienced leadership team," said Red Wolf President Kim Sutton. "Broadwind's confidence in Red Wolf is a testament to the excellent business climate that exists here in Lee County." Broadwind shared the excitement about the transaction. "We are thrilled to add Red Wolf to the Broadwind Energy family of companies," said Broadwind President and CEO Stephanie Kushner. "The Red Wolf team has built a solid company and we look forward to working with the team in Sanford and with the Sanford Area Growth Alliance." About Generational Capital, LLC Generational Capital, LLC is a Dallas, Texas-based merger & acquisition advisory firm. Generational Capital wholly owns Generational Capital Markets, Inc., Member FINRA/SIPC. More information can be found at www.gencm.com. Generational Capital and Generational Capital Markets are part of the Generational Group and are affiliated with Generational Equity, LLC. Generational Equity's website is www.genequityco.com and online newsroom is www.gecpress.com. GCM received The M&A Advisor's 2016 Corporate and Strategic Acquisition of the Year Award, as well as the 2016 Materials Deal of the Year for its work on the Stern Rubber Company transaction. It has also been recognized for the 2016 M&A Deal of the Year (for deals valued $10mm - $25mm) for the acquisition of Pro Trans Logistics, Inc. by Action Resources. For more information: Carl Doerksen 972-232-1125 [email protected] SOURCE Generational Capital Markets Related Links http://www.gencm.com NEW YORK, Feb. 7, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- GIBC Digital announced today that it has hired Mark Parsons to lead its Automation and Process Design Group. Mr. Parsons will work out of the company's New York office and be responsible for leading teams in New York, London, Hong Kong, and Singapore. He will also play a role in managing the company, as a member of its advisory board. Mr. Parsons joins GIBC Digital from Barclays Capital, where he was responsible for automation and embedding operational-excellence and continuous-improvement practices across the enterprise. Prior to Barclays, Mr. Parsons was at Credit Suisse in New York leading the Operational Excellence program for Investment Banking, Private Banking, and Asset Management and served as Global Lead for Operational Excellence, within the Center of Excellence, in Singapore. Earlier in his career, he was responsible for leading process improvement projects at HSBC in Hong Kong and Vancouver. According to the company's CEO, Greg Wood, "Mark has exactly the right experience to help us grow our automation practice group globally." Wood added, "I love Mark's passion for designing and implementing solutions that give clients a competitive edge." Parsons indicated that he's "excited to join GIBC Digital because of the company's commitment to bring transformative change to its clients" and also said that he "look[s] forward to the challenge of leading the automation team to deliver solutions that leverage industry-leading, process-optimization methods and emerging technologies." GIBC Digital also added Meiling Hu to its delivery team in New York. Ms. Hu is a recent graduate of Cornell's Johnson Graduate School of Management, where she earned her MBA. Ms. Hu received a BA in Business Administration, with honors, from the University of International Business and Economics in Beijing. Ms. Hu was a management consultant at Accenture prior to pursuing her MBA. ABOUT GIBC Digital GIBC Digital helps clients transform how they do what they do. Our team takes a multi-disciplinary approach to providing end-to-end services spanning strategy, business process, people, organizational change, and technology. We can create an integrated and individually tailored customer experience across your organization, harness the power of business analytics, and automate your business processes. Our services are delivered by management-consulting, subject-matter, and IT professionals, with the experience to transform an industrial-age business into a digitally-optimized business. www.gibcdigital.com SOURCE GIBC Digital Related Links http://www.gibcdigital.com Pioneering the "ship-to-verify" marketplace model, GOAT takes no risk in holding inventory. Instead, sellers list on the mobile app and only ship to the company for verification of authenticity once their sneakers sell. With this model, the company has helped to eliminate thousands of counterfeit products from the multi-billion dollar sneaker resale market, protecting both buyers and sellers. Since its $5M round led by Matrix Partners in the spring of 2016, the company has grown to 1.5M members and increased monthly GMV 10x with average order values surpassing $330 USD. "While we weren't looking to raise another round, we were excited about the opportunity to work with Ryan and Accel." says Eddy Lu, co-founder and CEO of GOAT. "Ryan is an exceptional investor with a very successful track record. He's also a sneaker enthusiast, so he understands our market well. With Accel as well as our other top tier investors, we not only have the capital, but the guidance to strategically expand our business." The new funding will be used to accelerate the company's domestic and international growth. To support this growth, GOAT plans to further expand its team in Los Angeles with key hires in engineering, operations, product and marketing. The company also plans to open additional facilities to improve operations and logistics. "We have been tracking GOAT for a long time. It is hard to build both sides of the marketplace simultaneously, yet GOAT has scaled both buyers and sellers at a remarkable rate. This is a testament to the company's focus on the sneaker vertical and its passionate users," said Ryan Sweeney. "We're thrilled to partner with the team and help them better serve their customers going forward." For more information about GOAT, please visit www.goat.com. The app is available to download on the App Store and Google Play for free. ABOUT GOAT Founded in 2015 and based in Los Angeles, California, GOAT is the safest way to buy and sell authentic sneakers through your mobile device. Whether you're looking to buy rare sneakers, discover new sneaker releases, or earn money by listing sneakers you already own, GOAT is your destination. And with an authentication service, buyer protection guarantee and great customer service, it's the safest option in the industry. For more information about GOAT, please visit www.goat.com. The app is available to download on the App Store and Google Play for free. ABOUT ACCEL PARTNERS Accel is a leading venture capital firm that invests in people and their companies from the earliest days through all phases of private company growth. Atlassian, Braintree, Cloudera, DJI, Dropbox, Dropcam, Etsy, Facebook, Flipkart, Jet, Lookout Security, Qualtrics, Slack, Spotify, Supercell, and Vox Media are among the companies the firm has backed over the past 30 years. The firm seeks to understand entrepreneurs as individuals, appreciate their originality and play to their strengths. Because greatness doesn't have a stereotype. For more, visit www.accel.com, www.facebook.com/accel or www.twitter.com/accel. SOURCE GOAT Group Related Links http://www.goat.com (Photo: http://mma.prnewswire.com/media/465591/Haselmeier_D_Flex_Image.jpg ) The D-Flex is the disposable pen for the use with 3 ml cartridges. It closes the gap between fixed-dose pens which only allow a single fixed dose, and variable-dose pens where the dose can be finely adjusted by the patient. The D-Flex can therefore be configured for several fixed doses. These dose values can essentially be freely selected when assembling the pen. The pen system does not permit any in-between amounts aside from the set doses, i.e. the patient cannot select an unintentional dose by mistake. This significantly reduces the risk of any operating error and increases the safety of the patient. This makes the D-Flex the ideal, flexible platform for adapting to set doses in accordance with the therapy. This platform can be flexibly configured to suit the desired dose values, from the first clinical study to series production, thereby significantly reducing the "time to market" and "CAPEX." The benefit for patients and the advantages for Haselmeier customers are comprehensive: Just one pen which permits one or more pre-set doses. pen which permits one or more pre-set doses. Just one pen with dose correction in order to avoid injection errors or loss of the drug. pen with dose correction in order to avoid injection errors or loss of the drug. Just one pen which does not permit any in-between values besides the doses set. pen which does not permit any in-between values besides the doses set. Just one flexible platform which enables the customer to easily adapt to a wide variety of dose values. flexible platform which enables the customer to easily adapt to a wide variety of dose values. Just one strong platform from the initial clinical study to series production. Stefan Gaul, Strategic Product Manager at Haselmeier, explains: "In line with the needs of the market, we at Haselmeier were looking for an improved solution for "unconventional" or somewhat more complicated applications. Aspects such as patient safety and convenience of operation and handling were central elements of the process. The idea of designing an extremely flexible, strong platform for our customers was naturally a central aspiration. With the D-Flex we have found the ideal way to put this into practice. And it is all the more gratifying when the product design is explicitly appreciated by outside bodies. But above all, it is a good feeling to know that an innovation is far enough advanced in the development process to ensure that patients can be helped within a few years. The D-Flex product platform made of high-performance plastic will in future be available in the three colours, red, blue and green. Details of the award GOOD DESIGN from Chicago is considered the world's oldest and most prestigious institution for design excellence. In 2016, companies from over 46 countries submitted a total of more than 900 new product designs and artwork to the Chicago Athenaeum Museum. The winners are published on the website, www.chi-athenaeum.org and in the 2016 GOOD DESIGN Yearbook. Haselmeier had already won the award in 2014 for its Axis-D pen platform and a customer application for Merck based upon it. The GONAL-f 2.0 Pen from Merck is a pre-filled disposable injector which is used worldwide for fertility treatment. The GOOD DESIGN Award has been presented since 1950. About Haselmeier Haselmeier stands for the development and production of innovative self-injection devices with award-winning designs. The Haselmeier Group primarily works on behalf of pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies to improve the lives of patients by manufacturing pens and auto-injectors that are easy to use and that can be dosed with precision. The family business covers all steps-from design to planning to industrialisation-in the creation of high-quality self-injection systems. Founded as early as in 1920 in Stuttgart, Haselmeier has long been an established name in the medtech industry, thanks to its proprietary technologies and international award-winning designs. In four years from now, this well-established company shall be able to look back on a 100 year old success story. Spread across eight global locations on three different continents, the Haselmeier Group employs a workforce of about 220 employees. While the Development Department is based in Stuttgart, the Innovation and Product Management is sited in Zurich (Switzerland). Haselmeier products are manufactured in the most modern production facilities in Buchen in Odenwald (Germany), Dnesice (Czech Republic) and Bengaluru (India). The international sales are controlled from Stuttgart and have representations in Lowell, Maryland (USA), Gurgaon (India) and Guangzhou (China). For further information, please visit: www.haselmeier.com Media Contact: Wilhelm Haselmeier GmbH & Co. KG Vaihinger Strae 48 70567 Stuttgart Germany Jana Heidrich Marketing and Sales Coordinator +49-711-71978-176 [email protected] SOURCE Haselmeier AG BOSTON, Feb. 7, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Haystack Information Discovery ("HAYSTACKID") today announced the opening of a new datacenter in Canada. Due to the exponential growth of data volumes North America faces today, as well as HAYSTACKID's own prolific growth, the company needed more bandwidth and power in The Great White North. HAYSTACKID's new Canadian datacenter within Toronto will complement the firm's already thriving operation in Toronto. Its Canadian headquarters and main operations center has long had a foothold on Bay Street in the downtown area. "This top-of-the-line datacenter proved to be the best option to leverage while striving to best serve our clientele at scale," said Kevin D. Glass, HAYSTACKID President and Chief Executive Officer. "Toronto is known as the most connected building in the entire country, as well as the most reliable, and we are looking forward to putting the space to good use in the coming months." Toronto has made a name for itself thanks to its state-of-the-art infrastructure and architecture, exceptional customer support, and steadfast resilience against downtime. It is also managed with highly sensitive data in mind, boasting physical and digital security elements that keep all of the assets stored there safe. "Canada has been very good to us, and our rapidly rising number of clients necessitated this new datacenter," HAYSTACKID Chief Technology Officer Jefferey T. Stevens explained. "Our staff there loves Toronto, and we could not be happier expanding our operation in this beautiful and exciting city." HAYSTACKID's system in Toronto has been built to accommodate the next six to nine months of anticipated growth. This is the latest announcement from the firm, which recently opened a second office in New York, New York, to continue scaling up in North America. The HAYSTACKID is proud to continue growing and helping clientele in Canada and elsewhere handle the full spectrum of their digital forensics, eDiscovery, and other litigation needs. About HAYSTACKID HAYSTACKID is an international eDiscovery and digital forensics solutions provider, with office locations throughout the country and in Europe. HAYSTACKID provides corporate customers and their counsel with cost predictability options that allow accurate budgeting and forecasting of their discovery expenses without the additional cost of software, hardware or implementation fees. HAYSTACKID is headquartered in Boston with offices in New York; Washington, D.C.; Chicago; Dallas; Houston; Los Angeles; San Diego; San Francisco; Beaverton, Oregon; Toronto, Canada; Paris, France; and Frankfurt & Berlin, Germany. Press Contact [email protected] 877.9.HAYSTACK (877.942.9782) This content was issued through the press release distribution service at Newswire.com. For more info visit: http://www.newswire.com. SOURCE HAYSTACKID Related Links http://www.haystackid.com A last-minute change in Nebraskas new protocol for executions moves the process back into public view, where it should be so taxpayers can monitor what government is doing in their name. The final protocol, which has been signed by Gov. Pete Ricketts, will allow taxpayers to know the identity of the person, company or entity supplying the execution drugs. It allows the Corrections Department to use whatever appropriate lethal injection drugs are available and would give an inmate with a scheduled execution information on what drugs would be used and in what quantity 60 days before a request for a death warrant. An open and transparent execution process is important to the public because discussion continues on various aspects of the death penalty and whether Nebraskas system will meet the evolving standards of decency which mark the progress of a maturing society, as Chief Justice Earl Warren of the U.S. Supreme Court wrote in 1958. At issue is whether Nebraskas system would constitute cruel and unusual punishment, which is banned by the Eighth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Some advocates of the death penalty, however, apparently are uncomfortable with the transparency of the new protocol. Sen. John Kuehn of Heartwell has introduced a bill that would allow the state to keep the record confidential if it would lead to disclosure of the person or entity that manufactures, supplies, compounds or prescribes the execution drugs. Other states, including Texas and Missouri, currently shroud their executions in secrecy, and use pentobarbital made by an anonymous compounding pharmacy as part of their protocol. The only injectable form of the drug licensed for sale in the U.S. is Nembutal, made by a firm which refuses to sell it to prisons. It wont be easy for Nebraska officials to devise a workable system that can survive legal challenges. The history of the death penalty is one of constant evolution. The last person to be executed in Nebraska died in the electric chair. Electrocution subsequently was ruled to constitute cruel and unusual punishment by the state Supreme Court. Meanwhile court rulings in other parts of the country continue to constrict the implementation of the death penalty. Last year only 20 people were executed nationwide, and only 30 were sentenced to death. In the wake of the November vote in Nebraska the most important discussions on the immediate future of the death penalty will take place in a courtroom. Legal challenges will multiply if the Legislature allows what amounts to an executioners hood in the new process for putting a convict to death. How could it be otherwise with a system that is demonstrably fallible and arbitrary? WASHINGTON, Feb. 6, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Hemp Industries Association (HIA), the leading non-profit trade association consisting of hundreds of hemp businesses, has filed a motion to hold the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) in contempt of court for violating an unchallenged, long-standing order issued by the U.S. Court of Appeals in San Francisco, prohibiting the agency from regulating hemp food products as Schedule I controlled substances. Specifically, the HIA asserts that the DEA continues to operate with blatant disregard for the 2004 ruling made by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, which permanently enjoined the DEA from regulating hemp fiber, stalk, sterilized seed and oil, which are specifically exempted from the definition of 'marijuana' in the federal Controlled Substances Act. To read the motion, please visit: https://thehia.org/resources/Documents/Legal/HIA-v-DEA-9th-Circuit-Motion.pdf. "We will not stand idly by while the DEA flouts the will of Congress, violates the Ninth Circuit order, and harasses honest hemp producers trying to make a living with this in-demand crop," said Colleen Keahey, Executive Director of the Hemp Industries Association. "Hemp is a healthy superfood with vital nutrients such as Omegas 3 and 6, protein, fiber and all 10 essential amino acids that are ideal for today's family. The DEA must stop treating hemp, hempseed and hempseed oil, which is a nutritious ingredient, as something illicit. We have to address the challenges that thwart the domestic industry's progress and especially those that mislead state Departments of Agriculture and limit entry of legal hemp products into the marketplace." Historically, the DEA has made persistent efforts to regulate hemp products. In 2001, DEA issued an Interpretive Rule attempting to ban all hemp seed and hempseed oil food products that contained even minuscule, insignificant amounts of residual THC. The HIA immediately filed suit to stop the enforcement of this rule, which resulted in what became known as the "Hemp Food Rules Challenge." Ultimately, the subsequent ruling made by the Ninth Circuit issued serendipitously on February 6, 2004, found that the DEA had not followed necessary scheduling procedures to add non-psychoactive hemp to the list of Schedule I controlled substances; and additionally, that Congress clearly did not intend that hemp be prohibited by the Controlled Substance Act when it adopted language from the 1937 Marijuana Tax Act to define the drug 'marijuana.' To read the full 2004 court opinion, please visit: http://www.votehemp.com/PDF/HIAvDEA_9th_final_decision.pdf. In December of 2016, the DEA in conjunction with the North Dakota Department of Agriculture (NDDA) indicated to Healthy Oilseeds, LLC that shipment of the company's hemp products made from hemp grown under the state's hemp pilot program and Congress' Agricultural Act of 2014 (Farm Bill), would require a permit from the DEA, as the hemp protein powder and hempseed oil food items were subject to DEA regulation. Specifically, Healthy Oilseeds received communication from the NDDA stating that export of its hemp products to other states was prohibited, "because industrial hemp is a Schedule I controlled substance under the Federal Controlled Substances Act." To view this correspondence between NDDA and Healthy Oilseeds LLC, please visit: https://thehia.org/resources/Documents/Legal/HIA-v-DEA-9th-Circuit-Motion-Exhibits.pdf. DEA's actions violate the clear Congressional intent of not only of the Farm Bill, which defines industrial hemp as distinct from 'marijuana' and legalizes its cultivation and processing under licensing programs in place in 31 states; but also further violate the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2016, which specifically prohibited federal authorities from using funds to obstruct the "transportation, processing, sale, or use of industrial hempwithin or outside the State in which the industrial hemp is grown or cultivated." Hence, the DEA may not require lawfully licensed hemp farmers or manufacturers in the U.S. to register for a permit to engage in interstate commerce of industrial hemp products. Indeed, by taking this action, the DEA is violating federal law, misusing taxpayer dollars, and thumbing its nose at Congress. "Here in Kentucky, our Commissioner of Agriculture, Ryan Quarles, has built a successful pilot program that works closely with local law enforcement and is creating desperately needed economic opportunity for hundreds of farmers," stated Bill Hilliard, CEO of Atalo Holdings, Inc. "As states have wisely taken the initiative in this growing industry, the DEA doesn't need to be interfering on our farms." Joe Sandler, HIA's lead counsel, further stated: "Thirteen years ago DEA was told in no uncertain terms by the U.S. Court of Appeals that Congress had made its intent clear: DEA has no power to regulate hemp seed and oil, and the hemp food and beverage products made from them. It is disappointing that the industry has to revisit the issue, and take this step to compel DEA to obey the law." On January 13, 2017, the Hemp Industries Association, among other petitioners, filed a Petition for Review with the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, to challenge the DEA's recent effort to append Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act to include lawful hemp-derived non-psychoactive cannabinoids such as cannabinol, which the DEA has arbitrarily termed "Marijuana Extract." In addition to this suit, and today's actions taken to affirm the legality of hemp food products, the HIA does intend, in due course, to challenge the DEA's repeated refusal to abide by other Congressional directives on industrial hemp. The Hemp Industries Association (HIA) represents the interests of the hemp industry and encourages the research and development of new hemp products. More information about hemp's many uses and hemp advocacy may be found at www.TheHIA.org. SOURCE Hemp Industries Association Related Links http://www.thehia.org/ In 2015, Honda began researching the oceanic and aquatic impacts of a rapidly changing climate, ocean acidification and rising sea levels. Honda also set out to address human impacts on marine environments, including water pollution and overfishing. "As a company dedicated to sustainability, we are proud to launch the Honda Marine Science Foundation and focus on coastal environmental awareness," said Steven Center, Honda Marine Science Foundation chairman. "After learning about the challenges and opportunities presented to us by a range of oceanic and atmospheric experts, Honda determined the foundation would foster meaningful cross-sector collaboration to help restore our marine ecosystems." The Southern California Native Oyster Restoration Project is being conducted in partnership with the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB) Bren School of Environmental Science & Management. The goals of the project include pioneering research to educate the public about the benefits of restoring native oysters for shoreline stabilization. "Collaborating with the Honda Marine Science Foundation will expand our research efforts and help educate people about the positive impact native oyster restoration will have on the Southern California coast," said Hunter Lenihan, professor at UCSB Bren School of Environmental Science & Management and Honda Marine Science Foundation board member. The Honda Marine Science Foundation board is comprised of Honda representatives and experts from the marine sciences field, including Santa Monica-based Heal the Bay, UCSB Bren School of Environmental Science & Management, and the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach, California. The board will help identify projects that support the foundation's mission and provide guidance for these projects. The Honda Marine Science Foundation joins a number of environmental initiatives from Honda. These include the Honda Environmental Leadership Program that encourages Honda automobile dealers to measurably reduce their energy consumption and environmental impact, and the Honda Smart Home US that showcases Honda's vision for zero-carbon living. Honda is working to advance technologies that address society's environmental and energy concerns through a diverse lineup of products, green factory initiatives and sustainability activities. To learn more about the Honda Marine Science Foundation, visit marinescience.honda.com. Honda Commitment to the Environment Based on its vision of "Blue Skies for our Children," Honda is working to advance technologies that address society's environmental and energy concerns. Honda is targeting a 50 percent reduction in its total company CO 2 emissions on a global basis by 2050, compared to 2000 levels. The company has committed to electrify two-thirds of all vehicles it produces by 2030. SOURCE Honda Marine Science Foundation Related Links http://www.honda.com/marine-science-foundation AMSTERDAM, Feb. 7, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Huawei announces the world's first network switch to allow the IPX transceiver by Aurora Multimedia Corporation to receive Power over Ethernet (PoE) directly from the 10G network switch at ISE 2017. The switch will enable 10G speed and PoE function to be carried by the same data cables, a much needed solution for the AV industry. Huawei is a partner with Aurora in their IPBaseT technology, which debuted over two years ago with the IPX Series, 10G with zero compression/zero latency and 4K streaming boxes and wall plates. Huawei is releasing its 24-port S6720-32C-PWH-SI and its 48-port S6720-52X-PWH-SI 10G PoE/PoE+/PoE++ switches in the second quarter of 2017. With Aurora's technology, the products will exhibit the effectiveness of 10G PoE in real-world applications and usher in a new era of 10G products. "We are glad to work with Aurora on this innovative solution," said Kevin Hu, President of Switch & Enterprise Gateway Product Line at Huawei. "This is an up and coming use case in the industry requiring 10G speed and PoE function. "It is truly exciting to see the low latency, non-compressed 4K video transmitted through our new S6720 series switches," continued Hu. "We look forward to future collaboration with Aurora to provide the most advanced solutions to the A/V Industry." This new solution adds to Huawei's broad array of switches. Huawei switches are designed to help customers achieve their business priorities, whether it's speed, security, strength, cloud computing, big data, or as with Aurora Multimedia. "Aurora designed the IPX Series with the intent of changing the topology of A/V industry and is the first to introduce many new capabilities never previously accomplished on a streaming platform," stated Paul Harris CEO of Aurora. "PoE over 10G is one of the capabilities, but requires the industry to provide the other half. Huawei is an Aurora IPBaseT partner and I am pleased to collaborate and show the way to a new era of streaming content over 10G networks with no power supplies at the end points." The S6720 series switches include: 24*10G or 48*10G PoE Ports and 4*10G SFP+ Ports Pluggable Redundant Power Supplies Up to 320G Stack Bandwidth 60 W PoE++, long-distance power supply and Fast PoE Multi Speed Support Huawei experts will be available to discuss the S6720 series switches in Booth 11-C110 at ISE 2017. 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 170,000 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 About Aurora Multimedia Aurora Multimedia products incorporate state-of-the-art technologies that surpass typical specifications and features. From the introduction of the industry's first non-proprietary, Web-standards-based IP control systems and touch panels, to today's advanced HDBaseT and IPBaseT IP video distribution solutions has made Aurora a dominant force in the AV industry. Advanced AV processors with scaling, multi-image rotation, and dual/quad display processing only add to our highly adaptive, diversified product line. Aurora provides solutions for a variety of global markets, including government, education, security, hospitality, corporate, and house of worship. www.auroramm.com Huawei Media Contact: Huawei Analyst Contact: Francis Hopkins Sarita Kincaid Director, Corporate Communications Director, Enterprise Analyst Relations (240) 472-1724 (mobile) (408) 330-5324 (mobile) [email protected] [email protected] SOURCE Huawei Related Links http://www.huawei.com HOUSTON, Feb. 7, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Hyperdynamics Corporation (OTCQX: HDYN) announced today that it will hold its Annual Meeting of Stockholders on Monday, February 27, 2017 at 10:00 a.m. Central Time. A continental breakfast will be served starting at 9:00 a.m. Central Time. The meeting will be held in Houston at the Omni Houston Hotel Westside, 13210 Katy Freeway. Following the business portion of the stockholders meeting, Mr. Ray Leonard, President and Chief Executive Officer, will provide an operational update. A webcast of the meeting will be available live and for later replay on the Investor Relations section of the Company's web site at www.hyperdynamics.com under Events & Presentations. About Hyperdynamics Hyperdynamics is an emerging independent oil and gas exploration company that is exploring for oil and gas offshore the Republic of Guinea in West Africa. To find out more, visit our website at www.hyperdynamics.com. Contacts: Ray Leonard President and Chief Executive Officer 713-353-9445 Jack Lascar Dennard-Lascar Associates 713-529-6600 SOURCE Hyperdynamics Related Links http://www.hyperdynamics.com PALO ALTO, Calif., Feb. 7, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Innovaccer Inc., a leading healthcare analytics company announced the launch of its holistic MIPS Platform designed to enable providers deliver better clinical outcomes by helping them monitor performances, understand population, efficiently manage data, and easily submit it to CMS. The platform has the capability to ingest Clinical, Claims, ADT, Scheduling, Immunization, Medication, and Labs data from disparate sources in one single longitudinal patient view. Through intuitive dashboards in the platform, providers can calculate any MIPS registry quality measure or eCQM, track and improve group/provider's MIPS Composite Performance Score. "Our team had recently launched MIPS Calculator, which was praised by many and based on the responses we received from providers we came up with a platform that streamlines MIPS reporting and removes the need to allocate valuable resources towards compliance. We are also providing advanced analytics capabilities with the platform to enable performance tracking and better outcomes," said Abhinav Shashank Co-founder and CEO, Innovaccer. "We think it's very important that value-focused organizations understand the efficiencies that are intricately embedded within the new regulations." MIPS Platform is a part of Innovaccer's existing platform Datashop, the operating system that powers healthcare. It has the list of all the measures that are used across the multiple performance measures, including measures required for quality, advancing care information, and clinical practice improvement activities. In addition to this, description for every measure has been provided to help the users understand them easily. "There is a lot of data related to each measure regarding categories, priorities high or medium, applicabilities of measures to different specialties, and other criteria that significantly influence a certain practice's future," said Kanav Hasija, Co-founder and COO, Innovaccer. "We understand the ongoing confusion many providers have regarding new regulations, so we addressed that too. The platform has been designed to guide the providers in selecting which measures they should report on, based on their practice, specialty, and performance parameters." The Merit-Based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) is a part of the Quality Payment Program rolled out by CMS. Implemented on 1st January, it combines the existing programs such as PQRS, Meaningful Use, and Value-based Modifier into one performance payment system. The Innovaccer team has developed the technology platform through a user-centered design process after taking inputs from customers and thought leaders. The platform also educates the care teams about the program, requirements, and care opportunities reducing training requirements. With a simple point-and-click interface, the team is optimistic that it'll help the both MIPS and MIPS APMs to adapt quickly to new regulations and secure maximum reimbursements. To learn more about the MIPS Platform, join Innovaccer team at Booth # 6179-31 in Population Care Management Center at HIMSS 2017 in Orlando. Schedule a personal demo with Innovaccer's MACRA expert to learn more about the platform. About Innovaccer Innovaccer Inc is a Silicon Valley-headquartered, Healthcare analytics company. Innovaccer's aim is to simplify complex data from all points of care, streamline the information and help organizations make powerful decisions based on the key insights and predictions from their data. Its proprietary product Datashop enables provider organizations to use data as a source of innovation and has been deployed across 15 countries at academic institutions, governmental organizations, and several corporate enterprises such as Catholic Health Initiatives, El Paso HIE, Sonic Healthsystems, Harvard, Stanford, MIT, and Wolters Kluwers. For more information, please visit innovaccer.com or follow us on Twitter @innovaccer. Press Contact Sachin Saxena Innovaccer Inc 650-479-4891 [email protected] Related Links Website MIPS Platform This content was issued through the press release distribution service at Newswire.com. For more info visit: http://www.newswire.com. SOURCE Innovaccer Inc. Related Links http://innovaccer.com Study Shows Workers are Happiest and Least Stressed in First Year of Job; One-Quarter of Professionals Feel On-the-Job Happiness is Their Own Responsibility MENLO PARK, Calif., Feb. 7, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- For many professionals, that first year in a new job can be a "honeymoon period," full of new and exciting challenges. But a recent study from Robert Half and Happiness Works shows that professionals with between one and two years on the job are less happy, less interested in their work and more stressed than those still in their first year. After three years or more on the job, happiness levels edge back up and interest levels increase. In fact, those with the greatest tenure (21 years or more) showed the highest level of interest in their jobs. View happiness levels by tenure. "Once they get past year one, the honeymoon appears to be over for many professionals," said Paul McDonald, senior executive director of Robert Half. "After 12 months on the job, employees are expected to work more autonomously and take on added responsibility. At the same time, aspects of the job that at first seemed novel and interesting may lose their luster." McDonald added, "Managers should be aware of this second-year slowdown and take proactive measures to keep employees engaged. This includes providing stretch assignments and ensuring that workloads are manageable. By keeping an eye on it, companies can help minimize the risk of losing productive staff members who have already been through a learning curve." Although managers can take steps to create a happier work environment, they aren't the only ones who can fan the flames of employee happiness. When asked who's responsible for keeping spirits high on the job, 25 percent of North American workers surveyed said it was their responsibility alone. Another 5 percent said it was all in their company's hands. The majority of respondents 70 percent cited a combination of the two. Robert Half offers five tips professionals can use to maintain their spark as they build tenure at an organization: Find your passion. Think about your company's higher purpose: How is it making the world a better place? For example, if you work at a CPA firm, you aren't only performing accounting functions you are helping client businesses grow and thrive. Deepen your connections. Having friends at work makes every day more fun. Go out of your way to socialize and build camaraderie with those around you. Mix it up. Don't wait for your manager to offer you new projects. Be proactive talk to your boss about new assignments to broaden your skill set and contribution to the firm. This not only increases your engagement level but also your earning potential. Show gratitude. Take the time to thank coworkers for their help and compliment others for a job well done. This will brighten their day while also giving your spirits a boost. Sweeten the pot. Keep up with compensation trends and ask for a raise, if warranted, as you take on more responsibility. Nic Marks, CEO of Happiness Works says that "progressive business leaders have always understood that happier employees are better employees. This research shows how managers and employees can work together to build a happier workplace environment for all." About the Research The survey of more than 12,000 workers in the United States and Canada was conducted by an independent research firm. Respondents included a broad representation of the U.S. and Canadian working population with an emphasis on those employed in professional settings to provide the ability to make robust comparisons among fields. Additional information, including an infographic and videos, can be found here. About Robert Half Founded in 1948, Robert Half is the world's first and largest staffing firm with more than 325 staffing locations worldwide. We believe working happy is the only way to work, and we have made it our mission to help people find fulfilling jobs and help companies build happy, productive teams. Find out more at roberthalf.com/its-time-we-all-work-happy. About Happiness Works Happiness Works helps organizations to build happier teams with their measurement tools and simple calls to action that are all grounded in the latest science. Their research shows that firms that consider employee happiness as a fundamental performance objective consistently unlock greater innovation and long-term financial success. Founded by Nic Marks, the creator of The Happy Planet Index, the world's first measure of sustainable well-being, Happiness Works is based in London with a growing global portfolio of forward-thinking clients. For more details, visit happinessworks.com. SOURCE Robert Half Related Links https://www.roberthalf.com CLEVELAND, Feb. 7, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Ancora Advisors, LLC (together with its affiliates, "Ancora"), a 9.2% stockholder of Edgewater Technology, Inc. ("Edgewater" or the"Company") (EDGW), announced today that Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS), the leading independent proxy voting advisory and risk management consulting firm to the global financial community, has recommended that stockholders of Edgewater consent on Ancora's WHITE card to remove two incumbent directors and elect Ancora's nominees Frederick DiSanto and Matthew Carpenter to the Edgewater Board. Ancora urges Edgewater stockholders to provide their consent on the WHITE card TODAY to remove four incumbent directors and to elect all four of its nominees Frederick DiSanto, Matthew Carpenter, Jeffrey L. Rutherford and Kurtis J. Wolf. Ancora's CEO and Chairman Frederick DiSanto stated, "ISS' support provides validation to our belief that significant changes are needed at Edgewater, including to the composition of its Board. The collective skill set of our slate of four highly qualified nominees is critical to Ancora's plan to deliver such changes and maximize value for stockholders. If elected, our nominees will seek to promote a new CEO from within the Company, broaden equity ownership opportunities to reward key performers and align the interests of employees and stockholders, reduce corporate waste and ensure stability for consulting practice professionals. We greatly appreciate the strong support from stockholders who have already delivered their WHITE consent card to remove and replace four current Edgewater directors with our highly qualified nominees. We urge all of our fellow stockholders to submit their WHITE consent card today to reconstitute the Board with four new directors who are firmly committed to maximizing value at Edgewater." In reaching its conclusion, ISS performed a detailed analysis of both sides' positions and concluded that: "Given the apparent need to accelerate the company's efforts in reducing SG&A expenses, acquiring talent, and addressing the long tenure of the company's legacy directors, the dissident has made a compelling case that some degree of change at the board level is warranted." Excerpts from ISS' Analysis & Recommendation: ISS casted doubt on the superior operating performance touted by the Company: "Upon comparison, as of the end of fiscal year 2015, SG&A as percentage of revenue was 29.6 percent for the company, whereas the median of the refined peer group was 23.5 percent. Management argues that SG&A as a percentage of revenue has decreased over the past five years, from 31.9 percent in 2010 to 29.6 percent in 2015 (based on management's figures). While this change represents a 230 bps improvement, it may be seen as limited given that the company's revenue increased 31.8 percent over the same period. Moreover, in 2015 the company's EBITDA margin declined to only 2.7 percent, which was 36 percent below its peer median of 4.2 percent." "It seems clear that the company's cloud strategy is not progressing quickly enough to satisfy shareholders, as evidenced by GAMCO's decision to support the dissident slate." ISS affirmed Ancora and other stockholder's concerns with the Company's stale incumbent board: "Other than the two directors appointed by [Lone Star Value Investors, LP] in 2016 as a result of the activist campaign settlement, the average tenure of the rest of the board is 13 years. A lack of refreshment may have compromised independence from management and hindered new perspectives from being added to the board. Such concerns appear echoed in the fact that another large shareholder, GAMCO, has publicly voiced its support for the dissident's efforts." ISS questioned the Company's conclusions reached after its failed strategic review process: "Although the board claims that it identified a group of 15 strategic and 18 private equity suitors with potential interest in acquiring one or more of the company's discrete lines of business, it does not appear to have disclosed the detailed rationale to support its conclusion that a sale of individual segments as discrete assets was highly unlikely to maximize shareholder value. Some shareholders would probably appreciate a more compelling clarification as to why this might not be a viable option." ISS recommended the addition of stockholder representatives to correct the Company's lack of transparency: "Lack of visibility or compelling disclosure regarding certain concerns, such as the board's decision to rule out a sale of specific business segments, suggests that the board would benefit from additional shareholder representation. This could allow for further vetting of the dissident's claim that the company's SG&A level is excessive, and that the company's efforts to attract and retain talent are not progressing rapidly enough." ISS praised the directly relevant experience of Ancora's nominees stating: "DiSanto's banking and investment experience should be beneficial to the company's future acquisition expansion and assessment of strategic alternatives." "Carpenter's IT industry experience would address an apparent area of need on the current board in light of the company's cloud-focused strategy." EDGEWATER STOCKHOLDERS, ISS HAS SPOKEN, THE TIME FOR ACTION IS NOW. PLEASE SIGN, DATE AND MAIL ANCORA'S WHITE CONSENT CARD TODAY If you have any questions, or require assistance with your vote, please contact our solicitor InvestorCom toll-free at (877) 972-0090 (Stockholders). Banks and Brokers may call collect at (203) 972-9300. About Ancora: Ancora Advisors, LLC ("Ancora"), is a registered investment adviser with the Securities and Exchange Commission of the United States. Ancora offers comprehensive investment solutions for institutions and individuals in the areas of fixed income, equities, global asset allocation, alternative investments and retirement plans. A more detailed description of the company, its management and practices are contained in its "Firm Brochure" (Form ADV, Part 2A). A copy of this form may be received by contacting the company at: 6060 Parkland Boulevard, Suite 200 Cleveland, Ohio 44124, Phone: 216-825-4000, or by visiting the website, www.ancora.net/adv. Investor Contact: InvestorCom John Glenn Grau, 203-972-9300 ext. 11 SOURCE Ancora Advisors, LLC Related Links http://www.ancora.net NEW CASTLE, Del., Feb. 7, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Speakman, the premier maker of high-performance shower heads and plumbing products for nearly 150 years, today announced the availability of its new brand of bathroom fixtures, known as 'The Opera Collection.' The collection was designed by Roger Thomas, a six-time member of the AD100 list of leading designers published by Architectural Digest magazine and the Executive Vice President of Design for Wynn Design Development. Thomas' collections are known for their own 'genre' of having their luxurious, memorable and seductive style. The Opera Collection was designed by Roger Thomas, a six-time member of the AD100 list of leading designers published by Architectural Digest magazine and the Executive Vice President of Design for Wynn Design Development. The range includes signature Speakman Anystream(R) technology performance with an 8-jet showerhead, solid-brass faucets and valve handles, and bath accessories such as towel bars and tissue holder. The Speakman-engineered fixtures showcase exceptional quality and beautiful engineering in a rich polished chrome finish. The range includes signature Speakman Anystream technology performance with an 8-jet showerhead, solid-brass faucets and valve handles, and bath accessories such as towel bars and tissue holder. All faucet and valve operations are ADA-compliant. "We believe our Opera Collection will hit all the right notes pun intended with customers. It combines an exquisite residential design by Mr. Thomas with the superior construction by Speakman which together deliver an unmatched performance," said Speakman CEO, Bob Knoll. "The performance from our 8-jet showerhead, for instance, is unmatched. This is a quality product that makes a profoundly elegant statement." Knoll also added that, for customers looking for a more traditional and jewelry-driven design, the Opera Collection is it. The public will be able to see the Opera collection products first-hand at the HD Expo from May 3-5, 2017 in Mandalay Bay, Las Vegas. Much of the collection was first introduced in 2016 in collaboration with Nevada-based Wynn Resorts, to create custom bath fixtures for the Wynn Palace Cotai, a magnificent new $4.1 billion resort in Macau, China. "The Speakman-Wynn relationship clearly demonstrates our capability to deliver a high volume, high quality, completely custom product line to a major luxury hotel group," said Knoll. "The collection is being used in the most luxurious new casino and resort in the world," said Knoll, "and we are confident that it will appeal to other hotel, residential and spa settings as well." Speakman's lead product designer Jeff Harwanko agrees that hospitality clients are going to be delighted to see the Opera Collection installed in their bathrooms. "Innovation, timeless beauty, and superior quality are at the heart of the Speakman brand," said Harwanko. "This collection will surpass customers' expectations and offer an exceptional experience for their hotel guests." To purchase a product from the Opera Collection, please visit: http://speakman.com/operacollection/. ABOUT SPEAKMAN : Speakman invented showering. For close to 150 years, Speakman has pioneered the shower industry, first as a premiere American technology innovator, and continuously as a shower market leader. With the creation of the Anystream showerhead in the early 1920's, Speakman popularized the modern shower as well as the total shower experience that is still widely imitated. Today, Speakman continues to focus on performance, craftsmanship, and the stewardship of our most precious natural resource: water. From showerheads and designer-inspired bath collections for the home to fixtures for the hospitality industry and safety products for commercial, laboratory, and industrial environments, Speakman engineers' excellence. Visit us on the web, and follow us on Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, LinkedIn, and Facebook. Media Contact: Kristin Barclay (302) 765-0265 [email protected] SOURCE Speakman Company Related Links http://speakman.com CINCINNATI and NEW YORK, Feb. 7, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- The Kroger Co. (NYSE: KR) today announced it has purchased the equity of Murray's Cheese, as well as its flagship location on Bleecker Street in New York City, to form a merger of the two companies. "For cheese lovers and connoisseurs, it doesn't get more authentic than Murray's," said Rodney McMullen, Kroger's chairman and CEO. "Our customers are excited to buy the unique offerings of Murray's Cheese right in our stores, and we're excited to ensure this iconic cheese shop will remain a part of the Kroger family for many years to come." New York's most iconic cheese shop, opened in 1940, Murray's has been delivering the finest selection of cheese, meat and specialty food items to New Yorkers, chefs and cheese lovers nationwide through a robust online business. Since the two companies formed a unique partnership in 2008, Murray's has offered the same fine foods and cheese expertise to the Kroger family of stores. "When the Kroger and Murray's relationship started in 2008, we wanted to figure out how to bring the finest cheese and charcuterie to more people," said Daniel Hammer, Kroger's vice president of culinary development and deli/bakery merchandising. "Today, we have more than 350 Murray's Cheese shops in Kroger locations from coast to coast and that is thanks to the incredible passion and commitment of the team at Murray's to empower associates to share their love of cheese with customers. We look forward to learning from the very talented team at Murray's and working together to grow the business and build the iconic Murray's brand." Murray's former owner and president, Rob Kaufelt, will remain affiliated with the business as a strategic adviser. Nick Tranchina will continue to lead the Murray's Cheese team in New York and will report to Daniel Hammer at Kroger. "Rob's dedication to his craft has placed Murray's on the map among the culinary elite while also making specialty cheese more accessible to mainstream consumers," said Mr. McMullen. "We look forward to Rob's continued influence on the business, helping to tell the Murray's Cheese story and building its brand." "It has been my honor and privilege to work with so many tremendous, talented people over the course of my 45-year career in food retail, especially the last 25 years at Murray's here in New York City," said Mr. Kaufelt. "When I set out on this journey, my goal was simply to run the best cheese shop in Greenwich Village. I'm proud that we've been able to maintain the spirit and service of a mom-and-pop neighborhood shop amidst our growth into the national market. I am pleased to pass the torch to our able staff, who will carry Murray's into the future." Murray's Cheese shops in Kroger stores replicate the same experience customers enjoy at its Greenwich Village flagship store. Each shop carries hundreds of cheeses, charcuterie, olives, crackers and specialty food items from all over the world. Murray's is deeply involved with product selection, staff training & development, merchandising and promotions. Other highlights of the special partnership between Murray's Cheese and Kroger include: In December 2016 , Kroger and Murray's Cheese opened their 350 th store location in Bloomington, IN. At the time, Mr. Kaufelt said: "This is an exciting milestone for Murray's and the specialty cheese industry. In 2008, we pioneered a store-within-a-store concept at a handful of Kroger stores. Between 2008 and 2012, we opened 38 stores, and in 2016 we opened nearly 100. This partnership has exceeded our wildest expectations." , Kroger and Murray's Cheese opened their 350 store location in At the time, Mr. Kaufelt said: "This is an exciting milestone for Murray's and the specialty cheese industry. In 2008, we pioneered a store-within-a-store concept at a handful of Kroger stores. Between 2008 and 2012, we opened 38 stores, and in 2016 we opened nearly 100. This partnership has exceeded our wildest expectations." Murray's staff has trained thousands of Cheese Mongers and Certified Cheese Professionals through its relationship with Kroger. Between the two companies, the American Cheese Society named as Certified Cheese Professionals 29 team members in 2016, 20 in 2015, and 13 in 2014. Financial terms of the merger were not disclosed. About Murray's Cheese: Since its founding in 1940, the mission of Murray's Cheese is to bring the best cheese selection to the United States and to educate customers about cheese. Murray's Bleecker Street and Grand Central Terminal flagship stores offer hundreds of domestic and imported artisan cheeses, along with a large selection of charcuterie and specialty goods. Follow Murray's on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram @MurraysCheese. For a list of locations, visit murrayscheese.com/locations. About Kroger: Every day, the Kroger Family of Companies makes a difference in the lives of eight and a half million customers and 443,000 associates who shop or serve in 2,796 retail food stores under a variety of local banner names in 35 states and the District of Columbia. Kroger and its subsidiaries operate an expanding ClickList offering a personalized, order online, pick up at the store service in addition to 2,253 pharmacies, 787 convenience stores, 324 fine jewelry stores, 1,439 supermarket fuel centers and 38 food production plants in the United States. Kroger is recognized as one of America's most generous companies for its support of more than 100 Feeding America food bank partners, breast cancer research and awareness, the military and their families, and more than 145,000 community organizations including schools. A leader in supplier diversity, Kroger is a proud member of the Billion Dollar Roundtable. SOURCE The Kroger Co. LOS ANGELES, Feb. 7, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- LA Solar Group's growth in the last 3 years demonstrates their determination to be the leader in solar energy. The company has recently opened offices in Bakersfield, CA as Kern Solar Group and Fremont, CA as Bay Solar Group to allow homeowners in those areas the opportunity to receive the same high level of service, quality, and support in their switch to renewable energy. "Since 1978, the State of California has really pushed building energy and efficiency standards for residential and commercial properties. Today, these standards have reduced more than 250 million metric tons of greenhouses gases," says Robert Sarai, Business Development Manager for LA Solar Group. "Our goal is to go beyond just solar and tap into new technologies that bring more sustainable solutions to those that want to make a difference with the environment and with their pockets." LA Solar Group selected these locations for new offices because both areas have experienced growth in renewable energy. Additionally, homeowners experienced a 5% rate increase last year for electricity from Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E). Although the rate increase will allow PG&E to invest in advanced technology and infrastructure, it does present a financial burden for homeowners. With Bakersfield averaging 119 days of sun and 33 of those days over 100F (38 C), solar can make a positive difference in the rising electrical cost and demand for energy. Fremont, the closest east bay city to Silicon Valley, experienced substantial economic growth in past years with their eco-friendly residents. Being one of the greenest cities in California, LA Solar Group's decision to expand to Fremont was a smart one. Homeowners in the bay area are very environmentally conscious and have set forth new policy to encourage California to become a sustainable state. Solar may have launched the revolution for affordable sustainable energy, yet there are also new ways to bring more savings to property owners. Builders have reformed how they construct their properties to be more energy efficient. A lot of attention now goes into high-efficiency lighting, high-performing wall insulation, improved water heating, and better attic temperature control. LEED certifications (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) have become an important phase in the development of not just local but global building projects as well. About LA Solar Group LA Solar Group was founded by a group of engineers who wanted to provide customers with the latest and modernized technology, user-friendly engineering design, and installation services at the lowest possible price. LA Solar Group is one of the fastest growing solar energy companies in Los Angeles, CA with offices in Los Angeles, Bakersfield, and Fremont. To learn more visit www.la-solargroup.com Contact Information: Robert Sarai Business Development Direct - 818.946.2320 Office - 818.373.0077 [email protected] www.la-solargroup.com SOURCE LA Solar Group SOURCE LA Solar Group Related Links http://la-solargroup.com/ DODGEVILLE, Wis., Feb. 7, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Lands' End, Inc. announced today that the global lifestyle brand has been selected as the exclusive school uniform supplier for Kamehameha Schools located in Hawaii. The Kamehameha Schools, featuring three K-12 campuses, is the largest private school system in the United States. "As a part of our school's culture and the pride we have in our students, it's understandable that we place great importance on our school uniform program," said a representative from Kamehameha Schools' Procurement Department. "Our parents were familiar with Lands' End, and as a school uniform supplier they offered the best overall solution encompassing customer service, online ordering and a retail solution for our families and schools. We are excited to partner with Lands' End as our exclusive uniform provider." Kamehameha Schools is a private charitable educational trust endowed by the will of Hawaiian Princess Bernice Pauahi Bishop (1831-1884), the great-granddaughter and last direct descendant of King Kamehameha I. The mission of Kamehameha Schools is to improve the capability and well-being of Native Hawaiians through education. That mission is achieved by operating an educational system serving over 6,900 students of Hawaiian ancestry at K-12 campuses on O'ahu, Maui and Hawai'i island, and at 30 preschool sites statewide. "The Lands' End School Outfitters team is proud to partner with Kamehameha Schools and their families to provide the same quality, innovative fabrics, and customer service we deliver to over 5,000 schools nationally and internationally," said Joe Ferreri, Senior Vice President of Outfitters for Lands' End. "The rich history and culture that Kamehameha Schools represents is truly remarkable and one that Lands' End is honored to support." The Lands' End School Outfitters division will supply the School with a unique online ordering platform, a retail store, and offers its uncompromising Guaranteed. Period. return policy the Lands' End brand is well-known for. About Kamehameha Schools Kamehameha Schools (http://www.ksbe.edu/ ) is a private charitable educational trust endowed by the will of Hawaiian Princess Bernice Pauahi Bishop (1831-1884), the great-granddaughter and last direct descendant of King Kamehameha I. In an enduring act of aloha, The Princess left the people of Hawai'i a precious gift upon her passing, 375,000 acres of ancestral land. She instructed the trustees of her estate to use the land to educate her people. Today, her endowment supports an educational system that serves thousands of Hawaiian learners in Hawai'i and across the nation. The mission of Kamehameha Schools is to improve the capability and well-being of Hawaiians through education. That mission is realized by operating an educational system serving over 6,900 students of Hawaiian ancestry at K-12 campuses on O'ahu, Maui and Hawai'i island, and at 30 preschool sites statewide. About Lands' End School Outfitters Lands' End offers uniforms and school-appropriate clothing in sizes for children, young adults and adults that are designed to meet dress-code requirements. Lands' End School uniforms include phys-ed wear such as tees, shorts, sweatshirts and sweatpants, plus spiritwear that can be personalized with logos. Lands' End School Outfitters apparel is available year-round and offers the same quality, value and guarantee for which Lands' End is legendary. To help schools, the Lands' End School Rewards program gives participating schools up to three percent cash back on the net sales of school uniforms. Lands' End School uniforms are available online at www.landsend.com/school and via the Lands' End School Outfitters catalog. To request a catalog or order by phone, call 1-800-469-2222. SOURCE Lands' End, Inc. Related Links http://www.landsend.com/ VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Feb. 7, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Connect Arabia International (CAI) shoulders an important responsibility for those calling into, or out of, the Sultanate of Oman. The private Tier 1 international gateway operator is the exclusive means by which all voice traffic travels to and from Oman, a country of four million people on the Arabian Peninsula's southeastern coast. With calls traversing between Oman virtually every other country on the planet, CAI's business requirements are substantial. Regardless of whether a call originates locally or internationally, CAI's reporting platform must identify, log, rate, and bill each call that passes through its network, from both foreign and domestic service providers. Because it gathers this information en masse from each provider to complete its reporting and reconciliation tasks, CAI's billing system must be able to collect data quickly and reliably, regardless of the providers involved. In October 2015, after receiving recommendations from others in the industry, Connect Arabia International purchased a license for PortaBilling, the B/OSS (Business and Operation Support System) from PortaOne. CAI sought a converged platform that could support the entire billing spectrum using both RADIUS and Diameter protocols. "The installation of PortaBilling on our generic servers was seamless, thanks to the PortaOne technical support team," recalled Saleh Al-Khaldi, Chief Technical Officer for Connect Arabia International. "We scheduled onsite training for December, and the two-day session was exactly what we needed: precisely to the point of interest for our business." CAI's use of PortaBilling gave it a number of advancements compared to its previous billing technology. In addition to its business orientation, Mr. Al-Khaldi emphasized PortaBilling's open architecture, giving it the ability to develop custom solutions that support operational growth. "PortaBilling is a very reliable system. The graphic user interface is easy to use; in fact the system makes it much easier to operate our entire business, compared to other platforms," he noted. "As a wholesale business, service and value are critical to our success. PortaBilling helps us remain competitive by offering cheaper voice calls to our customers." As a leader in Oman's telecommunications industry, Connect Arabia International is growing quicklywhich puts a huge strain on human and technical resources. Once PortaBilling was in place, the company was pleased to discover the efficiencies generated: service downtime was reduced by an estimated 20%, and direct labor costs dropped by 50%. All new PortaBilling customers receive a six-month subscription to PortaCare, PortaOne's 24/7 automated monitoring and expert technical support service. The subscription also includes access to frequent (every 2 months or less) updates of the platform. Mr. Al-Khaldi stated that based on the quality of support CAI received, his company had no hesitation about renewing its annual subscription. "PortaOne's technical support is the best we've ever encountered," he said. "With hundreds of carriers depending on our gateway, reliability is paramount. With PortaBilling as our back end platform, and services available through our PortaCare subscription, we have confidence in the integrity of our business." About PortaOne: Based in Canada, PortaOne is a leading global software developer for modern telecoms. The company's billing (B/OSS & OCS) and switching (SBC & Class 4/5) products enable telecommunication service providers and carriers to run a broad line of retail, enterprise, SME, and wholesale services on a single integrated software platform. PortaOne's flagship platforms, PortaSwitch (http://portaone.com/products/portaswitch/) and PortaBilling (http://portaone.com/products/portabilling) are fundamental parts of the business infrastructure for over 400 service providers and telcos in 85 countries worldwide. Over two-thirds of 300 PortaOne staff are support engineers providing the best-in-industry 24/7 technical support services for clients involved in hosted IP PBX and SIP trunking services, calling cards and wholesale VoIP, IPTV and residential triple-play, MVNO and MVNE, SMS, data and voice over LTE, and more. To learn more, visit http://PortaOne.com. About Connect Arabia International: Connect Arabia International is Oman's Second private Tier I licensees international gateway operator, satellite and international calling card services provider in the Sultanate of Oman. CAI plan includes a roll out of a new concept of sales and experience centers, of a kind not previously seen in the region. CAI international Gateway is the exclusive Gateway of all the international voice traffic to and from the country. The Gateway represents the access of the country to the world and it can be connected either through satellites or through international fiber cables. SOURCE PortaOne Related Links http://www.portaone.com STAINES-UPON-THAMES, United Kingdom, Feb. 7, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Mallinckrodt plc (NYSE: MNK), a leading global specialty pharmaceutical company, today reported results for the transition period from Oct. 1, 2016 to Dec. 30, 2016. The last quarter of calendar year 2016 was the planned transition period as the company aligns to a calendar-based financial year. The company will continue its "4/5/4" reporting convention with the first fiscal year ending Dec. 29, 2017 (referred to as "2017"). Unless otherwise noted, all comparisons of the transition period ended Dec. 30, 2016 are to the comparable period in fiscal 2016 ended Dec. 25, 2015. Net sales were $829.9 million in the transition period, up 2.3%, or 2.6% on a constant-currency basis. GAAP gross profit was $445.8 million with gross profit as a percentage of net sales of 53.7%, compared with 55.6%. Adjusted gross profit was $623.9 million, compared with $638.7 million. Adjusted gross profit as a percentage of net sales was 75.2% versus 78.7%. "Mallinckrodt's transition period results were solid, driven by predominantly volume-based growth in our diversified Specialty Brands segment, which continued to contribute greater than 70% of our total net sales. By focusing on execution, we are making good progress in building a leading specialty pharmaceutical company, creating near- and long-term value for patients with high unmet medical needs," said Mark Trudeau, President and Chief Executive Officer. "Our Acquire to Invest strategy is evident in our focus on portfolio transformation and in developing a robust, organic Specialty Brands pipeline, including investigational products like StrataGraft skin substitute and Terlipressin - potentially transformative therapies that, if approved, may deliver significant, even life-changing benefits for patients." "We have made significant progress over the past few months in strengthening our specialty pharmaceutical focus with the completed sale of our Nuclear Imaging business and our definitive agreement to divest the Intrathecal Therapy business. We believe these actions will provide additional capital for investment in continued growth and are confident this strategic transition will best position Mallinckrodt for the future," Trudeau said. GAAP selling, general and administrative (SG&A) expenses were $368.3 million, compared with $223.3 million, representing 44.4% and 27.5% of net sales, respectively. SG&A in the transition period was impacted primarily by the settlement of the legacy Questcor Pharmaceuticals, Inc. matter brought by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and five states, and expenses associated with the termination of the company's defined benefit pension plans. Adjusted SG&A expenses were $217.2 million or 26.2% of net sales, compared with $208.9 million or 25.8%. Research and development (R&D) expense in the transition period increased 7.8%, with R&D as a percentage of net sales at 8.0% in the transition period, compared with 7.6%. Due to increased competitive entrants, declining volumes and channel consolidation, the company recorded a goodwill impairment charge in the quarter of $207.0 million associated with its Specialty Generics segment. Income tax benefit was $121.7 million versus $37.3 million, resulting in GAAP effective rates of 40.8% and negative 56.1%, respectively. The adjusted effective tax rate was 15.7% in the transition period compared with 16.1%. The variance between the GAAP and non-GAAP effective tax rate relates to the tax effect on pre-tax non-GAAP adjustments and deferred tax benefits recognized upon pay down of intercompany installment notes created by internal sales of acquired intangible assets. GAAP diluted per share results from continuing operations were a loss of $1.67 in the transition period compared with earnings per share of $0.89. The loss reflects the impact of a goodwill impairment charge in the Specialty Generics segment, the recently announced FTC settlement and expenses associated with termination of the company's defined benefit plans. Adjusted diluted earnings per share were $1.91 versus $1.97. BUSINESS SEGMENT RESULTS Specialty Brands Segment Net sales for the Specialty Brands segment were $603.1 million in the transition period, compared with $543.2 million, an increase of 11.0%, or 11.6% on a constant-currency basis. H.P. Acthar Gel net sales were $325.4 million in the transition period, a 13.5%2 increase over $286.7 million. Mallinckrodt's second largest product, INOMAX (nitric oxide) gas, for inhalation, generated net sales of $118.3 million, up 6.8%2 over $110.8 million. OFIRMEV (acetaminophen) injection net sales were $72.5 million compared with $66.9 million, an increase of 8.4%2. Net sales of the Therakos immunology platform were $47.4 million compared with $50.4 million, a decrease of 6.0%, with growth of 0.1% on a constant-currency basis. The company is encouraged by progress towards resolution of the third-party manufacturer production issue and expects resolution by the second quarter of 2017. Specialty Generics Segment Net sales in the transition period decreased 17.4% to $212.9 million, compared with $257.6 million, driven principally by net sales declines in various product categories due to continued competition and channel consolidation negatively impacting both price and volume. On a constant-currency basis, segment net sales declined 17.5%. LIQUIDITY Mallinckrodt generated $195.6 million in operating cash flow and $130.4 million in free cash flow in the transition period. During the transition period, operating cash flow and free cash flow were unfavorably impacted by tax payments to the U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS). During the period, the company repurchased 2.6 million ordinary shares for $158.8 million under its share repurchase program, bringing total shares repurchased since January 2015 under the company's authorized programs to 13.1 million, or approximately 11.3% of diluted shares outstanding, since inception. Mallinckrodt's cash balance at the end of the transition period was $342.0 million, allowing the company to repay its revolving credit facility subsequent to the period close. With its strong cash position, proven cash flow generation ability and proceeds from the sale of the Nuclear Imaging business, Mallinckrodt remains focused on capital allocation through business development and returning cash to shareholders. 2017 MALLINCKRODT FINANCIAL GUIDANCE Metric (excluding foreign currency impact) 2017 Guidance Total Mallinckrodt net sales Decrease 2% to 5% Specialty Brands segment net sales Increase 4% to 7% Specialty Generics segment net sales Decrease 21% to 25% Net interest expense $360 million to $380 million Adjusted effective tax rate 15% to 17% Adjusted diluted EPS $7.40 to $8.00 The company's guidance reflects the comparison of a 53-week prior year to a 52-week 2017. The additional week will impact comparisons to prior year results in the quarter ending Sept. 2017 and on a full-year basis. CONFERENCE CALL AND WEBCAST Mallinckrodt will hold a conference call for investors on Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2017, beginning at 8:30 a.m. U.S. Eastern Time. This call can be accessed in three ways: At the Mallinckrodt website: http://www.mallinckrodt.com/investors . website: . By telephone: For both listen-only participants and those who wish to take part in the question-and-answer portion of the call, the telephone dial-in number in the U.S. is (877) 359-9508. For participants outside the U.S., the dial-in number is (224) 357-2393. Callers will need to provide the Conference ID of 42905158. Through an audio replay: A replay of the call will be available beginning at 11:30 a.m. Eastern Time on Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2017 , and ending at 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on Tuesday, Feb. 21, 2017 . Dial-in numbers for U.S.-based participants are (855) 859-2056 or (800) 585-8367. Participants outside the U.S. should use the replay dial-in number of (404) 537-3406. All callers will be required to provide the Conference ID of 42905158. ABOUT MALLINCKRODT Mallinckrodt is a global business that develops, manufactures, markets and distributes specialty pharmaceutical products and therapies. Areas of focus include autoimmune and rare diseases in specialty areas like neurology, rheumatology, nephrology, pulmonology and ophthalmology; immunotherapy and neonatal respiratory critical care therapies; and analgesics and hemostasis products. The company's core strengths include the acquisition and management of highly regulated raw materials and specialized chemistry, formulation and manufacturing capabilities. The company's Specialty Brands segment includes branded medicines and its Specialty Generics segment includes specialty generic drugs, active pharmaceutical ingredients and external manufacturing. To learn more about Mallinckrodt, visit www.mallinckrodt.com . Mallinckrodt uses its website as a channel of distribution of important company information, such as press releases, investor presentations and other financial information. It also uses its website to expedite public access to time-critical information regarding the company in advance of or in lieu of distributing a press release or a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) disclosing the same information. Therefore, investors should look to the Investor Relations page of the website for important and time-critical information. Visitors to the website can also register to receive automatic e-mail and other notifications alerting them when new information is made available on the Investor Relations page of the website. NON-GAAP FINANCIAL MEASURES This press release contains financial measures, including adjusted net income, adjusted diluted earnings per share, adjusted gross profit, adjusted SG&A, net sales growth on a constant-currency basis, adjusted effective tax rate, and free cash flow, which are considered "non-GAAP" financial measures under applicable SEC rules and regulations. Adjusted net income, adjusted gross profit and adjusted SG&A represent amounts prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the U.S. (GAAP) and adjusted for certain items that management believes are not reflective of the operational performance of the business. The adjustments for these items are on a pre-tax basis for adjusted gross profit and adjusted SG&A and on an after-tax basis for adjusted net income. Adjustments to GAAP amounts include, as applicable to each measure, restructuring and related charges, net; amortization and impairment charges; discontinued operations; acquisition-related expenses; changes in fair value of contingent consideration obligations; inventory step-up expenses; significant legal and environmental charges; pension settlement charges; recurrent cash tax payments to the IRS associated with internal installment sales transactions; and other items identified by the company. Adjusted diluted earnings per share represent adjusted net income divided by the number of diluted shares. The adjusted effective tax rate is calculated as the income tax effects on continuing and discontinued operations plus the income tax impact included in Mallinckrodt's reconciliation of net income, divided by income from continuing and discontinued operations plus the pre-tax, non-income, tax-related adjustments included in its reconciliation of adjusted net income (excluding dilutive share impact). The income tax impact item included in its reconciliation of adjusted net income primarily represents the tax impact of adjustments between net income and adjusted net income as well as deferred tax benefits recognized upon pay down of intercompany installment notes created by internal sales of acquired intangible assets. Net sales growth on a constant-currency basis measures the change in net sales between current- and prior-year periods using a constant currency, the exchange rate in effect during the applicable prior-year period. Free cash flow for the transition quarter represents net cash provided by operating activities of $195.6 million less capital expenditures of $65.2 million, each as prepared in accordance with GAAP. The company has provided these adjusted financial measures because they are used by management, along with financial measures in accordance with GAAP, to evaluate the company's operating performance. In addition, the company believes that they will be used by certain investors to measure Mallinckrodt's operating results. Management believes that presenting these adjusted measures provides useful information about the company's performance across reporting periods on a consistent basis by excluding items that the company does not believe are indicative of its core operating performance. These adjusted measures should be considered supplemental to and not a substitute for financial information prepared in accordance with GAAP. The company's definition of these adjusted measures may differ from similarly titled measures used by others. Because adjusted financial measures exclude the effect of items that will increase or decrease the company's reported results of operations, management strongly encourages investors to review the company's consolidated financial statements and publicly filed reports in their entirety. A reconciliation of certain of these historical adjusted financial measures to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measures is included in the tables accompanying this release. Guidance on the company's 2017 diluted earnings per share and effective tax rate has been provided only on a non-GAAP basis. This is due to the inherent difficulty of forecasting the timing or amount of items that would be included in the most directly comparable forward-looking GAAP financial measures. Because reconciliation is not available without unreasonable effort, it is not included in this release. Further information regarding non-GAAP financial measures can be found on the Investor Relations page of the company's website. CAUTIONARY STATEMENTS RELATED TO FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS Statements in this document that are not strictly historical, including statements regarding future financial condition and operating results, economic, business, competitive and/or regulatory factors affecting Mallinckrodt's businesses and any other statements regarding events or developments that we believe or anticipate will or may occur in the future, may be "forward-looking" statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, and involve a number of risks and uncertainties. There are a number of important factors that could cause actual events to differ materially from those suggested or indicated by such forward-looking statements and you should not place undue reliance on any such forward-looking statements. These factors include risks and uncertainties related to, among other things: general economic conditions and conditions affecting the industries in which Mallinckrodt operates; the commercial success of Mallinckrodt's products; Mallinckrodt's ability to realize anticipated growth, synergies and cost savings from acquisitions; conditions that could necessitate an evaluation of Mallinckrodt's goodwill and/or intangible assets for possible impairment; changes in laws and regulations; Mallinckrodt's ability to successfully integrate acquisitions of operations, technology, products and businesses generally and to realize anticipated growth, synergies and cost savings; Mallinckrodt's ability to successfully develop or commercialize new products; Mallinckrodt's ability to protect intellectual property rights; Mallinckrodt's ability to receive procurement and production quotas granted by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration; customer concentration; Mallinckrodt's reliance on certain individual products that are material to its financial performance; cost containment efforts of customers, purchasing groups, third-party payers and governmental organizations; the reimbursement practices of a small number of public or private insurers; pricing pressure on certain of Mallinckrodt's products due to legal changes or changes in insurers' reimbursement practices resulting from recent increased public scrutiny of healthcare and pharmaceutical costs; limited clinical trial data for H.P. Acthar Gel; complex reporting and payment obligations under healthcare rebate programs; Mallinckrodt's ability to navigate price fluctuations; future changes to U.S. and foreign tax laws; Mallinckrodt's ability to achieve expected benefits from restructuring activities; complex manufacturing processes; competition; product liability losses and other litigation liability; ongoing governmental investigations; material health, safety and environmental liabilities; retention of key personnel; conducting business internationally; the effectiveness of information technology infrastructure; and cybersecurity and data leakage risks. These and other factors are identified and described in more detail in the "Risk Factors" sections of Mallinckrodt's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2016. The forward-looking statements made herein speak only as of the date hereof and Mallinckrodt does not assume any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events and developments or otherwise, except as required by law. CONTACTS Investor Relations Coleman N. Lannum, CFA Senior Vice President, Investor Strategy and IRO 314-654-6649 [email protected] Daniel J. Speciale, CPA Director, Investor Relations 314-654-3638 [email protected] Media Rhonda Sciarra Senior Communications Manager 908-238-6765 [email protected] Meredith Fischer Chief Public Affairs Officer 314-654-3318 [email protected] MALLINCKRODT PLC CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF INCOME (unaudited, in millions, except per share data) Three Months Ended December 30, 2016 Percent of Net sales December 25, 2015 Percent of Net sales Net sales $ 829.9 100.0 % $ 811.2 100.0 % Cost of sales 384.1 46.3 360.3 44.4 Gross profit 445.8 53.7 450.9 55.6 Selling, general and administrative expenses 368.3 44.4 223.3 27.5 Research and development expenses 66.2 8.0 61.4 7.6 Restructuring charges, net 3.8 0.5 4.1 0.5 Non-restructuring impairments 214.3 25.8 Operating (loss) income (206.8) (24.9) 162.1 20.0 Interest expense (91.3) (11.0) (97.8) (12.1) Interest income 0.5 0.1 0.2 Other (loss) income, net (0.9) (0.1) 2.0 0.2 (Loss) income from continuing operations before income taxes (298.5) (36.0) 66.5 8.2 Income tax benefit (121.7) (14.7) (37.3) (4.6) (Loss) income from continuing operations (176.8) (21.3) 103.8 12.8 Income from discontinued operations, net of income taxes 23.6 2.8 107.3 13.2 Net (loss) income $ (153.2) (18.5) % $ 211.1 26.0 % Basic earnings per share: (Loss) income from continuing operations $ (1.67) $ 0.90 Income from discontinued operations 0.22 0.93 Net (loss) income (1.45) 1.83 Diluted earnings per share: (Loss) income from continuing operations $ (1.67) $ 0.89 Income from discontinued operations 0.22 0.92 Net (loss) income (1.45) 1.82 Weighted-average number of shares outstanding: Basic 105.7 115.4 Diluted 105.7 116.3 MALLINCKRODT PLC NON-GAAP MEASURES (unaudited, in millions except per share data) Three Months Ended December 30, 2016 December 25, 2015 Gross profit Selling, general and administrative expenses Net (loss) income Diluted net (loss) income per share Gross profit Selling, general and administrative expenses Net income Diluted net income per share GAAP $ 445.8 $ 368.3 $ (153.2) $ (1.45) $ 450.9 $ 223.3 $ 211.1 $ 1.82 Adjustments: Intangible asset amortization 174.0 (1.7) 175.7 1.65 171.6 (1.8) 173.4 1.49 Restructuring and related charges, net (1) 0.5 (1.0) 5.3 0.05 4.2 0.04 Inventory step-up expense 3.6 3.6 0.03 16.2 16.2 0.14 Income from discontinued operations (23.6) (0.22) (107.3) (0.92) Change in contingent consideration fair value (1.3) 1.3 0.01 Acquisition related expenses (0.1) 0.1 (1.1) 1.1 0.01 Non-restructuring impairment charges 207.0 1.95 Significant legal and environmental changes (102.0) 102.0 0.96 (11.5) 11.5 0.10 Pension settlement charge (45.0) 45.0 0.42 Income taxes (2) (159.6) (1.50) (81.1) (0.70) As adjusted $ 623.9 $ 217.2 $ 203.6 $ 1.91 $ 638.7 $ 208.9 $ 229.1 $ 1.97 Percent of net sales 75.2 % 26.2 % 24.5 % 78.7 % 25.8 % 28.2 % (1) Includes pre-tax accelerated depreciation. (2) Includes tax effects of above adjustments as well as the elimination of deferred tax benefits recognized upon pay down of intercompany installment notes created by internal sales of acquired intangible assets. (3) In periods where losses are incurred, potential ordinary shares outstanding are excluded from the calculation of diluted earnings per share, prepared in accordance with GAAP, as they would be anti-dilutive. These potentially dilutive shares are included in the calculation of adjusted diluted earnings per share when dilutive. As a result, the adjusted diluted earnings per share utilized a weighted average share count of 106.4 shares. MALLINCKRODT PLC SEGMENT NET SALES AND CONSTANT-CURRENCY GROWTH (unaudited, in millions) Three Months Ended December 30, 2016 December 25, 2015 Percent change Currency impact Constant- currency growth Specialty Brands $ 603.1 $ 543.2 11.0 % (0.6) % 11.6 % Specialty Generics 212.9 257.6 (17.4) 0.1 (17.5) 816.0 800.8 1.9 (0.4) 2.3 Other(1) 13.9 10.4 33.7 33.7 Net sales $ 829.9 $ 811.2 2.3 % (0.3) % 2.6 % (1) Represents net sales from an ongoing, post-divestiture supply agreement with the acquirer of the CMDS business. Amounts for periods prior to the divestiture represent the reclassification of intercompany sales to third-party sales to conform with the presentation of the ongoing supply agreement. MALLINCKRODT PLC SELECT PRODUCT LINE NET SALES (unaudited, in millions) Three Months Ended December 30, 2016 December 25, 2015 Percent change Currency impact Constant- currency growth Specialty Brands Acthar $ 325.4 $ 286.7 13.5 % % 13.5 % Inomax 118.3 110.8 6.8 6.8 Ofirmev 72.5 66.9 8.4 8.4 Therakos immunotherapy 47.4 50.4 (6.0) (6.1) 0.1 Hemostasis products 13.4 Other 26.1 28.4 (8.1) (8.1) Specialty Brands Total $ 603.1 $ 543.2 11.0 % (0.6) % 11.6 % Specialty Generics Hydrocodone (API) and hydrocodone-containing tablets $ 23.2 $ 36.7 (36.8) % % (36.8) % Oxycodone (API) and oxycodone-containing tablets 24.3 28.9 (15.9) (15.9) Methylphenidate ER 22.0 31.2 (29.5) (29.5) Other controlled substances 104.9 109.7 (4.4) (4.4) Other products 38.5 51.1 (24.7) 0.4 (25.1) Specialty Generics Total $ 212.9 $ 257.6 (17.4) % 0.1 % (17.5) % MALLINCKRODT PLC CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS (unaudited, in millions) December 30, 2016 September 30, 2016 Assets Current Assets: Cash and cash equivalents $ 342.0 $ 280.5 Accounts receivable, net 431.0 465.8 Inventories 350.7 335.6 Prepaid expenses and other current assets 131.9 115.9 Current assets held for sale 310.9 308.8 Total current assets 1,566.5 1,506.6 Property, plant and equipment, net 881.5 844.0 Goodwill 3,498.1 3,705.3 Intangible assets, net 9,000.5 9,182.3 Other assets 259.7 260.5 Total Assets $ 15,206.3 $ 15,498.7 Liabilities and Shareholders' Equity Current Liabilities: Current maturities of long-term debt $ 271.2 $ 256.3 Accounts payable 112.1 110.1 Accrued payroll and payroll-related costs 76.1 116.0 Accrued interest 68.7 80.6 Accrued and other current liabilities 658.8 550.9 Current liabilities held for sale 120.3 120.8 Total current liabilities 1,307.2 1,234.7 Long-term debt 5,880.8 5,788.7 Pension and postretirement benefits 136.4 144.9 Environmental liabilities 73.0 73.4 Deferred income taxes 2,398.1 2,581.4 Other income tax liabilities 70.4 67.7 Other liabilities 356.1 337.2 Total Liabilities 10,222.0 10,228.0 Shareholders' Equity: Preferred shares Ordinary shares 23.6 23.6 Ordinary shares held in treasury at cost (919.8) (762.6) Additional paid-in capital 5,424.0 5,412.7 Retained earnings 529.0 682.6 Accumulated other comprehensive income (72.5) (85.6) Total Shareholders' Equity 4,984.3 5,270.7 Total Liabilities and Shareholders' Equity $ 15,206.3 $ 15,498.7 MALLINCKRODT PLC CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS (unaudited, in millions) Three Months Ended December 30, 2016 December 25, 2015 Cash Flows From Operating Activities: Net (loss) income $ (153.2) $ 211.1 Adjustments to reconcile net cash provided by operating activities: Depreciation and amortization 203.2 206.0 Share-based compensation 11.0 8.5 Deferred income taxes (204.3) (108.9) Non-cash impairment charges 214.3 Gain on disposal of discontinued operations (97.0) Other non-cash items (0.7) 4.1 Changes in assets and liabilities, net of the effects of acquisitions: Accounts receivable, net 36.5 68.4 Inventories (26.3) (14.5) Accounts payable 5.4 (13.0) Income taxes 0.6 82.3 Other 109.1 (35.6) Net cash (used in) provided by operating activities 195.6 311.4 Cash Flows From Investing Activities: Capital expenditures (65.2) (49.0) Acquisitions and intangibles, net of cash acquired (1.8) Proceeds from disposal of discontinued operations, net of cash 264.0 Restricted cash (0.1) Other (10.2) 0.7 Net cash (used in) provided by investing activities (77.2) 215.6 Cash Flows From Financing Activities: Issuance of external debt 190.0 62.0 Repayment of external debt and capital leases (86.7) (129.6) Debt financing costs (0.1) Proceeds from exercise of share options 0.4 3.6 Repurchase of shares (158.8) (275.4) Other 1.2 (30.0) Net cash (used in) provided by financing activities (53.9) (369.5) Effect of currency rate changes on cash (3.0) (1.5) Net increase in cash and cash equivalents 61.5 156.0 Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of period 280.5 365.9 Cash and cash equivalents at end of period $ 342.0 $ 521.9 1 Generally accepted accounting principles in the United States 2 The reported constant currency growth percentage is identical for Acthar, OFIRMEV and INOMAX. SOURCE Mallinckrodt plc Related Links http://www.mallinckrodt.com/ Yearwood's experience spans over 27 years in banking through various positions held in retail and branch banking. Prior to joining Woodforest she managed an 87 branch network with significant focus on small business lending, investment sales, and mortgage. Yearwood has provided leadership for various projects during her banking career including mentorship for investment associates, strategic planning for the branch network to include the creation and implementation of the retail delivery model, and participated in her previous bank's Leadership Journey program. Julie V. Mayrant, President-Retail Division for Woodforest National Bank stated, "We are extremely pleased to have Marcia join our retail leadership team. Her extensive banking experience will be instrumental to our continued success in Illinois and Indiana." A graduate of Northwood University, with a major in management, Yearwood and her husband reside in the Chicago metro area and have 2 children attending college. Yearwood is a past board member of United Way, Vice President of Finance for her church, an avid volunteer for READ Association, Junior Achievement, and the Boy Scouts Council. About Woodforest Celebrating 36 years of community banking service, Woodforest National Bank has successfully stood among the strongest community banks in the nation, proudly offering unsurpassed quality customer service since 1980. Woodforest currently operates 743 branches in 17 states across the United States. For more information about Woodforest National Bank please visit www.woodforest.com. SOURCE Woodforest National Bank Related Links http://www.woodforest.com The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards, now in its 22 nd year, is conducted by Prudential Financial in partnership with the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP). These are Michigan's top youth volunteers of 2017: High School State Honoree: Sarah Maisano Nominated by Regina High School in Warren Sarah, a senior at Regina High School, has provided gift bags for more than 3,500 hospitalized children in 11 states. Sarah started volunteering at age 10 by accompanying her mother to a local nursing home, where she helped with bingo. "After that experience, I started to think about other ways that would have a meaningful impact on the people around me," she said. Sarah liked the idea of giving during the holiday season, so she decided to host a holiday party at her house and asked guests to bring gifts that could be donated to St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital. The event was such a hit that she did it again the following year, and then thought: why not do this year-round? Sarah began emailing corporations to solicit donations, but quickly learned that many companies could only give to official nonprofit organizations. So she spent four months filling out the paperwork to receive a 501(c)(3) designation. When Sarah's nonprofit status finally came through, she began fundraising in earnest, hosting 10 events including a 5K run/walk that have raised $20,000 to create care bags containing things like coloring books, crayons, jump ropes, books, puzzles and stuffed animals. Sarah's organization, called S.K.I.P ("Supporting Kids in Pain"), is now working with St. Jude's, Children's Hospital of Michigan Foundation, Ronald McDonald House and others to distribute her gift bags to sick kids. Sarah's goal is to eventually expand to all 50 states. Middle Level State Honoree: Ewan Drum Nominated by New Haven Elementary School in New Haven Ewan, a fifth-grader at New Haven Elementary School, collects food, clothing and basic necessities with his family and hands them out, while dressed as a superhero, to homeless people in Detroit twice a month. Several years ago, when Ewan and his family were in Detroit for dinner, he saw a homeless man on a street corner. He asked his parents why the man was there, and was told he had no place to sleep. "That made me sad," said Ewan. His next question was: "Can I dress up like a superhero when I'm a teenager and help the homeless?" His parents responded: you don't have to wait! So Ewan and his family made 50 bag lunches and drove downtown to pass them out. Shortly after, they set up a nonprofit organization called "Super Ewan, Inc.," and began holding fundraisers and partnering with businesses and other organizations to provide food, clothing, toiletries and other necessities for the homeless. Now, Ewan dresses up in a Superman costume every other week and distributes these items on the streets of Detroit, aided by his family and other volunteers. With roughly 80 to 125 homeless people helped each month, Ewan estimates that his initiative has made life a little easier for thousands of men, women and children since it began. Distinguished Finalists The program judges also recognized eight other Michigan students as Distinguished Finalists for their impressive community service activities. Each will receive an engraved bronze medallion. These are Michigan's Distinguished Finalists for 2017: Addy Battel, 14, of Cass City, Mich., a freshman at Cass City Jr./Sr. High School, has worked with fellow 4-H and FFA members to buy and raise chickens, steers, hogs, lambs and goats for a local food pantry, an effort that's provided fresh meat to 70 families a month in a community where the closest grocery store is 20 miles away. Addy, who started the initiative after realizing that low income families in her community had limited options for healthy protein, has helped to raise money and care for the animals. Carolyn Cohn, 17, of Huntington Woods, Mich., a senior at Berkley High School, started "Teen Screens," a nonprofit that has provided dozens of laptops to students in need in her school district. After finding and anonymously donating a laptop to a classmate who didn't have one, Carolyn was determined to help others in a similar situation; she now works with a computer programmer who clears donated computers of old data and installs helpful software. April Johnson, 16, of Houghton Lake, Mich., a junior at Houghton Lake High School, has helped to organize and stage statewide conferences as a member of the state board for the leadership group Students Leading Students. Inspired to apply to the state board after attending one of the organization's conferences as a participant her freshman year, April now works with students from other parts of the state to raise money and plan logistics for a conference that inspires hundreds of students every year. Anna Meyers, 18, of Grand Rapids, Mich., a senior at West Catholic High School, is the creator of "Anna's Bookshelf," an initiative that collects new and gently-used books that are then distributed to children in the Grand Rapids area through locations at a local laundromat and a community college counseling center. After learning that some kids don't have books of their own, Anna started by donating books from her own collection, and then reached out to friends, family, authors and celebrities. Nick Rutledge, 17, of Tipton, Mich., a senior at Tecumseh High School, is an active community volunteer whose service activities have included leading collection drives to provide boots and boxed meals for people living on the streets of Detroit. Nick has also participated in weeklong service trips to Kentucky and Flint through his church, volunteered stocking and unloading food at a St. Vincent de Paul food pantry, supported school and church fundraisers, and more. Soroosh Sabouni, 17, of Battle Creek, Mich., a senior at Lakeview High School, is dedicated to finding ways to provide clean water to impoverished communities at home and abroad, and was inducted into the Water Environment Federation after inventing an award-winning water filter. In addition to extensive work researching, creating and testing filters, Soroosh has attended meetings and conferences to raise awareness of new techniques to bring filtered water to communities in need. Stephanie Sills, 18, of Bloomfield Hills, Mich., a senior at Ernest W. Seaholm High School, has helped to raise more than $44,000 for lung cancer research over the past two years as co-organizer of "The Lung Run" 5K walk/run. Stephanie, a cross-country runner, worked with her friends to start the race after learning that her mom had been diagnosed with stage four lung cancer, bringing together the community and other lung cancer survivors to raise awareness of the disease and money to test new types of chemotherapy. Nikki Sorgi, 17, of Shelby Township, Mich., a senior at Henry Ford II High School, has helped to provide more than 200 blankets to sick children over the past two years by coordinating a fundraiser and blanket drive. Nikki has worked with her National Honor Society, student council, teachers and peers to collect donations and then make blankets, which have been donated to organizations including the C.S. Mott Children's Hospital and Kids Kicking Cancer. "Prudential is honored to recognize these young volunteers for their exemplary service," said Prudential Chairman and CEO John Strangfeld. "We hope that their stories inspire others to consider how they, too, can volunteer their time and talents to improve their communities." "These service-minded young people have brought meaningful change to communities at home and abroad, and it's a privilege to celebrate their work," said JoAnn Bartoletti, executive director of NASSP. "Congratulations to an exceptional group of middle level and high school students." About The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards represents the United States' largest youth recognition program based solely on volunteer service. All public and private middle level and high schools in the country, as well as all Girl Scout councils, county 4-H organizations, American Red Cross chapters, YMCAs and HandsOn Network affiliates, were eligible to select a student or member for a local Prudential Spirit of Community Award. These Local Honorees were then reviewed by an independent judging panel, which selected State Honorees and Distinguished Finalists based on criteria including personal initiative, effort, impact and personal growth. While in Washington, D.C., the 102 State Honorees one middle level and one high school student from each state and the District of Columbia will tour the capital's landmarks, meet top youth volunteers from other parts of the world, attend a gala awards ceremony at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History, and visit their congressional representatives on Capitol Hill. On May 8, 10 of the State Honorees five middle level and five high school students will be named America's top youth volunteers of 2017. These National Honorees will receive additional $5,000 awards, gold medallions, crystal trophies and $5,000 grants from The Prudential Foundation for nonprofit charitable organizations of their choice. Since the program began in 1995, more than 115,000 young volunteers have been honored at the local, state and national level. The program also is conducted by Prudential subsidiaries in Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Ireland, India, China and Brazil. In addition to granting its own awards, The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards program also distributes President's Volunteer Service Awards to qualifying Local Honorees. For information on all of this year's Prudential Spirit of Community State Honorees and Distinguished Finalists, visit http://spirit.prudential.com or www.nassp.org/spirit. About NASSP The National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP) is the leading organization of and voice for middle level and high school principals, assistant principals, and school leaders from across the United States. The association connects and engages school leaders through advocacy, research, education, and student programs. NASSP advocates on behalf of all school leaders to ensure the success of each student and strengthens school leadership practices through the design and delivery of high quality professional learning experiences. Reflecting its long-standing commitment to student leadership development, NASSP administers the National Honor Society, National Junior Honor Society, National Elementary Honor Society, and National Association of Student Councils. For more information about NASSP, located in Reston, VA, visit www.nassp.org. About Prudential Financial Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE: PRU), a financial services leader, has operations in the United States, Asia, Europe, and Latin America. Prudential's diverse and talented employees are committed to helping individual and institutional customers grow and protect their wealth through a variety of products and services, including life insurance, annuities, retirement-related services, mutual funds and investment management. In the U.S., Prudential's iconic Rock symbol has stood for strength, stability, expertise and innovation for more than a century. For more information, please visit www.news.prudential.com. For Spirit of Community Awards program logo and medallion graphics, please visit https://spirit.prudential.com/resources/media SOURCE Prudential Insurance Related Links http://www.PRUDENTIAL.com LUXEMBOURG, Feb 07, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Millicom announced today that it has signed an agreement for the sale of its Tigo business in Senegal to Wari Group for $129 million. Wari Group, based in Senegal, is a leading platform for digital financial services in Africa. Mauricio Ramos, CEO of Millicom said: "With the support of the people of Senegal we have been able to empower millions of customers with mobile technology, and to help promote social and financial inclusion across the country. We are grateful to all of our employees, whose drive and commitment has enabled Tigo Senegal to become such a strong and sustainable business and are confident that Wari Group will build on the current strength of Tigo Senegal." Kabirou Mbodje, CEO of Wari commented: "The acquisition of Tigo illustrates how an international group such as Wari, born in Africa, is proud to be at the forefront of driving the shift towards an ecosystem that provides social added value and tailored for Senegalese and African customers' needs. By pooling the advantages of mobile telephony offered by Tigo and the world of benefits provided by Wari, a leading platform for digital financial services, we combine the expertise, energies and ambitions of our teams and our two groups in order to offer more convenient and affordable services to users." The transaction is subject to regulatory approvals. For further information, please visit: www.millicom.com or contact Press: Vivian Kobeh, Corporate Communications Director Tel: +352-277-59084 / +44-7971-919-610 E-mail: [email protected] Investors: David Boyd, Interim Investor Relations Director Tel: +44 20 3249 2413 E-mail: [email protected] Mauricio Pinzon, Investor Relations Manager Tel: +44 20 3249 2460 / E-mail: [email protected] This information was brought to you by Cision http://news.cision.com http://news.cision.com/millicom-international-cellular/r/millicom-to-sell-its-senegal-business-to-wari,c2182266 The following files are available for download: http://mb.cision.com/Main/950/2182266/624871.pdf Millicom to sell its Senegal business to Wari SOURCE Millicom International Cellular Related Links http://www.millicom.com DALLAS, February 7, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- ML Capital Group, Inc. (USOTC: MLCG) and Puration, Inc. (USOTC: PURA) today announced reaching an agreement where both companies will contribute to an equity purchase of Spanish Peaks ScrumpDelicacies. The two companies announced last month entering into a partnership around MLCG's independent plan to acquire Spanish Peaks. Now that partnership will include both MLCG and PURA purchasing equity in Spanish Peaks as part of a strategic plan to introduce a MLCG Cannabis Tourism Offering into Colorado's $19 billion tourism industry that features Spanish Peaks Cannabis Beverage production the way Napa Valley tours feature wine production. PURA is to be the exclusive Cannabis Extract Source for all Spanish Peaks beverage and edible production. The architecture of the acquisition deal includes a plan where a portion of the Spanish Peaks stock acquired by MLCG and PURA will be issued to the shareholders of MLCG and PURA in a dividend distribution. Spanish Peaks is currently a private company but plans to list public in conjunction with the planned transaction with MLCG and PURA. Spanish Peaks MLCG and PURA are taking a page out of the North American Cannabis Holdings, Inc. (USOTC: USMJ) were deals are structured to share the potential benefit of the transaction directly with shareholders. USMJ spun-off its cannabis extraction business into PURA and issued a PURA stock to its shareholders in a dividend distribution last year. MLCG and PURA have published an online and on demand presentation detailing plans for the Global Cannabis Tour Business: GLOBAL CANNABIS TOURISM PRESENTATION Safe Harbor: This release includes forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 27E of the Securities Act of 1934. Statements contained in this release that are not historical facts may be deemed to be forward-looking statements. Investors are cautioned that forward-looking statements are inherently uncertain. Actual performance and results may differ materially from that projected or suggested herein due to certain risks and uncertainties including, without limitation, ability to obtain financing and regulatory and shareholder approval for anticipated actions. ML Capital: [email protected] +1-786-313-3206 Puration Contact: Brian Shibley, CEO [email protected] +1-214-937-9097 SOURCE ML Capital Group and Puration Inc. The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards, now in its 22 nd year, is conducted by Prudential Financial in partnership with the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP). These are Montana's top youth volunteers of 2017: High School State Honoree: Sophia Skwarchuk Nominated by Flathead High School in Kalispell Sophia, a senior at Flathead High School, created "MontanaEats," a smartphone application she spent months coding to give low income people easy access to information about all of the food pantries, food banks and emergency assistance resources in Montana. As a member of the Governor's Youth Leadership Council for Childhood Hunger, Sophia learned that her city had the highest rate of homelessness and food insecurity in the entire state. But knowing where to go for help was often a challenge for those who needed it. Sophia decided she could make things easier for them by building a comprehensive database that could be accessed through an app on Android phones. "In this technological age, we are all used to having information at the tips of our fingers," she said. "Why should the resources we target towards solving community issues be any different?" With an interest in application coding but no expertise, Sophia read every book she could find on the subject. Once she learned what she needed to know, she spent three months creating an application called "MontanaEats." She decided to code the app for the Android operating system because it's more common on the less expensive phones that low income people are more likely to have. The free app, available on Google Play, has been endorsed by Montana's governor and is now being used by food agencies throughout Montana to assist their clientele. In the future, Sophia plans to include information from other states in her app, and develop a version for Apple iPhones. Middle Level State Honoree: Hannah Halvorson Nominated by Laurel Middle School in Laurel Hannah, an eighth-grader at Laurel Middle School, has volunteered at a local nursing home for the past two summers, brightening the days of its 48 residents, many of whom don't have family members nearby to visit them. Hannah said she decided she wanted to make a difference after observing that there weren't many volunteers at the nursing home. "I know there are a lot of charities out there, but let's not forget about our senior citizens," Hannah said. As a nursing home volunteer, Hannah's duties included reading to residents, helping with craft projects, assisting with music and exercise classes, and giving manicures. She has also purchased gifts for every resident by making and selling bookmarks. An important part of her job, she said, was just spending time on a one-on-one basis with many of the residents. She was amazed to hear them speak about things they had done in their lives, such as serving in World War II. Hannah said she hopes to continue volunteering at the nursing home and is encouraging her classmates to think about volunteering in the community. "Doing a simple act of kindness like opening the door for someone makes people have a better day and makes them want to help someone in return," she said. Distinguished Finalists The program judges also recognized two other Montana students as Distinguished Finalists for their impressive community service activities. Each will receive an engraved bronze medallion. These are Montana's Distinguished Finalists for 2017: Natalie Bova, 18, of Frenchtown, Mont., a senior at Frenchtown High School, has helped recruit hundreds of blood donors since becoming the leader of her school's American Red Cross blood drive freshman year, and by the end of high school will have coordinated nine blood drives. Unable to give blood herself due to her juvenile rheumatoid arthritis, Natalie got involved by recruiting donors, ensuring the drive ran smoothly, and educating her peers on the importance of donating blood. Colin Norick, 17, of Columbia Falls, Mont., a senior at Columbia Falls High School, created a club called "Teen Leaders in the Community (TLC)" to introduce students to the benefits of volunteer service, and coordinated a student-run community dinner that served 60 meals each month to people in need throughout the school year. Inspired by the kindness his older brother and a friend showed him as a child, when autism made it hard to play with other kids, Colin also coordinated a Community Kitchen meal as the president of his 4-H club. "Prudential is honored to recognize these young volunteers for their exemplary service," said Prudential Chairman and CEO John Strangfeld. "We hope that their stories inspire others to consider how they, too, can volunteer their time and talents to improve their communities." "These service-minded young people have brought meaningful change to communities at home and abroad, and it's a privilege to celebrate their work," said JoAnn Bartoletti, executive director of NASSP. "Congratulations to an exceptional group of middle level and high school students." About The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards represents the United States' largest youth recognition program based solely on volunteer service. All public and private middle level and high schools in the country, as well as all Girl Scout councils, county 4-H organizations, American Red Cross chapters, YMCAs and HandsOn Network affiliates, were eligible to select a student or member for a local Prudential Spirit of Community Award. These Local Honorees were then reviewed by an independent judging panel, which selected State Honorees and Distinguished Finalists based on criteria including personal initiative, effort, impact and personal growth. While in Washington, D.C., the 102 State Honorees one middle level and one high school student from each state and the District of Columbia will tour the capital's landmarks, meet top youth volunteers from other parts of the world, attend a gala awards ceremony at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History, and visit their congressional representatives on Capitol Hill. On May 8, 10 of the State Honorees five middle level and five high school students will be named America's top youth volunteers of 2017. These National Honorees will receive additional $5,000 awards, gold medallions, crystal trophies and $5,000 grants from The Prudential Foundation for nonprofit charitable organizations of their choice. Since the program began in 1995, more than 115,000 young volunteers have been honored at the local, state and national level. The program also is conducted by Prudential subsidiaries in Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Ireland, India, China and Brazil. In addition to granting its own awards, The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards program also distributes President's Volunteer Service Awards to qualifying Local Honorees. For information on all of this year's Prudential Spirit of Community State Honorees and Distinguished Finalists, visit http://spirit.prudential.com or www.nassp.org/spirit. About NASSP The National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP) is the leading organization of and voice for middle level and high school principals, assistant principals, and school leaders from across the United States. The association connects and engages school leaders through advocacy, research, education, and student programs. NASSP advocates on behalf of all school leaders to ensure the success of each student and strengthens school leadership practices through the design and delivery of high quality professional learning experiences. Reflecting its long-standing commitment to student leadership development, NASSP administers the National Honor Society, National Junior Honor Society, National Elementary Honor Society, and National Association of Student Councils. For more information about NASSP, located in Reston, VA, visit www.nassp.org. About Prudential Financial Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE: PRU), a financial services leader, has operations in the United States, Asia, Europe, and Latin America. Prudential's diverse and talented employees are committed to helping individual and institutional customers grow and protect their wealth through a variety of products and services, including life insurance, annuities, retirement-related services, mutual funds and investment management. In the U.S., Prudential's iconic Rock symbol has stood for strength, stability, expertise and innovation for more than a century. For more information, please visit www.news.prudential.com. For Spirit of Community Awards program logo and medallion graphics, please visit https://spirit.prudential.com/resources/media SOURCE Prudential Insurance Related Links http://www.PRUDENTIAL.com LONDON, Feb. 6, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- The Networking Support Services industry is primarily involved in managing networks for residences, business organizations and other users. The services offered include testing of networks, troubleshooting problems, network upgrades, network performance analysis and other maintenance activities. Networking Support Services are essential to prevent downtime and to ensure undisrupted and continued business operations. The Americas was the x largest geographic region in the networking support services market in 2016, accounting for $x billion or x% of the global market. Asia was the x largest geographic market, accounting for $x billion or x% of the global market. Europe was the x largest geographic market, accounting for $x billion or x% of the global market. The Middle East and Africa accounted for x% and $x billion, while Oceania accounted for x% of the global networking support services market. Single to Multiple Services Shift The networking support services industry is undergoing a structural shift, with an increase in bundled services, from a single to a multiple contract service. Instead of delivering several single services in parallel to the same customer, integrated delivery of multiple services is being offered, thereby providing efficiencies. For instance, NTT Communications offers users a range of services such as network management, disaster recovery and solution services. Download the full report: https://www.reportbuyer.com/product/4442293/ About Reportbuyer Reportbuyer is a leading industry intelligence solution that provides all market research reports from top publishers http://www.reportbuyer.com For more information: Sarah Smith Research Advisor at Reportbuyer.com Email: [email protected] Tel: +44 208 816 85 48 Website: www.reportbuyer.com SOURCE ReportBuyer Related Links http://www.reportbuyer.com With 12 dealership locations, LandPro Equipment will be the largest John Deere turf and agricultural equipment dealer in the Northeast. The combination of the two companies will mean great things for customers and its over 300 employees. LandPro Equipment will have more effective buying power with John Deere and its many venders. This leverage will allow for a larger inventory of new and used equipment, parts available on hand as well as more competitive pricing for LandPro customers. To learn more visit www.LandProEquipment.com The combined company will be headquartered in Falconer, NY and managed by Tracy Buck, President of Z&M Ag and Turf. "We've had the pleasure of working with fantastic customers over the years and look forward to continuing that in the future. We're now selling to the children and grandchildren of people we sold to 30 years ago. Our success is a product of our hard working employees and the quality of the John Deere product. We are excited about this new partnership and the possibilities it offers our customers and our employees," said Tracy Buck, the newly appointed President of LandPro Equipment. Z&M Ag and Turf was established in1963 and was purchased by Tracy Buck, a long-time employee, and John Griffith in 1994. Under their leadership, Z&M expanded several times over the next 20 years. In 2001, Z&M purchased Goodridge Farm Supply in Oakfield, NY and Alexander, NY and also welcomed Tom Kelsey as a partner. Today, Buck and Kelsey own six Z&M Ag and Turf locations in Oakfield, NY, Alexander, NY, Springville, NY, Falconer, NY, Clymer, NY and Edinboro, PA. Lakeland Equipment was founded in 1983 when Marty Phillippe and Gene Roling purchased the existing John Deere dealership in Wayne County, NY. In 1990, Roling and Phillippe partnered with Bob McNamara and Mike Wilson to open 2 more dealership locations. Together, the former Deere & Company employees grew the company over the next 26 years and now manage stores in Avon, NY, Brockport, NY, Hall, NY, Macedon, NY, North Chili, NY and Savannah, NY. Phillippe and Wilson are now joined by Andy McNamara and Ryan Payment as managing partners. Bob McNamara retired at the end of 2016. Argonne Capital is a private investment firm based in Atlanta, Georgia that specializes in partnering with and growing closely-held family businesses. Argonne's portfolio of companies generates $1.5 billion in annual sales and spans distinctive brands such as IHOP, Applebee's, On The Border, Krystal and Planet Fitness. "We are thrilled to be joining the iconic John Deere system and look forward to our partnership with the best-in-class management teams at Lakeland and Z&M," commented Layton Grisette, Principal at Argonne Capital Group. "We believe that the combination of these two great companies, when coupled with the financial support of Argonne Capital, will enable LandPro Equipment to provide unmatched sales and service to its customers." "I'm very excited about the merger that will create LandPro Equipment," said Marty Phillippe, Lakeland Equipment Founder. "Like Z&M, Lakeland's main focus has always been on delivering a positive customer experience. This merger will further enhance that experience. The infusion of capital from Argonne will allow LandPro Equipment to create a dynamic, people-driven organization that will have a positive impact on our customers, employees and investors." LandPro Equipment will continue to serve the same commercial, construction, farming and homeowner customers as Lakeland and Z&M have for the past 30 years. As the two dealerships combine, they do so with similar customer service cultures and the desire to provide every customer with a quality experience. "After nearly 37 years of being a part of this business, I am excited about the sustainability that LandPro Equipment will provide to our employees, customers, and the community," Tom Kelsey continued. "The success of our business is based on building relationships. We have enjoyed countless relationships with our customers and vendors over the years and proudly call them our friends. Our goal at LandPro Equipment is to continue to support our communities and create meaningful relationships with our customers as we maintain the first-rate customer service experience they've come to expect." Ryan Payment, the newly appointed Vice President of LandPro Equipment, added, "This merger brings together two strong organizations that, when combined, will serve customers in 26 counties throughout New York and Pennsylvania. LandPro will build off the reputation that Lakeland and Z&M have established over three decades of quality service. We continue to strive to be the first choice for equipment, parts and service across the many customers we serve from homeowners maintaining half-acre lawns to farmers managing over 10,000 acres." For more information please visit www.LandProEquipment.com About Argonne Capital Group Founded in 2003, Argonne Capital Group is a closely-held private investment firm that seeks to make control equity investments in a diverse range of middle market enterprises, including those in the multi-unit restaurant, retail and service industries. Argonne also has a significant presence in multi-tenant retail real estate through its RCG Ventures platform. Unlike traditional private equity firms, Argonne independently capitalizes each investment it makes, allowing the firm meaningful flexibility in the types of transactions it pursues and an indefinite time horizon for its ownership of any given asset. The firm targets equity investments of $25 - $100 million per transaction. For more information, please visit www.argonnecapital.com Media Contacts For Argonne Capital Group: Layton Grisette (404) 665-1155 SOURCE Argonne Capital Group Related Links http://argonnecapital.com ATLANTA, Feb. 7, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Illuma Care Connections, a new care coordination company for eye care providers and health plan partners, today announced the launch of technology-enabled services that integrate eye care services into mainstream healthcare delivery. Illuma's services are designed to improve outcomes, reduce costs and drive practice growth by ensuring that patients with known vision risks are scheduled for the appropriate exams with eye care practitioners in the Illuma network. The results of eye exams are automatically shared with patients' primary care physicians. Illuma Care Connections CEO Stephen Kendig stated, "With partners like BlueCross BlueShield already using Illuma Care Connections, we are very excited about the future of eye care coordination. Illuma's HIPAA-compliant, cloud-based technology, combined with our fully staffed patient contact center, helps ensure that patients who are referred for medical eye exams get the care they need. From the practitioner's perspective, Illuma helps build the medical side of optometric practices while streamlining ophthalmology referrals for high-risk patients." "Illuma's services help the entire eye care delivery system to be more efficient," said Illuma early adopter David Jaco, OD, of Eye Care Associates of Kentucky. "Their services drive patients to get care, and their technology allows easy movement of clinical data, which ensures we have access to the right information and can share our findings with other caregivers." Leveraging technology assets acquired from OcuHub, the eye care health information exchange platform, Illuma is already leading numerous programs with health plan partners specifically designed to improve the quality of care for diabetic patient populations. Diabetes is the number one cause of vision loss for adults. The disease affects 29.1 million Americans, including over one quarter of people over age 65. One of the lowest-performing Healthcare Effectiveness Data and Information Set (HEDIS) quality measures for health plans is the rate of compliance with diabetic eye exams, largely because eye care has traditionally been outside of the core system. Illuma is driving better HEDIS and STAR quality ratings by connecting eye care providers to quality programs, which improves patient outcomes and health plan reimbursements. About Illuma Care Connections Illuma Care Connections is a care coordination company offering technology-enabled services to eye care providers and health plan partners. Illuma helps integrate eye care services into mainstream healthcare delivery to improve outcomes, enhance quality of eye care, reduce costs and drive practice growth. Visit Illuma at www.illumacc.com. Company Contact: Stephen Kendig, President and CEO [email protected] 770.847.7297 Media Contact: Deb Holliday [email protected] 412.877.4519 SOURCE Illuma Care Connections Related Links http://www.illumacc.com The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards, now in its 22 nd year, is conducted by Prudential Financial in partnership with the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP). These are New Hampshire's top youth volunteers of 2017: High School State Honoree: Jacob Parker Nominated by Windham High School in Windham Jacob, a senior at Windham High School, founded a nonprofit corporation involving dozens of student volunteers who work on a variety of projects to promote enduring recoveries for people struggling with addiction. "Addiction has always been a major issue," said Jacob, "but over the past few years it has reached an all-time high." For Jacob, the problem is not only urgent, but also personal. "I have lost numerous family members and seen dozens more in my community struggle," he said. "However, I have also seen how proper support can be the difference between life and death." To help provide that support, Jacob founded "Victory Over Addiction" in 2015. He recruited fellow students who shared his passion, created a website to explain his mission, and began making presentations to school groups and local organizations about the dangers of drug abuse and alcoholism. Jacob and his fellow volunteers also started raising money by shoveling snow for local residents, placing donation jars at more than 70 local businesses, and canvassing door-to-door. The $21,000 raised so far has been used to provide food and other supplies for local recovery meetings, to deliver furniture and other forms of support to houses for recovering addicts across New England, and to create an annual alcohol-free "Senior Safe Night" for more than 200 high school seniors on the night of graduation. Middle Level State Honoree: Alexandra Macdonald Nominated by Girl Scouts of the Green and White Mountains in Bedford Alexandra, a sixth-grader at Thornton Central School, held donation drives at her school and a local toy store that yielded more than 200 stuffed animals for young patients at Children's Hospital at Dartmouth-Hitchcock (CHaD). "I wanted to help people in need," said Alexandra, "so I thought of people in the hospital." She began investigating hospitals, and learned that CHaD had a "ginormous" list of needed items, especially new stuffed animals. "If I am going through something difficult, I want something to hold tight and cuddle with," she said. "I bet children at a hospital want the same thing." Cheered on by her mother, Alexandra got permission to hold a stuffed animal collection drive at her school. She made fliers and a poster, and visited each classroom to explain her project. Afterward, she conducted a similar drive at a toy store, and then delivered 228 stuffed animals to the hospital. Alexandra also designed a Girl Scout "patch" program called "Hospital Helper" to encourage other Girl Scouts to take on similar projects. Distinguished Finalists The program judges also recognized two other New Hampshire students as Distinguished Finalists for their impressive community service activities. Each will receive an engraved bronze medallion. These are New Hampshire's Distinguished Finalists for 2017: Jillian MacGregor, 18, of Nashua, N.H., a senior at Nashua High School South, has promoted a love of computing in younger girls by mentoring the first all-girl FIRST Lego League at her local Boys and Girls Club, teaching coding to middle schoolers, and offering a summer camp that later evolved into an after-school computing club. Jillian also developed a mentoring program to help her camp participants develop leadership and presentation skills. Arielys Liriano Trejo, 18, of Manchester, N.H., a senior at Manchester High School West, has been a volunteer teacher since October 2015 with Breakthrough Manchester, a program that provides middle schoolers with skills and tools to help them pursue a college education. Arielys, who participated in the program as a student for five years, now prepares, revises and teaches lessons, and also checks in with students during monthly calls. "Prudential is honored to recognize these young volunteers for their exemplary service," said Prudential Chairman and CEO John Strangfeld. "We hope that their stories inspire others to consider how they, too, can volunteer their time and talents to improve their communities." "These service-minded young people have brought meaningful change to communities at home and abroad, and it's a privilege to celebrate their work," said JoAnn Bartoletti, executive director of NASSP. "Congratulations to an exceptional group of middle level and high school students." About The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards represents the United States' largest youth recognition program based solely on volunteer service. All public and private middle level and high schools in the country, as well as all Girl Scout councils, county 4-H organizations, American Red Cross chapters, YMCAs and HandsOn Network affiliates, were eligible to select a student or member for a local Prudential Spirit of Community Award. These Local Honorees were then reviewed by an independent judging panel, which selected State Honorees and Distinguished Finalists based on criteria including personal initiative, effort, impact and personal growth. While in Washington, D.C., the 102 State Honorees one middle level and one high school student from each state and the District of Columbia will tour the capital's landmarks, meet top youth volunteers from other parts of the world, attend a gala awards ceremony at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History, and visit their congressional representatives on Capitol Hill. On May 8, 10 of the State Honorees five middle level and five high school students will be named America's top youth volunteers of 2017. These National Honorees will receive additional $5,000 awards, gold medallions, crystal trophies and $5,000 grants from The Prudential Foundation for nonprofit charitable organizations of their choice. Since the program began in 1995, more than 115,000 young volunteers have been honored at the local, state and national level. The program also is conducted by Prudential subsidiaries in Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Ireland, India, China and Brazil. In addition to granting its own awards, The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards program also distributes President's Volunteer Service Awards to qualifying Local Honorees. For information on all of this year's Prudential Spirit of Community State Honorees and Distinguished Finalists, visit http://spirit.prudential.com or www.nassp.org/spirit. About NASSP The National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP) is the leading organization of and voice for middle level and high school principals, assistant principals, and school leaders from across the United States. The association connects and engages school leaders through advocacy, research, education, and student programs. NASSP advocates on behalf of all school leaders to ensure the success of each student and strengthens school leadership practices through the design and delivery of high quality professional learning experiences. Reflecting its long-standing commitment to student leadership development, NASSP administers the National Honor Society, National Junior Honor Society, National Elementary Honor Society, and National Association of Student Councils. For more information about NASSP, located in Reston, VA, visit www.nassp.org. About Prudential Financial Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE: PRU), a financial services leader, has operations in the United States, Asia, Europe, and Latin America. Prudential's diverse and talented employees are committed to helping individual and institutional customers grow and protect their wealth through a variety of products and services, including life insurance, annuities, retirement-related services, mutual funds and investment management. In the U.S., Prudential's iconic Rock symbol has stood for strength, stability, expertise and innovation for more than a century. For more information, please visit www.news.prudential.com. For Spirit of Community Awards program logo and medallion graphics, please visit https://spirit.prudential.com/resources/media SOURCE Prudential Insurance Related Links http://www.PRUDENTIAL.com GREENFIELD, Ind., Feb. 7, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Elanco Animal Health, a division of Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE: LLY), in collaboration with Purdue University's College of Veterinary Medicine, today released preliminary research findings that support the power of the human-animal bond. The preliminary study results, which were shared during a presentation at the North American Veterinary Conference (NAVC) in Orlando, Fla., show that in addition to the physical benefits service dogs provide their owners, they also contribute to emotional and psychosocial well-being. This new research on the human-animal bond is part of a four-year primary research study on the emotional and health benefits of service dogs to their recipients. The goal of the three-part study is to produce groundbreaking evidence-based research documenting the "pet effect" the impact of the human-animal bond on mental health and well-being. "Innovative research is key to protecting both human and animal health," said Dr. Heidi Hulon, consulting veterinarian for Elanco. "Elanco understands the powerful role healthy animals play in making lives better, and this research has the potential to empower veterinarians and all those concerned with animal health to enrich the lives of people worldwide by supporting programs that promote the human-animal bond." The research project is led by Maggie O'Haire, assistant professor of human-animal interaction at Purdue's College of Veterinary Medicine. The team also includes Ph.D. candidate Kerri Rodriguez and postdoctoral research fellow Jess Bibbo. O'Haire also leads Purdue's Organization for Human-Animal Interaction Research (OHAIRE), [https://vet.purdue.edu/chab/ohaire/] which includes national and international collaborators, students, and community members working together to conduct rigorous scientific research on the unique and pervasive effects of interacting with animals. "Even though the benefits of service dogs for those with physical disabilities are well-recognized, the emotional and psychosocial effects are largely unknown," O'Haire said. "There is a wealth of positive anecdotal information but comparatively few data-driven scientific measures of how dogs affect their human companions' sense of well-being. We hope to fulfill the critical need for additional research on this topic." Researchers worked with Canine Assistants, a non-profit organization dedicated to education and placement of service dogs with children and adults who have physical disabilities or other special needs. Elanco has been a sponsor of Canine Assistants since 2015. Research Methodology The study compared service dog recipients and their family members with people who are on a waiting list for service dogs and their families. Study participants completed an online survey about their emotional and psychosocial functioning. More than 300 surveys were returned 187 from those who had received service dogs, and their families and 118 from recipients on the waitlist and their families. Additionally, the study evaluated the emotional and psychosocial benefits of the human-animal bond for family members (parents, caregivers and spouses) of service dog recipients. Summary of Preliminary Research Findings Preliminary findings of the study indicate:1 Recipients of a service dog showed a higher overall quality of life as well as better emotional, social and work/school functioning than recipients who had not yet received a service dog. Family members with a service dog in the home exhibited better social and emotional functioning as well as decreased worry as a result of the recipient's health than family members on the waitlist. Family members with a service dog also exhibited better management of daily family activities than family members on the waitlist. No differences were found between the two recipient groups in three other categories: anger, companionship and sleep disturbance. "These preliminary findings are not surprising, but they are very significant," said O'Haire. "There is a wealth of positive anecdotal information on this topic, but comparatively few data-driven scientific measures of how dogs affect their human companions' sense of well-being. The research is a critical step in determining if these results are applicable to a broader range of pet owners." Additional research is underway continue to confirm the initial results of this study, and provide the information to scientifically verify the benefits of the human-animal bond. This research is considered to be a critical step in providing much needed scientific evidence as a basis for fostering more serious attention to human-animal bond dynamics and related issues and policy concerns. For more information about Elanco's commitment to celebrating and supporting the human-animal bond, visit CelebrateTheBond.com. 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. Our worldwide headquarters and research facilities are located in Greenfield, Indiana. Visit us at Elanco.com. About Purdue University College of Veterinary Medicine The Purdue University College of Veterinary Medicine seeks to advance global animal and human health and well-being through excellence in learning, discovery and engagement. Home to the Veterinary Teaching Hospital and the Indiana Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory, the college is a major referral center for the diagnosis and treatment of animal diseases. Faculty research both animal and human health, with an emphasis on infectious diseases and immunology; cancer; neuroscience; musculoskeletal biology and orthopedics; and animal welfare science and the human-animal bond. The college also is one of only a few nationally that educate all members of the veterinary team, offering the doctor of veterinary medicine degree as well as bachelor's and associates degrees in veterinary technology, post-graduate internships and residencies for veterinarians seeking specialty training, and graduate degrees in the departments of Basic Medical Sciences, Comparative Pathobiology, and Veterinary Clinical Sciences. For more information, visit www.vet.purdue.edu. About Canine Assistants Canine Assistants is a non-profit service-dog school based in Milton, Georgia whose mission is to educate and empower people and dogs so they may enhance the lives of one another. Canine Assistants has graduated over 2,000 service dogs from the program and has placed them free of charge with both children and adults. Jennifer Arnold is the founder of Canine Assistants and the creator of the Bond-Based Approach to interspecies relationships and author of Love is All You Need: The Revolutionary Bond-Based Approach to Educating Your Dog. She is also the New York Times bestselling author of Through a Dog's Eyes, which was the subject of a PBS documentary, and In a Dog's Heart. 1 O'Haire, M. E., Rodriguez, K. R., & Bibbo, J. B. (2016). Study #1 Preliminary Report. Celebrating the Bond: An Empirical Evaluation of Psychosocial Outcomes for Service Dog Recipients. Elanco and the diagonal bar are all trademarks owned or licensed by Eli Lilly and Company, its subsidiaries or affiliates. 2017 Eli Lilly and Company, its subsidiaries or affiliates. SOURCE Elanco Related Links http://www.elanco.com 2-car garage Recreation room Covered patio Storage closet Options for this impressive plan include dual master suites, two wet bars and two fireplaces. Residents of this new Ashburn enclave enjoy a community playground and walking trails. The neighborhood also has easy access to notable schools, shopping, dining and pools. Ashburn Knolls is located at 21491 Willow Breeze Square in Ashburn. Townhomes in the community start from the upper $400s. Be sure to ask a sales associate about special pre-construction offers. About M.D.C. Holdings, Inc. M.D.C. Holdings, Inc. was founded in 1972. MDC's homebuilding subsidiaries, which operate under the name Richmond American Homes, have built and financed the American Dream for more than 190,000 homebuyers since 1977. MDC's commitment to customer satisfaction, quality and value is reflected in each home its subsidiaries build. MDC is one of the largest homebuilders in the United States. Its subsidiaries have homebuilding operations across the country, including the metropolitan areas of Denver, Northern Colorado, Colorado Springs, Salt Lake City, Las Vegas, Phoenix, Tucson, Riverside-San Bernardino, Los Angeles, San Diego, Orange County, San Francisco Bay Area, Sacramento, Washington D.C., Baltimore, Orlando, Jacksonville, South Florida and Seattle. MDC's subsidiaries also provide mortgage financing, insurance and title services, primarily for Richmond American homebuyers, through HomeAmerican Mortgage Corporation, American Home Insurance Agency, Inc. and American Home Title and Escrow Company, respectively. MDC's stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "MDC" For more information, visit www.mdcholdings.com. SOURCE M.D.C. Holdings, Inc. Related Links http://www.mdcholdings.com ALBANY, N.Y., Feb. 7, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Ariana Demattei, 16, of Center Moriches and Victoria Bonavita, 13, of North Babylon today were named New York's top two youth volunteers of 2017 by The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards, a nationwide program honoring young people for outstanding acts of volunteerism. As State Honorees, Ariana and Victoria each will receive $1,000, an engraved silver medallion and an all-expense-paid trip in early May to Washington, D.C., where they will join the top two honorees from each of the other states and the District of Columbia for four days of national recognition events. During the trip, 10 students will be named America's top youth volunteers of 2017. The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards, now in its 22nd year, is conducted by Prudential Financial in partnership with the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP). These are New York's top youth volunteers of 2017: High School State Honoree: Ariana Demattei Nominated by Westhampton Beach High School in Westhampton Beach Ariana, a junior at Westhampton Beach High School, has raised over $100,000 to provide more than 1,000 new backpacks filled with school supplies for local elementary students through an organization she founded in 2012 called "Backpacks for Fellow Students." "As a 12-year old I never really understood how a family's economic situation would affect their child's ability to start off the school year prepared and ready to learn," Ariana said. But one day while at the checkout stand buying her own school supplies, she was astonished to see how much the total bill was. The thought occurred to her that there were students in her community whose families couldn't afford to spend that much. She wanted to help. To buy her backpacks and school supplies, Ariana has organized numerous fundraising events, including a "polar bear plunge," 5k races, movie nights, bake sales and an annual appeal. She publicized her events by writing press releases, arranging media interviews, and using social media. In addition, Ariana spends time writing appeal letters, applying for grants, soliciting sponsors, recruiting volunteers, ordering supplies, and packing and distributing her backpacks to children whose family incomes qualify them to receive free or reduced-price school lunches. "My hope is to create a level playing field in the classroom, no matter what the socioeconomic status is, and maximize a child's opportunity for educational success," Ariana said. Middle Level State Honoree: Victoria Bonavita Nominated by Robert Moses Middle School in West Babylon Victoria, an eighth-grader at Robert Moses Middle School, has shared her love of animals with hundreds of thousands of people through oral presentations, homemade videos and articles in online publications. When Victoria was little, her grandfather introduced her to pigeons and chickens. "Since then, I've always been interested in animals and in helping to teach others about them," she said. She began by bringing her chickens and pigeons to school one day and making a presentation about them to the entire fifth grade. Since then, she has educated people about birds and other animals through talks at schools, libraries, nature and senior centers, and other venues in New York and other states. She also has created 22 educational videos for her own YouTube channel called "Victoria's Amazing World," many of which feature interviews with celebrities. In addition, Victoria writes articles for two online papers. "It requires a lot of work, but I've been able to reach and educate nearly a million people," conveying important information about animal protection, adoption, and rehabilitation, she said. Victoria's efforts were recently recognized when she was invited to speak at her state capital on Animal Advocacy Day. Distinguished Finalists The program judges also recognized eight other New York students as Distinguished Finalists for their impressive community service activities. Each will receive an engraved bronze medallion. These are New York's Distinguished Finalists for 2017: Sophie Kartzman, 13, of Big Flats, N.Y., an eighth-grader at Horseheads Middle School, has led an effort that's collected and delivered tens of thousands of cards for military members and veterans, first through the Red Cross Holiday for Heroes program and then on her own, with the community's help. Working with schools, businesses and other organizations, Sophie has surpassed her card collection goal every year, and started a website to encourage other kids to volunteer. Elizabeth Klosky, 17, of Cornwall-On-Hudson, N.Y., a member of Girl Scouts Heart of the Hudson and a senior at Cornwall Central High School, has reached more than 14,000 people with "NY is a Great Place to BEE!," an extensive lobbying and public engagement campaign to address the worldwide decline in the bee population. Deploying a team of volunteers to help further her goals to educate, legislate, populate Elizabeth has promoted her cause with activities ranging from workshops to a Change.org petition. Sarah Moelis, 18, of Hewlett, N.Y., a senior at Lynbrook High School, led a team of programmers to create "The Magic Arrows," a computer application designed to help people with fragile X syndrome navigate the difficult transition between activities. Sarah helped come up with the concept to help a friend diagnosed with fragile X, and donates the proceeds to a foundation his family started; after refining the app with help from 80 volunteers, she shared her findings at the National Fragile X Foundation's 2016 conference. Truth Muller, 16, of Rock Hill, N.Y., a member of Orange County 4-H and a home-schooled senior, has conducted a one-person campaign since 2011 to raise awareness of the environmental importance of bats, reaching an estimated 3 million people through public presentations, event booths, social media and features in publications. Truth was moved to speak out when he learned that most of New York's bats, including the local ones that mesmerized him as a child, were wiped out by white-nose syndrome in 2007. Jothi Ramaswamy, 15, of Mohegan Lake, N.Y., a sophomore at Lakeland High School, founded "ThinkSTEAM," a nonprofit that works with corporations and organizations to host free technology workshops and a STEM mentoring program for girls. Jothi, whose mother is a software engineer, wanted to bridge the gender gap after hearing that her brother's coding class had 33 boys and no girls; her program has since conducted nine workshops and reached more than 120 girls in three states. Christian Ranieri, 17, of Northport, N.Y., a senior at Northport High School, has worked since age 12 to raise awareness of how autism affects him and others, serving with several statewide groups including the New York State Education Department's youth advisory panel. Christian started taking local speaking opportunities in seventh grade to give a voice to children who couldn't communicate, and went on to speak at conferences and events to raise greater awareness of the needs of kids with autism. Rebecca Reich, 17, of New York, N.Y., a junior at Poly Prep Country Day School, has worked since she was 14 to empower girls and raise money for the Greater Chinatown Community Association through "Empowerment through Fashion," a runway show, silent auction and career advice panel featuring professional women. Rebecca also serves as an ambassador for the female empowerment network GenHERation, and has hosted an event to raise awareness of sex trafficking and money for agencies that aid the victims. Matthew Taboni, 17, of Tonawanda, N.Y., a senior at Canisius High School, organized a benefit gala that raised more than $10,000 toward the construction of a new handicap-accessible playground at a Heritage Center school for kids with disabilities. Matthew, who wanted to help the students he met on a school service trip to the organization, managed all gala logistics from selling raffle tickets to making cannoli and recruited a committee of classmates to help. "Prudential is honored to recognize these young volunteers for their exemplary service," said Prudential Chairman and CEO John Strangfeld. "We hope that their stories inspire others to consider how they, too, can volunteer their time and talents to improve their communities." "These service-minded young people have brought meaningful change to communities at home and abroad, and it's a privilege to celebrate their work," said JoAnn Bartoletti, executive director of NASSP. "Congratulations to an exceptional group of middle level and high school students." About The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards represents the United States' largest youth recognition program based solely on volunteer service. All public and private middle level and high schools in the country, as well as all Girl Scout councils, county 4-H organizations, American Red Cross chapters, YMCAs and HandsOn Network affiliates, were eligible to select a student or member for a local Prudential Spirit of Community Award. These Local Honorees were then reviewed by an independent judging panel, which selected State Honorees and Distinguished Finalists based on criteria including personal initiative, effort, impact and personal growth. While in Washington, D.C., the 102 State Honorees one middle level and one high school student from each state and the District of Columbia will tour the capital's landmarks, meet top youth volunteers from other parts of the world, attend a gala awards ceremony at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History, and visit their congressional representatives on Capitol Hill. On May 8, 10 of the State Honorees five middle level and five high school students will be named America's top youth volunteers of 2017. These National Honorees will receive additional $5,000 awards, gold medallions, crystal trophies and $5,000 grants from The Prudential Foundation for nonprofit charitable organizations of their choice. Since the program began in 1995, more than 115,000 young volunteers have been honored at the local, state and national level. The program also is conducted by Prudential subsidiaries in Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Ireland, India, China and Brazil. In addition to granting its own awards, The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards program also distributes President's Volunteer Service Awards to qualifying Local Honorees. For information on all of this year's Prudential Spirit of Community State Honorees and Distinguished Finalists, visit http://spirit.prudential.com or www.nassp.org/spirit. About NASSP The National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP) is the leading organization of and voice for middle level and high school principals, assistant principals, and school leaders from across the United States. The association connects and engages school leaders through advocacy, research, education, and student programs. NASSP advocates on behalf of all school leaders to ensure the success of each student and strengthens school leadership practices through the design and delivery of high quality professional learning experiences. Reflecting its long-standing commitment to student leadership development, NASSP administers the National Honor Society, National Junior Honor Society, National Elementary Honor Society, and National Association of Student Councils. For more information about NASSP, located in Reston, VA, visit www.nassp.org. About Prudential Financial Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE: PRU), a financial services leader, has operations in the United States, Asia, Europe, and Latin America. Prudential's diverse and talented employees are committed to helping individual and institutional customers grow and protect their wealth through a variety of products and services, including life insurance, annuities, retirement-related services, mutual funds and investment management. In the U.S., Prudential's iconic Rock symbol has stood for strength, stability, expertise and innovation for more than a century. For more information, please visit www.news.prudential.com. For Spirit of Community Awards program logo and medallion graphics, please visit https://spirit.prudential.com/resources/media SOURCE Prudential Insurance Related Links http://www.PRUDENTIAL.com NEW YORK, Feb. 7, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Travel Savvy TV, dedicated to bringing destinations to life through interviews with in-the-know locals, just released three new episodes to their dedicated Travel Savvy TV channel, each featuring host Paula Keung as she travels and explores the southern region of Louisiana. "This amazing state is mind-blowingly beautiful, and offers so many opportunities to bird watch, fish, camp, hike, and eat locally," enthused host Paula. "Our latest videos gives viewers a glimpse of the hundreds of wildlife species we saw and caught on camera." In the first video of the trio, titled "A Fisherman's Paradise," Ms. Keung ventures into the waters of Toledo Bend Lake, along the state's border with Texas, to try her hand at bass fishing with professional guide Darold Gleason, before heading down south to explore the Mississippi River Delta region with the help of Captain Shane Mayfield. In the video, Paula also visits the elegantly restored Woodland Plantation, where she encounters an alligator named Boots. Also released this week is the video "Explore the Outdoors in Greater Baton Rouge," focusing on the many opportunities to camp, hike, and backpack around the state's capital city. Ms. Keung tours the nation's largest wetlands, the Atchafalaya Basin, and sits with BSA Swamp Base guides and conservationists Ben Pierce and Skip Andaya to talk about the basin's history. The third video, "Keeping It Local In Covington," focuses on the state's plentiful ecotourism opportunities and how today's traveler can help further the preservation of the state's natural wonders. After talking with eco-tour guides Chad and Byron Almquist, American Idol finalist Lauren Turner chats with Ms. Keung about the local craft beer scene. Travel Savvy's explorations in the Bayou State took place in partnership with Louisiana Travel, the state's official travel authority. "We're so pleased to share a slice of beauty from central and south Louisiana with the world," says Lieutenant Governor Billy Nungesser. "Travelers should come and see, taste, and experience Louisiana for themselves to truly know what we have to offer." The videos are shot and produced in partnership with Chatty Cat Productions, a full-service video company based in New York, Los Angeles, and Miami. ABOUT TRAVEL SAVVY TV Travel Savvy is a travel media company that is wholly owned by 495 Communications. Travel Savvy was originally a newsstand-based magazine that was transitioned to a tablet-based platform in 2010. Since 2014, the brand has shifted to video production, and currently delivers millions of views daily across multiple platforms. Travel Savvy TV currently produces content in the form of three video series: We Hear, dedicated to reporting "News, Notes, and Deals from the Travel Industry;" The Lowdown, which brings destinations to life in five to seven minutes; and finally, Around the Corner, a longer-form destination-specific series featuring in-the-know locals. Travel Savvy TV streams content on their website, on dedicated channels via Apple TV and RoKu, and on Google's Android platform. ABOUT 495 COMMUNICATIONS 495 Communications is dedicated to providing the best digital video advertising products on the market. From programmatic network offerings to videos and pre-roll creative production, 495 Communications services today's ever expanding video marketplace. 495 Communications has offices in New York, Santa Monica, and San Francisco. Visit www.495communications.com for more information. ABOUT CHATTY CAT PRODUCTIONS Chatty Cat Productions is a full service video production company headquartered in New York CIty, with satellite offices in Los Angeles and Miami. Chatty Cat Productions is committed to bringing creative, quality content to digital brands looking to increase their influence in the quickly growing video market. With years of experience working with a variety of high-profile brands, Chatty Cat Productions offers superb production value to their growing list of clients. Visit www.chattycatproductions.com for more information. SOURCE Travel Savvy NEW YORK, Feb. 7, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- One Equity Partners, a middle market private equity firm, today announced that it has successfully completed fundraising for One Equity Partners VI L.P., with total capital commitments of $1.65 billion, surpassing its target. Though One Equity Partners VI is the firm's sixth private equity fund, it is the first fund raised with outside capital following the firm's spinout from JP Morgan in 2015. "The entire team would like to thank all of our investors for the outstanding support One Equity Partners received in closing our first private equity fund as an independent firm," said the leadership team of One Equity Partners. "The strong response reflects the track record achieved over the past 16 years, and the ability of this team to build successful businesses and attractive portfolios that generate excellent returns for our investors." One Equity Partners employs a unique "Transformative Combination" strategy in which the firm seeks to merge like-sized businesses with a strategic fit to quickly build market leaders of scale. This differentiated approach to driving growth, and the firm's flexibility in partnering with family owners, founders, management teams, and corporations, creates a strong pipeline of proprietary deal flow for One Equity Partners. One Equity Partners VI will continue the firm's focus on businesses in the industrial, healthcare and technology sectors across North America and Europe. One Equity Partners has made eight platform investments from the new fund to date, with approximately $600 million already invested or committed. The firm has also completed eight add-on acquisitions for these investments, many of which were transformative in nature. "We wanted to limit our fund size and remain disciplined in our investments in North American and European middle market businesses," added Dick Cashin, President of One Equity Partners. "We will leverage our industry expertise, relationships, and operational resources to help management teams in our target sectors take their businesses to the next level." Investors in One Equity Partners VI span North America, Europe, Asia, Australia, and the Middle East and include pension funds, financial institutions, sovereign wealth funds, consultants, and family offices. The fund also received investments from current and former portfolio company management teams, as well as a number of private equity founders and veteran dealmakers with whom the One Equity Partners leadership team enjoys long-standing relationships. About One Equity Partners One Equity Partners is a middle-market private equity firm focused on the industrial, healthcare, and technology sectors in North America and Europe. The firm builds market-leading companies by identifying and executing transformative business combinations. One Equity is a trusted partner with a differentiated investment process, a broad and senior team, and an extensive track record generating long-term value for its partners. Since 2001, the firm has completed more than 140 transactions worldwide. One Equity, founded in 2001, spun out of JP Morgan in 2015. The firm has offices in New York, Chicago, and Frankfurt. For more information, please visit www.oneequity.com. ### This press release contains certain information about the investment activities and the investment portfolio of OEP Parent LLC ("JPMCS") and its affiliates that was managed by certain JPMorgan Chase & Co ("JPMC") personnel, including investment professionals and other professionals who have formed, advised and assisted OEP Capital Advisors, L.P. OEP Capital Advisors, L.P. is not an affiliate of JPMC, JPMCS or any of their affiliates. In light of the independence of OEP Capital Advisors, L.P. from JPMC, none of JPMC, JPMCS or any of their affiliates assumes responsibility for any information contained herein. SOURCE One Equity Partners Related Links http://www.oneequity.com CLEVELAND, Feb. 7, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- The NotMom Summit, the world's only major conference for women without children, will be held Friday and Saturday, October 6 and 7, 2017 in Cleveland, Ohio. The conference connects, informs and empowers the growing audience of women who are childfree by chance or by choice. A 2014 study found an unprecedented one-third of US women age 20-44 (19 million) are not mothers, and they hold significant influence and buying power. Developed nations around the globe from Canada to Japan also report record numbers of women without children. Registration is now open for the two-day weekend event to be held at the Hilton Cleveland Downtown with low Early Bird prices available through Presidents' Day Monday, February 20, 2017. The conference is hosted by TheNotMom.com and its founder and chief executive Karen Malone Wright, the international expert about women without children. The blog is distinguished by its embrace of women who once dreamed of motherhood as well as those who never did. The inaugural conference held in 2015 was a resounding success, attracting women from three continents, five countries (Canada, China, England, Iceland and the USA) - and 18 states across America. In 2017, more American women are childless by chance or childfree by choice than at any time since the U.S. Census Bureau began tracking them in 1976. Today, about one of every six women will never give birth, compared to one of every 10 women 40 years ago. Even so, mothers represent the majority of women, so for us, 'I'm not a Mom' is a common self-descriptor," Wright said. "The tired old trope of 'selfish, childless cat ladies', doesn't hold in a world where Supreme Court Justice Sonya Sotomayor, British Prime Minister Theresa May, IBM CEO Virginia Rometty and media powerhouse Oprah Winfrey reflect the intellect, philanthropy and concern for future generations demonstrated by women without children every day," Wright said. The theme of The NotMom Summit, Redefining Feminine Legacy, weaves through presentations by expert speakers from the United States and United Kingdom including academics, counselors, business owners and other professional women on topics ranging from financial planning to small-batch cooking. Saturday's keynote speaker will be Jody Day, founder of Gateway Women, the global support network reaching almost two million women who are childless by chance. She is author of Living the Life Unexpected: 12 Weeks to Your Plan B for a Meaningful and Fulfilling Future Without Children. A portion of event proceeds will be donated to The NotMom charitable partner, The Global Fund For Women. "When you don't have children, you approach life differently, from how you spend your money and plan your life, to how you relate to your family and friends. And, thousands of women who aren't mothers - aunts, godmothers, teachers, social workers and others - gladly share their time and resources with other people's children," Wright said. "At The NotMom Summit, both women who chose a life without children and those who didn't can enjoy the very rare opportunity to come together offline and acknowledge the shared aspects of their lives," Wright said. For information on sponsorship and other partner opportunities, please contact Karen Malone Wright at [email protected]. The NotMom.com is a distinctive resource of news, commentary and connections for and about women without children by choice or by chance - one of every six American women with comparable numbers around the world. The NotMom is American in focus but global in scope, focused on the unique dimensions of life without children in a Mom-centered world. The NotMom engages and influences a growing community of more than 25,000 women age 26 and up through the blog, events and social online networks. The NotMom Summit, the only major conference of its kind in the world, brings these women together offline to acknowledge and enhance the shared aspects of their lives. NotMom Summit Links: Schedule, Speakers & Tickets: https://notmomsummit2017.sched.org Discount Reservations -Hilton Cleveland Downtown: https://aws.passkey.com/go/NotMom Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheNotMom and https://www.facebook.com/NotMomSummit2017 Twitter: @TheNotMom and @KarenMW Pinterest: TheNotMom Social Hashtag: #NotMomSummit This press release was issued through 24-7PressRelease.com. For further information, visit http://www.24-7pressrelease.com. SOURCE The NotMom BOSTON, Feb. 7, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Public Consulting Group (PCG) today announced that its Engage New York (EngageNY) 6-8 English Language Arts (ELA) curriculum, published by John Wiley and Sons as Paths to College and Career (Paths), has received top scores from an expert review team at EdReports.org. Paths, and its EngageNY 6-8 derivatives, were awarded the highest score, 100 out of a possible 102 points in each grade. Complete reports for each grade are available at http://www.edreports.org/ela/reports/series/engage-ny.html. In its review of ELA instructional materials, EdReports.org Content Review Teams analyzed yearlong programs against indicators of alignment to college and career ready standards, text quality and complexity, and building knowledge with texts, vocabulary, and tasks. Materials that met the criteria for alignment were then further evaluated to determine their "usability," which includes supports for educators, multiple strategies for meeting the needs of a range of learners, effective lesson structure and pacing, good student assessment practices, and effective use of technology. According to EdReports.org, state education officials overseeing curriculum applaud its reviews. "Louisiana believes that one of the most critical decisions districts can make to improve student learning is choosing a high quality-curriculum," said Rebecca Kockler, Assistant Superintendent of Academic Content at the Louisiana Department of Education. "The curriculum reports released by EdReports.org support our school systems in this process, by offering them reputable reviews of curricula that will support teacher and student needs in the classroom." "The curriculum gives all students a pathway to do rigorous thinking with complex, grade level texts," explained Dr. Katanna Conley, PCG Senior Associate, "something that's particularly important for students who have been denied these opportunities in the past. We're thrilled to receive such high scores from EdReports.org and its Content Review Team of educator-leaders from across the country. It supports our commitment to ensuring all students attain real readiness for college and careers." EngageNY ELA 6-8 is a rigorous, standards-based curriculum that combines rich literature, engaging learning experiences, and personalized scaffolding to build all students' abilities as readers, writers, and thinkers. It was originally developed by PCG for the New York State Education Department and is published by John Wiley and Sons as Paths to College and Career. Paths is being used by major districts such as Shelby County Schools (Memphis), TN and Miami-Dade County Schools to ensure that all students graduate college and career ready. About Public Consulting Group Public Consulting Group, Inc. (PCG) is a leading public sector consulting firm that partners with health, education, and human services agencies to improve lives. Founded in 1986 and headquartered in Boston Massachusetts, PCG has nearly 2000 professionals in more than 60 offices around the US, in Canada and in Europe. PCG's Education practice offers consulting solutions that help schools, school districts, and state education agencies/ministries of education to promote student success, improve programs and processes, and optimize financial resources. Media Contact: Stephen Skinner, Public Consulting Group (617) 717-1150 [email protected] SOURCE Public Consulting Group THIEF RIVER FALLS, Minn., Feb. 7, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Peerless by Tymphany's high-end, quality audio profile offering is available globally through Digi-Key Electronics, a global electronic components distributor, as a result of a new distribution agreement. Peerless by Tymphany Audio Speaker "We are thrilled to be partnering with Digi-Key to distribute our Peerless by Tymphany speaker drivers worldwide," said Phil McPhee, VP, Sales and Marketing at Tymphany. "Audio features are being added to a variety of product categories and our unique catalog of premium solutions can make any type of product sound its best. Digi-Key, with their outstanding customer service and broad customer base, is the perfect distribution partner." The drivers are engineered reliably, with quality components that are tested to rigorous performance standards. "We are excited to add Peerless by Tymphany to our audio portfolio and offer our global customer base their higher grade audio products," said Tom Busher, VP, Global I P & E at Digi-Key. "Design engineers now have access to high-quality audio speakers, woofers, and tweeters to fit the needs of any audio application." For more information about Peerless by Tymphany and to see their entire product listing, please visit their Supplier Center page on the Digi-Key website. About Peerless by Tymphany Tymphany designs and manufactures some of the most innovative speaker drivers and audio systems on the market. The company's roots go back to 1926 when Peerless was founded in Denmark. In the proceeding 90 years, Tymphany has grown to be a premier audio ODM with over 4,000 employees. The company has worldwide sales and technical support administered from Sausalito, California. Tymphany's headquarters are based in Taiwan, with manufacturing facilities in China, and additional engineering facilities in Shenzhen, China and Taipei, Taiwan. About Digi-Key Electronics Digi-Key Electronics, headquartered in Thief River Falls, Minn., USA, is an authorized global, full-service distributor of electronic components, offering more than five million products, with over 1.3 million in stock and available for immediate shipment, from over 650 quality name-brand manufacturers. Digi-Key also offers a wide variety of online resources such as EDA and design tools, datasheets, reference designs, instructional articles and videos, multimedia libraries, and much more. Technical support is available 24/7 via email, phone and webchat. Additional information and access to Digi-Key's broad product offering can be found by visiting www.digikey.com. Editorial Contact for Digi-Key Electronics Kayla Krosschell Marketing Communications Specialist 1.800.338.4105 x1098 [email protected] [email protected] SOURCE Digi-Key Electronics Related Links http://www.digikey.com Suit Yourself boasts a striking mix of clean lines, slick patterns and rich, textural designs. Dashing Dapper features a handsome geometric pattern, perfect for layering texture on texture as upholstery, drapery or pillows. It is available in seven colorways, including the lustrous favorite, Nickel. Dot, Dot, Dot draws inspiration from architectural motifs. This upholstery weight textile features an enchanting micro dot pattern and is available in six colorways. Designed to give a subtle edge to any project, Check Mate combines coolly conventional and modern elements with this tone-on-tone menswear plaid. Reminiscent of a glen plaid, Check Mate is a sharp, sophisticated nod to this classic styling in five colorways, such as the lovely Vintage Blue and popular White Sands. Big Softy and Hurly-Burly add sartorial elements to the collection. Big Softy takes a walk on the plush side with an incredibly soft-to-the-touch velvet. This beautifully rich fabric has a luxurious hand with a luscious drape, and is available in five eye-catching colorways, including the cool new Bluestone and sleek Seal. Hurly-Burly, a rugged chenille ottoman, displays a full-bodied, masculine texture and is available in six colorways. The light and airy Bubbly is a confident, almost-effervescent take on an animal print. Available in four colorways, including the new subtle Shale, this extraordinary fabric is ideal for stunning upholstery in any setting. Inspired by a block-printed motif, Back on Track is woven to achieve a vintage, aged effect and is available in seven colorways. "We are thrilled to debut our Suit Yourself collection of fabrics," says Ann Sutherland, president of Perennials and Sutherland, LLC. "The menswear-inspired look is becoming increasingly prevalent in home decor and is widely being used in modern living spaces. The strong presence and bold simplicity of this classic style are showcased elegantly in our new collection. This confident grouping of fabrics is reminiscent of a custom-tailored suit with sharp, clean lines, classic patterns and neutral colors masculine appeal with an air of tradition." Perennials has also updated several favorite rug patterns with new colorways designed to complement the Suit Yourself collection. The Straight & Narrow flatwoven is now offered in the classic Grey Matter, with a crisp, high-contrast pinstripe motif. The Line Dance flatwoven in Vintage Blue features clean lines and a distinct, contemporary look, and the Outer Limits flatwoven is presented in the elegant Shale. The modern herringbone pattern of the Dazed and Diffused Tibetan knot takes on a quiet tone in the new Shale colorway. Woven from fine 100% solution-dyed acrylic yarn, these fade-, mildew- and UV-resistant fabrics and rugs are able to brilliantly stand up to life's everyday adventures without sacrificing great design, making them uniquely suited to fit beautifully with any indoor or outdoor aesthetic. All Perennials fabrics are independently tested and certified in accordance with industry standards, including resistance to soil, water, UV radiation, tearing and abrasion. They are also bleach cleanable and easily maintained. With the exception of Big Softy, which still boasts a protective soil-resistant finish, the fabrics in this collection feature Perennials' Nano Seal finish for extra protection against the elements. More than just a coating, Perennials Nano Seal is molecularly bonded with the fibers providing long-lasting protection even after repeated washings. Perennials Suit Yourself collection is available to interior designers and architects through fine showrooms worldwide. To view the full collection, visit www.perennialsfabrics.com. High-res images are available upon request. About Perennials and Sutherland, LLC The Perennials and Sutherland, LLC companies are icons and acknowledged leaders in the international design industry. CEO David Sutherland and President Ann Sutherland share an ingenious talent for curating the finest interior and exterior collections of luxury furniture, fabrics, rugs and accessories. Based in Dallas, Texas, the company is comprised of Sutherland Furniture, Perennials Luxury Performance Fabrics and David Sutherland Showrooms. Perennials Fabrics is recognized by interior designers and high-end retail customers as the leader in luxury performance fabrics. Perennials Fabrics and Perennials Luxury Performance Rugs combine the look and feel of high-quality, natural materials with the superior performance properties of their genuine 100% solution-dyed acrylic fiber technology. View the full collections at perennialsfabrics.com. Sutherland Furniture is a world leader in luxury outdoor furniture for modern lifestyles. The company has created the preeminent furniture brand through partnerships with the world's leading designers, along with utilizing the highest quality materials. View the full collections at sutherlandfurniture.com. David Sutherland Showrooms are full-service, multi-line showrooms which serve the professional design market in showrooms and studios across the United States. For more information and locations, visit davidsutherlandshowroom.com. SOURCE Perennials Fabrics Related Links http://www.perennialsfabrics.com DUBLIN, Feb. 7, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Perrigo Company plc (NYSE: PRGO; TASE) today announced that it has entered into an agreement with Starboard Value LP ("Starboard"), which owns approximately 6.7 percent of Perrigo's shares, regarding the membership and composition of the Perrigo Board of Directors and certain customary standstill restrictions. Under the terms of the agreement, Jeffrey Smith, Starboard's CEO and Chief Investment Officer, Bradley Alford and Jeffrey Kindler have been appointed to the Perrigo Board, effective immediately, and Starboard will also be recommending two additional independent directors to be added to the Perrigo Board. Current directors, Herman Morris, Shlomo Yanai, Michael Jandernoa, and Gary Kunkle will step down from the Board effective immediately. Perrigo's Board of Directors will be composed of 10 members until the appointment of an additional Board member. Ellen Hoffing will step down from the Board upon the appointment of the second additional Board member recommended by Starboard at a later date. Perrigo's Board of Directors Chairman, Laurie Brlas, commented, "Since our respective appointments in April 2016, John Hendrickson and I have been committed to bringing new energy and fresh perspectives to Perrigo. We are pleased to have reached this agreement with Starboard and look forward to working closely with the new directors to create value for our shareholders. On behalf of the Perrigo Board and management team, I want to thank Michael Jandernoa, Gary Kunkle, Herman Morris, and Shlomo Yanai for their commitment to Perrigo's shareholders and significant contributions to the Company as a whole throughout their tenure." Jeff Smith said, "I am pleased that we were able to reach a constructive agreement with Perrigo to reconstitute the Board with new independent directors. Brad Alford and Jeff Kindler bring important experience, expertise and perspectives to Perrigo, and I look forward to getting started right away and working closely with management and fellow board members with the common goal of maximizing value for all shareholders." The complete agreement between Perrigo and Starboard will be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Form 8-K. New Directors Jeffrey Smith is a Managing Member, CEO, and Chief Investment Officer of Starboard Value LP. Mr. Smith has extensive experience in best-in-class corporate governance practices and significantly improving value at underperforming companies. He currently serves as Chairman of the Board of Advance Auto Parts, Inc. and serves on the Board of Yahoo! Inc. Formerly Mr. Smith was Chairman of the Board of Darden Restaurants, Inc. and Phoenix Technologies Ltd., and sat on the Boards of many other companies. Jeff will chair Perrigo's Nominating and Governance Committee and join Perrigo's Remuneration Committee. Jeff Kindler is a Venture Partner at Lux Capital and serves a CEO of Centrexion Corporation, which is a privately held bio therapeutics company that develops pain therapies. In addition, Mr. Kindler serves as Executive Chairman of vTv, Managing Director at Starboard Capital Partners (unrelated to Starboard Value LP or any of its affiliates), and advisor to a number of healthcare companies. Prior to this, Kindler was Chairman and CEO of Pfizer, Vice President of Litigation and Legal Policy at General Electric Company, Executive Vice President and General Counsel at McDonald's, and President at Partner Brands. In addition, Kindler has served as Member and Chairman on a number of Boards of Directors. Jeff will chair Perrigo's Remuneration Committee and join Perrigo's Audit Committee. Bradley Alford is an Operating Partner at Advent International Corporation. He also serves as a Director of Avery Dennison Corporation, and a Director of Conagra Brands, Inc. and Unified Grocers, Inc. Mr. Alford was the former Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Nestle USA. Nestle USA is the largest division within Nestle. During Alford's time as CEO, revenue grew from $7.5 billion in 2006 to $12.7 billion in 2012. Alford spent his entire career with Nestle, or companies acquired by Nestle. Throughout his career, he has been focused on initiatives to improve processes and facilitate best practices across an organization. Brad will join Perrigo's Nominating and Governance Committee. About Perrigo Perrigo Company plc, a top five global over-the-counter (OTC) consumer goods and pharmaceutical company, offers consumers and customers high quality products at affordable prices. From its beginnings in 1887 as a packager of generic home remedies, Perrigo, headquartered in Ireland, has grown to become the world's largest manufacturer of OTC products and supplier of infant formulas for the store brand market. The Company is also a leading provider of branded OTC products, generic extended topical prescription products and receives royalties from Multiple Sclerosis drug Tysabri. Perrigo provides "Quality Affordable Healthcare Products" across a wide variety of product categories and geographies primarily in North America, Europe, and Australia, as well as other key markets including Israel and China. Visit Perrigo online at (http://www.perrigo.com). About Starboard Value LP Starboard Value LP is a New York-based investment adviser with a focused and fundamental approach to investing in publicly traded U.S. companies. Starboard invests in deeply undervalued companies and actively engages with management teams and boards of directors to identify and execute on opportunities to unlock value for the benefit of all shareholders. Forward-Looking Statements Certain statements in this press release are "forward-looking statements." These statements relate to future events or the Company's future financial performance and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, levels of activity, performance or achievements of the Company or its industry to be materially different from those expressed or implied by any forward-looking statements. In some cases, forward-looking statements can be identified by terminology such as "may," "will," "could," "would," "should," "expect," "plan," "anticipate," "intend," "believe," "estimate," "predict," "potential" or the negative of those terms or other comparable terminology. The Company has based these forward-looking statements on its current expectations, assumptions, estimates and projections. While the Company believes these expectations, assumptions, estimates and projections are reasonable, such forward-looking statements are only predictions and involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the Company's control, including the timing, amount and cost of share repurchases, future impairment charges, the ability to achieve its guidance and the ability to execute and achieve the desired benefits of announced initiatives. These and other important factors, including those discussed under "Risk Factors" in the Company's Form 10-KT for the six-month period ended December 31, 2015, as well as the Company's subsequent filings with the SEC, may cause actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements in this press release are made only as of the date hereof, and unless otherwise required by applicable securities laws, the Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. SOURCE Perrigo Company plc Related Links http://www.perrigo.com SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 7, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- PipelineRx, a leading medication management technology company focused on clinical telepharmacy, today announced strengthened system capacity and scalability of its PowerGridRx telepharmacy platform as part of its latest software release. Demonstrations of the software platform and recently introduced clinical services will be available in booth #3479 at the HIMSS17 Conference & Exhibition, taking place February 19-23 in Orlando. Currently over 300 hospitals deploy the Company's solutions across the United States, with PipelineRx processing 1.2 million medication line items each month. PowerGridRx enables hospitals of any size to centralize or network clinical pharmacy support across an organization with real-time data transparency. The cloud-based software helps improve the efficiency of medication order review and verification, and delivers more clinical interventions with the highest level of acceptance rates from physicians. By optimizing pharmacy staff and streamlining operational workflow, PipelineRx's customers are providing better patient care while freeing up pharmacists for more clinical activities. The platform also enables larger hospital systems and IDNs to generate revenue by providing pharmacy services to nearby facilities. The latest version of PowerGridRx includes features that improve pharmacist efficiency and enhance management of multi-site telepharmacies, in addition to greater system stability and scalability. These features are consistent with PipelineRx's aim of increasing pharmacist productivity and quality while enabling optimization across multi-site healthcare networkseven those with disparate healthcare information systems. Version 2.9 helps clinical users by: Broadening the scope of viewable patient information and improving the search capability through interoperable information exchange with EHR systems; Organizing and partitioning user information for enhanced security and reporting; And, enabling rapid deployment and stability through an accelerated message-processing feature that handles large amounts of information in uneven flows of millions of data streams per month. The result is a platform that shows both short- and long-term operational and financial benefits for telepharmacies. PipelineRx's user base has greatly expanded in the past year, and the performance and stability of PowerGridRx has proven essential to their growth. "Our team has made significant development investments in our cloud-based SaaS platform, including a high availability (HA) architecture for scalability and reliability, enhanced user interface components to present an efficient and modern workflow, and a foundation for data capture and analytics to support our big data initiatives," explains Ben Buxton, VP of Engineering. Brian Roberts, CEO of PipelineRx, explains, "As medication and operating costs continue to increase, this pressure requires healthcare systems to rethink how they organize work. Telepharmacy is a key opportunity that can both reduce costs and improve patient outcomes. We look forward to demonstrating how we are investing in the future for our hospital partners across the country at HIMSS. By continuing to increase the volume of medication line items we are able to verify, we are helping to ensure patient safety for our customers and their communities." About PipelineRx PipelineRx is the leading independent medication management telepharmacy provider serving individual acute and specialty hospitals and integrated delivery networks through its services and software solutions. The Company's telepharmacy solutions enable hospitals to dramatically increase operating efficiencies while ensuring medication efficacy, increasing patient safety, and improving clinical outcomes. PipelineRx differentiates its unique services via its integrated, private, cloud-based technology platform, PowerGridRx, and its optimized, distributed telepharmacist network. PipelineRx is privately held and headquartered in San Francisco, California. For more information about PipelineRx, please visit www.pipelinerx.com. Vera Zlidenny Jessika Parry Director of Marketing Next Step Communications [email protected] [email protected] 877-696-9101 x1031 781-326-1741 SOURCE PipelineRx Related Links http://www.pipelinerx.com Escape to the most romantic city in the world with Pleasant Holidays' exclusive Paris Vacation Sale, offering package rates from $652 per person including roundtrip nonstop flights from Los Angeles to Paris and four nights' hotel accommodation at Melia Paris Champs-Elysees. In all, you can select from 15 participating hotels located throughout Paris and air-inclusive stays of four or five nights. The Paris Vacation Sale is valid for new package vacations booked by Feb. 13, 2017 for select travel dates Feb. 8 to March 27, 2017, including Valentine's Day and the Presidents' Day holiday weekend. For the ultimate tropical romance vacation or honeymoon, Pleasant Holidays is offering $600 off per booking on package vacations to Tahiti, Bora Bora, Moorea and more in the South Pacific, including iconic overwater bungalow accommodations. Select from 18 resorts in all sprinkled throughout the most popular islands. The $600 off deal is valid for new package vacations booked by March 26, 2017 for travel through Dec. 31, 2017 and requires roundtrip airfare and seven nights' accommodation at a participating resort. Tahiti is one of the top honeymoon destinations in the world and Pleasant Holidays is No. 1 in Tahiti vacations worldwide. Vacation travel experts since 1959, Pleasant Holidays can book everything needed for a memorable romance vacation or honeymoonflights from departure cities nationwide, hotel, land transfers, exciting activities, travel protection plans and morein one convenient and affordable package. In addition, you'll enjoy the added peace of mind provided by exceptional customer service that includes in-destination assistance available 24/7. This February, don't panic; trust the travel experts at Pleasant Holidays. They understand that sometimes a little romance can be a very big deal. For more information or to make a reservation, visit PleasantHolidays.com, call 1-877-744-1622, or consult your travel agent. Related Links: http://ow.ly/YQWh308A2xR SOURCE Pleasant Holidays, LLC Related Links http://www.pleasantholidays.com Goldcrown's work has become an international symbol of love and a reminder to spread peace. Most recently, his bleeding hearts can be found on the walls of New York City's iconic department store, Henri Bendel, on Fifth Avenue, across from Trump Tower. Other projects include a collaboration with TOMS to design a line of the buy-one-give-one shoes available exclusively at the brand's stores and online. With the launch of this new collaboration, PORTMANTOS hopes to bring this same inspiration and sense of whimsy to travelers around the world, just in time for Valentine's Day on Feb. 14. "I am thrilled to collaborate with PORTMANTOS on such an exciting project," said Goldcrown. "The growing popularity of my Love Walls truly speaks to the universal language of love. The thought of my art traveling around the world in such a unique way is incredible to me. As an avid traveler myself, painting on suitcases is really fun for me because it means the work will be exposed to the public at large, rather than just art collectors and enthusiasts." The one-of-a-kind, hand-painted luggage and accessories, along with the artist's signature, will be available for purchase exclusively on Portmantos.com beginning today. Pieces available for customization by Goldcrown include such brands as Rimowa, Hartmann, Zero Halliburton and Samsonite. To learn more, please visit: http://www.portmantos.com/james-goldcrown-bleeding-hearts/ Click to Tweet: Spread the love with @PortmantosNY and artist @JGoldcrown! Customize your luggage with #bleedinghearts by visiting http://bit.ly/2lfS2FU ABOUT PORTMANTOS: PORTMANTOS is the premier online boutique for luggage and all things travel. Committed to exceptional quality and superlative service, PORTMANTOS offers a truly personal shopping experience. In addition to their meticulously hand-selected products, customers have access to exclusive benefits including concierge services, a personal travel advisory, VIP programming, white-glove delivery and more. PORTMANTOS believes that the shopping experience is not just about the destination, but also the journey. www.Portmantos.com ABOUT JGOLDCROWN: Born in West London, JGoldcrown is a self-taught artist/photographer now based in New York & LA. JGoldcrown left school when he was 17 and started working in a South London darkroom, leading him into a career as a fashion photographer. At 24, after 7 years in the industry, JGoldcrown took a break and went to Africa to make the documentary "To Die No More" which highlighted the AIDS/HIV epidemic. TDNM won 2 awards and raised over 10,000 which was donated to the people featured in the film. In 2007 JGoldcrown moved to New York and re-entered the fashion world. He began incorporating mixed media into his photography influenced by his previous days as a street artist in the early 90's. In 2014 JGoldcrown started a workshop called The Shed Project which allowed people to interact in his studio space. In 2015 he had his first show at Miami Basel where his work sold out in 2 hours. JGoldcrown is now known internationally for his Bleeding Hearts/Lovewall murals that can be seen around New York, California, Texas, Miami & Chicago. The Lovewall has led him to work with brands and companies such as, Toms, L'Oreal, Island Records, Universal, MTV, Vogue, Bandier, Rimowa Luggage, Henri Bendel, Armarni and many more. His work is also sold privately around the world. SOURCE PORTMANTOS Related Links http://www.portmantos.com BRISBANE, Calif., Feb. 7, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Pramata, the customer digitization company, today announced the Winter '17 release of its cloud platform, enabling large companies to better understand their complex customer relationships. Featuring an innovative Digital Snapshot capability and new integrations with leading business applications, the platform connects critical customer data across CRM and billing systems, giving companies access to untapped revenue and growth opportunities. Pramata digitizes the concrete information in signed customer contracts, and converts it into actionable intelligence using a combination of machine learning and human touch. The Winter '17 Release includes a Digital Snapshot feature, which delivers clean, complete customer data in context using a simple scroll-over interface. The information is then combined with relevant data from pre-existing business applications through integrations with DocuSign, Salesforce, Oracle, SAP and other industry leading software providers, enabling enterprises to maximize legacy investments. "Large B2B enterprises have a blind spot when it comes to critical information about their complex customer relationships," said Praful Saklani, CEO and Founder of Pramata. "They're leaving revenue on the table and in many cases exposing themselves to regulatory risk because they can't easily access contractual details like pricing, renewal dates and customer commitments. Pramata surfaces that hidden information and bridges the gaps between CRM and billing systems, ensuring the right data is accessible and actionable." Pramata customers include Comcast Business, NCR and CenturyLink, many who have seen an average increase in customer retention of 4.5% and an increase in revenue by millions of dollars per year. "Gaining a unified view of complex customer agreements is a monumental challenge for any large organization today. Pramata provided FICO with a clear understanding of customer intelligence that enabled us to streamline business processes throughout our organization," said Tom Carretta, vice president, Legal and Associate General Counsel, FICO. "We were also able to identify $2.5M in revenue opportunities in the first year largely due to Pramata's approach which includes normalizing customer relationship data internally and externally to improve decision making and effectiveness company-wide." The largest enterprises in the world rely on a patchwork of systems to manage their customers throughout the relationship lifecycle. Customer Relationship Management (CRM) and Configure Price Quote (CPQ) systems are used for selling to prospects and growing existing customer relationships. Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) and billing systems are used for delivering products and operationalizing customers. However, as companies mature, managing hundreds of thousands of complex relationships becomes a manual and costly process. As documents and data proliferate through company growth and acquisitions, enterprises face additional challenges of revenue leakage and business and compliance risk. "Today's business leaders are looking to eliminate friction throughout their enterprise," said Andrew Dailey, Managing Director at MGI Research. "Part of this effort requires transforming static data that is hidden within departmental silos like CRM and ERP, and using tools like Pramata to activate the data across the business." World-class brands including CenturyLink, Comcast Business, FICO, NCR, Novelis, Medtronic and Truven IBM have chosen Pramata's uniquely innovative and highly sophisticated platform to grow value throughout the customer lifecycle and position themselves for future business transformation. Pramata's Winter '17 Release is available now and will be featured in a Pramata-hosted webinar today at 10:00AM Pacific. For more information, or to request a demo of how Pramata can transform your enterprise, visit: www.pramata.com. About Pramata Headquartered in Brisbane, Calif. with offices in Kansas City and Bangalore, Pramata provides customer digitization solutions to Fortune 500 companies that increase revenue and profits while reducing leakage and regulatory risk. For more information, visit www.pramata.com. Media Contact: Christine Pai, [email protected] SOURCE Pramata Related Links http://www.pramata.com That's no secret for Blue Zones Project , a community well-being improvement initiative designed to help people lead longer, better lives by making healthy choices easier. In Blue Zones Project communities, of which there are now 37 throughout the country, the concept of finding the Right Tribe is one of nine keys to greater longevity. Called the Power 9 , these principles are proven to support longevity, and are based on lifestyles in pockets of the world called Blue Zones , where people are most likely to reach age 100 and beyond with lower rates of chronic diseases and increased quality of life. Blue Zones Project encourages individuals to adopt Power 9 behaviors into their daily life. The initiative then helps communities support those healthy behaviors by working with grocery stores, restaurants, schools, faith-based organizations, employers, and urban planning departments. Research shows friends provide more than good times, memories, and companionship; they also share health habits and other traits. If your friends are smokers, unhappy, or obese, you are more likely to adopt or continue these traits. You are three times as likely to be overweight if your three closest friends are overweight, according to a 2007 article in the New England Journal of Medicine. Blue Zones Project uses Moais (pronounced "mow-eyes") to encourage the formation of new, healthy friendships and improve well-being. The notion of Moai, which roughly means "meeting for a common purpose," originated as a means of social, emotional, and financial support in one of the original Blue Zones areas, Okinawa, Japan. These friendship "safety nets" provide the security of knowing that there is always someone there to celebrate good times and offer support through difficult times. Today, the idea of Moai has expanded to represent an overall social support network. In Blue Zones Project communities, this concept and other environmental changes have demonstrated tremendous success. BEACH CITIES, CALIFORNIA In California's "Beach Cities" --a certified Blue Zones Community made up of the three cities of Hermosa Beach, Manhattan Beach, and Redondo Beach--a Right Tribe focus is part of an overall effort to nudge residents to healthier behaviors and support those behaviors where people live, work, and play. Since implementing Blue Zones Project in 2010, the Beach Cities noted a 9 percent drop in significant daily stress--as measured by the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index. The community, where Blue Zones Project efforts are led by Beach Cities Health District, boasts 2,000 Moai participants, who gather socially in groups to walk, find purpose, and enjoy potlucks. One group is the OceanWalkers, which launched in 2010 and continues to add new members while retaining most of its original walkers. OceanWalkers member Irwin Brand joined the Moai in 2011. "I am sure my health has improved as a result of walking at least 16 miles per week. However, what has been even more important is the fact that my wife and I have met a group of great people," 88-year-old Brand said. "It's not just exercise; it's finding out what our friends did over the weekend or what movies they saw, or meeting their sons or daughters who occasionally join us." FORT WORTH, TEXAS The "right tribe" movement is also alive and walking in Fort Worth, Texas, a Blue Zones Project demonstration site that officially kicked off efforts in 2015. After engaging restaurants, worksites, grocers, schools, and individuals in the initiative, the city reported gains in its overall well-being score. The most recent Well-Being Index showed an increase of 2.6 points, from 58.8 percent in 2014 to 61.4 percent in 2016. Texas Health Resources, a leading regional healthcare provider, worked with city leaders and the Chamber of Commerce to bring the project to Fort Worth. In one case, an entire neighborhood joined the Right Tribe efforts--with the people of White Lake Hills building close bonds through a variety of Walking and Potluck Moais. One group, called the 7 a.m. Walkers, consists of women who did not really know each other prior to beginning daily walks. They now rely on each other for emotional support and even travel together. The right tribe concept is expanding throughout the neighborhood to engage older, isolated residents. "Before we started taking part in Blue Zones Project, White Lake Hills was split between elderly, original homeowners and newer families. Our Moais became a bridge between those groups," said Linda Fulmer, a resident who helped coordinate efforts. "Good relationships are central to well-being, and there's no doubt we've improved our health and happiness." About Blue Zones Project Blue Zones Project is a community-led well-being improvement initiative designed to make healthy choices easier through permanent changes to a city's environment, policy, and social networks. Established in 2010, Blue Zones Project is inspired by Dan Buettner, a National Geographic Fellow and New York Times best-selling author who identified five regions of the worldor Blue Zoneswith the highest concentration of people living to 100 years or older. Blue Zones Project incorporates Buettner's findings and works with cities to implement policies and programs that will move a community toward optimal health and well-being. Currently, 37 communities in nine states have joined Blue Zones Project, impacting more than 2.2 million Americans. The movement includes three beach cities in California; 15 cities in Iowa; Albert Lea, Minnesota; the city of Fort Worth; and communities in Southwest Florida, Hawaii, Oklahoma, Oregon, and Wisconsin. Blue Zones Project is a division of Healthways, a Sharecare company. For more information, visit www.bluezonesproject.com. Media Contact: Gigi Westerman, 817-672-5799 SOURCE Blue Zones Project Related Links http://www.bluezonesproject.com HAYWARD, Calif., Feb. 6, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- RayVio Corp., an advanced health and hygiene company, has been named in the 2017 Global Cleantech 100. This is the second acknowledgment of RayVio by CTG (Cleantech Group) from more than 9000 other companies they have reviewed. In 2015, RayVio was named to CTG's "Under the Radar" list. "We are honored to have been recognized again for the groundbreaking work we are doing to develop and deploy ultraviolet (UV) LEDs that have the potential to change and possibly save peoples lives," said Dr. Robert C. Walker, CEO of RayVio. "RayVio's technology, manufactured in Silicon Valley, is more environmentally sustainable than conventional solutions and is already enabling new health and hygiene solutions." The Global Cleantech 100 represents the most innovative and promising ideas impacting the future of a wide-range of industries. Featuring companies that are best positioned to solve tomorrow's clean technology challenges, the Global Cleantech 100 is a comprehensive list of private companies with the highest potential to make significant market impact within a 5-10 year timeframe. To qualify for the list, companies must be independent, for-profit, cleantech companies that are not listed on any major stock exchange. The complete list of 100 companies was revealed on January 23rd at the 15 th annual Cleantech Forum San Francisco: https://i3connect.com/gct100/the-list. at the 15 annual Cleantech Forum San Francisco: https://i3connect.com/gct100/the-list. For complete information on RayVio's leadership within the cleantech space on the i3 platform, visit https://i3connect.com/company/rayviooror go to RayVio's website, http://rayvio.com. About Cleantech Group Founded in 2002, the mission of Cleantech Group (CTG) is to accelerate sustainable innovation. Our subscriptions, events and programs are all designed to help corporates, investors, and all players in the innovation ecosystem discover and connect with the key companies, trends, and people in the market. Our coverage is global, spans the entire clean technology theme and is relevant to the future of all industries. The company is headquartered in San Francisco, with a growing international presence in London. Our parent company, Enovation Partners, one of Consulting Magazine's 7 to Watch, is based in Chicago (learn more at www.enovationpartners.com). About RayVio Corp. RayVio Corp. is an advanced health and hygiene company that delivers clean water and environments. RayVio helps protect billions from germs and creates new markets and revenue streams by enabling a new class of products. Its powerful and efficient UV LED technology can be integrated into a variety of applications, powering versatile on-demand solutions that give consumers control over health without chemicals or costly consumables. To learn more, please visit www.rayvio.com. SOURCE RayVio Corp. Related Links http://www.rayvio.com (Photo: http://mma.prnewswire.com/media/465155/SP_Jain_Yoga_Class.jpg ) The event will be held on Saturday, 18th February at the S P Jain's Dubai Campus and session will begin at 10 AM. During this session, students will learn the key fundamental life skills as enablers in making their lives healthier, increase their learning capacity, manage challenging emotions, self-regulate behavior, and achieve personal and academic success. "Our aim for this event is to educate parents and kids on the negative effects of chronic stress and the role yoga and meditation can play as a coping mechanism," said Prof. Arindam Banerjee, Director - Student Recruitment & Asst. Prof. of Finance at S P Jain. "The mission of S P Jain is to create 21st century business leaders and we hope that by providing these effective tools we can empower the youth and create stronger communities and global leaders." Fear and anxiety around academic performance can all take a toll on a student's psyche and success in school. A study published in the "International Journal of Yoga" examined the effect of yoga on academic performance on highly stressed students. The researchers found that regularly doing poses, practicing yogic breathing and participating in meditation reduces students' stress levels. This means they tend to be calmer which translates to better academic performance, improvements in mood, reduced anxiety, and overall resilience. Meditation on the other hand can help the students' combat stress and be more focused. Founder Eda Gungor of Life n One said, "We are very happy to participate in this initiative to support students and allow them to be the best versions of themselves." No previous experience is necessary, beginners are welcome. More than 80 schools in UAE have been invited to attend this event to learn stress management strategies children can use for the rest of their lives. To attend the event students need to register on this link - https://goo.gl/forms/QCNylKN3EYEV57Fe2 About:S P Jain School of Global Management S P Jain School of Global Management This is an Australian business school with many campuses in Singapore, Sydney, Dubai, and Mumbai. The campus mission is to create business leaders. This school is ranked among the top business schools in the world. It is also the world's first tri-city business or the educational school. The School offers undergraduate, postgraduate and executive education programs. Website: http://www.spjain.org/ Life N' One Life 'n One is a life-healing center. It's a place to revitalize your mind and body, with the help of our well-experienced instructors and the community that we have built and continuously building for everyone's wellness. They offer a variety of wellness program, a cafe that solely promotes healthy food and drinks, art gallery, and a shop for creative handy products. Website: http://lifenone.com/ Contact Details: Bhavna Talwar Assistant Manager - Marketing & PR S P Jain School of Global Management Dubai Mumbai Singapore Sydney Block 5, Dubai International Academic City, P. O. Box 502345, UAE T: +971-4-5616-700 http://www.spjain.org SOURCE S P Jain School of Global Management HARTFORD, Conn. and SCOTTSDALE, Ariz., Feb. 7, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Orion Health has signed a new agreement with Saint Francis Healthcare Partners (SFHCP), a growing network of more than 1,000 independent health care providers serving over 100,000 patients in Connecticut. Saint Francis Healthcare Partnersthe physician hospital organization (PHO) and accountable care organization (ACO) for Saint Francis Hospital and Medical Center (Trinity Health New England)will deploy Orion Health's Amadeus precision medicine platform, which leverages open-data technology to capture, store and align patient information from multiple providers and insurers. In addition, SFHCP has purchased Orion Health's Coordinate and Amadeus Analytics products to ensure the timely delivery of incisive patient information to health care professionals. "The personalized health solution will enable SFHCP to proactively share patient information and treatment plans across the care continuum," said Suzanne Cogan, Vice President, Orion Health. "This is an important step in the PHO/ACO's journey from population health to precision medicine." "SFHCP requires a robust IT infrastructure that scales across the many venues of care in which patients are seen," added Cogan. "Orion Health's solution will enable greater collaboration between SFHCP's partners and other trusted healthcare providers in the patient's circle of care, such as hospitals and insurers." SFHCP's Chief Medical Informatics and Quality Officer, Sudeep Bansal, M.D., M.S., said the PHO/ACO chose Orion Health following a competitive selection process because of its single suite of synergistic products that enable in-depth analysis and interoperability at both a population and an individual patient level. "Orion Health is the only software provider with a truly integrated population health management technology stack that was built organically," Dr. Bansal said. "The company's technology is built on modern architecture that will evolve and adapt to meet the rapidly changing business and health care climate in which we operate." He added: "The platform is flexible, so that it can be adapted to different health care delivery models. In addition, the data analytics capabilities allow us to identify high-risk patients, which allows us to intervene earlier, enhance preventive care and improve the quality of care we deliver." Wayne Oxenham, President-North America at Orion Health, said the company's solutions are future-proofed to assist health care providers and insurers in making the transition to precision medicine, also known as personalized health care. "The Amadeus precision medicine platform is appealing to a wide range of health care providers and insurers; this will be the sixth significant U.S. deployment since we launched the platform last year," Oxenham said. "It is exciting that SFHCP has chosen to enhance the platform with value-added products that will greatly increase its ability to deliver better health outcomes for the growing number of patients in its care." About Orion Health Orion Health is a technology company that provides solutions which enable healthcare to over 100 million patients in more than 25 countries. Our end-to-end solutionfeaturing integration tools, our massively scalable Amadeus data platform with real-time analytics, and applications for care management and patient engagementenables population and personalized healthcare around the world. Orion Health facilitates interoperability within and among payer, provider and pharma organizations, governments and health information exchanges, and helps physicians, patients and researchers improve healthcare outcomes. The company employs over 1,200 people globally and is committed to continual innovation. For more information, visit orionhealth.com. About Saint Francis Healthcare Partners Saint Francis Healthcare Partners is a Physician Hospital Organization and ACO, which is a joint venture between a community of exceptional physicians and Saint Francis Hospital and Medical Center. SFHCP is a proud member of Trinity Health New England which also includes Mount Sinai Rehabilitation Hospital in Hartford, Johnson Memorial Hospital in Stafford Springs, Saint Mary's Hospital in Waterbury and Mercy Medical Center in Springfield, Massachusetts. It is a vehicle through which the clinical and related economic interests of patients, providers and payers become aligned. Throughout its 20-year history, the organization has been noted for its clinically integrated network of over 1,000 healthcare providers. For more information visit www.sfhcp.org. Media Contacts Saint Francis Healthcare Partners Gina Munson Ph: 860.704.5776 [email protected] Amendola Communications for Orion Health Marcia Rhodes Ph: 480.664.8412, ext. 15 [email protected] SOURCE Orion Health Related Links http://www.orionhealth.com NEW YORK, Feb. 7, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- MetLife, Inc., the nation's largest insurance company, knowingly failed to pay their employees over $50 million over the last three years. That's the allegation at the heart of a nationwide class action lawsuit filed today in the U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut by the law firms of Sanford Heisler, LLP and Schneider Law Firm, LLC. The lawsuit seeks unpaid overtime wages for Claim Specialists who worked on long term disability insurance claims ("LTD Claim Specialists") for MetLife and two of its subsidiaries, Metropolitan Life Insurance Company and MetLife Insurance Company USA. According to the Complaint, LTD Claim Specialists principally gather information from disability claimants, collect medical data, and compile other information required to process disability claims. Lead Plaintiff Stephanie McKinney, a former LTD Claim Specialist, alleges that she and others often had to perform this work outside of office hours. "LTD claim specialists regularly work between 45 and 60 hours per week," says the Complaint. Yet, Ms. McKinney alleges, for over three years MetLife hasn't compensated her and other LTD Claim specialists for these overtime hours. "Claim Specialists are the foot soldiers of MetLife's long term disability insurance business," explains Michael Palmer, Co-Chair of Sanford Heisler's Wage & Hour Practice Group. "Working long hours, Claim Specialists perform their duties under the tight control of a company which refuses to pay them for their many hours of overtime. Through this class action lawsuit, Ms. McKinney seeks to recover wages which rightfully belong to her and other Claim Specialists." According to the Complaint, MetLife used to pay its LTD Claim Specialists hourly wages and overtime pay. But in November of 2013, MetLife "reclassified" LTD Claim Specialists and stopped paying them overtime, without any change in LTD Claim Specialists' job duties. According to the Complaint, MetLife made the change as a "cost-cutting measure." "This is impermissible," says Jeremy Heisler, Managing Partner of Sanford Heisler's New York Office. "Employers can't shirk their overtime obligations by simply 'reclassifying' hourly employees." Ms. McKinney seeks to recover damages, including unpaid wages, on behalf of herself and a class of LTD Claim Specialists. She also seeks an injunction against MetLife to require the Company to change its wage practices going forward. "There are important public interests at stake in this lawsuit," explains Mr. Heisler. "Overtime laws help to prevent companies from gaining a competitive advantage by underpaying and overworking their employees. These protections are profoundly important, especially in today's difficult economic climate." About Sanford Heisler, LLP Sanford Heisler, LLP is a public interest class-action litigation law firm with offices in New York, Washington, D.C, San Francisco and San Diego. Our attorneys have graduated from the nation's top law schools, clerked for judges throughout the United States, and amassed extensive experience litigating cases that have earned over one billion dollars for our clients. The Firm specializes in civil rights and general public interest cases, representing plaintiffs with employment discrimination, labor and wage violations, employee benefits, predatory lending, whistleblower, consumer fraud, and other claims. Along with a focus on class actions, the firm also represents individuals and has achieved particular success in the representation of executives in employment disputes. For more information go to sanfordheisler.com or call 202 499-5200 or email [email protected]. For the latest news, visit our newsroom or follow us on Twitter at @sanfordheisler CONTACT: Jamie Moss newsPRos 1-201-4931027 [email protected] SOURCE Sanford Heisler, LLP Related Links http://sanfordheisler.com SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 7, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Sharethrough, the largest native advertising Supply Side Platform (SSP), announced today a new programmatic native advertising integration with StrikeAd by Sizmek, the mobile-first programmatic solution for global brands and trading desks. This new integration will allow trading desks and media buyers who use StrikeAd's Demand Side Platform (DSP) to access massive audiences with in-feed placements across mobile apps and sites on the Sharethrough Exchange, through StrikeAd's intuitive and flexible platform. This move combines StrikeAd's custom mobile API's, award-winning optimization engine and support with Sharethrough's network of premium publishers. The integrations will run off the IAB's OpenRTB 2.3 spec that standardized the component parts for the real time trading of native ads. The integration is live for mobile native display buyers, with additional formats like native video support coming up next. Native video is forecast to be a massive driver of growth in native advertising in 2017. StrikeAd, the world's first mobile-specific DSP, works with some of the largest media buyers and brands in the world, offering global scale for mobile inventory across the industry and helping them integrate data seamlessly into their campaigns to reach new audiences with a range of dynamic targeting options. In addition, under the umbrella of Sizmek, StrikeAd clients already enjoy the benefits of several scalable offerings such as mobile contextual targeting and brand safety (Peer39), seamless trafficking and centralized cost tracking (DSP Connect), as well as Dynamic Creative Optimization (DCO) paired with direct integrations with multiple DMPs and 3rd party data providers (Data Hub). "At Sharethrough, we see integrations like this as crucial to sustaining the momentum the industry has around native, both validating native's growth and providing further market liquidity to fuel the ecosystem," said Alex White, VP, Product Marketing at Sharethrough. "StrikeAd implicitly understands the personal, intimate interface of a customer's mobile device and gives buyers the ability to execute great mobile campaigns at scale." "With StrikeAd's global exposure, we see tremendous value in expanding our supply side integrations, especially around native formats for mobile devices, which have shown and will continue to show high engagement rates and return on ad spend," said Gil Rachlin, VP, Products and Engineering at Sizmek. "Sharethrough provides the premium inventory at scale that StrikeAd's clients demand as part of the increasing portion of mobile strategies in their media plans that require more sophisticated optimization." In 2016, Sharethrough doubled native ad buying through its platform, reporting $140 million in gross spend. According to Business Insider Intelligence, the native advertising market is forecasted to grow by over $4 billion in 2017, surpassing $20 billion for the first time. The Sharethrough Exchange transacts 4.5 billion impressions each month, with over three-quarters of those on mobile devices, working with over 1,100 premium publishers: household names such as Time Inc, Turner Digital (CNN) and Wenner Media, as well as app properties such as ABC News, Under Armour and Rotten Tomatoes. About Sharethrough Founded in 2008, Sharethrough is the leading global native advertising platform, helping publishers maximize revenue and brands earn meaningful attention by powering ads that fit into - rather than interrupt - the audience experience. Sharethrough's flagship product, Sharethrough for Publishers (SFP), is a native advertising Supply Side Platform used by the world's largest publishers to power their complete monetization strategy for in-feed native ad inventory across mobile, tablet and desktop. Sharethrough is headquartered in San Francisco, with offices in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Austin, Detroit, London, Tokyo and Toronto. About Sizmek Sizmek is the Open Ad Management company that brings freedom of choice and contextual relevance to omnichannel digital advertising. As the largest independent ad server, more than 42,000 next generation advertisers, agencies, publishers, and trading desks rely on Sizmek's offerings and flexible third-party platform integrations to provide the industry's most customizable, best-in-class approach to creating seamless workflow across a wide variety of partners in the digital advertising ecosystem. With a single point of access to the best technology, data, and strategic guidance, Sizmek builds flexible solutions for marketers and publishers that combine programmatic efficiency with creative. Sizmek operates in more than 70 countries, with local offices providing award-winning service throughout North America, EMEA, LATAM, and APAC. SOURCE Sharethrough Related Links http://www.sharethrough.com CAMPBELL, Calif., Feb. 7, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Capitalizing on the rapid growth in automotive displays, the Society for Information Display (SID) today announced the first-ever Automotive Display Market Focus Conference. Co-produced by research firm Display Supply Chain Consultants (DSCC), the new conference will be offered during SID's Display Week running this year from May 21-26 at the Los Angeles Convention Center and will explore the business and market issues associated with one of the most dynamic sectors in the display industry. According to a published report, Goldman Sachs Global Investment Research projects that by 2025, global auto sales volume will reach 120 millioncreating a massive opportunity for multiple displays to be integrated into cars. DSCC further anticipates that the market for automotive display systems specifically will grow at double-digit rates from 2015-2025, reaching approximately $15 billion by 2025. Many of these systems will be built using liquid crystal displays (LCDs) and organic LED (OLED) displays, in shapes and forms never before seen by the industry. Set for Tuesday, May 23, as part of the popular Display Week Business Track, the Automotive Display Market Focus Conference will look at the opportunities associated with a range of current and emerging vehicle technologies. For example, carmakers are seeking larger displays to help support infotainment, safety, internal vehicle systems and other functions. This includes curved screens, which will allow a better, less distracting viewing angle. Heads-up display (HUD) technologies are being deployed for HD mapping and monitoring, while interactive touch displays some of which will integrate haptics and holographics are replacing buttons and switches. All of this, and more, is creating an exciting landscape that experts from automotive OEMs, materials and display firms will delve into. "There are automotive conferences and display conferences, but none addresses these two markets in one focused event," said SID Head of Marketing, Sri Peruvemba. "Display professionals will hear from leading OEMs and Tier 1 suppliers on the success drivers and market demands in the automotive space. Those in the automotive industry will hear from leading display makers and materials companies regarding new technology developments that can enable additional automobile functionality. We're excited to enable this unique event." DSCC Founder and CEO Ross Young noted, "We are pleased to join forces with SID to bring this new Market Focus Conference to fruition. The resulting new program will be highly valuable to attendees seeking to leverage the many market and business opportunities presented by the automotive display industry." The conference themed "Safety, Utility, Ubiquity" will include speakers from well-known companies, including 3M, Asahi Glass, Corning, FlexEnable, General Motors, Harman International, JDI Display America and Texas Instruments. Industry analysts will also weigh in on a range of topics, including flat-panel displays, touch panels and HUDs all areas of particular interest for conference-goers. More information is available at www.displayweek.org. Conference fees include lunch, refreshments, access to the Display Week exhibit hall and Tuesday morning keynotes, along with electronic copies of the presentation material and admission to the Monday evening networking reception. About Display Week 2017 The 54th SID International Symposium, Seminar and Exhibition, or Display Week 2017, will take place May 21-26 at the Los Angeles Convention Center in Los Angeles, Calif. Display Week is the premier gathering of system integrators, designers, consumers, scientists, engineers and manufacturers in the field of electronic information displays. For more information on Display Week 2017, visit www.displayweek.org or follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter @DisplayWeek (hashtag #DisplayWeek17), Instagram @siddisplayweek or the Display Week YouTube Channel. About SID The Society for Information Display (SID) is the only professional organization focused on the display industry. In fact, by exclusively focusing on the advancement of electronic display technology, SID provides a unique platform for industry collaboration, communication and training in all related technologies while showcasing the industry's best new products. The organization's members are professionals in the technical and business disciplines that relate to display research, design, manufacturing, applications, marketing and sales. To promote industry and academic technology development, while also educating consumers on the importance of displays, SID hosts more than 10 conferences a year, including Display Week, which brings industry and academia all under one roof to showcase technology that will shape the future. SID's global headquarters are located at 1475 S. Bascom Ave., Ste. 114, Campbell, CA 95008. For more information, visit www.sid.org. About DSCC Display Supply Chain Consultants (DSCC) was formed by experienced display market analysts from throughout the display supply chain and delivers valuable insights through consulting, syndicated reports and events. The company is in the US and Japan, is on the web at www.displaysupplychain.com and can be reached at [email protected] or (512) 577-3672. SOURCE Society for Information Display ORLANDO, Fla., Feb. 7, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Silestone, the world's leading brand in the quartz surface category, announces the launch of its Eternal Collection at the 2017 Kitchen and Bath Industry Show in Orlando, FL. The new hues pay homage to the most sought-after exotic marbles and stones, coupled with the latest technological advancements only Silestone can offer. The Eternal Collection is the first in Silestone's offering to have veining and highlights run completely through the material, including its edges, resulting in an even more natural appearance. The Eternal Collection includes seven spectacular color ways: Eternal Calacatta Gold, Eternal Statuario, Charcoal Soapstone, Pearl Jasmine, Eternal Calacatta Classic, Eternal Serena and Eternal Marquina. The Eternal Collection also marks Silestone's introduction of N-Boost technology. This innovation patented by Cosentino modifies the material's surface at a molecular level to further enhance its outstanding technical and aesthetic attributes: Greater color saturation and extraordinary luster, along with an enhanced water repellent property that makes it even easier to clean and maintain. As with all Silestone natural quartz products, the Eternal Collection includes the notable characteristics that set the brand apart: high resistance to impact and scratching; manufactured in large formats; and versatility of application. "This latest collection for Silestone embodies Cosentino's commitment to developing the latest innovations driving the industry," says Lorenzo Marquez, VP of Marketing for Cosentino North America. "The precision of Silestone's high-test manufacturing ensures every slab accurately replicates the original essence of the design to ensure consistency upon installation." Eternal Calacatta Gold captures the essence of Calacatta marble and features large grey veins with a touch of elegant gold detail atop a pure white base. Eternal Statuario is inspired by classic Italian Carrara marble with fine, feathered veining that combines white and grey tones. Charcoal Soapstone draws inspiration from the natural beauty of blue-grey Soapstone with its contrast between a deep charcoal foundation and the white veining. Pearl Jasmine takes the movement and sophistication of White Macaubas marble with linear veining, and captures it in durable quartz. Eternal Calacatta Classic, similar to the elegance of Eternal Calacatta Gold, mirrors a different pattern of grey veining and subdues the golden glints. The soft, grey tone of Eternal Serena comes from the distinguished beauty of Italian sandstone. The fine, gentle white veins provide just the right amount of contrast to the rock-like surface. Evocative of Black Marquina marble, Eternal Marquina is striking with its rich, black background and intense, white details. Silestone retails from $49 to $110 per square foot, depending on color, thickness and finish and is available in both polished and suede finishes. It is available at Cosentino Centers, kitchen and bath dealers and home improvement stores nationwide. Silestone quartz offers a 25-year limited manufacturer's warranty. For more information, visit www.silestoneusa.com. Download photos of the Silestone Eternal Series: https://sharp.sharefile.com/d-sdfa0ac9b4304f949 About Cosentino Group Cosentino Group is a global, family-owned company that produces and distributes high value innovative surfaces for architecture and design. As a leading company, Cosentino imagines and anticipates together with its customers and partners design solutions that offer value and inspiration to peoples' lives. This goal is made possible by pioneering brands that are leaders in their respective segments such as Silestone, Dekton, and Sensa by Cosentino. Technologically advanced surfaces create unique designs for the home and public spaces. The group bases its development on international expansion, an innovative research and development program, respect for the environment and sustainability, and its ongoing corporate commitment to society and the local communities where it operates, education, equality and health & safety. Cosentino Group currently distributes its products and brands in more than 80 countries from its headquarters in Almeria, Spain. Currently Cosentino is present in 32 countries with its own assets in 27 of them. The group has seven factories (six in Almeria and one in Brazil), one intelligent logistics platform in Spain and more than 120 commercial and business units throughout the world. More than 90% of Cosentino Group's financial turnover comes from international markets. www.cosentino.com | www.silestone.com | www.dekton.com | www.sensabycosentino.com SOURCE Silestone SAUSALITO, Calif., Feb. 7, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Sitecore, the global leader in experience management software, today announced the launch of four new Sitecore Experience Platform (XP) 8.2 eLearning courses. These courses are delivered globally for developers, business users, and marketers. The courses can be taken 24/7 from home or office, and students have four months of access to the course content. The courses include animated slides, video demos, hands-on lab exercises, and knowledge checks. The four new courses are: Sitecore Developer Foundations eLearning course: This three hour course teaches the basics of Sitecore to students who have previous knowledge of the Model View Controller (MVC) framework. Students learn how to create data infrastructure, build editable pages and publish content. During the course, students build a basic website using the powerful and easy to use Sitecore XP tools. They also build simple MVC components using a text editor and minimal coding. This course gives students a complete overview of the process of building a website with Sitecore. Sitecore Experience Solution Developer eLearning course: This twelve-hour hands-on course teaches ASP.NET MVC Web Developers with advanced C# skills to build robust MVC solutions that integrate with the Content Management System and marketing capabilities of Sitecore 8.0, 8.1, and 8.2. The course covers MVC design patterns such as separations of concerns, unit testing and dependency injection as well as how to build data-driven applications using the Sitecore Services Client. Developers learn how to build real-world MVC-based Sitecore solutions that convert digital strangers into delighted customers with context marketing. This course prepares .NET Developers for the Sitecore Professional Developer Certification Exam. When a developer passes the exam, he or she becomes a Sitecore Certified Professional Developer with associated benefits. The exam is 70 questions and is taken proctored within a 120 minute time limit. Developers can register to take the exam either with the online proctored service or in a vendor-sponsored testing center. Sitecore Context Marketing Fundamentals eLearning course: This six-hour course is designed to help marketers, marketing analysts, marketing directors and customer service representatives get started with context marketing. Students learn about Sitecore's experience marketing features and how to use them to deliver contextualized content to customers. They gain the insight needed to improve conversion rates and generate more qualified leads through web, email, mobile and social channels. Students should have successfully completed the Sitecore XP Web Experience Management course prior to taking this course. Sitecore Web Experience Management eLearning course: This three hour course is designed for content authors, marketers, business users and designers who want to learn about Sitecore XP 8.0, 8.1, and 8.2 content editing features and how to preview and publish content to their website. This course also teaches students to use rules-based personalization to increase the relevance of website content and provides a foundation for marketers who will be attending the Sitecore Context Marketing Fundamentals course. Pricing Course Price Sitecore Developer Foundations eLearning course Free Sitecore Experience Solution Developer eLearning course $1,500 Experience Context Marketing Fundamentals eLearning course $800 Sitecore Web Experience Management eLearning course $500 View the eLearning courses and enroll for a course at elearning.sitecore.net. Sitecore Professional Developer Certification Exam In addition to the new courseware, Sitecore announced that its Sitecore Professional Developer Certification Exam is available for purchase without the requirement to attend Sitecore-sponsored training. The Sitecore Professional Developer Certification Exam validates the skills and knowledge of .NET Developers building solutions with Sitecore XP. The exam tests a developer's ability to: Plan, build and manage Sitecore solutions that are easy for business users to configure. Build componentized presentations to support designing and editing in the Experience Editor using MVC. Design components so that business users can dynamically alter the compone nts behavior. behavior. Use Sitecore Publishing features, options, and restrictions as well as the Web, Core, and Master databases. Develop a solution that lets business users and marketers take full advantage of the new Experience Marketing capabilities in Sitecore XP. The multiple choice exam is 70 questions and test takers are given 120 minutes to complete their answers and the passing score is 70%. Pricing The Sitecore Professional Developer Certification Exam costs $300. Additional Details Sitecore offers two ways to take the Sitecore Professional Developer Certification exam: 1) take the exam with the online proctored service or 2) take the exam in a testing center. Test takers purchase and enroll for the exam at: https://www.webassessor.com/wa.do?page=publicHome&branding=SITECORE About Sitecore Sitecore is the global leader in experience management software that enables context marketing. The Sitecore Experience Platform manages content, supplies contextual intelligence, automates communications, and enables personalized commerce, at scale. It empowers marketers to deliver content in context of how customers have engaged with their brand, across every channel, in real timebefore, during, and after a sale. More than 4,900 brandsincluding American Express, Carnival Cruise Lines, easyJet, and L'Oreal have trusted Sitecore for context marketing to deliver the personalized interactions that delight audiences, build loyalty, and drive revenue. For more information, follow us at @sitecore or visit sitecore.net. Sitecore is a registered trademark of Sitecore Corporation A/S and/or its subsidiaries in the USA and other countries. All other brand names, product names or trademarks belong to their respective holders. Sitecore reserves the right to alter product and services offerings, and specifications and pricing at any time without notice. 2017 Sitecore Corporation A/S. All rights reserved. SOURCE Sitecore Related Links http://www.sitecore.net LONDON, Feb. 7, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- CleanEquity is an annual invitation-only event hosted by Innovator Capital, the London based specialist investment bank. The conference provides an intimate and collegiate setting for inventors and entrepreneurs to share their stories with delegates - key decision makers looking to assist them with reaching their commercial and strategic goals. Other partners and sponsors include Prince Albert II of Monaco's Foundation, Covington & Burling, Cisco EIR, Cision, Cranfield University, Hobbs & Towne, the Monaco Economic Board, Parkview and the Social Stock Exchange. Solantro has been identified by an expert panel as one of the world's most innovative sustainable technology companies and has been selected to present to senior financial and strategic cleantech investors, policy makers, legislators, end users and media. About Solantro Solantro develops and sells chipsets. Those chipsets bring intelligence to enable state-of-the-art power electronics designs necessary for widespread deployment of renewable energy. Solantro's reference platforms, libraries, and development environment enable easy integration of the chipset into a wide range of power applications. A hardware design team using the Solantro approach achieves dramatic reductions in component count and manufacturing cost along with superior performance and reliability. Those results make the company a trusted partner to power electronics equipment manufacturers in Asia, North America, and Europe. Venture capital investors from the US, Canada, and Japan finance Solantro. Current financing has taken the company to selling chipsets in volume production today. Solantro seeks new funding to expand its solutions into the field of battery management systems for renewables and electrified vehicles (mild hybrid to full EV). Solantro contact details Antoine Paquin, Founder & VP Business Development [email protected] +1(613)669-2357 About Innovator Capital Innovator Capital, established in 2003, is a specialist investment bank advising emerging technology companies on corporate finance, mergers and acquisitions. Its expertise includes intellectual property and multi national strategic partnering. www.cleanequitymonaco.com SOURCE Innovator Capital Related Links http://www.innovator-capital.com BOSTON, Feb. 7, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Solar Wolf Energy announced today that it has aligned themselves with one of the great solar financing organizations in business today with Dividend Solar. Having similar views on their customers owning their solar rather than leasing it, CEO Ted Strzelecki said, "We have spoken with most of the major players in the finance space and felt like Dividend Solar has both the talent and the growth trajectory going forward that coordinates within our own forward outlook." Solar Wolf Energy, a company founded on transparency and under promising while over delivering, now feels like with Dividend Solar's support for their customers, that SWE can scale while keeping the cornerstones of their consistent growth sustainable while remaining profitable. Something only few have been able to do in the industry. "Looking ahead I am confident that the '17 & '18 growth targets we have established are now more easily attainable," stated Strzelecki. With Dividend and SWE's current model combined they will now offer more financing vehicles to their customers providing them with a myriad of options that other solar companies just don't have. It's evident that solar leasing is dying. Customers and potential customers alike see the benefits of owning while negating the hassles of having liens and UCC filings on their property. The array of both government financed and private financing is largely advantageous to the end consumer. SWE understands this and looks forward to delivering just what the customers want. Freedom of choice without pressure, fear of penalties, and transparency. CONTACT: Ted Strzelecki, 508-371-0615 SOURCE Solar Wolf Energy Related Links http://www.solarwolfenergy.com CALGARY, Feb. 7, 2017 /PRNewswire/ - Sproule, a leading global energy consulting firm, is pleased to announce the addition of a new senior energy executive, Nelson Narciso Filho, to lead its business development efforts in Brazil. Mr. Narciso brings 35 years of global oil and gas experience. He has worked start-up operations in Brazil, Angola and Namibia, having held positions at Brazilian exploration and production company HRT Africa, and oilfield service providers Halliburton, ABB, Vetco Gray and Hughes WKM. "Sproule is extremely pleased to have Mr. Narciso join the team as Regional Director, Brazil, particularly as we execute on a strategy to expand our geographical footprint and expertise across Latin America" said President and CEO, Lowy Gunnewiek. "Sproule's independent energy consulting and advisory services make the Brazilian market a natural extension for the organization as our reserves certification expertise can support new requirements required by E&P companies." From 2006 through 2010, Narciso served as Director of the Brazilian regulatory agency, ANP. Narciso developed a broad vision for the sector's regulatory framework, designed to support investment in the country's oil and gas industry. During his tenure, Narciso was also responsible for creating the local content segment, and led the gas flaring reduction program, fiscal metering program and bid round processes. "Brazil's oil and gas market represents a significant opportunity with Petrobras' divestment program and the upcoming bid round," said Christoffer Mylde, Vice President, Corporate Development. "Sproule's strategic advisory practice will assist clients with asset valuations and M&A advisory services and we are delighted to have Mr. Narciso provide local relationship support," said Mylde. About Sproule Sproule is a global energy consulting firm helping E&P companies, financial institutions and governments minimize risk and optimize business decisions through our in-depth geoscience and engineering expertise and strong commercial understanding of energy markets and policy requirements. Sproule is headquartered in Calgary, Canada and has offices in Bogota, Colombia and Rio De Janeiro, Brazil. SOURCE Sproule Related Links www.sproule.com CHICAGO, Feb. 7, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- CUB is pleased that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has rejected a plan that potentially could have cost Central and Southern Illinois customers millions of dollars in higher power bills. We have a long way to go to improve Illinois' electric markets, but FERC's ruling is a step in the right direction. This is a big win for Illinois consumers and their power bills. Background: The Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO) is the power grid operator in Central and Southern Illinois and 14 other states. In the spring, it holds a yearly auction to determine "capacity" costs for the next year ( June 1 through May 31 ). Capacity costs are fees wrapped into electricity prices that ensure power plants produce enough energy when demand is high. and 14 other states. In the spring, it holds a yearly auction to determine "capacity" costs for the next year ( ). Capacity costs are fees wrapped into electricity prices that ensure power plants produce enough energy when demand is high. On Thursday, Feb. 2 , the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) rejected a proposal by MISO. The plan, pushed by big power generators unhappy with Illinois' relatively low power prices, would have made key changes to the capacity auction. , the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) rejected a proposal by MISO. The plan, pushed by big power generators unhappy with relatively low power prices, would have made key changes to the capacity auction. MISO proposed keeping the same auction for 13 states, but creating a special auction for Michigan and Illinois , two states with restructured power markets. Among other things, the special auction would have determined prices three years ahead of time. and , two states with restructured power markets. Among other things, the special auction would have determined prices three years ahead of time. In its order, FERC wrote that MISO failed to show that the proposal was "just and reasonable." The plan would have created too much price volatility and uncertainty, according to FERC's order. Consumer advocates, including CUB, opposed the plan. In a protest it filed at FERC, CUB argued that "the increased costs of this proposal are not commensurate with the consumer benefits." This was the latest battle over MISO's capacity auction. Over the last two years, consumer advocates successfully pushed for improvements in the market after Ameren Illinois customers were hit with a 30 percent increase in power prices in June of 2015. CUB was concerned that MISO's latest capacity market plan could have led to even higher price spikes for Central and Southern Illinois electric customers. CUB is Illinois' leading nonprofit utility watchdog. Created by the Illinois Legislature, CUB opened its doors in 1984 to represent the interests of residential and small-business utility customers. Since then, it has saved consumers more than $20 billion by helping to block rate hikes and secure refunds. For more information, call CUB's Consumer Hotline, 1-800-669-5556, or visit its award-winning website, www.CitizensUtilityBoard.org. SOURCE Citizens Utility Board Related Links http://www.citizensutilityboard.org LAS VEGAS, Feb. 7, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Strainz Inc., a leading national cannabis brand management and lifestyle products company, today announced that the company will be participating in multiple events during the months of February and March 2017. Strainz will be showcasing the company's products and capabilities at CannaCon Seattle on February 16-18 followed by hosting a booth at the inaugural HIGH TIMES Cannabis Cup Las Vegas on March 4-5. On March 13, Strainz CEO Hugh Hempel will be speaking on a panel entitled, "Cannabis for Treatment of Injuries and Illness," at South by Southwest (SXSW) Conference & Festivals in Austin, Texas. CannaCon Seattle is considered one of the world's largest marijuana business and culture expos. The three-day tradeshow expects over 12,000 attendees and brings together buyers, exhibitors, dispensary owners and consumers of the medical and recreational marijuana industry. Strainz, along with its partners Honu Inc. and Bullet Concentrates, will be exhibiting product lines at Booth #241 on the Upper Level of the Smith Cove Cruise Terminal and Events Center. On March 4-5, Strainz will be presenting a unique outdoor theater experience at the inaugural HIGH TIMES Cannabis Cup Las Vegas to be held at the Moapa Event Grounds in the Valley of Fire about 30 minutes north of Downtown Las Vegas. The HIGH TIMES Cannabis Cup Las Vegas will be centered on a celebration of Nevada's recent legalization of recreational cannabis and will feature hands-on experiences for attendees and music from artists including Chief Keef, J Boog, and Ludacris. "We are looking forward to our return to CannaCon and to our debut at the first-ever HIGH TIMES Cannabis Cup Las Vegas. Our company is expanding our product lines and capabilities in multiple states and we're excited to be part of these respected events," said Hugh Hempel, Strainz CEO. "SXSW will allow for a personal discussion on cannabis and disease and I am honored to have the opportunity to represent Strainz in such a world-renowned forum." SXSW has been bringing together the most diverse, collaborative and inventive communities in the world for the past 30 years. Strainz CEO Hugh Hempel will be joined by other cannabis industry experts including Dr. Perry Solomon, Chief Medical Officer of HelloMD, Siebo Shen, Founder of VapeXhale, and Debby Miran, President of Miran Consulting, to discuss how cannabis as a medicine can help manage injury and illness. The panel will be held on March 13, 2017, from 11:00 12:00 p.m., at the Four Seasons Ballroom AB. About Strainz Inc. Strainz is a leading national cannabis brand management and lifestyle products company delivering a portfolio of premium grade cannabis products in multiple legal states. Based in Las Vegas, Strainz and its licensed partners are transforming cannabis and creating innovative products including concentrates, edibles, flower, topicals, and vape products. For more information: Web: www.strainz.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/StrainzInc/ Instagram @StrainzInc - https://twitter.com/strainzinc?lang=en MassRoots @StrainzInc Email: [email protected] Media Contact: Jennifer Price E: [email protected] T: 609-638-2558 SOURCE Strainz Inc. Related Links http://www.strainz.com LONDON, Feb. 6, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- "Increasing concern for maritime security due to maritime territorial disputes is the major driving factor in the submarine combat systems market globally" The submarine combat systems market is estimated to be valued at USD 4.97 billion in 2016 and projected to reach USD 11.67 billion by 2022 at a CAGR of 15.3%. The growth in the submarine combat systems market can be attributed to increasing investments in maritime security. The market for submarine combat systems is driven by several factors such as, maritime territorial disputes and their threat to sea trade. "Armaments is expected to account for the largest market share in the sub-system segment of the submarine combat systems market" On the basis of sub-system, armaments under the systems segment is estimated to have captured the largest share of the submarine combat systems market in 2016. Armaments include weapons such as, torpedoes, cruise missiles, and ballistic missiles. The growth in armaments can be attributed to the increase in orders for new submarines and ageing of existing armaments in submarines. "Asia-Pacific to lead the submarine combat systems market during the forecast period" The Asia-Pacific region is projected to lead the submarine combat systems market during the forecast period and is estimated to have captured the largest share of the submarine combat systems market in 2016. Localization of submarine manufacture and submarine based combat systems are the key drivers for this market. Recent geopolitical developments such as, South China Sea and East China Sea disputes between China and its neighboring countries such as, Taiwan, Brunei, Malaysia, Philippines, Japan, and Vietnam over Spratly and Senkaku islands respectively, is a major factor for the increase in investments in naval assets. "Profile of break-up of primary participants in the submarine combat systems market" - By Company Type - Tier 1 35 %, Tier 2 45% and Tier 3 20% - By Designation C level 35%, Director level 25%, Others 40% - By Region North America - 45%, Europe 20%, Asia-Pacific 30%, RoW 5% The major companies profiled in the report are, Lockheed Martin Corporation (U.S.), SAAB AB (Sweden), Kongsberg Gruppen ASA (Norway), General Dynamics Corporation (U.S.), Atlas Elektronik GmbH (Germany). Research Coverage: The study segments the market on the basis of systems (sensors, electronic support measures, and armaments), by submarines (SSK, SSN, SSBN), and retrofit under regions such as, North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and the Rest of the World. From an insight perspective, this research report has focused on various levels of analyses industry analysis (industry & technological trends, and contract mapping), market-share analysis of top players, and company profiles. These together comprise and discuss the basic views on the competitive landscape, emerging and high-growth segments of the submarine combat systems market, high-growth regions and countries, and their respective regulatory policies, government initiatives, and market drivers, restraints, and opportunities. Reasons to buy the Report The report provides insights into the following pointers: - Market Penetration: Comprehensive information on submarine combat systems and their sub-systems offered by the top 10 players in the submarine combat systems market - Product Development/Innovation: Detailed insights on upcoming technologies, research and development activities, and new product launches in the submarine combat systems market - Market Development: Comprehensive information about lucrative emerging markets - the report analyses markets for submarine combat systems across regions - Market Diversification: Exhaustive information about new products, untapped geographies, recent developments, and investments in the submarine combat systems market - Competitive Assessment: In-depth assessment of market shares, strategies, products, and manufacturing capabilities of the leading players in the submarine combat systems market Download the full report: https://www.reportbuyer.com/product/4674544/ About Reportbuyer Reportbuyer is a leading industry intelligence solution that provides all market research reports from top publishers http://www.reportbuyer.com For more information: Sarah Smith Research Advisor at Reportbuyer.com Email: [email protected] Tel: +44 208 816 85 48 Website: www.reportbuyer.com SOURCE ReportBuyer Related Links http://www.reportbuyer.com WASHINGTON, Feb. 7, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- While it is too soon to tell how the new administration will affect the construction and cost of affordable housing, the nation's 75 million baby boomers are weighing in with their housing concerns. According to a new survey of 1000 Americans aged 55+ from The NHP Foundation, a not-for-profit provider of service-enriched affordable housing, 30% experience anxiety about being able to afford where they live at least once a month, with 42% of retirees reporting such anxiety at least once daily. When asked what causes the greatest anxiety, 46% of respondents said they worry about "the ability to afford desirable retirement living." Nearly 65% of boomers worry at least once a month about their adult children's ability to afford desirable housing Over 10% of boomer parents worry about this at least once a day, with most (64%) concerned about their adult children's ability to afford rent or mortgage, and 43% most concerned about the next generation's retirement savings. "The anxiety is now multi-generational," according to NHPF CEO Richard Burns, "So we are working today to increase our stock of affordable housing to ensure that this and future generations are able to afford desirable places to live." The NHP Foundation Baby Boomer survey is the third in a series. The first queried the general population about housing affordability, determining that 75% of the population worried at any given time about losing their housing. The second zeroed in on millennials, finding that 76% of that group have made compromises in order to find affordable housing. "These findings underscore the urgency to make housing affordability solutions a priority in America especially for those most vulnerable," added Ali Solis, President and CEO of MakeRoom, a national renter's advocacy group. Nearly one-quarter of boomers worry about affording rent/mortgage payments, but geography plays role Although 24% of those queried say they're most anxious about being able to afford their rent or mortgage, there are geographical differences. Just under 20% of those in the midwest worry about affording rent or mortgage payments while 38% of those in the south rank this their biggest worry. According to the survey, housing-related anxiety is most acutely felt in the south, followed by the northeast and midwest. Boomers in the west experience housing-related anxiety least often. "Though housing insecurity is a national problem, these geographic differences demonstrate the need to tailor housing options to the unique needs of each region," said Stefano Rumi, an advisor to NHPF and a senior fellow at the Batten Center for Social Policy of the University of Virginia specializing in the housing needs of America, "The winning solutions will incorporate private and public partnerships to finance affordable housing. This means a 'YIMBY' (yes in my backyard) attitude on the part of local communities and elected officials." Election impact on housing reflects national mood Housing concerns brought on by the new administration mirror America's divided population. Nearly half (49.96%) report little or no anxiety, yet the other half (50.04%) have substantial or great anxiety. Of those who experience greater anxiety about housing due to the new administration, the highest percentage, (30%) worry about a lack of sufficient retirement funds, followed closely (27%) by those who fret about tax increases. Nearly 50% of those queried believe their housing related anxiety could be alleviated if the new administration assured stable property and other taxes, meaning a guarantee of no substantial tax increases. Those seeking assurances about job security and legislation to protect from rent/mortgage increases followed at 24% and 23% respectively. Interestingly, nearly 14% of respondents indicate that construction of more affordable housing would help alleviate their housing-related anxiety. To this, NHPF's Burns adds, "Government measures, particularly the LIHTC (Low Income Housing Tax Credit) which gives incentives to private equity for the development of affordable housing, will continue to be vital to organizations such as ours to provide the country with stable, long-term affordable housing options." About The NHP Foundation Headquartered in New York City with offices in Washington, DC, and Chicago, IL, The NHP Foundation (NHPF) was launched on January 30, 1989, as a publicly supported 501(c)(3) not-for- profit real estate corporation. NHPF is dedicated to preserving and creating sustainable, service-enriched multifamily housing that is both affordable to low and moderate income families and seniors, and beneficial to their communities. NHPF also provides a robust resident services program to nearly 18,000 community residents. Through partnerships with major financial institutions, the public sector, faith-based initiatives, and other not-for-profit organizations, NHPF has 46 properties, including 7,969 units, in 15 states and the District of Columbia. Media Contact Marijane Funess Crenshaw Communications 212.367.9746 SOURCE The NHP Foundation Related Links http://www.nhpfoundation.org AUSTIN, Texas, Feb. 7, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- On December 13, 2016, the Texas Cardiac Arrhythmia Institute at St. David's Medical Center became the first facility in Texas to implant the new AMPLATZER Amulet Left Atrial Appendage Occluder to seal off the left atrial appendage (LAA)a small appendage connected to the left atriumin patients diagnosed with non-valvular Atrial Fibrillation (A Fib). The AMPLATZER Amulet Left Atrial Appendage Occluder is currently being evaluated in the AMPLATZER Amulet U.S. IDE (investigational device exemption) Clinical Trial. Rodney Horton, M.D., a cardiac electrophysiologist at the Texas Cardiac Arrhythmia Institute at St. David's Medical Center, implanted the AMPLATZER Amulet occluder to reduce the risk of stroke in a patient suffering from non-valvular A Fib. "What makes this device unique is that it closes the LAA without requiring a very deep structure, allowing us to close LAAs that could otherwise not be closed," Dr. Horton said. "It is also made from a material that allows for the use of Plavix and aspirin, rather than full-strength blood thinners." The AMPLATZER Amulet occluder works by blocking the LAA at its opening, which minimizes the opportunity for blood clots to form in the LAA and migrate into the bloodstream, potentially causing a stroke. The AMPLATZER Amulet occluder is built with a longer lobe and waist than the previous version, and it is designed to allow for easier and more stable placement, which could result in shorter procedure times for patients. It comes in eight sizes to accommodate varying anatomies to address a wider range of complex patient anatomies than other LAA occluders. In some patients with A Fib, the LAA does not contract effectively, causing blood clots. The clots can then be released into the heart and enter the bloodstream, where they can travel to the brain and cause a stroke. Currently, patients with A Fib who are at risk of stroke are often prescribed blood-thinning medication, but this treatment approach comes with a lifetime of medical management and the risk of major bleeding. By closing the LAA with the AMPLATZER Amulet occluder, physicians can "seal off" the LAA and potentially reduce the risk of stroke. The AMPLATZER Amulet IDE trial is a randomized trial, which will enroll patients at up to 100 sites in the United Statesincluding TCAIand an additional 50 sites internationally. Patients enrolled in the AMPATZER Amulet IDE trial will be randomly assigned to receive either the Amulet device or an FDA-approved LAA closure device in the control arm of the study. Data collected across all trial sites will be used to support FDA approval of the AMPLATZER Amulet occluder. Media Contacts: Erin Ochoa or Kristin Marcum Elizabeth Christian Public Relations 512.472.9599 SOURCE Texas Cardiac Arrhythmia Institute at St. Davids Medical Center WASHINGTON, Feb. 7, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Students from the Weslaco Independent School District in Weslaco, Texas, will speak with a NASA astronaut currently living and working aboard the International Space Station at 12:05 p.m. EST Thursday, Feb. 9. The 20-minute, Earth-to-space call will air live on NASA Television and the agency's website. Expedition 50 Flight Engineer Peggy Whitson will answer questions from students assembled in Weslaco ISD's Performing Arts Center. More than 800 students in third through fifth grade, as well as the Weslaco East High School Astronomy Club, will be in the audience. Media interested in covering the event should contact the Weslaco ISD Public Information Department at 956-969-6505. The Performing Arts Center is at 506 East 6th St. in Weslaco. Whitson launched to the space station on Nov.17, 2016, and is scheduled to return to Earth this spring. This in-flight education downlink is an integral component of the NASA Office of Education's efforts to improve science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) teaching and learning in the United States. Linking students directly to astronauts aboard the space station through the agency Office of Education's STEM on Station activity provides authentic, live experiences in space exploration, space study and the scientific components of space travel, while introducing the possibilities of life in space. Get NASA TV streaming video, schedules and downlink information at: http://www.nasa.gov/nasatv Learn about videos and lesson plans highlighting research on the International Space Station at: http://www.nasa.gov/stemonstation SOURCE NASA Related Links http://www.nasa.gov HUNT VALLEY, Md., Feb. 7, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Textron Systems Support Solutions, a Textron Inc. (NYSE: TXT) business, announced today that it was awarded a five-year follow-on contract from the U.S. Air Force for Afghan Trainer Contractor Logistics Support (CLS). For the first year, the contract is valued at $9.35 million, with an estimated potential five-year maximum at $50 million. The Afghan Trainer CLS award will provide training and maintenance in support of U.S. Air Force and Afghan Air Force Cessna C-208B Caravans, which are being used for military transport and training. Over the duration of this contract, Textron Systems will transfer capabilities and offer maintenance training to the Afghan Air Force to allow them to work independently. "Support Solutions began working with these Cessna C-208B Caravans last year as part of a bridge contact and we are looking forward to continuing the relationship with our customer through this five-year contract," says Support Solutions Vice President of Business Development Mark Hitch. "This endeavor will ensure that Textron personnel are the sole providers of maintenance and training on our own aircraft. This work will further showcase the total Textron solution we can provide around the world." Textron Systems Support Solutions has decades of experience in training military personnel and ensuring system readiness for its customers. Its field service representatives are actively deployed and work alongside customers to prepare for mission success. Support Solutions provides end-to-end product support, training and services for an array of Textron and third-party assets. Work under the contract began on February 1 at Kabul Air Base and Kandahar Air Base, Afghanistan. About Textron Systems Textron Systems' businesses develop and integrate products, services and support for aerospace and defense customers, as well as civil and commercial customers including those in law enforcement, security, border patrol and critical infrastructure protection around the globe. Harnessing agility and a broad base of expertise, Textron Systems' innovative businesses design, manufacture, field and support comprehensive solutions that expand customer capabilities and deliver value. Textron Systems consists of its Advanced Information Solutions, Electronic Systems, Geospatial Solutions, Lycoming Engines, Marine & Land Systems, Support Solutions, TRU Simulation + Training, Unmanned Systems and Weapon & Sensor Systems businesses. More information is available at www.textronsystems.com. About Textron Inc Textron Inc. is a multi-industry company that leverages its global network of aircraft, defense, industrial and finance businesses to provide customers with innovative solutions and services. Textron is known around the world for its powerful brands such as Bell Helicopter, Cessna, Beechcraft, Hawker, Jacobsen, Kautex, Lycoming, E-Z-GO, Greenlee, Textron Off Road, Textron Systems, and TRU Simulation + Training. For more information visit: www.textron.com. Certain statements in this press release may project revenues or describe strategies, goals, outlook or other non-historical matters; these forward-looking statements speak only as of the date on which they are made, and we undertake no obligation to update them. These statements are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors that may cause our actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Media Contact: Ashlyn Brodeur Textron Systems (978) 657-2020 [email protected] SOURCE Textron Systems Related Links http://www.textronsystems.com "Denise has been a key driver of the organization's development over several years," Charlebois said. "Under her leadership, InterMedia has significantly expanded the scope of our capabilities, successfully transitioning into new sectors of research support for international development programs ranging from smallholder farming to financial inclusion to global health." "Denise has also led InterMedia's acquisition of new and highly skilled technical research talent. We are very pleased with these developments and believe the outlook for InterMedia has never been stronger." A senior member of the InterMedia staff for more than a decade, Ms. O'Reilly began as a Qualitative Research Manager in 2006 supporting InterMedia's then-largest client, the federally funded Broadcasting Board of Governors the overseer of all U.S. international broadcasting and its global audience research program. She was a key member of the InterMedia business development team that transitioned InterMedia into new research sectors, where it operates in some of the world's most challenging environments. InterMedia clients include the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Harvard School of Public Health, UNCDF, UNICEF, CGAP, Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG), Social Impact and FSDK. Prior to joining InterMedia, Ms. O'Reilly worked in the commercial research sector in Europe, holding positions with Diageo, Millward Brown, Eye Level, Taylor Nelson Sofres/MRBI, and Commencements Ireland Ltd. InterMedia (www.intermedia.org) is a leading communications research, evaluation and consulting organization creatively equipping clients to understand their audiences, gauge program effectiveness and target communications in transitional and developing societies worldwide. Based in Washington, D.C., and Nairobi, Kenya and active in more than 60 countries, InterMedia has conducted more than 900 surveys over the past 20 years through a global network of skilled local research partners. For more information, contact InterMedia at USA +1-202-434-9316, or at [email protected] SOURCE InterMedia Related Links http://www.intermedia.org The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards, now in its 22 nd year, is conducted by Prudential Financial in partnership with the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP). These are the District of Columbia's top youth volunteers of 2017: High School State Honoree: Ayomide Okuleye Nominated by School Without Walls Senior High School in Washington Ayomide, a senior at School Without Walls Senior High School, started a club at her school that provided hygiene supplies and winter clothing to homeless people in its first year, and is dedicated to addressing a different social issue each year. Ayomide became passionate about volunteering while working with a nonprofit that teaches students how to cook, as well as how to teach cooking skills to others. "That experience empowered me to help people in many ways," she said, and so eventually she wanted to start her own service project. After discussing issues that affect the African-American community, Ayomide decided to create a school club called "Black Teen Alliance." "When a problem arises in your community, people should ban together and try to find a way to mitigate or solve the issue," she explained. As fellow students came together to participate in Ayomide's club, they talked at length about problems they wanted to solve and decided to focus initially on homelessness. Ayomide gave presentations about their plan at school assemblies, set up a fundraising website, and coordinated events in which club members sold milkshakes, waffles, pizzas and cotton candy. The $1,000 raised was used to assemble 100 healthcare bags for a homeless coalition in Washington. The club also conducted a winter clothing drive for the coalition. Middle Level State Honoree: Debora Abera Nominated by St. Augustine Catholic School in Washington Debora, a sixth-grader at St. Augustine Catholic School, is a firm believer in the power of volunteerism and has actively looked for ways to serve others since her earliest school days. Debora said she likes to volunteer because "when we volunteer our time, money or talents, we help make our planet a better, happier home where people work together to make life easier for all," she said. "Also, I do it because it makes me feel good." Debora first got involved in volunteering by reading to children at her school and sorting books in the library. "I always loved when someone read to me when I was little," she said. "The love I have for reading emanates from that experience." She also found it particularly meaningful to volunteer at an annual Thanksgiving feast for nearly 5,000 community members, where she served beverages to homeless people. "It was a humbling experience to see the smiling faces of people who were very grateful for a Thanksgiving meal," said Debora. She also volunteers at her school by doing things like assisting younger students at Mass and running errands for her teacher. Distinguished Finalists The program judges also recognized two other District of Columbia students as Distinguished Finalists for their impressive community service activities. Each will receive an engraved bronze medallion. These are the District of Columbia's Distinguished Finalists for 2017: Daniela Romualdo Castro, 17, of Washington, D.C., a junior at Benjamin Banneker Academic High School, has spent the past two summers volunteering at her old elementary school by volunteering in its iPad lab, assisting in the office and translating for Spanish-speaking parents. In addition to her service with Thomson Elementary School, Daniela has also provided volunteer office assistance to College Bound, a college preparation nonprofit for middle and high school students. Gaia Jacobs, 17, of Washington, D.C., a member of the Virginia Cooperative Extension-Alexandria Unit and a senior at School Without Walls Senior High School, is an enthusiastic volunteer who traveled to the Dominican Republic to help build a school for children in need, and she also works with friends to raise money to support kids living in the slums of Brazil. Inspired by a documentary about a woman and her experience living in one of Brazil's favelas, Gaia helped to form a club that, in addition to weekly bake sales, is working on a number of initiatives to help Brazilian kids in need. "Prudential is honored to recognize these young volunteers for their exemplary service," said Prudential Chairman and CEO John Strangfeld. "We hope that their stories inspire others to consider how they, too, can volunteer their time and talents to improve their communities." "These service-minded young people have brought meaningful change to communities at home and abroad, and it's a privilege to celebrate their work," said JoAnn Bartoletti, executive director of NASSP. "Congratulations to an exceptional group of middle level and high school students." About The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards represents the United States' largest youth recognition program based solely on volunteer service. All public and private middle level and high schools in the country, as well as all Girl Scout councils, county 4-H organizations, American Red Cross chapters, YMCAs and HandsOn Network affiliates, were eligible to select a student or member for a local Prudential Spirit of Community Award. These Local Honorees were then reviewed by an independent judging panel, which selected State Honorees and Distinguished Finalists based on criteria including personal initiative, effort, impact and personal growth. While in Washington, D.C., the 102 State Honorees one middle level and one high school student from each state and the District of Columbia will tour the capital's landmarks, meet top youth volunteers from other parts of the world, attend a gala awards ceremony at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History, and visit their congressional representatives on Capitol Hill. On May 8, 10 of the State Honorees five middle level and five high school students will be named America's top youth volunteers of 2017. These National Honorees will receive additional $5,000 awards, gold medallions, crystal trophies and $5,000 grants from The Prudential Foundation for nonprofit charitable organizations of their choice. Since the program began in 1995, more than 115,000 young volunteers have been honored at the local, state and national level. The program also is conducted by Prudential subsidiaries in Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Ireland, India, China and Brazil. In addition to granting its own awards, The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards program also distributes President's Volunteer Service Awards to qualifying Local Honorees. For information on all of this year's Prudential Spirit of Community State Honorees and Distinguished Finalists, visit http://spirit.prudential.com or www.nassp.org/spirit. About NASSP The National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP) is the leading organization of and voice for middle level and high school principals, assistant principals, and school leaders from across the United States. The association connects and engages school leaders through advocacy, research, education, and student programs. NASSP advocates on behalf of all school leaders to ensure the success of each student and strengthens school leadership practices through the design and delivery of high quality professional learning experiences. Reflecting its long-standing commitment to student leadership development, NASSP administers the National Honor Society, National Junior Honor Society, National Elementary Honor Society, and National Association of Student Councils. For more information about NASSP, located in Reston, VA, visit www.nassp.org. About Prudential Financial Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE: PRU), a financial services leader, has operations in the United States, Asia, Europe, and Latin America. Prudential's diverse and talented employees are committed to helping individual and institutional customers grow and protect their wealth through a variety of products and services, including life insurance, annuities, retirement-related services, mutual funds and investment management. In the U.S., Prudential's iconic Rock symbol has stood for strength, stability, expertise and innovation for more than a century. For more information, please visit www.news.prudential.com. For Spirit of Community Awards program logo and medallion graphics, please visit https://spirit.prudential.com/resources/media SOURCE Prudential Insurance Related Links http://www.PRUDENTIAL.com DALLAS, Feb. 6, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- The Gents Place, a lifestyle club bringing men's grooming to the next level, announced today it signed a franchise development agreement to expand the concept to Austin, Texas. New franchisee Paul Terracina will open the brand's first location in the market in Fall 2017. "For nearly a decade, The Gents Place has experienced tremendous success serving men in Dallas and Kansas City, and we are thrilled to expand our footprint to Austin. Paul is part of a growing trend of millennial entrepreneurs and we're confident his knowledge of and enthusiasm for the brand will help us succeed in Austin," said Ben Davis, founder and President of The Gents Place. "The interest in men's grooming is irrefutably at an all-time high and The Gents Place is positioned to grow rapidly as we capitalize on this trend. Over the next several months, we're expecting to sign several additional franchise agreements to develop clubs across the country." Prior to becoming a franchisee with The Gents Place, Terracina worked at Massage Heights' corporate office in San Antonio, where he played an integral role in the establishment of Elevated Brands a brand management and development company that invested in The Gents Place in 2016 to help grow the brand nationally through the franchising model. Terracina worked alongside Elevated Brands CEO Glenn Franson, which exposed the 26-year-old to the ins-and-outs of the franchising industry at a young age. "I am elated to join The Gents Place team and look forward to playing an integral role in the daily lives of the men who live and work in Austin, helping them to look and feel their most confident selves," said Terracina, who plans to relocate to Austin to open The Gents Place. "Being able to witness The Gents Place's growth firsthand during my time at Elevated Brands and now as an invested partner has given me a passion and loyalty for the company that will continue to grow." The Gents Place prides itself on having one of the most unique service menus in the industry, epitomizing the exclusivity of an old-world speakeasy paired with an upscale, welcoming country club atmosphere. Not only can guests enjoy an incredible hair service and shave in the best men's grooming and lifestyle clubs in town, but also they can take advantage of all of the luxuries of a modern spa. In addition to offering men's grooming services, The Gents Place is a purveyor of hard-to-find retail goods from all over the world including its proprietary Rascal line of products, Truefitt & Hill, and Lakme, among others. The company currently has three lifestyle clubs in North Texas (Dallas, Southlake and Frisco), as well as one in Leawood, Kansas. The Gents Place plans to open 150 franchised locations over the next five years. The company is seeking qualified franchisees to join the brand and currently has opportunities nationwide in markets such as Texas, Georgia, Florida, California, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, and Virginia. The brand is aggressively targeting Houston, Atlanta, and South Florida for franchise expansion. Prospective single- and multi-unit franchisees should possess a minimum net worth of $400,000 and liquid assets of at least $175,000. Candidates should have strong business, management and/or marketing experience. Franchisees can expect their initial investment to be between $440,955 $705,980, including a $40,000 franchise fee. The Gents Place franchisees are provided with an array of tools to position them for success, including franchisee and management training; a proprietary web-based management system; ongoing, hands-on training for salon employees to learn our unique grooming methods, management and administration of a club; and advertising, marketing and public relations support. Additionally, The Gents Place provides assistance with site selection and construction. To learn more about ownership opportunities with The Gents Place, contact Bret Franson, director of franchise development at [email protected] or visit http://www.tgpfranchising.com. Financing is available through the Small Business Administration for qualified franchisees. For more information visit https://www.franchiseregistry.com. Follow The Gents Place on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for the latest news and trends. About The Gents Place The Gents Place is the next level in men's grooming and lifestyle club that helps gentlemen look and feel their most confident best. Founded in 2008, the company has grown to include lifestyle clubs in Dallas, Southlake and Frisco, Texas, as well as Leawood, Kansas. The Gents Place provides luxury men's grooming services in addition to straight razor shaves, shoe shines and hand and foot repairs in a refined and timeless environment. For more information on The Gents Place, visit thegentsplace.com About Elevated Brands Elevated Brands is the brand management and development company established by the principals of Massage Heights, the membership-based, therapeutic services franchise company. The company provides emerging lifestyle concepts with the tools and strategic planning needed to grow their brands through the franchising model. Through its leadership team's deep franchise experience in the health and wellness space, Elevated Brands is on track to build a family of lifestyle brands that are dedicated to the well-being of those they serve. Its current portfolio includes Massage Heights Franchising, Summit Franchise Supply and The Gents Place. MEDIA CONTACT: Fish Consulting Courtney Whelan [email protected] 954-893-9150 SOURCE The Gents Place Related Links http://www.thegentsplace.com NEW YORK, Feb. 7, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- "Increasing penetration of telecommunication services in the automotive industry to fuel the top 10 automotive technologies market" The top 10 automotive technologies are projected to grow at a CAGR of 17.35%, to reach a market size of USD 139.02 billion by 2021. The growth in market is attributed to the rise in demand of luxury vehicles and luxury features in car. According to MarketsandMarkets analysis, on board internet services market is projected to reach USD 74.44 billion by 2021. This growth is attributed to the increasing penetration of telecommunication services in the automotive industry. "Reduction in costs & time of rapid prototyping" The advent of 3D printing has resulted in a new form of prototyping known as rapid prototyping. 3D printers allow manufacturers to make and alter prototypes rapidly; either on their own or through a company that specializes in rapid prototyping. Prototyping has consequently become the most popular application of 3D printers in the automotive sector. "Rising concerns & government regulations pertaining to vehicle safety" Safety features have become a requisite for automotive consumers across the world. Several kinds of Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) have been developed to assist the driver and significantly reduce the number of accidents. For instance, in case the driver is distracted or not paying attention, the system warns them of approaching danger "Rising demand for luxury and comfort" Developing markets in Asia-Oceania, such as China and India, have emerged as global production and export hubs for vehicles. The significant increase in the GDP of these countries has improved the overall standard of living. The rising per capita income of these countries and the overall changes in the lifestyle of automotive consumers are expected to boost the demand for luxury and comfort from automotive consumers. "Asia-Pacific: Fastest growing market for top 10 automotive technologies" The Asia-Pacific is expected to dominate the market for the top 10 automotive technologies, and is projected to capture the highest market share in terms of value during the forecast period with a CAGR of 19.30%. Asia-Pacific countries have gained high economic growth. The favorable government policies for the automotive industry have contributed to the growth of automotive technologies in the region. BREAKDOWN OF PRIMARIES The study contains insights provided by various industry experts. The break-up of the primaries is as follows: - By Company Type Tier-1 - 63 %, Tier-2 - 29%, and OEM - 8% - By Designation - C level - 45%, D level 43%, others 12% - By Region - NA- 58%, Europe - 30%, APAC - 12% Study Coverage: The report provides a picture on top 10 automotive technologies across different verticals and regions. Furthermore, the report also includes an in-depth competitive analysis of the key players along with their company profiles, MnM view, recent developments, and key market strategies. Key Benefits of Buying the Report: The report will help the market leaders/new entrants in this market by providing them the closest approximations of the revenue numbers for the overall automotive aftermarket for top 10 automotive technologies and the subsegments. This report will help stakeholders to better understand the competitor landscape and gain more insights to better position their businesses and make suitable go-to-market strategies. Read the full report: http://www.reportlinker.com/p04680747-summary/view-report.html About Reportlinker ReportLinker is an award-winning market research solution. Reportlinker finds and organizes the latest industry data so you get all the market research you need - instantly, in one place. http://www.reportlinker.com Contact Clare: [email protected] US: (339)-368-6001 Intl: +1 339-368-6001 SOURCE Reportlinker Related Links http://www.reportlinker.com Those are just some of the stories of the 102 youth volunteers two from each state and the District of Columbia who today were named State Honorees by The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards, a nationwide program honoring students in grades 5-12 for outstanding volunteer service. Read the names and stories of this year's honorees at http://spirit.prudential.com . The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards, now in its 22nd year, is conducted by Prudential Financial in partnership with the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP). Each of the 102 State Honorees will receive $1,000, an engraved silver medallion and an all-expense-paid trip in early May to Washington, D.C. for four days of national recognition events. During the trip, 10 of them will be named America's top youth volunteers of 2017. In addition to the State Honorees, the program's judges recognized 234 students nationwide as Distinguished Finalists for their impressive community service activities. Each will receive an engraved bronze medallion. More than 500 other applicants were awarded Certificates of Excellence for their volunteer work. Many of this year's State Honorees and Distinguished Finalists were recognized for promoting a love of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) to their peers. Several worked with their state and local governments to improve their communities, and a few took over charitable programs to ensure that people in need could continue to be provided with essential services. A number of these top youth volunteers led initiatives to help children with cancer and other illnesses, and many more worked to combat bullying and promote inclusiveness in their schools. "Prudential is honored to recognize these young volunteers for their exemplary service," said Prudential Chairman and CEO John Strangfeld. "We hope that their stories inspire others to consider how they, too, can volunteer their time and talents to improve their communities." "These service-minded young people have brought meaningful change to communities at home and abroad, and it's a privilege to celebrate their work," said JoAnn Bartoletti, executive director of NASSP. "Congratulations to an exceptional group of middle level and high school students." About The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards represents the United States' largest youth recognition program based solely on volunteer service. All public and private middle level and high schools in the country, as well as all Girl Scout councils, county 4-H organizations, American Red Cross chapters, YMCAs and HandsOn Network affiliates, were eligible to select a student or member for a local Prudential Spirit of Community Award. These Local Honorees were then reviewed by an independent judging panel, which selected State Honorees and Distinguished Finalists based on criteria including personal initiative, effort, impact and personal growth. While in Washington, D.C., the 102 State Honorees one middle level and one high school student from each state and the District of Columbia will tour the capital's landmarks, meet top youth volunteers from other parts of the world, attend a gala awards ceremony at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History, and visit their congressional representatives on Capitol Hill. On May 8, 10 of the State Honorees five middle level and five high school students will be named America's top youth volunteers of 2017. Each of these National Honorees will receive: a $5,000 award award a gold medallion a crystal trophy for their nominating school or organization, and a $5,000 Prudential Foundation grant for a nonprofit charitable organization of their choice Since the program began in 1995, more than 115,000 young volunteers have been honored at the local, state and national level. The program also is conducted by Prudential subsidiaries in Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Ireland, India, China and Brazil. In addition to granting its own awards, The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards program also distributes President's Volunteer Service Awards to qualifying Local Honorees. About NASSP The National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP) is the leading organization of and voice for middle level and high school principals, assistant principals, and school leaders from across the United States. The association connects and engages school leaders through advocacy, research, education, and student programs. NASSP advocates on behalf of all school leaders to ensure the success of each student and strengthens school leadership practices through the design and delivery of high quality professional learning experiences. Reflecting its long-standing commitment to student leadership development, NASSP administers the National Honor Society, National Junior Honor Society, National Elementary Honor Society, and National Association of Student Councils. For more information about NASSP, located in Reston, VA, visit www.nassp.org. About Prudential Financial Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE: PRU), a financial services leader, has operations in the United States, Asia, Europe, and Latin America. Prudential's diverse and talented employees are committed to helping individual and institutional customers grow and protect their wealth through a variety of products and services, including life insurance, annuities, retirement-related services, mutual funds and investment management. In the U.S., Prudential's iconic Rock symbol has stood for strength, stability, expertise and innovation for more than a century. For more information, please visit www.news.prudential.com. For Spirit of Community Awards program logo and medallion graphics, please visit https://spirit.prudential.com/resources/media SOURCE Prudential Insurance Related Links http://www.news.prudential.com Grand Hyatt Hong Kong announced the appointment of Mr Richard Greaves as General Manager effective 1 March 2017. Mr Greaves is a Hyatt veteran, having started his career as a Management Trainee at Hyatt Carlton Tower in 1984, and is currently General Manager of Grand Hyatt Shanghai and Area Vice President for the Shanghai region. His first encounter with Grand Hyatt Hong Kong was in 1996 when he was Executive Assistant Manager Food and Beverage. It is truly an honour and a privilege to have the opportunity to return to Grand Hyatt Hong Kong. I am delighted to be joining a dynamic team, to be able to support them to be their best and contribute towards the continued success of this famed hotel after its recent renovations., said Richard. At the same time, Grand Hyatt Hong Kong would like to congratulate Mr Philip Yu, General Manager of the hotel, on his new position at Hyatt as Regional Vice President Operations China, effective 1 March 2017. NEW YORK, Feb. 7, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Turkey produces only about 2% of the country's total natural gas consumption, while remaining 98% is imported through pipelines from Russia, Azerbaijan and Iran. Ongoing political tensions between Russia and Turkey have led to decline in supply of natural gas from Russia. Thus, Russian natural gas producer Gazprom, which supplies more than half of total natural gas consumed in Turkey had to cut supply to Turkey by about 10% in 2015. Growing focus on expansion of LNG regasification terminal infrastructure, rising demand from various industrial applications, declining LNG prices and implementation of favorable government policies are expected to boost demand for LNG in the Turkey during 2016-2025. According to "Turkey LNG Market Demand & Supply Analysis, By Region, By Application, By LNG Terminal Competition Forecast and Opportunities, 2011-2025", LNG market in the country is projected to exhibit a CAGR of over 5.5% during 2016 - 2025. In 2015, industrial sector was the leading end use sector for LNG in Turkey and the same trend is anticipated to continue in the coming years as well, owing to increasing use of LNG for manufacturing of glass, ceramics, fertilizer, cement, steel, etc. In 2015, Algeria, Qatar and Nigeria were the leading suppliers of LNG in Turkey. However, in the coming years, United States is expected to become the second largest LNG supplier to Turkey, after Algeria. "Turkey LNG Market Demand & Supply Analysis, By Region, By Application, By LNG Terminal Competition Forecast and Opportunities, 2011-2025", discusses the following aspects of LNG market in the Turkey: - Turkey LNG Demand & Supply Analysis - Turkey LNG Potential Demand & Supply Gap - Regional Market Analysis (Marmara Region, Aegean Region, Central Anatolia Region, Mediterranean Region, Black Sea Region, South Eastern Anatolia Region, Eastern Anatolia Region) Why You Should Buy This Report? - To gain an in-depth understanding of LNG market in the Turkey. - To identify the on-going trends and anticipated growth in the next ten years - To help LNG terminal operators, aggregators, suppliers, marketers and consultants in aligning their market-centric strategies - To obtain research based business decisions and add weight to presentations and marketing material - To gain competitive knowledge of leading market players - To avail 10% customization in the report without any extra charges and get research data or trends added in the report as per the buyer's specific needs Report Methodology Information contained in this report is based upon both primary and secondary research. Primary research includes interaction with LNG terminal operators, aggregators, distributors and industry experts. Secondary research includes an exhaustive search of relevant publications such as company annual reports, financial reports and proprietary databases. Read the full report: http://www.reportlinker.com/p04683646-summary/view-report.html About Reportlinker ReportLinker is an award-winning market research solution. Reportlinker finds and organizes the latest industry data so you get all the market research you need - instantly, in one place. http://www.reportlinker.com __________________________ Contact Clare: [email protected] US: (339)-368-6001 Intl: +1 339-368-6001 SOURCE Reportlinker Related Links http://www.reportlinker.com MUNICH, February 7, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- NATS has selected the R&S VCS-4G IP-based voice communications system from Rohde & Schwarz as its second voice system for its air traffic control (ATC) communications in UK airspace. Within the framework of the Single European Sky (SES) initiative, NATS will modernize its entire air traffic management (ATM) infrastructure over the next few years. Tim Bullock, Director Supply Chain Management at NATS, explains: "NATS controls more than 2.4 million flights every year. Our systems must be both flexible and able to handle heavy workloads in order to ensure efficient operations for airlines and passengers alike. We have found in Rohde & Schwarz an innovative and reliable partner. We welcome them to the collaborative team of suppliers joining us on our ATM transformation journey towards SESAR deployment." Rohde & Schwarz will begin the implementation of the second voice system in 2017. It will provide enhanced resilience for voice based radio communications in UK airspace. The air traffic control centers in Swanwick and Prestwick as well as the NATS corporate and technical centre in Whiteley will all be equipped in a phased deployment that will be completed by 2020. The order includes the delivery, implementation and through-life support of more than 450 R&S VCS-4G controller working positions (CWP). Up to 1700 radios and various ground-ground lines will be connected to the system. As airspace becomes more crowded, there is an increased demand for flexible, load-based reallocation of resources while ensuring efficient and sustainable air traffic control in line with the highest safety standards. Rohde & Schwarz meets this challenge with the fully VoIP-based R&S VCS-4G featuring a distributed, redundant architecture. More information: http://www.press.rohde-schwarz.com . Contact: Simone Kneifl, Phone: +49-89-4129-0, E-mail: [email protected] SOURCE Rohde & Schwarz Now, Four Seasons has created the ultimate gift for the gourmand: an extraordinary voyage through cuisines and cultures in nine countries. Highlighted by a series of Michelin-starred dining experiences, immersive cooking classes, foraging expeditions, and market tours led by renowned chefs and local culinary pioneers, Culinary Discoveries takes guests on a 19-day odyssey across two continents, with air travel aboard the Four Seasons Private Jet and luxurious accommodations at Four Seasons hotels and resorts. Click here for a sneak peak of the Culinary Discoveries journey. A Special Gift from Four Seasons Exclusively for the Culinary Discoveries journey, Four Seasons is offering complimentary business class airfare from each guest's home city to the starting point in Seoul, Korea, and back from Paris, France - a value of up to USD 5,000 per person. A Culinary Itinerary Like No Other A small group of culinary adventurers will meet in Seoul, where they will get to know one another at a private dinner in the home of chef Jong Kuk Lee. In the days to come, guests will dine on wagyu and kobe beef in Tokyo, and learn about molecular gastronomy in Hong Kong in addition to enjoying a traditional feast of whole suckling pig. In northern Thailand, the group goes on an elephant trek, followed by a market visit in Mumbai before the Four Seasons Private Jet takes off for Europe. In Florence, guests meet an eighth-generation butcher and visit Michaelangelo's David during a private viewing, and in Lisbon, they explore a city and cuisine shaped by its seafaring history. After an exclusive foraging and dining experience in Copenhagen, guests jet off to Paris for a farewell dinner to remember at Four Seasons Hotel George V. Along the way, Four Seasons Private Jet guests will meet other legends of the global food scene including Namae Shinobu, Alvin Leung Jr, Duangporn "Bo" Songvisava, and Jiro Ono, who gained worldwide recognition for his 10-seat restaurant in the Tokyo subway through the 2011 documentary Jiro Dreams of Sushi. Guests will also meet leading Four Seasons chefs including Christian Le Squer of three Michelin star Le Cinq in Paris, and Chan Yan Tak of Lung King Heen in Hong Kong, the world's first Chinese restaurant to earn three Michelin stars. "The list of dining experiences alone is astounding. Other travellers could spend weeks or months trying to secure reservations at any of these restaurants, and then plan a special trip around one meal. Here, Four Seasons has secured the best tables and behind-the-scenes access, all in one incredible trip filled with opportunities to eat, drink and explore to your heart's content," says Director of Guest Experience and On-Board Concierge Javier Loureiro, noting that Four Seasons Private Jet guests will have rare opportunities to learn the secrets of Michelin-starred chefs, go on market and foraging excursions, enjoy hands-on tutorials and more, all in the company of like-minded travellers. About the Four Seasons Private Jet Taking luxury hospitality to new heights, the Four Seasons Private Jet opens doors to the world's most intriguing destinations and extraordinary experiences. Guests travel aboard the 52-seat custom-designed Boeing 757 and stay exclusively at Four Seasons hotels and resorts, with dedicated staff both in the air and on the ground tailoring each journey to each guest's own interests. About Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts Founded in 1960, Four Seasons continues to define the future of luxury hospitality with extraordinary imagination, unwavering commitment to the highest standards of quality, and the most genuine and customised service. Currently operating 104 hotels, resorts and residences in major city centres and resort destinations in 43 countries, and with more than 50 projects in development, Four Seasons consistently ranks among the world's best hotels and most prestigious brands in reader polls, traveller reviews and industry awards. For more information and reservations, visit fourseasons.com. For the latest news, visit press.fourseasons.com and follow @FourSeasonsPR on Twitter. Laura Schlecht, [email protected] SOURCE Four Seasons Related Links http://www.fourseasons.com OMAHA, Neb., Feb. 7, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Rob Knight, chief financial officer of Union Pacific Corporation (NYSE: UNP), will address the following investor conferences in February: Stifel 2017 Transportation & Logistics Conference Key Biscayne, Fla. Feb. 14, 2017 , at 10:30 a.m. ET View presentation and listen to live Internet webcast at www.up.com/investor Alternatively, the audio portion can be accessed directly through the following webcast link Barclays Industrial Select Conference Miami Beach, Fla. Feb. 22, 2017 , at 10:20 a.m. ET View presentation and listen to live Internet webcast at www.up.com/investor Alternatively, the audio portion can be accessed directly through the following webcast link Replays of the audio webcasts will be available shortly after the conclusion of the live events on Union Pacific's Investors website. ABOUT UNION PACIFIC Union Pacific Railroad is the principal operating company of Union Pacific Corporation (NYSE: UNP). One of America's most recognized companies, Union Pacific Railroad connects 23 states in the western two-thirds of the country by rail, providing a critical link in the global supply chain. From 2007-2016, Union Pacific invested approximately $34 billion in its network and operations to support America's transportation infrastructure. The railroad's diversified business mix includes Agricultural Products, Automotive, Chemicals, Coal, Industrial Products and Intermodal. Union Pacific serves many of the fastest-growing U.S. population centers, operates from all major West Coast and Gulf Coast ports to eastern gateways, connects with Canada's rail systems and is the only railroad serving all six major Mexico gateways. Union Pacific provides value to its roughly 10,000 customers by delivering products in a safe, reliable, fuel-efficient and environmentally responsible manner. www.up.com www.facebook.com/unionpacific www.twitter.com/unionpacific SOURCE Union Pacific Corporation Related Links http://www.up.com AMSTERDAM, February 7, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- University Office, an international leader in research management and administration applications and solutions, and Elsevier, a world-leading provider of scientific, technical and medical information products and services, today announced their agreement to provide the University Office CRIS system IRMA (Integrated Research Management Application) with access to data from Elsevier's Scopus, the largest abstract and citation database of peer-reviewed literature. "University Office is proud to announce that the highly flexible web services framework of its Integrated Research Management Application (IRMA) is now linked to Scopus, enabling users to automatically harvest data to populate IRMA," said Peter Mackie, Director of University Office. "Working with the team at Elsevier has helped us deliver our mutual clients access to information available through the advanced interoperability of the Scopus products. Using the Scopus API to harvest research outputs and citation information will allow University Office and Elsevier clients to direct their resources to additional value-add services for researchers." The agreement allows University Office customers with a subscription to Scopus to import bibliographic records from Scopus, via an automated process, into their IRMA CRIS system. IRMA is a web-based integrated research management system, which allows the comprehensive management of an organization's research. The automated import will increase the quality and speed of internal data aggregation and analysis, such as Information real-time information on author publications, citations and author's h-indexes. Professor Chris Hutchison, Director for Research and Innovation at Murdoch University and one of University Office's customers, commented: "The new agreement with Elsevier underpins the University's e-research strategy of continuously seeking innovative solutions to support research outcomes, ensuring that Murdoch University's published body of knowledge is as complete as possible. The key savings will be around the automated matching from the overnight processing leading to a reduced management overhead for our Research and Innovation team members. Murdoch University is planning to have our Scopus data integration ready in early 2017." "We are pleased to see that leading universities in Australia, as well as longstanding Scopus customers, will now be able to also access Scopus information from within their CRIS system," said Cameron Ross, Vice President of Product Management, Abstract & Indexing Databases at Elsevier. "This way, their users will be able to combine the power of Scopus data with other relevant research information available at their institute." About University Office University Office, headquartered in Melbourne with offices in Perth and Sydney, is an international leader in research management and administration applications and solutions. They work extensively with the university and research community to deliver solutions tailored for all research-driven institutions. Through our collaborations, University Office discovers best practice research management and administration, and deploys that knowledge within their Integrated Research Management Application (IRMA).Not only is IRMA fully linked across its own modules, through its configurable and flexible web services framework it offers seamless integration with enterprise systems for human resources, finance, and student management, among others. www.universityoffice.com About Scopus Scopus is the largest abstract and citation database of peer-reviewed literature and features tools to track, analyze and visualize scholarly research. Its comprehensive database contains 66+ million items indexed from +22,500 titles from more than 5,000 publishers worldwide, ensuring broad interdisciplinary coverage in the fields of science, technology, medicine, social sciences and arts and humanities. Scopus was designed and developed with input from researchers and librarians and features direct links to subscribed full-text articles, other library resources and interoperability with applications such as reference management software. Scopus is part of Elsevier's Research Intelligence portfolio which includes the SciVal tools, the Pure system, rich data assets and custom Analytical Services. www.scopus.com About Elsevier Elsevier is a world-leading provider of information solutions that enhance the performance of science, health, and technology professionals, empowering them to make better decisions, deliver better care, and sometimes make groundbreaking discoveries that advance the boundaries of knowledge and human progress. Elsevier provides web-based, digital solutions - among them ScienceDirect, Scopus, Research Intelligence and ClinicalKey - and publishes over 2,500 journals, including The Lancet and Cell, and more than 35,000 book titles, including a number of iconic reference works. Elsevier is part of RELX Group, a world-leading provider of information and analytics for professional and business customers across industries. www.elsevier.com Media contacts Todd Melville Program Manager, University Office +61-439-696-655 [email protected] Elisa Nelissen Press Officer, Elsevier +31-622-73-50-02 [email protected] SOURCE Elsevier NYSE MKT Equities Exchange Symbol UEC CORPUS CHRISTI, TX, Feb. 7, 2017 /PRNewswire/ - Uranium Energy Corp (NYSE MKT: UEC, the "Company") is pleased to provide the following letter to its shareholders from President and CEO, Amir Adnani. Dear Shareholder, On behalf of management and the board of directors, I am pleased to report our 2017 outlook for the Company. Before all else, I want you to know how much I appreciate your support as a shareholder and your confidence in management. Thank you! A corner is turning in the uranium market. You can see this in the improving price for spot uranium which is up over 40 % in just two months. Several factors are contributing to major change: I believe the best place to start is a video link, provided below, to a short presentation I recently delivered, addressing the latest positive developments in the uranium market as well as UEC's strategy, current activities and milestones. http://www.uraniumenergy.com/featured-video/ On the supply side of the uranium market , in late 2016 the uranium price dropped to a 12-year low and made many industry analysts question when we would see more production cuts by major producers. It didn't take long, and in early January 2017 the world's largest uranium miner, Kazatomprom, Kazakhstan's national uranium company that produces 40% of the world's annual supply , announced a 10% reduction in uranium production. This single action will reduce global output by approximately 4%, and comes on the heels of previous production cutbacks announced by other uranium producers in 2016. , in late 2016 the uranium price dropped to a 12-year low and made many industry analysts question when we would see more production cuts by major producers. It didn't take long, and in early the world's largest uranium miner, Kazatomprom, national uranium company that produces , announced a 10% reduction in uranium production. This single action will reduce global output by approximately 4%, and comes on the heels of previous production cutbacks announced by other uranium producers in 2016. On the demand side , the global growth in nuclear power capacity is clear with 60 reactors under construction worldwide. Over 20 mega-cities in Asia are facing serious air pollution crises which cannot be resolved without emission-free baseload electricity generation that only nuclear power provides. Additionally, US utilities are expected to significantly increase their spot market and long term contracting in 2017 to fill their near-term and long-term uranium requirements. The last major contracting cycle occurred in the 2005-2010 period, with many of those contracted commitments rolling off today. That period saw the uranium price react strongly and reach all-time highs. , the global growth in nuclear power capacity is clear with 60 reactors under construction worldwide. Over 20 mega-cities in are facing serious air pollution crises which cannot be resolved without emission-free baseload electricity generation that only nuclear power provides. Additionally, US utilities are expected to significantly increase their spot market and long term contracting in 2017 to fill their near-term and long-term uranium requirements. The last major contracting cycle occurred in the 2005-2010 period, with many of those contracted commitments rolling off today. That period saw the uranium price react strongly and reach all-time highs. The new US Administration takes energy independence seriously. Far and away, the most foreign-dependent US energy sector is imported uranium for nuclear power. US nuclear power accounts for 64% of the country's clean air electricity. The US imports 95% of its uranium, much of it from countries with elevated geopolitical risk. Domestically mined US uranium is taking on an entirely new and urgent strategic significance to American interests and energy security. The recent appointment of Rick Perry , former governor of Texas , as US Secretary of Energy, demonstrates the new administration's interests in developing clear pro-active measures to transform US energy policy. UEC's 12-year history coincided with Governor Perry's policies to expand energy industries in Texas . During his tenure as Governor we made significant progress, permitting two ISR uranium mines, achieving uranium production in late 2010, and making a new discovery at our Burke Hollow Project in Bee County, Texas . , former governor of , as US Secretary of Energy, demonstrates the new administration's interests in developing clear pro-active measures to transform US energy policy. UEC's 12-year history coincided with Governor Perry's policies to expand energy industries in . During his tenure as Governor we made significant progress, permitting two ISR uranium mines, achieving uranium production in late 2010, and making a new discovery at our Burke Hollow Project in . UEC is fortunate to have a senior management team possessing a wealth of experience in both US and international uranium mining and government policy. Spencer Abraham , our executive chairman, served as the tenth US Energy Secretary in the George W. Bush Administration, devising and successfully implementing the first national energy policy in the US since the 1980's. Our Executive VP, Scott Melbye and Senior Advisor, Harry Anthony are past and current Presidents of the Uranium Producers of America, respectively. Mr. Melbye is a 30-year veteran of the uranium industry and in recent years has provided expert testimony to the House Oversight Committee on domestic uranium issues. Ideally Positioned As market forces unfold, UEC is strategically positioned to help fill the growing demand for uranium with licensed, low-cost operations in stable jurisdictions and a strong balance sheet. The Company has the infrastructure advantage with our fully licensed, state-of-the-art Hobson Processing Plant and a focus on a low-cost, environmentally friendly method of uranium extraction (ISR or In-Situ Recovery). To learn more about the ISR mining method, please visit this video on our website: http://www.uraniumenergy.com/projects/isr-mining. Utilizing the ISR method, we are positioned to be among the lowest cost producers in the industry. UEC is unique in being a 100% unhedged producer, as we have purposefully avoided restrictive contracting and price ceilings with utilities during the bottom of the price cycle. This will give our investors maximum leverage and reward as uranium prices move higher. To fulfill this strategy and due to the weakness in uranium prices over the last few years, we undertook a strategic decision to place uranium extraction on stand-by to preserve our resources, while capitalizing on this period to grow our asset base and advance our key projects through permitting. As the market improves, we are ready to re-start our operations quickly when pricing is favorable. Lastly, we have a solid balance sheet as required to be a leading player in the coming uranium bull market. Last month, we completed an over-subscribed $26 million financing with strong interest from existing and new shareholders. South Texas Hub-and-Spoke Operations UEC is executing a 'hub-and-spoke strategy' in South Texas where the Company controls five wholly-owned, ISR projects surrounding our Hobson processing plant with its two-million-pound-per-year capacity. Of the five projects, Palangana is permitted, built and production-ready. Goliad is fully permitted for extraction within its first production area. Burke Hollow is expanding in scale while progressing towards final permitting for initial production. Of note, Burke Hollow is a new discovery made by our exploration team in 2012 and, since that time, we have drilled over 500 holes to define the current resource*. We have near-term plans to initiate a new drilling program at Burke Hollow of up to 100 delineation and resource* expansion holes. This drilling program will use our proprietary PFN drilling probes -- an innovative low-cost technology for drilling in the South Texas uranium belt. A study by the US Geological Survey ranks the South Texas Uranium Belt amongst the least explored and most prospective regions in the world for additional uranium discoveries. A Pipeline of Projects for Additional Expansion The Company controls an additional 6 projects in the southwestern US with assets such as the large Anderson Project in central Arizona and our Slick Rock Project in southwestern Colorado. In Paraguay, we maintain a district-scale potential with one of the largest in-situ recoverable property positions in the world with over 750,000 acres in exploitation and exploration licenses at our Yuty and Oviedo Projects. Total historic exploration expenditures are over $50 million and include ~100,000 meters of drilling. Additionally, UEC announced in March 2016, that the Company had entered into an agreement to acquire new non-uranium properties in Paraguay from CIC Resources. We are currently assessing several possible options to maximize shareholder value from this accretive acquisition, which is expected to be finalized in the coming months. These and other pipeline projects demonstrate that UEC is prepared, well positioned and highly leveraged to a higher price of uranium. For details of UEC's Project Portfolio including 43-101 Resource Reports * **, see the following section of our website: http://www.uraniumenergy.com/projects UEC Leadership in Our Industry Senior management is active and plays a leading role in shaping uranium policy in the US and other key international markets. Various members of our team act as advisors, speakers and board members for domestic and global uranium industry organizations, including the International Atomic Energy Agency, World Nuclear Fuel Market, Nuclear Energy Institute, and the Uranium Producers of America. Thank you again for your confidence in management's strategy. We encourage and appreciate your ongoing support. Call me directly, or our Investor Relations department, with any questions or comments that you might have as the year ensues. Please call 1-866-748-1030 any time or email [email protected]. Visit our website at www.uraniumenergy.com to keep current on all our activities and be sure that you register your email there to receive the latest news. Yours truly, "Amir Adnani" President & CEO About Uranium Energy Corp Uranium Energy Corp is a U.S.-based uranium mining and exploration company. The Company's fully-licensed Hobson processing facility is central to all of its projects in South Texas, including the Palangana ISR mine, the permitted Goliad ISR project and the development-stage Burke Hollow ISR project. Additionally, the Company controls a pipeline of advanced-stage projects in Arizona, Colorado and Paraguay. The Company's operations are managed by professionals with a recognized profile for excellence in their industry, a profile based on many decades of hands-on experience in the key facets of uranium exploration, development and mining. Stock Exchange Information: NYSE MKT: UEC Frankfurt Stock Exchange Symbol: U6Z WKN: AJDRR ISN: US916896103 Safe Harbor Statement * The mineral resources referred to herein have been estimated in accordance with the definition standards on mineral resources of the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum referred to in NI 43-101 and are not compliant with U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") Industry Guide 7 guidelines. In addition, measured mineral resources, indicated mineral resources and inferred mineral resources, while recognized and required by Canadian regulations, are not defined terms under SEC Industry Guide 7 and are normally not permitted to be used in reports and registration statements filed with the SEC. Accordingly, we have not reported them in the United States. Investors are cautioned not to assume that any part or all of the mineral resources in these categories will ever be converted into mineral reserves. These terms have a great amount of uncertainty as to their existence, and great uncertainty as to their economic and legal feasibility. In particular, it should be noted that mineral resources which are not mineral reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability. It cannot be assumed that all or any part of measured mineral resources, indicated mineral resources or inferred mineral resources will ever be upgraded to a higher category. In accordance with Canadian rules, estimates of inferred mineral resources cannot form the basis of feasibility or other economic studies. Investors are cautioned not to assume that any part of the reported measured mineral resources, indicated mineral resources or inferred mineral resources referred to herein are economically or legally mineable. ** It must be stressed that the exploration targets referred to herein and their related projections of potential quantity and grade are extremely conceptual in nature, that there has been insufficient exploration to define a mineral resource and it is uncertain if further exploration will result in the ability to estimate uranium mineral resources. Except for the statements of historical fact contained herein, the information presented in this letter constitutes "forward-looking statements" as such term is used in applicable United States and Canadian laws. These statements relate to analyses and other information that are based on forecasts of future results, estimates of amounts not yet determinable and assumptions of management. Any other statements that express or involve discussions with respect to predictions, expectations, beliefs, plans, projections, objectives, assumptions or future events or performance are not statements of historical fact and should be viewed as "forward-looking statements". Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual actions, events or results to differ materially from those described in forward-looking statements, there may be other factors that cause actions, events or results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements contained in this letter. SOURCE Uranium Energy Corp Related Links http://www.uraniumenergy.com/ WASHINGTON, Feb. 7, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Expressing one's affection to another is a celebrated custom on Valentine's Day. Sweethearts and family members present gifts to one another, such as cards, candy, flowers and other symbols of affection. Opinions differ as to who was the original Valentine, but the most popular theory is that he was a clergyman who was executed for secretly marrying couples in ancient Rome. In A.D. 496, Pope Gelasius I declared Feb. 14 as Valentine's Day. Esther Howland, a native of Massachusetts, is given credit for selling the first mass-produced Valentine's Day cards in the 1840s. The custom continues today with even young children exchanging Valentine's Day cards with their fellow classmates. The estimated value of popular Valentine's Day products shipped by manufacturers in the U.S. Source: U.S. Census Bureau Candy 1,364 Number of U.S. manufacturing establishments that produced primarily chocolate and cocoa products in 2014, employing 42,043 people. California led the nation with 151 of these establishments, followed by New York with 119. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, County Business Patterns: 2014, NAICS code (31135) http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/BP/2014/00A1/0100000US|0100000US.04000/naics~31135 493 Number of U.S. establishments that manufactured primarily nonchocolate confectionary products in 2014. These establishments employed 19,213 people. California led the nation in this category with 58 establishments. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, County Business Patterns: 2014, NAICS code (31134) http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/BP/2014/00A1/0100000US|0100000US.04000/naics~31134 $16.0 billion The estimated value of chocolate and confectionary product shipments for manufacturing establishments in 2015. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2015 Annual Survey of Manufactures, Products and Service Codes (311351 and 311352) https://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/ASM/2015/31VS101//prodsvc~311351|311352 $10.1 billion The estimated value of nonchocolate confectionery product shipments for manufacturing establishments in 2015. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2015 Annual Survey of Manufactures, Products and Service Code (311340) https://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/ASM/2015/31VS101//prodsvc~311340 3,217 Number of confectionery and nut stores in the United States in 2014. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, County Business Patterns: 2014, NAICS code (445292) http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/BP/2014/00A1//naics~445292 $3.4 billion The value of U.S. imports of chocolate and confectionery in 2015. Canada was the top source of U.S. chocolate imports that year with $1.3 billion. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, International Trade Statistics, NAICS code (31135) https://usatrade.census.gov/ Flowers 13,765 The number of florist establishments nationwide in 2014. These businesses employed 61,170 people. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, County Business Patterns: 2014, NAICS code (4531) http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/BP/2014/00A1//naics~4531 $131 million The value of imports of bouquet cut flowers and buds in February 2016. Of that, the value of imports of fresh cut roses was $72 millionthe highest category of flowers. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, International Trade Statistics, (Commodity code-0603 and 060311) https://usatrade.census.gov/ Jewelry 22,655 The number of jewelry stores in the United States in 2014. Jewelry stores offer engagement, wedding and other rings to couples of all ages. In February 2016, these stores sold an estimated $2.6 billion in merchandise. Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, County Business Patterns: 2014, NAICS code (448310) http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/BP/2014/00A1//naics~448310 and Monthly Retail Trade and Food Services www.census.gov/retail 2,143 The number of jewelry and silverware manufacturing establishments. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, County Business Patterns: 2014, NAICS code (339910) http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/BP/2014/00A1//naics~339910 $6.7 billion The estimated value of jewelry and silverware products shipped for manufacturing establishments in the United States in 2015. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2015 Annual Survey of Manufactures, Products and Service Code (339910) https://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/ASM/2015/31VS101//prodsvc~339910 "Please Be Mine" 29.7 and 27.8 years Median age at first marriage in 2015 for men and women, respectively. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2015 American Community Survey http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/ACS/15_1YR/B12007 47.5% The overall percentage of people 15 and older who reported being married, except those separated. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2015 American Community Survey http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/ACS/15_1YR/S1201 31.9 The provisional rate of marriages per 1,000 people performed in Nevada during 2014. So many couples tie the knot in the Silver State that it ranked number one nationally in marriage rates. Hawaii ranked second with a marriage rate of 17.7. Source: National Center for Health Statistics http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/dvs/state_marriage_rates_90_95_and_99-14.pdf 2.1 million The provisional number of marriages that took place in the United States (excluding Georgia) in 2014. That breaks down to about 5,800 a day. Source: National Center for Health Statistics http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nvss/marriage_divorce_tables.htm Giving Love a Second Chance 19.1% Among people 15 and older who have been married, the percentage of men and women who have been married twice as of 2015. About 5.4 have married three or more times. By comparison, 75.5 percent of people who have ever been married have made only one trip down the aisle. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2015 American Community Survey http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/ACS/15_1YR/B12505 Looking for Love 399 The number of dating service establishments nationwide as of 2012. These establishments, which include internet dating services, employed 2,348 people. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2012 Economic Census, NAICS code (8129902) http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/ECN/2012_US/81A1//naics~8129902 Try Looking Here . . . Romantic-sounding places to spend Valentine's Day: Rose City, Texas (Population 518) Rose City, Mich. (Population 633) South Heart, N.D. (Population 428) Loveland, Colo. (Population 75,182) Sacred Heart, Minn. (Population 518) Loveland, Ohio (Population 12,585) Romeo, Colo. (Population 387) Valentine, Neb. (Population 2,836) Love County, Okla. (Population 9,870) Lovejoy, Ga. (Population 6,487) Lovelock, Nev. (Population 1,878) Loveland, Okla. (Population 12) Loves Park, Ill. (Population 23,455) Loving, N.M. (Population 1,409) Lovelady, Texas (Population 620) Lovington, Ill. (Population 1,108) Lovington, N.M. (Population 11,800) Loving County, Texas (Population 112) Romeoville, Ill. (Population 39,719) Rosemont, Md. (Population 307) Valentine, Texas (Population 123) Rosemont, Ill. (Population 4,206) Love Valley, N.C. (Population 100) Rose Hill Acres, Texas (Population 445) Romeo, Mich. (Population 3,625) Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Vintage 2015 Population Estimates, estimates are as of July 1, 2015 http://factfinder.census.gov/faces/nav/jsf/pages/index.xhtml Following is a list of observances typically covered by the Census Bureau's Facts for Features series: African-American History Month (February) Labor Day (1st Monday in September) Super Bowl (first Sunday in February) Grandparents Day (1st Sunday after Labor Day) Valentine's Day (Feb. 14) Hispanic Heritage Month (Sept. 15-Oct. 15) Women's History Month (March) Unmarried and Single Americans Week (3rd week of September) Irish-American Heritage Month (March)/ St. Patrick's Day (March 17) Halloween (Oct. 31) Earth Day (April 22) American Indian/Alaska Native Heritage Month (November) Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month (May) Veterans Day (Nov. 11) Older Americans Month (May) Thanksgiving Day (4th Thursday in November) Mother's Day (2nd Sunday in May) The Holiday Season (December) Hurricane Season Begins (June 1) Father's Day (third Sunday in June) The Fourth of July (July 4) Anniversary of Americans with Disabilities Act (July 26) Back to School (August) Editor's note: The preceding data were collected from a variety of sources and may be subject to sampling variability and other sources of error. Facts for Features are customarily released about two months before an observance in order to accommodate magazine production timelines. County Business Patterns (CBP) provides statistics for businesses with paid employees. For information about the self-employed, see the Census Bureau's Nonemployer Statistics page. Employment totals from CBP are for the pay period including March 12, 2014. Amanda Perry Graphic | JPG | PDF | Public Information Office 301-763-3030 / [email protected] census.gov Connect with us on Social media SOURCE U.S. Census Bureau Related Links http://www.census.gov VALHALLA, N.Y., Feb. 7, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- USI Insurance Services ("USI"), the number one employee benefits broker in Ohio, announced today that Accelerated Benefits, the largest insurance agency in central Ohio, has joined the firm. Founded in 1986 by Thomas P. Wagoner and headquartered in Dublin, Ohio, Accelerated Benefits and its employees will remain at the current Dublin location. Wagoner has been named president of USI Columbus Employee Benefit Division. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Thomas D. Cassady, USI Midwest regional chief executive officer, said: "For almost 30 years, Accelerated Benefits' growth has been driven by what is known as the company's 'Five-C Employee Benefit Program' Cost, Compliance, Communication, Coordination and Consultation. Their uncompromising commitment to delivering superior service and ability to offer customizable solutions that fit the unique needs of their clients perfectly complement the USI ONE Advantage, a customer-centric approach to delivering solutions that is enhancing the insurance brokerage and consulting experience. We are pleased to have Tom and his team join us, and I look forward to combining our strengths to further extend USI's presence as one of the top insurance brokerage firms in the Midwest region." Thomas P. Wagoner, president, Accelerated Benefits, said: "We are in the 'business of insurance,' not the 'insurance business,' and we have been searching for a partner who focuses on problem solving and generating positive economic results for its clients instead of simply pushing out quotes. The USI ONE platform embodies these values, and through this partnership, customers will continue to enjoy their benefits programs and have access to USI's expanded suite of employee benefits, retirement consulting and personal risk solutions. We are excited to be joining a nationally recognized company that is setting a new standard for risk management and benefit programs, and to growing our footprint in this strategic growth marketplace." About USI USI is a leading local and national insurance brokerage and consulting firm, delivering property and casualty, employee benefits, personal risk and retirement solutions throughout the United States. Headquartered in Valhalla, New York, USI has over $1.0 billion in revenue, employs more than 4,400 professionals and operates out of 140 local offices serving every state. USI has become a premier insurance brokerage and consulting firm by leveraging the USI ONE Advantage, an interactive platform that integrates proprietary and innovative client solutions, networked local resources and enterprise-wide collaboration to deliver customized results with positive, bottom line impact. USI attracts best-in-class industry talent with a long history of deep and continuing investment in our local communities. For more information, visit usi.com. Contact: Contact: Edward J. Bowler Cecile M. Locurto USI Insurance Services USI Insurance Services 914-749-8504 914-747-6331 [email protected] [email protected] SOURCE USI Insurance Services Related Links http://www.usi.biz TYSONS, Va., Feb. 6, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The PenFed Foundation announced today that Brian Hawthorne, a former senior advisor to the U.S. Secretary of Veterans Affairs for Strategic Messaging and White House Liaison with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), has been selected to serve as the organization's director of communications and development. Hawthorne, who joins the PenFed Foundation on Feb. 6, will be responsible for planning and executing the foundation's fundraising and government relations activities. "There are few greater missions than that of the PenFed Foundation which is dedicated to improving the lives of our nation's defenders and their families," said Tammy Darvish, President of the PenFed Foundation and Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of PenFed Credit Union. "Having served in the military himself and served veterans on a variety of different levels, Brian knows firsthand the needs, challenges and importance of helping those who have served our country and their families. With his professional and personal experience, Brian will help us greatly expand the reach of the foundation and those we serve through it." "We are pleased to welcome Brian to the PenFed Foundation," said PenFed Credit Union President and CEO James Schenck, who also serves as the CEO for the PenFed Foundation. "Brian will help take an extraordinary organization with a critical mission and make it even better." As the senior advisor to the Secretary for Strategic Messaging and White House Liaison at the VA, Hawthorne was responsible for strategic messaging and planning for the Secretary's MyVA transformation and other national efforts, which has resulted in substantial improvement of care and services the VA provides veterans. In addition to his former role at the VA, Hawthorne currently serves as a master sergeant in the U.S. Army Reserves in the 450th Civil Affairs Battalion (Airborne), located in Riverdale, Maryland. Hawthorne joined the U.S. Army Reserves in 2003, and is a recipient of the Bronze Star Medal, the Senior Parachutist Badge, the Pathfinder Badge, and the Combat Action Badge, among other decorations. He deployed twice as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Hawthorne is a graduate of The George Washington University in Washington D.C. where he earned a Master of Professional Studies in Political Management and a Bachelor of Arts in Geography. Over the last year, the PenFed Foundation has assisted: 2,522 service members who were facing financial emergencies received Asset Recovery Kits including interest-free loans and free financial counseling; 405 wounded warriors received Military Heroes grants for their families and caregivers (45% more than last year); 113 first-time homebuyers received Dream Makers grants for life-changing down payments and closing costs, benefiting 395 military family members (17% more than last year); And 461 formerly homeless veterans moved off the streets into safe housing as a result of a new partnership with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. About the PenFed Foundation Founded in 2001, the PenFed Foundation is a national nonprofit organization committed to helping members of our military community secure their financial future. It provides service members, veterans, their families and support networks with the skills and resources they need to improve their lives through programs on financial education, credit-building, home ownership, and short-term assistance. Affiliated with PenFed Credit Union, the foundation has the resources to effectively reach military communities across the nation, build strong partnerships, and engage a dedicated corps of volunteers in its mission. To learn more, visit: www.penfedfoundation.org. 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. Our 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. PenFed Credit Union offers many paths to membership, including numerous employee groups and association affiliations. 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: M/F/V/D. SOURCE PenFed Foundation Related Links http://www.penfedfoundation.org IRVINE, Calif., Feb. 7, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- WealthWise Financial is excited to be on the cutting edge of new technology and meeting the needs of millennial investors through offering Guided Wealth Portfolios (GWP). LPL Financial is launching a hybrid Robo platform as a low-account minimum investment solution, designed to appeal to millennials and to individuals with less than $250,000 to invest. LPL is piloting the program with 50 offices out of the 15,000 advisors across the nation. WealthWise Financial is one of the few west coast offices to be chosen for this pilot. GWP offers the best of both worlds: a low-account minimum solution plus an advisor to reach out to as life events happen. As investors' needs change, they can transition to working more hands-on with an advisor. Utilizing the marriage between human and digital advice, WealthWise Financial Services is taking the lead in 21st century wealth management. Robo-advisors use complex mathematical formulas, algorithms, to compare financial information that you provide about your investment objectives, financial assets and time horizon to a menu of typically low cost investment vehicles, usually exchange traded funds. The fund fees are low, typically 0.5% annually, or less depending on the amount invested. "We are excited about the impact of robo advice it is access to both worlds, a new era in investing and financial advice," according to Loreen Gilbert president of WealthWise Financial Services Inc., Irvine, California. "Combining 'robo' technology with personalized human advice means that people new to investing can now have a clearer path to financial and retirement future," she added. "The decision on which offices would be chosen was based on their commitment to digital marketing and social media, having one person in the office as a point person to manage the platform, having a millennial advisor in the office, a commitment to marketing efforts and already being ranked as a top producing advisor," said Robert Steinau, VP, Strategic Relationship Manager, of LPL. "We are confident WealthWise Financial Services is an excellent fit meeting the criteria." Founded in 2005, WealthWise Financial Services is an Irvine, California headquartered private wealth management and financial planning company serving clients in twenty states. The firm offers securities and investment advisory services to individuals, business owners and corporations through Loreen Gilbert's affiliation as a registered principal with LPL Financial. For more information, https://www.lplguidedwealth.com/advisor/WEALTHWISEROBO. Securities and advisory services offered through LPL Financial, a registered investment advisor. Member FINRA/SIPC Guided Wealth Portfolios (GWP) is a centrally managed, algorithm-based, investment program sponsored by LPL Financial LLC (LPL). There is no assurance that the GWPs are suitable for all investors or will yield positive outcomes. An investment in Exchange Traded Funds (ETF), structured as a mutual fund or unit investment trust, involves the risk of losing and additional risks such as non-diversification, price volatility, competitive industry pressure, international political and economic developments, possible trading halts, and index tracking errors. Media Contact: Debbie Douglas 949-375-3436 [email protected] SOURCE WealthWise Financial NEW YORK, Feb. 7, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- WeissLaw LLP is investigating possible breaches of fiduciary duty and other violations of law by the Board of Directors of BNC Bancorp ("BNCN" or the "Company") in connection with the proposed merger of the Company with Pinnacle Financial Partners, Inc. ("Pinnacle"). Under the terms of the agreement, BNCN shareholders will receive 0.5235 of a share of Pinnacle for each share they own, representing consideration of $37.50 based on Pinnacle's 20-day trailing average price as of January 20, 2017. WeissLaw is investigating whether BNCN's Board acted to maximize shareholder value prior to entering into the agreement. Notably, at least one analyst set a target price of $40.00 per share, or $2.50 above the consideration. Additionally the Company recently announced record financial results, reporting double digit percentage growth of 40.2% and 14.1% in annual operating earnings and tangible book value respectively. BNCN also announced a 13% increase in transactional deposits and a 13.4% increase in total shareholder's equity in the quarter ended December 31, 2016. Finally, the acquisition is a strategic transaction that will expand Pinnacle from the four urban markets in which it currently operates to include BNCN's seven markets, increasing Pinnacle's presence in three states. Given these facts, WeissLaw is investigating the Board of Directors' decision to sell BNCN and whether BNCN shareholders will obtain their fair and proportionate share of the Company's continued success and future growth prospects. If you own BNCN shares and would like more information about your rights or our investigation, or if you have information to share with us, please contact Joshua Rubin by telephone at (888) 593-4771 or by email at [email protected]. WeissLaw LLP has litigated hundreds of stockholder class and derivative actions for violations of corporate and fiduciary duties. We have recovered over a billion dollars for defrauded clients and obtained important corporate governance relief in many of these cases. If you have information or would like legal advice concerning possible corporate wrongdoing (including insider trading, waste of corporate assets, accounting fraud, or materially misleading information), consumer fraud (including false advertising, defective products, or other deceptive business practices), or anti-trust violations, please email us at [email protected] or fill out the form on our website, http://www.weisslawllp.com/bnc-bancorp/ SOURCE WeissLaw LLP Related Links http://www.weisslurie.com LOS ANGELES, Feb. 7, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Think warmer thoughts and unwind from the winter wrangle by making your first summer travel plans with Camp No Counselors. The all-inclusive, weekend-long sleepaway camp for grown-ups as seen on ABC's "Shark Tank" -- begins its 2017 registration today. For the millions of Americans wondering how much fun it would be to go back to summer camp as an adult Camp No Counselors brings your dreams to reality offering new locations and opportunities to act like a kid again this spring, summer and fall. Escape to a weekend experience that combines your favorite aspects of childhood fun along with the best of what being a grown-up has to offer. And act fast as the majority of their camps sold out in 2016. Camp No Counselors weekend getaways will be hosted at 16 scenic summer camp locations across the US and Canada (US: Austin, Boston, Chicago, Denver, Florida, Los Angeles, Madison, Michigan, Nashville, New York, San Antonio, San Francisco and Seattle, CAN: Calgary, Toronto and Vancouver). Each camp weekend will be filled with land and water sports, arts 'n crafts activities, epic nightly theme parties, an open bar, delicious meals prepared by chefs and, of course, all the classic camp activities from archery to wakeboarding, rock climbing, dodgeball, beach volleyball, tie-dye, kayaking, the Blob, talent shows, Color War and many more. "Our motto is 'Play like a kid, party like a grown-up,'" said Adam Tichauer, Founder and 'Head Camper' of Camp No Counselors. "We are thrilled to be offering double the amount of camps and expanding to six new cities across the US and Canada so more people can enjoy the best of summer camp with all the perks of being a grown-up." To learn more about Camp No Counselors and to register today, please visit: www.CampNoCounselors.com. About Camp No Counselors Founded in 2013 by Adam Tichauer with what started as a small weekend getaway with his closest friends at a summer camp in Upstate New York, quickly became a 90-person event as the word spread. At that first camp weekend he realized that the majority of adult life is spent in situations where people are expected to be serious. Adults are rarely afforded opportunities when it's okay to play, to laugh at themselves and to just be silly. Camp was that chance as he saw a highly accomplished and driven group shed their work identities, and become their truest selves. In just over three years, Camp No Counselors has rapidly grown from that small gathering of friends to a nationally recognized brand, hosting over forty camps in ten cities across the United States and Canada. Press Contact: Tyger Danger [email protected] SOURCE Camp No Counselors Related Links http://www.CampNoCounselors.com SHANGHAI, Feb. 7, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Yum China Holdings, Inc. (the "Company" or "Yum China") (NYSE: YUMC) today announced the appointments of Joey Wat as President and Chief Operating Officer of Yum China, reporting to the Chief Executive Officer, Micky Pant, and Johnson Huang as General Manager of the Company's KFC business, reporting to Ms. Wat. Ms. Wat previously served as Chief Executive Officer of the Company's KFC business. In her new role, Ms. Wat will expand her responsibility such that in addition to overseeing the KFC brand, she will also oversee the Company's Pizza Hut Casual Dining and Pizza Hut Home Service brands. Mr. Huang previously served as Chief Information and Marketing Support Officer. In his new role, Mr. Huang will be the new leader for the KFC brand and report to Ms. Wat. "I'm pleased to announce the appointment of Joey Wat as our President and Chief Operating Officer," said Micky Pant, CEO of Yum China. "Joey is an extraordinarily talented executive with a strong track record of accomplishing excellent business results at our KFC brand. The Yum China board is confident that, with Joey's strong leadership, the KFC brand will continue to expand in China and generate impactful same store sales growth and that the Pizza Hut business, in both Casual Dining and Delivery segments, will benefit from her strategic oversight." "I am also pleased that Johnson Huang will become the General Manager for KFC in China. Johnson has held a variety of roles within Yum China over the past decade and has been instrumental in implementing our digital customer engagement strategy helping us to reach the new, younger generation of Chinese consumers. With his deep knowledge of information technology, experience with the Yum China business and consumer insight, he brings a unique perspective to strengthen the iconic KFC brand," continued Mr. Pant. Ms. Wat joined Yum! Restaurants China in September 2014 as President of KFC China and was promoted to Chief Executive Officer of KFC China in August 2015. She led the operating and marketing functions for the KFC division, had general management responsibility and was responsible for growing KFC within China. Prior to Yum, she worked at McKinsey, and later headed Watsons, UK including the Superdrug and Savers retail chains. Born in Fujian, China, Ms. Wat attended the University of Hong Kong and earned an MBA from Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. Mr. Huang joined Yum! Brands, Inc. in 2006 to lead the information technology department in China and was appointed Chief Information Officer in 2013. He started overseeing shared marketing services in 2014 and became Chief Information and Marketing Support Officer of Yum China in October 2016. He has been the architect of Yum China's digital strategy and information technology roadmap. Prior to Yum, Mr. Huang held various business leadership and Information Technology positions with Cap Gemini Ernst & Young Group in the greater China region and Evergreen Group in the UK. He holds an MBA from University of Tennessee and a Bachelor Degree in Industrial Management from Taiwan University of Science and Technology. Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. We intend all forward-looking statements to be covered by the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements generally can be identified by the fact that they do not relate strictly to historical or current facts and by the use of forward-looking words such as "expect," "expectation," "believe," "anticipate," "may," "could," "intend," "belief," "plan," "estimate," "target," "predict," "likely," "will," "should," "forecast," "outlook" or similar terminology. These statements are based on current estimates and assumptions made by us in light of our experience and perception of historical trends, current conditions and expected future developments, as well as other factors that we believe are appropriate and reasonable under the circumstances, but there can be no assurance that such estimates and assumptions will prove to be correct. Forward-looking statements include, without limitation, statements regarding the future business plans and earnings and performance of Yum China, anticipated effects of population and macroeconomic trends, and statements regarding the capital structure of Yum China. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of performance and are inherently subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties that are difficult to predict and could cause our actual results to differ materially from those indicated by those statements. We cannot assure you that any of our expectations, estimates or assumptions will be achieved. The forward-looking statements included in this press release are only made as of the date of this press release, and we disclaim any obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statement to reflect subsequent events or circumstances, except as required by law. Numerous factors could cause our actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by forward-looking statements, including, without limitation: whether we are able to achieve development goals at the times and in the amounts currently anticipated, if at all, the success of our marketing campaigns and product innovation, our ability to maintain food safety and quality control systems, our ability to control costs and expenses, including tax costs, as well as changes in political, economic and regulatory conditions in China. In addition, other risks and uncertainties not presently known to us or that we currently believe to be immaterial could affect the accuracy of any such forward-looking statements. All forward-looking statements should be evaluated with the understanding of their inherent uncertainty. You should consult our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (including the information set forth under the captions "Risk Factors" and "Cautionary Statement Concerning Forward-Looking Statements" in the Information Statement included in our Registration Statement on Form 10) for additional detail about factors that could affect our financial and other results. About Yum China Holdings, Inc. Yum China Holdings, Inc. is a licensee of Yum! Brands, Inc. in mainland China. It has exclusive rights in mainland China to KFC, China's leading quick-service restaurant brand, Pizza Hut, the leading casual dining restaurant brand in China, and Taco Bell, which opened its first restaurant in China at the end of 2016. Yum China also owns the Little Sheep and East Dawning concepts outright. Yum China is well positioned for growth thanks to its strong competitive position, integration of its brands into Chinese popular culture and consumers' daily lives, expanding geographic footprint in China and existing operational expertise. It has a strong capital position, no external debt and expects to continue growing its system sales and profit by adding new restaurants and through growing same-store sales. Yum China had more than 7,500 restaurants and more than 420,000 employees in over 1,100 cities at the end of 2016. A new generation of younger consumers who are digitally sophisticated and brand driven are fueling growth in consumption in China. The ongoing growth of the middle class and urban population in China is expected to create the world's largest market for restaurant brands, with Yum China poised to be the market leader. Investor Relations Contacts Christie Ju, +86 21 2407 8090 VP Finance, Investor Relations Michelle Shen, +86 21 2407 8260 Director, Investor Relations Media Contacts Forest Liu, +86 21 2407 7505 Director, Financial Media SOURCE Yum China Holdings, Inc SAN JOSE, Calif., Feb. 7, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Zentera Systems, Inc., the leader in multicloud security and networking, today announced the industry's first infrastructure security solution for the multicloud, delivering workload isolation, shield, and filtering to secure enterprise production workloads in the multicloud. Zentera's CoIP (Cloud over IP) platform, with integration APIs, enables integration partnersincluding some of today's industry-leading security providersto run their capabilities (ex. IPS/IDS solutions) in clouds such as AWS, Azure and Oracle Cloud. As a result, enterprises can benefit from the same leading security protecting their networks to protect their workloads migrated to the cloud. In addition, security companies can become the end-to-end security vendor of choice for companies on-premise and across the cloud. By combining third-party security engines with its multicloud service isolation and shield, CoIP gives enterprises a complete solution. This industry-first solution directly addresses a critical industry need preventing widespread adoption of the cloud merging on-premise security functionality with cloud workloads and applications. "The multicloud and its security requirements are resonating among companies at last," said Mike Loftus, Zentera's Strategy and Marketing VP. "Security providers such as Intel Security (McAfee), Palo Alto Networks, Cisco Security and Symantec are implementing the concept of multicloud infrastructure security and demonstrating it publicly for the first time at RSA. Zentera's infrastructure security is also on track to power secure IoT and secure telecom." CoIP is an on-demand virtual network overlay that provides multicloud security and networking together with network encryption, microsegmentation and application whitelisting. It is transport- and cloud-agnostic in its design, supporting virtual machines (VMs), containers and compute endpoints, and can be deployed rapidly without interfering with existing infrastructure or security measures. Zentera will demonstrate CoIP in production and discuss multicloud infrastructure security at the RSA Conference 2017, Feb. 13-17, San Francisco, in Booth N4809 (North Hall). The company will also hold private meetings in the Marriott Marquis. For information, or to schedule time with Zentera, see http://zentera.net/rsa. Availability Zentera's CoIP is available today for security solution providers. To learn about becoming a Zentera integration partner, see http://zentera.net/zentera-partners/technology-integration-partners/. About Zentera Zentera's CoIP solution directly addresses the security and networking needs of the multicloud market. CoIP's security capabilities are deeply integrated with its virtual overlay network, accelerating productivity and business agility. CoIP works with any transport in any environment, does not interfere with existing infrastructure, and can be up and running in less than a day. The company is a Red Herring Top 100 winner based in Silicon Valley, and offers CoIP through select partners. For more information, see www.zentera.net. Media Inquiries Dan Spalding, Public Relations Zentera Systems, Inc. +1 408 960-9297 [email protected] Zentera, Cloud over IP and CoIP are trademarks of Zentera Systems, Inc., in the United States and other countries. All other trademarks cited here are the properties of their respective owners. SOURCE Zentera Systems, Inc. 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Add to that the fact that distance running is not exactly a spectator sport, and XC has two strikes going against it when Rome, Feb 4 : More than 1,300 migrants and refugees were rescued in the Mediterranean, a media report said on Saturday. On Friday, a day after Italy and Libya signed a deal to curb people smuggling in the north African country, 13 rescue operations were carried out by Italy's navy and coast guard ships, Xinhua news agency reported. Other forces operating within the European Union (EU) mission Eunavfor, and vessels from aid groups also joined in. On Thursday, the Italian coast guard coordinating all migrant rescue efforts in the Mediterranean said more than 1,750 migrants and refugees had been saved within 24 hours. About 450 people had been rescued in five different operations on Thursday, and 1,300 the previous day. Of this group, some 754 migrants and refugees including 131 unaccompanied minors were brought to the southern port of Reggio Calabria, and given first medical check and assistance. On Thursday, Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni and his Libyan counterpart Fayez al-Serraj signed an agreement aimed at tackling the flows starting from the Libyan coasts. In latest years, the north African country has become a major origin point of departure for migrants and asylum seekers, and a crucial hub for smugglers. Temporary camps for illegal migrants will be set up on Libya's soil, according to the draft deal provided by the Italian government. Such camps will be run by officials from the Libyan Interior Ministry, and funded by the EU, with Italy providing medical assistance. Illegal migrants in the camps will be asked to voluntarily return to their own countries, or face deportation. Such plan will be in force for the next three years, and was overall approved by EU leaders who gathered for a summit on the migration crisis in Malta on February 2-3. Beijing, Feb 4 : China has urged the US to stop making erroneous remarks on the sovereignty of the Diaoyu Islands after American Defence Secretary James Mattis reportedly said the US-Japan mutual defence treaty applies to the disputed islands in the East China Sea. "The Diaoyu Island and its adjacent islets have been an inherent part of Chinese territory since ancient times, which is a unchangeable historical fact," Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang said late Friday. The remarks comes after Mattis, upon his arrival in Tokyo earlier on Friday, reaffirmed Washington's commitment to defending Japanese territory in the region. Lu said the so-called US-Japan treaty of mutual cooperation and defence is a product of the Cold War, which should not impair China's territorial sovereignty and legitimate rights, the Global Times reported. "We urge the US side to take a responsible attitude, stop making wrong remarks on the issue involving the Diaoyu Islands sovereignty, and avoid making the issue more complicated and bringing instability to the regional situation," said the spokesman. Beijing and Tokyo are involved in sovereignty disputes over the Diaoyu Islands, known as Senkaku in Japan. The sovereignty dispute over the Senkaku Islands, administered by Tokyo, has intensified since Japan nationalised three islets in 2012, Efe news said. The uninhabited archipelago occupies some 7 sq.km and the surrounding waters are believed to hold significant reserves of oil and gas. Chennai, Feb 5 : DMK Working President M.K. Stalin said the election of AIADMK General Secretary V.K. Sasikala as the party's legislature party leader on Sunday was against people's wishes. Stalin told reporters at Thiruvarur, around 330 km from here, that when Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa was jailed for corruption, she told O. Panneerselvam to head the government. Similarly, when Jayalalithaa was admitted to Apollo Hospitals where she died in December, Panneerselvam again looked after the administration. "Till Jayalalithaa was alive, she did not give any post either in the party or the government to Sasikala," Stalin said. According to Stalin, the decision to elevate Sasikala for her to become the Chief Minister was against the wishes of the late Jayalalithaa. Canberra, Feb 6 : Almost 4,500 people reported cases of pederasty or child sexual abuse perpetrated by members of the Catholic Church in Australia between 1980 and 2015, according to a report released on Monday ahead of a new round of hearings by the Royal Commission. The Royal Commission, which is responsible for investigating the extent of and response to child sexual abuse in Australia since 1950, will make a statement to all the country's bishops in a series of public hearings that will last until February 27, Efe news reported. On the first day, the counsel assisting the commission, Gail Furness, said that a total of 4,444 complaints had been filed and that these point to hundreds of priests, 93 of whom hold high positions in the Church, and affect more than a thousand institutions. The data collected indicates that 78 per cent of the complainants were male and 22 per cent female. It has also been revealed that the average age of the victims was 11.6 years old in the case of boys and 10.5 in the case of girls. It took them an average of 33 years to file complaints after the alleged abuses were committed. "Of the 1,880 identified alleged perpetrators, 597 or 32 per cent were religious brothers, 572 or 30 per cent were priests, 543 or 29 per cent were lay people and 96 or 5 per cent were religious sisters," Furness said. The data also suggested that between 1950 and 2010, more than 20 per cent of Marist Brothers, Salesians of the Don Bosco and Christian Brothers were accused of child sexual abuse, while in the St. John of God Brothers the figure stood at 40.4 per cent. Mumbai, Feb 6 : Memesys Culture Labs, founded by "Ship Of Thesus" fame filmmaker Anand Gandhi, has launched ElseVR channel, which uses virtual reality (VR) to let the audience have an entry 'into' the story. With three VR documentaries launching in the first issue, ElseVR channel is the latest venture by Memesys Culture Labs. "The ability and the desire to transmit know how, intention, and insight to others around us have co-evolved with humanity itself," Gandhi said in a statement. "Mixed reality is a huge milestone in that human project of record keeping, perspective sharing, empathising, and merging with the 'other', a project that began with the first cave painting, or even earlier." Khushboo Ranka, co-director of the acclaimed political drama, "An Insignificant Man", is the Editor-in-Chief and Shubhangi Swarup, a journalist, is the Executive Editor of ElseVR channel. Published online, each story is an in-depth collaboration between filmmakers, writers and designers to amplify the power of narrative. The first issue features stories by acclaimed filmmakers and writers - Anand Patwardhan, Khushboo Ranka, Faiza Khan, Aruna Chandrasekhar, Swarup, Naomi Shah and Nishtha Jain. "VR expands the canvas to placing another world around you. But as practitioners and first movers, we are literally inventing the language with every shot, every cut, every choice we make in constructing these films," said Ranka. Talking about the stories, Swarup said: "The stories in our inaugural issue make it possible for the viewer to stand at the edge of a coal mine and experience the umbilical attachment an Adivasi feels towards her land." "Another story allows us to join a group of female activists as they try, persistently, to exercise their legal right to enter a temple. Yet another one lets us witness the spontaneous uprising that occurred in Gujarat, to protest against the violence of 'gau rakshaks'. The complexity of each story is reflected in our use of various mediums, but the courage of each subject comes through effortlessly." New Delhi, Feb 6 : A court here on Monday allowed the CBI's plea for more time to file its final report in a coal block allocation case against former Congress MP and industrialist Naveen Jindal and others. Special Judge Bharat Parashar granted two more weeks to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) after Investigating Officer of the case informed the court that the report has been forwarded to senior authorities and was awaiting approval. The court has now fixed the matter for next hearing on February 29. The court had pulled up the CBI for not filing the final report in the case in a proper manner and format. The final investigation report has to be filed on the basis of the statement given by prosecution witness, Chartered Accountant and New Delhi Exim Pvt Ltd Director Suresh Singhal, who has turned approver in the case. The court was hearing the case related to the allocation of Jharkhand's Amarkonda Murgadangal coal block to Jindal Steel and Gagan Sponge. Besides the industrialist, former Minister of State for Coal Dasari Narayana Rao, former Jharkhand Chief Minister Madhu Koda, former Coal Secretary H.C. Gupta are also accused in the case. The CBI in April 2015 filed a chargesheet against Jindal, Koda, Rao and Gupta. The others accused in the case include Jindal Realty Director Rajeev Jain, Gagan Sponge Directors Girish Kumar Juneja and R.K. Saraf and Sowbhagya Media's Managing Director K. Ramakrishna. Of the five private companies named in the chargesheet, four are based in Delhi and one in Hyderabad. The accused have denied the charges. New Delhi, Feb 6 : Congress leader in the Lok Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge on Monday said the Congress should be thanked for protecting democracy in the country because of which Narendra Modi, coming from a poor family, could become the Prime Minister of India. Participating in the Motion of Thanks to the President for his address here, Kharge said the Congress had protected democracy for 70 years and slammed the BJP for saying repeatedly that the Congress did not do anything for years. During the course of Kharge's around one hour-40 minutes long speech, members from the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) sparred with the Congress members several times, as Kharge launched an attack on the government. The long speech also forced Speaker Sumitra Mahajan to ask him to conclude repeatedly, with one of the ruling party members even quoting a rule urging the Speaker to force him to stop the address. Kharge also took on the government over demonetisation, stating that the Prime Minister should apologise for the deaths that happened due to banning Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 currency notes. "I think you brought Green Revolution. And White Revolution in your Gujarat also came in your time... (Verghese) Kurien was also born in these times -- everything happened in the last two and half years," Kharge said sarcastically. "We brought Green Revolution to feed the people, we brought White Revolution... You question what happened in 70 years, if nothing had been done, you would not have been alive, there would not have been democracy, the Constitution would not have been protected," he said. "We protected the Constitution. If Modi came from a poor family and became the Prime Minister, the credit goes to the Congress, which kept democracy alive," Kharge added. Prime Minister Modi was present in the Lok Sabha at the time Kharge made the remarks. As members from treasury benches pointed at the Emergency, the Congress leader said: "At that time there was declared Emergency, today there is undeclared Emergency." "In the name of 'Sanatan Dharma', you want people to be divided," he added. Talking about demonetisation, the Congress leader said: "So many people died, at least the Prime Minister should have apologised to the people. You can apologise even now," he said. Kharge said government should inform the nation how much black money was recovered post demonetisation, and added: "PM knew elections were coming, he wanted people to forget the promised Rs 15 lakh." He also alleged that people were selectively informed about demonetisation. Quoting Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, who said not a single riot or protest against demonetisation had taken place, Kharge said: "Did you want a riot to happen? If there was no agitation it does not mean your step was supported. People of this country are so patient; we were ruled by outsiders for 1,000 years," he said. As a member from the treasury benches quipped that Kharge was still "being ruled by outsiders", he said: "I am a slave. You were slave to the British, I was a slave to you." To accusations by the government over "politicising" the September 29 cross-border surgical strike, the Congress leader said they did not question the army but the government. "Surgical strike did not happen for the first time; it will keep happening as long as our enemies are there. You are not the custodians of patriotism. The whole nation is with the Army... We are questioning you," he said. The speech saw several angry exchanges between the treasury and opposition benches. Members from the BJP and Congress got into a war of words in the Lok Sabha after Kharge claimed people from his party had laid down their lives for the nation, while none from the BJP had done so. Kharge said leaders like Mahatma Gandhi, and former Prime Ministers Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi had laid down their lives for the country. Kharge said no one from the present ruling party died for the nation and used "unparliamentary" language. Even as Speaker Sumitra Mahajan said she would remove the comment from the records, it created an uproar in the treasury benches. As ruling party members protested, Kharge said: "This is history, it is not unparliamentary." Instructing Kharge not to make such comments, Mahajan said: "You should not say something like this. Many people have laid down their lives for the nation." An angry Ananth Kumar of the BJP said Jana Sangh leaders like Syama Prasad Mukherjee and Deendayal Upadhyay also died for the country, and demanded that Kharge should apologise. Launching a direct attack on the Prime Minister, Kharge said: "You are very smart in speaking and good at mouthing speeches. But speeches do not fill the stomach." He also quoted Abraham Lincoln and said: "You can fool all the people some of the time, and some of the people all the time, but you cannot fool all the people all the time." Beijing, Feb 6 : China said on Monday it has lodged a formal protest with the US over a decision to impose new sanctions targeting Iran, which has affected a handful of Chinese companies and individuals, according to media reports. The sanctions were imposed on Friday after Iran conducted a ballistic missile test. The curbs affect 25 people and entities allegedly involved in helping Iran develop its ballistic missile programme, or in supporting groups that the US considers terrorist, such as Lebanon's Shiite Hezbollah militant group. They include two Chinese companies and three Chinese individuals, who are now blocked from the US financial system or dealings with American companies. Foreign companies and individuals are also prohibited from dealing with them at risk of also being blacklisted by the United States. On Monday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang said that Beijing has lodged a formal protest, the Washington Post reported. "We have consistently opposed any unilateral sanctions," Lu told a regular news conference. "The sanctions will not help in enhancing trust among the different parties involved and will not help in resolving international problems," Lu said. China has close economic and diplomatic ties with Tehran, but also played an important role in a landmark 2015 deal to curb the nation's nuclear programme. Executives from the two Chinese companies included on the list denied doing anything wrong. Yue Yaodong, an executive at Cosailing Business Trading Co in the eastern city of Qingdao, said his firm was "collapsing" with his account at the Agricultural Bank of China frozen, a shipping company refusing to accept his goods, and clients abandoning him. "We have not done any business with Iran for three to four years," he said. "There have been some Iranian customers coming to us asking prices, but we have not conducted real business. Go search the customs record." He said his company sells items for everyday use, as well as porcelain, hydraulic parts, and motors for treadmills, but said it was only a small, private firm. "I am so lost, both the United States and China are sanctioning me," he said. "There is no way to do business now, I don't know what our little company did wrong." US relations with China have hit a distinctly rocky patch since Trump took office, with the new President seeing the government in Beijing as more of a threat than a partner. China also protested in recent days about comments made by Defense Secretary Jim Mattis on a tour of Japan and South Korea. Bhopal, Feb 6 : A Bhopal resident arrested on the charge of murdering his live-in partner here and his parents in Chhattisgarh's capital Raipur had got a fake death certificate for his mother from Itarsi town of Madhya Pradesh. According to official sources, accused Udyan Das got the certificate issued that his mother Indrani died of natural causes on February 5, 2013, from Itarsi Municipal Committee in Hoshangabad district. Hoshangabad Superintendent of Police Pratap Singh told IANS on Monday that the police have not received any complaint regarding the fake death certificate, and action will be taken after receiving the complaint. The accused who murdered his live-in partner Shweta Sharma (28) and entombed her body in his house, revealed during interrogation that he murdered both his parents in 2010 and interred the two bodies in their house in Raipur in Chhattisgarh in a way similar to what he did in the case of Shweta, Bhopal Superintendent of Police Sidhartha Bahuguna told IANS. He said a police team from Bhopal has since been dispatched to Raipur to check the veracity of Das' statement about his parents' murder. Das had come in contact with Shweta, who hailed from Bokaro in West Bengal, through a social networking site and was living with her at his Saket Nagar residence since June 2016. Both had a fight in December 2016, following which he allegedly murdered her. He built a concrete platform in his first floor house over Shweta's body to conceal his crime. The murder came to light after he was questioned by the police after the tower location of Shweta's mobile phone was located to Saket Nagar area. Shweta's family had registered a missing complaint with Bankura police in West Bengal. The Gobindpura police said the concrete platform was broken on Thursday night and the body buried underneath was recovered. Rome, Feb 7 : Over 9,200 boat migrants have reached Italy this year after 64 Iraqis were rescued off the coast of the southern Puglia region overnight, including 19 children. A Spanish navy vessel and several merchant ships rescued over 900 migrants aboard six boats in the Mediterranean on Sunday, Italian coastguard said. A total 5,932 migrants and refugees entered Europe by sea this year through February 2, about 80 percent arriving in Italy and the rest in Greece, according to figures issued on Friday by the International Organisation for Migration. The IOM figures exclude the 900 people rescued in the Mediterranean on Sunday, as well as 1,300 people saved on Friday and 1,340 migrants picked up in the Strait of Sicily on February 1. European Union leaders meeting in Malta on Friday agreed to a plan aimed at stemming the influx of migrants to Italy from Libya, including 200 million euros to help strengthen its coastguard. New York, Feb 7 : Technology giants, including Apple, Facebook, Google, Microsoft, Netflix, Twitter and Uber have filed a legal brief opposing the administration's travel ban, a media report said. "The move represents a rare coordinated action across a broad swath of the industry -- about a hundred companies in total -- and demonstrates the depth of animosity toward the Trump ban," The Washington Post reported on Monday. The brief was filed with the US Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit, which is expected to rule within a few days on an appeal by the administration after a federal judge in Seattle issued a temporary restraining order putting the entry ban on hold. The brief comes at the end of a week of nationwide protests against the plan as well as a flurry of activity in Silicon Valley -- a region that has many immigrants who are responsible for many innovations in the world. Companies backing the filing also include Lyft, Pinterest, Yelp, Square, Reddit, Kickstarter, Github, Glassdoor, Box, Mozilla, Dropbox, Twilio, Zynga, Medium, Pinterest, and Salesforce, the report said. On Monday, Elon Musk's Tesla and Space X also joined the legal brief. However, Amazon appears to have stayed out. The filing said that the entry ban, which barred individuals from seven majority-Muslim countries from entering the US for at least 90 days and suspended the US refugee programme, was discriminatory. Washington, Feb 7 : Giant Panda Bao Bao will be departing for China on February 21 from the Washington's Smithsonian's National Zoo, the media reported. Bao Bao was born on August 23, 2013 at the Washington zoo, and is nearing her fourth birthday. According to arrangements between China and the US, giant pandas born here must move back to China at around four years of age, Xinhua news agency reported. Tai Shan, another giant panda born in the Washington zoo in 2005, was shipped in 2010. One keeper and one veterinarian will accompany Bao Bao to Chengdu, where the China Conservation and Research Centre for the Giant Panda is located. Bao Bao will travel with a supply of her favourite treats, including bamboo, apples, pears, cooked sweet potatoes and water, zoo authorities said. The Washington zoo now has three other giant pandas, an adult female Mei Xiang, 18, an adult male Tian Tian, 19, and a male cub Bei Bei, 1. Brasilia, Feb 7 : Tourism revenue during the Brazilian Carnival is expected to hit 5.8 billion reais ($1.8 billion), a government report said. The report, issued on Monday by the National Commerce Confederation (CNC), showed that food and beverage services in bars and restaurants are projected to bring in around 57 per cent of the income, followed by hotels and transportation, Xinhua news agency reported. However, the total volume of income expected from the Carnival in 2017, which will last from February 24 to March 1, is 5.7 per cent lower than last year and the worst prediction in the past three years. Rio de Janeiro, host of the largest carnival, will receive the largest boost to its income, estimated at 2.4 billion reais ($770 million), followed by Sao Paulo, with 1.5 billion reais ($480 million), the report said. The two states will claim 68 per cent of the tourism revenue during the Carnival celebrations, with large parades also staging in the southern state of Minas Gerais and the northeastern states of Bahia, Ceara and Pernambuco, it added. Dhaka, Feb 7 : Ending speculations, Bangladesh President Abdul Hamid has reconstituted the Election Commission to conduct the country's 11th general elections slated for early 2019, a media report said on Tuesday. Hamid on Monday night appointed K.M. Nurul Huda, a former secretary, as the next Chief Election Commissioner, besides four other commissioners, Xinhua news agency reported. The appointments came after a Presidential Search Committee submitted 10 names of prospective candidates following the examining of 125 names proposed by 25 political parties. The move came after the opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) demanded the formation of an Election Commission through consultation with all parties. Though initially Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's Bangladesh Awami League (AL) rejected Zia's demand, the party later said it was ready for the new EC. BNP, led by ex-Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, came with its proposals as the term of the current Election Commission is to expire on February 14. BNP, which has alternated power with its arch rival the AL party since 1991, boycotted the election on January 5, 2014 as its demand for polls under a non-party caretaker administration remained unfulfilled. Wellington, Feb 7 : New Zealand Prime Minister Bill English on Tuesday expressed concerns over US's withdrawal from the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and its immigration policy, the media reported. English and US President Donald Trump held a 15-minute telephone conversation on Monday night in which they discussed bilateral relations and US presence in the region, Efe news reported. "There has been real concern that pulling out of TPP may signal some ongoing withdrawal of US interests. We don't want to see that happen," English told Radio New Zealand. The Prime Minister said he also hoped that China and the US will resolve their differing views on trade and the South China Sea through diplomacy. "There was nothing I heard yesterday(Monday) that gave me any more cause for concern," he said. However, English told Trump he disagreed with his immigration policy and the controversial ban on the entry of citizens and refugees from seven Muslim-majority countries, a policy he said he would not implement in New Zealand. "It was a sensible, polite discussion about the pressures that are on the borders of most countries these days," the prime minister said, adding that he did not "scold" the President. "I'm not there to scold him, although a lot of people might like us to do that," English said. The call came a week after Trump had a telephone conversation with Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, which ended before the allotted time following a heated conversation on a refugee deal between Australia and the US. The agreement, signed by former President Barack Obama, establishes the relocation in the US of some 1,250 refugees detained in Australian detention facilities in the Pacific, which was described by Trump as a "dumb deal". Nay Pyi Taw, Feb 7 : A second meeting of Myanmar's Panglong Peace Conference has been scheduled for February 28 with the participation of about 700 representatives, the media reported on Tuesday. "We agreed to carry out the process with union spirit and to encourage groups that have not yet signed the Nationwide Ceasefire Accord (NCA) in the conference," U Zaw Htay, acting director-general of the Ministry of the State Counselor's Office, told the Union Peace Dialogue Joint Committee (UPDJC) here on Monday. The meeting will take place in capital Nay Pyi Taw, Xinhua news agency reported. State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi, who is also chairperson of the UPDJC, called for making clear and firm decision for peace at the meeting, emphasising the importance of the organisation in Myanmar's peace process. At the meeting, Chairman of the Joint Cease fire Monitoring Committee Lt. General Ya Pyae appealed for avoidance of armed conflicts in order to hold the second meeting successfully for national reconciliation and peace. The first meeting of the Panglong Conference was held in August 2016. New Delhi : Title: The Party Worker; Author: Omar Shahid Hamid; Publisher: Pan Macmillan India; Pages: 336; Price: Rs 399 Of all vendettas, the most vicious centre on politics, where they can encompass some of the strongest motives -- pride, honour, power, money and sex. The high-flyers not only forget those who have helped them but, with more adverse consequences, those they have offended and are hiding massive grudges under outward obsequiousness. These unexpected assailants can wait years for their chance -- as we find here. Masterfully utilising Karachi as a backdrop, with its chaotic, complicated and (lethally) combative power plays, Pakistani police officer-cum-novelist Omar Shahid Hamid delivers another gritty account of the unprepossessing, unsavoury but undeniable link between politics, crime, law enforcement, (some) media -- and terrorism. But his third novel -- after the intricately-plotted hostage drama "The Prisoner" (2013) and the unsettling "jihadi noir" "The Spinner's Tale" (2015) -- takes a wider sweep and a different perspective. It actually begins in New York where an abortive attempt to murder a recently-arrived Pakistani actually ends up killing a Jewish woman professor. While the police take some action, taking a closer look is a committed NYPD detective, who determines a self-exiled Pakistani politician living in the city needs to be questioned. However, he learns that Mohammad Ali Pichkari has powerful protectors. Meanwhile, in Karachi, an octogenarian Parsi businessman, with a firm aim to bring down Pichkari, soon receives an offer of help from an unexpected source, while on the other side of the fence, a small-time journalist, whose attempt to make some money lands him in serious jeopardy, finds he can twist the situation to his advantage. Connecting all these men and more is Asad Haider, the New York target, who we learn had been an unconscionable hatchet-man for Pichkari, until he balked at his latest order, and was "rewarded" with the murder of his old grandmother and his mistress and her family, as well as his own "death sentence". And though Haider, who survives the attempt, is deported to Karachi, he manages to find some protection and become the instrument of those who bring down Pichkari. Who accomplishes it and how forms the crux of the sometimes viscerally disturbing, but compellingly readable, book. Hamid, whose debut book showed Karachi through the eyes of policemen (easy, given his decade-long police service, including in Karachi Police's Counter Terrorism Department), displayed more of his expertise in the second, where it is a brutal jihadi who is focus. This one shows him at his most gifted, for now he seamlessly adopts the perspective of political workers, no matter how venal or murderous. Though anyone with some knowledge of Karachi and its politics would have no problem in knowing who Pichkari and his United Front are stand-ins for, the author is too astute to make that his sole aim. Instead, he offers a range of unforgettable characters (both Pakistani and foreign) spanning politicians, policemen, spies, criminals, journalists, mullahs and more with varying degrees of duplicity, depravity or dedication, along with some sordid but incisive insights into winning and maintaining power in, policing or even living in Karachi. Be it that ubiquitous form of political canvassing in South Asia: wall graffiti, which one character likens to "Twitter for the masses", or how to source effective bombs to use against political opponents and their too-enthusiastic voters. As the same character observes: "And the fact that the bombs were made by a Taliban expert was the greatest guarantee of their safety. You see, the fellow who made them was a genuine artist who understood precision and collateral damage.... In this city, if you want something done right, go to the Taliban." There are many more. But those who have read Hamid's earlier books will find it disappointing that characters from his debut work, specially Akbar Khan (modelled on the legendary late Chaudhry Aslam, a colleague of the author), only crop up briefly and offstage. It would have been good to see Constantine, Tarkeen and the others again but the sweep and flow of this book does not allow you to mourn their absence for long. (Vikas Datta can be contacted at vikas.d@ians.in) New Delhi : Finance Minister Arun Jaitley put the spotlight on the issue of tax evasion in his February 1 budget speech with some eye-opening statistics. Out of an employed population of approximately 300 million, merely 37 million filed their income tax returns in 2015-16. Even if exempted sectors like agriculture are accounted for, this proportion is abysmally low. The most damning evidence of evasion was the fact that out of 7.6 million individuals who declare incomes above Rs 5 lakh, 5.6 million are in the salaried class, for whom the taxes are deducted at source. Clearly, it cannot be the case that India has only two million businessmen and self-employed people who earn incomes above Rs 5 lakh. Tax evasion is rampant in the country and is especially high among the non-salaried class. The facts in the Budget underline the unjust nature of the imposition of income tax in the country. The honest taxpayer is simply discriminated against. This happens in two ways. First, in Jaitley's own words, "When too many people evade taxes, the burden of their share falls on those who are honest and tax-compliant." Second, the complicated filing procedures and undue harassment later impose an additional shoe-leather cost on the person paying taxes. These issues create incentive problems among taxpayers. It is in the payer's best interest to find ways to avoid taxation. The constitution's promise to treat every citizen equally before the law fails to hold in the case of such unjust tax laws. When the constitution was formulated, nobody could foresee that such laws would always keep the honest taxpayer on edge. While filing returns, the person has to present pages after pages of evidence that carry his earnings, expenses and rebates to a hired accountant because the process is simply so arcane and complicated for a layman to handle. The problems do not end after the process is complete. There are recurrent situations where years after an honest return, people are arbitrarily commanded to appear before an investigator to present evidence that has long been destroyed or misplaced. In the case of failure to do so, the said investigator declares that the taxpayer would be re-taxed on the said return. Generations of good citizens have been at the mercy of an army of tax collectors and auditors that presume a taxpayer guilty until he proves his innocence. The discrimination against honest taxpayers has resulted in the ballooning problem of tax evasion that has led to India's tax to GDP ratio being as low as 5.47 per cent in 2015-16. By comparison, China has a tax to GDP ratio of 9.7 per cent while the US ratio stands at 11 per cent. Such a dismal state of affairs calls for radical change. The demonetisation drive might have helped the tax authorities get many people on their radar, but the inherent, flawed incentive mechanisms will encourage people to find ways to evade imposition of taxes in the future as well. Tax reforms need to eliminate all incentives to practise non-compliance. An interesting proposition is to eliminate the imposition of income taxes altogether. There are numerous advantages from such a move. First, it will make a large proportion of black money white. This would bring the horde of funds stored in foreign banks back to the country and in circulation. Second, it would increase the disposable income of the honest taxpayers and boost consumption and investment of the country. Third, the savings rate would see a push as people deposit more money in banks to earn higher interest instead of storing it in cash or fixing it in gold. This should boost private investment and mellow the non-performing assets (NPA) problem that the banks are currently facing. It would also reduce our gold import bill and strengthen the rupee. Finally, it would also improve efficiency in the economy. People wouldn't need to spend unproductive hours with their accountants figuring out ways to evade taxes. Also, the bureaucratic process and the harassment that comes along with it would be eliminated. It would also reduce a source of corruption in the economy. The biggest criticism of such a move would be the resulting loss of revenue. However, income tax is not a strong revenue-generating mechanism for the government as merely two per cent of Indians comply with it (compared to 53 per cent in the US). Also, a loss of over Rs 3 lakh crore that the move would entail can be easily replaced with much more efficient mechanisms. A banking transaction tax can be considered. A small tax on any banking transaction in an economy can vastly increase the government's tax base and revenue compared to the current inefficient method. There are various steps that can be taken to eliminate the inefficiencies that are inherent in the current system of taxation in India. Its incentive structure needs to be corrected and replaced with an innovative mechanism that is non-discriminatory and aligned with the country's constitutional principles. It is high time we question the relevance of the personal income tax. (Amit Kapoor is chair, Institute for Competitiveness. The views expressed are personal. He can be contacted at amit.kapoor@competitiveness.in and tweets @kautiliya. Chirag Yadav has contributed to writing of this article.) United Nations, Feb 7 : India has cautioned against questioning the "convergence" of views that took the negotiation process for Security Council reforms forward instead of building up on that progress. India's Permanent Representative Syed Akbaruddin told a meeting of the Inter Governmental Negotiations (IGN) on Council reforms on Monday that the paper produced in the last session of the General Assembly stressed that the points of convergence should be built and there could be no progress without a negotiating document. He said that when the chair of the last IGN session, Sylvie Lucas, presented the paper, "no one questioned how many spoke and how many did not". "Why go down that path now?" he asked alluding to attempts by some members to scuttle the convergence document. "The process at this stage has all the conditions to build on the work of previous sessions and to move forward based on the work already done by your predecessors," he told the co-chairs of the current IGN session, Mohamed Khaled Khiari of Tunisia, and Ambassador Ion Jinga of Romania. The task of reforming the Council and enlarging it to make it more representative had been blocked for almost two decades by the opposition of some members led by Italy - and including Pakistan - to having a negotiating text. Without such a document, negotiations are not possible. In the 2014-15 session of the Assembly, due to the initiative of its President Sam Kutesa, a negotiating text based on a survey of members was adopted paving the way for serious discussions and giving the process a boost. In the last session, that momentum was lost, but there was slight progress with the document on convergence. It only said that an "enlarged Council should consist of a total of members in the mid-20s, within an overall range of 21-27 seats, with the exact number to emerge from the discussions of Member States on the key issues of 'categories of membership' and 'regional representation'." Akbaruddin criticised the status of the reform process as "neither natural nor normal". It was "not normal and not natural that, we, as responsible representatives of states continue to cocoon ourselves from the enormity of the changes underway and articulate views endlessly with no framework for setting our house in order," he said. The Council was suffering form "legitimacy deficit" that is miring it in inefficacy and irrelevance, he said. "At a time of growing dismay with the existing international order, our persistent inability to move the reform process forward is viewed as the inability of the multilateral system to fix what is broken," Akbaruddin said. "We are at a cross road from where reform is the only way to maintain relevance," he said, appealing to the co-chairs of the IGN to "breathe new life into the process". (Arul Louis can be reached at arul.l@ians.in) Mumbai, Feb 7 : Actress Kangana Ranaut, who will be seen as 'fearless Julia', a leading actress who travels, performs and entertains soldiers of the British Indian Army in Vishal Bhardwaj's period drama "Rangoon", says the film is a perfect Women's Day watch as it's about a strong woman. "In 'Rangoon', Julia is a strong female character and the story revolves around her. Therefore, I believe that this film is quite important for Women's Day and perfect to enjoy on that occasion," Kangana said on Monday night while interacting with media at Mumbai airport as she was leaving for Delhi. The movie has elements from the British era as it is based in the 1940s when India was fighting for independence. The 29-year-old actress, who loves getting into the skin of her character, arrived at the airport in a vintage car, as 'Jaanbaaz Julia' is seen travelling an exquisite vintage car in the film. "I felt very nice riding the vintage car. It's a new experience for me," Kangana said. The actress will felicitate and interact with jawans at an army camp in Jammu on Tuesday. About the promotion in the army camp, the actress said: "Going by the plot of the film, we are going to Jammu and Kashmir to promote the film. We will be promoting the film in between the army camp." Co-starring Saif Ali Khan and Shahid Kapoor, the film is due for release on February 24, ahead of International Women's Day which falls on March 8. Canberra, Feb 7 : Australia's Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull on Tuesday praised his government's border security policies, saying it has been more than 900 days since the last boat smuggling illegal people arrived in Australia. Speaking at a joint Liberal and National party meeting ahead of Parliament's resumption, the premier said the "remarkable" achievement was a testament to Australia's strong border policies, Xinhua news agency reported. "We stand for security, for borders with integrity. Look around the world at the grief and the turmoil that you've seen through lax border protection," Turnbull said. "We have now gone over 900 days without a successful people smuggling venture coming to Australia. That is a remarkable achievement and one on which we can never be complacent." He said it was important that Australians were aware that the government was on top of unlawful immigration, and would continue to prevent people smugglers from bringing boatloads of illegal asylum seekers. Turnbull's remarks come at a sensitive time for immigration after US President Donald Trump announced a temporary travel ban for citizens from seven Muslim-majority nations from entering the US. Last week, Trump had a telephone conversation with Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, which ended before the allotted time following a heated conversation on a refugee deal between Australia and the US. The agreement, signed by former President Barack Obama, establishes the relocation in the US of some 1,250 refugees detained in Australian detention facilities in the Pacific, which was described by Trump as a "dumb deal". Lucknow, Feb 7 : The action has begun in Uttar Pradesh. Election strategists, central and state ministers, Chief Ministers from other states and the Prime Minister himself are criss-crossing the sprawling state as they hard-sell their parties to voters. More than a dozen hired choppers are clattering from one rally to the next, carrying leaders of all hues, making stopovers in small towns and dusty hamlets, while thousands of two- and four-wheelers are on the move, ferrying candidates and supporters. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has addressed two major rallies in Meerut and Aligarh in one week, Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav has addressed more than 10, Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) chief Ajit Singh has been mingling with the Jat community and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati is explaining why she needs to return to power. Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi and Akhilesh Yadav have jointly held road shows in Lucknow, Agra and Kanpur. Their next stop is Varanasi, which sent Modi to the Lok Sabha. Many state ministers are spending nights in far-flung villages, many without electricity. Union ministers Kalraj Mishra, Rajnath Singh, Piyush Goel, Smriti Irani, V.K. Singh, Ravi Shankar Prasad and Mukhtaar Abbas Naqvi have been hopping from one city to another. Modi's digs at his opponents have sparked terse responses. Modi's action-packed speeches are being responded to by regional satraps in their own ways. Egged on by social media workers, Akhilesh Yadav is at the forefront of taking on Modi with crisp one liners. Shivpal Yadav, once the tallest of state ministers but now pushed to the sidelines by his nephew and Chief Minister, is leading the emotional brigade with his passionate off-and-on appeals on how some people (Akhilesh) get everything by luck and legacy while some slog it out but get nothing (himself). Mulayam Singh Yadav, now cut-to-size as a mentor of the Samajwadi Party he founded, may be ageing but many are wondering what his next move would be. So, if the 78-year-old one day spat on the Congress-Samajwadi alliance, the next day he sobered down saying he will campaign for the coalition as it was stitched up by his son. Gorakhpur's firebrand MP Mahant Adityanath and other saffron-robed leaders are pitching in with the Ram temple issue, adding their own dash of drama. Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh has entered the fray, using peppery sentences like "Jo baap ka na hua, wo aap ka kya hoga". The reference to Akhilesh Yadav is not missed. The 43-year-old Chief Minister, knowing the risk of alienating his father's supporters, has been invoking Mulayam's legacy in places of Yadav dominance: Etah, Auraiyya, Hathras. Television actor-turned-politician Smriti Zubin Irani added to the heady cocktail in Lucknow. Asked to comment on BJP leader Vinay Katiyar's sexist remark on Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, she snapped back at the scribe, asked him to come to the front row. She handed him her mobile phone and asked him to read out loud a message on a social networking site. The journalist turned red. The combative Union minister said Priyanka's husband Robert Vadra had made a remark about her and got no criticism from Priyanka Gandhi or any other Congressman. The first phase of the Uttar Pradesh polls is due on February 11, while campaigning for six others is yet to begin. Yet there is plenty happening in the country's politically most critical state. (Mohit Dubey can be contacted at mohit.d@ians.in) Hyderabad, Feb 7 : Two months after she was allegedly administered contaminated saline at the government-run Gandhi Hospital here, six-year-old Sai Pravalika died early on Tuesday. The doctors, however, said she died of prolonged illness due to a rare neurological disorder and not due to contaminated saline as alleged by her parents. The body was shifted to her village in Jangaon district of Telangana. The hospital authorities said the parents did not demand an autopsy. In December, Pravalika's father Bhikshapathy had alleged that he found 'insect' in the saline bottle given to her and her condition started deteriorating after that. Gandhi Hospital Superintendent J.V. Reddy ordered a probe into the incident and sent the bottle for analysis. The report from the Drug Control Administration was awaited. Reddy claimed that the saline bottles of the same batch were not found contaminated. A German company, which makes the saline bottles in India, also offered to cooperate in the investigation. The official said even if the saline was contaminated, the infection can be controlled within a week. He said the girl was suffering from a rare neurological disorder called neuronal ceroid lipofuscinosis and was on antibiotics and oxygen support. According to doctors, the girl was being treated for recurring infection and bouts of pneumonia. Sydney, Feb 7 : Late Pope John Paul II was aware of priests sexually abusing children, and of efforts by the Catholic Church to cover up the allegations, an American canon lawyer claimed on Tuesday. Thomas Doyle, an expert on cases of sexual abuse by the clergy, said this while testifying at a hearing here in Australia, Efe news reported. Doyle is deposing before the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse in public and religious institutions. He also said that in 1985 at least four US dioceses sent reports to the Vatican on child sexual abuse by priests. One of these reports were prepared by Doyle himself, who requested a bishop be sent down to Luisiana to deal with cases of paedophilia. The report was sent by courier to the Cardinal Archbishop of Philadelphia, Cardinal John Krol, who took it to the Vatican the next day, said Doyle. He added Krol handed the report to the Pope, who read the document and named a bishop for the purpose - AJ Quinn - within three days. However, Quinn, he said: "turned out to be part of the problem, not part of the solution, because he was trying to figure how to continue with the cover-up." Doyle's claims came a day after a detailed report by the Australian Catholic Church that revealed around 4,500 people reported cases of child sexual abuse by members of the clergy between 1980 and 2015. Presented by Gail Furness, the counsel assisting the commission, the report said between 1950 and 2010, 1,880 alleged perpetrators were identified -- 572 priests, 597 religious brothers, and 96 religious sisters and others. Speaking in Parliament following the revelations, Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull called it "a national shame". "This type of abuse, this abuse, in any context, can never happen again. This is a reminder to all of us..., in every part of the nation to protect the vulnerable..., the children in our care in whatever context," he remarked. Meanwhile, the commission's hearings will continue till February 27 and will record statements by all seven archbishops from Australia. The commission was set up in 2012 to investigate how authorities responded to cases of child sexual abuse in public, social, sport and religious institutions across the country. In 2016, it published a report with 99 recommendations on how to deal with and take care of the victims, including a compensation plan. The report had prompted the Australian government to announce compensation of upto $114,850 for the victims. A roundup of legislative and Capitol news items of interest for Monday, Feb. 6, 2017: AND THEN THERE WERE 150: Monica Kurth, D-Davenport, was sworn in as a member of the Iowa House. Kurth, who will represent the western portion of Davenport, won a special election to fill a vacant seat that was the final domino to fall after the recent death of former Iowa Sen. Joe Seng, D-Davenport. Jim Lykam, D-Davenport, won a Dec. 27 special election to replace Seng in the Senate; Kurth won a Jan. 31 special election to replace Lykam in the House. Kurth's swearing in completes the roster of legislators for the state's 87th General Assembly, which will meet in 2017 and 2018. With Kurth's swearing in, there are a full 100 members in the Iowa House and 50 in the Iowa Senate. CLEAR SUCCESSION: A lawmakers request for an attorney generals opinion on how and whether a lieutenant governor is replaced if the office becomes vacant isnt needed, according to Gov. Terry Branstad. He believes the state Constitution is clear that in the case of the death, resignation or disability of the governor, the lieutenant governor becomes the governor, Branstad said Monday. A state law gives the governor the authority to appoint a lieutenant governor if that office becomes vacant. Thats pretty clear as can be and I dont think there is any question about that, he said. Sen. David Johnson, an Ocheyedan independent, formally requested an opinion from the attorney general because he reads the Constitution to say the lieutenant governor would have the duties and power of the governors office, but not the title. She would be addressed as governor, but would remain lieutenant governor. Under that interpretation, the lieutenant governors office would not be vacant and Reynolds would not appoint a successor. The question has come up because Branstad has been nominated by President Donald Trump to be ambassador to China. FRIEND OF THE COURT: Attorney General Tom Miller today joined 15 state attorneys general in a friend of the court brief in support of the states of Washington and Minnesota in the federal lawsuit against President Donald Trumps executive order on immigration. The president has broad authority to oversee our nations immigration policies and procedures, but not even the president has authority to circumvent our Constitutions fundamental guarantees of equal protection, religious freedom and due process, Miller said. The amicus brief supports the states standing to challenge the order, citing the harm it inflicts on the states themselves, including their educational institutions, medical institutions and diminished tax revenues from students, tourists, and business visitors. The amicus brief calls for a denial of the federal governments emergency motion for stay, as it would return the country to the confusion and chaos created by the executive order in its implementation last weekend. DECORUM: The Iowa House spent more than an hour debating whether representatives should be able to use visual aids in debate. A proposed rule change would allow visual aids, such as charts and graphs, at the leave of the Speaker of the House. Rep. Mary Wolfe, D-Clinton, called it an example of the majority party voting away free speech rights of the minority party. It would also allow the majority party to rebut a minority party members comments before they are made on the floor. This is a pretty big deal, Wolfe said about what she considered stripping the minority partys ability to present its arguments. Floor manager of House Resolution 5, Rep. Mike Sexton, R-Rockwell City, called the change necessary to protect the decorum of the House. He pointed out there are many behaviors he does not think likely to happen, such as a representative shouting obscenities from the House floor, but there are rules to prohibit them. Her amendment to remove the ban on visual aids was rejected 38-57. The resolution was approved 58-37. MINORITY UNEMPLOYMENT: Reducing unemployment in Iowas minority communities is the goal of a State Workforce Development Board subcommittee announced by Gov. Terry Branstad Monday. According to the latest Census information, Iowas statewide unemployment rate was 3.9 percent. The rate for African Americans is 14.2 percent, 11 percent among Native Americans, 5.3 percent for Asian American and 8.1 percent for Hispanic Americans had a rate of 8.1 percent for the same time period. The subcommittee goal is to reduce unemployment in minority communities by 5 percent (or to the state average) in five years. It is unacceptable that we have such a huge disparity between our average unemployment rate and the rates in our minority communities, Branstad said. The subcommittees work will align with and support the goals of the Future Ready Iowa Alliance to help these Iowans find meaningful employment and meet the needs of Iowa employers. Branstad credited former Rep. Wayne Ford, D-Des Moines, with bringing this issue to the State Workforce Development Board and helping in the development of the groups goals and agenda. Four counties -- Polk, Dubuque, Black Hawk and Pottawattamie -- have been identified as pilot communities based on having high concentrations of minority residents and unemployment rates. QUOTE OF THE DAY: Younger and younger children are being injured requiring hospital stays that take longer and longer to discharge the more severe injuries. The injuries are more serious and the age is getting younger. Katy Hill, a representative for the Iowa EMS association and Unity Point of Des Moines discussing a Senate bill that would legalize consumer fireworks. Seoul, Feb 7 : Top South Korean and US officials held telephone talks on Tuesday to discuss stronger bilateral alliance and North Korea's nuclear programme, Seoul's Foreign Ministry said. South Korean Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se spoke to US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson for 25 minutes, Xinhua news agency reported. Citing a series of senior-level phone talks between the two allies, Minister Yun highly appreciated the importance the Trump administration placed on the bilateral alliance. The two officials agreed to strengthen the US-South Korea relations to the strongest ever under the Trump administration to effectively tackle North Korea's nuclear programme and other relevant issues. The South Korean diplomat stressed that the Pyongyang's nuclear programme would become the most serious issue faced by the new US administration, saying the two countries should be prepared for any possible North Korean provocations. On January 30, US President Donald Trump held phone talks with South Korean Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn who is serving as acting President following the impeachment of President Park Geun-hye. US Defence Secretary James Mattis visited South Korea last week. Mumbai, Feb 7 : Hrithik Roshan says he is looking back to get back to his "happiest days" -- those when he was concentrating on the creative process of filmmaking. The "Kaabil" actor, who is celebrating the positive response to his latest release, said here: "As an artiste, we should concentrate on the creative process of filmmaking. So, when I was in the creative genre, those were my happiest days. Currently, I am looking to get back in my happiest days." "I was confident that 'Kaabil' is a good film and would get a good response. But the way people have showered love for the film, is unexpected and overwhelming. This is a big success for the entire team." Hrithik spoke on the sidelines of the 3rd Bright Awards 2017 here on Monday. What's the best compliment he has received for "Kaabil"? "From my children. They said 'Kaabil' is the best Hindi film ever made," said the father of two sons. Riyadh, Feb 7 : Police in Saudi Arabia have foiled an attempt to "burn" the Kaaba, located in the centre of the Grand Mosque in Makkah, a media report said on Tuesday. According to local daily Sabq, an eyewitness said that he saw a man pour gasoline on the Kaaba, Xinhua news agency reported. He alerted the police, who arrested the man. The daily confirmed that the incident occurred at 11 p.m., on Monday. In May 2016, the police foiled a suicide bomber from reaching the Prophet's Mosque in Madina, leaving the attacker and four police personnel killed. Kabul, Feb 7 : An Afghan district governor was killed in an explosion in Farah province, a senior official said on Tuesday. "Abdul Khaliq Noorzai, governor of Khak-e-Safed district was killed following an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) explosion late Monday," the official told Xinhua news agency. The attack occurred near Noorzai's house as he was leaving for a mosque to attend night prayers. The Taliban has claimed responsibility, the official added. Mumbai, Feb 7 : Amit Roy's Bollywood film "RunningShaadi.com", starring Taapsee Pannu and Amit Sadh, will hit the screens in Pakistan on February 17, the same day as its release in India. The news comes right after the release of much-anticipated Bollywood film "Raees", starring Shah Rukh Khan and Pakistani actress Mahira Khan, was on Monday banned in Pakistan due to its "objectionable" content. Director Roy said in a statement: "I think it's a good way forward because just banning all things that the two nations enjoy about each other is not going to move our relationship forward." "We enjoy many of the same things and the people of both our nations are made from the same grain. So why let the politics chosen by the select few determine the common man's desire on either side to communicate and enjoy each other's cultures. I completely welcome this decision by our friends in Pakistan to release our film and I hope they enjoy it." After the self-imposed ban on Bollywood films in Pakistan ended on February 1, Karachi's Atrium Cinemas screened Hrithik Roshan-starrer "Kaabil". And now, "RunningShaadi.com" is set to release in Pakistan. Vikram Malhotra, co-producer of "RunningShaadi.com", said: "We are delighted that 'RunningShaadi.com' will release in Pakistan. The film is an endearing entertainer, especially for the youth and I am sure that audience across the world will enjoy this quirky yet meaningful story." Last week, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif gave a thumbs up to the Information and Broadcasting Ministry to lift the "ban" by issuing No Objection Certificate to Indian films, subject to clearance by the Censor Board. According to an official handout issued by the Information Ministry, the government was "pleased to continue the existing open policy to display all international movies (including Indian films) in Pakistani cinemas". The statement, however, pointed out that the cinema houses would be allowed to screen movies only after approval from relevant censor boards. Following the tensions over an attack on an Indian army base in Uri, Jammu and Kashmir, and surgical strikes across the Line of Control in September last year, Pakistani cinema owners had decided not to screen Indian movies until the atmosphere became better. The decision was taken after the Indian Motion Picture Producers' Association banned all Pakistani artistes from working in films in India. Beijing, Feb 7 : Demand for new employees in China's Guangdong province increased after the Spring Festival vacation, when migrant workers return to their hometowns for the holiday, the media reported on Tuesday. The first job fair in provincial capital Guangzhou, started on Monday with nearly 4,000 posts on offer from more than 180 companies in the Pearl River delta region, Xinhua news agency reported. Of the total, nearly 20 per cent were opportunities in the wholesale and retail industry, evidence of a sound market environment for retail trade, a job fair official said. It was followed by vacancies offered by traditional manufacturing industries. The general demand for labour in the sector has fallen in recent years as manufacturing industries move inland areas to reduce costs. Jobs in the emerging industries, such as computer and software, accounted for 11 per cent of all the opportunities on offer, double the same period last year. "It is not easy to hire after the Spring Festival because people are scattered," said Zou Daosheng, chairman of a Hunan-based health product firm that plans to establish a marketing team in Guangzhou. Guangzhou will hold more job fairs in the following two months, offering more than 100,000 posts from about 5,000 companies. Companies in Guangdong often face a labour shortage after Spring Festival when people move cities or stay in their hometown. The province needed more than 8 million workers in the first three quarters of 2016. Beijing, Feb 7 : Chinese President Xi Jinping on Tuesday told his Sri Lankan counterpart Maithripala Sirisena that he was "willing to work to consolidate political trust, expand mutually beneficial cooperation and deepen people-to-people friendship". Xi and Sirisena on Tuesday exchanged congratulatory messages to mark the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between the two nations, Xinhua news agency reported. In his message, Xi pointed out that since China and Sri Lanka established diplomatic relations, bilateral ties have stood the test of an ever-changing international situation and achieved a healthy and smooth development. Xi said that he appreciated Sri Lanka for its active participation in the Belt and Road Initiative. Sirisena said that the friendship between Sri Lanka and China dates back to a long time ago. Sirisena noted that Sri Lanka is firmly dedicated to promoting its relations with China and that he believed on the basis of the ancient Maritime Silk Road, the Belt and Road Initiative will open up a new era for Sri Lanka-China cooperation. New Delhi, Feb 7 : The Lok Sabha on Tuesday passed a Motion of Thanks on President Pranab Mukherjee's address to the joint sitting of Parliament, amid protests from the Opposition. "That the members of the Lok Sabha assembled in this session are deeply grateful to the President for the address which he has been pleased to deliver to both houses of Parliament assembled together on January 31, 2017," the motion said. The motion was passed by the House by a voice vote, even as Congress member Jyotiraditya Scindia insisted on a division over his amendments. Opposition members also protested against over the absence of Union Minister Mahesh Sharma, who had moved the motion on Monday. Speaker Sumitra Mahajan however said she was not able to hear the opposition members because of the ruckus, and went ahead with the motion. Angry Congress and Communist Party of India-Marxist members staged a walkout from the House, after which the motion was passed by a voice vote. All amendments by opposition members were also defeated. New Delhi, Feb 7 : Samajwadi Party leader and actor Jaya Bachchan on Tuesday raised in Rajya Sabha the issue of recent attack on filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali. She said: "Creativity should not be subjected to such treatment." There was growing intolerance in the country with the selected few assuming that they represent the masses under certain political patronage, she said. They have started taking law and order into their own hands, she added. "They have no respect for the constitutional values or law and order. The film fraternity has long been fighting this menace with little or no support from the government," she said. "Film industry creates large number of employment opportunity and any such disruption affects earnings, growth and employment generation within the industry, Jaya added. The Samajwadi Party member also expressed her displeasure over the government not condemning the incident in which Bhansali was physically assaulted and film equipment was damaged. The National Award-winning Bollywood director was allegedly slapped and assaulted on January 27 by a mob of activists of the Shree Rajput Karni Sena in Jaipur on the sets of "Padmavati". Mumbai, Feb 7 : Actress and former Miss Universe Sushmita Sen says the change in the roles essayed by women in the Hindi film industry is fantastic. "It's a fantastic time for women actors in the film industry because I have seen in the last 13 years alone, the whole concept of a woman-centric film being the centre of all the attention," Sushmita told IANS here. Sushmita, who is a single mother to two daughters -- Renee and Alisah, said the Indian audience is getting more educated regarding such films. "We're a lovely film-going nation. I do feel very strongly that more and more opportunities such as these should arise through a good script, great makers and an audience that is willing to learn and enjoy different kinds of Cinema," she added. Having featured in films like "Biwi No.1" and "Main Hoon Na", Sushmita's last big screen appearances were in the 2010 Bollywood film "No Problem" and in Bengali film "Nirbak". Asked if it was a conscious decision to stay away from the big screen, Sushmita said: "As far as a conscious decision goes, it's really an amalgamation of a lot of things... It's just that I made a choice this time. To be a mum, that was very much a part of every little detail of a second child being brought up, and she's (Alisah is) now seven." Sushmita also said the kind of scripts and films that came her way was another reason why she preferred to stay away from doing movies. "It's the kind of scripts and the films that were coming my way... I chose to utilise my time more productively. I understand and respect the need for us to constantly follow a system of films after films, but the truth of the matter is, I had to choose and prioritise, and I chose... this," the 41-year-old said. She was recently in Manila to judge the Miss Universe 2016 contest, and she also became a showstopper at the Lakme Fashion Week Summer/Resort 2017 for designer Sashi Vangapalli. (The writer's visit was at the invitation of Lakme Fashion Week organisers. Durga Chakravarty can be contacted at durga.c@ians.in) ORANGE CITY | A Maurice day care provider was sentenced Monday to five months in jail for injuring a child that was in her care. After a four-day trial, a Sioux County jury in November found Dianna Winder, 33, guilty of child endangerment causing bodily injury and assault causing bodily injury. District Judge Patrick Tott suspended a five-year prison sentence and ordered Winder to serve the jail term, in which she will be allowed work release. She also was placed on probation for four years during which time she will be prohibited from providing day care. On Nov. 11, 2015, the 15-month-old child's mother noticed marks on his face when she picked him up from Winder's home. The mother took her son to the emergency room, where doctors contacted police and social workers, leading to Winder's arrest in December 2015. The Sioux City Journal is another Lee Enterprises newspaper. Lucknow, Feb 7 : Samajwadi Party mentor Mulayam Singh Yadav's younger daughter-in-law Aparna Yadav has courted controversy by reportedly saying she is opposed to caste-based reservation, with the opposition BJP jumping at the opportunity to corner the ruling party. "The SP leadership will have to prove its allegiance to the OBCs, Scheduled Castes and Tribes by taking action against Aparna Yadav," the state BJP unit said. Aparna Yadav, debuting as a Samajwadi Party candidate from Lucknow Cantt. assembly constituency, is married to Prateek Yadav, the younger son of Mulayam. Aparna is pitted against Rita Bahuguna Joshi, who won the seat as a Congress candidate in 2012. Joshi has since joined the Bharatiya Janata Paty. Aparna's stand on the sensitive women's reservation issue comes ahead of the seven-phase assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh between February 11 and March 8. In an interview to a news website, Aparna also said she will not seek reservation for her daughter though she comes from a Yadav (Other Backward Caste) family. "We are a well-to-do family; so why should we take any caste-based reservation?" she said. Known for her straightforward nature, be it taking out rallies against crime against women or clicking selfies with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Aparna Yadav has been in the news for all the wrong reasons. Her "ambitions, overzealousness and political immaturity" are known to have angered Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav on many occasions. Moreover, she is viewed as supportertive of Akhilesh's paternal uncle Shivpal Singh Yadav. The BJP on Tuesday accused her of siding with people who, the party said, wanted to deprive the downtrodden and the marginalised castes of Uttar Pradesh of the benefits of reservation in jobs and educational institutions. Union Water Resources Minister Uma Bharati, in a statement issued by the BJP state unit, said she was pained at Aparna's comments. "This is a move by the Yadav clan to deprive dozens of castes, the landless farmers, carpenters and others from the benefits of reservation," Uma Bharti said and alleged that Aparna's stand had the approval of SP National President Akhilesh Yadav. Chennai, Feb 7 : The AIADMK on Tuesday said the Governor is constitutionally obligated to swear-in duly-elected person as Chief Minister and that it was not worried over the legal challenges against impending swearing-in of V.K. Sasikala to the top elected post. "It is a constitutional obligation on the part of a Governor to swear-in a duly-elected person as the Chief Minister," AIADMK spokesperson Panruti S. Ramachandran told the media here. Asked about the delay in the government formation, Ramachandran said the party is awaiting Governor Ch. Vidyasagar Rao's return to Chennai. "The AIADMK legislature party had unanimously elected Chinnamma (Sasikala) as its leader. We are waiting for Governor Ch. Vidyasagar Rao to return to Chennai -- then all our MLAs will visit Raj Bhavan and present themselves before him as also provide him with the written intent of our party to form the government under the leadership of Chinnamma," he said. AIADMK General Secretary V.K. Sasikala is set to be sworn in as the new Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu after the resignation of O. Panneerselvam's from the post was accepted by the Governor on Monday. Ramachandran also dismissed as baseless the charges levelled by former Tamil Nadu assembly Speaker P.H. Pandian and former Rajya Sabha member Manoj Pandian earlier in the day. He said it is for the doctors, and not others, to decide whether Jayalalithaa was poisoned. Speaking to reporters earlier, Manoj Pandian claimed that Jayalalithaa had once told him that she may be poisoned to death. "It was P.H. Pandian who is responsible for the disproportionate assets case against late J. Jayalalithaa and others," said K.A. Sengottaiyan, an AIADMK legislator. Sengottaiyan said all the five members of Pandian family were given positions/posts by the AIADMK and he is now talking against the party because he is not in any position. Paris, Feb 7 : Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy is to face trial for the alleged irregular financing of his 2012 presidential campaign, the media reported on Tuesday. Sarkozy is to appear in court along with 13 others, said the "France Info" broadcaster, citing court sources. The case was originally opened in 2014 when a media investigation found that Sarkozy had surpassed the 22.5 million euro ($24 million) spending cap on his presidential campaign for an election he lost to Socialist Party candidate Francois Hollande, the incumbent President. Prosecutors accused Sarkozy and members of his Union for a Popular Movement (UMP) party of having conspired with communications company Bygmalion to cover up the overspend with false invoices, Efe news reported. The allegations against Sarkozy suggested that the former head of state breached the campaign spending limit by some $15 million. Rather than invoicing the presidential campaign, the Bygmalion firm allegedly charged those extra expenses to Sarkozy's centre-right UMP, since re-branded as the Republicans, thus bypassing French electoral law. In France, the case is popularly referred to as the Bygmalion affair. Sarkozy was fined by the Constitutional Court for his role in the Bygmalion affair and he has since paid back the entire sum of the overspend after a successful donation campaign led by party members and supporters. The case was widely blamed for his poor showing in the 2016 centre-right presidential primaries when his comeback attempt was thwarted by two former Prime Ministers, Francois Fillon and Alain JuppA. Sarkozy's 2012 campaign manager JArAme Lavrilleux and the head of Bygmalion, who has confessed to the accusations, are also due to stand trial. Sarkozy's lawyers may yet appeal the order. The centre-right politician would become the second former head of state to stand trial after tenure. Jacques Chirac was handed a suspended prison sentence by a Paris court in 2011 for diverting public funds and abusing public confidence. Chennai, Feb 7 : Actor Rana Daggubati says he missed sunlight while shooting 18 days non-stop underwater for upcoming Telugu-Hindi war-at-sea drama "Ghazi", based on the mysterious sinking of PNS Ghazi submarine during the 1971 war between India and Pakistan. "At the end of the 18th day, I was gasping for sunlight. When you haven't felt the sun on your face and you've been breathing recycled air for months, getting on the surface of water and on land is like freedom at last! How I missed the beautiful sunlight," Rana told IANS. In the film, Rana plays Lt. Commander Arjun Varma. Recollecting the experience of shooting underwater in a submarine setting, he said: "The naval sailors possess tremendous amount of grit as they live life without surfacing from underwater for days altogether, breathing the same air virtually every day." Directed by debutant Sankalp, and co-starring Taapsee Pannu, Atul Kulkarni and Kay Kay Menon, the film is partially based on the book "Blue Fish", penned by the director himself. The story is about an executive naval officer of the Indian submarine S21 and his team who remain underwater for 18 days. The film also stars Nassar and late actor Om Puri in a pivotal role. Chandigarh, Feb 7 : The Border Security Force (BSF) gunned down a Pakistani intruder in Gurdaspur sector of Punjab on Tuesday, officials said. The incident took place near Simbal. "A Pakistani intruder crossed the border and came inside Indian territory. BSF challenged him to stop but the intruder continued with his aggressive posture and kept moving towards (us). BSF troopers opened fire in self-defence and killed the intruder," a BSF spokesman said. Suspected terrorists from Pakistan have carried out terror attacks in Punjab in 2015 and 2016. The first attack was in Dinanagar town in Gurdaspur district on July 27, 2015. The second attack was on January 2 on the Pathankot air base. New Delhi, Feb 7 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said the decision on cross-LoC surgical strikes was a "big decision" of his government, but the opposition parties were "unable" to speak about it to the people as it was causing them "pain inside". Replying to the debate on the Motion of Thanks to the President's address in the Lok Sabha, Modi said while opposition parties were talking a lot about demonetisation, they were not talking about the surgical strikes. "It was a big decision. (You) are talking about demonetisation but no one is talking about surgical strikes. "Surgical strikes is causing you trouble. You are unable to speak among people (about it). You are feeling pain inside," he said. The surgical strikes were carried out by the Indian Army in September on terror launch pads across the Line of Control following a terror attack on an Army camp in Uri in Jammu and Kashmir. The opposition parties have accused the government of "politicising" the surgical strikes. Modi said the September 29 cross-LoC surgical strikes was a big decision and the Army carried these out successfully. Referring to allegations of opposition parties that he had not acted tough against Pakistan-sponsored terrorism despite tall claims, Modi said that the leaders of these parties were not able to repeat their allegations among the people. Modi said some opposition parties were forced to change their statements on surgical strikes within the first 24 hours after seeing the mood of the people. He said the defence forces were fully capable of meeting all challenges to the country's security. Colombo, Feb 7 : Sri Lanka's Defence Secretary Karunasena Hettiarachchi on Tuesday called on members of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (Saarc) to unite in order to eliminate regional terrorism. President Maithripala Sirisena had emphasised that every country of the Saarc should act with unity at a time when the very existence of organisation might be threatened, Hettiarachchi said at a Saarc panel discussion. "South Asia is the poorest region and the number of people living below the poverty line rises each year, so there is a long way before the region reaches its target of poverty alleviation," Hettiarachchi was quoted by Xinhua as saying. He said that in the past few decades, South Asia had witnessed instances of violence and extremism and it recently became an epicentre for terrorism. However, with the combined efforts of the member states, Saarc has made progress and praiseworthy achievements in strengthening trade and social welfare and in its battle against terrorism, he said. Hettiarachchi said that although some countries have made significant progress in economic growth, their influence in the region is still limited. Therefore, it is important for Saarc member states to cooperate and prioritise sustainable development goals and further development agenda. "In some instances, the traditions of mutual respect have been lacking and, therefore, Saarc as an organisation for regional cooperation has not been able to achieve its full potential," he said. Mumbai, Feb 7 : Shiv Sena President Uddhav Thackeray on Tuesday extended a warm welcome to Gujarat Patidar leader Hardik Patel, a staunch opponent of the Bharatiya Janata Party. Patel, 24, who arrived in Mumbai late on Monday night, claimed there was no political agenda and he had come to pay homage to the late Shiv Sena patriarch Bal Thackeray and seek Thackeray's blessings as an 'elder'. "Maharashtra is a land of valiant people and I have come to meet some of the good people here... Presently, the country is being run by undesirable people," Patel said, interacting with the crowded media contingent jointly with Thackeray at the latter's residence, Matoshree, Bandra. To a question, Patel said he would support the 11 Gujarati candidates nominated by the Shiv Sena for the ensuing BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections but would not directly campaign for the party. "I am still young and learning... Why should the Shiv Sena need me? It's a tiger and a tiger needs no one," said Patel, sidestepping any suggestions of a possible tie-up with Shiv Sena after his first meeting with the party leaders on Tuesday. On his part, lauding Patel's campaign for the uplift of the people of Gujarat, Thackeray said he (Patel) would be the face of the Shiv Sena in the next assembly elections in the neighbouring state. "We always maintain our friendships firmly, and never break them till the opposite person snaps it," Thackeray remarked in what was perceived to be a mild warning to Patel. Reacting to the meeting, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis remarked: "The ground is slipping under them, so they have to call anybody and take such steps." Patel is to take part in a road-show for his friend Biren Limbachaya and Shiv Sena candidate in the BMC polls, and campaign for him in Goregaon area of north-west Mumbai. Around 15 percent of voters in Mumbai comprise affluent Gujaratis who are mostly into businesses, trading and entrepreneurship and are wooed by all political parties for the BMC elections. Ranchi, Feb 7 : Two banks in Jharkhand were looted on Tuesday of Rs 51 lakh, police said. The first incident took place at Giridih district when four armed men arrived on two bikes at a Union Bank of India branch, locked the staff and customers in a washroom and escaped with Rs 30 lakh. In Hazaribagh district, six criminals barged into the Allahabad Bank at Ichak pretending to be customers. They looted Rs 21 lakh at gun point. Chennai, Feb 7 : Former assembly Speaker P.H. Pandian and the late J. Jayalalithaa's niece Deepa Jayakumar on Tuesday came out strongly against the elevation of AIADMK General Secretary V.K. Sasikala as Tamil Nadu's Chief Minister. Hours after Pandian, who is still with the AIADMK, demanded a probe into the circumstances leading to Jayalalithaa's hospitalisation, Jayakumar said Tamil people were against Sasikala becoming the Chief Minister. In a dramatic turn of events in the night, Chief Minister O. Panneerselvam meditated at the memorial of the late Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa. Panneerselvam visited the memorial on Marina beach and sat on the floor cross legged and meditated with closed eyes for more than 30 minutes. His face seemed to be grim. He was watched by a large number of his supporters and AIADMK activists. With moist eyes he ended his meditation. However, party officials were clueless as to Panneerselvam's sudden meditation. The AIADMK leader, who became the Chief Minister after Jayalalithaa died on December 5, quit on Sunday to make way for V.K. Sasikala to take charge of the government. While Sasikala claimed that it was Panneerselvam who wanted her to become the party chief and the Chief Minister, he has not spoken on the subject publicly. Pandian, who was the Speaker when the iconic AIADMK founder M.G. Ramachandran was the Chief Minister, spoke to the media at his residence along with his son Manoj Pandian, a former Rajya Sabha member. Manoj Pandian also claimed that Jayalalithaa had once told him that she may be poisoned to death. "When 'Thuglaq' editor Cho Ramaswamy and I were Directors of Jaya TV, she (Jayalalithaa) told us she fears this group would poison her to death," Manoj Pandian said. Cho Ramaswamy died on December 6. "I told her she does not belong to one family but belongs to over 1.5 crore members of AIADMK. The people of Tamil Nadu will protect you," the junior Pandian claimed. Sasikala, a long-time confidante of Jayalalithaa who died on December 5, is set to head the Tamil Nadu government after the AIADMK elected her as its legislature party leader. Jayakumar made known her dislike of Sasikala by saying that "being with someone for 33 years is not a qualification to become the Chief Minister". "A lot of people are unhappy over the happenings in the AIADMK," she told the media at her house. "The people of Tamil Nadu are not happy with Sasikala becoming the Chief Minister." She said Monday's press conference by doctors who said there was no "conspiracy" behind Jayalalithaa's death was "stage-managed" and that she was determined to fight elections. Jayakumar also said she would announce her plan of action on February 24 -- whether to join the AIADMK or to form a new party. On the death threats she is reportedly getting ever since she stepped into the public limelight, she said: "I won't be cowed down by threats." Jayakumar accused the police of trying to put hurdles in the way of her public programmes. The Pandians earlier questioned the legality of the AIADMK General Council's election of Sasikala as its General Secretary. Hinting at foul play, the senior Pandian said there should be a probe to find out what led to the hospitalisation of Jayalalithaa in September. Citing news reports that Jayalalithaa had fallen at her residence on the day she was admitted to Apollo Hospitals, former Speaker Pandian said this must be probed. He also termed Jayalalithaa's death as "unnatural". Pandian said Jayalalithaa once said that all her assets should go to the people after her death and he (Pandian) should see to that. According to Manoj Pandian, there is no provision in the party's rules for an interim General Secretary and all actions taken by Sasikala were void in law. The DMK has also come out against Sasikala's attempts to become the Chief Minister on the strength of her long association with Jayalalithaa. The U.S. Marshals Service Northern Iowa Fugitive Task Force is seeking the following person: Duran Medina, 28. Medina is 5 feet 8 inches tall and weighs 170 pounds. He is wanted by the Iowa Department of Corrections for escaping from the Residential Treatment Facility in Sioux City. Medina was in the treatment center after being convicted of assault while participating in a felony and habitual offender. Anyone with information can call the Northern Iowa Fugitive Task Force at 712-252-0211, email siouxlands.mostwanted@usdoj.gov or text the keyword TEN99 and the tip to tip411 (847411). The Sioux City Journal is another Lee Enterprises newspaper. New Delhi, Feb 7 : Thieves broke into the house of child rights activist Kailash Satyarthi here and took away his Nobel Peace Prize citation and replica of the medal. According to police, the burglars broke into Satyarthi's house located in DDA Flats colony, Kalkaji, late on Monday night and took away the Nobel memorabilia along with other valuables. Satyarthi and his wife are outside the country in connection with the 16th World Summit of Nobel Peace Laureates held on February 1 in Colombia. "The burglars entered the house breaking a window and a ventilator. The verification of the objects stolen is on. Among the things stolen is his Nobel prize citation and replica of the Nobel Medal," Deputy Commissioner of Police Romil Baniya told IANS on Tuesday. The police are also examining CCTV footage from Satyarthi's apartment as well as of the neighbours. The original medal is displayed at the Rashtrapati Bhavan after Satyarthi in 2015 dedicated his Peace Prize to the nation presenting it to President Pranab Mukherjee. The theft came to notice on Tuesday morning after which his son, Bhuvan Ribhu, filed a police complaint. According to the family, besides the Nobel citation and replica of the medal, gifts and awards received from various international organisations and heads of states, ancestral jewellery and electronics items were also stolen. Satyarthi expressed shock over the incident and appealed to the "conscience" of those involved in the theft. "I appeal to the conscience of the people involved to understand its significance and not get distracted by its monetary value. A police probe has been initiated and I have complete faith in the authorities and the legal bodies of our country," said Satyarthi in a statement. Satyarthi was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2014 along with Pakistani education activist Malala Yousafzai. He is the founder of Bachpan Bachao Andolan (BBA), which is dedicated to battling child labour and rehabilitating rescued former child workers. This is the second instance of theft of a Nobel memorabilia in India. The Nobel medallion of Rabindranath Tagore along with 47 other memorabilia were stolen from Rabindra Bhawan at Santiniketan in West Bengal. The theft came to light on March 25, 2004. The investigation was handed over to the Central Bureau of Investigation but the case has remained unsolved. Meerut, Feb 7 : Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav and Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday held a joint rally at the Nauchandi grounds here and appealed to the people to bring the alliance to power "to check communal forces". In his address, Rahul Gandhi accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of handing over 60 per cent of India's wealth to only 50 families in the country. He also said that through his ill-planned demonetisation drive, the Prime Minister made people stand in long queues outside banks and ATMs to get their own hard-earned money. The Gandhi scion also reminded the gathering that of the people standing in the queues, no one was a rich man or a suited-booted person. "It was the poor who had to suffer." Buoyed by the impressive gathering, Samajwadi Party (SP) National President Akhilesh Yadav took potshots at Modi's acronym "SCAM", spelt out during a speech a few days back in Meerut. The Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister said the Prime Minister should not have included the name of the BSP supremo. "He did a wrong thing by including the name of Mayawati in acronym SCAM," he quipped. "I guess he forgot the festival of 'Raksha Bandhan'," Akhilesh Yadav said in an apparent reference to the coming together of the BSP and the BJP to form a government in the past in Uttar Pradesh. "He probably missed out on this past," the Chief Minister said with a chuckle. New Delhi : Beijing, Feb 7 (IANS) By meddling in the disputed islands in the East China Sea, US would only provoke Beijing and risk turning the issue into a powder keg, a commentary on the state-controlled Xinhua news agency said. "Washington has long used the Diaoyu Islands as a fulcrum for an off-shore balance, manoeuvring Japan while pressuring China in East Asia, particularly under the administration of former US President Barack Obama, who zealously promoted a Pivot to Asia strategy during the last eight years." "However, the decaying US credibility in East Asia as well as the rising tensions in the region should make it clear to the new President, Donald Trump, that his predecessor's Pivot to Asia strategy is a deal with no winners and meddling in the waters around the uninhabited islands for so-called 'offshore balance' will never pay off." China and Japan claim islands in the the East China Sea. While Beijing calls them Diaoyu, for Japanese term them as Senkaku. Last week, US Defence Secretray James N. Mattis said that America will back Japanese claims over the disputed islands, angering China. "By meddling in the Diaoyu Islands issue, Washington is actually risking turning the islands into a powder keg, thus making the issue more complicated and bringing instability to the region." "For one thing, interfering in the Diaoyu Islands issue only provokes China, as Beijing has made it crystal clear that there will be no bargaining over its core interests," the commenray said. "If the lesson of Obama's administration in dealing with China offers any guide to Trump, the first and most important point should be ditching a zero-sum mentality, especially on the issue of the Diaoyu Islands," he added. "Meddling in partners' core interests definitely hurts intimacy. Trump's business instinct should actually help him realise the simple fact that rivalry between partners hurts business. He and his cabinet members need to think twice about the issue of the Diaoyu Islands, and distance themselves from Obama's stance and approach." New Delhi, Feb 7 : India has offered member states of the Bimstec regional grouping important initiatives in a number of key sectors, including counter-terrorism efforts and boosting regional transportation, the External Affairs Ministry said in a statement on Tuesday. According to the statement, the 17th Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (Bimstec) Senior Officials Meeting, held in Kathmandu on Tuesday, marked an important step forward to realise the agenda for the bloc agreed by the leaders at their retreat hosted by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Goa in October last year. The member states of Bimstec are Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Thailand. "India, as the lead country in the areas of counter-terrorism and trans-national crime, environment, transport and tourism sectors, offered several important initiatives in these areas," the statement said. "In keeping with the high priority Bimstec members attach to combat terrorism and trans-national crime, it was agreed that India would host the first ever meeting of Bimstec national security chiefs to discuss action against spread of terrorism, violent extremism and radicalisation," it stated. "India would also be hosting an international conference on countering radicalisation." In order to boost regional connectivity, India will also organise a meeting of the working group to finalise the Bimstec Motor Vehicles Agreement. A memorandum of understanding (MoU) on grid interconnection has also been finalised to facilitate electricity trade in the region, according to the statement. "The Trade Negotiating Committee would shortly take up trade and trade facilitation matters," it stated. "Given the region's vulnerability to natural calamities, India would organise the first annual disaster management exercise." A task force on traditional medicine has been created that will meet in India to work on strengthening the role of traditional medicine for holistic health care. India will also organise a network of Bimstec tour operators to boost tourism through measures such as composite tour packages. The meeting in Kathmandu also discussed progress in several other key Bimstec initiatives in trade and investment, energy, technology, fisheries, climate change, culture, people-to-people contacts and other sectors. "In keeping with the strong commitment of members to Bimstec, progress is to be reviewed in the meeting of Foreign Ministers to be hosted by Chair Nepal in June later this year," the statement said. "This meeting would also make preparations for the Bimstec summit to be hosted later this year." With the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (Saarc) not making much progress in its set agenda due to non-cooperation by Pakistan in several key areas, India is giving more importance to the Bimstec regional bloc. New York, Feb 7 : A contraceptive gel given as an injection has been found to provide long-term and reliable contraception in male monkeys, raising hopes of a new form of birth control for men who want to ditch the condom and also do not want to go for vasectomy. The gel was able to prevent any conceptions occurring in a test group of 16 rhesus monkeys, show the results published in the journal Basic and Clinical Andrology. The researchers believe that this method has the potential to offer men a reversible alternative to vasectomy, a surgical procedure for male sterilisation. "Although it is possible to reverse a vasectomy, it is a technically challenging procedure and patients often have very low rates of fertility following reversal," explained lead author Catherine VandeVoort from the California National Primate Research Centre in the US. Vasalgel is a non-pharmaceutical agent that forms a non-toxic hydrogel when injected into the vas deferens (the duct which conveys sperm from the testicles to the urethra). The gel fills the internal cavity of the vas deferens, forming a mechanical barrier to the movement of sperm. "Our research shows that Vasalgel placement into the vas deferens produces reliable contraception in mature male rhesus monkeys as shown by the lack of pregnancies in reproductively viable females with which the males were housed," VandeVoort said. "Importantly, we show that the method of Vasalgel placement is safe and produced fewer complications than usually occur with a vasectomy," VandeVoort added. The product was tested on rabbits in 2016. "Vasalgel shows real promise as an alternative to vasectomy because research in rabbits has previously shown the product to be reversible," VandeVoort noted. New Delhi, Feb 7 : With the US moving the UN to put Pathankot attack mastermind and chief of the Pakistan-based terror outfit Jaish-e-Mohamed, Masood Azhar, on the list of international terrorists, India has again taken up the matter with China, a senior official said on Tuesday. "We have been informed of this development (US moving the UN) and the matter has been taken up with the Chinese government," External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Vikas Swarup said. Last year China blocked India's bid to have Masood Azhar declared an international terrorist by the UN Security Council's 1267 Sanctions Committee. China repeatedly put a "technical hold" on India's resolution for a ban on Azhar in 2016. India says Azhar is the mastermind of the January 2016 terror attack on the Pathankot air base in Punjab. New Delhi, Feb 7 : A total of 167 bank officials have been suspended and 41 transferred for their involvement in irregularities relating to demonetisation, Parliament was informed on Tuesday. "As part of their staff accountability mechanisms, on the basis of prima facie involvement in irregularities relating to demonetisation, Public Sector Banks (PSBs) are so far reported to have placed 156 officials under suspension and to have transferred 41 officials," Minister of State for Finance Santosh Kumar Gangwar said in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha here. "In respect of private sector banks, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has informed that 11 employees have been placed under suspension where bank employees have been found involved in 'irregular exchange of transaction' of Specified Bank Note (SBN) during the phase of demonetisation," Gangwar said. The RBI has further informed that the banks have initiated internal investigation and complaints have been filed with the police or the CBI. Public ector banks are also reported to have filed 26 cases with the police or the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) wherever criminal cases are involved. The Enforcement Directorate has intimated that bank employees have been found indulging in money laundering and other unfair practices during the phase of demonetisation and that the investigations have been initiated under the provisions of Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002. The act provides for attachment of property as well as prosecution of the accused involved in money laundering. "Whenever a complaint against a bank official is received and any irregularities found, the banks initiate action as per their extant rules and commensurate punishment is awarded to the delinquent employees based on the seriousness of the wrongdoings as per bank's disciplinary rules," the minister said. New Delhi, Feb 7 : Delhi Lt Governor Anil Baijal cleared the AAP government's proposal to build 300 Mohalla Clinics in the premises of government schools, officials said on Tuesday. "The Lt Governor had approved the proposal to build Mohalla Clinics in school premises subject to certain conditions regarding safety of students," an official at the LG office told IANS. The official added that Lt Governor also laid stress upon deploying the capable doctors for quality treatment at Mohalla Clinics in government schools. Earlier in November last year, former Delhi Lt Governor Najeeb Jung had rejected this proposal and had sent the concerned file back to the government to make necessary changes. Jung had cited some restrictions under the Delhi School Education Act, according to which school premises can only be used for functioning of the school and no unauthorised person can enter the premises, etc. At least 107 Mohalla Clinics have already come up across the capital, in both middle class and urban poor neighbourhoods, where doctors and medicines are available and people enjoy facilities for tests -- all for free. Around two million people have so far availed themselves of the benefits of Mohalla Clinics. The Mohalla Clinic is a flagship initiative of the Delhi government that aims to provide free primary health care to people in their neighbourhoods. The Delhi Government's Mohalla Clinic project has been praised by several international organisations. As many as 1,000 Mohalla Clinics are to be set up by March 31. New Delhi, Feb 7 : Launching an all-out attack on the Opposition, especially the Congress, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said the people of India were responsible for keeping democracy alive, and also justified the demonetisation move as made at the right time. In his reply to a debate on the Motion of Thanks to the President's Address, Modi also made a snide comment at Congress Vice-president Rahul Gandhi over his claim he would make "earthquake" like revelations about the Prime Minister's personal involvement in corruption. The Motion of Thanks was passed by Lok Sabha on Tuesday by a voice-vote, with all amendments being rejected. Speaking on demonetisation for the first time in Lok Sabha on Tuesday, the Prime Minister said it was a move that was made at the right time, and called it the "clean India" move for the Indian economy. "When can you have an operation? When the body is healthy. For demonetisation, good economy was needed and this was a proper time. Our economy was doing well and our (demonetisation) decision was taken at the right time," Modi said. "The move was calculative. The decision was taken after Diwali when trade (across the country) was high," he said, adding the move was like the Swachh Bharat mission to clean the economy of ill-gotten wealth accumulated by evading tax. He said he was aware of political risks but "I am not concerned about the elections". He also said the government wanted a discussion, but the opposition was more interested in giving "television bytes". The Prime Minister started his reply to the debate by mentioning the earthquake that hit Delhi on Monday night, and took an indirect dig at Rahul Gandhi who had claimed he will make revelations about the Prime Minister's personal involvement in corruption, that will cause an earthquake. "Finally the earthquake came... I was threatened about it long back," the Prime Minister said, triggering an uproar in the opposition benches. The Prime Minister also had a retort for Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge, who on Monday has said Modi could become Prime Minister only because the Congress protected democracy fr 70 years. "Congress said democracy was protected by them... But every one knows, the democracy has been sacrificed for one family," he said. He referred to the Emergency that was implemented by the Indira Gandhi government in 1975, in response to which opposition members quipped that there was an "undeclared emergency" in the current times. "They (Congress) did not know the power of the people. It was because of the people that democracy was reinstated. It is because of the people that a poor mother's son could become the Prime Minister of India," Modi said. He also retorted to Kharge's comments in the Lok Sabha on Monday where he said Congress members had laid down their lives for the country and no one from the BJP had done so. Kharge's comment was expunged by the chair for unparliamentary language. "Knowing the history is important... Whether we were there or our dogs were there... other people's dogs may have been there, we did not grow in the culture of dogs..." the Prime Minister said responding to Kharge's comments. He mentioned the 1857 armed revolt, and said people were there even when Congress was not born. "The lotus was there at that time, the lotus is still here," Modi said. Through the debate, opposition members kept making remarks about the Prime Minister being a "brand ambassador" for Paytm and Jio mobile connection, to which Modi eventually replied and said: "Those who have its agency will speak about it", signalling that the opposition was mentioning it more than him. He slammed the Congress for giving credit to "one family" for everything, including Independence, and said: "Did you even say there was one Savarkar who went to Kala Pani for Independence, did you ever talk about Bhagat Singh, Chandrashekhar Azad?" Justifying the preponment of the budget, Modi said India is an agricultural nation, and continuing the British legacy of budget date leads to non-availability of funds during the sowing season once the Monsoon has started. "At one point of time, budget used to be presented at 5 p.m., because it was as per British time. We have a habit of carrying British legacies," he said. "We go ahead with the budget in May, by June rainfall starts. For the first three months, budget money could not be utilised and then whatever time is left, money was disbursed in a hurry," the Prime Minister said implying that preponing the budget will help in disbursing money at the right time. New Delhi, Feb 7 : The Supreme Court on Tuesday expressed its "strongest displeasure" over the manner in which fencing along the India-Bangladesh border is progressing and told the Union Home Ministry to furnish all details to the court. Describing the affidavit filed by the Home Ministry as an "exercise in vagueness with no specific details", the bench of Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Justice Rohinton Fali Nariman directed the ministry to furnish all the details relating to the fencing of the remaining 61.49-km stretch. "We are extremely unhappy with this kind of response," observed Justice Gogoi and directed the Union Home Ministry to file by February 14 the details of the plans to set up physical barriers on the 61.49-km stretch. The Centre in its affidavit has said that of the remaining stretch, work on 13.38-km stretch has been undertaken and is likely to be completed by July 2018. It excludes a 300-metre stretch of the elephant corridor. As court was told that the work on 13.38-km stretch would require 18 months, the bench wondered why so much time is needed for constructing physical barriers. "We want to know why you want 18 months. You are playing with the court," the bench said as it was told that some time would be required for taking permission from Bangladesh. "Why you need Bangladesh's permission? You really don't need it," Justice Gogoi said with Justice Nariman saying: "We should be moving forward and not side-stepping and moving backwards." Pointing out that the remaining 48.11-km stretch is riverine, the government has said that a committee comprising representatives of the Central Public WEorks Department, Border SXecuity Force and the Assam government has suggested that for the construction of "physical infrastructure" (barriers), there is a need to prepare a detailed project report based on hydrological data. The court was told that considering the geological features and the terrain, this activity may take considerable time. "It may take three years and the work is likely to be completed beyond 2020." However, for covering riverine stretch by non-physical barriers, the BSF is testing the available technologies through a pilot study in Jammu, the ministry told the court. Meanwhile, the court on Tuesday instructed the Assam Chief Secretary, the Registrar General of India and the State Coordinator of National Register of Citizens (NRC), Assam, Prateek Hajela, to be present in the court on February 14 in connection with the updation of the citizens' register in Assam. The exercise also includes verification of the people who claim to be the residents of Assam but were living in different parts of the country prior to 1971 -- the cut-off date for the identification of illegal migrants from Bangladesh. The hearing would take place in the judges' chambers. The apex court had on December 17, 2014, passed a string of directions, including an order to the Centre to complete fencing work along India-Bangladesh border within three months to check illegal cross-border influx of Bangladesh nationals into Assam and streamline the process to deport them back. DES MOINES | Iowans warned lawmakers Monday that a proposed $40 million increase in state school aid to K-12 schools will result in larger classes, fewer course offerings and layoffs. Its a travesty, Mark Bussel of Marion said at a 90-minute public hearing before the House took up Senate File 166. which was approved on a party line vote by the Senate last week. After four hours of floor debate, SF 166 was approved on a party line vote. However, floor manager Rep. Walt Rogers, R-Cedar Falls, argued that more money is not always the answer to the challenge of meeting the states goal to educate every student the very best we possibly can. Does it always involve more money? I dont believe it does, he said when floor debate began about 7 p.m. Dollars are one tool, one tool of many in the toolbox of educating our children. That might be true, said Rep. Sharon Steckman, D-Mason City, who pointed out the average annual increase in state school aid over the past eight years has been 1.83 percent. But you cant underfund schools year after year after year and say, Well, its really not about the money. It is about the money, she said. Rogers concluded the debate by pointing out that since Republicans have been in the majority in the House they have never cut education funding. Instead, education funding has increased by $730 million or 30 percent, he said. With schools telling lawmakers their costs are rising more than 3 percent a year, House Democrats called for raising new funding to 4 percent to bring school districts to what Rep. Cindy Winckler, D-Davenport, called wholeness. It was what 70 percent of superintendents surveyed by Democrats said they needed. Another 10 percent of superintendents asked for a 6 percent increase. When that amendment failed 38-57, Democrats tried to amend the bill to raise funding to the 2 percent Branstad recommended for each of the next two years -- $78.8 million next year and $63.5 million in fiscal 2019. That also failed. That failed 39-56. The floor debate was the culmination of a day-long discussion of school funding that started with the governors weekly question-and-answer session to a news conference organized by Iowans for Public Education to a 90-minute public hearing. Parents, teachers, union officials and lawmakers said a 1.11 percent increase is not enough to meet schools increased costs next year. It represents a lot of pink slips to hardworking teachers, Sioux City school board member Perla Alarcon-Flory said. This is not sufficient to fund my districts schools and I know many other districts are in the same position. Alarcon-Flory blamed the low funding increase on older lawmakers (who) dont even have grandchildren in the school system. Those who have school-aged children either homeschool them or send them to private schools, she said. The 1.11 percent increase would amount to an additional $73 per student, increasing the state cost per pupil from $6,591 to $6,664, according to the Legislative Services Agency. The bill also will boost categorical funding to help reduce class sizes, boost teacher salaries and pay for early intervention programs by 1.11 percent and provide a $5.3 million boost in property tax replacement money. As a result of SF 166, about 179 school districts -- 54 percent will be under the states budget guarantee a safeguard for schools dealing with declining enrollments that provides for 1 percent funding growth using local property taxes. The LSA estimated the total increase in property taxes, including budget guarantee as well as the increase from the uniform levy and adjustments due to enrollment changes for all districts will be about $55.4 million to $1.75 billion. A 4 percent increase would mean only 56 districts on the budget guarantee and a $3.45 million property tax increase, Winckler said. Brad Hudson of the Iowa State Education Association, which represents 34,000 educators, said the increase in school aid should be in line with K-12s share of the general fund budget. According to the Legislative Services Agency, K-12 state school aid has increased from about $1.6 billion in 1998 to slightly more than $3.1 billion in fiscal 2016. As a percent of the general fund budget, it has increased from 35.7 percent to 42.3. Hudson said the 1.11 percent hike is about 25 percent of the new money projected for the coming fiscal year. Iowa City parent and teachers spouse Karen Nichols told lawmakers continual underfunding of K-12 schools is placing stress on teachers. Like many speakers, she warned that low salaries will make it hard to attract and retain good teachers. As teachers deal with large class sizes, the cost of buying their own classroom supplies and the time needed to prepare students for testing they are unable to offer the same rigor as in the past. That impacts not only students, but Iowa as a whole, Steckman said. Were educating the next generation workforce, she said. We need to give kids the tools they need. However, increasing school funding does not necessarily result in higher student achievement, said Drew Klein of Americans for Prosperity. Cost should not be seen as a measure of quality, he said. Also in the bill, lawmakers eliminated the forward-funding law that required the Legislature and governor set state supplemental aid to schools more than one year in advance. Lawmakers have violated that on a regular basis in recent years. Branstad said he understands why lawmakers want to see the Revenue Estimating Conference projections in March before setting the school funding beyond the next school year. James Q. Lynch writes for the Globe Gazette's Des Moines Bureau. Reach him at 319-398-8375 or james.lynch@thegazette.com. New Delhi, Feb 7 : Britain-based Indian-origin artist and human rights activist Anish Kapoor has been honoured with the 2017 Genesis Prize given by the Genesis Prize Foundation. The prize was awarded by the Genesis Prize Foundation, the Government of Israel and the Jewish Agency on February 5. Kapoor has decided to use the $1 million award money to help refugees and try to expand the Jewish community's engagement in a global effort to support the Syrian refugees, according to a statement issued by Genesis Prize Foundation. His famous work 'Turning the World Upside Down' sculpture has been placed at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem. Some of his other works which gained worldwide attention are 'Cloud Gate' placed in Chicago's Millennium Park and 'Orbit' in London. Born in Mumbai to a Baghdadi Jewish mother and Indian father, Kapoor moved to Israel at the age of 16 and is based in Britain since 1970. He has also been a public advocate and fought for the betterment of the refugees. Natan Sharansky, Head of Genesis Prize selection committee, said: "Anish Kapoor has campaigned against indifference his whole life. His message is clear, powerful, and inspiring. I am confident that Anish will use the Genesis Prize to build on the good work and his voice and energy will help to focus more people on the need to alleviate the suffering of refugees." The Israeli Embassy in the national capital also congratulated Kapoor upon receiving the 2017 Genesis Prize. "I congratulate Kapoor for winning the prestigious Genesis Prize of 2017. Kapoor's contribution to the world -- both artistic and humanitarian -- is deservedly celebrated," Israel Ambassador Daniel Carmon said in a statement. Established in 2012, the annual Genesis Prize has been dubbed by Time Magazine as the "Jewish Nobel". Washington, Feb 7 : US President Trump has said that the news media was playing down the terrorist threat posed by the Islamic State (IS) and journalists were reluctant to report on the militant groups attacks in Europe and "have their reasons" for failing to cover them, the media reported. Trump initially did not provide examples of a news media conspiracy to underplay terrorist attacks. The White House on Monday released a list of what it said were 78 attacks from September 2014 to December 2016 that were carried out or inspired by the IS. It said that "most have not received the media attention they deserved", the New York Times reported. The list included the major attacks in Paris, Brussels, San Bernardino (California) and Orlando (Florida) that dominated the news for weeks. Other attacks overseas, lesser known to Americans, received extensive local coverage, like a shooting in Zvornik, Bosnia, in April 2015 in which one police officer was killed and two others were wounded, the White House said. "Radical Islamic terrorists are determined to strike our homeland, as they did on 9/11, as they did from Boston to Orlando to San Bernardino and all across Europe," Trump said at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Florida. "All over Europe, it's happening. It's gotten to a point where it's not even being reported, and in many cases, the very, very dishonest press doesn't want to report it," he said. "They have their reasons," Trump added, "and you understand that." The President made similar comments about the US media during a January visit to the headquarters of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) in Langley, Virginia, that the news media had fabricated his feud with the intelligence community. Those remarks came only days after he likened American intelligence officials to Nazis, after several weeks in which he had denigrated their work, the New York Times said. White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer said that the President had been referring in Tampa to "several instances" in which the news media had not devoted sufficient attention to terrorism. Trump, Spicer said, believed that journalists pay more attention to public protests than they do to terrorist attacks or plots. During his 12-minute speech on Monday, Trump promised to make "a historic financial investment in the armed forces", in an effort to maintain peace in "our troubled, troubled times". He also vowed to give the military the tools necessary to prevail against the Islamic State and thwart its attempts to strike America. At a luncheon with enlisted soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines, Trump went around his table asking who would remain in the military, and told them their experience would improve during his presidency. On NATO, Trump, who had earlier called it "obsolete," tempered his message, arguing that he was focused on ensuring that it is well funded. "We strongly support NATO. We only ask that all of the NATO members make their full and proper contributions to the NATO alliance, which many of them have not been doing -- many of them have not been even close," he said. Kolkata, Feb 7 : West Bengal Advocate General Jayanta Mitra resigned on Tuesday following "differences of opinion" with the Mamata Banerjee government. "If two people are together, there is bound to be some differences of opinion. And that's exactly what happened. It is not that important. But I quit because of this," Mitra, a noted barrister, told the media after stepping down. He sent his resignation to Governor K.N. Tripathi earlier in the day. Mitra, however, declined to share details of the differences he had with the government. "The differences of opinion? Let it remain as it is. I just left so that the government can carry on with its policies. I am very grateful to have got an opportunity to render some public service. Everybody doesn't get such opportunities," he said. Seventy seven-year-old Mitra had taken over in December 2014 after his predecessor Bimal Chatterjee resigned citing health issues. Mitra was the third Advocate General since the Trinamool Congress dispensation of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee came to power in May 2011. Chatterjee had been appointed to the post in February 2013, after Anindya Mitra, another barrister, had put in his papers. Expressing his gratefulness to everybody, including his juniors and support staff for helping him carry out the functions of the Advocate General, Mitra said: "At the end of the day, when I look back I feel I have done something during my tenure. I have been successful in rendering public service." New Delhi, Feb 7 : Speaking on demonetisation in Parliament for the first time, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday justified the November 8 move, saying it was made at the right time, but he did not make any comment on the deaths caused by the note ban despite opposition members raising the issue. The Prime Minister was replying to a debate on Motion of Thanks to the President's Address in the Lok Sabha. The Motion was later passed by voice vote in the Lower House, even as opposition Congress and Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) staged a walk out. The opposition members were protesting as Union Minister Mahesh Sharma, and the seconder BJP MP Virendra Singh Mast - both were missing from the House when the motion was to be passed. Congress leader Jyotiraditya Scindia had also sought a division when he moved an amendment that sought mentioning of the 125 deaths due to demonetisation. "125 people have died, I want a division," Scindia said. Speaker Sumitra Mahajan however said she could not hear what the opposition members were saying, leading to the walk out. The Prime Minister meanwhile launched an all out attack on the opposition Congress, and had the Nehru-Gandhi family in his target, stating that the Congress has attributed everything to one family. In defence of demonetisation - an issue that led to wash-out of the Winter Session of Parliament, and was criticised by all opposition parties, and even government ally Shiv Sena during the debate on the Motion of Thanks - the Prime Minister called it a "clean India" mission for the economy. He however made no reference to the deaths that occurred due to banning of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes. Several opposition members while participating in the debate had pointed out that around 125 people had died due to the note ban. "The move was calculative. The decision was taken after Diwali when trade (across the country) was high," Modi said. He said he was aware of political risks but "I am not concerned about the elections". "I am concerned about my country," Modi said, urging the opposition "to join the mainstream and contribute in the development of the country". Justifying the several changes in regulations post demonetisation, the Prime Minister said they had to change rules to ensure less trouble for the common people, as well as to stop those with black money from getting out of the net. He said when the Congress was in power the question the opposition used to ask was how much money was lost due to scams. "...Now people ask how much has Modi brought back. This is how discourse has changed after we have assumed office." he said. Opposition members time to time accused the Prime Minister of being "dramatic" and also commenting that he should get an 'Oscar' for his performance. The Prime Minister also replied to Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge's Monday remark that Modi could become the Prime Minister only because the Congress had protected democracy for 70 years. "The Congress said democracy is there because of them; they said they protected democracy and did a favour to the country. But everyone knows democracy has been sacrificed for a family," Modi said. He referred to the Emergency imposed by the then Indira Gandhi government in 1975, in response to which the opposition members quipped that there was an "undeclared Emergency" at present. "They (Congress) did not know the power of the people. It was because of the people that democracy was reinstated. It is because of the people that a poor mother's son could become the Prime Minister of India," Modi said. The Prime Minister also said the Congress always claims that the government of the day is repackaging their schemes. "I will play in your court today," the Prime Minister quipped, and questioned why the Congress, despite starting several schemes, did not take any of them to logical conclusions. He also justified merging the Railway budget with the General budget, and assured that Railway's autonomy will not be affected. He said that advancement of the General Budget will result in timely disbursal of money to suit agriculture which depends on the Monsoon. The Lok Sabha sat till 9.30 p.m. on Monday to debate the Motion of Thanks. The debate continues in the Upper House and the Prime Minister is likely to reply to it on Wednesday. With the opposition having more members in the Upper House, a number of amendments that have been moved by opposition leaders may get passed. The government has been embarrassed consecutively for the last two years in the Upper House with opposition members teaming up and getting the Motion of Thanks amended. Kabul, Feb 7 : At least 20 people were killed on Tuesday when a suicide bomber detonated his explosives in the parking lot of Afghanistan's Supreme Court building here, officials said. A spokesman for the Ministry of Public Health said around 20 people were killed and 38 others wounded in the deadly explosion, Khaama Press reported. President Ashraf Ghani condemned the horrific attack and called it "inhumane and unforgiveable". "By this act, the enemies of the Afghan people once again showed their enmity towards the people," he said. Chief Executive Officer Abdullah Abdullah also condemned the killings. "I condole with the families of the victims in today's terrorist attack... The blood of our people isn't cheap and wont be wasted." It was not immediately clear who was responsible for the horror but a similar incident in the same area last month which killed 22 people was claimed by the Taliban. The Supreme Court is located on a road leading to the US embassy and Kabul airport. New Delhi, Feb 7 : The Jawaharlal University (JNU) has been announced the winner of the third "Visitor's Award", presented annually by the President to the "best" central university. M. Jagadesh Kumar, Vice Chancellor of JNU, expressed his gratitude to the combined efforts of the students and faculty which eventually resulted in its winning the award. "This is a matter of great delight for the entire JNU community that our university has won the Visitor's Award for the best central university in the India. This recognition is the result of all students, faculty and staff, and their diligence, hard work and indefatigable efforts," Kumar said in a statement. "I am confident and has enormous faith in all of you that in coming years the University would be crowned with many more awards and recognition of achievements," he added. The award was instituted by President Pranab Mukherjee in 2015 and was given in the categories of "Best University", "Innovation", and "Research". The first "Best University" was given to the Hydrabad Central University. The award to the JNU has come following a year during which the university was agitated with hyperactivity -- be it the February 9 incident when "anti-national" slogans raised on the campus or the disappearance of a student named Najeeb Ahmed on October 15. Mumbai, Feb 7 : Shiv Sena President Uddhav Thackeray on Tuesday extended a warm welcome to Gujarat Patidar leader Hardik Patel, a staunch opponent of the BJP, and promised to make him the face of the forthcoming Gujarat assembly elections. "After Goa and Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat could be the next. If we contest elections in Gujarat, Hardik Patel will be our face," Thackeray said hinting at extending its wing of influence in the neighbouring home state of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. However, Thackeray made it clear that "nothing has been decided or finalized since it was their first meeting today". Patel, 24, who arrived here on Monday night, claimed there was no political agenda and he had come to pay homage to Shiv Sena patriarch Bal Thackeray and seek (Uddhav) Thackeray's blessings as an 'elder'. "Maharashtra is a land of valiant people and I have come to meet some of the good people here... Presently, the country is being run by undesirable people," Patel said, interacting with a crowded media contingent jointly with Thackeray at the latter's residence. "I come here as a friend. Whenever or wherever they need me, I will stand by them. Gujaratis and Marathis are always united," Patel added. To a question, Patel said he would support the 11 Gujarati candidates nominated by the Shiv Sena for the ensuing BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections but won't directly campaign for the party. "I am still young and learning... Why should the Shiv Sena need me? It's a tiger and a tiger needs no one," said Patel, sidestepping suggestions of a possible tie-up with the Shiv Sena after his first meeting with party leaders on Tuesday. On his part, lauding Patel's campaign for the uplift of the people of Gujarat, Thackeray said he (Patel) would be the face of the Shiv Sena in the next assembly election in that state. "We always maintain our friendships firmly and never break them till the opposite person snaps it," Thackeray remarked in what was perceived to be a mild warning to Patel. Reacting to the meeting, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis remarked: "The ground is slipping under them, so they have to call anybody and take such steps." Patel is to take part in a road show for his friend Biren Limbachaya and Shiv Sena candidate in the BMC polls and campaign for him in Goregaon area of north-west Mumbai. Around 15 percent of voters in Mumbai comprise affluent Gujaratis who are mostly into businesses, trading and entrepreneurship and are wooed by all political parties for the BMC elections. Patel led the Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti (PAAS) movement demanding OBC reservations for the Patel community. Between August and October 2015, PAAS took out a series of mammoth processions and rallies across Gujarat after which he was arrested on sedition charges. He was released in July 2016. Imphal, Feb 7 : The United Naga Council, after tripartite talks in New Delhi failed to break the logjam, said on Tuesday it will continue with its indefinite economic blockade of Manipur to protest the creation of seven new districts which affects the local Naga residents. The Nagas have enforced the blockade since November 1, 2016, over the alleged lack of consultations with the stakeholders in Manipur before the decision was taken to create seven new districts, including two where the Naga community has substantial presence. The state will go to polls on March 4 and 8 to elect a new assembly. The Manipur government's representatives told a tripartite meeting in New Delhi on February 3 that the decision could not be rolled back due to the Model Code of Conduct in force in Manipur since January 4, UNC General Secretary S. Milan said. The next meeting is scheduled for March 25. "Land is inseparable to the Nagas' identity, traditions and culture, and thus we reject the creation of the seven districts. Article 371 (2) of the Constitution protects the right of the Nagas to their land," he said. He said the Naga bodies had submitted a memoranda on their stand to the President as well as to the Governor. Jaipur, Feb 7 : The second edition of the international travel photography festival 'JaipurPhoto' will begin in the Rajasthan capital city on February 24. Organised by Orange Cat Productions in collaboration with Rajasthan's Department of Tourism, the festival will continue till March 4. According to the organisers, architects will design a demountable architectural installation on which large-format prints will be displayed. Besides 19 photo exhibitions, it will have two special interventions and a series of talks by eminent personalities from the photography industry. JaipurPhoto will also host a workshop on photobook making by Japan's Yumi Goto, who launched Tokyo's legendary Reminders Project. The award-winning Argentinian photographer Mariela Sancari will also host a workshop. Programme guest list includes names like Priya Kambli, Pablo Bartholomew, Rajesh Vora, Flurina Rothenberger, Sonja Hamad, Aaron Schuman, Lars Willumeit, Laia Abril, Kapil Das, Vasantha Yogananthan, Naveen Kishore, Sebastian Ha and Rosalyn D'Mello. Europe's eminent photography critic, Federica Chiocchetti is the guest curator of the festival alongside Artistic Director Lola Mac Dougall. "One of the gems of the upcoming edition is a show that will be staged inside the Albert Hall Museum and we are excited at the prospect of inserting contemporary photography into this fascinating setting," Dougall said in a statement released on Tuesday. "Travel photography serves as the running thread through our exhibitions. Travel and photography have enjoyed a privileged relationship since the invention of the medium," she said. "During our opening weekend, talks by Laia Abril, Naveen Kishore, Sebastian Hau, Aaron Schuman and Lars Willumeit, among others, will highlight how this relationship is relevant even today," she added. New Delhi, Feb 7 : The Lok Sabha on Tuesday passed the bill to ban old bank notes of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 and provides for punishment for holding such currency notes. The Specified Bank Notes (Cessation of Liabilities) Bill, 2017, seeks to replace the ordinance on demonetisation promulgated by the government in December 2016. Replying to the debate on the bill which was passed after amendments by the opposition were negatived, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said the decision on demonetisation was not easy. He said the government had been holding consultations with the Reserve Bank of India from February last year. Jaitley said there was rush for currency in the initial days after the November 8 demonetisation announcement and then the situation eased. Taking a dig at opposition parties, he said they appeared to be troubled by the decision but not people of India. Earlier, moving the bill Jaitley said once a currency ceases to be legal tender, it cannot be allowed to operate. "Holding the currency beyond the permissible limit, will become an offence," Jaitley said. The bill, like the ordinance, provides that the specified bank notes, which have ceased to be legal tender, shall "cease to be liability of Reserve Bank of India". Brought as a money bill, the Rajya Sabha will not have any major role in its passage. A financial memorandum with the bill said it involves decision having impact on the "contingent liabilities of the central government and thus on the consolidated fund of India". It prohibits the holding, transferring or receiving of the 'specified bank notes' after December 31, 2016. "On and from the appointed day, no person shall, knowingly or unknowingly or voluntarily hold, transfer or receive any specified bank notes," the bill said. As per the bill, an individual cannot hold more than 10 of the demonetised currency notes irrespective of value, and for the purpose of study or research, not more than 25 notes can be held. For violation of these provisions, as per Section 5 of the bill, a fine will be imposed which can be of Rs 10,000 or five times the amount of the old currency notes held - whichever of the two is higher. Those individuals who were outside India during November 9 to December 31, or any other class of persons specified by the central government, can make a declaration which will be verified by the Reserve Bank of India. If the RBI is satisfied with the reason cited it may credit the value of the old bank notes in the individual's "Know Your Customer compliant bank account". Anyone aggrieved by RBI's refusal to credit the value of old notes may approach the Central Board of the Reserve Bank within 14 days of communication of refusal. Citing a false statement under this provision would be fined upto Rs 50,000 or five times the amount of bank notes tendered, whichever is higher.